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REV. DR. TALMAGE. j THE BROOKLYN DIVINE'S SUN DAY SERMON. Subject:?"The Prime Minister." Text:?" And Pharaoh said unto Joseph I Bee, I have set thee over all the Land of Egypt.'' j ?Geiiesi xli, 41. You cannot keep a good man down. God has decreed for him a certain elevation to I which he must attain. He will bring him J through though it cost Him a . thou- I Band worlds. There are men constantly in ' trouble lest they shall not be appreciated, i Every man comes in the end to be valued at just what he is worth. How often you sec j men turn out all their forces to crush [ one man or set of men. How do they ciipoooH) \'n h?t:ter thAn did the covern- : ment that tried to crush Joseph, a Scripture J character upon which we speak to-day. It would be an insult to suppose that you were not all familiar with the life of Joseph; how his jealous brothers threw' him into the pit, but, seeing a caravan of Arabian merchants moving along on their camels with spices and gums, that loaded the air with aroma, sold j their brother to these merchants, who carried him down into Egypt; how Joseph was sold j to Potiphar, a man of influence and office; how j by his integrity he raised himself to high posi- ! tfon in the realm, until under the false charge ] " of a rile wretch he was hurled into the peni- j tentiary; how in prison he commanded re-i meet and confidence; how by the interpretation of Paraoh's dream he was freed and be-' came the chief man in government, the Bis-1 marck of the nation; how in time of famine; Joseph had the control of a storehouse i I which be had filled during the seven t ears of plenty; how when his brothers who ! "Ajj thrown him into the pit and sold him into captivity applied for corn he sent them home with their beasts borne down under the heft of the corn sacks; how the sin against their brother which had so long been tadden " came out at last, and was returned by that frtrcrivnnAsa and kindness, an il- I lostrious triumph of Christian principle. Learn from this story in the first place, that the world is compelled to honor Christian i character. Potiphar was only a man of the 1 world, yet Joseph rose in his estimation until ! all the affairs of that great house were committed to his charge. From this servant no honors or confidences were withheld. When I Joaeph was in prison he soon won the heart, 1 of the keeper, and, though placed i 1 there for being a scoundrel, he soon ; convinced the jailer that he was an in- ' 1 nooent man, and, released from close confine- j ' ment, he became a general superintendent | ] of prison affairs. Wherever Joseph was | ' placed, whether a servant in the house of . I Fotiphar or a prisioner in the penitentiary,he j ! became the first man everywhere aad is an , 1 Illustration of the truth I lay down, that the . 1 world is compelled to honor Christian char- | acter. | There are those who affect to despise a re- I ligious life. They speak of it as a system of j phlebotomy by which a man is bled of all his courage and nobility. They say he has bemeaned himself. They pretend to have no more confidence in him since his conversion than before his conversion. But all that is hypocrisy. It is impossible for any man not to admire and confide in a Christian who shows that he has really become a child of God and is what he professes to be. You cannot despise a son or a daughter of fcho T^?rd Clod Almiehtv. Of course half and half religious character wins no approbation. RedwaJd, the King of the Saxons, after 1 Christian baptism had two altars, one for 1 the worship of God and the other for the sacrifice of devils. You may have a contempt j for such men, for mere pretensions of religion, but when you behold the excellency of Jesus Christ come out in the life of one of his disciples, all that there is good and noble in your soul rises up into admiration. Though that Christian be as far beneath yon in estate as the Egyptian slave of whom I we are discussing, by an irrevocable law of our nature Potiphar and Pharoah will always esteem Joseph. Chrysostom when threatened with death by Eudoxia, the Empress, sent word to her saying: "(jo tell ber that I fear nothing but sin." Such nobility of character will always be applauded. There was something in Agrippa and Felix which demanded their respect for Paul, the rebel against government. I doubt not they would willingly have yielded their office and | dignity for the thousandth part of that ' true heroism which beamed in the eve and beat in the heart of the unconquerable apostle. The infidel and wordling are compelled to honor in their hearts, though they may not eulogize with their lips, a i Christian firm in persecution, cheerful in ' poverty, trustful in losses, triumphant in death. I find Christian men in all professions And occupations, and I find them respected, and honored, and successful John Frederick Oberlin alleviating ignorance and distress, John Howard passing from dungeon to laz" ? 11 * 1 1? - ?J AT6IIO wiin nettling ivi me law/ buu wc wui. Elizabeth Fiye coming to the profligate of Newgate prison to shake down their obduracy as the angel came to the prison at Phillippi, driving open the doors and snapping locks and chains, as well as the lives of thousands of the follow-ers of Jesus who have devoted themselves to the temporal and spiritual welfare of the race, are monuments of the Christian religion tnat shall not crumble while the world lasts. A man in the cars ?aid: "I would like to become a Christian if I only knew what religion is. But if this lying and cheating and bad behavior among men who profess to be good is religion, I want none of it" But, my friends, if 1 am An artist in Rome and a man comes to me and asks what the art of painting is, I must not I how him the daub of some mere pretender, j I ?dll take him to tho RaDhaeJs and th? Michael Angelos. It is most unrair ana ais- i honest to take the ignominious failures in Christian profession instead of the glorious successes. The Bible and the church are great picture galleries filled with masterpieces. Furthermore, we learn from this story of Joseph that the result of persecution is elevation. Had it not been for his being sold into Egyptian bondage by his malicious brothers and nis false imprisonment, Joseph would never have become Prime Minister. Everybody accepts the promise: " Blessed are they that are persecuted for rightAnncnpcfl caIto for t.V>aira ia t.hp kingdom of heaven," but they do not realize the fact that this principle applies to worldly as well as spiritual success. Had it not been for ^Eschines who brought impeachment against Demosthenes, the immortal oration De Corona, would never have been delivered. Men rise to high political ! position through misrepresentation and the j assault of the public. Public abuse is all that j some 01 our puouc men cave nau to rely upon for their elevation. It has brought to them what talent and executive force could never have achieved. Many of those who are making great effort for place and power will never succeeed just | because they are not of enough importance to be abused. It is the nature of man to gather about those who are persecuted and defend them, and they are apt to forget the faults of those who are the subjects of attack while attcmntine to drive back the slanderers. Helen Stirk, a Scotch martyr condemned with her husband to death for Christ's sake, said to her husband: "Rejoice; we have lived together many joyful days, but this day wherein we must die together ought to be most joyful to us both. Therefore 1 will not bid you gool night, for soon we shall ?? 1? l.: n tho flush mcrri/ ill iuc ucatxmj iviuguvm. *->j ?.?w of the furnace best Christian character is demonstrated. I go into another department, an J I find that those great denominations of Christians which have been most abused have spread the most rapidly. No good man was ever more vilely maltreated than John Wesley. His followers were hooted at and maligned and called by every detestable name that infernal ingenuity could invent, but the hotter the persecution the more rapid the spread of that denomination, until you know what a great host they have become and what a tremendous force for God and truth they are wielding all the world over. It was persecuSJoAf.lonrl ProcKvtflHonicm -MVU buav ^OVO MVVW1M..V. vv ? . w/.zj ?u> | It was persecution which cave our own land | first to civil liberty and afterward to religious freedom. Yea, I may go further back and s ly it was persecution that gave the world the salvation of the liospel. Thu ribald mockery,the hungering and thirsting, the unjust trial and ignominious death where all the forces of hell's fury was hurled against the cross ! was the introduction of that religion which j is yet to be the earth's deliverance from guilt nnrl cnPPorinc ?nrl hup nvorlnstiiicr enthrone- I ment among the principalities of heaven. The State has sometimes said to the Church: "Come, let me take your hand and I will help you." AVhut has been the result? The Church r*s gone back and has lost its estate of holiness and has become ineffective. At other times the State has said to the Church: *' I will crush you." What has been the result ? After the storms have spent their fury, j the church, so far from having lost any of its I force, has increased, and is worth infinitely f more arter the assault than before It The church is far more indebted to the opposition ( of civil government than to its approval. . The fires of the stake have only b?eu the torches which Christ held in His hand, by the light of which the church has inarched to her present position. In tho ! sound of racks and implements of torture I hear the rumbling of the wheels of the Gospel chariot. Scaffolds of martyrdom have been the stairs by which the church has ascended. Aqua tort is is tne oest test 01 pure goiu. Furthermore, our subject impresses us that sins will come to exposure. Long, long ago had these brothers sold Joseph into Egypt. They had suppressed the crime, and it was a profound secret well kept by the brothers. But suddenly the secret is out. The old father hears that his son is in Egypt, having been sold there by the malice of his own brothers. How their cheeks must have burned and their hearts sunk at the flaming out of this suppressed crime. The smallest iniquity has a thousand tongues, and they will blab out an . exposure. Saul was sent to destroy the I Canaanites, their sheep and the oxen. But i when he got down there among the pastures : he saw some fine sheep and oxen too fat to j kill, and so he thought ne would steal them, j He drove them toward home, but stopped to report to the prophet how well he had I executed his commission, when in the dis- j tance the sbeep began to Dieac ana we oxen ; to bellow. The secret was out and Samuel j said to the blushing and confounded Saul: ' "What means the bleating of the she?p that I hear and the lowing of toe cattle T Aye, my | hearers, you cannot keep an iniquity quiet At just the wrong time the sheep will i bleat and the oxen will bellow. Achan can. not steal tbe Babylonish garment without I getting stoned to death, nor Benedict Arnold j betray his country without being execrated for all time. Look over the police arrests, these thieves, these burglars, these adulterers, these counterfeiters, these highwaymen, these assassins. They all thought they could bury their iniquity so deep down that it would never come to resurrection. But there was some shoe that ancvatwI to th? rwint in the saud. some false keys found in possession, some bloody knife that whispered of the deed, and the public indignation, and the anathema of outraged law hurled him into the Tombs or hoisted him on the gallows. At the close of the battle between tne Dauphin of France and the Helvetians* Bnrchard Monk was so elated with the victory that he lifted his helmet to look off upon the field, when a wounded soldier hurled a stone that struck his uncovered forehead and he fell. Sin will always leave some spot exposed, and there is qo safety in iniquity. Francis the First, King of France, was discussing how it was best to get his army into Italy. Amaril, ;he court fool, sprang out from the corner md said to the king and his staff officers: , 'You had better be thinking how you will , jet your army back out of Italy after once , pou have entered." In other words, it is easier for us to get into sin than to get out ^ jf it. Whitefleld was riding on horseback in i lonely way with some missionary money in i sack fastened to the saddle Dags. A mgnivaynian sprang out from the thicket and put his hand out toward the gold, when WhiteHeld turned upon him and said :"Tha*; belongs to the Lord Jesus Chirst,touch it if you dare," and the villain fell back empty handed into the thicket. Oh, the power of conscience! tf offended, it becomes God's avenging minister. Do not think that you can hide any ijreat and protracted sin in your hearts. In m unguarded moment it will slip off the lip, or some slight occasion may for a moment ?et ajar this door of hell that you wanted to keep closed. But suppose that in this life you hide it, and you get along with that transgression burning in your heart, as a ship on fire within for days may hinder the flame from breaking out by keeping down the hatchways, yet at lost, in the Judgment, that iniquity will blaze out before the throne of Uioa ana tne universe. Furthermore, learn from this subject the Inseparable connection between all events however remote. Lord Hastings was beheaded one year after he had caused the death of the Queen's children, in the very month, the very day, the very hour and the very moment. There is wonderful precision in the Divine judgments. The universe is only one thought of God. Those things which seem fragmentary and isolated are only different parts of that one great thought. How far apart seemed these two events?Joseph sold to the Arabian merchants and the rulership of Egypt. Yet you see in what a mysterious way God connected the two in one p!an. So all events are linked together. You who are aced can look back and group together a thousand things in your life that once seemed isolated. One undivided chain of events reached from the Garden erf Eden to the cross of Calvary, and thus up to heaven. There is a relation between the smallest insect that hums in the summer air and the archangel on his throne. God can trace a direct ancestral line from the blue jay that last spring built its nest in a tree behind the house to some one of that flock of birds, which, when Noah hoisted the ark's window, with a whirr nnrl Hush of hrifht winzs went out to sing over Mount Ararat fhe tulips that bloomed this summer in the flower-bed were nursed of last winter's snow-flakes. The furtherest star on one side the universe could not look to the furtherest star on the other side and say: " You are no relation to me;" for from that bright orb a voice of light would ring across the heavens responding: "Yes, yes; we are sisters." Sir Sidney Smith in prison was playing lawn tennis in the yard and the ball flew over the wall Another ball containing letters was thrown back, and so communication was opened with the outside world, and Sir Sidney escaped in time to defeat Bonaparte's Egyptian expedition. What a small incident connected with what vast result! Sir Lobert Peel from a pattern he drew on the back of a pewter dinner place got trie suggestions or idel wnich lea to the important invention by which calico is printed. Nothing in God's universe swings at loose ends. Accidents are only God's way of turning a leaf in the book of his eternal decrees. From our cradle to our grave there is a path all marked out. Each event in our life is connected with every other event in our life. Our loss may be the most direct road to our gain. Our defeats and victories are twin brothers. The whole direction of our life was changed by something which at the time seemed to you a trifle, while some occurrence which seemed tremendous affected you but little. The Rev. Dr. Kennedy, of Basking Ridge, New Jersey, went into his pulpit one Sab oata ana Dy a strange ireaK ot memory iorgot his subject and forgot his text, and in great embarrassment rose before his audience and announced the circumstance and declared himself entirely unable to preach; then launched forth in a few words of entreaty and warning which resulted in the outbreaking of the mightiest revival of religion ever known in that State, a revival of religion that resulted in churches still standing and in the conversion of a large number of men who entered the Gospel ministry who have hroncht fchfiir thniis*iruls inf-n fchp kincdom of God. God's plans are magnificent beyond all comprehension. He molds us, turns and directs us, and we know it not. Thousands of years are to Him but as the flight of a shuttle. The most terrific occurrence does not make God tremble, and the most triumphant achievement does not lift Him into rapture. That one great thought of God coes on through the centuries.and nations rise and fall, and eras pass, and the world itself changes, but God still keeps the undivided mastery, linking event to event and centurv to century. To God they are all on j event,one history, one plan,one development, one system. Great anrl marvellous are thy works. Lord God Almighty. Furthermore; we learn from this story the propriety of laying up for the future. Dur mg seven years of plenty Joseph prepared for the famine, and when it came he had a crowded storehouse. The life of most men in a worldly respect is divided into years of plenty and famine. It is seldom that any man passes through life without at least seven vears of plenty, purine these seven prosperous vears your business bears a rich harvest. You hardly know where all the money comes from, it comes so fast. Every bargain you make seems to turn into gold. You contract few bad debts. You are astounded with large dividends. Yon invest more and more capital. You wonder how men ca?i be content with a small business, gather ins* in only a hundred dollars where you reap your thousands. These are the seven years of plenty. Now, Joseph, is the time to prepare for famine: for to almost every man there do come seven years of famine. You will be sick; yon will Iks unfortunate; you will be defrauded; you will be disappointed; you will be old, and if you have no storehouse upon which to fall back you may be faminestruck. We have no admiration for this denying one's self of all present comfort and luxury for the mere pleasure of hoarding up, this grasping for the mere pleasure of seeing how large a pile you can get, this always , being poor and cramped because as soon as a dollar comes in it is sent out to see if it can't find another dollar to carry home on its oacR; fart there fs an intelligent and nobleminded forecast which we love to see in men who have families and kindred dependent upon them for the blessings of education ana home. God sends us to the insects for a lesson which, while they do not stint themselves in the present, do not forget their duty to forestall the future: " Go to the ant, thou sluggard, consider her ways and be wise, which, having no guide, overseer, or riilor nmr har mont. tr? t?ia aim. mer and gathereth her food in the harvest." Now there are two ways of laying up money; the one by investing it in stock and depositing it in banks and loaning it on bond and mortgage. The other way of laying up money is giving it away. He is the safest who makes both of these investments. But the man who devotes none of his gain to the cause of Christ and thinks only of his own comfort and luxury, fs not safe. I don't care how his money is i nvested. He acted as the rose if it should say : 'I will hold my breath and no one shall have a snatch of fragrance from me until next week, and then I will sot all the garden afloat with the nroma. The time comes, but having been without fragrance for so long, it has nothing then to gi ve. But above all lay up treasures in heaven. They never depreciate m value. They never are at a discount. They are always available. You may feel safe now with your present yearly income, but what will such an income be worth after you are dead? Others will get it Perhaps some of t&em will quarrel *aboHt it before you are buried. They will be right glad that you are dead. They are only waiting for yon to die. What then will' ail vovrr accumulation oe worm it you coulrt gather it aff into your UU5UIU ttllU WcUK UU WltU It IU UWVOII 3 gttl/Cr It would not purchase your admission; or, if allowed to enter.it could not buy you a crown or a robe, and the poorest saint in heaven would look down and say: "Where did that pauper come'from?"' Finally, learn from this subject that in every famine therein a storehouse. Up the lone row of building, piled to the very roof with corn, come the hungry multitudes, and Joseph commanded that their sacks and their wagons be filled. The world has been blasted. Every green thing was withered under the touch of sin. From all' continents and islands, and zones, comes up the groan of dying millions. Over tropical spice-grove, and Siberian ice-hut, and Hindu jungle the blight has fallfen. The fam ine in universal, nut., piory De to woqj tnerw is a creat storehouse. Jesus Christ,our elder brother, this day bids us come in from oar hunger and beggary, and obtain infinite sapplies of grace enough to make us rich forever. Many of you have for all' a long while been smitten of the famine. The world has not stilled the throbbing of your spirit. Your conscience sometimes rouses yon up with such suddenness and strength that it requires the most gigantic determination to quell the disturbance. Yoar courage quakes at the thought of the future. Oh, why will you tarry amid the blastings of the famine when such a glorious storehouse Is open in God's mercy? "Ye wretched, hungry, itanrlng poor, Behold a royal feast. Where mercy spreads her bounteous stow For every humble guest "See, Jeans stands with open arms*. lie calls, He bids yon come; GulU holds you back and fearal&rmai But see. there ret is room."' * TFMPEP AWT? A Little Boy's Temperance Speech. Some people laugh and wonder What little boys can do To help this temp'rance thunder Roll all the big world through; I'd have them look behind them, When they were small, and then I'd like just to remind them That little boys make men! The bud becomes a flower, The acorn grows a tree, The minutes make the hour? 'Tis just the same with me. I'm small, but I am growing As quickly as I can; And a temp'rance boy like me is bound To make a temp'rance man. ?Youth1 a Companion. Prohibition's Omnipotent Weapon. The mightiest forces are not those which make the most noise or show. Thunder Itorms make a tremendous racket, and once In a while a house is struck by lightning, a tree is blown down, or a freshet is created which does considerable damage. The cyclone is very terrible and loaves desolution in its track. But both pass over quickly, and in a very short time become a mere memory. On the other hand, the light and heat of the sun work on noiselessly and without attracting attention to their operations, yet all the life and all the joy and all the power on earth are due, in a large measure, to those silent forces. Gravitation is another hidden force, and it also is mighty, continuous and all-per vading. The combined roar of all the can non in Europe could not keep back the con auering legions of the first Napoleon, bui Jack Frost whipped him out of nis boots ii short order, and without making any nois about it Those who have devoted them selves to the overthrow of the blighfing influ ence of the rum power in politics have a very big contract on hand. They are very fev* in numbers as composed with the mighty hosts opposed to them, and are also undei a great disadvantage in that theii enemies are backed by the prestigv of long continuad power. The cause nf nrnhihitinn cains croiind VerV slowly. therefore, and its adversaries take this as a sign that it cannot prevail. They point to the comparatively insignificant vote of the Prohibition party and say, like Sanballat andTobiah of old, "What do these feeble Jews?" They forget that (hesword of Truth, which the Prohibitionists wield, is an invincible weapon. Truth is one of those silent forces which make no outward display of their action, but move along steadily and irresistibly to the accomplishment of the work required of them. Thrones and dominions have gone down beforo the mighty Eower of the truth. The great have been rought low and the humble have been exalted bv it. It has exploded old world ideas, which had long reigned over men's minds, and has, in a measure, brought in the reign of righteousness. Let the men and women who enlist in this war make sure that they have the truth on their side. Let them bring every principle into the light of God's Word, seeking the guidance of the Holy Spirit; let them make no compact with evil or with a temporizing expediency where right and wrong are definitely opposed to each other; and let them press farward in the firm conviction that as sure as God rules truth shall triumph and error and wrong shall be abolisned.? New York Pioneer. Statistics a9 a Reformer. The application of the facts which the statistician can gather respecting the effect of the use of intoxicating liquor upon those , who are its victims, and indirectly upon the community, is, at the present time, having more influence in favor of temperance ana temperance legislation than any other agency. The Federal Government has already entered upon the work of collecting and presenting statistics relative to the cost of intoxicants to the people in this country. Its statement, to the effect that the people of the United States expend annually not millions alone, i but billions?a sum greater than our national j debt?for intoxicants in one form or another, has opened the eyes of thousands to the . wastefulness and evil of the drink habit who ' could not have been influenced by the most I eloquent of appeals in favor of temperance, or the most violent anathemas of those who 1 hate the traffic. Men are discussing the sub- j from this standpoint who never thought of it before and who are not total abstainers. The figures presented by the report of the Bureau of Statistics [have opened the eyes of thousands of men to a new set of facts. To them the grogshop is no longer a place to bo viewed with indifference, but a place which swallows up the earnings of tens of thousands, and gives them nothing in re turn but poverty and wretchedness. JNot only does it take the money of the victims,1 but makes the victims paupers by thousands, ; thereby increasing taxation. " I never j thought much of this matter until of late," i said a man a few days ago; "but since my attention has been called to it,I am astonished at ' the number of men,who may be seen in grogshops after pay-day spending their wages. ' while their families are in rags and hnnger. | These are the people who suffer most; and if ' the waste which the grogshop causes could b? placed before the people in figures,it would astonish people generally. Not long since, in a manufacturing town in Rhode Island, an employer recently paid his workmen $700 on a Saturday night in new bills, which he se- ' cretly marked. On the following Monday S4"i0 "of these marked bills were deposited in the bank bank by saloon or grogshop keepers. This probably was an exceptional case, but the amount which wage earners squander at the grogshop is the price of comfort to many families.? Boston Journal. RELIGIOUS READING. Through Storm To ttrftn. No sun shines forth upon the way T fllnnA f A ' AIIHI; X illUftD vi cnv* aiv/nc bv~u?*/ < Tho clouds are dork, the winds are drear, I take the steps in pain and fear; 1 know not which ? wrong or right, Lord, come to me, and give me lightl The storm in fury sweeps the sea, And arks wherein my treasures be I fear will come to me no more, Awl but tho wild waves beat the sbsre; 0 God, the Help of all distressed, Come thou to me and give-me rest! Onctf was no need to call for thee, For my grasp kept thee close to me: But life was full, and love grew cold,. 1 bad so many things to hold; I think I must have lost thy hand; 0 Godr forgive, and near me standi And ytst thy mercy is so great 1 cannot deem me desolate; Into my sad heart I will take Thy promise never to forsake; Perhaps I aan not far from thee, Oh, manifest thyself to me! I T?- {. ? h'wonf iIumH nrtH strftss. But why should I be comfortless! I am not worthy- of thv grace, But yet thy children all nave space Within thv heart; and even I May hope and-trust and find thee nigh. A Way te> 9ettl? Scandal. ! Dr. M. D. Hodge tells of two Christianmen who "fell out"" One heard that the other was talking against him, and he went to him and said: "Will you be kind enough to tell me my faults to- mj face, that I may profit by your Christian! candor and try to get rid or them?" Ye?r sir," replied the other, "I will do it." They went aside, and the former said: "Before you commence telling what you think wrong in me, will you please bow down with mar and let us pray over it, that my eyes may be opened to see my faults as you will tell.them? You lead in the prayer." It was done, and when the " 1 J v.* prayer was over trie man ?uu uuu ?ju^u? uu? interview, said: "Now proceed with what you have to complain or in me." But the other replied: "After praying over it, it looks so little that it is- not worth talking about The truth is, I fee! now that in going around talking against you; t have been serving the devil myself, and have need that you pray for me, and forgive' me the wrong I have done you. ?[Religious Herald. Lily-Growth. GhrMlui. The whole sermon of Rbv. E. Blakeslee be fore the Societies for Christian Endeavor aDpears in the Golden Rule, from which comes this extract: One of Germany's recent writers, speaking of spiritual; life and growth, refers to these words of Christ, "Behold the lilies of the field, how fehey grow; they toil not, neither do they spm;n they fret not, neither do they work, but spontaneously they grow, and without toil or effort awake into loveliness, and so, ha says, there can be spiritual growth in man that is spontaneous. The spiritual life may awake into loveliness, increasing and growing more and more. I question very much if that was what our Saviour meant;: His refers to the air-fed creatures, and to. the KKes, to show the law of providence concerning physical needs, but He takes a step aL'ive- this when a little further on He says* "fe'eek ye first the kingdom of God and His righteousness." This implies effort There- is- a great deal of spontaneous growth, no doubts m the Christian church as it fa seen to-dar in its life and character. Under the power of fostering circumstances and appropriate conditions, the lily rises from toe ground and puts forth its beautiful stem, leaf and blossom. In the same way when the Christian church and societies of Christian Endeavor pot forth effort under the forms of Christianity, there is a kind of growth and enlargement of spiritual life whereby there is Christian growth in a feeble way, but if the world is to be lifted up towards heaven with the heart of thankfulness, it most be by the grace of God in everv heart. I fancy there is altogether too much lily-growth in the church. It is a feeble growth. When the lily grows, it is according to nature, spontaneously: but when the Aniritual life crows up spontaneously into spiritual stature, it is feeble stature, and it is not among these lily-grown Christians that we expect great things for Christ. "The Night Is Far Spent." This is true aa regards the aged Christian pilgrim. Long has he been a traveler here. Oftentimes has he journeyed on, overshadowed by clouds and darkness. Neither sun nor stars has been seen for many days. Ho has encountered mysterious providences. The light of God's countenance has been hid from him, and his soul has beet cast down Tf TYinv cn avpti nnw with 9ome bumble believer that may read these lines. Take courage, dear friend. The precious assurance is for you. "The night is rar spent." You have already come to its last watches. "The day is at hand." It will soon dawn, and the shadows will flee away. Soon will you close your wearv eyes upon all the dark scenes of earth and time, to open them amidst the splendors of a cloudless and an eternal day. There shall be no night in that city of which you will soon be an innnliitjuif-. for "the irlorv of God doth lighten it, and the Lamb is the light thereof." "The Father of eternal light Shall there his beams display; Nor shall ono moment's darkness mix With that unvaried day." And as regards the moral condition of our world, "the night is far spent." Thus far that moral stato has been one of darkness. Darkness has covered the earth, and gross darkness the people. In many portions of the world it has beon a darkness that might be felt, a darkness unalleviated even bv the light of the moon, or the glimmering or a single cfjir It has been an unhappy night. Under ita cover innumerable crimes have been perpetrated, and untold miseries have been endured. Man has inflicted maiyr grievous wrongs and cruelties upon his fellow-man. Brutal and merciless wars have, age after age, drenched the earth with blood. Oppression has reigned, and man has tyrannized over his brother-man. Intemperance has been the source of^ indescribable wretch edness and woes. Iniquity, prevalent in a thousand forms, has made our world more akin to hell than to heaven. And this dark, unhappy night has been a long one; a night of thousands of years. oft/IP nnnfiirv lino rnllwl A WAV anr! , still the bitter cry has been, "How long, O I Lord, how long!" But, blessed be God, it shall not be interminable. There is a predicted end, and in [ these days that end makes haste. There are unmistakable signs that the day is beginning to dawn. There are cheering signs that those glorious things spoken by inspired prophets concerning brighter and better days are hastening to their accomplishment. mm j V lUC 1I1U1 Illllg u^uu AO uicuniugf The darkness disappears." "The night is far spent, the day is at hand." There are three things to aim at in public speaking; first to get into your subject, then to get your subject into yourself, and lastly, to get your subject into your hearers.? [Bishop Gregg. The aphorism, ""Whatever is, is right," would be as final as it is lazy, did it not include the troublesome consequence, that nothing that over was, was wrong.?[Charles Dickens. Whatever God has done for His people, it is just so much additional sorrow rather than increased joy to ourselves, if wo are not partakers therein. That there should be a Christ, and that I should bo Christless; that tiiere should be a cleansing, and I should remain foul: that there should be a Father's love, and I should be an alien; that there should be a heaven, and I should be cast into hell?is grief embittered, Borrow aggravated? [Spurgeon. Temperance News and Notes. Our annual liquor bill, says the Signal. would send a Bible to every inhabitant of the globe. In Rockdale County, Ga., one person only is appointed by the Grand Jury to sell liauor for medical purposes, and is not allowed to keep more than ten gallons of spirits on hand atone time. The great underlying evil which paralyzes every effort to get good laws, and to secure the enforcement of such as we have, is the system of local politics, which gives the saloon-keepers moro power over the Government than is possessed by all the religious and educational institutions iu the city.?Nqu> York Times. OKEFENOKEE. 1 A QUAKING ISLAND IN GEORGIA'S FAMOUS SWAMP. The Terrible Adventure of an Exploring Party?Engulfed In a Smoking Fissure of the Earth. We were in the heart of Okefentfkee Swamp, says a writer in the New Orleans Timet-Lemocrat. We had reached the spot aft last. In the middle of a lake whose black waters were rippling: in a curious- fashion was- an island of perhaps 200 acres, covered with scrubby bushes. All over the island thin columns of brown smoke could' be seen slowly risinc. "I don't understand what keeps the water disturbed," said one of the men; "there is no breeze;" "Hit am de debbil's own pot," said Mack Sam, looking wild-eyedi and nervosa. We quieted Sam, and put hinutowork wica me omers constructing a ruae rait out of the dead trees which were lying around in abundance. la a' short time tflie raft was ready, and we paddlbd ourI eelves- to the island. [ "It shakes," exclaimed Dupont, who wafrtiia first to land. , Bam.was the next one on shore;, bat he at once stepped back on the raft. "De Lawd heb mussy!" he said); "I kain't Stan'dat." . j Weallfollowed Dupont and found that the island was trembling quite perceptibly. "Perhaps it is a floating island,." ?oggested one of my companions. "It is- nothing of the kindjV' 1j remarked. "I have heard of it before,.but we are doubtless the first white men who have landed here in forty years." "What do you know about it?" asked Dupont, quickly. "Simply this: When Sir Charlos-Lyell, the famous- British geologist, visited this country he explored the swamp and examined this very spot. He found it shaking all the time, with fissures in the earth constantly opening and closing, with this same peculiar smoke rising from them. He came to the conclusion that the crust of the earth was thinner right here than m any locality of the globe. The volcanic action near the surfaae causes the smoke, and also the continual hlihhlinorft. rtf tVio Inlrp fhia mnv VinvA been going on for centuries. You know that the Indian word Okefenokee'means trembling earth." "Well,. I can't say that I care to camp here," said Dupont; "but as we are here we might as well explore a little.." This-was the general opinion, and Sam was persuaded to leave his quarters- on the raft and trust himself to the unstable land. "I have found a geyser," reported one of out explorers, who had been rambling about on his own hook. Guided by him, we went to. a little spring of boiling water that was gushing forth near the centre of the islani With the- water came jets of steam, sand, and blue- mud. At this place the shaking was so violent that it made us stagger, and we could hear under our feet a muffled roar or rumble. "Maree Ross, gasped Sam,. "I mua' git wither heah." He made a run toward the raft, when a small fissure in the earth about a foot viH& vawnA/1 in frnnf nf Kim The nnnr ???V*V JUIIUVU AM 4* VUV VA UUU( AUV |^VV4 fellow dropped on the ground in speechless terror. We helped him up and tried lo reassure him, but it was no use. As soon as he was calm enough to walk he made a break for the raft. "Sam is the only sensible fellow in the party," said Dupont. "There is danger of breaking a leg in one of these fissures, and I don't see why a man could not be swallowed up." I laughed at this. Sir Charles Lyell bad spoken of the island as a remarkable ntlnnoitit Kitf Karl tiat !/?fann en. itUiiiroAUjy uub iiau uui> ouj ov" rious outbreak of the forces of nature. "See that!" continued Dupont. I looked. The fissure which badfrightened.Sam had closed up completely. I drew a long breath. In the midst of such phenomenon a man feels small. Be-, fore I could say anything there was a deafening roar, a thousand cracks' opened in the earth, and the smoko coming out of the ground was so thick that we were almost stifled. Undoubtedly it was a genuine shock of earth-, quake?something altogether different from the light tremors previously felt. 4,We must run for it," I shouted. Just then another shock came and threw us heavily to the ground. "We rose in a dazed condition, and saw within a few feet of us a yawning chasm, fully three feet wide and 100 feet long. II emitted a volume of steam, and with inconceivable rapidity closed up with another jar that nearly toppled us over again. Wo afnrfpr? nn n run fnr rnft: "Where is Dupont?" "We all asked this question at once. The raft was in sight, but Sam was the only occupant. "VVe faced about, but could see nothing of the missing man. Had he in his terror taken the wrong direction? It would not do to leave him, and there was nothing to do but to retrace our steps. We yelled out his name and traversed every foot of the isluud. There was not a trace of our friend. We looked at cach other with terror-stricken faces. The same thought was uppermost in the minds of all. Had Dupont been swallowed up in the yawning chasm? It looked very much like it. Again we resumed our search, but without any better success than before. Then we gloomily made our way to the raft and paddled to the other shore. I suggested that Dupont had rushed off when the shock came, and, blinded by the smoke, he had perhaps fallen into the lake. "No, Marse Ross," said Sam, gloomily. "He's done swallowed up in de bowels ob de yairth. Hit's done happened befo\ I'se hcered many a time dat injuns and hunters wus lost heah in just dat way. I uster laugh at 'em as fairy tales, but I members clem now, and knows dcm fur de troof." A hurried search around the lake compelled us to accept Sam's explanation, and vvn took uo our liue of march with out a halt until we readied the settle ments. "VVe had a new trouble to face. People would not believe our story. At first they were inclined to think that we had killed Dupont, but that theory was soon abandoned, and it was held that our friend had drowned himself in the lake.' Under the circumstances there was. nothing to be gained by discussing the! matter with strangers. We left the, simple countiy people sticking to their belief that Dupont was under the lake somewhere, but we all knew as woli as we knew anything that he had fallen headlong into the very center of the focal fires raging so fiercely in that slumbering volcano. According to the State Mineralogist, petroleum will soon tako an important I place among California products. 1HE HOME DOCTOR. Removing Wflftl. It is now fairly established, says a writer in the Mcdical Press, that the com*1011 -wart, wh'ch is so. unsightly and Often so proliferous on the hand and face, can be easily removed by small doses of sulphate of magnecia taken internally. M. Colrat of Lyons, has drawn attention to this extraordinary fact. Several children treated with three-grain doses of Epson salts morning and evening were promptly cured, M. Aubert cites the case of a woman whose face was disfigured by these excrescences and who was cured in a month by a drachm and a half of magnesia taken daily. Aaother medical man reports a case of very large wr.rts which disappeared in a fortnight from she daily administration often grains of the salts. Treatment of LocK^ow. T. B. McCord, of Itoyalto?, Wis., writes as follow? to the Chicago InterOcean: In your weekly issue of July 26 ycuigive a wonderful and succesful treatment? of lockjaw.. While it gives to the public a radical cum*, how mucin betteT it would have been, for Mr. Kellher to* have used the following: simple remedy wEsen first Hurt: Go into the-backs kitchen, take-an. ash pail,fill it aboufcone^eighth with common ashes; then put in: a* good shovelful of live coals; pub in' woolen rags enough to? make a good: smoke; put the foot into the pail (undressed); use an old blanket ! ? #-- ? - - .1 _i J xL- ? overtop 01 pauanu oiose aruunu uie iojj., let it smoke twenty or thirty minutes; j renew the rags and ooals as needed to < keep it hot, and you will be greatly sup j prised to see how- quickly pain will did* : appear either from- a bruise, sprain) or ; nail cut. I took, this- receipt from: tiie ! Herald and Prakyter, publisned in Gin. 1 cinnati, O., twelve yenrs- ago, tried; it i often and have never known it to> fail | when used in time.. i Mfeasles. ; Measles begin with the symptoms5 of > ! bad cold; hoarseness, a cough, sneezing, \ and weak eye3. On the-fourth day a i rash appears on the forehead, spread! over the face, and extends to the- body. It is a darker red than the rash in scarlet , fever, and feels slightly raised to. the . touch. When the rash first comes out it t looks like flea bits arranged, in little hall moons on the skin. The great danger is of taking cold,, which may bring on inflammation, of thfl lungs, and of injury to the eyes-from, over use, or exposure to too strong alight. The patient should.be kept ia bed in a. well-ventilated room.at a temperature oi sixty-eight degrees. The window must be lowered a few inches,, at the top, ii possible, the opening being covered with a strip of flannel to prevent a draught. As fresh air is indispensable, if this makes the room too cold,, a. fire must be lighted to counteract it. A warm sponge bath, should b? given each dav, folded blankets-being placed over and under the patients, in Ded, th* night-dress removed and the hand hold* ing the sponge being passed under th? upper blanket while bathing to- avoid exposure. The window should be shut during the bath. I? the rash causes much irritation it may be rubbed with cosmoline or sweet oiL The eyes should: be carefully shaded from the light, and no reading permitted until they are strong again. Serious in? flammation and permanent weakness ol thsMMmav follow, if these nrecautioni w**" "J y ' & are not taken. It is often very hard to keep a child amused and happy undei these restrictions. This is one of the difficulties that a good nurse will overcome, and she must remember that the child's comfort during life may depend upon the caie it receives at this time. To avoid cold, all clothiDg should be warmed and aired before being used. A flannel jacket worn over the night-dress is a great pruiewuvu. If delirium comes on, and the rash suddenly disappears, the sufferer should be put into a warm bath containing foui tablespoonfuls of mustard to each pail ol water, taken out after a few minutes, quickly dried with warm towels, and wrapped in blankets until the doctoi comes. If the child has a quick pulse j and seems very sleepy, the breathing i should be carefully watched to detect , any symptoms of trouble with the chest. Milk should be the chief article of diet. It may be used in gruel, custard, and blanc-mange, and varied with beef tea, chicken broth, mutton broth, toast, and K~V,f fnnrl Ynnth?x ComTHlTLWn. "o"- r Plate Glass Insurance. "Our business is not so risky as fire insurance," said a member of a company that insured plate glass, 1 'because we can better protect ourselves against over valuation and our losses are 1 ssened by salvage. Plate glass windows, as a general thing, meet with damage from three different causes. Fire destroys the most, many are broken by accident or through malice, while a few are blown in by wind storms. It is very seldom that a window is so badly shattered that we can't save some portion of it, and as we make it a rule to replace all panes that are broken instead of paying out the value in cash,you can readily see that our losses are not so heavy unless a very large pane gets i shivered into atoms. We buy the glass j at good discount and have our own men to put it in. All the glass you see in the outside office is salvage, and it is only in exceptionable cases that we are unable to replace a pane from our stock on hand. Even the scraps are of value. They are put to many uses, especially for shelves in fmnt of the cashiers' windows in banks and other offices. "Plate glass is one of the most peculiar things in the world. At times it will stand any amount of hard usage,and then again the least thing will break it. I could tell you many queer stories in this relation. I have dropped a heavy hammer on a piece without injuring it, and when I have tried to show a friend how hard a blow it would stand, I have had it grind into powder."?New York Sun. Where the Sun Shines at Midnight. | A Namaka (Hritish America) letter to the Wheeling (W. Ya.) Jnteltigencer | says: I am within 800 miles of the Arctic il.n ???* ? nirtw Kft endn mifi. | , circie, wjicictuu ouu iiiuj night in the summer, antl in winter it is night the whole twenty-four hours. t Even where I am now I do not think that i the light of the sun is entirely gone at . midnight, for at 11 o'clock I conld see ] it, and, going to sleep then, I did not . awaken till 3, and at that time the dawn j of day was plainly seen. I Needs Confirmation. ( The latest theory Advanced, that, by i un order ot Providence, three per cent. ] more men than women are born in war < time, while three per cent, more women < 4u~n are born in peace, we are in- : II1U U ?** V, ?? . olincd ;o regard as needing confirmation. t It is not probable that Providencc has an 1 open eye to the battles that are going on i upon the earth's surface, or makes a i special interposition to repair tfcj losses men create by their own crimes or follic?, | ?BC&oa HerakL _ | ;-/?B ?_ ?? THRaE SCORE A?& TElf* \ I am past my tfar?w score years tittf ten; I have quaffed ftill cups of blitf and boMf GrowiT drunk on folly like other meal, With its present sweet and after-pffia);< I have had my share of cloud and sun; And what is it all, when all is done? We bar 0 bad our frolic, Life and I; .jovial comrades we used to be. Full sails today, with a silver sky, Anon dead calm and a sullen sea. ; Now I fear tbe waves, so I bug the shore With my tattered sail and broke a oar. I have worn love's flower upon my breast, And said my prayers to a woman's ?ao* i no saints iorgivef us! xr men addressed Such orisons to fbe heavenly Grace, Taey would upward mount, as- strong birds " do, Anal answer bring from the heavsnly bluet I hare known the best that life can bold Off lame and fortune, love and p?wer. And' wben my riotous blood grew cold, I cheered with books the lingering boor; Banqueting on the costly wine Which> Genius pours from her flagon* fin*. Yet I would rather lie to-day Where orchard blooms drift dowa their snow. And feel loet youth in my pulse* play, Its rosy wine in my hot cheeks glow? I would natlser be young, and foolish:, for* 800thy Than ownith* baubles we bay with yoaflt I would barter isrtune, fame, and power. All knowledge gained of books and- men, For my oldidblighi at the first spring. fflowir, A robin'a-egg,. or a captured wren> from its nesfrhidl vnder the tossing plumo Of a sweet, oldvfaahdoned lilac bloomi With the world's-stale feast I am surfeited; I long to-day for the old-time thrill as, the purple pomp* or a pansy oea, Or the fresh spring scent of a daffodlL 'rMt Alas, I shall never b? thrilled again 1 Ham old. Ye#', past three score and tea ?May Riley 3mi?hr in the Cosmopolitan* PITH MD POINT. Dry goods?Crackers. The salient features of a regatta ar? the yachts*.?Pittsburg Chronicle. The flower oC thfr family you will often find, becomes-college bred.?Statesman. See, the man holds up the post. Is' the post loose I Nov the man is tight.? Watertown HerdtdL A sermon and a hornet resemble each r?fhpr in that thev both have a conclud ing point.?Danville Breeze. By a wise provision of Providence^ close- beside the little tree on which nut* megs grow,, often stands a greater. The- reason drunken men seldom, go down is because thft whisky makes thmr Lead swim?Duluth Paragraphs. Advice to young ladies who are setting their caps: Use percussion caps so that , the ' 'pop* may be heard.?New Haven jxew. "Butter is upyn says a market report. Exactly. We furre seen butter that no four men could hold down.?Burlington Free Press. w There is a tied in the affairs of men that leads on to fortune," said the poor young man as he married the heiress.? Boston Post. The game laws are very rigidly en* forced at the West. If a man is caught cheating at poker he is shot across th? table.?Boston Advertiser. "Yes, I'm tired of life. I've about made up my mind to commit suicide." " Good scheme, old fellow; have another cigarette."?Washington Critic. mt? nnnnnt a+tond fTlH fib i lie ricoiuguv vuuuvv - nt Dallas, and he thus deliberately foregoes the pleasure of seeing the only genuine five-legged calf in the world.? bulla* (Texa*) News. Fond Wife?" Would you believe that Mrs. Eccles, next door, speaks seven languages?" Fond Husband?"Certainly I would; she's got tongue enough to speak fifty.?Harper's Bazar. "Bessie,.! hear your sister is sick. What ails her ?" "I don't know, ma am. Maybe it's the diploma." ''The what, ehiid?" ''The diploma. I heard mother say that she took it at school."?Timet' Democrat. "When little Bessie was taken to th? menagerie, the lirst thing her eyes lighted on was the Bactrian camel. "Oh, mamma !" she exclaimed, "look at that cow with two bustles on I"?Burlington Free Pre<s. Cashier's "Wife (reading)?"The advantages of paper are in its lack of bulk. A man could easily carry $40,000,000 if in $10,01)0 bills. Cashier (meditatively) ?" Well, well. I never thought of it." ? Omaha World. "Waiter, have you got any chicken salad?" "Sorry, sir, but we were disappointed in the ayival of our veal this morning; but we had some mud-turtle come in, and I can give you some nice * '?1?/ia//>w fln)ir)sr lerrapiu ' They are just running the thing into the ground," observed Amy, in a discussion on some tonic of mutual interest. ' Yes," replied the high-school girl, "I think myself that they are forcibly projecting it into terra tirma."?Pittsburg Chronicle. A tortoise recently found had engraved on its shell, "Adam, year 1." ine man on whose property the tortoise was found recognized Adam's signature. Adam used to drive team for him, but he cannot imagine why he didn't add the other three figures?886.?Norristown Herald. THEIR PROSPECTS SPOILED. They thought to have a cottage neat With honeysuckles twining, And live in lovers' transports sweet, All other cares resigning. The goal of peace they thought to win And happily through life to jog, 4nH t.hov mieht. had it not been For papa^andTthe dog. Sardines. There are two kinds known?the summer sardine, which is caught from Juno to October, and the sardine de derive, which is larger and is called the pilchaid by the English. The first is the sardine of commerce and of the gourmets. The latter is supposed to be the same fish, but older. The first enters the bays and shallow waters. The otner seems to be making its way. with the tnackcrel, to cold northern latitudes to spawn, though those caught as far north is the island of Glenan, off the coast of Scotland, have their eggs still immature. Sometimes successive swarms of sardines 3f different sizes visit the coast of Brittany succcssivelv, and in turn disappear, having probably returned to their deep sea homes. At omer times uiey enter certain bays and remain all summer, seemingly without fear and constantly increasing iu size. Changes ia the temperature of the water are presumed to havo much to do with their and nerhans the Question of food, though in this respcct thoy seem to have no special preferer Francisco Chronicle,