The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1868-02-05
Varieties.

A curious medal is for sale in Paris. The
lead OF which IL is composed was part Of that
used to rivet the chains of the prisoners Of the
| Bastle On one side is 6 confused repressn-
tation of the taking of the Bastile, and the
date, l4th July 1889. On the diverse, the follow
| ing inscription: "This Lead sealed the chains
which chained the victims of despotism, and
recalls the period Of liberty conquered in the
| year l."
-AIayne Reid, who 50 haughtily rebukes
the idea of his making an exhibition of him
self a la Dickens, was formerly stock actor
in Western theatre, where he played insig-
nifcant parts with peculiar weakness.
Those who pretend to know say there is
more dissipation ia Washington this winter
than at any time since the war.
Some laborers employed by Mr.. Wander
bilt applied TO have their time reduced to she
eight-hour system. The Commodore ordered
their time reduced to secen hours aud paid
them pro rata. One of the Irishmen who did
not like this turn of affairs, said to his neigh.
bor: We'll, Mike, 1 wish the Commodore was
in" "oh," said Pat, "Bedad. and that
wouldn't help you, for he'd have the control of
the whole place inside Of a week"
A young business man in Springfield,
Mass who had just taken al account of stock
and found his income smaller than he had
hoped. went to the opera with his intended
one evening last week. and between the scenes
the following dialogue took place: "AIy DEAR"
said the young man, II fear our marriage win
he celeh-ated where the match was made"
The young lady, not recollecting the exact To-
cation. innocently inquired, "where?n To
which he answered, "In heaven" 1t is re-
ported they are now anxious to die young.
We find the following in. an exchange
where it is cruelty headed Trains OWN
George Francis Train remarks, in letter
written at sea; Shipboard is the place to read
character; al there is in a mau pops out when
he is seasck' "
Eighteen men engaged 10 cutting woSd in
the forest of Rothwald, in Austria, recently
met in q hat to take breakfast, when suddenly
they were overwhelmed by an avalapche of
snow and were swept away, hut aud ALL
Three days elapsed before thew were missed,
and when a search Sus--aatde for them eleven
were extricssod from the snow, seven of whom
| wore dead, and the other four 50 exhausted by
cold and hunger that they are not expected TO
live. The other seven have not been found
Ole Rull, Camilla Urso and Miss Toap
were together at party the ornss e~Aa:ae.
"You play beautifully, my child" said the Nor
wesian to Miss Topp, "but you can't do the
| greatest music. No woman can; it takes TIA
| biceps of man." "My arm is strong enough"
| answered the brilliant young pianist, laugh
ing: Il break my pianos as well As a man
could, and steinway has to send me new ons
| every week" "You see" responded Bull.
turning to Madame Urso, "you see how these
people treat their pianos. They bang them,
they beat them, thR kick them, they smash
them TO pieces; but our fddles. hols ace Iore
| tkemF'
| Two Of the worlds wonders are getting
out OF joint The Strasbourg clock is giving
out, and the leaning tower of Pisa is in dan
| ger of falling to pieces.
| The Warsaw official Dzisnnik publishes a
ukase, in which the Kingdom of Poland" Ia
no longer accorded the name II has held so
long, but designated as the "Vistula province"
-eberlin, Ohio, is famous for the radical
character of its College ld the earnestness of
its students. Among these, at a recent term,
young gentleman whose mind ran consider
ably on the word ego, was one day discussing
with some of his fellow students the subject
| of intermsrriage of whites and blacks, and
| closed his forcible argument BY saving: @If
go't choose to marry blacks you may do so, but
as for myself, when marry, I shall marry eHs
oT Day 0Ga ser p
The talkative maiden lady vino said she
was intending to be laid in her mothers grave,
if she was spared has lately delivered her
sell OF ths following: Speaking of relative
who had lost child, which he had 10 bury in
the old graveyard, she remarked: "If the
new cemetery had only been ready he would
have bought lot and gone right into iti"
"A feryent church member recently aston.
iShed prayer meeting by supplicating for the
preservation of the lives of the young ladies
OF the congregation, and that one of them
might be eventually reserved for him. On be-
ing demonstrated with by one of his brethren
be said such was the honest wish OF his heart
and that he did not see the imprOpriety Of
praying for it.
The American Minister Mr.. Charles Fran
els Adams, is said to be the author of the elev-
er editorials in the London Star on Americas
politics.
1
yet when he has It would be very sorry to lose
it? A bald head
Lord Brougham. well sdsanced in the
nineties, is failing fast He has lost the power
OF intelligent speech.
General McClernand, the politician, pab
fishes very long story in the Cincinnati En-
quirer, to show that Grant relieved him with
out cause at Vieksburg. Prior to his removal
Sherman, Mcpherson, and other prominen
officers called Ia person on General Grant, ana
not only urged, but almost demanded the re-
tirement OF their incompetent brother officer
There is humorous disciple of ST. Girls
pan IN Vermont, who announces himself IL
MS advertisements as s"Shoemaker to his Hon
OF the Lord Mayor OF Nergennesr'
The New York Evening Post reports tn
Case OF an absent-minded or Bacchus-inspire<
bill-sticker who did his posting thus: Bar
NUNS Son at Nobody's Museum"
AT the last state ball at the Iuiieries, th'
most noted guests present were e1-rresloen
Geffrard. conspicnous tor his gorgeous uniform
and two yonng japanese IadieS OF remarkable
he,ntv The dress of the Empress was. whit,
! tpre oyer white satin, striped with cold apS
silver Her diamond necklace consisted of tsl
| rows OF splendid stones; very small row o
diamonds, fastening an aigrette worn on IT,,
left side, was her only head ornament
Ottawa Lake, Monroe county, Michigan
has dried up. The Times says: "where ono
was lake, in some places thirty feet deep 1
now only mass Of frozen mud. We are in
formed that this is the first winter it has dom
SO ia ten years. Fish in large numbers, anC
some Of them of great size, are dug out Of tn,
mud in the deep holes where the water stoo,
longest This drying up of large body Of wa
ter is q singular natural phenomenon,