The Abbeville press and banner. (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, January 20, 1897, Image 7
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V n^TDirW PA ATP
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Ink OF SOUTH AFRICA'S LITI
TLE-KNOWN INDUSTRIES.
caring the Ungainly Birds For
r Their Beautiful Feathers?Tney
Are (julte Savage at Times
?Clipping an Ostrich.
Y ! T HE rearing of ostriches for
| the sake of their beautiful
jH I feathers is an industry of
'which little is known. An
attempt has lately been made to imCT
port the birds into the United States
SB for breading purposes, but it has not
BB yet j^Husly interfered with the mdu^^^B
{South Africa, where the oshome.
give you some sort of an
the country m which the
livee. It is a country unlike
EKK|^fther on the globe. The general
^^ffiflacter is Hat and sandy, relieved
by long, low, rocky sierras.
EHBaese mountain ranges are the salvaffiBKon
of the landscape. Their craggy
Rj^Kitlines are carved into a thousand
g^Kbrupt and striking forms, their heads
are constantly haunted by low lying
clouds of vapor, which the contendH
ing eun and wind draw together and
disperse. Their sides are hollowed
SB into ravines, or "kloofs," and painted
M" tiv tho clear distance into a perfect
I argosy of changing .hues. The apparently
parched and sandy Hats are
oovered by different varieties of
dwarf bush, which are nibbled at by
the sheep.
11 A dry and arid prospect, and it is
ftard to conceive every inch of it is
doaded below with vegetable life ready
to shoot after the rains of spring into,
a wealth of verdant grasses. Here and
there dotted about on these flats can
be seen the white farm-buildings nestling
among the trees--an oasis in the
desert, in fact. These green spots can
bo seen for miles away, with the whitewashed
buildings glittering in the suu.
Foliage is only to be seen around the
homesteads and occasionally at an isolated
fountain. The veldt all round is
cheerless and naked, without so much
as a rag of vegetntion to cover it, and
the eye hungers for a tree ; the bones
or stones stiok painfully out, a sight
for the geologist, not the artist.
You arrive at the homestead, a
DAii aka V\iiiL1inry o
i P^UCIiCi XCU'VAlWXk VUliUiu^i "IVU w
Bigh of relief, and glad to be out of
the blinding glare und sandy plain.
On every homestead the same familiar
sights meet the eye. On the one side
of the house stand the kraah; on the
other, the shed and wagon-house. In
front stands the dam, adjoining the
vegetable garden and lands, with farther
away the camp. Behind the
house are the chaff-house, tramp-floor,
and butoher's shop, where the natives
are rationed. In the camp run the
large stock, oattle, ostriches, and
horses; and on the flats and mountains
the sheep and goats.
A well fenced and secure inclosure is a
luxury in the colony, and is only to
.VkA mnf mifVi nn f.Ko voalfVtior form a
\the owners of whioh can afford to keep
/them in repair, and to place them in
ystock of the more expensive kinds.
Every ostrich farmer has his camp,
p tfhioh varies in size considerably,
r from 3000 to 8000 acres, and in it lie
keeps his 300 or 500 birds, as well ns
a few cattle and horses. A camp is
OSTRICH OX NEST.
always selected asbeingrthe best piece
of grazing ground on the farm, and
oapable of holding more stock in proportion
than any other part of the
farm. Here the bird remain year in
and year out, and are only collected
and brought together, on the average,
once every four months.
I These occasions are, let us say, in
lune, to pluck prime feathers. By
Khose we mean the long whites, numbering
from eighteen to twenty in. each
keing, eight or nine fancy feathers,
find a few long blacks, all taken at the
same time. Four months later the
stnmps of these feathers are drawn
out, and two months later again?that
M is, six months after the primes?the
short blacks and tail feathers are
V taken. Of these it is impossible to
K give any accurate number. As a role,
you pluok as many as possible withf
out inflicting pain on the bird, and at
I" ' the same time leaving enough to keep
r out the cold.
AN OSTRICH FAR51
An ostrioh, lifce most other animals,
in its wild state is terribly afraid of
man or of any unfamiliar sight, and
flees at the appearance of anything
new to its ken. When domesticated
it becomes docile, and after a time
assumes a position of authority and
become* master of the situation.
From June up to September, or, in
fact, till Christmas, thousands or
chicks are reared every year, and
thousands meet with death every year
from some form of accident. Chicks
up to twelve months old die from
various maladies, but seldom alter
they are full grown are they the victims
of any sickness, death usually
resulting from a broken leg, killed
fighting, or from scarcity of food in
times ot drought.
\ The nest of the ostrich is a very
g crude affair, consisting -imply of a
xound hollow carved jut :n the sauuy
ground. Sometimes :ht female bird
may be seen scratching in the ground
preparatory to laying htr first egg;
but this is not ofttn the case, the hollow
generally being made by the continuous
sitting of the birds on the one
spot. One pair of birds wiil lay from
ten to twenty eggs ; but, as is often
the case, three or four birds will lay
in the one nest, thus making the number
of eggs up to seventy or eighty.
These, of course, have to be weede
out, as a bird cannot comfortably cove
more than sixteen eggs, the remainde
being thrown on one aide and left t
decay.
Forty-fonr days is the recognize
time to allow for hatching. When
nest is hatched oat the family ar
taken out of the camp, and brought t
the homestead to be tamed, where the
A TftQOP OF OSTKI
come in continual contact with th
farm hands, and are housed at nigh
out of the reach of wild animals. Dur
ing the winter they will do well, bu
in winter, when food become:
scarcer, must be fed morning anc
pvfininor on barlev or rane.
" ' ??o_ j ~~ ?rIt
is during the breeding season tha
the male becomes so savage, and hit
note of defiance?"brooming," aa th<
Dutch call it?is heard night and day
The bird inflates his neck in a cobra
like fashion and gives utterance tc
three deep roare. The first two an
abort, but the third very prolonged,
Lion-hunters all agree in asserting
that the roar of the king of beasts anc
the most foolish of birds resemble om
CLIPPING 'WITH BAG ON HEAD OK OSTRICH,
another almost exactly. When th<
birds are properly savage they becorm
a great eodrce of amusement?or, af
some think, of danger. Certainly, tc
be overtaken all on a sudden withoul
time for preparation by a cheeky birc
is one of the greatest ills flesh is heii
to, and might result disastrously tc
the uninitiated; but old hands are al
ways all there on an emergency.
Undoubtedly the best weapon?bar
ring a wire fence?is a good stoul
stick or blunt pitchfork. As t
rule, if a bird means to have your life
or die in the attempt, he charges from
about thirty yards, when you reoeive
him at the bayonet's point. He rushee
at you with flashing eye, looking the
very embodiment of fury. Drawing
himself up to a height of tun feet 01
more, with wings outstretched and
hissing like a cobra, he makes four 01
five strikes. You retreat a pace 01
two, so as to avoid the fork piercing
through his neck, and hold him off al
nrm'c lpnorfch till he learns that hie
efforts are useless. Drawing the fork
sharply away, you strike him a blow
on the neck, rendering him insensible
and taking away his breath. This
quiets him for a while, till he recovers
from his bewilderment and makes a
lresh charge, when the fork is again
presented.
I have seen a bird so savage as to
charge seven times in fifteen minutes,
twice receiving the prongs of the fork
through his neck. On horseback one
is even more obnoxious to an ostrich
than on foot, but, so long as the horse
is not afraid and will stand up to the
bird, there is no fear of an accident.
As he charges take care to have vour
horse well in hand, and as the bird
makes his first strike, catch him bj
the neck and hold on for all you're
worth, till the bird becomes exhausted
from want of breath and falls.
The female bird is seldom vicious,
When she has a nest or brood oi
[ IN (JAPE COLONY.
young chicks one must be prepared,
but her manner of charging and wholt
demeanor is a very mild affair com
pared to the male's
Collecting birds for plucking is al
ways a great day on the farm. Orderi
are given overnight to the Kaffirs anc
Hottentots to catch every available
riding horse and have them saddled u[
and ready next morning at sunrise
This is done, and every "boy" on th<
farm who can find a horse is mounted,
and a regular cavaloade enters tht
' camp, under the superintendence of
j ''De Boss van de Plants"?the master
of the farm. They split up into par.
ties of two each, and start off in different
directions to drive up the birds
I from the remote spots to which the}
| have wandered. Warfare, of course,
is freely indulged in. It is immateri
J al to au ostrich if there be one or fiftj
| against him, he fights just as merrily,
There exists a traveler's tale at hom<
that, as soon as an ostrich catchei
sight of a human being, he turns tai
and bolts in an opposite direction tc
bide his head in the sand. Anothei
fallacy, equally devoid of foundation,
is the belief that the female leaves hei
eggs in the sand to be hatohed out 11
the sun. This is not so. The mal<
and female Bit alternately for forty
four days: the male at night, thi
d female daring the daytime. Aa an
ir article of food an ostrich egg is, to my
>r taate, the most nauseous of dishes, and
o far more suitable as an effective weapon
in Chinese aad political warfare than
d to grace a breakfast table.
a From all one had heard previous to
e becoming oneself an owner of ostriches,
o the actual plucking of the birds is very
j uninteresting and disappointing. The
? s r.
CHES IN THE "CAMP."
e birds are all huddled together iu a
t kraal?when every bird becomes as
- meek as a lamb?and are caught one
t by one; a bag or stocking is placed
? over the head and neck, while two ex1
perienced natives clip the feathers.
taring winter tne Diras must oe ait
tended to and carefully watched, as
3 sometimes the weather is -very ini
clement for weeks together?the ther.
mometer often registering ten degrees
of frost?and birds are apt to fall off
> in condition. If a bird onco begins
J to sink in condition, the greatest difficulty
is experienced in getting him
f right again, and often no amount of
1 extra feeding will pull him through.?
3 Strand Magazine.
Projects of a Queer Genius.
Colonel D. W. Hughes is a queer
genius who lives in Audrain County,
Missouri. He has invented many contrivances
of one sort or another in the
course of his wandering career, the
most important of which is a cornplanting
machine. Out of this he
made considerable money, but his
hopes of a fortune are now founded on
an instrument which, by means of X
raye, perhaps, will not only reveal the
culinary value of egg, but also the
gender of their embryonic occupants.
Both these things, the colonel says,
his invention will do with speed and
certainty, and he expects to s?ll one i
of the new machines to every raiser of j
poultry and every dealer iu eggs in \
the country. j
A Freak That Fights With Iilself. i
A two-headed snake, hog-nosed? 1
Heterodon Simus?has come from (
Central America into the possession of 1
" E. 0. Fischer. It is four months old,
j of a brownish green oolor, and not yet 1
) a foot long. 1
1 TWO-HEADED SN'AKE.
Each head has apparently a separate ]
^ will. The heads fight each other. ,
They must be fed with milk, raw meat ,
and blood at one time, or there is war. (
' Often the two heads are friendly :ind ,
' play with each other. The little .
' monstrosity has much strength for its
j -J-_ l,? ? ?
ttgtt ttiiU D16U. JLia uwuci aco^o iv m a
glass case. It likes the warmth of the ;
1 sun, but holds the light in horrojr.? (
1 New York World.
\
k ~ ]
The gross debts of Boston at the end <
of November, 1896, footed up to $39,- i
549,074.64. I
A NEW IRAIL1
i The Wealthiest American Woman's
i . Sout'
r " E. H. R. I
E. H. R. Green, President of the
s one of the most important railway mage
i wealthy mother, Mrs. Hetty Green, <
I which will add to her son's power. Tb
> is President, runs from Ennis to Paris
: has under way suoceed a consolidation
, a new trunk lino between St. Louis a
: Qreen become a most important faotor it
i Green is the wealthiest woman in the U:
) interests in the South and other parts oi
- mated at anywhere from $25,000,000 to
a only son, ..... .1.
BIR^S ROOST ON ITS BACK.
The Gigantic Sunllah of the Pacific
Ocean.
Around the southern islands of the
Santa Barbara group, whero the tides
come up and down in fitful measure,
is a famous feeding ground for the
sunfish of the Pacifio, Mola rnola. This
extraordinary member of the family,
though standing high in the list of
fishes, ia very uufishlike in appearance,
resembling some Japanese monstrosity.
The fish is more or less oval, covered
with a hard skin that is enveloped with
a thick mucus. The dorsal fin is large
and high, and directly below it extends
the anal fin, which resembles it in
size and shape. Tail the mola has
none, the body apparently being
chopped off, a mere ridgf1, controlled
by powerful muscles, taking its pla^e
and being entirely useless in the sense
of a'fai!.
Thus equipped the sunfish woul \
naturally be a Blow swimmer, and so
lethargic is it that the writer has often
approached it in a boat. On one
occasion a ooai hook was aooiieu iuu
the Kills of a large eunfish, which was
caught with little or no resistance.
One of the largest specimeas ob*
served by the writer grounded on the
bar of the St. John's River and attracted
so much attention that it
was caught and carried ashore where
it was provided with red eyes and exhibited
as a "sea monster." The tit-a
was ten feet high, or that measurement
between the tips of the upper
and lower fins. A muoh iarger specimen,
elsven feet high, was observed in
California waters.
SUNFISH OF TffH PACIFIO.
Off the islands of the Santa Barbnra
Channel theise fishes are very common
in midsummer, lying at the surface in
the choppy sea and apparently exposing
their sides to the hot semitropio
3un. When lying in this position, the
sea washing ovnr them, they resemble
a piece of wreckage, and are, without
doubt, so considered by numbers of
birds, espeoially the shags, which,
when weary from long flight and preferring
a diry roost, alight on them
and retain their position without
alarming the fish. Several birds have
been observed resting on a single
3unhsh, ani some of the fishermen
assume that ihe fish, being infested
with parasites, take this position
sither f;o allow the sun to destroy them
or thinking that the birds will devour
them. In all probability the
matter of parasites does not enter into
the question as an explanation. The
fish enjoys floating at the surface where
th e water is warm and the birds ali&ht
upon it simply as a rest, just as they
would upjn aqy floating object.
Sunfish could be caught in numbers
oif the islands mentioned, but no use
having been discovered for them,
LL ? ? mnwlrnf vrnlnn TKni*
bUUJ LIU V C UU JLLiailVOU Vuiu^, JLUOII
muscles are so hard and elastic that
when cot into small pieces and thrown
apon the ground they rebound. In
one small seaport the writer found
that the elastic tissue wan used by the
Bshermen's boys in the manufacture of
baseballs.
The young of snnfish is a singular I
looking little creature, hatching from
sggs deposited on the high seas, float- |
ing at the surface. They were sup- |
poBed for many years to be a differ- |
ant species, so unlike were they in j
general appearance to the adult sun- |
fish.
.? i
ROAD TOG. i
i
Son to Becomo a Magnate in the j
hwest.
I
GREEN. <
i Texaii Midland Railway, will soon be i
lates in tho Southwest. Mr. Green's i
sf New York, is engineering the deal i
lo Midland Road, of which Mr. Green i
, and if the plans which Mrs. Green
of in terests will be effected by which i
nd Galveston will be formed and Mr. i
a Southwestern railroad affairs. Mrt
nited Status. She has large railroad
E the country, and her fortune is esti- i
$40,000,000. E. H. R. Green is her
(Special New York letter.)
WHEN the clear, beautifu
winter days have fairly
set in and the snow-fillec
air is bright with gleami
and sparkles, the possession of a good,
wurm outer garment becomes an abso
lute necessity. So, I shall take thii
occasion to correct a general impres
sion that silk plush is necessarily ai:
imitation of sealskin ; on the contrary
it is a fabric from which is fashionci
some of the most stylish mid-wintei
rtrtumAnfo aF fko voor rtri + V* nn nrafan
^IlililDUVliS Wi VUO J *j?i niuu uw j/a wiuu
sions to be fur or anything else but
silk napped plush, a material of whicl
leading tailors are making some o
their smartest jackets.
A fair idea of such a productioi
can be obtained from one of the ao
companyinff sketches. This natti
little jacket is just twenty-four inchei
long, made with the fashionable Ioos<
front and lined throughout' with heavj
satin. The fastenings are, of course
in the shape of a fly, for nothing weari
out a plush or a fur garment mor<
quickly than to have the button holei
out through the material. An Alasst
sable head nestles softly among the fui
of the long bushy tail that forma the
trimmings on each side of the loose
front.
There never were so many tails used
on garments of every description a?
are seen this season, and I have come
to the conclusion that the foxes have
been seriously exhorting the sables tc
lose their tails. Literally two dozen
of these is no unuaual number with
which to decorate the latest models ic
boas, while on hats and dresses the
BRAIDED TAILC^MAD^ COSTUME.
lavorite garniture is a bunch of bushy
tails from which peers a bright-eyed
bead whose expression implies total
indifference to the sacrifice of itself or
fellow beasts. Another popular style
t)f the moment is to wear a boa or
iihort fur collarette over a neat cloth
jacket. Both garments are worn in
axtreme weather, either one or the
ather being left oflf on warmer days,
rhe favorite model for such a coat is
on the order of the one pictured on
tbis page and is called a doublebreasted
box-coat. To be in strictly
?ood stvle it must be innocent of
trimming save for several rich buttons
Mid neatly stitched edges. A charm*
ing bit of head gear to wear with this
pIjOsu coaj Tiusmisn with fuu his ad?
AND TAILS.
coat is made of black silk bearer and
is trimmed with three bands of velvet
encircling the brim and three large
black feathers drooping over the left
side.
Doubtless the best view of the furs
can be obtained on the Avenue where
all the fine sleighs have been whisking
merrily along up to Central Park and
flying up Riverside Drive where the
sleighing is finer than it has been in
many years.
But while the snow is falling in the
9
~ REALM OF STYLE.
A MIRKOR OK FASHION FOR
DRESSY WOMEN.
Smart Gowns Seen on Fifth Avenue
?Novelties in Jewelry Adopted
by Fashionable New York
Womankind.J
North, the orange blossoms and almond
shrubs are blossoming in the
South. And while we are nestling
rkATTDT.i? .n-nw icrrxrn -Rvrrr.TQir nnr paat
half frozen ears and nose down into
I cosey fur collare, our sisters in Dixie
i land are sending North for lighti
weight tailor-made gowns suoh as we
i wear during May. One exquisitely
i dainty frook was ordered by mail last
i week by a New York French
i woman who is wintering in
i Florida. She wanted just such
i a gown as can be worn when she
p*
Ipri? fit^
ml ? ' i \'
rn^Uj j*U "*
M??.
fu i L -rMir, fBdT?
7-^-;J i , |3t
CLOTH GOWN TRIMMED WITH VELVET,
comes North in April. , So a pretty
Scotch mixed material was seleoted,
made like the one depicted on this
page. The collar and front were made
of one of the new brocaded velvets and
the tiny buttons that completed the
trimming were of jet. Her hat was
also made of the flowered velvet and
trimmed with a rather stiff Paradise
aigrette. The soft Tam O'Shanter-like
crown was banded by a fold of glittering
passmenterie of jets, mook emeralds
and gilt.
A chic model in a plain tailor made
suit is depicted in one of the accompanying
illustrations. I saw this gown
worn by a stylish young miss on Fifth
Avenue last Sunday morning. It was
made of the new shade of green broadcloth
and the soft swish of the skirt
denoted at once the silk lining. The
tight fitting bodice was neatly trimmed
with military ornaments made of silk
tubular braid. The skirt which was
in the latest Paris cut hung beautifully,
and altogether it was one of the prettiest
costumes I have seen this season.
Every article of physioal adornment
that we moderns employ is a bequest
from ancient Borne. Dame Fashion,
however, assumes to regulate their
popularity.
Necklaces are "oomme il fnut" during
one deoade and then bracelets have
their turn; sometime enoircling just
the wri9t and again, as now, in Oleo
patra fashion, entwining the whole
upper arm but happily no longer as a
symbol of subjection. The up-todatest
miss or matron wears from six
to twelve circlets of gold and inset
gems nestled in the folds of her mousquetaire
gloves which are buttoned
with jewelled studs in lieu of ordinary
J fastenings. This style was noticeably
j frequent at the first Patriarch ball of
the season, given in the new ball room
J of the Waldorf. The debutants took
' most kindly to this pretty conceit,
while among the matrons Mrs. William
(J. Whitney seemed ablaze with gems,
not only on her left arm and on the
corsage of her black brocade gown but
her beautiiul hair was crowned with a
coronet fully six inches tall formed of
smfill diamonds and of emeralds, some
of which were as large as almonds.
Fan chains fashioned of diamonds set
in ulatinuui are also a dainty, yet useful
fa?l. The settings are so delicate
and the gems so close together that
even at a short dittance the effect is
that of a continuous string of diamonds
fastened together in some mysterious
manner. ,
The costumes illustrated herewith
were designed by the National Cloak
Co., of New York.
J
What a (<Hiled Dome Costs.
A good many persona have been t
growling lately aboat the appearance
of Boston's chief pride, the gilded
State Hoase dome, which used to
crown the city before so maDy high
buildings were put up, and which still
reigns in ? somewhat diminished ma*
jesty on the summit of Beacon Hill.
The r}r?m? ia l-mlrinc nnitn dincv. and
has been so for some time, but there
is no likelihood that it will be regilded
before the work on the interior has y
been finished. This probably'will be /
in less than a year, although it has not
been definitely deoided. Sergeaat-atArms
Adams is of the opiuion that the
dome will be regilded as soon as tl^is
work is finished.
According to precedent-, the dome is
not due for & regilding for a number
of years to come. The last regilding
was done in 1888, eight years ago, and
from that time back io the renovation
before it was a much longer period,
as the lutter took place in 1874, fourteen
years before. The average time
between regildinga is about twelve
years, add has never been less than
tGn, under ordinary circumstances, so
that in the natural course of things
nothing would be done to the dome
for at least four years. The work
going on, however, and the fire whioh
occurred under the dome awhile aga
have made it look so bad that it pro- 4
bablv will be recilded as soon as this
can bo done safely.
The work is one of a good deal of
expense, costing usually about $5000.
Of this the goldleaf is the principal
item, as this usually oosts more than
$2000. In the last regilding 392 paokages
of the finest leaf were used.
Twenty gallons of gold sizing were '
ised in putting it on, and there were
375 days' labor in the regilding alone.
Another considerable item is the putting
up ani taking down again of tbe
staging which the men mast have to
work upon. This costs nearly $900,
and in the last regilding . there were
used 7bl2 feet of spruoe and 295
pounds of nails, while ninety-eight
days' skilled carpentry and sixty-three
days' ordinary labor were used on the
staging alone. The work has to be
done with the greatest care, and the
workmen ali have to be surrounded
with a canvas 6creen to keep the wind
I fmm Wnirinff t.ha ornMlaa! ftWftf Tina
o o J -
ton Transcript.
Tree Top Fishery.
"John! John!'' shouted tbte rosy
little wife of my host in central Florida,
from the honeysuokle poroh.
"John, if you're going to have fish
for suppe? it's time to go op the tree,"
relates the Philadelphia Inquirer.
Well, now, I've fished for all sorts
of fish and in some odd places, but
thus far I never climbed into a tree to
get them, but I didn't ask any foolish
questions. John simply replied over
his shoulder, "AH]right!" and we
continued our walk among the frosfcblackened
orange trees, which were
just beginning to recover, those that
were alive at all, from the havoc of'
the preceding winter.
.We passed beyond the plantation
and through the aool shadows of a
"hammock," where cypress and pal- '
metto trees were matted together and
a winding creek was bridged with a
single log. Somewhere alonsj the
path John picked np his rod and a oan
of bait. Then we oame out upon the
edge of the bayou. Lazy alligators
floated at a little distance or stuck their
noses oat from their mad beds
in the rashes, and naming satisfied
themselves that neither John nor the
stranger had a gun they went on dozing
serenely. * A heron flapped away
and rested himself in a convenient
tree. A mocoasin snake rolled from
a dry log into the water. None of
these incidents disturbed my friend,
who led the way serenely to the foot
of a big tree overhanging the still
waters of the bayou. Up this tree we
walked by a regular series of broad
steps, and at the top we crept upon a
well-fastened platform, thoroughly
shaded by the thick drapery of moss '
pendent from the network branches;
and, thus ensoonoed, John prooeeded
to businoss, and in half an hour we
had the finny where-withal for a delicious
supper.
John enjoyed, and I suppose still
enjoys, a practical monopoly of fish
ing in that lake, tor no one taeroaboats
owns a boat, and, anyhow, the
alligators don't approve of boats, the
shores are too sedgy and water too
shallow for oasting, and "fishing
trees" are not found in any considerable
number thereabouts. So I borrowed
John'q primitive tackle, and
thus earned the right *to boast that I
had fished, among other methods piscatorial,
from a treetop.
A uoy nnn a uraw.
"Do I know anything out of the
ordinary?" replied P. D. Johnston, of
Omaha, at the Regent, to the Star reporter's
query. "I think I do. I
inow a cousin of mine who is certainly
out of the ordinary. When he was a
baby there did not seem to be any
thing about him to distinguish him
from other babies, but as the months
passed no signs of teeth appeared.
He grew to be a good-sized boy of six
years, and still no teeth. He lived
entirely on liquids, and was taken to
a dentist, who attempted to fit artificial
teeth in his mouth, but it was
impossible. He grew in stature, but
not in strength, and an eminent surgeon
was called in to make a thorough
examination of the boy. He reported
that there was no way to fit teeth into
him or induce any to grow, and that
he must have solid food. After studying
tho case thoroughly and finding
no parallel, he adjusted a sort of artificial
craw into the boy, and ever
since that tims he has partaken of
solid food, cutting it into small pieces
nud digcstiug it upon precisely the
same principle that a chicken does."?
"Washington Star.
Henry IV. as a l'i:rise Slater.
Honsf IV., the idol of the French
people, was also a king of phrase makers.
During one of his tours through
Frunce he arrived at a small village
oral ordorcd that the most intelligent
villager be sent to converse witn him
while he dined. When the rustic appeared
the king ordered him to take
a seat opposite to him at the table.
"What is your name?" asked the
rnounrch. '\Sire, I am called Gail?
lard," replied the peasant. "What ie
the difference," said the king, between
gaiilard (i. e., a jolly tellow)
and paiilard (i. e., a rake)?" "Sire,"
was the reply, "there is but a tabl?
between the two."