———
Deora ita
"Bellefonte, Pa., February 4, 1927.
My First Trip Abroad.
AUTOBIOGRAPHY.
By Rev. L. M. Colfeit D. D.
In the summer of 1881, after an ill-
ness, I joined the throng of Ameri-
cans seeking recreation and health
amid the fresh scenes of Europe. I
cannot dwell upon the details of the
passage from New York to South-
ampton on a North German Lloyd
steamer with any personal enthusiasm.
“Life on the ocean wave” may be a
beautiful thing in song but to us,
tumbled up and down by the pitch-
ings and tossing of the vessel, dread-
fully sick and loathing things gener-
ally, it was a wretched reality. And
vet all the impressions of a sea voy-
age on the German steamer were not
those of tobacco smoke and villainous
smells. A few days out, in the north-
eastern sky, the night was made bril-
liant by a comet, the most vivid for
twenty years, that phenomenen
among the stars which science has
never explained. But it needs no ad-
dition of cometary glory to make the
night at sea solemnly grand. The
great ship goes plunging through the
fitful shadows, panting and straining
as if in battle with the waves that
smite her prow vainly endeavoring to
drive her back. What beauty of col-
ors, notwithstanding the night! The
stars seemed to trembie in the undulat-
ing light, the blades of the propelior
threw up and back a shower of bril-
liant flashes, and in our wake was the
long line of phosphorescent light.
White starsas the “Milky Way” strew
:and bediamond the infinite spaces over-
head, flitting clouds give sombre
‘touches to the scene; while over all,
the moon rides in her gentle glory,
letting fall her rays on certain waves
in a strain of purple—all varied by
the gasses and strange reflections
‘which the vapors of the air and the
changes of the ocean give to the nigh
of weird enchanting beauty on the
great deep. Strange thoughts leap
from the recesses of the brain as we
lock up into such a heaven. Why is
my own being so dark to me when the
very worlds of brute matter flame
with splendor? Why is not the hori-
zon of my own thoughts as vast as
the horizon before me? Why is not
my own reason clear as the moon and
radiant as the stars? With an in-
finitude above the Spirit, an abyss
beneath, a rim of mystery all around,
is there any escape from Agnosticism
—from helpless surrender to the Un-
knowable? Nothing but the few
words. which fell from the lips of the
Nazarene calling the human soul to
a faith, sublime in its simplicity and
its abandon here and prophetic of im-
mortality hereafter. 2
The voyage was further enlivened by
the sight of a school of whales five
in number,” disporting and spouting
in full view, taking no note of the
modern leviathan so near them. But
not all the denizens of the deep are
so devoid of curiosity as the whale.
When 400 miles from the English
coast, the whole ship’s crew, the cap-
tain and the passengers were shocked
out of all stoicism by the appearance
in the distance of the tinyest vessel
probably, that ever crossed the At-
lantic. It was a infinitesimal schoon-
er, 16 feet long, with one sail and
the American flag at the masthead.
Two men sat in the stern with no
more room than merely to steer the
miniature boat and certainly not
enough to stretch lengthwise. The
captain ordered the great ship to stop
and hailed, “Ship Ahoy! Whither
bound ?” “From London to New
York” was the answer. The two men
refused all offers of assistance with a
sang froid that was truly American,
merely asking if we had any mail
for New York! Meanwhile a great
white object was plainly perceptible,
following. It was a man-eating shark,
almost as large as the boat itself! On
the captains’ calling their attention
to it, the men asserted that it had
followed them all morning. Curios-
ity, doubtless allied with a lively an-
ticipation of a meal. The captain
swore roundly at the temerity of the
men and ordered the great engines
started. As that minnow of a boat
parted from wus, with its two auda-
cious Americans bound for New York
in the stern, now appearing on the
erest of a wave and then disappearing
in the trough of the sea, plainly fol-
lowed by the curious man-eating
shark it stamped itself upon my mem-
ory as the most thrilling sight it was
ever my lot to behold in many voyagz-
es across the Atlantic.
And now we drew near to the Eng-
lish coast and caught the sight of the
white surf leaping back from the
cliffs. Sweeping by the Pentland hills
among which William Penn planted
his residence on returning from Penn-
Sylvania and steaming along the fair
Isle of Wight until the lights of
‘Southampton glimmered in the dis-
tance, we weighed anchor, with thank-
ful hearts, in the broad harbor.
SOUTHAMPTON.
Whe city of Southampton bears
«evidemeey of its ancient historical im-
portances. In the midst of busy streets
:are curious relics of old walls, battle-
‘ments, double: ditches and watch tow-
ers. The broad, epen bay presented
from the earliest period, an inviting
anchorage and favorable base of ope-
ration for the sea-kings and maraud-
ers. Here the Romans landed and
Southampton Harbor is supposed to
be the Antona of Taecitul. Hither the
fierce Danes came and committed
dreadful ravages in the 8th and 9th
centuries. In the bay, attacking fleets
of the French oft rode and English
transports rendezvoused for the car-
riage of troops to France in the wars
waged with varying fortunes in the
14th and 15th centuries. Thence the
army embarked for the fight at Agin-
court, here also Kings and Queens,
Charles V, Edward IV, Philip of Spain
and Queen Elizabeth met to treat and
decide the destiny of nations in those
troublous times.
The bar gate crossing the princi-
pal street of the town still remains en-
tire. It is a semi-octagonal ach term-
inated at each extremity by a semi-
circular tower. On the north front of
the towers are two figures represent-
ing the famous hero of romance, Sir
Bevis, of Hampton, and the giant,
Ascabart, whom he slew in single
combat. Sir Walter Scott, quoting
from an ancient manuseript copy of
the “Romance of St. Bevis” alludes
to Ascabart in the first canto of “Lady
of the Lake.” Ellis gives the mod-
ernized version of the same passage
in his Specimens of Early Romances.”
“The giant was mighty and strong
And full thirty feet was long
He was bristled like a sow
A foot he had between each brow
His lips were great and hung aside
His eyes were hollow, his mouth
was wide
Lustily was he to look upon than
And liker a Devil than a man.
His staff was a young oak
Hard and heavy was his stroke.”
On this, our first Sabbath in Eng-
land, we entered the Cathedral of
Southampton and joined in the Eng-
lish worship. If we found the service
of the English Church somewhat af-
fected in the great cathedrals such
as St. Paul and Westminister, the re-
versa was the case in the smaller
cathedrals and churches. The com-
mon people entered with evident
earnestness and reverence into the
worship of God and there was some-
thing very impressive in the ancient
ritual of the Established Church and
in the thought that the humble wo-
man by my side was repeating the
prayers and chanting the songs in
which her father and mother before her
and forelders generations before
them worshipped the Most High God.
There is a hoary grandeur about the
worship of the ancient of days in an
old English church very restful to
the soul after coming from the midst
of a Lustling world with all its innova-
tions and mutations.
The Rector of the cathedral and
the Preacher of the day, the son of
the great emancipator, Wilberforce,
gave the people a most evangelic dis-
course upon the theme of “Conscious
Pardon the Inspiration of Christian
Love.” “Whether of the twain will
love him most? He to whom he for-
gave most.” He emphasized the
necessity of a solid point from which
to rise and ascend into the Kingdom
of Heaven. That point, that firm
rock is the righteousness of Christ.
This righteousness is perfected, God
is reconciled. Everything is done yet
everything remains to be done. That
redemption must be appropriated by
you, by ms, by all. It is the appre-
ciation, the perosnal appreciation of
the forgiveness of Christ which con-
stitutes salvation—is regeneration on
the new birth. This Redemption by
the vicarious sacrifice of Christ is
sufficient for all. Upon my personal
appreciation and appropriation of this
redemption it is efficient for me.
Thenceforward the sense of forgive-
ness inspires and perpetually feels the
love of the soul toward the Forgiver.
That love blinds the soul in personal
devotion to Christ, inspires on a hu-
man scale his divine sacrifice, and
works inthis and the future state the
similitude of Christ’s sanctity and
glory. Such is the dim outline of the
simple yet profound gospel discourse
which fell from the lips of this worthy
son of his great father. More of an
orator than English preachers were
found to be, it was not strange that
he was Canon of St. Paul’s, London
as well as Rector of Southampton.
There was an absence of all conven-
tion in the preacher, an avoidance of
theological terms, an intellectual hon-
esty and manliness withal that, but
for the surroundings we would have
taken the preacher for a nonconfirmist
and the sentiments befitting a Moody
evangelistic service. Indeed with all
the pomp of ritual and all the rigid-
ity of the State Church of England
there is perhaps more independence
among her ministry than in any sim-
ilar body in the world. Not depend-
ent for a living upon their parishion-
ers, they need not trim sentiments for
the popular ear. It is an independ-
ence capable of the best result in the
hands of an earnest God-loving man.
Thus the Church of England carries
within her organization the greatest
rigidity in her ritual and the largest
liberty in her pulpit of any sect in
Christendom.
Bad Weather of 1926 Expensive.
New Haven, Conn.—The inclement
weather this year has cost the United
States $500,000,000 and that of last
June more than $100,000,000 alone,
Prof. Ellsworth Huntington, reseaich
associate at Yale university and me-
teorologist, said here. This astonish-
ing loss never was realized by the pop-
ulace, however, because they were
“still extraordinarily stupid,” Profes-
sor Huntington added.
“Ever since the earliest men began
to think,” he said, “they have known
that their happiness depends to a con-
siderable degree upon the weather.
“Nevertheless, even in our day, we
still have only the erudest conception
of just what the weather is doing to
us. The relationships between the sun
and the weather and between the
weather and the erops, and between
crops and general circles of buisness
are very complex.
“A solar condition which brings
prosperity in one region is almost cer-
tain to bring calamity somewhere
else,” he explained. “When one re-
gion has unusually warm weather
others may be cooler than normal;
when one region is unusually stormy
or rainy others are practically certain
to be free from storms and to suffer
from drought.
He pointed out that the financial
panics of 1837, 1874 and 1893 came
after several years of low rainfall
over a wide area. He also said a short
overly hot spell would take more than
the usual number of lives. He valued
each life at $7,000, and showed that
these wilting heat spells had a very
definite effect upon financial equilib-
rium,
—————————————————
—In order to see which side of your
bread is buttered, drop it, and the side
that hits the carpet is it. It has re-
peatedly been tried and never failed
in a million rugs.
Hydrated Lime Will Waterproof Con-
crete.
Washington, D. C.—Every builder
recognizes the necessity of watertight
basements, cellars, and floors and
every owner of a building of a home
has a right to demand a watertight
structure, asserts the National Lime
Association in explaining that water
is one of the worst enemies of good
concrete construction. Too much
mixing water means weak, porous
concrete, and too great a variation in
the moisture content of the concrete
after it has hardened causes cracks,
continues the statement of the asco-
ciation, which adds:
“The best way to make concrete
watertight is to add hydrated lime to
the mix. It is also the cheapest meth-
cd. The results are permanent and
satisfactory in filling, with high work-
ability and uniformity, freedom from
segregation and cracking, high
strength and pleasing color.
“Engineers now know that the
stresses due to moisture variation are
greater than those due to tempera-
ture. Hydrated lime keeps the mois-
ture content uniform, avoiding in-
ternal stresses and cracking. It is
the standard waterproofing material.
Its use by leading architects, en-
ginears, and contractors throughout
the country testifies to its reliability
and continuing effectiveness. Its cost
is offset by the increase in workabil-
ity and the decrease in handling ex-
pense.
“While void filling is well enough
as far as it goes, there must be no
porous areas like stone pockets,
bridges, and honey-combs. The ad-
dition of lime prevents them, for lime
makes concrete so workable that every
corner of the forms is sure to be fill-
ed. All steel, even in the most in-
tricate rein-forcing, is completely and
uniformly imbedded in dense and hom-
ogereous concrete, thereby preventing
rust. -
“Concrete containing lime is placed
with less water than concrete with-
out lime. The natural smoothness of
the lime is imparted to the concrete
and it flows down the chutes in a uni-
form and stiff but plastic mass, with-
out clogging and without segregation.
There is no need for the man at the
mixer to flood the concrete in order
to wash it down the chute and into
the forms.
“There is abundant laboratory proof
of the value of hydrated lime in mak-
ing concrete watertight. Tests con-
ducted independently by universities
and laboratories of high standing
agree in their results and verify prac-
tical field experience. Field tests
show that lime makes all batches uni-
form. Also, field tests of concrete
containing lime show that it is unus-
ually high in strength; often higher
than plain concrete. This is due to
better mixing and placing, greater
uniformity and density, lower water
content and better control. Uniform-
ity means a safe job from start to fin-
ish.
These Modern Twists.
Police Chief: “What! You mean to
say this fellow choked a woman to
death in a cabaret in front of two
hundred people, and nobody interfer-
ed?”
Cop: “Yes, Cap, everybody thought
’
they were dancin’.”—Fetter Clippings.
—Subscribe for the Watchman.
Fatality to Every 293 Cars.
American streets are day by day
getting more perilous for pedestrian
and vehicular traffic.
A report to Secretary of Commerce
Hoover by the National Conference on
Street and Highway Safety, disclosed
that in 1925 there was one automo-
bile fatality to every 293 registered
machines.
More than 21,620 persons died in
accidents in which automobiles alone
figured, including accidents in which
motor cars were involved, but which
were charged against railroads and
electric lines 26,627 persons met death.
Motor registration was given as 19,-
954,347.
While figures are not yet available
for this year estimates for motor fa-
talities are at a higher figure than in
1925, and indicate that the death rate
has been higher.
——— a ——
Further Aid for World War Disabled
is Reported.
Representative Kirk has introduced
2 bill in the house which provides
further aid to disabled veterans of the
World War. The bill proposes that
any disabled veteran whose income is
less than $75 per month, shall be en-
titled to compensation provided by the
law, whether the disability was of
service origin or not.
Fable for Dentists.
“Doctor,” said the patient to the
dentist, “I haven’t a single decent ex-
cuse to offer for neglect of my teeth.
I have had plenty of time to spare to
have them attended to, no sickness in
my family or press of business to keep
eet eee ———————————
me away from your office, and no lack
of money to pay for the work. The
truth is, I am just a plain, miserable
coward.”—Life.
Grange to Broadcast at State College.
Many attractive features have been
arranged for February broadcasts
from the radio station at the Penn-
sylvania State College, including a
farm and garden program each Mon-
day night at 8 o’clock that will be of
interest to residents of rural commun-
ities. It is estimated by the State De-
partment of Agriculture that almost
28,000 farmers in the State have radio
receiving sets and it is for this audi-
ence, and the town back-yard garden-
ers that the college provides timely
suggestions through its radio sta-
tion, WPSC. The Penn State Grange,
composed of agricultural students, will
give a special program on the evening
of February 14. They will provide all
entertainment and lectures for the oc-
casion.
United States far Behind in Aviation.
France and England are leading
in aviation according to a spec-
ially prepared report delivered by
the navy intelligence office to the
House naval affairs committee.
All the great powers, except Ger-
many, are committed to huge air ser-
vice programs. With the completion
of the authorized five year program
scheduled to be under way this year,
the report shows the United States
will move up with the world’s lead-
ers. This would give the army and
navy more than 3,000 airplanes. At
present the army and navy have 926
ships.
en
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