The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1897-03-20
ITEMS OF INTEREST.

"A curious effect of the plague in India
has been a sudden increase in the number
of pearls reaching the London market,
and consequent marked fall in prices,
says an exchange. This is not due to I'M
usual Industry on the part of the divers,
but 10 the fact that the native dealers at
Bombay have been in such haste TO quit
the stricken city that they have eagerly
disposed of their wares at far below the
customary market value. One English
firm of importers of Indian pearls has ac-
cumulated a stock which, if placed sud-
denly on the market, 1t is estimated,
would send down quotations fully % per
cent.
"A French theater. finding business
rather bad about 100 years ago, announc-
ed the following effects for sale: A sea.
consisting of twelve waves, the twelfth
of which is larger than the others. a lit
tie damaged: dozen and a half clouds
edged with black, and in good repair; a
rainbow, somewhat faded; a beautiful
snowstorm of flakes of auvergne PAPER:
three bottles of lightning, a setting sun,
worth little. and new moon, rather old;
Othello's handkerchief and a pasha's mus
tache; a complete repast, consisting OF
four cardboard entrees, a cardboard pie
and fowl of the same material, several
oak bottles and wax dessert, etc.
One of the most ingenious pieces of air
work that the rubber trade has yet pro-
duced is rowboat about fifteen feet long.
made with double walls of rubber and fab
ric. says the India Rubber World These
are inflated so that a very buoyant and
at the same time safe boat is the result
The vessels are made in two STYLES at
present, one with a light wooden frame
which can be knocked down and folded
a ~ 4
any frame. The ordinary type of boat
has seats for two people, but can carry as
many as can crowd in, as the boat is
unsuitable. The walls of the pneumatic
chambers, which are six in number, are
practically unpuncturable, and yet are not
thick enough to make. any special addi-
tonal weight. The boat itself, when de-
fiated, weighs about fifty pounds.
Here is a tale of a strange animal
friendship told by a writer in a recent is
sue of the Westminster Gazette. The
story is unique. According to the writer
a lioness that was kept in captivity in
Somaliland adopted a bull terrier. There
were several bull-terrier puppies near the
place where she was confined, and once
in a while the little fellows would snarl
and the puppies would scamper back
but there was one that seemed to have
the good will of the lioness, for one day
when ne approached the cage, instead of
growing, she showed signs of pleasure
The puppy was encouraged, and after
blinking at the lioness he walked boldly
in. To the surprise of the keeper, who
was expecting to see the puppy quickly
killed, the lioness stretched out her huge
paw and gently drew the dog in. The lit
the fellow was delighted with his reception
and he snuggled into her warm fur, and
has remained with her ever since. The
curious thing is that the lioness will have
nothing to do with the other puppies If
they come to the cage to see how their
little brother is getting along she growls
at them in tones so loud and menacing
that they are frightened off. Meanwhile
the adopted puppy is treated by the
lioness just as if he were a cub of her
own.
The best theaters in Australia are usu-
ally built on English plans, but are man
aged more like American playhouses, says
the Chicago News The prices charged
are much less than those cheerfully paid
in England. Dress circle seats or stalls,
which bring $3.50 in London, will not sell
for more than $L25 in Melbourne or Sgd
ney. 1t is no use asking more. indie
pendent Australians will not pay il. Aus
tralian gods" are perhaps a little less
rowdy than English ones, but the better
dressed portion of the audience is objec-
tionably laxative. frequently chatting
loudly right through performance, even
when the drama played is serious and pre-
sumably demands thought. Evening
dress, always seen in English theaterS, is
rarely worn by Australian play-goers, ex-
cept on first" occasions and on Saturday
nights, when colonial society usually turns
out in force. The Australian audience is.
as a rule, cordial and demonstrative. Sell
dom asked to decide on the merits of an
entirely new play, It accepts with enthus-
iasm those productions which come to it
already stamped with the hallmark of
English or American approval. Fees are
unheard of in Australian theaters, and
managers never make use of the "cla-
quer." Kissing and hooting are unknown
and spirit of good-natured tolerance pre-
walls
Young King Alexander of Servia is in
such a serious condition of il-health that
specialists from Paris and Vienna, espe-
cially Prof. Won Drasche, now the leading
medical authority in Austria, have been
summoned in hot haste to Belgrade for
consultation, says a cable dispatch. The
young ruler is suffering from acute in
somnia and from loss of appetite, as we'll
as from other ailments which are as
cribed to effects of the continuous insen-
safe dissipation that has characterized
the existence of the Servian monarch dur
ing the last four years. Although not q,
this king, who three years ago, on the
occasion of his visit to Paris, was made
acquainted with all the vice of that city
by his own father, the ignoble Milan, is
to-day physical and moral wreck. His
condition might be viewed with a certain
amount of Indifference were it not for the
fact that alone of all the rulers of Eu-
rope he is without any heir to his throne.
He has no relative of royal blood being
the only male member of the house of OBJ
renowitch, except his father, who not only
abdicated the throne, but also sold and re-
nounced his Servian nationality in return
for the payment of a sum of money by the
Servian government. This state of af
fairs at Belgrade and the difficulties which
are likelytto result therefrom constitute
one of the many problems in connection
with the east of Europe that are now en-
gaging the attention of the great powers.
"A tourist who visited the Holy Land
few years ago, says the New York Times,
wrote as follows: Reaching at last this
most remarkable of all the seas and lakes
on the globe (the Dead seal we prepared