Daily evening star. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1852-1854, 1853-04-22

booker, had seen her brother playing with
his burning glass, and heard him talking
about the 'sfocus." Not knowing what the
word focus meant, she consulted the diction-
airy, and found that the focus was the place
where the rays meet" At dinner, when
the family were assembled, she announced
as grand as could be, that she knew the
meaning of one hard word Her father
asked her what it was; she said it was the
word s'focus.'
"Well," said he, s'Mary, what does it
mean?'
"Why," she replied, sit means a place
where they raise calves"
This, of course, raised great laugh, but
she stuck to her point, and produced the
dictionary to prove that she was right.
''There," said she, triumphantly; Focus
place where the rays meet. Calves are
meat, and if they raise meat, they raise
calves, and SO [ am right, amt father %
CARELEssNEss.-A loafer who had his
load On, " fetched up against the side of
house which had been newly painted. ShoV
ing himself clear by vigorous effort, he
took one glimpse at his shoulder, another
at the house, third at his hand" and ex-
claimed: 'Well, that are darn'd careless
trick in whoever painted that house, to
have it standing out all night for people to
run against"
M "The candles you sold me last,
were very bad" said Suett to a tallow
chandler.
''lndeed, sir, / am sorry for that %
eyes, sir, do you know they burnt to the
middle, and would burn no longer"
"You surprise me; what, sir, did they
60 out ?''
''No, no; they burnt shorter !r'
BG- A dying West India planter, groan-
ing to bis favorite negro servant, sighed
out:
"Ah! Sambo, 1 am going long jour-
neyi"
"Neber mind, massa," said Sambo, con-
selling him, ''him all de way down hill, an
you soon reach de end"
p. " Vat you make dere?" hastily
inquired Dutchman of his daughter, who
was being kissed very DANGEROUSLY.
''Oh, not much, just counting a little
OATS ALL"
''Oho, dat's all, no! Ply tam, thought
you vas Vighting.
Too LATE.-At the close of a temperance
meeting in Paris, Canada West, recently, q
person solicited beautiful young woman
to append her name to the pledge, saying:
''Will you not give me your name, Miss?"
''No, sir was the quick reply, 60 have
promised my name to another gentleman"
ESg@ 81 fear," said country minister
to his flock, "when l explained to you in
my last charity sermon, that philanthropy
was the love Of our species, you must have
understood me to say specie, which may
account for the smallness of the collection"
Street ISwsspsr.-''Please sir, give me a
Brown"
SpeU.-"Sixpence is the smallest money
have, my little lad"
Boy.-''Vell, sir, I'll get yer change; and
if yer doubts my honor-hold my broom"
pa "What dear good man that Gen.
Pierce must be-" observed Mrs. Partington;
''the papers say his Cabinet are all to be
confirmed on Monday. It's pleasant to think
that he will have christian associates
around him. Still | don't know that it's
best to have them all belong to one church"
And the old lady went to sleep while mus
ing on so important topic.
Bg= In Louisville, on the 9th ult., DR..
M. P. Breckenridge was married to Miss
Lucy Long, daughter of Col. S. Fl. Long,
of the United States Army. An opportuni-
ty, we presume, will now be afforded the
happy bride to
SRock the cradle, Lucy"
M Blacksmiths, it is said, forge and
steel every day, but we think people speak
ironically of them.