The home journal. (Winchester, Tenn.) 1858-188?, 1882-07-12
MAN AND HIS BUTTONS.
His mcthod NJ Sewing Them oD. and the
Difficulties Encountered.

Id you ever see man III the solitude
and privacy Of his study attempt to sew
on Il button by himself? 1t is. III all its
details, one OF the most interesting per-
formances in the world. First he hunts
for button. Generally, to secure it, he
robs Petor to pay Paul, and cuts from
another garment This button may be
much larger or much smaller than the
sizo he is wearing. Next he hunts a
needle. Probably he goes out and buys
n paper of needles BE always chooses
the largestneedlcs, having an impression
that large needles will sew stronger than
small needles. As to thread, he gets the
coarsest ho can find, and this lie doubles.
He would thread his needle. He takes
his big needle in one hand and his coarse
black thread in the other. lie bites oil
the thread to desired length. Then he
tries to twist it to a fine point. Gener-
ally in this he succeeds in making two,
aud sometimes three, fine points ont OF
one end OF course he cant get all
these fine points through the needles
eve at once. He tries hard to make that
needle and thread get Oh friendly terms
with each other, but they won't. They
don't want to get acquainted. They do
not wish to have anything to do with
each other. Sometimes it is the needle
that kicks; sometimesthe thread. Some
times he imagines he hes really threaded
his needle. 1t is an ocular delusion.
The thread has missed the needles eye
by half an inch. II is harder work than
saving wood. At last the needle Is
threaded. Now he ties to sew the but
ton on without taking his trousers off.
This proves a failure. He twists HIM
self into an uncomfortable position, opd
so would sew But he can't sew so.
He runs the needle into himself, and the
contrary thread always insisting III foul
ing or in doubling around the next but.
ton. Then one part of the doubled
thread won't work harmoniously with the
other part. One part draws through the
buttons eye first and leaves the other
part behind. Then it gets hitched up,
and the ambassador swears. Or tho
needle breaks. And then he swcars.
He may not swear audihly. But the re-
cording angel knows what is going on
inside of him, and debts him with every
item. He sews hard. He has forgotten
all about the necessity for thimble.
He Jams his thumb down on the needles
head and it punctures his thumb or runs
under the nail. BY and by he sews the
buttons eye full of thread, His big
needle won't pass through any more
He must stop. He ends by winding the
thread as many times as it will go under
the button. And perhaps he leaves OIL
with two or three inches of thread stick!
ing outside. A woman can, through
many outward Indications, tell when
man has been trying to sew on but
ton. He doesn't know the shibboleth q
needle and thread, and it catches some
where every time. At last the butto
5 is sewed on and he is proud of his work
Human Progress.
II is said thst there is a certain fixe
! amount of cruely in every society, an
that the only difference is the form !
which it is expressed. Where people
for example, who are kind to Hnimal'
S are frequently unkind, or at least 1T
y svmnathetic. with those of their ow
e lind. Tho venerable Henry Bergh,
!. New York, is charged with being willln
u TO sacrifice tho health and comfort OF h
own species to that of the quodrupeds /
champions. The philanthropist tn
20 devotes his time to alleviating the wronI
of mankind is often accused of neglectr
T. his family and allowing them to suite
J. while the cold, selfish, cross, grasplni
I'd hard moneymaking man OF tho wori
lo il at home an affectionate husband and
4. tender father. Whether this be true
not. it is in degree confirmed ny u
apparent advance in humanity alrea'
4 made at Yale College. There ha
been years in the history of that instl
OF ton when "hazing" was practice
ry But that has been abandoned OF La
is. Instead of that Mr.. VIM. NJ. Evarts' S
n has introduced badger hunting-he ht
=, ing procured o badger for that purpC
,a a,' and rat-killing. He has n terr
w which is "death on rats, and the otl
day having procured grateful OF the
. mails from New York, he left them 10,
H. in the college yard. His dog XII
di- twenty-seven rats in six minutes, and
of members Of the sophomore class alb
mo- doned their recitations to witness
- slaughter.
o" Now this is an advance OF "hezn
arc and shows progress.