The Savannah morning news., 1902-09-13
ITEMS OF INTEREST.

Office is becoming more difficult to fill,
says the Church Economist, is that
so many ministers are entering other
vocations. Ten per cent. of the or
dained clergymen in one denomination
are engaged in work other than the
pastorate, while still others are living
without any reported active service.
Not only are many leaving the minis
try for some other branch of service
in the kingdom. but it is we'll known
that all branches of business have at
tracted others.
A valuable bust, believed to be
that of the Emperor Nero, has just
been turned up by a peasant digging
in the fields at Ravanusa, near Cir
GENT, according to the Rome CORE
spondent of the Paris Messenger. The
whole of this countryside, where first
the Greek town of liza stood, and then
the Carthaginians came, and lastly
Virgil whiled away many pleasant
studious day. is rich in relics. Pottery,
medals, money, canoes and arms are
often turned up by spade and plow;
but the peasants, not being learned
folks, only objects of the most obvious
value have been preserved. However,
| the recently discovered bust was rather
a special find, and was snapped up by
one of the curators of the Girgenti Mu-
scum 1t is of Parian marble, rather
larger than life size, and in excellent
preservation. One of the chief rea-
sons for supposing it to be a bust of
Nero-setting aside the fact that it's
artistic qualities mark it undoubted-
ly as being of some very exalted Ro-
man-is that Neros famous favorite,
the freedman TigellinuS, was born and
possessed magnificent villas in this
neighborhood.
M. Marchand has investigated the
brains of LIB persons Immediately af-
ter death, says the Baltimore Ameri-
can. The weight of the brain is infiu-
enced by the disease; diphtheria, for
example, increases the weight The
brains of newborn boys weigh, on the
average of 81 grams; of new born
girls 36l. AT the end of the first year,
the figures are: Boys, 967, girls. 1893.
by the end of the third year the weight
of the brain has tripled, and from this
epoch 1T increases very slowly, especial
ly with girls. 1t attains it's greatest
weight at about nineteen and a half
years for men, at about seventeen for
women. The average weight of the
brain of an adult male is 400 grams;
of an adult female, 1875 grams The
reduction of weight due to senile afro
phy, commences with men, about the
elghtieth year; with women, about the
SEVENTEEN. We may recall, for COM
parison, the following facts: The
heaviest brain on record is that of the
novelist Tourgenieff (2,120 grams) one
of the lightest is that of Gambetta a.
100 grams). The weight of the brain
is, thus, one factor, and only one, in
the comparison of different men and of
different sexes.
An explanation of the origin of
stories which attribute to monkeys the
power of throwing stones may be
found in the account of their habits
given by trained and competent OBJ
servers, says the London Chronicle.
Sir James Brooks says, with reference
to the orange, that he never observed
the slightest attempt at defence, and
that the wood which sometimes rat
tied about his ears was broken by their
weight, and not thrown, as some per-
sons represent" Mr.. Wallace, also
talking of the orang, declares that he
has seen him throw down branches
when pursued. ut is true he does not
throw them at a person, but casts them
down vertically; for it is evident that
Dough cannot be thrown to any dis
lance from the top of a lofty tree. In
one case a female mias on a DURAN
tree, kept up for at least ten minutes
q NOlitl1luOuS SHOWER OF DfancneS and
of the heavy spined fruits as large as
32-pounders, which most effectually
Kept us clear of the tree she was on.
she could be seen breaking them off
and throwing them down with every
appearance of rage, uttering at inter-
walls a loud pumping grunt, and evil
IDENTIFY meaning mischief"
Besides providing for the selection
of the third imperial consort for the
Emperor, says the Chicago Inter Ocean.
the Empress bowager of China has
undertaken to fill numerous vacancies
in the various imperial palaces at Pc
king resulting from the death or flight
of a large number of young Manchu
maidens during the escape of the court
in August, 1900. These maidens had
been selected for their beauty and
grace from the various Manchu ban
ner organizations to wait upon the
Empress Dowager, Empress and i'm
perial concubines. When the flight
from Peking took place these girls eth
Ell committed suicide in fear of their
Western conquerorS, were killed in one
way or another or escaped from the
Forbidden City, seeking refuse among
the common people. To fill the vacan-
cies thus created the Empress Dow
ager has commanded the Controllers
General of the imperial household de-
partment to assemble before her for Sc
lection several score of young girls
from families belonging to Manchu
banner organizations. Eight maidens
were thus selected in May, but thrice
| that number are still required Chi
nese are exempted from this sort of
| slavery by special decree of the first
Emperor of this dynasty probably for
| policy's sake. Manchu maidens so Sc
| lected for the palaces can never leave
| them in life and never marry. Some
| times a new Emperor, taking pity on
| these slaves of his predecessor, NAV
| give them permission to return to their
! homes or to marry, if any one will
| have such middle aged and elderly
spinsters. Otherwise, once inside the
palace as serving maidens they remain
so until death.
The power of a phrase has often
| been the theme of social and political
essayists, says the London Globe The
Emperor Napoleon III was notable
| phrase-maker. 1t will be long before
! people who were familiar with events
| in France and Europe from 1850 to 1870
| forget his-.L Etat c'est moi" "L'Em-
pire c'est la paix," and his For order
gentlemen, I will answer" The EN-
! peror Nicholas l, as is well remem-
bered, was the author of the designa-
ton THE Sick Man" applied to the
Sultan of Turkey The present Ger
man Emperor has coined a faw nbrasoo