that which at night the myriads of stars cover with their constellations, that on which according to the magnificent image of the poet:
"'God paints the dawn, like a fresco, on the dark wall of night.'"
(Text.)
(2517)
PRIVILEGE INVOLVES RESPONSIBILITY
When T. H. Benton was in the House he
was of the opinion that the third day of
March, and consequently the congressional
term, ended at midnight of that day, instead
of at noon on the fourth, as unbroken usage
had fixt it. So on the last morning he sat
with his hat on, talked loudly, loafed about
the floor, and finally refused to vote or
answer to his name when the roll was called.
At last the speaker, the Hon. James L. Orr,
of South Carolina, picked him up and put
an end to these legislative larks.
"No, sir; no, sir; NO, sir!" shouted the venerable Missourian; "I will not vote. I have no right to vote. This is no House, and I am not a member of it."
"Then, sir," said Speaker Orr like a flash, with his sweetest manner, "if the gentleman is not a member of this House, the sergeant-at-arms will please put him out."
And so this vast constitutional question settled itself.
(2518)
PRIVILEGES SLIGHTED
Mrs. Mary A. Wright, a veteran Sunday-school teacher of New Jersey, relates an odd story of human interest taken from personal observation.
I went to see a beautiful new farm-*house
near Fort Wayne, Iowa. A friend
who accompanied me explained that the
owner, a prosperous ranchman, had been
forty years building it. He had started life
in a small home of logs—but in his early
days had dreamed of a larger and better
home for himself and family. Every tree he
saw that struck his fancy he cut down and
hewed into lumber so that when he was
finally ready to erect his mansion he had all
the seasoned material at hand. The new
home was at last completed and beautifully
finished upon the interior in polished natural
woods. There were soft carpets for the
floors, and rich furnishings; a bath-room,
steam heat, and other modern conveniences.
That was several years before my visit, but I learned that, altho surrounded by all of this luxury, the farmer and his family lived in the basement. He had spent the best years of his life striving to build such a beautiful home, but, after getting it, he thought it too good to use and the family kept it to look at. The farmer and his family washed at the old pump in the yard while the costly tiled bath-room, with hot and cold water equipment, stood idle. They drank out of tin cups and ate off of cracked earthenware in their humble abode in the basement, while fine cut-glass and delicate china pieces reposed undisturbed in china-closets in the elegantly furnished dining-room up-stairs.
All the members of the family entered into the spirit of "keeping the house looking nice," and they kept it so nice that the wife and mother who had worn out her life in helping to secure the luxuries that she afterward thought too good to enjoy, begged to be allowed to die on a straw mattress in the cellar rather than muss the clean linen in the bed-chambers above.
How much that is like some people.
They are living in life's basement, carefully
cherishing the higher and nobler
things to look at and show their friends,
when they might experience life's fullest
joys and privileges for the choosing.
(2519)
Prize—See Discovery, Fortunate.
PROBATION
Judge Mulqueen, of General Sessions, New
York City, explained why he had sentenced
two prisoners to "go home and serve time
with their families." This "punishment" was
imposed when both men pleaded drunkenness
as their excuse for trivial offenses.
In the case of the first man, said the judge, the offense had been assault. The prisoner, an employee of the Street Cleaning Department, had a wife and five children to support, and had already spent more than a month in the Tombs, waiting for his trial.
"Now, to send such a man to jail," continued Judge Mulqueen, "would do decidedly more harm than good. He wasn't a criminal. I think he was penitent, and he promised to do as I said, to cut out drink and attend to business.
"Still, his offense was a misdemeanor in the eyes of the law, and I might have given him a year in the penitentiary and $500 fine, which usually means another year, since the men pay their fines by working for the State.
