4
5
I
16
work his gift." Then aloud with deep
ironv
"Visiting our great country for recrea
tion and amusement no doubt I suppose
you find that traveling in the majestio ex
panses of our far "West is-"
"I haven't been-West, and haven't been
devoting myself to amusement with any
ort of exclusi veness, I assure you. In fact,
to merely live, an artist has got iff work,
not plav.
Artist!" said Hawkins to himself,
thinking of the rifled bank; "that is a name
for itl"
"Are tou an artist?" asked the Colonel;
and added to himself, "now, I'm going to
catch him."
"In an humble wav, res."
"What line?" pursued the sly veteran.
"Oils."
"I've got him" said Sellers to himself.
Then aloud, "This is fortunate. Could I
engage you to restore some of my paintings
that need that attention."
'I shall be very glad. Pray let me see
them."
Ho shuffling, no evasion, no embarass
rnent, even under this crucial test. The
Colonel was nonplussed. He led Tracy to a
chromo which had suffered damage in a
former owner's hands through being used
as a lamp mat, and said, with a flourish of
his hand toward tte picture
"This Bel Sarto "
"Is thata Del Sarto?"
The Colonel bent a look of reproach upon'
Tracy, allowed it to sink home, then re
sumed as if there had been no interruption
"This Del Sarto is perhaps the only orig
inal of that sublime master in our country.
Tou see yourself that the work is of such
exceeding delicacy that the risk could er
would you mind giving me a little example
of what you can do before we "
"Cheerfully, cheerfully. I will copy one
of these marvels."
"Water-color materials relics of Hiss
Sally's college life were brought Tracy
said he was better in oils, but would take a
chance with these. So he was left alone.
He began his work, but the attractions of
the place were too strong for him, and he
got up and went drifting about, fascinated,
also amazed.
Meantime the Earl and Hawkins were
holding a troubled and anxious private con
versation. The Earl said:
"The mystery that bothers me is, where
did it get its other arm?"
"Yes, it worries me, too. And another
thing troubles me the apparition is En
glish. How do yon account for thai,
Colonel?"
"Honestly, I don't know, Hawkins; I
don't really know. It is very confusing
and awful."
"Don't you think, maybe, we've waked
tip the wrong one?"
"The wrong one? How do von account
for the clothes?"
'The clothe are light, there's no getting
aronnd it. What are we going to do? We
can't collect, as I see. The reward is for a
one-armed American. There is a two-armed
Englishman."
"Well, it may be that that is not objec
tionable. You see it isn't less than is called
lor; it is more, and so"
But he saw that this argument was weak
nd dropped it. The friends sat brooding
over their perplexities sometime in silence.
Finally the Earl's lace began to glow with
An inspiration, and he said impressively:
"Hawkins, this materialization is a
grander and nobler science than we have
dreamed of. We have little imagined what
a solemn and stupendous thing we have
done. The whole secret is perfectly clear
to me now, clear as day. Every man is
made up of hereditiesjong-descended atoms
and particles of his ancestors. This present
materialization is incomplete. We have
only brought it down to perhaps the begin
hingof this century."
"What do you mean, Colonel?" cried
Hawkins, filled with vague alarms by the
old man's awe-compelling words and man
ner. "This. We've materialized this burglar's
ancestor."
"Oh, don't! Don't say that! It's hid
eous!" "But it's true, Hawkins; I know it Look
at the facts. This apparition is distinctly
English; note that. It uses good grammar;
note that. It is an artist: note that. It has
the manners and carriage of a gentleman;
note that Where's your cot
swbov? Answer
me that"
"Kossmore. this is dreadful! It Is too
dreadful to think ofl"
"Sever resurrected a rag of that burglar
but the clothes not a solitary rag ot him
but the clothes."
"Colonel, do you really mean "
The Colonel brought his fist down with
emphasis and said:
"I mean exactly this: The materializa
tion was immature; the burglar has evaded
rs; this is nothing but a ancestor!"
He rose and walked the floor in great ex
citement Hawkins said, plaintively:
"It's a bitter disappointment bitter."
"I know it I know it, Senator. I feel
it as deeply as anybody could. But we've
got to submit on moral grounds. I need
money, but God knows I am not poor
enough or shabby enough to be an accessory
to the punishment of a man's ancestor for
crime committed bv that ancestor's pos
terity." '
"B'ut, Colonel," implored Hawkins, "stop
and think; don't be rash; you know it's the
only chance we've got to get the money,
and. besides, the Bible itself says posterity
to the fourth generation shall be punished
for the sins and crimes committed bv ances
tors four generations back that hadn't any
thing to do with them; and so it's only fair
to turn the rule around and make it work
both ways."
The Colonel was struck with the strong
logic of this position. He strode op and
down, andthoughtitpainfullyover. Finally
he said:
'There's reason in it; Tes, there's reason
Init And so, although it seems a piteous
thing to sweat this poor ancient devil for a
burglary he hadn't the least hand in, still,
if duty commands I suppose we must give
him up to'the authorities."
"I would," said Hawkins, cheered and
relieved, "I'd give him up if he was a thou
sand ancestors compacted into one."
"Lord bless me, that's just what he is,"
said Sellers, with something like a groan,
'it's exactly what he is; there's a contribu
tion in hiin from every ancestor he ever
had. In him there's atoms of priests, sol
diers, crusaders, poets, and sweet and gra
cious women all kinds and conditions of
folks who trod this earth in old, old cen
turies, and vanished out of it ages ago, and
now by act of ours they are summoned
from their holy peace to answer for gutting
a one-horse bank away out on the borders of
Cherokee Strip, and its just a howling out
rage!" "Oh, don't talk like that, Colonel; it
takes the heart all out of me. and makes
me ashamed of the part I am proposing
to"
"Walt I've got it!"
"A saving hope? Shout it out lam
perishing."
"It's perfectlv simple; a child would
have thought of it He is all right, not a
flaw in him, as far as I have carried the
work. If I've been able to bring him as tar
as the beginning of this centnrv, what's to
stop me now? I'll go on and materialize him
down to date."
".Land, I never thought of that!" said
Hawkins, all ablaze with joy again. "It's
the very thing. "What a brain you have
got And be will shed the superfluous
arm?"
"He will."
"And lose his English accent?"
"It will wholly disappear. He will speak
Cherokee Strip and other forms of pro
fanity." "Colonel, maybe he'll confess."
"Confess? Merelv that bank robbery?"
"Merely? Yes, but why 'merely?' "
The Colonel said in. his most impressive
manner:
'Hawkins, he will be wholly tinder my
command. I will make him confess every
crime he ever committed. There must be a
thousand. Do you get the idea?"
"Well not quite."
'The rewards will come to us."
"Prodigious conception! I never saw
such a head for seeing with a lightning
glance all the outlying ramifications and
possibilities of a central idea." ,,
"It is nothing; it comes natural to me.
"When his time is out In one jail he goes to
'the next and the next, and we shall have
nothing to do but collect; the rewards as he
goes along. It is a'perfectly steady income
as Ions as we live, Hawkins. And ranch
better than other kinds of investments, be
cause he is indestructible." - "
"It looks it really does look the way
you ay; it does indeed."
"Look? why it is. " It will not be de
nied that I have had a pretty wide and
comprehensive financial experience and I
do not hesitate to say that I consider this
one of the most valuable properties I have
ever controlled."
"Do you really think so?"
"I do, indeed."
'Oh, colonel, the wasting grind and
grief of poverty! If we could realize im
mediately. I don't mean sell it all, but sell
part enough, you know, to "
"See how you tremble with excite
ment That comes of lack of experience.
My boy, when you have been familiar with
vast operations as lone as I have, you'll be
different Look at-rne; is my eve dilated?
do you notice a quiver anywhere? Feel my
pulse plunk plunk plunk same as if I
were asleep. And vet, wbat is passing
through my calm, oold mind? A procession
of figures which would make a financial
novice drunk jnst the sight of them. Now
it is by keeping cool, and looking at a thing
all around, that a man sees what's really in
it, saves himself from the novices's unfail
ing mistake the one you have just sug
gestedeagerness to realize. Listen 'to me.
Your idea is to sell a part of him for ready
cash. Now mine is guess."
"I haven't an idea. What is it?"
"Stock him of course."
"Well, I should never have thought of
that
"Because you are not a financier. Sav he
has committed a thousand crimes. Certain
ly that's a low estimate. But the look of
him, even in his unfinished condition, be
has committed all of a million. But call it
only a thousand to be perfectly safe; 5,000
reward, multiplied by a thousand, gives us
a dead sure cash basis of what?55,000,000!"
"Wait let me get my breath."
"And the property indestructible. Per
petually fruitful, perpetually; for a prop
erty with his disposition will go on com
mitting crimes and winning rewards."
"You daze me; you make mv head
whirl!"
"Let it whirl; it won't do any harm. Now
that matter is all fixed, leave it alone. I'll
get up the company and issue the stock all
in good time. Just leave it in my hands.
I iudge vou don't doubt mv abilitv to work
it up "for all it is worth."
"Indeed I don't I can sav that with
truth."
"All right then. That's disposed of.
Everything in its turn. We old operators
go by order and system no helter-skelter
business with us. What's the next thing
on the docket The carrying on of the ma
terialization the bringing it down to date.
I will begin on that at once. I think "
"Lookhere, Kossmore. Yon didn't lock
it in. A hundred to one it has escaped."
"Calm-yourself as to that; don't give
yourself any uneasiness."
"But why shouldn't it escape?"
"Let it, if it wants to! What of it?"
"Well, I should consider it a pretty
serious calamity."
"Why, my dear boy, once in my power
always in my power. It may go and come
freely. I can produce it here whenever I
want it, just by the exercise of my will."
- w en, i. am truly giaa to near that, J. do
assure you."
"Yes, I shall give it all the painting it
wants to do, and we and the family will
make it as comfortable and contented as we
can. No occasion to restrainjts -movements.
I hope to persuade it to' remain pretty
quiet though, because a materialization
which is in a state of arrested development
must of necessity be pretty soft and flabby
and substanceless, and er by the way, I
wonder where it comes from?"
"How? What do you mean?"
The Earl pointed significantly and inter
rogatively toward the sky. Hawkins
started, then settled into deep reflection,
finally shook his head sorrowfully and
pointed downward.
"What makes you think so, "Washington?"
"Well, I hardly know; but really you
can see vourself, that he doesn't seem to be
pining for his last place."
"It's well thought Soundly deduced.
We've done that thing a favor. But I be
lieve I will pump it a little in a quiet way
and find out if we are right"
"How long is it going to take to finish
him off and fetch him down to date,
Colonel?"
"I wishI knew, but I don't I am clear
knocked out by this new detail this un
foreseen necessity of working a subject
down gradually from his condition of an
cestor to his ultimate result as posterity.
But I'll make him hump himself, anyway. v
"Eossmore!"
"Yes, dear. "We're in the laboratorv.
Come, Hawkins is here. Mind, now, Haw
kins, he's a sound, living human being to
all the family, don't forget that Here she
comes."
"Keep your seats, I'm not coming in. I
just wanted to ask who is it that's painting
down there?"
"That? Oh, that's a young artist; young
Englishman named Tracy; very promising
favorite pupil of Hans Christian Ander
sen or one of the other old masters Ander
sen, I'm pretty sure it is; he's going to half
sole some of our old Italian masterpieces.
Been talking to him?"
"Well, only a word. "I stumbled right in
on him without expecting anybody was
there. I tried to be polite to him: o'flered
him a snack (Sellers delivered a large wink
to iiawKins irom behind his hand;, but be
declined, and said he wasn't hungry
(another sarcastic wink), so I brought some
apples (double wink) and he ate a couple
of "
"What!" and the Colonel sprang some
yards toward the ceiling and came down
quaking with astonishment -
Lady Eossmore was smitten dum with
amazement She razed at the sheepish relic
of Cherokee Strip, then at her husband, and
then at the guest again. Finally she said:
"What is the "matter with vou, Mul.
berry?"
He did not answer immediately. His
back was turned; he was bending over his
chair, feeling the seat of it But he answered
next moment, .and said:
"Ah. there it is; it was a tack."
The lady contemplated him doubtfully a
moment, then said, pretty snappishly:
"All that for a tack! Praise goodness it
wasn't a shingle nail; it would have landed
you in the milk way. I do hate to have
my nerves shook up so." And. she turned
on her heel and went her way.
As soon as she was safely out the Colonel
said, in a suppressed voice": "
"Come, we must see for ourselves. It
must be a mistake."
They hurried softly down and peeped in.
Sellers whispered, in a sort of despair:
"It is eating. What a grisly spectacle!
Hawkins, it's horrible! Take me away I
I can't stand it"
They trotted back to the laboratory.
To Be Continued Next Sunday.
KAPHTHA m WHISKY..
The rierj- Stun Sold la the low Saloons Is
Toned Vp With It-.-
Et IOuls Globe-Democrat 2
Some people doubt the presence of naph
tha In the worst kind of whisky and other
liquor, bnt the bartender in any very low
saloon will tell you that a large quantity of
worthless liquor is toned up with this horri
ble liquid, and that some men positivelv
like the mixture. It used to be a common
practice in chemical works "throughout the
world to adulterate alcohol used in manu
facturing with naphtha with a view of pre
venting bibulous workmen from drinking it
The practice is not so universal now,
owing to the discovery thai men with a
taste for pure alcohol will drink it almost as
readily when thus adulterated as when
chemically pure. As to the effect upon the
human anatomy, it can be best imagined by
pouring a few drops on to a piece ot leather
or raw meat and watching the results. For
all that, some men will take naphtha witli
their drinks lor years, and apparently suffer
very little Inconvenience; but if a man not
used to hard drinking was to take Iwo or
three glasses of the mixture it would well
nigh kill him.
'THE -
-
IN ' A SHADOW LASIX
Wonderful Hctures Shown in the
Len-Shn Temple of Japan.
PERDITION IN TERRIBLE FORMS
And Paradise Represented by Pretty Gar
dens and Teahouses.
THI COKCIPMON OP CHILD-BEAUTT
rwBlTTEN rOB THK DtSrATCII.1
NOTHEBday in' Ja-I
pan, ana now we stand
at the verge . of the
great grove. Beyond
the trees, what caress
ing sun what spiritu
al loveliness in the ten
der day ! A tropic sky
always seemed to me
to hang so low that one
could almost oathe one's finger in its luke
warm liquid blue by reaching upward from
any dwelling roof But this sky, softer,
sweeter, fainter tinted arches so vastly as
to suggest the heaven of a larger planet
How ethereally sweet It is! The very
clouds are not clouds, but only dreams of
clouds so filmily rare they are; ghosts of
clouds diaphanous, flimsiest specters, illu
sions !
"Ob, Akiral yon must show me some
thing more," said I at last to my faithful
guide.
"I cannot show you much more," answers
Akira, smiling at my interest, "but if you
will come with me to Kubo-yama, I will
show you in one of the temples there pict
ures of the Saino-Kawara and of Jizo, and
the Judgment of Souls."
So we take our way in two jinrikishas to
the Temple Bin-ko-ji, on Kubo-yama. "We
roll quickly through a mile of many colored
Japanese streets, then through half a mile
of pretty suburban ways, lined with gardens,
behind whose perfectly, clipped hedges are
houses light and dainty as cages of wicker
work, and. then, leaving our vehicles, we
ascend green hills on foot by tortuous paths
and traverse a region of fields and farms.
The Sine; of the Dead.
After a long walk in the hot sun we reach
a tiny village almost wholly composed of
shrines and temples. The outlying sacred
plan with its buildings in one inclosure of
bamboo fences, belongs to the Shinzon Sect
A small open shrine to the left of the
entrance first attracts us. It is a dead
house; a Japanese bier is there. But almost
opDOsite the doorway is an altar covered
with startling images, the shapes of phan
tom powers ruling the world of ghosts.
But all this is not what we came to see.
The pictures of heaven and hell await us in
the Len-Shu U'emplc close bv. On the way
my guide tells me this: "When one dies the
body is laved and shaved and attired in the.
garment's of pilgrims (Koromo), and a.wal
le (sanebukero), like a Buddhist pilgrim's
wallet, is hung about the neck of the dead,
and in this wallet are placed three rin.
And these coins are buried with the dead.
For all who die, except children, pav three
rin at the -San-Zu-no-Kaiva, 'The Kiver of
the Three Eoads.' "When souls reach that
river they find there the Old Woman of the
Three Eteds, Sozu-Baba, waiting for them;
she hvts on the bank of that river with her
husband, Ten,Datsn-Ba; and if the Old
Woman is not paid the sum of three rin she
takes away the clothes of the dead and hangs
them on tne trees.1'
bating a Bare Chrysanthemum.
The temple is small, neat, luminous with
thesun pouring into its widely opened
shojis; and Akira must know the priests
well, so affable their greeting is. I make a
little oflering, and Akira explains the pur
pose of our visit Thereupon we are in
vited into a J arse bright apartment in a
wing of the building overlooking a lovely
garden. Little cushions are placed on the
floor for us to sit. upon and a smoking box
is brought in, and a tiny lacquered table,
about eight inches high. Ana while one ot
the priests opens a cupboard, or alcove with
doors, to find the pictures which are Kake
monos or paintings on long scrolls, rolled
up on wooden rollers, another brings us tea,
and a plate of curious confectionery consist
ing of various pretty objects made of a
paste of stigar and rice flour. One is a per
fect model of a chrysanthemum blossom;
another is a lotos; others aie simply large,
thin crimson lozenges bearing admirable de
signs flying birds, wading storks, fish,
even miniature landscapes. Akira picks
out the chrysanthemem, and iusists that I
shall eat it; and I begin to demolish the
sugary blossom, petal by petal, feeling all
the while a sense of acute remorse for spoil
in;; so. beautiful a theme.
Meanwhile four Kakemonos have been
brought forth; unrolled and suspended from
pegs upon the wall; and we rise to examine
them. They are very, very beautiful Kake
monos, miracles of drawing and of color,
subdued color, the color of the best period
of Japanese art; and they are very large,
fully 5 feet long and more than 2 broad
xuuuuicu upon siut.
The Buddhist Idea or Death.
And these are the legends of them: First
Kakemono In the UDDer part of the rjaint
ing is a scene from the Shaba, the world of
men; tben mourners kneeling before tombs.
All under the delicious soft blue light of
Japanese day. "Underneath is the world of
ghosts. Down throngh the earth crust souls
are descending. Here they are flitting, all
white through inky darkness; here they
are wading through weird light, tbe flood of
the phantom river of the Three Eoads.
Further down I see fleeing souls overtaken
by demons, hideous blood-red demons, with
feet like lions, with lace half, human the
physiognomy of the Minotaur of fury. One
is rending a soul asunder. Other demons
are forcing souls to reincarcerate themselves
in bodies of horses, of dogs, of swine. And
as they are thus reincarnated hideously
they flee away into shadow mysterious
shawow, like the darkness of the Future.
Second Kakemono: Such a gloom as the
diver sees in deep sea water a lurid twi
light, an under-world gloaming. In the
midst a throne, ebon-colored, and upon it
an awful figure seated, Eunna, Lord of
Deatbi and Judge of Souls, unpitying,
mighty, tremendous. Frightful guardian
spirits hover about him like armed goblins.
On the left, in the foreground below the
W ' "
' ' fC
9W3
PlTTHBTIRGr DISPATGH
throne, stands the wonderous Mirror
Tabari-no-Kagami reflecting the state of
souls and all the happenings of the world.
A la'ndscape now shadows its surface a
landscape of cliffs and lakes and shipping
with figures of pedestrians and sailors. On
the right, upon a tnll-sterorned flat stand
such as offerings to the gods are placed upon
in the temple, a monstrous shape appears,
like a double-faced head freshly cut off and
set upright upon the stump of the neck.
Sonls Awaiting the Judgment.
The two fans are the witnesses the face
of the woman (Mirume) sees all that goes
on in the Shaba; the other fan is the face of
a bearded man, the face of Kaguhana, who
smells all odors, and by them is aware of all
that human beings do. Clo'se to them, upon
a reading stand, a great book is open the
record book of deeds. And between the
mirror and the witnesses white, shuddering
souls await judgment.
Further down I see the sufferings of souls
already sentenced. One, in life time a liar,
is having his tongue torn out by a demon
armed -with heated pincers. Other souls,
flung by scores into fiery carts, are being
dragged away by demons. The carts are of
iron; but resemble exactly in form those
hand wagons which one sees every day
being pulled and pushed through, the streets
bv bare-limbed Japanese laborers, chanting
always the same melancholv alternating
chorus Haidah I hei I baidan I hei ! But
these demon wagoners naked,blood-colored,
having the feet of lions and the heads of
bulls, move with their flaming wagons at a
run like jinrikisha men.
All the souls so far limned are souls of
adults. The souls of children are not judged
by Eunna.
Third Kakemono: A furnace with souls
for fuel, blazing up into darkness. Demons
stir the fire with poles"bf iron. Through
J.he superior blackness white souls are
descending, head downwards, into the
flames.
The Children After Death.
Below this scene opens a shadowy land
scape, a faint-blue and, faint-gray world of
hills and vales, through which a river ser
pentines, the Saino-Kawara. Thronging
the banks of the pale river are the ghosts of
little children trying to -pile up stones.
They are very, very pretty, the child souls,
pretty as real Japanese children are (it is
astonishing how exquisitely is child beauty
felt and expressed by the artists of Japan;
one would say these men had the souls of
women)! Each child has one little short
white dress.
In the foreground ahorrible devil with an
iron club has just dashed down and scat
tered a pile of stones built by one of the
children. The, infant ghost seated by the
ruin of its poor little work is crying, with
both pretty hands in its eyes. The devil
appears to sneer. Other children also are
weeping nearby. But. lo! Jizo comes, all
light and sweetness, with a -glory moving
behind him, like a great full moon, and he
holds out his shakinjo, his strong and holy
staff, and the little ghosts catch it and cling
to it, and are drawn into the circle of his
loving protection. And other infants have
caught his great sleeves, and one has been
lifted to the angel bosom of the God. Below
this Sai.io-Kawara scene appears yet an
other shadow world a wilderness of bam
boos! Only white-robed shapes of women
appear in it They are weeping; the fingers
ot all are bleeding. With finger nails
plucked out must they continue through
centuries to pick the sharp-edged bamboo
grass. '
Painting of a Miraculous "Lotos.
Fourth Kakemono: Floating in glory,
Dai-Nichi-Nyori Kwanoon - Sama-Amida
Buddha. Far below them, as hell from
heaven, surges a Jake of blood, in which
souls float. The shores of the lake are preci
pices studded with sword blades thickly set
as teeth in the jaws of a shark and demons
are driving other naked ghosts up the. ap
palling slopes but out of the crimson lake,
something crystalline rises like a beautiful,
clear waterspout; the stem of a flower a
miraculous lotos, bearing up a soul to the
feet of a priest, standing ahijve the verge of
the abvss. By virtue of his saintly prayer
was shaped the lotos which thus lifted up
and saved a suffering soul.
The priest has found in some mysterious
cupboard one more Kakemono, a very large
one, which he unrolls and suspends besides
the others. A vision of beauty, indeed, but
what has this to do with faith or ghosts? In
the foreground a garden by the waters of
the sea, or some vast, blue "lake a garden
like that at Kakemono, full of exquisite
miniature landscape work, cascades, grot
toes, lily ponds, curved bridges and trees
snowy with blossom, and dainty pavilions
out-jutting over the placid azure water.
Here children are playing, peacocks are
strutting. And the walks of the garden
lead to beautiful buildings like teahouses,
with. white shojis all open to the summer
day, and matted floors whereon guests are
reposing. And further and vaster, a mar
velous magnificence of lofty edifices, rising
roof beyond roof to glorious altitude in faint
blue haze, in summer vapor, creations all
aerial, gracious, light as dreams.
The Idea ot Paradise.
Whv this is Paradise! The Ookurakn!
and all these quiet guests are souls!
Well, what afterall is the heaven of any
faith but ideal reiteration and prolongation
of happy experiences remembered, the
dream ot dead days resurrected for us, and
made eternal?
And if you think this Japanese ideal too
simple, too naive if you say there are ex
periences of the material life more worthy
of portrayal in a picture of heaven, than
any memory of days passed in Japanese
gardens and teahouses it is perhaps be
cause you do not know Japan, the soft,
sweet loveliness of its sky, the tender color
ot its waters, tho gentle splendor of its
sunny days, the exquisite charm and com
fort of its interiors, where the least object
appeals to tbe sense of beauty with the air
or something not made, but caressed into
existence.. Latcadio TTtta-r-w,
SISAL GBAS3 OF TTJCATA1T.
A Wonder! nl Fiber That Will Have an In
finite Variety of Uses.
The sisal grass of Yucatan is one of the
most remarkable vegetable products known)'
says the St Louis Globe-Democrat It grows
in long blades, sometimes to the length of i
or 5 feet, and when dry the blade curls up
from side to side, making a cord which is
stronger than 'any cotton string of equal
size that has ever been manufactured. It is
in great demand among florists and among
manufacturers of various kinds of grass
foods, but as soon as its valuable properties
ecome known it will have a thousand uses
Which are now undreamed of. Bopes, cords,
lines of any description and any size may be
manufactured of it, and a ship's cable of
sisal grass is one of the possibilities of the
future. It is almost impervious to the
action of salt water, ana is not readily
decayed or disintegrated by moisture and
heat, and will, in time, prove one of the
most valuable productions of Central
America. . e
THE BOSTON CIVILIZATION.
mow a juirue liiu Disgraced uerseir at a
Symphony Concert. G
Youth's Companion. " ""
The Boston Symphony concerts have be
come, in a way, sacred ceremonials, at which
even those not born with a musical ear must
assist in becoming fashion. One Friday
afternoon the little daughters of a certain
family returned from the Music Hall "in a
state of mind." One of them was evidently
scornful, and the other depressed.
"What's the matter?" asked some one.
"Wasn't the concert fine?"
'The concert was all right," said Ethel,
suberbly, "I don't complain of the concert!"
"Then what did go wrong? Something.
I'm sure."
"The amount of the matter is," said the
young lady, looking haughtily at her droop
ing sister, "that Mildred has disgraced her
self. She sneezed in the middle of the
symphony!"
An Advantage of Age.
Harpef 's Young People. J
"I'd like to be crown up," sighed Bojbby,
"for 'then I'd be helped first to pie, and get
through in time to have a second piece."
ITEBRTTAHTJ1
THE .RULES OF RANK.
Bessie Bramble on the Formalities
of Washington Society.
SECRETARY PRDDEN'S AUTHORITY.
Hen ire as Tad as Women in the Squab
ble for Eeats of Honor.
THE GUESTS AT A CABINET DINNER
rCOHEESPONDEJJCE OP THE PIRPATCH.l "
Washington, Feb. 27. Every year
when the social season begins in Washing
ton they have no end of a wrangle and
jangle as to order of precedence and official
etiquette. This year the talk and criticism
was as to how the guests were seated at the
President's Cabinet dinner it being claimed
that Mrs. Miller, the wife of the Attorney
General, was given the seat that should, by
virtue of her rank, have been assigned to
Mrs. Elkins. This momentous matter gave
a subject for gossip to the town, and much
Grundyism was indulged in by the sticklers
for forms.
Outsiders may look upon this as a 'small
matter. They will be likely to think that
Mrs. Elkins could eat just as good a dinner,
in one suit as another. They will jeer at the
idea of court etiquette in a democracy.
They will, want to know what this
country is coming to anyway. But
they will speedily be told that law
and order of precedence must be main
tained, and that it is quite a serious thing
to make a mistake in official etiquette.
But tbe many millions of people outside of
Washington will be more disposed to laugh
over the wranglings and janglings as to
place and rank by their representatives
than to regard them with the gravity that
pertains to such matters in official life.
Down to an Exact Science.
The friends of Mrs. Elkins claim that her
seat should have been above Mrs. Miller's
in order of rank at the Cabinet
dinner. But Mr. Pruden, the assist-'
ant private secretary of the President,
who is said to have given .many years of se
vere mental labor to a study of this great
question, and who claims to have reduced
the matter of seatingguests at the State en
tertainments at the White House to an ex
act science, is highly ind'gnant over the
idea that any mistake was made at the Cab
inet dinner. The system evolved bv the
brains of Mr. Pruden has, he asserts, "been
submitted for criticism to some of the finest
jurists and formalists of the country." He
quotes the late Secretary Frelinghuysen
who, be says, was notedfor his fine sense of
the proprieties in support ot nis scientino
code for the adjustment of the order of pre
cedence. The people of the country will likely be
interested in knowing how" Cabinet officers
rank according to the code of etiquette as
promulgated by the learned men who hfve
given this subject so much wear and tear of
brains. Here it is: First, the President;
then, in order of precedence, the Vice
President, Secretaries of State, Treasury,
War, the Attorney General, the Postmaster
General, the Secretaries of the Navy, In
terior and Agriculture. Secretary Kusk's
place, therefore, is down foot.
Tjklnc Care or the Ladlrl.
According to the rules, tbe President
must have a lady of high degree on each
side of him, Mrs. Harrison on his right and
Mrs. Blaine on his left Mrs. Harrison,
as follows, must be conducted to dinner by
the Yiee President, who finds his card
at her right hand, while Mr. Blaine
finds his place at her left If by reason of
"the grip" or owing to the necessity of
taking a rest from official duty at Fortress
Monroe or "down South" any of the Cab
inet officers or their wives should be absent,
the whole diagram is upset, and a new one
must be substituted with due regard to
rank; These changes are what bothers the
brain; and vexes the soul of the official who
has the administration of the code of
etiquette in his charge.
The main difficulty in arranging the
guests at a White House dinner is because.
as Mr. Pruden tells us, the table has two
sides. If there were only one, the
President would head tbe line and the high
officials would go down in regular order,
with "Uncle Jerry" as the Iat in the
Cabinet row, and the distinguished guests
below our boss farmer. But as it is, it re
quires deep study and ample knowledge of
court etiquette to get matters arranged in tho
heavenly harmony that disarms criticism.
The President sits in the middle of one side
of the table, and his wife opposite, while
the guests grade down on either hand.
Trouble Comes Prom the Fair.
It is said that the women make most of
the trouble as to rank and precedence. They
cannot be made to realize the stern and
solemn fact that thongh Scripture and the
civil law have ingrained the statement into
their souls that husband and wife are
one, the code of etiquette, as held
in the White House, is that "the wives of
cabinet officers' have personally no official
rank whatever." Mrs. Secretary Blank, or
Mrs. Senator Jones, br Mrs. Speaker-ot-the
House Smith are pronounced upon the high
authority of Mr. Pruden to be the most
preposterous expressions to be found in
print it is dv virtue ot tnelr husband s
rant that cabinet ladies are admitted to
state dinners and high official functions.
To have their claims to title thus disputed
as vulgar and pretentious will be sad news
to those women who love to be called
Mrs. Secretary this, or Mrs. Senator that, or
Mrs. Justice-of-thc-Peace Blank. Not
long ago it will be remembered that official
society in Washington and even in the
country at large was all torn up over the
question of who was "first lady in
the land," and who was first in order of
precedence the wife of a Judge of the Su
preme Court, or the helpmate of the
Speaker of the House. How it 'was decided,
we fail to remember, but certainly there
was a bill or order of succession passedthat
took tbe Speaker of the House out of the
royal order of descent
Would Like to So a McAllister.
Mrs. Elkins and Mrs. Miller were seated
wrongly according to some of tbe critics,
but Mr. Pruden maintains they were rightly
placed under the code of the. White House.
He thinks things have come to a pretty pass,
indeed, when the newspapers in other cities
presume to criticise and arrange those who
"live and move and have their being in the
very odor of court etiquette, and to whom
its forms are the' familiar events of daily
lite." tie evidently wants to nave nis code
adopted as a supreme law, and like unto
those of the Medes and Persians.
"Looking back, it will be remembered that
the Ian s of etiquette as lived up to at the
White House and observed in Washington
society did not suit Mrs. Blaine and Gail
Hamilton. They thought they should be
revised and improved after their pattern.
The talk of the gossips at tbe time was that
they were so sure that Mr. Blaine would be
nominated and elected in 1876, that they
had proceeded to formulate a new code ot
manners in society that should go into
effect when they toot up their residence in
the Presidental mansion. Bat when the
"Plumed Knight" came home with droop
ing, draggled feathers, and no nomination,
the proposed new code was abandoned and
buried in oblivion. No more was heard of
the reforms to be instituted at court
If Blaine Bad Been Elected.
The defeat of Blain was no more of a
disappointment to the Blaine men than to
the Blaine women. What the .republican
party and the people lost by the failure of
their delegates to nominate him at Cincin
nati can neverbe estimated. What changes
nould have been made in the order of nobil
ity and the goings on in society by the com
bined genius ana brains of Mrs. Blaine and
Gail Hamilton will perhaps never be
known, but it is likely they would hive
been based less on the customs of European
courts and aristocratic precedents, and more
38, ;:i89aiTv---!r 4 - - -- , .., , . , -,.,.-, '"-rgg
In accordance with Republican ideas, and
pernaps common sense.
ZThe ladies will give Mr. Pruden most
trouble, he may be sure. They can be as
obstinate as were the Cabinet dames in
Jackson's day, who refused" to recognize
Mr. Eaton in any wayj although Jackson
and Van Buren moved heaven and earth
almost to make them call upon her and treat
her with politeness. This social rumpus
broke up the Cabinet, destroyed Calhoun's
hopes for the Presidency, and, a Parton
says, "changed the course of events in the
United States for half a century."
But while these tempests in society are
usually set down to the women, and they
are thought to be most concerned about the
order of rank, and to do the most of the gos
siping as to blunders, it is notable that they
only match the men. At one of the New
Year's receptions at the Whit,e House a few
years ago the official programme read as
follows 'The President will receive at 11.
a. m. the members of the Cabinet and the
Diplomatic Corps; "at 11:15 the Chief Jus
tice and Associate Justices of the Supreme
Court of the United States, and the Judges
of the Court of Claims: at 11:30 tha Senators
and Representatives in Congress, and the
Judges of the Supreme Court of the Dis
trict of Columbia. These to be followediby
the commissioners and officers of the Dis
trict" and so on.
' The Men Are Panicky, Too.
Now, that reads all right to most people,
but they can little imagine what a ruction
was raised aoout mat official order. The
Justices of the Supreme Court were out
raged by the idea that the Court of Claims
could for one moment be ranked as their
equals. Tbe Senators were roused to wrath
because they had to take the dust of the
Court of Claims. Precedent had hitherto
prescribed that Senators should sbake hands
with the President before the Judges of the
Court of Claims. In fact, in earlier years
they had struggled to take precedence of the
Supreme Court itself, on the score that
their consent was necessarv to create
judges ot the Supreme Court The latter
tiuimcu iuai iiieir omces were ior me,
whereas the Senators were elected for a
term. Then the Senators argued that thev
represented sovereign states, and the Judges
retorted with the assertion thev were the
equals of the Senate, and indeed of the
Executive. The Supreme Judge won the
point. They could, say, with Mrs. Mali
prop, "you may go first, but we'll precede
you." But in this case what theycould not
stand was to be evened with the Court of
Claims. The grievance of the Senators was
that they should be insulted by having to
follow the Court of Claims, "a mere audit
ing board" as they derisively called it that
they could abolish at will. Then the fat was
in the fire among the Supreme Judges of the
District of Columbia. The idea of the
Court of Claims going before them was out
rageous. To make the long story short
every bodyhad a grievance except the
Judges of the Court of Claims.
Bow Managed In Enzland.
In England and other European countries
they have got this matter down fine. The
members of the nobility know their places.
In a recent English novel the inflexible rule
as to the order ot rant is shown in that one
quiet little worn in, who was poor, lived in
a very small house, and could afford to keep
but one little servant, was entitled to take
precedenceof every woman in the neighbor
hood by virtue of her once having been
married to a poor paltry lord. It is shown
also by the story told of General Grant that
when he dined with Queen Victoria the
court order of rank gave precedence to
every one else in the room, and he entitled
to tbe highest honor had the lowest seat at
the table ranking below all ot the royal
tommynoddies with handles to their names.
In his own country Grant would have been
at the top of the heap, in the order of true
American nobility.
But while these" great questions of place,
and power and rank, are working the minds
of Supreme judges and Senators, and rack
ing the brains and tempers of Government
officials and the administration generally, it
is dreadful to read the awful prognostica
tions of the anthor of "The Coming Climax"
or "Triumphant Plutocracy." He says:
It Is out of tbe power of human language
to exaggerate the probable calamities that
will betall this country durlnsr Its next
financial panic, which may come at any
time. The volcano will burst forth. The
tfcrer of the proletariat will break his chains.
The people's day of wratn will be at band.
The modern Huns and Goths will spread
dismay and terror among the plutocrats and,
aristocrats.
In these predicted black 'days to come the
order of precedence will likely be lost sight
of. If there is anything in all this talk
about an "impending crash," "the mutter
ings of coming storm," "the approach of a
reign of terror," it would be better to dis
cuss how to get in out of the rain than how
to establish an inerrant order of precedence.
Bessie Beamble.
HTTUAB BODIES CATCHIHO 7IBX
The Theory of Spontaneous Combustion
Once Seriously Entertained.
Pearson Weekly. J
The theory of spontaneous combustion of
the human body in former times was held
by almost every expert French scientists,
in particular, supported it, and several of
them published pamphlets in which numer
ous cases of alleged spontaneous combustion
of the human body were described at length,
but there are three ' very significant points
to be noticed in connection with such re
ports. One is the invariable admission that
there was a light or fire in the room where
the catastrophe occurred; another, that the
alleged instances always happened in fami
lies composed of ignorant persons; and
another, thatlfrno case was there any actual
witness ot the occurrence.
Something like 75 per cent of the human,
body consists of water; this fact in itself is'
sufficient to discredit any of the alleged in
stances of spontaneous combustion. It is
just conceivable that persons who drink an
enormous amount ot spirituous liquors may
become so saturated, as it were, with this in
flammable material that their bodies burn
much more easily than wonld those of peo
ple who do not over-indulge in this wav,
but it is perfectly certain that the fire would
have to be applied from without, forno such
thing as spontaneous combustion could be
possible in any article containing so great a
preponderance of the liquid element as does
the human body.
sia xnwnrs coumssiov.
Sirs. Gladstone Once Encaged Him. to Keep
Her Hosband From Talking.
Sir Edwin Arnold, in a late letter, tells
the following story of a visit to Hawarden:
"Dining recently in the company of the
distinguished pair, Mrs. Gladstone said to
me: 'I commission you, Sir Edwin, to
night to keep my husband from talking to
the opposite side of the table. He has a
great speech to make soon, and his voice is
a little hoarse with a hardly departing cold.
Engage him as mueh as you can jn whis
pered conversation.'
"Never did a faithful person more earn
estly devote himself to a duty than I to
that, r cheerfully allowed my turtle soup
to grow cold and .took little or no notice of
a delicious mayonnaise while I humbly
sought to-lead tbe thoughts and talk ot Mr.
Gladstone into paths which I thought would
be most alluring. In the moment of appar
ent success somebody dropped on the other
side of the table the remark that the Phoe
nicians were a Semite people. The webs I
had woven 'round my eminent prisoner
were broken like spider threads. He flew
with quick intellectual swoop at the the
orist, for he seems to hold the view that the
Phoenicians were of another stock, and all I
could do was to turn to Mrs. Gladstone and
penitently beat my breast, while she smiled
a gentle iorgiveuess, and Mr. Gladstone, as
is his splendid custom, prenait la parole
and kept it, to the delight and profit of the
whole table."
No Particular Advantage.
Harper's Young Peopls.
'Freddy," asked his teacher, "what does
leap-rear mean?"
"One extra day
.of ssfiool," answered
Freddy, saaiy.
UTASM OF JUDAH
By the Great Sennacherib and tbe
' Confusion That Resulted.
A TURNING POINT IN HISTORY.
The Savage Animal Cropping Out Eetwecn
Assyria and Egypt.
ISAIAH'S PROPHECY AND THE BESULT
ffKllIU TOB TUB DISrATCH.l
The subject this morning is .the Invasion
of Sennacherib. The Causes of thelnva
sion, the March of the Invading Army and
the Defeat of the Invaders are the three
great features of thp story.
Wc will begin with the causes of the in
vasion. Why should the great power of
Assyria make war upon trie little province
of Judea? Why should the mighty King
of Nineveh attack the King of Jerusalem?
The United States and Chile aflord us no
adequate illustration of the difference and
disproportion between the combatants. The
answer is to be found in the geographical
location of the Hehrew province.
There were two great powers then in the
world, overtopping all others, far more
than England and Bussia do to-day, stand
ing out lie two stout giants amidst the
plgmv nations; one was Assyria, the other
was Egypt Judea lay between them. The
only road from one of these great kingdoms
into the other lay along the highways of
Palestine.
The Original Sin or Nations.
These two great nations had the feeling
that was common enough between nations
in that day, and, as recent events have re
minded us", is not entirely ended yet they
desired to fight One of the indications of
original sin is this desire to fight For
original sin is it not what the evolution
ists call our "brute inheritance?" Is it not
so much of the savage animal as still sur
vives in man? Men used to fight like
wolves. In the days of chivalry, in that
time which is so much more picturesque in
retrospect than it wa3 comfortable or com
mendable in reality, the knights were wont
to sally forth with lance and shield, that
they might exercise themselves in this art
of fighting.
Sometimes they were able to discover a
reason for a fight More often, however,
they went upon the good principle of the
industrious wolf they fought the first fight
able individual thev met The fact that
one knight was riding south while another
knight was riding north was a sufficient
reason for a bout at arms. Each courteous
knight who passed a stranger on the way
felt it his duty, if he were able, to pound
the stranger over the head with a battle ax
or prod him with a spear.
The Chlvalrio form of Introduction.
"Anon, they were ware of an armed
knight that came riding against them, and
there either saluted other. What knights
be ye? said that knight And therewith he
gat his spear in his hands, and would have
run Sir Tristram through. That saw Sir
Palamides, and smote his horse traverse in
midst of the side, that man and horse fell to
the earth. And therewith Sir Palamides
alight and pulled out his sword to have
slain him." And what was tbe cause of all
this trouble? Why, these chivalrous gen
tlemen had never had the pleasure of an in
troduction each to the other. And in those
times every man who was not your friend
was held to be your enemy, and the sooner
he could be spitted on your spear the bet
ter. We have got past that When this med
ieval spirit shows itsejf to-day we hurry it
away in a patrol wagon, and give it time
for reflection in a lockup. But we have
not been successful yet in suppressing pub
lic war. We have not yet come to the
point where we can see clearly that stand
ing armies are but survivals of savagery.
We do not realize that the nations of Eu
rope are like the mining camps ot the
border, where justice was done with the
muzzle of each man's musket Law has
taken the place of violence between man
and man, but not yet between nation and
nation.
Jndah Was Between Two Powers.
In the eighth century B. 0. any such
idea as justice between nations was un
dreamed of. These two great nations, As
syria and Egvpt, like the great wolves, like
medieval knights, like border ruffians with
bowie knives, wanted to get at each other.
And Judah and Jerusalem, unfortunately,
lay between them. That was one reason
why the Assyrians invaded Judah. They
were on the march for Egypt
An invasion, however, means more than
the march of an army. It signifies hostility.
On their way to Egypt the Assyrians
stopped purposely and of malice to do hurt
to Judah. Why? Judah had sought alli
ance with Assyria. The armies of Nineveh
had beaten off the beseigers of Jerusalem.
The great nation and the small were friends.
At least, that bad been the case. sut that
had all been changed.
No" sooner had the treaty with Assyria
been made than a good many people rc
greted it The Assyrian taxes were enor
mous. Their assessments were out of all
reason; and, there was no chance of appear.
Opposed to the Assyrian party was an
Egyptian party. Egypt was not nearly so
eager for a fight as Assyria was. Egypt was
neaker than Assyria. It was accordingly
the policy of Egypt to win overto her side
all the Palestinian provinces. These little
principalities and powers would be so many
obstacles along the path by which the
Assryians must come. They made wide
bulwarks for prudent Egvpt "The Egyptian
party in Judah desired to overturn the
Assyrian alliance ana trust ior neip to
these neighbors in the south.
Isaiah Again In Opposition.
Against this Egyptian alliance, Isaiah set
himbelf as strongly as he had before opposed
alliance with Assyria. At one time, when
the Egyptian party was especially strong,
Isaiah for three years walked about the
streets in the dress of a captive slave. To
this he meant, would the nation come that
made joint cause with Egypt
That was a sermon three years long; and
what an effective sermon! Isaiah knew very
well, what Protestantism has for the most
part forgotten, that men are made with
eves, and that we-learn as much, and more,
by the eye as bv the ear. The dullest mind,
the least attentive inhabitant of Jerusalem,
understood that sermon.
We are aU sermons. It is a familiar
story how St Francis said one day to a
monk in the monastery, "Brother, let us go
down into the town and preach." So they
went down into the town, the old man and
the young man together, and walked about
a dozen 'streets and at last turned back,
And the young monk said, "Father, when
shall we begin to preach?" And Francis
answered, "My son, we havebeen preachiug
all the time, tor men have, seen our iaces.
and have heard our voices, and have taken
note of U3 as we passed." AU men are
sermons.
Isaiah's Srrmon Was Disinterested.
AU the sernions of Isaiah are not recorded
in his book. Isaiah in that slave dress is a
sermon that we need to-day. Here is a
man who is profoundly interested, in the
welfare of his country. He is not an offi
cial, not a politician, not a soldier, not a
capitalist. No personal interests of his are
at stake in the matter. He is simply a
loyal citizen, who loves his country with
his whole heart We are in danger of a
selfishness which Isaiah meets with re
proaches. We are inclined to interest our
selves in politics only so far as our own wel
fare is concerned. We think first of our
selves, then of our country. But Isaiah
thought first of his country. To Isaiah the
foreign relations of Judah were matters of
the closest personal concern.
Nevertheless, the Egyptian party tri
umphed. Sargon of Assyria died, and
Sennacherib came to the throne. At once
in East and West there was a revolt In
the East the Kinz of Babylon rebelled.
In the West, the Provinces of Palestine,
nrged by Egypt, cast off the yoke of Nine-,
veh. In spite of the protestations of
Isaiah, an embassy was sent from Judah
down to Egypt Sennacherib, however, w'as
strong enough for all his enemies. He
routed the Babylonian rebels, and drove
their King and leader Into the hiding
places of the desert and the marsh. And
then he turned toward Egvpt, and on his
way he punished the rebellious provinces of
Palestine. Thus it came about that the
great Scnnpcherib laid siege to the little
city of Jerusalem.
A Bosk In the British Mnseam.
The march of the invading army is de
scribed for ns by two cotemporary writers
in whose record we may have confidence.
One is Isaiah, the other is Sennacherib
himself. On pages of clay, after the bcok
making fashions of Nineveh, Sennacherib,
at the hands of some scribes of his, set
down the whole story of his invasion. The
books which were once in the Imperial
library of Assyria are now in the British
Museum. And tbe two sides of the story,
the version of the beseiged and the version
of the beseigers, lie before ns.
The army marched across the wide plains
inai separate Assyria trom the sea, and fell
first upon the province of Phoenicia, attack
ing Sidon. Thence thev turned south
against Philistia. Thebeleazmed provinces
sent for help to Egypt and an Egyptian
army tardily came, and was at once turned
back again defeated. The victorious As
svrians thus came in all their strength npoa
the two kingdoms of Israel and Judah.
But the kingdom of Israel had alreadv been
plundered from the East, and its inhabitants
carried into captivity. Judah alone re
mained. The armies of Assyria swept like a pes
tilence, like a tornado, over the towns of
Judah. Forty-six strong cities did Sen
nacharib take, and 200,000 people did he
make captives. King Hezekiah ne shut up,
he says, like a bird in a cage. From.
Lachish he sent to Jerusalem a summons to
surrender.
Sennacherib Made s Hard Bargain.
I have seen a picture of Sennacherib,
which ought to be a good one, for he sat for
ifhimselll It is cut in stone, and repre
sents him as he sat upon his throne at
Iiachisb, receiving the homage of these
Jewish captives. King Hezekiah sent to
Liacbish to purchase safety. And Sen
nacherib made a hard bargain with him.
Hezekiah had not onlv to empty all his
treasure chests to the last farthing, but even
to pull off the golden covering of the great
doors of the Temple.
And yet, no sooner had the Assyrian
turned again toward Egypt, with the money
ot Jerusalem clinking in his purses, than
for some reason he repented him of his
forbearance. He got word that Egypt was
stronger than he thought He feared, per
haps," to leave this fortified city behind
him. He had already possessed "hiraself of
the wealth of Jerusalem, now he would take
Jerusalem also. He stopped, accordingly.
and sent a demand for unconditional sur
render. Over from Lachish came his officer,
the Babshakeh, and a large attachment of
men came with him. The people of the
city watched them from the walls. Out
came the city officials to meet them. In a
loud voice, so that all the terrified listeners
on the walls might hear, and in the lan
guage of the Hebrews, so that all the hearers
might understand, the ambassador of the
Assyrian king recounted the long list ot his
victories.
Isaiah's Predicted Crlsll Came.
Where had therebeen found a nation that
could stand before him? The frightened
officials rent their garments. Hezekiah
took Sennacherib's letter,andhastening with
It into the holy Temple spread it out there
in prayer before the Lord, crying out: "See
this, and help us!" But how could help be
possible. Outside the walls was the ever
victonous army of Assyria; and within all
hearts failed for fear. The crisis which
Isaiah had predicted had arrived.
In the presence of this crisis let us note
its grave importance. It is not only the
fate of that little city that depends upon its
issue. We ourselves are very seriously
concerned in it It is such a moment as
came again at Thermopolse. It is the dan
ger which Charles Martel faced when he
met the vanguard of the Mohammedan sol
diers invading Central Europe. Shall the
wild armies ot the East overrun the West?
Shall the lower civilization stamp out the
higher? Shall the superstitions of Assyria
triumph over the true, religion of Judea?
Our own civilization, our own religion,
seem to wait upon the outcome of this
siege.
A Tnrnlnsr Point of History.
We make a great mistake if we think
that this is but a bit of old dead history,
which can be shut up between the pages of
the Bible, and treated as a matter of no
concern to us. The chances are that if
Sennacherib had destroyed Jerusalem that
day, there would never have been any such
eity as Pittsburg here at the meeting of the
rivers, nor any such government and nation
as the United States of America. Our plsce
is np on that old wall, 'looking over at the
lines of scarlet shields, and praying for the
help ot God against the perils ot the mor
row. There was only one man who met this
crisis with serenity. That was Isaiah.
From the beginning he had declared -the
sure defeat of the Assyrians. As their
army grew nearer and fiercer, Isaiah grew
more fnll of joy and confidence. Every
body else was in despair, crying, "Let us
eat and drinkt for to-morrow we die."
Isaiah alone kept a steadfast heart Isaiah
not only prophesied defeat for Sennacherib,
but he declared that that defeat would be
sudden, strange, wrought by the hand of
GoJ. This foresight of Isaiah, this singu
lar prediction in tbe face of all probability,
is one of the remarkable facts of history.
The armr of Assyria, he said, shonld be
destroyed in a night
The Miraculous Deliverance.
And that happened. The day came npon
which Sennacherib should make his great
attack. His stout hand was uplifted for
the mighty blow. But the blow came not.
Without an effort on the part of Isaiah
without even the beginning of a battle, that
great armv of besiegers fell into wild con
tusion. The King commanded a retreat
Back they went to Nineveh. The fields
behind them were covered with priceless
booty which they had abandoned, and with
dead bodies left nnburied.
Was it as the Egyptianrecords say, that
an army of field mice gnawed the
bowstrings of the archers, and set
the host into a panic? Or was it. as the He
brew story seems to hint, a sudden pesti
lence? We know not Only this we know,
that Sennacherib nbandoned his campaign:
that he went with all haste ont of those
coasts and betook him to his own city, and
the soldiers of Assyria were seen in those
parts no more forever. The invasion of
Sennacherib broke against the walls of the
Temple of the most high God as a wave
breaks upon a rock. Geokoe Hodges.
WHY PI0PLE SHOES.
Shirley Dare States the Canses TMth Sug
gestions for the Cure.
Among the queries from Dispaich read
ers to Shirley Dare is the following from
Edith: "I am but 35, yet I snore in my
sleep, and am anxious to prevent the
habit" -
Shirley Dare announces that snoring re
sults from two or three causes, perhaps all
together. The inner membrane of the air
passages thickens by disease or advanced
years, and will not allow the breath to pass
freelv. Or, there is catarrhal obstruction,
or a heavy, undigested snpper oppresses the
sleeper. To break up the' habit of snoring
oae must be very careful to take early sup
pers and wholesome ones. To keep the
nasal membranes in condition, thin and
healthy, draw hot salt water up the nose
three times a day, snuffing it for five min
utes, as hot as can be borne. Hot water
promotes the absorption of morbid tissues.
Hot compresses on the nose are also very
good. On retiring the nose should-be
cleared, bathed and anointed thickly with
soft pomade, vaseline or sweet oil, which
keeps down obstructions within. .This
should always be done in case of a "stuffed
cold." Anyone convicted of snoring ought
to practice these cures faithfully, which
are not too much to avoid becoming a pub
Uc and family affliction.
i I A M
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