The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1880-05-12
FIHELY TOPICS.

rIHELY TOPICS.
A Texan professor has written a
pamphlet to prove that cities built OF
limestone are the hcnlthiest in the
world. and never much visited by
ma. .arial diseases, including yellow
fever. The argument is that the lime
stone absorbs carbonic acid arising
from animal and vegetable decomposl-
ton.
The St. Gothard tunnel furnishes an
other striking example OF accurate sur
veying. Althou gh the entire length ol
the tunnel is inc and quarter miles,
the two galleries were bored with such
precision that they met with q differ
ence of only four inches in level and q
lateral deviation of less than eight
inches.
There is terrible distress in Asia
Minor, even within fifty miles of Con-
stantinople. Cattle, sheep and Angora
goats are carried off in large numbers
By disease. Brigandage, which is almost
necessitated by hunger, is on the in
crease. The country between Angora
and Ismidt is becoming desert. Four
thousand people of the Moussoul dis
trict have emigrated to Bagdad.
The preserving of fruits has grown to
be an enormous industry in the United
States during the past twenty years, and
one which appears to be steadily in
creasing. Delaware was a few years
since the great center Of this industry,
and had almost monopoly of the busi-
ness; but recently preserving estab blish-
ments have sprung up in nearly all
localities where variety of fruits are
raised in any considerable amount.
In France, in addition to registering
a letter they must insure it, the ins ur
ance charge per letter heing one cent.
The weight of an insured letter is
marked on the envelope, and on arrival
at its destination the letter is again
weighed, and il the second weighing
tallies with the marks, and If the letter
shows no evidence OF having been tam
pered with, it is assumed to be in the
same condition as when mailed. The
insurance is liable for the sale delivery
of the letter in the same condition as
when mailed, but the contents are not
directly insured. 9.
The Christians in Armenia appeal to
the civilized nations of the world to
save them from threatened extermina-
tion at the hands of the Turks. They
are denied the rights of citizenship,
their lands are wrested from them on
trihing pretenses, their homes are
ravaged, and their women treated with
| the utmost brutality. For all this there
is no redress. The Turks. call them
"Christian dogs" and treat them &C
cordingly. Since the Crimean war the
Christian population of Armenia has
been reduced one-fourth, and in some OF
the cities and towns there are no Chris
tians left.
In cases of suspended animation, or
asphyxia, life should not be too soon
given up. Discussing premature buri-
ais, in = recent communication to the
French Academy, Professor Fort states
that he was enabled to restore to life a
child three years old by practicing arti-
fetal respiration on it four hours, COM
mencing three hours and half after ap-
| 6parh n another ca9p which
came under his observation, physician
restored q nearly drowned person alter
four hours of artificial respiration.
This person had been in the water ten
minutes, and the physician arrived one
hour after asphy4ia.
In the village of Fairmount, Ind, ex-
lists q singular fanatical religions society
known rs the" Raperites;" the origi-
nator of the society being one Raper,
who made money some years ago by
charging his neighbors fees for collect
ing notes, and when attorneys fees were
abolished by law, turned his attention
to religion. He is attracting quite fol-
lowing, numbering some of the most re-
spectable citizens of the village. They
profess extreme holiness. and al entire
separation from the world and its sorGid
pursuits Some of them are 80 extreme
in their views as to refuse to pray IN
their families, on account OF the
! home circle being corrupted by labor
ing for bread. Their leader processes
the utmost familiarity with the Deity,
talking with him face to face, shaking
hands with the Savior, and many other
impossibilities.
AS time goes on and books multiply,
says the Saturday Revisso, it must cease
to be considered discreditable not to
have read everything above q certain
degree of celebrity. The obvious and
growing impossibility of acquiring an
exhaustive knowledge of even stand
ard works must force upon US a new
estimate of what constitutes scholar
ship. The plethora of print under
which we are suffering will have one
good effect if it drives US to aim less 1t
the requirement Of complete knowledge
than at the possession of full and we'll
ordered minds. To know where to
look for any particular kind OF literary
food for which we may hunger is an ad-
vantage second only to that OF being
we'll supplied with it; and TOR this ad-
vantage we depend in a great measure
upon our knowledge Of unread authors.
It is well worth while to study the
geography of literature, even II we can
not hope to be great travellers ourselves.
Reviews and other critical works serve
+bo eo,,o nrrooon "a v0voreS 1nd travels.
and are, on the whole, not less trust
worthy.
The Wonderful Man Without Limbs.
Mr.. Kavanagh, the Irish member OF
parliament whose lack of arms and legs
! is accompanied by plentiful supply oi
brains, had in his youth a very, sorrow
full life. After the early death OF his
father and mother, he was under the