Weekly expositor. (Brockway Centre, Mich.) 1882-1894, 1889-07-11

lLllaJ marx removed, WN ne nclu out
a well-shaped and well-cared-for hand,
ION the back of which, between the
thumb and first finger was tattooed u
big blue anchor. "WheR L was lit
tie fool at school, with my head full
OF stories of adventure, my highest
ambition was to go to sea. An old
sailor who lived in theTillage tattooed
about dozen OF us on the sly, and /
remember the lies | told my mother,
as | kept my hand done up in rag,
pretending had cut it, till the sore
healed. Then she gave me such
thrashing as broke up my plan, for
tunately, to have IL fine red and blue
heart done on the back of the other.
The Disagreement S caused me no
end Of annoyance and since has cost
me considerable money for gloves,
which | always wear, winter and sum-
mer, though | deteSt them in warm
weather But a man cant wear gloves
at the table, and often at restaurants |
catch people st ring at my hand, and
i wonder if they think j have served
my term in the fo'castle Of some oyster
or lumber schooner"
A tattoo raark is easily removed.
May | drop into personal history?
When | was u small boy | had my
share of warts. | tried in turn 36S
ways of removing them, but without
results; indeed, | seemed to get wartier
and wartier right along. But at last
somebody revealed to me the 369th
way, and / tried it. Thus: l drove n
needle down into the basement OF tho
wart; then held the other end Of tho
in h. IF
little time, the needle became red hot
throughout its length and proceeded TO
cook the wart. Presently i drew the
needle out; it had white atoms like
nits sticking about its point, that wart
was done for; if the point vas clear, /
drove 1T in again and cooked till /
got those white things. They were
the roots of the wart. Twenty-four
hours later the wart would become soft
and habby, and | removed it with
single wipe of my hand. Where IL had
been was smooth surface nav, which
quickly healed and left no scar. With
IN two days | was wartless, and have
so remainder until this day.
Well, long time aftcrward, when /
was sixteen years old, sailor tattooed
an anchor aud rope on the back of my
left hand with India ink. The color
was deep, dark blue, and eN.rava-
gantly conspicuous. / was proud of it
for while, but by the time / had
worn it nine years | was tired 81 it
and ashamed OF il. could find nobody
who could tell me how to get rid ec it;
but ut last my wart experience of near
half generation before occurred TO
me, and | got me several needles and a
candle straightway. | drove the
needles along just under the surface a.
the skin and tolerable close together,
and made them include the whole
tattoo mark then / fred up on them
and cooked the device thoroughly.
Next day wiped the device off with my
hand. The place quickly healed and
lef no scar. A faint blush tint re-
manned, and | was minded to begin
again and cook that out; but as it was
hardly detachable and not noticeable,
it did not seem worth the fuel, and so
l left it there. and there it is yet,
though ! suppose | am the only men,
Der of my tribe that knows it,
| was in London good many years
ago when the Tichborue claimants
case was being tried, and batch of
learned experts testified that an India
ink tattoo mark could not be removed.
but was not asked to testify, and so
those people don't know any better to
this day. Let the 'well-to-do New
Yorker" fetch me some needles and q
candle and name his bet. | will take
him up. Mark Twain.