The Portland daily press., 1867-10-15
Varieties.

"A new book Of high rank, Essays on q
Liberal Education, edited by Rev. Il. w. Far
rar, M. A, F. r. S."-annOunced for speedy
publication in England be republished
in Boston simultaneously with its appearance
in London. 1t is a collection of essays by lead
ing English professors, among them Professor
Seeley, the author of ''Ecce Homo"
The author OF Emily Chester" will soon
APPEAR in a new novel entitled Opportunity"
Mrs. Stoves new novel, "Old-Town Folks"
although announced for the fall trade, will not
be published until next spring.
"A writer in the Watehman and Reflector.
speaking of Roger Williams says, at is now
236 years since he became pastor of the First
Church in Salem, and the interesting fact is,
that the meeting house in which he there
preached, is still standing, and may be VISITED
in that city,
Among articles exhibited at the Paris Ex-
position was model in silver of a railway To-
comotiye, with tender attached. The locomo-
tive contains whiskey, the tender hot water;
sugar takes the place OF ceal upon the tender,
and the stoker is converted into silver sugar
tongs.
The I'D volume of the Correspondence OF
Napoleon l., covering the last nine months of
the year 1871 the most brilliant and critical
period of the empire,-has just been Issued.
The Boston Advertisers London cores
pondent says the Roman Catholic party in
that city are industriously circulating report
that Mr.. III. w. Longfellow has entered the
Roman Church. Their authority for the state
ment is apparently nothing but letter from
the poet to a well known zealot of Rome, Mr.
ID. Il. Mccarthy, praising recent literary pro-
duction OF that gentleman's, lle having sent n
copy OF the book to MIR. Lougfelow.
A meteorograph has been invented in TIA
ly. 1t is an automatic register of changes in
the weather of all kinds, and the sheets upon
which the record is thus made, bound into
volumes, will add greatly to the material on
which the science of meteorology is based. 1t
will also render it easier to make observations,
increase the number of stations, and in every
way advances this too little known science.
"A Frenchman once described the English
as people with fifty religions and but one
sauce" melted butter. Since his day the
English have gone ahead in both departments.
Creeds and sauces abound
Oliver Ditson s. Co. are the largest pub
fishers of music in the country. They now
publish, on AN average, from fifty to seventy
five pieces of sheet music = vocal and instru-
mental-a month.
1t has been calculated that Paris consumes
trufies to the amount of thirty-iive million
francs yearly. Whereupon an English writer
speeulates as TO what is the probable amount
of doctors fees paid to annihlate the effects of
this vast quantity of indlgestible food?
The British War Office has given another
instance ofits efficiency and activity by sending
four officers TO Constantinople to purchase
mules for the Abyssinian expedition. Now this
would have been very well if the capital of
Turkey had been a mule market but in point
of fact there are no mules in Constantinople,
except a few old Italian and Spanish animals,
-none less than fourteen years DID, left be-
hind by the British army after the Crimean
war. SO the officers have been left at a stand
still and have sent home for instructions.
We see in the English journals extracts
from Dante and Shakespeare brought forward
to show that those poets anticipated Newton
in his great discovery. The extracts simply
show that Dante and Shakespeare knew what
all educated men of their times knew New
ton did not discover the fact of gravitation, but
the laio. That law is this, that bodies attract
each other, directly as the mass, and inyersely
as the square of the distance. This, the great
est of all discoveries in science, can be found
in no philosopher, poet or man Of science, be-
fore Newton. t.,.t.r
There has been a remarkably bountiful
grape crop in the United States this year. The
vineyards are heavy with their rich clusters,
and some new and superb varieties have OBJ
tanned an unexpected success. If now, re-
marks the New York Times, some skillful dis
coverer would draw from variety of the
American grape really good, palatabe, cheap
light wine, he would render a service to his
countrymen, and to public health, morals and
temperance, which would insure him fortune
and fame.
The Paris Guide calls the gay French cap
ital the "pivotal' city ON which the world
turns. What is this but bold usurpation of
the honor OF being "the hub of the universe"
"a position hitherto held by Boston, as every
body knows? ..
About one of Rembrandt's etchings we
have amusing story. He had gone to spend
day with his great friend, Jan Six, burgo-
master OF Amsterdam. AS they were sttins
down to dinner it was found that the servant
had forgotten to provide any mustard. He
sent off at once to the village close by;
but Rembrandt, knowing that the fayorite
maxim of the Dutch servants was "much haste.
little speed" laid wager with the burgomas-
ter that he would etch the view from the din
ing room window before the servant returned
He took up plate, tried his etching point up
on it, sketched the view and won his bet The
engraving is very rare one. Baron Yer
stolbe's impression sold for Gl7 1Os, but he
would be fortunate who could secure good
impression at that price now.
"A member of a Pittsburg militia company
has received, by accident, from the S'a'e 'he
same gun which he carried for three years,
during the war, and finally left at petersburg,
Virginia.
A heavy cloud recently passed over Macon,
ceorgia in an otherwise clear sky, at such
r,te that from its first appearance ON the east
arm horizon to its disappearance in the north
west was not more than three minutes. 1t
was densely black except ut the edges, which
were lighted by the moon. 1t was accompani-
e'l by roaring sound of wind, and the air for
a moment grew cold, though the foliage hard
ly rusted in the lower air.
1t seems to be big statement, but it is
maue Dy Journai Oh tiiat ci'y, '"'s Nc" UT
leans has had 10000 eases OF yellow fever, this
season.
The following paragraph in reference to
Mrs Thomas Carlyle is circulating extensive
" among our exchanges: "MIs. CARLYLE is
said to be pleasant, lively creature, with
beautiful eyes and handsome fingers She is
well educated, and is fond OF elegant dresses"
This is yery pleasant gossip undoubtedly for
such as like it; only unfortunately Mrs. Car
lyle has been dead something like two years.
The editor who seissored the above from the
letter of a German traveller forgot 20 look ~
the date of the communication. Don't we
have almost too much of this kind fthngY
-Hekla is "eruptng" and on so extensive
d, ,,,l, tha. men are almost suif0eating by its
smoke at the distance of forty leagues.