The morning star and Catholic messenger. [volume] (New Orleans [La.]) 1868-1881, 1870-01-09
s1oRNINa STAR AND cATHoI1c MEssENeER.
; NV oRI,E1Ns SUNDAY, JANUARY .. 1870.
ExCERPTs.


THE 1FaaGtee.--1Re Human Fish.--To believers
In the Darwin theory it will be of interest to
know that III the quiet bays and rivers on the
EASTERN coast of Central and south America
there lives an animal, which might be right
fnI1y considered as the connecting link between
men and fish. 1t is the manatee, the water
siren the sea-calf or sea-cow, as this strange
animal is sometimes catled. IL belongs TO the
order of Cetecea and ,is altogether herbiver-
ous living on grass which grows under water,
or on herbs which it seeks on shore ~
The body is psciform, and measures some
fourteen or more feet in length; the skin being
very thick, without hair and OF q dark coI0r'
The upper part of the body, especially OF the
females, much resembles that OF woman, the
breosts bsinr of the same form. In place OF
the fins of the ordinary tsh, the nanatee mas
n short arm of only one joint which terminates
n, :, sort of hand, on which the nails are dis
tinctIv-v.sible and which the animal uses
with much tlexterity, in moving about when
on land and in carrying its young. This hmp
has caused this animal 10 I te ed hand
The writer, who, for several years resided IN
those countries where these animals abound,
has the animal, and has been Sola repeat Ior
edly by the natives that the female hoids her
cub to suckle as the mother does her BABE
T'he tail of the manatee is shaped like an
open fam and close th ten | Toes
Manatees swim by the help of this broad
tail which moves up and-down, and not from
right to left like that OF the i!sh. rms a niho
which at first sight appears to be mere nm OF
nerve nieltS almost entirely INTO butter When
fried in a pan, and is highly priced by the
natives for ointments and 1or other mediclh"i
The animal weighs from n thonsafa to
fifteen hundred pounds, and the meat is con
sidered n great relish 1t LOOKS ana tastes
much like pork, and needs a s5eeaA&eal Oh COOK
in1 1t is strange fact that the flesh keeps
longer from decay than any other, and is there
fore sailed and preserved like pork
They are caaght with haFpoohs' by the IN
,dians who know their haunts aud customs,
and it seems as if they We're becoming more
scarce every year.
mich has been tabled about these water
y sirens that needs consideration from scientific
men who seem to have taken but little Interest
irf these strange animals Some nave assured
me that their voice resembles the believing OF
an ox[z5thers that if was perfect music. am
induced to believe the latter as they are well
known under the name of 'srenla," or SIRENS,
which appellatiye they could only ueriNeIroh
tbair charming voice. Whether this be so or
not remains vet to be confirmed, ike the mar
monious song of the dying swan.-Sc'eRtytc
4Ble7ican.
Famine in London-The famine fever! What
a thrill even the name sends to our hearts !
But the name is nothing, not even a shadow,
when compared to the reality. Ihat so irlght-
-ar4-rE disease should existsamengN us, FaHaglnS
the starving thousands of the metropolis; is
disgrace to our charitable institutions and to
our civilization. When we say charitable IN
stitntiops do not include any OF our Cathoifc
charities They are admirably supported, and
are most effective auxilinries to the poor OF all
religious denominations. But where is all the
Protestant money OF the country gong "hdG
is the Protestant Establishment doing to pre-
vent her children dying of hunger Surely
the pastors of that Church cannot excuse
themselves on the plea of poverty. The people
of England pay fifteen millions annually to
maintain the protostant Estnbi"lo"e.-t - tho
country, and out OF that enormous sum me
Protestant Bishops receive directly from the
State G156, 060 per annum These figures show
that it is not the want of means but the want
of inclination that prevents those worthy
pastors from relieving distress. With what
consistency can they inculcate he-spirit of
holy poverty among their 'hocksE How can
their sense of charity and religion allow them
to roll about in their carriages, with their
wives. and attendants; while hundreds of their
fellow-creatures are dying OF hunger IN the
slums of Whitechapelg Their voice has not
been heard in behalf of the afflicted. They
have taken no steps to prevent the further
progress of the disease. Probably they know
nothing about it. Things were not managed
thus in England when England was Catholic,
and this fact the poor are beginning to lind
out In Cathoictimes they sought and found
relief ut the gates of the monasteries, but for
these monasteries are now substituted huge
warehouses, which the poor detest; and for
the bare-footed monks we have ell-booted
apostles. Tho change may be more polite, but
it certainly is less in accordance with the
spirit and teaching of Christianity Universe.
There is no country in Europe where religion
"of all kinds is so carefully and impartiaily
cherished and maintained by the State as in
France. The population of the empire con-
sists of sc, 30O,664 Roman Catholics, whose
clergy receive pay from the State amounting
to 49Si9,936 francs, or about -S1O,OOO.0 00;
1881, $50 Protestants, hose clergy receive
lA93, 463 francs, or about $19s, 6s5 and 1894
Jews, whose rabbits receive 206,000 francs, or
SAL 500. These are the official figures. The
whole income of the Roman Catholic clergy is
about $50 o9o, COO and that of the Protestant
ministers about S750,O00. There are seventeen
archbishops and sixty-nine bishops in the Ca
tholic Church. The pay of the archbishop of
Paris is 10000; each of the other Ich6ishops
have 1000, and the bsHcps have 300. 1t is a
considerably better thing (says the New York
World,) to be q minister OF a fashionable
church in New York than an archbishop in
France. There are 1872 vicaGs-general, whose
pay is from $500 10 $50 q year; 723 canons,
whose safaries range from $500 I" $3.50; 1881
-euFss- f=iHe4+4eE-4 $40 to 500 and
1856 curates, whose stipendS are from $50
to $240.
= A German photographer has invented a
method of making seals and stampa with the
portraits of his customers. thin layer of
gelatine, sensitised with bichromate of potash,
Is exposed to the action of light under q pos
tive photograph, by which the parts acted on
are rendered inseluble in water. The gelatine
ct oal II, nd fIa mar moi