The Providence news. (Providence [R.I.]) 1891-1906, 1897-06-24
Pathetic Appeal of King
Mana to Victoria.
A Worm That Can Swim
Rivers Appears in the West.
Colored Babe That Has Been TAX
ing Since ii Was a Week Old.

A curious and pathetic incident brought
forth by the jubilee of Queen Victoria is
a letter sent to her majesty by the Afri-
can King Mana. Torn from his native
land and transferred from Old Calabar TO
Akra, where he is growing old In his
strict captivity. KING Mana knew moth
ing of tho world" as he says IN his mis-
sive TO the queen, "when an English ship
arrived at his city and burnt it p" lie be-
loved 'that his kingdom was the greatest
in the world. and that no one would ever
dare 20 raise band against him, :.
nut he has received "a great lesson, and
he now understands that he was FOOLISH.
He begs Queen Victoria, in
honor OF her great game" (her jubilee),
that he may be permitted "to sit npoD tho
hank OF his river before death comes.
Samuel Eldodt, the territorial treasurer
OF New Mexico, recently brought into
Santa Fe a sample dozen Of colony OF
peculiar worms that had been passing
through that section OF tho RiO GranGe
Valley. The colony came down from tho
Santa Fe mountains on tho cast ana
mcred westward with great regularity
covering ground space OF about four
square miles. No crops were molested but
they dovoured the Wild Nirglnian in the
foothills and the cabbage plants In the
shey arrived at the Rio Gran 10 the front
column, nearly six miles ln iongth. never
faltered, but dropped into the water and
started for the west bank. Millions Of
them were carried down by the swift cur
vent but millions more reached the other
shore and again took up their westward
march. The insects are from to inches
in length, having brown body with yell
low and red markings. and projection
from the back near tho toll In the shape
of sharp horn. No such visitation was
ever before known in that locality and
nobody here can classify the worms
Mr.. Eldodt sent them to the entomologist
at the Territorial Agricultural College in
Las Cruces.
Alphonse Daudet recently paid visit
to the Salpetriere In Paris of which he
gives very interesting account: Il
breakfastcd with the resident physicians
In the over heated refectory, he says.
while eating the 'chaloupier, the tradi
tional dish Of the hospitals. and drinking
the wine which Is passed around by an
old epileptic woman. we talked OF mag
netism, suggestion. insanity, etc, and 1
amused myself by relating To these mate
rialistic young men a strange episode Of
my life-the story of three green hats
which bought In Munich during tho
war os 1866. These hats were of hard
felt, of the color OF old moss with a lttlo
bird stuck In the bandits wings spread,
and It's eyes OF glass l had given the
hats, upon my return. to Paris, TO three Of
my friends, good. brave felovys, whom l
loved, Charles Batallie, Jean Duboys and
Andre Gill. All three OF them died insane
and / have seen and heard them all. at
different dates, exploit their various forms
of madness from beneath my 1yrolean
hats with the little birds perched on
them.
MY story was listened TO politely bat
evidently as being romantic invention,
by the smiling assembly. Our coifoe hay
Ing teen drunk aud our pipes having been
smoked, Charcot's head of clinic invited
NE to walk through tho female insane
ward. We were soon surrounded by
curious and talkative crowd. "A young
woman i'm the short dress of the patient
and wearing a snow-white muslin cap
related co us, with many gestures, an
inoOmprehensible story. She had look
of happiness and prosperity that might
make any one envy her. The sis or OF
Louis XVI (according To hersel ~ was
chatting one of tho surgeons, while from
door on tte ground iloor a long, cadav-
erous apparition called To us with
would-be fascinating smile:
'Gcatlomen, am an artist; would You
like 90 SEQ some of my paintingsy but
first let me pur on my Tyrolean hat cnn
only paint when 4 nave on my 1yroean
hat.
''Ihe poor creature disappeared for AN
instant, and came back with "a hat oD-a
,tle green hat with a bird on it--oxactly
ike one Of my Munich hats. The doctors
wero retriflod. like myself, by this strange
oolroidcacc. and the poor woman, who
proI eel,ed Id show us two or three hidot ui
daubs, seemed quite proud oi our astonisr-
lucnt which shs mls;ook Tor aamira-
ton.
The recent catastrophe i'm Paris has
turned the attention OF French SCIENTISTS
10 tho hnuing of ~ substance that wlll
render wood ana other innammabic Oh.
jrct- firepruof a paper read lcfore a rU-
cent srcetirg Of The ACaGemy OF Sciences
snggpsts that tho authorities compel al
such CONSTRUCTIONS rs the one in which
the I'll faied bazaar was held. 20 be painted
with decccfion. the base of which shall
he sal-ammonigc, b0riC acid auu glue
Ihe expense. IL ~ said, would bo uunn-
pal. The author OF the paper observes
hat somewhat Simiinr sulution was
thought q In 1921 ~ Gay-lussic. who
cwelt upon the lonedts a. ba CbtaiHed 10y
sgch u IDeasurs us tLo ono proposed
Ar r. from tnc scenery ~ a few th"ators
wnI.n aru IDado fire-prOCf this irlnciplo
Aas mover until now, been applied IN
Paris
Few will bel eve ~ possible for three
months-oid child 10 taik. Neycrthele. s,
such Is the case. ard anyone can verify
the trIIihfUinass OF tins statement with
very llttle trouble ghc parents of the
cAild are Richard ard Frankio Cleveland
tniored. living as II Sburt street. hcw
York. and the child has been talking
since 10 was one week old. HundrOus
have visited the little wonder. nuG have
left the house completely nystihed 10
what hey have seen and hoard. 4 ae ohid
Is girl, ana differs only from other ha-
tlea in that 10 can talk as plainly and DO
Understood as distinctly as grown yor-
son. Tho voice. OF course. Is naturally
weak. but has nore of tho baby prattlo