Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1892-06-19

be many sizes too large, and dolls ward
| robe had to do duty for the occasion. As
the christening day approached, Bebe's
mother was perplexed as to how she was to
| get him to church, as he was far too small
| to carry on the arm. She at
| length decided to make, him . little
bed in her own wooden shoe, and in this she
carried him to the church. The same
wooden shoe afterward served him for .
cradle till he was months old. The little
creature made very slow progress, and only
learned to work at the end of two years.
When the village cobbler was ordered to
make the child q pair of shoes he found the
task so difficult that he had to give it up.
fsasking1n Royal Favor.
When Bebe was years old, King STAN
islas, who at that time resided in Lorraine,
heard of the dwarf and wished to see him.
The father, on being informed Of this, went
to Court, carrying his son with him in q lit
tie basket. He was asked why he had not
brought his child, whereupon the peasant
opened the basket and produced
the little prodigy, who was ex-
actly % inches in height and weighed
eight pounds The boy had pleasant face
and his body was we'll proportioned. His
voice sounded like an infants, and he, had
consiueI6Die uimcultV III talklng. e Or every
conceivable object he used the expression
'.Bay Bay" for which reason he received
the nickname of Bebe The King had diff
Guilty in persuading the father to leave the
child in his custody, but at last took
home o considerable sum of money and the
conviction that the little fellow was now
we'll provided for.
King Stanislas engaged instructors for his
diminutive protege, who, however, made
but little headway in reading and writing,
his memory being SO deficient that he for
got almost everything he learned in fort
night. He acquitted himself better in singing
and dancing, and afforded endless amusement
to his royal benefactor and his noble guests
On the occasion of a grand banquet, which
was given in honor Of a foreign ambassador,
the center of the royal table was decorated
with gigantic pile of sugar in the shape of
. baronial castle, which the guests con-
templated in establishment, and waited to
see it demolished, when suddenly the gate
opened and q knight in full armor stepped
forth. This was none other than our little
Bebe. After marching round the table, and
threatening each of the guests in turn with
his tiny sword, he, walked back to the
castle gate, where he stood sentry until
the time for dessert had arrived, when, on a
signal from the King, he Was pelted with
ugar-plums, SO that he had to retreat into
his iastness
Attempts to Abduct the Dwarf
The fame of our little hero spread far and
wide, and this got him into trouble, as
many attempts, were made to spirit him
away to some foreign country. An emissary
of Queen Catherine OF Russia was even de-
tected in the act of carrying him off con-
cealed under his cloak. The King, there
tore, consigned him to the custody Of
couple OF pages, 30 that the poor little fel-
low was nothing better than prisoner.
The poor dwarf took this very much to
heart and fell into melancholy, though
everything was done to cheer his captivity.
He was provided with little house on
wheels, containing a suite of rooms adapted
to his size and daintily fitted up. A couple
of white pigeons, no larger than sparrows,
were great tavorites Of his.
When the King visited Louis XIV. at Yer
sailles he took Bebe with him. Here he
was caressed and spoiled by the
ladies, some of whom even tried
to lure him away from his benefac-
tor. On one occasion he said to the
King "Mon ami, this lady here wants to
put me in her pocket and run off with me-"
He was subsequently married to little
peasant girl from the Vosges and not much
taller than himself, but died two years after
the event. Theresa Souvrsy, his widow,
lived to the age Of 63, and frequently ap-
peared on the stage at Auguste Lecomte's
Theater in Paris.
A Diminutive but Famous Painter.
Johann Wilhelm Preyer, the famous
painter OF still life, who died at Dusseldorf
not long ago, was remarkable small speci-
men of the genus homo, differing, however,
from ordinary dwarfs in the symmetry and
exact proportion Of all the parts Of his
diminutive frame. When between 20 and
80 years Of age, his fresh, ruddy and beard
less face and the shrill and boyish tone of
his voice caused people to take him for
child of at most. The illusion was still
further heightened by his dress, short,
black velvet jacket, with large, turn-down
collar, over which his smooth parted hair
hung in thick clusters
Once Preyer set out for Munich to inspect
the art treasures in that city, and to visit
his old patron, "Master" Cornelius the
former President of the Dusseldorf Acad- /
emy. When Preyer called at the house of
the latter, he had gone out, and the servant
who had answered the door ran in to tell
her mistress that a little boy was waiting
outside to see the master. The lady went
to speak to the visitor.
''What is it you want, my child?" she
asked the painter, who at the approach of
the lady took of his velvet cap and made
deep bow, saying in his shrill voice: 'I
wish to speak to Herr Cornelius"
'He is not at home; but If you will step
this way you can wait for him; he will not
be long"
So saying, she took the little fellow into
the parlor, and offered him stool to sit on.
In short time the fair hostess became quite
charmed with her youthful visitor, and at
last she lifted him on her lap and listened
with delight to the innocent prattle of the
clever ''child." Suddenly the door opened,
and Cornelius appeared on the threshold.
Taking in the situation at q glance, he called
out: "Ah! good morning, Herr Preyer!
How on earth did you get there?"
"Herr Preyer" and, with shrek or hor-
TOR, Frau Cornelius jumped up, tumbling
Herr Preyer on the floor, and fed into the
next room. HENRI RoLLIN PARKER.
Philosophy.
The signs is bad when folks commence