Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1891-12-31
CURIOUS CONVERSATIONS.

1
Opium smoking is absolutely forbf fdden
in Japan.
papers in London
+ "A half dollar of 1853 with an 80" above
the date is worth sl2
London horsecars and omnibuses repre-
! sent capital of s25, 100000.
India has a priest who is drawing Q
pension and is in his l52 year.
The standard gold coin of England con-
sists of % parts pure gold and parts of cop
| per.
The household maintained by the
Queen of England consists of nearly 1000
| persons.
| contributions amounting to Sc, 500, 900
for missionary purposes were made in Great
| Britain last year.
Ancient monuments show thst the cul-
| tivation OF wheat had been established in
Egypt before the invasion OF the shep-
| herds.
The 'Tmperial diamond which was re-
Gently purchased by the Nizam of Hydera-
bad from London dealer is valued at
ST., ,000.
Abduction was by no means uncommon
of Argus was abducted by Phoenec1an,and
the Greeks carried off Europa from Tyre
ana Med ca from Colchis.
The grandest tomb in the world is,
without doubt, the Tai Mahal, or Crown of
Empires, at Agra. 1t is an octsgonal build.
ing OF the purest white marble, the interior
being decorated with inlaid work of precious
stones.
To protect itself from the rain the orang-
Is itc
hair on the orang's upper arm points down
ward, while on the lower arm it points up
ward, the apparent purpose being to shed
the rain like a thatch.
Strawberries and mosquitoes are said to
be plentiful in the neighborhood of Mt st.
Elias, the region of perpetual ice and snow.
Along the edge of the glacier is a strip Of
luxuriant vegetation, where strawberry
vines cover the ground for miles.
More than % per cent of the freight Of
the country is coal. In 1889 the average
price per ton of coal at the mines was 90 cents
for bituminous and 81 "A for anthracite. The
demand for coal in all parts of the country
is improving. and 1t is taking the place Of
wood as fuel in remote sections.
There were blooded dogs in early Egypt,
and highly priced. Their names were carved
on monuments which still remain. One Of
them, his name showing his foreign origin,
was called Abafkarou, a faithful transcript
tfon of the word abaikour, by which the
hunting dog is designated in many of the
Berber dialects.
I'm a district of Samatra, to break
drought, all the women of the village,
scantily clad, go to the river, wade into it
and splash each other with the water. A
black cat is thrown into the water and made
to swim about for while, then allowed TO
escape to the bank, pursued by the splash
ing OF the women.
Tba bali he
or n crane which, after it has reached the
age of 900 years, has no need of any susten-
ance except water. Their mythical dragon
has the head of a camel, the horns of deer,
the eyes of a demon, the ears of an OK, the
body of a serpent. the scales of a fish and
the claws and wings of an eagle.
"A large quantity of amber, particularly
the coarser kind, is exported to China,
where it is used in the form OF powder in in
cense. 1t is used also in the manufacture of
varnishes for carriages, builders and photo
graphers. The kind used for carriages is ex-
pensive, and it takes long time to dry, bft
it is harder and more impenetrable than any
varnish known.
In May, June and July the weather on
the Neva is as hot as it is in summer time in
Queensland: and the chief delight of the
people whose official duties detain them
in the capital is to be rowed about the Neva
in the soft and mellow cleaning, and TO ex-
perience the pleasurable sensation of being
able to read the newspaper without the aid
of artificial light at II P. NJ.
Boards were at various times taxed in
England, and the Sheriff of Canterbury paid
shillings and pence for wearing a beard.
In the first year of Elizabeth's reign every
beard of above fortnight's growth was
taxed shillings and pence, but the law
was too absurd to be enforced. Peter the
Great imposed tax of a rouble upon
boards, but it was soon cancelled
I'm its old use as ribs for umbrellas
whalebone has been superseded by the
lighter and more durable steel. Although
the demand on the importers each year has
been growing steadily less its value has In
creased. In 1873 there were 3,5A hundred
weight of q value of 1888, 900; while in 1871,
though the quantity was only 1868 hundred
weight, the value was S44 ,933.
of the 32S, ,716 divorces granted in the
United States for 20 years, PIG. .I76, or s.. per
cent of the whole, were granted to wives on
their petitions for divorce from their hus-
bands, and liz 546 were granted husbands for
the alleged fault of the wives, being 342 per
cent of the whole number; that is to say, in
the proportion of nearly two to one 1t is the
wife who seeks divorce rather than the
husband.
The island of Madagascar has two dis
tinct climates, two classes of natives and
two classes of fauna and flora. The island
is about the size of France. Along the coast
it is tropical and malarious, and the natives
are darker and larger than in the interior.
The interior is q high tn bic land and noun
famous There the climate is cooler and the
natives smaller and lighter in color than on
the coast. But in the interior they are more
intelligent and they rule the island
In Constantinople, the Mohammedan
mosque of Sofia is pervaded always by a
strong smell of musk. In order TO supply
this perfume, which was freely mixed with
the mortar and cement which bound to-
oether the stones thousands upon thou
sands of the musk antelope were slaught-
cred Thus, while one stone is left upon
another of this ancient ana interesting
buiIdinr the odor of musk must re main to
refresh or annoy its visitors, according as
the sense Is affected