The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1896-09-07
ITEMS OF INTEREST.

Times The manuscript is of great length,
having been probably pieced together. 1t
measures in all forty-four feet 1t is near
ly the oldest extant Greek manuscript,
the date being 259-S B. c. The Oldest
known dates go back only some eleven
years more. The matters treated are the
appointments of tax-farmers and the du-
ties of such revenue officials. Oil and
wine are taxed, for the government in
Egypt was monopolist. There must
have been, then, oil and wine trusts some
2,155 years ago. Considerable skill was
shown, however, in legislation, so that
the agriculturist was not entirely strip
ped. What is curious and opportune IL
the fact of the bimetallic efforts of those
days, when copper and silver were the
media of exchange. A taxpayer might
offer copper, but it was expressly stated
later on that copper could be only ac-
cepted at a discount of 10 per cent. In an
after reign, when probably the Egyptian
populists held some short sway, copper
was the standard. When the crash came
the proportion of copper to silver ranged
from 120 to 60 of copper for l of silver.
in Paris is to be seen a fire engine
propelled by cycling firemen, says the
Baltimore Sun. The machine has the APP
pearance of two tandem bicycles, coupled
with a single steering post Hanging be-
tween the two bicycle frames are the hose
reel and rotary pump. The whole out
fit weighs less than 140 pounds, and four
experienced wheelmen can push this along
faster than any other fire engine ever
went. The foot power of the four men
propels the machine to the scene of ac-
ton, and when once there the same power
pumps the water. After the arrival at
the scene each man is assigned to some
part of the duty of making the change.
flVla NuAp h. 1.rr.T r,EN a1af
leg, allowing the rear wheels to revolve
freely. He also throws the pump into
working order, and the others have I'M
reeled the hose and made the coupling
connections. Then, jumping into the sad
dies again, the energies of the men are
directed to pumping. About 4,500 gallons
of water per hour can be thrown between
seventy-five and one hundred feet in the
air. The rapidity with which the machine
can be propelled to a fire and also with
which it can be put into action are its
two great advantages. In two or three
minutes after it's arrival all necessary
changes can be made and the machine is
pumping a stream over the roof.
Miss Mary Kingsley, in the Cornhill
Magazine, writes a curious article rela-
tive to 'Black Ghosts" which, in some
measure, explains the complicated super
of West Africa believes that when he is
alive he is accompanied by not less than
four spirits. These Miss Kingsley cata-
logues as 1.-THE soul that survives, the
wish soul, the dream SOUL" and lastly
the shadow on the path" With the
exception of the last one. all the others
are Independent. The land of the living
is thronged with the souls of the dead
The hauntings are necessarily innumer-
able. The vampire is always present
The entire belief degrades the human be-
ing and it will take centuries before it
can be eradicated. Notwithstanding Miss
Ktngsley's plea for the African and her
request that he may not be considered to
be IAN ass" as far as souls are con-
cerned, he must have a diseased mind
Savage religion, as Prof. Tylor of Ok
ford states it, is not, however, "a rubbish
head" The Sitting of it is extremely diff
fcult. The trouble is to find out if these
religious principles are RATIONAL if they
are, then the mental condition must be
one 'of intense and inveterate ignorance"
This, however, is to be borne in mind
that the African believes, as we do. in
the continuity of the individualism of the
soul. The idea of Immortality may be
obscured, but there it is notwithstanding
hid under the heap of rubbish.
Robert Peabody of Germantown, Pa,
has invented a new plan for the lines of
an ocean steamer, consisting of a hull so
grooved from the bows sternward that a
twin-screw, working under the bows, shall
force the water against the sides of two
converging grooves, lifting it over the
transverse wave motion of the center. and
going backward, shall force the PROV up
so that it rides the waves instead of plow-
ing into them; while this backward wave
motion Will be caught by the stern pro-
pellers and the ship thereby forced on
ward. Tt appears that small boats have
been built on these lines and have indi-
Gated in practice that Mr. Peabody's theo-
ry is correct. The passage to Europe will
be reduced to five days. if his hopes are
fulfilled. 1t is certainly more plausible
than Bazin's wheelboat, lately described
-Superstitions In regard to the elder tree
are as countless as they are widespread
Strange beliefs relative to the healing
powers of certain kinds of woods are com
mon. Now, the Hamamella Virginia.. or
witch hazel, may be useful, but the alco-
holic solution of its peculiar property may
be really not any better for sprains than
that of many other kinds of plants. It's
universal adoption arises more from the
common name, witch hazel" than from
anything else. In rural England the elder
tree exercises all kinds of influences. If
planted in a garden il induces vegetables
to grow. Sure death-in time of course
befalls any one who breaks off a limb
On the continent many a gardener. before
he trims an elder tree asks permission of
the tree But before he begins he must
spit on his hands not less than three times
In Scotland there is a weird belief that
the life of a driver of hearse is always
in danger unless the whip he uses has an
elder-wood handle. Elder berries are still
supposed to be potent in New England as
warding off witchcraft, and southern ne
groes entertain the same belief
"A Holsters legs all told are ten in num-
Der, says Longman's Magazine. But only
eight Of these are largely used for walk
ing. The front pair, or big claws, have
been specialized, as in the crab and most
others of the higher crustaceans. into pre-
hensile organs for catching and crushing
the prey. Their use is obvious HOLSTERS
feed largely off mollusks of various sorts
and other hard-shelled marine animals.
in order to be able to break or crush the
shells of these, and so to get at the softer
flesh within, they have acquired s11cb
large and very muscular nippers or min
GERS. That is not all, however: not only