USA > Indiana > Wayne County > Poems and sketches: consisting of poems and local history; biography; notes of travel; a long list of Wayne County's pioneer dead, also many names of those who lost their lives in defense of their country during the late rebellion > Part 15
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" Ennui has made more gamblers than avarice, more drunkards than thirst, and as many suicides as despair."
There is a Persian proverb which says: " When men, passing by a newly made grave, shall say, ' Would God I were there,' the end of the world is nigh."
It is an intolerable thought, that, in this world of wondrous beauty and infinite mystery, the human spirit can ever suffer from mental weariness produced
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by satiety, and from feelings of tedium and disgust. But such is the case, and ennui is the baneful shadow that dogs the heels of an advancing civilization.
It is the fruit of disease or of dissipation. When life rushes in full tides through the veins, and tingles in the heart, it transforms a desert to a garden without effort, as do gushing streams of water. Beware, those of the impaired digestion, the hacking cough, the feeble pulse ! But dissipation is more fatal than disease. The overfed stomach spurns imperial delicacies. The glutted imagination revolts at rainbows. " Enougli is as good as a feast," and "too much " is the death of desire.
Didst thou say : "My food has lost its flavor, and the great world its beauty ?" Thou fool, thou hast ruined thy palate and perverted thy vision ! Rye bread and goat's milk is still "ambrosia " to the hungry swain, and lovers and poets are still intoxicated by the potent spells of nature.
It is no wonder that ennui spreads like a pestilence, when little children are stuffed and surfeited with all the luxuries that money can buy, so that, while they are still in their teens, they have tasted every pleasure and jaded every sense. We make our children drunk with luxuries. We stupify their souls with beauty, as wicked mothers do their senses with beer.
What further charm do you expect existence to have for a man who, before he has reached his majority, las quaffed the cup of life to its dregs? If you find no
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pleasure in life, do not blame the world. It is still beautiful, and still fills normal souls with rapture. However soft and sweet and caressing a summer breeze may be, it cannot evoke music from an æolian harp whose strings are broken.
The same universe which made the essays of Hazlitt murmur with pain, and those of Amiel with sadness, evoked undying strains of hope from those of Emerson.
There have been men to whom the morning sun, the evening stars, the songs of birds, the bloom of flowers, the laughter of children, were as full of mys- terious charm and resistless benediction, when their hairs were white with the snows of life's last winter, as when they whipped the mountain stream for trout, or strummed the light guitar beneath a moonlit window.
CHARLES F. Goss.
THE CHILDREN OF THE DESERT.
A SYRIAN'S DESCRIPTION OF THE MANNERS AND CUSTOMS OF A ROMANTIC RACE.
[ Courier-Journal Interview, October, 1885.]
In conversation with a party of Syrians, at the Exposition, one of them gave to a reporter an account of the Bedouins-that mysterious people who have inhabited the desert of the Orient and lived in a
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nomadic state for centuries. Their origin is veiled in obscurity, and is older than any civilization. They are as much a distinct and peculiar race as the Jews, and have manners and customs, governmental and domestic, that characterized them before the time of the Genghis Kahn, or Tamerlane. The Syrian, who spoke of them, said :
"They number about half a million of different tribes. They never dwell under a stationary roof, but live in movable tents, the fabric of camel hair or goat hair, as the tribe is opulent or indigent. They roam the desert, remaining in a place only as long as the pasturage continues sufficient for their flocks and herds. Each tribe is governed by a sheikh, who has autocratic power over life, liberty and property. Some of the tribes are powerful, and number as many as 15,000 tents, and none less than 200 tents. They are governed by no written law, but are subject, alone, to the will and conscience of the sheikhs, who pay but slight regard to El-Koran. Their wealth is estimated according to the number of their cattle, and their power according to the number of their horses. Theirs are the finest horses on the globe, and they the best riders. Their care and attention for their horses equal the affection of a tender Christian father for his offspring.
" The children of the desert are remarkably quick and intelligent. Their sense of sight is wonderfully
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acute, and equal to a field-glass of considerable power. They excel the American Indian in the pursuit of stolen or strayed cattle, horses or camels, and can trace them for hundreds of miles across the desert, even though immense caravans have traveled the same paths.
" They are proverbial for their hospitality. I lived with them for four years, and they were necessary to me in protecting my silk farms, some hundreds of miles in the interior from Damascus. They would protect and guard a guest from ların at the expense of their lives and fortunes. Their tents are a sanctuary for any man, no matter what his crime, who invokes their protection. If the host be sheikh or shepherd, it is all the same-the whole tribe would spill the last drop of blood in defense of the guest, though he were the lowest outcast and most miserable beggar that claimed asylum. Breach of hospitality is the greatest of crimes, and they look upon it with emotions of horror. Whoever eats of their salt or their bread, or drinks of their pucketo, or ties a handkerchief to the . cord of their tent, is their brother forever. If one's enemy re-captures him after being their guest, they will fight for him to death, or pay their last maravedi for a ransom, though it beggar the clan.
"To enemies, on the other hand, they give 110 quarter, and in battle they are as savage as they are brave, and commit deeds of atrocity in the hour of
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victory that makes humanity shudder. They celebrate their victory by feats of horsemanship, on the part of the males, and dances and songs by the females, con- cluding with a sword dance, in which both sexes participate and in which all are exceedingly expert.
" A Bedouin is never separated from his horse. He claims that his horse is part of his life, and the purer strains have never been sold from the tribes. All the gold of Ophir, all the jewels of Golconda, could not purchase one of the fine strains of noble horses which they possess, and whose purity has been undefiled with colder blood for centuries. Their horses are not large, but exquisitely proportioned for speed and endurance. To strike, or misuse, or speak harshly to a horse, is sacrilege in their eyes. The horse never permits a stranger to touch him, and repays his master's kindness with more than filial love or human gratitude. It is a common feat for one of these horses to run one hundred miles, with a speed equal to the finest Kentucky thoroughbred when making his best time on your race-course.
" The Bedouins subsist on milk, fruits, dates and the flesh of their herds and flocks. I have drank coffee in Constantinople and at Paris, and have imbibed the wine of Cypress and of Portugal, but the coffee as made by these children of the desert is the most delicious beverage that ever greeted my palate, and it is worth a journey to Syria to drink a single cup."
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CHRONOLOGY OF PLANTS.
-
[ St. Louis Globe-Democrat.]
Indian corn is American. First noticed in 1493.
The rye-plant is noted in Chinese history B. C. 500. Arrowroot is Central American. Mentioned in I537.
Tobacco is American. Described by Spaniards in I495.
The magnolia is a North American. First described in 1688.
Buckwheat is of Siberian origin. First mentioned in 1436.
The pumpkin is Mexican and African. Described in 1527.
Kidney or Lima beans are native in Peru. Described in 1512.
Spinach is from New Zealand. Brought to Europe in 1687.
The pear is mentioned by Homer in the Iliad B. C. 962.
Beans and peas were mentioned in Chinese history B. C. 2700.
Barley is an Asiatic. Mentioned in the Bible B. C. 1900.
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The onion is from India. Mentioned in the Bible B. C. 1571.
The olive is an Asiatic. Mentioned in the Bible B. C. 1900.
Flax is mentioned on the Egyptian monuments at least B. C. 2000.
The potato is North American. Taken to England by Raleigh, 1585.
The apricot is Syrian. It was known to the Romans A. D. 30.
The beet is mentioned by Romans, as a table dainty, A. D. 126.
Oranges grow wild in China. Described in Chinese history A. D. 200.
The peach - Persian apple -was mentioned by Romans B. C. 237.
Cotton grows wild in India. Mentioned by Theo- phrastus B. C. 350.
Apples were known to the Greeks B. C. 900 ; to Romans, B. C. 500.
The pineapple is an American plant. First noted by Spaniards, 1498.
Rice is indigenous to China. Well known in that country B. C. 2800.
About 1, 800 varieties of roses have been propagated during this century.
The sugar-cane is native to India. Sugar used as medicine A. D. 600.
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The potato was taken to Spain and Italy by the Spaniards, about 1525.
The banana is found wild in Asia and America. First described in 1516.
The tomato is American. First called "love- apple " and noted 1549.
Pliny, A. D. 60, mentions seventy varieties of plums as known in Italy.
The walnut grew in Armenia from the earliest times. Known B. C. 400.
The grape is found in all parts of the world. Men- tioned in the Bible B. C. 3500.
The first coffee plants in America planted in Surinam, by the Dutch, in 1718.
Wheat is an Asiatic. Grown by the Chinese B. C. 2700. Called the "gift of God."
The hop vine grows wild all over Europe. German beer noted by Tacitus, A. D. 100.
The fig is universal in all tropical climes. Leaves mentioned in the Bible B. C. 4000.
Mushrooms grow wild in all parts of the earth, and are as plentiful in Siberia as in the tropics.
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SHELLS, FOSSILS AND FLOWERS.
O, give me shells, bright, beautiful shells, From the ocean's depths below ;
And fossil forms, from the seas of eld, Where the matchless corals grow.
For I love them much, and their age is such As belongs to the strange and old ;
They've a nameless charm that delights me more Than the radiance wrought of gold.
So love I flowers, fair, beautiful fiowers, On the brow of the bride to twine ;
They please me well, their entrancing spell Enchants with a sense divine.
I love all these - they were formed to please, And prove that a law, supreme,
Has made not only the shell and flower, But the earth and the sun's bright beam.
We thank thee, Father, Almighty of all, For the glorious gifts we see ;
And trust, in time, when we pass from hence, We may always dwell with Thee.
JANUARY 29, 1897.
POEMS AND SKETCHES.
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TRAVEL.
NOTES BY THE WAY.
On the morning of May 25th, 1896, amidst a pouring rain, the writer left home with the purpose of making a tour of some of the more interesting portions of the East and its principal cities. The program included Niagara Falls and Boston, which he did not, finally, reach, as the time set apart for his stay would have been too greatly exceeded for the interest of busi- ness, awaiting his return. For his companion he had Miss Belle May, an interesting and intelligent young lady of eleven-who, though so young, bore her absence from home and friends, during our thirty days' stay, remarkably well, and was greatly interested in whatever we saw that was novel or new, and was readily reconciled to whatever change of circumstance or place might bring about.
Our first stop was at Pittsburg and Allegheny City, where we remained some three or four days, making our home at the Saint Charles Hotel, where we found pleasant quarters, good fare and agreeable people. During our stay here we industriously sought out all the objects of interest, and traversed the two cities from
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center to circumference, crossing the rivers, ascending the hills, and visiting parks and public buildings. Both cities are well worthy the tourist's attention. Pittsburg is a city of some 200,000 souls, and is one of the greatest manufacturing centers in the world. Situated at the confluence of the Allegheny and Monongahela rivers, and surrounded, as it is, by lofty hills, it is exceedingly picturesque ; while at least three inclined planes are constantly employed in con- veying passengers and freight to their elevated sum- mits. To witness the ascent or descent of the cars upon these cable roads-constructed at an angle of some forty-five degrees - is really awe-inspiring. Two of these lines are above six hundred feet in length, and one ascends more than thirteen hundred feet skyward. Even these hill-tops are now densely popu- lated, and well built. The view afforded from above is very fine, indeed.
A citizen whom I met at one of the parks in Allegheny City told me he had known Carnegie for many years, and that he commenced life as an assistant to his father, who was a carpet weaver, in very humble circumstances, and that his home was the merest apology for a cabin. Here, then, is another evidence that poverty, alone, is no bar to the greatest success, provided talent and energy are combined in the indi- vidual. No pinnacle is so lofty but ambition and perseverance may reach it.
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Our second stop was made at Harrisburg, Pennsyl- vania, where we were nicely cared for at the Herschey House. We soon began to make the acquaintance of this old capital (laid out in 1787) of a grand old State, and found many points of interest to occupy the time of our brief stay. Among the lesser incidents, which struck me first, was the fact that such a thing as a "tan " shoe was an exceeding rarity, creating in my mind -erroneously, perhaps -the impression that Eastern people get up styles for Western markets, the like of which they never adopt at home. The people with whom we came in contact were remarkably kind
and obliging. Industry and thrift are manifest on every hand, but that " up-to-date " condition of things, so omnipresent in " smart" Western towns, is not to be seen. We saw fewer fine carriages, and other sim- ilar vehicles, in a population of sixty thousand souls, than Richmond, with its twenty and odd thousand inhabitants, can boast. The people appear to be less given to style and display than we of the West. In our wanderings about town, we saw many handsome residences and other evidences of wealth and comfort, but did not think their stores and business blocks, generally, were the equal of many in some of our sınaller Western towns. When a boy, from the age of twelve to fifteen, I had resided here, and in those halcyon days spent many a happy hour upon the bosom of the romantic Susquehanna, which was then spanned
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by a single wooden bridge, covered, and projected from the city's side to a near-by island, and continued from the farther side to the shore beyond, possibly three- quarters of a mile in its total length. On the hither side, near its entrance, stood a rude rock monument, nearly as nature formed it, bearing upon its face an equally rude inscription, informing the curious in such matters that the structure was begun in 1813 and completed in 1817, and that Theodore Burr was the builder, at a cost of $192, 138. Those dates and the inscriptions we had faithfully remembered during all these intervening years, and found them precisely as we had left them, both in fancy and in fact.
Strolling along the river's bank, one afternoon, we came upon a lone grave, surrounded by a very high and substantial iron fence. The gate being ajar, we entered, and read, upon a plain headstone of marble, the following inscription :
"'A Cruce Salus.'
"John Harris, of Yorkshire, England, the friend of Mr. Penn, and father of the founder of Harrisburg. Died December, 1748, in the communion of the Church of England."
In the midst of one of the now busiest quarters of the city stands a soldier's monument, one hundred and ten feet high, which is said to have cost eighteen thous- and dollars, with the following inscription upon a large stone tablet : "To the soldiers of Dauphin county,
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who gave their lives for the life of the Union, in the war for the suppression of the rebellion, 1861-1865. Erected by their fellow citizens, 1869."
Of the churches, none impressed me more than did "Grace M. E. Church," a very pretentious and mas- sive pile of stone, erected in 1871. The old "State House " still stands as I knew it when a boy, with very little change, except that an addition has been made to it, to increase its capacity.
While stopping at Harrisburg, we concluded to spend a day at Gettysburg, and on the morning of May 29th took passage on a train for that noted and ever memorable battle ground ; the distance from Harrisburg is about forty miles, so that the visit could be easily made in a day. The country intervening, no pen can describe, for beauty of landscape and perfection of cultivation - the fancied paradise of the faithful could scarely rival it. Gettysburg is a beautiful little city, beautifully located, having some good hotels, residences, and pub- lic buildings, claiming a population of some thirty-five hundred inhabitants. We were fortunate in making the acquaintance of Mr. Jno. E. Hughes, proprietor of the " City Hotel," for we found in him a thorough gentleman. He furnished us with a team of horses and a guide, who had been a soldier and was thoroughly posted in matters military, to drive us over the grounds, and point out and explain the many localities and objects of interest, which he did, it seemed to me, as only he
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could do it. The extent of the grounds occupied by troops was many times greater than I had supposed, as you may judge, when I state that it required the better part of half a day to drive us over and around them. Many evidences of the contest still remain, in the way of shot and shell, which have left their impress on many of the older houses and trees of the vicinity. The army of the Potomac, at Gettysburg, was composed . of 249 regiments of infantry, 39 regiments of cavalry, and 72 batteries of artillery ; in all, 360 organizations. The Confederate army was composed of 183 regiments of infantry, 30 of cavalry, and 67 batteries, a total of 280 organizations, containing a greater number of troops than the Union forces. The Union losses were 23,003. There is no official data of the Confederate losses at Gettysburg, but it is known to be far greater than the Union forces. New York and Pennsylvania lost most heavily, the former 6,705, and the latter 5,876 ; Indiana, 552. The monuments erected to noted persons, and marking important positions and events, number about 400, some of which were very expensive. The govern- ment intends to convert the grounds into a beautiful public park, and to that end has appropriated money to construct sixty miles of drive-way, at a cost of $5,000 per mile.
Arrived at Baltimore Saturday, May 30, at 6: 00 P.M., we found first-class accommodations at the "Eutaw House." On the following day, which was Sunday,
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pursuing the bent of our inclinations for sight-seeing, we wended our way, first, to "Druid Hill Park," and could scarcely have done better, even had we been wor- shipfully inclined, and gone to church ; for we found it a magnificent place, extensive and beautiful, crowned and adorned with native forest trees, such as oaks, elms, maples, ash, etc., which reminded me, forcibly, of Bryant's beautiful lines, "the woods were God's first temples." And here were walks, and drives, and lakes, and lawns, and statuary, and inviting seats, and shade and sunshine, and refreshing breeze, with every com- fort and accommodation the heart could ask or wish. And do you ask if there were also " cyclists" in the park? Aye, a thousand within sight, of both sexes, and all sizes and conditions. The merriest, happiest throng you ever saw. "The woods were God's first temples," and the parks and the groves are the paradise of mortals here below. Let every human being get out and go forth to the woods and the fields and the streams, and read and enjoy the glorious, open book of Nature - acquire its secrets, and be happy.
During our stay in Baltimore, we visited several other breathing places of this beautiful city, the best of which was " Patterson Park ; " it was also adorned with trees and walks, and lakes and fountains, and great vases and statuary, and an elevated "look-out," from the top of which an extended view of the country, round about, was to be had. The city has many objects of
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interest, and miles of magnificent residences, all con- structed of brick, with basements and steps of pure white marble, which are daily scrubbed and scoured until they seem as immaculate as a soul just shrived from sin.
From Baltimore we departed for a brief sojourn at the capital of the greatest republic on earth-Wash- ington City - and which now boasts a population of more than 200,000 souls. In point of beauty and completeness, it is the realization of a dream. Its streets, its parks, its drives, its monuments, its stat- uary, its museums, its galleries of art, its public buildings and libraries, its stately residences, and countless other objects of interest, must be seen to be appreciated ; no pen can adequately describe them, and mine dare not attempt the task. During our stay we ascended the towering Washington monument - to the height of five hundred feet ; visited the navy-yard, where we saw great guns, thirty feet in length, "rifled," and the outer surface turned off as we might turn a piece of wood. We also witnessed the transfer of some of these monster guns by what was termed a " traveling crane," extending across the building an hundred feet or more, resting upon wheels at either end, reminding one of a railway truck upon the track. To the body of this truck, or carriage, or "crane," was suspended the object to be transferred, by some powerful contrivance, and in a few moments it was
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raised aloft and on its journey to some distant part of the building, drifting along, over the heads of men and machinery, like a thing of life - dangerous in seeming, but evidently safe, to all below.
We next climbed the steps of the capitol, and strolled through its halls, and rooms, and chambers, and galleries, and corridors ; admired the rotunda, the paintings and statuary ; reverenced the master mind capable of conceiving and executing such a wonderful temple to Liberty, and beneath the shadow of its wings were awed - we wondered, and admired, and retired.
On Sunday, June 7th, we joined an excursion to " Bay Ridge," Maryland -on the shores of Chesa- peake Bay, some fifty miles northeast of Washington. The place proved to be a imost beautiful and attrac- tive summer resort. Bathing was indulged in by many, while various modes of entertainment were provided for the multitude preferring other means of recreation. The beach was especially attractive to the writer, as it is one of the very few that is both sandy and pebbly, many of the pebbles being beautifully rounded by the action of the waves, and either a pure white or semi-transparent :
So that -like a child, in its merriest glee- They all became pearls and jewels to me.
Rarely, indeed, has it been my good fortune to spend a few hours more happily than on that beautiful Sunday afternoon upon the beach at "Bay Ridge."
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We next visited "Mount Vernon," the home of Washington. It is situated on the west bank of the Potomac, sixteen miles below the capital. The trip, by steamer, is delightful. On the way down we passed the Government arsenal, the Government hospital for the insane, the city of Alexandria ; a light-house, on "Jones' Point ;" "Fort Foote," on the Maryland shore ; and Fort Washington, about twelve miles below the city - from this point the visitor gets the first view of Mount Vernon. The river is here nearly two miles wide, and the mansion, as seen across the wide stretch of waters, presents a very fine appearance. As the steamer nears the landing, or passes the tomb of Washington, the bell is tolled. The tomb of Wash- ington is a plain brick structure, with double iron gates ; over these, on a marble tablet, are inscribed the words :
" Within this enclosure rest the remains of George Washington."
Two antiquated stone coffins are seen within ; the one facing you is that of the immortal Washington, and that to the left contains the remains of Mrs. Washington, and is inscribed :
" Martha, consort of Washington. Died May 21st, 1801, aged seventy-one years."
The old tomb, where the remains of Washington rested from his death until 1831, is on the right of the
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path, some two hundred yards south of the mansion, and is the one to which Lafayette paid a visit, in 1824 and 1825. This old tomb is marked " Washington Family." A tablet, on the iron gate, reads :
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