The Portland daily press., 1897-02-11

Iieyss it TO be identical with the ancient
steel OF India, which is alleged to lave
been far superior to any steel known to
metailurgists in modern times. 1t
said that small blade snade from q
Maxim steel pos sesses tho power Of cut
ting glass with rs much ease ns il il
wers chalk.
The most extensive diamond mire5 in
the world are those of KimterleJ, South
Africa. More than 10 0C0 natives are en-
ployed, besides 2, eco Europeans. toRs tnef
with 800 horses, mules and oxen ana
$50 steam engines. rhe ca"iial investo i
in tho mines IS $4,000, 0o0 ana the
amount expended for labor and fuel All
nually is over $40, 600, 600. In one {etr
tbs mluos nroducet sl4, COO 600 worth 81
diamonds, washed fram ~, 500, 00o loaas
OF dirt. The work was done au Al prnht
Of "a. 645, eco and u dividend OF nearly 40
0G0 coo was paid.
Gen. Grant always received an appllta-
ton for Office AS toasts to the memory OF
Washington are understanding and Ill
silence.
President Hayes listened for while,
then broke out into lamentations that
the attention Of the President OF the
United States should be diverted from
the great affairs Of stats TO disFFlbu1e
patronage. Then he wculd make O.
memorandum in q little red hook WHICH
was to remind him net to DO it.
Gen. Garfield would put his arm
around your neck, tell you how much n
loved you, and then forget what you had
asked Of him.
President Arthur would listen with
polite attention to all you had to say;
thsn refer you to some man in New York
whom you were never able 10 hnd.
President Harrison would sink down
into his chair until you had presented
the claims of your candidate, and then
change the subject.
Maj. Mckinley IS methods have not been
developed.
The son of poor farmer in Maine, Gov.
Pingree began life cutting leather soles
at 81 week.
MI. Zangwill's opinion Of the modern
play is that it contains ''fn ounce Of sin,
u pound of sorrow and pint Of chest
nuts.
Lady Henry Somerset is so deeply inter
estyd in the Armenian refuGees that she
has sent woman doctor and two trained
nurses from London to Bulgaria to care
for those who are SICK. refuge Is 10 Le
built and the work carried On under the
auspices Of the Worlds Woman's chris
tian Temperance Union.
DIR. Edward p. Allen, the new Roman
Catholic Bishop OF Mobile, Ala, is Il
native Of Tewksbury, Mass, and is no"
about SO years old. In boyhoad ne
worked in the Mindlesex mills, ana gct
bis education by determined VOTE as HIS
studies, W lille laboring thu ouRh the day,
at u commercial college and from loeai
priests. He was graduate Il mount
st. Msry's College and SemlnNr5, O
which be was at later period Flesluent'
Card nnl Mertel. who. in spite OF age,
is the dean of the Sacred College, is now
dying at Rome Of extreme old age, be-
Ing in his ninety third year. Ae 10 q
lawyer by profession and lay member
of the Synod of Cardinals. Minister TO
France and OF the Interior during the
temporal reign of Plus TX be tecatne
afrer 1870 the principal legal adviser OF
the Holy see. Like his friend and min
isterial col engue, the late Cardinal Ar
tuneili, he ranks i'll thu Sacred College as
Cardinal Deacon, and has never received
the conservation of priesthood.
The latest improved "rapid fire. gun
of Hiram S. Maxim weighs twenty five
hounds. is mounted on tripod weighing
only fifteen, and discharges 800 shots a
minute.
The Americans ara the greatest travel
ers on the face of the earth. 1t is esti-
mated that every year from 90, GOO to 1oo,-
600 people leave the country for trips III
m G-at p1n
again go at cheaper rates. Some OF these
people 20 for years. stay, while Others
remain ouly a few IN enths. A conssrsa-
tive eatimate places the money spent by
these people at the rate of 81, 600 year.
This would make the total amount OF
moneyssspentEby Americans abroad each
yearIat least S125, 600, 00o
Red hats were first worn by Cardinals
in the year 1915.
There are 81, 445 miles of railways i'll
Germany.
The Vinegar Bible'' was thus named
from a ludicrous typographical tlundsr
-''The parable Of the Vineyard" in he
twentieth chapter of Luke, being m
Co read s'The Parable of the Vinegar.
This edition of the Bible was published
in 1717, and most Of the copies were de-
StrOy9d5Dy Gne puDllsneEss oHougn soFoIal
got into circulation before the bluuder
was discovered. It is asserted that not
more than dozen copies of this book are
now in existence.
The highest price..eyer paid for single
volume was rendered by a number ct
wealthy Jewish merchants of Venice to
Pope Julius II. for very ancient He
brew Bible. 1t was then relieved to be
an original copy of tie Septuagint yer
sion made from the Hebrew into Greek
in 277 B. c., careful copies of the
Hebre text having been prepared at
that date for the uss of the seventy, trans
Istors. The offer to Julius was 30, 600
pounds, which, considering the differ
ence between the value Of money then
and now, would in our day represent the
princely sum OF $500, 010. Julius was at
mat time greatly pressed for money to
.,o,ntojp tha HOLY LaauUe which tha