The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1891-02-21
ITEMS OF INTEREST.

ITEMS OF INTEREST.
1
| IT is HINTED that nowadays, when the French
authorities hear of an impending duel they dis
tress themselves only over the violation of the
law, not having much reason to apprehend any
| loss of human life. A French satirist processes
| TO have overheard the following fierce CONVEX
sation: We will settle this with the sword"
very We'll but You are the better swordsman
| We will equalfze the chances thus: You shall
mount velocpede, will mount the platform
| OF railway train, and thus placed we will
charge upon each other sword in hand."I
LORD TENNYsoN is well known for his appre.
hension of being mobbed, and many stories are
circulated with regard to this mo-
says That one ord in English
| a country walk with a friend, when a fellow
| creature was espied in the distance. I'VE must
turn back, said the poet, that fellow means
TO waylay US" His companion, persuaded him,
| however to continue on their path. They caught
/ up to the enemy and passed him. He took no
notice Of them whatever. what an extraordi-
| nary thing, cried the irate poet, the fellow
seems TO have no idea who amI''
THE TREATMENT of various forms of disease
by surface applications of hot and cold water
has been found to be exceedingly successful
An adaptation of this idea in which the water
| IN no way comes in contact with the person, but
| at toe same time is made the vehicle by which
the heat and cold are applied on the affected
| parts Is a new tubular bandage. Il is made in
| four parts, the first being a head bandage SO
arranged that a continuous stream of hot or
| cold water can be made to encircle the head
| ana now away, being all the time inclosed in
the tubular vessel Other bandages are specially
adapted for throat and spinal trouble.
A FEW DAYS AGO Queen Wilhelmina of Hol
land was driven on an excursion to a village
few miles from the capital, which was reached
| just as the girls OF the school were engaged in
| a game of SNOWFALL At the earnest request of
the little queen q halt was made in order that
| she might witness the fun. Either by accident
| or design q SNOWFALL thrown by one of the
/ children struck the queen on the arm In a
| moment and before her mother could remon-
strate, little Wilhelmia was out of the sleigh,
had grasped q handful of snow, and was busily
| engaged pelting the children nearest to her.
| PROF HOLDEN gives an interesting account of
the Photographic apparatus and the work done
in astronomical photography at the Lick obser-
| vatory. He states that the negatives taken
| there bear easily an enlargement of 570 diam
| eters, and even double that amount. From an
| examination of the best pictures taken at the
| observatory PROT Holden finds that parallel
| walls on the moons surface, whose tops are not
more than 200 yards or so In width, and which
are not more than 900 or 200 yards apart, are
| plainly visible. There is doubt that enlarged
| photographs are capable Of affordfng more in
| formation regarding the moons surface than
can be gained by years of diligent observation,
and when the larger lenses now found necessary
| are brought into use marvellous strides in this
direction may be looked for.
THERE are fully dozen dialects in Italy, and
DR.. Calegaris of San Francisco asserts that
| they were ell mastered by Cardinal Mezzofanti,
| who is now dead, and who could speak fifty-six
dialects and languages. 1t is related of him that
while he was at tbs vatican a traveller arrived
| in Rome from Asia to be confessed, whose
| language no one who met him could UNDER
stand Cardinal Mezzofanti was sent for, and
found that even he had never heard it spoken.
| By means Of signs he learned the strangers
| errand, and that he had with him dictionary
or his native tongue. This the cardinal took,
| ana, Informing the pope that he would be pre-
pared in twenty-four hours to confess the man,
| retired to his room. When, at the time named
he appeared and announced that he was ready
to proceed, IL was found that he had mastered
| the language sufficiently to converse quite
| freely with the traveller.
CAPT. JoRGENsEN the inventor and navigator
of the lifeboat Storm King, which has Just made
the voyage from England to Australia, stated
| in Melbourne that his invention was especially
designed to be of service when vessels sank
| without warning through collision, in any
| case of sudden panic. 1t was impossible in
large vessels carrying 1000 or so to have boats
sufficient to accommodate the whole, and, if
1 there were, there would not be sailors
enough to man and navigate them. Such
a vessel, however. could carry boats
ready pieced together, after the Storm King
pattern sufficient to accommodate 600 or 700
people, and other separate sections could be
slowed in different parts of the ship. The value
OF these sections lay in the fact that they did
uOb no6Q 10 De UOgeUneT IN OTQSF TO De uSeC.
Each section would form perfect life-saving
apparatus, aud although it would not be posi-
bic to navigate them until they were Joined to-
gether, each would contain water and provisions
for fourteen days, and would suffice 10 preserve
life for that period.
THE STRANGE STORY, told on good authority,
of the ruins of a great fortified city, built f
dressed granite blocks found on the Mashona-
land plateau, In South Africa. has given rise to
a great deal Of curious speculation, for its
| w Ma of fhax lie
are completely covered by the dense jungle AM
very old trees grow on the top of the ruins. If
the city or fort was built by natives. it must
have been in remote periods of time, when
there was higher state of civilization than
now; but 1t is just possible that the fort
was constructed under the direction of
early Portuguese explorers, and by the aid
of cheap slave labor. Only superficial view
has been made of the RUNS, but light may be
thrown on the mystery when the houses them
selves have been explored. Light is being ra D.
idly turned on to the dark continent, and the
stories that come from it are as interesting as
those sent to Europe from this country 300 or
1000 years ago. Then, however, the news was
not widely disseminated. Now every one who
chooses can learn from day to day what is go
ing on in Africa as in other parts Of the world.
DTD you ever laugh by telegraph Probably
not. It would hardly pay. When one reflects
that it would cost a cent or two per chuckle to
express his sense of amusement, he refrains
from manifesting it and lets it go. But laugh.
ing is done by telegraph 1t is the telegraph
operators who indulge in this luxury, and
mostly the night operators, who have more
time than the day people. When an operator
| becomes lonely and his saunders are clicking
out messages not intended for him, he calls up
some friend operator. maybe hundred squares
away, and opens conversation. converse.
tion, of course, cannot be continued long
before something funny" is said. 1t then
becomes the duty of the operator to laugh.
This he does by making four dots, then
one dot and dash, thus:
spelling ha Thus to all jokes he replies h-a,,
IA Sometimes, to make 1t easier, he saws
that Is, four dots and two dots. The laugh by
telegraph IS necessarily cold and sardonic II
does not bubble irresstibly to the surface. 1t Is
the result of deliberate purpose When one has
sufficient self-control TO laugh in this way
probably his tribute to your joke is not what
you would desire. But the operator is often
shaken with laughter before shaking his key
with 1t, so to speak. Telegraph operators
have few other, conversational expressions
among them nm, d" four dots and two dashes