The Savannah morning news., 1901-10-12
ITEMS OF INTEREST.

j., recently four sisters were among
the guests. Their united ages foot up
to 1872 years, divided in this way: Mrs.
Mary p. c. Rowell, eighty-s six; Mrs.
Elizabeth Acken, eighty-four; Mrs.
Henrietta van Sicklen, eighty-two, and
Mrs Bruen, eighty. They are all in ex-
cellent health
According to the st. James Ga
zette postal curiosity recently reached
the Religious Tract Society. 1t is
fairly well written envelope from the
Gold Coast addressed to John Bun
yam, the Religious Tract Society" The
writer was apparently under the inn
preston that Bunyan is in the service
of the society, a view induced, perhaps,
by the fact that the society is proud
of the number of languages in which
it has circulated the Pilgrims Pro-
gress." But all this is not quite as bad
mistake as that of the Turkish au-
thorities, who only a few years ago re-
fused to admit some copies of certain
Epistles of St. Paul in the vernacular
until they had received assurances that
st. Paul was dead.
Speaking of the tact shown by the
Duke of Cornwall in his present jour
ney, the Candid Friend says: Perhaps
he owes much of his success to the fact
that he has always had at his elbow as
counsellor and friend that remarkably
shrewd Scotchman whose career has
been one of the most remarkable of
modern times. l allude to Sir Donald
Mackenzie Wallace. who bids fair to
become a sort of twentieth century
Stockmar. Sir Donald Wallace first
came into prominence in the late seven
ties when his book on Russia took the
town by storm. 1t was, of course,
prohibited in the country it described,
but the whirligig of time brings its re-
venges, and to-day it is translated into
Russian and actually used as a text
book in the higher grade schools. Sir
Donald began his career long before
this book was published, and was fav-
orably known as a philologist and folk
lorist years before it ever occurred to
MIN to go to Russia"
The Rambler of London, wants to
have King James II of England canon
lied as a saint. I'm view," it says, "of
the sanity life of King James and the
stupendous sacrifice that he made for
his religion, it is not surprising that his
canonization should have occupied the
attention of Rome. He had been can
onized already in the popular imagin-
alton, and many stories of miracles per-
formed at his tomb are extant. 1t APP
pears that the honors of canonization
would certainly have been conferred
upon him toward the end of the
eighteenth century had not the catas-
trophe of the French Revolution come
to obiterate from mems minds all
thought of sentiment for the past Now,
in less troubled age, when the life
and character of King James II can
be surveyed without political passion or
prejudice, is it too much to hope that
the occurrence of his bicentenary may
remind the church of a neglected duty
and induce her to enrich the calendar
with the addition of his holy name?"
One of the alleged reasons for the
Cars recent visit to France is said
to have been to borrow money, says
the Philadelphia Times. This, of
course, implies that business at home
is not so prosperous as it might be.
And when the easy going character of
the average Russian is considered it
is hardly surprising that with a coun-
try possessing some of the richest re-
sources in the world it has not made
greater material progress. Everybody
there goes about matters in an exceed
ingly leisurely way. The upper classes
indisposition to exertions seems to
have affected the official branches of
society. They in their turn operate on
trade, and the influence thence spreads
into the humber walks of life. In st.
Petersburg, for instance, it is stated,
scarcely anybody thinks of break
fasting before 9, and the notion seems
to be that if one cannot transact bust
ness to-day tomorrow will do just as
well. Hurry or nervous haste are only
found in the dictionary. 1t is told of
a peasant that when asked why the
Russian calendar was thirteen days
behind the rest of the world, he answer
ed that when the Christian era began
the information was delivered to all
nations simultaneously. Only in Rus
STA it took the messenger nearly two
weeks to make uD his mind to report
it.
Sunday teachers of the
Methodist Episcopal Church South are
day-school Board believing that the
work of the Sunday school should be
a life duty and not a haphazard mat
ter, says an exchange. The teaching
will be conducted on the Chautauqua
plan. with the headquarters at the
Methodist Publishing House in Nash
vile. The teachers of each church will
be organized into study circle, and
the members will be entitled to diplo-
ma on the completion of the three
courses prescribed. Discussing the
matter, DR.. James Atkins, Secretary
of the Sunday school Board, says:
Under the present order of religious
education, in which almost the whole
task of Bible instruction has been
turned over to the Sunday-school the
work of the Sunday school teacher has
become magnified beyond anything
dreamed of in the beginning of the
modern Sunday-school movement It
has come to stand alongside the min
istry of the gospel preacher In view
of this, 1t is easy to see that the vast
obligations which it involves cannot
be discharged without some degree OF
special equipment. There are at least
three things about which the Sunday
school teacher needs to be thoroughly
informed. These are The history.
aims. and methods of the great move
ment of which he is a part the Bible
as the textbook of his school: and the
doctrines, polity, and working plans of
his church"
NAV Nordau raises an interesting
question concerning Pompeii. He
writes as follows to the Newe Ereie
Presse Wienna): lone thing has al
ways been a puzzle to me. Here was
hourishing city of about 10000 inhabi-
tants, most of whom evidently were
well-to-do. few hundreds, at most.
lost their lives in the destruction of
the city; the rest escaped. The erup-