Public ledger. [volume] (Memphis, Tenn.) 1865-1893, 1872-09-30
FACTS A AND : FANCIEs.

Powers Greek slave, the gift OF W
W. Corcoran.
Two pupils of the York School o
Design have been selected by the Sci
ence and Art department for employ
ment in copying the Raphael cartoons
1t is proposed to employ nine artists in
this work.
Mr.. Holman Hunt, who has been sey-
eral years in Palestine, painting his new
picture, has returned to England lately,
and has been visiting his old friends.
Painters Of Flemish interiors have SC
dwindled in public estimation that nc
bid above FIVE pounds could be got for
any one Of their productions at recent
sale in Liverpool.
The two masterpieces Of Wyld, which
elected such favorable criticism in the
Salon Of 1869, representing Venice in
her holiday attire, and the Dream OF
Tivoli, have been sold to an English
gentleman for the handsome sum Of
4j, 000f.
The contents of the art gallery of Mr..
Corcoran. the Washington banker, who
has already given more than $l,OOO,OOO
to the city of Washington. are in pro-
cess of transfer to the fine art building
which he recently presented to the city.
The gallery will be open to the public
next month.
Siguor Ansiglieni, the well known
Italian sculptor, is at Aix-les' Bains,
and is to be seen great deal in Ameri-
can society, for which he has strong
prediction. He is considered the
Adonis of that fashionable watering
place. and is the most courted of all the
foreigners there.
The London Morning Post announces
the death of William Gray, young
artist well known fofshis contributions
to serial publications in the shape OF
sketches of social life. The Post adds
that it was hoped by his friends that he
would prove worthy successor OF the
late Mr.. Leech, but his malady was too
deep rooted.
The session at the Academy of st.
Luke's, Rome. has just been closed with
the competition between the students.
The two FIRST prizes for modelling have
been carried off by Mr.. Samuel Kitson,
a young English sculptor of great prom
Use. These we're for the best figure mod
eIled from the life, and for the best model
of drapery.
A special attraction in the library OF
the British museum is the completeness
Of the collection Of American books. In
l843 there were not more than 1000 books
in the English department. The Hum-
Der is now upward Of 100000. 1t is not
only the best purely American library
out Of America. but one even more COM
plete than any in the United States.
1t is thought that Mr.. Summers works
will fill dozen volumes. he has just
finished revising the seventh. 1t will be
sne of the most carefully edited series of
books ever published. Some of his old
friends have gone back on their subScrip-
lions since his Impeachment of Grant,
but there are new inquirers enough to
more than fill the list.
A new danger is to be apprehended
from watermelons, according to the fol-
owing story, which comes from Santa
Barbara, Cal. A farmer was working on
a side bill, when a watermelon, Weighing
eighty-six pounds, broke loose from the
vine and started for him. The farmer
saw his danger and tried TO run from it,
but the vine treacherously caught his
feet, and the rufisnly vegetable came
down upon him with terrible
speed, striking him to the earth and roll
ing over his PROSTATE body.
Alms-Tadema has recently finished a
picture representing the death of the
first-born son Of the King Of Egypt. The
boy has been brought to receive the
benefit Of prayers offered in his behalf,
and lies in a moribuud condition. a.
physician is in attendance with nos
trum, the family Of the king are in the
greatest distress, while in the back
ground Moses and Aaron are approach
ing with threatening aud admonitory
gestures.
A flour mill is reported to have ex-
ploded in Glasgow, Scotland, recently.
The cause Of the explosion is stated to
have been that two of the revolving mill
stones, on account of the accidental
stoppage Of the supply of grain, rubbed
against each other, and threw out
sparks. These sparks ignited the fine
particles of dust diffused through the air
in the exhaust cOnduits, the rapid COM
bustion of which caused high tempera-
ture and expansion, which resulted in
an explosion.
The Congress Of Peru has decreed the
abolition Of the death penslty, aud if-
teen years imprisonment is to be the
maximum Of all punishment in that
republic. In Colombia the maximum
punishment, according to the Constitn-
ton, is ten years, and an article in the
code provides that a convict shall have
the third part Of his sentence taken of
if be shows signs Of repentance, which,
Of course, isnot very diescut for a con-