' MEADOW MOWING. AN ANCIENT LONG lSLAND ECUSTOM OF CLEARING -~THE MARSHES. Youths Swung Scythes and Cut Swath- ‘Vhere Their Ancestors Had Trod. “Tine” Watts and His Army Campetl on the Field and Rose at Break ‘01' Day. ‘At the. last annual mowing of the meadow marshes at Hempstead, L. I., Uncle “Tine” Matts, as day broke, sounded atreveille by hitting a scythe with a Whetstone. From couches of new mown grass striplings and hardy old timers ranged themselves along the prairie of meadow grass that rose and fell in gentle billows of unruflied green under .the pressure of a soft east wind. Keen scythes glistened in the hands of the silent army. With a flour ish that made the scythe blade ring, Uncle “Tine” brought the reveille to a finish. “Be youse all ready?” he demanded “Aye, aye, sir,” returned the nautical farmers; “we bees,” and the scythe blades swung back with military pro cision. , “Then let ’er go! Cut, you clam diggin’ sons 0’ guns, cut.” A hundred blades glinted, then sank deep into the great, green field, and the work of cutting the hay on the common meadows of Hempstead was begun. ..d—I..»I ...: - ...1‘ ‘|.A- I‘.._:‘...-i. " "i" LONG ISLAND FARMERS. Back and forth over these meadows for two hundred years or more have the natives of the town‘ of Hempstead each season swung their scythes and- harvested the crop of meadow grass that fell beneath their strokes. From father to son privileged routes for cut- ting the grass have descended. Youths this morning worked their way through the tall-grass over the same ground where their ancestors had cut swaths. The common meadows comprise about two hundred acres. Hundreds of tons of hay are out every year, and the cutting season is eagerly looked forward t9 by farm boys and old tim- ers. Those who make a business of gathering the lay yearly camp out on the ground. Despite his sixty years or Uncle “Tine” is the crack mower of the town. According to custom, the mower owns‘all the grass within the swath he can cut‘between sunrise and sundown. Hundreds of tons of this hay is gathered annually. It is worth from $7 to $8 a ton. As the grass is heavy and sometimes wet, three or four acres a day is all a good man can cover. The grass is used for bedding and feeding cattle, and is also sold for packing crockery. POSTAGE STAMP FLIRTATION. Be Careful \Vhere You Put the Stamp, for Its Location Has a Meaning. It will be news to most letter writers that there is a recognized code of pos- tage stamp flirtation, and the haphaz- ard misplaciug of the stamp—or what has been supposed to be such—is really done in accordance with this code. Thus, if the stamp is put in the lower left hand corner of the letter, but right side up, it indicates that “mother is ill evening.” In the same locality, but with the head downward, it means that it will not be safe to call on account of the dog. Put on diagonally the signifi- cance is “meet me tomorrow noon at the old place.” And when pasted awkwardly near the middle of the en- velope it signifies “I cannot return your affection.” These are not all the messages, of course, but they will read- ily suggest the capabilities of the code and probably prompt the inventive to the designing of new signals. ThOSe who incline to flirtation are very in- genious in the matter of methods, and will readily avail themselves of so convenient a method as the postag stamp offers. - Bo win and B wokmaklne'. The first Bible printed with a data was'finished by Faust in 1462. Type setting machines were suggest. , ed for book work as early as 1842. Books were printed in Paris from stereotyped plates by Didot in 1798. Ancient books were sometimes writ~ ' ten on slabs of wood, ivory or metals. The firstbook printed in America is said- to have been an almanac, at Bos- ton, in 1638. The first printed engravings, for use in books, were done on wood, in 1519, in Germany. The first book to have its leaves numbered was Esop’s Fables, printed by Caxton in 1484. ChineSe printing is certainly as early as A. D. 593, books of that date being, now in existence. Three-fourths of the inventions used in bookbinding are due to the ingenu- ity of American binders. . The first printed books had their , leaves printed on one side only, ‘~ the blank sides being pasted together. Often a cinder or a speck of dirt may be removed from the eye without in- jury or pain by placing a grain of flax seed in the eye. As the grain dissolves a. glutinous substance is formed which foreign body that may ruinf ;,;-I :‘;;._'.' Le. HW- lid, and is easily washed GUI ‘. ... ;- --.. ~.. .. ...—h“...— \ I more, ' ‘other day this account of a burglar’s . . the child is 16. and father is gomg to the lodge this ' is his served its 2111208949 A P ..EASANT SUPERSTITICN. in Paris Bridal Gowns, Look fora Long Hair Stitched Inside. In a beautiful trousseau recently made for a. bzide by a noted Paris drossmakei a. queer discovery was made by Chance. It was necessary to make a slight- sitar ation in one of the “lovely creations,‘ when the sewing woman discovered a long silken hair carefully sii‘ched into the gown. ' There could be no mistake; the single hair had been purposely sewed in the garment. The sewing woman smiled and clapped her hands—she had been employed in a Parisian dressmaking es- tablishment—and then she explained the riddle. "It. ' is a superstition,” she said. “When the sewing girls in the different departments and the girls behind the counters learn that the house has re- ceived an order for a big trousseau. they besiege the head dressmaker and ask them‘ to stitch into the wedding gown especially a. single hair from their heads. .. This hair is so fine that it is easily concealed, and cannot in any way mat the beautiful gown. The head dress- makers often humor the girls. “The girls, when they go home at night, tell their girl friends that a hair from their heads has been stitched into the wedding gown of. Miss So-and-so, and the lucky one is immediately envied. She will be married very soon, her as- sociates say.” A SCHOOL FOR WITNESSES. Story of a New Treatment for the Unwary Witness. A school for instructing witnesses in the art of giving testimony in court is at present in successful operation in New York. Every detail of court trial is carefully rehearsed in this novel insti- tution, and witnesses are fitted to ap- pear at trials by experienced instructors at so much per hour. The school is not intended to train witnesses to give man- ufactured evidence. The instruction given is strictly lawful. It is princi- pally intended for very green witnesses who are not familiar with court proced- ure. An experienced lawyer studies the case which is to be presented, and teaches his strange pupil the ways of ' lawyers and fits him as well as possible to repeat it without the slightest con- tradiction under the sharpest cross-ex- amination. This novel court room is furnished as nearly as possible in the same way as the ordinary courts. The object is to make the witness under instruction so familiar with the arrangement of the bar that he will feel perfectly at home in court. WHISTLED WHILE HE STOLE~ Miss McQueen Accompanied the Thiei on the Piano. A New York paper published the coolness and luck: An accomplished sneak thief robbed the residence of Mrs. French, at No. 120 East 115th street, yesterday.~ As he went through the rooms on the second floor he whistled the air, “She May Have Seen Better Days.” Miss Mc Queen, sitting in the parlor, thought one of Mrs. French’s sons was whistling and mischievously played an accompan- iment on the piano to the air the thief was whistling. When the robber got through he walk- ed downstairs and out of the front door, still whistling A Royal Custom. It is the custom whenever the Em- peror or his spouse opens a church or founds one, that the first baby baptized in the building should receive from the royal couple a savings bank book, with $50 invested, the only stipulation being that the money shall accumulate until It can be used at the time of the confirmation for any rea~ sonable purpose desired by the con firmee. Augusta. Victoria is the Christian name of a little girl who was the first infant christened at the new memorial church recently erected to the memory of the Emperor Frederick, and she. is under the special protection of their Majesties. - A New York Woman’s Charity. A wealthy woman living uptown, anxious to do what she may to help her sex who are trying to help themselves, has devised an excellent plan. She has a fine library. It came to her notice that there are many women living in the city who are educating themselves, generally or specially. Her interest be- came particularly aroused by such as have lelt the beaten tracks, not only to earn their living. but honestly in their thinking. ‘ These, as she hears of - them through one another, are invited to use her rare books freely. The trouble of recording the loans, giving out and changing the volumes is not intrusted to another. A part of every morning this woman gives herself to the task. If it is convenient for the borrowers to pay the postage, they may do so. If it is an expense to them she cheerfully stamps the pack- ages. This would seem to be more sensible than for the woman to go to Hindoostan in search of heathens to assist—New York Press. The world's Cotnmerce. The Venetians largely absorbed com- merce for five or six Centuries, from the year 1000 until 1600; they had the Han- seatic League as rivals. The Dutch Re- public, with its civil liberty for two cen- turies transferred the trade of the world to Holland; but about the middle of the eighteenth century the perseverance of the English supplanted the Dutch. Jewels of Royalty.» The jewel casket of the Dowager Em- press of Russia. is the most famous in the world, from a gem point of view. Hardly second to it is that of the Em- press of Austria, whose black pearls are noted throughout Europe for theil extreme baauty and rarity. i o“ ; , 1 w EE K1. Y -'1\0Rw Ana GAZETTE , LITTLE. MOTHER ‘ or POVERTY ROW. .m——-¢——u—————"~.—.——_——u Words by GEO. HORTON. 1. Dear lit-tle moth-er of Pov-er -ty Row, Moderato. 2. Ragged and torn are the garments you wear, Rocking your mother ’mid sor - row and toil, ...... Music by saunas 1101.31“. Making you squalid from head un - to Vf .N feet, ...... VVhence is the light that transfigure you so“! Whence is the beauty no sin can as - sail. Still I must own you are woman-1y fair, ... Now it must look at you there by the door, Now hear my pray’r for your beggar-born-boy, l I l __ -... .. I— ———~ .—a— ‘3 2}, ‘ —_:a _e:‘ _§_ei'g, a -—a;- z: I 1" .‘fi‘ 1! x}! .l' ‘ I‘ ‘1 __ I .. .9s~-—-I—-s~s —i!—~—a.~:—r— '0' a tempo. You who are hun - ted and wretchedly poor, Bring to you sol - ace and glo -ry and joy, a tem 0. Tempo dd Valse. Dear Refrain. lit - tle moth - er of that bloomed in and pain, your cheek, Still I must paint you as ten-der -ly sweet. mt. I who am for -tu-nate buoyant and strong, Great in all hon-or and good may he grow; fit. I Lulling your babe with a lul-la -by song. Brave lit-tle mother of Pov-er-ty Row. Pov - er - by ‘ Blight - ed A A . Lane, Where are Men are so cru - el and wom- an ' so weak. the TO HOW TO EUROPE; DARINC SCHEME OF AN Aasze TUROUS NEW YORK PILOT. Preparations For a Cruise Across the Atlantic In a 'Bow Boat Only» Eighteen Feet Long By Captain George Harbo. Preparations are now under way for the most daring attempt that has ever been made to cross the Atlantic in an open boat. George Harbo, New York pilot, fisherman and seamen from his 8 earliest youth proposes to row from , , New York to England, using an ordin- ary rowboat, built after plans designed by himself, and intended to show the improvements which he claims may be made in lifeboat: now in use. No sailing will be “done upon this ex- traordinary trip. He will pull out into, the Atlantic with a companion about the middle of J une and from that on they will simply row to Europe. The two men will take turns in row- . 4 ing the boat and Harbo estimates that an average of four knots an hour, day and night, can be made in this way. According to this they will make the passage in from forty to forty-five days. ' It must not be supposed that this man when he, proposes to row across the At- lantic and talks glibly about thb pro- . -_ ject, “is talking through his hat” about . something he knows nothing about. On the contrary, the preparations he is now .making in the boat being built for him by Seaman &. 00., of Branchport, show that he looks forward to encounter- ing some extremely rough weather on this trip. - , The boat has been built with a stout piece of oak running along the bottom and separated from the keel. Harbo cooly says this is for the two seamen to when the boat is upset and when the sea is too rough for them to right her. Each man in very rough weather is to be lashed at the end of a long line, tied about his waist, which will hold him to the boat when he is swept overboard, this, Harbo expects as a. matter of. :- course. . The boat which is being built for him is eighteen feet long with a five foot beam. ' She is clinker, built of cedar with oak timbers and weighs 200 pounds, * drawing when light but three inches of water. , She has the general appearance of a double ended sea skifi. There is such tight compartment in either ,end of the boat some twenty inches deep and three feet six inches long. These tWC tanks - - will make the boat unsinkable when they are intact. A canvas cover, under which the men ' may sleep, will button over the forward end of the boat. The men will carry extra cars and a large pair of sweeps. using the latter when they work to- gether. ‘ ' These, with the instruments, cooking utensils, and other necessities, will take up much of the spare room. The pro- visions are to consist mostly~.of canned goods and oatmeal. ‘The latter will be especially useful, as sea. water may be used in boiling it. - The canned goods will be selected so as to resist the great heat of a calm mid-summer day on the ocean. Two spirit compasses will be fixed in the bot. tom of the boat. Changes of clothing for the men will be taken in a. water tight case, Their underwear is to be lined with silk so as to avoid chafing. ' Harbo is 32 years of age, and has spent his life upon the sea. He thinks as a. Seabright fisherman he, has met as rough weather as is to be encountered on the Atlantic. Bill Nye on the Belt English Joke. Years after Bret Harte‘s Truthful James poem was written, Edgar W. Nye commenced signing ‘his articles “Bill Nye.” Mr. Nye always considered the best joke ever perpetrated by an English newspaper was when the Lon- don News came out with a serious edi- torial saying that “Bill Nye” was a real character. . Then Mr. Nye got out his scrap book and read this serious editorial from the London news: If ever celebrity were attained unex- -; pectedly, most assuredly it was that thrust upon Bill Nye by Trathful James. It is just possible, however, that the in- ' numerable readers of Mr. Bret Harte’s “Heathen Chinee” may have imagined Bill Nye and Ah Sin to be purely my- ‘thical personages. So far as the former is concerned, any such conclusion now appears to have been enormous. Bill - Nye is no more a phantom than any other journalist, although the name of the organ which he “runs” savors more of fiction that of fact. A Dog Mail Carrier. He is a faithful, cautious officer, the hero of the East Sullivan, (Me.) dog ' story. ‘ Don, the dog postman, has‘beex taught to carry the mail daily across ‘ the field to the home of G. E. Simpson,- a distance of three-quarters of a. mile, where he makes known the arrival of” the mail by barking at the door, and, though not a Government employe, exa acts his pay in the form of something to eat, and will bark till his demand is granted. One day last week he carried ' the mail as usual, but, on arriving at the house, could not gain admittance, as Mr. and Mrs: Simpson were away, and as it was about noon, he was anxé'_ ions to deliver the bundle of papers to get his commission. As the only, person about the place was a young man hauling wood "(a'k stranger to the dog), he would not give? up the mail, but with a. crestfallen Countenance brought it back to his mas- ter. There are emptier heads than Don’s—Bar Harbor Record. > “You naughty. boys,” exclaimed the: mother of one of a group of noisy jnsf veniles. “What are you doing?” * “Play-mg." . , “But I heard you calling names.”~‘~ g “Years. . We’re 'playing we're the Seaman-Washington Star ,
Norwalk Chronicler