Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1892-03-31
CURIOUS CONVERSATIONS.

postage stamp.
"A monster resembling gorilla is said
to be terrorizing the people of Brownsville,
KY.
A crow with only one leg, and upon that
leg only one toe was q curiosity shot recent
ly at Lenofr, N. c.
When the men and women Of the East
Indies want to wash their hands they squeeze
the juice Of q lemon over them briskly in
water until they are clean.
The Methodist Episcopal Church has
over $1,000 ministers, a. 900 local preachers.
100000 official members, and 100000 Sunday
school officers and teachers.
The Prohibitionists in Maryland for
some extraordinary reason have adopted as
their banner picture of Washington sur.
rounded by the Stars and Stripes.
The latest substitute for glass is kind
of dry, flexible collodion. 1t resists the ac-
tion of salts, alkalies and dilute acids. and is
fnodorous and transparent. Its chief use is
likely to be in photography.
In German literary publications dur
ing 1891 theology held the first place. Out of
1855 literary productions. 1853 belonged to
the province OF theology and l,73I to litera-
ture proper (novels, poems, dramas.)
I'm Rio de Jaueiro the camellia is used
in magnificent way at all the fetes. The
walls of the halls where entertainments are
held are covered with sprays containing
three camellias and their polished foliage.
There is said to be negro, IS years old,
living near Rutledge Ga, that bears q re-
markable resemblance to sheep. His skin
is black. but bis head, face and the rest of
his body are covered with long, thick, white
wool.
In Peru the cotton plant rises to the
diefin nf tra ina 0f 10
lively diminutive shrub which grows in this
country. The tree commences bearing when
it is years old, and il continues to bear
for 40 OF 80 years.
"A quarter of a century ago camellias
were worn in ladies' hair to the exclusion Of
all other flowers. Baskets of camellias and
violets were selected for New Year gifts:
bridal bouquets wore then made of six
camellias and maidenhatr fern. @
During Queen Victoria's reign there
have been only three vacancies in which the
Queen did not personally receive the insig-
mia of the deceased knight. When a for
eign sovereign dies who is Knight of the
Garter his insignia comes back directly to
the Lord Chamberlain through the Foreign
Office.
AT the present time the whole number
of double stars known and recorded by as
tronomers is something over 10000, far ex-
ceeding the number of stars visible to the
naked eve in the entire armament (about
6,000), and others arc being frequently dis
covered by the great telescopes now in ex-
lstence.
"A wild woman was captured recently in
the woods near st. Hedwig, Tex, where she
has been living for the past six years. In
all that time she has never slept under a
roof, and her dress was made of reeds and
leaves. She lived for the most part on
pecan nuts. She was sent to an insane
asylum.
The alleged connection between Gypsies
and the nails used in the crucifixion has
frequently been referred to. 1t is said that
the thinkers are descendants of the one who
made the nails for the cross, and are con-
demned to wander continually without rest.
This tradition is very common in the High
lands of Scotland.
The Chinese do almost everything
opposite to the way of doing it in this coun-
try, and, instead of using pen, they write,
or rather paint, their words with brush.
They attach great importance to an elegant
handwriting, and a clever writer-or, as they
say, "clever brush"-is considered worthy
OF their admiration. -.
An ancient method of taking caribou
by the Esquimaux was by means of pitfalls
dug in the snow along the banks Of rivers,
where the snow lodges In immense Quantf-
ties. and wherever there is a sloping place
down which the reindeer can travel. The
pits were covered with thin slabs OF snow
strong enough to hold their shape, but If
trod upon by the animal it was immediately
precipitared into the cavity.
The great high bridge of the Southern
Pacific Railroad is said to be the third high
est bridge in the world. and is, by several
feet, the highest in this country. 1t is 2,1s0
feet In length and 32s feet above the surface
of the stream. 1t has 48 spans, nearly all Of
which are fron-plate girders, alternately 35
feet and 65 feet in length. In the center.
directly above the bed of the river, Is q
cantilever span 1s5 feet in length.
The Russian crown and other insignia
known as "the crown Jewels" are valued at
$1,000 O0o The crown itself is worth s6, co.,
600. It ia adorned with hundreds of dia-
monds. Besides the diamonds there are set
around the rim 81 splendid pearls, each with
out flaw, ruby Of extraordinary size and
Deauty being set as q ,centerpiece. The
crown was made by Panzie, O Geneva jew
eler, and was first worn by Catherine the
Great.
Queen Victoria's State team of cream
colored horses have a history. The present
stock are intelligent, gentle beasts, fond of
being noticed by strangers. The cream-col-
ored horses were brought over from Hanover
originally by George l., and from that time,
with the exception of the period between
1903 and 1873 when Napoleon l. was in pos
session of Hanover, until 1897 they were
Suppllcu lIOul tuC 1iOS1Oidi Ssuo
at Hanover.
The Celebration of marriage, partly in
churches and partly outside them, was first
ordered by Pope Innocent LII. in 1l99. All
the ancient missals direct that toward the
conclusion of the service the parties "shall
enter the church as lar as the step of the
altar" The greater portion of the ceremony
was thus performed in the south porch, still
often called in country districts the "wed-
ding door" 1t was only in the reign OF
Edward VI. that the whole of the ceremony
was allowed to be performed in the middle
of the church.
The literal meaning of the word toilette,
is diminutive of toile, small covering of
linen thrown over dressing table; butft was
reserved for the decorators of the reign of
Louis XIV. to discriminate between the
grand and the little toilette. The latter was
a very simple arrangement indeed, a plain
wooden altar with unadoIned white napery
and looking glass, at which the celebIants
were only the lady's maid and the hair
dresser. The grand toilette was much
more splendid affair. The table was laden
with Golfers of jewels, glove boxes, powder
boxes, receptacles Tor paint, patches, poma-
tum and scented waters; and finally with the
dressing case, the furniture of which was
often of gold or silver handsomely chased.