Evening Star Newspaper, January 8, 1898, Page 17

THE EVENING STAR, SATURDAY, JANUARY 8, 1898-24 PAGES. 17 AN ARMY GAMBLER| Luck Followed the Sergeant for Many a Long Day. — BUT If TOOK A TURN AT LAS? od When He Ran Up Against a Fa- mous Shoshone Sharp WINNINGS VANISHED ees HIS Written for The Evening Star. H I WAS STA- WV :: med out at Boise barracks,” said an officer of the United Ss es army, over a glass of grog at the Metropolitan Club, “I ergeant in my company who certainly th thing gam| met in the and the enlisted force the army is packed full of men fvho hazard their money for an entirely dif- service— ferent reason than for the fun if it. On pay this sergeant would set up haif a ozen different games, run them on the quict and scoop in big wads of the monthly Wages of all the men in the post who were numbskulls enough to go up against them. He carried on this sort of thing for a dozen and we all had it correctly figured cut that his three-to-one-against games had made him pretty rich for a soldier. In fact, he himself had got into the habit of swell- ing around a good deal and announcing that at the conclusion of his enlistment he in- tended going into the real estate bu: er in Spok: But never went into s except soldi for, he kind of thrifty men, he any ing, did thi like all sure-thing stacked ur inst his Waterloo. A g, innocen ing 3 from the east first started him ge and caused him to lose his One of the game that the day nights in an unu r's shop was the of our n for—the game luck ou Ont a Clean $150. the = ox the cards, and cast onto a table from a big tin > player puts h's mi on nal sum from the » diamonds he gets twice bet from the man runni m. in suce But the by ing much to hear’ ‘d, Soppy-looking r to have a quiet, big: who didn’t his a ron-ccmmi the quiet wha kled the shack where mptly lost of acting of mind, on a club, and t After this he ing one al wi for the n almost the lookers her spots of them oc g. He ext vhen he had c; 1 $10) of money the sergeant closed while he went to the quar- - coin. When he opened the game with the reeruit rifled leer t and he When hi r $100 of the the other gam was oa hand had gathered nker sergeant’s were practically ed; the men all gathered around the table to enjoy the discomfitur man with the chevrons, who was Winner Cat for Home. he time taps was sounded the ser- Wis out a clean $45 on his chuck- rd it s given to me that as miserable a looking man he as ever wore a stripe on his leg, when the recruit, stuffing his last rake-off into his Lulging pockets, announced with a grin he had h jough for that night. The uit said rtnly’ when the sergeant y isked him if he wouldn't give a show to get back on him on the tol- lowing night, and walked out in the direc- But he never got » midnight train for the east, and er. When he the next at Wes torn by a sudden and raked out his found that all, but ft that two of hed to roll nd a heart on own dice 2 of them, and ost b on ore urn wu} him whe assuaged t of pl 2 ing draw poker of the with some Shoshone Indians who used to har round the post at times. Some of Shoshones always had a 1 of gevernment money stowed r clothes for awhile after their days, when the agent would their pay: ad the ser- | to his h » a try for h ¥ ood success at wa good deal e of draw, 1 got $0 or $60 & four or five of the Sh trevble pout the ‘h from hones without much Am Indian Expert. “Then he fell in with Charley Daw, a chief with a face as hard as an Easter Is- n@ lava statue. Although the sergeant know it at the time, this Charley Daw had mastered the game of draw poker right here in Washington, on a visit that he made with some other Indians for the stinent of some Shoshone c ims—and when a wooden-faced man becomes a really good player of draw poker, It is a wise thing to steer clear of him. The sergeant was too much rattled, however, over the way he had been looted by the recruit to quite ec weigh considerations of this sort, and he aiso forgot to remember until it was too late that Charley Daw, since his return to the reservation from Washington, had be- come known to the men of his own tribe as the most magical dealer of poxer hands that ever chucked one of his papooses un- der the chin. “Charley permitted the sergeant to win nearly $300 from him on the first night the two sat down together, and on the next night he donated him $200 more. He fed the sergeant on coin for nearly a week, in fact, and exhibited such opaque stupidity at the game that the sergeant must have had his real estate office furnished pretty gorgeously in his mind. The games took place in Charlie's wickieup, the best on the reservation, and the only onlooker present on the final night of the game was the post inanee sergeant, who told me all about it. “The sergeant, about $700 of the Indian money to the good, was so infused with joy on this final night that at the beginning of the piay he started the blufling system. It worked splendidly, Charley. Daw appearing to lay down his big hands out of pure fear Fell in With Charley Daw. of the man with the cross-guns on his cap. But when the soldier attempted to bluff the Indian out of a jack pot that the Shoshone had opened on his own deal, he struck a S + Charley Daw let him get in very deep, making very small raises himself in f-hearted kind of way. The soldier, eying that the Indian was only trying to protect himself, and wouid sooner or later lay down, kept on rai: ing it with $25 bets, until there w about $500 in his pot. ‘Then the Sshoshone, not caring to scare his man out cn the play, called, and spread out queen full. The sergeant jammed his kings up into the deck with a nervous oath. To ease the soldier up a little, Charley Daw let him win $100 k on the next few pla Then he settted back firmly on his haunches to play poker. Fight to a Finish. “The last play was a natural jack, and it was the Indian's deal. Charley Daw was one of those poker dealers that make men nervous by covering the whole deck up with their hands while riffling the cards. The sergeant was in a pretty rattled frame of mind, and the only thing that relieved his nervousness while the Indian thus rds was that the latter seemed no attention to the job, but kept his gaze fixed dreamily to ‘the top of the wickieup. to the Indian finally. inquired Charley I showed that he had heard the r right by giving the ritling but he ark all ards an ostentatious full, the sergeant, I was if he felt a revival of inter- » in order to entice the In- opened the pot for The his hand for a long time, a $5 gold piece into the e air of a man who believes he is making a fool of himself. He looked cerned when the soldier stood pat If-satisfied grin, and threw one of rds into the discard with the hasty, ha s jerk of a chap who bobs to a flush. For the first time since two had been playing the Ind s countenance assumed a look of disgust When he saw card he had dealt himself, and the soldier looked if he feared he couldn't ake much out of his ace full. Back and Forth. “Fifty dollars,’ said he, in a bluffy tone ef voi gazed at him with the ion of a man of whim antage is bein nd then set with an expression that was meant to con and did con- t he didn’t intend to be long. Carefully conning his it a hundred." This was pi at. He saw plainly that the ed. aid he, reaching ng out his re- hand, he r: for th Indian w * "Five now pitiful. the 1 He looked a ‘geans for fuily gave a whistle minute az other a chief, walked into t Daw becko to his d him his hand, and the a conference in $ n p by Big Ringdove tmed of his 1 the pict h it all, but the ord- who was present at the told me that the sure-thing non- ioned officer somehow lost the fiz ses off his grin when Charley Daw granted out a raise of $1,000. That raise tapped the sergeant, all but $500. But he was still pretty confident, and so he stood the raise and threw in his last $5 tain that it would drive the Indian out. But a wicked smile now wreatped Charley Daw’'s countenance. “That all you got” he inquired of the soldier. The latter, fear now gripping him, nodded affirmatively. Four Queens, said Charley I contracted like a d the sergeant to nery- ously spread out his ace full on the blanket. ““No good,’ said the Indian, flicking his four queens on to the blanket one by one. “Look a-here, you curs red-hided short-card player— the sergeant began, scrambling s feet, and then he stop- ped suddenly. The Indian sat perfectly still, holding a big army pistol in his blan- keted lap with both hands. e ““You go your barrack,” said Charley attoo, he go in a minute; you get in bunk and sleep; I play you again some time. You go now.’ “And, persuaded by Charley Da “Then I call you,” with his eyes no’ ps and he allo’ man- ner (which was right chopped-off, I was told) by the gun, my sergeant returned to hii » Which he had no right ever to leave to play poker with Sho- shones. The devil of it was that when it became known around hew he had been d out all of the men made it a daily stice for weeks to ask him if he wouldn't give them a job clerking in his real estate office over in Spokane.” pase eee Calling a Halt. From Puc«. First citizen—“Is it true that the pension list is to be attacked?” Second citizen—“I believe so. Steps are to be taken to prevent the further increase in the number of the survivors of the civil war.” + e<— Two Varieties. From Puck. The Landlady—“Mr. Feebles, the gentle- man who arrived last night, is a chronic invalid. The sareastic boarder—“H'm! From lazi- ness or disease?” IN TIME OF SICKNESS Queer Nostrums in Which John Chi- naman Puts His Faith. LIPTLE KNOWLEDGE OF - ANATOMY Physicians Do Not Even Have to Have a Certificate. GIVE MIGHTY MIXTURES —— Written for The Evening Star by J. Thomas Scharf (ex-U. 8. Chinese Inspector). My experience among the Chinese has brought me in contact with the strangest medical system in the world. If any lo- cal county medical society were to look into the methods pursued by the Chinese physicians in the United States there would be found material enough to keep that society occupied in the law courts for years. It is a fact not generally known that nearly every Chinese mercantile store in this country has attached to it a Chinese doctor and a pharmaceutical department. In China every one chooses his own occu- pation, and any person may assume the tide of physician without having given previous evidence of his professional com- petency. There are no medical colleges and no examination tests exist to worry the minds of the would-be practitioners. And neither are diplomas asked for or granted. Any quack or the most ignorant bkumpkin may become a practicing physi- efan, and by his success or non-success in the profession he stands or falls. This un- limited liberty of selecting an occupation has resulted in making the Chinese medi- cal profession enormous, and when the Chi- nese start a business a Chinese doctor is always included as one of the partners ard he acts as physician and apothecary for the firm. In China Chinese apotheca- ries, before they can carry on their busi- hess, must pass an examination and must exhibit a diploma from the examination board. Medical study consists in mechani- cally learning the old Chinese medica: works, and, when possible, the inherited knowledge of remedies all in accordance with the Chinese maxim, ‘The older the better.” When a physician has been unsuccessful he retires with the common Chinese adage, medicine for sickness, but none imes an invalid will go to a doctor and ask for how much he will cure him and how soon the cure can be performed. He states the diagnosis of his case, the pulse is examined and every other mptom investigated, when a bargain is struck and a 1 of the price paid. a ves the suitable med- . in quantity and variety better fitte’ for a horse than a man, for the doctor re sons out that out of a great number it i more likely that some will prove efficacious, and the more he gets paid for the more he eught to admini: A decoction of a k er. tleful of simples is drank down by the sick man, and he gives up both working and if, ho’ er, at the expiration of the time specified he 1s not cured he his physician for an ignorant char who cheats him out of his money, and seeks another, with whom he makes a sim- lar bargain, and with probably sults. The ‘visits and examin very reasonable in price and vary in amount from 15 cents te $1. The fee is wrapped up red er and is caled “golden thanks.” The prescriptions fur- nished are remarkably large. Heavenly and Earthly The pathology (shang-han) 2 is very incomplete. All dis epidemic diseases, are nd winds, and cold , ete., are as their benign or m: good principle) ¢ imilar re- tions are rtm, of the Chi- , espe- ascribed to nd warm hu- ordance with acter to ¥| u (the evil prin cially spirit mor: To Yo be acute in to Yu, } ever, ete. 1g to ‘s varieties of fever: 1 is a distinct nd diffe part of the ‘the pulses 2 where we feel it. nges of the moon In this p nd the si ar the a wrist, W the right arm, some higher up, now lc on the left, now r down, now on one side, non both side: The three tinge re the index, the middle linger. Deyuse, the index fing spirits of the liv , the spleen, little finger, indicating the of the heart, the left: pul: ated, in those of the liver th speck of the tongue and ¢ to spe red tongue indi art—and the sout ach tua white tongue—the lungs—and the west, Anatomy and physi est grade in Chi their veneration the human body is. and they never practice amputa ssume six chief organs in| which “moisture” is located, viz, the heart, liver, two kidneys, spleen and lungs; six ‘others in which is the seat of “warmth,’ small and large intestine, the gz the stomach and the urinary apparatus, They do not know the distinction between arteries and veins, and call the heart “the husband" and the lungs “the wife." The Chinese enumerate bones, including: eight for the male and six of ‘the female cranium, twelve ribs in men and fourteen in women. The circulation, according to their ideas, flows outward from the lungs five times in twenty-four hours and ter- minates in the liver. The bile is the special origin to the voice; the spleen is the seat of reason, and with the heart, furrishes ideas; the liver is the granary of the soul, while the stomach is the resting place of the mind, etc. Chinese phrenologists look for the principal characteristics of a man ection of excluded, on. of cours = yy YU Wi/ 7 ke —— CHINESE DOCTOR SHAVI the practice of acupunchere, which is re- garded as a univ i iedy, and has for its object the qtfckefing of the “vital spirits.” It is — prietic by twisting or driving a needle inserted into the body and in the first case is éalled nedschibari, in the last udschibari. Fite operation a free passage is suppo: tq be made for the winds.” Besides this, nese surgery in- cludes application ‘of TRoxes, cupping, in- ncculation, paracenterig of the eye and bleeding. Surgical," operations are chiefly confined to removing ‘a tooth, pricking scres and humors (With needles and trying to reduce dislocatigns and reunite fractures by pressure or bangaging. Sometimes they successfully execute more difficult cases, as the operation for a harelip and insertion of false teeth. Under: ordinary circum- stances, they make shifg with poultiecs—in this live cat’s liver is specially popular— while fractures are treated by extension. Poultices made of many strange or disgust- ing substances are applied to injured parts, In one case a man who, having injured his iris by a fall, was ordered by his physician to cut a chicken in halves, laying a portion on the eye as a cataplasm and eating the ether as an internal cure. Vivisection is rarely attempted, but leeches and cupping are employed to remove the blood from a particular spot. Kneading of the muscles (massage), which is said to have been in use 2,000 years before Christ, is likewise practiced. The Chinese also claim to have been abie for thousands of years to pro- ce anaesthesia by means of the prepara- n, Mago. Novel Drugs. The Chinese despise our science, and pre- fer to swallow down mighty mixtures fear- fully and wonderfully brewed, which for ever so many hundred years have been mentioned as infallible remedies, The Chi- nese pharmacology consists of forty octavo volumes, and contains medies from the vegetable and animal kingdoms almost ex- clusively, and 1s very copious. It includes 650 different kinds of leaves, about 350 veg- etable medicines, 50 mineral and 78 animal, The use of acids and reagents is unknown for they imply more knowledge of chemis- try than the Chinese possess. ‘Their medi. cines are arranged under six heads—tonics, astringents, resolvents, purgatives, alteral tives of poisonous humors and of the blood. Among many herbal medicines, which on. doubtedly are more or less tonics, we find that the same qualities are ascribed to stalactite, fresh tops of stag horns, dricd red spotted lizards, silkworm moths, black and white lead, tortoise shell and dog's meat. By the same stretch of the imagina- tion the bones and teeth of dragons, oyster shells, loadstone, tale and gold and silver leaf are regarded as astringent while verdigris, calcareous spar, catecha pearls, bear's gall, shavings of rhinoceros horns and turtle shell are used as purg: tives. Elephaut's skin, and, with a cer- tain consistency, ivory shavings, are con. sidered to be antidotes to poison. The genuine ginseng root and the edible ne of the swallow are considered veritable panaceas, and are specially prized by the Chin, : In fact, ginseng, ld for eight times its of as aphrodi “h used to be ight in silver, stands at the all remedies. Tea, in varic Preparation, is much valued and different parts of rare animals are included in the list with the reputation of properties as multifarious and inco! sistent as the pills of a quack. Almo: animal supplies a distinct specitic, particulirly its blood and its liver. In de- head is mode: t of tig blood is. pr the employed are nd re luding dried bugs, toads, , tongue hearts, livers of numerous animals, ¢ none, cotton, i musk, rhubarb, gentian, camphor, rhinoceros or hartshorn shav- worm, asbestos, moths, Chine: see ves in large es, fungi and In- numerable other things. Calomel, vermil- jon, red precipitate, minium, arsenic, plumbago, mercury and sulphate of copper are among the metallic medicines used by nysicians. ‘Then, of course, exorcism by in epidemics, with dragon ban- burning ‘scraps of colored with formulae of incan- c.), and similar su- . are not wanting. sin. front, paper, inserii tation, firecra perstitious ob: The Hudson River and New York. From the January St. Nicholas. How could New York double its voula- tion in. fifteer rs, and beat its sreat rival, Philadelphia, when the latter was surrounded by a far wider belt of rich farms and populous towns It was due primarily to the fact the Robert Fulton brought here his steam- boat, and that York men knew how to a of the invention. Phila- also had the steambeat, you will Yes; but she did not have the Hud- om the first heen an York, because it forded a highway for miles inland, and thus had greatly aided in the carly settlement of the interior of the state and y England. By the improv son had to New f western > ment « nboat, river travel : once t p and speedy that the count sand the farmers them- selves could go straight down to New York to buy goods or do their shopping at first hand. This brought ot new business, both whol: to New York, some of which was taken away from its rival cities. Moreover, the steamboats and to lessened the cost of bringing »uild materials, grain, hay, meat and all the ceuntry-grown food found in city marke's, and therefore lessened the expense and in- creased the comfort of living and working here. 00 How She Got In. From the Philistine. Once at the gate of the great city, to which only good people are admitted, sat the gatekeeper, a wise old man, whom for convenience we will call St. Peter. Along came a lawyer, who-said: “St. Peter, may I come in?” “No,” said the good old man, “no lawyers can ever enter her: He of the green bag turned sorrowfully away and sat down by the wayside to await further developments. Just down the road, tripping along with a Mttle rea umbrella over her head, came a female Gisciple of Blackstone, wearing a smile NG RHINOCEROS HORN. in his forehead, and for a woman in the| intended to vanquish all argument and act. back part of the cranium. Their Idea of Surgery. There is a distinction between physicians and surgeons, and it Is more sharply de- fined than with us. Every man is expected to stick to his own branch of the profes- sion, The surgeons are extremely ignor- ant, are assigned to inferior service and receive little pay, so that their shops are poor. Chinese surgery (wae-ka) embraces as a password to the beautiful city. Of course St. Peter let her in. The poor man on the outside straightway he: for the gate again, and demanded of St.‘Peter that he should show cause. “You just let that . and she’s a lawyer from Ann said St. Peter, with a tired smile, “the woman is not lawy she only thinks herself one.” And he rapped the lawyer over the head with a big key and bade him begone. Po Pubic hobby C Street NorRTH. Aiailing O Division Detwery Divinon. she LIGHT AND SPACE —_— +> An Abundance of Each in the New City Post Office, LOCATING © THE Se VARIOUS DIVISIONS Convenience of the Public and the Betterment of the Service. a WILL EXPEDITE THE MAILS es ‘The increased floor space which will be given the working force of the local pest office wher. the transfer is made,to the new post offic way toward expediting the tra ion of the mails, a benefit in which every citizen is largely interested. The post office will eceupy the entire first floor, the mezzanine floor and about one-half of the basement, and to the @ extent that the pre quarters are cramped the new quarters will be commodious, sufficient to provide ‘nt and for for all requirements of a long time in the future. At the northeast corner of the building, on the first floor, that is, at the corner of Pennsylvania avenue and 11th street, will e pres be located the city postmaster’s room, and pe t to it the room to be cecupied by his stant postmaster. Contiguous to these rcoms will be elevators for the accommo- up- tion of the large office for: per floors and for the public on the The ele ters will be ace ble from the 11th street entrance, which is immedi iy adjacent te them ; South of the lith street entrance will be division, the cashier’ ped with a!l modern fire and burglar-proof apparatus. The room and vaults will be incased in steel, and the enormous stock of stamps, stamped paper, envelopes, pos- tal cards, ete., amounting in value to hun- dreds of thousanes of dollars, will be ren- dered free from all possible The receptacles for these supplies and the cash room fiies will also be of steel. The Several Divisions. At the northwest corner will be the home of the local money order division, next to Luilding will go @ great | vhich is to be equip- | loss or ruin. | PENNS YLVANIA AVENUE i which will be more clevator: the elevators will be the trance, to be available to the ing the money order and re The official mail divisi vision of mail for the various and bureaus of the “rnine and the cengressional mail division, will also be situated cn the first floor, in the rear of the large court. This court will be occupied by the two rain working divisions of the « the railing and delivery. The receipt and dis- atch of maiis is conducted by these di- and they are so sitiated ast communicate directly with the rear plat- forms ch the numerous mail wagons receive and deposit their pouches he registry division, placed at the sou west corner of the ing at 12th | © streets, will a easy communi- jon with the atform. This divi- sion ships all venue stamps of the | Trea Department, having a value many millions of dollars annualiy. All the postage stamps printed by the bureau of engraving for the entire portal system also pass through this division, for dispatch to the various post cffices. The division also_ comp’ and is the Sa subpostal card agene: y point for fifteen different y hav- e transferred N. ¥., to Piedmont, W. Plenty of ee will be afforded the on for the proper handling and | | prompt dispatch of this valuable matter. | ‘The subpos: ard agency, however, will | be located in the basen |istry division. Convenience of the Public. In the front part of ihe building will be the bur of information, the general de- t, under the reg {livery Ss and the windows for the | | sale plies, and “drops” in | which the publ eposit letter. Un- | der the present n the letter “drops’ are necessa at end of the long | old office, which ts a very convenient arrangement, but for which there is no remedy. muvling and delivery div re to be surrounded by an iron and gless casin: and the public will have an_ opportunity te see a first-class post cflice in full wo ing operation. — Vlerty of light will t afforded by the skylights above this | | court, and the arrangement will also prove a splendid one from a sanitary In the basement the leiter have a spacious “swing’ room, provided with the | lock ete. ‘The mailing, | appointments, 4 delivery and registry divisions will e have toilets and lockers in the coining the ement W in a general room for the use of the post of- | subpostal card agency 1 be provided storage fice, to be of 2 pese intended. nple proportions for the pur- The center of the buse- jent reason why the qu: | Numerous cases can be cite | Tweir TH STREET, —— heeter Carrer Windows B Fublre 40Aby + hetter Boxes ——— y Loney Order Lossy i fi and boiler » received rom very im- port the work shy din the basement. Improved Conditions, Figures obtained by The Star show that the entire first fleor of the old post offi» contains but W square feet, while the area of the first floor of the new building 5.060 square fect following 2 approxi- ate idea of th r the y order Pared with t Liw buildin om of affairs in ing. N ¥ oder divis improved c« ate 20,000 8 ; livery divisic . before exp , the and reg- ry divisions and the r rooms will be lecated outside the court The second to the ninth floors will be devoted to the use of the entire force of he Postmaster General and the fowr as- tant p masters general. with their bu- Treaus and divisions. At present the money order division of the department, the sixth auditor's office and the foreign m jice are lodged ouside of the | Department proper, but will min the new buil ling. Nearly Rendy for Occupnacy. It is impossible to ate, ho ver, when the city post office will m: quarters. The assertion has that the force of the city postmaster woul not go into the building until it h 1 been fitted up throughout for the occupancy of the Post Office Department also. This {s a matter for the department officials to set- tle among themselves, though from a local dpoint such an arrangement does not is the the at all nece appear It case in such matters to have floors finished first, and ther ters usual lower ppar- post | office could not be made ready in a short time—at six months at the farthe 2 where the lower floors of post offices have been occu- pled while workmen were engaged over. head, and as the building is practically completed it would only be fitting to allow the local post office, for which the building was built, and which is recognized as a local institution, to move in as speedily as possible. SHAKESPEARE'S FARMING His Fether Was a Land Owner and the Boy a Farmer. The Immortal Bard Doubtless Hoed Potatves, Milked Cows, Sheared Sheep and Fed the Pigs. Fiom the Buffalo Express. The immortal William was born in April, 1564, over 300 years ago, in the town of Stratford, which is in the heart of Eng- land, a place then of, perhaps, 2,000 in- habitants. No great amount of business could have been done at a point so remote, nor could there have been much manufac- turing, though as a good farming country was all around the various handicrafts must-have been well patronized by the farmers and the nobility. This was the period of the most prosperous days of the yeomanry, when the farms were small and held in fee, making a system that undoubt- edly originated in providing for the young- er sons of more or less wealthy families, and hence it must be said that the farmers at that time really belonged to the nobility and to the higher classes, and as it was they who settled the New England and other colonies, the great progress of this stock, and its power to absorb all other European races, is, in a measure, account- ed for. In the attempt to civilize the In- dians, and even to teach them to be poor farmers, and to elevate the blacks, it is proved that they and the immediate de- scendants of serfs and slaves require lopg periods of time, possibly many ages, to become possessed of industrious and eco- nomical habits, so that we may divide no- ble blood and aristocracy; and, boast of our democracy as much as we please, we have nothing in us so valuable as that | which have been derived from the culture and comfort secured during many genera- tions by the upper cla: of England. From time immemorial the highest enjoy ment of the English has been connee with farm life und rural pursuits. Up to the present the most pleasant months of the year are spent in the coun amid the scenes of our nativity and growth, and cities and towns are visited during the months when nature is least attractive. During Shakespeare's youth his father had several acres of land in and quite near to Stratford, and there is no doubt but the young poet plowed, heed, milked cows, fed hogs and sheared sheep. If he paid more attention to one branch than another it was in the care of sheep, for a great many sheep had been kept in all that re- gion for generations, and such manufac- tures as related to woolen goods were es- tablished, though, of course, in a poor, weak way. The father of Ann Hathaway, which giri Shakespeare married, lived at ho great distance from Stratford. He was a freehold farmer and had a large flock of sheep, and the farm seems especially fitted for this husbandry, for only a few years ago it was still a’ sheep farm. One of Shakespeare's characters says: “I am a true laborer. I earn that I eat, get that I wear, Owe no man hate, envy no man’s happiness, glad of other men’s good, con- tent with my barn, and the greatest of my pride is to see my ewes graze and my lambs suck.” As to the price of sheep, we gather from “Henry IV” that a score of good ewes were worth £10, which is $2.50 each, and considering that money was worth a great deal more then than now they were dear enough; but such must growth and of the master's own grafting. Looking around at the orchard, the catt the garden and the comfortable dwelling. Falstaf? was well pleased, and being a genteel vagabond without a home and al- Ways in need of money, he exclaimed that it was a “goodly dwelling and rich.” * To which the host replied, “Barren, barren, all beggars,” which is much the way some rich farmers telk nowadays. The personal servant of the justice seemed to engage in ali kinds of work, as he waited on the able, looked after things around the hous: attended to the hoi in the stable, ing when any needed shoeing, and when any other biacksmith work was required, and he took charge of the fields and the plowmen. Not a grand, it is true, but a useful and busy man. ——--——+ ee. ase English as She is Wrote. The following notice is displayed in a ho- tel in Norway: “Bath! First-class bath. Can anybody get. Tushbath. Warm and cold. Tub bath and shower bath. At any time. Except Saturday. By two hours for- bore.” And this is the notice that was posted up recently in an art exhibition in Tokio, Japan: “Visitors are requested at the en- trance to show tickets for inspection. Tick- ets are charged 10 cens and 2 cens, for the special and commen respectively. No vis- itor who is mad or intoxicated is aliowed to enter in, if any person found in shall be claimed to retire. No visitor is allowed to carry in with himself any parcel, umbrella, have been of high grade, or they happened then to be especially dear. Now & little about farming and farm life in these old days. Justice Shallow lived in Gloucestershire, and Falstaff stopped with him over night, coming, it would seem, early in the afternoon, and it must have been in August, for the master had given directions for getting a certain head- land ready to sow to wheat. The host in- sisted that his guest should go out and look on his orchard, and he was an ama- teur fruit grower, since they were to eat some pippins of the previous year’s stick and the like kind, except his purse, and is strictly forbidden to take within himself dog, or the same kind of beasts. Visitor is requested to take good care of himself from thievely.” Ss The fastest flowing river in the world is the Sutlej, in British India, with a descent of 12,000 feet in 180 miles. Next to our grape wine it is believed that Japanese sake, er rice wine, is the oldest alcoholic beverage known to man, its use in Japan dating back over 2,000 years.