Rensselaer Union, Volume 5, Number 11, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 5 December 1872 — CURRENT ITEMS. [ARTICLE]

CURRENT ITEMS.

JSgvnHL. • . Omasa, Nebraska, is to have a public park seventy-two acres in area. .*'«*» A. Titusville mai 1 has had a book keeper in her eye for some weeks. ’ " How sweet a morsel is fame! Lucca has had a mud dredge named for her. A good man provides for his children. A policy in the Washington Lire is one way to do it v." vl ' Tenyoung buffalo hare left Minneapolis, gan.,T>o und East, to go into the show business. Tsn beautiful shell work of the West India fc ilands is used considerably as gar niture for ladies’ dresses. What do you expect to sec reflected in yoor inamorata's eyes? Yourself—if she is a good looking-lass. Onb of those rare coins, the Massachusetts Pine Tree shilling, bearing date of 1620, has been dug up at Portsmouth, Rhode Island. Young ladies who are learning to skate are putting more stuffing in their waterfalls, and making other preparations for falling down on the ice. A gushing poet asks in the first line of a reoent effusion, “flow many weary pilgrims lie?” We give it up, but experience has taught us that there arc a good •nmny. - M Vest Strange.— Life is a contradiction: we send to our butcher f6r a sweet bread, and if we want a-sweet meat we send to our baker! Footed up,—Men of business often complain that their gas account runs away with a lot of money; they don’t re fleet how many feet are represented In the bill!

Sex New York, one Maryland and three Pennsylvania regiments have signified their intention of participating in the inauguration ceremonies of President Grant on the 4th of March next. During the hot weather, Peg said she had been all over the house, and found the kitchen everywhere; explaining that she had visited every room and found it cool in nary department. » Irate parent: “Oh ! yer don’t want to go into business, don’t yer ? Oh ! yer want to be a clerk in the post-orlice, indeed ! Why, all your fit for is to stand outside with your tongue hout for peo pie to wet their stamps against!” A girl in Indianapolis, who has two hundred thousand dollars,advertises for sealed proposals for marriage. The postmaster has decided to charge her double price for her box, as it keeps one clerk half his time filling it up with pinktinted envelopes, and the - whole office is scented with musk and bergamot, like a perfumer's shop. A Kansas man was “set hack” the other day by a couple of squaws entering his house, whom he had forgotten he had married a Jfew years ago on the plains. What cheers him up is the fact that a Kansas court has decided that when a white man marries a squaw after the Indian fashion, the same is legal and binding upon the husband. Db. Hall gives the following “eating negations’’: “Never eat when you are not hnngry ; never eat when you are very tired ; never eat just before severe mental or physical effort; never eat while in a passion; never eat when very low-spirited; never eat Just before a hath ; never eat while greatly worried.” Will the good doctor please tell us when we can eat ? The Fat Contributor goes back of C. Julias Ciesar, and digs out the origin of the practice of parting the hair in the middle as practiced by male persons : “It was first adopted by an angry father, who, from some show of weakness on the part of his son, so treated the hair of that

youth in order to disgrace him in the eyes of his companions. The operation was a complete success, for the boy, unable to bear the stigma of looking like a girl, went straightway and hung himself.”" Wall habgings made of tin foil are a new Parisian invention, which has been, made the subject-of a paper read before the Society of Arts. The metal is in sheets about sixteen feet long and from thirth to forty inches wide. The sheets are painted and dried at a high temperature, and are then decorated with many different patterns, such as foliage, flowers, geometrical figures, imitations of choice woods or landscape pictures. ' Inquisitive people sometimes meet with little adventures which make them weak. A fellow who was “paying attention” to a girl in Andover, Mass., stole up to the kitchen where she was at work the other morning, thinking to see what kind of a housekeeper she was. He got interested as he stood behind a door all unobserved, watching the fair one at her toil, and in the ardency of his observations he obtruded his nose into a crack in " the door. She innocently shat that door a little, and there was a mashed bugle. He now wears it in a sling.

A short time ago Engineer Thornton, at the instance oi the Grand River Transportation Company, made an extensive survey of the river with a view to the construction of dams and locks for the purpose of increasing the volume of water in the stream above Grand Haven. He concluded that the construction of two dams with locks would be sufficient to raise the river three feet at Grand Rapids and increase its volume, when at the lowest, to something over eight feet. It. is now proposed to construct one dam at Harris’ and another further up the stream, say near the salt well. The cost of these dams and locks would not cxpeed $50,000, and an effort will be made to obtain assistance from the National Government in carrying out the scheme. Thb New York Herald says: “Two English expeditions, having the facts which Mr. Stanley brought to'civilization from the store of Dr. Livingstone before them, are about to penetrate Africa—one from Mombas, on the east coast, to map out the series of lakes on the lacustrine river, now called Victoria Nyanza; the other from the west coast, to ascend the River Congo and settle the question of its source. Six German expeditions are also in progress, and will cover between them all the central region of Africa! The great movement toward the suppression of the East African slave trade, with all its horrors and inhumanities, is, perhaps at present, the greatest and most direct benefit civilization will reap from the journey of Mr. Stanley." An important decision, relating to life insurance, was rendered in the Supreme Court of New York, General Term, recently. It relates to the deception sometimes resorted to by parties seeking insurance, regarding their physical condition. The case under examination by the court was one brought by an executor to compel the payment of a policy by a Life Insurance Company, the latter seting up as a defense that the policy holder had not told the whole truth. The court held that the statements made by ofie whose life has been insured as to his health are not warrantees, as the statements in procuring insurance in Marine and Fire Insurance Companies as to the matter insured. The question was whether there had been fair dealing. A concealment of-the fact that the insured had been in the habit of consulting a physician, was held to beamisrepresentauon as to the material fact, and sufficient W poilcyi —7—± —; —: —< 8001 s after Preston 8. Brooks committed his assault upon Charles Bumner, Mrs. Seward was exceedingly the safety of her husbaad, and advised him to protect himself. “Well, my dear,” was his answer, -what, shall I do? I am . ■ ' ", Vi

a man of peace; I never reply to personal attacks; how am I to defend myself? Shall 1 go to the Senate with a musket or rifle on my shoulder ? If I use pistols, I am sure you will not ask me to sliodl anybody without notice. You say No. Well, then, It will be my duty, if I carry revolvers, to lay them ou my Senatorial desk, so that all men may see that I am ready to kill anybody at a moment’s uo tice. I think this is iny best weapon,” he said, as he closed the interview, and picked up the whip he carried as a sort of metaphorical help to the old horse that carried him to the Capitol.

A Hint to Coal Consumers.—A correspondent furnishes the following suggestions, which will be of interest to all coal consumers, and may result to a great advantage in the economy of coal: “Much fault is found with stoves that they consume a great deal of coal and do not give a corresponding amount of herd. This, however, is not due to the kind of stove used, as many suppose, hut rather to its condition. Having ft stove that was continually allowing the ashes to fly over the room, I determined, before putting it up this year, to make it air-tight. I obtained from a stove dealer some stove cement oi putty, and caulked up every seam, joint, etc. The result has been that no ashes fly out, and the stove consumes about twenty-five per cent, less coal, and jives twenty.flve per cent, more heat. Another stove, that had to be taken to pieces to be cleaned, and that refused to give out much heat although it burned much coal, was caulked in the same way, and it is now a wonderful heater. The experiment never fails, and should be tried by ! all who desire to save their coal and secure increased heat. —Chicago Inter-Ocean.

The Vallejo Independent relates this incident: A few days ago a lady in this city received a consignment of diamonds from a friend of hers, a near relation, who had toiled over mountain and plain and met the Apache Indian in his native wilds, all in order to get some diamonds and present them to a lady. There were eight diamonds in all, and they shono in the rough w’ith a dvzzling brilliancy which was delightful to bohold. When she re ceived the stones she was engaged in household duties, as every well-regulated housewife is, or ought to be, occasibnallyduring the day. Upon receiving,the package she laid down a dust pan, which she was holding in her hand, on a chair, and proceeded to examine the brilliant productions of Arizona. While engaged in this mariner there came a tremendous ring at the door-bell, and no less a personage. than one of the poiititnl lights of Marc Island was announced. Of course, the presence of so eminent a personage, who has the power to make or unmake Congressmen, had the effect of putting this lady, who claims no exemption from the delicate timidity of her sex, into a terrible flutter, and in- the hurry and excitement -she threw the diamonds into the dust-pan and .laid ..same papers, •which she had just swept off the carpet, carefully away on themantlepiece. After the politician had called and left, the lady returned to her neglected dust-pan, and pitched many dollars’ worth of diamonds nobody, not even herself, know r s where. The whole household lias been actively engaged in a search for the discarded diamonds, hut so far the hunt has heen unavailing. The absent-minded lady feels her loss very keenly.