An "Ex"

1895

It is somewhat hard to believe this story of a Boston child of 8 years, but it is related on good authority. The child, who is a little girl named Dorothy, had been behaving very badly, as even Boston children have been known to do, and hot mother said to her chidingly:

"Dorothy, really I cannot be your mamma any more!"

The child made no reply, but gave her mother a quick and very arch look. By and by, after a half hour of silent and well behaved play, she came with her hat in her hand to her mother and said soberly:

"My dear ex-mamma, do you think I've been good enough so I could go out now?" — Youth's Companion.


She Was No Politician

"Did you see all those dreadful charges the papers make against you?" said the politician's wife.
"I did," was the reply. "What am I going to do about it?"
"Why," she answered, almost sobbing, "I—I'd make that horrid editor prove every word of them, so I would."
"Prove 'em! Great guns! That's exactly what I'm anxious to keep him from doing if I can!" — Washington Star.


To Ebonize Wood

The wood is immersed for 48 hours in a hot, saturated solution of alum and then brushed over several times with a logwood decoction prepared as follows: Boil 1 part of best logwood with 10 parts of water, filter through linen and evaporate at a gentle heat until the volume is reduced to one-half. To every quart of this add from 10 to 15 drops of a saturated solution of indigo, completely neutral. After applying this dye to the wood rub the latter with a saturated and filtered solution of verdigris in hot, concentrated acetic acid and repeat the operation until a black of the desired intensity is obtained. It must always be remembered when handling chemicals that great care must be taken to protect the hands. — Chicago Tribune.