Evening Star Newspaper, December 25, 1897, Page 18

18 THE EVENING STAR, SATURDAY, DECEMBER 25, 1897-24 PAGES, c WRITTEN FOR THE EVENIN (Copyright, 1897, gave him that name—or, indeed, that it a name at all—but it was currently | T don’t suppose that his progenitors ever | | “See Up’— | ved it meant that lifting of the outer angle of | I the eye, common to the Mongolian. On | the other hand, I had been told that there | was an old Chinese custom of affixing | some motto or legend—or even a sentence from Confucius sign above their shops, and that two or more words, which t be merely equivalent to “Virtue is its own reward,” or “Riches ‘e deceitful,” was believed by the simple Californian » the name of the occupant him- Howbeit, “See Yup” accepted it with smiling patience of his race, and never that—as pronounced as a miner to self. th went by any other. If one of the tunnel ways addressed him as “Brigadier Judge” or “Commodore,” it’ was only the American fond- | ironic title, and was never used except in personal conversation. In pearance he looked like any other Chi man, wore the ordinary blue cotton blouse nd white drawers of the Sampan coolie, . in spite of the apparent freshness of these garments, ¢ singular medicated . half ginger—which we the mmon “Chinese smell. Our first interview was characteristic of his patient quality. He hgd done my wash- ing for ‘al months, but [ had never yet odor— recog- A meeting at last had become necessary to correct his impressions re- kurding “buttons"—which he had seemed to consider as mere excrescences, to be removed like superfluous dirt from soiled linen. I had expected him to call at my sings, but he had not yet made his ap- = One day, during the noontide of the little frontier school over which I presided, 1 returned rather early. Two or three of the smaller boys, who were loitering about the school yard, dis- appeared with a certain guilty precipita- tion that I suspected for the moment, but which I presently dismissed from my mind. i passed through the empty school room to my de: t down, began to pre- pare the coming lessons. Presently I heard a faint sigh. Looking up, to my inten: concern, I discovered a solitary Chinaman whom I had overlooked, sitting in a rigid attitude on a bench with his back to the window. He caught my eye and yut without moving. you doing here?” I asked washee shilts; me talkee ‘buttons.’ ” . you're ‘See Yup,’ are you?” He same, Joh Well, come here. I continued my work, but he did not move. » here, hang it. Don't you under- st shabbee, ‘comme ¥ i But me no bbec Mellikan bo: who catchee me, You ‘come yea,’ you shabbee?” lant, but believing that the un- still in fear of per- mischievous urchins interrupted, I and Went over to him. ed to my rise and mor- his long pigtail was held by window be- ha that fast whic him, shut down it, afier having tir with pened nSEE TP! ———-___ | of secretly and quickly i@ STAR BY BRET HARTE. by Bret Harte.) 2) NONMONONON OOM NOWOROMON FESCSEICICSCIESESES CD ey se) with his aimless him jump!” I never could tell whether he had con- founded it with electro-galvanism or was only satirizing our American haste and feverishness. He was capable of either. Fer that matter, we knew that the Chi- nese themselves possessed some means communicating with each other. Any news of good or iil import to their race was quickly dissemi- nated through the settlement before we knew anything about it. An innocent basket of clothes from the wash, sent up from the river bank, became in some way a library of information; a single slip of rice piper aimlessly fluttering in the dust of the road, had the mysterious effect of diverging a whole gang of coolie tramps away from our settlement. 5 When See Yup was not subject to the persecutions of the more ignorant and brutal, he was always a source of amuse- laugh; “plenty makee | ment to all, and J cannot recall an instance when he was ever taken seriously. The miners found div ions even in his alleged frauds and trickeries, whether innocent or 1etaliatory, aud were fond of relating with A COMMITTEE WAS ALLOWED ly suffered more from indigestion than the pampered dwellers of the ies! The quantity of “patent medicines, bitters,” “pills,” “panaceas” and “lozenges” sold in the settlement almost exceeded the amount of the regular provisions whose effects they were supposed to correct. The sufferers eagerly scanned advertisements and placards. There were occasional “runs” on new “specifics,” and general conversation eventually turned into a dis- cussion of their respective merits. A cer- tain childlike faith and trust in each new remedy was not the least distressing and pathetic of the symptoms of these grown- up bearded men. “Well, gentlemen,* said Cyrus Parker, glancing around at his fellow-sufferers, "ye kin talk of your patent medicines, and I’ve tackled ‘em all, but only the other day I struck suthin’ that I'm goin’ to hang on to, you bet.” Every eye was turned moodily to the speaker, but no one said anything. “And I didn’t get it outer advertise- ments, nor off of circulars! I got it outer my head, just by solid thinking,” continued Parker. “What was it, Cy?” said one unsophisti- cated and inexperienced sufferer. Instead of replying, Parker, like a true artist, knowing he had the ear of his au- dience, dramatically flashed a question upon them. “Did you ev ing dyspepsy? “Never heard he had sabe enough to hey anything,” said a scorner. “No, but did ye?" insisted Parker. “Well, uo,” chorused the group. ‘They were evidently struck with the fact. “Of course you didn’: Said Parker, tri- umphantly. “Cos they ain't. Well, genl- mun, it didn’t seem to me the square thing that @ pesky lot o’ yellow-skinned heath- ens should be built different to a white man, and never know the tortur that a Christian feels, and one day, arter dinner, when I was just é-lyin’ flat down on the bank, squirmin’ and clutchin’ the short | 8tass to keep from yellin’, who should go by but that pizenous See Yup, with a grin on his face! “‘Mellickn man plenty playee to him joss after eatin’,’ sez he; ‘but Chinaman smellee punk, allee same, and no hab got.’ “I knew the slimy cuss was just pur- tendin’ he thcught I was prayin’ to my jess, but I was that weak I hadn’t stren’th, boys, to heave @ rock at him! Yet it gave me an idea “What was it?” they asked eagerly. . “I went down to his shop the next day, when he was alone, and I was feeling r hear of a Chinaman hay- TO EXAMINE THE PROPERTY. did not compla Se been fixed in that | great gusto his evasion of the “foreign but Pie Position for some minutes, | miners’ tax.” This was an oppressive brought him theme’ inte the business that | measure aimed principally at the Chinese "But why didirt who humbly worked the worn-out “tail- But why didn't you come to my lodg- | Inge of thelr Christian fellow-miners. {1 led: sadly ire was stated that See Yup, ‘knowing ‘the “Mishtel Bally : A ditficulty—already alluded to—of identity- he ower me five dolice for Wachee, wasn, | NE any. Darticular Chinaman by ‘name, no payee me. He say he knocke hellee | 1 come for payee. So | me come scnoolee. tio gues Dae aan an hurtee China- that this was mainly true. Mr. James Harry was an Irishman, whose finer relixious feelings revcited against pay- ing money to a heathen. I could not nnd it in my heart to say anything to See Yup | avout the buttons; indeed, 1 spoke in com- plimentary terms about the gloss of my shirts, and I think I meekly begged him to e again for my washing. When 1 went 1 expostulated with Mr. Barry, but ed only in extracting from him the jon that I was one of “thim b yS that worshiped naygur i simply made an enemy of him. i did not know that, at the same time, had made a friend of See Yu; me aware of this a few days la But 1 Tr, | by the appearance on my desk of a sinaii| pot containing a cimen of Camellia Jap- | mica in flower. I knew the school ch i the habit of making pr | is furtiv f on—leav: } ys of wild flower: cluster of roses from the it I also kne t this exotic Was too | from them p had a Chin anot sry in the adjoi or perh nts’ gardens see was plain nd delicate own id incomme: surate | as it w Nev-| e See Yup. But] tried to deceive me, or} wished me to admire his t say And as his persecu- scholars ad left a balance of r, I sent him a said nothing of in bis fay of thanks nee progressed, I be M erves of hase in shops, cir crafty, gingery definition, that 1 were’ animal. or three hideous and a diabol- ular spasmoaic times be pro- In return, t hopeless oral | rtain: sentences | n he did with marvelous ber one instan ulty of imits sin result. In setting him a copy, 1 had biurred word which I prompti erased, and then traced the letters more "To the scratched surface. Yup triumphantly p the erasion itself cari netly cv surprise, i his copy wit imitated, and, in fact, much more neatly done than mine. In our confidential intercourse I never seemed to really get nearer to him. His mpathy and simplicity appeare his flowers—to be a_good-humore tation of my own. I am_ satisfie his particularly soulless laugh derived from any amusement he actual- ly felt, yet I could not say it was forced. In his accurate imitations, I fancied he was only trying to evade any responsi- bility of his own. That devolved upor his taskmaster! In the attention he displayed when new ideas were present- ed to him, there was a slight condescen- sion, as if he were looking down upon them from his 3.000 years of history. “Don't you think the electric telegraph Wonderfcl?" I asked one day. “Velly good for Mellican man,” he said, | government neeived the additional idea of confus- ing recognition by intensifying their mo- notenous facial expression. Having paid his tax himself to the collector, he at once passed the receipt to his fellows, so that the collector found himself confronted in different parts of the settlement with the receipt and the aimless laugn of, appar- ently, See Yup himself! Although we all knew that there were a dezen Chinamen or more at work at the mines, the collector never was able to collect the tax from more than twe—“See Yup" and one “See Yin"—and so great was their facial resem- blance that the unfortunate official for a long time hugged himself with the con- viction that he had made ee Yup” pay twice, and withheld the money from the government! It is very probable that the Californian’s recognition of the sanctity of a joke, and his belief that “cheating the was only cheating himself,” ely accounted for the sympathies of the rest of the miners. But these sympathies were not always unanimous. One evening I strolled into the bar room of the principa loon,” which, as far as mere upholstery and comfort went, was also the principal house in the settle- “id Staff It Down His Throat.” ment. The first rains had commenced; the windows were open, for the influence of the southwest trades penetreted even this far. of mountain mining settlement, but oddly ough there was a fire in the large cen- tral stove, around which the miners collected with their steaming boots elevat- ed on a projecting iron railing that en- circled it.. They were not aitracted by the warmth, but the stove formed a so- cial pivot for gossip, and suggested that mystic circle dear to the gregarious in- s Yet they were decidedly a de- tponaent group. For some moments the silence was only broken by a gasp, a sizh, a muttered oath, or an impatient chan: of position. There was nothing in the for- tunes of the settlement nor in their own individual affairs to suggest this gloom. ‘The sirgular truth was that they were, one and all, suffering from the pangs of ‘dys- pepsia. Incongruous as such a complaint might scem to their healthy environments—thelr outdoor life, their daily exercise, the heal- ing balsam of the mountain air, their en- forced temperance in diet and the absence of all ¢nervating pleasures—it was, never- theless, the incontestible fact. Whether it was the result of the nervous, excitable, temperament in this feverish hunt for gold: whether it was the quality of the tinned meats or half-cooked provisions they hastily bolted, begrudging the time it took to prepare and to consume them; whether they too often supplanted their meals by tobacco or whisky, the singular physiologi- cal truth remained that these young, finely selected adventurers, living the lives of the natural aboriginal man, and looking strength, actual- the picture of health and |! mighty bad, and I got hold of his pigtail and I allowed I'd stuff it down his throat if he didn’t tell me what he meant. Then he took a piece of punk and lit it, and put it under my nose, and, darn my skin, gen- tlemen, you mightn’t believe me, but in a minute I felt better, and after a whiff or two 1 was all right.” yas it pow’ful strong, Cy?’ asked the enced one. said Parker, “and that’s just what's got me! It was a sort o’ dreamy, spicy smell, like a hot night. But as I couldn't go ‘round ‘mong you boys with a lighted plece o’ punk in my hand, ez if I was set- tin’ off Fourth of July firecrackers, I asked him if he couldn't fix me up suthin’ in an- other shape that would be handier to use when I was took bad, and I'd reckon to pay him for it like ez I'd pay for any other patent medicine. So he fixed me up this!” He put his hand in his pocket and drew out a small red paper, which, when opened, disclosed a pink powder. It was gravely passed around the group. “Why, it smells and tastes ke ginger,” said one. “It is enly ginger,” said another, scorn- fully. “Mebbe it is, and mebbe it isn’t,” returned Cy Parker, stoutly. ‘“Mebbe it’s only my fancy. But if it's the sort o’ stuff to bring on that fancy, and that fancy cures me, it’s dll the same! I've got about $2 worth of that fancy, or that ginger, and I'm going to stick to it. You hear me!” And he care- fully put it back in his pocket. At which criticisms and gibes broke fort’. If he (Cy Parker), a white man, was going to “demean himself” by consulting a Chi- nese quack, he'd better buy up a lot o° idols and giand ‘em up around his cabin! If he had that sort o’ confidences with See Yup, he ought to go to work with him on his cheap tailings, and be fumigated all at the same time. If he'd been smoking an opium pipe instead of smelling punk, he ought to be man enough to confess it!’ Yet it was noticeable that they were all very anxious to examine the packet again, but Cy Parker was alike indifferent to demand or entreaty. A few days later I saw Abe Wynford, one of the party, coming out of See Yup’s wash house. He muttered something in passing about the infamous delay in sending home his washing, but did not linger long ‘n {conversation. The next day I met another miner at the wash house, but he lingered so long on some trifling details that I finally left him there alone with See Yup. When I called on Poker Jack of Shasta, there was a singular smell of incense in his cabin, which he attributed to the very resinous quality of the fire logs he was burning. I did not attempt to probe these mysteries by any direct appeal to See Yup himself. I respected his reticence; indeed, if I had not I was quite satisfied that he would have lied to me. Enough that his wash house vas well patronized, and he was decidedly “getting on.” It might have been a month afterward that Dr. Duchesne was setting a broken bone in the settlement, and after the opera- tion was over, had strolled into the Palmet- to saloon. He was an old army surgeon, much respected and loved in the district, although perhaps a little feared for the honest roughness and military precision of his speech. After he had exchanged salu- tations with the mirers in his usual hearty fashion, and accepted their invitation to ink, Cy Parker, with a certain affected carelessness, which did not, however, con- ceal & singular hesitation in his gpeech, began: “I've been wantin’ to ask ye a question, Doc—a sort o’ darned fool question, ye know—nothing in the way of consultation, don’t you see, tho’ it’s kinder in the way o° your purfeshun. Sbe?” “Go on, Cy,” said the doctor, good- humoredly, “this 1s my dispensary hour.” “Oh, it ain't anything about symptoms, Doc, and there ain’t anything the matter with me. It’s only just to ask ye if ye hap- pened to know anything about the medical practice of these yer Chinamen?” don’t know,” said the doctor, bluntly, “and I don’t know anybody who does.” There was a sudden silence in the bar, and the doctor, putting down his glass, continued with slight professicnal precision: “You see, the Chinese know nothing of anatomy from personal observation. Au- tepsies and dissections are against their superstitions, which declare the human body sacred, and are consequently never practiced.” ‘There was a slight movement of inqutr- ing interest among the party, and Cy Par- ker, after a meaning glance at the others, — on half aggressively, half apologeti- cally: “In course, they ain't surgeons like you, Doc, but that don’t keep them from having their own little medicines, just as dogs eat grass, you know! Now, I want to put it to you, as a fair-minded man, if you mean ter say that jest because these old women who sarve out yarbo and spring medicines In famtiies don’t ‘Rnow ‘anything of anat- omy, that they ain't fit to give us their simple and nat’ral‘meditines?” “But the Chinesé medicines are not sim- ple nor natural,” replied the doctor, coolly. “Not simple?” ethoed®the party, closing round him. i “I don’t mean to'say,’’ continued the dec- tor, glancing around at’their eager, excited faces with an appéarance of wonder, “that they are positively noxious, unless taken in large quantities, for they are not drugs at all, but I certainly should not call them ‘simple.’ Do you know what they princi- pally are?” 5 “Well, no,” said Parker, cautiously, “‘per- haps not exactly.”* = “Come a little closer and I'll tell you.” Not only Parker’s head, but the others were bent over the counter. Dr. Duchesn uttered a few words in a tone inaudible to the rest of the company: There was a pro- found silence, broken at last by Abe Wyn- ford’s voice: “Ye kin pour me out about three fingers o’ whisky, barkeep! I'll take it straight.” “Same to me,” said the others. The men gulped down their liquor; two of them quietly passed out. The doctor wiped his lips, buttoned his coat and be- gan to draw on his riding gloves. “I’ve heerd,” said Poker Jack of Shasta, with a faint smile on his white face, as he toyed with the last drops of liquor in his glass, “that the darned fools sometimes smell punk as a medicine, eh?” “Yes, that’s comparatively decent,” said the doctor, reflectively. “It's only saw- dost mixed with a little gum and formic aera “Formic acid? Wot's that “A very peculiar acid secreted by ants. It is supposed to be used by them offen- sively in warfare—just as the skunk, eh?” But Poker Jack of Shasta had hurriedly declared that he wanted to speak to a maa who was passing, and had disappeared. The doctor walked to the door, mounted Lis horse and rode away. I noticed, how- ever, that there was a slight smile on his tronzed, impaseive face. This led me to wonder if he was entirely ignorant of the purpose for which he had been questioned and the effect of his information. I was confirmed in the belief by the remarkable circumstances that nothing more was said of it; the incident seemed to have terminat- ed there, and the victims made no attempt to revenge themselves on See Yup. That they had one and all, secretly and unknown to each other, patronized him, there was ro doubt, but, at the same time, as they evidently were not sure that Dr. Duchesne had not hoaxed ther in regard to the quality of See Yup's nfedicines, they knew that an attack on the unfortunate China- man would in either case reveal their se- cret and expose them to the ridicule of their brother miners. So the matter drop- ped, and See Yup remained master of the situation. Meantime he was prospering. “The coolie gang he worked on the river, when not ergaged in washing clothes, were “picking over” the “tailings” or refuse of gravel, left on abandoned claims by successful miners. As there was no more expense at- tencing this than in stone breaking or rag picking, and the feeding of the coolies, wich was ridiculously cheap, there was no doubt that See Yup was reaping a fair weekly return from it, but, as he sent his receipts to San Francisco through coolie managers after the Chinese custom, and did not use the regular express company, there was no way of ascertaining the amount. Again, neither See Yup nor his fellow-co in- trymen ever appeared to nave any money abcut them. In ruder times and more reck- lees camps raids were often made by ruf- fians on their cabins or their traveling gangs, but never with aay pecuniary re- sult. This condition, however, it seemed Was destined to change. One Saturday See Yup walked into Wells, Fargo & @b.'s ‘express office with a package of gold dust; which, when duly weighed, was valued at $500. It was con- signed to a Chinese company in San Fran- cisco. When the élerk' handed See Yup a receipt, he remarked casually: ‘Washing seems to pay, See Yup.”” “Washee velly good ‘pay. You wantes said See Yup, eagerly. said the clerk with a laugh. L was only thinking $500 would represent the washing of a good many shirts.” ‘No leplesent Washee shirts at all! Catchee gold dust when washee tailings. Shabbee?" The clerk did “shabbee,” and lifted his eyebrows. The next Saturday See Yup ap- ed with another paekage worth about directed to the'same consignee, idn’t pan out quite so rich this week, id the clerk-engagingly. returned iSee /Yyp, “next time he payee more.” When the third Saturday came with the appearance of See “Yup and ,$450 worth cf gold dust, the clefk felt he was no longer bound to keep the secret. He communi- cated it to the others, and in twenty-four hours the whole settlement knew that See Yup’s coolie company were taking out :in average cf $400 per week from the refuse and tailings of the old abandoned Palmetto claim! The astonishment of the settlement was profcund. In earlier days jealousy and in- dignation at the success of these degrada=d heathens might have taken a more active and aggressive shape, and it would have fared iil with See Yup and his companions. But the settlement had become more pros- perous and law-abiding. There were one of two eastern families and some foreign capital already there, and its jealousy and indignation was restricted to severe in- vestigation and_ legal criticism. Fortu- nately for See Yup, it was an old-estab- lished mining law that an abandoned claim and its taflings became the property of whoever chose to work it. But it was alleged that the See Yup company had in reality “struck a lead''—discovered a hith- erto unknown vein or original deposit of gold not worked by the previous company— and, having failed legally to declare it by pre-emption and public registry, in their foolish desire for secrecy, had thus for- felted their right to the property. A sur- veillance of their working, however, did not establish this theory.. The gold that Sec Yup had sent away was of the kind that might have been found in the tailings over- Icoked by the late Palmetto owners. Yet it a very large yield for mere refuse. em Palmetto boys were mighty keer- less after they’d made their big ‘strike’ and got to work on the vein, and I reckon they threw a lot of gold away,” said cy Parker, who remembered their large-hand- ed recklessness in the “flush days, “On'y that we didn’t think it was white man’s work to rake over ancther man's leavin’s, we mignt hev had what them derned inamen hev dropped into. Tell ye what, we've been a little too ‘high and "and we'll hey to climb down.” At last the excitement reached its cli- max, and diplomacy was employed to effect what neither intimidation nor es- pionage could secure.. Under the pretence of desiring to buy out See Yup's company, a select comunittee of the miners were per- mitted to examine the property and its workings. They found the great Wank of stones and gravel, representing the cast- out debris of the old claim, occupied by See Yup and four or five plodding auto- matic coolies. At the end of two hours the committee returned to the saloon bursting with excitement. They spoke under their breath, but enough was gathered to satisfy the curious crowd that See Yup's pile of tailings was rich beyond their expecta- tions. The committee had seen with their own eyes gold taken out of the sand and gravel to the amount of $20 in the two short hours of their ‘éxamination. And the work had been performed in the stu- pidest, clumsiest, yet patient Chinese way. What might not white then do with better appointed machinery! A‘ syndicate was at once formed. See Yup Was offered $20,000 if he would sell dut ahd-put the syndi- cate in possession of the claim in twen- ty-four hours. The Ghinaman received the offer stolidly. As he seemed inclined to hesitate, I am grieved to say that it was intimated to him "that'if he declined he might be subject to embarrassing and ex- pensive legal progecutiens to prove his Property, and that companies would be formed to “pros; ’ the ground on either side of his heap Of tafngs. See Yup at last consented, with the proviso that the money should be; paid; in gold into the hands cf a Chinesq agept in San Francisco cn the day of thé delivery of the claim. The syndicate made no°opposition to this characteristic precaution of the Chinaman. It was like them not to travel with money, and the tmplied uncomplimentary suspi- cicn of danger from the community was overlooked. See Yup departed the day that the syndicate took possession. He came to see me before he went. I congratulated him upon his good fortune; ut the same time, I was embarrassed by the conviction that he was unfairly forced into a sale of his prop- erty at a figure far below its real value. I think differently now. At the end of the week it was said that the new company cleared up about $300. This was not as much:as the community had expected, but the syndicate was ap- parently satisfied, and the new machinery was put up. At the end of the next week the syndicate was silent as to thelr re- turns. One of them made a hurried visit to San Francisco. It was said that he was unable to see either SeesYup or the agent to whom the money was paid. It was also noticed that there was no Chinaman maining in the settlement. Then the P $400, impassively; re- fatal secret was out. The heap of tailings had probably never yielded the See Yup company more than $20 a week, the ordinary wage of such a company. See Yup had conceived the bril- liant idea of “booming” it on a borrowed capital of $00 in gold dust,which he openly transmitted by express to his confederate and creditor in San Francisco, who in turn secretly sent it back to See Yup by coolie messengers, to be again openly transmitted to San Francisco. The package of gold dust was thus passed backward and for- ward between debtor and creditor, to the grave edification of the express company and the fatal curiosity of the settlement. When the syndicate had gorgéfi the bait thus thrown out, See Yup, on the day the self-Invited committee inspected the claim, promptly “salted” the tailings by con- scientiously distributing the gold dust over it so deftly that it appeared to be its natu- ral composition and yield. I have only to bid farewell to See Yup, and close this reminiscence of a misunder- stood man, by adding the opinion of an eminent jurist in San Francisco, to whom the facts were submitted: “So clever was this alleged fraud, that it is extremely doubtful if an action would lie against See Yup in the premises, there being no legal evidence of the ‘salting,’ and none what- ever of his actual allegation that the gold dust was the ordinary yield of the tail. ings, that implication resting entirely wi the committee who examined it under false pretense, and who subsequently forced the sale by intimidation.” ——__ UNIVERSITY NOTES Columbia: versity. President Whitman has recently an- nounced that important changes are to be made with regard to the conduct of affairs at the university, the method now in vogue, which has been used over half a century, being found somewhat cumbersome and im- practicable. The plan proposed is to sub- stitute a board of trustees, to have entire control of affairs, for the board of over- seers and the board of trustees which have heretofore had the management. The new board of trustees will include the follow- ing gentlemen: Messrs. Hiram Wood, Hen- ry Taylor, Eugene Levering, George O. Manning, James Pollard, William L. Wilson, Rev. H. IL. Morehouse, Rev. Thomas J. Morgan, Messrs. M. M. Parker, William F. Mattingly, J. O. Wilson, John W. Powell, Edward M. Gallaudet, Otis T. Mason, Theodore W. Noyes, J. L. M. Curry, Charles W. Needham, J. J. Darlington, S. W. Woodward, W. H. McKnew, Rev. Sam- uel H. Greene and Rev. Charles A. Stakely. In the medical school it is announced that a. hospital will be added by fitting up the Columbian Academy building. The law school, commencing next year, will only give degrees after three years’ study, in- stead of two, as heretofore. Changes in the post graduate department will also be made. Election of officers in the Law School De- bating Society will occur on January 8. “Resolved, That Congress should enact a general anti-trust law,” was the question for debate at the last meeting of the so- ciety. The negative side, composed of Messrs. J. P. Gray, C. E. Phelps and A. W. Patterson, were declared the winners. No meeting will be held tonight. The execu- tive committee of the class held a meeting last Tuesday evening. Professor Lodge will commence his lec- tures on international law after the holl- days and Professor Jeffords will commence his instruction in criminal law about the same time. The parliamentary law class met last Tues- day in the post graduate hall. Efforts are being made to obtain a larger membership of the organization. The Glee Club met last Tuesday at the university. The Society for Philosophical Inquiry met last Tuesday The American Chemical Society will meet on the 20th, 30th and 31st of the month at the university. The Christmas holidays will last until the first Monday in '98. Catholic University. The Christmas holidays include all this week after Thursday at noon, and until Monday, January 3.- Most of the students have either left for home or have gone to spend the recess with friends. Many of the members of the faculty have also left the university to spend the ttme out of the city. Right Rev. Mgr. Conaty left for his home in Werce: Mass., last Saturday, to spend the holidays there. Very Rev. Dr. Garrigan, vice rector, left for his home at Lowell, Mass. Dr. Shahan, Dr. Creagh and Father Aiken have gone to Boston to spend the holidays there. Rev. Dr. Johnson will spend the time at Brooklyn, N. Y., while Drs. Demont and Kehoe have gone to St. Stephen’s to assist at the ceremonies on the oceasion of the feast day of that church temorrow. Rev. Morris O'Connor, Rev. Edw. O'Con- nor and Rev. William Higgins are in re- treat. Last Sunday Dr. Conaty preached at Brooklyn, N. Y., on the subject “The Ne- cessity of Dogma in Religion,” the occa- sicn being the dedication of the altars at St. Augustine’s Church in that city. Georgetown University. The holidays commenced Wednesday and will extend until Monday, January 3. Near- ly all the students have gone home. The first term of the law school has end- ed, the last examination having been held Thursday. The following subjects will be taken up during the next term, which ends March 12: Torts, contracts, equity, common law practice, civil and natural law, and the moot court will also be held twice a week. The Law School Debating Society held no n.eeting this week on account of the holi- Gays, which commenced last Saturday, and will run until the first Monday of the new year. Each class was given one examina- tion two nights this week. A number of the law and medical stu- dents have left for their homes. The Merrick debate, which is to be held on Weshirgton’s birthday, will be upon the question, “Resolved, That it would be for the interest of the United States to establish a natioral university having con- trol over all collegiate degrees.” Trainer Foley is at present at Providence, where he has gone to spend the holidays. All the athletes have discontinued train- ing until after the holidays, but after the reopening of the college it is the in- tention of Mr. Foley to utilize the lower ccrridor and put them all through a course of indoor work. The bowling alleys and the sbuffle board have been completed, and it is the intention to throw them open for general use in the near future and have some exercises in honor of the donor, Mr. Wimsatt of this city. The Yard Association has undergone sev- eral changes, Mr. J. S. Bates, the treasur- er, having resigned and been succeeded by Mr. F. J. Byrne, whose place has been filled as secretary by the election of Mr. McAleer for the position. A committee has been elected to revise the constitution of the Philodemic Debat- ing Society. Howard University. “Our sins and how to get rid of them,” was the subject of the C. E. meeting last Saturday night. The Christmas service will occur tomorrow morning at , and will be led by Miss Donohoe, her subject being, “What message does Christmas bring you?” ‘The Christmas recess commenced Thurs- ay, and will run until January 3. A num- ber of the students have taken advantage of the opportunity for a visit to their homes. The athletic association held a meeting last Wednesday. Thursday a social was given by the Christian Endeavor Society. A public debate is to be given next mornth by the Alpha Phi Literary Society. Athletics at the university have been suspended on account of the cold weather prevailing. A TIME OF REJOICING How Christmas is Celebrated in Far- Off Sweden. RISGRYNS GROT AND JUL GLOEGG Quaint and Interesting Customs That Are Still Observed. AROUND THE YULE LOG a Written for The Evening Star. N THE ICY NORTH- jand the snow-cover- ed hills and frozen streams seem to show their gladness at the return of Yule, so it is no wonder that the people of Sweden look forward ‘to the coming of Christmas with great- er joy than Is known in any other country. The winter begins carly in No- vember and has by the last of Decembe Hecome so monotonous that the festivities of the season are more than welcome. Then, too, the intense religious nature of the Swedes causes them to approach Christ- mas with a joy born of reverenc On Christmas morn, long before the late sun rises, the people, old as well as young, “re out on foot or in sleighs, all hastening toward the church from whose windows the bright light comes streaming across the snow. This morning service is not the be- ginning of the festivitiesthey commenced the day before, while the preparations have been going on for days or even weeks. In this time every one has been busy making presents, preparing surprises, or wrapping up the more trivial gilts into bundies of huge proportions. The housewives see to it that the house is in perfect order and every article that admits of polishing is shining as it never shone before. Then the brewing must not be forgotten, especially in the country, and for once at least white bread must take the place of the brown cakes baked weeks or perhaps months be- fore. The supply of ale cannot be meager, for, In addition to meeting home con- sumption, there must be a mug for each of the many neighbors who during the coming week will drop in with a present or bring their good wishes. Even the stock share in the bounties of the season and receive an extra supply of provender, while at least one sheaf of oats has been saved for the birds. This is fastened to the top of a pole and the merry chirp of the thankful birds as they pick out the grains is sweet music to the thoughtful farmer. An Ancient Custom. On Christmas eve the dinner is taken in the kitchen, partly to lighten the evening's work, but chiefly to enable the family to observe the ancient custom of “dipping in the pot.” For this, ham, me tongue, ete., have been boiled together, and while the pot still hangs over the fire each mem- ber of the family takes a slice of bread and tries to dip it completely into the pot and remove it without having it break into pieces. When all have shown their skill the meat is eaten, after which come rice and apple sauce. Later in the evening the famous Yule dish of codfish and potatoes is brought forth, followed by rice cooked as none but Swedes can. And why should they not know how? Their mothers pre- pare the same dish, so did their grand- mothers, and no one knows when the first Christmas “risgryns grot” was cooked. But before the first grain can be take: each person must recite a rhyme of his own. These have been worked over perhaps for weeks and are intended to point out the whims or foibles of some member of the household. After the dinner things have been put away, next in order is the lighting of the Christmas tree and the distribution of presents. The gifts are not hung on the tree—that is simply decorated with tinsel, cotton snow, lights, etc—but they are brought in by “Jul Bocken,” the Christmas goat. This part is taken by some member of the family, who, dressed in fur or sheep- skin, wears the mask of a goat, and car- ries on his back the laden basket. ‘The goat perpetuates the tradition that Thor drove goats to the charlot whose rumbling caused the thunder. The presents are taken from the basket by the head of the family, who reads out the name and what- ever inscription they may bear. Here again there 1s a rivalry in the preparation of appropriate remarks as well as in the selection of the gift. Joy and Laughter. In the country there ts a race to see who will be the first to finish the chores on Christmas morning. No part of this work can be done on the day before, and each of the younger folks not only tries to hurry along his own task, but seeks to throw obstacles in the way of all the oth- ers. This is a source of great merriment, and the laughter of the girls in the house and the boys at the barn or woodpile is the harbinger of a joyous day. The wood- chopping is a serious work, for on this day there must be a bright fire and the Yule log cannot Ne alone in the great wide- mouthed fireplace. It 1s around this fire that the choicest stories are told and many fabulous tales narrated of “Tomte Gubben”—the little man with a grayish blouse, red-pointed hood, long gray beard, large head and small body who is ever present, but never seen. This tomte is a sort of personal friend who concerns himself with the wel- fare of the household and avoids a di- vided interest by attending to only one. He must be well treated and duly respected, for who else could stop the horse as it started to run away? or keep the little tot from falling when it stumbled? or save the dish from breaking when it slipped out of the hands and fell upon the floor? No one. It was tomte, of course. A little food is left for him in each plate at this glad season, and little ones—perhaps some of the older ones, too—as they look into the fire see this little friend in the pointed flame or curling smoke. The “Jul Gloegg” —that mysterious mixture of brandy, mo- lasses and spices—is passed around, lim- bering tongues and fancies, and stories which at other times might be dull or pointless now take on a peculiar charm. Until Trettendag J The merrymaking is kept up for several days, people making visits and giving par- ties, and but little work is thought of until the thirteenth day. “Trettendag Jul,” is past, while the holiday is not completely over until the twentieth day. On this date the final feast Is held. the best of the white bread Is eaten and the last of the Christ- mas ale tis drunk. On this occasion the choicest hetrlooms are brought out: the Tarest silver, the queer old newter vessel ard richest wood carvings—articles that are seen only then and at wedding fes- tivals. On the morrow they are nut away to stay a vesr unless a marriage calls them out of their hiding, In the cities. ton. there is unnsual gavety. at this’ season ‘The streets are crowded with peonle hurrvire alone with their many parcels and every available nook and corner is taken hy a market man or woman with a hooth. for durine the few davs nrior to Christmas the ricid laws are relaxed and every onnorturity is given to those who seek to earn a few crowns hy selling tovs. fir trees, or the ever present finrer-hread, “risse ock nase the man and weman with foined hands and red feathers in their cans, or the Yule goat who takes on a variety of shapes and pos- tures in hrown cookies. Such is Christmas fn mv dear old Swe- den, but it is rot simnly merrvmaking, the primal thought is never lost sieht of, ard in the heart of erch one there is the echo of the words of the lip: ‘Unto-us a child is born, Halle! Hatelniah™ LILLIAN SPARRENDAHL GORE. if you get a package like this. It contains the genuine OL 3" OusT It cleans everything and cleans it quickly and cheaply. Largest package—greatest economy. THE N. K. FAIRBANK COMPANY, Thicago, St. Louis, New Yor's, Rosten, Philadelphia. A SCENE OF DESOLATION Christmas Day on a Battlefield Near Lima. The City Was in the Hands of the Chilean and Peace Had Not Yet Come. Wiltten for The Evening Star by Mrs, Marguerite Dickins, Peace brooded over the scene, but good will toward man seemed a phrase of mockery on that Christmas day in Peru, in 1883, which memory brings back so distinc: ly. Now those level stretches betwesn the mountains and the ocecn doubtless bloom again as the rose, tilled by the gentle peasant and owned by those charming Peruvians, to whom Time's gentle fingers have brought balm to heal the wounds war made, and which then were all fresh and bleeding. Lima was in the grasp of the Chilean, and it was one of her offi kindly offered to show us the bs about the capital and explain them. Expianations, however, were not needed, for the trained eye; the enemy came from the southward, and, marching north along the coast upon a narrow sirip of level land which les between the moun- tains and sea, was escorted by his meu- ot-war, finding the first defenses of the capital at a line drawn trom the summ. resort of Charillos to the ioot hiils; ther plain to be seen, was the line of sunken forts, with their useless sand bags thrown here and thece, or broken by shot; ditches, and the thick adobe walls dividing the fields, pierced here and there for muskets, that the forces attacking the forts mignt be enfiladed. It was the remains of these and the other adobe field walls which shel- tered the bones and remains of many of these who fell on the of battle over a year before. Decay is slow in this land of no rain, and some of the sights re horrible. Bones, decaying clothes and one pair of shoes in particular, out of which th shin bones stiil stuck upright, as if the man had died leaning against the wall, and even his dead bones declined to lie down before the foe, but still stood, the toes of the shoes turned toward the enemy. As for Charillos, the beautiful city where the wealthiest Limaneans had their sum- mer villas; where wealth, beauty, luxury and whole-hearted happiness had’ reigned when I saw it before; war had passed over it and literaily hardly one stone remained upon another; such utter destruction seemed incredible. There was no noise but the lazy flap of the vultures’ wings ashore and the scream of the sea birds flying along the deserted beach where the waves washed the ruins of bath houses and cafes. This was nine miles from Lima. Nearer yet was the inner line of defense, which rested it right on the town of Mirafloress, and h similar scenes met the eyes, except in the town, where some flowers yet bloomed and a few houses showed white amidst their gardens, while the sound of water running in the open acequias was a treat to the ears, as its limpid purity to the eye. We paced about for hours on sure-footed little horses and saw all, wandering over ficlds Where the grass, and even flowers, were springing up, trying to hide the bones and make the land once again lovely, and thereby to cheer the heart of those whose native land it was, and who love it with passionate fervor. Peace had not yet come, but on that Christmas day, which seemed so dark and gray and sad, one could hear the rustle of the wings of the gentile messenger who should unite the triumphant Chilean, who had borne his banners to the heart of the enemy’s citadel, and the Peruvian, who, having lost much, yet had fought for and retained his honor, and, having that, could accept terms end treat as man to man, and opening once more his churches, give thanks to God for His gift of Christ, the Prince of Peace. ——_ The Number of Languages. From Tit-Bits. The least learned are aware that there are many languages in the world, but the actual number is probably beyond the dreams of ordinary people. The geographer Baldi enumerated 800 which are entitled to be considered as distinct languages, and 5,000 which may be regarded as dialects. Aduiguns, another modern writer on thix subject, reckons up 3,064 languages and dialects existing, and which have existed. Even after we have allowed either of these as the number of languages, we must ac- knowledge the existence of almost infinite minor diversities; for almost every prov- ince has a tongue more or less peculiar, and this we may well believe to be the case throughout the world at large. It is said there are little islands lying close together in the South seas, the in- habitants of which do not understand each other. Of the 860 distinct languages enumerated by Baldi, 89 belong to Europe, 114 to Afri- ca, 123 to Asia, 417 to America, 117 to Oceania—by which term he distinguishes the vast number of islands stretohing be- tween Hindustan and South America. —+e+ A Failure. From Puck. First Thug—“Did you try the knozk-out drops?” Second Thug—“Yes; >ut they wouldn’t work. The old codger is from New Jersey, and I suppose he’s used to appleyack.”