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EaEiiiiet arul Pictorial Home iBomjiaraon. 
In olden times it was the fashion for a suitor to go 
down on his knees to a lady when lie asked her to 
become his wife, which, with very stout gentlemen, 
was an uncomfortable proceeding. The way in which 
Daniel Webster proposed to Miss Fletcher was more 
modern, being at the same time neat and poetic. 
Like many other lovers, he was caught holding a skein 
of thread or wool which the lady had been unravel¬ 
ing. “ Grade,” said he, “ we have been untying 
knots. Let us see if we cannot tie one which will not 
untie in a lifetime.” With a piece of tape he fash¬ 
ioned half a true lover’s knot. 
Miss Fletcher perfected it, and a 
kiss put the seal to the symbolical 
bargain. Most men, when they 
“ pop ” by writing, are more 
straightforward and matter-of- 
fact. Richard Steele wrote to the 
lady of his heart: “Dear Mrs. 
Shurlock (there was no misses in 
those days). I am tired of calling 
you by that name; therefore, say 
a day when you will take that of 
madam. Your devoted humble 
servant, Richard Steele.” She 
fixed the day accordingly, and 
Steeled her name instead of her 
heart to the suitor. 
Hint to Tattlers.—Fuseli, the 
painter, had a great dislike to the 
species of conversation known as 
“tattle.” Once, while sitting in 
his room among some triflingvisi- 
tors who were discussing the 
weather and such like interesting 
subjects, he burst forth with a— 
“ We had pork for dinner to-day !” 
“ Dear! Mr. Fuseli, what an odd 
remark!” exclaimed one. “ Why,” 
replied he, “ it’s as good as any¬ 
thing you’ve been saying for the 
last hour.” 
Her First Kiss.—It is a singu¬ 
lar fact that the custom of kissing 
is altogether unknown in China. 
The Chinese, indeed, have no 
word expressing love as we under¬ 
stand the passion. An American 
navy officer, voyaging Chinawards, 
narrates an amusing experience 
of the ignorance of the Chinese 
maidens of the science of kissing. 
Wishing to complete a conquest 
he had made of a young mei jin 
(beautiful lady), he invited her— 
using the English words—to give him a kiss. Find¬ 
ing her comprehension of his request somewhat ob¬ 
scure, he suited the action to the word and took a de¬ 
licious kiss. The girl ran away into another room, 
thoroughly alarmed, exclaiming, “ Terrible man-eat¬ 
er ; I shall be devoured.” But in a moment, finding 
herself uninjured by the salute, she returned to his 
side, saying, ‘ ‘ I would learn more of your strange 
rite. Ke-e-es me.” He knew it wasn’t “ right,” but 
he kept on instructing her in the rite of “ ke-e-es me ” 
until she knew how to do it like a native Yankee girl, 
and, after all that, she suggested a second course by 
remarking, “ Ke-e-es me some more seen jine Mee-lee- 
the passengers on a Detroit street car the other day, 
and presently the little miss observed a man take out 
his handkerchief, flourish it around, and then wipe his 
nose. The child leaned over to her mother and whis¬ 
pered : “Mamma, that gentleman is trying to flirt 
with me, but I shall give him the handkerchief signal 
that I distrust his motives.” 
A short time since, a noble savage came to a cer¬ 
tain agent in the northern part of Iowa to procure 
some whiskey for a younger warrior who had been 
bitten by a rattlesnake. “Four quarts!” repeated 
the agent, with surprise ; “ as much as that [?” “ Yes,” 
replied the Indian, “ four quarts—snake very big.” 
“ Bub, did you ever stop to 
think,” said a Michigan avenue 
grocer, as he measured out half a 
peck of potatoes, “ that these po¬ 
tatoes contain sugar, water and 
stai’ch ?” “ Noa, I didn’t,” re¬ 
plied the boy, “ but I heard mother 
say you put peas and beans in 
your coffee, and about a pint of 
water in every quart of milk you 
sold.” The subject of natural 
philosojxhy was dropped right 
there. 
Fight It Out Like Pa and Ma 
Do. —A story is told of a daughter 
of a prominent person now in the 
lecture field, which is peculiarly 
interesting and suggestive of un¬ 
conscious wisdom. A geutleman 
was invited to the lecturer’s house 
to tea. Immediately on being 
seated at the table the little girl 
astonished the family circle and. 
the guests by the abrupt question : 
“ Where is your wife ?” 
Now, the gentleman having- 
been recently separated from the 
partner of his life, was taken so 
completely by surprise that he 
stammered forth the truth : 
“ I don’t know 7 .” 
“Don’t know 7 ,” replied the en¬ 
fant terrible, “ why don’t you 
know ?” 
Finding that the child persisted 
in her interi-ogatories despite the 
mild reproof of her parents, he 
concluded to make a clean breast 
of the matter and have it over at 
once. So he said, with a calm¬ 
ness which was the result of in¬ 
ward expletives: 
“Well, we don’t live together; 
we ttnnk as we can’t agree, we’d 
better not.” 
He stifled a groan as the child began again, and 
darted an exasperated look at her parents. But the 
little torment would not be quieted until she ex¬ 
claimed : 
“ Can’t agree ! Then why don’t you fight it out 
as pa and ma do ?” 
“ Vengeance is mine,” laughingly retorted the visi¬ 
tor, after “ pa” and “ ma” exchanged looks of holy 
horror, followed by the inevitable roar. 
Some naughty person has said that Lot’s wife 
wouldn’t have looked back, but a woman with a new 7 
dress passed her, and she wanted to see if the back 
breadth was ruffled. 
kee! ” (Anglice American), and the lesson went on 
until her mamma’s voice rudely aw'akened them from 
then' delicious dream. 
A three-year old boy of a Pittsfield clergyman, 
watching his mother making biscuit one Sunday for 
tea, asked her if it was not wicked to work on Sun¬ 
day. Of course she said it w 7 as, and the logical little 
chap continued, “ ’Oo’ll catch it when ’oo get to 
Heaven.” 
A Missourian w 7 ho attended prayer meeting with 
his daughter, felt compelled to rise up and remark: 
' “I w 7 ant to be good and go to heaven, but if those 
! fellow's don’t stop winking at Mary, there will be a 
The Interesting Book. 
good deal of prancing around here the fust thing they 
know.” 
Two boys were standing before a cigar store, when 
one asked the other : Have ■ you got three cents ?” 
“Yes.” “Well, I have got tw 7 o cents; give me the 
three cents, and I wall buy a five center.” All right,” 
says No. 2, handing out his money. No 1 entei-s the 
store, lights it and puffs with a good deal of satisfac¬ 
tion. “ Come, now, give us a pull,” says No. 2. “I 
furnished more than half the money.” “ I know that,” 
says the smoker; “ but then I’m the president, and 
you being only a stockholder, you can spit.” 
A lady and her eight year old daughter were among 
