Evening Republican, Volume 14, Number 66, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 18 March 1910 — BRIDLE FOR [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

BRIDLE FOR

How Shrew» of Old England Were Tamed—Talk of Reviving Cuxtom. Women in England who developed a habit of spiteful gossiping or perpetual scolding used to be liable to be

muzzled by legal authority. Just now, when suffragettes are disturbing that land, the idea is revived by sorely troubled men, whose efforts to restrain these aggressive women have failed dismally. Realizing that the moment was opportune for a favorable sale, a Lohdon

collector or curios has just extracted from his museum a specimen of this «)ld instrument of torture and offered It for sale, as a hint to the authorities. It is a steel structure, shaped very much like the muzzle sometimes worn hy a vicious horse. Strong bands, ■worn round the head, are fastened and locked on the back of the neck, effectually closing the wearer’s mouth But the opportunity has passed. The government has been criticized too much for forcibly feeding Birmingham suffragettes to adopt this Instrument of torture so close to an election. The collector has had his joke, but his financial gain was only a few dollars, for a private buyer purchased the gossip’s Bridle to impress his household with the humanity of his domestic administration, compared with the methods of his forefathers. He considers it a bargain; also a valuable object lesson when curtain lectures are impending.—Exchange.

BRIDLE FOR GOSSIES.