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About The North Platte semi-weekly tribune. (North Platte, Neb.) 1895-1922 | View Entire Issue (June 19, 1908)
AT NAPLES right than linvo you live to toll nn other story. Hurrah! now you'vo got It happy thought! You'll try It on tlio dog. Fixing him with your eyo you Dogin: The Funny Thingi One See in Smiling Round the World MARSHALL P. WILDER (Copyright, by Joseph I). Uowlcs.) Wo spent nvo days nt Nnples, nnd filled ovory hour of It with slght-sco-lug. Of course wo stopped nt Her culancumj but what can I ndd to tho tributes that hnvo been paid to that wonder of wonders? From its thrco strata of towns havo been oxhutned tho rarest and choicest treasures that adorn tho Naples museum. Wo walked upon tho crust of tho soothing volcano of Solfatara, now halt oxtinct In fact, It has laid torpid for seven centuries and is now spread with lush vegetation In tho spring tlmo, and tho walk to It, at that sea son, Is through an Inclosuro Hko a lovely park of winding alloys and flower-edged paths. Hut In January wo saw only the bare crust of tho crater, from whoso cliffs camo puffs of will to smoko, warnings that, at any moment, Its hidden llreB might break forth. Wo did not, ns at Hawaii, drop our visit ing cards into tho clofts, otriy to seo them burst Into llama and consume in a few seconds, for wo were not so curious about subterranean matters as when wo were fresh and greon In globo-trottlng experiences; but wo ventured out In obedlonco to our guide In whom a long familiarity with craters hud doubtless bred con tempt to a few feet of tho center. Ho stamps upon it and says it is hollow. It certainly appears so. Ho Jumps upon It, and tho mirfaco quivers. You begin to fool creepy up nnd down your spinal column, but, led on by his ur gent appeals and assertions of "No fear! not bo frnldl" you follow him on tip-too to tho very mlddlo of tho rock ing thing, hoping with nil your soul that it will hold togothor until you aro safely off It, when you como to a nolo cut of which curls a llttlo vapor and a curious murmuring Bound as of somo giant mumbling in his sleep. And that is tho moment in which you wish you hadn't come. But you aro induced to lean over and peer down into tho hole, and aro fascinated by tho stirring and moving of boiling jiid horrid grny mud that reminds you Instantly of Kipling's "great, gray, greasy Limpopo river," only this In a lako, but gray and greasy enough in all conscience, and seething nnd boiling In tho vent-holo, nnd rising and falling with tho cscap Ing gas that bubbles and bursts and then collects nnd bursts ngnln. Tho lovely Bay of Balae, that wns onco lined with tho palaco-vlllas of tho wenlthy Romans, much ns New port's shore Is to day, held our Interest for a couplo of hours. Wo explored tho rulnB of a castle built by. a Span ish viceroy which stands on tho slto of Nerqjjs villa; wo compared It for beauty to the lonely tcmplo of Scrapls wo nnd Just loft behind us near Poz zuoll, long buried beneath tho sea, to bo at last cast up by Bomo mighty up heaval of unseen Intornal forco. Tho beautiful, curved shore, "so beautiful yet so deadly," from tho wilderness of craters which abound thoro, fascinated us completely. Wo lunched at n llttlo Inn nt Balao, whero wo had somo of tho famed wlno of Posllipo nnd were amused by tho importunities of tho peasant beggars, who very success fully wheedled us out of our sparo cop pors by tholr whines and wllos gnloro. In Egypt It was "backsheesh!" In our ears from morning till night; throughout Europo cries of "pour bolro" and "trinkgeld" haunted ono's footsteps; but ancient llttlo Naples had a word all hor own. It wub "Spaghetti" Simply that, and nothing moro. No last syllable, with criflp ac cent; but tho shortened, curt "Spa ghott!" was hurled nt us from every corner nnd followed, with dotffcnlng echoes, our vanishing carrlago wheels. "Spaghetti Spaghetti " Besldo tho Lucrlno lako wo stood and conjurod up tho spot whero tho villa of Agrlpplna, mother of Nero, probably stood; but tho thought of her cruel murder at tho hands of her mon Btor of a son did not mingle pleasantly with tho peaceful lapping of the waves agnlnst tho reeds, 30 wo turned away and asked to bo taken to tho Grotto dol Cnne, or Dog Giotto, that amazing sepulcher of nnlmnl hopes nnd fears which year by year has drawn thou sands of visitors to its rocky sides. As if In keeping with Its treachorous famo tho guido who shows you tho place is a full-fledged brigand, who, "when work is Blow," ekes out a sub Blstenco by playing nt guido. Ten to ono ho has a llttlo dog at his heels, and thereby hangs a talo. Whllo you listen to tho guido tho puppy looks nt you with blinking eyes and a grin of confidence, tho whllo his busy tnll seems to Bay, "I know you'll novor put me In that polsonouB hole, will you?" And you can't keep your eyes off his ellly llttlo face, until you find yourself wondering If ho's like your little dog nt homo, your fnr-awny "nustor," whoso friendly faco and welcome bark you have missed moro thnn you would enro to say. Certainly this Idiotic llttla pup bonrs no outward resemblance to your fur-awny Uustor; but Inwardly how about that? There lies a story. Shall you tell it to tho guide? No, he's a brigand and, might demand a ransom for permitting you to live for no doubt ho'd rather kill you out "Tho lleos bothered my dog so, I concluded I'd teach 'em n lesson I learned long ngo, but never put In prac tlco. I sent nnd got a pleco of live; nnd put It near tho dag. Tho fleas all hopped onto It nnd stuck. Just ns 1 was getting ready .to throw It in tho uro I turned my back n moment nnd the dog nto tho liver, fiend and all Now, he's liens lined." But about tho Dog Grotto. Woll, It's flllod with carbonic acid gas, nnd for gencrntlons guides havo mado money out of tourists by shoving somo poor mtlo cnnlno Into tho cavo and hoot lng him thero until his legs began to totter and his head to whirl, whon thoy would haul him out nnd rouso him In tho near-by lako until ho re vlvcd; nnd re vivo ho must, for was there not nnothor tourists' cnrrlngu coming down the hill? But sometimes' doggie didn't revive. Woll, ho was only a dog, nnd thero had been In stances whero mon hnd porlshcd In tho foul-sniclllng cave. But that wns ages ago. Thero was a French king who brought a donkey to tho grotto nnd tried tho effect of tho gas on him. Tho nnlmnl died. But why tho king tried It on n donkey I don't know, unless that a rellow-fcellng makes us but, no I won't. Then thoro wns nn enrly Span ish viceroy who wanted to decldo whether tho gas was In prlmo condl tlon or not, bo ho put two of his slaves In tho envo and they were brought out dead. Spoko well for tho gas, at any rnto. Nowadays tho question as to tho vlrtuo of tho gas is moro humnnoly settled. Tho guido takes a burning torch nnd plunges It into tho cavo. Instantly It goes out. But If tho net Is repeated sovoral times tho gus, Im pregnated with Bmoko, "assumes tho appearanco of a Bllvor sen, flowing In rippling wnves ngnlnst tho black wall of tho cavern." A good story Is told of tho guldos of that region. As a mat ter of fact thoy aro wholly unreliable, with their high-sounding nmne3 of this broken wnll or that defaced In scription. It is said that they keep a llttlo dos which thoy offer up us a sacrlflco on tho nltnr of tho tourist's curiosity. "Sholl I throw him In?" thoy will nsk tho visitor; nnd If ho bo of a hu mano disposition ho will quickly re ply, "Certainly not! What d' you think I am?" And the guido will say ranking 1 shrowd guess "I ,tecnk you nro Ameri can. Englecs ho say, 'YnaB, ball Jovo, t'row leotlo beggar con!" But onco thero camo along nn Amorlcan, whom tho guide took to ho English, nnd whon ho asked, "Shall I t'row lectio beggar oen?" tho Ameri can roplled: "If you do, I'll throw your d d car cass in nfter him!" Tho thing to do whllo nt Naples Is to go to tho pink cornl grotto, bo to tho pink coral grotto wo wont It lies between tho Bay of Pozzuoll and that special llttlo bay whero Pliny kept his pavy. Wo went out In a boat with four rowers, tho chlot of whom gnvo us largo bunches of taffy about our country "beeyutooful America," "lino Now York," etc. ho had traveled, oh, yes! ho had been to Jib-later (Gibral tar) and to America "beoyutoeful country!" etc., until it camo tlmo to return, when tho fellow demanded that wo pay thorn a franc each then nnd thoro, Instead of tho equivalent of ten cents ench on tho return to tho shore. Upon refusal ho worked him self up Into n hystorlcal sort, of paroxysm, nnd Bhrloked: "No! not shore! In do boat! In do boat! But my American ncrvo rose to tho occasion and I flatly rofiiBed. notwlthstnndlnir thnt tho situation began to get strained, to put It mildly. Sulkily ho gnvo In, nnd gavo tho commnnd to ro- turn to land, and slowly wo wero pro pelled so slowly, Indeed, that I had sorlous 'misgivings that, wo wero to spend tho night upon tho darkening Ben, whllo tho muttered abuso of our country "Vllo country peoplo vil lains dirty Now York America all thieves!" mado mo long to knock tho rascal overboard and havo dono with him. However, as wo approached tho Bhoro they became moro civil and, as wo alighted glad to bo back with a wholo akin thoy bowed and Bcraped, cap In hand, begging for u Hottloinont at once. But no, tho gamo was now In my hand, and marching up to tho ho tel I demanded of tho manager how It waB thnt ho sent IiIb guests out with a parcel of rascals and extortionists, terrifying haplesB foreign nnd in dulglng In foul nbiiBo of their country, etc., otc. Ho rolled his eyes to heaven nnd protested that ho know nothing of such mothodB; thoy wero honest fellows, nnd hard-working, nnd, by tho Madonna and all tho saints! ho had no knowledge of such Iniquities; It was Incredible, Impossible! etc., otc. "Hero! said I, "horo Ib your nionoy. according to tho ngroement I mndo with you. I will pay no extra oxtor- tlon, nor bo terrified into doing bo. ind, furthermore, for tho protection of my countrymon, I will publish far and wldo, I will print In ovory newspaper of America tho namo of your natal and tho rascally dolng3 of your em ployes " I got no further for tho fellow, with a howl of anguish, fell upon hln knees nnd with clnsped hands implored mo not to "put It In do paper not to ruin hem! hoes fatnleo, doy starve! Do not putt In do paper!" Suppressing tho Inughtor which his ridiculous tenor evoked I consented to rolent and pcaco was restored. When wo entered our carrlago tho rowers wero waiting cap In hand, qulto civil nnd ingratiating; but I Ig nored them completely, and wo drovo off, followed by a storm of cursos and maledictions hurled nt tho Amorlcan whom they found thov couldn't bluff. EKING. A ChlncBO dinner of 47 dishes, n glimpso In to n Chlncso thentor nnd n visit to n popular lecturo hnll tho latter not ono of tho least significant evi dences of 11 rcmarkablo educational purpose bo hind tho workings of tho Chlncso government end ed our visit In Tientsin with an ovenlng of great Interest. Tlianks to tho constant at tention and companionship of Mr. Rob ertson, Y. M. C. A. genoral-Kccrotary In TiontBin, nnd Mr. Fay, n Chlncao resi dent, and a Mr. A. of Yalo, tho moat progroaslvo city undor Chlncso admin istration was opened up to ua in a manner thnt fairly Illumined its edu cational, soclnl and reltgloim prob lems; nnd I wnnt to put before you n fow facts that group themselves nbout thrco things: Tho broad and wlso pol. Icy of tho local Chinese government undor tho greatest of Its mon, Yuan Shi Knl, tho torrlblo borderland be- twoon tho Chlnoso city nnd tho foreign Hettlomcntn nnd tho strategic position occupied by tho Y.' M. C. A. To sny thnt China is nwnkenlr.g or will awakon Is a falso statement of tho enso; to say that China bus awak ened is n platitude. It Is oclf ovldont nnd Btnros you In tho faco on overy cornor, In ovory block, on ovory street. Just ns wo Judgo tho possibilities nnd tho quality of a man's mind by his best work, so wo must Judgo of what China not only is capablo of doing, but will do, by what her best men nro accomplishing nnd havo accomplished. TiontBin Is tho product of ono man's mind. That man, Viceroy Yuan Shi Knl, Is now prlmo minister, or practl cally that In Poking for tho purpose of working out his samo plnnn for tho wholo omplro ns ho has dono for his own city. Therefore what Tientsin Is to-dny China will bo, nnd will bo vory soon, for I bellov Mr. Robert son knows what ho Is talking about whon ho says that tho conviction that China must havo progress nnd tho dctormluntlon to chnngo has solzed upon overy official of high ctandlng from ono end of tho omplro to tho other. And I bollovo that ovory ono who knows tho Chlnoso agrees that whoro tho Chluainaii has tho will he will And tho way. That China 1b progressing by lenps nnd bounds Ib true, but that tho name charge of cnrclossnoss und super ficiality In method may bo brought against her thnt Is brought ngnlnst tho Japanese educational leaders Is not true. Tho Chlnoso educators havo proven In tholr work In Tientsin that thoy can npprohend tho sorlousnoss of a groat problem nnd grapplo with it swiftly nnd strongly. Klndorgartin, primary schools, mlddlo schools, col legos, n university und again normtrt schools for the training of Chlnoso 111011 and women touchers, aro In opera tion, till puroly ChincHo, somo managed by tho govornniont, somo by prlvato Individuals. Tho bonrd of oducntlon Ih undor fearful presauro; 11 great cam paign of education mtiBt bo carried through all over China within ton yeniH If tho nation Is to ho savod. As a result, touchers must bo trained In a hurry. Instead of turning out sec ond grado teachors with auporflclal training, tho following method Js adopted to "get rosults quick:" A normnl school, for oxumplo, for women is eatnbllBhcd with a complete dormi tory Hystom, tho ontlro oxpemioB of tho scholar Is bomo by the govern ment and ten dollars a mouth Is paid to each student besides her expenses, thus placing a premium upon this method of preparation. On the other hand, exnmlnntloiiH aro held In tho different provincial contora, and those students aro selected nnd admitted to tho school who havo tho highest standing. I wont through such n school myself and talked to tho teachors, who wero Chlnoso, of course, but who spoko English. Thero wero about 110 girls preparing for teachers. An apparently luexhaustiblo treasury has been do voted to tho equipment of tlio schools, which surpaBscB anything I havo Been In Jnpnn In tho wny of aclontlllc labor atories for chemistry, physics, biology, physiology and engineering with Its vnrloua branches. An Industrial Bchool, again with a comploto dormitory sys tem, whoro somo 700 mon and boys wero hard at work learning trillion, Bhowed that tho Interest In acadomlc oducntlon hnd not blinded tho educa tional department to tuo value of In dustrial education. Wo visited but ono industrial school and ono establish ment undor government auporvlalon for tho promotion of homo Industry, an "Iron works," but thero nro nvtny tucli enterprises. Tho Chlnoso government Is surely doing Its best. Gnmbllng has beon proiublted within tho city 011 pain of ton yearB' Imprisonment gambling in ovory form. A soarch for nn opium don provod tho olllcloney of the law, nnd Inspection wiped thorn out of ox istenco. Perhnps tho lenst sold about tho out rngooiiB doings of tho forolgnorB In Tientsin tho better. It Ib 11 subject thnt peoplo do not liko to discuss nnd do not wish to have brought before them. It la true, nevertheless, that In tho foreign aottlenionta tho Chlnoso aro llndlng endless opportunity for tho gambling which Is prohibited by tholr government in tholr own city, mnl la novortholesa openly coun tenanced by Bovernl coiibiiIs of for eign nntloiis in splto or tholr ngreo iiionts with tho Chinese govornniont. "Tho China Times," n Tientsin paper, Is waging nn open wnr against housea of 111 rumo and places of amusement of outrageoiia character which nro act ually protected by tho representatives of foiolgn powora. Tho papers tiro full of It. One paragraph J will copy, for It In Buggeallvu and can stand by Itself: "Tho Alhnmbra & Its Pic Hires: Mr. Pratt, British vice con sul, ant lu tho llrltlah consular court on Saturday morning to hear a charge against Mr. A. Harper of tho Alhambrii Russian concession of oxpoalng lndocent plcturtb. . . . Tho consul for dofenso: Tho first 0110 ho thought wns undoubtedly coarse, iih to tho second mid third that wero called Indecent, that, of eourso, was a ninttor not of Indi vidual opinion so much iib of opin ion of tho court trying tho case. It was rather a Btrotch of tho Imag ination to say that one of tho rettsons for objecting was that the Chlnoso wont thero, and that It did not look woll for Chlnoso to see whnt foreigners did In this way. Ho hud no doubt foreigners did lots or things tho Chinese did not ap prove of. H thcBo pictures were permitted In London ho did not see why they should not bo periulttoil bore." Pooplo have a way or imylng that "Thoro ain't no Tin Command iiieutH" beyond Suez, und then dismiss - ing tho matter with tho fooling that thoy havo mado a rathor clover nnd tolling obnorvatlon. Do thoy renllzo, I wondor, that In Bomo ChlnoBO ports tho tonn Amorlcan woman Is synonymous for woman of 111 roputo or prostltuto? Thnnk God It la not so lu Tientsin. Tho American and British governments aro acting so far as Christian nations lu this city, oven ir tho Individual Amorlcan men und Britishers nro showing thoiiiBelvos anything but ChrhitlnnB. Tho Chl noso government Is not going to "stand lor this" long. Thoro will bo a day or reckoning ir tho foiolgn con ceaslona go on putting 11 premium on vlcu nn thoy aro doing now. Mon who havo lived In TiontBin Tor yearB do not heslluto to say that matters must come to n crisis soon. It la In tho Interest or tho peoplo nt homo and or tho United Stntcs, It booiiib to mo, to understand what Is going on. This brings mo to my third point, which Includes a kind of summary of all tho rest, namely, tho Important po sition or tho Y. M. C. A. In Tientsin. A record or hoiiio or the activities or my vory good rrloud Mr. RobortBon will bo most conclusive lu showing that tho Y. M. C. A. In a power Tor edu cation and ror rlghteouHneaa needed and esteemed by tho Chlnoso educa tors. On ono side Mr. Robertson cornea in contact with a vast niinibor or school boys. Ho has sovoral clasaeB In various schools lu physics, and lakes his students to nil tho cen ters or tho city, aiich as tho Western telegraph station, telephone building, powor plant, otc. I lu nlso Is manag ing n regular athletic campaign, has Introduced tho games or association football, coaches the teams nnd pro motes tho truly western Iden of "be ing a thorough sport." Through tho efforts and personality if Mr. Galley and Mr. Robertson tho Y. M. C. A. is lu a position whoro It can have a tremendous Influonco for jound oducatlou and righteousness If tho wheels enn only bo ollod with a llttlo mom monov.