Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, March 06, 1889, Image 1
lewis m. grist, proprietor. | gin Jndcpcndcnt Jamili) ;|tricspapcr: Jbr the fromotioit of the ?oltiicaI, JSotial, gigruuliural and (Commcrtiat Jnttrcsts of thf js>outh. j terms?$2.00 a year in advance. i
~VOL. 35. YOEKYILLE, S. C., WEDNESDAY,' MARCH 6, 1889. 3STO. 10. I
' ^ ** * I ' .... ? ? ? f Pop tlii? Ynflrvilla Pnnnirpp 9
JONATHAN AND
BY MAX O'REKL A
Translated by Mme. Paul Blouet. Copy
We Publish the Following Extrac
rangement through the Am
Paul Blouet (Max O'Rell) is a remarkably <
ents mostly to satirizing the Anglo-Saxon race,
of "John Bull and His Island," "John B
duction, the material for 1: being gathered di
CHAPTER XXXVI
The Americans have suppressed distances
by bringing railway trains to perfection.
Too take the cars after dinner to go a two
or three hundred miles journey. You pass
' an hour or so in the smoking room, you go to
your berth, sleep the night through, and by
the time you awoke you are at your journey's
end.
In point of comfort, the American trains
are to the French and English trains what
these latter are to the stage coach of bygone
-n days.
'* Nothing can surpass the comfort and
luxury of the Pullman cars, unless it be the
perfected Pullman that is called the vestibule
train. Six or seven carriages, connecting
one with another, allow of your moving
about freely over a length of some hundred
yards. Dining room, sleeping car, drawing
room car, smoking room, library, bath room,
lavatory, the whole fitted up in .the most
luxurious style. What can one desire more?
It is a hotel on wheels.
' There are windows and ventilators, but if
^ yon open your window, you will see your fellow
travelers turn up their ooat collars and
get down their shawls and furs, and you will
hear energetic grumblings, which will give
you to understand that you are turning yourself
into a public calamity. The Americans
are shivery people, stewing themselves in a
bain-marie.
Here, as well as in the hotels and in oil conditions
of American life, you are at the mercy
of servants. There is no remedy at hand, no
appeal against it
. In America you are suppo6od to know everything,
and no one will help you unless you
should happen to address yourself to well
bred peopla
If you ask a passer-by in the street the nearest
way to the station, he~Wa!ks as though he
understood you not The word "station" is
English, bat here you must talk American,
and |ay depot pronounced deepo. The inva'
riable answer you get to the questions yon
ask In the street is, "I don't know." They
are all like Joe, "they dont know nothink."
, When a railway servant has succeeded in
insulting you, he is quite proud, and plumes
hlm?ilf on his smartness; he looks at his
mates and seems to say: "Did you hear how
I spoke np to him!" He would be afraid of
lowering himself by being polite. In his eyes
politeness is a form of servility, and he
imagines that, by being rude to well bred people,
be puts himself on a footing with them.
You go to a railway ticket office to book
for a certain place. Perhaps there are several
lines of railway running to your destination.
The clerk says, without locking at you, and
at the rate of a thousand words a minute:
"What line! B. and 0., or S. P. and W.
R. R., or 8. T. L. and C. f"
MJ want a ticket for Chicago."
"I ask whether you wish to go by the"
Here he once more repeats various parts of
the alphabet, casting a look of pity at you
the while. Do not believe he will translate
his A B C D's into English. It is your place
to understand them.
Do not lose your temper, however; that
never pays in America. The natives would
w- "Stfly enjoy tt Take the matter laughingly.
Ttisis the advice the Americans gave me,
and I recommend it to you, if ever you are
similarly placed.
I was having a siesta one day in one of the
comfortable arm chairs of a drawing room
car, when the conductor came along and,
giving me a formidable thump, cried out in
the most savage tone:
"Your ticket!" ' '
I made baste to oblige him and to offer
apologies.
"1 trust I have not kept you waiting,"
said 1
He went away quite crestfallen.
Another day, I was in a New York local
train. Tb" j trains nave not drawing room
k cars with smoking room attached. Neither
first, second nor third class; all the carriages
are alike. I addressed the conductor, asking
him where I should find the smokinv com
partmont. In reply be murmured a few unintelligible
words between his teoth. In my
humblest, sweetest accents, I said:
"Excuse me, I did not hear."
He shouted at me at the top of his voice:
"Be-hind-the-lo-co-mo-tive! do you hear
this timer*
My first impulse was to knock him down.
But I bethought myself of the advice that
had been given me, and answered with a smile:
"Yes, I heard. I beg a thousand pardons.
You are really too polite."
A popular American actress was dining one
evening in the dining car of a train going
from Boston to New York. Being alone, she
ate slowly, and delicately dawdled over the
meal to kill time The waiter, displeased' at
the audacity of such conduct, stood about
within hearing, and began making the rudest
remarks on her proceedings.
When she had quite finished her dinner,
and he came to removo the dishes, the actress
wrote a few words upon one of her cards, and,
hanging it to him with a sweet smile, she said:
"Here is my card; if you hand it in at the
Opera house to-morrow evening you will be
provided with a stall I regret exceedingly
that it is not in my power to offer you a box
?it is such a treat to meet with a polite rail
way servant I" ,
The names of the stations are hidden. Do
not hope that the conductor will clear up the
mystery.
The train had just stopped a few leagues
from Richmond one day.
"What station is this?" asked a traveler,
addressing the conductor.
\ This individual simply shrugged his shoulders
and turned his back.
I happened to be close to him.
"What inquisitive people there are, to be
I sure!" 1 said to him.
' To an Irritable person, the rudeness of the
railway and'hotel servants would be enough
to spoil all the pleasure of a visit to America.
But the Americans themselves are good tempered
and pay no attention to these things.
I know some who even get a certain amount
of amusement therefrom.
The negro who makes your bed is more
polite, but bis politeness is not disinterested.
A few moments before the arrival of the
train at your destination, ho brushes you
? down and receives the invariable 25 cents
for bis trouble. These negroes, independently
r of the salary paid them by the company they
' work for, make sometimes from $10 to $12 a
day In this way, say from $2,500 to $3,000 a
* year. How
many a white would turn black for
less!
Returning to Jacksonville from St Augustine,
I omitted to engage my place in a parlor
car, and was obliged to find a seat in the ordinary
cars. The evil was not great, seeing i
that the journey takes but fifty minutes.
Besides the parlor cars, the train comprised
throe cars, two of which were almost full
I Installed myself in the third, which was
empty
Up comes the conductor.
"Come oot, you cant travel in that car,"
he said. '
"Why notr I asked,
"Because It is the colored people's car."
"Am I not as good as they?"
t "I tell you you cant travel in this car."
"I am sorry, for once, that I am not colored,"
I said to him; "it is much the cleanest
of your carriages."
I went to the end of the last car, and found
? myself just in front of the apple, banana,
' jujube, cap and book store.
From my seat 1 was able to contemplate
( the wondrous activity of the commercial
gentleman at the head of this department.
During the whole fifty minutes' ride he kept
up an unceasing going and coming.
t t When his last tour of the train had been
^ made, he put by all the merchandise which
he bad not sold, took off his uniform, put on
b i '
HIS CONTINENT.
ND JACK ALLYN.
righted by Cassell & Co., New York,
ts from this Book by Special Arerican
Press Association.
clever Frenchman, who has devoted his talHe
has become widely known as the author
ull, Jr.,*' Etc. This book is his latest proving
his recent visit to America.
a black coat and hat, and fastened into his
cravat a hugo diamond pin. I looked on at
the rapid metamorphosis with great interest
When his toilet was completed, he turned
round, and, seeing that 1 was looking at him,
he threw me a patronizing glance, eyeing me I
from head to foot I thought he was about
to say:
"What is it you wantf1
"Well, business is looking up, ehf I hazarded.
"Mind your own d business," he replied,
and, turning on his heels, ho deported.
CHAPTER XXXVIL
Jonathan's servants all appear to me to be
reduced duchesses and noblemen in livery.
When you speak to a man servant, before
answering you he scans you from head to
foot and seems to say: "Who may you bef
Bo careful how you talk to ma We are a
free uation, sir: all equals here, and I am as
good as you."
And you feel inclined to say to him: \
"I congratulate you, young man, upon living
in a free country; but since we are all
equals here, and I am civil to you, why on
earth cannot you be civil to me?"
The fellow is lacking in logic.
The maimer of the maid servant is different;
she wears a look of contempt and profound
disgust; she seems to say with a sigh:
"How can men be such brutes as to allow
women to work? What despicable creatures
they are, to be surel"
To get an idea qf the prodigious labor undertaken
by an American servant girl, one
has but to see her at work doing a room,
feather broom in hand.
A day or two after this remarkable manner
of dusting had attracted my attention, I
?Pnll/vonnM (n Pnn1r<
CtUUO IW7 ivuv/rnug ftu * uva.
Sarah Is doing the drawing room. Enters
the mistress of the house, evidently fearing
to be choked by the cloud of dust that fills
the room.
"Sarah, what are you doing!"
"I'm dustin' the room."
"I see. When you've finished, please to
undust it."
Servants' wages range from $200 to $500 a
year?1 mean, of course, in good ordinary
houses, and not in millionaire's mansions.
Mr. C. Vanderbilt pays his chief cook ten
thousand dollars. I write the sum in letters
that the reader may not exclaim; "Surely
there is a misprint here; the print r has put
one nought too many."
In spite of the enormously high wages they
pay, the Americans have so much trouble in
getting good servants, that numbers of them
are, so to speak, driven from their homes and
obliged to take refuge in hotels and apart
ment houses.
Negro ones are the only ones at all deferential
in manner, or who have a smile on their
faces from lime to time; but many peoplo i
have an objection to them, and charge them
with serious faults, such as finding things
which are not lost, and breaking the monotony
of life by dressing up in their employers'
raiment when occasion offers.
An American of my acquaintance, upon
going to his room one evening to .drees for a
dinner party, found his dress coat and waistcoat
missing from the wardrobe. Guessing
their whereabouts, he went upstairs, and
there, in his negro butler's room, were the
missing garments.
He rang tor the culprit
"Pompey," he said, "I have found my
dress clothes in your room. What is the
meaning of it!"
"I forgot to put dem back, sah."
"You have had them on, you rascal"
"Yes, sah."
"How dare you wear my clothes?"
"Please, massa, I got married yesterday,"
and the broad black face of Pompey was lit
up with a rather sheepish looking grin.
All the caricatures of the comic papers are
outdone by realities in America.
I know a lady who, losing her patience
with her housemaid one day, said to her:
"I expect my servants to do so and so."
"Your what?" cried the indignant damsel
"I'll just tell you what 1 tfcink of you.
You ain't no lady, that's certain."
Here are two advertisements which I extract
from an Indianapolis paper:
"Situation as dish washer required by a
lady. Apply Sentinel office."
"A lady (white) undertakes washing at
home." (Address follows.)
Democracy, can no further go.
"1 take care xk ver to part on bad terms
with my servant! when they leave ma" This
was said to me one day by a clever Boston
lady, who, to my thinking, lacks sufficient
admiration for the democratic institutions of
America.
I gu^sed that she intended a covert satire
on the greatest republic in the world.
"Why?" I demanded.
"Because, when one of those girls leaves me,
it is quite within the range of possibility that
she will marry some western ranchman, and
one day. when her husband becomes a senator,
she may be useful to me at Washington."
CHAPTER XXXVIIL
The great mass of the American people livo
on tough meat uncooked and iced water unfiltered.
I take it for granted that sheep and cattle
are born at as tender an age in America as
elsewhere, but the society for the protection
of animals probably prevents their being
lrtlln/1 f/\M f/xyvrl ntklln f Kott o rn rftttnff onnncrh
CVLUCU iWI IUVU tuup l>UCjr (UD j wuti^ vuvu^u
to enjoy life, and so the patriarchs alone are
reserved for the table
That which renders the problem of dining
almost past solving is that the meat has to be
attacked with plated knives which tear but
do not cut it 1 suppose that, as half the
lower class Americans still eat with their
knives, it was necessary to abandon the idea
of hfcving steel knives for fear of their accidentally
gashing their faces. If sharp steel
knives were in general uso in America the
streets would bo full of people with faces
scarred and seamed like those of the Heidelberg
students.
The Americans drink little else but water
at table, and one cannot help wondering how
it is that tho filter seems to be an almost unknown
institution in tho land. Leave your
glass of water untouched on the table, and
in a few moments a thick sediment of mud or
sand will be visible at tho bottom of it
Down south it is worse still.
At Jacksonville I was waited upon at table
| by an extremely obliging negro.
One day ho brought me some water, put ice
in it, and discreetly withdrew behind my
chair.
I took up the glass and minutely inspected
its contents.
"EpaminondasI" I cri'xl.
"Dat's not my name, sah; I'm called
Charles."
"Charles, look at this water; there is a
snake in it"
Charles took tho glass, looked in it, and
then, with a reassuring grin, announced:
"It's dead, sah."
"That is comforting," said I, "but it may
have left eggs, which will come to life by
thousands insido me."
Charles was facetious, and was not to be
put out of countenance for such a trifle. He
took up the glass again, re-examined it, and
replaced it on the table.
"Dere's no danger, sah; it's a male," he
said.
In almost all hotels south of Washington
the waiters are colored men. The service is
but poor. Tho negroes aro slow?it is tho
guests who do tho "waiting."
At Delmonjpo's especially, and in the principal
hotels of New York, Boston, Philadelphia
and Washington you can dine admirably.
In tho smaller towns you must be content
with feeding.
But let us take our seats at the ttxblr'
A
of tho best hotel In any second rate town that
you please in Pennsylvania, Ohio, Indiana, or ct
some other state of tho Union. tt
No printed menu. A young woman, with fl(
an elaborate coiffure of curls, rolls and bangs, n<
but no cap, approaches, darts a look of con- aj
tempt at you and, turning her back upon fa
you, gabbles off in one breath: gi
"Croutaupoturbotshrimpsauceroastbecftur- p,
keycranberrysaucepotatoestomatoesappletart re
mincepievanillacream." tc
Do not attempt to stop her; she is wound
up, and wh m she is started is bound to go to
tho end. You must not hopo that she will 0i
repeat tho menu a second time either. If you ir
did not hear, so much the worse for you. tc
Unfortunately tho consequences aro grave; 01
it is not one dish that you miss?it is the st
whole dinner. You are obligod to order all
your repast at once, and the wholo is brought fc
you, from soup to cheese, at one time. tt
I was so III inspired one day as to order in
some soup to begin with. The waitress re- tl
fused downright to bring me anything more, w
"" "That is all you ordered," she said to me. &
"You do not suppose 1 can make twenty cl
journeys to the kitchen for you." n
I rose and sought the hotel keeper. I made ri
the humblest apologies, pleaded that I was a ir
foreigner who had only been in America a d
fortnight, and was not yet accustomed to the
habits of the Americana I promised solemnly
never to transgress again in this way. Mine st
host went to the young person who was at tl
the head of the battalion of harpies in the l>
Hinlrig room, and interceded for mo with her. oi
I had the happiness of being forgiven, and tl
was allowed to appease my hunger. d
From that day forward, as soon as one of it
these witching damsels began her incantation, a
I cried out: t<
"Hold! Enough! Bring it all in."
Then I would eat the least distasteful of the ft
messes and leave the rest. 1 can assure you i
the hotel did not make much profit out of me. a
This is how the dinner is served: a
The "duchess" begins by flinging a spoon 1<
and knife and fork down on the table in front b
of you. It is for you to set them straight,
and I would advise you to do so without any si
murmuring. When you have taken your d
soup, the said "duchess" brings you a plate, a
around which she places a dozen little oval
dishes in a symmetrical fashion that one can D
but admire. n
The first little dish contains fish and a tea
. I.
spoonful of sauce of some kind. It is need- "
less to inquire the name of this sauce. All v
the fish sauces are the same; only the name '
varies. The second apparently contains a ^
little lump of raw beef; the third a slice of v
roast turkey; the fourth mashed potatoes; E
the fifth a stowed tomato; the sixth cran- a
berry sauce; the seventh chicken salad; the E
eighth some rice pudding, and the last con- 8
tains (horribile dictul) a slice of apple tart, 1
with a large helping of cheese in the middle
of it These two things are eaten together 8
and are consequently served on the same 1
High 1
You begin at the left The first presents J
no obstacles but its bones and is soon disposed
of. You turn your attention to the next t
High on the right and attack the beef. It is t
impregnable, you can make no impression t
upon it You pass. The turkey is not obdu- i
rate and you fall to on that, makin^little s
raids on the potatoes, tomatoes and cranberry *
sauce between each mouthful. Thanks to f
the many climates of America (the thermom- *
eter varies in winter from 75 above zero in f
the south to 45 below in the north), you have t
turkey and cranberry sauce all the winter, b
strawberries six months of the year and tomatoes
all the year round. a
Oh, the turkey and cranberry sauce# I r
ate enough of that dish to satisfy me for the f
rest of my days. No more turkey and cran- '
berry sauce for me, though 1 should livo to a
be a hundred 1 Ji
Of course all the meats, placed around <
your plate, soon begin to cool, and you have e<
oo choico but to bolt-yoct- food, diving with- hi
knife and fork into the little dishes right and pb
left as dexterously as you cam bit
Finally you come to the apple tart on the tir
extreme right. You carefully lift the cheese ha
and. placing it aside, prepare to eat your sir
sweets without this strange seasoning. Un- ad
happily the pastry has become impregnated! "g
with an odor of roquefort, and again yovl ch
pass. A vanilla cream terminates your re mi
past hi)
Having disposed of this, you ask yourse F1
why, in a free country, you may not hat th
your various courses served one after t> foi
other; whv vou must bolt vour food ad te)
bring on indigestion; and above all why to gli
manager of the hotel, in his own interest oa irr
man of business, does not before all else stiy '
the comfort of his customers. The answc is ra
not difficult to find. It is tho well bug th
of the "duchess," and not that of the trrel- va
era, that ho devotes his' attention to stdy- by
ing. The traveler is obliged to come t his trc
bouse, and he can treat him anyhow. His gl;
"helps" will only consent to stay withiim, th
on condition he gives them heavy wagtand hii
light duties. He has no choice but to s'mit
to his servants or to close his hotel. The lu:
Americans, free though they may be jlitic- ev
ally, are at the mercy of their serants, sec
whether in public or private life. Th' kind
of tyranny is hateful. To throw oit tl yoke to
of the superior classes Is very well; bi 1 am do
not aware that tho yoke of the comnn peo- Y<
pie is at all preferable. John Bull comands In
all his paid servants. Jonathan obejhis. yo
Thus, in the hotels of America aside of ca
the largo cities, with the rarest erptions, im
the dinner is served from 1 o'clocko 3, the on
tea-supper from 0 to 8. You happ to ar- rk
rive at half past 3, tired out and fnishing. sec
You hope to be able to obtain a pd meal A1
without delay. Illusion! You ust wait roi
until the dining room door is o;ned, and m;
pass two hours and a half in wrchedness. ev
How often have 1 entreatted, mploredl an
"Could you not get a chop cookedor me, or wl
an omelet, or something? If thais impos- to:
sible, for mercy's sake give mo a ico of cold see
'' Pifii-nrc nr>H ciinnlirntis were Jin
availing. Occasionally a lanord would A)
express bis regrets and make e.Mses for his
inability to oblige me; but far tener 1 got at
no kind of response at alb Od or twice I inj
tried making a tempest, withit any more '
success. Another timo I tri politeness, m;
"Excuse me," I said, "if I anntroding. I wi
hope that by putting up at yoi hotel I shall 1
not be too much in your w* I have not nij
the honor to bo a citizen of o greatest re- thi
public in tlio world, but & only a poor 1
European who does not knqsKLUT ways. In "y
future I will take caref il pnautions. But mc
this time, and just for once, should bo so
much obliged for something > eat 1 should gr
be distressed to occasior anyierangement in slo
your household, but just for once, only Nc
once." no
Sheer waste of breatl Ho hotel is as it is;
you may use it or staywa;. op
The Americans are elite ight to study the an
comfort of their servats, hit the well being on
of one class should no'-xistat tho cost of the on
well being of anotho and tho people who tin
travel are as interests asthoso who servo at in.tabla
lig
Tyranny from aire is a sore; tyranny hii
from below is a pestnee. ey
CHAPT.b XXXIX. Jo
Hotels are one of ie Strongest attractions fn
in America to Africans, especially tho m<
ladies. an
When we Europes travel, wo alight at a su
hotel, because it is ipossible that wo should to
have a pitching jco of our own in each b1'
town wo visit, or fends able to receive us;
in other words, w;o to tho hotel, because mi
we cannot help it. When we leave our good
1 4-oKl/i onrnt, nut cor* tVin wnrlH n
little, wo say to otelves: "The worst of it is l'u
that wo shall hav?o livo in hotels perhaps
for a month or tw but, after all, it cannot ^
bo helped, wo mu-'pi't up with hotels sinco uc
we bnvo uiado ujur minds to seo Switzer- ^
land, or Scotlandr Italy." Our object in
traveling is to seeow countries, mako pleasant
excursions, cib mountains, etc., and to
attain that objecve must use the hotels as a ^
convenience, as tfd necessity. 118
In Europe, thcPtcl is a means to an end. ^ri
In America, it the end.
People travel undreds, nay thousands of ^
miles .for the plcure of putting up at certain
; hotpfk Listen ttlieir conversation and you bU
wifl lind that itminly turns, not upon the tu
fhP views theyflvo discovered, or the ex- 60
ctusions and \uls they have enjoyed, but
up'n the respct-Vo merits of the various ^
?s they hav ^ut up at. Hotels are for
what catflrals, monuments and the 011
In Febrilary, 1SSS, I went to soo the Amerims
take their pleasure in Florida. During
le months of January, February and March
scks of society people from the towns in the
irth go to Florida where the sun is warm
id the orange trees are in full beauty of
uit nnd flower. Jacksonville and St Auistine
are in winter what Saratoga, Newart
and Long Branch are in summer, the
sndezvous of all who have any pretensions
> a place in the fashionable world.
But what do they do at Jacksonville and
t Augustine, all these Americans in rearch
' a "trood time?" You think perhaps that.
i the morning, the/ 9etout in great numbers
> make long excursions into tho country or
i tho water; that picnics, riding parties and
ich out of door pistimes are organized.
Not so. They get up, breakfast, and make
>r tho balconies or piazzas of the hotels,
lero to rock theniselves two or three hours
i rocking chairs until lunch time; after this
rey return to tlnir rocking chairs again and
ait for dinner. Dinner over, they go to tho
rawiug room, vhcre there are more rocking
lairs, and chat or listen to an orchestra
ntil bed time. And yet, what pretty enirons
the little town of Jacksonville has, for
istance! For miles around stretches a villa
otted oraugegrove.
And tho tabifid'hote!
In Franco we look well at the bill and
;udy it; we d^cuss the dishes, arranging
lem discreetly ind artistically in the mind
eforo malting tieir acquaintance more fully
a the palate. Ve are gourmets. In America
le question sec'is to be not, " Wliich of these
ishes will go well together?1' but, "How
lany of them ctn 1 manage?" It is so much
day; the moTcrato eaters pay for the glutms.
You seo wonen come down at 8 to breakist
in silk ntire, and decked in diamonds,
tnd what a Ireakfast! First an orange and
banana to feshen the mouth and whet the
ppetite; thu fish, bacon and eggs, or ome?t,
beefsteat or chop with fried potatoes,
ominy caks, and preserves.
"How litle you eat, you French people I"
aid an Anrrican to me one day, as I was orering
my >reakfastof cafe au lait and bread
nd butter
"You an mistaken," I said, "only we do
ot caro or our dinner at 8 o'clock in the
lorning.'
The larer the hotel is the better the Amer;ans
likeit A little, quiet, well kept hotel,
rhere, tb cookery being done for twenty or
hirty prsons instead of a thousand, the beef
as not the same taste as mutton; a hotel
rhere yu are known and called by your
lame, were you are not simply No. 578 like
, convic; this kind of pitching place does
lot atfact the American. He must have
omethog large, enormous, immense. He is
ncline to judge everything by its size.
Jacbonville and St. Augustine boast a
coro i hotels, each capable of accommodating
frm six hundred to a thousand guests,
"hese hotels aro full from the beginning of
ranury to the end of March.
I hve almost always accepted with reserve
he .merican superlatives, followed by the
radional "in the world;" but it may safely
>e s/d that the Ponce de Leon hotel, at St.
Lupstine, is not only the largest and handomst
hotel in America, but in the whole
void Standing in the prettiest part of the
ilcircsquo little town, this Moorish palace,
vis its walls of onyx, its vast, artistically
usisbed saloons, its orange walks, founajs,
cloisters and towers, is a revelation, a
cno from the "Arabian Nights.?'
fere the Americans congregate in search of
v'good time," as they call it The charges
age from ten to twenty-five dollars a day
r each person, exclusive of wines and exis.
The American who goes to the Ponce
Leon with his wife and daughters, therere,
spends from one to two hundred dollars
lay. For this sum, he and his family are
i, playe^ to by a very ordinary band, and
pplied with^ aa- immense choice of rocking
airs. On his return to Now York, he deires
to his friends that he has had a."lovely
ne." The American never admits that he
s been bored, in America specially. The
iallest incidents of the trip are events and
ventures, and he never fails to have his
;ood time." He is as easily pleased as a
ild; everything American calls out hisadiration,
or at least his interest Remark to
cn, for instance, that to go by train to
orida from the north one has to travel
rough more than six hundred miles of pine
rest?which makes the journey very uninresting?and
he will throw you a pitying
ince, which seems to say: "Immense, sir,
imense; like everything that is Americah."
Ihe temperature of Florida in winter is
rely lower than 04 degs., and ranges from
at to 75 ; but the climate is moist and enerting,
the country a vast marsh, so flat that
standing on a chair one could see to the examities
of it with the aid of a good field
iss. Some enterprising American should
row up a hill down thero; he would make
5 fortune. Every one would go and see it.
It is not everybody who can afford the
niry of the Ponce do Leon hotel, but it is
erybody who likes to be seen thero in the
ison.
You must bo able to say when you return
the north that you havo been at tho Ponce
Leon. This is how it can bo managed.
du go to some other hotel near the Ponce,
the evening, dressed in all your diamonds,
u glide into the court yard of the great
ravansary. Another step takes you to the
mense rotunda whero the concert is going
. You stroll through the saloons and corlors,
and, taking a seat where you can be
:n of the multitude, you listen to the music,
jout 10 or 11 o'clock you beat a retreat and
turn to your own hotel. Wishing to set
y mind at rest on this matter, I went one
ening, about half past 9, to tho Casa MVn'-a
d Florida house. There, in the rouins
lero the musicians engaged by the propriers
play every evening, were at the most a
jroof people.
Everything is on a grand scale in good
nerican hotels, especially the bills.
[ caught tho following bit of conversation
tho St Augustine station as I was leav"Hello!
you uro off, too?" said a young
m to a friend who had just installed his
fo in the train for Jacksonville.
"My dear fellow, I have been here a fort;ht;
tho Ponce do Leon is magnificent, but
o bill is awfully stiff."
nu\ CI mmu, uju uitui, icjuuitxi tut) utuci,
ou. will take it off your wife's next dress
>ney."
With few exceptions, the waiters in all the
eat hotels ore negroes. You ore served
iwly, but. with intelligence and politeness.
> "duchesses" in the great cities of the
rth or the fashionable resorts of the south.
Those good negroes have such cheerful,
en faces! They seem so glad to bo alive,
d they look so good natured that it does
o good to see them. When they look at
0 another they laugh. When you look at
em they laugh. If a negro sees another
gro more black than himself he is delated.
he calls him "darky" and looks on
n in a patronizing way. Their great dork
cs that show the whites so, when they roll
em in their own droll fashion; the two
ws of white teeth constantly on view,
irr.ed in thick retrousse lips; tho swaying
inner of walking, with turned out toes
d head thrown back; the musical voice,
eet but sonorous, und so pleasing compared
the horrible twang of tho lower class peo1
in tho north, all make up a picturesque
lole. You forgot tho color and fall to adring
them.
And how amusing they are!
At tho Everett hotel, Jacksonville, I one
y went to the wrong table.
"You've come to do wrong table, sab," said
e attendant darky. Then, indicating the
gro who served nt tho next table, he added:
lat's do gentleman dat waits on you, sah."
I immediately recognized my "gentleman,"d
changed my seat. Tho fact is that all
e negroes are alike at a glance. It requires
much perspicacity to tell ouo from another
it does to distinguish ono French gendarmo
Dm another French geudarmc.
I never met with such memories as somo of
oso darkies have.
As 1 Lave said, (bo hotels of Florida are be ged
during tlio winter months. At dinner
ne, you may see from six hundred to a thound
peoplo at table. The black head waiter
iows each of the guests. The second time
ey cuter tko dining room, he conducts them
their places without making a mistake in
e instance. If you stop but a day, you
ay return a month after, and not only will
he recollect your furo, but he will bo able to j tl
tell you which littlo tablo you sat at, and j a
which place at that tablo was yours. 0
At the door of the dining room a young t<
negro of 10 or 18 takes your hat and puts it
on a hat rack. I have seen hundreds thus in a
his care at a time. Yeu leave the dining ti
room and, without a moment's hesitation, he ii
singles out your hat and hands it to you. It ii
Is wonderful when ono thinks of it. 1 give d
you the problem to solve. Several hundred ?
men, most of whom you have not seen more ri
than once or twice before, pass into a room, h
handing you their chimney pots or wide p
a?akes to take care of. They come out of n
the room in no sort of order, and you havo to n
give each the bat that belongs to him. I a
have tried hard and often, but never succeed- it
ed in finding out how it is done. r
Another negro in the hall goes and gets n
your key when he sees you return from a v
walk. No need to .tell him the number of ri
your room?he knows it He may have seen ei
you but once before, but that is oil sufficient o
?ho never errs. a
And the negressos! good, merry looking d
creatures with buxom faces and forms, sup- p
pie, light, graceful gait and slender waists, o:
aping the fashion, and having very pretty
fashions of their own, coquetting and mine- el
iqg, as they waljc outii^jui th^ir v"ti?'lars" d
(particulars). The enjoyment of life is writ- t:
ten on their faces, and one ends by thinking e
some of them quite pretty. I have seen some ic
splendid figures amongst them. You should ei
see them on Sundays, dressed in scarlet or tl
some other bright color, with great hats
jauntily turned up on one side, and fanning g
themselves with the ease and grace of Bel- f
gravian ladies. to
Negresses are not employed as chamber d
maids in hotels. They go into service only g
as nurses, and of course children love them, a
Unhappily for you, it is the objectionable v
"duchess" that you find again, up stairs thia a
time. The evil is not so great as it is in the
smaller towns where these young persons n
wait at table also. In the best hotels their A
only duty is to keep the bedrooms tidy. You h
must not ask any service of them beyond
that If you desire anything brought to a
your bedroom, you ring, and a negro comes n
to answer the bell and receive your order. p
I remember having one day insulted one of
these women?certainly unintentionally, but tl
the crime was none the less abominable for tl
that ?
This was it le
I was dressing to go out to dinnrir, and a
wanted some hot water to shave with. Hav- w
ing rung three times and received no answer,
I grew impatient and opened the door, in the a
hope of seeing some servant who would be ri
obliging enough to fetch me the water in t<
question. A chambermaid was passing my li
door. h
"Could you please get me some hot water?" t<
I said. is
"What do you say?" was the reply, occom- h
panied by a frown and a look of contempt. u
"Would you be so good as to get me some t<
hot water?" I timidly repeated.
""What do you think 1 am! Haven't you a f<
bell in your room!" said the harpy. tl
And she passed along indignant p
I withdrew into my room in fear and trembling,
and for a few minntes was half afraid tl
of receiving a request to quit the hotel im- n
mediately. c<
I shaved with cold water that day.
si
CHAPTER XL. it
If you go to a changer, he will give you Ave t<
francs in French money, or four shillings in tl
English, for a dollar. But in America, you ie
are not long in discovering that you get for ie
your dollar but the worth of a shilling in
English money, or a franc in French. 11
The flat that lets for 4,000 francs in Paris, P
and the house that is rented at ?200, or 4,000 c<
shillings in London, would be charged $4,000 r'
in New York, Boston or Cliicago. c<
ThJ sii&plest kind or iicss, one for which a ol
Parisian of modest tastes pays 100 francs, 11
would cost mi American lady at least $100. ^
A visiting dress costing 500 francs in Paris ^
would cost ?500 in New York. A bonnet r!
that would bo charged 50 francs is worth 111
$50. The rest to match. C
Here is a dressmaker's bill which fell under
my eyes in New York: 113
Robe do charabro $200 w
Cloth dress 175
Opera cloak 600 D]
Riding habit 180 ..
Bonnet. 80
Theatre bonnet 60 b
Block silk dress 240
Ball dress 050
Total $2,025
In this bill, there is neither mantle, linen,
boots, shoes, gloves, lace, nor the thousand
little requisites of a woman's toilet, and it
is but one out of the three or four bills for ^
tko year. 1 am convinced that an American
J II
woman, who pretends to the least elegance, .
must spend, if she be a good manager, from
$6,000 to $8,000 a year. Add to this the fact q
that she loads herself with diamonds and
precious stones. But these, of course, have ^
not to be renewed every three months.
A great number of Americans come to Eu- ^
rope to pass three months of every year. ^
This is not an additional extravagance; it is ^
an ecouomy. They buy their dress for a year, .
and the money they save by this plan not ^
only pays their traveling expenses, but leaves j
them a nice little surplus in cash.
A hotel bedroom on the fourth floor, for ^
which you would pay five francs a day, is $5 ^
<- the good hotels of the principal towns of j
.im erica. A cab which costs you one franc ^
an' a half in France, or one shilling and sixpence
in England, costs you a dollar and a ^
half in New York. The proportion is always (
kept.
Tho dollar has not mole value than this in w
the lesser towns of the United States. The a
omnibus, for instance, which takes you to the ^
station from your hotel for sixpence (or half
a shilling) in England, and for half a franc in
France, costs you half a dollar in America.
Copper money exists in America, but if you
were to offer a cent to a beggar he would
fling it at you in disgust. When the bare- h
footed urchins in the south beg their formula b
is: "Spare us a nickel," or "Chuck us a n
nickel, guvhior." The nickel Is worth five s\
cents. The only use of the cent that I could tl
discover was to buy the evening paper. (?
The only things cheap in the States are q
native oysters, and English or French book3 tl
that have been translated into American. h
If expenses are enormous in the United a
States 1 must hasten toiodd that it is chiefly tl
the foreign visitor who suffers in purse. The a
American can afford to pay high prices, be- o
causo his receipts aro far larger than they cl
would bo in Europe. Situations bringing In e:
three or four hundred dollars, as in France in p
England, are unknown in America. Bank ^
clerks aud shop assistants command salaries
of a thousand to fifteen hundred dollars a w
year. A railway car conductor get- $50 a y
month. t
In the grades above in the professions, the sj
fees, compared with those earned in Europe, a]
are also in the proportion of the dollar to tho
shilling or franc. A newspaper article for
which would bo paid in Franco from 100 to
250 francs (and no French paper, except The ^
Figaro, pays so much for articles) is paid for
in'America from $100 to $250. A doctor is p.
paid from $5 to $10 a visit I am, of course, r(
not sjieaking of specialists aud fashionablo
doctors; their charges aro fabulous. I know
barristers who make over $100,000 a year. 0]
Every one is well paid In the United States,
except the vice president ' sj
If I have spokon of the high cost of living,
it is to stato a fact and not oo make a com- ^
plaint. I went to America as" a lecturer, not ip
as a tourist Jonathan paid mo well, and w
when cabby asked rne for a dollar and a half -p
to tako me to a lecture hall, I said, like M. ^
Joseph Prudhomme: "It is expensive, but I CJ
can afford it," and I paid without grumbling. ^
" oi
CHAPTER XLL iE
"Well, sir, and what do you think of G
America f
Without pretending to judge America ex
cathedra, I will sum up tho impressions jotted
down in this little vehtmo, and reply, to
the traditional question-of tho Americans.
When one thinks of what tho Americans
have done in a hundred years of independent u
life, it looks as if nothing ought to bo impossiblo
to them in the future, considering the I*
inexhaustible resources ut their disposition.
America has "been doubling its population 1
every twenty-five years. If immigration 113
continues at tho same rato as it has liitherto, 333
-j - . Ti
in fifty yeans ebe will have more than two
hundred millions of inbab&mtB. If. durinc Dl
yp:.
sjA i
mt time, Europe makes progress only in the
rts and sciences, while the social condition
f its nations does not improve, she will be
3 America what barbarism is to civilization.
Whilg the Hohenzollerns, the Hapsburgs
nd the Firebrandenburgs review their
oops; while her standing armies are costlg
Europe more than $1,000,000,000 a year,
1 time of peace; whilst the European
ebt is more than $25,000,000,000, the Ameriin
treasury at Washington, in spite of cornption,
which it is well known does exist,
as a surplus of $00,000,000. Whilst Euroean
governments cudgel their wits to devise
leans for meeting tho expenses of absolute
lonarchies, the Washington government is
b a loss to know what to do with tho money
; has in hand. Whilst tho European telerams
in the daily papers give accounts of
sviews, mobilizations and military maneuers,
of speeches in which tho people are
aminded that their duty is to serve their
mperor first and their country afterwards,
P Klocm^omftno nrnrflra in whirh flrki ifl
sked to bless soldiers, swords and gunpower,
the American telegrams announce the
rice of corn and cattle and the quotations
n the American stock exchange.
Happy country that can get into a state of
bullition over a presidential election, or the
oings of John L. Sullivan, whi^e Europe in
rgmbling asks herself, with the return of
ach new spring, whether two or three mill>ns
of her sons will not be called upon to cut
ach other's threats for the great glory of
oree emperors in search of excitement!
America is not only a great nation, georaphically
speaking.
The Americans are a great people, holding
1 their hands their own destiny, learning
ay by day, with the help of their liberty, to
overa themselves more and more wisely,
nd able, thanks to the profound security in
rhich they live, to consecrate all their talents
nd all their energy to the arts of peace.
The well read, well bred American is the
lost delightful of men; good society in
jnerica is the wittiest, most genial and most
ospitable I have met with.
But the more 1 travel and the more I look
t other nations, the more confirmed I am in
ly opinion that the French are the happiest
eople on earth.
The American is certainly on the road to
tie possession*of all that can contribute to
ae well being and success of a nation, but he
sems to me to have missed the path that
ads to real happiness. His domestic joys
re more shadowy than real To live in a
rhirl is not to live well
Jonathan himself sometimes has his regrets
t finding himself drawn into such a frantic
ice, but declares that it is out of his power
i hang back. If it were given to man to
ve twice on this planet, I should understand
is living his first term a l'Americaine, so as
> be able to enjoy quietly, in his second ex+a?ao
fVia fpnlhi nf Vila t/lil in t.hft first
lg that only one sojourn here Is permitted
s, I think the French are right in their study
> make it a long and happy one.
If the French could arrive at a steady
>rm of government, and live in security,
ley would be the most enviably happy peole
on earth.
It is often charged against the Americans
lat they are given to bragging. May not
ien who have done marvels be permitted a
irtain amount of self glorification?
It is said, too, that their eccentricity conantiy
leads them into folly and license. Is
i not better to have the liberty to err than
> be compelled to rim straight in leash? If
iey occasionally vote like children, they will
arn with age. It is by voting that people
arn to vote.
Is there any country in Europe in which
lorals are better regulated, work better
aid, or education wider spread? Is there a
luntry where you can find such natural
ches, and such energy to turn them to aclunt;
so many people with a consciousness
E their own intellectual and moral force; so
lany schools, where the child of the millionire
and the child of the poor man study side
y side; so many libraries, where the boy in
igs may read the history of his country,
ad be fired by the exploits of its heroes}
an you name a country with so many
arned societies, so many newspapers, so
lany charitable institutions, or so much
idespread comfort?
M. Renan, wishing to turn himself into a
rophet of ill omen, one day predicted that,
1 France continued republican, she would
ecome a second America.
May nothing worse befall her I
THE END.
Justice Gray's Toast.
A few days ago, while crowds of hungry
eoplo were streaming into tho restaurant of
le United States senate, soon after noon, a
umber of patrons of tho place were aston
ihed to hear a waiter calling out in an imerative
tone of voice: "Bread for Justice
ray's toast 1" The order was odd enough to
istify passing curiosity. A moment after
; had been shouted over the counter by the
miter, Mr. Page, the manager of the place,
ushed behind the lunch laden shelf, stooped
> And a pantry, and then bent over a task
lat could not be delegated to an apprenice.
From a very nico loaf of bread
0 cut four or five slices, each as
lin as a very thin wafer. Theso were laid
arefully upon a platter and shot down the
umb waiter to the cook shop below, while
Ir. Pago explained to a curious patron that
ustice Gray would not have his toast any
licker than ho had cut it, and that he was
) critical that ho could tell at once if anyody
except the proprietor had cut it Tho
ig justice?he is the largest man of the
rholo bench?does not lunch on toast
lone. He is a very good feeder, but ho is
uite as fastidious about everything else that
e eats as ho is about the bread that is to be
rowned to go with his cup of too.?The
Ipoch.
An Early Architect of nigh Towers.
Tho construction of the tower 300 meters
igh for the Paris exposition of 1639 has again
rought to light the project of tho Englishiau,
Trovithick. It appears that in 183." he
lbmitted to tho king of England plans for
io erection of a monument 1,000 feet high
105 meters), destined to recall to the
liuds of his fellow citizens the vote on
le reform bill Nothing camo of tho idea,
owever, and its promoter died shortly
fter having presented the plans. Trevilick
was tho inventor of a number of relarkablo
and useful inventions, among
thers tho piston pump, steam dredge, mahino
for producing low temperature by the
sponsion of compressed air, etc. Ho occuied
himself also with a screw propeller, and
l1S04 constructed a ten ton locomotive, and
1 1S08 operated in public on a circular railray
in England tho locomotive, "Catch Mo
FTio Can," at a speed of twelve miles an hour,
ho labors of Trevithick seem to havo l>een
ngularly unappreciated, and he died poor
ad unknown.?lho Builder.
Composition of Quicksand.
Quicksand is found in nearly oil parts of
10 country, but in very great quantity along
10 Platto river in Nebraska. It is composed
rincipally of mica, or small particles of
ick disintegrated from largo bodies of rock
ad subjected to a continuous washing pro>ss.
The water removes all tho raggodness
r angular shape from tho particles. The
agments becomo smooth and slimy and
ip upon each other with tho greatest facily,
so that any heavy weight resting upon
lis sand causes tho particles to be displaced,
hey separato from tho center, allowing tho
eight to sink until a solid basis is reached,
rhen particles of sand ore ragged and nnnlar
any weight pressing on' them will
owd them together until they aro comicted
into a solid mass. A sand composed
' mica or soapstono mixed with water (|pems
icapablo of such consolidation.?St. Louis
lobe-Democrat.
Afraid It Was Loaded.
Just after tho war, and when tho poot
'hittier lived at Amcsbury, Mass., ho ro;ived
a heavy and queer looking box from
ookout Mountain. Ills niece, a timid young j
omn.il, ieoruu luatmosuangourrivui iiugnt
3 au infernal macliino from tho rebels, and
jrsuadcd her unclo to havo it buried in tho
trdon, where it remained till tho mail
rought a letter saying that tho box contained
i inkstand quaintly modeled from northern
ad southern bullets, picked up cn tho famous
enncsseo battle fiold.?San Francisco ArgolUt
* 'Wn
A MYSTERIOUS GEM. !
FANCIES AND POPULAR SUPERSTI- ]
TIONS ABOUT THE OPAI ]
(
Fact.* Concerning tl?o Beautiful Gem?Some 1
of (he {.urge and Valuable Specimens.
The Oncstlon of Luck?More or Less Un- |
rellnlile Stories.
The superstitious dreads and fancies sur- '
rounding the beautiful opal date back to an- 1
clent times, but the cause for placing this
wonderful stone, possessing such brilliant
hues, under the ban, as well as the origin of
the dread, is unknown. Scott, in his "Anne
of Geirstein," alludes to the foolish fancy that
has affected tho popularity of a gem possessing
tho glories of tho rainbow. The Turks
believe that It falls from heaven in tho light
ning'a flash. It is a matter of history that
theopai was tho favorite gem among the
Romans, and so far from being feared or
looked upon with suspicion and aversion, it
was eagerly sought for, as it was supposed to
possess the power of warning against disaster
..od heralding to its owner tidings of good |
fortune. The Arabians ascribed to it supernatural
powers, their ardent imaginations
gwayed and stimulated by tho flashing play
Of ever changing colors emanating from tho
magnificent mineral
WHERE THE OPAL 13 FOUND.
The records regarding old opal mines are
lost, but it is supposed that the ancients derived
their supply from Arabia and Syria.
The famous Hungarian mines were not discovered
until late in the Fifteenth century,
and were of course unknown to the Romans.
The principal mines from whence opals are
obtained today are situated in Hungary and
Honduras. The American opal lacks tho
hardness of the Hungarian gem, but it is
fnlly as brilliant, and withstands atmospheric
inroads upon tho colors quite as well The
magnificent characteristic of the gem, which
gives it value and renown, is the brilliant
combination of colored reflections which it
displays, and, when the stone is held in the
mnligbt, the Latin philosopher was correct
in stating thut it was made up of the glories
of tho most precious stones.
The gem is found not only in porcelain
earth, but also in fissures and seams of old
Igneous rocks. Quartz, when flawed in the
interior, sometimes exhibits a remarkable
iridescence, and resembles the opal, especially
when viewed at a distance. Such specimens
are called iris. The elegant iris ornaments
worn by the Empress Josephine were of remarkable
brilliancy and the wonder and envy
cf the imperial court She also possessed the
iraest opai or modern times, wnicn was oniy
displayed when arrayed in all the grandeur
cC full imperial splendor. It was indeed a
fitting ornament for so beautiful a woman.
Its flashing rays of light were so powerful
?nd vivid as to give the appearance of living
fames of fire, and from that it received its
title "l'ineendir do Troie"?the burning of
Troy. The fate of the gem Is unknown, but
with tho history of the fair owner the most
casual reader is familiar.
Empress Eugenie had a superstitious dread
amounting to positive aversion for tho beautiful
opal and tho stono was a stranger at the
brilliant court It is possiblo that Eugenie
may have been influenced in her hatred of
tho gem from Josephine's fondness for tho
same, and attributed to tho mysterious workings
of tho fiery mineral some subtle, malign
influence that conspired to bring about her
downfall. But the fact remains inscribed
upon tho pages of history that although the
opal was vigorously banished from Versailles
and tho Tuileries, Eugenie fled from Paris
under cover of darkness, cowering with terror
in the dusty depths of a shabby vehicle, as
the roar of a raging populaco reached 'her
ears.
in deep contrast is the sterling good sense
of England's queen, who admires and values
the gem to such a degree that she numbers
them among f sr choicest family gifts.
HIGH PRICED GEMS,
The famous opal of history was that which
was worn in a ring by tho Roman senator
Nonius in the days of the triumvirate. Its
size scarcely exceeded that of a hazel nut,
yet its beauty and brilliancy rendered it a
marvel among the dilettanti of Rome, and it
icn? vnlnprl at. naarlv St1 flflO flOO Mara Aritnnv
bearing in mind the sacrifice of Cleopatra's
incomparable pearl and still enslaved by the
Egyptian queen's irresistible charms, made
overtures for the opal, intending to present
It to the dusky beauty; but Nonius refused to
part with his cherished gem and sought
safety in flight The extreme beauty and
charm may be estimated when it is known
that to a Roman banishment was worse thnn
death. History makes no further mention
qf this wonderful ojpaL It has disappeared
from tho world's collection of gems, and its
glories have probably yielded to the destructive
effects of time.
The fire opal is found in its greatest perfection
in the porphyritic rocks at Zimapan,
Mexico. It is generally of a hyncinth red
color, and gleams forth with flashes of brilliant
carmine with yellow and green scintillations.
The Mexican production surpasses
all other varieties in the intensity and gorgeousness
of its hues, but it will not bear exposure
and the sensitive surface soon loses its
flashing beauties. They bring exorbitant
prices in Mexico when 6old to tho unwary,
who learn all too soon upon returning to the
haunts of civilization that they had paid
nearly 50 per cent, too much for the gems.
The Spanish historians, in their marvelous
stories of the wonders seen in Mexico at the
time of the conquest, describe the image of
the mystic idol Quetyalcoatl (god of the air),
on the great pyramid of Cholula, as wearing
a miter waving with plumes" of fire, and
which was supposed to have been produced
by masses of tho fire opaL
The colors displayed by the opal embrace
all the tints in the solar spectrum. The
shades of green, blue, yellow and red are
vivid and clear.
Tho grandest specimen of the gem ever discovered
was unearthed in the mines of Hungary
in 1770 and purchased by the Austrian
government. Its weight was seventeen
ounces, and it was three and three-quarter i
inches in length. It rests in the imperial j
cabinet at Vienna and is valued at ?300,000.
The opal is not sold by weight, but its value
depends upon its size and the intensity of its
fire and combination of colors. An opal half
an inch in diameter may have a value of $5,
and another, no larger, but possessing brill
iancy or hues, may seu reaauy ior }j,wj ur
more.?San Francisco {G'hron iclo.
COULD NOT RESIST.
\
The Foolish Hot of u Stingy Detroit Man
and How It Was Won.
Thero is one man in Detroit who knows the |
seductive forco of fair woman's pleadings as (
bo nover knew it before. His friends know (
It, too, and are not likely to let him forget it (
soon. A well known skinflint wagered a supper
with somo friends that he could visit a
charity fair, remain a wholo evening in tho
hall and spend nothing but his time. .
Tho evening came and tho venerable vie- ,
tun boldly entered into temptution with a
jaunty air and a beaming countenance. But ,
thero was ono weak spot in his armor. Before
tho chai _ns of lovely womanhood his better
naturo blooms out as tho flowers with the
coming of spring time. It was on this frailty
that his friend of the afternoon had banked,
and toward it had directed tho efforts of the (
shrewd daughters of Eve, who wero in tho j
plot and bent on winning. They woro on
their mettle, and culloused indeed must bo
tho heart of tho man who could resist their
persuasive powers. ]
Every guu was trained on him right 1
enough, but woman is nothing if not strategic. <
It was not an onslaught, but an insidious and ]
deceptive* advance. Much depended on the i
first move, and it was made with fascinating 1
skilL A most winsome matron, an acquaint- i
anco of the susceptiblo skinflint, met him with ]
a flutter and a smile that set his heart thump- 1
ing like a trip hammer. Sho was a vision of <
loveliness, a revelation of the charms and t
graces that lure as they like. And how sho i
greeted him. It would arouse the gallantry i
of the veriest cannibal, however hungry. It i
. would warm tho blood in a mummy. Her t
eyes, her parted lips, her flushed checks and t
jowitcmng smuo on uesposoa welcome 100110 ;
ivho was received among tho favored. Sho
grasped his arm with both her dimpled hands,
swung half in front of him as sho leaned forward
to look into his softening fnco, and,
with tho sheer force of her presence, led hiin
to his fate. Soon tho blushing victim was
surrounded by a bevy of laughing, chatting,
merry and lovely women. Ho felt himself i
mvied by every other man in tho house, and
self inflation was tho inevitable consequence.
"This is Miss , of Chicago, Mr. ,"
and ho bowed to a personification of ideal j
beauty.
"Oh, Mr. , I've just been trying my
fortune at tho flying jenny. It's so fascinating
and I've been so lucky. Do come and
try it."
"Yes, yes, do come, Sir. . Why, it's
just too nico."
"But, ladies"
"No, no, como along, explain afterword.
We'll all try it."
Sir. hesitated, but when ho saw tho
black looks of tho other men cast upon him
ho yielded without mental reservation and
joined the charge with a shout, a laugh and a
rheumatic skip. Ho was simply led as a lamb.
to the slaughter. Ho tackled tho flying
jenny and entered upon a mad rush that took
in chances on tho phaeton, tho harness, tho
yacht, tho. gold watch, tho guns, everything
os it presented itself to view. In tho wild
whirl he ran short, but borrowed $20 of a
friend, and "on with tho dance." Ho was tho
king bee in tho busy hivo and having more
fun than everybody else combined.
Suddenly his friend of tho afternoon appeared
and innocently asked him out to tho
prearranged supper.
"Supper bo blowed 1" ho had no appetite
for earthly food. Ho was in the seventh
heaven of delight, soaring through an elysium
of bliss unalloyed, and ho'd stay there as long
as his pocketbook held out.
The end camo at last, and then tho chaffing
of those who wero into tho scheme. Never
was a man more mercilessly guyed than tho
usually close fisted citizen. Ho finally sought
relief for himself and the rest of tho fellows
in tho flowing bowL It flowed until tho weo
hours, and shortly before tho electric lights
mado way for sunrise Mr. had drawn up
in front of his residence and with a stentorian
voico was struggling to wrench harmony out
of "Tho Girl I Left Behind Me."?Detroit
News.
THAT WONDERFUL COLORED BOY.
Here Is a Frightful Infant Who Neve*
Forgets What lie Bears.
A little mito of a blind colored boy stood
on a tablo in one of the Astor house parlors
yesterday afternoon and put to the blush the
learning of a lot of gentlemen by a very
meager sample of what ho knows. Tho boy
is only 3 years and 4 months old. His name
is Oscar Moore and he was boru on a farm in
Waco, Tex. His parents are laboring people,
who have one other boy and two girls. One
ovening when Oscar was only a year old ho
sat in a choir listening to his brother and
sisters who were studying tho multiplication
table. One of them said:
"Four times twelve are fifty-eight"
"Forty-eight," corrected Oscar.
His mother had never heard him speak before,
and sho began questioning him. Imagine
her surprise when she found that Oscar
was ablo to repeat a lot of statements ho had
heard at odd times, and was liberally supplied
with a store of various kinds of information.
His fame spread, and recently Oscar
was turned over to Mr. H. P. N. Gammel, of
Austin, who will be his guardian until he is
20 years old.
It scon became clear that tke only remarkable
thing about Oscar is bis memory, which
is capable of retaining everything the boy
hears. He is a well built, manly little fellow,
with a childish voice, and is as full of mischief
and fun as boys of his age naturally
are. Ho enjoyed himself hugely yesterday,
and was anxious to know if tho table he
stood upon was a stage, and if ho was really
having a reception. Then everybody took
turns in asking Oscar questions. Here is a
sample of them,'and of the replies, which
were given instantly:
"How fast does a rifle ball move?"
"One thousand miles an hour. Is this really
a hall?"
"Where is tho largest bell in tho world?"
"In Moscow, Russia."
"When was slavery abolished?"
"In 1030."
"I said abolished."
"Oh, in 1805. I thought you said when was
it begun."
"What is the population of Holland and
the Netherlands?"
"Fo' million twelve thousand six hundred
'n ninety-three."
"What is the capital of Venezuela?"
"Caracas. I like crackers, though."
"How many languages in the world?"
"Two thousand seven hundred and fifty."
"How many bones in a man^body?"
"Throe hundred and eight I know how
many there are in a woman?309."
"How many square feet in an acre?"
"In a nigger? Two."
"In an acre?"
"Forty-three thousand tivo hundred'n
sixty. Rats."
"What is tho population of tho United
States?"
"Oh, I've got tho hickups."
"What city has a population of 503,185?"
"Chicago."
"Who was the second president of the
United States T'
"John Adams."
"The fifth?"
"James Monroe."
"Tho thirteenth?"
"Millard Fillmore."
"The twenty-third ?"
"Oscar Mooro. Hoi hal heel"
Littb Oscar grew sarcastic, and asked:
"You are sure that's tho right answer, are
you?" On being assured that it was, he
would reply: "Well, 1 guess so."
Oscar counted from one to ten in Chinese,
Spanish, Latin, French and Welsh.
"Count from one to ten in Danish."
"I can't," ho answered. "I'll count from
one to twenty; there is no ten in Danish."
Then Oscar sang several songs in English
and one in German. Ho is strong on dates,
the names and population of all tho cities in
tho world, tho weight of any given quantity
nt mm flour wheat. coDDcr. silver, cold
and iron, and hundreds of other things that
not one man in 10,000 knows. He enjoys
answering questions. It seems to require no
mental effort at alL Mr. Gammel does not
yet know what he will do with Oscar, but it
is likely that ho will bo launched into public
Life.?Now York Sun.
Artificial Wants.
Wo read much about man's artificial wants,
and economists often busy themselves teaching
people how little they can get along with.
Man's actual needs aro generally determined
by his surroundings and the period in which
ho lives. A savago who only eats roots would
accuse another of extravagance whom ho
caught gnawing a crab apple. If he were an
economist ho would declare that crab apples
were on artificial want, and administer a severe
rebuke to the offender for his shameful
waste, if he didn't kill him on the spot. A
traveler who visited one of the islands of the
South Pacific, where the natives go naked,
gave one of them a paper collar, and when
he fastened it on his neck and went strutting
about, the jealousy of his fellow citizens was
so great that they attacked him furiously, I
and ho was obliged to tear the collar up and j
iistributo the fragments among them to ap- j
peaso their wrath. A paper collaj: vms au j
artificial want, but they went forjit.?Texas i
3 if tings.
Queen Maria of Portugal.
Queen Maria Pia of Portugal is ono of the
best dressed women in Europe, as she is also
the possessor of some of the most beautiful jew- ,
sis, her parures of rubies and diamonds being
"amous. Although her manner is somewhat |
reserved and cold as compared with that of
the king, who is most sincerely loved by his
subjects, she has earned for herself the popu,ar
titlo of "Angel of Pity," on account of
the promintnt part she takes hi tho principal
rharities in tho country. Tho working of
iomo of theso charitable enterprises is personilly
superintended by her majesty, who do- ,
rotes a certain portion of her leisure to studyng
tho reports, and thus becomes acquainted
ivith every detail of tho various organ izaions.?Detroit
Freo Press.
M V
REMINISCENCES OF WESTERN YORK.
Many years ago Drs. "Billy" and John
McGowaa went into partnership in the
practice of their profession, and located
near Pinckney Ferry, on Broad river. >
Several years afterwards Dr. J. F. McCluney
began the study of medicine, in
the same neighborhood. The McGowans
were full-blooded Irishmen; and by the
way well informed, not only upon medical,
matters, but almost anything else. Dr.
John was noted for his big words?"jaw
breakers"?but he always used them properly.
He had contracted such a habit of
using them that he frequently left his patient.
or their niir??c in t.ho rlnrt nr men.
tally befogged, by his use of them. Not
unfrequently was he asked to tell what
he meant, and as frequently his explanation
involved the use of others of similar
proportion, or worse. Under Dr. John's
procedure the business was about to make
a failure and Billy, a real shrewd business
man, set about improving the situation.
His plan was to get up a drug store, and
let John play druggist, and he would do
the practice. This threw the business into
a line of success and they got on much
better. This saved John a great deal of
explaining. He was now confronted with
medical men, generally, who were not so _
often puzzled at the meaning of his words,
or, if they were, it was not so generally
known and talked about. .
Dr. McCluney, when a mere fledgling
for medical honors, took occasion to consult
these men often on their experience
in professional matters, etc. Dr. John, in
his ornate style one day, was giving a history
of his professional experienc?*to him,
and said, among other things, that when
he and Billy went into partnership in the
practice of medicine at Pinckney Ferry,
that he (John) did the office work, i. e.
compounding prescriptions and. making
44collactions." That word 44collactions"
was more than the young disciple could
understand, and for several days he kept
it revolving in his mind. He consulted
the dictionaries for the word and its definition,
butwithOufsuccessT" At last, worn
out in searching, he called the attention of
some person to it whom he thought cculd
give him some definition of thisnew word.
The reader can imagine his disgust when
he was told that that was the Irish way of
pronouncing "collections."
Notwithstanding his eccentricities, a v
better informed man than Dr. John McGowan
could not be found in the country,
in his day. Dr. Billy we never knew,
but we are told that he was different from
John in many respects. Both were Irish
3 - J i-J 1 ? i.L. 1 i. - * 1 1
uieu auu euucuieu iu uiu ueav ui scouuis,
and no doubt were thoroughly informed
in professional matters. Dr. John McGowan
died a few years ago in Union county,
on Pacolet river, where he had married
a Miss Lindsay. He left several children,
one of whom (William) is now school commissioner
of Union county; besicL^-<%p j
has studied law and now is
the Union bar. Another sort wcjatJVfeat
and joined the United States Arfay, and ifi
still there. They have a line plantatioiioa
Pacolet river, which is managed by other
children, who stand high in.qh ^ir neighberhood.
' .v:'
Both of the Drs. McGowan
students. They never allowed ? wb$L
they read to be forgotten/
opportunity ever preseutoMMdTl0"trt&^the
theory in practice, theflP^It at COtn- ' i
mand. On one occasion ^/'Bflly" McGowan
went to visit some friends in Mississippi.
While there a child in the neighborhood
had eaten some jimson weed berries
and as a consequence was thrown into
convulsions. The local physician was
called upon, but was unable to divine the
cause of the trouble. Everything he knew
was done for the little sufferer, but no relief
came. Accidentally, Dr. McGowan
called at the house. His educated eye and . ^
well-drilled memory took in the situation
at once, and when he told what was the
cause of the trouble, the other physician
"hooted" at him. The mother,- writhing
in agony for her suffering babe, Vnd - the.
father and family had left the house and
given up all hope of the child's recovery.
After the dispenser of potions announced
that he could do nothing more, he agreed
that Dr. McGowan might take the case, as
it seemed one of death, anyway. Dr.
McGowan administered an emetic that
brought the jimson berries which he had
already said were killing the child. He
then told his professional brother where he
could find the authority he had. for his pm
treatment, and advised him to "read more ^
and practice less" until he was prepared to
perform the duties of a physician.
On one occasion, while Dr. John McGowan
was conducting the drug store at
Pinckney, some quack of a doctor made
his debut into that section and sent a prescription
to Dr. McGowan to fill. On the
prescription was some kind of medicine
that Dr. McGowan didn't care to send, as
it was unsafe in unskilled hands. Seeing
the doctor a few days afterwards^his quasi
practitioner asked him why he didn't send
the medicine he wanted. In his native
dialect, Dr. McGowan jeplied: "Ah ! me
friend, thot's a dangerous medicine to put
in the honds of an ignorant mon." He
didn't even address him as doctor.
j. l. s.
WOMEN TiTllO^LAXD.
A correspondent writing about Holland
says: You cross a railroad track, and
casting a glance along the iron path, a
woman, waving a white signal flag, catch- /V
es your eye. She is the watchwoman at ^
the crossing. At every railroad in Hoiland
this position is filled by a "wdmati/
and railroad officials have assured me that ^
no accident has ever been caused by a
watchwoman's carlessness. They receive
eight dollars per month. A man would
require double that salary, and might get
intoxicated once in a while.
Distinction in privileges between married
and single women are so thoroughly
established by social custom as to be obseryed
in the everyday associations of the
sexes. A native will readily discover
tltsx rtAn rvl a vimllrinr* An f Vi A of VAof
W1IGIIIC1 LUC v.uujj 1c nainiug uu tus ou?ei.
in front of him are married or notv this
discovery being made easy by the strict >
adherence of the populace to the ancient 1
custom compulsorily introduced into the
country when under the iron rule of "Alva
the Bloody." An unmarried lady aU
ways takes the right arm of her escort,
while the married one selects the left side
of her husband. So deeply has this custom
entered into the life of Hollanders
that at a church wedding the bride enters
the edifice on the right side of the groom,
the young wife returning on the left side
of her husband when the ceremony has
been performed.
No unmarried lady can dream of going
to church, concert, or any other place of
public assembly, without the escort of parents
or male members of her family.
She cannot take a walk, pay a visit, or go
shopping unaccompanied by her mother
or other chaperon. Until the betrothal of
the young lady has been announced she
remains the solo charge of father and
mntKoi. oni-1 oha mntpn honnnintanrps onlv
uiuiuti) auu JIIU uiuiuuu
in the presence of a third party.
Unmarried daughters in that country
are chaperoned to all places of amusement.
Even dancing parties are interspersed
with singing, recitations, etc*, for the_
amusement of the elders of the
who sit around the tablessipping^jgB^^HHfl|
fee, wine or other favoritfe beveaj^^a^^H^^H
the young people dancer
must take the best
for when it pleases the pa
the daughters aiso%^i
s&r Write benefits on