Rensselaer Union, Volume 6, Number 41, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 2 July 1874 — CURRENT ITEMS. [ARTICLE]

CURRENT ITEMS.

Coal oil, us a rule, is down, but it goes up occasionally. Go to Culpepper, Va., and live. Not a case of consumption there for forty years. The woolen mills of Salem, Or., arcnow the property of the Bank of British Columbia. Boston is running parlor palace horse cars that are pronounced perfect in point of beauty and luxury. Bald Mountain is likely to become more bald than ever; worn by the feet of many tourists, particularly ladies, who think a volcano is “ so sweet.” The potato bug lias crossed the Allegheny Mountains, and the Harrisburg papers chronicle the arrival of the Colorado conqueror at the capital of Pennsylvania. The number of old bachelors and old maids is greatly on the increase. Club life is taking the place of home life. In Massachusetts there are 200,008 old maids. A youno lady in lowa having contracted a bill of twelve dollars for chewing gum her unreasonable papa refuses to liquidate the debt, but he says she can if she choose. California has a libel suit in which no damages are claimed. The plaintiff is a District-Attorney, and simply wants to settle his reputatidn. This is what might be called a model libel suit. Nashville, Tenn., recently celebrated tire success attained by the tobacco in dustry there, the quantity of tobacco received having increased from 900 hogsheads three years ago to 3,700 last year. A LApGK frog, whose age is placed in round numbers at 1,000 years, was recently found ten fret below the surfnee at Hodus, N. Y. He jumped away quite lively as soon as he could remember how lie used to do it. As a bride and bridegroom were about to leave Cleveland, a constable stepped into the car with a new attachment and seized the bridegroom’s beautiful plug hat. The dishonest groom went on with his matrimony barehead. The quiet services in a colored church at Vicksburg, Miss., were rudely interrupted on a recent Sunday evening by two women, who, after glaring at each other a few moments, sprang at each other, and before the rest of the congregation knew what was going on, were lighting like two wild-cats. They were separated by their friends and then left the church. . ~~ As a young lady was preparing to retire in Augusta, Me., a few nights ago, a cat overturned the kerosene lamp in her room and set tlie table on Are. The frightened girl hid herself in the closet, closing the door after her, and screamed, but could not be heard by the other members of the family, and as no one came to her rescue she threw the door open and, with a woolen quilt, put the fire out. Two years ago Thomas Pearce ran for Justice at Eola, Oregon, and wns tied with bis opponent. The law directs the casting of lots to decide, and Mr. Pearce won, with dice. The contestants gambled for it according to law, and they we likely to resort to the same expedient again, as Mr. Pearce and another opponent are tied again on the vote there for Justice of the Peace. This is a significant thing to happen twice to the same man. Unless the Reno Crescont exaggerates, Senators Jones and Stew-art may be left some day without a constituency. The amount of water accumulated in Lake Tahoe is more than a thousand-times that ‘which devastated the Massachusetts valley, and this inland sea is held back by an artificial dam. The . Crescent thinks that it is only a question of time when the dam will give way and the valley be overwhelmed by a roaring Niagara. TnEiiE is a party in Northeastern Mexico Which for the last fifteen years has favored the establishment of the Sierra Madre republic. Gen. Vidaurre "in 1861 desired the Confederate Government to assist him in carrying out that enterprise. President Davis, through fear of involving the Confederacy in a w r nr with Mexico before the final triumph of the former was. achieved, refused the aid solicited by the ill-fated Governor of New Leon. It is now stated by a correspondent of the Galveston New, who w-rites from the City of Mexico, that the Mexican secessionists afe still alive and active, and that Lerdo de Tejada will soon send a force of 5,000 regular troops to be stationed along tkc Rio Grande border, for the purpose, of maintaining order and treaty’ stipulations with the United States, but in reality with the object of overawing the party which favors the new republic. An incident occurred near the old Mohawk bridge the other day during the sudden rise of the river which showed the intelligence of the mice and the care exercised by the mother for her young. The mother evidently had'a nest In the stone wall near the bank, in the garden of Mr. Van Epps. As soon as the water reached the nest, or near it, the mother was seen to come from the wall with one of her young in her mouth and deposit it beneath a tree on the ground out of danger from the Hood. She went back and forth, taking one of her young each time, until tliey were all saved. On another occasion" at the same place, an old mouse did Ihe same thing and more. When she had rescued a part of her young the water had risen so h* to cut oil* communication with lief nest, but this did not stop her. She plunged into Ihe water, swam over to the nest and brought away several young mice in fhis way, holding them ip her mouth above water while she swam with them to dry land. This feat-was witnessed by several persons.— Schenectady (N. Y.) Union. -