FKEELAND TRIEUNE.
PUBLJSIIED KVir.lir
MONDAY AND THURSDAY.
rilOS. A. BUCKLEY,
EDITOR AND PROPRIETOR.
OFFICE: MAIN STREET A HOVE CEHTRS.
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Grover Cleveland 3vJum<ts
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Keep tho figures in advance of the present date.
Report promptly to this office when your paper
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when paiH-T is discontinued, or collection will
he made In tho manner provided by low.
One of the most striking things iu
the truly remarkable Eastern war is
the success of tho medical aud surgical
treatment of the Japaneso troops. Tho
Surgeou-General reports a death rate
of only four per ceut. among tho
wounded who wero brought under tho
care of the surgeons.
There is a pretty sharp point in an
illustrated squib in tho Harlem Life.
A well-dressed lady and gentleman,
the lady with a bird on her hat, are
walking along a country road. On a
branch of a tree sits an oriole, with
several young orioles by her side. And
as she sees tho lady she is represented
as 6aying: "Look, my children!
There goes tho monster that wears
your poor father!"
The Massachusetts Board of Concil
iation and Arbitration roports thnt
the strikes in that State last year wero
numerous, but generally unsuccessful,
and that those called successful en
tailed raoro loss than gain to tho
workmen. Tho results of arbitration
were favorable to all concerned, but it
seems that both parties to a labor
controversy will seldom agroo to so
calm and rcnsonablo a method of set
tling a dispute.
It seems by tho following extract
from tho Union Signal that Mrs Cleve
land, the wife of the President, is a
"loyal friend of tho temperance
cause," but not a member of the W.
C. T. U.: "The announcement tele
graphed by some unauthorized person
to tho effect that Mrs. Cleveland has
joined tho IV. C. T. U. is, so far as
our President knows, utterly without
foundation. Mrs. Cleveland is a loyal
friend of the temperance cause, but we
have never henrd of her joining any
organization."
In the Baltimore News it is esti
mated that the South spends auuually
8100,000,000 for products, horse nnd
mules, which could ho raised with
greater profit in that section than
elsewhere. The bulk of this vast sum
goes to tho West to pay for grain and
meats. Before tho war tho South
raised its own corn and provisions,
and an agitation has been started to
return to that custom. If loss cotton
wero produced nnd more acreage de
voted to other crops, tho finances of
Southern farmers would bo iu better
shape at the end of a season.
VV. T. Harris, United States Com
missioner of Education, says in Har
per's Magazine that in nil the schools
of the United States, publio and pri
vate, elementary, secondary, and
higher, there were enrolled in tho year
1891 about fifteen and one-half mill
ions of pupils. This number includes
nil who attended at any time in tho
year for any period, however short.
But tho actual average attendance for
each pupil did not exceed ninety days,
although tho average length of tho
school session was 1137. Sixty-nine
pupils wero enrolled out of each 100
of tho population between tho ages of
five aud eighteen years. At this rate
of attendance tho entire population is
receiving on an average a little loss
than four and one-half years' school
ing of 200 days each. In some States
this average falls ns low as two years,
and in others it rises to nearly seven
years (as iu Massachusetts). Oat of
this entiro number deduct tho private
and parochial schools of all kinds, ele
mentary, secondary, higher, and
schools for art, industry, an 1 busi
ness, for deductive classes and Indians,
and thcro remain over thtrtouu and
one-half millions for the public school
enrolment, or nearly eighty-eight per
cont. of the whole. In the twenty
four years since 1870 tho attendance
on tho public schools has increased
from less than seven millions to thir
teen and one-half millions. The ex
penditures have increased somewhat
more, namely, from sixty-three mill
ions to one hundred nnd sixty-three
millions of dollars per annnm, nn in
ornate from 81-01 per capita to 82.17.
Chicago has averaged one suicide a
day thisyenr.
Scientists predict that in a century's
time there will bo no disease that is
not curable.
The emigration from Ireland last
year is tlia lowest reoordod since the
collection of returns commenced in
1851.
Probably the most complete Beries
of court records in America ore said
to ho those of Northampton County,
Virginia. Tho series commences from
10-32 and is complete up to the present
time.
Dr. Richardson, a famous English
physician, thinks that seven out of
ten would reach tho ago of 110 if they
wonld keep choerful, tako proper
exercise, bo tcmperato in their habits
and sleep enough. Ho does not re
gard the stomach a3 a factor of longev
ity.
IVhut will be known as serum tlier
npenties—i. c., tho treatment of dis
eases by tho injoction of serum that
lias been "immunized"—is likely to
bo extended to other disoasos than
lockjaw, hydrophobia and diphtheria,
remarks the Now York Independent.
A series of highly interesting experi
ments has lately boon conducted by
no less than six of tho progressive
doctors of tho day, in tho treatment
of pneumonia by serum with satisfac
tory results, and it is quiio certain
that these experiments will ha carried
stiil further.
A writer in the Overland Monthly
lias seriously proposed tho introduc
tion of tho kangaroo in this country
to tako tho place of tho now practi
cally extinct buffalo as a food supply
on tho Western plains. It is urged
that tho kangaroo is hardy, easily ac
climated, domesticated without diffi
culty, broods easily in captivity, is
cheaply maintained, lias n largo
amount of excellent and very edible
flosh, is valuable as a fur nnd leather
producer and can ho cheaply aud
easily procured.
It is ruled by tho postal authorities
that any reduction of tho size of a pos
tal card by clipping, rounding off tho
corners or otherwise, will subject tho
receiver of tho card to a charge of ono
cent on delivery. This makos tho cost
of a postal card equivalent to lotter
postage. Many persons enclose postal
cards to correspondents iu envelops
too small, and imagine that a little
clipping won't mnko any difference.
Others round off tho corners for orna
mental purposes or convenience iu
handling. But the practice is wrong.
The private carrying of pistols in
England appears to have reached tho
proportions of a rnenuco and a nuis
ance, and Lord Carmarthen recently
introduced a bill in Parliament to regu
late the conditions under which that
dangerous instrument may bo sold,
and dofino tho3o under which it may
he carried, Tho object of tbo bill was
to keep it out of tho hauls of roughs
nnd minors, and in n general way to
discourage tho practice, except whero
it was manifestly necessary. It pro
vides that the vender must tako out a
, license, and that tho pistols must ho
consecutively numbered, so that they
can bo at any timo identified. The
buyer's name must bo registered, and
ho must not bo n convict or a ticket
of-lenve man, or under eighteen years
of age. It contains other rather
stringent interdictions, shewiag that
tho nbuso which it sought to roetify
had grown into considerable propor
tions.
A company has just been incorpor
ated at Springfield, Ohio, for the dis
covery of the heirs of the vast Holmes
csiato in England, said to ho worth
8100,000,000. It was left liy James
nolmos, a South Sea trader, and Will
iam Himrod, of New York, is said to
ibo one of tho heirs. Tho odds are 100
to ono that there is no such estate, tie
| clnros tho Atlanta Constitution. Simi-
I lar announcements are mudo from
, timo to time, and thousands of peoplo
| in this country hnvo been lilo.l by un
scrupulous swindlers. Thcro are no
J estates in England worth millions of
j dollars awaiting American claimants.
| Our ministers nnd consuls havo fre
-1 queutly mudo this statement, but it
■ has no effect. Just so long us people
love money and lack ccmtnon sense nnd
information they will bo the victims of
' tho lawyers and agents who work tho
1 unclaimed estnto racket. In tho past
fow years it lias been announce I that
various persons in Georgia wero at
tempting to recover million-dollar in
heritances in Europe. Not one ever
succeeded. They spent what money
they could spare on the agents who
wero swindling them, and that was the
lust of it. People hunting big estates,
ns a rule, will have to aocumulato t hem
, by their own efforts
HE TOOK TIME TO DIE. ,
There was an old fellow who never had tlmo ,
Fur a frosh morning look at the Volume
sublime,
Who never had time for tho soft hand of
prayer
To smooth out tho wrinkle of labor and care,
Who could not llnd time for that service most
sweet
At tho altar of home whore tho dear ones all
meet,
And never found tlmo with tho people of God
To learn tho good way tlmt the fathers have
trod;
lint ho found time to die,
Oh, yes!
lie found tlmo to dio.
This busy old fellow, too busy was ho
To linger nt breakfast, at dinner or ton
For the merry small chatter of children and
wife,
But led In his marriage a bachelor life;
Too busy for kisses, too busy for play,
No time to bo loving, no time to bo gay,
No time to replenish his vanishing health,
No time to enjoy his swift-gnthoring wealth;
But ho found time to die;
Oh, yes!
lie found time to die.
This beautiful world had uo beauty for him;
Its colors were black and its sunshino was
dim.
No leisure for woodland, for river, or hill,
No time lu his life just to think and be still,
No timo for his neighbors, no timo for his
friends,
No timo for those highest immutable ends
Of tho life of a man who is not for a day,
But, for worse or for bottor, for ever and aye.
Yet ho found time to die?
Oh, yes!
110 found timo to die. '
—Amos R. Wells, in Harper's Weekly.
FIVE BLACK MARKS.
HE most miserable
r —H t ' me * L ' vt ' r ' m( i ' n
"7 leaid Dr -
Vy'"7 ~Macphorson ono
day as we sat chat-
A ting in his oosey
vf . drawing room,
"was spent in a
A A gunboat off the
!j : coast of Guinea. I
iffiio began my profes-
H Ijl'feM sional iifo as a sur
\ |M goon in the navy,
lift you know."
i did net know.
'Jif" But ns the Doctor
seemed intent on telling tho story I
did not interrupt him by saying so.
"We had been cruising about iu tho
Mediterranean," ho went on, "when
wo were unexpectedly ordered to tho
Bay of Lngos to overawe some miser
ableliltletriheueartho coastwbich had
not been behaving itself as a properly
regulated little tribe under the pro
tection of the British Empire ought to
do. Kakoga's tribe, it was called,
and Knkoga came in for a good Bharo
of honest abuse from the officers and
men of tho Dragon-fly, whou our
orders came. The worst of it va Q , as
far as the officers aud men were con
cerned, that wo were not nt unity
nmong ourselves. The engineer, called
Lashton, hnd been disappointed in
love, aud was naturally - morose in
consequence. What made him more
so was the fact that liis successful
rival was the Sub-Lieutenant, an aw
fully nice fellow, aud tho only man
on board tlmt I cared for. Lieuten
ant Gilliy had met Miss C'allan nt
Malta, and had become engaged to her
without tho least idea that tho en
gineer had iutuntions thnt way, not
tknt it would have made any differ
ence to him if ho had, I supposo.
Lnshton's unconcealed enmity against
him inado life on hoard pretty un
pleasant, nnd divided us into two
cliques. The Lieutenant's clique, con
sisting of himself nnd me, certainly
had the liveliest time of it, for tho
successful suitor of Miss Calluu was
the merriest fellow on earth, nnd
while wo wero in the Mediterranean
we suffered very little from tho en
gineer's hostility. But direotly wo
steamed off for Lngos a most remark
able ohange came over my friend, and
he turned as taciturn as Lashtou him
self.
"It puzzled mo to discover the rea
son, for though we wero nil sorry to
leave tho Mediterranean, still it was
not like Gilliy to sulk over it. Ho
could not seo less of his fiancee than
he had been doing for two or threo
months, and we had tho prospect bo
foro us of a small light, for which ho
had been wishing. Lashton suggested
to me in his sinister way that it was
the prospect of 'fighting which caused
tho change in my friend, and though
I answered the suggestion in tho touo
it deserved, still it seemed tho only
explanation.
"Gilby said, when I asked him, that
it was tho weather, nnd tho irritation
witli which he answered prevented me
continuing my inquries, nnd made me
more than ever convinced that it was
•funk," nnd a very seviro form of tho
disease, too. Iu inet, ho took very
little pains to conecnl it.
"'I hopo to goodness that I shall
not have to goon shore,' ho said, when
wo had nearly reached our destinntiou.
'I wish the Commander would lend the
party, and lenvo me here to look utter
the ship.'
" 'lt is not likely,'l answered, gruff
ly, aud I was glad that Lashtou was
not about to overhear him. I an
swered his next suggestion raoro gruff
ly still.
"'I supposo you would not like to
certify that I ought to be on tho sick
list, would yon, Maephcrsou?' he asked
me, hesitatingly.
"I refused flatly.
"If ho had told me tho true reason
of his fear I might havo acted dif
ferently, for ho looked ill enough, poor
fellow! His face had grown quite
1 j white and was siuce we started.
I "It looked whiter still next day
! when he had to go in command of the
i landing party, which I accompanied,
I of course.
I "When wo were fairly embarked on
the enterprise, his one idea seemed to I
beta get it over with all possible speed,
and too hasto with which ho advanced
to Kakoga's country would have beeu
impossible if the men uuder him had
not themselves teen so anxious to get
into action, and introduce a little
chance into the monotony of life on a
gunboat.
c< However, tho'chango was less than
the majority of the blue jackets hoped
for, tho miserablo littlo tribe did not
show fight, and our business was ac
complished. In five days from the
time wo left the Drngon-lly wo were
back again, none the worso for our
trip, except that we wero ail wore out
by Gilby's forced marches.
"Tho Lieutenant seemed more ex
hausted than any of us, and as soon as
he had received the congratulations of
the Commander, he retired at once to
his berth. What surprised me was
that his spirits did not show any im
provement after tho chnuce of fighting
was at an end. It seemed to me as if
ho wore still expecting some calamity
to happen to him, and I began to
wonder whether there might not bo
something seriously wrong with his
health to account for all that had sur
prised mo in his manner. This ex
planation, which had not occurred to
mo while there was any real danger,
struck me forcibly, now that wo were
eafo on tho gunboat, and, as soon as I
had enjoyed the luxury of a bath alter
my five days of discomfort, I strolled
down to tho Lieutenant's cabin to
have a look at him in tho new light of
a pntiont.
"Tho door of my friend's cabin was
ajar us I approached it, and when I
glunccd into tho room boforo knock
ing, I was surprised to catch sight of
Engineer Lashtou standing by tho
side of tho Lieutenant's bunk.
"The fact of Lashton's enmity for
my friend was so undisputed that a'; tho
sight of liis figure in his enemy's cabin
I felt quito justified in watching what
was going on boforo making my pres
ence known. Gilby was lying across
his bunk, half undressed and appar
ently fast asleep. The engineer was
standing over him with a bottle of
some black fluid iu his hand. While
I watched, lie mado livo Rmall marks
with it on the sleoping man's arm. The
operation seemed such a mysterious
and inexplicable one that I watched
him till ho put tho cork back into th>3
bottle, without moving a step to inter
fere with tho man, but I pounced upon
him as he turned to leave tho cabin.
" 'What on earth have you been do
ing?' I asked, unceremoniously, and
the fellow seemed rather taken aback.
"'lt is only a practical joke,' ho
said, willi a feeble attempt to smile
unconcernedly.
" 'Joke or no joke, I demand to sec
what is in thut bottle,' I said author
itatively, my mind full of mysterious
poisons, and the engineer hnuded it
over tamely.
"The bottle contained nothing but
ink."
"Ink !" I exclaimed, whon tho groat
brain specialist reachod this point in
his narrative, and Macpherson smiled
iu the peculiarly quiet way ho lias
when ho has perfectly mystified a
hearer.
"Yes, ordinary ink," he went on.
"The discovery naturally mado me
feel rather foolish, but not so much as
it would have douo if I had not been
convicod still that his action was iu
some way a malicious ouo. What his
idea could be, however, it was impos
sible for mo to divine, and I felt so
serious about it that I should have
roused my friend at once to enquire
how five black marks on his arm could
possibly affect his happiness, if ho had
not looked so thoroughly worn Out
and in need of sleep. As soon as
Lashton was gone, I left tho cabin at
once for fear of disturbing tho sleeper,
without stopping even to try and re-1
move tho iuk-stains, a piece of stu
pidity at which I have not ceased to
wonder. You see, it was impossible
for mo to guess how desperately seri
ous the plot was that tho engineer had
formed against the man whom he con
sidered his rival. 1 retired to my own
cabin opposite Gilby's, keeping the
door open to make sure that Lashton
did not return to do more mischief,
but I made a poor sentry. I was tired
out, liko tho youug Lieutenant,
through not having my proper amount
of rest Tor four nights, and I fell
asleep still wondering about tho livo
black marks.
"When I woke, I do uot know how
long after, it was to find Gilby stand
ing in my room, half undressed as I
had seeu him in his bunk, but with
his shirt sleeve buttoned up over tho
ink-stains on his arm. I was too full
of sloop, however, to notice tho fact at
tho time, or even to remember for the
moment auythiug about what I had
seen. Sleepy as I was, I could not
help noticing tho look of complete
misery uud despair on my friend's
face. Ho was standing at tho side of
my bunk, holding an envelope, and
when I started up, rubbing my eyes,
he put it into my hand.
'1 am glad you aro awake, Mac
pherson,' he said, in a strangely con
strained tone. 'I wanted so ask you
to do me a favor. Will you givo this
letter to Miss Callau personally whou
you seo her? Ido not waut to take
the risk of sending it by tho mail.'
" 'But you will see her yourself as
soon as I shall,' I said, in surpriso at
tho request, and Gilby did not reply.
Instead, he turned uud walked out of
tho cabin, leaving mo staring at tho
letter in my hand and wondering what
it meant. 1 was HO stupid with sleep
ntill that it took mo two minutes to
think of auy explanation at all. When
I did 1 was out of my bunk and run
ning across to the opposite cabin in a
second. Just in time, too, for Gilby
was in the act of locking his door
when I burst it open and rushed in
without ceremony. Tho fact that the
young Lieutenant's revolver aud a
couple of letters, one of them ad
dressed to me, were lying on the ta
ble, served to assure mo that my
feart wero not ungrounded. The first
thing I did was to secure tho revolver.
Then I turned to my friend.
"'What aro you going to shoot
yourself for?' I demanded, bluntly.
"Gilby mado no attempt to deny
his intention.
"T am sorry you have disturbed
me, Macpherson,' ho said, with per
fect coolness, 'becauso it cannot make
any difference.'"
"And tho reason 1" I asked, with
interest, for tho Doctor had paused to
light another cigarette. Mucphersou
blew a whiff of smoke from his mouth,
and continuod his story.
"I suppose you have ncvor hoard of
a disease called 'Guinea Madness?' he
asked, and when I shook my head, ho
went on:
"Neither had I, until Gilby told mo
about it, although lam a doctor. It
is one of those strnngo creases that
limit themselves luckily to a particu
lar district, and is only found among
a few tribes along the coast of Guinea.
It is generally thought that Europeans
cannot take it, but the idea is an
erroneous one, or, at any rate, there
aro exceptions, or Lieutenant Gilby's
father died of it, when my friend was
a boy of ten. His father was Captaiu
of a trading vessel, and tho Lieuten
ant was accompanying him on a voy
ago when they callod at the Guinea
Coast. He therefore saw his father in
all tho indescribablo agony of the dis
ease, which seems more liko hydro
phobia than anything else, although it
is infectious.
"The sight made a groat impression
on him, and, since his constitution
was quite similar to his father's, he had
always suffered from an almost super
natural terror of the Guinea Coast.
Ho was quite persuaded that if ho ever
went ashoro there he would catch the
disease and die liko his father. Lash
ton, it seem, was aware of this mono
mania of his; tor it almost amounted
to monomania."
"And he had re&llv caught the dis
ease?" I asked.
Macphorson smiled. "Ho thought
he had. The first symptom is the ap
pearanco of small black marks on the
arm or leg."—Pall Mail Budget.
The Bice-Paper Tree,
The rice-paper tree, one of the most
interesting of the flora of China, has
recently been successfully experi
mented with in Florida, where it now
flourishes, with other sub-tropical and
Oriental species of trees and shrubs,
says tho St. Louis Republic. Whou
first transplanted in American soil the
experimenters expressed doubts of it 3
hardiness, fearing that it would be uu
able to stuud tho winters. All these
fears have vanished, however, and it
is now tho universal opinion that it is
as well adapted to the climate of this
country as to that of the famed Flowery
Kingdom.
It is a small tree, growing to a height
of less than fifteen feet, with a trunk
or stem from three to five inches in
diameter. Its canes, which vary in
color according to season, aro large,
soft and downy, tho form somewhat
resembling that noticed in those of
tho castor beau plant. The ce'ebra
ted rico paper, the product of this
queer tree, is formed of thin slices of
the pith, which is taken from tho body
of the tree in beautiful cylinders se\-
eral inches in length.
Tho Chinese workmen apply tho
blade of a sharp, straight knife to
these cylinders, and, turning them
round either by rude maohinery or by
hand, dexterously pare the pith from
tho circumference to ceuter. This
operation makes a roll of extra quality
paper, tho scroll being of equal thick
ness throughout. After a eyliudor has
thus been pared it is unrolled and
weights aro placed upon it until the
surfaco is rendered uniformly smooth
throughout its entire length.',
It is altogether probable that if rico
paper making becomes an industry in
the United States these primit ivu
modes will all bo done away with.
The Chinqmilist 011 Pointed Shoes.
"1 am sorry to see a tendency on
tho part of men to forsake tho sharp
pointed shoe that has held the fashion
for so long and to return to the broader
stylo of extremity," said a loading
chiropodist. "The change, if it come
about as I expect it will, will havo a
pretty substantial effect for the worse
upon my business. Two-thirds of the
patients who coino to me suffering
from painful callous growths on their
feet aro the victims of sharptocd shoes.
There is only one foot in a thousand
that can wear such au article with
anything like comfort, but tho 999
who can't, stand tho misery in order
to make a pretty pedal appearance.
Tho contracted space allowed for tho
toes iu such shoos crowds them to
gether as in a vise, aud circulation iu
them stops and corns and bunions are
the result. No ouo should wear a shoe
which does not allow the joints of tho
toes to work naturally, but it should
always fit tho foot closely aud snugly.
A loose shoo is as provocative of oorus
aud other foot ailments ns a tight aud
narrow one."—Washington Post.
Illustrating IVhat lie Meant.
Latter day speakers of English aro
getting to bo very wordy and pom
pous in tho use of our language, ac
cording to the distiuguishod linguist,
Professor Whitney, aud ho thinks wo
ought to get back to tho modesty and
simplicity of our ancestors. This ad
vice of Professor Whitney is no doubt
timely. But in advising us not to use
big words and to bo clear, pure nod
simple in diction lie employs the fol
lowing words: "Avoid all polysilla
bical profundity, pompous prolixity
and veutriloquial vorpidity. Shun
double entendre aud prurient jo3ositv,
whether obscure or apparent. In
other words, speak truthfully, natur
ally, clearly, purely, but do not use
large words."—Boston Globe.
LIFEIN AMONASTERY
ITS HUMOROUS PHASES DE
PICTED BY PAINTERS.
New School of Artists That Is Making
an 1 in prcatdon on the Public—Grcutz
ncr uiul His Imi tutors Moulin ut
Work and ut I'luy.
All Fut mid Funny.
No little interest has lately been
aroused in the study of the system of
monasticlsm, which prevailed to a very
considerable extent over most parts of
Europe for several hundred years. This
interest has been shown by a number
of historical works on the subject,
which have appeared during the last
few months, giving sketches of the rise
and decline of the system, together
with exceedingly interesting descrip
tions of what may be called the home
THE MONASTERY KITCHEN.—OUITZNER.
life of the monks. By means of these
data we ore able to learn much of the
manner In which great monasteries
grew from humble beginnings; how
large companies of ascetics were gath
ered together by talented and Influen
tial ecclesiastics, and how many socie
ties Increased, sent out branches and
Anally grew to such proportions that
(hey numbered their colony houses by
hundreds and the members of their or
der by thousands. The interest allud
ed to is even more distinctly shown by
tlie attention given to monks and mon
astic life by some of the most talented
artists of the present day, who, from
the pen pictures left by writers of a
bygone day, have reconstructed the mon
asteries, and on canvas have reproduc
ed for our edification the dally life of
their tenants.
The reason for this Interest, as at
present manifested, is probably to be
found In a better appreciation of the
work done by the monastic establish
ments of the Middle Ages. For a long
time the prejudices of writers pro and
con, In favor of and against the sys
tem, confused the popular mind and left
it uucertuin whether or not the monas
teries had been a good. Some classes
were powerfully prejudiced against
them, believing them to have been hot
beds of vice, sinks of moral depravity,
while others were Just as strongly bias
ed In their favor and traced all the good
of modern times by one course or an
other back to the monastic establish
ments of mediaeval days. The truth,
as in all cases of tills kind, is probably
to be found on a middle ground. It Is
probnble that many monastic estab
lishments degenerated from the sim
plicity of their founders, that increas
ing wealth Induced luxurious living,
and, possibly, also in some eases deprn
vatiou of manners, but, on the other
hand, it should not be forgotten that
to tlie monastic establishments is due
most of the good which existed dur
ing a time when the civilized world
was continually at war. For a thou
sand years monasteries were the only
schools, and youth who sought to ob
tain even the rudiments of education
were forced to learn them in a monas
tery. During those days only two pro
fessions were open to tlie aspiring
youth, the Church and tlie army. A
joung man of noble birth who desired
to make something of himself in the
world was obliged either to take the
training of a soldier or to enter the
Church. The Church and the army
were therefore both distinguished by
the presence of many able men, who,
in one way or another, made their
mark upon the age in which they lived
But not a few of those who sought both
professions were actuated by no higher
motive than the love of plunder or the
hope of ease. The adventurous sought
WHERE THE MONKS USED TO LIVE,
the Held, the unassuming and seriously
inclined sought the cloister.
The monasteries offered tlie only re
fuge that age could expect, the only
assistance that poverty could claim.
Many monasteries had the right of asy
lum, and a fugitive, or even a criminal,
within their walls was safe from his
pursuers. The monasteries were the
only industrial schools; in them were
practiced all tlie arts, all the sciences
known to the time; in them were kept
and copied the only works of ancient
literature that have come down to our
day. They were the only alms houses,
the only asylums; in many countries
the only inns or lodging places for trav
elers. They were, in short, the only
humanizing factor that Europe had for
several hundred years.
Great austerity of life was practiced
by some of the orders. Designed to
mortify tlie flesh, the order of life
prescribed for tlio monks of these so
cieties was of the most rigid descrip
tion. Prayer went on Incessantlj'. la
some of these establishments the
brethren were divided into watches
BO that prayer and praise In the clinpcl
of the convent should never cease. At
frequent Intervals the whole body was
gathered together for common wor
ship, and even at the most unseason
able hours, as at midnight or 2 o'clock
in the morning, the ringing of the con
vent bell was a signal for all the mem
bers of the community to asemble for
prayer. In many the austerity of life
went still further, and prescribed the
simplest and often insufficient raiment.
The monk was to live on the plainest
fare, and very little of that; fast days
were numerous and were rigorously
observed, industrial labor of some
kind was religiously prescribed and
faithfully executed, and the monks
of these organizations, while doing
the work of day laborers, had only the
compensation of knowing that the in
terests of their society were advanced
by their toil.
In many others, however, perhaps
in the greater portion of the numerous
orders that sprang up In Europe from
the tenth century, the mode of life
was so lenient that the monks really
lived much better than their secular
neighbors. This was particularly the
case when a monastery became well
established, with lands of its own and
tenants and laborers by whom most
of the work was done. The members
of a religious order had a great ad
vantage over their secular neighbors
in one very important respect; they
were freed from concern for the fu
ture. As long as they lived they could
be certain of having a roof above their
heads and food and clothing for their
bodies. Every one who struggles with
the world for his livelihood knows how
serious are the fears that sometimes
arise lest lie should be unable to make
a living for himself and his family,
and of this fear the monks know noth
ing. All care removed save that of at
tending to the day's duties, the mem
bers of a religious order naturally felt
easy in their minds; as a general thing,
good humor prevailed in a convent,
and the worthy brethren, having plen
ty to eat and drink and plenty of time
for digestion, naturally grew fat.
Eat men are not always good-humor
ed; good-humored men are not always
fat; but in some mj'sterlous way there
is a connection between good humor
and adipose tissue, and the common
belief in this connection caunot better
lie expressed than by the old proverb
which inculcates the duty of "laugh
ing and growing fat." The monks of
those orders which were not so rigid
in their rules broadened their gowns
nm
r J!
A TRIO IN TIIK MONASTERY—GUITZXER.
to lit their widening frames, and
lengthened the rope girdle that they
wore, and more and more of the com
munities' good fare was daily depos
ited beneath their ample waists. On
feast days they lived like princes; on
fast, days they ate iisli and vegetables,
ami under such circumstances fasting
could be made very tolerable.
Thd stern asceticism of the Trappist,
while in one sense a proper art subject,
is hardly suitable for popular use, for
the rigid life practiced by the most ab
stemious monastic orders does not con
tain for the popular eye that attrac
tion which pleases. The life of the
ascetic may have its picturesque phases
to the eye of the artist, but pictures of
Trappist devotion are very unlikely to
take the popular fancy, for in art, as in
literature, few are serious, aud he who '
amuses is more likely to touch the pop
ular fancy than he who aims to in
struct As a rule the artists of the pres
ent day who have sought their subjects
in the monastic life of bygone times
have preferred I lie gentler aspects of
religion, and their pictures show us
what may be called the comical phases
of monastic life.
The humorous sides of conventional
life have attracted the attention of
many artists who have delighted In de
picting the monks at play and the
monks at work. The transcriber in the
library, the repasts of the assembled
brethren, the music in which they in
dulged in after lunch, their rambles
through the fields, their labors in the
garden, their kitchen work, with- its
busy preparations for the coming meal,
even the ridiculous features, the monks
at see-saw enjoying the sport as much
as children might, the whole community
fishing on Thursday afternoon in order
that they might not fast so arduously
on the following day, the accidents of
daily life even more comical when pre
sented In the case of a monk than when
happening to other people, all have re
ceived their meed of attention, and
paintings by the hundreds have been
executed within the last few years,
both in Germany, France and England,
setting forth in a serio-comic style the
fun of monastic life. Seldom satirical,
rarely caustic, the painters seemed to
find a special delight in depicting in
kindly fashion the manner in which the
old monks lived, and tlie life of these
recluses is through this art medium as
well known to us. perhaps even better,
1 j than it was to the people of their own
1 j time. One of the leaders in this style
1 j of art is the famous Gruetzncr, whose
j monks are known to every frequenter
i of a picture gallery, to every collector
1 i of art photographs. Ills monks are the
hc&t-uatured and among the fattest men
• In the world.