The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1895-11-19
ITEMS OF INTEREST.

-Toads are great bee destroyers-a faci
InaI owners OF apiaries have very recent
~ discovered The owner of a thusand
hives al Five Forks, Pa, saw a large, fat
toad on lighting board, in one Of the
hives swallow twenty bees in five min
A tiger with purple stripes and a short.
bushy tail was discovered in May on the
roof OF bungalow about twenty miles
from Calcutta The strange creature was
shot by native, and when il was ex-
ahmed everybody was astOnished to find
that one of its upper teeth was filled with
Of the Maharajah Ram Bamoah.
Amin Abdullah Beeliss. a Syrian re-
Gently arrived in New York brought with
him a turkey with a wooden leg The bird
was accidentally struck with a sythe 4
year ago and had its leg cut off. Beeliss
who is Of an ingenious turn. fashioned Il
leg out Of a broOmstick and it makes a
very good substitute for the natural limb
While the turkey is able to hobble il is
unable to gobble. 1t is a hen turkey.
"A visiting westerner strolled into the
Fhilla5deiphla mint one day recently and
asked Mai Norman to have the equiv
alent OF us pounds aYOirdupois figured
out Tor him in gold, says the News of
that city. He was introduced to Cashier
Leidy, TO whom he said his daughter was
TO be married TO an Ottumwa, Ia man
and he desired to make her a wedding
present equivalent to her value in gold.
Mr.. Leidy figured that the future brides
worth in gold was $4,000, and the man.
who left his card, said he would draw a
check for that amount in favor of the
bridegroom-to-b whose name he also
left. He had thought of securing the
actual gold, but sensibly concluded that
a check would do.
There is a vessel sailing under the
turkish flag which is manned entirely
Dy Mohammcdan monks. 1t is called
the Holy Prophet lila G1lijah), and is of
about 300 tons burden. The captain is
JeromOnach, a monk ranking higher
than a friar and all the sailors are ex-
pert seamen, as well as monks, or broth
ers The pilot, Father Iraklij (Herac-
llus), has sailed over all the oceans. hav-
ing circumnavigated the globe The en-
tire crew speak both Russian and Greek,
and service on the ship alternates with
services in the little church in the fore
castle. one of the most curious sights
connected with the ship is that of the
monks in their religious costumes climb
ing up the ratlines and out on the yard
arm, reefng sails and doing other work
aloft.
There are more simple ways than one
to win at a game of poker, without open
ly cheating, a $ is evidenced by couple OF
young men who belonged to poker club
recently broken up and who played the
game to win. They had various schemes.
the first being as follows They would
go into game with plenty of money,
begged or borrowed if necessary; they
would play in every good-sized stake and
let the small ones alone; they would be-
gin to bet, each raising the other and
their companions at the table irrespec-
tive of the size of hands; whether the
others held enormous hands or not they
were bound to go out in time, and then
the partners would divide the spoils, in
this way managed to turn many an hon
est-or dishonest-penny, as the opinion
may be. The second game was not so
fair, says the Syracuse Post. The two
conspirators sat next to one another. They
would look into one another's hand, and
the lowest man would drop out at the APP
propriate time. Then he would take ev-
cry occasion TO look into the others hands
If they were higher than his companions
he would nudge the companion and the
latter would drop out; otherwise he would
remain with the certainty of winning
the money. The two rOgueS had numer-
Gus other ways of beating the game but
these We're the plain, unvarnished foun-
dations for many a case of highway rob-
berry on their part
I have Just heard of a quaint foreign
custom which makes me think it high
time for Mrs Grundy to 20 abroad for
l am sure it is one she would put down,
with high hand, says a writer in Home
Notes. In the old town of Helmagen, in
ROumania, an annual fair is held on St
Theodore's day On this occasion all the
neWly-wedded brides from the surround
ing villages thrOng the town, but the
widows who have remarked remain at
| home. The young women are generally
attended by their Tnothers-in-law, and in
their hands they bear pitchers of wine
wreathed with flowers. I hey kiss every
one they meet, and then present their
jugs for sip to be taken. The person 50
favored makes the bride a small gift As
it is considered an insult if the proffereG
wine be refused the brides are careful
to be reserved toward strangers, and only
kiss those whom they think likely to par
take OF their wine. This kissing festival
is celebrated in the public streets, in PR
vate houses, in the taverns, and, in fact
everywhere; but the origin of it is lost In
obscurity. Some people suppose il to be
relic of times past when the Turks made
raids into the country and carried off
an the young women they could capture
S Si Of theSe as contrived to escape, re-
turning to Helmargen at the time of the
fair, embraced friends, relatives and even
strangers, who rojoiced with them anc
congratulated them on their happiness.
The superstitions attaching to new
born babes are numerous, says the Phil
adelphta Press. A Yorkshire England)
notion is that the infant should be al
ways placed in the arms of maiden
before being touched by any one else
and in some instances its right hand
is bound in a cloth during the first day
of its existence in order that it may
gather riches when grown to manhood
or womanhood. In England, France
Germany and many parts of this coun-
try 1t is considered essential that an in
FAINT should Ego up" before it goes down
in the world. Thus, if a child is born in
the lower story of a house il is instant
ly bundled up and carried UPSTAIRS if
the event occurs in an upper chamber
then the woman in charge is supposed to
climb on a table, chair or other article
of furniture with the baby. In the north
a house for the first time. it is given an
egg, some salt and a small loaf of bread
and occasionally piece of money, these
gifts being supposed to insure the child
against its ever standing need of the
necessaries of life. Yorkshire people add
matches to light the child to heaven
In this country, as well as many others.
book a piece of money and bottle of
liquor are placed before the infant the
day it is one year old, the object being
to ascertain its bent in life. The Many
people have a number of curious super
stitions concerning babies. Hall Game
tells us no one is allowed to step over
II or walk entirely around it, lest it be-
come dwarfed and wiZened. Until bap-
tized all babies are supposed to be quite
at the mercy of the fariesA The baby
will remain lucky through life if it first
handles spoon with its left hand. but
1t viii come to perfect estate il it shall
have repeated falls out of its mothers
arms, cradle or bed before it reaches its
first birthday. One of the prettiest of
the Manx superstitions is the custom of
retiring early on stormy nights so that
the good FAIRIES may enter unobserved To
md place of shelter and repose. one
OF the Oldest of the ManX superstitions
is that fairy in the form nf boo,,tie-'I