The Abbeville press and banner. (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, September 19, 1888, Image 3
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REV. DR. TALMAGE.
THE BROOKLYN DIVINES SUNDAY
SERMON.
Subject: "Plasters That Will Not
Stick." (Preached at East
Hampton, N. Y.)
Test: "Miserable comforters are ye all
?Job xvi, 2.
The man of Uz had a great many trials?
the loss of his family, the loss of bis propIam>
Uie haaH.K* Knt. fko mrvsfc or.
asperating thins: that came upon him was
the tantalizing talk of those who ought to
have sympathized with him. Looking
around upon them, and weighing what they
had said, he utters the words of my text.
Why did God let sin come into the world?
It is a question I often h?ar discussed, but
never satisfactorily answered. God made
the world fair and beautiful at the start. If
our first parent had not sinned in Eden,
they might have gone out of that garden
ana fonnd fifty paradises all around the
earth?Europe, Asia, Africa, North and
South America?so many flower gardens, or
orchards of fruit, redolent and luscious. I
suppose that when God poured out the Gihon
and the Hiddekel he poured out at the same
lime the Hudson ana the Susquehanna; the
whole earth was very fair and beautiful to
look upon. W hy did it not stay so? God
had the power to keep back sin and woe.
Why did he not keep them back? Why no^
every cloud roseate, and every step a joy,
and every sound music, and all the ages a
long jubliee of sinless men and sinless women?
God can make a rose as easily as he can
make a thorn. Why, then, the predominance
of thorns? He can make good, fair, ripe
fruit as well as gnarled and sour fruit Why
so much, then, that is gnarled and sour? He
can make men robust in health. Why, then,
are there so many invalids? Why not have j
for our whole race perpetual leisure, instead
of this tug and toil and tussle for a livelihood?
I will tell you why God let sin come into the
world?when I get on the other side of the
River of Death. That is the ploce where such
questions will be answered and such mysteries
solved. He who this side that river attempts
to answer the question only Illustrates
his own ignorance and incompetency. All I
know is one great fact, and that is, that a
herd of woes have come in upon us, trampling
down everything fair and beautiful.
A sword at the gate of Eden, and a
sword at every gate. More people under
the ground than on it The gravevnrris
in vast maioritv. The six thousand
winters have made more scars than the six
thousand summers can cover np Trouble
has taken the tender heart of this world in
its two rough hands, and pinched it until the
nations wail with the agony. If all the
mounds of graveyards that have been lifted
were put side by side, you might step on
them and on nothing else, going all around
the world, and around again, and around
again. These are the facts. And now I have
to say that, in a world like this, the grandest
occupation is that of giving condolence.
This holy science of imparting comfort to
the troubled we ought all of us to study.
There are many of you who could look
v, around upon 90rae of your very best friends
who wish you well and are very intelligent,
and yet be able truthfully to sav to them in
your days of trouble, "Miserable comforters
are ye ail.
I remark, in the first place, that very voluble
people are incompetent for the work of
giving comfort Bildad and Eliphaz had the
gift of language, and with their words almost
bothered Job's life out. Alas for these voluble
people that go among the house3 of the
affiictea and talk, and talk, and talk, and
talk! They rehearse their own sorrows, and
then they tell the poor sufferers that they
feel bad now, but they will feel worse at'tor
a while. Silence! Do you expect with a
thin court plaster of words to heal a wound
deep as the soul? Step very gently round
about a broken heart Talk very softly
around those whom God has bereft Then
go your way. Deep sympathy has not much
to say. A firm grasp of the hand, a compassionate
look, just one word that means as
much as a whole dictionary, and you have
given, perhaps, all the comfort that a soul
needs. A man has a terrible wound in his
arm. The surgeon comes and binds it up.
"Now,"he says, "carry that arm m a sling and
be very careful of it Let no one touch it"
But the neighbors have hoard of tho accident,
and they come in, and they say: "Let us see
it!" And the bandage is pulled off, and this >
one and that one must feel it, and see how |
much it is swollen; and mere is irritation,
and inflammation, and exasperation, where
there ought to l>e healing and cooling. The
surgeon comes in, and says: "What doe3 all
this mean? You have no business to touch
those bandages. That wound will never heal
unless you let it alone." So there are souls
broken down in sorrow. What they most want
is rest, or very careful and gentle treatment;
but the neighbors have heard of the bereavement
or of the loss, and they come in to
sjmpathize.and they say: -'Show us now the
wound. What, were his last words? Rehearse
now the whole scene. How did you
feol when you found you were an orphan
Tearing of the bandages here, and pulling
them olf there, leaving a ghastly wound tbat
the balm of God's grace had already begun
to heaL Oh, let no loquacious people, with
ever rattling tongues, go into the nomes of
?he distressed!
11 Again I remark, that all thosa persons are
incompetent to give any kind of comfort who
act merely as world I v philosophers. They
come in and say: l'\Viiy. this is what you
ought to have expected. The laws of nature
must have their way;" and then they cet eloquent
over something they have seen in postmortem
examinations. Now, away with all
human philosophy at such a time? What difference
does it make to that father and
?1?ntl T-I? i,
raotner wnai nivure n>r'r mm v>?; *>.. ^
dead, and it makes no difference whether the
trouble was in the epigastric or hypogastric
region. If the philosopher be of the stoical
school he will come and say: *' You ought to
control your feelings. You must not cry so.
You must cultivate a cooler temperament.
You must have self reliance, self government,
self control;" an iceberg reproving a
hyacinth for having a drop of dew in its eye.
A violinist has his instrument, and be
sweeps his fingers across the strings, now
evoking strains of joy, and now strains
of sadness. He cannot play all the tune; on
one string. The human soul is an instrument
of a thousand strings,.and all sorts of emotions
were made to play on it. Wow an
anthem, now a dirga. It is no evidence of
weakness when one is overcome of sorro w.
Edmund Burke was found in the pa-?tura
field with his arms around a horse's neck,
caressing him and someone said: "Why. the
treat man has lost his mind!'* No, that
orse belonged to his son who had recently
-died, and nis great heart broke over the
grief. It is no sign of weakness that men are
overcome of their sorrows. Thank Gol for
the relief of tears. Have you never been in
trouble when you could not weep, ani vou
would have given anything for a good cry?
David did well when he mourned for Absalom,
Abraham did well when be bemoaued
Sarah, Christ did well when he wept for
juazarus, ana toe last man l waui> lu s-o <.<>uid
anywhere near m? when I have any kind of
'trouble is a wordly philosopher.
Again I remark tnat those peraon3 are in\
-competent for the work of comfort bearing
< who have nothing but cant to offer. There
are those who -have the idea that you must
groan over the distressed and afflicted.
There are times in grief when one cheerful
face dawning on a mau's soul is -north a
thousand dollars to him. Do not whine over
the aillicted. Take the promises of the Gospel,
and utter them in a manly tone. Do not
be afraid to smile if you feel Like it. Do not
drive any more hearses through that poor
.soul. Do not tell him the trouble was toreordained;
it will not be any comfort to know
it was a million years coming. If you want
-to find splints for a broken bone, do not take
cast iron. Do not tell them it is God's justice
that weieha out grief. They want, now
to hear of God's tender mercy. In otber
word8, do not give them aqua fortis when
they need valerian.
Again, I remark that those persons are poor
comforters who have never had any trouuie
themselves. A larkspur cannot lecture on
ith9 nature of a snowflake ? it never saw a
jnowflake: and those people who have al
ways lived in the summer of prosperity cannot
talk to those who are frozen in disaster.
God keeps aged people in the world, I tinnk,
(or this very work of sympathy. They have
been through all these trials. They know all
that which irritates and all that wuich
soothes.
.People who have not had trials themselves
cannot give comfort to others. They may
. talk very beautifully, and they may give jou
a great deal of poetic sentiment; but while
poetry is a perfume that smells s wje't.it m ikes
a very poor salve. If you have" a grave in
your pathway, and somebody comes and
covers it all over with iiowers, it is a grave
yet. Those who have not had grief thein-selves
know not the myst?ry or a broken
-heart. They know not the meaning of
-childJ earned. and the having no one to put
to bed at night, or the standing in a room
where every book and picture and door is
full of memories ?the door mat where she
sat, the cup out of which she drank?the
place where she stood at the door
and clapped her hands?the odd figures
that she scribbled?the blocks she built into
a house. Ab, no; you must have trouble
yourself before you can comfort trouble in
others. But come all ye who have been bereft
and ye who have bean comforted in
your sorrows, and stand around these afflicted
souls, and say to them: 4,I had that very
sorrow myself. God comforted me, and He
will comfort you," and that will go right to
the spot. In other words, to comfort others
we must have faith in God, practical experience
and good, sound common sense.
Again, I remark, there is comfort in the
thought that God, by all this process, is going
to make you useful. Do you Know that those
who.accomp ish the most for God and heavec '
have all been under the harrow? Show me a
man that has done anything for Christ in
- * /\h niMtrofa rdana nrhn
I Wilis uay, iu a ^uunu vi ?SA*vc*W ??
has had do trouble and whosa path has been
smooth. Ah, no.
I once went through an ax factory, and I
saw them take the bars of iron and thrust
them into the terrible furnaces. Then
besweated workmen with long tongs stirred
tne blaze. Then they brought out a bar of iron
and put it into a crushing machine, and then
they put it between jaws that bit it in twain.
Then they put it on an anvil, and there were
great hammers swung by machinery?each
one a half ton in weicht?that went thump!
thump! thump! If that iron could have
spoken, it would have said: "Why all this
Mating? Why must I be pounded any more
than any other iron?" The workmen would
have said: "We want to make axes out of
| you. keen, shan) axes?axes with which to
hew down the forest, and build the ship, and
erect houses, and carry on a thousand enterprises
of civilization. That's the reason we
pound you." Now, God puts a soul into the
furnace of trial, and then it is brought out
and run through the crushing machine, and
then it comes down on the anvil, and upon it
blow after blow, blow after blow, and the
soul cries out: "Oh. Lord, what does all this
mean?" God says: "I want to make something
very useful out of you. You shall be
something to hew with and something to build
with. It is a practical process through
which 1 am putting you." Yes. my Christtian
friends, we want more tools in the
church of God. Not more wedges to split
witn; We have enough of these. Not more
bores with which to drill; we have^too many
bores. What we really want is keen, sharp
well tempered axes, and if there be any other
way of making them than in th9 hot rurnace3
and on the hard anvil, and under the heavy
hammer, I do not know what it i& Remember
that if God brings any kind of chastisement
upon you, it is only to make you useful
Do uot sit down discouraged and say:
"I have no more reason for Jiving. I wi3h
I were dead." Oh, there never was so much
reason for your living as now! By this ordeal
you have been consecrated a priest of
the Most High God. Go out aud do your
whole work for the Master.
There is also a great deal of comfort in the
fact there will be a family reconstruction
in a 'better place. From, Scotland, or England,
or Ireland, a child emigrates to this
country. It is very hard parting, but he
comes, after a while writing home as to what
a good land it is. Another brother comes, a
sister comes, and another, and after a while
the mother comes, and after a while the
father comes, and now they are all here, and
they have a time of great congratulation and
a very pleasant reunion. Well, it is just so
with our families; they are emigrating to a
better land. Now one goes out. Oh, how
hard it is to pirt with him! Another goes.
Oh, how hard it is to part with herl And
another, and another, and we ourselves will
after a while go over, and then we will be
together. Oh, what a reunion! Do you believe
that? "Yes," you say. You do not!
You do not believe it as you believe other
things. If you did, and with the same
emphasis, whv, it would take nine-tenths
of your trouble off your heart The fact
is, heaven to many* of us is a great fog. It) is
away off somewhere, filled with an uncertain
and indefinite population. That is the kind
of heaven that many of us dream about; but
it is the most tremendous fact in all the
universe?this heaven of the Gospel. Our
departed friends are not afloat. The residence
in which you live is not so reil as the
residence is which they stay. You are afloat,
you who do not know in the morning what
will happen before night. They are housed
and safe forever. Do not,therefore, pitv your
departed friends who have died in Christ.
Theydo not need any of your pity. Youmig'nt
as well send a letter of condolence to Queen
Victoria on her obscurity, or to the Rothschilds
on their poverty, as to pity those who
have won the palm. Do not say of those
who are departed: "Poor child! "Poor
father!" Poor mother 1" They are not
Eoor. You are poor?you wnose homes
ave bsen shattered?not they. You do
not dwell much with your families in this
world. All day long you are off to business.
Will it not be pleasant when you ' con be together
all the while? If you have had four
children and one is gone, and anybody asks
how many children you have, do not be so
intidel as to say three. Say four?one in
heaven. Do not think that the grave is uu
friendly. You go into your room ana aress
for some grand entertainment, and you come
forth beautifully appareled; and the grave
is only the place where you go to dress for
the glorious resurrection, ana we will come
out radiant, radiant, mortality having become
immortality. Oh, how much condolence
there is in this thought! I expect to
see my kindred in heaven: I expect to see
them as certainly as I expect to go home today.
Ay, I shall more certainly see them.
Eignt or ten will come up x'rom the graveyard
back of Somerv'lle; ana one will come up
from the mountains back of Amoy, China;
and another will come up from the sea off
Cape Hatteras; and thirty will come up from
Greenwood; and I shall know them better
than I ever knew them here. And your
friends?they may be across the sea, but the
trumpet that sounds here will sound there.
You will come up on just the same day.
Some morning you have overslept yourself,
and you open your eyes and sae that the sun
is high in the heavens and you say, "I have
overslept and I must be up and oft'." So you ,
?1,1 ??? Aw/us iKn n\oiminrv nf f.ho PAQ.
Will upcu JUUI ojrra vn vuou.i/i u>?g vt vuw . w.
urrection in the full blaze of God's light, and
you will say: "I must be up and away." Oh
yes, you will como up and there will ba a reunion,
a reconstruction of your family. I
like what Halourton, I think it was?good
old Mr. Halburton?said in his last moments:
"I thank God that I ever lived, nnd that I
have a father in heaven, and a mother in
heaven, and brothers in heaven, and sisters
in heaven, and I am now going up to see
them."
I remark once more: Our troubles in this
world are preparative for glory. What a,
transition it was for Paul?from the slippery
deck of a foundering ship to the calm presence
of Jesu3! What a transition it was for
Latimer?from the 3take to a throne! What
a transition it was for Robert Hall?from
insanity to glory! What a transition it was
for Richard Baxter?from the dropsy to the
"saint's everlasting rest!" And what a
transition it will be for you?from a world
of sorrow to a world of joy! John Holland,
when he was dying, said: ''What means this
brightness in the room? Have you lighted
the candles?" "No," thoy replie:!, "we have
not lighted any candles." Then said he:
"Welcome heaven!'- the light already beaming
upon his pillow. O ye who are persecuted
in this world! your enemies will get
off the track after a while, and all
will speak well of you among the thrones.
Ho! ye who are Bick now, no medicine to take
there. One breath of the eternal hills will i
thrill vou with immortal vigor. And ye <
who are lonesome now, there will be a thousand
spirits to welcome you into their companionship.
O ye bereft souls! there will be
no grave digger's spade that will cleave the
side of that hill, and there will be no dirge (
wailing from that templa The river of God, j
deep as the joy of heaven, will roll on be- j
tween banks odorous with balm, and over j
depths bright with jewels, and under skies
roseate with gladness, arg03ies of light going j
down the stream to the stroke of glittering
oar and the song of angels! Not one sigh in ,
the wind; not one tear mingling with the
waters. ,
There shall I bathe my weary goal j
In seas of heavenly rest, ,
And not a wave of trouble roll
Across my peaceful breast. .
The Court of Appeals of New York State
holds that public intoxication, under the
statute, has all the elements of a crime, being
offensive to public decency.^ and danger- i
ous to the good order and well-being of society.
The Woman's Christian Temperance Union
of New Hampshire are making arrangements
to open a home for intemperate women.
The State Legislature has granted
the sum of $5000 to start the work. (
The Keely Brewing Company, of Chicago,. ,
propose to punish Iowa and Kansas for their
prohibitory legislature, by refusing to buy I
Barley grown in either of those States.
/?~
EELIGrlOTTS EEADIN&.
To-Day.
Thy yesterday is dead,
Unborn is thy tomorrow;
Why look before with dread?
Why gaze behind with sorrow?
Unchanged the past must stand,
Deaf to thy prayers and tears,
And, hidden in God's hand,
Rest all thy future years.
Today is thine today!
But, ah, its hours, how brief!
For time makes no delay
For doubt or fear or grief,
i Speed, speed thy laggard feet!
Follow thy King's behestl
So shall thy past be sweet,
Thy future glad and blest.
?[Christian Weekly.
"Always Pat God First."
Henry Scott Holland in "Murray's Magazine"
quotes an expression of Jenny Lind in
her dying days, which may well be the
motive power of the life of any child of God:
It was her intense conviction tttat her an
was a gift of God, to be dedicated to His service.
This belief wus continually on her
lips. "I have always put God first," she
said during her la3t days. It was this which
kindled all her enthusiasm for Mile. Janotha,
in whom she found a kindred mind?
Janotha, who said to her: "What is this
world of which people speak? I do not know
what the world is. I play for Jesus Christl"
She went to look on the face of a dead
friend; and I must tell you her own words:
It was not her own look that was in her
face. It was the look of another, that had
passed into hers. It was the shadow of
Christ that had come upon her. She had
Keen Christ. I put down my candle and said:
Let me see this thing. Let me stop here always.
Let me sit and look. Where are my
children? Let them come and see. Here is
a woman who has seen Christ?
The Chnrcti for America,
Dr. Phillips Brooks, with that breadth of
view and large Christian charity so characteristic
of him,came out more decidedly than
ever, at the recent Episcopal Congress at
Louisville, against the assumption by his
sect of the title, "The American Church."
From his brave speech we quote:
The American Church is the great total
body of Christianity in America, in many
divisions, under many names, broken, discordant,
disjointed, often quarrelsome and
disgracefully jealous, part of part, yet as a
whole bearing perpetual testimony to the
people of America of the authority and love
of God, of the redemption of Christ, and of
the sacred possibilities of man. If our
church does especial work in cur
country, it must be by the especial and peculiar
way in which she is able to bear that
witness: not by any fiction of an apostolic
succession in ber ministry, wnicn gives to
them alone a right to bear such witness.
There is no such peculiar piivilege of commission
belonging to her, or to any other
body. The only right of any body lies in
the earnest will and in the manifest power.
The right to preach the gospel to America
lies in {he earnest faith that the gospel is the
only salvation of the people, first as men,
and then as Americans; whoever brings
that faith has the right to preach; whoever
does not bring it has no right, be the fancied
regularity of his commission what it may!
Th? Date of Conversion.
An aged widow, whose only son is on missionary
ground, recently gave me some account
of her religious experiences. She said
that she did not publicly profess Christ until
she had arrived at middle life, although she
now thinks that she became a Christian when
about ten or twelve years of age. One Sabbath
she was left at home all alone. She
spent a part of the day in readrog^those pre
cious tract', "The uairymana juaugnuer, and
"The Shepherd of Salisbury Plain.r Her
feelings were deeply moved; and although
she did not then, nor for years after, indulge
hope, she now thinks that she then exercised
penitence for Bin and faith in Christ
Many persons, who give good evidence of
piety, are in doubt as to their being Christians
because they can fix on no time when
they became such. But this is not essential.
Children doubtless often begin the Christian
life without any deep religious experience.
Like the willows by the water-courses, they
readily yield to the gracious influences of the
Spirit. Many of the best Christians are unable
to fix the date of their conversion.
They were probably converted at a very
early age. And thu probably will be the
case more and more as millennial times draw
near. Children will then be nurtured under
more holy influences, and will sweetly yield
their hearts to Christ in their tender years.
It will become their experience, as they grow
up, that they love God and the Saviour and
the Bible, and all holy and heavenly things,
and bv their fruits they will abundantly |
show that they are born of God.?{American
Messenger.
FoifiTpnf??,
"I will blot out your transgressions," blot
them out as if they had never been; forget
them utterly. How many of us forgive in
that way? I sometimes think we might
learn a lesson in this way of forgiving
from the Indian. W.th bim to forgive, is to
forget the offence. No matter what the
difference or trouble has been, if the parties
can be brought to "shake hands," the trouble
is at an end, tbe past forgotten and never
again alluded to.
While I was teacher among the Miamis, a
circumstance occurred that was told me by
ne who witnessed and was deeply affected
by the scene. There had been a bitter quarrel
between Bogus Charley, the chief of
the Modocs, and Shaknasty Jim, so
bitter that pistols wore handled
and blood threatened. A Sabbath day
came, when a missionary talked to the
gathered band in the schoolhouse, and these
two became much affected. One, who knew
of tbe trouble, rose and feelingly urgpd
them, then and there, to be reconciled.
There was perfect silence for a time, and
tVion tho tnl I form of E0211S Char lev rose.
and, after some words in Indian, Shaknasty
stood up, and as the two strode towards
each other and grasped hands with penitent
faces, there were few dry eyes among the
on-lo jkers. Ageueral hand-shaking followed,
and the voice of prayer went up to Him
who said: "Forgive as ye would be forgiven."
I bad a somewhat similar experience in
the boarding school at Genoa, Neb. The
large boys had a difficulty that ended in a
fight, and one bad his head so battered he was
out of the school-room for a week. Hatred
was so strong between the two factions, that
it threatened the peace of the school. We
were startled one day, by finding that one
party had a pistol or two, and had warned
the other party to keep hands off. They
were wild and sot yet used to control, and it
became a serious question with the teachers,
how to handle the matter. It was determined
by two of us to try what we could do
quietly, and Miss W. set to work with the
leader of one party, while I took the two
who headed the other. We took
them to our rooms and talked earnestly,
but it was more than a week before
we brought them to say they wore willing to
be friends. The nieht I was to take- mr
two to meet the other in the school-room,
Stephen drew back, and I watched, tremblingly,
the hard struggle that went on. His
dark face paled with the inward fight, and
when at last I said, Stephen, will you go
with us now, be shook: tits bead ana l
thought all was over. Outside my door,
however, he halted, irresolute for a minute,
then his good angel conquered, and he
turned and followed us down. How glad
we were to see those three dusky-faced fellows
shake hands, no one but God knows.
I never can forget their three faces at our
next prayer-meeting, they were radiant.
The hand-shake completely blotted out the
trouble. I never knew of even a reference
to it afterward. It was the "forgive as we
would be forgiven."?[H. M. C., in New York
Observor. ,
Jay Gould was reading the "Quick
cr the Dead" for recreation. He was
asked if it entertained him. He said:
"Tolerably. It is a curious study of a
morbid mental condition in a woman.
The features which I suppose have
popularized it are disagreeable. I
don't know when I have read a novel
before. My doctor told me to try fiction,
and let thoughtful books alone.
So I am obeying."
TEMPERANCE.
The Moral Hero.
BY JOKL SWARTZ, D. D.
lbe patriot and soldier whose heart does not
quail
In trie fierce battle-line where thousands
must bleed,
But fearlessly meets the thick leaden hail,
is crowned by the world as a hero indeed.
Yet is he not braver who follows the right,
Because it is right, tho' dying unknown,
And combats the wrone with courage and
might,
If cheered by the crowd or marching alone)
A hero is he, and loyal of coal.
Who welcomes the fray when conscience
commands,
Rejoicing to answer the call of the roll,
Where danger is thickest and error withstands.
So far is he oft in advance of his age
That his greatness seems dwarfed to the
ranks in the rear.
And not till they coma to his loftier stage
Do his wisdom and faith and courage appear.
Oft carsed is he, hence, reviled and opposed,
But gently he bears detraction and wrong,
And still presses on till his mission is closed.
In sorrow most joyful, in weakness made
strong.
The warrior in battle with daring is fired
By numbers and noise in his rush to the
fray;
The hero of conscience by duty inspired
Will march, tho' alone, where she points
the way. ,
No trumpet, no cannon is needed to fire
The embers of force in his languishing
frame,
The fair form of virtue alone can inspire
The love of his heart to a passionate
flame.
The sword of the hero who conquers by
might
May carve for its wearer a bright crimson
name,
And high on the pillars of honor may write
The proud march of valor to the summit of
fame.
Yet rust shall corrupt the warrior's bright
sword
And time's envious tooth his marble consume,
And erasing tbe record, leave only this
word,?
"Forgotten," as all that remains of his
tomb.
While truth's stainless weapons, immortal
and bright,
Shall bang in tbe halls of the hero above,
For the battles he fought were struggles for
right,
And the triumphs he won were conquests
of love.?
New York Observer.
The March of the Coru.
Farmer Grey's little Molly had been sent 1
to the corn-field for "roasting ears" for dinner.
8be had prudently husked the ears in
the field, and was now homeward bound
with her apron full of corn. Molly was singing
as blithely as the robin swaying on a
cornstalk near htr. But she was a child full
of whims and fair fancies, and she stopped.
singing and looked over tbe landscape. The
great "ten-acre field" planted with corn lay
on the gentle slope of a hill, ana reached even,
to the green and shadowy val ey. Through
the valley ran a deep strong stream.
"The corn," said Molly, "looks as if it was
all marching down-hill to the valley. And
* a# if -will ?>ioroK infn f.Kfl
&u it is: uuaio vi iw ?nu ?uui vm
house; I think I see it. It will be put into
fritters or succotash, and it will be boiled and
canned. It will march down there ripe, and ,
it will be turned into mush and pudding and
nice crisp corn-cake with loads of butter on
it Ob, my! And then winter evenings all 1
of us will have such fun popping some of it
and making pop-corn balls. Good corn! 1 j
am so glad you are marching down to the <
house!'1
Lower down the valley lay the mill, a .
great, dark old mill, the wheel, turned by
the roaring river, rising and falling with a
plash. 1
"Corn," cried Mo'ly, "you will march
down to the miJL Will you be afraid of the
great millstones? You will be ground into .]
meal, you will be put into bags and barrels, i
you will be sent east, north, west, south! <
You will help feed the world! Will you not
be glad, corn, when you make thin people. I
fat, weak people strong, hungry people con
tent? You will die to do good, 0 cornl when I
you have marched down to the mill. You {
will have done the errand God sent you to i
do!"
But farther down the valley were tall 1
chimneys, great brick walls, high fences, with 1
wide gates out of which rumbled vans under ]
clouds of black smoke and dense steam. j
"Ocorn!' said Molly, "you will march
down to the distillery. You will die to do !
evil and not to do good. You will be what 1
God never meant you to be! Youwilldrive
men and women crazy with evil drink; you
will fill them with disease, you will make
them poor. You will rob little children of
homes, food, clothes, books, joy. You will f
give them fears, tears, pain, you wni km
thousands, corn, instead of feeding thousands.
0 beautiful corn! is it not terrible
that, after all these lovely summer days, you
must carry vour beauty and your wealth
down to the distillery to ruin the land! You
will be ground and scalded and decayed and
distilled, until out of good has come evil and
out of life death; and you will have come to
a very bad end, O my beautiful corn!"?
Youth's Temverance Banner.
No More Rum Rations in India.
The Indian correspondent of the B -itinh
Weekly writes: "There is ereat news for
the friends of temperance. The issue of rum
is to be discontinued in the army in India.
Henceforward raw spirits will not be issue 1
to any troops arriving in India after this
date. The canteen will be an institution of
the past. Refreshment r joins supplying nonintoxicants,
with a side bar at which beer
may be had, are to be instituted within the
lines of every regiment in India. A reading
room is to be attached. The change is due
to His Excellency Sir Frederick Roberts, the
Commander-in-Chief. The step is a long one
in the right direction, an 1 a year or two ago
w ould not have been dreamt of.
Temperance News and Notes.
Seventy members of the Canadian Parliament
are professed prohibitionists.
Kentucky has 4123 retail liquor dealers;
Louisville six saloons to each church.
Maxwell, who was recently hanged at St.
Louis, was, it is said, a hard drinker. ]
Topeka, Kansas, has more churches than f
any other city of its size; and not one saloon, j
Four Trenton, N. J., liquor sellers were re- |
cently sentenced to six months in the county i
jail.
A temperance society with eighteen members
was lately organized at Kinkiang, f
China. I
The city of Passadena, Cal., has not a sa- 6
loon, not a policeman, and its jail has no \
occupants. c
Dr. Richardson says he can no more ac- g
cept the alcohols as foods that he can chloroform
or ether. i
At Kau Claire, Wis., recently a man
signed the pledge for the first time on his one
hundredth birthday.
President Culver announces that at the t
Alabama State Fair this year, whisky shall s
not be sold on the grounds. ^
The liquor sellers of Palestine are obliged
to pay for 1.cense one-fourth of the amount :
of their house or shop rent. '
A railway disaster on the Mexico Central 8
Railway, resulting in thirteen deaths, is now c
said to have been caused by drink. t
Dr. Norman Kerr 6avs: "Among the ine- 1
briates admitted to the Dalrymple Home nine t
Dcr cent, of the whole number drank nothing y
but beer.
Sir Andrew Clark says that "more than
three-fourths of the disorders, in what we 1
call fashionable life, arise from the use of t
alcohol." t.
Eight conductors and trainmen of the Long I a
Island raiiroad were recently discharged, be r
cause they entered saloons and drank during
hours of duty.
The recent banquet of the Commercial
Travelers' Convention, held in Minneapolis,
attended by six hundred and fifty guests, a
was served without wine. j,
New York State has $60,000,000 invested in ?
prisons, asylums, hospitals and alms houses.
New York city alone nas 10,000 dramshops E
to help provide the inmates. *
Father Cleary, of Wisconsin, last year de- D
li vered 174 addresses and lectures in behalf of t
the Catholic Total Abstinence Union, and
administered the pledge to over 100,000 per- ^
sons.
M. Emile de Lavelye, the distinguished po- S
litical economist, says there is a "carbaret" J
for every ten families in Belgium, and with- J
in the last fourteen years the consumption of t
drink has doubled. ... " c
7\. ... .
? . , . ^ V v
. . .
JfofiLAK SCIENCE.
Photographs have been taken by th?
light from a fireplace.
Physicians say that a bare upper lip is
injurious to the eyes.
M. Chevroul, the centenarian chemist,
Bays that the modern dyer controls 15,000
different shades of color.
Melinite has been tried in some gunnery
experiments upon an old English
ironclad, and the effect was fearful.
A new beverage has been invented in
France intermediate between beer and
wine, and which is to be sold under the
name of barley wine.
Dr. Pasteur recently read before the
Academy of Sciences at Paris a letter
from Dr. Gamaleia of Odessa announcing
the discovery of cholera vaccine.
Oxalate of cerium, a recognized pal'i
ative for nausea, is said to be helpful in
cases of seasickness, when taken in doses
ot ten to twenty grains every two or
three hours.
It has been computed that during a
lifetime of three score years and ten the
blood of a human being travels 4,292,000
miles, that hig heart beats 2,538, 848,000
times.
From an analysis of over 6,000 cases
of scarlet fever, it appears that liability
to the disease is very slight during early
infancy, reaches a maximum in the
fourth or fifth year, and diminishes
every year afterward.
An Italian physician claims to have
discovered that the blood of an eel contains
a poison of a similar character to
the poison of vipers. He sajs an eel of
two kilogrammes has in its blood enough
poison to kill six men.
Owing to its antiseptic qualities carbolic
acid is a valuable lotion for wounds
which discharge purulent or other offensive
matter. Mixed with olive or othei
oils, or with glycerine in the proportion
of one part to twenty-five it makes as
excellent dressing for cuts and sores.
CalTcine is said to have none of the disadvantages
of the deadly narcotics, and.
to be more reliable than the bromides J
it is Claimed 10 De entirety tree irorn i
harmful or unpleasant effects, and to retain
its efficacy even when used for a I
long period. It has already proven
valuable in the treatment of mental disorders.
A new kind of scale consists of a i
simple balance arm resting on a nickel j
point, supported by a standard about |
eighteen inches in height. There ar6 i
two scales in the balance arm; one de- |
notes the weight and the total cost ol
the article weighed, the other the unite
of price, which is designated by a slid- .
ing weight. From this sliding weight
is suspended the scoop or slab to contain
the article to be weighed. By this scale
the total cost of an article at any point
is given immediately upon weighing it.
The London Lancet calls attention to j
the value of carbonate of lime, in the
form of calcined oyster shells,as a meani
of arresting the growth of cancerous
tumors, the result attained having beeD
extremely satisfactory. It may be pre
pared at home by baking the ovstei
shells in an oven, and then scraping of!
the calcined white lining of the concave
shell. The substance thus obtained is to
be reduced to powder, and as much as
will lie on a silver quarter taken once 01
twice a day in a little warm water or tea.
An important advantage in the use ol
petroleum products in connection with
paper and fibrous substances, coosists in
their non-liability to oxidize and thus
produce spontaneous combustion. Moreover,*
it is said to toughen with age, instead
of growing more brittle, like resin
ind coal-tar pitch. It is not more combustible
than resin; it burns slowly with
i dull flame, producing immense quantities
of lampblack of fine quality. It
nelts rapidly at 200 degress Fahr., and
in that state combines perfectly with
esin, asphaltum and warm oil. Its use
a therefore expected to increase largely.
The Life Labors of Seth Green.
Fishermen everywhere, whether they
ish for pleasure or for business, will feel
i personal loss in the death of Seth Green,
he original fish culturist of the world,
ind the one in whom, in spite of hia
leventy-one years, lay the greatest promse
of the development of the science of
irtificial fish propagation. From his
oyhood ho was a lover of the woods and
itreams, and in 183f, by observation of
he natural methods of propagation in
;he Salmon River, in this State, got his
irst idea that fish might be raised artiicially.
He continued studying fish life
intil 1364, when, on a small piece of
and that he bought near Kocnestcr he
jut his theories into practice, and suc:eeded
in producing fry from twenty-five
jer cent, of the eggs that he expei iment:d
upon. Salmon were hatched first, and
hen trout. Afterward, whitetish, carp,
)ass, sturgeon, grayling, herring, perch,
nuskalonge, and a number of other food
ishes were successfully raised at Mr.
Green's hatchery. In 1S67, at the rejuest
of the State of Massachusetts, he
vent to Holyoke, and in two weeks had
jroduced 15,000,000 young shad from .1
[pawn. Since then he has aided in '
itocking nearly all the large rivers on |
he Atlantic coast with this fish. New J 1
fork made liira Fish Commissioner in 1
[87?, and soon afterward Superintendent (
State Fisheries, a place that he held till
lis death. Not only many of the States,
>ut a number of European Governments '
lave had medals struck in his honor,and '
learly every fish or gnme protective or
imilar society in the country has made :
lim an honorary member. He was pas- 1
ionately fond of fishing as a sport, and 1
Fas very succe sful. He had a record 1
?f eighty-five feet in fly-casting, and is
aid to have once thrown 100 feet.?New
Yorlc Hun. '
Utilizing the Sun's Heat Rays. 1
One of the most interesting and prac- 1
ical methods of utilizing the heat of the ]
un is that recently invented by Proessor
Morte, of Salem, Mass. The arangement
consists of a shallow box, the ^
>ottom of which is of corrugated iron, ]
ind the top of glass, this is piacea ,
lutside the builaing, in such a position
hat the sua shines directly upon it. J
The heat-rays of the sun pass through j
he glass and are absorbed by the iron,
leating it to a high temperature, and by (
i system of ventilation a current of air is ,
>assed through the apparatus and intD \
he room to be heated. By this means <
he air has been heated on sunny days to
bout ninety degrees, Fahrenheit, bn j
assing over the iron. (
A Jl.jnaTer's D l9inma.
There is a story going the rounds
bout the late J. C. Engel, director of
(roll's Opera House, Berlin. He asked
wo of his stars, Nachbaur and Reich- <
aann, into his sanctum, and invited 1
hem to mention their conditions for a
lew engagement. ''Well," said Jiach- 1
laur, '-you know my terms. Half the <
;ross receipts." ' I also," said Keichnann;
"I cannot take less thau half the ]
;i08s." "Gentlemeu," gravely replied i
f. C. Engel, ''supposing I accept, will 1
ou, occasionally, let me ha e a free 1
icket? I should like to be able to enter 1
ay own theatre."
' > - . ' >- . ... ... * o*, r'.
. .. .. ... . - -r .
?
-DUTCH BOERiT"
LIFE IN A QUEER SOUTH AFRICAN
COMMUNITY.
Modes of Salutation?Accomplished
Herbalists?Their Skilfal
Marksmanship?Religious
and Social Customs.
The traveller (I speak of one who ia
supposed to understand Boer speech and
habits) arrives at a farmhouse in, say,
the Orange -Free State. A farmhouse
may have one field of forage and a stone
kraal; otherwise the farm is open country.
He will not off-saddle his horse
without receiving permission; this having
been asked for and granted, the
farmer leads him through the half doors
into the main apartment. There is
home-made furniture, numerous pink
and white paper flowers, and painted on
the walla vases of fruit. The visitor will
proceed to shake hands, commencing
with the stout vrauw and ending with
thfl hfthv in arms. This is not the Encr- i
lish * hand-shake," but a resting of palm
within palm. The coffee?which is
made from sunrise to sunset?is then
brought in in bowls, tobacco pouches
are exchanged, and conversation, which
seldom varies, commences.- The visitor
and-- the farmer answer or reply
pretty much as follows: "The veld is
green. The clouds are heavy; there will
be a thunderstorm to-morrow. I have a
very line red horse runniDg. Nachtmaal
(communion) will be next month. My
vrauw has a cold. The president is a
fine man. Japie De Villiers [pronounced
Vilje, and minus the prefix I has had a
ram born with five heads. The Hnglish
are thieves." The hand-shaking ceremony
is then repeated, the horse, led and
rested, is brought round, the traveller
mounts, smacks his sjambock, shows off
his steed and proceeds on his journey.
The farmers have trained ponies to a
special pace called a "tripple." and a
good "trippler" is always prized. With
this pace no "porting"of the saddle, is i
required, and on a long journey the j
trippler will arrive each night without j
turning a nair, wane ue ironing aorae,
his companion, may be done up. Distance
is reckoned by time?six miles to
the hour. If an Englishman near the
hour of sunset asks a Dutchman where
such a Tillage lies, he will be answered
by a raised hand and "a little way over
that hill." You then ride ten miles and
sleep out in a thunderstorm, perhaps.
You reach the village the following mid-,
day.
Superstition and fear of contagious
disease are great among this people.
The Dutch are accomplished herbalists,
doubtless obtaining, their knowledge
from the Hottentots and Bushmen;
they have herb brandies for colics, and
plants for sores. They are often-the
prty of quack doctors; the more as genuine
practitioners, who have to go long
distances, charge heavily. A Dutchman
is satisSed with the treatment so long as
his mcdical adviser brings to the house a
quart bottle of physic; if he presents
him'vtith a small phial he doubts his
skill, and sends for another man. The
3 3 i - J if? t ???? I
aeau are uuneu uu me innuj, auu
them traveling masons erect mausoleums
of brick. Dutch women are enormous
in size, good cooks in their style,
gobble sweets and cakes all day and
take little exercise. But now and then
a Dutch wife and hor daughters may be
seen kraaling the sheep at evening.
Feather beds 8re greatly prized by
this people; they generally carry their
goods with them. on journeys. Annually
the farmhouse on the "low veld" is
shut up, and the sheep and cattle are
taken scores of miles up to the "high
teld" for mountain f pasture. Beside
some rushing stream the wasrons are
camped, perhaps tents are pitched, and
domestic life goes on as usuaL Fowls
cluck among the wild grasses, and the
cows are milked beneath the shadows of
mighty mountains.
The general belief in the excellence of
Boer shooting is nb delusion. I was once
with a dutchman on a high mountain
road near the De Kaap; three bucks
leapt down the rocks of a low kopje by
the way; with a Martini-Henry rifle he
brought down two out of the three.
Hunting at Loeuwe Pan (Lion Pan),
Bechuanaland, Captain X. went out'
early in the morning for springbok, which
move in thousands upon these yellow
prairies. It was my turn to cook, and a
Boer (erstwhile a freebooter), who squattered
in a miserable clay cabin near by,
came and ?at by the fire. Captain X. returned
at four o'clock; he had shot no
buck, and was in a bad temper. I
pointed to the Dutchman. Captain X.
gave the Boer eight cartridges; the buck
would be ours, the balance of ammunition
his. The Boer mounted his white
paarde, took our shooting nag Moses
with him, and rode off on to tbe veld,
In twenty minutes tbe man returned,
Moses indignantly resigned under the
weight of two line springbok. The Boer
had used only two cartridges: six remained
his property. His weapon wa9
Martini-Henry carbine, on which he had
-1??/*? ! Art i f?AfTT oinrKf
piaucu au ifvij ojguv*
The ; people are excessively fond of
music and dancing; concertina, harmonium,
and fiddle are their delight.
A. withered Hottentot dwarf will draw
a strain from the sole of an oid shoe
Btrung with sinew, and men and maidens
will vigorously dance to it for hours.
The Boers have a bad character for pilfering.
When the men and women eater
an up-country store they are allowed to
carry off small goods like sweets or ribbons,
which they unconsciously pay for
in the bill. The farmers are not often
rich in money, their wool crops being
mortgaged sometimes to the stores for
two seasons ahead.
The Boers are great religious formalists
; and at certain time.? they and their
families ride into the villages from great
distances to celebrate the Nachtmaa1
(night meal of communion), their wagons
loaded with produce?presents fothe
parsons. At this time business it
brisk and the streets are like a fair.
The most curious traits shown by the
Boers are in their courting customs. A
poung Boer whose heart has been moved
by some charming ineisje, asks permis
aion cf the parents to "sit up." The
girl's dowry will be 200 hatnmels (sheep)
j.nd if the suitor is considered desirable
in regard to land, permission is granted.
The old vrauw then places two yellow
jandles upon the rough table, and the
pair are left to themselves, when the
courtship proceeds until the last spark
jn the black candle wick dies out.
Rightly or wrongly the action of salt on
the dying wick is supposed to reanimate
the flame: and the artful pair sprinkle it
accordingly.?London Standard.
Largest Schooner Afloat.
A schooner building at Wa!doboro,
Me., is expected to be the largest vessel
sf its kind afloat. It is of the centerboard
pattern, and will carry live masts.
Her length of keel is 2j.j feet, her
breadth is ;>0 feet, depth of hold twentyjne
feet, and her measurement will be
1800 tons. Her masts will be of Oregon
pine, and -her foremasts, mainmast,
nizzenmast, spankermast ar*d jigger will
je each 115 feet in length. She will
lave two full decks running the eutire 1
length of the vessel and nine hatches.
*
From the Far North.
Across the rocky desert of northW itf-~ * dj
era British America daring the summear. .
months scores of wagon trains make their
way southward, or at least downward, ;>)
following the great slopes of the ccnti- -ii
nent, each and all having for an objective , point
some post of the Hudson Bay Company.
Vast shaly levels are these, broken
into ravines and upheavals, till they
hardly deserve the name of plains, destitute
of vegetation save along the water- :'i?i
courses, and with so little of animal life 'Mfr
that the hunter never expects to find Vjg
game unless it has fled into the desert to v
escape its pursuers. Most of these train* ,
are laden with furs, the result of the last v'^3
winter's hunting and trapping in the far
North. Mink, deer, otter, sable, beaver,
bear and the rest, with here and there , ; ^
even now a 41 green" buffalo hide, are
brought in this manner hundreds of V
miles.
The enterprising American wagonmaker,
with the marvellously light and J^|||
strong products of his shop and its woodworking
machinery, has not yet pushed
his wares into those desolate regions. In- 'Wi
deed it would hardly pay him to do so. - 'M
for the population rarely has any ready '?
cash to expend on modern improvement*, Jgj
and moreover it naa aDunaanc time on *??
its hands to whittle patiently away ott. f
"fellies" and spokes until a vehicle is y*
produced that meets his requirements,"
and is in many respects a marvel of ingcnuity,
though somewhat rude when
considered from the standpoint of artistic _ ' ;Y$|
workmanship.
The wood-work is all hewn out in the ;$jj
rough with the axe, and largely finished.'. p
oil with the same universal tool. It i? wonderful
how a keen-edged axe ia;
skilful hands may bo made to do the
work of plane, spokeshave, and adze.
Not that these Northern craftsmen do . ^
not have other tools, and know how t?
use them after a fashion, but their equip-;
ment, when compared with that of V
journeyman mechanic, is exceedingly
meagre. If a civilized wagon-ihalcer
were given a set of half-breed tools, and
told to make a wagon out of a log, he
would probably strike work forthwith, fSja
and call on his Union for a peremptory ^
"boycott."
The 4-quarter-bred Indian French,'*
whea they are clad in the height of
metropolitan winter fashion, wear the. *?
comfortable blanket coats that hive - '
recently been imported with toboggan* " -ft
from across the border. The harnesses 4:
are of rawhide?strong, durable, simple,
and requiring very little expenditure ra rgs
the way of blacking or other carc, notwithstanding
the rough usage to which
they are aubjected. 1'awhido is used {
also for many of the lashings about the .
wagons.
A train often contains a large number-,
of wagons, and stretches for a long dis- ' "4
tance over the rocky ways that pasw for
roads. The crcaking of the looao-)ointod ". -.fi
wheels and the shouts of the drivers maf'^^H
often be beard long before the train. / W
comes in sight
" The admixture of Krtnch and Indian
blood has produced a tyj.c that possesses ' '/M
many of the worst and some of the best/;
characteristics of both races,-and in
watching the passage of a train one is
pretty ccrtain to see all the dillorent
grades, ranging from red to swarthy in
complexion, and from Gaul to Indiania
feature.?Ilarjicr'i Weekly.
Fishermen in History. '
Caius Marius, when ho fled from tW
court of Hicmpsal of Nomidia, effected
hiHOHaipc by the assistance of fishermen. __ v*
sending as a message to his enemies the . ;
' 11 ' * J,/ ' " * - * l?" I^AfMAd " - >t*'|
KJIIOWlUg: ' UU nilj IV IUC nuuiuii >.??ernor
that thou hast seen the exile Ma- ; ,
rius sitting on the ruins of Carthage."
"VVben I he ^rcat Pomncy was overthrow a
on the plains of Pharsalia, he found
shelter and rest in the hut of a fisber- . , ^
man. The unfortunate Mary of Scot- -%j8j
land suffered a decisive defeat from her "
rchel nobles. She crosscd the Frilh of
Sol way in a liahing bark, and was safe j '.-.v
from her own subjects. Charles tho
Second, after the faial termination of
the battle of Worcester, lied for his life,
aud was glad to accept the humble hot- ^ <
pilality of tbo fisherman, Tattcrsal, who *
betrayed not his great trust. At the :>t :;1
battle of Culloden, which was the death
blow to the hopes of Prince Charles I'M* VJ
ward, lie fled, trusting neither noble nor
knight, but sought aud found conceal- y
mcnt aud succor among the humble but
devoted fishermen, who had ever beea
loyal to the Stuart". Massanicllo, the '
young fisherman of Is'nple*, led ni3 ' ??
conn try men iu revolt agnidst iSpuDish
mlc, and rose to supreme power amid ;.|i
the greatest of the land.
In tho colonization of Massachusetts,
when both men and money were required J,
for the public defence, fishermen were
exempted from the performance of mili- t '.
tary duties and the payment of taxes.
Scorning to screen thomselvcs behind.
special "privileges, the fit-hermcn of
Marblehcad, Salem, Beverly, Newbury- *
port and numerous other fishing places
of note, rallied to the defence of the v;:
Hag, nnd in all the wars known to the
country have boruc their full share. '*&
Marblehcad sent nearly every able bodied
man to the cam]) or continental vessels
of war. No other town in the United
Stales suffered in population and property,
in proportion to size, as she did.
The close of the contest showed within
??./* lmrdnm r\ f ?]?/> Innn 4 .'Si widows and
IUV UVI UVW V4 ?UW w ? M .wv, ^
9ti(i fatherless children.
"\Vliere Do Flies Go in Winter?
Some one has asked, * Where do flioa
go in winter?" This is a question of
some interest, for a house tiy is born fully
growu and of mature size, and there- are
no little tiies of the same species, the
small ones occasionally observed being
ditlerent in kind from the larger ones.
The house fly does not bite or pierce the
skin, but gathers its food by a comb or *
rake or brush-like tonjrue, with which
it is able to scrape the varnish from * (v
covers of books, and thus it tickles the
skin of a person upon whom it alights to
feed upon the perspiratiou. A tiy is a
scavenger, and is a vehicle by which contagious
diseases are spread. It poisons
wounds and inav carry deadly virus from
decaying organic matter into food. 16
retire* from the sight at the beginning
of the winter, but where it goes few persons
know. If a search of the house bo
made they will be l'ouad in great numbers
secreted in warm places in the roof
or between the partitions or floor*. Last
winter we had occasian to examine a
roof, and found around the chimney
myriads of Hies hibernating comlortably
and sufficiently lively to riy when disturbed
"in overpower,ng clouds." No
doubt tfcis is a favorite winter resort for
these creaturcs.?Boston (Jiobt.
An Inhuman Episode.
A Massachusetts paper prints an
account of a remarkable scene at Kevere
Beach on a recent Sunday. A man was
in danger of drowning in the surf, and
while efforts were being made to launch
the life-boat,the Sunday pleasure seekers
stood by, laughed and applauded. The
baud struck up "The Girl I 1 eft Behind
Me," and every delay and blunder increased
the merriment. The efforts to
save the mau were unavailing, aud Ilia
dead body was brought ashore.?Nvto
York Sun.