Memphis daily appeal. [volume] (Memphis, Tenn.) 1847-1886, 1874-12-12

TO the appliances Of the fire department.
| What / have written above is not in
tended to deTogate at all from the lust
/ claims of other companies ] believe
/ they are all efficient; bat tie arrival Of
/ this engine is an event, and Il seemed
/ to me proper that the No. 3's should
! have honorable mention. ! write with
out any instigation or solicitation from
any quarter. l merely call attention 20
I what / have been witnessing acrOss the
| street all summer, and hope il VII silm-
ulate others to go and do likewise.
NEIGHBoG.
Pyihias, Pythsns, EIe.
EDITORS APPEALING no was Damon,
aud who was Pythiss? l never heard
OF the two "a coiempOrane0us or atiec.
tionately inclined the one to the other.
COLrHURSU5.
For the benefit Of the above inquirer
we give below short mention OF indiYid
uals VINO were termed Pythias, Pytheus,
etc. but for information respecting the
knights of Pythias we are unable to
speak; suffice 1t to say that this is q re-
liable order, and numbers in its ranks
many of the best men of the country.
Pyth-e-as was great traveller and geo.
graphical writer; another OF this name
was a son OF Lampon, victor in the
pancratium at the Nemean games; a
third an orator, who opposed the elO-
Quent DemOsthenes; the fourth an Alb.
derite mentioned by Herodotus. Then
there was Pyth-i-us a Syracusan, who |
defrauded Csnius. Pythi-a was the
priestess of the Pythian Apollo at Del |
phi. Pythios, Lydian, and the son OF
Atys, was famed for his wealth; Pyth-fe-
US was a son of Apollo; P!ythidS and |
Dorias were fictitious characters, female |
attendants (Ancittse Thaidis) in Ter |
ence's comedy of E30iLchuS. Lucilius
and Menander each also had comic |
Pythias, who if now living, would make |
q -Hinnpfy DUHpty of no uneven mirth. |
Those Interested upon the subject can
find additional information by reference |
to note in Valpy's H0rdtits ATs Poet
lea, yene 237. So far as the writers are
concerned, or the fictiOns of mythology |
go, no record is made of any love being |
cherished for this species OF Pythias, nor |
were they condemned to death by DiO- /
nysius. Nevertheless, Damon had a |
friend whom he loved very much, and |
to whom he was devoted, Offering to die |
in his stead. The sincerity OF his friend !
shin was fully tested by DioDysius, and /
this st. Paul accepted with a dubious /
rhe name of this friend, however, was |
not Pythias, but Phinteas. In regard to /
the origin of the story between Phinteas |
and Damon, the following authenticated !
story will prove of interest to our read
ers: "Damon, a Pythagorean philOsO-
pber Of Syracuse, united by ties of the I
firmest friendship to Phinteas mot Pyth-
las, as the name is commonly givenl,
another Pythag0rean of the same
city, DiOnysius, the tyrant, having /.
condemned Phintess 10 death for con-
spring against him, the latter begged
that leave might he allowed him TO 90
for a short period to a neighbOring place /
in order to arrange some family Affairs,
and offered TO leave one of his friends in
the hands OF Dionysius as pledge for
his return by an appointed time, and
who would be willing, in case Phinteas
broke his word, to die in his stead. Di-
onysius, skeptical as to the existence OF
such friendship, and prompted by strong |
curiosity, sssented to the arrangement, |
and Damon took the place of PhInteas. |
The day appointed for the return Of the /
latter arrived, and public expectation
was highly excited as to the probable I
issue of this singular affair. The day 4
drew to a close; no Phinteas came, aud |
Damon was in the act Of being led 10 |
execution when ON a sudden The absent |
fIieBd, who bad been detained by un-
foreseen and unavoidable obstacles, pre-
sented himself to the eyes Of the admir-
ing crowd aud saved the life Of Damon.
Dionysius was 80 much struck by this
instance OF true attachment that he
pard0ned Phintess and entreated the
two 10 allow him TO share their friend
ship DiOd. Sic, fgsgm., lib. 10, vol. 4,
D. 50, segq. ed. Bip.-Val. Max, I, Z,
/, ext. ed Hare.-Phut., de annie, multi,
p. SO
Cost of County Court.
EDITORS APPEAL-Please publish the
following, copied from the Knoxville
Press aud Herald, marked copy Of
which WAS sent me by friend, formerly
REPUBLICAN.
From the Knoxville Press mud Heri5id.l
Much has been said and written con-
cerning the reduction of our public eX-
penditures. Certainly, the subject is one
which is important and needs discussion.
In The State a very urgent need de-
mands the utmost possible retrench-
ment of expenses. There ID perhaps no
reader mode OF reformation, or one
more easily to accomplish, than the
simple plan Of the reduction OF the
number OF members Of the county court
Under the present system in the old
times, when thele were but few dis
tricts in county, and fewer counties,
the expenses were not inOrdinate. AS
an illustration OF the present cost OF the
system in vogue, take the county of
Knox. There are twenty-One civil dis
tricts in this county, with two members
~ laa Of Z
and two additional from the city Of
Knoxville, making iOrty-iour members
Just nineteen more than the number
considered sufficient to transact the
business Of the State senate. Each of
these members of the county court re-
ceives two dollars per day while the
court is in session, making, on full at
tendance, an expense of eighty-eight
dollars per day. Suppose the simple
proposition that the number of members
is cut down one-half. Then we would
have TWENTY-FIVE members of the court
quite large number-and saving in
its expenses of forty-iouT dollars per day,
There is no special objection to there
being two justices of the peace ia each
civil district, but there exists no neces-
sity why every justice should be MEM
Der Of the county court. This may, at
first glance, seem but small matter.
But when it is remembered that there
are nearly one hundred counties in the
State, the aggregate saving will be seen
to amount TO quite large amount, and
the taxpayers will notice that, with
county taxes reduced, State burdens will
be propOrtionately lightened.
Cost Of Jaries.
EDITORS APPEAL-My article in ref
erence to the abolition of seven Of our
numerous offices, and the reduction of
the fees and perquisites of the others,
commensurate with the times, has
brought the editor of the Ledger to the
front; and as the aforesaid editor is a
member of the legislature, his article is
Of much significance. He admits that
he and bis ticket were elected on pom
ise Of ''TefOrm," reiterated by them on
the stump, and clearly indicates his in
tentioD to carry out TO the best of his
ability those promises. He says: "We
believe the time has come when the jury
system may be cut down, aud the cost
Of administering the laws through the
courts greatly decs seased'-in which ne
has hit the nail on the head. But it is
not the jury fee alone that runs up the
frightful bill Of costs, and causes the tax
payer to tremble when the trial OF a
criminal is mentioned, well knowing
that justice II an expensive safeguard,