The Princeton union. [volume] (Princeton, Minn.) 1876-1976, 1891-05-14

would have lived much longer had it
never manifested that craving for
more.
A little while ago gentleman wrote
most interesting letter to the Century
Magazine, in which he spoke of a mag
pie who used to wander about his gar
den. The gentleman was fond of fish
ing, and also of matutinal whisky and
milk. On certain mornings he would
enter his garden, whisky and milk in
hand, to search for certain worm.
While searching one morning he placed
his unfinished whisky and milk upon
RACED tree stump level with the ground.
The magpie was hopping about, but the
gentleman. intent on his work, paid no
notice to him until he heard chirk!
chirk! chirk! and there was the magpie
with his beak deep in the morning de-
coction. He drove the bird off, conclud-
ed his business, and went away. A few
mornings after the gentleman again en-
tered the garden, glass in hand, and,
putting down the unfinished liquor in
the same place, Judge of his surprise
when he was confronted by the magpie
with large worm in it's beak. 1t was
some time before he could understand,
but at last he realized the situation,
and, taking the worm, he handed the
glass to the bird, who dipped gleeful-
ly. Ever afterward his worms were
brought to him, and the alcoholic re-
ward was paid.
Now for a croaking raven who
patronized our Board of Viticulture.
The captain of barkentine trading
between here and Honolulu is very
fond of Ziniandel claret wine, and
always keeps his cabinet stocked with
it. At his home in Alabama he reared
raven that does nothing but croak
all day, but as conversation is scarce
where there are no passengers, he
shortly took, and still does take, this
raven with him on every voyage. But
while you are drinking Zinfandel
something is liable to go wrong on
deck. On one occasion it was so, and
by rushing hurriedly up the companion
way he slipped and spilled the contents
of bis glass into the ravens cage. The
bright red color of the liquid was
enough attraction. but the taste of it
proved more, for now the ravens little
bowls of water must be diluted with
claret OF he will croak all day and
Shakespearianly below for claret
We have all heard of the COW who
kicked over a whisky-still apparatus,
and caused the Ole beldame who MIXED
it to declare that it was "betther nor
dhrop O. the craythur;'' and possibly
the fisherman's story of the biggest fish
being "caught with an empty beer bot
tie for bait'' has been ofttimes chroni-
cled: but there was in the English
counties, while ago, an Irish vegeta-
bic vendor who owned small cart
drawn by mule, and who toiled along
the dusty turnpike roads doing his
principal business at the old English
rustic inns. Now, in front of every inn
was a water trough where beasts of
burden could quench their thirst while
their masters went inside. AS the
vendor combined business with pleas
ure, he was compelled to call for his
pewter of beer while he pulled out the
vegetables from the back of his cart,
and, having quafed, he put the half
empty pewter down on the side of the
water trough and proceeded to attend
to his business. Having picked out q
few his wares, he came round to quaff
once more, but found the pewter almost
empty. Not being sure as to what
quantity he had consumed he called to
the landlord to fill it again and leave
it there. That being done, he once
more came from behind the cart to
quaff, and again he found the beverage
nearly gone. This reused his ire and
he started to abuse the bystanders.
They only laughed and replenished the
pewter. -Four or five times this went
on, until the vegetable man, having
finished his business, turned to walk
toward the trough, when he saw the
mule in the act of drinking from the
pewter. That explained it. What he
said matters not, but what he did was
to the purpose, for he took care that
the mule was a teetotaler ever after
ward, and the water trough received a
good four-footed customer.
Colonel Roberts, one of the heroes of
that terrible Afghan war, told in Eng
land q story of one of his camels Now,
camels are proverbially noted fer their
water-consuming and Notwithstanding
powers; but, it appears that, during a
long halt, a canteen.foilower, had brok-
en- open the stores and left certain
things lying about. A camel getting
loose, had taken these certain articles
into its capacious stomach, and as the
train was about to get under way it
rolled over in a most inglorious fash
ion. All sorts of conjectures were pro.
mulgated, until the surgeon declared.