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---------! A WEEK IN MISSIONARY…

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;;¡: L- I fif¡¡ =*4 ] f^UN, FACTS, AND ANCIES. £ £ INTERESTING FACTS. Paper watches are the latest invention. The Arctic raspberry is the smallest known plant. Bricks are now made of bits of cork and cement in Germany. Seaweed is eaten largely in the West of Ire- land during the winter season. About 500,000 tons of silver is produced an- nually by Mexico, Peru, Chili, and British Colonies. The average number of inhabitants to every house in St. Petersburg is twenty-one. The bouses are let in flats. The Portuguese three reis piece, worth 3-100th Df a penny, is the smallest metal coin in circu- lation at the present time. Any person in France who is injured by an accident resulting from a structural defect in a bicycle can recover damages from the manu- facturer. Yellow spectacles are becoming increasingly Jommon in Paris streets, at holiday resorts, and elsewhere. Their appearance is due to the dis- covery by oculists that yellow glasses are a better protection than blue from the glare of the sun on sand or snow or from excessively strong artificial light. ♦ ANXIOUS. A young Irishman lived at some distance from his bride-elect. On the eventful day he set off for the station in good time, but, being delayed by friends, he missed his train. Then he be- thought himself of the telegraph. Don't marry till I come.- William 1" was the message he wired. ♦ GOT HIS PENNY'S WORTH. It was raining very heavily when the time same for little Johnnie to leave the house he was visiting, and his hostess gave him a penny to take the tram to his home, which was situated kalf-way short of the end of the penny stage. But Johnnie was very wet when he arrived home, and he explained that he had a lovely tram ride. But how is it you are so wet?" asked his mother. Oh!" Johnnie joyfully ex- plained, I rode to the end of the penny stage tud walked back." • PECULIAR NESTS. The largest, heaviest, and most peculiar nestg are to be found in Australia. The jungle-fowl of ;b,Lt land build their nests in the form of great nounds, some having been found 15ft. in height and 150ft. in circumference. They are erected n sheltered spots, and are skilfully interwoven adth leaves, grass, and twigs. The bush turkey idopts a similar system in constructing its nest, but it is more extensive, and the shape is pyra- nidical. They build in colonies, and the nests ire so large that it would require the services )f six or seven carts to remove one. The material 3f a single nest has been found to weigh up- wards of five tons. ♦ A CURIOUS VANE. One of the most curious vanes to be seen on any church in Great Britain is that at Great Gonerby, a parish adjoining Grantham. It is in the form of a fiddle and a bow, and is unusually large. Its history is a curious one. Many years ago a peasant resided in Great Gonerby who made a living by performing on an old violin, which was almost a part of his life. He decided to emigrate, and out in the Far West prospered and became a rich man. One day he sent to the clergyman at Great Gonerby a sum sufficient to build a church, and attached to the gift the curious condition that a metal replica of his old fiddle and bow should be on the summit of the edifice. ♦ CARELESS PEOPLE. Some striking figures, showing the carelessness of people when posting letters, are given in the last report of the Postmaster-General, and are almost beyond belief. ff The number of registered letters and letters containing property sent through the post in one year with insufficient addresses numbered no less than 320,041, and contained E16,887 in cash and bank notes, and £656,845 in bills, cheques, money orders, postal orders, and stamps!" But this is worse still The number of letters containing valuable contents posted with no address at all was 4,599, the contents including E200 in cash and bank- notes, and £ 9,776 in various forms of remittance. One unaddressed letter contained cheques to the value of £ 2,5C0." « TINNED FRUITS AND THEIR ORIGIN. There is really nothing new under the sun. It might by some be supposed that the canning of fruits, and industry which of late years has attained so vast an importance, was of recent growth, but, as a matter of fact, we are indebted to Pompeii for it. Years ago, when the excava- tions were just beginning, a party of Americans found in what had been the pantry of a house many jars of preserved figs. One was opened and they were found to be fresh and good. 'In- vestigation showed that the figs had been put into jars in a heated state, an aperture left for the steam to escape, and then sealed with wax. The hint was taken, and the next year the pre. serving of fruit in tins was introduced into America, the process being identical with that in vogue in Pompeii 20 centuries ago. Those who eat them do not realise that they are indebted for this art to a people who were literally ashes a few years after the birth of Christ. + NEATLY CAUGHT. Two young merchants, Clint and John, who occupied adjoining shops in a small town. were intimate friends. When business was dull, they visited back and forth. Each was fond of a joke. One cold, blustery day, when customers were few, Clint sat behind the stove in John's shop. A young woman, a stranger, came in, and John stepped forward to wait on her. "I am soliciting subscriptions for the 'fresh air fund, said she. You'd better speak to the -proprietor about it," John said politely. You will find him a very liberal man. He is back there by the stove." John grinned as the young woman approached Clint and re-stated her case. How much are the merchants generally giv- ing?" Clint asked, with grave interest in the jause. « Some are giving as much as five shillings, but we are grateful for any sum, however small." John," said Clint, with an air of authority, give the young lady ten shillings out of the drawer." And John, of course, had to fork out. ♦ GREAT BELLS. Russia leads in the line of bells. It is said I that in Moscow alone, before the great fire, there were no fewer than 1,706 large bells. One called the Giant, which was cast in the 16th century, broken by falling from its support, and recast in 1654, was so large that it required 24 men to ring it; its weight was estimated at 288,0001b. j It was suspended from an immense beam at the foot of a bell-tower, but it again fell dur- ing the fire of June 19th, 1706, and was a second time broken to fragments, which were used, with additional materials, in 1732 in casting the king of bells, still to be seen in Moscow. Some falling timbers in the fire of 1737 broke a piece from its side, which has never been re- placed. This bell is estimated to weigh 443,7321b. it is 19ft. 3in. high; and measures around the margin 60ft. 9in. Its value in metal alone i' estimated to amount to upwards of £ 60,000. St. Iva*n's. also in Moscow, is 40ft. 9in. in circum- ference, 165m. thick, and weighs 127.8301b. The bells of China rank next to those of Russia ÎJ¡ size. In Pekin there are seven bells, each of which, according to Father Le Compte, weighs !20.C001b.

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