Morning journal and courier., 1885-09-26


 young or so pretty as she did last Saturday, when she came out smiling under her be- witching little gable-fronted cap. Although she did not rise to great heights in the pas sionate and pathetic parts, her outbursts of naive gaiety at the prospect of seeing her old home again reused the house to enthusiasm, and her pretty coaxing attentions to her father were all faultless acting.
 A good anecdote is told this week of how Prince Bismarck became the staunch friend of his medical adviser. During stay at Carlsbad, the German chancellor one day feeling indisposed sent for the now celebra- ted Dr. Schweininger, who of course lost no time in responding to the call. According to his wont he began to catechise his patient infinitely, 50 much so that the irascible prince got angry and said sharply, "1 shall be glad if you won't ask me such lot of questions" Schweininger, nothing daunted, replied qui- etly, 'l am at your service, Prince. But II you wish to be prescribed for without being questioned I will advise you to send for a veterinary surgeon; he will be your man" The mighty chancellor WAS very wroth, and for minute or two things looked bad for the daring doctor. But Prince Bismarck did not strangle him. Ho thought better of it and composing himself said, "Well, ques- ton then if you must. I only hope you will prove as skillfu1 in medicine as you are rude in manners"
 The French have right to be proud of their nationality. France is the first coun-. try in the world-in matter of taxes. The Germans pay 55 francs annually per head, the Italians 5S, the English 57, the Ameri- cans 59 and the French 107, with every pros pect of an increase after the elections if the Oppo1tunists are returned. The least taxed European countries are Russia, it appears, with 36 francs per person, and Spa1n with 33. Some people say that the republic is the cheapest form of government, but as Roche fn,.tr lyoI fha ntha 6aU Branch are not living under a republic, but en op- portunisme."
 The divorce supper, says contemporary, is the latest institution of society. It holds the same relative position to the wedding breakfast as the burial service does to the baptismal. As soon the decree nisi is pro- nounced the petitioner and respondent invite to the divorce supper the co respondent or correspondents, the witnesses, the counsel and the judge, who acts the part of the venera- ble clergyman at the wedding festivities. The ex- bride is attended by her maids, who are usually the maids who have given evil dence in court as to their mistress little re- captions during the absence of her husband The ex- bridegroom has his groomsmen with him, who are generally the coachmen and grooms who have driven their master to Q little villa in Pimlico or St. Johns Wood. There is the divorce cake in which is en- bedded a broken wedding ring, and which is
 
 ''forget-me-not" and Novelties bleeding 7" It is also decorated with the pressed and dried floral keepsakes which were carefully garnered during courtship. There are slip pers to throw after the disunited couple as they drive away after supper in separate cabs-the very slippers which were so care fully warmed the first year of matrimony. There are showers of rice to symbolize the rise and fall of love in the human breast. There is also champagne to indicate that mat rimony is preceded by "pep," bursts like bubble and soon lies flat and sour at the bot tom of the glass. The toast of the evening, Brown versus Brown, Jones and Robinson" /" is drunk with enthusiasm and the company part.
 The French public is very excited over a mysterious affair just now. A woman is ac- cused of having murdered her mistress ill order to possess herself of the 1ady's proper ty. The accused says that her mistress is not dead but gone into a convent somewhere in Luxenburg, No one believes the story, but to satisfy his conscience the 5uge din struction has issued description of the missing lady. Among other possible clues to identify 1 find the following: "In reli- zion 8 very lukewarm Catholic, at least up to the time of her disappearance. Only fast ing on Good Friday and attending mass only on great feast days" Surely if that Lady is not discovered early next week there is some thing very wrong in the organization of the detective force in France
 Surely decent human life ought not to be an urobtainabls thing for every worker in a Christian country. Yet it is unobtainable to thousands in England, it seems, for it can scarcely be called decent human life to have to work from five or six in the morning till midnight, Sundays and week days, without time allowed for meals or recreation, to say nothing of family life. This, it appears, is the lot of the servants employed by tramway companies. It is small wonder that these white slaves, joined by omnibus drivers and conductors and booking office clerks, are holding meetings'to protest against the in humanity of the treatment. The directors of companies naturally aim at paying the biggest possible dividends. It is for share holders to see that, while they are subscri- bing to the suppression of the slave trade in Africa, they are not doing themselves little slave driving at home. There is less and less of 'stslescopic philanthropy"
 The shabby attire of many inventors to be seen daily at the South Kensington exhibi tion has suggested to Punch that if necessi- ty is the mother of invention, invention is too often the mother of necessity.
 MAX O'RELL.