14 THE ACORN If you want to get a favor done By some obliging friend, And want a promise safe and sure On which you may depend, Don't go to him who always has Much leisure time to plan; But if you want a favor done, Just ask the busy man. The man with leisure never has A moment he can spare. He's busy putting off until His friends are in despair. But he whose every waking hour Is crowded full of work, Forgets the art of wasting time; He cannot stop to shirk. So when you want a favor done And want it right away, Go to the man who constantly Works twenty hours a day. He'll find a moment sure somewhere That has no other use; And fix you while the idle man Is framing an excuse "A Student" Miscellaneous After a warm welcome at Manila, the American battleship fleet sailed into Yokohama harbor early on the morning of October 18th. The Japanese imperial and local authorities had prepared a rousing welcome for the American ships and sailors. The Japanese Admiralty had prepared for its visitors the unusual honor of a "consort escort" that is to say, each American warship was escorted into Yokohama har- THE ACORN 15 bor by a Japanese vessel of the same class. One of the most impressive features of the entertainment was the assembly of 10,000 Japanese school children, in one of the Tokio parks, and who sang "Hail Columbia," in English. An audience with the Emperor and a grand state lunch to the American Admiral and his officers completed the program of entertainment. Victorien Sardou, the best known of modern French dramatists, and a member of the Academy, died in Paris on November 8th, at the age of seventy-seven years. Sardou's plays were immensely popular, not only in France, but in America and England also. His dramas are especially distinguished for their skill in construction and their adeptness of plot. The sight of reptiles is generally very good, being probably their most acute sense, but not so acute as popularly supposed, possessing a limited range, indeed, as compared with most animals. Crocodiles cannot distinguish a man at distances exceeding ten times their length. Fish see for only short distances. The vision of most serpents is poor, the boa-constrictor, for instance, being able to see no farther than one-third of its own length. Some snakes see no farther than one-eighth of their length. Frogs are better endowed with sight, for they can distinguish objects clearly at a distance of twenty times their own length. The hearing of nearly all reptiles is even worse than their vision. Most of them are quite deaf, especially boa-constrictors. The phrase, "deaf as an adder", represents the careful observation of our forefathers. On the 21st. of September, Wilbur Wright, who, with his brother, Orville Wright, shares the distinction of having attained the greatest success in the construction and management of aeroplanes and flying machines, made the new world's record at La Manes, France. He remained in the air one hour, thirty-one minutes and fifty-one seconds, and covered a distance of nearly sixty-one miles. The feat was witnessed by ten thousand spectators, among whom was the American Ambassador, Mr. White, who warmly congratulated Mr. Wright upon his achievements. Four-hundred years ago on Aug. 12th., Ponce de Leon, the Spanish explorer, landed in Porto Rico, and on that date this year the island celebrated the anniversary by carrying the remains of the celebrated explorer through the streets of San Juan, and depositing them in a crypt in the cathedral. Four recent events emphasize China's awakening.