Evening Star Newspaper, February 1, 1896, Page 16

16 THE EVENING STAR, SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 1, 1896-TWENTY-FOUR PAGES, SCRAPPY PARLY VOO Why Paris is Not the Place to “Pick Up” French. USE THE LANGUAGE MORE INNEW YORK Classes Into Which Americans in the Gay City Are Divided. FOR THE AVERAGE PERSON spondence of The Evening Star. PARIS, January 21, 1896. HERE I8 THE story of a well-known American politician in Paris, who had eaten beeksteak and mushrooms at the Cafe de la Paix and returned the next day fer more. “Biftek” was understood, but the walter knew no more about mush- rooms than the poljti- cian knew of cham- p'gnons, whereupon ‘American ingenuity took a pencil and sketched the cross section of one of those fruits. The waiter brought him an um- breta- ‘The story sounds true, but it is doubtless founded on imagination. It is not so hard to get on in France as that. Indeed, from seme points of view, it fs as well to know no French at all as to go sputtering ineffectual- ly and giving pain to friendly people. The man who frankly speaks no French at all will be saved the horrid moment when, after having framed the sentence, “Oo ay lotre cotay doo roo?’ with nicety hé sees the native stare at him perplexedly and turn away d Tourist ladies will not say to him, Mr. Smith, I thought you spoke French!” He will not infuriate every Telling Him a Joke in French. en: around him by explaining the plots of pleces in theaters. He will not have to make s translations of songs he does not un- derstand in cafes-concerts. He will not get into disputes with American school girls. He will take things easy and let others do This is the*first type of the American In Paris—the man who looks on French as lingo and refuses to distress himself about it. He is treated with the greatest defer- ence, bec his bearing is naturally proud ndependent. For him the hotel waiters of all Europe learned the English language; for him the American bars sprung up like ™jushrooms throughout the continent; for him the dancers of the Moulin Rouge beught Ollendorf’s. He can still have the best room in the hotel. It Is a pity that the type is dying out, to be succeeded by such a pitiful figure as the apologetic lisper of thaf dear old lady who sells Puck, Jud, Life and all the American magazines at the corner of the Rue Scribe and the Boulevard. As for the first month of sight-seeing, what American mother-with a pretty daughter ever yet lacked beaux who know it all to take them round? “Is this the Sainte-Cha- pello? How nice!” —“So here we are in the Worrying the Druggist. Louvre at last. I'm just dying to know the Yale-Princeton score, will it be in the paper tomorrow?"’—they find no pressing need of Lucy's French so far. What chance has the young lady to learn French? There are dances at the boarding house. Young men—and honest Americans at that—spring up on every side as unexpect- edly as so many Jacks-in-the-box. There are excursions to the Bots, 5 o'clock teas, visits to artists’ studios and matinees at the Opera Comique—because it is music and there is no need te follow the dialogue. Her only chance to practice French is in the shops and at the boarding house French table. The French table is a derision. It is ihe best place in the world for a French person to learn English. Three-fourths the population of every high-class boarding house in Paris is English-speaking, and the conversation always slides into the easier language. It is better so. Evil com- munications corrupt good manners, and nothing is more evil than our French. “Aimez-vous du lapin en gibelotte, emoiselle?” “Oui, tres beaucoup, sieur' “Yes, Mr. Smith, je suis faim—why are you looking into your plate, have I made another mistake? If Monsieur Dupont spoke English he would make as many. I would like to hear them speak a little English, these Frenchmen, who look s0 superior. Je dis, monsieur, que je voudrais bien sentir ma langue dans la jouche d'un Francais, de temps en temps!” At one time the French table solemnly azreed upon a tem of black marks for breaking into English at meals. At the end of the week the doctor, having the greatest number of marks to his discredit, presented the table with a dozen individual butter dishes, as a hint to emphasize the butter at lunch time. But when the management persisted in us- ing them for ice cream saucers at the din- ner, it destroyed the forfeit system, and they all returned to easy English, glad of an excuse. One of the reasons of the astonishing rise and glory of the new style cafe spectacle— “music hall’—in home words, “variety show"'—a blossoming which has transform- ed this sort of thing in Paris, is this very difficulty of language. Americans are not the only ones who cannot follow a French play. German and English tourists are quite as badly off, and the great contingent from South America find it just 2s hard to the words “when they speak so For all foreigners the bright and music hall, with its trained goals, its acrobats, its ballets, its English “serios" and “comediennes,” its clowns, balancers and lofty tumblers comes as a re- lief. No strain or attention is needed. It makes no difference if you have not un- derstood the second scene of the first act. It is the tourist's delight, because the tour- ist is not a German or English clerk come to Paris to acquire French for business pur- poses. Paris is no place to “pick up” French. I fancy that one living, say, for two years, in Berlin, must almozt, by the force of cir- cumstances, speak the German nicely. It would be the same for French at Bordeaux. juggle: But Paris is a great cosmopolitan city. | There are Americans in Paris today, and | plenty of them, who have known French pretty well for years and years, and yet STUDYING FRENCH ON THE RIVIERA. ppy parly-voo. Ashamed of his bad rench, he goes about with the air of a whipped dog. Servants, clerks and employes look down on him, misinterpreting his hu- mility. He does not refer to the Champs- Elysees as the “Champs Eliza,” nor pro- pounce Filles-de-Calvaire as if it read “Fields of Cavalry.” So much the worse. No} speaks French, and wh to Paris it is always Studying French at the Opera. to “perfect” her knowledge simply, not to learn the language. Reading French is one thing, but speaking ft is another. And un- derstanding French when spoken is another story still. What chance has the nice Amer- fean girl to perfect her rickety “Je suis, tu es, il est” during the year or less that she stays in the gay French capital, when all her friends at home are envying her? She comes with her mother, and they settle in a high-elass boarding house. They have a bed room and a private parlor. Mademoi- selle unpacks her banjo, her piano music, her boarding school photographs, her ten- nis caps and fraternity pins—the triumphs of her bow and spear—and settles down to a Parisian winter of pleasure and profit. The boarding house is one selected from the Paris Herald or the Galignani advertis- ing lists—indeed, there are no others—or is one that has been recommended to them by @ friend or traveling acquaintance. After a week of lonely stumbling about extortionate hotels they are delighted to find peace and pienty, with the accents of the dear ald En- glish language all round apout. It is as easy as cating to take a cab to the bank, to the shops and to the newspaper stand of who datly speak less French than they would speak if they were in New York. In New York they would hunt out French cafes and restaurants and scrape up French acquaintances there for the simple pleasure of conversing with them. In Paris days go by with scarcely more than orders to the cabmen and the servants. Experience of tourists and knowledge of the American colony in Paris forces one to the conclusion that.most Americans who know French stay at home. Americans in Paris are divided into several classes: ‘Tourists. Ladies who bring their daughters with the view of perfecting them in French, music and art. Students of the Latin Quarter. Residents in love with the gay capital. Business men, who come and go. Business men, who come to stay, and with these, American doctors, dentists and artists. A The class of American residenia in love with the gay capital marks itself off sharp- ly into three subdivisions. There are the Americans who, by birth, marriage cr opportunity, affect French so- ciety exclusively. Whatever may be thought, they are but a handful, and are to all purposes French. The “colony,” to the colony's regret, scarcely knows ‘their name. They are as bound to be exclusive of real American acquaintances as a Phil- Using Her adelphia aristocrat of his uptown relatives, Secondly, there is the colony itself, an anything but compact body, held together by its money and the common wish for so- clal place more elevated than its individual members could have always found at home, The colony speaks French—after the airy manner of Madame Frisbey, in Pendennis, with fluency as the chief mark. Thank heaven we Americans have not the broken- vowel, sing-song accent of the English, imitated by the clowns of the Nouveau- Cirque, but there is a great deal of the same miraculous construction. Pendennis’ famous—‘‘Sincerement fache d’avoir use une expression qui avait pu blesser mon- sieur, et qu'il donnait sa parole comme un gentilhomme qu'il ne l’avait jamais, jamais intende"'—would pass muster easily enough among us. “Miss Connecticut,” the eye- relling, fan-tapying and facile ingenue, through whom the colony has just been in- sulted in “Le Carnet du Diable,” the new Piece at the Varietes, speaks thus. Thirdly, there is the colony's pale outer rim, or aureole, a poor-relation-like contin- gert, not rich enough to be full members of the colony. These are given up to 5 o'clock. teas in hotel and boarding house private sitting rooms, or the extremely cozy parlors of furnished apartments,where Miss Smith, “whose voice is just like Patti's, only she sings ‘five notes higher;” Miss Brown, “who has just gained a silver medal for declamation-diction at the Rudy Institute,” and Mr. Jones, “who is studying for the Paris grand opera,” together with Miss Robinson, “who is going to give piano recitals in America,” and her young friend, Monsieur Dupont, the symbolist French poet—sing with notes angelical to many a harp thelr own heroic deeds. Their song was partial, but the harmony suspended— ahem—and took with ravishment the thronging audience. Nevertheless, when the symbolist poet has finished declaiming in French, and well-gloved little hands have clapped him frantically, the sweet lips mur- mur with a soft humility—you hear the phrases all around about mixed with the amiable hum and rattling of cups and spoons—“‘Of course, I don't catch every word,” “He speaks so fast, you know “Oh, yes; I understand—here and there, you He Understands a Little. know—enough to get the sense of it, you kr Wonder of wonders! the part is greater than the whole! and from suca scattered scraps as “L'affreux passe,” “‘Mes fautes et mes douleurs,” “Amour pale, une aurore future,” they are able to make out the ense” of a symbolist—or cymbal! which has no sense in {t. All this means simply that “knowing French” is a vague term, and that Ameri- cans who have not “perfected” themselves in the language by a prolonged residence in Paris need not feel unduly timid in the presence of returning colonists. There are ladies wio lived twenty-five years in Paris and whose French sounds like the grinding of a coffee mill. The secret is told in a word. Practically every American in Paris hears daily so much more Nouveau-Cirque- clown French from English and American ‘Aoh yes! je Vaimay toojoor bocoo '—than real French from French lips that his main practice consists in hearing and repeating this sloppy ‘“Americo-Parisi- enne”™ dialect. All the bad oranges are in the same bas- ket, and they mutually rot each other. There is no help for it in Paris. If you go off by yourself in a French family you will not get enough to eat; if you live in the res- taurants and cafes you will fall into the absinthe habit; if you live in the Latin Quarter your morals will be corrupted—if yeur morals are not corruptible you will soon cease to live in the Latin Quarter; if you spend your days with a French teacher he will learn English from you. There is no way out of it. “Krowing French"—from the point of view of the American in Paris—generally means one of two things. (1) You understand easily and completely theatrical pieces, if you are close enough to the stage to hear well. You comprehend the jokes, allusions and half slang expressions of the day, be- cause you read the French papers and are posted. You may or may not be able to completely follow a lecturer at the Sor- bonne. You understood everything that is said to you in the ordinary course of con- versation and explain yourself at length with ease in s kind of French which is fluent and intelligible, but liable to funny breaks, often graminatical, with crooked genders, oftener by literally translating the good English language into French words. This is the high state of proficiency, not attained by one in twenty. (2) The ordinary sense of “knowing French” is to be able to stumble through a book or newspaper, umMerstand next to nothing at the theater, be able to catch a great deal of formal conversation on fa- wiliar subjects and reply in a mixture of good familiar phrases and bad breaks and guesses. Frequently the sentence breaks down before it reaches its end—a shrug or wave of the hand more Frenchy than a Frenchman ever made bridges over the gap to the next plunge. Shrugging is cheap. STERLING HEILIG. —_.—— WATER NOT POPULAR. A Medical View of Its Use Three Cen- turies Ago. From the Hospital. It needed a very bold man to resist the medical testimony of three centuries ago against water drinking. Few writers can be found to say a good word for it. One or two only are concerned to maintain that, “when begun in early life, it may be pretty freely drunk with “impunity,” and they quote the curious instance given by Sir Thomas Elyot In his “Castle of Health,” 1541, of the Cornish men, “‘many of the poorest sort, which never, or very seldom, drink any other drink, be noiwithstand- ing strong of body and like and live well until they be of great age.” Thomas Co- gan, the medical schoolmaster of Manches- ter fame, confessed in his “Haven of Health,” 1589, designed for the use of stu- dents, that he knew some who drink cold water at night or fasting in the morning without hurt; and Dr. James Hart, writing about fifty years later, could even claim among his acquaintance “soine honorable and worshipful ladies who drink little other drink, and yet enjoy more perfect health than most of them that drink of the strong- est.” The phenomenon was undeniable, but the natural inference was “one the less to be resisted. Sir Thomas. Elyot kimself is very certain, in spite of the Cornish men, that “there be in water causes of divers diseases, as of swelling of the spleen and liver.” He complains oddly also that “it filtteth and swimmeth,” and concludes that “to young men, and them that be of hot complexions, it doeth less harm, and some- times it profiteth, but to them that are feeble, old and melancholy, it is not con- venient.” “Water is not wholesome cool by itself for an Englishman,” was the ver- sion of Andrew Borde—monk, physician, bishop, ambassador and writer on sanita- tion—as the result of a life’s experienc: And to quote the “Englishman‘s Docto: Both water and small beer, we make no question, Are enemies to health and good digestion. But the most formal indictment against water is that of Venner, who, writing in 1622, ponderously pronounces “to dwellers in cold countries it doth very greatly de- ject their appetites, destroy the natural heat and overthrow the strength of the stomach, and consequently confounding the concoction, is the cause of crudities, fluc- tuations and windiness in the body.” ——_—_+ee______ Dr. Jameson's Mistake. From the Pall Mall Gazette. Englishmen worshiped Dr. Jameson; Boers liked and respected him; but the Chartered Company was hated by the one and cordially disliked by a large proportton of the other. This proportion consisted mainly of men frem Kimberley and Natal. The former, who were squeezed out of the diamond fields by the amalgamation policy of Rhodes, have never ceased to nurse their resentment to keep it warm. The Natal men hated ev @ that had any savor of the Cape. There were divisions among Englishmen, and they, generically, had their national jealousies as against Germans and Hollanders. Jameson never seemed to appreciate this fatal absence of unity, and hence it is that what was probably at best but a sectional appeal came to be interpreted toa as the universal solicitation of the A PLAINSPHONE OF THE HEAVENS FOR FEBRUARY, REGION OF ORION Splendid Constellations and Where They Are Found. WONDERS OF THEGREAT SPIRAL NEBULA —-—__—_—— In the Vicinity of the Beautiful Cluster of the Pleiades. ——_.—_— ABOUT THE PLANETS ———— ACING THE SOUTH IF= about 9 o'clock to- morrow night—at 7 o'clock at the close of the month—we shail have before us the splendid Orion region, interesting “to the naked eye observer for the number of its brilliant stars and to peculiar richness telescopic objects. 4 Ly two stars of the first magnitude, Betelgeuse, at the upper left-hand corner, and Rigel, at the lower right-hand corner of the great X which forms the constellation. To the left, or east of Orion, at a lower altitude than Rigel, fs Sirius, the Dog Star, equal in splendor to five average stars of the first magnitude, Still farther to the left and at a greater gltitude is Procyon, the Little Dog. To thir}ght of Orion, at about the same altitude‘a& Betelgeuse, ™@ Olde- baran, the Bull's-eye, the brightest star In Taurus. Very neafly, overhead is Capella, the Geat, the principal star in Auriga, the Wagoner, and now the brightest star vis- ible, except Sirius. From Sirius runs a curved line through Procyon to Capella, amd about midway between the two last named stars you will strike the Twins, Castor and Pollux. The same curved line will run through a star of the second maknitnde a short distance to the east of Capella... This rigac, in the Wagoner’s right shoulder. Beta Aurigae has recently been invested with a special interest from the discover: that it is “spectroscopically double;” tha is to say, it has been discovered that there is a periodical doubling of the lines of the spectrum of this star, caused, on a principle well understood by spectroscopists, by the alternate approach and recession of each of its component suns as they revolve about each other. The pair is too close, however, to be separated by the most powerful tel- escope. This ts the second star’ discovered in this way to be dou Dipper. The First Mugnitade. Midway between the Twins and the east- ern horizon is the Sickle, which forms the bushy head and shoulders of the old con- stellation Leo. The star Regulus, in the handle of the Sickle, is of about the same brilliancy as Pollux, and like that star is commonly regarded as of the first magni- tude, though considerably below the aver- age brightness of stars of that class. The very brilliant star between Regulus and the Twins fs an interloper jn this part of the heavens—the planet Jupiter. In the west, at about the same altitude as the Sickle, is the pair of stars which mark the head of Aries,the Ram, ce of the second and ore of the third magnitude. Near the more westerly of the two is a star of the fourth magnitude, which, once noted, ren- ders the pair always easy to identify. While facing the west we may see a very noticeable line of se=20d magnitude stars, rurnirg in a direction from Capella to a point im the horizon a little north of west. ‘The upper three of these stars form a near- ly right-angled triangle, marked on the Elanisphere. The uppermost of the three is ‘Alpha Persei, the principal star in Per- seus; that at the right angle is the variable star Algol, the “Blinking Demon" of the Arab astronomers; the lowest of the three is Gamma Andromedae, in the left foot of Andromeda. This last star is an exceeding- ly beautiful colored double and is a fine ob- ject for a telescope of moderate power. Its component stars are orange and green. The star next below Gamma is Beta Androme- dae, in the maiden’s belt. The belt is com- pleted by two stars of the fourth magni- tude, which form a short line with Beta, extending to the right. Just below the out- er of these faint stars is the famous nebula in Andromeda, which to the naked eye ap- pears as a “blurred” star of about the fifth magnitude. It can be identified unmistak- ably with an opera glass. The lowermost star in the line pointed out is Alpha Andro- medae, known also by:the Arabic name Al- pheratz. It is in the: head of Andromeda and also marks oné:corner of the Square of Pegasus, which is: naw partly below the horizon. ot ab Algol and-Mira continue to be objects of especial interest. Minima of Algol conveni- ent for observing will occur at 8 p.m. on the 3d of the monthz/at 12:40 a.m. on the 2ist; at 9:30 p.m, on the 23d; at 6:20 p.m. en the 26th. 2 Where te Find Mira, The peculiarity of Algol is that after shin- ing steadily for about two and a half days as a star of the second magnitude it falls in the space of about four hours to the fourth magnitude,” @id in another four hours recovers its fsdal splendor. The ex- plaration of this singular behavior, now ac- cepted as fully established, is that the star has a dark satellite which revolves about it in an orbit,turned edgewise toward us, and which passing periodically between us and it cuts off a portion of ts light. Mira is now at 9 p.m. pretty low in the west and had better be looked for early in the evening. In searching for it find first the star Menkar, of the second magnitude, by means of the triangle which it makes with the Pleiades and the pair of stars in Aries,as Indicated on the planisphere. Three stars will be seen a short distance to the right of Menkar. The lowest of these, Del- ta Ceti, a star of the fourth magnitude, is very nearly midway between Menkar and Mira. Mira runs tae eycle of its changes in a period of about #¢leven months, during seven of which it 1s invisible to the naked eye. Let us turn to Orion and exercise our im- agination for a few moments, not in trying to trace the outlines of this ancient hunts- man of niythology, but with the wonders that have been revealed here by the tele- scope, the spectroscope, and the camera. Chief among these wonders is the great the astronomer for its | in| Orion itself contains | star js Beta Au- | . the first being | Mizar, the middle star in the handle of the nebula. Unfortunately for us it is not visi- bie to the naked eye, and, indeed, to see it in its full glory requires a telescope of the largest size. But we can fix our eyes on the spot where it is—marked on the planisphere —and imagine, if we have not access to a photograph of it, “a light stain of indescrib- able glory, a vast volume of bluish gaseous Teaterial with hues of infinite softness and delicacy, here presenting luminous tracts which glow with an exquisite light, there graduating off until it is impossible to say where the nebula ceases and the black sky begins.” Great Spiral Nebula. Among the stars of Orion on our chart may be seen a dotted spiral, somewhat re- sembling the figure 6, which begins near the star Bellatrix, in the left shoulder, and cury- ing downward partly encircles the central stars of the constellation. This curved line marks the location and the general form of reat spiral nebula, which was first seen on a photograph taken by Prof. W. H. Pick- ering at Wilson's Peak in 1889, and which was subsequently brought out on photo- graphs of Orion taken by Prof. Barnard at Mount Hamilton. Another region whi invested with a_ spe which lies immedi. ful little cluster been known ch photography has al inte t is that iy around © beauti- the Pleiades. It has six or ¢& t year of for some through photographs taken by Dr. Robert! Mr. Browning, Professor Wilson and others, that this cluster, consisting of between 2,009 and is imbedded in a mass of nebulow , which is particularly | condensed about the four stars Alcyone, | Merope, ectra and Maia. The kecn-eyed Herschel noted the region lying just north @ Pleiades as one of “diffused nebulos- and recently—in December, 1893—Pro- r Garnard successfully photographed the clusier and the surrounding region with the long exposure of ten hours, and found that this ‘nebulosity” encompasses the clus- ter on nearly every side over a space about ten degrees square—about twice the size of the bowl of the Great Dipper. If there has ever been a reasonable doubt that the Pleiades form a true and not a merely optical cluster, this extensive cloud of nebulous matter, in the midst of which they Ne, must remove the doubt. The Pleiades, therefore, may be considered, like Orion, to form a department of creation by themselves. The Planets. Mercury will be in inferior conjunction with the sun—between us and the sun—on the Sth. 1t will not be visible during the month. Venus is still a brilliant morning star, be'ng at the beginning of the month two hours and. three-quarters in advance of | the sun, She is now moving directly from the earth and is diminishing tn brightnes Mars is a morning star, and at the b ginning of the month is a quarier of an hour—less than four degrees—east of Venus. He is now too far away to be an object of interest. Jupiter, in the constellation Cancer, is still a glorious evening star, and is in a posi- tion to be an object of the first interest to the possessor of a telescope. ‘The planet presents about the same “aspect it has presented for several years past, its most conspicuous feature being a broad double equatorial belt of a prevailing salmon inue, but variegated with brownish streaks. The old “red spot” still shows itself as a faint oval ring of a pink hue. Saturn, in the tellation Libra, is a morning star, rising about 1 ain. It will be in quadrature with the sun--six hours of it—on the 7th. Uranus is also in Libra, between Saturn and Antares. Neptune, invisible, of course, is In Taurus, between the Bull's horns and about ten de- grees east of Aldebaran. The position of the moon at 9 p.m. for every day on which she is above the hori- zon at that hour is shown on the plan- isphere. Ww about way Ss WIND PULLED HIS TOOTH. He Tells the Story Himself and It Must Be True. From the Loaisville Commercial. One of the queerest pr of the wind | during the cyclone the other night hap- pened at the co-rer of Gih and Jefferson streets. John Gazzullo, the night engineer at the city hall, has been suffering from toothache for some time, and has been tell- ing his friends shat he intended to have the acher jerked out as svon as he could screw his courage up to the point. On the night in question his tooth ached so badly that he could hardly hear the wind blow. He was desperate. Borrowing a gum overcoat from ene of the policemen about the police station, he started out just as a funnel- shaped cloud was scudding along. He reached the corner of ‘th and Jefferson streets, and was about to turn the corner, when a gust of wind struck him and lifted bim off his feet. He might have heen car- vied over to the court house yard and drowned in the fountain but for his pres- ence of mind in grabbing the iron railing that runs around the steps leading down into the basement. He clung there for a moment with the wind right in his face. He turned his head, and as he did so there was a sudden jerk that dislodged his hat ard fairiy unraveled his red necktie. Then there was a luil, and when he crept back into the station house he made the startling discovery that the aching tooth was gone. The wind had pulled it. He tells the story himself, and if it is not true, Mr. Gazzollo has grossly deceived me. se. The Church Debt. From the Indianapolis Journal. Mrs. Watts—“There! We have cleared off the last of that church debt, and it never cost you men a cent. See what women can do.” Mr. Watts—“I don’t know about the other fellows, but I know you have made me spend more than $100 for extra meals down town while you were out monkeying around.” —____+0+_____ What is “An Edition.” From Tid-Bits, “What constitutes an edition?” is a ques- tion that is frequently asked, and nobody seems qualified to answer it satisfactorily. The truth is that in 99 out of every 100 cases later editions are merely servile prints of the first edition, and there may have been 10,000 copies of a book made for the first edition, or there may have been only 150. The first editions of all works by Emile Zola number 20,000 copies each. In a Paris shop, where only rare volumes are sold, a first edition of “L’Assommoir” is valued at 105 francs—say £4—but this book came out at a time when Zola was comparatively unknown, and Zola editions were then lim- ited to 1,000 copies each. In fact, in France an edition is supposed to consist of 1,000 copies, but, as Mr. Rob- ert H. Sherard says in a recent letter: “Publishers are not without guile, and to whip up a sale a book may be issued in editions of fifty copies, so that by the time 1,000 copies have been disposed of the book ig in ite twentleth editions’ z A SPARROW FUNERAL, A Queer Incident of the Cuban Reve- lution of Nearly Thirty Years Ago. From the Pittsburg Dispatch. What is a historical fact in Cuba,,and what appears to be a second edition of “Who Killed Cock Robin?" is an interest- ing story related by Col. Figueredo, a noted Cuban leader, It appears that years ago a Spaniard, with an idea of rendering a valuable ser- vice to the city of Havana, brought from Spain a large number of sparrows similar to the English variety, and which were thought to be wseful as a city bird in forming an army of diminutive city scav- engers. Imagine his surprise and anger when upon arriving at the city he was charged an excessive duty on the little birds. In a fit of passion he liberated all the birds, and became involved in trouble for trying to evade the customs dues. The sparrows invaded the city, where they multiplied in a surprising manner. They proceeded to wage war upon a small city bird, which they drove entirely from the city limits. For this act the Cubans called them the Spanish bird, and in time began calling the Speniards “gorrion,” which means sparrow. On this trifling subject a very bitter feeling obtained a foundation. It was carried so far that the Spaniards recognized the sparrow as the emblematic bird, much as we Americans look upon the eagle, and they zealously guarded the welfare of the midget. After the outbreak of the revolution in 1868 the bitterness in this line, as well as others, became intensified. One day a sen- tinel on guard at the palace in Havana found the body of a dead sparrow, which had fallen from one of the trees in the park. With the greatest care and rever- ence he took the little body before a coun- cil of volunteers then being held. The voi- unteers deliberated over the death of the bird, and on the impulse of the moment they passed resolutions of respect for the deceased sparrow, and made an assess- ment among the members of the volunteers whereby they raised $60,000, the idea being to give the little Spanish sparrow a most imposing funeral. A skillful silversmith was summoned before a committee, and ordered to make a beautiful casket of sil- ver, to be elaborately trimmed with gold, for the bird. The handsomest hall in the city was obtained, and the drapers put to work to prepare it for the reception of the sparrow, which was to lie in state. In the center of this hall a richly decorated cat- afalque was erected, and on this the little casket containing the remains of the spar- row was placed. All the city and military officers visited the hali and paid homage to the bird. The volunteers appointed a strongly armed body to guard the remains. A bishop was lorced to officiate at the ceremonies. While the botly was lying in state the occupants of the houses on the streets on which the funeral procession was to march were or- dered te have their houses draped. When the day of the funeral arrived the volunteers were out in full force, and the procession was one of the most imposing. During the march several persons lost their lives. One was observed on the side- walk laughing and presumably ridiculing the demonstration, and one of the volun- teers shot him down in his tracks. A house was passed that had not been draped for the occasion, end one of the inmates, being seen by the volunteers, was also shot. After a lengthy march the casket was re- turned to the starting point. About this time an unfortunate cat. pre- sumably of Cuban inclination—as a Spanish eat uld never have been guilty of such an act—was discovered on a housetop eat- ing one of these sparrows. The amazed feline was seized, trted, and after a speedy court-martial was brought out into the public square, and four skilled marksmen wer selected as executioners. — The Grizzly’ From Harper's Bazar. Mistake. ‘The Bear—“That dude's so nervous he can’t shoot. I’li tackle him.” Yale Half Back—“What’s tha dent intends to tackle. Now in it. He evi- Yale Half Back (five minutes later)—“And, after all, I’m sorry I threw him so hard.” A Postmaster’s: Wife. A LEEDS WOMAN WHO ASTONISHED FRIENDS AND NEIGHBORS. Near to Death, but Restored So Come pletely That She Has Been Accept- ed by a Life Insurance Com- pany as a Good Risk. From the Jourpal, Lewiston, Me. A bright little woman, rosy and fresh from her Rcusehold duties, dropped into a chair before the Writer and tatked with enthusiasm shining in her snapping black eyes. The peopie in the pretty village of Leeds Centre, Me., have watched with some interest the resto- ration to complete health of Mrs, W. L. Francis, wife of the postmaster. So geueral were the com- meuts on this interesting case that the writer who visited Mrs, Francis and learncd from ber that the Statements regarding her troubles and her subso- quent extrication therefrom are entirely troe. All of hes neighbors know what has been the agency that has performed this cure, but that others may Le benefited by her experience, Mrs. Francis bas consented to allow ber story to appear in print. “If there 1s anything on earth I dread more than another,” sho said, “it is to sve my mame in the Papert, But in chis case I conquer my repugu.see and give publicly che same credit to the savior of my life as I would to one who bad dragged me from a death beneath the waves. In fact, I have extolled my preserver so enthusiastically and unre- cervedly; have sought out sufferers and recom- mended tho remedy to so many friends and nc- auaintances, that already my neighbors jocularly call me “Pink Puls Francis.’ But really, my recov ery J something that 1 conajder wonderful. I know that there are so many testimonials of medicine in the papers nowadays that people do not pay as much heed as formerly, but I do wish folks who are suffering would remember that what I say comes right from the heart of a woman who feels that sho had a new leaw of happy life given to . . “Eleven years azo I was afficted with nervous prostration. My existence until two yeers ago was one of dragging misery. Any one in the village will tell you of my condition. My blood seemed exhausted from my veins and month after montis I grew weaker. I was able to undertake ovly the lightest household work, apd even then I could per- form it only by slow and careful movements. Dur- ing all these sorry mouths and years I was under the care of this doctor and that, but their medi- cines helped mo only spasmodically, and then I fell into relapses more prostrating then ever. “In the might I used to be awakened by the most excruciating pains in my heart and side, and was obliged to uss pellets of powerful medicine that the doctor gave me for relief In such attacks. last condition became so grave that I out only infrequeatly. We lve upstairs, you no- tice, over my husband's store, and in descondii the ' stairw: I frequently was obliged to sor: fall and slide over the steps iu order to descend, such was the strain on my system resulting from even this slight exertion. Occasionally I visited the reighbors, but I wns obliged to sit and rest to re- cover breath while ascending any elevation. In short, it did not seem that I could live, such was complete physical prostration. Moe day I sax” an advertisement of Dr. Will- jams’ Pink Pills for Pale Peoj although n faith in remedies was weak by ‘that time, I for a box and tried them. That was two ago. Now I call myself a well woman. Isa't it wonderful? “I haven't bad one of those excruciating patns in the heart for a year and a half. first lox of pills “helped me. 1 can walk miles now; can do my work easily; have gained in weight constantly, and you would scarcely bellere it, but a Tittle ‘while ago I was examined for endowment life insurance and was accepted un- hesitatingly after + careful examination by the vbysician. “Do you wonder that I'm rhouting ‘Pink Pills" all through our village? I baren’t taken any of the remedy for some months, for it has completely built me up, but at the Sret sign of trouble f know to what refuge to flee. “Tast year my aunt, Mrs. M. A. Blossom of She was suf- Why, even the Dixtield P. O., was bere visiting me. fering from lack of vitality and heart trouble, but she Was skeptical about my remedy that I was so enthusiastically advocating. At last, however, she tried it and carried some bome with her when she Went. A little while ago I received a letter from her, ‘and in it said. “Iam cured, thanks to God aod Pink Pills.’ She also wrote that her busband had been prostrated, but had been restored by the remedy. “We feel up this way that such a sovereign eure cannot be too widely known. ‘That is the only rea- fon why I allow my name to be used in this con- nection. I know also that by personally recom- mending them 1 have helped mauy of my friends back to health, for I never let an opportunit pass when a word of counsel may direct some on ‘One of the persons to whom Mrs. Francis ree- ommended Pink Pilis is Station Agent ©. H. Foster of Leeds Centre, and the reporter found him pa- trolling the platform awaiting the arrival of the morning train. Mr. Foster, who is one of the most pable and energetic men in the em- ploy of the Maine Central raiiroad, appeared in un- usually good health and spirits and we made im- quiry as to the cause. “To you know,” replied he, “I think Tye made & discovery, or at least Mra.’ Francis has for me? I have been in poor health for a long time with a heart trouble variously complicated. We bi ern so fully interested in Mrs. Francis’ wonderful re- covers th : to give the medi- test. So, about two first box of Dr. two months, please improved, y duties, 80 ecovery, ‘that the ‘Only already better elle to fulfill n that I am on the road to l like a new man. “I can now walk without the fatigue I once ex- rienced, my heart affection appears to be re- and I have joined the Pink Pills Band in munity Mr. Foster commenced taking the pills at a time when he comple a, after snffered suc and fx constantly improving, so much So as to ex- cite his enthusi de. Dr. Wi 3 . in a condensed form, all the elements necessary to give new life and richness to the blood and restore cred nerves. They are an unfailing specific tach diseases as lo T ataxia, partial paraly Vitus’ dance, selatica, neuralgia, rheuma vors headacte, the after effect of la grippe. palpl- tation of the ‘heart, pale and sallow compiexik all forms of we: either in male or fei Pink Pills are sold by all dealers, or will be nt post paid on receipt of price (50 cents a box, of six boxes for $2.60—they are never sold in bulk oF by the 100) by addressing Dr. Williams’ Medicine Company, Schenectady, N. ¥. TRAINED IN POLITICS. Private Secretaries of Pablic Men Forty Years Ago. Washington Corr. Philadelphia Times. “In the days before the war,” said a man who has visited Washington for the pa: forty years, “it was customary for gentl men from the south who came to Wash- ington as members of the House of Repre- sentatives or as Senators each to bring with him a young man who was to act as private secretary for ‘he purpose of being trained in politics, because politics was the gentlemanly profession of the southern people at that time. The private secretary of a Reprsentative or of a Senator was regarded as a student of politics, and his standirg was such as a student of Yale or Harvard might obtain in the cities where those institutions are located. According to his family history and ancestry and his own perscnal merit, the privaté secretary of a Senator or Representative was re- eived in society in those days, and he was not looked upor as a hireling or an under- strapper. “On the contrary, he was regarded as a highly favored gentleman, who had been brought to the national capital, the center of polities of the country, to study the po- litical history and the political development. of his time,with the prospect and hope that in the near future he would become a Sena- tor or a Representative in Congress him- self; and at home he was regarded as of the most favcred men in his city or s tion of the country. Nearly all of those young men attained or achieved distinction as officers and soldiers in the confederate army during the civil war; and a number of them have become members of Congress since the great American conflict closed, During tae present generation, however, the private secretaries of Senators and Representatives are not in Washington for the purpose of being trained and educated ir. political aifairs, but for the purpose of attending to the clerical duties of the gen- tlemen who have given them employment.” Mr. Vernon's Perpetual Pointer. From the San Francisco Post. “That pointer of mine is a great dog,” declared Howard Vernon as he petted his $1,000 dog Glenbeigh. “I can always de- pend on him. When he makes a point I know that he has scented a bird, and I know that he will not move a muscle while I have a chance at It. “I was hunting quail up at Point Reys last month, when I lost Glenbeigh. I knew he must be pointing in the brush some- where, but I looked everywhere for him and could not find him. The next day I resumed the search, with no better success, but on the third day I found him in a dense thicket standing perfectly rigid, with his tail sticking straight out behind and one foot up. A quail had run into a hollow tree, and the dog stood at the openin, pointing. The quail dared not come ow and the dog, true to his training, wouldn't move. He had been standing in that posi- tion, without so much as moving a a for sixty-five hours, and when I tried jead him away he could not walk/’