The mirror., 1898-03-10

an 0Xdm1ndU1On.
German locomotive engineers
receive gold medal and $500 for
every ten years of service without
accident.
We can not see the sun itself,
we see only the cloud or vapor
shell that covers it, like the man
tie of Welsbach burner.
A curious character in Paris is
man who makes his living by
strolling along the boulevards and
making wagers that he can answer
correctly any question that relates
to the history Of France. He al
ways wins.
For short distance a lion or
tiger can outrun a man, and can
equal the speed Of a fast horse,
but the animals lose their wind at
the end of about half mile They
have little endurance and are re-
markably weak in lung power.
Prof. Elmer Gates of Washing
ton has recently improved the per-
formance of the microscope, and
it is now possible for the human
eye to see an object magnified
three million times. Heretofore
ten thousand times has been the
limit.
The popularity Of a cork leg is
that apart from the name there is
not vestige of cork about it. The
origin of the term comes, it is said
from the fact that nearly all the
great manufacturers of such arti-
cles used to live on Cork street,
Piccadilly.
The sacred fires Of India have
not all been extinguished. The
most ancient which still exists
was consecrated twelve centuries
ago in commemoration of the voy-
age made by the Parsees when
they emf grated from Persia to In
dia. The fire is fed five times ev-
cry two hours with sandalwood
and other fragrant materials COM
bined with very dry fuel.
The Duchess of Northumberland N
owns a shawl which formerly be-
longed to Charles X. of France,
and was manufactured from the
fur of Persian cats. Many thou
sands Of cats skins were utilized
and the weaving occupied some
years. The shawl measures eight
yards square, but is so fine that it
can be compressed into the space
OF large coffee cup.
The working of plan Of venti-
lation of rooms devised by DR..
Castaing, principal physician of
the French armies, is highly COM
mended. 1t consists in the use of
double windows, with openings at
the bottom Of one and at the top
of the opposite one, through which
the air comes in freely without
anyone feeling it. This system is
said to possess simplicity. eff
cheney and cheapness.
Science is continually discover
ing new wonders. An artesian
well driven at San Marcos, Tex,
recently found not only water but
kind Of animal inhabiting the
water, which is found nowhere
else. The creature proves to be
blind salamander, nearly white
in color, with long, slender legs
and toes useless for locomotion,
but valuable for feeling in the
darkness of the underground wa
terS.
According to the Buddhist form
OF religion a man lives twelve
times on earth. his soul returning
after each demise to some animal,
beginning with one of the lower
varieties, like reptile, a crocodile,
or wolf, and then each time he
dies afterward, returning to some
animal of a higher type. In this
way there is general progression
of the soul until it reaches the an
imal representing the highest type
Of all, which is the white elephant.
In an address by Thomas Nor
ris before the Staffordshire (Eng.)
iron and steel works managers on
the remarkable achievements that
have been reached in the manu-
facture of fine wire, the fact was
mentioned that the lecturer had
been presented by Warrington,
the wire manufacturer, with spec