The Family Circle

New Zealand Tablet, 9 April 1914, Page 61

The Family Circle

A SORROWFUL TALE This is the short and sorrowful tale Of Jessica Jenkins Jones; She planted a packet of seeds with pride While her dog looked on with his, head on one side And thought: ‘She’s burying bones.’ When Jessica left, he dug like mad In search of the luscious bones, So Jessica’s garden it does not grow And Jessica’s dog is cross, and so Is Jessica Jenkins Jones. _ — St. Nicholas. WHAT IS THE ANSWER , Where can a man buy a cap for his knee? Or a key for a lock of his hair? Can his eyes be called an academy Because there are pupils there ? In the crown of his head what gems are set? Who crosses the bridge of his nose ? Can he use when shingling the roof of his mouth The nails on the ends of his toes ? — The Continent. POINTS OF VIEW I. I’m thankful for so many things 'Tis hard to name them all : I’m glad that I am not grown up. But still am nice and small. I’m thankful that I live to-day, And not long, long ago Before my dear mamma was born, And all the friends I know. I’m thankful for my little pets, For every doll and toy. And, oh, I’m thankful I’m a girl, And not a horrid boy. 11. I’m thankful that it doesn’t rain, So I can go and play : I’m thankful that I’m growing big, • And bigger every day. ; I’m thankful for a holiday, For football, dogs and skates, For candy and all sorts of things, v For our United States I’m thankful for my rubber boots And that my hair won’t curl. And, oh, I’m thankful every day That I am not a girl. Abbie Farwell Brown.WHAT TO FILL HIM UP WITH A keen-eyed but obviously poorly-educated settler in a colony in its pioneer stage took his overgrown son to a country , school. * This 'ere boy’s arter laming,’ he said to the schoolmaster. What’s. yer bill o’ fare?’ Our curriculum, sir,’ replied the schoolmaster, ‘ embraces geography, physiology, . arithmetic, algebra, .trigonometry ’ ;. -r ~ • • ' * That’ll do. Hold him up heavy with trigernometry. / He’s the only poor. shot in the family..’

HOW TO SLIDE DOWN A ROPE Sliding down a rope is .not so simple as it seems. Few boys know how to do it properlylf you try to descend by letting the rope slide through your hands, the friction .will burn the palms so that you will have to let go after a few feet. If you try to lower your weight from one handhold to another, you are' sure to become tired and will be forced to drop. You cannot slide with' the rope between your knees, for the swaying of your body will jerk the rope out of the clutch of your knees, and then you are likely to fall. The easiest and safest method you can employ is that used by firemen and sailors. Standing upright, throw out your right leg and give it a turn round the the rope. Next put the rope in the crook of your right elbow and clasp it tightly not in your hand, but in your arm. In that way you can slide to safety without the slightest trouble. , The rope • does not touch any part of the body that is not protected by clothing, and your spe6d can be regulated by 'either straightening or cramping • your leg. Once learned, this method of sliding down a rope may prove: in an emergency the means of saving your life or the lives of other persons. A TRUE CIRCUS STORY In 1892 Forepaugh’s circus was travelling through Alabama and stopped at Tecumseh over Sunday, to feed the animals and rest. Several hundred persons were about the station as the train approached. Just then one of the lions, Hector by name, a ferocious creature, managed to tear off the door of his cage. He thrust his head out right in the faces of a group of negroes standing on the platform. They could not have been worse scared if the evil one had dropped among them. With open mouth Hector leaped into the crowd. Such a scattering and yelling were never seen and heard in Alabama. Hector • landed on his feet, but rolled 'over and over. When he got up there was hardly a man, woman, or child within fifty yards. One Woman, who hkd fainted, lay near the lion. With one bound he was upon her, his teeth showing and his tongue rolling out. The lookers-on were horrified. The tamer was a long way off, and there was no one near with pistol or rifle. To the astonishment of everyone, the beast, instead of mangling the woman,, simply sniffed ■ at the body, turned it over with his paws, and, after eyeing it suspiciously, walked away. He thought the woman ■was dead. • CLOVER ’ Clover has always been considered a synonym for good fortune-*—whether of the four-leaved variety, always considered lucky, or the pretty green trefoils, which dot our fields and meadows. The phrase ‘ln clover ’_ signifies good fortune, from' the fact that lambs and calves seemed always especially happy when turned into a . clover field. In olden times the three-leaved clover was considered a charm against wizards and witches, and a valiant knight would bind a leaf to his sword blade to ward; off evil. : The trefoil, a variety of clover," brought good fortune to Ireland; when St. Patrick illustrated with it his famous sermon on the Trinity which converted Erin to the faith. In America the same variety of clover is called ‘sorrel ’; in Persia the Arabic term is ; ‘ sljamrak ’; the Welsh call it ‘fairy bells ; the English ‘ cuckoo' bloom,’ since it blossoms; when first the cuckoo sings; : and in Spain it is the * Hallelujah,’ because each year its first bloom appears; when'the Easter choirs sing the Hallelujah. In South' America there are many varieties of clover. . In- Bolivia, the root is eaten, and regarded as a great delicacy.. In Mexico and in Peru both the. leaves v and the roots' are used in salad, i “ '