erished the People, they were
discouraged and wept copiously.

"Why do you weep?" inquired an Angel who had perched upon a fence near
by.

"They have taken all we have," replied the People--"excepting," they
added, noting the suggestive visitant--"excepting our hope in heaven.
Thank God, they cannot deprive us of that!"

But at last came the Congress of 1889.

The Justice and His Accuser

An eminent Justice of the Supreme Court of Patagascar was accused of
having obtained his appointment by fraud.

"You wander," he said to the Accuser; "it is of little importance how I
obtained my power; it is only important how I have used it."

"I confess," said the Accuser, "that in comparison with the rascally way
in which you have conducted yourself on the Bench, the rascally way in
which you got there does seem rather a trifle."

The Highwayman and the Traveller

A Highwayman confronted a Traveller, and covering him with a firearm,
shouted: "Your money or your life!"

"My good friend," said the Traveller, "according to the terms of your
demand my money will save my life, my life my money; you imply you will
take one or the other, but not both. If that is what you mean, please be
good enough to take my life."

"That is not what I mean," said the Highwayman; "you cannot save your
money by giving up your life."

"Then take it, anyhow," the Traveller said. "If it will not save my
money, it is good for nothing."

The Highwayman was so pleased with the Traveller's philosophy and wit
that he took him into partnership, and this splendid combination of
talent started a newspaper.

The Policeman and the Citizen

A Policeman, finding a man that had fallen in a fit, said, "This man is
drunk," and began beating him on the head with his club. A passing
Citizen said:

"Why do you murder a man that is already harmless?"

Thereupon the Policeman left the man in a fit and attacked the Citizen,
who, after receiving several severe contusions, ran away.

"Alas," said the Policeman, "why did I not attack the sober one before
exhausting myself upon the other?"

Thenceforward he pursued that plan, and by zeal and diligence rose to be
Chief, and sobriety is unknown in the region subject to his sway.

The Writer and the Tramps

An Ambitious Writer, distinguished for the condition of his linen, was
travelling the high road to fame, when he met a Tramp.

"What is the matter with your shirt?" inq