Alexandria gazette. [volume] (Alexandria, D.C.) 1834-1974, 1859-12-23
Foreign Items.

Whole columns of announcements Of new
books appear every morning in the London
newspapers. Among them we notice the
following: A new Life Of the Duke Of Wei
lington, by c. ID. Young, in volumes, Svo.
A new Sentimental Journey. by Z. A. Col
Inns. Tales from Moliere's Plays by ID. b.
Lennard. The West Indies and the Span
ish Main. by Anthony Trollope. The Kel-
lys aud the O'Eellys', by the same author.
Tuscany in 40 aud SO. by Thomas A. Troll
lope. Northumberland aud the Border, by
W. White. Tobacco; its History, &c, by +.
w. Fairholt, with one hundred illustrations
The Destines aud Perls Of the Church, by
the Rev. +. B. Elliot Narrative of the
Earl Of Elgin's Mission T. China and ia
pan, by l.. Oliphant. private secretary to
Lord Eigin. Lectures on Corinthians,
BY Rev. +. Robinson. The Life of James
Watt. by DR.. Smile. Liberty Hall Oxon,
by w. w. Reade. This is novel OF Col
lege life, like Tom Browne at Oxford. Be-
fore the Dawn, by Miss Crichton intended
to illustrate the condition of the people of
Italy previously to the recent struggle. A
Manchester Review. on the plan of the Lon
don Saturday Review" is also announced.
The Birds Nests which have been recent
ly introduced as an article of consumption
into Paris, as q general thing. are nothing
more than fsh-glue, although the genuine
nests can be purchased for about so per
hundred weight in the crude state. Tho
chemist. MIR. Payen, on submitting the Chi
nese moss ur slga OF Java to chemical anal
ysis, obtained clear gelatine, far preferable
To that obtained from fish. Comparing is
with the Chinese birds nests, he found that
the swallows which make these nests must
make use Of this alga, working over its gea-
tinous matter Us our swallows do in plaster
ing up their nests The birds nest gelatine
can now be made directly from the alga ut u
greatly reduced cost.
There lately died in France an author by
the name Of Borel, who once sent to the
Chamber of Deputies. under Louis Philippe,
petition ~ the effect that in view of the
fact that great number Of persons, to the
great scandal Of the public, persisted in
killing themselves awkwsrdly in public
places the Place de la Concorde should be
arranged every Sunday as sort of circus,
with a scaffold in the centre, where every
lege Of guillotining himself properly and dc.
Gently. Government was to reap harvest
from the arrangement by charging an ad-
mission fee to spectators.
NJ. Babinet, Of the Paris Observatory, has
advanced before the Aoade my of Sciences
the singular proposition that in all rivers left
TO themselves. it is the invariably the right
bank that is washed by hoods-that is to
say, it is the right bank which suffers the most
friction and the most destruction. lie ex-
plains this by the direction and force Of the
earth's rotation. His CONTRADICTIONS at the
Academy admit that this may be true of
rivers running north and south, but they
deny the principle for those which run
east aud west. in the direction Of the
earth's rotation. NJ. Babinet contends that
even here the friction Of the right bank is
slightly greater than that of the left.
A discussion has been raised in one of
the English papers as to whether DR.. Frank
lin was or was not, an inidel. Any doubt
of the sincere religious belief OF the great
American Philosopher exposes most unpar-
donable ignorance. DIR. Franklin was the
mover, in q speech on record, of n resolu-
ton before the National Convention, for
framing the Confederation, that it's daily de-
liberations should be preceded by prayers
implorng the assistance of Heaven. In a
speech on the occasion, he stated most clear
" his reliance on the teachings OF the Sa-
cred Volume for his future salvation.
Divers are hard at work raising the yalu-
able portion Of the cargo Of the Royal Char
ter, lost on the coast OF England. They had
ut the latest advices, raised a considerable
number Of boxes aud bales, and several in
gots of gold The vessel had on board
quite u large amount of specie.