Los Angeles daily herald., 1886-06-17

men,
Shall e'sr prevail against u.s. or disturb
Our cheerful faith that all which we behold
Is full OF blessings"
Lying concealed beneath the fathom-
less depths OF the ocean are things rare
and beautiful. there to remain hidden
till the driver penetrates the deep and
brings to light what. perhaps has lain
for ages meath the darkness OF the sea.
Bat there are mysteries-uncut leaves
in the volume of the sea other than the
weeds and shells and pearls Of its secret
caves. Little Paul Dombey is not the
only one who asks the meaning OF the
s.Miphty Voice." To Longfellow it re-
peats the strain of the Spanish ballad,
which once chanted by the sailors as
they kiss the glittering sands and re-
peated by the sailors as they lap the
rugged cliffs.
To him they say: "Woulds't thou learn
the secret OF the sea? Only those who
brave its dangers comprehend the mys-
teries." How many are the mysteries
mankind must solve in the self-sane
wav. Nor is it nature alone that fur
nishes these studies. The works of man
from the earliest date contain their un-
cat leaves, sealed by the lapse of ages.
Witness the stupendous rims that line
the banks of the stupendous Nile.
"Thebes, the hundred-gated' no longer
and gloomy temple cha nbers of Karnak
exists, but along the sphynx lined alleys,
and Luxor we may trace the filnty rec
ords oil the worlds earliest civilization.
Covered all over with the mysterious
hieroglyphics, these mighty monuments
stood for centuries, volume OF uncut
leaves, until humble soldier dig
ging in the trenchs at the mouth
Of the Nile unearthed the frag-
ments of a page. by whose aid the
characters were deoiphered, and the
stony pages opened to the knowledge of
man. Another uncut leaf is exposed to
the world through the discoveries made
in the mines of ancient Babylon.
WheL DIR. Schliemsn was making
his explorations, there were found in the
walls Of q ruinous heap, supposed to be
the Tower OF Babel, bricks bearing ia
scriptions in the old uniform writings.
BY collecting these bricks and noting the
inscriptions upon each, a page OF
authentic history was rescued from the
''iniqaity of oblivion"
Yet other similar pages that have long
been folded away in secret are gradu-
ally being brought to light and their
chronicles revealed to the reader OF to-
day. On the plains of WINDY Troy"
modern research is tearing apart the
leaves of a truer Iliad than that which
engaged the pen of "The blind old man
of the Rocky Isle"
Though much has been revealed there
are still many pages yet uncut. Pageby
page, leaf by leaf, hitherto unread
volumes are being unfolded, that all
may read of the life and thoughts of a
world long buried.
Years OF labor and skill have broken
the seal set upon the pages of Hercula-
neum and Pompeii by the great eruption
of Vesuvius, and have brought
to light many rare and won
derful things. The modes and customs
Of life OF more than one thousand
years ago are preserved intact.
Even from that wonderful structure
the Palace of the Montezumas has been
revealed a startling secret. When the
government of Mexico, becoming weary
of church domination, confiscated TIRES.
fourths Of the church property in her
domain, that grand old palace was di-
vided into sections by cutting two sec
tons at right angles through its center.
OF the old pile thus divided, oDe-fourth
was left to its former uses, one-fourth
Appropriated to the uses of the state,
while one of the remaining sections fell
into the hands of Protestant mission
in the Mexican capital. Upon the ex-
animation of his quarters, to see how
best they might be adapted to the uses
of the mission, DIR. Butler and his
artisans found tokens of mystery. The
walls were many feet in thickness, but
the stroke OF the hammer upon their
surfaces told of hollow spaces within.
The solid face of partition wall
was torn away, and there lay re-
vealed in three separate chambers,
five human skeletons. The Spanish In
QUESTION had thought its victims forever
hidden from human sight. The leaf had
long remained untouched, but at length
the knife was applied, and the sacred
pages were barred to the light of the
nineteenth century.
When we turn the vision inward upon
the soul, we read in that great book
things more marvellous than are found
ia any other.
From early childhood each individual
| IL engaged in the work of printing his
own life upon his mind. Events as they
occur are recorded, some to be almost OBJ
liberated, others to become indelible. 1t
is not incidents alone that compose this
vast volume; idle thoughts, musings
upon present and past pleasures, all the
workings Of busy brain 90 to make up
l.. 49, - he
of the story il read by our friends. They
enjoy the poetry and extend their gym
pathy when the "Song of Tears" tells of
sorrow. But there are pages that no
friend, not even the nearest and dearest,
may read. On them in burning letters
are recorded our own secret griefs
and Joys, the bitterness OF our
own souls, and the "peace that passeth
all understanding
| WTo any friend with whom we would
wish 10 share these records, they seem
to be written in an unknown tongue. A
young girl Of artistic tastes wal wont to
visit the Corcoran gallery in Washing
ton, and to sit for hours communing
with the works of art about her.
| Her chief delight was yelled statue.
la portrayal of the artists innermost life
and longing. This artist was man of
much sorrow, and in the statue he told
his grief to friend whom he thought
worthy to share his deepest woe. But
as soon as this revelation was made his
friend turned from him, for tho mystery
was gone. Now he was seen as any
other man and the tale of his sorrow was
wearisome, Then the artist half hid
the face Of the statue, so that in after
days ms the world passed by IL might
stop, and wonder, trying to pierce the
veil and reach the soul within.
ls II true then that the secret OF our
own hearts is = burden to our friends
J heavier than can be borney Is 1t better