The Abbeville press and banner. (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, March 16, 1887, Image 3
"Ufa is a lest,
And all things show it
I thought so once,
But now I know it."
I thought how inapt that, in a plaoe of sepulchre,
men should try their witticisms. A
great Gorman having rejected Christ, in his
last moment said: "Give me light, give me
light!" Oh, we may be smart with our witticism
about the last hour; but when it comes,
and the tides arc rising, and the surf is beating,
and the winds are howling, we will each
one, my brethren, find for himself that it is
"the swelling of Jordan!" Our natural courage
wont hold out then. However familiar we
may have been with scenes of mortality,
however much we may have screwed our
courage up, we want something more
than natural resources. When the northeast
wind blows off from the sea
of death, it will put out all earthly lights.
The lamp of the Gospel, God-lighted, is the
only lamp that can stand in that blast. The
?tKaf. clioil nnf. Ka
r "
RET. DR. TALMAGE. i
THE BROOKLYN DIVINE'S SUNDAY
SERMON.
Subject: "The Swelling of Jordan."
Text: "If thou hast run with the footmen,
and they have wearied, thee, then how canst
thou contend with horses? and if in the land
of peace, wherein thou trustedst, they wearied
thee, then how wilt thou do in the swelling of
/" Jordan f'?Jeremiah xii., 5.
Not in a petulant, but in kindly terms I
m'tst complain that a wrong has been done
me and the cause of honest journalism by a
pretended sermon that is going the rounds of
hundreds of papers with my name appended;
a sermon entitled: "Frauds Detected;" text,
Numbers, Ch. 32, v. 23: "But if ye will not
do so, behold, ye have sinned against the
Lord; and be sure your sin will find you out."
Not one sentence of that pretended sermon
did I preach. If this were the only offense
of the kind I would not speak of it. Such a
fraud is not only a wrong to me but to the
gentlemen who, at these tables, Sabbath by
Sabbath, take accurate report of what is said
and done; and is a gross wrong to the two
thousand newspapers which give my sermon
in full to their readers, and orten at great expense
to themselves. The only fault I have
to find with the newspaper press of this country
is that they treat me too well. But I
cannot be made responsible for entire sermons,
not one word of which did.t preach I
But now I turn from personal explanation to
the more important subject of the text.
Jeremiah had become impatient with his
troubles. God says to him: "If yon cannot
stand these small trials and persecutions, what
ai-e you going to do when the greater trials
and persecutions come? If you have been
running a race with footmen and they have !
beaten you, what chance is there that you j
will outrun horses?' And then the figure is
changed. You know, in April and May, the 1
Jordan overflows its banks, and the waters !
rush violently on, sweeping everything before :
them. And God says to the prophet: "If j
you are overcome with smaller trials and ,
vexations which have assaulted you, what
will will you do when the trials and annoy- ]
anc? and persecutions of life come in a
freshet?" "If in the land of peace wherein i
thou trustedst, they wearied thee, then how j
wilt thou do in the swelling of Jordan?'
I propose, if God will help me, in a very !
practical way to ask, if it is such a difficult
wing to get along without the religion of Jesus
Christ, when things are comparatively
smooth, what will we do without Christ amid
the overpouring misfortunes and disasters of
life that may come upon us? If troubles,
glow as footmen, surpass us, what will we do
when they take the feet of horses? And if
now in our lifetime we are beaten back and
submerged of sorrows because we have not
the religion of Jesus to comfort us, what will
we do when we stand in death, and we feel
all around about us "the swelling of Jordan?"
The fact that you have come here,my brother,
my sister, shows that you have some t
things you believe in common with
r - myself. You believe that there is a God.
There is not an Atheist in all this house. I
do not believe there ever was a real Atheist
in all the world. Napoleon was on a ship's
deck bound for Egypt. It was a brignt
starry night, and as he paced the deck, thinking
of the great affairs of the State and of
the battle, ne heard two men on the deck in
conversation about God; one saying there
was a God and the other saying there was
cone. Napoleon stopped and. looked up at
the starry heavens, and then he turned to
Ilins*? UICXA Jul tvuvuoauvu, CU1U &?UU. VJCULICT
men, I heard one of you say there was no
God; if there is no God. will you please to tell
me who made all that?" Ay, if you had not
been persuaded of it before, you are
persuaded of it now- for the shining heavens
declare the glory of God and the earth shows
His handiwork. But you believe more than
that; you believe that there was a Jesus; you
believe that there was a Cross; you believe ;
that you have an immortal soul; you believe
Chat it must be regenerated by the spirit of
God, or you can never dwell in bliss eternal.
I think a great many of you will say that you
believe it is important to have the religion of
Jesus Christ every day of onr life, to smooth
our tempers and purify our minds, and hold
us imperturbable amid all the annoyance and
vexations of life. You and I have seen so
many men trampled down by misfortunes
because they had no faith in Jesus, and you
say to yourself: "If they were so easily
overcome by the trials of life, what will
it be when greater misfortunes come
upon them?heart-breaking calamities, tremendous
griefs?" Ob, if we have no God
to comfort us when our fortune goes, and we
look upon the graves of our children, and our
houses are desolate, what will become of us?
What a sad thing it is to see men, all unbelped
of God, going out to fight giants of
trouble; no closet of prayer in which to retreat,
no promise of mercy to soothe the soul,
no rock of refuge in which to hide from the
blast Oh, when the swift coursers of trouble
are brought up, champing and panting for
the race, and the reins are thrown upon their
necks, and the lathered at every spring
feel the stroke of the lash, what can we do on
foot with them? How can we compete with
them? If, having run with the footmen, they i
wearied us, how can we contend with horses?
We have all yielded to temptation. We !
have been surprised afterward that so small
an inducement could have decoyed us from '
the right How insignificant a temptation
has sometimes captured our soul! And if
that is so, my dear brother, what will it be
when we come to stand in the presence of
temptation that prostrated a David, and a
Moees, and a Peter, and some of the mightiest
men in all God's kingdom? How we are
honest; but suppose we were placed in some
path of life, as many of God's children have
been, where all the forces of earth and hell
combine to capture the soul? Without Jesus
we would go down under it If already we have
been beaten by insignificant footmen, we
would be distanced ten thousand leagues by
the horses. Ah, I dont like to hear a man
I say: "I could not commit such a sin as that
I cant understand how a man could be carried
awav like that" You dont know what
i.i n - j ui4. ?.M. V/\?i
you couiuuu ii too grace ui <jruu itjiujuu. xuu
know what John Bunyan said when he saw a
man staggering along the street, thoroughly
embruted in his habits. He said: "There
fes John Bunyan, but for the grace of God." i
can say when I see one utterly fallen: 1
"There goes DeWitt Talmage, but for the
grace of God!" If we have been delivered
from temptation it is because the strong arm
of the Lord Almighty has been about
us, and not because we were any better than
they. It is a great folly to borrow trouble.
If we can meet the misfortunes of to-day, we
will be able to meet the troubles of to-morrow;
but suppose now if through a lack of
the religion of Jesus, we are overthrown by
small sorrows, does not our common sense
teach us that wo cannot stand up against
great ones? If we cannot carry a pound, can
we carry a thousand pounds? If we are discom- i
fited coming into battle with one regiment, a
brigade will cut us to pieces. If we are unfit |
to cope "with one small trial, won't we be i
overcome by greater ones? If the footmen
are too much for us, won't the odds be more
fearful against us when we contend with
horses? I thank God that some of His dear
children have been delivered. How was it
that Paul could say: "Sorrowful, yet always
rejoicing; poor, yet making many rich; having
nothing, yet possessing all things?" And
David, the psalmist, soars up into the rock of
God's strength and becomes thoroughly composed
amid all his sorrows, saying: "God is
our refuge and strength, a very present help
in the time of trouble; therefore will not we
fear though the earth be removed, though the
wnnn^inc Yux r?ncf. infr* t.hr> midst of tho
though the waters thereof roar and be troubled,
though the mountain shake with the
swelling thereof. Selah."
But my text suggests something in advance
of anything I have said. We must all quit
this life. However sound our health may oe,
it must break down; however good our title
may be to houses, land, and estates, we must 1
' surrender them. We will hear a voice bidding
us away from all these places. We will
have to start on a pilgrimage from which've
can never come back. We will have seen for
the last time the evening star, aud watched
the last summer cloud, and felt the breath of
the spring wind for the last time. Hands of
lovei ones may be stretched out to hold us
back, but they cannot?go we must. About
all other exits and chances we may trifle, but
not about this. Stupendous moment of lifequitting.
Oh, when the great tides of
eternity arise about us, and fill the soul
and surround it, and sweep it out toward
rapture or woe, ah, that will be the swelling of
Jordan!" I know people sometimns talk very
merrily about the departure from this life. I
am sorry to hear it. But men do make fun of
the passage from one world to another. Byron
joxed a great deal about it, but when it came
. he shivered with horror. Many an infidel has
W scoffed at the idea of fearing a future world, I
but lying upon his pillow in the last hour his
teeth have chattered with terror. I saw, in
Westminster Abbey, an epitaph which a poet
-ordered to be put upon his tomb:
CU1U UUlUlUg uuuv JU^U ttvw w WM
founded; the strongest oue rejecting that shall
stumble and die. when the Jordan rises in
its wrath, the first dash of its wave will
swamp them for ever. "We feel how sad it is
. for a man to attempt this life- without religion.
We see what a doleful thing it is
for a man to go down into the misfortunes
of life without Christian solace; but
if that be so, how much more terrible when
that man comes face to face with the solemnities
of the last hour! Oh, if in the bright sunshine
of health and prosperity a man felt the
need of something better, how will he feel
when the shadows of tbe last hour gather
above his pillow? It, in the warmth of
worldly prosperity, he was sometimes dismayed,
now will he feel when the last chill
creeps over him? If, while things were comparatively
smooth he was disquieted, what
will he do in the agonies of dissolution? "If,
in the land of peace in which he trusted, they
wearied him, what will he do amid the swelling
of Jordan?"
Oh, I rejoice to know that so many of God's
children have gone through that pass without
a shudder! Some one said to a aying Christian
: "Isn't it hard for you to get out of this
worldr' "Oh, no," ho says, "it is easy dying,
it is blessed dying, it is glorious dying:" and
then he pointed to a clock on the wall, and he
said: "The last two hours in which I have been
dying, I have had more joy than all the years
of my life." A general came into the hospital
after the battle.aud there were many seriously
wounded, and there was one man dying, and
the general said: "Ah, ray dear fellow, you
seem very much wounded. I am afraid you
are not going to get well." "No," said the
soldier: "I am not going to get well, but I
feel very happy!" Oh, I have seen them, and i
rrr\. A?f r\t fVllC lifft WlHlftllfc A fcftaP
on their cheek! There was weeping a11 round
the room, but no weeping in the bed: the
cheeks were dry. They were not thrown down
into darkness, they were lifted up.
We saw the tides rising around them,
and the swelling of the wave. It
washed them off from the cares and toils of
life; it washed them on toward the beach of j
heaven. They waved to us a farewell kiss as
they stood on deck, and floated down further
and further, wafted by gales from heaven,
until they were lost to our sight?mortality
having become immortality:
"Life's duty done, as sinks the clay,
Light from its load the spirit flies;
While heaven and earth combine to say,
How blest the righteous when fc* dies!"
What high consolation to you that your departed
friends were not submerged in the
swelling of Jordan! The Israelites were just
as thoroughly alive on the western banks of
the Jordan; as they had been on the eastern
banks of the Jordan; and our departed Christian
friends have only crossed over?not sick,
not dead, not exhausted, not extinguished,
not blotted out, but with healthier respiration
and stouter pulses, and keener eyesight,
and better prospects, crossed over, their sins,
their physical and mental disquiet, all left
clear this side, an eternally-flowing, impassable
obstacle between them and all human and
Satanic pursuit. Crossed over! Oh, I shake
hands or congratulation with all the bereaved
in the consideration that our departed Christian
friends are safe!
Why was there, years ago, so much joy in
certain circles in New York when people
heard from their friends who were on hoard
the City of Brussels! It was thought that
vessel had gone to the bottom of the saa; and
when the friends on this side heard that the
qxraA Mfolv in T.iVArnnnl had
SWaUiOl JUWU Mi?ATWk m-m . v. r?_j
we not the right to congratulate the people
in New York that their friends had got
safely across? And is it not right this
morning that I congratulate you that
your departed friends are safe on the
shore of heaven? Would you have them back
again? Would you have those old parents
back again? You know how hard it was sometimes
for them to get their breath in the stilled
atmosphere of the summer; would you have
them back in our earthly summers, or chilled
of our winters? Would you have your children
back again? Would you have them
take the risk of temptations which
throng every human pathway? Would
you nave them cross toe Jordan three
times. In addition to having crossed it
already, cross it again to greet you now, and |
then cross back afterward' For certainly you j
would not want to keep them forever out of
heaven. If they had lived forty or fifty years
longer, would they have been safe? Perhaps
so, perhaps not.
"Pause and weep, not for the freed from
pain,
But that the sigh of love would pull them
back again."
I ask a question, and there seems to come
back the answer in heavenly echo: "What!
will you never be sick again?" "Never?sick
?again." What! will you never be tired
again?" "Never?tired?again." "What! will
you never woep again?" "Never?weep
?again." "What! will you never die again?'
"Never?die?again." Oh, ye army of de- J
parted kindred, we hail you from bank to
bank! Wait for us when the Jordan of death
snail pare ior us. tomo uu?u auu iuot? iu
halfway between the wiliowed banks of earth
and the palm groves of heaven.
" On Jordan's stormy banks I stand,
And cast a wistful eye
To Canaan's fair and happy land,
Where ray possessions he.
0, the transporting, rapturous scene
That rises on my sight!
Sweet fields arrayed in living green,
And rivers of delight."
But there is one step still in advance suggested
by this subject. If this religion of
Christ is so important in life, and so important
in the last hours of life, how much more
important it will be in the great eternity I
need not stand here and argue it. There is
something within your soul that says now,
while I speak: "lam immortal; the stars
shall die, but I am immortal." You feel
that your existence on earth is only
a small piece of your being. It is only
a mile up to the grave, but
is ten thousand miles bayoniL This slab of
the tomb is only the milestone on which we
read of infinite distance yet to be traveled.
The world itself will grow old and die. The
stars of our night will burn down in their
sockets and expire. Tho sun, like a spark
struck from an anvil, will flash and go out.
The winds will utter their la3t whisper, and
ocean heave its last groan; but you
and I will live for ever! Gigantic
?immortal. Mighty to sufler or enjoy.
Mighty to love or hate. Mighty to soar
or to sink. Then, what will be to
us the store, the shop, the office, the applause
of the world, the scorn of our enemies, the
things that lifted us up, and the things that
??? AAmn7 VITKot IaV>n Wnolflv nra
p&TTXXTU uo uuuu; tf uau vu vvuti n w*wj M, w
all the mobs that howled after him? What to
Voltaire are all the nations that applauded
him? What to Paxil, now, the dungeons that
chilled him? What to Latimer, now,
the tlames that consumed him? All those
who through the grace of Christ reach
that land, will never be disturbed.
None to dispute their throne, thoy shall reign
for ever and ever. But, alas, for those who
have male no preparation for the futurel
When the sharp-sh<xl hoifs of eternal disaster
come up panting and swift to go over them,
how will they contend with horses? Ana
when the waves of their wretchedness rise up,
white and foamy, under the swooping of eternal
storms, and the billows become more
wrathful and dash more high, oh what will,
they do "amid the swelling of Jordan?"
If I could come into your heart this morning,
I would see that many of you, my dear
friends, had vowed to be the Lord's. I know
not what sickness it was, or what trial; but I
verily believe there is not a man in the house
but has sometime vowed he would ba the
Lord's. It might have at the time when your
child lay sick, you said: "Oh Lord, if thou
wilt let this child get well, I will be a
Christian." Or it might have been in some
business trouble, 'when you have said: "0
Lord, if thou wilt let me keep my property,
I will be a Christian." You kept your property,
your child got well, the peril passed.
Are you a Christian? History says that long
ago it had been announced that the world
was coming to an end, and there was great
excitement in London. It was said that the
world would perish on a certain Friday.
On Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and
Friday the" people were in the cathedral.
Dravimr and weeping. It seemed as
If the whole English nation was b:lng converted
to God, for it was announced as certain
by philosophers that on that coming Friday
the world would perish. Friday came, and
there were no portents, no fires in the air. no
earthquakes. The day passed along just like
every other day, and when it was past and
the night came, it is said that in London there
was a scene of riot, and wassail, and
drunkenness, and debauchery such as had
never been witnessed. They forgot their vow,
they forgot their repentance, they forgot
their good resolutions. O, how much human
nature in that! While trials and misfortunes
come to us, and we are down deep in darkness
and trouble we make vows. We say:
"O Lord, do so, and I will do so." The darkness
passes, the peril goes away. We are as
we were before, or worse; for oh, how orten i
have seen men start for the kingdom of God,
come up to within arm's reach of it, and then
eo back farther from Goi than they ever
were before, dropping rrom tne very mount
of their privilege into darkness forever! Oh,
how ungrateful we have been! Do you know
how much God has done for you and for me?
Have you never felt it? How much He did
for you to day I Who spread the table
for you? Who watched you last, night?
Who has been kind and good to you all your
life long? Oh how ungrateful we have been!
Methinks the goodness of God ought to lead
this whole audience to repentance. I know
not your individual history. Some of you I
never saw before, some of you I will never
see again; but I know that God has been
good to you. What return have you made!
iThere was a steamer on one of the Western
lakes heavily laden with passengers, and
there was a little child who stood on the side
of the taffrail, leaning over and watching the
water, when she lost her balance and dropped
nto the waves. The lake was very rough.
The mother cried: "Save my child! Save
my child!" There seemed none disposed to
leap into the water. There was a Newfoundland
dog on deck. He looked up in his master's
face, as if for orders. His master
RAirl; "Trav. overboard, catch 'em!"
The dog sprang into the water, caught
the child Dy the garments, and swam
back to the steamer. The child was picked
up by loving hands, the dog was lifted on
deck, and the mother, ere she fainted away,
in utter thanksgiving to that dog, threw har
arms around its neck and kissed it; but the
dog shook himself off from her embrace, and
went and laid down as though he had accomplished
nothing. Shall a mother be grateful to
a dog that saves her child, and be ungrateful
to the Son of God who, from the heights
of heaven, plunged into the depths of darkness,
and suffering, and woe that he might lift
us up out of our sin and place us on the rock
of ages? Oh, the height, the depth, the length,
the infinity, the horror of our ingratitude I
Don't you treat Jesus like that any more.
Don't you thrust Him back from your soul.
He has been the best friend you ever had. You
will want Him after awhile. When the
world is going away from your grasp, and all
the lights that shine on your soul are going
out, and the friends that stand around you
can do you no good, and you feel your feet
slipping from beneath you?oh, then you will
want Him?the loving Jesus, the sympathetic
Jesus, the pardoning Jesus?to stand close by
you, and hold you up "amid the swelling of
Jordan;"
In the Cleveland Common PleM
Court, "William Fulton, a wealthy
farmer, sued for divorce from his wife.
Three yoars ago he was married to hia
present wife, and, barring a honey
moon of three months, he says he has
had to jump around lively ever since.
Mrs. Fulton's attorney questioned the
husband, and the following interesting
"bull" story was brought out, amidst
great laughter: "Now," asked the
lawyer, "didn't you keep a ferocious
bull to scare your wife with ?" "I kept
a bull," responded Felton, "but I had
to. I could not sell him; he was cross;
but I never thought of using him to
Jcare my wife." "What did you keep
him for?" "Well, I used him as a sort
of bank, or rather I made him guardian
of my private papers. Nothing
was safe about the house,and I couldn't
keep a thing from my wife. All my
personal papers I tied up and put them
in the bull's manger, a little ways
above his head. They were pretty secure
there, as it wasn't safe for any
one on the farm except myself to go
near the animal. Mrs. Fulton threatened
continually to burn the house,
? a r ? j _*i.
| ana x lusureu it, uemg uei*Mimueu lu
save mvself from loss. The insurance
| papers were taken care of by the bull
in the same manner. He was a pretty
handy bull,"
A recek'j London paper publisher
what purports to be a Thibetan lama's
explanation of the reason why hii
countrymen and oo-religionists shut the
gates of their country against European
missionaries. "They say," remarked
the lama of his people, "that
Europeans have a good religion which
they do not generally practice, and yet
wish to force on others whose religion
is as good and is practiced. The Europeans
are believed to be full
of greed: for, living in a rich
country, they always acquire other
nrn r\ Ttk i'ia fliov follr nf illai'i*
WUUUiiCOj UUU) nuuv V?*m*m ?uvm
benevolent purposes, they destroy
animal life every day for their own
food, thus becoming clouded in calm
intellect and in the perception of true
morality. They also think their religion,
language, and customs the best.
If we were to think so of ours, it would
be considered by us a deviation from
the path. Among the nine rules for
conduct W6 are directed never to suppose,
much less to say, that our religion
is the best, considering that sincere
men of other religions are deeply
attached to them, and, on that account,
do good to others. All we can do ii
also to do good and not to criticise the
good of others."
The Berlin court jeweler has just
mado a necklace for the Empress oi
Japan. It consists of 600 diamonds,
all being mounted a jour, and forming
a riviere, bracelet and brooch, the latter
of which is crowned bv nine splen
did solitaire, tlie center one weighing
twenty carats, and being worth ?1,000.
In the riviere are 150 large diamonds
and numerous small ones, which have
caused great trouble and expense to
procure of equal color and brilliancy.
The whole set is valued at about
?45,000. Formerly ii was not the custom
to wear diamonds at the Japanese
court, pearls alone being allowed.
Two samples of whisky were lately
purchased in "Worcester, Mass., the Spy
says, at the instigation of a local clergyman,
who had them analyzed. One was
from a prominent drug-store, the other
from one of the lowest dives in town.
Both, the report says, were alike vile,
and so near alike that only an expert
could distinguish one from the other.
The weather is ?o warm in New York
that one of the papers speaks of
"roasted chestnut man."
TEMPERANCE.
As Sure as the Tide*.
Fortune and friends and all things fair,
Ht ld with never such pride and care,
Will slip from his grasp like grains of sand,
If he hold a cup in the other hand.
All that is lovely and good will flee,
As :sure as the tides go out to sea.
Ruin will come by sure degrees,
Sorrow and pain, and foul disease
Will palsy the hand to its finger-tips,
Tha t carries a cup to the waiting lips.
Remorse will come in the years to be,
As sure as the tides come in from sea.
Wr>;cks of fair hopes will strew life's shore,
Paiiions like wreeKers still lure on more,
For the wakened fiend will not be still
Till it shadows reason and shrivels will,
Till despair as a constant guest abides,
As snire, aye as sure, as the ocean tides.
?Anna J. Grannis, in Voice.
Wine and Beefsteak.
Dr. Crosby asserts that the man wh??
can afford to drink claret with his beef
steak and does not is foolish. "Well, ho
has a right to his opinion. We neve:1
heard of any man becoming foolish by
eating beefsteak without wine, but wo
know that lots of people have become
foolish by using wine without beefsteak.
On the whole, we will risk the beefsteak
alone when we get it.? Witness.
Six W. C. T. U. Prize Banners.
The National W. C. T. U. offers u
prize banner cach to the New England.
Middle, Southern and Western State
Unions which, during the current year,
show the largest percentage of increase
in their respective sections. A banner
will also be awarded the State Union
showing the largest percentage of increase
among the States beyond the Missouri.
The Territorial Union having the greatest
proportionate growth will be entitled
to a banner. The prizes will be presented
at the next National Convention, to
be held at Nashville. In the competitions
for the banners, all regular and
honorary members of tho W. C. T. U.'a
and of the young women's unions are to
1. A - a
ue countea.
How to Win.
The temperance reform is no longer the
inspiration of the few. Wc have passed
through the stages of ridicule, indifference
and contcmpt, and we have gone
forward into the era of study, research,
and investigation and close contact with
the enemy, where conviction ripens into
action. Intcmpcrance is now seen to
be the great curse and crime of the
age, the "sum of all villanies," the
gigantic crime of crimes, that must bo
put under the feet of the nation, or our
country will sink under the accumulated
load of this curse. And so we must agitate,
we must educate, we must legislate,
we must consecrate. We must pray as
if all depended upon God, and work as
if all depeuded upon ourselves, and the
victory will surely come.?Advocate.
Steam on Both Wheels.
It requires two wheels to propel a ferry-boat.
If one is clogged, the boat
simply revolves in the water without
progress. Every cart needs two wheels,
and if one is cut off the cart capsizes.
Our temperance reform depends for its
success on both legal suppression of dram
shops and on moral and reb'gious efforts
to dissuade people from drinking liquor.
If either wheel is off, the boat capsizes.
Push on the temperance meeting.
Push on the temperance literature in
every shape. Pu?h on the pledges of entire
abstinence. Push on the fight for
prohibition at the same time. Let the
6team on both wheels! "We want law
and love also; persuasion not to drink
liquor as well as prohibition of selling
liquor. Shutting of saloons is not all;
we must smash the jugs also.?Theodore
L. Cuyler.
Temperance Notes.
A little four-year-old, being told that
"W stood for whisky," said: "Well, tut
it yight out of my book."
It is estimated that New York City
consumes annually 6,000,000 barrels of |
beer at a cost of $38,400,000.
"Any man who opposes the sale of intoxicants
in the saloon, and yet buys '
wines, ales and brandies for his own ta- |
ble, is playing into the hands of the en- j
emy," says Theodore L. Cuyler.
Liquor selling must be made to appear
as the most heinous crime, savs Demorest.
and we want no compromise with the
crime any more than we want to justify
stealing or highway robbery.
Mr. 6. R. Sims, revisiting the scenes
of his former articles on "Horrible Lon- <
don," finds that religion and temperance ;
have stepped in and taken a tighter grip ;
of the masses. In several slums the great :
bulk of the people are now pledged ab- i
staincrs, and their aspect and manners
appreciably improved.
In Pasadena, Cal., the W. C. T. U.
made a certain bar-keeper the subject of
special prayer. Attracted by the singiDg
n*iAn flrnrnipflc flin man
UUU Uj^UIl'tVU mu iui*u vvvnuiv
interested and within a week was converted.
He at once sought a new and
better business, and gave the first five
dollars earned in it toward the crcction
of a church in the town.
Two samples of whisky were lately
purchased in Worcester, Mass., the Spy
says, at the instigation of u local clergyman,
who had them analyzed. One waa
from a prominent drug-store, the other
from one of the lowest dives in town.
Both, the report says, were alike vile,
and so near alike that only an expert
tould distinguish one from the other.
The; plouro-pneumonia bill introduced
in the Senate of tho United
States by Senator Spooner is modeled
after the Illinois statute on the same
subject. Instead of a Bureau of Animal
Industry, presided over by a veton'nornn
tllip hill "WOllM DTOVidfl for
three United States Cattle Commissioners,
with power to stamp out pleuropneumonia,
foot-and-mouth disease,
and rinderpest among cattle, and maintain
a quarantine to prevent the spread
of coiiliagion. The appropriation proposed
ifl $1,000,000.
' QUiiER DISHES. I
ODD ARTICLES OP FOOD MORE
OR LESS PALATABLE.
RELIGIOUS READING.
Bringing Sheaves.
Eyes that oftentimes are tearful,
Looking for life's meaning true,
Hearts as often faint and fearful
For the good ye strive to doThus
an angel in my dreaming
Whispered for the soul that grieves;
"Hands that fail to human seeming
Oft bring home the richest sheaves."
Not alone the weak one sinneth
Who has faltered in the way;
Not alone the strong man winneth
Iu the radiant blaze of day;
God's clear vision, searching slowly
Flower and fi uitage 'mid the leaves,
Sees how oft His children lowly
Bend beneath the richest Bheaves,
Waiting while the sunrise only
T i a fVirt V\rAT?a A f MOnfcM /*?
lii^uio uio ui VTTO VI igapvtg vftuwitf
Toiling through the sunsets lonely,
Wo may still be comforted;
Like the flower diffusing sweetness When
we crush its tender leaves,
So from pain we find completeness
In the beauty of our sheaves.
Ye whose earthly mission seemeth
But to suffer?not to do,
Love from stain and dross redeemeth
Every life with purpose true.
A nd the smile cf heaven lingers
Longest round the soul that grieves,
While the fail and patient Angers
Oft bring home the richest sheaves.
Obeying Christ.
If I keep Christ's commandments only
becaum I have come to see for myself
that they are wise and good, I do not
obey Him. If I recognize His authority,
I shall keep His commandments before I
recognize that they are either good or
wise.
Half a century ago many unwise persons
thought that children ought always
to be shown the reasons for everything
that they were required to do. This pernicious
theory has happily lost its temporary
popularity. It is obvious that
children who were brought up under its
influence could never be disciplined to
obedience. But the inevitable conditions
of human life must have made it
impossible to translate the theory into
practice. There are many things that
can hardly be explained to a baby in
long clothes. Even a child of six will
not find it easy to understand why it
should be compelled to take offensive
medicine, or why any limit should be
placed upon its innocent pleasures in the
vineries ana strawberry Deas. it is
doubtful whether even a boy of nine or
ten can be made to understand why he
should learn the multiplication table or
the Latin declensions. He has to do it
first, and to learn the reasons afterwards.
The same principle holds in relation
to morals. If a child is not disciplined
to truthfulness, industry, kindness, bofore
he can see for himself the obligations
of any of these, the chances are
that he will never see that lying, indolence,
cruelty, are hateful vices. Compel
him to bo industrious, and he will
discover for himself the obligations of
industry; make it hard for him to lie,
and he will discover for himself the obligations
of truthfulness; use authority
to accustom him to kindness, and he
will discover for himself the wickedness
of cruelty. In morals, practice comes
before theory.
And so, if we obey Christ, the commandments
will soon shine in their own
light. "Ho that followeth Me shall not
walk in darkness, but shall have the
lijrht of life." It is not bv mere medita
tion that we come to see tbo beauty and
excellences of Christ's commandments;
we must obey them before we see how
beautiful and noble they are. We must
actually follow Christ 'if we decline to
have the "light of life;" if we desire to
follow Him till the 'light" comes, we
shall re main in darkness.?[Rav. R. W.
Dale.
Every man has some peculiar train of
thought which he falls back upon when
alone. This, to a great degree, moulds
the man.?[Dugald Stewart.
Life is warfare, and those who climb
up and down steep paths and go through
dangerous enterprises are the brave men
and the leaders in the camp, but to rest
basely (it the cost of others' labors is to
i 3 r- l a
ue a tuwaruj ouiu ucuiuoc uw^iocui?*
[Seneca..
It is easier to trust God's goodness
when we have some open manifestation
of it than when he is leading us along a
path of hardship or sorrow. And yet
we are to trust Him in the darkness as
well as in the sunshine. Indeed, that is
the strongests and truest trust, which
confides in Him though all His waves
and billows go over us. This is the
kind of trust he desires. In one view of
it this only is trust. "That which ia
aeen is not hope." We need faith to
rest in the confidence that all God's
j dealings are wise and right, and good.
He may be leading us in dark and rough
olaces to test our faith. We ask to be
brought into "a wealthy place," to have
our feet set in a "large room;" but our
Heavenly Father keeps us in poverty or
in straits. Still we must trnat him.
The timo will come when we shall see
;hat His dealings were precisely what
arc needed. There is great comfort for
as in Christ's word to His wondering
Jisciple, "What I do thou knowest not
low; but though shalt know hereafter;"
(Ve trust now, and quietly await the
iiture knowledge. ?[Chicago Watchnan.
at eve.
A cloud of gray
Across the western sky? .
Thus ends the day.
A crimson glow
Flames through the ashen heap;
The sun is low.
The weary gray,
In rose and gold and blue,
It fades away.
The night ia here:
In glory new-revealed,
Th? stars appear.
?Ida A. Ahlbsm.
' . . -">
Edible Ants and Beetles?Persian
Dinners?Bird's Nest Soup?Polish
Dishes ? Macaroni-Makers?
Eating Mice and Donkeys.
Larvae of ants are considered by many
people a choice relish when spread upon
bread and butter, and are said to be excellent
curried. In Siam they are highly
esteemed, and are so valuable as to be
within the reach of only the rich. In
some parts of Africa, where ants swarm,
they are said to form at times a considerable
portion of the food supply. The
eggs of insects belonging to a group of
aquatic beetles are made in Mexico into a
kind of bread or cake called hautle, which
is eaten by the people, and may be found
in the markets. They are got by means
of bundles of reeds or rushes, which are
put in the water, on which they are deposited
by the insects. When cooked in
cakes they are said to look and taste
something like fish-roe. The London
Standard once published this seductive
recipe for cooking black beetles: "Catch
your beetles in a soup-plate filled with
viuugur, uuu mem buu&iug iur bul
hours. Then turn the beetles out and
dry them in the sun for at least two
hours, when the outer shell can be easily
removed, the flesh then resembling that
of a shrimp; to be put into a gallipot and
mixed up with flour, butter, pepper and
salt, to a thick paste; stew in the oven
for two hours, and when cold serve with
bread and butter.
In Persia every one from the King
down rises at six o'clock in the morning.
They then partake of a cup of tea and
some bread. Tea is a very important
article of diet, and the tea-urn is nearly ,
always busy. No milk is used, but they
sweeten the tea almost to the consistency
of syrup. Persian dinners are always :
preceded by pipes (hubble-bubbles), while
tea and sweets are handed around. Then
servants bring in a long leathern sheet
and place it on the ground; the guests
take their seats around it, squatting on
the ground. A flat loaf of bread is placed 1
before each man. Music plays. The din- 1
ner is brought in on trays and placed on :
the ground on the leathern sheet; the '
covers are removed; the host says "Bissmillah"
("in the name of God"), and in j
silence all fall to with their fingers. In
the south of Persia dates are the staple 1
iooa; xney are very ciieup auu sauaiyujg.
During the summer lettuce, grapes, apricots,
onions and cucumbers form the dainties
of the villager; and these, "with bread,
cheese and curds, are their only food. In
every large town cook-shops abound. But
in Persia, as in the rest of the East, bread,
rice or dates are the real food?the meat
merely sauce or bonne bouche. Persians
of all ages are very fond of confectionery,
and are constantly devouring sweets.
The lower-class Persian will eat several
pounds of grapes, cucumbers or apricots
for a meal. They eat onions as we eat
apples.
The famous bird's-nest soup, beloved
of the Chinese gourmet, is made of the
nest of a bird that is a native of Ceylon
and of the Malay region, and it builds in
cave3 and on cliffs where ordinary nest
material is scanty. Moreover it is a confirmed
high-flyer, seeming always disposed
to avoid the ground. The best and
cleanest nests, which fetch the highest
price, are composed of pure mucus from
the salivary glands. The material in its
hardened state is brittle, fibrous, white
and transparent, "very like pure gum
arabic, or even glassand the inner lining
consists of nothing but small soft.
feathers. Inferior nests, which command
a smaller price in the Chinese market, are
composed in part of dry grasses, hair and
down, weldea together by the fibrous
gummy secretion. In short, as Mr. Dar
? 1. if I ITV>O PllinoQO ttioIta
YV1U U ill LI LI J UUlO lb. X?x\, vsuaaavww uiuu.v
soup of dried saliva." In shape the nests
are much like hanging pouches.
A traveler giving some account of the |
favorite dishes and the people of Poland t
writes: " In the first place there isbigos, <
a kind of stew, prepared with pork sau- (
sages, sauerkraut, ham and bacon, wrapped 1
tightly in a napkin and boiled for two ]
hours. Their favorite soup is called bas- i
zoz, made out of beef bouilon, in which t
slices of red beet root are boiled. Kapus- s
niak, another national soup, is made of 1
sauerkraut and bacon boiled in beef soup, j
Ucha is a Russian soup, but, nevertheless, 1
much appreciated in the oppressed coun- j
try. A fish soup it is, prepared from 1
sterlets. The sterlet is also much used, ]
in conjunction with the flesh of the stur- t
geon, in the preparation of an excellent 1
pie call kulibiaga." s
2
The 10th of August is the day in the
calendar dedicated to San Lorenzo, the 1
saint who figures in the pictures of " old *
iAw, >j l>n1/3inrr fncf tn liia orridirnn. J
111(13 IU1 Sj xiuiutiig w ? ??J
and in death has become the patron saint 1
of the macaroni makers. It is said that
there is not a macaroni shop in Florence,
Italy, that is not on that day decorated
in the most marvelous of fashions. Ingeniously-twisted
columns of the raw article
support little pavilions of another
variety, from which hang deep fringes of
vermicelli, tied with scarlet ribbon or
mingled with dried grasses and wild
flowers, as suits the taste of the owner of
the shop.
Frank Buckland, the English natural- J
ist, when at school was noted for catch- ?
ing and eating field mice, which taste he s
communicated to some comrades. The
boys went hunting the mice before breakfast,
and were sometimes fearfully hungry.
The mice were skinned, a bit of
stick was run them, and they were roasted ?
over a fire of sticks collected from a t
neighboring fence. 4'A roast field mouse," J
he declares, "not a house mouse, is *
splendid bonne bouche for a hungry boy; 1
it eats like a lark." ?
r
Wild donkeys are very plentiful in ?
Northern Afghanistan, and they are oc- *
casionally shot and eaten. An officer of ?
the English boundary commission count- '
ed sixteen lartrc herds of wild donkeys a
in sight at one time. Henry Laboucherc, 1
editor of the Truth, who was in Paris
during the siege, remarked: "Donkey ?
is delicious eating. This was so soon
realized during the siege of Paris by be- a
leagucred epicures that the price of j1
donkey was about five times that of .
horse."?Pittsburg Commercial Gazette. J
mm ' E
Life in the Northwest. t
Dakotan?"Husband home, Mrs. Bur- 1
gess?"
Mrs. Burgess?"No, but I expect he
will be in a day or two. We're going to I
have a thaw, you know."
Dakotan?"Where is John?"
Mrs. Burgess?"Over in that second i
snow-drift yonder. I sent him on an errand
two weeks ago, and that was all the
far ho got. Poor man I I shouldn't j
wonder it he'd begun to get discouraged
by this time."?Tid-Bits,
WORDS OP WISDOM.
Thought is invisible nature?nature is JJ
invisible thought. fi
Unless the habit leads to happiness, the 9
best habit is to contract none. fi
The noontide sun is dark, and music a
discord, when the heart is low. J
Pleasure is the flower that fades; re
membrance is the lasting perfume. I
Pleasure must first have the warrant that
it is without sin; then, the measure, M
that it is without excess. ,
You find yourself refreshed by the 9
presence of cheerful people. Why not 9
make earnest effort to confer that pleasure flj
on others? 9
There cannot be a more worthy improvement
of friendship than in a fervent fl
opposition to the sins of those whom we
profess to love. M
Every generous illusion adds a wrinkle I
in vanishing. Experience is the succes- m
sive disenchantment of the things of life. H
It is reason enriched by the spoils of the .
Homes are like harps, of which one is- J
finely carved and bright with gilding, but
ill-tuned, and jarring the air with its discords;
while another is old and plain and . 9
worn, but from its cords float strains that ' I
are a feast of music. fl
Learn from the earliest days to inure 1
your principles against the perils of ridi- 0
cule; you can no more exercise your rea- 9
son if you live in the constant dread of fl
laughter than you can enjoy your life if 1
you are in the constant terror of death. ^
In ourselves, rather than in material fl
nature, lie the true source and life of the fl
good and beautiful. The human soul is ;fl
the sun which diffuses light on every side, fl
investing creation with its lovely hues, fl
and calling forth the poetic element that "I
lies hidden in every existing thing. fl
Our powers are limited. No one ever '-/ TfilsHfl
saw the whole of anything, however . fl
simple it may appear; and the more com- -fl
nlav AKionf 4*V?o cmollor fliA fror?+inn
lliiU Vl/jbVUj UAW OUUUIV* WAV 44HVV4VM
that we behold. If we but realize this 1
fully it will go far toward dispelling 1
prejudice and broadening our outlook. y
Mexican Scorpions. |
The most common pests in Mexico are . "
the alcarans or scorpions, for during cer- 1
tain seasons of the year they are as nu- 1
merous as flies around a sugar house. . 1
They are within the cracks of the wall, 1
between bricks of the tiles of the floor, 9
biding inside your garments, darting I
everywhere with inconceivable rapidity I
their tails which sting, ready to ny up I
with dangerous effect upon the slightest I
provocation. Turn up a corner of the <1
rug or table spread and you disturb a I
flourishing colony of them; shake your I
shoes in tne morning, and out they flop;
throw your bath sponge into the water, 7 .M
and half a dozen of them dart out of its I
cool depths,into which they had wiggled I
for a siesta; in short, every article you 1
touch must be treated like a dose of med- I
[cine?"to be well shaken before taken." fl
The average scorpion is mahogany-hued 1
ind about two inches long; but I have 1
AM 1A?M ftfl iftnYiAO TTlO
5CC11 1/liCiU OO lUUg OO Uic JUUVUSA}. AM*# ' xl
small, yellowish variety are considered
most dangerous, and their bite is most
reprehended at midday. In Durango
they are black and so alarmingly numer- f *5
3us?having been allowed to breed for
centuries in the deserted mines?that the
Sovernment offers a reward per head (or
rather per tail) to whoever will kill them. 1
rhcir sting is seldom fatal, but it is more
>r less severe, according to the state of
the system. Victims have been known
to remain for days in convulsions, foaming
at the mouth, with stomach swelled C.-j
is in dropsy; while others do not suffer
nuch more than from a bee sting. The
common remedies are brandy, taken in
mfficient quantities to stupefy the. parent,
ammonia, administered both exterlally
and internally, boiled silk and guaacum.
It is also of use to press a large ^
cey or otner ruoe on me wouuu w iuruo
>ut part of the poison.?Boston Tran~
xript- ^ . " *
The Haman Melodeon.
First let the leader, or the organist v__^5
[who should be somewhat of a musician), lelect,
to represent the notes of the scale,
;ight girls or boys, who must be suffi:iently
musical to sing and to remember
;he notes assigned to them. The organist
)layes on their heads as they kneel in a
off, exactly as if they were the notes of . .V]
i piano, except that to the audience, the ^
icale appears reversed. But this is to
lave it in the right order for the organst
The tunes selected must obyiously J
je in the key of C, with no sharps or flats. 1
is each head is struck with the mallet,
;he person indicated must sing his or her
lote in a short staccato way, using the
jyllable la. If the head is struck twice
ihe note must be repeated in exactly the
same way. The hymn tune "Antioch" is
in excellent one with which to begin.
rhe organist strikes the head of upper C
it the right, then B, then A, then quickly
3, then F E, D, C, then G, A, A again,
3, B again, C, and so on. For convenience,
as the cards bearing the letters ^
'ace the audience, not the organist, the
;unes can be written in the human meloleon
notation. Instead of the notes, are
written the names of the performers?Sue,
flatty, Jane, Sally, Tom, Frank, Mary, m
^.annto t\r whntnvpr thftV ftrp. The
Last Rose of Summer," beginning on I
ower C, rig a jig jig on G, and "Hush '*3
ily Dear Lie Still and Slumber," on E,
:an also be played. The simple sounds I
tlready described represent the vox hu- Jw
nana stops. The tremolo is made by
itriking the mouth rapidly two or three 1
imcs with the open hand as the note is I
lung.?St. Nicholas. \*-Jl
A Chinese Theatre Orchestra. i
The orchestra is usually composed of I
ieven musicians, who sit at the back of 8
he stage and play without much inter- I
nission from the beginning to the end of - ,v3
he performance. The leading instru- 9
aents are the fiddle, the cymbals, the I
fong and the drum. The fiddle tyran- 3| m
lizes over the rest of the music, and rises 1
uperior even to the clash of the cymbals. I
t has only a single string, and the notes ]
volved from it pierce the ear like a knife. . : J1
rhe man that performs upon the fiddle I
.lternates with the cymbals, while his I
ICXL UUi^UUUl utuicj iu mj vixmivut uivuu- _
ire, on a huge brazen gong which is pen- 1
lent from the ceiling. The other per- |
ormers play upon drums, one of metal * ?
,nd the other of polished wood. The I
nusic is said to bear a striking resem- I
dance to that of the Egyptians. It is all 9
n the minor key, and from a distance it I
las a weird and melancholy sound. Heard j
tear at hand, however, it has a tendency |
o produce headache and to rasp the . I
icrves.
To March. JS
lall to thee, thou harbinger of spring! 1
Thermometer at forty, and still rising; 9
[Tie early budlet?pretty, trustful thing!? II
Puts forth a petal, Experience despising. D
Snter now, 0 March, aud sounding thro' the I
street, J
Let mortals loud rejoice in listening to thy I
bleat;
Do, for the nonce, let rule and proverb slide, I
And like the roaring lion, don t subsidy -|fl