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^ SOMEWHAT STRANGE. ACCIDENTS AND INCIDENTS OF EVERY-DAY LIFE. Funny Episodes and Thrilling Adventures Which Show That Truth , is Stranger Than Fiction. fTHE Japan Mail tolls a ' most pathetic story of lvochi li:irl)or. tlie o?l\ j t'onnnero.;.: ] ilio | island of Shikoku. It is j most valuable to the island, and though very i shall*, .'vr and :ipi>r<" ached bv a narrow, tortuous! 1 ?. i, a UllilliliCl, wi/\ X4 ww V JX ^ whole "fetch" of tlie Pa-! I cific, it lias been cable for moderate sized steamers, and there used to be daily communicat'on between Kochi and Iv>be and Osaka, j Its entrance is cursed by a most treaclier-! ous, constantly shifting sand-bar, which j moves to and fro and rises and falls according to the swell that comes in from the Patriae, so that it is a continual menace a id injury to lishermen, merchants and f triers. L;ist August three typhoons swe;?t ?iv( r H;il:>kn, which left this bar a iin.i b ach 300 yards long and fifty yards \v de, and from two to ten feet abne high-water mark. The people ap-p ded to the Governor, who conld do j in t :i:ig. Tiiero were several engineer-[ ing s hemes for dealing with the bar, i * V t f 1 T_ _i.l_ du: iiu y reijuirea time auu moiiej, uulu ; of which were wanting. The oldest, inhabitant then remembered that a simi-: lnr cr.lamity occurred thirty-seven years j ago. anu had been conquered by the I wh> h: 1 copulation turning to and dig- i ging a channel. The whole population j accordingly now turned to and worked: on the b.-aoli for three days, at tho end j of which time they had dug a canal. twenty-?>ne feet wide and seven feet j dee;> a- <1 success seem.ed certain. On ' the f'i;ii lh day the south wind blew j agan. i.nd by evening tho result of tho ! throe d :vs' labor of the population was i entirely obliterated, ul?d they hu\e now j "to wait jxitiently the more perfect! methods of "the I>oboku-kyoku," or Civil j .Ejivrineering isureau. A dispatch from Mono County, Cali fori: a, gives an account of the murder of a settler and four Italians by a band j of Piute Indians. The M<>no Lake , region is a desolate, sterile section, i much resembling the country around j the Dead Sea. llie waters of the lake j are thoroughly impregnated with borax, j salt and magnesia, and the only animal i life found in it is a sort of a worm, about j one-fourth of an inch in length, resemb- j lins in :t !>p(v.rancea shrimp. On the west- j evn shore of Mono Lake lived a settler: named Lo iis Sammun, a Sclavonian by j birth. lie liail resided there for over j twenty years, raising < att!e ou the: stm ed Dasturace around the lake, lead ing :i loneiy life. Occasiorally lie would kill a 1'iute and cast the body into the 1 alkaline w::ters df t-lie lake, where it i would soon petrify. This fact was! well known to the whites residing in I that section, and the gentleman who 1 gives this information says that he has j seen four of these bodies calmly repos- j ing at the bottom of the lake. Samman's j avowed intention was to use the bodies : as soon as they became sufficiently j I hardened, for hitching-posts and door-' steps. it liapj ened that a body of. Pintes strayed near the cabin of Samman, 11 and in the ele n- waters of the lake near j1 liv IIipv s:tw t-:i> bodies of their mur-i dered brethien lying in the water under- ! going the process of petrification. They ,: became frenzied for revenge, and going ;! to Sammau's cabin took liim out (he ; 3 was alone) and shot him through the p heart. They then went several miles to ; i a place where tour Italians were, and j killed three of them, one escaping to j, Bo>lie and alarming the citizens, telling | them at the same time not to go out!, there for a few days, as the Indians had !, sworn to kill any white man that came '. out. The county oilicials have started , to capture the Indians. i J ' Th:-i::: is a ease of human ossification ! at Glen's Talis, X. 1"., in tli? > erson of Mrs. E. Palmer, of Clinton. Mrs. Pal- ' mer fell a victim to her peculiar disease I about eight ye.-.'s ago. 80:110 three months ago sin- was brought to Glen's : Falls by life Re.. Ge- rge ??ldy. of that villr.ge, lor the parpo.se; ol gr.iug lie: [ the benefit of "faith cure," under his ' own treatment. Locally the case is 1 know as tl.afc of the petrified woman, and it is causing mncli comment among ]' medical men. All licr joints exceptoue shoulder are perfectly rigid, and her whole body is as still' as a bone. Her lower limbs have sfcillVned in a bent ositlon, while her arms lie helpless, but j as though at t a.-e, by her sides. Her i iaws arc securely locked, but sis some of her teeth are ?"iie she manages tu take ' food and '.o cany oil all nece^ary con-: Tersation. As if to aggrava'e her condi-1 tion, she is totally blind, ami yet she is j of cheerful disposition, and especially I enjoys having people talk to her. Mrs. | Palmer is 35 years old. She was mar-! ried some years ago and was then in j good health, but afu-r she became thus disabled her husband went to Connecticut a:;d procured a divorce. Mrs. j Palmer's mother left a small fortune. ! Her sisters wai\ed their rights, thus enabling the attlicted woman to have every j comi'ort possible toiler condition. Medi- i cal men pronounce this as complete a [ case of ossilicaton as ever came under their notice. Her mind doe- not appear 1 to be at all affected. During the pro-! gross of her disease she has taken particular pleasure in composing verses, and her memory is so tenacious that she can mentally frame a poem and dictate it word for word afterward. This has been done so often that a collection of these verses has been printed, making j ouilc an entertaining volume. E. F. ErLLART) and E. T. Bracliett of Saratoga have just made what is prob- | cbly the closing argument before the I New York Court of Appeals in a vexcil i ~se of litig.ition which has been conuously in the courts for fifty years, 'ng been brought in 1839 by John erson, then practicing law in Sch"'y, for his client, Emanuel C >n?aCharlton, Saratoga county, ami i ">on therealtcr took the form oi" a J ust his client for attorney's 1 V?es. I veral phases tin* case has been i every jnsticc of tlu- Snprem 1 he Ti il l ilistliet elected : line :us been repeatedly at Gener al Term, and several times before the Appeals Judges. Only one of the parties interested at the beginning of the suit now survives. The amount involved, as recently determined by Referee J. V. Verbeuk, is le-s than 62,000, No le^s than eleven different judgments have from t ine to time been recovered, most of which were modified by the courts, thus forming the pretext for continuous litigation, and the special action, which will probably now end the ease, was brought eight years ago to enforce payment of the aggregate of the several judgments against the estate of Con sau1 us. Mr. Gf.oroe S. Batchelt.er, Che | new Assistant Secretary of the Treasury, I is the man who owns the queerest house | at Saratoga. That will be sufficient to ! identify him to a great many people; who do not bother their heads with poli-' tics. Everybody who visits Saratoga; sooner or later discovers that one of the j local curiosities is Mr. Batcheller's' house. It is located on an elevation be-1 vond Circle street, and in good view from the road to the race track and the ! lake. It is a rambling collection of ar-1 chitectural fancies and crocliets. What i makes the house more interesting is the ' fact that afti-r Mr. Batcheller had se- j cured the complicated plans he had them patented, so that nobody could reproduce his residence. That is the reason it is known at Saratoga as " the! house with a patent on it." Mr. Batch-! eller is said, by Saratoga natives, to de-! rive a great deal of satisfaction from the j thought that there is 110 other house in this country like his, and that there can be no duplicate of it. He is an able man and a rich man. The queer house is his fad. Ix a straggling suburb of Cheyenne, Wyo., a burly tramp entered a house' during the temporary absence of the ; male occupants and ordered a lunch of ! coffee and hot steaks. On being asked to compromise on a couple of cold sand- i wiches he repeated his order with an j oviT-iliocic tlmt. nrnvnkprl flifi Ijirlv nf t.llfi : house to decline further negotiations, \ and when his remarks became lurid ' with invectives she slipped quietly out and unchained a couple of big mastiffs, j But instead of taking to his heels the tramp backed against the wall of an j out-house, and, swinging up his club, i received the firet dog with a blow that i would have done credit to a mediaeval j battle-axe champion and spattered the four footer's brains all over the yard. Dog No. 2 turned in dismay, but caught a whack that broke his back, and when the lady fled to the house the victor locked the door from the outside and set fire to the building. He then leis- j urelv left for parts unknown, and a posse of mounted pursuers have thus: far failed to get on his tuack. While sawing through the trunk of an oak tree at Wheatland (Cal.), Wash I Bedford came upon some hard substance that broke the teeth of the saw that he was using and prevented further pro- j press. He told Jim Kesner and Win > Enochs that he had struck a cannon! ball, but they would not believe him. I As they were going hunting next day j they made it convenient to stoj> at the ! r??irn? fnr flm r?f lnnlrmnr tin* *uv"'"b i matter up, and found o log about six i feet through, and under the saw cut in ' the centre could be felt a hard substance. I They induced Wash to chop down to get it out, and after over an hour's work he brought out a rock which weighed four and one-half pounds. It can be seen at the Gem saloon. The rock had evidently been laid by some one between the branches of the !r<-e years ago, and the tree grew up and inclosed it The spot where it was taken from was measured, and it was found to be four feet from where the branches forked. The rock was very hard, and almost round in shape. Detective Akers, of the Municipal Court, Buffalo, relates an amusing story of how he once served a summons on a nary woman who was habitually out when inquired after. It may tend also j to snow to wnat scrims tne autnomies are sometimes reduced. This woman ; liad been warned and was continually on the lookout. If the King had called li<? couldn't have seen her. "So one day," fays Alters, "I took off my collar and necktie, and wrapping an old red. bandana around my neck, I pulled a , slouch hat over mv eyes and knocked at thf door. When the servant opened tiic ; door I asked for something to eat, and j was kindly invited in and was given | some food. While I was eating it the : lady of the house walked by, and my j chance had come. I shoved the sum-1 mons into her hand and made for the j door, uot quick enough, though, to j escape the torrent of abuse she showered i on me." Tnor. Gephardt, of Berlin, the man-1 ag<T of a private Sanitarium, reports a j strange case of a disorder which he describes as a "chronisehe moliren krankhcit," or "chronic Moor disease." A young chap complaining oi' rheumatic pains and. Muni debility was intrusted to the mau:'. " is ol the Sanitarium, who at first asor. 1 the symptoms to some nervous dis. and were nonplussed when the ski their patient assumed a darker ami >' vker hue, and at last be- j came almost ? 'ocolato colored. The ! rheumatic dist.. s finally subsided, but the original e? :*of the invalid's skin failed to retr.m : nd people often stop t.) stall! at liini i the streets. The newmade darky may think himself lucky to get oil' so cheap In Southern Indiana hi; would have b a promptly expelled from the public school. The wild man ol Lookout has reappeared, and in consequence there is excitement in the vicinity of Chattanooga. He was seen a few days since, and if descriptions arc correct, he is a most remarkable being. His hair ana uearu arc described as Homing to the waist; liis linger and toe-nails arc long, giving the hands and feet the resemblance of claws. He wears a trunk of bearskin, with a bearskin robe thrown over his shoulders. He carries an ugly bludgeon, and persistently avoids coming in contact with anybody. The timid people of the neighborhood are greatly alarmed, and there is little traveling about at night. This strange creature has been haunting eaves and fastnesses of Lookout Mountain and elevations in Lower East Tennessee for years, and nothing is known of hib identity. A M'-xo t'<e curiosities brought from A-.-.- Ploliiipinc Islands by Prof. Steere, iiud which has been mounted for the i Ann Harbor (Mich.) university muBeum, is a species of buffalo entirely new to the oivilized world, and not known to any scientists or ever before seen here or described. Its body is similar to the American bison, but the legs are longer and the horns slope straight back from the top of the head. There is but little hair on the body, and the hoofs are large and flat, enabling it to swim readily. In habits this animal, although of the buffalo tribe, is similar to the hippopotamus. It is found only on one island of the Philippines, Miudora, and is very ferocious. Thirty-seven years ago James Vermillion sent his son George to the pasture for the cows. A few days since George returned to his father's house at Lower Hill, HI., minus the cows, but possessed of title deeds to a large cattle ranch in Colorade. The son had been dead to his parents all these years, and, though he went away a youth in his teens, he returned a gray and grizzled man of mature years. The fatted calf was killed and there was great rejoicing - ^ ~ 4*1 0Y6I I lie SOU lUiil/ \VUS ludu uuu xo Afuuv?. In the Gaiety Concert Hall, at Birmingham, England, a few nights ago a dramatic sketch was being presented in which a sailor was represented as being dragged and murdered. A real sailor at this point leaped from the gallery upon the stage exclaiming that he would not see a comrade so misused, and it took all the stage hands and four policemen to remove him. The funniest part of it was that in court the policeman testified that the man was cold sober when he did it. A resident of Martin's Feny, 0., has two pmall boys and one big dog, a Newfoundland, their constant companion. The other day the boys got to fighting, and the smaller was getting the worst of it, when the dog, who had been an uneasy observer of the proceedings, rushed between the lads, separated them oy main force, and then dragged the larger boy away without hurting him in the least or showing a particle of ill temper. The business which is most thoroughly monopolized in New York City by native-born Americans is that of truck owning. Nine-tenths of the carts, trucks, and wagons owned in this city and hired out belong to native Americana It is a distinctive mark of an oldfashioned ward, like the Ninth, to see in front of nearly every door at night time a truck or cart. Two young tramps at Glenn's Ferry, Idaho, attracted attention, both being very young, and one looked like a girl. Be in 2 questioned, they said they were from Sioux City, Iowa, and owned tlrnt the smaller was a girl, but they wanted to many. So a wedding was got up for them and they were married and will be given work there. The Czar is said to wear always a ring o nf t.hft I Ill IVlllUll XO VU1WUXIVV4 true cross that was given to an antester of the Czar by a Pope long ago. The Czar is said to be superstitious about this ring, and once, when lie had started upon a long journey and had forgotten it, he had his train held while a messenger went back upon a locomotive and fetched it. Mail carriers in Morocco are said to avoid risk of losing their places by oversleeping by tying a string to one foot and setting the end of it on fire before going to sleep. The string, they know from experience, will burn so long, and when the fire reaches their foot it is time for them to get up. The demand for lizard skins for purses and similar objects is said to have exhausted the supply in Java. The government has interfered to protect the lizards, who are wanted as scavangers, and lizard skins have to be obtained now from South America. Senator Evarts and Epherim, In the employ of Senator "William Maxwell Evarts is a colored citizen by the name of Epherim, and bis business is to do "chores" around the house and make himself generally useful. Until the other night Epherim has not wandered an inch from the paths of rectitude. It was the night when a dinner was given to Secretary Blaine, and the Senator from New York was rather late in returning home. As ho was taking off his overcoat he heard a tremendous racket in the basement and ran down stairs to see what had broken out. In the furnace room he found Epherim engaged in a terrible hand-to-hand encounter with a step-ladder, and the 1 11 - 1 * it latter appeared 10 hum: m? ui m, for in tiie struggle Eplierim had been thrown and the ladder lay on top of him. In his capacity as peacemaker Mr. Evarts soon released liis servant from the grasp of his assailant and asked an explanation. Eplierim told a long and somewhat incoherent story aboututtending a meeting of the Sons and Daughters of the Galilean Fisherman, the point of which was the President had resigned and he had been called upon to fill the vacancy. "Well, I see that you have filled it pretty full," replied the Senator, "and I advise you to get off to bed as soon as possible, wliile I take care of tlie fire." Why the Persian Minister Laughs. My friend, the Persian Minister, writes a Washington correspondent of the Philadelphia Record, has had many a quiet laugh at oxir expense since lie came to Washingten. For some mysterious reason somebody started the story that he understood no language but Persian, which, of course, found its way to the newspapers at once. Now, as a matter of fact, he understands English quite as well as most of us, and French a great deal better. But he did not feci that it was his business to rush into print with an elal>orato explanation of all this, and so has taken it out in smiling at the queer treatment he has received from those who really believed tho story. No end of funny remarks have been made about him in liis presence, which it was supposed he would never comprehend. He tells a story very well,nnd in relating his experiences with Washington ians, foreign and domestic, tells some very good ones. One Hr. Terr, in England, in advoontinptlie j ptin;rof bees as a remedy for rheumatism, i lip derlares that lie lias treated with butvtss | 173 cubfcri uiid hub ti veil ill ull 3(J,0(J0 stings. NOTED DWARFS. A MIDGET WHO KILLED HIS MAN IN A DUEL. The Famous Diminutive Statesman of South Africa?American Dwarfs ?Some of the Smallest Babies Ever Born. Sir Geoffrey Hudson is used for the genesis of this article not because he was the smallest of the long list of midgets who have appeared upon the stage of action during the past three hundred years, but for the reason that he is the earliest of which authentic record has benn preserved. He was born in the vear 1619, at Oakham, Rutlandshire, England. He first attracted the attention of the Duke of Buckingham in 1628, he being nine years old and but eight een inches high. Little Goeffrey, or Jeffrey, as it is sometimes written, remained in the service of the Duke until the time of the tour of Charles I, King of England, through the different shires, after his marriage with Maria Henrietta. When the King and his new bride visited Buckingham, in order to serve their majesties with a unique surprise, Geoffrey, the D\va"f, whs incased in a large pie and served at dinner, much to the delight of the Royal visitors. Her Majesty wns so pleased with the {jranks of the little elf that she was al- j owed to take him with her to London, i Soon after this event he began growing rapidly, and soon shot up to tlu-ee feet, a calamity which he characteristically claimed was due to royal feeding. Still he retained his position as court dwarf under the suggestive name of Lord Minimus; was present upon all state occasions, and knew more, perhaps, of the affairs of the Government than the j King's Ministers themselves. He was sent to France to bring an at-! tendant for the Queen, she being a na- j tive of that country. While on this! errand, thinking himself a dwarf of considerable importance, ho formed the acquaintance of Mr. Crofts, a young man of high social standing and position in France, who teased the poor little dwnrf beyond the bonds of reason. Being a courtier when at home he naturally resented the treatment of young Crofts, which finally became tin' i i u.* _ ~i.^n DearaoiP, resulting m i* vuuucugo uuui the dwarf. When Crofts and bis friends appeared at the snene of rendezvous Crofts was armed witli a shotgun filled with muddy water. This enraged the little Englishman to the eKtent that a real duel followed, the participants boing mounted j on horseback, wliich put them more on ! a level. Crofts fell dead at the first fire. ! The remainder of the adventurous life ! of Hudson reads like a romance. He was for some time a slave in Barbary; afterward, upon his return to England, a Captain in the Royal army. In 1864 he accompanied the Queen on a visit to France, but after the bestowal of all this Royal honor upon him he was sent as a prisoner to Gatehouse, Westminster, ; having been suspected of being privy to j xi.- t>?-I..* tr? n,a r,?(n. I Wit? X'UjJISII JLLU U1CU (IU UAJ\7 \~A lm iv~ house prison in his sixty-third year. COUNT JOSEPH BOROWBASKI. Count Joseph Borowlaski was a Pole. J He was born iu the year 1739; ho came j of a family of six children, of which i every other one were dwarfs. The first of the family was a son three feet four ; inches high; then came another who i was six feet in his stockings after he had attained man's estate; next came Joseph, the object of this sketch, who was but twenty-seven inches high on his twentyfirst birth-day; of the three that followed Joseph, the first and last were of ordinary proportions, the middle one being a dwarfess, who died at the age of twentytwo, being then but twenty-three inches tall. Joseph became celebrated for his remarkable longevity as well as for the brevity of his stature, he living to the advanced age of ninety-eight. After a ; tour through England, he visited his i native land, but returned two years later to the British Isles, married a lady of ordinary size, raised a large family, and died at Bank's Cottage, near Durham, ' in 1&37. TOM THUMii. About five years after the death of Borowlaski, in 1S-A2, Tom Thumb, the U*fl of vniwlpm fitni>s. ; , although not the smallest by uny means, : began his triumphant march under the i auspices of his patron Siiint, P. T. Bar- j num. Tom's real name was Charles Stratton. He was born in 1838, and . was, therefore, but four years of age i when put on exhibition at Bamum's; Museum, New York city. He weighed twelve pounds when first exhibited; soon became famous, and made his trip to England in 1844, I believe, but it may have been a year or two later. He grew but very little until after the end of his fifteenth year; then grew until lie was twenty-three. At the age of thirty he began to "fill out," and during his last trip "West, in 1883, he stated j_ ?J_ "XT_X jus weignt to ue seventy pounus: x>oi mucli of a " midget," sure. He died at his summer residence, near Middleboro, Mass., July 15, 1883, aged fortyfive. THE WARREN SISTERS. Mrs. Tom Thumb, the wife of the subject of the foregoing, was, before she attracted the attention of her husband's patron saint, little Betsy Bump. When put on exhibition beside her future husband, at the New York Museum, she adopted Lavina WaiTen as a stage name. She was married to the little General at Grace Church, New York City, in 1803, and was, therefore, just twenty years a wife. Mrs. Stratton, when young, weighed anywhere from fifteen to thirty pounds. As ago advanced she became quite portly, and weighed, when she made the last trii? west, not less tlnm ntty pounds, i Robust heulth, general portliness, combined with n natural rotund figure, gave licr quite a motherly appearance, which earned for her the soubriquet of the "Matron in Miniature." After mourning the death of the renowned Tom for a year and nine i months, Mrs. Struth >11 tried abbreviated matrimony a second time by a union with Count Primo Mngri. April i fith, 1885. The Count is but thirty-two inches in height and weighs less than j his miniature bride. Like her first j marriage, this second one was also per-1 formed in New York city, at the Church of the Holy Trinity, Rev. Dr. Watkins officiating. The large church was packed to overflowing. Many distinguished faces were seen among the audience, including, among othe"s, Mrs. August Belmont, Mrs. Paran Stevens, Mrs. W. Y,\ Astor, Mrs. W. K. Vanderbilt and others. Lucy Adams, the midget, acted as bridesmaid and Major Newell as groomsman. Newell is also a well known dwarf. Since her second marriage the late i Mrs. Tlittmb has settled down to the enjoyment of an enviable reputation; but few inklings of her every-day life are given to the public. Minnie Warren was another celebratj ed dwarfess. She was a sister to Mi's. Tom Thumb, and before being put on J exhibition beside her sister was plain Huldah Bump. Minnie was some ten years younger than Mrs. Thumb and weighed forty-two pounds. She .was bom on the Bump homestead, two miles out from M'.cV.lleboro Center, Mass., and early began the show business. She was married to Major Newell (same person mentioned as groomsman at the MagriThumb wedding above) in 18?, and died July 23, 1878, eight hours after the birth of a girl baby-weighing six pounds, one-sever.th the weight of the little mother. The baby lived but a few hours. Mother and baby were buried in the same coffin. A MIDGET STATESMAN. Saul Solomen, the famous law-maker of Cape Town, South Africa, is thirtyfour inches tall. His hands, feet and head are said to be somewhat large, otherwise ho is well proportioned. Highly educated by his parents, who are of Holland Dutch descent, he was elected to the Cape Legislature when hardly out of his teens. He rapidly rose to some of the highest positions in the colony. Standing on a chair when a A A rAccmirr AQcpmhlv Tift Ipnna "UU'V. , --- against the back, and with many awkward gestures die fates laws which are heard, feared and obeyed from the Cape of Good Hope to the borders of Zuludom. TWO BONELESS DWAKF9. Sussex County, Delaware, is proud in the possession of the Misses Marine, two remarkable little dwarfs, who were bom and reared in that county. The oldest, Miss Lizzie, lacks three inches of being three feet tall; has a lit ad in proportion to the rest of her body; is very intelligent, conversing fluently with all with whom she comes in contact despite the fact that she weighs but forty-five pounds, and must stand on a chair in order to put her head on a level with the shoulder of an ordinary person. But .stand on a chair or any thing else she can not, neithor can her sister, for the reason that neither are provided with those necessary adjuncts to standing?bones. A sort of cartilage answers in place of the bones, enabling the little mites to move hands or feet with perfect ease. Both use the finger quite nimbly, doing all sorts of needle-work, such as embroidery, etc., although the fingers may be bent in any direction desirod without the least sensation of Eain, being ahnost as pliable as so many ttle ropes. A WJ5SX yutUifliA nuni/jut. Of all the specimens of liliputian hu- j manity that have ever found a welcome in this world of comparative giants, the little daughter of John E. Miller, of Hampshire County, West Virginia, is the most wonderful. She is twentythree years of age, cannot walk or talk, and is but twenty-six inches tall. Always lying in a little cradle, she is enabled to keep a sharp look out on what is going on; no one has ever yet been sharp enough to call for an article in the house that the little one could not point out. Her memory is most remarkable. A new song or poem repeated in her presence is never forgotten. If the same song or poem is again repeated or sung with the variation of but a single word the little prodigy will show her disapproval by yelling lustily and frowning a frown that cannot be mistaken. How such a remarkable memory can find resting place in a head no larger than a teacup has long been the wonder of j physicians and savants who have jour-! neyed from far and near to test the remarkable gifts of the little wonder. HIGHLY ACCOMPLISHED. After Lucia Zarata, the smallest living human being on the face oi' the earth is Pnygn-Fra, who resides at Shigaken, Osaka. This pocket edition of a human being is but fifteen inches tall, by actual measurement taken by Dr. Burns in 18S7. Americans who have been in that couutry twelve to fifteen years, and who have known the little wonder since their arrival, say they do not doubt that T> ?^ *' ^1.1 r*r? /.Im'mc lln'vhr.civ I xD ur> uiu i'.o xiu ? maaavj ??.?. ?as lie has been a man in every particular, except in height, since the beginning of their acquaintance with him. The foreigners have taken him in hand and educated him to a high standard? high even for one of ordinary physical capacities. He is a line linguist, and writes a hand that a teacher -would envy. Having almost exhausted the subject of adult dwarfs this chapter on diminutive humanity can not be more fittingly closed than with an afterpiece on the subject of the smallest babies ever born. DIMINUTIVE BABIES. In the spring of 1880 Mrs. J. B. Mar? ? XTrt? n-ot-n Kl'vfll fn O VIM, U1 illCllIQI'U, 4XU.I1., ?<v.u uuiu girl baby, perfectly developed, strong and healthy, that weighed but one anil three-quarter pounds. The tiny shirt prepared for the prospective arrival completely enveloped the little stranger and served well the double purpose of shirt and gown. The smallest baby ever bora in the United States was a little son born to Mi's, and Mr. D. C. Miller, at Candelaria, Nev., October 27, 1882. When it first saw the light of day it weighed, according to the birth certificate of the attending M. D., eight and three-qunr ter ounces. Tiie latlier ana lnocncr | wore both healthy, well-developed people, weighing one lmndred and ninety and 0110 hundred and sixty pounds, respectively. A silver dollar laid over the face entirely hid it from view; the mouth was not larger than the diameter of a common Tabor lead pencil. The nose was as perfect as that of a grown pers< >n, and in that particular was different from tho usual little wort worn by babies in general in place of a nose. The finger-nail6 were perfect, and the little grape-shot head was entirely covered by hair. I have tried to get on the track of this little baby, bat have hear^^^H nothing of it since the summer of 1883, when it was beooming quite portly, VH[ weighing over three pounds and a half. January 5th, 1885, there came another adililion to the world of nature's freaks, when Mrs. Charles Tracy, of Kings- fl bridge, N. Y., gave birth to a son weigh- . ing exactly eleven ounces. The length of the child was six inches, and its feet were so small that the mother's engagei ment ring easily slipped over them and up to the knees of the little one. Prior to the advent of this little elf three ^ children had blessed the union of the j Tracy's, all of regulation size. The 1 head of the little wonder was about the Jl size of a horse-chestnut, the face about like a quarter dollar piece, the mouth,4KH which was entirely too small to grasp the nipple after the usual fashion, was stretched to its utmost capacity over a jKH goose quill fastened in th% neck of a two-ounce bottle filled with milk. A V man of ordinaiy grasp could olasp his hand around the body of little Tracy and meet the thumb and index finger. For many days the little wonder was the pride of Kingsbridge. Tennessee also claims honor in the small babv line. The Chattanooga claimant was born in March, 1883, and weighed but one pound and eight ounces. The father, Mr. Marion Pee, was a prominent merchant of that city at the time, and above the average in / height, being over six feet. Mrs. Poe is a healthy woman, weighing 125 pounds. The pride of the Poes, and the wonder of Tennessee, had a head aptly compared in size to a billiard ball, but unlike the Tracy midget, provided with a mouth that was large enough to take care of the body, which enabled it A to take nourishment after the usufd baby fashion. Mrs. Poe, when exhibiting ' her treasure to admiring friends, followed the example of all mothers with diminutive offsprings, and often slipped her ring to the little one's elbow.? tit. Louis Republic. A Railway Incident. a gooa-na:urea-ioomng westerner m boots entered a car bound for Roeedale, Mass., on the Providence road. It was very crowded, and people were standing up on all sides. Walking slowly through the aisle he came at last upon a young woman reading a novel, who was occupying the whole of an extra bench, turned over, for the accommodation ofa small pug dog that lay comfortably snoozing upon a shawl. The passengers who stood about were eyeing the spectacle with looks of indignation ; but not one of them seamed to have had the nerve to protest. The newcomer, however, was not lacking in that quality. "Madam," he said mildly, "I would like to sit down, if you please." The young female looked up at him from her book with a cold and withering glare. "The seat is engaged," she replied with acidulated accents. "By the dog?" "Yes." "Has the dog a ticket?" (No answer.) "Oh, I'm sorry he hasn't a ticket," said tlie man from the west, "because I . * n /%? 11 . i_ . If will nave to Dounce mm on tne irain. And -with that he picked up Mr. Pug by the back of the neck and gently tossed him through the open car -window, and calmly took the seat thus made va- *. _ cant. The train had come to a pause at Roxbury station just a minute before, and wus only beginning to move as this occurred. The dog alighted upon the ground uninjured and at once scampered out of sight. The mistress who had not had time to interfere?so quickly was the thing done?jumped to her feet with a scream of surprise and would certainly have gone for the wool of her ad versary, had not the conductor at that very instant thrust his hand at her for her fare. To the latter, who had not seen the occurence, owing to the crowd, she made an hysterical appeal for redress, begging him at the same time to stop the engine so that her pet might be picked up. But another passenger put in a word, upon which the official said that she had been served quite right and that she might get off at the next station. This she did.?New Orleans Picayune. Jack Tars' Superstition. Among beliefs current among sailors is the notion that it is unlucky to turn a loai unside down after helping oneself from it, the idea being that for every loaf so turned a ship will be wrecked. It is also said that if a loaf parts in the hand while being cut it bodes dissensions in the family?the separation of husband and wife. Again, it has long been a widespread belief that the where lib outs 01 a drowned uuuj muj uu uouoitained by flouting a loaf of bread down a stream, when it will stop over the spowhere the body is. A curious account of a body thus recovered near Hull appeared in the Gentleman's Magazine. "After diligent search had been made in the river for the f~* child to no purpose, a two-penny loaf, s with a quantity of quick-silver put into it, was set floating from the place where the child was supposed to have fallen in, which steered its course down the river upward of half a mile, when, the body 1 ? ?? l*-* ?? /lArtfiMinr ci /Jn r\f a Iia.ppt'lllllg LU JLIU UU UUU UUUU1U1J muv w* m the river, the loaf suddenly tacked aboufc and swam across the river, and gradually SjB sank near the child, when both the body and the loaf were brought up with the grapplers ready for the purpose." MM A correspondent of Notes and Queries SH maintains that it is a scientific fact that Qfl a loaf and quicksilver indicates the posi- iBI tion of the body, as the weighted loaf is carried by the current just as the body is. This practice, too, prevails on the HI continent, and in Germany the name of ^9 the drowned person is inscribed on the HB piece of bread, while in France loaves consecrated to St. Nicholas, with a lighted wax taper in them, have generally been KBH employed for that purpose. Orr of a corn crop of 1,988,000,000 imcJinls thn larcdst ever crown, though SB not the largest in proportion to the pop- RB illation of the country, there has been Bfl consumed and distributed within about five months from the ripening of the Mi crop, 1,201,000,000 bushels, or 00.4 per BH cent, of the whole. A comparison for 9 the last eight years shows this to be a 9H smaller percentage than had been consumed at the same date in any year ex- H cept 1880, but, owing to the magnitude SB of the crop, this relatively low percen- H tage constituted the largest absolute H quantity ever consumed yitiiin the H same five months fl