Contemporary Sayings [pp. 351-352]

18~4.]
cr OWT~M~ ORAl? Y SA YIi~~S.
351
two lumbar vertebras. Thus there is a complete community of sensibility in the lower
members of the body. The perception of sensation is not identical, however; for, while it
is normal in the one, in the other it is con
fused, incomplete, and lacking in precision.
Though the heads are distinct, separate organs
each has control over a separate set of muscles,
tlic right head commanding exclusively the
two right lower limbs, and the left head the
limbs upon its side. The two hearts beat separately, and with a slight difference in rapidity,
which appears in the right radial pulse. There
seems to exist an intimate relation between
their nervous and digestive organisms; thus,
when one has a sick - headache, it is not long
before the other is similarly affected. When
young, their hunger was satisfied wheii either
was fed; but it is now necessary to feed each
separately. In character they are much alike,
though mentally they seem independent; one
can read while the other engages in conversation, or one head can converse in English
while the other is speaking French. During
sleep they frequently have the same dreams at
tlie same time. The problem presented to the
physiologist and biologist in this dual existence is one that deserves the most thoughtful
consideration, and its physical organization
presents a mystery as far above that of the
Siamese brothers as was theirs i'hove that of
any single individual.
Froin THE POPULAR Scizxcz Moxrn~v we
learn that the highest death-rates in 1873 was
exbibited by Memphis, where the deaths were
46.6 in each 1,000 inhabitants. Other cities
followed in this order: Savannah, 39.2; Vicksburg, 36.5; Troy, 34; Hoboken, 39.9; New
York, 32.7; Newark, 31.6; New Orleans, 30.6;
Boston, 30.5. The rate for Philadelphia was
only 26.1; Brooklyn, 28.1; St. Louis, 21; Chicago, 27.6; Baltimore, 25.1; Cincinnati, 20.5;
San Francisco, 17.2. This compares not unfavorably with the mortuary statistics of British cities, where the lowest rate was 21.4; that
of London, Bombay, and Calcutta, show only
29.2 and 25, respectively. The highest known
death-rate prevailed in Valparaiso, Chili, 66.9.
The variation of rates in our American cities
calls for an investigation as to the cause. Why
should Hoboken be twice as unhealthy as some
of the Western cities?
Rear-Admiral C. H. Davis, having relieved
Rear - Admiral Sands in charge of the Naval
Observatory, and Professor Peirce having resigned from the Coast Survey, there were
caused two vacancies in the Transit of Venus
Commission. which have been filled by Admiral Davis and Captain Patterson. The commission now consists of Admiral Davis, Captain Patterson, Professors henry, Harkuess,
and Neweombe, Professor Peirce and Admiral Sands being retained as honorary members. The expedition will leave New York for
the observing stations in the South Pacific during May next.
We learn from ~ti're that a project is on
foot for the erection of a public aquarium at
Liverpool, and a company has been formed for
this purpose, a suitable site has been secured
close to the Philharmonic Hall, and operations
will be commenced at once. The estimated
cost is forty-five thousand pounds.
The action of the queen, in granting a pension to the children of Livingstone, would
seem to justify the conclusion that the distinguished traveler is actually dead, since no such
official action would he taken until the evidence had been carefully sifted.
~~nti'i'rt~o~~r~ ~~~Tfl~~.
0society in the world at this moment
lends itself less to the production of
scenic effect," says the Wetion, discussing tlie
prospects of the Centennial Exposition. "It
is not a brilliant society, in the sense in which
European artists, manufacturers, and courtiers,
use the term. Its great results are moral results. There is very little to show for the
Declaration of Independence, except what
cannot be shown either in Philadelphia or
anywhere else in the world, viz., a prodigious
addition to the sum of human happiness and
hopefulness. You cannot put this under a
glass case, label it, and number it, and ask
foreigners to admire it and beat it if they can.
We have few buildings of beauty or magnitude. Our cities are plain and badly kept. We
have no great military force. Our great assemblies are not remarkable for any of the things
that strike the artistic eye-splendor of dress
or polish of manners. In short2 any attempt
to describe our progress or condition through
a great edifice and the arrangement of its contents, would ne,,cessarily be a failure and misrepresentation.
Mr. James Rees says, in his "Life of Edwin Forrest," that the great actor had a perfect infatuation for the circus when a young
man, and would often steal off to perform in
the ring. "On one occasion, for a wager, he
appeared in the rin~ in a`still-vaulting' act,
being for the benefit of`Bill Gates,' a wellknown ette#e' of the circus. Forrest had the
privilege in this wager to disguise himself, so
as not to be recognized, if possible, by his
theatrical friends. His dress consisted of aii
enormous pair of Turkish trousers breastplate, and fly; his feet were adorned with a
pair of sheepskin pumps, the kind worn by a
numerous train of auxiliaries. But few knew
him,21;14]however. On another occasion he tendered his services for the benefit of`C harley
Youn~,' on which eventful night, the last of
his acrobatic feats, he made a fiying leap
through a barrel of red fire
and eyebrows terribly.", ingdng his hair
The Christian Union says that, while he
made his stay in this country, Professor Goldwin Smith "gave his time, liis invaluable
counsels, his charming gifts as a teacher his
instructive services as a public lecturer - all
without money and without price. Nay, he
was, in the matter of money, a benefactor
rather than a beneficiary. He brought over
his rich private library, and gave that to the
university to which he had already given himself; he aided poor students; he ~as the adviser of those who had doubts and difficulties;
he was the quiet, helpful friend of mechanics
and working-men; and, in ways innumerable,
without the least noise or ostentation, he went
about doing good. His life among us has,
perhaps, but one precedent in American history, and that is the memorable and benignant
visit of Bishop Berkeley a hundred and fifty
years ago."
The refl Afelt Ucrette asks: "Is the prevalence of a`universal language' a thing to be
calculated on?" It answers: "Our inclination is to the affirmative. General Grant,
some time ago, was pleased to announce it,
with presidential positiveness, as a certainty
and Yankee prophecies have, somehow or
other, a trick of making themselves fulfilled.
As the world now goes on, it is certainly conceivable that the extreme convenience of the
change will one day produce - whether preceded by wars and conquests, or merely the
result of arrangement-an`international language convention' between the leading civilized nations, under which some one language
shall he received everywhere as legal currency
for common purposes, the others surviving
only in the precarious condition of dialects."
In an entry in his "Scrap-Book" for 1841
Dr. Chambers says: "Mr. Leigh Hunt, with
whomlsuped this evening, told me that he
had observe a young spider sporting about its
parent, running up to and away from it in a
playful manner. He lias likewise watched a
kitten amusing itself by running along past its
mother, to whom she always gave a little nat
on the cheek as she passed. The elder cat endured the pats tranquilly for a while; but at
length, becoming irritated, she took an opportunity to lilt her offspring a blow on the side
of the head, which sent the little creature
spinning to the other side of the room, where
she looked extremely puzzled at what had happened. An irritated human being would have
acted in precisely the same manner."
In a private letter addressed to a friend.
Mr. Wm. H. Herndon tries to tell what Lincoln
really was: "Mr. Lincoln was a kind tender
and sympathetic man, feeling deeply in the
presence of suffering, pain, wrong, or oppression in any shape; he was the very essence
and substance of truth; was Qf unbounded
veracity, had unlimited integrity, always telling the exact truth, and always doing the honest thing at all times and under all circumstances. He was just to men; he loved the
right, the good, and true with all his soul. I
was with Mr. Lincoln for about twenty - five
years, and I can truthfully say I never knew
him to do a wrong thing, never knew him to
do a mean thing, never knew him to do any
little dirty trick."
The ATation says ofthe statue of Elias Howe,
the sewing-machine inventor, prepared for
Central Park, that "the figure is a mechanical
bit of portraiture, without elevation and without art. It is liked by the confidants of the
sewing-machine trade, because it minutely
represents the hat, the staff, the neck-gear, and
the button-holes which were the equipment
of the excellent mechanician when living.
The statue, too, is praised for so happily bitting off its subject's legs, which in life and
when in a natural s tandinposition, approached too closely at the nees for ideal
symmetry. The sculptor likewise offers some
bass-relief of sewing-girls and the like, designed in the most modest style of familiar
gravestone art."
In an article, in the Q~arter1~ Review, on the
late Mrs. Somerville, the writer says: "For
one feature of the by-gone order of things which
had no little importance in her early destiny, a
phase of life was then very common which is
now exceedingly rare, and perhaps only to be
found in a few quiet old towns in France and
Germany. We may describe it as that of Highbred Frugilfty. Well-horn people might be
poor, and might live with the strictest parsimony, and eke out their scanty means by selfhelp and contri"ances of a sort which would
expose them to the unmitigated derision of tlie
modern kitchen, and yet, nevertheless, as a
matter of course, take their place always and
everywhere among the best in tlie land."
Mr. Maunsell B. Field, in his amusing
"Memoirs of Many Men and Some Women"
says of Charles Dickens, whom he met at
Rome, that "his powers of rapid absorption
and of accurate attention must have exceeded
those of other men;" for he 1767;1743;1792]"partieuThrly recalls the eireuu~stance" that, at one of the
most imposifle ceremonies of St. Peter's, during the Holy Week, he kept his eyes upon Mr.
Dickens, "who was standing listlessly leaning
against a column, apparently paying no attention whatever to what was going on; and yet,
in his hook on Rome, he gives a most minute
and graphic description of that very ceremony."
The Set~rJey J?eview, in a notice of Mrs.
Ames's " Outlines " says: "The description
of the former resijenee of General Lee-now
a military cemetery-is made an occasion for
an insult to the widow of the noblest soldier
and gentleman America ever produced, hardly
paralleled even by Butler's brutal taunt to the
sick wife of General Bemnegard; and General
Lee himself is reviled in terms which, if they
represent any wide-spread feeling in the North,
must make reconciliation and reunion impossible so long as Southerners retain either the
pride of manhood or the common feelings of
humanity."
"If one were to judge from appearances"
says a recent writer, "few men are more unlike each other than MM. Erckmann-Cliatrian.
The latter is of iiiiddle height; he is very dark,
and liis complexion rather swarthy. lie looks
more like a portrait of Velasquez than like an
Alsatian. Erckmann is his pl-ysieal antithesis.