The Indianapolis journal. [volume], October 18, 1896, The Sunday Journal, Part Two, Page 16, Image 16

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THE INDIANAPOLIS JOURNAL, SUNDAY, OCTOBER 18, 189(3.
ERRORS IN QUOTATIONS
blixdehs made nv navAX axd his
' KIM) IX ATTEMPTING TO QUOTE.
Tlii Variety of Ilrynnlte Nnmeronn
SlUtukr Made In C'ltlnn Scripture
AtueudlnK Shnkspeure.
St. Louis Globo-Democrat.
Tho criticisms that have been printed on
the abominable misquotations so frequently
indulged iti by Mr. Bryan have probably
not in any degree disturbed the self-complacency
of that gentleman, who, being
provided, aa Byron says, "with just enough
of learning to misquote," is not endowed
with a sufficient amount to know how hein
ous a literary Bin ho la committing when
he mangles the words of another. His mis
quotations, especially of the Scriptures,
would be ludicrous were it not for two
things first, that he is thereby shocking
the religious sense of conscientious people
who regard the Bible aa a sacred book, and
not to be trifled with, and, second, that he
is presenting to tho public a spectacle of
ignorance highly offensive in a man aspir
ing to the highest position in the gift of the
American people. That the latter is to him
a matter of icdlfference can easily be be
lieved; that he is equally indifferent to the
former is not so probable, though it is pos
sible, belleVing, as he seems to do, that it
Is his fate to be President, he may be per
fectly willing to outrage the feelings of all
the church people in the country in the
conviction that nothing he can say will do
him or his cause any harm. Aside from the
political phase, however, the case of the
Boy Orator has a certain interest from the
fact that he seems to be fitted out with
that careless; happy-go-lucky species of in
tellect which, when it comes anywhere
near the truth, is perfectly satisfied and
takes no further trouble. In his ludicrous
blunder the other day, when he spoke of
the horse-leech as crying "Give! Give!" he
was, no doubt, quite content with the ref
erence, and would, doubtless, regard his
nftstake as a very trivial matter. So, also,
with his equally ridiculous blunder when
he attempted to quote Christ's words, "Do
men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of
thistles." He came within earshot of the
truth, and that seems to have been all he
thought necessary, the idea of perfect ac
curacy In citation being as foreign to his
notions as the Idea of perfect truthfulness
In statement.
MANY BRYANITES.
The world of would-be literary folk con
tains many like Bryan, people who gather
a general idea, often very general, of the
meaning of a citation and then fire away at
it. In hlt-or-miss fashion, without knowing
or caring how far they may be from either
the words or the meaning these are intend
ed to convey. The female orator, who, in
attempting to cite the noble passage, "To
everything there is a season, and a time to
every purpose under the sun," and who
came no nearer to it than "The Bible says,
'There is time enough for all things, ". wa3
a pronounced Bryanite, while the story,
well known among all clergymen, of the
preacher who attempted to quote from
Proverbs, "Train up a child in the way
he should go; and when he is old he will
not depart from it." and succeeded but
poorly with "Train up a child and away he
goes," aptly illustrates the same' sort of in
difference to the truth. The story-writing
young women, whose literary researches
are limited to the latest novel and whose
classical attainments are represented by a
ftw chunks of Latin from the admirable
collection given In the last few pages of
Webster's Dictionary, are the worst sin
ners in this respect, making, with the ut
most gravity, side-splitting blunders, but
then nothing better can be expected of
them, for 'T don't care, it's something like
that anyhow," is, to the youthful feminine
intellect, full Justification for the most in
nocently abominable perversion of the
words of a quotation. But in the case of
men with whom literature is even inciden
tally a calling, a misquotation is inexcusa
ble, and blunders such as those made by
Mr. Bryan stamp the blunderer not only as
no scholar, but as a charlatan, a pretender,
a strutter in borrowed plumes. Generally,
however, this quality of mind is accom
panied by so large an allowance of conceit
that an exposure of the false pretenses
neither shames nor reforms the offenders,
for, like Fadladeen, Grand Chamberlain of
L&lla Rookh, they usually prefer their own
ignorance to the best information, any one
else Is able to give.
BIBLE MISQUOTATIONS.
'. It is not often that a misquoter of the
prominence of Bryan appears, able aa ho In,
to give his misquotations to the entire
American reading public on the day follow
ing that on which he made them, but mls
quoters of less conspicuous station are so
frequent and their misquotations are so
often repeated that some of the latter have
passed into current speech and been ac
cepted as the proper rendering.- In other
words, by constant repetition they have so
impressed their blunders on the public mind
that their mistakes are accepted as facts,
and the quotation, mangled as it often is,
passes from mouth to mouth, most, even of
those who use it, innocently suppo&ing that
t h PV havji it l an rri orinn I a-nA .rpAt
form. Many persons, for instance, facetious
ly speaking of money, call it "the root of
all evil." under the impression that they
are quoting from the New Testament,
when, in fact, this expression is not to be
found there or anywhere else in the Bible,
the words of Paul to Timothy being, "The
love, of money is the root of all evil," money
itself, so far as this particular passage is
concerned, being treated as a matter of in
difference. Three people out of five when
repeating the wonts irom the sermon on
the mount, "But if the salt have lost his
savor," substitute "its'' tor "his," a mis
take sometimes made bv ministers in the
pulpit, and inexcusable from the fact that
"its." the possessive case of the third per
sonal pronoun, dots not occur in the King
James translation, not having at that time
'come into good literary usage, "lie that
is not for us is against us" is the common
rendition of "He that Is not with me Is
against me." and "Gird up your loins and
keep your lights burning" the general ver
sion of "Let your loins be girded about
tind your lights burning." "Judge not by
appearance." often cited as from the Bible,
is not to bo- found there, the expression
used In John being, "Judge not according
to the appearance," while "Ye always have
the poor with you" and a half dozen other
versions of this sentence are substituted for
"The poor nlways"ye have with you." "
things work for good" is a maxim often
in the mouths of pious people as a citation
from the holy writ, but it is not there the
exHCt words being, "All things work to
gether for good to them that love God "
a quaiineauon ot some importance. "Be
they are miotinsr Scrinture. when tho
of Paul were. "By evil report and good re
port." Even preachers sometimes blunder
when trying' to quote "Unto the pure all
things are pure,'1 generally inserting "in
heart" after the first clause,
FROM THE PRAYER, BOOK.
The words of the Book of Common Pray
er have become so familiar to the English
speaking world from their centuries of use
by the Church of England and their adop
tion in whole or In part in the rituals of
several other denominations, that they
have como to be regarded with almost as
much reverence as is shown and felt for
the Scriptures, and the general similarity
of language and style has misled many
persons who suppose they are quoting from
the Bible when the words they usse are
oiiginal with the prayer book. Only a few
weks ago, ia this city, a clergyman re
peated the words, "We have left undone
thos things which we ought to have done
and we have done those things whioih we
ought not to have done," and credited them
to the Psalmist, when, so far as can be
ascertained, their first literary use in Eng
lish Is in the morning prayer. The expres
sion, "Afflicted, or distressed, in mind, body
or estate," is frequently supposed to be
from the Bible, but Is found in the prayer
for all conditions of men, and the words,
"From envy, hatred and malice and all un
eh&jitab'em.Ks," are from the Litany, as
alo is that much abused tr!", "The world,
the flesh and the devil." The expression.
"Kindly fruits of the earth," which, by
not a few. is assigned to the Psalms. Is
from the same eouree as the two preceding,
and the words, "Read, mark, learn and in
wardly digest," not long ago assigned by
an Eastern writer to Shakspeare. are from
the collect for the second Sunday in Ad
vent. The prayer book is also responsible
fltnerally credited to the Bible. One h "Re
not wise in your own eyes ' is a frequent
substitution for "Be not wise In your own
conceits," and "Through evil and good re
1 port' is often used bv norsnns whn thiL
nounce the devil and all his works," which
occurs In the ritual for the baptism of In
fants, and the other, "In the midst of life
we are in death," is a portion of the burial
service, where, by the way. It was not orig
inal. According to the history of the prayer
book, this expression formed part of a
hymn by a monk of St. Gall, who, while
watching some workmen erecting a bridge,
composed the hymn in which these words
are found. "Earth to earth, ashes to ashes,
dust to dust," an expression exceedingly
biblical In tone, is also from the burial
service
FROM SHAKSPEARE.
So far as heard from, Mr. Bryan has not
attempted to quote from Shakspeare, a
fortunate circumstance,' for if he made so
wretched a failure in his efforts to quote
biblical phrases and sentences that any
Sunday-school scholar could repeat cor
rectly, it is easy to believe that his cita
tions from the Immortal dramatist would
set the teeth on edge. Blunderers of his
kind, however, keep up the reputation of
his class for inaccuracy by butchering In
iho repetition some of the finest thoughts
in the grandest of English dramatists.
There is one advantage, frequently re
peated in these days of kaleidoscopic
changes in the political arena, generally
credited to Shakspeare, and always mis
quoted. "Politics makes strange bedfel
lows." "What Shakspeare said was "Mis
ery acquaints a man with strange bedfel
lows," the change in the idea to adapt the
sentence to present being allowable, pro
vided the effort to quote be nonapparent.
"The course of trut love never runs
smooth" has become a common proverb,
but this fact does not prevent Its being
originally a misquotation from the Mid
summer Night's Dream, where It reads:
"The course of true love never did run
smooth," and the phrase "the beginning
of the end" is found in the same play -as
"the true beginning of our end." Shak
spear never said "It's a wise father that
knows his own son," but "It is a wise
father that knows his own child." "He
must needs go that the devil drives" Is
often mangled into "He must needs ride
when the devil drives," a change of sense
ua well as of sound. Few quotations have
fared more hardly at the hands of the mis
quoter than the charming lines,
"She never told her love;
But let concealment, like a worm i' the bud,
Feed on her damask chetJc."
They have been wrenched and tortured
and distorted in so many ways that even
quickwitted Shakspeare himself might b
puzzled to recognize his own literary off
spring in some of the versions occasionally
heard,
FROM HAMLET.
The man who objected to Hamlet because
it was so full of quotations might, had he
chosen to pursuo the subject further, have
found additional ground of objection in
that so many were given wrong, or, rather,
not as he had been accustomed to hear
them. "A little more than kin and less than
kind," is commonly mangled to a greater
or . less extent. "In the dead vast and mid
dle of the night" fares somewhat worse,
and "While one with moderate haste might
tell a hundred." is hardly ever quoted cor
rectly, the word count being substituted
for tell. "And to the manner born" i3 often
written and spoken manor, as though one
would say he was born in the manor
house, when the use of the proper word
indicates only that he is familiar with the
custom. "The glow worm shows the matin
to bo near, and 'gins to iale his uneffectual
fire" is another passage that suffers,
among other changes, ineffectual being
often substituted for the proper word.
"That he is mad, 'tis true; 'tis true 'tis
pity, and pity 'tis 'tis true," is a passage
which to the Shaksoearean quoter has as
many terrors as the triumDhant exclama
tion of Samson has for the biblical schol
ar. The most able-bodied of the judges of
Israel said. "With the jawbone of an ass,
heaps upon heaps, with the law of an ass
have I slain a thousand men," but hardly
any one ever quotes the utterance as Sam
son said It, the jawbone and the Jaw being
carelessly transposed, and the heaps upon
heaps doubled up as frequently and hope
lessly as the 'tis of Shakspeare. "There's
method in his madness" is not from "Ham
let," but the line there occurs, "Though
this be madness, yet there's method in't."
"The undiscovered country, from whose
bourne no traveler returns" is almost as
much of a stumbling block as "That he is
mad," being mangied and butchered to
such extent as to deprive it of both reason
and meter. Even so plain and simple a
passage as "There's a divinity that shapes
our end3, rough hew them how we will,"
though the sound assists the sense, does
not escape the talent of the misquoter, fior
every one has heard half a dozen variations
of these simple lines.
OTHER COMMON BLUNDERS.
Many expressions and sentences from
well-known authors, like Shakspeare, have,
in their perverted form, become so com
pletely a part of the current speech of the
day that most persons are not aware
either of the origin of these sayings or of
their original language. "Look before you
leap" has become a common proverb, but
is a perversion of Butler's "Look before
you ere you leap," and "It's an ill wind
that blows no good" is much better ex
pressed by Tusser in "It is an ill wind
turns none to good." Not all persons who,
when endeavoring to evade a curious ques
tioner with the words "Ask no questions
and I'll tell you no lies," are aware that
they are quoting, or rather misquoting,
Goldsmith, who, in "Sne Stoops to Con
quer," wrote, "Ask me no questions and
I'll tell you no fibs," the difference between
a fibber and a liar being one of degree
rather than kind. "Choose the least of two
evils" is a misquotation from Prior, who
wrote, "Of two evils I have chose the
least." Nine people of ten say. "Where
Greek meets Greek then comes the tug of
war," but Nat Lee, who wrote "Alexander
th Great," made it "When Greeks joined
Greeks then was the tug of war," quite a
different thing. "Out of sight, out of
mind" la a contraction of what Lord
Brooke, wrote, "Out of mind as soon as
out of sight." "The cup that cheers but
not inebriates" is the best misquoters can
do with Cowper's lines, "The cups that
cheer but not inebriate." Even Thomas
Jefferson, though so close to our own time
that he is but, so to speak, of yesterday,
did not escape from tne hands, or rath
er the moutns, of the misquoters, for his
saying, "The post of honor is the privatt
station," has been altered, and not ror the
better, so often that ue himself would not
recognize it in some of us manifold forms.
WRITERS WHO MISQUOTE.
There may be some palliation for the
misquotations of those who blunder in ordi
nary conversation or in speech making as
profuse as that done by Bryan, but there
is much less for men who deliberately sit
down and misquote with pen in hand. In
such cases the offense Is Inexcusable, for
every author who writes for publication has
or can have at hand such books of refer
ence as will enable him to avoid blunders,
either of statement or language. Yet it has,
sometimes happened, through carelessness,
laziness or that curious lapse of raemor
which occasionally comes to even the most
careful, that writers of considerable repu
tation have made blunders of language or
statement of which they were afterwards
very greatly ashamed. Sir Walter Scott
was not faultless in this regard, and mort
than one error, due solely to carelessness,
is to be found in his writings. One of tht
worst Is where he speaks of "those peace
makers, to whom it is pronounced as a
benediction that they shall inherit the
earth." Had Sir Walter opened the little
Bible, which, after the fashion of Scotland,
his mother bestowed upon him as soon as
he could read, he would have learned, that
the peacemakers were to be called the chil
dren of God and that the meek were to in
herit the earth. Oliver Wendell Holmes has
somewhere a quaint Idea that on every
man's skull there is what he calls tiu
Idiotic area, on which an idea alighting
makes no impression. Scott's idiotic area
must have been in the ascendant at tlu
moment when he was making such a blun
der as this, as also must that of Victor
Hugo when he translated .the Frith of
Forth as le Cinquieme de le quatrieme, the
fifth of the fourth. Even the solemnly
pedantic Johnson had his idiotic area, for,
speaking of epitaphs, he said they shouid
always be in Latin, "for that being a dead
language, it will always live."
BLUNDERS IN FACTS.
The misquotations of authors and speak
ers are, however, far less numerous than
their blunders when attempting to state
facts or what they believe to be such, and
for this there are excellent reasons to be
offered, not In apology, but in explanation.
The truth is often elusive and difficult to
ascertain. It may well be doubted whether
an impartial historian ever lived, and when
political or personal preferences or an
tipathies are at work it is next to impossi
ble for a historical writer to be perfectly
accurate in his statements. Then agair;
the sources of history are often obscure,
historic records conilict and not even the
expert can always determine where lies the
truth. When the historians disagree the
writer or f paker who re l a upon them can
riot be blamed for falling into an occasional
error, and that such disagreement is of
constant occurrence is manifest every day.
The only course left open for a writer or
speaker in such a case is to stato where he
got his Information and let the reader de
cide for fnmseif as to its reliability. Even
then, however, a difficulty arisen from the
fact Urii. political or partisan prejudice
often refuses to credit the most reliable
authorities. Nothing Is clearer, for in
stance, from a historic point of view, than
the fact that the so-called "crime of '73
was an act passed In good faith by those
who voted for It: that even the silver mine
owners who cast their votes in Its favor
knew what they were doing, and not until
the enormous increase in the production of
Filver caused a marked decrease in the price
did they discover that "a gigantic crime
against humanity had been perpetrated.
So often has this stalwart falsehood been
repeated that a large class of people in this
country have come to regard it as the
truth. Such a case as this does not come in
the class of blunders made unwittingly; it
is a palpable falsehood, known to be such
and repeated for political effect. Innocent
blunderers may be excused on the ground
of ignorance; for intentional perverters of
the truth no justification can be offered.
An ignorant person misquoting a sentence
which he but dimly remembers, a preten
tious person misstating an historical fact
have nothing In common with men who de
liberately manufacture history to suit their
own purposes.
1 DOWN IN HONDURAS.
First Impression of an Indianapolis
Hoy WUo lint Lately Gone There.
The following Is an extract from a letter
received from Mr. John S. Butler, one of
the young men who constituted a party of
five, who left about a month ago for Hon
duras, Central America, to engage in coffee
raising:
"We arrived last night and are well
pleased. Things look very much as they do
In all rolling countries, but the fact that
the coffee will grow is established, and we
have decided to take out our eighty-acre
claims. The land will cost very little, mere
surveyor's fees; the fencing considerable.
What a trip we have had! From bad to
worse until the worm has just struck bed
rock and been compelled to turn. This is
Sunday morning. We got here about 3
o'clock yesterday, riding single file on our
mules, our numerous bundles, guns and
fishing rods strapped behind, in front and
beside us. You can imagine we were a sight
worth seeing. After our six days' trip
across the Gulf we had landed on Wednes
day at Puerto Cortez, the 'great port' of
Honduras. It consists of about two miles
of the wettest town lots imaginable, mud
houses, cane houses, and a choice variety
of old board arrangements. The railroad is
the street car track and main street; in
fact, only street, path or dry hundred yards
I saw. We stayed all night at the port. Our
hotel was a recent erection, from which
the-scantling had not yet been torn away.
The? bed mattresses were of some heavy,
hot stuff that kept one at about 100 degrees
on the down side. That was the last bed I
have had the pleasure of sleeping In since
I have been in this country.
"Thursday morning, after wearisome
waiting, we got our goods through the cus
tom house and took the great Honduras In
land Express for Pimiento. Speaking of
railroads, ' this is the greatest country for
a railroad to grow I ever saw. The ground
Is so productive that the ties sprout, and it
keeps a force of men trimming them down.
The telegraph poies turn into trees. Such
dense growth of plants I never imagined.
Simply impenetrable. Great. sweeping
palms, say. fifty feet high, ending in the
most graceful curves. Many places our
train simply ran through leafy tunnels. I
tell you it was worth coming this far to
fee. At Pimiento. which consists of two
houses and a railway shed, I slept on the
table. Toner on the floor and Morris in a
shred of a hammock about four feet from
the floor. He couldn't move for fear of
falling out. There was a native negro and
dog or two on the floor, but all went
smoothly.
"The next morning we got our baggage
across the Ulna, by ferry, and sat down
to wait for the mules which were to take
us over the last twenty miles of our trip
up the mountains to Santa Cruz. This is a
land of waiting and the usual answer you
""t from a native when you want to hire
him a shrug and 'manana' (to-morrowt,
but finally at about 11 o'clock we got off;
seven of us on the smallest of mules. It
was raining. None of your Indiana cloud
bursts, but simply one continuous sheet of
water. Wre had on our rubber coats and
rode along undaunted, with our hats pulled
over our eyes.
"Owing to the late start we had to stop
over night on the way. Our 'hotel' was a
native adobe house, clay floor, one bed and
a hammock. The owners of this palatial
residence had the bed. we boys the floor,
with our saddles for pillows and our rubber
coats for beds. A drunken native and his
wife had the hammock; another native on
the floor with us. For supper we had bl.u k
coffee, two dishes of black beans and tor-!"!n.-!
O pot of uncooked corn meal cake),
the same for breakfast, plus sardines: no
dinner Friday; no dinner Saturday until 4
o'clock. We were just about starved. But
we had a crack dinner here in Santa Cruz
at 4 o'clock last night, and if we didn't do
it justice well. I don't know.
"If a man wished to get in a place where
he would be entirely protected from the
intrusions of the inquisitive world, here it
is beautiful and all right enough. I've only
been here one night, so haven't had time
to look around. By the next boat will give
you a full description. We only made one
mistakewe should have brought seeds.
Anything and everything will grow, so
please send as many and as large a variety
as you can, for we want to get our gar
dens In right away."
A LESSOX FROM THE FILES.
H rial n can History Told Well in IVeTF
paper Advertising:.
Philadelphia Times.
A lawyer from the South who was recent
'y in Philadelphia tells an advertising story
that points a moral. It seems he had been
intrusted with the commission of finding
certain possible American heirs to the es
tate of an English decedent. "In making
this inquiry," said the lawyer, "I found it
necessary to examine the files of leading
newspapers in Philadelphia and Nfew York,
covering quite a long period. It seemed
m endless task, owing largely to the fact
that I was continually getting interested
in some article or advertisement that had
no possible connection with the matter in
hand. But that which especially engaged
my attention while perusing those back
lumbers was the advertisements of certain
business men and commercial houses that
vere constantly recurring throughout the
files. When they first attracted my atten
tion they didn't occupy a great deal of
pace, but grew constantly larger as the
lates of the files came nearer the present
rime, until they filled entire pages, and
'rom first to last, whether solid or dispiay
;natter, they told their, story clearly and
mpres-sively about what the advertiser had
io sell. In these well-worded advertise
ments I seemed to be reading the history
md viewing' the prosperous growth of the
louses that had inserted them. Being a
trantrer in both cities and not familiar with
the places of business about which I had
been reading so much in the newspaper
files, I determined to gratify my curiosity
visiting some of them. This I did and
found colossal buildings, great emporiums
"! trade, employing hundreds, and in some
.nstances thousands, of men and women,
t'rom some members of these firms I would
eek information regarding the history of
uis house, telling how I had followed Its
areer through the advertisements I had
i'ead in the newspaper files, and without
exception I was assured that ihe rapid
jrrowth and extension of the business was
lue more to judicious newspaper advertis
ng than to any other single factor. One
rr.n who was conducting an immense busi
ness told me it was almost entirely the
rorluct of new:-paper advertising. He stat
ed that he corr.mrnced business with a cap
!tal of $10.00-1, .f which amount he invested
2.500 in stock and $7,500 in advertising, and
it the end of the first year had doubled
his capittl; that he continued to increase
his advertising and the double process con
tinued and finally quadrupled. He said his
house was then well known and his busi
ness fully established and he felt that he
should be relieved of the expense of ad
vertising, but other houses in his line had
Trung up. competition was active, and he
?ound he must continue advertising to hold
the trade he had acquired."
3ilee Women.
Boston Transcript.
"She is very nice. She never contradicts
ler husband before people. She always
-eems to defer to him, and rather brings
him out." The comment had In it a world
of suggestion for womankind. A chapter of
' Hints to Wives" could scarcely be better
begun. Another nice kind of wife, accord
ng to an amateur of perfection, is one who
always laughs at her husband's old stories
md jokes, no matter how many times ehe
may have heard them.
A nice kind of daughter, said a critic of
girls, ia one who occasionally makes her
father really feel that she cares for him,
and thinks of him. apart from what he
gives her. There are girls and girls, and
plenty of them have a lot of nice little
ways of showing their fathers the sort of
affectionate attention that is very grateful
to a man old enough to have grown daugh
ters about him. If the father is busy all
day long, aa most fathers are in our coun
try, it is particularly nice of a girl to
make things agreeable for him when he
;etss home. Quite as- pleasant as the sight
of a girl and her father reading Virgil to
gether, or out wheeling together in stu
dious or athletic companionship is the
sight of a girl waiting upon her papa, in
any of the score of little ways that are so
grateful to the head of the house when
fatigued. '
Insure your property with Frank K.
Sawyer. 74 East Market street.
THE MARTIAN FORESTS
VERIFIED BY OBSERVATIONS AT
THE LOWELL OBSERVATORY.
Remarkable Evidence of the Passase
of tbe Seaoni, Foliase Changing
from Green to Yellovr.
Flagstaff (Ariz.) Letter in New York
Herald.
Since our communication to the Herald
regarding the doubling of the Ganges, two
other canals on Mars have begun to show
double the Phison and the Euphrates. The
importance of this observation lies in the
fact that such duplication was precisely
what theory led us to expect would occur.
It is six weeks since the Ganges showed
double at a time and in a manner parallel
ing its appearances at the last apposition.
The Phison and Euphrates are now in HXe
manner counterpartlng their behavior of
two years ago.
Nor is this all. The surface of the planet,
both in the light and the dark regions is
undergoing the same metamorphosis It did
then. In other words, the seasonal changes
observed in the last Martian year are re
peating themselves in this one. That these
seasonal changes are the effect of vegeta
tion upon the planet we showed then to be
almost certainly the fact. The observations
of this year help to confirm our deduction.
The seasonal history of the two succes
sive Martian years thus paralleling itself
Is in detail most interesting to witness. Wre
will begin with the behavior of the Syrtis
Major and then pass on to that of the
double canals. The Syrtis Major is the
most important of the dark areas on the
planet. It ia a curious funnel-shaped mark
ing, large toward the south, and contract
ing steadily northward till It comes to an
end in two canals that curve respectively
east and west away from it, forming the
Astapus and the Nilosyrtis.
It Is historically of great interest, because
it was the first marking Identified with cer
tainty on the planet by Huygens, in 1659,
and by its identification first enabled the
planet's rotation period to be found. It
was then and long afterward believed to
be a great sea or ocean, Its blue-green col
or seeming to render this a most probable
supposition. More minute examination has
now, as we have said, rendered It practi
cally certain that it Is, in fact, not an
ocean at all, but the largest fertile region
on the planet's surface, its blue-green hue
being due to vegetation, leaves and trasses,
or whatever relatives of such may consti
tute the Martian flora.
The following account of its successive
appearances will show the reader the rea
sons upon which this deduction of its char
acter is based. Early in the Martian year
the planet's southern hemisphere, the Syr
tis Major, and the great contiguous dark
area, under the same name, to the south,
and now more commonly known as the
Tyrrhenium, presents the appearance of one
nearly uniform blue green surface. The
only discernible diversities in it are the
deeper tint of its northern end, the com
paratively narrow neck of the funnel and
of two long bands which join it to the polar
sea, traversing about sixty degrees of lati
tude in order to do so. These bands are of
a deeper color than the rest of the region,
but not so dark aa the bottom of the Syrtis
itself.
THE SEASONS ON MARS.
Such is the appearance during the spring
months, and such it continues to be into
what corresponds In the Martian calendar
to our May and June. After the summer
solstice of the Martian southern hemi
sphere, when the season passes from its
June into its July, the extreme southern
parts of the dark area fade and turn stead
ily from a deep blue green to a fainter one
and then into an orange ochre.
Shortly after this there appears in the
Syrtis Major itself strange mottllngs, Curi
ous causewaylike appearances and rhom
boidal areas of a perceptibly lighter tint
than their surroundings. These then change
further from a faint blue green to an
orange ochre, just as happened before in
the parts of the surface further south.
These causeways, as we may designate
them tor distinction, are very singular
looking marks indeed. They stretch from
the so-called continental bright areas of
the planet over to the so-called islands to
the south, and look precisely as if they
were actual causeways connecting the two.
There are a great many of them all around
the planet. In the rejfion we are now re
viewing there are two, both of them strik
ing and peculiar Soils Pons and Lunae
Pons, the former joining Hammonis Cornu,
the great cape on the west side of the Sjrr
tis, to the northern end of Hellas, 4he lat
ter connecting In like manner the Circe
Promontorium, the cape on the east side of
the Syrtis, with Hellas. They both reach
Hellas at almost, if not exactly, the same
point.
These two curious links between light re
gions were first seen in 1894, about the tenth
of the Martian July.
To understand the significance of their
apppearance this year we must note the
time of the Martian year, owing to the dlf
fr.rr.nt snepds with which the earth and
Mars revolve about the sun. The earth
otrtakes Mars once in about two years
and two months. Such meetings are called
oppositions, because the planet is then seen
In the opposite part of the sky from the
sim. Now, as the periods of the two plan
ets are not exact multiples of each other.
Mars has made, like the earth, about two
of its months more than a revolution since
the two planets met. In consequence we
see him at a time about two months later
in his year, with his reasons corresponding
lv advanced.
Thus, when observations began this year,
it was not. in Martian time about the 1st
of May, but about the 1st of July. Now
as eoon as the planet was looked at there
was the Lunae Pons distinctly visible. It
appears singularly enough in the very first
drawing made, on July 23. Our July, this
Is, for it may be well to caution the reader
to xeep the two calendars distinct. Close
as ihe two dates of detection are for the
two Martian years, it is quite possible that
the phenomena required even nearer the
same Martian date than this. For, in the
first place, owing to the rotation of the
planet the same side of his surface is not
presented to the earth favorably for ob
servation but for a part of each forty
days, and it may therefore very well hap
pen that an event taking place at the
beginning of this observational gap may
not be noticed as having happened till the
end of it.
MR. LOWELL'S OBSERVATION.
In the next place different observers dif
fer in what they must readily perceive, and
it so chanced that the observer, Mr. Lowell,
who first saw the Lunae Pons on both oc
casions had not observed at just that Mar
tian time. It is Interesting to note that
these causeways are apparently optically
connected with Mr. Douglass's canals In
the dark regions, the one probably lying
alongside the other. In addition to the
causeways are the rhomboidal and other
bright areas that seasonably arise in the
Syrtis. Like the causeways, they have
made their anpearance after the summer
solstice of the southern hemisphere at both
oppositions.
Very curious features they are. One
called Oenotria, looking like a long sand
bar left high and dry on the receding of
the tide, is on the western coast of the
Syrtis and separated from Aeria by a deep
blue green canal. It is, however, not an
inundation or tide, but parching, that in all
probability produces the metamorphosis we
detect. The growth that in the heyday of
its springtime looks so green, quickened
by the water liberated from the south polar
cap, has by the first of its July passed into
the sere and yellow leaf.
The speed with which It undergoes Its
changes Is doubtless due to the greater
aridity of Mars, the water not being suffi
cient in amount to keep it longer alive.
That all this was vegetal, not marine, is
pretty conclusively shown, for the theory
that the so-called seas should show differ
ent tints implies that they were shallow
enough to be seen through a highly im
probable supposition on the face of it. That
they changed from blue green to orange
ochre over hundreds of square miles im
plies, on the supposition that they areseas,
an immense transference of water, which
would occasion a corresponding darkening
of other regions. No such corresponding
darkening took place.
Thirdly, that Mr. Douglass found them
traversed by dark lines is quite Incompat
ible with an aquatic character. Lastly, that
Professor Pickering, with the pclariscope,
found the only certain body of water on
the planet, the polar sea, to show evi
dence of being such, while the so-called
seas showed none, is further conclusive as
to their character.
From the dark areas we pass to the light
ones. Beside the Syrtis Major, to the west,
lies. Aerla. It 13 here that are to be found
the Phison and the Euphrates. During the
Martian spring this great light area is to
our present telescopic power one vast
blank, a huge desert no more, no less.
THE POLAR SEA.
When the advancing warmth has un
locked the polar snow and let the water
find its way, aerially and otherwise, to the
equator, strange lines begin to make their
appearance athwart this desert. Two of the
most conspicuous of them start from the
middle of the southern side of ihe desert
and run dlvergingly the one a little to the
east, the other a little to the west of north
down to the Nilosyrtis.
The eastward one is the Phison; the west
ward the Euphrates.
In this singleness of look and Intent each
continues until about the 1st of August,
Martian time, when two lines begin to
show where one showed before two lines
exactly paralleling the originals in posi
tion and direction. Indefinite at first, the
twin lines gain distinctiveness as time goes
on apparently solely by darkening, until
at last the doubling Is unmistakable, and
the two resemble nothing on earth so fiuch
as the twin rails of a railroad track.
All tlls happened two years ago at the
proper reason of the Martian year, and it
is all happening at the corresponding one
now. At the present moment the lines are
evidently double, but not very dark. The
duplication is following the example of the
Ganges in order of time, just as it did then.
The details of the process are curious
and suggestive. At the points where these
lines, which are almost spiderlike in tenu
ity, leave the dark regions there appear'
what look like nicks In the contour of the
edge of the desert. Wherever there are
canals there are nicks, and where there
are double canals there are double nicks.
Now, these nicks are more conspicuous
when well seen than the canals themselves,
although when not well seen the canals
are more easily detected, as long blurs,
because of their length.
Furthermore, they make their appear
ance apparently rather before the canal
Itself. Double nicks were seen where the
double canals start in 1S94. The same
double nicks at the confines of the deserts
are visible now.
What they are is one of the most inter
esting problems before us. They are prob
ably a sort of relay station for the water
on Its way from the canals in the dark,
region Into, those in the light.
Of the oases it is not our purpose to how
speak, although they, too, have made their
appearance Just as they appeared two years
ago. The significant point of the whole is
that the seasonal phenomena of the Mar
tian year are repeating themselves at this
present one, even to details. Tl at Mars is
not only a living world, but a very orderly
one to boot, is pretty conclusively shown
by the phenomena.
BICYCLES AXD BOOKS.
Effect of the Wheel on the Demand
for Book,.
Literary Digest.
Among the many trades that complain of
the havoc that has been wrought among
them by the craze for bicycling, is that of
the bookseller, who says that, at present
at least, people would rather wheel than
read. The Publishers' Weekly treats of
the matter editorially in rather a despair
ing vein, though it sees some light far
ahead, and meanwhile advises the weeping
bookseller to add bicycles to his stock. ,It
says:
" 'Do bicycles hurt books?' was the mo
mentous question recently put by the New
York Times to a number of booksellers In
New York city, and the weight of opinion
seemed to be in the affirmative. Not only
the book trade, but all other trades that
have been Interviewed on the subject claim
to suffer from the bicycle epidemic. Though
much of this wailing is, perhaps, exagger
ated, it is not altogether based on imagina
tion. It does not, for instance, seem unrea
sonable to assume, when confronted with
the report that nearly $20,000,000 are in
vested in the manufacture of bicycles in
and near New York city alone, and that
nearly 200,000 persons in the same locality
are already addicted to wheeling, that the
'wheel' does affect retail trades in gen
eral, and noticeably the book trade, which
depends upon sedentary rather than peram
bulatory habits.
"However, there seems to be some hope
left. One of the booksellers interviewed,
himself an enthusiastic wheelman, Is of
the opinoin that the present effect of bi
cycling on the book trade must be only
temporary. His theory is that the Increase
of wheeling means at the same time a gen-t
eral increase of vigor and good health
among the people. Once the first and pres
ent phase of wheeling is over, this renewed
vigor will exhibit itself In a practical man
ner, as the people once more return to
their libraries and books in better health
and better prepared to enjoy them. Like
all fads, bicycling will reach a climax, and
then the reaction will set in. How nearly
that climax has been reached It would be
rash to say; but the indications are that
it is not yet in sight. The manufacturers
of bicycles have not yet touched bottom, so
far as prices are concerned, and until they
do so there will still be millions to pass
through the craze, which for the time be
ing is demoralizing the equilibrium of
trade.
"We note In this connection the proposal
of a bookseller that the book trade add
bicycles and their concomitants to Its stock.
Dry goods stores, the department stores
generally, says our friend, besides a num
ber of miscellaneous stores among the lat-i
tier are mentioned even several drug stores
in New York city already do a thriving
business in bicycles. If the bookseller is
for the moment denied the privilege of
furnishing his' fellows with 'lamps to their
feet,' why, he claims, should he not keep
lamps for their 'wheels,' and bo bind them
to the habit of buying at a bock store?
The Prophet Nahum, thousands of years
ago, lamented that, 'the city is full of the
noise of the wheels.' And the world still
moves! Why, then, should booksellers
mope and be unhappy? Let them take
Launce's advice, and help to 'set the world
on wheels.' At this fin de siecle 'everything
does!' 'Caps and bells' will be 'called in'
by the inexorable decrees of fashion, ;but
of the making of many books there will
be no end nor of the selling of them,
either."
SET A TRAP FOR SLATIN.
Details of a. Little Scheme of the
Khalifa's That Did Xot Work.
Soudan Letter in London Times.
One of our agents has recently come in
from Omdurman. with a most valuable re
port. He had been dispatched to Dongola
by the Intelligence Department on May 6.
He was there arrested, brought before W a
del Bishara, and accused of being a gov
ernment spy. His explanation that his sole
object in coming to Dongola was to see
some of his relations was not credited, and
he was sent in chains to Omdurman.
The Khalifa Is a cunning scoundrel, but,
as he Is extremely ignorant, his cunning
often takes a peurlle form. He sent for
this prisoner and said to him: "I will give
you your liberty and you can go back to
your country if you will do one thing for
me. Here is a letter, take it to the enemy's
camp and deliver it yourself into the hands
of Slatln; deliver it as if you were endeav
oring to do so secretly, but at the same
time make certain that other men of the
enemy's leaders observe what you are do
in " "
ft was a silly trick. The Khalifa was
foolish enough to imagine that thi3 letter,
if it fell Into the hands of our military
authorities, would satisfy them that Slatin
Pasha, his whilom captive, whom he hates
with an intense hatred, is n jf-lit t
heart and a traitor to the Egyptian gov
ernment. He, no doubt, at present hatters
himself that Slatln has either been put to
death or is on his way down to Cairo In
chains.
Slatin Pasha, shortly after his escape
from Omdurman, wrote a letter to the Kha
lifa In which he thanked Abdullah! for "all
the kindness he had shown," but pointed
out that as leave to return to Europe for
the purposes of visiting his relations had
always been refused, he had felt compelled
to leave Omdurman without the Khalifa's
permission and without consulting any one;
but he hoped to renew his acquaintance
with his "kind master" at a later date.
Slatln's object in writing this letter was
to allay the wrath of the tyrant, whose
character he so thoroughly understood, and
to prevent him from ill treating the serv
ants the fugitive had left behind him in
Omdurman who might be sutpecfed of be
ing his accomplices. It was in reply to this
that the Khalifa sent the above-mentioned
letter to Slatin Pasha, little suspecting
that he was employing one of our own spies
as his messenger.
A week ago the letter was duly brought
lure by this man. who had a twinkle In his
eye as he delivered it to Slatin Pasha in
the presence of "others of the enemy's
loaders." as had been enjoined by t?ie Khal
ifa. The following is a literal translation:
"In the name of God, the merciful, the
compassionate. Praise be unto God. the
generous (Jovernor. and prayers be unto
our Lord Mahomet and his family. With
salutations. From the servant of God, the
Khalifa of the Mahdi (peace be upon him),
Khalifa Abdullahl, the Khalifate es Sadik
to Abd el Kader SlaLn.
"After salutations. I write this to Inform
you that I have received the letter you
sent me, which is written in your own
handwriting, and in which you state that
you still adhere to the Islam faith, that
ycu do not betray the religion and are not
unfaithful to the bread and salt; which let
ter I keep with me. New that you are with
the Infllcls you will employ the necessary
stratagems whl?h will enable us to take
them at a disadvantage. ThJ Moslem ar
mies are advancing against them at the
present time. All that 1 need tell you now
thnt vu must take the necessary steps
in profound secrecy.".
Not a Day Passes
But that we place new lines of goods on Kale. We keep our stock la thft
first rank greatest varieties and newest styles. We can also say that not
a day passes but that we add new custoaiers. We always retain cur
customers.
Are Not These Signs of Good Merchandising?
What better advertising can we do than to always please, satisfy and
retaiu our customers V '
Our constant aim is to please and satisfy our trade, and that we are
successful In our endeavors is shown by our constantly increasing trade.
r
!"!FrtlC!Ulr Attention Falc to 7VJJCc!
All-Wool Blankets at $2.25 a Pair.
Full 10-4 size colors, Gray, White and Scarlet You cannot equal tlrse
good for less than $3 anywhere. Cotton Blankets, oUe and 4'.c a pair. ,
Other grades of all-wool Blankets. $l.Sl to $5 a pair.
Home-made, Creton Cover. White Cotton-filled Comforts at $1.50.
Silkaline Covered, White Cotton-tilled Comforts at $1.
All-Wool Skirt Patterns at 50c.
o5 inches long and full width colors, lied, Gray and Blue.
Gcisendorffs Fine Quality Skirt Fatterns, in 3Mnch lengths mad
here at home worth $1.50; sale price, USe.
.Special values in Silk Petticoats, $3.25 to $0.50.
THE BEST LINE OF CLOAKS IN THE CITY
CAPES
QIITTQ 0ur new ines of Tailor-made Suits have
0U110 arrived, and we are showing splendid val- 7 HH C7 h( Q rt fl
ues in the newest of styles at $liVU, pl.UU QUU $IU
OUR GREAT STOCK OF DRESS STUFFS
Is, without a doubt, the best in variety of styles and lowness
of prices, that you can find anywhere.
15c
Double width, Changeable, Figured
and Brocaded Serges, 34 Inches
wide. 13 different styles, and cheap
at 19c.
A yard for the handsomest lines of
Novelties that we have ever shown,
over 50 styles, in 10 different lines.
39c
75c and 9Sc. At those prices we are
showing some very elegant styles
in irajKrted Novelties large ranges
49c
in styles and colorings.
Black Rustle Lining 5V So
,H0E DEPARTMENT SPECIALS
A $2.89 Ladies' Special Shoe
400 pairs fine French
Dongola, button and lace,
hand-sewed, flexible or ex
tension soles, 10 styles of
toes, newest trimming's.
Our $1.95 Ladies' Shoe
Is unequaled in the city at
any price less than S3 fine
stock, splendid wearing-,
perfect fitting-, latest styles.
Ladies' Shoe at 61-48
Fine Persian Kid stock,
button or lace; fit, wear,
style perfect; all sizes.
1.29 Cloth-Top Shoes
Can't be beat all Dong-ola
or cloth tops button and
lace; warranted to give good
wear.
OVR $1 LiACE CVRTAIXS
Are excellent values 3'a yards long, 61 1
inches wide In four patterns; wortn $ 1.50,
and SDeclal at $1 a pair.
Other special values in Lace Curtains, 59c
to ? a pair.
SALE OF SHEETINGS.
Extra quality yard-wide Unbleached
Rhpetinir Muslin at 5c.
Best quality Unbleached Sheeting in 8-4 1
width, 2 yards wide, at 12V4C
In 9-4 width, 24 yard.-, wide, at 15c.
In 10-4 width, 2V2 yards wide, at liVaC
Bleached f-4 width, at 17Vic
Ready-made 9-4 Best Unbleached -2Qr
Sheets, SI by 90 inches, at
YARN SI'ECIAI-S.
Imported Germantown Yarn, all colors,
1 (rt 'i ckoin
Standard Saxony Yarn, all colors, 5c a1
Imported Saxony Yarn, all colors, 80 a
skein.
Leibhardt's Best Stocking Yarn, 50c a
pound. ,
Leibhardt's High-color Stocking Yarn, ,
Best Spanish Yarn. 8."c a pound.
German Knitting Yarn, iSOc a pound.
Notice ...
Where cross streets are being im
proved, mains will bs laid if resi
dents will give timsly notica.
Indianapolis Water Co.
Do You Intend to Buy a Stove
This Fall?
If so, It will pay you to look at the
'JEWELS." They are "right"
LILLY & STALMKER, 64 East Wash. St.
EDI' CAT IPSA L.
Individual Instruction.
ENGLISH TRAIXIMr SCHOOL.
Languages ana Telegraphy. I'ay or Night.
IndianaDolis
V
USINESS UNIVERS1T
Magnificent quarters. Elevator. Whet. Write
or call tor personal interview with
K. J. HEEB, Prudent.
Telephone 4t'9.
THKODOHK erxsi:v.
ABSTRACTER of TITLES
Corner Market nd Pennsylvania streets. In.
alanapollA. Buite 229. First OCUct Floor. "Tbs
Lemcke." TeUpboit 17W.
TAflKEK Jack Boucle, lined with
U nviVL) 1 U hpavv silk sells the citv
$8.50
over at S10.
We are sell-
ing them at
I u f.K P!T Two-toned fine imported
UnviIVU 1 0 jjoucle, fancy silk lining,
box front, stock collar. . .
newest sleeves, very ele- 1V fj()
gant, and very cheap at.
JAP.ITRTS ot all grades and style
UnUlVLilO from 350 upUut w
Ies,
up uuc we
call special attention to
our Bargain Beaver Jack
et at
All-Wool Cheviot Capes,
newest trimmings, straps
and buttons
All-Wool Cheviot Capes,
jet and braid trimming,
at
$5.98
$3.98
$3.50.
All-wool English Diagonal Chevi
ots, 54 Inches wide, in Black and
59c
colors; worth $1, at
BLACK GOODS.
All-wool Black Brocades. 33c.
All-wool 46-inch French Serge, ?3c.
All-wool Satin Figured Black Novelties,
49c.
All-wool Boucle Striped Novelties. 49c.
All-wool Fine Crepon Novelties, Wc.
All-wool Fine Lizard Novelties, 75c,
All-wool Mohair Novelties, $1.
Special Men's Shoes, $3.
All styles of leather, French and
Box Calf, Patent Leather cr En
glish Knamel, hand-sewed, rr.nor,
coin and bulldog toes. Wear equal
to any $5 shoe.
Men's Usual $3 Shoes at $2.
Best Tannery Calf, Lace and
Congress, with or without cork
soles; all the newest style toes.
Men's Good Shoes, $1.48.
Warranted all solid leather,
seven styles; Congress or Lace.
Good Value Men's Shoe, 95c.
A good wearing shoe Lace and
Congress.
l.UEKVEAR SALE.
Ladies' heavy-weight. Fleeced,
Ribbed Vests or Pants at
19c
Ladi8' fine All-wool Scarlet Un- &.or
derwear at
Ladles' Fleeced Ribbed Union -50,,
Suits reduced to
Children's Fleeced Ribbed Gray
and White Union Suits
29c
CHILDIiE.VS FLEECED
IUBUED VESTS.
AVIIITia
Sizes 22. 24, 26 and 28, worth 20c to
30c; choice at
Sizes SO, 32 and 34, worth 33c to
38c; choice at
Men's Fleece-lined Heavy-weight
Underwear at
Men's Wool Fleece-lined Heavy
Underwear at
17c
45c
65c
Men's extra quality All-wool.
Double-breasted Scarlet Under-fJH
shirts l-w
Men's N&tural Wool and Camels' Hair
Uncierwear; two special values at 45c
and $1.
quick
To CHICAGO
VIA-
PennsylvaniaShortLine
On and after Sunday, Sept. 6, the Chicago lim
ited will leave Indianapolis 11 -Mo a. m. dally;
arrive Chicago 5 p. m. dally. High-grade stand
ard coaches and buffet tsarlor car through with
out change. Leave Indianapolis 12:35 night; ar
rive Chicaga 7:15 a. in. dal. High-grade stand
ard coaches and vestibule Bleeping car through
without change. Sleeier 18 open at Indianapolis
to receive pasnengerH pt 8 -.TO p. m.
Remember that the Pennsylvania Is the stand
ard for America. Ticket ofllces. No. 4 West
Washington street. No. 46 Jackson Tlac and
Union Station.
GEORGE E. ROCKWELL. D. P. A.
E. A. rout). O. P. A.
VANDALIA IirCIS.
The Short Line far ST. LOUIS aod THE WEST
Leave Indianapolis Dally 7:20 a. in.. S:50
a. m.. 12 :50 noon, 7:00 p. m.. 11:20 p. m.
Arrive St. Louis Union Station 3:44 p. m.
7:24 p. rn., 1:44 a. m.. 7:00 a. m.
Parlor car on 12:50 noon train dally and
local sleeper on 11:20 p. m. train dally lot
Kvansville, open to receive passengers at
8:S0.
Ticket Offices, No 4i West Washington
etreet. No. 46 Jackson plac and Union
Station. GKO. E. ROCKWELL. D. P. A.
m. F"r?r. frt pi."',w Aent. .
Tte Sunday Journal, by Hall. $k lea?
.
k