HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Seaforth News, 1937-10-21, Page 3THURSDAY, OCTOBER 21; 1937
THE SEAFORTH NEWS
PAGE THREE.
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fist you were to visit 'Nova Scotia
nod fall into the 'clutc'hes 'of a ,Nova
Scotia history 'fiend land the province
fairly teems with Them) you will be
ittformed -11'14 "first" things without
number that happened• in the prov-
ince by the sea.
You- will 'be told that the first set-
tlement in (America north doff St. Airg-
ItMine, Florida, was at jAnnapolis
lwoyaII; you :will be told, with Lsuitable
embellishments in each case, that She
Ifirat baptismal senvilce on this :contin-
ent took place in Nova Scotia, that
the first .drama to be produced in
!North 'America saw the light in Nova
Scotia and, to ,kip a few and come
Coma to modern times, 411111 the first
regular steamship ecmtmunication be-
tween Europe and America was via
•1':1alifax, through the httainess genius
.of a (Nova Scotian, that the 'Bret aero-
plane 'flight in the British l 1lpire
took place •at Cage Breton, that the
Hirst large teleprhone installation was
in a Nova Scotia olliery, and that
'tliit first trans,.A1ittti( wireless mess-
age was sent 'role, a station 111 :Nova
Scotia,.
Did you know, however. that Nova
'Scotia: 11111. the birthplace of. North
American 10111 r'r Only one deeply
versed in the mystic lore of illuenose
story can deco;i,c• for you the humor-
ous ,fact, -with twinkling eye, and
quiet smile ever-lurkingat thecorn-
ers of ;the month of the retia who
created a character whose name be-
Ca'ine a 'itauseh,Ad word among nine-
teenth century readers Of two contin-
ents. And oven the famous character
hime•sl.f cannot tate described :by many
of these historically -minded- Nota
Scotia ---"a .tall thin mint. with hol-
low cheeks and bright twinkling
black eyes , . a Colchester 'beau
tamed Yankee fop." 1Frven worse than
that, there are but few ,who can quote
one of •the character's witty "wise
saws," fore-nudtners of tine pungent
,philosophy of 'Josh Billings and ,Bill
Nye. There are but dew who can tell
a characteristic tale illustrative of this
crafty use of "soft sa•wder" or his
shrew•d'knowlledge of "'human natur„'
Al this is passing .strange, for there
arc but dew of these history fiends
who can point out in Windsor the
Sant Slick house, horse of Thomas
Chandler ,Hali-burton, and tall you
that it is one of the most 'historic
,spots in the province, There, how -
ever, in the li'tble white Geo-gian
home, nestling sedately on the banks
of the Avon River, serrotmded by
gull trees, was born American humor,
Newspaper Published -Stories
'lt was about the turn of the year
tbetween 11181314 and !115318 that there 'be-
gan to appear in !Joseph Howe's
paper, "'The IN'tivascotian," a series o'
remarkable tales tubont one Sam Slick,
of Slickville, Onion ;County, Cunnecti-
Thomas Chandler Haliburton,
author of the famous Sam Slick
stories which have been adapt-
ed for radio presentation by the
Canadian Broadcasting Corp-
oration.
crit, an itinerant •clocknitikc•r wh„
foetid ;Nona Scotia a veritable •happy
hunting ground 'both for customers
for his .r'kckss and for his c;fnstic com-
ment on people, customs and nt'tals.
It was, of course, the comment that
provided the material for the anony-
mous
nonmous Squire, who cnppoeedly journ-
eyed, with the Clockma'ker, itt writing
his accounts of Slick's conversations.
'rhe articles that .appeared in "The
Nos'ascatian' were unsigned and it
was not long before Bluenoses' 'won
ilered who it was who wrote with
broad, and at times, s'ontewhat Rabel-
aisian humor, rather fitter for the •tap -
which. he claimed, was ,the hone of
"the most tree and enlightened : citiz-
ens on the face of the girth".
floe articles continued to appear,
'bringing to a somewhat amazed group
of readers the tales, in ,rapid succes-
sion, • •of how 'firs. Pti'gwash, the in -
keeper's wife, overheard part of a
conversation regarding the "Lady
Ogle'', 41 recently wrecked ship, and
mistook the naive bo wean a read, live
woman, with somewhat disconcerting
results to Iles. 1Pugwasit; of note -Sant
and Itis father took into camp some
New fork racing experts with Sam's
colt, a much ,faster .aniana9 -toga' his ap-
pearance would indicate; of the
'' It1tle"tr'u'e old-fashioned "frolic" at
:Naha.' - Green's, and many, many,
others. 1lraterepersed with the talc's
vada 1111101 comment, such as. "The
difference hoev ten a wife and: a sweet-
heart i, near about as ;great as there
is between new and hard cider; a titan
neve- tires of lnuttin' one to his lfps,
but makes plaguy wry lace, at i'oth-
Then, in 15517, a icentuq• ago, the
papers were collected in hart. still an-
oayrttonsly, and published fly Howe
tinder the title. "The Sayings and Do-
ings of Samuel Slick, of Slickville",
This book 15'115 soon follcawed Int the
second and third volumes of tale,,
some of which verged upon the un-
printable.
Halifax of that day was anrnlrrei-
fully castigated, lack of enterprise
among Nova Scntiaus was severely
censured, and the necessity for prop-
er rail ccanmtunication and :bridges on
highways was strongly emphasized.
At the cost of a life-long friendship
between .FTalibu•rtnu, the judge -au 111 or,
anti Howe, the publisher -politician.
Sant Slick turned Ihe'broadeide of his
wit upon those who advocated res-
ponsible '10Vernturat and autiveraal
suffrage.
t is not the topical phase of tie
stork, however, that has repeated in-
terest for the reader Of today. It is IIx
tales, and the continent :that applies
as well today as a century ago, that
make the little volumes well worth
:the reading.
Amusing Characters
lads Vogler, whose feet were so
big that he had to putt on his trousers
e"'
n
-'l
supposed enemy that turned out to be
a Rock of mildly astonished sheep;
Captain !Ebenezer 'Fathom, known to
imlates as Tarim] 'Death, who ,could
tell, .from the kind of .gravel brought
up en the bottom of a sounding -dead,
to ,the thousandth part of gat inch
"what part of the universal world" his
vessel was in; Lchahod 'elate;, the
aver -conscientious Liverpool mereh-
ant, who made excellent use of Sam's
knowled'ge of "human natio.'" to al-
low 11. townsfolk to cheat thcutseh•es
(for his benefit). in an ast,ini.;lting
manner—these 'lovable and amnsing
characters walk acro., the ',asses pen-
ned by North America's , First Milit-
arist.
-.. \t timet, even tiara due, not ap-
pear to the best advantage. There is,
for example, the time he decided' to
make his maiden speech in the Ae-
scnibly on the topic of universal suf-
frage, In preparing the speech, he
't0Y"!'
Scotia judge had not by any 111ean;
run lett stf material. For example.
there is the occasion when Sam's fa-
ther, atop accompanied him to ldng-
land, :became obsessed with theecedea
that 'he was an earl, and went tt"i call
on the Duke of Wellington: The con..
versation that 'followed cannot be dt•-
eeribed; it lets to be ,read to be ap-
preciated.
In his n,'ttn , day and ge,ner ttion.
there were Many to do honor to
Ninth ,..\nierica s first humorist. Sam
Slick became internationally known,
As a platter of 'fact, like many a pro-
phet. his honor was greater in lands
other -than hi- own. 'isnglislt readers
hailed the t'locicmaker with glee; his
rollicking Manor was .something quilt
new to the Mother County. Americ-
an readers whooped with jog'; here
was mitiething essentially of this con-
tinent, and they laughed with good
grace at Sam's wildly exagg rated
The Sam Slick house,
as it looked in the days of Haliburton.
caught a very had cold, "1'111 ('11511111L
is one of horse -play that -oo
producer may yet diseower and in
corporate into a motion planar. Ant
it world not need many toilettes to
convulse audiences with the -ort e,:
mirth known to the trade as "bt'iy-
laug'hs,"
Nor is this all. Slows acumen for
observatic•n of human nature 'led to
his appointment asanattanh.e to the
American d m'hasey in Landon. '\1 -
though the ;tory shows a remarked
room than the parlor, pillorying .Vo- over his head; Slam's father ,who, date- .drop in quality from the CtIo kma,ke-
va Scotian:: with merciless satire and Mg the Revolutionary \\'lar, led ji material, there are one or two high -
wit, and boasting of his own .cotrtitry charge of gallant warriors against a lights. which .show that the 'Nova
Counter
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The Seaforth
SEA.FORTH, ONTARIO,
News
tatrlc,ti,nt. 1n Nova Scotia, Nott:ever,
the somewhat sensitive Bluenoses dirt
not en -joy Sam's fun -staking at their
expense, and - the reception of the
hooks was none ton hearty, In rimer
Canada, readers looked at Sant with
amazement, and set the books told,
to mellow fora few years, while they
made up their reminds whether Sant
was really funny or not, .A,fter due
consideration, the decision was in the:
affirmative and Upper 'Canadian, took
Sam to their ,bosons.
Soon the place of the little volumes
in the 'literature of the world became
a.ssuredq so much :so that the eminent
sehelar. \\'illianr Dean Howells, re-
marked that the Nova Scots sludge
std dominated for three generations
the '.Humorists , ' the d.Tnited State. -
:.,,,:1_,.ti,'.!1;i1::111";11111,1"al.liii't.1111
ean whifewhavch most havve
8nd ;,t there yon have the 'first"
t mos; - Bluenoses, and Canadians
eenerelly, have neglected. Now, haw -
we:•, Sam Slick of Slickeiile and fns
:stator, Thomas Chandler dia1i•hurt,ut,
are becoming widely publicized ' and
the, bothare bung diy,laved in the
light of their true greatness: 'front at,
lialifctt studios, the :Canadian firoad-
1tint., Corporation is presenting tr-
ue \lt nday at 1h p.nt, EST over the
national 011sv,rk a series of dramatiz-
ations. adapted for radio by Remota IE
Robinson, and based on Sam's exper.
'trees as he peddled his wares 1111 and
;pawn the mainland of the province; a
dery 'wee'ks ago t:h, IHistnric Sites and
Monuments Board of Canada unveil-
ed at Windsor. N.S., a tablet to the
memory of the anthor,'both eminently
gestm•c, for the centenary .of
Haul's irs't appearance in book form,
CHILDREN'S PONIES MANE
FINE COMPANIONS
rnrlrlv enjoys callers --for Reddy
has a trick or two which he still likes
to v,rform, although he is what you
might call a pony of leisure: He can
get up circus fashion on an orange
hos. At .least he can rear, so that his
front hoods are cn the ltost---and ht
looks like a much taller creature that
he really is -while he tap, nut a num-
ber. .And the secret .of that is that,
snn,'e one wags a finger ' the required
roe or ,115 or .even times, a.; the (pine
may he, and then stops,
He 1; a Shetland type of pony, with
a ,golden brown :oat. white ^legs and a
witite.mnaim•. He is about 1111) hands, nr
forty inches, high, He was three and
a hail ;-ears old when be 'first went :'t-0
the riding academy, and Betty Smith,
whose father is the proprietor of 'the
riding school, was three and' a half
when she brit took her seat on his
rack. Betty and Buddy were spun
good frienal:s and within a few years
they were taking ,prizes art all the
horse shows,
If Ruddy, 'therefore, is a little proud
of himself, now that he is sixteen
and leading a life of pony leisure, it
is easy to understand,
Even Betty's little brothers and'
sisters know how tomake.friends
with all .the 1p'onies and the great
horses in their 'father's stables. "They
need as much kindness as a pers'o'n:"
they have- heen told, "but, you must
let your pony 'know you are ,his mas-
ter."
It needs a great deal of patience t0
train a pang, and it i5 a great mistake.
to hurry, So, if you ever have a, pony'
of your own, - rententlber how slowly"
the professional strainer goes to work,
:First of all, 111. Smith would tell
you. your pony must have a name,—
one name—which be knows is his and
nobody else's. Don't let anybody give -
hint a nickname or call hint anything
different. IS he doesn't know you or
seem to want to know you; at first,
just go up to him gently; and with
slow, '. iendly movements, offer him
a tasty carrot on an apple, tslhen .you.
visit his stable in :the nrorning.
Speak to hint lovingly, •but' be care-
ful how you touch him. T -Ie may like
to be petted, between theeyes, nr
about the jaww, bin he may he one ill
those very sensitive ponies wino are
irritated if they are touched too much.
Be sure to approach him on the
"nice" side, ac the trainers call it, that
s, the left •side. He will not enjoy lic-
hee ti,trehcd on the loin.
H. at any tore, he should 'teed (or -
rection, and sometimes a pony does
need i:, one slump reminder is mare
valuable than half a -dozen irritating
little ,laps. \\'hen- he realizes why lie
is being corrected, then he can be
patted and shown that he is still a -
creat pet. He must never he allowed
-
to have hi- way in opposition to .that
of his master.
\ pony's life ntay .be made happy
nr miserable, according to the treat-
ment he receives. 'Even boys and
girl- -,coo love their .p�tanies' some -
111111.5 treat them very 'barfly, through
ignorance prance of the animal's( needs, .:\
piny must have plenty 'of water to
drink. ,for one thing. Always, before
ea ein,g, give him water. and aft er
has been working, .he will need water.
Put itis better. not to have icy -cold
water when he is hot, and -better at
such tines not to let hint have notch.
He can take a good, long drink as
soon as be has 'cooled off:
He must not, however, be left to
shiver. When he comes home, heavily
perspiring, at the end of a long ride,:
part a blanket on him, or rub hien dry,: -
an•d 'eep hint out of a draught at all
'times, - ' -
No pony is really happy unless he
is clean. Each clay Inc must be curried,
thoroughly combed and brushed, For
less than a dollar one can buy a rub-
ber ou'rrycomb, which does not
scratch as the old-fashioned iron
comb does, and which can even be
used -on the pony's head. A rub -down
with a rough towel afterwards will
take -up the final dust, which escaped
the brush, Be careful to clean the in-
side of •his ears.
In thee eummer time he may be
given a hath with lukewarm water.
\lany people do 1101 watch their hors-
es or pottier in the winter time, The
pony's legs may - he clipped in the
spring or autumn. for the long hair -
only collects nrud itt those season.,
hot it is better to leave the hair net
in summer for that protects his legs'
against (Inc flies,
IT -low much your pont eats depends.
largely u'p•on the sort of life he leads.
If he daes no real work it will be en-
ough to feed him twice a clay, each
time giving hint a mixture of one
quart of bran and one quart of oats,
or the equivalent, 73is feeding should
be regular. 11 be has one ureal at sev-
en in thr morning and the other at
supper time on one day, then that
-should he followed as a daily routine,
Rene'in'•ber the water 'first, ,plenty
of it. and perhaps another drink of
water :before - you shut him up for the
night. If a pony is working hard he
pi'obab•ly require :a third meal,
which ire might have aboutnoon, of
perhaps aquart of clear oats, ' -
•..i very droportalit thing to remem-
tber is to leave the saddler+'gaud
thridle 'til .properly, 'Girths ' ''rust the
tight :so that the saddle wig not slip
around,'Grass-fed ponies sltauld:have'
rup'pertis.
Your pony must also have new
shoes every 'four or five weeks. Whe-
ther :his old ones are :tavola or. not he
must he re -shod, 'tor his hoofs grow
and give him trouble if they are not
regularly 5111 clown. Tnthe summer
time a flat .shoe ispreferable, .b'u't .the
ices hard roads of winter require
=harp calks. ' -