The Opelousas courier., 1895-02-23
FOREIGN GOSSIP,

Foncs1N AOSSiF.
MIR. II. Weld-Blundel has just re:
turned from a complete round of the
GASES Of the Libyan desert, including
that of Siwah. where are the ruins of
the temple of Jupiter Ammon; which
Alexander the Great visited. The COM
plete tour had only been made by the
German traveller Rohis. Mr.. Weld
Blundell travelled over twelve thousand
miles on camels.
considerable sensation has been
created in the large and populous
parishes of lslingtun and C~lerkcnwell
in London by the published analyses
of the ingredients of certain ice creams
purchased at random from Italian
vendors. One sample was found to
contain boiled corn flour, water, tar
taric acid and sugar colored with ami
line dyes, and bearing traces of lead
and anthony.
The British admiralty is to try an
innovation in transporting seamen.
The Gibraltar, a first-c!ass cruiser. is to
be manned by a crew which will take
it to Australia and there relieve the
crew of the Orlando, the flagship of the
station. The crew of the Orlando will
take the Gibraltar doe. 'ri-~
government will save the expense of a
troop ship: the officers and men will be
the regular discipline of the navy, and
the new cruisers will be tested by a
long voyage.
A German military journal pub
fishes statistics of the shells discharged
by the Germans against French for
tresses in the war of 1870. Strasburg
heads the list with ZOE, 100, while Bel
fort received 112, 500, Paris ITO. 800,
Thionville Is. 900, Neuf-Brisach and
Fort Mortier 1900. Nerdun 5000, Sois-
sons s,4Ud, Bitche f.1O0, Mezietes 1000,
Toul 600, Montmedy 6 200. Longwy
6, 400, Metz 1900 and others follow
with 5000 down to 100. The grand total
reaches 521, 900 shells.
Gen. Boulanger was once sued by
Mile. Ducos for the recovery of love let
tiers. This lady married the Comte de
Menibus in 1890, and had a daughter In
1892. but her father, a rich Bordeaux
merchant, has begun proceedings in
the courts against his daughter and
her husband on the ground that the
child is not his daughter, and that the
alleged parents wanted to palm a
strange child off on him. Ducos has
not spared his daughter in the proceed
ingS. and she is revealed as a natural
part of the Boulanger romance.
The grossest superstition exists
even in Calcutta. Recently an indian
gentleman. residing in Jaun Bazaar
street, had a live goat flung down from
his two-storied house. in accordance
with the directions of a so-called
magician, who was called in to cast
out a devil with which a son was sup
posed to be possessed. The poor brute
was first fed with a few bamboo leaves
over which the wizard mumbled some
mantras. and it was then pushed over
the terrace. The animal was killed,
and it's flesh was distributed to the
oor.-1ndianapolis News.
During the fourteenth and fifteenth
centuries a grotesque dance entitled
the dance of Death was 6ften per-
formed in the churches and cathedrals
of Germany, France, Spain and Italy.
In this singular drama. for such it real
ly was, a figure representing death sum
moned to its presence pecrla If every
rank and condition of life and danced
with each. Everyone when summoned
made some excuse. but in vain, and each
was led out of sight behind the scene
by the leading parsonage to betoken the
departure from the world. The scene
has been depicted many times in art.
Recently, says a report from Turin,
a major of tile %t'ietnonte Reale regi-
ment, marching with his battalion, met
the Princess Letitia, the widow of the
late duke of Aosta, on a bicycle, ac-
companied by some friends. The major,
who did not recognize the princess
neither stopped his men nor sal"ted,
and Was Immediately reported to head
quarters, placed under arrest and
asked to explain. He pleaded that he
could never have imagined that her
highness would run about in public on
a bicycle. His case vas reported by
the corps commapdaat to the minister
of war and by him to King 1funbert,
who wasintensely annoyed and ordered
the major to be released at once.