TIMKLY TOPICS.
The surface of Great Salt Lake, in
Utah, has risen eleven feet since 1807.
Professor King believes this rise to be
due not to the cultivation of the sur
rounding country hut to a climatic os
cillation that began about 18S0, and
which is the first ot its kind and extent
that has occurred within at least 850
years.
One hundred and sixty odd entries of
American race-horses in England this
year, 130 announced races in Saratoga,
from July 17 to September 1, the new
Coney Island and other courses, with the
great races at Jerome Park, I,on g
Branch, and in the South and West,
promise to keen up a pattering of hoofa
to the snow- of December.
According to Dr. Kmil Hoiub, relics
si an extinct race, of a much higher cul
ture than now belongs to any native
tribes, have been found in tlie interior
of South Africa. Among the' remains
;in > seen workings of ancient mines, some
even of gold, and the ruins of rude for
tifications. These evidences remind the
gn at traveler of the African empire of
Atonomatapa, as mapped on old Portu
guese charts.
That certain insects possess a power
akintc reason is illustrated by Gleaitsch,
• a Gorman naturalist, who relates that
he one day spitted a loud on a stick
which lie fixed upright in the ground.
The odor of the decaying body ol the
reptile attracted a number of burying
beetles; hut as they found they eoula
do nothing with tne toad while in the
air, they mined under the base of tlie
*tick until it fell, when they buried toad
and stick together. Such an engineer
ing attempt would seem to indicate the
presence of a definite purpose.
A Quebec telegraph-operat or claimed
te have invented a multiplex instru
ment hy which any number of messages
could he stmt over one wire at the same
lime. After opening negotiations for
tlie sale of his discovery to tlie Ameri
can Union company, of New York, se
curing assistance from several specula
tors. and selling to a company organ
ized for the purpose of pushing the
patent a three-fourths inlet est in it for
£2,500, tlie genial operator irft for parts
unknown. Eighteen wires leading to
the instrument on which lie "experi
mented," which were discovered under
ihp flooring, solved the mystery ot his
remarkable feats in telegraphy.
People who thir.k mild winters are
unhealthy, wili learn from the records
that the past winter, " unseasonable "
as it was, has been a very healthy win
ter. The mortuary reports of Philadel
phia inny be cited in this connection.
The Philadelphia Ledger publishes a
table showing tire number of deaths in
Philadelphia during the thirteen weeks
of this winter, compared with tlie dentils
during the same period of the preceding
year. Tlie months of December. Janu
ary and February, I*7B-9, which were
"seasonable," showed 4,008 deaths;
while the same months in 1*79-86, which
were held to be "unseasonable" and
" unwholesome," because they were
mild, show but 3,996 deaths—or 606 less
in the mild winter than in its immediate
predecessor, which was of tiic average
Kind.
Mr. Carroll D. Wright,the statistician,
who has recently perfected the statistics
of divorces in Massachusetts from 1860
to 1878, inclusive, supplies food for re
flection to all interested in nreserving
the marriage relation. Tlie figures pre
sented by Mr. Wright are startling.
Since I*6o 7,233 divorces were granted
by the State of Massachusetts for forty
four assigned causes. The records show
that the marriage bond was dissolved
in '2,400 cases on complaint of the hus
band, and in 4,833 eases at the request of
lho wife. In other words, twice as
many divorces have been granted to
women as to men in the period covered
by the statistics. From this report we
learn that " desertion " was invented as
a suilable plea lor unmarrying people
in Massachusetts in 183*. We also dis
cover that nparly half the divorces
were granted for eausea that would not
have been entertained half a century
ago, and causes which would not have
been regarded as valid twenty-five years
ago. _______
A Lightning Proof Reader.
The New York Stm has this account
of the late .John C. Robinson, known as
the " lightning proof reader." who was
found dead in his hod in Williamsburg
one morning a short time apt: Mr.
Robinson was born in this city forty
years ago. He attended school in the
Seventh ward, nnd entered John A.
Grny's printing establishment in Cliff
•treet as a "copy boy" when thirteen
years old. In 1854 he entered the Tri
luw. proofroom. In deciphering manu
scripts he wasn marvel. He read Rich
ard Hildreth's, Horace Greeley's, Count
Pulaski's. Gerrit Smith's and other
crabbed manuscripts almost at a glance.
When Mr. Greeley himself was unnhle
to decipher one of his own written sen
tences, he referred it to Mr. Robinson,
who looked at it steadily for a minute
or more, and made out its meaning. In
the municipal canvass of 1860 a letter
from Mr. Greeley, written under the
Spingler house heading, wns sent to the
night editorol the Tribune. It enclosed
an editorial article in the same hand
writing, favoring the election of a well
known politician, who was running on
an independent ticket. It was the night
before ele<-tion. The article was put in
type. In assorting the copy before read
ing the proof the manuscript fell under
the eyes of Mr. Robinson. Something
about it attracted his attention. He ex
amined it as a paying teller would ex
amine a doubtful bill. "Thai's not the
old man's handwriting," he said. He
was so confident that it was a forgery
that he called the editor's attention to it,
nnd the article was suppressed. So skill
ful was the forgery that on the follow
ing day Mr. Greeley said that, had he
not known different, he would have
taken it to he his ow.n handwriting.
Mr. Robinson's rapidity in reading a
proof sheet aloud was unparalleled, and
Ids enunciation was perfect. Timed by
the writer he bus pronounced 086 words
in a minute. This is at the rate of
41,760 words per hour. The words w%o
pronounced in a monotonous tone of
voice without accent, and came from Ids
lips as though sent from the wheels of a
machine. Long before the death of Mr.
Greeley. Mr. Robinson wss given charge
of the Tribune proof room. He left that
journal in 1875 and accepted a similar
position on the Sun. He was straight
as an arrow, had clean-cut haturis.
light curling hair, and an eye like a
hawk. He had many friends and no
enemies.
Life In tke Animal World.
A Middleburg (Pa.} mouse tunneled
nn ear ol corn, built her nest in it, and
whs living on the grain on the outside.
The ear whh *4 inches in length and tty
inches in circumference, and it con
tained 1,000 grains of corn.
A drunken sparrow was recentv seen
on the streets of Easton, Pa., ana was
picked up and cared lor by a peanut
vender until It became sober. Some.one
had dropped a flask of whisky on the
sidewalk, and the bird drank ot the
liquor until It staggered and fell.
Monkeys are caught in Africa by
means of fermented beer. It is plnccri
by the natives within reach, and as soon
us one monkey tastes it he screams with
joy, and many answer his call. They
soon get too drunk to realize the ap
proach of a person, and are cashy cap
jured.
A missionary living among the Dutch
Boers of Natal says that a hunting party
came upon a large herd of elephants,
and as they tired at the leader the entire
herd fled. They were in a valley, and
in trying to escape they ran around in a
circle three hundred yards in diameter,
and were shot down. After awhile a
new leader broke out of the beaten
track, and led off the remainder of the
herd in safety. Ninety elephants lay
dead in the valley, and each man's share
of the valuable tusks of ivory was con
siderable.
Russian wolves show great sagacity in
the capture of wild horses. They roll
and frjsk about utuil the unsuspecting
victim is completely put oil his guard.
One wolf then approaches tlie horse's
head, and another his tail. Botli wolves
then spring at their victim at the same
instant—one at the throat, and the other
at the Hanks—and they do not let go
until the horse is disabled. Tlie horse
turns round and round without attempt
inn a defense, and is soon on its side, and
the victory is won. At a signal the
pack close in. but the small fry wait un
til their superiors are gorged.
A traveler in the forests of Brazil saw
a hairy spider witli a body two inches
long, and eight legs, measuring seven
incites each. It was on a tree trunk be
neath a deep crevice, across which was
stretched a dense white web. Tlie lower
part of the web was broken, and two
small finches were entangled in tlie
pieces. One was still alive, hut died
soon niter its rescue. The hairs of these
crab spiders come off when touched and
cause a maddening irritation. He says
that he saw the children of an Indian
family with one of these monsters se
cured by a cord and lending it about the
house like a dog.
i Old Jake is a one-eyed pointer dog of
Sardis, Miss. On a cold, rainy uay he
: made a call on an old sportsman, and
spent the afternoon by the tire. When
i bedtime came he was driven out and the
I door-Uiumb bolted on the inside. In the
course of the night he was awakened by
a cold wind blowing on him. Hearing
a slight noise at tlie lire, he looked, and
there sat old Jake. The fire had nearly
died out, and the dog was putting the
chunks together with his paws, and act
ually blowing the dying embers Th
man got out of tiis bed, put on more
wood, tnadc a pallet for Jake near the
fire, closed the door and again retired.
When Henry Lascar, of Lafayette
Corners, Pa., returned from a day's liunt
he looked as though he had la*en put
through a threshing machine. He went
to a panther's den, crawled in, and,
drawing a bead on tlie animal, fired.
When Tie recovered consciousness the
panther was tossing him about as a cat
does a mouse, nnd with one stroke of her
paw she sent him headlong outside the
cave. Early in the fight Lascar's rifle
was made useless by breaking the nip
ple. The animal tore his (ace in shreds.
I With a hundred wounas on his body
and his clothing torn to ribbons, the old
man was well nigh exhausted, when, by
an almost superhuman effort, he reached
his hunting-knife,nnd. hy a well-directed
blow, quieted the beast.
Russia's Dictator.
Gen. lioris Melikoff. who is now the
military dictator of Russia, is the son of
an Armenian merchant, nnd began Ids
military career as an officer in a hussar
regiment in Bt. Petersburg. His talents
were recognized hy Mouravicff. the gov
ernor general of the Caucasus, hut until
tlio campaign of 1877 lie had never had
an opportunity to handle a large body
of troops, or to learn the scieuce of war
in the open field.
Melikoff is a handsome soldier, with
blaek curlv hair, large, dark, sparkling
eyes, a somewhat bronzed complexion,
and features which, without being quite
regular, are comly and refined. He is
of middle stature, of a slight nervous
structure, and spare in person. His man
ners are polished and extremely affable,
while his conversation is light and easy.
He has been one of the most successful
of the military governors who have been
invested with supreme power in their
districts during the Inst year. He is a
man of great and varied accomplish
ments. In addition to his native lan
guage, Armenian, he is familar with
and spenks Ru-eian. Turkish, Persian
and French, but is ignorant of Herman
and English. He was a grent favorite
with his soldiers. He visited them in
their bivouacs, tasted their soup, and
inquired after their comfort. He took
especial care of the sick, frequently in
specting the hospitals and ambulances.
At the same time he was a strict dis
ciplinarian. and required from all. and
particularly the non-commissioned offi
cers of his army, a punctual perform
ance ot their duty. His age is fifty
seveti.
11 The Luck ttulnea."
The Baroness Burdette-Coutt* was
created a peeress on account of her
large gifts to public objects. Her wealth
is derived from her maternal grand
father, tlie rich Ixindon hanker, Thomas
Coutts.
In the banking-bonne there is pre
served a gold coin called the "Luck
Guinea." It has a curious history. Old
Mr. Coutts wns in the habit of visiting
a town in the vicinity of the country
seal of one of-Ids married daughters-
On one of these visits, his neat but some
what worn clothes attracted the atten
tion of a benevolent old gentleman.
Noticing the hanker, he imagined that
he must be a decayed old gentleman
who had seen better days. It was near
Christmas, and as the "(Jood Samari
tan " passed by Mr. Coutts, he put a
guinea into his baud, bidding him get
a good dinner.
A few days after the benevolent man
received an Invitation to dine at Mr.
Coutts' daughter's bouse. There tie was
introduced to the recipient of his
charity. The banker told the story to
the guests, and amid their amusement
announced that the guinea would re
main nmnn - the heirlooms of Ooutta'
hanking- hcassj
The Corel Fisher* or Capri.
Coral fishing is a slavery to which
nothing but sheer poverty drives the
fishermen. From April to October
tbolr life is n life of ceaseless drudgery,
Packed in a small boat without a deck,
with no food but biscuit and foul
water, touching land only at intervals
of a month, ana often deprived of sldop
for days together through shortness of
hands, the coral fishers are exposed to
a constant brutality from the masters
of their vessels which is too horrible to
bear description. . The fishing is itself
bard work. The two beams of wood
laid crosswise, with hemp and loose
netting attached to them, which serves!
:is a dredge, are dragged along the gen i
bottom with a rope, which it some-!
times requires the crews ofhalfa dozen
boats to haul to the surface. If it breaks
the whole boat is in peril; if the sailor
who is paying out fails to note the
moment when it catches the coral, his
thigh, over which it runs, iscut to the
bone. A long pull tears the branches
entangled in the net from the rock, or
breaks oil rock and all, and a shout of
joy bursts from the wearied fishermen
as the tangled muss of coral appeal's
above the waves. To the masters the
fishery is luerativc enough; of the eight
thousand francs which form the returns
of a single boat, some two thousand are
clear profit, But, measured by our no
tions, the pay of the men seems miser
ably inadequate to the toil and suffer
ing which they undergo. For the
whole period of eight months, it varies
witli the strength and experience of the
seamen from £6O to £00; the boys re
ceiving as little as $80; and of this
much is absorbed by the extortionate
shopkeepers of Torre. Knough, how
ever, remains to tempt the of the
Caprese fishermen to sea. Even a boy's
earnings will pay his mother's rent.
For a young man, it is the only mode in
which be can hope to gather a sura suf
ficient for marriage and his start in
life. The early so common
at Naples and along the adjoining coast
arc unknown nt Capri, where a girl sel
dom weds before twenty, and where the
poorest peasant refuses the band of bis
daughter to a suitor who cannot fur
nish a wedding settlement of some
twenty pounds. Even with the modern
rise or wages, it is almost impossible
for a lover to accumulate such a sum
from the produce of bis ordinary toil,
and bis one resource is tlie coral fishery.
—Saturday Review.
The Iron Age.
There are forty-six rolling mills in
Ohio, thirty-two of which are in opera
tion.
The rolling-mills of Chicago now cm
ploy over 3,000 men, and are running
night and day.
One firm in Baltimore has made a
contract for 300,rt00 tons of iron and iron
ore, and another for 140,000 from Eng
lish ports.
Wheeling, W. Va., makes about a
fourth of all the nails manufactured
in the United States, and turns out over
1,000,000 kegs annually.
St. i/ouis lms 4,000 men employed in
iron mills and foundries, who turnout
daily 700 tons of finished iron, 160 tons
of cast iron, 800 tons of pig and 375 car
wheels.
The number of iron and rail mills of
all kinds in the United States amount
to 100, or about five times as many as
there were in 1856, with a greater aver
age capacity.
It is estimated by railroad statisticians
that the probable demand on our steel
and iron mills will be equal to 1,500,-
000 tons,of which 840.000 will be for new
stock during the year 1880.
The production of Bessemer steel rails
in this country since I*o7, when they
were first made, has increased to a mar
velous extent. In 1807 it nmounted to
only 2,555 tons, in 1M79 to 34.000 tons,
and last year to 570,000 tons.
Experience has shown at the Pe
troleum iron works. Titusville, Pa
that a barrel of petroleum will generate
heat sufficient for making a ton of iron,
while a ton and a quarter of coal would
be required for the same result.
An unprecedented quantity of iron
will be made in the United States this
year. In England furnaces are also be
ing rapidly blown in. There is no danger
of an iron famine. On the contrary
there will be plenty of it. and the pros
pects are it will all be sold at good
orices.— Pittsburg Pre**.
Sold Himself.
A Correetlonville farmer sold a load
of corn at that town the other day.
When it wns weighed he slyly stepped
on the scales, ana then drove off to un
load. When the wagon was weighed
he took good care not to be in it, and
congratulated himself that he had
cheated the buyer in good shape.
The grnin-dealer called him in, and
after figuring up the load, paid him in
ftill.
As the farmer buttoned up his coat to
go out. the buyer kindly asked him to
smoke with him, and then talked over
*' ,e Price of hogs, and the
likelihood of the Maple Valley railroad
uilding up that way, till the farmer
fairly squirmed in his chair with un
easiness about Ills chores at home.
At Inst he could stand it no longer,
and said he must go. The dealer quietly
said that was not to be thought of; that
he had bought the farmer at full weight,
and paid lilm his own price, and that he
would insist on doing as lie pleased with
his own property.
The raiser of corn saw that he had In
deed sold himself, in one sense, at least.
He acknowledged his cheat and com
promised the affair. Now when he
markets grain he don't stand on the
scale.— Sioux City (la.) Journal.
Extinction of the Buffalo.
According to the Montana Flerrßd, a
Canadian paper, very few buffaloes,
comparatively, have ranged during the
past year nortli of the boundary between
the United States and the British posses
sions in America. Tills important and
useful animal is every year becoming
more and more warde, and before very
long will probably be extinct. Forts
Walsh and Macleod have for some years
been important centers for the collec
tion of buffalo robes, the market value
of which to tlie Indian hunter may be
estimated at two dollars each. In 1877
some 30,000 robes were gathered at Fort
Macleod, and a large numlier at Fort
Walsh. In 1878 the number was 18,727
at the former and 10,887 at the latter
place; while last year only ft.704 came in
at Fort Macleod and 8,877 at Fort
Walsh. This steady decrease in the
number ol buffaloes slain by the Indiana
and half-breeds of the North west affords
a ready explanation ol the suffering
prevalent among them.
FOR THE FAIR SEX.
A Unp Year Proposal.
r "r, gentle being, Rive mo keod,
As kneeling humMy at tby aide,
With laaoerated heart I plead
That thou'ltbeoome my blushing hrido.
I king—l wildly long to press
Thee to my heart, yet stand alwah—
-1 pine to print a land caress
Upon thy meek and mild mustache.
Why, tell mo why thine eyelid* drop
And turn away HO pettishly, .
And why with fierce, tumultuous flop
Thy lm*om heuvee coquettish]/ ?
I know that thou art young nr.d luit
As tiny buds in early spring—
Hut thou shnlt be my consent care,
Thou trail and fragile little thing.
I'll sew thy shirts and darn thy hose.
Thy victuals cook, thy flies will light
I'll grease thy gracious Grecian nose
Each snowy, croupy, wintry night.
Ho, surely, thou'lt not tell ine nay
And bid trie dying quit thy side—
lirace up, pull down thy vest nnd say
That thou wilt Ire my blushing bride.
Kantat City Timti.
Fashion .Holes.
Short shoulder capes of mate rial re
sembling the dress or harmonizing with
it are talked about as a feature or walk
ing suits.
In both evening and walking dresses
any and every combination of colors
and materials tliatdii's not conflict with I
artistic requirements is admissible.
Black or iridescent beads and appliques
of silk and velvet are largely employed
upon silk, satin and cashmere fabrics.
The close-fitting l>onr.<t i* prominent !
among a variety of fashionable shapes.
Turbans arc popular for young Indies.
Instead of fancy plumage, flowers ap
pear upon latest bonnets. Just at
present the sunflower is mueh employed,
and large clusters of roses and peonies
in rich but subdued colors arc in favor.
Laccs for neckwear consist almost en
tirely of the popular Breton and Lan
zuedoc, and cream tints and ecru or
deep yellow are shades much admired.
The fichu hms usually a narrow center
of mull or net edged on Isith sides with
full ruffles of lace. It is drawn up
closely about the neck and takes the
place of collar and bow. It may lc
fastened in front with a pretty oblong
Cin or small bows of ribbon. Spanish
ice is most fashionable for veils, scarfs
and the like.
Purple in all its shades, from the
darkest violet to the palest lilac, stands
in the front rank this spring. Among
them the newest and most fashionable
is the heliotrope, a reddish shade, which
is exactly that of the heliotrope blos
som when full blown. Other purples
are in grayish-red tints, suggesting rasp
berry cream.
Most of the new spring dresses are
made with a basque bodice and double
skirt. The panier arrangement does
not seem to be gaining muck ground;
some dresses are trimmed about the
hips, but not in a very bouffant manner.
At the back the skirt is always draped
up more or less, but lower than was
formerly the case. If there be but a
single skirt, it is trimmed en tablier in
front, with panels at the sides and some
sort of tournure and drapery at the
back. Combinations of two materials,
one plain, one figured, are still very
fashionable; indeed, very few spring
costumis are made of but one fabric,
and in many of them there are as many
as three or four.
A great many plain skirts are seen of
corduroy or velvet for walking dresses.
Over these the overskirt is simply
draped and is generally of light cloth or
camel's hair, finished with machine
stitching on the edges.
Faahlaa Fact* From the •• Raiar."
A new fabric lias been Introduced for
making archery and yachting costumes,
and also lor under skirts to use as Bal
morals with light dresses. It isccrueot
ton,|tliieker than the heaviest unbleached
muslins that were worn last summer,
and it has Bayadere stripes of the gayest
and richest Colors, such as claret, Marie
IxMiise blue, scarlet, or else three or four
bright colors appear in each stripe. It is
a yard wide, and easts seventy-five cents
a yard. The whole costume may bo
made of the gay striped goods; or else
HN cheese-cloths of last summer, which
are now sold for five cents a yard, will
be used for the over-dress, and the
striped goods for the lower skirt. The
design will be very effective beneath a
Tallien drapery. For Balmoral skirts
the new material will be very useful, as
it is of the same thickness as that of the
wash poplins now used for summer
skirts, and the coloring is prettier than
the somber grays ana browns seen in
those goods.
Hash ends hanging at the left side in
Oriental fashion are in great favor wh n
made of the gay Oriental brocades.or else
the plaid stuffs used for combining
with plain goods. A large rosette is
placed on the left side of the over-skirt
lust below the hips, nnd two ends of the
material, doublet!, hang nearly to the
foot. Sometimes spiked metal ornaments
cap the hanging ends, or else a passe
menterie tassel is used to finish each end.
or if the material used is solt silk, it is
gathered in deep shirring a short dis
tance above the end, and thus a tassel is
formed.
Another feature of the wool suits for
spring is the use of cords and tassels ar
ranged merely as festoons, or passed
around the hi pa with the ends hanging
to the feet directly in front or else on the
left side. These are not used to hold up
drapery, and, indeed, are most often seen
on coats and surtouta that are not
draped; they are especially liked for
cloth costumes.
The trimmings on bonnets follow Uie
brim, and leave the graceful shape of
the crown in full view. This is true at
least of * he clone cottage shapes and the
larger medium-sized shapes with
sc. xiped front or else witli flaring brim;
but the gypsy bonnets, with irregularly
indented brim that is not wired, have
occasionally tritnrainvs on the crowns.
If the soft satin known as Turc satin, as
satin duchesse, and as Menrelileuse is
used for trimming, it is shaped into
many lapped soft folds close around the
line that joins the brim to the crown,
and is finished by one or two rueettes of
four or ft#> loose loons and a strap placed
quite low down on one side. One of the
new long spiked ornament* is then stuck
through this rosette.and indeed through
the bonnet Itself. This spike may ee
gilt or jet. and is in quaint new shapes,
such as the half comb with one long
U-otb worn by Japanese women, instead
of the arrows and darts worn last year.
The hrlm is then cowed with plait lege
of gold lace, or of Laaguedoc, or elm a
border of the tiniest flowers edges it, or
erhaps a cluster of roses, or or poppies,
r of pansies. is massed directly on the
top. The inside facing of the bonnet is
of silk, satin or velvet slightly shirred,
and some of the handsomest bonnets dis
pense with even this, and are made
double of the Tuscan braid, or el*,- lined
with the gold braid. When rilihoti w
used, it is twisted easily around the
crown,and then bangs in string* fin pwli
side, each string being fasten* <1 by an
ornament,such as a tiny spread Japanese
fan of engrnyed giit, or a bulterliy with
pearl-fined wings, or a square brooch
with pink eiirneo setting, or else a round
clasp of *ut jet. Soft satin or brocaded
ribbons are toed for stringy, and are
much wider than those of last year,
measuring three anil a half or £>ur in
ches in breadth. Soft brocaded silk is
also doubled for strings, and there are
many lace strings for cjiip and Tuscan
bonnets, as well as for those made of
lace. The Gobelin figured rib bons are
also stylish for strings.
Hew* and Hole* for Women.
Adelina l'atti gets seven dollars a
minute in opera
A recent evening toilette in New York
was decked with thirty birds.
The ladies of Chicago have three clubs
devoted to literature and philosophy.
Mrs. Lydia Sexton, seventy years of
age, is preaching in Little Rock, Ark.
Women convicts in the Kentucky
penitentiary are dressed in pantaloons.
Donna Frencesea. Garibaldi's new
wife, was the nurse of his grandchil
dren.
The New Yerk woman's exchange
employs four saleswomen and four book
keepers.
Eighty young women are fitting at the
Boston latin school for the Harvard
" annex."
A blind girl has outranked all her
seeing competitors in the Portland, Me.,
high school.
Mead, the sculptor's wife, is a beauti
ful Italian lady *ith whom he could not
at first talk.
Mrs. South worth says she began to
write from necessity, and continued
from the love of it.
Mrs. Alex. Agassiz pays from her own
pocket the most of the expenses of the
Harvard museum of zoology.
A New YorkengTaver got out cards
in these words: "Mr. and Mrs.
request your presents at the marriage of
their daughter."
Sir William Gull savs that drinking
habits ar? not on the increase among
English ladies; but the B:-v. Dr. Nor
man Kerr is of a totally different opinion.
The wife of United States Senator
Walkinson Call, of Florida, is the
youngest of all Senators' wives, and is
said to be the most beautiful. Site was
a Miss Sinking, of So.uth Carolina.
Mrs. Marie L. Ellis, for eighteen years
favorably Jinown as a custom house in
spcctress at New York, died recently,
aged fifty years. It is stated that she
captured more diamonds from women
smugglers than ever were taken from
male smugglers.
The Mormons evade the legal de
cisions against polygamy by secret mar
riages and takin; the new wife borne as
helper or teacher, and the old wives
submit because they religiously believe
it to be their duty.
Mrs. John W. Markay, wile of the
California bonanza king, is solemnly re
ported to have engaged the exclusive
services of one of the most celebrated
| Parisian dressmakers, so that there
might be no duplicates of her gowns.
A young man at Omaha did not wish
j to marry the girl to whom he was en
gaged. but she would not release him
j until he gave her his grocery business
as a recompense. Sbe now runs the
| store, while he works elsewhere on
1 small wages, and the bargain pleases
! both.
The inability of an ingenious woman to
purchase a sealskin sacque led to a very
i original garment. According to an cx
; change she stripped the down of turkey
and other feathers from the quills ana
wove it into a light soft thick cloth,
out of which, when dyed a desirable
hue. a luxurious sacque was fashioned.
Miss Charlotte A. Bcott, of Girton
college, Cambridge, daughter of Rev.
i Principal Scott, of Lancashire Indepen
dent college, has obtained the position
of " equal to the eighth wrangler " in
the Mathematical Tripos at Cambridge.
The highest place hitherto won by any
lndy has been among the senior optimes
—i. second rlass. Miss Scott's
achievement is the most remarkable on
record in the annals of female education
in England.
The Pleasure* or Life In Mt. Petersburg.
A St. Petersburg correspondent of the
ixmdon Time* gives the following illus
trations of affuirsatthe Russian capital:
A military attache of the French em
bassy was dragged before the chief of
police for looking too attentively at the
fortress. The correspondent in calling
on friends in the daytime and early in
the evening has been refused admission
by the dvornik (hall porter) on the
ground that he (the correspondent) did
not live there and so could not go in.
Ht says: Within my own street,
which last night was Illuminated at
every window by command of the police
I witnessed three quarrels with dvornika
who refused to give admission to per
sons wishing to visit Iricndsor relations.
In an adjoining street I saw one arrest
for the same reason. On Sunday there
was a storm of wind and driftipg snow.
The emperor in passing from toe w inter
palace to Uie parade at the riding school
was escorted hv a suite of Cossacks and
followed by one of the district police
masters in a sleigh. Those who saw his
maie Ay's cortege of course removed
their caps. One unfortunate individual
whose sight was impeded by a large
haahlik over his head did not doff his
head-dress. The police master noticed
it and shouted to a policeman to take
him off. The unhappy individual, who
through the blinding snow and sleet had
failed to notice the imperial cavalcade,
protested to that effect, but was never
i holes* dragged off to the police station.
These are a few illustrations of how di
rections, very good in themselves, are
carried out by utterly incompetent sub
ordinates who are incapable of exercis
ing common sense ana discrimination.
The latest instruction to the dvorniks is
that they must not sit at their posts.
The streets at night present the pictures
of groups of big, drowsy houae-por . is,
muffled up in their sbeepekina leaning
against each gateway carefully nursing
the large keys which have turned the
locks on tlie whole town within doors.
As each person passes by they rouse
themselves, each watching him until be
disappears from sight and passes into
the jurisdiction of another watchman.
Blasting In Heosae Tonne).
Generally twelve hole* are drilled, and
these an* filled with large cartridges,
from! cocli of which protrudes a wire.
These wire* are connected with two
othfriwiri'H. about MM) f< rt ionjr, &ttftcti£d
to a " powder k<-g battery." When all
is ready the hands fall rapidly to work
covering up the rails in the vicinity of
the blast, with heavy timber, as some,
time# a large stone will break or bend a
rail, and thus delay train*. This bein"
done, the foreman shouts " fire." and ail
the workmen in the vicinity drop their
tools and retire some three or four hun
dred feet, either way, to a safe distance.
One man stations himself at the battery
to (ire the blast. Suddenly, while yon
are listening for the report, you experi
ence a quick, powerful reefing of pres
suie, which seems to spring away from
you as ouiek as it came, and there fol
lows such a " bangas you never heard
before. You feel as if an attempt had
been made to throw you from your ioct,
and then the air rushes by you in a
rapid succession of waves of roars. It
seems as if the whole mountain above
you were trembling with the echoes,
and you hear the rumble of the report
even after the men have got back to the
scene of the blast. A person can have
no conception of a loud report until he
hears a blast in iloosac tunnel. There
is no chance for the noise to spread, ex- .
ccpt through the long hole, and the ex
planation of the sensations one has there
when a blast is made is easy enough.
Some of the miners themselves dread it,
and cover up their ears before the elec
tric spark is sent. Sometimes a cart
ridge will not explode, and then the
foreman has to draw it. Every time he
does this he takes his life in his hands.
After every blast the track is covered
with broken rock, which is promptly
removed in order not to delay the trains.
A Paper Dome.
There seems no end to the new use
of paper. Trunks, bricks, Pullman car
wheels, chimney flues, carpets, roofs,
buckets, basins, scu.l boats.no longer
excite much astonishment. The Rail
rcxul Gazelle says the paper car Wheels,
in ÜBe since 1876, have proved a success.
They are about forty inches in diameter.
Sixty-six of these wheels were lately
made over new after running an average
of 11.188 miles. Some were still good
after still further running. The price
of one of these wheels, according to Lt
Devoir, is 425 francs, or about $B5.
We have in this country an astronomi
| <-ai tower made of paper. This is at the
j Polytechnic Institute at Troy, N. Y.
The interior diameter of {the revolving
j dome is twenty-nine feet. Made in the
' ordinary manner this dome would weigh
from five to ten tons, while quite exten
sive works to support it and quite im
portant machinery to revolve it would
be necessary. In place of the ordinary
metallic armature, there is a light but
. strong framework of wood. On this
framework the paper rests. By enor
. moos pressure it is reduced to one-sixth
of an inch in thicknegp and made as
hard as the hardest wood. The weight
of this paper dome is not more than one
tc nth that of the ordinary construction.
It is supported by twelve or fifteen cast
iron balls, about six inches in diameter,
all of which revolve in a circular groove
provided for the purpose. These balls
may be regarded as casters, upon which
the vast dome moves with so little
friction that a child's hand could turn it.
The idea of making this dome of paper
first occurred to Professor Dasoome
Greene, of the department pf mathe
matics aid astronomy, by whom it was
suggested to Messrs. E. Waters & Sons,
manufacturers, who are largely engaged
in making paper boats.
Tendencies to Disease
Seventy thousand persons in America
die yearly of consumption alone. Vast
numbers inherit a tendency to rheuma
tism. epilepsy, insanity, cancer, dyspep
sia. headache, neuralgia, asthma or to
early loss of sight or hearing. Probably
some 26.000,000 inherit some constitu
tional defect.
Hitherto little has been done to exlir
fiate these tendenoies. Even when they
lave begun to show themselves, a course
is generally pursued by friends the re
verse of what is needed. Moreover, a
thoughtless squandering of vital reserve
is encouraged by the whole force of our
social usages. Ilence we are degenerat
ing as a people. The birth rate, already
lower in New England than in any
country of Europe, except France, Is
steadily gained on by the death rate.
But there is no inherent difficulty in
the way of extirpating hereditary dis
ease. It may be accomplished by hy
gienic care, such as can he given only
by a medical expert, and such as, when
downright sick, we all resort to.
A physician thus describes the case of
his family: "Consumption on my fath
er's side, ne having lost one, if not two.
sisters by the disease. Mother died of
it in her forty-third year. Six children
were born to them. Ail are alive and
hcaithy, the youngest being past his
fiftieth year. They are all free from any
signs of tuberculosis, as are also thirty
one grandchildren and eleven great
grandchildren."
This is a sample statement of many
that might be given. The same intellir
gent care would generally show simila
results. _____
The Amount of Candy Hade
The amount of candy manufactured in
this country, sayg a New York paper, is
far greater than is usually thought, the
Americans—the women, mainly—eating
more, it is said, than all the rest of the
world combined. New York has, until
recently, made most ol the oandy, hut
now Boston is a large manufacturer.
Within a few years many small houses,
mostly French, have sprung up in New
York, and reduced the price materially.
Boston has three large manufactories,
employing some 300 workmen, and pro
ducing over 4.000 tons of candy annually.
Not more than one-fourth ol this is con
sumed in New England, the remainder
going chiefly to the provinces and the
West. Boston makes, altogether, mors
than 5.000 tons, using something over
25,000 barrels of sugar for the purpose.
New York, it is estimated, makes about
6,500 to 7,000 tons, which goes to all
parts of the Union, a good deal of it be
ing, it is said, ex orted to the West
Indies, South America, and even to Eu
rope. It has been supposed that the
French candies were the beat, but we
now make candy regarded superior to
those. Out side of Bosun, and New York
not much candy is made, though thr
Philadelphia make has considerable
reputation.
Mr. Henry W. longfsllow has been
presented with a uniqoely-bound vol
ume containing the autographs of nearly
all the 890.children who contributed, a
year ago, to the cost of the chair mde
from the wood ol the famous chestnut
tree.