The Washington critic. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1889-1889, 1889-05-20
MATTER WORTH READING.

Caddis, Cincinnati hack driver,
treasures 81 bill of the first green
back issue. The Enquirer of thnt city
tells that Salmon r. Chase, while Sec.
retaly of the Treasury. visited Cincin-
natl
shine, sir2' shouted Gaddis, then q
bootblack, TO stranger in the Burnett
House lobby.
"Do your prettiest, said the gentle
man, with smile, "and I'll give you
my photograph.
The boy did not fall In very heartily
with the proposition, as he had no par
ticular use for photographs of his Gus.
toners, but after little bontering he
took the job.
AT the finish the gentleman handed
the boy brand-new 81 bill. That's
my photograph" said he, walking
away.
The 10y glanced from his customer
TO the bill In momentary pcrplexity.
Then the strong resemblance which his
customer bore to the vignette in one
corner of the greenback caugh his eye,
and he knew that the Secretary of the
Treasury had been having little fun
with him at his own expense.
A Cure for Leprosy.
A cure for leprosy has been found,
says Mr.. Clifford, the last European TO
visit Father Damien. II is guriun oil,
the produce of n fir tree which grows
plentifully in the Andaman Island. II
was discovered by DIR, Dougall, and
Mi. Clifford was assured by Sir Donald
Stewart, who was then Governor of the
islands, and who has sent me the official
medical report, that every single case In
the place was cured by It. The lcpors
were convicts, and IL was therefore pos.
sible to enforce four hours day of
rubbing the ointment all over their
bodies, and the taking of two small
doses internally. In some of the cases
| the disease was of many years st md
| ing, and the state to which il had re-
duced its victims was indescribably
dreadful, yet after eight months the
| sufferers were able to run and use a
heavy pickaxe, and every symptom of
| leprosy had disappeared. Father
Damien tried IL, but too late.
The Smallest Republic. r,r
A German traveller has discovered the
very smallest republic in Europe. The
honor, which was claimed for Gersau
until II was absorbed in the canton,
seems TO belong incontestably to the in
dependent hamlet of Goust. This petty
| group of huts, situated few hours'
| distance from Oleron, in the depart.
ment of the Lower Pyrenees, belongs
neither to France nor Spain. II has
somewhat over 100 citizens, WHO live by
silk weaving, and constitute a brave and
Independent commonwealth. They
have no taxes or any other public
charges. They have no mayor moi
other civil official. They have not even
an established church nor priest of their
own, but attend at a neighboring village.
Their very language, an amalgam OF
French and Spanish. is spoken only in
their little land and scarcely understood
elsewhere.
One Way to Lay n Ghost.
"Bill Skimmins buried his father in
d most unhandsome way very near his
barn." said the man at the other end OF
the table. "The neighbors thought II
was shame and made good deal of
talk about it. One of them thought he
would punish Bill by soaring him, and
lay in wait for him near his father S
g.ave on dark night.
| hS Wtut ny VII HIS WHY lIOlIi tlt
barn the man rose up as If from the
tomb, and exclaimed in ghostly voice
| I'm your father, Bill i
Who said you WARMTH Bill an.
1 swered. Git down thar inter yer holC
whar yer belong and he struck him
across the face with bridle he was
carrying such rap that the would-be
alarmist carried the scars for months. !
r. Lewiston Journal.
A Condensed History of Washington
| One of the teachers in the Second
Ward School, Allegheny, celebrated the
Centennial by telling her scholars the
history of Washington, and then re-
| quiring them to write what they re,
/ membered of 1t. This is what one OF
the youngest scholars wrote &c
Washington chopt with his .hatche
and bust into teers. "-TPittsburg Chron
icle-Telcgraph.
| A Famous Name.
The following banns of marriage hrvt
been observed upon the bulletin board
of the Paris Marie: "Dhuleep Singh
profession, Maharajah; son of Runjee
Singh, deceased, and widower of Bamba
Muller, living at24 Rue Marbeuf, Paris
and Ada Douglas WethereH, living a
"a Rue Marbeuf; no professions daugh
ter of Charles Douglas Wetherell de
ceased, and Sarah Charlotte, his wife,
of Greemmorn (sic), England" The
marriage can be celebrated any day af
ter May 8.
Those Cramps.
| There are two idle superstitions about
cramps that come in the legs and star
aman out Of his bed quicker than any
| thing else. One is to stick a jacknife
In the head board of the bed on retiring
| forthe night, and the other is toarrangt
the slippers very carefully, bottom up
at the foot of the bed
Iceland's First Inquiry.
The winter in Iceland has been un.
| usually severe. When, the other day
the first post ship of the season broke
the ice iloes and reached Reajkjavik
the first question asked by the natives
was whether Prince Bismarck was still
alive.