POPULAR MISCELLANY. 



427 



this century. Louis XIV would have noth- 

 ing to do with it. Napoleon discouraged 

 Fulton's efforts, because they favored the 

 art of defense as against his offensive op- 

 erations ; and in England Pitt was blamed 

 for experimenting with Fulton's devices be- 

 cause it was encouraging a mode of warfare 

 which, if successful, would be destructive to 

 English supremacy of the seas. 



Astronomy on Lake Tanganyika. — Ac- 

 cording to Pere Vyncke, a French mission- 

 ary, the negroes on the western side of Lake 

 Tanganyika, although the sun passes over 

 their heads twice a year, take no notice of 

 his course, and have no idea of the solar 

 year ; but the moon plays an important part 

 in their life. They celebrate its renewing by 

 beating drums, firing shots, and shouting. 

 The new moon is hailed with general dances 

 by most of the African tribes. To keep the 

 run of its age they have a bundle of twenty- 

 eight or thirty sticks, of which they take out 

 one each day. They consult the stars to de- 

 termine the times for agricultural work, fish- 

 ing, etc. The rising of the Pleiades marks 

 the sowing season, and is celebrated by 

 dances and festivals in honor of the dead ; 

 and the constellation is called kili, or seeds. 

 The milky way is called the line of drought 

 and rain, because the rainy season begins 

 when it rises at sunset. The rising of 

 Orion's belt gives the time for catching a 

 certain fish. Another star, which Pere 

 Vyncke does not identify, is called by a 

 name signifying pounding manioc, because 

 that operation is begun when it is at the 

 zenith. Aldebaran is called the Northern 

 and Sirius the Southern Gem. The Centaur, 

 the Southern Cross, and the Ship, including 

 the beautiful star Canopus, which is not visi- 

 ble in the north, are called by names signi- 

 fying " paths " and " tens," because they 

 point the way to the south pole and are com- 

 posed of a large number of stars. 



Voracity of a Pike.— The following story 

 is told by a correspondent of Land and 

 Water : " I and some friends were fishing in 

 a small river in Hertfordshire, and, sport 

 being poor, were watching a family of moor- 

 hens, just hatched. One of the fledglings, 

 venturing too far out, was carried down a 

 swift run, but managed to paddle into an 



eddy. No sooner, however, was the little 

 creature in this supposed haven of refuge, 

 than there was a swirling movement from 

 below, a quick snap, and the fledgling disap- 

 peared in the jaws of a pike. Later on a 

 second chick got carried away and was also 

 swallowed by the pike, and very soon after- 

 ward, in spite of one rescue on our parts, a 

 third was sacrificed. This was more than 

 we could stand, and a spinning minnow, very 

 poorly adapted for pike - fishing, was pro- 

 duced. At the second cast the lure was 

 taken, and, fate being propitious, the gut 

 escaped the pike's sharp teeth. Result, a 

 fish of four pounds only. When landed, the 

 last-taken chick fell out of the pike's mouth 

 with an expiring gasp still in it, and, on the 

 fish being held head downward and shaken, 

 the other two made their appearance." 



The Ordeal by chewing Rice. — The 



East Indian method of discovering a thief 

 by the ordeal of chewing dry pounded rice 

 has almost disappeared of late. A case of 

 its successful application many years ago, 

 to discover who had stolen a gold watch 

 that was missing, is described in Chambers's 

 Journal. A native official, who was em- 

 ployed by the government for detecting 

 thieves by the rice ordeal, was called in to 

 conduct the process. The loser of the watch 

 was one of four young Englishmen who oc- 

 cupied a house together. All the servants 

 of the establishment, some forty-odd in num- 

 ber, were seated in two rows on the ground 

 in one of the long verandas of the house. 

 A small piece of green plantain-leaf was 

 first placed in each man's hands. The 

 thief-detector then went round with a bowl 

 of pounded rice, like flour, and with a 

 wooden spoon poured a quantity into the 

 open mouth of each servant. The order 

 was given that each man was, within five 

 minutes, to chew the rice-flour to a pasty 

 mass, and eject it on to his plantain-leaf. 

 Most of the men set to work with a will, 

 though a few were rather frightened at first ; 

 but long before the five minutes had elapsed 

 almost every one had got through with the 

 operation, and held the evidence of his in- 

 nocence in his hands. But why are so 

 many eyes turned toward one man, who sits 

 back as if anxious to avoid observation ? 

 We also look, and there is the favorite serv- 



