The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1895-04-07
silk tiles, which created establishment
when they returned to the legation.
Shocked the Native Prophecies.

entire populationJby finding his son
employment in a machine shop con-
nected with the government railroad.
me young man was a mechanic by
trace, had worked in the repair shops
or rallroad where he came from, and
neither he nor his father recognized
any good reason why he should not
Pursue an honest occupation in his
: new home. If he had duly given it
! out that it was a fad he was following
| for amusement and not for pay there
would have been no disgrace attached
! to his industry, but the people had
their ideas of what a gentleman should
not do and could not reconcile them
with the overhauls, the grim hands
and the dinner pail of the young
American. This little incident caused
a great sensation at the capital where
! the gentleman lived, and ladies and
gentlemen, old and young, used to go
to the railway shops to see the son of
the American minister at work with
other ordinary mechanics.
This same minister had a daughter
who had been highly educated, and
was a graduate of school for the
training of teachers in one of the
| northwestern states. After she had
been in the new country for four or
/ five months, and had mastered the
! language, her farther applied to the
minister of public instruction, who was
! a member of the cabinet, to give her
/ a position as teacher in one of the
public schools. The latter suggested,
as politely as he could, that it was
not custom in that country for young
! ladies in official society to work for
/ wages, that most of the teachers were
nuns or young women without social
position, and that his eXcellency's
! daughter might not like the company
nor the noteriety that such an occu-
! patton would give her. The father re-
! piled that his daughter had been
! educated with the expectation and for
| the purpose of earning her own liv
| ing, that she did not court social
honors. and that she believed young
women who were honorably employed
were a great deal more entitled to the
respect of their friends and the public
! than those who spent their time in in
! dolence or in the enjoyment of the
! frivolities of life.
The minister Of public instruction
was not prepared TO meet that sort
of argument and escaped further dis
cussion by promising TO see what
! could be done But the father was not
! to be put off in that way. He soon
| addressed a formal application to the
minister for position for his daugh-
! ter, enclosing a testimonial from her
instructor in Spanish certifying to her
! competency, and copies of her diploma
| Of graduation from the Normal school
and her teachers certificate brought
from the United States.
The minister of education brought
the matter to the attention of the
cabinet, and after consultation the
minister Of foreign affairs was in
structed to advise the American envoy
that it was not deemed eXpedient to
grant his request. He thereupon
entered into a somewhat lengthy cor
respondence with the minister OF
foreign affairs, which by the way. is
all spread upon sthe records Of the le-
cation. with the evident purpose of
convincing him of the dignity of labor
and the right of every man and
woman to earn their own bread with
out forfeiting the respect and esteem
| Of their friends and neighbors.
believe, although I am not certain.
that the young lady afterwards OBJ
tanned a position in the schools of the
adjoining republic and proved to be a
successful and popular teacher.
Upheld the Constitution at All Hours
Another man who once held an hon
ol'able position in our diplomatic SER
vice was a very eccentric character
| from a western state, who had the
] -
ton Of the United States, and could re-
peat almost the whole of it from men,
! DRY. He once hired a hall at the cap
ital where he was living and invited
the prominent officials and leading
statesmen of the country to listen to
an address upon the merits of that
venerated instrument Whenever he
met man of any Importance on the
! street. in the shops. on a railway train
| or tramway. at dinner parties or
! other social gatherings, or anywhere
else. he selected the constitution as the
| topic Of conversation, and endeavored
| to convince everyone who would listen
to him of the superiority of our form
of government over that of any other
nation. He was a man of fluent speech
! and prodigiouS memory. as well as
| patriotism, but of no pride in his per-
sonal appearance. His garments were
usually of the ready-made variety,
and selected without regard to a fit.
| His trousers were generally too short,
and his sleeves were usually too long.
| That he wore white stockings and low
/ shoes was only too apparent; but his
! habitual lack of a shirt collar was
concealed by a long beard. He gen
orally carried a ''pot-bellied' umbrella.
which he never opened. but graSped
firmly in his hand whenever he dis
! cussed the constitution, and with it
made the most violent gestures.
A young man from the United States
who brought letters Of introduction to
him. and made the legation his head
quarters. took the liberty to send home
a very graphic description of the old
| gentleman'S peculiaritieS, which he il
Illustrated with sketches that those who
knew him recognized as true to life.
The parents of this youth thought
the communication so bright and in
teresting. that they gave it to the ed
itor of a newspaper. and it appeared in
print, illustrations and all. OF course,
some one sent a copy to the minister.
In fact. he received several. and recog-
nizing the authorship. Immediately is
sued a bull of communication
against the offending youth. He also
went SO far as to have a circular
printed. which was mailed to all Of the
Americans in town, advising them of
the assault that had been committed
! upon the dignity of the representative
| of their government, and forbidding
! them to harbor or associate with such
an impairment rascal.
But most of the American colony did
not look upon the publication as seri-
ously as he did. and instead of suffer
! ing ostracism. the author found him
self quite a lion. The newspapers were
passed around from house to house
with great amusement. and the article
was copied into two or three of the To-
cal papers, much to the dismay of the
American minister. a few days after
the publication of the circular of os-
tracism. a beautiful woman from New
Jersey, who was the recognized leader
of the American colony, and whose
husband was a wealthy merchant at
the capital. invited the impertinent
young American to dinner party