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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Huron News-Record, 1894-12-19, Page 5.,4V,o, yn:in . -.w..•.nwww...M',e encs:.,+. .. rw.n.... How do You account for Furniture rscorning so popular for Xmas Presents ? • Because when you are giving a Pre- sent you want to give something that will be Useful, Ornamental and Lasting. • ��9 ' p c� alldNoe the Goods we are offering this year surpass anything ario �U 1 ever offered in Clinton. Some people saythe do not like to go ty9 into a store without buying. Now, do nt be like that with, u. r ° Come and see what we have, anyway. We do not expect every person who comes in our Store to pur- chase something, but when you are there you may'see something that would make a nice Prssent for your friend. It is not good policy to wait till Xmas Eve to select a Present, for by that time all the nice things are picked up. Come early and you will have a much better variety to pick from, and we can lay it by until you want it delivered. We have F A N C ¥ ROC "R S in ReedBirch,,with Rattan, wood Os andorupholCurly 1 V - stered in Plush, Brocatelle, Silk Tapestry or Leather. EAST OHAI R S in Tapestry, Satin Russe Jute and Jaffa Curtains. FAN CY TABLES in Oak, Ash, Walnut, Curly Birch, G-ilt and Bamboo. CHILDREN'S CHAI1 A S Herg hn Wood aCane a d Plush Seats Our assortment of Pictures, Picture Frames and Paper Racks surpasses anything we have ever had. CHI E THE ZOO TRAGEDY. THE SOUTH AMERICAN BOA THAT SWALLOWED HIS MATE. Detailed Account of the Strange feel- dent—The Victor Was Uncomfortably Full—Getting Over the Erects. The London Standard gives the fol- lowing account of the tragedy in the Zoo, a brief account of which came by cable a few weeks ago: The Zoological Society of London have just lost a fine specimen of the South American boa - constrictor, 9 feet long, through the in- advertence of a snake of the same species, 11 feet in length. Both reptiles had for nearly a year occupied the same glass case in the new reptile house, and bad lived together in apparent good fellowship until one night a fortnight ago, when the bigger snake swallowed its mate. The tragedy occurred in the night, and the cause is only a matter of speculation among the keepers, though as to the fate of the missing snake there can be no doubt, the swollen body of the bigger boa giving undoubted proof of the whereabouts of the missing reptile. On the evening of the day when the boa disappeared two pigeons were placed in their case at 5 o'clock in the afternoon, before the house was closed, and the keeper noticed that the larger one immediately attacked one pigeon, and had partially swallowed it before the house closed ; while the smaller one only began upon the second pigeon as the keeper went out. What happened afterward is supposed to be this : The larger boa, having got the pigeon well within his cesophagus attack- ed the second pigeon, already in the jaws of its companion, and, the teeth of each having become fastened in the bird, there was nothing left but for one or the other of the boas TO SWALLOW ITS COMPANION. The victory lay, as a matter of course, with the one which had tho larger jaws, and this being the one 11 feet in length, it swallowed pigeon and rival boa to- gether. This was a perfectly natural result, though unpleasant for the small- er snake. Mr. A. Da Bartlett, the superintendent, explained the process with the anatomical head of a snake, which he has in his library ; and the method is also set forth in a lucid man- ner by the late Mr. Thomas Bell, in his work on "British Reptiles," thus: "The bones of which the upper and lower jaws are composed are perfectly and loosely distinct from each other, and connected only by ligaments. By thi arrangement not only is great dila- te ity of the mouth obtained, which is als aided bya. eculiarity of thejoint, t7 on but one sidof either jaw is capable bt acting independently of the other ; and as the animal is gradually 'taking its prey, one side of the law is extended forward, and the two rows of teeth in the upper, and the single row of the lower, fix into the integument; then the opposite side of the jaw its stretched forward in the same manner and so on alternately, until the victim' is thus Fra - dually and often slowly conveyed into the cesophagus, and by the muscular action of this part it is swallowed. There is little doubt that this operation, begun at 6 in the afternoon, continued throughout alk the bourn of- the night. LO the leery 'nowt ana the Ierr'y boat wasn't built that way, anyhow. Still the conductor insisted,and when the engineer refused to try the conductor threatened to report him. This did not move the engineer,and theconductor,who was an old engineer, by the way, mounted the cab and was about to seize the throttle when the engineer and fire- man seized him and, calling for help, confined him in the baggage car. Pas- sengers for Atchison were soon inform- ed that the train could not be trans- ferred, but no one but the train crew knew that the conductor of the train was as crazy as a March hare. Nor did they ever know what a narrow escape from a plunge into the river they had. It was the last run of poor —, the con- ductor, who was transferred to the asy- lum at Fulton, Mo., where he died."— Chicago Herald. Greek Letter Fraternities. Behind the dark vale of secrecy no- thing is found that can in any way make these purposes less authentic and lasting, though much is added to give them new life and secure them as reali- ties. Secrecy brings with it trust and confidence and banishes from its realms all pharisaisrn and ostentation. No bond can bind as does the secret. This should commend it if it does not fully justify its existence. If the principle of privacy were abandoned, where would be the sanctity of home or other confi- dential relations? This very excellent feature of college life is destined to become in our Cana- dian universities as important in the fu- ture as it is powerful with our Ameri- can friends to -day. Already has the system obtained a strong foothold in our own university chapters of three of the most prominent fraternities being es- tablished in our midst. The Zeta Psi Fraternity founded at the University of the City of New York, in 1846, placed on its chapter roll the University of Toron- to in 1879; Kappa Alpha, the oldest so- cial and literary fraternity with a continuous existence, founded at Union College in 1825, established its Toronto chapter in February, 1892; Alpha Delta Phi, founded at Hamilton College in 1832, honored us with a chapter in the spring of last year. Already this has given many of our undergraduates a clearer insight into university life, and action throughout the United States. It has, too, brought our college more pro- minently before the academic world across the line. May not much be looked for through this happy medium by way of the great advantages that such a system of good -fellowship extending over the face of the continent is bound to bring forth ? Can wp not, as under- graduates, behold ourselves more truly to belonging to a world within a world, as sharers in the benefit of a college life which is not limited by tiny borders to a single city, but which extends its influence throughout the length and breadth of nations, and which we may well hope will some dal encompass the entire globe ?—The 'Varsity. A rool Man. Husband—Now, what is the use of buying that silver-plated trash for a wedding present? Why not send her something useful? Wife—Huh ! I suppose you'd like me to send her a cook -stove and a stop jar and a dishpan. They'd look well on the piano, with our cards attached, wouldntt they? ,FURNIT however, had sworn a swear, and sho had to keep her word, so she took the offending damsel out and boaed a hole in each of her ears. When Abraham saw her he consoled her by giving her two beautiful emeralds, one to be pen- dant from each ear, so that what Sarah had intended should be an ugly scar. simply gave her an opportunity to wear more jewelry. Is not that deliciously feminine ?" Another girl said she found another thing in an old book. That was the thirty points necessary to a beautiful woman. She must have three things white—the skin, the teeth and the hands. 'Three black—thd eyes, the eye- brows and the eyelashes. Three red -- the lips the cheeks and the nails. Three long—tie body, the hair and the hands, Three short—the teeth. the ears and the feet. Three broad—the chest, the brow and the space between the eyebrows. Three narrow—the mouth, the waist and the instep. Three large—the arms, the hips and the legs. Three find—the fingers, the hair and the lips, Three small—the bust, the nose and the head." A CRAZY CONDUCTOR. Ile Tried to Plunge His Passengers Into the River. "I see you have been printing some stories about conductors," writes an old conductor who used to run from Hanni- bal to St. Joe, Mo., on the old Hannibal & St. Joseph road. He is now retired and is raising chickens and garden truck "out on the Q." "It reminds me," the letter con- tinues, "of a conductor who used to run on the old Hannibal & St. Joe road, and alterward had the run from Kansas City to Council Bluffs on the Kansas City, St. Joseph & Council Bluffs road. A. C. Dawes was general superinten- dent, and had taken a fancy to the man. Some of us on the road always knew that the poor fellow had a wheel ,in his head, although that is an expression that was not in vogue in those days. Still we never said anything about it on the outside. He used to do a great many queer thieggiehat caused comment among passenge' and with the train crew, but they did not interfere with the schedules or anybody's comfort, and they were soon forgotten. In the time of which I write there was no railroad bridge at Atchison, and the trains used to back int() Winthrop, the station on the Missouri side on a Y, and the pas- sengers were transferred by ferry. One day the train had backed down on the Y. The terminal was near the ferry landing. Before the train backed down however, the conductor, had gone through the coaches and informed pas- sengers for Atchison to keep their seats, as the company had made arrangements to transfer the train by ferry. This was quite common in the old days on some western loses that had to cross the river. It was done on the old North Missouri road for a long time at St. Charles. "Tho passengers on the train of which I am writing thought nothing strange of what the conductor had told them. When the train reached the terminal the conductor went to the cab of the lo- comotive and told the engineer to back down on the ferry, saying he wae•going take the train over the river. The en- ginoor know such a thing was im es - were ?io tracks Iea&iw' toast are Itotea on tne•Iasnionanle anther table and occupy two of the corners, in- asmuch as there are a number of wo- men who refuse to eat fresh bread. Brown bread, cut very, very thin, but- tered and put together so that one's fingers are not soiled is. of course, served with oysters, and after that one may eat white French bread and fresh homemade bread, or the dry toast, as is best su`ted to the digestion, or to the course which is being given to the com- plexion. Most tables are gorgeous in white and Fold, the white and gold glass obtain- ing, and the white and gold china with the simple decoration of the hostess's monogram, being another Englise cus- tom that is followed in many of the best country houses. Life at the country houses is made as easy as possible, and the clever hostess sends up with the morning tea, which is served in the bedrooms, a little notice of the pleasures which she has arranged for the day, and which the visitor may, or may not, indulgo4nm To do as one likes is the rule of the house, and if one does not like to drive, or ride, or go to look at the horses, one may loaf with a novel, or flirt in the hall, or spend the day as one pleases. Nothing is compulsory, consequently one has a good time. I say nothing is compulsory, but by this I do not mean toinclude dinner. Natur- ally, one is forced to appear at that promptly on time, in one's prettiest gown, with one's best temper, and pre - pat ed to be as agreeable as possible. . Somebody said that the popular girl at the country house must have patience to fish, ability to shoot, and dexterity to play billiards. She must ride, drive and row, and when she appears at the 5 o'clock tea to greet the men who have been out all day, she must suggest, not the new woman but the woman who has been of interest ever since the days of Eve. She must have a little story to tell and she must be interested in the do- ings of the men. Another girl was talking about buy- ing a hat, and she said sho believed that a man could buy a woman's hat better than a woman could, for a mhn looked at a woman from head to foot, and de- cided whether she appeared extinguish- ed under a large one or looked trivial under too small one, whereas the wo- man had an inclination just to look at her head and shoulders, and she she did not know what the general ef- fect was. Just now the picture hat is very much to the fore. It is enormous- ly large it is weighted with feathers, and it is gorgeous with a buckle. I say a buckle, because it is generally such a large one tha4 only one is possible on a hat. Mankind has a leaning towards bonnets and it likes them with strings. As it is given to old fashioned words It says they are genteel. After this has been decided, and the mon felt very much complimented another girl asked if anybody knew the origin of -earrings. As nobody who is anybody wears them nowadays,we all want to know all about them. She said she found it in an old book, and this was the story. "When Hagar went away Abraham's wife was so furious with her that she vowed the strongest of vows that if ever she returned she would cause her to bo mutilated and destroy her beauty so that Abraham would no longer look at her with delighted eyes. However, as the days went by, her anger cooled down, and when Hagar returned she begged of Sarah not to hurt her, or in- jure her beauty in any way. Sarah, CLINT -- IN; A COUNTRY HOUSE. HOW MODERN SWELLS CELEBRATE } THANKSGIVING DAY. The Briton's Breakfast Table Fashion- able Now—Eggs on the Table and Cold Meat MI the Sideboard — Have Men Taste Enough to Choose women's Flats? A long time ago it used to be the swell thing on Thanksgiving Day to give a dinner and have all one's rela- tions—sisters, cousins, aunts, with the masculine contingent as well—to eat and eat and eat until indigestion en- sued. That was the day of the roast turkey, of the pumpkin pie, of the cran- berry sauce and the heavily laden table that took away one's appetite ; that is, if one happened to be a' little delicate in one's taste. But we have changed all that now, The Thanksgiving dinner is a thing of the past. The proper thing is to retire to one's country house for a week and invite a house party for that time. The giving of a Thanksgiving party at oae's country house really be- comes a study, and the mistress devotes all her artistic taste to her dining -room. and all her cleverness to giving pleas- ure to her gueses. She is more than anxious, this Ameri- can hostess, to ape her English cousins, and it is pretty to see how close she comes to it, especially in the breakfast room. The sideboard at breakfast time is an exact duplicate of the great huge piece of furniture found in an English house. There stand on it delicious -look- ing cold meats, cold game, game pies that aro very large, and everybody is supposed—that is, every man body—to get up and carve for himself and to help to the good things the woman body who maybe at the table. The walls are festooned with red berries and leaves, and some bright mottoes about Thanks- aiviug are carefully wrought out in shining holly leaves and berries. Bunches of wheat are tied with bright - hued ribbons, and everything is made to bespeak the thankfulness that is sup- posed to .brim over in the heart and show itself in the appetite of the visi- tors. However, this appetite is catered to in the most delicate Way, and the overladen table of our ancestors is entirely a thing of the past. Service a la Russo obtains entirely and, thank goodness, the enormous dish o flowers which used to decorate the center of the table and prevented peo- ple from seeing each other is also role - gated to the past. The popular center decoration just now, and the most suit- able one, is the low silver dish filled with growing ferns, which stands either on a mirror or piece of sage -green velvet. Occasionally, if somebody is very de- voted to the hostess, ho brings out to her, on Thanksgiving Day, a largo gilt basket filled with fine orchids and this will have a golden ribbon on the handle, on which is painted in golden letters by hand, "Oh, be thankful in the Lord I" The turkey is the only dish brought on the table to be carved and as carving is considered a fine art, the host displays his talent on this, and gives to every one that piece of the bird which is most desired, whether it bo the tender white breast, or the delight of the infantinc heart. the drumstick. Silver; racks of Decause at u'o'clock too next morning 'the nine -foot snake had wholly disap- peared. Mr. Bartlett is of opinion that when the head of the smaller boa had once, entered the stomach of its mate, some convulsive moveinent must have been made by the doomed roptile, and so hastened THE END WIIICFI BETEL IT. As the stomach of the snake extends nearly the whole length of the body, there was plenty of room, and two feet - to spare, for the accommodation of the smaller reptile, Had not this taken place, Mr. Bartlett t ' ks there would have been a portio ie tail se .0 in the morning to indic sec ion in which it had gone. The victor in the morning was uncomfortably full. There was no curl in it ; it could not make it- self comfortable, after the manner of snakes, in a series of artistic coils ; all the scales were so separated by the bulg- ing skin between each scale that it looked ready to burst. The missing boa must have died of suffocation, and in the time which has elapsed the process of digestion has so far advanced as to allow of the eater indulging in a limited curl. There is no longer any fear en- tertained of death from overfeeding, and it is thought that in four or five months the boa may become hungry once more, and return to its for- mer diet of pigeon. The large boa, before it began the meal, was in circumference, at the thickest part, about the size of an ordinary saucer, but swelled after the meal to three times that dimension. In color this reptile possesses a touch of yellow, mingling with rich red -brown. and dashes of black shot with bluish metallic tints. This has caused it to be popularly known as the harlequin snake. The eye is of a dull gold color, and the keeper, on discover- ing what head happened, thought there was a "sinister expression" in the eve, as though it was fully conscious of the unbrotherly action OP WHICH IT HAD BEEN GUILTY. This is the first occasion upon which a. boa has succeeded in completely swal- lowing a brother of its own species and survived. About forty years ago a python swallowed a python in the gar- dens, but was unable to digest its meal,. and died of blood poisioning caused by indigestion. Upon a more recent occa- sion a large serpent swallowed the blanket with which it was covered. It remained in the stomach a few days. and was then ejected. The superin- tendent at that time thought it a pity to. lose a good blanket, so it was washed„ and when ironed out was found to be full of holes caused by the unfinished process of digestion to which it had been subjected. The case in which these two boas were confined is 15 feet long by 6 feet deep, and the survivor may be seen by visitors in tho reptile house. Tho swallowing powers of a boa are often exemplified in the cases containing them sent to the gardens from South America. Once the superintendent found a brass hook and the feathers of a curasow, the swal- lowing of which led to its Capture. Other examinations resulted in discov- ering the remains of a spider monkey and a capabara, the largest known rodent• and upon a recent visit, to Sur- inam Mr. Clarence Bartlett killed a torpid boa, in the stomach of which he found the bones of an alligator five feet in length. This tragedy in the reptile house is causing great public iaterasc. ,i: