ITEMS BY THE PANAMA MAIL.

Grey River Argus, Volume VII, Issue 454, 10 December 1868, Page 3

ITEMS BY THE PANAMA MAIL.

A certain Democratic editor in Michigan thunders against an individual as follows : — " The earth may quake to its centre ; rocks may be rent asunder, and mountains sink to the plain ; but while the continent of America lifts its proud head above tho ocean ; till every trace of this broad and glorious land will melt away ; till that awful day when blazing planets will crush on blazing planets, and the sky one broad red sheet of flame ; when amid the wreck of empires and the crash of worlds, and convulsions of nature, this beautiful sphere will be consumed into a black cinder, and drop forgotten into the ocean of nothingness and night ; until that dreadful hour will tho black and diriy lies uttered by Austin Blair shine enscrolled in burning letters upon the gates of hell !" One of the younger members of the French Legation at Washington had become noted for his gallant speeches and exquisite compliments. A few evenings since, at a "gentian" at Governor Morgan's he was introduced to a witty New York lady, who has «an unmistakably ugly,, flat nose. The polite Frenchman discreetly complimented her on her dancing, to which she archly replied : — ' 'Ah ! I have heard you are a flatterer ; but you cannot find it in your heart to compliment me on my personal beauty, so you praise my dancing. " 1 1 Madame, " was the reply, with a Parisian bow, " you are an angel from heaven, but you fell on your nose." The lady narrated this compliment with great complacency, until it was insinuated that she was a " fallen angel," since when she has been silent on the subject. — New York Herald. Great consternation was recently occasioned at one of the fashionable hotels of Ostend, by the remarkable death r f three distinguished guests. They were the aristocratic and elegant Countess de F , the Count her husband, and Monsieur L.M., of Vienna. They were dining together when they were all observed to fall back, lifeless. Every effort was made to restore them, but life was extinct. It was found that the champagne glass of each one had contained prussic acid. No clue whatever had been obtained, at last accounts, as to this mysterious and tragic event. On Friday, September 18, a long string of brood mares, cart colts, and entire horses passed through London from York- | shire to the docks for exportation to New Zealand. — Home Ne ws. It is said that the Prince of Wales contemplates a visit to the African continent, and that, shoulrl his royal highness carry out his intention, he will most likely visit Egypt and the cataracts of the Nile. An important discovery has lately been made by a Swede of the name of Nobel, in the application of nitro-glycerine to blasting purposes. This blasting material has been found so far superior to gunpowder, that it is now generally employed in Sweden in quarrying and mining operations. The facility with which nitrogylcerine explodes, and its liquid character, have hitherto proved the two great hindrances to its more extensive application. Nobel had been for a long time engaged in seeking some means by which the explosive property of the material might be preserved, but the two objectionable characteristics we have mentioned to get rid of. His eadeavors have been crowned with success, for he has produced a powder which, while possessing all the explosive powers of nitro-glycerine, is yet perfectly free from danger. This new powder is called dynamite. It resembles light-colored brickdust, may be packed in barrels or chests, will not explode from concussion, and is cheaper than nitroglycerine. Several experiments were made with it about a twelvemonth since in the neighborhood of Stockholm, which H.M. consul at that city has fully described. A piece of rock, estimated to contain 11 ,000 cubic feet, was lifted to some height from the ground by a charge of only 101 b. of dynamite. A handful of this explosive material was placed on a flat stone 3ft. by 2ft. and lft. thick. The dynamite was fired by a percussion cap and a line, and the stone was broken to pieces. In another experiment, 81b. of dynamite laid on the ice in one of the fords, in a box — the ice being nearly 18in. thick — made a rent in the ice Bft. long by 2ft. broad. " These experiments," says the consul, "clearly proved the enormous power of dynamite ; its complete freedom from danger in connection with transport, loading, ignition, and concussion ; and its many advantages to gunpowder and nitro-glycerine, as applied to mining and blasting operations." We shall probably hear more of this novel and useful material. — Argus.