The New York herald., 1879-12-28
PERSONAL INTELLIGENCE.


Senator Henry w. Blair. Of New Hampshire. is at
the Fifth Avenue Hotel.
Eugene Labiche. the author of "Box and Cox" has
officially presented himself as candidate for the
French Academy.
The Duke of Edinburgh is homo body. He is
never jolly in boisterous way. but he is always
pleasant and cheerful.
Short dialogue from LEstafette:-"Combien d'Acads-
iciens d-t-ap" 400" 'Tu NETS un zero de trop."
"Jamais dutant qu'H ga"
Goldfish balls should have very little Goldfish in
them. Some landladies leave out the Goldfish al
together and SO nobody is disappointed.
Perhaps no other writer gives better idea Of the
life Of an English tenant farmer than George Eliot
does-especially in her novel Of "Adam Bede."
France is like runaway horse. Every once in
while she smashes everything all to pieces. and then
has now and stronger set of harness put on her.
Secretary Of the Navy Thompson, accompanied by
his daughter. Miss Jennie Thompson. left Terre
Haue. Ind. last night in special car for Washing
ton.
Kinglake. the historian is lawyer as we'll a. the
heir to large property. He has all his life long
studied plans OF battles in war; and he rode beside
Raglan in tho Crimca. He is very slow. conscien.
tious and patient in his work. and while reading
him one cannot help thinking that he must have
been partially asphy by the gas from the Md
night oil.
According to tho law pronounced by Western
Judge who is walking has much right to ba
in the road horse has. The driver Of the horse.
having plenty Of room deliberately refused to turn
out. saying that the road belonged to him and his
horse and wagon. The man who was injured took
ordinary precaution, but the driver. who was
farmer in good circumstances and deacon in tho
church. insisted that the ought to be down.
The Judge thought differently.
London Truth:-"Russians may be roughly divided
into two species; is patient, secrctive, thanks
Heaven by word of mouth for everything Detailing
him. and keeps everything that terments in the
brain and troubles it well out Of the tongues
The other type is morcaral and nervous it is easily
elated, easily depressed aud easily fred up with
what appears to be enthusiasm, but which is more
often than not the oppression Of the brain by the
The Russian OF this category is the arsto-
crat. and is to be met with in gambling houses,
Salons the grand hotels Of Continental watering
places, and also sometimes in the lecture Of
the Sorbonne and the noisy cafes Of the Quarter
Latin"
From the Paris Gauiois:-"L' 'annonce de raffreux
temps qui regne Paris nous est venue d'Amerique.
10 decembre. par depecho C'est au bureau metso-
rologique du journal 10 NEW YORK HERALD que nous
sommes redevables de funebre ct trop ponctue1
ADVERTISEMENT. Notre confrere AMERICAN, le cres-
avantages ncontestables que donnai 10 service davis
met6oroogiques etabli aux Etats-Unis. crea uu bu.
meteoroogique local. qui devat donner 10 prS-
vision du temps pour In region avoisinante ct init
la tate de Get etablissement NJ j. Collins NJ Collins
6tudiant la marche des tempates travers 10 CONT.
nent anerican arriva cette conviction que certai-
mes dentre eles traverser Pocean OF abordeR
l'Europe. Son opinion trouva bient5t conhrmee
par un certain nombre de fats probants. Le IA To-
vrier 1877 envoya par 10 cable transatlantique II
premiere depeche relative sujet. ct Ia prediction.
laquelle on n'avait guere ajoute fol France,
rsalisa au jour indique, le 10 fevrier. est
curieux de vor la meteoroioge ocielle depassee OF
vaincue par los observations m6teorologiques dun
Journalistic"
Mr.. Proctor writes from Ilion December 26:-
''The idea that Sodom and Gomorrah may have been
destroyed by meteoric downfall is not altogether
new I advanced It. but not very seriously.
several years ago in the English Mechanic, and
1t taken up quite seriously by an in
genious. though rather fiery correspondent Of
that journal. Mr.. E. L. Garbett, the we'll known
architect. He took up the theory precisely in the
form in which had half jestingly, suggested It,
viz--that the meteor system which produced the
destruction Of the cities of the Plain. was the
called November system which at that remote
dato would have been . September system. It
can be shown that Temples comet. in whose
track the November meteors travel. must have
passed near. and may have passed very near indeed
to the earth, at about the time which tradition
signs to the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah.
Moreover there be little doubt that the comets
meteor train was then far moro compact than Il II
ut present Again. 1t Is certain that among
the meteors of tho November system
are many which far exceed in size those
seen during the display of November
~ - rt~~~
1914, 1888. some Of the falling were bright
enough to cause distinct shadows to be thrown.
Supposing the meteors forming tho comet itself.
very to the comet to bo larger yet they would
probably be able to break their way through the
air tho larger meteorites do, and IL strewn with
proportionate density. so as to fall In the
form of o compact stream, they would
descend as very destructive shower
upon whatever part Of tho earths surface happened
to be most fully exposed to them. Now it happens
strangely enough. that at the time mentioned In the
verse you quote-'The sun was risen upon
tho earth when Lot entered into zoar; thcn
tho Lord rsinod upon sodom and Gomorrah brln-
stone and Are from tho Lord out OF heaven
the destroyed cities lay almost centrally on that
disk of the earth which was turned toward tho
'.radiant" Of the November metoors. II ever .
special and not very large district OF tho earth could
be rained upon by motoors that towns In It could
be destroyed tho catastrophe would unquestionably
DO attended by just such circumstances these---
that Is. the region would bo IS fully possible ex-
posed to the hail OF mocors. and this hail would bo
as heavy ~ possible. which would require that
either the comet itself part of its meteor train
very close to tho comet should be tho source of
the meteoric hail. In the supposed. tho
velocity you have mentioned would be far exceeded;
for not only does the earth herself speed aloug
round tho sun a the rate of loo miles per minuto
or more than eighteen miles per second. but the No
vcmber meteors travel with greater velocity, bout
twenty-four miles per second--meoting hor almost
full tit that We have for tho velocity with which
the meteors rush through the air. something like
forty miles per second. Add to this that when tho
meteors OF November 1914. 1896. were examined
with the spectroscope, tho element which was found