The Portland daily press., 1866-11-24
yARIETIES.

"A line Of steam carriages for common
roads is to be established from Marseilles to
Aubagne, a small town ten miles of. Experi-
ments of the same kind between Nantes and
Paris have proved very successful.
Mrs. Lydia Maria Child is said to be en-
gagged on a novel. The name and character is
not announced.
There is a report that Victor Hugo is writ
ing history of England in the reign of George
Ill, which, as the author notoriously does not
know a word of the English language, will be
at least curiosity. @ t
Emerson is now reading the proof sheets of
new volume of poems which will be issued
before Christmas. 1t is entitled MAY Day
and Other Pieces"
1T is stated that the rebel General Hood
arrived at Cincinnati ON the 10th, and put up
at the Barnet House. When he entered the
refectory to breakfast and saw the patriotic
decorations eff the army of Tennessee banquet
of the preceding night, he lost his appetite and
left the house.
Two veteran soldiers at the Soldiers
Home in Chicago, who had each lost leg in
the service, were going up stairs one evening
last week, and had reached the fourth story,
when one of them lost his balance and fell
over the railing. AS he fell he grasped his
comrade, and both plunged down the whole
distance to the ground floor. Both were seri-
ously injured, but both will probably. recover
The st. Joseph (Mo.) Herald chronicles one
of the peculiar results of the action of the cur
rent of the Missouri river on its banks and on
its sandy bottom. An island has been formed
in the river dirantlv onnoa;ta g. Toaax,h tta
channel running between the island and the
Missouri shore. Although vast bed of sand
over two miles in length, should it withstand
the food next spring, it may soon be covered
with growth of trees. An immense drift has
formed at the upper end, which it is believed
will protect it from the rush of waters, and
make it permanent. The other day two citizens
of st. Joseph passed over to the island, took
possession of it and erected cabin thereon,
which they hold will give them the first claim
TO entry when government places it in the
market.
The Vermont Senate has concurred with
the House in raising the pay of members to
three dollars per day, The pay Of the clerks of
both branches has also been raised.
On the important subject of the fashions
New York letter says: The new style OF short
dresses with diminutive hoops is rapidly COM
ing into vogue This is a great Improvement
ON the long flowing trails, which are ever in
the way and elicit more curses if possible from
the male persuasion than Arnold Johnson's
\ Policy Hats with a heavy bell crown and
broad brim are now all the go with gentlemen,
while tight pants which hung fire during the
SIMMER and earlier weeks of autumn, now
beciu to take Coats with short skirts and
wide rolling lappels, vests single breasted and
with no collars and round toed boots make up
| the fashionable's outfit.
"A Southern paper thinks that the Cohoes
mastodon isn't very much of beast after all.
1t says that gentleman is engaged at this
moment in Nash County, North Carolina on
the banks of Fishing Creek, in unearthing the
remains of monster, probably of the saurian
spocies, which surpasses in size any relic of
the primitive era of the earth's history which
has yet been discovered. He began disengar-
ing the monster from the bank in which IL IL
embedded, several weeks ago, and has already
unearthcd eighty-five feet without coming TO
either extremity!