The Washington times., 1894-06-17
About Men Only; Personal
and Philosophical

Behanzin, the King OF Dahomey, is said to
| have high and intelectual-iooking forehead.
| He looks every inch like royal parsonage,
| and is usually dressed in flowing blue and
black striped gown, a Venetian hat and yell
| low sandals. His meals are prepared In
| vorite dish.
Mendelssohn, when boy, was passionately
| fond ofgymnastics; later in life he was devoted
to all sorts of athletic exercises, but especially
to riding, swimming, and dancing. Had he
not been musician he might have made
success as IN artist. The number Of finished
| sketches, both in pencil, pen ard ink. crayon
! and water colors, is very considerable, for
wherever he went, when he saw anything
worth sketching and had the time. he sat
down and sketched 1t, finishing it at his
leisure. The drawings and water colors are
all very carefully done.
He was vouminous letter writer, says the
st. Louis Globe-Democrat. and kept all the
letters he ever received. They are still pre-
served just as he filed them, In twenty-seven
very large thick volumes. No sketches Of
his music exist, for he does not seem to have
made any, preparing the whole OF long
note. His improvisation, both on the organ
and on the piano. was the wonder OF his con-
temporaries. He had very long fingers, and
was accustomed to train the second and third
OF each hand by practicing trills several min
utes each day.
Following are the remarks made by Rev.
John L. Scudder, of the Tabernacle, Jersey
City, in advocating Sunday bicycling, before
he recommended the erection of outbuildings
for them:
"The bicycle mania is spreading far and
wide, and we rejoice in it, Tor wheeling is a
noble sport and destined to improve the
American stock. This craze is more than
passing fad. 1t is an abiding and increasing
popular form of recreation.
'The bicycle is u thoroughly Christian
machine, for II improves the temper, dlscour.
ages dissipation, makes a man look on the
bright side OF things and puts vivacity into
his religion. When feel stupid or cross, or
blue, l get on my 25-pounder and take lively
spin. In ten minutes the world looks differ
en.. / begin to feel like an angel. l feel US
il had wings. and act more like an angel,
my wife tells me. the next day. l know from
experience that "a minister preach better
on Sunday il he rides bicycle on Saturday.
but unfortunately for our churches the
bicycle is becoming more popular on Sunday
than any other DAY of the week. Its tendency
is to draw young men away from the sanctu-
ary. and latterly, young women also. Under
these circumstances what shall be the attitude
of the church to the bicycle?"
Professor Rosenthal, who has been for
many years Christian missionary in Abys-
sinia is now in this country. telling how the
missionaries in that country are prosecuted.
King Theodore was especially cruel to mis-
sionaries. They were fist condemned to
wear heavy bars of iron around their body,
and were then tried. The trial began by read
ing the genealogy of the king, which claimed
for him blood relation with Solomon and
David, and the reading of which lasted four
hours. During this reading the missionaries
were compelled to stand unprotected in the
burning sun.
William Walter Phelps. of New Jersey, now
so seriously ILL., has been in delicate health
for many years. He is spare man in
physique. and probably never weighed more
than 40 pounds, although he is above the
average height. He has for years been a
sufferer from imperfect nutrition. Weakness
OF the digestive organs has several times
threatened TO take him out of the world. His
guests At dinner have been accustomed to see
him set through feast scarcely touching
mouthiul OF food. Yet he has managed to
enjoy life well. He has always been rich his
father having left to him millions and his
wife brought another fortune, for she was one
of the wealthy Sheffield girls of New Haven.
Mr.. Phelps has had much distinction and
has cone some noteworthy things. He
was very valuable friend OF Mr. Blaine's.
He lent TO Whitelaw Reid the money with
which he originally obtained control OF the
New York Tribune. II was only when Mr..
Phelps railway investments in Texas took
'the grand slump" that he was obliged to
call in that loan. as result OF which action
Mr.. Reid became borrower from Jay Gould
to the extent of $500, 900. which Indebtedness
continued until Reid allied himself by mar
riage with Plutocrat d. o. Mills.
current paragraph tells of the pineapple |
and citron groves on Robert Louis Stevenson's |
estate in Samoa, and the implication is that |
they are paradisica! spots. We are reserving |
all opinions as to groves until we have |
seen the groves. We have had better, |
never-to-be-forgotten experience in that |
direction. Before We had ever seen an orange |
grove we fancied that it must be the most |
iul spot in the world. We pictured the joys Of
lying upon the velvety swaTd in the shade of |
this grove. listening to the solemn music of |
the wind in the restless foliage and catching |
Kaleidoscope glimpses of the distant empy-
rean. This was ali pleasent enough in the
warmth OF Il well heated Chi,ago home. But |
the awakening from the poetic dream was
rude to the degree Of brutality, says the
Chicago Record.
What in fact, is an orange grove but the
dampest. chilliest, most cherries
OF all existing or imaginable things? The
hideousness of its moldy gloom is enhanced
by the mathematically severe regularity in
which the trees are ranged, and such trees!
Wretched little creatures they are, reminding
one, with their distressing burden OF fruit, of
precocious children. They look
SO premature. SO stunted, SO unlike our no.
ton of what a tree should be-who can help
pitying them?
And how about the velvety sward? There's
not an inch OF it, except in the mind Of the
dreameri Sward. indeedi Plowed ground is
what it is actually, for the orange tree must
have plenty of moisture, and SO the soil must
be kept turned and broken. II you would
fain stroll in an orange grove you must wear
rubber boots and hump your shoulders, for
the plowed ground is wet and the trees are
dwarfs. One stroll will suffice. You will
rhen return TO your hotel, call doctor. and
nurse the influenza for ten days.
A good view OF an orange grove Is to be
had from Mount Lowe or any Of the other