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
