Richland beacon. [volume] (Rayville, La.) 1869-1890, 1880-11-06
MatrimOny in Russia.

| lii' 'Uip'NShtT DOte, sdNS LONDON pa
per, there are i.arts of the Russian
empire i'll which it is no easy matter TO
get married, owing to the autOcratic
willfulness Of the Russian clergy. A
schoUlmaster in the district of lucknow
was engaged to wed the daughter of a
landowner III the neighborhoOd, whose
wealth WAS not at all prCpOrtiOnate to
his acres The bridegroom, bride, and
the parents Of the latter called on the
priest of the lady's village, in order to
settle the amount Of the wedding fee.
The clergyman fixed it at twenty-five
rubles. Unhapply the brides father
was determined to make q show more in
accordance with his ancestral dignity
than with his impoverished condition,
and invited all his kinsfolk and acquaint-
ance from far and near to attend the GER
emony. The result was that the pro-
cession to the church included no fewer
than eleven carriages, all full Of wedding
guests. -
| When the priest tGw this magnificent
preparation he hurried to the bridegroom
and informed him that the fee for mar
rlage of such pretenslOns would not be-
twenty-five but 100 rubles. When the
man pleaded his poverty rs school
master, the pastor replied by pointing
to the signs of his father-in-law' wealth.
The wedding party held consultation,
and, indignant at the priests conduct,
resolved that the whole procession
should drive of to the next village. The
priest outwitted, them, however. His
messenger arrived at his brother cleric's
door long before the numbering coaches,
50 that when they reached the church
and asked the price Of the sacerdOtal
function the parish priest was ready
with the reply-'One hundred rubles |"
The procession started again for q
further village, but the messenger had
got there before them, and the priest of
the place could not marry them for less
than 100 rubles. They experienced q
similar discontinue, according to the
reports, ut no less than four village
! churches, and it was only after long
drive across the country that they sue
ceeded in finding little father who
readily consented to bestOw the sacra-
mental benediction of matrlmony for the
fee which the lady's own pastor had
originally asked.
Are There Glaciers on the Surface OF
the Noon
This is Il question which had long
puzzled the inhabitants, especially of
Northern countries for the orb was al
ways regarded as a cold body. In fact,
some of the more untutOred OF the an
clients supposed the moon to he an i'm
mcnsc sheet or globe Of transparent ice
fixed in space, and only made visible by
the departure Of the sun below the hori-
zon. They supposed the surroundings
Of the moon to be SO cold as to prevent it
| from thawing for all time.
Now, if it is true that the moon is n
dead star, as we are told, there are no
| glaciers upon it. If, on the other hand,
the moon is not dead star, it may have
! glaciers on its surface. 1t has been
shown in previous article that there is
one side of the surface of the moon
which We never see, but the probability
is that the unseen side has the same con-
! formation and geological appearance
(such rs extinct volcanoes, dried-up
oceans, etc as the side which We can
See aIul which astronomers tudv through
powerful telescopes.
After all. however, the moon Ill We
an orb of perpetual cold, and. even ii it
contained glaciers Oh its surface
| similar to those on the earth, their ac-
ton would not create heat. In this con-
nection it may be remarked that Prof
Marks, of Philadelphia, stated at re-
cent meeting of the Franklin Institute
that he had made some calculations Of
the maximum speed at which locOmO-
tives could be driven before the centri-
, fugal force on the tires of the driving
wheels would become SO great rs to
| cause them to burn. These calculations,
which, however, were approximate only,
showed that the limit Of speed was in
the neighbOrhoOd of $50 miles per hour.
Now, some of the glaciers move only
about an inch in day, some even less.
DIR. H. j. Klein, who two years
ago announced new crater in the
moon, has brief article in La Nature.
in which he gave reasons for believing
that the moon is not dead. He has re-
Gently examined drawings Of the neigh
borhood of the new crater, which con-
firm the theory of recent changes on the
lunar surface, and cites also other draw
ings in further proof thereof. Prof.
Klein adds that he announced the new
depression near Hyginus as q crater,
from analogy. 1t is crater funnel, and
even one of the largest. Toward the
south there is a shallow spoon shaped
hollow, which terminates In q second
small crater. In full sunlight, when the
interior Of the large hollow of the crater
is no longer in shadows the spoon.
shaped hollow may still be seen as a
gray spot. Blythe use of high telescopic
powers it is remarked that the environs
of the new crater appear to be fissured
in bewildermg manner. Two fine fur.
rows, like clefts in the soil, which ex-
tend from the north toward the Snail
mountain, are the finest objects on the
moon.
An hours conversation was easily car
ned on between Albany and Lyons, n.
T., distance of POT miles, by means Of