The Portland daily press., 1897-04-14
PERSONAL AND PECULIAR.


William Waldorf Aston owns 1000
houses in New York city, and has an in
come OF more than So, Coo, COO year.
Nine presidents entered the white house
at IN earlier age than Mr.. Mckinley,
who is now 81 years old. Grant Was Al
at the beginning of his first term, Cleve-
land 40, GRi field and Pierce "a, Polk and
Fillmore 80, Tyler and Arthur 81 and
Lincoln SO.
1t Is said that Nine. Calve has named
the three highest mountains on her es-
tate IN the Cavennes after three of her
iavor!te operas: Carmen, Cavalleria and
Navarraise.
Andrew Lang is out with pronounce
ment upon Victorian literature. He
says that Browning and Tennyson are
the glories of the Victorian aga. Dick
ems, Ihaokeray, George Eliot and Char
ioete Bronts are put in the front rank,
the last two somewhat doubtfully, and
Cnatles Reade and Anthony Trollope
IN the second. Lytton, Trollope, Reade
and Kingsley are said to be lacking the
Touch OF Immortality. Living authors
Mr.. Lang declines to discuss.
In the Suicides cemetery at Monte
Carlo sixty-five new graves were filed
in last winter. The cemetery is In bar
rem, unoultiyated land and within it are
buried any who have taken their lives
through losses at the Casino.
1t is said that many years ago Bis
marck purchased pipe from Bohe-
mian peddler who WAS said to have the
power of foreoasting events. The ven
der said that Bismarck would serve three
emperors AZ minister, and that three i'm
portant events in his life would be fore
told BY three accidents to his pipe. Since
that time the Primes has been Minister
nnder three Emperors. and two days he
fore the present Emperor of Germany re-
fused him audience the stem OF the pipe
came to pieces. La.er b, tr piece ont
OF the bowl and within month William
dismissed him. The third sign, with the
accompanying calamity, is veto come.
The number of emigrants from Great
Britain and Ireland in 1895 WAS 81. 9l2.
OF whom Sc. 0C0 went to South Africa.
The lnrgest bronzs statue in existence
is in St. Petersburg. 1t represents Peter
the Great and weighs 1000 tons.
France has kept 20, 600 tons Of coal
stored at Toulon since 1893, to be ready
In case war sh ould break out.
In Mexico the school children who have
done best are allowed to smoke cigars
while pusruing their lessons.
An interesting system Of electric tram
ways is being suilt at Genoa. There is
no city In the world of the size built on
such steep hillside as Gsnoa, and to
overcome the sharp gradients existing
several spiral tunnels have had to DO
pierced in the hillside. through which
the electric cars rise from one level to
another. The system inside the town
will, wher built, aggregate some 80
miles of track.
William Anthony. in Ross county, New
York. is the owner of a cat which he.has
trained to carry letters between his house
and that of a neighbor. The letters are
tied about the oats neck.
The hagfish, or myxine, has custom
of getting inside the cod and similar
fisl;es and entirely consuming the interi-
or. leaving only the skin and the skel-
etdn.
Taking 1t year in and year out, the
coolest hour Of each 81 is five o'clock in
the morning.
A captive bee striving to escape has
been made to record as many as 1880
wing strokes per minute In a late test.
When child dies In Greenland the ma
tiyes bury live dog with it, the dog to
be used by TIE cLild as guide to the
other world. When questioned with re.
gard to this peculiar superstition, they
will only answer: "a dog can find his
way anywhere.'
A recent traveller in the East says that
in Persia the Bibles sent out by the Brit
ish missionary societies are used for
making papier-mache articlsa. The
British CONSUL at Tabreez Ia quoted a.
saying: "You have no idea what boon |
these Bibles are to the village industries |
Of Persia
In letter to the manufacturers Messrs