. . OLD CROSS OF LOUISBURG.
t.
Interesting Relic Owned by Harvard
University.
In a closet In the library at lar- -
yard college Is stored one of the few
existing relics of the campaign of Sir
William POJlIJerell and his New Etig -
, - landers against the French stronghold
of Loulshllrg , In the year 745.
This relic Is an Iron cross that Is believed .
. lIovod to have adorned a church In
l..oulflhllrg. How It came Into the pos
session oC Harvard Is not Imown at
thIs time , afl no antiquarian has ever
taken the trouble , It appears , to estah-
lisp Its history since It became a col-
logo possession.
About sixty years ago 1'11' John I. . . .
Sibley , then librarian at Harvard ,
found the cross In a lot oC discarded
' -ijl articles stored In one of the smaller
U buildings on the college gl'Ounds. It
was marlwd with II tag on which was
r written the statement that the cross
was brought from LOlllslmrg hr one of
Pcpperell'g sohllel'R. MI' Slhley nt.
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. . tempted to trace the history of the
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, relic In order to discover under what
, circumstances. and by whom , It was
presented to the college , hut so tar as
his successor knows , he made no
headway In his qucst.
In 1841 , shortly after Its discovery
br : Mr. Sibley , the cross was stored
In It small building that stood hack of
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- the Charles river national bank , near
the college. The bllllding was burned
. in 1845 , and the cross was found In
its ashes , undamaged except for slight
pitting caused by the heat.
Taken in hand by \11' : : Justin 'Vlnsor ,
then librarian , the cross was given
a heavy coat of gilding , such as it had
borne originally , and was fixed to the
east wall of Gore hall , in the library
building. Here It remained for many
rears : , until alterations made Its re ,
moval Cram the wall necessarr.
It was next stored in the cellar oC
the library , remaining there until the
early- SOs , when it was firmly fixed In
, the stone peak of the gable over tIle
entrance to the lIbrar ' .
The cross Is made of soft Iron and
J i appears to have been the work oC a
1 , Loulsburg blacksmith , the worltman-
T ship being rougher than would have
been produced by the skilled iron
. mongers of France.
. n- The cross to-day weighs about ten
r pounds. Its cross-piece is 21 % , inches
long , terminating in fleur.delIs ,
which are 4 * Inches wide by G Inches
long. An ornament of similar proper ,
tlons caps the upright , or standard
the total length of which at present Is
. 29 inches. .Before . broken off the cross
.
"l' , was about 40 Inches long. Both cross-
piece and standard are 1 Inch wide
. , and 3 Inch thick.
Has Sword of David Garrick.
White Whittlesey of Danbury , Conn. ,
' bas been presented a sword , worn upon . '
,
on the stage by David Garrlclt. The
handle Is ornamented with jewels and
the blade bears evidence of many spir
ited fencing encounters.
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Nature's Wise ProvlGicn.
The bones of flying lirds are hol
low ! and filled with air , thus combin
j . . , ' tD ; the greatest strengtb with the I
.least weiGht. I I
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HAWK AN EASY VICTIM.
Woman Captured Domestic Bird 0'
Prey With Bonnct
! \II'S. John Hart of Ileal' 'fonlevllle
had an IInlllIIal experience with a
large hawk a few days IIgo. She went
out Into the yard and saw a large
has'lc on top of 01)0 ) of her largest
chickens , with Its talons hurled Into
the chicken preparatory to carrying It
off for a feasl.
But the chicken ] was too large for
the hawk to carry away against its !
will , UIIII It waR not inclined to be II
part at the hawk's dinner , with the
hawk master of ceremonlel Consequently .
qucntly the hawk was unable 10 rise
from the ground with Its victim , and
\Irs. : Hart went to the chlcliCn's IC-
. She first started to the house
for the gUll , hut the hawlc suddenly I
let go of the chicken , which ran away ,
1111(1irs. ] . Hart pulled off her bonnet ,
and throwing It over the hawk , captured -
tured It and carried ] It Into the house
and bound It with twine until her hilS'
hnnd came home. It wan a very large
haw ] and able to put ] lip u good fight
-Larne Hcrllld.
Steeplechasing on an Ox.
Attempts arc being made In France
to train oxen for saddle riding , and
several races have been organized to
test their capllclty. They have been !
trained not only us racers on "th ( '
flat , " hilt also as successful jumJlcrs
The above illustration is from a photo ,
graph of a well known French sports-
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man riding his ox at a leap-off. The
bride and saddle used are similar In
general ] design to those used ! for hunt
ers , with the exception that a very
powerful bit Is employed. As In their
excitement the animals ! are disposed
to lose their temper , the precaution Is
taken of studding the points of their
horns.
Salmon Dammed Stream.
A heavy fall of snow In Scotland a
few weeks ago caused the River Tay
to rise slIddeny. ] One of the big
dams In the stream overflowed with
the result that the salmon lying 1 In the
numerous pools at once made a rush
to get higher 1111 the stream. A workman '
I man , engaged In carting stones from
the heel of the river. was astonished at
the moving mass of salmon passing.
So phenomenal was the shoal that the
carter deemed It wise to stop his
charge In the middle ] of the ford to
allow the fish to pass. The salmon
swam like lightning through the
wheels . of the cart and around the
horD.o's legs. ] In the space of It few
minutes several hundreds passed this
particular point.
Gets Gold Piece After Fifty Years.
Lying undisturbed for fifty years , a
ono.dollal' gold piece that George II
Lessig , now of Philadelphia , dropped
In the crack of a floor , while dressing ! ' .
was found today , when the old Los-
sing homestead InVest King street ,
Pottstown was demollshed.
With darning needles he tried to recover '
cover the dollar , hilt finally gave It
up It will be sent to hlm.-Phllal.1el'
plop Record
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Prolific Wyandotte Hens.
E. 0 Sterling of Keen , N. I ' i. . reports -
ports that he received during the year
ending Dec. 5 n total of 1692 ! eggs
I from a pen of twelve white Wyandotte
: hens This 15 an average of 1-11 ebg " t I
to t\ hen I
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NURSE OF JAMES G. BLAINE.
Colored Girl Who Watched Over Him
In Infancy , Still LlVC3
After living for-fiu years in all old ]
house In UnlontowlI , 1'a. , which haH
just hoes torn clown to make way for
the march of progress , "Aullt Keziah"
Jackson , for years ; n. nurse of James
G. Blaine , has ! gone to live with her
son , Charles , Jnelson.
She Is now aged 83.
The chllllhooll home oC "Aunt lc-
zlall" was al IJrownsvllle , about twelve
miles from I1nlontown , The Browns
were among the most highly respected
colored Ileollle oC that section , and
Keziah ) Brown , In her youth , was almost -
most constantly at the home of
gJlhralm I. . Blaine , falhel' of the fu-
turo "Jllumod Imlght" , of American
politics. I
At the lime of the birth of .lamoR
G. Illatne .lan. 31 , 830 , Keziah Brown
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Aun
Ifezoh" ,
JudfJ'on > _
sas ! a girl of eight eats , and from the
time that tI.e future statesman was
five months ! old until he was two years
of ae ; , the little ] colored girl ( looked
after him almost eOllslnntlr.
When young Jame was old enough !
to go to sc'"ol he was ed ] there hy I
the little coi.ked . girl mill "Aunt Kezi-
ah" now frequently says with III'Ide :
"Jim Blaine , even when ho was a lit-
tle boy , was the smartest one In the
school allli his father used to say ,
'He Is the smartest I boy I have and he
will live to be n. senator 01' congre
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man.
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Another incident concerning the I
Blaine family which Is related by
"Aunt Keziah" Is that whet Gen , Andrew -
drew Jackson passed over tic old national .
tlonal pike through \Vest Brownsvllle
In 183 : : on his way to Washington to
he Inaugurated a second time as presi-
dent. she was then a girl of eleven
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years . and with other children wont
ant to see the president pass , and the
children shouted , "Hurrah for Jackson -
son : and James G. B1aino's father ,
who was a stanch Whig , roprlmnnded
them for thus greeting a Domocmt.
Mounted Ccfce Cues ,
Silver mounted coffee cups on the
order of those In which certain confectionery ,
tloner shops serve hot chocolate 'or
coffee are utilized these days for the
dining tablC' They add a decorative
Nil
not , particularly If Coal port , as In
the illystration or some other fine
110rcolain. ho the ware selected. A
CUll and saucer complete the set and
spoons to match the silver mount arc
added , when It Is desired to have
everything In acccrd.
Give Wild Creatures Liberty.
Because the state of Vermont rc-
moved the bounty from wildcats and
lynx Ji ; sse Bentley. \ ; a trapper , living
i at unnderland ] In that state , dellber-
I 'ply reless ' .d trrce lynx ! which fell
I n'o hi" Inl' :
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SNAKE IN THIS CONCRETE
Odd Foundations 0' New Lehigh Val.
Icy Shops at Sayre , Pa
'I'ho Lehigh Valley railroad In using
n cornbinatitn of crushed steno and
snnlwl III its concrete work In the largo
new shops being erected here says It
dispatch from Sa'rc , l'a. , bul the
snake part of the mixture 18 not in
accordlll to the plans and flpeclfica
lion of the road'H cllglncers.
The crashed stone Is jwocured frolll
a gravel bed near the Auburn branch / ,
and till cold weather has caused the
snakes ! ! ! along the branch to seek thE
wnrlll interior of the earth for their
wlntcr'fo ! 1If111. 'I'hOll/muds of them
sought refuge In the gravel lilt , for
their descent was easy on account 01
the number of crevlcos The picks
of lie scot 1InCII ruthlessly uncover
thefI.J hibernating IllaccH , and the la-
boners say that fully ,000 ] flllalwf are
troubled III their willter's deell 011
each working day.
One den thus Invaded was found to
contalll over 100 intakes , twisted to-
gelher III n large hall , twined and intertwined -
tertwined . laced and interlaced , a \'t'r-
stable delirium \'hanlom of a lcdlJfm
head , and each Imrticular snake In the
lethargic stUPOI' oC nature's winter - re-
1I01' ' ! ( .
Frequently , JllulllCndecl from the
frozen covering of the lIlt , the work
linen see a snake } with one ell j frozen
fast and the other end dangling III
"i1llIt protest to the demolishing hand
of mall.
But the workmen are without fcco- )
Illg. Everything is food for the stone
crusher , and the hihernatillg' ( mass I"
thrust I heartlessly ] Into the hopper ,
l'ha:1gcII to cracked stone and mangled
makes and their becomes a part of
the LC"hhh'fI new shops.
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Ship Elevators.
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00 o a'
"lorjOOO ,
Ocean liners ] are beginning to Install '
stall elevators connecting with their
numerous flpl'l , fr the convenenec :
of pa.cscngers. ;
Queer Result of Child's Prank
Whilst ] playing at Elthnm , Kent ,
England , a child ] caused a remarkable
fire by throwing a lighted match Into
the hollow trunk DC a huge tree. A
quantity of dry leaves and rubbish im
, mcdlater ] became Ignited , and the
! nterlor of the tree was soon well ]
alight. As the flames soared upwards
a number of hats and owls were seen
flying aimlessly In the vicinity of he I
quarters from which they had been
so unexpectedly dislodged. When the
outbreak ] was got under control by the
firemen It was ennui ! that fully ) thirty
feet of the Interior oC the trunk had
been burnt out. The tree still ] stands
supported mainly br the bark , which
escaped the 111'0
flew Contribution to Art
Iately It has been found thaI' the
hair In the ears of steers Is of a q11\1 :
Ity which permits Its being used In
the manufacture of camel ! 5 1311' l ;
11l'u5hes. And now the hair is 1 e
moved from the ears of the 5' rr5
that art may flourish as well a. . he
I packing house icdustrr.