THE SUNDAY OREGONIAN, PORTLAND, DECEMBER 6, 190S.
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rOBTLaND, fcUXDAY. DEC. 6, 108.
MILTON'S TEBCEXTEXABV.
As the 300th anniversary of
the
birth of Milton draws near the stu
dent of literature recalls not without
wonder that to England belongs the
palxn In both pic and dramatic po
etry since, the close of the Middle
Ages. This fact Is the more remark
able since the English people are not
noted for romantic or artistio quali
ties, being In common repute distin
guished rather .for a practical and
commercial spirit. Milton's "Paradise
Lost" ranks with Homer's "Iliad" and
Dante's "Divine Comedy" as one of
the three consummate triumphs of
human genius in epic poetry. As a
work of imaginative genius, Vergil's
"Aeneld" fails far below it, though as
an artist In language the Mantuan Is
perhaps without a peer In the history
of literature. Tennyson Ealutes him
as "wtelder of the stateliest measure
ever molded by the lips of man." If
Vergil's measure Is the stateliest, Mil
ton's is the most majestic No poet
has ever rivaled the sustained sublim
ity of his flight, none has approached
the lefty harmony of his numbers.
It has been said of all great poems
that they are more pralsid than read,
but of "Paradise Lost" this Is perhaps
less true than of many others, for we
know that the larger part of our com
mon Ideas of the other world, the fu
ture life and the origin of the human
race, which are sometimes supposed
to be obtained from Hebrew litera
ture, are really to be found In Milton's
masterpiece.
John Milton was born In London,
Pecember 9, 1608, some eight years
before the death of Shakespeare,
whom he may have seen on the
streets and possibly have known by
sight. The Mermaid's Tavern, where
Shakespeare and his comrades often
diverted themselves, was not far from
the house where' Milton was born.
From his earliest years he showed a
strong predilection for what was then
called learning, namely, Greek and
Roman literature; but his taste was
more catholic than that of most of his
contemporaries, for he also learned
French and Italian and gained some
knowledge of Hebrew. Later in life
Milton wrote a pamphlet on educa
tion In which he severely criticised
the usual curriculum of the schools
and colleges of his day. Those who
now advocate the teaching of agricul
ture as an innovation may perhaps be
comforted by the reflection that Mil
ton also advocated it and that their
successors 300 years from now may
be doing the same thing with the
same results. Milton's prose pam
phlets, among many other startling
things, argued for complete freedom
of divorce, education and speech. His
views upon divorce may have been In
tensified by his own matrimonial ex
perience, which was extensive but not
felicitous. By freedom in education
he understood the dethronement of
the classics from their absolute rule
and the introduction of science and
the arts as subjects of school and col
lege study. This aspiration of his
sounds very modern, and illustrates
how rapidly things move In the realm
of education.
Milton's argument for free speech
was set forth in his "Areopagitlca,"
which was published In 1644, the year
of the battle of Marston Moor. It is
the only one of his prose works which
Is still readable, being a splendid
monument of style, full of profound
thought and eloquent appeals to the
higher emotions. Most of his pam
phlets were controversial and some of
them bitter to the last degree. Their
personal invective, together with "what
seems to us an Incoherent and in
volved diction, makes them of small
attraction to modern readers. Still
almost every one of Milton's rrose
works contains passages of unap
proachable power' and beauty. Their
scurrility was an unavoidable Incident
of controversy in his time, and his
passionate violence shows that he was
at least in earnest, which cannot be
ald of all pamphleteers. His Invec
tive attained its acme of sublimity,
and descended to the lowest depths of
scandalous malignity, In pamphlets
hlch he wrote in defense of the peo
ple of England after they had exe
cuted Charles I. This deed shocked
the scribblers of Continental Europe,
who expressed their horror in more
or lees degraded Latin. Milton met
them on their own ground, and it is
pretty generally conceded that he
came out of the battle victorious,
though smeared with mud.
Like William Cullen Bryant and the
poet Pope, Milton began writing
verses in his youth. His lines "On a
Fair Infant" were composed when he
was sixteen, and Johnson truly says
of them that they gave little promise
of his future pre-eminence. His first
works which showed unmistakable
tokens of Immortality were "L'Alle
gro" and "II Penseroso," two poems
In a rapid and charming meter which
present alluring pictures of joy and
melancholy. A year later he wrote
"Coram" to oblige a friendly noble.
In this poem Milton touched the very
summit of his art, though not in all
parts of 1L Some of the lines are of
inconceivable beauty, others hardly
escape absurdity in spite of their per
fect style. In the main the art of
"Comus" Is as admirable as the
thought Is profound. Still Milton's
greatest work Is. of course, "Paradise
Lost." and however much we may
praise the lesser poems the fact re
mains that but for his epic he would
not rank high above the major Eng
lish poets. "Paradise Lost," with
Milton's prose, makes him the repre
sentative and voice of the highest
thought and achievement of his time.
The years from 1608 to 1674, which
included his life, are known among
Intellectual people not as the age of
Charles, Cromwell or the English
revolution, but as the age of the blind
poet who embodied in his life Its
j noblest virtues and expressed In his
' writings Its deepest thought and Its
highest beauty. Though hts old age
was forgotten by the great and his
last years were passed In obscurity
and almost In penury, still to the end
of time the period when he lived and
wrote will be called the age of Milton.
Thus genius triumphs over circum
stance and the long verdict of history
reverses the partisan decisions of con
temporaries. FOR THE OLD CONGRESS AND MB
NEW.
The outgoing Congress, which Is to
meet tomorrow In its second session,
will be presented with numerous sub
jects of sound legislation, Dut 13 ex
pected to do little with them. For
treatment of the uppermost subject,
tariff revision. President-elect Taft
plans to call the new Congress in spe
cial session on March 4. The so-called
tarifT investigation that has been con
ducted by the House Committee on
"Ways and Means has been a dlscour
agement. amounting almost to t
farce. Practically everybody who has
beon heard by the committee has
urged some increase- or decrease in
duty for his own benefit ana tne gen
eral interests of the whole country
have had little attention. There has
been no close or expert investigation
of prices at home or abroad or of
manufacturing cost and trade condl
tlons.
In addition to tariff revision, good
subjects of legislation are: Currency
reform, amendment of the Sherman
anti-trust law so as to authorize
proper Interstate combinations, ex
tension of the powers of the Inter
state Commerce Commission over
rates and capitalization, postal sav
ings banks and waterway improve
ments. Other matters are numerous,
but these suggest themselves as the
most Important. Their disposition is
expected to be left mostly to the next
Congress In Its special session.
Extension of employers' liability In
interstate commerce and of Govern
ment liability for its employes will be
presented; also limitation of the op
eration of labor injunctions. These
subjects are to be Included in the
programme of the Taft administra
tion according to advices from Hot
Springs, Va. They have been Included
in the Roosevelt policies.
It will be seen that the outgoing
Congress has many opportunities for
needed legislation. The subjects are
big ones and many could be disposed
of before March 4, if Congress had
a mind to get down to business. So
in the short session we may expect
to see Congress perhaps going on with
its effort to do something with the
paper pulp duty and with the Sher
man law. And, let it not be forgot
ten, there are a list of Federal ap
pointments to receive the sanction of
the Senate. Should It be marked on
the political programme to change
the postmater of Portland, on the ex
piration of Mr. Mlnto's term this
month, that will also be a very vital
matter for the second session of the
Sixtieth Congress.
THE WEEKLY OREGONIAN.
December 4 was the birthday of the
Weekly Oregonlan, and aow it has
begun its 5 9th year in the fullest en
joyment of middle-aged health. Wher
ever mail routes penetrate, be they
daily or but once a week, The Weekly
Oregonlan goes to the outermost ends
of the Oregon Country. In its career
of nearly three score years it has
been a landmark of civilization, and
it has shared honors in the pioneer
home with the Great Book. Native
Oregonians cherish it as their first
reader and spelling-book in the days
when schools were few and far away.
The men and the women who
wrought homes In the wilderness in
the '40s and '60s call it friend, and
know that when "the time shall come
when each shall take a chamber in
the silent halls of Death" their pass
ing will be recorded in its columns
with the good that they have done.
So It pursues the even tenor of its
way, growing as It goes to the chil
dren grown and scattered to other
states, who would keep in touch with
the land of their birth.
City folk do not see much of The
Weekly Oregonian; yet they would
profit by It. For to every owner
of bush, vine or tree, the owner of
one cow or ten, the horseman or the
poultryman, there Is in Its columns
the advice of practical men on lines
that pay. ,
FIXING COUNTY OFFICERS" PAY.
The method of fixing salaries of
county officers In Oregon is unrea
sonable, inequitable and often expen
sive to the taxpayers. All salaries of
county officers are fixed by the Legis
lature, but a bill relating to a salary
in any one county is considered a
"local bill" and the question whether
It shall pass Is left entirely to the
members from that county. Under
this plan one or two members in
each house of the Legislature fix the
salaries of the officers in their re
spective countlesT Because they have
this power, members have used the
Legislature as a means of rewarding
friends and punishing enemies. If
the member from the county affected
says that the bill is satisfactory to
him, all the other members vote for
it without question. As a conse
quence, some of the county officers
receive salaries that are too high,
others salaries that are too low. The
member of the Legislature is fre
quently a transient in officialdom. Of
his acts at Salem his constituents
know very little. The laws regarding
salaries of county officers are so nu
merous and distributed through so
many volumes of the session laws
that even a lawyer has difficulty In
determining what the salary of any
particular official Is at any time. Con
sequently the taxpayers never call
their representatives to account for
their acts In fixing salaries.
The system Is wrong. Salaries
should be reasonably uniform in
counties where the business con
ditions and cost of living are simi
lar. A county officer should receive
approximately what he could secure
for his services In private life. If
the power to fix salaries Is to re
main In the Legislature, the power
should be exercised by all the mem
bers and not merely by those from
the one county that happens to be
directly Interested at the time.
Quito likely a better plan would
be to have the salaries fixed by the
County Court, which is directly
answerable to the people. County
officers could be protected against re
vengeful county courts and the peo
ple could be protected against courts
that, would reward official friends,
by a provision that no officer's salary
shall be either Increased or dimin
ished during the term for which he
has been elected. If salaries are too
high, public opinion would force a
reduction, to take effect at the begin
ning of the next term. If they are
too low, they could be increased at the
same time. Under such a system the
salaries paid by the people of a
county would be fixed by the imme
diate representatives of the county
acting at home for their constituents.
Placing the salary question within
local control would make it more or
less of a local issue in county cam
paigns and thereby the wishes of the
people could be ascertained.
CHILDREN'S BOOKS.
In the book store windows among
the new Christmas volumes it is pleas
ant to see a pretty edition of Miss L.
M. Alcott's "Little Women." Who
would undertake to say how many
lives have been uplifted and bright
ened by this thoroughly sound and
perennially delightful book? It is
the story of four girls, Jo, Meg. Beth
and Amy, who had their own way to
make In the world. Their girlish ex
pedients and innocent little devices for
getting along and making both ends
meet are good reading for anybody,
young or old. The steadfast Jo's
stern adherence to duty, with her
sDlrit of helDfulness to the other
girls. Is one of the finest things in the
whole world of books, or real life,
either.
. The truth is that the best books for
young people are often the best for
adults also. If they are really suit
able for youth, they must possess a vi
tality, a spirit of exuberant hope and
power, which is the most potent of
all tonics for weary men and women.
How many grown people are willing
to confess that they love to read fairy
stories? Not half so many as there
are guilty of it. Hans Christian An
derson's tales are fully as popular
among adults as among children. Par
ents who read "The Ugly Duckling"
to their children with a patient air
of enduring something beneath their
years are as great frauds as grandpa
when he unwillingly leads little
Johnny to the circus. Everybody
enjoys Anderson's stories. Just as
everybody enjoys "Alice In Wonder
land." In fact, children get. only the
husks of a book like "Alice." The
kernel Is far too deep for them. Alice,
with all her glrllshness, is mistress of
a profound philosophy which none of
the dream people she 'falls in with
can refute. She Is an accomplished
dialectician who is never at a loss for
unanswerable arguments-. The won
der Is that with all this logical skill
she is still such a perfect little girl.
Her metaphysics, which is as deepas
Plato's, never scared a child yet.
What man ever better deserved im
mortality than the mathematician who
created Alice among the whirl of his
x's and y's?
TIME TO GET OCT OF DEBT.
Soon after return of good Vlmes,
following the depression of 1893, The
Oregonian repeatedly urged that
cities and counties should take ad
vantage of the good times and get
out f dobt. During prosperous pe
riods the people are able to pay taxes
in excess of those necessary for cur
rent expenses. If a city has gone into
debt during hard times, it should
take advantage of the first industrial
revival to get square with the world
again. Many of the cities of the state
acted upon the suggestion, btft others
have been running deeper Into debt
than ever, and, if another reversal
should be experienced, they would
find their Interest charges a grievous
burden.
There are several good reasons why
a city must go into debt during hard
times. In the first place, the people
are not able to pay high taxes. Again.
by going into debt for public im
provements, employment is provided
for the laboring men at a time when
they need it most. Then, too, a city
can get more public improvements
for the same amount of money during
hard times than they can get during
good times.' Men who are glad to do
ten hours of honest work for a dollar
and a half drag listlessly through
eight or nine hours of careless work
when times 'are good and wages are
2.60 a day or better for common
labor.
From every viewpoint, except, pos
sibly, that of rates on interest, the
best time to go into debt for public
improvements is during hard times.
The time to pay off the debt is when
Industrial conditions are good. Prac
tically every farmer in Oregon has
paid oft his mortgages since good
times returned, and most of them
have money in the bank which they
can spend clearing new land, if labor
conditions' should again become such
that they can get men at the wages
they feel Justified In paying for such
work. A city should be run pretty
much on the" same principles as a
private business.
THE BRIBE-TAKER'S DANGERS.
The Judge or the legislator or the
person occupying any position of trust
should remember that one who will
offer a bride is also low enough and
treacherous enough to expose the
bribe-taker whenever it suits his self
ish purposes. It Is true there is a
species of honor among thieves and
among rascals of all sorts, but it Is
an honor bounded by self-interest.
The man who succeeds In bribing a
Judge or a legislator often feels so
proud of his achievement that he
boosts of it to his Intimate friends.
and soon common rumor has the
story of the betrayal of public trust.
The bribe-giver has no respect what
ever for the bribe-taker. Instead, he
feels the utmost contempt. More
over he feels no 'obligation to protect
his victim, for he argues that the
service rendered was paid for In cash
or other valuable consideration, and
that no further obligation exists.
Tears may pass before he tells his
secret, but eventually he will con
fide to some one else the knowledge he
has of a corruptible and corrupted
character. The old saying that mur
der will out Is not nearly so often
true as that bribery will out The
murderer may be the sole witness to
his crime. There are always two wit
nesses to bribery, and generally there
are more, for the man who pays
money is usually not the man who
furnishes the money to be paid nor
the real beneficiary of the crime.
Exposure is by no means the worst
consequence of acceptance of a bribe.
Discovery carries with it a swift and
severe punishment, but It Is of com
paratively short duration: From the
time a bribe-taker commits his crime
he has a feeling of guilt, and prob
ably of remorse, which Is a constant
torture to him during his waking
hours. He has an uninterrupted fear
of exposure, just- as every secret crim
inal has. He sees an accusing glance
in every countenance. He has a per
sistent fear that the other party to
the act will tell what he knows.- The
trusted servant of the people who
betrays his trust for a consideration
occupies exactly the same position as
one Judas who betrayed his Master
for 30 pieces of silver.. When Judas
realized his position he brought the
30 pieces of silver to the chief priests
and elders, who had paid them to
him, saying, "I have sinned in that J
I have betrayed the Innocent , blood."
But they turned him away, saying,
"What is that to us? See thou to
that." And he cast down the pieces
of silver in the temple and went and
hanged himself.
SAVE THE GAME OF OREGON.
Undoubtedly the invaluable Chinese
(Denny) pheasant will be extermi
nated in Oregon unless adequate pro
tection 6hall , be afforded by law.
There is now an 'open season of 60
days, and it Is nothing less than a
sickening carnival of slaughter. The
country sportsman has of course
filled his game bag with all. he could
shoot and eat prior, to October 1, for
your farmer observes the unwritten
law when it comes to game on his own
premises and takes what he can get
whenever he wants it. But with the
city sportsman it is different. He
owns no farms, and has therefore no
lien on its game, and he encounters
trespass signs wherever he goes, and
perhaps a mighty vigilant deputy
game warden, who Is looking for
game also, in the form of the man
from town. So the city sportsman
stays at home till the law says he
may hunt Chinese pheasants, and
then he goes out and leaves a trail
of devastation all over the Willamette
Valley, tearing down fences, tramp
ing down grain and otherwise mak
ing himself a nuisance and. a terror.
No. wonder the farmer "has it in"
for the city invader.
Yet game ought to be protected. As
the Oregon Fish and. Game Associa
tion suggests, no Chinese pheasants
should be shot by anybody for twq.
years; the- wholesale slaughter of
ducks 'should be stopped; elk should
not be killed at all; and trout-fish
lng should have due limitation. These
are the principal features of needed
legislation; but there should.be also
a complete and harmonious game
code. Will the Legislature do rjiy
thing about it?
FKEMATCRE FOOTBAXX.
What with the football craze run
ning riot In the grammar schools, the
strain to make money for athletic
sports in the high schools and "fra
ternities" and "sororities" in "both as
side issues, the honest purpose of the
public schools has become largely an
unknown quantity and the taxpayers'
money and the conscientious efforts
of teachers to lay the foundation of
a useful education In the minds of
their pupils are alike being in a
measure squandered.
The way out of this labyrinth is
simple and straight, though possibly
it will not be easy. Let football be
forbidden to grammar school pupils,
and fraternities and sororities be in
terdicted in high schools. There are,
indeed, successful and experienced ed
ucators who do not sanction the or
ganization of football teams In high
schools, since it has been found that
the enthusiasm and rivalry ' engen
dered by the game detract from the
time and energy that should be given
to study in college preparatory
schools. However that may be, the
introduction of football Into grammar
schools encourages a boisterous, roys-
tering spirit and disregard for the
comfort and convenience of others
and threatens to make these schools
become schools of bad manners for
both girls and boys. If any one doubts
this statement let him take passage
on a suburban car that carries a vic
torious grammar school football team
and their "rooters" to their homes
after the game, and be convinced.
" OREGON'S INDUSTRIAL PROGRESS.
Oregon people live on eggs and but
ter of Nebraska and Minnesota. They
consume vast quantities of Middle
West pork. They send to California
and elsewhere for honey, pickles. Jel
lies and canned fruits. They bring in
trainloads . and shiploads of coal,
while their water-powers are wasting
vast heat and power. They send
away for most of their articles of
clothing. Even their supply of iron
comes from afar. And so on down
a very long list.
Of course, Oregon sends away prod
ucts in exchange for those Imported.
This exchange makes a big trade.
The' wealth going and coming is tre
mendous. But it will be noted that
much of what goes away depletes the
resource from which it came. So of
wheat and lumber and fish. Large
numbers of persons worry about it
and say Oregon is sapping the
strength of its soil and forest and
stream.
The change cannot come of a sud
den. People and physical conditions
will have to be adjusted to each other
by gradual industrial progress, be
fore farmers of Umatilla County will
cease to sell their grain abroad, and
will consume It at home, as for ex
ample In raising hogs. Umatilla
County some day may be a great hog
center. Then it will not be necessary
for Pendleton to import Its pork from
Omaha. The Enterprise Chieftain, a
newspaper of Wallowa County, Uma
tilla's next door neighbor, answers a
Portland criticism of that "hog-rals-Ing
district" as follows:
Farmers ere not planting- this or raising
that u a matter of sentiment. They are In
the bus!ii for profit and as soon u they
can make more money raising hog-i In East
ern Oregon than they can at something- else,
iu.it that soon will they raUe bogs sufficient
to feed the entire Pacific Slope nd enough
over to furnish bacon, bams and sidemeat
for oar brown brothers in the Philippines.
Meanwhile the Eastern Oreg-on farmer will
go on raising- that which pays him best, and
pays him beat the year It Is raised. He
will Impoverish the soli regardless, if it
pays to do It hero and now.
There Is no necessity for sermonizing In
this county. The farmers here ere awake
to their opportunities in the stock Ime. Some
of the finest ranches In this valley have been
paid with the profits of hog-raising. 'With
the railroad to add from to 1 cent to the
price, no doubt many more farmers will en
gage In the business, and those sow In will
continue on a larger scale.
This states the proposition directly.
Wallowa farmers will go into hog
ralslng on a large scale when driven
to it by waning profits of the present
system. This makes it Impossible to
accomplish the needed reform at
once, or perhaps soon. Farming, like
trade. Is not a matter of sentiment
If the tradesman can make more
money selling foreign goods than,
home-made goods he will deal in the
foreign goods. This Is the case with
the shopmen of Portland.
This should not. i however, stay the
effort to build up home Industries.
The effort will continue redoubled, of
course, ' But it brings to mind that
the activities of all peoples are prod
ucts of industrial experience and
progress. The Industrial character of
any people is established by patient
Industry and changed In the same
way. Looking at the particular In
dustry that characterizes any country,
one sees many generations of develop
ment behind it, prompted by peculiar
conditions of soil and climate and In
telllgece. Several parts of Oregon are
thus developing apple culture and
others the butter and cheese industry.
Some day In a similar manner may
come flax culture to which the Wil
lamette Valley Is said to be especially
adapted. Oregon is hardly more than
60 years old. It has been in touch
with the world's industrial currents
little more than a generation. Time
will bring out particular and excelling
activities. And there will be no seri
ous depletion of resources. That is
the croak of the pessimist. Consider-
ing time and opportunity, one sees
that Oregon has done very well, in
deed. Every public school should be con
ducted at least six . months in every
year and the law should be amended
so as to establish this minimum term.
Possibly, however, there, might be cir
cumstances which would warrant ex
ceptions to the rule, and there should
be some provision by which districts
could be relieved from a forfeiture of
their entire apportionment for failure
to maintain a school for the full pe
riod. A six months' term would neces
sitate a special tax in some districts
that have not levied them in the past,
but such levies can as well be made
by one district as by another. The
Inhabitant of the rural district thinks
the city district can best afford to
levy a special tax, but he overlooks
the fact that the city property-owner
has a city tax to pay as well as a
school district tax, and, in- Portland,
he has a port tax in addition. The
remote school district usually gets a
large portion of its revenue from non
resident owners of vacant land.
Viewed from every standpoint, the.
rural district is as able to maintain
school six months as the city district
is to maintain it nine or ten months.
A law fixing six months as the mini
mum will do much to raise the stand
ard of education in Oregon.
The condition of Governor-elect
Cosgrove, of Washington, continues
to be far from satisfactory and is.
Indeed, so serious as to oause his
family and friends the greatest anx
iety. HIa disease has been pronounced
chronic and the plain Inference is
that It is incurable and likely to ter
minate fatally within a few weeks.
It is to be regretted that this diag
nosis had not been made in time to
save him the worry, excitement and
labor of the campaign which resulted
In his election. The victory is a bar
ren one for him and for those who
labored with him to promote it. The
work and worry of a hotly contested
political campaign are trying upon
the nerves of a man who is in per
fect health, and must necessarily
lower the resistant powers of a can
didate whose vital forces are weak
ened by disease. Of course, had Mr.
Cosgrove or his friends suspected the
hopelessness of his malady he would
have been spared the effort, and pos
sibly thereby his life would have been
prolonged for many months. How
ever this may be, his present con
dition Is one to excite -the most sin
cere sympathy and regret.
The septic tank, the successful op
eration of which has been conclusively
demonstrated, will do more than any
one thing to improve the sanitary con
ditions surrounding country homes.
The Country Life Commission -would
do well to encourage by Its Indorse
ment the general use of this means
of getting rid of filth. The septic
tank is a comparatively inexpensive
receptacle for all the refuse of a home
and has important advantages over
the sewer as it Is known to the city.
The effectiveness of the septic tank
has been proven by practical use at
two large public Institutions in Ore
gon, the Chemawa Indian School and
the Asylum Farm. All the refuse
from these Institutions flows into sep
tic tanks and, after being purified by.
natural processes, goes out into open
ditches, giving offense to no one. If
farm homes were provided with this
means of disposing of sewage, there
would be no danger of contracting
disease from Infected well water and
much less probability of disease
germs being carried by flies to the
kitchen, dining-room or milk-house.
Of all the contemptible bunco men
on earth, the lowest la the villain who
dupes honest, hard-working girls and
women by holding out false promises
of pay for the work they do. When
such a man has been convicted, he
should be safely guarded lest the
manly men of the community seize
him and either treat him to a coat of
tar and feathers or hang him to the
nearest lamp-post. The , bunco man
who preys upon women eager to earn
an honest living Is lower in the scale
of humanity than ho "who lives off
the earnings of fallen women, (or the
bunco man robs the women com
pletely, and tries to start them on a
downward course, while the other
species of human vulture has at least
the generosity to leave the women
part of their earnings.
In Just three weeks from the time
that Fran-els J. Hcney received a
pistol shot wound in the head that
was at first supposed to be fatal, the
plucky prosecutor left the hospital
and retired to the country with his
wife. He expects to complete his re
covery In a few", weeks and early in
the new year to be back in the court
room from which but now ' he was
carried In a presumably dying condi
tion. All of which goes to show that
his work is not yet finished and to
sustain the belief that he will live to
complete it Mr. Heney has the con
solation that Is aald to have sustained
a philosophical old turkey who was
being taken to market he Is "tough."
The dairymen will be in annual ses
sion this week. The Country Life
Commission should be in session at
the same time, for there are a lot
of dairymen who would like to have
help in solving the question how to
run a dairy farm without being tied
down at home 365 days In the year.
If Judge Root isn't guilty the pun
ishment he has already received will
win him sympathy enough to keep
him on the bench the rest of his life.
But even an "indiscretion" In matters
of administration of Justice is a seri
ous affair.
If those Castellane kids were in
Portland it wouldn't take 30 minutes
to get them Into the custody of the
Boys' and Girls' Aid Society.
From the looks of things, if the
charter revision committee had at
tempted less it would have accom
plished more.
It is no wonder that some lawyers
have learned to imitate their clients
and ceased to fear the laws against
murder.
We suppose that there will be no
attempt In Congress to put free soup
on the dutiable list.
Next year we are going to see If
those big apples really grow on trees.
TERCENTENARY OF
JOHN MILTON, the author of "Par
adise Lost," was born in Bread
street Cheapslde, London, F.ng
land, December 9, 1608, and was the
son of John Milton, a scrjvener. Feb
ruary 12, 1624-23, tha future poet, at
the age of 16 years and 2 months, was
entered as a student of Christ's College,
Cambridge, in -the grade of a '-lesser
pensioner." Milton's academic course
lasted seven years and five months, or
from February,- 1624-25, to July, 1632.
His college nickname was "the lady,"
because of the peculiar grace of his
personal appearance. His reputation
for scholarship and literary genius, ex
traordinary even then, was more than
confirmed during the latter portion of
his residence at Cambridge
Milton had wished to become a cler
gyman, but abandoned that resolution,
his reasons principally being that "tyr
anny had invaded the church." Began
a life of leisurely Independence, dedi
cated to scholarship and literature. In
the Summer of 1643, Milton married
Mary Powell, of Forest Hill, near Ox
ford, she being 17 and Milton 35. The
Powell family was Royalist, while Mil
ton was a Parliamentarian. Wife soon
left him, and Milton began a public
protest against the existing law and
the theory of marriage. In 1645 his
wife again Joined him. Ha became a
Secretary of State under Cromwell.
Name of Milton's second wife was
Katherlne Woodcock, whom he married
in 1656, but she died 15 months' after
ward. Milton and Cromwell knew each
other, intimately. Milton Just escaped
the scaffold at the restoration under
Charles II.
Milton's third wife was Elizabeth
Mitishull, whom he married in 1662-63.
For 18 years he had been building up
an epic poem which eventually assumed
shape af "Paradise Lost," and thls,poem
was finished before July, 1665. It was
sold to a London printer for five
pounds sterling, the promise of another
five pounds sterling after the sale of
the first edition of 1300 copies, and the
further promise of two additional sums
of five pounds sterling each after the
sale of two more editions of the same
size respectively all his copyright and
commercial interest in "Paradise Lost"
being gone forever. In 1671 appeared
Milton's "Paradise Regained."
November 8, 1674, Milton died of
"gout struck in," or gout fever, at the
age of 65 years and 11 months.
A few extracts from Milton's famous
poems follow:
L'ALLEGRO.
Hence, loathed Melancholy,
Of Cerberus and blackest Midnight
born
In Stygian cave forlorn,
"Mongst horrid shapes and shrieks
and sights unholy!
Find out some uncouth cell,
Where brooding Darkness spreads
his Jealous wings
And the night-raven sings;
There under ebon shades and low
browed rocks,
As ragged as thy locks.
In dark Cimmerian desert ever dwell.
But come, thou goddess fair and free.
In heaven yclept Euphrosyne,
And by men heart-easing Mirth,
Whom lovely Venus, at a birth
With two sister Graces more.
To ivy-crowned Bacchus bore;
Or whether as some sager sing:
The frolic wind that breathes the
Spring.
Zephyr, with Aurora playing
As he met her once a-Maylng,
There, on beds of violet blue
And fresh-blown roses wash'd in dew,
FiU'd her with thee, a daughter fair.
So buxom, blithe, and debonair.
Haste thee, nymph, and bring with thee
Jest and youthful Jollity,
OuIds and cranks and wanton wiles.
Nods and becks and wreathed smiles.
Such as hang on Hebe's cheek
And love to live in dimple sleek;
Sport that wrinkled Care derides.
And Laughter holding both his sides.
Come, and trip it' as you go.
On the light fantastic toe;
And in thy right hand lead with thee
The mountain nymph, sweet Liberty;
And if I stive thee honor due.
Mirth, admit me of thy crew.
To live with her &.nd live with thee.
To unT-eproved pleasures free;
To hear the lark begin his flight
And singing startle the dull night.
From his watch-tower in the skies.
Till the dappled dawn doth rise;
Then to come in spite of sorrow,
And at my window bid good-morow,
Through the sweat-briar or the vine.
Or the twisted eglantine;
While the cock with lively din
Scatters the rear of darkness thin.
And to the stack or the barn-door
stontlv struts his dames before;
Oft listening how the hounds and horn
Cheerly rouse the slumbering Morn,
From the side of some hoar hill.
Through the high wood echoing shrill;
Sometime walking, not unseen.
By hedgerows elms, on hillocks green.
Rleht against the eastern gate
Where the great Sun begins hts state.
Roh'n In flames and amber ligm,
The clouds in thousand liveries dlght;
Whila the ploughman near at hand
Whistles o'er the furrowed land.
And the milkmaid slngeth blithe, .
And the mower whets his scythe.
And every shepherd tells his tale
Under the hawthorn in the dale.
0 HIS BMXB-NES3.
When I consider how my light Is spent
Ere half my days in this dark world
and wide.
And that one talent which is death to
hide
Lodg'd with me useless, though my soul
more bent
To serve therewith my Maker, and pre
sent My true account lest he returning
chide.
"Doth God exact day-labor, light de
nied?" I fondly ask. But Patience, to prevent
That murmur, soon replies. "God doth
not need
Either man's work, or his own gifts.
Who best
Bear his mild yoke, they serve him
best His state
is kingly: thousands at his bidding
speed.
And post o'er land and ocean without
rest;
They' also serve who only stand and
wait"
LTCIDAS.
AlasI what boots It with Incessant
care
To tend the homely slighted shepherd's
trade.
And strictly meditate the thankless
Muse?
Were it not. better done, as others use.
To sport with Amaryllis in the shade.
Or with the tangles of Neaera's hair?
Fame Is the spur that the clear spirit
doth raise
That last Infirmity of noble mind
"o scorn delights and live laborious
days;
But the fair guerdon when we hope to
find.
And think to burst out into sudden
blaze.
Comes the blind Fury with'th. ab
horred shears.
And slits the thiu-spun life. "But not
the praise,"
Phoebus replied, and touch'd my trem
bling ears:
Tame Is no plant that grows on mor
tal soil.
Nor In the glistering foil
Set off to the world, nor in broad rumor
lies,
But lives and spreads aloft by those
pure eyes
And perfect witness of all-Judging
Jove;
As he pronounces lastly on each deed.
Of so much fame in heaven expect thy
meed.
JOHN MILTON, POET
ON HIS DECEASED WIFE.
Methotight I saw my late espoused
saint
Brought to me Ilka Alcostls from the
grave.
Whom Jove's great son to her glad
husband gave.
Rescued from death by force though
pale and faint
Mine, as whom wash'd from spot of
child-bed taint
Purification In the old law did save.
And such as yet once more I trust to
have
Full slKht of her In heaven without re
straint. Came vested all in white, pure as her
mind.
Her face was veiled, yet to my fancied
sight
Love, sweetness, goodness, in her per
son shin'd
So clear as in no face with more de
light. But O as to embrace me sho lnclln'd,
I wak'd, she fled, and day brought
back my night!
COMl'S.
This Is the place, as well as I may
guess,
Whence even now the tumult of loud
mirth
Was rife and perfect In my listening
ear.
Yet nought but single darkness do I
find.
What might this beT A thousand fan
tasies Begin to throng into my memory,
Of calling shapes, and beckoning shad
ows dire.
And airy tongues that syllable men's
names
On sands and shores and desert wilder
nesses. These thoughts may startle well, but
not astound
The virtuous mind, that ever walks at
tended By a strong siding champion. Con
science. O, welcome, pure-eyed Faith, white
handed Hope.
Thou hovering angel girt with golden
wings.
And thou unhlemlsh'd form of Chastity!
I see ye visibly, and now believe
That He, the Supreme Good, to whom
all things ill
Are but as slavish officers of ven
geance. Would send a glistering guardian. If
need were,
To keep my life and honor unassall'd.
FESER09O.
Hence, vain deluding Joys.
The brood of Folly without father
bred!
How little you bestead.
Or fill the fixed mind with all your
toys!
Dwell in some idle brain,
And fancies fond with gaudy shapes
possess.
As thick and numberless
As the gay motes that people the
sunbeams.
Or Ukest hovering dreams.
The fickle pensioners of Morpheus'
train.
But hail, thou goddess sage and holy.
Hail, divinest Melancholy!
Whose saintly visage is too bright
To' hit the sense of human sight,
And therefore to our weaker view
O'erlaid with black, staid Wisdom's
hue;
Black, but such as in esteem
Prince Memmon's sister might beseem.
Or that starr'd Ethlop queen that
strove
To set her beauty's praise abo-e
The Sea-Nymphs, and their powers of
fended. Tet thou are higher far descended:
Thee bright-haired Vesta long of yore
To solitary Saturn bore:
His daughter she In Saturn's reign
Such mixture was not held a stain.
Oft in gljmmering bowers and glades
He met her, and in secret shades
Of woody Ida's Inmost grove.
While yet there was no fear of Jove
Come, -pensive nun, devout and pure.
Sober, steadfast and demure,
All in a robe of darkest grain.
Flowing with majestic train.
And sable stole of cypress lawn
Over thy decent shoulders drawn.
Coma, but keep thy wonted state.
With even step and musing gait.
And looks commercing with the skies.
Thy rapt soul sitting in thine eyes;
There, held In holy passion still.
Forget thyself to marble, till
With a sad leaden downward oast
Thou fix them on the earth as fast
WORDSWORTH'S SONNET TO
MILTON.
Milton! thou shouldst be living at this
hour:
England hath need of thee; she la a
fen
Of stagnant waters; altar, sword an
pen.
Fireside, the heroio wealth of hall and
bower.
Have forfeited their ancient English
dower
Of Inward happiness. We are selfish
men;
Oh! raise us up, return to us again;
And give us manners, virtue, freedom,
power.
Thy soul was like a star, and dwelt
apart;
Thou hadst a voice whose sound was
like the sea:
Pure ns the naked heavens, majestic,
Tree. ... ,
So didst thou travel on life s oommon
way.
In . oheorful godliness; and yet thy
heart
The lowliest duties on herself did lay.
Ages of College Presidents.
Omaha Bee.
Almost without exception, the great
educators who have brought name and
fame to the leading colleges and uni
versities in the United States were In
the prime of life when called to assume
executive control. Taking up the names
most quickly recognized by the general
public and coupling with them their
age at the beginning of their incum
bency, we have this table:
Institution. President. Age.
California t.-t.j.... . .. -
City of New York.John H. F'"1;, -J
Columbia lul "Yv
.rnPll Jacob G. Schurmiin.
.4U
..:;7
'. .v.)
. .41
. .4 (
. .4J
. .."'rt
. .KS
Harvard Charles W. Eliot...
Illinois ,, ; '' '
Iwa George E. M.-.Lean.
.tnhns HODkins ...Daniel j C. Gllman...
Michigan James B. Angoll
Minnesota VViii
Missouri A- lloss H"1.',
.4l
Stanford David Starr Jordan. . -4'J
Williams Hurry a. . iim. . .
Wisconsin Charles R. :.n Ulse.-I
Yale Arthur T. Hadloy 4.1
While every rule has its exceptions.
. t M,,n,IFaf ,,1 .rtllsr nrpslrlerit and
wm a n. .to. u. ,
n.t... ,.nt,e rt rvint orvlc6 tO
UIO UUO VY,JV I.w.w . ........
the Institution over which he presides
is, according 10 mo records.
who starts in with a good academic
setting and some tested educational
experience before he nas passuu. wuui
beyond tne' 4U-year niarK.
'secretive British Diplomacy.
Manchester Guardian.
The secrecy of diplomacy is carried
to much greater . lengths in England
ihan in most European countries. Not
only are statements in raruameni
fewer, but they are much less frank
than they are In Germany or In France.
Why They Stay Away.
Boston Transcript.
ti-i,.. n.nr. mon Hon't co to church. The
miesi e-MJiauanu" -
that they resent being asked to pledge
sums, large and email, on their way out
for various side projects. Next!