Ontario Community Newspapers

North Ontario Observer (Port Perry), 4 Jan 1900, p. 1

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andi Comm mnkes a 1 linsinens ers, and the discount: Votes at reasonable Sah this fag of 8 to ing of Farmers' rates of iuterest. Careful aod prompt attention is also given to the vallecting uf ] of Notes, ete. SAVINGS BANK ~ DEPARTMENT. Special Attention is Dirceted te the Following Advantages offered by owr Ruvings Bank: Deposits of One Dollar und upwards received aud interest allowed at current rates. Interest is added to the deposit Twick in each year, at the end of May and November. The Depositor is subject to no delay © whatever in the withdrawal of the whole or any portion of the deposit. 0 @ is made ou withdrawing or depositing money. Port Perry Branch G. M. GIBBS, Manager. \R. D. ARCHER, M.D.C.M. Victoria University ; M.B. Toronto University, _ Membr or the College of Physicians and "8a s, Ont.; Licentiate of the Royal Oollege of Surgeons, Edinhurg: Licentiate of the Royal College of Physicians, Edin- burg ; Member of the Faculty of Physicians and Surgeons, Glasgow ; Late Resident Pupil of the Rolunda Hospital, Dublin, for Women. Office and Residence, second door west of Davis' Furniture Emporiam, Queen Street. Office hours--9 to 11 a. and 2 to 5 p.m, and evenings, T have taken as partner, my brother, Dr R. Archer, M. D., C. M., Member of Col- 'lege of Physicians and Surgeens, Out, Port Perry, June 0, 1897. TT DR. E. L. PROCTER (SUCCESSOR TO DR. CLEMENS) MDC M. of Trinity College Univeralty, with Honor Certil Bete: PORT PERRY. f NOTICH. R.J. H. SANGSTER, Physician, Su geon and Accoucheunr, and Dr. W, Sangster, Dentist, may on and after to. fig be found iu their new Surgical and Dental Offices over the Post Office, where they will be found as heretofore, prepared to attend to their respective professions in all their branches, f Port Perry Dec 8, 1897. DR. 8. J. MELLOW, PHYSICIAN, SURGEON, &¢, Office and Residence, Queen St., Port Perry Office hours--8 to 10 a.m.; 1to3 p.m., and Evenings. Telephone in office and house, open night and day over the lines south, connected 'with the residence of G. L. Robson, V.S. Port Ferry, Nov. 15, 1804, J. A. MURRAY, ' DENTIST, '[Rooms over Allicon's Drug Store] al ersfal | Deposit; i "att e hi rates. Interest calonlated an cach depositor semi-armually. H. G. HUTCHESON, Cha MANAGER. Port Perry, June 26, 1897. £100,000 STERLING (British Capital) To lend at 4 4 and B oer cc f on good Mortgage security. Apply to DAVID J. ADAMS Banker and Brecker, Port Perry, Ont. est current credited to April 22, 1897. MONEY TO LOAN. HE Subscriber is pared to LEND ANY AMOUNT a Security AT 6 PER OENT. &ar Also on Village Property. #2" MORTGAGES BOUGHT, WX HUBERT L. EBBELS, r riister. Office next ¥o Ontario Bank, Port Perry, May 10, 1885. AUCTIONEER. I'he inci perie; © practice which ¥ have had will he red to advantage of patrons, and parties favoring me with their sales may rely on their interests being fully protected. No effort will he sp: a make it profitable for parties HA their sales in my hands, My Sale. Register will be found at the Leland House, Cesarea. THOS. SWAIN. Cmsnrea, Aug. 26, 1896. 'WM. GORDON, Licensed Auctioneer, Valuator &c. OR the Townships of s of Brock, Uxbridge, Scott, Thorah, Mara, Rama, Maripoes aud Eldon Partieseutrusting their Sales to me 'may rely on the utmsot attention being given to their intrests. ° WM. GORDON, Sunderland, N. F. PATERSON, Q.C., Barrister, Solicitor, Notary Public, &c., Nos. 310-311, Temple Building, Cor. Bay and Richmond Streets, Toronto. Toronto, March 81, 1898, J E. FAREWELL, L. L. B., County *J , Crown Attorney, Barrister, County Sol- citor, &eo., Notary Public and Conveyancer ffice--South wing Court House, Whitby, : PORT PERRY. All branches of Dentistry, incldin Crown Bridge Work successfully £ practiced. Artifical Teeth on Gold, Silver, Alumi ' : or Rubler Plates. Fillings of Gold, Silver or Cement. - Painless extraction when required: 4 Prices to suit the times®) ort Penty, Feb. Ont, Jour, BILLINGS, Solicitor, Notary Public, Conveyancer, &e. Solicitor or the Ontario Bank. ## Office over the Ontario Bank, Port Perry. 1897. Jun, 29, 1887. W. A SANGSTER, |lJ.ofaomsmas: oh: Bu DENTAL SURGEON. an» McCAW, Ea nd Eye and int, IGIAN ori, Bye'vnd P rey on in six month, -- io hin or warranted to --Mr. W. Bg Adu and Mr. John Township p Clerk, Commissicrer, &e. : consequence? They never lose their out help, 2 bald spot never grows smaller. It keeps a ng, | unt r friends | an old baldness, si easy to stop the first thinning, eas check the first falling out. Used in oJ bald - ness is made impos- le with -- It 'stops falling, promotes growth, and takes out all dandruff. It always restores color to faded or gra hair, all the dark, ric color of early life. You may depend upon it every time. It brings health to the hair. $1.00 a bottle. All Druggists. "1 have used your Hair Vigor and am greatly pleased wich it. "I have only used one bottle of it, and yet my hair has stopped falling out and has started to grow again nicely." ULIUS WW ITT, March 28, 1899, Canova, 8. Dak. Write the Dcotor. If you do rot abiain all the benefits » J {gn expected from the ves of the igor, wite he Doctor avont Be 58, DR. J. GAYE oli. Mass. pr rT . Th a THE PARIS SHOW, A dairy exhibit in the department of agriculture in the United States govern- ment section will be a unique feature; £ this department. Peck has receiv. d a lh the United States section. Commissioner General Peck announces that [rank Millet has been appointed to decorate the United 'States national pa- villon. Mr. Millet decorated the United States bulldings ut the Chicago World's fair. The New York state commissioners to the P'aris exposition have. appropriated $1.250 for a dairy exhibit from New York, $1,000 for a photographic display, $1.250 for a fruit exhibit and $5.000 for securing and furnishing state headquar- ters in Paris. HOUSEHOLD HINTS. Varnish stains can be removed by the use of turpentine or benzine, Coal dust is very injurious to the throat and lungs. Sprinkle coal before putting on fire. Washing bronze chandeliers removes the bronze. Dust with a feather brush and a soft cloth. To restore velvet that has been spotted by rain dampen thoroughly on the wrong side, then hold over a hot iron to steam, taking care not to let it touch the iron. The closets may soon be cleared of troublesome ants by sprinkling a damp sponge with sugar and placing it on the floor. When the sponge becomes full of ants, scald it and, repeat the process. Cats and Monkeys, All animals, even the wildeat, can be subjected in some way to the dominion of man and be domesticated to some extent. Here, for instance, are two very curious facts about cats. Many persons, including some of our greatest naturalists, beliewe that our English domestic cat Is descended from the Egyptian domestic eat. yet all records go to prove that the cats of Egypt liv- ed in droves, were cared for In droves, were fed in droves and worshiped in droves, with the result that Egyptian cats never got domesticated or became half as intelligent as ours. The like truth Is suggested from In- dia, where monkeys are worshiped. 'These are allowed to become pui- fed, and they have | "And what Is the Innate savagery. The method of car- ing for them bas been wrong. All the devotion and care expended on them are practically 'wasted, and If we treat- ed our cats In the same fashion as the Indians do these monkeys they would b Just as wild and undomesticat- ed.--Cassell's Magazine. A Loving Cup, Naturally some of the anclent city and ok So TA or, two miles south of ; Tele: | and elevator, will be for- | M isp to Loan an ity of Mone! on imp red Seon at and 7 por | 4 cent (Trust fun I~ All kinds of Conv. veyaucing exeeuted with "Biker 01 0 ; Ey west of Town Hall, are conn d with the art of dining. Gastronomy and the Guildhall are iuseparably associated. One of the most curious of these is the passing of the loving cup. which takes place at all the guild dinners as well as at the ester er an Veterinary Ma: tor April 11 id banquets of the corporation. The cup is a two bandied one with a lid. While one guest Is holding the lid the next sips the spiced wine. A third. on the other side of the drinker. stands up. Then. the brim having been wiped by a clean napkin, the cup is passed to the Ild. He drinks in bis next peighbor takes charge of the lid. In this way the cup 'makes the rot and of the table. from an as Waals from bein. =tosa Words AN ACCIDENT TO PONSONBY A Story of A War Correspondent, It was hot, villainously hot. So was the firing. So were transport mules, Chinese stretcher coolles, advancing troops and the poor bleeding wretches who were being put Into the am- bulances. So was all the available wa ter. So were the little knot of corre- spondents who drummed their heels on the sides of a stack of biscult boxes on the side of the railway embankment and anathematized the war, editors In general and the press censor in partie ular. But the very hottest thing of all was Ponsonby. And Ponsonby, the usually eal and urbane Ponsonby, the well tried representative of The Daily Gaddy, was now swearing like un trooper. or, for the matter of that, like a thousand troopers. Had he not lost his pony and smashed his camera? Had not a staff officer ordered him, "I"ifteen paces behind the staff if you please, gentlemen?" And bad be bot fallen beadlong luto a buffalo wallow, thereby befouling his usually neat at tire and twisting his ankle? Around us was nothing but smoke and dust through which the midday sun glowed In a crimson ball. buddred yards to the northward on el- ther side of the line of railroad lay a long line of blue and browa clad, bu wanity, from which came a rattling sound as though milllous of crackers were being ignited In one continuous stream. Then cutting the dust laden alr with their sobbing screnus, the b lets of the foe came Cri over] ecasionall station in wliose begrimed and smoke at shelter. A queer looking tri ed and spurred, belted and And the worst of It fas we of us broken our fast that Agden of the San Francisco 8 remarked, "While we are walt we might as well investigate tack anyhow." To this proposition 1 assel A big stone and a jackknife 800) ad a case opened and our teeth busy, and when | upearthed a tin of "from my hip pocket even P . forgot to swear further. Wh engaged the firing ceased, t a couple of bugle calls, a "yells" from the American tp they rose from thelr rice rid and dashed forward in pursuit fleeing foe. Speedily we were ing In their wake, pausing or then to look at a wounded ing horoe rearward on a stret @ libe Is soon overtak Qt all sight of the # and are now well earned mi oon jotted down. proceed to Nuvestigate a ne hamlet which, after firing, gents have vacated. "Looks like bot work bh Agden. pointing to the chu which a shell bad gently cor ner. We | acquiesce and proceed to gate the interior. After lea church=we enter the adjacen quarters and, finding them ble, proceed to camp there night. Your humble servant 1 led as chef, while Agden and sally forth to annex a chick thing edible which comes hi this time a oymber of the troops have entered the are looking about the pl sections of mipa with which camping "shacks," collecting 'seeking er, eg, ete, Th Agden rus. but oo gets dark, but the village | the light of one or two blaz! ings. We ramble a making inquiries there, seeking him "further tonig sure to turn up all right. pleasant little meal we "turn 1 nfust have been asleep si when something disturbed mw on earth is that? There, sf the foot of my bed. Is # § woman. Naturally | =prin; feet. awaking Agden as 1 do mysterious damsel sexys soutethir Spanish. What It means neither den nor myself can compreh tow on earth did she get the insurgents have carried off women with them, and how ou ent visitor can have remained beb Irn a mystery. Khe Ig evidently an ch about something. for see how beckoning. After a brief consultation id to do we follow the indy t door and into the church. along the floor and goes right nj altar. seizing some dapery ax she reaches it. There thick wall of the church 1s descend. i ee we wind. and there at the: Liend bound in a blood stained by Possonhy. evidently very | case by some accident. bad fallen dowa A few } me to a | ) was to the effect that Pon- sonby must bave discovered the stair- eb ith th bl it in the darkness and injured his head. It was Impossible to say how severe such jury might be, and, although Le had every hope of a rapld recovery, he 'would tot try to give us any false fm- | 'pressions. An Rmbulunve was soon on the spot, our wounded friend placed in- side and we started for town, Agded having kindly volunteered to do my work in the field durlug my brief ab- sence. The jeurney to town was speed {ly accomplished, and 1 left Ponsonby in the hands of the good sisters of the Ban Juan de Dios hospital. Meanwhile 1 had completely forgotten the senorita, and it was pot until I met Agden at Malolos some three days after that I gave her a thought. - Then | learned that she had vanished as mysteriously as she had appeared. . . . . . Meanwhile the campaign went on. Weeks passed. The Insurgents were day by day being driven back. Pon- sonby had got out of the hospital and | was recuperating in town, and as the rainy seasom was In full swing and nothing of Importance was taking place in the country Agden and my- self were also "resting" We were one evening sitting on the hotel veran- da when Ponsonby walked up. After a few words of grecting he said: "Well, boys, I'm sorry to leave you, but am off tomorrow. My wife joins ; me In 'chinchins.' Am bound for Cal- cutta and thence by P. and O. home." "Your wife!" Agden and myself ex- claimed simultaneously. "Yes, my wife." | "But we didn't know you were mar ried." "No. | don't suppose you did. But you remember the dady who found me 'In the church at Malinto." "Well, I'm banged!" It was Agden who spoke. | was practically dum- founded and stood staring at Ponson- . by with all my eyes. Then 1 man: 0 Te up really couldu'tstell you. But she came and saw me In the hospital. How she ever found we In the church I don't know and have not yet mus- tered up sufficient Spanish to igguire." We were sorry to lose Ponsonby, who was always a decent fellow. But Agden will have It that his brain was affected by the [fall into that curious jerypt. And Agden Is probably right, for, If not, why [didn't Ponsonby In- vite us to his |vedding?--Hongkong Telegraph. The Sende cof Taste. 1hat the Intengty of one sense Is Increased by the adtign of other senses is a fact which is we the sense of taste. heavier than one that has beeBgslight- ly warmed by being carried in the | pocket, and what Is taste less sour, t or salty than when cold. If you put a slight solution ' of salt or quinine into a sugar solution of a certain sweetness, the sweetness | will seem much greater. Cooks and confectioners are well aware of this fact, for they always add to sweet con- | fections some bitter substance, just as the perfumers put into perfumes of all kinds at least a little musk, The cook tries to "lift" or "61" the ! taste, as they say, just as the perfumer | tries to do with the sense of smell, and as In acoustics the bass drum or ' bass viol foris a kind of background for the tone of coloring. Ou the other 'hand, If & mixture is made too sweet, Lwithout any contrasting elements, the 1 quality of sweetness 1s lost, some | thing lke Milton's "darkness from ex- cess of light" The effect of cold In 'reducing the intensity of sweetness is well known to any one who bas manu- factured Ice cream at home, If you 'don't make the cream a little too t before freezing, it will not be eet enough after the freezing proc- A Cownrd. un Hinastermeler, the wife of Herr rmeler, the lion tamer, was may be termed--to put it mildly -- virago and held Hingstereler in ab- subjection. be lion tamer returned to the fami- caravan oue eveuiug in a state of rity. which made him feel that he bettei postpone an Interview Is better half until his condition n off. He therefore concluded leep in the family quarters. _pext morning his wife called o account, and he explained that been having a little jollification id not wish to disturb ber slum- on his ret re did you sleep?' she de- the cage with the lous," be re- a A hissed Mrs. Hingster- "with & look as of one robbed of t duen.--1 {fe. Needed at Home, -Dear, you ought to take Dan't you think it teeit dourmal. ng? | | Brute--Yes--for the cod -- Press, Sa ps. 'hat gas office?' inquired Mrs. Bil- but the boy had suddenly bolted was then half a block away and in creasing his lead. Mrs. Billingsley went back into the sitting rovm and said to herself: "1 do wish I could have nailed that lit tle imp. Cun it be possible Billingsicy is going to elope? At any rate he will have to leave his heavy overcoat behind." At 5:80 p. m. Billingsley arrived home for dinner. | "A boy called for your heavy overcoat | this afternoon," observed Mrs. Billings | ley. | "Great heavens, woman! And of course you handed it right over to him. Maria, it does seem Impossible for women to have good sense." "Why. didn't you send him up to the house after it?" "Certainly not. You might have known that | would have sent a note by an A. D. T. Didn't have any uniform on, "So I'm just $40 out. I don't suppose it would have made any difference if | had married any one of your sisters. Of course you are all alike, Must run in the family. Maria, | can hardly believe it | possible that you could be chump enough to give my overcoat to an entire stranger." "He sald you was going out of town in a hurry." "Going out of town! Fiddlesticks! Would it not have been the most natural thing in the world for me to have inform- ed you of the fact?" "Perhaps so. | didn't think of that. He said you was down at the gas office." "What gas office "He didn't say. [He went right away when | asked him that." "With my winter overcoat?" "No; without it. 1 didn't take much stock in his story, and he got scared." "Say, Maria, let's bave dinper."--St Paul Globe. Belated Meteors. The man who saw the most stars was the fellow in New York who fell through a hole in the roof.--Atlanta Constitution The Leonids were out of sight.--Buffalo Journal. The number of shooting stirs seen as compared with the number promised bears # 'strong resemblance to the num: ber of chorus girls in a burlesque com- pany which advertises a hundred and bas ten.-- Washington Star. All Kinds, "1 wish I could get some news from the Transvaal." "My dear fellow, you can get any kind you want. If your sympathies are with the Boers, look under a Paris dated line; if with the English, just see that the date line is Cape Town or Durban." --Chicago Post. Discriminating. "There are only two types of feminine beauty that I really admire." "Indeed!" exclaimed Miss Cayenne. "Yes: only twa." "And which are they?" "Blonds aud brunettes." --Washington Star. Canght. "Cousin Clara has just answered a let- ter | wrote her a yeur ago." "That's queer." "No, it isn't. You probably didn't mail it until you got out your winter overcoat this week." --Chicago Record. Gra! Corners. "Wheatmore," said the tall "was a square man." "Yes," responded the short broker, who was thinkiug of several wheat deals, "and Lis sharp 'corners' often rubbed against us." --Chicago News. ¥roker, Lucky Man. "He failed for $1,000,000." 15a" "Lucky man!" MEAN "Lucky 7" "Certainly. He's lucky in being able to fall for $1.000.000. I couldn't fail for 80 cents" --Chicago Post. A Reward In Sight. "What makes you so devoted to golf, Mr. Poddington "Well, you see, somebody always gives a dioyer after the game."---lndianapolis Journal-- Comparison. "Football is the most brutal game of all." "Oh, 1 don't know! There Is blindfold chess." ~Chicago Record. A Popular Ditty. NX... A 'Why must they whoop with purpose bland? Why will these tireless songsters do it? T'd rather Hsten to the band Than hear them sing, "Oh. listen to ft1® By po means the least liberal man fn | respect of his beliefs is the man who keeps his beljets stristly 10 himsa)t.--~Le 'Why Not 'Spending ry "How would you put in your time if was feted mand dined by some of the dpper crust of Euglish society. He | bad passed there ss a wealthy snd traveled American. [He bad letters, too, from Becretary Olney, Becretary Carlisle and other leaders of the Amer ican politiéal world which recommend. ed him In the highest terms not only to the American representatives abroad, but to dny friends of the writ. ers who might meet him. Aopd these letters were genuine. Their authenticl- ty could mot be doubted. Houck bad a way of getting entrance luto the ex- clusive clubs of Washington, P'hiladel- phia, New York and other cities, and in his role of "gentleman of leisure" he bad so Imposed on wen of high stand ing in the nation that they thought bim all he represented himself to be and gave him the letters of introduc- tion that belped him to fleece the aris- tocracy of Europe. Houck Invented the three card monte game before be became of age. This Is a trick with cards that bas fleeced more people out of money than any other game ever practiced. The trick is played with three aces, two black oues and one red. It is always played with a confederate to belp, or *'stall." for the gnme. The operator takes the three cards between his fingers, show- ing them to the victim, and then shuf- fes them about and drops them face down upon the table, offering to bet any amount of money that no one can pick out the red ace. At this point the operator turns his head a moment to spit or to spedk to some one in the crowd behind him. and In that moment the confederate picks up the red ace card. shows It to the victim, "crimps" the corner of the card and slyly lays it down again, ap- parently all unseen by the operator. The operator again shuffies the three cards and throws them upon the table face down. There lies the card with its evimped corner. The vietim sup pokes, of course, that it Is the red ace and bets and picks it up to find that it is a black one, and he has lost his money. The operator, when he picked up and shuffled the cards carelessly the sec- ond time, with a deft movement of his fingers removed the crimp in the red ace card and put a similar crimp In a black ace card. That was all there was to the trick. Houck worked it for years in hotels, on billiard tables, at fairs and circuses and on railroad trains and steamboats. He-taught the trick to Canada Bill, a noted gambler. and the two worked together over all the country. They pald thousands up on thousands of dollars to railroad men in the old days for the privilege of working the gaine on trains, and they made money. Later, when nearly every state in the Union passed laws aimed directly against the working of the three card monte game, It became unprofitable and was given up by Houck. But about that time an Ingenious English cockney Invented the "three shell" game, which was even more productive than three card monte, and Houck took it up. The thiree shell game is a modern iniprove- ment on the anclent thimblerigging game that was worked at English fairs for many years. The old way was for the operator to crook his knee over the bead of a cape that stood upright on the ground and move a small seed around between three thimbles on top of his leg, offering to bet that no one could pick the thimble under which the seed was hidden. The lesson taught by the lives and deaths of Houck and Canada Bill and nll the rest of their kind is that it never pays to be dishonest or to live by one's wits. These men may get great sums of money by sharp practices in the course of a lifetime, but they all die poor, and most of them die In prison. Canada. Bill. who worked with Houck on traies, out of Kansas City and e probably $1.000.000 died a pauper in the almshouse in Lebanon, Pa.. and Is buried fo a pau per's grave. Houck dropped dead on the street in Durango, Mexico, and his widow in Ohlo had to solicit ald to get his body home to give it decent burial ~Kansas City Star. Valuahle Hatr, In Bokhara, where the finest and most costly camel's hair shawls are made, the camels are watched while the fine hair on the under part of their bodies Is growing. It is so carefully cut that not a bair is lost, and It Is stored until enough has been accumu- lated to spin. The yarn made from the bair Is of surpassing softness and Is dyed all sorts of lovely colors. Touching. "What," asked the sentimental young woman, "was the most touching lucident you ever witnessed?" * And after some thought Senator Sorghum answered, with emphasis: "An election."-- Washington Star. A ---------- In times of scarcity the South Afri- can opatives sometimes rob the ants' ests, and as much as five bushels of aly have been taken from a single : SE Fhe: mova fully «1 like to He A You « vugi-Chicaso somebody gave $1,000,000" + nCounting I. A Cleveland Plain Dask + prod 4 show that while [44 was in Lomlon he Re professionu} h soderstund: Wg | workiug Feta, there Is such an attriciion iu the trade that he never willingly gives it wp. It's a profitable business without too much competition." "Do the ferrets ever bite you?" "It's a very careless dud awkward man that gets bitlen by a trained fet ret. When 'ode Is bitte by do ebrags ed ferret, the bite Is of a very severd character, extremely painful und slow to heal" As the rat catcher talked a 6-month- old ferret, his tiery little eyes gleams ing like living gems, was crawling oved bis lap and trying to get in under bis cont. "This fellow," sald the raf catcher, "is as gentle as a kitten and Hkes to have his back rubbed aod 0 be caressed as well us apy cal you ever saw. When the ferret bites a rat's peck, he knows exactly what be Is dos ing, and his frout teeth, cutting®likd razors, go right through the jugular, al el remain Ib the hole sucking its blovds When we put a ferret into a house afte er rats, we stop up all the boles ut the outside of the house exevpl vue or twos Over these we place bags, aud the féfs rets, driving the guwe before them, run the rats into the bags. We keep the ferret without his ordinary meuls before using him, and this wuses bio keener lo bis chase "It's mighty eisy to spoil a ferrets After a young ferret has been badly bitten by a rat, as sometimes happens, you can't get him to go iotv a hole muzzled. But when a ferret is full grown and has the skill and courage + "Of course we generally muzzle them 3s when we send thew in after rats, aod . & we always muzzle them when we send & them Ib after rabbits. IT their teeld oi were at liberty, they would kill thé Fe first rat or rabbit they met and would A a So that be should have he is a holy terror to rats and is a valuable animal § would not sell # well traiued ferret fof $30, the price of a good horse. Suh ferret | should be willing to put in a pit with 50 rats, and he could in a short time kill every one of them. Rats are great fighters when they are coruered, but no other animal of the same size has as much cowage as a ferret of weasel. "lo England the largest ferrets are ealled polecat ferrets and are a cross of the two animals. which are much alike. Ih this country the word pole- cat Is applied to the skunk. an entirely different animal. The word polecat if is supposed to be an abbreviation of 5 Polish cat, and the animal abounds 2 all over Europe. The mink 18 muelr of like the weasel, except that it Is ldrger, ! and many depredatious that are ate ' tributed to the weasel are committed by the mink. All these animals prowl : by night, and they frequently go mauy miles in search of food. even coming Into towus and the suburbs of cities." Audubon, who was a close student of nature, was delighted with the weasel, or American ferret. Tix long, flexible body, its extraordinary lengia of peck, the closeness of Its fur. us keenness of scent. Its wonderful agilis ty and quickness of movement, all ex< cited bis admiration. An Awerican writer says: "The com« mon weasel has somethines been eaught and carried off by large Hawks and owls. Sorry was the experience of the captor in such cases. He bas caught a Tartar. The captive will bite into the sides of the enemy, =o that both will fall to the ground, the bird mortally wounded and the wedsel ua ally comparatively unhurt. * * The weasel's courage in defending we self when attacked by birds of prey is universally admitted, nor is It deficient In fierce opposition to dogs und evets men when its nest Is lovaded by eis ther. It usually kills for food: biting through the head | such experttiess scarcely utter 5 ery rats and moles them i thelr runs or holes. * * ¢ A wens proximity to a poultry yard is nol be desired. But in barus, bayricks and grain stacks It Is decldediy ad- vantageous, as it will surely extemis nate or drive away rats and mice." The weasel"s characteristics are not- ed In two American sayings, "Caich a weasel asleep™ and "Sooner trust a weasel with eggs." Stories dre told that a weasel will watch a hen on the nest for an hour, waiting for a ey, laid egg. BE A Freak of the Lightuing. . A curious case of lightning destroe tion took place at Gatchina, an im- perial summer residence pot far from 8t. Petersburg, where stood a stone column 50 feet high. held together by iron angles. When rain fell. more or lers water pentrated the stones Ib- the Interior of the monument. Oue day was struck by lightning. aod Instantly the whole column disappeared from view, killing a lone sentry on guard. The only explanation is that ibe heat of the Hghtning instantly | steam on coming In contact w of the water, and the terrifie T wed. oT

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