“The first railroad in Palestine is being laid out, and the preliminary survey has been completed as far as the Jordan. It is to run between Acre and Damascus, and is called the Hamidié line, because it is named after his present Majesty, the Sultan Abdul Hamid. Probably one reason why the firman has been granted so easily lies in the fact that it passes through a great extent of property which he has recently acquired, to the east of the plain of Esdraelon. The concession is held by ten or twelve gentlemen, some of whom are Moslems and some Christians, but all are Ottoman subjects resident in Syria. Among the most influential are the Messrs. Sursock, bankers, who own the greater part of the plain of Esdraelon, and who have, therefore, a large interest in the success of the line.”
Several eminent Englishmen have visited this country during the past month. Lord Coleridge, representing the law, Henry Irving the stage, Matthew Arnold, literature, and Père Hyacinthe, theology. The reception of these gentlemen in our eastern cities indicates that the world has a peculiar fondness for its own. Henry Irving was received by more people, entertained more elegantly, and eulogized with more applause, than any one in the list. Yet he has not done a tithe as much for the elevation of his fellow men across the waters as any one of the others. Is it not still true, “The children of this world are wiser in their generation than the children of light?”
A Hindoo prophet, Babu Protap Chunder Mozoomdar, has come to this country from the Orient. He was educated in the religion of Brahminism. Some years ago he renounced idolatry, and in company with his cousin, Keshub Chunder Sen, joined the Brahmo Somaj, a theistic movement started in 1830 by Ram Mohun Roy. Mr. Sen and Mr. Mozoomdar have since become prominent leaders in this religious and social movement. Mr. Mozoomdar left India last spring for a tour around the world. He is about forty-two years of age, is above the average height, is of dark complexion and finely-cut features. He is the author of two books; one on “The Faith and Progress of the Bramo Somaj,” and one just published entitled “The Oriental Christ,” which is a devout and poetic conception of Christ as seen by an Oriental mind.
The term “dude” is a very convenient nickname for the over-nice or simpering individuals who are found in considerable numbers on every line of the world’s work. There is the fashionable dude, scholarly dude, literary dude, artistic dude, etc. They are a useless class of persons, unless they serve as scare-crows to frighten other people from the line of life on which they move. Perhaps this is as good service as can be claimed at the hands of such a set of weaklings.
The Arctic relief expedition has proven to be a great failure. No relief for the Greeley party was provided by the expedition, and yet it has returned home. The verdict which public opinion seems to render is, that the “Arctic Relief Expedition” was badly managed from first to last.