Beliefonte, Pa., January 1. 1909.
The way the Plates Are Removed
From the Animal.
The comb of tortoise shell has a
very pale and translucent yellow, the
only really valuable kind of shell.
“Many people think this pale, un-
motiled shell the cheaper kind,” the
dealer said. “Do you know why? Be-
cause the imitations are all made like
this.
“hat is one vulgar error about
shell. Another is that the tortoise is
killed to get its shell casing. That is
as absurd an error as it would be to
say a sheep was killed to get its wool.
“What is done is this: The fisher-
men, having caught a tortoise, tie him
and then cover his back with dry grass
and leaves. They set fire to this stuff,
it burns slowly, and the heat causes
the thirteen plates of the shell to
loosen at the joints. With a knife the
plates are pried off, and afterward the
tortoise is set free. The base, or root,
of his shell is intact and will grow
again. If tortoises were killed to get
their shell they would long since have
become extinct.
“No, no. Every tortoise is, as It
were, a farm—a shell farm. Fishermen
catch him regularly and with heat and
a knife gently remove his shell.” —
New Orleans Times-Democrat.
COLORS IN THE OCEAN.
Various Causes For the Different Tints
of the Water.
Sky and cloud colors are often re-
flected in the sea, but just as the air
has its sunset glory so water has it.
changing tiuts quite apart from mere
reflection.
Olive and brown lines in the waves
off the coast come from the muddy
sediment washed from the shore, as
blues arise chiefly from reflected sky.
But there are many other colors in the
ocean. On almost every long voyage
at sea spots of reddish brown color
are noticed at one time or another,
When a few drops of the discolored
water are examined under a micro-
scope myriads of minute cylinder shap-
ed algae are seen, some separate, some
joined together In scores. It is this
organisin—sometimes called “sea saw-
dust”—which has given the name to
the Red sea, although It also abounds
in other waters. Sometimes the wa-
ter far from land will be seen to be of
& chocolate hue for an extent of scv-
eral miles, nud this is caused by mil-
lions upon millions of minute one ~e!
ed animals which lash themselves
along, each on his erratic individua!
course, by means of the finest of hair-
like threads of cilia.—Pearson’s.
The Traces of the Beasts.
On every side in the Malay wilds
the traces of the beasts—which here
live as scheduled, as safe from moles:
tation, as did their ancestors in pre-
Adamite days—are visible on tree
trunk, on beaten game path and on
the yielding clay at the drinking
places by the hurrying stream. Here
a belt of mud nine feet from the
ground shows that an elephant has
rubbed his itching back against the
rough bark of a tree, and, see, contrsze
halrs are still sticking in the hardened
clay. There a long, sharp scratch re-
peated at regular intervals marks the
passing of a rhinoceros. Here, agnin.
is the pad mark of a tiger barely an
hour old, and the pitted tracks of deer
of all sizes and varieties surround the
deeply punched holes which are the
footsteps of an elephant. — Cornhill
Magazine,
Settled the Sign.
When Willinn M. Evarts was sec-
retary of state a new elevator man
had been cmployed in the department
who did not know Mr, Evarts by sight.
In Lis car was a conspicuous sign to
the effect that by order of the secre-
tary of state smoking was prohibited.
One day Mr. Evarts boarded the car
in company with a famous senator,
the latter sinoking a cigar. The new
man promptly touched the smoker on
the elbow aud said, pointing at the no-
tice, “Can't you read that sign?" Mr.
BEvarts promptly tore down the of-
fending notice and, turning to the ele-
vator man, said: “What sign? I don’t
see any.” The attendant, suspecting
something, wisely held his peace, but
he followed the pair out and asked the
guard at the door who the chap with
the large head was. The guard told
him.
England's Prettiest Villages.
After a very careful survey we ven-
ture to write down the names of the
six English villages that we consider
the prettiest in the land so far as our
own opinion and wide experience are
concerned, The choice is made impar-
tially and with full knowledge and due
recognition of the claims of each to its
high place. Here are the six: Bon-
church, Isle of Wight; Clovelly, Devon.
shire; Wilchampton, Dorset; Sonning,
Oxfordshire; Shere, Surrey, and Clap-
ham, Yorkshire.—London Strand Maga-
zine.
Accomplished.
“She's got a future.”
“Can she act?™
“No, but she can work her eyes bet-
ter than any lady in the business, and
as for wearing swell clothes—gee, she
couldn't do better If she was twins!”
— Life.
Very Careful.
Indulgent Uncle—Jack, are you care-
ful about your personal expenses these
Gays? Jack—Yes, sir. I manage, with
some effort, to make them balance my |
income to the exact cent. — Chicago |
Tribune. |
Nominating a President.
Patll the constitutional wmendment |
of 1504 the president azd the vice pres-
iden: were voted for on the same bal-
iot, the man with the second highest
number of votes becoming vice presi-
dent. The presidential electors have
pot always been chosen by popular
vote.
Before 1800 it was the general cus-
om for the state legislatures to choose
the electors, and it was not until 1828
that presidential electors were chosen
in nearly all the states by popular vote.
As late as 1876 the Colorado legislature
chose the three presidential electors to
represent that state. There is nothirg
in the constitution to prevent any state
legislature naming fits own electors
without appeal to the people provided
such a method of election is prescribed
by the state laws.
From 1800 to 1824 presidential can-
didates were chosen by the members
of congress in caucus. In 1824 the
electoral college failed to make a choice
from the candidates so submitted, and
the matter went to the house of repre-
sentatives. Four years later Tennes-
see's legislature nominated Andrew
Jackson without any reference to the
congressional caucus, His opponent,
John Quincy Adams, was nominated in
the old way, but that was the end of
presidential nominations by congres-
sional caucus.
Gathered Him In.
“You look very much excited, dear.”
he said when she entered the parlor
where he was waiting for her,
“Well, 1 should think I ought to look:
excited,” she answered, “I've just had
the most awful argument with ma.”
And she began to weep hysterically.
“Why, what is the matter, my dar
ling?" he inquired as he slid an arm
around her waist and endeavored to
soothe her. “What was the argument?”
“Oh, how can 1 tell you? She sald
you were only trifling with me and
that you would never propose, and |
told her she did you a great Injustice,
for I believed that you would propose
tonight. She said you wouldn't, and |
said you would, and we had it hot and
heavy. Dear George, you will not let
ma triumph over me, will you?"
“W-why, certainly not,” answered
George.
“I knew it, my darling,” the dear girl
exclaimed; “come, let us go to ma and
tell her how much mistaken she was.”
And they did, and ma didn’t seem to
be very much broken down over the
affair, after all.
A Little Paint Badly Applied.
The Journal des Debats in an article
on “Napoleon on the Stage” tells why
the play “L'Homme de Destin” was
taken from the stage when its triumph
was at the zenith. One evening, ac-
cording to the story, the emperor, ac-
companied by his friend Duroe, went
in disguise to the Porte St. Martin
theater, where the piece was being per-
formed, Eugene Chevalier appearing
as the man of destiny. They bought
a box, but had hardly entered it when
the emperor broke forth in violent exe-
erations against the “fool managers.”
It seemed that the decorators had left
in the box pots of oil and paint, and
into these the emperor had stepped.
“Wild with rage,” says the writer, “he
rusbed from the house and, to make
matters worse, was recognized in the
lobby. No paper mentioned the inci
dent, but by order of the emperor the
play was never produced again, and
Chevalier never appeared again as the
man of destiny—and all on account of
a little paint badly applied.”
Passengers as Bouncers.
A passenger in a full railway car-
riage in England has a perfect legal
right to push away any one else who
tries to get into it. This decision was
given at Marylebone police court when
a man complained that he was pushed
out of a carriage at Bishop's road sta-
tion by another passenger, who said
the car was full. “It is the duty of
conductors,” said the court, “to see
that the trains are not overcrowded.
They are perfectly entitled to use
reasonabie force to prevent any one
from boarding cars when they are full.
If they fail to avail themselves of this
right the passengers are entitled to
act for themselves.”
The Sccret of Success.
The motto of success was given Ib
this tale, told at a banquet:
A Swede among the miners in the
west was noted for always striking pay
dirt. His fellows thought that there
must be some secret to the unusual
success of the Swede and questioned
him as to how he always succeeded in
finding the spot where the gold cropped
out.
“Yell, Ay don't know ef Ay can tell
anytang "bout dat.” answered Ole. “Ay
only know dat Ay yust keep on dig-
gin'."—Milwaukee Free Press.
Wrong.
A man recently entered a restaurant
and ordered a steak. When the walter
served him with it the customer said,
“I'm afraid you'll have to take it back,
for 1 find I've come out without my" —-
“Purse.” of course interrupted the
walter.
“No,” replied the man, “my false
teeth!”
More Trouble.
“What's the trouble now?” demanded
the janitor. “More heat?”
“No.” said the tenant of the latest
tkyscraper. “but I want these clouds
pushed away from my windows."
Louisville Courier-Journal,
Not Like the Play.
“Life ain't like the plays.”
“How now?"
“YYhen 1 go ealling no housemaid
ever *olls ma the family history while
making pusses at the fu-niture with a
feather duster "St. Louis Republic.
i
MAGIC GLASS.
A Curious Mirror That May Be Made
Transparent.
One of the most curicas inventions
of this age is what is cailed platinized
glass, A piece of glass is coated with
an exceedingly thin layer of a liquid
charged with platinum and then raised
to a red heat. The platinum becomes
united to the glass in such a way as
to form an odd kind of mirror.
The glass has pot really lost its
transparency, and yet if one places it
against a wall and looks at it he sees
his image ns in an ordinary looking
glass, But when light is allowed to
come through the glass from the other
side, as when it is placed in a window,
it appears perfectly transparent, like
ordinary glass.
By constructing a window of plati-
nized glass one could stand close be-
hind the panes in an unilluminated
room and behold clearly everything
going on outside, while passersby look-
ing at the window would behold only
a fine mirror or set of mirrors in which
their own figures would be reflected.
while the person inside remained in-
visible,
In France various tricks have been
contrived with the aid of this glass.
In one a person, seeing what appears
to be an ordinary mirror, approaches
it to gaze upon himself. A sudden
change in the mechanism sends light
through the glass from the back,
whereupon it Instantly becomes trans-
parent, and the startled spectator finds
himself confronted by some grotesque
figure that had been hidden behind th
magie glass.—New York Tribune.
SPEED LAWS OF 1816.
Coaches Going Nine Miles an Hour
Frightened the English.
The outery daily growing louder in
England against the excessive speed of
motor cars lends interest to the fol-
lowing passage from the Annual Regis-
ter for 1816:
A new coach was started in the
spring to run to Brighton, a distance
of fifty-two miles, in six hours, * * *
This, however, became alarming, par
ticularly in the populous neighborhood
of Newington, through which it passed.
and the parish officers there caused in
formation to be lald against the driv
ers for driving furiously on the publi
road so as to endanger the lives of hi
majesty’s subjects.
The result of this is to be read in
Mansard’s “Parllamentary Reports.”
June 10, 1816,
The attorney general moved for
leave to bring in a bill the object cf
which was the protection of the lives
and limbs of his majesty's subjects by
correcting the enormous abuses cf
stagecoach drivers. Within these few
days it would be hardly credible what
a number of applications he had re-
ceived on this subject.
Some accounts were enough to freeze
one with horror. A gentleman of ve-
racity had informed him that on Tues.
day, May 21. at 5:30, the Trafalzar
and Regulator coaches set off from
Manchester and got to Liverpool at
8:20, doing this journay in two hours
fifty minutes, at the rate of twelve
miles an hour.—~New York Sun,
Fiji Islanders’ Sugar Cane Dance.
A very curious and exceedingly elev
er dance may be witnessed in Fiji call-
ed by the natives “the sugar cane
meke,” or sugar cane dance. It rep:
resents the growth of the sugar cane
In the first figure the dancers squat
low on the ground, shake their heads.
shut their eyes and murmur slowly
and softly an unintelligible sentence.
Gradually they all stand up together,
growing taller aud taller, and as they
“grow” they wave their arms and
tremble all over from ankle to head.
like the tall, tasseled cane waving in
the wind, and still they keep on chant-
ing louder and louder. The last fig-
ure represents a series of combats
meant to symbolize the exactions of
the chiefs, who compel the “kaisi”
willing and unwilling, to come and cut
their crops.—London Standard.
Ambulance Field Examination.
Scene—Hamilton South Haugh; sol
dler supposed to have been wounded
is brought to surgeon's tent by bear
ers. Bearer (reporting)—Severe scalp
wound, sir, accompanied with insensi
bility. Surgeon—Well, what have yon
done? Bearer—Dressed the wound, sir.
and gave him a little whisky and wa-
ter. Surgeon—Whisky and water! How
did you expect an insensible man to
swallow that? Bearer—He axed fort.
sir.—London Illustrated Bits.
Tricks of the Trade. s
Buyers of patent leather should look
out for skins in which holes have been
neatly covered with a piece of thin
paper which Is varnished over, the un-
finished side being puttied up with a
mixture of glue and leather dust.—
Shoe Manufacturers’ Monthly.
Genius.
As diamond cuts diamond and one
hone smooths a second, all parts of
intellect are whetstones to each other,
and genius, which is but the resuil
of their mutual sharpening, is char
acter too.—Alfred Tennyson.
Nor “The Long Green”
Hicks—They say that the biind can
distinguish colors by the sense of
touch. Wicks—That's nothing. One
doesn’t have to be blind to feel blue.—
Boston Transcript.
A Comparison.
In a certain store there is a salesman
named Green. Small Clarence learned
his name and said, “Say, Mr. Green,
there's a man living two doors from us
who has a name the same color a®
yours!”
Belated Revenge.
“Once when I was a small lad on my
father's futm In Ohio.” said a judge,
“a peddler got me to help him make
some repairs to his wagon. 1 did so
withont any thought of pay, but when
the vehicle was mended as he drove
off he told me the next time he came
by our house on his rounds he would
bring me a gift in the shape of a copy
of ‘Robinson Crusoe,’ a book I had
long coveted. How 1 waited for him
to come again and how my heart fell
when he failed to bring me the vol-
ume! Again and again he promised,
but never made good his word. Years
passed. and 1 grew to manhood, but
the memory of that crue! disappoint-
ment never vanished from my mind.
1 was made a school trustee of my
distr!~t. and one day a man applied
for a position as teacher. In him 1
rocognized the peddler who had blast-
ed my youthful hopes. There was an-
other candidate for the job, and mine
was the deciding vote. Nothing in life
ever gnve me more pleasure than in
votinz against the ex-peddier, who for
hi= deception on a boy lost a good
place. It was perhaps carrying the
spirit of revenge too far, but there are
rot many who would have done other-
wise." Baltimore American.
A Skater’'s Daring.
Few feats of skating have ever ex-
celled the exploit of one of Napoleon's
officers performed shortly after the
fight at Jena in 1806. The emperor dis-
patehed an officer to Marshal Mortier
requiring him to seize certain impor-
tant towns without delay. When the
officer arrived at the mouth of the
ithe, where the river is seven and one-
half miles wide, he was threatened
with serious loss of time. The river
wns just covered with ice: therefore to
row over was out of the question. He
could not cross by the nearest bridee
without going twenty miles out of his
way on roads heavy with snow, and
he grodged the time that would thus
be wasted. So he resolved to skate
across the thin, freshly formed ice.
Had he tried walking he would have
snnk at once, but by skimming along
on his skates at the top of his speed he
got over the river both dry and un-
harmed. By this daring if dangerous
deed he egaved six hours, did what Na-
| poleon bade him do and won great
| eredit for his bold and clever exploit.
London Bakers In 1310,
In 1310 we find the following Bow
bakeresses accused of selling halfpen-
ny loaves deficient in weight: Sarra
Foting, Christina Terrice, Godiyeva
Foting, Matilda de Bolingtone, Chris-
tina Prichet, Isabella Sperling, Alice
Pegges, Johanna de Countebrigge and
Isabella Pouveste. One wonders why
the husbands were not summoned. In
a similar case in 1316, when Agnes
Foting's bread was seized, it was “ad-
judged that her bread should be for-
foited and given to the prisoners in
Nengate because her husband did not
come to avow (own) the bread.” Are
we to assume that in the absence of
the husbands the bread was merely
forfeited without the infliction of a
fine? An indication of the importance
of the breadmaking business is also
found in an enactment of the reign of
Henry II1. to the effect that “every
cart of Bremble (Brombley-by-Bow) or
Stevenhethe (Stepney) that comes into
the city with bread shall pay each
day a halfpenny.”—S8t. James' Gazette.
A Tardy Act of Justice.
Marriages between English actresses
and men of a high social position be-
zan in the eighteenth century, if no
earlier. There was Lavinia Fenton,
the Polly Peachum of Gay's “Beggar's
Opera,” who became Duchess of Bol-
ton; there was Miss Farren, who mar-
ried Lord Derby; also Miss Brunton
became Lady Craven not long before
Lord Thurlow married Miss Bolton.
Earliest of the list, though, comes the
Earl of Peterborough, who wmerried
Anastasia Robinson, the singer, and
kept the marriage secret until a few
days before his death in St. James’
palace, when he assembled his relatives
and friends and publicly acknowledged
the woman “to whom he owed the
best and happiest hours of his life,” a
tardy act of justice that caused the
lady to swoon away.
How Ledgers Got Their Name.
On the authority of the best lexi-
cographers “ledger” is an adaptation
of a once common word, “ligger,” sig-
nifying any large book suited better
for lying on a desk than for carrying
about. Sometimes this was applied to
a large account book, cartulary, or the
like, frequently a great breviary for
use in church, as distinct from a “por-
tas,” or small one, carried by a “book
bosom priest.” “Coucher” is another
old synonym for “ligger,” the foregoer
of the now general “ledger.”
Old Theory Confirmed.
Tommy, whose nose was out of joint,
had been permitted tc see the new
‘baby In its bath.
“Where's his other leg?’ he asked.
eying the infant with strong dis:avor.
“It's doubled up under him." ex-
plained the nurse,
“Yes!” he snorted. “Jes like de
blamed stork what brung 'im!"—Puck.
Saved Her Life.
Riggs—Hear about Mrs. Titewadd?
Told her husband she -vould kill her-
self if he didn’t buy her a new hat
Jiggs—What did Titewadd do? Riggs
—Got estimates on funerals, found he
could save $2 by buying the hat and
saved her life.—Baltimore American.
Stage Paint.
Painting the face on the stage Is a
barbarous custom come down to us
from the age of oil lamps and candles.
With gas and electric light and opera
glasses for the remote seats in the
house it is not needed.—London Mask.
LADIES’ COATS.
leather and
and colors.
match.
handsome.
LYON &
17-12
Lyon &.
This is the place for you to buy vour
NEW YEAR GOODS
We have everything that is useful and practical at
the lowest price.
CHILDREN'S COATS.
Ladies’ Fur Muffs and Scarfs.
Misses’ Fur Sets.
Children’s Fur Sets.
Ladies’ and Chidren’s Golf Gloves in all
colors and black.
Ladies’ Cotton Gloves.
Ladies’ Kid Gloves.
Ladies’ and Children’s Mittens.
Men's Gloves of all kind.
Handkerchiefs for Men,
dren, Silk, Linen and Cotton.
Men, Wemen and Children.
Umbrellas for Men, Women and Chil-
dren, Silk and Cotton.
Purses, Pocket-books, and Chatalines in
Gold Pins, Brooches, Bracelets.
Neck Wear for Women.
Neck Ties for Men.
Silk Scarfs in all colors.
Embroidered Patterns in Waists.
Embroidered Frontings for Waistf.
Handsome Waists in fine Emb. and Lace.
Fine Lisle and Silk Gauze Hose in Black
Satin Damask Table Linen and Napkins to
Satin Damask Towels, something very
Coat Sweaters for Men, Women and Children.
Fancy Persian Ribbons for Fancy Bags and a
great many other useful presents.
space to give you a complete list. Come into our
store and we will help you to make a selection for
Men, Women and Children at specially low prices.
Allegheny St.,
Company.
MISSES’ COATS.
Women and Chil-
Silk Mufflers for
metal.
Have not the
COMPANY,
Belletonte, Pa.
Bellefonte Shoe Emporium.
0
Men’s $3.00
Boy’s $2.50
Shoes
now
successor to
Bush Arcade Building,
Boots and Shoes
0
Leather Boots
now $2.25.
Leather Boots
now $1.98.
75 cent Baby Shoes now 48c
Ladies’ $1.50 Warm Lined
now 98c.
Men’s $5.00 High Top Shoes
$3.75.
YEAGER’'S SHOE STORE.
Yeager & Davis.
BELLEFONTE, PA.