Spirit of the age. [volume] (Woodstock, Vt.) 1845-1913, 1883-11-14

while all about is storm, Is, Lieutenant
Stamm, of the revenue cutter Andrew
Johnston, says, about ten miles south
of Sabine Pass, and extends about two
miles along the shore and seward
three-quarters of mile. 1t is not no.
ticeable in calm weather, but in a gale
1t takes reddish hue, and is thick and
muddy. The lieutenant has pushed
pole thirty feet in length down into
the soft stratum. The mud is soapy,
and has remarkable cleaning qualities,
If there is oil, the lieutenant says, 1t
comes from the bottom, as none of the
mud of the Sabine river has any of the
properties of that from the "oil spot"
Russia appears to be losing her pre-
eminence as the granary of Europe in
face Of such competing countries as
America and India, but whether or
not she can yet claim to be great
manufacturing country may be seen
from the fact, that according to statis-
tics lately compiled in the Ministry Of
Finance, there are just l7176 large
manufactures and works Of all kinds
in the 50 provinces an extent of land
as big as the rest of Europe-with not
more than 100000 work people en-
ployed. This total does not include
1922 small establishments of the
peasants of not more than five workers
TO each, where chiefly articles of domes-
tic use are wrought, and has been
calculated for the purpose regulating
infant and female labor in works and
factories.
Now that the English people have
done so much to steam the evil Of in
temperance in the use of alcoholic
liquors, they are devoting attention to
intemperance in other things. One of
these things is tea-drinking, concern
ing which there is now considerable
agitation in England. At a large
meeting in London the other day, the
Dean of Bangor spoke of the necessity
of good cooking, and arraigned severely
the pereicious practice of drinking tea.
The practice, he said, renewed threeor
four times day made men and women
weak, and the result was that the tea
kettle went before the gin-bottle, and
the physical and nervous weakness
that had its origin in the bad cookery
of an ignorant wife ended in ruin, in
and disease.
One of the oldest fancies ever con-
ceived almost but not quite, found
recently in Paris, where an
ingenious woman made preparations
for opening cafe of hunchbacks of
every nation. Her plan was to secure
walters and mattresses afflicted with
that deformity and to carry out the
central idea in hunchback furniture,
decorations, china and glass. In order
to secure the custom Of hunchbacks
she inserted advertisements in the
papers inviting people thus misshapen
to free repast on the opening day.
But after she had hired premises on
the Boulevard dies Capucines at rem
tai of $4,000 frances per annum a dis
heartening lack of applicants possess
ing the one essential qualification
her to abandon the project
and her landlord was forced to bring
a suit for his rent.
The Mormon Tabernacle, CORES
pendent Of the st. Paul Pioneer Press
says, is the most wonderful Whisper
ing gallery in the world. When every
body in it is quiet the faintest whisper
may be heard in the remotest part of
the house. 1t will seat 10000 persons.
There is no means of heating it, and in
winter the services are held in an as
sembly-roOm that will seat abou 5000
persons. The other large edihce in
Salt Lake City-the temple, which was
begun thirty years ago--has cost, the
Mormons say, $lO,O00,000 and they
will require S5,000,0O0 to complete it;
but Boston architect recently offered
to duplicate the structure and finish it
within two years for $800000 Its
walls are of solid granite, 9 feet 9 inch
es in thickness. They have reached a
height of about one hundred feet, and
the six towers will rise another hun
dred feet
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A Salt Lake on Top OF Mountain.
There is a remarkable salt lake, sit
uated one hundred and fifty miles
west and south of Albuquerque, in
New Mexico, and about fifty miles
from the Arizona line. The lake is
located on the top of a volcanic noun