The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1896-12-13
ITEMS OF INTEREST.

according TO the figures published in
a local paper, Oporto claims the unenvia-
BILE distinction of being the most unhealthy
city in Europe.
THE spicy odor that you notice in the
cigar box" said a tobacconist, comes
from the wood of which it is made. 1t is
not because it is impregnated with the to-
Dacco. On the contrary, the tobacco takes
the haVor of the wood That is the reason
that a particular wood is used for the
boxes of all the best cigars. 1t is Spanish
cedar. 1t is an expensive wood, porous and
spicy, and the only kind which has been
found to improve the flavor of the cigar.
Tobacco, as you know, quickly absorbs any
odor with which it is brought in contact.
Cigars packed in a cardboard box, or one
made of deal, would soon become very I'M
peasant to the taste"
There is no death penalty in Belgium,
but few criminals would choose the punish
ment substituted for it-that is if they had
a choice. The condemned man is placed
in dungeon SO constructed that from the
moment he enters it ne will never hear the
sound of human voices nor see a human
being. His food is passed in through a
sliding panel in the door of his cell. Not
one prisoner has ever been known to sur
vive this punishment more than three
years. The authorities have striven in
vain to prolong their lives by varying their
food as much as possible, but those who
are moderately or lightly nourished grad
ually waste away, while those who are fed
generously go mad and die raving maniacs.
Superstition is not dead in the civilized
world, says an exchange. There are yet
many people who believe that King Ar
thur will awaken some day from his long
sleep at Avalon. The German is not a
~
sits Spell-bound in the great Kyffhauser-
berg cavern in Thuringia, and that when
his great red beard shall have wound itself
thrice around the stone table he will come
forth to battle for Germany. To other
Charlemagne sleeps in the Gutenberg in
Hesse; the Irish Brian Boru the Spanish
Boabdil ell Chico and the Servian Kuez
Lazai wait in the heart of the mountain,
crowned and armed, till the time is come
for them to live again. And so 1t is with
thousands of the heroes and great men of
earth. Each has his following of devo-
tees who watch and wait for his reincarna-
ton.
The average rapidity of the pulse of
an adult male is about 70 beats per min
ute. These beats are more frequent in
| children and women. However, it would
| not necessarily be an abnormal sign to
| find in some particular individuals the ha-
| bitual movement of the heart to be from
| 60 to Co. or from 70 to so per minute. AS
| rule the hearts action is slower and more
| powerful in strong, muscular organiza.-
| lions, and more rapid and feebler in those
| of slighter form. Presenting that the
| blood was thrown out of the heart at each
| pulsation in the proportion of 90 strokes
| per minute and at the assumed force of
nine feet, the mileage of the blood through
| the body might be taken at 207 yards per
minute, seven miles per hour, 168 miles per
| day, 61,3 800 miles per year, or 5,150,SS0 miles
in a lifetime of 81 years. The number of
beats of the heart in the same long life
would reach the grand total of 1853, 5000.
-Blatta orientalis is said to be used as
medicine in some parts of the world, and
the Rev. ]. G. Wood mentions a case in
which two young girls made cockroaches
an article of diet, and defended themselves
/ by the argument that they were more
| ceanly than shrimp. The Lancet is re-
| sponsible for the following: cat a certain
| London hospital a patient was recently
given some extract of malt with instruc-
| tons to take a teaspoonful twice day,
/ commencing on the following morning, and
| to report himself at he end of a fortnight.
| At the expiration of this time he returned,
1 and said to the physician, Please, sir, am
1 to go on taking them insects, you gave
me?' Insects said the astonished physi-
| clan, what insetcts% Why, them cock
reaches, sir. I've taken one night ano
| morning in a teaspoonful of the sticky
| stuff Inquiry elected that the cock
| reaches had not been dispensed, but had
| got into the jar during the first night of
| its stay in the patients house."
| There are a good many Of our celebra-
| ted Americans who can boast of royal de-
scent, says the Pittsburg Dispatch. "Old
Hickory Jackson was a descendant of
King Robert Bruce of Scotland. James
| Buchanan could trace his lineage back 10
King Fargallus of Ireland, while two other
| Presidents (the Harrisons), 1T is alleged,
| are descended from King Powhattan by
| the marriage of Pocahontas with John
| Roife The Lees of Virginia trace their
| ancestry to King Robert Stuart Of Scot
| land; Amelie Rives to James /, of Scotland,
and Edward III of England, and the
| Bourkes of New York, to Charlemagne
and Alfred the Great. Charles Chauncey,
once president of Harvard, was descended
| from Louis " of France; Gen. Meigs from
| David 1 of Scotland; the McIntoshes of
Georgia and New Jersey, from William the
| Conoueror, and the Calverts of Baltimore,
from Charles II of England. The list
might be continued almost indefinitely.
The latest trolley car fender is the in
vention of Frederick ]. Graf of New
York. Among the novel features of this
fender, notes the Tribune, is the provision
for carrying it under the car most of the
time, and running it out only when need
1 ed In this manner the looks of the car
| are improved, and the fender is less liable
to be damaged by collision with other
| cars or wagons. The mechanism by which
| this appliance is run out is a sort of rack
and pinion, operated by the car wheels,
| so that the movement of the car itself
can be utilized for the purpose. 1t is
| only necessary for the motorman to touch
| a lever, which releases the fender, and the
| latter then dies forward. Nevertheless,
| the fender is so placed that even if the
motorman for any reason negects to
throw it out, 1t will catch a person who is
on the track and prevent his getting un-
| der the wheels. Possibly he may be bruis-
ed trifie more than otherwise, but he
Will be saved, If Mr.. Crafts expectations
are fully realized. 1t is hoped that this
| fender will be tried in New York and
Brooklyn during the coming winter.
The idea of beauty varies greatly
among different nations, says an ex-