Jasper County Democrat, Volume 14, Number 18, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 3 June 1911 — FOR THE CHILDREN [ARTICLE]

FOR THE CHILDREN

Running Away. Three little children running away (Hush! Don't tell! Don't tell!). Hand in hand to a lovely land. Off where the fairies dwelt Oh, what fun, for the land is large. Shaded with candy trees! There you can play the livelong day. There you can do as you please. • Come In the early morning time. Come in the dusky eve. Come With the throng and hurry along To the Land of Make Believe! Up to Snuff. We have a habit o£ saying of a person who knows how to make ths most of opportunities that he is "up to snuff.” When we associate the powdered tobacco which people put into their noses with this expression it appears to have small sense. The reason lies further back in the origin of the word snuff itself. Snuffen is the German for smell. It formerly meant not only to identify odors by means of the nose, but to scent a thing—that is, to discern a thing. “To smell a rat" and “on the right scent” both have their origin in this. Thus “up to snuff” means up to a superior standard of discernment, or the ability to follow a clew, etc. Accordingly the expression has a deal more sense In it than appeanr-at first glance. A Young Fireman. Naly Reese and his little brother, Earl, were alone in their house in Manor, Pa., when of them accidentally set fire to the window curtain. The curtain flared up In an instant. and Naly ran outdoors, calling for help. Naly is eight years old, and boys no older than that cannot be expected to fight fires. They cannot be expected to, but sometimes they do. Earl is only six years old, but he was old enough to be a brave boy. He did not run after his brother. He pulled at the burning curtain, got it down to the floor, and then rolled it up, burning as is was, and stamped on it When some neighbors hurried into the house they found that the fire was out and that Earl was sitting on the floor by the side of the charred curtain and crying because his hands were burned. Leapfrog. This is the simplest but one of the best of overback games. The players stand behind each other, forming a long line. The first player in the line makes a back, the second leaps over and makes a back a few feet farther on, the first one still remaining down. The third player goes over the first one, then the second, and in his turn makes a back a few feet beyond the second one, and this is continued until all the line are down. Then the boy who made the first back starts again and leaps each of the backs and makes another back beyond the end of the line, the next player follows suit, and thus a continually advancing line of backs Is formed. The whole fun of this game lies in Its being played with spirit A Happy Family. In Los Angeles there Is a cat named Polly, and she four kittens. Three of them were taken away from her, and she felt unhappy. She roused herself long enough to kjll a rat, and then she found that there were three little motherless rats left in a soft nest. She had had a good meal, and so she did not eat them. She adopted them. She took each one in her mouth and carried it to her own bed, where the lone kitten remained, and when she had made her family complete she set about taking care* of them. People came for miles around to look at the cats and the rats and take pictures of them. Conundrums. How long did Cain hate his brother? As long as he was Abel. What Is that which lives in the winter, dies In the summer and grows with Its roots upward? An Icicle. Why Is necessity like a stupid lawyer? Because it knows no law. Why is Athens like a wornout shoe? Because It once had a Solon (sole on). Why will an Insolent fishmonger get more business than a civil one? Because when he sells fish he gives sauce with IL _ ' ~ . Why is a banker’s clerk well informed? Because he is continually taking notes. Game of Sergeant. One child is c#osen for the sergeant, the others representing the soldiers. When the sergeant says “Do this,” all the players must Imitate him. However, when he says “Do that,” they must take no notice. If a soldier makes a mistake he drops ouL The soldier who stays In line longest becomes sergeant next or wins a prize. Delicate Workmanship. An expert workman In one of the great needle factories in a test of skill performed one of the most delicate feats Imaginable. He took a common sewing needle of medium size, an inch and five-eighths in length, and drilled a hole through its entire length from eye to point Interesting Postage Stamps. Postage stamps tell the story of the history of Switzerland when they mark the unification of the government of the country under one central power. In 1850 one uniform set of stamps took the place of all the many stamps which bad been used In the separata cantons.