The Brussels Post, 1949-9-7, Page 7More Tall Stories
Of The -Sea
Another.entertaining story of the
sea is the one about the giant ship,
It Is Scandinavian in origin and, I
believe, seventeenth -century..
The ship it tells of was so big
the tops of her masts were lost in
the clouds, and a young apprentice
who went aloft to furl sail was old
and gray-haired by the time he got
down an deck again. The journey
up the rigging was so great that
little rooms were arranged in the
bloc1cs for the rest and refreshment
of the sailors on their way up and
down.
Her hull was so long that a serv-
ice of coaches ran between the poop
and the forecastle, and the captain
and officers went about their duties
on horseback, As further proof of
her gigantic size, it was said that
the Island of Bornholm in the
Baltic was tirade by one emptying
of the cook's refuse and ashes from
the galley fire.
This great ship once attempted
to sail down the English Channel
and found that she was too tight a
fit to pass through the Straits of
Dover. The captain, with great in-
genuity, turned out his crew and
set • then to work plastering the
ship's sides with soap, So she just
managed to squeeze through—and
that is why the cliffs of Dover are
white!
Another astounding, sea story
conies front the East. A friend of
mine, born in India, tells me that
when he was a child, his bearer used
to tell .him this yarn as a bed -tune
story.
An Arab seaman was coasting in
his dhow, and passed near to a
' rocky island which, unknown to
him, had magnetic properties. As
his vessel got within range of the
.magnetic .field, all the iron nails
and fastenings suddenly leaped out
of place, flew towards bhe island,
and stuck there while the ship went
to pieces,
• The story ends well, however;
the sailor clung to the planks and
managed to get ashore.
To conclude, I will tell you a
tallish story which happens to be
true, and I can vouch for it, writes
William McDowell in "London
Calling." In my north country there
Is a river—not very long and not
very intportan•t—which runs into
the Irish Sea. There is a big rise
and fall of tide there, so much that
at low tide .only little boats can
use the river, but on the top of the
tide, small coasting steamers can
go up and load the iron ore which
£e mined in those parts.
Some distance up this river, there
are fields on the bank, in .which a
local man, one Jos Fisher, kept
ducks—lots of ducks. One day, on
the top of an extra -high spring tide,
the river overflowed its banks,
flooded the duck pastures, and Jos
Fisher's ducks sailed out to freedom
and wen t downstream as the tide
fell.
Hundreds Around the Ship
At the mouth of the river, one
of the little bre steamers was
anchored, waiting for the tide to
turn and allow her to go up for
her cargo. It was foggy and the
water was very still. The mate,
hearing strange noses in the fog,
looked overside, and to his amaze-
ment saw hundreds of ducks quack-
ing and splashing round the ship.
They were doubtlessly attracted to
it as being the only object in sight.
He naturally began to wonder
w here he was, and called the skip-
per., who cane from those parts,
looked over the side and laughed.
"Why," he said, "them's Joe Fish-
er's ducks, We'll take tiers home,
Get the pick-up, mister, and go dead
slow 'so's they can follow us."
They raised the anchor and crept
slowly up the river, the ducks fol-
lowing. The fog lifted as they
neared the jetty where they loaded,
and the whole village turned out to
see the ship come up with Jos
Fisher's armada of ducks swimming
bravely behind it, all very relieved
to get back hone,
it is almost needless to add that
skipper was 'known as "Captain
Duck" for the rest of his life. He
never lived down the story of how
he played nursemaid to Jos Fisher's
duck'.
Properly Squelched
The meeting had been long, the
speaker bull, and everyone groaned
when Jones was introduced as next
on the program, He was an impor-
tant man, but his reputation for
long-windedness preceded hits
wherecvcr he went,
"Gentlemen," he began, glancing
at his wrist, "1'm afraid I've forgot-
ten my•watch-•-but I'll try not to
talk too long."
Whereupon he was interrupted
by a voice from the back: "Don't
worry about your watch, Jones!
There's a calendar on the left-hand
wale"
SMART KID
Mrs, Chase matte the mistake of
leaving the baby in her husband's
care while she went into the lil>rary
to pay the month's hill, Mr. Chase
buried himself behind the news-
paper, and forgot all about the
baby until he heard a series of
thumps, followed by a horrendous
wall, Clearly, the baby had fallen
down the stair's, "Martha," called
Ur. Chase excitedly. "Colne gaieltl
Junior just took his first forty-
eight steps!"
•
The Big, Big Apple—Enough to turn any youngster pie -eyed is this 450 -pound whopper displayed
at the Railroad Fair in honor of International Apple Day. • Dickie Powers, 7, and Jessie Bestow;
9, gaze hungrily at the ponderous pastry, billed modestly as the "world's biggest apple pie."
Ten bushels of apples went into its. making.
Infectious
Laugh
Ry Richard Hill Wilkinson
It was Ethan Pryor's laughter
that first attracted Abigail to him,
When Ethan laughed, every one
else laughed. The sound had that
mirthful, appealing quality that was
infectious, It was good to hear. It
gave you a feeling of well being.
This all happened in 1929, when
Ethan's retail antique business was
netting him $15,000 a year. It was
easy to laugh then. They were a
jolly couple.
In, 1931, Ethan's retail antique
business dropped off from one-half
its top amount to one-third, then
to one-quarter,
That year passed and the next.'
The Pryors didn't find it so easy to
laugh. They gave up their seven -
room apartment and moved into a
less expensive one. In January of
1934 they moved into a single room
in an unfashionable part of the
city. Ethan was making barely
enough to keep then from starving.
• Abigail hunted for a week and
eventually won for herself a job.
It wasn't much of a job. She sat
behind a glass window all afternoon
and evening selling 'tickets for a
stock company performance. - The
stock company wasn't doing so
well, It looked as thqugh it might
fold up any day. But it paid $15 a
week and would have to do until
she could get something better,
Inspired, a little ashamed, Ethan
went job hunting himself. He hunt-
ed a week, two weeks, without
success, He began to brood. Abigail
did her best to cheer him up, to get
hint into a happy frame of mind,
"Let's hear the old laugh ring
out, darling. A pleasant frame of
mind is half the battle." Site sat
on the arm of his chair, "Tell you
what. Let's celebrate. Let's take $5
and go down to Tony's. We can
have a gay time for a change."
They went to Tony's, They
drank wine and ate a big dinner.
They danced. They sat and watched
the floor show. Et• wasn't a bad floor '
show. Among other things, there
was a comedian. Thecomedianwas
sad. He wasn't funny. But Abigail
laughed. She laughed as though she
thought he was tremendously funny.
Ethan looked at her, A fond light
came into his eyes. She was trying
to be gay. She was doing all she
could to bolster up his spirits. He
could at least help.
Ethan laughed, It was the old
time, mirthful, appealing laughter.
It rolled out and filled the room.
Others heard it. Others laughed.
They couldn't help it. They laughed
with Ethan. The comedian was• in-
spired.
After the show, a man caste up
and sat down at Ethan's and Abi-
gail's table. Abigail introduced hint
as the owner of the stock company
show where she sold tickets. His
name was Jones.
"Listen," said Mr. Jones, "we'll
pay you $5 a night to conte and
laugh at our show. It's supposed
to be a funny show. You -can put it
acros,"
Ethan scratched his chin. He
looked at Abigail. He said: "Well,
I dunno. For $40 a week, I might
consider it."
"Sold!" said Mr. Jones.
Ethan looked at his wife when
"Well, I guess we laughed our
way through that depression."
he got house. "You planned it!" he
accused.
"Sure," said Abigail. "When you
have something, it should be cashed
in on, You can laugh your way to
riches, my dear."
Times were getting better. People
were buying antiques. By the be-
ginning of 1936, he was doing quite
well. That summer he enlarged his
shop. •
"Well," said Abigail, happily, "I
guess we laughed our way through
that depression all right."
Ethan kissed her. Then he threw
back his head and began to laugh.
He laughed loud and long. "There,"
he said, "that laugh isn't going to
.cost any one a cent. From now on
I laugh because I want to and free
of charge. Honey, I love you!"
"Ditto," said Abigail.
.m.
moor — By Harold Arnett
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Changing Of
The Guard
Every morning at 10,30 ever since
1660 the mounting of the Sover-
eign's Guard has -taken place in Lon-
don. In 1939 the full dress uniforms
were put away in favour of khaki
battledress but this summer they
have been restored and the Chang-
ing of the Guard in all its glory
now takes place as before. When
the King is in London the Guard is
mounted at Buckingham Palace;
when he is out of town it is mount-
ed from the Colour Court of St.
James's Palace, both perfect set-
tings for the red coats and black
bearskins of the Guards.
The Changing of the Guard is a
unique and stirring ceremony that
visitors to London are always anx-
ious to see. Even in bad weather it
nearly always draws a sprinkling of
sightseers and in summer, in the
streets behind the Palace, dozens of
motor coaches draw up and from
their pour streams of eager tourists,
••each party with an omniscient guide
to explain the significance and his-
tory of the Changing of the Guard.
The crowd watching the historic
ceremony often consists of a couple
of thousand people, who press
against the railings of the Palace
courtyard, crowd the steps of the
Victoria Memorial that faces it and
stand along the kerb. Americans,
Europeans, British subjects from
every part of the Commonwealth as
well as people from all over the
United Kingdom are there, the most
junior members of the crowd perch-
ed high on their fathers' shoulders.
As the new Guard, preceded by
its regimental band, comes swing-
ing into the courtyard, hundreds of
cameras click into action. Pictures
of the Guards starching with the
precision for which they are famous,
a precision which seems as though
their legs are controlled by a mas-
ter switch and could not possibly
be motivated by separate men, are
not the only ones taken. It is al-
most a natter of routine fry• visit-
ors to stand atthe side of a Palace
policeman or an impassive guards-
man outside his sentry box, whilst.
another member of the party takes a
pictorial record of the occasion. Re-
cently a small kilted Scots girl was
persuaded to stand there, a stance
she was loath to take up, for a red
coated soldier wearing a huge bear-
skin and holding a' fixed bayonet
was a terrifying companion for a
five-year-old and one she could not
stomach without the physical as
well as moral support of her mother.
Hot Stuff
Two buzzards were lazily wing-
ing over the Arizona 'desert when
a jet-propelled plane suddenly went
hurtling by, its exhausts belching
flanne and smoke, The buzzards
silently watched it disappear Into
the Western slcy, and then one of
them found his voice, ."Holy car-
rion," he said. "Was that bird In a
Murry!" "Listen, Lucius," opined.
the other, "you'd be in a hurry too
if your tail was on fire,"
Efficiency is getting other people
to do the jobs you don't like.
World Rain
Shortage Now
If you imagine the earth as a
10 -inch ball, then all life is sup-
ported inside a film of air and water
about two thousandths of an inch
thick. This relatively thin sheet is
fluid with clearly ,defined currents
of air, A small change in ' them,
and fertile land would become desert,
or vice versa.
The great Sahara desert, for in-
stance, is merely an area over which
flow currents of air that are very
dry. Hence little or no rainfall. If
it were possible to deflect south-
wards over this area some of the
moist currents costing from the
polar regions, it would get a normal
rainfall,
But if we increase the rainfall in
one place we decrease it in another.
It wouldn't do to stake the Sahara
fertile if at the same time we turned
Great Britain, and possibly France
and most of Europe, into desert.
And even if we were able to dis-
tribute evenly the rain falling on
the land surfaces of the world, there
would not be sufficient to make all
countries fertile. There is just not
enough water in the atmosphere to
go around. - z
With the rapid increase in the
worrd's population, this is a serious
business. World population is in-
creasing at approximately thirty mil-
lions andually.
Unless tremendous advances are
made in irrigation schemes and bet-
ter farming methods, many millions
will starve, since there will not be
the rain available to make fertile
enough ground on which their food
must be grown,
The development of new conti-
nents, such as Australia, is vitally
bound up with this question of rain-
farll. In Australia the limit set by
some experts, on account of . the
rainfall, is a population. of thirty
millions. Yet there is room in terms
of laud for twenty tines that num-
ber.
Still Do
Albert—"I,. like to think of olden
tines when women would sit by
the hour beside their spinning
wheels."
Filbert—"They still do, until
some man conies along and puts
their chains on,"
THE FARM FRONT
okili2usse1..
A week or so ago, I wrote a
rather depressing account of what
damage grasshoppers are doing
over in sone of the western States,
and how the fanners in California
and other coast districts were fear-
ing that the pests would finally
reach there and do untold millions
of dollars' damage.
* e *
Now, from our own Midwest
oomes word of how a very similar
menace was foreseen and --if not
completely wiped out — at least
largely controlled. I think some of
you might be interested in hearing
about what happened. It certainly
illustrates the value of those twin
virtues, preparedness and co-opera-
tion.
• * *
Last fall entomological surveys
of Western Canada grain lands in-
dicated 1949 would see one of the
worst grasshopper plagues in the
history of the Prairie Provinces.
This was grim news to the farmers
of Manitoba, Saskatchewan and
Alberta.
* * *
For they know the grasshopper
well. They recalled other years
when the winged invaders came;
great areas of lush countryside ren-
dered completely barren as if the
farmers themselves had carried out
a scorched earth policy; empty
grain elevators; empty pocketbooks
and complete desperation.
* * *
During previous plagues, little
was accomplished to halt the vora-
cious insect horde. Wa stings of in-
festations often came too late. In-
adequate methods were used to.de-
stroy the attackers. Destruction to
crops was usually complete. "
* * *
This year, matters were different.
After last year's plague, teams of
entomologists went out In the field
to determine the degree of infesta-
tion by counting grasshopper eggs.
They found millions of them. They
charted maps showing the extent of
infestations in various areas of the
provinces. They passed on the in-
formation to the people.
* * *
Then the battle really, began!
Agricultural chemists came out
with two stew lethal poisons lar
superior toy those used previously.
Industry made these available to
Western farmers in great quantities.
Provincial governments made dress
available to farmers through their
municipalities,
* * *
A flood of educational publicity
was turned loose early in the year
in the press, on the radio, through
lectures by local agricultural repre-
sentatives. Every Westerner was so
grasshopper -conscious by the titsas
the 'hoppers hatched, they knew
exactly what to do to stem the ih-
vasion. And they did its
* * *
Prom latest available reports, the
invasion has been repelled. It is
true that some damage has been
done, but only a small fraction of
what was anticipated. It le the
first time a grasshopper plague has
been successfully curbed In Can-
ada.
* * *
Which should be about enough
for one session, except for this yarn
which you may not have heard be -
fors --or anyway, recently. It's
about a bunch of race track mea
who were holding a- session one
evening and lying—as such charac-
ters sometimes do—about the won-
derful horses they'd owned or bred.
One tall tale led to anoUher until
an old "Kentucky Colonel" came
out with an anecdote that topped
all:
* * *
"1 rememberauk, a race of 16
i
thoroughbreds n which nay mare,
Honeysuckle, participated. The
stake was $300,000. Gentlemen who
owned the best horse flesh in alt
the South were present, not to men-
tion a few Yankees. Weld, auk,
Honeysuckle was: leading the field,
whioh was no surprise to me, when
on the backstretch I noticed her
hesitate. And then and there she
had herself a foal. I had bred her
the year before, but didn't !snow
she was foaling," •
At his point, someone in the
audience sympathized and said,
"Tough way to lose e. race,'
"Who said anything about Los-
ing?" the -good Colonel concluded.
"Honeysuckle never lost, She had
her foal, Then site won the race by
five lengths."
"And," he added, n`the foal caste
fen second."
The raving beauties la these
beauty contests include the losers.
UNG FA
ORAS
MER DRAGS
T F
LANE
fa
Charles Soucy, of Wildwood, Aha., fights flames to save pilot and passenger.
It was after midnight when Charles Soucy
heard the airplane crash: Racing a mile
across the wheat fields, he found the ma-
chine in flames — with the pilot and a
woman passenger still trapped •inside!
Working coolly and quickly, Soucy managed
to force open the plane door and drag the
pilot to safety. Then, grabbing an axe, he
THE DOW AWARD is a citation
presented for acts of outstanding heroism
and includes a $100 Canada Savings
Bond. The Dow Award Committee; a group
of editors of leading Canadian daily
newspapers, selects winners from
recommendations made by a nationally
known news organization.
DOW BREWERY
cut away part of the framework under
which the woman was pinned. In spite
of the flames, he finally succeeded in.
freeing her.
Thanks to his cool bravery, two lives had
been saved .. . and we pay sincere tribute
to gallant Charles Soucy through the
presentation of The Dow Award.
E MONTREAL
atan04