Miscellaneous.

Wairarapa Standard, Volume XX, Issue 2070, 20 May 1887, Page 2 (Supplement)

Miscellaneous.

A King Long Ago.

A king lived long ago, In the morning of the world, When earth was nighcr heaven than now; And the king’s loeks curled, Disporting o’er a forehead full As the milk-white space 'twlxt.h’ern and

horn Of some sacrificial bull— Only calm as a babe new-born ; For he was got to a sleepy m««d, So safe from all decrepitude, Age with his bane, so sure gone by— The gods so loved him while hj» dreamed, That having lived thus long, there seemed No need the king should ever die. Among the rocks bis city was ; Before his palace, in the sun, He sat to sec bis people pass, And judge them every one From its threshold of smooth stone. They haled him many a valley-thief, Caught at tiie sheep-pens, robber-chief Swarthy and shameless, beggar-oheat, Spy-prowler, or rough pirate found On (he sea-sand left aground ; And sometimes clung about bis feet, With bleeding lip and burning cheek, A woman, bitterest wrong to speak Of one with sullen, thick-set brows j And sometimes from the prison-house The angry priests a pale wretch brought, Who through some chink bad pushed and passed, On knees and elbows, belly and breast, Worm-liko into the temple—caught At last there by the very god, Who ever in the darkness strode Backward and forward, keeping watch O'er his brazen bowls, such rogues to catch 1 These, all and every one, The king judged, sitting in the sun. His councillors, on left and right, Hooked anxiously up—but no surprise Disturbed the king’s old smiling eyes, Where the very blue bad turned to whits. ’Tie said, a Python scared one day The breathless city till he came, With forky tongue and eyes on flame, Where the old king sat to judge alway; But when he saw the sweepy hair, Girt with a crown of berries rare Which the gods will hardly give to wear To the maiden who singeth, dancing bare In the altar-smoke by the pine-torch lights. At bis wondrous forest rites— Seeing this, he did not dare Approach that threshold in the sun, Assault the old king smiling there, Such grace had kings when the world begun I

The Sleeping Disease-— There is a singular and invariably fatal malady, called, lotliargus, peculiar to the negroes of certain districts on the western coast of Africa, which has never, we believe* been noticed in the medical journals. Rut this is not surprising, when we consider that a knowledge of it is practically unimportant to the profession outside of the districts were it occurs. As a curiosity, however, in the form of a disease it cannot fail, we think, to interest the medical faculty, and we give in brief the majn facts concerning this singular disorder. As the name implies, the principal, and in fact (he only symptom that presents itself is leeartliy ; and one case is essentially astereotype of all. The patient, usually a male adult, is seized, without any premonitory symptoms, with a sensation of drowsiness, whieh continues rapidly to increase, in spite of all efforts to throw it off, until he sinks into a profound and seemingly natural sleep. Tins continues for about twenty-one days, when death takes place. Throughout the course of Ihe disease, the patient preserves a qiib-t and peaceful countenance, may be cn>il.v aroused for a short time, will ‘take nourishment, and generally answers a few ordinary questions in a perfectly rational manner. The pulse, respiration and temperature remain normal throughout, the pupil of the eye ia neither dilated nor contracted to any noticeable extent, and evacuations conliline with comparative regularity. With the exception of the abnormal tendency to sleep, nothing whatever exists to denote d sease.

Many careful post-mortem examinations Imvc been made by competent men, but nothing of an abnormal character has been found, while every remedy that could possibly be of any avail has been used without any apparent beneficial effect. They sleep on, and quietly glide into eternity in spite of professional skill.

The Legend of the Willow-—A goldenhaired child, who lived were no trees or flowers grew, was gazing one day wistfully through the open gate of a beautiful park, when the gardener chanced to throw out an armful of dry cuttings. Among them the little girl discovered one with a tiny bud just starting. “Perhaps it will grow," she whispered to herself, and, dreaming of wide, cool boughs and fluttering leaves, she carried it carefully home, and planted it in thedarksome area. ’ Day after day she watched and tended it, and when by-and by another hud started she knew that the slip bad taken root. Tears passed and the lowly home gave place to a pleasant manse and the narrow area widened into a spacious garden, where many a green tree threw its shadow. Hut for the golden haired child, now grown into a lovely maiden, the fairest and dearest of them all was the one she had so tenderly nourished. No other tree, she thought, cast such a cool, soft shade; in no other houghs did the birds sing so sweetly. But while the tree lived and flourished, the young girl dratped and faded. Sweeter and sadder grew the light in her blue eyes, till by-and-by God's angel touched them with a dreamless sleep. Loving hands crowned the white brow with myrtle, and under the branches she bad loved laid her tenderly to rest. But from that hour, as if in sorrow for the one that tended it, the stately tree began to droop. Lower and lower* bent the sad branches, until they carrcssed the daised mound that covered her form. “ See I” said her young companions, “ the tree weeps for her who loved it." And they called it the weeping willow.

11l His Own Trap.—u is generally understood that if a person vacates a seat for a few moments and leaves some article in it, this will secure it till his return. In more than one instance we have seen an overcoat or satchel removed from a seat thus reserved and placed elsewhere by the new comer. An amusing case of this kind recently occurred on a road not far from Hartford. A gentleman had occasion to leave his seat for a few mome*s at a station, and on returning found his overooat and satchel removed and his scat taken possession of by a young man and " his best girl.” The gentleman said to the young man,— *' I think I am entitled to this scat, and left articles in it while 1 stepped to the platform for a moment." *' Possession is nine points of the law, and I think we will keep the scat,” said the young man. " Then,” said the gentleman, ” will you please rise that I may get the umbrella.’” The young man could not refuse this reasonable request, and as he rose from the seat the gentleman slipped into it, much to the amusement of the other passengers. The young man then requested *• his beet girl" to go with him to another seat. l; I can’t get out,” she replied. Will you rise,” said the young man to the gentleman, “ and allow this lady to come out “■ I think not,” said the latter; ”if possession is nine points of the law, I propose to avail myself of the same, and if your friend wishes to vacate the scat she ran step over or in front,” which she did without delay, causing more than a smile from those who witnessed the performance,