The progressive farmer. [volume] (Winston, N.C.) 1886-1904, 1890-11-25

of putting on the hair and whiskers, one
at a time. Many think that the wax
works wear wigs, but this is not true.
Each hair is put into the wax by means
of a little steel iabber and the wax pressed
down again to hold it. 1t takes three
days to put the hair on a man like Lizzt
or Ole Bull. In getting up a figure of
Colonel Ingersol of course one day would
be ample. In the Columbus group there
is one sailor who has not shaved for a
week. This is eff cted by put ing the
beard in full, and then clipping it to the
proper length. He looks quite life like,
and has irregular tee tn which, with his
sandy, stubby beard, give him a regular
sea dog look.
Ferdinand will be represented also. l
saw his bust in beeswax. He was lather
a plain man, with a look of anxiety,
which [ attributed to a feeling of uncer-
tainty about the time when his new
clothes would reach him from Grand
street. Ferdinand rescued himself from
oblivion by giving his hand in marriage to
Isabella of CASTLE on the 18th of October,
1896. Five years later Ferdinand was
proclaimed king on the death of Henry
", who was Isabella's brother. 1t is
said that her folks opposed the marriage
on the ground that Fred could not give
the necessary bonds even if he got the
Office of king, but he did, and gave good
satisfaction.
In 1892 Fer linand drove all the Jews
out Of his dominion because they would
not advertise in a paper with which he
was connected. It was in this same year
that Isabella fitted out two of the three
ships necessary for Columbus to go in
and discover America, and when he re-
turned, Ferdinand and Isabella obtained a
bull from Pope Alexander confirming
their title to all the territory they had
then or might thereafter discover in tee
western hemisphere. So Ferdinand and
Isabella had quite a lot Of wild land for
sale at the close of that year, which if
they had kept would now be very valu
able. Take Minneapolis and New York,
for insta, ce; both of these towns were
then in their infancy, and the ground was
cheap. Take the land, for in tance, on
which Trinity Church and Days billiard
hall now stand. These lots are now worth
millions of dollars, and yet a few years
ago they were secured by planting the
Spanish flag on our coast or buying a state
of the ~improvident red man with a
schooner of Tokay wine and a red carmel
ian nose ring.
Isabella's bust as it will appear in this
great historical tableau will nave a bru-
nette appearance with black hair. She
will lave a far-off look and hollow legs.
She was having her measure taken for a
throne on the day | visited her. Isabella
died on Nov. &c, 1904, and Ferdinand,
after paving up the earth with his tumult-
uous grief and making a perfect show of
himself at the grave, proceeded to marry
Germaine De Fox. She was niece of
Louis XII of France, and if she had been
a grass widow could have been called De
Folk Grass, which would have been a
bon mot. Ferdinand died January %,
1916, and had a marble prevarication
placed over his tomb, which went on to
state that it would be a cold day before
Spain had another king with as much Up
and his purposes as Fred had.
The eyes of wax figures are of glass,
and are fastened in by means of rods
which pass up through the interior Of the
head and fasten the eyeball from the rear.
Wax people are noted for their dignity
and repose. They have no brains, but
they never forget to be dignlfed. l hate
digniied people. never tried to be dig
niGed but once, and that was two weeks
ago I wore a handsome new frock coat
and suit of dark blue, and a new, shining
Russia iron silk hat, to drive my family
over the Finger Bowl road on Staten
Island and on to South Beach. I was
proud and naughty, dressed up, serene
and mentally vacant in order to look dig
niied. People who saw US driving thus
afCerward paid me a high compliment by
telling my wife what a dignifed and
thoroughly clerical locking coachman she
had.
Since then l have not tried to look dig
ni6ed.
We had quite a fright not long age, and
I might tell it here, perhaps, as we'll as
elsewhere, for l thirk the chief charm
about a letter of this kind is its informal
ity, truth and accuracy.
Ny wife is not easily frightened. She
is a Chicago girl who married beneath her
station, so | am told; but we will let that
pass. The other evening she was cOm-
paratively alone and reading "Three Men
in a Boat" She likes English humor, be-
cause it is so pure and has such plain
directions with each book. She was
reading it thoroughly and praverfully-
knowing that no n could read English
humor and not go away a better nan
when she heard a heavy football along the
hall.
1t was not my football, for mine is
light. 1t would not wilt a ~maidenhair
fern-I treed so lightly-especially at a
late hour. The tread slowly approached.
NJ wife shivered and bolted her door.
The step turned toward the bathrooml
She had heard of burglars coming into a
private residence, taking a bath, and then
going away-after stealing a few things.
Later she. heard him slashing around
in the bathtub at a great rate, and she was
thoroughly scared. She tried to call some
of the servants, but could not reach them.
Finally, after waat seemed a thousand
years, she decided to see for herself. She
could not wait So with loudly beating
heart she opened the door of the bath
room softly.