The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1879-06-04
ITEMS OF INTEREST.

ITEMS OF INTEREST.
A pretty cornseat-A No. l. slipper.
The oldest verse in existence-ths
Universe.
Men who always act on the square
Chess-men.
A ticklish thing-A shad.bone half
way down your gullet.
Several thicknesses ofnewspaper under
carpet help to preserve it. -,
Paris has named two of its streets in
honor OF Washington and Lincoln.
A woman is never too busy to stop in
next door to see how new carpet looks.
The Grecian ladies counted their age
from their marriage, not from their
birth.
A lawyer goes into court when he
sues for the hand OF a young lady
Rcdyslue.
At last accounts the Chilian army
had the Bolivian army down and WAS
sitting on him.-Boston Post.
Tobacco is largely cultivated in Rus
sia, and the seed used on the plantations
is from the United States and from Iur-
key.
There is an anti-mourning society in
London, the members agreeing not TO
wear black as commemoration OF
death.
It is certainly very odd that the
Chinese and Japanese both should have
such an antipathy to partaking OF cows
milk as food.
Scene in German. Professor lsthls
o ay modern or ancient in its stylep"
Junior" Yes, SIR" Prof." WhichI"'
Total collapse.
MADAM" said tramp on Cottage
Hill, "would you give me an old pair OK
pants, for I'm starvin' to death. :"
Norristotvn Herald.
Mamma" Now. Arthur, be q good
boy, and take your medicine, or mamma
will be very angry" Arthur CATER
mature deliberation)-"l would rather
mamma was very angry"
Rattlesnakes seem to abound in South.
ern Oregon. Three men recently went
to the mountains, where dens OF these
snakes were known to exist in large
numbers, and in a short time killed 700
of them. G
A bright boy was walking along tho
street with his mother, and observing =
man with peculiar hitch in his gait
approaching, he drolly exclaimed:
.'Iook there, mamma; see how that
poor man shutters. with his feet!"
That times are bad is the cry from all
quarters, and economy is the order OF
the day. Consequently it is not surpr1s-
ing that movement is on foot TO abolish
feather-beds, and to sleep on tick only.
If this is not hard, one would like 70
know what is.
A cat in New York has given birth, in
the same litter, to a kitten and dog.
The latter is good looking little fellow.
with brown and white spots. Ut seeks
the old cat with as much zeal as its sis
ter. ONLY in its hooked and treacherous
claws does the feline nature peep out.
"a KISS" said young Charles, "is noun, we
allow; ,.a..sss
But tell me, my dear, is it proper or com.
mont" a.s l"@t
Lovely Mary blushed deep and exclaimed:
I think that kiss is both proper and conn
mon" ~
Ifa private report which has reached
London respecting the famine in upper
Egypt be correct, the mortality has been
truly appalling. 1t is stated that no
fewer than 10000 persons have sue
cumbed to the famine in Ghiszeh Kena
and Esna alone. According to Mr..
Baird, who was sent to relieve tho
starving myriads and to report upon the
famine to the Egyptian government, the
population were very poor and e1-
tremely over-taxed. The stress Of the
famine is over; but if there should be
another bad Nile, and the over-taxing Is
continued, worse outbreak than ever
is anticipated. .s.
Moncure D. Conway, in letter to the
Cincinnati Commercial, says that there
is steadily arising in England a rebellion
against the compulsory vaccination law,
which is not unlikely to seriously in
volve the general faith in Jenner's dis
covery. Very many physicians have de-
cided, after long experiment. that vac
cination is far greater evil than bless
ing. One of the most remarkable facts
is that since vaccination was made COM,
pulsory tile death rate by smallpox in
London has increased; in l649-53, before
compulsion, and when only ten per cent.
were vaccinated, the death-rate from
smallpox was 1872; but since 'compul-
sion, l869-73. the death-rate from this
disease was 679. Since the agitation be-
gan, the support which it has received
from eminent authorities, not only IN
England, but in other parts of Europe,
has been remarkable. ...
In Ceylon they have an old usage
among them to recover their debts,
which is this: They will sometimes 90
to the house of their debtor with the
leaves of neungala, certain plant which
is rank poison, and threaten him that
they will eat that plant and destroy
themselves unless he will pay him WhaE
he owes. TIE debtor is much afraid OF
this, and rather. than the other should
poison himself, will sometimes sell q
child to pay the debt. Not that the one
is tender of the life of the other, but out
of care for himself; for if the person dies
of the poison, the other, for whose sake.
the other poisoned himself, must pay a
ransom for his own life. By this means,
also, they will sometimes threaten TO re-
venge themselves on those with wnom
they have any contest, and do It, TOO.
And upon the same intent they Will also
Jump down steep place, or hang or
make away with themselves. that so they
might bring their adversary to great
danger.