Daily gazette and comet. (Baton Rouge, La.) 1856-186?, 1860-04-28

fcihica " Hlnh, Wheh " hftu'"tf w
Congress, the following story, which
though old, Is well worth repeating
At the foot Of the capital gardens
in Pennsylvania avenue ION the
right hand side as you are fronting
that building) Is an ipclosed space
national property-contsining one
or moro tcnements and some con
servatorias aud lighthouses. Here
for some years past and until bis
death, enjoying Uncle SANS pat
ronage, seioufned q Frenchman,
learned IN botany and many other
sciences. Some companions. while
passing these premises, were vaun-
ting his requirement TO Mike, who,
from n spirit of contradiction, cali.
ed them in question. lie doubted
whether these eminent botaDisis
know the difference between oats
and wheat, and believed he said,
that Bowcry boy could persuade
them that their corn was clover
Finally, Mike undertook, "botani.
cally.S TO deceive the Frenchman
with whatever he could pick mp
where they stood, in The lane skirt.
ing his premises. From u wreck Of
flower pots and rubbish, he selected
ono sound pot and dead rat lying
next the heap. Placing the rat Ia
the nower.pot he covered II up with
mould, leaving out the tail, which
no Fixed perpcndicularly by tying
IL carefully TO a small green stick
which happoued 10 be Convenient
amongst the garden rubbish. He
next called on The Professor, and
told him that n friend, Lieut.,
Whose ship having touched at one
Of the islands of the then terra IN
c2gnitd, Japan, had excited some
intercst) had presented him with n
very curious kind of cactus. This
he wished tho Professor 10 examine.
No one, Mike said, had been able
90 make IL out, and he might have
il for ten years and not find five
people who would; so he hardly
lclt justified In keeping It out of II
public collection, and yet he did
not like TO part with u keepsake
| from N nfricndr
The Professor eagerly repaired
TO examine tho vegetable curiosity.
After a close inspection he deter.
mined what it was, OF at least
christencd Il by fine Greek name
two words, as Mike said. averag.
ing sixteen letters. The Professor
exhausted himself In persuading
Mike that the interests Of science
required that he should sacrifice 10
them the sentiments Of friendship,
by surrobdering this rare produc.
ton Of the vegetable kingdom to
the keeping Of the botauist. The
reluctant Mike eventually consent
ed, on the willing and solemn as.
surances of the Professor that Il
would DO tended with the utmost
care; and 80 IL was. Placed in a
dollhouse, il was cautiously but
carefully bc-sprinklod with water
Mt a temperature Of seventy dc.
grees by the thermometer. IL was
noticed and described in the Ma.
tional Intelligencer. The notice
was copied into other papers. Tho
plant was exhibited with pride TO
several eminent individuals; at
length with the heat aud moisture,
the tip of the tail began to cxcor-
late. The Professor was delighted
1T was budding. 1t WINS exam.
ined with great interest by one of
the chief patrons, "the Great DAN
iel," TO whom the Botanist promis-
ed one of the first slips for Marsh.
field. ut was tooigood joke to
keep" said Mike, especially in n
bot-bouse, 30 before long they
smelt a rat The wrath and shame
OF the Professor were excessive,
and 80 was the indignation Of the
great Daniel, not at the author Of
the joke, but at the unfortunat bo-
tanist whom he stlgmatised as u
I'D frog-eater, through whom
he had been taken in, and who
ought to have known better
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