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J TEOR. TALMAGE. | THE BROOKLYN DIVINE'S SUNDAY SERMON. Subject: "Stinging Annoyances." Text: " The Lord thy God itill send the hornet."?Deuteronomy vii., 26. It seems as if the insect world were determined to war against the human race. It is every year attacking the grain fields and the orchards and the vineyards. The "Colorado beetle, the Nebraska grasshopper, the New Jersey locust, the universal potato destroyer, seem to carry on the work which was begun ages ago when the insccts buzzed out of Noah's ark as the door was opened. In my text the hornet flie8 out on its mission. It is a specias of wasp, swift in its motion and violent in its sting. Its touch is torture to man or beast. We have all seen the cattle run bellowing from the cut of its lancet In boyhood we used to stand cautiously looking at the globular nest hung from the tree branch, and while we were looking at the wonderful paste-board covering we were struck with something that sent us shrieking away. The hornet goes in ? Ti. 1 on/1 swarms, it uos twenty of them attacking one man will produce certain death. The Persians attempted to conquer a Christian city, but the elephants and the beasts on '-?C? which the Persians rode were assaulted by the hornet, so that the whole army was broken up and the besieged city was rescued. This burning and noxious insect stung out the J Hittites and Canaanitcs from their country. What the gleaming sword and chariot of war could not accomplish was done by the puncture of an insect. The Lord sent the hornet. My friends, when we are assaulted by behemoths of trouhle?great behemoths of trouble?we become chivalric, and we assault j them; we get on the high-mettled steed of our courage, and make a cavalry charge at them, and, if God be with us, we come out stronger and better than when we went in. -- But, alas for these insect ile annoyances of life?these foes too small to shoot?these things without any avoirdupois weight?the gnats, and the midges, and the flies, and the wasps, and the hornets! In other words, it is i the small stinging annoyances of our life which drive us out and use us up. Into the m . best conditioned life, for some grand and W N glorious purpose, God sends the hornet. I remark in the first place, that these small i stinging annoyances may come in the shape of a sensitive nervous organization. People | 'who are prostrated nnder typhoid fevers or with broken bones get plenty of sympathy, ut who pities anybody that is nervous \ The j octors say, and the family says, and everyxiysays: "Oh! she's only "a ?little nervous; ' at's all." The sound of a heavy foot, the rsh clearing of a throat, a discord in music, rant of harmony between the shawl ana \glove on the same person, a curt answer, basing slight, the wind from the east, any ten thousand annoyances, opens the MBHnBHft for the hornet. ' The fact is, MH^HHBH^nhe vast majority of the people in ^^^^^^^^^^Bpountry are overworked, and their |^^HCHH&|^kare the first to give out. A great mul HflKM|^^Lre under the strain of Leyden, who, : wis told by his physician that if he ^KDHuKtop working while he was in such n^^HHHHK^Krical health he would die, responded: whetWUiv^or^th^h^lmust I speak ~?vi5 a l?iee.'liiw sensunveness. Tn<~ Hies love<. light Vn a-dything raw, and th&8 people ar like *Ui CsuuS&XsjJ'V snoktti of in tie text o in the \x>ntext?they nave a very thin covertig and - re vulneraweat an noinis. i And the I*rd sen' pe hornet. Again, tiese sma4 insect annoyances may come to us in thejtmpe o? friends and acquaintances who areU ways saying disagree- . able things. There ?e some people you can- i not be with for halflan hour but you feel cheered and comfoiWL Then there are : other people you camot be with for five . minute > before you fed miserable. They do j not mean to disturb yoiyDut they sting you ! to the bone." They gaiter up all the yarn i which the gossips spin, Ud peddle it. They , gather np all the advise criticisms about . your person, about youPSusiness, about your : home, about your churcf and they make your ; ear the funnel into which they pour it. They I laugh heartily when they^fll you, as though it j wjre a good joke, and yo. laugh too?outside. | These people are broughtto our attention in , the Bible, in the Book otftuth: Naomi went j forth beautiful and with fe finest of worldly | prospects into another lajd, but after awhile j she came back widowed, nd sick, and poor. What did her friends cp ^hen she came back ! to the city# They all ven. out, and, instead i of giving her common-^nse consolation, what , <lid they do? Read the ?ok of Ruth and find j out They threw up t^ir hands and said, '*Is this Naomi.'" as mfth as to say, "How j very bad "you look!" "Vhen I entered the | Ministry I looked ver? pale for years, I and every year, for foui or five years, a I hundred times a year, I was asked if I was I not in a consumption. Anc passing through the room I would sometime: hear people sigh j and err; "A-ah! not lone-fo? this world!" ! 1 resolved in those times that I xever, In any conversation, would say anything depressing, ;uk! by the help of God I have ke)t the resolution" These people of whom I speak reap and bind in the great harvest Held of discouragement. Some days you greet them with a hilarious "good-morning," aid they - come buzzing at you with some depressing information. The Lord sent the hornet It is astonishing how some people prefer to write and to say dieagneabto thJngs. That was the case when, yean ago, Hrnry M. Stanley returned After his magnificent expoit of finding Doctor David L-vingston, and when Mr. Stanley stood befon the savants of Europe, and many of the j:rall critics of the day, under pretense of gating geographical information, put to him piost insolent questions, he folded his- arms aid refused to answer. At the very time whei you would have supposed all decent men ~ould have applauded the heroism of the man, here were those to hiss. The Lord sent the hcrnet. When that man sat down on the wcitern coast of Africa, sick and worn, perhaps, utho /wQTirlocf ool^'mrnmnnt rtf fVin onru in tlm tt nv nf geograpical discovery,there were small critics all over the world to buzz and buzz and caricature and deride him; and when i few weeks after that he got the London paprs, as he opened them, out flew the hornet. When I see that there are so many people in tho world who like to say disagreeable things,and write disagreeable things, I come alnfost in my weaker moments to Delieve what i man said to me in Philadelphia one Monday morning. I went to get the horse that was at the livery, and the nostler, a plain man, <aid to me: "Mr. Talmage, I saw that you preached to the young men yesterday." I said: "Yes." He said: ">o use, no use; man's a failure." The small insect annoyances of life sometimes come in the .shape of a local physical trouble, which does not amount to a positive prostration, but which bothers you when you want to feel the best. Perhaps it is a sick headache which has been the plague of your life, and you appoint some occasion of mirth, or sociality, or usefulness, and when the clock strikes the hour you cannot make your appearance. Perhaps the trouble is between the ear and the forehead, in the shape - of a neuralgic twinge. Nobody can see it or .sympathize with you; but just at tne time when you want your intellect clearest, and your disposition brightest, you feel a sharp, keen, disconcerting thrust. Th? Lord sent the hornet Perhaps these small insect annoyances will come in the shape of a domestic irritation. The parlor and the kitchen do not always harmonize. To get good service and to keep it is one of the great questions of the country. Sometimes it may be the anrogancy and inconsiderateness of employers: but whatever be the fact, we will admit there are these insect annoyances winging their way out from the culinary department. If the grace of God be not in the heart of the housekeeper, she cannot maintain her equilibrium. The men come homo at night and hoar the story of these annoyances, and say: "O! these home troubles are very little things." They are small, small as wasps, but they sting. Martha's nerves were all u list rung w hen she rushed in asking Christ to reprove Mary, and there are tens of thousands of women who are dyinc, stunz to death by these pestiferous domestic annoyances. The Lord sent the hornet. These small insect disturbances may also come in the shape of business irritations. There are men hi-re who went through 1837 Bfl and Sept. 24, 18011, without losing their balKg ance, who are every day unhorsed by little WE annoyances?a clerk's ill manners, or a blot Kg of ink on a bill of lading, or the extravagance 99 of a partner who overdraws his account, oi 2jC| the underselling by a business rival, oi Iffi the whispering of businesss confidences in H the street, or the making of some lit Bw tie baa debt which was against youi H judgment, just to please somebody else, it is Egg not the panics that kill the merchants. Panics come only once in ten or twenty years. It i.< Qe? the constant din of these every-day annoy H ancee which is sending so many of our bee merchants into nervous dyspepsia and paraly When our national oom merce fell nat on its race, tnese men stooa up and felt almost defiant; but their life is giving way now under the swarm of these pestiferous annoyances. The Lord sent the hornet. I have noticed in the history of some of my congregation that their annoyances are multiplying, and that they have a hundred where they used to have ten. The naturalist tells us that a wasp sometimes has a family of twenty thousand \va.\ ', and it does seem as if every annoyance of your life bred a . miiiinn tiift ht>1n of trod to-<lav I want to show you the other sido. The hornet is of no use? 0, yes! The naturalists tell us they are very important in the world's economy; they kill spiders and they clear I the atmosphere; and I really believe God sends the annoyances of our life upon I us to kill the spielers of the soul and to clear i the atmosphere of our skies. These annoyances are sent on us, X tlnnk, to wake us up from our lethargy. There is nothing that makes a man so lively as a nest of "yellow jackets," and I think that these annoyances j are intended to persuade us of the fact that this is not a world for us to stop in. If we 1 had a bed of everything that was attractive and soft and easy, what would we want of heaven? You think that the hollow tree sends the hornet, or you think the devil sends the hornet. I want to correct your opinion. The Lord sent the hornet. Then I also think these annoyances come upon us to culture our patience. In the fymnasium you find upright parallel bars? ars with holes over each other for pegs to be I put in. Then the gymnast takes a peg in each hand and he begins to climb, one inch at | aotime, or two inches, and, getting his strength cultured, reaches after awhile the ceiJinjr, And it seems to me that these annoy! uncos in life are a moral gymnasium, each worry a peg by which wo are to climb higher and higher in Christian | attainments. We all love to see patience, but it cannot be cultured in fair weather. It Ls a child of the storm. If you had everything desirable and there was nothing more to get, what would you want with patience? The onlv time to culture it is when you are slan dered und cheated, and sick and half dead "Oh," you say, "if I only had the circumstances of some well-to-do man I would be patient too." You might as well say: "If it were not for this water I would swim;" or, "I could shoot this gun if it were not for the caps." When you stand chin deep in annoyances is the time for you to swim out toward the great headlands of Christian attainment, and when your life is loaded to the muzzle with repulsive annoyances?that is the time to draw the trigger. Nothing but the furnace will ever burn out of us the clinker and the slag. I have formed this theory in regard to small annoyances and vexations. It takes just so much trouble to fit us for usefulness I ana lor neaven. The only question is, whether we shall take it in the bulk, or pulverized and granulated. Here is one man who takes it in the bulk. His back is broken, or his eyesight put out, or some other awful calamity befalls him; while the vast majority of people take the thing piecemeal. Which way would you rather nave it? Of course in piecemeal. Better have five aching teeth than one broken jaw. Better ten fly-blisters than an amputation. Better twenty squalls than one cyclone. There may be a difference of opinion as to allopathy and hoiftoeonathy; but in this matter of trouble I like homoeopathic doses?small pellets of annoyance rather than some knock-aown dose ?* ?/I rtf 4-UA (rira UL tTllillllltJ. HL'MCaU VI (lUC U1U1IUV1 WViV g?Tv I us the hornet. If you have a bank you would i a great deal rather that fifty men should come ! in with checks less than a hundred dollars .ifeULtSrtfcil0 *wo depositors come in the same 'rj*n.y A?rn wn nr.mV irrii thousand ^dollars. j In this latter case, you cougli and at the floor and up at the ceiling before you look into the safe. Now, my friends, would you not rather have these small drafts of annoyance on your bank of faith than some all-staggering demand upon your endurance? I want to make you so strong, that you will not surrender to small annoy- J ances. In the village of Hamelin, tradition j says, there was an inva^on of rats, and these small creatures almost ^>?voured the town and threatened the lives the population, and the story is that a pip& r came out one day and played a very sweet tune, and all the vermin followed him?followed him to the banks of the Weser, and then he blew a blast and they dropped in and disappeared forever. Of cearse tnis is a fable, but I wish I could, on the sweet flute of the Gospel, draw forth ail the nibbling and burrowing annoyance of your life, and play them down into depths forever. How many touches did the artist give to his picture of "Cotopaxi," or his "Heart of the Andes1 suppose about 50,000 touches. I hear the canvas saying: "Why do you keep me trembling with that pencil so long? Why don't you put it on in one dash?" "?<o," says the artist' "I know how to make a painting; it will take fifty thousand of these touches." And I want you, my friends, to understand that it is these ten thousand annoyances which, under God, are making up the picture of your life, to be hung at last in cue gaiienra vl uravcu, uv iw uugcu to look at. God knows how to make a picture. I go into a sculptor's studio, and see him Bhaping a statue. He has a chisel in one hand and a mallet in the other, and he gives a very gentle stroke?click, click, click 1 I Bay: "T/'ny don't you strike harder?" "Oh!" he replies, "that would shatter the statue. I can't do it that way; I must do it this way." So he works on, and after awhile the feati ures come out, and everybody that en. ters the studio is charmed and fascinated. Well, God has your soul under process of deI velopment, and it is the little annoyances and vexations of life that are chiseling out your immortal nature. It is click, click, click! I wonder why some great providence does not come, and with one stroice prepare you for heaven. Ah, no; God says that is not the way. And so he keeps on by strokes of little vexations, until at last you shall be a glad ipactacle for angels and for men. You know | chat a large fortune may be spent iu j small change, and a vast amount of moral | character may go away in small depletion. | It is tho little troubles of life that are having j more effect upon you than great ones. A I cororm nf trt/Mirf-.c will till n trrnin field sooner than the incursion of three or four cattle. You say: "Since I lost my child, since I lost my property, I have been a different man." But you do not recognize the architecture of little annoyances that are hewing,digging, cutting, shaping, splitting ana interjoining your moral qualities. One lucifer match may send destruction through a block of storehouses. Catharine de Medicis got her death from smelling a poisonous rose. Columbus, by stopping and asking for a piece of bread and a drink of water at a Franciscan oonvent, was led to the discovery of a new world. And there is an intimate connection between trifles and immensities, between nothings and everythings. Now, be careful to let none of those aunoy ances go through your soul unarraigned. Compel them to administer to your spiritual wealth. The scratch of a sixpenny-nail sometimes produces lock-jaw, and the clip of a most infinitesimal annoyance may damage you forever. Do not let any annoyance or perplexity come acrosj your soul without its making you better. Our National Government does not think it belittling to put a tax on pins, and a tax on buckles, and a tax on shoes. The individual taxes do not amount to much, but in the aggregate to millions and millions of dollars. Ana I would have you, Oh Ohristian man. put a high tariff on every annoyance and vexation that comes through your 90uL This might not amount to much in single cases,but in the aggregate it would be a great revenue of spiritual strength and satisfaction. A beg can suck houey even out of a nettle; and if you have the graco of God in your heart, you can get sweetness out of that which would otherwise irritate and annoy. A returned missionary told me that a company of adventurers rowing up the Ganges were stung to death by flies that infest that region at certain seasons. I have seen the earth strewed with the carcasses of men slain by insect annoyances. The only way to get prepared for tho great troubles of life is to conquer these small troubles. What would you say of a soldier who refused to load his gun, or to go into the conflict l>ecauso it was only a skirmish, saying: "I am not going to expend my ammunition on a skirmish: wait until there comes a general ! engagement, and then you will see ' how courageous I am. and what battling 1 Ml TUa 1 1,1 o Will uu: xnu uvuciai nuuiu l\j suvii u mail: "If you are not faithful in"a skirmish, you would bo nothing in a general engage ment." And I have to tell yon, O Christian ' men. if you cannot apply the principles ol , Christ's religion on a small scale, you will never be able to apply them on "a largo j scale. ; If I had my way with vou 1 would have > you possess all possible worldly prosperity. 1 would have you each one a garden?a rivei flowing through it, geraniums and shrubs or i the sides, and the grass and flowers as beauti ful as though the rainbow had fallen. I would ' have you a house, a splendid mansion, and th( bed should be covered with upholstery dippet i in the setting 6un. I would have ever] J hall in your house set with statues anc - statuettes, and then I would have the foui t quarters of the globe pour in all their luxuries on your tabte, and you should have forks o - tilrer and knives of gold, inlaid witl diamonds and amethysts. Then you should each one of you have the finest horses, and vour pick of the equipages of the world. Then I would have you livo a hundred and fifty years, and you should not have a pain or ache until the last breath. "Not each one of us?' you say. Yes each one of you. "Not to your enemies?" Yes; the only difference I would make with them would be that I would put a little extra gilt on their walls, and a little extra embroidery on their slippers. But you say: "Why does not God give us all these things?' Ah! I bsthink myself. He is wiser. It would maxe LOUIS iiuu biuggaiu* ui u^u wo iiuax vui way. No man puts his best picture in the portico or vestibule of his house. God meant this world to be only the vestibule of heaven, that great galleij of the universe toward which wo are aspiring. We must not have it too good in this world, or we would want no heaven. JPolycarp was condemned to be burnt to death. The stake was planted. He was fastened to it. The faggots were placed around him, the fires kindled, but history tells us that the flames bent outward like the canvas of a ship in a stout breeze, so that tho flames, instead of destroying JPolycarp, were only a wall between him and his enemies. They had actually to destroy him with the poniard; the flames would not touch him. Well, my hearer, I want you to understand that by God's grace the flames of trial, instead of consuming your soul, are only going to be a wall of defense, and a canopy of blessing. God in I going to fulfill to you the blessing and the i promise, as He did to Polycarp. "When thou | walkest through the fire thou shalt not be i burned." Now you do not understand; you ! :'aaU know hereafter. In heaven you wlil I b/'ess God even for the hornet. TEMPERANCE. Stimulate. You cannot boast of moral power To tread the path of siu, And not inherit for your dower, Tho taint that othere win. You cannot clasp the charred coal, And win no blackened stain; The sink of vice is not the goal Where virtue can remain. The very atmosphere of crime Bears parasitic breath; And they who breathe the fetid slims Inhale the seeds of death. Tis written on each pallid face Defrauded of its bloom, And in each slow and faltering pace, The tippler's early doom. There's no such word as stimulate; To drink is to destroy, To fill the human heart with hate And rob the soul of joy. No matter where the demons bide, Tn nolo/*fl nr in ont. In sparkling wine, or Bourbon tide, 'tis sup and be a sot! ?Emilie Clare. in National Bulletin. Ilowthe Swiss Deal With the Liquor Traffic. Some years ago, several towns in Sweden, notably Gothenburg, attempted to solve the problem 5f drunkenness by goselves. All the saloons were closed, and the local authorities undertook to be the only sellers of strong drink. The Swedes are large consumers of ardent spirits, and it was hoped that this experiment would result in checking drunkenness. The plan was much lauded soon after its adoption, but nothing has been heard about it lately. The Republic of Switzerland, however, is now trying it on a national scale. The distillers in that nation are required to sell all their products to the State. The alcoholic stimulants are manufactured under the oversight of government officials, who see to it that no t* a- 1 j I poisonous ingredients are empiojcu. j Those who want liquor to drink must go ' to the officer*appointed by the State, who 1 are under bonds not to sell to individuals or families whose habits are intemperate. . Of course this experiment will fail, as ( the only remedy for drunkenness is total Prohibition. The dog's tail must be cut j off close behind his ears. But it shows i that the problem of how to best cure the ] evils of intemperance is world-wide, and t that all civilized nations are beginning to ' grapple with it. These experiments, after they have failed, will educate the people to the necessity for sterner measures. It is idle to say that Prohibition cannot be enforced, because throughout j the Mohammedan world spirit, and wine j drinking has been put a stop to for cen turies. There is no druDkenness nor any consumption of ardent spirits in Mohammedan communities, except where there is what is called Christian traffic. European trades invariably introduce liquci into all commercial channels which thej reach. ?Demore.it. What Oiift Abstainer Did. We often sec figures which tell ho-sv much a man wastes if he smokes and drinks for a lifetime, and the amount which he might save by abstaining. Here is a practical and very forcible illustration of these facts. A gentleman who lives in the small town of Poole, in England, has offered to'givc $3,000 toward the cstablishmenl of a free library in the town, in honor ol Queen Victoria's approaching "jubilee.' ilc writes us 101 lows to 111c aiayui uj Poole: "I have been a householder in th< town of I'oolc about twenty-one years, and liave abstained from the use of in toxicating liquors for a longer period. II is an established fact that the average expenditure in England on alocholit ; drink is about $22 per head per annum j During my married life my household has averaged six persons. The sum o; $22 per annum, for each of these person: for twenty-one years, with compound in terest, amounts to about $5,000, and wit! this sum I am very pleased to offer t< erect a suitable building and present it t< the town for the purpose of a free library 1 reading-room, and, if possible, a schoo 1 of art. The town will thus benefit bi my abstiuence, and I am an additiona Cf?WA/l ftnf I ^iilUUJ ill OH? iivuuuvuw MU? | licartachcs innumerable, which follow ii [ the train of drink." 1 The question naturally arises, if om abstainer can do so much as this, wha , great results might not be gained by i I nation who repudiated the cvil3 causer by the liquor traffic? If the money no* , spent in drink could be devoted to sucl worthy purposes, we need no longer env; , the free libraries of Paris.?Qolden Araosv , The track of a cyclone will not be mor 1 apparent than the progress of the peop] I to a higher standard and plane of civilizj " tion,when Prohibition with a party con | mitted to its interest* is in the ascent 1 ancT. .? * "? I RELIGIOUS READING. A Morning Prayer. "In tbe morning will I direct my prayer unto Thee, and will lookup."?Ps, v., 3. Father, before I lift my head From this its p jac3ful reatinjj place, Mv faith would find the Savour uoar. And look upon my dear Lord's faco. Before I clothe this form of clay In earthly garments, soilod and worn, 0 k tmy spirit's vesture bo Fairer and purer than tho morn. Before tho bu3y cares of lifo Shall press their claims upon my heart, 1 sit. at Jesus' blessed feet And choose as mine "that hotter part." I shall not shrink from toil and care, Or faint when dangers compass me, If first, I may bahold the stream "Which ftowed on Calvary for mo. Cho -se Thou my burden and my work; Select each joy and weigh each care; Appoint the paths my feet shall tread, And Thou, my Lord, walk wi.h me there. I take with joy "the shield of -faith Tbe "breastplate of thy righteousness;" I'll praise Thee as I walk iu light, And say, "Yes, all His paths are peace." ?[L. G. R,, in Goepal Expositor. IJttl* SIju. * ... Little sins grow. They are- not like spiders or wasps, which wc can put our foot on and crush if need'be; but like little lions, which seem as harmless as kittens at .first, but grow into fierce, roaring wild beasts. Thcro is a lad about fifteen years old in State's prison, put in for live years, for stealing. lie Bays ho remembers well the first time he stole. It was a ton cent piece, which was lying on the mantle in a lady's house, where he was doing soni's work. When no one was looking ho slipped it into his pocket, and oh, how frightened he was afterwards for fear ho would bo found out. But he was not, and so tha next time he had the chance he stole again, and kept on growing worse, until at last, with some other boys, ho broke in a house. People seldom do very wicked things at first. Tncy do little wrong inings; so nine mat uiey say, VOh, that's nothing; there's no hurra in that." But the little things grow and grow into big things, and then people sco harm in them. Dear children, there aro no little tins in God's sight. All are truly lnrgo ttnd very black.?[Standard. Good Advice. *^3fy7on","wEeft- youJiear . ing and icolding Lecauso Moody gets $200 a week for preaching Christianity, you will perceive ihat he never worries a bit because Ingersoll gets $200 a night for preaching atheism. You will observe that the man who is unutterably shocked because F. Murphy get? $350 a week for temperance work, seems to think it all right when the barkeeper takes in twice asi much money in a singlo day. The laborer is wo:thy of his hiro, my boy, and he is just as worthy of it in tho pulpit aa he is pn the stump. Is the man who Is honestly trying to save your soul worth less than the man who is only trying his level best to go to Congress? Isn't Moody doing as good work us ftigcrsoll? Isn't John.B. Gough as much the friend of humanity..as the bar-tender? Do you want to get all tho good in the world for. nothing, so that you maj' be ablo to pay % high price for the bad? Remember my boy, the good things in the world are the cheapest Spring watei costs less than corn whiflwy; a -box of cigars will buy two or three bibles; a gallon of old brandy costs more than a barrel o.f flour; a "full hand" of poker often costs a man more in twenty min- i utcs than liis church subscription amounts to in three years; a state election .costs more than a revival of religion; you can sleep in church every Sunday p morning for nothing, if you are man enough to dead beat your lodging, but a nap in a Pullman car costs you $3 t every time; fifty cents for the circus,and 11 a penny for tho little ones to put in tha j missionery box; one dollar for the theai tre, and a pair of old trousers frayed at i the end. bacrcY at the knee, and utterly bursted ns to the dome for the poor; the dancing lady gets $G00 a week, and the ; city missionary gets$000 a yenrjthe horse , race scoops in $2000 the first day, and the church fair _ lasts a week, works twenty-five or thirty of the best women j in Amcrica nearly to death, and comes I out $40 in debt. ? Why, my boy, if you ever find your. self sneering or scoffing, because, once , in a while, you hear a prcacher getting . a living,'or even a luxurous salary, or a tempcrance worker making money, go t out in the dark and feel ashnmed of yourself, and if you don't feel above kicking a moan man, kick yourself. Precious little doc3 religion and charity 1 cost the old boy; and when the money it does give is flung into his face, liken bone to a dog, the donor is not benefited j by the gift, and the receiver is not, and f certainly should not be grateful. i R G. Burdette. The sorrows of a noble soul arc as May i fro9ts, which preeedc the milder sea> sons; but the sorrows of a hardened, > lost soul, arc a* the autumn frosts, which , foretell but tho coming of winter. There is no knowledge for which so j great a price is paid as a knowledge of j the world ; and no one over bscamc an " ! adept in it cxccpt at the expense of o hardened and wounded heart.?[Couotess of Blessington. Five thousand dead bodies are, in the course of a year, sent to the morgue in New York city. Indisputable facts show 1 that the mischief which sends four thou1 sand of them there comes from drunken^ ness. In this state of things it^is one of the most powerful temperance nennonj over preached. e The encouraging fact is stated in Engv lish journals that there is great change in l- the drinking customs of the upper classes, I- large numbers of whom are giving up the use of wine at their dinners. PESTS oJwiCA. k COUNTRY OVERRUN WITH INSECTS AND REPTILES. Curious Habits of the White Ants? A Remarkable Insect?Destructive Moths?Dangerous Crocodiles and Deadly Snakes. In the southeastern part of South Africa, writes a correspondent of the San Francisco Chronicle, there is located iV. ~ 1 ~? YT^i-1 Ti K..4. 1U iiiu urow u cuiuiiy ui ximai* it js uut iiitic known to the world at largo, even at the present time, and until a few years ago, when tho Zulus under Cctewayo fought the British troops for a long time successfully, and the tragic and mournful death of the ybuDff Prince Imperial of France within its boundaries brought it prominently into noticc, it was almost a terra incognito. / Yet, small as it is in regard to territory and'population, it can hold its own with linger and more pretentious countries iri the variety and ( countless number of its insects and reptiles. The Termites, or white ants, build for themselves houses or hills-of an> average height/of three feet above the Sound add three feet in diameter at e base, cenlrtjl in shape and sometimes adorned with one or two pinnacles. In rare cases the hills rise to a height at four or five feet, the substance of which they are constructed, earth mixed with a secretion from their own bodies, being as hard as cement. Mixed with water it is used as a mortar in laying bricks and as a covering for the floors of Kafir kraals and the houses of the Dutch inhabitants. It makes a strong water and damp proof floor. The ant houses in the interior are dividedjinto apartments connected by galleries. The ants have amons themselves regular guards and soldiers, who, when a breach is made in their dwelling, rush forth in its defense and muster the working ants, who curiously enough are without eyes, to repair the "damage, and in a surprisingly short time the swarms of ants will have effected all repairs and everything will be right and quiet again. An animal dies on the Veldt, soon the vultures will have torn off his hide and devour all of it excepting the bones, then the ants in their turn clean and polish those so that within twenty-four hours after death there will remain only the bones, smooth and polished inside and out, and what was the day previous a living animal is now a disjointed and whitened skeleton. These ants are most destructive to everything wooden. They attack and eat the door and window frames, floor timbers and floors of houses, making no show of their ravages on the exterior, but devouring the wood until there remains only a shell, andtothe_ surprise of the dwelleiTlKe'itemmlng^of adoor, or the dropping of a window may result in the total collapse of its frame, Which falls in a cloud of dust. The black ants make most remarkable journeys or migrations, and when on the road travel in immense numbers?in a body from a foot to several yards in width, and bein^ from half an hour to an hour passing a given point. In these journeys they turn neither to the right hand nor to the left, stopping only when coming to water. Any obstruction, like a house or tree, they pass over, swarming up one side and down the other. . Should they find an open door or window, woe be to that house. The Kaffirs in their cruel manner of punishing their enemies, sometimes fasten the poor victim to the ground in the way *of these ants, and he is almost devoured before life becomes extinct. The insects .will not lcav$ the body.until every bone is polished. The ant hills are to the traveler useful in one way. By scooping out one side and part of the interior and making a fire in the cavity, he has a most excellent oven, which retains the heat well. I have eaten often bread and meat baked in these primitive but good ovens. A peculiarity of these anta is that on a warm evening, about the middle of March, millions of them with wings? said to be females?infest the houses, attracted by the lights. Their wings are light and gauzy, lasting for this night only. They drop them off and disappear I have seen flying ants so thick m a billiard room as to put a stop the playing, and so much of a nuisance as to dnve people away from a dining table. Sitting in my room one evening reading, my attention was drawn to a remarkable looking insect, which sat up on its haunches before me. It was of a bright emerald-green color, three inches long, and evidently of the grasshopper species. It had a face like a death's head, with I lorrrn inrr pvpq whipVl if- rnllpfl lUigV J/1VM UUIUq VJ VWJ ft AAA WAA AW V??V?. about in a most comical manner. Its fore legs resembled arms with hands, which it held up on either side of its facc like a horrified old woman. Altogether it is a most ludicrous insect. It is called by the inhabitants the "Hottentot God." The Kaffirs are very superstitious about it,believing that it is the forerunner of death. It is harmless unless annoyed, when it will show fight. Of grasshoppers and locusts there are so many sorts, from those that are six inches long and armor-plated like a small iron-clad to little wee things hardly perceptible. All of them, however, are terribly destructive to vegetation. Moths and butterflies arc innumerable, some of them are very beautiful as they flash among the flowers in the bright African sunlight, while others are of a more somber hue. We must not forget the destructive fish-moth, who finds out all woolen garments ana to your utter cmmay, when a cold snap comes on and you think that you have a nice warm garment to put on, giving it a shake to dislodge the spiders, scorpious and other disagreeable tenants who like to take up their abode in all put-away clothing, to find it fly off in dust, and instead of what you expected you have a fine lace-work article, useless even if ornamental. Spiders there are, from those as large as a pigeon's egg to the smallest conceivable size, venomous and terrible in their bites, lurking in all sorts of hidden places. Scorpions arc plentiful and poisonous. Centipedes are found everywhere. The largest and most daugerous, although not the most numerous, reptile in Africa is the crocodile. Infesting the bauks of the numerous rivers and lagoons, he lies in wait for his prey, and seizes 011 cattle, deer and human beings. His favor' - 1 ! _ _ J Tf i_ ite repast, However, is a uog. n one is howling or barking in the neighborhood the crocodile is alert and on the lookout for him, and, if he is caught, short work is made of him. Resembling the crocodile iu appearancc, although iu miniature, is the jguana, a harmless reptile, which, however, is death to snakes. This reptile lives in holes in trees and is rather pretty in color. Next comc the lizards, plentiful and harmless; then the chameleon, changing his color to thatfof the object on which he may be resting. It is quite the thing in Africa to keep one or two on a suspended branch of a tree in your room, as they devour an immense number of flies and are useful in that way. When annoyed the chameleon will utter a short bark and spit at Ma assailant. > ... \"V . of snakes.' First ^ in size tjemcs the j nvthon or boa constrictor, although not i attaining the immense size of his "South American congener, he is a fellow to keep away from. This snake is found mostly in the low country adjoining the coast and particularly on the sugar estates. Ifc grows to a length of fifteen or eighteen feet, but is not considered very dangerous. Then we have the tribe of nimambas, black, brown, and green. These snakes will not only show fight to a man, but will pursue him even if mounted. In attacking they rear themselves up, and a snake six feet in length will carry its head four feet from the ground, waving it from side to side and. traveling as fast as a horse can run. Their bite is sure and sudden death. The cobra is another dangerous snake, lying concealed and striking when least expected. The cobra's bite is deadly. CiAnAvvnll T W ^buucuaii uutaouuo T? U& **V* WV? Standing in the studio of Frederick S. Webster, the taxidermist, is "Old Sorrel," the war-horse of "Stonewall" Jackson. The stuffed figure of the famous animal is placed in an attitude of attention, with head and ears erect. "Old Sorrel," had a most eventful history. Hia birth was obscure, but at an early age he Warf selected, with a number of Other hones, after the fettle of K&nassess, for the service of the united States and was en route to Wiu&i^gton when the train was captured near Httpeflf Ferry by a party of Confederates com- J manded by "Stonewall" Jackson. From among the lot of horses General Jackson singled out "Old Sorrel" for his own and *paid to the Quartermaster $150 for the privilege of owning him. With the natural intelligence which always characterized him, "Old Sorrel" immediately renounced all idea of Federal allegiance and for the rest of the war faithfully served his master and the Confederacy. With the exception of the campaign in Maryland, General Jackson rode this horse in every battle and on every march from the time he obtained him until he reached Chancellorsville, and there received the fatal bullet, still seated on "Old Sorrel's" back. On that eventful night, when the hero of the flrmfViprn (Vmfprlpraov fpll wnnnded to death, the horse was lost, and for a day or two was thought to have been captured by the Federal forces until he was picked up by General J. E. B. Stuart. "Old Sorrel" was then sent to Mrs. Jackson, who took him with her to North Carolina, and subsequently to Richmond, where he received probably better attention than any living horse. During the New Orleans Exposition he was placed on exhibition there, and on his return was presented to R. E. Lee Camp of Confederate Vetesaas-and. P'ace(^ the Confederate Soldiers' HomeY-Where he died, at the advanced age of thirty-six years, on the 17th of March, 1886. The work of having the horse mounted is paiSJor bv the authorities of the city of Richiaond, which will present it to the Trustees Qf the "Confederate Soldiers'Home.? Wcuihington Pat. What We Are Made Of. In the South Kensington Museum, London, there is an immense collection of objects appealing to all tastes and classes. There is one shelf, however, which seems to have some attraction common to all social grades, for its -contents appear to be of equal interest to the peer and costermonger. It is the representation of a man resolved into his chemical elements, or rather, an exhibition of the materials of which the Luman body is composed. There is a definite amount of water, for instance, in our blood and tissues, and tfiere on the shelf are just so many gallons of water in a large vessel. Another jar shows the exact quantity of carbon in us; smaller bottles contain our iron and our phosphorus in just proportions, while others exhibit other constituents of the body, and the while repose on the shelf, as if ready for the coming of a new Frankenstein to re-create the original man and make him walk again as we do. The little vials that contain the different elements which we all bear about in small proportions are more numerous, and they suggest not merely the complexity of our constitutions but the identity of our elements with those we have found by the spectroscope, not alone in the sun, but even in the distant stars and nebulae, for this .wonderful instrument of the new astronomy can find the traces of poison in a stomach or analyze a star, and its conclusion leads us to tninK cnai tna ancients were nearly right when they called man a microcosm, or little universe. Wc have literally within our own bodies samples of the most important elements of which the great universe without is composed, and you and I are not only like each other, and brothers in humanity, but children of the sun and stars in a more literal sense, having bodies actually made in large part of the same things that lilade Sirius and Aldebaran. They and we are near relatives.?Prof. Lavgley. TliA Vnmnnii dama nf llnaalll A1IC JL UlUVUO VIViuu v* In the early j art of the present century the attention of geologists was directed to eastern Russia as a probable diamond rcgion'on account of its resemblance, in some of its natural features, to Brazil. A few years later these gems were actually discovered by Humboldt and Rose, on the west side of the Uralian chain, in the goldbearing alluvium on the banks of the river Adolfskoi, several feet above a stratum containing fossil remains of the mammoth, which has led some eminent scientists to conclude that the diamond of .this region was formed since the extermination of this gigantic mammal. Since their first discovery these precious stones have been found scattered along the western declivity of the Urals, but not in large numbers as in the mines of South America and South Africa. There is no country of modern times, unless it is Persia or Brazil, that has a more extensive collection of diamonds, and so many of remarkable size and beauty, than Russia, many of them obtained by conquest, treaty, purchase or inheritance. The display of wealth in this gem at the t nmi?n ?vnn?itii>n of 1851 was unsur passed. Among the exhibits from that country were a magnificent diamond com prising 1,814 brilliants, 1,712 rose diamonds, eleven very fine opals' and sixtyseven rubies; besides a bouquet of diamonds made in imitation of the eglantine and the lily of the vallv. and a wreath of diamonds representing the bryony, bearing pear-shaped emeralds. It is reported that a splendid necklace of twenty-two large brilliants, with pendants composed of fifteen diamonds of large size, forms one of the treasures of the Winter Palace.? Jewelers' Weekly. Just Like a Bass Drum. "That man lias the greatest voice of anybody on the floor," said a spectator at'a ; political meeting, as a spread eagle orator j sat down after his speech. "Just like a bass drum," replied the : companion visitor. "Yes, strong and sonorous." "Yes, and nothing inside of it.w I - f? ) > -^HBH I :^^I^H^BI , j '. ijjsQ^H^^^^H HOUSEHOLD MATTERS. -;?H "i* i ^fll of small egg, half termilk to make thicK ? filSB^^^B spoonful of sugar, salt to tastt$M|flHa|^^^H eggs till very light; stir into thebai^H^^^Hfl Then from a boiling teakettle pourflnH|^H water till batter is very thin. BakeBM^BI^H earthenware and serve in same dish spoon. (H Chicken Pie Crust.?One egg,,H8^H^Hfl tablespoonfuls of melted butter, one of sweet milk, two cups of flour, three^RBS^^^H spoonsfuls of baking powder. This just enough for a pie made of one chic^Bra^^^H After the chicken is cooked, put it, gravy slightly thickened, into an earUrar^^^^H baking dish; stir the ingredients mepp tioned above together, and spread over the chicken. Vermicelli Soup, Spanish Style.*?' Take one large but lean-meated soap^ bone, cover with one gallon of water, an4>:-Jjj^M boil for three or four hours, carefuiy^^| skimming the same. Then add a of a peck of tomatoes, or a tnmblerfuTSH^HIH canned tomatoes, half pound of venmaidlflEjjHE^fl and a large piece of ginger root. to taste, preferably with cayenne Cheese Straws.?'Take & quarter ot4H|9^fl pound of puff-paste and a quarter of ounce of parmeson cheese (or any other chea*?> grated very fine, a little salt cayenne peffpet-..mixed; -sprinkle, th* rheese, salt and Jj|KM them in ^ very hot. ^ Sago Pudding.?One pTffT three teaspoonfuls of sago, one -halfc!M^^R|M of butter, one cup of sugar, four ei?g*-B3jHH| Soak the sago in water two hoars, tneflfl^gHBH put the milk on the stove and stir sago in; add the butter and sugar afteff^aSH it is cold; stir in the whites and yolks oflp|gRgfl the eggs beaten separately. Bake! Common Potato Salid.?Small potBfSj||j^^H toes, which are wasteful to peel and cook^^H^H with larger ones, should be sorted out jT^| for salads. Boil them in their skins, and J ":j? (while warm) peel and slice them thin. : ig Minpp T\ar?1 ptt on/1 Aninn VArtr Ann vf and strew it over the potatoes in the , salad-bowl. Sprinkle with salt and pepper, pour over two or three spoonfuls of 'r^|j|HH oil, aud moisten the whole with,vinegar and water mixed, that it may may not do. .. ..22m too sour. Chives or onions may, , of course, be omitted. Several things are 'fl| mixed with potato salad, both for flavor and appearance, such as pickled beetroot sliced, a fresh cucumber sliced as usual, a Dutch herring cut up small, or a fewsardines mincea. Only one of these. ' - ]^H| things, be it understood, and it should be mixed with the potatoes before the, oil and vinegar. vfl Things to Knotr. ^1 Cistern water may be purified by charcoal put in a bag and hung in the water. Whiting or ammonia, in the water is preferable to soap for cleaning windows or paint. . The lustre of morrocco may be restored by varnishing it with the white of an egg. Apply with sponge. To prevent drain pipes from stoppinr up pour a hot solution of potash into U^^^^^^H pipes every month or two. The most effectual remedy for slimy an<^^^^^H greasy drain pipes is copperas dissolyed^H^^^N and left to work gradually through la sweeping carpets use wet newspaper^^^^HH wrung nearly dry and torn-to pieces. paper collects the dust but does not soi^^^^^H the carpet. Use great care, when. pickling orpre-^^^^^H serving in a brass kettle. Scour the ket- H tie just before using, and never let food stand in it after it is cooked. , . Galvanized iron pails for drinking water should not be 'used. . The zinc I coating is readily acted upon by water, forming a poisonous oxide of zinc. ' flH Coats and cloak should be hung away on the little wire frames costing from five or ten cents, which comes for that purpose. The frames should first be cor- I ered with some soft materinl to prevent ."'dM the garments from breaking over their i edges. ^ Ivory may be cleaned with a new soft t toothbrush, soap and tepid water, theo '! *? * 1 -1-1V J!_ dry tne ivory ana orusa wen, uip we i?v ter in alcohol and polish the ivory until H it has regained its former sheen. If the . n water gives the ivory a yellowish tint, fl dry the object in a heated placc. If ago 9 has yellowed it place the object under a fl bell jar, with a small vessel containing KM lime and muriatic acid, set the whole in the sunshine. Dissolve a teaspoon of alum in a quart of water. When cold, stir in flour to ^ thicken and a pinch of resin, with half a - -JM dozen cloves. Have on the fire a teacup of boiling water; pour the fiour mixture in stirring well. When the consistency .Jjfl of mush pour it into an earthen vessel, J ^9 lay a cover over, and set it in a cool J placc. When needed for use take out a * portion and soften with warm water. This. paste will keep a year. ?Ts| A Soldier's Thrilling Escapes. "I have been twice prepared for burial. 1 My right arm was -shot off and a shell took off a large slice of my chin and knocked out five front teeth," exclaimed an ex-Confederate veteran yesterday. ,. The speaker was, during the War, an Orderly Sergeant in the Third lieorgia - j Regiment. :2 "Yes, I saw some pretty tough fighting , during the War," continued the onearmed veteran, "and had many hairbreadth escapes. I was engaged in a band-to-hand conflict with a Yank at th? Battle of Gettysburg, who had succeeded in putting a bullet in my right side. It was a fierce struggle, but I got the drop on him and he fell in his tracks with a ball in his heart. I was taken tothe.hospital afterward and dropped into a comatose condition, and was reported dead. I was all ready for burial when I awoke > and convinced the attendants of their error. My sister had been previously advised of my death and she went into mourning. - - i "My second perilous adven iure was at * rl the battle of Spottsylvania. I had been offered the Captaincy of the company,bat declined, having a much better position. Well, as it happened, the Captain had been killed, ana I took the lead. Wa found our path obstructed by a line of Federals, the leader of which picked me ^S9| out for a target. His aim was unerring, for my right arm was shattered from the Pwrf^T, J elbow down by three minie balls. I felt < mad, you may be sure, and with my left I blazed away at himv putting a bullet right square between his eyes. Just then .. ovnlrtflo^ within ft few feet of a ouui VA|/*vx*V%? .. -?? ? where I was standing, tearing away part of my chin and some front teeth. Once more I was taken to the hospital, re-. ; mained unconscious for a whole day, andj when I awoke found myself about to be aTvSS thrown into a ditch that had been dug as' fepwM a receptacle for the d^ad. ! "It has been?aftTthat a soldier in battle is never^fireof his aim, but those two ! ..^Sj skot anti killed when within a ^UB| Hf me."?Atlanta Cvnftitution. H