The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1893-04-13
ITEAS OF INFERGS /.


MONSTER EARRINGS says a jeweler, belong
to the era of cannibalism and widow burning,
and l never expected to see the mastodonic
oriental fashion revived, but English swelldom
has deCreed that big earrings must be worn
again, 30 be prepared TO see The lob-s OF ladies'
aurlcles weighted down with great heavy COM
binatoDs of metals and Jewels ! wonder why
the women stop short OF wearing rings in their
noses and l0-penny nails stuck through their
upper lips"
THE average time a derelict remains afoat is
about thirty days, and there are at all times
about thirty of these vessels floating about in
the Atlantic ocean There are more of these in
the vicinity of Cape Hatteras than in any other
place, which accounts for the great number of
wrecks in that locality. The report of the hy-
geographic office shows that from 1887 to 1891
there were thirty eight collisions with deIe-
licts, or an average of nearly eight every year.
Eight OF the thirty -eight vessels were totally
lost.
The second largest diamond in the world, ao-
coroing to foreign papers. is now being ground
in one Of the famous diamond shops in Amster-
dam IL weighed in its natural state 474 carats.
1t will lose in the process of edging' about ga
caratJ Despite this loss, however it will soon
rank between the Great Mogul," the Persian
gem, which is said to weigh $50 carats. and the
| Victoria" or Imperial diamond" owned by
the NiZam Of Hyderabad. The famous "Orloff
Brilliant now In Russia, tips the scales at 19434
carats. Definite information regarding the
Great Mogul" is difficult to obtain, and some
say that it is jewel of only 1913 carats. The
DE Beers Yellow which was sold recently to
an Indian rajah. weighs 225 carats. The Ant
werp diamond will be placed on the market in a
few months.
The art of bell founding is undoubtedly Of
great antiquity, says the Gentlemdn's MaoG-
zine. The Saxons are known to have used bells
in their churches although probably but small
ones, for the Venerable Bede. writing at the
end OF the seventeenth century alludeS TO them
which
not unfamiliar things. The to wers Of the Saxon
period have betries of considerable dimensions
IN most cases; and at Crowland abbey, in South
Lincolnshire, there wes famous peal of seven
bells many years before the Norman conquest.
The monks at that time, AMI for long after
were the chief practitioners Of the
art OF bell founding (Which, indeed, is one OF
the many things those we'll abused men have
handed down TO US. Their bells were rarely
without inscriptions. often in very bad Latin,
containing perhaps some obscure Joke the
point OF which is quite lost. More often they
were OF religious nature, sometimes, We fear
not unmiXed with a dash of superstition as
when the bell declares that its sound drives
away the demons OF the air who caused pesk-
lence and famine, lightning and thuuderstorms
As rule, unfortunately, they put no dates on
their bells, defect which has been in some
measure. overcome by the researches of many
enthusiastic campanolozists, but which is
likely to keep the early history of bells shrouded
in darkness for a long time to come.
1T is easy to talk of green; blue yellow, red,
writes J. A. Symonds in The KEY of Blue. But
when we seek to distinguish the tints OF these
hues, and to accentuate the special timbers of
each We are practically left to suggestions
founded upon metaphors and analogy. We Sc
lect some object in nature-a GEM q flower an
aspect OF the sky or sea-which possesses the
particular quality we wish to Indicate We
talk of grass green, apple green, olive green,
emerald green sage green, jade green; OF sap
| phlre, forKetme-not, turquOis. gentian,
ultramarine. sky blue; of topaz gold orange
a grA and al ina
blood and flame. Or else We use the names of
substances from which the pigments are com
pounded, as yellow ochre, burnt sienna,
cadmium, lampblack, verdigris, vermiIion'
m0ddeF. cinnabar. To indicate very subtle
| gradations. the jargon Of commerce supplies us
literally with terms like mauve, magenta, eau
denile, peacock, merdad'o ca, prussian blue,
| crushed strawberry, venetian red, Rris-de-
perle, etc, to int1nity. 1t is obvious that for
purely literary purposes these designations
have a very unequal value. Some Of them are
inadmissible in serious composition. The most
precise often fail by Interpreting what is absent
from the readers mental eye through what is
unknown 10 his intelligence. Not everybody is
familiar with jade, cadmium, almandines nile
! water. What the writer wants would be q
variety Of broad terms to express the species
(tints) of each genus fhuel
WHARFINeER IsAAos of Folsom street found
silver quarter to-day, and thereby proved that
sailors superstition is not dead yet, saws the
San Francisco Examiner The coin was found
hoisted on the dock to have new mooring holes
bored. This fender is an immense pine stick
that originally saw duty as q lower mast of
some vessel-just what sort of a craft, however
has been lost in obscurity by the fact that the
old fender had been shifted often that the
oldest whart1nger could not call up its origin or
first service. 1t was bought, a9 q score Of others
are after it had bsen condemned as a mast and
| after years OF banging between ships and
wharves only the step at the butt end remains
to tell that it had ever supported canvas
Isaacs' find was made in the center OF the
step, into the rotten wood Of which he was idly
boring with his cane. A dozen sailors wanted
to secure the luck piece" but the wharfnger
retained it to tempt fortune for himself The
custom Of planting a coin under the mast of a
vessel is as old as the art OF shipbuilding In
early DAYS it was intended to propittate the
gods of the waters and was universal among
all nations. The custom is still practced to a
considerable extent, and nine vessels out Of ten
aioat to-day will show a bit OF minted gold or
silver in the center of the step of the mainmast
If search be made. The quarter picked up by
Isaacs was coined in 1871, and, save for being
blaokeued by the action of the salt water. was
as fresh as the dav it came from the mint