A PRIMITIVE RAILWAY-STATION.
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"I send you a photo. taken by Mrs. Hind, of Stoke-on-Trent. The photo. shows a railway-station on the Eskdale and Ravenglass line, which consists of a flat-bottomed boat turned up on its side, with a seat inside for passengers. I think it likely this is the most primitive and unique station in the United Kingdom. I may add that the guard is also station-master, ticket-collector, and porter at the different stations along the line, of which there are six or seven."--Mr. M. Hind, Felsham Rectory, Bury St. Edmunds.
THE PRANKS OF A CYCLONE.
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"This strangely-placed house is one of the pranks played by a cyclone that almost destroyed the little town of St. Charles, Minn., U.S.A., on October 6th, 1903. The building was carried from the hill, which may be seen in the left-hand corner of the photo., for the distance of half a mile. At the time the storm picked it up it was occupied by Mrs. Edward Drew and two children, who escaped uninjured. The house itself was practically undamaged, though left in the topsy-turvy condition shown here."--Mr. Geo. E. Luxton, 3,220, Third Avenue, Minn.
THE DREAM-PAINTING AT CAVE DAVAAR.
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"Cave Davaar, or the Picture Cave, as it is sometimes called, near Campbelltown, Argyllshire, is noted as being the repository of a mural painting of the Crucifixion of our Lord. When the painting was first discovered its author and the manner of its creation were a mystery. Shortly, the story of the picture and its romance is as follows: Upon a smooth mural surface of the rock which forms the inner wall of the interior of the cave, and in a position adjusted to the light which penetrates the cavern, visitors see a life-size representation of Christ on the Cross, measuring seven feet from head to foot, the cross itself being fifteen feet in height. It appears that Mr. McKinnon, a native of Campbelltown, and now of Nantwich, was, it is believed, originally a ship's carpenter by trade, with a strong artistic taste, which was afterwards afforded proper training through the patronage and assistance of the Argyll family. One night, about twelve years ago, he had a dream. He saw, in his dream, on the inner wall of the Cave Davaar a vivid picture of the Crucifixion, and so strikingly real and soul-stirring was the vision that it continually haunted him in his waking hours. He could not rest, and, as he himself said, 'I took my brushes and materials and went to the cave. I found the smooth surface I had seen in my dream, and set to work and painted. I stopped in the cave for twenty-four hours until I had completed my task, and when I had finished I had painted just the picture I had seen in my dream.'"--Mr. S. J. Oakley, H.M.S. _Northampton_, Special Service.
A TERRIBLE FALL.
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"I send you a snap-shot, taken by me, of a man falling ninety feet! The high-diver (forming part of a street carnival show) climbed up his ninety-foot ladder set up in the main street of Washington, N.C., half an hour before he was to make his daring leap into four feet of water. As he tested the ladder to see if all was in readiness one of the guy-ropes broke, and, to the horror of the crowd below, man and ladder came crashing down to the pavement. With rare presence of mind the athlete turned when he felt the ladder start and slid down for his life, thus lessening the fall by almost half. Strange to say he was not killed, but his legs were badly broken."--Miss Mary Brickell Hoyt, Candler Post Office, Buncombe Co., North Carolina.
AN ENORMOUS ICICLE.
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We have published a great many photographs, at different times, of strange and beautiful effects wrought by frost, but the annexed is so striking and peculiar that we have no hesitation in adding it to the number. In the words of the sender: "My photograph is of an enormous icicle, or one might call it a land iceberg on a small scale. The ice was formed during a recent frost by the overflow of a spring which runs from a pipe about eighteen feet from the ground into the branches of a tree. In the full sunlight it was a very pretty and novel sight."--Mr. Chas. W. Chilton, 17, West Gate, Sleaford, Lines.
WHEN IS A PLATE NOT A PLATE?
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"The accompanying photographs are of a kitchen dinner-plate, which, as I discovered by chance, consists of two distinct pieces held together merely by their peculiar conformation. There is enough spring in the outer piece to enable the parts to be separated, which has been repeatedly done; but when they are reunited the whole will easily pass for a slightly cracked plate. From the colour of the fracture it is evident that the plate was in use in its present condition for at least some weeks."--Mr. S. B. Whanker, 62, Acre Lane, Brixton, S.W.
AN OYSTER IN THE KETTLE.
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"Here is the photo. of an oyster-shell which has been in a tea-kettle for seven years. When I put it in it weighed about one and a half ounces, and was not more than three thirty-seconds of an inch thick in any part. Now it is three-quarters of an inch thick and weighs eleven ounces. It had lain out in the garden for a long time and lost all the crust, which accounted for it being so thin at first. No one has ever been able to say what it is, although many have seen it in the glass case in the shop."--Mr. R. G. Foster, Post Office Drug Stores, High Street, Burford, Oxon.
A GEOGRAPHICAL POST-CARD.
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"This curious post-card was delivered to me in Richmond thirty-eight hours after being posted in Lausanne. No other clue was given as to the intended destination than that afforded by the physical peculiarities of the 'map' itself--the address on the side of the card being written during transmission. The full address as shown on the 'map' is as follows, and is that of yours faithfully: 'To Edward H. W. Wingfield King, Esq., 5, Spring Terrace, Richmond-on-Thames, Angleterre.'" This is, perhaps, the most curious post-card of the many which we have published, and which does the Post Office the most credit.
ELECTRIC LAMPS AND PLANT LIFE.
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"At the present time, when the effect upon the rainfall of the kingdom of multiplying electrical agencies is being discussed, it is interesting to note the results which follow upon the use of electric lamps in the public thoroughfares of our towns. There is to be seen at Southend-on-Sea a remarkable instance of the influence which the electric street lamps have upon the duration of leaves. In Cliff Town Parade those trees contiguous to the lamps were still well covered on December the 1st ult. on the side nearest the light, when the next tree, only a few yards distant, was entirely denuded of leaves. Our photograph gives the first tree in the parade with a good show of leaves on its front half, but the back of the same tree, which has been shaded from the lamp, has entirely shed its leaves. The next few trees are also quite bare of leaves, and looking down the row one sees that only those trees opposite the lamps bear any sign of verdure."--Mr. W. J. Cooper, 162, Stanstead Road, Forest Mill, S.E.
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+----------------------------------------------------------+ | Transcriber notes: | | | | Fixed various punctuation. | | P.149. 'phesaant' changed to 'pheasant'. | | | | Note: Underscore around words indicate italics: | | _See page 135._ | +----------------------------------------------------------+