The Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1837-1867, 1856-07-19

| ht>n VrOvCrbs.
The proverh, As has well been said. en-
bodies the wisdom Of many and the wit OF
one 1t Is the quint'>sence Of peoples cN
perience and sagacity. colored bv their wit
and imagination. 1t kni's up a universal
'aw IN particular example. and forms an
| infallIng argument in the mouths of the pco
pie Proverbs are confined TO no are or
country, but are often common to different
| languages and nations. Thus we have been
interested in looking over collection of l.
r'>h proverbs TO see how many OF them are
similar in language or spirit to those used il,
this country. Thus among the people Of
| ~ :. lug icIIUw Is san TO ''Know
the butfhercd side of his ba1nocs :" a rourh
but honest friend is SAID to be "bctther no-
he's likely. like swinsed cat" GOOD
'r'unr'ns with shiIlrlash is disguised as a
rubbing down with the oil Of hazel" of a,
inefficient man it is said III. will never 60,
The La"an on fire." ",hem at gets the name
OF early risin may lie all day." The eouiya-
rents OF these are familiar 10 all New Eng
'andcrs But there are others which have
local co'orins and are full of Irish wit. For
instance "a lazy man is a bercarman'.
brother; of one WHO with good talents and
prospects has thrown himself away in life, it
Is ohaiy but exPressively said. "he was cut
out Tor gentleman, but the devil ran awav
with the patthern :" an eccentric person
when the ecccntricity is not excessive. is
SAID, oddly enough, to ivan, souare of no.
ing round" flishty person is said to .have
a bee IN his bonnet" The English maxim.
"happy is the wife who is married 10 moth.
erless son." falls infinitely short in express
sion of the Ulster rhyme
''of all the ould women that ever saw
Sweet bad luck 10 nv niother-iu-Iaw.'
a man who anticipates his income ;s sa;a
to "eat the calf in the cows belly" OF a
n'cCa-d'v. hard fist.d churl it is said that .it
|" as hard to draw shilling ont of hi. pocket
as 10 drag eat out Of a silk stocking bv the
fa''. The Ulster proverbs do not spare the
'a'r sex. "Do like the women-.ay no. and
take 1t" is a bad compliment to female sin.
cerl'y. Mkt after single. good wiEps
best, is also very equivocal recognition
OF tn" charms of matrimonv. There is much
cool feeling. however, conveved in another
OF these popular savings. Its nivcr lost ,ba,
friend gets" There is proverb,al phrase
IN use IN Ulster, that has so curious An ori,;p
that we are tempted to cory the story
An article in which the COS, of the acccs.
sories far exceeds that of the article itself or
ITS nominal material, i. said TO be like the
limestone broth" An old school farmer
whose family is Just emerging into gentili,v.
will apply this phrase to the ribbons or other
trimmings OF his daughters new bonnets. or
to the furnishing of his wite's new rarlor-
The limestone broth vas the device emplov.
ed by sly old loccoql or wandering mendi-
cant, to secure good supper without seem
ing TO ask 1t. Making his wav into a plain
hu: likely cottage, he begged the cood.w
to lend him small pot. and to permit him
to cook his supper over her FIRE. On her ac
cecdlnc 10 his request. he produced from his
wallet two substantial pieces of freshly emf
limestone. which he laid carefully in the not,
and just covering them with water. placed
the Iot upon the fire to boil. The Good wo.
man could not help asking him what it was
that he was going to make. aud was informed
that IT was limestone broth When the boil
INC had proceeded for some time, the bercar
man tasted the contents, and pronouu,inr
the broth excellent. begged for little salt 10
season II. by and hv he suggested that all
1t wanted WAS spoonful OF meal to thicken
IT. Next ramn petition !or a slice or two
OF turn!ps and lreks. to give it little snb
stance; and in the eld q hint that it wonld-
nj be the worse for "knuckle Of bacon,
Just to give 1t the las'e taste in the world ,f
the flavor OF the mate" The yocl woman .
who watched the proceeding with the utmost
interest. cheerful'y complied with all those
successive acquisitions: and when. al last, a,
the conclusion of the operation. she was in
vI,ed to try the limestone broth. she pro-
nouncsd it quite as good as any mate broth
she ever tasted in all her life :" The appli-
cation OF the story will he readily under
stood.-I'ortland Transcript