November 18, 11KX). Discovery of Rome's Ancient Altar Stone THE I LUST RATED II EE. I : x i t o r a 1 1 1 1 1 1 h inuclt' (IiIh year In Iho burled ruins of undent Homo have remitted In t lit" iIihio cry of mi nrchni'iilngk'iil troiiHurn which will I ii Id' 1 1 h iliK' In I li very first tank of Ittiiiiini antiquities. 'Pli Ih Im I ho i. liar Hlune of I lie old KmiiiiiiH. It wiih luniight In light In I lie ciiniHe nf the ex- mill Iiiiih made liy I'rof lliuil of I lie Italian department nf a lit liiiltltH ami tint work or h-i Iphciing what letiiiiltiH of tlio Inscription Ii.ih JuhI lieen i onipletcd unit announced by Sinner lloini'tili'o ('(iliipuretll, one of t lit) mi. hi IniriHi! ii nt tit mi i Ian scholars In Italy. Tlio Kite of tin- discovery Ih near the Hpnt where unit tier highly lniiortant lltnl Inul lii'fii mailt' a hIi it lime liefure, tlio milium croi'tt'il oM-r Hie Mniii whore Julius CueHiir'n toinaliiM were Imrlcil Near the Iiiiho of tlio i olnniti I'rof Until nni'iirthi'il a paveinent of miiiooIIi blind, Mtotii'H. lie liaiiioillatoly con liuded thai he hail eiinie iliiin tlio fnttinun "lllacli Stone," which according to hiiiiio of the olil Lulln writers, marked the grave of I C in n ii 1 iih Nolu.tly In HiIh ago cxicctcil to lltnl the Iioiich of KnmiiliiH under the Miotic ii anywlurc cInc, ii h tlio wolf-bred founder of the Ftemnl City ami li Ih twin lirothcr have long Hlnee liccn relegated to tile Umbo i f my t Iih. Imt a inuminieiit on the spot where the olil ItoiiiniiH licllovcil ItnniiilnH to have been Imi li'il wiih of the greatest archaclog lal liilcii'Ht t'nilcmcath thlH pavement, however, a tllHioery wiih made which role Kilted ItomiiliiH' piiHHililo moiuiniciit to a plate of minor IntercHt. Millie ii .Nncrcil Miiiiiiini'iil. In the mlilHl of tlebrlH lay two coluintiH of tufa. tine, perfectly preserved, Ih with out Innrrlptlou. The other, broken off ttliort, Ih chlHellcil on ltn four sides with an archaic Inscription, the oltlcttt extant I.utln known. The sculptor who tnaile the Inscription wiih ilciitl anil forgotten ccnturloH before the birth of Christ and now In the IiihI year of RUINS OF TllK the nlnetoentli century the fragmentary words of the broken legend lmve been brought to light and read. I-ong nud pa tient study by Slgnor Comparettl brought out enough to show that tho stone Is a sacred monument of the earliest period of Roman history. It Is regarded as one of the groat arehaeloglcnl "finds" of the century. All that remains of this column I from seventeen to twenty Inches high. It Is an elghteen-luoh cube at the base, sloping grndunlly toward the top, like nn obelisk. The corners are broken more or loss and the irsorlptlon Is somewhat worn. The obelisk, when Intact, wns probably no taller than sU feet, so It U clear that about half of the Inscription Is lost. As the In scription ran lengthwise, there remains only tho lower part, giving but the begin ning of the lines of writing. So large are the characters that they would have been, when new and clear cut, legible at a dis tance of several paces. Owing to the frag mentary condition of the line an exact re ptoductlon of their sense Is Impossible still there are enough suggestive words yet leg ible to Indicate plainly tho character of the column and of the spot marked by It. The first line reads "Quel hence" (to whom this) and the second "Sacros eed" i bo cursed), which being filled In with tho missing words may bo taken to moan In sub stance "Cursed be he who knowingly vio lates this place " The sacrednos. of the spot Is further suggvstod by the words, found further along. "Iter per dlou estod" tread throughho sacred! Then. too. the word "sord" isortos. tho sacred lots cast at the altar) shows that tho monument marked the sacrificial altar of early Roman times. Sheep, and oxen wore the common sacrifices of the Romans, and around tho obelisk wore found tho hones of these ani mals together with small bronzes and other relics of votive offerings. On tho monu ment Is found the word bolvlovlod." evi dently a combination of the Latin words for ovon and sheep ibos ovls) Imliontltiii of Onto of Monument, Indication of tho date of tho obelisk Is found In the wvrvls "fas'" and "reset," hav ing respectively the moaning of priest and king The period at which the priestly and kingly futictloiifl wero united In Homo was the Hlxth cuntury, II, C, and this, together with the archaic character of tho letters, would place the date tit luiiHt as far hack tin that. An Interostlng point In regard to tho lettering Ib the Greek character of the let ters, Bhowlng that ovon iw early oa tho Blxlli century II. 0. tho literary Inllucnco of tho (IrookH wiih foil In Koine. Slgmir CotnparettrH deciphering of tin Itmcrlptlon proveH that thin lettered obelisk marked the entrance to an ancient temple, poKHlhly tho llrsl of the temples held In reverential nwo by tlio early Romans. This wiih a place of refuse. The allnr became tho Hlto of tho Inter roBtruiu from which a man pleaded for his life before the peoplo ns Hcmbled to Judge him. In later days tho roHtrum became the center of tho polltlcnl life of tho llomnii8, hut In primitive time It wiih the religious center. It Is well known from other discoveries matlo before In this neighborhood that tho rostrum of tho Forum was regarded ns n microti Bpot, and that tho Hiicrlllclat Idea was connected therewith Is evident from various references thereto In Roman literature. Tho Tribune of the 1'eople, when Rented In tho Forum, was In violable, not subject to arrest for any crime whatever. That the actual history of the Bite marked by the obelisk was forgotten when It wna hurled, and that the myth of tho burial of the remains of Itumutus, tho founder of Home, Ik) n en th tho black pavement was trensurcd up as nccouutltiK for tho sncred nt'HH of tho spot, 1b not In tho lenst surpris ing to tho student of tho development of myths. Tho burial of this obelisk Is easily accounted for by the burning of the temple there, which took place at least twice dur ing the first 400 years of Roman rule. Tho connection of this temple with the old fable ROMAN KOKl'M of Romulus and Remus having been reared by a wolf mother Is best proven by tho statue of the wolf which wns found In the subterranean chambers of the capital, the figures of the boys being evidently a later restoration, Kxcavntlons are now going on In tho vicinity of the spot where the sacred monument was found, and It Is expected that other ancient objects of groat value and interest will be unearthed. Though many explorations have been made before Into the earth where ancient Rome Is burled, Prof. Honl's is the first that has been scientifically conducted, nnd tho dis covery of tho altar stone is alone nnd in Itself a Justification for the labor and ex pense of the project. Mosbv of the Boers Christian Dewet is a tn&n of Moltko like taciturnity. Long since bis govern ment ceased to ask him for dlsp.iteb.es writes a correspondent of the London Mall. Middle-aged, mlddlo-slied, middle broad and mlddle-complextoned, Dewet attracts one only by the bright restlessness of his eye. Like a bird, he notes everything within a circumscribed horlton He Is the highest dt-volopment of tho Boer hunter as Louis Botha is tho highest development of the Boor soldier. He knows nothing of the maneuvering of trocps, of the marshaling of brigades, of the handling of an army. He Is but a blunt Boor peasant, who knows every yard of his native country and can ad Judge the strengths and weaknesses of a position at a glance. He fights always on " the passive offensive," waiting for his enemy to make a move and pouncing upon him at the place and time of his greatest weakness. He has no orderly Idea of his own tac tics. Oay after a battle I have, waited upon hire and failed utterly to recegnlie his plans and description of a fight we have seen together To him an opposing army Is a herd of springbok, with a ca pacity for inflicting Injury This latter quality redoubles his watchfulness, but does not alter his strategy He has all OHNHRAL WILLIAM A KOBBK WITH STAFF TAKKN AT ZAMBOANGO, 1 I 1 Brigadier tleneral William A Koobo, commanding -. Major J J 1'crslilng. adjutant general. X Captain Benjamin II. Randolph, Inspector genunl 4. Major J N Morrison, jtttlge advocate, 5, Captain T homtis Swobc, chief tiuuiiermtister. 0. Captalu Theodoru M. I lacker, chief commissary miiHter l. V W. Kobbe, aide-de-camp. the uunlltlfB of n Robin Hood, learned In the name hard school under a similar master. Curiously enough no nccount of Dewet I have tend liatt been written by n man who hns seen the hero of tho Free State. When 1 last saw him ho wore n beard and I doubt if tho exigencies of his later experience have led to his discarding that national trademark 1 never heard him utter a word of Fngllsh nnd 1 know he was never further from llloemfonteln thnti l'retorln in IiIh life. Tho Chrlstlnn Dewet who took his II. A. at Cambridge is a much younger man, n member of a totally different fam ily, from tho colony, who acted ns press censor In l'retorln nnd left there on Juno l for tho east. To him I have to render much thanks for Journalistic enterprise gone to waste. Tho ono man who in any way nuswera tho description of tho Dowct pictured by tho correspondents is Hoofd Commandant l'iot Dowet, tho brother of the command ing general. Hot Dowet Is n youugor man, speaks Kngllsh nnd always nets in concert with his now more famous rela tive. Louis Botha nnd Lucas Meyer nro the only Boer generals who can ever be called "polished gentlemen." Christian Dewet is the most useful nnd tho most successful typo of the Boer lender a peasant who Is unable to express his own idens of leadership. A Remarkable Case There Is a case In Atchtsou of a man falling In lovo with his wife. Shortly after their marriage, relates the Atchison Globe, the wife discovered that "Home, Sweet Homo' did not appeal to her husbaud and that lie preferred the companionship of his men frleuds down town, so set to work to win htm. She did not try any of the recipes for winning a husband's love fouud in the women's papers, which nro mixtures of pretty dresses, n smile and a kiss at the door upon the arrival of the victim; a kiss ns he Is about to leave after li.nuii; eaten his supper iwhleh Is to be dainty, with a bunch of his favorite flowers lu the middle of the table); she is also to go to the piano and win him back by singtug the songs ho admired during their courtship The sensible Atchison woman discarded all such recipes. She said noth ing about her husband's lack of apprecia tion, but simply put her shoulder to the wheel and helped him along. He was in debt. She was thrifty; he got out. She excelled In housekeeping. His meals are substantial nnd on time. She made his home so comfortable In an unobtrusive way that he now hates to leave It. and hurries back after business hours. The woman has one of the most devoted hus bands In town She does not brag of it but just jogs along doing the things he likes HASTINGS. Neb VOLUNTEERS SQUAD Major It. W. Johnson, ciucf Famous Feast Some of the elders will remember, says a writer In the Times-Herald, that It was nut uutl shortly after tho close of tho civil war that thu first twinge of the con troversy between Ureal Britain and llw United States over territory lu tho north west pnssed nway. When the line at forty nino degrees was settled upon ns tho boun dary the question of thu ownership of the islands between Wnshugton Territory and ancouver was still unsettled. The United States by terms of the treaty wns to have the Islands east of the channel. There wero two channels nnd the question ns to which was meant was left to the emperor of Ger many to decide. If the western passage were meant there belonged to tho United States sevtral islands which would be lost If the treaty were construed lu Its wording to mean thu passage to the east. While tho matter was In nbeyancu the two governments felt It necessary In order not to losu prestige to maintain garrisons on the disputed ground. The United States was represented by one company of the old Ninth Infantry, while there were two com panies of British regulars nnd several of ficers representing the rival powers. In command of the little American contingent wns Second Lieutenant Michael J. Fitz gerald, who had been through the civil war ns a noncommissioned otllcer nnd who hnd been given his step In the regular service for gallantry. When the young otllcer was about to leave San Francisco General Mc Dowell, then In command of the division of the 1'acltlc, sent for him and impressed upon him the delicate nature of his mis slon. As a matter of fact, McDowell was afraid from Fitzgerald's name that there might be lu him enough heredltnry feeling against the British soldiers to make It very easy for htm to find nn excuse to precipitate trouble. "Above all things, Lieutenant Fitz gerald," said the general, "observe the rules of International courtesy." "I'll do that same general." answered Fitzgerald promptly. "There'll be no war growing out of my treatment of tho red coats." The next day he set sail foi his northern post with his little band of followers. The American and British garrisons were only an hour's trip apart. When Lieu tenant Fitzgerald was Installed finally In his quarters and was feeling the full weight of being not only company commander, but commanding officer of a United States gar rison, he was called upon In turn by oath of the half-dozen officers stationed n few miles beyond the hill Fi'zgerald returned the calls promptly and shortly thereafter was Invited to dine with six KngUshmen OF SCOUTS UNDER GENERAL GRANT surgeon. S. Clmrles K stuuton, chief pn- For British Officers as hosts. At that dinner tho American lieutenant was entertained royally. Then: was nothing In thu British garrison tha' was too good for him. As ho put It after ward to his comrades In the states, "It was a wet night." When Fitzgerald had returned to his quarters nnd three week had passed away he thought It was nbout time to prepare to return In sonio wny the hospitality oi the Kiigllshmen. The supplies at his disposal were a jug of whisky ami the ordinary army rations. There was nothing gocd, barring that which was in the British possession, nearer than San Francisco. Fitzgerald was a man of expedients. Th next boat carried some commissions to the California metropolis. Three weeks afterward six British officers nnd the handful of civilian officials, both American and KnglUli. that wero on tho Island received eneh n communication. Lieutenant Fitzgerald was no mere dinner giver. Upon opening the envelope con taining his communication each recipient found n handsomely engraved Invitation surmounted by the arms of the United States. It rend as follows: The Commanding Officer of Fort San Junn Respectfully Requests tho Presence of Captain Maurice Fltzhcrbert at a Banquet To lie Given Thanksgiving live, ISCfl. A week afterward a round hundred largo packages arrived from San Francisco. Fitz gerald told about twenty of his soldiers that It would not tlo for nn American officer to bo outdone lu hospitality. Ho forthwith proceeded to Instruct the twenty In duties as waiters. Ho picked out of tho command four or live musicians and had them pro vided with Instruments. When the British officers and thu civilian contingent nrrlved and preliminary courtesies were exchanged they were shown Into a banquet hall with a tablo glittering with cut glass and silver. They ato of delicacies and substnntlnls that nono of them thought could be found nearer than New York, and they drank of wines that none other thnn the cellar of a con noisseur could have contained. There wns n waiter for every guest and the music lagged not until the speaking began. It wns all over, however, about three hour.) after the host had excused himself tem porarily to attend reveille roll call. Lieutenant .Michael .1. Fitzgerald looked at the pile of bills tendered. In amount they were $1,100. The banquet had cost $".' a plate. He looked at his monthly pay nc count In three weeltH ho would have cash In hand to tho amount of $iii!t'i;. Lieuten ant nigernld p.-iHseil the night In thought. In the iiiornliif, there wns n look of relief upon hit face. In an hour's llmo there wns icady for triitiHtulsHliiu lo headquarters In Sim FriuiclHcn Home official envelopes marked lu red Ink and large letters: "In ternal loiial Courtesies " Inclosed were hills for pate do fole gran, rare old Burgundy and other things. With the Imiosure went thin "Kxcerpt from Major General Mc Dowell's Inst met Ions: 'Above all things, Lieutenant Fitzgerald, observe the rules of international courtesy.' " McDowell fumed, and tradition hath It that he swore, but he ordered the bills paid out of the contingent fund. I'nbeaten Detroit Journal: The ingenue had hnd bestowed upon her n gorgeous boquet of roses That was what started the conversation. Speaking of things handed to artists over the footlights." observed the lending heavy, produung from his portmanteau n Chlua egg 1 should like to see anybody beat this' ' Ml laughed heartily, for this Joke was incxtn ably interwoven with many of the best traditions of the drama