The Austin weekly statesman. (Austin, Tex.) 1883-1898, 1883-12-20
MISCELLANEOUS MATTERS AND
THINGS.

The Boston s. Albany railroad COM
pany uses five tons of passenger tick
els annually.
There are more than 100000 tele-
phones in use in the United States,
and manufacturers are unable to keep |
up with their orders.
The Jim" river, in Dakota, is said |
TO be the longest uDnavigable river in |
the United States, if not in the world,
its distance being nearly a thousand |
miles.
The largest locomotive ever built |
is now being made in Sacramento by |
the Central Pacific railroad. The |
engine and tender will weigh los tons |
and will be . feet in length.
In the four years between 1882 |
there were one hundred and seven |
condemnations in England and only |
iifty-oue executions. Capital punish |
ment Is going out Of fashion.
The president of the Mormons:
Now gentlemen, divorces are what
you want. Matrimony at best is a
burden. Look at me! With all my
opportunities, l don't indulge in even
one wife,
n little German boy defined "dema-
gogue" rs "a vessel that holds beer,
wine, gin, whisky or any other kind |
of intoxicating liquors." He either
had the word dsmijohn in his mind or
was thinking of some bowling Kansas
prohibitionist we know.
The centrifugal process Of making
butter is becoming quite popular. A
machine now in use in Chester county.
Pa, has a capacity of about 1000
pounds Of milk per hour, and is run
by water power at a speed OF nearly
1900 revolutions per minute.
The confirmation of Sitting Bull in
Catholic rites has been indefinitely
postponed in consequence of his ina
bility to decide which of his two
wives to give up. Bishop Marty says
neither Sitting Bull nor any of his
followers can be baptized until the lat
ter agree to conform to the one-wife
doctrine.
A white man in New York, who
had been drinking heavily, fell from
pier into the East River. He saved
himself, however, from being entirely
submerged by catching hold OF one of
the piles Of the pier. His head did
not go under, and yet the shock of
falling into the cold water was so
great that when pulled up on to the
pier he was found to be dead.
Within comparatively brief period
two residents of Louisville have died
Of strains suffered while acting as
pall-bearers. 1t IS believed that tfi-
fact moved Prof. J. Lawrence Smith,
q well-known scientific man, to re-
quest in his will that none of his
friends be asked to be bearers of his
coffin, and to direct that six strong
men be employed for that purpose.
William II. Vanderbilt has commits
stoned 81. MeiSsonier to paint for him
great military picture, and the eX-
pectation is Ghat the distinguished
artist will produce work that will
rival, if it does not excel, his famous
1897" fer which the late Mr.. a. L.
Stewart paid $4,000, and which is
now the most important picture in
Mr.. stewards gallery on Fifth avenue,
New York.
John Urkhart Andrews, leader of
the New York draft riots of 1868, is
| dead. He was born at Smithfield, Va,
/ September, IA, 1926, and was the son of
| Dr.. George w. Andrews, u prominent
physician. He was a graduate of the
| University of Virginia. He did more
than any other man to inspire the
mob's p ssions, and he served term
il Sing Sing for his offense. He was
lawyer by profession.
Says a correspondent OF the New
York Tribune: [ recently saw on the
Pennsylvania railroad locomotives
numbered as high as 1000 and over.
and freight cars with capacity of
$1,000 pounds. 1t is a wonderful road.
at one point we passed, while run
ming for several minutes, scores of en-
gines fred up and ready for duty. We
came from Philadelphia in precisely
two hours by straight, steady pull
the whole distance.
Mrs. Frances Wilkeson, OF Roche5-
ter, n. V, sued for separation from
her husband. on the ground that she
was firmly convinced that he would
one day murder her. The reason for
her believing this was that on two
successive nights she dreamed that
she would die by his hand. She adj
mitted, however, that Mr.. Wilkeson
had always been kind to her, while
the latter testified that he had never
| thought of harming her.
Speaking of heroine, a Louisville
lady did a big washing on Saturday.
at midnight Of the same day, she
went for a doctor, who, on arriving at
| the house, was surprised to learn that
the messenger herself was to be his
patient, and her child was born the
next morning-Sunday. On the next
day-Monday-she was not only up
and about, but actually thrashed her
husband. Il stalwart fellow, who could
have easily taken his own part with a
| man.
NJ. Maspero, the French arch@olc-
giSt, has discovered on the site of an
cient Thebes a subterranean Coptic
church OF the fifth century, with
many inscriptions. These inscriptions
| are written on white stones with. red
ink, and are mostly well preserved.
| The largest is one of 300 lines against
the Monophysites, written in the The
ban dialect. Another contains dec
laration Of Cyril of Alexandria against
| Nestorius. The whole interior is COW
cred with addresses to different saints
in the Coptic, Greek and Syrian IAN
guages.
alse Issues.
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