The enterprise. [volume] (Wellington, Ohio) 188?-1899, 1892-10-19

pOrs, NOT quite 80 exhausted, coming III
to bury them, and afterwards the house
becoming the tomb, with none to carry
the dead to more appropriate sepulcher
whole families blotted out That was
what occurred in Russia In homes more
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. 1t 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 1875, ,0OOpeo-
pie. AS at the hunger relief stations,
the bread was handed out-for 1t was
made into loaves and distributed-many
people would halt 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 who sent this bread to
u.s." And when told it came from Amer
lea they would say: "What part OF
Americap Please give us the names of
those who sent it." All, God only knows
the names Of those who sent 1t, 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 1t Saying grace"
but l warrant when those people
who received the bread which saved
their lives 'said grace" 1t meant some
thing Our religion may not demand
that we 'cross ourselves" but | 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 mo 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, rs l told Emperor Alexander
III. in the palace at Peterhof, that |
had never been so impressed with the
fidelity to their religion Of any people
as by what had seen in Russia, and es-
pecially among her public men / said
respectfully TO Russian, when | saw
him cross himself: "What do you do that
for?" 60" he said, when / do that
always say: God have mercy on me-! "
hold in my hand something very sug-
gestive What does that black and un-
comely thing look Ike? That Is what
is called hunger-bread from Russia;
that is what millions of people lived on
for months before help came from En-
gland, Scotland, Ireland and Americai
that is q mixture which seems to have
| in IL not one grain of sustenance. 1t Is
a mixture of pigweod and chaff and the
sweepings of stables. That Is some,
thing which, II dropped In tho 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 gel
proper appreciation Of what al
attractive and beautiful thing {
good loaf of bread ia 1t is 81
common to us we cannot realize IL
meaning. Stop and look at 1t In
bakery window or see 1t on your family
table, mean an honest loaf Of bread
white as ball Of packed snow, with
crust brown as the autumnal woods
and for keen appetite more aromati'
than flowers-a loaf of bread as you re
member II in childhood, when the knit
in the hand of your IA ther or mothe
cut clean through, from crust to crust
and put before you, not O quarter OF
slice or a half slice, but full, rount
slice and another and another jus
suited to boy always ready to eat an'
for the most time hungry, even In
well-supplied house. l remember an'
YOU remember, II you had health.
childhood, just how 1t tasted. Myl Ny
Plum pudding does not taste as goo'
now as 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 flour mill, that best benedictio
Of hot oven, God-given loaf G
bread. But the rhythm OF 1t, th
luxury of II, the meaning Of i
the benediction Of II, the divine nero
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 M
body" Thank God that ever saw thf
transcendant and compact kindness {
the infinite Coda loaf Of breat
And II was our Joy this summt
; 10 hand over a shipload of mat.
rial for gladdening many thousands {
, Russians with such a beatitude. But
} have been asked by good people
3 Great Britain and America again IN
I again, why did not the prosperous pc,
. pie Of Russia stop that suffering then
selves, making It useless for other N
| tions to help2 And / am always gla
s when hear the question asked, b
I cause IL gives me an opportunity OF Q: