Mr. Tuke, of Wath, near Rotherham, England, who died in 1810, bequeathed one penny to every child that attended his funeral (there came from six to seven hundred); 1s. to every poor woman in Wath; 10s. 6d. to the ringers to ring one peal of grand bobs, which was to strike off while they were putting him into the grave. To his natural daughter, £4 4s. per annum. To his old and faithful servant, Joseph Pitt, £21 per annum. To an old woman who had for eleven years tucked him up in bed, £1 1s. only. Forty dozen penny loaves to be thrown from the church leads at twelve o'clock on Christmas day forever. Two handsome brass chandeliers for the church, and £20 for a set of new chimes.
Curious Custom at Strasbourg.
At Strasbourg they exhibit a large French horn, the history of which is as follows:—
About four hundred years ago the Jews formed a conspiracy to betray the city, and with this identical horn they intended to give the enemy notice when to attack. The plot, however, was discovered; many of the Jews were burnt alive; the rest were plundered of their money and effects, and banished the town. This horn is sounded twice every night from the battlements of the steeple in gratitude for the deliverance. The Jews deny the facts of this story, excepting the murdering and pillaging of their countrymen. They say the whole story is fabricated to furnish a pretext for the robberies and murders, and assert that the steeple of Strasbourg, as has been said of the monument of London,
"Like a tall bully lifts the head and lies."
Tooth-Picks.
In the fourteenth century it was the fashion to carry tooth-picks of silver suspended round the neck by a chain.
Phantom Menageries.
"The Magick of Kirami, King of Persia, and of Harpocration," printed in the year 1685, contains the following:—