ENGLISH CLIPPINGS.

Dunstan Times, Issue 767, 29 December 1876, Page 3

ENGLISH CLIPPINGS.

, W-WJSPEEIUNO Regarding propjbsed, new'; bus-: marine tunnel, * “ Irfm ” * Writes f Stimulated doubtless by the project of joining Epgknd to the Continent by a subway under the Straits of Dover’ which has arrived at its first practical stage, a Madrid,pamphleteer proposes to tunnel the ..straits' of (Gibraltaivand unite Europe with Africa. While turning the flank ~pf the. fortress of Gibraltar, on the' English occupation which the Spaniards have long looked with an suggests that the passage should commence' between Tarifa and Algesiras on the] Spanish, and come out between Ceuta and Tangiers on the Aftican side. The submarine part of this tunnel; would, her little more than hj third ! of tile length 6f that between England and France. On the other hand, as the maximum depth of the sea! at the point in question is 500 -fathoms, and as it is proposed to leave 300 feet of rock between the arch of the, tunnel and the sea bottom, the tunnels of approach would have to be six miles long on each side. The cost is estimatedat four millions sterling. It is very questionable, however few the engineering difficulties, whether such a work could become a commercial success ; but fn connection with the submarine way under the channel, it would, as its projector points out, allow of an overland railway, route to India without change of carriage. J f ; LITTLE MEN. A lady correspondent thus defends little men;—l think it is not the opinion of every one that people should be held in contempt or indifference because they may be low of stature, not having chanced 'to arrive at the -average height The generality of heroes must be acknowledged to belong to this class. It’s mind that makes the man, and not the length of bis arms or legs ; it is a well-known fact that more intellect, wit, amiability and lovable qualities have been found to exist among-what are termed “little men,” thau have ever been discovered among the la-ge, bony, lazy, stupid lords of creation, who take every opportunity to vaunt their imaginary superiority and wound the feelings of many who are infinitely superior to them iu every respect, -except the length, breadth and weight of a body which is universally owned to be an incumbrance to those who possess it. Little men in general, from an inward conviction of their deficiency in the bone and sinew department, make an effort, and succeed in developing a number of decidedly admirabla qualities which more than compensate for their loss. For this reason they are held in high esteem, particularly by the fair sex, and usually carry c'ff the fi'St prizes in the matrimonial Jotter/. Considering all these disadvantages, I do nob think we have any reason to compassionate them, or that they oy any means feci it incumbent on "them to display a number of ridiculous antics by way of establishing their dignity. THE LARGEST BUILDING IN AMERICA, A. Philadelphia paper gives the following dimensions of the new public building in that city:—ft is 425 ft square, exclusive of all project n'.Jand is the largest building in this country, exceeding iu area the Capitol at Wash’ ington by considerably over 20,000 square feet. To the top of the figure di William Penn, surmounting °the dome of the tower, from the pavement, measures 610 ft., Which is the highest architectural point ever reached by man. Strasbourg Cathedral reaches! 486 ft at Milan, 438 ft; at Utrecht; 4641t j.at Antwerp, 476 ft; Capitol at Washington,' 2S7tt tin, and’ the Pyramid of Cheops is supposed to have been at one time nearly 500 ft high. The excavation for the cellars and foundations required the removal of 141,500 cubic yards of earth. Of concrete, 74,000 cubic feet has been laid ■; 636,400 cubic feet of foundation stone; 22,737,025 bricks; 135,334 cubic feet of marble; 3,317,7611b of wrought and rolled iron; 377,6671b of cast iron; 2-7,708 cubit feet of buff sandstone; 188,020 feet of granite--3036 cubit feet of polished granite ; 15,239 sunerficial feet of slate ; 3281 barrels ofjeemeut, and 945,721 feet of lumber. The foundations of the immense tower are laid on a bed of solid concrete 8 feet thick, at a depth of 20 feet below the surface of the ground, and its walls, Which at the base are 22 feet thick, are built of stones Weighing from two to five tons each. Many of the granite blocks in the basement are upwards of tea tons ,in weight, but even this enormous weight is overtopped by a huge granite slab lately placed in the tower, whose weight is 33 tons, being the heaviest stone by many tons ever brought into Philadelphia. STRANGE DISCOVERY At ROME. The Paris correspondent of the Sydney Morning Herald writes; —A curious statement is made as to the apparent dislike of the Italian Sovereign to his official residence in Rome, the Quirinal Pa'aee. It is said that,'one day, on walking tip and down his bedroom there, he noticed that the floor in certain places sounded hollow, as thquirh there wei-e a vault underneath. The King summoned his personal attendants,nad the carpets taken up and the floor examined, when a trap door was discovered., On being opened, a flight of steps was , seen. 'The King and his servants, carrying lights, do°

acended the stairs, and reached, a subterranean passage,' which they followed for [twenty minifies, when they came toi a place wlisrfi tlje vault’ had, fallen m to that they could go no: farther. They had ascertained: that the passage went under the bed of the Tiber, in ’the direction Vif the Castle Of AUgolo, with which it probably communicates. The king, however, -contented himself with bricking up the passage, and, having the trap cloor strongly nailed up. Another day iij the .same bedroom, ho perceived a draught for which he could not account. Calling his‘attendants and investigating the walls, he found a dpor hidden under the tapestry on the walls. This door, on being opened gave access to another subterranean gallery, whichhis Majesty has had quietly walled up. But it ; will be readily understood that two such discoveries, inthe same room and in such a building and country, were not calculated to increase the monarch's sense of personal security, and it is said that since then he has never slept at the Quirinal, but always at his favorite villa on the outskirts of the town. The galleries arc very ancient; but they have doubtless been the scene of many a tragedy in the past, and, as their existence is doubtless known at the "Vatican, they might- possibly be such again. ■ -I '■ - Valuable Discovery for the Hair. If your hair is turning grey or whit®, or falling off, use the Mexican Hairltenewer,” for it will.tposUiuel;/restore in evert/ case Grey or White hair to its original-color, without leaving the disagreeable smell of most “Restorers.” It makes the ■ hair charmingly beautiful,-as well as prompting the growth of the hair on bald spots, where the glands are not decayed. Ask your Chemist for “The Mexican Hair Kenewer,” prepared by Henry C. G-aelup, 493, Oxford Street, London, and sold by Chemists and Perfumers-everyWhcre, at 3s 6J per Bottle.