The south-western. [volume] (Shreveport, La.) 1852-1870, 1855-12-19


; NJ. 18.
name down in il, as Charley and Axton were
exelaining loudly about the unfairness Of my
4 course.
AS the man went out, he brushed by an old
woman who came from our boarding-house to
inform US that, owing to an accident in the
4 kitchen, no dinner would be served there that
day. Ny partners made signs to me that l
must sell her something.
sKitty have you heard from the old country
lately?" H.
eyes. sir, praised be the blessed vargin!''
! ''And you have answered the lctter!'' E
"No, SIR"
''Why not?"
4 II have no larnin', sir, and can't rade nor
write.''f 3T
Here was q fine prospect for the sale Of sta
tionery or books.
Wouldn't you like to get q book for the
children?"
5eOch, sir! the children are in tn old countryl
blessings be on them!' a q
!. Il gave up in despair. Charley yelled like
a savage and Axton danced around the store
"Gentlemen," said /, ''look at the elock!''
at was three minutes past twelve, and the
] woman was still in the store" z.sa....
80 won the bet. BY the way, the dinner
note was a false alarm, gotup BY them, to win
the bet, at the last moment @ &=p
i CURIOUS PLASTs.-Almost everybody has
heard of the wonderful walking leaves of Aus
trala For a long time after the discovery of
that island many people really believed that
the leaves of certain tree which fourishes
there, could walk upon the ground. The story
arose in this way.
Some English sailors landed upon the coast
one day, and after roaming about until they
were tired, they sat down under a tree to rest
themselves. A puff Of wind come along, and
blew offa shower of leaves which after turning
over and overin the air, as leaves generally do,
finally rested upon the ground Asitwas mid
summer, and everything appeared quite green.
the circumstance puzzled the sailors eonsidera-
bly, But their surprise was much greater. RS
you may we'll suppose, when, after short time
they the leaves crawling along the ground
towards the trunk of the trees. They ran a.
once for their vessel, without stopping to exam
inc into the matter at all, and set sail away from
the land where everything seemed to be be-
witched. One Of the men said that 'he expec-
, ted every moment to see the trees set to dance
a jig. Subsequent explorations of Australia
, have taught us that these walking leaves are
insects. They live upon the trees. Their bo-
dies are very thin and fiat, their wings forming
, leaf-lke organs. When they are disturbed,
their legs are folded away under their bodies.
leaving the shape exactly like a leaf with its
stem and all complete, They are. of bright
green color in the summer, but they gradually
change in the fall, with leaves, to the brown Of
,, FROST bitten vegetation. When shaken from the
tree, they lie fora few minutes upon the ground
as though they were dead, but presently they
begin to crawl along towards the tree, which
= they ascend again. They rarely use their wings
; although they are pretty we'll supplied in this
respect. @s
Another eccentric production of nature, which
we find mentioned in Miners Crimea, is the
''steppe witch.''
This curious plant which grows in the Crimea
h is in that country the theme of many tale and
y ballad of a childhood. The plant rises to the
= height of three feet, and ramifes considerably
. upwards, so as to form a thick round bush,
. bearing pretty little flowers. When sapless
7 and withered in autumn, the main stalk is bro
9 ken close to the ground by the first high wind
j that rises and the rounded top is carried roll
r ing hopping and skipping over the plain under
IiiC C1lIl VI VI LGc OItCLcf OIIGI SuIdll Wltn-
cred plants become attached to the mass, and
|! It gradually forms huge misshapen ball, while
/, several being driven together, adhere like enor-
nous burrs, and have some witchery in their
appearance, as they 60 dancing and bounding
| before the gale. Hundreds Of these objects
: may be seen securing the stcppes at the same
! for hunters and wild herds. Heavy rains put
opI to tba oft tI,o L
Black sea, into which they are blown, summa.
!. rily arrests their course.
, Old Elias keyes, formerly first Judge in the
county of Windsor, Vermont, was a strange
composition OF folly and good sense, of natural
shrewdness and want of cultivation. The fol-
lowing sentence, it is said, was pronounced up
on poor ragged man convicted of stealing
pair OF boots, from gen. Curtis, a man of corr
siderable wealth, in the town of Windsor:
''Well,' said the judge, very gravey, be-
fore pronouncing the sentence Of the court. us-
dertaking to read the fellow lecture, ..you're
a fine fellow to be arraigned before the court
tor stealing. They say you are poor-no one
, , doubtsit who looks at you; and how dare you
, , being poor, have the impudence to steal pair
= OF boots? Nobody but rich people have right
to take such things without paying! Then
, they say you are worthlcss-that is evident
from the fact that no one has ever asked Justice
to be done to you; all, by unanimous consent
pronounced you guilty before you were tried.
Now, you might know YOU would be condemn
-, ed. And now you must know that it was
!, great aggrayatlon that you stole them in that
!, , large town OF Windsor. In that large town to
commit such an act is most horrible. And not
only go into Windsor to steal, but you must
steal from that great man, gen. Curtis. This
caps the climax Of your nquity. Base wretch!
why did you not go and steal the only pair OF
boots which some poor man had or could get?
and then you would have been let alone; no
body would have troubled themselves about
the act. For your iniquity in stealing in the
great town of Windsor, and from the great gen.
Curtis, the court sentences you to months
imprisonment in the county Jail, and may God
lcyyya