The Abbeville press and banner. (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, August 04, 1886, Image 5
RELIGIOUS_REkA.DING.
Face To Face.
Sad mortal! couldst thou but; know
What truly it means to die,
The wings of thy soul would plow.
And the hopes of thy heart beat high;
Thou wouldst turn from the PyrrhonLst
schoo's,
And laugh iheir jargon to scorn,
As the babble of midnight fools
Ere the morning of Truth be born:
But I, earth's madness above,
In the k ngdom of stormless breath?
I gaze on the glory of love
In the unveiled face of Death.
I tell the his face is fair
As the moon-bow's amber rings,
And the gleam in bis unbound tiair
Like the flush of a thousand Springs;
HLs smile is tho fathomless beam
Of tt e star-shine's sacred light,
When the Summ rs of South.and dream
In the lap of the holy Night:
For I, earth's blindness above,
In the kingdom of halcyon breath?
I gaze on the marvel of love
Jn the uuveilod face of Death.
In his eyes a heaven there dwells?
But they hold few mysteries now?
And his pity for earth's farewells
Half furrow, th t ->h ning brow;
fcouls taken from Time's cold tide
He folds to his fostering breast.
And the team of their grief are dried
Ere hey enter the < ourts of rest: *
And still, earth's niadnes* above,
In a kingdom of storm less breath,
I gnz-- on-the li,jht that is love
In the unveiled faco ot Death.
Through the splendor of stars impearled
Iu 'he glow of their far-off grace,
He is soaring wor.d bv world.
With the soul- iu his strong emtraco;
Lone ethers, unstiivcd by a wind,
At tlio | assago of Death grow sweet,
With the fragrance that floats behind
Tl>" f\f lu'cwinmtf] rot.rAAfc;
Ami I, car:It's madness above,
'Miit a kingdom of tranquil breath,
Have qazed on tho tustre of love
In the uuveiled facoof Detttli.
But beyond the stirs and the sun
I can follow him still on h s way,
Till the p art-white gates are won
In the calm of the contral day.
Far voices of fond acclaim
Thrill down from the place of souls,
As Death, with a touch like flame,
Uncloses the goal of goals;
And from heaven of heavens above
God speaketh with batoloss breath?
Mv angel of perfect love
Is th angel men call Death:
?Ihttil //. Hayac, in Harper*r Magazine
for May.
Itefren'hment of Ileal Sympathy.
There was an old Negro woman, some
twenty years ago, in North Carolina, who
was called by Union prisoners and Confederate
conscripts as well "Cheer up
Honeys" and 'Gloiy day." Sometimes
they cnllcd her by one name, and sometimes
by the other, but generally by both,
as :i kind of double description of the
humble saint. Because every clay, when
prisoners were marched into the stockade,
or conscripts were halted within her
reach, she stood at the gate or hobbled
along the line of wornout and suffering
men, and with the music of Christ's own
sympathy in h;?r voice she cried in the
cars of ail: "Cheer up, honeys, glory day
is coming!'' How she refreshed them!
Why, they coir.ed a laugh out of their
sorrows with the very name with which
they saluted her.
There are want.} of the soul and hun- |
gov of spirit which can never be satisfied
with the bread which one may purchase.
There is loneliness of heart which no fullness
of material rcsourses can remove.
There r.re wounds and bruises of men, of
women, and of children that must have
something better than pence, that furnish
oil and wine for the victim half-dead
by the wayside. There are sorrows
where contributions can only be a mock- 1
erv and the adding of chains to the cap- j
tive. Nicodcmus does well to bring his
costly gifts of spices and fine linen for
the burial. But what has he of cheer
and sympathy for h s suffering Lord '{ It
would have been .better, Nicodcmus, if
you had last night followed the Na/.arcnc
to the olive-garden, and helped the disciples
to watch, and brought them refreshment
when their hearts were so
Vipnvv with enrrnvv thnfr flw>v rnulH nnfrln
their duty. Joseph, the rich Arimathean,
docs well to open his new tomb, prepared
at so much cost, and give the body
of his Lord a resting-place away from the
public gaze. But will he bring gold to
the weary sulTerer on the Cro.'S, or to
God's Lamb that has fallen in tie street?
It would have been better, Joseph, had
ycu gone down into that howling mob
and helped to bear the Cross with your
stronger shoulder; or if you had taken
your place along with John and Mary
and the other women, where the dying
Sacriticc might be refreshed by your
p:cs nee.
Ti>ere arc suflcrcrs who need u*, not
ours. They arc abundant, ?nd all about
as. They may be found where least we
are looking for them, and with the small
est effort we may refresh them with all
the fresh air thev need. Years a^o. one
dark, blustering night, I was awakened
in the middle ot the ni~ht by a warm
little hand which was gently pressed
upon my face. I reached out in the
darkness, and found my precious little
boy, whom long since God took to Himself.
He was standing by my bed and
trying to lay his head beside mine on my
pillow. I said: "My dear boy, what is
the matter? Why are you out of your
bed? What is the matter?"
lie answered in a whisper, "Nothing,
papa."
"But what do you want?" I said.
"I want you," he answered, with a
sob that shook his little body, and very
soon shook mine. 11c soon grew quiet,
and I said : "My chWd, are you sick?"'
"No," he said.
"Arc you hungry? Dm't you want
something?"
iiv.. u? i,;* 1
" HUj 111' 3<liUy >?ua an iijw |/ii;o.ii;u iir i
my ear; "I just want you; it is so dark."
Brethren, there are thousands of God's
lonely children that have crept from
their resting-place, and are wandering in
the dark, and it is so dark. They want
you. They want nothing hut you. Give
yourself to them. IIow near to God they
will bring you if you search them out
diligently and refresh them! Their
[x prayers will crowd the gates of God's
mercy, and bring you mercy in that day.
God help us all to refresh his needy
ones!?The Rev. S. C. 1). D.
True humanity consists not in a
l" squeamish car ; it consists not in starting
or shrinking at tales of misery, but
in a disposition of heart to relieve it.
True humanity appertains rather to the
mind than to the nerves, and prompts
men to use real and active endeavors to
execute the actions which it suggests.?
C. J. Fox.
Ten years ago the almshouses of Nov/
York were inspected, and a persona! interview
with nearly ten thousand inmates
showed eighty-five per cent, of the men
to be intemperate, and 212 per cent, of
the women; fifty-five per ccnt. had intemperate
fathers, and eighty-two per
cent, intemperate mothers.
The St. Louis Olole-Democrat, in au
article upon the "Children of the Slums,,r
says: "Among the causes of the ruin of
children is prominent the unlimited sale
ql intoxicating liquors.
fl IMAGE'S SEBION.
THE CHEAP SPARROW.
Text: "Are not five sparrows sold for two
farthings, and not one of them is forgotten
before God?"?Luke xil, 6.
You see the Bible will not be limited in the
choice of symbol*. There is hardly a beast,
or bird or insect which has not been called to
illustrate some divine truth?the ox's pdtien
e, the ant's industry, the spider's skill,
the hind's surefootedness, the eagle's speed,
the dove's gentleness, and even the sparrow's ]
meanness and insignificance. In Oriental I
countries none but the poorest people buy the I
sparrow and eat it, so very little meat is
there on the bones, and so very poor is it,
what there is of it. The comfortable population
would not think of touching it any more
than you would think of eating a bat or a
lamprol. Now, says Je3us, if God take3
such good care of a poor bird that is not
worth a cent, won't he care for you, an immortal?
We associate God with revolutions. We
can see a divine purpose m the discovery of
America, in the invention of the art of printing,
in the exposure of the Gunpowder Plot,
in the contrivance of the needle-gun, in the
ruin of an Austrian or Napoleonic de>potism;
but how hard it is to see* God in tha minute
ru?ik.atinl orfoirc rvf nnr HvdqI Wp t.ViinLr r?f
(Tod as making a re:ord of the starry host,
but cannot realize the Bible truth that He
knows how man)' hairs are on onr head. It
seems a grand thing that God provided food
for hundreds of thousands of Israelites in the
desert; but we cannot appreciate the truth
that, when a sparrow is nungry, God stoops
down and opens its mouth and puts the seed
in. We are struck with the iuea that Gcd
fills the universe with His presence; but cannot
understand how He encamps in the
crystal palace of the dewdrop, or finJs
room to stand, without being crowded, between
the alabaster pillars of a pond lily.
We can see God in the clouds. Can we sea
God in these flowers at our feet? We are apt
to pla?e God on some great stage?or try to
do it?expecting Him there to act out His
stupendous projects; but we forget that the
life of a Cromwell, an Alexander, or a Washington,
or an archangel, is not more under
divine inspection than your life or mine.
Poaipey thought there must be a mist over
the eves of God because He so much favored
Ca*ar. But there is no such mist. Ho sees
every thing, We say God's path is in the
great waters. True enough! but no more
J certa'nly than He is in the water in the glass
I on the table. We say God guides the stars in
their courses. Magnificent truth! but no
more certain truth than that He derides
which read or street you shall take in coming
to church. Understand that God does not sit
upon an indifferent or unsympathetic throne;
but that He sits down beside you t>day, and
stands beside me to-day, and no affair of our
lives is s^ insignificant but that it is of importance
to God.
In the first place, God chooses for us our
occupation. I atn amazed to see how many
people there are dissatisfied with the work
they have to do. I think three fourths wish
they were in some other occupation; and
they s-jen/l a great dial of time in regretting
tl at they got in the wrong trade or profession.
I want to tell you that God put into
operation all the influences which led you to
that particular choice. Many of you are not
in the business that you expected to be in.
l on srartea ior lue ministry, ana iea: neu
merchandise; you started for tha law, and
you are a physician; you preferred agriculture,
aud you are a mechanic. You thought
one way; God thought another. But you
ought not to sit down and irourn over the
past. You are to remember that God?a
Beneficent God. a kiud God. a loving Godarranged
all these circumstances by which
you wore made what you are.
Hugh Miller says:* "I will be a stonemason."
Godsays: "You will be a geologist."
David goes out to tend his father's sheep.
God calls him to govern a nation. Saul g02s
out to hunt his father's asses, and b?fore he
gets back finds the crown of mighty dominion.
How much happier would we be if we
were content with the places God gave us I
God saw your temperament and all tin circumstauces
by which you were surrounded,
and I believe nine-tenths of you are in the
work you are best fitted for.
1 hear a great racket in my wat :h, and I
| find that the hauds and the wheels and the
springs are getting out of their places. I
send it down to tha jewelers ami say: "Overhanl
that wat -h, aud teach the wheels and
the spring and the hands to mind their own
business "
You know a man having a large estate.
He gathers his working hands in the mornoyw?
c o vo f/\ nvi e\ Vaii tri rvt fUnf
vine;'' to another: "You go and weed those
flowers;" to another: "You plow that tough
glebe;'and cai-h one govs to. his particular
work. Tin owner of the estate point* the
man to what he knows he can do best, and so
it is with the Lord. He calls us up and points
us to that field for w h'ch we are b^t fitted.
So that the lesson for to day, earning from
this subject, is: "Stay cheerfully where Gorl
puts you. '
I remark further; That God has arranged
the place of our dwell:ng. What particular
city or town, street or house you shall live in,
seems to be a mere matter of accident. You
go out to hunt for a hojse, and you happen
to pass up a certain street, and happen to see
a sign, and you select that house. Wa* it all
happening so? O, no! God guided you in
every step. He foresaw the future. He kn<;w
all your circumstances, and he selected just
thit one house a> better for you than any
one of the ten thousand habitations in the
city. Our house, however humble the roof
and however lowly the portals, is as near
God's heart as an Alhambra or a Kremlin.
Prove it, you say! Proverbs iil., 33: "He
blessed the habitation of the just.*
I remark further, that God arranges all
our friendships. You were driven t> the
wall. You found a man just at that crisis
who sympathized with you and help^n! you.
You say: "How lucky I was!" There was
no luck about it. God sent that friend just
as certain as He sent the angel to strengthen
Christ. Your domestic friends, your business
friends, your Christian friends, God
sent them to bless you, and if any of them
have proved traitorous it is only to bring out
the value of those who rema:n. If some die,
it is only that they may stand at the oatpost
of Heaven to greet you at your coming.
You always will have friends?warmhearted
friends, magnanimous frieads; ani
when sickness comes to your dwelling there
will be watchers; when trouble comes to your
heart there will be sympathizers; when
death comes there will be gentle fingers to
close the eyes and fold the hands, and gentle
lips to tell of a resurrection. Oh, we are compassed
by a body-guard of friends! Every
man, if he has behaved himself will, is surrounded
by three circles of friends?those of
the outer circle wishing him well; those in
the next circle willing to help him; while
close up to his heart are a few who would die
for him. God pity the wret -h who has not
| any friends! He ha< not behaved well.
I remark, again, that God puts down the
I limit of our temporal prosper ty. The world
; of finance seems to have no God in it. You
can not tell where a man will land. The affluent
fall; the poor ri-e: the ingenious fail;
the ignorant suceoed. An enterprise opening
grandly >huts in bankruptcy, while out
of the peat du<r up from some Now Englanl I
marsh the millionaire builds his fortune.
The poor man thinks it is chauco that keeps
him down; the rich m m thinks it is clian e
which hoists him; and they are both wrong.
It is so hard to realize that God rules the
money market, aud has a hoak in the nos; of
the stock gambler, and that all the commercial
revolutions of the world shall result in
the very best for God's dear children. My
brethren, do not kick against the divine a'lotments.
G.d knows just how much moiu y
it is best for you to lo o. Yoa never gain
unless it is best for you to gain. You go up
when it it be t for you to go up, and go
down when it is best f r you to go down.
Prove it, you say.' I will; Romans viii., H:
"All things work together for good to them
that love God." Yoig ) t> a factory, and
you see twenty or thirty wheals as they are
going in ditl'erent dire "tions. This hand is
rolling olF this way, aud another hand another
way; one down, another up. You say:
"Wliah fnnfiicinn in a faffcorv<" Oh. 110! all
these different hands are only different parrs
of the machine y. So I go iuto your lif?* and
see strange things. Here is one providen e
pulling you one way, and another in another
way. Huf these are different parts of one
machinery, by which He will advance your
everlasting and present well-being. Now
you know t%it a second mortgage, and a
third and fourth mortgage, is often worth
nothing. It is the first mortgage that is a
good investment. I have to tell you that
every Christsau man has a first mortgage on
every trial and on every disaster, and it must
make a payment of eternal advantage to his
soul.
How many worriments it would take out i
of your heart if you believed that fully. ;
You buy goods and hope the price will go up; I
but you are in a fret and a frown for fear the
price will go down. You do not bu/ the
goods, usiue your best discretion in the
matter, aua then say: "Oh, Lord! I have
done the best I could; I commit this whole
transaction into Thy hands." That is what
religion is good for, or it is goo 1 for nothing.
There are two things, says an old proverb,
you ought not to fret about: First, things
that you can help; and, second, things
which you can not help. If you can helo
them, why do you not apply the remedy? If
you can not help them, you might as we.l
surrender first as last. My dear brethren,
do no sit any longer moping about yoir
ledger. Do not sit looking so desponding
upon your stock of unsalab'e good 5. . Do you
tbink that God is going to allow you, a Christian
man, to do business alone? God is the
controlling partner in every firm: and
although your debtors may abscond, although
your securities may fail, although your store
may burn, God will, out of an infinity of results,
choose for you the very best resultsDo
not have any idea, that you can overstep
the limit that God has laid down for your
prosperity. You will never get one inch beyona
it God has decided how much prosperity
you can stand honorably, and employ
usefully, and control righteously; and at the
end of 1886 you will have just so many dollars
and cents, just so much wardrobe', just so
much furniture, just so many bonds and
mortgages, and nothing more. I will give
you $100 for every jenny beyond that. God
has looked over your life. He knows what
is best for you. and He is going to bless you
in time and bless you for eternity; and He
will do it in the best way.
Your little child says: "Papa, I wish you
would let me have that knife i" "No,"' you
say, "it is a sharp knife, and you will cut
yourself." He says: "I must have it." "But
you can not have it," you reply. He gets
angry and red in the face, and says h3 will
have it; but you say he shall not have it.
Aro you not kind in keeping it from him? So
God treats His children. I say: "I wish,
Heavenly Father, to get that." God says:
"No, my child." I say: "I must have it."
God says: "You can not have it." I get
angry and say: "I will have it." God says:
"Vmi shall not have it." And 1 do not tret
it. Is He not kind and loving and the best of
fathers ? Do you tell me there is no rule and
regulation in these things ? Tell that to the
men who believe in no God and no Bible.
Tell it not to me.
A man of large business concludes to go
out of his store, leaving much of his investments
in the business, and he says to his
sons: "Now. I am going to leave this business
in your hands. Perhaps I may come
ba k in a little while, ana perhaps not
While I am gone you will please to look
after affairs." After awhile the father comes
back aud finds everything at loose ends, and
the whole business seems to be going wrong,
tie says: "l am going to tone possession or
thus- business?you know I never fully surrendered
it; and henceforth consider your- |
selves subordinates.Is he not right in doing i
it? He saves the business. The Lord |
soems to let us go on in life guided by
our own skill, and we make miserable
work of it. God comes down to oar
shop or our store and says: "Things are going
wrong; I come to take chargo. I am master,
and I know what is best, and I proclaim
my authority." We are merely subordinates.
It is like a boy at school with a
long sum that he cannot do. He has been
working at it for hours, making figures here
and rubbing out figures there, and it is all
mixed up; and the teacher, looking over the
boy's shoulder, kuows that ha cannot get out
of it. aud cleauing the slato, says: "Begin
again." Just so God does to us. Our affairs
Set into an inextricable entangloment, and
[9 rubs everything out and says: "Begin
again?" Is He not wise and loving in so
doing?
I tnink the trouble is that there is so large
a difference between the Divine and the human
e itimate as to what is enough. I have heard
of people striving for that which is enough,
but I never heard of anyone who had enough.
What God c&lls enough for man, man calls
too little. What man calls enough, God says
is too much. The difference between a poor
man and a rich miu is only the difference in
binks. The rich man puts his money in the
Nassau Bank, or the Park Baok, or Fulton
Bank, or some other bauk of that character,
while the poor man comes up and makes his
investments in the bank of Him who runs a'l
the quarries, all the mines, all the gold, all
the earth, all heaven. Do you think a man
can fail when he is backed up like that?
' I want to bring this truth close up to the
heart of those people in this audience who
have to calculate rigid economy, who are
perplexed how they will make the old garment
hold out a little longer, with whom the
great question is not which is the best investment
or the most lucrative security, but h iw
Shall I ma\e the two ends meet? To such
people I bring the con lolence of this Christian
truth.
You may have seen a map on which is described,
with red ink, the travels of the children
of Israel through the desert to the
Promised Land. You see how they took this
and that direction, crossed the river and
went through the sea. Do you know God
has made a map of your life, with paths leading
up to this bitterness and that success,
through this river and acros > that sea? But,
blessed be God! the path always comes out
at the Promised Laud. Mark that! Mark
that!
I remark, again, that all those things that
seim to be but accidents in our life are under
the Divine supervision. We sometimes seem
to be going helmless and anchorless. You
say: "If I hal some other trade; if I had
not gone there this summer; if I bad lived in
some other houss." You bave no right to
say that. Every tear you wept, every step
you bave takeu, every burden you have carried,
is under Divine inspection, and that
event which startled your whole household
with horror, God met with perfect placidity,
because he knew it was for your good. It
was part of a great plan projected long
ago. In eternity, when you come to
reckon up your mercies, you will point to
thai affliction as one of your greatest blessings.
God has a strange way with us. Joseph
found his way to the Prime Ministervs chair
bv being pushed into a pit; and to many a
Christian down is up. The wheat must be
flailed; the quary must be blasted; the dia*
mond must be ground; the Christian must be
afflicted; and that single event, which you
suppose 1 stood entirely alone, was a connecting
link between two great chains, one chain
reaching through all eternity past and the
other other chain reaching through all eternity
future, so small an event fastening two
eternities togethor.
A missionary, coming from India to the
United States, stepped at St. Helena while
the vessal was taking water. He had his little
child with him. Tboy walked along by an
embankment, and a rock at that moment became
loosened, and fallirg, iustanllv killed
the child. Was it an accident.' Was it a
surprise toGod? Had He allowed His servant,
after a life of conspiration, to come to such a
trial? Not such is my God. Th-re are no
accidents in the divine mind, though they
may seem so to us. God is good, and by
every single incident of our life, whe!herit
be adverse or otherwise, before earth and
Heaven God will demonstrate His mercy.
"I bear a man say: "That idea he'ittlns
Irocl. You wing mm aown ro sucu i?u?
things." Oh! I have a more thorough appreciation
of God in little things than 1 have
iu great things The mother does not wa t
until the child has mashed its foot or broken
its arm before she administers sympathy.
The child come; in with the least braise, and
the mother kisses it. Go 1 does net wait for
some treman ious crisis in our life, but comes
down to u.s in our most insignificant trials,
and throws over us the arms of His niorvy.
Going up tho White Mountains some years
ago I thought of that passage in the Bihlo
that speaks of God as weighing mountains
in a balance. As I looked at th so great
mountains I thought, can it bo possible that
God cau put th?se great mountains in scales?
It was an idea too groat for me to grasp: but
when 1 saw a blue-Djll down bv the mule's
foot, on my wav up Mouut Washington, then
I understood the kindness und goodness of
God. It is not so much of Gol in great
things I can understand, but of God in little
things.
There is a man who says: "That doctrine
cannot be true, because things do go so very
wrong." 1 reply, it is no in'consistency on
the part of God, but a lack of undorstan ling
ono;ir part. I hoar that men are making
very fine shawls in some fa-tory. I go in on
the first flo:>randseo only the raw materials,
anil ask: "Are theio tho shawls I havo
heard about?" "NTo,"says tho manufacturer:
"go up to tho next floor," anil I go up, and
then i begin to see the design. But tin man
says: "Do not stop h?re: go up to the top
floor of the factory, and you will see the idea
fully carried out." I do so, and having come
to the top, see the complete pattern of an
exquisite shawl. So in our life, standing
down on a low level of Christian experience,
we do not understand God's dealing*. He
tells us to go up higher, until wo oegm to
understand the divine meaning with respect
to us, and we advance until we stand at the
very gate of Heaven, and there see God's
ideaoll wrought out?a perfect idea of mercy,
of love, of kindness. And we say: "Just and
true are all Thy ways." It is all right at the
bottom. Remember there is no inconsistency
*
Ion the part of God, but it 11 culy onr mental
and spiritual in capacity.
Some of you have be?n diappointed this
1 summer?vacations are'apt to b > disappointments,
but whatever have been your perplexI
if-'na onr? wnn'imMiti!. knov^ that "Man's
heart devisetb his way, but the Lord directeth
bisstepij." Ask those aged men in
this church if this is not so. It
has been so in my own life. One
summer I started for the Adirondacks,
but my plans were so changed
that I lauded in Liverpool. I studied law,
and I got into the ministry. I re olved to go
as a missionary to China, and I stayed in the
United States. I thought I would like to be
in the East, and I went to the West?all the
circumstances of life, all my work, different
from that which I expected. "A man's heart
deviseth his way, but the Lord directeth his
steps."
So, my dear friends, this day take home
this subject. Ee content with such things as
you have. From every grass blade under
your feet learn the lesson of Divine care, and
never let the smallest bird flit acros* your
path without thinking of the truth that "five
sparrows are scld for two farthings, and not
one of them is forgotten before God." Blessed
be His glorious name forever. Amen.
POP'CIiAIt SCIENCE.
Tho German newspapers state that
startling experiments have been made at
Berlin with a new description of shell,
charged with gun cotton, which pro,
duce.s most extraordinary results. No
I kind of defensive works, no matter how
solid, it is stated, are capable of resisting
so destructive a projectile.
The curious suggestion has been made
by Mr. Francis Galton, of the London
Anthropological Institute, that some of
the colors of I he Italian mosaic workers
be employed ns standards ::or describing
the tints of the bkin of the various races
and tribes of mankind. These colors
have great durability, mosaic* in St.
Peters at Rome having shown no signs
of change after more than a century. A
great variety of tints is available, there
being about 500 appropriate to the flesh
of European nations alone.
It is possible to keep the adult lobstei
alive for a long period in a moist, cold
atmosphere. At45?P., in a proper device,
lobsters have been kept alive and
in good condition for fifteen days, and
in a moist atmosphere only, their gills
not having been immersed in water during
the whole period. This discovery
renders it possible to transport living
-J-.n 1.1..1 -
IU lUll lUUslLTS ULTU3B LUC UUUHliUHl/, OUU
to stock the waters of the Pacific coast.
It is also possible to pack the lobster
eggs in seaweed in a similar manner and
to transport them for long distances.
By lecent soundings the London Geographical
Society has as:crtained that
the ocean-bottom in the North Atlantic
is formed of two g cat valleys. One
reaches in width from tho tenth degree
of east to the thirtieth of west longitude,
extending to the equator, at a depth of
lot less than 13,000 feet; and the other
lies between the thirtieth and fiftieth degrees
of west longitude. The intervening
mountain-chain with a maximum
breadth of nearly 500 mile?, extends
northward toward Iceland and southward
to the Azores, and is volcanic in charac
fcr ut the ends.
The spectroscope?capable of indicating
the millionth part of a milligram of
sodium?has been regarded a* the most
delicate of all means of analysis. Its
keenness proves to be far surpassed, however,
by that of the sense of smell, late
European investigations having shown
that the nerves of the noso are sensibly
afLctcdby one 400,000,000th part of a
milligram of mercaptan?a milligram being
only .0154 of a grain. And if such
be the delicacy of human smell, what
must be the minuteness of the smallest
particle which may produce an impression
on the nose of a do<r!
' Can Imagination Kill'"
This is, perhaps, hardly the corrcc.
form of question that the British and
Colanial Druggist puts to itself in discussing
the death of the young woman at
Hackney under circumstances in which
Keating's intcct powder largely figured.
As the powder appears by I)r. Tidy's experiment*
to be perfectly harmless, the
suggest'on is not unnaturally made that
the dercaved, who w. s possibly of a hysterical,
lrghly imaginative turn of mind,
took the powder in the full belief that bj
its means her death might be accomplished.
The writer of the article in oui
contemporary, we think wrongly, bring!
forward two remarkable instances ol
what may be regarded as practical jokes
with melancholy terminations. In the
case of the convict deliver* d up to the
scientist for the purpose of a psychological
experiment (the man was strapped
to a table and blindfolded, ostensibly to
be bled to death; a siphon containing
water was placed near his head, and the
fluid was allowed to trickle audibly into
a vessel below, at the sarue time that a
trifling scratch with a needle was inflicted
on the culprit's neck; it is said that
death occurred at the end of six minutes),
fear must have played no inconsiderable
share in the fatal result, and we do noi
know whether all the vital organs were
in a sound condition, though they were
presumably so. The old story of the
rase of a college porter is also one in
point. The students entrapped him into
a room at night, a mock inquiry was
held, and the punishment of death by
decapitation decreed for his want of consideration
lo the students. It is small
wonder that, under the dominion of lear
find belief in the earnestness of his tormentors,
the sight of an ax and block;
with subsequent blindfolding and necessary
genuflexion, a smart rap with a wet
towel on the back of his neck should
have been followed by the picking up of
a corpse.?London Lancet.
The Puzzle of the Egg.
Mr. Mattliieu Williams, in one of Ms
lectures, says: "Every one who eats his
matutinal egg. cats a seimon ard a miracle.
Inside of that smooth, symmetrical,
beautiful shell lurks a question which has
been the Troy town for nil the philanthropists
and scientists since Adam.
Armed with the engines of war?the micro^eopc,
the scale-;. the offensive weapons
of chemistry and reason?they have
probed and weighed and experimented;
and still the question is unsolved, the
. 1 1 t?1
C'ltclUCl lins'UCKUU. J IU jjvauiuv
can tell yoi that albumen is composed
of so many molecuhs of carbon and nitrogen
and hydrogen, and can persuade
yon of the difference between active and
passive aU.unicn, and can show by wonderfully
deli.ate experiments what tha
aldehydes have to do in the separation of
Ejold, from his complicated solutions; but
he can't tell you why from oi:c egg come*
'a little rid hin,' aud from another a bantain.
You leave your little silver spoon
un hour in your < gg-cup, und it is coated
with a compound of sulphur. "Why is
that sulphur there? "Wonderful, tint
evolution should provide for the bones of
the future hen! There is phosphorus
also i? that microcosm; and the oxygen
of the air, passing through th<: shell,
unites with it and the acid dissolves the j
ot.nii fViun maU-inf <roocl. strontr bones I
, auw?i, ' O O ~ /
for the chick, and at the same time thinning
the prison walls. Chemists know a
good deal now nbout albumen, and if
they cannot tell us why life differentiates
itself therein and thereby,they can
tell you how uot to spoil your broak[tort."
AGRICULTURAL
TOPICS OF INTEREST RELATIVE
TO FARM AND GARDEN.
Cnrinf Hav
it is not well to let grass lie too long
in the blazing sun, after it is cut, says the
Live Stock Journal. This rapid drying,
especially when it is carried to the point
of making the leaves crumble and rattle
off in the form ot dust and chaff, as in
olden time was thought by many to be
necessary to make hay keep well in the
mow, results not only in loss by waste,
but expjls somewhat the life and nutriment
of the hay. It is well-known that
herbs cured in the shade are better than
those that are sun-dried. It is the same
with grass or other fodder plants. But
it is impossible to make hay in the shade,
and it is a good deal of extra work to
cock it up. It can, however, be thrown
into windrows without extra work. A
good plun is to rake up the hay as soon
it is thoroughly wilted?that is, while
it is in a moist, pliable condition?and let
it cure from internal heat instead of from
the direct rays of the sun. Of course,
the surface of the windrows will be exposed
to the sun. but all below will be
curing in the shade. Of late years it has
been found that it is not neccssary to get
hay "bone-dry" before placing it in the
mow in order to have it keep well. If it
is so dried it will not remain so. It will
draw moisture from the atmosphere to replace
wliat has been needlessly expelled
by exposure to the hot sun. In a short
time it will feel quite moist to the touch,
and it will undergo the sweating process
just as hay pnt up in a moister condition
dees. Tnere is not very much gain, if
any, in starting the mowing-machine before
the dew is off. This extra water has
got to be dried off, and will disappear
sooner if the grass is left standing. When
thus dried, and nothing but the juices of
the grass are to be disposed of, the wilting
begins at once, and if followed up
by the hay-tedder, a few hours of sunshine
will put the hay into a condition
fit to rako into windrows, as we have indiratpd
Warm Land for Corn.
Ttye corn crop needs tropical heat for
a time to reach perfection. Many facts
go to show that much of the benefit from
cultivation and m inuring for corn is due
to the effect these me ins have in making
the soil warm. In early spring the more
frequently the ground is stirred the more
permeable it is to the entrance of the
air, which at this season is always much
warmer than the soil. In fact, plowing
and cultivation turn under considerable
air spaces together with warmer soil on
the surface. The heat from this rises as
the soil settle', thus warm'ng the whole.
Coarse manure helps in the same way, !
and by heating at tlie bottom of the fur- .
rows it cor.tinucj to warm the soil :
through the season. Every farmer j
knows how vigorous a growth is given
tocorn by a rotting sod. Thi3 may be
haten.'d by frequent cultivation early in '
the season. In this way the worse the 1
[b othe greater the advantage of frequent :
cultivation. Good com is thus grown on
land infested by quack grass, the culti- 1
vation being then necessarily performed 1
once, E.nd if possible twicc, a week. !
After rains, especially on heavy soil, the
cultivation can hardly be tco frequent, 1
nrovidincr the soil does not pack together. 1
Every time it is stirred it is opened to 1
admit more warm air. Every blade of ]
quack grass put under the toil helps to '
furnish more warmth, and thi> in turn <
makes latent fertility available for corn i
root?. <
Soils for corn should be loss? as possible,
and this condition is fccured ]
wherever they are full of vegetable mat- i
ter. A dark color a'so adds to the j
warmth, and for this re. sin the black
prairie soils of the West, full of decay- .<
ing grass roots, were lon<r unexcelled for 1
corn growing. It is probable that every- i
where, as land becomes more compact by ;
long cultivation, the best conditions for
growing corn c'asily will be more infre- \
quent. But knowing what the corn crop
requires it will not be difficult to supply ;
them. A clover sod rots immediately <
aft'r being turr.ed under. Besides this, .
its roots penetrate the soil deeply, and as i
soon as severed from the top by shallow j
plowing, their decay keeps the soil both ! (
moist and warm. Corn' rarely suffers j
from drought on clover sod, if well cultivated
during the growing season. There j
is moisture in the sub-soil until late every j,
MAsnn nnd tho deen tan-roots of clover :
maki3 it available.? Cultioator.
Tuberculosis
This appears to be as insidious a dis- j
ease among bovine-animals as consump ]
tion is among the (jenus hvno; and how: j
far the prevalence of consumption in the |,
human family may be due to tubcrculo- j '
sis among the cattle that supply us with !,
meat ar.d milk, we do not know. It ap- j
pearea to be quite certain, however, that (
the disease is transmissible through the
meat and milk, and that it is therefore .
more to be dreaded, for this reason, than .
s pleitro-pneumonia.
The fact that the entire herd of the ,
Maine Agricultural College Farm had .
tuberculosis to such on extent as to call
for its utter destruction, has tet m .nyto ^
thinking, and called out many exprcs- j
sions of opinion on the subject. In the
American Veterinary Jlevie>r, the editor,
Dr. Liautard, Dean of the American Veterinary
College, says: "Tuberculosis is | 1
not contngeous plcuro-pneumonia, and j
vice versa. One disease is perhaps no 1
more desirable to have among our cattle i J
than itb.e other; but if the public should !
adopt the opinion that the contagion of
pleuro-pneumonia exists in Main?, even I ,
if confined within the limits of the Agri- j
cultural College Farm, it might creatc .
an alarm wMch would iesult in a demand I
for extreme sanitary measures, which, j
after nil, might be quite unnecessary. |
We believe Maine to be free from pleuro- 1 <
pneumonia, and she eight to defend her (
gocd repute in this particular." 1 ]
But it seems Maiue has tuberculosis, j
and the doctor tells us " one disease is (
perhaps no more desirable to have among (
our cattle than the other!1' lie further | <
tells us that "Maine, Massachusetts, New i
York and New Jersey, besides other re- ]
gions, are rcpoited as having herds of ]
tuberculous animals, among which are j
many of high value, including bulls and ' .
cow.s of the Jersey families.,r j,
The question naturally arises, what are : ,
we to do about it? What is the cause of j (
the development of this disease? How :
far the breeding for a specialty, throw- j <
ing the system of the animal out of bal-! ance,
operated to develop tuberculosis? ,
wtinrn 4? the snread of the disease to ! ,
stop, and what is there being done to j
chick its further development? Re:illy j >
nothing at all, so far as \vc know. It will (
probably go on, a9 consumption does iu j
the human family. No notice will be
taken of it until the animal is ready to
drop dead, and then perhaps the remedy ,
applied at the Maine Agricultural Coilege
Farm will be resorted to.?Live
Stock Journal.
Farm and Garden Notes.
8hort hay crops mean cheap cattle iu
[ the fall
A breeding sow should have a mild and 1
quiet dispos.tion.
Oats are a good feed to promote egg
production in heavy fowls.
A good harrow will dress your corn
twice as rapidly as a cultivator.
Carbolic acid, applied in any efficient
way, is a good remedy for lice on animals.
Horses are fully mature at six years
old, and arrive at their full strength at
eight.
Time intelligently given to bees will
pay equally well with that given to any
other kind of farm work.
The Richmond grain exchange cautions
Virginia farmers not to thrash their
wheat until it is thoroughly dry.
It is recommended that the aftermath
of orchard grass be not pastured in summer
or fall, but reserved for winter pasturage.
Drones that are to fertilize your young
queen should come from queens that arc
strictly pure, if you would preserve the
purity of your stock.
Corn and potatoes may often be topdressed
to advantage after planting iJ
fine manure is used. This is better than
to plow the manure under.
Somebody says the smoothing: harrow
in corn and other cultivated fields is the
b?st implement to keep down the weed
and make the surface mellow.
When a hoe becomes dull it retards
work, because of the increased tax it imnnses
on strength. Sharnen it bv filinff
I # O -rf O
to a chisel edge, and it will then cut
weeds.
The trees can be protected from field
mice by banking the trees up a foot or so
with soil, and borers and rabbits can be
kept awny by wrapping the trunks for a
foot above this with tarred paper.
A well-known horseman, who believes
strongly in pedigrees, says when com?11.^
?n
pcucu iu v;uuuso uctnccu au |jcuigiwv
and no horse, or all horse and no pedigree,
he takes the horse every time.
The horse which can plow an acre
while another is plowing half an acre, or
that which can carry a load of passengers
ten mil.s while another is going five, independent
of all considerations of amusements,
taste, or what is generally called
fancy, is absolutely worth twice as much
to his owner as (he other.
A well-known horticulturist, in relation
to trapping ccrtain moths, advises as
follows: "Take shallow pans or saucers
and place some strong apple vinegar in
them and fasten among the branches of
the trees. The odor of the vinegar at- j
tracts the moths and they are caught and ,
drowned at the same time.
Good judges claim that a hog or steer
that will fatten well and increase rap- ,
idly should be as nearly square in front
and behind as possible. While the rule
may not alone be a true index of quality,
yet, in connection with other indications, 1
it may assist in arriving at a knowledge 1
of the value of the animal judged.
To prevent geraniums growing out of <
doors from becoming sun scalded give i
them pood. rich, loose soil and shade the
O J ?
surface to escape the reflected heat.
Rolle J leaf mould is excellent for the pur- :
pose spread over the bed. Put plants
rather close together that they may themselves
shade the ground about the roots.
It is thought by some good observers
that the disease curl in the leaf of peach
tree s is caused, or at least assisted, by the
la<k of soluble potash in the soil. In
proof of this, it is stated that trees un- 1
inistakably affected with curl have been
quickly changed to health through the ;
application of unleached wood ashes <
lbout the trees. i
A swine breeder says that in weaning I
pigs there is something more to be considered
than simply takiDg them away
from their mother. They should be 1
weaned gradually, so as not to get any
stunt or set back. To take pigs away
before they have been taught to eat gives
them a check for at least two weeks.
Feeding them in a separate place to
which they have access will accustom
them to eating.
Melon seed should not be planted until
the weather has become warm and settled.
Do not stint the quantity of seed;
place from sixteen to twenty in a hill,
\nd when the plants come up remove all
but four of the most promising. Watch
the young plants as soon as they begin to
make their appearance, and if they appear
troubled by any insects dust them
freely with soot, ashes, or tobacco dust 1
when wet with dew.
Geese can be fattened cheaply, as they
trill eagerly consums choppea turnips or '
iny other kind of che.ip material at this
season; but to get them very fat they
should have corn also. A goose should 1
not be too fat, as such i3 objectionable, ]
t>ut they should be kept fat enough to 1
fjre-ient an excellent market appearance.
The young geese that have not yet com- I
dieted their growth, however, cannot be 1
fed too liberally, as they will not become <
jxtremely fat until matured. I
An old horseman has this to say about !
;he use of blinds on horses: "Usually
:he use of blinds causes the very evil it 1
s intended to remedy?shying. The 1
lorse shies because he sees something ]
mp rfectly, or cannot see at all an ob- '
icct which makes a noise, the nature of
:vhich he d es not understand. If he has '
lot bli.ids to interfere with his sight he 1
,vill shy less ofle i. If you could not see
>n either side, only straight ahead, you ]
ivould be far more timid, your heart 1
/vould suddenly begin (o beat faster, (
nuch oftener than it does now. So with 1
\ horse, blinds make him timid. If you j
lave ft horse addicted to shying, remove J
he blinrls :ind be kind to him for a few
lays, until he has gained confidence in
limself and in you. This will effect a
adical curi?." i
? I
A Southern Rice Field.
"A large rice field," says JuJgc Hent (
lerson, Commissioner of Agriculture o ,
Georgia, resembles a map of a large city.
[ racan a skeleton map, such as real es- J
;ate agents frequently distribute when ,
idvertisitig lots for sale. The canals and j
Jitches of various sizes suggest the lines ,
)f lots. Or, it might be likened to a ,
jack^Jiinmon board. The squares in a ,
ice field are checked off with almost as ,
much regularity. Mr. Moynelo's planta- (
tion, which I recently visited, contained ]
lbout 1.C0J acres, of which 900 were in |
cultivation. The number of miles of
ditches in the '.'00 acres was 1,500. Some ,
of the ditches were called canals. They ,
were large enough to float boats, which
served the same purpose of carts or ,
ivagons in wheat or cotton fields. The I j
ilykcs must have cost many thousands of .
ilollars. My attention was called to one ' ,
'trunk' on a canal which alone cost ?700. ,
The number of 'trunks,' drawbridges,
and bridges of various kinds, must also
have cost many thousauds of dollars.
Superadd the cost of labor in clearing
the immense forest growth which originally
darkened and encumbered the plan
tution, and it will readily be understood
that ricc growing is an expensive business."
Sinco 1790 Pennsylvania has hal sixteen
Governors, eight of whom were |
Germaaa, ^
. , . - V-.
#3
, >,V:
?*
HOUSEHOLD MATTERS.
- ""5'a3S
A Useful Table.
A correspondent of the Uouitktzper
give the following table showing th?
time required to cook different fruits for
canning and the amount of sugar required
:
Time for Quantity
boiling sugar
Fruits. fruit. to quart. '
Cherries. 5 minutes (i ounces
Raspberries l> minutes 4 ounces
Blackberries 6 minutes 6 ounces
Strawberries 8 minutes 8 ounces
Plums 10 minutes 10 ounces
Whortleberries 5 minutes 8 ounces
Pie plant, sliced 10 m:nut3S 8 ounccs
Small, sour pears, whole. 30 minutes 4 ounces
Bartlett pears, halved... 20 minutes 6 ounces
Peaches 8 minutes 4 ounces
Peaches, whole 15 minutes 4 ounces
Pine apples, sliced 15 minutes 6 ounces
Siberian crab-apple 25 minutes 8 ounces
Sour apples, quartered. 10 minutes 5 ounces
Ripe'currants. 6 minutes 8 ounces
Wild grapes 10 minutes 8 ounces
.a; imuurcs uuue.
Gooseberries. 8 minutes 8 ounces
Quinces, sliced 15 minutes 10 ounces
The Baby.
The baby's second summer? Every
mother knows what that means. The
poor little pilgrim has already found the
earth a place of tears and pain. Those
teeth, coding so fast, and as they come,
occasioning so much disturbance in the
fmgile little frame, what a source of
peril and irritation they are to the baby
and of anxiety to his parents 1 Keep the
baby in comfort. Dress him loosely and
simply, with soft, thin wcolen garments
next the skin. Give him a sponge bath
whi>ri hp rri#>n nnpn?ilv an n frpt.fnllv
See that there is no chaSng of the soft
flesh, and that no pins are pricking him
in unsuspected places. Let his food be
properly cooked and given at regular intervals,
and attend to it either yourself,
or let it be prepared by a trustworthy
Serson. Let the little one be out of
oors much of the time, and if he is iU
an I a physician is to be had, send fo(
one promptly. Frail as the lire of an in*
fant is, and quickly as the silver thread
may be snapped, yet a young child ral?
lies in a way impossible to an adult. A
very sick child, indeed, to-day, may ba
frisking about merrily to-morrow. Nevei
despair of the recovery of a little on*
while life lasts, but do not trifle with th?
beginnings of disease Prompt measuref
at tirst are often half the battle.?Chrittian
at Work.
... . > '
jtvecipesi
'Oh i
Green Corn Pudding.?Cut the corn
from six ears of com, add oue quart of
milk and three or four eggs. Season
with pepper and salt, bake as custard.
Nice either hot or cold.
Sliced Cucumbers.?Lay the cucumbers
in cold water for an hour or more.
Peel, slice thin and evenly, sprinkle with
pepper and salt, and pour on a small
quantity cf vinegar. "When serving lay
ti small lump of ice on each dish.
Ginger Ale.?Two pounds brown
sugar or one quart molasses, two tablespoonfuls
cream of tartar, two of ginger,
two sliced lemons, two gallons boiling
water. Stir well, and when milk-warm
add half pint of yeast. Stir again and
let it settle in a lightly covered vessel
twelve hours. Strain, bottle, and put
in a co!d place. It will be fit for use in
two or three days, and will only keep a
week.
Cold Meat Pudding.?For cold meat
pudding rub one-half pound of beef
dripping into one and a half pounds of
Oour, with a little salt. Moisten the
paste with water and roll it out one-half
au inch thick. Mince any kind of cold
meat; season it and add a few spoons of
fjravy. Spread the minced meat on the
paste and roll it up. Tie it up in a cloth
buttered and floured and boil for an hoar
and a half.
Boiled Potatoes.?Peel and put into
boiling water, with a tablespoonful. of
salt. Let boil till a fork will pierce them
readily; drain, cover with a towel to abBorb
the steam and render them mcally.
Pot itoes are really better if cooked with
their "jackets" on?simply cutting off an
end or peeling a narrow strip around the
centre. It is perfectly proper to terva
them so, if more convenient than to peel
them, and they are certainly more palatable.
Cabbage Salad.?Shave a hard, white
cabbage into strips; take the yolks of
three well-beaten eggs, a cup and a half
ot good ciaer vinegar, two xeaspuomuis
of thick cream, one teaspoonful mustard
mixed in a little boiling water, salt and
pepper to suit the taste. Mix all but the
eggs together and let it boil; then stir
in the eggs, rapidly turn the cabbage
into the mixture, and stir well. Make
Boough for two days at once, as it keeps
perfectly, and is an excellent relish for
ill kinds of meat.
Family Apple Pudding.?Make a
biscuit crust with one quart of flour,
three small teaspoonfuls of baking powder,
butter or Jard the size of an egg,
teaspconful of salt (less if butter is used)
md milk enough to make a soft dough.
Fill a deep baking-dish with sliced
apples, sweetened with molasses and
Savored with cinnamon, nutmeg and
pounded dried lemon peel. Cover with
the crust and bake in a moderate oven.
The oven door may be left open a few
moments when the pudding is put in,
md Hnsed as scon as the crust rises.
Serve with hard sauce, or if eggs are
plenty, use egg sauce, to make which
rub one small cup of butter and two cups
of sugar to a cream, th :n stir in three
eggs beaten very light, and two tabiespoonfuls
boiling water and flavor with
lemon.
Chinese Execution Gronnd.
This is a small, open court about forty
feet long and twenty five wide, writes a
correspondent from Canton. Is is used
as a pottery when not nee.ied for executions,
and as I strolled in the ground,
covered with earthen jars and vessels, it
seemed to give the place an air of peaceful
industry rather than of bloody executions.
Stepping carefully among the
pots and jars, I stco 1 on a spot colored a
Jeep, dark red by the blood of prisoners
recently decapitated. Turning with a
shudder from this spot, I gazed along the
?valls of the court, and my eyes rested on
i pile of cage-like boxes stacked up on
ane side. In each of these a ghastly
head of a Chinaman showed through the
bars, looking distoited and horrible.
Near these cases were the crossed beams
to which persons arc tied for decapitation.
There are two modes for decapitation
practised. One is to make the prisoner
kneel, and the head is struck from
the body while in this position. This is
the usual mode of decapitation. AnDther
is by tying the prisoner up to a
soit of cross and then striking off the
head. In this position the womeD are
always executed. One sentence of capital
punishment is to cut into the eyebrows,
cheeks, aud fleshy parts of the arms and
breasts in such a way that the flesh will
hang clown in strips, and then the head
is struck off. The sentence is usually inflicted
on women committing adultery,
and on parricides.
In the hair of the condemned man is
placed a paper on which is written tho
nature of the crime for which he is being
executed. " ^
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