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'tez.
THE PITTSBURG DISPATCH.,
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SECOND PARTT
PAGES 9 TO 12.
PITTSBURG, SATURDAY, JANUARY 25, 1890.
IN QUAINT OLD SPAIN.
E. L. Wakeman's Wanderings Take
Him to Another Finisterre,
AMONG CAGOTS, SCIONS OP GOTHS.
Pierre Floquet, the Sardine-Fisher, and the
Btorj of His Life.
A WEAITH OP OLD EIP TAN WINKLE
ICOBSXSrOKSKXCE OF THE DISrATCH.1
Santiago de Caupostela, Epaix, )
January 8, 1890. J
One has all sorts of good luck in adven
ture when wandering among the lowly of
any land. A most unexpected passage from
Finisterre. in Brittany, to Finisterre, in
Spain, each the wildest and most romantio
portion of their respective countries, resulted
from becoming acquainted with the Breton
peasantry and fisher folk about Carnac,
Quimperle, and Concarneau. Prowling
about brought me among the sardine-fishers.
There are hosts of them at Concarneau.
Thirteen hundred boats are in use, and the
smell of curing and decaying fish is at times
intolerable. But among the fishers there
was an unusual excitement. One man,
Pierre Floquet, formerly of Tregune, had
beenmost fortunate for years. It was whisper
ed among his fellows that he had somehow
made league with the fairies at the old Druid
stones of Carnac, at midnight of Christmas
eye, long ago, since when no ill-luck could
befall him. There was a legend, too, I
found, which told that he was of another
race, a race of strange, outlawed souls de
barred from mingling with other human
kind, because of some old long-ago physical
curse or taint that had been put upon his an
cestors. In any event, every haul of Pierre
Floquet'e seine was a lucky one. "While his
fellows dragged along in need-whipped pov
erty, Pierre got rich, at least for a sardine
fisher of Concarnean. The more I heard of
the fellow, the more curious I was to know
him. This was given added zest because of
the wild tales told of the wondrous voyage
he was about to make with his own family
in his own new goelette, or schooner, which
he had purchased for the, to the envious
fisher-folk, astounding sum of 20,000 francs.
The voyage was to Spain. I was going to
Spain for a gipsy sort of tramp across that
land of the Mediterranean. Why should
I not become the companion of Pierre Flo
quet? IXOQtTET AND SARDIXX-FISHERS.
I found the devil-leagued family living in
a hut under the walls of Concarneau
proper, or Ville Close, which at high tide is
quite surrounded by the sea, so near the
water out of which their harvests had come,
that twice each day it stole to the very
threshold of the cabin and babbled for an
hour or two with Pierre's half dozen chil
dren. Then it went away with the dirt and
litter of the place, saving them all mnch
labor. "Why did I want to know the de
spised and ostracised Pierre Floquet? That
is what he bluntly asked me. Because I
knew the sardine-fishers of America, and
wished to learn if their sea-craft was like
that of their brethren in Brittany. As Pierre
Floquet believed this, after I had twice
helped him with the seines over the
rough waters of the Baie de la Forest,
from which Du Gnesclin so savagely can
nonaded the English garrison holding the
old city for John de Montlort, and as I said
nothing of niv hopes to join him on his
voyage to Spain, we soon found a liking for
each other; and this, in the confidence which
came, revealed the secret motive of the voy
age, the shadow which had set grimly be
tween the man and his fellows, and finally
gavemethesnugbertkofpassengerand friend
on the Enrique ta del Meira, the Spanish
named little craft which sailed out under
Concarneau's grim walls with all of Pierre
Floqnet's earthly possessions, chieflv con
verted into checks on the Bank of Spain,
Atocha 15, Madrid, for golden onzas, while
a thousand Breton fishermen and their wives
looked after in open-mouthed wonderment
But that was a strange, wild story that
came little by little from Pierre Floqnet's
lips; a story that a Hugo or a Sue would
have woven into a romance of the wierdest
fascination. Among the Pyrenees, and the
Aquitanian Mountain and Valley countries,
both sides of them, especially in Spanish
Oalicia, Navarre, Heuesca, Lerida and
Gerona, in the French Heutes Pyrenees
Gascony, Guienne, Poitou, and sparsely in
Brittany, live a strange race of men called
Cagots.
DESCENDANTS OF THE GOTHS.
The Cagots are believed to have descended
from the Aryan Goths. "Wherever they
live away from the Pyrenees, in France
and Spain, these marked and shunned
people are variously called Calliberts,
Caqulns, Cacoas and Cahets. For a thou
sand years they were superstitiously avoided
by all other inhabitants near them. They
were despised, persecuted, maltreated, re
garded socially and legally as outcasts, and
the superstition of the darker times attributed
to them all manner of foulness. They were
believed to be witches; nuvicros, or raisers
of the storms and tempests, the Spanish
peasantry called them. Every dark deed
possible was within their power. They ex
haled noxious odors. They bred pestilences
and epidemics. They were companions of
cats and owls, and could see in the night
like them. They were completely and abso
lutely ostracised, and compelled to live
alone, or in quarters by themselves, and in
towns and cities whenever they made their
appearance, they were obliged to wear a
scarlet cloth, that all others might avoid
them. Down until the seventeenth century
it was not considered a crime to kill a Cagot,
if he offended. So Pierre Floquet and all
his family were Cagots. His own storv?
An hundred years before, his great, great
grandfather was stoned to death in the
little hamlet of Meira, on the sunny
Bivadeo river, which leaps laugh
ingly from the Sierra dp Tin no rim
heights into Biscay Bay. Donning the garb
and assuming the ways of the Gitani or gyp
sies, the wife and children escaped into
France, and finally settled in Brittany.
They changed their name and vocation: be
came fishers at Concarneau; others of the
Spanish Cagots came; intermarriage re
sulted. Some died and some Emigrated to
America. Pierre Floquet toiled at his seines
and the sardines brought him competence.
With its increase came that indefinable
longing that comes to know the land from
whence one sprang. Enriqneta was his moth
er's name. It was the name of the wile of the
poor Cagot stonedto death by the banks of
the Bivadeo, Meira was the village irora
whence his ancestors had fled.
TUB DREAM OF HIS LIFE.
Pierre was realizing the dream of his life
now in returning to Spain in his own ship,
rich enough to be made alcalde of Meira; to
bnild a great monument to the murdered
outcast; to make his blood and kin re
spected and feared, if not beloved; and some
how I felt no mean thrill of pride and con
gratulation in the pride of my fisher friend,
despised Cagot though he was.
Our goelette was a snug craft of 120 tons
burden, and scarcely had we got out of
sight of the gaping fishermen of Concarneau
when our shrewd captain, stripping himself
nearly naked, unwound from his body some
scarlet and yellow stuff which proved to be
the Spanish flag. When this was run up,
everything was pronounced snug and tidy
for the voyage, which, with fairly favoring
winds, was accomplished in just lour days.
I tound that an American's ordinary geo
graphic knowledge of the Bay of Biscay is
abject to modification, or rather expansion,
pj even, once wiling across it, On. the maps
of our youth-time it seems but a tiny,
wrinkly hollow set in the coast angle north
of the Spanish Peninsula and to the west of
France, But its length from the Breton
Finisterre to the Spanish Finisterre must
be nearly 500 miles, while our sailingcourse
exceeded 600. For two days and nights we
skirted the French coast, by night now and
then catching glimpses of warning lights,
flashing or fixed, where danger lay; by day
contemplating an unbroken line of plume
like surf, surmounted by gray dunes of
tempest-shifting sand, here and there jag
gedly capped at the horizon-edge by the
dark silhouettes ot stunted spruce and fir.
Sailing the Florida Gulf, one says of the
interminable sand and pine of the Florida
coast, "Here is desolation indeedl" But in
intense and awful dreariness, in the endless
ness of utter desolation, it cannot be com
pared with the French Biscayan coast, from
the yawning mouth of the Gironde to the
steely mouth of the Adour. Shortly we
rounded the huge, long, flinty and lofty
promontory of Finisterre, our schooner
gliding into the great, silent and deserted
bay like some lonely sea fowl skirting a
lonelier coast for prey.
TVHAT THE BAT IS LIKE.
The Bay of Finisterre comprises at least
100 sqnare miles of almost fathomless water,
shut in by eastern, northern and western
granite walls. There is not a human habi
tation in sight as you enter. The most pow
eriul glass cannot descry living being or
beast or fowl upon the heights or within the
gorges between. There is not a single craft
within the silent bay. Away around be
hind one shadowy crag, hid in the stony
loop of the promontory, are a few straggling
huts and some fishers' boats drawn upon the
beach of sand. These the sun lights up,
but there is no sign of life even among them.
They only intensify the grim and heart
hnrting desolation to the beholder. Stern
and savage grandeur is on every side. One
seagull, whirling and half screaming with
its whistling gurgle, starts up from some
where behind the crag, and comes to us as if
imploring food. Yet here it was that once
10,000 galleons paid tribute to the
mighty pagan city of Duyo, and all the
then known world maae homage to the
mighty mistress of the sea. Hosts had been
born, had mingled in her wondrons activi
ties, had died, to give place to other myriad
men who had lived their little lives in "the
great city at the world's end." Here, too.
the patron saint of Spain, St. James, had
won the heathen Spaniards from Paganism
to Christianity. Not so much as a block of
stone or a tempest-ravaged grave can be
found, as sign where Duyo was, to-day.
Did the awful sea engulf it?" Can the tooth
of time gnaw so fine and annihilatingly?
Here should now sit, reaching with white
wings of commerce the remotest places of
the earth, the greatest city of Snain. Instead,
in those miserable huts exist perhaps an
hundred of the vilest, most ill-begotten,
sodden and sinister barbarians of all Spain.
No man, woman or child among them can
read. They soak their bodies and besot their
souls in fiery aguardiente. They are foul
with sores, and reek in slime and ooze; and
heaven help the helpless one that drifts
alone among them.
LIKE A BIP TAN WINKLE WBATTH.
We came to anchor within 100 yards of
the beach before a single soul had been
seen in desolate Finisterre. Then a wretched
sort of woman, half clad, emerged from her
hut, and, steadying herself alongside the
houses, disappeared within the door of the
largest, which served to uphold a crumbliug
portal along its iront Pierre Floquet and
myself were then rowed to the shore by two
ot his stalwart sons. Just as we landed the
door of the large house reopened, and some
thing resembling the wraith of Kip Van
Winkle on his return from his sleep in the
mountains, raised its hands to the sky and
let them fall with an expression of surprise.
comusion and utter helplessness. We
stalked up the beach and accosted the figure
civilly.
"Pardon, in the name of God," spoke the
thin old man, wbo-proved to be the alcalde
of Finisterre, and wretchedly ill, "the
plight we are found in. Every soul in
Finisterre is afflicted unto death with some
strange malady. You are welcome to port,
be you Gallegans, merchantmen or pirates.
If the latter, you may capture and carry off
in bondage all our people, and there be none
to lift a preventive hand. Would to God
you were, if likewise you might rob our
coast of this dread plague!"
Then for the first time I found that Pierre
held a Spanish tongue in his head, and it
spoke with the strange accent of Galicia.
He told the unfortunate alcalde his story
cunningly, though making no reference to
his Cagot blood; revealed the fact that he
had casks of caviare and kegs of sardines,
with sacks of good Breton onions and pota
toes; and better yet, flagons of wine and
brandy all for the honest people of Finis
terre that they might join in his gladness at
nearing the home spot of his ancestors.
HE EXACTED A HOSTAGE.
He also as cunningly told him, that when
his family and goods were disposed at Meira,
then himself and his eldest sons were tore
turn and fish the sardines with his Gallegan
brethren of Finisterre, and that meantime
his handsome goeletle, Enrlqueta del Meira,
should ride at anchor before his vcrv door as
hostage for such performance. The wea
zened old alcalde embraced Pierre Floquet
ardently; but an unpleasant thought for me,
in the line of his official duties, seemed to
haunt him. What of the extrangero? the
foreigner, who surely was no man of Meira,
nor one likely to return to the sardinhas of
Finisterre? Good Pierre's face grew long
and solemn. Together we tried to make the
official imbecile understand the harmless
ness of my vocation; that I was merely a
sunny-hearted viajante or traveler; a still
more innocent autor or writer; and a lover
of my fellow men at Concarneau or Fin
isterre. Unfortunate word that one word, "autor."
"Diablosl" were shouted upon them all.
All evil to Spain might lurk in my inoffen
sive appearing person; and the impotent, ill
and harmless old wretch knew his loyal duty.
In the name of the crown I must remain,
under arrest. I could have thrown every
cue of the stricken souls of Finisterre into
the sea in an honr's gentle exercise. But I
set myself as gnard over myself thatl might
not escape, and, as sentinela and prisoner
combined, passed my first day in Spain
carrying onions, sardinha: and caviare lrom
Pierre's boats at the beach, to the empty
storehouse of the mighty alcalde of desolate
Finisterre. Edgar L. Wakeman.
HERE AND THERE.
Stray Paragraphs of Newsy Gossip Cannot
br Ear and Etc
In a little chat the other day a Southside
business man touched on a point that is well
worth remembering in the line of precau
tion against fire. He had been in the habit
of throwing all his excelsior, waste paper,
etc, in a vacant place back of the store. One
day it was set afire in some way, bnt was
quickly noticed and put out without alarm or
any loss. Had the same happened in the cellar.
It would probably not have been noticed, and
there would have been a big fire. The mer
chant mentioned Is a great advocate of fire pro
tection In every way. He will not allow any ref
use or easily ignited material space in his
cellar at alL Should a fire hannen in the cellar.
its discovery, until too late, is doubtful, and
the smoke arising makes it nearly impossible
to flcht it with good effect. Good clean cellars
are one ot the surest preventives of fire.
.
Adoctob told a good story the other day.
ot long ago two doctors were delegated by the
Health Board to make a tonr of investigation
or a certain district and vaccinate all those
wno had not thus provided against contagion
XrOIU SmallDOX. ("In A UHvnraa nthnranGnipinns
.F. ,.... at.l .1 ,. . . . .. . . r .
" "iu auu uuany askea "wnat Kind orcioC'
tors thev were " Th.o tnM di, , ro-MRxi
the regular school, whereupon she refused to
allow them to vaccinate her children saying,
I am a homeopathist and I'd rather have my
children vacciuated with 'homeopathic stuff.' "
The doctors in question had a good laugh over
homeopathic virus being something superior
to what they used.
THKJf?111701 Gerge Washington; some
AAAU thing abont the mtrint'. Wnlfh .
tors: curious fact as to the origin bf the Stars
""""H su ma BVRDA DESPATCH,
ON SACKED GROUND.
Talmage Takes Notes in and About
Jerusalem and Bethlehem.
HE ENDEAVORS TO BUI CALVARY,
But the Moslem Owners Decline to Part
With the Tenerated Real Estate.
HOWDATID'S HANDSOMB SON IS HATED
CSrECUX COItnESFOXDENCE Or THE DISPATCH. 3
South op Tibebias, December 16. Our
tents are pitched south of Tiberias, midway
between it and the famous hot sulphur baths,
once enjoyed exclusively by royalty and
nobility, but now the Mecca to which
afflicted Jews and Gentiles from near and
from far, make their way to seek health in
their malodorous waters. The baths are sit
uated on the banks of the beautilul Lake
Galilee. We are enjoying truly delightful
weather. The temperature is about 75
Fahrenheit, in the shade; balmy breezes
temper the warmth of the snn. Horses and
donkeys, some standing, others lying down,
are resting comfortably after days of hard
toil, and our various attendants are engaged
in an apparently interesting conversation in
Arabic Along the beach, natives wearing
picturesque costumes, arc strolling in cease
less procession. An occasional caravan of
stately camels gives increased variety to the
scene. In the saloon tent one of the waiters
is setting the table for luncheon, singing or
rather groaning in Oriental style, which,
Dr. Talmage says, always reminds him of a
protracted attack of nausea.
Less than a quarter of a mile away and
hard by the ancient wall of Tiberias, a num
ber of Bussian pilgrims of both sexes are
bathing in Lake Galilee. A hundred or so
men, women and children form a semi-circle
of deeply interested spectators about these
people, who are clothed only in the garb of
Eden. Immediately at the rear of our en
campment is what is know as the Mount of
Beatitudes; and it seems to he pretty well
authenticated that there was the place
TVHEEE CHEIST PREACHED
to his disciples and a wondering multitude
His Sermon on the Mount. Dr. Talmage is
lying on the beach immediately in front of
the encampment, with open Bible before him,
making notes in a mammoth memorandum
book, while the brilliantly reflected sun
light causes his eyes to water. I write this
letter sitting at the door of my tent, which
is, by the way, elaborately decorated with
exquisite specimens of Fgyptian needle
work. The reader will remember that I ended
my last letter with our arrival in Jerusalem
through the Joppa Gate. We were made
comtortable at our hotel after the hard ride
of the day and remained within doors for
the rest of the evening. But we arose be
times to begin a comprehensive round of
sightseeing.
Though a city of 40,000 inhabitants,
Jerusalem has not a well within its walls,
and the water used is either rain water kept
from the last rainy season some six months
ago, or water carried in skins of animals
by men or women, donkeys or camels, from
wells more or less distant With thousands
of houses Jerusalem hasn't one chimnev,
and the traveler who, chilled by exposure
or the humidity of its vault-like dwellings,
needs artificial heat, must be content with
the poor comfort afforded by a brasier of
live charcoal, the substitute for stoves in
the city.
Perhaps it is due to the prejudice born of
my religious training that notwithstanding
all its discomforts and shortcomings as a
city, its narrow lanes, innumerable dark
alleys, miserable architecture, its mire and
its filth, I left Jerusalem with many regrets.
Of the city, Dr. Talmage said to me:
"While I have been building up my ideas
of Jerusalem all my lifetime, the highest
summit of my expectation does not reach
the base of the reality."
The first morning after our arrival found
us on the summit of Golgotha, the plaee ot a
skull. Dr. Talmage opened the Bible he
always carries with him, and read the story
of the Crucifixion. The party consisted of
Mrs. Talmage and Miss May Talmage, the
writer and his wife, to whom the doctor
pointed out at the appropriate passage in
the narrative, the Damascus gate through
which the Savior is said to have been led
out before the tragic event that took place
on the hill on which we were standing.
Before leaving, Dr. Talmage said the hours
he had spent on the hill Calvary were to
him the most solemn and overwhelming ot
all his life. There was the center from
which the continents had been touched, and
from which all the world would yet be
moved. To him it was the most sacred
place on'earth.
"WHEBE CHKIST 'WAS CRUCIFIED.
The reader is aware that within the med
ley of buildings known as the Church of
the Holy Sepulcher are shown what
are claimed to be the scenes of
the death of Jesus, His burial and resur
rection. Where we visited is called the new
Golgotha. It is situated without the city
walls. After much careful examination
and mature consideration, Dr. Talmage and
many other eminent men, among them the
late General Gordon,believe it to be the real
site ot the Crucifixion. It stands immedi
ately opposite the Damascus gate. No other
place in or near Jerusalem so fully answers
to the description in the Bible as the place
of Jesus' execution. Its shape is unques
tionably that of a skull. As Dr. Talmage
in my opinion very correctly said: "A man
need but feel the shape of his own cranium
to be fully satisfied that this hill
is the place of the skull."
A rough outline sketch he made
of it resembles the outline of a skull as one
egg does another. Standing en the hill one
is exposed to the view ot all passers by,
"Look yonder," said Dr. Talmage, pointing
to some huge rocks that seemed as it they
had been torn asunder by an earthquake,
"there are the seams in the Tery rocks that
were rent at the Crucifixion, and there is the
very road along which the people passed
'wagging their heads.' " Nearly all the
archaeologists in Jerusalem agree with him
in opinion as to the exact place of the Cruci
fixion. After leaving Golgotha we went to the
tomb which Joseph of Arimathea gave for
the burial of the Savior. It is situated in a
garden near by and almost at the loot of
Golgotha. This tomb was excavated about
three years ago. It was recognized imme
diately by people capable of forming an
opinion on the subject as actually the place
it was supposed to be. The tomb is the
only one in or near Jerusalem to enter which
it is necessary to stoop, and in this respect it
is unique in its correspondence with the
description in the gospel. Dr. Talmage ac
cepts the claim made for this cave as the one
in which the sacred form was laid at rest.
He produced his flexibly bound Bible as we
viewed the place where" the Lord was laid,
and read the scriptural account of the resur
rection. "WILL NOT SELL SACKED GEOUND.
As he commented upon the simple and
graphic story he became possessed of an
idea which prompted him to speedily remount
his donkey and ride back to Jerusalem.
His errand was to purchase, if possible, the
triece of ground containing both the scene of
the crucifixion and of the burial of Jesus. To
this object he devoted the remainder of the
afternoon, making considerable effort to ac
complish it, but failing to do so. Fart of
the land is nsed as a Mohammedan burial
ground and the doctor discovered that no
amount of money could persuade the Mos
lems to part with the land where lie their
Jucou. u.u u .ubcccucu ui uib piau to uuy I
Calvary sad the tomb of Jesus, he would
I M A A M I-i Af4 llA flnAAAAfAil Tkld h 1 .
have made over the property as soon as ac
quired to the Christian cnurch at large.
The next morning we set out for Beth
lehem, which is two hours distant from
Jerusalem, when the journey is made with
out deviation. Our gnide thought it better
to show us Solomon's pools than to pursue
a direct course to the place of our Lord s
nativity. Accordingly we visited these
wonderful specimens of skillful engineer
ing, which are, even at this day, the admira
tion of the world. Probably no other speci
men of all the architectural creation re
ferred to in the Old Testament is so well
preserved as these gigantic pools, which the
wisest of the Hebrew monarchs built for
the purpose of insuring a bountiful supply
of water for his gardens. They are now
nearly 3,000 years old, and in their majesty
still attest In silent eloquence the great
resources and consummate skill of the men
who built them.
On our way to Solomon's Pools we saw
what is known as the Hill of Evil Counsel,
where Judas Iscariot hanged himself; also
the Potter's Field, which was bought as a
burial ground for strangers with the 30
pieces of silver which were the price of our
Lord's betrayal.
THE CITT OP DAVID.
After returning from the pools we pro
ceeded directly to Bethlehem, the city of
David. Unlike the other cities of Pales
tine, we found that it is inhabited mostly by
Christians, with a few Mohammedans and
no Hebrews. Its streets are narrow lanes,
barely admitting a wagon of average width.
We had hardly passed the gates leading into
the city when our horses stopped suddenly.
The street was blocked by a camel, which,
being frightened at the noise made by
our wagons, refused to stir an inch.
After a good deal of effort he was
turned, his head In the opposite direction
from where it had been, and then led around
the block to make room for us to Dass on.
While the commotion incident to the revo
lution of the beast was in progress, Dr. Tal
mage and the writer left the vehicle and un
dertook to walk bv way of change, but the
slush and filth of the streets were so great as
to compel us to return to onr canvas covered
barouche. Thanks in great part to the dem
onstrativeness of our driver, who was a Turk
evidently in the habit of making his way in
the world, we managed to pass through the
throngs of people crowding the street, and
reached the Church of the Nativity.
We were received very politely by a
monk who undertook to act as our" guide.
He spoke English fairly well and did his
best to explain every nook and corner of the
structure. Beiore, taking us downstairs
where the manger was in which the Savior
saw first the light of day, he handed each of
ns a lighted candle. He then led the way
down to a series of natural grottoes, which
nresent the appearance of a khan or inn
such as are still seen in Palestine. At the
head of one of these rooms formed in the
solid rock, is a brilliantly lighted repre
sentation of the Savior's" birth. This was
pointed ont as the exact spot occupied by
the manger in which reposed the Holy
Child.
After he had reverently surveyed the
place, Dr. Talmage remarked: "The gate
through which our Lord entered this world
was a gate of rock a hard, cold gate and
the gate through which He departed was a
swing gate of sharpened spears."
LONG NTTESED HATRED.
When wo had returned to an ante-room of
the church our guide invited us to partake
of refreshments. He had prepared for us
excellent tea and nice white bread. This
was better than any bread we had eaten since
leaving Cairo, and the honey he served us
was deliriously acceptable. As the friendly
monk had refused to take compensation for
his companionship as our guide, Dr. Tal
mage insisted on paying for the refresh
ments we had taken, and availed himself of
the opportunity he found in this way quiet
ly to bestow a considerable sum in acknowl
edgment ot the courtesy and hospitality
with which we had been treated.
On our'way'backrtfr;Terusaleni we'passed
a Hebrew cemetery which lies under the
shadow of Temple Hill. The Hebrew be
lieves that there will be the scene of the
great judgment Four tombs hewn out of
the solid rock attract observation by their
superior size and imposing appearance. Of
these the Tomb of Absalom is the largest
It stands apparently nearly 50 feet high, and
is certainly not less than 20 feet square.
Accounting for the large amount of rubbish
about the base of this monument, is the fact,
as I was intormed, that the faithtul Israelite
does not pass it without throwing at it a
stone to indicate his contempt for David's
disobedient and wayward son. The stones
thus thrown have made a ragged edged
opening in the tomb of about 15 inches in
diameter and about eight feet from the
ground. I was further told that it was nec
essary to clear the monument once a year of
the accumulation of stones, which, often
accompanied with curses, are hurled at the
supposed tomb of King David's handsome
son. Louis Klopsch.
THEY DIDN'T MEET.
Homestcnd Filth Responsible for the Pol
lution of Sonthsldo Water.
Yesterday afternoon was the appointed
time for a meeting of the sub-Committee on
Health of the Public Safety Committee, to
whom was referred the resolution of Coun
cilman Nisbet, relating to the abatement of
the schindery nuisance at Beck's Bun. Only
two members of the committee showed up,
however, and they, Messrs. Nisbet and Don
ley, were somewhat chagrined, for they were
both prepared to ventilate their views, the
result of investigation of the subject. Mr.
Nisbet said he had found that the Legisla
ture of 1885 had passed an act authorizing
cities to abate nuisances within a mile out
side of the city limits, and his researches on
the subject had convinced him that the city
could proceed under it against the Beck's
run schindery.
Mr. Donley said he was prepared to show
that but very little would be gained bv
abating the schindery, which, though a
nuisance, was not the worst nuisance the
patrons of the Monongahela Water Com
pany had to contend with. Mr. Donley's
personal observations had convinced him
that the borough of Homestead and other
up-river towns had more to do with fouling
trie water than the schindery. A bend in
the river near Homestead caused the river
current to run down on the south side of the
channel to the point where the Influent pipe
of the Monongahela Water Company's
works was located, and at this point an edtfy
is formed, with the end of the influent pipe
for a center. Consequently all the oflal of
slaughter houses, sewage and other waste
matter from the towns irom Homestead is
carried right to the spot where it can do the
most damage in impregnating the water
used by the people of the Southside.
Against TJnltlog.
The proposition to merge the Sons of Vet
erans with the G. A. B., which has been re
cently mooted does not seem to gain favor
among the leaders in either society, and for
very good reasons. The G. A. E. men are
not eons of veterans, but veterans, and the
sons of veterans are not G. A, B. men, but
sons of G. A. B. men. Hence the very ap
parent incongruity in blending and becom
ing one, as it were.
Sinking Ilo.to Slowly.
The. Young Women's Christian Associa
tion, of the Fast End, who some time since
determined to build a home for the care of
the helpless of their sex, are looking around
for a desirable and central location for the
building. They have already secured the
option on several sites, bnt are judiciously
making haste slowly.
HE A FY ?f Congress; the handsome and lov
JJEiaiJAlngbachelorsana wealthyand ten
der widowers that attract Washington girls,
are described by M lis Grundy, Jr.i la TO-UOE-
A CHANCE FOE BOYS.
Gen. Pearson Pleased With the Nauti
cal School on the Saratoga.
TRAINING AMERICAN SEAMEN.
President Lawrence Would Like to HaTe
Some Pittsburg Lads.
BUILDING UP THE MERCHANT MARINE
On Tuesday last General Pearson, as Na
tional Commander of the Union Veteran
Legion, paid an official visit to Philadel
phia, and while there as the guest of Presi
dent Lawrence, of the Nautical School-Ship
Commission visited the school-ship Sara
toga. The Philadelphia Evening Bulletin
in speaking of the visit says:
"After thoroughly inspecting the vessel
and seeing the boys at study the visitors re
traced their steps to the deck. Suddenly
the alarm bell sounded. Clang, clang, clang.
Before General Pearson and his friends
could gather their wits together, 06 lithe and
energetic boys dashed upon deck, some from
every opening, ready to suppress the names.
It was an alarm of fire sounded to show the
visitors how efficient the boys were in the
fire drill. The result was remarkable.
Some of the boys carried hose.others mat
tresses and other material for smothering
fire, while many held axes in their hands,
ready to Tip open the deck in order to make
an opening in order to give the hose full
play. There was not the slightest confusion.
Every boy took his assigned station, and
when all had responded, which was speedily,
every part of the vessel was protected.
The visitors were astonished, and all the
more so, when Captain Lawrence reminded
them that the boys had only been under in
structions a month. "We have a bright set
of boys," he added, "and we expect to make
good men out of them."
ADMITTING BOYS.
The Saratoga now has on board SG boys.
These are divided into eight messes of 12
boys each. When everything is in good
working shape, the school will comprise 144
boys. Nearly every day a boy or two are
admitted. Two were examined to-day. About
April 1 the Saratoga will start on a cruise to
Fayal, one of the Azores, where she will
stop awhile and then go on to Lisbon,thence
XiisDon,inence
to Southampton, Engla returning home
some time in August. This voyage it is ex-
nd, returnin
This voyage
pected will be prolific of great advantages
to the boys. Next November it is proposed
to take the Saratoga South for the winter,
stopping at Port Boyal, Key West and the
West Indies, returning in the spring.
This nautical school has been established
with a view to extend still further to
American youth the fields of useful em
ployment where hoys may be prepared for
the important duties of the sailor, and be
given so much scholastic, in conjunction
with nautical, education as will enable
them to enter the merchant marine service
under the most favorable auspices.
A GOOD COUESE OP STUDY.
The Government has furnished the Sara
toga with its full complement of officers.
By an act ot Assembly the State of Penn
sylvania and city of Philadelphia bear the
expenses. The only expense of the pupils
will be their clothing. The course of study
is for two years, and in addition to ordinary
English studies thorough instruction will
be given in seamanship and navigation.
The main object of the school is to edu
cate American boys to become good sea
men for the merchant service. In order
to give intelligent and industrious youth
ampleopportunityto advance to the highest
position ouereu dj me mercantile marine,
and to familiarize all (loosing to the pos
sible contingency ot war) with the general
dnties of "men-of-war's men," the discipline
and routine of the navy will be observed as
far as applicable. The boys will be carefully
instructed under the direction of the super
intendent in reading, writing, spelling, arith
metic, geography and English grammar; and
also all the dnties of seamen, such as boxing
the compass, knotting and splicing, the
strapping of blocks, reefing and furling,
heaving the lead, using the palm and needle,
the handling of boats under oars and sails,
swimming, etc.
The Saratoga is in no respect a reforma
tory ship, and any boy of bad habits, or who
develops a vicious character contrary to the
regulations of the ship, will not be allowed
to remain on board. President Lawrence in
a letter to General Pearson says: "As I told
you we are anxious to receive boys from all
parts of the State, and would be pleased to
receive some irom your part of the section.
"If you send us any, we will try and,
make good seamen and navigators of them,
and will teach them the essentials that every
man who follows the water should know,
and even if your boys should want to go on
the river steamboats after leaving the ship at
the end of the term, they will know enough
to make them valuable for that business."
The boarding and tuition is furnished
without cost to the boys, bnt parents must
provide them with suitable and sufficient
clothing during the course of study on the
ship.
EECALLING THE BENDER TRUL.
An Old Juror Recognizes Two of Its Wit
nesses One 1'rocnrlng a Divorce.
Time works wonders. This axiom was
exemplified to an old Pittsburger, at present
serving as a juror in the Criminal Court,
before Judge Slagle. In walking from the
Criminal Court out into the hall, the early
part of this week, he witnessed the Hon.
Thomas M. Marshall conversing with
several attorneys, and right alongside of
Mr. Marshall, were two young women, also
busy conversing. Mr. Marshall did not
know the ladies, nor did they
know him, although the juror was ac
quainted with both parties.
Twenty years ago Mr. Marshall was the
attorney for Henry Bender, who was in
dicted and tried lor the murder of Police
Officer Stack, on the corner of Fourth
avenue and Smithfield street. The eity had
employed Hon. H, Bncher Swope, United
States District Attorney, an eminent law
yer, to prosecute Bender, and the greatest
interest was manifested by the public. The
case occupied two weeks in trying it, and
was one of the grandest legal battles that
ever occurred in the old Court House.
The old juror, who was on the jury at that
time, here saw the daughters of Henry Ben
der standing alongside the veteran legal gi
ant who, 20 years before, by his eloquence,
had saved their father and had him acquit
ted. The young women were married, and
one of them just this week had an applica
tion in the Common Fleas Court for a di
vorce, which was granted on that very day
of meeting in the corridor. How strangely
indeed does time bring people together after
many years, who are ignorant of the great
issues that have come between them in the
pastl
The Northern Pacific: Open.
The agent in this city of the Northern
Pacific Bailroad Company received yester
day a telegraphic dispatch from head
quarters, saying that the road is open from
one end to the other, and that passenger and
freight trains are running on schedule time.
The reports of snow blockades on that line
were exaggerated.
A Ter7 Natprnl Result.
The new house of B. W. Hastings, at
Emsworth, was destroyed by fire yesterday
morning. There was no insurance except
the builder's risk. Loss about (2,000.
Fires had been started in all the rooms in
order to dry the plasterinir. and the honss
Jeft it Wim fta wnPjBb P '
A Strange Wedding.
SHALL never forget, as
rone as I live, the even
ing when I came home
form the Welton ball,
where my eldest sister
and I had gone alone,
and where we had en
joyed ourselves as two
young people can enjoy
themselves who have
not a care in the world.
I was the only son of a rich country-town
banker, and, before choosing a profession, I
was takingjife very easily and very hap
pily. I had gone through my college career
with some credit, though I might have done
much better had there been no such thing
as boatine or other amusements in the Ox
ford world.
I believe, however, that it was my great
love and admiration for my mother which
keDtme from running into excess of any
kind. My father was very easy-going, and
indulged me sadly; but my mother was al
ways trying to show me how foolish waste of
money was, and that, even if I could afford
to be extravagant, it was harmful to my
character. Some people said Mrs. Thorner
was ridiculously strict in her ideas of bring
ing up her children. I am sure we never
thought so; and my four sisters,all younger
than myself, were quite the nicest girls in
the neighborhood; so at least Ithought, and
I was not alone in my opinion.
"Little mother." as we all called her, was
in our eves the best, the sweetest ana ine
most beautiful woman in the world. She
treated me as if I were her friend, as well as
her son, and she allowed me to share all her
hopes and fears for our future. She often
impressed me with the idea that I was to
look after my sisters, and to think of them
first, and not to allow them to wait upon me;
nor was I to force my will upon them.merely
because I happened to be an only son and
only brother.
How much I looked forward to taking mv
eldest sister, Alice, to this her first ball.
My father had been slightly ailing the last
tew days, and my mother settled that she
would stay at home with him if I would
promise to look after Alice and not intro
duce her to any desirable, fast young men.
So off we started for onr long drive, lol-
, j , , . f ,,. nnnartn !,
khdh. f befilg b..ont from Hetty,
is. Jj tit:....:. b
Celiaand Minnie,
I was very proud of Alice's beauty, and a
little overanxious about her partners, till I
fonnd a pretty girl for myself, after which I
very nearly forgot Alice altogether. But
why linger over these happy reminiscences?
We had promised to get back at a reason
able hour, and we were just strengthening
ourselves for several hours' dancing by
eating a good supper, when a waiter put
a note in my hands. I tore it open and
read :
1 Tore II Open and Read.
"Come back at
frighten Alice. 1
'once; say nothing to
have sent James on
horseback with this, but take a fly home
immediately, xours, L. M.
There was something very much the mat
ter with little mother or she would not have
written thus. My mind turned at once
toward my father; he was taken worse; he
must be seriously ill, or she would not thus
have cut short our pleasure. Alice would
look over my shoulder as I read the note,
and I did not hinder her, thinking this as
good a preparation of any for what might
be awaiting us. Arthur Helston, a rich
neighbor of ours, complained of Alice's
hasty departure. I remember; she had
promised him the last dance, but we only
waited till the fly came for us and then
drove off. Alice was tearful and frightened,
and I tried to reassure her, to which she
said:
"Hugh, dear, I wish we had not come to
this ball; but how could we know mother
would want us?"
"No, we could not guess it, Alice; but
promise me you will be brave, and not cry,
and that sort of thing. You are very tired,
and had better go to bed when we get back.
I can do everything mother may want, if
there is any nursing to be done."
Well, we got home at last, after what
seemed an eternity; we had taken a fly from
the "Bed Lion." but the horse was lame.
and at the garden gate I jumped out, and
took a short cut to the front door. I ran np
the steps, and was in the hall in a moment
No sound was to be heard; not a servant
was to be seen; we were doubtless not ex
pected so soon. Iran lightly upstairs, and
knocked at mother's door. She opened it
herself, and for a moment she said nothing.
Her face was deathly pale, but she was not
crying.
"Mother, what is it?" I cried, knowing
that it was something dreadful.
"Hushl" she said. Then taking my hand
she led me to the inner room, where my
father lay dead.
"Hugh, dearest, don't cry," she said, in
an unnatural voice, "it was sudden. He
opened a letter and fell back with a bitter
cry half an hour after you left. Where is
Alice? Prepare her. Oh, Hugh, my hoy,
my dear boy, do not say anything."
I folded myarms round little mother, not
knowing what she meant, and drew her
away from the room, for I saw she was not
herself.
"What should I say, dearest, but that you
must make me do everything for you? I
shall be your right hand, and shall not leave
you.
She disengaged herself from my arms and
stood up against the mantlepiece so calm
and so quiet that I was more horror-struck
than if she had been beside herself with
passionate grief.
"Mother, tell me; there is something else."
"Yes, Hugh, The letter your father
opened was to tell him he was a beggar.
The shuck of that killed him. Every
penny will go the bank has failed; we are
all at the mercy of the world."
Some shocks are too great to realize; I
was not crushed as she was. I merely
smiled.
"Then you and the girls will be kept by
me. Spare Alice this evening; this will be
grief enough for her. Trust me for the
mture, nearest ntue mother.
My mother gave way then and cried;
blessed tears at last; they saved her life,
and it was comfort enough for me to feel her
dear head on my shoulder and to hear her
murmur:
"Ob, Hugh, my dear, brave boy; but it
will be hard for you all, very hard yet
every penny mnst go to pay our liabilities.
We must rob no one."
"Of course, mother, we will begin life
again, and I will make your fortune. I am
young, ana can worg,
-- - l
SlP
p' W vMm!
weeks. The greatness of our misfortunes
bore me up, and my mother and the girls
were heroines. But when at last all was
settled the heroic spirit was not so easily
kept up. It was all very well saying I
would support my mother and four sisters;
but even if I had been trained to hard work
it would have been difficult to get a post
immediately, and, as it was, I had no recom
mendations except those of a young man
brought up in luxury.
I was forced to allow an old uncle to lend
us a sum of money for our Immediate neces
sities. My mother, who would not be de
pendent on charity, took a small house in
the country, not much better than a cottage.
The girls did the work of the house, and she
well, actually the dear little mother ad
vertised to give singing lessons in the neigh
boring town.
I renewed my efforts, answered endless
advertisements, and the money I got to
gether by selling some personal trinkets I
spent in a poor London lodging, the better
to further my search for remunerative work.
One morning, wearied out with failure, I
took up a paper and read the following ad
vertisement: "Highest references required. A gentle
man, who can satisfy the advertiser as to
his character and antecedents, and who can
undertake the education of a young lady in
Latin and Greek, mav apply in the first in
stance to X. Y. Z. Strand. If all is
satisfactory the gentleman may state his
own terms."
The advertisement was so extraordinary
that I concluded it was another ingenious
hoax; still, the last words fired my imagina-
HUGH, DEAIIEST, DON'T CBT.
tiou. So little seemed required; and I cer
tainly knew enough Greek and Latin to
coach a young lady, unless she were a very
modern blue-stocking; and as to terms what
should I ask? My testimonials were cer
tainly good; I had plenty of friends who
could speak for me; but 1 found these testi
monials at present quite useless, for none of
them could say that I had ever done a stroke
of work, more than I could help, from my
youth upward.
Let me confess it I tossed a sixpence
"Heads I go, tails I stay at home," I said
aloud. The coin spun round, fell off the
table, and settled at my feet. I went down
on my knees and peered at the token. It
was headsl
1 never waited for further consideration,
but I got myself up in the most tutor-like
style that I could, and off I went
The given number in the Strand was a
small bookseller's shop, and when I men
tioned my business I settled at once that I
was going to discover another hoax, as the
shabby bookseller looked me over, and, then,
having settled, I suppose, that I was a gen
tleman, remarked:
"Mr. Brown will be here at 12 o'clock;
you can wait upstairs if you like. There's
been a dozen gents after that advertisement
already. If you prefer it, you can call again;
there's sure to be plenty more."
My heart sank low, butl stuck to the post
"I will wait," I said.
I Will Wait.IBaid.
Weary waiting it was upstairs, in a dingy
back room, full of old books. The room was
so small that I hoped 12 more "gents" would
not appear; and, happily, none came, till at
last I heard a slow footstep on the creaky
stairs, and an elderly man appeared.
I stood up and bowed, and received in re
turn a very scant salutation. The man be
fore me looked like a London merchant, not
ungentlemanly; but somehow the words
business and money seemed written on his
features. He was bald, had arav beard,
deep-set eyes, which looked searching and
unpleasant; his mouth I could not see, as it
was hidden by a beard.
"Mr. Thorner," he said, looking at my
card, "you have read my advertisement;
kindly tell me as much of your history as
may help me to decide if you are fitted for
the post I have to offer."
My history was of the simplest; I kept
nothing back, adding at the end of my re
cital: "I did not take a first-class, but a good
second; so that will show you I know
enough to coach even an advanced young
lady. As to anything else you may like
to inquire about, the names ot my referees
will snow you that you will hear the truth
about me."
Mr. Brown looked at the letters I handed
to him very carefully. My heart beat a lit
tle faster than usual. Strange as the adver
tisement had been, certainly the man before
me wb3 in earnest
"Now, as to terms, Mr. Thorner, what
salary do you expect should "the letters I re
ceive abont you prove satisfactory?"
I had a hundred thoughts in a minute.
What could I venture to ast for the work
required of me? If I were too grasping I
might lose my chance, and. yet I must get
enough to make my mother and the girls
tolerably comfortable.
I looked up, and evidently the piercing
eyes opposite read my thoughts.
"I hardly know," I stammered. "Of
cpnrse, it was the hope of liberal remunera
tion that made me come here. My mother
and ray sisters are dependent on me."
"That sounds well,"" said Mr. Brown, I
thought a little ovnically; "but may I ask
juu, sir, wuetuer you nave no ulterior
J", on, nucmci jruuuoisuu ulterior mo- 1
i J I BIN
'i 3A5M
ilfrspf
marrying, and whether your affections are
already ?"
"Certainly not, sir," I said, quickly, "my
mother is my only anxiety, and will" be for
many years to come. It is very improbable
that I shall ever marry, considering that I
am without a sixpence."
In my own mind I thought:
"The old rascal fears I may make love to
this young lady; as if any girl connected
with him could weigh in the balance against
my little motherl"
"Very well," he said dryly, "I shall take
your word for this. Excuse these pergonal
questions, but they are of importance to me,
and, on your side, yon are at perfect liberty
to throw up my offer. As you do not name
your terms, rray I ask you whether five hun
dred a year, quarterly prepayment, would
meet your wishes?"
My astonishment was too great for words.
I looked up surprised, and Mr. Brown
added:
"The terms are liberal, but there are draw
backs to the post. You will be required to
live in the country a lonely place, where
there is no society. Even your pupil will
not require your services for many hours in
the day. I suppose you can employ your
self. There will he a horse for you to ride,
and you can shoot. A man brought up as
you have been can do all this, but often he
cannot put up with a lonely life. It is for
this reason we offer liberal terms; but there
is no society, and we wish you to make no
friends."
This was nothing to me, with the pros
pect of 500 a year for my mother! I could
dress and travel on, say, 50 a year, and the
rest wonld keep the dear ones from real
poverty nay, with some small degree of
luxury.
"Thank you, sir. I conclude I may, at
special times, visit my mother; otherwise I
can't accept your conditions. I might get
JiL
a little literary work to fill
up my spars
time."
This was nothing to Mr. Brown.
He
waved his hand lightly, and added:
"I will send you a definite answer when I
have heard from your referees; leave me
your address. I may add you will have no
expenses, and will live in the house. Do
you wish to ask anything else?"
"No, sir, except yes. How long may I
expect this engagement to last, supposing
we mutually suit each other?" ,
Mr. Brown looked at me with that same
peculiar searching glance that affected me
powerfully. . Alter a very slight pause, he
answered:
.-u n v jrcaiD, auu fcucu vuu Will DSLTQ
! the option of continuing it indefinitely"
He bowed me out of the room, and I re
turned to my lodgings with strange, mixed
feelings. I was overjoyed with the new
hope; I was mystified, I was doubtful; but,
above everything else, I dreaded disap- ,
pointment, and summoned patience to my
help.
How wearily the days dragged along! The
third day I hardly went beyond a mile of
my lodging, so that I might return at each
post time. On the fourth day I took but one
walk. On the filth morning I said to myself
I would not stir out of doors. At last in the
evening the postman brought me two letters.
One was from the little mother. I opened it
first, and read the last words, "God bless
you, my own boy, but don't mind much it
you are again disappointed. Your love helps
me to bear everything." I took the letter,
and looked at it several minutes, not daring
to read the refusal. At last I tore it open
and read:
"Dear Sib Your references having
proved satisfactory, I shall be glad to offer
you the post in question. Kindly call at
same address to-morrow at 12, when I shall
give yon further directions. Youn faith
fully, Thomas Beowx."
CHAPTER H.
Any man who has loved his mother as I
loved mine will understand the pleasure I
experienced when I inclosed in my next let
ter a check for 100; for, besides receiving
the joyful news that I was at once to go to
"The Moat House," five miles from Lupton,
at which station a carriage would meet me.
Mr. Brown placed in my hands a check for
125,saying that he concluded I would bind
myself to stay three months.
I was, indeed, deeply thankful to have
thus fallen on my feet, and yet I could not
altogether prevent a feeling of anxiety as to
what wonld be the result ot my three months
at the Moat House. My good fortune
seemed too good to be true; there must be a
drawback, but I vowed that if the drawback
could be put up with by man, it should bo
endured by me for the sake of little mother.
I may be forgiven for feeling intensely cu
rious as I alighted at Lupton. Was my
pupil Miss Brown? for Thomas Brown,
Esq., had not deigned to give me any par
ticulars. Would she be a very clever child,
destined to be a Girton girl, and make us
men hide our faces and burn our grievous
laurel wreaths? Would she be, on the other
hand, so spoiled and tiresome tbat I should
givo up the task of teaching her in utter de
spair? No, not if she were an idiot would I
do that, I said, smiling to myself as the car
riage drove away from the station.
I expected riches, and I already saw signs
of weaith the carriage and the splendid
pair were worth much money. At last we
enterea a large pars: ana arove lor quite a
mile through a beautiful avenue now bare
of leaves, then through another gate and
over an old moat and round by a large eray
stone castellated mansion which had been
added to till the styles were various; but all
was of dark, sad, gray coloring.
The door was opened by a footman, who
was not like the usual run of footmen. This
one was quiet, dull, and evidently my ar
rival was an event, for I saw him stare at
me with a kind of stupid astonishment
I was conducted to a suite of rooms on the
ground floor. Everything was comfortable,
even luxurious. I had a bedroom, a sitting
room, and also another room where my din
ner was now awaiting me. Nothing was
wanting but life. I thought of my own .
home, a mere cottage, bnt where all the
girls would have rushed out to welcome me,
and where mother would have made it look:
like a palace. Here no kindly voice was
heard, only luxury and a few stupid serv
ants. I was to live alone.
I had no idea of quarreling with mygood
fortune, however. So I spent a happy even
ing, subduing curiosity with an excellent
dinner, and gratefully thanking "Mr.
Brown," or whoever was master here, for
Doocsneii oi choice boots.
uuujkaucu Ul CUOICC DOO&S.
'4
i
i.-."
.y-
-k-,.