The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1897-02-05
ITEMS OF INTEREST.


suicide on record was that Of Nv. r. T.
Jones. a respondent citizen of etiquette,
New Brunswick, in the spring of 1890 Be
fore committing the act Jones dug his own
grave and placed a rough coffin Of his own
handlWork at the bottom. The dirt from
the opening was kept from rolling back
into the excavation by boards held in place
by trigger, to which a string was attach
ed. Having arranged everything to his
satisfaction, Jones got into the coffin, took
a dose of poison and then pulled the string,
burying himself beneath tons of earth 1t
may be of interest to know that the af-
fair was complete success.
There is some foundation for the belief
that the Irish people can trace their origin
to one of the lost ten tribes of Israel.
Shamrakh is Arabic for trefoil, and it is
an easy distance to shamrock. the little
tnree-leaVed clover indigenous to Ireland
1t may be of interest in this connection
to know that the shamroek'S leaves are
only one-fourth the size of the smallest
American clover; are also pure green in
color and without any of the brown shad-
ing of our clovers. On Su Patrick's day
the true shamrock has to be searched out
among the grass, for though comparative
ly plentiful at that season, it grows close
to the ground. Later it bears a tiney
''whtey-brown' blossom.
speaking of nervous diseases" re-
marked well known specialist to the
Philadelphia Record, did you ever hear
of a person afflicted with the drops?
No. Well, it's a most remarkable COM
plant. OF course, it has its technical
name, but it is commonly known as the
drops The patients nerves may be all
right in every other respect, but should
he be carrying bundle or parcel OF any
kind, and you should suddenly cry out:
Drop that! he would drop it as though
it were a hot brick. He could no more
help it than he could fly. Cases of this
kind are very rare in the east, but
throughout the west there is something
in the climatic conditions which makes
the disease comparatively common"
in the London Magazine of
Art there are some interesting
examples of designs for frieze,
hammered metal and head-and-tail
pieces drawn by an artist without hands
Mr.. Bartram Hiles, a native of Bristol,
says the Westminster Gazette. When Mr.
Hiles was 8 years of age ne was deprived
of both his arms through a tramcar acct
dent. Before this terrible event he had
developed strong passion for drawing, so
strong that the loss of his arms is no way
diminished his ambition to become an ar
fist. 1t occurred to him that the main
difficulty would be overcome if he could
educate his mouth as holder for his pen
cil-for brushes were not yet hoped for
He accordingly set to work with courage
and enthusiasm, and in a short time by
dint of persistent practice and persever-
ance, he found that he could write legibly
and draw with frmnesS of line. Not more
than two years after his accident Mr.
Hiles obtained a "frst-class excellent in
the second grade for freehand @ draw
fYacr OF 81
tol. In due time he was sent to attend
the art class, then recently formed. at the
Merchant Venturers' Technical College,
Bristol. While there he made rapid
progress, successfully passing numerous
art examinations, the subjects including
modelling. At Is he exhibited a water
color, and eventually he won a national
art scholarship at the National Art Train
ing School and settled down to work for
his livelihood. Mr. Hiles is an exhibitor
at the Royal Society of British Artists and
worker for prominent firms of decora-
tors. The fame of the young artists hero
ism has already spread, and the queen
and the Princess of Wales have been pur-
chasers Of his work.
1t is not unlikely that before long the
lamps which light the inside of our
houses and public buildings will be
placed out of sight. When the light is
thus diffused in a drawing room, the ar
tistic effects possible are marvellous, and
the general atmosphere of softness and
Tepose is delightful. This question Of
the proper distribution of light has never
received due attention, but architects
are at last taking it up. They find it is
Of immense importance as affecting the
eye-sight of thousands, Independent of its
association with the aesthetic results
they now seek to promote in interior
Ion and Errv~,a f4I.sw
been said that at no distant date build
ings will have their lighting engineer as
they now have their electrical engineer.
Electric lighting by diffusion is being
successfully carried out in an Ohio
drawing office. Incandescent lamps are
supported by a hanging rod from the
ceiling, placed at the end of a cross-arm
Instead of being in the usual position,
the lamps are inverted, and they are
surrounded by Opaque refectors which,
while allowing no light to pass through
them, reflect the rays upward to the cell
ing. The shades are of heavy drawing
paper, blue printed on the outside to
make them more Opaque The ceiling,
the side walls, and all the furniture in
the room are painted white. The sue
ceSsiVe reflection from these surfaces
fills the room with mellow diffused
light, under which work so loses It's irk-
someness that the men linger at night
over their drawings. Two OF the lights are
mounted over each drawing board; the
light is said to be even more agreeable
| and restful to the eye than daylight,
throwing no shadows upon the drawing
paper from any direction.
Everybody is familiar with the touch
me-not," the pretty jewel-weed that
grows along the side of the water-courses,
says the Pittsburg Dispatch. When its
seed-pods are ripe at the slightest touch
they will explode, blowing the seeds in
your face. There are other explosive seed
vessels The giant among them
i'm the sandboX tree CHura crep-
! itans), native of tropical
America. It's furroWed fruits are
as large as an orange. Cosmos of Paris
thus describes this Krupp gun of the veg