The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1885-04-12
BREAKFAST-TABLE CHAT.

MINNEAPOLIS girls have red-ribbon clubs, with the
motto: 'The Lips that Touch Wine Shall Never
Touch Nine" Beer is becoming the popular beverage.
A CALIFORNIA judge has decided that a man cannot
recover damages from the parents who elected him
from their house for frightening their baby into
spasms while attempting to kiss it.
WHILE Encouragement Garland declares that he
has never worn a swallow-tail coat, and never will, the
Hons. Hannibal Hamlin and Luke Poland say they
never wore anything else and never intend to.
TWENTY-FIVE daughters at the present moment live
with their father, George Riddle, in Carroll county.
Missouri; also, eight widows of the nine deceased sons
Of the late Capt. George Cook, Of Hartford, still sur
vive.
THOMAS WENTWORTH HIaa1NsoN lives in a curious
house near Cambridge. The hall is taken from an old
family mansion in Portsmouth. and many of the other
features of the building are taken from ancient New
England dwellings.
MOODY, the revivalist, was asked in the recent con.
vention in Milwaukee whether he had grace enough to
die at the stake. He replied: "No, 1 don't need it; all
l want is grace enough to hold this convention for
three days in Milwaukee,
MIR. HENRY JAMES has written to his brother in
this country that he is altogether grieved and cut up
that anyone should think his Miss Birdseye, in THE
Bostonians, a portrait of Miss Peabody, as that lady
Is one OF mas Oldest ana dearest 1rlendS.
THE King of Bavaria has ordered for his new sum.
mer palace a single chandelier at the cost of $780,
600. and the people who pay for it are struggling to
bring Bavarian beer and black bread down in price so
that the poorest can get as much as they want
A LONDON letter says Lord Coleridge's case is
coming into court, and the revelations expected will
be a sore trial to his dignity. Mr.. Adams, it is said,
will insist upon stating the real causes of the quarrel
between father and daughter. and a story will be told
more exciting than ~edifying.
AS a rather singular coincidence, the recent session
of the Arizona Legislature was organized on the 18th
day of January for the thirteenth time in Arizona. IL
adjourned on the 18th, and had, during It's session,
thirteen fights. There was a tie politically in each
branch, as we'll as in matrimony and bachelorhood.
Mr.. LABoUCHERE, who loves the Established
Church even less than the Peerage. ~confesses in truth,
] that the late Bishop Christopher Wordsworth was
truly one of the greatest of men-'one who has been
weighed in the balance and not found waiting, whose
character stands the severest scrutiny and the closest
tests, and who may be declared sterling without fear
of contradiction.
THE late Sir Harry Parkes. British Minister at
Pekin, was once in his early days arrested and con-
demned to death by the Chinese. He showed no fear.
but merely said: very we'll; but when you have cut
off my head the Qneen will send as many soldiers as
there are hairs on my head to avenge my DEATH" He
was put in the cage and borne to the place of execu-
ton, and then allowed to escape.
ONE of the amusing stories told by the late Richard
Grant White, touching the misuse of words, ran
about in this wise: He was one day taking lunch in a
city restaurant, when a young man asked for a GER
tain kind of pie. Being provided with a piece he adj
dressed himself to it, but had only taken a mouthful
when, with marked displeasure, he called the waiter
IL l. lpUl -
another piece"
A DR.. LAPHAM, Of Augusta, Me-, wrote to MI.
Howells, asking him how he CHANGED on the name Lap
ham for the hero of his latest story. Mr.. Howells re.
piled. 81 took the name of Lapham from family 1
knew in the northeastern Ohio town where my boy
hood was passed. They were the only New England
people in the place, and their name became wildly as
sociated with New England in my boyish mind. I
never met any one else who bore it."
EX-SENATOR NEsMITH, of Oregon, after about six
months confinement in aninsane asylum as a hopeless
patient, is now reported to be regaining health with
good prospect of entire recovery. In a couple of
weeks he will probably be returned to his home. He
used to live on a huge and productive wheat farm on
the Willamette. and on several occasions when his
~neighbors were is distress through loss of their crops
he invited them to come and fill their wagons at his
OVERLOOKING granaries, without money and without
price.
SOME years ago a story was current of a woman
vino applied at a London hospital for treatment of a
nervous affection. After listening to a recital Of her
symptoms, the doctor made her shut hen lips upon a
clinical thermometer. Upon removing it, the patient
exclaimed: why, I declare, it has done me good
already" The doctor humored her delusion. and
refrained from any other treatment than a few more
applications of the magical glass tube. She was soon
cured. A parallel case is now cited by the Phila-
delphia Medical News, an hysterical patient having
been cured by magnetism. The magnet was of wood,
but capped with metal, so as to seem cold to the touch.
AT about 3 o'clock one morning, according to Toby,
NJ. P, T.. P. OiConnor was Grating in the House of
Commons to twelve or fifteen members lying about in
various stages of drowsness. Sir Patrick OBrien
was among them, and now and then, rescuing himself
with a start from falling to sleep, audibly engaged in
conversation. II protest against this d~isorderly con-
duct exclaimed Mr.. OlConnor at length; the lhonor-
able baronet is constantly. interrupting me-" ''Sir,"
replied Sir Patrick, with graceful bow, the honor
able gentleman misinterprets my motive. 1 inter
rupted, it i true. But it was with the intention of
waking the honorable gentleman's audience"
A WRITER in the New York Sun thus explains the
origin of the term ''chestnut;" II asked Commodore
Tooker, the theatrical manager, to-day, what chest
nut meant as applied to a stale joke. he said that 1t
was technical to the dramatic profession, and orig
mated with a once well-known comedian named Louis
Messenger, who was Disguised with the alleged WITH
cisms and the provoking repetitions of a company of
negro minstrels performing in the Chestnut-stree
Theater, Philadelphia, when 4. L. Davenport was the
proprietor Of that house. Soon after, hearing an an
Gent story in the lobby of the Continental Hotel, he
told the relator that the Chestnut-strest Theater had
. copyright of it. Afterward the professionals present
applied the term chestnut to every story that they
had before heard"