THE ILLUSTRATED 15 EE. April 12, 1901 Thb Illustrated IJeb. Published Weekly by The Hoe Publishing Company, liee Building, Ouwha, Neb. Price, Be Per Copy Per Year. $2.00. Entered at the Omaha Poit office as Second Class Mall Matter. For Advertising Rates Address Publisher. Communication relating to photograph or articles for publication nould be ad dressed, "Editor The Illustrated Ilee, Omaha." Pen and Picture Pointers f" Consider the Mies, how they J grow. They toll not. net her do MR that Solomon In all his glory was not arrayed like upto one of these." When Christ spake these words It Is not at all likely that he reflected that In so doing he waa giving to thane who should follow him an emblem for what they have mad their gladdest feast. Eastertide ha been celebrated from tlmo Immemorial; by the earlier raises be cause of the fact that It came with the re tarn of spring; it marks the breaking of the bonds of death and the resurrection of the flower and the fruits and the grains and grasses. Its later significance ha been engrafted on the pagan festival by Chris tian teaching, and while nope of the orig inal meaning of the feast has been lost. It now has the additional Importance of typifying not alone the resurrection of Inamlnate things, but of the vanquishing of death and the triumph of the soul over ths grave. "If a man die, shall he Itoe analn?" asked Job In the extremity of his am let Ion, and I'aul the trntmaker centuries after answered the patriarch: "For sines by mm came death, by man came also the resur rection of the dead. Per as lu A lam all die, ven so la Christ shall all be made alive." In his argument to support this pnlnt. the great apostle-preacher uses the simile of grain that la sown, and which la not quickened until it dies. It Is his Jsyous outburst "Ob, death, where Is thy atlng! Account of Postmortem (Copyright, 1903, by Edward Curtis. If. D.) f5Tw"lS tho stirring days of a generation 41 S ago SOU I OUieuy IUW lucir I in history, the roster of the only ??J authentic chronicler of their " " scenes the actor or eye witnesses therein grow shorter and shorter. It 1 well, then, for all surviving participant In the historic events of thoe times to tell, whllo yet opportunity per mits, such of their experiences a possibly may be of Interest. Tbl thought was brought home to mo recently by the chance perusal of an old letter of my own, written thlrty-flve year ago. I realised suddenly that of tho taff of surgeons who bad to do with the post mortem examination In tho case of Presi dent Lincoln, I was the ole survivor, and that, apart from the official report of th findings, the yellowed manuscript now bo fore me was probably the oily narrative extant, written at tho time, of tho Incident of that solemn scene In the drama of the assassination. -The evening of Good Friday, the 14th of April, In the year 186G, was In Washington warm and balmy. I was then an assistant surgeon In the medical corps of the regular army and stationed in Washington, on duty In the office of the surgeon general. At 10 o'clock In the evening of that hls torle day I waa aittlng with my young wife on the stoop of our boarding houso, one of two fine old mansion situate on the first block of Vermont avenue, Just off from Lafayette Square, to the north. Facing th square on tho cast, one block away, was the residence of Secretary Seward, and beyond on th south was the Whit House. We were proposing a stroll down Penn sylvania avenue, when from th? dirrctlon of the Seward mansion came a sudden clat tering of horse hoofs, and In an Instant a horse, bearing a tall rfcler, hatlesa and bending low over th bridle, dashed by us at a gallop. A runner afoot folljwed at a short distance behind, but scon stopped, turned and disappeared whence he came. little did we suspect the horseman to be a foiled assassin, fleeing for hi life after a desperate attempt to stab ta death the secretary of state In his house near by; and still less did we dream that at th same moment, at a theater half a mile way, a fellow conspirator In a compre hensive murder plot, only too successful In his assigned part, was shouting his bombast of slo semper tyrannls as he, too, made a dash for escape from the seen of hi awful crime. We set forth calmly on oar stroll, passing the Seward house on our way with .no thought of the commotion within. Dut when, after a short walk, we boarded a hone car to return w fcund ourselves among pale-faced passengers, who, coming from Ford's theater, bore the shocking new of th shooting of the president, and on reaching home we were mot by tidings that also Secretary 8eward' tbroit had been sat. Aghast at I hi revelation of a plot for multiple murder, I set forth again at once by myself for th surgeon general' office to meet any possible official summcn for Oh, grave, where la thy victory?" tiat still rings In the Easts. sn'hm and the glnd "All.u"a. He Is risen," only e:hoe the thought of the early Christian who re ceived from the apostles ths hop- cf a Ufa everlasting, when th s corruptlou shall hive put on the Incorruptible, and this mor'al shall have become Immortal. It is only meet that the Illy, everywhere aerrpted as a symbol of purity, should b3 adopted aa the particular floral emblem of Easter. Children who grow up on the farm have to become men and women before they begin to appreciate what advantages tbey really enjoy. It may seem to the boy or girl who lives In the country that many glorious opportunities are denied them, be cause they are not continually surrounded by the slghta of the city, which so easily dazzle and often bewilder little folks unaccustomed to them. Association with the homely things that mke up 1'f on the farm, and accustomed to the freedom of action that there exists, they kno nothing of bow the boys and girls of the city really live, of summer days spent on sun-baked streets, of games confined to the narrow sphere of a vacant lot, and of what Is the greatest loss of all, the Inability to learn nature's secrets from nature. Child hood In the country Is generally a happy round of acquiring knowledge the town bred child can never obtain. With the cows, the pigs, the chickens, the horses, with the bee and the birds, the young sters live and move. Their pleasures are necessarily such as come from association with nature, but are none the less whole some and enjoyable for that reason. In these days neighbor are close enough to allow of ample social Intercourse between the children, and the little folks grow up with a health of body and mind that can only be found In the country. It may be that they do not learn all they might of the w.-Mid and It devlou way of wicked ness, and it is well that they do not. All that Is good for them to learn along this line, and frequently much more, will be taught them later In life, when they have already a good moral foundation on which to base resistance to evil. In the mean professional service. But the place wa closed and dark. Then I went to the White House, but only to find already a cordon of sentries guarding the grounds from all Intruder, and to learn from a bystander that the president wa not there, but was lying In some private bouse near the the ater where ho had been shot. Under thess circumstances tho only place where I could be sure of promptly meeting a call - for duty waa my own quarters, so I turned my steps homeward again. And even now, though hi a short time bad elapsed since the public alarm, the very atmosphere of ' the street seemed changed. Where, half an hour before, the face of wayfarer bad reflected Joy over thought of Appomattox, the fall of Rich mond and the surrender of Johnston, now all was blanched horror, while In the road way horse' hoof rang and sabre clanked as aquads of galloping troopers patrolled the streets in the sudden stern assumption of martial law against a plot of murder whose scope waa unknown. No summons cam to me through that feverish night, but morning brought the news of tho president dead and the secre- ' tary of state, with bis son and others of bis household, grievously wounded. I went early to my post of duty, and soon after arrival received Instructions to ac company a colleague to the White House at 11 o'clock for service In making, under the direction of the surgeon general, such post-mortem examination of the remains. In the president's case, as might bo neces sary to establish officially the fact of death by homicide. Th incidents of th autopsy thus under taken, together with the thoughts engen dered by the same, are b?st told In tho words of my bom letter, already referred to, written on week after the events, as follows: WASHINGTON, D. C. April 22 1SI2. Dear Mother: A week ago today It. Woodward and myself were ordered by the surgeon gemral to make a port-mortem examination, in hla presence, on the body of the president. According y, at 11 o clocn. we assembled at the White House in the room where the body lay. The room has been described. It contained but little fur niture, a larpe heavlly-curtalmd bt1, a sofa or two, bureau, wardrobe nnd chairs comprised all there waa. Seated around the room were several general otneers and some civilians, silent or conversing In whispers, and to one side, stretched upon a rough framework of boards and covered only with sheets and towels, lay, cold and Immovable, what but a few hours before was the soul of a great nation. The sur geon general was walking up and down the room when I arrived and detailed to me the huttory of the case. He suid that the president showed most wonderful ttnaclty of life, and, bad not hts wound been necessarily mortal, might have sur vived an Injury to which most men would succumb. I' pun the arrival of Pre. Crane, Stone (private physician to the president). Wood ward and NoUon Dr. Woodward and 1 proceeded to open the head and remove the brain down to the track of the ball. The latter had entered a little to the left of the median line at the back of the head, had passed almost directly forward through the center of the brain and lodged. Not nndiog It readily, wo proceeded to remove tbe entire brain; when, as I was lifting th latter from the eavity of the skull, suddenly the bullet dropped out through my lingers and fell, breaking the solemn silence of the room with Its clatter, nto an empty basin that waa standing beneath. There It time they are storing away knowledge that will always be useful to them, no mair'er In what walk of life their mature years may find them, knowledge that can not be gained In a city. And many and many a tired city man at tlmea looks blankly at the desk where he drudges away his strenuous life In a city office and regrets the carefree days he spent on the farm. This Is the season of the year for ora torical contests among the high school stu dents. Easter holiday are generally pent, oi u portion of the season at Haul, in scries of tests of declamatory compe titions, to determine the advance and abil ity of the representatives of the several schools united In one or another of the divisions Into which the high schools are formed. At Columbus on April 1 the an nual competition of the North Nebraska High School Declamatory association was held, arid Miss Hilda Condron of South Omaha won first In the oratorical class and Miss Mabel Coleman of Fullerton was first in the dramatic class. The week be fore at Ccrning, In., the Southwestern Iowa association met, and there again the girls won all the prizes. Mlsj Ethyl Mar tin of Wintcrspt was first In the oratorical class, Miss Coldie Green of Centerville won the boners In the dramatic class and Miss Grace Clark of Corning waa first In the humorous clsss. The fiftieth wedding anniversary of Mr. and Mrs. James M. Ross cf Tecumseh oc curred February 8 and wis celebrated In a fitting manner. Of the eleven living chil dren, ten were In attendance. James M. Rosa and Miss Elizabeth A. Saunders were married in Macoupin ccunty, Illincli, near the village of Palmyra, fifty years ago. They have since resided In a number of states and territories and have been real dents of this county for a great many years. They now live In the city. Mr. Ross Is a farmer by vocation. Nam'nt their eleven children now living In the order of their age they are: Wlll'am H. Ross of Salt Lake, Utah; Mrs. D. R. Bush of Tecumseh,. Jefferson Ross of Madison, Held on President Lincoln lsy upon the wh'to china, a little black mass no bigger than ttw-eDd of my finger dull, motionless and harmless, yet the cause of such mighty changes In the world's his tory as we may perhaps never realise. Our examination over, I proposed to the surgeon general to weigh the brain, since the comrarRtJve weight of the brains of men distinguished for Intellect Is a matter of great scientific Interest. He directed me to do so, and then, with the rest of the surgeons, took his departure. Accordingly I remained and. wli.'le the embalmers wf re working over the body, silently. In ore corner of the room. I pre pared the brain for weighing. As I looked at the mam of soft gray and white sub stance that I was carefully washing. It waa Imposrlble to realize that It was that mere clay upon whose workings, but the day be fore, rested the bopes of the nation. I felt more profoundly impressed than ever with tbe mystery of that unknown something1 which may be named "vital spark" as well as anything else, whose absence or presence makes all tho Immeasurable difference be tween an Inert mass of matter owing obedi ence to no laws but those governing the physical and chemical forces of the uni verse, and, on the other hand, a living brain by whose silent, subtle machinery a world may be ruled. Your affection ate son, EDWARD CUHTI3. Tbe physicians thus named In my letter were tho surgeon general, Josopb K. Barnes, U. 8. A., who bad been In at tendance upon Mr. Lincoln during the night of his death; Assistant Surgeon Gen eral Charles H. Crane, IT. 8. A.; Dr. Robert K. Stone of Washington, D. C; Assistant Surgeon J. Janvier Woodward, V. 8. A., sod Assistant Surgeon William M. Notson, U. S. A. The weighing of th brain mentioned in the letter gave approximate results only, since there had been some loss of brain substance. In consequence of the wound, during the hour of life after the shooting. But the figure, such as they were, teemed to show that the brain weight was not above the ordinary for a man of Mr. Lincoln' size. No official record was made of the finding, since the same was necessarily Inexact. The general physique was remarkable. As seen In life, the gaunt face and spare, slightly stooping figure of the president gave the Impression of a man tall, to be sure (Lincoln was about six feet four Inches In stature), but not especially mus cular. Familiar then as I was with the appearance of the living man, I wa sim ply astonished at tbe showing of the nude remains, where well-rounded muscles, built upon strong bones, told the powerful ath lete. Now did I understand the deeds of prowess recorded of the president's early days. Mr. Lincoln's case thus affords a strik ing illustration of the fact so observable In history, vis., that those who achieve greatness by reason of Intellectual and moral force are, more often than not, men of well-developed, powerful physique, with a brain of proper proportion only. They are not monstrosities of big head on lit tle body, where an over-rostlcss brain consumes the energies of a puny frame. The unusual stature In Lincoln's case Is slso In keeping with observation. Dr. Titus Munson Coan tell me that be bas made researches on the stature of dis tinguished men and finds, from a compar ison of the data In all obtainable cases quit a large number that tbe average Wis.; Mrs. A. J. Conlee of Fairfield, la.; James Rots and Mrs. L. V. Hunt of John son county, Nebraska, Samu?l Roes of Fall City; Walter Ross and Mrs. EIllo Ne'san pf Tecumseh; Ctarles Ross of Madison, Wis., and Warren Res of Tecumseh. Doth Mr. and Mrs. Rcss are In excellent health and promise to live to celebrate many an niversaries cf their marriage. "Tho flowers that bloom In the spring" not .only "breathe a promise bf merry sun rhlne," but also mean a lot of work for the dweller In the city. When man makes up his mind to Improve on nature and put up a town whero only hills and hollows and glades and running brooks existed bt.fore lie came, he usually effaces all evi dence of growing things as an essential condition - for his enterprise. Then he proceeds to repair, according to his fancy or whim, the damage done. Strange as may seem, this not infrequently results In a decided improvement, even from an esthetic viewpoint. Here in Omaha many Instances may be found to support this assertion. Beautiful lawts abound, and well kept avenues of shade trees, and flowc? beds that delight the eye. But all of this Is the result ( much patient effort and continual work. Among the earlier signs of spring, even antedating the bluebird and the robin, is the city dweller, clearing bis lawn of, the dead grass And lcave3 of the last fall, and the sometimes remarkable collection of winter's flotsam; the prepar ing of outdoor beds for plants that have prospered in pots ell winter; the planting of new seeds and bulbs, and not the least Important of nil, the preparation of a bit of garden wherein lettuce and onions and radishes, and other things that are gocd to eat en a hot day In the summer, may be raised. There are certain signs of sprlDg In a rlty. And another Is the appearance of the streets in the shopping district. Warm days bring out people who have avoided the streets for many weeks, and no matter how lively the thoroughfares may be during the winter shopping hours, the early days of the spring see the crowds augmented until they sometimes amount to a Jam. stature of men eminent for Intellectual achievements in mcdern time is five feet ten and a half Inches, a figure consider ably above that of the average for civil ised man generally. Mr. Lincoln far ex ceeded this average, and It Is Interesting to note that the two "fathers" of our country Washington and Lincoln as they were giants In mind, were also giants in body, both having been men of towering stature and great physical strength. The Airless Sleeping Car There Is slways something tho matter with the atmosphere of a sleeping car; one would say without a moment's reflection that what chiefly alls it is its moagerness. When we consider what an enormous quan tity of air there Is Immediately outside tho sleeper It Is surprising that there is not more Inside. If this continued withdrawal of air Is kept up the sides und root of these cars are bound to be some day crushed in like eggshells, with the result of daraago suits from all the passengers therein traveling or their heirs or assigns. The design may be to gradually reduce tbe quantity cf air In sleeping cars until pas sengers will pay an additional price for more of It, and thus make each car pay Its entire cost of construction in one trip in stead of two. But it was not the Insuf ficiency of the air that caused suit to be brought at Belleville yesterday against tho company by a young woman who traveled in one from Omaha to Kansas City. It was tho fact that It was cold. Hero again we have cause for some wonder, for sleep ing cars arc, to most traveler. Intolerably hot, though, of course, if not hot Ihey must be Insufferably cold, since whatever they are It Is In the superlative degree. And suits would be brought much more often if the cars were not so generally empty, being run on many roads purely for orna ment. It nppcars to be preferable to make a through trip with one lonesome eld party iu a black skull cap and a bridal couple, who recent even the presence of tbe old party, at a not Income to the company of IS, rather than have all tbe berths filled at a dollur a night and f 24 In hand. Rut It Is alarming to think of what might happen should the car carry a full cargo aud only have on board the usual quantity of air, either cold or hot. St. Louts Globe-Democrat. Reflections of a Bachelor Eaty go, hard to come back. Girls would get a lot mors fun out of crying if it did not make their eyes red and their ncses snufdy. Some people seem to think tbey Uave to quarrel so as to show how much they love each other making It u;. A man would almost as roon have busi ness relations with a woman as get bis arms tangled up with a buss-saw. When a chap' goes home with a elrl and she gets up on tbe second step to say good night It's curious how nearly on a level it always makes their faces. New York Press.