NOT STRANGE.
"I git good measure," said Mrs. Jones, "but, I declare, the milk Henry brought me yesterday mornin' was more'n half water."
The art of painting pictures so near to life as to deceive the naked eye is very old. Pliny relates that Zeuxis once painted some grapes so naturally that birds used to come and peck at them, and that Parrhasius once painted a curtain so artfully that Zeuxis desired it drawn aside that he could see the picture it hid. Discovering his error, he confessed himself outdone, as he had only imposed on birds, whereas Parrhasius had deceived the human intellect. Another time Zeuxis painted a boy with some grapes, and when the birds again flew at the grapes he was very angry, saying that he was certainly at fault with the picture. He reasoned that had it been perfect the birds would have been frightened away by the boy.
Caius Valerius Flaccus says that Zeuxis's death was occasioned by an immoderate fit of laughter on looking at the comic picture he had drawn of an old woman.
"The reason why the British want to swallow up half of Venezuela," asserted Pat, "is because of the gold there is down there."
"Sure," replied Mike, "they're always after gold, the English. If they were landed on an uninhabited island, they would not be there an hour before they'd have their hands in the pockets of the naked savages!"
Baron Rothschild was once caught in a predicament that many people experience daily, and that is getting into a conveyance of some kind, and then not having the money to pay the fare.
The driver of the omnibus into which Rothschild entered demanded his fare, and the Baron, feeling in his pockets, discovered that he had no change. The driver was very angry. "What did you get in for, if you had no money?"
"I am Baron Rothschild," explained the great capitalist, "and there is my card."
The driver scornfully tossed the card away. "Never heard of you before," said he, "and don't want to hear of you again. What I want is your fare."
The banker was in great haste. "Look here. I've an order for a million," he said; "give me the change." And he proffered a coupon for that amount.
The driver stared and the passengers laughed. Fortunately a friend of the Baron entered the omnibus at the moment, and taking in the situation, immediately paid the fare. The driver, realizing his mistake, and feeling remorseful, said to the Baron,
"If you want ten francs, sir, I don't mind lending them to you on my own account."