The Washington critic., 1889-05-31
MATTER WORTH READING.

light or brown hair appears upon his
silky skin. lie Is as black as dress Of
black silk. He Is probably n native OF
southern Asia and rare specimen,
though black leopards are not uncom-
mon there Look him in the face and,
cat-likc, he shuts his green eyes and
tulns his head. Rather under the full
size Of the best Of leopards, 1.-the Of limb
and powerful, this rare beast Of the
jungle takes his prison life with appar-
ent contentment. lie lies part of the
time stretched out upon the bottom Of
his cage, with his eyes closed, but he is
so nearly awake all the time that a
softly touch of q stranger hand would
rouse him TO anger. This leopard does
not change his spots" yet he has
somewhere, probably, brother who l.
spotted. lie seems, says the Cincinnati
Enquirer, TO live happily with beau.
iifully spotted leopard, a little larger
than himself, with whom there appears
10 be no III temper or family quarrels.
is he dangerous 2"
The attendant replied mot at all
when he is safely confined, but let him
loose and there would be trouble at
every jump"
"Oh, yes; there are times when his
low, savage growl, or purr.r Is enough
TO give one n fair warning
But he Is tame, Is he not2 2"
Tame That creature never will
be tame. He is under subsection only
when he Is in close confinement. One
leap into the open air and his savage
nature would burst out. His move.
ments are quicker than those of lion
and he could carry off 2.year old
buck"
rs there any other black leopard in
this country p
II believe not, and very few exceptin
Southern Asia. This one is very black
| and q rare animal"
"Worder IL Sarah Bcrnhardt would
Ike bim for pet--she likes little
tigers"
'Saroh Ecrnhardtg Every bone in
her body he would crush as you would
ciumble q peanut in your teeth. This
beautiful black bird is q pet only
when he is very safely confined. See
how quietly he lies there now, but let
him loose upon that lawn and he would
lie transferred into q Wild and different
animal in au instant. His innate dispo
sition is not of the lovelicst sort. His
affection Is for uucooked beef. You
had better not put your hand through
the bars to stroke his fur; with one
stroke of his paw his long, strong claws
would tear the flesh from your bones. 1"
Breeding Rats In London.
In London, where rafting is much
more in vogue than IL is here, some of
the fancy iriod TO breed rats They
succeeded to q certain extent, aud pro-
duced great number. But they were
no good. Being in fact domestic ami.
mails, they were not much afraid of the
terriers, and the dogs, az consequence,
killed them in tardy, half-heartcd
way that would insure their defeat
against time or rivals in pit. A big
rat is not always the best. lie is apt
TO be slow and to die without strug-
| gle. The large, fat sewer rat is gen
orally overfcd, end can neither run nor
fight. A medium-sized animal, thin
and hungry, is probably the best.
When he is cornered he will often
spring at the terrier, grip him under
the lower jaw, out of reach of his
teeth, and hold on for dear life. If the
dog knows his business he will waste
no tine in tr, ing TO scIape him Off with
his paws. lie will go straight on with
his work, killing the other rats in the
| pit, until the one that is clinging TO his
chin gets tired and drops off, when he
will not be likely to have another
chance New York Sun.
1he Newest Night Gown.
The empire night gov is about the
dantiest most visionary, intangible cug-
gestion Of garment Imaginable. II is
made of the finest, thinno3t grass linen
ever woven and stitched and EN-.
broidered entirely by the deft fingers of
skilled needlewomen. A touch of the
ordinary machine work would be sacri.
lege to the ethereal slumber-goNn Il whose
every seam is not seam at all but Il
tiny beading of embroidery set between
two rolled edges of the material and
fastened by invisible stitches. 1t is
drawn up into fine shirring about the
low surplice neck, back from which
turns full broad flounce cat in dcep
points and edged with real Valenciennes
lace. just below the bust the material
is shirred by ribbons run under lace in
lerting into the short, full Josephine
waist, the folds falling straight again to
the feet, where nu nberless tiny tucks
are run in by hand. The sleeves afC
full-puffed affairs, ending in the broad
rufilc just below the clbow.-[ NewY ork
Sun.
| A Flags Centenary.
This wear Is the centenary of the
French flag, which Is q tricolor, like
our own. On the 11th of July, 1880
Lafayette conceived the idea of plac
ing the white emblem of ROYALTY be
He thus composed cockade which wa
recognized by all classes rs a symbol Of
reconciliation and hope A few week.
later, when Bailly received Louis XVI
in the great hall of the Hotel dc Vile
he offered him the new emblem, ans
the King graciously placed 1t in his hat
The National Guards of Paris, eacl
body Of which had different standard
then adopted the cockadc, and in 170:
the form and dlmensors, as well rs tn
colors of this national ensign, Were e3
tablished by law. II Is expressly for
hidden TO use 1t Cor advertising pur
poses, and n law should be passed I,
the same effect in this country concern
ing our own flag.
A Penitent Monkey.
Spring bings the turnpike musician
and monkers IN ereai numbers. Will
one pair of the-e were giving concer
ON Main street, in Carbondale, Pa, to
crowd of youngsters and two inebrlate,
countrymen, one of the men gave tn
monkey a cent, for which il dolfed it
cap jGuntily. Then the counhymel
teased the lille animal until it buriet
its teeth in the mans finger to the bone
When the blood gushed from the wount
the monkey looked regrelfully at tn
finger, then into the mans face, an,
handed back his money. No amour