The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1892-01-11
ITEMS OF INTEREST.

The conveying Of information by fire. giving
smoke by Gay and illumination at night is one
of the very oldest methods adopted for the pur-
| pose. No one knows when the semaphore was
| first invented, but the origin of this device for
| signaling with arms at different angles Is most
| ancient. Cryptograms, for communicating in
| secret language, are nearly as old as the art OF
| writing, aud invisible inks, which could be
| rendered visible by heat or the action of chemi-
Gals, we're used by the Egyptians thirty five
| centuries ago.
| ONE of the most wonderful creatures in the
French capital is Vidal, the sculptor. At the
age of 81 he was struck incurably blind. Pre-
| vous to this terrible calamity he had passed
| his life among artists and was devoted to
sculpture, in which he had already given proof
of superior genius. When this awful calamity
came upon him he was tor a time diSnayed,
but finally recovering his courage he resolved
to continue his favorite studies From 1878 to
1889 he executed hundreds of great and minor
works, several Of which were exhibited and re-
ceived medals.
A CORRESPONDENT whose enthusiasm about
optical possibilities is often only equaled by
the delightful flights of his imagination sends
The Opficfdn a suggestion. He says: with
The perfection to witch the making of aluminium
Is now brought, and the popularity of small
opera glasses, why not construct small opera
glasses mounted on a spectacle frame Pro
vided the size is small (say. object glasses half
an inch in diameter with six lenses only, the
glasses might be- worn without any discomfort
upon the nose during the whole Of a theatrical
performance. Toe sight of an audience
equipped with spectacle opera glasses might at
first seem ludicrous. But use is everything -
So STRICT was Stonewan Jackson in his re-
ligious observances that he never travelled on
Sunday, and never posted a letter or took one
from the mail on that day. He believed in.
deed, that it was wrong for the government TO
carry mails on the Lords day. sketch of the
confederate leader in his widows new memorial
of his life shows him TO have been a tall erect
md mn lar Ina
a Roman nose and rudy, sunburnt cheeks
In refuting the charge that her husband was an
awkward horseman, Mrs Jackson says that it
is sufficient to record the fact that he was
never thrown from his mount while his judg-
ment OF horses was excellent In battle he rode
with uncovered heal along his column, &C.
knowledging the shouts of his devoted men.
In 26S B. c.. Archimedes devised marvellous
ship for Hero of Syracuse. Her three slofty
maSts rad been brought from Britain whereas
our ships maStS are of iron or obtained from
New Zealand or from Vancouver Island.
LuXoruiuusly fitted sleeping apartments
ahounded and one Of her banqueting halls was
paved with agate and costly Sicilian stone.
Other floors were cunningly inlaid with scenes
fromithe Had. Stables for many horses, ponds
stocked with live fish, gardens watered by arti-
fetal rv1ets and hot bat S were provided for
use or amusement. PtOlemy Phiopater pos
sessed a nuptial yacht, the Thalamegon, 312
feet ong ana 45 feet deep. A graceful gallery,
supported by curiouslY carved columns ran
round the vessel, and within were temples of
Venus and of Bacchus. Her masts were 100
feet high, her sails and cordage of royal purple
hue.
THE Times of India says that Mr.. Wolfe-Mur-
| rays experiment at rainmakng by explosion
| were too successful. So successful as to sug-
| gest that the rain was fortuitous incident
rather than q result of experiment. The center
| chosen for the experiment was CuddRpah
where the rainfall is always scanty, aud
neither kites nor balloons being available, the
dynamite was placed on a ridge of fiat rocks
| 2,400 feet above the sea level and couple of
| hundred feet above the plain. A hundred pounds
! of dynamite were used in ALL ten packges Of
| ten pounds each being ranged on the
rocks at intervals OF so yards; and fred
| by time fuses at intervals OF one minute. Nine
| of the packages were successfully exploded and
six hours later, while the sun was still shining
there came magnificent shower of rain it is
( stated, as has hardly been experienced in the
district during the present year. The shower
! lasted half an hour, and was confined to the
! region affected by the explosions which Mr.
| Wolfe-Murray deems a conclusive proof of the
( success of the experiment, AS the total cost
was only 800 rupees, IL will not be a difficult
matter to verify these conditions in other dis
| tricts.
FROM the Atlantic and Pacific railroad it IS
| not hard to reach one of the greatest of natural
curiosities-the petrifed forest of Arizona, says
! Charles f. Lummis in 81. Nicholas. Much the
nearest point is the little station of Billings but
J there are the scantiest accommodations for the
| traveller. Only mile south Of the track at
| that point, one NAV see a low, dark ridge
| marked by single cottonwood tree Walking
! thither lover valley alive with inck.raobits
! that there is SONS excuse for the CO wboy
| declaration that you can walk clear
| across on their backs" one soon
| reaches the northern edge Of the forest
| which covers hundreds OF square miles Unless
| you are more hardened to wonderful sights
| than am you will almost fancy yourself In
| some enchanted spot. You seem to stand on
| the glass of a gigantic Kaleidoscope over whose
| sparkling surface the sun breaks In infinite
| rainbows. You are ankle-deep in such clips as
| I'll warrant you never saw from any other
woodpile. What do you Think of chips from a
| tree that are red moss-agate and amethyst and
| smoky topaz and agate of every hues Such are
| the marvellous splinters that cover the ground
for miles here, around the huge PROSTATE trunks
some OF them five feet through-from which
| times patient ak has hewn them. | broke A
| specimen from the heart of tree there, years
ago, which had around the stone pith a remark
able array of large and exquisite CRYSTALS: for
on one side of the specimen-which is not SO
large as my hands a beautiful mass of crys-
| tails OF royal purple amethyst, and on the other
! an equally beautiful array of smoky topaz crys-
tails One can get also magnificent cross sec
| tions of a whole trunk, SO thin as to be porta
| BILE, and showing every vein and ''year ring y
and even the bark There is not a chip in all
| those miles which is not worthy q place, lust as
it is in the proudest cabinet, and, when poI
| ished. / know no other rock so splendid Il ia
one of the hardest stones in the world and takes
! and keeps an Incompatible polish
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