The Newtown bee., 1880-10-27
TInELY TOPICS.

TIMELY TOPICS.
 The house of Peleg Barker, in Penn broke, Mass, is supposed 70 be the oid- est house in the United States In the spring of 1899 MT. Barker's great great great grandfather and Frederick Davis built fort of stone and mortar, with portholes from which to defend them- selves against.the Indians. The fort has been used as 9 dining-room by the Barker family tor years. The main house is two-story building, and is only ten years younger than the part that formed the fort. The house is fur nished throughout with old furniture.
 Sir G. W. Des Veux, governor of the Fiji islands, talked with Chicago Tunes reporter while on his way across the continent. Des V9ux is an English man, but for years has been one of the 1000 whites who live among the l50,000 natives on the eighty islands forming the Fiji group. He Said that until three yesrs ago the mountain region of Ovalan was occupied by ferocious cannibals mum bering about 10000, and given be- yond question to man eating in their festival ceremonies. These savages are X governor predicts prosperity to enlight- ened Fijians.
 The nation that may advance with hostile intentions against apan few years hence must be prepared to count the cost. In 1872 Japan established an arsenal at Tokio, Osaka and Oji, on plans furnished by French artillery officers. Three years later, so we'll had the native workmen learned their duties, the Tokio arsenal turned out 93, GOO caps, 45, ,000 ball and blank cartridges, l0t, 900 Snider cartridges and 10000 rounds of artillery ammunition. At the Osaka arsenal during the first year of it's completion 200 four-pound bronze field-euns were finished, and leo four pound mountain howitzers, besides the wood and iron work of several field batteries, and 5000 sets of harness and horse equipments.
 While congregation of 500 persons was leaving an upper room in which the thiI mass had been concluded near Manchester. Eng land, short time ago, one of the beams running from wall to wall collapsed. A large portion of the floor gave way. rrecipitating eighty or Q hundred persons into the schoolroom beneath, 8 distance of nearly twenty feet. 4 woman died directly after being recovered from the ruins, and twenty other persons were conveyed to the in firmary, five or six of them having fractur ed legs. There being only one way of egress from the room, those in that part of the church nearest the altar had to be rescued through the windows by means of ladders. Subsequent ex animation showed that the accident oc- cured through the giving way of an iron column supporting the beam.
 An interesting copyright case has just been decided at New York. After the death of Washington Irving his nieces enjoyed the revenue from the gale ot his writings, and controlled their publica- tion under the copyright. This copy right having expired firm of book sellers prepared to issue 8 volume of selections from the great writer's pro- ductions, under the title of 'Irving's Works" The Misses Irving and tl.sir publishers at once sought to obta,ii 8 permanent injunction, claiming that after the expiration of his copyright an author, or his heirs, has, or have, 8 common law right to control the publi- cation of his works. They also claim 8 trademark right in the title "Irving's i Works.n The suit was tried in supreme | court, special term, last summer. Judge 1 Miles Beach has decided the action in favor of the defendants.
 Some one inquired the other day why people shake hands on meeting, and why 1 the greeting wouldn't be more expres- sive if they rubbed their noses together. The same iconoclast probably writes in the One for AU on Substitutes for Kissing" Some rude races," he tells us, 'have strange substitutes for kiss ing. Of Mongol father 8 traveler writes: He smelt from time to time the head of his youngest son, mark oi paternal tenderness usual among the Mongols, instead of embracing.' In the same way, according to another traveller, the Burmese do not kiss ench other in the western fashion, but apply the lip and nose to the cheek and make 8 strong inhalation Moreover, the ramoans salute by juxtapositions ol roses, accompanied not by rub but 8 hearty smell.' There is Scriptural pre- cedent for such customs. When blind came to him was Jacob or not, he smelt the smell of his raiment and h 5sed him."
 The actual strength of the Turkish army is, owing to the impossibility ot obtaining accurate information respect. ing it's distribution, the effective of the several units, etc., extremely difficult to estimate, but according to calculation made by 8 Prussian officer, there were altogether from l5O,O to ,0OO men under arms at the end of 1879. Another Prussian officer, however, estimates that at the close of the last year there were not more than ll0. GOO Turkish soldiers ir European Turkey, and still another estimate puts the number at betweer 95, GOO and 100000, but of these more than half may be set down as recruits On the Greek frontier, however, large number of irregular troops have as. sem oled; but the strength of these, as well as ot the Albanian league, cannot be even approximately estimated. The men of the regular army are well-armed but 8 large number of them, being re- cruits called to the colors during tae past summer, are only very imperfectly trained; while, as officers, non-com- missioned officers and men alike have received no pay so 10 speak of for two years, the discipline of the army is greatly impaired.
 Almost every New England village oi E.uch prosperity now has it's Society for Promoting Rural Improvement, the work of which is to induce and direct tasteful architecture and gardening. Bishop Clark, of Rhode Island, in g Leolger article, emphasizes the value oi these societies by describing Fortbridge in 1870 and in 1880. This is Fortbridge as it was: The houses bordering the main street are all inclosed by rail fences, picket fences and dilapidated stone walls, with creaky turnstiles and gates half unhinged, and drunken posts leaning against an old stump for support patches of unshorn grass and weedy l gravel faggats of bark and wood ana