A Healthy Free-luncher The Garden Of China

A tramp, while on Ms travels, noticed a placará in front of a bax-room. It bore the significant and pleasing legend, "Free Lunch, " and he went in, walked unostentatiously up to a píate, and commenced operations with a sandwich ; then the bar-keeper walked up to the cadaverous wretch, and said: "Men who eat here are expected to pay fora drink." "I know it," said the tramp. "Well, then, why don't you conform to the rule ?" '"Cause I go in for health, and don't drink tul I am through eating." The bar-keeper turned his back for a moment, and the tramp slipped three sandwiches into his coat-pocket, and calmly devoured four ; then he walked up to the bar, and to the dispenser of stimulants huskily whispered: "Gimme a glass o' water, will ye ?" "Wliat ! water, after four sandwiches ?" bellowed the bar-keeper, angrily. "Yes'r, water," replied the tramp. 'Tve been a drinkin' o' it for nigh onter forty years, and it's just the healthiest stuff a goin'." And he hobbled out ; but if he had I caught the foot that flew after him, he wouldn't have been satisfied with the "booty" of his visit. men - who walk over bridges built two thousand years age, who cultivated the cotton plant centimes before tkis country was heaf d of, and who f ed silkworms before King Solomon built his throne - have lifty thousand square miles around Shanghse whioh are ealled the Garden of China, and which have been tüled by countless generations. The area is as large as New York and Pennsylvania combined, and is all meadow land raised but a few feet above the river - lakes, rivers, canals - a complete net-work of water eommnnicfition ; the land under the highest tilfch ; three crops a year harvested ; population so dense that whercver yon look you see men and women in blue pants and blouse so numerous that you fancy some fair or muster is coming off, and all hands have turned out for a holiday.