IRISH TIMES ODDITIES:Culled from the archives of The Irish Times
A Society Hoax
The Standard publishes details of a society hoax at Hendon, where the Crown Prince of Wurtemburg had a free flight in Mr Graham White's aeroplane. The "Prince" was accompanied by men described as Lord Stanton and Lord Hope. A Peeress mentioned her preference for a certain make of motor car to "Lord Hope", which the next day arrived to give her a trial trip upon one of the cars.
"Lord Hope" left a dinner party "owing to business at the German Embassy", but the embassy have since stated that no person of that name has had any dealings during the past week with the official staff there. The embassy also state that there is no Crown Prince of Wurtemburg.
March 7th, 1914
BOY'S JOURNEY WITH TORTOISE
The British Marine Air Navigation Company's flying boat, Sea Eagle, which flew yesterday from Guernsey to Southampton, had among its passengers a plucky 13-year-old Guernsey boy, Master Harry Boyde, who brought with him his pet tortoise.
The boy, who was accompanied by his mother, proceeded to London, and will make the return journey from Southampton to Guernsey by the Sea Eagle today.
September 27th, 1923
PURSE FOUND IN A CODFISH
A strange discovery was made in the inside of a codfish which was being cleaned at the police barrack in Queenstown today.
The fish was about 30lb in weight, and was purchased from a local fish dealer.
It was being cleaned in readiness for cooking when the cook discovered inside the cod a leather purse containing several silver pieces of the reign of her late Majesty, Queen Victoria.
The purse, which was in a good state of preservation and steel bound, also contained a small document, with writing on it, which could not be deciphered, as the paper was reduced to a pulp.
The cod was caught by an Arklow fishing boat off the south coast of Ireland.
November 24th, 1911
A FOOLHARDY SNAKE-CHARMER
A man named Richards, living at Maesteg, near Cardiff, known locally as "Henry, the Snake-Charmer", was showing an adder he had captured to some friends on Saturday, when it bit him on the finger.
Richards merely laughed, and, by way of bravado, placed the adder's head in his mouth.
The reptile bit the roof of the man's mouth.
With a cry of terror, Richards ran to Dr Sinclair's surgery, where he collapsed.
He was subsequently carried home unconscious. He is now recovering slowly, but his arm and face are terribly swollen.
It is a curious circumstance that Richards's father died from the effects of a snake's bite. The son's attention was first directed to such reptiles by rescuing a little girl from a snake.
He captured it, and since then he has at one time carried as many as nine snakes about with him.
Richards's methods of capturing snakes is interesting. He takes a white handkerchief, attracts the snake's attention to it, then grasps its tail.
Next he places it across his arm, when it is said to become quite still under his influence. He is declared to have been in quest of the snake which bit him on Saturday for three years.
