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W ' 3 REV. DR. TALMAGE. THE BROOKLYN DIVINE'S SUN DAY SERMON. Subject: "Trouble on Both Sides " Text: "Thore tons a sharp rock on the one side, and a sharp rock on the other side."?1. Samuel, xiv, 4. The cruel army of the Philistines must be taken and scattered. There is just one man, accompanied by his bodyguard, to do that : thing. Jonathan is the hero of the scene. I i know that David cracked tho skull of the | giant with a few pebbles well slung, and that ] [ three hundrel Gideonites scattered tea thou- j I 9and Amalekites by the crash of broken crock- i ery; but here is a more wonderful conflict. 1 Yonder are the Philistines on the ro.-ks. j Here is Jonathan with his bodyguard in the j valley. On the one side is a rock called i Bozez; on the oth.^r side is a rock called j Seneh. These two were as famous in olden j 1 times as in modern times are Plymouth Rock i and Gibralter. They were precipitous, uu j 1 1 ~1?? D,. H,?-? i a^aicauio, uuu ouai p. uctt?ccu tuuoo n?v j rocks Jonathan must make his ascent. The j day comes for the scaling of the height. Jonathan, ou his hinds an 1 feet, begins the j ascent. With strain, and slip, and bruise, | I suppose, but still on and up, first goes : Jonathan, and then goes his b.dvguarJ. | Bozez on one side, Seneti on the other. Alter i a sharp tug, and push, and clinging, I sefe the head of Jonathan above the hob in the mountain; and there is a challenge, and a fight, and a supernatural consternation. ' These two men, Jonathan and his bodyguard, drive back and drive down the Philistines over the rocks, and open a campaign which demo'ishe3 the enemies of Israel. I suppose that the overhanging and overshadowing rocks on either side did not balk or dis' oarten Jonathan or his bodyguard, but only roused and filled them with enthusiasm as they went up. "There was a sharp rock on the one side and a sharp rock on the other side." My friends, you have been, or are now, Bome of you, in this crisis of the text. If a man meets one trouble, he can go through with it He gathers all hi? energiK, concentrates them upon one point, anain the strength of God, or by his own natural determination, goes through it But the man who has trouble to the right of him,and trouble to the left of him is to be pitied. ( Did either trouble come alone, he might endure it, but two troubles, two disasters, two overshadowing misfortunes, are Bozez and Seneh. God pity him! "There is a sharp rock on the one side and a sharp rock , on the other side." In this crisis of the text is that mail whose fortune and health fail him at the same time. Nine-tenths of all our merchants capsize in business before they come to forty-live years of age. There is some collision in commercial circles, and they stop payment. It seems as if every man must put his name on the back of a note before he learns what a fool a man is who risks all his own property on tha prospect that some man will tell tbe truth. It seemsas if a man must have a large amount of unsalable goods on his own shelf before he learns how much easier it is to buy than to sell. It seems as if every man must be j completely burned out before he learns the importance of always keeping fully insured. It seems as if every man must be wrecked in a financial tempest before he learns to keep things snug in case of a sudden curoclydon. When the calamity does come it is awful. The man goes home in despair, and he tells his family: "We'll have to go to the paorhouse." He takes a dolorous view of everything. It seems as if he never could rise. But a little time passes, and he says: "Why, lam not so badly off after all; I have my family left." Before the Lord turn?d Adam out of Paradise he gave him Eve, so that when he lost ' Paradise he could stand it. Permit one who has never read but a few novels in all his life, j and who has not a great deal of romance in his composition, to say. that if, when a man's fortunes fail, he has a good wife?a gool Christian wife?he ought not to be despondent "Oh," you say, 'that only increases the embarrassment, since you have her also to take care of." You are an ingrate, for the woman as often supports the man as the man 1 supports the woman. The man may bring | all the dollars, but the woman generally i brings the courage and the faith in God. I Well, this man of whom I am speaking : looks around, and he finds bis family is left, j and be rallies, and the light comes to his i svm and t.hft smile tf> his fara. and tha ! courage to his heart. In two years he is ; quite over it He makes his financial : calamity the first chapter in a new era of j prosperity. He met that one trouble?con- I quered it. .He sat down for a little while j tinder the grim shadow of the rock Bozez; \ yet he soon rose, and began, like Jonathau, to climb. But how often is it that physical ailment comes with financial embarrassment. I When the fortune failed it broke the man's j spirit. His nerves were shattered. His brain , was stunned. I can show you hundreds of men iu New York whose fortune and health failed at the same time. They came pre- I maturely to the staff. Their hand trembled j with incipient paralysis. They never saw a j well day since the "hour when they called their creditors together for a compromise. If such men are impatient, and peculiar, and irritable, excuse them. Iliey had two troubles; either one of which they could have met successfully. If, when the health went, the fortune had been retained, it wnuld not have been so bad. The ; man could have bought the very best medical advice, and he could have had the very best attendance, and long lines of carriages would j have stopped at the front door to inquire as to his welfare. But po verty on the one side, ; and sickness on the other, are Bozez and 1 Seneh, and they interlock their shadows, and dfop them upon the poor man's way. God help him! "There is a sasrp rock on the one I side, ana a snarp rocK oa me oiner siue. Now, what is such a man to do? In the ' name of Almichty God, I will tell him what to da Do as Jonathan did?climb: climb up into the sunlight of God's favor and consolation. I can go through the churches, aud show you men who lost fortune and health at the same time, and yet who sing all day and dream of heaven all night. If you have [ 'any idea thatso.ind digestion, and steady nerves, and clear eyesight, and good nearing, and plenty of friends, are necessary to ! make a man happy, you have miscalculated. I I suppose that these overhanging rocks only J made Jonuthan a.ramb'.o harder nnd the j faster to get up and out into the sunlight; I ana cn:s comoiiiea snauuvv tu juvuuuisui uuu financial embarrassment has often sent a man up the ^quicker into the sunlight of (rod's ' favor and. the noonday of His glorious promises. It is a difficu t thing for a man to feel his dependence upon God waen ha has ten thousand dollars in the bank, and filty thousand dollars in Government securities, and a block ofstoresan 1 threeships. ''Well," the man says to himself, "it is silly for me to pray: 'Give me this day my daily bread,' when my pantry is full, and the canals from the West are crowded with breadstuff9 destined for my storehouses." Oh, my friends, if the combined misfortunes and disasters of life have made you climb up into the arms of a sympathetic and compassionate God, through all eternity you will bless Him that in this world "there was a sharp rock on the one side, and a sharp rode on the other side."' Again, that man is in the crisis of the text who has home troubles and outside persecution at the same time. The world treats a man well just as long as it pays best to treat him well. As long as it can manufacture success out of his bone and brain, and muscle, it favors him. The world fattens the horse it wants to drive. But let a man I see ic ma amy u> cross me iracK 01 me world, then every bush is full of horns and tusks thrust at him. They will belittle him; they will caricature him; they will cail his generosity self-aggrandizement. and his piety sanctimoniousness. The very worst persecution will some time come upon him from those who profess to be Christians. John Milton?great and good John Milton ?so forgot himself as to pray, in so many words, that his enemies miuht be eternally thrown down into the darkest and deepest gulf of hell, and be the undermost and most dejected and the lowest down vassals of perdition! And Martin Luther so far forgot himself as to say, in regard to his theological opponents: "Fut them in whatever sauce you please, roasted, or tried, or baked, or stewed, or boiled, or hashed, they are nothing but asses!" Ah, my friends, if John Milton or Martin Luther could come down to such scnrility, what may you not expect from less elevated opponents? Now, the world .sometimes takes after them; the newspapers take after them; public opinion takes after them; and tbe unfortunate man is lied about until all the dictionary of Billingsgate is exhausted on him. You often see a man whom you know 10 be good and pure and honest set upon by the world, and mauled by whole communities, while vicious men take on a supercilious air in condemnation of him, as though Lord Jeffreys should write an essay on gentleness, or Henry VIII. talk about parity, or Herod take to blessing little % Now, a certain amount of persecution! rouses a man's defiaBce, stirs his blood for magnificent battle, and makes him fifty times more a man than he would have been without the persecution. So it was with the | great reformer when he said: "I will | not be put down; I will be heard." And so I it was with Millard, the preacher, in the time i of Louis XI. When Louis XI. sent word to I him that unless he stopped preaching in that ! ttyle he would throw him into the river he ! replied: "Tell the king that I will reach heaven sooner by water than he will reach it by fist horses." A certain amount of persecution is a tonic and inspiration, but too much of it, and too long continued, becomes the rock Bozez, throwing a dark shadow over a man's life. What is ho to do then/ Go home,you say. Good advice, that That is just the place for a man to go when the world abuses him. Go hom ?. Blessed be God for our quiet and sympathetic homes. But there is many a man who has the reputation of having a home when he has none. Through iinthinL'innrnocc ?nr r?rftr?init-fltinn t.hArA am many matches made that ought never to have been made. An officiating priest cannot alone unite a couple. The Lord Almighty must proclaim banns. There i3 many a home in which there is no sympathy, and no happiness, and no good cheer. The clamor of the battle may not have been heard outside, but God knows, notwithstand-' ingall the playing of the "Wedding March," and all the odor cf the orange blossoms, and the bene liction of the officiating pastor, there has been no marriage. Sometimes men have awakened to find on one side of them the rock of persecution, and on the other s.de the rock of domestic infelicity. What shall such a one do? Do as Jonathan did?climb. Get up the heiehts of God's consolation, from which we may look down in triumph upon outside persecution and home trouble. While good and great John Wesley was being silenced by the magistrates, and having his name written on the board-fences of London in doggerel, at that very time his wife was making him as miserable as she could?acting as though she were possessed with the devil, as I suppose she was; never doing him a kindness until the dav she ran away, so that he wrote in his dairy these | words: "1 did not forsake her; I have not j dismissed her; I will not recall her." Plant- | ing one foot?John Wesley did?upon outside i persecution, and the other foot on home . trouble, he climbed up into the heights of | Christian joy, and after preaching forty | thousaud sermons, and traveling two hundred and seventy thousand miles, reached the heights of h?aven, though in this world he had it hard e lough?"a sharp rock on the j one side, snd a sharp rock on the other.'' Again, tha' wjraan stands in the crisis of the text, who has bereavement and a struggle Tor a livelihood at the same time. Without mentioning name3, I sneak from observation Ah, it is a hard thing for a woman to make an honest living, even when her heart is not troubled, ani she has a fair cheek and the magnetism of an exquisite presence. But now the husband, or the father, is dead. The expenses of the obsequies have absorbej all that was left in the savings bank; and wan and wasted with wponincr she eroes forth?a grave, | a hearse, a coffin, behind her?to contend for her existence and the existence of her children. When I see such a.battle as that open I shut ray eves at the ghastlineas of the spectacle. Men sit with embroidered slippers and write heartless essays about women's wages; but that question is made up of tears and blood, and there is more blood than tears. Oh, give women free access to all the realms where she can get a livelihood, from the telegraph office to the pulpit. Let men's wages be cut down before hers are cut down. Men have iron in their souls and can stand it Make the way free to her of the broken i heart. May God put into my hand the cold, bitter cup of privation, and give me nothing I but a windowless hut for shelter for many I years, rather than that after I am dead there ] should go out from my home into the pitiless world a woman's arm to fight the Gettysburg, the Austerlitz, the Waterloo of life for bread. And yet how many women there are seated between the rock of bereavement on the one side, and the rock of destitution on the other?Bozez and Seneh interlocking their shadow and dropping them upon her miserable way. "Tnere is a sharp roc-t on the one ! side, and a sharp rock on the other side." What are su^h to do? Somehow, let them climb up into tin heights of the glorious I promise: "Leave thy fatherless cnuaren; i will preserve them alive, and let thy widows trust in Me." Or get up into the heights of that other glorious promise: "The Lord preserveth the stranger and relieveth the widow and the fatherless." O! ye sewing woman on starving wages. 0! ye widows turned out from the once beautiful home. O! i ye female teachers, kept on niggardly stipend. 0! ye despairing woman,seeking in vain l or work, wandering along the docks,an ! thinking to throw yourself into the river last night. 0! ye women of weak nerves and aching side's, and short breath and broken heart, you need something more than human sympathy; you need the sympathy of Uod. Climb up into His arms. He knows it all, and He loves you more than father, or " J U -- 4i,l . motner, or nusoauu ever vuuju UI OICI uiu, and instead of sitting down, wringing your hands in despair, you bad better begin to climb. There are height? of consolation for you, though now "there is a sharp rock on the one side, and a sharp rock on the other side." Again, that man is in the crisis of the text who ha3 a wast?d life on the one side, and an illuminated eternity on the other. Though a man may all his life have cultured deliberation and self-poise, if he gets into that position all his s 'lf-posse-sion is gone. There are all the wrong thoughts of his existence, all the wrong deeds, all the wrong words?strata i above strata, granitic, ponderous, over- j shadowing. That rock I call Bozez. On the other side are all the retributions of the future, the tbroufs of judgment, the eternal ages, angry with hi3 long deSance. That rock I call Seneh. Between these two rocks Lord Byron perished,and Alcibiades perished, and Herod perished, and ten thousand times ten thousand have perished. 0! manimmor- ] tal, man redeemed, man blood-bought, climb ' up out of those shadows. Climb up by the - * * ^ tt ?! way.oi tne cross, nave your ?aai?u mo , forgiven; have" your eiei*n&t life secured, j This morning just take one look to the past j aud see what it has been, and take one look to the future and see what it threatens to be. | You can afford to lose your health, you can l afford to lose your property, you can afford to lose your reputation; but you cannot afford to loss your foul. That bright, gleaming, glorious, precio js, eternal possession you must carry aloft in the day when the earth burns up and the heavens burst. You see from my subject that when a man goes into the safety and peace of the Gospel, he does not domean himself. There is nothing in re.igion that leads to meanness or unmanliness. The Gospel of Jesus Christ only asks you to climb as Jonathan did?climbtoward God, climb toward heaven, climb into the sunshine of God's favor. To become a Christian is not to go meanly down; it is to ; come gloriously up?up into the communion i of saints, up into the peace that passoth all i understanding, up into the companionship of angels. He lives up; be die* up. O: then, accept the wholesale invitation which I make this morning to all the people. Come up from between your invalidism and I financial embarrassments. Cjme up from j between a wasted life and an unillumined | etornity. Like Jonathan, climb with all j your might, instead of sitting down to wring i vnnr bands in the shadow and in the dark ! ness?"a sharp rock oq the one side, and a ! sharprock on the other side." A Disease as Well as a Vice. A writer in the Ladies' Pictorial says: "The fact that intemperance is often as much a disease as it is a vice has long been recognized by such of us women as has given any study to this subject?one which, I am sorry to say, is of growing importance as regards our sex. A friend of mine, who has devoted much time to the reclamation of female inebriates, tells me of two cases which illustrate the evil in the two extremes of social life. In the one case a very poor woman had become such a slave to it that it was only by stepping into the road in passing a publichouse and avoiding the mere smell of drink that she was able to keep the pledge. In another case a lady of good position used to ttirow nerseu 011 a couca, ciuse u? uj ?.a, clutch her hands, and literally tight against the craving when it came with exceptional force. Happily, she, too, conquered, but the two instances show painfully enough how intemperance may grow from a habit into a Well-nigh incurable disease in any class of wciety." The Two Houses. The public house and the private hous& declares Rev. William Arnot, cannot both thrive. The earnings of workingmen ar? not sufficient both to supply the wants of their own homes, and support an army of lazy landlords and well-fed landladies. One must go to the wall. Where the public house goes 3pdown goes the comfort of home; where thd homes grow warm and happy, the spiritshops are deserted and shut up. RELIGIOUS READING. , The Iamb Lout and Foand. A lamb had left the fold, And wandered far away, In search of greener grass, And flowers more sweet and gay. But no true food it found; The flowers that seemed so fair Were bitter to the taste; Poison was present there. The lamb still further strayed, But searched and searched in vain; Stumbling along the ground, Weary and weak with pain. It sank in miry bogs, With thorns its fleece wa3 torn; In fear of wolves, it soon Began to bleat and mourn. Tho Shepherd heard its voice And sought the lamb astray; He gladly gave His life To drive the wolf away. Within His loving arms The wandering lamb He brought Rejoicing He had found The treasure He had sought. Now, welcomed by the floclc, Happy and fafe at home, The grateful lamb resolves It ne'er again will roam. Dear Shepherd! give me grace Nover to leave Thy side, Nor seek strange food, content With all Thou dost provide. Still may I hear Thy voice, And follow at Thy call; Each whispered word obey, And love Thee alori all. A Belief In God, I will frankly tell you that my experience in prolonged scientific investigations convinces me that a belief in God?a God who fs behind and within the chaos cf vanishing points of human knowledge?add * a powerful stimulus to the man who attempts to penetrate into the regions of the unknown. Of myself I may say that I never make the preparations for penetrating into some small province of nature hitherto undiscovered without breathing a prayer to the Being who hides bis secrets from me only to allure me graciously on to the unfolding of them.? [Prof. Agassiz. The Meet of VnbelieC The eleventh chapter of Hebrews read3 like a poem. In that wonderful chapter the apostle describes the triumphs of faith. By faith the Red Sea was divided, the walls of Jericho fell down, the mouths of lions were stopped, the violence of fire quenched, and even the grave robbed of its prey. God's word everywhere represents faith as an irresistible power. By faith we become Christians. "He that believeth hath everlasting life." By faith we vanquish every foe. "This is the victory that overcomoth the world." By faith we maintain a serene and peaoeful spirit. "He that believeth shall not make haste." If such be the power of faith, terrible in its hindering effects must be the g>wer of unbelief, and so it is. When eter's faith fa led, he began to sink. The deciples could not heal the poor demoniac, because they had not sufficient fuith. We read of a certain place that Jesus "did not many mighty works there because of their unbelief." Mark adds that he "could not." Unbelief is the great troub!e with the church today. When Christians relegate to a p ist age many of the most precious gifts and endowments of the church,how can these promised blessings be verified? We have money, members and machinery, but- in many quarters these resources are rendered inert for want of faith. Jt may be said of many that they will believe any one but God, and in anything but his Word. Unbelief keeps men under the power of sin. prevents their coming to the cross, and it is the sin of all sin, because it robs the soul of pardon, peace ana neaven. Eve did not believe the word that God had spoken, and so ate the forbidden fruit. Thus unbelief let down the bars of Paradise, and lost man's primal purity. Very often when Christians get an answer to prayer, they publish the weakness of their faith by proclaiming it abroad as an astonishing thing, as though it were the most wonderful thing in the worM, that God had answered their prayer. Men and women who do believe God's promises in all their fulness and simplicity, are lookol upon by average Christians as marvels of faith and power. The wonderful thing really is not that a few fully believe God, but that $o many fa 1 to receive his promises. Unbelief is the barnacle upon the ship of Zion. Let but the gift of fail h descend upon the church in the fulness of its power, and the world will tremble before the advancing hosts of God.?[Rev. Jesse & Gilbert, A. M., in Times of Refreshing. A Oail r Benediction. On a granite shaft at the grave of a man who had filled many offices of honor and trust is this inscription, "He was a daily benediction in his home." What a splendid epitaph that is! "What <? grand tribute it is to the character of any man to say of him that he made his home happy! A German poet has said, "He is happiest, bo he king or peasant, who finds his happiness at home.'' May it not with equal truth be said that he is happiest who carries happiness into his hems, even as it is "more blessed to give than to receive." ' It was well to have a day set apart during the first week of the year to pray "for tiw hallowing of the home in all its relationships. " What a cluster of home-graces this is, "Love, joy, peace, long-suffering, kindness, coodness. faithfulness, meekness, temper ance!" These are the fruits of the Spirit, and he who hath thora will "show by his good life his work in meekness of wisdom." A friend of a good woman once said, "When I heard her giving orders to her servants I knew that her soul was at peace with her Master." It is ever true that "the fruit of righteousness is sown in peace for them that make peace." Good homes arethj surest foundation upon which the State can rest. Better for the State than bolts and bars, are love and law I in the homes. When these are wanting, I then come reformatories and prisons. | The home is the best place in which to sow the seed of the word. A Christian home is a church in the house, and a mother's pulpit is a good place from which to preach. How many prodigal boys and girls have been brought back to home and to Christ by the memory of a mother's counsel? and prayers? "What grander se;m ns are ever preached than the silent sermons of a godly life within the home? "It wasn't master's sermons, but it was master's life that did it," snid a clergyman's servant who had been brought to Christ. Perhaps there never was a time when the family-life more needed to have thi Christlife within it than it dees just now in these times of abounding temptations. How important it is that the young should be taught to "walk in the way of good men and keep the paths of the righteous." A good way to bring others to Christ is to give ourselves to Him ; a goon way to teach righteousness ol life is by the example of our own right living. It wus said of a distinKished New England jurist tint "he ed the Beatitudes daily." Who can fully estimate the power of such a life to win others to Christ? A life like that in the home would be of greater worth to thos? who bear the family name than great ricbes or earthly honor. An eloquent orator, who fills a large space in the history of his country, after making the bequests in his will, added these words: "This is all the inheritance 1 can give to my family. The religion of Christ can give them one which will make I them rich indeed." i That w. s a gocd prayer of David's, "Witt [ thy blessing let the house of thy servant b i blessed forever."?[N. Y. Observer. During a discussion of thesubiectof Christianity vs. Poverty, Newman liall said that after thirty-four years of work in London, he believed drink to be the chief cause of poverty. He estimated that $o50,000 is spent for intoxicants in London eva ry Saturday and Sunday. The Woman's Christian Temperance Union of Phiiippopolis, Turkey, has issued, in the native language, a small pamphlet with the title: "The use of intoxicating liquors: is it beneficial to health?' and a leaflet: "Taste not intoxicating liquors." The new Governor of fche Canadian Northwest has abolished prohibition in that section i and wUl grant permit? forthe gale of liquors. TEMPERANCE. The Temperance Tree. What a mighty tree tbou hast grown Since long years ago thy seed was sown, Sown in the hearts of men by hand divine, In days of old, look thou not upon the wina, Thy root is deep within the soil, Around tLo trunk no serpents coil, No fear from thee of adder's bite. Thou dost protect and aid the right. Thy branches reach across the sea All looking, reaching up toward Thee, ? Though not Rlike, yet joined in heavt, Of the grand old treo a part. To guard the home ibey all agree, .Like children of one great family, A refuge from the serpent's power, Thou art growing stronger every hour. Think not it can e'er be slain, "Truth crushed to earth will rise again," And right shall ever conquer wrong, Though the strife be fierce and long. Thy foes have tried, but all in vain, To stay thy branches, rend thee in twain, Yet all united thou still dost staud For God, and home, and native land. ?Ellen A gnes Marlin. Hum's Trade Statistics. There were in 18S7 207,994 registered dealers in all liquors in the United States; we presume they all had licenses; 79,433,446 gallons of distilled liquors and 71C,707,306gallons of malt liquars were produced in the United States during the year ending June 39, 1887. Mr. Edward Atkinson estimates tfce total annual direct cost of liquor to the public of the United States at $700,000,000; this amount does not include the taxes, criminal and pauper charges imposed by the liquor traffic.?New York Sun. Alcohol Dulls the Moral Sense. Deterioration of the moral obligation is, asserts Dr. W. C. Towers, among the earlier phenomena of alcoholism. It is perverted and enfeebled, and sentiments of noDor, of J reputation and of decency are no longer [ cherished or regarded. "The responsibilities of social life and the proprieties of parsonal conduct are no longer considered. He who was thoughtful uow becomes negligent, seirishand indifferent; gives himself up to indulgences,and cares not for his reputation or that of his family. The conceptions of duty, of honor, of justice are lost." These changes are gradual and progressive, their evolution being largely influenced by the hereditary traits and previous moral culture of the individual The sense of obligation to his family is forgotten, and the responsibility of providing for and caring for others is unfelt. The afTections are not only enfeebled, but Eerverted, and not rarely are they displaced y hatred and aversion. He who was calm, reasonable and patient becomes excitable and perverse and intolerable of opposition after a while, the character being more changed, joys and sorrows fail to provoke real feeling. At last the confirmed sot manifests moral traits that are simply infantile. Father Mathew's Fable. Father Mathew frequently used the following illustration: A very fat old duck went out early one morning in pursuit of worms, and, alter being out all day, she succeeded in filling her crop full of worms; she bad the misfortune to be met by a fox, who at once prt)posed to take her life to satisfy his hunger. The old duck appealed, argued, implored, remonsti ated. She said to the I ox: "You cannot be so wicked and hard-hearted as to take the life of a harmless duck merely to satisfy the cravings of hunger?" She exhorted bim against the commission of so great a sin, and begged him not to stain his soul with innocent blood. When the fox could stand her cant no longer, he said: "Out upon you, madam, with all your fine feathers; you're a pretty thing to lecture me for taking life to satisfy my hunger. Is not your own crop full of worms? You destroy more lives in one day than I do in a month." This was Father Mathew's reply to the makers and venders of liquor when they charged him with spoiling their trade and taking the bread from the lips of their children. Belgium's Blenace. M. Emile Lavelaye, writing with great earnestness and urgency on the economic crisis in Belgium, adopts the line of argument with which Britain has been familiarized by the late William Hoyle, and charges his countrymen with wasting by far too large a share of their means in the consumption of alcoholic liquors. There is a cabaret for every ten families in Belgium, and within the last fourteen years the consumption of drink has doubled. Whereas the drink bill of Britain is declining, that of Bel - * 'J. Y 1 glum JS goiug up. m. ue juaveiujo uuuip'ains that the government encourages aram-drinking by not making "the trade" contribute sufficiently to the cost of government. The spirit duty is only one-fourth of what it is in France, aDd one-tenth of what it is in England.? New York Observer. 'lo He urunK is a Sin. To drink deeply?to be drunk?is, say9 the great English statesman, John Bright, a sin; this is not denied. At what point does the taking of strong drink became a sin? We suppose a man perfectly sober; one glass excites him. and to some extent disturbs the state of sobriety, and so far destroys it; another glass excites him still more; a third fires his eye, loosens his tongue, inflames his passions; a fourth increases all this; a fifth makes him rooiisn and partially insane; a sixth makes him stupid?a senseless, degraded mass. But when does the sin begin? At the first step toward complete intoxication, or at the sixth, seventh or eighth? Is not every step from the natural state of the system toward the state of stupid intoxication an advance in sin. and a yielding to the unwearied tempter of the soul? Temperance News and Notes. Eternal temperance is the price of good health. Of 3000 convicted criminals examined by a French medical man, M. Marambet, more than half were drunkards. The Topeka Capital says: "Kansas has saved nearly $12,000,000 since she turned her back on the whisky traffic." r net-, vnnr 0(50 distilleries of this country produced 75,974,370 gallons df whisky, with an average net profit of $78,404. Dr. Norman Kerr says one of the effects of inebriety is "unblushing lying," and that in police court3 it is carried to an alarming extent. There are now eight mission vessels cruising in the North Sea, each a combination of church, chapel, temperance hall and dispeusary. That was a wise reflection of the philosopher who said: "He who spends too much time before fche bar is apt to bring up behind the bars." The population of the Kansas penitentiary has decreased sixty during the past year, and several poorhousej have closed for lack of patronage. The St. Petersburg (Russia) Zeitung says. "The race which proves unwilling to be free from alcohol will be mercilessly trodden under foot." Out of the 200,000,000 natives under British rule in India, there are 150,000,000 whose religion requires them to abstain from intoxicating drink. Fx-Governor Berry, of New Hampshire, who is now in bis ninety-second year, organized the first temperance society In the State, at Hebron, sixty-two years ago. Through the efforts of Mrs. E. S. Moffat, Assistant Superintendent for department of soldiers and sailors, a law has been secured prohibiting the sale of liquor within one mile of the Soldiers' Home at Grand Rapids, Mich. Cardinal Manning, the eminent representative of the Roman Catholic Church in Eng Jand, says: "The drink trade, wnicn lsgiu ing every year, is our national sin, our national shame, and if not arrested soon, will be our national ruin." Luther Benson, the Indiana temperance orator, is described as a second Gough. He was once a forsaken drunkard, but reformed and is now a consistent church member. He is an eloquent speaker. He is a heavy set man, with a deep bass voice and raven black hair. As the annual local consumption in France of brandy is 12,000,000 gallons and the yearly product only 13,0JO,000 gallons, American lovers of eau de vie are wondering what the stuff is which comos across the Atlantic labeled as French brandy. Scientific experts say that most of it is cheap German spirits, flavored with cunningly devised extracts and * cordial*. .. _? __ CURIOUS FACTS. A silver penny was thirteen cents. A hog will not eat a watermelon. Collegiate decrees are coeval with universities. An ephah, or bath, coutains seven gallons and five pints. Photographs have been taken by the light from a fireplace. Calming'the sea with oil is now regularly and systematically done. A Biblical day's journey was about twenty-three and one-fifth miles. A French laundryman cleans linen without soap by rubbing it with boiled potatoes. Mr. Bullington, of Georgia, has just baptized his own wife?a case never heard of before. Transplanting teeth has been revived. It was done twenty-five or thirty years ago in very rare cases. It is proposed to build a three foot wiae cinaer patn between JNew iorK and New Haven for bicycles. Masters and doctors existed A.D. 826. Those in law are traced up to 1140, in medicine to 1384, in music to 14G3. A vulture, measuring nine feet from tip to tip, was lately shot near Jul'en, Cal.,as it was sailing awuy with a full grown sheep in its claws. * One of the curiosities exhibited at the Cincinnati Centennial is a petrified watermelon, which was found near the quarries of the Southern Granite Company, at Lithonia, Ga. A Scotch paper has this singular advertisement: "To be let, a beggar's stand, in a good, charitable neighborhood, bringing in about thirty shillings per week. Some good will is required. "* Gov. Crittenden's favorite daughter, tipon her death bed, asked a pardon for Stevenson, a convict who had used his leisure to make toys for the child, and so won her heart. The Missouri Governor granted the request. Parchment wa3 invented for writing 1 1 1 V. ? ~ C T"? 1.1 DOOK3 uy r-uuieues, ui i ergumus, ma founder of the celebrated library of Pergamus, formed on the model of Alexandria, about 190 B. C. Parchment books from this time became most u3ed. A campaign torch is being made in large quantities with an air tube up the handle. By blowing in the tube the flame-can be made to leap up about twofeet for an instant. The effect of a thousand such spurts of fire at once-will be striking. Edison is perfecting a device consisting of a female face, which he proposes to set in the face of a clock. The lips of this figure will move at the hour, the head will bow and the fictitious lady will say: "Good evening, ladies and gentlemen, it is bedtime." T_ it 11_ _ r xl L T1 I* . i in me rows 01 uie uruisn raruauien/r 1445, is a petition from two counties setting forth that the number of attorneys had lately increased from six to twentyfour, whereby the peace of those counties bad been interrupted by lawsuits. They asked that the number be reduced to fourteen. Captain George Murphy, of Philadelphia, possesses amoDg other relics, the barrel of John Brown's riflle. It is an octagonal smooth-bore Springfield, weighing about twenty pounds, and has a telescopic attachment. Near the butt is a little silver plate set in steel, bearing the name of John Brown. The battle of the Thames was fought by Cencral Harrison ou the 5th of October, 1S1.5, against the 'British and the Indians under Proctor and Tecumseh. In this battle Tecumseh was among the killed. The result of this victory was i the recoverv of Michigan and the termina- I tion of the war in the Northwest. Postal Chirogi aphy. "How about the difficulty of illegible handwritings?" asked a Ilera'd reporter of the Superintendent of the Chicago Post Office. ''Well, that is, generally speaking, not as bad as might be expected, especially in a cosmopolitan city like Chicago, which can boast of all sorts of national handwritings. Long practice j has skilled our eyesight and gift of dis- ! tinction so that we but rarely have difficulty in deciphering any style of writing. In my tweuty years' experience I think I remember only two or three oc- j casions where I was unable to make the writing out. Judged by nationalities the Chinese are by all odds the worst penmen?that is, of our style of writing. You'd die laughing if you could see sometimes the chirography some of those almond-eyed gentlemen indulge in. ' "The Italians come next as illegible writers, and then some of the Scanaina- I vians and a few of the Germans, who affect German script and got off some very bold figures with the pen. The Americans are, that goes without saying, the plainest aud most distinct writers. But even among them there are a good many who affect such peculiarities of handwriting that puzzle us not a little. Especially what's called the 'backhanded' ones?-it may look, pie'.ty enough, but the characters all run into i each other and make the effect of blurr- j ing the -whole. It takes study to decipher this style of writing, and you often have to twist the letter and turn it sideways and upside down to get any sense of it." A Curious Cane. Mr. E. G. Osgood, of Maine, has a curious walking caue. The stick is octagon in shape, and is of white maple with cherry head, the entire body being made hollow, with the displaced wood made iuto different designs and left in the hollow space. In the carved head is set a compass; in the first joint or hollow space are three loose balls; in the second, three dice: in the third, a mounted cannon; in the fourth, a rolling pin: in the fifth, a chain; in the sixth, a sailor's loe:, and in the seventh, a dumb-bell and nondescript somewhat resembling an hourgl;iS3. The whole is tipped off with an octagonal ferrule of brass. In circles around the cane is the following inscription: "Made by E. G. Osgood, Portland, Me., in 1884. Total abstinence from all that intoxicates?E. G. O." Mr; Osgood has been offered quite a sura of money for the stick to place in the Boston museum.?Detroit Free /Yew. uciuuin? ine uocior3. A somewhat smart trick was played on tlie doctors of Boston by the Globe of that city the other day, which sent a reporter, an athlete, in splendid condition physically, to ten of the leading physicians for advice. He described a collection of imaginary symptons, telling the same story to each. Not one of the examiners pronounced him a healthy man, but every one of them gave a diagnosis ani a prescription?the diagnosis and the prescription in every case differing from the other niue. But in justice to the medical profession it should "be understood that physicians have never been trained to diagnose a lie, and that is vrhat they were called upon to do in this case.?New York Graphic. TORTURES IN JAPAN. METHODS OF EXTORTING CONFESSIONS FROH CRIMINALS. A Dark Pa^e In the History of the Mikado's Kingdom?Cunning Devices of the Japanese Inquisitors. Since the fall of the dual government and restoration of the Mikado as responsible ruler, in 18118, Japan has so completely entertained the idea of progress, seeking the broad sunlight of civilization, that one must turn to any dark or cruel page of her history with a feeling of reluctance. Until recently one of the lingering relics of barbarism was the torture of persons arraigned in the courts of justice. In 1878 it wa3 freely reported that torture was applied to some of the soldiers of the Takebaahi barracks, but it may fairly be understood that the mutineers of Takebashi were the last to suffer the repulsive punishments; and the very decided expression of opinion on the part of foreign officials in Japan hastened the abolition j of the hatefui practice at once and for- j ever. But the purpose now in view is j to glance at the old criminal law of \ Japan, and to briefly describe some of ! the forms of torture employed during ex- | amination of prisoners to provoke them into a confession of their crimes. The most extreme of revolting cruel - j ties were the various applications of the ; fire torture, but for the victims some of ] them had tbe one advantage of more j speedily terminating bis terrible suffer- j ings. The accused, with bands and feet j Becured, was suspended, head down- | ward, in a cage made of green bamboo, j The cage was contrived to slowly re- | reive, the culprit being exposed to the ! fierce heat of a charcoal fire, which was 1 frequently replenished by the execu- j tioners. Oftentimes, happily for the wretched ; ufferer, the fumes of. the charcoal produced suffocation. Another fire torture was to compel the prisoner to staud upon a heated grating or grid, beneath which a fire was constantly kept burning. He was unable to leave- the small enclosure, being quite surrounded by a strong railing. Lighted charcoal placed in the interior of a metal funnel was another description of lire torture. The tube, containing the lighted charcoal, was se curely bound ia the grasp of the prisoner, and he was forced by the attendants to walk quickly about, exposing the broad end of the tube to the wind, ! thereby accelerating ihe heat and in- I creasing his own sufferings. Another ! agonizing torture was produced by the ! application of boiling oil to the body of j the victim, and it was a torture applied I in so many ways that only sickening de-; tails of devices to intensify human I suffering could picture, if that were possible, its extent and variety. The store torture was usually tho first cruelty practiced upon a prisoner. He j was forced to- prostrate himself, face j downward, upon the apexes of five ! triangular-shaped blocks of hard wood, j the front of his legs being exposed to ! the sharp edges. While securely held j in this position heavy stones were placed on the victim's thighs and others were ! slowly added?to increase the terrible weight?until he became unconscious or signified his intention to confess. The box torture was a still more, atrocious contrivance. Bountl hand and i foot, the culprit was forced into a strong ! box, about two feet square, having a ! covering made to fit the inside, and! capable ot being lowered or laised at will. Heavy weights were placed upon j it, and as these were increased in nura- < ber, depressing the lid, the poor wretch ' within the box was slowly crushed to death. In using the water torture it was be- j lieved that the torment of thirst would ! induce a prisoner to confess his guilt. After several days' subsistence on a salt diet, without rice and water,the accused was shut in a room where he could see and hear the dropping of water on all sides, but out of his reach. The cravings and sufferings became fearful under the agony, often aprroaching the bounds of j insanity. I Deprivation of sleep was effected by j placing the criminal upon a bed. or mat, ! over which a small stream of water was continua'ly flowing. Attendants were j in readiness, and at the slightest indication of slumber they would rouse their I | victim by ringing bells, beating drums, or the applicatiou of fire to his body, j I The treatment rendered sleep impossible, ! the poor wretch's mind became dis- j ordered under the torture afid oftentimes loft him a raving maniac. The old style of trial in Japan in- j eluded only about four persons?the judge, 1he secretary, the torturer and the j accused. The latter was taken into tne examination room securely bound, and was forced to kneel during the investi- ' gation of his case. If he persisted in re- J ! maining mute,or appeared to equivocate j in his reply to the questions addressed I to him, the "investigation whip'' was j used smartly?an instrument capable of inflicting jjreat punishment, made.of; I three long strips of bamboo cane. ! | Should he continue stubborn a mu. h ' heavier whip was applied, the torturer j repeating the blows until the prisoner 1 either yielded or fainted under the terrible infliction. But no fatal injuries were permitted to be inflicted during these preliminary investigations, and a judge ! causing the application of torture to in-1 nocent person", or to those of very ad! vanced or tender yeArs, was himself liable to severe punishment. Such were some of the inhuman methods of torturing prisons in Japan practiced certainly within a score of years? j and less?and not a few of the death I sentences described, excepting the most atrocious tortures, the present writer has I actually witnessed.?Manchester Ouari dian. A Freak of Lightning. j The Vicar of Midgham, Reading, England, is voucher for a story about a ' man recently in his employ. The man was mowing grass when a rain storm came up, and he took refuge under an elm tree. There was not, the Vicar affirms, any sign of either thunder or lightning, but as the man was whetting his scythe he heard ahis9ing sound, ana I in an instant he was knocked against the tree, the sleeve of his shirt split from top to hottom. his arm rendered powerless, his scythe doubled up, and a hole the size of a florin made in the brim ! of his felt hat. All this without any perceptible noise, except the hiss, or any flash. An Educated Beggar. ' "JParis has an educated beggar in the person of a young man formerly a pupil of the Kcole Normale, whose modus J operandi is as follows: He comcs up to . the terrace of a cafe and addressing himself to the most intelligent-looking man present invites him to ask any historical question he can think of, any date of j French history, from th; curliest to the present time. fusing: 1 wm uuo.?vi once." He fulfills his promise with re( markable alacrity, and with equal alacrity passes around the hat. BSC*** WORDS Of WISDOM. A fool is always beginning. Dearth foreseen never came. Never try to outshine but to please. 1 When two quarrel, both are in the The liar is sooner caught than the When the head is sick the whole body A man's own business does not defile his fingers. He who has enough is richer than h? who has more and is discontented. Appearances will go a good ways but reality will keep going right along. Life will soon bo done. Be not weary or disheartened. What are a few yeari of toil iu prospect of the eternal life? Remember that good manners an thoughts filled with kindness and refine* ment and then translated into behavior. Be not ostentatious in dress or deport raent; nothing can be more vulgar. Set . ^5 that costume* fit the time and occasion. :^f|B Nature is upheld by antagonists. Pas- ' sions, resistance, danger, are educators. j$| We acquire the strength we have overcome. Be rude to none; rudeness harms noJ even the humblest and poorest to whom ; it is directed, but it injures the ex- ' _ hibitors. There are do conditions that can sue* cessfully compete with earnestness ol purpose backed up by character and persistent industry. . . We are hanging up pictures every day -:r$M about the chamber walls of our hearts that we shall have to look at when wf sit in the shadows. There are two ways of being happy: we may either diminish our wants or C'J augment our means?either will do?the reiult is the same. Few mortals- are so insensible that their affections cannot be gained by , mildness, their confidence by sincerity, their hatred by scorn or neglect. A man should never be ashamed to own. that he has been in the wrong, . , which is but saying in other words, that he is wiser to-day than he was yeater- ';v| A Chinese Headsman at Work. On one occasion we were ashore in Canton. China, writes a naval officer in ' the Mail and Express, seeing everything curious that was to be seen, when through . the streets came a large body of troops guarding five men carried in Bat baskets rM suspended on bamboo rods from the shoulders of coolies. "Sam, what are they going to dorwith those men?" we asked of one guide. "Oh," said he, they are pirates, and the troop3 are going to cut off their ? ia| heads." We followed, and in a short time came . . to an open courtyard just off one of the main thoroughfares of the city. The soldiers filed in one each side, and the Mandarin, who wore the blue button, seated himself in a chair. The five prisoners were made to kneel on the ground in Indian file, their "queues" were coiled up on the bacfcs of their ',"'4 heads, and with a slight inclination the backs of their necks were made perfectly bare. An officer was sent for the execu tioner, ana ne appeared, malting iaa salute to the Mandarin. A look in his face revealed nothing save the same stolid expression that is seen in all ,* Chinamen, but he carried himself with a swagger, that plainly said that he wa? the most observed of all men there, and j that it was an easy task that he was about to perform. The prisoners were kneeling, their hands tied behind their backs, and heavy bamboo rods weighed at each end were laid across the calves of their legs. The Mandarin rose and read the warrant . j of execution. On the faces of the people who had docked to see the executions an expression of fear and anxiety was < depicted. A command was given, the executioner walked to the side of the first man, and drawing a long, narrow p. knife from under his robe awaited the order. The supreme moment had come; five lives were to be taken. The men ia < the refer coald see every movement of the executioner and of the man in front of nim. To the "outside barbarian" it was a fearful moment A command was given, and in an instant the knife was in the air and in the next moment a head lay on the trround. A srreat fountain of blood ' spurted from the" neck, and the executioner wa? beside the next man. Agaia the command, and a headless body the result, and in less than the time it takes to write this line the five men were beheaded. We ran to the bodies in our curiosity to see if any muscular action was taking plar e, but there was none beyond the slowly closing eyelids. The law was vindicated. The troops formed in line, the heads were put in the baskets that lately carried the bodies of the pirates, and the march was resumed through the city. ?? Ben. Butler and the Cripple. There was a boy in Lowell, Mass., the son of a poor man, who, a number of years ago, was run over by a railroad train. Both legs had to be amputated close up to the hip. The company told his father they would give him $1000 or the boy a practical education. The father accepted the lafter alternative, and the railroad company made a telegraph upcrmur ui iuc biippiuu uuj. m um us became of age he found he was not getting as good pay as other operators. He wrote to General Butler and asked if anything could be done. General Butler sait for the boy. The whole story waa gone over. I "I'll take your case," said the noted lawyer. Then he sent for the solicitor of the railroad company. When the solicitor arrived at the General's office the legless boy was in a chair on the top of a long table. General Butler explained that he proposed to begin suit for the boy to get damages. "But," said the solicitor, "we agreed with his father to give him a practical education. We made a telegrapher out I of him, and there is no law for getting j any further damages." ' You can't tell me anything about the law," was General Butler's reply; "but how much damages do you think that i boy would get if he sat on a table lik? that before a jury?" ! The railroad lawyer caught the poitrt i at once. "I do not know," he aaid. | "How much do you think he would i get?" | "About $10,000," replied General Butler. I ^"I'll compromise with you," hurriedly ' returned the lawyer, aud by his shrewd stage effect (General Butler got ovei . iKH) for the boy without going into trial. The lawyer knew Butler could J make it cost the company that much, as 1 well as a good deal of trouble, and he ' was glad enough to compromise.? | Chicago Tribune. The demand in the London market foi lilies has bccomc so great that lilj growing has become a great industry io Bermuda. -. .J* ,i? . . .... ).; - ^*7