Omaha daily bee., 1906-06-10

can't get blood from a stone or from
beet, or breeks from q Highlander Is
rendered in the West Indies as THE
pumpkin vine does not yield the Gala
bash" Even in the matter Of going be-
fore the beak" the East Indian and the
West Indian havo parallel expressions, for
where the former says of friend that
he was 'pinched," the latter observes that
they pressed his tall
In order to establish the sisterhood Of
proverbs 1t is only necessary to take
few touches OF nature which make the
whole world akin and regard them from
various national aspects. The classical but
homely truth, Drive out nature with
pitchfork and she will RETURN" crops out
in many a negro tribe in quaint forms,
such as the following: "a man that keeps
the birds away keeps them away, but
pretty face cannot be kept away" The
idea conveyed by He needs must go
whom the devil drives" is universally rec
ognized. Some tribes put it. THE stomach
has no ears" others, THE empty bag
cannot stand upright"
The idea we express in the words only
the wearer knows where the shoe plnches,"
is conveyed quite as aptly by the Swahili
in mis- proverb, "Only the dead man knows
WneI6 In0 grave IL tOO udIIOWs pcdAoA-
ing tribes say 1.-THE bottom Of the ship
knows best how the sea presses" Our
familiar sayings about running after two
hares" and falling between two stools"
are again paralleled and capped by the
Zambesi proverb, THE rider of two horses
splits asunder."
This quaintness OF setting forth often
"goes one better" on our homely proverbs.
Our saying, Don't do as do; do as tell
you" is good; but the Dutch, 1.-THE monk
breaches against thieves with the goose
in his larder," or the American, When the
lawyer gets the fowl stealer acquitted he
is paid in fowls" is better. But the Span
ish parallel Is quaintest Of all: 1.-THE frtar
condemns the theft with the pudding up
his sleeve" Where we say 'If you want
a thing done do It yourself" the West
Indian gets a shade ahead Of US with the
advice, Send dog, and the dog will
send his tail"
The same advice is given in a still better
form by the Armenian, who observes, ''If
you send a messenger on an errand, go
with him." And the Rstute unbelieving
Chinaman, who. like his proverbial image
maker, puts no faith either In the gods
or the messengers Of the gods, "for he
knows what they are made Of" sums up
as correct as 1t Is sweeping: 'If you
want thing DONE" he says. "go yourself;
II not, send"
There is probably no better proverb in
the English language than "still waters
run deep" No other nation goes one
better" than this, though many come near
It. The Turk says, ''Distrust the water
that does not MARBLE, and the bird that
does not chirp." This lacks the element
OF paradox which occurs in our English
rendering. The African parallel has more
Of that element Beware of the silent
man." 1t runs; "he has a brass band In
his mouth" and a more southern tribe
puts the idea equally we'll Ia the shape
Of Silence hath a mighty noise."
On the subject of woman It goes with
out saying that all the nations Of the
earth formed the same opinion Of the fair
sex long long ago, and UP to the present
none OF them have seen any reason to
alter that opinion. but whether the opinion
in which they all concur is concealed or
revealed in proverbs, 1t would be an insult
to the readers reason and common sense
to state. AS for the proverbs, which can
readily be distinguished at sight as true
or false by the clever student OF feminine
human nature, they yield q good harvest
OF parallels.
"a woman, q dog and a walnut tree. the
more you beat them the better they be-"
is a remark upon which no two sane per-
sons can hold different opinions; and the
same may be claimed for the central Afri-
can saying, "A man Is not obeyed by his
wife In his own house, nor does she con-
slider him her husband unless he beats
her-thwack!" or for the Corsican's asser-
ton that Just as a good horse and
bad horse both need the spur, 30 a good
woman and a bad woman both need the
stick"
The spaniard says; Were a woman as
little as she IL good. a pease cod would
make her a gown and a hood" The Italian
leaves on killing his kings to whisper: IF
II a man loses q woman and a farthlng
he will miss the farthing;" the Frenchman
pauses between his absinthes to remark:
"A woman Of gold Is worth a man OF
straw" The negro medicine man swears
to his tribe that Women are words, deeds
are men," the Persian asserts that
Women and dragons are best out Of the
world" The German contends that "Wher-
ever there is mischief brewing a woman
and a priest are at the bottom OF IT," and
that There are only two good women in
the world; one is dead and the other is
missing ~ nudon GIobA