The Banner-Democrat. [volume] (Lake Providence, East Carroll Parish, La.) 1892-current, 1893-04-08

bled aromatic liquids oozed from tu pes
distilled from pipes and rained gen'iy
on the multitudes, and filed the az
with odors of hyacinth, and heiiotrope,
and frankincense, and balsam, ana
mvrrh. and saffron, SO that Lucan' tue
poet, says of it;
A. oncs tan Thousand saffron currents now,
And rain their odors on the crowd below.
But where was the sport to come
from? Well. / went into the cellars
oneninp off from the arena. and saw
the places where they kept the hyenas
and lions and panthers and wild poars
and beastly violences of all sorts, with-
out food or water until MADE ne.co
enough for the arena, and saw Tue
underground rooms where the glaoia-
tors were accustomed to wait until the
clapping of the people outside De
manded that they come forth arineu "
murder or to be murdered. All Inc
arrangements were compiets. as enough
of the cellars and galleries stai re-
ma;ned to indicate. What fun they
must have had turning lions without
food n, drink for week upon an I'M
armed disciple of Jesus Christ! At the
dad;cation of this colosseum, nine
tbo,sand wild beasts and ten thousand
immortal men were slain;. so that the
blood of men and beast was not a
brook but river, not a pool ou'
a lake Having been in that way
dedicated, be not surprised wneh oe'i
Won that Emperor Probus on one occa-
sion threw into that arena OF the ooi-
osseum one thousand stays, one thou
.. sand boars and one thousand ostrlcnes'
What fun it must have been the
sound of trumpets, the roar OF wiz
beasts and the groans of dying men
, while in the gallery the wives ana
: children of those down under the hon
!. nav wrunp their hands and shrieKeo
ont in widowhood and orphanage'
while one hundred thousand people
CLAIMED their hands, and there was
.sHa! Ha:' wide as Rome and deep al
;, perdition. The corpses OF that arena
were put on a cart or dragged oy
: hook through what was called ths
= Gate of Death. What an excitement
must have been when two COMBAT
e ants entered the arena, the ON
with sword and shield and tn
other with net and spear. The swords
:, man strikes at the man with Tn
- net and spear; he lodges the sword
:. and then filings the net over the hea
= Of the swordsman and jerks him TO Tn
y Aoor of the arena, and the man WI
flung the net puts his foot ON the nee
of the fallen swordsman, and, spear
- hand, looks up to The galleries, as muc
10 as to say: '.Shall let him up, or sha
Il plunge this spear into his body unit
OF he is dcad?' The audience had 7"
Is signs. either of which they might CIV
re II they waved their flags it meant spa
vs. the fallen contestant If they turne
ne their thumbs down it meant Stay hin
en Occasionally the audience would way
ee their flags and the fallen would be
at nm but that was too tame spo
Jet for most occasions, and generally Il
ne thumbs from the galleries were turn
en- down, and with that sign would
'as heard the accompanying shout
'ch "Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill!'
&c Yet it was far from being moi
~ tone of sport, for there was a cnan
~ of programme in that wondrous Col
~ scum. Under strange and power
..n machinery. beyond nything OF mode
invention. the floor of the arena wot
'no begin to rock and roll and then e
ON away. and there would appear La
vas IF bright water, and on its banks tr
AZ would spring up rustling with 1oiia
and tigers appeared among the jung
-" and armed men would come forth,
ny there would be tiger hunt. Then,
'on the lake in the Colosseum, armed sn
oos would float and there would be a
'uu fcht. What fun! What lots OF ]
&c, When pestilence came. in order TO
'na' nease the gods, in this Colosseum
uio' sacrifice would be made, and the
'ioe nle would throng that great am
n theater. shouting: 1.-THE Christian
oriu the wild beasts" and there would
ana crackling of human bones in the j
of leonine ferocity.
But all this was to be stopped.
oo the outraged sense of public decor
:, VIZ No. There is only one thing that
= Ia, o. ever stopped cruelty and sin, ana
mp is Christianity, and it was Christian
res whether you like its form or not,
7elve =. ,ssoa-o IF centuries
for s'oppeu ~. :. az Colosseum a Ro
had oay' VIZ -, calabrated. and
e to vicoo'y w" a,,ed enrantured spe
sand nunoieu Iao1,;nr down upon
hxea oladiators in the arena stabbing
....d slicing each other to death, an As
ssion MONK ~ w ~ the cruelty tina
nd a 50 oVo A., Gallery into the a
a few ieaPou ~. n.t,u.e,, the twoswords
Low anu ron - s,.st ono hack and thel
You anu puon "a trol,e nm the cor
Is not oehei 80 .,,a;ance was afro
be adj VI course ~ s,ort stonned and
ugh / al nas.ns > H.. head of Telems
could nur.eu s' III do.d in the arena.
made un'h ne - rs ,,.ssad and the