Evening gazette, Thursday, January 14, 1897 · page 2

 

 

 

DAlNTY.

She said she wasn’t hungry.
\V’hcn first she took her seat:
She couldn't think of anything ,

She'd really Iiko to eat.
HI-r appetite was fitfui,
She smilingly averred,
By dainty triiles only
Of late it could b.- stirred.
I‘am glad sh." wasn't hungry,
For when the bill was brou ht.
The figures writ u on it.
" Were 9 and S and 0. t
. —Detroit Evening News.

GRIS LAPIN.

I was wandering, gun in hand, in the
forest, when I saw a stone cross. I
had'been so long away from the coun-
try that this cross new to me. The

. gossip of the little hamlet, on the skirt
of the woods, was Taupet, who had
once kept the village cafe, and was the
barber of the country, but he was too
old now to exercise either calling. I
knew ’l‘aupct could tell me all about
that cross. Meeting him next day, he
gave me with much detail the story
of Gris Lapin:

IIe was not of this country, this Gris

. Lapin. but from Brittany, and was
once valet dc chiens to the Comte dc
Blonvillc. The Count had to sell his
estate, and he went in hiding, nobody
knew where.

(iris- Lapin would often come to my
little cafe, and we became great
friends. He told me he had a wife in
Brittany and a son there named Eus-
tas'e, and that in the neighborhood
lived Mllc. Agnes, the Count de Blen-
ville’s daughter, who was being cared
for by her aunt. Sometimes Gris Lapin
would quit the forest and go to Brit-
tany.

It was Gris Lapin who brought us
the news of all this, and soon we hehrd
how the chateau was to be newly furn-
ished and furbished up, and the
Count's old debts paid off, and present-
ly we hear of nothing but M. de Blen-
viile and Mme. la Comtessc. And the
new housekeeper at the chateau was
no other than the wife of Gris Lapin;
and their son, the little Eustase, was
running about the place, a fine play-
fellow for Mllc. Agnes, who had now
come back to her father‘s house; Eus-
tase, that was Gris Lapin‘s boy, was
going to school, and was to be brought
up to be a priest.

Now, as ill luck would have it, when
Eustase came home for his vacation,
Madame had gone to her Own estate in
Brittany, and the Count had taken the
opportunity to bring home his daugh-
ler from the convent to give her pleas-
ure, and our young Monsieur must
needs become enamored of this Mlle.
Agnes; you see, Eustase had taken no
vows. and so, when it was found out
that the boy and the girl cared for our;
another, there was a precious row, and
Mademoiselle was packed oif to a con-
vent, and the lad to the seminary.

Then the war with the Prussians'took
place, and M. le Comte went into serv-
ice, and after ,a while the Germans
were lure in'force, and a Prussian Gen-
eral .had his headquarters at the cha—
tcau.‘

What was Gris Lapin doing? Cutting
Wood for the I‘russians and earning a
good bit of money. The fact is, my own
little place of entertainment was doing
a deal of business. Sometimes I said
to Gris Lapin: “Take care, the Count
may hold you responsible some day for
all the wood you are cutting. “latch
out. the Count may have somebody
looking to his interests.”

Well, one day a man came into my
place—there were ever so many Prus-
sian soldiers there—and he was dressed
like a peasant. with ,his bill hook
hanging at his girdle, an honest
woodman,'as it would seem. Some of
the soldiers laughed and made faces at
him and called him Her‘r Grapaud. But
he did not seem to mind. A quiet, mid-

le-aged man, his resemblance to Gris
Lapin struck me at Once, Only he was
younger in the face, suddenly he said:
"Monsieur ’l‘aupct. will you cut my
hair?" "Walk into my back room,”
said I. You (see, these . Prussians
dreaded spics and were very suspi-
rious. No sooner was he seated in my
barber's chair than I noticed that his
hair was powdered, so as to give him
an older look. Says he at once: “I
am Eustase. Find me some way of
gettingr into the chateau. I cannot
ask my father to help me. He must
not know i am here. I saw him as I
came here. My father was drunk and
was fratcrnlzing with our enemies.”
' Then I was sure the Germans were
watching us. Now. a sudden inspira-
tion seized me, and I said aloud: “Yes,
they buy chickens at the chateau, and
if you had any pigeons you could sell.

them. Any kind of poultgy is in de-
mand.” Then I noticed that Eustase
started. "Pore Taupet,” said he, in a

low voice, "that guess about pigeons
was a dangerously good one.) Look!”
and. opening the bosom of his blouse,
he showed me a white carrier pigeon
there, one of the true Antwerp breed.

"Buttell me about the 'chateau and
Mademoiselle Agnes?” he asked.

I gave him the last news. "They are
all well,” I said. Then he told me that
he was no longer a seminarist, but had
taken uparms in defense of France.
That he had been promised his epau-
lets if he would undertake a dangerous
' service, and it was to find out the ex—
act force of Prussians in this province.
That he had three pigeons and that
two of them had been loosed, and the
third, with the final news, the most
important, was to be sent to the French
headquarters. ' ,

.I managed somehow that Eustase

had entrance to the chateau, and you»

may fancy what joy there “was when
la more and the pretty Agnes found
out who was the elderly pigeon 'mer-
" chant who had brought the birds for
the kitchen. Such information as Eus-
tase obtained he wrote and put in a
quill and attached it to the pigeon, and
IthinkMademolselle herself carried

rp-

\

and let it fly; ' and the bird winged her.
way right over the forest. And now
Eustase said to Agnes: “You have
won for me the cross and my epau-
lets.” But just then they heard a shot.

That evening Gris'Lapin came to my
place, and I told him about his son,
and he could hardly believe me. And
as we were talking together in a. 10W
voice we licard-.the sound of a mili-
tary party, tramp, tramp, tramp; and
behold, there came along at the double
an armed guard of Prussians, with a
prisoner in the middle 'of them, his
hands tied behind him, as pale as
death, with a strange glazed look in
the eyes. "That is a poor fellow whom
they havecaught sending messages to
our army by a carrier pigeon, heaven
bless him,” somebody said. And at
that Gris Lapin staggered forward and
threw himself among the soldiers with
a loud cry, while the prisoner turned
his head. “Mon pere,” he cried, spring-
ingtoward him as well as he could.
but the soldiers urged him along with
their bayonets, and drove away Gris
Lapin with blows, and he fell back-
ward among us more dead than alive.

It was terrible! The young man was
to be shot. The Countess and Mlle.
Agnes were to be sent out of France.
The pigeon, which had been shot, had
told the whole story. That evening
Gris Lapin came to see me. I tried .to
comfort him, but he bade mehold my
tongue, for that I knew nothing about
the matter. “That might be,” I said,
but I know this much: that if I knew
the traitor who had betrayed him I
would do my best to strangle him with
these two hands of mine.” At this
Gris Lapin dashed at me, tearing the
wrapper from his brawny throat. “Do
you say so? Then strangle me, for I
am the traitor!”

He had shot the pigeon and had ta-
ken it to the Prussians and sold it for
50h. with the little burden it carried.

 

"Yes; I have sold my son’s life,” he
groaned. "Well, I am going away—I
am going to take charge of mademois-
ello and my wife. They need never
know,” looking at me fiercely. “No,”
I said, “they need never know—nor
anybody else, for that matter. I should
not betray you.” “You will not betray
me,” repeated Gris Lapin; “but you
will not touch hands upon that." “No,”
I said, drawing back, “I will not.” At
that his mood changed, and be flung
himself into the operating chair, and
bade me light my lamp and shave his
heard. In a new country he would be
a new man. i

And indeed he looked‘a new man
with his gray beard taken OE and his
hair shortened. A much younger man,
for his hair was still black, or only
Speckled with gray. When I had fins
ished he muffled up his face, saying
with a bitter laugh, that it would not
do to take a chill. “And now,” he
said, “I am promised ten minutes with
my son. It will be a pleasant inter-
view, don‘t you think?” with a hollow
laugh that made my blood run cold.

I slept soundly enough that night, for
whatever people’s troubles may be one
must work, and work brings the need
of repose; but just before daybreak
I was aroused by the soldiers who
were billeted upon me turning out. I
got up to see what was the matter
when a Sergeant, catching sight of me,
made signs to me in a rough, authori-
tative way to take up a spade and fol-
low him.

It was in- this little clearing, mon-
sieur, where the firing party was
drawn up, with one solitary figure
stripped to his shirt standing before
them. I flung myself down on the
ground and buried my face in the
moss, and then the volley rang out
loud and clear.
party marched 0H, and I was left with
the Sergeant who was carelessly
pacing up and down, and who mo-
tioned to me to dig the grave. But
first I went up to the body to close the
eyes that were staring wildly, with, I
fancy, some little consciousness still»
left in them. But the face was quite
difierent from what I expected. With
the marks of my own razor upon it,
and a gash that I made in my agita-
tion the night before! It was the face
of Gris Lapin. Ah, how I pressed his
hand, and I fancied that the numbed
fingers feebly returned the pressure!
His crime was expiated, he might rest
in peace.

Mind, I do not believe for a moment
that the young man thought that he
had left his father to die. He could
not think is posible that they should
shoot one man for another. Nor would
they have done so but‘for the ruse of
Gris ”Lapin in having his well-known
beard taken off. But, anyhow, the young

.man escaped. and the guard did not

recognize the change.’ And perhaps
he does not know to this day, for when
the war was over none could say what
had become of Gris Lapin. And I al-
so held my peace, for I thought that
such would be the wish of my old com~
rade. .

But ‘M. Eustase got his epulets af-
ter all, and in the end the Comte gave
his permission that he should marry
Mile. Agnes.~ And madame, who was

at first very angry, was afterward re-

:onciled. andwhen She died—both she
and the Comte are now dead—she left
the bulk of her fortune to the young
couple. And so the little Eustase is
now M. de Blenville, and hunts the
forest like a grand seigneur, but some
of‘us remember that, after all, he is
the son of Gris Lapin—From All the
Year Round. '

~ Where the Thanks Were Due~

“Thank you very much," said the
lady in the picture but as she took the
proffered seat in the crowded motor. '

“Don’t thank me. ma’am,” said the
man who had just vacated the place,
“thank the car stove.”

And be crowded his way back to the
Year platform and cooled oft-IlCleve-

landslzlain Dealer. -
\ .

 

. ‘ “0‘
“’l be H

And then the firing.

 

NOW is :3 TIM

To, Subscribe for the; ‘

3'

 

 

p

 

pa fir—Inna!) ,

 

iltzto- the ,upperwindow of the chateau}

 

'. Muloc k.

 

 

‘cst manshOuld work, “if he,

 

' _-_.f°l $LOQ 3Y3?" I 37—"

 

Both Paoe'rsSe‘nt to one Address

 

T E E E V ENLI'NGIGAZE TT E- ,

 

i.

' thori

 

WASHINGTON NEWS.

Just before the holidays there was
a more. than usually interesting-event
in the House. This was the swearing
into office of Charles R. Crisp,,wh0
was elected to fill the unexpired term
of his father, and who has the seat of
the ex-Speaker Charles. I". Crisp, who
died in October last. Mr. Turner of
Georgia, asked unanimbus consent that
Mr. Crisp be sworn in. There was no
objection, and, escorted by Messrs.
Bartlett and Maddox, of the Georgia
delegation, the youthful new member
appeared at the bar and took the cus-
tomary oath. Ashe turned to take the
seat formerly occupied by his father a
wave of applause swept over the
House, and later Mr. Crisp was warm-
ly congratulated by many of his
father‘s old friends. This filled the
House for the first time this Congress.
making 357 members on the roll.

la‘ivc reporters get $5,000 a year each
for furnishing the copy for the Con-
gressional Record, which enjoys the
distinction of being the most expensive
daily in the United States. Each man
has his own desk, amanuensis, grapho-
phone and typewriter. He must pay
the amanuensis out of his salary.

 

CHARLES R. CRISP.
The greatest activity and alertness

are required of these reporters, for
while it is comparatively easy to fol-
low a set speech it is quite a different
matter when in a lively debate mem-
bers are speaking from different parts
of the Chamber, interrupting each oth-
er and talking two or three at once.
Now and then there is a regular ora-
torical scrimmage, so that the eifcct to
an untrained observer is that of a veri-
table Babel. But in the business, as in
anything else, facility is obtained by
practice. It is rarely that a word is
missed by the reporter, who does not
sit at his table at such times, but trav-
els about the floor, placing himself in
the very midst of the. disputants and
often standing at the elbow of a speak-
er, notebook and fountain pen in, hand.
Members are always willing to get up
and give him a seat if there is none va-
cant nearby.

T'wo of the five reporters of debates

are always present on the floor when.

the House is in session. One of, them
is waiting while the other works. The
latter takes 1,000 words of notes and
then holds up his thumb as a signal
to his colleague. ‘ The second man who
has been watching for the signal, takes
up the thread instantly and proceeds.
Meanwhile, the first man goes down-
stairs to the reporters’ rooms, where
he dictates his _1,000 words to the
graphophone. Afterwards, his amanu-
cnsis takes them from the graphophone
on the typewriter. A few minutes later
down comes the second man, whose
place on the floor has been taken by
a'third reporter, and dictates his 1,000
words to another graphophone, from
which his amanuensis copies them in
typescript.

Taking turns in this way, the five re-
porters kcep the stenographic report
of the debates going - continuously,
each man’s .stint fitting on to that
which has gone before, so that the
whole recital of the sayings and doings
of the House is finished and typewrit-
ten within half an hour after the close
of the session. Each reporter goes
over all of his typewritten matter for
errors. He frequently improves the
grammatical construction of sentences,
but otherwise he makes no changes
whatever.

Senator Stewart, after investing
some $22,000 in a valiant but hopeless
effort to establish a self-supporting free
coinage newspaper in Washington, has
asked that the enterprise be placed in
the hands of a receiver. It is to be in-
ferred that henceforth the Senator will
devote himself exclusively to states-
manship and let journalism go. -

In the present House of Representa;
tives, according to the classification of
the Clerk, there are 12 Populists, 15
Fusionists, and 3 Silverites, a total of
30 representatives of oggafi‘izations
supporting Bryan at flip-"recent elec-
tion, against 124 straight Democrats,
as they are called,..r’f[‘he straight Dem-
ocratic vote, so""called_. at the recent

election was-about 6,000,000, and the ,

outside organizations polled collective-

ly about One-twelfth'as many, though
‘ they hate one-fifth of. the representa-

tion in Congress.

A‘ vashington restaurateur is au-
for the statement that Con—
gress nen, as a rule, are exceedingly
tem erate, and it is the members of

the i‘third House” that give the caDi-_

tal it’s reputation for inebriety.
Srinrron.

 

vwa-
O

Securing a Substitute.
want one of those mandoleens,”
Farmer Cornhill to the dealer in
mu ic‘al instruments. “the kind- you
‘on with a piece of turtleshell'.” s
es, sir; for yourself?” asked the

 
 
 
 
 

cinnati Tribune; L, _, K

 

for my wife. I' wtlntlo get <-
,something ’side'srm‘e to pick 01332.;
' ‘ ' ' ,‘Sca'k:_11llfl;—.-Ci_nClns‘

 

,.—.-—' ...~
.l

' MR. ‘Cl'iUN-Q’S. QUEEE! BUSINESS.“ 3
He Polishes llze‘Bones or Dead Celestiuis
and Sends Them Home to China.

Mr. Chung is a contractbr mum em<
ploy, of the Chinese Six Companies of.
San Francisco. He entered into a con4
tract eleven years ago ‘to travel all
over the United States and exhume the
bones. of Chinamen. All Chinamen:
whocbme to this country have a; con-
tract with the Six Companies that, in
case of death, their bones shall be re-
turned to the Flowery Kingdom, and
Mr. Chung is the man who personally
sees that the contract is carried out.
He is intrusted with the task of keep:
ing track of the dead Chinamen, tak-
ing their bones out of the grave, and
shipping them to China—the only place,
according to their religion, where they
can find absolute rest. As he is under
$30,000 bonds to do the work well, it
is needless to say that he'is careful.
He brings two assailantsfrom San
Francisco, who do the rough work. He
had "with him, when he came here, the
names of four Celestials, three. of
whom died here in 1889 and one in
1802. All of these will be exhumed
and shipped, Dr. Gray, the health of-
ficer, having supplied a certificate that
none died of contagious diseases. ‘

Chung’s contract says that he must
not get the bones mixed; that each in-
dividual set must be cleaned, put in a
white muslin bag, and then be boxed
securely for shipment across the Pa.
cific. He is not allowed to-cut, saw, or
break a bone, nor can he boil the bones
to get the flesh off, on penalty of for-
feiture of his bond. He says that three
years serve to do away with the flesh,
but they are generally allowed to re-
main in the grave longer than that, in
order to make sure of a clean job when
he goes at it. Each set of bones is la-
belled, and a record is kept of them.
All are shipped to San Francisco. and
when four tons have been collected
they are put on a steamer and shipped. ,
The Six Companies have a special con-
tract witlrthe steamship companies,
and the cost of a ride across the great
deep in this particular condition is
only $2.50, and the company boasts
that there has never been a kick on
high rates!

Mr. Chung’s assistants aroused the.
four peaceful sleepers from their long
rest, polished them up according to
contract, and sent them on their way—-
if not rejoicing, at least according to
contract.—Ellensburg Register.

IT LOOKED WARLIKE. °

The Spanish Minister Was Alarmed at a
Senate Junket.

Some years ago, when the question of
immigration and yellow fever and
cholera were being looked into, a sub-
committee of the Senate was ap-
pointed, consisting of Senators Proc‘
tor, Chandler and Call, to visit H..-
‘vana. It was just before the Christ-
mas holidays, and a visit to the Cuban
port in the winter season is not With-
out iis attractions. The proposed trip,
however, rather disturbed the Spanish
Minister. He knew the belligerent pro—
pensities of Chandler and Call,'and he
hastened to the State Department with
a despatch from Madrid, anxious to
learn whether the investigation was
proposed with peaceable intent.

Secretary Foster listened to the or
cited Minister , with great suavity.
"There is no occasion for alarm,” he
said, reassuringly. “You know that
the holiday recess is approaching and
these Senators are simply arranging
for a pleasure trip. I am sure there
is nothing else in it.”

A great light of intelligence broke
over the Spanish Minister’s face.

“011,” he exclaimed, “a peek-neck, a.
peek-nook!” And he went away much
relieved—Wushington Post.

Not Safe to Think Aland.

Baron Park, one of the most famous
among a past generation of judges,
was exceedingly deaf, and, like many
deaf people, had contracted a habit of
thinking aloud. ’When, engaged one
day in trying a man charged with
stealing some‘firewood, he took um—
brage at the prosecutor’s positive iden-
tification of the stolen faggots. “How
can he know that.the faggots are his”.
soliloquized the learned judge, “when
one faggot is as like another faggot as
one egg is like another egg?” Counsel
for the defence was quick to take ad
vantage of this unintentional hint from
the Bench. “How," he asked the. pro-
secutor, “can you know that the fag-
gots are yours when one faggot is as
like another faggot as one egg is like
another egg?” The question had a suc-
cess Which was probably unhoped for
even by the“questioner, for it led to the
immediate intervention ,of the judge.
Turning to the jury, Baron J’ark re-
marked, “Gentlemen, you will acquit
the prisoner. That very thought flashed
through my mind not a minute before
the words were spoken by the learned ,
counsel. It is a direct interposition of
Providence. - ,

 

The Fish Wouldn’t: Bite.

The following story is told of a cele-
brated novelist and a well-knoWn
critic. The critic had written a bitter
attack on the novelist’s work; but
the latter, being a good-natured man,
instead of overwhelming him with
vituperation in any periodical he could
find sufficiently accommodating to pun-
lish it, requested, a mutual friend to
bring the critic to his house to dinner
some evening. When he received the
invitation, this was the critic’s reply.—
“I certainly shall not go. He simply
wants to heap coals of fire on.my head;
and do you suppose I am fool enough
to hold the scuttle for him?”

fl ‘ Our Beautiful Language.

“This is 'a great country.” _ '

“Yes, with a great language. » I
heard.0ne»man say of, another that the
fohlyWay to make him, dry up‘waslto
' sari-Enquirer... j