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"? -fc * "Sjp RET. DR. TALMAGE. THE BROOKLYN DIVINE'S SUNDAY SERMON. Subject: "David Acting the Fool.'* i _ ?7 I i, .note: mere was anotuer large awunuu to the church yesterday, making 047 new members received during the present revival, so that the communicant membership of the Brooklyn Tabernacle is now 4,U07.] Text: "And he changed his behavior be fore them, and feigned himself mad in their hands, and scrabbled on the doors of the aate, and let his spittle fall down upon his beard." 1 Sam. xxi., 18. There is one scene in the life of David that vou mav not have pondered. You have seen him with a harp playing the devil out of Saul; with a sling, smashing the skull of Goliah; with a sword, hacking to pieces the Philistines; with a sceptre, ruling a vast realm; with a psalm, gathering all nations into doxology; but in my text, you have David playing the fool. He has "been anointed King, yet he is in exile and passing incognito among the Gathites. They begin to suspect who he is, and say: "I wonder if this is not the warrior, King David? It looks like him. Is not this the man about whom they used to make poetry, and about whom they composed a dance, so that the maidens of the city, reeling now on oue foot and now on the other, uhki to i sing: 'Saul has slain liis thousands, but David has slain his tens of thousands." Yes, it is very much like David. It must be David. It is David." David, to escape their hands, pretends to be demented. He said within himself: uIf I act crazily then of course th?se people will not injure me. No one would be so much of a coward as to assault a madman." So, 'one day while these Gathites are watching David with increased suspicion, they see him standing by the door running his hands meaninglessly up and down the panels?scrabbling on the door as though he would climb up, nis mouth wide open, drooling like an infant. I suppose the boys of the streets threw missiles at him; but the sober people of the town said: "This is not fair. Do you not see that he has lost his reason i Do "not touch this madman. Hands off! hands off!" So David ocr>nruv). hut. what. ?r> exhibition he made of I himself before all the ages! There was a majesty in King Lear's madness after Regan and ' Goneril, his daughters, had persuaded him to j banish their sister Cordelia, and all the friends of the drama have been thrilled with that spectacular. The craziness of Meg Merrilies was weird and imposing, and the most telling passage in "Walter Scott's "Guy Mannering. There was a fascination about the insanity of Alexander Cruden, who made the best concordance of the Bible that the world ever saw?made it between the madhouses. Some time ago, while I was visiting the insane asylum on Blackwell's Island.a demented w oman came up to me and said, in most | tragic style: I "God moves in a mysterious way, [ His wonders to perform; I He plants His footsteps in the sea I And rides upon the storm." I But there was nothing grand, nothing weird, nothing majestic, nothing sublime about this simulation on the part of David, r Instead of trusting in the Lord, as he had ou i otlier occasions, he gathers before him a vast I audience of all generations that were to come, j and standing on that conspicuous stagf |of his- I tory, in the presence of all the ages, he im- ! personates tho slavering idiot! "And he | changed his behavior before them,and feigned | himself mad in their hands, and scrabbled at - * ? ?-- ?-y 1.1. i.:.. ?.ViU tiie door 01 me gate, tmu lei> ma syiti.ic uui i upon his beard." Taking the behavior of David as a suggestion, I wish to tell you how many of the wise, and the brave, and the regal sometimes play the fool. And in the first place, I remark,that j those men as badly play tlie fool as this man | of the text, who in any crisis of life take their , case out of the hand of God. David, in this ; case, acted as though there were no God to j lift him out of the predicament. What a ! contrast between his behavior, when this brave little man stood up in front of the giant ten feet in height, and looking into his face, said: "Thou comest to me with a sword, and with a spear, and with a shield; but I come to thoe in the name of the Lord of Hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom thou hast defied. This day will the Lord deliver thee into mine hand.and I will smite thee, and take thine head from thee, and I will give the carcasses of the hosts of the Philistines this day unto the fowls of oir onrl trt tho wild liPHStS of ths earth. that all the earth may know that there is a : God in Israel"?between tl at time and this j time, when he debased himself, and bedraggled his manhood, and affected insanity in j order that he might escape from the grip of j the Gathites. In the one case he ulaved the hero. In the other case he played the fool. So does every man who, in the great crises of life, takes his case out of the liand of God. The life of the most insignificant man in this house is too vast for any human manage- I ment. One time, returning from the West, I | very easily got on the locomotive while pass- t ing over the plains and talked with the en- j gineer: but coming on toward the Alleghany j Mountains, I thought I would like to sit on the locomotive as it came down from the mountains amidst that most wonderful scenery on this continent I asked the engineer if I might ride, but he courteously denied me. for there the grade is so steep, and so winding, and so perilous that he must not i have any one on the locomotive who may | divert his attention when eye, and hand, and j frx-it nniJ hrnin nmst ha concentred, readvfor the most sudden emergency. Well, my friends, life is so steep, aud so perilous, aud so exposal to sudden surprises, that none but the Lord Almighty can guide and engineer it, and our disasters come from the fact that we want to get up and help tho Lord to manage the train. Keep off the engine! Be willing to let God pull j'ou where He wants to pull you. You nave no right for an instant to surrender your sanity aud manhood as David surrendered his. Put your trust in (!od. and He will take you through and over the mountains. I very much suspect that all the successful enterprises that were ever carried on, and all the successful lives that have ever been lived, have been fully surrendered to God. When the girl Victoria was awakened in the night, and told that tho throne of Great Bi itaiu was hers, she said to the Prelate informing her: ''I ask your prayers," and then and th?re they knelt down aril prayed. Do you wonder that though since that time all the thrones of Europe have fallen or been fearfully shaken, here stands as firm as the day she ascended it; and in every country under the sun, wherever an Englishman hears that name pronounced, he feels like waving his hat and crying: "God save the Queen!" That man and that woman, who put their trust in God. will go through in triumph; while those who attempt to gather under their own supervision the intricate and elaborate affairs of their life, are miserably playing the fool. I stood on the beach, looking off upon the sea; and there was a strong wind blowing, and I noticed that some of the vessels were going that way, and other vessels wore going another. I said to myself: "How is it that the wind sends one vessel in one direction and another vessel in another direction?" I found out, by looking, that it was the different way , they had th? s iils set. And so does trouble come on this world. Some men it drives into the harbor of heaven,and other men it drives oil the rocks. It depends upon the wav you have your sails set. All the Atlantic and Pacific oceans of suriring sorrow cannot sinK a soul that lias asked for (iod's pilotage. The difficulty is, that when we have misfortunes of any kind, we put them in do I s hand, and they stay there a little while: and then we go and get them again, and bring them back. A vessel comes in from a foreign port. As it comes near tin harbor it sees a pilot floating: about. It hails the pilot. Thf? pilot comes on lx?ard. and he says: "Now, Can tain, you have had a stormy passajre. <"!o down and sleep, and I will take the vessel into New York harbor." After awhil' th<? Captain b~riiis think: "Am I right in trusting this vessel to that pilot? I guess I'll cro up and see.*' So he conies to the Silot and says: "Don't you se" that rock? ion't you see those headlands? You will wreck the ship. Let me lav hold the helm for awhile for myself, and then 1*11 trust to you." The pilot becomes an cry. and says: "I will either take care of this ship or hot. If you want to. I will tret into mv yawl and go ashore, or back to mv bont." Now we say to the Lord: " O f-od. take my life, take mvnll. in Thv keeninrr! I3o Thou my guide; be Thou rov pilot." AVe jr<> alojig for a little while, and suddenlv wake tip. and say: 4,Thin<rs are joiner all wrong. O. Lord, we are driving on th^se rocks-, and Thou art going to let us ho shipwrecked.'' God says: 'You go and rest: T will take charge of this vessel. j>n'l take it into th<? harbor." It Is God's hn?'"f*.-sto co'nfnrt.nii'l it is our business f to h* TTr-vh"rt, the gi'eat thinker. phi!os'vr>lir"?d nlxvit himself, philosophized about this rvrwM. nh:,osor>hize l about everything. thf>n in his rtv?n<r moments asked that only one word mi?rht be cut upon his tombitoue. and that word "Inf?llcis3irnus"?most I ~ I annapnv?descrtntiv* or the state or tne lives and of the deaths of tlios > who take their case out of the hand of God. The onlv appropriate Inscription for th?ir banqueting hall, and their eouipase, and their grave. and the wall of their eternal prison-house?"Infelicissimus" In drooling, moral idiocy. they are scrabbling: at the door of their hanpiness, which never opens; s?iserahlf ylayiaj the fool. a train, l remark that aM those persons piay the fool, as certainlvas did this man of the text, who allow the technicalities of relitrion to stop their salvation. David was wise about a exeat many things, hut his cuttin<rs-up In the text for a little while eclipsed his character. And I know wise men and great men, competent for all other stations, who are actin? a silly and foolish part in regard to the technicalities of religion. Thev ask us sonio questions which we cannot answer cat?eorically. and so tuev hurst into a broad guffaw, as though it is of anv more int"rest to us than it ought to he to them. Ahotit the Atonement, about God's decrees, about man's destiny, they ask a great many questions which we cannot answer, and so they deride us. as though we could not ask them a thousand questions that oormof. answer, about their eves. about their cars, about their finder nails, about everything. A fool can ask a question that a wise man cannot answer. 0. you cavilling: men! 0, you profound men! O, you learned men, do ploase admit something. You have a soul? Ye3. "Will it live for ever! Yes. Where? You say tint Jesus Christ is not a Divine Saviour. "Who is He? "Where will you go after you leave your law books, and your medical prescriptions, and vour club room, and your newsnaper office?where will you go to? Your body will be six feet under ground. Where will your soul be? The black coat will bo off, the shroud on. Those spectacles will be removed from your vision, for tho sod will press your eyelids. Have you any idea that an earthly almanac describes the years of your lifetime? Of what stuff shall I gather the material for the letters of that which describes your eternal home? Shall it be iron chain or amaranthine garland? The air that stirs the besweated locks of your dying pillow, will it come off a garden or a desert? O, quit the puzzling questions and try these momentous questions. Quit the small questions and try these great questions. Instead of discussing whether the serpent in Eden was figurative or literal, whether the Mediterranean fish did or did not swallow the recreant prophet, whether this and that, and the other thing is right or wron?, come and discuss one question: "How shall I get rid of my sins and win heaven?" That is the question for you. Yea, there have been men who have aotually lost their souls because they thoueht there was a discrepancy between Moses and Professor Silliman?because they could not understand how there could be light before the sun rose?the light appearing in verse three of Genesis, and the sun appearing not until verse sixteen?and because they do not know how the moon could stand still without upsetting the universe, and because they had decided upon the theory of natural selection. A German philosopher in dying had for his chief sorrow that he had not devoted his whole life to the study of the dative case. 0, when your immortality is in pei il, why quibble? Quit these non-essentials, my dear brother. In the name of God. I ask you in regard to these matters of the immortal soul, that you do not play the fool. What is that man doing over in Bowling Green, New York? Well, he is going in for a ticket for a transatlantic voyage. He is auarrelling with the clerk about the spots? tne red spots on the ticket?and ho is quarrelling about the peculiar signature of the President of the steamship company, and he is quarrelling about the manner of the clerk who hands him the ticket How long has he been standing there? Three weeks. Meanwhile, perhaps, twenty steamers have gone out of port, and I hear "the shriek of the steam tug that could take him to the last vessel that could bear him to his engagement | in London. Still he stands in Bowling Green discussing the ticket. What do you say in regard to that man? You say he is a fool. Well, in that very way are many men acting in regard to the matters of the soul. They are caviling about the Atonement, the red spots on the ticket?about the character of the minister who hands them the ticket?about whether it has a Divine or human signature, and meanwhile, all their opportunities for. heaven are sailing out of tne harbor, and I hear the last tap of the bel! announcing their last chance for heaven. Go aboard! Do not waste any more time in higgling and carping, and criticising, and wondering, aud, in the presence of an astounded heaven, playing the I go st;U further, and say to you that those men play the fool who undertake to pay out eternity for time. How little care do we be- , stow upon the railroad depot where we stop twenty minutes to dine. We dash in and we dash out again. We do not examine the architecture of the building, nor the face of the caterer. We supply our hunger, we pay our money, and we put on our ! Ililb IU1U UU1 pittW 1U VUt7 UOIU. tf uo-v to that depot as compared with the place for which we are bound? Now, my fr ends, this world is only a stopping place on the way to a momentous destination, and yet how many of us sit down as though we had consummated ! our journey, as though we had come to a final depot, when our stopping here is as compared with our stopping there as is twenty minutes to twelve hours?yea, as the one hundreth part of a second compared with ten j thousand million years! "Would Spain sell us j Cuba for a bushel of wheat? Wonld England i sell us India for a ton of coal? Would Venice sell us all her pictures for an American schoolboy's sketch? Ah! that would be a better bargain for England, Spain and Venice than that man makes who gives his eternity for time. Yet how many there are who are say- i ing to-day: "Give me the world's dollars and you may havo the eternal rewards. Give me the world's applause and you may have the garlands of God. Give mo twenty, or forty, or sixty years of worldly successes and I don't care what becomes of the future. I am going into that world uninsured. I take the responsibility. Don't bother m9 about your religion. nere l nave me nvo wonus i before me?this one and the next. I have chosen this. Go away from me, God and angels, and all thoughts of the future!" But where is Croesus and Cleopatra; and JEsopus, who had one dish of food that cost one million four hundred thousand dollars; and Lentulus, who had a pound of fish worth a hundred and seventy-five thousand dollars; and Scaurus, who bought a country seat for twenty-nine million dollars; and Tiberius, who left at death a fortune of one hundred and eighteen million, one hundred and twenty thousand dollars? "Where are they? If a windv day should blow all the dust that is left of them" into your eyes, it would not, make you -wink twice! Ah, my friends, then very certainly your comforts of surrounding cannot keep back the old archer. You cannot charm nim with music, or dazzle hira with f>late, or decoy him with pictures, or bribe um with your money. What is the use of "your struggling for that which you cannot keep! As long as you have clothes "and food and shelter aud education for j yourselves and your children and the means i for Christian generosity, l>e satisfied. You j worry, and tug, and sweat, and wear yourself out for that which cannot sat- | isfy. "Whole flocks of crows' feet on your temples and cheeks bofore thev ought to have come there. Y on are ten years older than you ouaht to lie, and yet you cannot take along with you into the future world even the two pennies on your eyelids to keep them shut after you are dead. And yet you hold on to this world with the avidity of the miser who persisted in having his bonds and mortgages and notes of hand in the bosom of his dressing-gown while he was dying, and in the last moment held hi3 parchment in such a tight prip that the undertaker after death must almost break the 4-?-v KfMlH flWflV Ilimi 5 lUl^ViO All ViUCI IV I iiv irviiM M ?.J . Men are actually making that choice, while there are others who have dono fur differently. When they tried to bribe with money Martin Luther, some one said: 'There's nous; trving to do that?that Dutrh beast cnros nothing for gold." When they tried,by giving him a cardinal's hat. to brilw Savonrola, lie stood up in his pulpit and cried out: "I will have no red hat, save that of martyrdom, colored with my own blood." These men chose Christ amid great persecutions: but howmany there are in this day, when Christianity wvmr to do popular, wno are asnamea ot Christ, and not willintr to take hardships?the seeming hardships?of His religion. And,alas for them I for long after the crash of the world's demolition, they shnll find that in nil these vears they were turning their backs upon the palaces of heaven, scrabbling on tlio door of this world's treasure house, th? saliva of a terrifio lunacy on tlwr lips?horribly and overwhelmingly playing the fool. Once more I sav to you tliat. those men play tho fool who, while they admit the righteousness of relicrion. set it down for future attendance. Do you know how many times tho word "now" occurs in tho Bible? Over two hundred times. One of the shortest words in tho Bible, and yet one of the grandest in ' TEMPERANCE j A Warning From the Scaffold. A murderer, about to suffer the death penalty, in a town not far distant, in his last words, attributed his crime to drink. While we have no desire to harp on or weary our readers with the evils resulting from this awful curse, we cannot refrain from appealing to those addicted to the habit to heed the warnings and ( profit by the examples set them day after day in every portion of the world. Frensied with the fiery liquid, their reason leaves them, transforms tliem into brutes, and incapacitates them for the performance of anything but that belonging to the wild animal. They lose all consciousness, and while in that state commit acts meaning and ramifications. When aoes tno Bible say is the best time to renent? Now. "When dries the Bible say that God will forgive? Now. When does God say is the onlv safe time to attend to the matters of the soul? Now. But that word "Now" melts away as easily as a snowflake in the evening rain. Where is the "now ot cue neaa 01 mss rem- i the "now" of the dead of last month? the "now" of the deal of last week? the "now" of the dead of yesterday? Time picked it up in its beak and flew awav with it. Swammerdatn and other naturalists tell us there are insects which within the sjmce of one minute are born, fulfill their mission, celebrate their nuntials, and die; but this wonderful "now," is more short-lived than they. It is a flash, a stroke, a glance. Its cradle is its grave. If men catch it at all, it is with a auick clutch. Millions of men have lost their soul immortal because they did not understand tho momentum and the ponderosity of that one word. All the strategic powers of hell are exerted in trying to subtract from tho energy and emphasis of that word. Tliev say it is onlv a word of three letters while there is a better word of eight letters -"to-morrow." Thev say: "Throw away that small word and take this other grand one;" and so men say: "Givo us 'to-morrow' and take away from us 'now;'" and between those two words is the Appian Way of death, and a great multitude throng that road, jostline: and elbowing each other, hastening on swifter and swifter to die. For how much would you walk tho edge of the roof of your house? For how much would you come out on the most dangerous peak of "the Matterhorn and wave your cap? You say: "No money could induce me to do it. And yet you stand to-day with one foot on a crumbling moment and the other foot lifted, not knowing where you will put it down, while the distance between you and the bottom of the depth beneath you no plummet can measure, no arithmetic calculate, no wine of lightning cleave. And yet the Bible tells us that unless a man has a new heart he cannot get into heaven; and some of you are not seeking for that new heart. In Mexico, sometimes the ground suddenly opens, and a man standing near thejrao can see down an apDalline dis tance. But U! lr to-aay, at your ieei, mere should open the chasms of the lost world, how you would fling yourself back and hold the pew, and cry: "God save me?now! nowl now!" I greet you to-day, my brother, in the very gate of eternity. Some of us may live a longer and some of us may live a shorter time; but, at the longest, life is so short that I feel we all stand on the door-sill of the great future. The next step?all the angels of God cannot undo the consequences. Will your exit from this life be a rising or a falling? The righteous go up. The Saviour helps them. Ministering spirits meet them. The doors of Paradise open to receive them. Up I up! up! Oh, what a grand thing it is to die with a strong faith in God, like that which Stonewall Jackson had, when, in his expiring moments, he said: "Let us cross over the river, and lie down under the shade." But to leave this world unpreparedly is falling?falling from God, falling from hope, falling from peace, falling from heaven?swiftly falling, wildly falling, for ever falling. So it was with one who had been eminent for his intellgence, but who had omitted all preparation for the future world, and had come down to his last hour. He said to his wife, seated by the bedside: " 0, don't talk to me about min: it is the mind, woman, it is the mind I Of aU the years of my life, I never lived one minute for heaven. It is awfully dark here," lie whispered. "It is awfully dark. I seem to stand on the slippery edge of a great gulf. I shall fall! I am failing!" And with a shriek, as when a man tumbles over a precipice, he expired. Wise for this world, about all the matimmanfol c/miI ho woe hiQ lifft lnn<r_ playing the fbol. I will take the case of some one In the building to-day and ask you what you think about that case. He has been all his life amid Bibles and churches, so that he knows his duty. Christ has offered to do all for that man that a Divine Savior can offer to do for a dying soul. Heaven ha3 been offered him, yea, been pushed upon him, and yet he has not accepted it, and to-day he sits deliberately allowing his chances for life to go away from him. What do you sav of that one? "Hallucinated," says one: "Mcmomaniacal," saysanother; "Playing the fool." says another. Oh, how many there are taking just that position I There is such a thing as pyromania, an insanity which disposes one to destroy buildings by fire; but who would have thought that there "was a pyromania of the immortal nature, and that any one could be so struck through with that insanity as to have a desire ana disposition to consume the soul? Awake, man! awake, woman I from the phantaaia, real or affected. Take Christ. Escape for eternity. Just see what has been done for you. Lift the thorny cap from the brow of Jesus, and see the price that was paid for your liberation, i^ook ai ujo mud, ouu see where the spear wentiu and moved round and round, amid broken arteries, the blood rushing forth in awful sacrifice for your sins. 0, wrap those bare and mutilated feet of the dying Lord in your womanly lap, for they were torn in a hard tramp for your soul! 0, for tears to weep over tiiis laceration of Christ! 0. for a broken heart to worship Him! O, for an omnipotent impulse strong enough to throw this wnole audience down at the feet of a crucified and risen Jesus! We must repent. We must believe. -We must be saved. I cannot consent to have you lose your souls. Come with me, and as in the summer time we go down to the beach and bathe in the waters, so today let us join hands and wade down into the summery sea of God's forgiveness. Roll over us, tides of everlasting love, roll over us! Dear Lord, we knock at the door of mercy, not as the demented knock, not knowing what they want; but knocking at the door of mercy, because we want to come in, while others run their meaningless hands up and down the panels, and scrabble at the gate, in the presence of God, and men, and angels, and devils, playing the fool. POPULAR SCIENCE. The bird spider of tropical America has a body four and one-half inches. The circle of the ties of the legs has a diameter of seven inches. It is so named because it builds its nests to capture small birds, lizards, and reptiles. The nests usuall contain 1,500 to 2,000 eggs. The new licitz alloy, the patented production of a German chemist, is a bronze for which remarkable durability aid resistance io all acids are claimed, prolonged exposure to concentrated muriatic acid having caused less thau half the loss sustained by any other alloy, and other tests having been equally successful. Considerable deposits of petroleum have been found upon the Egyptian coast l)/u] Onn Tlinffiroetinri? is formed I U1 LUU IltU IJCUi A ~ ? of recent coral, underlying which is an older limestone, perhaps of secondary age. Upon piercing the recent coral to the level of the sea, the petroleum, mingled with water, flows into the cavity. It is conjectured that the source of the material which has lost its volatilo constituents is the older limestone bolow. Every one knows that the sea has larger animals than can be found on land; but with the enormous sequoias of California in mind, mnny may be surprised to learn of vegetable growth in the ocean vastly exceeding in length, though not in bulk, these giants of the forest. Recently the ship Clever, commanded by Captain John Stone, arrived at Montevideo with a portion of a seaweed which had been picked up in the Atlantic near the equator. The sailors perceived an object floating on the surface some distance from the ship, and, manning a boat, they rowed to it, and ascertained that it was an alga of euonnous size. On measuring it, it was found to have a length j upward of fifteen hundred feet. Of the present destroyers of the Indians, according to Dr. Washington Matthews, the chief is consumption. Census returns show that, while the deathrate among Kuropcons is 17.7-4 per thousand, and that among Africans is 17.23, the rate among the indiatis is no less than 24.G; and that, while among the whites 1GG deaths in a thousand are from consumption, and among the negroes 18G, there arc 286 among the Indians. The i influence of civilization has greatly increased the consumption rate among the j Indians?the effect seeming to be partlj due to change of diet, and partly tc i causes not yet understood. acts, which in their sober moments they would have shuddered at. How much stronger ao tuey want cue cvmencc put i before them ? A fellow-being standing < on the brink of eternity, about to be launched into the presence of his Maker, warns his brethren to be careful of the false step they may take when entering tho abode of the devil?the drinking saloon. What a powerful sermon it preaches, what a vivid picture, what an awful doom! We would that those possessing the weak. ness, the cowardice, and the sin of imbibing this froth of ruin could be impressed with the realization of these dreadful truths; that they are standing on the brink of a precipice, jeopardizing their lives with the risk of tumbling into that awful, gaping chasm, ever ready to engulf them, where mocking fiends delight to damn each victim's soul. This is ' no overdrawn moral,only the sequel to the wine-bibber's existence, confronting every devotee of the grog-shop and flowing bowl.? Weit Groce {Ptnn.) Independent. Is the Wine Bottle "Innocent." 1 Rev. Theodore L. C.iyler. D. D., says ] in the Homiletic Review: In dealing with , the question of abstinence from an intox- < icant, we must keep in mind that it is i not a merely negative article about whose j use or non-use one may toss up a copper. The essential nature of intoxicating beverages, as tending to kindle depraved appetite, as tending to provoke excess, as tending to inflame the brain, and in possessing a suitable influence to enslave those who use them?this nature of the article itself must be taken into the account. "\Vc do not pretend that every one who drinks an occasional glass of wine becomes a drunkard. But we do affirm that every one who drinks wine throws the whole weight of his influence in favor of the drinking usages which do make the drunkards. A glass of intoxicating wine is not an "innocent bever age" in the same sense that a glass of , milk or a glass of water is innocent. No ( one can reasonably be asked to abstain j from either of these latter beverages for the sake of his neighbor. They have no j tendency to inflame bad appetite, no ten- ^ dency to breed excess, no tendency to ' disorder the brain, no tendency to gel fatal mastery over both body and soul. If wine and whisky (for some American ( wines contain twenty per cent, of alcohol) did not contain these dangerous qualities, how could they make my weaker brethren "stumble?'' If not essentially dangerous j to others, why should I be asked, by any i law of charity, to abstain from their use's It Ls not enough for me to intrench myself in selfishness and say: "My winebottle docs me no harm.'' My wine-bottle ( is my voluntary contribution to the drinking usages of society which are hurling millions into eternal damnation! Can the wine-bottle be pronounced "innocent?'' No! No! Temperance Notes. Twenty-five years ago there was but oue renresentativc of total abstinence in A the British House of Commons; now there are over forty. The success which has attended the afternoon temperance meetings in Boston and New York has led to their iuaugura- . tion in Chicago by the Rev. J. Bolton. Ho who seeks in alcohol ' Poetic inspiration Is risking his immortal soul To win a reputation. ?Boston Courier. Mr. A. Burr, undertaker at Columbia, Tenn., says ho has buried forty-four men killed in mortal combat in and near that town, and in every instance whisky was the cause. Statistics show, without dispute, that half the ehampague and claret consumed is made fcom things other than grapes. The homely gooseberry comes out as luxurious "liz," and the hedge-grown blackberry is converted into full-bodied claret. "All that man hath will he give for his life." Labor, weariness, hunger, cold, are as nothing in the balance against liberty. And yet he will sell himself, little by little, to a habit that makes him a slave. He only is freo whose body is the servant of his soul, and whose soul is the servant of God. A medical journal state3 that "the two elements of highest cost of human life, as it is lived in the aggregate, are spirits and tobacco, the one a stimulant narcotic, "" ? ?n,i fi,?t the otner a lu'prcjwim iwiu..?, ....vi w?.?, more than one-third of the human race prove by living without them that they are in no degree necessary or healthful, but on the contrary tend to depravity and destruction." The South American journals say his Majesty Dora Tedro was recently much amused, on landing at Sau Paulo, by being received by an Italian gentleman with a hand-organ, who 1 played tho national air. The Emperor listened with gravity to the musician, and then asked him in French to play s "L'Air pour l'lfcalie." The music an ' did not know it, but proposed to play ' 'r the Brazilian air over again. And the , Emperor listened to the repetition with apparent delight. RELIGIOUS READING. The Divine LnllabT' I bear Thy voice dear Lord; I hear it by the stormy sea When winter nights are black and wild; .And when, affright, I call to Thee, ft cnlms my fearj and whispers me; "Sleep well my child. I hear thy voice, dear Lor 1, In singing winds, in foiling snow, The curfew chimj, the midnight ball; "Sleep well my child," itmurmers low, "The guardian angels come and go; 0 child, sleep well!" 1 hear Thy voice dear Lord; Ay, tbo .gh the singing winds be stilled, Though hushed the tumult of the deep. My fainting hea t with anguish chilled, By thy assuring tone is thrilled; ' 'Fear not and sleep." Speik on, sp ak on, dear I/)rd; And when the In-t dread night is near, With doubts and fears and torrors wild, Oh, let my soul, exp.ring, hear Only iheso words of heavenly cheer; "Sleep wtll, my child!" ?[Eugene Field, in Chicago News. Harvesting, Death is not destruction, but harvesting?the gathering from fields of mortal tillage ripe fruits in their seasoD. And why then should our harvest feast be sad over garnered immortality? Why should this sweetly tolling bell, filling their troubled earthly airs with a gentle - ? . ? p.. 1 sound, so startle and appal tne trusuui jpirit f 0 ye sad mourners over beloved graves, that by reason of bereavement jan hardly find in your hearts this day to bo grateful, and to whom our hymn >f thanksgiving hath the seeming of a requiem for the (lead I God strengthen four faith so to behold this mysterious ;hing in a light from heaven, that its lark veil shall seem transparent, and a raco with soft eyes look forth loving and bright as the face of an angel. Death is not destruction! Death is lot efen decay! Death is harvesting! Flear ye tnis, 0 disconsolate hearts! Ye parents from whese household sweet jhildren have been rudely parted, hear re this: "The Beloved hath gone down nto his garden to gather lilies!" Ye :hildren who have lost reverend parents, ind whose life is chilled in the shadow )f that dread thing?orphanage?hear re this: "As a shock of corn coraeth in n his season," so are matured souls jathered to the garner of God. Death is harvesting; and the design of :hc harvest is the preservation of t!'o Train. The phraso "cometh in" is ren lered literally in the margin ''assendeth," having reference to the situation of the eastern garners on some hilllop, unto which the gathered corn was borne from the lowlands with the glad songs of the reapers. And all this is metaphorical of the joy and glory of the risen immortality, as removed from jarthly trials and advanced to high and heavenly ministries. With death end all processes of tillage. No longer the plough and tho pruning knife, the driving wind and rain. Henceforth only the serenely jheltered garner. We attempt no discourse on this analogy. It is trancenlent to our experience, and therefore to our understanding. Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, nor heart of man conceived, the bright reality. But eye hath seen and ear heard all tho fairest things wherewith wc strive to image tho Unseen and Eternal?gloves, gardens, green fields, flowers, fruits, sunny fountains, temples, palaces, thrones, diailems, triumphs?such things in their very fulness of glory we have seen on Tlmon f liin era oro inriflfifj nnrt of CUIWJ. ? t ? the tillage?accessories of an economy unto which pertain the harrow and tho pruning knife, tribulation and anguish. And it were folly out of such things . to form images of the condition of fruits and flowers gathered to manifest the glory of the great Husbaudmau in the city of God. This much only can we understand, that the risen spirit is advauced at death not simply to frames of intense rapture, but to spheres of transcendent usefulness in the kingdom of God. And as wc rejoice over the value and uses of our secured harvests, so does all heaven exult as things precious unto God. over the spirits of just men made perfect in glory. And as angel-reapers gather them and bear them upward in flaming chariots along yon highway of sapphires unto the heart and throne of the Eternal Father, heaven will open wide its joyful gates, and all the shining creatures that stand before God strike their harps to the anthem of the great harvest-home, because perfected maa cometli to his cud "as a shock of corn cometh in in his season!" ? [Rev. Charles Wadswortli, D. D. I set out through the problems of life on a search for God, and I did not find God. 1 found only problems that made me doubt of God. Thcu 1 said in words of old, '"Verily, thou art a God that hidest thyself; why art thou so far from helpihg me?" And while I yet spake, a voice made answer, "\vny uictsi mou not meet me at the door?'1 Thou hast been in search of mc through the labyrinths of the world; why didst thou not come first to me to lead thee through the labyrinths? Thou hast bceu seeking to see mc by the light of the world; why didst thou not rather seek to see tha world by my light? I would hav? j -u ?i.:?, ?!/??? llipo if thou muuu an iiiiii^o ?,iwi ^vr ...ww hadst met mc at the door.".?[Georgo Mathcson, D. D. A merchant called at the office of a Missouri weekly paper, with the copy of an advertisement, and asked the clerk to insert it. "Sorry, but I can't do it; the paper's full." "NVliere's the proprietor? I think he would run it in." "Impossible, sir; he's full, too." Tee evident agitation of the young man in tho picture is not caused by his having experienced a change of heart; but by his having accidentally rung the new "chestnut gong" on his vest just as the minister made a strong point in liia sermon. ?Fuck. . I. WOMAN'S WORLD. ~ PLEASANT LITERATURE FOR FEMININE READERS. The Fishing Maiden. She was full of cunning crinkles, little tricks, and wily wrinkles, to catch crab3 and periwinkles, in the Tatars of the bay. She knew all the leading jobbers in fish tackle, reels, and bobbers, and she always caught the robbers that would steal her bait away. rvuild unt-.Viniit. hor frln<i?po Vi/wrtn the trout and basses, and she gathered in by masses victims of her wily skill. Only one thing was the matter?she could fish, but couldn't Clatter, and that made the young men scatter?she could nerver fill the bul. ?Rahway Advocate. A Hartford Girl's Queer Bracelet A Hartford young lady jingles at her wrist some of the late and living Conservative members of the British Parliament. Or rather, seven representatives of the great leaders,' in curious bangles, formed of little silver figures of these leaders, each in his characteristic attitude while speaking. The likenesses are so good that the faces of Beaconsfield, Salisbury, Iddesleigh, Churchill, Beach, Cross, and Smith are easily recognized from the carricatures of Punch and other papers. The bracelet is an oddity, and was presented to the American lady as a political souvenir of late European travel. She also possesses a remarkably fine collection of English photographs of cathedrals, castles, ruins, and celebrated places, collected during twelve summer visits to the British Isles, of whose beauties she has a keen appreciation.?Hartford Times. Costlv Cotton Collars. In the course of the discussion which xi _ j : 4.1. recently uccurreu wnu regaru iu me dress of Japanese ladies and the introduction of foreign costume, considerable importance, was attached to the expense of the latter. The Japanese were reminded that they were about to adopt a fashion which would cost the nation millions every year. The criticism is certainly true, but there are exceptions to the general rule. What, for example, would be said in Europe or Arr\prica of a lady who paid $700 for a collar? During the Ming period Chinese weavers manufactured a cotton stuff called sarasa, woven sometimes in minute, sometimes in bold designs, the colors of which, partly from their original excellence and partly from the mellow effects of age, are simply incomparable. For a little strip of this celebrated material large enough to pass round her neck and form a hanyerl, a Japanese belle has been known to pay anything from $700 to $1,000. "Venerabla Mothers" of Mexico. About fifty miles from the City of Mexico there is an Indian pueblo, governed by the " Patriarchal Council of Twelve," half of whom are women, called "The Venerable Mothers." This patriarchal dignity is conferred only on those who 1 2?J 1 ? :1!AM IIHVC ruueu lurgc lunnua.auu uaic puicu themselves devoted mothers and kind neighbors. "When a young Indian proposes to go out into the world, the Patriarchal Council is called, and the contemplated exodus is fully discussed. If it is decided to let him go, the youth is solemnly advised by the "Venerable Mothers" in all things for his good, and is especially charged to do credit to his pueblo by being honest, truthful, and industrious. Whenever the exile commudicates with his people, it is said that his messages to "the aear old fathers and mothers" are as to his own kindred. A beautiful custom prevails in this Indian village, viz., that every eighth day is set aside for all the men and boys to leave their personal avocations and labor from dawn till sunset for the blind and helpless, the widows and orphans of the pueblo. Indeed, there is scarcely an Indian in Mexico who does not possess some homely virtues worthy of imitation.?Fannie B. Warde. Arab Sentiments Regarding Women. The precocity of Eastern children, says a foreign correspondent, is marvelous. A boy of twelve fell desperately in love with a pretty Baroness K., more than twice his age, put on a turtoan tor tnc first time to look like a man, and seated himself cross-legged Ok the carpet before Lady Duff Gordon to tell her of his devouring passion and beg some medicine to "make him white" and improve him in the eyes of his beloved. The son of the Sultan of Darfoor, "a pretty imperious little native" about eleven, dressed in a yellow silk caftan and scarlet burnous, being presented to her, exclaimed scornfully, "Why, she is a woman; she can't talk to me!" But a box of French sweetmeats altered his opinion, and on being asked how many brothers he had, the young Prince condescended to reply: "Who can count them? They are like mice!" The Arabs often carry their reverence to the other sex to the opposite j extreme. Omar submitted to be bullied and lectured by Zeynib, a Nubian girl of eight, who had been given to Lady Duff Gordon, and when laughed at for his docility answered: "How can I say any thing to it J mat one cmiu;- uut-u Abd-el-Ivadir was expected at Cairo, Lady Duff Gordon's donkey-driver asked her if he were not Akhu-1-Benat(a brother of girls). She said that she did not know that he liad any sisters. "The Arabs, 0 lady," was the reply, "call that man 'a brother of girls' to whom God has given a clean heart to love all women as his sisters, and strength and courage to tight for their protection." Even polygamy is, according to Lady Duff Gordon, often merely cousideration for the necessities of "the weaker vessel." Hearing that Hasan, the janissary of the American Consulate, had married his * '1 .> A r\-*-v+ n/1 lmfll l\np I oroiniT s wiuuw, nuu ?uujmi.u boys, she said the two wives did not sound to her very comfortable. "0, no," repligd Omar, '-not comfortable at all for the man, but he takes care of the woman. That is what is proper. That is the good Moslem." All About Hairdressing. What ladies1 coiffures ought to be was the subject of a lecture delivered at St. James's Ilall, London, recently, by M. Eugene Menard. After defining knowledge, and extending its signification to embrace "skill in anything," it was shown that the possession of it would not only give to hairdressers an intimate acquaintance of the different styles of coiffures, which have marked periods of history. but would also enable them at a friimrp tn determine what description of headdress would best adapt itself to the features and to inherent or assumed characteristics of the subject in hand. The three principal characters in liairdressing are, it seems, Roman, Etruscan, and Grecian, besides which is the white-powdered coiffure of the last two centuries, which forms another and distinct style. The Grecian coiffure is characterized by a net or fillet placed over the crown of the head, and by short soft curls and undulations being becomingly arranged to suit the face. In Ktruria ladies tied their dark glossy hair high on the crown, and, after dividing the front portion straight down ; v-i^H the midtffcr swd disposing it in bandeaux^ 9 they carried the ends to mingle with the curls and sausage-like rolls formed by the hair brought from the back. A band decorated with gold coins laid flat across fll the top of the head was the usual orna- <fl| ment, with a jewel on the forehead and .. 9 an arrow piercing the rolls. fl The Roman, which is, it appears, often # confounded with the Grecian, was distinguished by a simple loose twist taken ,|H round the head, ana supported by an artificial band, to which could be attached -9 a veil, a coronet, or a plait of hair, with 9 the curls shown upon the forehead com- .-w-r:|9H ing below. One leading characteristic of 9 Roman coiffure was the helmet, some- J9 times ornamented with feathers, in the '9| front of which were placed plaits made ;^y to assume the form of a diadem. "9 To explain the difference that exists in hairdressing between this period and that :)Z :1|9 it is needful to glance at the styles sub- 9 sequently adopted. 9 Properly and strickly speaking, there * . : >2g9| are only two?the Grasco-Roman and the " ^2s9 Louis XI., and Louis XVI.; but eight 91 different varieties have been evolved from these?viz: The Historical, Alle- fl gorical, Generic, Ideal, Eccentric, Artis- fl tic, Fancifcl and Modern. fl The Historical is that which has been fl worn either by a Queen or some famous fl lady, such as Marie Antoinette, the 'fl Princess de Lamballe, the Duchess of fl Devonshire. The Allegorical should pre- fl sent a type or symbol of a country or a V season. The Generic characterizes some fl particular epoch' reign, painter or noted fl character, such as the Directoire, Louis fl XV., Gainsborough, Watteau. The Ideal fl is usually the result of any hairdresser's fl own fancy. The Eccentric is a monstrous fl hair ornament bearing the name of a frig- fl ate, tower, castle or caprice. Tee Artistic fl is that which should be the aim of the fl ladies' coiffure, and is, in fact, the cachet fl which a true artist can always impart to B his own productions. The Fanciful coif- fl fure usually shows an imitation of other fl styles, with alterations that frequently fl diminish the charm of the original, but . B are occasionally an improvement upon it. fl The Comtesse de Grignan is accredited with being the first French woman of fl fashion who adopted the white-powdered coiffure so extensively seen during the fl period of Charles H. of England. fl Modern coiffure?the fundamental basis fl of which was shown to be due to more fl modern times?was pronounced prettier Jflj and more becoming than styles of greater fl The lecturer concluded with an appeal to the members of the guild to raise their ajflj art to a proper degree of excellence and fl to produce a style simple, light and grace- fl rrrVii/VV? mirvVtf nnnafihifn On OTvApll Kv ^^^1 1U1 IT U1VU Ullg^AV WUdblbUVU MM V|/WM MJ itself and serve as a model of imitation H for the future. fl Fashion Notes. I Turbans are to be worn more than ever 9 this spring. I The peasant sleeve with wide puffs and . fl bands is very stylish. ' Corded ginghams are among the pretty new fabrics for the spring. H Flowers are as generally worn as they were even as corsage bouquets. B TVatered ribbon is much worn as sashes, fl both for house and street wear. S The peasant waist is still the prettiest mode for a. young girl's house waist. ? Red is notably the color in spifag mil- X linery, as it has been the past winter. 9 Cuff buttons are small and flat, and ob- , trude themselves as little as possible. a Little jackets of mat beads are worn I over black surah waists for half mourning. 9 Watteau brocades are now among the jBk cotton fabrics, and are in exquisite High bonnets and walking hats are I notable in the importations of sprifig 9 models for street millinery. P Lace fichus and plastrons are meeting with all their old-time popularity, as ac- ? cessonea iu mu uresaj tuucu. . r%,< Blue and gray is a combination of this - season which promises to be worn, even if it has no particular attraction. Black lace dresses still retain their popularity, being suitable for use on various occasions, and by ladies of all ages. . - J| A new surah, known as surah Antoinette, with heavy diagonal lines, will be used in the spring for light mourning costumes. _ Ruches of black lisse and crape are favored for use with mourning costumes, just as colored ruches are preferred to white by those wearing colors. Whatever may be the general style of a ? ^ wrap, whether short, long or only a very short cape, it is invariably made with what is known as the sling sleeve. Among the novelties in rich material iw /?nf- vflvnta with broad strines of a feinflHa lighter tint of plush in relief upon the velvet. The use of this material is conIs is predicted that strij>es and plaids will be more popular than any other fab- aSe rics with Parisian ladies for spring wear. . Some of the newest stripes are plaids, and there are plaids that arc striped. Bead net tabliers, panels and plastrons, epaulettes, and when the dress demand them, collars and cuffs, retain their hold on fashionable favor, and arc made in 'mM handsomer designs and finer finish from season to season. All sorts of dressy accessories of the /^M| toilet in the form of removable waistcoats, fichus, plastrons, sleeveless short jackets, epaulettes, and dog collars are made of velvet, plush, jet and other fl beads, lace and fancy ribbons, with picot I Velvet brctelles, with straps across the B front, worn over a full gathered white I plastron, with collar and cuffs of the vel vet, will be used with some new gingham dresses. Feather-stitched guimpes and sleeves with feather-stitched wrisbands, and sailor collars with cross-striped inside shirt bosoms, will be revived. } The newest zephyrs and ginghams show lace-like stripes, checks and bars. Sometimes the grounds are plain, and in other cases the designs are separated by Pompa- -q dour bouquets brocaded on a light stripe. Large plaids appear in some of the new- \-}i ly-imported ginghams. These are intended for the skirts, and a plain fabric to match is used for the waist. -" 5 A Battle with Wild Geese. J A farmer living near Quincy, IHinois, says that while out feeding his chickens one mornincr recently, four wild geese came flying toward hjs barnyard, and after circling above him several times lit among his chickens. He caught one of them, whereupon the others attacked him viciously. He finally managed to secure u second one, and after a sharp -- , encounter drove oil the other two. Nearly all the sugar made in this country is produced in Louisiana, the other ^ Gulf Statas contributing but a few thou- : sand hogsheads. Last year's Cuban crop is estimated at over 800,000 tons. rr In digging for a foundation for a new postoilicc at Los Angeles, Cal., a flowing spring of petroleum was struck. :?q ' .J