Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1891-07-07
CURIOUS CONVERSATIONS.

CURIOUS CONVERSATIONS.
"A woman of Ardmore, Kan, has sued
| her husband for the recovery Of her false
| teeth. She bit him and he took them away
| from her.
Sometimes a spiders bite may be both
| unpleasant and serious. An antidote found
ef1cacfous is bruised plafntain leaves spread
with cream and often renewed.
Onyx is in danger of losing its special
value. Besides the great deposits discovered
in Missouri extensive layers have been
found in smyth county, Virginia.
"A Michigan grocer has mouse that
catches flies. He keeps it in his show win
dow, where 1t does better work than
square yard of ordinary fly paper.
Railroads are celebrated for their rapid
repairs. The Union Pacific trestle bridge
near Dalles, Ore, 325 feet long, was recently
rebuilt in "a hours after being burned.
-Swarms of big flies swooped down on
Eastport, Me-, the other afternoon, making
life there miserable for the time they re-
manned. Where they came from is mys-
terry.
"A seal in the Paris Jardin d'Acclima-
ton has given birth to a cub. This is the
first known case of the kind among the
seals in captivity. The youngster is ten inches
long.
An Indian woman of 300 pounds
weight visited Bath, Me-, last week, and
broke through the sidewalk The Street
Commissioner thereupon gave her notice
that in her future visits she must keep in
the middle of the road.
"A new petroleum burning boat was
tried near Berlin with a four horse power
engine, which went from six to eight miles
an hour at an expense Of cents per horse
power per hour The engine needs only one
man to tend it and he can also steer.
"A railroad man who has spent some time
surveying in the Colorado desert was
wakened one night while camping out by
sick feeling in his stomach. When he arose
he found the tent filled with gas and under
his pillow q hot spring that had evidently
burst forth during the night.
The Surveyor General of Canada, Mr..
Deville, has adopted a novel method of sur
veying in the Rocky Mountain region of the
Dominion. It is to photograph the country
by a specially designed camera. He consid-
ers the photographs as accurate as plan
laid down by means of protractor.
The Commercial Union Telegraph
Company Is now planning to mount several
Of its Maine linemen on bicycles. These
will prove of value in tracing break, and
will enable the men to make quick work. It
is also proposed to utilize several wheels in
the messenger service at Bar Harbor.
Martin O'Donnell, of Buffalo, owes his
life to his faithful dog "Panto' He and
"Panto" were swimming across a stream,
when suddenly he became exhausted and
shouted for help. As though understanding
the cries the dog caught hold of O'Donnen
and sustained him until assistance arrived.
Jerry Hastings, of Covington, KY, was
hunting and fishing in the mountains $50
miles from there year ago this week, when
oa vol luo
animal bedragg1ed, but in good condition,
came yelping and barking into his old home
For half an hour the poor brute was frantic
with joy.
"A Biddeford, Me-, man claims to have
made the great discovery that if you rub
your hands and face with smoked herring,
the odor will drive away mosquitoes, and he
wants his name placed on the roll of the
benefactors Of the human race. When the
herring crop is short, perhaps Limburger
cheese will do quite as well.
The clock in the workshop of hard
ware store in Lewiston, Me-, stopped at Il
O'Clock one night. At O'Clock in the forenoon
one of the workmen, who had had a light
breakfast and was hungry looked at the
clock and saw, to his delight, that the hour
and the minute hands pointed to 12. Think
ing it noon, he washed up, put on his coat,
and started out for dinner without word
to any one. The rest Of 1t can be guessed.
He reached home just three hours before the
dinner was ready, and sorrowfully and
slowly he walked back to the shop.
Matching the stories of valuable and
unappreciated oil paintings sold for a song,
is one concerning miraculous transaction
In Sevres china. Early in the past century q
gentleman presented q reverend friend with
two vases as q wedding present. These vases
stood for more than 40 years on a cabinet IN
a Somerset5hire rectory, without attracting
any particular notice, until a sale took place
after the owners death, at which they were
bought for guineas by tradesman in Bath.
Within q week they resold for 800 guineas to
a Bond street dealer, who speedily disposed
of them to the late Lord Derby for 1000
guineas.
"A friend, who at one time enjoyed the
intimate acquaintance of William Ross
Wallace, the author of that very popular
song, "The Sword of Bunker Hill,'' writes
that Mr.. Wallace once told him that he was
paid just $40 for that piece of composition.
He said, further, that Mr. Wallace encoun-
tered upon the platform of the Cooper In
Stitute, at later day, Mr.. Lowell Mason,
who wrote the music for this song, and had
the curiosity to ask Mr. Mason what he was
paid for his share of the production. The
latter answered that he received SO ALSO
Thus author and composer were place1 on
terms of strict equality. The piece netted
many thousands of dollars to It's publishers.
In letter dated July 8, 1861, Dickens
thus referred to penny caricature of him
self: 81 hope you have seen a large-headed
photo, with little legs, representing the un-
dersigned, pen in hand, tapping his forehead
to knock an idea out. 1t has just sprung up
so abundantly in all the shops that am
ashamed to go about town looking in at the
picture windows, which Is my delight. 1t
seem to me extraordinarily ludicrous, and
much more like than me the grave figure
done in ca rnest. 1t made me laugh when 1
first came upon it, until 1 shook again in
open, sunlighted Piccadilly." "He returned
to Gad's Hi1l," writes his daughter, bring
ing this with him. and telling us that he had
been so amused with it, and so fascinated by
it, thinking it 'soIrresistibly funny that he
stood looking at it, roaring with laughter,
until he became conscious of large and
sympathetic audience laughing 50 heartily
with him that he had to beat hasty re-
treat"