The Sunday Oregonian. (Portland, Ore.) 1881-current, December 15, 1901, Page 4, Image 4

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    THE SUNDAY OREGONIAN, PORTLAND, DECEMBER 15, 1901.
teg rsgonxcm.
Entered at the Postofflce at Portland, Oregon,
as second-class matter.
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Eastern Business OOlce. . U. 45. 47. 48. 49
Tribune building, New Tork City: 4C9 ''The
Rookery," Chicago: the S. C. Bcckwlth special
agency. Eastern representative.
For sale In San Francisco by I. E. Lee, Pal
ace Hotel news etand: Goldsmith Bros.. 230
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For sale In Salt Lake by the Salt Lake News
Co.. 77 W S-eond South street.
For sale In Ogdcn by W. C. Kind. 204 Twenty-fifth
street, and by C H. Myers.
On file In the Oregon exhibit at the exposi
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For sale In Denver, Colo, by Hamilton &
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YESTERDAY'S WEATHER Maximum tem
perature, 40; minimum temperature, S4; pre
cipitation. 0.01 Inch.
TODAY'S WEATHER Partly cloudy and
cool; winds mostly northerly.
PORTLAXD, SUXDAY, DECEMBER 15
THE PIOXEER.
David P. Thompson was a faithful
type of the men whose rugged virtues
and indomitable force of character are
indispensable In the molding of wilder
nesses Into states. They take no account
of hardships, stop at no obstacles, so
that the goal which measureless useful
ambition has set before them may' be
achieved. The dauntless purpose that
sends them out into the front line of
civilization's advancing wave becomes,
In the new environment, a transmuter
of energy into every needed form of
expression. The iron will adapts Itself
to every circumstance and conquers
every difficulty. Out of Its Inexhausti
ble reservoir of determination it passes
at will into versatility In whatever "di
rection need is found.
In the tamer days of more settled
community life, every man must stick
to his last. No one thinks of leaving
the beaten path of his chosen calling,
for thus he would enter upon an un
known sea, dark with vague terrora
But no such timidity or circumspection
hedges In the man of Mr. Thompson's
character and times. He threw himself
into every opening that industry of-,
fered or civic duty required. It was not
for him to tak,e counsel -of capacity or
temperament,, but to apprehend what
needed doing and force his "powers to
its accomplishment. Thus he became
successively, as occasion required,
woodchopper, blacksmith, surveyor,
railroad builder, volunteer soldier, man
ufacturer, educator, statesman, banker,
philanthropist.
Most distinctive and necessary in all
this was the work of his earlier years
In assisting at the establishment and
formation of the Oregon Country. Any
man can .make money, and most men
can save some of it Any man of gen
erous Impulses and broad views can
give money away to worthy objects. So,
while Mr. Thompson's contributions to
'charity and diplomacy were real and
creditable, his signal service was in the
vigor he lent to the pioneer era, In
making this region habitable, in bring
ing its resources to light and in stamp
ing his intensely practical ideas upon
the educational system of the state.
Such careers are too near us now for
their significance to be appraised at
Its true value, but the future will
be able to trace the tremendous effect
of their labors upon the society and the
institutions of their time.
The possibilities of high position af
forded in the United States to Industry
and fidelity were never better Illus
trated than in Mr. Thompson's case.
He crossed the plains as a boy of 19,
working for his living and dependent on
his own hands for whatever the world
was to bring him of enjoyment or hon
ors. He died possessed, not only of
great wealth and past political honors,
but of exalted social position, of a mind
enriched by years of foreign residence
and travel, by books and art, by con
stant mingling with men and women of
the highest breeding, education and ac
complishments. He started with noth
ing, he ended with almost everything
that men covet as of value. And he
won It all by his own unaided exertions.
It is well that so successful a life should
also have found time for the finer things
our self-made men are so prone to over
lookaid in money and personal atten
tion to schools and churches, collection
of rare objects of beauty from all over
the world, and the artistic adornment
of his city and of his home.
It seems almost akin to mockery to
commiserate those Immediately be
reaved upon the completion and end of
such a career of usefulness and
strength. His work was done, and rest
comes fittingly at close of day. When a
man has done all that has been re
quired of him, and seventy years of
care and toil lie behind him in satisfy
ing memory, a peaceful taking off as he
sits patiently on. the "Western piazza
waiting 'for his sun to set is far prefer
able to the lot of those who linger on in
biiterness and gloom to outlive not only
their capacity for enjoyment, but also
their power to add to the happiness of
others. Mr. Thompson filled a large
place where his manhood years were
passed, and it, though he is gone, is
secure. In the history of his adopted
state and in the institutions he helped
to form, his true monument stands,
more beneficent than all his gifts to
charity, more lasting even than the
bronze or granite tokens he left on
Portland's streets to perpetuate his
riame.
There is strong probability that
Wasco County will be called at no dis
tant day to hang a man and rid the
world of a .miscreant Its officers have
in custody a colored man, Addison KIdd
v name, who has confessed to having
placed the obstruction on the railway
track hear Celllo that threw the O. R.
& N.'s passenger train Into the ditch on
the 4th of December, and caused the
death of Engineer Cavanaugh. The
trial of such a miscreant cannot be too
quickly set, nor his execution, follow
ing conviction, take place too soon.
SHYJLOCIC XO HERO.
Most pulpit utterances are above the
level of their hearers, not necossarily
In subtlety, but as Ideala The con
gregation may follow the pastor, as
sheep the shepherd, but It will be a
long way off. Such, doubtless, will be
the fate of the suggestion offered by
Dr. "Wise to the Jews regarding their
persecutors: "The Jew has a nobler
task to forget and forgive. To love Is
Israel's revenge." We shall accredit
the good rabbi himself with full pur
pose of Christian (sic) charity, but of
his flock we shall expect no more gen
iality toward Anti-Semites than ortho
dox Presbyterians, for example, show
for Dr. Brlggs, or high church vestry
men for divorced Episcopalians.
What Dr. Wise says about Shylock,
however. Is very much to the point and
no less practical than Ideal. It is time
both Jew and Gentile escaped the fond
hallucination that Shakespeare meant
"The Merchant of Venice" to teach tol
eration for the Jew. He meant nothing
of the kind. Broadly speaking, Shakes
peare didn't undertake to teach at all.
He was too Intent on making money,
for one thing, and for another he was
too true an artist It is pure fortuity
that arrays the great artist on the side
of moral precept "Beauty Is truth,
truth beauty," certainly; but It Is a
mere coincidence. With Shakespeare,
as with every dramatist who deserves
well of his trade, the play was the end.
The theater is not a pulpit or a school,
and it Is bad form, If not positively
sinful, to try to wrench it out of its
appointed place.
"Shakespeare," says the rabbi, refer
ring to Shylock, "was at fault" And
so he was. The errors of Shakespeare,
in geography, law, medicine, history
and what not, are dispiriting In one
sense, because they tarnish an other
wise perfect picture; but in another
sense they are manna in the desert, be
cause they shatter the abominable su
perstition that Shakespeare was a sort
of miraculous creation, not like other
men, and amenable to no ordinary laws.
Nothing could be more unscientific than
the idea that Shakespeare was any
other than the common run of poets
and dramatists, raised to an unusually
high power. Nothing could be more
absurd than the notion that If Shakes
peare had designed to rebuke the In
tensely Jew-hating audiences of his day
he would have chosen for the task a
murderous-hearted miser who thought
more of his ducats than he did of his
daughter.
To no one has the philanthropic the
ory of Shylock appeared -more mon
strous than to the great Edwin Booth,
who, being an actor" as Shakespeare
waa, Is pretty certain to get at the
poet's meaning. Some of his sayings on
the character are well worth reproduc
ing: An Inhuman wretch, incapable of pity, void
nnd empty from any dram of mercy. It has
been, said that he was an affectionate father
and a faithful friend; When, where and how.
does he manifest the least claim to such com-.
mendation? Tell me that, and Tinyokc!
Shakespeare shared the Jew-hating
sentiment of his time, which strangely
still survives in quarters where, for
kindred wrongs, and for professions of 4
enlightenment, we should least expeetl
it Race hatred Is one of the slowest
passions of brute man to yield to the
treatment of cultivation. Another di
vergence of Shakespeare from the truth
Is his. withholding from Shylock the
very Hebrew virtues of parental love.
Booth thinks that this was done pur
posely, to make us hate Shylock the
more, -but it Is quite as probable he
knew little or nothing of the Jew's
model domestic character. One of the
most striking testimonies to Shakes
peare's genius Is the fact that his plays
survive all charges in popular opinion,
from race hatred to belief In ghosts.
Shylock Is not nearly so much a Jew
as he is a mercenary wretch. In that
portrayal Shakespeare, as usual, gets
below all conventions of time and place
to the foundation structure of the hu
man heart
THE DUTY OP INTERVENTION.
The Hungarians of New York City
on Sunday last- celebrated the fiftieth
anniversary of the arrival of Kossuth
In this country. There are 40,000 Hun
garians in New York City ialone, and
not less than 150,000 in the whole coun
try. They are naturally grateful to the
people of the United States that fifty
years ago the glad hand of sympathy
for his crushed Hungary and admira
tion for his oratorical genius was ex
tended to Kossuth. Nevertheless, this
warm personal tribute to Kossuth and
his cause did not bear any fruit In shape
of that American intervention in behalf
of Hungary which Kossuth pleaded for
then, and which Bourke Cockran asks
for the Boers today. Why did we turn
fa deaf ear to Kossuth? It was not be
cause his quarrel was not Just Hun
gary, after valiantly winning her free
dom by defeating Austria in battle, had
been crushed by the armed intervention
of Russia; Haynau, the Austrian Mili
tary Governor of Hungary, had pub
licly whipped Hungarian women of in
surgent associations, and had shot hun
dreds of prisoners In cold blood. Com
pared with the barbarity of Haynau,
the British conduct of the Boer War Is
absolute magnanimity to the foe.
So dreadful was the barbarity of
Haynau that he was mobbed during a
visit to London by the workmen of Bar
clay & Perkins brewery and severely
beaten. If ever intervention In the af
fairs of a foreign nation was justified
by the situation, Hungary's appeal
could not have, been denied by the
United States. We did not interfere be
cause it has always been our settled
National policy not to interfere In for
eign entanglements except when our
own political interests were essentially
Involved In the struggle. Self-interest,
self-preservation, not sentiment, has
always ruled this country in this matter
of foreign Intervention. The recent
case of Cuba is no exception. Our In
tervention in this instance was largely
due to Injuries inflicted by the war on
citizens of the United States and their
property In Cuba, to the strain put on
our Government by the discharge of the
obligations of neutrality, but the final
feather that broke the earner's back
at a moment when there was every
prospect of at peaceful settlement with
Spain was the blowing up of the Maine.
If Spain had promptly said, "This
disaster is nqt of our contrivance or In
stigation, but, as a matter of national
honor, we hasten to express our regret
and pledge ourselves to the payment of
ample Indemnity to the United States
for the vessel and a compensation to
the families of the murdered crew of
the Maine"; If Spain had said this,
there would have been no war over
Cuba, but Spain was silent, and, as a
matter of National honor and political
self-interest, the United States could
not afford to do other than collect
ample damages with compound interest
from Spain at the cannon's mouth. No
political administration could have af
forded to do otherwise than answer
the blowing up of the Maine by a dec
laration of war. Humanity has never
been treated as an adequate motive In
the view of international law; It could
not be, of course, for in that event
there would be no end to Intervention
by one nation In the affairs of another.
Against the fundamental right of inde
pendence and sovereignty no nation can
enforce intervention upon the ground of
humanity, for that would be an attempt
to make our National morality inter
national law for China, Turkey, Japan,
South America and Mexico, as well as
England, Germany and France.
International lav is only that to
which the nations have consented. Un
der International law we had no
business to Interfere to rescue Hun
gary's mangled form from the hug
of the Russian bear; under international
law we could not possibly intervene in
behalf of the Boers, even if Kitchener
played the part of a Haynau by order
ing contumacious Boer women whipped,
and captured Boer soldiers shot to
death In squads. In the Napoleonic
wars Adams and Jefferson both avoided
taking sides with our ancient ally. In
1824 there was much political sympathy
expressed for the cause of the Greek
revolution, but no step was taken
toward Intervention even when Henry
Clay grew eloquent over the horrors of
the massacre of Scio. Kossuth in 1S52
strangely mistook our public expression
of sympathy for his cause for a deter
mination to grant his prayer for prac
tical Intervention and assistance. He
did not comprehend that an irresponsi
ble American audience is one thing
while the responsible American Govern
ment is quite another thing, so in his
New. York speeches he boldly called for
intervention.
Kossuth soon found out that while
an American audience would cheer him
and his cause to the echo, the American
Government would not give Hungary a
single sword, soldier or. cannon, or vote
it a single dollar, and he returned to
Europe a greatly disappointed man, and
in his subsequent retirement of forty
two years Kossuth never gave any
thought to America or manifested the
slightest interest In our fate. He could
not have known our historical policy
of non-intervention or he would not
have made the speeches he did in
America. He was Imposed upon by
eloquent blatherskite concerning the
cause of Hungary, which was uttered
then just as Americans today speak at
Irish home rule meetings without a
thought of armed interference between
England and Ireland, just as Bourke
Cbckran booms about the Boers today,
with full knowledge that his efforts for
that gallant people are nothing but a
contribution of wind pudding to their
commissariat But then Kossuth, like
Cockran, was nothing but an orator.
Deak in 1SC7 was the real statesman
of Hungary.
LITERATURE AXD LONGEVITY.
Thp Hartford (Conn.) Post says that
"the.:avorage length of the lives of great
American writers is greater than that
of their English 'counterparts," and
gives as the probable explanation that
"Englishman drink much more beer and
wine than Americans do." It is not
true that the leading men of letters of
the Victorian age averaged shorter lives
than their American counterparts, and
while It is true that Englishmen as a
rule drink more wine and beer than
Americans, we do not believe it is true
that Englishmen of letters have been
less abstemious than American men of
letters. First, as to the age of English
men of letters of the Victorian era,
which began in 1S37. Martineau lived
to be 95; Newman and Landor to be
89; Carlyle. SS; Wordsworth, 80; Tenny
son, 83; Grote, S3; Ruskin, 81; Brougham,
90; Huxley, 70; Max Muller, 76; De
Qulncey, 78; Moore, 76; Sydney Smith,
75; John Wilson, C9. The only leading
Englishmen of letters of the Victorian
age who were comparatively short
lived were Thackeray, who died at 52;
Dickens, who died when about 60, and
Macaulay, who died at 59. Englishmen
of science are notably long-lived. Owen
lived to be nearly 90, and Sir Joseph
Hooker Is S4; Lord Armstrong lived to
be 89; Bailey, author of "Festus," Is
S5; Professor Wallace Is 79; Herbert
Spencer Is 81.
There are none of the leading Eng
lishmen of letters of the Victorian age
who died as young as Poe and Thoreau;
there are none of our leading American
men of letters who lived to be as old as
Martineau, Newman, Carlyle or Landor.
The fact Is tnat Englishmen of letters,
with the exception of Dickens and
Thackeray, have been quite as abstemi
ous as American men of letters, none of
whom, save Whlttlcr, were total ab
stainers. James Russell Lowell enjoyed
a good glass of wine always, and died
at 73. Oliver Wendell Holmes lived
more prudently and survived Lowell a
dozen years, living as long as Whlttler,
who didn't use wine at all. Emerson
served wine at his table, but seldom
used It Longfellow used wine, and
sometimes drank whisky and water
when he could not get a good glass of
wine. Professor Agasslz, like John
Fiske, liked a glass of wine or a mug
of beer when his hours of labor were
over. George Bancroft, who lived to be
over SO, was a temperate user of wine,
and so were Irving and Hawthorne.
Wendell Phillips was a total abstainer.
As a rule, however, the leading men of
letters In both England and America
during the Victorian period have been
men of very abstemious ' habits, al
though very few have been total ab
stainers. During -the Victorian age
men of genius as a rule have made good
husbands and good fathers.
The only American man of genius
who was a bad husband and Intemper
ate was Edgar A. Poe. The only Eng
lish man of letters who was in the Vic
torian age a bad husband was Dickens.
On the whole, it may be said that the
notion that men' of genius lead irreg
ular lives and as a rule make bad hus
bands Is a popular error. Men of letters
In both England and America have al
ways reflected the morals of their social
circle. The morals of England by the
accumulated example of Queen Victoria
and Prince Albert were completely re
formed from those of the court of
George IV and William IV, both men
of very intemperate lives. The social
morals of America as early as 1840 were
radically changed by the great wave of
temperance reform that swept over the
land. In both England and America
j abstemiousness ia the matter of wine
became the rule of good manners
among people of cultivation and refine
ment The climate In America Is, on the
whole, more favorable to long life than
that of the great cities of England. In
London the mortality from pneumonia
and bronchitis Is larger than In New
York City, owing to the great fogs,
which prevail. Englishmen of seden
tary lives, however, do not work so
hard as they do In America, and they
take a deal more outdoor exercise.
Every Englishman, whose health per
mits It, is a great walker, and even
lawyers, statesmen and literary work
ers ride horseback a great deal. We
have the best climate, but the English
man takes better care of his health and
Is more systematic and regular in the
matter of diet and exercise. As to the
consumption of wine and beer, the liter
ary Englishman may consume a little
more than the literary American, but
this Is due to the fact that the water
In England's great cities Is not good;
the rivers are small, the country thickly
settled, and the water supply Is of in
ferior quality. For this reason more ale
Is drunk than in America.
THE MOTIVE TESTS THE MARRIAGE
A deal of Indecent stuff Is .written
about marriage. Some of It is written
in malevolence; some of it in ignorance;
some out of sheer flippancy and folly.
The chle'f question to be asked by peo
ple contemplating matrimony Is not so
much a matter of nure dollars and
cents for the future as It Is concerning
the motive behind the marriage. If the
motive- is high, the marriage cannot be
otherwise than a good marriage, for It
will begin in serious affection, moral
sympathy and absolute unselfishness on
both sides. This presence of high mo
tive carries with it the assumption that
a man will not marry who knows or
has good reason to believe that he is not
fit to be a husband and a possible
father, either through constitutional
feebleness of body or incapacity to sup
port a wife. A man who would marry
who was unfit to be the father of chil
dren or was unable to support a wife
would not marry from a high motive;
he would be deficient In both moral
sense and common sense. But, grant
ing that the parties contemplating mar
riage have good health, good hearts
that beat like one, and fair assurance
of frugal support through sober Indus
try and unflinching economy, marriage
may fearlessly be undertaken If the
motive that prompts the marriage Is
one of high faith In each other and
mutual affection, unalloyed by selfish
ness. Marriages that start with a nign
motive behind them seldom turn out
badly.
Affection energizes men to exertion,
and there Is seldom any trouble In
keeping the wolf of poverty from the
door if the marriage began right on
both sides. With a low, mean or mer
cenary motive behind it, a marriage
turns out badly In the long run, just as
any other dishonest, disingenuous busi
ness does in this world. People who
marry in haste, or. from a low motive,
generally find plenty of leisure for re
pentance. They do not escape retribu
tion, even If they never want the creat
ure comforts of life, for, given a mar
riage that did not start In high motive
and you are sure to have a household
without sweetness or light There Is no
mystery about the marriage business.
It ends well If it starts right, but it
cannot start from a low motive on
either side and end right It Is a ques
tion of spiritual fitness rather than of
firmly assured financial foundation. The
man or woman who murmurs "Of all
my father's children I always did love
myself the best'' Is not In a state of
full spiritual preparation for the re
sponsibility and poEsible sacrifices of
the married state. With no community
of tastes, no approach to equality of
Intelligence, no points of spiritual or
mental contact, there can be no happi
ness in store for persons who marry
under circumstances which violate all
the conditions of social harmony and
moral assimilation. Such marriages
turn out unhappily because they are
unreflecting, unequal, non-sympathetic
marriages. It is the spiritual, not the
financial, condition of the parties that
is sure to make a marriage for happi
ness or break it.
So true Is it that motive is the real
sanctlflcatlbn of a marriage that the
sneer "An old man's darling" may be
most grossly misapplied. There Is no
more beautiful picture in "David Cop
perfield" than that of manly old Dr.
Strong publicly exonerating his beauti
ful young wife from the cloud of shame
ful suspicion by which she had artfully
been surrounded. When that fine old
clergyman closed his address there was
no decent person who heard him who
did not believe that the young wife
sincerely loved her husband, and was
both glad and proud to be the "darling"
of so manly and noble-minded a man.
i ouuivcspuuic in iiul scmuui icuutri, uui
ne never striKes tne iaise note or sen
timentality In treating of love, and yet
Shakespeare makes young Desdemona
say of her middle-aged, swarthy war
rior: I loved the Moor to live with him.
I saw Othello's visage in Ills mind;
And to his honors and his valiant parts
Did I my soul and fortunes consecrate.
Othello testifies that despite his years
Desdemona "loved me for the dangers I
had passed; I loved her that she did
pity them." The motive behind the
marriage was high; the Moor, by even
Iago's confession, was of "constant, lov
ing, noble nature"; the woman made no
mistake in holding him to be of heroic
mould. The plea of Desdemona has
been sincerely made by more than one
excellent woman of modern history.
The plea of Desdemona won gallant
General Longstreet a young wife in his
old age. The old warrior, without wife
or children, but with a splendid career
and an unblemished personal charac
ter behind him, was a natural object of
veneration to the young Southern
woman, who doubtless married him to
give him the companionship and the
care In his declining years that an af
fectionate daughter might extend. The
feeling which prompted her to become
the "darling" of this splendid old war
rior Is deserving of all respect; It Is
akin to that which prompted Mr. Cros3
to marry George Eliot (Mrs. Lewes)
when she was broken in health and
was over CO years of age. Cross had
been for many years the most Intimate
friend of her husband and herself; she
had no children; he felt for her a very
great admiration and strong friendship;
he married her so that he could travel
with her and give her the constant affec
tionate care that she needed in her In
valid state. He wished to give her the
same solicitous care he would have
given a male friend, and in propriety
it was necessary to marry her In order
to do It The motive was high In the
case of Mr. Cross; and the motive was
equally high which Impelled a young
woman to become the wife of General T
Longstreet, a stately and impressive
figure, even In his old age, a man of
Hon heart and eagle eye, in his prime
of military service.
The motive Is the test that must be
applied to both the married state and
to what Is termed "single blessedness."
Marriage may have behind It a very
high or a very base, vulgar motive, and
so celibacy may have a very honorable
or a discreditable explanation. Proba
bly few men have been celibates from
a contemptible motive, for as a rule
men notably selfish and Indolent are
seldom celibates. Behind a single life
there may be great sorrows or sacri
fices, which in early life made marriage
a very difficult and doubtful action for
a man of sensitive conscience and high
sense of duty to the family and society.
Such sacrifices may have continued
until it was too late to count upon the
responsibility of a family. Charles
Lamb was a bachelor In order to care
for his 'sister, subject to periodical in
sanity; Pope was a bachelor because
he was a lifelong Invalid; Goldsmith
was unmarried, so was Swift, so was
the historian Gibbon. The great states
man, William Pitt, was a bachelor, so
was Macaulay; but both were men of
strong domestic ties, and poured out
their money upon their sisters and
nieces. Whlttler was a bachelor, so was
Thoreau and Tilden and Chief Justice
Devens, of the Massachusetts Supreme
Court The ranks of single women In
clude Mafia Edgeworth, Miss Mitford,
Jane Austen, Maria Mitchell, Rosa Bon
heur, Adelaide Proctor, Harriet Mar
tineau, Dorothea Dlx, Frances Power
Cobb, Florence Nightingale, Jean Inge
low, Miss Gladstone, Susan B. Anthony
and Queen Elizabeth. A fine woman,
like a fine man, neither makes herself
or breaks herself by refusing or missing
marriage. Life may be blessed or
cursed within or without wedlock. Mar
riage is not an ordinance for the re
demption of souls that would otherwise
be surely lost in the single state.
In 1842 Captain Alexander Slidell
Mackenzie, United States Navy, a
brother of the famous John Slidell of
secession fame, while commanding the
United States war vessel Somers, dis
covered a conspiracy at sea to capture
tho vessel. He hanged the leaders at
the yardarm. One of them was the son
of John C. Spencer, Secretary of War
in the Cabinet of President Tyler. On
the return of the Somers to the United
States, Captain Mackenzie called for a
court of Inquiry, by which he was
promptly exonerated. But the public
clamor became so strong that Captain
Mackenzie asked for a trial by court
martial. The court also acquitted him,
but the matter was transferred to Con
gress, and its discussion embittered the
rest of Captain Mackenzie's life. The
famous Thomas H. Benton, Senator
from Missouri, was conspicuous In the
consideration and discussion by Con
gress of the case of the Somers mutiny.
Young Spencer was a fellow of educa
tion, and his scheme of mutiny iin?
written in Greek manuscript. The un
fortunate young man always declared
that the whole plot had no existence
except as a "Joke" on paper, written
in Greek characters to bother Captain
Mackenzie, with no thought of putting
It Into execution.
The life of the late David P. Thomp
son as it passes by reason of his death
In review before the public Is empha
sized by tireless energy and great pub
lic spirit He was literally a part of the
community In which he lived, except
for relatively brief Intervals, for nearly
half a century; a substantial factor in
Its prosperity, and a conspicuous figure
In Its political, educational and finan
cial life. The sturdy Industry of his
youth laid broad and deep the founda
tions of his fortune, and he leases be
hind him, after sixty-seven years of
life, a record of success in many under
takings, a chronicle, in common with all
humanity, of some mistakes and not a
few disappointments. A worthy, ener
getic citizen, the stamp of his activities
will long remain upon the community
in which the greater part of his life
was passed.
The yield of California olives this
year aggregated nearly 800 tons. This
Is significant in connectIon"wIth the fact
that but a few years ago all of the
olives consumed In the United States
were imported. Of course, not nearly
so many olives were used then as now,
the taste for this fruit being largely an
acquired one. The increase In lt3 con
sumption, however, has kept pace fairly
with that 6f some other fruits. The
fact Is that we have become a nation of
fruit consumers, the Increase showing
substantial gains all along the line,
from that old-fashioned stand-by, the
apple, clear through to the orange. In
cluding a large number of luscious
small fruits, the list of which is In
creased year by year.
Fortune continues to shower her fa
vors upon President Roosevelt Accord
ing to a recent decision of a New York
court In a suit brought to obtain a con
struction of the will of Cornelius Van
Schalck Roosevelt, who died In 1SS7, his
nephew, the President, will Inherit a
fortune of between $100,000 and $150,000.
There is an old adage, all too frequently
verified, which declares that "troubles
never come singly." The same expres
sion might with equal truth be applied
to favors. In uncouth phrase, "Them
as has gets."
The sudden death of Mrs. Ellen Thlel
sen at her home In this city closed
peacefully, painlessly and In accord
ance with nature the life of a gentle
woman that had extended beyond four
score years. Active, energetic, capable,
the earlier years of Mrs. Thielsen's life
were years of great usefulness along
lines of womanly endeavor and sympa
thy. Her later years were quiet and
peaceful, as befits the closing of a long
period of active, earnest endeavor.
A blizzard has been sweeping the
ranges of the great plateau states for
several days. A few years ago such a
storm meant Intense suffering and great
loss of stock. Profiting by experience,
the rancher now makes provision for
his flocks and herds and brings them
through the most severe YInters with
comparatively slight loss a distinct
gain, whether viewed from a humane
or a financial standpoint, or both.
Irs. Bonine Is "not guilty." So say
the Jurors, who have listened for some
days to a detailed account of her kill
ing of James Seymour Ayres, Jr., In his
room at the Kenmore Hotel, In Wash
ington, last May. Public opinion is
bound to concur in the verdict, while
regretting shamefacedly that the case
was ever brought to trial, since its only
result was to air a very shady story
through the court and Dress.
RUB AIYAT FOR GOLFERS.
Chicago Evening Post
Students of popular fancies are finding
abundant opportunities for research In
the enormous vogue which the writings
of Omar Khayyam, have attained within
the last 10 years. The philosophy of the
"Itubaiyat" accounts for some things,
and the gracefulness of Edward Fitz
gerald In the commonly accepted version
for others; but there will still be a chance
for wiseacres to puzzle themselves. On
the surface there Is little more in the
philosophy than the "eat, drink, for to
morrow we die" of the vulgar epicurean
and this is not a sound doctrine, as thoae
who have given it the most thorough tests
will be first to acknowledge. StiiS, in an
age which Is given over to the things of
this world, especially on the sordid and
commercial side of It, it must be a relief
to turn to wine, women and song and if
not in actuality, then on paper. If there
Is to be no hereafter, then hurrah for
the next that dies! If it is doubtful
whether there Is to be happiness here
after, then the more there is to be had
in this pale world, the better for all con
cerned. Of course, this Is not Christian. It is
not even the attitude of the heathen. As
Mr. Mallock showed his readers last year,
Lucretius held nobler views by far. and
no one ever felt his eyes moisten over the
nobfe peroration In the Apologia of So
crates without a consciousness of some
thing far better than anything in the
writings of the Persian tcntmaker. It la
certain that there Is more in Omar than
most of his admirers glean for them
selves, after the plain significance of hi
stanzas is absorbed, and that to take
him as a mere hedonist is to do him a
serious Injustice. Yet It Is equally cer
tain that it is the hedonistic element In
tWe "Rubaiyat" which gives them vogue.
That and. possibly, a dare-devil reckless
ness of the future dovetailing Into an ani
mal view of life which Is a caricature of
Eplcurns and Arlstlppus both.
Poetry Becomes a Fad.
And, certainly, no one who understands
the general disregard of poetry in this
commercial age can allege the beauties
of Fitzgerald's version as any reason for
their vogue. They have kept the "Ru.
balyat" In the minds of men who would
have slighted a version less poetic, of
course. Just as they brought It to the at
tention of critics of sufficient credibility
to have their views taken as authoritative.
It would seem as if the whole question
had removed itself from the plane of rea
son and gone into a fad. or fashion and
if there is a better explanation of fads
and fashions than the medieval one of a
personal devil, it has not been suggested.
But Omar and his most famous work
have passed through many stages, until
now "The Golfer's Rubaiyat" shows it to
be enough of a household word to permit
parody and parody on the side of a game
which is itself, as some hold, a parody
on athletics; and, as all hold, has also
Kone to the dimensions of a fad or fashion.
Now that Fitzgerald has shown us how.
as Bunner said of Heine and a certain
other sort of verse. It is the easiest thing
In the world to catch the swing and a
little of the measure which Is. after all,
a Tennysonlan echo. But It Is not so
easy to do this, or anything else, well,
and H. V". Boynton deserves the more
credit for the cleverness with which his
parody on both Omar and golf Is gar
landed. Joined with Frank Hazenplug's
drawings. In the protty little volume about
to be published. It adds to the cheerful
ness of the world and holds thi mera
pleasure-seeker up as a target for the
mild disdain of a busy age. And laugh
ing is rare enough, we all know, now
adays, or In any other days.
How the Chorus Opens.
The chorus opens with such a delightful
bit as this:
Wake! for the sun has driven in equal flight
The stars before him from tho Tee. of Night.
And holed them every one without a Miss.
Swinging at ease his sold-shod Shaft of Light.
Wake, Loiterer! for already Dawn Ib seen
With her red marker on the eastern Green,
And summons all her Little Oned to chango
A Joyous Three for every sad Thirteen.
And as tho Cock crew. thoe who stood before
The first Tee murmured; "Just this chance to
score.
You know how little while wo have to play.
And, once departed, may return no more."
This is the true Omarian note, soon to
shine out In a wit which Omar has denied
himself:
Now the fresh Tear, reviving old Desires,
The thoughtful Soul to Solitude retires,
Pores on this Club ami That with anxious
eye.
And dreams of Hounds beyond the Bounds of
Liars.
Campbell, indeed, is past with all his fame,
And old Tom Morris now Is but a name;
But many a Jamie by the Bunker blows.
And many a Wlllio ru!e3 us. Just the same.
Then the insistent appeal to action,
which no one can hear without a stir of
Spring in his blood, even though Winter
be at hand:
Come, choose your Ball, and In the fire of
Spring
Your Ued Coat, and your wooden Putter fling;
The Club of Time has but a little while
To waggle, and the Club Is on the swing.
Whether at Musselburgh or Shlnnecock.
In motley Hose or humbler motley Sock.
Tho Cup of Life Is ebbing Drop by Drop.
"Whether the Cup be filled with Scotch or Bock.
This last line brings in one of the essen
tials of the game as it Is -played, soon to
be followed by an enumeration of them:
A Bag of Clubs, a Silver-Town or two.
A Flask of Scotch, a Pipo of Shag and Thou
Beside me caddylng In the Wilderness
Ah, Wilderness were Paradise enow.
Some for the weekly Handicap; and some
Sigh for a greater chnmplonshlp to come:
Ah. play the Match, and let the Medal go,
Now heed old Bogey with his wretched Sum.
Look to the blowing Rows about us "Lo,
Strolling," thty say. "over the course we go.
And here or there we lightly4 flick the Ball,
Turn, and the Trick is done In So-and-so."
But those who keep their cards and turn them
In.
And those who wekly Handicaps may win.
Alike to no such aureate Fame are brought.
As, buried once. Men want dug up again.
Touches of Kindliness.
Here are touches of more than Omarian
kindliness: .
They say the Female and the Duffer strut
On sacred greens where Morris used to putt;
Himself a natural Hazard now. alas!
That nice Hand quiet now, that great Eye shut.
I sometimes think that never springs so green
Tho Turf as where some Good Fellow has been.
And every emerald Stretch the Fair Gren
shows
His kindly Tread has known, his sure pUy
sen.
Then this reflection:
Ah. my Beloved, play the round that 'offers
Today some Joy, whate'er Tontorrow suffers;
Tomorrow! why, tomorrow I may be
Myself with Yesterday's Sev'n thousand Duff
ers. Drcnm Mentlovrs.
Flora MacLeod. In The Fortnlgktly Review.
Girt with great garths of shadow
Dim meadows fade In gray:
No moon lightens the gloaming.
The meadows know no day;
But pale bhapes shifting
From dusk to duek. .or lifting
Frail wings In flight, go drifting
Adown each flowerless way.
These phantom-dreams In shadow
Were ones of wild-rose flame:
Kmoh wore a star of glory.
Each had a loved sweet name:
Now tliey are nametes. knowing
Nor star nor flame, but going
Whither they know not, flowing
Waves without wind or aim.
But later through the gloaming
Th Midnight Shepherd oris;
The trooping shadows follow
Making a wind o? sighs:
The fold Is hollow and black,
No pathway thence, no track;
No dream ever comes back
Beneath those silent skies.
SLIXGS AND ARROWS.
Schley.
Oh, why should wc call him hero.
And cheer hm along the street.
Whoso only claim to glory and famo
Is sinking a raitry fleet?
What are a few smashed vessels
To entitle a man to praise.
Who has raised a storm by his shocking fona
In eleven different ways.
He stood on the deck of tho Brooklyn
With never a single qualm.
And the shot and shell about him tell.
But he was serene and calm.
But still he's a skulking caitiff.
And his fight to nothing amounts.
For he got off wrong, in the eyes of Long,
On eleven separate counts.
He has foucht in many a battle.
On many a gallant, craft.
And many a foe he has sent below.
After scuttling him fore and aft.
But he's woefully shy In manners.
And In these courteous times
It must be admitted that he has committed
Eleven horrible crimes.
O sailors, the wide world over.
Be courteous and polite:
Don't try to escape or to dodge red tape.
And you never will need to fight.
Don't bother with sinking vessels.
But always be wreathed in smiles.
And you won't, like Schley, get the Icy eya
In eleven different styles.
Why He nitln't Jump.
Here Is one that a young man who
knows a good story when he hears It
heard one railroad man tell another in a
depot up the line the other day.
"Wc picked up a new Irishman some
where up-country and set him to work
brakln' on a construction train at 3 cents
a mile for wagfs. One day when him an
me was on the train she got away on
one o tnem mountain grades, and the
first thing we knowed she was flyin' down
the track at about 90 miles an hour, with
nothln' In sight but the ditch and the
happy huntln" grounds when we come to
the end. I twisted 'em down as hard ns
I could all along the tops, and then of a
sudden I see Mike crawlin along toward
the end of one of the cars on all fours,
with his face the color of milk. I thought
he was gcttln' ready to jump, an' I sea
his finish If he did.
" 'Mike,' I says, 'for God's sake don't
jump.'
"He clamps his fingers on the runnln
board to give him a chance to turn round,
and, lookln at me contemptuous, an
swers: " 'Jump, Is It? Do yez think I'd ba
afthcr jumpln an' me makln money as
fast as I am?' "
"When Shakespeare Comes to Torvn.
(With apologies to Mr. Sydney Rosenfeld.)
Perhaps borne time, reincarnate,
BUI Shakespeare may perambulate
To see the drama up-to-date.
On the stage of the present day;
When he sees a Lincoln Carter show.
Where the railroad trains and the steamboat
go
To smash, while the people gasp, "Oh! oh!"
Why. what do you think he'll say?
Bill Shakespeare, he'll look wise.
And he'll gulp down hl3 surprise.
But it's safe to say, when he sees such &
play
He'U be likely to soliloquize:
"Oh. I'm afraid I've lived in vain.
If I'd only had that railroad train,
I'd have made the melancholy Dans
Run the King with an engine down;
I'd have blown lego out of sight
With a couple of kegs of dynamite."
You will hear him talk like that some night.
When Shakespeare comes to town.
And when he ees his own good plays.
With a ghost llko a chunk of a London haze.
And a 3uper army meets his gaze.
That looks a whole mile long;
When he sees real nags In a battle scene.
And hears the clash of the fight-machine.
That Is worked by a supe In the wlng3 unseen,
And whoops up wild war strong; '
Bill Shakespeare, he will say:
"Oh, the drama of today.
Has made me think that all the Ink
I used long ago was quite thrown away.
"Oh. I thought tho Globe was about all right.
For we stood them up nearly every night.
But tho show we gave must have been &
fright."
And he'll frown a dark, dark frown.
"Those plays of old looked good to me.
But I see they weren't quite one. two, three,'
Will bo William's sad soliloquy
When Shakespeare comes to town.
But when he sees old Bernhardt play
Great Hamlet In her own weird way.
When he hears that Maudle Adams may
Appear as Romeo;
When he sees the hams in tho wild, wild West,
In hose and doublet fiercely dressed,
rinylng Shakespeare roles their woollest.
He'll get a knock-out blow.
Bill Shakespeare, he'll get sore.
And he'll say: "This. sure. Is more
Than I thought I'd be obliged to see.
Not to mention having to answer for."
"Oh, I don't like to criticise.
But it seems to me that these hungry guys
Moat susly ought to recognize
That they're throwing Shakespeare down.
If this sort of plays are known as mine,
I'm sorry I ever wrote a line."
And you'll see him scowl a scowl malign.
When Shakespeare comes to town.
How n Cnlnmlty Was Averted.
Cnsslus You love me not.
Brutus I do not like your faults.
Casslus A friendly eye could never see
such faults.
Brutus A flatterer's would not,
though
Casslus Look at here. Brute, let's cut
out the blank verse and get next to our
selves. E-on't you sec that if we keep on
wrangling one or the other of us will get
up against a court of Inquiry?
Brutus Shake; I never thought of It
And they kissed and made up.
The Lost Gods.
My llttlo brother Tommy, he
Don't know no better than to b'lleve
That Santa Claus brings all the toys
That us two gets bn Christmas eve.
I used to be that way myself.
But now I'm smartcr'n him, because
I know there ain't no such a man
As that there one called Santa Claus.
But when I hear him plannln 'bout
The things he'll gt when Santa come
An' how hl3 sleigh '11 have Just loads
O" sleds, an' tops, an' horns an" drum3,
I think what fun It used to bo
To not know more than Tommy-'bout
Such things, an' sometimes I Just cry
To think my mamma 'splalned 'em out.
J. J. MONTAGUE.
VLEASANTHIES OF PARAGKAPIIERS
His Reply. Old Gentleman Are you sure you
love my daughter, sir? Young Man Well. If
I don't, sir. Mio is the worst fooled girl In this
tews ! Puck.
Dyspepsia Specialist (Irritably) But. madam,
you must chew your food. What were ycur
teth given you for? Female Patient (calmly)
They weren't given to me I bought 'cm. Tlt
Blts. One Objection. "The worst feature of this
submarine navy business," said the chronic ob
jector, "is that it will be sure to leaJ to a
revival of the tank drama after our next war."
Baltimore American.
She Do you think my husband is progres
sive? He I 3hould say so! I saw him nodding
In church today. "What's that got to do with
hi.s being progressive?" "Why, he was moving
a head, wasn't he?" Yonkers Statesman.
The New Century Infant. Willie, aged 5, ap
peared at the main entrance to the circus tent
hand In hand with a venerable graybeard.
"Grandpa wanted to see the animals," he ex
plained to the doorkeoper. "and I had to como
along to take care of him." Chicago Tribune.
Mrs. Jones Mrs. Robinson Is the greatest
woman to stick to a, fad I ever saw. Mrs.
Brown Why, I never heard anybody mention
that before. Mrs. Jones Can't help that. It's
so, all the same. Just see how she has gone
on admiring that hi. --bind of hers these 20
years and more Eoston Transcript.