The Portland daily press., 1888-03-15
PERSONAL AND PECULIAR


COL Mospy, of guerilla fame, is practis-
ing law in San Francisco, and the Mobile
Register suggests that this is as near as a
man can come to being guerilla In time OF
peace.
1t is said that 179 foreign actors enter
tanned and were entertained by America
during the past year. OF these italy sent So,
England 43, Germany -, Roumania 5, Japan
6, France 4, Russia B Holland 3, Austria
! and SPAIN and Scotland each.
M. Fere, in communication to the Societe
de Biolgie, describes mother and son en-
dowed with the power of spontaneously gen.
Grating electricity. Without any rubbing,
their fingers attract light objects, their hair
stands erect and their clothing when put on
clings to their bodies. The electric tension
varies with the weather and with their state
disposition % and and the the skin Of both IS unusually
dry, especially upon the left side.
The Leavenworth (Kansas) Times, which
is edited and owned by Maine men, is re-
sponsible for this remarkable story: 'The
headless rooster at Anthony has become
| quite a curiosity. Since its head was cut off
| on February % the wound has healed, and
there is every prospect that it will live as
| long as it can be properly fed and watered.
| The food has to be put into the gullet by its
! owner, as it has no bill to eat with nor eyes
| to see, and yet runs around lively now and
| flaps its wings in good shape, although OF
course the crow is missing"
One of the most difficult things to get
modern doctors to commit an opinion upon is
whether cancer is a hereditary or transmit
ted disease. The cases that point to an af-
frmatiye are many, and If the newly-made
Emperor of Germany is really suffering from
cancer, as is said, his may supply another
case in point 1t should be remembered
that his grandmother, the handsome Louise
of Prussia" died of malignant cancer in the
breast. And mysterious diseases, like other
inheritances, are proverbially apt to skip
generation.
Now that Emperor William of Germany is
dead, the Oldest sovereign Of Europe is Will
III of the Netherlands, whose age is IL.
Victoria of England comes next with SO
years. Her reign is also the longest of the
present European s0vereigns. Francis
Joseph Of Austria and Oscar Ii of Sweden
are each 50 years old; Alexander of Russia
and Humbert of Italy are comparatively
young men, being but "A. The Mikado Of
Japan is 81, the Emperor of China lad of II,
and the King of Spain an infant of 2. Dom
Pedro III of Brazil has reigned since 1881,
and Victoria since 1887.
The beautiful little cemetery at Sleepy
Hollow which holds the remains of Miss
Alcott is equalled by few town cemeteries in
the United States in the preciousness of the
dust confided to its care. Within little
space sleep as closely neighbored in death as
in life the remains of Hawthorne, Thor
eau, Emerson, Samuel Hoar the elder. The
wind breathes softly and dirgefully through
the pines that stand sentry round the grave
of Hawthorne, and sunlight and shadow
mingling make tender and solemn yet tenn
pered gloom about the turf that is raised
above the illustrious dead.
Big guns will get to be so cheap that by
and by everybody can have them. 1t is esti-
mated by the Pittsburg gun founders that
they can, if the experimental smaller gun
demonstrates the success of the process,
turn ont solid cast steel 110-ton guns at
$4,000 apiece. The built-up English guns
of the same calibre cost about $225,000
War never was so costly as it is in these
days, when guns costing 100000 ar loaded
with projectiles and charges each represent
ing an expenditure of hundreds of dollars.
The old story of the pirate who loaded his
guns to the muzzle with doubloons repeats
itself in modern fighting.