The Pickens sentinel. [volume] (Pickens, S.C.) 1871-1903, 1881-07-14
Olympus.

olympus.
Did ever HELENE, shcuherd. priest
or King, dare to climb rp tie slopes of
Olympus, awaS above the lofty pastures
OF its deles and crcsts? Did even one
only venture, by placing his foot upon
the great peak, to lind himself suddenly
III tho presence of these terrible
gods? Ancient writer's tell us that phil
0sophers are not afraid of scaling Mount
Etno, although much higher than Olym-
puS; but they never mention ono single
mortal who has had the temcritv to
ascend the mountain Of the gods, not
oven in the days of science, in that age
when philosophers taught that Tcjls and
the other immortaln were mere concep-
tons Of the human mind
Later On, other religious, disseminated
among the various people living in the
surrounding plains, took possession of
the sacred mountain and Consecratcd it
to now divinities. There the Greek
Christians wOrshiped the Holy Trinity
instead of Zeus; they still look Upon its
three principal peaks as the three great
thrones OF Heaven. One of it's loGticst
points, which formerly, perhaps, bore a
temple OF Apollo, is now surmounted by
monastery of st. Elias, ono of its dales.
wherein the BnCchantcs were wont to
sing 'ESoo!' i'll honor of Dionysos or
Bacchus, IS Inhabited by the monks of
0t: Denys. Priests have succeeded to
priests, and the supcrstitious respect of
modern times to the worship of the
ancient; but perhaps tho highest sum
NIT Is yet untrOdden by human steps:
the soft light, resplendent above its
rocks and snow, has not bcamed upon
any man since the Hallenic gods took
their departure.
few years ago it would have been
difficult for European to attain the
summit OF the mountain, for the Hellenic
E/cphtCS, uncrring shots, occupied all
its 9orgcs; they had intrenchcd them
selves in it, as within al enormous cita-
del, and thence, recommending the con-
tllct OF the gods against the Titans, they
set out upon their expeditions against
the Turks of Mount Ossa. Proud of
their courage, they believed themselves
lnVlnclble rs the mountain upon which
they lived; they endowed Olympus it.
self with life. ''I am," said one of their
songs, 81 am Olympus, illustrious in all
ages, and renowned amid Nations: forty
two peaks bristle upon my brow; seventy
two fountains flow down my ravines.
and an eagle is perchcd upon my highest
summit, bearing in its claws the head of
q valiant hero!" This eagle, no doubt,
was that Of the ancient Zeus. Even
nowadays he feeds on man, by man
destroyed.-HistO'y Of q Mou2toin.
Trees and Health.
Everybody knows that trees take the
carbonic acid thrown out i'll the breath
Of men and animals, separated into com.
,tc
back the latter to be used over again,
and work up the former into wood and
fruits
It is also coming to be generally un-
derstood that forest trccs do important
service in promoting rainfalls, and in
helping to retain the surface water for
springs, streams and general use.
1t is also known that certain species
planted in malarial localities, help to
render the latter healthy by somehow
using up the deadly miasma.
1T would now appear that trees grow
ing near drains carry off the sewerage
water.
A gentleman, whose cess-drain was
constructed just like his neighbors' and
in the same kind of soil, had found it
unnecessary to clean it out, while tho
others had to be cleaned out frequently.
An examination showed that three
large trees, whose roots had penetrated
into the vicinity of his second, or waste
cess-pOol, were clearly channels through
which the waste all escaped.
Whether it was changed into plant
food, as is likely, or was exhaled through
the leaves, in either case it was disposed
of with equal safety.
The HerOines Of NihiIism.
They are mostly daughters of poor
army officers, or petty civil officers, or
even of shop-keepers, who feeling the
influence of modern times, are anxious to
rise above the level of their parents,
coarse, ignorant people in the main.
Either by their own talents or by the aid
of influential patrons, the girls gain
scholarships, and enter some high school
where their brains are crammed with n
heterogeneous mass Of knowledge. At
10 they leave, and in turn become teach
ers. Finding their parents uncompan-
1onable, they abandon home for some
wretched lodgings, and exc out n miser-
able existence by giving poorly paid les
sons. Food is scarce, the feminine pleas
ures OF dress are impossible, the restrain
ing power OF family affection is absent,
they grow hopeless, and discontented
when some day they form socialistic
acquaintances, rapidly adopt their ideas,
and, having found an object for their
life, with feminine rashness devote them
selves to the cause, even to tho very
death. Paris Figaro.
CANpANN1 is worth $15O, 1000. He
| got it oil for song-Bo8ton TTun8criyt.
And is still pursuing the even tenor of
his way.