Wheeling register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1878-1935, 1882-05-10
CURRENT THOUGHTS.
An English Critic onlAmerican Novels.

The Sp',r,tay Rsrie'r.
The usual fault of American novels is
the presence Of an atmosphere Of sim
mering Irritation. Every man is more
or less interested" in every young wo-
man, and every young woman is balauc-
ing the merits of every man. PTOba-
bly, good many young persons do pass
n good deal Of their time in this way,
but the perpetual description of it be-
comes little unpleasant. The Amer
lean novelist is altogether too much Oc-
cupied with young girls" as they are
always called. He shows an al
most unhOly acquaintance with the
psychology of young girls.
John owen.
Thea HeTuLd.
There is something very touching in
the death of John Owen of Cambridge,
following 80 closely after that Of his
cousin and lifelong friend, Henry w.
LOngfellOw. They were both born in
Portland, Mr.. Owen in 1907. They
were school boys together, FELLOWSHIP
dents in BOwdOin college, they both
settled at Cambridge, andllived tOgeth-
er, there, in unbrOken harmony, all THE
rest of their lives. Owen studied theOlO-
CIV but has never preached much. He
has been a bookseller, and for many
wears has led quiet, book worm life on
the third story ola building in CAM
bridge, where his rooms ire curiosity
! TO persons able to get into them. His
gentle nature and manly character
| greatly endeared him to the poet.
The Highest Building In Europe.
Builder.
Hitherto the hOspice of the Great st.
| Bernard, which stands $500 feet above
/ the level Of the sea, has enjoyed the dis
! tinctiOn of being the most elevated in
/ habited building in Europe. This honor
| il can now no longer claim. Duringth
| past year the city authorities of Catania,
| in Sicily, have caused to be erected near
| the summit of the great volcano,
| Mount Etna, an astronomical ObServa-
/ tory which stands 2,9t3 meters above
| the sea level, or fully 1000 feet higher
/ than the hOspice of st. Bernard. The
/ structure is nine meters in height, and
/ covers and area of 200 square meters.
! Ii consists of an upper and lower story,
| and is built in a circular form. In the
| lower story there rises massive pillar,
| upon which is placed the great refract-
/ ing telescope. The lower story Is di-
| vided into a dining-rOOm, kitchen and
! stOre-rOOms. In the upper story there
/ are three bedrooms intended for the ac-
| commOdatiOn of the astronomers and
| tourists visiting the establishment
/ The roof consists of a movable cupOla or
| dome. From the balconies of the upper
/ stories prospect of vast extent and
/ grandeur is presented. The spectator
/ is able to see over half the island of
| Sicily, the island of Malta, the Lipari
/ islands, and the province of Calabria on
/ the mainland Of Italy. The ObServa-
| tory j. erected ON small cone, which
I will, i'm case of eruption, protect it com
/ pletely from the downstream which al
| ways flows down on the opposite side oil
| the volcano.
AnnoyauePs OF Travel i'm Brazil.
| Mr.. Earnest Morris, the young travel
/ Grand naturalist, who has just returned
! from Brazil, repeats the general Obser-
/ walton of explorers, that the eXuberance
/ Of insect life is the principal obstacle to
| the enjoyment of a SO-journ in that part
| of the world. COckroacheS swarm IN
! every house despite the inroads of an
| army of spiders which sally forth from
! every chink to prey upon them;
/ scorpions are intrusive and dangerous;
a small red insect called the "mecuim,'
! is an intOlerable annoyance; at certain
hours Of the day the air is black with
! flies and mosquitoes; and ants are a
universal plague. To battle these last
named foes of peace, Mr.. Morris was
obliged to keep his entire collections on
! hanging shelves the cords of which
were soaked in the oil of eopaiba. THE
most destructive ant in BRAZIL says
Mr.. Morris, sis the sanba. 1t will strip
trees of their f. lliage in a single night and
! inmany places orange trees cannot be
grown for this reason. The tocandeira
Is a very large ant, the bite of which Is
| poisonous and makes painful sore.
! / was once rendered unable to work for
a week from bite received from one OF
these ants. Some species travel in
large bodies, marching in straight line
| and never turning to the right or left.
If a house lies in . track of one OF these
marching bodies, unless they are COM
pletely exterminated they will pass
through. Nothing will be injured, but
every crack and crauny will survive the
visitation. They are, therefore, regard
ed as friends, and their advent IS al
WAYS welcomed. Go where you will in
Brazil, YOU will meet ants. You live,
sleep and eat with them-and eat them,