it Is Practically a Complete History
of the Spanish-American War ,
NO CRITICISMS ARE MADE ,
It I * Larcoly Made Up of Official Dls-
' patches General Allloa Selected Shaf-
tor fur Duty In Cuba ItocommoutU an
Army of 100,000.
WASHINGTON , Dec. S. The annual
report of Secretary Alger is a practi
cally complete history of the Spanish-
American war. The secretary has
t given to the public not only all the
official dispatches that passed directly
bctwcon his own office and command
ing officers in the field and camp , but
has supplemented these with short ex
planatory notes , setting forth the
reasons for various movements , and
then , to complete the record of events ,
ho has included in the body of his re
port the report of General Miles , of all
the generals who participated in the
campaigns in Cuba , Porto Rico or the
Philippines , and , finally , the reports
of the bureau officers of the war de
partment. Nowhere is there shown a
disposition to criticise , the official dis
patches being allowed to tell their
own story , and , generally , the secre
tary finds much to praise and cause for
sincere congratulation in the results
. obtained.
The report proper begins with what
may bo described as a chronological
history of the war , consisting of a
number of short paragraphs beginning
with the declaration of war on April
21 , and setting forth the date upon
which any event of importance oc
curred , but making no comment what
ever upon the facts. The only excep
tion to this rule is in a reference to the
casualties at Santiago. Some criticism
having been made that there was a
lack-of surgeons present , the report
states that there were 140 surgeons in
attendance , and that of 1,431 wound
ed , only thirteen died of their wounds.
Touching the surrender at Santiago ,
the report shows that Shatter de
manded the surrender on the 3d and
renewed this demand on the 4th. On
the morning of the llth another de
mand was made. On the evening of
that day General Miles arrived , and
on the 13th and 14th of July , he , with
General Shatter , met the Spanish com
mander under a flag of truce , to dis
cuss the surrender. On the afternoon
of the 14th , General Mile's left Gen
eral Shafter's headquarters and soon
thereafter went aboard ship prepara
tory to sailing for Porto Rico. July 17
Toral surrendered 23,000 meu upon our
terms and the American flag was
hoisted by order of General Shaf ter.
The secretary , coming down in his
history to the middle of August , when
an order was issued that is now in ex
ecution to muster out 100,000 volun
teers , says :
"Thus an army of about 250,000 vol
unteers and recruits for the regulars
was called into existence from civil
life , and , including the regular army ,
the total force was 274,717 men. It
was organized , armed and equipped
( no supplies being on hand other than
those for the regulars , save Spring
field muskets ) and 50,000 men of this
force were transported by land and
sea to battlefields in the tropics , 10,000
miles apart , where they won their
victories without a single defeat , and
nil within the period of 113 days from
the declaration of war to the signing
of the protocol.
Fralse for the Entire Army.
"This great achievement can be cred
ited to no individual ; it belongs to the
nation. It was accomplished through
the intelligence and patriotism of all
who served , from the coramander-in-
chief to the private in the ranks. It
also speaks volumes for the prompt ,
patriotic and intulligent assistance of
the people who furnished , in so short
a period , the supplies necessary to pre
pare this great army for the field. To
the heroic men who served in distant
lands , the country will over offer a
true meed of praise ; but the mighty
army in camp , ready and eager to take
the field , should also be given equal
credit. It was their presence , ready
at an hour's notice for any emergency ,
that overawed the enemy and proved
to them that further resistance woulu
be in vain.
"The deaths in the army from May 1
to October 1 , including killed , died of
wounds and of disease , were 2,010 , the
smallest death rate recorded of any
army in history , a remarkable fact
when it is considered that over 50,000
of our troops , born and reared in the
temperate zone , were campaigning in
tropical climates , subject to rain and
heat almost unprecedented. "
The secretary says of the volunteers
that to furlough them in winter would
be a hardship , so he recommends that ,
in lieu of the furlough , -the officers
and men be given two months' pay at
the time of their discharge , thus ad
mitting of their prompt disehargo in
their present camps in the South.
Under the head of increase in the
permanent establishment , the secre
tary says :
Army of 10O.OOO Recommended.
' In view of the needs of a military
force in the islands occupied by the
United states , it is earnestly recom
mended that the regular army bo per
manently increased to 100,000 men
and the requisite officers ; that a portion
tion of this army bo recruited from
the inhabitants of those islands , to be
mustered into the service of the United
States , commanded by officers of our
army , discretion , however , to bo given
- to the President to make appointments
of officers from the force recruited.
"These men are acclimated , under
stand the language and habits of their
\ countrymen , and their enlistment will
not only give them employment , but
\ also have the tendency to enable the
government to get into closer touch
with their people than it wo\ild other
wise bo able to do. This would also
relieve our own people from serving in
those climates to a largo extent , and
would , moreover , enable the volun
teers to bo mustered out of the scrvico
and return to the vocations of civil
lifo. "
Another suggestion is that > here
should bo employed in the United
States service a constabulary force for
the cities of Cuba , Porto Rico and the
Philippines , who have had experience
and can speak the language of the
islands.
Government Railroad Suscettcd.
Secretary Alger thinks that the gov
ernment will bo greatly taxed to sup
ply the destitute , especially in Cuba.
The effort should be made , ho thinks ,
to give the people work instead of al
lowing them to dwell in idleness , liv
ing upon charity.
Ho says : "Would it not bo wise
economy for the government of the
United States to construct a substan
tial railroad , practically the whole
length of the island of Cuba , with
branch roads lending to the leading
cities on the coast ? Such a road
would , of course , cost a large sum ,
perhaps 520,000,000 ; but it would give
employment to the people of Cuba ,
teach them habits of industry , be an
inducement for them to cultivate their
farms and thus furnish supplies for
the laborers and for market when
the road is constructed. This ,
in my judgment , is absolutely essen
tial to the pacification and develop
ment of that great island. It will
bring its minerals , lumber and agri
cultural products to market and open
up communication with all parts of
the island with the least possible
delay. The road would be a good
property , and when it 1ms served its
purpose for the government , could be
sold for its cost. If such an improve
ment is not made , the government
will , no doubt , cxpeud fully that much
in charity. "
The secretary says that , even if this
road is to be built , there is a necessity
for a large appropriation to relieve
the destitute. The sanitation of the
cities should also have immediate at
tention and a portion of the taxes col
lected in the island should be expended
for that work.
Expenses of the Army.
Some recommendations that occur
in the early portion of the report are
that provision be made for a statue of
General Grant ; that Chief Clerk Twee-
dale be made a lieutenant colonel ; that
provision be made for a second assist
ant secretary of war , and that an ap
propriation be made for the construc
tion of the Lake Union , Washington ,
ship canal.
The statement of expenditures and
estimates present some formidable
figures. The expenditures for the fis
cal year endecl June 30 last , were 862-
531,784 , and the estimates for the next
fiscal year , beginning July 1 , 1899 , are
§ 195,2uO,377. Of this great estimate ,
the sum of § 55,430,900 is charged to
pay of the army. The estimate of ex
traordinary appropriations required
for the six months ending June 30 ,
1899 , are 860,177,539 , and the estimates
for that period , combined with those
for the next fiscal year , reach a total
of 8255,427,917.
At this point the secretary includes
the reports of General Miles and of all
the other generals who participated in
active operations. He then takes up
the telegraphic and other correspon
dence relating to the war , and that
matter occupies more than a fourth of
the secretary's whole report.
The first duty for which General
Shaf ter was selected , viz. , to make a
reconnoisance in force about 5,000
strong on the south side of Cuba , Sec
retary Alger says , was abandoned on
account of the movements of the ene
my's fleet. Says the secretary :
"Major General Shafter was selected
to command the expedition to Cuba by
the major general of the army , who
made the recommendation to the Pres
ident , and with this recommendation
the secretary of war was in full accord.
Results proved the wisdom of the as
signment. "
Speaking of the embarkation of the
army from Port Tampa , the report
says : "The great difficulty was the
want of transports ; the loading facil
ities at Port Tampa were imperfect ,
and there was great confusion caused
by the large concentration of supplies
there. Railroad facilities were inad
equate ; there was a failure to label
the cars , and the postoffice was con
gested so "that bills of lading were
delayed. Few of the thirty-six trans
ports finally gathered there were fit
for such service , but they were the
best that could be had , andwhile they
were rated at 23,000 passengers in ea-
pacity , even the 16,000 persons trans
ported was a larger number than
should have been carried. Fortunate
ly , they arrived without serious acci
dent , however.
GARCIA AT THE WHITE HOUSE ,
Distinguished Cuban General Fays an
Unofficial Visit to the President.
WASHINGTON , Dec The members
of the Cuban commission , headed by
General Garcia , called at the "White
House at 2dO o'clock yesterday after
noon , and were soon ushered into the
cabinet room , where they were re
ceived by the President. The meeting ,
however , was entirely informal and
unofficial in character. The greeting
of the President was very cordial , but
the distinguished Cubans were received
as citizens of Cuba and not as having
any official status.
Miles' Regular Army Bill.
WASHINGTON , Dec.5 . General Miles ,
commanding the army , has prepar *
the draft of a bill providing for a
regular standing army of 100,000 men.
The bill , it is said , will provide for an
organization of twelve companies to
the regiment , with an arrangement
for a third lieutenant for each com
pany in case of need for that officer. _ _
The Heaviest Fall of the Season
for the West ,
ALL KANSAS IS COVERED ,
Eastern Nebraska , Iowa and IVostoru
Missouri Bcnoath White Flabes Not n
Cloud at St. IouJ3 Zero Weather in
South Dakota.
KANSAS CITY , Dec. 5. The heaviest
snow storm of the season began falling
ing- here this morning about G o'clock
and kept it up all day with a strong
wind blowing from the Northwest.
Although the wind was from one di
rection the snow eddied and circled
around from all points of the compass ,
filling the ears and eyes and pouring
down the necks of pedestrians. It was
not cold , so the greatest discomfort
was the blinding bombardment of
snow flakes.
The storm began with a shower of
sleet , which soon turned into snow.
The street railway companies were out
with their sweepers early and suc
ceeded in keeping their tracks open for
traffic. The telegraph and telephone
wires aim poles were quickly coated
with snow , and with freezing weather
much trouble is expected from broken
wires.
The snow storm extends over East-
era Kansas , Eastern Nebraska , Iowa
and Missouri. Although it is snowing
all about Kansas City , there is not a
cloud at Springfield nor'at St. Louis ,
Mo. It is clear in the Northwest and
in the Eastern part of the United
States. Zero weather is reported to
day only from Huron , S. D.
ALL KANSAS SNOW COVERED ,
Rain and Sleet Am Followed by the
Heaviest Storm of the Year.
TOPEEA , Kan. , Dec. 5 The heaviest
snow storm this year is falling in Kan
sas. It began soon after daylight in
Central and Eastern Kansas. Before
10 o'clock four inches had fallen in To-
peka. In the early morning the wind
was light and not cold , but with in
creasing snowfall the wind became
more severe. Along the Hock Island
railroad the reports" all told of snow.
Smith Center , Lebanon , Salina report
ed a heavy snowfall during the fore
noon. From Wellington came the
report of a heavy fall of wet snow. A
telegram from Fort Scott says rain
fell most of the .night and snow was
falling fast this morning. The storm
did not extend to the extreme south
west part of the state. At Dodge City
neither snow nor rain had fallen at
10 o'clock.
READING , Kan. , , Dec. 3. The cold
wave struck here early this morning
and quickly developed into a fierce
storm. Several inches of snow has
fallen and is drifting. Many telegraph
wires are down. Large numbers of
cattle were dehorned here yesterday
and will suffer much from the cold.
ATCHISON , Kan. , Dec. 3. A heavy
snow is falling over the Missouri Pa
cific railroads in Northwestern Kan
sas. West of Grccnleaf there is little
snow.
LAWRENCE , Kan. , Dec. 3. Three
inches of snow fell here this morning
and the storm continued all day.
YATES CEHTER , Kan. , Dec. 3. A
heavy snow storm , beginning early
this morning , is falling here now.
The wind is high and the temperature
falling.
SHE MAY WED A GREEK PRINCE
A Blarrlago Arranged llotivccn Victoria
of "Wales and Gaorgo of the Hellenes.
LONDON , Dec3. . It is announced on
high authority that the marriage of
Prince George of Greece and his cous
in , Princess Victoria of Wales , has
been arranged. It is expected that
such a marriage would strengthen the
prince's position and assist him in his
ambition to become prince of Crete.
No explanation is given of the break
ing of the engagement that was re
ported this spring between Princess
Victoria and Lord Revelstoke , the
head of the house of Baring. In spite
of the Baring failure , four years ago ,
the princess , it is said , was determined
to marry the head of the house in spite
of the objections of her family.
This Is Politics In Now Jersey.
ATLANTIC CITY , N. J. , Dec. 5. A
bomb was exploded last night near
the house of Councilman Edward
Johnson of Brigantine City. It tore a
hole in the ground and shattered windows
dews , but did no injury to any person
in the cottage. Mr. Johnson thinks
the bomb was exploded by political
enemies , whom he was instrumental iq
turning out of office.
A Dig Texas Kanch Sale.
FORT WORTH , Texas , Dec. 5. W. Q.
Richards of Quanah has bought the
ranch property of the Hesperian Cat
tle company in Cattle and Ford coun
ties , consisting of 75,000 acres of pat
ented land and 20,000 acres of leased
land , and a herd of 7,000 graded cat
tle. The price paid was § 1.3 3 Jo per
acre for the land and S20 a head for
the cattle , counting the calves/
TVoolncr Distillers In a Family OuarrcL
PEORIA , 111. , Dec. 5. Jacob Woolncr
now declares that he intends to fit up
the Great Eastern distillery and oper
ate it at once , grinding 5,000 bushels
of corn a day. His action has greatly
angered his brother , Samuel Woolner ,
vice president of the Standard com
pany , and he has filed in the recorder's
office evidences of Jacob Woolner's in
debtedness to him amounting to 847-
000.
Mlssfsslppl has only 1.3S per cent , of
the railroad mileage in the country.
TALMAGE'S SEEMON.
'DARK SAYINGS ON A HARP"
SUNDAY'S SUBJECT.
From Psalms rllx. , 4 , as rollovri : "X
Will Open My Dark Sayings Upon the
Harp" Some Pertinent Interrogations
for Everyday Life.
The world is full of the inexplicable ,
the impassable , the unfathomable , the
insurmountable. "We cannot go three
steps in any direction without coming
up against a hard wall of mystery ,
riddles , paradoxes , profundities , laby
rinths , problems that we cannot solve ,
hieroglyphics that we cannot decipher ,
anagrams we cannot spell out ,
sphinxes that will not speak. For that
reason , David in my text proposed to
take up some of these sombre and dark
things and try to set them to sweet
music. "I will open my dark sayings up
on the harp. " So I look off upon society
and find people in unhappy conjunc
tion of circumstances , and they do not
know what it means , and they have
a right to ask , Why is this ? Why is
that ? and I think I will be doing a
good work by trying to explain some
of these strange things , and make you
more content with your lot , and I shall
only be answering questions that have
often been asked me , or that we have
all asked ourselves , while I try to set
these mysteries to music and open my
dark sayings on a harp.
Interrogation the first : Why does
God take out of this world those who
are useful and whom we cannot spare ,
and leave alive and in good health so
many who are only a nuisance to the
world ? I thought I would begin with
the very toughest of all the seeming
inscrutables. Many of the most use
ful men and women die at thirty or
forty years of age , while you often
find useless people alive at sixty and
seventy and eighty. John Careless
wrote to Bradford , who was soon to
be put to death , saying : "Why doth
God suffer me and such other cater
pillars to live , that can do nothing
but consume the alms of the church ,
and take away so many worthy work
men in the Lord's vineyard ? " Similar
questions are often asked. Here are
two men. The one is a noble char
acter and a Christian man ; he chooses
for a lifetime companion one who has
been tenderly reared , and she is
worthy of him and he is worthy of
her ; as merchant , or farmer , or pro
fessional man , or mechanic , or artist ,
he toils to educate and rear his chil
dren ; he is succeeding , but ho has
not yet established for his family a
full competency ; he seems indispen
sable to that household ; but one day ,
before he has paid off the mortgage
on his house , he is coming home
through a strong northeast wind , and
a chill strikes through him , and four
days of pneumonia end his earthly
career , and the wife and children go
into a struggle for shelter and food.
His next-door neighbor is a man who ,
though strong and well , lets his wife
support him ; he is around at the gro
cery store , or some general loafing-
place , in the evenings , while his wife
sews ; his boys are imitating his exam
ple , and lounge and swagger and
swear. All the use that man is in that
house is to rave because his coffee
is cold when he comes to a late break
fast , or to say cutting things about
his wife's looks , when he furnishes
nothing for her wardrobe. The best
thing that could happen to that fam
ily would be that man's funeral ; but
he declines to die ; he lives on and on ,
and on. So we have all noticed that
many of the useful are early cut off ,
while the parasites have great vital
tenacity.
I take up this dark saying on my
harp , and give three or four thrums
on the string in the way of surmising
and hopeful guess. Perhaps the use
ful man was taken out of the world
because he and his family were so
constructed that they could not have
endured some great prosperity that
might have been just ahead , and they
altogether might have gone down in
the vortex of worldliness which every
year swallows up ten thousand house
holds. And so he went while he was
humble and consecrated , and they were
by the severities of life kept close to
Christ , and fitted for usefulness here
and high seats in heaven , and when
they meet at last before the throne ,
they will acknowledge that , though
the furnace was hot , it purified them ,
and prepared them for an eternal ca
reer of glory and reward for which no
other kind of life could have fitted
them. On the other hand the useless
man lived on to fifty , or sixty , or sev
enty years , because all the ease he
ever can have , he must have in this
world , and you ought not , therefore ,
begrudge him his earthly longevity. In
all the ages there has not a single
loafer ever entered heaven. There is
no place for him to hang around. Not
even in the temples , for they are full
of vigorous , alert and rapturous wor
ship. If the good and useful go early ,
rejoice for them that they have so
soon got through with human life ,
which at best is a struggle. And if
the useless and the bad stay , rejoice
that they may be out in the world's
fresh air a good many years before
their final incarceration.
Interrogation the second : Why do
good people have so much trouble ,
sickness , bankruptcy , persecution , the
three black vultures sometimes put
ting their fierce beaks into one set of
jangled nerves ? I think now of a good
friend I once had. He was a consecrated
crated Christian man. an elder in the
church , and as polished a Christian
gentleman as ever walked Broadway.
First his general health gave out and
he hobbled around on a cane , an old
man at forty. After a while paralysis
struck him. Having by poor health
been compelled suddenly to quit busi
ness , ho lost what property ho had.
Then his beautiful daughter died ;
then a eon became hopelessly dement
ed. Another son , splendid of mind
and commanding of presence , resolved
that he would take care of his father's
household ; but under the swoop of
yellow fever at Fernandlna , Fla. , he
suddenly expired. So you know good
men and women who have had enough
troubles , you think , to crush fifty pee
ple. No worldly philosophy could take
such a trouble and set it to music , or
play it on violin or flute , but I dare
to open that dark saying on a gospel
harp.
You wonder that very consecrated
people have trouble ? Did you ever
know any very consecrated man or
woman who had not had great trouble ?
Never ! It was through their troubles
sanctified that they were made very
good. If you find anywhere in this
city a man who has now , and always
has had , perfect health , and never lost
a child , and has always been popular ,
and never had business struggla or
misfortune , who is distinguished for
goodness , pull your wire for a tele
graph messenger-boy , and send me
word , and I will drop everything and
go right away to look at him. There
never has been a man like that , and
never will -be. Who are those arro
gant , self-conceited creatures who
mo'e about without sympathy for
others , and who think more of a St.
Bernard dog , or an Alderney cow , era
a Southdown sheep , or a Berkshire
pig than of a man ? They never had
any trouble , or the trouble was never
sanctified. Who are those men who
listen with moist eye as you tell them
of suffering , and who have a pathos
in their voice , and a kindness in their
manner , and an excuse or an allevia
tion for those gone astray ? They are
the men who have graduated at the
Royal Academy of Trouble , and they
have the diploma written in wrinkle1 *
on their own countenances. My ! my !
What heartaches they had ! What
tears they have wept ! What injustice
they have suffered ! The mightiest in
fluence for purification and salvation
"
is trouble. No diamond fit for a crown
until it is cut. No wheat fit for bread
till it is ground. There are only three
things that can break off a chain a
hammer , a file , or a fire ; and trouble
is all three of them. The greatest
writers , orators and reformers get
much of their force from trouble. What
gave to Washington Irving that ex
quisite tenderness and pathos which
will , make his books favorites while
the English language continues to be
written and spoken ? An early heart
break , that he never once mentioned ;
and when , thirty years after the death
of Matilda Hoffman , who was to have
been his bride , her father picked up a
piece of embroidery and said , "That
is a piece of poor Matilda's workman
ship , " Washington Irving sank from
hilarity into silence , and walked away.
Out of that lifetime grief the great
author dipped his pen's mightiest rein
forcement. "Calvin's Institutes of Re
ligion , " than which a more wonder
ful book was never written by human
hand , was begun * by the author at
twenty-five years of age , because of
the persecution by Francis , king of
France. Faraday toiled for all time
on a salary of eighty pounds a year
and candles. As every brick of the
wall of Babylon was stamped with the
letter N , standing for Nebuchadnezzar ,
so every part of the temple of Chris
tian achievement is stamped with the
letter T , standing for trouble.
* * *
Interrogation third : Why did the
good God let sin or trouble come into
the world when he might have kept
them out ? My reply is , He had a good
reason. He had reasons that he has
never given us. He had reasons which
he could no more make us understand
in our finite state than the father ,
starting out on some great and elab
orate enterprise , could make the two-
year-old child in its armed chair com
prehend it. One was to demonstrate
what grandeur of character may be
achieved on earth by conquering cvi1.
Had there been no evil to conquer and
no trouble to console , then this uni
verse would never have known an
Abraham , or a Moses , or a Joshua , or
an Ezekiel , or a Paul , or a Christ , or a
Washington , or a John Milton , or a
John Howard , and a million victories
which have been gained by the consecrated
crated spirits of all ages would never
have been gained. Had there been no
battle , there would have been no vic
tory. Nine-tenths of the anthems of
heaven would never have been sung.
Heaven could never have been a thou
sandth part of the heaven that it is. I
will not say that I am glad that sin
and sorrow did enter , but I do say that
I am glad that after God has given all
His reasons to an assembled universe ,
Hewill be more honored than if sin
and sorrow had never entered , and that
the unfallen celestials will be outdone ,
and will put down their trumpets to
listen , and it will be in heaven when
those who have conquered sin and sorrow
row shall enter as it would be in a
small singing school on earth if Thai-
berg , and Gottschalk , and Wagner , and
Beethoven , and Rheinberger , and Schu
mann should all at once enter. The
immortals that have been chanting ten
thousand years before the throne will
say , as they close their librettos : "Oh ,
if we could only sing like that ! But
God will say to those who have never
fallen , and consequently have not been
redeemed : "You must be silent now ;
you have not the qualification for this
anthem. " So they sit with closed lips
and folded hands , and sinners saved by
grace take up the harmony , for the
Bible says "no man could learn that
song but the hundred and forty and
four thousand which were redeemed
from the earth. "
Amid the tussle and romp of reunion
I tell you whose hand of welcome you
had better first clasp , and whose cheek
is entitled to the first kiss. It is the
hand and the cheek of him without
whom you would never have got there
at all , the Lord Jesus , the darling of the
skies , as he cries out , "I have loved
thee with an everlasting love , and the
fires could not burn it , and the floods
could not drown it" Then you , my
dear people , having no more use for
my poor harp , on which" I used to open
your dark sayings , and whose jchprds
sometimes snapped , despoiling the
symphony , you will take down your
own harps from the willows that grow
by the eternal celestial water courses ,
and play together those celestial airs ,
some of the names of which are enti
tled , "The King in His Beauty , " "The
Land That Was Far Off. " And as the
last dark curtain of mystery is forever
lifted , It will bo as though all the oratorios
tories that were ever heard had been
rolled Into one , and "Israel in Egypt , "
and "Jephthah's Daughter , " and Bee
thoven's "Overture In C , " and Rit-
ter's first "Sonata In D minor , " and the
"Creation , " and the 'Messiah" had been
blown from the lips of one trumpet , or
been Invoked by the sweep of one bow ,
or had dropped from the vibrating
chords of one harp.
But here I must jslcw up lest , in
tryng to solve mysteries , I add to the
mystery that we have already won
dered at , namely. Why preachers
should keep on after all the hearers are
tired. So I gather up into one great
armful all the whys and hews and
wherefores of your life and mine , which :
we have not had time or the ability to
answer , and write on them the words ,
"Adjourned to Eternity. " I rejoice
that we do not understand all things
now , for if we did , what would we
learn in heaven ? If wo knew it all
down here in the freshmen and sopho
more class , what would be the use of
our going up to stand amid the juniors
and the seniors ? If we could put down
one leg of the compass , and with , the
other sweep a circle clear around all
the inscrutables , if we could lift our
little steelyards , and weigh the throne
of the Omnipotent , if we could with our
seven-day clock measure eternity , what
would be left for heavenly revelation ?
So I move that we cheefully adjourn
what is now beyond our comprehen
sion ; and as , according to Rollin , the
historian , Alexander the Great , having :
obtained the gold casket in which
Darius had kept his rare perfume , used
that aromatic casket thereafter to keep
his favorite copy of Homer in , and-
called the book , therefore , the "Edition
of the Casket , " and at night put the
caske't and his sword under his pillow ;
so I put , this day , into the perfumed-
casket of your richest affections and
hopes this promise , worth more than
anything Homer ever wrote or sword.
ever conquered : "What I do thou
shalt know hereafter , " and that I call
the "Edition Celestial. "
STORYETTES.
At Killarney every visitor hears
some laughable stories. Here Is one :
"A number of boatmen who were quar
reling about the division of "tips" in
dulged at the top of their voices in a
good deal of profane language , which ,
the marvelous echo repeated verbatim.
"Arrah , look at that , now , for a scan
dal , " said one of the party , who was-
of a pious turn. "T'aching the poor
harmless echo to curse and sware. "
The construction of Prince Bis
marck's sentences were frequently per
tentous. On the occasion to which I
have been particularly referring , says ij
a writer in the Century , my compan- jj
ion was as impatient as only an intel
ligent woman can be to secure the in
tellectual treat before her and gave
minute instructions to her interpre
ter. All went well for a time , as the
low voice of the painstaking transla
tor rendered with some adequacy the
thought of Bismarck. Then there were
short pauses , followed by rapid little
summaries of what had been said. AS
these grew more and more frequent ,
the lady became irritated. Finally
there was an entire cessation on the
part of the interpreter and yet Bis
marck was going right on with ever-
increasing vehemence. There were
constant calls from the lady of "What's
he saying ? What's he saying ? " and
an increase of impatience in the box
quite proportionate to the growing violence
lence of the speaker. Finally the
wretched interpreter could endure the
strain no longer and , turning with a
gesture of fierce resentment to his ex
cited employer , he hissed : "Madam , I
am waiting for the verb ! "
Sorrow and Beanty.
Observation has disproved for me the
theory that only the women de.void of
emotion and feeling can retain a
youthful appearance in maturity. I
personally know three women who
have passed through heart-tragedies
and cyclones of emotion , and who yet
wear the satin of youth upon their
cheeks , albeit their birthdays have
long ceased to be among the year's fes
tivals for them. They said , like an
other before them , "My youth and my
happincss are gone , why should I
throw my beauty after them ? " And
they straightway began to battle with
time and grief. There was scientific
massage for the encroaching lines
about the mouth and eyes ; there were
carefully prepared baths for the com
plexion and varying "food tonic" for
the wasted pores ; there were outdoor
exercises unlimited , resting and sleep-
producing. Strong , great emotions ,
such as love and sorrow ( and they
walk ever hand in hand ) , may ravage
beauty for a season , but they intensify
it eventually if the exterior is well
cared for. Ella Wheeler Wilcox in.
Woman's Home Companion.
The exasperating trivialities of lifo
are little lead lines let down to fathom
our religion.