davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1926-12-19
Christmas Legends Follow Wise Mems

hem," which In represented in her.
aldry a. comet star Of 10 rays More
explicit IL the family history Of the
VauS or Vaws, probably the same a.
Baux, a. 1t IL told in an old chronicle
compiled In the latter half of the four.
teenth century from earlier records
and traditions.
THIS chronicle Of the Three Kings.
written by one John Of Hide.
shein. begins with a description Of
the Hill of Vaws, the highest in
india" From men posted on this hill
not only to signify the advance Of an
enemy by Are signals, but to watch
the portents Of the heavens, news was
sent to the three Kings OF India Of the
advent Of a wOndroue star.
"r thiA HILL" says the old chron.
icier. IL named the famous progeny
OF Vaws. descended from Mehhtor. he
who brought gold" In the year 1900.
$" the story goes, the princes of VAws
came from India to Acre, and built a
strong castle. They brought with
them books and records Of the mon
who discovered and followed the star.
and also the precious diadem OF Mel.
chior, set with Chaldean letters and a
star. And they still bear upon their
banners a star with the AiRn Of the
cross"
John of Hildesheim In quite definite
In his description Of each king and
his domain, and ne agrees with the
medieval GeoGrAphers in saying that
there are three Indies.
I'm the first India was the land Of
Nubia. and in that land King Mel.
cnior reiEned. Here 10 also the land
OF Arabic. which II full OF gold. and
the gold ia the best In the world.
"Of the second India, Godalia and
Saba. Baltha1ar was King. Saba pro.
dnces spices and especially incenae.
Saba was the land OF the Queen Of
Sheba.)
"Of the third country called Thaars.
Gaspar was King. To this country be.
longs the Isle of Egrisoulla, which
yields myrrh."
The old English translation of Hi.
desheim's account. with It's quaint
spelling, Ia sometimes confusing, and
he takes up a generous share OF the
narrative, with descriptions Of the
retinues Of the kings and the lands
through which they Journey. He takes
them by different roads to Jerusalem,
where they meet and so on together.
The scene which follows, called in
art The Alteration Of the MAEi," has
been the inspiration OF many master.
pieces OF art. Rubens alone devoted
IS cAnvaaes to that subject. Ghirian-
dos pictures follow a more familiar
type than Gozzol's. but even his con-
Ceptions Of the event depict much
maEnifcence and many attendants
The oldest king is frat at the feet Of
the Savior with his treasures. and the
youngest holds his customary Gift OF
myrrh. In this. ne In many other pic
lures Of the Alteration horses are
saddled and bridled. waiting for de-
parturA and in the distance Ia A. har-
bor where ships lie ready to unfurl
their sails.
MRS. Jameson says that in cha pels
Of the Nativity the walls on one
side are sometimes decorated with
scenes showing the journey to Beth
lehem, while on the other side the
return Ia pictured. The folk tale
which Barring Gould has put into verse
is no less naive than the chronicle
which relates the changing of robes
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1926-12-19

eventually locates the three kings
by the temples they have erected con.
tanning the star emblem and finds
them whole Of body and of great
age"
Now, the story joins with that Of
another mysterious parsonage of the
middle ages. for the three kings. in
making preparation for their death.
decide upon a successor, who IA to be
called Preater John. who the hrst
PreAter John really was has never
been decided, but he and those who
followed him by the same title were
such famous characters, and 30 many
enorts were made to find the rich
ana powerful nation over which they
were supposed to rule, that it<is not
surprising to hnd him associated with
three other rr1onarchs whose Kingdoms
had remained hidden from the exc,
plorer.
When Empress Helena, the mother
OF Constantine, hanRn her famous pill
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1926-12-19

It was set. too. on top Of large
casks containing oil, as about one
hundred and fifty barrels out OF three
hundred barrels Of whale oil were
slowed In the fore hold. It had for
tunately done no damage.
Owing to the fact that the forecastle
was located directly over where the
fire had been built. the smoke had
driven the crew out. thus giving the
alarm before 1t would otherwise have
been discovered. One of the oil casks
was very nearly burned through and
the head OF another was badly
charred.
Satisfied that II was the work of
some members Of the crew. I went
on deck and summoned every man
before me.
After a few questions, said:
this ship. You who did not do 1t
know who did. II you shield them.
YOU are az guilty as they.
AT o'clock in the morning ]
shall come among you. ! shall then
know who set the fire or the whole
twenty-five will hang from the yard
arm. else I shall 20 over the side a
dead man.
NOW, men. think what your
answer will he in the morning. for
you know that nothing but death will
prevent me from carrying out my
purpose"
At q o'clock next morning as / came
on deck, walking forward. I had not
got past the mainmast when two men
came to meet me. leading two others;
and they greeted me: Captain. these
are the two men who set the fire.
They alone are responsible"
My reply was: IAN right. will take
care of these two: you go forward"
Then to the firobugs ! said: You
stand charged with this great crime
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1926-12-19

the story Of one of the navigators
who skirted the shores of the Mediter-
ranean during the Crusades. In the
course OF his trip he located the
mouths Of great rivers. like the Ebro
and THE SAlef in Asia Minor, in
which Frederick Barbarossa was
drowned, and from the neighborhood
of the sources OF which the three
wise men were sal Id TO have come"
Asia" for time was another term
which included all the countries Of
the Eastern world. known and un.
known. Then India became a familiar
name and was applied to all of farther
Asia. Sometimes, by the generosity
of medieval geographers. Egypt and
Ethiopia became one Of It's divisions.
The route OF travel followed by the
wise men through these various lands
might be traced through the old
Christmas carols. or by more recent
songs, such az Dugard's:
Now on persia'a sandy plains.
Now where Tifris swelle with rains.
They their camels tether:
Now through Syra's lands they go.
Now through Moab faint and slow.
Now through Tdoms heather.
In the medieval legends, the three
kings did not make their pilgrimage
alone, e we see them in Ben Hur, a"
but with great companies Of retain.
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1926-12-19

! grimage in the third century, visiting
Christian shrines, restoring many and
collecting holy relics, Il Is reported
that s'she longed to have the bodies
OF the three kings and went to
| India" From Prester John she OBJ
| tanned the bodies OF Melchior and
Balthasar. and. fortunately. was able
/ to make a bargain with the people Of
| the Isle OF Egrisoul, where Caspar
was buried, by exchanging the body
| of st. Thomas, which she had in her
possession, for that of the third king
Although she took the bodies to Con-
stantinople. they were destined to fur
ther travels. Constantine gave them
to the Bishop of Milan. whom he
wished to honor, and after Frederick
Barba rossa captured Milan the kings
we're taken to Cologne and solemnly
placed in the old cathedral July 3
1854. This final journey Ia n matter
Of history. Once more crowds of PEG.
pie hocked to see the cavalcades Of
the three kings. and chapels were
dedicated TO them along the route
through Italy and Switzerland.
-
A r the shrine of the MAgi in Co.
lOgne many gifts were laid and
enough wealth accrued to rebuild the
cathedral and make It one of the nm.
est In the world. Miss Singleton
says that the relIqusry In which the
skulls OF GAspar. Melchior and Bal
thar repose, crowned with jAweled
diadems, fla superb example Of
twelfth century workmanship. It IL
of gilded copper and pure gold. orna.
mented with figures and enriched
with more than 1.500 precious stones
and canoes" Many sculptures in the
chapel show the alteration Of the
MAki.
Thus 1t is that Cologne ma. come 10
be called the City Of the Three Kings,
ana there they seem to have found
their final resting place. On the feast
OF the Epiphany, when the church
celebrates the memory of their first
visit to our Lord at Bethlehem. the
relics are exposed to the view of the
people.
The idea that this visit symboIixes
the frst manifestation Of Christ to
the gentiles Is the underlying thought
OF EPIPHANY and the motive for the
many churches Of that name. In the
beautiful chancel window OF the
Church OF the Epiphany in Waahinr.
ton the central space shows the
adoration OF the MaEi. On one sidN II
depicted the message Of the angels to
the Jewish shepherds, and on the
other the revelation OF the star TO
the gentle kings.
So the feast of Epiphany. January
y, - the wise mems special dsy: but
they are honored upon %Christmas
Also. and every year, In Palestine,
their nrst Journey to- Bethlehem IL
symnohzed by crowds ot pilgrims who
carry starlike tApers in their ha nds
ICopyriKht. 1891
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1926-12-19

Gers Of the vessels In the whaling
feet were invited aboard the Beiuga
to surprise party. In the midst Of
our supper A native came In and re-
ported some ~ our men had stolen
firearms. dogs and sleda and had de-
serted.
We all went Immediately to our re.
spective ships and called the ron to
see who had gone. On checking up
the reports we found that seven had
deserted.
After much talk an expedition was
fitted out. consistin9 Of officers Of the
ships. to 60 In search Of the deserters.
On the morning Of January "a three
sleds started out. with the tl1ermom-
eter at - degrees below zero and a
strong northwest wind with snow. In
the afternoon the thermometer fell to
81 degrees below.
January 20. 81 below, and
very strong gale from northeast, hve
dogs from the officers expedition
came back. January % the officers
came hack after the dogs. They had
seen the deserters. who fired shots
at them from their rides. A party
Of OfSicAra and natives again started
with three sheds after the deserters,
the thermometer ~ degrees below.
On the morning Of February &
the officers returned with four Of the
desertere. One Of them had badly
frozen feet. witnessed the ampu.
tatiOn Of part of his right foot, Il
being frozen 40 badly az to require
cutting of.
TWELVE men deserted from the
Reluaa. Wanderer. BeIvedere. John
and Winthrop. Fearless, and Northern
Light six weeks later. They secured
rifles. ammunition. two sieds. and
IL dogs. leaving about midnight.
March - an exnedifion Of nhfcAra
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1926-12-19
Seamens Lives mperled in Craft Bitten to Pieces by

Capt. John A. Cook, descendant
Of long line of sea-farinS people.
has spent IS years in whaling and
has sailed wherever the king Of
the deep" is to be found. His ca
reer has been crowded with adven-
lures as ne sought the cachalot or
sperm whale of the tropics, the
right whale of the southern zone
and the bowhead of the Arctic.
1t was during his years as a
whaling captain in the Arctic that
he faced many OF the dangers re-
counted in this and two succeeding
articles.
Capt. Cook was at one time man
aging owner OF the famous square
rugged whaler Charles W. Morgan.
and was also one of the owners of
the bark Wanderer, the last square
rigger sent out on a whaling voy-
age. In 1924. He Is the author of
Pursuing the Whale"
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1926-12-19

And ~ they we're sitting ~ dimMer one day
An angel or heaven appeared aud did say,
60. MAI. once more from the town 10 the
wild.
For Herod Ia seekins ne life Of the Child !"
This legend Is Ia the effect that the
three kings. In order to evade Herod
took ships Of Tarsts for home, and
Herod. in anger. not only ordered the
slaughter Of the children. a. related
In Matthews text. hut pursued the
kings and burned all the ships in the
hArbors Of Cilicia. The tradition of
the return journey by boat has not
often been depicted in art, but 1t IL
embodied in fresco by Lorenzo Costa
nd in q baA.relief In the Cathedral Of
Amiens.
The two years OF travel back to the
homeland and the subsequent Ad.
ventures Of the kings serve In Hi.
deeheim's story TO Introduce more Of
the legends of his time and a few
new characters, notably st. Thomas.
who is supDo0e6 10 have Neen sent a.
q missionary to India. There he
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1926-12-19

will he seven months yet before we
get back to San Francisco and that IL
long time to be punished
Eut they called for writing mate
rails and the substance of what they
wrote was that they did not like the
whaling business, and thought that by
firing the ship we would make a
quick passage to land and they would
be free to go somewhere and in some
other business.
Those men were cared for and
treated ~ criminals for the rest Of
the voyage. and when they were
taken out Of irons on going into San
Francisco I let them 20, and neither
the owners nor from that day to
this have seen or heard anything Of
them.
THE journal Of that voyage records
that one day we lowered three
boats for 4 lone right whale. The
waist boat, In charge of the second
mate. harpooned the whale.
Immediately after the harpOon
struck him, the whale capsized and
broke the boat badly with a swing OF
his big tell. I got to the broken boat
with mine 80 speedily a. possible,
while other boats made fast to the
whale.
Just before we got there one man
disappeA from view and was
drowned (he must have been hit by
the whale. while another had just
gone out Of sight, but we succeeded
In rescuinG him, dragging him into
our boat.
We then turned out attention to the
men on the broken boat. rescuinG all,
one with his leg broken Just below
the knee. We got the whale. saved
the broken parts Of the boat and all
but one man.
One Winter in the Arctic the ON.
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1926-12-19

as they proceed on their travels. an
old chronicler naiveIy asserts that.
nearing Bethlehem. they paused Ito
change TO richest robeA."
In all the pictures certain featureS
or symbols indicate the identity Of
each one of the three. One Is repre-
sented as old, one middle.aged and
one youth. Sometimes the name
OF the king appears on crown or gift.
Mrs. Jameson tells us that the
names We know tOday-Gaspar
Melchior and BeIthaxar-were the
first used In art when they were
sculptured over the door Of q church
in 1853. Variations Of these names
have been used previously, however
even as early an the NTH century, In
Greek and Syrian texts. 1t was soon
after the invention of printing that
we find the three names placed upon
the social register Of the Middle Ages.
On page 1O2 Of q priceless copy Of
the Who's Who" Of the fifteenth cen
fury, which may be consulted at the
Library OF Congress. IL to be seen a
record Of the coats OF arms Of the
Holy Kings Gaspar, MelchiOr and Bal
thazar. The book In known a. Ulrich
Won Reichenthals "Conciliumbuch" of
1888. and contains not only spirited
drawings Of the meetings of the ia.
nous Council Of Constance. but adds
the coats Of arms Of many hOnored
characters whose ra nix would have en-
titled them to place among the
guests.
THE artists Of the Middle Ages loved
pomp Of herA1dry, and they in
vented new symbols for many of the
famous peraonAGes Of antiquity. such
as Alexander the Great, Moses and
the old prophets. 40 1t came about
that some time during the fourteenth
or early fifteenth century the three
kings we're given their emblems.
The shield Of Holy King Gaspar of
Arabia Ia described a being blue, with
seven gold stars in rows.
The shield Of Holy King Balthazar
of Tharsis CTarsus) Is also blue, dis
aging a gold crescent inclOsing one
gold star.
The third shield, here credited to
Melchior, King Of Saba, IL of gold, on
which IL displayed the figure OF an
Ethiope or Moor holding a lance and
a crimson hAs. This third design fol
lows the tradition which had gained
Roadway during the Middle Ages that
one OF the wise men was Moor. In
Ben Hur" he In referred to a. the
ed as dark.skinned, sometimes as hav-
ing A fair complexion, but with q
dusky attendant or a ba nner upon
which this shield IL shown. The In
experienced printer Of 1883 seems to
have reversed the names OF the kings.
They are sometimes used indiscrimi-
nately, but BaIthas ar is usually the
name of the Moor and Melchior the
oldest man.
These three symbols were the EN-.
blemA used for the banners Of, the
kings In many OF the medieval paint
inks. They appear In the superb pic.
ture by Roger Van der Weyde, in
Shoen'a Alteration OF the MaKi" and
In several pictures by Albrecht Duerer
OF the same subject
In adopting these particular shields
the medieval heraids seem to have
ignored earlier traditions which are
still treasured by families OF TODAY
who claim descent from some one ~
the three wise men. AS one ~ the
proofs Of such rela tionship. the fam.
lily of Baux or Beaux, for instance.
shows rs its coat Of arms a red shield
displaying a silver star Of Bethle.
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1926-12-19

A GIANT sa1amander, thought to NJ
almost $50 years old. was recently
presented to the Prince Regent q
Japan by the head priest Of a tempN
near Asakura. according to press re
ports. The amphibian II more thar
four feet long and has been living In
4 pond In the temple grounds for more
than 1eo years.. This is the fret tinlt
that an amphibian has been recorded
az having had 50 long life.
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1926-12-19

smooth and dead calm prevailed. 30
the fire did not have the draft that It
would have had under normal con
ditions.
As soon as the fire was under con
troll | Investigated To determine the
origin Of the fire. and to see what
damage had been done.
To my surprise. found an empty
can which had contained kerosene.
bits Of Charred paper. and lot Of old
tarred. rigging. which had been placed
there by some one before the fire was
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1926-12-19

Vow whence came ye. ye nfonarchs three?"
Old Christmas Carol.
rs 1t the mystery Of Matthews brief
narrative of the wise men and
their journey to Bethlehem which
accounts for the fascination II
has held for the people of every
century since that journey was made?
Whence did they come and whittier
did they 60 when, their gifts laid at
the feet of the Christ child. they re-
turned to their own country by an
other way?
In the words of the old song, Wise
colleges and doctors all their wisdom
have displayed in order to solve the
question, but the common people, who
loved mystery and who loved the story
of the wise mems gifts, did not wait
for any scientific answer. At the end
of few centuries tradition had en-
dowed these mysterious travellers with
names, rank and country, vast wealth
and countless retAiners.
Matthews story Of the first Journey
IL very simple. They came" he tells
ms, wise men from the East to
Jerusalem" They gave gifts OF gold.
franlincense and myrrh, and later.
"being warned Of God in a dream that
they should not return TO Herod. they
departed into their own country by
another way"
Nothing in this narrative helps us
to locate that particular part OF the
East in which their own country il to
be found, except the original word
which has usually been translated
wise men" This word is the word
for "rnagi," and the masi, we are
told, belonged 10 a Persian caste OF
who had extensive estates in Media.
Kings sometimes belonged TO this
same caste.
Seeking further information about
the wise men of Matthews story, the
early Christians turned to the Psalms
and believed they found there au-
thority not only for number and title
OF these. men, but for the country over
which each ruled. The kings of
Tarshtsh and OF the isles shall bring
presents; the kings Of Shebs and seba
shall offer gifts Thereafter the
visitors were always three in number
and were spoken Of more frequently
as the three kings than as wise men
or nnAGi.
Riding their stately camels the
three have 3ourneyed acroes countless
ana probably very few OF US who see
the cards remember that in the Bible
narrative the No. 3 10 not mentioned.
Their traditional home country
seems to have followed the trend Of
geographical discovery, always pushed
into some farther East where II might
some day be definitely located. For
many centuries the East included not
only those morning lands" known 10
the Hebrews, but the more distant
horizon still unexplored. Travellers
venturing into new regions sought the
home of old acquaintance in legend
and history.
THE earliest known representations
l. az the three kings are sculp-
tured In simple basreiief on the sar-
cophag1 Of the early Christians about
the third century. They are always
shown as three in number, are usually
accompanied by their carnels and
sometimes wear Phrygian caps. Now
phry9fa, the country from which our
liberty cap came, is in Asia Minor,
and the evidence OF the sculptures is
interesting because Of its relation to
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1926-12-19
BY JOHN A. COOK.

w THAT has made the sailors
of Cape Cod and the
NN islands of Nantucket and
Marthas Vineyard world
renowned as the best men
that ever trod the deck Of a vessel?
From boyhood they are accustomed
to boats and to seeing deeds of valor
performed that have gone with them
through life.
All my ancestors, as far back as
can trace them, were sea-faring PEG
ple. 1t was natural. then, that /
should have chosen the sea for my
livelihood. At II ! made my first
voyage in a mackerel schooner; at %,
my first as whaler. / have been
employed constantly at whaling ever
since, and it has carried me into every
ocean upon the globe.
Voyages In the Arctic seas present
tn the master some of the most intri-
cate problems of navigation that the
world has ever known. Leaving San
Francisco in February. as he looks to
the eastern horizon and sees the last
blink Of the Farallone Light toff the
Golden Gate), he realizes that that
light Is the last guide he Will have
and that no beacon by night or buoys
by day are to be seen by him to warn
of treacherous shoals or other dan
and depend upon his past experience
to bring him out safely.
Each and every man, from Jack the
sailor to the master, with the excep-
ton of the engineers, is dependent on
the catch for his pay. Not dollar of
wages or salary Is otherwise guaran-
teed.
Each man shares a percentage of
catch determined by the position he
1Ha to- oh Ia In no HHA A If
O steam whaler would receive one
fifteenth lay" or share of the net
proceeds. while Jack would receive
One two.hundredth lay or share.
While first oficey OF the bark John
and Winthrop L had an experience
with a sperm whale that never
wanted to repeat. OF the southern
coast of Australia a gale was blowing
when a school of large sperm whales
made their appearance close to the
vessel.
The weather was totally unfit to
lower a boat for whales, but the cap
tain ordered the Iarboard and waist
boats to be lowered. I commanded
the larboard boat, while the second
officer comma nded the waist boat. We
got away from the ship without mis-
hap and succeeded in harpooning a
big fellow.
AS soon as he felt the Iarpoon l
knew by his actions that we had got
hold of a Tartar, for he did not run,
but dashed the sea with his tail and
then threw his jaw into the air look
ing to see where the boat was that
had dared harpoon him.
The waist boat came to assist me
TO kill him, As the harpoon from
that boat penetrated his flesh he
caught the boat in his Is feet of jaw
and BIT ittaII to pieces. We took the
crew into our boat and slaeked the
lire to get q safe distance away.
-
THE bark, seeing the accident, low
a cred the starboard boat, in
a.....Aa.
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1926-12-19

Had weather conditions been different
or had that hre got into the oil, II is
doubtful II any Of VS. would have been
saved.
IN You did do II. write YOUR con-
fessions at once: but II you did not do
It. let no one intimidate you into say.
ing Won did. for I will keep you where
no harm can come to you from them
If YOU are innocent.
Think well. for the guilty will suf.
fer the torments OF hell II 1t In in my
power to iuhict that punishment; it