The Washington critic., 1889-06-07
MATTER WORTH READING

A Chinese native paper published re
Gently collection of some geological
myths of that country, few of which
are worth noting. In Shan-si there is
bird which can divcst itself Of its feath.
crs and become woman. At Twan
sin chow dwclls the Wan-mu Mao
(mother of mosquitoes), fish. eating
bird. from whose mouth issue swarms
of mosquitoes when it cries. Yung-
chow has its stone-swallow. which flies
during wind and rain, and in fine
weather turns to stone again Another
bird when killed gives much oil to the
hunter, and when the skin is thrown
into the water ii becomes u living bird
sgain With regard to animals, few are
SO useful as the 9Th kin" OK, found in
Kansuh, from which large pieces of flesh
are cut for meat and grow again in II
single day. The norman Of the South
crl seas can weave kind of silky fab
ric which keeps house cool in summer
if hung up in one Of the rooms. The
tears Of this norman are pearls. A
large hermit-crab is attended by little
shrimp which lives in the stomach of
its master; ii the shrimp is successful in
lis depredations the crab flourishes, but
the latter dies if the shrimp does not re-
turn from its daily excursions. The
"Ho,lo" is a fish having one head and
len bodies. The myths about snakes
arc the strangcst Of all. Thus the
square snake of Kwangsi has the power
of throwing an inky fluid when at
tackled, which kills its assaiants at
once. Another snake can divide itself
up into twelve pieces, and each piece,
If touched by a man, will instantly gen.
crate head and fangs at each end.
The calliAg snake asks the traveller;
"Wherc are you from, and whittier arc
YOU bound Z" If he answers, the
snake follows him for miles, and,
entering the hotel where he is sleeping,
raises fearful stencil. The hotel pro-
prietor, however, guards against this by
putting centipcde in box under the
pillow, and when the snake gives forth
the evil odor the centipedc is let out,
and, flying at the snake, instantly kills
him with bite. The fat Of this snake,
which grows to great size, makes oil
for the lamps, and produces flame
which cannot be blown out. In Burma
and Cochin China is snake which has
in the female sex face like pretty
Snis Nitu WV iCtt uhNNi WV
neck. each with five fingers, exactly
like the fingers of human hand. The
male is green in color, and has long
beard Il will kill tiger. but fox is
more than a match for IL.
An Ugly Woman who Was Loved.
The smart Jacket is of white cloth
braided with gold and having II roya'
purple velvet collar and cuffs 1t il
wonderfully swell, but, oddly enough
Just such n jacket was worn and ap
proved of by the Princess dc Metternicl
In lhc days of the Second Empire
What wonderful woman she was
With no beauty, but with wonderful
auount of wit, she managed to dress SC
that men approved of and were at
iractcd by her toilettes always, and &c
''fhc women she was continual study
rs 10 the last and most beautiful mode
She could rule an empire Of diplomats
by her wit and an empire Of women by
her tact She knew the value Of little
things, and seldom made mistakes. She
could understand how politician in
disfavor to-day might be monarch of all
be surveyed tomorrow, and partly
through kindness, partly through policy
she was ready to give a helping hand tc
the one in disgrace. Az once the wit
iicst and ugliest woman of her time,
She was more passionately loved than
her more beautiful and less audacious
sisters n. Y Graphic.