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<THE SUNNY SOUTH
* IN THE LITERARY WORLD ^
coin and Lord
OHN HOWARD BRY-
I ant, the last of five
■ m brothers, died during
I ' M the past imontth on an
f M Illinois farm, where he
had lived for seventy-
years. He was the
youngest and favorite
brother of the first
born of the family, Wil
liam Cullen Bryant,
whom, he survived for
twenty-three years. John
Howard was born in the
Bryant homestead at
Cumminsion, Mass.,
seventeen months before
the Annus Mirabilis,
which gave birth to Lin-
Tennyson, Darwin and
Gladstone, Holmes and Poe. whopin and
Mendelssohn, as well as many other men
of distinction, and yet survived to see
the second year of the twentieth century.
Seventy of his 94 years were spent in the
west, where as farmer, politician and
poet, he enjoyed the confidence and re
spect of the community in which lie lived.
Physically, Mr. Bryant was greatly the
superior of his distinguished brother, be
ing a large and powerful man of 'great
endurance, frequently in early life work
ing sixteen hours a day on his farm, or
riding (10 to TO miles on horseback. He
sould split one hundred rails in a sum
mer's day, and even Lincoln in his rail-
splitting years never surpassed that rec
ord. In answer to an American friend s
inquiry as to his achievements in this line.
Gladstone replied: “I managed on one
occasion, in imitation of Mr. Lincoln, to
split ten rails, hut I never again repeated
the performance.” Bryant was a free
soiler, and later a republican. His con
nection with the ‘‘underground railroad”
was. so efficient that at one time he had
fifteen fugitive slaves under his roof, and
was successful in speeding them forward
to the haven where they would be across
the Canadian border.
At the outbreak of the Biack Hawk war
Mr. Bryant saw a company of Illinois
volunteers on their way to the front, and
was introduced to the captain, a tall,
raw-boned, typical son of the prairies
■ and product of the log cabin. He chatted
with this captain for a while, and at once
perceived that, although he was uncon
ventional according to eastern standards
in his garb and manner, yet he had a
•ciear mind, and was a most entertaining
anu impressive talker. He asked the tail
fellow his name, whereupon the officer
introduced himself as Abraham Lincoln,
captain of volunteers in the Black Hawk
war. When in 1*4- Mr. Bryant became a
member of the Illinois legislature, he and
1,incoin met again in Springfield, and soon
became intimate friends, continuing as
such until the president’s death twenty-
three vears later. Among many good Lin
coln stories related by the "Prairie Bard,”
a single one will suffice for this brief trib
ute to Bryant's memory. It is the only
one we remember. When the Chicago,
Alton and St. Louis railway was in course
of construction at the Illinois capital, a
gang of about 100 Irish laborers, employ
ed by the contractor for that section of
the road, took possession of the polls and
would not permit any whig to cast his
vote. News of this condition of things
v.as carried to Lincoln, who immediately
rtarted for the polls. Passing his grocer’s
si op, and observing a small barrel of ax
handles displayed at his door, he said:
••Bill, I want to borrow two of these
helves for about ten minutes to break a
few democratic heads,” and strode on
with large and rapid strides, swinging
them in the air by way of practice for
the approaching fray. When the drunken
democrats saw Lincoln coming with his
two clubs they were seized with a sud
den panic, and the entire crowd lied.
They had heard of his great strength of
arm and hand, and stood not on the-or
der of their going. There was r.o further
difficulty about Springfield wings voting
that afternoon, for Lincoln remained on
guard until the polls closed.
John H. Bryant was among the pioneers
of central Illinois, appearing in the same
year that Abraham Lincoln settled there.
He filled many minor offices, the most
important, and the one in which lie took
the greatest pride, being tiiat of dele
gate to the Chicago convention of lull),
where he cast his vote for Lincoln's nom
ination to the j residency. When Joshua
R. Giddings was leaving the republican
convention in disgust because it had re
pudiated the words of the Declaration of
Independence, that had been adopted at
Pittsburg at his instance, Mr Bryant
brought back Giddings to listen to toe
eloquent address of George William Cur
tis, which restored the convention to its
saner mind. Pour years previous Bryant
was a member of the national convention
that nominated John C. Fremont.
It was on the day of .Mr. Lincoln's
nomination in the Chicago ‘wigwam"
that the writer first met Mr. Bryant.
Communications were occasionally ex
changed with him during the succeeding
years, and he sometimes favored his New
York correspondent with a poem, having,
as he once expressed it, “always been ad
dicted to tin pleasant but entirely un
profitable business of making rhymes.”
Before me lies a presentation copy of an
attractive octavo volume entitled "Poems
Written from Youth to Old Age, 1824-1884,
by John Howard Bryant." Of his poetical
writings, the elder brother said to a
friend: "While my brother's poems are
certainly very unequal, the majority are
creditable, and almost all contain many
admirable lines,” affectionately adding,
"He is one of the best men 1 ever knew.”
At the advanced age of fourscore and
ten. tlu? "Prairie Bard,” as his earlier
productions appearing in The Jacksonville
Jomi al were signed, sent the present
writer the following birthday sennet, his
handwriting then, and always, so st/ong-
ly resembling that of his elde-- and more
lamnus brother that only an expert would
detect any difference. Additional interest
attaches to this unpublished composition
from the circumstance of its being the
authors last:
Here now I stand upon life's outer verge.
Close at my feet, an ocean wide and deep.
Dark, sullen, silent, and without a .surge
Whose earth's past myriads lie In dreamless
sleep.
‘Tie here I stand without a thrill of fear.
In loneliness allied to the sublime:
The broken links of love that found me here
Die scattered on this treacherous shoal of
Time.
But still I cling to friends who yet remain.
Still lovo the glorious scenes that round me
lie;
Striving to stay the waste of years In vain,
As swifter yet the winged moments lly.
Idly I seek the future to explore.
I partly know what Is, but naught that la
berore.
By Invitation of the Illinois state com
mittee in charge, Mr. Bryant read a
Edited by Lucian L. Knight
poem written for the final dedication of
the Lincoln monument at Springfield,
April 15, 1SS4, entitled "At the Tomb
of Lincoln." The following Is the first
of fourteen stanzas:
Not one of all Earth’s wise and good
Hath earned a purer gratitude.
Than the great soul whose hallowed dust
This structure holds In sacred trust.
Bryant’s poetical writings were not
numerous, as he only produced verse in
the intervals of a strenuous and busy
life, and when strongly moved to do so.
His charming reminiscences ef his
Princeton home, where his widely known
brother several times visited him, find
natural and graceful expression in lines
not unworthy of William. Thiis opinion
was expressed to the writer by the latter
in regard to "The Valley Brook,” "The
Little Cloud.” “My Native Village,”
“The Ancient ''••k” and "The Blue
Bird.” When requested in 1884 to favor
me with a manuscript copy of his favor
ite composition, Mr. Bryant sent "The
Valley Brook.”
John H. Bryant died at Princeton,
January 14, 3902, aged 94 years. He was
not only the last survivor of five brothers
and two sisters—attaining the greatest
age of any, William Cullen, who died at
84. coming next—but he outlived a'U his
own immediate family, his son, Henry
W., passing away jn 1854, at 19; Mrs. Bry
ant in 1888, a.t fourscore, and their son,
Elijah AV„ in 1892. at 57. Mr. Bryant,
who is represented by a daughter in law
and grandchildren, who occupy the
Frinceton place on which he lived for
threescore and ten years, was a fine
example of "plain living and high think
ing" to three generations of Americans.
Near the handsome residence in which he
died may still be seen the small log
cabin that was his first home in Illi
nois. (General John H. Wilson, in The
New York Times-Review.)
*
“The War in South Africa; Its Cause
and Conduct." is the new book by Dr.
A. Conan Doyle, brought out in this
country by McClure, Phillips & Co. Dr.
Doyle wrote it as a defense of the Brit
ish soldiers who were charged with all
manner of barbarities in the Boer coun
try by the continental press. The vol
ume is published at 10 cents, the author
and publishers disposing of it without
any profit, since Dr. Doyle regards It as
a labor of love and loyalty. He has giv
en orders to the publishers to send com
plimentary copies to all senators, repre
sentatives, officials of high national po
sitions, governors of states and libraries,
with a view of putting the defense of
the British fairly before the people of
the United States. In furtherance of his
alms Dr. Doyle has received subscrip
tions varying from £50 from Lord Rose
bery to 6d. from a schoolboy. The au
thor has, so far, been unable to find a
publisher in Germany, although Baron
Tauchnitz, with his usual fairminded-
ness, has included It in his English
library. But the German translation is
nearly ready, and if no one will be found
willing to publish the book an edition
of 5,000 copies wHl be printed in London
to be sent to those whom it is desired
to influence. In Holland, likewse, the
same difficulty faces Dr. Doyle, but, if
necessary, the same means as in Germany
will be employed. The French transla
tion Is nearly completed, and 10.000 copies
will be issued, through Galignani, to
readers In France, Belgium and Switzer
land.
Miss Otitllie A. Liljencrantz, the au
thor of "The Thrall of Leif the Lucky,”
a viking romance, which is beginning to
arouse wide popular interest. Is herself
a descendant of the. fine old sea rovers
she describes. She is a resident of Chi
cago, and 1 although very young, has spent
manifl years preparing herself for her
first book. Ever since she conceived
■the ambition to write a great romance
about the vikings she has made a close
study of all the available literature about
that period. Her natural Inclination and
her enthusiasm over the achievements of
her forefathers helped her into a ready
understanding of the sagas and all the
wonderful traditions of the northland.
The exploits of Leif Ericsson appealed
to her particularly and she decided to
write her story around his voyages to
Greenland, and his famous voyage of
discovery to America. After the long
time spent In preparation she has put
two years into the writing of the book
itself, and tile publishers say that her
perfect understanding of the viking life
will be found one of the grestest charms
of the story.
Short Reviews of New Books
‘‘ANTICI
PATIONS”
by H a
Wells
Archibald R. Colquhoun is the. well-
known aiitlior of several up-to-date vol
umes bearing upon the great Interna
tional problems of the
“THEMYSTERY dav, and whatever may
OFTHEPACIF- be the opinions of lndl-
IC” by vldual readers concerning
Archibald R the arguments which he
colquhoun makes, there can be no
doubt as to the exhaus
tive and thorough character of his re- i
searches, and the English-speaking world
is deeply indebted tie him for the very
important contribuiions which he has
made to the literature of current polities
—economic discussions. As Ithe writer
points out, the great powers which, are
struggling for the mastery of title Pa
cific are the United States, Great Britain,
Holland, Japan, Germany, France, Rus
sia and China, but Ithe United States will
undoubtedly prove the dominating force.
After discussing briefly the naltural con
ditions of the Pacific islands, the author
passes on to an account of the expansion
of the United States and the character of
Ithe Philippines and the Filipino. The.
term Filipino applies to all who are born
j in the Philippines, but it is incorrect to
speak cf the Filipino nation, as there is
no national spirit. There are three dif- ticn with skill and economy. Instead of
ing a policy that shall be acceptable to
other powers. (The Macmillan Co., New
Y'ork.)
*
II. G. Wells belongs to the imaginative
school of writers, and is likely to fall
heir to Jules Veme’s mantle when the
latter, who is now quite
old. is called to his re
ward. “Anticipations”
will be read with interest.
Basing his speculations on
the attainments which
have already been made
in mechanical science, the author
makes an interesting forecast of how
things are going during the next one
hundred years.
Mr. Wells begins his work with a chap
ter on locomotion In the twentieth cen
tury. This is to he so extensive, so easy
and inviting that congestion in large
cities will be a matter of the past. Ready
transit, the telephone, the pneumatic
tube will lead to the diffusion of great
cities and the days of high rents and
crowded streets will be over.
Annihilating distances al! over the
world will tend to make each district
specialize in the production for which it
is best fitted, and to develop that produc-
NATURAL BODY BRACE
Cl RES All MESTS
OF WOMEN
Female Weakeeta,
Inflammations,
Internal Pains,
Lassitude,
Backache,
Headache,
Nervousness,
Indigestion,
Jlelancboly,
Lung Diseases.
TRIAL FREE
comfort, attractlrenew.
wnour external, worn wiui or wiuioui corae».
Simple, comfortable, adjustable to fit an j
figure. Invaluable to the prospective mother.
We receive from 10,000 to 20,000 letters every
soar like the following:
Rushville, 11. Y„ June 2, ISOI.
I had been ailing for fifteen rears from back
ache. headache, constipation and prolamus. I had
Seen treated by some of the best special lets in the
country without avnll. Your brace cured me. The
ereans have gone back to proper position and
f f..— Mrs. G. C. Shuman,
trial fhr 90 days. Particulars and Il
lustrated book^nalled^free In plain, sealed
THE NATURAL BODY BRACE CO
'I I N -\ . K 4 * S \ S .
ferent races in the islands today, as
there was when they first came Into the
hands of the Spaniards. First are the
Negritos or aborigines, of whom there are
about 25,(100. These arc, dwindling in num
bers and the conquered race are
driven to 'take refuge in the mountains.
Second are the Indonesians, of whom
there are. 250,000. These are of more im
portance and in many places are a fine,
flourishing people. The third race is the
Malay, although in the mixture of blood
it is often difficult to decide where the
Indonesian ends and the Malayan t>egins.
especially as Ithe Malayans, like the In
donesians, a.re of semi-Mogul stock and
rnelt almost imperceptibly into the Chi
nese and Japanese. The Malay character
and physique, however, may be taken
as the real foundation for the Filipino,
a character subsequently modified by the
infusion of Spanish blood. It is the Ma
lay and the Malay-Indonesians who cre
ate troubles and oppose the "Stars and
Stripes.”
Professor Colquhoun speaks of certain
delightful traits of these Malays, their
brightness, hospitality and tender
ness of heart, but says they de
generate physically and morally
when brought under the influence
of west tii civilizatio #. ThVMalay is in
dolent, untruthful and without persfver-
anee. He is clannish and provincial. He
lacks the power of organizing. “No Malay
nation has ever emerged from the hordes
of that race which have spread over the
islands of the Pacific.”
The author is not oversanguine as to
the ability of the United States to edu
cate the Filipino for self-government. "It
is a beautiful theory,” ho says, “and a
•beautiful scheme, but unfortunately it in
volves an entire subversion of the laws
of nature. To educate a nation is a
grand and noble aim, but it cannot be
accomplished in one generation or even
in two.” Referring to the statement often
made that the United States have fought
their way through centuries of progress
toward the goal of universal suffrage
and democratic government, Professor
Colquhoun says It should be remembered
that long before the United States be
gan that fight the ancestors of Ameri
cans were struggling through ages to
ward freedom of thought and action.
He admits, however, that the proper
education of the Filipinos, if not unduly
hurried, will prove in the long run an un
told benefit to the race. A great misfor
tune is that they have so much to un
learn. The system under which they have
lived for three centuries has confirmed
them in habits which cannot be eradi
cated at once. The Filipinos are not
apathetic nor stupid. They are eager as
children to try a new method or hear
fresh ideas, but the danger lies in their
cleverness and sharpness and in the de
sire of Americans to have everything
done soon. The plan of making English
the school language is cordially indorsed*
because there is really no Filipino lan
guage, and because of the great value of
English as an almost universal medium
of communication.
Although the government does not pro
pose to undertake religious instruction.
Professor Colquhoun remarks In this
connection that it Is unilikely that any
form of religion except 'the Roman Cath
olic could succeed in these islands. Mu
sic and the ritual are essentials to at
tract the Filipino and hold his attention.
Already the natives notice 'the difference
between the American clergy and the
friars and are inclined to look upon
Americans as irreligious.
In contrasting the different methods
pursued in the Pacific area by the great
colonizing powers the author makes no
invidious comparisons, but finds the dif
ferent results attained by each in deal
ing with a people practically of the same
stock to be interesting and instructive.
He believes the United States will be the
dominant factor in the mastery of the
Pacific. By this he does not mean forci
ble domination, but the advantage In the
maintenance of commercial rights, in the
the heterogeneous class of workmen
known today there will be specialization—
here a nucleus 0 f expert engineers, there
a center of skilled mechanics. As learn
ing is diffused there will be the develop
ment of individual excellence anil the
tendency will bo to segregate for mutual
strength and advantage.
In regard to war the vision is that it
will net be showy, dramatic and emo
tional, as it has been ir. the past. It will
be a question of preparation, of long
years of foresight and disciplined imag
ination. The nation that produces the
largest proportion of intellectually ac
tive, able-bodied people will be the most
powerful in war and in peace. No dash
of heroism, no sudden flag-waving or im
provised patriotic leagues can alter the
fact that “the nation that turns the
greatest proportion of its irresponsible
adiposity into social muscle will be the
dominant nation before the year 2000.”
Some of the other subiects treated in
this semiscientific. semifanciful book are:
“The Life History of Democracy,” "The
Conflict of Languages” and “The New
Repub.'ic.” The style of the author is en
gaging. Many of his views are quite out
of the usual line of thinking and not a
few of them are worthy of serious at
tention. (Harper & Bros.. New York.)
*
Contrary to the expectation aroused by
the title, "Lepidus the Centurion” is not
a tale of old Roman days, but instead
is concerned with Eng-
’’Lepidus the llsh life of the present
Centurion: a Ro- time. Beyond a touch
man oIToday”by of unreality lent by an
Edwin i ester unusual plot, the situa-
Arnold tions are vivid, well con
nected and plausible,
glowing under the author’s splendid
imaginative powers. The study of mod
ern social life, slightly tinged with the
ancient, l>ecomes all the more interest
ing through the Mending. The author is
■afforded a tine opportunity for mild sar
casm, rich humor and striking dramatic
effect, all of which he is the first to per
ceive. For the rest, this is a story
without a vBllain—whose absence is not
even missed, so rapid is the action—and
with a heroine well worth the struggle
which culminates here after two thousand
years.
For those who admire a story with a
touch of the supernatural, when that ele
ment adapts itself to vivid delineation—
as in Bulwer LyRon's "Coming Race"
and Bellamy's "Looking Backward”—
this remarkable plot will have especial
value. Moreover, It will reveal situations
delightfully droll and convincingly real.
Readers of this book may open it
without fear of finding a vehicle for truth
or moral, save that which any well-
mannered, wholesome story cannot help
bat present. They may open It with the
assurance that they will speedily lose
themselves in its situations, and turn
from 'its final scene wlth-regret. (Thomas
Y. Crowell & Co., New York.)
The "Jtutomohay”
"From the mountains of New Hamp
shire,” said The Boston Transcript,
“comes a David Harumllke story of the
advent of the first automobile, which
made its appearance last summer, having
climbed one of the steep slopes near Won-
alencet, with disastrous results to the
running gear. The accident happened
near a hay field, where a farmer was en
deavoring to repair a broken mowing ma
chine. Attracted by the appearance of the
strange looking horseless vehicle, the
farmer left his occupation and came out
to Inspect the remarkable object with
open-mouthed astonishment. After a few
moments of silent scrutiny he said to the
chauffeur, who was repairing the break
as well as he could: ‘Wha’d d’ ye call that
‘ere machine?’ ‘That is an automobile.’
was the reply. ‘What do you call yours?’
pointing waggishly to the disabled appa
ratus in the field. ‘Wal,* was the dry re
sponse, with a pause fqr a shift of the
Odd Desert Flora <51
F atiisa—Bi jrtHplace
of Cradle Life
Continued frotm third page
was unknown until alfew vears ago and
but few of Its nests hlive yet been found.
It builds a rather cluVmsv nest of sticks
after the manner of tits east?rn cousin
and lays therein fouA dark blue eggs.
There is a very dark 1 oriole frequently
met with on the deserjt. It Is the bird
commonly called Scotfi's oriole, and
builds its nest in the frreen tufts of the
giant fan palms. The lit lie yellow capped
tit, with Its plaintive/ call and black,
gioslsy coat is common. It builds a long
pendent nest and fswlngs It to the
branches of the mes</uite and the yucca
trees. \
The most familiar dweller of the desert
y whi
litjtle
thi s
hite on the under
animal is run-
a short tail perfectly
side and when the
nlng about among th<^ sand heaps this
tail is hoisted over his iback. which gives
him the exact appearathce of a miniature
cotton tail rabbit. Tlye desert squirrels,
tiny brown and gray shotted animals, live
in colonies under the i\oits of the shad
ing century plants \erJv much after the
manner of the prairife dogs. There is
another animal calledi bv naturalists the
round-tailed squirrel which also burrows
in the ground and' has a shrill, sharp
whistle.
The sun-scorchec>. and wind-swept des
ert seems to be t;he ideal home of the
kangaroo rat. TViis rodent often attains
the length cf 18 inches from tip of nose
to end of tail. His cheeks hang out like
well filled pouches and are adorned with
tufts of long white whiskers. This jump
ing rat is thought to be common to all
the southwest. It is found ail over
southern California, but in the coast re
gion and in the mountains it is quite
dark, while those found on the desert
are ashen gray.
The homed toad hoes and skips before
you at ev.i ry turn and veu at once notice
that he. too. is dressed in his summer
suit, and looks much paler and more fad
ed than these members of his family
you met back in Texas anJ Arizona.
Little white lizards scurry here and there
through the dust, and their gray tails
standing straight in tho air as they run
remind you very much of sticks racing
about your path. The sing of thd rattle
snake Is a frequent sound here In these
measureless solitudes, and there is a kind
of these reptiles found here which is
probably not met with elsewhere. This
is the little rattler which does not move
straight ahead like other serpents, but
proceeds crabwise in a most uncanny
manner.
There are big bugs which wheel by in
droning flight, little busy ants patiently
threading their way through the scorch
ing sands and spry and
Historical Facts as
to Invention of
Cotton Gin
Continued from fifth page
fair mechanic, constructed a gin on the
same principle as Whitney's. Miller did
at one time own the Barnett place on
Upton creek on which he operated a gin,
■but the latter part of the story, of Lyons'
disguising himself as a woman, etc., ap
pear to be apocryphal inasmuch as there
is no allusion in any of the correspondence
or court records to any such occurence.
The story about some one breaking into
Whitney’s gin shops and stealing his
models seems equally without foundation
for the same reason.
As to the oft-repeated charge that
Whitney was badly treated at the south,
and especially so by Georgia, let us, in
good conscience, see what foundation ex
ists for the allegation. Whitney sold his
patent right to the state of South Caro
lina for $50,000; from North Carolina and
Tennessee he received about $80,000 and
$10,000, respectively, through arrange
ments made u r ith the governments o£
those states, making a total of $90,000
which he made from the invention in a
few .years and carried north with him. He
came south without a dollar.
In Georgia Miller and Whitney reserved
the right of property in their gin, at first
receiving two thirds of the net proceeds,
the expense being divided equally between
the patentee and the ginners. But, as
Governor James Jackson says in a mes
sage to the Georgia legislature, Novem
ber 3, 1800, they found a defect in the
law under which their patent was ob
tained and consequently they determined
to sell the machines together with their
rights vested in them for $500 each, and
for a license to build and operate one at
the ginner’s expense, they charged $400.
But finding that the law was generally
understood and that they could obtain no
redress in the courts they concluded to
reduce the price to $200. Governor Jack-
son further says: "I am Informed from
other sources that gins have been erected
by other persops who have not taken Mil
ler and Whitney’s machine for a model,
but which in some small degree resembles
it, and in improvements far surpass it, for
it has been asserted that Miller and. AVhit-
ney’s did not on trial answer the intended
purpose; the rights of these improve
ments. however, it appears by the present
act, merged in the rights of the paten
tees. who it is supposed, on the lowest
calculation, will make by it in the two
states (Georgia and South Carolina) $100,-
000.” The act referred to was passed by
congress, doubtless, for the special pur
pose of shutting out Holmes’ claim and
establishing Whitney's right to the use
of the saw cylinder instead of the spike
cylinder which he had invented. This ac
counts for Holmes not engaging in liti
gation. His claim had been outlawed by
special legislation and it would have been
fruitless.
No wonder that Holmes died a heart-
& A Neglected Duty
By IJiM MJtCLJtREM
Author o/ “BAe Bonnie Brier Bush>'
Etc
■Slight Ani* tiny crickets whose ,
mal Noises cheery notes give an ele- 1 broken, mortified and bitterly disappoint-
Break
Dreary
Monotony
meat of charm to tlie
gravelike silence of these
far-reaching solitudes.
I have been much in
terested in these western deserts. There
is something enchanting about their ele
mental simplicity. They aro the open
gateways through which we see farthest
back into the making of the world, and
somehow one feels that he Is able to view
th» whole course of life from the begin
ning far down to itr present forms.
Standing among the shimmering wastes
and ghostlike mountains cue involuntarily
feels that erect man and graceful bird
are yet in the distant future. Around us
lie the crude a.nd chaotic beginnings in
the schemes of things. We are at the
starting point and we may look dow>
the course cf history to its very end.
Man, naked and savage, makes his
heme in the caves anl lives by stealth
and brute force; he clothes himself in,
skins and organizes into packs and herds;
he devises governments, he gets a shave
and a hnjr cut, he gets vachts and cham
pagne, he evolves religions and philoso
phies.
Man struggles blindly with the condi
tions which fence him in. He hopes, he
prays,he plans, he fights. But however
carefully he plans and builds, and how
ever valiantly he- battles, if his ideals
are not in harmony with the Universal
Scheme his efforts are naught. His toil-
ings, his plannings and his prayers are
brushed aside or ground into powder as,
with slow but never-fsdling stroke, the
mighty sledge of Nature continues the
fashioning of the destinv of the world.
ed man. He had lived to see the fruit3
of his toil and genius snatched from him
and converted to another’s uses. He had
lived to see his wonderful invention revo
lutionizing the world, but all the honor,
the glory and the emoluments given to his
hated rival. His name should appear high
up on the roll of fame, together with
Watts, Fulton, Arkwright, Draper, Mar
coni and all the great inventors who have
contributed to science and mechanic arts,
thus promoting the world's progress, for
he bestowed upon mankind the inestima
ble blessings of an epochal labor-saving
device, simple, but the more useful be
cause of its simplicity. And his services
to Georgia were even more direct and
beneficial than to the world at large, for
the immediate effect of his invention was
to frustrate the designs of Miller and
Whitney, who had determined to monopo
lize the ginning in this state and were
prevented from carrying out their odious
scheme by the prolonged, continuous and
unavailing lawsuits that ensued ns a re
sult of the attempt.
The honor of the world's renowned in-
vention should he accredited to Georgia
and not to Massachusetts. But this is
not the only instance in which Georgia
has been-robbed of what was justly hers.
A great marble shaft set up In Boston
proclaims that Wells was the discoverer
of anesthesia, whereas indubitable proofs
exist that to Dr. Crawford W. Long, of
Georgia, that honor belongs.
The ashes of Hodgen Holmes repose in
an unknown grave in the city of Augusta.
Modern Eloquence
Edited by Hon T C B Reed
work of ten volumes,
excellent specimens cf
control of commuBlcartPitf. and in diet at- ‘chaw,’ ‘R auto-mo-hay, but it don't.
An exhaustive
containing many
southern oratory.
Surely the flame of oratory is in no dan
ger of dying cut in this country so long as
enterprising American publishers con
tinue to feed it with the fuel of well-
seasoned eloquence gathered not only
from our own favored clime, where the
goddess of liber.y has inspired some of
the noblest outbursts of genius, but from
almost every land under the sun. When
the “World’s Best Orations” was com
piled some time ago by Justice David J.
Brewer, we thought i't covered the field
so thoroughly that nothing in the line of
oratorical specimers was left for future
compilers who might undertake to trav
erse the same ground, but since we have
examined the contents of "Modern Elo
quence,” which ex-Speaker Thomas B.
Keed has compiled for John D. Morris &
Co., of Philadelphia, we find that it not
only contains many exquisite pro
ductions of oratory hitherto unpub
lished in any similar work, but also opens
new fields of oratory which other works
have barely touched upon; and altogether
it presents what is probably the richest
symposium of modern eloquence which
has yet come from the preiss.
Dealing exclusively with the field of
modern eloquence it omits the ancient
classic masterpieces, such as the phil
ippics of Demosthenes and the orations
of Cicero against Cataline, and it makes
no -attempt to isupplant the “World’s
Best Orations,” which broadly cavers
the whole fieid of oratory, ancient as
well as modern, and Oriental as well as
Occidental; but what it lacks in ampli
tude of scope it makes up in thorough
ness of treatment and if not a substi
tute for the “World’s Best Orations” it
is most assuredly a supplement which
no lover of eloquence can afford to do
without. What specially commends it to
us is the fact that more than any other
work which we have yet examined, it
recognizes the superior quality of south
ern oratory and gives place to many ex
cellent specimens of this domestic brand.
Ten handsome volumes are comprised in
the work and the various departments of
oratory represented are “After
Dinner Oratory," “Occasional Ora
tory,” "Lectures," and "Humorous
Anecdotes.” Speaker Reed, in the
completion of the work editor in
chief, has been assisted by Justin Mc
Carthy, Rosstter Johnston and Albert
Ellery Bergh as associate editors and
also by the following committee of se
lection: Edward Everett Hale, Jonathan
P. Dolliver, John il. Gordon, Nathan
Haskell Dole. Jameff B. Pond, Clark
Howell, George McLean Harper, Lorenzo
Sears, Edwin M. Bat'ion, F. C. Owen, J.
W. MoSpadden, Markus Benjamin, Tru
man A. De Weifse, William W.
Matos and Champ (Clark. This list of
distinguished men is ’ sufficient In itself
to attest the excellence of the work.
Most -of the compilations of eloquence
now extant are ma-cle up of political
speeches and occasional addresses, but
jr.’np— or i.,p"| cts *•<”’
and presents In YulD the most brilliant
lectures of the most; successful favorites
of the platform, together with an in
finite variety of afjter dinner speeches
and an endless assortment of humorous
anecdotes and reminiscences. On ac
count of the recognized value of the
work The Constitution has undertaken
to introduce it into every home in the
south and is now engaged in securing
club rates for this purpose, being im
pelled solely by the desire to give the
people of this section the opportunity of
obtaining the work at the lowest price.
Some of the orators who are represented
in the various departments of the work
are as follows: Chauncey M. Depew,
Henry Ward Beecher. Newell Dwight
Hillis. Henry Irving. Lord Beaeonsfield.
William E. Gladstone. James G. Blaine,
Oliver Wendell Holmes, Henry Watter-
son. William Jennings Bryan. Seth Low,
John TTay, Wu Ting-far.g, Mark Twain,
Carl Schurz, Wendell Phillips, Edward
VII., Joseph H. Choate, L. Q. C. Lamar,
Henry W. Grady, Joseph Jefferson. The
odore Roosevelt. Robert Ingersoll. George
William Curtis. Charles A. Dana, Arte-
mus Ward. James M. Beck. John B. Gor
don, Zebulon B. Vance, William Mc
Kinley, Henry Cabot Lodge, Bourke
Cochran, William M. Evarts, Paul Du
ChalUu, Horace Porter, Richard O'tnev,
Rufus Choate, Conan Farrar, John 15.
Gough, Charles Dudley Warner. John
Ruskin, John Morley. Josh Billings; An
drew Lang. Charles Francis Adams and
Robert J. Burdette.
The binding of the work is both sub
stantial and accurate and nothing is
left to be desired in this respect. The
typography is excellent and the paper
used is the best. Many handsome full-
page engravings light up the work, en
hancing its interest and also increasing
its artistic value. Among the specimens
of southern oratory Included in the work
are General Gordon’s lecture on “The
Last Days of the Confederacy,” Senator
Vance’s lecture on "The Scattered Na
tion,” Lamar’s "Eulogy of Charles Sum
ner," Benjamin H. Hill's address before
the Alumni Society of he University of
Georgia, Grady’s speech in Boston on
“The Race Problem,” Clark Howell’s
speech in Chicago on "Our Reunited
Country,” John Temple Graves’ "Eulo-
gB* of Grady,” and, besides, selections
from the public speeches of such men
as Henry Watterson, W. C. P. Breckin
ridge, J. C. S. Blackburn, John W. Dan
iel, O. A. Lochrane and others, making
an ideal compilation of southern orations
within the comprehensive limits of this
"superb collection of modern oratorical
gems.
Twentieth Century Kegro
Literature
Those of our readers who are interested
in the solution of the omnipresent negro
problem will be pleased to learn that an
interesting volume will shortly be pub
lished by J. L. Nichols & Co., of At
lanta, entitled: "Twentieth Century
AKING him all in all the
British householder is a
large-heartf d person who
will work hard to make a
comfortable home and likes
to see every member of
his family happy, and nas
an honest delight in hospi
tality. and hates to do
anything mean, but he has
not yet learned the duty
of buying books. He would
be ashamed if his wife had
not a piano, or if he had
not a sideboard, but he is quite con
tent without a library. He will spend £10
(or sometimes a great deal more) upon
new <-arpet, and the same sum (or several
times as much) upon a dinner party, but
would stand aghast if you suggested that
he should give as much for a book or for
fifty books. One hazards the guess with
considerable confidence that th : wine bill
of pater-familias. even when he is quite
a temperate person, and simply treats his
guests respectably, will be as a rule twice
as much as his book seller's bill. And
there is one English city where until late
ly there were nearly two thousand places
licensed for drink and not twenty places
which. In the most liberal construction
of the word, could be called book shops.
Quite an intelligent and high-minded man
will be able to live in a house without
any books except a Bible, a dictionary,
a cheap encyclopedia, half a dozen novels
of no value, and a couple of poetical selec
tions given to his wife as marriage pres
ents. If lie desires to read a book which
is being talked about he will get it from
his club, or if he does not belong to a
club, from a circulating library to which
he subscribes, or if he counts this guinea
too great an outlay, he will read the
book at a penny a night. If any of his
friends possess the book he will greedily
borrow it and wait a month till some
other economical person like himself has
returned it. It he has the opportunity he
will read it at some other person’s house
or secure the use of it for a railway
journey. There is no expedient which he
and his wife, both well living, and tax
paying English folk with sittings in a
church, will not hit upon in order to read
that book, but one thing they firmly re
fuse to do, and that is to buy it! And it
you had suggested to them in the midst
of all their striving that they should ob
tain the book for themselves, and explain
to them as a secret how they could do
this, for say 4s. fid., they would hardly un
derstand what you were meaning, and
when they did they would not consider
you impertinent but simply agree be
tween themselves afterwards that you
were extremely soft. It they did buy a
took the chances are it would be one
i ot worth having, and they would buy
it at the railway book stall for its full
price while tne regular book buyer would
spend his money lo more profit, and also
secure 25 per cent discount.
Very likely the householder would say
that books are not a necessity of house
furnishing, and would pose as a severe
utilitarian who cnly spent
The House his money upon things
Without without which he could
Books not live—a bed to sleep
a Dreary in. a chair to sit on, and
Place ''table to eat from. But
the good man is not so
severe an ascetic after all. or so very
conscientious in his expenditure, for ho
has all his life been buying things, and
spending a good deal of money upon
them, which were not at ail necessary,
rnil sometimes are very injurious. As,
for instance, hideous antimacassars, .and
such like garments which vary in their
kinds, but seem perpetual in their exist
ence, which interfere with your head,
attach themselves to your coat buttons,
fall among your feet, and generally make
life miserable. Or curtains for his bed,
which keep out the fresh air, and keep
in the bad air. and interfere with one
getting into bed, and prevent one reading
comfortably when one is in bed. antf
retain all the diseases which the fami y
have had from the beginning, and take
away cne-half of the good of going to
bed at all. Or for bed room carpets cov
ering the whole tie or. and harboring dust,
and making the room stuffy, when their
purpose could be served by a movable
square in the center of the room, sur
rounded by polished wood. And he will
pay for heavy dinners when light ones
would be better for him and his friends,
and very doubtful champagne when a
glass of burgundy would be more whole
some, and a hundred other things, not
one of which he requires, and most of
which do him no good, and yet this hon
est rr.f.n will say that books are “not a
necessity of life.” It all depends upon
what you mean by lif°. If life means ex
istence, then he is right and his expendi
ture might be confined to what he could
put into his stomach and upon his back,
together with a house in which to eat
and sleep. But If life means high
thoughts and pure pleasures, and an out
look upon the things unseen and eternal,
then the house without books is a house
without air, and without windows, a
prison rather than a dwelling place. A
huge house with costly furniture, and
overflowing with enervating luxuries, but
without noble bocks, is a Door and nar
row place. But a cottage of two rooms
where there are twenty classics well read
and much loved is a palace, for its roof
is as high as the sky and the great folk
of all ages come there and live.
Does this excellent man with whom
we are having this little talk tel! me that
he doc-s love books and desires to
possess them, but that really they are
beyond his reach, and dees ho mean this,-
thinking now not upon dinners and turkey
carpets, but upon bread for his family
and education for his sons? Would he be
astonished to learn that if you except
connoisseurs in the costliest books which
run to hundreds and thousands of pounds
each, the chief book buyers in the coun
try are not rich folk, but nersors of quite
limited means and simple life. Recently
the head of a firm, and a semi-millionaire,
passing through his office, saw a fino edi
tion of Bunyan lying on his bookkeeper’s
desk. He was arrested by the sight, and
with the fine patronage of his position
began to rally his servant upon such an
expensive taste.
“Buying books, eh.Jackson: didn't know
you went in for that kind of thing.
Thought you had something else to do
with your money. What’s tjds you've
been after, Bunyan. Bunvan, who is he
i cw? Bishop, or something else like that,
wasn't ho? Well. I declare, you must
have paid something for a book like
ttis,” and the great man sailed Into bis
private room. That Evening he would
dine with another capitalist and discuss
vintages by the hour, while his book
keeper was rejoicing that after a long
search he had at last secured a Bunyan
to his mind—one that he could place be
side his Chaucer and his Spenser.
Not long ago I was guest In the house
of a man who had both riches and books,
and counts his books more than nis
riches, and when I was congratulating
him upon his tastes, he told me he had
inherited tlie book passion from 'nis
grandfather, who was a stonemason, and
had collected a library of some hundreds
of volumes.
“Not a bad collection, either, in quan
tity or quality,” said niv host, and then
the old workman saving from his wages
the purchase money for his books and
reading at the close of the clay his Au
gustine or h;s Virgil.
There hate been manses In the North
Country where the minister lived all his
days on an average stipend of £150, and
educated his son3 at a university, and
kept a hospitable home, and carried hhr>
seif in all things as a gentleman, and
died leaving a library of two and three
end in. some cases five thousand volumes,
among which have been not a few raro
books. Do you say incredible? It was, I
think, miraculous, but the thing has hap
pened. A drunkard will always git drink,
and a bookman will always have books.
A splendid library with a carved book
case and precious folios may mean vari
ous things; that an anc.stor has been -i
book collector or that
Books I*»- the owner is very rich
dicate and considers splendid
Character bocks a part of his housa
ar.d Tern- equipment. The library-
per ament may or may not prove
the owner to be a book
lover. You cannot be quite certain about
the man till you have met him, and theq
he might be a disappointment, like tha
owner of a fine c jllection of Sacred Art,
whose one interest in his pictures is a
bitter regret that he cannot sell them
and turn their value into solid cash But
ycu enter a young man’s room and look
round to gather what sort he is befora
he comes in. Quite an ordinary room
such as is let to lodgers, with the familiar
commonplace furniture, but what is this
cn the wall? A hanging book ease, not
large, but still containing forty volumes.
Good books all and carefully selected,
£ nd j es, 1 • eclare. well read. Four or
five of Carlyle, Lamb's “Essays,” some
thing of Tennyson and Browning, tha
"Antiquary,” “Henry Esmond,” Emer
son’s "Essaj-s,” Hawthorne’s '’Scarlet
Letter” and a Keais. Without seeing tha
man ^ ou dare to prophesy that he d> a
not drink, nor gamble, nor play the fool,
that he has fine tastes and high ideas,
that he has a hold of things and ambi
tions in life, also that in the bank where
he is now a junior clerk the manager
has his eye upon him. and that he is :n
the way of promotion. When a tew year3
later he tells you that he has been made
secretary, and you know, although he
does not ted you this, that he is the
youngest man ever appointed to the post,
ycu are not astonished. That pook shelf
v as a sign and a beginning.
Very likely that collector, and his salary
was only £100 them would envy some rich
customer of the bank because he could,
without scruple buy the books from which
the clerk had' to turn away wistfully,
but the clerk had no reason for env,
for the chances are that nothing would
induce the other man to buy a decent
book except the incongruous hope of prof
it. As a matter of fact he came over
to me one evening after dinner and sat
down beside me with something on hia
mind. Ho charged roe with constantly in
sisting that people ought to be buying
books, and I had no resource except to
plead guilty, when he admitted that ho
was always persuaded to be a book buyer.
He then asked whether any book had
come out recently which a man like him
cught to secure, and I hastened to recom
mend Symonds’ “Life of Michael Angelo”
in two volumes, and enlarged upon tha
beauty of the book. He was taken with
the idea, but cautiously asked the price,
and when I told him 36s. net, he sat
aghast. “For a book.” he said, “why if
you knew the price of produce just now
you would hardly expect a man to bo
buying books at ISs. a volume.” And
shortly afterwards he was telling with
glee to another capitalist how he had
secured so many dozen of famous port
at 84s. a dezen. A year or so past and
I met my fellow guest again, and hav
ing heard something of how things had
gone with Symonds’ “Michael Angelo, ’ £
asked him whether he had secured a copv.
“Certainly not,” he replied after he had
lecalled the incident, “never thought of
such a thing.” and he regarded me with
pity as a man likely to leave my wife
and children penniless. ‘ If yon.” I then
ventured to inquire, “had bought an arti
cle of produce on a certain date at 3b'3.
a quantity and then been able to sell it
a year later at about 50s. the same quan
tity, or say at a third increase, would
you consider it good business?” “Good
business!” he exclaimed. ”1 should make
al! I want in a year.” “Had you taken
my advice,” and with that I closed tha
conversation, “and bought Symonds when
1 told you, you would have had exactly
that profit upon your book today.” For
some time he was lost in meditation, and
then he asked me whether a v/hole edition
of a high-class bock could be purchased
in mass, and 1 saw that he was meditat
ing a corner in books.
An Electric
Belt Free
Bend Yonr Application At Once To
The Physician’s Institute.
They Will Send You Absolutely Free One
of Their lOO Guage Supremo Electric Belts,
the Belt Which Mas Made so Many Wonder
ful Cures—You Needn't Send Even a Poatags
Stamp, Just Your Name and Address
Negro Literature or
Thought,” containing contributions from
not less than one hundred representative
negroes. With each contribution there
Is a sketch of the author and also a por
trait, making the volume a picture gallery
of tne influential members of the race as
well as a compendium of information
bearing upon one of the greatest problems
of the d'ay. The volume is scheduled to
come from the press within the next few
weeks.
Cyclopoedia of ' v e w @nt to look at the mason’s library.
which his grandson had preserved by
itself in a very handsome book case. It
was largely made up of Latin books, if
you please, some theological, for the
grandfather had been a Roman Catholic,
end nine classical, while others were
historical and poetical, and in the whole
collection I did not see a. worthless book,
while I did see more than one Elzevir.
And it was an inspiration to think of
seven years ago the State of Illinois grantoa
to the Physicians' Institute of Chicago a charter.
There was need of something above the ordi
nary method of treatment for'clironlc diseases,
something more than any one specialist or any
number of specialists acting independently
could do, so tho Stato itself, under the powers
granted it by Its general laws, gave the power to
the Physicians’ Institute to furnish to the sick
such holp as would make them well and strong.
Ever since Its establishment this Institute has
endeavored In every possiblo way to carry out
the original purposes of its establishment under
the bencilclent laws of the Stato.
Threo years ago, the Physicians* Institute,
realizing the valuo of electricity in the treatment
of certain phases of disease, created under the
superintendence of its staff of specialists an
electric belt, and this belt has been proved to be
of great value as a curative agent. From time
to time it has been improved' until it reached
that stage of perfection which warranted lt3
present name of “ Supreme.” ■>
This belt is the most eilectlvo of all agents in the
cure of rheumatism, lumbago, lane back, nerv
ous exhaustion, weakened or lost vital functions,
varlcocelo, kidney disorders and many other
complaints.
This "Supreme Electric Belt” Is made in one
grade only—ICO guage—there is no better electric
belt made and no better bolt can be made.
Whenever in the opinion of our staff of special
ists the wonderful curative and revitalizing
forces of electricity will euro you we send you,
free of all cost, one of these Supreme Electric
Belts. It is not sent on trial, It Is yours to keep
forever without tho payment of one cent. - This
generous offer may bo withdrawn at any time, so
you should write to-day for this free “ Supreme
Electric ’Belt” to the Physicians'•Tn.satnt0 1
at 2019 Masonic Temple, Chicago* ifife.