6
HERO AND MARTYR
OBSERVING THE ' QUADRIGENTEN
NIALOF SAVONAROLA.
JUL Creeds Now Laud the Great l'rieat
Who I lied lor Freedom'* Cauue. lie
Was Not Afrai<l to Stand Up Alone
Against Vice and Curruption.
It Is now four hundred years sincg
mankind saw the example of a great
churchman standing up unaided and
•lone to voice the will of his masters
and to rebuke as he did, vice and sel
flahness and lust of power. That
man was Savonarola. Savonarola
was not canonized. His name does
not grace the calendar of the saints,
but he was the nearest churchman to
the type of Christ that appeared sfnea
the Crucifixion, and Immeasurably the
greatest since his own day.
Savonarola lived in Florence when
Florence was the first city of
the world and when it was
ruled by a man to whom time
serving writers have given the name
at Lorenzo the MagniScent, but whose
proper designation ought to have been
the corrupt Podesta of the Italian Ren
aissance.
The Medici were extensive mer
chants in Florence and held power by
packing thp primaries. They held
Florence in their grasp by first select
ing its rulers inside the walls of the
palace and then condescending to call
the people together to announce the
names of those upon whom the choice
had fallen. The last lusty praetor of
this line, but one, was this Lorenzo
and he had exhausted the spice of life
at the age of 44 years. His motto
was to encourage "cheerful sins." Po
litically he also was so corrupt as td
call for the censure of Savonarola; but
he was the Papal treasurer as well as
dictator of the Republic. He had
sufficient "pull" to remove the monk to
a parish on the top of a neighboring
mountain where Savonarola could ap
preciate the plight of Tantalus by
looking down upon the Florentine city
while too far away to make his voice
heard at tho lecherous court in the
itreets.
There were no "extras" or telegraphs
In those days and banishment from
the great city was equivalent to com
plete Isolation. However, from his
isolation Savonarola preached alter
nately against both Church and State,
or to bo more accurate, against the
rival despots who then represented
both institutions in Italy. A time
came when Lorenza fell out with the
Vatican. Lorenzo who felt tired of
ruling a Republic whose people gave
him so much his way, resolved upon
forming a dynasty by grasping the
neighboring states of Naples and Mil
an. He and his family had robbed
the Florentines but the Medici had
compounded fur other crimes by rich
ly endowed libraries and had freely
given of money thus wrung from want
tor the erection of churches.
In carrying out his dynastic schemes
it struck Lorenzo the Magnificent that
it would give him more prestige If he
now recalled Savonarola from his se
clusion in the Mountains, particularly
as the bent of Savonarola's preaching
had been minatory of the Vatican
which was secretly desirous of balking
Lorenzo's plan of unifying Florence,
Naples and Milan in one dynasty as it
was later that of Garrlbaldl and of
Victor Emmanuel.
Savonarola was now accordingly
brought back to Florence and installed
in the Church of St. Mark. He again
denounced all tho vices and hypocrisy
of the joint despots of Italy with re
newed zeal and was promptly sum
moned to ißome. He refused to
go. SavrAnayola was summoned
again av.d agMs declined. As
Lorenzo had n<flfy endowed this
Church of St. ordered the suc
cessive pastors call at the palace
to pay their respects on every anniver
sary of his birth. Savonarola posi
tively declined to recognize any such
arrangement. He refused to pay any
heed whatever to the summons of Lor
enzo. He was an independent man
who mean", to keep his life and sacred
character in strong contrast to tho
sluggish and salacious tendencies of his
times. This example will illustrate
the man's character. One day the
Ptlncess of a burgher family, and
whose husband was the lord of Bolog
na made a pompous and noi3y en
trance Into Savonarola's church while
he was officiating. The commotion of
the admiring Florentines was redolent
of the'servitude of the period. Though
the family of the Lord of Bologna was
so influential that It was said "God
Almighty would hesitate to damn one
of them," Savonarola stopped for a
moment in bis sermon saying "here
comes an evil sp-tit to disturb this
word of God!" Tae haughty ludy en
tered church with less of a retinue
end with decidedless aplomb the
succeeding Sabbath and the chastening
though rude and pointed speech did
her a world of gucd.
Such * was tho man whom Lorenzo
the Magnificent now called to Florence
to play off against the Vatican and
whom neither Prince nor Pope neither
the Vatican nor the Court could
swerve from the path of truth and duty
as-he believed both to be limned out
by ehrist. In truth Savonarola indi
cated. the dignity of religion against
the mercenary vandals who would de
stroy It. TP- made the world, the
flesh and the devil so shaky in the
polity of Florence four huudred years
ago a's they hadn't been since the com
ing of Christ himself. Savonarola
strong, eloqueut and righteous with
true religion was one side. r;, O
worffi, the peak and tho devil backed
other. An i j- so pointedly marto
by both Chuicn and State were on the
oould not last long. One or other
would have to give way.
Lorenzo as personifying the State
was the first to surrender. The de
bauched dictator was about to die.
he sent a messenger for Savonarola's
presence and priestly blessing. Lor
enzo was a man with excellent com
mon sense notwithstanding his bad
and sinful life and knowing that the
intercession of a wretched padre would
have only inflamed and insulted an al
ready angry God he sought for tho
benediction of an honest, upright, and
righteous exponent of the life and ex
amples of Christ Savonarola's an
swer was worthy of him. He offered
to help Ixrrenzo to the Throne of Grace
upon these three conditions. First,
Lorenzo was to make a declaration of
faith in God and his Church. This
condition shows that Savonarola dif
fered largely from the subsequent ca
reer of those reformers of whom Luth
er is probably tho best typo. Savon
arola unlike Luther never ceased to be
a Catholic In spirit, sympathy and af
filiations. The second condition was
that Lorenzo was to restore to the peo
ple all the Illegal tribute he had wrung
from them in order to enrich his fam
ily and to endow churches and to build
libraries. Thirdly he was to restore
also tho political liberties of tho Re
public of Florence. Lorenzo gladly
ofTered to comply with the first of
these conditions, but he declined the
last two. Savonarola now left the
death chamber and the tyrant went to
Heaven without an exequatur.
Then soon after the death of Loren
zo the Magnificent a holy boycott was
proclaimed from Rome against Sav
onarola. A secret society was or
ganized In Florence for the purposes
of his persecution. The pulpit from
which he uttered the truths of his
Creator was filled with the refuse and
the filth of the streets. Nails were
hammered upwards so that their
points protruded through the pulpits
upon which he used to strike his
hands in driving home to the hearts
of men the great truths which Inspired
him. He was eventually burned In the
public square of Florence, May 23,
1498.
Contrast the lives and characters of
the two men—of Lorenzo and the al
most forgotten friar—recall the accu
rate application of Lowell's lino
"Truth forever on the scaffold; wrong
forever on the throne—"
and wonderlngly asked also whether
such can be as true of Heaven as it
unquestionably was of the Medieval
despot. If so we may well deny our
selves such a place and prefer the com
pany of those pious Italians who in
spite of every anathema still annually
strew with fiowers the place where
Savonarola was crucified. If religion
is ever to recover the ground it Beems
to have lost such will only be done by
the clergy keeping the model of this
brave and immortal man steadily be
fore their minds. The spectacle of a
modern Savonarola telling a Rocke
feller or a Carnegie of his delinquencies
in the very temple which he had reared
and to his face would do more to re
vive popular interest in the churches
than all the revivals and sermons and
Sunday schools of a whole century.
Bishop Potter attempted this role In a
mild way in St. Paul's Church in New
York in 1888 in the cases of the poli
ticians and in the presence of Pres
ident Harrison but his example feeble
though it was hasn't found among the
pastors of America one single imita
tor.
MISS ETHEL R. BENJAMIN.
The first and only woman allowed to
practice in a supreme court in British
dominions is Miss Ethel R. Benjamin,
who last year graduated from Otaga
University at the head of her class in
every branch of the law. The New
Zealand courts immediately uamitted
her to the bar, although in Great Brit
ain and British possessions there is a
prejudice or conservatism that has pre
vented any other woman from being
thus honored.
Enzllah apt It In Spoken.
It is little wonder that foreigners
are in despair in learning to speak the
English language. One of the great
est difficulties lg the way in which the
same syllable sounds have often very
different meanings.
"You'll get run in." said the pedes
trian to the cyclist without a light.
"You'll get run Into," savagely re
sponded the cyclist, as he knocked- tho
pedestrian down and ran up his spine.
"You'll get run in, too." said the po
liceman. as he stepped from behind a
tree and grabbed the wheel.
And just then another scorcher came
along without a light, so tho policeftian
san in two.
Maid—Mem, the baby has gone off
and nobody has seen him l'or an hour;
and, mom, ho left the gate wide open
after him. *
Mistress—Gracious! Left the gate
open? Then Fldo has probably run
away, and just as like as net I will
never see tho dear thing again. Bos
ton Transcript.
THE COLUMBIAN. BLOOMSBURG. PA.
WEST POINT'S OLDEST VETERAN.
Oen.rul Greene'. HrlllJnnt Career M a
Soitiier.
The oldest notable man In the
United States to-flny Is tlio war vet
eran and ratnous engineer, General
George Sears Greece
George Sears Greene was born May
6, ISOI, In the little town of Apponaug,
In the State of Rhode Island. Ills an
cestor, John Greene, came from Salis
bury, England, to ihls country In 1635,
and settled In rhs town of Warwick,
Rhode Island. When John Bull, In
ISI2 tried a second time to punish his
rebellious son, Jonathan, young Greene
then but eleven years old, wanted to
shoulder his muskat and help Jona
than to give the tyrannical parent
another sound drubbing; but his moth
er thought him too young, and he waa
forced to be content with the promlso
that, when old enough, he 6hould en'er
the United States military academj at
West Point, and learn how to
the enemies of his country. Accord
ingly, a few years later he became a
student at this institution; and im
proved his time so well that when he
graduated, in 1823, ho stood second in
his class.
After graduation he served as an
Instructor in mathematics and engi
neering at West Point, and ID varioua
garrisons in Virginia, Rhode Island,
Maine and Massachusetts, until 1836,
when ho resigned from the army and
devoted his time to the profession of
"ivil engineering. At about this period
began the marvelous era of railroad
building in the United States, when
thousands of miles of roadways were
made for the iron borse, running out
of ail the large cities into what was
then the wilds of the west. It was an
opportune time for a civil engineer;
and Greene, who had already acquired
a reputation equalled by few in his
profession, found his services in con
staud demand. He assisted in the
construction of railroads in the states
of Maine, Massachusetts, Rhode Is
land, New York and Maryland. He
was busy at this work until 1556, when
ha was hired by the Croton aqueduct
department of New York City. While
in its employ he superintended the
most of tho important engineering
work done in the city, designing and
building the reservoir In Central Park,
enlarging High Bridge and building a
new aqueduct over it. During this
time his fame as an engineer grew,
until it became so great that private
individuals and corporations often
came to him for advice, when import
ant work was to be undertaken by
them.
In 1861 came the war of the rebel
lion. Engineer Greene was now
sixty years old, but strong and hearty.
The war stirred his martial blood;
and when in 1882 it became evident
that tho rebellion was not to be put
down easily, that his country had
need of the help of the arms and
brains of all of her loyal sons, he hesi
tated no longer, but offered his ser
vices. His ability was well known,
and. despite his sixty years, he was
given an important command. Now
began a life of hardship and perill,
sufficient to test severely the strength
of a strong man full of the vitality of
youth; but General Greene at sixty
years of ago was practically in the
prime of his Mto, and his splendid
physique carried him safely through
them all.
Gettysburg proved his courage and
generalship. Here, on the night of
July 2, 1563, with his brigade reduced
to less than 1,500 men, he held the en
trenchments on Culp's Hill, on the
right wing of the army of the Potomac,
from 6 until 10 o clock at night,
against the repeated attacks of the Con
federate forces. lie occupied a cru
cial point, and the Southerners were
determined to drlhve him from it. if its
accomplishment was within the ability
of men and courage. Again and again
did they charge the little band of
heroes on Culp's Hill, only to be met
with a courage more stubborn than
their own and driven back. Had they
been able to force General Greene from
bis position, and, though the gap
thus made, hurried a strong division to
the rear of the main body of the Un
ion army on Cemetery Ridge, Gettys
burg, probably, would have been a
Confederate victory.
After Gettysburg General Greene,
with the rest of the eleventh and
twelfth corps of the army of the Poto
mac, went to Nashville to re-enforce
the army at Chattanooga. On October
28, during a night attack by the enemy
at the foot of Lookout Mountain, Gen
eral Greene, while at the head of his
brigade, fell, badly wounded by a ball
through his upper Jaw. The enemy
was routed; but the brave old veteran
was compelled to retire from fighting
until January, 1885. As soon as his
physicians would permit he resumed
his military duties; and, although
within a few months of sixty-four
years of age, he Joined a provisional
division under Generals Schofield and
Cox at Newberp, North Carolina. At
the battle of Kingston, North Carolina,
he'had another escape , from
death. His horse was killed, and he
was thrown to the ground; but es
caped without serious Injury. 'lhls, \
briefly, tells the story of his more Im
portant services during the rebellion.
Rhode iSland, his native state, was so
proud of his gallant conduct and val
ued services during the war, that its
legislature guvc him a vote of thanks, j
General Greene now has the added
distinction of being ths oldest living
American army officer, the oldest liv
ing graduate of Vv'est Point and tbe
oldest man living who has been promi
nent in American public life.
BOLD PIRAL ES AND PRIVATEERS. "
Con.truing tho International Law. That
Rule tho Comineroo of the Hlgli Seas.
Privateering is correctly defiued as the
Indulgence of that piratical spirit
which en.ters Into the hearts of men In
time of war, whereby under the mask
of patriotism they inflict losses on an
enemy's commerce with the primary
object of enriching themselves. There
are other definitions in the lexicons of
international law, but this interprets
the spirit of the practice. In the pres
ent usage a license Is Issued to a per
son having some opportunities for the
purpose of privateering. He ships a
number of able-bodied fighting men,
and under the authority granted in
what are termed letters of marque and
reprisal, these seamen ferret out ships
either carrying tho enemy's colors or
these of a neutral nation, and suspect
ed of having contraband-of-war or
other valuable cargoes, they run Uie
vessel so captured Into port and con
fiscate a portion of the proceeds as the
reward of capture.
If private Individuals attempt to
seize a vessel without having letters of
marque and reprisal In their posses
sion from the proper authorities they
come within the designation of pirates
and are entitled to be shot down. Re
duced to Its last analysis a privateer
is therefore one who, if letters of
marque and reprisal were not Issued
would be entitled to be treated as a
pirate. In other words privateering is
plundering uhder protection of some
responsible government.
Previous to the Crimean war In 1855
this was the universal law of nations
but at the Treaty of Paris where the
questions Involved in that war were
finally settled, privateering was re
garded as a cruel and Indefensible
practice and was abolished. The un
derstanding to do so was signed April
16, 1856 on the part of Austria, France,
Great Britain, Russia, Prussia, Sar
dinia and Turkey, and is therefore
binding on all the great powers except
the United States, Spain and Mexico.
These nations have never recognized
the Declaration of Paris against pri
vateering. The injury that may be
done to a nation by a professedly neu
tral power may easily be Inferred from
that done to the commerce of the Unit
ed States by the Alabama and other
cruisers fitted out In England and
flying the English flag. These crui
sers Charles Sumner estimated had
wrought to American shipping a dam
age of $3,000,000,000, thus practically
driving our merchant marine from the
seas.
There have been two theories hither
to governing privateering. Ono was
that It made no difference whether
goods were carried under hostile or
even neutral flag and the other that It
was the nationality of the vessel car
rying the goods always determined
their liability to capture. In the for
mer case the nationality of tho goods
and not the vessel In which they were
carried was the determining point
Thus in one case the enemies' goods
were safe nowhere; In the other they
were not liable to seizure when carried
in ships flying a neutral flag.
A cruiser of one nation has the right
to know the nationality of another
that it meets at sea. But a failure to
declare nationality though grave cause
for suspicion would give no right of
capture. The inquiring vessel is first
expected to show its colors. If the
suspected cruiser does not respond a
blank cartridge may be fired across Its
bows. Should there be still no declar
ation of nationality this may be fol
lowed by a cannon shot, but nothing
more is permitted. And if the pursu
ing vessel takes the risk of search her
crew and captain must be prepared to
take the consequences. In interna
tional law mere flight or silence is
therefore no Justification for search or
attack.
A vessel sailing between two neutral
ports and found on the usual line of
navigation is not subject to inquiry.
If, however, required by a cruiser,
which shows its colors she refuses to 1
heave to and then resists the right
of search such Rctlon Justifies her con
fiscation if found with contraband of
war. Coal is usually contraband of
war and any articles likely to give aid
or comfort to an enemy if found in ex
cessive quantities. As to what con
stitutes a privateer there is some dif
ference of opinion. An armed mer
chantmen is not a privateer. Jefferson
said that "though a merchant vessel
had arms to defend herself in time of
war and In the course of her regular
commerce this no more makes tier a
privateer than a husbandman follow
ing his plow in time of war with a
knife or a pistol in liis pocket is there
by made a soldier."
WAR'S NIGHT EYE.
Tne searchlight plays a prominent
part in guarding against anight attack.
Above is shown the kind moated along
the'Atlautio seaboarl. ~
V _ "A PERFECT FOOD—as Wholesome as It Is Delicious."
0 WALTER BAKER & CO.'S O
IJr BREAKFAST OOCOSji
In |i|P •• Has stood the teat of more than xoo years' use amon* all JS
Aw 2 Vn classes, and for purity and honest worth is unjquailtd."
AH i * \ \\ —lltdical and Surgical Journal. /\
X Hi' I lITVA Costs less than ONE CENT a Cup.
V MM I r* 1 ■ Trade-Mark on Every Package.
WALTER BAKER & CO. LTD., X
TRADE-MARK. Established I 780. DORCHESTER, MASS. A
ALEXANDER BROTHERS & CO.
DEALERS IN
Cigars, Tobacco, Candies, Fruits and l\uts
SOLE AGENTS FOR
Henry Maillard's Fine Candies. Fresh Every "Week.
iPsyisriT-s GOODS SPECIADTT.
SOLE AGENTS FOR
F. F. Adams & Co's Fine Cut Chewing Tobacco
Sole agents for the following brands of Cigars'
Henry Clay, Lcndres, Normal, Indian Frincess, Samson, Silver Ash
Bloomsburg Pa.
IF YOU ARE IN NEE£ OF
CARPET, JIATTO'G,
ob* OIL CLOTH,
YOU WILL FIND A NICE LINE AT
W. lEL IBEOWEB'S
2nd Door above Court Honbc
A large lot of Window Curtains in stock.
| fl THAT'S JUST IT !
. .....v?- You can't always tell by the
J*? I// W if looks of a garment liow it is
/// going to WEAR.
/ij|.' get the WEAR as well as
i I ie l°°k s when you can have
\Jf /1 ' I i both at the same
rAl'i| \ \ ill/ PEICE. $12.00 is the starting
Safer — : lu|| M 1 / 7-Jj point of those
Jn WM' E(,wanl E - Strauss &. Co.'s
I\\ ( L Famous Custom Tailored
1 ' vMIEi- Suits and Overcoats
with an ironclad guarantee
This settles T K S the thrown in free.
itl Hereafter F jgft? K- * d To IT WILL PAY YOU to examine
I will have all j[ win success a this line, and leave your or
rny clothes man cannot der for one of these hand
"'".l™ BV UlllJ Si some garments.
ORDER BY * M— CALL ON
EDWARD E. STRAUSS & CO. L. GROSS,
America's Popular Tailors, Chicago. Bloomaburg. Pa.
"Don't borrow trouble." Buy
SAPOLIO
'Tis cheaper in the end.
For Would Like-to-be Brides.
There is a popular idea that June
is the favorite month for weddings,
and that the young woman who loves
romance and wishes fortune to smile
upon tier nuptials in every way must
"choose this of all months. Cola and
unromantic fact, however, shows that
the three most popular marriage
months are October, November and
December. Fifty years' record shows
this to be true, and also demonstrates
the fact that the most unpopular
months for marriage are January.
February and March.
The victories of Hood's
Sarsaparilia over all
Forms of disease.
Conclusively prove
That it is an unequalled
Blood purifier. It conquers
The demon. Scrofula,
Relieves the itchir.g and burning of
salt rheum, cures running soies,
ulcers, boils, pimples, and every other
form of humor or disease originating
in impure blood. The cures by
flood's Sarsaparilia are cures—abso
lute, permanent, perfect cures. They
are based upon its great power to
purify and enrich the blood.
" Why did you strike this man ? "
asked the Judge as he mopped his
humid brow. >' He made mockery of
| nty susceptibility to the extreme heat,"
[replied the perspiring fat man. "As
I stopped to look at the thermometer
he shouted : •Oh ! 1 don't know ;
I you're not so warm 1' " " Discharged!
cried the Judge.
OASTOHIA.
Bears the _>Thn Kind You Haw Always Btiugl* '
T"
Claims of Danger-
The war tax has induced a new ele
ment in the art of writing advertise
ments. Whoever gets up the matter
tor a soap, for example, must steer a
very nice course and not claim too
much, or his boss may have to pay a
tax. To say that a soap will clear the
skin ot dirt is safe, because such a
soap does not require a stamp ; but
when you tell the public that your
soap will improve the complexion and
give health to the skin, then you are.
taxed. So with baking powder. It is
all right to advertise it as the best on
earth and back statements up with
chemical analysis, tut the slightest
claim to medicinal quality means a
stamp.
Who can fail to take advantage of
this offer. Send 10 cents to us tor a
"••■nerous trial size or ask your drug
gyjt. Ask for Ely's Cream Balm, the
most positive catarrh cure. Full size
50 cents.
ELY BROS, 56 Warren St., N. Y
City.
I suffered from catarrh of the worst
kind ever since a boy, and I never
hoped for cure, but Ely's Cream Balm
seems to do even that. Many ac
quaintances have used it with excel
lent results.—Oscar Ostrum, War
ren Ave., Chicago, 111.
"You lie in your teeth," he cried.
The other man was calm, cool, un
rufiied. •• I admit it," he said, with a
yawn. " It's too much trouble to
take them out at night, for I'd only
have to put them in again when I
rose in the morning."
OASTOTIIA.
Bwim tt)f> The Kind You Haw Always Boujrtt
5Sc