Democratic Sentinel, Volume 8, Number 33, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 12 September 1884 — The Innocence of Childhood. [ARTICLE]

The Innocence of Childhood.

“Ain’t you almost, boiled?” inquired a kid of a gentleman calling on her father and mother. “No little one, I can’t say that I am. On the contrary, I feel quite comfortable.” “That’s funny. I should* think yon would be.” “Why so, Daisy ?” “Oh, because I heard mamma say your wife kept you in hot water ail the time.” • ,

In one of the Philippine Islands it is customary, when a young fellow asks the old folks for their daughter, to send her into the woods at sunrise, and if the young fellow finds her before sunset she is his. If not, he forfeits all claim. The girl is given one hour the start. This gives her a fair chance, and she can use her own judgment about hiding after she gets m the woods. A remarkable botanical specimen is reported to exist in Pedur, India, in the form of a date-palm, which changes its position morning and evening. The tree is eleven feet in height, and in the afternoon is inclined so near the ground that children may plnck its frrnt from branches which in the morning are far above their reach. The Phytolacca Electrica, a plant lately discovered in Nicaragua, gives a shock to the hand when one attempts to break off a branch.