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* -4~~~~~~ --4 4 . . 44 . , 4 4 4 * WILL SEABROOK'S TRAVELS * * * (By W. B. Seabrook.) Speeial to The Herald and News. - R.vme. Italy:-Yesterday I made an interesting subterranean excursion in company with a maiden lady from "the West," who had never heard of the Catacombs bef6re she came to Rome, her nephew, and a poetie souled young preacher, whose eves grew wet with tears as he traversed the labyrinths. 'which had served as places of refuge and worship for the earliest followers of the faith during the persecutions they had to suffer under the predecessors of Constan tine; the preacher was overepme with emotion, and think, he fancied him self addressing an early Christian as sembly. So real was his illusion that if some profane-minded practical joker had slipped up behind him and shouted, "To the lions!" I feel sure he would have solemnly folded his arms in the most approved martyr attitude, and answered, "I am ready, w Lord." But it was different with the aunt. She was sorry she had come. It had required all the minister's persuasive power to get her to de scend the narrow stone stairway that opens into the bowels of the earti through a low, forbidding door, over grown with weeds and nettles, and, once daylight had been left behind, she was decidedly disinclined to de scend further into the winding pass ages where green mould covered the walls and water dripped continually. Also, one of her overshoes had stuck in the mud on the downward journey, and in the slimy darkness not even Cinderella's prince would have ven tured to find the missing footgear. She was worried too by the marble "signboards,'' as she called them, which appeared at every. turn; with the inscription, "In pace." "And do they allow carriages in this place?" she exclaimed, while looking at. one of these slabs. Her question seemed irrelevant until she explained that she thought "in pace'" was a warning against trotting or galloping horses, an injunction such as one often sees posted on rickety wooden bridges. The young preacher, who was really a -thoroughly nice chap, came out of his trance long enough to explain that "in pace'' was a mortuary inscription. "So this is a cemetery,'' sniffed the good lady in response, "I'd like to know what you brought me here for anyway! -What's the- use of visit ing the graves of peop]e you don't know antything about, and trying to read these dull old inscriptions? Now, I can see the sense of visiting the tomb of a friend or relative, but this-Pooh!'' There were- so many nice, clean things to be seen around Rome, she added, but worrying one self with this kind of sight-seeing was "making a toil 'of what ought to be a pleasure,"' as the mari said when they were galloping the horses to his wife's funeral. But it was a wonderfully impress ive and picturesque place, even if the maiden lady from the West did fail to appreciate its charm. We were not Sthe only party a the Caemiterium Ostrianum that day, and from the depths of the black-mouthed tunnels often came the hollow, ghostly whis p'ers of persons, who though a quar ter of a mile distant, seemed to :have their invisible lips pressed against our ears. The only lights were pin?. torches and wax candles, serving to* make thbe darkness visible, and their yellow, smoky flicker, as they moved to and fro, occasionally gave us glimpses of other tourists, or black robed students, who had doubtless come hither'to meditate on death. Far down a dim passage, in the back of an aspe of a little chapel, stood can dles burning in the symb::lic three straight lines of threes and two lines of sixes, as they have burned for centuries. It was not a cheerful spot, though the skulls which lay scattered -with the broken skeletons on the lit tle stone shelves cut in the walls were all grinning with ghastly mirth. I never saw such teet'h. I see them vet. It was a fitting abode for spec ters, and I don't think any of us were surprised-not even the maiden aunt -when we suddenly observed gliding toward us from the depths of an inky passage a tall, black-robed, patri archal figure, above whose head glearred - a radiant circle of pure whiLe light. which made the most striking contrast with our yellow to.rehes. Doubtless one of the martyr ed Christians with his halo, we thought--but it turned out to be a German archeologist, cloth-ed in a long mackintosh, studying the mural inscriptions with the aid of an acet ylene bicyvcle lamp. But one does not have to be an archeologist to be interested in some of these curions old epitaphs, which do not always "speak well of the dead.'' and which are infinitely ra-ore frank than those we are accustomed to0 see on modern tombstones. 'ip i - iin i-informed u, that the deceased -died poor because dar ing his lifetime he had been very dissolute." Another man, who wrote his own epitaph, says, "I lived honestly, and am now receiving my reward," and a modest woman has engraved upon her tomb, "If a perfect woman ever ex isted, I am that one.'" She adds that her husband did not love her, but that her children thought that she was very nice. So, after all, life was the same two thousand years ago as to-day. A pagan, for there are many pagan tombs in 'the catacombs, informs us that neither Cerberus nor Charon -ex ist except in the poet's dreams, and that the dead are merely bones and ashes. Probably he had %een reading Edward Fitzgerald's translation of the Rubaiyat. Another philosopher says, "I lived as I liked, and now I don't care.'' A still more philosophic gentleman, who expired on the 21st of March, A. D. 37, declares, "Once I was not; now I am not, I know nothing about it, and it doesn't concern me." He did not put his words in quotation marks, but I strongly suspect him of having cribbed them from the Greek. Another poor fellow, who crossed the river about the same epoch, de elares, "I have been pious and holy, I lived as long as I could, but was glad to die. I have always been faith ful to my friends, but they have not been true to me. I had a small fortune but a large mind." What throbbing life, what intense ly human inferest there is in these old stones that look so cold and dead. It seems incredible that the words were written of people. who passed into the great unknown twenty centuries ago, for we, to-day, are living over again their joys and sorrows, line for line, identical. The catacombs are distributed in considerable numbers-about sixty in all-in every direction outside the walls of the city. It is very doubtful that any exist within the precincts of modern Rome, a circumstance easily accounted for by the strict observ ance of the Enactment of the Twelve Tables; which forbade intramural in terment. and by the secrecy which the early Christians were compelled to observe, in resorting when alive, and conveying the remains of their dead brethren to these places of re tirement and repose. They consist of an immense net work of subterranean passages or galleries, generally inter seting each other at right angles, though- sometimes tortuous. 'These galleries vary in width and height;~ in general they are ~eight feet high by three to five feet wide; the roof is 'either horizontal or slightly vaulted and seldom requires any other sup port than its sides, in the turf of which are excavated the graves, forming tiers one above the other. The average number of graves in each tier is about five, each eight feet in length. When undisturbed, they are found closed with marble slabs or tiles, on which Christian emblems are often found cut or painted. Very exaggerated notions have been entertained as to the horizontal extent of the catacombs, even fo sup posing them to reaeh as far as~Tivoli on one side and to Osta on the other. From the most accurate surveys made in recent years it is now certain that most of them form insulated systems of excavations, seldom com municating with each other, and con sequently of inconsiderable lateral extent, though enormous in their sum total. An attempt has recently been ma'. to calculate the number of bodies deposited in these early.:eeme teries, figuring from the numb~er of graves whieh exist within a given area in those already explored. Padre Marchi, who paid more attention to Christian archeology than any mod ern author, supposed that 'each cem etery contains one hundred thousand graves, and it would follow that up to the end of the &th century, after which the Christians enjoyed unre stricted liberty of worship and of in terment for their dead, the number deposited in the catacombs would amount to six millions. The Cannon Roared. - While campaigning in his home state. Speaker Cannon was once in veigled into visiting the public schools of a town where he was billed to speak. In one of the lower grades an am bitions teacher called upon a youthful Demosthenes to entertain the dis tinguished visitor with an exhibition of amateur oratory. The selection at tempted was Byron's "Battle of Waterloo,'' and just as the boy reached the end of the first paragraph Speaker Cannon sutdd'enly gave vent to :a violent sneeze. "'But hush! 'hark! declaimed the vonnster. ''a deep sound strikes like a rising knell! Did ye hear it?'' The visitors smiled. and a moment la ter the second sneeze--which the speaker was vainly trying to hold bak1-_-ame with increased violence. "But hark'' bawmled the bu:. -t.a heavy sound breaks in onee more, ani nearer, clearer, deadlier than before I Arm! arm! it is the cannon's openinc Ir r!" This was too much, and the laugl that -broke from the party swelle< louder still, when Speaker Cannox chuckled. "Put up your weapons children; I won't shoot any more.' Judge. Signs of Spring. A young teacher from th-e countr; secured a place in one of the publi( schools in the ghetto district on th( East Side in New York. One day f-eeling the "spring fever" herself she spoke to her class about it. Di< they know that spring 'had -comel They stared, dull and unresponsive Down there among the brick walls what did they know of spring "Don't your fathers or mothers eve: talk about spring?" she persisted They shook their heads. Then on small boy h-eld up a grimy hand "Teacher, I know w'en spring'c come," he piped. "Listen, children,' the teacher said. "Iky Schlinsky it going to tell us how he knows whet spring is here." "I know it's sprint we'n de swingin' doors is put on d< beer saloons," said Iky proudly. Rochester Evening Times. TO DRAW JURY. Notice is hereby given that, we the undersigned, Jury Commissioner, for Newberry County, S. C.. will oi the .23rd. inst., at 9 o'clock a. M., ir the office of the Clerk of Court openly and publicly draw the namei of thirty-six men, who shall serve az Petit Jurors at the Court of Commor Pleas which will convene at Newber ry, S. C., May 10th, 1909. JNO. L. EPPS, EUG. S. WERTS, JNO. C. GOGGANS,. Jury Com. for Newberrv Co., S. C April 12th, 1909. 4-13-'09.-td. NOTICE OF ELECTION. The School Board of Newberr: Graded Schools will on May 6th hol< annual election for the following po sitions. One Superintendent of the School at salary of $1,500 a year. High School Department. One male Principal at salary o: $90.00 per month. Two teachers a salary of $60 per month.. Grammar School and Primary De partmenits. Nine teachers at salary of $50 pe month. Hoge School (Colored). One Principal at salary of $45 pe month. Four teachers at salary o. $30 per month. No application wi.ll be considere4 unless said applicant shall hold a firs grade certificate or diploma fron some institution recognized by th State Board of Education. J. M. DAVIS, Secretary. FREE TRIP to'tAh P'ACIF?IC COAS -APL YOU ONI e.nds who want te OR EOow - xplore this Won, dierlanld ? ? ? SUNSET Se MAAZINE O' has instituta ane'w deatet whosm special work~ it to put within thi reach of every one an opportunity te ee the FAR WEST. Write fo, Sample Copy. : :: :: For full particular address - Sunset Travel Clui 16 flood Bulkhng, San Franciseo, Cal NEWE'RRY UN~ION STATION. Arrival and Departure of Passenge: Trains---?fective 12.01 A. M. Sunday, June 7th. 1900. Scouthiern Ra:lw~.ay: No. 1.5 for O2rt-enribe . . .8.57a.'n \G. i" tf'r (Xolumbia . . .. 1.40 p.n e.. 1 tfor.(reenv'i lle . . -..?,.20 p.n No. 16 for C'olumbia .... .9.-i >-n C., N. & L. Rv: *No. 22'for Columbia .. .. 3.47 a. No. 52 for Greenville .. 12.5f6 p.n No. o:3 for Columbia .. . .3.2() p.fl *No. 21 for Laurens .. . .7.25 p.n *Does not run on Sunday which trains may be e.xpected to de part from this station, but their de parture is not guaranteed and th time sho;7n is sahjeet to~ change with Newb.rrg HotdwHre Com an -Cu, A I (D EBRR HARwR -UPAY YOU WANT THE PRETTIEST SUMMER SUIT YOU CAN GET And yet you do not want the cost to be too much. Well, just come and WE WILL SHOW YOU the softest,. silkiest and sheeriest mercerized stuff on the market.. Mr. Mercer certainly used the Wand of the Wizzard and put the LOVELIEST COSTUME within the reach of the most modest Pocket Book. COLORS, DID YOU SAY? DELICATE! EXQUISITE! Lilac, Pink, Blue, Gray, and of course White and Black. Crepe, plain and figured effects. Prices 15 to-50 cents. Come and see them. AN ANNOUNCEMENT. A number of gentlemen, residing in Newberry County, and desireus of proving the stoek of NewbrrIy CoEnty, have formed~ themse?7s mn a nopany, known as The Carolina StLock Breeders Association. The Asso ition are offering the s'ern?ees of their richly colored sta~dard-.bred horse ~$25.00, to insure a ecit. The pedigree of this horse is as follows: CERTIFICATE No. 65,I23. THE TROTTrING STANDARD. AMERICAN TROTTING REGISTER. OFFICIAL. CERTIFICATE. This is to certify that Prince Cecilian, 41558, has been duly registered standard under Rule 1, in Volume XVII, of The American Trotting Re iter, and the pedigree can there be traced in the following form: 1558: Prince Cecilian, (1) brh foaled 1903; by Cecilian Chief, 33698; dam Condula, by Princeps, 536; grandam Miss Fanny, by Hamlet, 160, etc. ( See Condula, Vol. V.) Bred by J. G. Cecil, Danville, Ky. (Cecilian, 1I,907 - Cecilian Chief, 33,698 Lady Norvetta, 2:I34i RINCE CECILIAN, 41,558Princeps, 536 Condula t.... Miss Fanny Given.under my hand and seal at Chicago, fli. this 29th day of March,. D.,i1906. -Frank E. Best, Registrar. This horse will be found at the feed and livery stable of Mr. B. T. Bishop, .o has full charge and management. This is such a rare opportunity to btain the services of a highly bred animal at such a reasona.ble pries ht it is deemed unnecessary to say more than to invite those wishing to rase colts to an inspection of this aia YOUR. BANKING! THE NEWDERRY SAVINGS BANK. apital $50,000 . Surplus $30,000 No Matter How Small i'o Matter How Large, The Newberry Savings Bank vill give it careful attention. This message ~ppesto the men and th'e women alike. AS. McINTOSH. .i-. E. NORWOOD, resient Cashier