The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1892-02-10
ITEMS OF INTEREST.

possessed Of IS children. 2S6 grandchildren and
944 great grandchildren.
The largest gun manufactured at the Krupp
gun works, Essen. Germany, weighs 10000
pounds and is of the finest quality of steel The
callber or this monster engine of death IS 1914
inches and the barrel is al feet long. The great
est diameter ofthis gun is 612 feet and its range
is about IL miles, Guns Of the above size can
be fired twice per minute, each shot costing
Sl,5OO: The projectie is feet long. weighs 2 700
pounds, and is fired by a charge of powder
weighing 700 pounds. This gun will ''carry up
for miles and penetrate 20 inches of solid steel
armor.
THE latest story about Secretary Blaine's
superstitions is that he will never sit down
with thirteen at table. A western congress-
mans wife who has frequently been guest
for days at time in the Blaine home at
Augusta, says that one evening lust before
dinner they were chatting pleasantly, when
Mrs Blaine came in to tell her husband that
some expected guest had failed them, leaving
thirteen to sit down to dinner. Mr. Blaine rose
nervously, put on his hat without word, and
hurrylnR out soon returned with a neighbor.
whose presence probably broke the hateful
spell. The senator's wife is also quoted as say
ing that on one occasion, to satisfy Mr.. Blaine's
fear OF thirteen, she remained away from the
table.
SENATOR MITCHELL, whose pretty daughter is
to become on Thursday next the Duchess de la
Rochefoucauld is detained In Washington by
business aud will not be able to witness the
ceremony. The young woman is the senator's
second daughter. and is blonde Her elder
sister, who was married when only girl, is a
brunette, and is considered by many the
prettier of the two Her husband is employed
In one OF the departments here, and they live
gu city, They have several children, although
the mother is still young and girish looking.
Senator Mitchell has comfortable income, but
he is not rich. He is considered good lawyer,
and prior to his election to the Senate was EN- 4
ployed by one OF the big railroad corporations
of the west. He is handsome and has an
especially fine complexion.
A NEW ARRANGEMENT, designed to supersede
chains in safety bicycles and obviate the annoy
ance with which bicyclists are so familiar, of
loose ana dlrt-clogged gearing, has recently
been protected. According to this invention a
toothed wheel is provided on the hub Of
the driving wheel, which gears into a
circular reck. This rack is supported by two
cranks mounted on pivots and is oscilIated
through connecting rods by a small-toothed
wheel driven by pinion on the crank shaft.
This wheel has q pin on its face which engages
with the connecting rods and at each revolution
oscillates the rack which ACQUIRES Q circular
motion by reason of the cranks, and thus re-
wolves the driving-wheel. The speed at which
the driving wheel is rotated depends upon the
proportionate number Of teeth on the rack and
on the wheel with which it gears.
To ILLUSTRATE tbs early difficulties which ap-
palled naturalists, the case of Charles Darwin
III his explorations on the Beagle are to the
point, says GoldthGGfte's Geogrd DhicdI Nigga
zine. He found, on the coast OF New Zealand,
enormous canyons rising to hight of several
thousand feet and reaching:close to the waters
edge. II is now believed that these valleys were
worn out by the action of running water and
that by a sinking of the coast line the mouths of
the rivers have been transformed into fiords.
Darwin could not appreciate, at that time such
enormous denudatOn by sub aerial forces and he
publishes his theory that they are great bay
worn out by the tides when the land was be-
meath the waters. AT about this time and
earlier the current belief was that most great
river valleys were the products Of the great
universal flood described as Noah's deluge.
THE USE of an electric mcrometer has been
imported into the manufacture of boots and
shoes. The function of this device is the sorting
OF pieces of leather, according to their thick
ness, and their distribution IN their respective
receptacles. So accurately is this performed
That the pieces in the various receptacles hardly
vary 1,O00th part of an inch in thick
ness Besides the sorting of the pieces of
leather the machine automatically records the
number distributed. Whom the apparatus is ia
operation all that is required Of the attendants
box. follower is adjusted behind
the taps which Keeps them
IN an upright position and maintains q constant
pressure as they are fed from the trough into
two AUDITING 1anges, the taps in return being
fed from the trough into the micrometer fin.
gers, which pass successfully into position The
fingers, which are moved around by a ratchet
taceS for taps, and when one OF them reaches a
bin in which the tap should be dropped the
inner extension of the finger touches an electric
contact, and the tap falls from the laws The
operation OF the finger is made to actuate a
connector. which indicates the number of taps
In eve y receptacle
Two PRoMlNENC little society women of Wash
ington d. c., who are enjoying themselves
rather more than the ordinary devotee are
Nine. Tateno wife of the Japanese minister
and Nine. Ye, the spouse of the Corean charge
atfaires When these int resting little ladies'
arrived in Washington neither could sueak a
word of English, but they have given them
selves unremttingly TO the study of the Ian
Ruage. and now converse with tolerable fuency
Nine. Tateno has read every book on social etf-
quette in the United States she has been able
TO find and her know ledge on all questions
or the proprietieS is wonderfully accurate
and comprehensive. She declares that it is
not at all hard to understand American social
customs, as they are by no means as compli-
Gated as the etiquette of the upper classes of
Japan, with which she says it requires life
time to become familiar. The Japanese minis
Ter and his wife have given O number of infor-
mai dinner parties which have been faultIesslv
served by French chef who is the envy of
many of the leading housekeepers in Washing
ton society. Nine. Ye also has made a close
study OF American etiquette, her latest accom-
p!shment being the high hand shake SO much
affected In Washington. When greeting a
friend she puts out her hand at the hight of
her eyes, and with her elevated elbow cunnipglv
crooked she gives a squeeze with her soft little
palm that is said to be very fetching.