Rensselaer Union, Volume 2, Number 7, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 11 November 1869 — CURRENT ITEMS. [ARTICLE]

CURRENT ITEMS.

sYAc|*TirK is 4>ytars old. ; Iceland, it is said, has no The population of lowa is now 1,040j--014. There are 454,355 Free-Masons in the United States. ' > It is said that Jay Cooke, the banker, owns over 50,000 acres of land in lowa. New tin have been found on the Coast Range mountains, In Los Angeles county, Washington Territory. Reports at the New York Merchants’ Exchange show that twenty eight vessels were: lost at sea in October, valued at nearly *1,000,000. The Oregon State Agricultural Society reports instances of the raising of 115 bushels of oats and 67 bushels of wheat to the acre. Since the foundation of the Prussian Bible Society, in Berlin, in the year 1814, it has distributed upward Of 3,000,000 copies of the Holy Scriptures. It is ascertained that there were ten lives lost by the recent flood in Windham and Windscr counties, Vt. Providence was enlivened the other evening by the sight of a young woman boxing the ears of her lover on the street, because he had escorted, ..another lady By the law of North Carolina, any person that Wears any disguise or mask in order to frighten somebody else is guilty of« misdemeanor, and liable to fine and imprisonment. I

■’ Two of the leading daily newspapers of San Francisco have been united. The Alta and Times have consolidated under the name of the Alta California and Ban Francisco IZltaes. ' ■' * ' ' ‘ ’ : SiLA8 h WEi.Ls, a light colored mulatto, rc?en|ly obtained, a jjtfdict for*27s, at Springfield, Ohio, against the Trustees of that township, for the refusal of his vote at the late election. A young girl was recently found guilty of infanticide before the Criqainal Court of Stockholm, and sentenced to the penitentiary for life. Upon hearing the dread sentence she drew a pair of scissors from her pocket and stabbed herself to the heart. ' Commissioner Delano recently received a letter from Cincinnati enclosing a large amount of revenue stamps, which read as follows: ' “Dear Sir: Enclosed please find three hundred and sixty-five dollars’ worth of stamps, which I stole. I’ve reformed.” The following is copied from a placard inviting worshippers to Bethesda Chapel, in Clapham, England ; “Ned Wright, who, before his’eonversion, was convicted three tidies of burglary, will deliver a gospel address. Come and welcome 1 No collection!" *”

At the recent special election of taxpayers of the city of Newburg, New York, Mrs. Margaret McQuaid, a widow lady owning property in the city, deposited her ballot with the inspectors, unquestioned and unchallenged. The lady is the first of her sex who has ever voted at a public election iu Newburg. A lady passed through St. Paul the other day, on her way to the settlements on the Red river of the North, in search qf a husband from whom she Was divorced several years ago in Brazil. She had married again and was widowed, and the old love reasserting itself, had come all the way from Rio Janeiro.to seek a reconciliation with her first husband. A little child six years old got upon the rear car of a train at Huntington, Mass., a few days ago, and was held there by a person supposed to be a brakeman, until the train was under full headway, when lie was let down, the fell fracturing his skull and otherwise injuring him so that death would probably ensue. A citizen of Montereau, -France, cattghi, j the other day, a fish of almost priceless value, for in opening it, it was found, to’ contain a magnificent breastpin, ornamented with thirty precious stones—diamonds, rubies, sapphires, and emeralds of extraordinary beauty. The breastpin is Valued by Paris jewelers at the fabulous sum of 1,500,000 francs. J £ Some weeks ago a terrible conflagration occurred at the little village of Radoczih, in Hungary. While the men and women had left their houses to work in the fields, a tire broke out in h barn, and consumed 125 out of 130 houses composing the village. TWenty-ohc titrtte children, who had been left by their mothers in their houses, perished in the flames. TnEßeverly'(Ehglatid) Guardian makes mention of a noyej way to make a man pay a debt; In the window of a photographic gallery 3s the following annctancement : “ Wanted, Mr. ,groom of——, to call afid pay for his portraits. N This notice, will romain hqre till the portraits are< paid for.” Attached to the notice is a cartdde iMte of the unlucky creditor. At Macon, Ga., there is a yonng mhn seventeen years old, not even knowing the alphabet, who- din soFve the most difficult mathematical problem?. Being asked what would a horse bring, there being 32 nails in lis shoes, allowing 3 cents for the. :first, V cents for the second, 27, 81, and.so on? Tlnh required thirty-two distinct multiplications, and run -up into trillions, yetfre-did itrtnthree mfrrntea Tme Toledo Qommcrcial says a gentleman near that city has been experimenting ■in itiia cultivation; of cranberries. He had , four .acres under cultivation this season, yielding 880 huStlCis, These he sold at ■ the »rte of $350 per bpahel, thotofol proceeds of the four acres amounting to sl,330, or $332,25 per acre. The Commercial thinks it probable that the marshes in the vicinity of the lakejep be nade valuable for the cultivation eflhe cranberry. k _jDy|«N«: the Aurning of ;the steanier StontewalVon - tile Mississippi, a group of man Ito the waler 1 ought to save-them- ■ 'Skkagb! MMtHst ardae! far -Its poee»Hion,.all was roused to demoniac -passion, and In YuHjejHhcV W tobe unf vettifl education, and it -it'to' be bonsputeoiy/wqere' the faith of iia' parents. Turkey has an nearly two millions qf square miles, or nearly twq-tlslrijs as mUch as the United States, not counting its latest anmwjation. The population is, however, Jarger-*ioity minions. Schools were established throughout the Empire in 104 T. ■ 4

but the present law is thorough and compulsory, and the Turin, both Mohammedan and Christian, will soon lie universally and highly educated. Rev. Mr. Spuroeon, the well-known preacher, used to be famous for his comic sermons and lectures; but increasing years, corpulency, and a wife and children have a little sobered him. The other day, however, he came out in his old character. He delivered a lecture on bells, and provided himself with a large collection of different kinds of bells to illustrate his subject. Among others, there was a large alarm bell fixed hi the roof, which the reverend joker 'frequently pulled. Here is one of his points: “The ringing of a bell was shown to be a striking emblem of prayer, the rope being pulled on earth, and the bell rmgmgJiigh up in Heaven. It waS to be regretted that some people pulled the rope so gently.” ■iA curious scene was witnessed the' other day at St. Petersburg, in Russia. The First regiment of the Imperial horseguards were drawn up in line, when a young officer, dressed in full regimentals, was led up to the-Ccflohel bf the regiment, who struck him in the face, took his sword from him, ordered him to kneel down, broke his sword over him, told two other officers to tear off his Uniform, and then had him clad in the coarse uniform, of a private of the line. The officer thus degraded had stolen money from one of his comrades, and committed a number At forgeries; lie was reduced to the position of a private in the line, and to serve for life as such in otre of the Eastern Districts of the Empire. It is now. asserted that Lord Hubert LeroyJunsfey, who recently gave a *15,000 banquet in New .Yoritf.jg a Loudon gambler named Didw' Radwml. He first made his appearance in thiscountry at Newport, in July last From there he went totiaratega, t|pgn<|ingg great deal as money, living-in the highest style, and moving in the most ■ ftuhiohable circles. His mother was a second-rate actress lit a Bertintheatre, and hii father at preaint is in the livery stable business in th* lowest pirt of the city *of London. Ainsley, as a valet to a wealthy French gentleman Jin Paris, acquired his education, which has assisted him in palming himself upon the too credulous American people. Before his exjioso he wedded Miss Lily Martin, a beautiful and wealthy belle, of New York, who still abides and even travels publicly with him.