"Che Conservative * 9
lions. They frequently steal into their
camp at night. They uro clangorous on
account of an offensive explosive which
is their only method of warfare. The
sloths are true parasites. They live on
the lives of all. So incapable or indo
lent are they that they will make no en
deavor to food themselves , unless in
dire necessity. The sloths are the
"tramps" of the jungle. They are fed
and nourished by two insane ravens.
The names of those birds are Boneliconco
and Benevolence. In their struggle
over the Behemoth , in order to supply
his necessities and obtain his good will ,
the lions and tigers are cautious not to
arouse him to wrath.
The "Wrtitli of the UuhtMiutth.
Being the bone of contention between
them it has happened on several occa
sions that they have not only threatened
his peace , but sufficiently aroused him
to make him defend himself. "What
happened then ? Jt must have been a
grand yet torrilic sight to see so mam
moth an animal excited to wrath ! "
Only a few now living can toll us much
about it. The Solomon mice know all
about it. They say it is a matter of
sacred record in their family , passed
down from generation to generation.
They tell us that no one can describe the
violence of the Behemoth when aroused
to auger and that is why they
are so cautious in telling him. of the
dangers about him. He is slow to
auger , but , the mice say , it is almost
impossible to control him. when once
aroused. They tell us that , like a thun
derbolt forged by the immortal Jove ,
the Behemoth arouses himself when en
raged ; that he rushes on the contending
armies of lions and tigers , grasps their
respective leaders iu his terrible mouth
and with one crunch of his terrific
teeth they are destroyed ; at the same
time he extends his majestic body over
the contending armies crushing them to
the earth. The Solomon mice toll us
that nothing can stand before his voice ;
that the beasts of the jungle tremble in
their lairs ; that the thunder of ib echoes
and reechoes from the arched vault of
Heaven as the Behemoth commands to
all inhabitants of the jungle : "Peace !
Bo still ! Disturb me not again. "
Aniirohy in the ilunglu.
The army of : lions is in a constant
condition , of anarchy. There is no
union in it , Of late seine earnest ; at
tempts have beonmado , by those having
a common interest to combine and form
"trusts. " The Solomon mice toll us
thafc the name should bo "distrust. "
The army is composed of subalterns ,
bufc is entirely/ without a general. It is
the army of laissez-faire individualism.
Probably that is why the Solomon mice
tell us "it is an army of individual dis-
trufit. " In a certain sense the lions.ore
the substantial support and defense o :
the jangle. The lions are .the men of
extreme financial and business ability in
; ho jungle. The jungle is civilization.
They are those who apparently uiaiu-
: aiu its fortresses. They are neither the
watchful guardians , nor are they the
maiutainors of peace within the jungle.
They are one of the exciting causes to
revolution within it on account of mis
understanding their relations to the
tigers. Naturally the tigers are the
other cause of disturbance because they
understand not the veil and therefore
cannot see the real nature of the lions.
The veil is ignorance. The tigers con
stitute the bauds of organized labor.
The Solomon mice tell us that these
"unions" much resemble the "trusts" of
the lions. "Distrust of each other is
one of the weakening characteristics
of the unions. " So say the Solomon
mice. They know the veil and can see
through it. They are not mistaken.
The wolves are the most disturbing ele
ment in the jungle. They are so
blinded by their supreme selfishness as
not to be able to know the other ani
mals even though the veil is invisible.
The wolves are the emotionally insane
reformers , the walking delegates , dis
gruntled or unprincipled politicians ;
unscrupulous men generally , though
they oftentimes pass as respectable ( so
say the Solomon mice ) and their sub
jected tools ( the mice say "fools. " ) The
hyenas and jackals are the criminal
classes who could but will not maintain
themselves honestly. The sloths are
the paupers , the imbeciles and those
who will not feed themselves unless the
food is put in their mouths. The pole
cats are the anarchists.
The Behemoth.
"But the Behemoth , what about
him ? "
The Behemoth is the sleeping com
mon sense of the jungle of civilization ,
which is locked up in the great army of
the self-supporting , self-coutentedwant-
to-be-let-alone middle class. There he
sleeps in the jungle , seemingly uncon
scious of the constant warfare about
him. The roar of the lions , the snarl of
the tigers , he heedeth not. The mighty
somnolent is the incarnation of inert
potentiality. He knoweth not himself ,
neither knows he much of the real na
ture of the other inhabitants of the
jungle. The Solomon mice know the
Bohomofchi as they do all the other ani
mals. The Behemoth lodges a greal
secret , a precious treasure. The lions
and tigers know of it , they have some
idea of its value. They have no idea of
its real' ' nature. The vaili is impene
trable toithem. The Behemoth , know
oth it not foe the same reason. Only
the' ' Solomon ! micoi know it. They are
its natural1 guardians asi the only repre
sentatives of the omnipotence of the
omnipresent in the jungles. The Solo
monmico tellius thathidden , away in > the
darkest recesses of the massive body o
the Behemoth , is a napkin ; that within
his napkin is a gem , known as "Wisdom ,
or the Pearl of Price ; and that , in a se
cret chamber within this gem is the
most precious of all jewels to the lions
and tigers , the gem of Freedom. The
omnipresent put it away in the Behe
moth , but committed its guardianship ,
11 a strict sense , to the Solomon mice.
t is for this gem that the lions and ti
gers are constantly quarreling. It is
only when instinctively feeling this gem
of Freedom within its body is in dan
ger ( its very life ) that the Behemoth is
aroused from his slumbers to defend
limself. 'Tis then that the Solomon
mice show that they do indeed represent
; he omnipotence of the omnipresent.
Through their profound knowledge of
; he veil they tell the Behemoth of the
dangers of over-exertion to his massive
body ; that to lull the lions and tigers ,
or too severely cripple them , would
only destroy those who minister to him
and thus destroy his own freedom.
Could the Solomon mice but remove
the veil entirely from the Behemoth , so
; hat he would know himself , and
cne nons ana cne tigers Know cnem-
selves ; could the mice but assert
their rightful position in the jungle ,
and be maintained therein by the Be
hemoth , the wolves , the hyenas , the
jackals , the sloths , and the pole cats
would be either killed or banished.
Then the veil would be destroyed and
the representatives of the omnipotence
of the omnipresent would live in free
dom ; "peace and good will" prevailing ,
because of their subservience and re
spectful attention to the omnipotence of
the Solomon mice.
FRANK S. BILLINGS.
Graf ton , Mass.
The general rain
DHOWN1SD OUT.
of Thursday , July
37 , 1899 , while not very vigorous , was
exceedingly refreshing to corn and
everything else except populist politi
cians. It nearly drowned them all out.
With abundant crops , good demand for
them , and an exceedingly easy money
market , iu which supply is so much in
excess of demand that rates of interest
constantly decline , there is despondency
in the cainps of discontent and the cap-
tarns of calamity weep. Another
shower or two dropping gladness and
fruition upon these fertile fields will
drown out the last hopes of those politi
cians of fusion whoi seek promotion for
themselves by braying about the pov
erty of the people.
Good crops , active markets and low
rates of interest are to populist office-
seekers more deadly than arsenic toirats.
A few more rains and a corn crop of
two hundred and fifty to three hundred
millions of bushels will be perfectly ma
tured in Nebraska. How them will' '
Allen , Deaver , Dech , Bryan * & Go ; al
lure votes ?
> ri5 # &