The evening telegraph. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1864-1918, 1868-11-17

prising rivals have discovered aud acquired
since they crossed the Arctic Circle in July last.
The most famous of the "Saracen's
Heads" which was once common sign in
London, has now disappeared The old house
and yard on Snow Hill, which Tareton aud
Stowe have alike noted, can no longer be even
traced. The other famous house, in Friday
street (Sir Christopher Wren's), was taken
down in 1874. Many of us may remember
the grim twin heads at the gate, the huge
| head at the bottom Of the yard, and the
small likeness of the terrible Saracen
that was emblazoned on all the stage coaches
that took their departure from or "put up" at
this inn. In what year the Saracen first glsred
over Snow Hill is not known. Some say he
was first set up in the city out of compliment
! to Thomas Beckett's maternal grandfather,
who was popularly said to have been Sara
cen. Others take the sign as being in memory
! of the crusades. OF its antiquity there is no
! doubt. AT the Chelmsford Assizes, nearly
| forty years ago, the Lord Chief Baron found,
by an ancient deed, that the "Black Boy'
! there had been the Black Boy ever since the
| reign of Edward the Second, In London, the
ancient inns are nearly all gone. The year
after the Saracen's Head in Friday street was
demolished, the renowned Swan with Two
Necks disappeared, and Lad Lane with it. 1t
was in the yard of this inn that Sydney Morgan,
on first reaching London, sat down on her
! little trunk, bewildered as to what she was to
do next, and fell last asleep in the midst OF her
disturbed thinking.
In a recent number of Once Week is an
account of a talking canary bird at Berlin,
| which articulates "Wo bist du, mein liebes
Maetzekin 2" This phenomenon, it is stated,
has raised "perfect storm of excitement" at
! the OrnithOlogical Society of Berlin. A CORES
pondent, who is well known to us, writes
that he is rather astonished at talking
| canary bird being such a wonder, but that
perhaps he is biassed by old knowledge.
| Fifty years ago." he continues, ga sister OF
mine became possessed of very young ca
nary. She used to amuse herself by repeating
to the bird the words Sweet, pretty, pretty,
| pretty, sweet!' One day, quite suddenly
the same thing is said of the Berlin bird-the
canary bird burst out with 'Tweet wichy,
wicby, wichy, weet.' From that day he gra-
dually lost his old song, and at last gave
nothing but the above words to the day of his
death, which was years after his change Of
note" There are scattered stories which
seem to indicate that many, perhaps most,
birds have some power of acquiring articula-
tiOn.
Sensations are not monopolized by play
goers and novel-readers, for metallurgists have
recently been favored with one, perhaps the
most exciting since Bessemer made known his
method of producing steel. That method could
be applied only TO iron of the first quality, and
the common "pig' made in East Yorkshire
| (Cleveland) and in NOrthamptonshire, with its
many impurities, was quite unfit for what our
French nelghbors call acieration. But Mr..
Heaton, an iron manufacturer in the Erewash
Valley, takes the common "pig,' melts it,
pours it upon bed of nitre at the bottom of a
cupola, leaves it there for a few minutes, then,
opening the cupola, finds the whole mass,
from twelve hundredweight to a ton, converter
into steel. This steel is itself useful for many
purposes, and, by rolling, hsmmering, and
other manipulations and processes, can be i'm
proved into other kinds of steel as may be
desired. Here we have another illustration of
the truth that the greatest discoveries are Oft
times the simplest.
One of the most remarkable relics OF
Jaeobian London is in course of being swept
away. This Is the chapel in Duke street,
Westminster, quaint part of the large man
sion which was built on that side of the Park
for Judge Jeffreys. This chapel was originally
the great hall Of the house to which it is
attached: here the Judge often transacted
business when out of term. James the Second,
by way of showing, as it seems, his affection
for Lord JefreyR, permitted him to build a
! flight of steps leading to the lower level of the
Park. Part of this house, near Storey's Gate,
was formerly the Admiralty office. The hall
was adapted as a chapel, with daily service,
exactly hundred years ago, with DR.. Pettin.
gale, the antiquary, as incumbent. Prior lived
in the house facing King street, in Duke
street; in the same street lived Stillingheet
Hutton the Archbishop, and Arnold the com
poser.
Concerning the succession to the vacant
See of Canterbury, the Spectator says
with regard to the future Archbishop, there
has been already much hasty speculation, to
which we do not desire to add more than the
general considerations laid down elsewhere.
But we must say that we. believe the Church
would injured by the translation of either
the present Archbishop OF York or the present
Bishop of Oxford to the vacant See. The for
mer is an able man and shrewd ecclessissti
cal lawyer but he would make a Primate o
the type that statesmen too much love-tht
} type which more than dilutes the Churct
with the world. The latter would do ever
worse, make it an ecclesiastical intriguer'i
weapon. The translation Of the Archbishop
of Dubl n would be, We fear, too much OF {
mere continuation of both the errors anC
l graces of the late Primate's reign"
"A new intentionally NJ. Delaunier, o
Paris--for destroying fte-damp in mines ha
been lately laid before the Academy o
Sciences. 1t consists OF a copper conductor
8 broken at intervals, but joined by very fin
, gold wire soldered to the copper; the gold wir
being surrounded by flowers of sulphur
9 which ignite easily. By passing strong cur
l rents Of electricity through the copper wire
d, the gold wire becomes red hot, and thus ignite
: the sulphur, which burns any nOxious case
which may be present. II will, OF course,
I understood that the electric current is made
pass through the apparatus before the descen
OF the miners into the mine. The Academy
Sciences have, it is stated, reported very favor
3 ably on M. Delaunier's invention.