Worcester daily spy. [volume] (Worcester [Mass.]) 1850-1888, 1855-12-03
tFrOIn a Lece b George ". Curtis
The AHriean ALADDIN.

When We go 0 on Saturday afternoon to
moralize and see w houses. we usually take
ouryoung ones bAlladdin's palace. Aladdin
was Yankee started life by swapping
Jaek-kRives. thehltting the halves of brok-
en- marbles togeti and passing them off as
whole cnes, Wa he had gathered some
brass he went tochooI all the summer to
learn the golden r. of arithmetic addition
for himself and subtraction for his neighbor.
At an early age lladdin was considered to
be good at bargs-which meant that he
could always suecd in changing worse
for better-alwa keeping The blind side
OF horse TO the = when be had TO sell it;
and the village saithat certainly ALADDIN
would succeed. Wen he left, lie VIII be
rich, said the vilke. with more approval
than it would sayte wlll-be generous and
true To Aladdin e world was but mar
ket in hich 10 buyleap and sell dear. For
him there was no betty. no history, no piety
no heroism. Vainlyhe stars shone over him
--vainly the soath ,ad blew. In the wake
of the gaeat ship Arg In which Jason and
his companions sailed d the Golden Fleece,
over the cleaning Meterranean-where the
ships of Tyre, Rome and Of The Crusaders
had been before HIM through the Pillars of
Hercules. through wch Columbus sailed 10
find fame in anew brld-nOw sails Allad-
din to find fortune 10 him all lands are
alike. No Homer sar for him in the -Egean
he only curses the wild that will not blow
him INTO Odessa. N{syrens sing for HIM,
but he loves the huge 9TH of the lively boat
swain. With the Bib in his hand and
guild of tobacco in his louth, he goes about
the holy places of Jerudem, and calculates
the exact site. He seethe land Of the Ram
eses and the Ptolemies and the reverend re-
cords ofthe Ly biau des.t, whose echoes have
slumbered since they ere ramped over by
Alexander's army, are DIV awakened by the
shrill whistle of o. IAN Tucker. He in
suits the Grand Liant hob-nobs with tie
Grand Mogul, turns hi back upon emperors,
and takes pinch out othe Pope's snuff box.
He chews with the Aras, smokes opium with
the Turks, and rides foR bride with TIE Cal
muck Tartars.
Aladdin comes HON again. and the ad-
miring village points I'm out to the younger
generation as a successful man: Ny son,
look at him; he begai with nothing-now
see. My SON does seeand beholds his own
ing million OF dollas-of all societies of
which he is not presient, director. His
name is as good as gold-he has bought pic
lures and statues-he he also bought Mrs.
Aladdin and housed he in luxury; but he
picks his mouth with liver fork. He has a
home for poet, but lie makes it his boast
that he reads nothing but his newspaper.
lie goes to church twiceon Sundays, and on
ly wakes up when TIL preacher denounces
the sinner Of Sodom md Gomorrah, and
those tough nld Jews oiJerusalem. His head
is bald and shiny with The serm ons which have
hit and glanced off. lie clasps his hands in
prayer. but forgets to ppen them when the
poor box is passed around and he goes home
like a successful man, thanking God that he is
not as other men are. And after dinner he
sits before the ire in his easy chair, lights a
large cigar, and looks laigudiy at Mrs. Allad-
din through the thick smoke.
BY and by old ALADDIN dies. The conven-
tional virtues are told oaer as the mourning
carriages are called out. The papers regret
they are called upon to leplore the loss of a
reverend parent, generous friend, public.spir-
i ed citizen, and pious man and the precoc-
ious snapper of jack knives, and the model
set up to the young geneiation is laid IN the
dust. Above his grave the stars he never saw
now burn with soft luster, which no lamps
about kings tomb can emulate and the
south wind, Tor whose breath upon his brow
lie was never grateful, slrews his lonely last
bed with anemones and violets that his hee
crushed when living; and we who are to be
formed upon that model, carclessly remark
as we stir cur toddies, so old Aladdin il
gene at last; and, by the way, how much dix
knt