The Lebanon express. (Lebanon, Linn County, Or.) 1887-1898, 1889-08-30
REETLEs AS CHARMS.

DEE LEO 40 NTlAnmOs
Queer Discovery Made by a Reporter in .
Gotham Jewelry Store.
An industrious Mexican beetle in the
window Of jeweler on upper Broad
way furnishes amusement to large
crowds almost every hour of the day.
1t is curious looking insect, and even
persons we'll versed in natural history
are unable at first sight to tell exactly
TO what variety it belongs. 1t looks
like cross between big black spider
and tumble bug.
The beetle has velvety blue black,
with the legs Of spider. Around the
neck is a gold band attached to a
thread that holds the insect to a minia-
ture human skeleton. The beetle
crawls up and down the skeleton with
the regularity of clock work. So pre-
else are the movements that nearly
every one mistakes it for mechanical
toy.
The other afternoon Walter B. Price
and Senator Stadler spent some time
pondering over the beetle. Il don't
believe piece of mechanism could be
as perfect as that" exclaimed the Sem
ator.
Mr.. Price, who is q great student Of
natural history. insisted that nature
had never constructed such looking
insect, and as result Of the difference
OF opinion a wager was made. Iaccom-
panied the two gentlemen into the
store to decide the wager. The jeweler
said that it was live Mexican beetle.
at is most curious insect, I" he said.
land it is as busy as bee. We have
put on a false back of blue velvet to
give it a brilliant Appearance. We do
quite trade in them. Ladies wear
them as charms to their chains. The
Baroness Blanc set the fashion to wear
ing them here in New York. | don't
know just how long they will live, but
| know of several that are over five
years of age.
II am at loss to understand how
they exist, for they never eat or drink.
We keep them in a show case with our
watches. Some Of them are very intel
ligent, and one of the clerks trains
them to do number OF cute things.
II he whistles they will come and crawl
up his arm. They are as cunning as
possums. They turn on their backs
and pretend to be dead when they
scent danger They sell for five dol
lars and upwards, according to their
education"
Five dollars sounds rather cheap for
beetle trained like circus animal
and dressed up like Haytian field
marshal. doesn't i'm. Y. Herald.
There wouldn't thave been any milk
In the cocoanut if some dairymen had
had the construction OF it. Texas
Siftings.
Mr.. Frills-"What were you when
married youP Nobodym Mrs. Frills
(serenely)-"Well, that's a good point;
you're nobody's fool. Puck.
"A good many men who are talking
very bitterly about the difficulty of get
ting into a church have never tried II.
-mlsuress gto Duter) )-''Well, Jonn,
hear you have come into quite lit
tie legacy. | suppose you will be
thinking OF getting a wife now" John
''Lor' bless yer, mum, not if knows
II! I've seen too much Of married life
with missuses, Begin yer pardin,
mum. Life.
The poorest memory on record is
that Of the fellow tried for burglary in
Brooklyn the other day. He testified
that he had never been arrested be-
fore, but when his memory was logged
by certain evidence admitted that he
had dim recollection OF being con-
victed OF murder once and given
tWantV.vamr copfapoa