An old church in Belgium decided to repair its properties and employed an artist to touch up some of its old paintings. Upon presenting his bill, the committee in charge refused payment unless the details were specified, whereupon he presented the items as follows:
| To correcting Ten Commandments | 3.12 |
| Embellishing Pontius Pilate and putting new ribbon on his hat | 3.02 |
| Putting new tail on rooster of St. Peter and mending his coat | 3.20 |
| Repluming and regilding wing of Guardian angel | 5.18 |
| Washing servant of high priest and putting carmine on his cheeks | 5.02 |
| Renewing heaven, adjusting the stars, and cleaning up the moon | 7.14 |
| Touching up Purgatory and restoring lost souls | 3.06 |
| Taking spots off son of Tobias | 1.30 |
| Putting ear-rings in Sarah’s ears | 1.31 |
| Brightening up flames of hell, putting new tail on the devil, cleaning left hoof, and doing several odd jobs for the damned | 7.17 |
| Rebordering the Robes of Herod and adjusting his wig | 4.00 |
| Cleaning Balaam’s ass and putting new shoes on him | 1.70 |
| Putting new stone in David’s sling, enlarging head of Goliath, and extending Saul’s Leg | 6.18 |
| Decorating Noah’s ark and putting new head on Shem | 4.31 |
| Mending shirt of prodigal son and cleaning his ear | 3.39 |
| Total | 59.10 |
Latin Pronunciation
A French savant, M. Garaud, has just published a book which professes to settle the vexed question of pronunciation of Latin by the ancient Romans. He says: “The patois of Pamiers, in the Department of Ariège, is nothing else than Latin exiled on the borders of the Ariège. It has been brought there with its original pronunciation and accentuation. Without the aid of any book the ear has sufficed to preserve its first form and intonation after eighteen centuries’ use. The most delicate inflections of the voice have been kept. Thanks to the instinct of harmony and the love of sonority, Latin pronunciation has been exactly transmitted to us.”
Prevention better than Cure
We learn from the parish records of Oberammergau that when the plague of 1633 was sweeping the by-ways of the Bavarian Tyrol, eighteen peasants met together and vowed that if the plague were stayed they would, once in ten years, present in living pictures the Passion of Christ. That vow has been faithfully kept. On Fish Street Hill, in London, where the great fire of 1666 started, the citizens erected a commemorative monument as an expression of their gratitude that the fire had destroyed the last vestige of the pestilence which, in the course of a few months, had carried off sixty-eight thousand five hundred and ninety-six of the inhabitants of the metropolis. We who live in an age of broader enlightenment have learned that the line of practical beneficence leads to prophylaxis rather than to religious vows or sacrificial offerings, and points to higher promise and larger performance. We, too, are building a monument, but it will be more enduring than stone or bronze, and will immortalize its trust in one word, SANITATION.
FACETIÆ
The Old Cock
Many years ago the only inn at Keswick was called the “Cock,” and was much frequented by the visitors to the Lake district. But the late excellent Bishop of Llandaff, Dr. Richard Watson, happening to reside in the neighborhood, and being universally esteemed and loved, the landlord, out of compliment to his lordship, changed his sign to the “Bishop’s Head.” Another inn was shortly after opened in the village, and the proprietor selected the “Cock” as his sign. The landlord of the old inn, finding that the rival establishment, owing to its name, threatened to deprive him of many of his customers, in consequence of the guide-books recommending the “Cock” as the best inn, wrote under the bishop’s head at his door, “This is the original Old Cock,” to the great amusement of the bishop, who used to relate the story with much glee.