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THE SUNNY SOUTH
Literature ^
Edited by
LUCIAN L KNIGHT
; Religion
Irwlnj 3afc>.ffler *> Creator o/ "Eben Holden” and Aothoro/
“D’ri and 1** now running in Century
|RANCE has already com
menced to make active
preparations for cele
brating the centennial
anniversary of the birth
of Victor Hugo. Born at
Besancon Feb. 26, 1802,
the great Freneh author
lived until May 23. 1SS5,
v.-lien he closed his
career at Paris. With
the addition of only sev
enteen more years to his
age, which was far ad
vanced Into the patri
archal estate, he might
have enjoyed the privi
lege of partaking in the
festivities which his
countrymen are now planning in his hon
or, but death was too eager for her prey
to grant him this extension.
In this connection it will be of interest
to know that the author's eldest daugh
ter, Mile. Adele Hugo, is still living at
the age of seventy-seven years, but she
has long been virtually dead on account
of her eclipsed mental condition. Her
story is an unhappy one. In early life she
was engaged to be married to an English
officer, who died in India. On learning of
her lover's death her mind became im
paired and she has never since regained
her reason, in spite of the best medical
attention. She has not even been made
aware of her father’s death and she fre
quently speaks of him as though she still
considered him alive.
Victor Hugo's sole heirs at the time of
his death, with the exception of his un
fortunate daughter, were his two grand
children. M. George Hugo and Mme. Jean
t'harcot. whose parents died comparative
ly early in life. The author's literary ex
ecutors were M. Auguste Vacquerie, who
died in 1825, and M. Paul Maurice, who
Is still living. M. Maurice Is in possession
of many curious drawings and manu
scripts of the author and he will probably
put them on exhibition next year.
Much interest is being taken in Bertha
Runkle's excellent historical romance,
"The Helmet of Navarre,” which is now
running in the Century, and widespread
curiosity exists to know something of the
author. Miss Runkle is perhaps the'
youngest of the group of present-day au
thors. most of whom are remarkably
youthful. She is barely more than twenty
years of age and is extremely girlish in
appearance. She is a native of New Jer
sey; has never enjoyed collegiate ad
vantages; has traveled comparatively lit
tle and has never been to France. This
Information will be surprising to our read
ers in view of the fact that the scene of
4iss Runkle's story is laid in France and
'^•als with the struggles of the Huegenots,
but whatever may be her deficiencies she
has certainly made up for them in the
self-educating researches which she has
made in the department of history, liter
ature and art, and she writes with an
easy grace which betokens an unusuallv
rich harvest of successful authorship. She
has already scored an achievement of no
ordinary magnitude in “The Helmet cf
Navarre.” This work will come out in
book form on May 1st next, making it3
appearance simultaneously in America,
England and Canada.
Oscar Fay Adams's “Dictionary of
American Authors," published by Hough
ton, Mifflin & Co., has been revised and
enlarged and four editions of the work
have been exhausted. This little encyclo
paedia of biographical information has
7.500 short sketches of authors.
Last year's popular novels, according
to The Bookman, have found purchasers
up to dgte In the following preferred or
der: “Eben Holden.” 250.000: “Alice of
Old Vincennes," 175,000; "The Reign of
Law ” I**- 000 ! “In tho Pal3ce of the
King.” 106,000; “The Master Christian."
93,000; “The Cardinal’s Snuff Box.” 70.000;
“Eleanor,” 60,000; “Tommy and Grizel.”
CO.000; “Stringtown on the Pike." 50.000;
“The Redemption of David Corson." 50.-
000, and "Monsieur Beaueaire,” 12.000.
Such favorites as "David Harum.' "Ja
nice Meredith.” "Richard Camel,” "To
Have and To Hold” and "The Gentle
men from Indiana” are not included in
this llkt because they belong properly to
the preceding season.
From the Macmillan company we have
Just received an attractive volume enti
tled: "The Making of Christopher Fer-
ringham.” by Beulah Marie Dix. who is
already well known in current literature
as the author of "Hugh Gwyeth” and
"Soldier Rigdale.” This latest story
from her pen carries the reader back to
the time of John Endicott and the scenes
are laid 4n the colony of Massachusetts,
although the hero himself is of Cavalier
stock.
No one writes more entertainingly of
New England life and character than does
Alice Brown, the author of “Meadow
Gram" and "Tiverton Tales." “King's
End.” her latest novel, takes its name
from ft New Hampshire hamlet In which
its scenes are laid, and is concerned
with the romance of a New England girl
of fine type whose religious idealism
threatened both her own and her lover’s
happiness. The story presents Interest
ing phases of New England character
and is quite gyosylike in its treatment of
outdoor life. The Riverside Press will
issue the volume this month.
Mr. Havelock Ellis, in his latest vol
ume. “The Nineteenth Century,'' just
published by Messrs. Small, Maynard &
Co., places himself unmistakably among
the most advanced socialists. This book,
which is sub-titled “An Utopian Retro
spect,” is written in the form of a con
versation between two students, centuries
hence, who discuss "without prejudice”
and also "without gloves" the inconsis
tencies of the century so recently dead
to us that most of us still feel the re
straint of de mortuis nil nisi bonuns.
Says one of these future students:
"Civilization? You surely would not go
so far as to call the nineteenth century
civilized? Apart from the inhumanity
of those times in all the matters that
most nearly concern men, I thought that
even the most elementary details off
social organization—not only in the more
fundamental matters, which were diffi
cult to arrange, but even In the simplest
matters—were then still unknown. I have
always understood that, although it was
the custom at that time to write letters,
they had no international postage; that,
though they were always traveling, they
had no international coinage, and that,
though nations were ©f more importance
than we can conceive—and therefore
the need of intercommunication a pri
mary necessity—they had no international
language. I do not see how you can
speak of ‘civilization’ under such condi
tions.”
Many of our readers will be interested
in a work which has just come from the
press of Laird & Lee, of Chicago, enti
tled: "The New Century Standard Wri
ter,” by Alfred B. Chambers. This lit
tle volume is attractively bound and is
full of just the kind of Information
which is daily sought after by numbers
of people.
We have just received from Dr. B. C.
Platt, of Los Angeles, Cal., a .copy of
the Bonanza Rabbitry Manual, which is
the standard authority on the subject
of the Belgian hare In the United States.
On account of the rapidly growing In
terest which is being taken in this neV
branch of animal culture, we call the
attention of our readers to the publi
cation which lies before us and we adl
vise them, if they desire information
on the subject to communicate with Dr.
riatt. Dr. Platt has devoted much of
his time to the culture of the Belgian
hare since its first introduction into this
country from Europe several years ago.
Books and
Authors
Six editions of Maurice Hewlett's latest
work, "Richard Yea and Nay,” have
been printed since the date of publication
on November 1st last. Up to date 45,000
copies of the work have been sold.
“Ten Months a Captive Among Fili
pinos” is the title of an interesting work
of adventure which Charles Scribner’s
Sons have just published from the pen of
Albert Donnichsen. At the tim& of which
he writes the author was in the United
States army in the Philippines.
Jamiei-on-Higglns Company, of Chica
go. announce that on March 15th they
will issue probably one of the most sen
sational novels of the year. The title
of the story is “The Warners,” and the
author is Mrs. Gertrude. Potter Daniels,
daughter of the y.cel magnate, Orrin W.
Potter, and sister of Miss Margaret Hor
ton Potter, who, last year, leaped into
fame on account of her book "Uncanon
ized.” The story concerns the working
classes of Chicago. Ten thousand copies
will be printed In the first edition of the
work.
Victor Hugo Love Letters" will come
from the press of Harper & Brothers
some time during the present month.
Dr. Barry’s new novel, “The Wizard’s
Knot," will be published in this country
and in England March 15th.
"Hamer's History of the War in the
Philippines," just issued, is an illustrated
volume containing the stories from Ma
nila of various war correspondents, all
carefully edited in the light of recent
events, and illustrated with drawings and
photographs taken on the spot.
“The Octopus,” the new novel - by
Frank Norris, to be published next week
by Doubleday, Page & Co., is to be the be
ginning of an interesting undertaking
Though a novel complete in itself, this
will be the first of a trilogy of the epic
of wheat, or three related novels, the
first dealing with the —oduction of wheat,
the second with its distribution, and the
third with the consumption of American
wheat in Europe, all together forming the
story of a wheat crop from the time of
its sowing in California, through the
stock exchange gambling based on it in
Chicago, to its use as the relief of a
European famine.
Illinois Librarians
Honor Carnigie
Andrew Carnegie’s liberal gifts to many
American towns and cities in the interest
of free libraries have warmly endeared
him to the popular heart and so wide
spread has been his munificence that no
section of the country can fail to Join in
the chorus of grateful appreciation which
his sifts have awakened.
Several days ago seventy-five librari
ans, representing the Illinois State Li
brary Association, met at Lincoln, 111.,
and In addition to unanimously electing
Mr. Carnegie an honorary member, adopt
ed the following resolutions:
"Whereas. The Illinois State Library
Association, now assembled In annual
meeting in the city of Lincoln. 111., be
lieves that Mr. Andrew Carnegie, of New
York city, has, within a f°w months,
given to numerous cities, of our state
large sums of money_to be expended in
the erection of free public library build
ings in those cities, ample in each case
for the purpose designated and unham
pered by petty restrictions of any kind;
and.
“Whereas, In justice to our high appre
ciation of said "eoerostty along lines in
which we are especially interested, it is
fit and proper that we should take public
cognizance of the same. Now. there
fore.
"Resolved. That the Illinois State Li
brary Association, for Itself and in the
name of the public libraries of our state,
extends to Mr. Carnegie grateful recog
nition and hearty thanks for an appreci
ation of the value of free public libraries
manifested by him in gifts unparalleled
for munificence in the history of Illinois,
and, taken with similar gifts to many
libraries in other states, unparalleled in
the history of the .world.
"Resolved, That an engrossed copv of
this action, signed by the president and
secretary of this association, be sent to
Mr. Carnegie, and that tho same be en
tered on the records of this association
and given to the press of our state.”
Material for Histori
cal Novels Scarce
The writer of the present day who sits
down to construct the historical romance
Is necessarily subject to a great many
limitations in the matter of his period
and of the historical personages whom he
aims to Introduce. That part of history
which is in any way familiar to the gen
eral reader has been pretty thoroughly
threshed out. For instance, when a few
years ago Mrs. Frances Hodgson Burnett
published “A Lady of Quality,” almost
every reviewer alluded to the fact that
the period and setting had been pre
empted by “The History of Henry Es
mond,” and that Mrs. Burnett’s book
would Inevitably invite a rather crushing
comparison. Mr. Maurice Hewlett writes
“Richard Yea and Nay," an admirable
story, and yet one which obliges the
reader mentally to contrast Mr. Hewlett's
“Coeur de . Hon” and his time with the
monarch and the environment of Scott's
Kettle Creek Church sad Cei
letery f Photographed Specially for B»e Sunny Sooth by
S F Hoikinson
‘Tvanhoe.’’ French history can be cov
ered almost completely by naming a few
very familiar books. We have the time of
Louis XI in "Quentin Durward.” Still a
later period is treated in Victor Hugo's
"Notre Dame." The reign of the merry
King Francois I has been treated in a
number of romances. Of subsequent
French history there is hardly a decade
that Is not covered by one of the swiftly
moving novels of the elder Dumas. After
"Marguerite de Valois,” "La Dame de
Monsoreau” and "Les Quarante Cinq,”
what can one find to say about the years
preceding the followingthe massacre of St.
Bartholomew? Novelists may find a cer
tain inspiration in the power of Riche
lieu, the dramatic scenes of the Fronde
and tlje early and glorious years of Louis
XIV, but those times belong and ■always
will belong to "Les Trois Mousquetaire,
Vingt Ans Apres and Le Vlcomte de
Gragclonne.”
—Bookman.
Dr Frank O Ticknor; Author of
Dixie's Sweeteft Lyrics
By L L KNIGHT
Ofttimes, in the reversals of Judgment
which time is called upon to make, ob
scure poets are crowned with an aureole
which partially atones for the years of
neglect in which they have been permitted
to suffer, while poets, who have been lion
ized and laureled under the impulse of'
warm popular enthusiasm, are quietly
dropped from the list of favorites, seldom
to be remembered in the world's after
thought. Sidney Lanier is one of the
number of divinely Inspired American
poets whose names have been lifted out
of obscurity in recent years to command
the homage of poetry-lovers in both hem
ispheres; and, if the mission of the twen
tieth century is to continue this winnow
ing process, another member of the tune
ful craft whose name will take on fresh
brilliancy in the glow of the world’s be
lated appreciation is Dr. Frank O. Tick
nor who, like Sidney Lanier, is one of
Georgia’s coi.tributicns to the song-group
of American authors.
But in justice to many thousands of
leaders in both sections it must be said
that Dr. Ticknor's pjems have found
countless admirers among those who have
never heard of Dr. Ticknor himself and
who treasure the pcems, either in memory
or in scrap books, simply as anonymous
gems which have come from seme un
known author. Frequently I have seen
his poems copied into newspapers and
periodicals without any credit marks
whatever, and equally as often I have
heard public speakers In appropriate con
nections quote favorite lines and stanzas
from his splendid lyrics without being
aide to tell who wrote them. This anom-
olous condition of things is difficult to ex
plain. but nevertheless it exists. To cite
an illustration, no pcem is more frequent
ly quoted or more warmly admired in this
section of its ryhthmic beauty and ex
quisite sentiment than “The Virginians of
the Valley,” and yet not one person out
of ten knows that the poem is from the
pen of Dr. Ticknor. Since the poem is
short it will not materially increase the
length of this article to insert its stir
ring lines in this connection. Here it is
in full: j
The knightllest of. the knightly race
That. ssince the days of old.
Have kept the lamp of chivalry
Alight in hearts of gold.
The kindliest of the kindly band
That rarely hating ease
Yet rode with Spotswood round the land
And Raleigh round the seas. .
Who climbed the blue Virginian hills
Against embattled foes
And planted there, in valleys fair.
The lily and the rose.
Whose fragrance lives In many lands.
Whose beauty stars the earth
And lights the hearths of happy homes
With loveliness and worth.
We thought they slept—the sons who
kept (
The names of noble sires—
And slumbered while the darkness crept
Around their vigil fires.
Buy, aye. the Golden Horseshoe Knights
Their Old Dominion keep.
Whose foes have found enchanted ground
But not a knight asleep."
This favorite gem was inspired by the.
gallantry of tl.o Virginia soldiers who
participated with Stonewall Jackson in
the valley campaigns. Another poem
whose admirers are found on both sides
of the line and which has often been
read with tearful emotions by the veter
ans of the blue, as well as of the gray.
Is "Little Giffin of Tennessee.” This
poem, which competent critics have pro
nounced one of the finest productions of
the war period of American literature,
runs as follows: *
"Out of the focal and foremost fire.
Out of the hospital walls as dire;
Smitten of graDeshot and gangrene—
Eighteenth battle and he sixteen—
Spectre such as we seldom see.
Little Giffin of Tennessee.
" ’Take him and welcome!' the surgeons
said;
Little the doctor can help the. dead!
So we took him, and brought him where
The balm was sweet in the summer air;
And we laid him down in a wholesome
bed—
Utter Lazarust heel to head!
"And we watched the war with abated
breath—
Skeleton boy against skeleton death.
Months of torture, how many such!
Weary weeks ef the stick and crytch.
And still a glint of the steel blue eye
Told of a spirit that wouldn’t die.
"And didn't. Nay, more.! In death’s
despite
The crippled skeleton ‘learned to write.’
Dear mother, at first, of course, and then
Dear captain, inquiring about the men.
Captain’s answer: ‘Of eighty and five
Giffin and I are left alive.’
“Word of gloom from the war one day:
Johnston Dressed at the front, they say.
Little Giffin was up and away.
A tear—his first—as he bade, good-bye
Dimmed the glint of his steel blue eye.
‘I’ll write, if spared.’ There was news
of the fight.
But none of Giffin; he did not write.
"I sometimes fancy that were I king
Of the princely knights of the" Golden
ring.
With the song of the minstrel in mine
ear,
And the tender legend that trembles here,
I’d give the best on his bended knee.
The whitest soul of my chivalry
For Little Giffin of Tennessee.”
Most of Dr. Tlckndr’s-poems were the
products of the war period, but they
arouse no sectional jealousies and ani
mosities, since mev reflect lie martial
enthusiasm without Its bitterness, and
many of them are gems of pathetic ten
derness, portraying its heroic sacrifices
and Its brave sufferings.
But Dr. Ticknor wrote_ under the In
spiration of other sentiments tharj those
of chivalry, as such poems 38 "Home,”
"Lady Alice.” "Rosalie," “Mary” and
others charmingly attest. Space will
permit the insertion of only one stanza
from the Doom on “Home,” which runs
in this wise:
“Bless that dear old angel Saxon
For the words he formed so well;
Little words, the nectar-waxen
Harvest o£ a honey cell,
Sealing all a summer's sweetness
In a single syllable:
For, of all his quaint word-building.
The queen cell of all the comb
Is that grand old Saxon mouthful.
Dear old Saxon heartful. Home.”
Some of Dr. Ticknor's numerous war
poems, in addition ,to those above cited,
may be mentioned as follows: “The
Sword of Raphael Semmes,” “Loyal,”
“Albert Sidney Johnston,” “Unknown,”
"Virginia,” “Georgia,” and- “Lee.” “The
Sword of Raphael Semmes" begins with
this splendid stanza:
“The billows plunge like steeds that bear
The knights with snow-white crests;
The sea-winds blare like ibugles where
The Alabama rests.
How unfortunate it is that such beauti
ful poems should not be associated in the
public mind with the author’s name. No
one can read them without being im
pressed with the fact that the author’s
genius, though expressing itself chiefly
In lyric strains, is one of rare poetic
quality and sweetness. He delighted in
simple words and he believed in making
his thoughts so transparently clear that
no one could mistake the meaning of his
lines. Language could not be more terse
ly put than in “Little Griffin of Tennes
see." Dr. Ticknor never labored in the
composition of his verses. With marvel
ous rapidity and grace he wrote as the
spirit moved him, and many of his best
poems were scrawled on the backs of
prescription blanks while he rode In the
saddle, going the rounds of his country
practice and gathering inspiration from
the song of the mocking bird and the
scent of the' violets. Dr. Ticknor spent
most of his life in the Immediate neigh
borhood of Columbus, Ga.. where he died
in 1874 at the age of fifty-two. He Is still
survived by his widow, Mrs. Rosa N.
Ticknor, who lives in Columbus, where
her serene and beautiful" o!d age is made
happy in the enjoyment of good health
and the love of many dear friends. Only
one edition of Dr. Ticknor’s poems has
ever appeared. This came out in 1879,
from the press of J. B. Lippincott & Co.,
and was accompanied by an introduction
from the pen of Paul H. Hayne, but the
south was just then entering upon an era
of Industrial development, when her ap
preciation of poetry Was temporarily
eclipsed by other interests; and since the
sale of the volume was not pushed with
the strenuous effort which publishers
nowadays employ, tt failed to arouse
much popular Interest. But times have
changed, and while the south is still
forging ahead with as much persistent
energy as ever along the highway of ma
terial progress, she is also looking after
the interests of her literature, and if
some enterprising house would now un
dertake to bring out another edition of
Dr. Ticknor's poems the venture would
be crowned with magnificent success. Mrs.
Ticknor is in possession of many poems
which were not included in the collec.ion
which J. B. Lippincott & Co. brought out
in 1879. and with the addition of this new
material the volume would present in
creased attractions which would make it
widely popular. During the twentieth
century it is fully expected that this gift
ed prince of song will come into his
birthright and that side by side with La
nier and Timrod and Hayne he will be
placed by universal consent in the pan
theon of Dixie's immortal poets.
AYCROSS, Ga., March
12.—It is always with a
feeling of awe that we
approach the "silent
city of the dead." and
when we know that the
“little log churoFl In the
lane” adjoining the
burying ground is the
one in which the old
pioneers of the county
worshiped the Al
mighty, our veneration
increases. In Ware
county it is an indis
putable fact' that "the
woods were God’s first
temple,” but about the
year 1810 the first church was. erected
at a point on Kettle creek three miles
west of where the courthouse now stands.
Very little is known of the early history
of this church. All denominations wor
shiped within its walls, however, and
many Is the rousing revival that has been
held there. It was here also that the
soldiers made their headquarters when
the Seminole Indians were making their
raids from the Okefinokee swamp.
For a long time Kettle Creek church
was the only place of worship within a
radius of twenty-five miles. It had no
resident minister and services were held
only when an itinerant preacher made his
rounds. On these occasions the people
rode in from all directions and held regu
lar camp meetings, in which singing,
shouting and other manifestations of
spiritual fervor made the woods ring.
About 1836, or Just before the Seminole
Indian outbreak, the old log church was
tom down and another erected in its
place. It continued as a union church
for some years and then became the prop
erty of the Methodist Episcopal church,
south. This denomination worshiped
there until 1S77, when the structure was
again torn down to make room for the
one now standing. •
About that time W. A. McDonald organ
ized the new Congregational church.
Almost the entire membership of the
Methodist church Joined the new denom
ination, which became the owner of the
church property. For twenty years the
Congregationaltats have held services
there and have grown in strength. Rev,
J. D. Miller, of Waycross, is. the present
minister. • He has been a resident of
Ware county for a number of years.
For some time past the old church has
been in an unsafe condition and its pas
tor- has been working to have a new
one erected in its place. His efforts have
at last been crowned with success. Lum
ber and other material is being hauled
to the grounds, plans have been drawn,
and soon the old structure will be torn
down to make room for a handsome new
building to cost about $1,000.
Adjoining the church is the Kettle
Creek cemetery, in which He the remains
of many of the first settlers of the
county. It has a very venerable appear
ance with Its moss grown tombstones
and monuments. Magniflcfnt live oaks,
cedars and weeping willows stand guard
over the graves of those who sleep be
neath the sod. Among the. interesting
relics of days gone by is a tombstone
over the graves of William Miller and
wife, Aimy. The latter died October 23.
1831, the former on November 27, 1837.
Among other prominent people buried
there are Mrs. Nancy Brewton, born 1804.
died 1846; Clopton Nicholls, who died in
Bad Blood
Breeds Humors
Boils, Pimples, Eruptions,
Sores, Debility, Languor,
Kidney Troubles, Indigestion and
That Tired Feeling,
All of which Hood’s Sarsaparilla
Cures, by purifying, enriching and
vitalizing the blood.
Blood troubles, left unchecked, in
crease and multiply just as naturally
as the weeds and thistles infesting
the soil.
They need the same radical treat
ment, too.
They should be rooted out in Spring.
HOOD'S
Sarsaparilla
Stops the breeding of disease gertna
and impurities in the blood.
It also imparts vitality and riohness,
and that means a strong, vigorous
body as well as a clear healthy skin.
You will look better and feel Bet
ter if von begin taking Hood’s Sarsa
parilla TODAY. It
Purifies
The Blood
As nothing else can.
“My son had pimples on his face, whiefc
after a while became a mass of sores.
“I began giving him Hood’s Sarsaparilla
and soon the sores were getting better.
“They finally healed without leaving a
scar.” Mae. L. Thbist, 7 Willow Avenue,
Hoboken, N. J.
1857; Colonel John T. Clough, the date of
whose demise was January 14, 1859.
Dr. Randall McDonald, grandfather of
Hon. John C. McDonald, Is buried in the
old cemetery. The inscription on h.is
tombstone Is as follows:
“D. Randall McDonald, born In Scot
land, Isle of Skie, April 27, 1797. Emi
grated to America with his parents at
eight years of age. Died in Ware coun
ty December 21, 1864, aged sixty-seven
years, seven months and twenty-seven
days.” His wife, Katharine, died July
4. 1877, aged seventy-seven years. She
was a daughter of William and Aimy
Miller. The inscriptions on the many
tombstones indicates that the early set
tlers all lived to a ripe old age. Nancv
Miller was eighty-six years old: John
Bachlot, eighty; Mrs. Delia Wilkinson,
seventy-eight.
Hon. W. A. McDonald, father of Hon.
John C. McDonald, died June 4, 1896, at
the age of seventy-nine. Hon. John B.
Cason, who died May 11, 1891, reached
the age of seventy-four. There are abou ’
two acres In the cemetery and It Is pret
ty well filled up with the Thigpens, Jef
fords, Sweats, Casons and others. T,he
ground has recently been inclosed with
a handsome and substantial wire fence.
In addition to being the oldest cemetery
in the county, it Is one of the best kept,
the people taking great pride in beauti
fying the last resting places of departed
relatives and friends.
^ Within the Steeple's Shadow ^
HAT is probably the old
est fragment of the
New Testament now in
this country has been/
received b y Dr.
William Copley Wins
low, of Boston, In a lot
of papyri sent from
Egypt for distribution
among American uni
versities.
Dr. Winslow is the
vice president of the
Egypt exploration fund.
He. says that the bit of
manuscript he has re
ceived from the agents
of the fund at Cairo Is
one of the most Interesting and ancient
documents in the world. This papyrus
was discovered In the excavations at
Oxyrhyhchus, about 150 miles south from
the City of Cato. Its date Is placed at
from 150 to 200 years after Christ by dif
ferent archaeological experts. It con
tains a large part of the first chapter
of the Gospel of Matthew and is found
to corroborate the texts of the Vatican
codices now used in the canonical gos
pels. One passage In the newly found
manuscript is identical with the author
ized version. It reads: "Joseph, thou
son of David, fear not to take unto thee
Mary, thy wife, for that which is con
ceived In her Is of the Holy Ghost.”
Twenty-nine of the papyri were sent to
the. University of Pennsylvania. Among
them Is one containing six chapters of
the first book of Thucydides, the date of
which is in the first century. There is
also a transcript of part of the first book
of the Iliad, the date of which is early
in the third century. Another bit of the
find has a demonstration of the fifth
proposition of the second book of Euclid,
and still another refers to the organiza
tion of a company for the purpose of
conducting a banking business as early
,at 83 A. D. Dr. Winslow has a world
wide reputation as an Egyptian archae
ologist. He was educated at Hamilton
coliege, was for a time employed as an
editorial writer on a New York paper,
and was afterwards editor of The Chris
tian Times. He has raised upward of
$100,000 for research in Egypt, and the.
treasures his ffeorts have unearthed are
priceless. Miss Amelia B. Edwards once
said of him that, with the exception of
Sir Erasmus Wilson, he had done more,
for discovery of matters pertaining to
biblical research than any other man.
Rev. Dr. George Frederick Wright, pro
fessor of harmony between science and
revelation at Oberlin university, writes
fTom Jerusalem to a friend in New York
that he has discovered reliable evidence
of the truth of the biblical account of
a universal deluge. Professor Wright has
been one year abroad, during which he
has traveled in Asia for the purpose of
discovering whether there are any geolog
ical signs of a deluge which might have
been of a character like that described in
Genesis.
Accompanied by his son, he traversed
Siberia ar.d went thence into Syria. His
very interesting letter reads as follows:
The account of the flood in the Bible
is not such as to lead us to expect much
direct geological evidence of it. A sub
mergence of a year several thousand
years ago would leave few signs which
are not obliterated by time.
The Bible history stands on its own
merits and has independent value. The
main question qf geological Interest is:
Are there insuperable objections to the
account? The answer to this .question
turns upen the geological theories con
cerning the possible or probable rate at
which changes of land levels may pro
ceed. Lyell’s theory of uniformitarian-
ism has been pushed too far and has had
tco much influence in discrediting the
theory of geological catastrophes. Pro
fessor Prestwlch's great work on geology
dees much to counteract the errors of
Lyell and his followers.
“Catastrophes comparable to the flood
are not strange things in geology. The
glacial period was cornected with a
series of catastrophes. I have traveled
12,000 miles in Asia to find evidences of
the glacial period and have found none.
There was no general glaciation of east
ern and central Asia as there was of
America and Europe.
“But I have found indisputable evi
dence of an extensive submergence of
the land extending to the base of Mount
Ararat, and that this submergence took
place subsequent to the appearance ot
man on the earth. The Russian geolo
gists have recently found remains of
man deep down in the deposits connected
with this period of submergence.
"The one point of certainty is that since
man’s appearance there has been a period
of instability in the earth's crust in north
ern and central Asia, which shows that
the biblical account of the flood is an en
tirely credible story.”
Professor Wright has spent most of his
sixty-three years of life in trying to prove
that the truths of science do not conflict
with the statements of fact 1n the sacred
scriputres He began his ministerial ca
reer as pastor of a Congregational church
in Vermont in 1862. Always an earnest
student of geology and zoology, his liter
ary contributions to these sciences have
been voluminous and interesting. His
work on the glacial epoch in relation to
Ohio, Indiana and Kentucky opened a new
era in this line of research. In 1892 he
was giver, the chair nt Oberlin he now
occupies, and he has filled it creditably.
Rev. Dr. Francis E. Clark, president of
the Christian Endeavor Society, has writ
ten an interesting book of travels, enti
tled "A New Way Around an Old World”
(Harper). It is devoted entirely to an ac
count of his journey from Vladivostok to
Moscow on the new trans-Siberian rail
way. It so happened that Mr. Clark,
with his wife and son, was a member of
the first party to cross Siberia wholly by
steam power. The last rail on the Baikal
section of the railway had been laid in
December, 18T9, but it was not until the
following summer that connection could
be riade with the steamers on the Amour
river, which completed the ail-steam
route.' Dr. Clark's journey was made
last June, after barely escaping from
China in time to avoid the boxer riots.
No one who reads this book will be
eager to try the new Siberian route a t
present. It Is not surprising that the
foreigners on that journey formed a
“Never Again Club” after reaching Eu
rope. It took over thirty-eight days to
travel those 6,000 miles by steam. Dr.
Clark makes generous allowance for the
unfinished state of the road, but he is
compelled to admit that the trip involved
much needless misery. During one week
he and his wife and boy were obliged to
travel in a fourth-class car—similar to
an ordinary freight car without seats—
and surrounded by offensively unclean
peasants. There were frequent delays of
twenty-four or thirty-six hours, both on
the railway and on the steamer, which
latter was stranded repeatedly in the
shallows of the Amour. At Lake Baikal
an official kept the whole trainload of
people waiting in their cooped quarters
a day and a night, until it suited his
convenience to travel to that end of the
lake in the ice breaker which ferries the
train across. Yet the author thinks his
party was unusually fortunate, since it
might easily take three or four months
to make the journey.
It is only fair to remark, as Dr. Clark
does, that the Russian government is not
inviting tourist passengers at present.
Yet he says it is difficult to see how so
poorly conducted a railway could stand
the strain of a sudden attempt to use it
for the mobilization of large bodies of
troops. Between Stretinsk and Irkutsk
it requires six days to travel less than
800 miles, or less than six miles an hour.
Including .stops. From Irkutsk to Mos
cow the run is made by the famous
"train de luxe,” which travels fourteen
miles an hour most of the way. The five
fares required on the different stages of
the route come to a total of $92 from
Vladivostok to Mcscow. The necessary
outlay for meals raised the expense to
about $150. This is remarkably reasona
ble for a distance double as great as that
from New York to San Francisco, but the
lack of ordinary comforts at present de
tracts considerably from the attractive
ness of the journey.
Dr. Clark’s volume abounds in excel
lent half-tone reproductions of photo
graphs taken along the route, and is also
full of bright glimpses of the country ami
people, with kindly and intelligent com
ments thereon.
Canadian Baptists have suffered an
acute loss in the death. February 15th. of
Rev. J. P. McEwen, who for twelve years
has been superintendent of home m's-
sions. He gave himself to his Important
work with his whole soul. During his
period of service the home mission board
has doubled its income and its work.
THE PATH OF THE
fountain
How far my God, to the Fountain,
Whose wondrous waters shine.
Open in the house of David,
Of Judah’s regal line?
How far, my God, to the Fountain,
By prophets long fore tola?
Yet it came at last, full humbly.
In Bethlehem's lowly fold.
How far, my God. to the Fountain?
Those waters, so pure and sweet.
Are able to heal me wholly.
Proud head an<l wilful feet.
How far, my God, to the Fountain?
My soul has waited long.
Surely Thgu soon wilt give her
The victor’s glorious song.
How far, my Gpd, to the Fountain?
My soul has fought the foe.
Through midnight’s awful blackness.
Does the east begin to glow?
How far, my God, to the Fountain?
Oh, hear me, while I pray:
The blood of Jesus cleanse me
From all, all sin today.
ELISE BEATTIE.
PROEM * *
Though I am poor and cannot buy
The rare, time-mellowed things of art,
God keeps an open gallery
Of glories for the poor in heart.
Whose walls are hung in grander show
Of color than old Titian knew.
With outlines Michael Angelo
Wronged in the best cartoons he drew.
All this is mine to have and hold;
Nor fire may burn, nor years may soil.
With ruthless trace of gathering mold.
These wonders of the Master’s toil;
Norcan some restless child of Fate,
Some darkly gifted Corsican,
By red successes decorate
His Louvre from my Vatican.
—MAURICE THOMPSON.
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