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“ The other day, at the Columbian ex- hibition in New York, I had an amusing encounter. I had got; so tired hearing 6f Columbus. You know there were more fiban'400 pictures of him and no two alike. When a man would show me a picture of “ It. would bore her, 00°, to have to say the same thing over to so many peeple. h is very tiresome to me to have people think I can talk nothing but Africa. “ Peary, ah, Peary is an exce ion - kamg type, tall, fair, yellowpthair,’ 1:111: very. handsome. I met. him and Mrs. Peary at dmnex‘ the other day. Is she goina with him again? Ah, well, she did not aiswer when I asked her that. She is charmin I modest is Mrs. Peary; has a great. dregag of getting into the neWSPapers. She won’t tall: much about her trip. “ Curious, isn’t it, that so many people think of a man who has accomplished things as a. big man. “One time after I had lectured in Glas- gow, I overheard as I was leaving on the train, a man speaking of Du Chaillu. “ ‘ Do you believe in Du Chaillu ?” Iask- ed, “why he is an arraut humbug 1’ ‘0, no,’ he said, ‘ I believe in him, I would give a hundred dollars to see him, but I could not go last night.’ ‘ You would give a bun- dred dollars to see Du Chaillu,’ I said, ‘ well here he is, you have been talking to him ! ‘Nonsense,’ he said, looking me all over, ‘you don’t make me believe that, you are too small.’ “ Burton ! ah, Burton, he was the noblest traveller of all. He was a very dear friend: He believed in me. He was a gentleman. He was a. scholar. No traveller was educa- ted as he was in sciences and Oriental lan- guages. No Western man knew the Mo- hammedans as he did.” “Did I know Livingstone? No ; I never met him. but I know Grant. He is a nd man. He behaved in me. Poor peke! You know how he died! Shot. himself when shooting with some friends. There is fate for you! A man who had braved and passed safely through all the dangers of Central Africa. drop at. last in a turnip field. ' And the young people, ah ! the young people, they believed in me always. They were nearer my own age and sympathized with me, and young people’s instincts are “Oh, yes, some men believed in me. More Americans than Englishmen. At least, the English were more brutal in their expressions of disbelief. They thought nothing of calling me a. liar. The Americans, at least, .. “No,a.s you gay, one man cannot; be everything, but many explorers have been more than be. Why, in all his African journeys be near took as meal with his of- ficers! Dignity, you see, stronger command by keeping fan-her away from them, may be. But,” and an expressive shrug of the shoulders said, :th it’s not}_rpy way? “ There was Stairs, now,” he con'tinned. “ He was of your own country. Ah, he was a noble follow. I loved Stairs, and he is dead. Ah, well ! “ But'yes, as yousay I am fortunate. Many men have not ived to see themselves tighted before the public. No map can keep before the world for long. Look at Stanley ! Yesterdty the world in a furore. To-day 2 flat as a. pancake! Some people wen accuse him mw of stealing the ac- counts of some of his adventures from me ! A. wonderful fellow is Stanley. Daring, persevering, but he had not the faculty of ma kigg friends. {or saying that I discmw lthe gorillas and other apes and the pxg- as; yet they all believed Stanley. W: I was not a newspaper man. 1 did not know how to pufi'. But I was conten to wait. I was not travelling for fame. i was travelling for science, and I can laugh at it heartily now. Why, some did not even give me credit for the invention. I was but a. boy, you know. They said some cleverYankee had invented the story for me. ' “ About my books 2 Well my “ Land of the Midnight Sun” sold faster than it could be printed. But that was a. popu’xr book. My “ Viking Age” has been a grea: success too, but not so many copies have zen sold, for that is a scientific book, a book; iurely for students. I loved my work on lat book. I travelled for seven years gettxz 1* the mat- ter, and then wrote for two yea: more. “ England was the only coun' y in which I could print that book first. Only there could I at it kept in type unti‘it was com- pleted. filer-e they wanted to turn over their money too fast ; couldn’t spar» their type so long. But see, I had to have .t. Two years 18 a long time : my book m as" be accurate. If a few months after I had witten a. part I wanted to make a change )W could I do so in_the plates ‘3” THE ENGLAND OF THE VIKING AGE. The Picts and Scots who so bothered the Romans were without doubt Scandinavian robbers. The Scots of to-day are descend- ed from these very people.” -..- .- -. up u p “ Now‘whan shall I s about Africa. ‘3 Well things are cerminiy :haqged. \Vhy almost everybody tian era; I found magnificent silks and brocades, showing that these people had had extensxve commerce with China. Gott- land, that great island In the Baltic, must have been ” ‘ How did I first happen Vto go into this question?’ Why when I was writing my book, “ The Land of the Midnight Sun,” I found in the old tombs all over England the same coins and relies that I found .in the graves all over Scandinavia! I found three Roman coins_ of long hefore the Chris- Qâ€"ehse. N o Saxon éver had a ski then were phqyfg ge_t to England. 5". 7‘9 DWA w v. â€"_v “ Here,” heasaid, with a “73.;er his hand towards a little table by his side, “ here ore the proofs of my new book, an historical romance of the Viking age. Yes, 3 rom- ance this time, a genuine love story for all young people from sixteen to seventy-five. “ Wonderful people those old Scandina- vians. All that. stufi' Green and others tell you about the Anglo-Saxons having come from below Jutland, is nonsense, pure non- I t was hard to realize, looking at this un- concerned looking httle man, with a. strong French accent, that a few years ago all the world had been set agog over the wonderful stories of the gorillas and the pigmies. r L:-L-__1 “Chg: I" an the Celebrated Explorer. “ Africa 2 well, that was my first love, but it is an old story now,” was the greet- ing the great explorer gave the Montreal Wzt- ness representative. “ The land of the mid. night sun and the times of the Vikings have more interest for me now.” ‘RESSED THEIR DOUB'I’S MORE MILDLY. THE GREAT DU CHAILLU- CALLED MY ‘ JAR. a ship. How The King and the Peasants. A Home paper vouches for thc truth of the following story :â€"King Humbert, while hunting recently in the north 'of the province of Lome, met some peasants who bad form- ed a corporation among themselves to culti- vate the land. His Majesty made inquiries as to their condition, and, upon hearing that they needed a. loan of 40,000 francs, took out his cheque-book, and wrote a. cheque for that amount, instructing them that the money, instead of being repaid to him, was t he used as a. super-annuation fund. A story is told among American book- sellers of aman who ordered from Chicag), with other volumes, a copy of Can- Farrar’s book, “Seekers after God, ” ' then issued. In a short time the 0 volumes came to hand, but the Canon: book being out of stock, the publishers wrote 2‘: the foot of the invoice “ No seek- ers after God in Chicago.” There is some basis for Sir Cecil’s dreams. The English certainly have made great ad- vances in Africa. Their territory in the southern part of the continent is extending rapidly, andvirtually Egypt is theirs. Thus they are entrenched at both ends of the continent, while they have vast territories scattered between. This is an attractive scheme-on paper at least, and the character of its chief pro- moter lends interest to it. Sir Cecil Rhodes is the strongman of South Africa. His po- ition there is similar to that occupied so long in Canada. by Sir John Macdonald. He is the dominating personality at the Cape, the chief supporter of the Federation of the :it-ish Colonies in South Africa, and an open advocate of the extension of British power to the furthest limits in Africa. He wants a. British empire there which will rival that of India, and believes an oppor- tunity exists to found it. Sir Cecil’s proposition takes the British fancy, because his telegraph is intended chiefly as the first thread upon which a great British Empire in Africa is tobe strung. It is believed in England that the Germans will yet get out of Africa. and leave their extensive possessions on the east 008.515 to the Union Jack. Then England will have the unbroken right of way from the Cape to Cairo, by the way of Zanzibar and the district of the Great Lakes. One of the most remarkable schemes of the day is the plan of Sir Cecil Rhodes, the Premier of Cape Colony, to build a telegraph line from the Cape to Egypt. Sir Cecil, it is said, is now on his way to Cairo to look after details, and the project,chimericul as it may seem, has been indorsed by many public me_n in England. First must be sought the curari vine, which is closely allied to the tree which fur- nishes strychninc, and to the npas tree from which the Dyaks of Borneo get the poison for their arrows. When the poison maker has found the curari he looks for two bulb- ous plants, the stems of which yield a glu- tinous juice. Another vegetable ingredient is the bitter root, commonly used by these savages in poisoning water for the purpose of catching fish. To the mixture composed of these elements the medicine man adds two kinds of venomous ants and the poison fangs of deadly species of snakes. The whole is allowed to simmer over a. fire, the snakes’ fangs and the ants being,r pounded and thrown into the pot. The boiling is con- tinpqi until the poison is reduced to a. thick Brown“ syrup. Finally a few arrows are dipped experimentally in the poison, and its effect is tried upon some animal or bird. If satisfactory the poison is pcuféd into a. spherical earthenware pot, in which it is kept, carefully covered over with leaves, to exclude air and moisture. The vegetable poison used for envenoming the arrows is called “curs ri.” It is extreme- ly powerful and will kill a. man within a. few minutes when introduced into the circula- tion by an arrow point, though it is harm- less when swallowed. It is very difl‘icult to procure the strongest- “ curari ” from the natives, who are most unwilling to part with it. The arrow heads are kept carefully separate from the shafts as a protection against accidents, the savages themselves being very much afraid of the poisons which they employ. The secret of prepar- ing the poison is handed down by the medi- cine man from generation to generation, and the common people are not permitted to know it. The natives are most careful respecting the straightness of their blow guns, and never allow them to lean against anything lest they should be warped. The arrows employed are made from the leaf ribs of a. kind of palm, made to fit the bore of the gun by a. wrapping of wild cotton fastened with a fibre of silk grass. Great art is re- quired to put on the cotton properly. The arrow is about ten inches long, no thicker than a crow quill and at one end is brought to a point- as sharp as a. needle by scraping it between the keen-edged, saw- like teeth of the pirai fish. One-half of a‘ pirai jaw is always suspended to the quiv- er. Savages ofGnlann who Use These Queer \Veapons ‘Vlfll Poisoned Arrows. The blow pipes used by the savages of Guiana. for shooting poisoned arrows are very wonderful weapons indeed. The clim- ate of this equatorial region, being both very hot and very moist, produces a. vegetation oi astonishing luxuriance. The forests are commonly ankle deep in water for mile after mile, and, consequently, the animals found there mostly inhabit the trees. Mon- keys are exceedin ly numerous. For kill- ing these tree-dwe ling creatures the blow gun is the best possible instrument. It is made from a peculiar kind of reed, and al- though eleven or twelve feet in length, its weight is only a. pound and a. half. It is pro- vided, like a. rifle, with a. fore sight and a. back sight the latter being made of the teeth of a. small beast called the acouchi. And {be great explorer lay back in his I chair andlanghed till the rooms rang and, another expressive shrug seemed to say that I he pitied the bored Africans of the future in ' their hero worship as much as he pitied the Americans at to-day. ‘ Well, friend Paul, who knows but that four hundred years from now they will be having just such an exhibition and proces- sion in honor of you in Central Africa. !’ Pretty good, was in not, ha, ha, ha 2” Coinmbus I would say, ‘ Which Columbus.’ But airiend with me tapped me on the shoulder and said. HUNTING WITH BLOW GUNS. Imperial Britain in Africa.- UNEAR TIILY SHRIEKS as of awoman while being ill-treated had been heard by the neighbors, as well as by the late occupants. I stayed in the house by myself one evening, but failed to hear any- thing out of the common, until the lady, a few minutes before twelve, gave me a taste of her quality. I heard her as I was sitting in the kitchen, and then in the room above; I went into the gardenâ€"she was there; I went into the streetâ€"she was there. I know she was there, because I heard her. I examined the house thoroughly; but with- out success, until my efl‘orts were rewarded after about a couple ofhours’searching,and I traced her voice to the root, I went for it witha ladder, and brought it dcwn under armâ€"the chimney-pot cowl was rusty, knocked out of shape by the sweep’s brush, and the wind caused these unmusical sounds.” “13y no means a. pleasant job, clambering over the roof of an empty house?” “I’ve had worse. I managed to unearth the cause of the footsteps that were always heard during rainy weather in a large house in High Street, Deptford, some time since. After swarming about the out- side in the wind and wet, I discovered that the gutter was stopped up, and the water flowed over on to a leaden flat and caused the tapping. Faces were never seen at the windows while I stayed there, and two pots of “four ’arf” informed me that “the blokes wot lived in one of the kerrovans to the fair ground behind used to go in the house when it was empty to ‘doss.’ ” The number of executions which annually take place in Greece is unusually large in pro- portion to the population of hardly two nillions. There are at the present time 100 «ms condemned to death and awaiting ,-z-.- fate in various prisons. In five days nine people have been guillotinedâ€"two in Athens, four at ZEgina, and three at Naup- lia, and a few days ago a. soldier was shot an Msslcmghi. VERY ACUTE HEARING, and can generally locate a sound directly I hear it; but if I fail to discover in which direction it comes from directly, I make a minute examination of the doors and win- dows and floors. If I suspect that it is caus- ed by an animal or by some practical joker who is in the house, I scatter a little powder or sand around all the entrances, sit down quietly and await the appearance of the ap- parition or the sound of the creature. If it- appears (it never does though 1) and goes off again I examine the powder round the doors for footmarks or pawtreads. I understand thoroughly the construction of a house, and, consequently, can often detect flaws in the building that would not be noticed except by a. practical man. Strange noises are caused by a variety of things ; clothes baskets that have contained wet clothes are hung up in a warm room after washing-day. They will emit peculiar sounds to the nerv- ous. Loose boards under the carpets will set many people wondering, a. beetle under- neath a wall paper, too, will make a strange scratching sound. It is not a sufficiently 1 known fact thatimagination is the only in- tellectual faculty which exercises a direct influence on the bodily organs, those organs being the organs of sense. It acts by proâ€" ducing in them, or in parts of the brain with which they communicate, the same state which is usually brought- about by exâ€" temal objects actually present to them. The eye is most liable to be affected by these false impressions, which occur in many difl'erent states cf system. I know a man who sees phantoms very often. I have been in his company when he sees themâ€"he has had two or three attacks of ‘ D.T.’ ” “ Needless to say, Mr. Brooke, you have always discovered the nature and where- abouts of the ‘ spirits’? ” “ Yes. I have never been beaten, but have had sever- al tough customers to deal with. One house that I visited bore a very bad name. I HEARD THE NOISES myself and at first was under the impression that some stowaway was in distress. I found out that this was not the case, so (havmg an idea) I commenced imitating various animals, and was soon delighted to hear myself answered. I proceeded cau- tiously in the direction of the sound, but slipped, and, rolling down the heap of coals, fell into the arms of a. poor little pig that ; we had lost three weeks before, and which had grown enormously fat during his incar- ceration, existing solely upon coal 2” “I suppose that in many cases animals are the cause of these strange noises ?” “Oh, yes ; I have had many instances of the kind. One time I was sent for to calm the fears of two maiden ladies who had been frighten- ed for several nights by unearthly noises and rappings that had, they assured me, ‘come out of the earth.’ I found that the sounds proceeded from the efforts of a cat to extricate its head from a lobster-tin under the floors. In another case I was quietly sitting in a ‘haunted house ’ with a . dim glimmer of light, a piece of cheese near a. suspicious-looking hole, and my trusty N o. 2 shot in a little barrel, when I saw two glistening eyes, and I ‘let go ’ I I drew forth a beautiful specimen of an ordinary rat, with a wooden ball tied round its neck ; no more rapping was heard there. The wood, I presume, had been tied round the poor brute as an old dodge to scare away its com- panions, and in its journeying it tapped against the laths and floors.” “What are your methods of unearthing ‘ghosts ’ ‘2” “They are very simple. I have ' was shown many houses that have been . empty for years, because they havethe rep- utation of being haunted, might be let. He has great faith in individual work in this line, and is convinced that if someone would set himself up as a “ specialist,” and offer to take up his quarters in the “ dread being’s own abode” for a little time, he ‘might easily find out the real cause of the disturbance, and thus do away with the silly notions that soon spread about and give a. house a bad name. “What was your first achievement ?” “ 0b, a very simple affair. I was on board a ship in Newcastle, Australia, and we had taken a cargo of coals for N ew Zealand, but on the day previous to the sailing every man on board deserted on account of the strange noises that were heard in the ship’s hold, and, in fact, all over the vessel. Mr. W. F. Brookn,:an Englishman, says : â€"“ I do not believe in ghosts, but [do be- lieve there are people who see themâ€"in imagination. ” Mr. Brooke complains some- what of the British Psychical Research Society, and thinks that, if more activity m..- -L -n.4 ARE THERE ANY GHOSTS ? Bxecutions in Greece- An Unbelicvcr's Statement. When Mauritius was ceded to Great Britain in 1810, there was a gigantic turtle in a. court of the Artillery Barracks at Port Louis which is there still, although almost blind. It weighs, according to a French observer, 150 kilogrammes, and measures 2. 59 metres (3ft} across the carapace. Its height from the ground to the top of the carapace, when it walks,is about 0.63 metres (about 2ft). It is believed to be 200 years old at least, nevertheless it carries two men on its back with ease. A new businessâ€"An exchange says that there is a. man in Berlin who earns his liv- ing by taking dogs out to walk. His pat- rons pay him a. penny an hour for giving their dogs a daily airing, and seeing to it that they reach home in safety. I wonder who is taking care of the children belonging to those families, and whether they will all reach home safely 2 Private letters were received at the close of last week by Captain Lugard from Cap- tain Williams, son of General Williams, of Pulbrook,Hants, dated Uganda, September 25. These letters reached Zanzibar on De- cember 3, on which date, it is well to remember, a sensational report, said to be based on a telegram from Sir Gerald Portal to the Foriegn Office, was circulated stating that Captain Williams was very ill and was proceeding to the coast, and that an inter- regnum would therefore occur in Uganda and the rest of Kitara. The present letters bearing the same date from Uganda there- fore give the first authentic detailed news. Captain \Villiams had been ill with a most violent attack of fever, but was convales- cent. He intended, on the doctor’s advice, to return to the coast, but was awaiting Major Smith’s arrival. He speaks in the most hopeful way of the commercial pros- pects of Uganda, which are developing under the new era of peace. “ Things,” he says, “ are going on very well here,” in spite of a few minor difficulties with the Walfranza and Mohammedan factions, and this satisfactory news proves that the settle- ment in Uganda was a sound one, and has stood the test of time. All the European officers are well, and the Soudanese refugees were most loyal and doing excellently. Ka- barega, of Unzoro, was treating for peace, and difficulties in Busoga. and Kavirondo were satisfactorily settled. Letters from Tashkend report that Gen- eral Baranok, who recently died at that town, and is generally believed to have been poisoned by persons having cause to apprehend results of the administrative re- forms which he was abo it to introduce in Turkestan, had in hand a commission of ex- ceptional delicacy and difficulty. He had been deputed from a high quarter to invest~ igate and report upon the conduct of Grand Duke Nicholas Constantinovitch, the Czar’s cousin, who has lived in exile in Central Asia since the painful drama which twenty years ago brought about the disgrace of his Imperial Highness. The Grand Duke’s manner of living in the remote Central Asian city is described as strange beyond measureâ€"so extraordinary, indeed, that many people suppose him to be either de- mented or addicted to habits of intemper- ance. His tyranny to those about him is excessive, and all his people tremble at : their master’s approach. Lately the Grand Duke has had a magnificent palace built at ‘ Tashkend, but he lives in an old and dilapi- dated building with his wife, a person whom he married in a fit of eccentricity, and whom he constantly beats. Another ‘of the peculiarities of His Imperial High- ness is to wear, both at home and abroad, a native robe or khalat, which resembles a robe de chambre, and is neither rich in ap- pearance nor free from rents. At his orders are some ‘20 Ural Cossacks, who carry out his every word with blind obedience. More than once it has happened that the prince, to punish people who have offended him, has had them buried up to their neck in sand, while their heads were left exposed to the burning sun. Not long agoa doctor, who was subjected to this barbarous treatâ€" = ment, sufi'ered so terribly that he went out of his mind. It is therefore no matter for Wonder that complaints of the Grand Duke’s conduct reached St. Petersburg, and that instructions were subsequently sent to Gen- eral Baranok to institute an inquiry into the proceedings of the august exile. Extraordinary Storv of a Grand Duke- The fate of the Glasgow ship Ben Douran, which has been posted as missing at Lloyd’s. will probably never be known, but the fol- lowing report of the master of the barquc Gladys, which arrived at Hamburg on lsl October from Iquique, tells a terrible story, which it is almost certain refers to the Ben Duran. It throws the only light that can possibly be gleaned upon her fate, and is a record of a terrible ocean mystery. After referring to his owu adventures amongst the ice, Captain Hatfield, of the Gladys, says :â€"“ About four o’clock on the after- noon of 4th July, in lat. 39°30 S, long. 31 '40 W, whilst passing to the westward of a large iceberg. saw signs of human beings having been on it. On the north-west side a beaten track was on the berg, and it also appeared as if there had been a place of shelter formed in the side of the cleft on the top of the ice. We also saw what appeared to be five dead human beings lying in to different places, one lying outside the place of shelter, and one halfway up the path. There were no signs of life, and as the place was densely packed with icebergs ‘ and night coming on, it was not prudent to l stop.” 80 ends this story, which tells a ; shocking enough tale of a terrible shipwreck and the tragic fate of the crew. The place where this iceberg was passed was in the track oi homeward bound ship from Aus- tralasia and the American Pacific p01 ts. The Ben Douran should have rounded Cape Horn some time in J une. Nearly all the masters of vessels coming from that direc- tion have told marvellous stories of hair- breadth escapes from disaster in this neigh- bourhood on account of the remarkable number of icebergs met with, some running through ice for hundreds of miles. It would be a remarkable circumstance, therefore, if no ships had come to grief, and as all the vessels which rounded Cape Horn during June on their homeward journey have ar- rivedsafely at home except the Ben Dou- ran, it may be taken for granted that she ran into a berg and foundered, and that a remnant at least of her crew succeeded in scaling the icy cliffs only to meet a terrible death by starvation. The Latest from Ugan da- A Gigantic Turtle- Fate of The Ben Douran. The Mont-a. di Pieta. at Rome, which has existed ever since 1585, is probably the most lenient pawnbroker’s shop in the world. Any person who brings a. pledge may bor- row from £3 to £5 without paying any in- terest : but all that is lent above that sum is paid for at the rate of 2 per cent. per an- nurn. At the end of two years, if [Jae pledge is not redeemed nor interest of the money paid, it is sold, and the overplus of the debt is laid by for the owner, who has it in his power to demand it within one hundred years. Fish-hatching in China. is sometimes con- ducted with the aid of ahen. The spawn is collected from the water’s edge, and placed in an empty egg-shell. The egg is then sealed with wax and placed under a sitting hen. After some days the egg iscarefully broken, and the swarm emptied into water well warmed by the sun. There the little fish are nursed until they are strong enough to he turned into a lake or stream. Every men in Russia. must be provided with a passport, which must be annually renewed through the authorities of his vill- age. When the commune refuses to forward We necessary documents, the absentee, who may be earning a. good livelihood away from his village, is obliged immediately to return, to avoid arrest for the criminal of- fence of having no legal status. The ancient. Romans considered February '29 a most critical season, always reckoning it among their unlucky days. That this belief has not by any means lost ground is evidenced by a deep-rooted dislike parents have to a child being born on Leap Day, it being a. popular notion that. {,0 come into the world at such an odi time is ominous, as signifying the babe’s speedy exit. One of the curiosities of Lord Brassey’s house in Park-lane is the marble figure of a sleeping infant reposing on crimson velvet cushions, which are arranged as a. divan in the central hall of the museum. It is the sculptured portrait of one of the first Lady Brassey’s children, who died of fever, and it is said the marble child was taken with her wherever she travelled. Some people suppose that rosewood takes its name from its colour, but that is a mis- take. Rosewood is not red or yellow, but almost black. Its name comes from the {act that when first cut it exhales a. perfume similar to that of a rose ; and, although the dried rosewood of commerce retains no trace of this perfume, the name lingers as a. relic of the early history of the wood. The largest heathen temple in the world is in Sermgepatam, and it comprises a square, each side being one mile in length, inside of which are six other squares. The walls are ‘25 feet high and 5 feet thick, arid the hall Where pilgrims congregate is sup- ported by a. thousand pillars, each cut from a single block of stone. Lean women who desire to accumulate a. plump covering on their bones are advised to avoid worry, to cultivate calmness, to sleep eight hours every day, to take mod- erate exercises, to eat fattening foods, such as soup,butter, cream, fat and juicy meats, olive oil and farinaceous articles, and to Lake warm baths at night. STRANGE Gusâ€"A lady in Germamown hasa. collection, among which is a Persian cat white as snow, 8. Manx cat- which means, it seems, a. species of cats without; tailsâ€"a. sky-blue cat. and Idon’t know how many other strange varieties. She values her collection at five thousand dollars. There is a. point near the famous stony cave, in the Catskill Mountains, where ice may be found on any day in the year. This locality is locally known as the Notch, and is walled in on all sides by steep mountains, $0216 of Which are more than 3,000 feet high. It has been found that bicyclists who ride to excess are afflicted with a catarrhal Iaryngitis. Mouth breathing and the rapid- ity and pressure with which large quanti- ties of air are forced into the larynx are said to be the cause. The monument to Alexander Il. in the Kremlin is almost complete. It has a front of 160 feet. The interior will contain an im- mense bronze statue of the Emperor in coronation dress, the right hand extending 1n Pleasing. A fecent decision of the United Staién Court of Appeals gives to the Edison Com~ pany the sole right to manufacture them. In certain parts of India cocoanut trees, once almost; hfeless in appearance, have been made to yield abundantly by placing salt at the roots. The Czar’s personal expenses are about $10,000,000 a year, which is over five millions more than Russia’s annual appro- priation for common schools. The German Government will not use any white horses in the army in future. In a battle the enemy can discern white horses at a. considerable distance. It is estimated that 160,000 incandescent lgmps are d_aily made in the United States. Half armour was won: armies until the present ceptional cases body at: by special soldiers. The Argentine Republic lays claimto the longest shore railway in the world, which runs from Buenos Ayres to San Martinâ€"a distance of about fifty miles. The ocean is more productive than the land. in acre of good fishing ground will yield more food than an acre of the best. farm. ' A footpad was lately captured in a. Hungarian town, and with him a bear that he had tamed and taught to grapple with pedestrians whom he desired to rob. On the Royal Sovéréign, the new quliSh battleship, there are 800 ele :trlc hghtS, connected by thirty miles of wire. A celebrated doctor walking is the exercisl physical beauty in won A Phlvician says practice at singing wards )3 consumption. ‘ The first public library in Rome was :ounded 167 B. 0. Three times as many herrings are con- sumed as any other kind of fish. Ten days per annum is the average amount of sickness in human life. ' .A leopard recently shot in Bengal had mlled at various times, 154 persons. * China. has vast undeveloped coal minesâ€" twenty times more than all those of Europe. Parts of the Atlantic Ocean are five mM in depth. - _ Only one person in a. thousand dies of old tge. ITEMS OF INTEREST. was Worn in the Continental doctor has decided that e_xercise mos.~ conducive to in women. 11!: century. In ex- armour is still worn Horse stealing is w in the neighborhood It is announced divided and will, af‘ two members in t1 ture. The transactions at house emoumd in I compared with $514,! year. The President In Moore, of \Washing1 Three Rivers, Cunc The Continental Societies wiil prob.- meeting at Kingston Mr. John Jacob can miilionaire, is ix pose of enjoying the The Montreal M nbohshing the pres decentralization a. a; could be effected. A Cleveland syndi London and Port S establishing a line c port and Cleveland i Mr. Peter Mimhel Montreal from New the winter fishing I Miramicbi is excepw Mr. O.T.Ma.sson, s in the Richelieu a: Company, died very Tuesday, while waiti to see his legal advis A young man M1 engnged in felling tr Edward Henry, Win It is proposed to e 3t Ottawa, with a pa ncss it will be to it distress in the city. Two Montreal firu on seal oil, which is United States, and handsomely on the n The Episcopal dec marriaga were read Catholic churches Sn bids Catholics marry by special dispensati performed by apries ing themselves to brought up as Catho] afternoon, was struc received injuries {rm following morning. Vice-President Si dian Pacific milwa each way was delay Rocky mountains, I) days trains have arri very promptly, and timlly on schedule t. The fire which des Mr. Frank Thomas. responsible for two mofizer was burned and now news has be of Mr. Walter Haul severe injuries. Circqu-s are bein proprietors of the l to contribute oopie: to be placed in the ( World’s Fair. Chief J ustioe Be on Thursday, gave j the Crown v. The A Hattie, charged wifii Sea. He beid than 1y legal; and orde: to be condemned. Mr. Hall, the Q‘ uter, declareu that ertly would be imp difficult to collect. of costly machinery Eli-Premier Merci Courrier de Maskim that the failure of th succeed as they oug iratricidal strife, and to give point to his he says, was brong‘m his own countrymen In is reported tha‘ Dublin have failed, ing to nearly £200} At the Wheal 0‘ Cornwall, while t1 water from an ab: rushed in and thin} The comet medal ciety of the Pacific ‘ to Edwin Holmes, 1 discovery of the un vember 6. Mr. Gladstone h from the Continent. The Earl of Lond ill with typhoid few has been summoned Gossip in London with the Governor Rev. Henry S. L' ter of London, witt Worcester are ma] Christian reunion a Mrs. Maybri'ck, an "duee effusion of bl< don that she was i unnption. The extreme de} industry is shown 479 vessels with 9 It is officially 8w W'ales has no in: World's Fair. A cable from L0! wheat is highly up considered s‘uperio: Western States. '1 very large, but the: quality. Mr. Ben. Tillott. was an unsuccessfu general elections ix on trial at Bristol. labourers to riot. « Christmas dny. _ Baroness dé R contradicting _the