The Topeka state journal., 1909-01-19

Dere's a broken-nosed guy
On a hospital cot,
An a peach of an eye
An his ribs is stove in
Which it comes through a mill
Where certainly win.
Yes, it's Bill
Chicago News.
Birds Ventriloquists.
There are many accomplishments
which the lower animals seem to possess
inherently, but which man can only
gain through great application.
One Of the human accomplishments
hard to learn Is ventriloquism, It seems
to be a gift which comes to but few of
the human species; yet among birds
there are species every Individual of
which possesses the power of making
the voice seem to come from another
spot than that in which the owner is
located.
There seems to be very little reason
for this in most cases, but still there
must be some, for nature is very
economical in bestowing her gifts, and
one may be sure that the possession of
the power argues it's usefulness. The
first example of ventriloquism which
will occur to most people is the voice
of the mourning dove. suppose that
every boy has been fooled by this bird.
I know that I was, and was delighted
when I discovered, after walking
around tree in the orchard, that the
close at hand.
When the mourning dove utters his
call he swells up air sacs in his breast
and neck. and these act as q sort of
sounding chamber which tends to hold
and repress the sound, as a sound is
made in a barrel. The emu has the
same quality in his voice. It is as
though these birds swallow their
voices
The crow has some notes which are
in
in particular is much like the bark of a
distant dog.-St. Nicholas.
Vessel Rams 25-Ton Whale
A 25-ton whale tried a tilt with a
6,5OO-ton German freighter yesterday
morning on the Grand Banks. The
whale has not been heard from since.
While the Hamburg-American line
freight steamship Be1gravia, Captain
Nepperschmidt, was steaming the last
hundreds of miles to Boston, the officer
on the early watch noticed large
school. swimming in all directions.
terest in the freighter, and presently
began to swim at right angles to her
course to meet her some distance
ahead. The Belgravia kept on her
course, the officer being willing to
When the school and the freighter were
about to meet, some of the whales
turned to port, and went astern. But
one, more hardy than the rest, kept on
in an attempt to cross the steamers
bow. 1t was swimming his sWiftest
when the bow of the steamer hit it.
The officer said that the feeling of the
deck under his feet was precisely as If
the vessel had gone on a shoal of soft
mud. The whale sounded and that was
the last seen Of it.-Boston Transcript.
Ferrero Defends Wine.
DR.. Ferrero, who has found way
of making ancient history sound so
modern and entertaining that one does
not know whether to turn to it or to
the newspapers for the latest sensa-
ton, let the people of Boston see. the
other day. that Horace was, after all:
only a sort of early "Spotless Town"
poet. OF the Horation odes he said:
''The effect of them on the Roman
people-not only the men, but also the
women-was to make them great wine
drinkers, and they also induced their
friends to drink. Practically all of the
literature of that day was written to
promote the wine industry. The odes
of Horace were not written in striving
for literary merit, but for CONNER
cial reason
whether the brand for which
wrote. the Falernian, was
worthy of his poetic praise or not
matters little-poetical "ad' writer's
wine industry, in DR.. Ferrero's opinion,
was we'll worth all the classical ''lit-
erature' that was written to promote
it, To the vine Rome owed her mon
archical form of government, all opin-
ions that it was Julius Caesars old
Roman Tammany Hall that brought
n about the change to the contrary not
When italy was sown
In grain. an annual plant, she could af-
ford to have a revolution as often as
South America has one today, but
when she raised grapes, which take
several years to grow, she must needs
have a stable government. With wine
came wealth and culture. The wine |
trust could afford to pay for a whole |
corps of poets. and Rome became the
capital of the world, just !
as France today is the wine growing |
of the world and Paris the |
center of the highest type of culture |
hFTrance Is modern italy and Paris Is |
the newer Rome, and wine has con- |
tributed to the elevation of the former |
no less than to the ancient grandeur |
of the later"
sc11re "ads" of mellow Falernian which |
still drive men to drink, will surely |
have revenge Some Ferrero 1000 |
years hence viii say that the present |
F7errero wrote his history of Rome and |
come to this country "to check the |
wave of prohibition that was then |
reaching alarming proportions.-N |
z York Tribune.
POINTED PARAGRAPHS.
rFrom the Chicago News.1
A good fighter lodges lots of quar-
rels.
Many a pretty shoe covers homely