106 



THE AMERICAN BEE-KEEPER 



April 



naraiy Dear resoiingf ana ueeiing more 

 than ouce. The same retailer claims 

 that some manufacturers take advantage 

 of this knowledge and put inferior leath- 

 er in the soles and heel^ and thus attain 

 the apparently impossible feat of in- 

 creasing the reputation of their goods by 

 ttsing inferior material. It is certain, 

 however, that reputable manufacturers 

 do not adop*" this questionable policy. — 

 Sho« and Leather B«porter. 



VICI PRESIDENT KING. 



H« Took th« Oath of OMc« Abroad, bot 

 Did N«t LIT* to 8«rT«. 



Willi«ra Rufus King, b«rn April 6, 

 1786, died April 18, 1853, w»i a vice pres- 

 ident of the United Statts who never 

 served in that capacity and one who took 

 the oath of office on foreign ■oil, something 

 which can be said of no other executive 

 oflQcer who has ever been elected by the 

 people of this country. King was an in- 

 valid, but his friendi urged him to take 

 second place on th« ticket with Pierce in 

 1853. 



Both were elected, but Mr. King's health 

 failed so rapidly that he was forced to go 

 to Cuba some two monthi before inaugu- 

 ration day. Not having returned to the 

 United States by March 4, congress passed 

 a special act suthorizing the United States 

 consul at Matanzas, Cuba, to swear him 

 in as tice president at about the hour 

 when Pierce was taking the oath of oflSce 

 at Washington. 



Thii arrangement was carried out to a 

 dot, and on the day appointed, at a plan- 

 tation on one of tlie highest hills in the 

 vicinity of Mataiieas, Mr. King was made 

 vice president of the Uaitad States amid 

 the solemn "Vaya tol con Dloe" (God will 

 b« with you) of the cieoles who had as- 

 sembled to witness the uaique spectacle. 

 Vice President Kiag returned to his home 

 atCahawba, Ala., arriving at that place 

 April 17, 18B3, and died the following day. 

 His remains were l«id to rest on his plan- 

 tation, knowa as Pine Hills. — Chicago 

 TimM. 



C*ml Ck«r*k •« »m Easters Island. 



The chureli built cf coral is one of the 

 curiosities cf the isle ef Mahe, one of the 

 Scyschelles islands ia the Indian ocean. 

 The Scyschelles islands, which are sup- 

 posed by maay to be the site of the Eden 

 of the Old Testament, form an archipelago 

 of 11 islaads and are situated about 1400 

 miles east of Aden and 1,000 miles from 

 Zanzibar. They rise steeply out of the sea, 

 enlminatlng in the isle of Mahe, which is 

 about 3,000 feet above the level of the 



ocean ana is neariy tne center ol tne 

 group. All these islands are of coral 

 growth. The houses are built of a species 

 of massive coral hewn into square blocks, 

 which glisten like white marble and show 

 themselTes j the utmost advantage in 

 the various tinted green of the thick trop- 

 ical palms, whose immense fernlike leaves 

 give pleasa? t and much needed shade. 

 These palms grow as high as 100 feet and 

 more, overtopping both the houses and the 

 coral built church. They line the sea- 

 shore and cover the mountains, forming in 

 ■xn- y places extensile forests. — Brooklyn 

 Eagle. 



"BOOTS BY THE QUART." 



A Series sf Remarkable Signs That Cre- 

 ated Great Astonishment. 



In South street. New York, there is an 

 Italian who runs a Yankee notion stand. 

 He speaks P]nglish after a fashion, but 

 cannot read a word of it. This fact has 

 made him an easy prey for a heartless 

 joker 



His stock of goods includes almost ev- 

 erything from peanuts and chewing gum 

 to suspenders and waterproof jumpers. 

 Until recently he had displayed no pla- 

 cards, giving the prices of his wares, but 

 the other day a man offered to paint all 

 the signs that the Italian needed free of 

 charge The offer was joyfully accepted. 

 The signs were painted and placed in po- 

 sition. Crowds were attracted to the spot, 

 and visions of suiiden wealth danced be- 

 fore the Italian's eyes Hero are some of 

 the inscriptions painted by the mounte- 

 bank: 



"Cape Ann Boots! Only 50 cents a 

 quart ' 



'•Chev.iiig Gum! All kinds, only 2 

 cents a yard. " 



They were prominently displayed near 

 the top of the stand, but they were eclipsed 

 by these a little lower down: 



"Peanuts, raw or roasted, $3 a pint. 

 Must be eaten hero." 



"Suspenders baked, fried or boiled, with 

 edible buckles, 20 cents a plate." 



The placard that won the most admira- 

 tion and of which the innocent merchant 

 was particularly [n'OLid was an oblong af- 

 fair in gorgeous colors. It read: 



Gold plated brushes 5 cents 



Diamond studs 2 cents 



Collar buttons $10 each 



All pocketknives free 



A few minutes after the signs had been 

 put into place an old sailor was trying to 

 buy two quarts of Cape Ann boots for $1, 

 and the Italian was getting black in the 

 face trying to make hini understand that 

 the boots were " Four dol' a pair. " Many 

 similar scenes were witnessed, E'inallv a 



