The Brussels Post, 1909-12-09, Page 6P�S:uu.••d�
T� S S, LESSON
INTERNATIONAL LESSON/
NOV,. 12
Lesson X.I. Paul's Last Words. 2
,.., Tint, 4. 1.18. Golden 'Text,
Phil. 1. 21.
Verses 1-8. Believeing his own end
to be not far off, Paul exhorts Tim-
othy to teach the truth with renew-
ed firmness, especially as a period
of error is fast approaching.
1. I charge thee -A word full of.
solemnity, emphasized by the fact
that the adjuration to Timothy is
uttered in the sight, of an all -teeing
God, and of Christ Jesus, who is
to judge all men, both those dead
and those who will be living at
Christ's appearing, which, together
with the final, glorious kingdom, is
invoked to impress Timothy with
the weight of his responsibility.
2. Preach the word -The perfect,
authoritative message of the gospel.
Paul has just (2 Tim. 3. 16) declar-
ed the profitableness of all inspired
Scripture.
Be urgent in season, out of sea-
son -"The voice said, Cry:"
Preaching must be passionate if it
would be potent. And that, whe-
ther the opportunity is apparent or
nob, If the door is not open, storm
Reprove -Convict of error in be-
lief or conduct. (Compare 2 Tim.
3. 16), Bishop Ellicott thus enum-
erates the uses of ,Scripture: it
teaches the ignorant, convicts the
evil and prejudiced, corrects the
fallen, and trains in righteousness
all men. In order to . make the
Bible serve these purposes, one
must exercise all long-suffering;
that is, patience under all circum-
stances.
3. Sound doctrine -As opposed to
the false teaching which even then
was beginning to crystallize into the
fables (4) of the Gnostics.
Having itching ears -Uneasy,
sickly longings for neveity, induc-
ing them to seek teachers who will
soothe their consciences by pander- Amusing' Experience of Father
ing to their lusts. "A. corrupt will Mathew.
ever chooses its own. doctrine."
6. Be sober -The verb implies
both watchfulness and sobriety.
Do the work of an evangelist -
Not the specific work of the office M.A. entitled- "Heroes of Modern
called by that name, but the pro- Crusades." Father Mathew had ar-
claiming of the gospel which was
still incumbent upon Timothy,
though he had attained a loftier
position.
Fulfill thy ministry -Give faith-
ful heed to every phase of the work.
6. Already being offered -He is
thinking of his approaching mar-
tyrdom, and describes it in terms
of the drink offerings of the Jews
and heathen. poured out upon their
sacrifices. (Compare Phil. 2. 17).
7, 8. At the close of his life he
+that Luke died in Bithyniei at the
age of seventy-four,
Merle ... is useful to me for
ministering -This ledioatea s r'e-
versed of Paul's judgment implied
in his refusal to take Mark with:
lrim on the second missionary tour
(Acts 15. 3740). The latter made
good, and was with the apostle in
Rome at the time of the writing of
the letter to the Colossians (teol.
4. 10).
12, Tyoliicus-Together with Teo -
Aims he is in the party with Paul
on the journey from Macedonia to
Jerusalem, although he is not men-
tioned in Acts 21. 29, and may not
have eompleted the journey. Again
wafind him at Rome with Paul dur
ing the first imprisonment, and
know that he was sent with .the.
apostle's blessing, bearing the let-
ters to the ehurshes at Ephesus and
Colorise. Tradition makes him a
bishop.
13. The cloak - A. long, thick, up-
per garment, which the approach of
winter (verse 21) would make mast
grateful.
Carpus •:- Nothing further is
known of him, but the passage is.
part of the proof that Paul had re-
cently been east.
The books -Probably papyrus
rolls, to distinguish them from the
parchments, which were prepared
from the skins of goats. When
made from calves' skins, they are
called vellum. Why Paul wanted
them especially is not known; per-
haps, because they were more pre-
cious, being parchment and not
paper. It has been variously con-
jectured that they contained ,the
Old Testament in Greek, docu-
ments to prove Paul's Roman citi-
zenship, or even sayings of Jesus.
14. Alexander the coppersmith -
May be the same as the Alexander
'whose name is coupled with that of burghers with their families would
Hymenaeus, the heretical teacher.come on summer evenings to drink
(1 Tim. 1: 20; 2 Tim. 2. 17). As such tea or eat our cream with rusks
he was a personal opponent of Paul. and sugar. Sundays the gardens
The Lord will render to him ac- were filled all day long. At noon
cording to his 'a'orks-Not an ex- coffee •and rolls were partaken of
pression of personal bitterness, but there, and later on tea was again
"zeal for the truth." indulged in. The children found
I{b1B:1.1iRASSIN G POPULARITY.
OLDDUTCH pp GARDENS 1porcelain, The teapots were often
UUICII UARf/l:NS of fantastic shapes. The square
pets painted with golden designs
were famous and valuable. Others
were hand painted with the family
erect end arms.
The areas of the company was
just as fine in its kind as the trap-
pings of the tea table, eo that the
eapenditaro necessitated by tea
drinking became so great that the
moralists of the time poured forth
the vials o£ their, wrath on tea, re
On the old canal from Delft to foreleg to it as "that destroyer of
Leyden, Holland, i$ a tea garden domestic peace" and "that deneoi-
that has existed there trine out of isher of the fortunes of our citi-
mind. More than 250 years ago it zees."
is mentioned in local ohonic8, ; r i Tea drinking has not been pub
a
and it is on record that all the win- down by the fulminations of its cri
Bows of the house and pavilions lice, but the exaggerated veneratror
were broken when the awful gun- for tea may gradually give place to
Powder explosion destro od a large a more quiet appreeiation of Ws
art of Leyden in' the yei hteenth merits. Even now Holland ranks
R yg
century. The canals in those days second in Europe as a tea -drink -
were the highways of traffic, and ing nations following immediately
all the finest houses and most beau after England in the quantity eon-
tiful country seats were situated op
their borders, theedificee turning
their best side toward the water so
that the best rooms would command
a good view of the passersby. If 'The' Sense of Smell No Longer of
the house could not be brought suf-
fieiently close to the canal border, Importance.a summer house, generally circular The doctrine of the survival of the
in shape, with windows on all sides, fittest in its application to the or -
was placed on the immediate edge gaps of the humanbody prompted
of the water, often overhanging it. some highly interested speculations
Every country seat and house had in the course of Dr. J. Lindsay's
its own landing stage, a towing Bradshaw lecture delivered before.
boat and boathouse. the Royal College of Physicians in
PREFERRED CANAL BANKS. London recently.
The lecturer suggested that "wis-
Of course, the amusement resorts dom teeth are a ruined industry"
had to conform to this preference and said that sensationalthough
for the water, so it is not so won- the thought appears it seems pr'o-
derful that nearly all the old Dutch bable that the sense of smell, no
tea gardens were placed near seine longer of much practical importance
busy eanal. These tea gardens to civilized man and hence remov-
were a great institution, where the ed from the action of natural selec-
tion, is becoming rudimentary,
The many yards of thehuman in-
testine, it has been suggested, are
simply "survivals from a herbiver-
ous progenitor and of no service to
a mixed feeder like man." The
lecturer added that some authorities
advocated snipping off a few feet
plenty to amuse them, for there from man's tediously long intestine.
were swings, seesaws and lots of Like the speeches of many politiei-
rowing boats. ' ans, it is rambling, involved and an
Barges glided by continual/as interminabletime coming to the
some .towed by horses, others by point; it should be cut down.
men, women and children. Often . The human , jaw, Dr. Lindsay
three or four children and a little
dog towed a heavily laden boat,
while the father of the family .punt-
ed it along with a pole, and so eased
the strain for those on the towpath.
But the passenger barges were
those of interest, for mdse of these
would stop at the landing stage of
the tea-garden and deposit a good-
ly load of new visitors.
PASSENGER BARGES GONE.
LOCA.T".l;ll ON 'Tfl') RA.NR8 0'F
TRI) CANALS.
They Are, T'hrovgh Use of Bicycle
and Motor, Again Beaming
Popular.
sumed per meal.
RERAN BODY O1L NGING.
An amusing result of the popular-
ity of Father Mathew, the great
temperance advocate, is recorded in
a recent book by Edward Gilliat,
rived in the dusk of the evening
at the house of a parish priest in a
remote part of Galway. His host
conducted him to a room on the
ground floor, in which was a large
bay window without blind or cur-
tain.
No sooner was Father Mathew in
bed than he turned his face to the
wail and fell into a deep slmuber.
Awaking, as usual, at an early hour
in the morning, he opened his eyes,.
lupon his career as a repeated a prayer, and turned to
-
looks back
ward the window. What was his
contest similar to those with which dismay to see a crowd of people of
every inhabitant of Rome was fa- both sexes and all ages standing
miller. The good fight is not that tiptoe in front of the big bay win -
of battle, but the strife of the dew; some even flattening their nos-
games. Remembering the words of es against the glass, all eager to
his Lord, "It is finished," he comes get a peep at his reverence.
victoriously to the end : of the A more modest man than lee did
course, bearing safe the faith which not exist, and great was his em -
had been intrusted as a precious de- barrassment. He looked round
posit to his keeping (1 Tim. 1. 11; furtively for a. bell -rope, but such a
6. 20). Then, resuming the•langu- luxury` was not to be thought of in
a priest's house in Galway! He
dare not even put a leg out to stamp
on the floor; he was fairly in prison
between the blankets.
The crowd was growing larger
and the talk louder. He could hear
bits, such as:
"Do ye see him, Mary, asthore l"
"Danny, agra, lave me take a
look, an' God bless ye, child!"
"Oh, wisha, there's the blessed
priest abed!"
"Mammy, there he lies, a-snooz•
in'1 I can see his polll"
Three, mortal hours did the 'pris-
oner wish' for deliverance. Then
his host came tapping, afraicf to dis-
turb his guest too early, saw the
boys at gaze, and sent Pat to clear
tbem off the house front.
age of the games, he points to the
crown which is to be his reward
for righteousness, just as the vie-
torious athlete wears the crown .of
physical supremacy.
At that day -A reiterated word of
the Old Testament, connected with
Judgment and the setting up of the
Messianic kingdom. In the New
Testament it gains new meaning by
its association with the personal re-
turn of Christ at the end of the
world. In the early church, to be
able to stand "before, our Lord
Jesus, at his coming" was a great
aspiration and controlling motive.
To have loved bis appearing was a
touchstone of judgment.
9-15. Paul bids Timothy make
a speedy journey to him, bringing
certain .necessary articles, and
warns him against an enemy.
10. Demas was with Paul during
some of the first imprisonment, and
figures in the greetings to the Co-
lossians (4, 14), and in the letter
to Philemon (24). Tradition says
that his shrinking from his duty,
and returning to Thessalonica,
which was possibly his home, end-
ed in total apostasy.
Crescens is known only by this
reference,
Titus had probably gone to Dal
matia, on the east coast of the Ad-
riatic, on some mission for Paul,
Re remained one of the most trust-
ed helpers of the apostle, who had
him for, a companion in a journey
throiigh the East after the first am-
prisonment. At that time Titus
was left behind to organize the
church in Crete, 4i:om which Paul
wished him to be ready to go (Titus
3 12) to meet him in Nicopolis. This
place was in the neighborhood of
Dalmttia, (See article, "Titus,"
Rasting's Bible Dictionary.)
11. Luke -Ile alone, of the usual
braveling cosnpaniona:of Paul re
trained, although either Christian
diseiplrs ware 'near (verse 21). A
loiter of :alio third century declares
LUXURIOUS BURGLAR.
Lived le a Cave and Drank the
Finest . of Wines.
A wild man of the woods, who has
lived in the forests and hills on the
Swiss shore of Lake Constance for
the last two years, was arrested
recently near Herisau.
He is an,escaped German convict
named Joseph Saeher, who, in spite
of his strange habits, lived in great
luxury. He is a middle-aged man
of great strength. Be lived in a
state of nature, inhabiting a cave
in a mountain, but by burglary ob-
tained the best food and drink. The
cave contained a large quantity of
fine wines, champagnes, liqueurs,
preserved game and fruits, a sil-
ver table service; a quantity of lin-
en, but no money. All the goods
had been stolen, as the wild roan
admitted to the police,
"A few years' imprisontrieneeand
then I shall enjoy myself again,"
he said when arrested. No charge
of violence can be brought against
Stoller. Ilse never carried arms.
Ile will be tried next week at Hera
eau.
The canal and freight barges are
still the same, but the gay green
and white painted' passenger berg
es have passed from the scene, and
the tea garden itself has gone
through many eieissitudes- . Some
of the establishments led a dreary
existence for many years, the paint
on the summer houses and pavil-
ions getting dingier and dingier,
and some crumbled into decay al-
together. None with any preten-
sions to gentility visited the tea abatement of some of the worst
gardens any more, andfinally only scourges of thehuman race, such as
the laboring people kept true to the tuberculosis, typhoid fever and ma•
laria and the declining sick rate of
benefit societies, physical degener-
ation is, Dr. Lindsay believes, -go-
ing on. in England, and the moral
he deduces is the profound influence
of evolution on the race and the im-
portance to medicine of keeping in
view the great discoveries of Dar-
win. ar-win.
thinks, is getting smaller and sinal-
ler, which explains why the teeth
are often so crowded together that
the removal of some of them is a
necessity in early' life. Our toes,
once -so -handy when we swung on
the branches of the primeval for-
est, are also undergoing elimina-
tion except the great toe, "which is
of service in maintaining the up-
right posture."
That civilization runs counter to
natural selection Dr. Lindsay thinks
is evident and instances the marri-
age customs, the not uncommon
conjunction .of youth and beauty
with age and wealth, for example.
He also questions whether the me-
dical profession is free from serious
;responsibility "when it preserves
those whom nature hasplainly
marked out for elimination,
In spite ofthe average increas-
ing diaration of human life, the
old places. But there came an as-
tonishing revival, due chiefly to the
bicycle, and later to the automo-
bile. The tea garden has again be-
come fashionable and many a
crumbling old establishment has
shone forth with. new plate -glass
windows, extensive verandahs, and
new plant. New 'summer houses
have been built and many new row-
ing boats are temptingly waiting
along the landing stage. All day
long the old garden is filled with
gay young visitors.
WHEN TEA WAS FIRST USED.
Sitting under the flowering lin-
den trees in the old garden watch-
ing the barges lazily glinding with
the cheerful tea kettle humming its
little song on its warm stone near
at hand, one's thoughts revert to
the olden days when tea was first
introduced into Holland. What a
revolution ib created in the house-
hold ! It will scarcely be believed
that many a family was almost ruin-
ed by it. Tea was first brought in-
tt. Holland by the East India Com-
pany and Holland was drinking tea
some time before France or Eng,
land knew of 1a. In the middle of
the 17th century tea was given as a
medicine and some doctors were SO
enthusiastic about its results that
they prescribed it as a kind of elix-
ir of life. warranted to cure every
varieby of illness.
Some people drank from ten to
fifty cups at a sitting. Tea was not
taken with milk in those days but
with sugar and saffron. Tea was
an expensive luxury in those days,
costing as much as 40 or even 100
or 120 florins a pound, andall the
accessories of the tea table had to
be of exereme Holiness.
• TEAROOM SURROUNDINGS.
A tearoom wee set apart in all
stylish homes with a special tea
table and chairs, and this was kept
entirely for entertaining guests.
']hese tea tables were costly affairs,
often of Japanese lacquer work in-
laid with silver, ivory and mother
of pearl. The tea sots were of the
most delicate china and Japanese
CIRCUMSTANCES AND A CASE
The colonel of 'a certain cavalry
regiment was a martinet in all ex-
cept :his own habits.' On one oc-
casion the regiment was about to
start on a long march, and orders
were issued that, baggage should be
reduced to the "minimum. A lieu-
tenant of the equadron had just re-
ceived from hie father a small Sox
of books, andasked the colonel if
he might not take it along.
"Certainly not, sir 1" roared the
chief. "No, sir l"
"I'm very sorry, colonel; it will
be very dull out there 'without any
reading. My father sent me a case
of whiskey, but of course I couldn't
take that'?"
"Not bake it, sir'" again roared
the colonel, "Certainly you can,
sir! Anything in reason, sir!"
STARVING OUT HE GERMS.
"Unfortunately for this theory, it
is not fully supported by the ,facts.
The truth, as wo have pointed out,
is that the eonditions are made more
favorable for intestinal putrefaction
by the retention of the intestinal
secretions, by the exclusion of air,
and by the exclusion of fruits, the
starch and sugar food olenrents
which hinder putrefaction and are
of the greatest service in cleansing
the intestine. When the antiseptic
land germicidal properties of fruits
were unknown and the anti -toxic
properties of rice and other cere-
als not dreamed of, fasting wee ea -
baldly resorted' to for the euro of
'biliousness' and allied conditions.
But now that the light has come and
a better method has been worked
out, why should we revive was
ancient and clumsy metlwd1"
A DANOIUIOUS MO111EN7.r.
Pluck of Sir Samuel Maker's Wife
Won the Day,
In lila book, "Exploration of the
Nile Sour'ooa," Sir Samuel Baicer
relates an incident whish iihis-
tr'ates the wonderful influence which
a Woman eomotiuies exerts ever
men in calming their excited pas-
sions and restoring discipline, when
perhaps nothing else would have
served the purpose, Ho had arrived
at Gondoicaro, accompanied by urs
wife and a large corn era of attend-
s p y
ants,; Tlrero were large numbers of
ctra
thmeders'as peoplepassed in this places whose
in all -
ief;
w
After a taw days' detontioukindof et
tiosGondokoro, I sa;v unmistakable
signs of discontent among my men,
who evidently had been tampered
with by the different traders'. par -
One evening several of the most
disaffected came to me with a com-
plaint that they Lied not enough
neat, and making very unreason-
able demands, 'which were, of
course, refused. They then went
away, muttering insolent threats.
I said nothing at the time, but
early on the following morning I
ordered the drum to beat and the
mon to fall in; and I then address-
ed therm, reminding them of their
agreement to follow ere faithfully.
The only effect of my address was
a great outbreak of insolence on
the part of the ringleader of the
previous evening, This fellow was
so violently impertinent that I or-
dered him twenty-five lashes, as an
example to the others.
Upon ,the attendant, Saati, ad-
vancing to seize him, there was a
general mutiny. Many of the men
threw down their guns and seized
sticks, and rushed to the rescue of
their ringleader. Saati was a little
man, and was perfectly, helpless.
Heals was an escort! These were
the man upon whom 1 was to depend
in hours of difficulty and danger on'
an expedition in unknown regions !
I was determined not' to be
`done," and accordingly went to-
ward the ringleader, with the inten-
tion of seizing him. But he, being
backed up by upward of forty men,
a impertinence to attack
had theme,
rushing forward with a fury that
was ridiculous.
To stop his blow and to knock him
into the middle of the crowd was
not difficult; and after a rapid re-
petition of the dose, I disabled him,
andcalling to Saati for a -rope to
bind him, I held the man firmly.
In an instant I had a crowd of
men upon me to rescue their leader.
How the affair would have ended
I cannot say; but as the scene lay
within ten yards of my boat, my
wife, who was ill with fever in the
cabin, witnessed the whole affray;
and seeing me surrounded, she.
rushed out, and in a few moments.
was in the middle of the crowd, who
at that time were endeavoring to
rescue my prisoner.
Her sudden appearance had a
curious•effect, and calling upon Sev-
eral of the least mutinous to assist,
she very pluckily made her way up
to me. Seizing the opportunity of
an indecision that for the moment,
was evinced by the crowd, I shout-
ed to' the drummer -boy to beat the
drum.
In an instant the drum beat, and
at the top of my voice I ordered the
mento fall in.
Two-thirds of the men fell in and
formed in line, while the remainder
retreated with the ringleader, whom
they led away, declaring that .he
was badly hurt. The affair ended
in my insisting upon all forming
in line and upon the ringleader be-
ing brought forward,
In this critical' moment Mrs. Bak-
er, with- great tact, came forward
and implored me to forgive him if
he kissed my hand and begged for
pardon. This compromise com-
pletely won the men, who, although
a few minutes before 10 open mu-
tiny, now called upon their ring-
leader to apologize, and that all
would be right. I then made them
a speech and dismissed them.
TWO SNAILS PULL A. POUND.
They Raul a Toy, Cannon, Carriage
and Load of Shot.
-"One day byway of experiment,",
says a writer in the Strand, "I hay-
nessed two common garden snails
to a toy gun carriage to see if they
could pull it along. Although the
gun carriage was heavy, of lead,
the snails pulled it so easily that
I loaded the body of the carriage
with email shot.
"The snails, however, were more
than equal to the task. Anxious t0
tesb their strengbh still further I at-
tached a toy cannon made of lead
and brass behind the gun carriage,
but the snails and their additional
load moved on once again with the
same apparent ease.
"Out of curiosity I decided to
weigh the cannon, gun carriage and
shot, and to my great aurprise
found the total weight to be almost
one pound. I venture to think this
a very good load ler two snails to
manage."
av-
Be sure of your aimefor
h oat-,
tempting to clan a mosquito. ° r
When duty calls on a elan ase is
art to be out.
HERE IS A CA -SE IN POINT
IVRt'Y SOME GIRLS SUE FOR
BREAOZI OF PROMISE.
Dial Is Jilted Simply. Because Shu
Shows Iter Beal Self Be-
fore Marriage.
The reader of breach -of -promise'
cases must often wonder how it is
that a man goes so far as to be-
come engaged, write the most pas-
sionate love -letters, spend every
night in the week with his girl, ar-
range for the wedding, order the
furniture, and then 'suddenly turn'
round and boll the girl he doesn't
think he will marry her after all.
As a rule, it is generally put
down to the inconstancy of man,
but reading between the lines there
is evidence in many cases that the
girl is jilted sisnply because she
shows her true self before marriage.
$750 DAMAGES.
Here is a `!case in point. The
writer recently met a young fellow.
who had been mulcted to the ex-
tent of $750„damages for breaking
hie engagement to a girl who had
worn his ring for twelve 'months.
"A nice mess you've made of
things, I remarked.
"Should have made a bigger mess
if I had married her," he grimly
replied. "My word, she would have
been a handful. I got out of it
cheap at .$750, although it will take
me about ten years to pay it:
"One day I met a chum I had not
seen for six years. We had:.: a con-
vinal time together, and, uefortu
rately, I forgot I had an •appoint-
ment with my young lady. How-
ever, I hurried away and reached
her house about an hour and a half
late. - I was just about to ring
the bell when I heard her voice
through the open window threaten'
ing me with all sorts of
PAINS AND PENALTIES
for daring to miss the appointment
-this, mark you, before she had
beard a word of explanation from
me; and because her mother ven-
tured to remonstrate with -her, she
turned round on the dear old lady
and told her she did not know what
she was talking about. That was
good enough for me, and I cleared
off. I wouldn't have married the
girl if she' had $5,000 a year of her
own."
There is not the least doubt, too,
that many girls are jilted for the
simple reason that they get an ex-
aggerated notion of what may be
termed courtship rights and privi-
leges. There is a type of girl who,
the moment she consents to become
a man't wife, thinks that consent
entitles her to an entire subeervi-
once to her wishes on the part of
the man. She expects him to be at
her beck and call at all times, to
sacrifice his pleasure for her own, ,
and to cater for her amusement in
every possible way. If he fails in
any one of these respects she pro-
ceeds to take him to task, and the
result is that the man decides that
she is not the girl for him.
FAULTS OF PARENTS.
It will often be found, too, that
parents are mixed up in breach -of -
promise oases rather prominently.
A man naturally: resents being told
that he should not do this and that
by the parents of his prospective
bride. As one magistrate remark -1
ed a short time ago while listening
to a breach -of -promise case, in
which it was shown that one of the
reasons of the broken engagement
was the dictatorial attitude on the
part of the girl's parents, "What
a lot of trouble and bother would
be saved if there were not se many
foolish busybodies in the world 1"
London Tit -Bits.
:p -
BLIND MEN'S STRIKES.
Employees of Charitable Institu-
tion Complain of0Pay.
A pathetic strike of blind men .has
just been "satisfactorily settled in
Paris, lifter having lasted little
more than a week. The meeting was
held in a Paris wine shop parlor.
Audience and speakers were em-
ployed in a charitable institution
where they made' brushes, having
boon taught the handicraft in the
establishment.
The men declared that the insti-
tution makes undue profits out of
them and hinders them from 'work-
ing by the piece for their own bene-
fit at home. This statement has
been denied by the management,
who say that the men employed by
them would otherwise have to beg.
in the streets.
At the meeting the obher day
those men who could half see acted
as ushers and led their more afflict-
ed mates to their; places. Nearly
all the speakers wore as sighbless as
the Chairman himself, who had to
bo led be his chair, Each man was
led to his place on the platform stria
told low to face the audience. in
spite of their sightless eyes and
their blind hearers, the speal:cre
delivered fiery addresses, accom-
panied by vehement. gestures.
FEWER' MEN ` IN FRANCE
DX1''ICUi, 1( IN RAISING MEN
FOR TIE ARMY,
Fr IMO Drawing on Colonies for
`rSavage llordes,f" as Ger-
MUT I,3ays.
The decreasing birth rate in
France seriously abridges the num-
ber of those available for the army.
This difficulty is 'increased by the
law which demands of conscripts
only two years with Lae -colors.
France in this respect etends at a
eerious disadvantage with regard to
her neighbor on the ".other side of
the Vosges, where large families
are the rule and not the exception,
and an abundant, crop of ybutns are
always ready to join the imperial
forces, It is'calsulated by Lieut.-
Col. Rousset in the Liberte (tarts)
that if France were confronted by
a war twenty years hence, judging
from her dwindling forces, she
would be five army corps aher't. It
is therefore seriously proposed by
another officer of the French army,
Lieut, -Col. Mangin, that France
should utilize the population of Af-
rica, not only for colonial troops,
but also for home defence. In her
North-West African possessions she
has already organized the Algerian
Tirailleues, numbering 26,000 men.
CONSCRIPTS IN ALGERIA.
Col. Roussel mention's the propo-
sal that this contingent be increas-
ed by establishing the conscription`
in Algeria.
He then proceeds to enlarge up-
on the proposal of his friend Lieut.-
Col. Mangin, "an officer well known
for his services in foreign lands and
his full acquaintance with colonial
matters." Colonel Mangin pro-
poses that a negro army ale raised
from Senegal, French Soudan, and
the hitherto untouched recruiting
ground fo the French Congo, and
his proposal "has generally' been
well received and welcomed by a
kindly press."
The German press do not like the
idea, however, for they, learned.
what the Algerian Tirailleurs were
like at the battle of the Weissen-
bourg, where France received her
first defeat in the Franco-Prussian
War. Thus the Frankfurter Zeitung
declares:
"It isimpossible to believe that
our soldiers may be once more call-
ed upon to confront these savage'
hordes."
WHAT THEW DID TO GERMANY
Savage hordes 1 asks the writer in
the Liberte. The Algerian Tirail-
lours behaved like gallant and civi-
lized soldiers, and took six pieces
of cannon from the Germans. The
flag of the Second Tirailleurs was ac-
tually planted' by them on the ram-
parts of Strasburg. And, moreover,
he asks, "what excesses did they
ever commit that could tarnish the
glorious renown with which their
flag is illuminated?' The Colonel
concludes as follows:
"The Minister of War has every
possible reason for enrolling for the.
general defence of the country any
of, our foreign subjects. And as
these show no inclination to refuse
a service of which' they already re-
cognize the honor, everything leads
us to the hope :that we shall soon.,
discover a reservoir of military
forces, calculated to~ compensate us
for those which our'countryfails to
provide, through'its unexampled in-
fatuation and utter' blindness to its
obligations-"
The Pall Mall Gazette (London)
thinks that there is peril to Europe.
and to the world from -this proposed'
new move of the French War Min-
ister, although it is a perfectly jus-
tifiable move. Theis we read:
"The German Empire to -day
counts a population of 65,000,000;
drat of France remains .at the figure
for 1871 -before the Treaty of
Frankfort had robbed ber of.her
two fair Provinces -something un-
der 40,000,000. Is France then jus-
tified, 11 is asked, in refusing, for'
any of the reasons given alcove, to
avail herself of the excellent ma-
terial which lies ready to her hand,
au:aer•ial, moreover, which is not
only good; but abundant, since some
Parts of North Africa under French
rule are to -day as densely populat-
ed ad :Belgium i" -The Literary 'Di-
geSb.
-,e_
laEW BRIT.' su DESTROYERS.
Twenty of the Fastest Vessels of
Their Class Afloat.
The twenty new British destroy-
ers for which contracts were place
ed a short time ago will be the fast-
est vessels, of their class afloat.
Their speed will be something over.
thirty knots; indeed, theyare ex-
pected to reach a speed of thirty-
three knots, and do it its a sea in
which the smaller torpedo beats
could make little or no headway.
These vessels are to be built in
twonby menthe and are expected to
make the 'British 'navy supreme in
the arm of powerful end swift tor-
pedo destroyers.
F islr-hooks have been made on
the same design for 4,000 ,years,
et