THE BIBLE AND THE WAY TO STUDY IT.Seventh Day

. Adventist.

tartan.

the opinions of some ox "':r

on the Jbst way Inwhich to read the Bible:

HEBREW-RABBI

VOCRSANGER.

The Bible isnot a helpful

book to ignor-ant people. Toread it meansvei v little, tounderstand it

means all. Ido not say that it is ne-iary to read ibe Bible by add of

commentaries, but there Is much In itthat cani ad uivlerstandingly

without some such aids as modern textcriticisms afford.

The TJible is now the internationalliteratim of the world. Once it wasthe national literature of Israel, andthe cycloj I Its law, its poetry,

•y. tnadition aril ethics. Few Btu-dents, Comparatively, have the courageto ;•\u25a0 ture in this latter: light.Most peojile, wish to read it in the lightof supernatural communication. Ihave nonobjection to that method if

desired er.d be reached, which is,to make Scripture the teacher of theemotions, an ,instructor of virtue andan interpreter of the relationship be-tween the divine and man.Ifthis much be sought in the Bible

most \u25a0! find something in it to->f all books the one

that appeals ni' si strongly to our hu-manlty. Its simple accounts of the

our forefathers, its bolddenunciation of the evil in man,and its tender commendation ofvirtue and goodness, appeal to us

. lences that our human natureis still capable of the greatest improve-ment, lies the strongestcharm of Its Inspiration, which, by the

I s many things to many men.To tret, the best, ethically, out of

Scripture read it as one who needs toistructed in the ways of goodness,who hopes to grow stronger and

:\u25a0 with his instruction. But thatis but one of the many sides of thewonderful book. Its strongest, Its no-

features, are unfolded to the stu-dent before whom the nations of an-tiquity pass in review, and who discov-ers in the ten thousand emotions thatFir his simi! the deep influence of theBible's noble oratory upon the moral; 58 of the world.

To the student a line of Isaiah isworth a hundred Iliads, and the com-forting sophisms of Job are far more

il than the keenest dialectics of.:s and Arabs. He reads the his-

tory of the world and the beginning oftilings; and he marvels, because theevolution of man and his physical po-tencies are nowhere so strongly depictedas in the book of books. And thus thestudent receives a lasting impressionthat God is great and good:

A Jew finds it somewhat difficult toanswer a query concerning the gospels.Theologically, Israel knows n."thing ofthem; ethically, they are modificationsof Talmudic and Medrashic maxims.The writers of the gospels reflected thewisdom of the rabbis of their times.From a student's standpoint Iwill say-that it is only in this sense that thegospels have any interest for me.

As a teacher of religion and one whomust necessarily be interested in soci-ety's moral and intellectual progress Iwill venture to say that if the Chris-tian world will ever reach the standard<>f the ideality pr-t up in the gospelsthere will be little cause tor askingquestions like this. Let the Christianworld strive to reach the ideal; let itspractices be in complete harmony withirs professions of peace and good will,faith, hope and charity: and if we everreach that far in God's eternal yearsrabbi and priest will minister at thesame altar

—in the same shrine of God.

SWEDENBORGIAN—PASTOR

D. V. BOWEN.

The Hebrewand Greek Scrip-tures, called theBible, can beshown to be the""Word of God"only by proving

that there is within the letter anothermeaning, which treats of God and spir-itual things.

Jewish history, ns such, is no moreGod's word than Roman or Persian his-tory, and unless Itcan be shown thatthe places, persons, countries and times,and all natural objects in the Bibleare symbols of the spiritual principlesof love and wisdom, which God is, itcannot be God's word.

When these symbols are understoodas pertaining to principles instead ofpersons; to states of mind and heartinstead of times, and qualities of goodor evil instead of place, then God is re-vealed to us, as never before. God's

of nature will then be found tobe corresporudentfal to his written bookof symbols, which employs all the ob-jects ..f nature to express spiritualThings. The Gospels and Book of Rev-elation have this inner meaning in itsfu'lo.st expression.

Instead of going back to ancientmanuscripts or church to prove the au-thority of the word, we would simplyask any one to apply the same reason-Ing he would apply to a mathematicalproposition. Instead, however, havingpoints, lir.^s and angles and figures todeal with, hf» will from certain axiom-atic spiritual principles proceed todemonstrate the truth of propositionswhich deal with the higher forces oflife, love, wisdom and their receptionand application by angels and men.

Thus the Bible is seen to be holy be-cause it treats of the highest and holi-est things. "The letter killeth, but thespirit giveth life." No criticism of theletter as to time, place or person candestroy or disturb the prophetical his-torical and gospel parable.

The central figure of the GospelJesus Christ, when seen from the spir-itual principles which th*-se names sig-nify, id Been to be divine. Otherwise

\u25a0\u25a0\u25a0 could not abide with men or\u25a0 be formed within them.

In the humanity, that is, the humanform • slon, is seen the divinenlfested, glorified andin our minds and hearts to be

\u25a0 r.h the father. In which consiststhe true atonement, and salvation is tobe saved by the abiding presence of

which is Jesus, and the for-mation of our characters into harmonywith the truth, which is Christ.

Such are our views in respect to theBible and the Lord, and we regardthorn as most hopeful' and uplifting toall the children of men. Hi.peful- be-cause it is an ever present word speak\u25a0-

\u25a0 every child nf God now. what-ever his condition may be. Most uplift-ing, because when received in spirit Itlifts up our spirits into communionwith the love and wisdom, which theLord is.

UNITARIAN—

\ DR. HORATIOSTEBBINS.

In what spiritshould the; Bi-ble be react togain

% from'

itthe

'greatest

good it canyield?

A \u25a0 general answer to .* the questionv.-i.ithi be: The spirit. of

"truth—that

spirit that ',Would -know the truth, re-vere- itand receive it-with a teachablemind*. -: .• •' • : '—. :. . .;\u25a0

What is the Bible? There is much init,and many different kinds. .It is thenutobiography of human nature, fromits infancy to its perfection. What-ever man has felt, and seen, and done,as a moral and spiritual being, is

Salvationist.

written there in vivid simplicity ofchild-story and myth, or in rapt vis-ion of the inspired soul.

It includes the education of humanity

from childhood to manhood. It seemsto me that to read the Bible intelli/gently and earnestly we need somesuch view of its contents and idea.When we read the first chapter of Gen-esis we jiieed to go back to the age inwhich it was written and recognize inthe crude science of that time the su-preme truth that God was the makerand ruler of this universe. That is thetruth, and n«> lesson, of geology.

The Bible is sometimes called theWord of God. It contains a word ofGod, and much that is not in anyproper sense a word of God. Thedifferent books of the Bible havedifferent value, and are to be regard-

ed and read with discrimination. TheProverbs of Solomon, whether he wrotethem or not, are not to be comparedwith the Sermon on the Mount, nor thestory of Samson with the letters ofPaul.It is common to say that the Bible is

inspired. We want an intelligent ideaof what that means if we would readthe spiritual import of the Bible.Does it mean a theography, a writ-ing by the hand of God himself? or awriting by men to whom' the spirit ofGod had given understanding? Thetest of inspiration is that it inspires,lifts up the mind, exalts the feeling,

kindles imagination.Solomon says: "He that passeth by

and meddleth with strife belonging notto him is like one that.taketh a dogby the ears." John says: "Beloved,now are we the sons of God, and itdothnot yet appear what we shall be; butwe know that when he shall appear weshall be like him."

Here are two styles of writing. Whichis inspired and which inspiring?Iknow of no book from which so

much can be gained by the commonheart, and which at the same time af-fords and demands such exercise- ofreason and intelligence. The Bible isthe classic literature of our religion.Likeall other classic literature its per-fection is relative. As it becomes oldand older it becomes also

'in many

points o-f view^ strange to the thoughtand tas*te of the generations that studyit. Itis found necessary to make al-lowance for the time, the circum-stances, the historical events in whichthe literature arose. All the writingsof the Bible are to be Judged in rela-tion to the age in which they werewritten. The eternal things are per-petual from age to age, but much hasno relation to the modern times.

The word unto the prophet spokenWas writ on tables yet unbroken;The word by seers or sibyl toldIn groves of oak or fanes of goldStill floats upon the morning windStill whispers to the willingmind-One accent of the Holy GhostThe heedless world has never lost.

ADVENTIST—LEVI

H. SMITH.

The creed ofthe Seventh DayAdventists isthe Bible, andonly the Bible.We are, as aclass, students

of that sacred volume, and dwell withespecial interest on those portionswhich seem to others difficult, ifnot im-possible, of interpretation.

We believe that the Holy Scripturesof the Old Testament were given by in-spiration of God, contain a full revela-tion of his will to man, are inerrant,and are the only Infallible rule of faithand practice. We read the Bible withperfect faith, sure that all prophecieshave been, are being and will be ful-filled, and in this spirit only can thebest good be secured from it.

Mrs. White, the well-known Advent-ist writer, says: "Both the Old Testa-ment and the New are necessary. TheNew is but the unfolding of the Old. Let

.those who talk of the patriarchal andprophetic age as a Christless age readtheir Bibles with humble heart, pray-ing for power to follow the example ofthe holy men of God."

We believe in the divinity of Jesus.In the summary of our faith thesewords occur: "There is one Lord, JesusChrist, the son of the eternal Father,the one by whom he created all things,and by whom they do exist." We lookupon him as our Savior and Redeemer,and expect to reign with Him in timeto come.

The Bible issuch a many-sided volumethat a person

SALVATIONARMY-GEORGE

WOODS,STAFF CAPTAIN. can come to it

Inspiration For instance the studentof history will search its pages for thehistory of ancient times and people;the student of literature willdelve intoits pages for information as assidu-ously as he does into his Shakespeareor the classics; the scientist, the natur-alist and others can all receive assist-ance in their own particular lines of re-search; but the best good can only begot from it when it is approached inthe spirit of its author-, as the Word ofGod and his revealed will to man.

The psalmist voiced, the experience ofChristians of all ag-es when he said,"Thy word is a lamp unto my feet anda lightunto my path," and the more aperson brings his or her life into linewith the rule of life laid down in itspages the more will that person's lifebecome like unto that of our great ex-ample, the lowlyNazarene, and the ob-ject for which it was divinely Inspiredbe accomplished. Itmust be read inthe spirit of prayer and with an hon-est heart, and only in this way can thegreatest good be received from It.

To stand off and view the life ofJesus as that of a noble, unselfish,manly character may to a certain ex-tent he -upliftingso far as it makes onerealize one's own unworthiness.

To simply look upon him as a ma-iwill not bring satisfaction to the hu-man heart. To separate the' divinefrom the human in the character ofChrist will only make an enigma ofnot only the (Jospels but of the entireBible. To the skeptic and critic heis still a "root out of the dry ground,without form and comeliness." It isonly when combining the human anddivine, and looking upon him as theSon of God, the Savior of the world.we kneel In contrlteness of heart, thor-oughly repenting of our slnfulness, thatwe can receive that help and virtuewhich he came into the world to pur-chase for all mankind.

CHRISTIAN SCIEN-TIST-

MISSS. E. BRADSHAW.

The trans-formed faith ofthe ChristianScientist is an-chored in thospiritual signifi-cance of the

ScripturesFor that reason he Is not disturbed

by the higher criticism now claiming somuch attention, the many translationsnew and old, nor the skepticism of thematerialist; neither does he share theblind faith in the "letter" that Igno-rance imposes.

One who has grasped with some de-gree of clearness the teachings of "Sci-ence and. Health, with Key-to the Scrip-tures," (the Christian Science text-book) has gained in the scale of spirit-ual discernmept and understanding sothat the words of truth written by theinspired writers of the Bible come tohis awakened consciousness with greatpower and practical meaning.

The true spirituality portrayed

Th'epspphast.

throughout the Bible, sometimes dimlysoen, then again strong ami cleaiYforms the practical ideal which is to be

made real in the consciousness of eachfollower, while the results of departing

from this standard and following ma-teriality are so vividly pictured that

the most wavering and doubting childshould be warned, enlightened andsaved from bitter experience.

What is the test of reading the BibleIn the spirit of understanding? Weshould be able to prove with signs fol-lowing the supremacy of spiritual pow-er over mortal conditions— mental or

physical. "He sent His word and healedthem and delivered them from their de-structions." "Ye shall Know thu truthand the truth shall make you free.'It is its divine nature and cannotchange.

We certainly must regard Jesus asthe way-shower and example for us to

follow.He warned his followers againsthearing his words and not doing them.

"He that believeth on me the worksthat Ido shall he do," and commandedthose who believed on him to preachthat the kingdom of heaven was athand, to heal the sick and so on.He must surely have shown us thedivine method of restoring health anddestroying disease.

Can there be a more helpful or uplift-ing view in which to regard him thanthat he was a safe guide in every way.

He .has shown us the freedom and

Latter Day Saints.

Swedenborgian,

power that man as the son of Godshould manifest. He proved with scien-tific certainty there is a law of God,which, ifadhered to, will free from sinand- disease and ultimately triumphover death. Itwas also proved by hisfollowers as long as they relied uponspiritual powers and demonstration toestablish his teachings. Human doc-trines and traditions have never an-nulled its force. «

To-day we are confronted again bythe demand to prove our faith by ourworks. We should consider rthe Christ-like character, life and works attain-able by ourselves and work to that endregardless of time or any obstacle ifwe would be helped and uplifted by theexample set forth In the Gospels.

The Bibleshould be readin the samespirit as anyother book, hon-

SPIRITUALIST-MRS.

J. J. WHITNEY.

of the bigot and, fanatic, or throughthat of the cynic and skeptic, the out-come of such reading is in both in-stances error.Itmust be remembered that its con-

tents are all stro-ngly marked with the

Hebrew.

exaggeration of the oriental mind, col-ored with oriental coloring, obscured byoriental mysticism and allegory. Alsothat it remained for'years in the handsof a conservative body of men, whomutilated, altered and interpreted tosuit their own aggrandizement before itbecame common property through be-ing translated into the vulgar tongue.Realizing, too, that it was translatedby men whose knowledge of the lan-guage in which it was written was atleast questionable, it may be reasona-bly contended that the accepted Bibleof to-day is widely different from itsgreat original.

That its contents were originally in-spired we may believe, that is, inspiredin the sense that its writers wrote un-der the control of spirit power, andthis fact alone willaccount for contra-dictions and discrepancies in it. Dif-ferent spirit controls give different in-spirations, hence there Will always bea certain amount of contradiction in in-spired utterances and writings.

The spirit controls inspired their me-diums according to- their, the spirits')knowledge and advancement. Fromthis it will be evident that the valueof an inspiration is to be ascertainedonly by the evidence it presents oftruth and goodness.

An inspiration may come from a con-trol that is evil and wicked, and thisthe Bible clearly indicates when itstates that God sent a "lying spirit" to

\u25a0sjpJ ritualist.

mislead the prophet and the people.Therefore it may given as the generalopinion of thoughtful spiritualists thatthe writings of the Bible were producedunder inspiration, and that those writ-ings must be read honestly and fairly,and judged according to their intrinsicmerits

—accepting the good as emanat-

ing from good controls and the badfrom evil ones.If the character of Jesus Christ be

regarded as the character of a god, Itfalls short of the most perfect ideal;ifIt be regarded as that of a man, a re-former and a martyr, who gave his Ufaas a forfeit to savage bigotry and Igno-rance, it presents a splendid human, atranseendently beautiful man

—a sym-

bol of love and kindness, of meeknessand gentleness, of justice and charity.

Jesus of Nazareth was the greatestspirit medium the world ever saw

—a

healing medium and an inspired oratorcontrolled by good and powerful spiritsof the highest order. Little understoodby the barbarians around him and act-ingas the master of a lodge or spiritualcircle, he performed his good work andmiracles openly, and honestly strivingto elevate mankind and using his me-diumship to eradicate error, reformbigotry and relieve suffering humanity.Inreturn for this he suffered persecu-tion, misrepresentation, injustice, cru-elty and eventually death.

METHODIST—DR.

E. R. DILLE.

In what spiritshall -we readthe Bible in or-der to secureits best to our-selves individu-ally?

We should come to it with faith.Iknow it is sometimes asked," Why

should we not have a new religion?There have been 1800 years of researchsince the Bible was sealed with a finis.Must these go for nothing? Are wenot wiser than our fathers respectingthe great verities? Is it not high timethat our faith should be brought upabreast with the.zeit

—the spirit

of the time?*

,\u25a0But there are some things in"which

the fashion never changesfundamen-tal things, like air and water and sun-shine. , May not relig^n—nay, mustnot' religion— of this sort? Charcoaland diamond are both essentially thesame they are carbon ; they differ onlyin the fact that the charcoal was madeyesterday, while diamonds have beenunder pressure for ages. Current opin-ions are loose charcoal; the Apostles'Creed, the best formula outside of theBible of the, faith once delivered to thesaints, is a solitaire.

Because we can mend a goosequillpen it- does not follow that we :canmend an eagle's wing. There is thatoft quoted and . flippant couplet ofPope: . . :S\C:For modes of faith let graceless bigots

fight:He can't be wrong whose life is in the

right.As though there is no well ascertain-

ed ground, no standard of Christianbelief; as though there were not somethings settled by revelation and ex-perience once and forever; as thoughthe roots of character— belief had no re-lation to the fruits of character

—duct and life.

Again in matters of science, men arenot forever seeking the truth and neverfinding it. They do find it. and whenthey find it they crystallize it into ax-ioms, corollaries and definitions, whichhave been hammered out after years oftoil and research, and which are usedwhen formulated In .findings furthertruth.

Why, then, in matters of religion thattouch character and destiny shall wenot be able to lay our hands on certaingreat verities which are no longer openquestions, and say without a doubt ora misgiving, "Ibelieve them"?

What is the most helpfuland uplift-ing light in which to view the charac-ter of Jesus Christ as set forth in thegospels?

As the livingChrist. Matthew Ar-nold says of him:

Now he is deau; far hence he lies.In that lone Syrian town.And on his grave with kindlyeyesThe .Syrian stars look down.

And Mrs. Humphry Ward, followingRenan, calls the story of the resurrec-tion "an exquisite fable."

But nineteen centuries of Christianhistory are not built upon a ghost story,nor the fairest civilizations the worldsaw upon an optical illusion. Millionsof transformed lives are not based upona fog bank, or upon Mary's mistakinga patch of moonlight for her risenLord.

That is why upon the ruins of theancient faiths has been reared theChristian church, dominant in Europe

and America and girdling the globewith its missionary enterprises. Thechurch lives and grows to-day becausebehind its sacraments and rituals, be-hind its creeds and confessions offaith, behind its chapels and cathe-drals rises the Christ of Bethlehem andCalvary and Olivet, nay the Christ ofto-day, risen from the dead, regnant inthe heavens. * » •

THEOSOPHIST—PRESIDENT

JEROMb A.ANDERSON.

it contains agreat deal of

and metaphor. Understood in this way,It may be read and studied with muchprofit. It is a collection of ancientwritings, which, after the ancientmethods, teaches the initiate, while Itconceals the real truth from the pro-fane.

The first four chapters of Genesiscontain one of the best accounts ofcosmo and anthropogenesis extant. ButIt is only those uninformed who acceptIt literally. Its "gods" (elohlm) wereplural; Its "days," immense geologicalperiods; its "patriarchs," nations ordynasties; its "serpents," "ribs," "dev-ils" and "deluges," all allegorical.

To accept the Bible literallyis to be-lieve Jehovah (more correctly. Jahveh,or Yahveh) to be wicked, changeableanl cruel beyond conception. Note theslaying of the Philistines coupled withthe reservation of the young and come-ly virgins; the hardening of Pharoah'sheart to afford greater opportunitiesfor slaughtering the Egyptians; theslaying of the innocent Israelites be-cause of David's disobedience in num-bering them, and many other examples,all of which are simply horrible iftaken in their literal sense.

Tho fightings, warrinss and crueltiesof Yahveh or Jehovah, like those ofJove. Brahma, Horus and other "gods,"conceal secrets wbich, were our mod-ern men really wise, would rpveal pro-found truths, especially In the domain:>f cosmic chemistry, capable of throw-ing great light upon evolution, andman's place Innature. Itis In this waythat the Bible ought to be studied, andthose incapable of doing so would bet-ter let it alone.

The most helpful and uplifting lightin which to view the character of JesusIs to look upon him as a God-like man—

not as a man-like god.Conceived of as the creator and pre-

server of this universe alone, his char-acter becomes grotesquely absurd; butas a perfect vehicle for the expressionof the oversoul, or as perfect as humanlimitations of brain and sense organswill permit, it shines out as worthy ofall emulation— aye. and of all adorationas well. Well may Christians call histeaching a new dispensation, for there

Christian'\u25a0' -Scientist.

Methodist,

is in it not a single point of contactwith the exoteric Jehovistic religion.

Christ was a divine man. but no moreso than many others have been, and asall others may be if they live the liveswhicli brought him to perfection. Je-hovah stands for force and _ revenge:Jesus for love and forgiveness. Andit is the love element

—the ethical side

—which has kept Christianity alive un»til now.

The ethics of Christianity are thoseof universal religion; they have noth-ing of the "eye for an eye and a toothfor af tooth" of the semi-barbarous Je-hovi/tic teachings. Christ is our broth-er, our teacher, our exemplar, ourguide,' our king.

byinspirationof God, and is

REORGANIZED LAT-TER-DAY SAINTS-

PRESIDENTC. A. PARKIN.

reproui, i»>r cur-rection, for instruction in righteous-ness. That the man of God may beperfect, thoroughly furnished unto allgood works."—llTimothy, iii:l6,17.

And "for whatsoever things werewritten aforetime were written for ourlearning, that we, through patience andcomfort of the Scriptures, might havehope."

—Romans, xv:4.Therefore the Scriptures should be

read as a message from our Father tohis children in earth life, and no manshould put any other constructionthan that which the language conveys.

Peter says: "Knowing this first, thatno prophecy of the Scripture is ofany private interpretation."

—IIPeter.

ii:2o. Therefore when "water" i3spoken of "water" is meant, and sowith "spirit."

How would we know what to "hope"

for if we did not understand the wordas it is? It is like a chart or a com-pass. JVc turn to the Scriptures tolearn as the mariner turns to the com-pass to learn the course he is going,and it is conclusive to him, and so theScriptures should be to us. "When itsvoice is heard all controversy dies."

"God so loved the world that he gave

his only begotten Son, that whosoeverbelieveth in him should not perish, buthave everlasting life."—St. John, iii:l6.

"Behold, Ihave given him for a wit-ness to the people, a leader and com-mander of the people."— lsaiah, lv:4.

"God was in Christ, reconciling theworld unto himself."— llCorinthians,

v:l9.He was the Son of God. He had the

"seed of the woman" but the nature ofGod. He was sent to reconcile the worldto God. He was sent to bear witnessto the truth, to lead men to the properservice of God in the God-appoint Mway. "No man cometh to the Fatht \u25a0<\u25a0

but by me. Iam the way, the truthand the life."

He came to lead men to observe whatGod had commanded. No other serviceas a service willdo.

"But the hour cometh, and now is,

when the true worshipers shall wor-ship the Father in spirit and in truth;for the Father seeketh such to wor-ship him."—St. John, iv:23."Iknow that my Father's command-

ment is life everlasting." "He gave mea commandment what Ishould say.""Thus it becometh us to fulfill allrighteousness."

—Matthew. Hi:15.

GREATEST STAGEROMANCEOF THECENTURY.

Love Story of Patti and <Nieolini Thiat Began in a DuetTwenty Years Jlgo and Ended Witf? th?e

Tenop's Recent DeatfcjyDELIXAPATTI had been for ten

/l years married to the Marquis dejlCaux when Nicolini came into her/ life. From that time until his

death their relations were of themost devoted character. Whatever eachcould do to make the other happy

seems to have been done. There is no

more romantic. story in fiction than thatof Adelina Patti and Ernesto Nicolini.

That it lasted to the very end— tilldeath cut the lover's knot which bound

them together— was shown in Patti'sdevotion to Nicolini during his last ill-

ness. He was stricken at Craig-y-

Nos, Patti's castle among the WelshHighlands, early last summer. Untilthe end came she was his constant anddevoted attendant, leaving him only

when professional engagements which

could not be canceled called her away,

and then returning to him at the earl-iest possible moment.

Thus, early last summer, when she !

had to sing at Albert Hall, London, she Ihad a special train in waiting to bear

her quickly back to hisr bedside. Ni- jcolini. stretched- listlessly upon his l

couch, hardly ever took his eyes fromher, and when it was necessary for herto move about the room in attending tohis wants his gaze would follow her. i

exaggeration to say that from that dayuntil his death Nicolini continued thesame ardent Romeo to his Juliet.

As a rule, where there is trouble be-tween a famous stage character andher husband, especially when he ismerely a "prima donna's husband," thepublic is apt to sympathize with thewoman, but in Patti's case it was dif-ferent. Owing to the Marquis de("aux's social position and the intiuem-ehe was able to bring to bear, she wasobliged to endure much obloquy.Moreover, she was not only marriedherself, butNicolini also had a wife andchildren. The papers referred to himas "the gentleman who now travelsabout with Mme. Patti," and certainpractical jokers got out invitations toher alleged coming wedding with thetenor. At St. Petersburg there was ascene between her and the Marquis,

and the women of the higher socialcircles showed their disapproval of heraction by either leaving- their boxes ordrawing the curtains when she appear-ed upon the stage.

Although all this occurred in the mid-dle seventies divorce proceedings be-gun between her and the Marquis deCaux were not concluded until late in1884. Judgment v. as rendered in favorof the Marquis. 4 i;.a-;murh as the scan-dal which caused 'he separation be-tween husband and wife was stillmaintained."

Patti's devotion to Nicolini even went

so far as to include her admiration forhis singing, which shows love is notonly blind, but sometimes also deaf.Nicolini was never, even in his bestdays, a great tenor, and however pleas-ing his voice may have been whenPatti first met him, it is certain thatwhen she brought him over here on aconcert tour in ISBI the sacred fire, ifit had ever burned within him, was notobservable, and he was already, froma vocal point of view, a good deal of anextinct volcano.

Now, her insistence chat he shouldalways be engaged by managers to singwith her may have been a matter ofbusiness, but there was plenty of evi-dence to show that she really enjoyedhis voice. Iremember that during oneof her visits here Nicolini, who was acollector of rare violins, bought a PaoloMagini. Three or four of his musicalfriends happened to drop in at theWindsor Hotel to see him that day,

and he began showing off his purchase.This resulted in a little impromptumusicale, during which Xicolini sangthe "Salve Dimorah" from Gounod's"Faust." Shortly afterward Patticame into the room, and when sheheard that he had been singing gavehim quite a little scolding, in herown charming way, of course, for nothaving sent for her to hear him.

No one could lons be in Patti's en-tourage without observing the mutualdevotion between her and Nicolini, andthis continued not only durirrg the pe-riod of ten years when their relationswere more romantic than legal, butalso after they were formally marriedin 1886.

To him she was not only the one starof the operatic stage but the one starof his life. He was not only her devot-ed admirer but he also paid attentionto her many pets. She traveled aroundwith a regular train of these

—dosrs.

parrots, mocking birds and canaries.Noticing that day on the steamboat aman who was carrying a cage rathercarelessly, Nicolini ran over to himwith the exclamation. "Prenez garde,monsieur, c'est le Prince!" Prince wasa dove colored parrtit of which lime,

Patti was especially fond.One of th9features in Patti's career

has been the physical care which shehas always taken of herself in orderthat her voice might remain unimpair-

ed as long as possible. Much of thiscare was due to Nicolini's caution. Hewatched over her regime almost likea physician. He would not allow her

to speak in the morning until she hadhad a cup of chocolate, which he oftenprepared with his own hands.

The days when she was to sing hedid not allow her to raise hor voiceabove a whisper, and he often cookedlittle dishes for her himself, especiallyher after opera suppers, to make surethat they did not contain too much fatand that they were in other ways just

suited to her taste. And although

these devotions extended over so manyyears she always seemed to find a newcharm in them.

Fattl had always been- accustomed to

entertain lavishly daring :Che* summer,

but laM summer alljinvitations We**

canceled arid all diversions interdicted:in order that she might devote herselfuninterruptedly to him. . Allthe medi-

cal skill/that money could purchase,was lavished upon him;' she had as

many as ; eleven- doctors 7in consulta-

Patti was at the height of hor bril-liant career when she met Niolini. As

the wife of the Marquis de Caux. hermarriage to whom had been one of thepet undertakings of the Empress En-genie, she held a brilliant social posi-tion.

'While she was unhappy with her

husband on account of dii^ercnees inage and temperament,, that is nothingmore than has, fallen to the lot of manyless famous than she. To leave himfor an opera tenor required certain sac-rifices of position and influence, which,however, she' did not hfeftate to make.

At first there were guarded whispersin private circles in regard to her rela-tions with the tenor, but an occurrenceduring a performance at Gounod's "Ro-meo and Juliet" caused the. scandal tobecome public property, and it waspassed from tongue to' tongue.

At that performance it was noticedthat in the balcony Scene Nlcpliniklsped Patti no less than twenty-onetimes, or, as the humorous statisticianof the day stated, fifteen times' morethan the libretto called for. It is not

A NEW GYMNASIUM GAME.

A new gymnasium game which hasachieved great popularity this winterat Dr. Ravage's Institute is known as

"curtain-ball." It is played with a reg-

ular basket-ball, and possesses muchof the vigor though not of the scientificpoints of play of the older game. A cur-tain eight feet high, suspended froma wire, is stretched across the center ofthe gymnasium. The players, dividedevenly into two sides (there is no limitto the number which may take part,except that suggested by the size of theroom), range themselves on the oppo-site sides of this partition. The objectof each side is to project the ball overthe curtain into the territory of its op-ponents, a point being scored everytime it touches the ground, in favor of

those who- threw it. Itthus becomes'the constant endeavor of each divisionto prevent the ball from landing on itsown ground, as well as to throw itIntothe court of its opponents.

As the curtain renders the move-ments of the players invisible on oppo-site sides, the interest and excitementare kept constantly at the highestpitch. Nobody knows from which quar-ter the leather sphere may come flying

over the partition, and consequently

all parts of the court must be kept ade-quately guard?d. Until they learn byexperience the truth of this principle,the players are very apt to mass to-gether when the ball comes in sight,all1scrambling at once in its direction.Then if It Is returned more quicklythan usual, they do not have time toseparate and scatter about before itflies over again, this time in an entirelydifferent portion of the court. Some-times two balls are used, greatlyheightening the activity of the game

and making still more imperative thenecessity for covering the courts well.Occasionally, when there is a largegame, as many as three balls havebeen kept going. Then indeed there isa mad scramble, and an accompani-

ment of calling and laughing which, to-gether with the violent exercise, leavethe girls breathless and tinglingat theend of a few minutes' play. The um-pire for the game stands at one end ofthe curtain, Just as he does at the netin tennis, from which point a view otboth courts is obtained. He is obligedto keep a sharp lookout, for the sets ofplayers, cut off as they are fromvsight

of each other, have no means of know-Ing when the ball strikes ground in theopposite court.—Harper's Bazar.

ALASKA.The area of the United States befor«

the purchase of Alaska was 2,933,66*square miles; Alaska contains 550,00(square miles of mainland, 7000 squaramiles of the Aleutian Islands, and 22,-000 square miles of other Islands, a to-tal of 579,000 square miles, or one-fifthof the area of the rest of the UnitedStates. *Itrequires the areas of Cali-fornia, Oregon, Washington, Idaho,Montana and New York to equal this.The area of New York, Pennsylvania,Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Virginia andWest Virginia equal only one-half ofAlaska. It equals the combined areaof Great Britain and Ireland, France,Germany, Belgium and the Nether-lands. It stretches from latitude 61degrees to 71 degrees, and from longi-

tude 130 degrees to ISB degrees.«\u2666 \u25a0

—Mrs. X had engaged a robust, mid-

dle-aged colored woman to do somehouse-cleaning. During the progress ofthe work Mrs. X said:

"A colored man came along here oneday last week and wanted work, and Ilet him wash some windows, but he didnot do the work at all well.

"What fo' lookin" man was he? askedthe helper.

"Well he was a big strong fellow, andhe had but ono eye. He said that his 5name waa White. He did very poor

"Ispec* he did. lady. He's de wus no-'count. In dls town."

"Oh then you know him?""Know him? Why, lady, I's mah'iod

to "im!"—Harper's Bazar.

THE SAX FRANCISCO CALL, SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 6, 18IJB.18