Newspaper Page Text
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Setting on the rain,
“tie Queerest Oambllnf Game In the
World Is Played at Calcutta.
One of the most carious forms of
gambling in the world is “rain gam
bling, ’ ’ which in the winter season of
the year is at its height in Calcutta.
The prinoipal rain gambling den is in
Cotton street, Burra bazaar.
No one who has not visited the place
can have any conception of the vast
crowds which at every hour of the day
and far into night pass in and out.
The great majority are Mawaris, who
are bom speculators, but there are as
well plenty of well to do Europeans,
Eurasians, Jews, Armenians and Greeks
and women too. All swarm into the
small courtyard where this strange
form of gambling is carried on, through
a narrow entrance barely 8 feet wide.
The courtyard is about 200 feet square.
The far famed tank with a spout falling
into the courtyard is the one spot where
all eyes are fixed. The tank stands at
the edge of a second floor roof. It is
about 6 feet long by 4 feet wide and 9
inches deep, with the spout opening in
ward, some 3 or 4 indies from the bot
tom. From this it will be seen that it
requires a pretty heavy downpour for
at least ten minutes to cause the spout
to flow. Intermittent drizzles, which
partly fill this tank, do not count, as
the shower to fill it must pour down un
interruptedly, and then the bets are
won or lost.
Chances are taken either for or against
the spout running. A gray haired,
wizened old man is the owner of the
den, and there is another similar place
across the road, only smaller. On the
roof, over the fifth floor, there is a
small, square watch tower, in which
are stationed five or six men, whose
duty is to scan the horizon closely and
report on the formation of rainclouds.
On these reports the odds rise or fall.
A bet mado and won one day is al
ways paid the following morning.
Everything seems to be “on the square, ”
and indeed there is little chance for
cheating. The odds range as high as 1
to 75 on some days, even in the rainy
season. Many have mado a fortune in a
single day. One person won over £5,-
000 in the course of a few weeks. But
ho worked the system on scientific meth
ods.—New York Herald.
Senator ami Soldier*.
The days when senators and represent
atives in congress were expected to
frank letters for private soldiers, re
counted by Mr. J. A. Watrous of Chicago
in some army reminiscences, wore dan
gerous ones for congressional visits to
the military camps.
Mr. Watrous says that Senator Timo
thy O. Wisconsin once visited
the headquarters of his friend, General
Rufus King, and was at the first oppor
tunity besieged by the soldiers with
packages of envelopes to be franked.
Senator Howe was one of the most
good natured of men, and immediately
sat down in the tent of one of the cap
tains and began to frank envelopes by
the hundred.
General King had made special prep
arations for a dinner in honor of his
guest. It was to eclipse all the camp
dinners that had been given for a long
time. Senator Howe had been franking
envelopes about half an hour when the
call came for dinner. He went on writ
ing, and General King came to get him.
“Goon, King; I’ll be there directly, ”
said the senator.
Dinner was served. The guests had
arrived. No one ate, but after awhile
the colored cook was sent to toll the sen
ator that the meal was getting cold.
“Oh, tell them to go ahead,” said
the senator, still writing madly on sol
diers’ envelopes. ‘ I’ll bo with them as
soon as I can. ’ ’
He finished the pile and rose to go,
but just then two more soldiers came in
with fresh parcels, and he seated him
self again. After ho had signed them
all he joined the impatient company at
a cold dinner.
“I’m sorry,” he said, “but it made
the boys happy. They will make their
friends happy with all the letters they
will send in those franked envelopes,
and it made mo happy to do it. ”
The Daffodil.
It is now many centuries since, ac
cording to Ovid, the young man Narcis
sus was changed into a daffodil because
of his pining mvay from seeing his love
ly shadow in the water. But it can
hardly be from sympathy with the un
fortunate youth that the flower has con
tinued to be so popular during all these
long ages. Certain it is that it has as
high a value today in the . gardens of
persons of taste as in the flower plot of
the humblest cottager. No garden is
considered to he quite complete without
'little patch of daffodils.
Of late years florists have given at
tention to raising varieties from them,
and the record of their many forms is a
feature of the catalogue of all seedsmen.
Double ones formerly carried off the
palm for popularity, but in recent times
the single variety is regarded as quite
as desirable.—Meehan’s Monthly.
Unavoidable.
“That was a very queer poem on ‘Tho
Three Ages of Man’ you published in
your paper this morning, ” said tho man
who happened in, “The general under
standing is that there are seven ages of
man. ”
“It was written‘The Seven Ages of
Man, ’” explained the worried Sunday
editor, “but I had to cut it down to
three on account of a lack of spaca ”
Chicago Tribune.
Incredulous Sam Jones.
Did you hear of a funny Sam Jones
episode? At one of his meetings he called
on all the men y?ho could assert they had
never spoken an unkind word to their
wives to stand. Up got two. “Now,”
he said, “all the women who never
spoke an unkind word to their husbands
may rise.” Up got six. “Sit down,”
Sam cried. “Now, I want the audience
to pray for these liars I”—Time and the
Hour.
Only onk Word.
Only one word, dear, to say to you
Before the throng thrusts us apart;
Only one moment to pray to you,
Goddess enshrined In my heart.
Only one life, dear, to live for you.
Will you spurn it? It lies at your feet.
Only ono heart's love to give for you.
Will you reign in that heart, my sweet?
Only one song, dear, to sing with you,
Singer and song of you blest.
Only ono treasure to bring with you—
Your heart. What matters the lest?
Only one word to implore of you—
Word that is! Couldn’t you guess?
Only one whisper—no more—of you.
Say—shall that whisper he—“ Yes?”
—J. L. Heaton in “The Quilting Bee."
FAITH IN HUMAN NATURE.
A Now York Cafe That Reposes Implicit
ConlideucQ In Its Customers.
It is rather surprising to find right on
Park row a cafe that trusts its custom
ers perfectly. This place has probably
800 regular callers. It is open day and
night, and is run on a system of im
plicit faith in the honesty of man.
While not a place strictly high class, it
offers what might be called a very
“comfortable” meal, with trimmings
before or after. Altogether, it is simply
a plain place for au everyday man, with
occasionally a little something extra
on the bill of fare equaling anything in
the city.
This, of course, can be said of hun
dreds of similar places, but the system
of payment is something novel. The
proprietor, a stout German, boasts no
cashier, as there is very little cash to
take in. On the cigar counter is a day
book. The customer comes in, goes to
the ice chest in the corner if he wishes
and takes a quiet nip out of a black
bottle. Then he orders what jie wants
on the bill of fare. It is served quickly
and neatly. He then counts up his own
indebtedness and puts it opposite his
name in the book, including the “nip,”
or a cigar, if he prefers that. He then
walks serenely out, knowing no proprie
tor is glaring at him and no cashier
yelling for him to come back and make
the cash register good.
This sort of childlike simplicity in
running a business in the very heart of
a city filled with bunkoors, green goods
men and gold bricks without number
is said to be a winning venture. Cus
tomers invariably settle weekly, Friday
and Saturday being pay days, and the
proprietor says he has as yet to lose a
bill through deliberate fraud. A little
experience with a man like that, is al
most enough to renew one’s confidence
in human nature. —New York Letter in
Pittsburg Dispatch.
Primitive Surgery.
It is difficult at this day to realize the
horrors of a surgical operation before
the discovery of anaesthesia. The sur
geon’s knife was necessarily pitiless,
and the victim could only writhe and
scream under the torture. The horror of
an operation, even to a hero, may be
better understood by a story, of Nelson,
included in a paper by Dr. John Ash
hurst on “Surgery Before the Days of
Anaesthetics,” published in the Phila
delphia Record:
No braver or more gallant gentleman
ever lived than Admiral Viscount Nel
son, and after his right elbow had been
shattered by a French bullet in the as
sault at Tenerife he manifested the ut
most courage, refusing to be taken to
the nearest ship lest the sight of his in
jury should alarm the wife of a fellow
officer whose own fate was uncertain.
When his own ship was reached, he
climbed up its side without assistance,
saying:
“Tell the surgeon to make haste and
get his instruments. I know I must lose
my right arm, so the sooner it is off the
bettor. ”
“He underwent the amputation,” so
says a private letter of one of his mid
shipmen, “with the same firmness and
courage that have always marked his
character. ”
And yet so painfully was Nelson
affected by the coldness of the operator’s
knife that when next going into action
at the famous battle of the Nile ho gave
staudiug orders to his surgeons that hot
water should always bo kept in readi
ness during an engagement, so that if
another operation should be required he
might at least have the poor comfort of
being cut with warm instruments.
The Great Eastern as a Show Ship.
The last days of the Great Eastern
were certainly sad, considering the pur
pose for which she was designed a nd
the great work she did in cable laying.
For some time before she was broken
up on the mud of the River Mersey,
near Liverpool, she was on view as a
show ship. Olio firm of Liverpool cloth
iers hired her for a season, and in addi
tion to using her for its advertising
purposes made use of her for catch pen
ny shows. In the large cable tank a cir
cus was fitted up, and performances
given at so much a head, while other
exhibitions of the Coney Island type
were spread all over her deck.—New
York Sun.
Where the Trouble Was.
“Brother, ” said the minister, “you
should try to be content with what you
have. ”
“I am,” said the brother, who had
been grumbling.“lt is what I ain’t got
that 1 am dissatisfied about.”—Cincin
nati Enquirer.
Inevitable Conclusion.
A philosopher thinks that a 6 cent
cigar is as good as one costing three
times as much, and keeps on improving
in philosophy until lie believes that be
ing dead is just as good as living.—
Atchison Globe.
Few nations have raised shaving to
the dignity of a religious ceremony. In
the Koran there is no mention of shav
ing at all, yet the Mohammedans shave
their heads in the same manner as the
Hindoos.
The barbers of India are so deft and
light of touch that they can shave a
man without awakening him.
THE TIMES.' BRUNSWICK, GA., MARCH 28, 1896,
All In the Family.
A few nights ago a prominent Evans
tonian, who lives in a handsome home
in Lake street, was working overtime
on the North Side, and when his busi
ness was completed boarded a North
Shore electrio car forborne. He was en
joying the last of his box of Havanas
and was contemplating how much the
next box would cost when the conduct
or came out on the front platform for
fares. The thoughtful man jammed his
hands into his pockets, and in his dis
may discovered that he had only a coun
terfeit dollar, which he had been carry
ing for months. Ten miles from home,
away from friends and broke was
the unpleasant thought that flashed
through his miud, so he passed up the
counterfeit coin and received his change.
Before the car had traveled a mile the
conductor came around again with a
suspicious look on his face and said,
“Either you or a lady inside gave me a
counterfeit dollar.”
“It was the woman, of course,’’re
sponded the embarrassed gentleman.
“They are always doing such things.”
The remainder of the journey was not
very pleusant to the man who was
“beating” his ride at the expense of an
innocent woman, but he buried himself
in thought and tried to forget. He left
the car at Lake street and had started
home on a brisk walk, when he heard
footsteps behind him. Turning, he saw
his wife, who rushed up and in the
most mortified tonessaid: “Howl wish
I had known you were on that car! The
conductor accused mo of giving him a
counterfeit dollar and made mo give
him anew dollar before all those peo
ple. ” —Chicago Times-Herald.
On His Dignity.
The young king 'of Spain stands on
his dignity and makes his small com
panions know the difference between a
reigning sovereign and a subject.
While staying at St. Sebastian he was
accustomed to bathe and swim and play
with a certain young count, and every
thing went on well until one day, when
playing at fives, the count lost his temper
and gave the king’s ball an angry hit
back. In doing so it struck the king.
He did not say a word, but his face
flushed, and there was a look in his ab
normally large eyes that the count had
never seen before. Instead of apologiz
ing the count grew defiant, and the
same thing occurred again. Alfonso
picked up his hat, and, bowingy stiffly,
he said, 1 ‘Count, I cannot have for my
friend any one who is so rash as to lose
his temper at play.”
The countess, deeply distressed at
what had occurred, sought au interview
with the queen. When she was ushered
into her presence, she found the king
was there, and, not liking to tell lier
mission before him, began to speak on
other subjects, but the king guessed
why she had come, and, after greeting
her, he said, “lam sorry to lose the so
ciety of your sou, but a king has his
dignity to keep up, and bad manners are
worse than bad play.”—Philadelphia
Ledger.
Recognized by His Logs.
When Archbishop Tait was visiting
at a country house in the Highlands of
Scotland, some years ago, he went down
one morning to the postofflce to send a
telegram to his brother, Sheriff Tait,
and he wrote the direction,* “The arch
bishop of Canterbury to Sheriff Tait.”
The old postmaster read the words in
contemptuous tones, and then, looking
at him over his spectacles, said: “The
archbishop of Canterbury! And wha
may ye be that takes this cognomen?”
The archbishop, with a homely wool
en comforter wound about his neck to
keep out the chill air, was painfully
conscious that he might find it hard to
prove his identity. It was a relief to
him when on second thoughts the post
master relented so far as to inquire,
‘‘May bo ye’re the gentleman himself?”
Tait replied, “For want of a better, I
am. ” The old Scot saw the mistake into
which he had fallen and was profuse in
his apologies. “I might have seen,you
were rather consequential about the
legs.” Then, in order to send the arch
bishop away in goodheart, he added, “I
have a sou in London, a lad in a shop
and he gaed to hear ye preach one day
and was verra weel satisfied.”—Pitts
burg Dispatch.
A Pair of Shoes.
One of the big Lynn shoeshops made
a pair of ladies’ boots for the Paris ex
hibition of 1889 in 24 minutes. A no
tary public followed the operation,watch
in hand. For this feat the pair of shoes
went through the usual routine of the
shop, but at exceptional speed. Fifty
seven different operators and 42 ma
chines were concerned in the work,
which required 26 pieces of leather, 14
pieces of cloth, 24 buttons, 24 button
holes, 80 tacks, 20 nails, 2 box toes, 2
steel shanks and 20 yards of thread.
Since that time the division of labor
upon a pair of shoes has become still
greater, and there is a larger number of
machines employed, with the result that
a pair of ladies’ boots can now be made
complete in this factory inside of 20
minutes.—Philip G. . Hubert, Jr., in
Scribner’s.
Pneumatic Tubes.
Pneumatic tubes have many uses, but
one of the latest is attracting a great
deal of attention from its novelty. This
is the tube for stacking straw. It is
built in sections and is controlled by
metal straps, pivots and arms. The
straw is drawn into the tube, carried
through it with great velocity, and by
a turntable and swinging arrangement
like a crane is evenly distributed on the
stack.
H.“ ' ■■ 1
Up to Date.
She had just promised to be his, but
she still had her doubts upon some
points.
“Shall we run away?” he asked.
“I don’t mind,” she answered, “pro
vided you have the price of a round trip
ticket”
He realized then that she was anew
woman w’ho did not believe in taking
1 any chances.—Chicago fost.
The Greece of Today.
To understand the phenomenal rise
of Greece, we must bear in mind that,
though the Greeks had been miserably
downtrodden by the Turks for 400 years;
the best hope of the people, borne by an
unholy tribute far away from their
mothers’ homes and trained into the
tools of an inhuman tyranny, and
though, had it not been for the “unto
ward event” at Navarino, the whole
population of the Morea would have
been exterminated beneath the merciless
tramp of Turkish hoofs, there, never
theless, lived behind the outward show
of slavish debasement a heart of sturdy
independence that cherished the patriot
ic memories of ages and seized eagerly
on every chance that might enable it to
stand before the world in the attitude
and character that had given it the
most prominent place in the history of
the human race.
The two years’ struggle that gave to
Greece the right to look Europe in the
face, as a noble people determined to
die rather than live the slaves of a
hateful tyranny, at the same time gave
to Europe the assurance that Greece
was living Greece again, and Christian
conscience and classic memories com
bined, when once the yoke was broken,
to enable the Greeks to show to the
world that, in spite of the bombshells
of Venice and the sabers of Turkey, not
only should a Greek mother bear sons
to grow up free from the rapine of Turk
ish bands, but desolate Athens should
rise to her old position, and, along
with Edinburgh, Glasgow and Aber
deen, assert its place among famous Eu
ropean cities that combine commercial
enterprise with cultivated intelligence.
It was this noble patriotic pride that, in
the short space cf half a century, turned
the little ruined village into a an impos
ing city.—Professor John Ltuurt Blackie
in Forum.
A Trick of Actors.
Most people know that the memory
may be easily confused by learning a
passage in two or three different ways,
or by having once heard an incorrect
form of giving it. Working on this prin
ciple, actors are fond of putting stum
bling blocks in one another’s way. A
stock joke, dear to the hearts of all
players, is the regular thing to be in
flicted upon a beginner in the first act
of “Richard 111. ” It is in the scene
where the coffin of Henry VI is borne
across the stage. One of the men who
carry it has been raised from the posi
tion of supernumerary to bis first speak
ing part, which consists cf a single line.
Before the performance, it is usual for
some older actor to take him aside and
impress him with the enormous diffi
culties of delivering that sentence cor
rectly. The victim listens nervously.
“Now, most actors,” says his tor
meutor gravely, “make this mistake
the first time they play the part: In
stead of saying, as it is, ‘My lord,
stand back, and let the coffin pass, ’ they
give it this way, ‘My lord, stand back,
and let the parson cough.’ ”
And after he has heard the latter ver
sion, absurd though it is, the chances
are that the poor supernumerary will
give that to the audience on the first
night.—New York Tribune.
The Czar’s Cold Plate.
For the banquet that took place im
mediately after the coronation of the
czar no less than 320,000 pounds weight
of the finest crystal, gold and silver
plate was used, 00,000 pounds of this
being composed of the precious metals.
The most famous services of plate are
the Orloff and the London service, the
last including, among other things,
copies of four equestrian statues on the
Aniclikoff bridge in St. Petersburg, four
others representing hunting scenes and
one St. George and the dragon. A writer
in London Society says' that among
the crystals there were some wonderful
vases, with bunches of grapes cut in re
lief. The Orloff service consists of 16.
vases, richly decorated, and 90 large sil
ver centerpieces for the table, of ex
quisite workmanship. A third service,
known as the Parisian golden service,
bought in 1867, consists of tureens,
dishes and centerpieces.
The Telephone Worked.
According to a Kentucky paper, when
the telephone was first introduced in
that state an old farmer who did not
exactly understand the working of the
invention bought anew pair of boots
for his son, who lived down in Texas.
He hung the footwear across the wire
at sundown one evening. During the
night someone took the boots and placed
a pair of old ones across the wire. Next
morning the .old gentleman went out
and, to his delight, he saw the old
boots. He hastened into the house, ex
claiming to his wife: “Say, Sal, this
here tellerplione is the best thing yet
John got his boots last night, and I’m
blasted if he didn’t send the old nns
home!”
A Checkered Career.
In the recent sweep cf the Bois de
Boulogne for disreputable characters a
tramp with a strange history was taken.
Ho had been a sailor and master of a
sailing vessel, had undertaken to ex
plore Abyssinia and had ended by be
coming chief cook to King Menelek. He
grew homesick, however, made his es
cape, and on reaching France had been
unable to find work.
Why lie Traveled.
First Englishman—Going to Ameri
ca to get a wife?
Second Englishman—Aw, yaas. Are
you?
“Naw, I’m going, donteherknow, to
get away from ono. ” —New York Times.
Western Australia’s supply of jarrah
and karri, the hard woods used for street
pavements, is practically inexhaustible.
The jarrah (Eucalyptus marginati) cov
ers 14,000 square miles of the country
and the karri (E. diversicoicr) 2,000
square miles more.
According to a musical journal, there
are in London at this moment 244,000
females who are, learning music.
Every Morning ” }
t
Except Monday ...
BRUNSWICK’^
. . . Leading
Newspaper
THE BRUNSWCK TIMES
Has the largest and most
select circulation of any
newspaper published in
Georgia
..SOUTH OF SAVANNAH..
OFEiciAE Organ
Geynn County.
A MAGNIFICENT . . .
. . . ADVERTISING . . .
MEDIUM
SPECIAL
. . PRESS DISPATCHES . .
REASONABLE ADVERTISING RATES.
A WARTIME GANDER.
A Union Soldier’s Mascot at the Siege of
Knoxville.
A 42-vear-old gander belonging to'
William Moore of Cocke county, Tenn.,
has just died. It was with Burnside’s
troops during the war and used as mas
cot at the time of the siege of Knox
ville. The death of the gander was not
unexpected by the ex-Federal soldiers,
and arrangements have been made to
bury its remains in the national ceme
tery.
When the dead fowl arrived at the
depot, Burton Mclntyre, a colored serv
ant, was with the soldiers who claimed
the fowl as it put in its appearance at
the depot upon the arrival of the train.
When the box containing the fowl was
taken from the car, he played on his
violin “Marching Through Georgia.”
When Mclntyre saw the lifeless gander,
he dropped dead.
Steward of the White House.
Ex-Adjutant General Howe dropped
into Columbus, 0., the other evening to
prosecute his search for the position of
steward of the White House. He says
that he has every prospect that the po
sition will come to him and that he will
receive his formal notification within a
few days. General Howe was very close
to the throne when Major McKinley
was governor of the state, succeeding
General Pocock as adjutant general
when McKinley removed the latter.—
Cleveland Plain Dealer.
McKinley’s New Boots.
A pair of handsome boots has been
made for President Elect McKinley by
W. J. Scott of Lambertville, N. J.
They were made upon an order from the
next president, and the shoemaker is
very proud of the work he has turned
out. They are No. 1%. The fronts are
of patent leather, the legs of morocco
and the linings of sheepskin. All the
material used is American production,
and 13 states are represented in the va
rious articles used.
Friendships are not uncommon be
tween the cat and dog, and have been
known between a dog and a wolf, but
the mutual attitude of the weasel and
rat is invariably war —war that is
waged to the death.
The telegraph lines of the world ag
gregate 1,069,123 miles. America has
more than ha1f—648,832 miles.
It reaches the! ...
. PEOPLE AND TELLS .
THE NEWS
i
TO PAY A DELBT BY PRAYER.
6t. Mark’s Epinropal Church In Denver
Sends Out a Novel Card.
St. Mark's Episcopal church, in Den
ver, has a debt pf |41,000. An effort to
raise the funds to pay off the burden is
being made by its congregation, and a
novel method ojf keeping its purpose be
fore the minds of the people has been
adopted by the issuance and distribu
tion of “prayer cards.
These cards, or leaflets, specimens of
■which have been received in this city,
bear on the outside of the front cover
the words, “Pfay for us.” On the in
side appears the story of the needs of
the church, accompanied by the follow
ing prayer:
“O gracious Father, if the time has
come when ‘Jt. Mark’s and its peoplo
can be made, notwithstanding their
sins, instruments to glorify thee, put
into the hearts of those to whom thou
hast given means to free us from our
debt, that all our energies and income
may be devoted to the furtherance of
the gospel of thy dear Son, and to him
shall be all the glory, now and forever
more. Amen.”
The request is made that all who re
ceive the card will say the prayer once
a day. The collection for the debt will
be taken oil Easter Sunday.
A Suggestion by Laboucher..
Truth 4f London ironically suggests
that it W-Jikl be a good plan for Queen
Victoria to celebrate her diamond jubi
lee by elevating every British citizen,
male and female, to the peerage. She
has bestowed.titles to -so many people
who drop their “h’s,” it says, that if
all were put on a level, and if “lord”
and “lady” were the usual titles in
stead of “Mr.” and “Mrs.,” then some
people might try to improve their con
dqej an,d live up to the old standards of
All fears which had been entertained
by the German authorities with regard
to the possibility of the freezing of the
Baltic canal during the winter are now
shown to have been without foundation,
and there is no longer any ground for
apprehension lest the cold weather
should interfere with navigation be
tween the Baltic and the North seas.
Despite the severe frost, which during
the last winter has at times entirely
blocked with ice the Belt and the sound
as weh ns the bay of Kiel, the canal has
not been closed a single day.