The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1896-05-19
ITEMS OF INTEREST.

keep on Central avenue, Jersey CITY
heights, committed suicide last sunday
because he was forbidden his usual daily
glass o. beer. The saloon OF ais master
was tightly closed on sunday T mis- was
a surprise 10 the dOg. who ned been
given drink OF beer every morning for
he was % be disa DD0iuted Rags jumped
INTO q pond near the saloon lie never
made an effort 10 swim. bug sank out
OF signt- Several men made an em0rt 20
rescue the discons0late brute. but were
unsuccessf ul- The dogs body was re
covered yesterday II will be stuffed and
placed behind the bar in the saloon.
-Leatheroid is not a product of leather.
but is produced from celulOse by chemical
treatment which entirely changes the base
from which * is derived. II has none Of
the c0mbGstlDle qualities of ceuulOid, al
though the process OF treatment is some
hide. nearly as elastic as wnalebOne, and
very much like horn in texture Ii is not
affected by any kind of oil or grease. It
can De soaked IN water, and VIII swell and
become as soft as rubber. but VIII not dis
solve Ike paper, even II boiled for q long
umee. II can be- cut PUNCHED. sawed,
unely finished surface. From ii are made
trunks, cases, trays and boxes, warehouse
cars rowing cans, baskets, electrical inSu-
laung goods, carbox washers, dust guards,
"A funny story comes from Formosa.
Mr.. Hiyama, a japanese official. was re-
Gently married TO a daughter OF one of
the native chiefs. She was an untutored
child of the forest, who had seen little
OF CIVILIZATION, and lXed in a hut Of
bark and bamboo near the summit of one
or the great noun tainS i'm the center OF
the island. But She truly loved her hus-
band, and accompanied him TO Tamsui
with happy and cheerful heart. Dur
ing the first night she spent i'm her new
home, however. she was awakened by
the ticking of a clock. The persistency
"a x Z 9
TO her mind that the instrument must be
possessed OF an evil spirit. She aWoke her
husband and listened TO his explanations
but they did not allay her fears, and
when ne had gone to sleep again she Slip
ped quietly from the bed and escaped TO
the primeval forest. where she was safe
from the influence of the ticking demon
The most wonderful phenomenon in the
field of astronomy is declared by a writer
in the Nineteenth Century to be that which
depends upon spectrum analysis. W hen, he
says one far distant body after another
shows by its spectrum OF what gases or
substances it is made-When comet or neb-
ala or star reveals its own bright or dark
lines, Isolated I'm certain special localities
in the spectrum which localities are in
NardblN the same for eacn gas or VapOr
to which they belong. and exactly CORES
pond 10 the greater or less rapidity of the
vibrations involved-why, 1t is asked, does
eaCh gas. i'm thus revealing its presence
produce only its own appropriate lines and
rates or vibration, ana no OtherS2 This
IL is answered, may De because the atoms
or molecules OF each gas, although almost
indescribably minute, are capable Of GER
tain special individual vibrations OF their
own, thereby imposing certain vibrations
and no others, upon the ether within
which they move; this they may do by
their internal movements, or in some other
way-perhaps by the effect of their shapes
as they move, or by a certain electrical
action.
But Of all the attractive features Of
this charming spot Rothenburg, the an
nual Festspiel, celebrating the capture Of
the town by lilly during the thirty years
war ranks first, says Chambers Journal
At that time, and indeed until 1903 Roth
euburg was a free city, taking an active
part in the peasants war of 1925 and IN
the thirty years war OF the following
century. 1t was in the course of the
latter, in 1881, that the celebrated lilly
appeared before ROthenburg and demand
ed its capitulati0n. This the citizens re-
fused, with the result that the gallant
little town was bes.eged and taken. lilly
and his generals proceeded to the Rath-
haUs and demanded the municipal keys of
the burgomaster. At the same time lilly
imposed a fine of $1,000 thalers and garri-
soned the town with his soldiers. The
burgOmaster pleaded in vain for some
mitigation of the penalty, until the Victo-
riOGs general, after remaining for some
time unmOVed by his entreaties, concelv-
ed the extraordinary notion of Offering to
restore the freedom of the town on cOndi-
ton that one Of the inhabitants should
come lOIWdIu anu empty d. OllG III duG III
an immense beaker Of wine, containing
about three and Il half hters (over three
quarts. This was an unheard-Of feat,
even in those hard-drinking days, and
for some time his offer remained unac-
cepted. The opportunity of freeing the
town from foreign yoke seemed now
ever, too important to be lost, and, ac-
cOrdingly, patriotic citizen named Nuscn
resolved to attempt the difficult task i'm
posed by the conquerOr As matter
of fact, he drained the beaker at one
draught, and, although tradition relates
that a severe illness followed the feat,
still he saved the town, for lilly kept
his word and restored the independence Of
ROthenburg.
Steel wool is an interesting product,
the subject of a recent German patent,
and Is intended for use in all cases where
sandpaper, emery paper, pumice stone
and materials of a Kindred nature are en-
plOyed In bulk it resembles, both in APP
pearance and to the touch, the hair com
monty used for stufdng mattresses and
chairs. The ordinary by-product known
as steel shavings has for many years
been used for rough work, in which the
coarser grades of sandpaper are used;
but the objections to the use of these
shavings for the finer work of rubbing
down varnish or paint on woods and
for polishing metals were the harshncss
Of and lack of uniformity in the threads,
and the edgings of the shaVings being
very sharp, thereby cutting instead of pol
ishing; and, being of many different sizes
face. The idea of making a machine to
overcome these difficulties originated
years ago in Switzerland with an observ-
ing German, who noticed painters gather
ing the refuse derived from the manufac-
ture of reed for looms, and picking there
from the finer grades for use in rubbing
down wood and metal work generally.
Upon examination he found that this resi-
due consisted of fiat ribbons of steel, the
borders of which were planed off, and
before being assorted was an admxture
of fine and coarse grades. He discovered
two defects in the material; first it was
impossible to obtain any appreciate guam
tity of a uniform grade, and, secondly.
the temper and quality of the steel We're
such that only Indifferent results could
be obtained. Eventually he built a ma
chine for the manufacture of shredded
steel or steel threads uniformly fine in
quality, but still retaining sufficient cut
ting propensities, and so delicate in tex
ture that instead of steel shavings he
called it steel wool. Then by careff
studying the temper and quality Of steel
best adapted to his needs he was enabled
to perfect the product. The advantages
claimed for steel wool are that ii cuts
more quickly and uniformly than SAINT
paper, does not clog or gum, and being
both flexible and perfectly homogenous'
adapts itself readily to the shapes Of carv-
ings and mOuldings.