The Portland daily press., 1889-04-18
PERSONAL AND PECULIAR.

Women visiting the Paris Exposition will
find bureau of information at 2O5 Rue st.
Honore. Information respecting schools,
hotels and clearinghouse will be furnished.
The bureau Is provided by the Paris W0m-
ans Christian Temperance Union.
The Pope Is very fine chess player and
one priest in Rome has the especial honor of
being his adversary over the board. The
priest, Father Giella, has played chess with
Leo Peccl for thirty-two years past. When
Cardinal Pecci was raised to the Papacy,
Father CECILIA, who was then in Florence,
got an invitation to proceed to Rome and
take up his quarters in the Vatican. Glela
is hot-tempered, but the Pope takes his tenn
per good-naturedl ard is said to often i'm
prove the occasion by h0mlly on heYlrtues
of resignation and meekness.
Rhoda Broughton. the popular novelist, Is
a hard featured, highly intelligent looking
woman, with rare fund of humor of a racy
and piquaDt kind. She does most o. her
writing early in the morning, and generally
allows from two to three years to elapse be-
tween the pu blieati0n of her stories. She is
two years short of fifty; she has a consider
able number-of pug dogs and there. is
mountain called after her in the arctic re-
gion.
Energetic and organized efforts are this
summer to be made to combat the plague of
locusts which last year devastated large
tracts of fertile country in Algeria. 1t is an
III Will that blows nobody any good The
preparations already made have 0ccasiOned
the purchase of materials amounting in val
ne to considerable sum. Chief among
these materials are the following: Cret0nne
cloth for fencing, 100000 yards; strips of oil
cloth for bands at top and bottom, 100000
yards; ST. ut cord for suspending the cloth,
10000 yards; oak stakes to support the cord,
100000; mallets for driving the stakes, 5000;
gi fnr Itfafr fala 81 n
large quantity of materials to serve as fuel
to burn the insects.
One Of the most remarkable elections of
United States Senator occurred in Rhode
Island in 1920. Mr.. Burrill, the former sena-
tor. having died that year in Washington,
and the Legislature not being in session,
Governor N. r. Knight had the power, and
1t was his duty to appoint person to fill the
| vacancy till the Legislature met But.
having fancy to ill it himself, he called an
extra session and was immediately elected.
| No other business was attempted. 1t was
stated in the papers Of the day that the Leg
islature was in session but ninety minutes,
| probably the shortest on record. Although
| but few minutes were spent in electiDg
Governor Knight he held the Office till 1871,
and was man of fine character and respect
able talents.
BY far the most important news of the day
is the appointment of General Won Verdy du
Vernois to be the German minister Of war.
Although he is Sc years old, it may be said
that he is the first of the new generation of
German soldiers to come to the front, for he
was only major 1t the campaign of 1866,
and held position of no great prominence
on the general staff In the Franco German
war. He is admitted the foremost living
military writer, and his works ON the art Of
command have revolutionized the strategic
teaching of all Europe. He has been gov
ernor of Strasburg for the past six years.
Won Verdy is stout man of fine fig
ure, not very tall, and looking strangely like
Grant In the face, beard and expression.
His selection by the new emperor for this
post Is felt at Berlin to be a notable stroke
of clever policy, and it is assumed to fore
shadow still further progress in the perfec-
tion of the German army as a fighting force.