Fort Worth gazette. [volume] (Fort Worth, Tex.) 1891-1898, 1893-02-13

be not surprised when tell you that En-
peror prohus on ono occasion threw into
that arena Of the Coliseum thousand
stays, q Thousand boars and thousand os,.
trichcs What fun e. must have hcen-the
sound OF tTumpcts, the roar OF wild boasts
aud the Sroans Of dying men, while Ia che
gallery che wives and children OF those
down under the lions paw wrung their
hands and shrieked out In widowhood and
orphanage whilel0O, people clapped their
hands and there was n "hn, hafi wide as
Rome and deep MS periltion.
The corpses Of that arena were put ON a
cart OF dragged by hook out through
what was called tho Gate Of Death What
an excitement It must have boon when two
oomhatants entered tho arena, the one with
sword and shiold and the other with net
and spcarl The swordsnan strikes 90 the
man with the net and spear lie dodgcs
the sword aud then filings the net over the
head OF tho swordsnan and jerks him 60
the floor OF the arena, aud the man who
flung the net puts his foot ON tho neck Of
the fallen swordsmnn and, spear ia hand,
looks up to the galleries. AZ much M 60 say,
"Shall | lot him up, or shall plunge this
spear into bis body until ho Is deadf"
The audience had two signs, either Of
which they might give Ifthoy waved their
nays, Il meant spare the fallen contestant
II they turned their thumbs down, it meant
slay him Occasionally tho audience would
wave their flags, and the fallen would bo let
mp, but that was too tame sport FOR most
occasions, and generally tho thumbs from
the galleries wcrc turned down, and with
that sign would be heard the accompany.
ing shout Of "kllll KILL XIII Kilw
VARIATIONS rs THE CRUEL SPORT
Yet 10 was Tar from being a monotone
OF sport, for therO was change OF pro.
grammc In that wundrous Coliseum. Under
a strange and powerful machinery, beyond
anything OF modern invention, tho floor OF
| the arena would begin TO rock and roll and
] then give away, and there would appear a
/ lake OF bright water, and on les banks trees
| would spring UP rustling with foliage,
aud tigers appeared among tho iunglcg,
and armed men would como forth, and
| there would DO tiger hunt Then. on the
lake In tho Coliseum, armed ships would
| float, aud there would bc a sea FIGHT. What
fun What lots OF funl When postiloncc
| came, In orior TO nppo0se the Coda In
! this Coliseum a sacrifice would bo made,
and tho people would throng that great
| omphithcatcr shouting, "Thc Chustinra
| 20 the Wild hcnstsW and there would DO n
/ NItNhAlNk "a nNulAh hNNtH III AAN IaMH 81
! leoniue fcrocity.
! But all thia was 60 be stopped. By the
| outraged sense OF public doconcyi No
! There ia only one thing that has ever
! stopped cruelty and sin, and that 10 Chris
tauity. aud IL was Christianity, whether
you like It's form or not, that stopped this
massacre Of centuries One day while, On
the Coliseum, a Roman victory was boinK
celebrated, and 10000 ourapturcd spocta.
tors wCro looking down upon two gladia-
tors in tho arena stabbing and slining each
other 90 death, an Asintio monk OF the
name 81 Tolemnchus wac 30 overcome by
the cruelty that he lcapcd from the gallery
into the arena aud ran In between tho two
swordsmeu and pushed first one back and
then tho other back and broke up the CON
test
or course tho audience was aiTrontcd At
having their sport stopped and thoy hurled
stones nc the head of IolCmnchus until De-
fell dead Ia tho arena But when tho daj
was passed and the passions 81 the people
Ind cooled OH they dcplured the martyr,
dom OF che bravo aud Christian TClcmaChuN
and as a result Of the ovcrdone cruelty the
human sacrifices Of the Coliseum were for
ever abolished
Whnt good thing, say you, that such
|
snmc spirit OF ruinOus nmusomonts aud OF
moral sacrifice Is abroad IN the world today
although Il takes other shapes Last sum
NOR Ia our southwest there occurred seen,
OF putdlism on which all Christondom look
ed down, for / saw tho papers on the other
side OF Che Atlantic ocean giving Who'll,
columns DIN VIII some one tell mein what
respect that brutality Of last summer was
superior 20 the brutality OF the Roman
Coliseum In some respects 40 was worse
boy so much 49, the 18th century protonds t.
hc moro mcrciml aud more decent than ia,
luh century
That puglism IL winning admiration IN
this country IL positively proved by Oh,
fnct that yoArs ago such collision was no.
ported In a half dozen lines OF newspaper
n reported at ALL and now " thkUs The
whole side OF a newspaper 10 tell whn
, traugpircd between the first blood drawn 10y
one lonfcr and tho throwing up of the HpunR,
by tho other lonfcr, and it h not the news
papers fault, Tor the newspapers give onll
, what tho people wnnt, and when nowspa
porB put carrion on your table II Is because
you prefer cairion.
, The same spirit OF brutality u seen today
IN many an eccleslastcnl court when I
minister is put on trial. Look NJ the oOun
I tenances OF the prosecuting ministers, an,
) not In all cases. but In many cases. you vii
3 find nothing but diabolisn inspires them
/ They let out on one poor minister who can
not defend himself the lion Of eccleslasti
cism, aud the tiger Of blgotry, and the wil'
] bonr OF jealousy, and II they cnn get th
J offending minister dat on bis back SOM
3 one puts his feot on the neck Of the Ovor
thrown gospolizer and looks up, spear II
D hand, 20 Boe whether the galleries and occle
/ siastics would have him let mp or slain
\ And, lot many Of the thumbs are down
VILE POLITICAL WARFARE.
In the worldly realms look NJ the bru
+ talities Of tho presidential election eigh
i years ago Read the biographies " Dante
o Webster and Alexander n stephens an'
! | Horace Greeley and Charles Summer an'
q Luclus Quintus Cinoinuatus Lamar an'
Z James @ Blaine, and, II the story OF dein
( nation and cRlumny and standardization
4. and diatfiboa nd scurrility and lampOon Hu'
/ | billugsgate and damnable perldy be- no
/ curately recorded, tell rue In what respect
a our political arena and the bowling NM
, blasphcming galleries that again and ngail
d look down upon II are better than tho 10
! man Coliseum.
When read a few days ago that the su
prcme court Of tho United States had az
. prdpriately adjourned 10 pay honors 70 Oh
! two last distinguished men mentioned, nh
q American journalism, north, south, cas-
4 aud west went into lamentations over thci
III NIas.u So