National Republican., 1884-04-14


"
ROBERT BoNNERs wealth is estimated at
100000.
The now washing-out process in the Butler
Dutch Gap canal, on the James river works ad-
mirably, andit is expected that the largest sea-
going vessels will be able TO 1t, thus shortening
the route TO Richmond by five and ono.half miles.
The way the value of raw material in-
creases when manufactured is exempllHed In the
case OF seal skin sacques The Alaska seal hunters
get forty cents each for the skins the fur company
gets S24 each for them In London, and when made
into sacques they worth from 500 to $500 each.
THE most crushing objection thus far re-
corded to the scheme for converting the Sahara
into sea has just dropped from the pen OF a
statistcian, who calculates that a caual 100 feet
wide and twenty-five feet deep, with flow Of
four miles an hour, would require several thou
sand years TO flood the desert.
PRINCE BIsMARcK's annual revenues
amount TO about S25 600. He lives quietly, but is
hospitable, and wishes all his visitors to feel at
home while under his roof When living on his
estates he occupies himself with forestry and his
avorite walk Is in the oak woods when his favorte
flower, the heather, is in bloom.
THE following are given as the daily allow
ances OF carnivora at the Jardin des Plantes in
Paris: For each Hon. tiger, and bear 10 pounds Of
flesh for each panther, pounds for each hyena.
pound, and for each eagle, pounds. All of this
meat must be fresh aud free from bones.
THE Marquis dc Leuville, who is to marry
Mrs Frank Leslie, wears an immense black beard
and long black hair, all pomaded and puffed and
curled in the most extraordinary fashion. His
shoulders are padded to an extent that is simply
comic, and his waist drawn in by corsets until It
is no bigger than the waist Of fairly robust
woman.
A CLERGYMAN was devoutly reading the
Holy Scriptures 10 his congregation, when he
came TO certain words in the lower rghthand
corner to which he desired to give great emphasis.
So he read with loud voice: ~ am'-turned
over two leaves and contnued-"an ass, the foal
of an ass'-theu, seeing his mistake, found the
right place, and added-"that am, which, Of
course, nobody would deny"
FAIR Parisennes with whom money is no
object and who aspire to everything that is pscu,
diversity the flowers they according to the
time of day. In the morning, from to IL or H.
violets are the correct blossom; from to mi
mosa is oil the rage hyacinths or primroses are
considered dinner wear; and at dances, soirees,
and, In fuct after IL at night, gardenias, cape
| heaths, white lilncs, or roses are permissible.
Two of the three large fortified points des-
| tined TO constitute the front line of Germany's
eastern frontier defcpses are now virtually COM
| pleted. Posen, like Koengsberg, has been en-
|
| connected with each other and with the citadel
| by subterraneau telegraph wires. BY the end of
| the year Thorne will also be belted with forts.
All three of these places will rank as strongholds
with Strasburg and Metz.
THE Protestant churches are represented to
be making rapid headway with religious work in :
Mexico. The Presbyterians have 1fty-siS mis- /
sionaries, over 1000 commuuicants, and 400 chill |
dren in their mission schools; the EpiscopalIans !
| -ny nj nf nj
cants, and 400 scholars In their mission schools
the Methodists have eighty-sx missionaries and
teachers, and large number of members in their
churches and other denominations are meeting
with equal success.
GEN. BUTLER has tho faculty that is also
attributed TO De Lesseps, the French engineer Of
going to sleep whenever he desires to. regardless
of time, place, or circumstances. Sleep with him
| is as much matter of will power as writing or
walking or talking, aud it is said that he can
wake himself up whenever he wants to. He
looks at his watch, finds that he has fifteen min
utes unoccupied, shuts his eyes, takes snooze,
and wakes up at the end OF the time as promptly
as If he had an alarm clock beside him.
HIS MAJESTY CHRISTIAN TX OF Denmark
| is not n particularly brilliant man. II all storie
told Of him are true One day he went hunting
near Copenhagen and forgot his riding boots. As
he was in great hurry to get them he ordered
his aid not to send messenger for them, but to
have them sent by telegraph. The aid informed
him most respectfully that 1t was impossible, to
which the king replied ood-naturedly, ~ know
II is not the custom to send things that way, but
thought they would make an exception with me-"
He finally got his boots by messenger.
CALIFORNIA has long had little trade with
Russian Asia. Small consignments OF suppliesa are
sent every spring to Petropaulowski, Nielaefski.
and the Amoor river. For the first ten years after
1864 the amount was 81 6l 700 aud for the last ten
years sl,265,S0O. Flour has been prominent item
in these exports from the start. Last year 5000
barrels Of flour were sent valued at s3l 900 There
were also value of $40 900 In dry goods. novel
item in the exports from San Francisco to Russian
Asia last year was steamboat valued at $4,000,
for use in the Amoor river.
WORK entitled "a Curious History of
Swearing" has jus; been issued in London Ac.
oording to its scholarly and intelligent author
when a man says 81 don't care a dam" he is
not swearing at all, but merely quoting the Duke
OF Wellington. who invented tho expression and
introduced its use. II appears that there used to
be coin in India, OF indnitesimal value called
dam" and that is what the man doesn't care"
So, too, according to the author OF the book, the
phrase, don't care n curse" milder form OF the
Iron Dukes oath, but merely the equivalent of
don't care cress,'' the word course" being an
old form of "cress."
THE first year of the existence Of the Now
YORK elevated railways they carried 10 o,iOl pas
sengers; last year the number was o., ii3 They
were built none 100 for the city's needs, and
their enliying effect on real estate was almost i'm
mediately perceptible. During the four years
prior to the opening of the elevated railways
that is from 1875 to 1875 inclusive-the net In
crease OF assessments of real estate, as shown by
the annual reports of the tax commissioners, was
s2l l363,6sO. For the four years subsequent to tho
opening of the elevated roads the increase was
sl3i,3i 1915. The twelfth ward comprising that
portion of Manhattan island lying north Of Gem
tral park reaped the chief benefit of rapid transit
From 1875 TO 1878 the twelfth ward showed a net
} decrease Of 81, ,S9276O in its real estate values
! while for the next lour years the net increase
reached the wonderful figure of S3i, ,7s3, ,374.
THE census returns Of st, Petersburg, which
have recently been published, give Il curious pic.
ture of tho population of the Russian capital The
number OF inhabitants, including the suburbs is
92sOl6 of which only 253O7 are born at St. Peters
burg. The hucIuating population consists chiefly
in poasauts the greater part of whom are from the
Province of Tver, The different classes are repre-
sented as follows; IL per cent peasants 20 per
cent midde.class citizens, l3 per cent subalterns
IL per cent mobiles, per cent priests per cent
foreigners, per cent Fins . per cent merchants
ana per cent honorary citizens The difference in
the number OF the two sexes has gradually de-
creased since 1869, when to every lO0.mRles there
wero 1870 female inhabitants, whereas there are
4 only 12l of the latter at Dregent The number of