Historical Newspapers of South Carolina

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The Abbeville Press andH&mn^^ ^ _ ??? I m ?? _ 1?Y~HUGH~ WILSON" ABBEVILLE, S. C., WEDNESDAY, APRIL 27, 1887. VOLUME XXXI. NO. 44. fl Christian Neighbor. BY RET. SIDI IV. BROWNE, Of the South Carolina Conference* A Questionable Ambition. The eagerness evinced by many Christians to be "recognized" socially by people who are essentially worldly but of "high standing" is a weakness deserving of meager pity. Not to visit these "leaders of society" is to argue one's self wholly unknown; not to be seen frequently in company ot those of "high degree" is equivalent to social ostracism. It matters little (to some) what congenial friends minister to the pleasures of a quiet or merry hour,?where is the worth of this compared with a "call" from Madm. Le Bon Ton ? It may be these two have nothing whatever in common. No. 1 has succeeded in gaining "social rec""nttinn " ftnH her mind is at neace VgU.VAV", with all mankind. "The world," as it rather arrogantly styles itself, assumes to have absorbed all refinement, all mental cultivation, all ladies, and all gentlemen^ It takes no cognizance of the purity, gentleness, nobility, etc., not bearing the stamp of "the world." With no tinge of bitterness in the heart one can but regard with a somewhat amused mind the autocratic airs of this "world"?a world made up of a minimum of handsomely dressed people who are (in many cases) "wellmannered" and "real polite." Beyond this charmed circle lies all blackness and barbarism. And yet many Christian men and women sigh for recognition by those who know?we venture to assert it?absolutely nothing of Christianity except a "bit o' prayer at church," and a spasmodic dropping of a nickel or dime into the plate on Sundays. (An officer of one of the wealthy churches of New York City has recently stated that he knows it to be a fact that many of tbe wealthy "belles" who yearly spent thousands of dollars in dress never put into the contribution box more than a dime.) Many of these devotees of pleasure would be angered to have one place them outside the "pale of Christianity." Would you call us heathens? they ask. Yet beyond the weakest religious sentiments they have no leanings toward the God incarnate, the despised Christ of Calvary. If Christians would make a point of seeking Christian fellowship rather than "social recognition" their hearts would be strengthened, and they would readily forget a "world" that certainly has no tolerance for religion. It is a common practice for persons to join this church or that to obtain atthar frirniHn mhn mfiv he considered I their soct-1 equals, or to climb the social ladder till they reach tho coveted heights. Often, however, these seekers after "recognition" by the "world" meet whaA.they deserve, disappointment. Beyond the chance bow in the aisle?if they get even that?there has been no success in penetrating the precincts of fashionable "society." While the majority in this soi-disant "world" are au fait in all that pertains to polite life, are of ready tact, knowing just when and how to act,?yet if these be not pronounced Christians is a poor ambition for "unknown" Christians to covet their fellowship. What less likely than that Christians would spend all their time in dressing, dining, lunching, dancing, theatre-going, and the like? Tendency Toward Insanity. The tendency of modern civilization is toward insanity. It is increasing throughont Christendom, and far more where the boasted influences of modern education and the so called progress are most fully realized. The whole fabric of education and society is unsound, and this is proved by the A true civilization advancing in wisdom must develop the ability to correct its own evils, but the civilization that we have is drifting on, downward and helpless.?Journal of Man. Was the writer of the above extract afraid to miy that the cause of modern civilization being "downward and helpless" is the practical assumption that civilization can hold its own or make progress without any necessary connection with Christianity ? Would not a few more wars, such as the late one between the South and the North, help forward our boasted civilization?in the matters of insanity, sudden deaths from "heart disease," hom icides, suicides, &c. ? Could not the branches and stalk of a tree flourish about as well if cut away from the stump and roots, as it would if left standing? Could not the body of a horse or a man get along very well with the head cut off? Could not a farmer gather a good harvest without any rain or sunshine on his crop ? Cannot a nation be permanently exalted without being bothered with the laws of the "King of kings," especially in the matter of settling national quarrels?rather the quarrels of a few irritable and ambitious rulers who take it on themselves to set aside ot thoir xipflQiirA the laws of the divine government and drive thousands of men into slaughtering one another in war? "Boom," "New South," "Civil Service Reform," and some other like words or pnrases have become so thread-bare and stale, to say nothing of their increasing odor, that they might be safely relegated to the eternal past. "Field notes" from the clergy might as well be sent along, too. Dades?Dry Weatlier. Dear Neighbor : The trains between Columbia and Augusta are, I may say, always on schedule time, except when something "beyond (North of) Charlotte" necessitates "late"?lor 2,?sometimes 3 or more hours. Yet one may occasionally hear some of the "dudes" from the "Hub" reigon blaming the roads in the South for not making 17 rpi-taffa oKnnf oil thp COIiLiCUUV/USi x uav o nuuuv ? * ? *?v sense they've got?or ever may get. I saw, on the train not a great while ago, one of those nondescripts?(dudes) awfully annoyed by the crying of a sick child, eight or ten seats away from his dudeship, but undisturbed by the card playing and profanity of some fellows nearly opposite him across the a'sle. Should it be supposed that such a little finical kangaroo never had a mother nor ever whined or yelped in infancy? Ought there not to be a car on every train exclusively for dudes, gambler's chicken coops aud pointer pups? The fields need rain badly in my parish to bring up seed sown and to prepare the ground for receiving other seed. The peaches are not all killed by many hundreds of thousands. Nothing unusual in Sabbath services, except that there were many more men than women at evening worship. The community, I found, much concerned about the municipal election to come off next day. I hardly suppose this had much to do so in keeping the women away from church Sunday night. Would rather suspect the imperfect lighting of the church that night may have kept some men as well as women away who prefer light to darkness. Returning home I fell in with Col. Tarrant and his bride of a fortnight getting back from their bridal trip North. Of course they were happy. S. H. B. No Answer Expected. ^ Who will tell the common people of common sense what "Civil Service" means? And also what "Civil Service Heform,} means ? And also when and where and by whom any civil service reform, in fact, has been made? As stated, no answer is expected; for the unposted and unsophiscated do not concern themselves about the meaning of this deliverance from "Diana of the Ephesians," and the knowing ones are too cowardly to answer. And the interested choose not to do otherwise than to "set down" on the whole thing and rest on reticent dignity, and cry "Reform." A wholesale arreRt of freight employees on the Pan Handle (Penn.) Railroad has been made. For two years the freight cars going West have been robbed of all kinds of articles, amounting it supposed to $200,000 or more, which the Railroad Company of course had to make good. It appears that the combination of robbers?if such they are?extended from end of the road to the other. The number concerned and what may be their lots remains to be seen. The trustees of Trinity (N. C.) College, April 5, elected Rev. John F. Crowell, of Fredericksburg, Pa., President. J. S. Carr, of Durham, N. C., made a donation of $10,000 toward the endowment of the College. The Raleigh Advocate from which we abstract the above statements, says that,. n_q far as known bv the editor, the donation of J. S. Carr "is the largest gift ever made by a North Carolinian to any purpose." Crime must be running rampant in this land. It is said that in 1850 there were 7,000 prisoners in all our prisons; in 1880 there were 59,000, and in 1886 there were 76,000.?Ex. This may help the optimist to prove that the world is getting better and that rapidly too.?Ed. C. N. War's Reality. We are at Antietam. People think that battles and being killed are what make war horrible, but these things are as nothing when compared with war's real horrors. The being kept for weeks and months at a time in bare, wretched quarX iit- ^ 5 ?... -Anil.. tern, Willi nowimg 111 vuur mo itanj ouiied to body or mind, without books or cheerful companionship, with hard, dry food and coarse, rancid fat meat, and too little of it at that; with vermin and scurvy, and damp and cold, until despair and pigstye greed are facts, and home and decency are a fading dream ; and then on the march and after battle, to see the dead lving stark, or being husted while yet dying into holes hastily dug, while a stick marked "unknown" is jammed in above them : to see the wounded huddled together, mangled and gory, in the mud and snow hoping, and hoping vainly, fcr help; to hear their terrible moans and cries, and to have to go on about your own business as if you saw and heard nothing?these, and worse, are some of the things which teach a man what war means, and the awful responsibility of him who promotes war.?Patrick Ford. . The railroad thieves have been operating In Greenville. It seems that they brolce open the freight cars after night at a station not distant from the city. Entering the car they would throw out the freight along the line, where accomplices would gather it up and haul it off in wagons. The thief who had entered the car would jump out as the train would "slow up" at the nextdepot. About five thou 5 h r\t (vaa/la Viorl Kfton BttllU UUiliUD *> Ui tu vi f^vvuo u?u t/vv? taken in this way. Several arrests have been made, and some of the stolen goods have been recovered. The industry of robbing cars in moving trains now seems to have received a check. We are all learners. A man who is ' too old to learn is too old to live and not fit to die. COMMONS. At Last. BY JOHN QREENLEAF WHITTIER. When on my day of life the night is falling:, And, In the winds from lyiBunned spaccs blown, I hear far voices out of darkness calling My feet to paths unknown. Thou who hast made my home of life so pleasant, Leave not Its tenant when lis walls decay ; O Love divine, O Helper ever present, ^ Be Thou my strength and stay! Be near me when all else is from me drifting. Earth, sky, home's pictures, days of shade and shine, And kindly faces to my own uplifting The love which answers mine. I have but Thee, O Father! Let Thy Spirit Be with me then to comfort and uphold; No gate of pearl, no branch of palm, I merit, Nor street of shining gold. Suffice it if?my good and ill unreckoned And both forglveu through Thy abounding grace? I And myself by hands familiar beckoned Unto my fitting place. Some humble door among Thy many mansions, Some sheltering shade where sin and striving cease. And flows forever through heaven's green expansions The river of Thy peace. There, from the music round about me stealing, I fain would learn the new and holy song, And find, at last, beneath Thy trees of healing The life for which I long. The Worthy Poor. An incident like the following reveals a little of the manner of life in the homes of a large and deserving class in all our great cities. "There are men in the world," says the Chicago Herald, "whose circumstances force upon them an economy so relentless that the general run of mankind, easy-going if not prosperous, are unable to form any definite conception of it. It is foreign to their experience, and beyond their consciousness. But thaf !liaro ftrn ?nr?h men lhft lif.tleHtnru told by a resident of North State street well illustrates. 'I am not an early riser,' said this gentleman, 'nor is auy member of my household. It is not often that either I or one of my servants gets out after the morning paper earlier than seven o'clock. But one morning about three weeks ago I happened to come down about 6:45, and going out after my paper found a workingman sitting on the steps, his dinner pail by his side, deeply engaged with the news of the day. He was not aware of my presence, and my first impulse was to speak sharply to him and give him a reprimand for his impudence. On second thought I did nothing of the kind, but re-entered the house and left him alone, watching him, however, from behind the curtains of the front window. A few minutes before seven o'clock he carefully folded the paper, put it on the door-sill, picked up his dinner bucket and hastened away to his work. The next morning jl got up on purpose w see if he would return, and, sure enough, there he was, with the paper in his hand. He was a sober, thougntful appearing man, and the incident so impressed me that I told my servants never to go for the paper until after seven o'clock, or until the man had finished with it. He kept coming morning after morning, and I finally went out and spoke to him. He apologized like a gentleman for the liberty he had taken, and when I told him that I knew he was reading my paper before I did, and liked to have him do so, the man almost broke down. It was a little thing?a mere trifle?but I fancy we were both the better for our interview. He seemed to be a wellinformed man, and said that he could not be satisfied to remain in ignorance of current events, and yet was too poor to take a paper. " 'I earn $1.60 a day," he said, and pay $12 a month for rent. I have a wife and four children?three of them ??* Mir ? f!o id oinlrlv firwl Ill DUUUV/I Afljr If liv 1U | MMV. there are medicines to buy, and occasionally the doctor comes. I neither smoke nor drink, but when our expenses are paid?and God knows they are little enough?there isn't a cent left in the house. I am actually too poor to take a newspaper.' " Some Facts for Yegetariaus. A vegetable diet is 400 or 500 per cent, cheaper than the same amount of food derived from the flesh of animals. The animals which for power of endurance and rapidity of motion are valued for our service derive the whole of their strength and nutriment from the vegetable kingdom?such as the horse, the elephant, the camel. The physical condition of many flesh-eaters shows that the blood itself is loaded with impurities and is in a state of decomposition, and that persons whose blood is in this impure I ? < ? HoKIq on wppu clinrhf pviin-1 Qiatc aic iicwivj v" ?v.j w.r? sure, etc., to be attacked with dangerous illness. That this condition is caused by flesh-eating is shown from the fact that it is quickly changed by the adoption of a vegetable diet. The flesh-eating habits of the so-called civilized world render necessary the setting apart of a whole olass of men for the performance of the degrading and brutalizing office of slaughtering animals for food. "NVere it not for the large quantities of vegetables consumed by flesh-eaters disease would ensue in every case. Vegetables supply the salts of the blood. The peasantry of all nations abstain from animal food?wholly or in part? from necessity. Their vigor is greater than that of any other class in every country. Meat is the most costly of all foods, and among civilized races the struggle for life rages to so fearful an extent Hiot hnmnn hpinnrR alinrfpn life bv the effort they make to save it. The average age of man should be a century. The majority of human beings die before they are half as old. The longest-lived are those who fed on cereals. Vegetarian diet, by contributing to the physical health of man, improves likewise his moral condition, besides conducing in no small degree to the healthy development of the intellectual faculties, since it must naturally follow that by rendering the instrument clear and pure, the acts of life will be materially elevated, also being identified with that which is clear and pure. Do you think your children are going to ruin because they make a racket. All healthy children make a racket. But do not laugh at your child's siiriNicause it is smart. If you do, you will cry after awhile because it is jnalicious. The Rnssian Tolstoi's Fable of Nonresistance. In the Independent there is a translation of a long fable of Count Leo Tolstoi's, entitled "Ivan, the Fool." The moral of the fable is to show the excellence of peace and non-resistance, and a contented agricultural life, as opposed to all the suppositious honor and glory of the military career, and the grued for gold and luxurious possessions which so frequently beset those who betake themselves to commercial pursuits. Briefly told a well-to-do peasant has three sons and a daughter, to wit, Semyon the warrior, Ta ras the merchant, Ivan the fool (the daughter) and Melanya, the long-eared, who is dumb. Semyon and Taras ask their father to have their portions set off to them, to which he agrees if Ivan does not object. Ivan is very willing, and busily attends to his plowing, planting and farm work, hindumh sister keen ing house for him. Semyon goes off to the wars, and Taras to his merchandizing. Meanwhile, Satan calls to himself three i mps, whom he instructs to overcome i;he brothers and stir up discord. Semyon and Taras manage to run through with their money, but when the imps esisay to anger Ivan, he catches one of them on his plowshare, ( and another he impales on his scythepoint, and only gives them their freedom when the lirst tells him how he may make soldiers out of the sheaves of wheat, and the other how he may coin money out of the oak leaves. Semyon and Taras, without means, coming to the home of Ivan the Fool, 1 are civilly treated and invited to stay as long as they please; but learning that Ivan ca:a raise soldiers out of his sheaves and gold out of the oak leaves, they noon become clamorous for the favors. Ivan is very generous, and gives them what they want. So Semyon ' goes off to the wars again, w&xes mighty and becomes a Tsar, and Taras also, going into commerce, becomes another Tsar. Likewise the same elevation happens to Ivan, through a piece of good fortune in healing the daughter of the king, and in getting her for his wife. Satan is again disturbed, and believes he will now undertake to overthrow the brothers himself, and not trust the is his imps. Seinyon he sets to craving the possessions of a neighboring prince; a war ensues, and Semyon is ruined. Taras is next taken in hand, and through speculation and wrong methods of trade, he also is discomfited. Next comes the turn of Ivan the Fool?Satan giving out to Ivan and his people that to work with one's brains is an infinitely easier way to live than to toil with the hands, and becoming over-fatigued, round-shouldered and calloushanded. Ivan, however, though styled a "fool," gives evidence of being singularly level-headed, so Satan's cunning lessons return upon his own pate, he retires in chagrin, and Ivan and his people live on contented and happy. One episode of Ivan's reign (omitted in place) is an irruption of soldiers from the dominion of his neighbor. When they first make their entry into ine ianu, ivans peopie go on with their regular pursuits as though the soldiers' coming did not at all concern them. Disconcerted at this, the soldiers go back to their prince, and tell him they had failed to find any army to fight. The prince thereupon tells them to go ahead, burn and kill, and they would find their hands full. Following his instructions, to burn and kill. Two or three villages and their occupants are treated in this manner; then they go back to the prince, give up their weapons, and let him know they were not made for such a mean business as slaughtering and setting fire to the houses of a people who had never done them any harm. The Independent^ editorially remarking on the fable, says: "Notwithstanding all his powers, aud though making out a good case for the work of the hand against the work of the head, in lTvan. the Fool.'Tolstoi fails, nev ertheless, to convince his readers that his doctrine is not, after all, only a fool's scheme." ! But Count Tolstoi has shown, by his relinguishing his military post and honors, and by retiring to the country aud entering into the humble pursuits of the peasant farmers on his estates, that he Jooks upon peace and non-resistance as entirely practical principles?hardly to be called in a Christian paper "a fool's scheme"?except, mayhap, in the sense of consenting to 6e i "a fool for Christ's sake." Not all the wise of the earth can receive this doctrine. The fable of Tolstoi will doubtless be read by thousands, perhaps by millions of the Russian people, and the Czar will scarcely be able to charge upon the eminent writer the crime of onafforori broadcast a Nihilist firebrand. Josiah W. Leeds. *4^+ An Important Society Forgotten. "John, I would like to invite my friend, Mrs. Bmalley, this evening. Will you be able to be in ?" "No, my dear; I must attend the meeting of the Ancient Order of Foresters to-night." "Well, to-morrow evening?" "I have the Royal Arcanum, and you know?" "What about Wednesday evening?" "Oh, the Odd-fellows meet that night; on Thursday I have a meeting of the Knights of Labor to attend ; on Friday the Royal Templars of Temperance; on Saturday there's a special meeting of the Masonic Lodge, and I nsvuirin't niiao that; and then Sundav night?let me see?what is there on Sunday night, my dear?" "The Grand and Ancient Order of Christian Fellowship." "Why, I had forgotten. Am I a member of that? Let me see?" "But you have forgotten another society, John, of which you were once a member." "What's that?" "Your wife's!" ?+ "Pat," said his reverence, "I shall be very busy this afternoon, and if any one calls I do not wish to be disturbed." "All right, sor; will I tell tbem you're not in ?" "No, Pat; that would be a lie." "An' phat'll I say, yer riverence?" "Oh! just put tbem off with an evasive answer." At supper-time Pat was asked if any one had called. "Faix, there did." "And what did you tell him?" said the priest. "Shure, an' I give him an evasive answer." "How was that?" queried his reverence. "He axed me was yer honor in, an' I sea to him, sez , I, was yer gran'-mother a hoot-owl?" Patriotism Yersns Pensions. In reading the provisions of the pro- ' posed Dependent Belief (Pension) Bill, one may readily conclude that, should such a measure really be enacted, there would henceforth be no difficulty in raising large armies in this country for any purpose, when it is found that military service, however brief such service may be, means maintenance for life. The largess which the Roman Emperors were in the habit of casting to their legions HOUSE AND FARM. Children at Table. The fact that so many adults, even persons of culture, have wrong habits In eating, coupled with that of the imitative tendency of children, affords one of many arguments against the presence of very little ones at the common table. Haste in eating is naturally accompanied by haste in feeding on the part of mother or nurse, which is frequently the cause of the after habit, in the child, of taking two large mouthfuls and swallowing them too fast. Often an otherwise careful mother, perhaps preoccupied with conversation, or anxious to be free to do something else, will give her child such large and frequent mouthfuls that af- ' ter it has grown to be self-feeding the practice is continued and the habit fixed. Perhaps children are naturally inclined to eat too fast; it certainly is a common fault, and one which may be avoided by deferring the self-feeding ( and letting the mother, by patient, deliberate feeding, aid the child in forming correct habits. Neither should thiti duty be left to an ignorant or thoughtless nurse, who may have her own reasons for haste. Care in this matter may seem to cost too much ( time, but tne result will be worth the , expense. J Sanitary Hints. < To prevent drain pipes from stop- | ping up pour a hot solution of potash into the pipes every month or two. J Use great care when pickling or pre- , serviijk in u uiusa jvciuc. owui iuc kettle just before using, and never let food stand in it after it is cooked. When whitewashing your cellar add i an ounce of carbolic acid to each gal- | Ion of wash before applying. i According to recent English experi- < ments it is found that a growth of ivy , over a house renders the interior en- j tirely free from moisture. . , A pail, or tub, of fresh cold water, renewed several times in the course of twenty-four hours, will absorb all the evil odor of fresh paint in a day or , two. The taste of the water after an hour will prove the thoroughness of J its work. ( 4^# They Never Strike.?There is a , class of people in this country who get up at live o'clock in the morning, and who never-get back into bed until ten or eleven o'clock at night, who work , without ceasing the whole of the time and receive no other emolument than food and clothing. They understand something of every branch of economy and labor, from finance to cooking. Though harassed by a hundred responsibilities, though driven and worried, though reproached and looked down upon, the never revolt; and they cannot organize for their own protection. Not even sickness releases them from their posts. No sacrifice is too great for them to make, and no incompetency in any branch of their work is excused. No essays or books or poems, are written in tribute to their steadiness. They die in the harness and are supplanted as quickly as may be. These are the housekeeping wives of the laboring men. Fertilizer is the key which unlocks the harvest for the farmer. How to obtain the key at the smallest cost is the leading question. A good quality of muck, thrown up and dissolved by the frost, and then thoroughly mixed with an equal amount of stable manure will double the amount without diminishing the quality. A little lime and a few barrels of ashes will add much to the value of this compost. A few drops of ammonia in hard Tirill not Anlw nnff-on if, hilt will remove dirt better than soap. It is always a good article to use when bathing the person, and the water in which | it is diluted makes an excellent stimu- ' lant to house and other plants. Cokn-Meal Bread.?Rub a piece of butter the size of an egg into a piut of corn-meal, make it a batter with < two eggs and some milk, add a spoonful of yeast, set it by the fiire an hour i to rise, butter your pans, aud bake. i He was practical, and had been making love on that basis. She was a little that way herself. "Cau you cook?" ' he inquired. "Can you supply every- 1 thing 10 be cooked ?" she replied. It ' was a match. . ' To heal cut fingers with rapidity, 1 Baturate the part with alum wacer; u will sting sharply for a little bit, but ' will soou stop tor good and heal quickIs self-indulgence safer, as a rule, j than self-denial? Most persons act as if they thought so. Ten persons will < insist that they ought not to give up i any personal gratification to which ; they are inclined, unless they can | point to some very good reason why i they should give it up,?where one i person will insist that he ought not to follow his personal inclinations in any direction, without being able to uug- < gest some good reason for his doing so. It obviously requires more character I to deny one's self than to indulge one's i self; yet men and women rather pride themselves on their refusal to deny I themselves any personal gratification i without a very good reason for their < self-denial, when they would never < think of the necessity of looking for a t reason for their doing whatever they want to do. Inclination is by no 1 means identical with duty; nor is inclination always a safe guide toward 1 duty. And because it is so much easier to follow inclination than to resist it, a man ought to ue even more rigorous in demanding of himself, a good reason for doing what he wants to do, than for not doing what he would like to do. "Only convince me that it is 1 my duty to give up wine or tobacco, 1 and I will give it up at once." says one, who never for a moment thought of saying, with equal emphasis, "I would never use wine or tobacco, un- 1 less I were convinced that it is my duty to use it." And so of card-playing, and of dancing, and of theatregoing, and of many other personal indulgence of the sort. What a difference it would make in the conduct of Christians generally, if they were as rigid in doing nothing but what they deem it their duty to do, as in refusing to surrender what they do not deem it their duty to surrender! But self-indulgence is so easy, and self-denial is so hard! There is the real pinch of the matter! Expect not praise without envy until you are dead. was as notmng compared 10 ic. in the message of the President vetoing the bill he shows by the experience of the past that any estimate limiting the presumed number of dependent beneficiaries to any small number is altogether illusory. The annual charge on this account might therefore be more safely set down at fifteen millions of dollars than at five millions. But this very serious inroad upon the Government exchequer would notk be the worst feature of loss to the country. In one view of the case, it might not even be called a loss, for there would be simply a transfer of moneys from the coft'ers of the treasu- i ry to the pockets of many thousands of the people, to be by the latter distribu- t ted in numberless ways through the j ordinary channels of trade. Yet, mor- J ally speaking, there would be a very great loss sustained throughout the na- c tion generally in the fearful amount of t "false swearing" which would need to be incurred in order that many of the f prospective applicants for the pensions should succeed In getting their names \ entered upon the rolls. Of old, the prophet Hosea certified concerning 1 the Israel of his day, that "the Lord bath a controversy with the inhabi- e tants of the land, because there is no c truth, nor mercy, nor knowledge of c God in the land," He then names J "swearing and lying" the first of the sins which should bring desolation s and mourning upon the land and the dwellers therein. No light matter to find ourselves drifting into a peril of that description. Further, the loss of self-respect and self-reliance which would ensue when it was found that by the sacrifice of truth a partial living at least could be conveniently drawn from the public treasury would tend to additionally aid the process of moral weakening. Incidentally, the saloon interest would be a great gainer. A paragraph from the sound logic of the President's veto should be here inserted: "In the execution of this proposed law, under any interpretation, a wide field of inquiry would be opened for the establishment of facts largely within the knowledge of the claimants alone; and there can be no doubt that the race after the pensions offered by this bill would not only stimulate weakness and pretended incapacity for labor, but put a further premium on dishonesty and mendacity. The ef- i feet of ue'w invitations to" apply for pensions, or of new advantages added J to causes for pensions already existing, i is sometimes startling." t It may therefore be safely said that 1 the passage of such a law as this would ? be nothing less than a great national calamity. i The published histories of our coun- t try, and especially the literature of the I Rebellion, have had a great deal to ex- i press about the nnseltih, self-sacriflc- c ing spirit of those who went into the conflict to save their country in its ? hour of great peril. The pure motive t of very many who went into the war t cannot be questioned. Nevertheless, when it is thus made to appear that i engagement in war (which many be- i lieve to be in violation of Christ's commands) is to be singled out as the high- | est public service, and, a3 such, is to i be rewarded (it may be) for the life l term of the participants, it may readi- 1 be believed that the teaching is mischievous in its tendency, and that the t definitiou of patriotism may need to ? be re-written. I t With a rush and a dash that would j nave Deen aumiratue iu a uniwye oj cavalry, the patriots of the House of Representatives (invincible in peace and invisible in war) have carried? another pension bill. The charges j were 198, against 66 who tried to guard ^ Lhe Treasury. The complacency with * which they scatter the people's money reminds folks of a little story. A city sportsman who went out with his gun was returning home with an empty bag because of his lack of luck or skill, when he encountered a countryman sitting on a fence near a barn-yard in . which were a lot of ducks. Said the "6port" to the rustic, "I'll give you half a dollar if you don't object to my taking a shot iu there." Said the rustic to the "sport," "No, I don't ob- ,, iect." Out came the half dollar, bang ? went the gun, and over went half a ? dozen innocent ducks. The "sport" ? uow said with great unction, "I guess ? you wouldn't have agreed to that bar- ? ;ain if you had thought I'd kill so many." "Oh, yes, I would," said the rustic, "the ducks ain't mine !" 4 A brother recently left the Methodist Episcopal Church because he did . uot like the itinerancy. With much ? pains he selected a church in the neigh- * borliood whose minister he thorough- ? ly enjoyed, settled down, and told his : friends he felt perfectly happy. Six I months after he nad entered this gar- ,J den of delight the minister announced : an Sunday morning that he had re- 1 signed, having a call to another field 2 in an adjacent city. Meanwhile the Conference had met, and a minister whom the brother who had left the Church specially liked had been ap- a pointed pastor of his old church. After sixteen candidates had been j! heard in the pulpit of the church toj| which he had been going, he came * modestly back and said that, after all, * he preferred the itinerancy. That j; case is one of many, though most oth- L ers would not have the humility to return. f *? There is an evil that can be and c should be remedied. It is the practice P of being late at church. It has been c - - - * l.oo <] talked of for ages. iue iiuoiui JJCU9 A V~ I buked the tardy in the sharpest manner. The guilty have acknowledged r their fault and promised amendment, t Still, the practice prevails. It will be ] well if these comers are in time to en- j ter while the gate of heaven is held j i open. A little more determination and a little more hurry are in place, ? and all worshipers will get the benefit!' of the invocation. I No errors are so trivial but they deserve to be mended, and no sin so t slight but it should be repented of and j c renounced. 1 SCHOOLS. |lj Watch Yoar Words. Keep r watch on your words, my children, For words are wonderful things; . They are sweet, like the bees' fresh honey; Like bees, they have terrible stings; Tbey can bless like the warm glad sunshine, And brighten the lonely life; They can cut in the strife of anger Like an open, two-edged knife. Let them pass through our lips unchallengIf their errand be true and kind? If they come to support the weary, *?3 to comfort and help the blind; If a bitter revengeful spirit Prompt the words, let them be ansald; They may dash through the brain like lightning, Or fall on the heart like lead. Keep them back, if they're cold and cruel, Under the bar, and lock, and seal; v?i The wounds they make, my children, Are always slow to heal. May Christ guard your lips, and ever, ,J| From the time of your early youth, May the words that you daily utter Be the words of the beautiful troth. Hal's Eyes Opened. "No, Daisy. You cannot have my s .? oiler skates. So there!" m no n mhon tmn * JL T?utu JWU UUU t nauv hem, Hallie," and Daisy's blue eyes )leaded anxiously as she looked at Jallie. "I want to clean them whenever I'm . ;>'$ lone with them, and hang them up in he bag Aunt Alice is making forme." "You might let me have tfiem just or a few minutes, Hallie." ou don't know how to use them," vas the reply. "I could learn. Please, Hallie, just et me try. I know 1 could learn." "Learn on your own, then," answer* id Hal, crossly, as he walked away, uttering, "I earned the skates with * oy own hands. I'm not going to let Daisy spoil them." He did not see Aunt Alice on the toop. ? Hallie Brown was not an ugly boy, >ut he was inclined to be selfish.. He rould have been very indignant if my one had told him he made his lousin, Daisy Holt, unhappy. He eally loved her; but she was so gen- ? -:U| le that she did not resent many of the mgenerous, ungracious things he did. When Hallie left Daisy she walked iiowly home, with a very sorrowful leart. She could not understand how rial lie could refuse so small a favor. She could not conceive of refusing 3allie any enjoyment that depended >n loaning anything she possessed. After tea he sat in the sitting-room ,vith the family, when he suddenly hought of a new illustrated set of Irvng that Aunt Alice had received at Christmas. He said: "This is a free svening, Aunt Alice; may I have four to look at?-" "No, Han. I've made up my mind o be very careful of my Irving, and teep it in the box when I am not usng it-" fUS A surprised, angry look came into j.j3 rial's face. Aunt Alice, sweet Aunt Uice, had never refused him anything >efore. Daisy, who had come in with ler mamma, was as much surprised md puzzled as Kal was. No one else seemed to notice Aunt ' Alice's answer but the children. Hal ; % ook down Bancroft from the shelves, )ut he could not interest himself with t, or overcome the unpleasant effect >f the refusal to his simple request. "T'll sliAmen un niv new nencils. . J ind have them ready for Monday," he hought. "Papa's knife is sharper ban mine: I'll borrow it." "Papa," he said, aloud, "please lend ne your knife ; I want to sharpen my lew pencils." "No! I've made up my mind not to end my knife. When I'm done using t, I'm going to wipe it off clean, ana ceep it in my pocket. No, I cannot end my knife earn one yourself." "Papa!" and Hal almost burst into ears. Never in his life had he receivd such an answer from his father, lurt, mortified, and angry, he buried lis face in his hand for some minutes. A soft, gentle touch roused him, and )aisy said: "Hallie, I brought over tiy new game. Do you not want to ee it?" He looked at the gentle little girl, rhose face was full of sympathy.? ust behind was his father's, full of re.i-no/ih on/) Annf- Alir><v Borrnwfnl nd saying so plainly, "bo you deerveher kindness?" A blush covered Hal's face as he remembered the scene of the afternoon, ?~ ud his refusal to graut a favor to the ittle girl who was always so ready to hare every pleasure, every gift. The ssson was not forgotten. + ? Leaving Tbem to God. In West Africa a society in England . lad started a school for native childen. One day in that school a little ;irl struck her school-mate. The eacher found it out, aud asked the hild who was struck, "Did you strike lerback again?" "No ma'am," said the child. "What did you do?" asked the eacher. _T2 "I left her to God," she said. A beautiful and most efficient way o settle all difficulties, and prevent all ights among children and men. We hall never be struck by others when hey know that we shall not return he blow, but "leave them to God." ['hen, whatever our enemies do, or hreaten to do to us, jet us leave mcui 0 Him, praying that He would forgive them and make them our friends. "You are learning to dance areyou ?" "Well?yes?I thought I would take 1 few lessons." "How do you mean to use such an iccomplishment for the glory of God? ?an you ask God's blessing upon your essons in the art, and do you think hat indulgence in such carnal amuse uents would tend to jiinder you rrom lolding communion with God?" "Well, no; I think I can say my ^ >rayers without any unusual difficuly, and that I can even go from a daning party to my prayers just as comortaoly as from any other form of soial enjoyment. I don't think it would listurb my religion in the least." So think a great many young peo>le, and no doubt they are honest in heir opinions. But the explanation iesin the fact that they "know nothng of prayers as a mode of coramun011 with God. There is a wide differince between falling on the knees and foing through the form of prayer, and talking' and 'wrestling' with him in >revailing fellowship." % + + The home is a mighty test of characer. What you are at home you are (verywhere, whether you demonstrate t or not.