The Portland daily press., 1890-05-10
PERSONAL AND PECULIAR.

The English language was used in framing
recent treaty between Russia and China.
Nine. Clementine De We're, soprano soloist
at DIR. Paxton's church. receives $500 a year,
the highest church salary paid to any wom-
an soloist in New York.
The inventor Of the locomotive cab is still
living 1t ishard to realize how comparative
ly recent the whole matter Of railroad trav-
A lad of II who climbed to the dome Of the
State House at Topeka the other day mana
ged to fall to the basement, a distance Of 80
feet, without breaking BONE
A large oak tree in the cemetery at Salem
Va was split by lightning last week. expos
ing silver teapot which contained the skull
OF child, The date or the teapot was 1898.
Its history Is mystery.
A leading New York publisher employs at
a large salary young lady who is useful to
has read almost everything in the whole
range of fiction, and can detect at once Dor
rowed plots and expressions.
Sir John E. Millais is said to have lost
clear vision of near objects. though he sees
those at a distance distinctly enough. As
result he is compelled to use very long hand
led brushes, whichgreatly interfere with del
cate work In portraiture.
In Madrid when an actor has benefit his
admirers send to the theatre little gifts, such
as canes, slippers, game and such triHes, Just
as IL it were donation party, and the en-
ployes hand these gifts around among the au-
dience for inspection, while next day COM
plete list OF them Is printed In the papers.
A valued exchange tells us Of family who
were opposed OF principle to ventilation, and
slept with alt their windows closed tight
The whole family fell i'll, when a window
them being able to mend Ii all recovered.
This Is pretty story, but where were the cid
hats?
A merchant at Randolph. Ala, declared
Sunday night that he would die suddenly at
o'clock on Monday afternoon. On Monday
morning he selected coffin, made his will
and spent the rest Of the day In prayer. At
O'Clock he seated himself in a rocking chair
and in three minutes was dead. The doctors
say death was caused by heart disease.
There are extensive deposits of petroleum
in Northern Peru, and an American gentle
man has purchased a tract of land II miles
wide and 20 miles long, covering the site Of
ancient oil works, and will develop the
property as an oil region. He was formerly an
operator In the Pennsylvania oil fields. He
already has half dozen flowing wells.
Gen. John Bidwell the Prohibition candi-
date for Governor in California is a thorough
Prohibitionist In practise as we'll as in theory.
Some years ago he became so impressed with
the evils Of the liquor habit that he pulled
up many acres Of grapes and converted that
land on his ranch to school purposes for
Indian children.
When theatre audiences In Santiago de
Chile are disappointed because Of a change
in the play they have their own way of ex-
pressing their displeasure. On a recent oc-
casion, the performance having been curtall-
ed, they wrecked the theatre and Compelled
the manager and his artists to flee for their
lieves.
Some watchful person in Philadelphia has
added a new terror to death. He keenIy
watches the obituary columns of the news
papers, and promptly sends to the bereaved
logistic doggerel. Accompanying the same
Is a proposition to furnish copies In "this
style" at 10 cents each. The card is designed
to occupy in Photographic album the page
opposite the photograph Of the deceased.
Experiments have been recently carried
on at Toulon with view of determining to
what extent accuracy Of aim could be attain
ed at night with the use of an electric light.
A gun was mounted on a revolving platform.
which also carried an electric protector.
The target was fixed at distance Of between
three and four kilometres, and 1t was found
that the same accuracy could be obtained
under those conditions as during daylight.
Speaking of "Tom Ochiltree, M. c." re-
minds the Brooklyn Standard Union Of an
epitaph Henry Watterson prepared for him
the other day. in moment Of friendly en-
thusiasm: Here lies Tom 0chiltree. He
never did any thing else." This Is supposed
to be faint allusion to the accomplishments
Mr.. Ochiltree has shown in preparing the
fiction, relative to the air OF Texas, for gen.
eral circulation.
The story goes as one of Gov. Hills secre-
taries was walking through one of the corr
doris of the Albany Capitol the other day,
messenger boy. looking for some thing he
could not find, asked him, Say. mister, d
you know any one in this buildin' named
HID. b. Hill? WELL yes. rather. What
of him ?" "Why. I've got or dispatch for him.
an I've been alooken' all over for him, an, I
can't find nobody what knows who he is!''
Gen. Banks still practices the cOurtly DO
likeness which was the fashion with the best
public men when he was in his prime, befora
the war. One Of the elevator conductors In
the Capitol says of him; II have been run
ming this car for xyears, and have carried
thousands OF people, and yet, during all tnas
time, have been thanked by only one man
Gen. Banks. He thanksl me every time ho
rides. 1t struck me as being funny, at hrsts
but now l am getting used to the old gentle
mans politeness,"
Every year or so story to the effect thas
John Wilkes Booth is still alive finds Its way
into print. The last arrived a few days
aeo-the statement of former con-
fdapt of the assassin that the man shot
by Boston Corbett was not Booth. This
story declares that no opportunity was given
for the naturalization Of the body. This Is
false. Booths corpse was Identified by Q
former physician OF the murderer by scar
on the neck caused by small tumor which
the doctor had removed some years before.
John Wilkes Booth Is extremely dead.
A popularity about the blind is that there
is seldom one Of them who smokes. Soldiers
and sailors accustomed to smoking and who
have lost their sight in action continue 10
smoke for snort while, but soon give up
the habit. They say that 1t gives them no
pleasure when they can not see the smoke,
and some have said that they can not taste
the smoke unless they see It. This almost
demonstrates the theory that II you blind
fold man in roomful of smoke and put .
lighted and unlighted cigar In his mouth al
ternately he will not be able to tell the differ
enee.