davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
The morning call., 1893-02-26

times finishes with a glass Of port. At :
o'clock, if disengaged. he has afternoon tea.
His dinners are selected 10 lis taste. He
takes soup. fish Of it is to his fancy; but
usually dimes on one dish, which he
selects and does not depart from. He is
very fond Of rice pudding and prunes and
rice. and upon either OF these. but more
especially the former. he would, if the
etiquette Of the dinner table permitted it,
make an entire meal. He drinks claret, and
to his cheese has a liberal glass Of port
wine. Half Of this he takes with his cheese
and sips the remainder in conversation
over dessert When dining out MI Glad
stone takes two OF three glasses Of cham
payne, concluding. as usual. with port. lie
does not drink coffee because il is seldom
made to his liking, and, being as,ringent,
keeps him awake.
While at BarriiZ a rule was made that
Mr. Gladstone should be left alone at lC
O'Clock every night. This rule is likely
to be adhered TO still, and the other
evening while the guest of a friend,
be left at 10:15 and was In bed if
teen minutes later. Mr.. Gladstone has,
with very rare EXCEPTIONS. always slept well,
and for some time was in the habit OF re-
naming in bed until noon. This was when
lie felt fatigued, or desired to think out
some matter which specially engaged him.
But at BiarritZ he never lay in bed but
once. and that was two days before the time
fixed for his departure. when he was at
taxed by cold in the head, and reverted to
his old rule. kept his bed for twenty
four hours. and thus regained his
usual health. Since the right honora-
bic gentleman returned TO London he has
risen early, and is as vigorous and healthy
as his friends could wish. Mr.. Gladstone
lives very plainly, his regimen being guided
by authority, but his appetite in London is
good. On one occasion at BiarritZ lie was
asked how he slept, TO which he replied
gayly, well. | have done my nine hours"
His memory is as keen as ever, and at the
BiarrtZ dinner table, as when lie dimes at
home or with friends in London. he was the
life of the party. On one occasion when
Mr.. Tolemache was present there was a
discussion about classics, and Mr.. Glad
stone quoted not only single lines of Greek.
but whole passages
On the voyage from Calais the channel
was very stormy. and Mr. Gladstone lay
down. but did not suffer from seasickness.
The reports of his i'll health and lessened
vitality have caused the Downing street
postbag TO be unusually heavy. and a grea I
deal of ill-afforded time has consequently
heen expended in refuting these idle inven-
tons.
The morning call., 1893-02-26
RICE CULTIVATION.
The Extent to Which 1t is
Carried in Japan.
TAXES RECKONED IN RICE.
Curious Native Account of Its Origin.
Ancient Farming Implements
Still in Use.
Written for THE MORNING CALL

Rice farming mas been for so many centu-
res the chief agricultural industry OF Japan
and rice grain the principal cereal that to-
day the whole subject is bound UP closely
with all the life and manners Of the people
to an almost incl edible degree.
One of the many classic names for the
country is the Land of the Waving Rice
Plains.
Social rank was more or less dependent
upon the number of koku of rice man
possessed. while all taxes and revenues were
reck oned in that grain until quite recently
If any other cereal was brought into the
reckoning it was reduced to its equivalent
in rice, and calculations were always made
on that basis.
In the JapanSese social scale the rice
farmer ranks above the merchant or the
artisan.
The ''samurai" or gentleman, if necessity
compels, tills the soil and labors like
the yeriest peasant but the occupation of the
The morning call., 1893-02-26

trader or the mechanic he regards as be-
meath him aud degrading to his dignity.
Count Ito, the Trainer of the japanese
constitution and Prime Minister of the en-
Dre, is the son of farmer. and rose to his
present eminence by the sheer force of
ability.
Rice. according to japanese mythology.
is a direct gift of the gods Ama-terasu, the
sun goddess. taught her descendants, from
whom the japanese sprang, tile art Of SOW
ing and reaping and presented them with
the precious gifts OF the five grains-riee,
miliet, barley, wheat and beans.
AS the Emperor Is the lineal desce ndant
OF Ama-terasu it follows naturally that
agriculture Is supposed to belong especially
to the MikadO's realm, though. unlike the
Chinese Emperor, he goes through no SYM
bOlical ceremony OF blowing or sowing
Nominally the Mikado. by virtue of his
divine ancestry, owned all the land and was
''the only landed proprietor in the whole
empire" But in reality each feudal lord
owned his own particular domain and un-
Ger him were the peasants, who were only
lessees, but hereditary lessees. The peas
ant farmer could sell or dispose OF the land
as he chose. but he VAS required TO see that
IL was cultivated in the way ii had always
been and he was responsible II the taxes
were not paid.
The japanese farmer is conservative TO
an incredible degree, and still piows and
sOws and reaps exactly as his IOrefathers
Glu centuries ago. Formerly all the arabic
land was divided into four classes, of which
rice land was the first and most valuable
and the taxes and revenues we're reckoned
al so many kOku Of rice. The koku meas
ureS about $40 of a bushel and in value
ranges according TO variety ana season
from 81 80 10 So. The members of the no.
bility belonged to the daimio or kuge class.
according TO the value Of their estates.
daimiO with an estate valued at 10, QUO
koku was a fendal lord. bnt Of the lowest
rank. Though only portion OF the estate
were suitable for rice culture, all the other
products were calculated on the same basis.
Under these lords the peasan. farmed the
land, giving the daimiO or kuge certain
high percentage of the crop and retaining
the remainder for himself. OF tie portion
that belonged to the lord ii was distributed,
not only to him and his family, but the
Shotgun. or head noble OF the empire, aud
the priests had 10 receive a certain share
also. The samurai. or retainers of the cas-
tie, too. were allowed so many koku of rice,
according TO rank.
Every damio taxed the crop as suited
himself so that in some districts the peas
ants were much oppressed, while in others
the taxes were reasonable and moderate.
Change j., above all things dlslastefu TO
these peasants. lu 1872 a more equable
system of taxation was proposed, and it
was suggested that money should be ac-
cepted instead OF payment in kind. All the
proposed changes were most favorable 20
tie rice farmer. Judge. therefore, of the
so hated change Of any sort that the we'll
The morning call., 1893-02-26
A TRUE FISH STORY.
Where Fish Go and Are Scooped Out
by Wagon-Loads.

Milwaukee Sentinel.
Ii you want to see Fish story" in real
life. one that you can always believe and
tell your children and grandchildren, one
that you can tell your friends aud look them
square in the face and offer to bet money
on. make trip to Beaver Dam and go bout
three miles up the lake and you will see
fish and how they catch them. Over a hum
dred men and boys are there all the time,
dipping fish out of large square holes in the
ice with fiat square nets. Each time net
is filled. which is about once in five min
utes. the fisherman secures from half peck
To bushel of the fnny tribe. Outlines the
nets are too full to lift. and have to be let
down again TO let some of the fish escape
before it is possible TO draw the net out Of
the water, or the owner calls for help from
his nearest neighbOr. The fish caught are.
principally bullheads, with now and then
some perch. pickerel and suckers.
The place where these fish are caught is
among lot OF springs, where the fish go for
warmer water. 1t is not every winter that
fish may be thus easily captured. but only
when the winter is very cold and the ice
thick. The fish then flock in vast schools
to these springs. 1t was formerly believed
that they went there for air, but this idea is
dispelled by the fact that in ordinary win
tiers. other conditions being the same, when
1t Is not so cold, no fish can be found. They
are uot dlN dyS IOuuu 1t the same place,
either, sometimes changing TO other To-
caitleS of the same nature. of which there
are several.
Some fishermen. not having nets, make
good catches by chopping two holes In the
ice several rods apart. The holes soon ell
up with bUllheads, and all the fisherman
has to do is TO scoop them out with pitch
fork. When one hole is cieansed out he
goes to the other one. while the first one
fills up again. Sometimes The pressure from
the fish below forces the upper ones way
out IF the water on the ice. Many fisher
men catch as high as fifty bushels of fish in a
day, and the price they get is from zoe to 40c
per bushel. The market is right there on
the ice. Farmers come from radius of
forty miles to buy fish.
Usually several farmers club together
and send man and team here for load Of
fish, which consists of from forty to sixty
bushels. Some use double-wagon boxes,
while others use frozen pickerel for SIDE
stakes TO keep the bullheads from falling
off. All day long loads OF FISH are seen pass
ing through Beaver Dam. Sometimes as
many as twenty loaded sleighs may be seen
at one time coming off the lake on their way
home. Quite an extensive business is car
ried on by the shippers who buy the TAB,
dress them and ship them to the city mar
kets. where they find a ready sale at good
prices. Some are also sold by the basket in
neighb0ring towns
The morning call., 1893-02-26

with good Intentions; how that this SOL
dies came back two days later. In ghOstly
shape, shiyering and calling earnestly for
his blankets. But the story really belongs
To ManZanilo. where there are a great many
bad people, customs officers included.
The big volcano Of Colima towers up In
the background of Mauzaniilo and The
shore-going passengers may spend two or
three hours not uBpT0htabiy in watching
the alligators in the LagGna de Cayutlan,
close to the town. They are "gators," and
no mistake.
Also Manzanlllo is a good place to con-
tract malarlal fever. II you stay long enough.
Down sunny seas. with sunsets that tinge
The waters bood-red aud hyacnth and pur
pie about the time when the sun dips below
the waves and the ships lights are almost
simultaneously hoisted, you journey to
Acapulco. "In Acapulco Bay" 10 an old
song. Time was when Acapulco was to the
North Pacific great deal more than San
Francisco is now. A lot Of money went
across the Northern Pacific Ocean in those
days in exchange for oriental products, but
il did not all 60 into the pocket Of the
Southern Pacific.
The steamer drifts on to Champerieo. a
Guatemala coffee port, and here for the
second time the flag IS changed. In starting,
the stars and stripes were predominant;
then came the tribute to Mexico, and now
IL is the tribute to Guatemala. So far the
steamer has gone 24S5 miles.
A short trip Of seyenty-six miles takes
the V0yager to San Jose de Guatemala, and
he is under a third flag. He begins to
realize that the world Is bigger than he
thought. and that "a mans a man for a.
that" The big sleeping volcanoes OF Aqua
The morning call., 1893-02-26
DOWN SUNNY SEAS
From the Port of MaZatian
to Panama.
ALONG THE MEXICAN COAST.
Picturesque Scenery and Easy-Going
PeOpIe-The Beauties of the
Tropics.
Written Tor THE MORNING CALL

The prospect of new line of steamers
between New York and San Francisco by
way of the isthmus ought to raise a burn
ing desire In young San Franeiscans to see
something of what the pioneers saw with
out seeking the contour of the North
American continent on the southern side.
About one man in every three in San
Francisco knows the transcontlnental route
by rail-a route of Sagebrush aid Sleepiess-
ness and FIVE days ftful fever-but the old
pioneer route is regarded as desperate
adventure by the sons OF those who 0raVed
it when discOmforts were many and pleas
ures were few.
This new line is public necessity, and 1t
VIII not be long before il will be far cheaper
to travel first class to New York by way OF
the isthmus, with months frst-class
entertainment and board, than TO take the
overland route by The Southern Pacific. A
little healthy com petition VIII do wonders
IN both directions
What sights will be seen on the road and
what risks will be incurred?
Seriously. the v0yager by sea will see a
hundred sights for the overland travellers
one, and as to risks they are about equal
The man who contracts fever on the 18TH
mus nowadays deserves all he gets.
Tie casual wayfarer who has left the
steamer fer few hours ashore will proba-
bly, taste little pulque and mescale. d0Ze
awhile on the beach and then mount the
ships side and be borne north ward or
sOuthward like any man in a stea mer.
There are one or two American hotels in
MaZatlan. and the place is hound TO grow
as the mines in Sinaloa grow. The street.
cars of Mazatlan were built in Wilmington,
Del, and the place is getting Amerlcanized
as fast as the climate will allow IT.
But supDoslng the new line OF steamers
started What are the attractions Of a voyage
by way of the Isthmus as against trans
continen tai trip by rail?
They are many and various.
When The last is seen Of Point LobOs and
the steamer speeds down the coast, the isl
ands Of the south soon looms up in beauty
The Santa Barbara channel is in its own
way golden gate TO summer seas and
Cl0udless Isles OF everlasting summer. San
Miguel and Santa Rosa give way TO Santa
The morning call., 1893-02-26
A WOMAN'S CRY.

He will not comet The dire deserted street
Is black aud silent. save when now and then,
The passing feet. alas OF other
Deceive my aching heart and make II bleed
He VIII not comet
All, who is il that makes him break his tryst,
And almost her poor heart who waits him now,
Pressing against the window-pane the brow
And longing lips lie has often kiSsedg
He win not comet
He VIII not comet and somewhere. far away.
His may hear the echo OF my moan,
Hts eyes may see me watching here alone,
HIS heart may guess my anguish as say.
"He viii not comer'
"He VIII not Gomez the words are ike kneli.
drop tue curtain that with hopefu hand
drew aside. yet finger where stand,
All 10th TO bid his memory farewell
lie will not comet
II VIII not come All. absent one, goodnight
GOODNIGHT. sad street, goodnight. dear Shelf
ring tree:
Goodnight goodnight TO all that breathes
OF thee;
One more last k-good-night to love and lighti
He Will not come!
VIOLET
The morning call., 1893-02-26

known rice riots took place, and all the
plans and details bad to be much NJ odified
before il was possible TO pacify them at all.
OF the grain itself there are many kinds
early, late, and that with brown, black,
white or yellow chaff. besides mountain
rice. so called because 1t requires less irr-
CATION than the other varieties and can be
grown on the hillsides. where 1t f1ourishes
in a climate more severe than can be en-
dured by the more delicate sorts.
The straw of mountain rice is very short
and the crop smaller. In appearance rice
resembles barley more than any grain, but
the kernel is not so plump. Unhulled lice
is called paddy" and so it has become
quite customary TO speak OF the rice mead
ows as "paddy-felds." Despite the legend
OF the sun goddess and her gift of the five
grains it Is an understood fact that rice was
first brought from India TO Japan.
The chief requirements for its successful
cultivation are warmth Of climate and an
enormous amount of moisture. As a con-
sequence of centuries of rice farming
japan possesses a system Of irrigation sew
eral thousand years old. OF all the cereals
this is one Of the most profitable grown, as
II produces from thirty to forty bushels to
the acre, sells at about 80 cents or 81 and is
always in demand. 1t is eaten by the ma
jori.y Of the worlds inhabitants, and IL
forms the daily food Of one-third of the
earth's population.
Among European nations the English and
tie Turks are the greatest rice-eateIs. the
former using il In soups and buildings, and
the latter IN their great national dish,
plan. Though less nourshing than other
grains. il is more digestibe, and so among
many nations Is used much for children
and invalids. There is q popular fallaey to
the effect that rice is the chief and princ.
pal food Of the japanese people. So far as
the towns and cities are concerned il is OF
course true, but rice is altogether too ex-
pensive luxury for country people, and
Inilet, wheat or barley is substituted for the
fact such remarks as the following may
often be heard in the country districts:
Good morning How is o Kku San
to-day?"
Indeed. regret to say she is worse. We
have had 10 get rice for her,"
us she really SO i'll as that"
The inference being, OF course, that the
woman must be very Ill or her friends
would not be compelled TO purchase so ex-
pensiye a dish.
Rice culture is distinct from almost every
other branch of farming and is entirely diff
ferent from wheat or barley growing In
April the seed is planted in a seed bed made
IN one corner Of the field. With a long
handled hoe The farmer digs over the earth,
then levels it and surrounds IL with hard
wall of earth. A gutter is dug by which
water can be flooded over the bed whenever
necessary, and finally heavy layer of
manure Is spread. Tie bed is now ready
to receive the seed.
Af;er the fertilizing is completed the
The morning call., 1893-02-26
The Letter of the Law.
St. Louis GIobe.Democrat.


1.-THE letter OF the law truly furnishes the
queerest Incidents that one may ever wish
to hear Of" remarked Wesley Lewis to
party gathered about In chair circle
in the Laclede. 1.-THE letter of the
law that relates to counterfeit money
is the richest OF all IT., like the
old Mosaic law, commands that no
craven image. however distorted or feeble.
shall be made of any coin, scrip or bond
issued by the powers of the realm. In ac-
cordance TO the literal meaning OF the law
a great stew was brewed up in the city Of
Chicago over painted figure OF $50 note.
local gn-painter of that city contracted TO
paint on one Of the many great signboa rds of
that city an advertisement for local money
loan company. The artist rainted hand
holding great $40 note, fully inches by
feet IN size. and over it were the words
DO you need any money! This went we'll
enough until the Government agent of that
city one day. strolling about, espied the
sign, and. forthwith ordered tho painter to
remove IL. He also ordered the arrest of
the said painter and ordered suit brought.
But. for once In thousand. the spirit of
the Jaw was so apparent and the offense so
justifable that even a Chicago Judge was
enabled TO perceive it, and the unwilling
offender went scot free"
The morning call., 1893-02-26

and Fuego loom up TO remind him that
while pointing froc 1000 to 5000 feet toward
the clouds. they are warnings of pent up
hres lower down. Ambition Is not limited
by height. and Napoleon, Caesar and Alex
ander were all small men. Bat in Central
America the smallest conedwarfs Nesuvius,
and the world is more and more"
The Campo Santo at La Libertad Is the
next interesting object This is the Gene
terry, If you please, and the dead sleep by
suffeIance. for an ugly crater, hall buried
In the water. Is very near. The morrow
Libertad be there. TIE town itself is un-
interesting. The traveller is only ninety
six miles from San Jose de Guatemala, and
La Libertad is in Salvador. and the TWO re-
publics have not loved each other IN the
past and do not love each other now.
1t is peculiar province of tropical resi-
denee TO absolve a man of the fear OF
death. The two ideas-'life and dealt" =
are conterminous. In Panama once walked
out with a healthy man. drank with MN
and dDed with him, and went to his
funeral on the following day.
Ii is so in all tropical America.
Two hundred miles intervene between La
Libertad, in Salvador, and COrinto, n c.
aragua. In 1858 or Whereabouts Napoleon
III, the man of Sedan, whose funeral at
Chlselhurst in 1873 | had the honor" OF
attending, considered that Corinto - or
Rea!eio. as it was then-was the key of
Frances glory in the New World. He
planned the Nicaragua canal. Suisse
quently he planned the Panama canal. and,
if my memory fails not, Count Ferdinand
de LesSeps, now convict, assisted the
Empress Eugene to escape from Paris
after Sedan.
From Corinto to Panama is Just 5S4 miles,
In Panama and the adjacent islands, or
Monkey Hin and about Gatun ard Gorgona
lie some 10000 mute witnesses OF tle canal
fraud. They have gone a long Journey
ours has been a short one.
And yet we have left ont Walker, the
gray-eyed man of destiny, and Barrios and
Bolivar. all of whom. possibly. only lived
before their time-or. as was said of the
Pharoahs, fulfilled the time appointed"
T. c. ID,
The morning call., 1893-02-26

Catalina and San Clemente; and suddenly
the voysger is off blue and beautiful San
Diego. And then, without break, he
skins past Lower California, past Mazda
lena Bay and is suddenly shot into MAJ
allan. in the republic of Mexico.
Hitherto he has seen little but clouds and
fog belts and stray glimpses OF semi tropical
ports, whereof the brown ranges of noun
tains are but IS b0a;d fences to keep the
country warm.
But as the steamer puts into Mazatlan the
traveller realizes that he is in new land /:
and be beholds for the first time the glory
Of a tropical sunset. Once In way
pretty sunset may be seen al the Golden
Gate. The sunsets on Suisun Bay are
always worth painting. But tropical sun
set-it is something so different; 1t Is the
rainbow without a cloud. man looking
al sunset in the tropics does not see
nature through glass darkly." lie sees
face 70 face"
AS for Mazatlan. it can be seen In three
hours. A Spanish American town OF to-day
Is the town of yesterday aud hundred
years ago. "and It may be forever spoken
without any iTreyerence.
The sane old-fashioned semicrcular
b ked clay pipes which conduct the rain of
the Mission Dolores In San Francisco to-
day have performed the same Office in all
Pacific Coast towns south Of San Diego for
hundreds OF years.
The houses and streets in Mazatlan are
distinctly Mexican. though thu town itself
is more Ameriean-llke than any other on
the coast, within the tropics.
Little streets which al MONDAY are like
I'm oven; adobe walls foot thick; uniyer-
sal iassitude at MONDAY; universal friTOlity
after sundown-such is MaZatlan.
II Is not far cry from MaZatlan 10 San
Bias, mere matter of 120 miles. But once
now within the tropics (sOr MaZatlan is right
on tile Tropic Of Ca1cer) and everything on
q ship is changed. The passengers begin to
lose flesh and clamor for lemonades, lines
and sundries; the captain sports white fan
nels and the awning gives grateful shade.
San Bias IS one OF the unhealthy spots Of
the world. The SDanlards made name and
fame and money there, but every native son
Of California to-day who is wise will leave
the bells OF San Bias" out OF his steamer
programme.
II can look ashore and see the mouth Of
q big river, and the inevitable custom-
house: he can, If he is wise, angle for red
snappers and the thousand and one tropical
fish that will cOngregate around the
steamer, with a spoon or other bait. He
VIII have great sport, and he viii do better
for his health than by going ashore.
4 run OF 1876 miles takes the steamer to
Manzanllo, which is the real chosen spot
Of that Yuma soldier blanket story. Mark
Twain has recorded it and of course every
one TecOllects il; how that United States
soldier stationed al Yuma, ana "a bad man
from BOdie al that" shuffied off this mortal
coil, and (as all his friends believed and
hoped went TO place said to be paved