Omaha Daily Bee Newspaper, December 25, 1892, Page 9

PART TWO. IWENTY-SECOND PANAMA CANAL ENTERPRISE | | | History of the Many Schemes to Unito the | Atlantic and Pacific, HOW WATERWAY WAS TO USURP RAILWAY | Difficaltios Attending the V the Tsthy Commercial € the World Behind the . Collupse - Contractors’ Steals, Kk of Ditehing The political disturbances that have been | wrought un in the last few weeks in | France, and which at the present moment | have fomented into such a white heat that the very existence of the republic itself is eritical, are results that we ely unexpected by those who with th not en re familiar | history of the company of the inter- canal of Panama, and cognizant of the fact that a serutinous investigation was | made last year into the affairs of that com- pany. The international importance of the enter prise, the prominence of the institutions and persons involved, and the enormous amount of money to be accounted for, are features of the affair that have naturally ercated the most intense interest in- America as well as in Kurope, and have revived the arguments regarding a ship canal ucross the Ameri isthmus, The project of such a canal across the isthmus which separates North and South | America is onc thut was favoravly discussed as carly as the sixteenth century, and the money which has been expended sinee that time in investigations and surveys of the several sug voutes would probably amount to a sufficicnt sum to build any one of the proposed canals It was projected to pierce the Tsthmus of Daricn as early a8 1520, and the Tehuantepec isthmus has bheen the subject of much ex ploration and discussion sted for 250 years. | isthmus were from the criminal and ¢ | which it o solution of the man, who had gained fame tige by the success of his ing * accomplishments this country, boldly suggested the transportation upon wheels of deep sea vessels of the largest size across the Isthmus of Tehuant The renown he had gained by his successful opening of the Mississippi river to deep s vessels seeurcd to Captain Bads wide spread attention and interest for his novel idea, but his project s finally dropped in 1881 as im- practicable, and on account of the an cost of its construction and maintenance Long before this time the question of passen- ger transportation across the isthmus had essfully solved by the construction ilroad across the [sthmus of Panama ed by the sudden increase of traflic, caused by the California gold discoveries, the question of transportation across the Panama_isthmus ultimately took shape in 1849, when o compiny was org: ized under the leadership of William H, As- pinwall of New York, which commenced the construction of a railway from Colon to Pan ama. In spite of the alwost insurmountable difficulties the rond was completed in Janu- . 1855, bronze statue of Aspinwall now stands at Colon, an appropriate tribute to the chief projector for his untiring zeal and energy. e Panama Railroad, ® The Panama railrond is only forty-seven miles in length, but it is undoubtedly” one of he most importaut highways in the world, Mn one recollects the fact t the route v ama shortens the distan L from Europe and the Atlantic points Americas to the Pacific slope and the occi- dent more than 10,000 mwiles, and then ¢ putes the vast volume of trafic that is con- stantly passing between these points, h attain some idca of the amount of business that is done by the Panama Railroad com- pany. In many places the road 1s con- structed over w seems to be miles of al- most unfathomed swamps, and the dificulty that was encountered in securing suitabl labor at the time of the construction made tho undertaking exceedingly hazardous. The initial cost of the Panama road was about £7,000,000, but it is probable that R deal more than this was spent by the original company, and it is stated on good authority that the whole cnterprise continued steal on the part of tors. The orviginul company the road was put into operat said that at that time the p have been purchased for £3.00 Pacific Mail Steamship company. as it then did a fieet both on the Atlanti had availed itself of thi: opportunity to become masters of this vast interoceanic highw would have been ina position to monopolize almost the entire commerce of the Pacific seas, They failed o, however, and the entive prop- »d into the hands of a French com- | pany to whom it has proven a veritable Ana- conda. It is probuble that no property in the world has ever earned handsomer increments than the Panama Railroad com- pany. From the time of its comple tion up to about three years D enger that crossed the Isthmus of Pan: paid £26.00 in gold to the Panama Railroad mpany. The freight rates were equally exorbitant and for every ton of freight wansported across the isthmus, for forty years, the railroad company coilected #1640, very stockholder of the enterprise has been made wealthy, and a position with the Panuma Railroad company is one of the fattest jobs that arailvond man can ask for. ‘The annual government tax levied on the railroad by “the Kepublic of Colombia amounts to ¥250,000. and of this amount th state of Panama, through which the road passes, received but £25,000. sthnated Cost, cminent and proes. engineer question one in o alling before m, and_ it is perty could W. It the possessing During the period of the construction of the Pauama railvoad the idea of a canal across the American isthmus had not been lost sight of and anothe 1, one of the most illustrious of the o v, who had successfully joined the waters of the Led and Mediterranean seas, took up the project of sea level canal the Isthmus of Panama. In 1 the ombian government granted his company the exclusive right to construct canal between the two oceans in the te tory, und the first meeting of the new pany was held in 1851 The capital nec sary 0 complete the work was estimated at 620,000,000 francs, or $120,000.000, the csti mated cost of excavation being 450,000,000 | Trancs or #0,000.000, The eminent name of de Losseps in connection with the affair im bue ople of the financial world with 088 n will | | 000 and more money was eagerly thru | the | Panama and Colon i supposed to | which she did with the | the utmost confidence in the enterprise, and straightway hundreds of millions of money, amounting to double the amount oviginally asked for by de Lesseps was immediately fortheoming. Nearly every nation of Europe and Amer- | ‘Loa commended the Lrench engineer for his mergy and enterprise, und the newspapers of the world heralded broadeast the good news that the long-talked-of Panama canal Was s00n 1o be a reality. The expenditur of such & vast amount of wealth in such a urrow Isthmus of Pan- ama, naturally made the isthinus the cynos. ure of all the nations of the ecarth. Thou sands of fortune hunters from every city and +country in the world hasten 1o Panami, all Lo participate in the spoils of the great )86, When Actual Work Begun. The date set for the of the work wus in the latter part of 1881, and in October of that year a French squad 200, bearing de Lesseps and a lurge following of distinguished citizens of ull nations anch- ored iu the harbor of Colon. It had be tended that do Lessep should commene o) tions of the great undertaking himself, aud that he, individually, should turn the first leful of earth that was thrown, retua) commencement Qelober is natuwrally one of the rainiest YEAR. months of the year at but it probable that that state will never aj see another October 8o wet as was the one of 181 The ngents of the French company | had liberally propared for the reception of de Lesseps and his party and the week of their stay at the isthmus was a_carnival of drink and jollity from beginning to end Every nation of the earth was prob- bly represented in_considerable numbers upon the isthmus at that time, and with the money that had been recklessly dispersed by i ymmittee the people of the lebrated the great event ar fashion large por e who had come to the wict t that is | varfous nations ¢ in their own pec tion of the peoy classes of other nations, and Panam time was a famous rendezvous for gamblers \d adventurers of every ilk. 1 have bee told by people who were on the isthmus the time that the amount of chamy alone used on the isthmus in that week cost at a low estimate £200,000, and that probably three-fourths of the entive population wer intoxicated for the whole weck, all at the expense of the canal company Carried Mud to De Lesseps. It happened that this w larly wet one, and as de Lesseps and his party had come all the way from France to start the work, they decided to do it at o return to . more favorable climat set for the final ceremony was very 1disagreeable, and as M. de Lesseps was somewhat indisposed that day. about half an aere of Panama mud was excavated and ¢ 1in an immense trough on board the flag ship squadron, where, under cover., with great pomp and ceremony de Lesseps turned the first spadeful of earth that was turned in the great Panama_ canal. The nextday the newspapers of the world heralded the 1et that the great enterprise had started at ast, and t the illustrious de Lesseps — himself had commenced the work in person, but 1 doubt if few of them related the particulars regarding the manner in which it was done. il route selected pany as the best one adapted for the strietion of the canal foillowed e the line of the railroad, but kept closer to the bed of the VIS 10 CTOsS seventy-cis between Colon and Panama. The physical features of this route for a canal had "~ b arvefully and minutely studied in all the relations, and the brilliant corps of engi neers who were in charge of the enterprise were confident of the success of the plan Throughout the whole distance of the al it was intended that s bottom should lie about twenty-eight feet below the mean level of the oceans, and the width of the canal in all places was to have been seventy-two feet at the bottom and 160 feet at the top. The two greatest physical difiicultics connected with the un dertaking were those caused by the height of land in the center of the isthmus and by the Chag but it might be added tha diniculty of all was to se- ure efficient and honest management of the ente At about the center of the isth- mus, for a considerable distance it was ne ssary Lo cut down through the solid stra for s depth of about 800 feet. The rock, how ever, was found to beof a soft character, casily removed a particu by the French com: con Largest Dyke in the World, The fact that the located at sea level und v 10 by fed by the waters of the two oceans, havine no adequate supply of water at greater elevation to feed it: neces- sitated the bottom of the canal prism to he lowered to - the depth mentioned, which made it a coustant prey to the Chagres river and the enormous flo of water that rushed during the rainy seasons through that channel, 1t was intended to overcome this difticulty by constructing at Gamboa an enormous reservoir for the detention and storuge of these flood waters. The dam that was to form this reservoir, if completed, would have been by far the largest dyke ever constructed in the world. Altogether it has been coneluded that the excavation of the canal involved the removal of 3,531,000, ranal wa | scarcely 000 of cubie fect of e At the beginning of IS4 there hi n removed about 120,- 000,000 cubie feet . in other words, after more than two years of labor only one-thir tieth of the entire work had been completed At this time nearly all the original capital of the company had been expended, but the people of France, realizing the vast import- ance of the entorprise and the enormous source of we it would make when com- pleted. decided that the compuny was de serving of suceess even at a cost of $500,000,- tinto hands of de Lesseps. The work pro- . vapidly from this time on, and ull the route workshops and setilements were formed ;: hundreds of dwelling houses, hospitals and storehouses weve built, at short intervals, and the whole distance along the forty-seven miles of the Panama railvoad resembled a bustling city. In 1850 the population of Panama and Colon was estimated at 30.000 people, these two towns being really the only two settle ments of any importanice on the isthmus, In 1885 the population of the isthmus between ave been and 400,000 people, about e employed as laborers by Canal company, and all of whom were there for the purpose of - getting the money which the canal company had to spend. They wot it all, and after the ex penditure of a vast amount of treasure, amounting to about 1,300,000,000 franes, and the sucrifice of thousands of humun lives, work was discontinued on the canal in 1857 and less than one-thivd of the total work nad been completed, ceed between 300,000 Bad Manngement and Fra 1t is doubtful if scientists and will ever decide the question of cability and possibility of a sea at Panama among themselves, but it is cor tain that the people of the world have already decided that the failure of this gpi- gantic undertaking was mainly due to the mismanagement and fraudulent motives of the persous in charge, Since the work on the canal was discontinued nine-tenths of the population of the isthmus have drifted to newer and wore fourishing ficlds, but the stories of cunal days, which are told to the traveller visiting the isthmus, sound more like fairy tales, or another Bldorado, than like actual facts, Az 5000 as the canal company was firmly on its feet agent were sent to all portions of urope to select suitable machinery for the truction of the worlk ver before did purchasing agents teavel for u company of such gizautis means and probably never sain will purchasing agents become rich so suddenly as aid those of the Panama Canal company. Here was an opportunity for Euwrope to dispose of all its wornout and uscless machinery at enormous figures, utmost avidity, so that in a short time after the work was com- menced on the exc ion of the canal Aspinwall or Colon was the dumping ground for nine-tenths of the discarded machinery of the ol w | great indecd w the quantity of this old iron and steel that it was actually in ghe way, and carly in 1582 Panamn Canal company designated a vast amount of the machinery then on the ground utterly worthless, and” to put it out of the wuy und cover up their folly they ord it dumped into the swamps nea Colon the level Thous: A little later it was decided to build a new town on the Atlantic side, and the found- ation of this town, Christopho Colomb, us it is called, is. maiuly composed of costly dgevs, piledvivers and like machin- o This Wity was to be the dwelli ) of de Lesseps and was laid off on a scale yal magnifi- its broad avenues e lined with of cocoanut palms, which have now s of Wanderers, | report was never, | they wer £rown to a height of 100 feet and their broad fan-like leaves form an almost complete covering for the town. ‘Two magniticent {dences, costing about $100,000 each, were built and extravagantly furnished for the use of the senior and junior de Lesseps, neither of whom, however, ever set foot in either house. During the palwy days of the canal company the sthmus was indeed a 1y place; thousands of wanderers, em- braciug every nationality and race, even to those of far distant Iudia, hered there W participate in the great fraud and spoiliation, The Atlantic port of the isthmus, called either Colou or Aspinwall, was a port that | rivaled the greatest sea marts in the world, | Tam informed by relinble authorities that day passed for several years that did not bring fifty ships into the bay of Colon, and that from seventy-five to 100 ves sels were constantly at anchor in that har bor. 1t is one of the most_treacherous ports in the world, however, and ships anchoring there are obliged to pay about 4 per cent more insurance than if they did not touch at this port. Numbers of vessels and their en t have been lost during severe the very harbor of Colon, and so kage covers the bottom of thebay is soldom that an anchor can be ised without fouling. A few years ago in one northwester cighteen ships went down in one night and the of life was more than sixty persons ws storms in e Knew His Business, During the canal days the business of the anama Railroad company was something almost incredible, and although enormons profits were derived by the company itself, by far the greatest interest made for the money and time invested was that made by the conductors. [ know of one man alone who made £30,000 besides his salary and all his oxpenses during a twenty-cight months residence on the isthmus, all of which time he was constantly employed as a conductor on the Panama railwiy e Colombian government unable to exercise the various forei up residence the tion knew no naturally gre climat was entirely ny authority of law over m colonics t 1 taken Land erime and depre bounds, The death . rate, on account of the terrible probably greatly aug- mented by the fast life led by most of the people. The burying-ground of Atlantic side of the isthmus was named Monkey Hill. Four func daily were scheduled to leave ¢ for Monkey Hill, and there were but few men who expected to take any other route when aving the isthmus for good The residents of the isthmus in times, being 1sso nations and heaving anguage, became veritable polyglots, and ‘0 now 4 person who speaks only one lanzuage, no matfer how well he may be cducated inpther branches, would be con- sidered an absolute ignoramus by the wild- st Ivishman who works the brakes on Panama railroad freight teain The railvoad company, having the only means of transportation” across the isthmus, was of course of vast importance tothe canal enterprise, but its importance was imme urably less than that of the men who the trains. Most of the employes of company at that time were Irishmen, and they vuled the isthmus with a high and reckless hand: 1t was not a question of ¢ your money and demand a ride, but rather of pay your money and see whether the conductor wanted to fet you ride, was canal lmost every known Thought They Owned the Earth. “The history of the Panama Railroad eom- pany and its cmployes during canal times one'of exeiting incidents that are excee i interesting to hear about now the ve all passed over. It is said that the civil revolgtion that took place in Colombia in 1830 was partly instigated and much by the employes of the Panama Ruilroad company. It was during this revo lution that the United States government sent troops to the isthmus to proteet her commerce and keep the railway open 1o traftic. 1or over a month the vailroad was operated with the wee of United States marines, who, however, w lto- wether unneeded, as the employes of the ailroad, to use their own terms, *could lick the whole Colombian army as well as every- thing elso on the isthmus Many are the interest be told concerning the ¢ incidents of this wonderful period. Several of the es pades of Americans residing there time resulted fatally to the residents of Colombin, and in one or two cases almost in- volved the governments in a_ national con- troversy. Perhaps some of the readers of this article will remember long story that was published in the New York papers everal years ago relating the history of a great plot_on the part of the American resi- dents of Panama to usurp the power of the Colombian _government and establish a re- public for themselves. The attempt was dis- covered, however, and many of the principal conspirators werc obliged to flee from the isthmus that might The Government Called Time. After the discontinuance of the work on | government | the canal in 1837 the French ordered the canal company with & report of its affaivs them the manmner in which the cnormous sums of treasure which had been placed in their hands had been disposed of, to furnish them and explain to forthcoming, the govern- ment took the matter into its own hands appointed a committee to investizate the affaiv in all its particulars, and_the report of this committee is what has stivred the purturher tious which are now agitating the great Eu opean republic, 1t is generally supposed that the greatest steals of the affair were in concetion with the contractors who took time contracts for dredging, dyke building and similar work 1t is said that one fivm alone received $5,000,- 000 befor company found out’that sbbed. it a time will never again ny one state in the world that can be compared with the few ars that Colombin saw_ the life of the il company. No conglomeration vaces will ever be confined again in such narrow limits, isolated from the rest of the world, living without law ororder and all bent on the same purpose as were gathered on the Isthmus of Panama between 1881 and 1887, 1t is to be hoped that the again come when the people of any prudent nation will su petiated upon themselves such a gigantic fraud and swin- dle as was the Panama eanal undertaking. Gronar W. Megc e, i FOR RUSSIA'S RELIEF. It is prol come in th will never Omelal Acki of the States. Ex-Governor John W. Hoyt, chairman of the Russian famine rel ommittee of the United States, has furnished to the press u report of the relief o by America to the sufferers from the famine in Russia. The first movement in the northwest was made by the milling interests of Minnesota, and by December 50, 1501, 1,500,000 pounds of flour had been: subscribed, In the states of Minnesota, Towa and Ne- braslka the work of canvassing steadily ad vianced during the month of Junuary, with suth vesults as made the sailing of at least one relief ship early in February scem possi- ble. But the philanthropists of the north- west, gathering their flour from more than g hundred miles and their corn from thou: of crib any states, had a struggle not easily appre- ated at the east Millers of twenty four near, had contributed their lour and were pushing it forward. Nebraska, under in- tion of Govornors Thayer and Boyd, had _given her million pounds of corn, and the New York Chamber of Commerce had supplemented the whole with so much as #.000 would buy, in addition to the before contribvted for like use. The lantic transport line had put the great Mis- souri in readiness for her generous service, and the warehouse, lighterage and coal comn- punies had followed suit. And thus, on the 15th of March, the Missouri, with her bur- den of 5,900,000 pounds of flour and corn meal, left New York harbor for Libau. Towa sent a great cargo of 96,656 bushels of corn, sacked at a cost of some #4,000 fur- nished by the Red Cross, with 21,201 bags of the same, 400 sacks of corn meal, 731 sacks of flour, and various miscellaneous stores. But there was no further offer of ships; udd so with §12,651 more, sdvanced by Miss Barton from contributions sent to the Red Cross, steamship was chartered on the 23d of May the Tynehead, gatly dressed with many flags, American, Russian and Red Cross, cleared from New York for Riga."” Five ship loads of food stuffs were sent (o Russia, and the cash donations arve estimuted o1 $100,000, Of the latter over $7,000 came from Nebraska, over $5.00 fiom lowa, S0 from South Dakota and §1,200 from uncsola, Contribu- states, far and the | ted with the people of all | OMAHA, SUNDAY MORNING, DEGEMBER 95, As this | up all | y ands | i storehouses widely scattered in | | leys below u | afoot or on mulebadk, and lost so | &ud other | - NEBRASKA GIRL IN GREECE f Merry Moments Spent at a Monastery in the Mounitains Above Andros, WHERE MONKS ARE COMELY AND CHEERFUL Miss Manatt Writes of a Pleasant Jou an Anclent Religious 1 Good Li und Vietuals Books and K to use Ra broideries, ANDROS, Greece, Dec, 8 of Tue Boe. | on no account monastery of arrange for proud of being menos, ¢ Correspondenc Our laudlord told us we should neglect the ancient Andros he undertook to | our going in this wise. Heis | an old crony of the hegou head of the order, and to insure us a reception worthy of such distinguished forcigners he must send a messenger or An elos, to give warning of our approach, that the fatted calf might be killed and all be put adiness. We modestly object to what seems a good deal of an imposition, as we fecl lucky indeed to see a real monastery in vun- ning order, and fancy quite as well, takir pot luck with them. But we submit to our friend’s judgment when we find that this the usual thing, and, moreover, that the gov crnment provides them $000 francs yearly for the entertainment of strangers. The next morning, therefore, after our coming is heralded, as it were, with a flour- ish of trumpets, the donkey train of quite imposing length is seen wending its way to visit and { | | over the steep mountain path, for the monas yis set far up and away from the haunts of men in the wildest And such s usually I'm sure the old kings wished for wght better than their mule teams before chariots came in, and way donkeys and rocks seem ma for each | other—the little fellows are so entively home, much preferring a steep path of b breadth width and these s and don- | keys are exactly the same dull gray color. 1 | might o on with my comparisons such as in | fivmness and durability, but here 1 would ced to illustrate, which might reveal rets of struggle not meant for unsympathizing readers. To tell the truth, however, the Greek dbiikey has a very good temper, and when properly understood can be perfectly managed: The Monk Was Comely. Some of our party pride themselves on the king and scoff at the donkeys, who don't mind it in the least and are glad enough of the rest. But these scoffers are cither too long or too broad and don’t fit the dapper little beasts. There's nothing the matter with the donkey—oh, no! The non- growlors are cnraptured with the superb | views as they look back, the panorama | growing broader aud finer as we ascend Ourown little hmlat of Batsi lies nestled between bay and mountain like a white camco, with the sea’of shimmering gold 4 its feet. And some one who never mixed in his topogeaphy points out the many islands, each yith its memorics of poets who had sung there, s Keos Simonides isle, or of old-time sages, as Gavrion, the pretty little port of Palwopolis, which Thimistocles stormed with his Athenian hordes. Lyra was very distinet, the center of the present emstern trading ports, and awiy off westward the faintly delicate coast line of Att. And how fait’ were the val- with their olives and figs just ving Indian_ corn! Ads lies chiefly in their irvegula ine, reminding one of linen embroidery, with countless little ¥s, capes and promontori w0 of delight, let the eye turn whither it will. Butaway to the monastery, whose white steeples ind towers have Just appeared to our eager-waching eyes, forall this beauteous landscape is for you'but poorly conveyed on black and whit T spurred my brave steed on_ahead at the last, too impatient to await those dallying folk who never were quite content, either much time ge ting on and off. So I rather startled the monk delegated to weleome us at the gate as much as he surprised me by his fresh and youthful beauty, enhanced by the long black robes he were with such grace. However, his casy and cordial greeting were anyth but embarrassed, and we were fast i friends when the others came trotting up, alarmed at what the holy friavs might think 4 young lady who would run at will and unattended. Merry Monks of a Modern M, Soon there were more monks, whe gathered around with unmistakable warmth of welcome, and servants led off the much tried donkeys, while we were conducted in trinmph to the visitors' apartments, un entry room and largo, pleasant saton, with o onderful outlook from its small grated windows. But the old avched cor- ridors with marble floors and fine carvings, all suiticiently old and ruined, which we pussed on the way, were quite up to our ideals of the monasteries we had read of Incne nook o quaint old well provided the clearest of water drawn up bya friar for thirsty travelers. And no end of black- looking rways furnished food for our \cy, leading to underground passages, dungeonus —who knows where? The monks were each of them a study, and *twere difleult to say which type wits most interesting—the slender, pale-fuced young fellows with their big pathetic eyes encircled with black, telling of fasts and long devotions, or the jolly round old fathers, whose jovial £0od humor and round cheeks lik pples — and amply-filled gowns be- tokened plenty of the” flowing bowl and | easy going-lives, such e brought befc us in story B One of these last | was the farm hegrumenos. and his beam- ing round as a ball, was good medicine for dyspeptics, while his plump soft hands, like puffballs, seemed spocially made for t holy kiss imprinted there so often by his devoted flock. It was quite too funby to keep a sober face when he raised one hand le to ask the blessing, with greatest sctting two fat fingers upright and keeping the rest doubled under. We were refreshed as soon as the introduc tions were through by the serving of Turk- ish coffe and sweets, with water borne in on @ silver tray by a gigantic fellow in splendid ¢ thoughi shapbicr thun the rest. His dark mu',liwuvy beard and magnificent physique seemed more Egyptian than Greek He proved to be a Dorian of the Peloponnese, which accounts, perhay for his air, und nner of passing the cuy the pretty phrase, *Long may you live," lo your health and: happiness , digni- | fied the humble np‘rvi‘ © 1o twice its usual value, mountain fastnesses. the case, 1 beliey } some: astery. and They Know Good Liquor, As the knowledge of CGireek was confined mostly to the ladies of our party, the monks were obliged to devbte themselves to them, though it is quite out of the Greek order of things, as they deem that women should be “seen and not” heard,” The young unmar- ried one must interpret for all'~that amused them greatly. Wetest their rakee, a white liquor resembling firewater, one taste of | which sexms 1o burn the mouth, but one | must be polite. The good missionary’s wife looks on in horror, but _shall we offend our hosts to begin with? Besides her discom- fiture rather makes up for the burning taste with the viciously inclined young folks, who affect to empty the glasses with greatest relish and wicked avinks On asking to sce the library we are led thither with great ceremony, and that, sacred precinet, opened for us with a maimn- moth key.proves 1o be but 4 tiny closet, but it is packed full with such treasurcs as have never before been owr good fortune to see How we glouted over the primitive bibles, many of them 800 and 900 years old, | vangelical books, printed on finest parchmen i:l owed with age, cover of gold | ind silver inlaid with precious stones! What | & bouanza for the relic hunters | Aud how much lovers of such things would cuvy us! The | | fow | protessor and othe 92— IXTEEN PAGIH illuminated texts we had but had no idea of, we here ance, and fascinating they were, indeed, The old Greek text of almost 1,000 years ago, youmay imagine, differs greatly from the moderu, and it was highly interesting trying to puzzle out the strange letters, 1 managed to read along quite smoothly, much to the amazement of the friars, who, 1 suppose. idn't expect it of a woman who read com mon, everyday mewspapers, Where the covers were wooden or the furry skins of animals th were old and ‘moth-caten cnough 'ways heara of found in abund Treasures in Booksand Ebrolderics, Many of the volumes came from Constanti uople in the old Byzantine times. [ doubt if anything more intensely interesting in the book line conld be found, und T longed sufficient time to copy s the exquisite desiens at_ th ings of the chapters. Such colorings. blues and veds and gold ! We hege them to send these gems on to the exposition but they scemed to think it quite asto pack off the Nike temple, Acropolis orsome of the originals in the museum, from which cuts arve now being made. The finery lovers, (mot all ladies cither) w carried dway in wonder at the splendidly embroidered vestments in fuiest cloth of wold and heavier of brocade all handwoven and destined for fete oceasions, heirlooms likewise handed down from generations. What shall I say of the richly carved g communion cups” dazzling with dinmonds, emeralds and - rubies and adorned with finely painted wicturs of the vivgin and saints and angels in enamel work encircled by pearls or brilllants! The nblets too almost as rich that ‘twas a great favor to b treasures partly revealed to There were golden candlesticks with figures in relief and all sorts of things for use in the religious processions which 1 couldn't name except in Greek. The arch bishop's joweled crown was a mavvel of costly splendor. In fact the cabinet containing all these fostal habiliments and jeweled ~ crosses — was shown 1o a fow of us after the rest had goue by a kindly disposed young monk whose folly and weakness we sincerly hope will be for- wiven Next we visited one of the private cell rather dwellings, for cach monk lives himself and independent of the rest, his own little vegetable pateh and flower srarden, makes his own wine, drics his figs for winter and rides his special donkey the village. Only in the chapel they meet together—for prayers, morning and evening. Our host was # lovely old fellow with flowingeray beard and long hair twisted into a knot behind, as is the custom, except on state occasions, when it is loosenced and thus adds not a_little to the effect of gor geous robes and glittering vestments. In his now threadbare draperies and with his decp- set eyes he would make an admirable study of a hermit. At the same time he has the sunniness of homelike rooms and is as snug any spinster. He quictly opens his invit ing etipboard and produces another “round* of sweets preserved, lemon-blossoms being the treat this time, and as delicious as it sounds. We ask for his recipe, but he says the process of treating this perfunmed b som is quite too eluborate for our compre- hension. His hospitality could not be ex- celled and we ladics were obliged to admit that here at least they get along v without us ost fane eyes by works Anxious to Hear of A All the brother monks had followed us and as they were on the qui vive to hear all about our far-away America 1 undertook to give them some idea of the size and wealth At new land, of the enormous cities and Land my figures quite took theiv breaths. They couldu’t b : in their untingelsuplicity the i i tance we had visit them. Formerly America meant Now York to foreigners, but since the World's fair has be abroad” their geographical knowledie has extended to Chicago. Our old monk. thinl ing to air his superior wisaom, mquived for the Mississippi, whether city or mountain ov bay. he knew not. And he had heard of Chili, so he concluded it must be on the Mississippi. 1t was great fun to sec them open their eyes at the (to them) fabulous ac- counts, but quite as entertaining to me_to hear one of themselve < mission ary lately returncd from’ New, araw glowing ~pictures of his travels: and indecd we feel we have a sufticiently eloquent champion, as with ready tongue and . teilin tures he rouses the quict monks 1o the tost enth hit he has been cverywhere from California to Boston and Knows our country better than we. Meanwhile 1 glean many interestis tails of monastic life from my tal neighbor, who is glad of an_opportunity couverse a little. He says their visitors a and” far between.” He s the young hegonmenos, and Lam partial to Lim, @5 who would not be? 17 you could see him, an Apollo-like figure posing in unconsious grace, wrapped in a purplo ehiton, his ideally clussie face and high white crowned by u mass of curls su in the best age of Greek art, sne iteles chiseled so fondly for his Herme: And his smile is captivating, while one is struck by the repose and digy ing. How his face lights up upon the peaceful charms of this free life he calls, it, in contrast to the tramels of the caged eity birds (meaning oursclyes). Leonfessed” it hadn't come to me in that light before, but I felt the truth of it when he said he spent a day. or two in Athens last week and could searcely wait till he got back to his wountain home, 50 distasteful was the noise of the world to 'him. So either visit- ing or beinge visited by peoplé from the world, it scems, doesn’t make' them any less con’ tented and serene, A Memorable Dinner, All the for to nlarges taste of sweets and tine bev- crages did not in the leastspoil our appetites for dinner, and returning 1o the guests voom we found a *groaning board” awaiting us. Iive of the head marks joined us at the table. Note the order of seating, The propenus, or consul, as first in rank was honored with a chair at the head ; next came the protestant pricst (missionary) and the gentlemen, after which the la s were disposed of all ina row, while our hosts were ranged arvound the lower end of the table, where they could survey us to best advantage, and quaint figures they o, AllL stood while the patriarch askei grace, vattled off at such lightning rate that one would think its virtue depended on the | rate of speed. That vight royal spread will always be vivid in our memory, not only for the uniqueness of its convives, but the dishes themselves 1'm sure were unrivaled even in tophaues time, when the cooks were wand cookbooks more in de- mand than are novels nowadays. From the dainty arrangements of the table-services one might suspect i feminine hand, The fresh, flaky white cheese in- pretty patterns lay in abed of grape leaves. The olives, also a home product, were unsurpassed, not to mention the numerous Greek v ables cooked a Ly monastery or served fresh from their garden. And as healths without num ber were proposed—to the peerless Cotum binand its representative present, to the noble hegoumenos, und to_the modern Helen (us one gallant monk made bold to dub one among us, rather more to extricate himself from trouble than anything else the story of the Odyssey had come up and ho was rather misty,” that not being in his line) and to the prodigal son, as they chose to call their Protestant brother, a native of Audros, and all the healths were quaffed in the richest of old wine; we called it nector of the gods, which pleased them immensely, | and indeed it fully came up o our expecti tions of the contents of a monustery cellur. Our hosts, while merry, were very tem- perate, and mildly astonished when our good missionaries declined to join vs. Al our Symposium wis . success, chatted and joked indefinitely’ over the after dinner coff iey thought every word we uttered so very clear, which is, you know, most stimulating, and we on our side agreed never 1o have happened upon wmove genial, benevolent and allaround cutertain- ing dinuer companions With the Monks at Prayers. (4 ™3 10 the day's festivit in the old, old chapel, which we 1 to tend. Our interest was divided between the service (rcsponsive), in ch about a dozen monks ok part, and the wost autique aud richly oruamented interior, 0 | SUNDAY BEE. j:w{oajs [ | Around the st Byzantine ntings | of the Virgin werc hung dozens of charms and votite_ offerings, « relic in reality of . Msculapius' worship | hands and feet of tin, hearts, bloodred and ghastly eyes, ears, ete,, each devotec presenting an image of the iling member. One monk swung far and wide a censor of fine filizree gold work, scattering as blessing: the sweetest of incense among the wor shipers, while others chanted the lilurey for once most harmonious, and uplifting, | thanks to the handsome hegonmenos, with his deep, sonorous vo arely does oue meet witha musical Greek, and one old priest who bawled Tike a distressed | cow, came near ruining the otherwise deeply affecting solemnity of all. The congrega tion consisted, besides ourselves, of a boy of 1 summers on thereabouts, whose skl incsslike performance of all the ms required in the service excited our honest admivation. He must « him self continually, kiss the fect of Christ and hands of the Virgin, as well as numerous monks, bowing, standing and_ prostrating himself completely, besides rattling off what we should judge to be whole books of the bible, When we could spare no more time we left him still at it, with no prospect of any “let up,” and thowght if our ministers squired so much of us, we would be missing oftencr fron the Sunday pew than is now the case. Perhiaps Tmay be forgiv closing, & word, brought Greek friend, who visited the monastery a week after we had heen so - royally feasted Anintimate friend of his among the friars (wise. grayheaded, too) confided to him that if ho had known what these women of the world were like he never would have taken the cowl. He was sure there were mo such vls in his younger days. Why, these Amor ican ladies were goddesses! Now, 'm sure you will agree with me that this most value able tribute to our womanhood deserved to wind up my letter, And so, till another say, adieu! WiNterED A, MANATT - E RELIGIOL 1 if 1 whisper in down to us by a A commodions Baptist chureh has been odon the site of the one destroyed in Deadwood, three months ago mpart of New York dismissed on the bicyele and studicd 'S, Tn about 100 of the synagogues in thi try Sunday mecetings are now held, @ by fiv A woman in the weste winis to have her pastor | srround that he ridd medicine in his early ¥ un- which UMBER 188 AND - MAJESTIC Projected Episcopal Oathedral of St. Johty the Divine, NASSIVE MONUMENT TO RELIGION AND TO ART History of the Movement and © the ¥ The Largest Edi Continent ner 8t aying the Cors Next Tuesday, memorable day the fous histor New York City and of the United States. On that day, with appropriate ceremonies, will be Taid the cornerstone of the grandest’ chureh edifice in the western hemisphere = the Protestant Episcopal cathedral of Sty John the Divine, The project of building an edifice of mage nificent proportions discussod as carly as 1870, but it was not until 1887 that the plans took definite shape. | During these ins tervening years the heads of the Protestang Episcopal church had talked of a cathedral rivaling the great Catholic adifice, St Paté riek's cathedral, but it remained for Misg Catherine Wolf, the wealthy philanthropisty to expand upon this necessity and feasibility of providing a temple or worship that should surpass building devoted to a similag this continent. To give practical basis sho sof the of £L000.000 as a |n|l‘g amount to be used for it Othet piscopalians contributed to_the Vanderbilt and milics, cach of which gave $100.000y sprin ate Mrs. 15 N Cole bos queathed nd recently SOme uNKnown, friend contributed &00,000 The Site. A place between Sixth and & nues and - Fifty seventh - and streets wis December 27, will b in was any purpose on the aside of the wealthy fund, among them being the Astor Last scheme o sum DRAL 01 (Ltep CATH who had on the leetures are del condueted the regu previous day. Rev. Mary T, Whitney has_been installed as pastor of the Unitarian church ofg West Somerville, Muss. She is a New Yorker, lier maiden name was Traffarn, and she is descended from an old Huguenot family. In France the govermment pays the pas tors. 1ot only of the Catholic but of the Prot estant denominations. This rule obtains also in the colonies, so that Mohammedan mosques are maintained by the state. It costs millions of franc A Utiea, N. Y., preacher has risen up to criticise the “prodigal son” parable. He holds that it is an injustice to the other boys who remain at home and keep their noses o il dstone while the prodigal is blow- ingz in" his substunc line, Bishop Paret of the Protestant Episcopal diocese of Maryland and the district of Cd umbia will ave built a steamer which will be fitted church. The boat will wd his assistants to the dredging grounds Sundays, wher will be held. The late Cardinal 1 by the rabb v Jewish servic vigerie, the “Grand O1d Missionary of Biskra,” used to wear a Florentine cap such as Dante wore, half covering his ¢ nd falling to his neck. The walls of his simple apartments were absolutely bare except for a small statue of the Virgin which faced the erucifix over the mantelj The Hiram the smallest mis- sionary vessel in the world, has just been fitted out in San_ Francisco horbor, and is now ready to start for Hawaii on her way to the Gilbert islinds. She is fifty fect long. fourteen feet wide and six feet deep Her vig is that of a two-masted schooner. The Brigham was built for the American hoard of foreign missions of Boston | he American Society of Church Histo will hold its fifth annual meeting in the re ception room of Columbian university, | ington, D. €. There will be thre | the first on Tuesday evening, Decemnber | at 8 o'clock; the s Ly morn- | ing, December 25, at 10 o'clock third on nesday afternoon at 4 o Prof. Philip Schaff will make the opening address Those who do not pay close attention to the development and advance of religious methods have probably failed 1o notice the decided improvement in the standing of the alvation Army in this country. 'vo many ple this orginization is more or less gro tesque and fanatical, but the sober truth is that it is getting the respectful attention and even the cordial commendation of some st of the church leaders, wuscript found in the den of an old hermit ina ¢ near Jerusalem in ghe year 8%, and which experts have all oriz helieved to have been the handiwork ! of St. Peter, “the friend of Christ,” was submitted to'a committee of the Biblical Society of London in 180 ‘They have arrived at the conclusion that the work is in reality exactly what it purports to be -the last literary work of the great apostle. has not been ascertained exactly who of the relic, but it is said th of British literary volupty 5 offered £100,000 for the document. -~ Susan B. Anthony is of the opinion that we are on the vergd of an era of unmarried women. Our civilization, she says, is chang ing. Daughters cannot be supported at home and there is nothing there to busy them. Tne women used to- spin_ and weave, make carpets and soap, but now all that is done for them in_fucto; Young men do not make euough woney Lo support their wives, and there is such o craze for dissipation amoug them that the women had rather go into a store for almost nothing than to Bingham | marry. ————e The engagement 1s now announced of Miss Faunie Stevens, sister of Mrs. Adolph Laden burg, and cousin of Mrs. Frederick H, Allen to Captain Harvington Swann of England Miss Fanuie Steveus is a daughter of Mr. and Mrs, Alexander H. Stevens, who have a seat uv Lawrence, L. 1, and the wedding of the couple will be colebrated in the spring. - “How did you come to break off your en- gagement with Twilling?? “He told me ho wanted 1o get married,” JONN ced from Barper's Weekly) THE DIVINE, 1s far beyond all possibility s agreed That it would be best o lookg far north fora sight. In November, 1887, the old Lake and Watts' Orphan Home grounds were bought for $550,000, and th new eathedral will stand in porhaps th most picturesque spot on Manhattan island, Its towers will look down on the Hudsor and the Palisades will be within view, I off the busy cities of Hoboken and Jerse; City will be seen from the towers of the edj fice, and its great spive will, on the cast, be in sight of all Harlem and the hills of Long nd. 1t is a spot hallowed by history as wel, fol it was here that the famous Leake lived ip the early days of the municipalit The Buililing, The plans for the building w by Messes, Heins & La FFarge of City. They provide a general g for the cathedral in the shape ems of which, forming nave, iransepts, have cach a centr side misles, The general exterior design t ofa large central lantern or tower, inst the four sides of which are the for rms of the crc In the four uneles of th are four flanking towers with end; At thesouth front are two larged rs, the central tower being crown i dominating the group. Thd ers will have no spires. The' nal length of the eathedral wi The width across the frond o3 width aeross the transepts, 200 feet; height of central spire feef from floor of cathedral and from level of thé city, 525 feet. The width of the four fanks ing towers will be 43 feet; height, 160 feety total exterior digmeter of centrat towoer, 11 : inte wmeter, 96 feet: he vaulting, 230 feet; depth of chane feet: width of nave and chancel to of piers, 60 feet; length of nave width of front vestibule, 27 feet; nuve vaults, 105 feet; height of chan vaults, 115 feet; height’ of front gables, 16 The structure of the round-arch Gothie planned in many details after th Christian churches, following notabl; the Santa Sophin chureh’ at Constantinopla and St. Marks at Venice, But thic chare acteristics could not bo laid aside with img 5 he church was to some exten to this style of architecturve, So thg 1 dome is sirmounted by Gothiespives, and the conspicuous feature of th i the manner in which these grow out of the structure—se: in the very foundations. The latin form followed in the plan, but striking departures ! are made in the termination of the transepts, which are simply the apsos of the changel swung around.” These ntuate the' Romanesque chavacter of the design. Th twelve great pers which support the dom are to be dedicated to the apostles, the on of special magnificence being that’ design for St John, The dome 15 enviched by scenes from the Apocalyphe, and the sym) bolie decorations as tl re carried upward change from the particalar to the generale ¢ Const The cost of the new cathedral his not beeny fully determined. 1t will exceed £5,000,000, and may go heyomd $10,000,000. A fair cst mate given by one of the trustees places thi amount at £,500,000. This amount will w1 mit the projectors and dignitaries of thy hurch 1o pe a building which thoy hope 1 become as firmly welded Lo Uhe purpos which it is to be used as the vatican Rome itself, ‘The money for the new cathy dral, it is believed, can be raised without und the prepared | New Yorlg und plary of i cross, th chuncel and: 1 and two ouf of the new edifice hoped e had it completed, when it s origl projected, by but deluys have asioned by enlurging the scopo of the original pl nd in modifying same. The final finished drawings, showd; actual measurement and b g out every - detai ady for the builders. The proposed magnificence of the ue cathedral can be judged from the fuct tha it will oceupy o traet of land four thues large inarea as that upon which Hi. Pa rick’s cathedral stands. The site for new Episcopal cathedral is over sixty feef higher from the level of the city thau thal upon which the great Catholic editcee is siy ated, and it will. in addition, be surrounds by a great park, which is lacking in the tion of 5t. Patricks, The trustee: ha 4 ——— h