Daily Kennebec journal., 1906-10-19
GLEANlNGS AND GOSSIP.

| dresses. many of them being made of
pure gold and silver. After the metal is
mined and smeltcd. it is formed into a
fine wire. which is woven into cloth and
afterward used for dresses.
The only known survivor Of the naval
battle of Nayarno. which took rlac" in
lS2a. IS still living near Rhyd". namely,
ltHth birthday. Stlin"r was midSh!pman s
steward ON board the Talbot.
a curious barometer used in Germany
and Switzerland consists of lar Of wa
ter. with a frog ana Il little step ladder
in It. When til" frog comes out Of tn.
water and sits on the steps it is said i'm
fallihlv to forctcll ram
"FInwor-ramc weddings" ar" fashion
able in Europe Just now. At one recent
~ where the brides name was Violet.
the bridesmaids wnr" Parma Violct-col-
or"d satin dresses. with velvet cap"S of
darker shade and hats to- match. They
carried bouquets of Parma violctS.
Cable Dispatches may now be sent to
Iceland. the cost being L. cents a word
from England lcclandic land lines. which
will connect S"vdisforl. thr cable point
on the east coast. with al tn" principal
towns, including the capital, R"ykjavik.
will also be completed soon.
The strength of a grindstone appears
from recent tests to vary widely with tn"
that are dry showing tensile strengths of
from ] 1f to 1S6 pounds square inch. but
after soaking over night breaking under
stresses Of 50 to llG pounds square inch.
Tie statistics Of the French customs de
partmcnt show that during the first Scv-
on months of the wear the vllu" Of tn"
imports into France WAS $597 0iS3eI as
compared with $r0.G 1876 in the CORE
spending period of l!"5, ana Of the cx-
ports $!5l,@ll ,of2, as compared with s5l6,-
597, III.
President Roosevelt is emphatic in his
refusal to hay" a lt" mask mad". he
president has no especial objection to be
ing urrScrN ed otherwise: he sits for his
photo at reasonably short intervals and
has given SittingS for the preservation of
his likeness IN oil; But H. has a h"rror
Of being Spattrr"d over with clay ana
breathing through quilts.
In some parts Of Brittany 4 curious
marriage custom prevails. On certain
fetc days the marrageabl" girls appear
in red petticoats. with white or yellow
borders round them. The number of bOr-
de-s denotes the portion the father is
willing to give his daughter. Each white
band denotes 100 francs per Annum, "arh
yellow band represents 1000 francs year.
Chief PoatSWain'S Mate Henry Thomp-
son, United States navy. retired. 90 years
old aud veteran Of the civil war. has
offered his services to the government if
thcr" is to he fighting over til" Cuban
troubles He looks what hc claims to be-.
sound as a nut. and was informed ut
the navy d. partm"nt that if his services
were required h" certainly would BE-
called.
PasScre by have often been struck by
the fact that the chief Cornice at one
end of Lord RothSchiId's house in Picca-
dilly, London. has been lett unfinished: 1t
is said that Jewish tradition insists that
Sor1' part Of 4 Jewish house shall he
left Incomplete. in order that the ncOm-
pletcncss may remind its oWncr~that. Ike
his father Abraham, he is only a Strang-
er on the earth.
A Franco British exposition relating to
science. arts ana Industries is to be held
proposed bv the French chamber of COM
mrrce i'll London and has Received fin"
support. including that of the French
government. The duke Of Argyll recent
ly presided over a meeting Of EngliShmen
where tn" proposal to hold the exhibition
was unanimously adopted.
Some time ago the amcer Of Afghan
of aniline dyes. The kaShmr of Dunbar
has now decided to charge the high duty
of A. per cent on all aniline dyes at the
frontier, and at certain distance within
the frontier to confiScate and ut once re
Stroy them. BY this measure it IS hoped
the beautiful arts for which the vale Of
Kashnrir is famous will be preserved from
deterioration.
Now that Mayor DeS PlancheS, Italian
ambassador to the United States. has re-
signed. Baron Hengelmuler Austrian
ambassador, becomes dean of the dplo-
matte drops in Washington. 1t is known
that for years the cherished ambition of
the baroness has been to see her hus-
band in this position. She is one of the
highly cultivated and great social ia
VCrte. Her entertainments have always
been chara cterized by eNclusivcness and
novelty.