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SlMitlf (Imiqp W. F. SMITH, Publisher. VOLUME IX. TOPICS OP THE DAT. Cincinnati has an Ingersoll Literary Dramatic Club. Ax.via Louise Cart will sing only in concerts this winter. Indianapolis i* just sixty years old, and not overgrown for its age. Two hundred and nine patents have been to Edison up to date. Queen Victoria lias been in Ireland twelve days, the first time she has been there since 1861. Hrxc* his visit to Stratford-on-Avon, Tennyson is more determined than ever to write for the stage. New York is threatened with a water famine— a case of water everywhere and not a drop to drink. —>• President Arthur knows how to keep a secret. He has entrusted no one with the key to his new Cabinet. David Davis, President pro tern, of the Senate, weighs nearly 400 pounds. He is a big man, indeed. A Wisconsin farmer robbed the grave of his own son and sold the body to a medical college in Chicago. According to reports, all was not har mony at Y'orktowu. Thero seems to be envy fov honors in all things. Louise Michel, tho Parisian Com munist, in her newspaper approves of the assassination of President Garfield. Anna Dickinson is going to play Hamlet in New York on the 2d of Janu ary. Anna is determined to overcome her modesty. We are glad to state there has been no oyster famine. We shall have some thing to eat anyhow, and church festivals will boom as ever. The oldest brother of the late Presi dent., Thomas Gfarfield, is an humble farmer in Ottawa County, Michigan. He is aged fifty-nine years. Dr. J. G. Holland, the poet and writer, who recently died in New York, loaves a wife, two grown daughters, and a son, who is in Yale College. Dr. Parker, of the London Temple, is to deliver a series of five discourses in answer to Colonel Ingersoll’s question, “ What Must I Do to Be Saved ?” Colored women at Anderson, S. C., have formed a union and will not work for less than $6 a month. Whoever vio lates the agreement will be flogged by the others. Over 100,000 Frenchmen have com mitted suicide since the opening of the present oentury. Taking in all the cen turies, and all races, these figures would reach np in the millions. The Crown Prince and Princess of Denmark have come into about £3,000,- 000 by the death of Prince Frederick, of the Netherlands. Is there anything “ rotting in Denmark ?” The rapid advance in wheat suddenly came to a standstill, a thing the grain gamblers was not prepared for, and gambliug in that direction just now can not be said to be flourishing. A contemporary propounds the eon undrum “ Why is not Ireland as happy part of the British Empire as Scot land?” In the language of a six-year old, we would say, “ Because it ain’t.’ It is a lamentable fact that Michigan gave $35,000 more to Chicago at the time of the great fire in that city, thau Chicago has contributed to the burnt out sufferers of Michigan. Chicago should remember a kindness. Thb situation in Ireland is a pro foundly serious one. Rioting and blood shed are of daily occurrence, and unleea there is a change soon, it can but be a question of time when the situation shall merge itself into a civil war. From the autumnal exhibition of paint ings at Liverpool the nude has been rigorously excluded. This is a case morality for once, triumphed over the false notion that vulgarity and art go hand in hand. The Afghan war cost the lives of 99 officers and 1,524 men, besides 111 offi cers and 1,252 men wounded. The various South African wars cost the lives of 172 officers and 3,028 men; 182 offi oers and 1,016 men were wounded. Hr. Wood, at Philadelphia, holds to the theory that diphtheria is not a spe D| tM to Industrial Inttrut, the Piffo ion f Trqth, the Establishment of Justice, and the Preservation of a People’s Government. olttc poison, but a fungus that may be present in the air during health, but in certain diseased conditions take on a distinctly poisonous action. The Cincinnati Qazette suggests that if the money sent to Ireland to help the Iri sh to fight England were used to en able the dissatisfied people to emigrate to the United States, it would do much good. There is plenty of room in this country. There is not room in that country. The Frencli consumption of wheat demands 352,009,000 bushels per annum. The crop this year is 294,000,000 bush* els. Deficit, to be supplied from the United States and Russia, 58,000,000 bushels, costing at present prices SBO,- 000,000. Phis explains the drain upon the bullion in the Bank of Frauoe. As usual, Florida, this year, reports 50,000,000 oranges for market. Those have been the figures lor several years —or is it possible this statement, like some of the humorous paragraphs, springs into existence periodically and goes the rounds of the press. Half a dozen “ associations for the encouragement of matrimony” have taken out articles of incorporation in Indiana. Their object is also for the protection of domes tio felicity. It does look a little as if there was a scarcity of occupation when institutions of this ridiculous character come into existence in such numbers. Queen Victoria doesn’t wear a crim son robe and a gold crown upon her head, not by any means. She takes her daily drives with a black straw bonnet upon her head and a large shawl of small check shepherd’s plaid upon her shoulders. She think’s enough of money to boa poor man’s wife. This is what Talmage has to say con cerning Guiteau: “On the principle that all men, however bad, ought to be prayed for, I have tried for eight Sun days to get myself up to pray for that wretch, but I can’t do it. Perhaps be foro £ho day of his hanging I may grow in grace enough to pray for him, but until then I must leave it to the old ministers who have got so good that they can do anything. ” The Committee of Twenty-eight ap pointed in Boston to consider the feasi bility of holding the World’s Fair at the Hub in 1885, reported favorably upon the mattor, but to make the exhi bition a success, the committee are of opinion that the city of Boston will be required to subscribe $5,000,000. If it wasn’t for the money part of it, Boston would no doubt pun through all right with the arrangements, but we are a lit tle afraid that $5,000,000 business will hill it. There is a paper published in uoio rado called Solid Muldoon. In a re cent issue the editor makes the following somnariflon : lt Brick ” Pomeroy came to Colorado two years ago with one wife and three hundred dollars—to-day he is worth quarter of a million. Three years ago the editor of this paper struck Colo rado with one pointer dog and the dys pepsia—to-day—well, to this day, we never did or could find out what in become of that dog. The recent eruption of the great volcano of Mauna Loa, on the Islaud of Hawaii, has been watched with peculiar interest by the inhabitants of the town of Hilo. The lava flood has for nine months past been approaching the village and threatened its destruction, and the tilling up of the beautiful bay upou tbe borders of which it is built. But half a mile away the stream of fire ceased its flow, and the lava cooled and hardened, the volcano was at rest, and the village was saved. The hatred entertained by the Bohe mians for the Germans is shovn strik iugly by the recent experience of a Viennese merchant who was traveling through a part of the Bohemian terri tory, and put up with some friends at a tavern kept by a village official. Upon their asking in German for dinner the innkeeper’s wife replied: “In this inn no German is served with food. Not even a drink of water would be granted to one of that nation.” And the hungry travelers were compelled to seek enter tainment elsewhere. Fifteen years ago James B. Orman, of Pueblo, went to Colorado a poor boy. To-day he employs 3,000 men, and owns and works 2,000 head of mules and horses. While this is true of Mr. Or man, there are hundreds of men who *have gone to Colorado and other portions of the West with a few hundred dollars in their pocket and subsequently beat their way back on frieght trains. There are any number of oases iu almost any State, of men, rioh to-day, who, niteen years ago, were poor. Mon who go West INDIAN SPRINGS, GEORGIA. expecting to find money lying around loose, are generally disappointed. Coroner Rendio, of Cincinnati, is charged by the Cincinnati Commercial and Oanette with hastening the death of Mrs. Andrew Van Bibber, who was acci dentally shot by tier husband recently under the impression she was a burglar. Rendig held an ante-mortem examina tion, during which time the patient’s pulse ran up from 110 to 160 beats per minute and her death ensued upon the same day. Her physician is of opinion that her death was inevitable, but that had it not been for the excitement con sequent upon an ante-mortem examina tion she might have possibly lingered many days. A case was recently tried in Paris which seems to correspond very closely with that for which Guiteau has been arraigned. Lucien Morrisset, a young man aged twenty-three, of considerable education and refinement, was charged with the murder of M. Larmier, a rail way official. Morrisset had no grievanoe whatever against Darmeir, but he had long cherished a deep-rooted hatred against society. Convinced that society was rotten and unjust, and smarting un der disappointment and failure in litera ture, Morrisset determined to give free vent to his perverted instincts. He be gan by robbing hi3 employer, and when he tvas detected he resolved to distin guish himself as a murderer. He had previously attempted suicide. One day last .June he procured a revolver, loaded it, and, walking out in the street he cooly shot down M. Darmier. The medi cal experts, after a careful examination, pronounced him sane, but * * morally nelf-nerverterl.” and he was sentenced to death. “ Morally self-perverted” seems to apply well to Guiteau. Her Gratitude. Coming down Michigan avenue a lady in a well-filled car saw a woman dashing across a vacant lot at the corner of Twelfth street, and whirling her parasol in a vain endeavor to catch the eye of the car driver. The lady immediately arose and pulled the strap. The moment this was done the woman checked down her speed and walked slower thau a boy going home after playing truant. As she reached the oar she deliberately lowered her parasol, looked back down Twelfth street, and slowly entered. The lady, meantime, had been squeez ing along to make room for the new comer. That individual looked up and down both sides of the car with a git-up and-give-me-a-seat expression, looked at the space provided for her with a sneer, took a step toward it, then stopped, as if she would say: “Sit along further. There isn’t room enough for me !” and then flopped herself into the space, thrusting her parasol, which she carried in the hollow of her left arm, into her benefactor’s face, turned and slowly, de liberately and superciliously looked at the lady’s hat, her ear ornaments, her dress, and then turned from her with “ You’re a nobody ” expression of coun tenance, and commenced taking a mental inventory of all the hats and dresses in the car. Not one word of thanks to the la !y who liad stopped the car, aud crowded along to give her a seat; only an insulting stare, that, in a man, would put them in danger of being caught by the nape of the neck and thrown into the street. —Detroit Free Press. The Incisors of the Horse. The incisors of the horse, once worn down or lost, are gone forever, but in many species a provision exists by which the wear and tear of mastication is com pensated by the perpetual growth of certain members of the dental series. This very convenient arrangement ex ists in all the rodents, or gnawers, an order of which the beaver, the rat and the rabbit are familiar examples, and also in the elephant, the walrus, wild boar, etc. The incisors of the rodents are the seat of this perpetual growth, and any one who will take the trouble to examine the skull of a rabbit will at once see how admirably theyare adapt ed to the animal wants. They are of curved shape, and occupy sockets ex tending to the back part of both jaws, the upper pair describing a larger part of a smaller circle, and the lower ones a smaller part of a larger circle. Each tooth consists of a solid column of den tine, with a plate of enamel in its outer surface, ana, consequently, diminshes in hardness from front to back. The constant wear produced by the continual collision of the opposing surfaces forms an oblique chisel-like surface, sloping from the hard enamel of the front to the softer dentine of the back part of the tooth. As these teeth are perpetually growing, they require constant exer cise to keep their growth within due bounds, and the rat and others of this most mischievous family might assign, as an excuse for their ravages, the ne cessity of finding constant employment for their front teeth. —All the Year Round. The spot where Stonewall Jackson fell is marked by a rough block of white flint quarried in the Wilderness. It stands 3 feet 8 inches high and is 2 feet 10 inches in breadth. Its surface showß dents and scars, where the pilgrims have scaled bits of it as relics ; and all around are smaller pieces of hard rock that have been used as hammers with which to crack it. Tree* with History. In one grove in California are 1,380 trees none measuring less than six feet in diameter. A magnificent white oak stands in the Quaker burying ground in Salem, N. J. It is more than 200 years old, and is re markable for its amplitude of shape. In one direction its branches have a spread of 112 feet. The tallest trees in the world are in Australia. A fallen tree in Gippsland measured 435 feet from the root to the highest point of the branches. Another standing in the Dunenong district in Victoria is estimated to be 400 feet from the ground to the top. The largest chestnut tree in the conn in’ is growing on the farm of Merkie, at Berks, Pa., and is nearly forty feet in circumference at the base. The top of the tree is reached without danger by steps that are fastened between the liinbs. it is estimated that this tree contains about seventeen cords of wood. It still yields about three bushels of chestnuts annually. A russet apple tree m SkowbeganMe., was planted m 1762. Til its branches a playhouse for children has been built for a half a century or more. The tree is seven feet from the ground to the branches, five in number, all of which are very large and average thirty-five feet in length, covering a space of ground sixty-three feet in diameter. It is more than four and one-half feet in diameter, and has yielded an average of thirty bushels of apples each year. 4 sprout from this apple tree stands thirty two feet from the parent stem, but iB forty-eight years younger. Give the Boy* a Chance. Don’t keep the boys in bondage be cause they are not twent?~one years old. Give them a trial. Let them have a chance to struggle with the affairs of the world, if nothing more than to send them to town with a small load of wood or wheat. Let them buy and sell in various ways, then when they are twenty-one it will come natural to them to do business. I have known professing Christians to raise children and not one of the children would care a fig for Christianity. Why? Because we are not all of Israel that are in Israel. Sometimes children grow up without knowing the ten commandments, neither can they repeat the Lord’s prayer. I have never yet seen the gambler who had confidence enough in his pro fession to teach it to his children, and so it is 'with some people, tfiey have not faith enough in their religion to teach it to their children. Teach them to love good associates. Love commences at home. I never saw a man who would abuse his mother, but would abuse his wife also, if he were lucky to get one; and so it is with a young woman. I like to see those who respect and obey their parents. I believe this is one of the highest commandments, and one of the first to be obeyed.—Corres pondence Household. Mexican Coinage. We are indebted to an invaluable publication upon the history of the coin age of the mints of Mexico, in the columns of El Minero Mexicana, for the facts which we have tabulated below to show the amount of gold and silver thus coined during the five years ended 30th June, 1879: 80 June. Gold. Silver. Total. 1875 *862,619 00 *l9 386,958 50 *20,249,677 50 1876 809,401 50 19,454,054 00 20,263,455 50 1877 695,750 00 21,415,128 50 22,110,878 50 1878 ... 691,998 00 22,084,203 50 22,776,201 50 1979 658,206 00 22,162,987 65 22,821 193 65 T0ta15...53,717,974 60 1104,603,332 15 *107,221,306 65 During the same period the money value of the total copper coinage was $11,906,604, or more than tnree times greater than the value of the gold coined during the same half decade—the total coinage for the period being $119,127,- 910. Of this amount it is to be noted 87$ per cent, were of silver, ten per cent, in copper, and but two and a half per cent, in gold. It is this last fact which we commend to the consideration of capitalists upon the eve of embarking in Mexican gold mining ventures with the expectation of finding there the greatest gold mines in the world, upon the speci ous statements of unscrupulous specula tors and their venal scribblers of tbe press. —Mining Record. Alexander’s Night Thoughts, “ Saltokoff Skupschirofsky, ” said the Czar to the Captain of the guard, “have the guards been doubled at the palace gate?” “They have, my liege,” re sponded S. S., “and the man with the telescope sweeps the horizon, so that not even a solitary horseman can approach thy imperial dwelling.” “And the light ning-rod man?” “He sleeps beneath the Neva, so please your majesty.” “ The man for subscriptions to the Life of Sergeant Bates?” “He speeds to Siberia on a special train.” “ And the ladder and tree protector men ?” “Ask of the vipers in the palace dungeons.” “ The man who continues at this late day to sav, ‘what, never?’” “Thy imperial headsman wears his watch chain.” “Tis well. Telegraph to Europe that another conspiracy has been baffled, keep the gum-drop and corn-ball bovs. who spread sedition on the rail road trains, under thy vigilant eye, and may St. Isaac of Knownow bless thee. ” And the Czar, putting on his cast-iron night-shirt, retired to his princely couch. —Boston Transcript The passion for feasting increased so much in England in the fourteenth cen tury that when Lionel, son of Edward 111., was married, there were thirty courses, and the fragments of the table fed 1,000 people. The Boston Transcript remarks that a man with an impediment in his speech never speaks well of anybody. Letters of Introduction. Among the innumerable bores which afflict the monde ou l' on a'iennuie, one of the most wearisome is the letter of introduction. It is a species of black mail levied on good nature, which only persons of exceptional resolution, or equally fortunate rudeness, can ever successfully resist; a social letter of credit based upon a bank account of mutual kindliness, which may have been long since overdrawn, or which, per haps, never existed save in the imrnagi nation of the writer. Americans are said to be especially given to this de plorable and exasperating weakness, and the steamers which are daily bearing the flower of our fashion to European oh or os are no doubt loaded with those importu nate missives. A man, indeed, can scarcely take a flying trip to a neighbor ing town without deeming it necessary to fortify himself with half a dozen or more of these passports ; or, even if his good sense rejects the notion, he is sure to have them thrust upon him by officious lriends. And in the latter case it is vain for him to attempt to suppress the hate ful documents. He is in the situation of the man who holds the wolf by the ears, neither daring to keep him nor to let him go. The donors will be sure to make inquiry as to their presentation, aud woe to the recipient if he lias failed to do so. Even those to whom letters of introduc tion are the greatest of bores w ould be the first to feel slighted by their non delivery ; so he is forced into the embar rassing position of thrusting himself upon the good will of a stranger who cares nothiug about him and w ho, under liis awkward smile of affected welcome, is secretly wishing him at Jericho. Of all the painful shams that make up the tragical comedy of social life, this is one of the most irksome and humiliating. It would he difficult to decide which is the greatest sufferer by the letter of introduction—the writer, the recipient, or the person to whom it is addressed. The first is put in the absurd position of having to praise a man to his face, for, as the letter is delivered unsealed, its perfunctory eulogies are of course tanta mount to that; worse still, if, having to praise him, the qualities which both of them know he does not possess, are dilated upon. And the recipient, by presenting the letter, virtually adopts and indorses its sentiments and thus appears to his new acquaintance in the position of a man vociferously blowing his own trumpet and calling attention to his good parts with the simple candor of •the noble red man who thumps his breast at the council fire and says, “ Wah ! me big brave!” The man who has a stranger thus forced suddenly upon his hospitality has perhaps the most substantial grievance. For, unless he be endowed with unusual firmness of character which will permit him to shake hands cordially with his unbidden visitor and then politely show him the door, he feels it incumbent to put himself out in some way to do him honor. He must get up a dinner or a breakfast for him, or if she be of the more troublesome sex, a ball; he must neglect his business to constitute himself a guide for her sight-seeing; he must in one way or another make himself thoroughly un comfortable for the sake of this unde sired and perhaps undesirable guest. Under the most favorable circumstances he cannot stifle a certain sense of being put upon; our friend’s friends, we all know, are seldom ours, and in nine cases out of ten he will not have even the ordinary reward of gratitude, for on the one side as on the other the attentions thus paid are felt to lack spontaneity and are, in reality, a forced levy. —The Hour. Packing a Trunk. Most people dislike to pack a trunk, and to do it well is something of an art. It should never be done in a hurry. You should first get everything together which is to be packed, and then go quiet ly and systematically to work. Very large trunks are an abomination over which expressmen groan and swear, not altogether without reason. Still, small ones are inconvenient, except for short journeys, and multiply expense, as the expressage is for each piece, be it Sara toga trunk or a small valise, without re gard to size. But, whatever the size of the trunk, it should be filled, or at least packed full enough to prevent the con tents from tossing about. If you are compelled to take a trunk which is too large for what you need to pack in it, fill it with crumpled paper, rather than leave it half empty. Owing to the rough usage which baggage always receives, unless the trunk is closely packed the contents will be literally churned up and down, and the clothes which you have carefully folded will be tumbled to a de gree, even if nothing worse comes to them. For a long journey it is well to cord trunks. Rope is better than strap, because it goes both ways. Nothing heavy, like boots, etc., should ever be Eut in the top of a trunk, since the more eavily it is weighted the more likely the hinges are to break. Dresses should be carefully folded, with the flounces laid smooth and drawing-strings let out, the waist folded but once, the wrong side out, with the sleeves laid over the back and the fronts over all. Then, if absolutely necessary, the basque may be folded again down the middle seam of the back, but never across. Polish women are very beautiful. Perhaps, as a race, they are the most beautiful women in the world. Bayard Taylor declares that he saw more hand some faces in Warsaw in an hour at the races than he saw in all the rest of Europe in two years. There are 16,000 oysteimen in Vir ginia. SUBSCRIPTION-'tl.BS. NUMBER 11 FACTS FOR THE CURIOUS. The roes of various kinds of fish con tain from about 30,000 to over 8,686,00® pggs. The lion’s teeth seem formed rather lor destruction than for the chewing of his food. A four-fingered monkey, in its na tive state, has been seen to go down to the edge of a stream, rinse its mouth and then clean its teeth with ons of its fingers. In Bavaria medical men are shorter lived than any other class. Out of eve ry 100 individuals, 53 Protestant clergy men, 41 professors, 39 lawyers or mag istrates. 34 Catholic priests, but only 26 doctors reach tUe age of 00. The octopus has a gland whioh se cretes an inky fluid, and this he squirts out, making * a thick, dark cloud behind him which bailies his pursuer at the same time that it helps himself to dart away. Mr. Darwin asserts that the oo topus often takes deliberate aim at an enemy when it squirts out this unpleas ant fountain. Ostriches, when the full number of eggs has been laid, invariably place one of them outside the nest —the nest con sisting naturally of a hollow scooped out of the land by the action of the wings and legs of the birds. It has been found that -these eggs are reserved as food for the chicks, which are often reared in a natural stall, miles away from a blade of grass or other food. The periwinkle has 600 rows of teeth, three in a row, growing on a long strap, like pins in a cushion. This strap, often two inches long, closes the edges togefndr at the back of the mouth so as to wrap over the rough points, and is then rolled up into a coil and stowed uwav in a fold of the neck. As the front teeth wear away, this strap comes grad ually forward on the floor of the mouth, the "new teeth grow up and are sharp ened ready for use. Paper rots under the influence of moisture until it is reduced to a white decay which crumbles into powder when handled. Damp attacks both the inside and outside of books. The mold spots which are so often seen upon the edges of leaves and upon the sides of the bind ing under a microscope are seen to be miniature forests of lovely trees, covered with a beautiful white foliage. “They are upas trees,” says a bibliophile, “whose roots are imbedded in the leath er anti destroy its texture.” The thirty-three navigable rivers of the Mississippi system comprise 14,000 miles of navigable waters, intersecting or bordering on eighteen States and two Territories. The extent of territory subject to overflow was, in 1874, esti mated to be 41,193 square miles, an area as great as the combined areas of New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Rhode Island and New Jersey, and much more productive under proper condi tions. Up to the year 1878 Congress had made for the improvement of the Mississippi river and its various tribu taries about 200 appropriations, amount ing in all to the sum of $18,500,000. A thousand wonders in nature are lost to the human eye, and only revealed to us through the micro 3Cope. Think of dividing a single spider’s web into a thousand strands, or counting the arter ies and nerves in the wing of a gossamer moth. Yet, by the aid of the powerful lens of a microscope, it is found there are more than 4,000 muscles in a cater pillar. The eye of a drone contains 14,- 000 mirrors, and the body of every spi der is furnished with four little lumps, pierced with tiny holes, from each of which issues a single thread; and when a thousand of these from each lump are joined together, they make the silk line of which the spider spins its web, and which we call a spider’s thread. Spi ders have been seen as small as a grain of sand, and these spin a thread so fine that it takes 4,000 of them, put together, to equal in size a single hair. Lessons in Words. An explanation of the derivation of words will give a pupil an insight into their history, and he will comprehend tlieir use and power. “ Sierra ” means a “ sawhence the use of the terms Sierra Nevada, Sierra Morena, for the mountains look like great saws turned np to the heavens. “ Frank ” comes from a nation that possessed Gaul. They were distin guished from the Gauls by their love of freedom, their scorn of a lie. So marked was this national trait that it was applied to denote moral distinc tions. “Slave" was once a noble word, meaning “ glory.” It was significant of freedom. But the slaves (or Schlaves, as once spelled) became cap tives to the Teutonic race, and so a “Slave ” was synonymous with one who was subject to another. “ Turkey” is applied to a fowl that originated in this country, but it was supposed by the common people to have come from Turkey. “Daisy,” Chaucer tells us, means “ day’s eye”—eye of day. The sun had this title first, but those who saw the daisy saw a likeness to the sun —the white flowerets resembling the rays—hence the name. “ Knave ” meant originally only “ lad ” and it now means that in Ger many, but so many lads were bad that it got to have a bad significance. “ Villain ” meant a man who worked on a villa or farm; but so many of them had rough, hard natures that it took a low signification. “Silly” in the old English means “blessed.” Our early poets use the word to show haimlessness. The “ silly sheep ”is very common. But how the word has changed I— School Journal,