1897. 



THE AMERICAN BEE KEEPER. 



277 



that cue Euglisbiuan was equal to three 

 Frenchuieu. " This iusulur couceit was 

 rudely dispt^lled iu the case of a young 

 mau who weut from this parish to tiike 

 a coachmau's place in Paris. Writing 

 home on one occasion, he says, "You've 

 heerd ttll how cue Englishman is a 

 match for three Frenchmen, but don't 

 you believe it, mother, for I've tried it 

 and am now in the hospital." To hear 

 the old woman gravely recite this is a 

 delicious piece of comedy. — Notes and 

 Queries. 



The Letter I. 



The name of "I'" is in Hebrew jod 

 or jot, a hand, and the earliest charac- 

 ters representative of the souud closely 

 resemble a hand with but three fingers. 

 Little by little one finger after another 

 dropped off until only the little finger 

 •was left and the letter became the small- 

 est iu the alphabet, a jot or tittle, that 

 is, the "I" and its dot being synonyms 

 of the most insignificant things that 

 could be described. 



Some of the oldest yew trees in the 

 kingdom are in the churchyard of 

 Mamhilad, iu Monmouthshire. They 

 are over 30 feet iu girth and are fast 

 decaying, some of their branches being 

 held up with iron chains and bands. It 

 is stated that they were planted about 

 the time of the Norman conquest of 

 Glamorgan. 



Cartridges tested by the Roentgen 

 rays to determine if they have been 

 carefully loaded are ofifered for sale by 

 a London gunsmith. 



His Letter of Introduction. 



One day a tall, gaunt stranger from 

 Arkansas cornered Opie Read at the 

 Press club. He began fishing about in 

 his pockets. 



"Got a letter of introduction to you 

 hyarabout some'ere. " he said. 



"Had the darndest time findin yon," 

 he continued. "Got into town yester- 

 day afternoon, and last night I started 

 out to look you up. I thought probably 

 the folks at the telegraph ofiBce would 

 know you, but they didn't. And the 

 hotel folks didn't know yon nntber. 

 Then I went to a newspaper shop and 

 they sent me over here." 



By this time the visitor had found 



the missing letter of introduction. It 

 was written v>'ith a lead pencil in a 

 schoolboy's hand and the spelling was 

 decidedly phonetic. Opie scrutinized the 

 signature closely. 



"John Scruggins," hesaid musingly, 

 "John Scruggins. I don't recall Mr. 

 Scruggins. " 



"That's my boy," said the visitor 

 proudly. "He's been to school in Little 

 Rock all winter, and so when I got 

 ready awhile ago to come to Chicago I 

 told him to write me a letter of iutr'- 

 duction to you, and he did it. What's 

 the matter with the letter? Ain't it writ 

 all right?" 



"Oh, yes, it's all right," said the 

 novelist. 



And it was, for the man from Arkan- 

 sas spent a pleasant afternoon at tha 

 club. — Chicago Times-Herald. 



Setting Himself a Great Stunt. 



"Every morning when I get up," 

 said Mr. Billtops, "I set myself the 

 stunt of preserving my tranquillity un- 

 broken througli the day, and every 

 night I am obliged to confess that I am 

 not up to it yet. 



"The trials begin at home with the 

 breakfast and the children and I don't 

 know what else, and they run through 

 the day at business and are found 

 again at home at night. They come in 

 various and unexpected forms and out 

 of most unexpected incidents and at 

 times when they are never dreamed of. 

 One needs impervious imperturbability 

 to withstand them all and perfect nerve 

 and resolution. 



"With an absolutely tranquil mind, 

 quite undisturbed by circumstance, 

 what could not one do? I have not yet 

 reached that happy frame, but I am 

 making a bluS at it daily and am get- 

 ting nearer to it all the time. " — New 

 York Sun. 



Insinuating. 



Merritt — Would you marry a one eyed 

 mau? 



Cora — Why, good gracious, no! 



Merritt — Then let me carry your par- 

 asol. — Loudon Tit-Bits. 



Common Now- 

 Silver forks are to be used at Rock- 

 awi^y and West Point hotels during the 

 coming summer. — Volume 1, No. 1, 

 New 1f ork Morning Herald, M^y 6, 1835. 



