Rensselaer Union, Volume 5, Number 20, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 6 February 1873 — CURRENT ITEMS. [ARTICLE]

CURRENT ITEMS.

s=t f®nrlNMplre«, aspires and empires." Flat falsehood—lying on your back. No chain is stronger than its weakest link. The office of Btate Printer has been abolished in Kentucky. Thk Danbury Kem says the great need of the times is copper-toed pants. V In what caac-ie-it absolutely impossible to be slow and sure? In the case of a watch. It takes two boys to go to school nowadays. One to study and the other to carry the books. Pocket pincers for young men to feel of their moustaches wiih, are a new and valuable invention. A clue has been formed in Baltimore for the “purification and preservation of the moral man.” ———t. It is kindly said of a Rochester corpse that, although a married man, he was not addicted to profanity. A Danbury man wears a ten cent silver piece on his shirt bosom, and calls it a dime and pin, which it certainly is. Old Lady— “l see you recover umbrellas.” Shopman—‘-Yes, m’m, lots of’em.” Old Lady--“I want the one Host last Monday.” A ship Captain, in the China tradi i. reports that on his last outward passage he saw serpents fifty feet in length disporting themselves about his vessel. People in Texas are talking about a grand celebration, when they expect a railroad train, made up in Nefct York, to go through to their State without, break m the connection. The Congregationalixt states that a popular Boston pastor, on a recent Sabbath, wound upa prayer as follows: “And give grace, we beseech Thee, to the deacons, that they may be able to set a godly example to us common people.” A pensive man, with a basket full of new hats, was passing the "Wooster House, Friday, when a quarter of a ton of beautiful snow slid from the roof into his basket. Not being a profane man, liis suffering was intense.—/Ai'nftUry Kelts. CHASKcniule-eafed rabbits is a favorite sport of the Stockdale neighborhood in Washington County, Texas. The mule-ear and the genuine grey hound make a beautiful race on the prairies. Both ladies and gentlemen join in the sport.

The Jacksonville Journal tells of a young raaa in that city taking the beefsteak that was given him at breakfast, the other morning, aud having his boots half solpd with it. He now declares that the.old things will wear better than ever. In a San Francisco court, the other day, a little dialogue ran thus: Counsel to Witness—“ You say yon were at his house every night?’’ “Yes, sir.” “Were you his partner?” “No, sir.” “Any'relative of his?” “No.” “What were you doing at his house every night ?” “I was sparking his wife’s sister. ” The Italians who have been of Late pouring into New York make excellent navvies. They have developed unexpected energy in the labor of cleaning the streets of that city;, an importation of them has been carried to Virginia, where they have done well, and the contractors having charge of a large force of them have applied to the Superintendent of the Underground Railway In New York for work. Planeth states that when a tuning-fork in vibration is brought near a flame, a loud tone is suddenly perceived, which in ‘the case of a rapidly-burning gas-flame is quite as loud as that produced by placing the foot of the fork upon a soundingboard. The loudest tone is produced by bringing the flame between the prongs of the vibrating fork.— Scribner's Monthly. A Californian claims that the people of his State are better those from other, parts of the Union. Hear him: “ This fact is most remarkable v, T ith the young people who have been born here. Their ruddy cheeks are not scorched and blistered by the ferocioUß August suns of the Mississippi Valley; their full round limbs are not. shriveled and shrunken by the savage frosts of the northwestern winters, and they' grow up in all the strength and symmetry of nature unabridged. There is probably no place on this continent where the proportion of pretty children is as large as in Califoraia.” - : '

In France the roastingof coflee is quite a science, the roaster being required to i study the properties of the different kinds of berry, since eaeh sort must be roasted for a certain period of time. The operation i 3 conducted in a hollow iron sphere, j by the rotation of which all the berries i are equally exposed to the heat. During j the roasting the hall is closed and the : gases confined, but at the close of the operation the valve is opened and the gases allowed to escape. The roasted berries are then quickly transferred to carefully closed vessels, A pooh seamstress was arrested the other day in Brooklyn, X. V., on a charge j of stealing garments which she had taken home to sew. Upon her examination, it appeared that she was employed by a certain Miss Pillsbury, of New York City, i who paid her seventeen cents for making four pairs of pantaloons, fifty cents for making twelve pairs of drawers, and twenty five cents for making six shirts. ] She did not finieh the pants as soon as 1 she agreed to, and the gentle Pillsbury . refused to pay her; whereunon she pawn- j ed the articles to keep her family from starving. It is well known that from time to time warious cases of poisoning from the use of vanilla ice have been noticed and published in Paris, Munich, Vidnna, and other places. The most careful investi- i gations, however, have failed to discover the cause. In a few cases traces of lead, ; iron and tin, from the vessel's used, have been found in the ice, but as no poisoning has ever resulted from fruit ices prepared 1 in the same vessels, it cannot be due to that. The learned M. Scbroff is of the opinion that vanilla beans are poisoned bv the natives of South America and Mexico, who rub them witli acajou oil to make them smooth and soft. This oil is i not seldom contaminated with a sharp ! substance which acts like cantbarides. i He thinks it less probable that the injurious effects are due to small crystals found in the outer skin of the vanilla beans—benzoic acid. A family in Sullivan, Me , consisting of a father, mother and four children, ; have suddenly gone crazy. They were a steady, industrious people until a short time ago, when they suddenly ceased to work and declared their house haunted. Numerous nocturnal visitors perambulated about their house and threw some soporific substance into the windows, causing them to fall asleep at any moment. Subsequently the devil entered the house and took possession of the various articles of furniture, whereupon they destroyed nearly all the furniture and dishes. All these assertions each member of the family will make and Awear to. They armed themselves with revolvers, and rendered the* whole vicinity dangerous by shooting at imaginary witches who were in apple trees in front of-the house. These witches they declare to bo their neighbors and relations. A writes in the Rural Hon ie says: J Cows usually become addicted to kicking when heifers, from being milked by ; abusive milkers. I havUnever seen an old cow become a kicker unless abused, j Instead of cows being Averse to being milked when giving a large quantity, I 1

have found it to be the reverse. When pastnrgge is good, and cows come home at night with uddirs distended with milk, they seem grateful to have it removed. Milking a heifer for tho first time requires patience, for they will almost invariably kick. In such a case put a broad strap around her body, just in front of the udder, and buckle it up moderately tight, and as soon as she gets quiet (for she may kick around a little at first) take your pail, Bit down and go to milking, and she is as helpless as a kitten; Do not attempt to use a rope instead of a strap, for it will not answer. This is a much better method than tying the legs, etc., as it does not hurt the animal in the least. A few applications of the strap, with plenty of patience and kindness, will cure the most obstinate case. An exceedingly eccentric man recently died at Hlnesburg, Vt., in the person of Augustus McEwen, aged eigntyfour. He had his grave dug twenty years ago, and stoned up and filled with earth, that it might bp in perfect conditionwhenever needed. Last fall he had the earth dug out of it, saying he expected to be laid there before winter was over, pis coffin was in readiness seven years ago, and so arranged that he could lie on his side with his knees drawn up, as he said he siept in this condition in life, and wanted to sleep so in death. All liis plans fqr the funeral were made in advance, and among the rest ho selected four colored boys, who had worked for him more Or less, as bad their father before them, for pall bearers. They were to carryMbe-body to the grave, which was on his own farm, lower it to its last resting:place, till the grave with earth, and then, walk back to the. house, where they were to find each a letter, sealed and directed, tetihem, in which was the money to pay for this'last service required of them. ,His friends took good care to carry out his peculiar wishes.