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Show ' ' I ' '' S' -- i L PhiSosophica! 0bserv?,tOMS Dy BYRON WILLIAMS History, ancient and modern, ohovs many chtiptora of pomp. Tho most neent xbm tho return of tho downcer svasprcsa and emperor of China to tho Vain Pomp Forbidden CIt, After tho allies had triumphed and and the tbo ,ndomn"y haa t1003 Bpeclflcd. This triumphal 1 eatd to have cut enough to havo paid Interest on th common People. indemnity for ono year. It was a matter of common Briticism that tho Chlneso rulers ahould spend cuch a sum when tho country wu In dlro financial straits. TrlumghM parades and gorgeous itineraries aro too often paid from tho pocltct3 of the common people. If tho hoi polio! are awed by tho splendor, tho worshipped i safe; If not, treason follows, and woo to the plutocrat who wears the gaudy coat. He was undoubtedly a plain old Vankeo who first said: "Enough Is a (rood as a feast!" Fancy how his chin whiskers would havo bristled could ho bare visited Cyrus, of Asia, when that ruler kept eight hundred stallions and lsteen thousand mares in tho royal stables, and when tho dally tributes paid htm amounted to one English bushel of silver. Tho annual revenue of Assyria was computed at 1,200,000 pounds sterling and tho pooplo paid. Tho many strikes of today might insinuate tho condition of the laboring man to bo hard, but consider what his labor paid for In tho olden tlmnsl Tho processions and ostentations in those days wcro majestic and luxurious beyond all modern precedent. Aureliun, of Homo, headed a procession which was bogun with twenty elephants, four royal tigers and two hundred of the most curious animals from ovory cllmato of the north, tho east and tho south. Slxtoon hundred gtadlntors followod. Jewels wcro everywhere, th"o beauteous flguro of Zcnobta being so weighted with precious gems that sho almost fainted under tho prossuro. Tho procession lasted from daylight until after dark. Whon Cleopatra left her dominions to visit Antony in Cillcla she sailed along tho river Cydnus In a most mngntflccnt galley. Tho stern was covered with gold, tho sails wcro of fiurplo and tho oats wcro silvor. Music sounded tho rhythmic beat of tho propollors as tho quocn, dressed as Venus, lay upon a canopy embroidered with gold. Ilcr nulds and attendants wcro Innumerable and inccn3o burned along tho shores as sho proceeded. Pomp, romp, pomp! for which tho peoplo paid, runs through tho history of the pastl Tho palaco of Moctadcr tit Bagdad contained 7,000 eunuchs and 700 porters. Insldo 38,000 pieces of tapestry hung, 12,500 of which were silk embroidered with gold. Tho carpets on tho floor were 22,000 In number. Golden birds sat in goltjon trees, diamonds gllttcrod and porfumo mado heavy thi nlr. Can nnyono guc33 who paid for this oxtravaganco7 Constantino had a thousand barbers, a thousand cup-bcarors, a thousanl cooks. Dnrltis had an nrmy tho splendor of which defies language. Angcluj while monarch of tho Eastern Empire, spent four millions sterling a day to maintain his household. In vlowlng such displays it Is a matter of genuine prldo to every tru American cltlzon that our education ha3 elevated U3 as a nation against such vulgar show. Thoro aro individuals who pattern after tho peacock, but thv scajorlty bcllove: "Worth makes tl. man,' Tho want of It, tho fellow. The rest is nil but leather Or prunollo!" Not so very long ago there was a movoment on in Washington to do awaj rlth the sword ns an obsolete adjunct to mllltnry dress and usage. Tho clarm The Sword at tl10 rnovct1c,nt wns mostly felt in debating-so ciety circles. Tho supremacy of tho pen over the, vs sword, and vko versa, has long been questioned In Tho Honored Pen. fiery words of oratory, and thus to ave tho tlmo-honored tlmo-honored subject thrust ruthlessly awny was moro than tho sword membora cotld well stand without gasping. If tiie blado was hereafter to bo bossed by! Hit pen thoro would ho loft but two historically recognized subjects for debate, vl: "Did tho fish tako tho hook or to hook take tho flsh7" and "Shall wo clvo women tho ballot?" Thus It Is not to bo wondered at that tho dobaters were a bit flustrated at ifio nows consigning the blade to tho eternal bow-wows and Innocuous desuetude desue-tude It was enough to ninke Demosthenes himself turn over In his cold, told gravo or tomb or mummied swathing or whatever elso tho old gentleman tea In, slumbering. Tho pen stdo was naturally pleased that modern warfaro was on the ergo of decreeing tho sword should bo kicked onto tho scrap pile for old Jut. Tho sword of tho Lady of Justice wns In Jeopardy and tho scabbard of the Lady of Mercy might bo "busted." Evoi. tho Chinaman's cleaver was to io hacked up and molted by tho Iconoclasts. Tho proud record of 'tho blado vna for tho nonco forgotten. Tho pen side refused to accept na good argument tho cutting ot tho Cordlan knot at Gordlum by Alexander. They scoffed nt Joan of Arc ant! her fonnccrated blado. They said: "Statesmen aver that tho Bword Is cumber lorae, uncouth and medieval. In modern warfaro it is of llttlo moro use than a n-oraan'o hat pin. Down with tho sword! Only weapons that harvest death at ihu sands of tho sea nro to bo compared nowadays with tho mighty pen that Iho'iRaniU nro scratching! Tho sword Is a 'hpnd-mc-down,' a simple and n-ltt al a defenseless weapon. John 3ull didn't put down tho Boors with the iwcrd, Santiago was not taken with tho aword, Dewey didn't do Manila with IJ.o sword nor did Hobson! Even tho ladles longer refuso to kiss tho swrrt 1-hrrt. their lovor3 may bo blecnod In war. On tho contrary, they occulato on tho sr-riuous lip and put It straight on tho "Uh-acr!" Tho expression, "Dkw tho sword and throw away tho scabbard." is now obsolete. To bo tip-to-datt. say: "When you aro ready, Grldloy, firo!" Thai's American. The Scythlac3 wor? Bhl'jpcd tho sword ai.d Ma' omot ruled by II, govercmento havo been won nnd' lnRt by it, Christians hnvo been put to death by its point, tyrants throned by lLi rower. Caesar had u dozen swords and Nero was n sword tK-ipot but that wao yesterday. To-day: a bao! th sword! Prlmo the rapid'-tlro guns nnd ttcrir tho way! Down with roots and s-i'ord debaters! Tho pen has a now enemy! Hlc jacct tho sword!" .'.Mil tho sorrowful sword members, crubnod by unequal odds, raid they guessed so! But they havo plucked ufl tvow courage slnco tho aword still dangles at our n.UItiry belt. Speaking of pomp reminds that tho faully cow 13 becomlug obsolct" xo.8Dt In tho rural districts, Tlmo wn3 when roldonta wero wont to havo a tinnvii- The Family Cow c"c'' bov'no In tint family. Her clovor breath was. no loss famed thar. her butter and as an nlarm clock tn V5, tho morning sho was reliability itself. Tho duello Modern Times. crtaturo was referred to by tho "women folks" a "bossy." Sho vr.3 milked by pa when ho carao homo tired at night and w.Wo ever and nno awoke tho ochoss of the neighborhood, shouting: "So! So! Bok. Durn ye, so!" tvory tlmo sho got her tall in tho milk pail or swatted him on tl.-p neck with tho burrs In tho o:id ot It. Tho boy of tho household was yanked out of bed ovory ranming about G:30 o'clock to drlvo tho beast to pasture. Ills parents told him tho task taught him dlllgenco. Usually ho was too sleepy to be dlligont except when tho cow wandered into a hardhy sweot-corn patch nun tho dogs chased her. Every tlmo company camo mi. would brag about "our cow" and Bhow tb-visltors tb-visltors how much milk sho gavo and how thick tho cream was. This was tho status of tho cow business In many llttlo cities a few yoar ago, but alas! a proud family sentiment has decreed that It Is no moro propnr to keep a cow than a pig, oven though the bovine may not bo kopt In tho parlor, a3 tho old song tolls us tho pig was. Tho rural mill man who was wont to sell bran and "shorts," mixed corn and oats, to coddlo bossy Into "giving down her milk" Is authority for tho statement that tho town cow Is fast disappearing with her wonted tether toward tho broad farms and tho butcher's slaughtor house. Tao cruel nnd yet ncHthcttc hand of civilization has slapped tho cow northwest of her backbono and chased hor ltithlessly out of tho brlck-pavod streets and U'0 lawn tennis courts into tho pastoral qulctudo of tho country. Suo has been mado to tcol that sho Is a plebeian rather than an aristocrat, and tho passing of tbo town cow Is complete. Thick, rich cream is no longer known to thu younger generation, whoso opinion of this luscious, yellowish product Is rnthor blue, to say tho least. Valo! the town cow! Would sho were a bird or i gazelle that wo might koop hor evor with us and still bo fashlonablot Whore Is tho town pig? Like the town cow, he Is no moro! Ho was won! to fa'ton behind thf barn nnd wallow in cushioned bods of mud, but alack) The Town Pig no I01""0" (loes ne herald tho approach of the nocij Is Likewise ll0ur' Ho lias boon roleGated to tho region beyond" tho town's environs. His squeal Is not heard In tbo Gono" municipal land and his grunts of satisfaction aro fr removed from tho busy marts of trado, Thero wns a tlmo whon many towa families fattened their own pork. Thoy took gratification in showing a etntU but vivacious swtno how quickly he could swell Into a hog and boIvo tho problem prob-lem of birth, life and an Inglorious and unpremeditated deathl It was, Id fact, but one short step with the pig from the sweet teat of tho mother to tha gritty brlno of the grocery store-barrel. Only the Groat Evor Watchful knows what becomes of the old pan-cakes, tho hard broad crusts and tho green apples Jonnny couldn't cat, those days, with no pigs in town to gulp thom down In slushy gasps of approval. The pig, with the cow, has posso'd tho rubicon of the city out into tho calmness of tho countrysldo. Thoro was a tlmo when most every country family raised a pit or two. Time's sands have run to pug dogs, however, and a pig Is no longer an fait! A pig which smells, and a porker would br. a hunolt of Jacque roses It he didn't umell, Is a nuisance T):p neighbors who hava dogs won't stOd nuisances and tLort you aro! |