The morning news., 1892-02-01
ITEMS OF IN rRREsr.

SECRETARY DICKINSON estimates that S125,-
900 will be necessary for the expenses OF the
national commission OF the worlds fair for the
year ending June 80, 1893, divided as follows:
Two meetings OF the commission, $50. 600; sala-
ries. $50, 900; rent. 5000; board OF control and
committees, $4,000; stationary, printing, etc.,
$4,000; expenses connected with admission OF
foreign exhibits, $4,000.
TIE cries OF none Of the animals approach
more CLOSELY that of the human voice than those
of seals when lamenting the loss or capture of
their young. They emit a waing aud affecting
cry, similar to that of a woman in deep grief
The cry Of a wounded hare resembles that or q
child iu distress Its piercing shrek can, on a
still night, be plainly heard at q distance OF
more than mile.
IT IS SAID to be a remarkable fact that the
poison of the scorpion gradually loses its effect
upon a human being, and that man suffers less
and lsss each time he is stung One bold phil
osopher it is related, had the courage to follow
out the principle to the farthest extent, and
made scorpions sting him repeatedly until he
had become poison proof, and suffered but little
Inconvenience beyond the transient pain Of the
puncture.
In WARSAW a society has been formed for the
encouragement Of good servants. Every serv-
ant who can produce testimonials showing
that she has performed her duties TO the salts
faction OF her employers for a term OF two
years Will get prize given by the society. The
money for sucn prizes is to be raised by the sale
of passbooks TO the girls desiring to enjoy the
benefits which the society offers. In these
books the employers will inscribe their testi-
monials
The following remarkable yarn is told by a
Gardner (Me. } sportsman: He was shooting on
very cold day. and Just be was about to re-
turn home he confronted by a big cata-
mount. While loading his gun he found after
be had put the powder in that he had no bullet
Beads of perspiration stood out on his face and
bail-etOnRS aa drOnOn1 N
ground. Scooping up "a handful he dropped
them into his gun, but the barrel being hot they
melted. He fired, however, and stream of
water that issued forth was frozen instantly
into an cicle, which penetrated the brain OF the
catamount
THERE is a singular coincidence in the names
of the late Senator Preston B. Plumb and his
successor, Senator Bishop W. Perkins. which
lies Ia the fact that the middle initial OF each
signifies nothing Plumb chrsteued simply
Preston aud added the B. in latter life to CRAFTY
some whim. The ba ptismal name of Perkins was
Bishop c., but he conceived dislike to the mi
tial and discarded it. Afterward a brother
born to him and the father of the boys who had
a liking for the name the stood for added the
letter to the name of the second son. The fut-
ure senator fort the purpose of euphony and
for distinguishing mark, adopted W. as
mid lie initial
A BEAUTIFUL antique gold finger ring given by
Gen. George Washington to Lieut.. Richmond
Somers. of the early United States navy, Just
before that officer embarked for the Tripod tan
war, in 1903, and in which he lost his life, is
| now in the custody of Spicer Leaning, ESQ OF
Cape May, n. j., son-inlaw Of DR.. Jonathan F.
| Leaning Of Cape May Court House TO whom the
| ring descended through his mother, q relative OF
Lieut. somers 1t is piece of jew
| elry of rare workmanship In the shape
| the body Of the ring is n gold band Tho set
ting, a box OF glass containing n lock OF the
first Presidents hair, is surrounded by pearls,
| and ornamented with blue and white enamel.
An experiment in telephony has been made in
Melbourne. The post master generals of Vic =
| toria and South Australia, with their principal
executive officers. succeeded IN establishing con
| versation between Melbourne and Adelaide a
| distance of 500 miles The governments of the
two colonies have erected a copper wire
! mo. II, or rather more than
one-eighth inch in thicknessl. which
is to 10 used for a new quadruplex
telegraph instrument. and it was determined to
! see what coud be done with the telephone over
the wire. For over an hour an animated con-
versation was carried on, and the chimes of the
| Adelaide postoffice clock distinctly heard
| III Melbourne, aad Uice versa The instruments
! used at Melbourne were the HunnIng Berthon.
Beriiner and the Blake, and the two former
were found most effective.
! PROF. ELMER, in his work on "Organic Evolu.
! ton,' is not able to explain why the dogs of
Constantinople erect the tail and carry It up
right, while the ancestral wolf Aad the iackal
carry 1t hanging down. DR.. Joseph L. Han
| OK suggests. in the American Naturalist"
that the reason may be found In the fact that
| as the dog becomes domesticated 1t Is
prone to use the tail as an organ for
| expressing mental States-waggIng it when
| pleased, dropping it between the legs whom dis
appointed or frightened. The ance,tral wolf
carries 1t hanging down, because in that
position 1t is less conspicuous and better eludes
| detection A family of wolves playing to.
| gether undisturbed occasionally carry their
| tails curled upward BY degrees the tail
acquires naturally the upright position
| as result of coincidence evolution Of the
| mind OF the wolf by domestication and Of
| he slow adaptation of the appendage as an
organ of exp session. The cessation Of natural
selection in the domestic dog would give the
| tall greater freedom OF motion without detri.
! ment to life. and artificial selection modifes it
| into various shapes.
ACCORDING to the figures of Prof W. ]. NC
| Gelit is only question of time when the slow
| bur never ceasing inroads of the ocean will
e gulf many populous cities of the Atlantic
| seaboard, and perhaps whole states. He saws:
There is broad lowland stretching from
| Sandy Hook to Cape Henry, and another
| washed by the Mississippi sound, upon which
| the sea is gradually but slowly and surely
encroaching. They are wane fashioned
| ocean, and now old ocean again reclaims its
| own. Already its octopus arms have seized
| the lowlands iu their horrid embrace, and
| day by day, month by month, year by year
| generation by generation, the grasp is tight.
| ening, the monster creeping further inland,
| Each average year the water mark advances a
| rod. The seaside cottage, with O broad lawn
| before it, has an expectation OF life of a de-
| cade or generation. but the cottage at the
| verge of the cliff may go in q year, and must
| go in lustrum, unless human devices outwit
| ana oVerpower the waves. On most other
| eastern and southern coasts the waves are nIso
| encroaching. but their progress is slower But
| the oceans power is too great for puny man to
| oppose successfully. What, then, is he to do,
In my opinion, he can only temporarily pro
Vi Q against it, and then slowly retreat before