Rock Island daily Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1886-1893, 1891-08-17

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from the Guinea coast
What picture it is The apprehen-
sion and yet the faith and hope of this
little band. Doomed for months to the
savage bosom OF the nauseating sea,
with no one IN America to hop gayly on
board and greet them and write column
interview with them on their opinion of
the country. No friends to welcome
them and fill them up. Acorns, Cal
vinism and wood ticks awaited them.
Coarse, untidy Indians, with crude no.
tons of future state and utterly ignor-
ant of a thriving and well paved hell.
owned the country.
The red brother slmmered at Nan
tasket and winjered at Asheville, n. G.
He took shrimps without salad. duck
without dressing, Ven son without iellv.
and the great spirit without birthstone.
He was then, however, a Cooper Indian.
| He spoke in blank verse and had a voice
like Edwin Forrest as Metamora. He
wrote stanzas from ''Hiawatha" in the
autograph albums of the Mohawk, and
! swapped smoking tobacco with the
| Choctaw. He was then. we are told, alb
solutely pure. He never had a wicked
thought. He wrote pieces for the Fourth
| Reader, and ate the briskes Of the Mud
| jakewis.
The sword Of Miles Standish is here.
! 1t has an inscription Oh il which was not
translated until twenty Years ago, when
! Professor Rosedale, profound scholar
| and native of Palestine. the popu-
! lar summer resort for clergymen, Wis
| ited Plymouth and translated it for the
| society. 1t Is Cutie arabic and a part
Of 1t Medieval Arabic, he said, and
agree with him. 1t means. as nearly as
we are able to translate it, with peace
| God ruled his slaves, and with the judg-
ment of his arm he troubled the mighty
| of the wicked" The professor thinks
that the inscription dates back about 300
| years before the Christian Era, though |
would say that the expression was used
| as early as the autumn previous to that.
! Plymouth has charming court house
| with a beautiful green lawn before it
and fountain which Is superior TO most
| Of our American fountains, as it is pro-
vided with water, feature which adds
! so much TO a fountain. l think What
| can look any more refreshing than a
| fountain that is constantly kept mois-
| tened by some artificial means. And
! what can look more depressing to the
thinking mind, provided the thinking
mind should look in that direction. than
a parchel and painting fountain with its
tongue cut and with autumn leaves and
a dead mouse in il.
| Plymouth is a lovely place to visit for
! a week or a summer, as you like. The
/ Pilgrim Fathers have been succeeded by
| alert, hospitable and successful people,
who are credit to the great common
! wealth Of Massachusetts,. The intoler-
ance Of the Puritan did not crop out at
| all during my visit in the state, except
| in Boston bank where l tried TO get a
| New York check cashed. II was drawn
| on the Shoe and Leather Bank, which is
| extremely solvent, and by man who is
worth over a million dollars. I was
| identified by we'll known depositor of
the Boston bank, who has dealt with it
| continually for ten years and who is
worth half a million.
| The cashier scrutinized the check,
| looked through it at the light to see if |
had raised it to the tenth power, smelled
| of it, tried it with acids and showed it
to an old gentleman who was trying 10
get stamp off an elderly envelope BY
breathing on il so as to useit again, then
he said that if the depositor who had in
troduced me would indorse the check
they would cash it. This made me i'm
patient and ! left the bank after making
some singing remark which was totally
unworthy of me.
l did better, however, with the next
bank to which | took my business, as
did also, am pleased to state, the Gus
toner who had so couTteously intro
duced me to his own bank and then been
SO hastily treated over my shoulders.
do not think it pays to suspect everybody.
Why is 1t that fresh Young teller or
cashier, who is just trying it for the first
time, seeks to awe and astonlsh you by
his discourtesy, while the old head OF an
old institution is first to oblige you?
landed in France one time with no
money and strong Skowhegan pdtois
to my French. | did not Know a soul in
France and wanted to take the first
train for Paris. l stepped into bank at
Havre, where l presented my letter of
credit, identified myself by means of an
old envelope, got $500 and inside of four
minutes was on my way to the depot for
the Paris train. That is not all. 1t was
done as though it had been pleasure
and delight to the bank to be of service
TO me.
In Paris it was the same way. l was
not even suspected of any crime, so far
as l could judge, while dealing with the
Credit Lyonnaise. A fine reading and
writing room, swell stationery and easy
chairs were always at my disposal, and
my feelings We're not even hurt but once,
and that was not intentional.
1t was one morning when was feel
ing slightly depressed, and while sitting
in the parlor of the bank ne president
of the institution brought me late and
specially dismal number of Punch to
! ,aaJ