THE CORNER-STONE OF TRUTH. When sunset rays huvo tom-hoil tho earth with gold I ofthavo dreamed and built my eastles fair, Think rig I heard Love's story to me told, Yet at the night but solitude was there. J But now I dream —at noon and darkest J night— Naught but a gentle loving face I see. I And time goes 011 but lea vet h Love's de light— My dreams are founded on reality. —Flavel Scott Mines, in Harper's Bazar. | A COLLIDE lIEIIO. PSgwAMES MAXWELL " • BBu ud his old class- v mate, Herbert Boynton, met bv appointment and proceeded to tho ' I'bTson train. They ' H ' ,v * n high j >- . spirits. It was so , i° wn un d idle in \'l WyiS/ lh e middle of the r) lr fir (^a . v *° 1 )0 ft *d° to F y jjjfl ,| chat and to smoke *<c£r t ' \ withoUt R 1/ 1/ Jjjjß \| V know that the mor |M| \ \ l(\ A j ruW ull d the day | ' fß' after, and its foi | lowing day, Vould \ increase i n § 6 pPiiJ careless freedom; to anticipate pleas ant greetings, which in reality would be pleasantcr—no wonder that the gayety of their youth returned to them as they started for their class de cennial. Maxwell, from leading his class, had swept, run errands, copied and served papers for an attorney, but now had an office, a practice, und a name of his own. Boynton, from being class poet and editor of the Summary, hail re ported fires and police court proceed ings, but now occupied a well-padded editorial chair. Had these honors come to them at once, they would have found them fatigued by a sense of their own merits, instead of, as now, thankful to their lucky stars. The Pierson train was that paradox called au "accommodation," and a crowded 011 c at that, consisting of a "smoker" and an ordinary coach. The two friends entered this latter and secured a place directly behind a party of three, a mother with her daughter sitting beside her, and her little pale- 1 faced son reclining on the forward seat, the back of which had been , turned over. The matron was buxom and comely, with that noble expres sion which consecrated maternity j gives. The maiden was slight and fair, with an uttcutiveness to both elder and younger companion which became her even more than the azure of her eyes and the russet of her hair. Tho Beats rapidly filled, until only a single 011 cin the corner by the filter remained unoccupied. Just as the train was leaving, a half dozen rough, stalwart young men, surrounded by the nimbus of a grogshop, swung down the aisle and grouped themselves careless ly around tho four who sat directly ahead of the little invalid. From nick names and jocose blasphemy, there waf an evident bond of sociality between them. "Say," said one who was standing by the rear seat, "what's the matter with me and Bill playin' you a:i .1 Tom u game of cassen?" "And what's the matter wiu puttin' young bag ' bones in the corner by the freezer?" added "Bill." "We'll go ver," was the reply, and the men in the aisle turned toward the little boy. The maiden grew pale and looked around appealing}} ; but her mother showed that intrepidity which cornea with unselfish devotion. "You shall not touch mv son," she cried. "Jle is 1 ill." "Bights is rights, ma'am," said "Bill" doggedly. "And when seats j are skerso, even the cripple must take 1 pot luck. Come, stir your stumps, sonny." At this instant Boynton sprang from his seat and laid a restraining hand on the. ruffian's arm. "What! be yerlookin' for a scrap?" And the inau squared off while his companions crowded about threaten ingly. "Not at all, not at all," said Boyn ton calmly. "I'm no pugilist, and you ! could 'do me up'in a two-second round, i I'm sure. But I know you men are : members of the Nonpareil (profes sional) Baseball Club. Now, just look > at my card and see whether I couldn't reciproo.nt M '•< i. .to addc 1 Maxwell, - "and I may explain for i <• pur nose of 1 lucidity that f dr. w the contract wherein you bound you: q v . to 'ab ; stain from the ine of j.!i intoxicating ! beverage.'-, and t so conduct your selves in public as to redound to the! Reputation of tha profession for refine ment and courtesy.' Ahem ! ' "Ah!" exclaimed Bill, us he scanned the pasteboards with bulging eyes. ' The Cr P rion !' 'Counselor at law!' Your battery is too strong for us. We apologise and yours oi>- dieut, and so forth. Come, buy.-, lb.* air m better in the smoker!" and the gang slunk away discomfited. "You ar ; so very kind," murmured j the matron to the young men. "Yes," interrupted her hopeful from j the front seat, "out Gnu-go Buggies would have cross-count t-d on the gillie and put him asleep n u jiffy." j " 'Cross-counter !' 'Gillie!' Why,! Johnnie!" from both ladies. "Your little lad seems to he an ad mirer of Picrson's famous athlete," | ventured Maxwell. "Yes," replied the lady graciously, "my H'm Thomas and Buggies are class mates and chums. He lias visited ut our home and of course seema R d-rui j god to Johnnie. We are on our way to their commencement exercises. Per haps you gentlemen aro also bound thither?" j Under this gentle encouragement | Maxwell hastened to make his friend I and himself known, and thus the for- I tuuate fact was revealed that his mother i and Mrs. Grenville had been school friends. Soon pleasant converse en | sued, Maxwell and the mother reviv ' iug reminiscences. Boynton and the ♦laughter Grace scattering the seeds for future ones. "Are you interested in athletics?" asked the young lady. "Not especially," replied Boynton. "In my day they were a pastime, not a passion." The girl looked dissatis fied. "I don't know what you mean," she retorted. "Of course they merely furnish a diversion from mental labor, and I should think would keep young men straight, and make them courage ous and gallant and constant." "But what if the diversion becomes the purpose? There's George Bug gies, for instance. A fine young fel low, but I'm sorry for him. If this land were Sparta, and this time the I days of Leonidas, why, ho could con tinue in fame and be a loider of men. But the gate falls sharply on Com mencement Day, and the graduate is without in the dnrkness, and precious j little light comes from physical train- ! iug." "George Ruggles is my brother's friend," said Grace, loftily, "and of course I shall not discuss him." "I'm sure I envy him," remarked Boynton, inconsequentially; yet the simple words seemed to promote amity, and for the rest of the journey this couple were engaged in making agreeable discoveries about each other. Grace was secretly amazed at the simplicity of a post-graduate of ten years' standing, as compared with her brother's diguitv. Herbert was de lighted to find that Buggles's high consideration depended solely on re- i port, as Grace had spent her holidays : abroad and had never met him. "There they are," shouted Johnnie j as the train slackened in the Piersou j station, and there indeed were tv.*o | young men waviug sticks and hats in i welcome; one, tall and slender with I florid complexion and blue eyes that [bespoke a relationship; the other, swarthy and squat with the rectangular 1 lines of a stevedore. "That's him, that's my George," continued Johnnie, "aren't his biceps daisies?" George Buggies underwent the in spection of fair wyes from the ear wiu , dow with complacency. He was con scious that he was the best second base, the most redoubtable rasher,tho ! stoutest oar, the fleetest, the strongest man in his college. He was well satis fied with his appearance. From a tower of adulation he gazed critically, near and afar, but the idea of intro spection never occurred to him. Thomas Grenville led his friend for ward proudly. George greeted the i mother, delighted .lohnnio with a slap i on the back, aud was presented to tho ! sister. "You will have an escort, Gracio, for Commencement Week, which will make you tho envy of all tho girls," - said the unupprociative brother. s Grace looked curiously at the 11 cavalier, who evidently saw no reason for disclaimer in this remark. An in- voluntary comparison with the chance acquaintance of her journey Hashed across her mind, and she recalled his remark as to envy. But George smilled broadly, and scanned her with tlio deliberateness of a farmer at a fair. Then he caught sight of the Nonpareils passing through the station, with Johnnie's antagonist at their head. "Excuse me," ho blurted, and away be rushed, and in another moment was ' grasping "Bill" with one hand and thumping him mightily ou the back with the other. A confused murmur of "Old boy," "Old follow," "You're the stuff," and "Got there, Eli," greeted the party. Grace bowed charmingly to Boynton and Maxwell as they passed through the doorway, and her eyes followed their carriage until it disappeared within its dust. Then her gaze hard ened, her little foot tapped the Moor ing impatiently. "Mamma! Tom 1 must we wait?" she cried. "Really, my son,"began thematron, but here Buggies sauntered back, liis bauds in his side pockets, his hat on j the hack of his head. "Well, Tommy," he said, affably, "there's nothing in this loitering. ! Suppose we get a gait?" "i)o you know that—that in ; dividual?" asked Grace. "What, know 'Bill* Stubbs, tho king of the third, the best all-around ' sport in the country? Well, I'd rather. Didn't he ami I invent three new curves and a dandy set of signals after <mr first game with the Nonpareils, when we stood 'two and' at the end of the 'tenth,' ami it was a draw on ae -1 count of darkness? You remember that night, eh, Tommy?" "Yes, and the next morning, too." "Mainma," said Grace. "Will you lend me your pungent? Travel always i makes my lieart giddy." It was two days later, directly after dinner at the l'ierson House, that j Thomas Granville felt constrained to 1 expostulate with his sister, i "Graoie," he began, "I don't think | you are attentive enough to Ritg ... I "What!" exclaimed the girl, "I, at [ tentive to a young man, and such a conceited young man as Mr. Haggles! Remember, please, that relationship does not sever 1110 from the reapect duo a lady. Keally, I think your college friendships have made you duft." "Oh! well, you know what I mean, i When a girl accepts an escort for Com mencement Week, she is expected tu stick to hint. He takes you here and i there and doesn't look at any one else, ' although tliev are all crazy after him. and yet, the fttet thing I know yon are tulking with that stiff sprig of a Boyn ton." "And where may be this Bayard of yours?" "Oh! of course, lie is apt to be called away for a moment. One who occu pies his position is a sort of public character. You ought to l>e proud—" "To await my lord's leisure with ! folded hands and then listen to an in- J comprehensible jargon about 'records' and 'sprints,' and 'training,' with rap | turc?" I "But think how I've planned for this week, and how delighted I was [ when he promised to take you up—" ( "0 Tommy! Tommy! Can't you see that you are fairly insulting me?" "It's because you will not recognize what a hero he is," said the young man, doggedly. "Come, then," continued Grace, briskly, "let us see. Now, honor bright, is he gallant?" "Well, of course, as I said, what with being captain of the nine, and one of the eleven, and ('hairman of the Athletic Committee—" "Is he clever?" "He is clever enough to hold all these positions and to get anythiug elso lie wants in the college. You [ ought to see him toss the tabor just once." "Is ho cultured and intellectual?" "Oh! as to his studies the fellows have jollied him along, and the facul ty, too, for that matter. They wouldn't dare drop a man like Bug gies, you know. As for reading, why he has sporting of this country and of England, too, at his finger's ends. His word goes iu deciding a bet every time!" "But do you really think I would enjoy hearing sporting statistics, how ever accurate?" "The finest men among our alumni, by Jove, has been proud of his com pany. Why, ut that banquet in tho metropolis he sat on tho right hand of the Hon. IJ. K. Nevitt with Bnrloo right next to him. Didn't the law yers and bankers and Congressmen and Judges all drink his health and sing, 'For He's a Jolly Good Fellow?' There never lias been an undergradu ate of such celebrity." "But what will he do after gradua tion?" "Why, there's already a movement on foot to persuade him to take a post graduate course in law—that's for three years —and thus he can still lead Pierson on to victory. I wish you could see some of the men who have I plead with him. And yet you pick up a stick like—" "But what will he do then—will lie practice?" "Practice! Why, ho practices two hours in the morning and one in tho afternoon in tho 'gym' everv day. Oh, law you mean. Well, I suppose so." "He is n ready speaker, then?" What, old George! His tongue gets rather tangled when he's on his feet. But that's just what Bnrloo said, "A hero should ever bo modest. His deeds speak for him." "Asa college boy, perhaps, but will they aid him hereafter in acquiring an honorable livelihood? Let mo see. He might become an all-around sport like his professional friend 'Bill.' But—" • 'There you go! What a fool a man is to ever argue with a girl. Her only j point is to have the last word," and j Thomas Orenvillo Hung himself out of ' the room in a passion quite incompat ' iblo with his dignity as a senior. Meantime fihe subject of this discus sion, in a dulbsort of way, was grow ing dissatisfied with himself. Some how this pretty young girl, whose entertainment he had so obligingly agreed to make .his care, didn't seem to appreciate .tho distinction. Cer tainly she was unlike her brother, without a trace tof his enthusiasm ex cepting—oh, ho didn't like to think of it! Why, in tflio midst of some of his most exciting reminiscences ho had caught her jjawning behind her fan. And she had .shuddered when he had displayed the knotty muse lies in his forearm, excepting—well, lie might as well admit it to himself, she did change and become winsome and fas cinating and altogether desirable whenever that elderly Boynton ap peared, a man who had been out of college for ten years, and didn't know the difference between au in,curve and a hot liner! Ah, ho would show her what manner of man ho was* whom she slighted, if only the chanco-would oc cur ! The chanco did occur. There was a Glee Club concert and the Grenville party attended. After it was over, in the press of coming out, (higgles and Grace were separated from the others, i As the distance was but short, they strolled across the green toward the hotel. Their way was well nigh de serted, for the throng had passed up and down Main street. Thomight was delicious, warm yet invigorated by the breath of the sea. Through, the inter lacing elm houghs tho star* sparkled and the moon rays streamed like dushes of gold ou a verdant arras. But George was glum. His companion was so exasperating. She would talk of Boynton, and the more she talked the more unpleasantly distinct became a vague comparison with himself. "Mr. Maxwell showed me some beau tiful verses of his lriend," said Grace. "Are you fond of poetry, Mr. Bug gies?" "I think college songsaro jolly,"re plied the young man simply. "These were lines to Rogers on dis carding the shield of Atlantes." "Thero was a Rodgcrs that used to ; pull stroke on the Atalantas,but I never 1 heard lie refused a prize." "Oh, dear!" I George grew hot and ground his j teeth. He was always doing it, yet ho didn't know what! Oh, if there was , only some one of his size how ho would | like to throttle him. They were pass- I ing by the Municipal Building. From tho nppor side there came sounds of Rong. A man lurched around the cor ner and Htaggered heavily against Grace. Ah, here was a change ! George shook off the girl's entreating grasp. He sprang toward the intruder. "What, old rocks, don't you know me !" mumbled the man. "Spoonin' hey, with young bag-o-bone's gallus sister? That's right." It was "Bill," the "king of the third," ; the "all-around sport," decidedly tho ! worse for consolatory draughts after the afternoon game. "Know you!" cried George. "11l smash you!" Grace screamed aud sprang back on the steps, where she stood with hands clasped across her breast like another Andromeda awaiting deliverunce. "Oh, yer lookin' for it, is yer?" growled "Bill." "Well, come on then." And the twain faced each other and mighty blows resounded. A brawl at Piersou is magnetic. It draws the human grains to a center. From street, campus, hotel and dor mitory the young men rushed. A ring was formed, and college cheers urged 011 the college champion. Oh, the joys of physical combat when mus cles are like bands of steel, and ever increasing strength swells within them! Forgotten now was the sense of contumely ! Forgotten the envied smiles of the maiden ! George Bug gies was himself again, tho toughest, grittiest man in the university, and let all yield hm the meed of praise ! On the outskirts of the crowd, two young men were enjoying their cigars. "This reminds mo of old times, hey, Herbert?" said one. "Well, I guess. What? By Jove—" and the other dashed away toward the Municipal Building. "My dear MissGrenville," exclaimed Boynton, "this iH no place for you. Permit me to escort you." Grace's lips were tremulous; her gaze Was distraught. "Oh Herbert—Mr. Boynton." she pleaded. "I'm so frightened. Take mo to mnmma. You are always/so gentle and considerate." And yet, when they were away from the tumult, perhaps they lingered to listen to the tender suggestions of the glancing moon rays. At least it was quite late when they parted atithe ele vator, for George Buggies, flushed with victory, had found time'to punish a quart of ale at tho "Retreat," and as he idly gazed through the glass bot tom of the pewter mug was beginning to wonder as to the fate of his charge. "A good time, old fellow, and soou over," said Boynton as the train neared the metropolis. "Well, in five years we have another reunion, and that's not long to wait." "No, indeed," replied Maxwell, "and then a wedding may intervene, you know." "Ah, but you would lmvo all tho i fun with tho boys."—New York Times. WISE WOK 18. There is more shame in silk than in cotton. Money is the best slave and the wor3fc master. A broken heart will always show in tho face. Splendid misery is the most difficult to (Hire. Three's a crowd except when Cupid is the third. Men of motley minds often havo motley morals. Most of the most beautiful things in nature are silent. A dollar will go a long way if you only encourage it. The worst people in tho world arc the richest and the poorest. What you do, take a hearty interest in it, or be assured you will certainly fail. Garner up pleasant thoughts in your mind; for pleasant thoughts make pleasant lives. Tho most delicate, the most sensible of all pleasures consists in promoting tho pleasures of others. A sound discretion is not so much indicated by never making a mistake as by never repeating it. Men of tho noblest disposition think themselves happiest when others share their happiness with them. The best teachers are those who learn something new themselves every day, ami are not ashamed to own it. Keep your eye 011 that young man who would rather wear a SSO suit of clothes with $lO in his pocket than to wear a $lO suit of clothes with SSO in the pocket. Pay of Parliamentarians. Tho British Parliament has not al ways been filled by unpaid members. In 11327, knights of the shires were paid four shilling ($1) and burghers two shillings (50c.) per day. Special bar gains were sometimes made. Ipswich beat down its representative from a shilling to nothing at all. Sir John Strange, of Dunwicb, served for a stip ulated number of herring. For nearly a century 110 member was sent from Lancashire on account of the expense. Payment gradually became obsolete. The British colonies usually pay their members, Canada allowing $lO a day, with a SIOOO limit; New South Wales and Victoria paying SISOO a year; Cape Colony, $5 a day. Continental deputies are generally paid, except those of Spain and Italy, who travel free on cars and boats. Franco pays the highest, S3OOO and $1750; Dutch members get SBSO and expenses; Swedish aud Grecian, $350 ; Portugal, $5 a day; Norway, $3.30; German States, from $1.50 to $3.75; Belgium pays l>y the month, SB4. Japan pays about $075 per annum. Tlie United States members, with SSOOO a year, are almost at the top of the ladder. The Argentine Republic is supposed to pay SBOOO, but things aro mighty uncertain down there now.— New York Recorder, SIAM AND ITS PEOPLE. FACTS ABOUT THE LAND OF THE WHITE ELEPHANT. Cannon of tho Difficulty Hot ween France and Slam—Extent of the Slanieno Em pire—lts Dreat Natural Wealth—lts Capi tal the Oriental Venice. Coveted by the French. The trouble between Slam and France, is only another ] base of the ever-recurring and never-ending East cm question, the difference between this and' former appearances heing that in this case the trouble broke out a little further east than usual. For over 200 years the French have been longing for an Eastern empire. In the time of Louis XIV. the dream of empire seemed about to be real ized, and but for the almost acci dental formation of a company of English traders the Empire of India might have lecn French instead of English. The marvelous growth of tho East India Company, the equally marvelous success of lis armed agents in Hindustan, put att end to tho French hopes, and until the present generation little or nothing was accomplished. About 1787 the French, however, estab lished a fool hold in the Indo-Chinese Peninsula, and by treaty with tho government of Cochin China acquired the island of l'ulo Condula and the light to cstabli-h a station on the main land. The right, however, was never exercised until 1815, when, a dispute arising between the French and tho government of Cochin China, Saigon, the capital, was occupied, and the whole of Cochin China b ■- came a French province. In 1802 fur ther conquests began, and the sur rounding country began to suffer. Ir. the following year the kingdom of Cambodia was formally taken under the protection of France, which then began to exlend its dominions still further to the north. In 1884 trou ble broke out, or was provoked, It matters not which, between the peo ple of Tonquln and the French, aud after a bloody struggle this country, then a dependency of China, was made a French province. This lelt the two French possessions in this part of Asia widely separated, and in order to consolidate them the coast territory lying between them and known as Anatn was taken pos session of. The area of Cochin China Is estimated at 23,000 square inihs, and its population at 2.000,000. Cambodia has an area of 38,000 square miles and an estimated popu lation of 1,800,000. Tonquin has an estimated area of 34,000 square \ —• - AMAZONS Of THE II AH EM GCAnt). miles and a population of 0,000,000, while Anain has 40,000 square miles of area and 5,000,000 inhabitants, the aggregation of all these giving a very fair start for a colonial em pire. To the west of this territory lies tlie valley of the great river Menang, which, rising in Thibet, over 2,000 miles away, Hows with many wind ings in a general southeastern course through Thibet, a portiou of China, a part of British Burmah and Siam, passing through tho French domin ions just before entering the sea. The Menang is tlre greatest river in that part of Asia, both ID the length of its course and Hie volume of its waters, comparing favorably with the Ganges, the Indusorßrahma-Pootra. The French found that the possession of the coast lying to the east of the river was of little value without the river valley itself, and accordingly, to secure possession of this valuable and coveted territory, they laid claim to the oast I ank of the Jlenaug and all its islands. As through a largo part of its lower course the river (lows through Siamese territory, this claim was equivalent to a demand on Siam to give up about one-third to one-fourth of ils best territory. This, in brief, Is an explanation iff the difficulty between France and Siam. The limits of Siam on the north l and east have always been rather in definite, for to the north, adjoining , British Burmah, there lay a number i of semi-independent states, which sometimes owned allegiance to Siam and sometimes to Burmah, as the in fluence of one or the other preponder ated. The same difficulty existed in the east, where the Anamites some times paid tribute to China and sometimes to Slam. Siam itself lias in times past been a dependency of the Chinese Empire and even now a sort of alleglan c Is acknowledged and a tribute paid. So far as the Siam ese territory can lie estimated, its at most limits at the time of its great est extent tvere about 1,200 miles from north to south and 700 miles ia width, or very nearly one-third the size of the United States. That, however, was before the English con quests iu Burmah, which considera bly reduced the nominal size of the empire. Its present area is esti mated at 250,000 square miles, while it has a population of 2,000,000 Siam ese, 2,000,000 Luosians, and 1,000,- 000 each of Chinese or Malays. Uuvcrnmfnt of Slam. The Government of Siam is in some respects much like thatof other countries having a limited monarchy, while in one particular it is curiously different. There are two Kings, a first and a second, each of whom has a state establishment, but only one is honored as a sovereign, the other acting as a sort of Prime Minister. The whole country is divided into districts, the government of each be ing administered by a local official who is Siamese, orLuosian, or Malay, according to the promincnceof people I of these nationalities in the popula- I tlon. The reigning King is Chula long Kom 1., krown also as Som ] detch Phra Paramindc Maha, wlioas- J TIIK MOST FAMOUS TEMPLE IN SIAM. | cended the throne in 1808, and who governs by means of a council of six | Princes and from ten to twenty mem bers appointed by himself. N'oml | nally a limited monarchy, there aie so many ways of setting aside the os tablishcd laws of the kingdom that, I although the Maine.-c call themselves 1 the '1 hal, "tho free," and their king j dour the Muung Thai, "the free king- I dom," they are practically under the j same kind of government as most I other Asiatics. | The King of Siam Is, comparatively j speaking, a rich monarch, having an annual revenue somewhat exceeding £2,000,00.1, of whi h sum £287,000 come from the land taxes, £65,000 from the taxes on fruit trees, £IOO,- 000 from the spirit tax, £120,000 from the opium tax, £IOO,OOO from the gambling tax, £143,000 front tlie customs duties, £OO,OOO from the tin tax, £27,000 from the tax on edible birds' nests, and about tho same amount from the fisheries tax. As all the taxes are, however, farmed out. and Siamese tax farmers are no more honest than the people of the same business in other parts of the world, his Majesty of Siam loses no small sum annually from the pecula tions and cml.ezzlements of his agents, and it is even asserted that scarcely more than half the amount due reaches the royal ciders, lie probably makes up the difference in the personal service exacted from all Siamese natives, every Siamese in habitant of the kingdom being re quired. if railed upon, to give at least three months' labor in the year to his sovereign. The result may be beneficial, so far as the King is con cerned, tmt as lie frequently calls for this service at a time when the crops should be planted, or cultivated, or gathered, the result Is far from bene ! llclal to either the agriculture or the I general prosperity of the kingdom. A similar state of things prevails in regard to military service, all the ln haiiitants being re piired to render it, exceptions, however, being made in favor of the priests; of the Chinese, who aro taxed Instead: of slaves; ot government officials, and of those who are willing and able to purchase ex emption by hiring a substitute. The whole kingdom is practically, there fore, at the King's command both in time of peace and of war, and al though it is, in some respects, one of the richest countries on the globe, its natural advantages lie unimproved, and a territory almost the size of Texas has thus an annual export of only about $12,000,000 a year, con sisting mostly of rice, tea, pepper, and other tiopical products. Bangkok it Singular City. Bangkok, the capital, is In many I respects a singular city. Its popula tion is estimated all the way from 500,000 to 1,000,000, and is curiously MAM'S PAVII.ION AT THE WORLD'S FAIR. mixed and cosmopolitan. Siamese an 1 Chinese predominate in its streets, though the Malays are also very numerous, and frequent Euro- I cans in its streets demonstrate tho presence of Western civi lization and interest. They are, in fact, the leaven of Slam, and to their influence and the spread of Western ideas arc due the various ! improvements noticeable in the great city, from which political power pro ceeds to the utmost boundaries yf! | Siam. The army is officered b? Europeans, chiefly English and Danes, I the n?.vy is commanded by Euro | pcans, and of the many business en , tcrprises in Siam, most of those whi h conned it with the outside world are superintended by Euro peans. There is little love lost, how ever, between the native and foreign elements of society, and the intense hatred felt for all foreigners by the large Chinese population may at any moment prove disastrous to all for eign interests. English, French, German, Russian are all alike to tho low-class Chinamen, who cannot dis tinguish between their languages, and all are hated alike. There is every reason to believe, therefore, that the presence of a hostile fleet iu the river may at any time excite tho passions of the populace to an uncon trollable degree, and mob violence in the East has a meaning which is unknown in Western lands. llangkok Is the Eastern Venice. Formerly all its houses were built on the land, but the p evalenee of chol era many years ago so alarmed the Government that it ordered the houses on the banks to be abandoned and directed the people to live on the river itself. Thousands upon thous ands of houses were consequently built on rafts and moored to the banks of the river, and although tho policy of river houses has been to some extent modified by the Govern ment, no inconsiderable part of the capital is still on the waters of tho Menam. The houses are of slight materials, constructed on bamboo rafts, each attended by a canoe, for to the river resident of fiangkok a skilf is as indispensable as a street car to the suburban resident in an Ameri tan city. Formerly the right to build on the banks was reserved to tho king, nobility, clergy and privi leged characters. This right has been greatly extended and now Bang kok has spread its limits on both sides of the Menam. The most striking features of the city are the palaces and the temples. The former are located in a citadel securely fortified . against sudden attack or prolonged siege, and comprise the palaces of the two kings and a variety of temples and other structures pertaining tp the court. As the flrst king has about 5,000 women attached to the court in one capacity or another, the palaces are, as may be conjectured, very roomy. Prominent among the at tendants are the ainazon guards ot the harems. They are women trained to the use of arms an 1 employed to guard the king's wives, and when ever a lady of the harem ap pears in public, she is attended by a retinue of these female soldiers, who answer with their lives KINO OF SIAM for her seclusion. Several very mag nificent temples are within the limits of the palace walls, the most remark able being that of the "Sleeping Idol" and that of the "Emerald Idol." The Sleeping Idol is a statue 150 feet long, overlaid from head to foot with plate gold, in many places covered with Inscriptions and representations of the transmigrations or Buddha. Not far away is the palace of the White Elephant, who is really a deity, and throughout Slam 1- rever enced as such, lie has his court, his attendants, his throngs of servants, and Is treated like a prince. The White Elephant is an albino, not completely white, but here and the:o having spots of cream color over his otherwise dusky hide. The Emerald idol's temple is a wonderful struct ure, of the utmost magnificence, tho doors and much of the wall being plated with gold. The Idol Itself is said to be a solid emerald 12 inches high by 8 wide, the luiir and dress of the rude figure being made of gold studded with precious gems. In spite of their barbarous magnificence, how ever, the pagodas of Bangkok present a wonderfully impressive appearance, as, situated in large parks and cov ered with porcelain p'atos and decor ated with bells which sway to and fro chiming with every breeze, they gleam through the tropical foliage and suggest that a people which could build such shrines as these should not be designated as savages; for, al though their civilization may bo dif ferent from ours, it is nevertheless of a kind that perhaps suits them quite as well. Ail Ancient Eye-Brightener. Compositions have b '.oil found in the tombs of Egyptian ladies, whoso mum mies have lain in their catacombs up ward of 3,000 years, which, when sub ject to analysis, reveal, it is said, some mysterious beautifying properties. Among other things an artificial eye brightenor was discovered, which im parted to the iris a beautiful verdant sheen. Tho uso of this artieal may possibly have given rise to that famous classical expression perhaps first used by Egyptian belles to their maids upon tho completion of their toilets - "i>o you see any grooti in my eye?"
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