Samantha at the St. Louis Exposition Part 20

And the G.o.d they dasted to invoke said of the drink the place wuz made to sell, "It biteth like a serpent and stingeth like an adder," and the end thereof is death.

I don't know what that good man could be thinkin' on to dast. But then as long as our Government opholds it, I spoze he thought he might.

But I wish I'd been there to told him how it wuz goin' to look to me and Josiah and the world, and what slurs wuz goin' to be cast onto the sacred cause of religion by it.

I couldn't tell him what harm it wuz goin' to do; no, eternity is none too soon to count that up. Awful waves of influence sweepin' along-sweepin' along clear from to-day to the Day of Judgment; I can't bear to think on't; I'm kinder sorry for him, and am glad enough it hain't my Josiah that has got that ahead on him. I wish he'd ondo now what he's done as fur as he can, he'd feel better, I believe, I know that I and the meetin' house would and Josiah.

But, 'tennyrate, no matter how Satan wuz laughin' and sneerin' and angels bendin' down from the gold bars of Heaven lookin' through their pityin' tears hopin' it must be a mistake, not believin' it possible that them prayers and hims could come from a man-killin' saloon. And coverin' their eyes with their droopin' wings when they found it wuz so-they sung it through and the minister, for he wuz a stiddy man, went home in good season. And Perkins also started home walkin' afoot, it wuz so little ways.

And as I said, some wimmen sot on him and hoss-whipped him. Some of these wimmen's husbands had been ruined and killed by the Poor Man's Club. And there wuz some mothers whose little boys of seven and eight had been coaxed with brandy-soaked candy into another saloon Perkins owned. For this saloonkeeper had boasted, Perkins backin' him, that money spent enticin' the young and innocent to drink, whilst they wuz easily influenced, wuz money well spent.

For of course, as good calculators, they had to in the interest of their profession provide new recruits to take the place in the staggerin' ranks of the hundred thousand they annually killed off. And this saloonkeeper, helped on by Perkins, had the name of the most active boy and girl ruiner among the thousands in the city, though they all did a flouris.h.i.+n' bizness.

Two or three of Perkins' saloons made a specialty of sellin' drink to girls, and their mothers who lay their heads on their pillows at night and found 'em like thorns and fire under their heads, thinkin' of the pretty warm-hearted girls who had to be away from mother's care to earn their livin', out to service and in manufactories and elsewhere. And some rich mothers, whose girls wuz away to school--

These mothers thinkin' what a weak thing a girl's will wuz when drink had drownded out the small self-control they had, and youthful pa.s.sion and temptation urgin' 'em on, and the company Perkins nachully drawed 'round him.

These mothers whose boys and girls wuz like pieces of their own hearts, and these wives in the grief made recklessness of despair, made a hash vow that they would break up Perkinses saloons or die in the attempt, so they sot on him that night and gin him good drubbin'.

But they couldn't do much, for the police, of course, horrified by their onparalelled and onprovoked crime, hustled the wimmen off to jail, and escorted Perkins home with honor. But to resoom backwards.

I will git up (in fancy) from the steps of Solomon's Temple and go on in.

This is a complete copy of the magnificent temple built by Solomon, the wisest man in the world. Though like all wise men he had his foolish streaks, seven hundred wives is too many for one man to git along with, I should told him so if I had lived neighbor to him. I'd say:

"Mr. Solomon, if you have the name of knowin' so much show your smartness by gittin' rid of six hundred and niney-nine on 'em; keep jest one, pick her out, take your choice, but discharge the rest. Set 'em up in dressmakin' or millionary or sunthin' to git a livin' by, and settle down peaceable with one." Mebby he'd hearn to me and mebby not, men are so sot in their way.

But to resoom. Here we stood in that splendid temple which was the wonder of the world, and see the tabernacle the old Hebrews carried with 'em through the parted waves of the Red Sea and their journeyin's through the wilderness for forty years, led by the pillow of fire.

What feelin's I had as I looked on it and meditated, what riz up feelin's them old four fathers that carried it must have had, and them that follered on, led as they wuz by heavenly light, fed by heavenly food. How could they acted as they did, rambelous often and often, wanderin' from the right road, but still not gittin' away from the Divine care.

And there wuz a picture forty feet long, as long as our barn, showing the old Hebrews encamped before Mount Sinai, where Moses received the Law that rules the world to-day (more or less). Heaven drawin' so nigh to earth that hour that its light fallin' on Moseses face made it too glorious for mortal eyes to look on.

And I'dno but one of them mountains we see wuz where Moses stood after his forty years journey, castin' wishful eyes onto the Promised Land, not bein' able to enter in because of some past error and ignorance. And I thought, as I stood there, how many happy restin' places we plan and toil for and then can't enter in and possess through some past error and mistake caused by ignorance as dense as Moseses ignorance. What a lot of emotions I had thinkin' this, and how on top of another mount the great prophet and law-giver wuz not, for G.o.d took him.

I wuz lost and by the side of myself, but Josiah's voice reached me up in the realm of Reverie and brought me back.

"What ails you, Samantha? Do you lay out to stand here all day?" And I tore myself away.

Well, there wuz movin' pictures describin' the Holy Land and we see 'em move, and dissolvin' views of the same and we see 'em dissolve, and at last Josiah got so worrisome I had to go on with him. We laid out to stop to j.a.pan and France, they bein' right on our way, and I sez, "We might as well stop at Morrocco." For as I told Josiah, while we wuz travelin' through foreign countries we might as well see what we could of the people, their looks and habits.

But he sez to once, "You don't want to buy any Morrocco shues, Samantha, they don't wear nigh so well as calf-skin and cost as much agin." And sez he, "We won't have more than time to go through j.a.pan and France and do justice to 'em." So we went on.

CHAPTER XIII.

The j.a.pan exhibit is on a beautiful hill south of Machinery Palace. There are seven large buildin's besides the small paG.o.das and all filled with objects of interest. It seems as if the hull kingdom of j.a.pan must have taken hold to make this display what it is. And how they could do it with a big war goin' on in their midst is a wonder, and shows beyend words what wonderful people the j.a.pans are.

There are two kinds of exhibits, one by the allied business interests or Government and the other by individuals. But they all seem to work in harmony, havin' but one idee, to show off j.a.pan and her resources to the best advantage, and the display wuz wonderful, from a royal pavilion, rich in the most exquisite and ornate decorations down to a small bit of carving that mebby represented the life long labor of some onknown workman.

In the Transportation Buildin' is a map one hundred feet long, showing the transportation facilities of the Empire, a perfect network of railways and telegraph and telephone wires, showin' they have other ways of gettin' 'round there besides man-carts and jinrikshas, yes, indeed! it is a wonder what they have done in that direction in fifty years.

The postal exhibit shows they delivered eight hundred and sixteen million pieces of mail last year, and every post-office has a bank, the school children have deposited in them eleven millions. I wish our country would do as well. The exhibit of the steams.h.i.+ps show jest as much enterprise, and how world-wide is their commerce. The saloon of one of the steams.h.i.+ps is a dream of beauty and luxury.

The Temple of Nikko is ornamented by wonderful carving in catalpa, chrysantheums, etc., and in it in gla.s.s cases are the most beautiful specimens of their embroidery, tapestry, pottery. One pair of vases are worth ten thousand dollars. As you leave this Temple you see on each side the finest specimens of j.a.panese art, painted and embroidered screens, all kinds of metal, laquear and ivory work; exquisite vases and priceless old delft wear, and there is a model j.a.panese house, you feel that you'd love to live in it. There is one spring room in it that holds the very atmosphere of spring. The tapestry and c.r.a.pe hangings are embroidered with cherry blossoms, its one picture is a sweet spring landscape. Low green stools take the place of stuffy chairs and sofas. And there wuz an autumn room, autumn leaves of rich colors wuz woven in the matting and embroidered in the hangings, the screens and walls white with yellow chrysantheums.

Then there wuz a gorgeous j.a.pan room with walls of exquisitely carved laquear wood, ma.s.sive gilt furniture, rich embroidered silk hangings, and the ceiling wuz a beautifully carved flowery heaven with angels flying about amidst the flowers. This one room cost forty-five thousand dollars.

And we see lovely embroidered cloths, porcelain, shrines, urns, cabinets, chairs all wrought in the highest art, silks of every description, and sights and sights of it. Fans, parasols, lanterns, fireworks of all kinds, mattings, straw goods, cameras, etc., etc.

In the mining display is a model of one of their copper mines, and you see they have the largest furnace in the world, and they not only mine on land but under the sea, it beats all how them j.a.panese do go ahead. There are tall gold and silver bars showing how much they have mined in these metals.

Their educational exhibit shows the same wonderful energy and advancement. There is a compulsory educational law and twenty-two per cent. of the children attend school. There are schools for the blind, deaf and feeble-minded, and a display of all their excellent methods of education, from kindergarten to the imperial university.

In the Palace of Electricity on a map thirty feet high and twenty-five feet wide, you see pictures of j.a.pan's great engineering work, Lake Biwa Ca.n.a.l, connecting the Lake with Kioto. Irrigating, electricity making, electrical apparatus invented by them, they have nearly twenty-five thousand telephones, long and short distance.

In the tea exhibit you see everything relating to this beverage, tea houses, experimental farms and over one hundred different kinds of tea are shown. Rice is shown in every stage of its growth, tobacco, fruit, canned goods.

You can enter the Forestry and Fish departments through a temple built of twenty different kinds of wood. Here you see all the native forest woods, bamboo takin' the lead. Their fish and their methods of fis.h.i.+ng are shown off, charts of their fis.h.i.+ng grounds and boats. The j.a.panese section of the Palace of Fine Arts has the best samples of sculpture, painting and pottery.

But the crownin' beauty of the j.a.panese display is the Enchanted Garden (well-named). A charmin' little lake lies in the midst of flower beds and hedges, dotted by aquatic flowers. Beds of hydrangeas and chrysantheums and other bright flowers glow in the sunlight. A pretty summer house stands on a little island and bending over the water are dwarf pine trees brought from j.a.pan. At one end is a waterfall, and there is a pleasant tea house where pretty j.a.pan girls serve tea on the broad galleries.

Beyend the lake you see a model j.a.panese house and not fur off is the headquarters of the j.a.panese commission. Near the top of the hill is a large pavilion made of wood and bamboo. It is used as a reception room, and here you see j.a.panese costooms from the earliest day to the present. Here are pictures of the Emperor and Empress. There is a display here also of the Red Cross society, medical boxes of army and navy, etc. This is the only hint this courteous country gives of the great war going on at home that would stop the exhibit of most any other country. They are a wonderful people and are making swift strides to the front in every direction. I took sights of comfort here and so did Josiah.

I said a big war would stop the exhibit of most every country-it has stopped Russia-she don't have much show here to the Fair, they wanted to, and laid out to, but couldn't on account of havin' to go to war. It is dretful busy this year, killin' off men, and sendin' out men all the time to be killed, so of course, it can't devour the same time in more peaceful occupations.

I wuz really sorry, for I always liked the Zar. Of course, we don't visit back and forth, he havin' the misfortune to not live neighbor to us. But I always thought he wuz likely, real smart and good-natered, lovin' his wife and babies devotedly, settin' a splendid example in this direction to other high potentates who act and behave more or less.

And his Peace Proclamation, like a tall white monument riz up for men and angels to admire. How its pure luminous light lit up this dark earth and streamed clear up to heaven, the blessed influence it shed abroad wuz so beneficient and divine. How much I and the hull world thought on't.

And here it is all broke to smash, for of course, it wuz right in his way and he had to tromple on over it, he and the squadrons he called to war.

I don't know exactly the right or wrong on't, it is hard sometimes to keep track of ethics in a Jonesville quarrel, and when two big Empires git to cuttin' up and actin' and sa.s.sin', and dastin' each other to do thus and so, I can't be expected to know all the ins and outs of their dispute.

But I do know this, that the beautiful Peace Monument is smashed all to pieces under the feet of the thousands and thousands of men sent out to murder and be murdered, and it is doubtful to me if the Zar can ever contoggle it up agin to be as strong as it wuz before. You know he will nachully git his muscles and will and temper kinder stiff jinted leadin' the armies and gittin' so awful mad.

But, there they be, these two great nations, j.a.pan and Russia, sendin' out their peaceable and well-behaved sons by the thousands and hundreds of thousands to cut each other to-pieces, shoot, maim and murder each other, for that is what war is, it is on purpose to kill men, the greatest crime in the civil calendar.

As I told Josiah one night to Miss Huff's, as I laid down a paper givin' the details of a b.l.o.o.d.y battle which wuz headed "A Great Victory."

Victory! the idee! hundreds of men borne bleeding from the field suffering tortures worse than death and every pang they felt twice suffered by them that loved 'em, watching and waiting at home in agonized suspense, hundreds more layin' with their white, dead faces upturned to heaven as if in mute appeal and wonder that such a horror as war could be in a world where the words of the gentle Christ had been hearn.

Sez I, "I can't understand it, Josiah, John Jones gits mad and kills one man, a small boneded man too, and weakly, couldn't live long anyway, and John had been abused by him shameful and wuz dretful mad at him. A horrified state law clutches John Jones and kills him. Public Opinion sez good enough for John, it will keep other murderous-minded men at bay mebby.

"But I always loved justice, and if a king gits mad and kills or causes to be killed hundreds of thousands of men I can't see why he if successful should be admired for it, have a monument riz up to show forth his n.o.bility and school boys be taught to emulate his greatness."