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WOODS IN OLD VIOLINS
4
How Famous Makers Got the Mellow
Tones Desired.
The old masters used such care
in the selection of the woods for
their instruments that, having
found a piece of wood of proper
fiber and vibrational powers, they
treasured every fragment, no matter
how small; and, rather than waste
even a particle of such a strip, they
frequently constructed the backs
and bellies of patches so delicately
put together that “the seams are
only discoverable by microscope, so
perfect is the cabinet work,” savs a
writer in the Circle.
It was ever the aim of the old
masters to “marry" the back of hard
sycamore, which produces the quick
vibrations, and the belly of soft
wood, producing the slower sound
waves, in such a manner as to give
the mellow but reedy timber of the
perfect instrument. Anatomically,
a violin made by an old master is a
miracle of construction; it can be
taken to pieces, patched, put togeth
er, repaired indefinitely and is ah
•most indestructible. Repairing lwu;
been the means of exposing many
clever forgoes. The inside of a
violin made by Stradivari, Guar
nerius or other old masters is as
perfectly finished as is the outside
and the clumsy interior work of a
forgery betrays an imitation at
•once.
STRENGTH AND WEAKNESS.
She is a very young girl, hut she
expressed the difference between
possessing the aspirations we all
have lor doing something and the
perseverance to succeed in doing it.
'“Oh," sighed her best girl friend,
coming into her room one day and
commenting upon some of her suc
cesses, ‘"I always wonder how it is
frfrat you succeed in doing things so
well. It seems to me that every
time you try to do a thing you man
age to do it. Xow, it's different
with me. I wish to do a great many
things, but somehow I never do
them. I wonder whv it is?"
“Why,” laughingly exclaimed the
aforesaid wise young lady, who had
.probably studied the weaknesses of
her visiting friend, ‘Til tell vou
why it is, my dear. It's because
you’ve got such a very strong wish
hone and such a very weak back
bone.”
TAUGHT TO LOVE FLOWERS.
Brussels is promoting interest in
the culture of flowers among chil
dren in elementary schools. The
subject has been taken up hv the
State Botanical Garden, and M.
Merchandise, one of the chiefs in
the cultivation department, has
drawn up a model handbook, full
of practical advice suitable for chil
dren who wish to grow plants .and
flowers to adorn the school generally
or their own class-rooms. The
handbook has already been distrib
uted in all the schools of Brussels
and St. Gilles. and the school au
thorities of Laeken, Ixelles, Liege,
Boussu, Grivegnee, Moelles and
other plauts have also decided to
circulate it among their teaching
stall's and pupils.
UNFORTUNATE CALL.
Policeman—Hullo, what's the mat
ter?
Mr. Bi-own—I just called to see If
the editor was in—and he was.
PREFERS THE PESSIMIST.
In my experience of the world I
prefer to have dealings with the
cynical pessimist; 1 can “queer'
| him occasionally through honesty
that is unexpected, while the flam
boyant optimist lias received my
greatest concessions so much as a
matter of course as to reveal his
own insincerity.—Tohn A. How
land.
MIGHTIER THAN THE GUN.
11 upert—W hen your brother was
camping out did he kill anything?
Hubert—^ es. nearly everybody.
He was the cook!
THE DEAR GIRLS.
"Harry told me last night I was
simply a dream.”
“Dear me. how strange. It was only
the other day he was telling me of
what frightful nightmares he has been
subjected to lately."
BANKING IN THE OLD DAYS
It Was Largely a Gamble for the Man
Who Held Paper.
Col. John Conover of the Rich
ards Conover Hardware company,
was talking of the instability of
early banks the other day, says the
Kansas City Times.
“I lived in Leavenworth in '57,”
said he. “Our currency consisted
of bank notes issued by all sorts of
institutions which were always go
ing to the wall, thus rendering their
notes almost valueless. Our news
from the outside world came by
steamboat up the Missouri river and
every time a boat whistled into the
landing every one in town who could
leave his work ran down to the levee
to see the new arrivals and learn
the news.
“‘What's the news?' was tin* first
question usually shouted to the offi
cers of the boat and ‘nothing’ was
the customary response.
“‘Any hanks “busted?”’
“‘Oh, yes, several.’
“Then would follow feverish in
quiries as to what banks had failed.
Every man who had any of the de
funct hank’s currency would rush
wildly hack up town and endeavor
to get rid of it before the other fel
lows in town had heard the news.”
WHERE TITLES ARE CHEAP.
The cheapest c*oiintry for Inning
a titlo list'd to be Portugal. When
a man is made a baron or a count
there his patent recites the service
for which the grant is made. 1 was
once in Portugal and l had some
curiosity to discover wlmt were the
services for which an Englishman
of iny acquaintance had been made
a Portuguese baron. I therefore
looked the matter up and I found
that it was for having introduced
into the country a new tree. There
used to ho another plan for becom
ing a baron. It appears that there
is—or was then—a convent which
once had large possessions. All its
tenants were, by the fact of being
tenants, barons. But the convent
had lost its possessions with the ex
ception of one farm. It had an
agent in London. For a very mod
erate consideration the agent let
this farm to a would-be tenant. lie
therefore became a baron and when
he resigned the farm to the next ap
plicant he retained the title.—Lon
don Truth.
Hfs PROPER RANK.
“Ts that Lrsa Major?” inquired
the young lady visitor, who was
si;tr-gazing with an elder!) gentle
man. Her hostess, who heard her,
called her aside a little later and
cautioned her.
‘•Tie’s a colonel, my 1 ' she
remarked, “and I’m of
fended him by callir r!”
BIG BARGAINS
MM imukuaffiiwtTWHTCr'Mffniii—BIBU—
Be Careful How You Read!
Saturday, May 11 -*•
Will be a Honey-Saver For You If You Attend and
Take Part in Our Big Sale
We Shall Not Take Time and Space to Enumerate All of
the Many Bargains We Have to Offer on This
Date, But Here are a Few of Them
Bed Blankets, worth $1.25, sale price___$ .95
I Bed Blankets, worth $1, sale price _......80
Picture Frames, size 16 x 20, worth $1.50, sale price... 1.00
Milk Crocks and Churns, the kind that always retail at 10 cents a
gallon, sale price, per gallon___08
Wash Boilers, worth 65c, sale price___ .45
Seventeen and one-half pounds Standard Granulated Sugar...._ 1.00
Eight pounds “Tip Top” Coffee___ 1.00
Seven pounds Keg Soda........25
Navy Beans, selling everywhere at 5c, sale price, per pound_ .04
The “Old Stand-by,” Rooster Snuff, which has been advanced to
20c, sale price, per bottle___ .15
Very large Japanned Hotel Waiters, worth 35c, sale price... .25
Gents Fine Shirts, worth 50c, sale price ..... .40
All Glassware, Queensware and Enamelware will go
during this sale at greatly reduced prices, and we have a
large assortment for you to select from.
We also have a number of remnants to go in this
sale that will surprise you when you ask the price, for
you may have them almost for the asking. Don’t miss
this wonderful Money-Saving Opportunity.
Don’t Forget The Date, Saturday, May 11
O. L HOOVER & CO.
SULPHUR ROCK, : ; : : ARKANSAS
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