The Excitement in Washington.

The telegraph and the cable had sent the news across the oceans to all
the capitols of the earth. The exultation was so great that the people
seemed mad with joy.

The promised exhibition of the electrical ship took place the next
day. Enormous multitudes witnessed the experiment, and there was a
struggle for places in the car. Even Queen Victoria, accompanied by
the Prince of Wales, ventured to take a ride in it, and they enjoyed it
so much that Mr. Edison prolonged the journey as far as Boston and the
Bunker Hill monument.

Most of the other monarchs also took a high ride, but when the turn of
the Emperor of China came he repeated a fable which he said had come
down from the time of Confucius:

A Chinese Legend.

"Once upon a time there was a Chinaman living in the valley of the
Hoang-Ho River, who was accustomed frequently to lie on his back, gazing
at, and envying, the birds that he saw flying away in the sky. One day he
saw a black speck which rapidly grew larger and larger, until as it got
near he perceived that it was an enormous bird, which overshadowed the
earth with its wings. It was the elephant of birds, the roc. 'Come with
me,' said the roc, 'and I will show you the wonders of the kingdom of the
birds.' The man caught hold of its claw and nestled among its feathers,
and they rapidly rose high in the air, and sailed away to the Kuen-Lun
Mountains. Here, as they passed near the top of the peaks, another roc
made its appearance. The wings of the two great birds brushed together,
and immediately they fell to fighting. In the midst of the melee the
man lost his hold and tumbled into the top of a tree, where his pigtail
caught on a branch, and he remained suspended. There the unfortunate man
hung helpless, until a rat, which had its home in the rocks at the foot
of the tree, took compassion upon him, and, climbing up, gnawed off the
branch. As the man slowly and painfully wended his weary way homeward,
he said: 'This teaches me that creatures to whom nature has given neither
feathers nor wings should leave the kingdom of the birds to those who
are fitted to inhabit it.'"

Having told this story, Tsait'ien turned his back on the electrical ship.

The Grand Ball.

After the exhibition was finished, and amid the fresh outburst of
enthusiasm that followed, it was suggested that a proper way to wind up
the Congress and give suitable expression to the festive mood which no