Evening Star Newspaper, April 4, 1896, Page 22

28 QUEER LITTLE BEAST Discovered by Professor Garner in the Wilds of Africa. HS CURIOUS “AMPUTATED FINGER” A Hunting Story Which Was Told to the Author. ANEW SPECIES | N THE FORESTS of Central Africa there live many strange creatures, some of them as yet unknown to science. One of the most sin- gular of these be- longs to the Simian family, but ts very low down in the scale. I have a spec- fmen, which I kept in captivity for a number of months, Guring which time I gave considerable at- tention to its habits. So far as I am able to learn, it is an entirely new species of a smell group known as slow lemurs. Up to this time there have only been two species of this genus known in Africa, but the specimen in my possession is not identical with either. I have never found a speci- men of it In any museum, either in this country or abroad, and I have found no goologist who has ever seen or known one. It is neither a potto nor an awantibo, though it doubtless belongs to that group, being included in the genus of lemuroids called “Arctocebus”—i. e., bear apes. The native name of this animal is “Ikan- da,” and it appears to be confined to a mall scope of country along the equator in West Central Africa; its habitat does not extend to the coast, but stops at the edge of the delta lines. It is uncertain how far it extends to the interior. I found very few of the natives of the low country that knew the native name of the animal, and most of them assured me that it lived far away in the hill country; but nearly @very one of the negroes from the interior tree, selecting a bough which they can grasp with the feet. ‘They always lie upon the upper side of the limb, with the head toward the top of the tree, but they #ome- times rest the body on the base of the spinal column, ‘stretching out the arms at full length, and resting the chin on the breast: In this position they. will sit for hours. As a rule they walk on,all fours, but they: have a habit of standing erect on their hind legs. They rarely do this, how- ever, without holding by their hands to some object. In eating they always take their food in Sheed sive nr eae hs ippens to anything that si 0 the hand, ‘when they have finished they lick the hands perfectly clean. The specimen that I had was fond of sev- eral kinds of fruit, but the food that he appeared to like best was a certain kind of green grasshopper very. common in that Part of Africa. While he preferred this particular in- gect, there were some other kinds that he would eat when hu , but there -were some kinds which he refused to touch at all. To test this I strung a variety of these insects on a fine wire, and stretched it be- fore him. He quickly picked off the green ones, and swallowed them; then a few of the others, which he ate with less eager- ness, leaving the rest undisturbed. Another food that he was fond of was a young snail when from one to two inches long; for larger or smaller ones of the same kind he did not seem to care. His teeth indicated that a large part of his food con- sisted of insects, and it is probable that the Icng claw on his toe was designed to aid in their capture. Although he was exceedingly slow, in most of his movements, there was one ex- ception. When food was offered him he made no sign or motion whatever until it came within a certain distance; then he would thrust out his hand with incredible speed and snatch it away like a flash. In this act the movement of his hand was so quick that the eyes could scarcely follow it, and he was so accurate in his aim that he never missed the object. Fond of Biting. My own specimen of the Ikanda was an ungrateful wretch, and as treacherous.as pessible. I tried for months to tame him. He would eat from my hand with perfect equanimity, and appeared to be as tame as 2 kitten, until he had secured the last morsel of food held in sight; then he would snap my finger as quickly as he had selzed the food. Several times when I gave him fced with my fingers. he took the morsel in his mouth and at the same moment bit my finger. They are very silent animals, and during the whole time that I had this one, I never heard him utter the slightest scund except a low, faint squeak when an- gry. As I have already stated, the grasp of the tkanda is remarkable. I have had this little beast seize my finger, and I have worked for several minutes at a time, un- able to extricate it. The more you try to i THE IKANDA OR “BEAR APE.” < knew the creature and its name, and some of them related strange stories concerning its habits. The drawings used In illustrating this ar- ticle were taken from life. In his general @ppearanee the fkanda fs like a miniature bear. Itis from this fact that the name “arctocebus” has heen conferred upon him. Every movement is exactly Wke that of a bear; the ears, nose and tail are also like those of a bear. The eyes are large, ex- tremely convex and protruding: they are round, like the eyes of a lemur, and are well adapted to the owner's nocturnal hab- its; they are not clear or pronounced in color, but have a hazy or smoky look. The teeth are small and white, and the crea- ture Is not averse to using them in a very spiteful way. The canines are comical; the incisors Icok like those of a human being, except in size. Peeu! © Hands and Feet. The most singular physical features are the hands and feet, which are shown in the drawings. The hand Is a perfect hu- man hand in ry respect, except the Want of an index finger. At the end of the metacarpal bone, where the first finger joins the hand, it looks exactly as if the finger had been amputated In a most skill- ful manner, leaving no scar or mark. The thumb Is quite perfect and normal in size. The great toe projects from the side of the foot; but the angle ‘ween it and the others is very much wider than it is in take anything away from him, the tighter he grasps it; I have had him almost wring the skin off my fingers. The only way to relax his grasp was to gently remove one toe at a time by putting a stick or pencil under it, or to distract his attention and induce him to walk away. Some of the stories told me by the natives about his grasp were almost incredible. I was told a dozen times or more by those from different parts that the hunters in the interior often made use of the ikanda for the singular purpose of catching leopards. It is said that they set deep in the ground @ row of posts, leaving between them a space of about one inch or a little more; then at a distance of a foot or so away from this they place another row in like manner. These posts rise about two feet above the ground; over them is lashed a row of short pieces of wood. The openings at the ends of the two rows of posts are closed up, and in this strong stockade is placed a full grown ikanda; on the outside of the barricade near the openings are placed some pieces of fresh raw meat. A Strong Grasp. A leopard in the neighborhood will soon get scent of this, and come to steal it. As he crouches in front of the stockade the ikanda, angry at his intrusion, will thrust his foot through a crack and grasp the leg of the leopard. This he will hold for hours. The natives declare that the great beast cannot release himself, and that the little Soe OF rogy fA oF Hane - the foot of a monkey. In fact, the thumb is almost at a right angle to the sides of the foot. The other four toes are in line, lke those of «. human foot, but the first of em, which corresponds to the second toe A man, is armed with a long, sharp, lack ciaw, may be seen in the picture. e other toes have perfect nails, like those b= the human foot. The instep is higher that of monkeys or apes in general. A remarkable trait of this animal is the mense grasping power of the foot. The id possesses great prehensile power, but is not to be compared with that of the foot. Ikanda, the native name, {s also ap- led to a miser, and means “the grasper.” The body is covered with a dense growth soft hair, almost like fur. It is dark wn in color, but somewhat lighter on under side of the body. The nose is @uite bare and very black. I have never seen one of these animals the adult state, but apparently they to _be fourteen or fifteen inches in igth. The specimen I had was only eight nine inches long. The body is relatively vy, and the limbs are ¢ fkanda {fs noctui in habit. Dur the day he rarely stirs, unless dis- 1; but the natives say Cong alpen) his eyes open,” by which mean Coes <—- _ he is greet ed doupt this, ae oocasion tom the to move is very et at might. moves with a however, Some of Phefy Habits. Walle sleeping they eroush im the feck of captor behind the bars will hold him until the hunters come to slay him. They say that there is less danger of the leopard getting away from the ikanda than there is of his breaking out of the strongest trap tkey can build; the more he struggles to escape, the tighter he is held. So the na- tive hunter approaches without fear, and kills him. I cannot vouch for the truth of this state- Irent; but while it is singular, it may be founded in fact. One thing that makes me inclined to give it credit is that it came to me from several different sources. In the several accounts the details varied, but the substance of the story was always the same. In my own experience I can say with certainty that I have never seen any emimal which possessed such powerful grasp in Eecgerton to its size. mal; but the natives pat To aie have often declared could break his the creature a) befo grasp. RL. GARNER,” THE EVENING STAR, SATURDAY, APRIL 4, 1896-TWENTY-SIX PAGE OUR NEWEST STAT Faots, Probabilities and Possibilities in Utah. PLENTY OF MINES, FARMS AND CATTLE The Mormon Question No Longer Prominent. POLITICAL CONDITIONS Stare Correspondence of The Evening Star. SALT LAKE CITY, Utah. U TAH’S STATEHOOD is very young yet, but there is no denying its vigor. As a terri- tory Utah was a powerful factor in western affairs, but statehood developed mind and muscle to such an extent that any unprejudiced ob- gerver must admit ” that of all the many active trans-Missouri candidates for capi- talistic and commercial favor Utah is abreast of the foremost. It is among the possibilities that ten years hence she will be in the lead. Hoodooed by polygamous Mormonism,she was avoided by the cautious immigrant, and even by the capitalist who was seeking desirable investments, but statehood removed the hoodoo and opened the gates for an influx of brawn and capital which promises to exceed in desirability and volume any of the immigrative floods that peopled other sections beyond the Big Muddy. That Utah will achieve phenomenal material success is sure, for the state's busi- ness structure is securely based on that most solid of foundations—agriculture. Mining operations and manufactories will do much to make the forty-fifth state famous and wealthy, but it is the farmers and the stock raisers who will be depended upon to con- tribute most heavily to the general welfare. It is the history of nearly all western com- munities in the mining regions that agricul- ture was merely a consequence of immigra- tion, and not its cause, but that would not be true of Utah, for there the natural greed of man was held in check by the strong arm of Brigham Young. Born to rule, and emi- nently fitted for the work which was his, Brigham Young saw instantly that mining in Utah would have to be discouraged if Mormonism was to have a chance for its life; the opening up of a few rich veins of mineral would bring into the land of the saints immense -numbers of unsanctified ones, who, by precept and example, would make the government of the Mormon Church a very difficult piece of business. It was, therefore, ordered that Mormons spould devote their energies to the cultiva- tion of grain, hay, vegetables, fruits, cat- tle, horses, chickens and children, and that edict was, in the main, faithfully obeyed. The Sheep Have Wandered Awny. But the day. the coming of which Brig- ham Young feared has arrived; the day when there should be in Utah a power great enough to cope with the Mormon Church. Slowly and with great difficulty some of the most valuable gold and silver leads in the country have been developed, and as a logical sequence men have journey- ed from all parts of the earth to Utah to enjoy the treasures which nature shares with so many of those who are willing to be working partners. The governing pow- er of the church declined coincidentally with a renewed demand for statehood, and made an exhibition of its loss of strength In the elections which followed Utah’s ad- mission to the national sisterhood. Per- haps it wasn‘t much of a revolution, but it was enough to set some folks to wondering how it came about. There was really noth- ing mysterious about the transaction. When Congress threatened disfranchise- ment the church authorities saw that un- less there was official disavowal of po- lygamy there would undoubtedly ensue all sorts of complications and embarrassments, so these ecclesiastical leaders notified their followers to obey the laws and to become attached to one or other of the principal political parties. Now, in my mind, those leaders were not sincere, but they did not dare whisper a suspicion of their desire to be merely politic, soit has come to pass that @ great majority of the Mormon Church has tasted of the sweets of political lib- erty and now refuses to go back to the old-style feed. It is unquestionably true that the great dignitaries of the Mormon Church would like to have all the sheep return to the fold that they might here- after be guided to the polls in accordance with the latest “revelation,” but the sheep seem to be happily deaf and are likely to continue so. Polygamy in Disrepute. That polygamy will ever again secure a foothold in Utah I do not for one moment believe. The state constitution, of course, forbids polygamy, but that document may be classed with the least of the obstacles that stands in the way of plural mar- riages. Cursory investigation will show that many state constitutions are used on occasions only, and cannot be regarded as reliable guides or directors in matters per- taining to public or private morality. Did nothing but the state constitution obstruct the polygamist, it is safe to aver that the odious offense would be as common in Utah today as it was prior to the enact- ment of the Edmunds law. Strangely enough, the strongest opponents of polyza- my are the educated young Mormons who are the offspring of polygamous parents. Faithful to the religion prescribed in the Beok of Mormon, this young element has set its face, rigidly and unswervingly, against the practices which Brigham Young deemed casential to true greatness in this world and in the world to come. The inex- perienced may, pernaps, be swayed by cleverly-werded disquisitions on the ad- vantages to be derived from polygamy, but all the eloquence of which mortal tongue ig capable would fail to charm any consid- erable percentage of the rising generation of Mormons back into the bondage which So grievousy afflicted their progenitors; a bondage to which thousands of ignorant women unwillingly submitted. It must not be imagined, though, that polygamy has been wholly stamped out in Utah, or that the Mormon Church has cast off those who disobey the law. When the Edmunds law was enforced, a large num- ber of “the persecuted,” as they styled themselves, moved away south into Mexico, and are there yet; prosperous and appar- ently contented. Others stopped in Arizona and New Mexico. Some went east and set- tled. in Colorado, where they are unmo- lested even to this day, although their polygamy is unconcealed. Those who re- mained in Utah—and there are many such have to be extremely circumspect, but their tendency is toward carelessness just now, because there is not yet any effective statute to succeed the United States law, which died when Utah was admitted. Purely business reasons make it certain that polygamy can never again flourish in Utah. Capital is timid, and although the average investor looks mairly at the prom- issory returns, he is, nevertheless, willing to be reasoned with by those great moral forces which are unquestionably active in the United States and which would surely be exerted adversely to Utah in case lax administration of the law should bring about a renaissance of polygamy. A Few Funerals Needed. That Mormonism—non-polygamous, of course—will control Utah for some time to come is reasonably certain; nothing else could be expected when the fact is borne in mind that Utah has until very recently been a Mormon possession. Had the ter- ritory Leen settled by any other sect that sect would doubtless have and exercise that same control which is now, as a rule, in Mormon but loyal American hands. A few of the old fellows—for years associ- Jared thousand: Seher must, for awhile, be a trifie more of strif than is necessary to the proper conduct of public affairs imour newest state. What (tdi Has and In, Comparatively: few people in the usually well-informed @st have anything like an accurate idea “6f “the lviffg, up-to-date Utah. With aijarsa exceeding: elghty-two thousand square. miles its population in 1895 was 247,334.°Of these hustlers after fortune 126,803‘4wets males and 120,521 fe- males; 194,825 hative and 52,499 foreign- born; 245,985 wereWwhite; 571 were colored and 768 were Chffiese. The number of farms in 1894 was almost twenty thousand and of these nearly eighteen thousana were free of incumbranee. Fully four hundred aud seventy tkouséhnd acres of land were under cultivation, While nearly three -hun- acres were fenced for pasturage, cn which, with a trifie of as- sistance from the tnfenced rauges out in the hills, nearly half a million cattle, horses and swine roamed and ; not to ment.on the two anda halt "m.llions of sheep which in 1904 produced nearly @ mil- lion dollars’ worth of wool. Minerals and Ruilroads. _ Then there are the mines—goid, silver, jJead and copper bemg the principal prod- ucts, aithouga the mountains of Utah have witm.n ther bosoms every known vanety of mineral, The output tor the past year was something to be prcud of: sliver, seven and & quarter mutions of ounces; goid, over eighty-one thousanu ources; ieau, more than S.xty-21% muion pout.as; copper, over @gat uuugred aud nity thousauu pouuus; im all Valued’ at nearly weven ana a quarter Muuons Of aouars, UL the Coal ang siate and irud aia aspaaitum tat Were m.ueu and of the lumper that was cut and mar- keted there ig no accurate record. Manu- Jacturing adas large to the weaita of Ulan abd manes prominent contripuuon to tne annual prouuct of more than tirty muiion uouars, ‘tue Yauway facilities are excellent and continue to improve aud extend. ‘ne Ko Grange and Western has something Lee five nundred mules of track, wilh equipment geod enough to pease the most tastiuious traveler, tne Union Paciuc has a mucaye @ trifle 1n €xcéss of five hundred; the Ceu- tral Pacinc, the Ulan Cepiral, and taree muuor roaus aud suilicieht to make the ag- gregale hearly lourteen huudred mules. Ul colleges and scnovls and banks there ig sullic.eucy lor the present, and Were is no Jack GI those necessary institutious in whica the ali.cted and the criminal may be cared lor, Uf scenery and climate there is no end. The City of the Saints. Much might be said of Salt Lake City. It would be difficult to say too much. A spot cf mountain-shaded desert in 1817, it is now one of the most celightful places of residence on the continent, and, as a direct result of statehood, growing with marvel- ous and profitable rapidity, I am,.not a professional prophet, nor, so far as I am aware, do I come of a prophetically in- clined fan.ily, but J venture the assertion that Salt Lake will within twenty-five years become the Chicago of the far west, distancing Denver in the hotly contested race for commercial supremacy. That others are of like opinion is daily being evi- denced, for there is steady accession to the number of cepitalists—great and small— who make Salt Lake City their earthly abiding place. With the eye of faith they see that time when the present population of seventy-five thousand will be multiplied over and over again; when every lot on the hundred miles of wide and shated and stream-curbed streets shall be built upon; when the best of western enterprise shall center in, the one-time “City of the Saints,”. and every producer pay tribute to our new- est state's metropolis. Then, too, Salt Lake City has a great future as a sanitarium. Even in the city’s heart there is more of pure air than can be found in iy other American certer of population, while down along the eastern shore of the Great Salt lake is atmosphere which will to many an ailing mortal prove to be the breath of life. There is one thing in Salt Lake City that makes a Washingtonian feel small and an- cient. No matter how much he may ad- mire Utah's capital, he contents himself with Washington’s superiority until he gets a glimpse of the ‘magnificent municipal building—architecturally fine, modern in all that the term implies; cost a million dollars and looks as if it had cost twice as much. Expecting a Big Ri With the coming of springtime and the unfolding of summer there is likely to de- velop a wave of migration Utahward. There is authentic information sufficient to make that probability a certainty before the state celebrates its first Fourth of July. From all parts of the country and from many foreign lends inquiries have been pouring in at a great rate, and there is even now a perceptible and increasing stream of new- comers meandering around in search of suitable location. A majority of the recent arrivals appear to be interested in mining, 80 Icok out for a big boom in stocks. Prep- arations are everywhere being made to ‘re- ceive and direct the multitude which is be- lieved to be on its way, and efforts are being made in Colorado to intercept and capture scme of the people who promise to be among the most desirable of the “‘ten- derfeet.” Afl the railroad men look for a big rush, but they are ready for it. The Burlington, the Denver and Rio Grande and the Rio Grande and Western have made every needful preparation to handle the increase of business; the two last- named roads have fully equipped them- selves with Pullman tourist cars, in which one may sleep for less than half the tariff which prevails in the better furnished “palace” cars. This concession to a loudly- voiced western demand for low sleeping- car fares is very popular and the cars are well patronized. For Protcetion and Silver. Politically, Utah is republican. The un- folding of that fact was a surprise to sey- eral shrewd politicians who are not repub- licans, for the impression prevailed quite generally that Utah would be decidedly democratic. Salt Lake City is thoroughly republican als), and Is likely to be so—as is the state—for twenty years to come. At least, that's what some of the Salt Lake republicars say. Everybody in Utah be- lives firmly in protection, so Utah’s repub- licanism is not to be wondered at. Every- body buys goods of Utah manufacture in preference to the imported stuff, even if the home-made product should chance to be less satisfactory; a possibility that is, as a rule, very remote. On the momentous ques- tion of finance Utah is for silver; “first, last and all the time,” cry some of the en- thusiastic ones. Perhaps the opening up of half a dozen big gold camps—that at Mercur promises to be the Johannesburg of America—may reverse the situation, but there is no testimony as yet on which to base prediction of such a change. cna signs are straws that show the wind’s direction. Without going out of my way to observe them, 1 saw in Utah and Colora the following: “The Free Silver Saloon,” ‘The Free Coinage Saloon,” “The 16 to 1 Saloon,” “The Silver Dollar Sa- loon,” “The Only Ratio Restaurant and Sample Room,” "The White Metal House,” “The White Dollar Saloon” and “The Dad- dy Dollar Sample tnd Pool Room.” The gold dollar wasn’t anywhere in sight, and I imagine that any saloon keeper’ who would display the hated insignia on his house front would.ke compelled by an an- gry populace to swallow all of his own liquor that could “be poured into him through a funnel, or be tormented in some of the many ways ‘common to some of the newer and more woolly communities. But no matter what the ratio or how the national conventions deal with the ticklish subject of finance oF who wins in the pres- {dential fight, ‘Uta is bound to succeed: there are already within her borders the influences that cannot fall to achieve great- ness. : GEO. RIES. — Dincovered. From Life. “I learned to thrum a bit at Harvard, you Iknow.”” S “Oh, of course! Jack said you learned something or other there and I couldn’t imagine what it was.” [MARRIAGE IN dee Young People There Do Not Wed for Love, Tt 18 PURELY A BUSINESS AFFAIR By Law Parents Largely Control Matrimonial Matches. ORDEAL OF CERTIFICATES Special Corresp dence of The Evening Star. - PARIS, March 25, 1896. T 18 THE TIME FOR” marriages. The fash- jon remains, despite the loosening of re- ligious sentiment. Easter marriages are supposed to be the luckiest, the most appropriate and the most convenient. Everyone knows that in France young peo- ple do not marry for love; but the absence of love need not pre- clude a great deal of sentiment. The less the couple know of each other the more exciting the event becomes; and the reflection that each is, so to, speak, in the same boat, arouses in gen- erous breasts the feelings of chivalrous devotion, heroic sympathy and soft ad- miration, which might be looked for should @ young and healthy couple find them- selves alone upon a desert island. The lat- ter situation always ends in love and mar- riage in the stories. And so in France the “marriage of reason,” concocted by par- ents, commences as generally with curios- ity and admiration, as it ends with mutual esteem, dependence, sympathy—and even love. - One thing is certain: the Easter wedding bells of France ring out with a consider- able assurance.of material success apart from romance. The whole idea of the French marriage is to do good to the young couple, not as individuals, but as new mem- bers of “‘the family.” In this way a rich old uncle, placed between two nephews, one with an only son from a late, “pru- dent” marriage, the other with a numero: offspring from an early “marriage of in- clination,” will always disinherit the un- fortunates who have flourished too gener- ously. “The family’’ means the family property, it is not to be cut up. With each marriage it is to be increased; and the having of children means simply the carrying on of the family fortune in safe and not too numerous hands. This principle, which is at the bottom of all French life, is responsible not only for the present depopulation of France, but for nearly all the peculiar phenomena of the country and the people. During the past hundred years the “bourgeoisie” or middle class has done its best to adopt the social principle of the aristocracy, whose place it conquered in the great revolution, until today the very workingmen talk of “the family” and “arrange alliances.” Ring, happy Easter wedding bells! The parents are satisfied, and the children know no better. Im the Hands of the Parents. French law does everything it can to Place marriage in the hands of parents and out of the hands of the contracting young people. The written consent of parents is essential to marriage in France until the sirl is twenty-one years old, and until the man is twenty-five. Without such docu- ments no mayor will consider an applica- tion. More than this, until the young man has reached his thirtieth year, and until the girl is twenty-five, they must commence a law suit against any one of their four parents who continues to object. This law sult, which has the name of “respectful ‘summon: consists of three formal acts of summons, made at intervals of a month; each act must be witnessed by two notaries, served, returned, indorsed and registered each one is capable of serving as u basis of interrogatories and disputes of fact, whose end may be in trial by jury or the endless windings of pleadings and adjourn- ments; and if the parents of either party, or even one of them, choose to further complicate the matter by dodging service adroitly, there appears to be no remedy ex- cept an appeal to the president of the re- public. > This is not the only case in which th> President has power to interfere in mar- Tiages all over France. The lowest age at which marriage may be contracted with Their Happiness, the consent of parents 1s at eighteen for the man and fifteen for the girl. But when families desire to bring about a marriage between children of a tenderer age, they have but to obtain a dispensation from the president, paying the legal fees, which come to $50. Between the two extremes the pow- ers of parents lie—to force their offspring into alliances at an undiscriminating age, or to hold them back in mischievous cel- ibacy until well on toward middle life. The effect is a two-sided one, but it Is the girls of France who seem to suffer most. All this legal power is for the advantage of the parents of young men, a weapon to counterbalance the moral power which mothers and fathers always have upon their daughters. “Our son shall not marry you!” They would much prefer that he should ruin half a dozen other girls of lower rank. Here is all the explanation of the “demi- monde” in the country of its existence. In other lands young men are entangled into marriage by designing people, and their families make the best of it. In France this romance takes another form. Marriages being nearly always “reason- able” in this sweet land, the legal prelim- inaries which lead therato are decent and The state exacts that every one shall go through a civil cere- mony before the mayor of the ward in which Religious rearriages or “home marriages ous or “home have no meaning in the eyes =e And the civil marriage demands “proofs.” im Order to Marry. ‘There must be the written acts of consent Dresented. both must luce their certiicater of-birth, without which there can be marriage of French people in or out of France. If one of the couple to be married is a widow, must present the death certificate of her former husband. If one be divorced, a certified abstract of the decree must be presented. This costs $0. Then they must have in their hands tho certificates of legal publication of the bans. And the last paper is the groom's certificate that he bas satisfied the military jaw end his term. ‘The parents of bride and groom have been as busy collecting these pers as they have been at work on ard. beautiful spring weather the marriage party is axsembled in the mayor's office. There is a great waiting room. A dozen other well. “At last a good batch ta collected’ and a te they are ranged in line. The mayor stops &-moment before each couple. “Do you take this woman for your wife?” Answer: “Yes.” “Do you take this man for your husband?” Answer: “Yes.” gToom then slips a ring on the bride's finger and remarks: “This ring is the sign of the mar- riagé which we have here contracted.” sign the register and walk out. That is all— the documents piled on the secretary's desk have done the rest. This ceremony, so decent, simple and un- affected, hides all the difficulties in the way of marriage in France, and even seems to give a look of ease to the transaction. The church function is a mere spectacle, which more republican and in conformity with the rights of man? Yet the whole procedure is strewn with hideous injustices. Each pre- Mminary may serve to break off two mar- Tiages where it works well for one. What the Condit Mean. ‘The certificate that the groom has fulfilled his military obligations means that before he can think of engaging himself he must have pessed three years in the corruption of the barracks. Twenty-one years of age and generous hearted and impressionable, he is just at an age to form a disinterested attachment. Three years of the cynicism of the army makes another man of him. When he comes cut he must have his a to compensate him for that choking-off. It is a sentiment that is in the air in France. The. certificate of birth means even more, in one respect. In name it sounds innocent enough, but in faot it is a terrible threat- ener to a great mass of the population. ‘Young men on the eve of marri; have shot themselves because they f the result of some discovery by reason of it. The cer- tificate of birth is the indication to each Frenchman's secret dossier kept by the government's detectives, clerks, function- aries, muricipal and state, which gives the secret of each Frenchman's life. These records are kept so minutely that at the recent trial of “Jaques Saint-Cere” the government was able to confront him with proofs that he pawned borrowed books at the age of eighteen; that he had dodged a cab fare at the age of twenty-three; that he owed money for morning coffee at the age of twenty-four. Have you ever been arrested for obstructing the police some night when you had dined too well? It will be there. Hach time you have been sued for debt has made its mark. All the forgotten peccadilices of one’s youth lie waiting for this general judgment of the searching father-in-law prospective. IMustrative of French Life. There is an ellegory of Aurelien Scholl in which this side of French living is per- sonified in the “middle-aged gentleman,” who grew jealous of the attentions which the girl waiters in a Latin Quarter cafe showed to a younger and handsomer fre- quenter of the establishment. They called the latter “Handsome Jacques” out of pure light-heartedness, ani he, the elderly gen- tleman, took up the habit of calling him that name sarcastically. Time passed, the young man set himself seriously to work, wrote a brilliant book, and was beginning to be received into society simply because of his merits. One «evening at a reception the “elderly geatleman” recognized bim and smiled malevolently. His companion askei, “Why did you start when you saw that young man? Do you know him?” “Yes.” “I hope you know nothing unfavorable to him? .I beg you to tell me. I have the greatest interest to know. In fact, he !s a suito> for the hand of my daughter, who fancies she cares for him.” The elderly gentleman replied: “Yes, I know him, and you will see that he knows me. Observe.” Then, stepping up to the youth, he remarked significantly: “Good evening, Handsome Jacques!” He turned, startled, and replied in a confused and trembling way, while the elderly gentie- man drew his companion on. That match was broken. Years passed again. The young author had written another brillant book, and every one was sure that he could not fail to be decorated with the ribbon of the Legion of Honor. The minister was going over the Mstsin a futile attempt tu make a hundred decorations cover a hun- dred and fifty deservinz aspirants. He had come to the name of our younz man. The elderly gentleman was also there. Fate Was Relentless. “Oh!” he exclaimed, “you've got him down?” “Yes,” replied the minister, hur- riedly; “why do you speak so? Do yeu know anything of himi” “Haudcome Jacques?” laughed the elder!y genYieman, “no; nothing of importance; an old story a name the waiter girls called him in Latin Quarter.” tly. the hurry ing author imixsed his decoration. Years passed again, and az a third crisis of his. life the elderly gentleman stepped in to intervene, though-how and with what result does not concern us. The damage was done, each time, by the mere kimulng of suspicion by one who wat a inasier of the art, and who could speak authorilaiuve- ly. “You have robbed me of my bride, of public honor and of money! the pere- cuted one exclaims at :he en’ of the chap- ter, “and now you come to claim a sery- ice of me!” But ihe “elderly gentleman” could only stammer that he had oniy acted for what seemed to him the best. Every day in France honest and perfect- ly proper attachments are ruptured because of the third impediment of parents’ con- sent. French pride and suspicion go to absurd lengths on both sides with respect to the previous antecedents of the young man; but they are capable of going quite as far when brought to bear upon the deli- cate questions of fortune and position. All over the world no one objects to a girl's parents thinking their daughter too good for any young man. Lovers are used to kneeling and pleading. But it is a very different thing when the young man’s parents calmly remark: “We are afraid your daughter will not do for Henri. Of course, she is a good girl, but we have other views for him.” STERLING HEILIG. ——<—<—__— Catching Whales in a Net. From Pearson's Weekly. In Now Zealand the old-fashioned meth- ods in use in most other whale Asheries have been abandoned in favor of nets, which are now used for the capture of these leviathans of the sea. The nets are made of two-inch manilla rope, and are so constructed that galvanized iron rings take the place of the knots in the ordinary nets. ‘The meth is a six-foot one, and the ropes forming it are spliced into the rings. The nets are made in six sections, each ten square, with two ten-gallon bar- rels ag floats to each section. When setting the net the sections are joined together with line just strong enough to bear the ordinary strain to which they are liable to be subjected, so that when a whale gets meshed he tears away the section in which he is fast. While he is trying to get rid of the net the whale boats, which are always waiting, dart alongsids and he ts harpooned. ‘Was Wrong. From the Yonkers Statesman. Yeast—“Your landlady says you're be- hind with your ee Crimsoi Tm ahead. I owe ——__+0+_____ ‘The Baby Question. ‘From Harper's Bazan. “How Gid you ever stop Willoughby‘s in- fernal gas about that new baby of hist” “Introd to apres” juced one himself," him “Fotway'e just board.’ mbeak—Well, she’s dead wrong. | er $45" MUNYON’S REMEDIES DOCTOR YOURSELF. Rheumatism, Dyspepsia, Kidney Trows blea, Blood Diseases and All Kervous Complaints, and Throat and Leng Affections Positively Cured by Mune yor’s Improved Homoeupathic Rem e@ies—Ask Your for Mum Cemt Remedy and Cure Yourselt—if You Need the Advice of a Skitle@ Physician Munyon’s Dectors Are at Your Service Free. Office 718 14th St. N.w. . ‘mmubS1-tu, this Bt eee |) Bed Breaks Are Often the Cause of Quiet Humor. Brom the New York Dispatch. In the burry of speech and tho anxiety be polite one is very often liable to slips the tongue which may put an entirely Cif ferent construction upon the sentence than was intended. For example, upon arriving at your entertainer’s house, you say: “I @ thousand pardons for coming late,” are mct by your hostess with the words; “My dear sir, no pardons are needed; you can never come tco late.” Take another instance. At an event party tn Cork @ lady sald to her pat “Can you tell me who that ort n, not lain man is sitting op; ite to us?” “Tl my brother.” “Oh, 1 beg your pardo: she replied, much confused, notice the resemblance.” That was certainly putting one's foot in it, and yet, perhaps, was not so awkward as the following: After a certain concert @ well-known German cantatrice asked Gentleman to whom ehe had been introduc ed how he liked her duet. “You sai o by “Ah, yes, of course. I aa Se eee with you?” “Ach himmel, that is my pres ent husbend!” A lady said something the other day friend’s dinner that found a mark “1 did ate the in the least what had caused the gene consternation. She did little later, rom4 ever, when it was exp! to her thi two maiden sisters at the table, whose names she did not catch in the introduc. tion, were called Hill and were extremely sensitive on the subject of age. “Here, my dear husband,” said a lovin wife, “I have brought you a little silvs pig for luck. It’s a charm, you know, dear, to bring piness to a house.” “Ah, how kind of you, darling! But why should I need a little pig to bring me luckt when I have you still?” An awkward compliment recently rather disturbed the harmony of a wedding breaks fast given by a substantial farmer blessed with five daughters, the eldest being the bride. A neighboring young farmer, who ¥as honored with an invitation, thinkin no doubt, he ought to say something sma and complimentary upon the event, ad- dressing the bridegroom, said Well, you have got the pick of the batch.” The countenances of the four unmarried ones may be imagined. a ANECDOTES WORTH TELLING. Each Has a Strenk of Humor or 6 Grain of Philosophy. From the New York Mall and Express. A writer in one of the English reviews relates that during a conversation with George Eliot, not long before her death, @ ‘vase toppled over on the mantelpiece. The great writer quickly and unconsciously put out her hand to stop its fall. “I hope,” said “whe, replacing it, “that the time will come when we shall instinctively hold vp the man or women who begins to fall ag n&turally ang unconsciously as we arrest @ falling piece of furniture or an ornament. A tutor of one of the Oxford colleges who limped in his walk was some yeurs ugo accosted by a well-known politician wi asked him if he was not the chaplain the college at such a time, naming the year. The doctor replied that he was. The interrogator observed: “I knew you by your limp.” “Well,” said the doctor, Seemed iny Umping made sion than my preaching. was the reply, with ready wit, “it is the highest compliment we can pay a minister to say that he is known by his walk rather than by his conversation.” Sir Astley Cooper, on visiting Paris, wag asked by the surgeon “en chef” of the em- pire how many times he had performed @ certain wonderful feat of surgery. He res plied that he had performed the operation thirteen times. “Ah, but, monsieur, I have done him 160 times. How many times did you save life?” continued the curious Frenchman, after he had looked into the blank amazement of Sir Astley’s face. “I,” said the Englishman, “saved eleven out thirteen. How many did you save out of 1607” “Ah, monsieur, I lose dem ail; but de operation was very brilliant.” foal ee: At the Theater, From Harper's Magazine, “These patent hat holders were @ vergt clever invention.