Lancaster daily intelligencer. [volume] (Lancaster, Pa.) 1864-1928, 1889-02-02

On board the steamer We bad Ave Ameri-
caD who passd The eight days Of the voyags
b playing poker The smoking room rang
from morning to night with the oaths thse
thsy uttered every time they laid card On
tie tabiA They wers % fluent with them
that tAey hardly used the ams twice IN an
hour. Their stock scegned inexhauatiblA On
Sunday altar breakfast . young lady as
down 10 The plano, and began playing hymnA
wtAs happened theni Our I've poker play.
ers gathered round the lady and, Ter two
hour, sang psalms and holy hymns to The
sdi6cation Of the other occupants Of the
saloon.
wss dumfounded
In France We have men who swear, and
men who ding hymnA The Anglo-saxon racs
alous can furnish men who do both with
equal gusto.
In what other country than America could
such IN anecdots as the following be toldi Il
b the most typically American anecdots I
heard In the United States II came from
Mr.. Chauncey Depew, II Il said But, for
that matter, when o good story goes the
round Of the states, It Is always put down to
Mr.. Depew, Mark Twain. or the late Artemus
Ward.
A new minister had been appointed In Q
little kentucky town. No sooner had be
taken possession Of his cure than he sct about
ornamenting the church with stained glan
windows Of gorgeous hues This proceeding
aroused the suspicious OF several parishioners,
who imagined that their new pastor was In
clined to lead them to Rome A meeting
was called, and It was decided to send q depu.
tation to the minister to ask him TO explain
his conduct, and beg him to have tho offend
ing windows removed.
The head Of tho deputation was an old man
Of Presbyterian proclivities, whose austerity
was well known In the town. He opened fire
by addressing the reverend gentleman thu:
1--WE have waited upon you, sir, to beg that
you will remove those painted windows from
our church as soon as possible. We are Sim
pie folks, Gods own light Is good enough for
n, and wo don't want to havo 1t shut out by
al those imagos"-
The worthy man had prepared flne har-
angue, and was going to give tho minister
the benefit Of it all; but tire latter, losing
patience, thus interrupted him:
Excuse mo, you seem to DO taking high
ground; who are you, may askf'
"Who am Ir repeated the good old spokes-
man. "I'm q meek and humble follower of
Jesus, that's what am, and, - d-n you,
who are your
Without travelling very far, without even
quitting the eastern coast Of America, you
win sec complete difference In the spirit Of
towns That arc almost neighbora
In New York, for instance-Ia arm not speak.
ing now Of the literary society, Of which I
shall speak ater-in New York, It e your
money that will open all doors to you; In
Boston, It Is your learning; In Philadelphia
and Virginia, 1t Is your gencalogy. There
fore, II you wish to 10 q success, parade your
dollars In New York, your talents in Boston,
and your ancestors In Philadelphia and Rich
moDd.
Scarcely has foreigner set foot In the
United States before they ask him what he
thinks Of the country. Nine persons out Of
every ten you speak to put these three ques.
tions to you;
~ us this your first visit to American
C9 SHOW long have you been overr'
@ "How do you like our countryf'
There are even some who push curiosity
further, and do not wait until you have ar
rived to ask for your opinion on America.
I had only just embarked on board tho
Germanic, at Liverpool when the purser
handed me q letter from New York. I
opened It and read,
"DEAR SR-Could you, during your voy-
age, write me an article on the United Statesi
Ishould be happy to have your preconceived
notions Of America and the Americans, 20 as
to publish them In my Journal as soon as you
arrive"
An Englishman or Frenchman win never
ask you what you think Of England or France
The Frenchman docs not doubt that his coun-
try Is beyond competition II no enter into
the subject at all, 1t Is to congratulate the
stranger upon coming 70 visit It.
The Englishman Is perfectly persuaded
that his England Il the first country In the
world and that everybody admits 1t, and tho
idea Of asking an outsider for his opinion Of
II would never enter his head. He would
think II 30 ridiculous. so amusing, 20 gro
tesque, that any ono should tell him England
was not at the head Of all nations, that he
would not take the trouble to resent it He
would pity the person, and the matter would
60 no further.