The Birmingham age-herald., 1920-07-05
MEN, WOMEN
 AND THINGS

It was Charles Kingsley, the great English preacher. who said:
 See the rivers. how they run, 1 Changeless to the changeless sea-" 1
 | Rivers link man to the past, for they have played a great part in his history since his appearance upon earth
 The Nile, forever new and old. Among the living and the dead,
 Itis mighty, mystic stream has rolled.p
 Many curious facts and superstitions could be gathered in connection with rivers The Nile. so mysteriously sacred to the Egyptians; the Fiber so dear and so sacred to the Romans; the Ganges, so interwoven into the sacred rites of the Hindoos; and the Jordan, beloved by Jew and Gentle, are but examples of how streams have entertwined themselves into the hearts of people
 The Ganges today is still so sacred to the Hndoos that. in British courts of justince in Hondoostan, the water is used for swearing Hindoos, as the Koran is for Mohammedans, and the Bible for Christians; but we need not smile at this for some of my relatives have brought home water from the river Jordan to be used in the christening of their children, as if it had special virtue.
 The city of Benares on the banks of the Ganges, is to the Hindoos the holiest n1ac ou earth IIupdrade oe tt,o,,sa r, d c of pilgrims go there every year to bathe in the river, and thus, as they think, to wash away their sins; while the month of June is devoted to the bath of their idol, Juggernaut. One of our American Baptist preachers had a picture made of himself while administering the rite Of baptism to a candidate in the Jordan |
 l Then there is the Greek legend, of and Cybele, who got into a whole lot of trouble according to the common form of the myth. The story is as familiar as an old joke but l will bear retelling, for in these days when Latin and Greek have been even crowded out or neglected | good reason to believe it will be new to some of our young people who are taking short cuts in education, for it's the craze to get out of school with as little clas- sical baggage as possible, for many think the ancient languages are handicap in the race of life.
 The god Dionysius, from gratitude from l kindness which had been shown to his teacher, Silenus, by Midas, promised to grant whatever the latter might ask. Just think of being tempted in this way. 1 fear that nine out of ten of us would have acted just as did the avarieious King of Phrygia, for it was his wish that every thing he touched would be turned to gold, and in spite of the misfortune which be- fell him, there yet be many who covet the Midas touch
 But let's see how his wish turned on him to plague him, for when he found that even his food was not excepted, and that he was likely to starve, he prayed that the gift might be taken away Poor old Midas wasn't the last man which gold in too great quantities got the better of Dionysius heard his prayer and sent him to the river Pactolus and told him to bathe in it, and was able to get rid of his golder burden, but the sands of the stream were afterwards full of the precious yellow metal
 | A most interesting literature has grown up around the great rivers of the world, for some of the greatest writers have been glad to sing the praises of their fa- vorite stream, for rivers possess so many l-varied attractions and have so many elers, pleasure-seekers, historians, busi- ness men, but scientists as we'll For these reasons volume after volume have been added to the shelves of the libraries.
 Lyell says: Rivers are the irrigators of the earth's surface, adding alike to the beauty of the landscape and the fertility of the soil; they carry off impurities anc every sort of debris; and when of suf- able of all channels of communication with the interior of continents. They have lever been things of vitality and beauty te the poet silent monitors the moralist and agents of comfort and civilization tc mankind.
 have chosen this eulogy from a great geologist and scientist to use as a text for a preachment on the Warrior which has flown peacefully gulfward ever since the Roman campagna was weedy soli- trde on the banks of the Tiber without ever having been used in any way com mensurate with its capacity as freight carrier or as pleasure ground. Some think only of the commercial aspect oi the stream we have annexed but I'm :. also thinking or it as an outlet for busy Birmingham's restless population as 2 nearby park for amusement and homes.
 \
 I think I know something about the beauty of many of the famous rivers ir America and Europe. I have made trips on the Rhine and down the Danube and on many of the lesser waterways lined lwth historic interest 1 have traveled much by boat in these United States anc know the rivers from the St. Lawrence to the St, John. from the Hudson to the Colorado, and l am here to tell you that there are stretches on the Warrior in easy reach of Birmingham which for pic turesqueness will hold their own witt