The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1896-05-18
ITEMS OF INTEREST.

coEerable by heirs for loss OF life is re-
moved. and in recent case where a W ,9-
man sued for damages al her husband 5
death the jury awarded her 81 GO
in 1891 this country imported $4,000 gal
Ions Of vermouth, and IL is estimated this
year the amount viii be 225.O00 gallons. As
Nermouth Is used in the manufacture OF
that the cocktail habit is growing.
The phrase dark horse" is supposed
10 have originated with Disraeli. who in
THE Young Duke" refers 10 an exciting
race as follows: The FIRST favorite was
never heard OF; the second was never seen
after the distance post; all the 10 TO Is
were IN rear. and a dark horse. when
had never been thought of. rushed past
the grand stand in sweeping triumph"
There is only one $1,000 United States
note in existence and that has never been
issued. but is kept in the treasury as a
specimen, says the Chicago Record. There
are three 5000 greenbacks. Two of them
are IN The treasury; the third was paid
out several years ago, and is probably
III the vault or some bank, because it has
never been heard from since. One-thous-
and-dOilar notes are numerous. There ere
f4,l46 in circulation. land over 1900 500
notes. Z5aV0 500 notes: 10000 $50 notes:
409,245 $50 notes; S34.924 $40 notes, and ,152,-
Io5 s. notes in circulation.
Last year was the gO0th anniversary of
+ the first appearance of the fork in west
ern Europe, according to the National
ZelIung: In 995 a son of the Venetian
Doge PietrO Orseolo married the Byzan-
tlhe FrlncesS Anglia, who at the wedding
breakfast brought out a silver fork and
gold spoon. She was copied by the great
Venetian families though the church on
posed the fashion as an insult to prOVi-
dence II took $50 years for the fork to
reach Florence; in 1879 II is found in
rance, DGt II was not until 1908 that the
traveller Corgate brought it direct from
Venice to England"
1t is discovered that the standard pen
dulum in the observatory at Paris makes
an error of one beat in 100000, and it is
now proposed to correct this infiin.tesimal
variation, by adopting further safeguards.
neat ana cold nave their disturbing effects
on the beat Of pendulum. The Paris pen
uulum is placed, ninety feet under ground
in temperature that varies one one-hun-
dredth OF degree during the year. vet this
slight change reflects itself in a cores
ponding error in the pendulum beat Our
tWenty-four hour ''sideriaP' day is measur-
ca very accurately by nightly Observa-
tons OF certain stars as they pass the
meridian line, seen through transit tees-
Copes at Greenwich Paris, Washington
and elsewhere. But the division of the day
into absolutely exact parts, in seconds and
| fractions, involves new difficulties and un>
I'll the world mas pendulum that is strict
| ~ truthful all measurements of time must
| be subject to more or less inaccuracy.
he VINO travels with baggage camels-
or "baggles," as we came to call them
| must be a man of patient soul saws
| Conan Doyle in the Westminster Gazette
| The baggle will go so far in a day, and
al Such pace, but a no other. His pace
/ is two a half miles an hour. and he is the
earliest and most consistent supporter Of
| the e1ght-hours-a-day movement, for if he
| Is forced to do more, ne az once fines his
| employer fifteen pounds, by the simple
| eXpedient of lying down and dying. 1t
| follows, then, that upon a journey one
| cannot hope to make more than a steady
/ a he
| teetest steed of Araby between your
knees, but what use is its fieetness when
| the supercilious, slow-going baggIe car
| RES your food and your blankets upon
| his back2 The riding camel can, in his
| curious Jog-trot, cover his fifty or sixty
miles day, and on a good MakloOfa sad
/ die the motion is not an unpleasant one:
| but you cannot carry both yourself and
| your needs upon your trotter. The ships
| OF the desert, like those of the sea, have
| TO regulate their pace, by that of the lame
| duck of the squadron.
! An interesting collection of ancient En-
| ropean and modern African ana Asiatic
| musical Instruments has lust been placed
| N the Waterloo chamber at Windsor
! castle, says the st. James Gazette. These
| Instruments, which from time to time
| nave been presented TO successive Eng
| Silsh monarchs, have been carefully ar
| ranged in large glass cases under the su-
| perVlslon OF Mr.. Collmann, her majesty's
| Inspector of the palace. who is gradually
| unearthing many of the long neglected
| and historical treasures of the castle A
| case Deneath the portrait of King George
| Ill, on the north side of the state room
| containing guitar made from the skull
| OF the Duke of SchOmberg's horse which
! was Killed at the battle of the Bovine.
| belled crescent-headed brass nusica /
| instrument, similar to those formerly
| used by military bands; a Chinese ivory
| mounted lutte, symbalS and Indian haut-
| boys. In the opposite case which stands
| under the portrait of the Emperor Fran
| els l., are exhibited the ivory, bood-red
n a 10 i1n -nrxr rod
| former king of Ashantee taken in action
! when he was defeated by Col. Purden.
| This, as Well as a tom-tom perforated bv
| bullets, IS decorated with a couple of HUI
! man JaWbOneS, the teeth of which are in
| excellent preservation. The other speci-
| mems include an oriental harp shaped
| vered glass and tinsel; a large wooden
| dulcimer, a Chinese drum and guitar a
| large ancient German copper bugle horn
| and Indian musical pipes.
Africa has perhaps more queer birds
| than any other country. The weaver bird
is one. It is possessed of a long bill. which
| makes 1t very adept at constructing a
| hanging ball of grass, which is its home.
| and swings safely out of reach of ma
! rauding animals. These nests are usually
| in colonies and hang on trees in marshes
| The weaver birds make cute pets and if
! given cord or Irvine will hang onto the
! bars of their cages with their strong
| claws ana with their bills weave the
| thread among the bars in an intricate
pattern, impossible to unravel. The bee
! eater is another curiosity. 1t has a scar
let throat and is gorgeous in appearance.
! Q flock of them being dazzling to the eve
| The birds nest along the river banks in
| holes The nests are in colonies about
! three feet apart six feet above the river
| banks, and are at the end of a tunnel ex-
| cavated to depth of some four feet. The
| rain DOCTOR, or hammerkop, has a pc
cul!arity Of screaming aloud before a
rain storm. 1t makes a very good barom-
eter. 1t Is also called philosopher. 1t
will walk back and forth for hours, occa-
sionally shaking its head, but not utter
! ing sound Often its walk will change TO
mad dance, caused by the arrival Of its
mate, who has been building the curious
nest of the pair. These nests are of mud
/ built into the forks of trees. and are
about two feet high and nine feet around
| A nest is really a rain-proof hut, so we'll
built that it will last for years. The walls
are five inches thick, and the entrance
from six to eight inches square.
The Romans had various kinds of
crowns, which they distributed as re-
wards for martial exploits and extraordi-
J nary services on behalf of the renublic
says the Boston Transcript % The oval
: rNHTn mo "a Of eel 4