Saint Mary's beacon. [volume] (Leonard Town, Md.) 1867-1983, 1899-05-18
Saint Nafg's Beacon.
oRleIH OF SAYINGS.

MAUI VA sug pn&@sSe ouo 11cs Va
hears every day have been handed
down to ns from generation TO gen.
GRAFTON for. hundreds Of years,
and in many cases they can be
traced back to Q quaint and curious
origin.
There's many . slip 'twixt the
cup and the lip" 10 nearly 90 old ~
'Ancaeus, King of the Island Of Sa-
mos, in the Grecian archipelago, to
whose servant it lie attributed. This
King, 80 runs the story, had plant
ed . vineyard, bat he had treated
his slaves so badly that one Of them
predicted that his master would
never live to even taste Of its wine.
When the vintage came, however,
the King called for cup Of wine,
and then asked the slave what he
thought Of his prophecy. 81 think
there's many . clip between the
cup and the lip" he solemnly an
swered. Just at that Instant, .
messenger in hot haste rushed into
the palace, informing the King that
Q wild boar had broken into the
vineyard and was destroying it.
Ancaeus put down his wine cup IN
tasted and hurried out to attack
the ravager, but in the chase was
killed.
"He's brick" meanings brave
and noble fellow, doubtless origina-
ted with Agesilaus, King Of Spar
to, about $50 B. @. A visitor at
the Lacedaemonisn capital was sur
prised to- find it without walls or
other visible means Of defense. and
asked his royal host what they
would do in case of invasion by o
foreign power.
"Do! replied the heroic King /;
"why Sparta has $4,000 soldiers
and every msn 10 o brick"
In one of the battles between
the Russians and the Tartars, 400
years ago, q private soldier Of the
former cried out: "CaptaIn, I've
caught . Tartar" "Bring him
along them" answered the officer.
''I can't, for he won't let me-" was
the response. Upon Investigation
it was apparent that the captured
had the captor by the arm and
would not release him. So, "cstch-
ing Q Tartar" is applicable to one
who has found an antagonist too
strong for him.
The familiar expression :robbing
Peter to pay Paul is connected
with the history Of Westminster
Abbey. In the early middle ages it
was the custom to call the abbey
st. Peters Cathedral. At one
time the funds Of st. Paul's Ca
thedral being low, those in author
ity took sufficient from st. Peters
to settle the accounts, much to the
dissatisfaction of the people, who
asked, why rob st. Peter to pay
st. Paul?' Some 200 years later
the saying was used in regard to
the same collegiate churches, at the
time Of the death of the Earl of
Chatham, the city of London de-
claring that the famous statesman
ought to lie in st. Paul's. Parlia-
ment, however, insisted that West
minister Abbey was the proper place
and not to bury him there would
be, for the second time, 'robbing
st. Peter to pay st. Paul The
abbey properly carried the day.
dying in the last ditch" was,
according to Hume, first used by
William Of Orange. When Hol-
land was 80 holly pressed by her
enemies that complete disaster
seemed imminent, the Duke Of
buckingham implored the Prince
to change his tactics or the country
would be ruined. There is one
way to prevent my seeing the ruin
of my country answered the
Prince Il will die in the last
ditch
'Cut and rum originated in q Pc
culiar custom of the Egyptian em-
balmers. A low-caste was employ
ed to make the first incision in the
corpse, q process viewed with much
dislike by the people, who held him
accursed who should mutilate the
dead. As soon as the fellow had
made his 'cut' he had to run thru
q storm of curses, stones and sticks.
He cut for q living, and had to
'run' to save his life.
The true origin of the expression
'to dun O man is curious. In the