Morning journal and courier. [volume] (New Haven [Conn.]) 1848-1894, 1885-04-28
EDITORIAL NOTES.

Spiritualist society in Chicago issues
diplomas purporting to entitle the holders
of them to practice medicine. The price of
the diplomas is So. The leader of the socie-
ty, on being told that such traffic is illegal,
maintained that as the diplomas conferred a
right to practice under the religion of the
holders, they were of higher authority than
the statutes of Illinois.
The Organ fur Oelbandel gives an account
of some experiments lately made in st. Pc
tersburg with pyronaphtha, an Illuminating
oil which Beilstein, the celebrated Russian
chemist, thinks will supersede kerosene 1t
is said to be wholly free from danger of fire,
and burning kerosene is easily extinguished
by it. Pyronaphtha itself can be readily put
out by water 1t burns with bright light
and gives off no smoke or vapor, while the
fact that it is a residual product of the Baku
distillation of petroleum makes it cost less
than kerosene.
The Mormon missionaries will do well to
keep out of Tennessee. A law has recently
been passed by the Tennessee legislature 'sto
define and punish the crime of teaching
polygamous doctrines and principles or per-
suading persons to embrace the same' This
law is now in force. 1t forbids any person
to teach to others ''the doctrines of polyga-
my, OF to induce another to embrace polyga-
my, or to emigrate to another part of the
country for the purpose of practicing polyga-
my" The penalty is~a fine or imprison-
ment, or both, the fine not to exceed $500
and the imprisonment not to exceed two
years at hard labor.
DIR. John j. Moran attended Edgar Allen
Poe in his dying moments. He now writes
that the habit of intemperance did, to some
extent, cloud the poets early life, but not
his later years Poe's constitution was such
that he could not become a dram-drinker,
and for four years previous to his death he
was perfectly temperate. His death was
caused by ill-treatment and exposure suffered
from party of Baltimore roughs, who caught
him, cooped him up, drugged him, and voted
him during an excited election. In attend
ing him during his last illness, DR.. Moran
saw that his patient gave no signs of de-
bauch. He refused glass of spirits the day
before he died.
The King of the Belgians, who has just
celebrated the completion af his fiftieth year,
may be said to enjoy almost unique dis
tinction among the reigning princes of
Christendom. Born heir apparent to the
crown, he succeeded father who died a
natural death at good old age and in secure
possession of his sceptre. The King of Italy
was seventeen years old before kingdom of
Italy existed. The King of the Greeks is the
founder of dynasty. The Gear assembled
the throne of murdered predecessor. The
Emperors of Austria and Brazil derived their
titles, in the first instance, from "acts of alb
dication' in their favor consequent upon
revolutions. The Kings of Prussia, Sweden
and Portugal all started in life as younger
sons, the King of Denmark a distant
cousin. Queen Victoria at the date of her
birth stood but fifth in the succession to the
crown.
An interesting explanation of the Confed-
crate bond furry year or two ago has been
made Some millions of dollars belonging