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? ^ / s? <4>afe. / loT^ZH/ YO' ^I Artcrln.Inrlinn 1 & # W O^1 ?? 1 JY1JJ j SecretService \ ^ I ? CHAPTER XXIV. 15 Continued. f,I cannot understand it at all. If I had a secret like that upon my mind I should be miserable. I should not be able to think of or take an interest in anything else, whereas you and?-Winyard?were as innocent as lambs. You took an interest in the theatricals, in the trivial details of everyday existence. It makes one feel like a child to whom the nurse talks upon topics likely to amuse, and never thinks of what she is saying." Before Colonel Wright had time to reply, the door was thrown open by the square-shouldered butler, and Laurance Lowe entered the room, closely followed by Charles Mistley. "We met on the doorstep," said the younger man; while his companion silently shook hands with Colonel and Mrs. Wright, and kissed Lena. "Early visit," added Laurance Lowe, by way of apology. "I am glad you have come," said the colonel, genially. "I have heard from Winyard at last." Then he rose and handed the letter to Charlie. The young 'sailor took the paper and walked.to the window. " "Excuse me," he said, with a grave smile toward Mrs. Wright before he unfolded it. Leaning against the woodwork of the window, he read the letter through slowly and deliberately. Then he came forward and gave it back to the colonel, with a word of thanks. Before handing it to Laurance Lowe, the old soldier unfolded the paper and examined it critically; then, looking up suddenly at Charlie, he said: "It is such men as this who leave their mark upon the generation." Charlie smiled in his lazy, grave way. "Yes," ne repnea; "tne energetic ones." Laurance Lowe was . holding out his hand for the letter, patiently and without any show of curiosity. As previously hinted, he was essentially an unemotional being, never displaying curiosity or surprise. "Colonel," said Charlie, "I have brought you the new sheet-map I promised<to procure you. It is a large affair, so I gave it to Jarvis to take into your study." "Thanks?many thanks!" "And," continued the young sailer, "and?I have come to say good-bye." Laurance Lowe slowly raised his eyes. They rested on Charles Mistley long enough to notice that the young fellow carefully avoided meeting Lena's quick glance, and instantly turned away again. "Good-bye?" echoed Lena. "Surelv vrrn qrp nrtf- eninc nwav nnw?" "Yes," replied Charlie, quietly. '1 have been appointed to the Curlew, on the Mediterranean station." Mrs. Wright , had risen, and was standing at the window with her back toward them. She turned her head. "I shall be very sorry to lose you, Charlie," she said, softly. Lena said nothing. She was engaged in administering small pieces of toast to Adonis. Seh could not be expected to express surprise, as Charles Mistley had foreseen this appointment, and had spoken of it frequently. Presently the gentlemen adjourned to the study to smoke cigarettes and inspect the new map. When it was spread out on the table, tbe colonel took a pen and made a little cross over the word "Moscow," writing underneath it the date of Wlnyard Mistley's letter. With dotted lines he followed the track of the railway to Nijni Novgorod; and then, turning south, traced the broad flow of the Volga. Carefully he portioned off each day with a line drawn horizontally. As the mariner traces his course upon the chart, so Colonel Wright continued, in the months that folIawa/) +<-v mnUft fKto imoryinqnv fro nlr n tu, v.v uianv^ cuio imagiuai j across Russia. Down the Volga to Astrakhan, by road from Astrakhan to Petrovsk, and from thence across the Caspian Sea to Krasnovodsk. Each day's journey was portioned off scientifically, each day the little dotted .line advanced further into the unknown East. The old traveler never spoke much to his wife or daughter concerning this map, doubtless considering it a detail of his profession necessarily of small interest to ladies. He was not aware that day by day a fair young face was bent over the gray paper, and a dainty finger followed with absorbing interest the growth of the black line. PHAPTRR VVV . A Strange Message. Early in September Mrs. Wright received a letter from Gibraltar, of which the address was in an unknown handwriting. Charles Mistley'a letters had of late borne the Gib;;: tar postmark, but this could not be from him. Before she had read the first page, she exclaimed: "Charlie is coming home!" "Hurrah!" said the colonel. 4Oh, I am so glad!" said Lena, with more .fervor than the occasion would appear to demand. But Mrs. Wright looked grave. "He has broken his arm," she said, and then she suddenly laughed. The letter was from au officer of Charles Mistlev's ship, was a very humorous production, purporting to be written at Charlie's dictation, but interlarded here and there with observations from the writer's own fertile ijrain. Although the news was bad, it was so cneeriuuy imparted that the bright side of it was aloue presented. \ ~ ' ' - j? . , ' - ' \ . u&immAijummg iiTN * 1 \ By ? UNG \ Henry rLEY t i w a j Merrimant j? W~7~l ' V V ? ?I "At any rate," said Lena, when the letter had been, read aloud, "he is coming." \ "Yes, he is coming," replied her mother, thoughtfully, almost anxiously. Charles Mistley had been the only member of the little circle who had refused, persistently and continually, to acknowledge any feeling of anxiety at his brother's silence. His letters, written in the Mediterranean, seemed to have caught the sunshine and joyousness of that favored sea. No thought of anxiety, no suspicion of doubt, was allowed to find place in the closely written pages. More than a year had elapsed since Winyard's departure, and the silence was yet unbroken. War had at times appeared imminent, and then from mere lack of interest had lapsed into peace again. Great storms had passed over the world?revolutions, murders and bloodshed?but Charles Mistley's faith had never wavered. The black line on Colonel Wright's map had turned back; it had even regained civilization, and yet no word was forthcoming. Despite this, Charlie laughed at anxiety. Worst of all, Winyard's name had gradually been dropped from conversation at the house in Seymour street. The topic was tacitly avoided as we avoid the mention of those dear names which gain no answer now. It was to this that Charles Mistley was coming home. A few days after the arrival of the letter he presented himself in Seymour street. Although he had given no notice of his coming, he was fortunate enough to find every one at home. There was, however, another visitor in the room when he arrived. This was a brother officer of Colonel Wright's, who had stopped his cab in passing through Seymour street to call and leave two brace of partridges. At last the old sportsman took his leave, and the colonel accompanied him to the door. When the latter returned, the fact had apparently slipped his memory that he had shaken hands with Charlie before, for he went through the ceremony again, taking Charlie's left in his right somewhat awkwardly. "How is the arm?" he asked, glancing at the Bling, which the young sailor somehow managed to wear so that it failed to attract attention. "The arm is getting on splendidly, thank you," he replied in rather a constrained tone. The colonel had left the door open, and now the young sailor crossed the room to close it. He stooped in order to see that the bolt had acted properly, and then he turned and faced Colonel Wright. "I have news," he said, quietly, "of Winyard." "Ah!" exclaimed the old soldier, rising from the seat he had just resumed. "Tell me all about it I News at last! Thank God!" "It is a long story," began the other, in his slow manner. "Then be quick with it," interrupted Mrs. Wright, with an impatient laugh. A little "catching" sigh of relief came from Lena's corner of the room. "Let us hear all about it," said the colonel, pointing to a chair. But Charlie appeared to prefer standing. He took his station at the corner of the mantel piece, and while he was speamng ne nagetea wun me ornaments there, taking them up and setting them down again one after the other". He told his story with characteristic simplicity and shortness. 'The day before yesterday," he said, "I was at the club at Plymouth, reading a paper or something, when a fellow came and said, 'Commander Mistley,' in a casual sort of way, and held out his hand. I shook it, and let him have it back, and then he said 'I am Henry Akryl.' I was none the wiser, so I said 'Yes' in a vague way." "I know exactly how you said it," interrupted Lena, with a little laugh. "Well, it ultimately transpired that he dined with us one day in the Persian Gulf. He is an Eastern authority?writes books, or reads inscriptions, or something. Then he told me his story. In January he was at Kizil Arvat. One day he was in the bazaar, and, of course, was being pestered by the scum of the place, who wanted him to buy rubbish of every description. He is the rcrt of man who never buys curiosities, and he finally got rid of them all except one fellow, who followed him most persistently, even out of the bazaar. He turned down a narrow street where the grain merchants have their stalls; but this fellow still followed him, and kept thrusting his wares forward. His particular line of business was old jewelry, Moscow crosses, cheap bangles from Kleff, and that sort of thing. He whined out a prayer for charity in the most aggravating manner, and once or twice Akryl struck his hand aside. Suddenly, however, he ceased whining, and said in perfect English: "Don't look round; don't stop; but listen to what I tell you.' Akryl seems to be a sharp fellow, for he walked on without showing any surprise. Then the jewelry merchant went on: 'When you get back, go or write to Colonel William Forster Wright, 19 Seymour street, London. Remember the address. You had better write it down Alien you get back to the caravansary. Don't look round. Tell him you met an Englishman in Central Asia to-day?that is all.' Akryl said, 'Are you Mistley?' and the fellow replied, 'Shut up!' Akryl bought a cross " Charlie stopped speaking. His itrai. "i - ' r ?r '. -?i.. . thumb was hook^i 'into his waistcoat pocket, as if making sure that something was there. His eyes were fixed on the hearth rug?a tiger skin, the ctrinos nf whioh hfi was followine with the toe of his boot. Suddenly he raised his lazy eyes, direct and with a certain deliberation, from the floor to Lena's face. He caught her eye fixed wistfully on his hand. Then he moved slightly, a'nd addressed Colonel Wright: "It sounds like Win, does it not?" "Yes," replied the old traveler, slowly pulling at his mustache. "Yes, that was Win." 'Akryl saw nothing but his hand," continued the'sailor. "A small, brown hand, he said it was?almost the hand of a Tartar, but somewhat stouter, with compact fingers and light colored nails. I asked him for further details, but that was all that he could tell me. He had landed in England two days before I saw him, and was on the point of starting off to join the Fez expedition, and was just going to sit down and write to you, when he caught sight of me, and remembered that I was Win's brother." "It is not much," said Colone! Wright, slowly, "but it explains a good deal. He ought to have, been across the Kizil Arvat desert before January. No doubt he has had dif12 + rirlf Vj wVllrtK TV Q /"? IlUUltltra LU tuiiicuu nita nmv.ii rt not quite foresee." The old soldier was no adept at dis* simulation. His manner implied disappointment, and in each heart thera [ was a vague conviction that this news was not satisfactory. It was no ex? planatiou of the subsequent silence. \ CHAPTER XXVI. Bokhara. With the advent of October came a succession of fogs. The atmosphere of London was such as only Londoners can breathe?yellow, noisome And choking. The Wrights had talked of leaving town, and nad even discussed the question of going abroad, but they were still in Seymour street. The colonel was busy, and seemed singularly averse to leaving town; he was now getting seriously anxious about Winyard Mistley. Instead of getting better, things grew worse. Vague reports, originating sometimes in Berlin, sometimes in St. Petersburg, appeared from time to time in the newspapers. These romors spoke of trouble on the Afghan and Persian frontiers, of tribal disturbances and religious differences, of boundaries overstepped and agreements broken. Added to all this, Colonel Wright received a blow from a nearer source, which aggravated matters greatly, and rendered Winyard Mistley's silence almost unbearable. One morning, late in October, he was sitting at his study table. Before him lay the large sheet map which Charles' Mistley had brought more than a year ago. A fresh route had been worked out across it with dotted lines of red, commencing at Kizil Arvat on the day mentioned by the traveler, Henry Akryl. The colonel had just completed the doted line as far as Bokhara, and was looking, in an absentedly methodical manner, at a calendar. The date written above the word Bokhara was terribly far back into the spring, more than six months ago. ... * The study door opened softly, and although the old soldier heard it, he did not move or turn. Two warm hands were laid upon his shoulders with that marvellous touch of a woman's loving fingers. They were peculiarly steady hands, as white as Lena's, but firmer and somewhat heavier. "Willy!" . "Yes, old woman." "Willy," repeated Mrs. Wright, looking out of the window into the hopeless dreariness of the October morning, "have you noticed any difference?any change in Lena?" The colonel raised his eyes from the map and contemplated the chimneys of the opposite house for some moments in silence. a cnange?oia woman?" he said, slowly. "Perhaps there is a change?she is no longer a child now." "No, it is not that. There is something else. She never allows it to appear; but?she is miserable. She is wearing herself to death. We must go away from London." It must be confessed that Colonel Wright had not given very much thought to the subject of his daughter's happiness, nor was he clever at divining a motive. (To be continued.) Amusing the Baby. Roscoe C. -Sutclifte, who has fought child-labor'so successfully for sixteen years, said recently in Dallas: "These employers of child-labor seem to me to be lunatics. They fatten on tender little children, working them eleven or twelve hours a day, stunting alike their bodies and their minds; yet in nine cases out of ten they are pious, church-going people, and they assure you calmly that^theitj work benefits and gladdens the children instead of harming and saddenw ing them. "They remind one In their perfect assurance of my wife's niece, a child of nine. "My wife's niece was once left in" charge of her baby brother for some hours. "When the mother returned home, the first sound she heard was the loud yelling and squalling of the baby. She ran upstairs at once. " 'What is the baby crying for?' she said. "And the baby's juvenile monitress answered calmly: " 'He's cross with me, mamma. I was trying to make him smile with, the glove stretcher.' " . Switzerland's Prosperity. The material prosperity of Switzerland is strikingly illustrated by the statistics just published. During the last fifty-five years the wealth of the country, not including State property, has risen from ?400,000,000 to ?6S0,000,000. The remarkable feature of these figures is the fact that no less than two-fifths of this total has been acquired by the hotel proprietors. whose annual income is estimaipH at imn-nrd of ?(>.000.000.? f "" "4 Spectator. 1 L4~ V&i"3> > V # ' I 1 if Household Matters.? Patties From Cold Turkey. Mince the white part of the flesh,* and mix with a little grated ham. Sx<?w this in a small amount of good gravy or melted butter. Put a spoonful of cream in the mince and season with pepper, salt and a dash of eround mace. Bake in tins. Put ijr to shells made of puff paste. Pulled Turkey (English Recipe). Two spoonfuls of white gravy, one of cream, grated nutmeg, salt, pepper and flour. Pull the meat with a fork from the breast of a cold turkey, and heat it in a stewpan. Add two spoonfuls of gravy, one of cream, a piece of butter dredged with flour, and a seasoning of nutmeg and salt Send to table hot. To Broil the Legs of a Turkey. t Cut the legs from a cold roast turkey, make some incisions across them with a sharp knife, season with a little pepper, salt and a pinch of cayenne. Squeeze over a small quanti? ty of lemon juice and place them on a gridiron (which has been well buttered), put it over a clear fire. WbeD done brown place them on a hot dish with a piece of butter on the top of each and serve hot. Curried Turkey. Take the remains of a cold turkey; cut it small pieces and put into a frying pan with about one pint of boiling water, let it stew a few minutes, then take out the meat, thicken the gravy with a little flour, add one teaspoonful of curry powder, pepper and salt to taste. Let this boil up dnce, have some rice boiled whole and dry; put this around the outside of th? dish, and in the centre put the meat (but not over the rice) and serve immediately: I ???? Jellied Turkey. Take out the breast bone ana cut off the legs, not the thigh. Clean it carefully and fill the inside with large fresh oysters, sew it up, lay it in a floured cloth, and sprinkle over with salt. Lay it in cold water and boil for one hour and a half slowly, then take it out and draw out the thread with which the turkey waa sewn. Have ready aspic jelly and when this is cool (but not.cold) pour over the turkey. Set aside to jelly. When garnished with fringed celery it is a pretty dish. Consider the Background. In decorating the walls of a room 4,1 id tilt! III'SL JJUIUt cu uc uvuoiuvt wm ?x whether they are to form a background for its contents, or to be in themselves its chief decoration. In rooms that are to be hung with prints or pictures, the paneling or other treatment of the walls should be carefully designed with a view to the size and number of the pictures. Pictures should never be hung against a background of pattern. Nothing is more distressing than the eight of a large oil painting in a ponderous frame seemingly suspended from a spray of wild roses or any of the other naturalistic vegetation of the modern wall paper. ItllN.XS FOEU THE IriOUSEKEEPER, A recipe for paste that never dries or sours, is to add one teaspoonful of powdered alum and ten drop3 of oil of cloves to a pint of very smooth thick flour paste. Sandpaper will clean suede leather, undressed or 'ooze" calfskin bags. Rubbing the sandpaper lightly over these leathers makes the article equal to new. Furniture can be brightened by a polish consisting of two parts of raw linseed oil and one "of turpentine. After shaking thoroughly, apply with a flannel cloth and rub until dry. As a carpet cleaner, bran slightly dampened, thrown on the carpet and then thoroughly swept out i3 unexcelled. It removes all dust and being damp prevents the dust from flying. For troublesome ants ? A heavy chalk mark laid a finger's distance from the sugar box and all around (there must be no space not covered) will surely prevent ants from troubling. The soiling caused by hands on a papered wall may be greatly lessened, if not entirely obliterated, by laying a sheet of blotting paper upon the spot and passing over it a moderately hot ironrt onrl hroQ lr JLL LJLliCAUfi Ulan uaiu uuu Ui vuit. easily when preparing a piece of fancy.work a little white soap rubbed on the wrong side of the linen is an advantage. A lather applied with a brush is often convenient, and does not harm the linen. Mustard and horseradish mixed make an excellent relish for cold meats. Mix yellow mustard, and add to it an equal quantity of grated horseradish, which has been boiled ten minutes in water. Thin the mixture with a little of this water. People will eat hot dishes and wash them down with iced drinks, and then wonder why their teeth can't stand such a terrific and sudden change of temperature. Filled teeth are extremely sensitive to such changes, and neuralgia frequently results. Here is something to do away with that dangerous paraffine can. Save all the orange peel you may* have. Dry it in a cool oven, and store away in paper bags. Then some morning, when your fire won't Durn, turow a bit of the peel on and watch the effect. If a small bag of spice is placed in the kettle when making apple or erabapple jelly, the flavor will be much improved, and it varies the ielly without effort. A few leaves of sweet geranium thrown into the Jelly ilso gives a delicious flavor. V \m j ; THE GREAT DESTROSER SOME STARTLING FACTS ABOUT THE VICE OP INTEMPERANCE. Tcmpcrance Lecturc on a Street Car ?Possible Good in Drinking ?Robs the Pocket, Shortens Life and Damns the Sonl. fV'hen riding on a street car on Walnut street, in Cincinnati, the writer overheard the following conversation between a passenger and th? conductor. The conductor had stepped from a restaurant, where he had nurchased a sandwich, which he held in his right hand, waiting for an opportunity to take a bite, while he held the trolley rope in the other. Said the passenger, who was a well dressed young man o? abqut twentythree: "'You would be fixed now if you had a pitcher of beer with that." "That's something I never drink," replied the conductor. "I have never seen any benefit come to any one from drinking beer, have you?" The passenger, with a somewhat changed countenance, replied: "It won't hurt any one to drink a little beer." "But what sense is there in it?" said the conductor. "I could never see any good sense in drinking beer, or whisky either. When I worked at my trade last summer, painting some of the largest buildings in the city, when we would paint the roofs I was the only man in the crowd who did not drink beer, and was the only man that could stand the heaf all day, and [ am a man now past fifty. I have worked the coldest days in winter, when nine drinking men out of ten 2ould not stand the cold. It find at anything I can stand more work than the man who drinks. If you can tell me the least benefit tbat one receives from drinking then I will be convinced. There is no good sense or reason for all this drinking: a man both ruins his health and character, squanders his money, shortens his days and damns hjs soul. 1 If I had my way I would prohibit the sale, ' * " * m * i. ~ C i l ?T1 lrinKing ana manuiaciure ui n. an. [ have no use for it whatever." The young man stood with blushing face, looking right down on the platform, unable to open his mouth. When the conductor called "Y. M. C. A. Building, corner of Seventh and -Walnut," I stepped off, feeling that I should raise ray hat to the conductor. ?Watchword. What (lie Editor Saw. The other day we noticed him as we came across the bridge, with his wagon full of cotton and chicksns and eggs. He found ready market for his produce, and we thought how happy his little ones would be when he returned home iu the evfening with toys and dresses and shoes and food for the morrow, and some clear money in his purse. We thought we could see his wife standing in the doorway to give him a cordial greeting on his return, so desirous were we that he should make home ones happy and contented. We could almost see his cheerful face as he returned to his family after a day's absence. So we thought, and returned to our work. But eventide^ame, and he passed by our window again. He had nothing we thought he would have. The bed of the wagon was bare. No little shoes, nor toys, nor dresses, nor food for the morrow, nor money in his purse, we dare say. The man was drunk. He had changed, and this changed our thoughts of his home. We could aee the children shrinking from his approach, and the wife, so careworn and sorrowful. She could not meet him with the pleasant smile with which she had intended! greeting him. He was breaking her heart and preparing to make paupers of his chil? dren.?Alabama Baptist. Drink and Depravity. The public mind, unhappily, has become accustomed to the striking utterances of our judges in regard to the close connection between drink and crime. Yet it is impossible to ignore the remarkable words which fell from the lips of Mr. ^Justice Barnes in his summing up in a recent disgusting case in the divorce court. His lordship said: "The great majority of cases that come to this court are due to drink. I have noticed this as I sit here constantly. If the drink habit, which is unfortunately so prevalent, could be eradicated from the nation, this court might shut its doors, at any rate for the greater part of the time." And as though tfiis was not sufficient, the judge went on to add that . men and women addicted to drink I "KntfA lnof f h a nnnrnr fn vnefcjf" flift IIO.V& 1UOI 111 Vs pv> n VI vv * VtJlWK i>uv baser passions."?London Christian. i Killing One's Mother by Inches. After all, the sincerity with which the late Sam Jones told his own lifestory was the secret of his power. "You dissipated sons," he once said, "put a charge of buckshot into your breech-loaders, and while your mother is in'the dining room take aim and shoot her through the heart. Don't kill her by inches." Any man who knew how to put his thought into such concrete language as this must always have had a certain power over an audience; but the thing which made people believe in Sam Jones' message was the example of Sam Jones' life, redeemed by earnest striving, by a sincere religious faith, and by the help which God always extends to those who ao .no strive.?Youth's Companion. 1 Temperance Notes. Sorrows drowned in drink are always resuscitated. ? Washington Times. The saloon element at Hammond, Ind., is facing a strong and determined fight against intemperance, on the part of the better class of citizens there. A physician says a plate of hot soup will warm and nourish a mani more than six drinks of whisky costing fifteen cents each. ? Louisville Courier-Journal. Colorado has a local option law that is effective in many places. Two< cities, Canon City (7000) and Longomont (6000) are without bar-rooms.' California has four entirely "dry") counties, and many minor municipali-< ties are under local option. The1 beautiful city of Pasadena has nol bar-rooms, and four-fifths of Los An-, geles County is "dry." Out in Kansas the proprietors of five ioints at Coffevville and one at: Cherryvale recently served jail sen-, tences, and, in addition, all their bar: fixtures were burned, along withi forty cases of beer and a quantity of! whiskv.. '' '-f . '- ' ' " " 'fr ? THE SUNDAY SCHOOL. INTERNATIONAL LESSON COMMENTS FOR FEB RUARY 17, BY THE REV. I. W. HENDERSON. ^uujeci: ijoi s ^noicv, uen. jio;x-i^ ?Golden Text: Lake 12:15? Memory Verses: S, &?Helpful ^ Notes. ij?i Last week's lesson completed with i? the arrival of Abram and Lot with ^ their retainers,, slaves and posses- 'f sions, in the land of Canaan. While j\ there a grievous famine arises. There A is not enough food for a subsistence diet. Starvation stares them. Ca- "J naan'is barren. Egypt is the gran- -5 ary of the world. Here if anywhere j there will be food. And so into the i dominions of Pharaoh, southward j from Canaan, they journey. While J: there Abram has trouble with the A Egyptians because of the relations of Abimilech, King of Gerar, with Sarai. God brings a swift judgment upon the house of the Pharaoh. Ho dignifies Abram among and delivers him from the hands of the Egyptians. Released from their troublous environment Abram and Lot go up out ? of Egypt into Southern Judah. The ^ years have brought wealth to both 'J Abram and Lot. What with their * cattle and flocks, their silver and ' gold and tents, they were rich men. : With these possessions they travel as far as , "between Bethel and Hai, [ unto the place of the altar," which 1 aforetime Abram had erected. r Abram and Lot have such numer- j ous herds and flocks that the land is ? incompetent to support them. Their j herdmen fight. Gracing lands and a watering places are equally subjects ? of dispute and of strife. Open war t between their retainers Is imminent ^ An open 'breach between the chief- ( tains is likely. The situation is t strained. But Abram is a man of g peace and of no. contentious spirit. ? His riches have made him neither f hard nor arrogant. He scans the v landscape as it stretches toward the four winds of heaven and he sees op- [ portunity abundant for them both. With a wise economy he perceives ? that war is the last thing that must l come to pass between Lot and himself; that with Canaanites and Perizzites still in the cduntry life will be perilous at best, without any family feuds; that the one way to invite concerted attack by their common enemy I is for them to fight between them selves. And so he proclaims an irenicon: "Let there be no strife?for,we , are brethren." With beautiful spirit , he offers Lot the initial choic&: "If thou wilt take the left hand, then will I go to the right; or if thou depart to the right hand, then will I . go to the left." There is no trace of pugnacity, no evidence of self-ag- ? grandizement in his dealings with Lot. The entire proposition is well , worthy of a man who enjoyed the ' divine favor to an unusual degree. " Abram had profited from his inti- .a macy with God. 1 Lot accepts the proposal. With an r eye single to his own preferment and ^ advantage he chooses the fertile and t luxuriant Edenic country eastward ? toward the Jordan. Fair as the pri- ? mordial garden of the Lord, it ap- ' peals to his self-seeking soul as offering an opportunity for profitable exploitation. Therefore "Lot pitched his tent toward Sodom." Lot is a sample of the man who is spoiled by wealth and success. The more he has the more he wants. His spiritual sensibilities are dulled and his finer qualities are blunted. Practically Abram teaches us the virtue of humility, fairness, magnanimity. What he lost by granting Lot the first choice he gained in just selfsatisfaction. Lot may have selected the best land, but Abram gained a richer spiritual blessing. Abram'? course was as generous as it was diplomatic. He might have drawn lots for position on the land and have left the decision to fate. But he did not. His open-handed dealing with Lot is a lesson to us all. Lot stands a warning against the insidiously destructive influence of prosperity. Greed hardens and deadens; it destroys the powers of spiritual perception; it leads men to look with favoring eyes on sin. And to look with favor is to invite temptation. May God keep us from the adversary of material gain. , Vs. 1. "South." See Gen. 12 :9. Vs. 3. ."Bethel." They travel back the way they had gone down to t Egypt. . J Vs. 7. "Strife." Water and wells , are prolific sources of friction among , ; Eastern herdmen to-day. ' Vs. 9. "Land." The unsettled country. Vs. 10. "Plain." Better, "Basin of the Jordan." The Jordan, in the region, near Jericho, which Lot s chose, is surrounded by a valley four- * teen miles wide. It is to the north I of the Dead Sea. "Watered." Lot t was desirous of the most favored t places. "Garden." Eden. This land t was bountifully supplied with a streams. Near Jericho water was to ^ be found four ways, practically from I a common centre, as a glance at a map will show. And besides a multitude of other streams ran Jordanwards or to the Salt Sea. "Egypt." This land was remarkable for*its fer- * tility. I Vs. li "Close." Lot was so anx- ? ious to secure the best in sight for himself that he even forgot his man- a ners. ~ Vs. 13. "Wicked." They were prosperous and rich. It is not at all T strange that they were wicked. The wonder is that prosperous men are as good as they are. No temptation is so insidious and subtle as that of v ease. "Exceedingly." They were so t wicked that, as we learn from Gen. g 19. they were ready even to do harm v to the very messengers of God. Too Many Wildcats. Wildcats, attracted by the deer, have appeared in large numbers near s the outskirts of towns near Rutland, t Vt., and have caused considerable a alarm among the inhabitants of the a rural districts. Several fine speci- f mens hAve been brought in by sports- * men, who report them in greater I numbers than usual. The big cats have shown great boldness in stalking their game, and often >follow the deer to the borders of the towns. T Many of them have been shot within v the boundary lines of the large villaees. Active steps are being taken to drive out the savage pests. Land For Russian Peasants. ^ By an imperial Russian decree -y about 20,000,000 acres of land in Si- a beria are to be sold to the peasants. r. Count Vorontzoff Daskoff has offered n his estate, near Parlograd, about 80,- n ; 000 acres, for sale to the peasants. 1 ... h Deepening the Rhine. ii Money has been voted for the car- d rying out of a great project for deep- N ening the Rhine, so as to enable ves- tl sels to reach Strasburg at all seasons U of the year. t< . ' .. .. at V . V* . * i 1 g^wdkrtbe f THE STILL, SMALL VOICE. rot as tbe world may think and eajr lot as the world may do; lut stand thou boldly forth alone, 'o duty's mandate true. 'onaort not with the multitude 'hat haste to evil deeds, lut listen for that "still, small voicc/' ind follow where it leads'. -4 ris easy idly thus to drift, nH fnllnw with the thronff. 'or liftman feet were ever skilled n treading paths of wrong. 'hou inayst not trust the multitude-*- *n dangerous paths they roam?' tat listen for "the still, small voice," Lnd it shall guide thee home! V % -Emily Housman Watgon, in Ram's Hen if"It Might Have Been/* BT JOSEPH 5EWT0IT HALLOCS. These are frequently the saddest rorde that can be uttered. We often tear of cases where this expression fe tsed, but I have never known of act nstance more, pathetic, and .rem fhich a lesson could be Impressed on he mind more indelibly than the folo'wing, which happened In the expeience of a young physician. He reaten it as follows: About thirty yearn age- a gentlenan from New York who was traveJng in the South met a young girl of ;reat beauty and wealth and married ler. They returned to New York ind plunged Into a mad whirl of gay !ty. The yomg wife had been a genle, thoughtful girl, anxious to help ill suffering and want and to serve Jod faithfully, but as Mrs. L??vshi tad troops cf flatterers;' heir beauty md dresses were described in the so:iety journals; her bonniota flew rom mouth to mouth; hor equipage vas one of t)ie most attractive in ^th* iark. In a few jnonths fihe was inoxicated with admiration. ~ She and her hu^bpnd flitted from Jew York to'Newiwrt, from Londoa o Paris. with no object but enioy lit?lit. mere wcic umci uxcu auv vomen of their class who had some vorthier^pursuits?literature, or art tr the elevation of the poorer classei ?but L and his wife lived eolelj or amusement. They dressed lanced, flirted/hurried from ball t< eception and from opera to dinner foung girls looked at Mrs. L??vith fervent admiration, perhap vith envy, as the foremost leader o ociety. About ten years a^o she was re urning alone from California, whet m accident occurred to the r^ilroaM rain in which she was a passeogei ind she received a fatal Internal In ury. She was carried into a waysidf tation, and there, attended oriljplfj i physician from the neighboring vil age, she died. Dr. Blank has said that it was oik >f the 'most painful einerlenceB o lis life. "I had to tell her that shl iad but an hour to live.. She was no itifferlng any pain. Her only <;on? ;ciousness of hurt was that 3he wafl inable to raove, so that It wac n<fl vonder she could not believe ^e. ' H must go home,' she >?ald, imM jeratively, 'to New York.' H |; " 'Maaiin, it is impossible. If yoiH ire ra&ved it will shorten the timflj 'on have to live.' KB "9 it was lying-oti the floor. TkflH irakemen had rolled their ccats t^H nake her a pillow. She looked abotnH ier at the little dingy station,. witflH he stove stained with tobacco to th^B " 'I have but. anhour, you tell me?H " 'Not more.! .' I " 'And this is all that is left fo^| no of the world. It Is not viih a half smile. "The men left the room! and M ocked the door tljat she might not b^H CKa +T>r/3nr lior flrm UOLUl UCU. tJUW butvn MV? Vf? u. ler face and lay quiet a long timeH ben she turned?on me In tt frenzy: Bl " 'To think of all that I might bavS [one with nay money and my timeHj rod wanted me to help the poor an^| he sick! It's too late now! I'vJH >nl.v an hour!' She struggled uflH vildly. 'Why, doctor* I did nothing? lothin?:, nothing-, but lead the iast^H on! Great God! The fashion! 've only an hour! An hour!'. H "But she had not even that, f?H he exertion proved fatal, and in noment she lay dead at my feet. "No sermon that I ever heard ike that woman's despairing cryH It's too late!'" ? Christian Wor^H ma Evangelist, H Bfl Inconsistency. - H| 'VKTa iVirmlr? live sni) nrftV for tfl^H ame thing. We pray against th^| (rorld, but live in it. Wepray agains^B >ride and ambition, but nurtar^H hem all the day long; against s.pp^B ite, but pamper it; against tempt^H ion, but brave it. This is, in .n insult upon God, and acting as ve thought w^ could impose upoHj lim.?Ratii's Horn. Be Grateful to God. It is good that the busy worT^B hould pause in its rush of exoit^H nent, in Its fever for gain, to consi<^H r seriously the obligation of frat^H ude to God for blessings that hav^H ccompanied every day and for thflH ,11-wise and abiding providence thsflH ias walked with us every step o? th^B iray.?N. W. Christian Advocate. NH Small Souls. Many people who think that /ould surely have built the ark IHfl hey bad been in Noah's place, nev^H ;ive the Lord more than a nick^H . hen He is asking for their lives. When Fit to Admonish. jftlfl I never was fit to say a word inner, except when I had a broke^H teart myself: when I was subdue^M .nd melted into penitence, and fe|^| .s though I had just received pardoj^f or my own soul, and when my Leai^H /as full of tenderness and pity.-^H 'ayson. i. a# Cine. V1I1V1V JW V* w<u?* The one sin which excited tl^Hj vrath of Jesus more than any oth^H iras t])P cio of hvpnrrlsv l'po Many Wildcats. H Wildcats, attracted by the dee^M ave appeared in large numbers ne^H tie outskirts of towns near Rutlan^H rt., and have caused considerab^H larm among the inhabitants of tl^H ural districts. Several fine specHH lens have been brought in by sport^H ion whn l-pnnrt the>m in erreat^^H umbers than usual. The big ca^H ave shown great boldness in stal^H lg their game, and often follow tl^H eer to the borders of the town^H [any of them have been shot wlth^H tie boundary lines of the large iges. Active steps are being talr^B ) drive out the savage pests. RH