The Gainesville eagle. (Gainesville, Ga.) 18??-1947, August 20, 1914, Image 5

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TRAGIC LOVE MAKING. Female Spiders Kill the Swains Who Come to Court Them. There are the spiders, who live and die in the shadow of a unique law, which declares that the female shall be in all things stronger and wiser than the male. It is impos sible to find elsewhere in nature such an astounding sex relation, for it is the chief object of the male spider to escape being devoured by the female spider to whom he has elected to surrender his heart. His whole structure is designed to aid and abet him in this perilous under taking. He is small—indeed some times minute—strong of limb, agile, wary to an extreme. As a natural result his personality is not pre possessing. He is no expert spin ner. He goes his way through life, now and then weaving an inade quate web—a poor, lopsided affair— to snare the one or two gnats which are all he needs as sustenance for his diminutive body. At length, at the proper hour, he discovers the silken castle of a fe male and, observing it, hesitates, profoundly meditative. In this he is not alone, for others, too, have obeyed her silent summons—have come from far places to group themselves discreetly near her. There is one suitor perhaps pos sessed of great valor—even so, for days his courage fails him, but at last valiantly this troubador ad vances and twangs one of the strands of her web. By this he strives to discover her temper, to discern her mood. At last, overcome by his own temerity, he risks all and goes up her silken ladder, stumbling over his own multifarious legs, so great is his haste. She watches him, immobile, a tiny sphinx made of velvet; then there is a sudden rush, a fatal wrap ping of the entangling mesh—and an ogre drops aside the body of a gallant knight, sucked dry. It was not auspicious this venture, and six more suitors may meet a like fate before one succeeds in soothing her. No, the lot of a spider is not a happy one.—C. William Beebe in Atlantic Monthly. An Amazed Woman. A woman who had an Arabic glass cup of the fourteenth century and did not know its value took it to the British museum. After due consideration the expert, to her sur prise, said that, though the museum did not want it, it might be worth $2,000. The woman shuddered, be cause she had been carrying in a crowded London omnibus a bit of glass worth so much money, and it had miraculously escaped smashing. Finally, wanting money more than Arabian glass, she sent the object to an auctioneer’s. Fancy her amaze ment when, starting at $2,500, the Arabic cup went by leaps and bound > and was finally knocked down for the nice sum of $6,500. The bidding of two rival collectors did the business. . Watch Papers. When thick watches with remov able cases were carried it was the custom for watchmakers whenever they cleaned a watch to place in the bottom of the loose case an engrav ed label with their names and ad dresses, on which they would write the date of the repair. Frequently these labels were elaborately en graved. Sometimes they contained maxims or verses around the out side. This habit gave rise to the fashion of placing in the cases verses and devices, tokens of friend ship or love, sometimes written on paper, but more frequently painted or worked on satin. All these were designated as watch papers irrespec tive of the material of which they were composed.—Exchange. Most Ancient Condiment. Mustard is the most ancient of condiments. The Egyptians regard ed it as an aid to digestion. The Asians ate it freely. It was sold by peddlers in Solomon's time. The Kormans and Anglo-Saxons in the earliest times never went to war without an ample supply of prepar ed mustard. It was their food and medicine. The plant seems to thrive in all parts of the world and is eaten by every civilized nation and many heathen tribes, either as a spring salad (the young leaves are most delicious) or a seasoning pre pared from the ground seed. Power of the Press. A soap millionaire and an actor manager were talking business. “I,” said the actor - manager. ‘Tiave discontinued the use of pos ters. My announcements appear in the newspapers exclusively. I have heard that those who don’t read the papers don't go to the theater.” ou are wise,” said the soap millionaire, “and I do like you. Long since I discarded every form of advertisement save that of the press, finding that they who didn’t read a newspaper had no use for soap.” I I ISLANDS OF SAFETY. Fearful Conditions tn; F<“ncn Desperadoes fre-e. In France a crij... v..... .ed as incorrigible either >vnt to' | the islands of Safety, of: the Guiana! i coast—of which Devil'.- island, I where Captain Dievlu- is one—or to St. Laurent or St. Jean, a little higher up the river. In this terrible climate, says a writ- ■ er in the Wide World Magazine. , with the scorching sun beating down upon them, the criminals are ■ made to work m the gold mines or opening up the jungle, and as the officers in charge have practically! unlimited power over them thev are often ill treated. The inhabitants of these prisons range from murderers of the worst type to professional thieves and desperadoes. About one-fifth of the criminals are women and—a thing that seemed incomprehensible to a visitor—are permitted to marry the male convicts! In some cases wives had joined their convict husbands. What dreadful children must be raised in this atmosphere of crime and brutality! Escape is the one thought of the convict. The doors leading to the jungle are not guarded any too well, and the officers in charge do not seem to care if a criminal escapes into the forest, knowing very well that men seldom get away alive from this terrible region of deadly malaria and ferocious wild beasts. Fugitives have also to reckon with the natives, to whom the hunting of convicts is great sport. In many in stances prisoners escape in batches; of twenty and thirty and are more] dangerous to meet than wild ani mals, as their main object is to ob-, tain weapons and food. To get these they will attack and murdei without mercy. | -- Rubies and Carbuncles. Carbuncles, to which the ancients attributed fantastic properties, were lin reality rubies. They served, it ! was said, to give light to large ser- I pents or dragons whose sight had i been enfeebled by age. They bore ■ them constantly between their teeth and laid them down only for eating and drinking. It was even claimed that the carbuncle emitted light in darkness and that the thickest clothing could not stop its rays. I Without all the exaggeration of • such legends it was believed for a long time that rubies contained luminous rays. The truth is that they have double refraction and send out the red rays with unequal ed brilliancy. Traversed in a vacu um by an electric current, they are ; illuminated with a red fire of ex treme intensity. The greatest heat does not change their form or color. Variations of “How Are You?” “How do you dor” That’s Eng lish and American. “How do you carry yourself?” That’s French. “How do you stand?” That’s Italian. “How do you find your self?” That’s German. “How do you fare?” That’s Dutch. “’How can you?’’ That’s Swedish. “'How do you perspire?” That’s Egyptian. “How is your stomach? Have you eaten your rice?’’ That’s Chinese. “How do you have yourself ?” That’s Polish. “How do you live on?” That’s Russian. “May thy shadow never be less.” That’s Persian— and all mean much the same thing. —Milwaukee Free Press. Magnetic and Geographical Poles. The “geographical poles” of the earth are the extremities of the imaginary line passing through its center of gravity and about which it revolves. The “magnetic poles” are in no way coincident with the geographical pole and are deter mined by the “dip of the needle.” The north magnetic pole was lo cated by Captain James Ross, in 1831, in King William’s Land, northern Canada, latitude 70 de grees 5 minutes 2 seconds. The south magnetic pole has been locat ed in 72 degrees 23 minutes. —New York American. The Faint Heart. “You say, Mr. Sibley,” said the girl in a low, thoughtful, this-is-a serious-matter sort of tone, “that vou have loved me for five years and have never dared to tell me so until tonight ?” “Yes,” he replied. “'Well, 1 cannot be your wife. A man who has no more courage than that would pretend to be fast asleep while a burglar stole his baby’s shoes.”—Liverpool Mercury. Misinformation. There was a dance in the lobby of one of the big apartment houses in Washington. A man wffio rents an apartment came in, saw the crowd and asked one of the negro elevator hoys: “What’s going on out there?” “Why.” the boy replied, “that is a dance jfiven by one of the ma ternities of Georgetown university!” —Saturday Evening Post. THE HUDSON RIVER. Its Name Has Been Changed Nearly a Score of Times. While Henn Hudson i? univer sally acclaimed a- the discoverer o! the noble river which bears his name, it is well known that nearly a centurv before Hudson’s success ful exploration John da Verruzano. a Florentine, entered the mouth of the Hudson and reported that lie had passed up the river about a league in a boat, not venturing to sail his vessel, the Dauphine, up a river with which he was unfamdi;!r. A rtidden squall impelled him i<» > •- turn io his ship. Verrazano cal;.- the Hudson “the river of stew hills." This was in 1524. Some 'ears later Verrazano’s brothm made a map of the region, and he named the mouth of the Hudson “San Germano.” In 1525 a Spaniard named Go mez. who came to America on an exploring trip, made a chart upon which he designated the Hudson as “San Antonio." When some eighty years later Henry Hudson in his efforts to reach the east Indian possession.' of the Dutch East India company by a northwestern route accidental ly ran into the Hudson he promptly dubbed it the “Manhattes,” from the name of the Indians who dwelt at its mouth. Hudson sailed slowly up the rivet as far as Albany, and his experi ences with the Indians and his ob servations of the surrounding coun try were so gratifying that he re turned home with glowing Yeoorts of the new found country. The Dutch at once realized that great commercial advantage might be gained in the new territory, and various companies were organized to colonize and exploit it. In 161 <4 a charter was granted to the Nmv Netherlands company, and the river wa- there referred to as “De Riviere van der Vorst Mauri tius" in honor of Prince Maurice of Orange. In various other charters granted at this time and public documents in which the river was mentioned it was spoken of as the “Groote Rivi ere,” the “Noordt river,” the “Rivet of the Manhattan'" and the “Ric de Montague." In addition to these names, the Indians had a number of others sot it, among which may be mentioned “Sanatatea." "Shawnatawty.” “Ca hohatatea" and “Cohongorontas.” As late as 1754 the river was referred to by a French writer as the “River Orange." When the English took posses sion of New Netherlands they per sistently called the river “Hudson’s river." and despite the nearly a score of other names bv which it was known that name finally “stuck." although many of the early colonists spoke of it as the North river in contradistinction to the Delaware river, which was common ly known as the South river. A Natural Thermometer. It was a sapphire that led the late Dr. Sorby to the discovery of the nature of the liquid sometimes found inclosed in the cavities of crystals. The gem in question con tained a tube shaped cavity a quar ter of an inch in diameter, which was so regular in its bore that it served by means of the liquid par tially filling it for a thermometer. The contained liquid half filled the bore at 50 degrees F. and complete ly filled it at 89 degrees. A study of the rate of expansion of the liquid led Dr. Sorby to the conclu sion that it must be carbonic acid. Expensive Absentmindedness. “What is all that noise about in there?" said the museum manager to the attendant, pointing to the room of the living skeleton. “Why. you see. it was this way,” was the reply. “The living skeleton is engaged to the armless wonder, and in a moment of absentminded ness he bought her an engagement ring. That noise you hear is the man kicking himself.” —New’ York Times. Berbers and Arabs. The Berbers are not Arabs. The Berbers have been in North Africa for as long as history can tell us. They were there when Carthage was founded, seven or eight hun dred years before Christ, and as they were then so they are today, apparently unchanged by the chang ing ages; the same brave, liberty loving nomads thev were in the days of Hannibal and Scipio. The First Encyclopedia. The honor of first bringing a dic tionary of general knowledge intc alphabetical order belongs to Ephraim Chambers, an English Quaker, whose taste for literature was acquired in a globe maker’s studio. He stole the time belong ing to his master to compose behind the 'hop counter the encyclopedia published in 1727. .... - * - -.W I liwiwyu aiwiHi 111 «■ "TJ! _ "rc 1 «ii SIMEON FORD’S CLOSE SHAVE Famous Hotel Man Almost Guilty of Forgetting Somewhat Familiar Acquaintance. Simeon Ford was standing in the lobby of his hotel the other day when a tall, portly, well-dressed man en tered and leaned over the cigar stand, carefully examining the wares within before making a purchase. “I know that man,” said Mr. Ford. “His face is perfectly familiar, but somehow I can’t place him at the moment; and I’m supposed- never to forget a guest after speaking to him once!” Mr. Ford was evidently annoyed. I ’ e stepped across to the cigar stand, passed the time of day* with the portly, well-dressed man and came back again. “Did you identify him?” asked the acquaintance to whom Mr. Ford had been speaking. “Oh, yes. He’s the barber who has shaved me every other day for eight years. But this is the first time I ever saw’ him with his white coat off and his black derby on.” AS THE ORDER CHANGETH Old-Fashioned Drug Store Seems to Be No Longer a Necessity of Life in Modern Day. “The old-fashioned drug store, where a man could obtain in a few moments all of the materials for a first-class sickness, to say nothing of suicide, seems to be passing,” says one observer. “It has gone through various stages in its development from the herb to the postal card. The first druggist was equipped only with a bronze ax. He went out and cut up roots, boiled them over a fire and produced a combination hair restorer and physic. From this idea started all of the patent medicines.” M e are not as dependent on drug stores as we used to be, because we ('an die a thousand new’ ways every year. There are motorcycles to hit us between the curb and car tracks, and aeroplanes to drop on us. The druggist who used to mortar and pestle his trade into steady cus tomers now deals out froth and films A SHORT CRUST. Newedd—What’s wrong with this pie crust? It doesn’t half cover the pie. Mrs.. Newedd—Why, dearest, I asked your mother all about how to make them to suit you, and she said to make the crust very short.—Bos ton Transcript. HIS SENSE OF FITNESS. Judge (to man arrested for drunk enness) —What is your business? Prisoner Proofreader, your honor. Judge—Ah, I’ll send you to the house of correction.—Boston Eve ning Transcript. SHOULD BE STRAIGHT. “Even the honey we get is adulter ated.” “Why mention that particularly?” “Well, you’d hardly expect anyone in the bee-line to be crooked, you know.” HIS HABIT. “The judge has a manner strictly in keeping with his office.” “How do you mean?” “It is sententious.” THE COMEDY OF IT. “There is something funny about that legislative bill/’ “To be sure there is. Hasn’t it got a joker in it?” ALSO FOND OF HER FEET. » * She—Let’s sit out the next one. He—Why, I thought you were fond .of dancing. She—l am. HER RIVAL. “What became of that talking ma chine you had?” “Had to get rid of it; it made my wife jealous.” YOU CAN’T GET AWAY FROM IT. “I thought your daughter received me rather stiffly.” “Ah I Then she did go to that tango lesson yesterday.”—Judge. HOMAGE. “Should a man go down on his knees before a woman these days?” “Seems to be considered the cor rect thing in shoe-store circles.” 11 VIM - -'■:■■■■■ . V |li n F/l < ■ wjife:■ y ■ Wil | "The .Modern Method of Finishing ■ This beautifully illustrated book contains many * 7 v " 3 practical suggestions, original plans and color SB schemes for artistic Walls and Ceilings for every room of the H home. It tells all about M I Pee IMkorfl I P Tbs Modern, Durable, Sanitary Flat Oil Finish | ■i® IT is used extensively by the foremost decorators in H 5 . -n. preference to old-fashioned wall paper and other unsani- Sa mSs vary material. It is very economical and retains its beauty for M g| years to come. 24 soft, deep, velvety colors to select from. S gg Ask us today tor Free Book or write to PEASLEE-GAULBERT CO., inc., Louisville, Ky. » AL. LEN BROS. CO. Gainesville, Ga. I Last EXCURSION TO TALLULAH FALLS TUESDAY SEPTEMBER IST Round Trip From SI.OO Gainesville SI.OO Special train will pass Gainesville 10.50 a. m; arrive Tallulah Falls 12.40 p. m. Leave Tallulah Falls returning 5.00 p. m. same day. Via Souther Railway Premier Carrier South For further information call on ticket agents, or address J. C. BEAM, AGPA R. L. BAYLOR, DPA Atlanta, Georgia. GAINESVILLE RAILWAY AND POWER CO OWNEDiLOCALLY Furnish Street Car Service, Electric Lights and Power Reduced Rates on Cars by Purchase of Street Car Tickets. Schedule anH Prices Furnished at Office INSURANCE Strongest ana Best Companies on Earth We have an Attractive and New Proposition on insurance HAM & THOMAS PHONE 302 - 8-9 GRANITE BLDG Gainesville & Northwestern Railroad bo Arrive Gainesville. v . __ 9.15 a. hi </’• ‘ - ' 4.45 p. m Leave Gainesville, v . 9 45 a. m No: 4 7.7.7777.1 p. m