189(3. 



77//'; A.UKItlCAN lil-.K-KEEPhll. 



295 



paces Droiia — ana pnui in uy u mgn pm- 

 isarliiif? topped with Rnikes. A moro 

 ruoiintoiKius existence could Rcarcelv bn 

 conceived. In t\\v (vulier days some Jialf 

 dozen ships would arrive during the 

 year, but from tlie beginning of th(3 

 eighteenth century not more than one 

 or two annually — gemrally about S(>p- 

 tember. They had scarcely anchored 

 when the resident, with liis retinue, hud 

 to set out on iiie long and costly journey 

 to Tokyo, to deliver the customary pres- 

 ents to the shoguu. The humiliations 

 these poor Dutchmen were compelled ta 

 undergo are well described by Kaempfer 

 in his immortal history: 



"As soon as he (the Resident Van 

 Brutenheim in 1G91) came into the em- 

 peror's presence the commissioners cried 

 out, 'Oranda Kapitaiu. ' *** Accord- 

 ingly, he crawled on his hands and 

 knees to a place between the presents 

 and the emperor. *** Then, kneeling, 

 he bowed his forehead quite down to the 

 ground, and so crawled backward like 

 ft crab, without uttering one single 

 word. So mean and short a thing is the 

 audience we have of this mighty mon- 

 arch. " 



In the following year, 1692, the new 

 resident, Van Outhoorn, was subjected 

 to even greater indignity. "We were 

 commanded," writes Kaempfer, "to sit 

 upright, take off our cloaks, stand up, 

 walk, turn about, sing songs, compli- 

 ment one anotlier, be angry, etc. , to 

 jump, dance, play gambols, etc.," and 

 even "to kiss one another like man and 

 wife, which the ladies of the court 

 showed particularly by their laughter 

 they were well pleased with." — Athe- 

 naeum. 



Soinetliing; Like Ked Tape. 



It is stated that an operatic star ol 

 some note connected with one of the 

 principal Moscow theaters, wishing t(D 

 make a short excursion into the country, 

 went to get her passport countersigned 

 by the local authorities. The presiding 

 official received her politely, and, hav- 

 ing learned her business, inquired for 

 her "written petition." 



"My written petitioni" cried the 

 lady. "I have none. I never knew that 

 anything of the kind was required. " 



"Not required, madam? On the con- 

 trary, nothing can be done without it. " 



"What am I to do, then?" 



".Nr'hi: '■ ci^sicr. Uc good enough to 

 take this siK et of paper and write ac- 

 cording to n:y dictalion. " 



The applicant obeyed, and transcribed 

 word for \\ ord a formal petition request- 

 ing leave of ;ib>;ej)ee from the city for a 

 etated time, which was then duly signed, 

 folded and sealed. 



"And now, " quoth the man in office, 

 "you have only to deliver it." 



"To whom, pray?" 



"To whom?" echoed the official, with 

 a slight smile at the absurdity of the 

 ques-ion. "To me, of course. " 



The document was accordingly handed 

 across the tabie. The great man adjust 

 ed his spectacles, broke the seal, gravely 

 read over his own composition from be- 

 ginning to end, folded it and docketed 

 it with metliodical slowness, and then, 

 turning to the impatient artist, said, 

 with an air of official solemnity: 



"Madam. I have read your petition, 

 and regret to tell you that I am unable 

 to grant it." — Moscow Correspondence. 



niounti:;^ Photographs on Glass. 



To mount photographs on glass, take 

 4 ounces of gelatin and soak for half an 

 hour in 10 ounces of water; put the jar 

 into a large dish of warm water and 

 dissolve the gelatin. When dissolved, 

 pour into a shallow tray. Have your 

 prints rolled on a roller, albumen side 

 out; take the print by the corners and 

 pass rapidly through the gelatin, taking 

 great care to avoid air bubbles. Hang 

 op with clips to dry; when dry, squeeze 

 carefully on to the glass. The better the 

 quality of glass, the finer the effect. — 

 New York Ledger. 



Opinions and Their Trnth. 



There is the greatest difference be- 

 tween presuming an opinion to be true, 

 because with every opportunity for con- 

 testing it it has not been refuted, and as- 

 suming its truth for the purpose of not 

 permitting its refutation Complete lib- 

 erty of contradicting and disproving our 

 opinion is the very condition which ju.-- 

 tifies us in assuming its truth for pur- 

 poses of action, and on no other terms 

 Can a being with human faculties have 

 any rational assurance of being right. 



In 1784 an explosion and fire occurred 

 in the government dockyards at Brest, 

 in France, which occasioned a loss of 

 15,000,000. 



