The Tiffin tribune. (Tiffin, Ohio) 1868-1887, 1871-09-14
An Eccentric NnhIeman.

ages of the eighteenth century was
the Marquis de BacqueTville. On one
occasion he had ordered clock to be
made; it was of difficult construction
and doubtful taste. "I must have it
by such a day." said he to the clock
maker, "else l viii not take it," The
time was short, but the Marquis was a
liberal paymaster, and therefore the
clOckmaker took special pains, hired
additional hands, and finished the
clock on the appointed day; but it be-
ing too late TO deliver it, he deferred
doing so until the next morning. On
| the morrow he presented himself with
the clock before the Marquis, but the
latter refused to receive it, ''If you
had brought ityesterday, even at mid
night, would have accepted it; but
now it is too late" The clOckmaker,
in despair represented the loss of time
labor and money he had incurred in
the work, and the Marquis, who
sometimes showed kind heart in the
midst of his crOtchets, said: "Here,
take your money, but carry away the
clock; have vowed not to accept it. !"
One OF his horses having made false
step, the Marquis caused him to be
hanged on a gibbet, and made his
other horses walk Fast the suspended
carcass every day, all the while
recommending them to take warning
by the example. He had about fifty
or sixty of the prettiest canaries,
bpllfinches and other singing birds;
and having consulted some dealers in
birds as to the quantity of seeds which
bird ought to consume in year, he
had large measure filled with the
exact quantity, and then had as many
similar measure put into the aviary
as there were birds. HNOW, my pets"
said he to them, "I have given you
enough to last you year, you must
manage accordingly, for you will have
no more food until the year is out"
At the end of three mOnths-perhaps
less-it was all gone. The birds had
done as men do; having abundance to
begin with they had squaEdered it.
Part of it was consumed, part was
lost, and part had become rotten.
When he saw this, he said to them,
al fOrewarned you of it, and this is
how you have prOfited by my advicel
Now, live how you can, and die If you
will" And die they all did. He had
not the humanity even to let them go
free, to shift for themselves, fancying
that they were being justly punished
for their extravaganza
Mr.. Edward Jesse relates, in his last
edition of "Gleanings in Natural His
tory" that gentleman of his ac-
quaintance, who fed his own pointers,
observed through n hole in the door a
number of rats running about the ken
mel, some of them eating from the
rough trough with some of the dogs,
who made no attempt to mOlest them
or indicate that their presence was
unwelcome. Resolving to shoot the
intrusive rats, he, next day, put the
food as usual in the area of the ken
mel, but kept out the dogs. Not a rat
came to taste. He saw them peering
from their holes; but they were too
well versed in human nature to ven-
ture forth without the protection of
their canine guard. After the lapse
of half an hour the pointers We're let
in, when the rats Immediately sailed
forth from their places OfObseTvatiOn,
Joined their hosts and dined with
them as feaTlessly and heartily as us
ual.-DOgs and their DOings.
On tearing down a portion of an
old religious edifice of WillscOtt. in
0xfOrdshire, England, the work
men came upon an OratOry hid
den in the thickness of the walls, and
covered by the paneling Of the adja-
cent room. 1t contained a small lib-
rary of the earliest Protestant theOlO-
gy, of the time of the Reformation,
concealed, perhaps, during the reign
Of Bloody Mary, when the possession
of such books would doom the owner
to fire and fagot. Among other works
are some of John KnOx's writing, and
a complete copy OF the first English,
or COverdale's, translation of the BIZ
bic.