The commoner. (Lincoln, Neb.) 1901-1923, April 12, 1901, Page 8, Image 10
nrpwTwwr' TCfl'ygyywjpin''' "wwrynrTtgnwr -r 1 1 -wwr fFT V1 " "T.W vwvup1 " "H8 r 8. t"Tw.' 4 Whether Common or Not. THE OPTIMIST. 'Tain't no uso t' frown am1 growl; Won't make burdens lighter. Grumblin' at th' weather won't Mako th' clouds grow brighter. Ain't no uso t' mako complaints . 'Bout way things Is comin'-7-Bottor laugh an' hustle on, Cheerful tunes a-hummln. Clouds may lower dark aroun'; Clear skies coi e tomorrow. Look behind th' clouds today An' brlghi Hnin' borrow. Moanin' aint no way t' keop Adverse winds from blowln'. Pull your belt another notch An' keep on a goln'. Life may seem a barren wasto Skurcoly worth th' tussles; But things come to him who waits If ho waits an hustles. Flowers that you hope t' grasp Often turn to thistle Pick th' stickers from your nands, Smile a bit an' whistle. ..- AH "f- s '- t rt Jif Smiles an' songs an' cheery words All wus made rr givln'; Ho who sows thqm far an' near '., Finds that life's worth livin'. ' Though things' may come rough today, Don't give way t' sorrow; Trust in God an' patiently Bide th' glad tomorrow. i" , MODERN RAILROADING. . ,., -i tA T.ho directorate of tho X. y. Z. & Etc. (railroad, was in session to discuss tho matter of selecting a goneral manager. "What are your qualifications?" asked tho chairman of tho applicant for the position. The applicant smiled proudly as ho replied: "Have a cinch on a bunch of congressmen; caii elect senators from every state your road touches; clan manipulate mail contracts to per fection." "Have you ever had any practical experience in railroad building?" queried the chairman. With a disdainful wave of his hand the appli cant remarked: "Gentlemen, I tlKV-uht you were looking for a modern railroad manager, not far a section hand." BALLADE OF YE EASTEi. HATTE. ' -It was yo costlio Easter hatto With flowers ryche and rayre; And all thatte rubbered noticed thatte Ye owner proud was fayre. And as she pranced adown ye streete With feelings so olate, ', This taggo yo publick's eye did greote: "Sale price, $1.98." . ' s AN ANSWER. "One scales the heights and the other sights the hails." . , There ' must be a good conundrum for this answer. OUR OWN OMAR. A rod, a lino, a babling brook, A bit of lunch, a pipe, a book; x I . Enough of bites to rouse fr.om dreams, And then trudge homo while starlight gleams. 36 UNCLE. HIRAM. "Solomon wus a wise man, Lut he foolishly lent a lot o' time makin' proverbs that nobody ays eny attention to.". . "Th' feller that said patriotism is 'th' last The Commoner. refuge of a scoundrel' didn't know what he wus talkin' about. It's generally th' fust." "Th' man that's alius talkin' about th' good he is goin' t' do fur his fellowmen never stop3 talkin' long enough t' do it." "'Benev'lent assimulashun' is hog latin f'r 'grab quick an hold on.' " "I hev doubts about th' man who goes away from home t' do all his helpin'. It makes me think he's tryin' t' cover up somethin' purty close t' his own premises." Be ENOUGH SAID. . . "What kind of a fellow is Watleigh?" . '-'Well, Watleigh can talk intelligently about making tatting and painting on china." 2 IN THE AFFIRMATIVE. "How did your debate on the equal suffrage question come out?" "I lost. You'know I was to oppose it?" "Yes." . ."Just as I got up to start my wife arose in her se'atand said, 'John!' Well, if you know how -my wife can say 'John' you know why I lost the de cision. W. M. M. The Caracature Plant. One of the most remarkable plants in the whole vegetable kingdom i3 that known to botan ists as .lubticia Picta, which has also been well named "The Caricature Plant." ,i- At first sight, it appears to be a heavy, large leafed plant, with . purple blossoms, chiefly re markable for the light yellow centers of its dark green leaves, which cause them ,to look as .if some acid had been spilled upon them and taken the color out wherever it had touched. As I stood looking at this odd plant and thinking what a sickly blighted appearance the queer, yellow stains gave it, I wrs suddenly im pressed with the fact that the plat was "making faces" at me. Still unaccustomed as i was to see ing plants Indulge in this strictly human amuse ment, I was slow to believe it, and stooped to read the somewhat illegible inscription on the card below the plant "Justicia Picta, or Caricature Plant." My first impression was correct then. This curious shrub had indeed occupied itself in growing up in ridiculous caricatures of the ' hu man face divine," until it now stood, covered from the topmost leaf down, with the queerest faces imaginable. Nature had taken to caricaturing. The fresh colored profiles stood out in strong re lief against the dark green of the leaves. A discovery of one of these vegetable marks leads to the examination of a second and third leaf, until all are scanned as closely and as cur- iously as the leaves of the comic papers that form the caricature plants of the literary kingdom. What a valuable plant this would be fdr one of our professional caricaturists to have growing in his conservatory! When an order was sent to him for a "speaking likeness" of some unhappy politician, ho could simply visit his Justicia Picta with pencil and paper in hand, and look over the leaves for a suitable squint, grin, or distorted nose to sketch from. He could, moreover, affirm with truth that tho portrait was "taken from nature." Cuthbert Collingwood, tho celebrated naturalist, says of the Justicia Picta: "One of these plants in the garden of Gustav Dore would be worth a fortune to him, supplying him with a never-failing fund of grotesque physiognomies, from which he might illustrate every serio-comic romance ever written." I have never heard of the cultivation of the Caricature Plant in this country; but botan ists tell us that it is a hardy shrub. I think we should bo glad to see the funny faces on its leaves. After all the lovely flowers we are called upon to admire, I am sure that a plant evidently intended to make us laugh would receive a warm welcoma from our young people. The Chinese appreciate the Caricature Plant, and in some parts of China it is quite extensively, cultivated. Perhaps some of tho funny grinning faces on Chinese toys and ornaments are repro ductions of the grotesque features on the leaves of the plant. innally, I must assure any unbelieving readers of Ot. Nicholas that neither in this account of a very remarkable plant, nor in the accompanying illustration, has the writer drawn upon imagina tion. The Justicia Picta really exists. It is a na tive of the East Indies, and is a source of much amusement and curiosity to both botanists and travellers. St. Nicholas. European Civilization Rebuked. A Japanese newspaper, published in Aokio, administers a souna rebuke to the boas.ted civili zation of Europe on account of the atrocities of the soldiers of civilized and Christian nations in China. It has a right to do it, since by the ac knowledgment of all the Japanese soldiery have been remarkably free from offenses of the same kind. It speaks in the name of humanity: "Tho recognition of the brotherhood of man is the foun dation of all social institutions. . . . One who outrages humanity in any quarter of the globe is guilty of a crime against the entire human race, and is, therefore, the common enemy of mankind." This Japanese newspaper does not speak as tho ally of China. Japan stands with the European powers and with America in hostility to the crimes of the Chinese. One of her diplomatic representa tives was murdered, -as was the German ambassa dor. It is o pro-Chinese political sympathy that" prompts such words as these: It will be acknowledged that it is the duty of a civilized nation to set a good example of human ity toward a semi-civilized nation. But what Shall we say when we are informed by our correspon dents and have some of us seen with our own eyes, that the proudly uniformed soldiers of civil ized nations who have been staying in China since last spring, when the Boxers rose in arms, have exhibited the worst possible example by looting property, violating women and girls of tender 'age, and slaughtering helpless men and innocent wo men and children? No wonder that terror and ex citement among the surviving natives ar.e so ex treme that they are easily shocked by the mere sight of white soldiers on the road and run like frightened deer when they see the hunter ap proaching. ... We humble Japanese journal ists, with our limited knowledge of English, ex press our thoughts but awkwardly. Let our tears, then, be more eloquent than our words! This appears to us to be a noble and humane utterance by an organ of a nation we commonly call pagan, to which we send missionaries. It is instinct with the spirit of the 'Sermon on tho Mount. Boston Herald. In Chicago. It was a beautiful evening in June. The waters of the Drainage Canal purled and rippled against the prow of their gondola, virtually as any other waters might. The occasion invited confidences. "Dia you marry your first love?" asked the guest. "Yes," replied Helene, naively,, while her color deepened perceptibly, "my first, third, fifth and seventh, thus far! Of course, I'm not in the least superstitious, but there certainly is luck in. odd numbers!" As the gloom gathered, the gondoliers sang Italian love ballads, the abattoirs used their smoke consumers, and, altogether, it was quite liko Venice. Detroit Journal. Trans means across," said the teacher, "can any boy give me an illustration of its use?"" "Yes, ma'am," spoke up little Willie; " 'trans parent,' a cross parent." Philadelphia Record. o