Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1891-02-27
CURIOUS CONVERSATIONS.


"A party of negro gamblers was caught
playing poker on grave in a lonely cemetery
Of Athens, Ca, the other night.
Salt river, Ariz., is at flood height, but
none of the politicians who have gone up
the stream have as yet hoated down.
Garden City, Ia. was recently treated
to the novelty of public sale of herd of buff
falo on the foreclosure of a mortgage.
The hotels OF Berlin have been rem
dered unhealthy by the consumptivss who Wis
tied that city to try the Koch lymph.
"A new French directory has Just been
been issued at Worcester, Mass. That city has
10 l60 French-Canadians among its inhabitants.
"A North Carolina hen has taken to
numbering her eggs as she lays them. Each
egg bears its proper number in raised figures on
the shell.
"A large number of gold and bronze an
tiquities have been discovered lately in the
west of Ireland. They will 60 to the museum
at Dublin.
Seventeen persons who died in England
in 1890 bequeathed to various charities the
enormous sum OF E474,7OO. equal to about
S2,373,000
Evidence In a New York breach of
promise suit proved that 20 persons were
present when the defendant promised to marry
the plaintiff.
The first edition of the "Memoirs of
Joseph Grimaldi,' the famous English clown,
is valued at SO. The Memoirs were edited
by Charles Dickens
"A hog remained at the bottom of a we'll
into which it had fallen for Al days. 1t only
lost 35 pounds in weight though it was without
food the whole time.
"A clergyman in New York has declined
to permit an engaged couple to rehearse in his
church the wedding ceremony which is to be
performed at Easter
There are too many fresh eggs in New
York City, the receipts through the Mercantile
Exchange for six days prior to the 10th inst.
amounting to 2,00O, 00U dozen.
"A rare specimen of humanity was
picked up by ths police of New York City the
other night. 1t is baby. the offspring of
Chinaman and an Indian squsw.
Reports from Maine tell of meteor as
large as the moon. The bright visitor burst
over Madison village. that State, shaking the
ground as If by an earthquake.
There are 1885 paper mills in the
world, turning out 1,904OOO, 600 pounds of paper
annually. half of which is used for printing,
6ooOO0OOO pounds being required for newspa-
pers alone.
Near Barzytown Ledges, in Connecti-
cut, IS large boulder of over five tons weight.
When pushed 1t moves as if on a pivot and
some people think that it is a ceremonial stone
placed there by prehistoric race.
A baker of New York City is suffering
from very rare form of disease known as
osteo-mallacia. The whole bony structure of
body has become az brittle as chalk, and his
Dones break under the slightest touch. The
disease is fatal.
-Four hundred acres is the extent of
California fruit farm which in 1890 produced
fruit worth sl59,0O The expenses of labor,
packing and boxes amounted to little less
than $4,000, leaving over 500 900 as the profits
OF the farm for the year.
AN Orange, N. j.. clergyman, having
threatened to cowhide young men whom he
may catch lettering around his church door
waiting on the girls local paper SAYS that one
by one the inducements for Young men TO draw
near to religious comfort fade away.
"A Farmers Alliance representative has
introduced in the Kansas Legislature a bill
providing that any person who will file petit
tion stating that be OF she is of good moral
character. shall be permitted to practice law,
whether the petitioner knows any law or not.
"A furore over gold and silver find in
Montague county. Texas. exists. The vein is
six feet wide ard assays 500 to the ton. Coal
is found under the edge of the silver, the vein
being 81 inches thick, underlaid with nickel
gold and magnetic iron ore. A typical mining
bo"h ID III COuIec Ol erecLlOn
The defeated candidate for supervisor in
southfield, Richmond county, N. Y, reports his
election expenses as follows: Professional
services, As cents; shoe shine cents; chewing
tobacco. Is cents; weiss beer. so cents; sarsa.
parilla, 20 cents: soda water 10 cents; copying,
Is cents; beer. g 95. Total. 81 65.
1t is curious fact that the amount of
money paid to American artists by the sale of
their pictures at all the regular yearly exhibit
tions in this country. including the National
Academy the Water Color Sociery's exhibit
etc. is not as great rs the amount paid out
yearly for the art work in the Century Maqa-
zt11e and 81 Nicholas.
"A novelty in electrical circles is the
handy incandescent drop light, by which the
current is switched on or off by pulling the
flexible cord that supports the lamp instead Of
turning key in the lamp socket The switch
is in the ceiling and the slightest pressure
operates it One pull will light the lamp and
another extirgulsh it.
A farmer residing near Cumberland, n.
Y, has been sent to an insane asylum because
he has mania for whistling at all times and in
all places. He whistles from night to morn,
and after retiring he whistles until be falls
asleep. The wakens through the night he i'm
mediately commences to whistle and continues
until he is exhausted
The popular idea that when in a mar
riage ceremony the groom says, with all my
worldly goods thee endow," the contract is Of
legal effect. in itself is erroneous. These words
are frequently omitted and have no legal effect
in any way, as by the laws of nearly all the
States the wife is at once seized of an lnchoate
dover right in her husbands real estate az
soon as they are married.
A San Francisco young man has set up
q little kingdom OF his own a small island in
the Pacific Ocean. He bought the island for
5000 introduced population of Sonth Sea
Islanders, and has kept them employed In set
ting out cocoanut and banana trees, the fruit OF
which he will ship to America. He is absolute
monarch and owner of everything on the
island, and expects to make money.
A prominent actor was playing Mac
beth in Australia, and when he came to the
murder scene he asked in vain for the blood
with which he had intended to imbrue his
hands, After abusing the property man
roundly for his neglect the actor, struck with
a happy thought, suddenly hit the funcfionary
on the nose, so that good supply Of crimson
fluid was obtained.
In Williamstown, Mass, lives a negro
whose claim to be lOl years old does not consti-
tute the whole Of his right 10 fame. He was
born with an extra hard head and a horn over
an inch in length on the frontal bone, and unre-
mitting practice soon made his bran-box a ter
rible weapon. During the course of his long
life he has killed rams, broken doors, smashed
ting them with his awful head. He is still in
good health and willing to tackle anything
from John L. Sullivan to the latest nickel
plated ship armor.
JOURNEYING JESTs.
A clever Erie county girl has gone to