Some boys were playing on the site of the McNulty homestead in Alton, Ill., which has lately been graded off to conform to a new grade of Beacon street, they found a skeleton and a sword. The skeleton was found first, and it was presumed to be that of an Indian, as it is quite common to unearth such remains in this vicinity. However, when the sword was found a new phase was put on the matter. The latter is of the rapier type, and the blade is a half inch wide and of the very finest steel. The handle was inlaid with a metal which proved to be copper. The copper was inlaid to form letters, which are in Roman. On one side of the sword handle are the letters “L. I. N. B. U. R. G. O., 17,” all in capitals. On the reverse side appear these letters and figures: “1 (or I.), S. S.,” and a little to the right the following: “C. H. V. I. Z., I. N.” No explanation can be made regarding the inscriptions or their meaning. The most reasonable presumption is that the sword belonged to some member of Father Marquette’s party, when they were here several hundred years ago; that this person died and was buried with his sword at the place where both skeleton and sword were found.

It goes till it is stopped. There is in the window of a store on Post Street, between Montgomery and Kearney, a small apparatus constructed almost entirely of glass that is attracting a great deal of attention, and there is not one who looks at it but exclaims: “Perpetual motion!” The inventor of the apparatus is C. F. A. Sturts, who is a practical watchmaker. “I do not call it perpetual motion,” he said yesterday; “it is only an illustration of a scientific problem, but it is as near as perpetual motion will ever be reached. As you can see, the apparatus rests on glass uprights. It is in the shape of a hub with eight arms or spokes, as you might term them. The whole is one piece of glass; the arms, which are hollow cylinders, are part of the hub. The outer ends of the cylinders are solid, but at the inner end there is a small opening. In each cylinder there are two highly polished steel balls a quarter of an inch in diameter, as round as human ingenuity can make them, and each of the same exact weight. The shaft which rests up on the upright is also part of the wheel. When the wheel had been constructed and the balls put in place the air was extracted, just as the air is extracted from an electric light bulb. The reason of this was to allow the little balls to roll in the cylinders without resistance. The little machine was set perfectly level and allowed to turn. The principle is gravity, and the wheel will keep on running until I stop it,” said Mr. Sturts to the San Francisco Call representative. “I will add that it has no power, but just enough to move itself, and that it is not moved by electricity, magnetism or any other outside force.”

An entire family of seven were taken into custody at Cleveland charged with insanity. The family consists of Henry Buchwold, the father; Charlotte Buchwold, his wife, and two grown daughters, Eva and Emma, and three small children. All of the members of the family are strong believers in the spiritualistic faith and have been locked in their home over a week holding wildly insane seances. One daughter believed that she was a spirit and the others believed that she must die. The spirit was willing to be sacrificed, but the officers arrived in time to prevent it.

Anna Rossman, a beautiful woman about 22 years old, was found walking the streets of Denver in a somnambulistic condition on a recent afternoon, says the Rocky Mountain News. An Italian fruit vender noticed the strange condut of the young lady near the corner of 15th and Arapahoe streets. She walked into the drug store at the mining exchange, the police were notified and the patient was taken to her home. The case is a very peculiar one, and has before been brought to the attention of the police department during the past two months. On account of the family, all mention of the matter has, until this time, been suppressed. It is evident, however, that the somnambulistic tendencies of the unfortunate woman have become chronic and the peculiar features of the attach are attracting the attention of physicians. Miss Rossman formerly lived in Pueblo. There she attracted attention by her strange performances, walking about the streets apparently awake, but really asleep and totally unconscious of where she was going. Removing to Denver, the same conduct was continued, and the family then went to Cheyenne. They again came to this city and settled at the place they now reside. It is claimed by the friends of the afflicted woman that she is possessed of supernatural powers, is gifted with second sight, and that other strange phenomena are within her control. In these spells she would attract but little attention were it not for the fact that she is utterly oblivious of passing objects and walks before carriages, street cars and other vehicles with recklessness. Otherwise her appearance is that of a person in possession of her normal senses. A little over a month ago she was found at the union depot, and Yardmaster Pierce discovered that she was not aware of where she was. A carriage was called, she was taken to the police station, and afterward to her home. Again on the 7th of March she was found in a similar condition at the Glenarm hotel. One day when Dr. Johnson, the police surgeon, was in a restaurant, Miss Rossman walked in and the waiter thought that she was intoxicated. Grasping the situation, Dr. Johnson left his meal, took the patient’s arm, and quietly walked with her to her home, Miss Rossman being all the while utterly oblivious of the notice she was occasioning from bystanders. The young lady had come from Cheyenne just before her latest sleep-walking experience, and walked from the depot to the place where it was found that she was still asleep. No information could be gained as to what she had been doing at Cheyenne or whether she had made that trip in a somnambulistic state. When the ambulance came to the mining exchange Miss Rossman was taken quietly to the conveyance and realized nothing of the situation until her home was reached. She then awakened out of the deep sleep, but gave no particulars as to her sudden visit north. She is a beautiful blond, has the sympathy of all who know her in the unusual affliction which has befallen a woman who is said to be possessed of a bright mind. When these fits have passed away she knows nothing of what has transpired.

A remarkable story comes from the upper Yakima country, Washington. Two years ago Peter Stromshadt located on a piece of land near what is now known as Borax Springs, his family consisting of his wife and two children. A few days after his settlement Stromshadt discovered a spring close to the shack he had built, the water of which was strongly impregnated with iron, but not unpalatable. Stromshadt dug and deepened the spring, and since July 1893, the family has used the water for all domestic purposes. One night recently a heavy electric storm passed over the cascades, accompanied by vivid displays of lighting. The following day Mrs. Stromshadt, while kindling a fire in the stove, found it almost impossible to separate the stove lifter from her hand. Her husband, hearing her scream, ran to her assistance, when, to his surprise, he found that he, too, experienced great difficulty in detaching any article of iron with which his hands came in contact. Breakfast was finally prepared and the family sat down to the meal. The children, girls of 5 and 7 years respectively, drank their milk from tin cups, and upon raising their cups to their mouths found themselves unable to detach the cups from their lips. Stromshadt, who is an intelligent from Sweden, was nonplused, and while unable to account for the wonderful occurrence, nevertheless laughed at his wife’s exclamations that the family was bewitched. In a letter to a friend he says that the small bed in which the children sleep is upon roller casters. At night when the children are put the sleep the head of the bed is a little to the east. Invariably in the morning the bed is pointing north and south. A member of the Portland, Ore., Academy of Science, to whom the circumstances were related, says that the Stromshadt family has become saturated with iron, which was rendered magnetic by the passage of electricity from the clouds to the earth during the recent electric storm. Stromshadt himself takes the mater philosophically, and aside from the inconvenience of having his head decorated with a fringe of knives, forks and teaspoons, which are attached to him, is inclined to regard the occurrence lightly.

The following announcement of a grand Shakespearean performance a l’Indienne at a native place of entertainment was recently circulated in the city of Benares:

DON’T FORGET.
Well come. Well Come. Well Come.
The
Indian Empress Dramatic Coy,
of Benares,
at Madho Das Shamia’s garden,
Close to the Prince of Wales Hospital
Benares.
Will Give Performance
To Night! To Night!! To Night!!!
“Fasana Hosh Roba”
The Most Tragic Drama of Othello and
Desdemona with
Wonderful Scenes and Sceneries, Brill-
iant Dresses and Ornaments, Ge-
nius Actors and Actresses.
Come one! Come All!! Come Sharp!!!
and
See Young Dancing Girls with their
Dance and hear their Attrac-
tive Songs.

Gentlemen–With due respect and humble submission I beg leave to state that I have taken the contract on the —- instant, the piece chosen to be given is Fishanai Hosh-Ruba.

The last plot of the play is taken from Shakespeare’s famous play of Othello, and I stand guarantee that the play is a nice one and will be shown with the best scenes and scenery, made specially for this play, never think to be disappointed. The following scenes in this play are worth attentions and show the experience and skill of the painter:

1. The scene of Durbar fully decorated with chandeliers and other furniture.
2. The scene of Jungle and a long-bearded pious man’s coming out of the moon, and animal’s grazing in the Jungle and Othello’s hunting one of them down. All these sights would be to attractive to make mention of. They depend on seeing.
3. The scene of garden with a bridge, therein, and a river flowing from below. A very beautiful sight indeed. Sweet and melodious singing of the birds in the garden. The nauch party is held in the garden, several dancing girls charming the audience with their sweet songs and showing their best practice in the art of dancing.
4. Washerman’s scene–a river flowing by–two asses with a big bundle of clothes on their back–Washerman’s joke with asses. A very comic an laughable scene.
5. Tragic scenes toward the close of the drama will be so effective and touching the spectators shed tears–Othello’s going with a sword drawn and burying with anger near the bed of Desdemona, her apology and last words are very heart rending–her sighing and agonizing a painful sight.

To be followed by a very interesting and laughable farce of chunyan and munyan.

I promise to shore more than I have written in this program. Yours faithfully, Shaikh Abdul Gani, Contractor.

The crocodile’s egg is about the size of that of the goose.¹

The coldest place in the ice box is under the ice, not on top of it.²

About seven and a half millions of tons of coal are consumed annually.³

The queen of Italy is a graceful and skillful bicyclist, and every day has a spin on her silver-mounted wheel.⁴

The last criminal hanged in England for attempted murder was Martin Doyle, who was executed at Chester on the 26th of August, 1861.⁵

An inch of rain, falling upon an area of one square mile, is equivalent to nearly 17,500,000 gallons, weighing 145,250,000 pounds, or 72,625 tons.

In France, if a structural defect in a bicycle causes an injury to the person using it, the manufacturer is legally accountable for damages.⁶

Stockholm has the largest death roll from alcoholism of any city in the world. Ninety in one thousand die from the excessive use of intoxicants.⁷

The prime of life in a man of regular habits and sound constitution is from 30 to 55 years of age; of a woman from 24 or 25 to about 40 years of age.⁸

The stovepipe hat appeared during the war between king and parliament in England, and has scarcely changed its form from that time to the present.⁹

In 1630 no gentleman, either in England, France or Germany, thought for a moment of going abroad without his cloak, even in hottest days of summer.¹⁰

About 1641 the apron was an indispensable part of every lady’s wear. It was made of all sorts of costly materials, and was generally bordered with fine lace.¹¹

The widow’s cap is as old as the days of Julius Caesar. An edict of Tiberius commanded all widows to wear the cap under penalty of a heavy fine and imprisonment.¹²

Donizetti wrote sixty operas; of these comparatively few are well known, but their melodious character is likely for a long time to preserve them their great popularity.¹³

Cambric was first introduced into England during the reign of Queen Elizabeth. The first piece imported was presented to the virgin queen to make a ruff for her neck.¹⁴

Biggins were caps much resembling the pointed nightcap seen in comic pictures. They were worn in France in the fifteenth century by gentlemen when walking or traveling.¹⁵

“You wouldn’t have believed it possible to blow out a candle flame through a brickbat,” remarked a celebrated physicist, whose penchant is to give scientific research a practical bearing. “It can be done, however, and it illustrates the all-pervasive qualities of air. Most rooms are largely ventilated through their walls, and the brick and mortar are merely rudimentary lungs, which take in and throw out the atmosphere with little hinderance.

“You may try the experiment yourself. Place a candle on the other side of your brick and use two funnels, with the flaring ends on the opposite sides of the brickbat with the small end of one in line with your mouth an the small end of the other trained on the candle flame. The least breath will make the light flicker, and a hearty expiration will extinguish it altogether. Try it and see.”