Below is the OCR text representation for this newspapers page.

\ / Queer Notes from the Draper’s Dictionary. There are some queer mites of infor mation to be picked up from the his tory of almost anything in a draper's shop. Take, for instance, a child’s pelisse. Who that is not familiar with the vagaries of etymology would think of any connection between such an article and the white surplice that has become so prominent an o' ject in our modern church service ? Yet the road from one to the other is “plain a-> way to parish church.” A pelisse was a coat of prepared skin—Latin pellis, a skin—a fur coat, in fact. Churchmen who had to perform early services in cold churches at all times of the year were wont to wear tiipse fur coatg or “pellh se ” A synod, our compiler tells us, held in London in the year 1200, restricted the black monks and nuns to the use of lamb, cat and fox skins, with the view of preventing the spread of luxury in dress. It may be easily uuderstoud that, at a time when godliness and uncleanliness were to a great extent identical, those pelli se would in time get decidedly unpleasant both to the eve and nose, and as a means of miti gating these objsotions somewhat, linen tunics or mp°,r pelliccB were adopted, and from this to the abbrevi ated “surplice” the progress would be easy. This suggests a very interesting reflection upon the important doctri nal significance which has been com monly attached to this very decent and appropriate church vestment. Another dip into the dictionary bring? before us some curious phases of our forefathers. We light on the word “counterpane,” which, we are told, is a corruption of counter point, derived from the French contre pointe or point contrcpoinle—stitch agaiust stitch—denoting something sewn on both sides. And then our author proceeds to give us some ac count of the sleeping habits of ancient times in this country. “Our Saxon ancestors,” he says, “were not so nice in their night garments as we are,” a statement which he immediately fol lows up by observing that, as a matter of fact, they had no night garments, which reminds one somewhat of Dr. Harrebrowe’s famous chapter on “Snakes in Iceland,” where, the doc tor at once proceeds to observe, there are no snakes. The Saxons required their under-garments for other pur poses than wearing by night. The servants, it seems, were accustomed to put out their candles by throwing their chemises at them, a humorous practice which saved the cost of ex tinguishers, and did not always set the house on fire, though we are told it was “denounced.” As good people in those days slept without night gar ments, the counterpanes were padded, and the padding stitchi d in by diag onally crossing lines resembling the panes of church windows. Hence it has been supposed “counterpoint” became “counterpane.” He would be a learned draper who should thor oughly appropriate the contents of this new dieti mary. Wnether his schol arly stores would conduce to the effici ency of his business management we are unable to decide. It is quite con ceivable that in the learned days to come a shopman who could discourse volubly ou the farthingales and fur belows of the Middles Ages, or could trace back the cloak iu its various forms and phases to the Norman in vasion, would have a peculiar fascina tion for ladies in blue spectacles, and it may be that such a salesman would command a higher price in the market than one who could merely pass the usual commonplaces upon the weather. At present, however, inter esting as this volume before U3 un doubtedly is, it cau hardly be recoin mended for ha if-holiday study. A Strarge Cure. I was ferried across the Dart on June 17 last by a man about sixty years of age, who had always lived in the name village, on the right haul of the river. He told me that in his childhoi.d he had the “king’s evil;” and his parents, having tried all the doctcs in the district, but without the least advantage, were at length pre vailed oh to place a dead toad in a silk case, and to cover that with broad tape. “This,” said my informant, “I put on when I was nine, and I wore it on the pit of my stomach, round my neck, for ten years; end it made a perfect oure. I’ve to bless the day when I first wore that toad.” Gladstone says the fear of becoming ridiculous is the best guide in life. Ladies who follow the fashion are without a guide. Stories of the Turf. It is related of Jack Mytton the elder —ono of the wildest and most reckle-s madcaps that ever charged a bullfinch or took the dice-box in hand—that upon one occasion he won a very large stake at Doncaster Races. In those days every patron of the Turf who could afford a post-chaise and four horses disdained to employ any hum bier conveyance, and it was said of “Squire Mytton” that wb ;n he died in 1834, every post-boy in England be wailed the loss of his best customer. “The Druid” tells us that when the “Sailor King” was on the throne, and during the first years of her gracious Majesty’s reign, the post-chaises at C neater ford—the first stage out from Newmai ket—were never at rest, and upon the death of Mr. George Payne, in September, l->78, it was computed by one who knew him welt that he had spent more money iu post- horses than would have sufficed to provide a competency for a moderate fuan. Reverting, however, to “Jack Mytton,” it will readily be believed that, haying come to Doncaster iu a post-chaise and four, he was not likely to leave the racing metropolis of the North in any other vehicle, after he had undergone w hat was to him the strange experience of winning a laige sum of money. In those remote times, when posts were slow, and the deliv ery of letters uncertain, it was the uniform practice of racing men, w ith one exception, to settle at Doncaster. Tue exception to which we allude was that of the once celebrated b lokmaker, “Crutch R ibinson,” who was in the habit, when he could, of drawing what was due to him from customers who had lost, but of saying to those who had won from him, ‘I settles in Lunnon.” When “Jack Mytton” was so fortunate as for once to spoil the Egyptians, or as they were then called, “the Greeks,” at Doncaster, he set off for his home at Halston, Shrop shire, with his pockets full of notes. The rest of the story had best be told in the words of Charles James Apper- ley, his biographer. “I have reason to believe,” says Mr. Apperley, “that the money Mr. Mytton had at various times lost—not at play, for there I should say he was borne harmless, as he was a very dangerous oppone nt of the table when he took the dice-box in hand—would have puichased a pretty estate. I am afraid to say what was the amount of bank-notes that were blown one night out of his carriage on his road home from Doncaster races, but I have reason to believe it was several thousand pounds. His ac count of the affair was that he had been counting a large sum in bank notes upon the seat of his carriage, in which he w r as seated alone, with all the windows down. He fell asleep and did not wake until the night was far spent, his servant who sat behind in the dickey paying all the charges on the road. An equinoctial gale sprang up suddenly and carried a great part ot the notes aw T ay, sweeping them out of the open windows of the post chaise. It was always h's custom to have a large sum of money in his writing desk, but it was more than usually large at this time, as in addi tion to winning at the races he had broken the banks of two well-known London ‘hells’ on the eve of his de parture for Doncaster.” “Jack Myttous” are scarce; but, within the memory of many still liv ing, the son of the mad Squire cf Hal ston rivalled many of his reckless father’s freaks. Thus, the younger Jack Mytton once had a commission to lay against a horse who was a lead ing favorite for the Derby in Pyrrhus the First's year. Thinking that it would enable him to lay more money If he feigned to be half-drunk, he sprang upon one of the brown tables at Limmer’s Hotel when the c«ifee- room at that famous sporting-tryst was filled with visitors one night after dinner. When Jack Mytton hud laid as much money upon parole as he could get credit for, he ran upstairs to his bed-room and returned with sev eral notes for £1,000 each iu his hand, and proceeded to lay upon what he called “ready-money principles.” “Perhaps I was not quite so drunk as they thought,” he afterwards remark ed to a friend. In tiuth, the "ready money business” of the turf would af ford materials for many a chapter worthy to be added to such books as “Post and Paddock” or “Silk and Scarlet,” if only a master-hand were available for the purpose of arranging them. Thus it might be told that one of the most famous jockeys of a cen tury since, Dick Goodison, was al ways in the habit ot carrying a £500 note ubout with him, because he had once missed a good bet through Inabil ity to post the money. A place might be found for the story of the York shire blackleg who repaired to an auction-room where an estate was about to be put up, a; d had it knocked down to him for a big sum. Perceiv ing the man’s rough attire, aud the fact that wisps of hay were twined round his legs, the auctioneer naiur ally demanded that a substantial de posit should be paid do wu. “Here is the cock-bird,” exclaimed the pur chaser, as lie pulled qut a bank-note for one hundred thousand pounds, “and I’ve got the old hen at home.” Among the many stories told about Derby settlings, it might be remember ed that when Sir Joseph Hawlejq for the second year in succession, von the great Epsom race with Musjid in 1859, he requested his bankers to keep their doors open a little later than usual, in order that he might carry thither the harvest he had garnered at Tatter- sail’s, and deposit it with Messrs. Child before night fell. A gentleman who was once a prominent figure upon every race course, and is still living, although he lias retired from the turf, might be consulted upon an incident which befel him many years ago at Goodwood. He was making a book upon one of the races, and offered to lay one thousand to three hundred upon the field. “I’ll take it, sir,” was exclaimed by a well-dressed, gentle manly man standing just behind him, aud, anxious to do business, he con sented to book the bet, which he won. Oa the following Monday at Tatter- sail’s he i a?erly awaited the advent of his debtor, who, as the clock struck five, rushed hurriedly into the room. Apologizing for the delay, ou the plea that his train had broken down, he pulled out a note for one thousand pounds aud asked for ehange, which was gladly given, and away went the sharp customer with his seven thous- dred pounds. Upon paying the one thousand pound note into his banker’s hands the astonished bookmaker was told that it was a stolen note, and that payment of it had been stopped at the Bank of England. These and many other stories of a like kind would well repay their collector for his trouble iu disinterring them. In a Strange Market. The market for the harvest gathered in the streets of New York is some what dull at present, as many of the producers are out of town, resting by the wayside and visiting farm houses. Thedemaddis fair, and dealers expect a livelier business in the fall. The follow ing are the latest quotation, the piice per pound being given in each case: Old rubber overshoes and boots, 2 cents; broken glass,} cent; hemp string, 3 eents ; rags, 4 cents ; • paper, } to 1 $ cents; lead, 4 cents ; brass, 9 cents ; copper, 12 cents; old stoves pipes, J cent; nails, old kettles and all old iron, £ cent; tin, } cent; old boots and shoes, } cent. The supply of tin is very large, arid the market is glutted. “What is done with old tin?” a wholesale dealer was asked. “It is cast into sa'sh- a eights.” “How is the market for old bones?” “Fair, but quiet; prices rather firm now at 30 cents a bushel. Bones is ,iigh, I reckon, ’cause bee is high, but i tell you they must come down. Shin and knee bones uf prime quality de mand better prices ; but if beef don’t come down they’ll kill the market by this Yankee bone—hand-made bone, like. ” “You mean celluloid?” “You’ve got it now. It’s just as good for buttons and knife-handles.” “What is the most popular article in your line?” “Bottles, of course. Soda-water and beer bottles are worth a cent each ; sometimes they run up to two cents. Champagne bottles bring more. They are sent back to be filled again.” ‘ Shipped back tc Europe?” “Now, don’t. Yes, yes to Europe; but ou acoount of the strikes they don’t get further nor Hoboken.” “ What becomes of the old shoes?” “Sent to the mills. What rniils? Pepper mills— them that’s poor. Oh, they make tine pepper if well roasted. The others go to the sole leather mills. They are ground up aud pressed into sole leather. Big business while beef is high.” Old straw is worth 05 cents a hun dred weight; hardware paper, 90 oenis;^ newspapers, $1.70 ; light print paper, $1; manilla paper, $2.12} ; mixed rags, $2, aud all-wool rags, $5. Careful junk dealers, who assort their wares ready for remanufacture, make a good profit. Some of them ure very rich men. Domiciliary Visits in Russia, There is a sound that strikes with a weird and unplea a5 int effect upon the ear not well inured to the everyday noises of the Russian capital. You generally hear it during part of the two hours that immediately succeed midnight. First there is a tramp of heavy feet resounding along the cor ridor. Then, if j ou listen am nttvely, you may detect the jingle of spurs, snd the occasional voices of n en. For a while the noise continue 3 , aud it may either cease suddenly or die awav in some part of the building too remote for it to bo traced to tbe point of cessa tion. But it you follow, trusting to your audacity aud powers of conceal mei t, you may easily learn the char acter and purpose of your disturbers, '’’he light from a lantern carried by one of tlie party shows it to be a body of police headed by a military otli i<r. The nocturnal visitors pause before the door of au apartment indicated by their leader, aud, after some little knocking oblain ei trance, the occu pant is requested to rise and drees While he does so, the police peer into every box and cupboard, examine every book and tui n over every leaf, pry beneath sofas, search beneath car pets—rummage the apartment as com pletely as custom-house i fficirs rum mage a vessel suspected of contraband trade. And when the occupant— half blinded by the lignt, and terrified in proportion to his consciousness of guilt—has hastily cast on his attire, the examination of his bed begins. The mattress is turned over, the sheets separated, aud the pillow.’ explored. The search over the poll e re’ire, car rying with them all printed matter of a compromising character, a? well as any letters or written documents too long to be examined on the spot. The “domiciliary visit” is thus over, yet it by no means terminates with the de parture of the midnight intruders. Occasionally—that is to say where there is obvious guilt—the occupant of the apartment is removed in custody, and, even when his criminality is not immediately evident he is practically under arrest until the close ot the in vestigation. The process is precisely the fame in the case of females, and illness is one of the last things that can be pleaded in postponement of the search. The promoters of the Nihilistic pro, - aganda occasionally iuflict the most serious consequences upon members ol society perfectly inuocentof Socialistic or revolutionary tendencies. Seditious pamphlets are distributed in thousands at a time, andug often enon the post man is employed to convey them to their destinations. The discovery of one of these pamphlets in a room or house amply suffices to briDg the occu pier into the hands of the police. Thus it was with M. Vinovich, a rising young barrister of St. Petersburg. During his absence from home some body had pushed a revolutionary pam phlet into his letter-box. The police found it there, aud M. Vinovich’s re turn was the signal for his arrest. He knew nothing ot thepamphletandhad not authorized anyone to send it to 1*im, yet he was thrown into prison. His friends were not long in establish- i lg his innocence, and at the end of three weeks he was set at liberty. But it was then too late. He had gone mad. The audacity with which they are made is by no means the least start ling of the characteristics of false de nunciatiwns. Take, lor example, the case of Boolab .sh, the mayor of a small town in the Ekaterinsky gov ernment. This functionary—whose name, by the way, has had the honor, or the ignominy, of adding a new verb to the Russian language—took offence against two apparently respectabe citizens, aud formally denounced them to the police. The usual domiciliary visitation was made, but it yielded nothing in support of the accusation of “political infidelity” (neb lagona- d< zhnost). The mayor was thereupon aBked for his proofs. He promptly got Into the witness-box and swore that on the evening of a certain day, which he named, he saw tbe two ac cused posting revolutionary placards. He did more —he produced printed copies of the placards, and trium phantly asked for a couvlotion. The accused were, in fact, committed to prison, aud had the case rested solely on the statement of Boolabash, they would have been ultimately banished to Siberia. But mark the sequel. The matter was not allowed to remain where the mayor’s evidenoe had left it. An investigation took place, aud it was established not only that the accusation was a false one, but that Boolabash had actually got the revo lutionary placards printed in older to ruin the innocent victims of his tyr- rauy. ;n a case like this one is tempted more to enjoy the di-emnfiture and disgrace of the mayor who was stripped of all his dignities as a func tionary, as well as of his rights as a I citizen, than to dwell much ou the ! tardy justice meted out to those made to sufL r at his hands. And the teuip- tatiou wiil be ail the stronger when it is remember that punishment very rarely follows in the wake of these un founded denunciations. This two residents of a country district near Ka^an found out to their cost. Living quiet aud harmless live u , spending t leir time mainly in agriculture, they seemed the last persons in the world likely to conspire against the Czar’s Government. Yet they were de nounced. Their house was ransacked, and both were conveyed prisoners a di t’inoe of i 500 versts in order to be present at au investigation, which resulted in the completest proof being afforded of their innocence. For a blunder of this kind one would rh>nk somebody should be made respo sible. Ugly cases of this kind, liowe> , are quietly “dropped” by the Russ m po lice It occasionally happens, too, that they look on with approval at a compromise. This they did at Kiry- loff’, in tbe government of Novgorod, under singular circumstances. Here the denouncer was a priest named ltubinoff, and the “suspect” a well- known teai’her in one of the popular schools. The zealous cleric formulated no fewer than six denunciations, ad dressing one to the district educational council, another to the marshal of no bles, a third to the school inspector, a fourth to the school dirtetor a fifth to the provincial council of education, and a sixth to the governor of the pro vince. The case looked black for the suspect under this terrible array of in- dictments, and, had it taken a merely ordinary course, the prayer of the ec clesiastic. would have been granted, and the schoolmaster prohibited from further exerci ing pedagogic functions. But the zeal and intelligence of a school inspector gave the case a differ ent aspect and in the end the six de nunciations were shown to possess no further foundation in fact than the feeling and hatred which brought them into being. Yet no punishment followed. The affair took a decidedly comic turn. At the wish of the school, the injured pedagogue shook hands with the priest, who is said to have displayed leady willingness to be “reconciled.” The Dispensary. Apples.—A more extensive use of apples aa food at out meals, remarks Dr. J. H. Hanaford, will do much to diminish dyspepsia aud biliousness. They are “loosening,” and therefore tend to remove constipation—a promi nent cause of digestive derailment. The acid of this fruit—one of the very best known in aid of digestion—acts favorably on the liver, causing it to se crete the bile, which is nature’s cathartic, thus preventing this consti pation. While eating them between meals must derange the stomach— like the use of all food at that time— they are real’yavery valuable f oil, demanded especially in warm weather. They may be too cooling in the cold est weather, while the more acid ber ries are better^Ln the spiing and sum mer. Quantity of Food—If children are very hearty eaters their food should be ot the simplest kind, and thus pre vent eating more than the system really needs. The tirsi reason for con suming food should be necessity, and the second may be the gratification of the appetite. Usually children have appetites so strong that they need no stimulants, no condiments, as spie s, pepper or mustard. These articles should be reserved for failing appetites of debility and age. They are useful only by way of increasing the appetite aud promoting the dull digestion of what is eaten. They may stimulate the nervous system, aud should be avoided i?i all inflammatory tenden cies of the system. The excessive use of syrups, sugar aud molasses may induce fermentation iu the stomach and long canal. In moderate quanti ties they are useful, aud sometimes are strongly needed. Articles pre served in syrup should be sparingly taken, as they are usually uot easy of digestion. Since health aud growth demand that the amount of food should vary with the amount of exer cise, the kinds of food should be suoh as may supply the needs of the system; the amount of food should be no more than oau be easily digested.