Newspaper Page Text
Sienliuel.
• •
HARLEM (JFX)ROIA
PtUIIHIt b KU RY THURSDAY.
B*ll«rcl Ob Jh,«l*.iaaa»on.
props mo a*.
-
Twenly-Rve year* ago wt were
HO,000.004) people; now »<• are newly
•<1.0041000 Then »<■ hurl HI ritie* and
town* of over H.ooo inhabitant*, now we
have ’.’’’fl of eto h citie» and town*. Then
the total population of our eitiea was
A,000.000, now it la about 12,000,4X10.
In the old days it wa« the duty of
English coroner* to hold inquest* not
only on death*, but on fires, burglaries
arid roblx-ries Inquests on fin* are still ,
held in .Northuiubr iland, and it is now
proposed tore introduce into London the
ancient “crowtier's quest law" in the
matter of 11 rec
Fraiu e has a genuine phenomenon in
the person of Profi-ur < hevrr ul, the
scientist, Who has pasted his one hun
-I red th birthday. Ik doe* not smoke and
never tasted spirits in hlalife. He works
in hiachemical laboratory everyday and
reads without glasses. lie is the oldest
working acholw and scientist in the
world.
Mexico is sai<i to poswss only alsmt 100
factories of all kinds, owing to the pan
«ity of water and the high cost of fuel.
Thi-si factories employ alsnit 13,000
bands, and those devoted to weaving
contain ti'iOo looms and 25<>,0<i<) spindle*
The largest cotton mill is nt Queretaro,
employs 14 04) hands, and manufactures
the unbleachud cloth worn by nil In
dlans
A recently published Army return
shows the total effective force of the
British regular army to Is* 201,000. The
distributions of this fort-ci* not without
it* bearings on the Irish question. Ire
land is discontented, and, consequently,
there arc nearly 27,000 men, with <lO
Held gun", quartered there. Canada ha* i
1,800 and India 03,000 troops. In Egypt
thorn arc only 14,000 troops
Ijuly Macdonald, wife of tin* premier
of Oanula, hu* a private car when shn
travel* about the dominion or through
Un* United Bt*tc* She was returning
from Winnipeg rvt'cntly, her <ar being
nttiuhi-d to a ('nniuliitn Pacific train
wldrii waa «nowi*d in. Bh<* learned thut
tin* regular |»«M*i>g<-r* were suffering
from hunger, the regulai dining car l>e
ing aid'- truck'tl st Mime -tiition. bbl
accordingly ordered her servant* to dis
tribute the provision* in h<*r private <*■
among the hungry -ngi r«. anil n
lievid their suffering’- until the next
elation waa reached, when they provided
th<*inM*lv<* with everything that the
town afforded
A Waahington <orn-*|M>ml<'iit remark*
that “pen-oiinl remark* arc usually out ol
order, but glancing from 'he re)K>rter»'
gallery of the Hom-e over the array of
tnrtnlM-r* erowilcil on tin- flaor, one < unuot
avoid lieing «uipriM-il by the pre|M>nder
ani-e of baldhead* that not only glisten
in the sunlight, but impress the cn-ual
olmrrver with tin- fai t that baldlieaded
ties* must Im 1 one of the inexorable pre
requisite* for mi-mIH-i-liip of the |a>pular
bram-h Tlii« <l< <nudement of capillary
on>um< iitntiou does not seem to be con
fined to any one aectioii or degree of lati
Hide, but is generally nml uniformly scat
tcred throughout the n-prcsentntivi-a fron
all part. <>f tin I nion, and without re
»pc< t <•( nge. In fact the old nt nu inben
<if the Houw . -ill h ns Judf.l- Kellev, I>OII.
ill 1814, ex Governor Curtin and General
W iiltoixl, bom in 1817, |*’sses* com para
lively full heads of hair, while inm l>
younger menilrcr* appear to have been sub
jected to the smul pa)M-ring process
The veterans account (or this by alleging
that in olden times they did not stand or
their head" no profusely s« ut present.
Lieutenant Grei-ly i. jHih ips the only
prominent Arvtii trim Iler who now nd
Value, tin theory advocated by Maury.
Kane, and Hay- that there is an <qs-i
polar sea Hi* faith in this gem-rally
di»cnrd<*d hypothesis rests rqion the fact
that !«■ we flis la-rgson which were large
aton<«, establishing their terrestrial origin.
From their (wahion he argues that tin y
could not have formed n part of tin
gla< in! icv cap of Greenland, ami In- Is
lu vc* they floated southward from an ie<-
covered li.ial near tin pole. He lulvnm -si
hrs vii «s on this subji 11 at s ( veral of the
public meeting* he recently addr* «eil in
Orest Britain, and strange to say, uoneof
the great Arctic authorities who wen
pn s, nt. ami who him steadily ridiculed
th-' action w|, , h l.nutenant Maury pro
pounded, attempted to ixnnbat Ijcuten
aal tin■ y -th. ■. , , , V p|*in the p 1..-
noim-na l>< ftesirilad. Dr John Rai.
however, h. - Sim t - i,| that Go,
ly’s fliatargs may him l-cen derived
fi-irii num* nwniass-e. of sta-w piling up
against ssMin high and pr< q ,t. us bit of
«*sa»t. wliich gradually Ih-siu- solid icv,
and then tsccoaimg deti'-hvj from tln
land drifted away aafrvsh wat rfioolx-rga
—a pn*-vs* w hich, he says, he has seen in
opt-ralijn on t!.» uotheru cxsct of tin*
continent.
A musical aewing machine is a new de*
vice for making life pleasant. A Berlin
inventor ha» prodiwvd a machine which
turns out the ordinary amount of work,
and at the snnie time play* lively melo
dies in great variety. One machine
might Im* charming in a house, but a
iiumla i in a shop might prod nee anything
but a harmony of sweet sounds, unleas
they were all set to the same tune.
In the eherni< al death chamber of un
claimed curs at Biithrsca, Ixmdon, the
dogs trot into the tempting room, “lie
down, coil themselves round and round,
fall asleep," and mi go to that bourne
whence no four footed traveller returns.
This hllial ikaml* r is filled with narcotic
v.qsir, produced by passing carbonic
oside over u surface of nmi -thetie mix
ture conqioscd of < hlorofonn and bisiil
phidc of < iirlnm.
Giianling Wall Street Wealth.
Thousands of peilcsiriaris move to and
fro past tb<* *l >< k i v< huiigi- and about
th< money cent' r of the city car h day, says
tin V> r y„rl. Hz/-/. Solid old finan
ciers, who*'* ch<*< k would be taken un
questioned lor a million, < rime and go.
Dapper clerks, who look like millionaires
on stc< n dollars u week . messenger boys
by the wore flit hither and thither with
hands full of bond* oi other securities
making deliveries according to contracts
aurl sales arranged on the exchange floor.
Bank agents, with small fortune* often
in the l upin ions jxirtinonnaic* strapped
to their waists, going to the clearing
house to make good the daily balances,
while every lew moment* cotnea the him
liering wagon pushed along the sidewalk
conveying the cash from Tncle Sam's
r ollectmg counter at th<* custom house to
I'ncle Sum'* strong vault Im*low the sub
treasury. <>n every side is wealth, yet
attempts at robbery an- very rare, ami
successful ventures at thievery acarect
still.
Tin* fin I is that every face passing
along Wall street I* *< untied. It is a
great place for seeming loafers ami loun
gers. Curbstom brokers have the sem
bianco of loungers. 4 lerks enjoy a cigar
ette on the sidewalk. So a lounger mon
or less is not noted. But all who appar
ently loaf about with little to do are not
loafers. They are sharp-eyed detectives,
to whom the face of every crixik in the
Country is known, and who are constant
ly on the lookout for those faces.
When Inspector Byrnes reorganized
tin* detective force of the city and made
it a real terror t * the criminal classes, he
paid piirticulnr attention to Wall street
and its neighborhood. He knew it offered
gn at temptation* to bold robber* of the
Dutch Heinrich tV|n-, who grab the
Ihioillc in a banker’* or broker’s office,
and then fight th' ir wav out and off.
The stock i*x< haflge readily grunted him
all the aci'ominodation he wished, and in
a very snug room in the exchange build
ing overlooking Wall street is the room
set apart for tho city detectives. It is
in fact, a bureau of the central office or
ganization, and it* establishment was one
o. tin* first step* taken by Inspector
Byrnes on assuming control of the ununi
formed men at headquarters, lie lame
quietly into tin- street, hired n room :i»
No. 17, but the fact of his presence soon
Ix'i zune known to tin* -to<k cxchiuigw
officers, and President Bratton Ivors at
once invitisl tin* inspector ami his men to
ix'cupy the room now in their possession.
The district geographically extend* from
Fulton str< 1 1 down to the Battery, and
alsmt a dozen nrn, on an average, cover
it, though nt times the force is much in
en-ased.
A Deton Green-Grocer.
The gn en grocer's wn* u roomy shop,
deliciously fragrant, redolent of
in rl-s und some -pices, mid presided over
by a good humored man and his wife,
who had a very distinct love of their call
ing. Mrs, It cultivating certain vegi -
tables in her strip of garden back of the
shop, and being the very first net-son in
town to display bunches of primroses or
have good “sea kale." Likewise to lie
obs, rved in Mr B was the difference
in his manner when you bought his [situ
toes or greens, and when, in his second
calling of waiter, lie handed you vour
soup or pudding at the small winter din
ner parties given in town. In the shop
he was affably di-iursive, touching the
onions or givens with a can-less hand and
fn-e, light hearted manuer. At a dinner
table h- was curiously solemn, and occa
sionally looked as though he defied any
one pn-s, ut to suggest that his name
hung our u shop in the High Street.
Th-- fact that In- sold you |H>tatoes for
twopem-e a pound was never to lie con
founded with the other mon' imposing
fait that for five shillings an evening, at
final in an inepma- liable costume, he
waited on M-lwt dinner parties mining the
smaller gentry of the place. When the
n-al spring Iw-gau to show itself, the little
grxvii gr-H-ery bail an inxehaustibh-fascin
ation for me. The ganl< n was so s|sinta
iicously gay and flourishing, am] it* one
bit of warm 'outhi-rn wall so early stood
hung with blossoms, and B and his
wife, moving about toward sunset among
the small garden lied* and modest vines,
Wi-rv atch pi. tun -of honest, home ly e-ui
, tent, that I waa always inclined to linger
after 1 mad. my ;un has. s, o U the
< veu~s cd making an inquiry into the con
ditiou of asjiaragus and l-.-Uuoe. —Ziiey
Lilin, in Hisrper't,
Walt fl»r Mo.
Baa ward run* tba Uttla atraam
Wbara th* wagnoar coob his team,
Wbara, between tba banka of moo,
Ktarxl the stepping atonaa to Croat
O «r them come* a llttla maid.
Laughing, not a bit afraid;
Mo'har, there upon the shore.
CruMud them safely ju*t before.
Tbt* the little laaale* plea -
Wait for me, wait for met
Ah, ao *wift the water* run—
One false step twas ail undone;
Little heart begin* to beat,
Fearing for the little feet,
Soon her fear w ill all be lost,
When the stepping stones are crossed,
Three more yet on which to stand—
Two more* one more—then on land!
Ti» the little laasie splea—
Wait for me, wait for me!
Ab, for you, my laughing las*,
When the year* have come to paw,
Muy One (till tie near to guide,
While you (tosh Life’* river w ide,
When no helping hand is near,
None, if you should call, to hear—
Think, however far away,
Mother still knows all you say;
E'en in heaven faessis your plea—
Wait for me, wait for me!
--O. C. Hinyhaen, in Washington News*
A Treasure Os the War.
BV AN EX-CONFEDERATE.
When Johnston was falling back before
Sherman’* advance through Northern
ileorgia, and before the conflicts at Lost
and Dine Mountains, I was continually
on tho front with a band of scouts. We
penetrated the Yankee line* time after
time, but always to return to headquarters
with the same report. Sherman had one
of the grandest armies in the world, and
he was in such strength that he could
tight Johnston in front and pass his
flanks at the same time.
Dm* day, when scouting between Mari
etta and Etowah River, the Federal cav
alry passed and cut off my retreat by the
highways, and for six or seven hours I
was obliged to secrete tnyself in a thicket.
It was in leaving this hiding place that
I came across a dog which was doubtless
owned in the near vicinity, but had been
frightened into the woods by the skir
mishing. He took to me kindly,and had
dogged my heels for half an hour when
he suddenly leaped aside and began paw
ing the ground at the foot of a large
beech. I halted for a moment and saw
that the earth was fresh as if a grave had
been dug. It was but natural to con
clude that some one' had been shot near
by and that his comrades had given him
burial.
L'jion closely examining the tree 1
found the fresh-cut-lines: “D. S. G.”
They were not where one would have
looked for them, but within three feet of
the ground. I hud no doubt whatever
that a dead man rested there, and I
picked up a dub and drove the dog away
under the impression that he was hungry
and determined to get at the body. I
succeeded after a couple of days in get
ting back into the Confederate lines, and
the incident did not recur to me for long
years.
One summer’s day in 1870, while I was
going from Rome to Cartersville, I formed
the acquaintance of a stranger who gave
| his name as Charles Gains, and who
claimed to be a Virginian. He said he
was looking for improved land, and had
been advised to locate near Marietta.
This story was straight enough, except
that 1 did not believe he was a Virginian.
He hadn't the look nor the dialect, and
when I came to quiz him about certain
locations around Richmond he soon be
came confused.
1 was then a detective in the employ of
several railroad lines, and it was only
natural for me to ask myself why this man
had lied to me. I took pains to let him
know that I was willing to answer all his
questions, and directly he began asking
aliout the section of country between
Marietta mid the Etowah. He wanted
to know the value of land; if much forest
had been cleared since the war; if there
had been any finds of treasure around
Marietta, and various other things. He
worked the answers out of tne without
seeming to be mon- than generally inter
ested, and w hile I was somehow suspic
ious of him. could not exactly determine
on what to place my finger. But he had
lied. Why? I kept asking myself this
question, but could not answer it.
He had a ticket to Cartersville, and be
foie we rea< hi d that place I had made up
my mind to go with him to Marietta.
What decided me was this: He sat on
the outside of the seat and a passenger
going to the water-cooler knocked his
hat off It rested for a moment in the
aisle, and I plainly road the name -'Bos
ton" inside in gilt letters. The name of
tho maker was above it, but I could not
catch it. No hat sold in Richmond
would lu ai the urnue of Boston. Where
did he get it? By and by 1 made a care
ful examination of his boots. He never
bought them south of the Ohio. I de
cided the same in regard to his clothing.
He was trying to diveive me. What ob
ject could he have in view ?
When we reached Marietta both of us
went to the same hotel. I thought he
began to tight shy of me and I took pains
to keep out of his way. During the
evening he asked several townspeople in
, regard to the country north of Marietta,
and engaged of a livery man a saddle
horse for the nest day. I did a heap of
thinking that night over the stranger’s
case, but when morning came I was none
the wiser for it. Hi* horse was brought
aroumi after breakfast and be rode off. I
was tempted to get another and follow
him, but by what right? What had he
done or what was he going to do? I
went up to my room on an errand, not yet
decided whether to go or stay, and in the
hallway my foot struck a memorandum
book. I carried it into my room, and the
first thing my eye caught was the name
inside the cover, “George Paige.” It was
a well-worn liook, and nearly full of en
tries. Most of them seemed to relate to
trips between Boston and Providence,
but near the back end I found on-. read
ing:
“Abput ten miles north of Marietta,
Ga.; turn to right where highway bends
to left; go into woods alzout ten rods;
look for twin beech tree, w*ith initials ‘D.
8. G.’ cut low down.’’
My heart gave a jump. That was the
spot where the Yankee cavalry run me
into hiding, and these were the initials I
had seen on the tree! Had this stranger
come down to unearth a skeleton? I was
wondering over the matter when I heard
the clatter of hoofs and knew that he had
returned. He hail discovered the loss of
his book. Now, then, I did what you
may call a mean trick. I pocketed the
book, got down stairs without being seen,
and went to the nearest Justice and de
manded a warrant for the arrest of George
Paige for robbery. Before he had ceased
looking for his lost memorandum a con
stable made him prisoner. Meanwhile I
had engaged a horse and wagon, bor
rowed an empty tea-chest and a spade,
and, as Paige went to jail, I drove out of
town. I wanted to unearth that skeleton
myself.
It was six years since I had left it, but
I had but little difficulty in finding the
grave, although the beech tree had been
cut down. Indeed, I walked almost
straight to it, and, though the initials
wore indistinct, they were there as wit
nesses. In half an hour I had unearthed
the “corpse." He, or it, consisted of a
rotten coffee-sack wrapped around a
moldy blue blouse, and inside the blouse
were three gold watches, $420 in gold,
$1,203 in greenbacks, half a dozen gold
rings, a fine diamond pin, two gold
bracelets, a gold-lined cup, a full set of
cameo jewelry, a solid silver back comb,
and abont four pounds of silver spoons
and forks, the whole find being worth to
me nearly SB,OOO.
The stuff had been deposited there by
two or three or perhaps half a dozen fora
gers, and much of it had been stolen
from the dead on the battle fields.
When the treasure had been secured I
drove on to Cartersville, and from thence
sent the horse back and telegraphed to
Paige my regrets at his situation, as I
had discovered my mistake in accusing
him. He was held a day or two and
discharged. He rode out to the spot,
found the treasure gone, and left the
State without a word as to what his real
errand hail been.—Detroit Free Press.
Genius of the Mexican People.
The Mexican government, poor as you
call it, nevertheless supports 10,000 pub
lic schools, where you can see the poor
Indian boy with his slate and primer, as
well as the young man or young woman,
solving problems in mathematics, chem
istry, etc., with facilities equal to many
colleges in the United States.
If you pass through the Academy of !
San Carlos you will see pictures executed
by native Mexican artists in the highest
style of art, comparing most favorably
with any production of the academies
of design of Paris, Rome, Munich, or
elsewhere.
Go with me, if you please, to a narrow
lane in the small but picturesque city of
Guernavaca. and there in a small room,
working with inipliments of his own
make, you will observe a native, whom
you would perhaps class among the peons,
carving a crucifix in wood, so highly ar
tistic, with the expression of suffering on
our face so realistic that any
foreign sculptor of the highest renown
would be proud to call it a creation of
his own.
Again, visit with me the village of
Amatlan de los Reyes, near Cordoba, and
observe the exquisitely embroidered hui
pilla of some native woman, surpassing
in many respects the designs of the art
needlework societies of New Y’ork or
Boston—not to mention the fine filagree
work, figures in clay and wax. as exe
cutes! by the natives in or near the city
of Mexico, the art of pottery of Guada
lajara, the gourds, calabashes, anti
wooden trays highly embellished by na
tive artists whose sense or acceptation of
art is not acquired by tedious study at
some academy of design, but is inborn
and spontaneously expressed in such*
creations.
Only yesterday, in my walks about
town. I entered the National Monte de
Piedad, where I heard the sweetest and
most melodious -trains from agrand pianc
of American make, and beheld, to my
i astonishment, that the artist was a na-
I live, a cargador, or public porter, clad
in cheap sombrero, blouse, white cotton
trousers, and sandals, with his brass plat.
| and rope across his shoulders, ready to
carry this very instrument on his back tc
i the residence of some better-favored
■ brother from a foreign land,— Mexican
\ Financier.
CELESTIAL_ HUMOR.
Some Illustrations of Chinese
Wit and Fun.
Stories With a Familiar Ring, and Others
With an Oriental Flavor.
The China review publishes a collec
tion of Chinese humorous anecdotes, se
lected from the “Hsiao Lin Kuang,” or
“Book of Laughter," some of which are
interesting because they are identical
with stories familiar to western civiliza
tion, while others have a peculiarly Celes-.
tial accent:
Two persons standing over a stove on a
cold day, warming themselves, were over
heard indulging in the following dialogue :
No. 1, apathetic, and given to verbiage,
addressed No. 2. reputedly hot-tempered
and decisive, whose clothes he noticed
smoldering, as follows: "My dear friend,
there is something I would like to speak
to you about; I have seen it for some
time, and all along have wanted to tell
you, but as people say your temper is
fiery, I hesitated; on the other hand, if I
do not speak you may be the loser, so I
have come to the conclusion at last to ask
your jiermission to do so." “Out with
it,” said the other. “Well, your clothes
are burning,” mildly continued No. 1.
“Why the deuce,” cried No. 2 in a pas
sion, as he observed considerable damage
already done, “could you not speak at
once?” “Its true then what people say;
what temper he has got,” muttered No. 1,
as he lazily moved off.
The following is told of an incorrigibly
idle offspring of a literary father: A
youngster, having a great disinclination
to study, was shut up in a closet, w.th
strict injunctions to apply himself. Steal
ing near, the parent, to his delight, heard
the boy droning over his book, and was
presently stiM more pleased by hearing
the supposed student exclaim: “I un
derstand it.” The excited father rushed
in, crying out, “I am proud, my son, that
you have at last mastered that work.”
“Yes,” said the boy, “I always though*
books were written, but to-day I have
discovered they are printed.”
“Come home to dinner,” cried a good
housewife to her husband at work in a
field. “All right,” he shouted, “as soon
as I have hid my hoe.” At dinner his
wife remonstrated with him for shouting
so loudly about hiding his hoe. “I am
certain,” said she, “the neighbors have
heard you, and someone has already stol
en it.” Struck with the remark, the man
returned to the field, and sure enough the
hoe was gone. On returning to his house,
and impressed with the wisdom of her
previous caution, he whispered into his
wife’s ear, “The hoe is stolen.”
The following impromptu, though con
sequent on a fall, can not be looked on as
the outcome of deficient understanding.
A man stumbled and fell. Trying to
rise, he again fell. “Hang it,” he Criedz
“if I had known I was to fall again, I
would not have tried to get up.”
A woman was fanning the corpse of her
husband, and being asked by the neigh
bors why she fanned a dead man in the
middle of winter, she replied : “My hus
band’s last words were, ‘Wife wait till I
am cold before you marry again.’ ”
The feminine propensity for concealing
age, and resenting impertinent questions
in regard to it, is common to all times
and nationalities; but this does not de
tract from our admiration of the trick by
which the truth was got at in the follow
ing instance: A man newly married,
thought when his wife unveiled for the
first time, that she looked rather old and
wrinkled. Telling her so, he asked her
i real age, when she replied, “45 or 4G.”
“You xvrote in the marriage contract 38
veal's, ' said he, “but you look even more
than 45 or 4G.” At last she admitted 54.
The husband was still doubtful; so he be
thought himself of a stratagem for get
ting at the truth. Jumping up he said.
“I must cover up the salt before going to
bed, or else the rats will eat it all before
morning.” “Well,” said his wife, laugh
ing, “I have heard of and seen many
strange things in the sixty-eight years of
my life; but I never saw or heard of rats
eating salt before.”
A noted liar once told a friend that he
had at home three precious things; a bul
lock which could run one thousand li a
day; a fowl which crowed at the begin
ning of each watch, day and night, and a
dog that could read books. The friend
intimated that he would lose no time in
seeing, with his own eyes, these marvels.
The man did not expect this, as his
house was somewhat distant; so he went
home and told his wife that he had got
caught at last, and that to-morrow the
man would arrive and he would be dis
graced. “Never mind,” said his spouse
► --leave that to me; it will be all right’;
only you must keep out of sight.” Next
morning the visitor arrived, and, bein<-
met by the mistress, asked where her
husband was. “He has gone to Pekin,”
she replied. “When will he be back ?”
“In eight or nine days.” “Why, how
can hf be so quick?” He has gone off on
our fast bullock, and can do it easily.”
"I hear you have also a wonderful fowl,”
said the visitor, and, behold, as he was
speaking, a small cock crew. “That’s
it, said the wife, “he crows at the be
ginning of each watch, and also when a
visitor arrives.” -I would also like
sec your learned dog," he said. “Ah «
said she, “I am sorry; but you see we ttre
very poor; so he keep* a school in t) le
city.”
A doctor opened a drug store, but for
a long time had no customers; at la»t
one customer came. When supplying hi*
wants, the vender observed that the drug
was full of weevils. “What is thiCi
said the buyer. “Kiang tsan" (me<iici
nal larva-), replied the doctor. “But,"
said the man, “Kiang tsan are alwuy*
dead. ”“Yes,” said the doctor, "but you
see they could not remain dead after eat
ing my medicine.”
A barber shaving a customer’s heafi
drew blood, and put one of his fingers on
it. Again he made a cut, and put dow n
another finger und soon till he had no
more fingers free. “Ah,” said he, as he
paused in his work, “a barber's is a diffi
cult trade, we ought to have a thousand
fingers.”
How the Shah of Persia Lives.
The Shah leads a very simple life, says
a Teheran letter to the London
He is an early riser, and generally an
hour or two after sunrise emerges from
the inner apartments, has a walk in the
garden, and then receives some Minister*
in audience. He is occupied with affairs
of State till about noon. He then par
takes of his midday meal, eating firugallv
and generally of one dish only.
takes no wine with his meals, although
he has the permission of his medical ad
visers to drink it. After the midday
meal he retires for an hour or two to tho
inner apartments. Very frequently, too
he has this meal in the women’s apart
ments. He comes out again for three vr
four hours in the afternoon and eveninv.
Very often he goes out shooting, and
then leaves early in the morning and re
turns in the evening, having thorougidy
tired all his men and animals. In hit
leisure hours he likes to read the favorite
Persian poets and historical works and
books on science and art; he also occa
sionally writes poetry, which his own
people tell him is superior to that of
Hafiz. The unbiased critic can only say
that the Shah’s poetry is above mediocri
ty. In spite of his having been twice in
Europe, where he saw much of the wavs
of Kings and Emperors, he has not yet,
in Persia, sat down to a meal with any
one else, has not yet attended any State
dinner, and does not, as a rule, return a
salute. His vices are few, his virtues and
good qualities ma-ny; although we may
say that he is one of the most sensible
men in his dominions, and the best ruler
Persia has had for over a century. That
he has not done as much for the country
as it was hoped he would do is not entire
ly his own fault, as 1 may show in future
letters.
An Exile’s Hold on Savages.
There is a tale told of a sea captain,
who, in a distant corner of the southern
seas, visited an undiscovered or unex
plored group of beautiful islands. After
landing and trading with the gentle na
tives, he was astonished by the visit of a
white man, evidently a person of mean*
and consequence, who, after making
himself very agreeable, implored the cap
tain to give him a story-book, if he had
such a thing in his possession. The cap
tain had, and, deeply touched by the
pigs and cocoa-nuts which the white ex
ile had given him, bestowed on him a
copy of the “Arabian Nights’ Entertain
ments.” Overcome by the present, tho
exile burst into tears, and cried; “You
have saved my life, and given me rank
and wealth.” On explanation, he said:
“I should long ago have been eaten, but
while they were fattening me I learned
enough of their language to tell a child
the story of “Little Red Ridinghood,”
The child repeated it, and the whole
population were mad with joy. They
had never heard a story before. From
that day I became great a and honored
man. When they had a national festival
I sat on top of a hill, and thousands wept
(while some elderly relative was being
cooked for a feast) at the cruel death ol
the grandmother as caused by the wicked
wolf. I had with me a volume of 'Fairy
Tales,’ and I soon began to set a price oft
my performances. ‘Red Ridinghood’ is
rather worn; I only get a hundred cocoa
nuts for her now; but’ ‘Cinderella’ is still
good for four pigs and a turtle, and
‘Beauty and the Beast’ brings six or sev
en, according the quality. But with the
‘Arabian Nights’ 1 shall be able to go or
accumulating pork to the end of my
days.”
A Street Car nt Sea.
There is a lawyer in Boston who is in
the habit at times of addressing individ
ual jurymen when inattentive or restless,
and sometimes his argumentem ad homi
nem is affective. Some time ago he wai
trying a case against a street railway
company, and there was an old sailor on the
jury who seemed to give no heed to what
either counsel said. The lawyer made
his most eloquent appeals, but all in v.iin.
Finally he stopped in front of the su'd r
and said: “Mr. Juryman. I will tell y-»u
just how it happened. The plantiff was
in command of the outward-bound on n
car, and stood in her starboard channels.
Along came the inward-bound close car
and just as their bows met she jumped
the track, sheered to port, and knock’d
the plaintiff off and ran over him.” The
sailor was all attention after this version
of the affair, and joined in a $5,000
diet for the injured man.