The Stourbridge Observer, Cradley Heath, Halesowen & District Chronicle.
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1880-04-24 00:00:00

SAND SHOWERS IN SICILY.

It is related by credible witnesses that on the 31st ,of
la :t month, and again on the 10th inst., the island of
Sicily was visited with a phenomenon which is now
beginning to be spoken of once more after !, 3on-
siderable interval. It is declared upon evidence
which cannot be ignored that on both these dates
showers of sand fell from the sky, and that the
particles of which they were composed could not
possibly have come from the crater of Mount Etna;
first, because that volcano is in a state of complete
quiescence, and secondly, because their chemical
composition is altogether different from that of the
volcanic mountain and its subterranean contents•
The sand, collected at Catana after these downfalls
contained a considerable quantity of iron partly in a.
natural state and partly covered with coatings of
oxyde ; and in this respect it resembled the sand,
which which historians record as having fallen in the
time of Cra,ssus, and again on several occasions in the
Middle Ages. In the year 1803 a sand shower fell at
Aigle in Normandy, and gave rise to a large amount of
discussion amongst the French chemists and men of
science who were then assiduously prosecuting their
'researches and speculatioas. One section of them
then maintained that. the sand was discharged from
the clouds after having been lodged in the upper air
by the effort of a strong wind which had lifted it from
the sea shore; and it was, of course, easy to appeal
for confirmation of this theory to the great sand-
blasts of the Assyrian deserts. The opposing. faction
disputed the possibility of this meteorological process,
and argued that the speiCfic i
gravity of the sand was
too great to allow it to remain n a state of suspen-
sion in the upper air, except for the short space of
time during which it was actually kept there by the
forcible action of the wind. They relied, moreover,
upon the fact, whether real or supposed, that the sand
which fell from the skies was altogether different in
its composition from that found on the sea shore.
Since the beginning of the century sand showers have
not been at all of frequent occurrence, and even when
reported have been discredited by most people. The
recent phenomena in Sicily will again attract attention
to the subject, and,perhaps provide new arguments for
the supporters of the two opposite doctrines.—Glok.

CUTTINGS FROM AMERICAN PAPERS.

The story is told at Williamsport, Pa., of a young
man who went to the. Black Hills to seek his fortune, and.
wrote back to his father that he had done well, but added :
"I will be home on Wednesday evening. Meet me at dark,
just out of tlivn, and bring a blanket or a whole pair of
trouserc with you. I have a hat."

orMerly. one sermon converted 3,000 sinners,"
said an elder so a sermon recently; "now it takes 3,000
sermons to convert one sinner." -
In an Indiana church the best-looking young ladies
are selected to pass the contribution boxes. The idea is not
patented for Bngland, and can be adopted free of charge.
"I never can enjoy poetry when I'm cookin'," said
an old lady "but when I step out to feed the hogs, and h'ist
myself on the fence and throw myself into a few lines of
Cap'n Jinks, it does seem as if this airth was made to live on
after all."
An Ohio paper contains an advertisement of an
enterprising tradesman, who, at the end of the notice, an-
nounces :—" Ministers supplied with goods at cost price, if
they agree to mention the fact to their congregaitni
jotno snake s.'s'n
a
Lebanon, Maine, is proud of possessing the stupi-
dest man in the United States. lie is a farm hand, and was
engaged to plough a ten-acre lot. Wishing h
straight furrow, his employer directed his attention to a cow
grazing right opposite, telling him to drive directly towards
that cow, lie started his horses, mad his employer's atten-
tion was 'drawn to something else ; but in a short time, on
looking round, he found that the cow had left her place,
while the sagacious ploughman was following her, drawing a
zigzag furrow all over the field.
Strange there are men occupying high positions in
business and society in this city, not knowing how to read.
This remark is suggested by seeing the number of intelli-
gent-looking mess unable to. decipher the mystic legend,
"Please shut the door."

A lawyer in one of the Western courts lately threw
a cane at another's head. The court required him to
apologise to it. He did so, and added, "While lam about
it, I may as well apologise beforehand for throwing another
cane at him the first chance I get."

They have a phenomenon in Kansas who can
whistle and laugh at the same time. They are quite proud
of him as the first development of musical genius in that
region. He has been giving concerts in a tent, and the door-
keeper shoots everybody who stands outside trying to hear
the show for nothing.

A court in Richmond, Va., has chartered a coloured
society known as "The Sons and Daughters, Brothers and
Sisters, Cousins and Aunts of Moses." It iran active rival of
"The United Order of the Sons and Daughters of the Four
and-Twenty Elders."

M. Baudry d'Asson, the Legitimist Deputy for, the
Vend6e, and one of the best riders in France, has accom-
plished a remarkable feat of horsemanship at the Concours
Hippique in Paris. He had wagered to jump his horse in
ten minutes over 100 hurdles N centimetres or 21t. 7in.
placed three yards apart, without breaking or knocking
down more than twenty out of the hundred. 51. Baudry
cl'AAon gucteeded bend e oteagn, tAishins his ta§k in a
little °Vet nine inieuttig wi utlg a single hurdle.