Rensselaer Republican, Volume 21, Number 16, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 20 December 1888 — SOME ODD THINGS. [ARTICLE]

SOME ODD THINGS.

One of the promised sensations of the Paris exhibition will be given by a man who will make daily balloon ascensions mounted on a ’iorse. A fady has been appointed professor of wood-carving in a Western college. Her first labors should be to teach the young ladies how to sharpen a leadpencil. A Tennessee salesman has been cut out by his father, a widower, who has married the girl to whom his son was engaged. There are many occurrences that more readily excuse the quotation of that ph-ase about the most unkindest cut. Constable Sullivan, who arrested Sheehy practically in the house of commons, has been declared guilty by the house of a breach of privilege. A like thing in the time of the first Charles came near causing a breach in various skulls, but that was a time of tyranny. British reform has brought to light a forgotten personage known as “Chaff Wax.” His real title should be Chafe Wax, and his duty was the preparation of wax for fitting tho writs issued from the Court of Chancery and for the official seals. He has long drawn a salary for doing nothing, but he has at last been found o ut, and will be abolished.

Edwan A. Barber, of West Chester, Pa., who is an antiquarian, has just procured a Chinese bank note of the fourdynasty,made of fibrous paper cf a grayish color, covered with Chinese characters. Mr. Barber says that there are only two specimens of this note besides his in existence, one being in the Imperial museum at St. Petersburg. Mr. Leary’s big raft, which went to pieces off Nantucket a year ago this month, did the world the greatest service possible to it in doing that, since the logs have been a means of enabling the hydrographic office to make a chart showing the various ocean currents. The places in which the logs were met by vessels were carefully noted by the captains, and facts were thus obtained which could be had in no other way. It has been estimated that an average of five feet of water falls annually over the whole earth. Supposing that condensation takes place at an average height of 3,000 feet, remarks Gen. Strachey, the force of evaporation to supply such rainfall must equal the lifting of 322,00J.000 pounds of water 3,000 feet in every minute, or about 31X1,000,000 horse-power constantly exerted. ' Of this great energy a very small part is transferred to the waters that run back through rivers to the sea, and a still smaller fraction is utilized by man; the remainder is dissipated in space. i &