A PET FOR THE CHILDREN.
By MAX ADELER.
Judge Pitman, a short time ago, bought a pet lamb for his little children to play with. It was a pretty good-sized lamb, and strong and vigorous; but the judge said he preferred that kind because the children would be less likely to hurt it. On the day that it came home they turned it out into the front yard, where it strayed about, nibbling the grass, while the judge tied up his geraniums. Mrs. Pitman had the children in the house, and she was reading to them from a book a description of the characteristics of lambs. The account said that: “The lamb is one of the most playful and innocent of animals. So kind and meek is it that its name has for centuries been the synonym of gentleness and sweetness of disposition. It never injures any one, and when it is attacked, it always suffers humbly and in silence. There is something so beautiful about the gentle little animal, that——”
Just at this point Mrs. Pitman was interrupted by the voice of the judge coming from the front yard. It sounded as if he were in distress of some kind. The whole family flew out upon the porch, and there they saw that pet lamb, whose name was the synonym of gentleness, engaged in butting the judge. It would butt him in the rear and knock him over, and then it would butt him on the legs, and batter him on the ribs, and plunge its head into his stomach, and jam its skull against his chest. When he rose, it butted his shins, and when he stooped over to rub them, it butted his head. Then it butted him generally wherever a chance presented itself; and when it had doubled the judge all up under the Norway maple, it butted down three rose bushes, butted a plaster garden vase to fragments, butted two palings off of the fence, and danced off down the street, butting at the tree boxes, the hitching posts, and the northwest wind.
Mr. Potter finally knocked it in the head with a club, and brought it home to the judge, and, subsequently, when they had the hind leg for dinner, the judge observed to Mrs. Pitman that, from the manner in which that lamb cut, he should believe that it was born during the War of 1812, and that it was, in fact, a terrific old ram. Then he said he should go down to see the man who sold it to him for a lamb, and bang him with a club. The Pitman children stick to kittens as regular pets.
A CAT THAT SAVED A MAN’S LIFE.
In the great war between the Cavaliers and Roundheads, a brave officer of King Charles’ army was taken prisoner and shut up in a dungeon. His enemies were so angry with him that they ordered the jailer not to give him any food, so that he might be starved to death. The first day of his imprisonment a cat crept through the bars of his dungeon window and made friends with him. Every day the cat came to see him, and the poor prisoner, who was growing weaker and weaker from want of food, welcomed his visitor. At last, when he felt that he could not live another day, he saw the cat dragging something through the window. Presently he felt pussy rubbing herself against his legs. He put down his hand to stroke her and found something warm and soft lying on the ground. It was a pigeon that the cat had caught and brought to him. In some wonderful way she had discovered that he was being starved, and had done what she could to help him. When his jailer came in he showed him the bird, and begged him to cook it and let him eat it. The jailer did this, for though he had been ordered not to give his prisoner any food, he had not been told anything about cooking a bird that got to him by other means. Every day the cat brought a pigeon to her friend’s cell, and the jailer never refused to cook it. At last he was asked whether his prisoner was not dead yet. In reply he told the story of the cat’s devotion, and his masters’ hearts were so touched by it that they ordered him to let the prisoner have plenty of food. After a long imprisonment the man was released. You may be sure that he took care of the cat to which he owed so much, and which left the prison with him.
STUDENT LIFE IN RUSSIA.
Nowhere in the world is the student subject to such a strict, searching, and rigorous discipline as is the student in a Russian university. From his entrance into school the boy of ten or eleven years of age has to go through a long and tedious process of training, the nature of which tends more to fit him for army service than to fill the professor’s chair.
In the preparatory class the boy is taught the names of the royal family in order, and the names of the entire dynasty in their rank and order. These he must know by heart.
Next comes the way to render honor and salute all military officers should he meet them or speak about them. Here, also, he must learn by heart the Russian national anthem: “God Save the Czar.”
Next come marching, and the various military commands. An account is kept of the physical developments of each boy, so that when he is sixteen years old it can be seen by his physical progress if he is fit for the army service.
At this time the scholar receives a passport of “identification” and a book containing the rules and regulations which are to govern his life in the institution.
The discipline the Russian student has to undergo may produce one of two results. The student may be made obedient or abjectly slavish, or the rules and laws by which he is governed may give him food for reflection and create a natural aversion to the authorities.
Here are some of the requirements: Each student must wear a military uniform, with brass and nickel-plated buttons, which have to be polished every day; each student must also clean his own shoes; mustache and beard are not allowed; hair must be clipped close; smoking and carrying a cane are forbidden, as well as the use of any intoxicants whatsoever.
While walking to and from school the student must carry on his back the knapsack filled with books, weighing in all about twenty-five or thirty pounds. This he must do in all kinds of weather.
The student cannot attend any social or public gathering or entertainment, neither can he go to the theater or concert hall. He must not be on the streets after seven p. m. He must not read any newspaper whatsoever, or any books but those written by Russian authors and approved of by the censor.
Any one observing the violation of any of these rules may demand the student’s passport and return the same to the authorities, for which the informer receives a reward, while the student is punished by being locked up for twelve hours in a dark room.
Secret societies or organizations among the students are not to be dreamed of; neither are students permitted to gather in groups. Two may converse or speak with one another, but three together are not allowed.
A young Russian who says he attended one of these institutions is our authority for the statement that there is always among the students one spy in ten. The same person declares that when a spy makes an unfavorable report, the student reported against suddenly disappears.
If inquiry is made for the missing student, the inquirer will be told that the young man was considered a dangerous subject to the community, and was therefore removed out of harm’s way. The teachers, professors, and directors of universities are appointed by a body selected for that special purpose by the czar himself.
Many parents, knowing the risks and the dangers their boys are subject to while in a Russian university, educate them abroad. The young man sent abroad for education is looked upon by the authorities as a dangerous subject, full of liberal ideas and opinions concerning public problems.
A BEAUTIFUL SWISS CUSTOM.
The horn of the Alps is employed in the mountainous districts of Switzerland, not solely to sound the cow call, but for another purpose solemn and religious.
As soon as the sun has disappeared in the valleys, and its last rays are just glimmering on the snowy summits of the mountains, the herdsman who dwells on the loftiest, takes his horn and trumpets forth “Praise God, the Lord!”
All the herdsmen in the neighborhood take their horns and repeat the words. This often continues a quarter of an hour, while on all sides the mountains echo the name of God. A solemn stillness follows, every individual offers his secret prayer on his bended knees, and with uncovered head. By this time it is quite dark. “Good night!” trumpets forth the herdsman on the loftiest summit. “Good night!” is repeated on all the mountains from the horns of the herdsmen and the clefts of the rocks.
UNDESIRABLE ROOM.
At first sight it would seem that it must be an unreasonable man who would find fault with a house because it had one more room than was mentioned in the advertisement; but first sight is not always the best sight.
A real-estate agent sent a customer to look at a five-roomed house, that being just the size he professed to want. The house proved to be sadly out of repair, and the prospective tenant went back to the agent’s office.
“I didn’t want a six-roomed house,” he said.
“That isn’t a six-roomed house,” answered the agent.
“Yes, it is.”
“But I say it is not.” And the agent began counting. “There’s the kitchen, dining room, reception room, and two bedrooms. That’s five, isn’t it?”
“Yes, but there’s the room for improvement, and that’s bigger than any of the others,” said the facetious customer. “Can’t you show me something else?”