Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1890-11-24
CURIOUS CONVERSATIONS.

An old catnedral IS SILL sbdHuAhS aOOus
seven miles from Tucson, where it was erected
by the first missionaries over three and nalr
Centuries ago.
"A distinguished Bostonian has been pay
ing an election bet by playing cornet on the
Back Bay streets and collecting what pennies
ne could for the performance
"A man in Fort Wayne, Ind, was de-
teeted a few days ago stealing pair OF shoes.
In 20 minutes he had beencommitted for grand
jury action, and in As minutes ne nad Desun
serving sentence in jail.
There are about "a, 900 persons in prison
In the United States. There are, at least, as
many more persons out of prison who belong
10 the criminal class, making 150 600 criminals,
or one Tor every 400 inhabitants.
The most astonishing novelty in Paris
Is circulating machine, invented by NJ. Bollee,
OF LIE Mans. BY simply turning wheel il adds,
muitiphes or divides any number of figures up
to lines OF 10, and with amazing rapldity.
The safest piece of water on earth is the
Lake of Urumia in Persia situated more than
1000 feet above the sea level. 1t is much salter
than the Dead Sea, the water being found on
analysis to contain nearly p per cent of salt.
1t is estimated that more than a million
cattle and other animals died last winter, in
the extreme Western and Southern States and
territories of neglect and starvation, and prob
ably hundreds of thousands were frozen to
death.
The United States mail service and the
express companies carry great many little
alligators from visitors in Florida to friends IN
the North at this time OF year, and lnexperl-
enced persons are troubled to know what to do
with them.
While crimeis increasing here, therehas
been an extraordinary decrease in Great Brit
ain, the number of convlcts serving sentence Of
penal servitude having decreased from 1850
in 1888 to s. 400 IN 1882 decrease Of 46 per cent
in six years.
of all birds the albatross has perhaps
the most extended powers of flight. 1t has
been known to follow a vessel for several sue
cessive days without once touching the water,
except to pick up floating food; and even then
il does not settle.
Connected with medieval times are the
very interesting pilgrim rings" worn by those
who had been on a crusade. Sometimes TWO
little feet were chased on the top, emblems OF
the long journey they had trodden under the
banner of the cross.
In North America the Phalangid9, Vari-
ously known as harvest spiders, harvest-men,
dadC y-long-legs, etc, includes but twenty-five
known species. France has list OF 09 OF TINS
family and those of other European countries
are prOportiOnately large
The alligator is one of those animals
which. like the parrot and tortoise, live for an
indefinite term. 1t is never full grown at less
than 20 years, and may grow after thar. IL Is
not known how long it may live, but 1t common
ly attaIns the age OF lOO years.
1t was recently found, taking the city
of Frankfort, which has a population of 49,
OOO and is one of the wealthiest for its popula-
tion in Germany, that there were 35,2SI self;
supporting adults who were earning an annual
income of less than S2l6 a year.
A beautiful memorial ring worn by
General Washington in remembrance of his
beloved brother is still owned by Virginia
gentlemaD; and on the outside, IN "curiously
wrought style, is engraved the name OF Laur-
ence Washington, and also the date OF his
death"
1t is said that no animal, whether a
hyena or a tapeworm, lives for itself. but for
the benefit of posterity, each creature only
dying in order to benefit It's race; so that every
organism, from a wheel-animalcule to whale,
| is unknowingly sort OF geological Marcus
| Curtius.
An Indian lad, aged 9, is in custody at
| Jubbulpore charged with having buried alive
| his younger brother, aged 3. The prisoner 1t
| seems admits having committed the Offense,
| and states that he and his brother were orphans
| He had to beg for living, and as he could nos
| take the youngster about with him he thought
| much trouble would be saved by DuryinG him,
| "A careful inquiry in the Minnesota
|
| the fact, that a ajOTity of the boys committed
| for crime had attended Sunday school until
| near the time of their commitment. Forty per
| cent of them came directly from homes; As per
| cent more had lived at home until within one
year of their commitment; and only Il per cent
were entirely homeless
Underground London is far more won
| derfuI than underground Paris. Take. for ex-
| ample its 900 miles of sewers its 81 900 miles
| of telegraph wires, its 4500 miles of water
| mains, its 3 2e0 miles of gas pipes all definitely
! fixed. Yet not even these compare with the
| vast cellarage area beneath the feet of the
| pedestrian. In Oxford and Regent streets
alone the capacity is said to exceed l4O acres.
Every advance in the improvement Of
| the telescope has brought to our knowledge
still closer double-stars, the distance between
| them beng so magnified to become visible
| and measurable. But the spectroscope has
! vealed to double-star so close that no tele-
| scope will show the distance between the two
| stars, although each one of the two stars is
bright enough to be visible to the naked eye.
In London there is a man who follows
| the business of tartooing. The majority of his
| patients are men who have designs of a naval
! character pricked into their skin, but there are
! also great many women who employ his art,
| if 1t may be termed such. With women the
| decoration is usually bee, a butterfly spray
| of flowers or a monogram. These ornaments
| are worn inside the wrist, so that they can be
hidden by the glove, if necessary.
The ''Man About Town" of the New
York Star describes novelty in public wor-
| ship introduced in a Brooklyn Methodist
| church. 1t consisted of "five canaries, in as
many bright, new wire cages. hanging in a
| straight line across the center of the auditO-
| rum, about Is feet above the heads of the wor-
| shippers The birds twittered and sang all
| through the morning services, but no one
| seemed to object to them Even the preacher
| appeared to forget their chirping during the
| delivery of his sermon"