The Birmingham age-herald., 1904-12-04

| different forms that one mas often as much pains to discover 1t as to unearth fhe hest concealed crimes. 4 Rus. sian doctor who had passed ten years of his life in Siberia, condemned for political reasons to forced labor used to find great pleasure in telling of the generosity. courage and humanity he had observed, not only among a large number of the condemned, but also among the convict guards. For the moment one is tempted to exelaim. "Where will not the good hide awayr' And, in truth, life offers here great surprises and embarrassing contrasts. There are good men, officially so rec ognized, quoted among their assocl- ates-I had almost said guaranteed by the government or the church = who can be reproached with nothing but dry and hard hearts, while we are as- tonished to encounter in certain fallen i human beings the most genuine ten l derness and, as 1t were, thirst for self devotion.
 I should like to speak next, apropos OL luG luAiOI1OUS BOO0g OA q NkuoS lldl today 1t Is thought quite fitting to treat with the utmost one sidedness. mean the rich. Some people think the last word Is said when they have stig- matized that infamy, capital For them, all who possess great fortunes are monsters gorged with the blc od of the miserable. Others, not so declama- tory, persist, however, in eonfounding riches with egoism and lnsensibility Justice should be visited on these er- TOTS, be they involuntary or calculated. No doubt there are rich men who con cern themselves with nobody else, and others who do good only with osten- tatlon. Indeed, we know it too well. But does their inhumanlty or hypocrisy take away the value of the good that others do and that they often hide with a modesty so perfect?
 knew a man to whom every mis- fortune had come which can strike us in our affections. He had lost a be- loved wife, had seen all his children buried one after another. But he had great fortune, the result of his own labor. Living in the utmost simplic- ity, almost without personal wants, he spent his time in searching for oppor- tunities to do good and proftlng by them. How many people he surprised in fragrant poverty, what means he combined for relieving distress and lighting up dark lives, with what kindly thoughtfulness he took his friends unawares, no one can imagine. He liked to do good to others and en- joy their surprise when they did not know whence the relief came. It pleased him to repair the in1ustices of fortune, to bring tears of happiness in families pursued by mischance. He was continually plotting, contriving, matchmaking in the dark. with a child ish fear of being caught with his hand in the bag. The greater part of these fine deeds were not known till after his death; the whole of them we shall never know.
 He was socialist of the right sort, for there are two kinds of them. Those who aspire to appropriate to them selves a part of the goods of others are numerous and commonplace. To belong to their order 1t sufflces to have big appetite. Those who are hun gering to divide their own goods with men who have none are rare and pre- cious, for to enter this choice company there Is need of brave and noble heart free from selfshness and sensl- tive to both the happiness and unhappi- ness of its fellows. Fortunately the race of these socialists Is not extinct, and I feel an unalloyed satisfaction in offer ing them tribute they never claim.
 must be pardoned for dwelling up on this. It does one good to offset the bitterness of 80 many infamies, so many calumnies, so much charlatan. ism, by resting the eyes upon some thing more beautiful, breathing the perfume of these stray corners where simple goodness flowers.
 A lady, a foreigner, doubtless little used to Parisian life, just now told me with what. horror the things she sees here inspire her = these vile posters these yellow" journals, these women with bleached hair, this crowd rushing to the races, to dance halls, to roulette ] tables, to corruption-the whole flood of superficial and mundane life. She did not speak the word Babylon, but doubtless it was out of pity for one of the inhabitants of this city of per, dition.
 "Alas, yes, madam; these things are sad, but you have not seen all.'
 "Heaven preserve me from thatP'
 "On the contrary, wish you could see everything, for, if the dark side is very ugly. there is so much to atone for it. And, believe me, madam you have simply to change your guar ter or observe 1t at another hour. For instance, take the Paris of early morn. ing. It will offer much to correct | your impressions of the Paris of tho night. Go see, among so many other working people, the street sweepers who come out at the hour when the revelers and malefactors go in. Ob serve beneath these rags those cary atid bodies, those austere facesl How serious they are at their work of sweeping away the refuse of tha nights revelry! One might liker them to the prophets at Ahasuerus gates. There are women among them many old people When the air is cold they stop to blow their fingers and then go at it again. So it is every day. And they, too, are inhabitants of Paris
 "Go next to the faubourgs, to the factories, especially the smaller ones