HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Brussels Post, 1909-1-21, Page 2ST4.TE1iET OF TIIE LORD
The Bible doses With a Bight Promise
for the Future.
And there shall be no more
curso,—Rev. x:xii. 3,
That Genesis should be related
to Revelations, although sixteen
hundred years of time, with all
their developmeaa and change, sep-
arated them, is a thing at once
striking and inexplicable, except on
the hypothesis that some great pow-
er saw to it that through the pages
one increasing purpose. ran. No-
where is this relationship more
strongly and strikingly shown than
in the, consideration of that with
which the Bible begins and ends.
Genesis, after a poetic and beau-
tiful description of the creation of
Men and things, begins with the
curse that was laid upon mankind.
However it may be accounted for.
theologically or philosophically, the
fact that the world has been cursed
is easily apparent. It is also un-
disputed
ndisputed that roan in some dim,
dumb, inchoate .way has always
striven to lift the curse, and it is
equally true that as aeo has sue -
beetled age some amelioration of
conditions has gone on very un-
satisfactorily at first and with mea-
ger results, considering the vast
expenditure of life and effort. But
it has gone on and it is going on.
THAT IS EVOLUTION.
But the gift which actually made
it possible in any practicable way
'to lift the curse upon man is Jesus
'Christ. In His life, in His example,
in His teachings are to be found
the only possible means of really
greatly bettering the world, and in
proportion as they are perceived
more clearly, entered into more
thoroughly, understood and prac-
tised more obediently, the work
progresses.
Some day dirt and disease will
disappear. Some day poverty and
inequality will be done away with.
Some day lust aad greed will be
forgotten. Some day love and light
will prevail. Some day the curse
of these things and of whatever
drags men down ' shall be lifted,
This is not inference; it •is the di-
rect, positive, unequevooal state-
ment of the Lord. It is a dodges,
tion from, God himself 'through
Jesus Christ, His Sou, uttered in
the last recorded words He ad -
armed to the children of men
when He spoke to St. John iu the
visions of Patmos.
Amid wondrous declarations, in
the form of allegory, concerning the
New Jerusalem, which is held be-
fore man's
e-foreman's hope, there is one plain,
grim, simple line thrown amid the
poetry stamped across its mysti-
cism like a bar of steel laid on the
peal of a flower, abrupt, almost
'harsh in its lack of harmony with
all that goes before and yet the
more tremendously impressive for
that very fact, for it is almost
THE LAST WORD Or JESUS
to His children which you may find.
in the last chapter of Revelations—
the explicit declaration that 'There
shall be no more curse."
I think that the very fact that
the Bible begins with a curse and
ends with its lifting is one of the
most tremendous of the many mar-
velous divine attributes of the great
volume. The world reeling on in
'its dim, blind way, reaching after
Clod, lifting up the bleeding hands
of toil and struggle in petition, its
sweat -covered brow lighted by
hope, with what patience it can
summon in its throbbing heart is
enabled to proceed because it has
the promise of the world of God,
Who is absolute truth, that some.
day, in His own good time, the
curse under which man has always
labored shall be lifted once and for
all.
Speed that day, Lord, and in the
meanwhile let us each one here in
our several stations do what we can
with Thee for our help, our inspir-
ation, our guide to lift the curse
upon our brethren and ourselves
now, to -day.
Cyrus Townsend Brady.
THE S. S. LESSON
INTERNATIONAL LESSON,
JAN. 24.
Lesson IV. The Lame Mau
Healed. Golden Tett,
Acts 3. 18.
Verse 1. Peter and John — The
acknowledged leaders of the apos-
tolic company, and men having
much more in common than is
sometimes supposed. Both were
typically Galileans in temperament,
quick in speech and decisive in ac-
tion. They were leaders because of
traits of character which natural-
ly command a following.
Going into the temple—Thus Ear
there was no thought in the minds
of the Christians of forsaking the
Hebrew faith. The earliest disci-
ples were all loyal Jews, devoted
to the services of the temple, and
faithful in their observance of the
rites and ordinances r,f their na-
tional faith.
The bour of prayer—The hour for
the regular afternoon service of
prayer in the temple, correspond-
ing somewhat to an early vesper
service in many churches to -day.
The ninth hour—About three
o'clock in the afternoon.
2. The door—Or gateway.
Which is called Beautiful — This
more specific reference identifies
the gate referred to with the east-
ern docrway leading from the court
of the women into the inner court
of the sanctuary.
To ask alms -The sight of lame
and blind beggars is still common
in all parts of the Orient.
4. Fastening his eyes upon him—
Looking at him attentively and, no
doubt, sympathetically.
6. In the name of Jesus Christ of
Nazareth—Literally "the Nazar
ace." The name in this case is
equivalent to the authority of the
person referred to. Thus in the
Old Testament the name of Jeho-
vah is used in e, similar way.
10. Took knowledge of him—Re-
cognized that it was he.
11. Held Peter and John—Clings
ing to his benefactors, as was but
natural under the circumstances.
The porch -The "portico."
That is called Solomon's—This
portico, or colonnade, was one run-
ning along the eastern side of the
temple. Here Jesus had been
challenged by the Jews to speak
more plainly concerning h.imeslf
and his Messianic mission (compa •e
John 10. 221.).
12. At this man—Or, at this
``thing.,,
As though by oar own power es
godliness we had made him to walk
—Peter would have his hearers un-
derstand the real significance 03
the miracle which was but a part
of the glorification of Jesus, whi„b
centred in Gods having raised him
from the dead,
15, Prince of life --"Author of
life,"
Whereof—"Of whom."
17. In ignorance ye did it—Paul
in his first letter to Timothy (1 Tim.
1. 13) pleads this same ignorance as
the ground for his having obtained
mercy. Thus it appears that the
Jewish people as a whole had not
realized the gravity of the offense
committed in bringing about the
death of Jesus. It was tbis igno-
rance on the pant of the majority
of the nation which at first made the
apostles hopeful of a general na-
tional repentance, such as Peter
pleads for in verse 19 below.
18. By the mouth of all the pro-
phets—All those who prophesied
concerning the coming of the Mes-
siah.
He thus fulfilled—The hatred of
a few of the Jewish leaders and the
ignorance of the many were thus
providentially used to bring about
the fulfillment ofr
P oPhecy.
20, 21. That he may send the
Christ --The hope thus expressed by
Peter reflects the general expecta-
tion of the Christian community in
apostolic times of an early return
of Jesus and a consequent restora-
tion of all things, ' that is, a re-
establishment of the Jewish nation-
al independence under the person-
al-rule
ersonal-rule of the Christ.
22. Moses indeed said—The refer-
ence is to Dent. 18. 15, which reads :
"Jehovah thy God will raise up un-
to thee a prophet from the midst
of thee, of thy brethren, like unto
me; unto him ye shall hearken."
23. Every soul that shall not
hearken to that prophet—Peter has
in mind the statement of Deut. 18.
19, following the prophecy just al-
luded to. This statement in Deu-
teronomy reads : "And it shall come
to pass, that whosoever will not
hearken unto my words which he
shall speak iu my name, I will re-
quire it of him."
25. And in thy seed shall all the
families of the earth be blessed—
Compare Gen. 12, 3; 22. 18; 26. 4;
'28. 14, which passages contain the
original promises of God to Abra-
ham.
26. Unto you first—Tho blessings
of the Messianic kingdom are to be
world-wide, but the prophetic pro-
mises referring to these blessings
have a peculiar significance for
and claim en every member of the
Hebrew race.
Sent him to bless you—The work
of Jesus was primarily among his
own people, and only through them)
did the gospel message ultimately
reach others also.
In the northern part of India.
cheep are used as beasts of bur-
den.
Hogan -"Have ye hear -rd me
daughter Mona sing lately?" Du-
gan—"Beth lately an' earlier, be -
dad 1 'Tis th' fine instrumental
music she de maks." Hogan—"Ye
ignoramus. Shure, singin' ain't in-
sthrumintal musics" Dugan—"Be-
sorra:, thin, Keegan towld me it
wuz insthrumintai in causal' him t'.
move two sthreets away from yet.
house !"
A FAITHFUL BAND,
Remarkable Story of Two Years'
Trial and Struggle,
Many instances of remarkable
gallantry and devotion to duty are
to be found in the "Story of the
Guides," by Col, G. J. Younghus-
band, At present this is a corps of.
native East Indians, fourteen hun-
dred strong, with twenty-seven
British officers, King Edward is
colonel -in -chief. It Was raised in
11'6, to furnish not only ,fighters,
but also men who could, at a mo-
ment's notice, act as guides to
troops in the field and to collect
trnstworthyinformation. As it was
for service, and not for show, the
time-honored scarlet of the British
army was laid aside for the dust-
colored- uniform new known as
khaki.
In one of their ee editions on the
northwestern frontier, from the
tribes of which many of the men
were enlisted, they camped near a
village, the home of ono of the
guides. His "relatives and friends
entreated him not to fight against
them, and a favorable opportunity
coming, he deserted, and carried
with him two rifles,
"How many men of that man's
tribe are there in the regiment?"
demanded the commander, Colonel
Jenkins, when the fact was report-
ed to him. It was found there were
seventeen, all told.
"Parade them allhere, said the
colonel; and they, were duly sum-
moned and paraded in line.
"Now take bff every scrap of uni-
form or equipment that belongs to
the sircar."
Each man did as he was bid, and
placed the little pile in front of him
on the ground.
"You can now go, and don't let
me see your faces again -till you
bring back those -two rifles."
He hoped that they might over-
take the fugitive, but ho was dis-
appointed.
im
appointed. Day followed day and
week succeeded week, but no news
came of pursued or pursuers.
The matter had been forgotten;
the vacancies had long since been
filled; indeed, two whole years had
passed, when one day there walked
into Mercian cantonment a -ragged,
rough -bearded, hard-bitten gang
of seventeen men, carrying two
rifles. It was the lost legion.
Of those two years' trial and
struggle, wounds received and giv-
en, a stark, unburied corpse here
anal there on the mountainside,
days in ambush, and bitter nights of
silent, anxious watch, they spoke
but little; but their faces beamed.
with honest pride as their spokes-
man simply said :
"The sahib told us never to show
our faces again until we found the
rifles, and here they are. Now, by
your honor's kindness, we will
again enlist and serve the queen."
THE CREDITOR WORRIED.
Oversensitive About a Debtor Who
Took Time to Pay Up.
Well, thank goodness, there's one
man I can meet now without feel-
ing uncomfortable," the man said.
"How's that?" asked his com-
panion. him
"Did you
money
and settle up?"
"Just the other way round," said
the speaker. "He owed me a small
sum of money for more than a year.
"I met him a great deal, and sev-
eral times he dunned himself about
the money, but he never paid. Af-
ter a while I got so I didn't like to
meet him, because I felt all the
time he was saying to himself, `I
owe this man money and he knows
1 ought to pay and still he doesn't
like to remind me.'
"Absolutely it got so I would go
blocks out of the way to avoid him.
I felt that he felt he never could
mention spending money for any-
thing when he was in my presence
without my feeling that that money
ought to have gone to pay the debt
he owed me.
"Maybe he disin't feel that way
about it at all, but I felt that way,
and now I'm glad he has paid up,
so that in this detail at least I am
comfortable in my mind."
—*
WHY DID SHE MARRY?
Was it— '
Because she wanted a home of her
own?
Because she dreaded a lonesome
ofd age l
Because she wanted influence and
social position?
Because she was afraid of being
called an old maid?
Because she needed someone to
earn her clothes?
Because she was misunderstood
by her patents?
Because site was afraid some
other girl would get him,?
Because not to mawould look
peculiar and unsociable?
Because he urged her to, and she
had nothing else in particular to
do?
Because she ryas infatuated by his
figure and flattered by his eaten-
tions?
aten-tions?
• Because shethoughtsshe saw in
him qualities no one else had dui
covered?
Because she actually loved him,
and believed she could add 'to' his
happiness and welfare? (N. B.—
This is ; sometimes the, reason, of
course;)
A DAY WITH THE KING
HOW HIS lilAJESTX SPENDS
ITIS 'VI11JII' i LONDON:
Generally Understood 'That Be is
One of the Hartlest-worked .
Nen in Ills Kiugaem,
Though by no moans one who re-
tires to bed early—it is usually af-
ter midnight before King Edward
goes to his own .room—he is astir
at an hour that would surprise
those who have not been brought
into close contact with him. After
a Dnp of coffee and a roll, when at
Buckingham Palace His. Majesty
makes his way to what might be
termed hila "office," a large apart,
ment on the first floor overlooking
the beautiful gardens, and proceeds
to go through such papers and do-
ouments as he may not have had
time to examine on the previous
night.
NEWS FROM THE HOUSE.
Every night the King receives,
no matter where he may be staying,
from the Prime Minister or some
other member of the Cabinet ap-
pointed to do the work for him, an
account of what has transpires in
the House of Commons during the
sitting, and this His Majesty reads
with the closest attention. When
he has gone through this, and not-
ed any points of special interest, it
is passed on in clue course to Lord
Knollys, the King's private secre-
tary and right hand, who has it
filed carefully away so that it may
be available for instant reference.
THE KING'S OFFICE.
The room in which the King
transacts Es work at Buckingham
Palace is a very spacious one and
furnished with the utmost simpli-
city. In one of the windows stands
a large knee -hole writing-tablefor
the King's use, and upon this are
placed small piles of paper in per -
feet order and one or two despatch
boxes in royal red leather. In
front of this table stands an arm-
chair of comfortable dimensions,
while another smaller table stands
close at hand bearing pipes, cigar-
ettes, cigars, etc., since the King
is rather a heavy smoker. At the
other side . of the room is a very
large roll-top desk, at which Lord
Knollys works, and here is also the
telephone that enables communi-
cation to be held with every other
portion of the Palace, as well as
another connected with the Central
Exchange. A third writing -table
has recently been placed in this
room for the accommodation of the
rarely that a day passes without the
King reooiving at least one mem-
ber of the Government As a rule
these audienoos last for about twen-
ty minutes, but upon accaaions they
ere considerably longer, In addi-
tion to Cabinet Ministers the King
has frequent audiences with the
permanent officials of the various
departments, such as Sir Charles
Hardinge, Permanent Under-Secre-
tary at the Foreign Office, Earl
Roberts, Sir John Fisher, General
Sir W. G, Nicholson, oto,, and fol
lows events in the Army and Navy
very closely.
AFT] RNOON VISITS,.
The afternoon is usually spent in
visiting of one kind or another, or
in filling public engagements away
from the Palace, but the interval
between tea and dinner usually
finds the King back at his writing
table once snore dealing with mat-
ters that have cropped up since the
morning. Dinner is served be-
tween eight and nine upon or. dinaiy
occasions, and the evening, as a
rule, is then spent at one of the
theatres,
The foregoing is but a brief out-
line of the manner in which the
King spends his day when in Lon-
don; but more often than not there
Fare many other important duties
to be got through•—such as levees,
investitures, Court balls, and so on,
all of which make very great de-
mands upon both His Majesty's
time and° physical strength, and it
it only by the adoption of a thor-
ough business system, and the ob-
servance of a regular life, that the
King is able to carry out his oner-
ous duties month by month and
year by year.—London Tit -Bits,
CURED BY STRATEGY.
How a Great Doctor Treated a Han
of Wealth.
Of the eminent physicians of Eng-
land during the early part of the
last century not one was more just-
ly celebrated than Dr. Sydenham,
Of the anecdotes of his medical ex-
perience, related by himself, the fol-
lowing is worth telling.
For a long time the doctor had
been consulted by a gentleman of
wealth and leisure who was persis-
tent in his demands for medical
help, who took all the "medicines
prescribed, but who did not appear
to improve. At length Dr. Syden-
ham said to him
"Sir, I have done all I can do,
If_ you would be thoroughly cured
you must consult Dr. 'Robinson, at
Inverness, in Scotland. He is ex-
ceedingly clever in such diseases as
yours; and if I give you a letter.
to him, I can assure you he will
give you relief."
Prince of Wales who has latelyIt was a long journey from Lon-
Prince
over a large amount of thdon away to the extreme North of
Scotland, but the patient had plen-
ty of leisure; he had money enough,
he had good horses and carriages,
and, above all, he was anxious to
be cured. So away he went.
But, arrived at Inverness, after
a laborious jaunt of fully three
weeks, he searched for Dr. Robin-
son in vain. He could find no such
doctor. And, what was more, he
was credibly informed that such a
doctor had never lived there. The
patient bottled up .his wrath, had
his horses harnessed. and their
homeward
heads turned , and the
distance which had occupied him
three weeks in going he covered in
ten days on his return. Upon reach-
ing London he made at -once for the
house of Dr. Sydenham, upon whom
he burst like a whirlwind,
"Hal Sir George; I am glad to
see you, and to see you looking so
well,,'
"But no thanks to you, you grace-
less rascal. Why did you deceive
sue?"
"Deceive you, Sir George?"
"Yes. You told me I should find
Dr. Robinson, .and you knew there
was no such man there. Now, what
is your excuse ? What your expla-
nati?"
"Sionr George, answer me.'Are
you not bettor now than you have
been before for years? Inshort,
are you not entirely recovered from
that old malady?
The baronet thought a little, and
was forced to confess that such was
the Daae.
"That, sir, is my excuse that my
explanation," returned the physi-
cian. frankly. "I knew that a jour-
ney into the Highlands of Scotland
would cure you, and I took the only
means in my power to and you off,
Had I told you the truth you would
not have gone; but to see Dr. Rob-
inson you were willing to venture.
So, Sir George, let us bless' Dr.
Robinson."
And Sir George surrendered,-
THE HISTORY OF NIAGARA.
work formerly attended to by the
Ring in person, and His Royal
Highness visits the Palace every
morning when in London for this
purpose, 'usually arriving between
11 a.m. and 11.30 a.m.
The King breakfasts about 9.30
a.m., and then takes a walk through
the Palace grounds for about an
hour, usually accompanied only by
his favorite fox -terrier., though
sometimes he is joined by one of
his equerries. His Majesty takes
very great interest
in gardening,
and often pauses to watch the men
at work in the grounds.
WHEN REAL WORK BEGINS.
It is about eleven o'clock that
His. Majesty commences the, real
work of the day. By this time his
secretaries have opened and ar-
ranged in its proper order the
enormous correspondence that ar-
rives at the Palace for His Majesty
every morning., This collection of
letters is really amazing, and
ranges, probably, from a holograph
letter from some European Sovere-
ign to, the incoherent writings of
that largo number of weak-minded
people who Beek -to get some real
or fancied grievance remedied by
an appeal to the King, The whole
of this correspondence passes
through the hands of Lord Knollys
first of all, and is carefully sifted
before being passed on to His Ma-
jesty, so that it may be said at
once that no letter, however it may
be addressed, can possibly reach
the King unless his private secre-
tary considers it of sufficient im-
portance to warrant His Majesty's
personal attention.
As might be expected, appeals
upon behalf of charitable institu-
tions form a very large portion of
the King's correspondence. These
arc all carefully 'examined by his
private secretary, and a list of the
appeals received is carefully pro -
pared for the Ring's inspection.
This list shows the name and ad-
dress of the charity, the precise ob-
ject for which the money is requir-
ed, how much the King or the
Queen have previously subscribed,
together with other details, and
here and there a remark from Lord
Knollys; His Majesty then nates
on the margin the amount he wish-
es to subscribe, and cheques are
forwarded in due course by Sir
Dighton Prabyn, the Keeper of the
Ring's Privy Purse.
WHEN MINISTERS ARRIVE.
Scarcely is the morning, corre-
spondence dealt with than import -
Dr. J. W. Spencer, who bas made
a specialty of the study of the geo-
logical history of the Niagara
gorge and falls, returned to this
subject at the July meeting of the
American Assoeiation. He bclievee
that about .3,800 years ago the
drainage .of Lake Huron was turn-
ed into 'Lake Erie, thus vastly' in-
creasing the eroding power of
Niagara. It had taken 35,500 years
for the gorge to eat back from
Lake Ontario to the point where
the falls were situated when the
Huron discharge was added. Five
ant•, public officials, members of the hundred ,years after that the falls
Cabinet, etc., begin to arrive to reached the Whirlpool. Between
have audience with the King. His
Majesty keeps in very close touch
with all that transpires in every
Government department, and but
little escapes his notice, and it. fs.,'030,
2,000 and 2,500 years ago they were
passing the site of the Whirlpool
Rapids. The rapids themselves
were completed lees than 800 years
S11?E» OF VARIOUS YIIIRICLES,
Table of Speed 31ado .on Land- by
Vehicles, ]Tors08 and ]lien.
For oonveniin comparing
s cede mode o;ell nd by. various vie.
Moles, as wells by horses and
mon, the followg tabl4 has been
props}ed.;
For the mile
Electric l000motive, 27s, 1903,
Automobile, 281s, 1906.
Steam locomotive, 325, '1993,
Motor -paced cycle, lm 6 1-5s, 1904.
Bicycle, unpacod, lin 492-5s, 1904,
Running horse, 1,35%, 1890.
Pacing horse, 1.55, 1906,
Trotting horse, 1.58%, 1905.
Man skating, 2m 36s, 1896.
Man running, hm 12%s, 1887.
Man walking, Om 93s, 1890.
It will be observed that the dif-
ference between the locomotives
and the automobile is trifling. For
100 miles the record of the steam
locomotive is much better than that
of the auto. However, both the
electric locomotive and the auto
may beexpected to show further,
improvement, as their development
is Incomplete, 'while their, steam
brother has attained about the li-
mit. It is also interesting to note
that a so-called automobile loco-
motive has been constructed, this
being a railway locomotive designed
to use gas, after the fashion of a
gasoline auto. The horse -racing
and foot -racing records added to
the table were all made in recent
years. Evidently we breed better
and train better than ever before:
PROOF POSITIVE.
A prudent housewife in Albany,
New York, once appealed to the
well-known American prelate,
Bishop Doane, for advice about the
provision of literature for her chil-
dren. They considered and discuss-
ed many juvenile books, tbo Bishop
criticizing them as they came up
for judgment, until, finally, "Rob-
inson Crusoe" was named,
"Do you think it suitable for my.
boy?" asked the lady. "Oh, yes,"
replied the. Bishop. "It is quite
a harmless narrative, and has
pleased boys for ages. Besides,
there is some reason tobelieve that
Robinson Cruses was an Episco-
palian.."
And the Bishop's eyes twinkled.
"Indeed l' exclaimed the lady,
much gratified, "why, I never knew
that." "Yes," continued the Bish-
op, "you will remember 'that he
kept Good Friday."
3.—
RAN IN TRR FAMILY.
A gentleman having an estate in
the Scotch Highlands, as he was
going abroad for some time, ad-
vertised the shootings to let, and
told his gamekeeper, Donald, who
•was to show the ground, to give
it' a goodcharacterto anyone who
,wanted to see it. An Englishman
came down, and, inquiring of Don-
,ald as to how it was stocked with
game, first asked if it had any
deer. Donald's reply was: Thoo-
sands of them."
"Any grouse?"
"Thoosands of them, too."
"Any partridges?"
"Thoosands of them, too."
"Any woodcock?"
"Thousands of thein, too.
Tho Englishman, thinking that
Donald was drawing the long bow,
asked if there wore any gorillas.
Donald drew himself up, "
"Weel, they are no' so plentifu';
they jist Dome occasionally, neo
and agin, like yoursel',"
EUROPE'S ,CLOUD -SHOOTING.
"Clor.d-shooting" is becoa iia a
regular form of artillery practice
in many European countries, the
object of this atmospheric gunnery
being to dispel threatened hail-
storms. The most recent form of
gun is a funnel -shaped barrel of
iron with a broad muzzle, so that
the discharge shall be distributed
over as large a space as possible.
The effect of the discharge is to
create a small but powerful whirl-
wind, which, it is found, disperses
clouds that would otherwise de-
scend in hail. So strong is the.
gust of wind sent upward that it
sometimes kills or disables birds
flying at groat height overhead -
VICE VERSA.
"Let me see some of your blaok
kid gloves," said: a lady to a shop-
man. •
"These are not the latest style,
are they?" she asked when the
gloyeessmreadapmroduced,
"Yes, ," -replied the shop -
man. "We have had thein in stock
only two days,"
"I didn't think they were, be -
MODERN CAVE DWELLERS
QUITE COMION IN BOXE
1NAR7'S OI' FRANCE.
Rows of Dwellings Cut'Out of
Cliffs—Gardens Are Rept ell
the Roofs,
It is astonishing, but none the
lass true, than more •than two mil-
lion persons live in caves in France.
It is not the gave -dwelling of the
anoie'nt and hoary past, but brought
up to date with all the modcrnim-
provements to Inc found in the life
of"an every -day French peasant
who lives in any ordinary habita-
tion.
IN FRENCH CLIFFS.
These twentieth-century emulat-
ors af:a dead age are sc tiered all
over France, but it isinthe little
town of Ohateau-de-Loire, by the
banks of ops of France's most
beautiful rivers, in •the very heart
of her most beautiful and fruitful ,
lend, that the cave dweller is to be
found in his highest development.
It is on the way Into Paris from the
west coast' of France that one sud- -
denly runs up against this peculiar
phase of life; and it strikes one as
so incongruous and novel that one
instinctively alights from his train
for a: closer inspection.
In the side of the hills, carved
out of, the white rock, one finds row
t
r through .Ili s and h
after row of � n e -
f B
g,
the swinging doors pass in and out ;_l
the busy natives—busy as only a
French peasant can be busy. Al--
though none of the dwellers is pos-
sessed of great wealth, many of
them, are in easy circumstances,
boasting a well-filled stocking con-
fided to the care of the thrifty wife.
ROOF OAFDENS•
The peculiar method of housing
adopted by these people compels
them to have their gardens on
their roofs instead of stretching
in front of their dwellings. The
householder mounts to the top of
his house by a flight of stairs dug
out of the rock and tills the soil of
the gently sloping hill' to the door
of his neighbor's house above' him.
Contrary to one's natural ex-
pectations, the condition of the soil
and the system of ventilation em-
ployed by the practical -minded
French peasants keep these houses
extremely cool 'n the summer, de-
spite the fact that they are in no
wise damp. In winter they have
a much milder' temperature ` than
that of the ordinary house. The
inhabitants enjoy a wonderful de-
gree of good health and the. princi-
pal doctor of the little town told
the writer with a smile that he al-
most starved to death for want of
calls upon bis service.
ARERBALTHY.
Rheumatism is almost unknown
among these people, and many of
them live to an advanced old age.
The stranger entering ono of
these houses carved out of the
rocks is surprised by the spec*acic
which greets the eye, The malls
adtho
1 ' clean, n
trate e
' iniac l �
are in
level floors show signs of careful
preparation. In many of, the
houses tapestries and beautiful or-
naments are tastefully hung , and
placed about the rooms, while the
old rustic furniture, cleaned and
polished by generations of usage,
lends a peculiar air of solidity and
sincerity to the view.
Many of the houses are two rooms
deep, while considerably more than
a quarter cf the total number are
two storeys high. They stretch
along the slow -flowing Loire River
for something like sixty-five miles
and present a peculiar sight to the
uninitiated traveller as his train
winds in and out among them.
IN OTHER SECTIONS..
Although; the country of the Loire
is the chief home of the cave -dwell-
ers, the country about Bourse, near
Montrichard, is thickly populated
with them also. It is from Bourn')
that the beautiful white stone
comes` which has served during
hundreds of years for the fine con-
structions in the country and of
which well-informed "persons tell us
the Romans began the exploitation.
And to -day there is still enough o1
it to allow the inhabitants to maks'
solid houses of it, but then never
think of doing so, and are still
faithful to their ancestral caves.
\!0.
Or ONE ROCIC.
One of the ,groat curiosities of
cause the fashion paper says black Bourse is a house r high has been
lids have tan stitches, and vice) cut out of a huge isolated blocic,
versa. I see the tan stitches, but
net the vice Bens.
The shopman explained that vice
versa was French for seven buttons,
so she bought thtree• pairs,
OLASS TO MATCH.
"Dear," she said trembling, as
she nestled against him' on the first
eight of 'their honeymoon, "I have
a secret to tell you."
"What is it:?" he hissed tragical-
ly,
"Can you ever forgive me for de-
ceiving you 2" she sobbed. "My
left eye is made of g1-gl-glass 1"
"Oh," he murmured, with a sigh
of relief, "don't say any more,
dearest; so are the diamonds in
your engagetnent-ring!"
which appears to have become de -
tubed from the neighboring mass
of rock before the memory of man.
This is not, however, e unique case,
In Indio -et -Loire, at Rechecorl,on,
renowned for its vintages, ono finds
a formidable "fallen rock" . which
an adroit pick -axe has excavated
with such art that it is now a horse
surmounted by a large terrace,
DISPLEASED AT LEA ST.
"What's the matter, darling?
You look as if some great sorrow
had- cotne to yoti." •
"Mrs. Watterson came over to ,
gee the baby this morning, and she
insisted khat he looked the • uory
image of you,"