New-York tribune., 1906-10-28

OF the Cur1OS.
One and all. the children declared they
were not nervous. and would obey Uncle BOb's
orders to the letter.
Now You know that there Is considerable
doubt as to what became OF the remains of
Christopher Columbus Some people are IN
certain as TO whether his body was ever really
buried and if so where. Now the truth Of the
matter is, that when his remains were taken
from Spain to Havana or Havana % Spain
forget which, an enterprlsIng euro dealer cut
OFF his right hand-I mean Christopher right
hanG-and, subject TO the conditions Of which
/ told you, | succeeded IN obtaining possession
of it. OF course, l mean to restore It 10 IL,
place eventually; but while have It. II VIII %
no harm to give you young Americans an o1-
pOrtunIty, which YOU viii probably never ha-
again. of shaking hands with Columbus"
While Uncle Bob was talking, he had t-zen
from his box an object which he covered with
silk handkerchief, as he passed II under the
shawl 10 Fred This object IN reality w9= q
mans kid glove, which had been stuffed w-.h
Oat meal. sewed up, and laid on the zee for zey-
eral hours. In Uncle BOb's box It had been
buried n a dish OF cracked ice. and when he
took the damp, cold object from It's place and
passed It 10 Fred beneath the shawl II did n
deed feel as though II IGiSEt be hand Of
Christopher Columbus. or ANYBODY else As the
hand went round t'le circle various expressions
OF fun, horror. and fear were heard, but true
to their prJ-E.5e. nobody drew the hand out
side OF Il shaw. nor made any definite remark,
about L.
Is = was returned Uncle Bob said that he
wcCii show them one of the most wonderful
curlosities the world had Vet produced
This" he said. Is piece of the Weeping
Rock. The Weeping Rock Is "a huge Crag IN the
tar distant country OF kanoOdledum- From
tins rock a PAIR of unhappy lovers once threw
themselves of. and We're dashed % pieces.
Immediately the great rock began % weep
COpIOuSly. and has never ceased TO do S0. !
was fortunate enough TO secure a small piece
OF this rock, and shall pass It round among YOU,
that YOU may feel OF it. You VIII notice. alter
1 YOU have passed it on, that Your fingers are
Wet from the tears 1t sheds.
Then under the cover of the silk handkerchief
Uncle Bob passed % Fred the bit ot Weeping
Rock 1t felt like jagged bit Of stone and
sure enough, as II passed from one hand %
another beneath the shawl, each hand was
LETT damp from the sad tears OF the strange
mineral.
The next curiosity was sea urchir. This.
Uncle Bob declared, was alive; but at the pres
ent moment was asleep. and he trusted there
fore that the children would pass u round
quickly, and not awaken 1t from its nap
Beginning with Fred, the sea urchin was
passed along, and as each one graspel the
SpIny creature he was glad enough @ pass II
on to his neighbor. 1t seemed To have as
many quilts as pOrcupIne, and though much
smaller, 1t really double handful Of sharp
stInging points.
1t viii not harm YOU" said Uncle Bob.
smiling. " II Is a tame sea urChIu, and T. L
was AWAKE Nou4u Dc Slt1 20 cat t-- t- tttAE
hand"
The next curiosity was live seal. Tins
dear little creature said Uncle Bob. Is ac-
CuStOmed 10 live on an iceberg. and does not
feel at home in this warm climate You VIII
therefore pass him around quickly. that / may
return him 10 his ice water tank"
Fred took the seal first, and as ne felt tie
warm moving body with its soft fur, he IVES
greatly tempted to look at it; for ne had revs-
seen live seal, and this, judging from its s,z..
was evidently a baby one But of course IL
would not look at it; So he passed II on. -o-
many eXClamationS OF admiration were he--t
from the children, as they Petted the dear .--.-
creature.
This completed the exhibition. If am -rlE-
not seen can be called an exhibition. arNl
shutting up his treasure box, Uncle Bob went
away, pursued by the children. who begged %
know the meaning Of these strang- things.
But Uncle Bob only laughed, and declined 20
answer their questions
The next day. however, he yielded -l the
Importantly OF his niece and nephew. and ex-
planned to them his trickery.
The hand of Columbus has already been
described The Weeping Rock was merely
an Irregularly shaped piece of ice. The sea
urchin was an orange, stuck fuu o.. wooden