HOW JUPITER CAME TO SNEEZE.

Thames Star, Volume XIV, Issue 4408, 19 February 1883, Page 4

HOW JUPITER CAME TO SNEEZE.

; General H—--•, who was stationed for years \;itt Algiers, was* quite an; ; pri^inal character in his way.^. He had great natural ability, but he was- not so highly educated as. ,he might; ba,ye -been, He kuewjr*^ little about art or literature, as his ,earty "education hffd been very much neglected. He made;-a great aa^ny ludicrous errors, but be always managed >1 torget^out of his dilemmas gracefully, and to throw the laiigh on the.other.party.; h' The general as we shall call him, ownecl, t- J».b«a*tiful yilla and. jj£oun^«,*«#d,,«7n>the> ij^qJMJqikwie fare Jrcferifnp > mined to give a grand la%n party, to which the .Governor; arid;rail ithe^;'higherl officers were invited.- It was to be a-grand affair' f He; spared jso ci ertfoa in?mifcing it! the erent of the season, his idea beiogthat ;oitjhotild:eclipse,in; splendour aKd;*attr ladti tions a similar entertainment .whish had gvren by the Governor a short "time previous. AlKthe" 5 preparaitons had been 'Shaa'er&mi a" most "latYractive" programme of amusements had been prepared, when it occurred.to the General thathja beaiiti H. tol garden, or elegant' park; w,aV»destitute, p&o£ itatuary, while that of the" Governor j^wts densely populated, so to speaki]with the most popular statutary. A party without: istatuary was never to be _ thought of. '- r i VK'^TKe- General-remembered that*'there - was in one of; bis/ regiments a; worthless vagabond named 'Zepbery who\w«s* generally in the guard] hoijge; 1 but who:had a wonderful talent for sbulpture, he - carved .a Jaeau^if^l monument for the garden of a'cblbriel who 1i ad fallen'in battle. The General ordered Zepher to report to

" I hear that~you are a sculptor. Now, I waj»tgr«Pito sculp fmet lot.of god^ and! Jupiter, Apollo, Venusrand all thflforettiof ih'efti,.iibd hire 'them on hand by eight o'clock-sharp, next Saturday ... . i t . .. , -,„.,, , :rl ( 9 But; General; I"can't have' them-dope \,,by*n«x^Saturday*,lfc.wil! ( take.months—" d ' General, " wift&Foraer^anythjng 'to I'tie done, it: has to be * done.''! !Yoa J miist have them stataary done, or I'lfcrhave-.yqu locked up for a month. liJßut, General——" " Keep quiet! How much money do ,yo« Brtd to buy'pla'ster-of-Paris ?" Zephyr looked^ ,at., the General, and saw ,«. Jhat ie. was in good earnest,/soj after he - fia'd studied over the matter the sculptor replied: -'^S- '' " All, righ^ General, I .will do my best. I wilt want "a, hundred franca to buy i „,fS p laster«of-<l?aris.". „ ■ -.... • ■■• ■• - ' f-j, /'.He.r.e.itJs. Now get 1 to-work right i .o-awayi and>have them statuary by eight o'clockvSiiurday night, or' you will wish __gQOU,hadf-never heenyjborn;! G^tn'em up in' fine'style,, particularly -Venu*."' „^j^t*'w^s7j"^i|e last, the Greperal saw of. Zepher for severaldays, but. he he^rd of, —|Xig <|olng !tlfr6m:'ohe 'V&4~t'6om to'anbtheri Hreating)rererybody,* and fta.v.ihg'U good tiflle^f-it generally;' n6 he* sent for the ..-artiste- '*: if/W'' I - .(•■ - '■ -r • ■ 11 What is this*l hear about you? Instead of sculpturing them gods you are goipg about filling-your hide with wine, and r*ißitfg distutbtoces,*'" I, i /. „ '^Genejral/'replied Zepher, humbly,"! 'getting along finely. We artists have •~"tb"gefr drunk to~ catch the inspiration. That's |he,wayitis with all greatgeniuses." V | itayijke&rsi something, about that," .replied the General pensively, " but be £K&WV}Aon'b:oierdoiti for .them statutes , jp§WbV*h^an'd."ifc;; *«"?■** , i: .''GejwraJ^l^jwlsb.jKOUjWo^ld tell the ;' y .".-|{U6SjpiSfcot \fy t6uch~-tQeifltatttaTyy. for' it jf ruins fresh statuary to have it handled." "All right. I will attend to that. Now go r to».yomf-vwork/' -said the. General, lwißtmVlii§'moustache. Zopher went. ■ Saturday.Jiightarriyed on time as usual. True fo^irwdra^ZeftbeVhad' earriea 'the . BUtuHr^'-^p-p^d"-in blankets/into an arbour in the garden. The pedestals on which Jo pjfcj^ihj figures been putin position." Ze'pher, assisted by a friend. unrolled~"tfce blankets from the life-sized/ j .plijt'eis-oWPariSj t.figures, and carefutfy^placed them on the pedestals. Then he escorted* the-general through the £ gar.<fon r; .a.nd sb&rced. him his^wprksof art. VTiiey were^igPifgd^splendid.;,..; „i & i^i'Ahi'-yaaC&fAi indeed an artisjt?.= rThafc is a splendid Jupiter and bis thunderbolt. He looks for all tb&»world like tbat big. cbrporal; of „th6.ZiQuavee. ,He .^hag the satoe'ls^ beard^ u r *f >l' " *i'**- to * " He was my'yoftefp replied Zepher. "You hare nnrde* a perfect image of 'Aim,: but why do-yo\i cou^fr so much P 1" "I am nerToUß'f6rsfear that the statuary may njot please.you." r r rf^ rrslov-t am '" well satisfied. Here "arera hundred francs for yonf to-- speßd^with^youptfrrends/'' The .GoTernof?ff is'iattrtt^ can Hot compare" with these deitie^"* "SJ1"! ■\^ {'ti »:'' ••' - Zepher.disappeared, and the delighted .General abort, ti&ppetariiAl,. andtthe/dtber guests in the bjr,ilHan,tly^gnted garden. To 1 say that they were astoaished at the artistic skill displayed^ is tapse.a ( feeble word. The Governor was lost in admiration, and he candidly'stated that he could,not boast of anything to compare,with it. Jupiter in particulart'waß,fi^ucli»d,mired. Every* body knewltKftv gigantic Zouave corporal, ...Witb.the^ big beard, and pronounced the ' figure' perfect. All- the other statues were'rtonderfullytUfelikti, arid tKe.d'rapery wonderfully arratige'd.fA'l . Suddenly, the Governor,, who on exam^ 'ittixig'.jJnjrffer^T^jrf^'jlf'fs: 5 eyeglass, * uftered'ah Exclamation 'of astonishment, and started back. " '* i ..IVWba^-is.it.GOT^pg.rPlV , ri ; -„, : ":*f^mustbjii|r,e,;.been mi^ta^en, bat I - imagined* thaV;.»T\ipitci?lmoved* lur head; ».Ifc must have been the light." : "Yes, I suppose so," replied the General,. ■> s » •; j •i o V, '- Suddenly the entire company broke info exclamations of horror and astonishment!' Jupiter's* face was distorted in a .most inexplicable manner, and>• wifchout 'any warning he sqeezed a terrific sneeze: Before the guests''could recover their as| tooish»ent,-greSt Jupiter 'said solemnly : " I know I was told not to more, . General, bufTjust could" not help it. I belieje I have .caught a.cold^in 4h,i;S— —". - Jupiter did not.finish the sentence, for, Ihe outraged ' and exasperated General. ' „ itqre. a jjimb , from, tan -or auge ■ tree, -an d' sailed into the- god as. if to 7 destroy him bodilyr " We had better get out of here," re : - marked Mercury^toiTenus, and jumping' . down from tHeir pedestals, they made fine time,for the feDce, helping each other,ov"er raY fast as."they/ could.' Several' of the heathen'iflßitSes^w'ho- were aI little late in, Btarting, were assisted materially by the ..General, who.continued- to .chastise tUem "with his"weapon"as long" as. there was a •ingle deity within reach. The flight of the deities put the com-; pany.in Buch'a good humor that, for the; lake of the joke, even theiuspired sculptor!

: .was fbrgiren. The lawn party was ! :igr'c!aießt event of the sea^on,_and is still j the "subject of much merriment . at* Algiers. "_ . '• ; v, -•