The Family Circle

New Zealand Tablet, 18 May 1916, Page 53

The Family Circle

BE CAREFUL WHAT YOU SAY.

In speaking of a person's faults, Pray don't forget your own; Remember those in houses glass, Should never throw a, stone.

If we have nothing else to do, But talk of those who sin, 'Tis better we commence at home, And from that point begin.

We have no right to judge a man, Until he's fairly tried ; Should we not like his company, We know the world is wide. Some may have —and who has not ? The old as well as young; We may perhaps for aught we know, Have fifty to their one.

I'll tell you of a better plan, And find it works full well:

To try my own defects to cure, Before of others tell; And though I sometimes hope to be No worse than some I know,

My own shortcomings bid me let The faults of others go.

Then let us all, when we commence

To slander friend or foe, Think of the harm one word may do To those we little know; Remember curses sometimes, like Our chickens, ' roost at home ' ;

Don't speak of others' faults until

We have none of our own.

APOLOGISING FOR YOUR PARENTS.

Kate is fully alive to the fact that her father and mother are old-fashioned people, whose early adventures were limited. ' Papa and mamma have some queer ideas,' she is fond of saying to the guests at her home. slip of grammar on her father's part will make her jump as if she had stepped on a tack, and she is as ready to apologise for these blunders as for the views she denominates old-fashioned. ' Papa had not many chances for schooling when he was a boy !' Kate will explain with a look of angelic patience. 'Of course it's terribly mortifying to me to have him make such mistakes, but I realise it isn't his fault.'

Poor little, silly Kate, apologising when she should be proud, excusing when she should be splendidly loyal. If she knew how her listeners laughed in their sleeves, the springs of her fluency would suddenly become dry. For, compared with the parents, whose shortcomings she realises too keenly, Kate cuts rather a pitiable figure. Her mother is a splendidly competent woman, who could earn her own living as a laundress, a nurse, or a cook any day that it became necessary for her to support herself, and who looks after her big home, and manages her many servants with economy and efficiency.' If Kate were ever called on to earn her living, she would be as helpless as one dropped overboard from an ocean liner, without knowing how to swim. . Her mother can do any number of things excellently. Kate talks French very badly, and plays the piano poorly, and possesses a few other half-baked accomplishments. But her best friend would not mention anything that she does really well. And now s for the father for whom Kate apologises so often. He is a self-made man, and every line of his face shows strength of will and a fine brain. He has fought his way up to prominence against great odds. His heart is as big as his brain. He has made a fortune without sacrificing any of his kindliness and

generosity. He sometimes says 'ain't and ' hadn't ought,' but his words are listened to with more respect by men of prominence than those of a million Kates would ever be. Perhaps it is not often that a girl apologises for her parents with so little excuse to liberty. But it frequently happens that apologies are not"'merely uncalled for, but are an affront to good sense and good taste, judging from any standpoint. . You girls may know a few things of which your parents are ignorant, but the chances are that they know a thousand things which you will only learn by patiently doing the duties God gives you through long and difficult years. The girl who apologises for her parents, would be in better business if she apologised for her own lack of appreciation.

FINDING THE RING

One of the best ways to ensure the success of an evening party of young folks is to provide a sufficient number of novel games or tricks. Here is one that will probably prove new to most of our youthful readersthe trick of finding the ring. To perform it, you ask several persons—any number you like provided it be not more than nine—to sit around a table and to take a ring. When they have done so, you announce that you will go out of the room; that during your absence any one at the table may put the ring on any joint of any finger of either hand; and that, on your return, although everyone keeps his or her hands under the table, you will tell who has the ring, on which hand it is, and on which joint of that hand it is placed. To work the trick successfully, you ask those concerned to number themselves, so that they become person 1, person 2, person 3, etc. Then you stipulate that the right hand be called hand 1, and the left hand 2 ; also that the thumb be styled finger 1; the index finger, finger 2 ; and so on, the little finger being finger 5. So with the joints, or knuckles: the top one is joint 1, the middle one joint 2, and the lowest (or knuckle proper) joint 3. When you have retired from the room, and the ring has been placed, you return and tell one of the party to write on a piece of paper what you dictate, and to do so without comment. ' Write down,' you say, ' the number of the person who has the ring, multiply it by 2, add 5, multiply by 5, add 10, add the number of the hand (that is, 1 for the right or 2 for the left), multiply by 10," add the finger number (1 for the thumb, 2 for the index, etc.), multiply by 10, add the joint number, add 35. Now tell me what number you have as a total.' * When you are told this total, all you have to do is to subtract from it 3535. Your remainder will be a number of four figures, the first of which will be the number of the person who has the ring; the second will be the number of the hand; the third will be the number, of the finger and the fourth, the number of the joint. It doesn't make any difference why this is so. The fact alone concerns you. To make it quite plain, let us take an example. When you say on coming back to the room, ' Write down the number of the person who has the ring,' we will suppose that the figure 3 is written down. Multiply it by 2 . -•• 6 Add 5 . . . . . 11

Multiply by 5 . . . ' . . 55 Add 10 ..... Add the number of the hand—2, for instance . 67 Multiply by 10 .' . . . 670 Add the number of the finger, say, of the thumb ..... 671

Multiply by 10 . . . . 6710 Add the number of the joint,—we'll suppose it the first . . . . .6711

Add 35 ..... 6746 You subtract (mentally, without saying anything) ..... 3535 And you have left . . ~ .3211 So that you may declare with confidence that the

ring is on the hand of the third person, and it is the left hand (2), that the ring is on the thumb (1), and on the first joint (1) of that thumb.— Ave Maria.

HISTORY OF ALMANACS.

The first almanacsthat is to say the first historicalwere of Arabian origin, and reflected the local genius of the people in a very striking way. They served as models in other countries for hundreds of years.

The oldest known copy of such a work is preserved in the British Museum and dates back to the times of Rameses the Great of Egypt, who lived 1200 years before the Birth of Christ. It is written on papyrus, .in red ink, and covers a period of six years. The entries relate to religious ceremonies, to the fates of children born on given days, and to the regulation of business enterprises in accordance with planetary influences.

Do nothing at all this day,' is one of the warnings. 'lf thou seest anything at all this day it will be fortunate,' is another entry. 'Look not at a rat this day.' ' Wash not with water this day.' 'Go out not before the daylight this day,' are some of the additional cautions.

This almanac was found in an old tomb and is supposed to have been buried with its Egyptian owner when he was converted into a mummy for future explorers to dig up and dissect in the interest of science and literature. Next after this in point of age among the existing specimens of ancient almanacs are some composed in the fourth century. They are Catholic Church calendars, giving the names of the saints and other religious information. The Baltic nations, who were not versed in papyrus making, had calendars engraved on walking sticks and other articles of personal use. The days were notched with a broad mark for Sunday and the saints' days were symbolised in various devices, such as a harp for St. David's, a gridiron for St. Lawrence's, a lover's knot for St. Valentine's, and so on. The Saxon almanacs are numerous and contain historical as well as ecclesiastical entries.

It is possible to trace in these curious records all the changes of popular belief and taste. They were prepared to meet the current demand and to constitute a systematic story of what took place in successive periods and how knowledge increased with the revolving years.

A CENTRAL AFRICAN FABLE.

One day the rabbit was out walking when he met

a rhino.

'Well, my boy, where have you come from?' said

the rhino.

'Why do you call me "boy"?' said the rabbit. ' I am just as big as you are, and if you tug with me you will see that I shall beat you.' v The rhino agreed to try, and so the rabbit ran away and fetched a long rope and gave one end to the rhino.

' Now I shall go far off,' he said, ' and when you feel me pull, then begin to tug.' The rabbit then ran down to the lake shore where he saw a hippo. The hippo said: 'Well, my boy, where have you come from ?' 'Why do you call me "boy"?' said the rabbit. ' I am as big as you are, and if you tug with me you will see that I shall beat you.' x The hippo agreed to try, and so the rabbit gave him the other end of the rope. ' Now I shall go far away,' said he, . ' and when you feel me pull then begin to tug.' Then the rabbit ran quickly to the middle of the rope, where neither animal could see him and pulled. When the rhino and the hippo felt the pull they began to tug with all their might and each was very much astonished when he felt the powerful tug at the other end. So they tugged and tugged till they were quite tired out.

Then the rabbit ran to the rhino and said, Do you agree now that lam as strong as you are?' The rhino agreed. Then the rabbit ran to the hippo and said, ' Well, do you agree now that I am as strong as you are?' and the hippo, too, agreed. So the rabbit went on his way, laughing to himself.

THE MODEST JUVENILE,

The small boy was dressed in football costume v and", with with a jaunty air, he walked into the local . newspaper office and handed to the editor a dirty scrap of paper. On it was a brief account of a juvenile football match which had taken place that afternoon. Glancing at the report, the editorial eye caught the words:

' Jones kicked a magnificent goal, the finest ever seen on the ground.' ' Who is Jones?' asked the editor.

The youngster turned the thumb of his right hand proudly to his breast. 'l'm Jones,' he said calmly.

IT DEPENDS ON THE DOCTOR.

Among the patients in a certain hospital there was one disposed to take a dark view of his chances of recovery.

' Cheer up, old man,' admonished the youthful medico attached to the ward wherein the patient lay. ' Your symptoms are identical with those of my own case four years ago. I was just as ill as you are. Look at me now.'

The patient ran his eyes over the physician's stalwart frame.

'Yes, but what doctor did you have?' he finally asked, feebly.

MAGGIE'S MISTAKE.

Maggie was a maid in the employ of a Kensington family. One afternoon two lady visitors rang the bell, and, telling them to be seated, Maggie went into another part of the house to see if her mistress was in.

' I am very sorry,' said the maid, returning a minute later,' but Mrs. Brown went out and won't be back till dinner time.'

' That's too bad,' exclaimed one of the ladies, as the callers started for the door. ' And to think, too,. that I have forgotten my cards. I will have to ' ' Never mind the cards, ma'am,' interjected Maggie, with a kindly-disposed smile ' I told the mistress your names when I went upstairs.'

WHO DISCOVERED AMERICA

Historical controversies are creeping into the schools. In a New York public institution attended, by many races, during an examination in history the teacher asked a little chap, ' Who discovered America?' He was evidently thrown into a panic and hesitated, much to the teacher's surprise, to make any reply. ' Oh, please, ma'am,' he finally stammered, ' ask me somethin' else!' 'Something else, Jimmy?' Why should Ido that?'

' The fellers was talkin' 'bout it yesterday,' replied Jimmy. ' Pat McGee said it was discovered by an Irish saint. Olaf, he said it was a sailor from Norway, and Giovanni said it was Columbus, an' if you'd 'a' seen what happened you wouldn't ask a little feller JC like me.' ?