The Portland daily press., 1869-05-04

-Adolphe Theirs has dictated all his works,
and never written a single line of them, nor
ever looked at one of the proofsheets His old
private secretary is a man Of considerable lit
erary ability, on whom M. Theirs can perfectly
rely.
The bill permitting free trade in money
has been defeated in the lower House Of the
Ohio Legislature, and a measure legalzing
eight per cent adopted. The bill now goes to
the Senate, whore its fate is uncertain.
1T may be set down as an inflexible rule
that when men want to fight, and mean to
fight with each other, they don't talk about
it, but do it. AL the talk is done after the
pummelling part Of the performance is over.
Frederick derstacker, the German trav-
eller ana novelist, has declined the position
Of private secretary offered him by Dom Pc
dro of Brazil.
The vessels of the fleet Of Columbus
which first crossed the Atlantic, were all of
small size, probably of not more than one
hundred tons burden each, and therefore not
larger than the American yachts. whose
ocean-race from New York to Cowes was re-
garded as an example of immense hardihood,
even in 1867
The town of Cette, in France, with thir-
ty thousand inhabitants, has cot single
newspaper Of any kind. In America, town
of this size would have half dozen, at least.
Great Britain publishes three papers, the
Gazettes of London, Edinburgh and Dublin.
All three make money, but the London Ga
zette is by far the more profitable. The net
revenue from the three last years was more
than $4,000
Baron Won Tschudi, the eminent Swiss
naturalist, says, that without birds successful
agriculture is impossible, as they annihilatein
few months greater number of destructive
insects than man could in years. He classes
among the most useful the swallow, wren, rob
in and sparrow; and says that robin killed
800 flies in an hour, and pair Of sparrows
carried 800 worms or caterpillars to their nests
in day.
The imprisonment in England Of poor
fellow for stealing turnip from field has
been followed by the incarceration for month
of two girls who picked shiIlirg's worth OF
greens from a pasture.
"A clergyman in Chic, who recently ran
away with the wife of a parishioner, has
brought libel suit against the husband for
telling of it aud actually had him put under
bonds.
"A letter from White Pine complains that
dwellers in rival districts are jealous and nave
discouraged emigration to that point or as
the eloouent writer EXPIRE sses 1t, nave poured
cold water ON our silver brow.
-Rossinfs posthumous Messe Solennelle,
which was performed at New York, Thursday
evening for the first time in this country, was
written at Passy in 1868, and first performed
on March u, 1864, before private audience
of 200 persons. 1t was a success and Rossini
Immediately wrote out the score for full
orchestra, though why he never published is
unknown.
Moonlight baptisms are becoming popular
in Indiana.
The Empress Of the French and the Prince
Imperial have decided to visit Egypt and Do
present at the Inauguration of the Suez canal
in October or November next.
The editors of New York are getting to be
very aristocratic. Mr.. MARBLE Of the World
and Mr.. Judd of the Agriculturist direct their
respective journals by means OF private tee-
graph lines connecting their houses and OF
| fees. -. :, rro~o. ,...
AN 1uneraut quacA uoo'o - w.
applied to by one of Col. Hays rangers to ex-
tract the iron point of an Indian arrow head
from his head, where it had been lodged for
some time. II cannot 'stract this, stranger"
said the doctor, ''bekase to do so would go
nigh killin' you; but l tell you what 1 can do:
can give you pill that will melt it in your
head"
-Charlet, the French draughtsman, calls
Victor Hugo's style "a dishcloth covered with
spangles"
"A grain elevator has been constructed IN
New Orleans at cost of $240,OO0, but has no
business for the want of grain.
The report that Miss Braddon' the novel;
ist, had become insane, was lately circulated
in London to help the sale Of her next book:
The velocpede fever is evidently subsid-
ing. Many OF the rinks, which were in full
! blast month ago, are now closed.