The Portland daily press., 1868-09-12
VarietieS.

wearing curious and Characteristic dresses
swan from the Oberbaum down to General
Won Ftuels river baths, a distance of about five
hundred yards. When they had arrived Il
the latter place they performed various leats of
strength and agility in the water, to the de-
light of vast crowd of spectators. A great
part of the effect was produced by the quaint
ness of the costumes. The first company rep-
resented "the ladies" and wore chignons and
little Paris hats, and carried parasols. There
were two companies of negroes, and a very
numerous one of red Indians, with their bod
les painted and their faces tattooed, and wear
ing head-dresses and feathers. Besides these
there were swans, river gods, Chinese, dandies
and various other .characters. One of the
swimmers at the head of the procession per-
formed very difficult feat of playing the ma
tiOnal air, "Ich bin Elm Prusse," Q am a Prus-
sian) on the horn. The yf5te lasted an hour,
and passed off without accident.
Lookout Mountain is crumbling, and the
neighbors fear that some internal forces are at
work. One tive-hundred ton fragment tumb-
led from near the top, the other day.
r. w. Emerson is soon to commence in
Boston course OF six lectures the subjects to
be as follows: Art" t;""Poetry and Criticism
Doctrine of Leasts and Mosts;" Historical
Notes of American Life and Letters" "Hos-
pitahty, and How to Make Homes Attrac-
tive" Greatness"
The real founder of the present Swedish
dynasty has just died at Stockholm. Count
Otto Won M0rner was born in 1881, aud during
his long life of eighty-seven years took very
active part in the politics of his country. In
1910, on the death of Charles Augustus, Count
Won M0rDer went to Paris and offered the Swe-
dish crown to Marshal Bernadotte. The Mar
shal then presented himself as a candidate for
election as Crown Prince, and Count Won
Morner labored so zealously in his behalf that
the election resulted in his favor, notwith-
standing the ill-concealed opposition of the
King and his Court. Ultimately BernadOtte
was crowned king as Charles John of Sweden,
and Count Won M6rner was appointed his
The death of Christian Fredrick Schon-
bein, OF Basle, on Sunday last, removes one OF
the most eminent chemists in the world from
the useful labors Of his most practical science.
He was the discoyerer of ozone, and the in
ventor of gun-cotton, which, though useless
for purposes of war, yet dissolved in ether be-
came, under the name of collodion, valuable
aid in photography and in medicine. He was
the author of several chemical treatises, was
the friend of Faraday, and at the time of his
death had almost completed his sixty-ninth
year.
Rev. DIR. Stebbins says it is an insult to
the memory of Washington, and shame to
the nation, that Mt. Vernon is so mismanaged,
and by rebel spirits, too. Everything is in the
most slovenly, tumble-down condition imagin-
able. 1t is owned by an association of ladies',
of which Miss Pamela Cunningham is Presi-
dent. She lives in the mansion, and shows
neither the ability nor disposition to take care
OF it.
The Journal of Chemistry has long arti.
Gle on Planchette, in which the editor express
es the belief shat there is one power, impulse,
or force in nature, regarding the character of
which mankind are totally in the dark"
John Aliens pious influence is being felt
In his Immediate neighborhood. The Tribune
says that Tommy Haddan, who is claimed by
the sailors to be a wickeder man than John
Allen ever was; and Sojer (soldier) Brown,
who is wickeder than Tommy Haddan; and
Kit Burns, who is wickeder than Sojer Brown,
have all signified their willingness to have
prayer-meetings in their respective dens al
soon as they can get them in order for that
purpose. The Tribune does not say that any
one of these gentry has offered to go to work
and earn an honest livelihood.
AT an intended wedding, just as the cere-
monies were about to begin, the bride sudden
ly called upon the bridegroom to abjure tobae-
CO, on pain of forfeiture of welded bliss, &C.,
which he refused to do-then and there tax
ing fresh quid from his tobacco box, to show
his independence. WhereupOn the young la
dy took out dainty bex, took a chew" /" amid
the applause of the guests, and ordered the
clergyman to go ahead. This was too much
for the bridegroom, who fled the scene, leaving
the girl triumphant with piece of liquorice
in her mouth.
Liverpool has a haunted house, the win
dows of which are broken by continuous
showers of stones. The police can't discover
the ghostly assailants.
-Ristori writes that she was surprised to
find Americans so rich, and that this would
be the finest country on earth but for its eli
mate.
"A young New Orleans quadroon, Miss De-
lanney, is the most promising pupil in the Par
is Conseryatoire. Her voice is alto.
AWFUL death of twenty persons and =
peer" is the way London paper announced
the Abergele accident.
Miss Edmonia Lewis, the colored sculptor,
now in Rome, has had an order for a statue of
Clio from Prince George of Prussia.
"A recent Toronto paper contains the nGiue
anpouncement that "the Rev. w. Morley
Punshon, having returned from his honey
moon, will preach here next Sunday"
The influence of nineteenth century ideas
has reached even the Hapsburgs. The Arch
duke Albert was lately asked by priest to
give money for masses for the Iepose OF Maxi
milan's soul, when he replied-"I wiz gladly
subscribe to a collection in mo~.0ry OF my un~
fortunate brother, but shall insist on the
money being applied to pay his creditors,
which appears to me the first thing to be
doue."
A boy about five years old died in convul-
sions on Sunday, in New York, from drinking
Bourbon whiskey. He had seen his father
drink from the bottle during the day, and was
trying to initiate him.
The condition of the people on the Red
River of the North seems to be even worse
than was at first reported. The st. Paul Press
saws the case is Just this: "Ten or twelve
thousand people, immured in distant region,
four or five hundred miles beyond our western
frontier, are the eve of starvation. The
grasshoppers have utterly destroyed the crops
of the farmers, while, by an unprecedented
combination Of misfortunes, the hunters, who
constitute large part of the population, have
returned from the plains without their usual
sunplies of buffalo meat. While their wants
are tins pressing, the time within which they
can be reached with relief from this quarter is
very short. In few weeks, when the frost
shall have killed the grass on the praries, it
will be extremely difficult for the trains to
reach there with supplies, for want of sub
sistence to feed the animals. Before Novem-
Der it is not improbable that these starving
people may be walled in by five hundred miles
of snow from any possible aid except what
may dribble through on dog trains.
Mics Blapche De Bat, a member of the
po.t, family. granddaughter of j. b. Booth,
= onpounced to appear with Edwin Booth at
.ho National Theatre, Cincinnati, next week.
Those very accurate historians who are al
ways hunting up facts, and who make such
havoc with old traditions, had no merits in tn o
eyes OF Charles Lamb. II do not like" said
he, "to have my old articles of faith destroyed ].
Here's some COMPOUNDED fellow published
new Life of Shakespeare, in which he main
tlius that Cervantes and glorious Will dld not