News and citizen. [volume] (Morrisville, Vt. ;) 1881-current, 1891-12-31
overestimates and Underestimates.

Mr.. Chadband, in his celebrated ora
ton upon truth, gives US a suggestion
as to the cOmmonest danger to which
that beautiful virtue is exposed. eff
the master of this house was to go
forth into the city and there see an eel,
and was to come back, and was to call
unto him the mistress of this house,
and was to say, Sarah, rejoice with
me, for | have seen an elephantI
would that be Herewith EXa ggera-
ton is the most frequent lault in hui
nan speech. Often there is kind
feeling at the bottom of it. We want
our Sarah to rejoice, and so the eel, in
our description of it, enlarges itself into
an elephant But there is an opposite
error, and of that Mr. Chadband pro
ceeds to treat. COR put it, my juve-
nile friends, that he saw an elephant,
and returning said, 'Lo, the city is bar
rem, have seen but an eel, would
that be TerewthT' Why of course
not. There are people who fancy that,
while overestimates are to be sternly
condemned underestimate are limo
cent.
Mr.. Chadband's view is the right one;
to tone the elephant down into the eel
is as much an error as to magnify the
eel into the elephant. We should
nothing extenuate," but we should be
quite as careful not to ''set down aught
in malice" Archbishop Whately, in
dealing with the folly of those who
thought it was safer to believe too
much than too little, remarked that
the traveller who went a mile past a
city was as far from it as the man who
staid a mile short of it-All the Year
Ronnd
A French landed proprietor and
colonel of dragons qua1Teled, and a
challenge to duel followed Blood
only could wash out the insult that
one had put upon the other It was
determined that the duel should be
"a lAmericain, that is, that lots
should be drawn and that the loser
should retire and shoot himself.
The next morning the opponents
and their seconds met at a small cafe
outside the town. Lots were duly
drawn; the landed proprietor was
the winner.
The colonel took his bad fortune
he wrote a few lines upon a
piece of paper, which he handed to
his second, took an affectionate fare
well of all, and forgave his more
fortunate adversary, as a Christian
gentleman ought to do.
Then, accepting the loaded pistol.
he retired to an adjoining room and
closed the door. The rest of the
party remained breathlessly awaiting
the defamation which was 10 convey
to them the finale of the tragedy.
AT last it came Eagerly they ran
to the door of the fatal chamber,
which was thrown open and dis
closed the supposed defunct duellist
on the threshold grasping
the smoking weapon.
Good gracious, gentlemenw eX-
he with bland smile. rs
it not unfortunate? l have missed
myself w-Youth's Companion.
The data collected by insurance
companies that issue policies on cat
tie show that distinct increase in
risk is caused by the use of wire
fences on farms. The number of |
cattle reported as killed by lightning
is very large In the majority of
cases the cattle were near the wire |
fences at the moment of their being |
struck, and so convinced are the |
that the metal strands by |
acting as conductors of electricity
the chances against the life
Of the cattle that they are making a
of the conditions on
which such insurance is given.
1t always pays to use horse power and
a scraper to excavate soft earth | have
just had cellar for a house IS by "a by
80 and 6 feet deep excavated. 1t was
done by a team, man and boy, a
3craper and spade, and cost me SO. rs.
A similar job done by hand labor cost
over twenty dollars 1t is Il question if
italian 'sand shovelers" are cheap even
1t one dollar per day. A Yankee, with
1 good team and a quick boy, can do
more effective work than whole gang
IF ignorant foreigners, writes q CORE
in Country Gentleman.