The Family Circle

New Zealand Tablet, 3 June 1915, Page 61

The Family Circle

THE TWO LITTLE BOYS. The good little boy and the had little boy Both live in the house with me; But it is quite strange — can look and look, Yet only one.boy I see Just one little boy with sparkling eyes And the funniest pudgy nose, All brimful of life from the top of his head To the tips of his ten stubby toes. And yet there are two of him, I am sure, For one is a bad little boy, And I am sorry he lives here To bother the good little boy. Yes, pester and bother the good little boy Till he sometimes drives him away ; And the bad little boy is alone with me For the rest of the long, long day. And I ask him to go for the good little boy, And bring him again to me; But I take him up and hold him close While I talk to him lovingly. And while I am talking he sometimes laughs, But oftener far he cries And I see that the good little boy is back As I look into the bad boy's eyes. i NAPOLEON AND THE CURE. During Napoleon's sojourn in the town of Rambouillet, France, there were many days when no hunting, no concerts, no plays relieved the monotony of the work in which he was engaged with his Ministers. To compensate for this dearth of amusement, the evenings were spent in playing cards, chess, checkers, etc. Nine tables were arranged in the great square salon of the palace—one in the centre being reserved for the Emperor himself, should he feel disposed to take part in a. game. One evening he happened to approach a table on which.had been placed a set of chessmen. ' Come, Duroc,' said he to his grand marshal, ' are you anything of a chess-player?' e No, sire.' Well, see whether you can find among these gentlemen one who is, and request him to give me a. game.' Turning to a general officer with whom he had been talking a few moments before, Napoleon resumed the interrupted conversation. Duroc; in the meanwhile inquired on all sides for a chess player, but among those present not one had the least idea of the difficult game. On reporting his want of success, the Emperor asked whether the Mayor of Bainbouillet was present. ' Yes, sire,' answered Duroc. ' I saw him a moment ago.' ' Ask him to come here.' Duroc went off, and soon returned with the mayor. ' Mayor,' said Napoleon, ' have you not in your town some one who plays the game of chess ' Sire, the pastor of our parish understands the game, but I cannot answer for his skill.' ' Never mind! He will do. Is he a good sort—companionable and patient?' ' Sire, he is a. very worthy man, venerated and loved by all the townsfolk, especially the poor.' ' I must make his acquaintance,' said Napoleon, and, in obedience to his order, the grand marshal left the salon. A quarter of an hour later there entered a.hale, white-haired old man whose frank, open countenance was as venerable as it was prepossessing. He was the cure of Rambouillet. On being presented to the Emperor, he bowed respectfully and turned a little compliment quite in keeping with his age and profession.

> - f Monsieur le cure,' replied Napoleon, ' I hear that you are a good chess player, and I would like to try my skill against yours'. Come, sit down here, and play like a brave champion. Don't spare me if I make f mistakes.' - -.' '"' "'"*"""•"* i ' Well, well, sire ! I once played the game passably ; : well, but now lam out of practice. When one neglects an art, one soon grows incapable.' . -;' ' Yes, but chess is not an art; it is a real science. m Come, come ! All rusty as you think yourself, lam sure that you will recall a move or two. Let us begin.' 1 The cure seated himself . opposite the Emperor. Napoleon put his hand in his waistcoat pocket, drew out some twenty-franc pieces, and placed one of them on r the table, saying "* • --? ' We must make the game interesting, but not ruinous. We will play only a twenty-franc game. My r dear cure, your money is the patrimony of your poor, and I would not have you risk the least portion of it at play. You and Duroc here shall be partners and your shares of stock will be quite equal—you giving your skill and he his money.' 'But, sire,' replied the pastor, 'the grand marshal has perhaps a less favorable opinion of my skill than you have. He who has the honor of being your companion in arms must know better than any one else that your opponents never triumph.' This compliment, arising so naturally from the subject and pronounced with perfect candor, nattered Napoleon far more than the most extravagant eulogies of his courtiers, and he smilingly replied : ' Monsieur le cure, both Duroc and I are your parishioners at present. You should not try to spoil either of us.' The game began. It was indeed a strange spectacle, the powerful Emperor engaged in a playful contest with a modest old priest. The great conqueror then in the zenith of a glory that seemed destined never to fade—he who with a word could set half a million of men marching from one extremity of Europe to the other was soon deeply meditating the movements of a few knights across a chess-board. Napoleon was completely routed by the cure, who won five successive games. At the end of the fifth game, Napoleon laughingly arose and said to his adversary, in his most amiable manner: ' My dear cure, you have given me a capital lesson, and I will profit by it. I have learned more about chess to-night than during the past twenty years that I have played the game. You have beaten me unmercifull ' Your Majesty is invincible on every other field,' answered the pastor ; ' the least you can expect is to be beaten at chess. Moreover, sire, you owe your defeat to the rapidity of your play. That style is successful sometimes, but it is not always fortunate when one has an adversary who is slow, patient, and experienced.' Without intending it, the good priest had given Napoleon another lesson in strategy. The great personages who had surrounded the Emperor's table during the game made no comments on the results. The cure took the five gold pieces, and, approaching Duroc, said in a half-whisper 'Of this sum your share is fifty francs the rest is for charity.' ' Keep them, I beg you, and distribute them for my intention among your poor.' ' It shall be as you wish,' said the cure. In the meantime Napoleon had been explaining the causes of his defeat to the bystanders. Turning again to the priest, he remarked : ' Monsieur le cure, you have given me a charming evening, and I thank you for it. But I hope to get even with you the next time we play.' Then, changing his tone, he went on: 'How old are you?' ' Seventy-two, sire. For forty-five years I have prayed for France in the exercise of my ministry.' ' Well, continue, my dear cure, to pray for France and for me.' They did not meet again. The pastor of Rambouillet died in 1813, and the Empire was then near its downfall.— Ave Maria.

p; WHAT NEXT], There came to a young doctor in an English hospital an uncommonly unclean infant, borne in the arms of a mother whose face showed the same abhorrence of soap. Looking down upon the child for a moment, the doctor solemnly said : ' It seems to be suffering from "hydropathic hydrophobia." ' to ' Oh, doctor, is it as bad as that ?' cried the mother. ' That's a big sickness for such a mite. Whatever shall I do for the child V 'Wash its face, madam,' replied the doctor; 'the disease will go off with the dirt.' 'Wash its face—wash its face, indeed!' exclaimed the mother, losing her temper. . ' What next, I'd like to know !' ' Wash your own, madamwash your own, was the rejoinder. A GREAT DIFFERENCE. The river Clyde has been brought to its present draught by dredging, and the Scotch are very proud of it. A party of Americans scorned it one day. ' Call this a river V said they. ' Why, it's a ditch in comparison with our Mississippi or St. Lawrence or Hudson.' ' Aweel mon,' said a Scotch bystander, 'you've got Providence to thank for your rivers, but we made this one ourselves.' CANINE ETIQUETTE. i In their relations one with another dogs have a keen sense of etiquette. A well-known traveller makes this unexpected remark about a tribe of naked black men, living on one of the South Sea Islands: 'ln their every day intercourse there is much that is stiff, formal, and precise.' Almost the same remark might be made about dogs. Unless they are on very intimate terms, they take great pains never to brush against or even touch one another. For one clog to step over another is a dangerous breach of etiquette unless they are special friends. It is no uncommon thing for two dogs to belong to the same person and live in the same house and yet never take the slightest notice of each other. We have a spaniel so dignified that he will never permit another member of the dog 'family to pillow his head upon him, but with the egotism of a true aristocrat, he does not hesitate to make use of the other does for that purpose. FROM THE FOOT OF THE LADDER. There's an authentic story of two boys who were companions all through school. They passed all the examinations with credit, and in due time entered college. These boys studied hard, for they knew that they would have to support themselves as soon as their college days were over. At last they were graduated, and, with congratulations from professors and letters of recommendation to a large shipping firm, they entered the world to seek their fortunes. Ushered into the presence of the senior member of a shipbuilding firm, the first young man presented his letters of recommendation and introduced himself. ' Well,' said the business man, ' what can I do for you?' ' I'd like a clerkship in one of your offices.' ' Leave your name and address and I'll look for you when there is a vacancy. Just now we're full.' Then came the second young man, and again the senior member of the firm asked, 'What can I. do for you ' I'd like to do any kind of work that you think I'm fitted for. I'm inexperienced, but I'll do my best.' This boy got something to do immediately, and after a time worked his way up to a responsible position .

A LESSON IN PUNCTUATION. ; ' Father,' asked eight-year-old Alice, returning home from school, are you good at punctuation , ' Yes,' replied the father. v 'Well, tell me, please, how would you punctuate "The wind blew a five-pound note around the corner" ? ' Well, daughter, I would simply put a stop at the end of the sentence.' 'I wouldn't,' said Alice, mischievously; 'I would make a dash after the five-pound note.' A POINT OF ORDER. While Mr. Webster was once addressing the United States Senate on the subject of internal improvements, and every Senator was listening with close attention, the Senate clock commenced striking, but instead of striking twice at 2 p.m., continued to strike without cessation more than forty times. All eyes were turned to the clock, and Mr. Webster remained silent until the clock struck about twenty, when he thus appealed to the chair: ' Mr. President, the clock is out of order ! I have the floor!' To say that a long and loud laugh from every Senator and person in the august Chamber was indulged in is a faint description of the merriment this exquisite pun produced. AN AMERICAN WHO TOLD THE TRUTH. ' William,' asked the teacher of a rosy-faced lad, 'can you tell me who, George Washington was?' 'Yes, ma'am,' was the quick reply; 'he was an American genral.' ' Quite right,' replied the teacher. ' And can you tell us what George Washington was remarkable for?' 'Yes, ma'am,' replied the little boy; 'he was remarkable because he was an American and told the truth.' SEEKING INFORMATION. The little agricultural village had been billed with ' Lecture on Keats ' for over a fortnight. The evening arrived at length, bringing the lecturer ready to discourse on the poet. The advertised chairman, taken ill at the last moment, was replaced by a local farmer. This worthy introduced the lecturer and terminated his remarks by saying: ' And now, my friends, we shall soon all know what I personally have often wondered—what are Keats?' INDEPENDENT. A thriving but somewhat miserly farmer was in the habit of leaving his horse and gig at the door of the Black Bull Inn on market day in charge of the first person he could find. One day Jamsie, the ' softie ' of the place, had been engaged for this purpose, but on re-entering his gig the farmer, much to Jamsie's annoyance and surprise, drove off without the slightest acknowledgment for his time and trouble. Next market the farmer again engaged Jamsie for the same purpose. ' Na, na, Mr. Campbell,' he returned, 'I dunna need to baud horses ony mair.' ' And how's that?' inquired the farmer. Oh, ye see, sir,' replied Jamsie, 'what ye gied me last time has made me independent.'