Daily globe. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1878-1884, 1882-09-03
TIMELY TOPICS.

situated between Williams and Amhurst COL
leges, and was christened Mount Pocumtuck
some twenty-seven years ago by students
from these colleges, the late President Garfield
being among the number.
THE first blood of the revolution was shed
in Massachusetts, and the last in South Caro-
lima. The great drama was opened by the
shooting downfby British troops of numbers
OF the Continental militia on the public
square in Lexington and the last bloody battle
Was fought at Combahee, near Charleston,
August 81, 1772, so that the
Centennial anniversary OF the last
battle of the revolutionary war
has just passed. Col. John Laurens, brave
officer, fell in the engagement. His age was
twenty zine years, and he was greatly beloved
by Washington, who made him his aide.
HE following is the opening paragraph OF
DR.. Johnson's famous story of "Rasselas,
Prince of Abysinia." 1t used to be SAID of it
that it is the most perfect sentence in the
English language. However that may be, it
Is very beautiful and attractive, and withal,
underiaid with deep philosophy: aye who
listen with credulity to the whispers of fancy,
and pursue with eagerness the pLantoms of
hope; who expect that the deficiencies of to-
day will be supplied by the morrow, or that
the promises of youth will be fulfilled in age,
listen TO The story OF Rasselas, Prince
Of Abysinia." Il is not little
singular that the story OF Rosselas, as
famous as was its worldwide renown, was
left unfinished by lis distinguished author,
and was fin ished by another hand, as was the
last work Of Charles Dickens, 1.-THE Mystery
OF Edwin Drood.''
HE Pope has recently written letter TO
The Irish Bishops of much interest and signif
can't import. A dispatch from Rome of late
date has the following: "a letter from the
Pope to the Irish Bishops is published here.
His Holiness expresses his profound regret
that tranquility has not been restored in Ire
land, and that murders continue to be comitted
and says: The Irish people, by following
the advice of their pIelates, may hope for the
alienation OF The ills from which they suffer.
just cause must be upheld by just means.
Secret societies must be slammed. In the
words of st. Augustine, the first characteristic
srait of liberty is the non.commisson of
crimes. The priests ought to be active sup
porters Of public order during he present
tr oubles.' The letter concludes by expressing
the hope that the English government will do
justice to the equitable claims OF the Irish
people, remembering that the pacifcation of
| in the whole empire
NOT merely columns but pages of the news
papers, it is said, have been occupied with
descriptions of Richard Wagner's latest must
cal demonstration at Bayreuth, in Ba-
varia. This new opera, 'Parsifal,"
says critic, must be intolerably tedious. 1t
is the everlasting story of the good young
man, who, to save the Princess, must go
thr Gu Oh 10 erd Of trials. The critic does not
deny TO Wagner the possession of the great
genius for which he is celebrated, but simply
thinks that in ''Parsifal" Jupiter mods. The
critic adds: "May the patrons bake in the sun
Of Bayreuth, and let US 60 on and applaud in
our concerts whatever there may be fine and
hu man in this work of Richard Wagner. We
are satisfied with our high opinion of his
genius of other days. Leave the rest to the
patr ons who find bliss in ignorance, and who
would in good faith applaud Yankee Doodle
liz Wagner had it sung by the god
Wotan or the virtuous Parsifal.
Whenever there shall appear in Germany
another magician like Mozart, or a
dra matte composer like Weber the Bayreuth
theater will disappear, having had its day"
yrAPp cue NJ tho ri hris tia faith
ers, was born at Smyrna and suffered marty
dom a. d. 167, about the close of the reign
OF Nero. He was disciple OF st. John the
Evan gelist, and it is thought was the "angel
OF the church in Smyrna" OF whom that
Apostle wrote that passage in the Apocalypse
81 know thy works and tribulation and pow
erty (but thou ant rch) = Fear none
Of those things which thou shalt suffer
v Be thou faithful unto death and
| will give thee a crown Of lle." During the
persecu ton under Marcus Aurelius he was
seized and carried before the Roman pro-
consul al Smyrna. Being urged to curse
| Christ. he replied: "Six and eighty years have
] served him, and he has done me nothing but
good, and how could cnrse him, my Lord
and Savior? II you would know what
I am, tell Jou frankly, / am a Chris
| tian." at these words the po1 ulace cried out
that he should die at the stake, and FASTENED
| to bring fuel for the fire. He refused to be
fastened and met his fate with fortitude and
calmness. e contemporary narrator re-
lates that when the fire was kindled, the
flames disposed themselves around him in the
semblance Of an arch, leaving his body un
touched; upon which a spearman pierced
him through, and blood flowed from the
wound so profusely as to put out the fire;
and then a dove was seen to Ay from the
wound which some supposed to have been
his soul, clothed in visible form at the time
OF its departure. Polycarp wrote several
homilies and epistlee, all OF which
are now lost except short epistle
to the Philippians, chiefly valuable
as proving by its use of scriptural
phraseology, the autheticity Of most of the
books of the New Testament. We are led to
arepetition of this narrative by some beauti-
ful and touching poetic lines, entitled "Poly-
carp which will be found in another place
in this Issue OF to-Gay's GLOBE.
SoNE little sensation has been produced by
the announcement that O pnethumous novel