The Republican., 1893-09-21
MISCELLANEOUS.

did your husband Offer any ex
cuse -or getting home late last night?'
mo, he was perfectly sober. Inter
Ocean.
i desire nothing, 1 press nothing
upon you, but to make the most of hui
man life, and to aspire after perfection
in whatever state of life you choose
Law.
civilians seems to be going all to
pieces since he got married. well,
that is not surprising-I understand
that he gets blown up every day. -
Detroit Tribune.
The ancient Ethiopians salted the
bodies of their dead and hung them up
in smokehouse to be dried and cured.
They were thus kept for year, when,
perfectly preserved, they were turned
over to the relatives for burial.
Perhaps She May.-"Why didn't
you come when l rang?" said lady to
her servant. Because l didn't hear
the bell" Hereafter when you don't
hear the bell you must come and tell
me So" "Yes'm. m."-Yankee Blade.
In 1916 the first pre-emption right
of settlers on public lands was passed
by congress, not, however, without
much opposition. This act allowed
settlers on the public domain the right
to purchase three hundred and twenty
acres. This was the initial of long
series of similar enactments.
Among the ancient Jews mourning
at the death of a relative was indicated
by tearing the clothing, pulling or cut
ting off the hair and beard, wearing
sackcloth, covering the head with earth
or ashes, going barefoot, sitting, lying
and eating on the ground.
-Scolding women were formerly
ducked in the nearest pond with such
severity that death by drowning some
times ensued. Soldiers who were not
especially vicious otherwise were forced
to wear an iron Drank" or bride,
which acted as a gag.
Until the year 1900 the English
kings were also called kings of France,
although the last continental possess
sion was lost during the reign of Mary.
Until the French revolution of 1889 the
4
other things, kings of Jerusalem.
The mace of the city of London,
which is very ancient and has been
carefully guarded since 1854, was car
ried in the wedding procession of the
Duke of York. The foot knob became
detached and was lost. No efforts were
spared to find it. 1t has at length been
= -.
complete.
One of the greatest fires that ever
visited New York City broke out on
December rs, 1885. Before the confla-
grafton was under control it had swept
the First ward, east of Broadway and
below Wall street, destroying 529 build
ings. most of them valuable stores, also
the Merchants Exchange and the South
Dutch church. The property destroyed
was valued at more than 0,O00.000.
The sheriffs of London annually
pay into the British eXchequer six
horseshoes with the proper number of
nails as rent for piece of ground in
the parish of ST. Clements. In 1884
this lot was rented from the crown by
a blacksmith to build a shop on, and
afterward the property came into the
hands of the city corporation at the
same rental The horseshoes and nails
have been annually paid ever since the
date mentioned.
"A sign quite familiar in public
parks, but one peculiar enough in such
a neighborhood as Pearl street, near
the corner of Rose, New York City, at
tracted the attention of hundreds Of
passers-by recently. A tuft of bright
green grass had managed. somehow, to
thrive between the cobble stones near
the sidewalk, and it was guarded by a
card on which was neatly written:
keep off the grass" Every one who
saw it smiled.
This is from Oskaloosa. Ia: A grad
uate of the Normal school applied for
a teachers certificate at the Mahaska
institute. Among the subjects on
which she was examined was physi-
ology, and the care of the teeth came
under this head. The would-be teacher
cheerfulness, but the examiner was
dumfounded to read therein this piece
of advice. The teeth should be
wrenched off after each meal"
The contractor who has in hand
the work of improving the New York,
New Haven &. Hartford roadbed with
in the limits of Mount Vernon finds his
task one of considerable delicacy.
About seventy trains day pass be-
tween a. m. and 6. p. m, the point at
which he is working, and a forfeiture
clause in his contract requires him to
do the work without delaying any of
these trains. There is much blasting
to be done, and as the trains pass the
point at an average of about ~ min
utes apart it requires oftentimes the
liveliest kind of scrabbling to save the
contract inviolate.
About 6 o'clock on any afternoon
the person walking down Broadway
between Astor place and City Hall
park New York will be sure to meet
one of the groups of small, swarthy
sharp-eyed people, who are amiably
chattering together, and who have all
the blandness and polish of French
men without their apparent insincer-
ity. They are japanese merchants GO