Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1890-08-10
CURIOUS CONVERSATIONS.

I'm clearing up the postofiee at Astoria,
Ore. recently. a package of letters mailed in
1887 was found.
"A large sturgeon, with q chain five feet
long attached to it, has been caught of the
coast Of Oregon
-Four of the 231 census enumerators in
Maine were women. and the supervisor fnds
tnat their reports are without mistakes.
The King of Dahomey has sent an am
nassador to Germany to engage band Of
musicians to play, not serve, for his dinner.
The longest American railroad tunnel is
the Hoosac tunnel on tho Fitchburg railroad,
four and three-quarter miles; the st. Gothard
tunnel IN Europe is nine miles long
-Ex-Judge Sawyer, of San Francisco,
who is over go years old, was thrashed soundly
about week ago by an irate husband, who
caught the aged judge flirting with his wife.
The present Pope never leaves his own
rooms until they have been swept and busted,
which is done as soon as he rises. He then
closes all the doors and windows and takes the
keys away with him.
Consul Meyers, of Hawaii, is authority
for the statement thar there are 2S Chinese
lepers at Hawaii who make considerable money
Dy encouraging drinking, gambling and opium
using among the members of the leper colony.
-Parasols made of the best linden wood,
manufactured by Finnish peasants in thu
suburbs of Viborg. are in fashion in the Russian
summer resorts along lines of the Russo-Fin-
cheap.
The Duchess of Aosta has tie distinc-
ton Of possessing the most elaborate mourning
cloak ever made in Paris. 1t is of heavy
lusterless silk. trimmed with fiat bands of the
richest ostrich plumes, headed by bands Of
costly dull jet.
"A good deal of interest has been excited
at the antipodes by the appearance after n
years Of submersion, of the wreck of the Brit
ish warshlp 0rpheus, the singular loss of which,
with nearly 200 hands, caused such commotion
at the beginning Of the last Maori war.
Barnard Conn. New Hampshire farm
er's man. was scared almost into convulsions
while listening to phonograph IN Dover this
week, and explained when he came to- that he
recognized the voice of a man he had stuck in
hoss trade. Conn, science makes towards Of
US all.
"A Georgia inventor has contrived an
insect trap to rid the cotton and tobacco fields
of moths. 1t consists simply of lamp beneath
which is a wide pan containing oil. The little
creatures are attracted by the light, hit up
against It. and down they go into the oil and
perish.
The tower of the Philadelphis City Hall
is now 3S5 feet high, yet on top of that 5000
tons OF iron and bronze are to be placed. There
is to be a clock tower, the dials of which are to
be "a feet in diameter. surmounted by a statue
OF William Penn 81 feet high, and there will be
numerous statues.
Maine is doing all it can to keep the rest
Of the United States cool. 1t is estimated that
there are 40 vessels in Kennebec waters ship
ping ice, and having carrying capacity of Co.
QUO tons. Fifteen cargoes of ice. II, 900 tons in
all, left the river one day recently, says the
kennebec Journal
"A girl named Weston, while on her way
home to Joggins, N. s., deposited lighted
pipe, which she had been smoking. in her
pocket and set her clothes on fire. Becoming
frightened sne started to run and was soon en-
velOped in flames. She ran half mile before
falling to the ground dead.
The Methodist Church at Mayyille, N.
Y, is raising Its debt of $500 by keeping sum-
mer boarding house at Chautauqua- One
member of the church had charge of the house
during July and another is in charge OF IL dur
ing August. The walters are the bellies Of
Mayville, who have volunteered for the SER
vice.
MIR. Gladstone, in a recent speech in
the House of Commons. delivered one sentence
of 2l4 words, which in type made "a lines. It has
been remarked of 1t that, Notwithstanding 'its
extraordinary length and the more or less extern
poraneous nature of its utterances, the SEN
ence was perfectly clear and not in the least
involved"
Fifteen years ago, when a gentleman
began the culture of bees he suffered severely
from stings, but they have now lost their force.
For several years past they have caused only
slight and rather pleaSureable sensation, and
that lasts only few minutes. But this thor
ough incubation against bee poison leaves him
as susceptible as ever to the sting of wasp.
One of the latest proposals is to lay a
pipe line for supplying New York with milk, as
Pittsburg and some other cities are supplied
with natural gas or oil from the wells The
lacteal supply. of course, cannot be got by
boring, but it is to be collected at various
points and sent along the pipe for distribu-
ton in New York. 1t is said a company Is
being formed with capital of about S75O, ,0OO to
carry out the scheme.
Extreme ugliness is on the list of dis
qualifications laid down by the medical de-
partment for French conscripts. Excessive
uglness." says the chief of the department,
''makes a man ridiculous, prevents him from
having authority over his comrades, and leaves
him morbid and sensitive" male hysteria" is
another valid plea for excuse from military
service. The army doctors say it exists among
French conscripts, and 1t is the more obiec-
tionable as 1t is contagious.
"A small collection Of walking sticks,
formerly the property of George III. and
George w., fetched astonishing prices. An
ebony walking stick with gold top, engraved
"a. R." and crown, containing the hair Of
the Princesses Augusta Elizabeth, Mary
Sophia and Amelia, and inscribed The
gift of the Princess Mary lS04," !" sold for f18;
an ivory walking stick, with engraved top, ell;
a Malacca cane. with gold top. f6; bamboo
cane with bloodstone top. inlaId with gold, and
q hazel walking stick, with gold top. fl3 los; =
tortoise shell stick with amber top, and cane