Macon beacon. [volume] (Macon, Miss.) 1859-1995, 1889-04-27
OF GENERAL INTEREST.

rain.
DR. lie Baron, an eminent physi-
clan of France, says that such thing
as a person having snake or lizard in
his stomach was never known and
never will be. All such cases have
been imaginary.
The sale of eyestones is brisker in
March than in any other month. The
'stones" are the mouthpiece OF a
certain species OF she'll which is
gathered in great quantities on the
Venezuela coast.
"A teacher in u public school not a
hundred miles from Philadelphia re-
coiyed the following excuse from an
overgrown boy, who had been absent
n day: "Miss-Pleas EXCUSE Frank
for bean absent yesterday as he had
to help his father kill the other hog
His Mother"
An Englishman has produced a
piece of mechanism containing four
hundred figures representing horses,
cannon artillery, infantry, and a band
of tifty-two men, each with an instru-
ment. A tiny windmill turned by the
current from burning candles furnishes
the power to move all the figures
automatically.
Miss A. A. Crisp, famous pro-
fessional nurse, who had received the
decoration of the royal red cross from
Queen Victoria, recently married one
of the physicians of the New Zealand
hospital, of which she had charge
Her wedding gown was the costume OF
her profession, and the bridemaids
were nineteen nurses, all in uniform
The average Russian is said to
drink from ten to twelve glasses of tea
a day. Every Russian merchant has
a tea-urn in his counting and
the lawyer or mechanic goes out to his
cafe for tea as often as the German
for beer or the Frenchman for wine
At the cafes at all hours Of the day
and night one can see great crowds Of
people slipping tea.
As the north-bound express train
pulled out of the station at Norman, l.
r., recently the passengers were
treated to the sight of II lynching by
the citizens of that town. The people
had captured horse thief and taken
him to Il telegraph pole near the rail
road to hang him. 1t was daylight, and
none of the lynchers were disguised
Just as the train started the man was
strung up.
The Surrogate of Suffolk County,
New York, lately admitted to probate
rather novel will, that of Richard L..
Peters, of Southold, l.. l. 1t directs
the investment of sum Of money, the
income of which shall be used in keep
ing his grave covered with growing
flowers. Another request is that Il
sum be invested at compound intere, Il
for one hundred years. The principal
and interest at the expiration of tn"
time are u be used to erect monu-
ment and celebrate the centennial OF
his death,
In Egypt ladies used to carry their
devotion for their feline pets so far rs
to 90 into mourning for them when
they died by shaving off their eye
brows, Favorite cats used to be en-
balmed, too, and | know of no quainter
or more grotesque objects than the
mummifcd cats which may be seen at
the British Museum. Even now cats
are held in high esteem in Egypt, and
in at least one OF the Khedive's palaces
at Cairo there is free ration distrib-
utcd every day to any cats that may
care to apply.
The British Postpaster-G General
reports that last year Sal ,662 persons
in this country sent money by postal
order TO relatives in Great Britain and
Ireland. the total sum amounting to
25, 2j0, 600, while 1910 persons in Cam
ada sent over $1,000 600 in the same
way, and the total sum sent in that
way from Australia, the United States
and South Africa in the year was over
81, 900. or an average of over $780,
600 day, coming from 635, 2j6 per-
sons. A writer thinks this shows
what tiial regard the British race has
for the parents left behind.
-"Notes and Queries" tells that
cards, which were invented at the close
of the fourteenth century, were orig
inally very different from those in use
at present. In shape they We're square,
and instead of suits of spades. clubs,
hearts and diamonds, their marks
were rabbits, pinks. roses and flowers
of columbine. The figured cards were
very prettily devised. a queen riding
on horseback with rabbit beside her,
marked the queen Of rabbits or of
clubs. A rustic-looking man. gro
tesquely dressed and standing in
strange attitude, with PINK beside
him, signilied the knave. of pinks or
diamonds.
AT "A hearing before the Committee
of Education of the Michigan Legisla-'
ture on the subject of the effect of teI
bacco on youths, itwas stated that in
reply to circulars two hundred doctors
had each cited one or more cases OF
boys being 'dwarfed, made insane,
killed or rendered incapable of speech.
The professors of Michigan University
testified that otherwise bright students
were made dulf and stupid by the use
of the cigarette, AND that in many
cases the power of hearing had been
seriously affected They also said
that in nine cases, out of. ten. the reg
ular use of cigarettes by boys would
result in the loss OF. will power