Waterbury Democrat., 1903-01-03
AS YOU LIKE IT
Some Stray Leaves From a Reporters
 a Ngs4 Note Book.


 If there is law against docking horses tails why isn't it enforced! It is said that there are more horses Ill Waterbury minus their tails than Ill any other town in the state. It IS fad that should be stopped ana II tue law as it exists is not what it should be then the humane society should give the matter some attention and see that it is framed so as to give officers authority to arrest anybody seen on the street in charge of a horse without tail and hold him until he gives satisfactory account of what became If the rest of the animal. Whats the matter with all our humane agents! They should get after the owners or bob-tailed horses with sharp SUCK. A horse without a tail is handicapped in dealing with his natural enemies almost as much as a man is who loses his arms It is a barbarous custom which seems to be on the increase Ill Waterbury.
 Tn the business office of local newspaper a short time ago a rat was causing much trouble. At nlghr' when the office was dark and dreary, the rat used to pay his visit, and he was not at all particular about now he disturbed things. There was one place. the inside of the desk or the lady stenographer, where the rat aoVeo to roam There must have been some toofbsome sweets in it. The young lady. when she came down to Work The next day. used to find things Ill 4onsy-turyy condition. Of course, she comnlained long and often, as any glfl would. One night, when eyerypody had departed, one of the help placed a trap in the desk with the nope or catching the rodent. It didn't eaten fhe rat. but it did catch something else. The next day, when the young lady arrived at the office, she opened her desk and commenced to run ner hand through bundle of papers. sud- denly there was a terrible scream The trap had done its work and had Eet it's teeth firmly into the finger or Rhe fair stenographer, who thought IL was a rat and almost fainted. She IS now trying to find out who set the trap.
 It is surprising how long some men ran keep things in their pockets With but losing them and how much one thinks of trinkets after he has had them nearly all his lifetime. Ex-Al- Jlerman Gregory related an incident this week that occurred nearly forty years ago, when he was boy at ms home in Bedding, a handsome 1ttle town near Danbury. -and exhibited few souvenirs which he had carried Ill his pockets ever since, adding that ne Svould not part with them now for love or money. One was pocket knne and the other a neat medal issued py the l. R. B. After the failure of the Fenian raid on Canada the boys scat tered all over the country, and it seems MT Gregory met one of them in rather hard lines on the way between Dan bury and Bedding and gave him lift The stranger was very thank ful for the kindness shown him and gave MT Gregory his medal the only thing he had left except his clothes, He got the knife from a comrade in arms during the civil war and al though it is a simple looking affair MT Gregory thinks there is nothing like It in the market to-day.
 
 The As You Like It man was read ing an exchange recently when he came across the following which he clipped and had smuggled into this is- sue of the paper unknown to the edi- tor: ''A teacher of public school in Northampton, Mass, submitted to her class a number of questions not in the text books and requested that the an- sWers be returned in manuscript. Among the subjects was this ques- ton: What Are NeWspapersY A bright boy handed in the following es- say: Newspapers are sheets of paper on which stuff to read is printed The men look over the paper to see if their names is in it, and the women use it to put on shelves and sich. don't know how the newspapers came into the world I don't think God does. never heard of one being in heaven. I guess the editors is the missing link them fe1lers talk about. The first editor I ever heard of was the feller who wrote up the flood. He has been here ever since. Some editors belong to church and some try to raise whis- kers. All of them raise hell in their neighborhood, and all of them are liars, at least all I know, and l only know one Editors never die. At least I never saw dead one. Some times the paper dies and then people feel glad, but someone starts it up again. Editors never went to school because editors never got licked. Oul paper is a mighty poor one but we take it so ma can use it in our pantry shelves. Our editor doesn't do much but paw says he had poor chance when he was a boy. He goes with out underclothes in winter, has nc socks and has wife to support him Paw hasn't paid his subscription i1 five years and don't intend to-"