The Abbeville press and banner. (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, December 29, 1886, Image 3
REY. DR. TALMAGE.
THE BROOKLYN DIVINE'S SUNDAY
SERMON.
Subject of Discourse: "The Proud Invalid."
Text: "Heuata leper." II. Kings, v., 1.
Here we have a warrior sick; not with
pleurisies or rheumatisms or consumptions,
out with a disease worse than all these put
together. A red mark has come out on the
forehead, precursor of complete disfigurement
and dissolution I have something awful
to tell you. General Naaman, the Commander-in-Chief
of all tire Assyrian forces
has the leprosy! It is ou his hands, on his
face, on his feet, on his entire person. The
Jeprvsy! Get out of 1 he way of the pestilence!
If his breath strikes you, you area'dead man.
Tho Commander-in-Chief of all the forces of
Assyria And yet he would be g!ad to exchange
conditions with the boy at his stirrup,
or the other that blaukets his charter. The
news goes like wild fire all through the realm
and the people are sympathetic anl they cry
out: "Is it possible that our great hero who
shot Ahabe, around whom we came with
?ueh vociferation when he returned from victorious
battle?tan it be possible that oui
grand and glorious Naaman has the leprosy?
l es. Everybody has something he wishes
he bad not David, an Absalom to disgrace
him; Paul, a thorn > sting him; Job, carbuncles
to plague h.^i: Samson, a Delilah to
shear him; Ahab, a Naboth to deny him;
Haman, Mordecai to irritate him; George
Washington, childlessness to afflict him;
John Wesley, a termagant wife to pester him;
Leah, weali eyes; Pope, a crooked back;
Bvron, a club foot: John Milton, blind eves;
Charles Lamb, an insane siator, and you, and
you, and you, an'i you, something which you
never bargained for and would like to get
rid of. The reason of this is that God does
not want this world to be too bright; otherwise,
wo would always want to stay and eat
these fruits, and lie on these icvuges and
shake hands in this plea ant society. We are
only in the vestibule of a grand tem; le. God
does not want us to stay on the doorstep, and
therefore he sends a< he* and annoyances and
sorrows and bereavements and all sorts to push
u> on and push us up toward riper fruits and
brighter society and more radiant prosperities.
God is only whipping us ahead. The
reason that Edward Payson and Robert
Hall bad more rapturous views of
heaven than ether people had was because,
through their at nes and pains, God
pushed them nearer up to it If God dasiies
out one of your pictures it is only to show
- you a brighter one. If He sting your foot
with gout, your brain with neusai^ia, your
tongue with an inextinguishable thirst, it is
only because He is preparing to substitute a
better body than you e ver dreamed of, when
the mortal shall put on immortality. It is to
push you on and push you up toward something
grander, that God sends upon you as
He did upon General >aaman something you
do not want Seated in his Assyrian man6ior?all
the walls glicteriu? with the shields
which be had captured in battle; the corridors
crowded with admiring visitors who just
wanted to see him once; music and mirth aud
banqueting idling ail the mansion, from t?sse'ated
floor to pictured ceiling?Xaaman
would have forgotten that there was anything
better and would haye been glad to
stay there tea thousand years. But, oh, how
the sh:elds dim and how"the visitors fly from
the hall and how the music drops dead from
the string, aud how the gates of the mansion
?lam shut with a sepulchral bang, as you
read cue closing worus or ino euiogiuin: -ne
was a leper! He was a leper!"
There was one person more sympathetic
with General Naamau than any other person,
jvaaman's wife walks the floor, wringing her
hands and trying to think what she can do
to alleviate her husbind's suffering. All
renedies have failed. The Surgeon-General
and the doctors of the royal statF have met,
and they have shakeuthe r heads as much as
to say: "No cure; no ture." I think that
the office-seekers had all folded up their
recommendations a d gone home. Probably
most of the employes of the establishment
had dropped their work, and were thinning
of looking for some other situation. TV hat
shall now become of poor Kaaman's wife.f
She must have sympathy somewhere. In her
despair she goes to a little Hebrew captive, a
oerva it girl in her house, to whom she tells
the whole story; as sometimes, when overborne
by the sorrows of the world, and finding
no sympathy anywhere else, you have
gone out and found in the sympathy of some
Bumble domestic?Hose or Dinah or Bridget
?a help which the world could not give you.
What a scene it was! One of the grandest
women in all A<syria in cabinet council with
a nraifirtfT maiH Aror tha /la I in in cr Viaolf.Vi nf
tbe mighty General! '"I know something,"
says the little captive maid. "I know something,"
as she bounds to her bare feet ''In
the land from which I was stolen there is a
certain prophet known by the name of
Elisha. who can cure almost everything, and
I shouldn't wonder if he could cure my master.
Send for bi n right away." "Oh,
hush!" you say. '"If tne highest medical
talent in all the land canpot cure that leper,
there is no need of your listening to auy talk
of a servant girl." But do not sco.'F, do not
sneer. The finder of that little captive maid
Is pointing in the right dire tion. She might
have said: "This is a judgment on you for
stealing me from my native land. Didn't
they snatch me off in the night, breaking my
father and mother's heart? And many a time
I have laid and cried all night because I was
so homesick." Than, flushing up into childish
indignation, she might have said: "Good
for them; I'm glad Naaman's g< t the leprosy;
I wish all the Assyriaus had the leprosy."
No. Forgetting her own personal sorrows,
she sympathizes with the suffering of her
master and commends him to the famous
Hebrew prophet.
And how often it is that the finger of
childhood has pointed grown persons in the
right direction. Oh Christian soul, how long
is it since you got rid of the leprosy of sin#
You say: "Let me see. It must be five years
now." "Five years. Who was it that pointed
you to the Divine Physician?" "Oh," you
say, "it was my little Aunie or Fred or
Charley, that clambered up on my kaees aud
looked in my fa e and asked me why I didn't
be o:ne a Christian and all the time stroking
1113-check so I couldn't uot angry, insst.'d
upon knowing why I didn't have family
prayers." There are grandparents here who
nave been brought to Christ by their little
grandchildreu. T.iera are many Christian
mothers here who had their attention first
t ailed to Jesus by their little children. How
did you get lid of the leprosy 0" sin? How
did yc u find your way to the Diviue Physician?
"Oh," you say, "my child, my dying
f hil l, with wau and wasted finger pointed
that way. Oh, I shall never forget," you
6ay. "that scene at the cradle and the crib
that aw;ul night It was hard, hard, very
hard: but if that little one on its dying bed
had not poi;te 1 me 10 Cnrist, I don t think I
ever would have s^ot rid of my leprosy." Go
into tho Sabbath-school this afternoon and
you will find hundreds of little fingers pointing
in the samo dire -tion, toward Jesus Christ
and toward heaven.
Years ago the astronomers calculated that
there must bo a world hanging at a certain
point in the heavens and a large prize wasoffered
for so:i>e one who could discover that
world. The telesco from the great observatories
were pointed in vain; but a girl
at Xantaucket, Mass.. fashioned a telescope,
and looking through it, discovered that star
and won 1 he pri/.e anil the admiration of all
the astronomical world that stood ama'.ed at
her genius. And so it is often the case that
grown people canuot see the light, while
some little child beholds tha star of pardon,
the star of hope, tho star of consolation, th?
star of Beth eiiem.the .tiorning star of Jesus.
"Not rnauy mighty man. not mauy wise men
are calle i; but God bath chosen the weak
things of tho world to ouf und the mighty;
an i base < hings an I things that are not, to
bring to naught thiugs that are." Oh, do not
despise the prattie of litt'e children whea
they are sneaking about God and Christ and
hsa . en. You see the way your i hild is pointpoiutiiig;
will you take that pointing,or wait
until, in the wre ich of somo awful bereavement,
Go I shall lift tLat child to another
world and then it will beciion you upward*
Will you taice the pointin ?, or will you wait
for the beuKoning. Blessed be God that the
little Hebrew captive pointed in the right direction.
Blessed t;eG >d for the saving ministry
of Christian children
.No wonder the a ?vii e of thislittle Hebrew
captive tnrew an iiutuuuu s wauwu
Ben-hadad's pala e into ex . itement. Good
bye.Nc.amau! With face scarified and ridged
and inflamed by the pestilence aud aided
by those who supported him on either side,
l;e staggered out to the cha iot. Hold fast
the fiery coursers of the royal stable while
the poor sick man lifts his swollen feet and
pain-struck liuibs into the vehicle. Bolster
nim up with the pillows and let him take a
lingering look at his bright apartment, for
perhaps the Hebrew captive may be mistaken,
and the next time JSaaman comes to that
place be may be a dead weight on the shoulws
of those who carry nim?an expired
I
i chieftan seeking sepulture amid the lamentations
of an admiring nation. Good bye, Naaman!
Liet the charioteer drive gently over the
hills of Hermou lest he jolt the Invalid. Here
goes the bravest man of all his day a captive
of a horrible disease. As the ambulance
winis through the streets of Damascus the
tears and prayers of all the people go after
ifni-iii.raiioiviiB i invalid. Perhaps you
have had an invalid go out from your house
ou a health excursion. You know how the
neighbors stood around and said: "Ah, ha
will never como back again alive." Oh,
it wa? a solemn moment 1 tell you when
the invalid had departed and you went
| into the room to make the bed,
aud to remove the medicine phials from the
shelf and to throw o;:en the shutters so thai
the fresh air might rush into the long-closed
room. Good-bye, Naaman! There is only
one cheerful face looking at him, and that 11
, the fa -e of the little Hebrew captive,who is
i sure he will get cured and who is so glad she
j helj e l him. As tbe chariot winds out and
I the escort of mounted courtiers and the
mules ladened with :-acks of gold and silver
I and embroidered suits of apparel went
' through the gates of Damascus and out on
the loug way, the hills of Naphtali and Eph
j raiui look down on the procession, and the
i fpt-.inna coes rieht Dast the battlefields where
' Naaman, ia the days of his health, used to
i rally his troops for fearful onset, and then
| the procession stops and reclines a while in
the groves of olives and oleander?and General
Naaman so si:k; so very, very sickl
How the countrymen ga::ed as the procession
passed' They bad seen Naaman go past
I like a whirlwind in day3 gone by, and had
I stood aghast at the clank of his war eiuipj
meats; but now thoy commiserate him.
' They say: "Poor man, ne will never get
i home alive! Poormsnl" General Naaman
! wakes up from a rest:e*s sleep in the chariot,
! and he says to the charioteer: ''How long
before we shall reach this Prophet Elisba'sih
The charioteer says to a wavsider: ''How
far is it to Elisha's house?" He saj*s: ''Two
j miles." "Two miles." Then they whip up
the lathered and fagged-out horses. The
i whole procession brightens up at thj pro31
feet of speedy arrival. They drive up to
the door of the prophet. The charioteers
shout "whoa!" to the horse*, and the tramping
hoofs and grinding wheels cease shaking
the earth.
Co.ne out, Elisha, come out; you have
company; the grandest company that ever
; came to yo ir house has come to it uow, No
! stir imide Elisha's house. The fact was, the
! Lord had informed Elisha that the sick capj
tain was eomiug and just how to treat him.
I I-idee I, when you aro sick anl tho Lord
j wants you to get well. He always tells the
' doctor how to treat you; and the reason we
i Uii> u iu many uuugiiu? uui_i,ui o o
i they depend upon th9ir own strength and inj
stractions and not on the Lord God, and
that always makes malpractice. Come out,
I Elisha. aud attend to your business. Genj
eral Naaman and his retinua wait?d aud
j wait 3d atid waited. The fact was, Naarnan
| ha 1 two diseases?pride and leprosy; the oue
I was as bard to {cet rid of as the other. Elislia
sits quietly in his house and does not go
I oat. A tor awhile, when he thinks he has
| humbled this pro id man, ho says to a servant:
"Go out and tell Genera! Naaman to
bathe seven times in the river Jordan, out
yonder live miles, and he will g6t entirely
I welL"
The message comes out. "What!" says the
I Commander-in-Chief of th3 Assyrian forces,
j his eye kindling with animation which it bad
I not shown for weeks, and his swollen foot
| stamping on the bottom of the chariot, regardless
of pain. "What! Isn't he comiug
out to see me; vVhy, I thought certainly he
would como and utter some cabalistic words
overm6 or make some enigmatical passes
I over my wound-. Why, 1 dou't think be
J knows who I a:n; Isn't h j coming out? Why,
j when the Shunamite woman came to him, he
j rushed out and cried: 'Is it well with thee? Is
j it well with thy hu>band? Is it well with the
j chi!d?'and will he treat a px>r unknown
WOIU&Q il\0 tQU.1/, QUU lot mo, a btticu jjl-i auuage,
sit here in my chariot and wait and
wait? I won't endure it an}' longer. Charioteer,
drive on! Wash in the Jordan! Hal
ha! The slimy Jordan?the muddy Jordan?
tbo monotonous Jordan. I wouldn't be teen
j washing iu such a river as that. "Why, we
watered our horses in a better river than
that 0:1 our way here, the beautiful river, the
;asper-paved river of Pharpar. Besides that,
we have in our country another Damascene
river, Abana, with fohaged bank and torrent
ever swift aud ever clear, under the flickering
shadows of sycamore and oleander. Are
not Abana and Pharpar, rivers of Damascus,
better than all the waters of Israel?"
I suprose Jsnamau felt very much as we
would feel if. by way of meJical prescription
some one should tell us to go and wash
in the Danube or the Rhine. .We would answer!
"Are not the Connecticut and the
Hudson iustas good?" Or, as an Englishman
would feel if "he were told, by way of me lical
1 resi ription, he must go and wash in the
Mississippi or the St. Lawrence. He would
cry out: "Are not the Thames and the Shannon
just as well;' The fact was,that haughty
Naaman neede i to learn what every Englishmen
and every American needs to learn
?that when God tell, you to do a thing, you
nvst go and do it, whether you understand
th3 reason or not. Take the proscription,
whether you like it or not. One thin? is certain;
unless haughty Nitaman does as Elisha
commands him, he will die of his awful sickness.
And unless you do as Christ commands
you. you will bo seized upon by an
everlasting wasting_way. Obey and live?
j disobey aud die. Thrilling, over-areaing,
under-girding, stupendous alternative!
Well, General Naatnau could not stand the I
test. The charioteer gives a jeix to the right
line until the bit snaps in the horse's mouth
and the whirr of the wheels and the flyiug
of the du-t show indignation of the great
commander. "He turned and went away in
a ra;e." So pe:>ple now often get mal at religion.
T,:ey vituperate against ministers,
a era i ust churches, sgainst Christian people.
One would think from their irate behavioi
that God had been studying how to annoy
and exasperate and demolish them. What
has He be n doing? Only tryiug to cure j
their death-dealing leprosy. That is all. Yet
they whip up their horses, they dig in thespur*
and they go away in a rage.
So, after all, it seems that this health-ex
cursion of General Naaman is to be a dead
failure. That little Hebrew captive might
as well have not told him of the prophet,and
this long journey might as well not Lava
been taken. Poor, sick, dying Naamanl
Are you going away in high dudgeon and
worse than when you came' As his chariot
halts a moment, h,s servants clamber up in
it and < oax him to do as Elislia faid. They
sav: "It's ea-y. If the prophet had tola
you to walk for a mile on sharp spikes in order
to get rid of this awful disease you would
have done it It is easy. Come, my lord,
.iu-;' get down and wash in the Jordan. You
take a bath every d iy anyhow, and in this
climate it is so hot it will do you good. Do
it on our ac ount and for the sake of the
armv you command, and for the sake of the
nation that admires you. Come, my lord,
just try this Jor.lanic bath." "Well," he
says, "to please you I will do as you say."
The retinue drive to the brink of the Jordau.
The horses paw and neigh to get into
the stream themselves aud cool their hot
tlanks. General Naaman, assisted by his
attendants, gets down out of the chariot and
painfully comes to the brink of the river and
steps in uutil the water comes to the ankle,
and goes on deeper until the water come3 to
tliegir ile, aud now. standing so far down in
tha stream, just a little inclination of th
bead will thoroughly immeise him. H
bows once in the Rood ?nd comes up and
shake-; the water out of nostril and eye; and
his attendants look at him aud say: "Why,
fi?nr>rftl. how much I etter you do look."
And be bows a second time into the flood
and he comes up and the wild stare is pone
out of his eye. He bows the third time into
the flood and come3 up and the shriveled
flesb has got smooth again. Ho b jws the
fourth time into the food and comes up and
the hair that had fallen out is restore! in
thick locks again all over the brow. He
bows the fifth time into the ilood and comes
up and the hoarseuess has gone out of hs
throat. He bows the sixth time and
comes up and all the soreness aud anguish
have gone out of the limbs. "Why," he says,
"I am almost well, but I will make a complete
cure," and be bows the seventh time
luto the flood, and ho come up, and not so
mu h as a feitor, or a scale, or an eruption
as big as the heal of a pin is to be seen on
him. He ?teps out on the bank and says:
"Js itpossiblef' and the attendauts lo.-'k and
say: "Is it pjssiblef" and as, with the health
of an athlete, he bounds back into the
chariot and drives on, there goes up from all
his atten lants a wild "Huzza! huzzal" Of
course they go back to pay and thank the
I man of God for his counsel so fraught with
wisdom. When they left the prophet's house
they went olf mad; they have come back
glad.
People always think better of a minister
after they are convert od than they do before
conversion. Now we are to thein an intolerable
nuisance because we tell them to do
things that go against the grain: but some of
us have a great many letters from those who
tell lis that once they were angry at what we
preached, but afterward gladly received the
* gospel at our bonds. They once called u*
fanatics or terrorists or enemies; now th?y
call us friends. Yonder is a man?I speak a
literal fact?who said that he would never
come into the, church again. He said that
fit-A ot/rt Wq li\fv fomJlv cVinll
-never com# here again if such doctrines as
that are preached." But he came again and
his family came again. Ha is a Christian,
his wife a Christian, all his children Christians,
the whole household Christians, and I
shall dwell with them in the house of the I
Lord forever. Our undying coadjutors are
those who once heard the gospel and went
away in a rage.
"aow, my hearers, you notice that this
General Noaman did two things in order to
get well. The first was?he got out of his
cbariot. He might have stayed there with
his swollen feet on the stuffed ottoman,
seated on that embroidered cushion until his
last gasp, he would never have got any relief.
He had to get down out of the chariot. And
you have got to get down oat of the chariot of
your pride it you ever oecome a unnscian. i
You cannot drive up to the cross Avith a
coach and four, and be saved among all the
spangles. You seem to think that the Lord
is going to be complimented by your coming.
Oh, no;.you poor, miserable, scaly, leprous
sinner, get down out o? that. We all come
in the same haughty way. We expect to
ride into the kingdom of God. Never until
we get down on our knees will we tina uiercy.
Tha Lord has unhorsed us, uncharioted us.
Get down out of your pride. Get down out
of your self-right iousness and your hypercriticism.
We have all got to do that. That
is th3 journey we have got to make on our
knees. It is our infernal pride that keaps us
fr< m getting rid of the leprosy of sin. Dear
Lord, what have we to be proud of? Proud of
our scale?i Proud of our uncleanness? Proud
of this killing infection.' Bring us down at
Thy feet, weeping, praying, penitent, believing
suppliants.
"For sinners, Lord, Thou earnest to bleed,
And Pm a sinner vilo indeed;
Lord, I believe T'iy grace is free,
Oh, magnify th&fi grace in me."
But he had not only- to get down out oi
his chariot He had to wash. "Oh!" you
say. "I am very careful with my ablutiona
Every day I plunge into a bright and beautiful
bath." Ah, my hearers, tbere^ is a flood
brighter than any other. It is the flood that
breaks from the granite of tha eternal hills.
It is the Hood of pardon and peace and life
and heaven. That flood s'arted in the tears
of Christ and the sweat of Gothemane and
rolled on. accumulating flood, until all earth
and heaven could bathe in it. Ze nariafl
called it the "fountain open for sin and uncleanness."
William Cowper called it the
"fonntain filled with blood." Your fathen
and mothers washed all their sins and sorrow*
away in that fountain. Oh, my hearers, do
you not to-day feel like wading, into it? Wadi
down now into this glorious flood, deeper,
deeper, dee;:er. Plunge once, twice, thrice,
four times, five times, six times, seven times.
It will lake as much as thattocureyoursoul.
Oh, wash, wash, wash and bj clean.
I suppose that was a great time at Damns
cus when General Naaman got ba-k. The
I charioteers did not have to drive slowly any
longer, lest they jolt the invalid; but as the
horses dashed through the streets of Damascus,
I think the people rushed out to hail
back their chieftan. vNaaman's wifo hardly
recognized her husband; he was so wonder
fully changed she had to look at him two 01
three times before she made out that it wai '
her restored husband. And the little captiv?
maid, she rushed out, clapping her handj
andsh mting: "Did he cure you? Did hi
cure you?" Then music woke up the pala-e
and the tapestry of-the windows was draws
away, that the multitude outside might mingle
with the princely mirth inside, and the
feet went up and down in the dance and all
the streets cf Damascus that night echoed
and re-echoed with the news: "Naaman'j
cured 1 Kaaman's cured!"
But a gladder time than that itwoitfd be in
all this place or wherever iuia sjnuuu ouau
be read," if the soul should get cured of its
leprosy. The swiftest white horses hitched
to the King's chariot would rush the newa
into the eternal city. Our loved ones before
the throne would welcome the giad tidings.
Your children on earth with more emotion
than tbe little Hebrew captive would notice
the chauge in your looks and the change in
your manner, and would put their arms
around your neck and say: "Mother, I guess
?ou must have become a christian. Father,
think you have got rid of the leprosy." Oh,
Lord God of Elisha, have mercy on us I
SaveH "Or His Shrewdness.
Jung Bahadur, of Nepal, used to tell
a remarkable story about a well. A not
uncommon mode of execution in Nepal is
to throw the ollender down a well. It occurred
to young Jung, who was bred up
amid the intrigues and plots and counterplots
of the .N'eptflesc Court, that it was
the fault of the victim if he did not comc
up again alive and unhurt: and, in ordei
to test the matter and also to be prepared
for any case of future emergency, he
practiced the art of jumping down wells.
lJy-and-by it actually happened that Jung
was sentenced by his Prince to this punishment.
Undismayed, he begged one
last favor of his sovereign; that he might
bi! permitted to jump in. So reasonable
a re |iiest was at once granted. Surrounded
by a large number of people, the
Prince himself forming one of the sightseer-.
Jung went to a well, where, taking
I n(T Viie cnnorflnoiis clothes. he crossed
his legs, lumped boldly down, and in a I
mom nt was lost to the view of the
Prince and his courtiers, who.assured of
the doom of their victim by the dull
splash, returned to the palace. The
supposed drowned man, however, was
quite safe and sound, clinging to the
sides of the well, which he kuew beforehand
to be plentifully provided with
chinks and crannies. At midnight his
friends, 'yho had been previously rehearsed
in their part, came and rescued
him from his uncomfortable position.
After a while, when affairs in the Nepalcse
Court took a favorable turn for him,
Jung Rahadur allowed his friends to resuscitate
him; and t lis adventure did
much to restore the future Prime Minis
ters of Nepal to the favor of his soveign.?St.
Janus's Gaitlte.
An Interesting Rclic. *
Mr. Albert Worrell, who lives in an
old house in Campbell County, Ya., a
few days since f >und behind a loosened
mantelpiece an old newspaper, the Boston
G izcttc of March 12, 17.0, which had on
i* raitwii +i.a nnrn-o nf Thomas .letter
son. At that time. Mr. Jefferson owned
lands in Campbell, and often visited the
neighborhood. It is probable th it lie
was a subscriber to the paper, and loaned
this copy to one of liis neighbors. It
contains several protests by public meetings
against the purchase by the people
of t a and other importations of British
goods, also a long account of the killing
of certain citi/.ens by British soldiers.?
Jjultimore American.
An Admirer of the Beautiful.
Young lady?"Are you an admirer o*
the beautiful, Dr. Slasher i"
Dr. Slasher (a young sawbones) ? "Oh,
yes, indeed."
Young I.ady?"What is the most
beautiful thing you ever aw?"
Dr. Slasher contemplatively)?"Well,
I think the most beautiful thing I ever
saw wa-i tho way in which Professor
Deepr uttcr to <k a mail's leg off at the
hospital last week.
" What He Feared.
"What m;>kcs you cry so, little boy?"
asked a kind-hearted gentleman of a
weeping Austin youth.
"He?be?cause my teacher is sick."
''I expect lie will <;ct well again?"
*'So do I. That?that's?what makes
me c:y, boo hoo!" and covering his face
with his hands the p:>or little fellow
sobbed convulsively.?Texas Si/tings.
An Expensive Amusement.
Customer (to photographer)?"I don't
like the expression. It's too sad."
Photographer?"Think so!"
Customer?"Oh, yes. My wife will
think I've been playing draw poker
again."?N?w York Sun.
RELIGIOUS READING.'
Home, Sweet Home.
I would. I were at last at home,
And all earth's trials overcome:
At borr e in that calm, happy place
Where I shall see God face to face !
Then thither, Heart, for j-efuge flee,
Where angel-hosts are waiting thee.
If earth for thee be only gloom,
Thou wilt but get the sooner home.
A thousand years are as a day,
For weariness hath there no sway.
R ponl thy sins, prepare for home,
To-moirow may the Voice say, Coma.
Farewell, O World, now home I fare;
God guide all true hearts safely here.
?henry of Loufcnbvrg.
Sunday In America.
Sunday has had more value in this
country than merely as a day of rest. It
hus been a power in forming American
character. It has called a pause to men
jn whatever pursuit. It has kept before
mon olnrnTra fV>n lrnnwlflflcrn of a fTTeat
",wu "* " "J - O- - D
authority regulating their affairs. Those
who were brought up under the. strict
law of what is called the Puritan Si.nday
sometimes look back from early manhood
with intense dislike to its iron restraints
imposed on the jubilant spirits
of their youth. But as they grow older
and more thoughtful, they recognize at
least the priceless discipline of the day,
its effect on the formation of mind, its
lessons which hurt so much in entering
that they are never to be forgotten. No
wnndciing life prevails to lead them
away from the effects of those days; nor
are there among the sons of men in this
world of labor and pain any who look
back with such intense yearning for the
home rest as those men who out from the
anxieties and agonies and sins of nature
life, howsoever gilded its surroundings,
send longings of heart to the old fireside,
where the Bible was the only Sunday
book and the Pilgrim's Progress was almost
the only week-day fiction.
Scorn it, as may those who never knew
what it was, the Puritan Sunday made
men, thinking men, strong men, who
in the world locked always to something
beyond the approval of their follows,
felt always that there was somewhere
some one who knew what they were in
their hearts. It made a large part of
what is worthy in our institutions and
our men, in New England and New
York, in Virginia and the Carolinas, and
throughout the growing Union.? W. C.
Prime. in New Princeton Review for Sep
Umber.
Humanity Not Christianity.
"That man has given more to the poor
than any man in the town; now that's
what I call being a noble Christian," k
the remark a friend made a few days
ago. This is also a sample ot the opinion
of quite a large class of people; they
hold that bccause a man is benevolent
he must naturally be a Christian, but
this does not necessarily follow. A man
may love the poor, sympathize with
those in distress, und in tho fulness of
his heart relieve the wants of the pauper,
and yet not be a Christian. Ho gives
for humanity's sake, while the Christian
gives only for Christ's sake. Humanity
m=ist not be mistaken for Christianity.
Many noted highwaymen have gives
largely to the poor out of what they
robbed from the rich. That they pos;sessed
humanity no one will doubt, but
there was not a particle of Christianity
about them. The virtue in humanity's
gift lies in the amount given, but the
test in Christianity's gift lies in the
nmnnnt thufc is left behind: and while
humanity rejoices in haying given so
much, Christianity will weep because
she has no more to give. The .gift for
humanity's sake is good, but to give fo"
Christ's sake is better. The Pharisee
who ostentatiously cast in of his abundance
pales into insignificance before
the poor widow who cast in her all.
Says Christ, "For the poor have ye
always with you, but me ye have not dwa3rs."
Christ first, the poor afterward.
Had Mary given the money to the poor,
she would have done well, but in that
she gave it to Christ, she did better.
JIad she given for humanity's sake, three
hundred souls would cach have the
fcmporal satisfaction of a pennyworth cf
bread; but in that she did it for Christ's
sake, millions have been cheered aud
encouraged while reading of her devotion
and tenderness to Christ. This is
all expressed by Paul in a single sentence,
'"Though I bestow all my goods
to feed the poor, . . , and have riot
charity, I am nothing." To feed tlie
poor is humanity, but charity is Christianity.
Humanity is transitory and
passes away. Christianity is eternal,
and, lilce a river, is continually fed by
countless tiny tributaries that, however
small and powerless in themselves, till
combine to form one golden current thnt
flows into a far more exceeding and
eternal sea of glory.?Frank Rope.
It is said that when gold was first
discovered in the province of
Mutsu, in Japan, more than a thousand
years ago, public thanks wore
offered fo the gods, not because the
nation had been enriched by the discovery,
but because the means had been
supplied for decorating the images
of the gods in the temple. It i?,
moreover, said that the first products
of the mines, amounting to many
thousand dollars in value, were
use in overlaying the images in one city.
Is there not a lesson here to Christians in
relation to the use of the means that God
puts at their disposal. Let not the
Buddhist rise up in judgment against tiic
Christian. ?Minionary Uerald.
The great underlying evil which
paralyzes every cHurt to get good laws
and to secure the enforcement of such
as wc have is in the system of local
politics, which gives the saloonkeepers
more power over government than is
possessed by all the religious and educational
institutions in the city.?liew
York Times.
Boston's gross city JJebtTiaS increased
nearly $4,000 000 in the pnst two years.
The total liability is more that $40,000,000,
and it keeps growing steadily.
TEMPERANCE.
Prohibition.
A wily spider's net was spread
With the remains of hapless flies;
f'o valiant arm avenged the dead,
Where duty watched with sleepless eyes.
The matron, chancing there one day,
Bebeld the tyrant in her room,
Parting upon his struggling prey;
She swept him withlier legal broom!
A cnnnt. ntirt hrmcrrv wolf whnw lair
Was littered o'er with whitened bones,
Grew (at upon his dainty fare;
He heeded not the victims' moans.
What's death to lambs, to wolves is fun.
High living made the wild beast bold;
But Justice shot him with his gun
To save from death the harmless fold.
A vulture, flying .from its ne:t
Upon the mountain's cloud-capped height,
Went forth a-foraging in quest
Of doves tbat ventured in their flight
From the protection of their cote.
A marksman with unerring aim
Fired well a prohibition shot
And brought to terms the fluttering gamo.
A dog was foaming at the mouth,
Dragging along a broken chain;
He hat&i water, though a drought
Scorched his hot, open jaws with rain.
He was a dangerous beast; would bite
With fatal fangs mankind or brute;
But he fell in his tracks, despite
His barking at; the men wbo snoot
?Geo. W. Bungay, in National Advocate.
Appalling Figures.
That we are a thirsty people is pretty
generally submitted, but few suspect just
how much fluid, besides water, it take3
to keep the throat3 of our population in
a satisfactorily moist condition. The
records of the Internal Revenue Bureau
throw some light on the question, and,
being official besides, leave no room for
doubt or dispute. If all the beer drank
last year by our people was impartially
alloled to every man, woman and child
in the nation, in equal quantities, it
would give cach one ten and three-quarter
gallons. To this must also be added
one and one-fifth gallons of spirituous
liquors.
But pursuing these figures a little more
closely gives us other results worth mentioning.
Not every man or every woman
drinks beer and whisky, aud none of the
children. It is safe to assume that ens'
third of our population, or about twenty
millions of our citizens, absorb all the
strong drinks of the country. Thia
would make the allotment of beer to
every drinker at least thirty-two gallons
and nearly four gallons of whisky.
But they indulge in other luxuries
also. Enough cigars are smoked in the
country to give forty-two to every inVioV?itnr^
hnsirlps Rftvoral Hrrnrpttpa and
AJMWAWM**..} O
three and a quarter pounds of chewing
tobacco. It is estimated the cost to the
American people of drinking and smoking,
if equally distributed among that
portion of our population which does
drink and smoke, would give an average
cost to each of $57, or enough to buy all
the food they can consume in a year. The
army ration costs the government $38
per annuna, and it gives the soldier more
than he can eat. In short, the irinking
portion of our population consumes
enough b3er, tobacco and whisky to buy
them food supplies for the entire year.
But study the following recently compiled
by a Hartford* (Conn.) contemorary
as showing how we spend our
money:
Liquor $900,009,000
Tobacco 000,000,000
Bread 505,000,000
Meat 303,030,000
- <VVA AAA AA >
iron ana steel w,uw,wj
Sawed lumber 233,900,000
Cotton good? 210,000,000
Boots and shoes 196,000,000
Sugar and molasses 155,000,000
Public elucation 85,000,000
Koine and Foreign Missions 5,.'500,000
Thus our liquors co3t nine hundred
million dollars ($900,000,000), or
One-eighth more than all our meat
aud bread.
Three times as much as our iron and
steel.
Ten times as much as our public education.
Our tobacco costs six hundred million
dollars ($600,000,000,) or
Cne-fifth more than our bread.
Twice as much as our meat and iron.
Three times a3 much as our boots and
shoes.
Seven times as much as our public
.education.
Our lic]ilors and tobacco costs one
billion five hundred million dollars ($1,500,000,000),
or
Three times as much as our bread.
Five times as much as our meat and
iron.
1 ry% nn ?n ft a AI11?
OL'VL'U 11L11C3 as lilUVU UO VU1
Seventeen times as much as our public
education, and these two items alone
cost more than four-fifths of all the rest.
?New York Herald.
Action by Canada Methodists.
The General Conference of the Metho dist
Episcopal Church, at its late session
in Toronto, adopted the following:
"That in view of the importance of the
tem|)crance question in our country today,
and in the certainty that in the near
future legislation in the lino of entire
prohibition of the liquor traffic will be
obtained, it is desirable to appoint a
permanent committee on tempcrance;
therefore resolved, that a committee of
seven persons, laymen and minister, be
appointed to watcli the interests and
phases of the tcmperance question, and
to make such representation to the governments
and Parliament of the Dominion
as shall secure prohibitory legislation,
for which we believe the country is
r pc, co-opcrating with ccclcsiastical and
temperance, organizations through existing
parties, or, failing our end through
these, the formation of another and prohibitory
party." The motion was subsequently
changed in regard to the appointment
of a committee, and three
committees weie appointed, one cadi for
the East, for Quebec, and for tho Western
conferences.
There is no use of denying the fact.
This so callcd third party is fast becoming
a power, which will have materia^
cffcct in deciding the polit.cal, cconomi.
cnl and social destinies of the nation if a
strong opposition is not at once brought
against it.?Inke.pcrJ Journal (Brook
yn).
A LOST NUGGET.
THE STORY OP A NINETY-POUND
LUMP OP GOLD.
Its Discovery in the Old California
Mining Days?Lost and Recovered
a Numberof Times
?A Lone Search.
Referring to the fact that a party had
left Colorado Springs to hunt for the
"Lost Nugget," a writer in the New York
Sun gives"the following account of this
remarkable lump of gold:
In the old mining days of California
five or six men who had come out together
from Indiana had a claim on the
San Joaquin River. They were doing |
fairly well, but nothing to brag of, when i
one of them, a man uam .d Charles Y. i
Tooker, "whose relatives yet live in Indianapolis,
made the discovery of the
celebrated nugget. It was in the spring
of the year, and he wjs out hunting for
roots and herbs to cure a sort of scurvy
which had taken hold of some of them.
In climbing up a bank he dislodged
a boulder, and as this rolled down it un- I
covcred the nugget. It was a chunk of
crude gold, weighing about ninety |
pounds. It is not likely that the mass
was as pure as the average of small nuggets,
but still it must have been worth j
many thousand dollars. The entire bank
1 was afterward dug away, and the neigh- '
borhood for half a mile around carefully
searched, but without another ounce of
gold being found.
, Tooker was a single man, about twen1
ty-seven years old, and up to this hour
it had been share and share alike with
the little band. His mind was instantly
made up to keep his discovery to himself,
and to get away with hia treasure
at the first opportunity. He dug a hoi e
and buried tne una. careiuuy umrnxu
the spot, and letumed to camp and tried
to conceal his satisfaction and anxiety.
It was a month before he made any move.
His object was to get the nugget to San
| Francisco, and it must be carried on the
I back of a horse or mule, He had to invent
an excuse for separating himself
from the band, and this probably ghve
rise to the lirst suspicions. TooKer purchased
a mule of an immigrant, hung
around until he believed it was safe for
him to depart:, ond then dug up his nugget
one night and set out on a journey
which would not have been safe for half
a dozen men to undertake. Those were
rough days, and men who had wet with
poor luck hunting for gold in the eaith
were on the road as robbers and assas|
sins. Tooker's companions felt certain
that he had made a tind, and his eviry
action was under surveillance for several
days before he started. He quietly withdrew
from camp at night, led his mule
to the spot where the nugget was
cached, and loading it upon a pack sad
die he started off. He must have known
of the dangers of the road, but the dosire
to convert that big lump into gold
pieces overcame his prudence. He was
followed by two of his companions, but
they hardly knew what course to take.
He had made a lind and was "jumping"
them, but they had no legal right to
force a division.
Tooker was followed until daybreak,
and the men had about made up their
minds to halt him and force him to turn
back with his precious burden when he
was attacked by four or five footpads. A
lively light ensueu, and Tooker and one of
his pursuers were killed, and the other
was driven off. He returned to camp
with the story, and this was che first of
a long series of adventures in which the
big nugget has figured. Tooker's friends
determined to overhaul the robbers.and,
five in number, they broke camp at once
and began a pursuit. The footpads had
a camp or rendezvous within a few miles
of where the robbery occurred, and the
nugget was taken there for safety. This
camp was discovered by the Tooker
crowd, and in the fight which followed
two of them were killed, while only one
of the robbers escaped with his life. The
nugget had been buried, and although
the closest search was made for it the
victors did not unearth it. The robber
who escaped made his way to San Franonri
?iv mnntha later set about or
W19UV/J uuv? w.? ?
ganizirg an expedition to go after the
lump. One of the men who was to accompany
him got the location of the
cache and set out with a companion and
reached the place two days ahead of the
ethers. The nugget was found, loaded
on the back of a muie, and the two had
a start of a day and a half. They journeyed
about forty miles, buried the lump
near a mining camp, and staked out a
claim and went to work as a part of the
programme to preserve their secret.
They remained in camp for six weeks,
and then left on foot, their mule having
been etoleu. What happened to them
and the nugget is not known, or at least
has not been stated. The next time the
big lump was heard from it was unearthed
in the Hot Creek Mountains of
Nevada, by three miners who had come
j from California. The fact that they dug
I it up and had it in their posse-si #1 was
I known to a band of sixty or seventy immigrants,
with whom the trio traveled
; for"several days. Everybody got a look
;(a i,4ftfnrv WJlg related
I a L LUC lUlXfcjs, uuvt AIM ?J
1 by one of the po sessors.
Before crossing the li e into California
the three men and the nugget left the
train secrctly and were never heard of
, again. It was three years before the
nugget was heard of again, and informa- |
tion of its whereabouts then came thro.igh
a half-breed Indian who was dying at a
military post in Colorado, lie told a
sergeant of cavalry where it could be
found, and the sergeant and two private
soldiers deserted and went to secure it.
They were tracked to a mountain about
fifty miles away, and were found to have
dug up something and headed for Kansas.
They were followed for a day and
a half, and then the bodies of the two
privates were found on the ground, shot
through the head. The sergeant had
murdered them in order to "have the
' pri e all to himself. ( ivil officers all
1 over Kansas aud Nebraska were notified
to be on the lookout for the deserter and
murderer, but to this day no one can tell
what fate befell him. The big uugget
ha* been heard of in an indirect aud
roundabout way several times since, and
it has always been understood that it
was in the hands of the Indians. The
lost nugget is no doubt the largest mass
rmlrl pvpr rliscovered i:i a ifor
nin, and perhaps in the world, and if an
expedition of live or six men can succecd
in getting possession of it at this time,
there is a fortune in it for each and every
one.
The London Lancct records the case of
! a girl who had attacks resembling delirium
tremens from the act of chewing tea
leaves. Sck/ice bslicves that many persons
could be cured of their dyspep ia
and of pal pi'at on of the hear1; by discontinuing
the use of this favorite beverage.
The water of the so-called medical
lake near Spokane is so charged with
certain salts that it is like lye, and is
used in making soup. When the wind
blows the waves soon make soapsuds of
the water, the froth or lather, piling in
masses along the shore. I
-*
FACTS FOB THE CUBIOUS.
Anthracite was discovered: in Pena-*
slyvania in 1790, by Nicholas Allen.
The largest army this country ever
had was in 1805, when over a million
soldiers were in the ranks.
In the Lynn (Mass.) shops a shoe is
turned out in forty minutes, having
passed through forty pairs of hands.
'ine Aitoona snops ot tne jrennsyivani3
Railroad Company have been making a
freight car every working hour for the
past two months, so great has been the
demand for equipment.
In 1882 there were 1,228 murders in
the United States. Ninety-three persons
were executed and 118 lynched. In
1883 there were 1,573 murders, and in
1884 they were reported as 3,377.
A giant is coming to London. He is
an Austrian. He calls himself Winkelmeier.
He is eight feet six inches in*
height, and is one of the tallest men who
have lived sinca the days of the Anakin.
At the present time the number of deaf
mutes in the world is estimated to be
from 700,000 to 000,000, and of these
surnu bixL^-tuice jpci ucui, aiu oaiu iu ww
born deaf, the others losing their hearing
by different causes.
When Captain Cook first visited Tahiti,
the natives were using nails of
wood, bone, shell and stone. Whea
j they saw iron nails they fancied them to
be shoots of some very hard wood, and,
| desirous of securing such a valuable commodity,
they planted themj in their
gardens.
There were nine higher institutions of
learning in the English-American colonies
before the breaking out of the old
war for independence. Among those
were Harvard in Massachusetts, William
and Mary in Virginia, Yale in Connecticut,
Dartmouth in New Hampshire, and
University of Pennsylvania.
The dress of the ancient Greeks was
simple, without unnecessary coverings
?? ?io/?1ooo /linnlntr A f Ar?Q monffi Pfl.
VII uocjcoa uu|;iaj vi vi^uutvuvu.
tween the sexes there was little difference
of attire. The women wore no head
coverings; all the men, too, were hatless,
except travelers and certain kinds
of workmen. Indoors the Greeks used
no foot covering; abroad they wore sandals,
shoes, sometimes boots.
One of the forest curiosities of the
Isthmus of Tarien and lower Central
America is the tree-killer. This starts in .
life as a climber upon the trunks of
large forest trees, and owing to its marvelously
rapid growth, soon reaches the
lower branches. It then begins to throw
out many shoots, which entwine thelnselves
all around the trunk and branches,
and also aerial tendrills, which soon
as they reach the ground take root. In
a few years this gigantic parasite will
completely envelop the trunk of the tree
which has upheld it, and kill it. The
whole of the inner dead tree will then rot
away, leaving the hollow matapalo
standing alone and flounsnmg.
How Phil Sheridan Became a Soldier.
It is a well-known fact that General
Sheridan's parents were people in very
humble circumstanccs, and that his father
had a hard struggle to support and
educate his large family, and it was necessary
for the boys early in life to seek
employment in order that they might
support themselves and assist their father
as much as possible. They were all
unusually bright and industrious, and
were not only willing but anxious to do
all they could.
At the time of which we write the
Lancaster (Ohio) Congressional District,
in which old Mr. Sheridan and his family
resided, was represented by a Demo- J
crat. This member was entitled to the
appointment of a cadet at the West Point
.Military Academy, as were all other
i members under the law. Before he had
made a selection, however, two of his
constituents, both friends of his, very
wealthy, each concluded that he would
* ' ' *
ilKC TO Xiave msauu reueivc mu appuiu*'
ment, and accordingly each started out
among his friends in the district to obtain
recommendations to the member of
Congress for the appointment of his son.
The men were both well liked, and,as a
consequence, through their determined
efforts, almost all of the people in the
district had taken sides, and the Congressman
was pressed upon all sides to
appoint one or the other. He was in a
dilemma; to appoint either would brtng
the enmity of the other and all his friends.
He concluded he would advise with Thog.
Ewing, one of Ohio's greatest men, who
was then a Senator and resided in
the town of Lancaster. Accordingly
he went to the Senator's house and exp'ained
the situation to him. Alter
thinking the matter over for a moment,
the senator said, "if I were in your place
i I would not appoint either of these boys.
! I would seloct some poor man's son and
send hiin; each of these men and hia
friends would be glad that you did not
appoint the other s son, and the whole
people of the district would applaud you
for sending a poor toy." ''That's a capital
idea!" remarked the now delighted
member, as he saw a way out of the difficulty;
"but where is there a boy I can
send?" Just then old Mr. Sheridan, who
was employed by Senator Ewing, walked '
into the dining-room where the two
were sitting, with some stove wood in
his arms. '-There," said the senator,
"is Sheridan; he has some bright boys,
and you couldn't do better than to send
one of them." In the meantime Sheridan
had deposited his wood in the box
behind the stove and was going out of
the room. "Sheridan," said the senator,
"how would you like to have one of
your boys go to We3t Point.'" "i aonc
know, sir," replied Sheridan; ''I never
thought of that, and you know better
about it than I do. I would leave it all
to you, sir." ''Well,"said the senatcr,
''if either was to be sent, which would
you prefer to have go?" "I don't know about
that either, sir. If it's for books
you want him, you had better send Mike;
but if it's for fighting you wa'it him, you
had better send Phil,'* and Sheridan
went his way. 4-There," said the Senator
to the Congressman, "there's your
chance. 'It's for fighting you want him,'
now send Phil Sheridan,"and he did.?
Inter~ Ocean.
Explosive Forces Measured.
Nitro-glyccrino and dynamite do not,
when exploded, exert s;ich a force as is
popularly believed. To speak pr, ciscly,
the power developed by the explosion of
a ton of dynamite is c jual to4?,C7.!i foottons.
One ton of nitro-glycerinesimilarly
exploded will exert a power of 04,453
foot tons, and ;.nd one ton of blasting
gelatine, similarly e ploded, ? 1,OoO
fcot-tons. The figures, although large,
are not enormous, ana neea not excite
terror. Seventy-one thousand tons of
ordinary building stone, if arranged in
the f'imof a cube, would measure only
ninety feet on the side, an.I if it were
possible to concentrate ,the whole force
of a ton of blasting gelatine at the moment
of explosion on such a mass, the
only effect would be to litt it to the
height of a foot.?American Analyst.
The four most important towns of
Australasia are now: Melbourne, population
?8-,087; Sidney, 224,211; Adelaide,
103,486. and Auckland, 00,000. ;
. ?^