Morris tribune. [volume] (Morris, Minn.) 1880-2000, 1907-04-20
The Table Fork.

when it is borne in mind that it orig
inally came from Constantinople. Long
before the fork made it's appearance in
France it was in use at Venice, where
1t had been introduced in 1895, on the
occasion of the wedding Of Don Pietro
Oricola Argilo, son of the doge of
Venice, to princess of the imperial
house Of ByZance. People at Venice
were astonished at the marriage feast
to see the bride make use of small
gold fork for conveying the food from
her plate to her mouth, instead Of
spoon and fingers. The bridegroom
was so delighted with the idea that he
at once had a whole stock of gold
forks made for his own use and for
that Of his relatives, and before many
months were past there was not
patrician in Venice who did not en-
ploy a fork at his meals. The use of
the fork spread very slowly through
Italy and over the remainder Of Eu-
rope. 1t was not until some 200 years
afterward that it was introduced into
France by Duke John Of Brittany
London Chronicle.
MeddIins With the Fog.
II was riding around in London with
a friend one day." said an American
tourist. ''and the talk turned on the
heavy fog that had covered the city like
a blanket the night before. l finally
expressed the conviction that, after
few experiments, could find way to
prevent the fogs, and my words were
overheard by cabby. An hour later.
when my friend had left me, the driv-
er said:
".Did I understand you to say, sir,
that you 'ad way to hobviate these
ERE fogs what come down on London?'
eyes, I said something to that. eff
feet l replied. ...l ...
"'But l 'opes you won't do it, sir.
! 'opes you WON'T .....
"'But honld think it would be a
great thing for your line of business
These fogs must lose you quite little
sum in the course of the year.
$50 they does, sir; but understand
my brother in-law is a stakeholder in a
gas company, and where l loses a
shilling he gains a guinea. 1t is for
him to keep hup the style and the har-
istocracy of the family, and 'opes
you wont reduce him from haff1uence
to poverty by meddling with no Lon
don fog-I 'opes YOU won't''-M Onad
Dividing Penny.
The difficulty of obtaining a farthing
as change in the province was expert
enced as long ago as the reign of Hen
ry VI. In 1444 a petition was present
ed to parliament stating that for want
of halfpence and farthings men tray
cling over contrees, for part of their
expenses of necessities, must depart
our soveraigne Lorde's coigne, that is
to wete, peny in two peces, or Giles
forgo all the same peny for the pale
nent of an halfpeny." According to
various antiquarians, the silver penny
of early times was deeply Impressed
with cross that 1t might be divided
into the "half1ing," or halfpenny, and
the ''fourthling," or farthing. Hone in
his year book of 1882 refers to a SINH
lar practice of halving and quartering
| the dollar SIN remote settlement of the
United States of America''-LOndon
Chronicle. .-. -----~..... .-
Corot as He Died.
In notice of Corot, the greatest OF
| French landscape painters, writer in
Pearson's recalls that during the revo-
- S4 Svnn1 in
his studio quietly working despite the
incessant firing In fact, he was so
absorbed in his painting that be knew
nothing of the change of government
| in 1851 until three months after the
| fall of the republic. He was past
eighty when he died, yet he loved life
| and used to say he hoped he would
live to be a hundred and could paint
| up to the last day. A short while be-
! fore he died. as he lay on his bed look
ing out of the window, he said In a
| feeble voice: when the spring comes.
| will paint beautiful picture. / see
! a sky full Of roses" Resting mo-
ment, he was seen to gather his fingers
| together as if holding a brush; then
| there was a movement as If he were
painting Thus Corot died.
The Nest Ancient Books.
| The most ancient books are the writ
ings Of Moses and the poems of Homer
and Hesiod. The earliest sacred writ
| ings of the Chinese are called the Five
Kings, king meaning web of cloth or
the warp that keeps the threads in
| their place. They contain the best say
| ings of the best sages on the ethics
| political duties of life. These sayings
| cannot be traced to a period higher
| than the eleventh century B. c. The
| Three Vedas'' are the most ancient
| books of the Hindoos, and it is be-
| lieved that they are not older than elev-
| en- centuries b. c. The Zendavesta Of
the Persians is the grandest of all the
| sacred books next to our Bible. Zorro
aster, whose sayings it contains, was
| born in the twelfth century B. G. Mo
SEES wrote his Pentateuch fifteen cen
turtles B. G. and therefore preceded by