Rensselaer Union, Volume 10, Number 29, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 4 April 1878 — PERSONAL AND LITERARY. [ARTICLE]

PERSONAL AND LITERARY.

—Richard H. Dana, third, was offered the post of Secretary of Legation at London last summer, but declined it The son would not go as a subordinate where the Senate would not let his father go as chlof, m —Mr. Larkin Turner died in Meriwether County, Ga., on the 28th of February,.at the age of 110 years. When he felt the approach of death he settled himself firmly in his chair, refusing to lie down, ana he died sitting erect and without a struggle. During his long life he had butone short attack of fever, which came upon him when he was 100 years old, ana up to that time he had never taken a dose of medicine. —Ben Wade’s wife was the social antithesis of her husband, bsing very shy. She was a lady of wide though not remarkable accomplishments, thoroughly posted on passing literature and political gossip, and in personal appearance sweet, graceful ana commanding-look-ing. She had ono particular charm—her wonderfully-beautiful and luxuriant golden hair. She conducted nearly all of the Senator’s private correspondence, and read up ana prepared most of the materials tor his speeches, that sort of labor being especially distasteful .Jo him. Chicago Tribune. —The following story is told to show the ingenuity of Edison, the electrician. The telegraph office in Boston was greatly infested with cockroaches. Mr. Edison tacked several zinc strips to the wallß at- intervals of an eighth of an inch, and applied the positive and the negative poles of a battery alternately to the strips. He next smeared the walls above the strips with molasses. The vermin came up, and as they stepped from strip to strip they “closed the circuit, received tns electric shock and dropped dead by scores. Water pails put at tne proper places received their bodies as they fell. We distinctly credit this story to Boston.— N. Y. livening Post. —Senator Blaine was suffering with an acute attack of gout when an invitation was received to dine with the Russian Minister., An invitation to dine with a diplomat is as obligatory as an invitation to the Executive mahogany. Mr. Blaine was assisted into bis claw-hammer, white choker, and, more painful than all, his neatly-fitting dress-boots. The agony was dreadful, bpt a public man cannot succumb to gout when duty demands martyrdom. Mr. and Mrs. Blaine drove to the Legation and painfully ascended the long terraced steps from the sidewalk to the door of the house, which is one that the Board of Public Works left fifteen feet above its original level. The mansion was dark, and, in answer to a ring of the bell, a servant without gloves opened the door. The guests observed there were no lights or evidences of an expected feast, and learned to their disgust that they had anticipated their invitation by a week. It is useless to state tho feelings of Mr. and Mrs. Blaine.— Washington Cor. Chicago Tribune.