The Republican. [volume] (Oakland, Md.) 1877-current, 1885-10-03
MISCELLANE OUS,

Phiiade}Dhia TINES.
The indications are that the great
Lick Observatory in California will be
completed in 1897 French firm having
successfully solved the problem of cast
ing the disc, which is to be threet feet
in diameter.
"A late critic gives it as his opinion
that the word rye in Burns song,
Coming Thro' the Rye" means river,
and not a field; that the author in
tended the word to mean crossing on
the stepping stones in the river Rye
Chicago Heraid.
The wits Of the people in England
go wool-gathering just as they do here,
it seems. Last year there were $4,000
letters posted in England without any
address upon them, and in 1,600 of
them coins and money were enclosed.
"A book has been published which
advocates the eating of nom arnivorous
insects. As Abraham Lincoln once re-
marked; For those who like this sort
of thing it is quite probable that this
sort of thing is Just about the sort of
thing they would like"
The late DR.. Holland evidently
thought there was a better way Of
spending ones time than in card play
ing. He described it as ''the resort of
the starved in soul and intellect, which
has never in any way linked to itself
tender, elevating, or beautiful associa-
tons. ~ 0ngreg0tiORajlSt.
There is nothing new IN the idea of
pneumatic tubes. A pneumatic con-
veyor for letters, etc, was suggested
by DR.. Papin, in 1888; patented by
Madhurst in England, 1910, on tho
compressed air principle, and by Valen-
tine in 1924, on the exhaust principle.
N Y Sun.
| The First Kiss of Love:
| Her cheeks are flushed. her eyes are wet,
She hcaVes gentle sigh;
! Her hair is musscd, she scarce knows yet
What's bcst-tO laugh or cry.
What makes her blush and tremble so
| With mighty JOY and fright?
| The first time in his life her beau
! Had kissed her sweet goodnight.
The largest and finest collection of
| orchids in this country is owned by
Hon. Erastus Corning of Albany, for
which he was offered and refused 1878,
/ 600 by syndicate The late Mrs Nor
gan, of New York, left Il choice col
I lection valued at $3.50, 600. ALbany
J0urRal.
In Portland, Me-, recently an in
genious device was discovered for evad-
ing the liquor law. A lead pipe was
carried up chimney to the second
story of the house, and investigation
showed that it was carried beneath the
ground across the yard to another
building fully one hundred feet away
L. Il
story, were two barrels of beer, the
pipe running up the wall to connect
them with.-N Y. Post.
1t is said that there is not a gam
bling-house in Boston which is OF pro-
tected by thick, bolted door, at
which a Waterman always stands.
Electric commentators warn the occu-
pants as soon as any unknown person
comes in sight. so that by the time an
entrance has been effected by battering
= .aewn the door the chips money, and
| oth5r Faraphernalia are all secrtpco anu
the Chambers are chatting and smok
ing together in the most innocent man
ner. 1t is practically impossible for the
police to find game in progress ~
y. Post.
-''Look here, Ransom" said an old
negro to young fellow. II doan' min
yer 'sociatin' wild my daughter, but l
dluther yer wouldn't come roun' my
house no mo-. Time fore de las what
We wuz heah missed er water bucket,
an de las time de bride wus gone, an
now, ez | has use fur de saddle,
druther yer wouldn't come heah. l
doant say that yer amt homes, but
such curis things happens while yer is
in de neighborhood, so ics' ter please er
ole man, what amt enioyin' very good
health, pleas doan' come round dis
house no mo-. '-Ark0BS0S Ir0Ceicr.
This is the latest parrot story: "a
common gray Polly, having been
brought from Guinea by sa lor with a
coarse, rough voice and afflicted with a
cough, the parrot learned to initiate the
exact tones of his master, even to the
cough, so closely that the sound of his
voice was often mistaken for that of the
sailor. 1t was afterward taken in hand
by another instructor and taught a soft
er tone, but it never forgot the harsh
voice of its former master, and often
amused bystanders by relapsing into
sea slang, interspersed with the asth-
IudIIC COuSH VI INC SdIOl' - H'V"toOI-
phia Press.
The explorers of the Congo Valley
are surprised by the crudity of life
there. The natives have no domestic
ated beasts of any sort, nor do they
raise or catch any animals to eat, as
they know nothing of flesh as food. No
semblSlce of clothing is worn, and diet
Is practically confined to spontaneous
products of the soil. Letters from mis-
sionaries say, too, that the negroes
there are so low in mentality that any
hope of Outstanding them must be
based on long and patient course of
intellectual training. They are too
densely ignorant to comprehend the
simplest statements of doctrine. Y.
Herald
Helen Jackson's Last Days.