The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1895-02-08
ITEMS OF INTEREST.

The geography OF to-day is fun Of errors,
says the Boston Transcript The school
children Of the next generation viii scarce
Is hear Of Mount St Elias which mas NTH
ertO been accepted as the highest noun
tain on this continent That error wa
exploded by recent survey The African
Lake Nyanza. which was imagined TO be
larger than Lake Superior, and altogether
the biggest lake in the world, has been
reduced by fresh discovery 10 compare
lively small size. one OF The funniest de-
luslCns y as that entertained Dy carry eA-
pl0rers who, for a hundred years after Co
lumbus. believed tina North America was
a group OF islands, through which 10 was
possible TO get 10 China. For two centu-
rIes after the discovery Of America navi-
gators were bent on getting through the
continent on boats. when they found
the great lakes they we're sure that North
America was an archipelago.
The mira &c can be seen nearly every
day in the Ilains OF Lower Egypt, and also
10 hHLtel extent T. the plains Of Hun
gary and southern France. says Cham
bers' Journal. Now and then something
or the kind can be seen in SUMNER by
stooping down and l00kirg along our
SANDY coasts, such as MOrecambe bay and
Inc coast OF Devonshire' or over the rem
district, AT tEtt season dried uI by the
summer heat. We must remember that tho
mirage Oh the desert creates nOthluS, but
merely inverts bodies that actue"y sis
little distance on; though in the Sahara,
skrlight rays descending are bent
upward by the hot air next the sand, and
the eye is actually deluded by an impress
sion resembling The reflection of skylight
from water. the Illusion being increased
by the hicktring que TO convection cur
rents, sugges ting the effects of a breeze
on the water Many Of the descriptions
given of the mirage are travellers tales"
in the uncOmplimentary sense. One Of the
most absurdly eNtravagant examples of
this is the following: This trcacherous
phenomenon deludes the travellers eye
with d regular succession Of beautiful
lakes and shady avenues, and then, again,
with an eXpanse OF waving grass around
picturesque villa; here is presented a
grove OF towering trees; there flock of
browsing cattle"
There are lots Of dummy telephones
coming into use" says r. c. Owens an
electrical expert, according to the New
York Tribune. What are they? Well, in
the nrst place, they are a necessity 10
BUSY man who does not keep a public tele-
phone, and in another place they present
an excellent means FOR getting rid of bOres
who don't know that they are bOres, and
VINO s. ouid resent any supposed discour-
tesy in a pretty emphatic way. Since the
te-,, inoue came into general use ana pay
stations were established, = class has also
T come into being composed Of people who
want 70 use phone perpetudiiy and eter-
ually but whose messages are not impor-
e mt euOuGh to allow the expend ture of
dime. These people always want to use
phone whenever tn see one. and as theN
arc becoming more numerous every ddy,
The dummy phone has been introduced
I 1t looks exactly like a telephone, but il
made of papier mache. When man asks
70 use your phone and yUl have "a dummy
You just refer him to st, and then he rings
away Tor central until he wearies of get
ting 20 reply. OF course he thinks the in
strumeut is out OF order. lie may come
r. at sOT1e other time and ask TO use it
again. but he never comes the third Two
whacks at q dummy telephone win break
the biEsest telephone beat in existence OF
ever trying to use it again
Familiar TO some Of the ancient writers
and credited with supernatural poWers.
the Astoria, or star gem, was h.gnly val
ued for the benefits supposed 20 be con
flrred on the wearer, says the Londo'
Graphic. It's bright. siN-Iaycd star ever
changing and shifting with every play 81
light. and especially shooting cut its
flames in the direct sunlight, would seem
to TIE som thing more than nm ordinary
crystal, and TO the superstibous mind II
could readily he believed to enbody some
tutelar spirit. The particular virtue at
tributnd to this gem was the coHierrlne
upon the Wearer "uedItn and good Tor
tune" when worn as an amulet. and 10
those fortunate to be born IN the month OF
April. with which that stone was asso-
clated or represented, The wearer was IN
sured from al evil Ihe star stone Is
: found principally in CeylCn, invariably H.
soil peculiar to rubies and s2Nphtres; in
deed, it is composed of the same constitu
ent, COrundum, its chatuOyanJ. or star
rays being caused by the presence o.
/ what the natives call silk" II as tounC
in many different colors, from palc-blQe
PINK and WAite 10 deep daF- Ol5e. rudy
and purple. The flue are termed ''sapp
hire stars" the req ruby stars" 1t is
I always CUt zen cabuchon" the star diViu.
ing into six rays at the apex. il rs mex
in hardness 10 the diamond. OF late years,
since tine magnificent collection IN the Cey
lon court Of the Colonial exhibition, this
gem has been better known, and fine spec
linens collected for costly ornaments. Iho
native laptOary, with tools as rude auc
simple as his fOrefithers used 1909 years
before. with no training or instruction, ex
cent the Unwrttteu mysteries of the craft
( handed down from father to son, produces
the most wonderful results in cutting ana
polishing gems, and in many instances RI
walls the more educated iapidarY of Europe
for judgment in cutting gems to the great
! est advantage.
Bleeding from the nose is caused y thu
| congestion of the lining. membrane Of
the rose, SAYS the Youths Companion.
This congestion may be the result of ca
torrh, or, more properly, o. the dis 9asec
condition of the nasal membranes which
is cue to catarrn; or 1t may accor1panF
congestion of some organ Of the BODY a.
the liver. 1t may also result from heart
disease, or even from dyspepsia. Nose
heed in children is commonly supposed
TO indicate nothing more than that the
child tires easily, o. Is overacuVe. Yet
even these terms express more than is
obvious upon 2 casual reading Of the
words If a child tires easily, or in other
words, II the least overeXerucn at play or
at study results IN more o. less severe
attack of nose-bleed the child must be IN
q weakened state; while, on the other
hand. if. be is accustomed 70 allow his
play or his studies SO TO absorb his inter
est a. to make him forget his fatigue he
is placing an injUdicious strain .pon his
constitution. In either case he viii be
benefited by p curtailmsnt Of work, and
an increase in the amount Of time allotted
for RES, until his body is more fully de-
veiou ed. No child's mind can be deVel-
oped faster thar the body except at the
expense of health. Nose bleed occurring
in middle life and old age is 2 more serious
thing. as it indicates a graver condition
of affairs. 1t is usually coincident with
disease of the liver, heart or kidneys. Its
cure is of course dependent upon the resto-
ration of the organs to a normal condition.
In elderly persons the disorder sometimes
appears to result from weakness, which,
in turn. it aggrsvates 1t IS a common
saving that. IN full-blooded persons, an oc-
c9sioral nose-bleed is beneficial: and this
m9y in a certain sense be true. inasmuch
as the rasal membranes are thus reliev-
ed Of congestion. But Il is safe to say that
Needing from the nose is never anything
but q sign of weakness. TIE treatment OF
an attack Of nose-bleed consists in abso-
lutte rest and cool applications to the head.
The extremeties should be warm. The
head should not be held down over a
basin as this favors the flow of blood.
one Of the STOPPING en- ord nary attack is
FOR the person to stand erect, with the head
in the usual upright position, and the