The Opelousas courier., 1889-06-22
FOREIGN GOSSIP.

Herman cavalry officers hereafter
mi have to include steeplechasing in
theis studies.
In Rome there are 80 cardinals, IS
bishops, 1,469 priests, 2,215 nuns and
SnO0 monks, friars. candidates, etc.
At the recent London diocesan
adherence the Bishop of Bedford ad-
socated card playing in workingmen's
.l,hs. but, rather strangely, disap-
nroyed of dominoes.
The Beers have whipped England
sva different times. and one of their
nrophets now predicts a coming war in
Tbich a Boer will be raised to the
British throne.
In 1882 Iceland was visited by a
remarkable sand-storm, lasting two
waeks. which hid the sun ard objects
. few wards off like a dense Jog, and
o.,sed the death of thousands of sheep
and horses.
A discussion as to the height of
.,oes in the forests of Victoria elected
tom Baron Won Mueller, the govern
r,ent botanist, the statement that he
saw one of a height of 525 feet. The
late chief Inspector of forests measured
ona fallen and found that it was 1856
feet long. .
The commander of the French Ma
tional Military School at St. Cyr lately
;esued an order f%orbidding card play
inc. He defends the order by assert
inc that playing for money was so COM
mon in the school that young men Z
~ fortune had frequently mortgaged
their pay for five, six, and even ten
wears after leaving the college to pay
gambling debts.
A German travelling on the Lake
fComo recently, gave a waiter a paper
If diamonds telling him that it was a
lin, and made similar presents to
others. The police asked him some
questions. and he replied that he lived
mon diamonds and he paid with dia-
monds, ~whereupon he proceeded to
swallow several Of the precious stones.
BE was locked up in an asylum and his
friends sent for. He had nearly fifty
thousand dollars worth of diamonds in
bis possession at the time.
The population of Kamchatka,
which was carefully registered in 1873
and 1879, shows a regular decrease;
since 1741 the population seems to have
been reduced to one-half of what it
vas las years ago. Years of scarcity
of fish, the staple food of the popula-
ton, are quite common. In such cases
the Lamutes and the Koryaks usually
bring to the Kamchadales a number of
their reindeer; but this voluntary help
Is not sufficient to prevent starvation.
Rev. DR.. ]. NJ. Buckley, writing of
Spain, says: bribery is general in
Spain. Almost any thing can be done
with a fee. Not more than forty
per cent of the taxes levied by the
government can be collected. Mayors
Of cities get rich in a year. One at
least of the most important cities Is
destitute of credit. No one win lend
it any money. Spaniards so distrust
each other that money is not forth
coming for great public works. The
English manage the water-works, the
street cars and almost every thing
else.s'
One of the strangest pieces of ar
allery in Europe is at Metz and is
known by the name of the 'Grifin,"
from the figure of the fabulous animal
which is to be found among the orna-
mental portion of its workmanship.
The gun was cast in 1929 at Ehren-
breitstein, near Coblentz. 1t is II feet
u length and 8 in diameter. The bore
slOa inches; weight. %, 800 pounds
Its carriage is "a feet in length, and
The weight of the ball which it carries
ls 100 pounds; AZ pounds of powder is
required for the charge. Napoleon
intended it for the War Department,
Paris, but found difficulty in transport
ingit