Gloucester County Democrat. (Woodbury, N.J.) 1878-1932, 1880-04-22

struction of a railway across it, has now
fairly begun. In addition to the leader.
Colonel Flatter, the party of explora-
tioni comprises nine scientific officers
and twelve French soldiers, besides
numerous camel drivers, chiefly belong
ing to the Chambaas tribe.
The entire length of the costly railway
line of which the st. Gothard tunnel
forms part is Isl miles. The main
tunnel is about nine and one-third miles
long, but there are twelve other long
tunnels which aggregate nearly ten
miles in length; nve tunnels between
22O and $50 yards long, and TWENTY-FIVE
between ITO and 220 yards long. There
are in all no less than ffty-two Of these
subsidiary tunnels. having total length
of sixteen miles. There are also on the
line over sixty-four bridges and viaducts.
A manuscript supposed to have been
written by St. Peter, has lately been dis
covered among the property of man
named Bore, who died last year at
Jerusalem, at the age of 100. The style
of the work has led to the conclusion
that it is authentic, and it is stated that
the London Bible society, which has
dispatched committee to the spot, has
offered Bore's heirs the sum of 800, 600
for its possession. The heirs, however,
refuse to part with the manuscript,
though it seems probable that they will
allow the society to reproduce and
translate it.
A great improvement has Just been
announced in the audiphone After a
long series of experiments, says the
English scientific journal, Nature, Mr..
Thomas Fletcher has found the best
material of which the audiphone can
be made is brentwood veneer. Cut into
an oval disk, steamed and bent to a
curve, it can be conveniently held be-
tween the teeth almost without con-
sciousness of its presence. For some
persons any audiphone is more efficient
help than the trumpet, and this last
named modification of the instrument
promises to become boom to thousands
of deaf persons.
The interesting old Flemish city of
Bruges, which in the height of its pros
perity had population Of some 200, 900
souls, has, since the sanguinary persecu-
tions under Philip H., been gradually
declining in wealth and numbers, so that
at present it does not possess one-fourth
the population it had three centuries ago.
The population of the city, which in
1869 numbered 1881, fell to 1850 in
1877. The lethargy of the inhabitants is
attributed to the effect of the number
less converts and the richly endowed
benevolent institutions which, by per-
petually supplying the wants Of large
numbers of the inhabitants without any
exertion on their part, have tended to
deprive them of that energy and spirit
of independence which are indispensa-
BILE to success in commercial life.
Prince Bismarck has presented to the
imperial parliament very instructive
paper on emigration from Germany dur
ing the year 1879. 1t appears that no
fewer than 81, ,327 subjects of the empire,
nearly two-thirds being males, took ship
last year for foreign ports at Bremen,
Hamburg. Stettin, or Antwerp, by far
the greater number going to the United
States and British North America. This
emigration total is the largest since 1874
when the figure was As, ll2; 1872 and
1873, Immediately after the war, show
ing the very formidable results of l25,-
$50 and 1O3, ,638 respectively. These
figures, it must be remembered, only
gauge the flow Of German emigration
through few leading channels. and by
no means represent the entire loss in
subjects annually suffered by the en-
Dire