Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1889-11-08
CURIOUS CONVERSATIONS.

land. The Secretary of the Treasury has JUST
| received letter containing four 2cent stamps
which, the writer says, IS the amount. Will III
terest, of two stamps which ne used Twice.
Swimming baths are becoming popular
additions to English schools. The school ooard
contends that it is quite as important Tor Doy
to learn to swim as for girl to learn the art OF
| cookery, and claims that the swimming bath
| adds to the comfort of the scholars and asslsS
| in the work Of education.
"A swindler sold a Clinton county,
| Mich, farmer a recipe for making his Wneat
| weigh twice as much as it ought to- and signed
q contract to divide the money gained by the
| extra weight with the scientific sWindle. Inc
contract eventually turned up as promis.
| sorry note and the farmer paid $500 for it-and
| didn't advertise the matter with a brass band,
either.
The salt industry ia Southern Kansas
| is assuming majestic proportions. II is said
that the salt taken up at Wellington, in that
State, is the purest in the world. A dozen great
salt plants are already in operation, and others
will soon be established. In few years all the
| salt used for ordinary purposes west OF the
Mississippi river will probably be supplied Dy
Kansas.
The tin mines in the Black Hills are
attracting great deal of interest Within the
last year a company of foreign capitalists has
| been organized, with a heavy capital, to de.
| YelOp what are known as the Harney peak
properties, located in Pennington and Custer
/ counties 1t is the opinion of experts, the Gov.
ernor says, that these mines contain the largest
| and most valuable aggregation Of tin veins ever
brought to the attention Of the world
The most profitable book ever printed,
at least in this country, was Webster's Spelling
Book. More than 50OO0,OO0 copies Of this pro-
! duction have been issued and could DIR. Web
| ster and his heirs have enjoyed the royalties
| from it they would have found it more valuable
tba1 tba aorra of Xa< nr oh
ster wrote it that he might procure the means
to support himself while engaged in other
work, notably his dictionary, which was really
on elaboration Of the spelling book.
The National Prison Congress will meet
| in Nashville November 1920 The objects OF
this organization are three-fold. First, the
ameIoration of the laws in relation of public
offenses and offenders and of the way in which
they are enl orced; second, the improvement OF
the prison systems OF the country; third, the
providing of suitable employment for dis
charged prisoners. Ex-President Hayes Is
President of the congress, and Ex-Governor
Bullock, Of Georgia, is one of the Vice Presi-
dents.
Probably the courts do not afford q more
curious case than this: In 1859 Nine Hardouin,
of Paris, bought three tickets in a lottery, the
capital prize of which was 100000 francs. By
presentiment she chose the number 40, 634 put
ting the ticket away among her husbands
effects. He became bankrupt and all OF his
books were seized. The lottery was drawn in
1851, and 40 634 won the prize. Since then Nine.
Hardouin has been accumulating evidence to
show that she was the person who bought the
ticket and now expects the Judgment in her
favor every moment
"A small boy at Marshall, Ill, has
voiced = sentiment which would be good
thing for general adoption. He was a very
tough urchin. and, together with his little
brother, got so bad that the townspeople de-
c1ded to send him to a reform school, so he was
arrested on an old charge of theft and advised
to plead guilty. The little fellow stOutly MAIN
tanned his innocence of this particular crime,
and while acknowledging that he ought to go to
the reform school, declined to plead guilty to
something he had not done. He won the sym
pathy of both the spectators and the court, and
was finally discharged.
The King of Siam is a magnificent OBJ
ject in state attire. He glistens from head to
foot with Jewels worth more than s., 100000. IL
is commonly reported in Bangkok that he has
300 wives and 81 children, though the exact
figures have never been given to his subjects.
He was father at the age Of Il and IS now
only SO years old. If be lives few years more
he will be able to assume the title of father Of
his country" The King is good fellow, fond
of a reasonable number of his children and
very kind to bis 800 wives. He is very pro-
gressive and has done great deal of good to
Siam.
"A young Englishman who landed in
New York few days ago has started out to
beat his way across America and around the
world in the space of four months without cash
output. From San Francisco he will stow him.
self away or work his passage to New Zealand,
thence ship for some Chinese port and Journey
through the Balkan Pass to Russia thence to
Germany, down the English channel to En-
gland, and ship from there to New York City.
If the railway officials observe his proclamation
and have him spotted" he IS liable TO lengthen
his schedule of running time. He may get
marooned at some way station for fortnight.
An old farmer in the Granite State one
Sunday morning started to wind up his great
silver watch and found that the key was filed
with dirt. Being unable to dig the matter ous
with pin the farmer drilled hole in the key,
and with a single breath blew all the dust out
Then he sat down to think. and within month
had patented that hole. To-day in Lebanon,
N. H, there is large factory running by
electric power wherein are manufactured daily
thousands and thousands of watch KEYS OF
every possible size, shape and design. Each
one of these KEYS contains the hole which has
been patented by the farmer. The latter has
already made fortune.
No romantic tale ever had so many in
cidents as that of young woman of Buko-
wilma. She was very beautiful, and all the
young men who were in the district fell in love
with her. She had hundred offers of marriage
before she was 20 and before she accepted the
one hundred and first. Then her troubles be-
gan. Her first hanee died suddenly from an
accident; the second was taken away with the
army likewise the third and fourth; the fifth
and sixth were drowned; the seventh ana
eighth broke off on learning of the smallness
OF her fortune; the ninth got drunk on his be-
trothal day and tried to beat the young woman,
she broke it of; the tenth seemed promising
in every way, but as the marriage was about to
take place it was learned that he had wife and
children in Bessarabia. The wedding was fixed
for the eleventh, but he decamped for some uns
known reason. and thereuDon the young woman
gave it up and poisoned herself.
The new census of India gives the pop
ulation in March, 1888, as 269, AT, ,728 of which
go 6S4, ,37S belonged to the native States. Dis
tributed according to religion, in round num-
bers, the Hindoo population, in millions. Is
about 100, the Mohamedans 81, ''aboriginals''
616, Buddhists 81, Christians nearly 2 Sikhs
nearly 2, JainS u, while Parsees, Jews and
others are comparatively very few. The
Church of England has nearly $50, 900 members,
other Episcopalian churches 20, ,0O0 the Church
of Scotland the same number, "oLher Protest.
and SyrIans, Armenians and Greeks over 3OO,-
OOO About IO6 OOO, ,OJO males and Ill 900, 900 fe-
males are neither under instruction nor able
to read or write. Details are given Of 1O9 dif-
ferent languages spoken. Hindustanl comes
first with over S2OO0.OO0, then Bengah with
nearly 40 Telugu with II, Mahratt also IL,
Punjabi g. Tamil 13, Guzrat, Canarese,
Ooriya,l Maylayalum, Sindi, Burmese, Hind1y
Assamese, KOl, Southali and Gondi come next
in order. Next to Calcutta, Bombay and
Madras, Hyderabad is the most populous clSy
in India, Lucknow coming next.
SAID TO BE FUNNY.