The Princeton union. [volume] (Princeton, Minn.) 1876-1976, 1891-08-13

4 III y y
self-control gave him prestige in the
eyes OF the masses, who in Germany.
Us rs ELSEWHERE, are apt to believe that
sHence means strength We live in a
voluble age, when almost every intel
ligent man has q pet theory or pursuit
TO which he wishes to convert his
ne1ghbors. The able man who knows
how to hold his tongue in even one
language will probably be credited
with more wisdom than if he could
maintain his opinion with clearness
or eloquence.
The easiet thing for great man
to DO" said John Randolph, lis to
make speech; the most difficult to
act right and keep silent.'
II any young reader wraps himself
IN reserve, and becomes reticent and
cold among his fellows in order to
gain respect, he must remember that
Moltke, dumb without his ten langu-
ages, his accuracy and mastery OF
strategy, would have remained sub
lieutenant all of his life.
An old Spanish proverb says, "None
speak better than the ant, who says
nothing and-works."
Teddy Drawers.
The luxuriant groves of cocoa palm
which clothe the seaboard Of the
southern shores Of Ceylon are in the
not, dry provinces OF the northeast
IN great measure replaced by an in
| calculable multitude of PALMYRA
palms, which form a belt of dark
green all along the coast, flourishine
even on the brink Of the salt coral
sand, where at high tide the blue wa.
tiers battle the roots of their sturdy
black stems, which stand like reei
ments OF well drilled soldiers, fault
lessly upright and unbendingly stiff.
The Palmyra palm does not begir
bearing fruit till it is upwards of ter
years OF age, but a Comparatively
small number OF the trees are allowed
to develop their crop of beautiful
! nuts, the majority being tortured in
to yielding onl y their luscious sap
| which, when allowed to ferment, be-
come slightly Intoxicating, and is
known as toddy-doubtless so named
by some early Scotch planter, in re.
membrance Of the whisky toddy OF
the north.-By exposure to the sun,
the toddy becomes vinegar, or il
sugar is required, little lime is mixed
with the sap, which lis then boiled
down to thick syrup and poured into
baskets made from the PALMYRA
leaf, and allowed to harded. In this
state it sold as jaggery sugar.
In order to obtain the sap the tod
dy drawers, vino are marvellously ex-
pert climbers ascend to the crown OF
leaves, beneath which, each Graded in
a solid sheath of 'spathe," are the
punches OF ivory-like blossoms bear
ing the embryo nuts. These are
ruthlessly bruised and cut out several
successive days, to facilitate the flow OF
sap, and each spathe is tightly bound
to prevent it's expansion.
The work of the toddy drawer is no
slnecure, forthough by the aid of loop
OF flexible vine passed round his ANGLES,
so as to enable him to grasp the trunk
CT the tree with his singularly prehen-
s1ble feet, he contrives to climb
with monkey-like agility, one man
can scarcely manage to ascerd
more. than twenty trees every
morning; SO to lessen the climbing,
and yet enable each man to work a
hundred trees daily, half-a-dozen palm
tops are connected by ropes, along
which the drawer passes from tree to
tree. Sometimes, for security, a sec,
cond set of ropes is added some feet
higher up; but even with these it is a
work Of danger, a considerable mum.
Der OF deaths, and of horrible acci
dents, resulting from this practice be-
| sides the fatalities recorded.
In the annual reports of deaths
from accidents, a considerable mum.
Der are shown to be caused by failing
from trees; | have this list for 1879
1888, and 1887, and l see the deaths
under this head are respectively, 225
$50, and 526, and the majority OF the
victims were toddy drawers. who in
some cases lost their hold on the
slender coir rope while collecting the
sap, but more often perish from its
breaking as they pass from one high
tree top to another, Sometimes the
ropes are rotten, sometimes they are
injured by rats; and in some cases
there has been reason to suspect an
enemy of half cutting the rope.
The men engaged in this work are
of a very low caste, and in too many
cases their hardly earned wages re.
turn to the toddy merchant. There
are, however, some brilliant except.
ions, notably a village near Battica,
loa, whose whole population have fo1
20 years proved staunch Christians,
notwithstanding an amount of perse.
cutions from neighb oring villagers Of
higher caste, which one would fair
have deemed impossible in an island
under British rule.-C, F. Gordon
Cummings, in the Sun Magazine.
How to Play Menagerie.
Sides being chosen, the leaders seat
themselves facing each other, about
four feet apart the membersof each side
grouping themselves as near their res
| pective leaders as possible, but back
or at the side Of them. One leader be.
oips Iu ,naptiopipo tho ro,,a az q ;,