The Portland daily press., 1889-03-29
PERSONAL AND PECULIAR.


II have been in country" said a
Nebraska preacher, where the hand of man
had never set foot"
Mrs. J. G. Blaine, Dr., although she has
not appeared herself in public. is beset with
aspiring and stage-struck girls W no want her
To tell them II they can act.
DR.. Chaille, the well-known statistician,
states that the average life of woman is long
er than that Of man, and in most parts of the
United States woman's expectation OF life Is
greater.
Judge Stanley Matthews leaves widow,
who was formerly resident Of Concord. N.
H., and who married for her first husband
Thomas c. Theaker, at one time acting COM
missioner of pensions.
In the prohibition campaign In Pennsyl-
vania, most of the Roman Catholic, Protes-
brew clergymen are opposed to the constitu-
ti0nal amendment and the clergy of other Dc :
nominations favor it.
Mayor Grant, having yielded to request
to fly the flag of Ireland over New York city
hall on st. Patrick's day. is now asked to fly
the flag of Great Britain on st. Georges day
Well, why not? And then the flag of John
Chinaman on Confucius day?
Ex-President Cleveland and party are
being lionized in Cuba, where they have been
visited by both the superintendent of the
treasury and the director-general of marine
Elk Postmaster General Dickinson was
slightly indisposed. but has recovered, how
ever. f
Mr.. Batcheller, the new Assistant Secre-
tary of the Treasury, has at Saratoga what is
called "tne house with patent on it." 1t
Is of queer, rambling design, and the plans
are copyrighted and the arrangements
patented so that no one can build another
like it.
A leading clergyman of Louisville was
suddenly called away, and a substitute
preached to his congregation. The sub
stitute had no sermon ready, and he used
one of the regular ministers manuscripts.
The tracings on the margin kept him smiling
all through deep and serious discourse.
much to the wonder of the congregation.
Among other notes were, 'bite lip bitterly,
extreme agitation" pious smile' and 'slond
ringing voice."
Temperance people in Freedom county,
Mimi, believe the cause is being promoted
in that region by the formation of anti
saloon clubs, the members of which pledge
themselves not to go into saloon or drink
IN one for year; neither will they ask any
body to go into saloon and drink. Three
clubs of rs members have already been or
ganized, and the movement which is nom
partisan, is gaining accessions from all par
ties.
1t is told of the late John Ericsson that
when, good many years ago, he was in
vited to hear Ole Bull play the violin, he re-
piled that be had no time for such frivolity,
that he had no ear for music, and that his
habits could not be changed. Bull was
brought to Ericsson's workshop soon after,
and while the inventor kept on with his task
the yiolinist took up his instrument and be-
gan to play. Ericsson paused, dropped his
tools and listened. He acknowledged that
been wanting in his life, and ever after
showed great fondness for music.
If the top Of buggy wheel, when in
motion, went no faster than the bottom, the
wheel would go around in the same place.
Here is the reason: No forward or backward
motion of a vehicle is possible unless the top
moves faster than the bottom. There is a
fixed ratio in this as immutable as the law
of the Modes and Persians. In a wheel on a
fixed axle the bottom moves backward as
fast as the top moves forward; but in
wheel that is going forward drawn by a pro-
gressive axle, the bottom does not go back at
all, but remains almost stationary until il is
its turn to rise and go forward.
The man who was responsible for the fa-
nous anti-Masonic political revolution of go
years ago, David Evans, has just died in Salt
Lake City. He was prominent Free Mason
and well-known hotel keeper in Hunting
don county, Pennsylvania. 1t was discover
ed that he was counterfeiter on an extern
sive scale. He was tried and convicted, but
escaped from the State through the suspic-
ious dilatoriness of the sheriff, who was mas
ter of the lodge to which the fugitive be-
longed. Upon this fact was built a theory
that Evans was shielded because of his Ma
sonic affiliations. Indignation spread like
wildfre. mass-meetings were held, party
organized, and at the next election an anti
Masonic ticket swept the country like
wildfre. This agitation quickly spread to
went to Canada, drifted about to several
places, and finally became Mormon.
spending the latter part of his life at Salt
Lake City.
A st. Louis shoemaker named Custer has
applied for patent on gun which he claims
will shoot ten miles. The gun is a smooth
bore, very similar to Martini Henry rife.
and hammerless. On the left-hand side of
the breech-lock is a magazine Containing
cartridges 50 arranged that, on firing, the
recoil of the charge opens the breech, at
which spring presses fresh cartridge into
place. But 1.-THE popularity lies in the cart
ridge and the rear end of 1t. A very light
charge suffices to start it. After it has gone
but few rods the extreme rear end of one
OF series OF secondary charges expl0des,
giving the missive renewed impetus. These
explosions are continued until the series is
exhausted or the projectile has reached its
object. The advantages claimed for this odd
gun are that it is much lighter and that
greater execution can be done, besides get
ting a longer range. 1t requires 23-inch
cartridge for ten mile-trip and one-auarter
men men additional for each subsequent mile.
one thing that has always been source of
annoyance to gunners is surmOunted by this
mshs .ra!eSctory. The projectile, in place of
an arc. necessitating raised sight for ,louSl
distance shooting, as the continuous force 5f
gravity would drag the bullet downward
below direct u line line to the target. The
acting as they do as instantaneous forasss'
Of gravity and cause the missile to move Al,
rectly to the mark. vi