The evening telegraph. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1864-1918, 1869-03-03

OOuIt0eEHtlOus
his pages that the proposed copyrightfs.to 70
last thirty years from the authors death. Ine
BarOn'a chief suggestions are, that the copy.
| riRht-of German works should not De conhneo
20 the subjects Of those States which iorm ,ne
| Confederation, and that the Ooniederauon
| should set an example TO foreign countries in
the matter Of international copyright. These
two proposals 90 beyond the ideas OF legisia-
tors. TO Judge from the sections OF the pro-
ieoted law which Baron Tauchnitz quotes, as
well as from the English Acts on the subject.
But the last decision Of the House Of Lords
(Routledge vs. Low) acoords with Baron
Tauohnitz's suggestion, and makes 1t all the
more valuable.
"A reader of O very old astronomical book
was puzzled and rather frightened, by finding
that the moon went round the earth in some-
thing between four and five minutes. He
had to ponder until he found out that the
minute mentioned was the minute Of year.
In the old sexagesimal division, the sixtieth
part Of anything was called its minute; the
sixtieih part Of the minute was called the
second, and so on. Thus, the minute of
year is little more than six {. days; the
minute OF q mile upwards OF 20 yards. In
1851 certain Maurice Bressius published his
''Metrice Astronomical" in which sines ara
sexagesimally represented. His radius was
6O degrees, and 80 his sine Of 76 degrees 20
minutes was SO degrees, 20 minutes, 81
seconds.
The distinction between the zero and the
Den tOUdto made by the Italians is that of
truth and good fictitious description. The
stories of the two classes only differ in this,
that the first often have an improbability
which the second dare not reach. The true
stories OF absent men cannot be exceeded.
We know the man who has-more than once
or twice-put on his spectsces to help him to
look for them. We know the man who had
forgotten the name of-say A, and the first
time he met q man who knew il, burst ont
with 81 have forgotten AS name; what is II Z"
We are inclined to believe, from the manner
In which 1t first reached us, the anecdote Of
Sir Thomas Strange, the Indian judge, who
found, on paying visit, that his friend was
not in, and that he had forgotten his own
name. I'll call again; never mind my
name.-Sir master always likes to know
the names Of gentlemen who oall.-Why, to tell
the truth, have forgotten my name.-That's
strange, sir.-So 1t is, my man. You've hit
1t l-apd he went away, leaving the servant
quite in the dark. But we suppose the fol-
lowing anecdote Of Robert Simson must be
ben trocatO; though the tradition is strong. He
used to sit at his open window on the ground
floor, as deep in geometry as Robert Simson
ought to be. Here he weuld be acoosted by a
beggar: he would rouse himself, hear few
words of the story, make his donation, and
dive. Some wags one day stopped mendi-
"Now do as we tell you and you will get
something from that gentleman, and a shilling
from us besides. He will ask who You are,
and you will say Robert oimson, son of John
Simson, of Kirktonhill." The man did as he
was told: Simson gave him a coin and drop
ped of. He soon reused himself and said,
Robert Simson son of John Simson, of Kirk
tonhill why, that is myself that man must
be an impostor Lord Brougham gives this
anecdote, with less detail than in the version
received by us.
-Ehrenberg has communicated to the
Academy of Sciences, Berlin, of which he is
q member, short notice of the specimens
brought up from the sea-bottom by sound
ipgs during the North German Polar Expedi-
ton of last season. The specimens are thirty
nine in number, collected from latitude 73
degrees to so degrees north-an area extend
ing from the Bear Islands and beyond Spitz-
bergen to the coast of Greenland. Six Of
them were taken, it appears, between 80 de-
grees and 81 degrees, and In longitude 13, II,
Is, and 16 degrees east from Greenwich. AS
| regards depth, thirty-two of the specimens
were brought M from less than 100 fathoms,
four from 1876 to 40 fathoms, two from 140 to
250 fathoms, and one from 800 fathoms. rms
latter was in latitude rs deg. 36 min. north, and
longitude 15 degrees 81 minutes East.
These depths, though not great, have, as Pro-
| fessor Nuremberg remarks, the advantage OF
certainty, which cannot always be claimed
for soundings at 1000 or 1000 fathOms. The
scientific character and value of the speci-
mems have yet to be made out, and for this
they must undergo rigorous cleansing from
the tallow of the sounding lead by which they
were lifted. But after Eh renberg has had them
under his microscope, we shall not have long
to Wait for explicit information on these points;
and further light will be thrown on the ques-
tion which, in his opinion, is the most i'm
portant of all, namely, whether the six classes
Of microscopic creatures already described in
"MiorogeolOgie" are found unmixed OF
mixed with other, hitherto unknown, forms
within the Polar Circlei To obtain conclusive
proofs of the relations OF organic life in
its minutest forms throughout the globe
would be worth all the cost and labor be
slowed in obtaining them. Moreover, accord
ing to the nature of the specimens br0ugh
up, whether fine or COARSE, Shiny or powdery
win, as is thought, be the evidence Of streams
, swirls, or quietness in the depths of the ocean
! Should Mr.. Petermann and his friends attemp
another expedition in the coming summer.
Is to be hoped they will rely more on tn
dredge than on the sounding lead for speci
q mems from the bottom. Taken in connection
with the results obtained by the expedition
under Drs. Carpenter and Wyville Thomso
!. Gan interesting report Of which has bee
7 printed in the Proceedings of the Royal So
. ciety"), higher value attaches to the spec
a mems brought home by the German exp,
ditiOns.