The herald., 1898-11-18
ODD ITEMS FROM EVERYWHERE

The national hymns of China are of suck
| extraordinary length that it is stated that
half day would be required to sing them
through.
Two New York detectives wanted Eddy
Barnes" All they knew about him was that
he was colored and that he was bicyclist,
They stood along the boulevard and yelled
Eddy" at every black bicyclist. When
Eddy came along he slowed down to seq
who called him, and was arrested.
The japanese always bury their dead with
the head to the north, and for this reason
no japanese will sleep with his head in that
position. Many private houses and hotels
have diagram of the points of the compass
pasted on the bedroom ceiling for the con-
venence of guests.
The cost of the railway from Guayaquil
to Quito, in Ecuador, which is now being
built by American capitalists, is estimated
at Sl8,000,000 for 400 miles. 1t will be the
highest railway in the world, with stations
at an elevation of $3.50, 1890 and 10000 feet
above the sea level.
Near a hotel at South Mounkus, Me-, the
resort of many sportsmen at present, q
young taxidermist has placed stuffed deer.
The animal is within sight of the house and
all the newcoming sportsmen have had
shot at the mounted deer, with the result
that cigars are in great demand there.
A Belfast, Me-, couple in the past thirteen
years have played over 2S,5OO games of crib
bage, and one day last week scored even
games. They have never been over seventy
games apart. During the series they have
held two % hands and one 80 hand. On one
occasion both held "a hands in game on the
same deal, all the cards being fours, fves
and skies.
Among the historic trees growing in Phila.
delpha is the great willow which grew over
the grave of Napoleon in the island of st.
Helena. Six of such slips were brought over
by Count Archambault. One has grown to
be large sized tree at the country seat Of
Henry Coates at Wayne. Another was
planted by Mr.. Kellogg at his place at Bryn
Mawr, and three other of the slips never
came to maturity.
An English rural clergyman says that one
day a bride startled him by promising, in
what she supposed to be the language of
the prayer book, to take her husband "to
ave and to old from this day forni't for
betterer horse, for richer power, in sigger-
ness health, to love cherries and to bay"
What meaning this extraordinary vow con-
veyed to this woman's own mind, the in
cumbent said, baifled him to conjecture.
A curiosity of Bethel, Me-, is a talking
crow, which entertains the boys and girls.
The bird was found in the woods over q
year ago when young, having fallen from it's
nest and broken a wing. 1t was taken home
and cared for, but showed no inclination to
talk until few months ago. 1t talks as we'll
as parrots, but favors words containing 20"
and "Hello, hello, Moses, Ora. Whoa
there!" cause the passersby to turn quickly
at times.
Not least among the promising resources
OF the Philippines is curious natural prod
uct. Several vegetable growths appear to
possess the faculty of secreting mineral con-
cretions, in all respects resembling certain
familiar precious stones. The famous James
Smithson was the first to give any real at
tention to these curious plant gems, but,
though there can be no doubt of their au-
thenticity, neither scientist nor merchant
has followed his lead. One of the Jewels,
the bamboo opal, rivals the best stones in its
delicate tints of red and green, but it is
among the rarest, and 1000 stems may be cut
up before single specimen be found.