674 
OCT.48 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER. 
matting for % prang. 
THE CATTLE TRAIN 
Shut in from pure and boundless air. 
That lately round them flowed, 
From wanderings free in pastures fair, 
They come a hapless load. 
Close huddled, on their weary feet. 
They waver to and fro, 
As thundering on. with bounding fleet, 
Their cruel prisons go. 
Their ifreat, mod eyes look mildly out 
Between the wooden bare. 
As tdattorlnK o’er the lonjr, Iona route 
Sweep on the freighted cars, 
Past pastures green as those they knew. 
Past cattle feediug there, 
Past templing streame and rivers blue. 
Past all things dear and fair. 
Yes past for these are all things bright; 
Their day of doom lias come ; 
Farewell to life, farewell to light. 
Ye sentient beings dumb. 
—Yet we who speak your wild, mute woe 
Are scarce more blest than ye; 
Our hope but strives less dark to show 
That death ye do not see. 
--- 
THE CATTLE TRAIN, 
This incident was related some years ago by 
Miss L. M. Alcott, the well-known author. 
Somewhere above Fitchburg, as we stopped 
for twenty minutes at a station, I amused ray- 
self by looking out of a window at a waterfall 
which came tumbling over the rocks and spread 
into a wide pool that flowed up the railway. 
Close by stood a cattle train; andtbe mournrul 
sounds that came from It touched my heart. 
Full In the hot sun stood the cars; and every 
crevice of room between the bars across the 
doorways was filled with pathetic noses, sniffing 
eagerly at the sultry gusts that blew by, with 
now and then a fresher hreatb from the pool 
that lay dimpling before them. How they 
must have suffered. In sight of water, with the 
cool dash of the fall tantalizing them, and not a 
drop to wet their parched mouths! 
The cattle lowed dismally, and the sheep tum¬ 
bled one over the other In their frantic attempts 
to reach the blessed air, bleating so plaintively 
the while that I was tempted to get out and see 
what I could do tor them. But the time was 
nearly up, and while i hesitated, two little 
girls appeared and did the kind deed better 
than I could have done It. 
I could not hear what they said, but, as they 
worked away so heartily, their little tanned 
faces grew lovely to me In spite of their old 
hats, their bare feet and their shabby gowns. 
One pulled off her apron, spread it on the grass, 
and, emptying upon It the berries from her pail, 
ran to the pool and returned with it dripping, to 
hold it up to the suffering sheep, who stretched 
their hot tongues gratefully to meet It, and lap¬ 
ped the precious water with an eagerness that 
made little barefoot’s task a hard one. 
But to and fro she ran, never tired, though 
the small pall was soon empty; and her friend 
meanwhile pulled great handfuls of clover and 
grass for the cows, and having no pall, filled her 
plcklng-dlsh with water to throw on the poor 
dusty nosea appealing to her through the bars. 
I wish I could have told those tender-hearted 
children how beautiful their compassion made 
that hot, noisy place, and wnat, a sweet picture I 
took away with me of those two little sisters of 
charity. “ Blessed are the merciful for they 
shall obtain mercy.” 
— - -»»» — 
ENGLISH LITERATURE, 
Some months ago I wrote you about a very 
famous author. By this time I suppose you have 
found out his name, ir not, I must tell you that 
this man with a short, thick body, a face disfig¬ 
ured by small-pox was—well, now girls who was 
he? Oliver Goldsmith ? Yea, to be sure. Have 
you time now to read something about another 
man, who wrote a number of books? As lean bear 
neither your "yes,” nor your " no," I will write 
something for "yes’’ and beg "no” not to read 
It. That Is fair, isn’t It girls and boys, or are you 
all girls ? I don't know whether boys care much 
about literature. I think they ought to do so, 
when it Is of their sex we write. Another time, 1 
think I must take a woman lor my heroine. 
This evening, for “ Blue Monday ” is over and I 
am writing to you by gas-light,—one which, hy 
the way, is very far up towards the celling, as I 
have not a drop-light. I sometimes almost wish 
for an old-fashioned kerosene lamp,—but this la 
a great digression;—It Is almost enough to make 
our poor, dear old author turn In his grave, that 
1 should so far forget myself and him as to wan¬ 
der off to those highly prosaic and unromantic 
affairs, kerosene lamps. Mo no more of them. 
Let them remain quietly where they belong, only 
I do wish 1 had one! 
This author of whom I shall write to you, was 
born In Litchfield, England, Sept. 18th, 1709. He 
received his early education of a man named 
Hunter, of whom he said, “He beat me well,” 
adding,“without that, however, I should have 
learned nothing.” 
In 1728, he went to Pembroke College, Oxrord, 
having been engaged for the two previous years 
of his life In learning ms father’s business of 
bookseller, it Is said that books of his binding 
are still extant. 
in 1736 he married a widow, a Mrs. Porter. A 
year later he went to London, where he wrote 
tor the “Gentleman’s Magazine.” One of his 
books, Rasseias, was writt en to pay the expenses 
of his mother's funeral, to use his own words, “it 
was written In the evenings of a week,” He was 
a very eccentric man, as you will see, this hero 
ot ours. One day, on entering Sir Joshua Rey¬ 
nolds's studio with a blind lady, he quit her hand, 
whirled about on the doorstep, then gave a sud¬ 
den spring, made an extensive stride over the 
threshold, as If trying for a wager how far he 
could step. Being one day Invited to a dinner¬ 
party, he did not make UIs appearance until the 
party were about to sit down to the table. Then 
he appeared at the great gate, contemplated it, 
and, at length, climbed it. When asked if he had 
forgotten to open the gate, he said, “ No, but 1 
had a mind to try if 1 could climb a gate uow as I 
used to do,” Two lady admirers once visited him 
In Bolt Court, one had prepared a very elaborate 
speech which she delivered with much satisfac¬ 
tion to heraeir. When she had finished he mere¬ 
ly said, “ Flddle-de-de, my dear!” (I have always 
felt sorry for that lady.) 
afrktf lUatoitg 
♦ 
THE TRIAL OF JESUS CHRIST. 
Jesus was finally condemned for “blasphemy," 
because he made himself the Messiah and the Son 
of God, making thua higher personal claims than 
even the witnesses against him had suggested. 
That was the crime, therefore, towards which odg 
ot the intended accusations—that as to super¬ 
human power—may be held to have pointed. But 
whaf ot the other ? The unexpected but satis¬ 
factory answer is that it fell under precisely the 
same legal category, that of blasphemy. This 
THE CATTLE TRAIN. 
Then our Mr.-had an odd fashion of treas¬ 
uring up bits of peel, and when walking through 
the streets he would touch every post he passed 
with his cane; If by chance he overlooked one 
and was reminded of Ms mistake, he would 
turn hack several blocks and rectify matters. A 
queer maD, was he not? and yet he wrote some 
very good and valuable books, among the num¬ 
ber, “The Vanity or Human Wishes," “The 
Lives of the Poets ” and a Dictionary; then he 
wrote for “ The Rambler ” and “ The Idler,” both 
periodicals. 
Prom an entry made In Ms diary we find he 
read one hook of the ^Eneld In an evening, and 
knew the Eclogues hy heart. 
In 1773 be made a tour to the Western Isles of 
Scotland, of which he gave an Interesting ac¬ 
count. As a man, he was, In mind as In body, 
powerful and rugged, hut he was capable oil acts 
of benevolence and ot substantial generosity. 
Indeed, at one time he supported four or five 
poor creatures, who, but for his aid, would have 
been obliged to seek refuge in an almshouse; yet 
these people were sometimes very ungrateful to 
—- for all his benefits. “ Strength, or at least 
force of mind, ft certain sage solemnity In the 
treatment of moral themes, a sharp eye for the 
observation or character as It manifests Itself In 
society, and a great power of caustic wit, are the 
chief qualities noticed In-He had good 
sense and solid Judgment. 
Now as the clock strikes nine, It Is quite time I 
should tell you when our Mr. — died. He died 
December 13,1784, and was buried In Westminster 
Abbey. 
I leave his name to be found out by the bright 
girls and boys. Sans Souci. 
®jf£ ittgltr. 
CHARADE. 
Mr first comes In the pleasant spring, 
When merry birds begin to sing; 
My second, I am very sure, 
Is used by all, both rich and poor. 
To receive my whole Is very pleasant, 
It oft contains some valued present. 
tr Answer in two weeks. Maky Waley. 
TRANSPOSITION. 
Ety od otn Mnth I toubd heet; 
I nowk hyt turth snlmera; 
I oldwu otn veil tlwohut hete, 
Orf lal het lowrd tlnsoacn. 
Chlpmonk Hollow. Rosa a. Frost. 
Answer In two weeks. 
-W-- 
DOUBLE ACROSTIC. 
l. A rhymer, 2 . One or the other. 3. a dog’s 
name. 4. A medical writer. 5. An Insect. In¬ 
itials and finals form fishes. 
fsr Answer In two weeks. Balto. 
--- 
PUZZLER ANSWERS.-Oct. 5. 
Charade.—P enstock. 
Cross-word Enigma.—Robs Frost. 
Hour-glass Puzzle.— 
T K I N I T Y C H V R C H, N. Y. 
massaoh usetts 
poktlavacca 
CAMBRIDGE 
PAMLICO 
BOONE 
ATE 
T 
FEZ 
L A S S A 
CATTERY 
kiikutik 
MI3SOLONGH1 
PENNSYLVANIAN 
GEN E SEERIYSB.N. Y, 
might be suggested to us by the witnesses against 
Stephen, who describe as “ blasphemous words” 
the deliberate utterances of the deacon as to the 
passing away of the holy place and the law. But 
I believe that It win be found there is no Hebrew 
category of crime under which the attempt to 
supersede the old Institutions could so naturally 
come as that denoted by the term blasphemy. 
The witnesses, therefore, may have had this 
somewhat. In view from the beginning, as the 
Judges almost certainly had; and It Is not too 
soon to devote a few sentences to the question 
what so Important a legal word means. 
Blasphemy Is not profanity—It Is profanity 
which, as the name Imports, strikes directly 
against God. This is the original sense of the 
word, and It Is that to which we have returned 
In modern days. But throughout the countries 
of Europe, ruled by civil and canon law, blas¬ 
phemy has long since taken on a secondary and 
constructive meaning. Now whether It Is a nec¬ 
essary thing for ordinary nations and Jurispru¬ 
dences to have In their statute-book such a crime 
as treason against God at all, we need not In¬ 
quire. One thing Is certain. In the Hebrew 
commonwealth and under Hebrew law it was 
necessary. For that commonwealth was the one 
pure theocracy, and all Its priests, prophets, 
Judges, and kings were the mere courtiers and 
ministers of the Invisible king, whose word was 
Israel’s constitution and law. In such a consti¬ 
tution blasphemy, or the verbal renunciation of 
God, was in the proper sense high treason; and 
any attempt to subvert tliu great Institutions of 
his government was.'oonstructlvo treason. Now 
neither the crime or the " false prophet” of the 
true God, nor that of “ the ldolator” or seducer 
to the worship of strange gods, seems to have at¬ 
tained to the generality and eminence of the 
name blasphemy In Jewish law. That the word 
was used in the age of Calaphas to designate al¬ 
leged attempts agalnt the divine system of re¬ 
ligion Is certain. 
We cannot therefore hold, as has sometimes 
been done, that these witnesses brought forward 
a special and Isolated charge with regard to tho 
temple, and that on the rallureof it the council 
passed unfairly to other and disconnected counts. 
The special charge was at least In the lino of the 
whole procedure contemplated. For unless we 
are to become wholly unhlstortcal In our legal 
criticism, we must believe that the general course 
of this night’s proceedings was prearranged by 
the leading members of the Sanhedrin, and that 
they and not the witnesses really conducted the 
prosecution. The evidence la overwhelming that 
at repeated meetings of what the fourth Gospel 
even calls a council, and what may have been 
formal meetings of the acting committee of that 
body, the suppression and ir need bo the death of 
Jesus had been resolved upon. And In those pre- 
Umlnary proceedings It was not merely bis acta 
as a prophet or as an opposer of existing Institu¬ 
tions that were deliberated upon. His claim to 
be the Christ, and even (as Ms nearer followers 
had long ago acknowledged Mm to be) the Son 
ot God—whatever that mysterious claim might 
mean—had during the second part or his career 
pressed heavily upon the Hebrew conscience, es¬ 
pecially in Jerusalem. 
The evidence, all agree, was not found sufficient 
—perhaps not found “ relevant to infer a con¬ 
viction upon It alone. The rule of law In such a 
case was clear, that the accused must be at once 
liberated. And even had the Inculpatory evi¬ 
dence been found sufficient, the next step by the 
rules of the court was to call witnesses for the de¬ 
fence. Such a proposal would of course have 
been a mockery In a trial at such an hour. What 
was actually done was an attempt to cross-exam¬ 
ine the accused. “Answerest thou nothing? 
What Is It wMch these witness against thee ?” 
are the exact words of the Mgh priest repeated 
in twoof the narratives. But he » held Ms peace. 
and answered nothing.” The Interrogation was 
unlawful. But I am not able to represent this si¬ 
lence as caused by indignation at the errors of 
the accusers, or the unfairness of the Judges. 
That the onllnary rights of every accused He¬ 
brew had been present to the mind of Jesus we 
have already seen. But that he had any expec¬ 
tation of escaping, or even any desire at this 
stage to do so, there Is no evidence whatever. 
All the narratives combine to show that ha had 
for some time been consciously moving on to a 
tragical and tremendous close of his brief career. 
His utterances In anticipation of It during the 
previous weeks, and especially on the preceding 
day, httvu held the world spell-bound in each 
succeeding generation. A similar hlght of self- 
possession marks Mm at this final hour. The In¬ 
accurate or malicious recollections of what he had 
said three yearn before were nothing now to him. 
He had not come to Jerusalem to perish by a mis¬ 
take; and if we are to fill that silence with 
thoughts at all, we may suppose that they had 
reference to the scene that now surrounded Mm. 
For there, at last, were gathered before him, the 
children of the house of Israel, represented in 
their supreme council and great assembly. To 
this people he had always held Mmself sent and 
commissioned. Now at last they have met; and 
all the ages of Israel's past rise in the mind of 
Mm who stands to be Judged—or to judge. 
At what hour the great concluding scenp, so 
vividly described by three of the Evangelists, 
took place, It Is Impossible to say. Plainly enough, 
the private and public examinations of the wit¬ 
nesses must have occupied a considerable time, 
and whether or not these had been attended by 
“ all the council,” or a portion of Its members. It 
Is quite certain that by this time—at the point 
where these examinations were continued—a 
large number of the “great Sanhedrin" was 
met. The members of that body numbered sev¬ 
enty-one; the “little Sanhedrin,” which was 
probably a committee or cabinet formed out of 
the larger, numbered only twenty-three. It Is 
very possible that the smaller body may have 
been summoned at a somewhat earlier hour by 
Calaphas, and it may be that no otheT ever 
assembled. Still the narratives rather suggest 
that the great council, which alone could at this 
rime try a man for his life, and which alone could 
at any time judge a prophet, was also called. 
Let us concede to the language ot the Evangel¬ 
ists that so much of the law was observed. We 
must, In that case, Imagine the council as sitting 
In the hall Gazlth, half within and half without 
the holy place. 
It was they, the zealots of the council, who, no 
doubt, took the Initiative In the extraordinary 
and tumultuous scene wMch closed the sitting. 
Daring the later examination of witnesses Jesus 
had been silent; but the thought or Ms Messianic 
and divine claim pressed upon his judges with 
overwhelming force, and broke out at last Into 
passionate utterance. The discrepancy between 
the Evangelists at this point only brings out the 
whole scene more historically. “ Art thou tho 
Christ? tell us,” they cried; and the Irrepressi¬ 
ble exclamations of the Judicial crowd described 
tn one Gospel were only put an end to by tho sol- 
emn adjuration of their president, recorded in 
another. To the eager and hostile questions of 
the councU, Jesus answered at first lua twofold 
utterance—“ If I tell you, ye will not believe.” 
Was he thinking sadly of their forgotten duty to 
weigh his claims, aud of a result to himself or to 
them ? But he adds, “ And If I also ask you,” as 
he had done a few days before lu the temple, 
when they had demanded his authority, “ If I, 
instead, put my questions to you, ye will not an¬ 
swer me, and ye will not release ” your prisoner. 
It was true; but the council was long past being 
turned from Us purpose by the reference which, 
I think, these words again have to Judicial fair¬ 
ness and the order of justice. They saw in his 
face the light of that more than earthly claim 
wMch Ms lips only for a few moments delayed to 
make; and with ft mixture or terrible and hate¬ 
ful emotions, starting to their feet, “thensaid 
they all. Art thou then the bon of God?” 
But above that crowd ot aged and evil faces 
was now seen rising the high priest or Israel, and 
ail voices sank away as the chief magistrate and 
Judge or the sacred nation demanded, In the 
name of the God whose office he bore, an answer 
to Ms most solemn adjuration, “ I adjure thee by 
the living God, that thou tell us wheuu-r thou be 
the Christ, tbe son of the Blessed!' It was the 
question for which men had waited so long; and 
now the answer came. “ l am," the Christ, the 
Son of God: and, turning to the crowd who sat in 
their places of power around Min, he added, 
“ Hereof try shall ye see tho bon of Mail sitting on 
the right handler power, and coming lu the 
clothes of heaven.” When a king declared Mm¬ 
self In Israel, the manner -was that, he stood in 
the temple by n pillar, and the people of the laud 
recetring Mm rejoiced with hosanna and song, 
with paim-branch and with trumpet,. And ir this 
was tho manner of a king, how snould tho Klug- 
Messlah be received ? But when a man blasphem¬ 
ed the name of God, the ordinance in Israel was 
that every man who heard It should rend bis gar¬ 
ment from the top downwards rend It into two 
parts which might again never be sewn into one. 
And scarcely had Jesus witnessed hla confession 
before those “many witnesses,” when the high 
priest standing In hla place, rent hls clothes, say¬ 
ing, “ He hath spoken blasphemy; what further 
need have we of witnesses y Behold, now ye have 
heard hls blasphemy, What think ye?” And 
tney answered, and said, “ lie is ihh Mayeth— a 
man of death.” . . . “Then they all condemned 
Mm to be guilty of death.” 
So passed thuc great condemnation. 
But our conclusion on the question of nebrew 
law must be this: that a process begun, con¬ 
tinued, and apparently finished, In the course of 
one Mght; with witnesses against the accused 
who were sought for by the judges, but whose 
evidence was not sustained even by them; com¬ 
mencing with iriturrotovtories whlob Hebrew law 
does not sanction, ana ending with a demand for 
Confession which ItB doctors expressly forbid; all 
followed, twenty-four hours too soon, by a sen¬ 
tence Which described a claim to be the fultlller 
ot the hopes or Israel aa blasphemy—that such a 
process had neither the form nor the fairness of 
a Judicial trial. But though it wanted Judicial 
fairness and form, It may nevertheless have been 
a reed and important transaction. There is no 
reason to think that the council mistook the 
Qlatm of Jesus. And there is every reason to be¬ 
lieve that their condemnation truly expressed the 
nation’s rejection ot Ms claim, 
