Grey Highlands Newspapers

Flesherton Advance, 24 May 1888, p. 6

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"V «â- * rAKKELL-S KIOBTV CLCB 8PKBCH. The IrUh Leader Uldn't ApproTe of tba Plan of Climp«l|{nâ€" HI* Iiit<>rTlew with Caruarvonâ€" Tlie Irlih and Ui« Pop«« A London cable Bay B : The Kigbty Clab Ckve • banquet to Mr. ParnoU on Tnesday evening. Mr. Herbert Gladstone, the Earl of Cavan and all the leadiD)> I'amelliteg .STBADULIMG TIIK JIOUKDABV. lion a .Sharp Yankee Katie Urllauce tu Canadian Couiitable». A Montreal special says : Depaty Hif^h Constablea BiBuouette and Champagne have just «rri%ed from United States territory, but not at all favorably impressed with the manner in which they were treated by the RUSSIA'S " FAIB OITY." Qeorge Xennan Gires a Description of Nizhni Novgorod. wore present. Mr. I'arnell, on riaing to | American aathorities. Borne time ago it B^ak, was received with prolonged cheers, jwas related in theJv'm;)ir<! that John Tolmie He thanked the club for the honor done hizn, and uaid that tliu occaBion would have a ((Teat effect iu Ireland, reinindiug Irish- men that they were not alono in the BirugKle, and what was more important. that their responsibility was not the sole reeponKibility in this matter. With refer- ence to Lord Carnarvon, he said : " Hia Lordship has sought refuge in evasion, but he has never denied any statement that 1 have m«de. I Bhould not have referriil to Ijord Carnarvon in his absence had not Lord Bftlisbury attacked us in our connec- tion with the Liberals as assassina, untit to bo cntrnstcd with the f;overnment of Ireland. That, 1 think, entitled me to retort. The Constrvatives have not always considered It derogatory to invite us to inter- views anddinners and luncheons in order to cjoneolt us in regard to the manner in which Ireland should be govermd. Lord Carnar- von had ample opportunity ta deny the â- tatements made by ine three months ago by letter, but, instead of doing so, he waite<l until my friend, Dwyer Gray, to whom bo made the commanication, was dead before he attempted to contradict me." In further conlirmation of Mr. Gray's statement Mr. I'arnell then read the letter from Mr. Gray to Lord Carnar- vi^ which was written a year after the interview, when Lord Carnarvon was no longer in office. In this letter Mr. Gray reminds Lord Carnarvon of the latter's decision that the Crossmaglcn prisoners oaght to be liberated, and asked him to im- mrt that decision to the present Lord Keatenant. Lord Carnarvon replied, •ceasing Mr. Gray of a breach of conli- dence. Mr. I'arDell then told of an inter- view between himself and Lord Carnarvon •t the latter's invitation, at which Carnar- von agreed that it would be advisable to give Ireland a Parliament and to protect her industries, and Mr. I'arnell admitted that in such an event the League irtiould become useless and would be dis- solved. " Lord Carnarvon," continued Mr. I'arnell, " never denied these statements, And I never said he pledged himself to them. He admits, however, that Lord Salisbury knew beforehand that ths inter- view was coming, and ho was afterward informed of its tenor. Ho accuses me of a breach of confidence in having invited him to publish the text of his written commnni- oation to Lord Salisbury immediately after tbe interview." Mr. I'arnell then pro- ceeded to speak of the Popo's rescript. lie â- aid he approached the aubject with un- wiUingnesB, and did not think it bis busi- neea as a Protestant to vindicate the freedom of Catholics. lie was convinced that Irish ('atbolics knew their political (Ulty and how to vindicate themselves. They would not allow anybody, however high and inflaential, to inflaence them a jot in their political duty to their country, % thing that had been repeatedly tried from Rome, but had always failed. With regard to the Plan of Campaign, when that waK instituted ho was dangerously ill and oomi)elled to refrain from all work. He confessed, however, that although the plan liad beoetlted thousands and pacilied the oonntry, be would then have advised â- kgainst it because it contained features immioal to the national situation, and would serve as a pretext for the Tories to inflict further coercion. When, in 1887, he was able to siwak, it was too late. The OoTernment had already struck at Dillon and O'Brien, and he thoaght it better to kit the matter rest, but ho stipulated that â- either the League nor the I'arnellite party â- hoold be identified with the plan, and that the sphere of the plan should bo as restricted as possible. " While leaving to I>illon, O'lSrien and others to deal with the rescript," he said, " I shall adhere to our custom when the Government strikes an Irishman to fight for him whether he be right or wrong." He concluded with a long defence of political combination, and drew a comparison Ix^tween law in Kng- land and law in Ireland. Ho predicted ooming trouble in Ireland over evictions, which he believed the Government feared aa much as did the tenants. He counseled his countrymen to keep strictly within the law as understood in England. In response to many calls, Mr. John Murloy spoke brietly, concluding by proposing a vote of thanks to Mr. I'arnell. of Fort Covington, whose store was situated exactly on the boundary line, had pur- chased Si, 000 worth of goods in Montreal, and, not wishing to poy for the same, had j,..„,„g, „..„ „. „, „.„ ^, .„ .„„ „j,. evaded all attempts at sei/.uru by ((Uietly pcaranco of what he supposed to be the moving the goods from^ the Canadian to city, and in the scene presented to him as he emerges from the railway station and A City L'tterly Deserted at one Season of the Vearand S»arinlne With Itusy Multi- tudes ut Aliotlier Timeâ€" Curious Coii- traiita. To a traveller visiting Nizhni Novgorod for the first time there is something sur- prising, and almost startling, in the ap the .Vmerican side of inent. A few weeks being in Montreal as civil case, was arrested. the establish- since Tolmie, a witness in a but having pre- viously claimed the protection of tho court. Judge Doherty ordered his release and sent walks away from the low bank of the Oka Kiver in the direction of the Volga. The clean, well paved streets ; the long rows of substantial buildings, the spacious boule- vard, shaded by leafy birches and poplars him back homo under a police escort. The tho canal, Bpauned at intervals by graceful Other day Mr. Brnneau, bailiff, who had been charged to make the seizure of the goods tlvu years ago, obtained a new war- raut againbt Tolmio and Messrs. Bissonette and Champagne left town on Friday even- ing to execute the sa-no. The wide-awake, but not strictly honest, trader has hia resi- dence on ('anadian soil, bat his place of business ia crossed diagonally by tho boundary line. It appears that be has a good many men in his employ, so that the proprietor has very little work to do. and for the last month or two Tolmie, whilo in I countless his shop, remained seated which divides Canada from bridges ; tho picturesque tower of tho water works ; the enormous cathedral of Alexan- der Nevski ; the bourse ; the theatres ; tho hotels ; the market places â€" all seem to in- dicate a great populous centre of life and commercial activity ; bat of living inhabi- tants there is not a sign. Grass and weeds are growing in the middle of the empty streets and in the chinks of the travel-worn sidewalks ; birds are sing- ing fearlessly in tho trees that shaae the lonely and defaced boulevard ; the and warehouses are all , shops on the lino ' closed, barred and padlocked ; the bells are the United Bi|^.„t in iije (jilded belfries of the churches. States. When coming into Canada to take ', u„j ,1,0 aatonished stranger may perhaps his meals he is escorted by armed I wander for a mile between solid blocks of men, while other faithful watchers buildings without seeing on open door, a keep a sharp look-out for any one vshicle or a single human being. The city who might approach tho house. The entry seems to have been stricken by a pestilence of the store ia from American territory, but : ^nd deserted. If the newcomer remembers CoDstsblo Champagne on Saturday man- j fy^ what Nizhni Novgorod is celebrated, he aged to get in by the back way, and seeing ,3 not long, of course, in coming to the cou- Tolmit seated on a bench an inch or two elusion that he is on the site of the famous over tho Canadian line was about to ad- (air- bat the first realization of the fact that vance to execute the warrant in tbeatlicer's possession, when one of six armed men present on the other side of tho frontier jumped np and cried ont, " If jou arrest him I will shoot !" It was thus made evi dent that Tolmie's arrest is impossible under present circumstauces, and th« two Canadians returned to Montreal. They state that one of Tolmie's armed guards asserted that he was an American deputy sheriff and was determined that the liberty of an American citizen should not be menaced. A Thunder Mtonn I'anlc. A last (Thursday) night's Kingston despatch says : About 11.30 o'clock last night a violent rain storm, accompanied by heavy thunder and lightning, vimted this â- eotion. I'eople were suddenly startled by a flash of lightning, (juicikly followed by a clap of thunder which made tho houses shako. Home received such a shock that they wore enable to sleep for tho rest of the night. Mr. Campbell, manager of tho Klectric Light Company, gave an account of the storm as affecting tho lighting station. The wires were heavily charged, and tho electricity coald bo seen playing fresly on them. It ran along them to tho station when tho thunder was loudest. The room immediately filled with •leutricity and the dynamos began to blaze. The employees became frighti^ned, stopped the engine, and ran out of tho bailding. (Jne called for the chemical engine, but when she arrived it was found that she was not needed. Tho only damage found was that one of the wires in the magnet of one af the dynamos had been burned. Kovoral telephones were destroyed. X''oar men in one hotel rushed to tho office frightened, and for a time refused to be comforted. Easily Pleased. She (just through playing)â€"" I fear, Mr. Hniggles, my music is too poor to give you enjoyment. " Ho (aesuringly)â€" " Oh, indeed ! I do enjoy it. It does not take much to please me in the line of masio, yon know."â€" Juittli'. Ulla Wheeler Wilcox writes a great deal of her iK>etry while sitting in a rocking obair with a pad of paper in her lap. Very often, too, her black cat perches itself on the back of the chair and gazes gravely down at its mistroaa while her work is pro- gretaing. DROWNKU OI'T UF WATKR. lilnKutar CuuHe of Death, the Only One uf iti* Kind on Itecord. A Cincinnati despatch says : One of the strangest cases of accidental death over known, and said to be tho only ono of its kind on record, occurred here on Tuesday. The victim was Willio Kaehrwein, aged '24 yearn. 1 he little toddler went to a hydrant in the yard, and, standing upon his toes, managed to close his lips over the end of the no^zleof thchydrant. Then he turned on the water to its falleat force. The child's lips seemed glued to tho nozzle with such cohesiveness that hia little body hung suependtvl from it. Meanwhile tho stream of water forced itself into his stomach nnd lungs, caasing suffocation. His dreadful pre<iicainent was witnessed by his mother, who, when she attempted to lift him, found to her horror that she could not. Ilorror stricken, she fairly wrenched her babe from thospont, the violent separation tearing the skin inside tho mouth. A stream of blood and water (lowed from between hia lips as she lifted him in her arms. A physician was Buminoned and found tho child beyond aid. Tho littlo fellow died within five minutes, having literally drowned out of water. The theory advanced that obtains the most credence is that the snddcn rash of water paralyzed the muscles of tho throat so that the child could not open its mouth. Cliif-kf'UH Hntc'li4>d In u Tree-Top. A Cadiz (O.) despatch says: Mrs. Kamuel Jones, of this country, discovered a hen a week or two ago sitting on top of an old snag in her door-yard, tiho sup. posed at the time that the hen was sunning herself, and dismissed the subject from her mind. Yesterday she heard a cackling in her yard, and, on going to tho door, saw tho hen on tho ground with two young chicks. A "chirp, chirp," from tho tree indicated there were more to follow. A young chick peeped over tho edge of the nest, and, after some time spent in pro- specting ond conjectnring on tho conso quencea of a fall, tumbled out and down to the ground. Much to the consternation of Mrs. Jonea, tho little leapor rolled over once or twice, arose to its foot and ran un- hurt to its mother. This performance was repeated from the nest in tho tree until a doz.en young chickens were succcsBfully landed on tho ground. The top of tho snag is twenty feet from the ground, and fron from branches. When tho old hen had counted her brood, and fonnd all present, she clucked a satisfied cluck, and strutted around in a way that was proud. lleaulli'H of MornionlHiii. .V Nebraska City despatch says : In 18.')!) .lohn B. Oaddock and Miss Mary A. Wilkes were married in Brownell, Stafford- shire, England. In 18(14 they became con- verted to the Mormon faith, came to America and made their way to Salt Lake City, the wife going ahead with a waggon train of emigrant women. Wlien Crail dock arrived at Halt Lake ho could find no trace of his wife, who, it seems, waa kept in captivity several months by a Mormon elder. Hho finally escaped, ami failing to find her husbimd returned to Kngland in IHIin. Craddock meanwhile was informed that his wife was dead and ho ogain mar- ried, removing to this city. His first wife eight months ago learned of hia whore, abouta from letters written by Craddock to relativea in England. Slio came to this city recently and after talking tho matter over relinquished all claim to Craddock and left yesterday for home. â€" ^ . Ula liest Friend. " I aee," remarked tho Duke of Toronto, looking over a New Jersey pajxir, " that Overdraft, tho banker, ia dead. He waa your friend, was he not ? " added tho Duke kindly, seeing tho tears gather in the American's eyes. " Yes," said the exile, " he was. All that I have ill this world I owe to that man. I was his cashier." the lair is in itself a separate and indepeii dent city, and a city which during nine months of every year stands empty and deserted, comes to him with the shock of a great sarpribe. The fair city of Nizhni Novgorod ia situated on a low peninsula be- tween the lUvers Oka and Volga, just above their junction, very much aa Now York city is situated on Manhattan Island, be- tween East Kiver and the Hudson. In geographical |x)sition it bears the same re- lation to the old town of Nizhni Novgorod tbat New York would bear to Jersey City if the latter were elevated on a steep terraced bluff 400 feet above the level of the Hudson tN i;i'UEMKliAL um;. The KasBian fair city, however, diflers from New York city in that it ia a mere temporary market â€" a huge commercial caravansary where 500,000 traders assemble every year to buy and sell commodities. In Boptember it has freijuently a population of more than 100,000 souls, and contains merchandi/.e valued at »7.'),0OO,00O, while in Jannary, February or March all of its inhabitants might bo fed and sheltered in the amalleat of ita hotels, and all of ita goods might be put into a single one of its innumerable shops. Its hfe, therefore, is a sort of intermittent commercial fever, in uliich an annual paroxysm of intense and unnatural activity is followed by a long interval of torpor and stagnation. It seems almost incredible at first that a city of such magnitudeâ€"a city which contains tfiurches, mos<|Uca, theatres, markets, banks, hotels, a merchants' exchange and nearly 7,000 shopj and habitable buildings, should have so ephemeral a life, and should bo so completely abandoned every year after it has served tho purpose for which it was created. When I saw this uniquQ city for the first time, on a clear frosty night in January, 1808, it presented an extraordinary picture of loneliness and desolation. The moonlight streamed down into its long empty streets where the unbroken snow lay two feet deep upon tho siilewalks , it touched with silver tho white walls and swelling domes of the old fair cathedral, from whoso towers there came no clangor of bells ; it sparkled on great snowdrifts heaped up against the doors of tho empty houses, and poured a Hood of pale light over thousands of snow-covered roofs ; but it did not reveal anywhere a sign of a human being. The city seemed to bo not only uninhabited, but wholly abandoned to the arctic spirits of solitude and frost. A niHV MULTITl'liK. When I saw it next, at the height of tho annual fair in the autninn of 18'70, it was so changed as to bo almost unrecogni.'.a- ble. It was then surrounded by a great forest of shipping ; ita hot, dusty atmosphere thrilled with the inces- sant whistling of steamers ; meruhandise to tho value of 1'25,000,000 rubles lay on its shores or waa packed into its 7,000 shops ; every building within its limits was crowded ; t')0,000 people were crossing every day the pontoon bridge which con- nected it with tho old town ; a military band waa playing aira from OfTenbach's operas on the great boulevard in front of the governor's bouse, and through all the streets of the reanimated and reawakened city poured a great tumultuous fiood of human life. I did not seo the fair city again until June, 188,5, when I found it almost aa completely deserted aa on the occasion of my first visit, but in other ways greatly changed and improved. Sub- stantial brick buildingshad taken tho place of tho long rows of infiammable wooden shopa and ahoda ; the streets in many parts of tho city had been neatly paved ; the number of storoa and warehousea had largely increased, and the lower ond of tho peninsula had been improved and dignified by the erection of the groat Alexander Nevski cathedral. â€" (Icanje Kinnan in the Ci'utury. Au Indetlnlte Postponement. It was a beautiful moonlight night as they left the theatre, and ho had resolved to put the important i|uestion without further delay, when she said : " I think we had better take a street oar, Mr. Simpson, rather than walk. We will get homo ao much <|nioker." Then they took a street car, and he post- poned the important question. â€" llarper'i Itaznr. DRIVEN TO THE OKAVK. Bow a Penarions Employer Drove a Sweet Scotch tiirl to the Grave. Tho " Pilgrim's Progress " reporter of the TeUgram beard a pathetic story last evening. It's true every word of it, and was told by the pastor of a Fifth avenue cbarob. Ho said : " I conducted the funeral of a young girl who died of consumption the otherday. It wasoneof thesaddestfunerals I ever held. " Katie was a working girl, a member of my church, industrious and good. Bheand two other young girlshad a room on Wash- ington square, and went out regularly every morning to work. " The brute for whom Katie worked refused to h^at hia building last December. " Katie caught a terrible cold, which de- velojied into consumption. She wasforced to go to a hospital and was afterward taken to her aunt's, whero she died after weeks of great suffering. " The parents are now dead and tho re- maining children are widly scattered, some in tho west. The only one at the funeral waa a younger sister. She was inconsol- able for the loss of her little mother. " The preseni e at the funeral of two Chinamen touched mo very deeply," the clergymen continued. "They were Katie's scholars at the Spring Street Sabbath School. Aa the Chinamen passed by tho coffin and looked at her for the last time their eyes filled with tears. « 'â-  Now, I had not thought of that girl as doing anything special for the Master, and I felt rebuked. Doubtless she felt too much exhausted with the week's work to attend our own Sabbath School in tho morning, but she had faithfully given her Sunday afternoon to teaching in the Chinese school. " It's not easy work teachingthe Chinese, although they are intensely grateful, and will do anything for a teacher who gains their confidence. Ono in a class is the usual number, and a teacher who can in- terest two is doing remarkably well. " It impressed me as a forcible sugges- tion of the promised Christian unity among all nations and peoples the presence of those two Orientals as mourners at tho funeral of that poor Scotch girl." â€" }â- >. V. Kv^niiiff Telegram. PLAYGOINO IN JAPAN. Tho old " Hed Horao Inn " at Bndbnry, Mass., made famona by Ix)ngfellow'a " Talea of a Wayside Inn," was sold at auction Tuesday afternoon. It dates back " Let a go and liquidate," said tho Duke, to 1681), and was n possossion of the Howe breaking the long silence.â€" iyrooJ/yn Eagle, family for generationa. Fariii and ijiirden Jottings. Keep the ground around the roses well stirred and loose, and alao keep a careful watch for the rose bugs. June will be early enough to plant all kinds of beans. Nothing will be gained by getting tho seed in before the weather shall have become warm. Where the tops of young trees have been destroy ed cut ofl the whole of the tops, if dead, and allow sprouts to grow out again from the main stem. Salt should be placed whero all kinds of stock can get it. At this season when green food is becoming plentiful, salt will be found excellent, aa it will often prevent bowel diseases and stavo off injury from tho young graaa. Dr. Uunhoff statea that in new comb the thickness of the sides of tho cells is bat the IHOth of an inch. Such delicate work is hardly conceivable, and yet bees of ten make It in the dark on cool, cloady days, or in tho night, appearing never to rcat. The gooseberry ia often aent to market green, and many caaca of sickness occur from ita use. It is soft when rip<.>, and the color is a brownish, or purple red. Cook- ing tho green berries improves their quality, but if uncooked thoy shoald never be used unless ripe. Plum trees will thrive well in a poultry, yard and be leva subject to tho attacks of the curculio. Tho trees will reqairo the usual jarring, however, bat the insects will be destroyed by the poultry, thereby lessen- ing the liability of damage the succeeding year. All plum trees should be in potiltry- yards. The future pig must have more fiesh and less fat. It must not be a mere lard keg. It must be fed n\Km tiesh forming foods until grown and then fattened. It means that more clover, peas, oats, milk and sach articles of diet must be used, and less corn. Wo will then havo healthier and more palatable pork, and hog cholera will be come a thing of the past. Witrntd of ilU Death In n Dream. A. F. McNeal, a well-knonu citizen of Itawsun, died yesterday after a short ill- ness, and now comes a weird story con- nected with this fact, which is aa fully authenticated aa his death. Oh the night of tho '2Hth of January of this year he, like Joseph, "dreamed a dream" that be died and went to heaven. In his dream the date of hia death, April 'ilith, was firmly fixed upon his mind. In " the beautiful city, whose maker and builder ia God," he dreamed that he met Mr. Manlon I'uven- mire, of Ada, an old acijuaintance and friend, and aaked him when ho had died and left tho earth. Povenmirereplied that he had died and ome to tho eternal world a week before. There weio other striking circumatancoB in tho dream equally aa atrange, and tho next morning when McNeal awokt! he reduced the details to writing. He was thon in excellent health. His wife found tho manuscript a few days after it was written, and it worried the wife a good deal, but sho said nothing to her husband concerning it. Yesterday, April iiOth, McNeal died, while Povenmire joined the silent majority ono week ago yesterday. Tho case ia a remarkable one, but it cannot bo laughed down, for every word of it is true, and the substance of McNeal'a dream ia in manuscript, jast aa ho wrote it three months ago. â€" Pituburg IHxpatch. Medirated Soaps. According to Professor Shoemaker, soda soaps are more irritating than potash soaps. Soaps that contain free alkali are, in young children, the oauso of many skin eruptions. Alum soap ia good for chafing. Boro glycerine soap ia useful in acne and rough akin. Chamomile soap ia mildly stimulating, and is the best soap for dandruff. Naphthal soap ia the best appli- cation for parasites un any part of the body. Salioj lio acid soap is a non-irri- tating antiseptio soap, and is good for toilet parposes. Corrosive sublimate aoap is Eervioeable for removing freckles, rough skin, for changing n muddy to a clear complexion, and in all kinds of itching. .^ iiain at a funeral is an excellent sign ; it ooola the passage into the unknown world. Odd E^kpeiiences of a European Visitorâ€" Tleketg Three Feet L.ongâ€" Flays that Laxt for Weel<Hâ€" Mo Admission Till Yon Take OIT Your liooti« and HaveThrm Checked Awuy. " The theatres and the dramatic litera- ture of Japan are far in advance of those of China," said Joseph Arthur, manager of the " Still Alarm," who spent over a year in the island empire, to a New York Tribune reporter. " The first surprise that awaits the foreign visitor to a Japanese theatre is the ticket he receives in exchange for the money he hands in at the box office. This is a stick of wood about three feet long, and incised with some native characters. The man who receives this adds it to a pile in the corner of the auditorium, and the audience, if they wanted to, could ' count the house' almost as readily as the manager does. Another surprise is tho demand for tho visitor's shoes. No one is allowed in the theatre with his shoes on, but all move about in their stocking feel. The tloor is of beautifully polished wood, or covered with a tine grass matting, and I must say the leaving of the shoes is a plan that works well, though I don't sup- pose it would be easy to get our people ic adopt it. Those who are already in their seats are not disturbed by tho footstep of late comers, and there is no rustling of pro- grammes, as they are printed on soft riot paper. A check is given for your shoes, and you can use that as a check to pass in or out, but if you once regain your foot- wear, there is no re-admission withoct repayment. However, as the streets of the principal cities are marvellously clean, the natives often go into the streets in search of refreshment, and I and friends with me have followed their example. Prices cf admission range from 1 to .00 centa. Tho theatre ia generally provided with one balcony. In the older housea access to tbia was gained by meana of a ladder, but in the more modem ftracturea there are staircases. The balcony is the 'swell' part, and here one ia allowed to smoke. A very ningolar custom prevails of allowing a visitor who paya a small extra fee to stand up, and the unfortunate individual behind him has no right to remonstrate or to rise and try to get a peep at tho atage. He may bear, but he cannot see. Tbia ia far worae, you per- ceive, than the ladies' high hat naisanet which is HO vigorously protested against here. Another peculiarity is that the ex- travagantly disposed visitor may purchase the right to sit upon the atage whenever be likes, and the actors go on with their parts in apparent unconsciousness of his pre- sence. I have seen a broadsword combat fought all around a visitor, and he never showed any disposition to budge. It is singular how this privilege of sitting upon the stage has marked the early history cf theatres in nearly every country. " The stage is not as much raised above the tloor of the auditorium aa ia usaal with ua, the elevation being probably two feet. Their stages are often 70 or 80 feet wide, but not usually of any great depth, a fact due to the same lack of sense of perspective in their stage settings as is couHpicuoas in their paintings. All changes of scene are made in full view of the audience, no cur- tain being used, and the work of the carpenter and property-man being coc- aidered as much a part of theentertainmeni as the efforts of the actors. I have seen a couple of lovers come ont of a house and take their seats upon the stage, and re- main there whilo the carpenters pulled down tho house and built a garden scene around them. When it is desired to convey tho idea that the moon is rising, the pro- perty man carries a lighted moon across the stage, and, on reaching the further side, Btopa and blowa out the light. All these things seem very absard to the foreign visitor, but, doubtless, we havo conven- tionalities and traditions in our theatres that would be almost aa surprising to the Japanese. Btill, they are not above tiiking valuable binte, and in some of tho theatree of Yokohama many of our modern atage effects are being introduood. Much of their scenery ia very beautiful. It ia generally painted on rice paper, but they use curtains and hangings a great deal more than we dc. The Japanese plays are almost as long as tho Chinese, and some tako weeks in per formance. This ia due, however, more to the interspersed entertainments than to tho story of the play. In many cases the plot of a piece will bo entirely sus- pended during a week's performance, while some grand fote, in which singing, dancing, music, acrobatism and jugglery are the principal features, will hold the stage. As a rule performances begin in the morning and last till midnight. There are rufreab ment stands in the auditorium, but, as ) said before, you can go out on your feet and pass in on your shoes.' The Japanese actors are extremely clever, as may be imagined when I tell you that nearly every man in tho company can play women's roles. Thero are no actresaea. Tho power of tho host actors over their audiencea is extraordinary. I have seen the whole aadience weeping with tho sorrows of the heroine or rising en masse to threaten the villain. Their dramatic literature ia very extensive, as they have tragedies, coracdiee historical plays and even farces." Negro .Superstitious. The sun shining bright on the wedding day indicates storms after marria,;", as pleasure cannot always last. Never, oven in basting, put a stitch 0.' bliifk thread in a white garment, or that needle will ere long be wanted in making a shroud If a person carries an ax, hoe or spade into tho house on hia shoulder, the house is doomed thenceforth unles.s the culprit walks backward out of tho house. A garment accidentally put on with tho seams outside must be worn so till it is no longer fit to be worn, or else presented to a friend, provided always tbat the friend is not a relation. Thero is a beautiful belief extant an^ong them. They believe when our earthly course ia almost spent, and the death dews are gathering on brow and lipn, the de- parted soul can bear a message to friends on the other side. If tho yoang moon is at lirat seen through tho branches of a tree, the beholder ia in danger unleas he or she will immediately turn three aomeraaalts in the air, which agile feat is rather hard to accomplish, especially by some of tho corpulent negroes of the present day. 1

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