The weekly Thibodaux sentinel and journal of the 8th Senatorial District. [volume], May 30, 1896, English, Image 4

About The weekly Thibodaux sentinel and journal of the 8th Senatorial District. [volume] (Thibodaux, Lna. [i.e. La.]) 1875-1898

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v i ibobau* Sentinel.
WEAK TALISMANS.
A HABIT BY NO MEANS UNKNOWN
IN POLITE SOCIETY.
Well Known Persons In Washington Who
Have Rabbits' Teet and Other Charms.
A Carious Stone That Was Taken Oat
of a Camel's Foot In Sahara.
A fancy for the possession and con
tinuous carrying about of trinkets of va
rious kinds supposed to endow tl;« pos
sessor with good luck, or at least with
immunity from bad luck, is far more
general than tbo world at large has any
idea of. Tliero is hardly a person living
who has not some pet superstition, and
it is somewhat vf an enigma why the
people are so afraid or ashamed to ac
knowledge it. Unconsciously, even to
ourselves, we have imbibed supersti
tion from earliest childhood until it has
become an established part of oar being.
The popular idea that sailors and sport
ing men are the only ones who abound
with superstitions is not by any means
the truth. This feeling also lias its abid
ing place in the strongholds of Washing
ton's society. Indeed, it exists there in
quite as marked degree as anywhere in
this country, it is a universal failing.
When the president and Mrs. Cleve
land were in the first flash of their
honeymoon, there came to them from
some unknown donor, carefully packed
in a little box, sent through the express,
a rabbit's foot. This, the sender stated,
was to be carried either by the president
or Mrs. Cleveland carefully in a com
partment of tbo pocket book. This fash
ion of canyiug a rabbit's foot in the
pocketbook is very prevalent. Few of
the society women of Washington aro
without at least one rabbit's foot, while
some have quite an array to use in case
one should inadvertently be lost. It may
be added for the benefit of the uniniti
ated that to insure the most perfect luck
tho rabbit from which the foot is taken
should have been killed in a graveyard
in the dark of the moon.
Another talisman which Mrs. Cleve
land received about a year since was in
the form of a tiny Eskimo doll, present
ed by tho Eskimo child who canio to
Washington and was given an audience
one morning in tho blue room of the
White House, where the cabinet took
part in tho amusing entertainment af
forded by the child and its elders. This
little image, an exact miniature of an
Eskimo in native costume, could readily
be held on the palm of tho hand, and
was given Mrs. Cleveland to carry in a
purse presented for that purpose, and
was supposed to impart all manner of
benefits as well as immunity from harm
of every nature.
Mrs. Leland Stanford has a fancy for
carrying in her purse a tiny metal fig
ure of St. Joseph and the Child, given
her by one of lier Washington friends.
Tho superstition in this ease is that tin
person who carries in the purse one c
these figures will never be withoi
money. It would hardly seem likely,
even if the little St. Joseph were left
out of Mrs. Sanford's purse, that she
would be at any time without funds.
One of tho most grewsome of the su
perstitions entertained by Washington
women is that one of tho west end resi
dents carries in her purse u tiny bit of
rope with which Guiteau was hanged.
This is always taken with her to poker
parties, and is believed to cast a cordon
of luck about the possessor and insure
success at cards.
Mr. Beriali Wilkins has a pet super
stition in regard to tho namo Emma—
his wife's name. When lie goes to u
horse race, if there is a horse running
under that title, he will lay a wager on
it sooner than upon any of the well
known favorites. Tho reason is as fol
lows: When he was a young man and
first became engaged, he attended a
horse race. On the list was a perfectly
unknown horse billed to run under tho
name Emma, which especially interest
ed him as being that of his sweetheart.
The horse won, and from that time
forth Mr. Wilkins has held to his bit of
superstition in regard to his wife's
name.
In like manner Senator Calvin S.
Brice has a pet superstition in regard to
a solid gold scarfpiu which he wears
almost continuously. This is in the de
sign of an open safe with a watchdog
chained to one side, and is emblematical
in some way of tho first important rail
road deals in which he euchred the New
York magnates.
Mrs. Stewart, niece of the late Gen
eral Hunter, who some years since hi':
Washington to make her home with one
of her married daughters at Colorado
Springs, carries in her purse tho first
coin made of tho first bit of gold taken
from the mines at Cripple Creek.
One of the most curious talismans
possessed by n Washingtonian is that
now worn by a man well known in
fashionable life. This is a ring of the
oddest design and appearance. It was
presented to him by his wife on their
wedding day. In the wife's family it
has been a talisman for three genera
tions, having been first worn by her
great-grandfather and then in succes
sion by her grandfather and father. The
stone with which it is set was taken
from the foot of A camel while a party
of travelers were crossing the desert ef
Sahara. The stone, though quite small,
is exquisitely cut with a multiplicity of
devices. Among these is a chariot drawn
six horses, a full moon and a chanti
cleer apparently in the act of crowing.
A few years since this ring was loaned
to a person supposed to be imbued with
second sight for interpretation. This
was g; veu to the effect that it had orig
inally been the property of one of tho
favorite wives of the earlier pharaohs.
It had been buried with her in one of
tho catacombs, from which it had been
exhumed and removed by a later pha
raoh, who hud subsequently lost it in
crossing the desert; then, in some unex
plained way, after the lapse of centuries,
hud become imbedded in tlio foot of a
camel treading those same shifting
sands. This ring tho owner never allows
to leave his finger day or night.—Phila
delphia Press.
Charles Itobert Let-lie, K, K.
My father, Charles Robert Leslie, was
certainly cue of the most unselfish,
gentle and single minded o.' men, a
thorough optimist by nature', from
whom all lioublc outside c-f art pan. 'Hi
like water off a duck's back, his mind
and eye dwelling only on the beauty and
happiness of the world about him, with
a wonderful power of living in tho
: present and making the best of it. It
was thus, I believe, that with u few
delicate, rapid touches of his brush he
so easily seized upon whatever was re
fined or lovely in the face of a model,
while, like his favorite character, Cap
tain Shandy, he always judged others
by the standard of his own gentle na
ture. Though rather lavish both of
time and money upon anything con
nected with art or his family, he spent
little on mere personal matters.
As a boy I slept for many years in his
dressing room, and one of my earliest
recollections was watching him shave,
for which, even in winter, he never in
dulged in a drop of hot water, and,
whether due to this or a dull razor, the
operation so often ended in a cut chin
that I always felt a sense of relief when
it was over. Those were the days of old
felt beaver hats, and a decorative tuft of
fur, plucked from the first which came
to hand, often r, maiued on his face for
the day. Later in life ho let his beard
grow, and, except as a means of obtain
ing a smoother surface upon some rough,
unfinished picture, entirely gave up the
use cf that old razor. But the idea of
thus saving time and trouble never
struck him while I was at home, and he
continued to gash his chin nearly every
other day during the busiest period of
his life, just as he once told me he went
on drinking his tea too hot until he con
sulted the great Ahemethy and paid
him a guinea for his advice to "drink it
cooler, sir."—Temple Bar.
Birds cf 1'aradiiie Without Legs.
The idea sprung from the practice of
tlic natives of those islands where the
bird is found, who, having a great de
mand for the feathers of this beautiful
bird, exported the skins, but first took
off the legs as being of no use. The
feathers were highly valued for their
richness and elegance, and also for the
invulnerability which they were sup
posed to confer upon their wearers, the
oriental chiefs whose turbans they
adorned believing themselves to bear a
charmed life in battle. A number of
old writers stated that these birds were
formed with legs like other birds, but
they argued in vain, and Aldrovandus
accused Pigafetta of falsehood in assert
ing that they had legs. As early as
1057 there were birds of paradise in
Tradescant'smuseum, "some with, some
without, legs. ' ' Linnaeus employed the
term Apoda, not because, he believed
the fable, but because, he says, the older
naturalists called the birds footless. For
further information on this part of the
subject see "Penny Cyclopedia, " article
"Bird of Paradise."
The present demand of these beauti
ful feathers is for the adornment of the
hats and bonnets of modern ladies, and
I am sorry to observe that the demand is
so great as to threaten the extinction of
the bird. During the past season one
house alone at Paris is said to have sold
60,000 dozen sprays of mixed bird of
paradise and osprey tips. These are
chiefly made up of the feathers of young
birds, which are cheaper, the plumage
of the male bird requiring several years
for its development. The mature bird is
now scarco in New Guinea owing to
the activity of skilled sharpshooters.—
Notes and Queries.
A Caroles* Poet.
Dr. Johnson, a kindly critic, and Rich
ard Savage's companion in many an all
night wandering, allows him to have
been acquainted with every form of de
bauchery. Certainly his knowledge of
last century Loudon must have been as
extensive and peculiar as that of a pop
ular character in later fiction. Walking
the streets hone less, sleeping among
the ashes of glass houses, or in the straw
of ginshop cellars picking up his daily
bread, not forgetting the sack, as pre
cariously as did a blind beggar. Oscil
lating between plenty and penury, from
Tyrconnel's mansion to a thieves' den,
and, according to report, equally at
home in either, dining one day with
his patron, the earl, the next with a
duke—Duke Humphrey—his clothes
rotting on his shoulders, and without
premonition of from where the next
supply would come, yet with it all, Dr.
Johnson puts on record, he presented a
marvelous serenity. "His distresses,
however afflictive, never dejected him.
j In his lowest state ho wanted not spirit
to assert the natural dignity of wit."
His Macawberlike spirit probably saved
him from suicide. He was always de
termining to "commence a rigid econ
omy and to live according to the exact
rules of frugality, for nothing was more
cdtroemptible than a man who, wfien ne
knew his income, exceeded it "—Gen
tleman's Magazine.
Its UMi
In a primary school the teacher under
took to convey to lit r pupils an idea of
the use of the hyphen. She wrote on the
blackboard "bird's-ncst, " and, pointing
to the hyphen, asked the school, "What
is that for?"
After a short pause a young son of the
Emerald isle piped out, "Please, ma'am,
for the bird to roost on. "—London Tit
Bits.
Mrs. Cral-rie on Americans.
"Even a stranger could not be long
in America," said the uutlu ress, "with- I
out noting the deep religious feeding '
which underlies the national life cf the
country. It is not aggressive. It is not
paraded to the view in any obtrusive
way. It has no suggi stion of hypocrisy.
Simply you have a sincere religious sen
timent, a Christian attitude, an abso
lute integrity, as the basis off the cem
munity. This does not exist only among
what are called the; church going
classes, but influences the sections also
which perhaps are not religious in tlic
strict sense. It has permeated every
where and is so strong that I believe I
those who fall below its principles ;
would hardly be tolerated by public |
opinion. The fact itself is no doubt at- !
tributable in the main to Puritan tradi
tions and the large admixture of Ro
man Catholics—tho Irish, for instance
—among the population."
"What is the next American char
acteristic you would select?"
"Perhaps that of honorable ambition
—the desire to succeed on individual
worth. Self effort, independence of
character, the inborn wish to rise, to be 1
better, to live bet ter—all that is what
I mean. Americans are rich and when
they have made their money proud of
it, but they are very far from being
mercenary. That, or the degeneration
into selfishness, is no part of the Amer
ican character, which surely is sympa
thetic and whole hearted if it is any
thing. Again, I should mention the
patriotism of the American people, for
it is intense, a dominating note among
all classes.—Interview' in the London
Chronicle.
A Captive Balloon.
The principal danger in captive work
is the always present possibility of the
wire rope parting, not because of tho
: obvious result that the balloon, being
set free, would at once make off at speed,
but for reasons of a very simple technical
nature, albeit none the more pleasant by
reason of their simplicity. It must bo
understood that when a captive balloon
has been sent up the required height, the
neck of tho balloon has to bo tied up so
as to prevent the wind from exerting a
pressure on the envelope and forcing
out tho gas, which would result in the
balloon very shortly losing its lifting
power and descending. In free runs the
neck must always be wide open, for
otherwise any sudden expansion of gas
might burst tho balloon. Hence il' a
captive breaks away it is bound to make
an unduly rapid ascent, since it is sud
denly released from the restraint as well
as the weight of the wire rope.
Of course in such an emergency the
gas would at once commence to expand
furiously, and unless the neck of the '
balloon were instantly opened and kept
open the envelope would inevitably
burst. In the shocking accident at the
Crystal palace in 1892, when poor Dale
and his comrades lost their lives, tho
balloon was started with too much lift
and commenced to rise with undue ra
pidity. Dale, the aeronaut, realizing the
danger, opened the neck and in his anx
iety to see that it was clear looked into
it, and it is supposed that his head
checked the outrusb of heated gas, with
the result that the envelope instantly
burst, with terrible results.—Macmil
lan's Magazine.
,
'
The Mote In His Neighbor's Eye,
A much prized cat strayed out of the
window of a Central Park West apart
ment the other day. He walked along
the cornice until he reached one of the
windows next door and looked in sol
emnly. The absence of the precious tab
by was soon discovered, and he was
called back quickly and reprimanded.
The next day the proprietors of the
animal were informed that the neighbor
bad complained because the cat had
peered into his room. They immediate
ly informed the owner of the property
that the man who had been so disturbed
by a little feline curiosity practiced on
the flute for two hours every day.—New
York Sun.
WHY THE SEA IS SALT
IT HAS SEEN SO EVER SINCE THE
CREATION OF THE WORLD.
Of Great Benefit to Mankind—Continents
Produced by the Skeletons of Animals
That Could Not Have Lived In Fresh Wa
ter—Moses' Short Account.
The sea at present contains 5)0,000,
| 000.000,000,000 tons of salt. If this salt
i could bo gathered in a solid form and
j compressed into tho shapo of a cube, it
i would contain 10,173,000 cubic miles.
Each edge of such a cnbo would meas
; ure somewhat more than 200 miles.
This is enough to cover all the land on
this globe with a uniform layer of salt
: to a depth of 1,000 feet.
This statement as to the saltiness of
the sea is interesting enoDgh in itself,
'
but it is also suggestive. The questions
may well bo asked, Where did all this I
salt come from, and what is the use of I
it? Several scientific gentlemen have ]
attempted to answer this first question, |
and their efforts are not entirely satis- j
factory. The second question is not so j
difficult.
According to the history of the crea
tion of tho world, as told by Moses in
the Genesis, it is implied that the ocean
existed before the laud, for, on the
"third day" the "water under the heav
ens" was gathered together and tbo dry
land appeared.
This statement has bothered a great j
number of able philosophers, who, in
their effort to stick to the letter of the
Scripture and at the same time to rea
son ont everything on perfectly natural j
principles, have been puzzled to know
how such a gr;md transformation could
be accomplished in one day. And tliei
perplexity was not relieved when learn
ed geologists announced that it must
have required ages for the waters that
enveloped tho earth to subside and re
veal this laud that lay beneath.
But when it was suggested that tho
word "day" as used by Moses meant,
not a period of 24 hours, but an era of
thousands of years, the difficulty was
removed. This meaning of the word j
"day" is at present generally accepted
by devout scientists, who now declare |
that there is nothing impossible in Mo- 1
scs' account of tho creation.
Tliis dc. 1 eruption, to be sure, is la
mentably brief. It was hardly adeqmno
to pass over such a huge event us the
creation of a world in a few lines. That j
was a big story from u newspaper point, j
of view, and all thought ini persons
must acknowledge that Moses did not
take advantage of his opportunity.
Accepting the Mosaic account, Dr. T.
6. Hunt, a learned writer on the phys
ical history of the giobe, supplies what
Moses left out, and in so doing be gives
a very good reason for tho presence of
the salt in tho sea. Having arrived at
the point of Moses' meager narrative
where the earth was iu a molten state
and surrounded by an envelope of gases
and of water vapor, Dr. Hunt says:
"Tag carbonates, chlorides and sul
phates (chemical combinations of car
bon, chlorine and sulphur with oxygen)
were changed into silicates. The car
bon, chlorine and sulphur, being thus
freed from tho oxygen, separated iu the
form of acid gases. Those, with nitro
gen, vapor of water and a probable ex
cess of oxygen, formed tho atmosphere,
which was very dense (and also very
unhealthy).
, "The surface of the earth was cover
' ed with lumps of molten rook (probably
resembling furnace slag). The depressed
parts of ihe surface were filled with
highly heated solutions of hydrochloric
and sulphuric acids, which ate into the
surface and decomposed it. Iu this way
the silicates were changed to pure silica,
taking the form cf quartz as the atmos
phere cooled, and the condensation of
the vaporous atmosphere produced sea
water, holding in solution salts of sodi
um, calcium, magnesium and ammoni
um. Tho atmosphere, thus freed of its
noxious elements, became pure and fit
for man. "
It is thereforo evident that the sea
has been salty from the creation of the
world. The salt dees not come, as is
gem rally supposed, from friction of the
water against salt "rooks" in the bed
of the ocean. This, then, answers the
first question. Where did the salt come
from? The second question is pretty
well answered by Mr. G. W. Little
bales iu Appleton's Popular Science
Monthly.
"It seems," he says, "that the sea
was made salt in the beginning as a
part of the grand design of the Creator
to provide for tho system of evolution
which has been going ou since the crea
tion. Many distinct species of living
organisms exist in the sea as a result of
it^* salinity, and their remains have
largely contributed to the growth of con
tinents. "
The minute creatures that have lived
in the sea for ages past have left endur
ing monuments iu the shape of islands,
rocks and continents. If the sea had not
been salty, these marine animals could
not. have existed and secreted the hard
substance known as a "calcareous skele
ton," which has largely contributed to
tin; growth of comments. Among these
early inhabitants ci the sea were coruls,
criuoids, sea urchins and starfishes.
The saltiness of the sea has also much
to do with the ocean currents, which
distribute the heat of tho tmoios
What Com Examination Can Do.
Magistrate—Your name?
Bashtnl Maiden—Anna Lang.
"Religion?"
"Protestant. "
"Age?"
No answer.
"When were your parents married?"
"In 1863."
"When was the first christening?"
"In 1864. "
"How many brothers and sisters have
you?"
"Five."
"Are you tho oldest?"
"Yes."
"Then yon are 31 years of age."
Yes. (Sotto voce) I have given my
age away. I am surprised."—Dorfbar
bier.
On entering a room where many
guests are assembled go at once and
speak to your hostess before addressing
friends who are invited guests. The first
and last salutation should be to those
Who offer you hospitality.
HIRES Rootbeer con
tains the best herbs, berries
and roots nature makes for
rootbeer making. Take no
other.
a—1. «aly by Tb. Charles * In. C»„ PbnUtl^u
A lio. pactac* nt« 6 (aliaos. Sol*«Twywinrt.
PARKER'S GINGER TONIC
•Nrtrs l.ung Trouble., tkhiulv, distrerilne ninm.-Y
Kmaleilis, r.nd is no!«l t„r mahing
trr.tment fails. Ever, mol hr r mini inv.;,.! nhimld bwiL*
PARKER'S
i HAIR BALSAM
Cleanse, and beautifies the Vi i
Promotes a luxuriant growth!**
.**}>• to BcstSreo»
I Harr to its Youthful Co',™
|Cutm iculp di«ea*"S 4 hsir l. :. M
and < 1.00 at Dru-pmrt*
HINDERCORNS The onlyFtrr Cot*
Coins. Stops all pain. Makes walking easy. Ijc. atDnaggJJ
riiJi'heatrr'h KnfflKh i^lumon.l It ran*.
'EN 3 VR 0 YAL FIU$
ami Only limitin' <
i-OfcA -arc. reliable. l»d«i» A
Ivl »'»f i.tidlv «. , i«v rtnern
Mail. U JMMl . ............ Y.uhs/w
r Chli.lM'blfrClirinlt'ulCu., Uu«IUin
Lulu, In
i'llllkdlh. **lk .
Gem Saloon
W. H. FIIOST. Prop.
Oor. Market and (inenSi
Tit / I.J.
BILLIARD ROOM, ]\\] l < ( y „„
11 KSTA T ' 1 f > T.
H. N. Coulon,
NOTARY PUBLIC,
:.( * k j< i j s i): ee ..
iTIIItOittl \. I .A.
M. !.► liiei', S.rom.
welcome House.
LEBLANC & FOBET
PROPRIETORS.
FIXE WINES, LIQUORS, CIGARS
BOARD AND LODGING J\T fjEASOH
SON ABLE IJATES.
LOCK FONT - - LA
[OWNEY'S
Chocolate Bonbons*
FOR SALE BY
Thibodeaux lint;; Store.
FRANK BARKEH,
(SUCCESSOR To IlAKKKlt Jk 8EVIN.)
Commission Merchant,
AM) DEALER IN ALL KINDS OF
COUNTRY PRODUCE.
WCtiTTiiV, SUGAR, MOLASSES, KICK
'.POTATOES, EGGS, HONEY, REES
WAX, TALLOW WOOL, HIDES,
MOSS, POULTRY, ETC.
NO: 119 DECATUR STEEE1,
NEW ORLEANS, LA.
*ari.lHKKAL A1 >\ AM )h MADE UN; CO!*
SIGN MEN VS
J. LOUIS AUCOIN
\ ' xil/y
1 W
1 1
1 1 4,
FUEN1TEEE
- i 4
7 *
cl all kind.
Z 1 <■
r ♦
PAINTS,
B \t
- 4
HAEDWAKE,
I ♦
4
UNDEE,TAKERS'
1 4- '
4
Material etc;
, 4 ■
J ^
#
MA IX S Ull Ei
TiiiBODAr::. la.
n. non
:g. t. p ukkgeboS'
BOTJRG & BERGERON
Market Stand,
MARKET ST., TIIIEODAUX, LA
- ALWAYS ON HAND THE
UFST OK 1:IH, Mi'll! N , roi:K. VM
ANI) SAUSAGES OF ALL KINDS
Mav 2u U3-1 y.