MISCELLANEOUS ITEMS.

New Zealand Times, Volume XXXIII, Issue 5399, 17 July 1878, Page 3

MISCELLANEOUS ITEMS.

The Rev. John Jasper, pastor of the largest colored Baptist church at Richmond, Virginia, in a sermon which has attracted attention throughout'the United, States, proved to, his own satisfaction, and apparently to that of his congregation (says, the Pall Mall Gazette), that the philosophers are entirely mistaken iu their theory.that the earth revolves round the sun. “.If,” said tho reverend gentleman,’ “he did not prove by : Bible authority that tho .sun moves, he would -never preach again.” The earth, ho maintained; is motionless; formas lie pointed out, if - the earth turned round, “the. ocean would be spilled over the land.” His chief argument iu favorof tho motioniof tho sun is tho. fact that Joshua told tho sun to stand still;

which would have been a ridiculous superfluity if the sun had really never moved/ At the close of his eloquent'discourse he called on those of his audience who believed that tlie 'sun moved round the earth to hold up their right hands; and, in answer to tho invitation, every hand in the church was uplifted. / The Nation , speaking of, this sermon, observes that it is impossibly not to regard it as part lof the great movement now spreading over the United, States, to give the poor and -ignorant a fair chance in the solution o_f the leading problems, of . the day. A good many-branches of ;knowloclgo have been kept until now in the hands of persons who have had, leisure andirionoy enough to study.them,-until the arrogance of this class has become intolerable. The people are, however, going to take the..astronomyquestion into their own hands, as-they have taken the money question, and the word of tho honest working - man, ho matter of ,what color, will soon go as far with regard tg. the motions of the planets as that of the bloated, astronomer iu his luxurious observatory with his costly instruments, which would novel* havo existed bub for tho toil of the industrious mechanic, - . ; ‘

“ There ore two women (says th’e Philadelphia Record), themelanoholy fate of whorn is well calculated to excite the deepest commiseration. t Carlotta, the widow of‘ Maximillian, hopelessly insane in her castle/ and Abraham' Lin--coin, tlie widow of the assassinated President, living secluded in an interior town'of’ France, declining to return to America, lest she may again bo placed'in a' lunatic asylum. ' It is said, that she - fctlll indulges/ to a moderate extent, her propensity of purchasing things for which she has no use, which was ono of the ftfnns her mild. lunacy at first assumed. It

will bo remembered that iu 1875 Robert, Mrs. Lincoln's eldest son, commenced proceedings in the Chicago Court to have his mother adjudged insane, in view of her reckless expenditure, and her many acts inconsistent with sanity, and to have a person appointed to take care of her property. The Court, after hearing the evideube/prnuouuced liei*insane, and appointed a trustee to manage her estate. About 50,000 dollars in Government bonds was found on her person. ; After the decision 'by-the Court, she left her room at the Grand Pacific Hotel, in Chicago, and endeavored to get laudanum at a neighboring drug store, but received only a harmless drug, and was prevented -from committing suicide. ” The next day she was conveyed to a ‘ private asylum in Northern • Illinois, and after a few months was placed in the, care of her sister, at Springfield, from ■whence she sought a quiet'retreat in Fran.ce. The loss of her husband boro heavily upon her, but the'blow which wrecked her mind was'the shaft of death that fell upon 'her loved child, Thaddeus,’ or “Tad,” as “everybody’s pet” was effectionally called. There is bub little hope of. her recovery. Robert, the only son living, is engaged in the practice of law in Chicago, and ‘ holds high rank in his profession^

At Hamburg a new joint stock company has been formed, called the; German South Sea Islands Commercial and Plantation Company. The capital amounts to 5,000,000 marks, which is to enable the, company to acquire and work factories and plantations,,and to trade between the South! [Sea. and Hamburg or other-; ports.