The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1897-12-20
ITEMS OF INTEREST.

| odlcaI puDlicatIon shall have the right TO
| reply in the next number in the same
! place and in the same type, providing the
| reply does not extend to more than twice
| the length of the offending article" one
| of the forthcoming numbers of the ReVues
! des Deux Mondes, the most important and
| influential monthly review in France, will
! contain an article of unusual length, and
couched in extravagant language, which
| Will appear in its pages in spite of the OPP
| position of the editor 1t will bear the
| signature of a dramatic author who, in
| furiated by the nature of the criticism
| passed by the Revue on one of his plays.
| has invoked his rights under article IS
of the press laws, rights which were in
vain contested by the editor.
-Embalming, so far as the United King
dom is concerned, is, according to the I'm
| dertakers and Funeral Directors Jour
| nal and Monumental Masons' Review, mo
| where" Therefore, the editor is taking
| steps to secure the establishment of a
| United Kingdom College of embalming,
! and he has addressed letter to the home
| secretary asking whether such an insti-
! tuition would receive his approval and sup
port. 1t appears that there is only one
| etnbalmer in England, a Mr.. Holford Mill
| and he is overwhelmed with applications
| for lessons. The editor of the journal
with the long name evidently anticipates
a wide field for the efforts of the grad
|
says, with touching confidence: eff we
are to judge by the expressions of per-
sons who have viewed the. body of a nota-
! bility lying in state, there is not one who
would not desire to look like that when
mortality had taken on Immortality"
1t is now 300 years since Sir Walter
Raleigh lived in Ireland, but, according to
Sir John Pope, of Hennessy, many traces
of his residence there can still be seen.
! The richly perfumed yellow wall flowers
| that he brought to Ireland from the
| Azores, and the Affaue cherry, are still
| found where he first planted them by the
! Blackwater. Some cedars he brought to
| Cork are to this day growing at place
| called Tivoli. The four venerable view
| trees the branches of which have twined
| and ntermingled into a sort of summer
| house thatch are pointed out as having
| sheltered Raleigh when he first smoked
! tobacco in his Youghal gardens In that
| garden he also planted tobacco. A few
steps further on, where the town wall of
| the thirteenth century surrounds the gar
| den of the wardens house, is the famous
spot where the first Irish potato was
| planted by him. In that garden he gave
| the tubers to the ancestor of the present
Lord Southwell, by whom they spread
| throughout the province of Munster.
A curious freak of nature was run
across the other day by NJ. Hauge, a Min
neapolis carpenter, says a st. Paul, Mimi,
/ dispatch While planning a piece of maple
| his plane revealed to view a black vein in
| the wood, and he was struck by a strange
quirk in natures photography. 1t was a
| crOss-grained piece, and in bunch OF
black veins face was plainly distinguish
able. Hauge was afraid to enter deeper
for fear of spelling the image and he cut
out the section and polished it. The wood
then showed a combination of three heads.
The whole, when held at a distance, re-
veals an excellent likeness of Sir Walter
Raleigh. When held nearer the upper
portion is a clean-cut representation of
| Queen Elizabeth, ruff and ALL even to the
peculiar smooth dressing Of the hair away
| from the forehead. Below the head of
| Elizabeth is the face of Shakespeare, quite
| clear except that portion of the pointed
beard and the upper left temple are miss
| ing. The bit of wood, bearing this
| rarkable trio of natural portraits, is two
| inches long and three-quarters of an inch
| wide.
-Abner Watson of Metamora, Mich.
aged 3S, is slowly, but surely, turning TO
bone and awaiting the final summons, says
| the Cincinnati Enquirer. For over seven
years he has been confined to his bed, and
all of the skill that money can commend
| has failed to stop the ossification. my
troubles date back 10 1881, when 1 was in
| Chicago" said Watson. First l noticed
a lameness in my right knee, and thought
it was rheumatism. Later I grew worse
and sought relief at Mount Clemens, with
| out success; used electricity for six months
| and went to Youngstown, o., where they
experimental on me in the medical col
| lege have been to Hot Springs, Kansas
| City, New York, and Chicago, and they
have all told me that my case is a hope
! less one, and now l believe it. About sew
| en- years ago I became helpless and was
persons lift me into this chair, and in the
early evening they lift me back into bed
| With all this heplessness, l haven't had
| an ache or a pain" The only muscles
| that Watson can move are the muscles
of his face and throat. 1t is impossible to
insert teaspoon in his mouth. Some of
his teeth, too. have crumbie away, and ii
is mystery how the man lives.
There is a big birch tree growing near
Mount Wittekiud, in Germany, which is
fairly entitled to be styled natures step
| ladder" Most of US, in boyhood's days,
have climbed trees, both with and with
out the aid of ladders; but rarely has the
tree itself borne much resemblance to
| ladder-much less TO a regular staircase.
! On the contrary, according to the writer's
memory, 1t ordinarily displayed an unac-
commodating spirit more like that of
| "bucking broncho,' and the climber far
| from trusting to his feet alone, was COM
PEELED to cling and scramble like mon
| key frequently having occasion to lament
| the lack of a prehensile tail. But not so
| the Wittekind tree By a series of branches
| and projections arranged like the winding
stair of a tower, this Obliging freak Of
| fers the climber a safe and easy ascent
| to the very summit-which seems the more
remarkable in that the beech is not re-
puted to be friendly to youngsters. Ev-
cry boy who sees this one, however. falls
in love with it instantly. skips to the top
where, by the way the branches form
natural benches for him to sit upon-and
waves his hat in triumph. Altogether this
ancient tree, which is extremely pictu-
rescue in its appearance, is quite a Curl
| osity.
Some recent researches of Prof. Rob
erts-Austen in metalurgy have set scien-
fists to discussing a fresh the nature of
what we call solid" One can easily
| understand how platinum and lead, if both
| were melted, might mix, but it has been
found that if a piece of platinum lies in