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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Brussels Post, 1908-10-22, Page 2NOTES AND COMMENTS IF CALL OF THE HEROIC Since t)» race is evoloving, the virtues ot one civilization become the vices of the next. Habits which found acceptance among ancient Greeks and crinentals are taboo to -day, and the usages of to -day pass in fewer of a better to -mor- row, They pass so palpably and patently, often so swiftly, that it is easy to see them go, and 'none more so, perhaps, than alcoholism, Although She /lowing bowl still con- tributes incalculably to the gayety of nations and the pleasures of men, there are many and no uncertain signs that the race is evolving out of the ritale when drink is counted no amusement and a help. When the lovely legends of Valhalla formed paradise there was promis- ed the dead heroes the supreme re- ward of an eternal orgy of intoxi- cation, intoxication blissfully con- tinued without a "morning after." Public opinion has areveled so far since thee that 'Valhalla could be the heaven of only the dregs of hu- manity, and even then perhaps fall a tittle short of their ideal of real happiness. Dr. Archdall Reid, who happily in the front rank of scientific roan, has shown that in the old days a drinking bout did not interfere with the labors of the these, which soon effaces its inconvenient effects. And in the next stage when men were farmers and worked by rule of thumb methods they still could in- dulge copiously without working a evhit the worse for it. The crafts- man of the middle ages needed a certain steadiness of hand and eIrtrity of mind, but he had many holidays and leisure periods when he could turn to his cups for almost unlimited debaucheries. Of course it is far different with the twenti- eth century locomotive driver or Chauffeur. The least intemperance spells death and pain to hundreds and big money losses to boot. That is why those professions are prac- tically purged of 'inebriates. There has been a big advance toward so- briety among seamen, too. For the owners of the costly modern steam- ers teeming with human lives and laden with expensive cargoes can- not afford to take the risk of tipsy crows. It is the same in all the oc- cupations of these latter days. Ev- erywhere is delicate and costly ma- chinery which must be worked sys- tematically and regularly, and this needs a steady hand and a clear head. Everywhere are demanded the order, the stability, the acute - nets, the foresight which tipplers cannot supply. It is only in belated lands that even a farmer can imbibe his whis- key and other intoxicants in the old way. He can do it because he uses desperately old fashioned tools and methods. In modern working ar- rangements the laborers are often indoors, and they aro nearly always sedentary. The machine •moves for them. They need more oily their hands,. and these with much exact- ness, and their minds, and those with much intelligence, While there are exceptions, to be sure, in the r nusual instances, the hard drink- ers are sunk to the lowest levels of society, "the ooze which defiles our dainty eiyilization." Nine -tenths of crime is attributed to drink, 25 per cent of poorhouse inmates trace their low estate to the bottle. "Tho most prolific of all the causes of pauperism" is stated by Charles ]3ooth to bo drink. Bernard Hough- ton, who has made faithful re- searches, finds "the general mor- tality due to alcohol much exceeds the figure of 10 per cent. ot the to- tal deaths." The insurance corn- paniem support him in his decree which goes to indicate that the strong, the selt-respecting, the rep- resentative types of the race have evolved out of alcoholism that the coming race will be sober by na- ture qi- LEADTNG MINE OF WORLD. What is regarded as the leading mine of the world is the Robinson mine, of the Transvaal, South Af- rica, which shows an operating profit of 24,385,710, which is 70 per tent. of its total production. The annual dividends amounted to $3,- 201,000. A larger tonnage was ensiled by the Homestake mine, of South Dakota, and more bullion was yielded by the Goldfield-Oon- eolidatecl, of Nevada, but the South Africa Mine holds the palm for actual profile, Malta is only teventeen miles length an nine at breadth. If You Are Afraid of the Sword You Had Better Not Enter Christ's Service. "Thou therefore endure hardness at, a good soldier of Jesus Christ." - II. Tim., 11., 3. It is hardship and not ease that attracts men. Those who have the capacity for greatness crave great things to do and they ere willing to bear the pains and privations in- volved in such deeds, Commonly we make the mistake of urging men to religion because it is so easy and helpful; we ned rather to offer the motive of its cost and hardships. • There is little hone for any man who does not respond to the call of the heroic. We may have lost the youth's enthusiasm for deeds of daring, and wo may now be willing to wear slippers instead of high boots. But something essential to full living has died within us if our blood does not flow faster at the thought of great sacrifices and if WEi do not feel the impulse and de- sire to have our share in them. The hope of any race is that it will go on worshipping its worthy heroes, Christianity has been most valuable to the world and most vi- tal within itself in the measure that it has been a religion of hero wor- ship. It has been the glowing en- thusiasm of its people for the per- son and the glorious, sacrificial life of Christ that has counteracted the cold and sterile aspects of its philo- aphies. The theology of. Christianity bas tended rather to invite cowards to its ranks; it has said to men, if you are afraid of hell believe thee statements and you will have NOTHING MORE TO FEAR. But the fact or Jesus of Nazareth has been mightier than the philo- sophies and men who either abhor - led such factitious forms of righte- ousness or failed to understand eny of the philosophy have been swayed by admiration for his life. Churches ought to be groups of people who have caught the vision of the great and costly service that the world needs. They aro Chris- tian only in the measure that they have accepted the Christ mission. They are to be judged not by their power to gain wealth, to beautify their structures, or to indulge in luxurious fittings, but by the sacri- ficial service they aro rendering so- ciety. As long as religion is a hiding place from the deserts of wrongdo- ing, as long as it invites men with promises of ease, 'V heavenly rest and earthly peace, it will attract only the weaklings. When it shall stand and say to men, "Here is a peat work to be done, here are tasks that will cost us dearly," the strong will flock to its banner. The call to the Christian life is a call to the heroic; it is the imper- ative of the heavenly vision. It bids men do hard things, give up plea - ant things, attempt great things, follow their own highest hopes and fairest ideals. It says to - the least f men, Set out to save the world. It bids men lay down their lives. It is no easy thing to live the life that sets the soul above the sod, to fight constantly this battle, without the least respite, against the sloth and selfishness of our natures. It is hard to resist the temptations to compromise with our own ideals, ts snatch the prizes offered for some slight violation of conscience. IT GALLS FOR FORTITUDE to stand for things that are high, to be willing to be called fool for some deed of faith, to choose the unfading prizes of honor and trete and right where men are struggling for the prizes that perish. It calls for courage to do the Christly kind of service in tins world. Living for men is not a mat- ter of soft sentiment; serving the needy is something ?tenter than scattering a few teardrops over the slums. No mao can take the part of the oppressed without making an enemy of the oppressor. Tho cross his followers must hear is a real one, not. of sighs or senti- ments, but of the hatred and op- position of those who have been used to fatten by wrong while the servants of the right stood complac- ently by. It is the cross of being counted a fool because you choose the right before revenue, the good of others before your own. Tho world wants men who will suffer, more than it wants those who can succeed; it needs those who are not afraid to fail or to lose, if only they may serve the right; it needs those who will endure head - nese for the things they count high- est and most worth while. And all such ever will find the stay and in- spiration of their living in the great hero of Nazareth. HENRY F. COPE. THE S. S. LESSON INTERNATIONAL LESSON, OCT. 25. Lesson IV. The joy of Forgiveness. Golden Text, Psa. 82. 1. Verse 1. Bleesed—The word thus translated in several passages in the Old Testament hardly implies the same degree of inward spiritu-1 al joy as the word in the New Tes- tament beautitudo has come to mean to us, In Psa. 1. 1, Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly," for exam- ple, it refers printarily to the out- ward lot and condition of the righteous man. In our lesson text it signifies, perhaps, what our words "happy" and "fortunate' might mean if combined and used as one. Transgression—Disobedience to- ward the laws of Jehovah. Sin—Failuro, shortcoming, or moral delinquency. 2. Iniquity—Moral perversity, that is, positive wickedness. We note the three different terms used to describe different agnate of sin or moral shortcoming. Correspond- ing with this threefold designation ef sin there is a threefold descrip- tion of forgiveness, this being spok- en of as (a) forgiveness or pardon for the transgression of the divine command; (b) the covering from sight of the shortcoming or failure, that is, obliterating the record of "missing the mark' ; and (e) the canceling of a debt or rather the withholding of a debit entry against i the sinner by Jehovah who nput- eth not iniquity. No guile—But, on the contrary, perfect sincerity, which is set forth as the fundamental condition of forgiveness. 3, 4. Kept silenee—David had sinned grievously,and so long as he refused to admit his fault he suf- fered the tortures of a guilty con- science which he describes by the phrase, my bones wasted away, even the solid framewock of the body being affected and shaken by sin. Tho effect of bitter remorse for wrongdoing on physical health is similar to that of great sorrow or perpetual mental strain beyond the (rapacity of the 'Inainan tryst= to bear. My moisture was changed — The vital sap and natural freshness of the body, ariewell as it mond frame- work, were congenial. 6. This verse deseribes, ail It wore, the pathway to the light. Mine iniceeity did X milt hide— First of all, tho truth must be re- cognized and faced. The four clues - el of this verse describe the sue, eessive stages of the process of for- giveness. 6. For this—Because of this, be- cause Jehovah is,a gracious and for- giving God. In this and the next succeeding verses (6-10) the author goneralizee, pointing out the folly of hardening one's heart against a God so gracious and so willing to receive those who repent and re- turn unto him. He points out also the perpetual, unspeakable happa ness of all who know Jehovah as their gracious heavenly Father. In a time whoa thou mayest bo found—Or, "in the time of finding ti • 7. Thou art my hiding place — This clause expresses in beautiful metaphor the grateful recognition of God's mercy and protection, as experienced by the repenting soul. le such matters it is natural that one should speak to God rather than of him; hence the use of the second person in these verses, Compass inc about—Not only is the writer guarded from clangor in the secure biding place which he has found, but hero also as it were he is encircled with strains of mu- sic and songs of deliverance. .9, I will instruct thee--Jehovali himself becomes the speaker, re- plying to his servant's appeal, promising him instruction, coun- sel, and guidance. With mine eyes upon bhee—The word of divine counsel, together with the watchful ears of Jehovah, insures to the traveler in the path- way of life seouriey and safety, D. 13e ye not—The psalmist's ex- hortation begun in verse 6 is re- sumed, This verse points out speci- ally the kindliness and gentleness of Jehovah's guidance, who does not drive or compel,. but rather wins mon to himself by the com- pulsion of kindness and love. Else they will not come near—Or, that they come not near. 10. Many sorrows shall be — God reserves his harsher methods of dealing for the wicked, with whom they are to serve as a thasbieement tot sin. The psahniet overlooks Inc the time being the fact that sor- rows belong also to the life experi- ence of the righteouseand the fact also that the finer traits of amme- ter, almost withoub exception, are the rault, in part at least, of the relining influence of suffering hotel- cally endured in the fear of God. He that trustoth in Jehovah — Recegnigeg that even though sor- row and suffering may be Inc porn tion, still God's loving-kinclimes shall not forsake him, but shall compeers him about, proteetieg hire ever front. tiny real harm or pavan - era injury. 11. Be glad in vein -19h, and re- phins ever sleep, juice, ye righteous --In verse 6 the peel:lest invited all godly persons to engage in prayer. Now he sem- mons ll such as have, like himself, experienced the joy of sins forgiv- en, to -join him in thanksgiving and praise, exhorting thorn even to shout for joy as he is prompted to cio by the gladness which at this moment fills his soul. JUST TO PLEASE HIM. He had asked her to be "his'n," and she had made up her mind that she had "worked out long enough, any way, So she accepted him. She was perfectly satisfied with her place, but the wanted to have _a house of her own. So they were mar- ried. 1e wasn't long afterward that she came back to see her former mis- tress about something, and the lat- ter noticed that she was wearing mourning. Of course sho was sor- ry for her, and was rather surpris- e 1 that slis made no mention of her bereavement. It is indeed a griev- us thing when a honeymoon is cut Ebert, tho former mistress brought up the subject herself. "You are in mourning, Maggie 1" she suggested. "Yes," replied Maggie, complac- ently, and with no show of feeling at all, "I thought it was the least I could do for 'im." "It is showing no more than pro- per respect, of course. I am very sorry. It must have been a great shook." "Great shock!" exclaimed Mag- gie, in surprise. Then, as she grasped the idea, she went on, "Oh, Jin ain't dead," with the accent on "You haven't lost your husband 1" Maggie shook her head. "Then why are you in such deep mourning 1" "Just to please, the poor lad," an - severed Maggie. "You see, it's this way," she went on, when the had decided to tell the story. "After we was married, he comes to rae an' he says, `Maggie,' he says, `the poor woman never had nobody to put on mournin' for her, an' I den- te" that she's been treated right,' he says. 'Who 1' says I. `Me first wife,' says he. 'She was all alone in the world, exceptin' for me,' he says. `She Iiad no women folks to wear mournin' for her.' An' so I says to him, 'I'll do it for the poor woman,' I says. An' here I am." THE MAKING OF A GREAT SINGER. MEN ARE PAID TO MURDER RECOGNIZED 'TARIFF IN MACE, DONTA VOR SLAYING MEN. Bishops of Greek Church Winning Proselytes by Threatening Massaere. A. correspondent of The London Daily Graphie, wriving from Drama, Macedonia, tells of the bands of murderers that infest, the country, and of the part the Bishops of the Greek Church bake in the work of murder. He says :—Some eighteen months ago the foreign agents as- sisting the old Turkish Government in reforming Macedonia offered the suggestion that a few of the many murderers in the prisons should be put to death. Up to that time all sentences, oven sentences of death, meant only imprisonment until the criminal's friends bribed the Turk- ish jailor to release him, or, at the longest, till the next of many gen- eral amnesties. The old regime was as lenient with atrisoners as it was mercilesstowards innocent peasants. But when the weekly murder list began to assume pro- portions beyond all recognized lim- its, and the protests of European powers became pressing, the au- thorities then decided to try the -suggestion of the foreign agents. To each town of importance through- out the province orders were sent by the Governor-General that a prisoner should- be hung in A CONSPICUOUS PLACE, and that tho body should not be cut down for a clay. Here at Drama a spot was select- ee on the main road outside the town, where there was one of the "few large trees that grace this gen- erally treeless country. As the Greeks were the people to whom the lesson was to be set in this san- eak, a Greek, Armen Kotzo by name, was the man chosen for the rope. He was taken from prison quietly before daybreak, and, un- informed of the scheme afoot, was surprised when his escort drew up under the tree with the noose hanging from it, having expected only that he was to be shipped in- to exile. Before the Turks pulled the Greek up they asked if he had anything to say, and he came out with a curious statement about the murder for which be was condemn- ed. He and a confederate, he said, had set out to kill their man, a Bel - Among the chorus -singers of the garian, at the instigation of the theatre of Bergamo, Italy, there Greek Bishop of Drama, 1i/epeeist- was a tailor, of very moderate means and resources, who employ- ed all his talents and ability toward the support of a beloved mother. One day, as it chanced, the cele- brated singer Nozari went to the amp of this modest artist in man's wearing apparel, to place an order for an evening suit, After conversing for some little time upon the all -absorbing subject of fit and finish, the singer noticed that the face of the tailor was fa- miliariand, making inquiries, dis- covered that he belonged to the opera chorus. "Rave you a good voice'?" asked Nozari. "Not particularly," replied the tailor. "I can scarcely roach A." "Let me hear," demanded Noe- ari, stepping to a piano tbab stood ill one corner of the shop. "Be- gin!" 1 tailor with difficulty reached "Now the A." "I cannot, sienor." "Sing the Al I command you!" cried Nozari, showing signs of an- ger. Again a great effort was made, and A was reaohed. "And now the B flat I" cried Noz- ari, The unfortunate tailor protested, but all in vain. Nozari was deter- mined. "Indeed, I am not able." "Sing it, or by my soul 1 will—" "No, signor; do not be angry, I will try." The B flat was accomplished,and In a manner that fairly astonished the pupil himself. His ambition be- gan to manifest itself, "Now you see it is possible," said Nozari, in triumph, "and I tell yon, my son, if you will but practise assidiously you will become the first tenor of Italy." Nozari was not mistakert, for the poor tailor and chorus -singer be- came afterwards the great Rubini. TIT P0 FO RTAT, Affable Barber—You're very bald on top, sir, Self -Conscious Customer (much annoyed)—What if 1 aml You needn't talk so much, How about that squint of yours 1 - -- SALT LAKE DRYING UP. Great Salt Lake, the American Deed Sea, is slowly drying up. Sci- entists are now generetly of the opinion that this mysterious body of 'water, situated 4,200 feet above sea leveland 1,000 miles inland, tied whiek Ilea but a single rival— the Dead Sea of Paleatme—is oer- tele to dieappear altogether within the course 01 half a centery, laureinintUrds hitoh tugs more quickly than any °Mots; *1se 11 - Or. 01$17 1011 0401., neer Chrysostimes, and from lum they had received the sum of 45 Turkish. This evidence, given by a man about to bo launched into sterility, incriminating a Bishop high up in the order of the _Greek Chnrch, might have surprised an uninitiated European, but it created little ex- citement in Drama. Later some Greek bandsmen, tried in the court of Salonika, gave an account of how Greek bands were ORGANIZED AND ARMED, and their statements again only con- firmed the general conviction al- ready existing. .Recruits, accord- ing to the testimony, received their arms from the Greek Consulate A rifle, a revolver and cartridges wore given to each man on becoming. a niember of a band, and he reemv- ed a salary of £3 a month, which is good remuneration in this coun- try. Besides this, murders were paid for at a recognized rate of from £4 to 26, or more, according to the importance of the man slain, The Greek Bishops have long been accustomed to using fear as a pro- selytizer. Their system is this—or at least this was the typical system of the Bishop of Blether, religious head of the most important Monte- ath! district, In 1904, when the Turks were suppressing, in their usual fashion, a rebellion of Bul- garians, the Greek Bishops would go about the country seeing the head men of oach village and assur- ing them that they would not be molested by • the Turkish armies if they declared themselves Greeks and enrolled their names on the br oks of the Greek Church. To save themselves from destruction many Bulgarian communities left the Ex-archate, the Bulgarian Churth, and became to all politi- cal intents Greeko. REASONS FOR MURDER. In turn the Bulgarian armed ha ,ds retaliated with murders of Gr •ek priests, Greek school teach- ers, and the head meta of Greek vil- lages, making it a rule to leave up- on the bodies of their victims let- ters telling the reasons for their destruction. It was the old war of the original Church against the schismatic Bulgarian creed, the Pat- riarchate against the Ex-archate, which has nob ended with the new government by Young Turks. For under the Young Turks every man does whet be pleases, and apo- logizes only if he ewers their dis- approval. The newspapers slander arid blackmail; the petty tradesman build himself a shop in the open road; the merchant brings in arms and ammunition duty free; any- body may Carty a revolver ; the bri- gands are all out of jail, The cora. Inanity is armed as it never was liefere.; arrne, chadors and people are taking advantage of liberty, as It s calla One of the mushroom journals that recently sprang into being here declared the other day that `there is more liberty in Ter key than in any other country 11 the world." BIM RATES IN EUROPE. Highest in Eastern and Southern Parts of the Continent. Nearly every country in Europe publishes a summery of the infer illation obtained in the census of its population, which is taken every five or ten years. By studying these condensed reports interesting com- parisons as to the growth of pon- t/Won may be obtained. For instance, it is found that in proportion to population,the birth rate is larger in eastern than in western Europe and in the southern than in the northern part of the continent, The birth rate is more than twice as large in Russia. as it is in Franee. In Normandy and the southwestern humbug, "one who agrees with ev- Tart of France,- whore _ the birthl orybody"; and of a tgrant, "the rate is lowest, the births ret times'ether version of someboders hero." SMART DEFINITIONS, A smart, pithy, or hemorons de- finition often furnishe happy il- luaration of the proveesdal brevity which is the soul of wit. To bit off a jury as "a body of men organized to find out which• side has the smartest lawyer," is 41 satirize many of our "intelligent fel/ow-countrymen." A boy once said that "dust is mad with the juice squeezed out," A fan, we lain from another ju- venile source, 18 "a thing to brush warmth off with" ; e esonkey, "a small boy with a tail"; telt, "what makes your potatoes taste bad when you don't put any on" ; and ice, "water that stayed oub late in the cold and went to sleep." A echoolboy, asked to define the word "sob," whimperai out; "It moans when a feller don't wanb to ay and it bursts out itrielf." A good definition of a "Pharisee" is "a tradesman who uses long prayers and short weighta"; of a fall as low as fifteen to the thou- sand inhabitants in a year. Da in Russia there are ninny districts, as in Orenburg, where tho births are as high as sixty a thousand in 11 year. Notwithstanding the enormous emigration from Europe in the nineteenth century its population now is nearly double what it arms at the beginning of the century. It is believed that at the beginning of the Christian era there were only a few million people in the whole of Europe. It does not seem likely that the present rate of in- crease can continue many centuries t) come, That part of Great Britain owe - pied by England is now the most densely peopled region in Europe. The crowding of so many millions together is at last having the ef- fect of diminishing the birth rate. Statistics show that it has declined one-fourth in the last twenty-eight years. If this goes on it will not be a very long time before the Eng- lish birth rate is as small as that at France. In some parts of Germany, as in Betlin and the region around it, the tirth rate is declining, but in most of the empire it still appears to he holding its own. GERMANY HAS 22 KINGS. Many Differeill States Cause of Fin- ancial Difficulty. In a book called "The Future of Germany," by State Councillor Ru- dolph Martin, recently published, the author points out that one of the causes of financial difficulties in. Germany is the existence of the 25 different states, each of which maintains its own government and many of which support their own ruling monarchs. There are 22 ruling monarchs in Germany, and the aggregate amount o! their respective civil lists is an enormous financial bur- den on the country. Owing to the fact that the individual states of the empire maintain their own separate governments, Germany possesses more than a hundred cabinet minis- ters, and a corresponding propor- tion of gevernment officials of lower grades, and their maintenance in- velves a heavy financial sacrifice. Councillor Martin maintains -that it the barriers between tho separ- ate dates were swept away, and if 1 the federal character of the German empire could be abolished, an eco- nomy of $250,000,000 poi annum would be rendered possible, so that the financial difficulties of the coun- try would be solved at one stroke. KHEDIVE OF EGYPT. Abbas II., Khedive of Egypt, is one of the most progressive and en- lightened of foreign leilers. Pea- Isionately fond of travel, he goes about the world with his oyes open and has introduced many excellent reforms into the cunntry over which be rules. Unconventional to a de- gree, he has amused himself and horrified his suite by donning over- alls and driving a railway engine, The Khedive, by the way, unlike the Sultan, has no Imperial harem. His wife was a beautiful Circassian slave, bought by his mother chiefly on account of her beauty, from a powerful Turkish puha, for less than t880. The Mohammedan relig- ion permits the Khedive four WiVOS, hub Abbas IL, like his father, is content with one and is passionate- ly devoted to the beautiful Circaa- elan who has borne hien five charm- ing daughters and a promising son. Cable and sheep will not fatten alone; they must feed in company It's easy Inc a man to get in the swift class if he's '"on the down girels°Y.a,ro of the little fellowe. Mos- quitoes are more bloodthirsty than lions. She — "What, is yoer favorite kind of meat, George the lower melneitlihtrectannncinabedinligi" live in waters of the Black Sea, (ming to the presence of poisonous gases. The difference between what we are and what we know we ought to he is the great opportunity in life, Master — "lbw was the vase mashed,Meryl" Maty—'If you Otago, sir, it tumbled clown and bloke Itself," Mestere--"Ilemph The automatic brake .again 1" thin soup, according to an Irish mendicant, is "a quart of water bailed down to a pint, to melte it strong'' d ngel 01.itions of a bachelor, "un- altered mem," "4 singular being," and "a targeb for a miss' are apt enough. ''What sustained our sires during their struggle for liberty'?" was what a pedagogue reeked a boy, and was astonished when tho boy said, "Their legs, sir." A walking -stick may he described ae "an old man's strength and a young man's weakness " and an umbrella as "a fair and foul -wea- ther friend who has had many ups and downs in th: world." THE CZAR'S DAY. :slow His it[ajesty ot Runsia Speeds Bis Thee. "Uneasy lies the head that wears a crown,'' and perhaps the most uneasy is that of Czar Nicholas II. of Russia. His Majesty is said to possess very strongly developed English tastes. Here is a typical day in the life of Russia's monarch, when to Court is at one of the many coun- try residences. The Czar rises at 0 a.m., and par- takes of an English breakfast, con- sisting of tea, bread-and-butter, bacon and eggs, and marmalade, prepared by an English cook. Both the Czar and the Czarina show this inclination towards English custom, particularly in the rearing of their children. At seven o'clock his duties com- mence for the clay. Ho reads a very largo number of documents 01 513' morning. Tho Czar is a great devotee to tobacco, and in spite of the warnings of his physician in- dulges in smoking all day long. Lunch, again au English meal, is served at midday. It is said that English only is spoken at this meal, se that the servants may nob be able to follow the conversabion. Open-air recreation follows. After a fairly early dinner, cards are usually played, the Czar's fav- orite game being the Russian "wint, at which he stakes large sums. The Court retires about - eleven o'clock when there is no State function on, Until quite recently, when her health forbade it, the Czarina would frequently read aloud to her husband an English novel or ex- tracts from English newspapers. VEN GEA N OF A. SCILTAN. Man Mlle FOur, Wounds One and Takes 10 the 'Wends. The latest brigand Massacre in Sicily has created a great impres- sion oven in that section, whore such affairs aro rather common. A 1111111 named Pasquale Turi, who was employed by a gentleman in Catania, was discharged for some reason. He thereupon proeeededto geb revenge. He first attacked and shot his forma employee's brother- in-law while he was walking in his garden. Then he fired a shot at the wife of his first victim, but as the shot failed to kill her he entered the garden and attempted to stab the woman to death. His former master was attracted by his sister's cries for help and reshal to her aid, whereupon Teri stabbed him and them made his es- cape and started Inc his home. When he arrived at his own house he brained his wife by striking her over the head with a hateheb be- cause she prevented him from ale - loading his rifle. After settling his wife lie relocde ed the rifle and garbed out by shooting dead the first man who at- tempted to arrest him. Then he fled and was pursued by the police and a crowd of eitizene, Being a podshot, ho held his pursuers off and reached the wood' s where he will probably remain and become a brigand. Those murder? aro frequent 10 Sielly, but this exbel is the most 60- toriou8 since the deys of Musolino and the Government will probably order out troops to kill or capture Teri, The largest part in "Europe is, the Prater, in Vienna, mou,reging sgti- by square miles.