East Saginaw courier. (East Saginaw, Mich.) 1859-18??, 1860-05-17
Attic FacetiH .
A CAPITOL JOKE.

The New York Leader, in giving
sketch of the late Mike Walsh, relates of
him, when member Of Congress, the fol-
lowing:
At the foot Of the Capitol gardens in
Pennsylvania avenue Ton the right hand
side as you are fronting that building) is
an inclosed space-national property -
containing one or more tenements and
some Conservatives and hot-houscs.-
Here for some years past and until his
death, enjoying Uncle Sans patronage,
soiourned Frenchman, learned in botany
and many other sciences. Some COM
panions, while passing these premises +,
were Wanting his requirements to Mike,
who, from a spirit decentralization, called
them in question. He doubted whether
these eminent botanists knew the differ
cnce between oats and wheat, and be-
lievcd, he said, that Bowery boy could
persuade them that corn was clover
Finally, Mike undertook, "botanically !"
TO deceive the Frenchman with whatever
he could pick up where they stood, in the
lane skirting his premises. From wreck
of flower pots and rubbish, he selected
one sound pot and dead rat lying next
the heap. Placing the rat in the flower
pot he covered it up with mould, leaving
out the tail, which he fixed perpendicu-
hrly by tying it carefully to small
green stick which happened to be Soon
yenient" amongst the garden rubbish. -
He next called on the Professor, and told
him that friend, Lieutenant-,(w hose
ship having touched at one of the islands
of the then terra ncOgnita Japan, had ex-
cited some interest )had presented him
with very curious kind ofeactus. This
he wished the Professor to examine. No
one, Mike said, had been able to make it
out, and he might have it for ten years
and not find five people who would; so he
hardly felt justified in keeping it out of
a public collection, and yet he did not
like to part with q keepsake from a
" friend"
The Professor eagerly repaired to ex-
anime the vegetable curiosity. After q
close inspection he determined what it
was or at least christencd it by a fine
Greek name-two words, as Mike said,
averaging sixteen letters. The Profess
sor exhausted himselfin persuading Mike
that the interests of science required that
he should sacrifice to them the sentiments
of friendship, by surrendcring this rare
production of the vegetable kingdom to
the keeping Of the botanist. The re-
luctant Mike eventually consented, on
the willing and solemn assurances of the
Professor that it would be tended with
the utmost care:-and so it was. Placed
IN dollhouse, it was cautiously but care
fully be-sprinkled with water at tenn
perature of seventy degrees by the Their
momcter. 1t was noticed and described
in the National Lntellgencer. The notice
was copied into other papers The plant
was exhibited with pride to several emf
nent individuals; at length with the heat
and moisture, the tip of the tail began to
excoriste. The Professor was delighted
lit was budding. 1t was examined with
great interest by one Of the chief patrons,
"the great Daniel" to whom the botanist
promised one of the first slips for Marsh.
field. at was too good joke to keep
said Mike, especially in dollhouse, SO
before long they smelt rat" The wrath
and shame of the Professor were excessive,
and SO was the indignation of the great
Daniel, not at the. author of the joke,
but at the unfortunate botanist, whom
he stigmatized rs a" id frog-eating
Frenchman, through whom he had been
taken in, and who ought to have known
better"