The Lafayette gazette. [volume] (Lafayette, La.) 1893-1921, 1893-10-21
OF GENERAL INTEREST.

OF GENERAL INTEREST.
Old bills Of sale of negroes an
very common relics of slavery days,
but a bill of sale of an Indian woman
is a rare article among collections Of
antiquarians One of the latter, how
ever, is in the possession of j. Il. Balch,
of Harwinton. Ct. The document,
which is dated 1717, records the selling
of a ''squaw' for fifteen shillings-
The earliest chest was simply the
trunk of an oak tree scooped out and
cut down the middle, one-half serving
as a lid, which was at first kept closed
by a strap of leather, and later by one
made of iron. AS late as the fourteenth
century the oak chest, in addition to
being Il repository for valua bles, served
as a seat. and sometimes as a table.
The latest relic claimed to be in the
possession of Il collector is the skull of
Sophocles, the great master of Greek
tragedy. The relic is at present owned
by Dr. Herman Mynter, of Buffalo, n. ",
to whom it was recently sent by his
brother, Prof Ludwig Mynter, direct
or-general of the royal possessions of
Greece, for exhibition at the world s
fair.
Travellers in Arctic regions say the
physical effects there arc about as fol-
lows: Fifteen degrees above, unpleas-
antly warm: zero, mild: ten degrees
below, bracing; twenty degrees below,
sharp but not severely cold; thirty
degrees below, very cold: forty degrees
below, intensely cold; fifty degrees be-
low, struggle for life.-N. o. Plea
yune.
Every railway should have its sur
Eeon. He is a necessity much it's
lawyer. its president or even its super
intcndent. Both professions of law
al ~ 1ifsIr6 r<1 fsNr.
the proper management and conduct OF
a railway. The railway surgeon came
perhaps, last, but he has come to STAY
and no railway of Importance can now
dispense with this otficer.--Medico-
Legal Journal.
-Steriiized milk is very modern de-
vice for infants and invalids. 1t sells
as high as fifty cents quart, and is
bought sometimes in quantities to last
the individual consumer IL year. 1t is
even sent to customers in Europe. It
is shipped in Theoretically scaled YES
sells and may be kept like any other
preserve. Specimens have been found
sweet and wholesome two years after
leavingsthc COW.
Those Oriental balls Of crystal that
most persons take for glass greatly in
crease in value with each inch of di-
amcter While one-half an inch in di-
ameter may be worth not more than a
few dollars, a ball eight inches in
diameter is worth thousands There
arc IA few of these crystal balls at the
Metropolitan museum, and some deal
ers in Oriental goods usually have half
Il dozen on hand. The japanese call
them sleepy globes, because of the
dreamlil<e aspect of objects as seen
through the crystal.
A cheap substitute for lay figures
now popular with small shop<eepers is
H. ~.
board and then cut into outline figures
These heads are carefully attached to
rude lay buStS, over which ~vOmcn's
gowns are drapcd. and the result is a
highly effective show window decora-
ton. The photographic heads are much
more human in appearance than the lay
figures of wax, wood or paper pulp COM
monty in for years, and artists of
some superficial ability are employed
in making the designs.
In northern New Eng land the way
farer is often surprised by coming upon
a big tomb, directly beside the road
and unconnected with cemetery. Oc-
casionally the door is open showing u
bier, coffin, boxes and other appurten-
ances, and, very likely, stones and ap-
pie cores tossed in by the prevalent
boy. These tombS are not in tended for
permanent sepulturcs. There are mere
ly receiving vaults for use in winter,
when the cemetery on distant hillSide5
are covered with two feet of snow and
the roads to them are inpassa BILE.
Many New Workers who live up
town wait for their break faSts until
they reach the lower part of town.
Several downtown restaurants find
that it pays to open early for such Gus
toners. One big restaurant opens it's
doors at four o'clock every morning
and begins to serve meals at six. Some
of the customers walk down for the
exercise. and even those who ride seem
to believe in the theory that it is whole
some to move about before breakfast.
A reporter watched some of them the
other morning, and noticed that nearly
all had excellent appetites-
When rings arc sent to jcwcler
for repair he always cleans the stones
and surprises the owners by their
The accumulation of dirt
on the under side of a diamond or
other transparent gem is so slow tina
the dulling of the stone is hardly no.
ticed. Usually they arc cleaned, with
out removal from their settings, with
the chewed ends of wooden toothpicl<s.
but they cannot be made entirely
bright without taking them out of
their clasps. The dirt that gets into
the space between the ring and the
stone is often as hard as clay.
The Viking Ships.
The mystery of the viking ships is
now passing away, owing to the dis
covery of their remains during this Ger
fury. In 1867 a good-sized ship was
near Sarpsborg, while in