Washington standard. [volume] (Olympia, Wash. Territory) 1860-1921, 1880-10-22
Victor HugO's First Success at
School,


taking its usual Thursday walk, sol.
EMMY stepping out two by two, one
dark, slight, nervous-looking youth of
fifteen slips quietly from the ranks as
they pass by the Institut," build.
ing which holds within its sacred walls
TIE Academical Secret.ry's Office.
Signing to the usher in charge Of the
boys to follow him, the two run noise
lessly up the great staircase, and enter,
broathless with agitation. u door
marked "Secretariat" Here Young
Victor holds out little roll of paper.
stammering and blushing as he ex-
plains that it is poem fer competition
at the annual prize giving on the sub.
ject named, viz -: The Pleasures of
Study" The official gravely receives
the precious document, marks it with
the number "15," and putting it on
one side, mods their dismissal, and the
two boys hastily rejoin their COM
panions. About u fortnight afterwards
Victors elder brother, Abel, comes to
school, beaming with kindly sa,sfac-
ton, not unmixed with surprise, to an
nounce to his little brother that he
has received an honorable mention"
from the great Academic Fraucaise."
You little donkey ~ was the frater-
nal salute; what possessed YOU to
put your age into the poem? You
might have had the prize p
1t was his first success. The neys-
papers spoke of him, AGA leulcians in
vited him to dinner. ami as for his
schoolmaster, as his biograph n anus
ingly exclaims, Lo so!tii ~ serait
mis- ell pension chez lui ll'il uurAit
pas etc plus ebloui r
His next attempt WAS short story
called Bug Jargal," written Curing
the holidays in the space Of fifteen
days, and read out before Il sclcc, little
band of admirers, who hal inctutiously
accepted bet made by the seli.Gonti-
dent young author, that he would
write whole novel within that period,
or failing, give dinncr all round. The
story was voted success Abel Hugo
gave dinner in its honor, and young
Victor was again the hero of the even
ing.
After this, he naturally adopted lit
erature as u career, aud he and his
brother ElgeLe, who was ambitious of
like success, left college and lived of
home with Their mother, who delighted
in her two sons literary tastes, and on
couraged them 10 compete for prizes,
and write verses and articles in maya
zine founded by Abel, az the first step
toward supporting themselves by their
pens in tie future.
Eating Enough and too Much.
Tue amount of nourishment which
person needs greatly depends on his
constitution, state of health, habits and
work. a sedentary man requires less
than one whose duties demand the ex-
ercise Of his muscles. and brain
worker needs more than an Ter. But
unquestionably, the majority of us take
more than we need. Indeed, food and
work are distributed most unequally.
The man of leisure is also the man of
means, and accordingly fares sump-
tuously every day; while the laborer
tolls for eight hours and finds it diff
cult to get enough TO repair the waste
OF his tissues. Yet Chinaman or \
Bangalee will toll under the tropics ~
sun, and find few pice worth of rice
or jowrah sufficient to sustain his
strength. A Frenchman will net eat
half what an Englishman engaged in
if.e sAihe wa1CfR VIII 1eilahao, antai'a'
| Spanish laborer, content in ordinary
times with q watermelon and bit of
black bread. will toll in the vineyards
and grow fat on dietary Of onion por-
ridge and grapes. 1t is true that Mr..
Brassey, when building the Continent
al railways, found that one English
navy was worth a couple of spare-fed
foreigners. But, on the other hand,
the British Columbian and Californian
gold diggers. than whom q more mag
niticent set OF athletes does not exist,
live in the remote mountains of the far
West mainly ON beans favored with a
few cubes OF pork. But they also OBJ
tain the best of water and the purest of
air, and their outdoor life and active
exercise enable them to digest every
ounce of their frugal fare. The Eng
lish soldiers, though better fed than
those of any army except the American
do not get one.half the amount of solid
nutriment which the idlest of club
loungers considers indispensable for his
sustenance. An athlete in training is
allowed even less food; yet he prospers
on the limited fare and prolongs his
life by the regimen to which he has
been subjected. King Victor Emman-
uel was monarch of the most robust
physiq ne; yet he only ate one meal
per day, and it is manifestly absurd for
any man to require three more or less
.weighty meals and an afternoon cup OF
tea to support the exertion of walking
to the club, riding an hour in the park,
writing note or two, and dancing
couple of miles around ball room.
The aucients had their amethusto2
or Z" sober stones" by which they e
ulated their indulgence at table. The
molerns have not even this. But they
have their govt and their livers to warn
them, when it is too late, that nature
has been overtasked. Standard.
PROSPERITY DANdEROUs.--Almost any
man can staud adversely, but is takes
strong mind to grapple with sudden
prosperity. An instance OF that comes
from Washington. Augustin j. Am
bier pisssd Friday night in Jail, sleep
inc off the effacts of a bic spree He