Martinsburg herald. [volume] (Martinsburg, W. Va.) 1881-1920, 1893-02-18
At once ten Thousand saffron currents flow
And rain their odors on the crowd below.

At once ten thousand saffron currents flow
And rain their odors on the crowd below.
But where was the sport to come from?
Well. | went into the cellars opening off
from the arena and | saw the place where
thew kept the hyenas an lions and panthers
and wild boars and beastly violencss of all
sorts without food or water until made fierce
enough for the arena, AMI | saw the under.
ground rooms where the gladiators were
accustomed to wait until the clapping of tie
people outside deman led that they come
forth armed-to murder or be murdered.
All the arrangements were complete, as
enough OF the cellars and galleries still re-
main to Indicate. What fun they must have
had turning lions without food or drink up
on an unarmed disciple of Jesus Christi
At the dedicition of this Coliseum 5000
wild beasts and 10000 immortal men were
slain, 50 that bloc Of men an beast was not
a brook, but river; not pool, but lake.
Having bee in that way de iicate l, be not
-urprisel when l tell you thai Emperor Pro
bus on one occi aston threw into that arena of
the c )liseum 1000 stays 1000 bears and 1903
ostricaes. What fun it musthave been-the
sound of trunpets, the roar of wild beasts
and the gvoans of dying men while in the
gallery the wives ami children OF those down
under the lions paw wruny their hands and
shrielSed out in widowhoot AMI orphanage,
while 100, 600 people capped their bands, and
there was "Ha ha" wide Us Rome and
deep as perditionl
The corpses of that arena were put on a
cart or dragged by hook out through what
was called the Gate of Death. What an
excitement it must have been when two COM
batants entered the arena, the one with
sword and shiel an I the other with net
and spear. Toe sworisman strikes at the
man with the net and shear He do1ges the
sword and then filings the net over the head
of the swordsman and Jerks him to the floor
of the arena, and the man who flung the
net puts his foot on the neck of the fallen
swordsman, and spear in hani looks up to
the galleries, as much as to say, shall let
him up or shall plunge this spear into his
body until he is deady'
The au iience hal two signs, either OF
which they might give. Ii they wave their
flags it meant spare the fallen contest mt
If they turned their thu nbs do xn, it meant
stay him. Occasionally the audience would
wave their flags, and the fallen would be let
up, but that was too tame sport for most oc-
casions. and generally the thumbs from the
galleries were turne down, AMI with tnaJ
sign would be heard the accompanying shout
of Kill Kill Kill. KillI'
Yet it was far from beng monotone OF
sport, for there was a change OF programme
in that wondrous Coliseum. Under strange
and powerful machinery. beyond anything
VI luNcuLlDD, hit uOpA VI tIC "a CfA1
would begin to rock and roll and then give
away, and there would appear lake oil
bright water, and on its banks trees would
spring up rustling with foliage. AMI tigers
appeared among the jungles, aud arme
men would come forth, and there would bs
a tiger hunt Then on the lake in the Coils
cum armed ships would float AMI there
would be sea fight. What fun What
lots of fun! When pestilence came. in order
to appeass the gojs, in this Coliseu n sacrl.
fee woull be made, AM the people would
throng that great ampaitheatre, saoliins
"rhe Christians to ths wild beasts " ami
/ there would be cracking OF human bone.
! in the jaws OF leonine ferocity.
/ But all this was to be stoppet BY tn;
I outraged sense of public deesacys No,
{ There is only one thing that has ever stoppai
/ cruelty and n..an1 that is Christianity, an
| 1t was Christianity. whsthsr yoa like 1t:
/ form or not, that stopped this massacre o.
centuries. One day while in the Coliseum
/ a Roman victory was being Celebrated en-
+ loo, 900 enraptured spectators were looSinl
down upon two gla1iators in the arena stab
bling AMI slicing each other ID death, an
/ Asi4tic monk OF the name OF Teienaean'
I was so overcome by TIE cruelty that h
leapsi from the gallery into the arena an
ran in batwaen ths two ssor isnea an
pushed first one bacz and thsn the oshei
! back and broke up the contest.
Ofcourse the audience was sHfonisd d