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LANDIOKDM'SMASK
Indelibly Stamped on the Picturesque
People of Connemara.
A STURDY FOLK CRUSHED,
And 'Honest Toilers Forced to
"While Masters Grow Fat.
Hunger
THE KEBXHi OP THJE 1EISH QUESTION
rcoEBisroswatcs or the uispatch.1
OITGH DEEEX-
CLABE, January 28.
The peasantry of
Connemara, and for
that matter of all Con
naught, are as ragged
and picturesque as its
soenery. They are a
hardy lot, but they
possess qualities of
bravery tinder suffering, and a certain
lofty independence at all times, which truly
deepens one's interest in their study. In
all kind, grateful and hospitable character
istics, they are more Irish than all the rest
of the Irish in Ireland combined. Thongh
rude, ignorant and neglected, they still re
tain a wholesome dignity. In custom and
costume no place in Europe gives more dis
tinct and striking examples than1 this pict
uresque region. In the latter no inroads of
civilization have been able to compel a
change. Prom time immemorial these peas
ants' dress has been preciselyas it is to-day.
They would wholly starve before they would
relinquish their hand-made woolens, and
black, white, red and blue are the only
colors in which the fabrics are woven. The
occupants of nearly every cabin are spin
ners, weavers and knitters. The first thing
put in a Connemara girl-baby's hands is a
set of needles. Every process of cleaning,
carding, &pinning,.reeling, dyeing, weaving
and "napping" is done "by hand" in these
mountain heights.
The dress of the men amongthe peasantry
gives them a grotesque and sometimes al
most ghastly appearance. Theyare usually
barefooted, summer and winter, with a skin
on the soles of their feet a ouarter of an inch
in thickness, and as hard as beaten sole
leather, from exposure and rough travel over
the rocky mountain paths and roads. A few
wear shoes made of one piece of rawhide,
tied over the feet with thongs, as with their
neighbors of the Aran Islands. Fewer still
wear manufactured shoes. Those not in
actual poverty though nearly all are so, will
be found wearing the long hose so noted as a
Connemara product. But all wear the white
flannel, or, more properly, "frieze," bifur
cated garment, which hangs from the shoul
ders and terminates at the knees in wide,
loose bags, something after the fashion of
our American women's mysterious dress-
reform "divided skirts. This, with a jacket,
or baneen, of the same material, a rag of a
cap, or hat, perched on the back and side of
the head, or bareheaded altogether; the
black, tufty hair coarse and wiry as that on
a boar's back, and bristling skyward from
the forehead; with the ever-present shilleleh,
or a sycamore limb uEed in this region as a
pike or staff; all furnish a curious picture
at mountain hut or in meetings upon the
road. In the latter there is a grim severity
about the Connemara mountaineer which is
pathetic, but provides a continual bubbling
of the fountains of mirth within.
FAIE CONXEXIAItA LASSES.
But the women of Connemara are pictur
esque in attire and shapely in form to a re
markable degree. Their limbs are long and
graceful. They are erect and spirited in
carriage, and the immense black braideens,
or cloaks, with which all shortcomings in
clothing are shrouded, fall in truly classic
folds about them. Bare-limbed as the men,
at all seasons, you will not infrequently
catch glimpses of legs as exquisitely molded
as those of the Venus of Cos; while the most
voluptuous types of Southern Europe, or
languorous, tropical Cuba, furnish no more
perfect examples of tapering, dimpled arm,
beautifully formed shoulders, and full but
lengthened neck with dove-like double
curve. The broad, large faces are still
superbly oval. The chin nas strength; the
full shapely mouth is red and tenderlv, ex
pressively curved; the regular teeth are
charming in pearl-white glint and dazzle;
the nose is large, weU cut, with thin, sensi
tive nostrils; the eyes, under long heavy
lashes, look straight and honestly at you
out ol clear, large depths of gray or blue;
the eyebrows are marvels of nature's pen
ciling; the forehead is wide and fair; and
such heads of hair crown all, that were they
unloosed the Connemara woman could stand
clad in lustrous black immeasurably sur
passing her sloe-black braiceen.
Not a thread is on them beside the Con
nemara flannel. It is spun from the wool
of the mountain sheep. These, with goats,
donkeys and ponies not unlike those of
Cushendal in county Antrim.manyof which
rove wild in the mountains, are essential to
the very existence ot these hardy people.
The great weight of flannel, especially after
it has gone through a rude process called
"tucking," not only provides the bodily
warmth required in the chill and misty
mountain heights, but gives drapery in pet
ticoat and braideen its massive character.
The ordinary female costume consists ot a
white flannel blouse, or bodice, over which
is hung at-the waist a petticoat of flaming
red. It is said that 80 yards of Scotch plaid
are sometimes pleated into a Highlander's
kilt. If one could get near enough to a
Connemara woman to learn the exact truth,
I have no doubt this feat would be found
surpassed in her stupendous petticoat.
CTJBSED BY MEKCILESS 1AKDLOEDS.
Either spinning, weaving, "tucking,'"
"napping" or knitting, is a chief occupa
tion in every home. Very little agricul
tural labor is carried on in Connemara.
Evictions of mountain tenant farmers has
been so long going on that the landlords, or
rich graziers, who are equally as merciless
enemies of the Irish peasantry, have con
verted nearlv all the cultivable land into
pasture lor sheep and cattle. This gives a
trifling amount of labor xn "minding" the
herds. A lew of the men are tourists'
guides among the mountains. A few more
have retained holdings of a bit of land, for
which the rental is outrageous. But most
of the Connemara men have perforce become
a part ol the great army of 10,000 to 15,000
"tramp harvesters" who are annually forced
fromthewestoflrelandintothehayand grain
fields of England and Scotland; and who,
after their battles there with the local peas
antry, are barely able to tramp back after a
six or eight months' absence to the mountain
homes and keep, with the pittance they have
thns earned and saved, the thatch above
their loved ones' heads.
Those remaining behind "work in the
wool;" do their best at raising a few "pra
ties;" poach fish and game from the streams,
loughs and forests; distil a little poteen In
the mountain fastnesses; rear a few sheep,
goats and occasionally an insignificant
mount of poultry, for the markets: and
practically do not know the satisfaction of
one wholesome, hearty meal of victuals in
their whole lives, Jt is also an indisputa
ble fact that 3,000,000 people of Ireland are
forced through merciless landlordism, sus
tained by military power, to even live on
less than the food a decent man would
dole to a beast. Of all the eggs, batter,
sheep, goats, beeres furnished the markets,
these 3,000,000 never know the taste.
A TEEBIBEE PACT.
The labor required in such Drodnction is
sustained absolutely and wholly on potatoes
which cannot be sold, salt, cabbage leaves,
sups of milk at rare intervals stolen from the
pigs, black bread and "stirabout" from the
meal of unmarketable oats, and on bits and
scraps on which a goat would starve. From
what my own eves have seen I have no doubt
that a tenth of these 3,000,000 people never
bad their hunger fully appeased with even
the vile pottage on which they are com-
K lied to live, that they may pay rent on
ads of which their forefathers were robbed,
and which their own labor, through op
pression and starvation, has given the very
value on which they are rack-rented to the
limit of interminable human effort and en
durance. And I sometimes wonder if
Americans, whose patience with the "Irish
question" rarely extends beyond their pos
sible -use of it in American politics, or In
the contemplation, from a literary, or
tourist's standpoint of that whjch may be
unique, picturesque or humorous" in" Irish
customs or character; or if Englishmen,
who only see Ireland from behind an evict
ing battering ram, or over their juicy
chops, in the columns of the London Times,
will ever reach a Christian manhood capable
of comprehending the appalling depriva
tion and infinite patience of this people,
sufEcienflv to demand and command atone
ment. Per, stripped of all floritnre and
sophistrv, diplomacy and duplicity, this is
the whole "Irish question." American
slavery in America was as a heaven of per
ennial delight in comparison with this in
conceivable and awful nineteenth century
crime.
A large number of the Connemara moun
taineers are cotters. These comprise a large
class throughout Ireland who have no regu-"
lar holdings, but who, having sttfiered evic
tion, secure anv 6ort of a hut from some
more fortunate tenant, and subsist as best
they may. Many others are found to be liv
ing in their own former foldings as "care
takers." That is, they have been legally
evicted without defending their rights; and
in consequence of their goodness in giving
up all they possessed without a struggle, the
beneficent" landlord permits them to remain
in their own homes, .absolutely abject and
subject to his will, at the greatest possible
rental a sleuth hound agent can force from
them.
QUAINT aiOtTNTAIK HOMES.
Bounding the turn of some bridle-path,
you will come upon one of these cabins,
perched on the edge of a jutting crag
white and clear as the breast of a chamois
shown against the black rock behind. The
flutter of clothing, or the warm glow of the
red petticoat gives an added touch of pio
turesqueness to the eerie scene. You will
walk squarely Into the door of others where
thev are due out beneath shelving rocks, as
lif Cyclopean origin. Again on a dainty
Pirlnnil in a miniotnM Tal-O vllltA Tftll Will
gleam through masses of clambering ivy.
Often they are discovered built against the
walls of crumbling ruins. The thatching of
some reaches so closely to the ground that
the little structure blends with the brown of
lichened rocks and trees. And one I found
in a glen of surpassing loveliness on
Iiough Inagh's shores, where a most
roomy habitation had been made within
the hollow of a gigantic tree which the wild
mountain blasts had uprooted. The cleanli
ness of these mountain folk is uneqnaled
elsewhere in Ireland, and, I almost leel
sure, among the lowly of any country.
Seeking a reason for this unexpected char
acteristic from a beirilled old dame whom I
had watched a whole hour, scrubbing the
rock-tiled floor of her little cabin, on the
heights above Glendalough, and which
could have been thoroughly cleansed in one
fourth the time expended, I received the
scornful retort:
"Heughl Wastin time it is? Arrah,
yer born, not hurried. Its aitin' an' drink
in' filth enough we are, widout payin' av
rint for the dirt yer neighbors leave ye!"
But I fancy there may be traced an
ethnological better reason, in the uncon
scious natural dignity, love of purity and
natural cleanliness, which grow into life
and habit among those whose music is ever
of pure and murmurous waters; who breathe
the rare air of these noble heights; and who,
among the swirls and flappings of the clouds
themselves, come to instinctively resent the
defilements which accompanv life's activi
ties in less noble, if more fruitful, regions.
Edgab L. Waxejiak.
AN IMPERIAL GENEALOGY.
How the Statement of the Emperor of Chi
na' Family U Compiled.
A carious account is given in the 2Torth
China Herald of the manner in which the
genealogical statement of the family of the
Emperor of China is periodically compiled.
On September IS last the book containing
it was dispatched from Pekin to Moukden,
in Manchuria, for perservation, being hon
ored by the way as if the Emperor himself
were passing. The streets and roads were
prepared for its conveyance as if for an im
perial progress. Yellow earth was sprinkled
on the surface, all booths were removed,
silence reigned along the route, and no one
was allowed to be in the streets. All win
dows and doors were closed, and the unlor
fortunate booth-keepers along the line of
march lose a week's receipts, for it takes
this time to prepare the streets for the -passage
of the book. The latter is compiled
every lOIyears and consists of two volumes,
one bound in yellow, and one in red. The
first contains the names of the" Emperor's
immediate relatives, the second those of the
more distant, and these wear yellow and red
girdles respectively.
The rules for making and keeping the
genealogical register are contained in the
firstSof thej 920 sections of the book of the
statutes of the great Pare dynasty. It
shows how the Emperor is descended from
the sovereigns who ruled over Manchuria
before the establishment of the dynasty in
Fekin in 1644. Of it three copies are made
the one which goes to Moukden, the cradle
of the.imperial race; the other is preserved
in a temple near the palace in Pekin, and a
third by the bureau concerned in all matters
relating to the Emperor's clan. All fami
lies in this imperial clan are required an
nually in the first month to send to this
bureau and to the Board of Ceremonies a
record of the year, month, day, and hour of
each birth. Prom these nine officials.under
control of two Grand Secretaries, compile
the list. The genealogies are made up of
the important entries in these annual re
gisters contained in the yellow and red
books.
When the decennial period has passed
through the hands of the transcribers, and
binders, it is presented to the Emaeror, for
inspection, ana a day is nxed lor its con
vevance to Moukden. At first there was a
yellow book only, but later on the imper
ial favor was extended to more distant
members of the clan who had been omitted,
and the red book was provided as a supple
ment to the other. Naturally they increase
rapidly in size, but it is supposed that the
names of undistinguished persons are
written so small as to occupy little space.
The whole system, however, is ' not a Man
chu, but a Chinese one, and existed before
the Christian area. A historian of the
second century B. C, produces the registers
of all the imperial families prior to that
time and ot all the nobles of note in ancient
China.
A Modern Raphael.
Lincoln Journal.
Tramp Could you give an unfortunate
man something to do, to earn a dollar or
two?
Farmer What can you do?
I'm an artist by profession. I was em
ployed by several newspapers in that capa
city. Do you think that you could paint my
barn?
The Meanest Yet.
jss
Mrs. Hamoneg "Where's the dinner?
Brigita Shure, ma'am, whin I was goin'
through the hall wid it, that Jiew boarder
pulled a revolver on me, grabbed th'
chicken, an' he's locked himself in hit
rooml Puck.
A FAMOUS COSIEST.
Captain King Concludes the Story of
the International Race.
WIMING THE RACE AT THE START.
How West Point Training Stood the "Winner
in Good Stead.
THE STRUGGLE ON THE HOME STRETCH
rWBITTElt FOB TUB DISPATCH.
AS I warned your
readers in last week's
chapter it is impossi
ble to give this ex
perience without its
being decidedly per
sonal, and, in reading
over the account of
the preliminaries to "The International
Bace," it occurs to me that had egotistical
been used for personal it-would have mere
accurately described thejirobahle effect. It
cannot be helped. Having been called on
to furnish illustration of a theory advanced
in an early paper of this series, I could
think of none better than a West Pointer's
experience with accomplished riders of
other schools in the Metairie race meeting
ot 1872 and I happened to be the man.
We come now to the race itself. I had
determined to win it if a possible thing, but
had bet that I could not because there were
two better horses than mine. When the
race was first definitely arranged and it was
announced that I was to ride for the United
States, no one, to my knowledge, said I
would win, and a great many, as was told
in the last chapter, said I could not.
EVEBXTHIKO BEADY.
However good as a cavalry rider a man
might be, he had no chance on a race course
against "these experts," was the verdict of a
number of Northern acquaintances and
army officers none of whom, however, were
young West Pointers. After the week or
ten days during which the practice riding
of the five contestants had been closely
watched there seemed to be a change. And
when "Tlnn" Underwood, the noted pool-
seller, opened the ball the night of April
8, it was noted that Templar my horse
sold first favorite, a thing he had never done
belore in a flat race good a hurdler as he
confessedly was.
Even to the minutest details of costume
everything was in readiness three or four
days ahead. The representatives of En
gland, Prance and Austria had brought
with them, of course, the beautiful silken
jackets and caps, the immaculate breeches
and natty boots in which they had ridden
their races abroad. Ireland's gallant cham
pion accepted the green silk of Hugh
Oaflney, one of the most accomplished
jockeys of the day. New Orleans boasted
both tailor and bootmaker who were irom
"the old country" and knew just how such
things should be cut and made. I could
not hope to rival the gorgeousness of the
foreign colors, and chose for mine the light
blue and white of my old college Colum
bia. At last came "Ladies' Day," on
which the International was to run, and it
was the loveliest of the meeting.
Here let me borrow somebody else's pen
to tell of the scene and the race. Manton
Marble, of the New York World, was an
interested spectator, and on the following
day, April 10, the World gave this account:
MANTON MARBLE'S ACCOUST.
rruoM oca owx coaaEsroKDENT.i
t NEW OnxBANS, La, April 9.
Under thelnfluences of improved weather and
tho additional Interest manifested in the inter
national raco between amateur riders, the at
tendance at theMetairie track wasfullyas large
to-day as on any previous day of the meetings.
The increased attendance was more noticeable
in the ladles' stand, many of whom were no
doubt the personal mends ox the contestants,
who, to show their preference, sported the col
ors of those they were more interested In, some
even going so far as to lay innumerable wagers
of kid gloves and other trifles on those whom
they most admired. Ever since the race was
hrst agitated it has created considerable Inter
est In the clubs as to the abilities of those who
had entered as the champions of their respect
ive nationalities. France was represented by a
young Parisian named George Rosen
lecuer, a member of the French Jockey
Club, who was the first to suggest
the race. As soon as it was agitated a young
Austrian Count expressed his willingness to
appear and represent his country. For England
a young and popular member of society, well
known on Carondelet street, named! Edward
Stuart, was the next entry. For the United
States Lieutenant Charley King, of General
Emory's staff, entered, and for a few days it
was thought the list was complete, when Ire
land found a champion in Mr. James Ross.
The matter was laid before theMetairie Jockey
Club, who, with their accustomed liberality, at
once appointed a committee to take charge of
the whole matter. An elegant prize in the
shape of a gold-mounted whip was purchased
of Griswold. The stake owners were also con
sulted and several excellent horses were placed
at the service of the five gentlemen con
testants. THE EKTEIES.
The horses selected and the colors worn by
their riders were as follows:
Count V. de Crenneville (Austria) on tho
chestnut colt Tom Aiken; jacket white, red
sleeves, red cap.
M. George Bosenlecher (France) on the bav
filly Oleander; jacket bine with gold stripes;
bine cap.
Lieutenant Charles King (United States) on
the chestnut gelding Templar; jaoket bine,
white cap.
Mr. Edward Stuart (England) on tho brown
filly Bapidlta; jacket cerise, blue sleeves, blue
cap.
Mr. James Boss (Ireland) on the brown colt
Nathan Oakes; jacket green, white cap.
The race was second on the cards and Lieu
tenant King on Templar was the favorite
against the held at large odds. As the distance
was 1 mile and 80 yards, the start was effected
a trifle abovo the upper end of the stand, which
gave its ocenpants a good chance to see the re
spective styles of riding exhibited by each of
the contestants. As they swept past the stand
they were received with loud applause, which
was again renewed when Lieutenant King was
seen to have a clear lead on the old chestnut geld
ing Templar. Golnguptbebackstretch all took
a pull on their respective horses, and as they
swung Into the homestretch the race really
became an exciting one, especially when Boss
sent Ireland's green jacket up almost alongside
of King, who was riding In splendid style. As
they passed the end of the stand Count de
Urenneville touched Tom Aiken lightly with
the spur and the chestnut responded gamely:
the distance was too short, however. Lieutenant
King winning the race In fine style by a length
and a half. Mr. James Boss being second a
short neck in front ot the Count; Mr. Edward
Btuart. England's representative, was fourth;
and the originator of the race, the representa
tive of France, last. Time, 1:58.
On Lieutenant King returning to weigh he
was loudly applauded by nearly all present.
There was, however, a shade of disappointment
visible among some of the ladies, who had evi
dently gone it heavy on Count and Mr. Ross,
both of whom are deservedly popular with the
jeunesso doree of N.ew Orleans society."
Barring inaccuracies as to preliminaries
that is a good account of the affair, but be
fore explaining how it was won despite my
belief it could not be won, some points may
interest your readers.
The ladies' stand was crowded that day as
I had never seen it before, and the colors of
Bosenlecher and de Crenneville especially;
and Stuart and Boss largly were to be seen
everywhere. Just two young ladies had the
courage to wear the white and light bine of
the Yankee.
THE PAVOKITE.
Lieutenant K. may have been the favorite
against the field where the TForW' repre
sentative sioou among a snot oi ciuo men
and turf patrons but he was not every
where. A. brother aide-de-camp, who had
only once before seen him in saddle, came
out-on the track just as we "amateurs"
issued from the weighing room with our
racing saddles, and went with ns into the
paddock, where the impatient horses were
being lea about. I believe I was the first
to mount and meve out on the track, when
he looked up as he was hurrying back to his
place on the grand stand. "Bet yon $50
you can't win it," and he nodded his head
toward Nathan Oakes, Boss' beautiful
mount, whom he had seen winning the two
mile dashes on the previous day, and as that
was the horse I most feared the bet wonld
have been badly placed could I have
taken it,
All the same, having watched the men
THE PltfTSBTJRG DISPATCH, "StmBAT, FEBItfJAItY 10,
ana tno nurses mr a wee, iirumu". wv .
lieved there was a point In which West
.3 a1 ... aaas JF..a -a-afaa-.it. bkAHin T nA.
Point practice and training would give me
the advantage. There the cadet nad to
learn on any kind of a horse to control and
guide him to make him obey the will of
the rider.
Now the most races on American sou
when the horses come to the post it is no
uncommon sight to see trainers and hostlers
hanging on to their heads, the jockey mean
time sitting like a circus monkey with no
volition in the matter. And I know that
in their desire to have a fair start, and an
effective one, the stewards and trainers
wonld all be there superintending, and I
had heard that each of my four rivals was
to be led to the starting point and let loose
at tap of the drum. I had seen it tried time
and egain on the old Metairie and never
without several false starts, in which one or
more of the racers would tear away several
hundred yards before he could be brought
bacK, involving vast iretting, sweating ana
nervousness for the horse, and fatigue and
exasperation to the rider. There was a
trreat deal of excitement 'at the starting
point crowds on both sides of the track
and I could see that the grand stand had
risen en masse to watch the scene.' Presently
we were marshalled in line some 20 yards
beyond the starter's flag the 80-yard point.
THE STAET.
There stood Billy Connor drum in hand
with the flagman back of him. He was
shouting injunctions and orders to the dif
ferent trainers, and they in reply were
striving to hold in check these eager and
mettlesome racers. Crenneville on Tom
Aiken had the right, and that enterprising
colt was tugging and pulling and dragging
the trainers all over the track. Boss on
Nathan Oakes was enjoying a similar ex-
Serience over at the left. Bapidlta and
leander were revolving about their train
ers and pointing their tails to every quar
ter of the globe with astonishing rapidity.
Templar and I had the center, and though
he was pawing and plunging and standing
on his hind legs, he was held facing the
front, and held firm, but of all the five he
had no stablemen at his head.
Twice had his owner come forward and
essayed to seize him, and twice had he been
ordered away. "I'm. riding this horse to
dav, Mr. Harrison, and no man must touch
him."
"But, my Gawd, suh! can you hold
him?" he answered with infinite concern on
his wet face then scurried back out of the
wav.
Twice, thrioe, came to the word "Let 'em
gol" and the jockey instincts of each stable
man would prompt him to send his horse
away ahead of the others. There would be
a wild scramble of hoots. Some one colt or
filly would flash across the line a dozen
yards ahead. Clanel OlangI Clang wonld
go Connor's bell calling them baok. There
would be a vision of three or four brilliant
jackets shooting far away down the track.
Ten -minutes impatient waiting two,
three sometimes more horses coming
cantering back puffing and disgusted.
Pive six similar false starts were made.
Pive, six times they were slowly and with
difficulty gathered back. Pour" horses and
four riders were getting "blown," but
Templar and I had never once crossed the
line.
Of course he had plnnged, reared, tugged
at the bit, launched out with his heels and
tried everything he. could think ot to get
away, but it was all useless. When at last
the drum tapped and we five shot away in a
bunch under the roar that arose from the
crowded stands I was never cooler in my
life nor more hopeful.
OTTO THE STBETCH.
Thus far all had worked as I believed it
would. Now I had a plan for the rest of it
Templar hadn't great speed, but he was
fresh, eager and all his powers were in re
serve. As we began to round the first turn
Stuart was a trifle to my left front, urging
his sweating filly; his eyes blazing and his
face wet from every pore. I could hear
Oleander a little behind my right shoulder.
and knew I had them both beaten. As we
swept around to the backstretch they had
laiien nenina, and i had a clean lead of a
lengtn. xneu, airecuy across tno neia
from the grand stand, where it would make
a most effective coup. I could hear the Aus
trian urging Tom Aikiu. Presently np he
came alongside and I could feel Templar
thrilling and beginning to tug, bnt I kept
the same pressure on the rein, never allow
ing him an ounce, and he could not stride
away in a useless raee. Then, urging and
spurring, De Crenneville passed us, and at
the third turn was two good lengths ahead,
but Boss the man I dreaded was still to
my right quarter, and we could
wait. Templar and L Now we
were shooting around the turn
toward the three-quarter mile post.
Aiken was beginning to flag and we were
overhauling him. Desperately the Aus
trian began to spur and in his eagerness to
save space steered too close to the rail. An
other instant and it caught his boot hurled
his left leg back before he could recover,
and away Vent his penalty pad. Even
could he keep his lead now he had lost the
prize, but he had overridden his horse; and
now, as we came into the stretch and full in
sight of home, now for the first time I gave
Templar one touch of the spur and an inch
of rein. In 20 seconds the Austrian was be
hind us and the goal before, and aiming
straight for the white post far down the
track we slid under that s trine easy win
ners, despite whipping and spurring of all
the others, and Templar was fresh as a daisy
and wild to go round again.
Then the task was to stop him. He ran
almost to the quarter post before we turned,
and, overtaking Boss, trotted back with
him to weigh.
"I did not know they taught jockey rid
ing at West Point," said an Austrian con
sulate officer to me that night.
"They do not," was the answer, "but
with what they do teach a man ought to be
a fair all-round rider."
And that, practically, is what Mr. Theo
dore Boosevelt said 15 years after.
Chakles Kino, U. S. A.
A TALUABLE PLANT.
A New Textile Discovered on the Shores of
the Caspian.
The Journal of the Society of Arte reports
the discovery of a new textile on the shores
of the Caspian. Thisplant, called "kanafi"
by the natives, grows in the summer, and
attains a height of ten feet, with a diameter
varying from two to three centimeters. By
careful cultivation and technical manipula
tion M. O. Blakenbourg, a chemist and en
gineer, who has made a special study ot ka
naff, has obtained an admirable textile mat
ter. It is soft, elastic and silky, gives a
thread which is very tough, and can be
chemically bleached without losing its
value. The stuffs manufactured out of ka
naff, and then bleached, can be successfully
dyed in every shade of color, and would
compete with any of the ordinary furnish
ing materials now in use.
Gold In Africa.
St. James Gazette.
A prominent citizen in Kimberly, South
Africa, writes: "The Transvaal gold mines
are a tremendous suocess. In the last three
months the market has been perfectly wild.
Shares bought at 1 each a year ago are
now changing hands rapidly at50. A friend
of mine made 12,000 last week. -A sales
woman jn one of the drapery stores here in
vested 200 in gold shares her savings dur
ing ten years and she is to-day worth 10,
000, they being sold out."
The Old Armchair.
NewTork 8on
He- (making a call) That is a
beautiful chair you are sitting in,
very
Miss
Haul ton.
She-Yes,
res, it's the old armchair my pi
ndfather always used. It has b
oor
dear gran
teen
done over in white and cold, bnt it's the
same chair we value so highly because of
old associations.
Pleasant Information.
Detroit Free Press. '
The hangman at Port Smith, who has
sprung the trap on about 70 men, says that
if the condemned will only behave himself
and follow directions, he can make his
Meath as painless as turning over in bed.
COLORED CHRISTIANS;
Bessie Bramble Describes a Methodist
Conference in the South.
A YEEI LUCK! AND ABLE BISHOP.
Remarks Upon the Connection of Eellglon
With Politics.
THE MINEEAL WEALTH OP THE SOUTH
rCOEKEBPOWBEXCE 01 THE SISFATCS.
AlXEir, S. 0., February 7.
N contemplation of
the country round
about this "Village
in the sand," it is
hard to believe the
tales told by a recent
writer concerning the
world of wealth which
lies undeveloped in
the hills, and unrealized in the forests of
this wonderful Southern country, awaiting
the capital and labor, the powers of Bteam
and electricity, to materialize in riches and
resources far beyond what the North has
ever shown. But with the virgin forests
full of finest timber, the mountains filled
With the most valuable minerals, the earth
full of the rarest and most costly clays, and
with a climate claimed to be second to none
in the world, who will say that the new
South wiU not, in course of time, prove to
be the earthly prelude to the glories of the
"promised land?" But, save as to climate,
we see little token of the wealth and great
ness so largely set forth in printer's ink.
NORTHERN THRIFT.
The country looks desolate, used up and
God-forsaken; the farms appear as if they
furnished but a scanty living the general
appearance of things is forlorn and suggests
nothing more strongly than shiftlessness. If
perchance there is a neat, thrifty look about
homestead and barns if the fences are in
good shape, the fields in fine condition and
ready for the seed, the garden well culti
vated and fresh with the vegetables which
grow here in the winter it is pretty surely
the home and farm of a Northern man. If
by virtue ot energy and enterprise the
Southern people could gather in wealth by
merely availing themselves of their bonnd
less resources it seems strange they do not
put forth the effort. It is amazing that they
are so contented to scratch along with every-
thing at loose ends, and live a sort of happy-go-lucky
life, contented with enough to
eat and to wear.
The war desolated the country it killed
off the yonng men and took all heart and
energy out of those who were left. The
Emancipation Proclamation swept away
their wealth, and reduced them to the hard
necessity of work, with all in the same boat
all reduced to dire poverty together.
They seem to take a melanoholy pleasure
in being poor, really appear to have a sort of
pride in their privations. In Charleston tho
wealth of the city is in the hands of the
Germans, as are also the reins of govern
ment. The patrician planters no longer
dictate the laws, or constitute themselves
the higher powers. An aristocratic mem
ber of one of the oldest families, who now
keeps boarders for a living, says of her friends
and neighbors: "We are all poor ..white
trash ourselves now."
But, by the way, the Germans have dis
covered that this fine old State is a pretty
good place, and in this village of Aiken,
they constitute the majority of the mercan
tile class, and are building up fortunes.
A HEALTHY CLIMATE.
We have received several letters from
readers ot The Dispatch as to the climatio
virtues of Aiken and its claims to being one
of the few spots in the world most favorable
to the restoration of health for those suffer
ing from lung troubles and throat diseases.
To these it may be said that we have been
here too short a time, and had too little ex
perience as yet, to form a decided opinion
of our own. But to the advantages claimed
for it there is the high testimony ot Sir
Morrell Mackenzie, Joseph Pulitzer, of the
New York TForW, who spent a winter here,
and many others of lesser note. General
Hazen, Chief Signal Officer, who resided
here during one winter, is qnoted as saying
that in point of climate and temperature it
is the most desirable of any place in the
United States. But the most enthusiastic
man on the subject is Dr. Geddings, Chair
man of the Committee on Hygiene of the
Immigration Convention, who says that
"Aiken presents a physical combination of
influences more favorable to restoration and
even prevention of throat and lung dis
eases than any other spot on the face of the
globe."
The homeopathic school is not less pro
nounced on the subject, as will be seen from
an article by Dr. Ganse in the Hahnemann
Monthly, who has shown his faith by leav
ing the villainous climate of Philadelphia
to reside in Aiken. Anybody in Pittsburg
who wants further information on this point
should apply to Mr. . if. ainitn, ot the
East End, who is spending the winter here,
and gaining in weight and good looks in a
manner to recommend any town, or climate
on the continent. As tor us we do not
propose to sing its praises in melodious
measures, or tune a lyre to sound its glories
in highest strains, as we have no land to
sell or ax to grind, until we have spent at
least a winter amid its ethereal mildness,
and dryness, and bracing balm, and all of
the other well-advertised conditions.
A LUCKY BISHOP
The Conference of tho Northern Methodist
Church has been holding a convention in
Aiken during the past week. The dele
gates, both clerical and lay, were colored
men only the Presiding Bishop being
white. This distinguished man happened
to be no less a personage than Bev. Dr.
Newman, of Washington, who was General
Grant's favorite clergyman, and upon
whom, when Grant was President, he be
stowed the soft sit of Inspector of Con
sulates, which gave the reverend Doctor a
most charming trip around the world at the
expense of the Government and a fat
salary and perquisites to boot for doing it.
The good Bishop is what Thomson, in his
"Castle of Indolence," called a rpund, fat,
oily man of God. He looks as if the'world
and the fates had used him well, as the
facts of his life seem to have proved. It is
true that Dr. Banney and other fighting
and factional deacons in New York showed
him some active enmity, but with Grant
and the church on his side, he has had no
end of good luck. At the last General
Conference he was made a Bishop, and now
has control of a large part of the Methodist
Church South.
The clergymen and laity at this Aiken
conference were all of the colored race, save,
perhaps, one or two visiting clergymen, ana
no better opportunity could be presented to
see the best representatives of the negroes of
the South and the extent of their advance
ment in education and higher civilization.
On the occasion of our visit the church was
almost filled with colored men, and it was
an interesting study to look at the Webste
rian heads and Calhoonish brows, and trace
in many of them the most pronounced char
acterises of the dominant white race in
everything save the color of the skin and
the kink of the hair. In looking over the
assembly no one could doubt that s6me of
the best and most patrician blood of the
South runs in the blood of the race once
held in slavery. '
HANDSOME COLOEED MEN.
Not many of the negroes of South Caro
lina are light in color most of them are
intensely black hut many have handsome
features and fine physiques. Not very
many women were in the audience, and
thoie who were presented a much less hand-''
some appearance than the men, owing to
the abundance of tawdy finery and snide
jewelry. The men, dressed mainly Jn
Prince Albert .coats, immaculate collars
and cuffs, and neekties like those of Will,
iam Walter Phelps, looked better than the
women, with their many-colored feathers
1889.
and floating ribbons and tremendous bus
tles. The service opened with a "love feast,"
in which many told their experience, and
testified as to what "the Lord had done for
their souls." Others contented themselves
with repeating texts that suited their indi
vidual emotions, and others confessed them
selves as firmly convinced that they were
"wholly sanctified." Some expressed them
selves as determined to live godly and sober
lives, and to become steadfast pilgrims in
the narrow way. The remarks were char
acteristic, and of deep interest to a student
of human nature.
Among the speakers was Mrs. Newman,
the wife of the Bishop, who gave a chapter
of her family history, and how it bad been
influenced by the ninety-first psalm. We
have not had time to look that up so as to
appreciate the full import of it as Mrs.
Newman expressed it, but she made her re
marks so earnestly and sincerely, that they
were very impressive and elicited a heavy
chorus of amens and other "expressions of
applause. Other sisters gained courage to
speak from her example, and it U not' exag
gerating to say that several spoke with such
native eloquence and profound pathos as to
touch nearly every heart with genuine feel
ing. All through this part of the service at
frequent intervals some brother would be
moved to break out into a favorite hymn.
and then all would join in with the unction
of real feeling and strong enjoyment -
INSPIRING MELODIES.
Nothing more inspiring could be
imagined, especially when some of the songs
were the refrains and weird melodies pecu
liar to the negroes. One song was especially
notable all we can remember was the
chorus, "That the angels are a-looking at
me." These were all sung without the
organ or other accompaniment, save the
marking of time on the plain pine boards
by nearly every foot in the room.
One bright little baby had the honor of
being baptized by the Bishop as Edith Ma
tilda. Edith was arrayed in very long,
highly decorated skirts that fairly rattled
with starch. She was quite a little thing
hardly more than 3 months old but when
the stately Bishop took her in his arms and
dropped the water on her black baby brow,
she gave a yell that furnished testimony to
her possession of a fair share of original
sin. The sudden squall seemed to- ruffle
the dignity of the Bishop somewhat, and he
requested singing until the little one sub
Bided. The Bishop's sermon was very fine and
made a great impression. It related to the
conversion of St. Paul and was a series of
word paintings that were .vastly eloquent
It may have been done with intention of
creating a profound impression, but cer
tainly part ot the learned Bishop's discourse
was expressed in words of tremendous
length and thundering sound, but when he
uttered some home truth in plain words it
brought down the house in shouts of ap
proval, and a deafening roar of amens.
Even the dullest speaker would have
warmed up with such an appreciative audi
ence, and truly the Bishop waxed eloquent
in his description of the greatest apostle on
his famous journey to Damascus. Some
facts presented as to Paul were new to us.
He depicted him as of possessed of much
less than average good looks with homely
features and weak blinking eves. The
thought instantly occurred that here was
something to account for Paul's being a
bachelor, and having such shocking ideas
as to marriage and so given to eulogizing
celibacy. But all this is apart suffice it
to say that the sermon was muoh beyond
the common, and served to show that the
Doctor had good foundation for his popu
larity. AN INTEBESTINO CEREMONY.
At the close of the discourse five fine-
looking young men presented themselves
for ordination as deacons and received the
laying on of hands and certificates of their
office.
Altogether, though three hours long, it
was a most interesting service. It showed
the capacity for and enjoyment of the col
ored race in "emotional religion," and the
Bishop remarked that he would preach no
other. It was a service in which heart and
soul were plainly enlisted. The singing
and praying, though perhaps uncouth to
cultivated ears, were evidently fresh from
the soul. It was a Service that as far as the
laity were concerned would have glad
dened the soul 'of John Wesley and in
spired his brother Charles into fresh hymns
of retoicincr and new soncs of nralse.
It is said here that these church confer
ences are political machines that they con
trol the negro vote. It would not be sur
prising if the churches constituted the
machinery of Bepublican politics in the
South, since In the churches are found the
Tnnqt pnfoi-nrfsinf nf tliA Tileitr tltf..na .!,.
through the medium of their own religious
associations, are learning the valne of or
ganization and developing their own powers
of government. That church conferences
are political Bepublican machines can
hardly be credited. It is true that the
churches are oftentimes controlled by wily
politicians in the interests of party. But,
as a general thing, partisan politics in a
church can only be pushed sub rosa. But
whether the allegation be true or not that
the negro church conferences are political
machines, it is certainly true that no worse
use of their power could be made than to
encourage a spirit of division, a rancorous
animosity that would bring enmity between
two races that occupy the same country and
are bound to live together, whether peace
ably or otherwise. Bessie Bramble.
THE EAETH'S LITHEAE! CENTER.
New York Rapidly Becoming the Capital of
the Intellectual Dominion.
From the New York Trlbnne.
New York, by reason of its position as the
chief city of America, will in time become
the literary center of the English speaking
race with or without international copy
right This shifting of intellectual domin
ion will come more swiftly, and more honor
ably, with international copyright than
without, but its coming is inevitable. It is
not an exaggeration to say that all other
languages melt away before the English.
The first ambition of foreigners who come
here to live is that they and their children
shall learn our tongue. The exceptions to
this rule are too trifling in proportion to be
considered.
We have now in the United States an
English-speaking population nearly double
that of Great Britain. What will it be 60
years, a century, hence? The imagination
falters in the effort to conceive it Here is
the future home of the English race.
Sirs. Cleveland's Bodices.
St. Lonls Globe-Democrat. J
One reads such gushing and extraordinary
things going'the rounds of the newspapers
about the extreme modesty of Mrs. Cleve
land's dress, and the highness of her low
neck bodices, and the covering of her arms,
that it is just as well to have it known that
Mrs. Cleveland does not differ in that line
from the majority of women of good taste
whom she meets. She does not go to either
extreme, but keeps to the medium of
ordinary good taste evinced by the largest
proportion of women in good society.
Force of Habit.
ViXb
'S
Mrs. Upton Platte is so afraid of burglars
that she never lets down the folding bed at
night without looking under it for a man.
Puck.
rjjra JlMllj bmSM I
SUNDAY THOUGHTS
-ON-
BY A CLEBGYMAN.
. EOBABLY the most
unique and picturesque
figure of our times is
Count Tolstoi. He was
born an aristocrat, and
was long and promi
nently connected with
the Bussian Govern
ment He has now dis
carded the coronet, and
Is the sworn foe of Gov
ernment He lives remote from cities,
dividing his time between digging on his
little farm and cobbling shoes at his work
bench. The moral history of his life the
change of views which led him from despot
ism in St Petersburg and the writing of
popular novels in Moscow to manual labor
in the country, reads like a romance.
Not long ago, Count Tolstoi published a
book ("My Eeligion"), in which he gave
the world his theological opinions. He now Is
sues a companion volume on sociology ("What
to Do: Thoughts Evoked by the Census of Mos
cow"). His style is fascinating, because ahso
lutely frank, and his statements are startling,
because made without caution. He "gives him
self away" on erery page thinks aloud. There
is no attempt to avoid shocking world-old and
world-wide prejudices, and conventional usage
is shattered as with Tboi's hammer.
The Count's essential idea Is that human
society is poor and unprosperous, because the
few are born booted and spurred to ride, while
the many are born saddled and bridledjo be
ridden. In Gladstone's phrase, the classes
control the masses. The classes are all idlers
they are not engaged In manual labor. No
matter how busy they may pretend to be It is
all pretense. The nreaeber in the pulpit, the
artist In the studio, the merchant In the count
ing room, the scientist in the laboratory all
are useless. They think they labor; bnt they
do not, because they only work with the brain.
The people are not profited by their busy idle
ness, xne oniy real laoorers are me piain ioiks
who are battling with nature producing corn
for Idle men to eat, and wool for them to wear,
and houses for them to live in.
His remedy for this Is simple. Go to work!
Unite brawn to brain. Dig. cobble, push a saw,
anything rather than nothing; and whatever
is not manual labor Is nothing. Hence Tolstoi
takes off his coronet, and takes up a spade and
an awl. His absolute honesty of belief is
a vo ached by his practice. So far we respect
him.
But his book has greater force from the Rus
sian than from the American standpoint. A
more cosmopolitan knowledge and spirit wonld
have saved him many errors, might have kept
him in touch with affairs, and perhaps not lost
him to diplomacy where such an honest and
humane soul is sadly needtdl
At any rate, as a keen critic remarks, "there
are comparatively few aristocratir. Idlers in
America, probably fewer idlers in broadcloth
than in fustian. If all the good-for-nothings
were to. stop sacking their canes, take off their
kid gloves, and go to digging, poverty wonld
not be greatly relieved. And although it is
true that authors would write better, ministers
preach better, and perhaps lawyers and doctors
practice better, if they united soma physical
toll with their brain activity, we are unable to
see how this would do anything toward re
lieving society ot the burden of pauperism.
The problem in America is certainly not to get
rid ot its aristocratto idlers, who are very few
in number, nor mainly to reduce the number of
its professional laborers and its middlemen,
thongh there are relatively too many of them,
but to bring about an equalization In compensa
tion and a better distribution of earnings, so
that brawn shall be paid more and brain less,
so that manual laborers shall have more time
for home staying and Intellectual development,
and brain workers shall have less of the tempta
tions which accompany excessive luxury."
The saddest and most tiresome business
in the world is croaking. Let ravens croak
men are not ravens. Some people are for
ever wailing over the nineteenth century
can see no good in it, To such, the age which
has seen more conversions to Christ than any
preceding, is the most wicked, and the 0 years
which have bnllt more school houses and col
leges than half as many centuries before, are
the years In which wisdom and virtue have
been rapidly declining. Bat, as some one has
said. God's providence never halts. Kailroads
and the telegraph have not backed ns into the
dark tges. Free Bibles, free schools, and free
Governments are not so many clean victories
for the Devil.
The now omnipresent Societies of Chris
tian Endeavors began in a small and obscure
way in 1881. The Bev. P. E. Clark, of Bos
ton, was their originator. Peeling the want
of a warm, aggressive organization of young
people for good words and works, he con
ceived this movement, and coined the name.
He bnllt on the Bible and in alliance with the
church. He pledged the members to attend
tho meetings, which ha made at once social
and devotional. He marshaled the member
ship in two orders active members (who mnst
be church members), and associate members
of. whom it is hoped to mike church tmembers.
He framed a constitution and by-laws (nothing
American can get on without these adjuncts),
and mapped out a practical and active prop
aganda. The Endeavor caught from heart to
heart, and kindled from church to church, and
flamed from State to State blazed like a prai
rie fire
Mark the growth:
Societies. Members.
In 1SS1 ; 2 63
Inl8S2 7 481
In 1883 66 2,870
In 1884 158 8,005
In 1885 JE3 10,964
In 1880 8S0 60,000
In 1887 2,314 140,000
InlSS8 4.879 310,000
These societies are now affiliated in a national
body, called the '."United 'Society of Christian
Endeavor," whose object is not the centrallza.
tlon of power, but the promotion of fraternity
and the spread of Information touching the
ways and means of religious effort. The United
Society has an organ, the Golden Rule, which
has a paid subscription list of more than 33,000
copies a week. All this in the eight years'
work, of our earnest, consecrated man. "How
far that little candle throws its beams."
It should never be forgotten in any
scheme of education that the mind Is not the
only thing that needs attention. The will is
even more vital. And the heart is most im
portant of all for "out of the heart are the
issues of life." Education is a comprehensive
term. It properly includes the drawing out of
the whole being. Intellectuallsm alone is one
sided and dangerous. It needs to be balanced
by moral culture.
The study of art does not promote nforallty.
Neitner does literary proficiency. We all
more heathenish than the heathen more Phil
istine than Goliath of Oath. In Athens the ar
tistic and literary period was precisely the
epoch of grossest moral degeneracy. Demos
thenes thundered, but the people quailed and
submitted to Philip. They knew which way a
Greek accent should slant, but neither knew
nor cared to know how to rectify morals and
manners. They worshipped pictures, statues,
goems, orations, and despised men and women,
o of the middle ages. The dreariestmidnlght
of Immorality occurred when art and letters
were most flourishing, under Leo X and the
Florentine Medici. Take Paris tc-day. It is a
beautiful body, without a soul like Haw
thorne's hero In "The Marble Faun." Art and
literature tower like Sit. Blanc, while morality
Is as low down in comparison as the vale of
Cbamouni. Art labors to decorate vice. Lit
erature exists to pen bon mots against virtue.
Our Roman Catholic friends are right in their
claim that religion must enter into any just
and symmetrical scheme of education. For re
ligion schools the heart and trains the will.
Christianity humanizes Intelligence. It savs to
men: Take hold upon real life. Be patient
with Imperfection in others, bnt impatient with
it in yourself. Struggle after the ideal by way
of the actual.
There Is a good deal of heaven on earth: if
the eyes are open to see it, the heart to feel it,
the will to choose it
AusfciA ought to look at the almanac
and see that this is the year of grace 1889.
The ofScial usages there are absurdly
medheval and provincial. An American lady,
traveling abroad, gave birth to a child in
Vienna, a few days ago. She thought she had
done a good thing. So did the happy husband
and father. Accompanied by witnesses he hur
ried away to register the birth. Alas and alack!
Owing to the absence of the marriage certifi
cate, the clerk said be mnst record it as illegiti
mate. The only concession he would make,
after continued protest, was the substitution of
the word "doubtful" for "illegitimate." Upon
being told that the parents belonged to the
Anglican Cbnrch, this modem Dogberry wrote
down "No religion."
So, then, in Austria, traveling husbands and
wives without a perambulating marriage cer
tificate are judged to be living in adultery, and,
when connected with the -Episcopal com
munion, to have "no religion." Such a country
15
does not deserve to be called narrow gnags 11
runs oil one rail!
Ax inscription for the Eegister ""of
Burials:
"May all who breathe this mortal breath.
And strive this mortal strife.
Era written In this book of death,
Stand in the Book ot Life."
It is common to go from bad to worse.
"It may not," remarks a sage, "be good .for
man to be alone but that is infinitely better
than being with one with whom we ought not
tobe.
Settle down, and stay settled down.
"When good men move about too much,
and pass to and fro amid incitements to pleas
ure, it la aa when a -bottla of good wine is
shaken. Thus the dregs and lees ot the soul
make the life cloudy."
Herb is a thought suggested by the)
recent Sugar Trust swindle: "People who
float an enterprise by which they hope to gain
advantaee through the utilizing of other peo
ple commonly keep a private boat swinginz
astern."
The Chinese are left-handed in their cus
toms. A Prench author, quoted in a lata
American periodical, describes their habit
otpurchasing their coffins before death: "No
where else than in China could men be heard
to exchange compliments about a coffin. In
every other country in the world people for
bear to speak of this mournful object, destined
to contain the remains of a relative or friend.
It is prepared in secret, and when death enters
the house, it is smuggled in by stealth to avoid
aggravating the grief of the heart-broken
family. The Chinese view the matter In an en
tirely different light. In their eyes a coffin Is an
article of the first necessltv to the dead, and of
taste and luxury to the living. In the great
towns they are displayed with elegant decora
tions In magnificent shops, in order to allure
the nassemrers and lndnce them to bnr. Peo-
iple in easy circumstances always provide them
selves oeiorenana wiin one to tneir uncy, ana
untile the time arrives for lying down it it,
keep it In the house as a handsome piece of
furniture of which the utility is not
immediate, bnt which cannot fail to
be a consoling and agreeable feature la
a properly decorated apartment. The coffin,
above all Is esteemed an excellent method for
children in a decent rank to show the Intensity
of their filial piety to the authors of their
being. It is a trreat consolation to a son to be
able to purchase a coffin for an old father or
mother, and make a solemn offering of it when
they least expect It When we love we are
always ingenious in contriving agreeable sur
prises. If a person is not sufficiently favored
by fortune to be able to keep a coffin ready In
the house, care is still taken not tn wait until
the last moment, that the dying man, before
saluting the world, as they say in China, may
have the satisfaction of casting a glance at his
last abode. Thns, when a patient is given over,
if he has the luck to be surrounded by loving
friends, they never fail to buy a coffin for him
and to put ft by the side of his bed."
"If o'er thee little sins have taken hold.
Take heed or else thine end may soon be
told."
Pickings from a Pocket of Peoblts.
"Lord Christ what where should I have been,
Had it not been for TheeT
And, if Thou bide not by me still,
What where may I not be?"
Take care of the proverb, "Where there
is smoke there is fire;" that smoke may
arise from that little member which (according
to St, James) is set an fire of .hell.
"It is curious," remarks William Phil
pot," to observe how much more enormous
and outrageous we are apt to recount a piece
of dishonesty if we ourselves are pinched by
it I thought it a heinons thing in the land,
when, the other day. a man In my neighbor
hood was dishonest about an insurance busi
ness. But when I discovered, afterward, that
thi3 same man had taken a premium ont of my
own pocket and not paid It over, my indigna
tion knew no bounds. .Then I felt what a
crime dishonesty was."
Apciitrx that preaches politics instead
of the Gospel, is both a nuisance and a
scandal. Bnt In a free country like this, whera
public opinion rules,and therefore needs moral
education, the pulpit, while not neglecting the
nurture of the Interior and holy life, should
speak out often and emphatically upon the
moral aspect of current affairs. In the per
formance of this high duty there need be no
fear ot provoking criticism. Such utterances
on the part of the clergy are expected and de
manded by the community.
There are two questions which are quite cer
tain to challenge legislative attention this
year, concerning which the Christian public is
under solemn obligation to utter Itself. One
of these is the matter of bribery at elections.
Cnurches from Maine to California shonld
thunder and lighten against this Iniquity. It
puts manhood in the shambles to be bought
and sold. It destroys a free ballot the very
groundwork of republican Institutions, and
elects pj tue largest purse, not oy the choice ol
the majority. It makes it impossible for any
but rich men to run for office, and practically
disfranchises poverty. The religious classes.
In the interest of that manhood which Chris
tianity creates, in defense of an unpolluted
ballot box, on behalf of menaced poverty, are
bound to demand repressive and corrective
legislation. All the more because they can do
so without suspicion of partisan purpose.
The other question which clamors for legis
lative consideration relates to the employment
of criminals in our prisons. In the past prison
labor has been awarded to outside contractors,
interested only in cheap, quick sales. Hence it
has entered the market in competition with hon
est toll, which it has undersold. Mechanics
have justly protested, and have measurably
stopped this abuse. Meantime, in some State.,
the prisoners have been relegated to absslute
idleness. This is bad every way. Prison dis
cipline shonld be remedial as well as penal.
How may these criminals be changed Into
self-supporting and honest men? This is the
question. Teach them to work. Make them
skilled workmen. But organize this effort not
on a money making but upon an educative
basis. Then let the State dispose of the pro
ducts of criminal labor in outside markets In
countries and at prices beyond the competition
of home producers.
David G. Wtue, Ph. D., has just
made an exhaustive study of the free publio
schools of the United States. As the result
of an Immense range of painstaking inquiry,
he reaches the following conclusions, viz.:
First The common schools cannot properly
be called Godless. There Is a good deal of
moral and religious instruction directly and in
directly imparted. In by far the largest num
ber of instances the teachers are left free to
conduct devotional exercises and instill Into
the minds of pupils committed to tneir care
moral and Christian principles; while in many
of the States and Territories "morals and man
ners" are required to be taught by statute. The
law, however, excludes sectarianism.
Second Without doubt, the laws relating to
moral and religious Instruction In many of the
States are vague. Imperfect, and entirely too
negative, while both ot these great subjects
are tanght in many, perhaps In most, of the
public schools, still ft is too often with a kind,
of apology. Our laws should give more promi
nence to these subjects. In that case, teachers
wonld notheetute to instruct in such lines.
Third The American free schools are realis
ing In a wonderful degree the purpose ot their
lounaers. xneyare educating youin in the
common branches of learning (with a growing
tendency to introduce the higher branches),
and are giving general satisfaction throughout
the Union. No other Institution In the land Is
doing more to assimilate heterogeneous popu
lation and to mold an American peoDte.
Fourth While there are parochial schools in
many States and territories, generally these are
confined to cities and to neighborhoods predomi
nantly foreign. As competitors with the com
mon schools they are not to be feared. If the
common schools continue to give moral and re
ligious instruction, as they have been doing the
past half century, there will be little danger
from the parochial. system.
Firth The free schools have enemies who seek:
their destruction. It American citizens wish '
to preserve their educational system as it has
been and is to-day, and at the same time to per.
feet it they must be vigilant and active.
What a pity 'tis that there should be sa
many sweet sinners and sonr saints.
If yon wish tobe well spoken of, speak weU
of others.
Seize to-day trust not to-morrow. The
present is yours the future is God's.
They Kever Fall.
J. N. Harris, 3 Fulton Market N. Y.Cltr.
says: "
"I have been using Brandreth'i Pius fortaa
last ten years. They are a wonderful medicine.
There la nothing equal to them as blood purifi
ers and liver regulators. Bnt Iwlshtostat
how remarkably tbey cure rheumatism, sad
how easjly. I was affected by rheumstisa of
the legs. My business (wholesale fish dealer),
naturally leads me to damp places. I was so
bad I could not walk, and at night luAuvd
fearlullyil tried balsam! saranSBlaVSu
Sf eelal Sale.
.J5 J6 5n $ junta to order at Pitcaira'i,
kinds of tinctures, but they did me no good. 1
and I was afraid of being a cripple. I finally A
commenced using Brandreth's Pills. I toot A
two every night for tea nights, then I began to m
improve. I continued taking them for 40 days! -fif
and I got entirely well. 2J0W whenaw !.V -J
I.take'Brandreth'sPllls: ney nevMlaU.' 1
. BU J
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