Rensselaer Union, Volume 8, Number 16, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 6 January 1876 — A Comedian’s Joke. [ARTICLE]

A Comedian’s Joke.

The joyous Christian, who is just now popular in Paris, because of his extraordinary antics and drolleries in the part of King Vilan in the “Journey in the Moon,” produced at the Gaiete Theater, is an individual of great eccentricity, and many amusing stories are told of his practical jokes. He has, among other things, a horror of “style” and of affectation of every kind. He"is also a little careless in his dress, and not over ceremonious in his ways; so that recently a brother actor, in inviting him to a reception given in honor of a noted artist, and at which nearly all the theatrical world was to be present after the performance, said to him firmly: “ Aly dear Christian, when you come this evening do pay a little attention to your style, and try and have a little more etiquette than usual about you. ’*■ , Christian took the advice kindly, saying nothing. Toward midnight, just as the giver of the reception was beginning to think that he had offended his confrere, and that he would not come, there stalked into gie midst of the thunderstruck company tn astonishing figure. It was Christian, straight as an arrow, looking neither to right nor left, save to bow haughtily. He was clad in an extravagantly elegant court costume of a remote neriod; carried under his arm acqcked hat well furnished with gold lace; arid at his side a long antique rapier. He seated himself in a corner apart from the surprised guests and away from the host, who was too mortified to address him. In this position he remained for two hours ;’and, just as the people were getting ready to depart, he rose and stalked out, saying in a loud voice to his entertainer: “I fancy that you have had all the style you want this time.” — Paris Letter.

The upper courses of the river Danube have suddenly been left dry without any evident cause. This dryness begins at the village of Mohringen, some twenty kilometers down the stream of Donaueschengen. If the water does not return complete ruin is looked for to a prosperous and fertile country. A committee of savants have been named to try and find out the cause. The general opinion is that the construction of so many railroads has had something to do with it. The removal of the soil, it is thought, may have opened up an inlet into some immense subterranean caverns. There is a man now in jail here for six months, and is to remain six months longer. . His board is sixty cents a day. This for a year costs the city $219. His offense was stealing a cotton umbrella. It serves the thief right, but is rather expensive on the people.— Lexington. (Ky.) Gazette. _ A miner working near Virginia City the other day fell about 100 feet down the shaft, striking on a platform of two-inch planks and crashing through them to the bottom of the shaft, a few feet below. In spite of all this he suffered no more thana cut on the head, a few bruises and three broken ribs.