The Vancouver independent. (Vancouver, W.T. [Wash.]) 1875-1910, 1876-10-28
The Good King Alphonso.

a good and pious man, heard with pain
that the pages of his court had quite
given up the habit of saying grace
either before or after their meals. or
even of saying their prayers so he
thought he would give them lesson.
One day these boys were invited 10y the
king to dine with him Mt his own table.
Dressed III their best attire, and de
lighted Mt the idea of the honor they
were about to receive. the pages came
into the royal dining-room. They were
shown their seats at the royal dining
table, and king and guests sat down to
dinner. no blessing being asked as was
usual before they began the meal. This
was, indeed, arranged before hand Ivy
the king.
During dinner To- the surprise of all
there appeared bcggar, who. in
spite Of his rags and his dirt. went
mp to the royal table sat down. and.
without making an apology or asking
leave. began to eat and drnl, to his
hearts content
The pages. exceedingly surprised.
kept looking at the king as if to ask his
leave to turn ont this unlimited visitor.
The king himself had planned before
hand that the man should come in this
bold way. without being asked, and he.
quietly and patiently. sat Watching him
eat and drink without saving ANYTHING
or appearing to take any notice. At last
after having made Il hearty meal. the
beggar got mp and went away. without
however having 10y word or look.
thanked the king and his conricrs for
the feast.
Turning to the pages King Alphonso
then said: well. gentlemen. how do
you like this man."
Not at all, your majesty" they al
replied. Never did we see man SO
rude. so mgrateful, SO shameless as
that bcegarn
Upon hearing this reply, the king
rose mp and said. in Il loud, solemn
voice. which could he heard 10y all pres
cnt:
"You yourselves have been as rude
and ungrateiul rs that poor man. Every
day you have been richly fed by II King
far greater than | am-cvcn by our
Heavenly Father, who givcth us richly
all things to enjoy; but you have sat
down and risen up again, day after day,
without thinking for Il moment of the
Giver of all these good things"
The boys flushed and slipped away
from the royal table without single
word, but never again did they pass
single day without asking Gods bless
ing, and thanking Him for His Gifts.
Tho Cause of neutrality-suspicious..
\ weak spot in Il boiler. or in an,
hAp Il l..
and when II machine breaks down ut a
point which is asccrtaincd to have been
weak for II long time, no one il Impress
ed with the necessity of going INTO Il
long discussion to show that mysterious
agencies are suddenly brought To bear
upon the weak point causing the break
The fact is, the point of fracture was
unable to sustain the load imposed upon
it. II did its very best, but when the
load WAS not lcssened, yet the dcteriorn-
ton of metal continually going on
longer. the machine broke down. Is
there any mystery about it? Is there
any mystery about the fact that IL boiler
of il9 feet in diameter. running ut n
pressure of - HIS to the square inch.
with one of the sheets corrodcd to the
thinncss OF paper. exploded, DONE
serious damage. We think not and we
further think that all efforts to surround
such eases with mystery worthy only of
those who have scared so high into the
regions of theory that they are reluctant
To step down before, and into the pres
cncc of facts and common sense Boil
ers should be periodically inspected.
with much care, SO that any midi
cations of weakness may be dscov-
cred before II IS too late. There arc
few, if any defects that careful external
and internal examination, with chiscl
and hammer, will not discover. and we
would advise all boiler owners to secure
tn" services of some competent man 10
cN' ..a their boilers carefully at least
Once Il year
TI* PAN STORY. A young man in
Longmcadow, Mass, says the Spring
field Inio", recently had some expert
encc in the amount of noise II number
of tin pans can make in IL house when
1t is quiet. II had been his habit 10
call ON young lmly Sunday evenings.
and he staid sometimes until rather
late. One Sunday evening recently
there were some Cousins of his visit
ing him, but he felt that he could not
neglect his young lady on that account.
SO he made sundry excuses to his com
pany and left. Perhaps he thought they
did not know where he was going. but
they did. and also about what time he
would return. After the old folks had
retired they prepared to "rcceIvc him.
nv |, Al