Public ledger. [volume] (Memphis, Tenn.) 1865-1893, 1871-04-01

banks of the Nile, where cranes ar
abundant, the people say, "a thousan,
cranes in the air are not equal to on
sparrow in the fist" Every oak wa
once an acorn is, in Africa, Tn,
great calabash tree has seed for it
mother. First build your house, anC
then think of your furniture;
"A man envies every other man ex
cept his son and his pupil" "At
the doors of taverns friends are
plenty; at the door of the prison they
are all gone; Throw plenty of mud
some of it is sure to stick, are Hebrew
proverbs expressive of sagacity. The
French are fond ofepigrammatic sayings
The adage, Zone swallow does not make
a summer" they render, Zone hcwel
does not make garland" A character
istic of their proverbs is the frequent
mention of wolves. Thus: ''Talk ofth,
wolf and you will see his tall" equiva
lent to Talk of the devil, and he will
appear" 1t is silly sheep that makes
the wolfher confessor;" " While the dogs
growled at each other the wolves de
voured the sheep" These are German
examples Little and often makes a
heap in time;" Handsome apples are
sometimes sour" 'lt is easier to blame
than to do better" "Take TIE word as
it is, not as it ought to be; ," Our neigh
bors children are always the worst"
Forgive thyself nothing and others
much" The sun dial only counts the
bright hours" He who blackens others
does not whiten himself; "Te change
and do better are two different things"
Revenge converts little right into a
great wrong" Charity gives itself rich
but covetousness boards itself poor"
Spain is rich in proverbs. One of
them runs: "By the road of by-and-by
one arrives at the town of Never.
There is much richness and beauty in
the italian proverbs as Time and pa
tience change the mulberry leaf into
satin" but many others alluding to ven
geance are terribly significant. The
proverbs of Africa partake largely of
the physical aspect and moral charac-
teristics of the country. We say of
lucky person: He was born with a
silver spoon in his mouth. On the
Nile it is: Throw him into the river
and he will come up with fish in his
mouth" "A small slate stone is large
enough to prop up large water jar"
The corn passes from hand to hand,
but it comes to the mill at last" "What
can | think of thy good qualities, o,
onion, since every bite draws tears2"
" The beetle is beauty in the eyes Of
its mother" "Say good morning to the
bean-seller, not to the druggist" mean
ing that at is better to be poor and
well than rich and ILL.," "A husband be-
tween two parrots is like head beaten
with two sticks" "The camel has his
own opinion, and the camel driver has
his, are all African.
The Egyptian says: "When crows are
the guides of a people, they lead the
carcass to the dogs" "The merit be-
longs to the beginner, should his sue
cessor do even better. Turning to the
Western negroes we find; " The sun is
the king of torches; If nothing
touches the palm-leaves they do not
rustic; -" No one gives cat to hyena
TO keep; The leopard is absent, so
they play with her cubs" "The para
site has no roots; 1.-TWO crocodiles can
not live in one hole; I" Do not curse the
mother before you cross the
river; Human blood is heavy; the
man that has shed it cannot run away"
The frog enjoys itself in water, but not !
in hot water; The razor cannot shave |
tself;" Were itnot for fingers the hand
would be a spoon" The Welsh have:
. If thou wouldst have praise, die;"
BY the side of sickness health becomes
sweet" He is not altogether bad who
naketh another better;" No man is
rood unless others are made better by
lin" " If every fool wore crown we
hould all be kings" Ireland is not so
ich in proverbs, but this one is oharac-
eristic Don't throw out your dirty
vater till you have got in your clane
lany proverbs are strictly local, as of a
azy man, He is as idle as London
ogs, that lean against the walls to
ark" or, of one with no taste for
music, He is like Mat Davies bull that
eased the fiddler into the tree"
In classical writing there is an abund- :
nee of proverbs having reference to :
owls and eggs. Juvenal speaks of a
)rtunate man as white hens chicken, !
nd of an unfortunate man as having
cen Matched from unlucky eggs. There
a saying that " a white egg may come
'om black chicken" The French lay
down that, 1t is a sorry honse in
hich the cock is silent and the hen
rows" In Egypt the people give this
lvice: Don't say good morning to the
Dck, meaning that it has been up early c
nough without your Sanitation. Every l.
ade has4ts proverbs. A carpenter who
ld been eating an immense quantity of
alnuts, his plate being loaded with {,
lells, said: You see, sir, a workman "
known by his chips" And again,
You must use the rasp before you turn :.
the sandpaper." It's no use fishing i
1 yog have baited your hook" is good =
lvice to q fisherman. These are sparks y
ON the smiths shop: "Some men are
,rn hammers, and others are born an 81
Isl" ." If the hammer strikes hard, !"
e anvil lasts the longest; " "0nce he u
rs hammer, and now he is an anvil"
II doesn't follow because your face is el
ack, that therefore you are q smith; OF
The sword has forgotten the smith that st
rged it.
OF cats, mice, and monkeys we find, of
The cat broke the China" AN cats oil
e gray at night" " Don't trust the cat re
lh the keys Of the pigeon-hopse;" THE m
oge you strike the cat the more she sets :.
her tail" 1.-THE mewing cat is never
rood mouser;' When the cat dies the :.
&C reioice;" "When the cats away, j
mice Il play" The Egyptians have
Here are two pounds of
yar for you" but the mouse replies,
he pay is good enough, but | don't
e the business. Familiar illusions
made to the cats paw. It was the
- tbot r,ada uea of the cotis nav