Show CURRENT TOPICS IN EUROPE The little town of Brixham in Devonshire England has never had hada a very prominent place in English history In fact there are thousands of people who never saw Brixham and yet seem to be tolerably happy Yet it was at this town two hun hun- hundred hundred hundred dred and one years ago that William of Orange and his wife Mary landed when they came over from Holland to take possession of the throne of Great Britain Last week a statue was unveiled at Brix BrIx- BrIxham Brixham Brixham ham to commemorate the event and the little fishing village was thrown into prominence as it has not been since 1688 The scene was truly impressive Amid salvos of artillery and ban bands s of music and cheering of the crowds the canvass was drawn rawn aside revealing re i a beautiful statue of William anti and antiMary Mary cut from a block of Sicilian marble of a light grey color The statue itself is of heroic siz size and stands on a pedestal about ten feet in height It represents the Prince addressing the assembled multitude who greeted his arri arrival val At this distance of time it seems impossible to fully comprehend the importance of this event It was nothIng less than the final victory of Protestantism in England If this expedition had suffered Buffered the fate of that under the unhappy Mon Mon- Monmouth Monmouth mouth Mon mouth a few years before we can easily perceive the history of Eng Eng- England England land would have been v very different Much has been written concerning the destruction of the Spanish Ar Ar- Armada Armada Armada mada but comparatively little con con- concerning concerning concerning the landing of William III at Brixham Enthusiasm in African affairs has again been aroused from the recent letters received from Stanley So late as August both Emin Pa- Pa Pasha Pasha Pa Pasha sha and Stanley were in safety The rhe great problem of Central African colonization seems to be in a fair fairway fairway fairway way to be ue sol solved ved But on the other hand comes the sad news that Dr Peters the famous German traveler has been murdered It was Dr Pe- Pe Peters Peters Pe Peters who first formed treaties be- be between between be tween the German Government aid aBd the chiefs of the East ast African tribes and his death will be in Germany greatly lamented Africa is now the theatre of great changes and this is especially true in regard to Egypt The Prince of Wales in his bis recent visit there must lave have lave no no- noticed noticed noticed a vast diff difference rence since the time of h his is last visit fou fourteen years ago Cairo is fast assuming t the e ap- ap appearance appearance ap appearance of a European town i Even the ruins near Cairo Cairo- Cairo s those mementoes of ancient greatness are cared for and efforts are put forth to preserve them from further demolition by the barbarism 1 of the natives and soldiery ry This is especially true of that oldest and most beautiful of Egyptian obelisks that stands among the green fields fieldson fieldson on the banks of the Nile not far from Cairo It is the gravestone of ofa a i great ancient city which has van van- vanished vanished shed and left only this relic behind k That city was the Beth of r Scripture the famous On which is memorable to all Bible readers as the residence of the priest of Pati- Pati whose daughter Asenath Joseph oseph married T The he Greeks cane called It the city of the sun be- be because because be because cause there the worship of the sun had its chief centre and its most moat sacred shrine It was the seat of the most ancient university in the world to which youthful students students came came from all parts of the world to learn the wisdom which the priests of On alone could teach Thales bales Pythagoras and Plato all studied there and perhaps Moses too 1 It t was the birthplace birth place of of Egypt where were written on papyrus leaves the original chap chap- chapters chapters chapters of the oldest book in the world t generally known as the Book of the Dead giving a most striking account of the conflicts and tri tri- triumphs triumphs tri triumphs of life ife after death a whole copy or a chapter of which every Egyptian rich or po poor r w wished shed to toh have buried with him In in his coffin h and portions of which are found in- in inscribed Inscribed in inscribed scribed on ev every ry mummy case lase and andon andon on the walls of every tomb In front of one of the principal temples 7 of the sun in this magnificent city stood along with a companion long since destroyed the solitary obelisk r whIch the traveler now beholds It is said to have been constructed more than two thousand years be- be before before be before fore Christ and has outlasted the shock of armies and change of dy- dy dynasties dy dynasties and stands where it originally originally nally stood forty centuries ago What a lesson for humanity Egypt now under the domin domin- n domin-n dominion J ion of Britain then unknown and visited by British princes who strive to decipher on the pedestals of Egypt Egypt the names of her proudest kings Just now the Antiquarian Societies rte r of Europe especially those who dist dis- dis r t the Mosaic era have been I thrown into a flutter of excitement by the thA results of Prof Sayee's ex- ex explorations ex explorations ns The opening of the long y mysterious line Une of mounds on the eastern bank of the Nile commonly called Tel el may well r have startled them for these results throw into shade anything yet dis- dis discovered discovered dis discovered covered concerning Egyptian and literature Strange Strange as asit Z it may appear it is now reasonable to believe that we are now able to handle the very letters that were i 1 written by the princes and nd governors of Canaan Babylon Babylon and Egypt when as yet Joshua was unborn and to trace the course of events which led to the mis mis- mission mission sion ion of Moses and the exodus 7 of Israel out of Egypt About About two years ago Professor Sayee y while superintending the disinter disinter- ii L J 1 t J t- t tj ment of these ruins discovered a large number of clay tablets about the size of roof tiles but not more mor than half haf an inch thick These Thes i tablets are covered with characters character in the language and have been found to consist of letters decrees and dispatches from the th various kings of Babylon and v Canaan to the monarchs of Egypt Some of these it has been clearly shown were written previous to 1530 that is to say at or before the theA time when Moses lived Jived Thus A x we see that the kings of Babylon and Assyria carried on a correspond correspond- correspondence ence in their own language with I the kings of Egypt The Babylon Babylon- ish language it thus appears was s the common medium of diplomacy i and educated society even as t h Latin was in the middle ages or as French is at the present time h 11 Hitherto the received notion has hasi IX i boon been that the realm of knowledge was very narrow and circumscribed 3 in the days of Moses But suddenly the veil has been drawn aside We WeI r I find the ancient world much r- r lIke our own The rhe governments tt and educated were informed x of much that was passing on in the countries around them Well ell may bid us consider what such eilee an important bearing t- t elies s as 88 these must have upon the r criticism ot of the Old Testament The new Life of the thA Emperor j Frederick is the most popular book that has lately been issued from the J German press The author Herr Fritag has made a valuable contri contri- contribution contribution f to German history One of the most pleasing chapters of the work is that that which describes the domestic life of the late Emperor and the influence of his wife the Princess Royal of Eng Eng- England England England land The following extract may mayy mayr r y not be out of place During their young wedded life she had devoted her ler energy sometimes her ner patience to instill into the soul of her hus hus- husband husband husband band the interests she had at heart h T and it was his beautiful belief that she had taught him to feel and to recognize truth and to enjoy the beauties of life Just lust now as Barnum the great r American showman is getting ready to sweep all the spare cash of the Londoners into his pock pocket t the greatest exposition the world has ever seen is being quietly closed at Paris More than twenty million tickets have been sold besides the hundreds of thousands who by means of friends or favors saw the exhibition without a ticket This fact alone goes far to prove that Paris is still the worlds world's world centre of attraction Of all the wonders that have been stored on the Champs de deMars deMars Mars the marvelous tower is des des- destined destined destined tined to be the sole survivor To Tox r x add to its attractions A large hotel tt f will be established on the first plat plat- platform platform form No diminution of Interest In i inthis n this sky-piercing sky structure is apparently apparently apparently shown the stream of visitor at all aU hours of th the day forming a along long procession In one of the jc rooms at the top o of the tower is now to be seen a phonograph the gift of i o-i- o Mr Edison which already speaks J three forty languages ilia f J 1 W if x s J One of the most striking illustrations illustrations of the manner in which in- in intelligent heathens look upon the th preposterous rous claims of so called Christianity has just been shown by Mr John T Ise an influential Japanese who a few days ago ag landed in En England land Mr Ise lse is a ayoung ayoung young man of thirty and the th son of Yokel the enlightened Japanese statesman who led the movement in favor of admitting foreigners and breaking down th the theold old j jealous alous exclusiveness ven and the bound theiron-bound iron bound feudalism that fettered an all progress Y became a be- be believer be believer liever Hever in the Bible through r reading ading a copy in the Chinese language He inaugurated the movement for sending young men to Am America rica for education in western ideas In 1869 one year after the revolution which put an end to the old oid order of things f fell by the hand of an assassin who hated his Jib liberal ral views in politics and religion His Hisson Hisson Hisson son Ise be after finishing a course of study in the foremost university of Japan lapan has tra traveled vel d extensively in Europe aud and America To a corres corres- correspondent correspondent correspondent of The Christian World who was sent to interview him Mr Ise said What we need in Japan is not this sect or that we want our church polity an and system of theology to develop in Japan We wish the missionaries to make distinction between the facts ts of Christianity and their theories about it so 80 that our people shall not be con confused tu We want the religion of Christ and the church polity that teaches the authority of not God God not of man We have had Confucianism and Buddhism Buddhism ism and whatever of truth there is in these systems must be allowed to remain Truth is truth and will willever willever ever remain so 80 A truth taught by Jesus will never contradict a truth taught by Confucius but will har har- harmonize harmonize harmonize monize with it Durin During the last I five years a great change has come over the educated min mind of Japan Formerly Christianity was looked upon with indifference as some some- something something thing beneath notice but lately though the educated educate men are un- un unable unable un unable able to accept the creeds and confessions of th the churches yet they see there is a power in real Christianity that is capable of making men better We want to establish libraries but it is no use sen sending ing us any but the best books Many of the books sent out by the missionary societies are worse than useless They contain ideas concerning Christ which prejudice all thinking people against Chris Chris- Christianity Christianity Christianity Along side of this terrible arraignment of so called Christian Christian- Christianity Christianity Christian I ity by a former heathen comes the equally damaging acknowledgment acknowledgment acknowledgment ment of Dr Farrar the eloquent Archdeacon of Westminster who says In the domains of science and Biblical criticism numberless priests and even whole generations of priests and religious t teachers have maintained and enforced views which are entirely false Scarcely Sc-arcely a single truth of capital importance in its science has ever been having to struggle struggle struggle gle for life against the fury of theol theol- theological theological theological do dogmatists In III every instance the priests have been ignominiously defeated The world moved as said it did i in n spite of the Inquisition Thousands of pulpits fulminated anathemas against the early g geologists yet before thirty years had elapsed the rejection n ot of the truths that geology taught would have been re regarded an It the mark of an idiot idiot- idiot Are not the tes- tes testimonies testimonies tes testimonies of these men one a leading thinker of Great Britain the other the leader of liberal thought in Japan worthy of consideration Or Ori j i it possible that the so caned so Christian churches are so far sunk ri in the ruts and grooves of sectarian sectarian- sectarianism sectarianism sectarianism ism that they will win continue in their former course Will the sects seek to reform their doctrines or must t SO-t Walled so-Walled aUed heathens do it for them The crusade against the ACrI- ACrI African African can slave trade which Cardinal La Lavigerie has been so eloquently preaching throughout Europe and andin andin andin in connection with which he visited London last year has created an interest in his personality that ran can hardly fail faU to secure a hearty wel wel- welcome welcome welcome come to his biography which has just been published Lavigerie was born at Bayonne France October 1822 and is therefore a little littlemore littlemore more than sixty-four sixty years of e a-e a eFrom From early youth he has been a careful student but he has gained still greater distinction for his kind kind- kindness kindness kindness ness and humanity Many an or- or orphanage or orphanage can tell the story of his goodness but it is the suppression ot of the slave trade that has most mostly oc- oc occupied oc occupied his thoughts and caused the fame of his name to be sent forth to the four corners of the world Having been requested by the French Marshal McMahon to take charge of the missions in AI was formerly appointed the Arch Arch- Archbishop Archbishop Archbishop bishop of Algeria in 1867 While busy looking after the missions un- un under under un under der his care he was led to observe the terrible traffic frame in human beings Y which existed not merely In Al- Al Al 1 geria but likewise throughout the length and breadth of ot the Dark Continent During two twenty twenty years Cardinal Lavigerie has devot devot- devoted devoted devoted ed hi his hie energies to his great work life life Sometimes he was to be found at the head of a company of missionaries trying to penetrate the dark jungles j u of Central A Africa at other times he was pleading the cause of the black blackman blackman blackman man before the courts ot of Europe In July 1888 Cardi Cardi- Cardinal Cardinal Cardinal nal Lavigerie came to London to arouse the attention of ot the Brit Brit- British British British ish people in his humanitarian pro pro- projects projects On On one occasion Lord Gran- Gran Granville Granville ville Gran-ville ville acted as chairman n and Mr Edmund Sturge the well known well Quaker spoke in behalf of the It rather Cardinals Cardinal's scheme was droll to see a Cardinal o of Rome and a Quaker occupying the same platform How nobly how elo- elo |