University of South Carolina Libraries
The Observance Of Sunday. Sunday News. From the frequency with which this subject comes up for discussion, as well in secular as in religious publi cations, it is evident that a large num ber 'of people, many of whom can not be considered aspuritanical in feel ing, look upon the increasing disre gard of Sunday with considerable dis approval. It is not only that the day is coming more and more to resemble what is called "the Continental Sab bath"-which may be roughly -defined as meaning, if one goes to church in the morning he may do as 'he pleases all the rest of the day-but tiha' it is disregarded altogether, so far as its religious character is concerned. The only difference between it and the other six being that it may be used en tirely as a day of idleness, or of amusement more fatiguing Than work; or even as a day of labor, if circum stances seem to require it in order to avoid pecuniary loss. Now while the "Continental Sabbath" may not be so reprehensible for tihe ignorant part -of the people in Eur:opean coun tries -who have been brought up in that way, and whiose forefathers re garded .it as they do; there is no pos sible excuse for it among the general ity of Americans, because they were nort brought up to think it right, and it is only within the past decade or two that i.t ever occurred to them to desecrate the Sabbath as they do now. Among the. many noted persons who have spoken in no uncertain tones upon the passing of Sunday is the Bishop of New York, in 1his re cent charge to his diocese. He rec ognizes fully, along with all intelli gent people, thait Sabbath of the Mo saic code, and of Puritanical observ ance, "has passed forever into the incomparably higher privilege and dignity and potentially of .the Lord's Day." But, aE t1h1e sam4 time, he re minded his readers that those very Puritanical exaggerations, against which we rebel, were but the natural reaction against the desecration*of the Sabba:h which was so general in England during the seventeenth cen tury; a condition of things, there seems reason to fear, which may be reproduced in Our own time, both here and:in England. In the first place, he considers the subject from an en ..irely rational point of view, setting -'aside for .trne moment its religious as pect, and says: "From the bottom to the top nature has proclaimed the law of periodic rest in <tones wh'ichl cannot 'be mistaken. *Whether it be a car wheel or a human brain, something of absolute and supreme authority must give it pause; and there is no people on earth who so soirely need to rec Sognize this fact as we fevered and over4driven Americans. Everything in the conditions of our l-ife, tlile char acteristics of OUT climate, .the sharp competitions of our business, the na tional restlessness and passion -for change, all make rest imperative for us; and all The time the law reLmain's to bear witness f~o the fact that we cannot trifle wi,th tihat divine princi pIe, written-first 'of all-in our own members." He 'goes on to show how a few Ih'un'dred years ago work was infinitely more monotonous than ac present, and wearying from its same ness; but, while all 'moderi discover ies and inventions)'have tended in a great degree 'to lighten labor, they have added .indefinitely to the str.ain upon the 'm'ind and nerves. "And so the conditions of modern work-day life, 2in professions as tcruly as in .'handicrafts, are more exacting and more exhausting than ever 'before." Another point of difference 'between tih'e conditions of the present day and those of half a century ago is pointed 'out by the Bishop; and-it is found in the immense influx of foreigners into the country, bringing with them all sorts of ' ideas regarding religious things, and a large number come with little or no religious ideas at all. He says t'hat in former times the pro: portion of this foreign element in the national life was so smal! that it w'as practically possible zo make laws as to nertain observances, and to en force conformity. outtwardly at least with those laws. Thac time, however. has passed away; since there are to be found in every large American city. and in some particular districts ir: the country, communities of foreign ers, differing in hardly any way from a community of them in their native J 'and; so~ that .the problem of bringing them inlLo conformity with the Ameri ficult one. The most uniortunatc part of it is that, instead of setting be fore them an example which they might in time learn to imitate. of right living and rightthinking. they see manners and morals not much better than etieir own, the -law set at defiance or evaded, and corruption and dis honesty even in high places. and among those who dare to claim the name of "Christian." The impossibility of enforcing the observance of Sun-day by laws has been already proven. Corporations or individuals find means to evade them when there is any pecuniary ben efit to be reapeid from it; and even those who disapprove of Sunday ex cursions and amusements of all kinds take no steps to see that the law re garding them is carried out; and thus, by their silence, give tacit consent to .the transgression of * them. There has been so much talk of la*te about the necessity of the working class having recreation upon the only day in the seven which they can spare from actual labor, that it over-powers t1he gentle remonstrances of .those who suggest .that Sunday excursion is*ts and those wdio attend exhibi ti'ons and violent sports are general ly more weary on Sunday night than at the close of any day of work. Nor is the habit of spending Sunday large ly in sleep, or in lounging at home, or in entertaining company, or in reading frivolous books, or in games of chance -as it is spent by such a great num ber of persons wlh(o have no excuse of dail labor to plead-a whit more to be commended than t1he ruder recre acions of the mass of -the population. It is possibly even more blameworthy, since they can plead no ignorance in the matter, as .they have all been in structed with regard to such t1hings, ,and know themselves in the wrong. It may be asked, then, since the law -is powerless to effect any change for the better, in what way a reform can be brougt about? The remedy which the Bishop suggests, and which natu rally occurs to every right-thinking man or woman, is a very simple one. The Bishop calls it "witness-bearing." Let every Christian see that his ex ample is in conform-ity with the true spirit of Chnistian teaching. This does not mean th~e -is to o'bserve the day with Pharisaic or Puritanic strict ness, ma king it a day of solemn gloom; but by the new light shed upon it through 'the Gospel he can easily see how t'o so regulate his af fairs, his hrousehiold -and his own con duct that it will prove a day of true rest and refreshm.en,t of soul. As par ents can be with their children more on Sunday, they can, with but little effort, make it the happiest day of the week to them, instead of its being. as it too often is now, regarded wit1 ind-ifference, it not with positive dis like. Servan.ts, 'tool should come -in for -dheir share of consideration, by their work being decreased instead ol .increased-as is likely to be the case and by their being given a reasonable opportunity to attend church and to rest . There is another aspect of the ques tion whidhi is often overlooked, that is that the Sabbath, or Sunday, is not ours to do with as we choose. "The seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord thy God," and whetiher we elect to observe the last day of the week. or the first, as a "holy day," one in seven belongs to God, .and we cannot honestly .defraud Him of it. If it is absolately necessary for us to do many things by which we now dese crate Sunday, why should not we take part of our own six idays .to do them in? Tihe prophet asked: "Will a man rob God?" And the answer mad.e by our present attitude towards Sun dgis a most emphatcic reply in the a: mative. PARROT RANCH. The. Only One in the World and It -Has Enriched Its Owner. Martin H-ol's. an American. who es ;abhi>hed a parrot randh r:ear Victo ria. Mexico. a few y-ears ago. has met with wonderful success and has ac cumulated a fortune in the business. It is probably the only parrot ranch in the world, it is cer'tainly the only one in Mexico. Holts was employed for several years as a passenger conductor on the old Mon:erey and Mexican Gulf rail road, now a part of the Mexican Cen tral system. His division was between -the guilf cast. hirough ith heart of the parrot country. le was always interested in the bright colored birds, and while running as a conductor, collected many of them and taught them to speak English. There were many tourists travelling up and down his line and he did a good size busi iness by selling the birds to Ameri cans and others. The thought then occurred to Holts that he might make more money by retiring from railroad work and de voting his time to raising parrots. He followed the plan and purchased a large tract of land near Victoria which was teeming with parrots. He fitted tip .the randh in a unique way. Wire netting was placed around and all over the trees and the birds were confined therein. lie has had the greatest success in raising the birds. It is in teaching the parrots to talk that Holts has made an unique suc cess. He is a linguist, speaking Eng lish, Spanish. French and German flu ently. He divided his flock of sev eral thousand birds into four classes lone for each language. He then took a few birds from each class and set to work to teach them to -talk. At the end of a few months Hol.ts had taugh't a number of birds Englisih, Spanish, German and French, and the educated birds would teach their companions ,to talk. His hopes were realized to the fullest extent. He says that at the end of the firs?c year he had sever al hundred educated parrots. Hiolts 'believes that th:e standard of intelligence of parrots can be greatly increased by proper attention of breeding them. In his collection of parrots, which now numbers several thousands, he saw several which are seemingly possessed of reasoning. These educa4ed birds have been taught to carry on a conversation with eac1h: other. This conversation, in which each bird knows his part thor oughly, covers nearly thirty minutes at a time. Case Diagnosed At Once. One of America's greatest physi cians was called to the bedside of a grand dame of distingu.ished name and many millions, who is a leader of Ameri.can society, says tii Chicago Chronicle. But now the grand dame groaned and grunted in her silken bed like any washerwoman. The p.hy sician examined her carefully. Then he said: "You must get up every morning at 6 o'clock, take for breakfast a cup of weak tea and two pieces of dry toast. From 9 to ri exercise, eit:her wal,king or sweeping or dusting. At noon :lunch on *a slice of cold meat, filtered waster and .stale bread. Don't sleep i.n the afternoon, exercise again. For dinner take nothing but a little meat, a vegetable and toast. No sweets, no wines, no social dissipat.ion of any kind." Thie eyes of the grand dame flashed fire as she said. "But, doctor, do you comprehend my position? Do you know who I am?" "Perfectly, madam," answered, the physician. "'You are an old woman with a sour stomach." Wanted To Find The Way Back. One of the first cases which the late Gilman Marston of New Hamp shire, had after being admitted to the bar was a civil suit involving a some what complicated question of inheri tance, says the Boston Herald. In no way daunted, young Marston tack led it, looked up authorities all the way back to Julius Caesar, and pre pared an argument of a few hundred pages which seemed to him more than unanswerable. His only fear was that it might be beyond the comprehension of the court. When the time came the young man rose and phmnged in bodily. The judge seemed interested and Gilman took heart. But at the end of an hour and a half, in the miidst of the most :ppai to -ce what he :horght was a l ack of attenti O. nc thoart of the Icourt. It was jus: as he -expected; the judge was unable to appreciate the nice points of his argument. He paus ed, hesitated, awd then said: "You~r honor, J beg nardon. but do you fo! !OW me?" "I have so far," answered 'the judge, shifting about in his chair, "but I'll say frankly that if I thought I could find my way back I'd quit right "Does Advertising Pay." This question has been frequently asked by merchants and 'business men generally. Only yesterday morning a merchant in this ci:v told the edi tor ot The 1erald and News that it did no, pay to advcrt:se in newspa pers. A man holding such a viw, of course, no time could be lost in trying to convince :him that it does pay to advertise, especially in this age of newspaper adverising. We would call attent:-,n to the ad vertisement which has been running in our columns for a few months only. of Moseley Bros., Prosperity, S. C. They have been. advertising flour for some little time and as a result, are now getting in their iith car-load. making their sales i,1oo barrels in about two months and in a community where, as a rule, the farmers grow all their bread and meat. They be lieve 'that it does pay to advertise and we cannot understand how anyone-in this day of newspapers can hold the position that it does not pay. The firm of Moseley Bros. has demonstra ted that it does pay. Plausible. New York World. At an examination in the primary school here a short tirre ago a mem ber of the committee .).t -.1iest:.ns at -andom to the schz'ars. .\::.n. tle la'rter was a tow.heade.d lad of "Pa.sy Bolivar" proclivities who, on being asked how many days there are in a year answered "seven." When the tit tering of the rest of the class subsided, the member remarked: "I said a year, not a week. Now try again. How many are there in a year?" The lad appeared non-plussed and vexed for a moment and then ejaculat ed: "Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday, Sunday, just seven. If there's others I never heard of 'em." A Misunderstanding. St. Louis Globe-Democrat. Dinner was a little late. A guest asked the hostess to play something. Seating herself at the piano the good woman executed a Chopin noc turne with precision. She finished, and there was still an interval of waiting to be bridged. In the grim silence she turned to an old gentrleman on her right and said: "Would you like a sonata before dinner?" He gave a start of surprise and pleasure. "Why, yes, thanks," he said. "I had a couple on my way here, but I think I could stand another." Reflections of A Bachelor. New York Press. It is generally unlucky 'to propose to a girl 'who is sure to accept you. A .woman's idea of having a good time 'is going off somewv.here with all ihe family; a man''s without any of, them. When a thin woman puts on her winter clothes she brggs herself to death about the e*tra pound she has gained. TIhere is hardly any nightmare a man enn he worse 'ran to dream~ tha't he has started to stoke the furn ace for a month ahead of time. Bills are a sight w;orse, but people kick harder over paying -taxes. Even the foolest kind of fool man knows better than .to engage a cook for hi.s wife if he can get out of it. Mighbty few people who have red hair in tihe fam-ily fool t:hemselves into sthinking it is a nice thing in any-I bdyv else. There is someThing ahout gambline that make-s you hate the man wh'o wing more than you do and have a cntem't fo'r the one who loses more. Pointed Paragraphs. Man a lawye'r 2as tii5cenveredl that a wif' orrl is Taw. Listen when two women quarrel if ou would 1;ear the truth. The size of the lion's share depends upon the size of the lion. It is usually safe to judge a woman by the things she doesn't say. Many a man's winning ways are due to the way she deals the cards. No, Cordelia, the milk of human CHEAP EXCURSION RATES. To Columbia, S. C., and Return Via Southern Railway. The Southern Railway will sell ex cursion tickets to Columbia,,S. C., and return, from all points wit'hin :he State of South Carolina, and from Charlotte. N. C., Asheville, Wilming ton. N. C., Augusta, Ga., and Savan nah, Ga., and incermediate points, account State Agricultural And Me cianical Fair, October 24th-27th., 1905, daily October 22nd., to 26th., in clusive, and for morning trains sc-hed uled to arrive Columbia before noon October 27., at rate of one first class fare plus 25 cents plus 5o cents for round trip, the fifty cents covering one admission to Fair Grounds. For Military Companies and Brass Bands in Uniform 20 or more on one :-icket, one cent per mile traveled in each direction plus arbitraries per cap ita. Dates of sale same as for Civi [ians as shown above. Final Limit All Tickets October 2g, 1905. Southern Railway, in addition to the regular passenger trains running on .convenienc schedules to Columbia, will operate special trains October 25 and 26th., between following points: Between Branchville, Camden, Sum. ter and Columbia. Spartanburg and Columbia and intermediate points Anderson, Belton and intermediate points to Columbia. For further information, apply Io any ticket agent, or write R. W. Hunt, Div. Pass. Agt. Charleston, S. C. BY A Newberry Steam Laundry Co. Best Mineral As phalt Roofing. C. H. CA NNON, Near ., N& L. Depot Trips California Adl the Way Daily, SeptembKr :5 to Oc-3 from St. Loui'; only $3O an4e Chicagos33- Ticises honored in TFouri.' Pullmans and chair cars. PTomist Pullmaus run5 daily, St Louis to Los Angeles5 by way' of Kansas City and the Santa Fe through withou~t change. On request will tell why yon should visit California this Fail, and why you should travel on the Santa Fe. IWrite to J. C. Sartelle, s. '.. & p. , 16 No. Prior St.. Atlanta, Ga.