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She Gnvcin nn li (Tribune.
Published by the Tsrsuim Publishtac Oo.)
J. H. DKVKAUX. Maksax* >
VOL. 111.
Coming Home.
Adieu! is uttered with a sigh;
Farewell! we speak in pain;
We ever part with tearful eye;
We may not meet again;
But, oh, there is a blissful word,
When breathed by those who roam,
Which thrills with joy whenever heard,
’Tis coming, coming home!
’Tis sad to take the parting gaza
For long, long weary years,
As onward through the gathering haze
The gallant bark careers.
But joy untold the bosom swells,
When o’er the dashing foam
We mark the whitening sail that tells
The loved are coming home!
We love to hear from those who pin"
Upon a foreign strand;
I* There is a pleasure in each line
Traced by the well-known hand;
But oh, the rapture of that hour,
When those beloved who roam
Have breathed those words of magic power;
I’m coming, coming home!
—[Oliver Dyer, in Farm and Fireside.
CINDERELLA IN EGYPT;
A BEAUTIFUL STORY OF THE ORIGIN OF
THE GLASS SLIPPER.
We may find sermons in stones, but
\vho would look for fairytales in a sand
heap?
Nevertheless, in the lost tomb of the
last king of the twenty -sixth dynasty
lies buried the original story of Cinder
ella and her slipper.
There is, indeed, only one variation of
any consequence between the two ver
sions and the ancient one is certainly
the more romantic. Cinderella’s prince
ly admirer finds in her lost shoe a clew
to his vanished enchantress but King
Psammetichus falls over head and cars in
love with he knows not wfliom, from
only seeing her sandal.
The ancient Cinderella was a beauti
ful Greek; Sappho calls her Doricha,
and that was most likely her proper
name, but the Greek people with whom
fairness of skin was one of the highest
qualities of female beauty, named her
from the loveliness of her complexion
“Rhodopis,” Rosy Cheeks, and as Rosy
Cheeks she is known in history.
Rhodopis was originally a slave and a
fellow-bondswoman of JEsop, the writer
of fables, in the house of ladmon of
Samos, and like the heroine of the
modern tale, a menial and a. drudge, so
the parallel holds good from the be
ginning. Like Cinderella, too, she had
a fairy godmother, but a more powerful
and lavish one, and her name was
Aphrodite.
This patroness procured her liberty,
and heaped upon her riches; and
Rhodopis, to make her name immortal
by an offering such as had never been
made before, dedicated with a tenth
part of her property a quantity of iron
spits in the temple of Apollo at Delphi,
and this extraordinary gift was still to
be seen there in Herodotus's time.
Some also say that she b lilt one of
the pyramids of Egypt, but as Herodo
tus remarks, those who say so evidently
know nothing about it, and however
this may be, if Rhodopis was not so
simple as our own Cinderella, she was,
’ at all events, more lucky, and, if her
f . coachman and horses and chariots were
-really rats and mice and pumpkins, they
never resumed their proper shape, and
no disenchanting clock sent her hurry
ing back to her scullery, one shoe off
.and one shoe on. Midnight never
struck for her, and she lost her shoe in
quite another way.
At the time 1 speak of she was said to
be the most beautiful woman in Egypt
and she lived at Naucratis, a port on the
Canotic branch of the Nile, founded in
the preceding reign by colonists from
Miletus, and though a born Greek, living
in a Greek city, it pleased her now and
then to play the Egyptian and to adopt
the manners and fashions of her new
country. And so it came about that one
morning, before the sun was yet high,
she went down, just as did Pharaoh's
daughter, with her maidens to bathe in
the Nile.
At a short distance from the bank she
left her litter, and sought a secluded
creek, where, screened by the feather
ing papyrus, she would br undisturbed
and unseen from the busy river, and
where her girls unmade her toilet. Now
the banks of the Father of rivers are
hard in places—a mixture of sand and
clay baked in the scorching sun, and
rough to delicate feet. So Rhodopis
did not quit her sandals until the mo
ment when she stepped down into the
still, cool water.
There, half-swimming, she played
and frolicked, happy in the pure joy of
living like the gay butterflies that flut
tered about the rushes. She gathered
handfuls of lotuses, and threw them
away again, and then, in a lazy fit, she
floated on her back, and gave herself up
to thoughts on things in general and on
herself in particular. But to return to
her sandals, which she had kicked off
on the river’s brink.
They lay as she had left them, a pair
of dainty shoes fit for such dainty feet.
They were embroidered in gold and
brilliant colors with a quaint pattern
and with the ever-present lotus and,
most curious of all, the upper surface of
the sole on which her foot rested bore
the figure of a captive with bound arms,
on one sandal an Egyptian, on the other a
Greek—a fanciful way of suggesting the
dominion of their owner over the hearts
of two nations.
Now it chanced that just above, sail
ing round in his vast circle, a mere
speck in the dancing blue sky, w r as
an eagle, and as the sandals glittered by
the water’s edge they caught his eye.
Now, whether he thought they were
good to eat or whether he was a bird of
cultivated taste, I know not, but
straightway he swooped and seized
one.
Rhodopis, roused from her reverie by
the rush of wings, caught sight of the
great bird as it flew off, and frightened,
set to screaming and then ducked. By
the time she had recovered herself and
taken in what had happened, the eagle
and her sandal were in the next parish.
Os course, directly it was all over,
her girls, who had been busy telling
one another secrets, began in their
alarm to hide everything away in a
place of safety, as if they expected a
whole phalanx of eagles were coming to
carry off their mistress’ clothes. And
no doubt they had some reason for their
concern, for ancient ladies had a variety
of amiable little ways of producing sym
pathy in their slaves when tilings went
wrong, and Rhodopis, sweet as she was
to look at, was like the rest. But,
after all, it was not a very serious mat
ter, for Rosy Cheeks had cupboards full
of sandals at home, and besides her lit
ter was only round the corner, so, after
her first astonishment and fright was
over, she thought little more about it.
Now this event was in reality the
turning point of life, for what did this
mysterious bird do but fly straight
away with his prey, over the Delta, far
up the long river to Memphis, and
there, as if his mission ended, he
dropped the sandal before the judgment
seat of King Psammetichus.
The king was sitting in the open air,
close to the city gate, dispensing justice
to his subjects. The sun was hot and
the imaginations of plaintiff and de
fendant equally inventive and inex
haustible, so Psammetichus was bored;
his thoughts wandered far away, and he
fell to building castles in the air. Now
no Oriental could ever build a castle in
the air or otherwise without giving it a
mistress; so he pleased himself by
imagining for his ideal palace an ideal
beauty.
He pictured her with the eyes of the
gazelle, the voice of the nightingale,
the litheness of the panther, the tread of ■
a goddess, and as his thoughts dwelt I
still on the dainty toes that hardly
pressed the ground they rested on, the
sandal fell from heaven plump at his
royal feet. Astonished out of all dig
nity, he jumped up, stared up into the
sky, and down at the slipper, and then
stooped and picked it up —for no one i
had dared to touch it. Was it a god- ■
dess’ No; it was a lovely little shoe,
but certainly an earthly one, with the j
print of five little earthly toes distinctly
marked on it—the very little toes he
had just been dreaming of.
Then of a sudden it became plain to
SAVANNAH, GA., SATURDAY, APRIL 7.1888.
him. It was an answer from the gods
to the wishes he had just been indulging
in—he had planned a castle, here was a
mistress for it. “Let search be made,”
cried he, “for her who owns this sandal,
and by these signs shall you know her;
Whosoever the shoo fits, and who has
the fellow shoe, and who can explain
the symbol on the sole, she is the right
ful owner; bring her to mo that I may
make her my queen.” To hear was to
obey, and the messenger started on his
search. Many days he travelled down
the Nile, making proclamations of the
will of Psammetichus as he wont, bear
ing the sandal on a cushion. And
wherever ho camo through the wholo
land of Egypt there was a routing out of
cupboards and a hunting up of left-off
shoes, in case by chance there might be
found among them a match for the
wonderful sandal; but none camo to
light and tho maidens were left forlorn.
At last he came to Naucratis, and
when the proclamation reached the ears
of Rhodopis she remembered the theft
of her sandal and know herself tho one
sought for by the king. Tho Ambassa
dor was admitted to her presence, and
then at last the shoo fitted. ‘‘And here,’'
cried Rhodopis, ‘‘is the follow shoo,and
this is why I wear these symbols on the
soles—as Greece is captive to my beau
ty, so shall Egypt be, and Egypt’s mas
ter.” And then she went with him to
Memphis, and when the king, whoso
heart was sick with waiting, saw her,
he at onco succumbed to tho charm of
her loveliness; he did as he had prom
ised and made her his queen. And the
rosy-cheeked Greek slave sat beside
Psammetichus on tho throne of Pharaoh.
—[London Graphic.
A Plague of Wild Horses,
Nevada horse raisers and ranchmen
on the Piocho and White Pine ranges
are complaining of the wild horses of
that region. In the Shellback moun
tains arc bands of from 150 to 200 of
these horses, each under tho leadership
of powerful stallions, and they make
regular raids on the ranches and run off
the horses of the ranchmen. A horse
once gone is gone forever, the Nevada
men say, for the wild horses are very
cunning and wary, and will not let a
man get within rifle shot of them. The
nuisance became so great that last
spring fifteen experienced horsemen and
hunters started out with the object of
killing off as many of the ‘‘boss stal
lions” as possible. In a ten days’ hunt
they managed to kill just one horse..
The wild horses of Nevada average
about 800 pounds weight, and when
caught are about the most ugly beast
alive. But if they can be thoroughly
subdued and broken, they make the
most serviceable and hardy horses im
aginable.
To Ventilate a Room.
The best way to ventilate a room that
I know of is to put a board, long
enough to fit exactly in the window
frame, and about six inches high, under
the lower sash. If you remember the
construction of window sashes you will
know that this consequent raising of
the lower one will leave spaces between
the glass and the woodwork, through
which fresh air can obtain a gradual
entrance into the room. Its course is
made somewhat tortuous and all draught
thereby prevented. When it reaches
the inside it has an upward direction,
too, and is not likely to come in contact
with tender craniums. It is important,
in using this kind of ventilation, that
the board fit accurately under the j
window, so that no little spaces be left
for the air to blow through.—[New
York World.
Two Souls With But a Single Thought,
“I have to tha ik you for a pleasant
evening, Miss Bilderback," said young
Pcckingpaugh at 11.30 o’clock as he
rose to go. “I have scarcely felt as if I
were an acquaintance until this evening;
but now it almost seems as if I had
known you for years.”
“I was about to make the same re
mark,” murmured the young lady with
her eyes on tho clock. “It docs, in
deed, seem a long time.”-[Chicago
Tribune. ,
INSECT PLAGUE.
The Terrible Onset of an Army
of Hungry Locusts.
Repelling Their Visits—Utilizing
them for Food.
A writer in tho English Mechanic
says that an army of locusts is a won
derful and an interesting sight to the
traveler who does not own a yard of
soil, and is a rnero onlooker at their
frightful devastation. It is Attila and
his innumerable horses rushing over tha
vegetable world. To-day tho wide
plains are shining green with denso
foliage; to-morrow, nothing but brown
twigs and bare branches, when the le
gions move off on their combined mis
sion. As they arrive, the dense, dark
clouds moving up from the horizon, and
often obscuring tho sun’s rays, proclaim
tho approach of the widely dreaded
scourge. The alarmed villagers con
gregate on the expected lino of march,
beating drums and brass pots, shouting
and lighting bonfires and making all
kinds of hideous noises. On ono occa
sion, in South Africa, I drove off tho
enemy from a friend’s garden by
making four heaps of damp rubbish—
one at each corner, in preparation, and
then lighting them at the piopor
moment, we dispersed tho advanco
guard,our columns of thick smoke being
carried by the wind upon the main
body which altered its route. Horses
and oxen, their heads and nostrils tor
mented by the clinging limbs of tho
swarms were bolting away to tho woods,
kicking and plunging in their hasty
flight. A hissing, crackling sound
arose on all sides, the whole air seemed
to be occupied by the falling and flying
imps of mischief. Tho “locust birds”
(a kind of crane) hovered in small
parties on their flanks, and subsisted on
a very small percentage of the insect
hosts. In desert localities, tho
hungry pests actually pitched on
bone, matting, sticks, etc., and
failing in a meal, attacked and de
voured each other. O.i another oc
casion 1 drove for miles along a sandy
tract, the wheels of the vehicle crush
ing myriads of the newly-hatched in
sects, all crawling and creeping, with
migratory instinct, toward the culti
vated tracts. In India locust visits aro
fewer between, but far more formidable,
owing to the overwhelming musses.
Sometimes a series of clouds, composed
of their flights, cover several miles
simultaneously. Fortunately, there aro
several birds and beasts in quest’of their
bodies, and I have even seen them
salted, dried and sold in tho markets.
I have often inspected a dish of curried
locust, but could not bring a
sufficient amount of curiosity
to bear on the tasting ex
periment, though a prawny odor went
up with the steam. The fishes are great
devourers of these winged visitors, for
they fall into lakes and rivers during
changes of wind and weather. Besides
fires made of green rubbish at top, I
found gunpowder explosions very useful
in scaring thorn away from the vicinity
of my garden. When several successive
hordes alighted on my grass land I
loaded my gun with dust shot, and,
stooping low on the ground, discharged
the contents of both barrels into their
midst. Having done so several times, I
enjoyed the welcome sight of seeing
them rising into the air and going else
where. I have no doubt a.small cannon
on such occasions, heavily loaded with
sharp sand, would hasten their flight.
Strength of Woods.
In a paper on the strength of differ
ent kinds of wood for building pur
poses, Prof. Johnson calls attention to
the fact, as now demonstrated, that
many cheaper kinds of timber may
prove more valuable for structures than
more ex|>cnsive varieties which have
been supposed to be stronger, and
therefore, more desirable. Thus, pine
supports or pillars have been found
stronger than Luk ones, when tested in
large samples.—[New York Sun.
I f 1.25 Per Annnm; 76 cents for Six Months;
< 60 cents Three Months; Single Copies
( 6 cents' -In Advanco.
PEARLS OF THOUGHT.
A good word is easy, and not to
speak ill only requires silence.
Justice is a virtue that gives every
man his own, by even portions.
If you always live with those who are
lame you will yourself learn to limp.
To presume in one’s duty and be si
lent, is tho best answer to calumny.
Dost thou love life I Then do not squan
der time; for that is the stuff life ia
made of.
One good act done today is worth a
thousand in contemplation for some
ft tire time.
Education is the leading of human
souls to what is best, and making what
is best out of them.
The bread of life is love; the salt of
life is work; the sweetness of life, poe
try. Tho water of life, faith.
As riches and favor forsake a man, we
discover hijn to boa fool; but nobody
could find it out in his prosperity.
If you would bo pungent, be brief;
or it is with words ns with sunbeams,
tho more they aro condensed tho deeper
they burn.
A monarchy is a man-of-war, stanch,
iron-ribbed and resistless when under
full sail; yet a single hidden rock sends
her to the bottom.
Tho sun should not set upon our an
ger, neither should it rise upon our con
fidence. We should forgive freely, but
forget rarely. Seek not to be revenged;
this you owo to an enemy.
Let it bo borne in mind tint tho cords
of love, which bind hearts so closely to- '
gather that neither life nor death nor
lime nor eternity can sever them, aro
woven of threa Is no bigger than a
spider’s web.
'Die most agreeable of nil companions
is a simple, frank man, without any
high pretensions to an oppressive great
ness. One who loves life, and under
funds the use of it; obliging alike at
all hours; above all, of a golden temper,
and steadfast as an anchor.
Fabulous Serpent Women.
In the early Egyptian hieroglyphics
wi; find rep"Csestations of snakes’ bodies
crowned by female heads; and, indeed,
this class of serpents seems to have
proved equally attractive to all nations,
an evidence of which subtle fascination
is that the legends of the “snako
maidens’ still live in the nursery tales
of to lay, perennially young and beauti
ful as though their birth were not
wrapp'd in tho mysteries of a prebis T
toricagj. Os this family camo Lirnia,
the witch of Crete, wh >s? woman’s
heart rendered her doubly sensitive to
tho degradation she suffered during her
incarceration within her scaly prison;
nor did she on renewing the pristine
glory of her human form completely
lose the essence of her serpent nature.
Hurmonia, the wife of Ca Imus, to boa
companion in her husband's misfor
tunes, also took upon herself the ser
pent’s shape, but being devoid of evil
intent, never, it is said, shunned, but
rather sought man's presence. Perhaps
it is but another form of the classic
Harmonia which his become familiar to
us under the name of the fairy Gentilla,
who, in an adder's shape, sought refuge
with Prince L .an lcr from tho vengeance
of the irate gardeners, but at the end of *
several days droppe 1 her scaly mantle,
and, arrayed in supernatural charms,
munificently rewar led her protector.--"
[North American Review.
A Petrified Snake.
While some workmen were making
nil excavation at Pcublo, Col., recently,
they came upon a petrified snake,totally
different from any known species f%m,d
i j that part of the country at prcs4M|f|
It was found eight feet from the silt;
face, Fr >m its appearance it would
■cem th- the snake had been caught
let ween two rocks by the tail ages
ago, its peculiar position eloquentlyex
pressiu ; its agony. Instead of decom- H
posing, the body dried out so perfectly
that t o taxidermist could hope to equal
nature's work, even tLo eyes being per
feck
NO. 25.