1 FIRST PLAYING CARDS They Seem to Have Sprung From ( the Naibis of the Saracens. INVENTION OF A VENETIAN. Tha Evidence Appear to Prove That Garnet Witn Carde Originated To ward the End of the Fourteenth Cen turyThe Card of Charles VI. The earliest direct mention of piny Inn i-iitds illscoveivd so far Is In the "History of the City if Vltcrlio." hii.vs tbe New York 'lVieKrnpb. The nuthor quotes CovetlitKzo. who wrote u limit the end of the tlfteenth century: "In tbe yenr of 1S7H wan liroucht Into Vlterbo the name of i-nrds. which comes from the comiiry of the Siirn cens and I" w ith them called nnlb." It R worthy of ri'iniirk Unit Covel luzzo did not write nt thnt (lute lie mentioned, tint 11 century Inter. In 1480. mid It l unite possible thnt he may hnve been mistaken In attribut ing' the cards to Saracenic origin or may have simply been quoting a pdl Hi lar' tradition. The Saracens were fa miliar, with nalbls. the predecesaor of cards, but they did not Invent the game of cards, of which nailils were only a part. ' The earliest date about which there can be no dispute at which playlms ' cards are directly mentioned by a writer as a mailer "t tils personal ex perience Is that discovered In the rec lsier of the court treasurer of i ranee. In the relKii of Charles VI. The entry Is under the date of l-'eb. I. i:i!2. as follows: "(ilveti to ,lacucmln (rliigoiinciir. palmer, for three packs ot piaylns cards. In gold and various colors mat ornamented with several devices, to carry before the lord our king for his amusement "id sols of Hurls." This Is the foundation upon which Is based the popular notion that pla. lnc cards were invented for the amuse ment of a crazy 1'i'encb klnu t Ttri bo ve pointed out that Hi" amount paid Is simply for the tin u i.- i ntlnu and decoration of the cards. I Here Is noth liic In the entry that iriv ground toi supposing that' the cards themselves were new. There are on exhibition today nt the National library In I'ails what are supposed to be seventeen of these cards, that were palmed for diaries VI. and this has strengthened the Im pression that Ihcv are the original' model from whldi all playing cares have been copied I'lilortuiiately for tbe fame of ri" exhibit. It has been proved that ci. cards shown In I'nrls are really u i . line Venetian tarok cards and are part of an edition made at least as late as U During the twenty years that follow this date of the roal treasurer's (lXl'.'i literature Is full ot references In nlav- Ing cards. Almost every author that mentions games of gamliling parapher nalia partlcularb.es one or more games ,cf cards. Uut before that date no al lusion has been found to a game that could be construed as a card game, al though there are several writers who might reasonably lie expected to men tion cards If they were acquainted with them. Uugh von Tymberg. who wrote In the second half of the thirteenth and tbe beginning of the fourteenth cen tury; I'clrar.-h. who wrote in the hrst balf of tin- fourteenth century: Chau cer, who wrote In the second half of the fourteenth century, made no men tion of cards, anlnniuli in the writings Of all of them there are references to gambling tallies and Implements. In the Escurlnl .library there Is a manuscript composed by order of Uon Alphonsn the Wise, dated i:K.M. which gives the rules for a number ot games, 'especially chess ami' dice, but does not contain a word about cards But one naturally asks It the earliest mention of cards Is to be found In the register of the royal treasurer of France where did cards come from If they were not n new thing to tiim? To go back a little. It Is well Known tbat there existed long before Hie date of any mention of playing cards a se rlesv of emblematic pictures called nalbls. which were used by gypsies and others for the purpose of fortune telling and sorcery. It Is prnhahly tbese nalbls that were brought to Ku rope by tbe Saracens, and perhaps they were supposed to lie of Saracenic orlglo. Author! lies seem to be pretry well agreed Hint toward tbe end of the fourteenth rontury' some Inventive genius, probably a Venetian, selected a number of these nalbls or plcturea and added to them a series of numeral cards so as to convert them into im plements by which the excitement of cbance and the Interest of gaming might be added to tbe amusement af forded by the original nalbls. Tbe principal reason for assuming that cards originated In Italy and not In France Is tbat the names of tbe -cards themselves and the names of tbe earliest known games played with -them are all Italian and tbat tbese , Italian terms were carried all over Europe. If they were of French ori gin tbeiiomeiiolature might be expect ed to be French. There is an abundant evidence thnt tbe playing cards wblcb rapidly found heir way all over Europe were made 1n Venice. As each country got lo making Its own cure tbe emblems of tbe suits were changed to please tbe national fancy until there It nothing left today of tbe original faith, char ity, Justice and fortitude wblcb were represented on tbe first Italian packs. "Every rose baa Its thorn, and on for. ftooately tbe thorn outlives tbe roae." ' ' QUEER HOSPITALITY. A Curious Experience In th. Wilde of Arabia. Of the curious Ideas nt hospitality beld by some nt I tie natives of mat wild country lying beiweeu Kiti'ilait and Damascus two travelers, cnpiaio Butler and captain Ayimer. tell In th Geographical Miil-miim-: "We tntum Feysul I Mi Itaslnd la minor rnier m Arabia, -miug In a low room. I lie nun of win ' as supported hy wooden pillar. Al ' ml the slrles of the room were Npiemi carpels, on wlilcti sat hl viziers ami members of tils conn. II" Is a man oi ihlrtv three years, ivlm a dark. p.. lined beard, good, regu.ar features. Ion eyes that are cold and cruel, ami he has a nervous. HiIl-civ manner and was all the time arrauaiiig bis abba icloaki and combine and curl ing his mustache and beard and admit , lug himself In a small, cheap lonuim; glass that hung just behind him Above Ills head on the wall hung his silver mounted walking stick and 11 sword, the sheath of which was also covered Mn silver, lie was very richly dressed "On our arrival at the house placed at our disposal we congratulated nut selves on our good fortune In havlm: such a cordial welcome, but we ! speedily disillusioned. We had not been there more than five minutes when Feysul's head slnve. a richly dressed personage called linhin. came to tel. us I hat tlii' emir woil.d not take nir camels or otir money as he iiad piei. v Of boll) hill I llill he Would like liii.'i of Kumpenn make or of Interest tv we happened to nave. Tills whs on -too true anil during our live das' siav there there was a continual pioeew-ion of slaves and hungers on from the ni tie demanding tliliiL's for Hie emit am' his viziers and lavorlies and dcma"o Ing them in sueii a win tnni It Impossible lor lis lo retnse. Al lasi we had practically nothing of any vii.ii.- left, having been II cd of na'ii.e revolver. couipiiss. various cioitie and other nrtleii-s of nnr kit. "Apart t nun this system of more or less polite robbery we were web Irea' ed try the emir and had our food sim us from the rustic by hlin Alsun three or four limes a dav we had .1 royal commiiiid from film and us.ii ii. I go up lo the castle and drum r n cups of coffee and excellent sweet lea with him and talk about Ills counirv and Europe. He was always verv genial on these occasions, and I m-n estly think he considered he was ire:.' Ing us very well In not taking all had and turning us adrift 10 die I" the desert." - RHEUMATISM. One Course of Treatment For the Cure of the Disease. To cure rheumatism It Is necessa-v to rid the system of the excess of uric acid. Htid to do this a proper iliei is even more Important than the, use ot drugs, though In very severe i-ases the latter are not to lie despised In con junction Willi Hie dieting Hint is abso lutely ossein l:i I. The .Massactiusetts General hospital of I'.osteii allow s the follow dig diet .i its iiit-une'iic paihtits: (iiali.110 or brow ii bread wnite bread (limited to one-half slice dally, corn, rice, mPk. eggs. Ilmil millings, el ;n -tiers. Im'iiOs. peas all kl"cs n vegetables, exriyt potatoes, t aioi'ii and aspaiauiis, run barb. freh fish, butici. rl so. nni termlik. rn-i'ii. ilKinlne wind's and toast Ave id nil meats, starch, i.r potatoes, wnite lircnil and imui'H. Tbe sensible use of water noth In ternally 11 ml externally p. ays a targe part In the prevention or cure of rheu matism. One or two glasses, either bot or cold, taken be I ore nreakta.si every morning Is excellent to start lUe organs of digestion for the day, and at least one glass should be taken be tween meals. Uften tue plain water will be enough l move 11 slightly coir stipnted person, but It not a mild men leafed water may be taken Instead. 11 Is very essential to keep the bowels open In cases of rheumatism. Trie acid In tbe system Is a poison and It must not be forgnjteu that poisonous waste matter Is also elim inated through the skin. The pores of the skin must be kept freely open and not allowed to become clogged If we hope to obtain tbe best results with rheumatic cases.- A hot bath at bed time Is often very helpful.- Delineator MadSening Snuff. On the Amazon river several Indian tribes use suuff. called parecii, wblcb Is made of tbe seeds of a species of plant. Wben a bout of snuff taking Is determined on the people become high ly Intoxicated and then use the snuff Tbe effect of pareca Is so violent tbat the taker drops as If shot and lies In sensible for some time. Those more accustomed to It are highly excited, dancing and singing as If mad. Tbe effect soon subsides. Other tribes use It to repel ague during tbe wet season. Plenty to Do Them. "Remember that you can't do every thing with money." "Ob. I know tbat But tbe things you can't do with money are being done by so many other people tbat there's no reason why one should want to do them." Chicago Kecord-Uerald. r Sightseeing. . "How did you manage to see every thing lo Rome inside of two days?" "Well, yon see. we got up early, my wife went to tbe shops, my daughter j to the picture galleries, and I took In ur restaurants, in me evening we compared notes." Fllegende Blatter. Contradictory. "There la safety lo numbers," quoted the wise guy. "Yes. until you discover tbat too many rooks spoil tbe broth." added tbe simple mug. Philadelphia Record. DANGER FROM ICE. N Article of Food Is 80 Carslessly Handled. ' A writer In the Atlantic Monthly emphasizes one cause of (he danger of Infection from Ice. Scarcely another article of human consumption receives so bnn h direct handling Just before Its use as does tills food. Milk and water, tea aat coll'ee are poured. Bread, incur' ami butter are cut. Bread, probably han dled more than any other foul on the list, lias a hard crust which olleis a rather unfavorable lodging place for germ life. Ice, ou the contrary, washes the hands of every person who handles it and affords 1111 ever ready liquid medium for the Itumcdlulc ab sorption of the hosts of bacteria which hands may carry. Tho carelessness of the handlers of Ice, their utter disre gard of the resting places where It may receive Infection, may be partly due to their lin k of realization Hint h e is 11 food, as real a food as meat. Whatever the cause, few substances which pass through the digestive proc esses of man receive such treatment. Its surface 'contaminated by Hie pas sage of men and horses In the cutting. Its sides and base fouled by muddled platforms and smirched straw, cover ed with the llllli of black ice cars nuil dust swept freight stations, your cake ot Ice commonly receives Its only cleaning Just before II enters the I chest. So lar as the Iceman Is 1011 i crned. this Is generally a hasty Inc. i: with a lime worn whisk broom ve!, filled Willi I he dust of the street an-: blackened v. It Ii conslaiit use. Accord ing lo the personal testimony of vntl im Icemen, not even the precaution o! n inoiiienlarv washing beneath t . faucet is ordinarily taken. MISSION OF THE LAND. To Produce Comnodi'.ii.'; For the 8erv """" ice of Mankind. The mission of the land Is to pro Omr and 1, 01 p on producing food. il 0 slock, lumber and other coihueiillles f"" I he i T l -e 1 ' uei'i. Me who owns land ami Is Ital! leti nt lo thl-i H gni!'.y of a moral wrong, and he wlm takes good land out of cnnmilssloii and sur fers' It to lie unproductive ami nselese Is cullly of a greater one. This Is the only criterion by which we can prop erly Judge of t!i right of an Individual to own l.'.tal In larve tracts. The good results attendant upon small Individual holdings are nnturtl. The purposes of nature In the ttpwa'd evolution of man are usually heller carried out In this way. and not be cr.nse. as Is so frequently itrpiied. every uiati has an Inherent right to ps ownership. The lazy, the Incapable ami the densely Ignorant assnvei'ty have 110 such right, and lino isiri precious and its mission too hl,.:h to lie thus was! i ll. If Hie owner "f a great country es tate can farm his land us well as or la t!ct titan If it were in e:uall In Id lug": IT. fnilewl'ig the precept of Swift, he inmle Iv-i ears of corn or Inn blades of grass grmv w'e-tc one grew be;, re: if lie sii .i-. hi ,.. tioti with a li 'iter breed of In r--, iiittle er sheep, well :i:d good. .No one Willi any I e v 1! 'i' of c,-oi Ic-i could say he va (I !:; any injttri (o the world or ,. ..eiij..,; 1- s mil fie aeviiiit tif bird 'that lie owns. I Ml t wlinr lie does v,it!i il fi t- ul;!1' lie Is morally responsible. -David I'.u.lnm In Aliunde. ...I' The Ini s-'.i;i if t i; P;nirtrr. Tin1 pai o'aiui: was Invented lev a f;eot- l!iuati named llo'ier! !l u ker. w!m olM'lird a license In. Loudon It! 1 TXT ai d ctecle.l : ro!ti':d I on i.e; dor square, lie was associated , with Ib b crt l-'ulton. tie prictlciil invei'tcv of the steamboat.' who Inlrodin ed i. iie -minis lulu I'n ris In IT'"i. tut' !"! ed In favor if Tlnivr perl, :10s In otitcr lo give his attention to the application of steam lo boats. Thayer raised a rotunda on the Ibatlevird Mottlniarrre, whence conies the name of the Pas sage des I'aiioramas. iSottaparte caused plans to be drawn up for eight pano ramas, in which his conquests were to be shown to lite Parisians, whom ho always tiled lo Impress with the mag nitude of the achievements In order to keep them faithful to his star.- Hit' these projects were never realized. C alve'a "Screaming." I could ta'k for hours about my coun try nnd my own people. I nin so fond of both. On my birthday many of them came In procession to see me and I danced what Is called the "bourree" wllh them. They say such quaint things. An old woman once, hearing me sing, asked, "Doesn't It hurt you to scream like that?" A peasant once told me he was sure the proprietor of tbe grotto would give me 5 francs a day to slug there. Calve In London Standard. Tha Hater of Quietude. ' "Thnt niau says he will create some real excitement If he gets Into con gress." "Ves," answered Senator Sorghum, "be Is one of those peculiar patriots who want to climb on board the ship of state simply for the pleasure of rocking the boat." Washington Star. Suspicious Circumstances. "Do you know tbey suspect that old man of lending a double life." "What gives rise to that?" ' "Why, he's so mean and cross around borne that they think be must be pleasant and agreeable somewhere." Exchange. , ' Ought to Have Known Better. , "What's the matter?" "Just quarreled rith my wife." "What about?" "She aald tbat a woman whom we met was beautiful and I agreed with her." Houston Poet. GOING FOR THE DOCTOR. And Also tha Reason Why He Wai After tha Medical Man. "Yes, your honor," said the tiiau who had been arrested for driving his automobile at an illegal rate of speed "1 admit that I was running thirty miles au hour, but I was going fot the doctor." "OU, you were going for the doctor eh? Can you offer any proof to sub stantlate that statement?" "Yes. I can bring In the doctot himself as a witness, if necessary." "Cm! That ought to make a differ ence. The law Is explicit, but wii must grant that there may be exteu uatiug circumstances. There liuvo been tlnicH when the court would have been glad to run thirty miles an hour If the court could have done so. Cer tainly a mini should not be held too strictly to the provisions of the law If he happens to violate It for the pur pose of trying to save a life. The court Is very strongly Inclined to dis miss the case. Did you explain to the ofllcer who arrested you that you were going for the doctor?" "Yes, your honor." "Ofllcer, what have you to say?" "Well, your honor, I asked him, when he said he was going for the doctor, what ho was going for the doc tor for." "Yes. That was very sensible. What was he trnlnit for the doctor for?" "For to take the doctor and two ji i;ng ladles for 11 ride, as I found out unbeknownst to him." "Thlrly dollars and costs." Clilcn;;n lie. t-d-llerald. A COLLECTOR'S RUSE. The V.'ny He Secured a Rare Piece of Dresden Ware. We should cultivate our fancy Tor obi china as did the lale Mr. Wcrthelmor. the ai t dealer, concerning whom there Is a story that every bargain hunter slmt'.ld lake to heart. ' V.'ci llu'imej' was one day passing through .May fair when he tint iced a sale about to take place of the "furni ture 11 ml household effects of a de ceased nobleman." Me walked through the rooms where dealers were critical ly examining choice specimens of un doubtedly genuine Chippendale and Sheraton. Interspersed among early Victorian furniture, his eyes apparent ly dwelling 011 nothing. Hut when the sale was 11 bout to commence he asked the auctioneer if he would take I.'i.tKM) for everything in the house. The offer was accepted. "Now you can resell everything for 1110," said Mr. Werthelnter, "except this," nnd he took down from the mantelpiece a dirty or nament some nine Inches high and put it into his pocket. It was a piece of the rarest Dresden, bearing the covet ed mark of the waud of Aesculapius, which he afterward sold for 1UXK). How the dealers metaphorically kick ed themselves for overlooking It and how they bid ngalnst 0110 another in the chance of securing a similar treas- I lire is still a tradition In Iloud street. ! Loudon Chronicle. i She Makes a Suggestion, "How beautiful and clean the hori zon looks," said l'olly as ou the second day out she came up 011 deck and threw herself down in the steamer chair beside me. , "Well It ought to be," said I, looking up from my book. "The captain has been sweeping It with his glass for the past six hours." "That reminds me," said l'olly, turn ing two very grave brown eyes upon me. "Did you remember to bring that vacuum cleaner along with you, as I suggested ';"' "No," said I unwarily. "I remem- I be red to forget It. however. What on eaith does anybidy want with n vacuum 1 leaner at sea?" "It was omy for yon, dear." said roily. "1 thought you would like to hnve your brains massaged with It oc casionally." New York Times. The Minister's Tools. No workman can do good work with out sullh-ient tools. Hooks are the ministers tools, lie must have them If he is to serve his people well. Yet many u minister's salary is so small that he Is unable to provide the com monest necessities for his family and have enough left to supply himself wllh needed books. The church that makes It linposs!; le for Irs pastor to buy hooks harms hs.-lf even more than It Irarms the minister. Cumberland Presbyterian. Etiquette. In our republican atmosphere old fashioned etiquette has ceased to be necessary, but the word "etiquette" Is suggested whenever one hears the phrase "that's the ticket." for "eti quette" Is French for "ticket," and Its present English signification sprang from the old custom of distributing tickets or etiquettes which contained the ceremonies, etc., to be observed at any formal event, exactly like our word "program." An Alibi. Examiner What Is an alibi? Can didate For the Bar An alibi Is com mitting a crime In one place when you are In another place, if you can be in two other places, the alibi is all the stronger In law. ruck. v Marriage. "Marriage la a lottery." quoted the wise guy. "Oh, that's an antiquated Idea." ob served the simple mug. ."Nowadays It's a- game of skill." Philadelphia Record. The fellow who doesn't allow an alarm clock to Interfere with bis morn ing nap Illustrates the triumph of mind ever matter. Philadelphia Record. I WEBSTER'S UNIVERSAL DICTIONARY COPYRIGHTED 1909 Now Ready For Distribution As the next latest dictionary wa9 published more than nineteen years ago, this announcement will be of unusual interest to educational people everywhere.' 50,000 More Words Than Any Other Webster The only new, authoritative dictionary, with 1909 Atlas and 12 other special departments, besides many other new and transcendent features. CAUTION This dictionary is not published by the original publishers of Wesbster dictionaries or by their successors, whose latest production is the International, published in 1890, now quite obsolete, but by one of the largest publishing houses in the world. Webster's Universal Dictionary contains an article on "faulty diction," worth more than the cost of the book. Re correct in the use of the language and thus command the respect and influence of your fellow men. Colored plates, 2,500 illustrations, 220? pages, substantially bound in full leather, gold stamped, thumb Index, size 11 1-4x9 inches, 5 inches thick, weight 14 lbs. Sent charges prepaid, free for examination to re sponsible persons. Send postal for twenty-four page sample book free. -THE Saaleld Publishing Co, Akron, - ... Ohio. PENNSYLVANIA RAILROAD FAIR JEFFERSON COUNTY AGRICULTURAL SOCIETY BROOKVILLE, - PA. SEPTEMBER 14 TO 17, 1909 C. For this nrratlnn ExrurMon Tlckpln will lie o!d Herumber 14, 15, 1(1, and 17, ood to return until fepu roller IS li.cluslve, trim Plusliui h, Krn-t Brady, DuBols. Sterling Run. Plieflu Id, I-nil Cit ek, m d Intermediate otailriM. at REDUCED RATES Minimum Rnte 25 Cent .1. It. WO(ll) Passenger Truffle Manager Do You Know That your heart Is wound up fur life, that while you aleeptt wnrkx, that It lent ini.wro times every dny mid moves 1S0OU poundnof hlood through your body every ilay'r Do you know iIihi Jiit now you "light to ill. I vnu can nut hp your limn do Its work miiiirnl; for the Imiter the phi her more fine vour heart neeilH If yon Ink.- Nnlu e' Herb It will brace you uuprlilngly throu.h the hot weather and give vnu lh very best of n fie-hlng health. I In re are many of the Keynoldivllle people using .Natures Merlin now with Hie best of results, and there are SOU people or more In l he ii.wn thai, wrulri feel better If thev would use Nature's Herbs. Kor there Is noihlim that lakes the pouxm out of Hie blood, aches mid fain, nut of the body, and tltTnes and soreness out of the joints and muscles like Natures Hnilw. Klghl. ihtouirli this hot sultry weather is a good lime to take them. They will do you lots of good. For sale by the Drug Stores of Reynoldsville, Pa,; A. Carlson's Grocery Store, Prescottville, Pa.; Joseph Bateson's Store, Pathmel, Pa. Toronto Exhibition AUGUST 30 SEPTEMBER 13J $9.75 VIA ALL KAIL From Falls Creek Tickets nn sa:e Aug ist. 28 to 3"ptemher 11: Good to BUFFALO, ROCHESTER rSHMTJ tJlHi"!ili!"S.'J,...,J...11. PENN SYLVAN I'A CTATE NORMAL SCHOOL YJf Our 26th year opens Send for our new catalogue ui uciaii. r roper training loriiic in iia Droaaesc sense. laeu l oca rj on. 13C0 feet above tbe aeo. Perfect modern equipment. Scholarly, Christian II influence. Dr. JAMES . ANIENT, Principal, Indiana, Pa. II AT UFO. W. BOYD (jeiiera! Passenger Agent $8,752 ria Rail & Steamer Return t Sp'rn,vr 14. 1909 RY. j & PITTSBURGH September 14to, 1909. beautifallj'- illustrated full I A
Significant historical Pennsylvania newspapers