The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1869-11-24
liens.

Small pox is prevalent in Cincinnati There
have 'een nineteen deaths by the disease with
in thirty days. =
To Louisiana the rice crop will be about 90
100000 pounds, in excess of 100000 over the
amount harvested in 1868. The quality has
greatly improved within the past two seasons
The California grape crop this year is report
ed to be about one-fOurth less in quantity than
usual. but superior in quality at least so far as
wine-makipg is concer ned.
There have been two hundred and ninety
three chiefs of the Roman Catholic church. Or
these ninety died a violent or unnatural death.
or were expelled, depOsed or exiled, and twen-
ty-elght OF them would have lost their throne
but for the Intervention OF foreign troops
Bombay dispatch says that cloud of To-
Gusts recently passed over the district of the
Western Presidency. Its length was calcuiat-
ed at seven miles, breadth five miles, and depth
four hundred feet. The crops were entirely
consumed.
Upon hearing class of girls read in one of
the public schools OF Columbus, GA, Rev DIR.
Sears said that it surpassed anything he had
heard in the North. Enumeration might be
sharper, keener and clearer in the North, but
there the soul and meaning of an author was
more distinctly expressed aud fully given.
Quebec has refused to pay the sum imposed
by he Legislature tor common school educa-
tion in the city, and the Government has insti
tuted suit to compel the city to comply with
tie terms of the law.
Some prisoners attempted to blow I'D the
Hudson county IN. W Jail last week by
stuffiDg fiue with two pounds of gunpowder
A company of Russian singers have arrived
in New York. They sing the Russian ma
tional songs with great skill aud effect as well
as authenticity; while an excellent idea Of the
Sclavobic dances is gwen by the performance
OF an agile and graceful boy.
A sailor at the Brooklyn Navy Yard ex-
planned to curious landsman the other day
how prize money is divided. IT is siitsd
through goes to the officers: what sticks the
sailors get"
Citizens of the New-Orleans intend to press
strongly upon Congress the advisability of es-
tablishing navy yard at that city. They say
that there is large area of property already
owned by the Government, and extensive and
substantial wharves, buildings, hospitals,
workshops and which can be cheaply adapted
to the use of naval station aud which hav
been for years of no sort of utility.
Mark Twain, lecturing to a Boston audience
on the Sandwich Islands, when he came to
discuss cannibalism, remarked: cat this point
I usually il ustrate cannibaiism before the au.
dience; but 1 am stranger here, and feel din.
dent about asking favors. However, if there
Is any one present who is willing to contribute
baby for the purposes OF the lecture, l should
be glad to know it now. am aware, though,
that children have become scarce aud high OF
late, having been thinned out by neglect and
ilLtraatment since the woman movement be
gam"
Commissioner Fisher of the patent bureau,
received funny letter the other day, from a
man in Canada. H. says he has discovered
the secret OF perpetual motion, and wanrs to
get out patent in the United States He has
so much confidence in his scheme that he pro-
poses to build a car or wagon, and come to
Washington 0y perpetual motion power. He
states that he has great and profound rever-
ence for the memory of Washington, and is
anxious that Congress should make the neces-
sary appropriation for building the machine
and placing the Washington monument on it
SO that it could be taken about the country on
wheels, and allowed to remain a few weeks in
each of the pri"cipal cities. He thinks the
scheme would increase our yeneration for the
man whom it Commentaries.