Bellefonte, Pa. June 15, 1906 EE ——————— LIFES SEASONS. From his fingers to his toes, Back again to Baby's nose, Pinker than the pinkest rose, Gurgling softly us he goes, Free from e'en the trifling woes, Is the spring of Life. Rushing, tearing, schoolboy fun, Laughing, chaffing, does he run. Aimless! when his work is done. Thoughtful | when the task begun, Happy that the times have come, The Summer of his Life. Now his hair is tinged with gray. Straight the path before him lay, World wealth gathered in the way, Strewn with roses, thorns astray, Many toned the passing day, The Autumn of his Life. To this life, his heart he gave, Tears and blessings, his to save, Now in twilights, softly wave Bending grasses o'er his grave. Chained he ties, Death's silent slave, The Winter of his Life. ——————————— Address of Col. A. K. McClure at the Dedication of the Curtin Statue June Sth, When the Greeks erected their on the shore of Marathon to defeat of the of Xerxes, the Bo aia wrought by the bf Phidias in honor of Nemes r of Justice. It was a fitting statue for the oo according to the faith of the heroic the Persian invaders had destroyed the tem of the Helenie gods, it sold the J01y of the of Just uvenged the outrage of the ts and powers of men and Ee dott ch TE at the ¢ the truth that has been accepted by every Christian civilization, that justice is im- mortal. We meet to-day in this beautiful mountain home of Pennsylvania governors, in God's own grund temple, to unveil a statue that teaches the better lessons of modern civilization—Pa- triotism, Heroism. Humanity. and your people of village, mountain and valley must be proud of the exceptional distinction their own sons have won in writing the records Sf 2 froth common wealth. In the humble poli efforts of my own lifetime, I have participated a Sortie conflicts in which four, who once their homes amongst you, were called to the highest political trust of the state, and another was the unsuccessful leader in the contest for the same position. Curtin, Beaver Hastings were here learned the “art preservative’ him the early education and eminently equi him for the highest duties of state to which he was called from the adjoining county, where he had finally made his home, and Irvin at an earl” jer day, was called to unsuccessful leadership in one of the many earnest political struggles for the mastery of the commonwealth. The statue of Andrew Gregg Curtin, unveiled to-day, is not a mere tribute to an individual; it stands to commemorate the most thrilling his- tory and the most momentous achievements portrayed in the annals of the state. As his ad- ministration as Governor covered the entire period of the bloody conflict for the preserva- tion of the Union, he had the opportunity to write the most lustrous records of any Pennsyl- vania executive, and it is confessed by all that he filled the full measure of his opportunity. Other governors haveserved a longer period than did Governor Curtin, but no executive of the past, and I think it safe to say that no executive of the future, can have such enduring monu- ment of patriotic, heroic and humane achieve- ments, e tribute to him that is presented to his neighbors and to the world to<lay, in the presence of a multitude on whose hearts are cherished the most 1 and affectionate es, not only of his notable acts but of his delightful personal attributes, will be by state and nation as a simple act of justice. If Curtin's administration had fallen upon peaceful times instead of being engulfed in the terrible throes of fraternal war, a single prom- inent feature of it that has been d ed by the greater duties and achievements of sanguinary conflict, would have made his rule stand out as exceptional in enlightened advancement and beneficent results to the whole people of the state. I refer to his establishment of our great educational svstem. hen he became secretary of the common wealth under Governor Pollock in 1855, our free school system did not even apirouch the dignity | A single desk in the secre- | tary's office with a competent clerk had been | deemed ample to direct the educational id of a state that then had a larger tion than the entire colonies when the Revolution established the Republic. Until that time, there was no systematic effort to perfect carry into successful organization our great | school system, It had been passed in a floodtide | of prejudcice against it and was permitted to | struggle along without material advancement. | Secretary Curtin first gave his attention to the | perfection and development of our common | schools, and when he retired ut the end of his term, he had the broad foundation laid for what is now the most beneficent educational system of any state or country in the world. After three years of retirement, he was called to the Gubernatorial office, and although confronted by the appalling duties and sacrifices of Civil War. he never allowed abatement in his interest in school system. s Stephens, author of the free school law, and Governor Wolfe, who approved it, deserve most ul memories for even the crude free school system that they only partially inaugurated, but Gov. Curtin took up their unfinisned work, developed it until the free schools were in the reach of the poorest child of the commonwealth, and the hi gh-school, education within the reach of any child of the state who has the ability and purpose to ap- preciate opportunity. If this administration had achieved no other distinction, it would standout single and alone among the records of his pre- decessors in giving our great state most liberal and beneficent advancement. But Civil War met Curtin’s administration as Governor at its v threshold, and I as a Sena- tor, in a very humble way, the appalling responsibilities which confronted him. When he was inaugu as Governor in January, 1861, there had been no ble official de~ liverance made as to the attitude of the states of the North to the seceding states of the South. The cotton states were already in open rebellion, having formerly severed their relations with the Union, and declared for a Southern Confed* Pennsylvania by reason of her - ph exposed tion, as well as ma* any apologetic or hesti of the in" tegrity of the Union would have been equally fatal as au act of cov and purposes. The generation then li was almost an entire to war or its met! The war with Mexico id not require so much as a regiment from each state, and it closed without the country feeling in any serious San guinary conflict. Both were forgetful of the fact that the people of the whole country were came down from battle fleld from Lexing- iWas a had ga of the ar A I ET ho world never exhibited : J if it ai = ki e He i ih i gt FS HE the but the bombardment on the subject and the North accepted war as inevi cx without Sven an oman mila ae were t even an and our only military force of few Yolusteer in dif- regiment in the aggregate. my eR t {or three months’ Governor Curtin Ee oe: could have filled the entire quota of all the states sEiiificE iggis i iE tel iil lity sil: 3 g fH d-dh sued his proclamation tothe State, calling for ad- ditional Yolanteers to the number of to serve for three years, or duting the fhe War, a the rs of e on the s Shpenred movning, ad Shire Boon e f that umber vastly exceeding the sition LAY & DR by telograph from different sections of the State: snd on a. ry the vol began n arris ands. When ES oiton was Baad with y the Governor of the additional troops ty e end of the war accepting this large addi. tion to the army rs enlisted for three years” service, when the troops first called by the Presi dent could not be held for more than three months, Secretary Seward, the ablest member 8 the Sablaet, patvisted Je the Menvancs that the war would end in sixty days ¢ large armies could not ve needed, and he seemed to dominate the convictions of his associates. Governor Curtin was piseed in & most embar- rassing position by the failure of the Government to accept the troops he had summoned. He feit that the State needed them for the safety of its exposed border, and he felt fully assured that the Government would need them when the terms of the three months’ t expired. He was un- wi ling to chill the patriotic ardor of the thous- ands in camp and the thousands that were pour- ing in from to day, uy turning them back to their homes when he felt confident that they would soon be needed in the field. He summon- ed the slature in extraordinary session, a loan of th illions was authorized, and the Pennsylvania Reserve Corps created to be placed in camps at the expense of the State, to be ready to Shey the call of the general government when needed. While the Reserve Corps was organized simply as a State military force, the law provided that at any time it might be called upon by the general government, it should be mustered into the United States <ervice, Ofull the many heroic acts which stand to the credit of Governor Cur. tin, that of creating the Pennsylvania Reserves in the face of the Government's refusal to accept them, and involving the enlargement of the cred- it ofthe State to the extent of three millions, stands out in sublime heroic grandeur. The vindication of Governor Cuartin's patriotic organization of the Pennsylvania Reserves for the proteciion of the State and to support the na- tivusl army when needed, came withina very few mouths after the ve regiments had bean organized aud located In thelr eamps for care iil military training ander officers chosen | sui=y with reference to their military experience, The first recognition of the need of the Penusyl- vain Reserves was when a single regiment was ¢ led for by the guvernment 10 march to the Up- per Potomac, and soon thereafter another was enlled for the same duty. A short time before the first battle of Bull Ran wag fought, Governor Curtin tormallv ndvised the Washington suthori- ties that the Pennsylvania Reserves were in camp wader constant drill and diseipiine, and he ten dered this large additional force to the Union ar. mv for the coming battle, but the offer was de- chined. Had the Pennsylvanian Reserves Leen with McDowell at Munasses, the Union army conld have overshelmed the combined forces ny John- son and Kennregard, but MebDawell was defeated und his army driven in contusion iuto the detens- o« of Washiogton. [ well remember the multi- tude of dispatches received the Governor, from the President, Secretory of War, and espe- cinlly from Co onel Scott, the assistant Secreiary of War, who ander tood the situation thoroughly. These disoatches came by the score, appealing to the Governor to hasten his Reserves to Washin tun to save the capital, and Colopel Scott wit hit mastery of our railroad systems of the State arranged for the immediate transportation. The resnit was that with'n twenty-four hours after McDowell's army had ax u drivelin mob 1ato the Washington defenses the measu tread of the Reserves, on Pennsylvania Avenue, brought Lincoln's exnression of gratitude, as he thanked God for the patriotism and conrage of Andrews G. Curtin, The Reserves were at once mustered into the national arty aod it e the nucleus of the new army of the Potomac, whose record of hero. ism in the face of long « cleat, is especiilly mem. orable in the history of our fraternal conflict. Every dollar of expense incurre i by the State in the creation of the Reserves was paid by the Na- tional Government, and what had been regarded by the national aul ties as almost revolutions ry abuse of authority hy Governor Curtin, stood confessed as the bravest and grandest achieve- meat of ion State Executives, One of most ic and efficient services rendered to the Government in promoting the success of the war was given by Loyul Gov n tion of the Confede England and i which would have A 8 roeels a tens one for the integrity of tha Union, McClellan bad been defeated on the Peninsula ; had been defeated at the Second Rall Run battle and the eutire army of the Potomac was huddled in the defenses of Washington, The prople of the country were stricaen with d r, and while it was an imperious necessity to Iargely re-enforce the Union armies to prosecute the war with sue- cess, the administration could not venture to is needed troops, Governor Curtin was Ste Hiaess and was in an eminent surgeon, ceived the idea of calling the ing erties into conference to in what way the government conld eail for the reen- forcements which were tely necessary. He had a conference with the Maver of Philadelphia, and 10 New York where he expected to confer with the Mayors of that city and of Bos ton. Colonel Scott ealled upon Sew ard, and found him auterly demoralized and unable to devise a policy by which a movement could be made to in- crease the armies, Scott ed to Seward that Curtin was in the city un surgical treat. ment and that it might be weil to confer with him, Seward heartily consented, and Scott ed to Cartin's room that he was forbidden by his zuljeon to leave, and told him of the despairing condition of things at Washington and of Seward's mission to New York, Curtinat once told Seott that he would join Seward, and he was carefally conveyed tn a closed carriage to Beward’s room where a number of men were in conference, of the lead. of the same type and heritage, and cherished with equal sanctity their herole traditions which | When Seward presented to Curtin his plan to confer with the Mayors of the leading eities, Car- | ed bya seri nis York under ine oar | tin ut once responded : “Why not call the Loyal Governors into conference ¥' All of the northern states nad love Governors, and upon Curtin's AxsUrance thst t woitid promptly respond to such a call, Seward gladly ed the progosi . Colonel Seott immediately telegraphed in Cartin's name to «ll the northern , Urg. ing them 10 join in the conference. The message sent was in these words: “In the present emer- , wontld it not be well if the loyal Goveraors meet at some point in a border State to take nienitres for the more active support of the Goverum~nt?" On the 14th of Soptember a eall for the an conference was ixsued, signed by Curtin, of Pennsylvania, Todd, of Onlo, and t, of Virginia, and on the 24th of the same mon a formal cal! upon the Gove the army at once 10 the extent nacessary to as sure it- success, and giving the assurance that thelr States would promptly furnish their respect. ive quotns. They not only prepared a formai ad- dress to the President, but with few execeptioos they went in abooy to Washington ana assured the President that the troops needed would be promptly furnished 10 prosecute the war to early succes This action of the Governors reinspired the loyal people of the conntry with fresh: hope. The President immediately is~ued a eall for ample re-enforcement for the army and the States ‘oyaliy responded, nnd this restored con- fidence in the entire north in the fiaal success of the Union urmy. But a much graver peril than that resulting from the depleted Univn armies confronted the President nod the country at that Jarticulas ge fod. ‘I'he recognition of the confederacy by - land would have carried with it the ition of Fruuce and the Union cause would have be- come hopeless, could be restrained only by an emanci policy, and so momen- tous an issue could not be declared when our armies were defeated and unequal! to renewing the conflict. When the Altoons conterence was called with the assurance of the hearty co-upers- tion of all the loyal Governors, the battle of An- tietam was fought, resulting in what could be Iaimed as a Union victory because Lee retreated eompily issued. his. proiminary” emancipation y minary ei pation hii a ony Itwas Jueiiminu: of tne loyal Gov red the re-enforce ments of the army, and warranted the Presider in declaring the policy of emancipation; sad it was these two acts which halted the recognition of the Con! and saved the Union cause. It was the action of the Altoona conference that made the prompt prosecution of the war and the Aectaration of emancipation possible, and to Gov- enor Curtin the nation is indebted the counra- geous and successful action that reinspired the shattered confidence of the loyal people and par- alyted our country's foes abrosd, possibilities and exactions im Governor Curtin daring the war may ably understood when it is stated that the State was invaded by Confederate armies in the fall of Jouz, by Lee's entire army in 1863 and by we land's command in 1864, when the lorch of the vandal was applied to Chambe during the war he organized an the field 302.284 soldiers, exclusive of 25. 000 militia or emergency men called out in Septemis:, 1864, when Lee invaded Mary- land, He farnishzd a inrge excess of troops over the number furnished by New York state that greatly exceeded our -Jopulation, and he was tireless in his efforts, not only to Protest the exposed border of the State, but to farnish the full quota of troops to the armies in the field. He had an ample svate force to meet and vanquish McCaus- lund and thus save Chambersburg from de- struction, but Hunter's disastrous defeat in the Valley when he was forced to retreat across the Potomac, ealled our troops, or- nized for state def unter's shattered army, and this left Mc. Causland unopposed in his destructive march, There are many thousands in Pennsyl- vanania who yet speak of Governor Curtin as the “Soldier's Friend", and the title will be transmitted to the children’s children of the Pennsylvania soldiers of our Civil War, It was not an accidental or cunningly in- vented title, but it was nobly earned by Governor Curtin’s devotion to the necessi- ties of his soldiers from the beginning to the close of the bloody conflict. No matter where the Pennsylvania soldiers were in camp or in battle, they felt the kind minis. trution of their Governor. When battles were fought and wounded were gathered in hospitals, he not only visited them in per- son, but he organized a system of civil commissions by which the sick and woun- ded had every possible care and comfort, and the Legislature in obeidence to his appeal, made lawful provision for the return of the bodies of every dead soldier to have sepulcher with its kindred at the cost of the state, At times, there were nearly or quite 100,000 Pennsylvanian sol- diers at the ng, and all were encournged by the fact that the Governor of their state would give them hearing and ir possible redress for every wrong dnposed upon them. Ten's of thousands of letters were written by our soldiers to the Governor, many of them making impossible requests as will ever be done by men far from home and suffering privations of a soldier's life, but no soldier's letter ever came to the Ex- ecutive Chamber that did not receive a personal answer from the Governor, and all that could be done for the comfort or for Justice to the soldier by him was always done, d upon measur. ; and that sent to Nor did his humane inspirations end with his ceaseless care for the interests of the soldier. 1 well remember when he con- ceived and first proposed that the orphans of our soldiers should be made the wards of the Commonwenlth, It was regarded as a startling proposition. The Legislature long hesitated to accept the oer of pro- viding schools, and practically homes, for the children of those who had fallen in the battle for the Union. When the Legislnture halted, he procured the consent of the members of the House that a gathering of the soldiers’ orphans shonld be had there, and | never forgot the oceasion when hun- dreds of those who had been made father less in the flame of battle, gure mute but cloquent expression of their helplessness, and the soldiers’ orphans’ schools were in- Sugurated us the settled policy of the state, This beneficent monument of humanity, reared solely by Governor Curtin’s devo- tion to the Pennsylvanian soldier and to his orphan children, has made our Commons wealth lustrous among the sister states of the Union for its generously just humanity, With such a record no nobler title could he given to Governor Curtin than that of the “soldier's Friend,” The Pennsylvania soldiers gave the most substantial evidence of their appreciation of Governor Curtin’s devotion to them in the Gubernatorial contest of 1863, when he was ut eandidate for re-election. There were 75,000 in the field, and at that time they had not the right to vote except at their home esidence, Four-fifths of them would prob- bly have voted for Curtin if opportunity had been given them, but they could not be spared from the ranks and they were ubso- lately disfranchised, The state had defeat- ed the Republican party in 182, and the political leaders in opposition to curtin were entively confident that, with the sol- diers disfranchized, he could be defeated and a Democratic vovernor elected. They nominated Judge Woodward, one of the ablest and most respected and popular of his pasty. With the soldiers absent from the polls, his opponents were confident that a majority of thirty or forty thousand of the votes cast would be of the faith op- posed to the Governor, and in that they were not mistaken : but the disfrunchised soldiers made themselves probably even more effective in the support of Curtin than if they had been permitted to vote for him at the election. Scores of thousands of letters came from the sumps of the disfran- chised soldiers to their fathers, brothers und personal friends, making an appeal to them to support the Executive who was then accep y all as the “Soldier's Friend,” and it was their influence, und that alone, that gave Governor curtin his triumphant re-election. He wus unxious to avoid the continuance of his term because of his utt-rly broken health, and before the nomination wus made, I bore to him from President Lin- coin the tender of a first class mission at the end of his term, if he desired to accept it. ‘Lhis tender was made by the President © Srne the Governor n publjet Sg Pp no nu can te for re-election, believed contest; but I u nouncement or a declination, leading oO! 10llow! structing their delegates to vote for his of his und he was fins ly compelled tounecept it when he could not but feel that he Yar of- his life as a sacrifice to duty. After his re-election, I pu from him on the joveliment vessel that was sent to Philadelphia to bear him to Cuba for rest and renewed health, and I turned him with sorrowi heart, believing t I should never meet bim again in life He yapidiy yuined strength in the tropical climate, and returned with sufficient vital ene! to resume his responsible duties until the close of his second term. Curtin’s devotion to the soldiers of Penn. sylvania endeared him to the people of every political faith, and the Legisintures of Bb and of 1880 present the anexam- pied rocords of unanimous votes in both ranches expressing the highest apprecia. ense, to the support of | pa tion of his patriotism, ability and integrity in the e of his o I duties. On Apri 12, the Legislature, that was the last with which Gov. Curtin cou'd have of- ficial associa passed by the fall vote of every member of both present, com- fmentary resolutions commending r having given “to the soldierin the fleld and in t hoaplal, and to the cause jor whieh the dier ht and died, the est sympathy and dec also that he had “tem: dign kindness and won the respect and con- fidence of the people.” 1t mast be remem- bered that these resolutions were ssed when partisan fon was fearfully in- flamed, but nota single Democratic vote was cast against the compliment to the Governor and not a single TRL pres. ent failed to yote, Three vears later, the lation, " an LE both relat unan branches the Yenolntion thanking the President for the compliment paid Gov. Curtin and his state in assigning to the duty of Minister to Russia. These records of unanimous commendation of the Gov. ernor, who was a zealous Dartisan except. ing when patriotism forbade it, exhibited a popular trust and affection for him that has never been given to another Chier Magistrate. After serving as Minister to Russia for several yesrs, he returned to his home and found imself then the nominated candi. date for delegate-at-large to the Constitu tional Convention,'that assured his election without a contest, and nis ripe experience in state affairs and broad and thorough statesmansiip made him one of the most efficient members of the body in revising our fundamental! law, At a later period, when he had Rensly reached the patriarch- al age, he was ealled to serve three terms in the National Congress as the Represen- tative of his home district, and he was an important factor in the so'ution of some of the gravest political problem~ wuich con- fronted our National Legislators of that day. It was through his tireless per-onal efforts that the Gettysburg Buttiefieid was made to preserve its own history, He pro. cured a speuial appropriation frow one. gress togather the snrviving cov mnnders of the war on the memaorniie eld snd per manently mark the location of every come mand on either side fn the great decisive battle of the war, When his Congressional service ended, he lived mimongst his beloved and loving friends in his beautiful mountain home the welcome guest at every household, and his presence ever brightened the eyes of old and young: and the most impressive pageant 1 have ever witnessed was the sor- rowing faces and agonized heart of the vastmultitude that assembled here when he had filled the full measure of his lustrous life and sed to the City of the Silent. Such is the story ofa son of Bellefonte whose statue we unveil today: a storv of achievement in patriotism, stutesmanship, heroism and humanity that can be written only of Andrew Gregg Curtin, ———— A — Lincoln's Cabin. For seven hours Tharsday. June 4th, the people of Philadelphia bad an opportu- nity to see the log cabin in which the im- mortal Lincoln was horn and in whieh he spent his childhood days. The eahin was seen at Thirty-second and Market streets hetween 9a. m. and 4 p. m., and to all were given the opportunity to view the modest home in which the great emanci- tor first saw the light. Bound on a tour of the east, just like that of the Liberty Bell, the cabin rested on a special car, guarded hy Captain Ballitt, of Company A. First Kentucky Regiment, and a file of soldiers, Upon its arrival there were exercises, and at 11 o'clock Mayor Weaver and other city officials made addresses. Then the public was invited to inspect the hirthplace of the great President. The cahin is the property of the Lincoln Farm Association, an organization whose members are in every part of the country. Some time ago the farm of 110 acres in the Blue Grass region of Kentucky. was pnt up at public sale, and Wer spirited bidjine it a hought by a private citizen, and now it is propos- ed that the entire tract he made a park, to remain the property of the people forever as a memorial to Lincoln. To this end the roll of honorary members is thrown to the public, all that is required heing a small fee, from 25 cents to as many dollars. The hoard of trustees consists of Joseph W. Folk, governor of Missouri, president ; Clarence H. Mackay, president of the Pos- tal Telegraph & Cable company, treasurer : Richard Llavd Jones, of New York, seore- tary, in addition to a nomher of other prominent men from all over the country. From Philadelphia the cabin was taken to Baltimore, Harrishurg, Altoona, Pitts. burg. Columbne, Cincinnati, Indiavapolis and Louisville, where it was kept during *0!d Home week.” Honey in Texans. The prodaggion of honey in Texas this season i= greater than for many years, This is dne to the remarkably favorable weath- er and to the increased number of hee col- onies, Uvalde county, west of San Anto- pio, is the leading honey producing section of the United States. There are more col- onies of heer in that county than in any other in America. The open winter, coup- led with copious rains, has made 1t possi ble for the hees to store honey daring prac: tically the entire winter, and the result is that there hae heen a constant marketing of the product this season through the months that usually are not productive of profit for beekeepers. VIN-TE-NA for Depressed Feeling, Ex- hansted Vitality, Nervous Debility and Diseases requiring a Tonio Strengthening Medicine. It cures quickly hy maki Pure Red Blood and replenishing the Bl Supply. Benefit Guaranteed or money re- fanded. All druggists, POOR HANDWRITING. One of the Causes That Downed Na- poleon at Waterloo. The nose of Cleopatra had a marked influence on the destinies of the an- cient world. The handwriting of Na- poleon I, we are assured by recent historians, had a similar effect upon the evolution of the modern world. He did not write; he scrawled. By reason of this, among other causes, he lost Waterloo. Grouchy could not read with exactness his decisive message. Was it “bataille engagee” (battle is on), or “bataille gagnee” (battle is won)? Grouchy chose the latter significance and, not believing it necessary to press forward, arrived too late. So much for the curl of a letter, a pen stroke or an fllegible swell to an “a.” This question was brought forward by the writing master of the elder Dumas. “Remember, Alexandre,” the master said to him, “the great defeat of the emperor was due only to his scrawling hand. If you wish to succeed in the world be careful of your heavy and your light strokes.” So if Napoleon had known how to write legibly or if he had taken the trouble to do so his descendants would reign today In France and we should not have had the republic. It appears historically established today that Dumas’ writing master was right. And on such slight things rests the fate of empires.—Cri de Paris. THIS WORLD OF OURS COUNTS THEM BY THE MILLIONS. Various Calculations by Which the Famous Scientists Have Endeav- ored to Figure Out the Age of the Planet Upon Which We Live. The time has admittedly gone by for attempting to “reconcile the facts of nature,” to use a recognized phrase, with the chronology of the Bible, which makes the age of the world rather less than 6,000 years. inaeed, in the Egyptian rooms at the British museum the visitor can see for himself objects which go back to an authenticated period long antecedent to 4000 years B. C., and great is the wonder produced on t"~ minds of those who first make their juaintance. In that same departiient, among the mummies, there is what is in many re- spects the most striking of the exhibits in the department—the body of a rian who belongs to the stone age. it les in an accurate representation of the peculiarly shaped grave in which it was found, and it has been in conse- quence somewhat irreverently nick- named by the habitues of the museum “tho wan in the pie dish.” The particular Interest in that corpse, which men, women and even children look upon without the least thought or suggestion of the fear or horror usual- ly inseparable from death, is that it is unquestionably the oldest exhibit In the museum, and scientists have been rather struck by the fact that the au- thorities of the great institution In Great Russell street have not, so to say, taken the bull by the horns, boldly labeled that exhibit as dating from 50,000 B. C. Thus with one single stroke of the pen Bishop Usher's Bib- lical chronology is multiplied by about nine, and it may be that an even high- er number would be required to satisfy the requirements of the age of that particular specimen. How long has the earth been a planet capable of supporting not only human, but all forms of life? In an address Lord Kelvin once de- livered on the subject he gathered to- gether the opinions of various scientific men which cannot but be of interest to every thinking being. Darwin, in his “Origin of Species,” stated that, “in all probability a far longer period than 300,000,000 years has elapsed;” while later on, in the same book, he wrote: “He who can read Sir Charles Lyell's grand work on the ‘Principles of Geology,’ which the future historian will recognize as having produced a revolution in natural science, yet does not admit how incomprehensibly vast have been the last periods of time, may at once close this volume.” Lord Kelvin himself—then Professor William Thomson—later made an at- tempt to calculate the length of time during which the sun has been burning at its present rate, and in that connec- tion he wrote: “It seems on the whole most probable that the sun has not years and almost certain that it has not done so for 500,000,000 years. As for the future we may say with equal certainty that the inhabitants of the earth cannot continue to enjoy the light and heat essential to their life for many million years longer unless new sources, now unknown to us, are pre- pared in the great storehouse of crea- tion.” It is a remarkable evidence of the acute perception of Lord Kelvin's mind, as of the rare prevision of his intellect, that the last words—"unless new sources, now unknown to’ us, are prepared in the great storehouse of creation” —should have been added to that remarkable sentence, As an example of the very extraor- dinary range of time given to the age of the earth, consider the following statement from Professor Jukes’ “Stu- dents’ Manual of Geology.” He wrote: “Mr. Darwin estimates the time re- quired for the denudation of the rocks of the weald of Kent, or the erosion of space between the ranges of chalk hills known as the north and south downs, at 300,000,000 years, It may be possi- ble, perhaps, that the estimate is a hundred times too great, and that the real time elapsed did not exceed 3,000,- 000 years; but, on the other hand, it is just as likely that the time which actually elapsed since the first com- mencement of the erosion till it was pearly as complete as it now is was really a hundred times greater than his estimate, or 300,000,000 years.” Professor Phillips in a lecture at the University of Cambridge considered the rate of erosion between the ranges of the north and south downs to be rather one inch a year than Darwin's estimate of one inch in a hundred years, so that on mere geological grounds he reduced the time to about a hundredth. Calculating, however, the actual thickness of all the known geological strata of the earth he came to the conclusion that life on the earth's surface may probably date back to be- tween 38,000,000 and 96,000,000 years. Professor Sollas of Oxford, working on new principles applied to the strati- fied rocks, reduced this time very con- siderably, for he wrote, “So far as I can at present see, the lapse of time since the beginning of the Cambrian system is probably less than 17,000,000 years, even when computed on an as- sumption of uniformity, which to me seems contradicted by the most salient facts of geology.” What are the data, it will naturally be asked, on which calculations of this magnitude are made? Among the most important are the consideration of the underground heat which is con- stantly being conducted out of the earth—in other words, the cooling of the earth—the speed at which the earth rotates on Its axis as well as physical properties of rocks at high tempera. tures, The loss of heat by conduction was | YEARS OF THE EARTH illuminated the earth for 100,000,000 Lord Kelvin's first argument for limit- ing the age of the earth. He found that if the earth had been losing heat in the past “with approach to uniformity for 20,000,000 years the amount of heat lost out of the earth would have been about as much as would beat by 100 degrees centigrade a quantity of or- dinary surface rock of 100 times the earth's bulk. This would be more than enough to melt a mass of surface rock equal in bulk to the whole earth. No bypothesis as to chemical action, In- ternal fluidity effects of pressure at great depths or possible character of substances in the Interior of the earth, possessing the smallest vestige of prob- ability, can justify the supposition that the earth's upper crust has remained nearly as it is, while from the whole or from any part of the earth so great a quantity of heat has been lost.” By considering the cooling of the earth and by tracing backward the process of cooling Lord Kelvin came to “a definite estimate of the greatest and least number of million years which can possibly have passed since the surface of the earth was every- where red hot.” This estimate he ex- pressed in the following words: “We are very ignorant as to the ef- fects of high temperatures in altering the conductivities and specific heats and melting temperatures of rocks and as to their latent heat of fusion. We must therefore allow very wide limits in such an estimate as I have attempt- ed to make, but I think we may with much probability say that the consoli- dation cannot have taken place less than 20,000,000 years ago, nor more than 40,000,000 years ago, or we should now have more underground heat than we actually have.”—S8t. Louis Globe- Democrat. BLACK ROD OF THE LORDS. His Last Public Appearance as an Executive Officer. Black Rod is an important and piec- turesque functionary of parliament, He is at once the policeman of the house of lords and the parliamentary messenger of the sovereign. He exe- cutes the warrants issued by the upper chamber for the arrest of the persons who have been adjudged guilty of a breach of its privileges or a contempt of its dignities. But in these days the curiosity of the public or its love of sensation is never piqued by the ap- pearance of Black Rod in the role of a policeman. Indeed, it is nearly a century now since a poor, trembling wretch stood, in the custody of Black Rod, at the bar of the house of lords, charged with having outraged its aw- ful majesty. He was a tradesman of Westminster, One winter evening, after he had put ap the shutters of his shop, he strolled across Old Palace yard to hear a de- bate in the house of lords. He had with him an umbrella, which he depos- ited in the charge of one of the door- keepers before he entered the stran- gers’ gallery. He never saw the arti- cle again. Another stranger, yielding to a too common weakness of frail hu- manity, carried it off while its rightful owner, trustful of the might of the im- perial parliament to protect, at least within its own sacred precincts, the property of its subjects, was drinking in political wisdom from the lips per- haps of the Duke of Wellington. The tradesman of Westminster was naturally indignant over the loss of his umbrella, but the expression of hic feelings assumed a form highly sub. versive of the ancient privileges of parliament. He actually issued a proc- ess against the doorkeeper of the house of lords for the recovery of the value of the lost article. This was more than the house of lords could stand. One of its doorkeepers summoned to appear as a defendant in a court of law! Black Rod was dispatched to ar- rest the daring shopkeeper, who was brought forthwith to the bar and soundly rated by the lord chancellor on his presumption in outraging the dignities of the house of lords because of the loss of a miserable umbrella. conduct, promised to take no further action against the doorkeeper and aft- er another severe reprimand was es- yard and there discharged. That was the last public appearance of Black Rad as the executive officer of the house of lords.—London Chronicle. Butterfly Farms, Most people when they look ata mag- nificent cabinet of butterflies, gleaming and glowing with a hundred iridescent hues, think that each butterfly was caught by hand—caught after a chase of a mile of two under a net or a hat. As a matter of fact, butterflies are rals- ed on little farms, like chickens. There tions, but without being able to de- tach us from these necklaces, brace lets and jewels.—Paris Eclair, be
Significant historical Pennsylvania newspapers