Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1892-05-06
CURIOUS CONVERSATIONS.

The theaters of London are now fun
gated after each performance to preventtl
spread of the grip.
Elections in France are always held
Sundays, in order to suit the convenience
workingmen and peasants.
The earth, at the equator. moves at tt
rate of a mile in SO seconds, four-tenths OF
second slower than the velocity of cannc
ball.
The Legislative Assembly of Styria,
Austria, has passed law forbidding pot
people to marry without q special licens
from the authorities.
"A French chemist is reported to hav
discovered process by which cottonsee
oil can be SO refined as to make 1t one OF th
best lubricating oils known.
Citizens of Perry, Ga, are wonderingf
young chicken owned by one Of ther
which has four legs, two of which are wher
the tail feathers ought TO be.
"A judge in a Massachusetts divorc
court has laid down the law that when
woman obtains divorce she shall not
permitted to resume her maiden name.
The Salvation Army believes in tn
use of printers ink. 1t PUBLISHES 81 weekl
newspapers and five monthly magazines
copies.
Copenhagen has under consideration
plan for a circular street railway to girdl
the city and connect with all the othe
lines. The system will be double tracket
the entire length.
The earth's surface only exceeds tn,
moons by about 13h times. The moon
surface is fully as large as Africa and Aus
tralia together, and nearly as large as Nortl
and South America without the islands.
I'm Mashona, when twin babies are
born, both are drowned. This is one of those
savage customs which discourages the M
tive census taker and makes him n strong
advocate of conversion to Christian privi
lege.
Scranton, Pa, has remarkable whee
which weighs 100000 pounds. 1t is a cog
wheel 81 feet in diameter and ls inches face,
and has a capacity of 3O,OOOO 900 gallons OF
water and 1000 tons OF sand per "a hours
run a n velocity of ten feet a second on the
inner edge of the bucket
"A young woman in Blaine, Me-, whose
father died in Andersonyille prison, draws
a Government pension on that account and
she needs it. She is only % years old, bu
her chest measure is IS inches, waist 6
inches, and she weighs AIS pounds. She Il
unable to stand longer than minute or two
"A praiseworthy arrangement has been
arrived at between all the French railway
companies. In futnre every emplOye, of no
matter what line, will be entitled to a return
free pass once a year to any station in
France. and his family living with him to
passes at one-quarter the usual passenger
rates.
"A calculation of the average volume of
the water of the gulf stream that passes
Cape Florida in one hour gives the enor-
nous sum of go 900, ,00O0O Were this amount
evapornted, the remaining salt would re-
quire more than 100 times the number of
seagoing vessels now afioat in the world to
carry it.
MIR. j. Korosi, Director of the Hunga-
rian Bureau of Statistics, taking "a 600 cases
as q basis, reaches the following conclusions:
Children, whose father is less than 20 years
of age, have a weak constitution. The issue
of fathers of between Is and ~ years are the
strongest, while the descendants of fathers
of over 40 years are weak.
When Sheffield first became famous for
its cutlery, a peculiar shaped knife, designed
for variety of uses, was made with great
care and sent to the agent OF the Cutters
Company in London On one of the blades
was engraved the following challenges:
London, for thy lire,
Show me such another knife.
Some novel. fire escapes have been
added to the Narragansett House, Provi-
dence. They form a spiral curving about
n standpipe five inches i'll diameter. This
standpipe is so adjusted as to be readily
connected with the street hydrants and at
each story can be connected with hose,
thus adding another precaurion against
fire.
The Italian never buys q stiletto, but
manufactures it at home OPT of any material
that he can lay his hands upon. There are
two distinct brands of the article, the city
and the suburban, the first being made by
the gentlemanly member of the Malta; who
resides in town, and the second by his
brother, who tolls far from the madding
crowd.
"A horse was killed by bees at Leslie,
Ga, recently. 4 colored woman was driY-
ing by place where the pestiferous little in
sects were being hived. A swarm alighted
on the horse and began stinging him. The
woman ran off to secure help. When she
came back it Is said that there were three
colonies of bees on the unfortunate animal.
They were finally driven off, but the horse
died shortly afterward.
The Shanghai Debating society has
been considering why the young men OF
Shanghai do not marry. Tho impression is
that the fault is in the "chit SYSTEM" the
local name for the credit system, by which
things are charged at high prices, instead of
being paid for at low prices. The majority
of the young men were in favor OF abolishing
this system, but the young women were
against it and swamped the boys.
While Edgar Bates, geologist Of
Angola was prospecting in Jackson county,
Mich, he discovered in a stream peculiarly
marked stone rudely cut by blunt instru-
ment With the aid of microscope he was
able to decipher an inscription running to
this effect: samuel Bernet; 1 was taken by
the Indians near Sandusky, and 1 expect
never to reach that place. If my friends
1 am to be burned. April 16, 1915"
The old-time viol was the first instru-
ment of its kind, and furnished the plan for
the modern violin, which, however, is 100
years old. 1t is said that Charles IL intro
duced it into England. One OF the finest
makers of violins was Stradivarius, of Gre
mona, who exised in the early part of the
eig hteenth century. Violins made by him
Are worth thousands of dollars now, and
highly esteemed by collectors and per
formers.
The marriage ceremony practiced by
The people of Borneo is very short and sim
ole Bride and groom are brought out before
The assembled crowd with great solemnity,
Ind seated side by side. A betel nut Is then
,ut in two by the medicine woman OF the
ribe and one half Is given to the groom.
They begin to chew the nut, and then tho
I'D woman, after some sort of incantatton,
Knocks their heads together, and they are
declared man and wife.
pTcKINCs FROM PICK