Ottumwa weekly courier. (Ottumwa, Wapello County, Iowa) 1872-1899, 1873-03-06

Justice and policy requires the enact
Tf1etlt of general law to prcyent thes,
extortionate charges and discrimina
tions on the part Of railroads. an
not SO sanguine, however, Is to hop
that such 9 law win remove all tn,
evils that stand in the way Of tn,
western producer, though IL Is the frs
step, and win do much IN that direc
ton. \.
e.-------.---
GREAT PERSONAaEs.
Gessip Abeut sAsir we.nassses an,
Eceeneraeitles.
An interesting chapter might bt
written about the weaknesses Of grea,
mon. The anecdotes OF Archimedes
will be remembered He rushe,
through the streets Of Syracuse, al fSes
90, crying ssEureka!v and q the tax
ing Of the city he was killed byIa sol
dier, while tracing geographical linel
on the sands. 10 g
Socrates, when ifllled with some idea
would stand for hours flxed like I
statue. II is recorded or him that ht
stood amid the sollisrs n the camp o1
Potidea, In rooted abstraction, lieten.
ing 70 his 'sprophstic," Or s1snpernatur.
all voice. Es7h Fra 80. 4
Democritus shut himssif M for dsy,
together in little apartment in BIZ
garden. 3iiHa 5sii llfs''a =
1S Dante was subject to flts of abstrAc.
ton, in which he often quite forgot
himsolf. One day his domestic broke
into his study with The intelligence
that his house was on IRE. sGo In.
form my wifs, yon know do not in
terfere In household afIhirs, 4
Scaliger only slept . .few hours, and
passed whole days without thinking
Suiiy, when his mind was occupied
with plans OF reform, displayed an ex.
traordiuAry amount Of {or9etfulness,
One d1y IN winter, when on his way
to church, he observed: "How cold Il
il to-day r aNot more than usual, >
said one Of his attendcnts. 1Then /
must have the ague.n Als Il not more
probable that you ar6 too scantily
dressed" he VS. asked. on lifting
his tunic the secret was "a Onoe discov.
cred he had forgotten all his under.
clothes but his breeches.
Mrs. Bray tells q somewhat familiar
story Of tho painter, Stothard. When
invited on one occasion TO dine with
the poet ROgers, on reaching the
house ct st. james place. he complain
ed of being cold, and chancing to nut
his hand on his neck, found he Had
forgotten to put on his cravat, when be
hastily returned home and completed
his attire. .,4 3
Button was very fond Of dress. He
assumed the air Of the grand seigneur,
sported jewels and finery, wore rich
laces and velvets, and was curled and
scented to excess--wearing his hair
en- pap ilotse, while at his studies.
Pope, too, was Q little dandy and
his crooked figure cnveloped in fa3h-
ionable garments, gave him the look
of an overdressed monkey.
V0ltaire, was also fond of magnif.
cent attire, and usually dressed in an
absurd manner.
- Diderot once travelled tom st, Pc
tersburg to Paris, III M morning gown
and night-cap, and in this guise prone.
enaded the streets and public places 0I
the towns ON his route. He was often
taken for . madmAn. While compos.
ing his works he use to walk about
with rapid strides, and sometimes toss.
ing his wig in the air when be strucA
upon q happy idea. One day friend
found him In tears. Good heavens .
exclaimed he, "what is the matter r
Il am weeping said Diderot, cat 4
story | have just completed"
Young, the poet, composed bis
"NIght Thoughts" with . skull before
him, in which he would sometimes put
lighted candle; and he occasionally
sought his sepulchral inspiration By
wandering through the tombs atmid'
night. ~
Mrs. Radcliffe courted the horror,
with which shc filled her gloomy 70,
mances by supping on half-raw beef,
steak plentifully gsrnished with on
ions. ~, sffgs.5s s.
Dryden used to take physic bsfors
settling himself to compose . new
piece. Kant, the German philosopher
while lecturing, had the habit of 6xina
his attention upon one of his auditOrl
who wore . garment without . buttoz
| in . particular place. One day tn
student had the button ssewed ON. Kan
on commencing the lecture, liked hiI
eye ON the usual place. Tho buttor
was therei Fancy the consternatiou
Of the philosopher, whose ideas hai
become associated with that buttoMIesl
garment. His lecturS that day was de
testable he was quits :unhinged by th,
circumstances.
Too many authors have been fond o
the bottle. ,a
Rebalais said, eating and drinkiM1
are my true and only Helicon, my cab
alistie fountain, my sale enthusiasm. !
deliberate; and delibeEating ! drink
Eunius, and -Gschilps Ill got their In
spiration while drinking. Nexerai al
ways had Q large bottle of wine besid,
him among hia book; he drank Of 1
ct each page he wrote. He turned th'
night into day, aud never compOsel
except by lsmplight exen In the day
time. All his Window were dnrken
ed, and II was no unusual thing fol
him to show . friend ths door with
lamp, though out doofs it was brcGl
daylight. On the contrary, Varillss
Il su0 u4sSOAxou nCVSE W1Wvc OACGRS ~ lOk
midday. His ideas, he imagined, ros,
and declined with the snn's light.
--4sND>o
Fee Much Z +. q.
A very funny story Is going tn,
rounds respecting the retirement o
Rev. Henry Ward Beecher frolu tn,
edit0rship Of the Christian Union. Re
c0ntlv thu publiahAra of that raror ,,po
sentsd 10 each Of their subsecribers
smallchromO, representing . baby cir
IN low ncckcd frock holding ca
under one arm and sStlOg under tn
other. 1t was charming bit Of genrs
work, the treatment Of We subject be-
ing strikingly true to mature; but th.
artists idea Of the effort required Il
the child to hold up the animals, eacl
full half the sixe Of herself, did not
comport with the prudish notions O
some of the Christian Union's ANTIGUA
ted supporters. They were grievoiisl,