Llandudno Advertiser and List of Visitors

SOME SEASONABLE GAMES. THE CONDUCTOR. Arrange as many chairs as there are players (not counting the conductor) in two rows facing each other, and let all the company be seated. The conductor, standing at the end of the row, begins to tell a story. When he names a street all the players rise and pass out at the end of the row and, entering it by the other end, endeavour to take the opposite chair from the one they pre- viously occupied. The conductor goes round with them and tries to get a chair. If he suc- ceeds the player remaining standing becomes the conductor. If the conductor names a road the players remain seated: if any of them stand up they have to pay a forfeit. If a station is named, each player exchanges seats with the person sitting immediately opposite to him. the conductor also making an effort to obtain one of the seats. A MEMORY TEST. This game is played in the same manner Ets the well-known" Grandfather's Trunk," After the subject has been decided upon, the first person makes a remark and each successful player adds a word or two to the sentence, until one of them fails to remember all that has been previously said. Say, for instance, the subject is an imaginary dinner, the players might begin thus. -N'o .I. I had for dinner yesterday tomato soup. No. 2. I had for dinner yesterday tomato soup, and filleted plaice. No. 3.: I had for dinner yesterday tomato soup, filleted plaice, boeuf a la mode. And so on. If the company is composed of adults the longest and hardest words should he used. A MUSICAL SEARCH. A musical search., or searching by music, is not only a pleasant but interesting game, and de- pends greatly on the skill of the pianist. One of the company retires from the room, and some small article, such as a handkerchief or trinket, is hidden. Then someone sits at the piano, and the absent one is called in and told to search for the missing article. The pianist then indi- cates by the strains on the piano when the searcher approaches the hidden object. The fur- ther he is away from it. the softer and more mournful becomes the music: as he comes nearer to it, the music become louder and more lively, bursting into a triumphant strain as the prize is discovered. A good march makes an excellent final. QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS. Each player is presented with two slips of paper, on one of which he writes a question, and on the other a noun. The papers are then mixed up together in two heaps, and everyone takes one from each heap; every player, then, in turn, reads out the question he has drawn, and in the answer to it he must bring in the word which he has on the other paper, so that the answer rhymes with the question. Supposing the ques- tion to be: How many years have passed since then?" and the word to be U Honesty," one might reply, H Honesty bids me tell you ten;" or something to that effect. Needless to say, th rhyme need not be at all a strict one; plenty of licence is allowed. THE GAME OF FIVE VOWELS. A member of the party asks a question of his right-hand neighbour. The answer given should be brief, suitable, and prompt, but must not in- clude the vowel interdicted by the questioner. For instance- George: Do you like skating, Harry? Answer without an E." Harry: I was always fond of it, and I am now." Harry: With whom did you go to church yesterday, Fred? Answer without an A." Fred: "With my mother's sister," answers Fred cautiously, knowing that if he said Aunt he would have to pay a forfeit. The game continues until a number of forfeits are collected. PERSON AL CONUNDRUMS. The company being seated, one player pro- pounds a conundrum based upon some member of the party, and then calls upon each in turn for an impromptu answer. Example.—No. 1: Why is Mr. Smith like a ripo peach? No. 2: Because he is generally liked. No. 3: Because he affects some people dis- agreeably. No. 4: Because he is always 'round. ♦ HARRY AND ARCHIE'S CHRISTMAS TREE. Harry and Archie Glendenning were at home for the Christmas holidays. Their mother, Mrs. Glendenning, had promised them that, they should have a children's party"on New Year's Eve, and that there should be a Christmas tree provided. They had never had a Christmas tree before, and they were therefore very excited over it. It was great fun watching their father and mother dre.'s the tree with toys and other things. Mr. Glendenning brought home some things with him when he came back from the City. and Harry and Archie were allowed to go to the toy-shop and select some themselves. There were wooden horses, dolls, balls with pieces of elastic tied to them, that you could throw up in the air and then draw back and catch them. There were drums full of sweets, lirtle Noah's Arks, farmyards, with geese and ducks, and chickens, and all sorts of other toys. Then there were gold and silver balls, which were suspended to the branches of the tree. And there were Chinese lanterns with little candles inside them, which made a very gay appearance when they were all lighted up. When on the night before the party they looked at the Christ- mas tree in the drawing-room, with all the pretty toys hanging on it. the boys were so pleaded that th"y clapped their hands and jumped about with joy. Their little friends hogan to arrive during the afternoon. Harry and Archie had their best clothes on, and wel- comed their young friends as they arrived, After tea they all went into the drawing-room and had some games. They played at hunt the slipper, and here we come gathering nuts and may." and blind man's buff, and several.. other children's games. Then they had refreshments passed round, and there was quite a hush as the children were all busy partaking of the" good things that had been provided for them;. And then at last there came the distribution of the toys on the Christmas tree. Every article, bore a number on it. and tickets with corresponding numbers had been given to the young guests. Auntie Grace took the articles down one by one and called out the number, and then the child that had the corresponding number held up its hand, and the toy was passed over. There were enough for them to have two or three toys each, and even then there were several left. About ten o'clock their young friends were sent for,, and as they said good-bye they thanked Mrs. Glendenning for the pleasant evening they had spent, and for the toys that they were taking home with them. On the morning after the party Harry and Ar: hie were looking at the Christmas tree, with the toys left upon it, and wondering what they should do with them. And then Mrs. Glenden- ning reminded them of the woman that came to wa-h for them, who had several children, for whom no toys could be provided, as they were very noor, and suggested that Harry and Archie should pack a box full of toys and carry it to their house as a New Year's gift. They caught at the idea, glrdly. The poor children were de- lightci v."itli the toys. and Harry and Archie Tli(,v had liad'fll(,ir own enjoyment and felt fhpy had done something to others as well. And you will not wonder that they had a Happy New Year. -+--

I GOLD DUST. In Algeria the horses outnumber the human beings. .:4- Pink pearls are found only off the Bahama Islands. The United Kingdom spends 2380,000 per an- num on raisins. ♦( ♦ Paris has 75,000 persons employed in her dress- making establishments. China and Japan have fewer foreign residents than any other countries. --+: Telephones are in common use on Swedish farms, and even in Finland, A silken thread is three times as strong as a flaxen one of the same thickness. In China the native word for farewell" means, literally, go away slowly." v There is said to be only one musk-ox in cap- tivity. This is in, the Zoo at Hamburg. ;+- In former times it was esteemed highly impro- per for unmarried persons to wear rings. -+:+- '♦ In India the average duration of life of the natives is 24 years, as against 44 in England. 1»f A Persian carpet has been in use for 200 years in the main hall of the Shah's palace in Teheran. Spanish peasants believe that the water in which a wedding-ring has been dipped will cure weak eyes. -+:. In China an inferioi upon horseback meeting a superior dismounts and waits until the other has passed. A returned miner from the Klondike states that at a depth. of 225ft. he found the ground frozen hard. If man were relatively as strong as beetles they would be able to easily juggle with AVeights of several tons. China holds the world's record in the way of executions. There are at least 12,000 legal executions yearly. -4- A six months' cruise will decrease the speed of a ship 15 per cent. This is owing to the barnacies that gather on the hull. The catching of snakes and the collecting of their venom, which fetches £1 per grain, is a new industry in Australia. No bird can fly backwards Avithout turning; the dragon-fly, however can do this, and can outstrip the swallow in speed. -+:+- A large proportion of the marine creatures found at a great depth in the colder parts of the, ocean are of a red colour. ♦ ♦ Deafness is more common in cold countries than in warm climates, the ear being very sensi- tive to atmospheric changes. V The wedding ring is worn on the left hand because, symbolically, the right hand denotes authority, and the left obedience. V ™ Nine hundred and seventy-five persons out of 1,000 inoculated for hydrophobia after being bitten by a dog are saved from death. Plants, with white blossoms have a larger pro- portion of fragrant species than any others; next come red flowers, then yellow, and then blue. In France there are 15,319 Avomen employed as gatekeepers at the railway crossing. They get very small pay, but are provided with houses. J Bells are never used in Mohammedan mosques. The Moslem raca detest bells, under the delusion that they cause the assemblage of evil spirits. -+:+- The willow is one of the most adaptable of plants. A willow switch stuck in the wet ground will almost invariably take root and be- come a tree. -+: There are about 2,000 persons in France who are known to be Anarchists, and are under the constant watch of the police of the various Euro- pean countries. -+: The Tartars have no regard for bridges or boats. Arrived at a river, they slip from their horses' backs, and holding by the mane, urge the animals through. The Dutch have many strange customs, but one of the strangest is their habit of smoking in church. A similar practice exists in several churches in South America. The inhabitants of Burmah object to occupying buildings of more than one story, and conse- quently every town in that country covers an immense area, comparatively. A new sardine cannery has been started at Port Townsend, on Puget Sound. The annual output is 175,000 cases. The sardines are said to be as good as the French article. .The longest plants in the world are sea-weeds. One tropical and sub-tropical variety is known which, measures in length, when it has reached its full development, at least 600ft.. -+.+- As a means of obtaining money for his church, a Clergyman of Jefferson, Pennsylvania, has announced that he will wed the most successful solicitor of funds in his congregation. The ink-plant of New Granada is a curiosity The juice .of it can be used as ink without any preparation. At first the writing is red, but after a few hours it changes to black. When a camel is pressed beyond its speed, and is spent, it kneels down, and nothing in the world will make it budge again. The camel re- mains where it kneels, and where it kneels it. dies. Camphor is highly esteemed for its medicinal virtues by the natives of Borneo and Sumatra, who will often wear it round their necks, waists, wrists, and ankles in small bags as a SOl t of iharm against disease. It is said that swans on the Thames have an instinctive precience of flocds; before heavy rairs they raise their nests. This is character- istic of many birds, which add piles of material to their nests to prevent swamping. ♦ ♦ The death-plant of Java has flowers which con- tinually give off a perfume so powerful as to I oveIcome, if inhaled for any length of time, a full-grown in a n and Avhich kills all forms of insect life that 'come under its influence.

A fool may meet with good fortune, but only the wise profit by it. Real merit is like a river-the deeper it is the less noise it makes, It's almost as easy to achieve foolishness as it is to be born that way. She may be a gossip," said Mrs. Goude, but I believe she tells the truth." "My dear,'1 answered Misis Pepper, that is frequently the Worst form of gossip." "Johnny if I give you a threepenny bit can I trust you to convey this note safely to your father?" "Yes—er—but it would be much safer for a sixpence!" He: "Isn't that new gown of yours finished yet?" She: "No. The dressmaker's work on it was only completed yesterday." "But if the dressmaker's done what else is there ?" Oh, all my friends have to criticise it yet." It is said that it is now possible to take a photograph with an exposure of the 100th part of a second. A father of a family says the worst of it is that it is impossible to get the small boy to sit still for that length of time. Husband (a. literary man): "I wish you would stop watching little Dick for a while." Wife: "If I dont' watch him he'll be in mischief." Husband: "Yes, that's what I mean. When he's in mischief he's quiet, and I want to write." Mrs. Jones," said the grumbling boarder, I am going to write to the Town Clerk." Mrs. Jones: "Indeed, sir. What about?" "About the quality of the water. It's disgraceful. Why, I detected a distinct flavour of coffee in it this morning." Manzig met 'his publisher, and, bowing politely, said: ''May I ask why you put my novel among the medical books in your cata- logue?" "Because," replied the publisher. "t was found to be such an excellent means of in ducing sleep." Old Quiverful: "And so you want to take oui daughter from us? You want to take her sud. denly without a word of warning P" Young Soslow: "Not at all, sir. If there is anything about her you want to warn me against I'm willing to listen." "Are you still taking dumb-bell exercise?" said Mrs. Boardesley to her very thin lodger by way of a little mild chaff. "Yes, madame," he said austerely. I am endeavouring to in- crease my strength, and so get on even term? with your butter." [ Mistress (to new servant): By the way, Jane, r may inform you that your master and I .always speak French at table." New Servant: That's all right, ma'am; in my last place we spoke French in the dining-room and German in the servants' hall." "Have you anything to say before sentenec is pronounced against you?" asked the judg?. The only thing I'm kickin' about," answered the convicted burglar, is bein' identified by a man that kept his head under the bedclothes the whole time. That's wrong." Miss Kuhl: "No, Mr. Hunter, I cannot marry TIoll. I suppose you will find some other girl." Mr Forchen-Hunter: Can't you offer me any greater consolation than that ?" Miss Kuhl: "Oh, yes; it may console you to know that I am not so rich as I am reported to be." Mrs. Oldwed: "Your husband seems like an awfully nice man. I hope he -tqll.v bad habits. Mrs. Newed: "()nJv one—but that is the limit. It is the mo'her habit." Mr-. Newed: "Yes; mother's coffee, mother's bread, mother's pies, and all that sort of thing, you know." "May I ask what is your occupation, sir?" asked the old boarder of the latest arrival. -Ify -Dectipition replied the newcomer. Oh, [ am a sculptor." "You carve marble, do you P" "Yes." Ah, sir, I foresee you will be a valuable acquisition to this table. Will you kindly come up to this end and carve this fowl ?" Lady: "Now, cabman, I wish you to be ex- tremely careful. "W hen you come to a crossing you must wait until the policeman tells you to go 011, and if the streets are slippery you must irive very slowly." Cabby: "All right, mum; be Averry careful, mum; and in case of a haccident, mum, which 'orspital would you like to be taken to?" Page Boy (who has given notice to his master the squire): "The fact K sir. I can't stand the way in which folks in the village talks about I." Squire:" But. my boy, you mustn't mind that; it's a way people have all the world over. Why, now, I dare say t}l'V talk about me, too." Paié" Boy (hastily): "Oh. sir, that they do, but I ain't as bad that. sir." "In some of the provincial theatres the ar- rangements and construction are absurdly old- fashioned," remarked a conceited actor. "Last Aveek, for instat e, I was playing Hamlet at Seanort; there, w's an plarm of fire, and it took no fewer than ten minutes for the audience to pass through the doors." "The poor fellow was lame, I suppose," was the cruel comment. A woman whose throat had troubled her for a long time grew impatient at the slow pro- gress she was making, and consulted her doc- tor. "Madam. I can never cure you of this throat- trouble unless you stop talking and givo your throat a complete rest," said the medico. Oil doctor," objected the patient, "talking affect 111". I'm very careful. I never uso harsh languag "Before we were married," a lady com- plained, "you always engaged a cab when you took me anywhere. Now you think the 'bus or the car is good enough for me." "No, my dar- ling, I don't think the 'bus or th? car is good enough for you. It's because I'm so proud of you. In a cab you would be seen by nobody, while I can show you off to so many people by taking you in the bigger conveyance!" A gentleman one day met a man who, though married, was well known to be a confirmed idler. "Have you got a job yet, Tom?" the former asked. Yes, sir." "What are you doing?" "I'm an understudy, sir." "An understudy, T-iii ?" Yes, sir. My wife does w'as-hin', an' I'm her understudy." But have you ever been ca "led upon to take her place?" "No, sir; I ain't got so far as that yet, sir." Tommy had been forbidden to swim in the river owing to the danger. One day he came home with unmistakable signs of having been in the water. Hk mothei scolded him severely. "But I was tern- ted so badly, mother," said Tommy. That's all very well, but how did you come to have your bathing suit with you ?" Tommy paused, and then said, "Well, mother, I took my bathing suit along thinking I might be tempted.' Young Lady: "Would you please put in Editor: "It's no use, my dear young lady, our space is fully filled up." Young Lady (disappointed): "Oh, I think you might perhaps have room for this." Editor: "Poetry I suppose? Oh, no, we have no room for that." Young Lady: "But it isn't a poem—it's an advertisement for our dog. He's lost, and Editor (cordially): "Certainly, my dear lady, ailow me to conduct you to the advertis- ine- department." The new minister was calling on his parishioners, who greeted him in most cases with kindly welcome. One old lady, however, was quite effusive. After she had shaken him by the hand, she said heartily: "Ah, sir, I do like it when you preach." The minister, un- used to such complimentary phrases, beamed. "Thank you," he said, "I wish there were more of your kind. And why, my good old friend?" "Ali. sir." she replied, "when you preach I can always get a good seat." "Can I go through this gate to the river?" politely inquired a very stout youth of a farm labourer. P'r'aps so; a load of hay Avent through this morning." was the quiet reply". "Did you ever think what you would do if you had a millionaire's money?" asked one junior clerk of another. "No," was the reply, but I have often wondered what he would do if he had mine." He:" Miss Knote is certainly a plain girl, isn't she?" She: "Well she isn't a beauty, but when you hear her sing you will forget her face." "Why, is her singing as bad as that?" "You young rascal!" said an old gentleman to a rash little street urchin, "if that cab had run over you where would you have been now?" And the bov answered: "Up behind, a-takin' bis number." MR. BALFOUR'S GOLF STORY. There is no sport of which the humour is so diverse and "problematical" as golf. Yet there are some golf stories of which the most obtuse non-golfer may have a glimmering of the point. For example, Mr. Balfour relates the following as the drolV-st all-round anecdote he has ever heard:—"Two players determined to. play a match by moonlight. The antagonists were in every respect Avorthv of each other, and as the match proceeded fortune did not appear to incline on either side. At last they came to etc-li it occurred at fli (, time 1 t a critical moment had been reached, ■and t it was necessary to adopt, heroic measures. They drove off two long balls,which to the eyes of the ordinary spectators appeared to vanish into night, far beyond all human powers of vision to follow. But each of the .combatants declared that he saw perfectly where his ball had gone, and they walked off with un- faltering sir"!> i:i' the direction of the hole. When they hid gone about 180 yards neither began to show any signs of indicating that he had reached the place where he expected to find his ball. Both went on with unhesitating stride. At last, when they got to the putting green, some hundred yards or so beyond the longest recorded drive, both balls were found lying within a club's length of the hole. Each player had arranged to drop a ball through a hole in his trousers pocket!"—From The Fanniest Golf Story," in the Strand Maga- zine." THE GAME LAWS OF NEWFOUNDLAND. The game laws of Newfoundland are sounder than those of any country I have visited. They do not permit the guides to shoot when accom- panying a sportsman, though of course at other times each guide has his right, as a citizen, to kill five deer. This is an excellent regulation, for when the sportsman has shot his three heads he can kill no more and may as well leave the country. In other circumstances he might buy from his men their right to shoot the five each to which they are entitled, and a certain num- ber of sportsmen would undoubtedly do so-an evasion of the law which could only lead to bad results. If Newfoundland would but add an a.1r solute prohibition, under a heavy penalty, of the sale or exposure for sale of the trophy of any in- digenous wild animal, her game laws would be as nearly perfect as one can expect such laws to be. Perhaps, however, they might be altered in one other point. A B10 licence permits tha foreigner or visiting sportsman to shoot three stags. This places the person who goes up to Howley and in two days shoots that number of prickets as the deer cross the line on their migra- tion on the same footing with the man who spends six weeks in the interior looking for three fine heads. If the rule were a stag for every week spent hunting, the law would be more just and fewer stags be unworthily slain. Incidentally the country would benefit, as the hunter who goes into the interior spends, say, B100 as against the ten-pound note of the mil- way sportsman.—From The Hunter's Moon," in the Cornhill Magazine." A NEW PROFESSION FOR GIRLS. The Founder and Principal of the Canine Nurses Institute, writing in "The Girl's Realm," says:—"Ten years ago the world would have laughed at the idea of trained nurses for dogs, nor could it have imagined that such an occupa- tion would ever become an established vocation for girls. Some eighteen months ago, however, there was started at Brixton an establishment for the express purpose of giving girls who are fond of dumb animals and suitable in other ways to the culture of pets, a sensible and practical course of training, Avhic-h them to be at the service of skilled veterinary surgeons and owners- of valuable liA^e stock in the opacity of nurses in ail cases of sickness. The advent of The Canine Nurses' Institute has beeen accepted as quite feasible, and as a new vocation for women, a large number of whom have taken readily to the ivork.anddowellinit. To those who are natur- ally devoted to animals there is nothing deroga- tory in being a canine nurse. It is a humane- and honourable calling. The majority of women love animals, and love nursing, and for some years 'it has been felt by veterinary surgeons, as well as owners of pets, that it needs capable and sensible people to attend to the sick wants of dumb creatures in their ailments, as well as for human beings. The foundress of the Canine Nurses' Institute, herself a lover of animals, and one who has largely bred valuable drgs. in think- ing over the matter of canine nurses, decided to give the idea the full benefit of a thorough trial. Other occupations in the. field of women's work have their own unique standing, and are suc- cessful; why not that of canine nursing p" A FAMOUS- FESTIVAL. The Windsor Ma gazine contains a very interesting article on the Birmingham festival, accompanied by many portraits of the artists engaged. The contributor says:— In 1834 the first festival was held in the new Town Hall, and the organ, the finest instrument then in existence, was used for the first time. The following festival was remarkable for the first appearance of Mendelssohn in Birmingham to conduct in St. Paul.' This engagement was due to the enterprise of Moore, who went specially to Berlin to interview Mendelssohn. The com- poser himself made his debut in Birmingham as conductor of his 'Midsummer Night's Dream' music on the Tuesday evening. The next day he directed the performance of St. Paul,' and on the Friday, before leaving the town, he played Bach's prelude and fugue in E flat. St. Paul' was not new, of course, to England, for it had been performed in Liverpool in 1836, and twice in London in 1837, before the date of the Festi- val. In a letter to his mother, Mendelssohn gave an interesting account of his impressions at Birmingham. He was particularly struck by the enthusiasm with which he was received. The applause and shouts at the least glimpse of me were incessant,' he wrote, 'and sometimes really made me laugh; for instance, they prevented my being able for long to sit down to the instrument to play a pianoforte concerto; and, what is better than all this ap- plause, artl a sure proof of my success, were the offers made to me on all sides, of a very different tenor this time from what they were ever before.' At the next festival, in 1840, his Lob,(,csang was the chief attraction. The composer's setting of the 114th Psalm was also performed, and be- tween the two parts of one of the concerts lie played his pianoforte concerto in G minor. TIH performance of the 'Hymn of Praise' did not please Mendelssohn, however, for in a letter to a friend he subsequently referred to the imper- fect form in which it was produced at Birming- ham, oAving to his illness. There was no actuaV novelty at the next festival, but in 18^ Elijah was first given to the world in accord- ance with the arrangement made by Moore wlic,ri, enga n, ;■ Mendelssohn to conduct 'St. Paul' The account of the enthusiasm with which thit work was received strikes the modern reader as a- trifle hysterical, for worship of the composer and his music Pas so inextricably mixed that there seems no measure of critical appreciation in any. thing that was written at the time. 'During the whole two hours and a half that it lasted,' wrote the composer to his brother, the large hall, with- its 2 COO people, and the large orchestra, were so fully intent on the one object in question that not the slightest sound was to be heard among the whole audience, so that I could sway at pleasure the enormous orchestra and choir and, also the organ accompaniments.

Nell: A girl shouldn't marry a man till she knows all about him." Belle: Good gracious! If she knew all about him she wouldn't want te marry him!" Instructor (at night school): What proof hav. we that the world is round?" Shaggy-haired Pupil: Don't need no proof. I'm willing to believe the jographies." It was close on midnight and the professional guest felt it was high time for him to stop play- ing. Perhaps I'd better not play any more to-night." he said, wearily. "I see you have near neighbours, and they might be annoyed. « Yon needn't mind them for a minute," said his hostess, earnestly. "We are perfectly sure they poisoned our cat, tncl if they did, nothing is too bad for them." Å