The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1896-02-29
ITEMS OF INTEREST.

range in price from S to 500. There is
a slight falling of in the demand for
crowns, however, since so many savage
kings have taken a. fancy to the silk hat,
and wear il on state occasions in lieu of
a crown The cheapest crowns are truly
gorgeous, being decorated with diamonds
and other precious stones, all Of glass.
On one Occa siOn says an English traN-
eler, when I was out in Africa / saw no
fewer than twenty small chiefs with
crowns of this kind upon their heads
and a remarkable body of men they look
son by wearing pair OF trousers as a
coat, while a pair of old CATERS were the
only articles of clothing upon his legs"
The many failures of new ships in the
British navy have excited considerable
comment in the English press. A recent
case was that Of the cruiser Forte,
which started on a voyage from Sheerness
TO the Mediterranean, but was compelled
TO put into Portsmouth for repairs. One
wave had deluged the fOrecastle deck, I'M
shipped the forward gun and disabled a
heavy capstan used for lifting the an
Choir A hatchway was also torn away,
and the water poured into the vessel IN
Sucn FOiume as to wash the captain anc
several men who Were on the lower deck
of their feet. Now what is puzzling the
British writer's is why a lightly laden
and comparatively new vessel ike the
Forte should receive so much damage IN
a winter gale met while passing through
the Downs, while the cheaply constructed
and heavily laden tramps stand a much
more heavy pounding. not only in the
channel, hut in the more open waters OF
the Bay of Biscay.
The history of the Lougee morass in
Sangerville, where forty years ago there
was but small mudhole in the road,
Wnlcn grew larger until the whole width
of the road was sunk and log was
lald along the side for people to cross on.
affords puzzle for the biologists. says
the Dexter (Me.) Gazette. At last the
mud became so deep that il was difficult
FOR teams to cross, so rocks were hauled
and dumped there. Year after year the
road sank lower and deeper. and each year
more rocks were put in, until at last the
town was obliged to build bridge fifty
feet long. All went we'll for a while. when
IT was observed that this structure was
sinking. Again the town had bridge laid
upon this, which was then sunk in the.
mud and water. extending several feet
more IN length than the first AS the
years passed this bridge sank in like man
ner, and then the town took a vote to see
whether they would build road around
the swamp or lay another bridge. 1t was
decided to build a bridge, which is $50 feet
long; but this bridge is constantly sinking
and viii soon have to be covered by an
other and heightened 100 feet or more.
An interesting relic of the early days
of the republic was discovered on New
Years day by workmen, who are remodel
ing the old senate chamber in the court
of common pleas building adjoining indie
pendence hall. says the Philadelphia Led
ger. The apartment has long been used
stored to its original state by the Society
of Colonial Danes. In the course of the
work the court platform was removed
and underneath 1t was found an old plat
form, which the members believe was that
of the senate chamber and they argue
that there is little or no room to doubt
that upon these boards George Washing
ton was inaugurated as President. The
historical associations of this building, and
particularly of the room in which the old
platform was found, are thus briefly re-
corded on the tablet placed on the Chest
nut street wall: I'm this building sat the
first Senate and first House of Represen-
tatives of the United States of America.
Herein George Washington was inaugu-
rated President, March, 1898, and closed his
official career when herein also, John Ad-
ans was inaugurated second President of
the United States March 4. 1797.''
Marching and shooting have long been
held to be the most important essentials
toward good soldering, says the Pail
Mall Gazette. Indeed, there are many old
campaigners who declare that the next
big war will be won by the country whose
troops can march the longest distance
without being sufficiently fatigued to i'm
pair their ability to shoot straight The
garrison at AldershOt is now being most
carefully instructed in this important if
irksome art of marching. When it is in
fairly good training, it is, we learn. to
be given a whole week on end at this ex-
ercise. Each night the various regiments
will return to their quarters at Aldershot,
but not until they have covered some six
heavy marching order. They will thus
travel about 100 miles in the week, and the
proportion of men who cannot march thus
far will be revealed. 1t is a pity that the
test. 1t is not very difficult to encourage
a man to improve his shooting, for prac-
ticing at a butt is not an unpleasant past
ime But it is to be feared that very few
of our volunteer regiments would be able
to cover fifteen miles in heavy marching
order, and be of any use at the end. 1t
a a he tn
how far this fear is well founded
"A class of lovers that may we'll be con-
sidered, says the Chautauquan, is that of
which the bluebird is one conspicuous ex-
ample and the goldtinch another-the
class in which the females do all the work
of nest building while the males devote
| themselves to singing. At first thought
these males are very much like some
men that we all know-men who are pretty
and are given to compliments and who are
enabled to dress well through the wisdom
and labor of their wives-that they are
slightingly spoken of by nearly all stu
dents of bird habits Even the gorgeous
Baltimore oriole is but half complimented,
for he only occasionally helps at nest
making. But let the observer consider the
cases of these birds a little further and it
appears that the oriole, at least, is deserv-
ing of sympathy rather than faint praise.
No one can watch the oriole lady at her
knitting for any length of time without
seeing her good man try TO help. He will
bring something and offer to weave it in
VIII
first order him off and then, if he persists,
make a dash at him with her bill that
sends him mourning to another tree. He
really mournS too, though in silence I
have known of a case where a male oriole
sat watching his wife for half an hour
without singing single note. The blue
bird, too, is often treated very brusuuely
by his little better half. The truth is the
poor fellows who have been derided for
singing in idle delight while their wives
toiled are not little henpecked. The
goldfnch cannot be called henpecked, but
he certainly does not deserve censure.
Madam builds her nest because she can do
it better than he can. That he would like
to help is perfectly plain to one who
watches, for he goes with her as she flies
away for material, sits by her as she picks
1t up, and flies back with her as she re-
turns to the nest to weave it in And
wherever he goes he bubbles over with
song. People who blame the males for
not helping. to build do not understand, 1
think, the difference between work as we
see it and work as birds see it, To us
labor is drudgery, to the birds it is delight