The Dorset County Express and Agricultural Gazette.
Dorchester, Dorset, England, 1880-01-06 00:00:00

WHAT rus WORLD SAYS.

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I mite that the almanacs have already decided that the
Inter-University boet•raoe is $s be rowed on March 20th. !
A.. matter of fact, the prec se date is a keen subj.c r f
controversy at preeent—the light blue wishing to have 4.
race rowed later, while Oxford prefers to keep to ur.
orthodox Saturday before Pus'on•week. The matter seems
likely to be decided by arbitratoli. The objection to ;
March 20th is the inconvenient hour at which the race
will have to come off, necnsitatina a very early rive and
breakfast; the objection to the lAtt :r date is the fear of
interfering with ecclesiastical fasts and feast*.

The brigade of rands are loud-throated against Lord
Chelmsford for what they term his persistent iujuatire to
members of it who served in the recent campaign in Zola-
laud. I think this not altogether a reasonable complaint:
the guardsmen got their chances with tb.-Ir fellow soltiers
a the line, and could expect no more. Ti,, complaint of
stinginess in reward'. Om brigade ahould know. really lies
at the door of the Duke, not of L rd Chelmsford. The
former luta get his face like a wall saint an adequate
distribution of honours, and really well-earned diatinc-
tions have to be extracted Irani him SA if they 411111 10
many double-teeth.

But the Doke ii °intimate, nod further 'meets, in his
vigorous manner that he" will not be dictate' to by these
newspere." I'a violence is an error on the port of hie
Royal Highness; and it were well thot he should reflect
that "these nswepepers" hive it in their power, with very
little trouble, to make his official life • singularly uncom-
fortable existence.

The newly appointed Commander-in-chief of the
Meditemnean squadron and his staff will, in all
probability, not sail front England for five or six weeks.

The nitro-glycarine story which got into the Pall Mall
Goastto wee no doubt first told by some one who ct:sired
to hoax the local reporter. Neither the Comus, nor any
other of her Majesty's &Ira carries aitro-glyuerina The
molt Tioloutennlosive mount naval stores is gun-cotton,
and that is always stowed saturated with water. It Is
thus safer than ordinary gunpowder, or even than wheat-
fi.wir, which will explode under certain circumstances of
Ignition.

If gun-cotton when wet be ignited by "dstlnation"
for wlsich a epecial fulminating film is required—it will
explode as readily u when dry. Of course I n'minates are
never allowed near it in store.

The attention which has been attracted by a letter in
a daily newspaper, somplintu I ho absurd practice of
plying our bluejackets with rum in the intddlo of the day,
in no matter what climate, will, it ii to be bopol, lead So
some change in their dietary, or, at all event., in their
meal hours. The latter are the same in the Channel in
December and in the Persian Gall in August.

Is there any hope that the regulations governing the
dr-se of &Boers of the navy will to.• revised / Few people
in England are aware that in hot climates, vh,os the men
articled in cool garments, the mire romp.l etli,ovs to wear
the blue-cloth coats which they And comfortable at this
season at home. Their mesamatea, the officers of marine.,
are allowed to wear • white uniform of suitable mittens,
whilst they bare to wear • roguletion foldout broad-
cloth, and cover their heads with the &truest dangerous
uniform cap.

The Irish have always been lam iii for close thinking,
and here is another instance of this trait. A gen. leman
recently crowing from Ireland wa. vituperating to a
carnal companion in • sleeping-carriage the manifold
abominations of the Irish provincial hotels. The cow-
panion beard for • while In silence. and then put in, ea
a plea in mitigation, the delightfully relevant observation
"A.b, but sure, Kingstown is a beautiful harbour r
The New York World lets us into some of the secrets of
the extraveganoe of the wives and daughters of Irish
absentee landlords in London. They wear long and
myriad-buttoned gloves of white kid at dinner, which are
changed at every course. Thus one of these aristocratic
droneeses will exhaust as many of these costiy Houbigants
or Wirers at • meal as would support a halfidozm tenant-
farmers for a week. Horrible to rfi 'et upon I Wit bow
about the finger and wrist jewellery I Ara rings and
bracelets worn over or under these gloves, 0 most sapient
of namesakes!

They are • smart people over in ank, but the Isugh
I. not on their side. The other night they vociferocoly
refused to allow Mr. Archibald Forbes to deliver his Zulu
War lecture to them. on acoount of some old grudge
dating from the idiotic period of John Mitchell's candida-
ture for Tipperary. When they had accomplished their
purpose, interspersing the proceedings with eggs heaved
at the would-be lecturer, they serenely demanded to have
their money returned to them. But they did not get it:
and now, when they reflect that Mr. Forbes has pocketed
their money without Laving beers put to the trouble of
delivering his lecture, they begin dimly to recognise the
truth of the geographical axiom that the Soot is too far
north for the Irishman.

A novel cricket-match is on the tapia for next year—
Huntsmen v. .1 ,ckers. Great efforta are being made to
bring it off at Lord'a on the Saturday after the Darby. I
hear there are some very good men among the huntamen ;
but perhapa they will meet their match among the silk-
jackets.