"LET US ALL JOIN--"

There may be people who still smile at the hottest June nineteenth and twentieth since 1884 and say that even such weather "stands in some rank of praise." The only possible occasion for such depressing optimism is the report of the doings of Mount Etna in Sicily. Granting that Italy could be no hotter than New England, yet such heat plus the temperature of molten lava must call up memories of Dante and his Inferno. Therefore the unselfish faith of the people, of Linguaglossa must be colossal, for they have approached within scorching distance of the lava to pray for their city.

It is a legend of Linguaglossa that once before, when the image of St. Egidius was held up, the oncoming flood of lava was stommed. Faith has brought to pass many miracles, including the splitting of the Red Sea. Perhaps such a nostrum is still effective. Perhaps by climbing to the house-tops to get as close as possible to the heat and, chanting a hymn to the Sun, our land and our people may be saved from shriveling up like fried bacon. Certainly drastic steps must be taken immediately; and as long as the weather-man has proved himself a mere pawn of the gods, the New Englanders must once more grasp their fate in their own hands.