The Portland daily press., 1892-03-09

While he was thus playing he was
startled to hear some one moaning and
wailing outside the cell window, so he
climbed up on the stone ledge. Looking
out he saw the queerest figure, dressed
all in white satin, its head covered by
an immense, tall, pointed hat, lying fat
on the ground and sobbing bitterly.
"Who may you be, OH sad one, and
why do you weep?" asked Nestri.
The figure did not move, but answered:
Gill am the hea-a-ad co-o-o-ok of the
co-o-o-oking college, and to-o-o-morrow
Ill must lo-o-ose my head and
b-b-b- beautiful b-b-bl-black cue, four
teen f-f-fe-e-et long, b-because Ill
cannot think of a-a a-a new dish for the
emperor's great feast. B-b-b-boo-ho-o-o-
ough!'
And Nestri pitied him SO much that
he said:
.sHere, head cook of the cooking col
lege, hold your hat"
And the head cook of the cooking col
lege stood up and held his hat.
Then Nestri emptied his bag of cur
rant jelly into it, saying:
with this fill twenty faky tarts, and
by the great Punjabian idol, if you give
them to the emperor for his feast, then
is your precious head safe"
And sure enough, at the feast the fol-
lowing day, the emperor was SO delight
ed with the currant tarts that he con-
ferred the order of the Iron Chopsticks
and the Yellow Button on the head
cook of the cooking college.
Then Yuhwhan Khan summoned the
, chief counselor. to him, saying: s
''Now. chief counselor, can you pro-
duce novelty for our entertainment
And the chief counselor ordered Mes
tri, who had been brought from the
prison, to play.
And the emperor was entranced with
the music. But it seemed so easy to
play on the reed flute that the emperor
was sure he could perform artistically
upon it, so he made Nestri let him take
his reed flute.
Now Nestri was no simpleton, and he
did not wish the emperor to know how
easy it was to play on the reed flute, so
just before he gave it to him he stuffed
the rolled up sheet of thin iyorine back
into the flute out of sight.
The emperor puffed out his fat cheeks.
pursed up his lips and blew once, but
not sound came. He blew a second
time, and no sound was forthcoming;
a third time-a tremendous blast-and
this time the wind forced the receipt
for the current jelly out of the flute and
it fell on the floor at the foot of the en-
peror's throne.
Then the emperor was furiously an
CRY and he hurled the reed flute at Mes
tri, hoarsely bawling:
"Get thee gone, thou hoodoo!'
And Nestri ran for his life; but the
the receipt on the thin sheet of ivorine
was left behind.
1t was as the great-grandmothe had
said, the taste of the currant jell caused
warning and strife.
Yuhwhan Khan was obliged to go into
a ship out on the sea and carry the re-
ceipt with him to keep it away from the
other kings and emperors who were so
anxious to possess it.
One afternoon, as the fat old fellow
was sitting on the deck of his junk and
carefully holding the rolled up sheet of
ivorine, an albatross flying above mis-
took it for piece of macaroni.
The big albatross knew that macaroni
was very nutritious, and being hungry
he swooped down and stole the iyorine
roll.
And now there arose a fierce storm,
and the cruel emperor's junk was sunk
and he drowned. But the wind blew
the albatross right inland.
It blew so hard and so long that the
great bird was finally driven northwest.
entirely over Europe and Asia, until he
dropped at last on the coast Of Ireland,
where he was found by two Irish gen
tlemen more dead than alive. Clutched
spasmodically in his claw was the re-
ceipt on the ivorine roll.
"What is it?' said one.
"And it's not that know, Murry."
Don't you, Mr.. Hayward? Take an
other look at it. Being professor, you
might know what those funny letters
are"
So the professor looked again, and be-
ing very wise he was able to guess at
what the queer letters were.
"Sure, Murry, we have found a Won
derful receipt for making the filing for
em?-'m?-yes, filling for tarts. And,
furthermore, I'm thinking that this same
receipt was written by a Tartar"
"Uncle Jack, don't you think you
could draw some pictures of the crest
and the emperor and Nestri, and"-
''Wait just moment. You must
have mistaken me for a full fedged
amusement bureau"
mo, not 'sactly, Uncle Jack. Please
lean down here"
Uncle Jack leaned down close to
Paul's pillow, and the little fellow whis-
pered:
''No, not 'sactly; but you are really
just as entertaining as the clowns at the
circus, and l thank you.-A. S. Il. in
Boston Globe.
Cotton Mills of the South.
The cotton mills in the southern states