The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1868-02-10
Varieties .

ie'e'ou "ni0h' IL Is aueged, gives tho iaVoIa-
bic opinion OF the board on this question.
Varieties.
Lord Ranelagh takes very desponding
view ofthe state of the English volunteer force
He calls it sham. "One hundred and
eighty thousand or two hundred thousand mon
in battalion, without administrative stats for
Its command or supply of any sort, is" he re-
marks, "a mere crowd of coated playthings."
The widow of fGeneral Miramon has, with
her children, taken up her residence at Vienna.
she is to receive pension from the Austrian
Government. c.... .....-.-
The child of misfortune born in the Melun
Prison, France, o few days ago, of the rnur-
deress Frigard, died on January 12 in tho
hospital of that town. ...r- l.
There is in the arsenal at Stockholm a
long rifle with which Queen Christina used to
amuse herself shooting at flies in her bedroom,
a work which she followed up with SO much
spirit that she rarely missed her aim.
la--Judy has a cartoon representing Glad
stone and Lord Russell with muflers, the lat
ter trying the ice of pond labeled Liberal
platform" while the former holds his arm to
prevent his falling in. Derby and DisraeH,
as ice police, are in the background. The fol-
lowing is the dialogue: Johnny-"Well, what
do You think, Bill?" Bill-"Why, itH be a
precious long time before that'll be safe"
f The dog of Pittsburg oil refiner recently
came TO an untimely end in this wise: Itseems
he had an unaceountable dislike to passenger
trains, and this day, as usual, he ran in front
of the up-train, when his caudal appendaco
was caught under the wheel and cut off short.
With yell he sprang at the train, and this
time his head went under and was neatly
clipped Off For five minutes after the decap-
itation, the dogs jaws moved in the act of
barking, though having no lungs to go on, no
sound could be distinguished. Just as his eyes
were about closing in death, a medical gentle
man, as an experiment, placed the severed tail
before them, which Immediately opened In
recognition, and filled with tears. The ply
sician firmly believes that he died utterly un-
conscious of the loss of his head. .l1zj
F in order to try the results of the French
international Monetary Commission. which
sat at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, for tho
purpose Of ascertaining if uniform coinage
could be adopted by all the civilized nations Of
the earth, gold piece has just been struck as
a common standard of money in France, Eng
land and the United States. On the diverse
is the efigy of the Emperor Napoleon, crowned
with laurels, without any inscription; and on
the reverse the following: "5 dollars - 25
francs;" and beneath - "Or :essai monetaire"
This piece is also of the value of an English
sovereign. s4. B.. -Faeulal ..E .sl1
Z "A new sect, headed by woman who claims
to be the Virgin Mary, has made its appear
ance on the very unpromising soil of Russia,
under the name of "Christian anti-taxpayers."
The foundress has been sent off to the Cauca-
sus the chapel closed, and the payment Of
taxes sharply enforced. rai1ll.-8 Blr
"A San Franciscan has invented means
ofpropelling vessels without steam or sails. He
connects three boats together in a line, and ex-
poets the two on the ends, by the rise and fall
of the waves, to move machinery in the central
vessel which shall proper all three.
: Leopold de Meyer wears exceptionally
large and shocking bad hate and when he lost
one in Connecticut, in despair of procuring
another, his manager telegraphed back to
have the missing article forwarded The an
swer came as follows: "Down express train
met hat lying on the track two miles east OF
New Haven. AIistook it tor the depot, and ran
right in. Engineer discovered error and back
ed out. Freight train despatched to remove
the establishment, and shall forward it in Sec
tions as requested" ,Ioss.. rt-lS
"A Cincinnati physician reports discovery
that dusting patient frequently with lycopo-
dunn will not only allay the irritation in small
poxibut will prevent pitting Try it,
sbaT II 49, T1o,v, I1o, L. n
with the perpetual diatribes against the short
comings of women, in which newspapers
nowadays so love TO indulge. This is
the way it talks: "The very name Of woman
has become a bit of red rag, at sight Of which
our intellectual mentors below and lash their
tails. The exhibition woald be more interest
ing if it were less theatrical We can no moro
believe in this horrible depravity and shame
lessness Gf modern women than in the SINGER
ity of the gentlemen who talk about it. Thera
is too much self-eonsciousness, and too much
literary trick in these gravely preferred charges,
the accusation, like the old accusations of
witchcraft does not arise from the guilt of the
accused, but from the mental disease of the
accuser." ........... ...-...a
1t is reported that party Of English tour
lists recently sbreakfasted on the shores of the
Dead Sea. They had previously provided them
selves with supply ofhard-boied eggs for tho
banquet, but had neglected TO add any salt.
Their guide volunteered to provide some, and
presently set before them fine crystal of rock
salt. With this the eggs were soon consumed,
but digestion was not the destiny ofthat break
fast. For, a short time afterward, the guido
showed them the mass of salt from which tho
crystal was broken. They were astoGnded to
find that it was part of a human figure, and
had undoubtedly once been a portion of Lots
wife. This story may be taken cum grano
sails.
"A woman in Illinois fading her husband
trying to hang himself, cut him down, and
after he had fully recovered gave him good
thrashipg. Poor fellowi
"A gentleman in New York the other even
ing, detected a boy picking his pocket; and,
seizing him, had determined to have him com
mitted, whom the boy begged heartily for
mercy-"For indeed, slr," said he, cit is my
first offence; here's your own handkerchief
again, and take any of these five you like best"
Mason Jones said in recent lecture in
London: "If the Emperor Napoleon or Pres
ident johnson were to land a single boat load
of soldiers on the Irish coast, the country
could not be held for twenty-four hours"
p. 1t has just been decided in New York
court that cats are not property, and woman
who had Maltese cat which she valued ct
$50, stolen is therefore left without redress
The last modification of dress is the new
train, for which the front widths of the dress
are cut square at the hem, an inch from the
ground. and the back widths abruptly length
en- without being sloped from the front. 1t ia
a singular fashion copied from some old court
stvle, and is not without some dignity Of ex-
preston. So says Shirley Dare,
A waggish editor in Boston proposes TO
start an asylum for the useless young women
of that city. He says the plan should be placed
in the hands Of a committee of useless old
men, whose experience viii qualify them for
the work. A contemporary would amend this
proposition by reversing it after this fashion.
Let the institution be for the benefit of tho
useless old women-of both sexes-aud lot
it be under the care Of the useless young
men.
"A correspondent of the Pail Mall Gazette
says that America has more power for good or
evil in the affairs of Great Britain than ell
the European States put together
Halifax is plentifully supplied with fresh
Goldfish. and good sized one can be bought for
tweptv cents, and smaller or larger ones at
proportional rates.
LTbe Earl of Dalhousie is Grand Master OF
-, ,r.,n,,s ir, Great Rritoin TTa Ia +bo eivth