Rensselaer Union, Volume 2, Number 39, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 23 June 1870 — CURRENT ITERS. [ARTICLE]

CURRENT ITERS.

A nephew of Douglas Jerrold is making wood-cuts in New Orleans. The American game of base-ball has been introduced into Scotland. Thu way to treat a man of doubtful credit is to take no note of him. There are 597 convicts in the Massachusetts State Prison. The Washington Life avoids the faults of both mutual and stock companies. The tickets for the grand ball given the Boston excursionists in San Francisco were $25 each. Brigham Youkg haa announced that he has but sixteen wives and only fortynine children. There are 40,000 Americans residing in Paris, and they are about to establish an American paper. About one million dollars’ worth of Chinese flreworks are used in this country every Fourth of July. The President of the oldest Life Insurance Company in New York is insured in the Washington Life. ■ Robert Rankin, one of the three original founders of Sabbath-schools, died recently in Liverpool. The Agricultural Society of England, composed of the ablest and most important men in the kingdom, has 5,438 members. The degree of Bachelor of Arts was lately conferred upon ten young ladies of the graduating class at Rutger’s College, New York. It has been curiously shown in the French Academy that certain plants are as sensitive to the influence of chloroform as animals. A smart old lady of seventy-two years, in Decatur county, Ind., recently walked thirty miles in one day, to pay her taxes and buy a new spring bonnet. The Bath Times says that the town of Westport, Me., containing over 1,200 inhabitants, has neither a grog shop, lawyer, minister, nor doctor. Two girls, aged nine and thirteen, re snectively, were recently sentenced in Trenton, N. J., to one year’s imprisonment each, for theft. A lady is now studying divinity at Harvard and pursuing the same course with the male students, though her name is not admitted to the catalogue.

A court in Indiana has decided that a person who accepts a “pass” to travel free on a railroad, cannot recover damages of the company if he encounters an accident. One of the latest notions is the birth card , resembling a wedding-card, but bearing the name of the new comer and the date of its advent, with the initials of its parents. Charles Brown, for burglary and assault and battery upon an aged couple at Germantown, Pu, in April last, has been sentenced to an imprisonment of twentyfour years ! A company of ybtmg banditti, of ages ranging from tin to twelve years, were discovered a sow days since at Rockport, Me. They had a camp from which they would make raids for plunder. A young lady at Cambridge, Mass., for several j ears leading clerk in the Middlesex Registry of Deed office, has opened an office in Boston for the purpose of carrying on the business of conveyance of real estate One of the gifts of Charles Dickens which will always reflect credit upon him, was a donation of $1,700 sent to Dr. 8. G. Howe of Boston, to lie expended in printing for the blind, copies of the “ Old Curiosity Shop." A farmer near Tipton, lowa, was ncently drinking out of a brock when a water snake over a foot long went down his throat as quick as lightning. The fanner experienced no bad effects, and the next day the snake left his stomach. Two boys, aged respectively 12 and 13 years, started from Cedar Falls, lowa, a few days ago, for the plains to hunt bears and Indians. They were overtaken about twelve miles from home, taken back to thtir mammas, and spanked. A woman offered the customary prayer at the opening of the Connecticut House, a few days ago, for the first time in the history of the State, and one of the New Haven papers states that she made a most commendable invocation. Judge Deady, of Oregon, has decided that a marriage celebrated at sea, or within the jurisdiction of another State, between persons leaving that State for the purpose, is a fraudulent evasion of the laws of Oregon, and, therefore, null and void. A Chinaman was arrested in San Francisco for shooting and nearly killing his wife, and plead that he accidentally exploded the pistol. The woman was brought on the stand and swore that she shot herself. The Justice dismissed the case in disgust.

Eleven Pittsburgh jurymen greatly annoyed the twelfth, a staid and respected citizen, who, after stating his opinion, lighted his pipe and reiused to listen to what they called reason. On returning into court he informed the Judge that they would not give in, and even his Honor couldn’t beat brains into their heads. The Washington correspondent ot the Boston Advertiser fays: “ The champion census taker is W. D. Dempster, assistant marshal of the Fourteenth Ward of Cincinnati, whose returns were to day (June 10th) received by Gen. Walker. He had 1,440 names on his list, did his work in three days and a half, and sends in papers every way satisfactory to the superintendent A Lynn, Mass., correspondent mentions a little incident of D. F. and Bob G. The latter had applied for admission to an orthodox church. His occupation was that of a cobbler, and an indifferent cobbler he. was at that. After church F. beckoned one of the deacons across the street, and said: “Well, Deacon, Bob G. wants to join’bur meeting.” “Yes; do yon know anything against him?” “Well, no; but before you take a final vote on him, I’d just lure to show you a job of cobbling he did for me; that’s aIL” The following story is told of urn-

lucky Engl Uh man in Parla, who did not know one word of the polite tongue: “Beating himself in a restaurant, he pointed to the firat article on the bill of fare, andfthe polite waiter brought him a Iragrun plate of beef-aonp. When it was cmpatched he pointed, io the second line. The waiter bronghuwm a vegetable soup. * Rather more coup than I want,’ be thought, * but thia is the Paris fashion.’ He duly pointed to the third line, and a nlate or tapioca broth was brought him. Again to the fourth, and wu furnished with a bowl of preparation of arrow root. He tried the fifth line, and was supplied with some gruel kept for invalids He determined to. get as far from soup as possible. He pointed, in despair, to the last article on the bill of sere. The waiter politely handed him a bunch of toothpicks I This was too much; the Englishman paid his bill and left.”