The Maryville times. (Maryville, Tenn.) 1884-1944, 1892-11-02


than were ever counted, in homes that
were once as comfortable and happy
and bountiful as yours or mine, in
where God is worshiped as much
homes as vurtuous as yours or mine,
as in yours or mine. Il was to do a lit
tie something towards beating back
that Archangel of Wretchedness and
Horror that we went, and we have now
to report that, according to the esti-
mate of the Russian famine relief COM
mittee, we saved the lives of 125, 900 peo-
pie. AS at the hunger relief stations,
the bread was handed out-for it was
made into loaves and distributed-many
people would hal: before taking it and
religiously cross themselves and utter
prayer for the donors. Some of them
would come staggering back and say:
'Please tell us VIII sent this bread to
u.s." And when told it came from Amer
lea they would say: What part of
America? Please give us the names of
those who sent it." All, God only knows
the names of those who sent it, but He
certainly does know, and many prayer
is going up, warrant you, day by day
for those who sent flour by the ship Leo.
Perhaps some of us at our tables rattle
off a prayer that may mean moth
ing, although we call it Saying grace"
but l warrant when those people
who received the bread which saved
their lives said grace" it meant some
thing. Our religion may not demand
| that we 'cross ourselves" but l have
learned that while crossing ones self in
some cases may mean nothing but mere
form, believe in most cases it means:
20, thou of the suffering Cross of CAL
vary, have mercy on me and accept my
gratitude" Prefer your own form of
religion by all means, but do not depre-
ciate the religious forms of others.
From all that can learn, there were
several good people before we were
born, and rather expect there will be
several left after we are dead. l have
travelled in many lands, but / tell you
plainly, as l told Emperor Alexander
III. in the palace at Peterhoff, that /
had never been so impressed with the
fidelity to their religion of any people
as bu what had seen in Russia, and cs-
pecially among her public men. ! said
respectfully to a Russian, when l saw
him cross himself: "What do you do that
for?" 60" he said, when l do that
l always say: God have mercy on mel"
l hold in my hand something very sug-
gestive. What does that black and un-
comedy thing look like? That is what
is called hunger from Russia;
that is what millions of people lived on
for months before help came from En-
gland, Scotland, Ireland and America;
that is mixture which seems to have
in it not one grain of sustenance 1t is
a mixture of pigweed and chatf and the
sweepings of stables. That is some
thing which, if dropped in the street,
your dog or cat might sniff at, but
would not eat. That was the only food
on which millions of men and women
lived You must look at that hunger
bread of Russia before you can get
proper appreciation of what an
attractive and beautiful thing a
good loaf of bread is. 1t is &c
common to us we cannot realize it:
meaning. Stop and look at it in 6
bakery window or see it on your family
table, mean an honest loaf of bread
white as ball of packed snow, with {
crust brown as the autunnal woods
and for keen appetite more aromatic
than fiowers-a loaf of bread as you re
member it in childhood, when the knife
in the hand of your father or mothel
cut clean through, from crust to crust
and put before you, not a quarter OF
slice or half slice, but full, rounC
slice and another and another jus
suited to boy always ready to eat ant
for the most time hungry even in {
well-supplied house. l remember ant
you remember, if you had a health.
childhood, just how it tasted. My! My
Plum pudding does not taste as goo'
now Us that plain bread then. II wa
then bread at the table and bread be
tween meals and bread before break
fast, and bread before going to bed.
Why does not some poet ring can't
: on loaf of bread, or some historian
, tell it's history? Not like many article
of food, pretentious and iced all owe
like wedding cake, or dotted with fan
tastic ingredients, but that grandes
, product of the earth, that richest yiel
. of the -four mill, that best benedictio
of hot oven, God-given loaf c
, bread. But the rhythm of it, tn
{ luxury of it, the meaning of i
the benediction Of it, the divine mere
, of it, only those know who have seen
| famine, No wonder Christ put tn
food into the sacrament and said of
. broken loaf of bread: This is NJ
? body" Thank God that ever saw thu
/ transcendant and compact kindness {
, the infinite Coda loaf of breat
e And it was our JOY this summe
r to hand over shipload of mat
t rial for gladdening many thousands ,
o Russians with such beatitude. But
S have been asked by good people
s Great Britain and America again an
{ again, why did not the prosperous pc,
@ pie of Russia stop that suffering then
r selves, making it useless for other n;
d tons to help? And / am always gla
S when l hear the question asked, b
It cause it gives me an opportunity of e:
|. planning. Have you any idea what
a requires to feed twenty million peopl,
It There is only one Being in the univer'
d who can do it, and that is the Beir
i who, this morning, breakfasted sixtee
d hundred million of the human rae
q The nobility of Russia have not on
contributed lavishly but many of the
q went down and staid for montl