The Abbeville press and banner. (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, July 31, 1889, Image 3
_
MY SENTINEL.
BT GEORGIA MILLAUDE AMBBrDGH.
The last rich ravs of sunset fade
Before my longing gaze.
And one bright glorious star appear!
From out the twilight's haze.
And as I watch its liquid light
With eyes bedimmcd and sad,
It s ems to smile in sympathy,
It cheers me, makes me glad.
A quiet, peaceful comfort comol
> rom that ar sentinel.
Who, kinder than humanity,
Is brave to wish me well.
* ?
A web of darkly drifting clouds
Kow fills the evening sky,
But well I know that back of them
My star still smiles on high.
A HAD MARRIAGE;
/
? OR.?
The Heiress of Lawrence
Park.
i STORY OF ADSORBING INTEREST.
BY MBS. E. B. COLLINS.
CHAPTER n.
BEHIND THE SCENES. |
It was a full hour afterward, when
through the night and the storm, Gabrielle
flew down the long, wind-swept,
rain-drenched walk, which led from
the mansion to tho high arched iron
gates beyond. Once there she halted
and glanced back toward the house,
standing white and grand amid the tall
trees like a marble enchanted palace.
An awful look rested upon her stern,
white face, as she lifted her clenched
hand and shook it savagely.
"Curse you!" she panted, hoarsely,
under her breath; "the curse of a !
* ? 1 A 1 _ 1 A 1
DrOKen neart, a ruineci me, a aobc soui,
rest upon that house and all within it I"
The iron gate opened swiftly. She
passed through; it closed behind her
with a loud clang, and all was still.
Lawrence Park was situated in the
suburbs of a great city. She turned
her face in the direction of its twinkling
lignts, and plunged on through the
gloom.
The thunder and lightning had lain
down to rest. The rain was coming
down in a slow, musical drip, drip,
upon the wet pavements.
She drew her drenched garments
about her and hurried on. All at once
a dark form emerged from the gloomv
shadows, and ere she could cry out a
hand was laid upon her own.
"Gabrielle!" cried a low voice in
guarded trnes; she fell back, trembling
violently.
""Don't you know me?" cried the
man's voice a little contemptuously;
"vou are not usually such a coward,
Crabrielle St. Cyr!"
She drew a long breath of relief.
"Mark!" she faltered; "is it you?
^ What is the matterV"
Ho bent his head; a handsome
brigandish fellow, and spoke in a low,
hurried, tone:
"You have been tnere?to Lawrence
Park?" he demanded sharply. "No?
no, you cannot deny it. Is he there?
the old man ? And did you see him?
alone?"
His dark eyes glittered through the
gloom, and his voice shook perceptibly.
"Yes. I saw him!" she returned slow
ly. "Mark Alleyne, listen to me. You
love Adele?"
His broad cliost rose and fell with
I eager excitement, ana liig voice was
scarcely audible as he made answei
fiercely:
"As I do my own soul! But, she?3
am afraid it is too late, Gabrielle!"
She moved impatiently.
"Let me manage all that!" she said
swiftly.
"Come to me to-morrow, Mark, at
my own home; I will be alone, while
Adele is at the theater; I have something
to say to you?something of importance?a
matter of life and death!
Will you come?"
"I will be there. And now, goodnight
P
He turned swiftly and left her alone.
She knew not which way he went; but
he had taken the path straight to Lawrenos
Park.
. Left alone, she hurried onward. She
was strangely shaken; her faco pale as
death, her eyes full of terror.
She hurried onward where the city
streets lay spread out like the tracing
upon a map; she turned a corner, and
paused before a great, brilliantly illuminated
building, which bore an immense
sign?"Odeon Theater."
Just in time! she muttered, casting
ft wild glance about.
She turned in at an open doorway;
down along, narrow entry; up a pair
of uare, dirty stairs, and paused to
rap lightly upon a door. It opened at
once, and she darted over the threshold.
It was a dressing-room attached to
the theater.
In the center of the dingy apartment
stood a dazzling vision in short white
tulle skirts,spangled with glittering fireflies;
a cluster of fire-flies tangled in
the meshes of her long, dark hair, which
waved over her shoulders, a shimmering,
dusky veil.
A beautiful face, in spite of the stage
"make-up."
Large, dark eyes; straight, delicate
features; a face to attract and fascinate;
a face fall of hidden power.
Adele St. Cyr, as she was called, was
only a danscuse, but she was pretty as
a picture; saucy?piquante.
She whirled about upon the toe of
one white satin shod foot with a low
ejaculation of surprise.
"Mamma! Where have you been':
And what is the matter?" Come in,
quick! Oh, heaven help us! What is
wrong?"
She fell back with a cry of horror.
For her eyes had fallen upon her mother's
ungloved hand, upon which was a
great, hideous stain, the stain of fresh ,
crimson blood.
Pale and trembling, the girl stood
gazing upon it, but Gabrielle made no
attempt at explanation; she sank into
a seat, With bowed head, and averted
eyes.
Adele stooa watching her, ner eye3
glittering like steel; in their depths a
look not good to see.
"Tell me alll" she panted, excitedly.
"'Ton have seen him, at last; this man
(who is" (she drew her breath hard, as
though in pain) "my father; yet who
'does not acknowledge his own child.
(He lives in a palace home, with everv
luxury that heart can wish; respected",
Ihonored; while you, his lawful wife,
are little better than a beggar! And I,
Ihis ohild, I dance upon the stage c^very
night for the pittance that keeps the
wolf from our door 1
"There is no good in a world where
guch foul wrongg_ exiftt, thera. is ?o(
justice upon eartm 1 Iinow, for you
have told me, all your pitiful story of
wrong. How he deserted you, leaving
you with your child upon your breast,
unprovided for, for all those long, dark
years I And now we find him a millionaire,
looked upon as kind, charitable,
honorable! I have thoucht over the
story ot our wrongs until my brain
reels and my heart is on fire. Mamma,
I intend to be avenged!"
' "Adele!"
"I intend to be avenged!"
Her voice was slow and level; hei
eyes flashed with a hateful light; she
was something to fear, as she stood
there, in her glittering stage dress, so
out of place in the midst of that wild
storm of passion.
"He deserves punishment!" she said
Blowly; "and I " she stopped short,
*? n?Ui'a)ln V>o/1 tvrison. And an
IU1 -x
proaclied her, her wet garments dragging
over the bare floor with a swishing
sound.
"Listen, Adele!" slie commenced;
and bending her head she spoke swiftly
in a low tone
The girl fell back a little, trembling
violently.
"His daughter, mamma? What do
you mean? Is it possible that "
Mlt is possible that he ha3 married
again!" broke in Gabrielle's voice in a
slow monotone.
"She is dead, thank heaven! But
there is a child?a young girl?a beautiful
creature, Adele! I watched hei
I through the window where I knelt in
the storm and darkness. She was magnificently
dres3ed?like a queen, AdeLs
?for the theater, she said. And, listen,
dear, I believe she is in this very
house to-night!"
A low cry broke from the girl's lips.
"Hush!" panted Gabrielle. "You
must go upon the stage now! Seei
They have sont!"
A change instantly passed over the
girl's face, transforming it into a smiling
painted mask, as her eyes fell upon
the call boy, making his way towarda
uer.
A little later she had flitted out upon
the stage, to be received with a loud
outburst of applause. She came floating
back again, after tlie dance was
done, pale and trembling like a leaf.
G?.brielle, who had exchanged her wet
clothing for dry garments, arcse involuntarily
at sight of the awful anguisli
upon the girl's face.
"My child " she was beginning;
but Adele clutched her imperiously.
"Mamma, listen! He is there, in
front, Arthur Wynne! He has come
every night for weeks, to see me dance:
he has showered at my feet the loveliest
bouquets! He has been very kind
and courteous to me, as you know.
Once, when I v.-as insulted by a drunken
fellow on the street, Arthur Wynne)
came to my rescue and saved me from
lhame and humiliation. He treats me
as if I were the highest lady in the land.
He is rich, handsome, aristocratic, far
above me?ho is "
"Ir> short, the 'catch of the season 1' "
answered Gabrielle; "and not likely to
think seriously of a ballet dancer!""
The girl's eyes were blazing. She
1. -1-1 JJ "LI - J
was puie as scuipuurcu uim uie, uuu uci
light form shook like a reed in the
wind.
"Hush!" she cried, sharply; "I am
Adele St. Cyr Lawrence, by right, and
quite as good as he! But I have not
told you all! Mamma, he is in a stagebox,
the box on the right. I can almost
touch him as I move over the
stage; end he is not alone! A beautiful
girl is with him; a yellow-haired,
blue-eyed doll, with a wild-rose color
in her cheeks. She is no prettier than
I, but she wears a costly dress?violet
velvet, and amethysts. I *'
Gabrielle St. Cyr started as with a
sliouk, and her face grew ghastly white.
"Wait a moment!" she panted swiftly.
She slipped from the room and
around to the "wings." She peered
forth, seeing but unseen, for a moment,
then she returned.
"Adele!" h:-r voice was shaking so
that it was scarcely audible; "it ia
Kuby Lawrence!"
Silence. No sound to break the stillness
resting over the dingy dressingroom
like a pall. At last:
unr. i" /JA
~VXt?UILUUJ yiv T? do XilVU ?.? ? U1X Wi Uv
spair) "I lovo him?Arthur Wynne!
Far above me, though you say he is, I
am his equal after all; and ho would
have loved me in time, I know it. But
she has won hiui; I could see it even
while I pirouetted over the stage, for a
dancer must dance though her heart be
breaking! .Every glance of Jus beautiful
eyes into her doll baby fo jc means
love!
"She has won him, mamma, as she
has won all! For her?home, fortune,
position; and now, greater than all else,
his love! But she shall not triumph
long! Let Kuby Lawrence beware!
The tigress in the jungle is no more
pitiless than jealous hatred; I swear to
punish her, to make her bow her head
in endless shams; to pay back all the
debt I owe! And Adule St. Cyr never
breaks an oath!"
CHAPTER in.
HEE FATE.
Crash went the music, and the curtain
flew up like magic upon the last
act. There was a hush of expectancy,
and then the fairy-like form of the danseuse
floated airily over the stage once
more, in a bewildering pas seul. She
danced like a sylph, light as air, beau
tuui as a aream, smiung ana pirouetting,
while all the time her heart was
full of the very bitterness of death.
Passionate, willful, untrained, unrelenting,
revengeful; heaven help tho
unconscious ofienders against whom
she misht plot vengeance.
As the dance went on slie was casting
furtive glances in the direction ol
the man in the stage box; a handsome,
dark-eyed man, with a distinguished
air, who sat at Ruby Lawrence's side,
to whom he had been presented by
Mrs. Chillingworth a few weeks before.
She was leaning forward, following
the movements of the dancer with
eager eyes.
She had lain aside her white fui
cloak, and substituted a drapery ol
costly white lace, which enhanced tho
pearly whiteness of liir graceful shoulders,
just seen through its meshesFramed
in by the flowing laca curtains
of the box, she was like a picture in a
frame as she sat there, unconscious of
the admiring eyes fixed upon her, and
the lorgnettes leveled in her direction
from all parts ot tne nouse. Mrs.
Chillingworth, in black velvet and diamonds,
was seated near; at her side, a
portly gentleman who occasionally cast
a glance toward the stage, as though the
performance thero was scarcely worth
his notice.
And the music crashed and surged,
and the fairy-like dancer went on; and
no one present dreamed of the tragedy
to which this was the prelude.
The danseuse was floating over the
stage like thistle-down, and so absorbed
wexQ the audience in her graceful move
?
menta that no one observed the tiny
blue flame that was creeping and crawling
up the lace curtains of the box,
close at Ruby'8 side; crawling nearer ?
nearer; no one knew, no one saw, save
that graceful, fairy-like creature upon
whom all eyes were fixed, while she
danced as surely mortal never danced
before. All at once a hot breath fanned
Ruby's cheek; she turned suddenly
and started to her feet with a wild
shriek of horror which resounded
through the crowded house. The curtains
of the box were wrapped in
flame, which had already crisped and :
scorched the lace drapery that she
wora.
The insidious flame was fanned into
a blaze by her swift movements in arising,
and in a moment she was writhing
amid crimson tongues of fire. One
swift glance, and Arthur Wynne was at
% _ _ J _ !_ _ P 1 J1 _ _ Ll. 1. _ J 1, !
ner Blue, ms iucepaieuBueiin, ma uur&
eyes full of unutterable honor.
He caught up his overcoat from a
gilded seat where it was lying and
wrappeJ it about the slender form of
the girl. The house was in a panic. Men
ran wildly to his assistance, women
shrieked and fainted; it was a scene
never to be forgotten.
Fifteen minutes later, Ruby Lawrence,
pale and half fainting, was borne
from the theater and placed in her carriage,
terribly frightened and unstrung,
but saved, uninjured.
Arthur Wynne assisted Mrs. Chillingworth
to a seat at Ruby's side, then,
after a slight hesitation, sprang in and
seated himself, while the carriage drove
off at full speed for Lawrence Park.
Ruby felt a pair of dark, handsomt
eyes bent upon her pale, terrified face;
eyes which held a divine light befor?
which she trembled like a culprit.
"I sr.id that I should meet my fatfi
to-night!" the girl murmured soltly tc
herself. "I wonder if?if "
The words died away in blissful
reverie; but the beautiful eyes turned
no more in his direction.
Lawrence Park was reached; the carriage
entered the gates, drove up the
broad avenue and paused before the
entrance to the great white villa, standing
as still and white as though the
shadow of doom were not resting ovei
it. Aye, hovering upon its very thresh- j
old.
A pair of strong arms lifted E jby
^ J -1 J 1
aowil UI1U piUUtU nei upuu iua mniuia
steps of the mansion. And then she
lifted her shy eyes to his eager face
once more.
"How can I thank yon?" she was beginning.
but he interrupted her.
"iJy saying nothing about it, dear
Miss Lawrence," he intervened. "And
?you will let me call soon?"
The look that she gave him said more
than her courteous reply; he bowed hia
head swiftly, and pressed his lips upon
her white hand.
Then he was gone, and Ruby entered
the house, lictle dreaming of all that
would lie between them before they
met again.
She ran lightly up the velvet-carpeted
staircase; Mrs. Chillingworth, who
was to remain at Lawrence Park fo^
the night, had already sought her own
room.
At the door of her father's chamber,
Euby paused.
"I wonder if papa is asleep ?" she
said, softly. "I wish I could see him
bofnre retirincr: but I do not like to
disturb him; it is so late! And 1 win
tell him about my wonderful escape?
and?Mr. Wynne" (her sweet face flush
ing like the heart of a June rose) "in
the morning."
She rested her flushed cheek against
the pawel of his chamber-door for an
instant, and then, with a whispered
"Good-night, papa!" she was gone.
# * #
"Murder! Murder! Murder!"
The cry rang out upon the still
morning air, like a knell of doom; dying
away into a broken gurgle of horror.
A few moments later, a trembling,
white-faced group had gathered about
the door of the library, from beneath
which a slender, dark-red stream waa
issuing.
It was human blood!
And then a strong hand burst open
the door, and they saw a sight which
would haunt them to their dying day.
The chandelier was still burning,
throwing its garish glare over the
awful scene, and making the daylight
quail.
And there, upon the velvet carpet,
prone upon his face, lay Gilbert Lawrence,
of Lawrence Park?with a dagger
thrust in liis heart?stone dead, and
had been for hours.
cto be continued,). ~
The laws that are multiplied by the
different States regulating the sale of
articles to minors are not enforced, and
it is doubtful if they can be enforced.
Illiuois now pushes forward a statute
forbidding the sale to young people of
publications principally consisting of
accounts of criminal deeds. There are
books of the Hebrew Scriptures that
would oe excluded under the law. A
large part of English history as written
consists of accounts of criminal
deeds. Our legislators' instincts are
well enough in such matters; but for
all that they do harm with their experiments.
_____
The Duke of Westminster, worth
$80,000,000, is her Majesty's richest
subject. The two Yanderbilts, the
Standard-Oil Rockafellers, William J.
Flagler, another Standard man, and
Leland Stanford are worth iar more
than $80,000,000 each.
Theodore Urban, an antiquarian
and student of Columbia, Pa., says he
has evidence that this continent was
settled about G50 years after the deluge;
that the inhabitants were highly
civilizcd and used tools of metal.
The height of snobbishness is
reached at English bazars, where
money is taken as the piice of an introduction
to this and that beauty or
titled lady presiding over tables.
Assistant Secretary of the Treasury
Batcheller was told recently
that he looked tired. "It makes me
tired to look at so much money in the
Treasury vaults," he exclaimed.
It takes 740,000 acres of forest to
supply ties for the railroads of the
United States. Who will say that, we
are not bound to these corporations by I
many ties ?
??V. Dli. TALMAGE.
THE BROOKLYN 111 VINE'S SUNDAY
SERMON.
Subject: The Bower of Tree Branches.
(Preached at the Hamptons,
Long Island.)
Txxt: "Go forth unto the mount and
fetch olive branches, and pine branches,and
myrtle branches, and palm, branches, and
branches of thick trees, to make booths."?
Nehemiah viii., 15.
It seems as if Mount Olivet were unmoored.
The people have gone into the
mountain, and nave cut off tree branches,
and put them on their shoulders, and they
como forth now into the streets of
Jerusalem, and on the house tops, and
they twist those tree branches into
arbor? or booths. Then the poople come
forth from their comfortable homes,
and dwell for seven days in those booths I
TT7"V?xt /1a fhoir rlo t.hnt? WaII i
it is a great festal time. It is tho
feast of tabernacles; and these people are
going to celebrate tho desert travel of their
fathers and their deliverance from their j
troubles, tho experience of their fathers
wher traveling in the desert, they lived In
booths on their way to the land of Canaan.
And so these booths also become highly suggestive?I
will not say they arc necessarily
typical, but highly suggestive?of our march
toward heaven, and of the fact that wo are
only living temporarily here, as it were, in
booths or arbors, on our way to the Canaan
of eternal rest.
And what was said to the Jews literally
may to-day be said figuratively to all this audience.
Go forth into the mountain, and
fetch olive branches, and pine branches, and
myrtle branches, and palm branches, and
branches of thick trees to make booths. Yes,
we are only here in a temporary residence.
We are marching on. The merchant princeu
who used to live in Bowling Green, Now
York, have passed away, and their residences
are now the fields of cheap merchants.
Where are the men who fifty years ago owned
New York? Passed on.
There is no use in our driving our stakes
too deep into the earth; we are on the
march. The generations that have preceded
us have gone so far on that we cannot even
hear the sound of their footsteps. They have
gone over the hills, and we are to follow
them. But, blessed be God, we are not in
this world loft out of doors and unsheltered.
There are gospel booths, or gospel arbors, in
which our souls are to be comforted. Go
forth unto the mountain, and fetch olive
branches, and pine branches, and myrtle
branches, and palm branches, and branches
of thick trees, and build booths.
Wen, now we are to-day to construct a
gospel arbor, or gospel boota; anu now snau
we construct it? Well, we must get all the
tree branches and build. According to my
text we must go up into the mount and bring
olive branches. What does that mean?
The olive tree grows in warm climates, and
it reaches the height of twenty or twenty-two
feet, a straight stem, and then an offshoot from
that stem. And then people come, and they
strip off these branches sometimes, and when
in time of war the General of one army takes
one of these olive branches and goes out to
the General of another army, what does that
mean? Why, it means unsaddle the war
chargers. It means hang up the war knapsacks.
It is but a beautiful way of saying
Peace!
Now, if we are to-day going to succeed in
building this gospel arbor, we must go into
the Mount of Gou's blessing, and fetch the
olive branches and whatever else we must
have. We must have at least two olive
branches?peace with God at d peace with
man. When I say peace with God, I do not
mean to represent God as a bloody chicftain,
having a grudge against us, but I uo mean to
affirm there is no more antagonism between a
hound and a haro, between a hawk and a pullet,
between elephant and swino, than there
is hostility botween holiness and sin. And if
God is all holinoss, and we are all sin, thero
must be a readjustment, thero must be a reconstruction,
there must be a treaty, thore
must be a stretching forth of olive branches.
There is a great lawsuit going on now, and
it is a lawsuit which man is bringing against
bis Maker; that lawsuit is now on toe calendar.
It is the human versus the divine;
it is iniquity versus the immaculate: it is
weakness versus omnipotence. Man began
it; God did not begin the lawsuit. "We began
it; we assaulted our Maker, and tho
sooner we end this part of the struggle in
which the finite attempts to overthrow the
infinite and omnipotent, tho sooner we end it
the better.
Travelers tell us there is no such place as
Mount Calvary, that it is only a hill, only
an insignificant hill; but I persist in calling
it tho mount of God't divine mercy and love,
far grander than any other place on earth,
grander than the Alps or Himalayas, and
there are no other hills us compared with it;
and I havo noticed in every sect where the
cross of Christ is set forth, it is plantod with
olive branchos. And all we have to do is
to get rid of this war between God and
ourselves, of which we are all tired.
We want to back out of the war, we
want to get rid of this hostility. All we
have to do is just to get up on the mount of
God's blessing, and pluck these olive
branches and wave them before the throne.
Peace through our Lord Jesus Christ.'
Oh, it don't make much difference what
the world thinks of you?what this King,
that Queeiij that Senator thinks of you. But
come into tne warm, intimate, glowing and
everlasting relationship with the God of the
round universe; that is the joy that makes a
hallelujah seem stupid. Ah, why do we want
to have peace through our Lord Jesus Christ?
Why, if we had gone on in ten thousand
years of war against God, wo couid notjiave
captured so much as a sword or cavalry stirrup,
or twisted off one of the wheels of tho
chariot of his omnipotence. But the moment
we bring this olive branch God and all heaven
come on our side. Pcaco V igh our Lord
Jesus Chrirt; and no other ~iud of peace is
worth anything.
But then we must have that other olive
branch, peace with man. Now it is very
easy to get up a quarrel. There are gunpowdery
Christians all around us, and one
match of provocation will sjt them off. It
is easy enough to get up a quarrel. But, my
brother, don't you think you had better have
your horns sawed off? Had you not better
make an apology'!' Had you not better submit
to a little humiliation? Oh, you say,
until that man takes tho first step I will never
be at peace with him; nothing will bo
done until he is ready to tako tho
first step. You are a pretty Christian.
When would this world be saved if Christ
hod not taken tho first step? We were in
the wrong, Christ was in the right?all right
and forever right. And yet He took the first
step. And instead of going and getting a
knotty scourge with which to whip your antagonist;
your enemy, you had better get up
on the radiant mount where Christ suffered
for His enemies, and just take an olive branch,
not stripping off the soft, cool, fragrant
leaves, but leaving them all on, and then try
on them that gosi>el switch. It won't hurt
tliom, and it will save you. Peace with God;
peace with man. If you cannot tako those
two doctrines you are no Christian.
Blest be the tic that binds
Onr hearts In Christian love;
Tho fellowship of kindred minds
U llkt to that above.
From sorrow, toll and pain,
And sin wc shall be free;
And perfoct love and frlondshlp rclgn
Through all eternity.
But my text goes farther. It says: Go
lip into the mountain and fetch olive branches
and pine branches. Now what is suggested
by the pine branches? The pine tree is
healthy; it is aromatic; it is evergreen. How
often the physician says to his invalid
patients: "Go and have a breath of the
pines! That will invigorate you," Why do
such thousands of people go South every year?
It is not merely to get to ? warmer climate,
but to get to the influence of the pine. There
is health in it, and this pine branch of the
text suggests the healthfulnoss of our holy
religion; it is full of health, health for all,
health for the mind, health for the soul.
I know an aged man, who had no capital
of physical health. He had had all the diseases
you could imagine; he did not eat
enough to keep a child alive; he lived on a
beverage of hosannas. He lived high, for
ho dinod every day with the King. He was
kept alivo simply by the force of our holy
religion. It is a healthy religion; healthy
for the eye, healthy for the hand, healthy
for the feet, healthy for the heart, healthy
for the liver, healthy for the spleen, healthy
for the whole man. It giveB a man such peace,
such quietness, such independence of circumstances,
such holj equipoise. Oh that
we all possessed it, that we possessed it now.
I mean that it is healthy if a man gets
enough of it. Now, there are some people
who get just onough religion to bother them,
just enough religion to make them sick; but
if 5 man take a full, deep, round inhalation
- ii ....
' ' ' V
of these pine branches of the gospel arbor,
he will find it buoyant, exuberant, undying,
immortal health.
But this pine branch of my text also suggests
the simple fact that it is an evergreen,
what does this pine branch care for the
snow on its brow? It is only a crown of
glory. The winter cannot freeze it out.
This" evergreen tree branch is as beautiful in
winter as it is in the summer. And that is
the characteristic of our holy religion; in the
sharpest, coldest winter of misfortune and
disaster, it is as good a religion as it is in the
bright summer sunshine. Well, now that is
a practical truth. For if I should go up and
down these . aisles, I would not find in
this house fifty people who had had no trouble.
But there are some of you who have
especial trouble. God only knows what you
go through with. Oh, how many bereavements,
how many poverties, how many persecutions!
How many misrepresentations!
And now, my brother, you have tried everything
else, why don't you try this evergreen
religion? It is just as good for you now as it
was in the days of your prosperity; it is
better for you. Perhaps som e of ycu feel
nlnirvtrf. lilr? Murtkle B&ekie. the fisher
man, who was chided one dav because
be kept on working, although
that very day ho buried his child. They came
to him aid said: "It is indecent for you to
be mending that boat when this afternoon ;
you buried your child." And the fisherman
looked up and said: "Sir, it is very easy for 1
von gentlefolks to stay in the house with your '
handkerchiefs to your eyes in grief; but, sir,
ought I to let the other five children starve 1
because one of them is drowned? No, sir, we 1
maun work, we maun work, though our >
hoarts beat like this hammer."
You may havo had accumulation of sorrow '
and misfortune. They come in flocks, they
come in herds upon your soul; and yet l have
to tell you that this religion can console you,
that it can help you, that it can deliver you
if nothing else will. Do you tell me that the 1
riches and the gain of this world can console
you? How was it with the man who had
such a fondness for money that when he was
sick he ordered a basin of gold pieces to be
brought to him, and he put his gouty hands
down among the gold pieces, cooling
his hands off in them, and the rattle and
rolling of these gold pieces were his amusement
and entertainment. Ah, the gold and
silver, the honors, the emoluments of this
world are a poor solace for a perturbed spirit.
You want something better than this
world can give. A young Prince, when the
children came around to play with him, refused
to play. Ho said: I will play only
with Kings. And it might be supposed that i
you would throw away all other solace before <
this regal satisfation, this imperial joy. Ye
who are sons and daughters of the Lord Al- '
mighty ought to play only with Kings.
The bill of Zion yields
A thousand sacred sweets, 1
Before we reach tho heavenly fields
Or walk the golden streets.
But my text takes a further step and it
says: "Go into the mountain, and fetch olive '
branches, and pine branches, and palm
branches." Now, the palm tree was very
much honored by the ancients. It hod three
hundred and sixty different uses. The fruit
was conserved; the sap was a beverage; the
stems wore ground up for food for camofa;
the base of the leaves was turned into hats,
and mats, and baskets; and the leaves were
carried in victorious processions; and from
the root to the top of the highest leaf there
was usefulness. The tree grew eighty-five
feet in height sometimos, and it spread broad
leaves four and five yards long; it meant
usefulness, and it meant victory; usefulness
for what it produced, victoiy because it was ,
brought into celobrations of triumph. And
oh, how much we want the palm branches in (
the churches of Jesus Christ at this time!
A groat many Christians don't amount to
anything. You have to shove them out of
the way when the Lord's chariots como along. ,
We don't want any more of that kind of
Christians in the church. :
The old maxim says: ' 'Do not put all your
eggs into one basket;" but I have to tell you
in this matter or religion you had better give
your all to God, and then get in yourself. .
'Oh," says someone, "my business is to sell .
silks and cloths." Well, then, my brother, :
sell silks and cloths to the glory of God. And
some one says: "My business is to raise corn
and carrots." Then, my brother, raise corn
I and carrots to the glory of God. And some .
| one says: "My business is to manufacture |
horse shoe nails." Then manufacture horse 1
j shoo nails to the glory of God. There is nothing
for you to do that you ought to do but
for the glory of God.
Usefulness is typified by the palm tree. A h,
we don't want in the church any more people
that are merely weeping pillows, sighing >
into the water, standing and admiring their 1
long lashes in .the glassy spring. No wild
cherry, dropping bitter iruic. wewantpaiui
trees, holding something for God, something '
for angels, something for man. I am tirea '
and sick of this flat, tame, insipid, satin slip- <
pared, namby-pamby, b ighty-tighty religion 1 1
It is worth nothing for tnis world, and it is '
destruction for eternity. 1
Give me five hundred men and women <
fully consecrated to Christ, and we will take 1
any city for God in three years. Give me
ten thousand men and women fully up to the
Christian standard; in ten years ten thousand
of them would take the whole earth for God.
But when are we going to begin?
Lodyard, the great traveler, was brought
before the Geographical Society of Great Brit- J
ain, and they wanted him to make somo ex- 1
plorations in Africa, and they showed liim all
the perils, and all the hard work, and all
thti exposure, and after they had told him
what they wanted him to dom Africa, they
I said to him: "Now, Ledyard, whon are you !
ready to start?" Ho said: "To-morrow
morning." The learned men were astonished:
tney thought he would take wcoks or
months to get ready. "Well, now, you toll
me you want to be earnest for Christ; you
want to be useful in Christian service.
When are you going to be^in? Oh, that you
ha?e the decision to say: "To-day, now!"
Ga now into the mount and gatner tho
,)alm branches. But the palm
branch also meant a victory. In
all ages, in all lands, the palm branch means
victory. We are by nature the servants of (
Satan. Ho stole us, he has his eye on us, he .
; wants to keep us. The word comes from our
Father that if we will try to break loose from
I this doine of wroner. our Father will help us; '
and som<T day we rouse up, and we look the
black tyrant in the face, and we fly at him,
and we wrestle him down, and we put our
heel on his neck, and we grind him in the
dust, and we say, Victory, victory, through
our Lord Jesus Christ! Oh wlat a
grand thing it is to have sin under
foot and a wasted life liehind
our backs. "Blessed is he whose transgressiuu
is forgiven, and whose sin is
covered." "But," says the man, "I feel
so sick and worn out with the ailments of
life." You are going to be more than
conqueror. "But," says the man, ''I
am so tempted, I am so pursued in
life." You are going to be more than
conqueror. "I, who have so many ailments
and heartaches, going to be more than
conqueror?" Yes, unless you are so self-conceited
that you want to manage all the
affairs of your lifo yourself, instead or i
lotting God manage thern. Do you want,
to drive and have God take a back seat? .
I Oh, no, you say; I want God to be my leader. !
Well, then, you will be more than conqueror.
Your last sickness will come, and the physi- .
cians in the noxt room will bo talking about
what they will do for you. What difference '
will it make what they do for you? You ait 1
going to bo well, cverlasingly well. And
when the spirit has fled the body your friend;! 1
will be talking as to where they shall bury i
you. What difference does it make to yo'J i
where they bury you? The angel of ]
the resurrection can pick you on>
of the dust anywhere, and 3
all the cemeteries of the earth are in God'e t
care. Oh you aro going to be more than f
conqueror. Don't you think we bad better ,
begin now to celebrate tho coming victory? f
In the old meeting-houso at SummervilLe,
my father used to lead the singing, and ho
Y,aA fl\a AU_fac<liinniu4 fiminff.fnrlr nnH hr ^
would strike it upon his knoe, and thon put .
the tuning-fork to his ear to catch the
right pitch aud start the hymn. But,
friend, don't you think wo had hotter
be catch id g the pitch of the everlasting
song, tho song of vie- 1
tory when wo shall bo more than conquer era' t
Hat? wo not better begin tho rehearsal 011 ?
earth? "They shall hunger no more, neither c
thirst any more; neither shall the sun light c
on them, nor any heat. For the lamb which I
is in tho midst of the throne shall feed them,
and shall load them to living fountains of 2
water; and God shall wipe away all tears ?
from their eyes."
City of Eternity, to thy bridal hftlla
From this prieon would I flee;
Ah, glory! that's for you and me. 1
My text brings up one step further. It 3
says, go forth into the mount and fetch olive
branches, and pine branches, and myrtle y
branches, and palm branches, and branches o( I
thick trees. Isow, you know very well that v
a booth or arbor made of slight branches c
would not stand. The first blast of the tem- a
pest would prostrate it. So then the booth i
or arbor must have four stout polee to hold t
; ' V- :
%
r =s
RELIGIOUS READING.
_____
WHAT CAN I DO TODAY ? v
What can I do today?
Not praise to win or glory to attain;
Not gold, or ease, or power, or lovo to gain
Or pleasure gay;
But to impart
Joy to some stricken heart;
To send a heaven-born ray
Of i ope, some sad, despairing
Soul to cheer;
To lift some weighing doubt;
Make truth more clear;
Dispel some dwarfing fear;
To lull some pain;
Bring to the fold again
Borne lamb astray;
To brjghten life for some one,
Now and h re; .
This let me do today.
up tne arbor or booth and hence for the
building of the arbor for this world
we must have stout branches of thick trcos.
And so it is in the Gospol arbor. Blessed be
God that we have a brawny Christianity,
not one easily upset. Tho storms of life will
come upon us, and we want strong doctrine;
not only love, but justice; not only invitation
by warning. It is a mighty Gospol; it is
an omnipotent Gospel. There are the stout 1
branches of thick trees. I remember
what Mr. Finney said in a
school house in this Stato. The village '
was so bad it was called Sodom, and it was 1
said to have only one good man in all tho village,
and he was called Lot; and Mr. Finney,
preaching, described the destruction of
Sodom, and the preacher declared that God
would rain destruction upon His hearers unless
they, too, repented. And tho people in
the school-house sat and ground their teeth in
anger, and clinched their fists in indignation;
but before he was through with his sermon
they got down on their knees and cried for
mercy while mercy could be found. Oh, it is a
mighty Gospel; not only an invitation, bat a
warning; an omnipotent truth, stout
branches of thick trees. Well, my friends,
what I have shown you hero is the olive
branch of peace, here is the pine branch of
evergreen gospel consolation, nere tho palm
tree branch of usefulness and victory, and
hero are the stout branches of thick trees,
The gospel arbor is done. The air is aromatic
of heaven. The leaves rustle with the gladn*,1
T
UCOO \JL UUU. WUIO XllkV l/UO Oi LHJl x
went out at different times with a
fowler to the mountains to catch
pigeons; and we made our booth, and we sat
in ta"vt booth, and watched for the pigeons
io con.:, and we found flocks in the sky, and
ifter a while they dropped into the net and
we were successrtil So I come now to the
door of this gospel booth and Hook out. I see
flocks of souls flying hither and flying thither.
Oh, that they might come like clouds and as
doves to the window. Come into the booth.
Come into the booth.
TEMPERANCE.
DRUNK IN THE STREET.
"Drunk, your Worship," the officer said;
"Drunk in the street, sir." She raised her
head?
A lingering trace of the golden grace
Still softened the lines of her woe-worn
face,
Unkempt and tangled her rich brown hair,
Yet with all the furrows and stains of care?
The years of anguish and sin and despair?
The child of the city was passing fair.
The ripe red mouth, with lips compressed?
The rise and fall of the heaving breast?
The nervous fingers, so taper and small,
Crumpled the fringe of the tattered shawl,
As she stood in her place at the officer's call.
She seemed good and fair, she seemed tender
and sweet,
This fallen woman found drunk in the street.
Does the hand that once smoothed the ripple
and wave
Of that tangled hair lie still in the grave?
Is that mother who pressed those red lips to
her own
Deaf to the pain of their smothered moan?
Has the voice that chimed to the lisping
prayer
No accent of hope for the lost one there,
Bearing her burden of sin and despair?
Drunk in the street?in the gutter found?
From a passionate longing to crush and
drown
The soul of the woman she might have
been?
Pa flinrr nflP fVio ixmirrVif nf o foarfnl Hroam
* V UiU^ V1X VUw " v 0 Vl. Mr VU WMMM
And awake again in the homestead hard by,
And wooded mountain that touched the
sky;
To linger a while on the path to school
And catch in the depth of the limpid pool,
Under the willow shade, green ana cool,
A dimpled face and a laughing eye,
And the pleasant word of a passer by.
Yemen with sisters and mothers and wives,
Have ye no care for these women's lives?
Must they starve for the comfort they never
speak?
Must they ever be erring and sinful and
weakStaggering
onward with weary feet.
Stained in the gutters and drunk in the
street?
?Picayune.
WISE BUSINESS MEN.
The Homiletic Review says: Of twentysix
of the leading business nrms and manufacturers
of the United States?all rated by
Dun's Mercantile Agency as possessing a
capital of at least 750,000 dollars?interdewed
by us, only one allowed the usa of
liquor in his establishment, and then only
iuring the dinner hour. Everyone reports
that the business interests of the employer
ire jeopardized by the dram shop association ,
Df the employe, and that most cases of inlividual
poverty among the latter can be I
traced to the saloons.
A CRY THAT SHOULD NERVE TO ACTION.
The cry of distress that is going up from
every block almost in our cities and from almost
every township in the country, of families
made wretched Dy the terrible drink evil,
should nerve to action; and so should the despairing
cry of hundreds ef drunkards in our
midst, who are to-day utterly helpless, actually
helpless (for as one of our most eminent .
physicians has said, alcohol is a solvent or tne
will), helpless in the presence of open saloons
ever increasing in attractiveness and in number?a
cry like that of Milton's fallen spirit:
"And in the lowest deep, a lower still,
That threatens to devour me, opens wide."
As Gliidstone said, it is the business of the
public to make it easy to do right and hard
to do wiong.?Voice.
A SUBSTITUTE FOB LIQUOB.
Mrs. Hayes always declared that a perfectly
adequate substitute for liquor, when
needed as a stimulant, could be found in hot
milkj and after any cold or wetting she gavo
this in place of the wine or whisky which
others would have considered necessary. Thus
Is, by the way, a custom of Mrs. Cleveland's
also, who discovered after the fatigues of the
many long and wearisome receptions she was
obliged to go through, standing for hours on
her feet and shaking bands with hundreds of
people, that nothing would restore her so
quickly as a cup full of boiling milk brought
to her by her maid, and which she drank in
little sips as hot as it possibly could be taken.
The Washington girls caught the idea from
her, and, finding now quickly it helped them
after a hard day of calls and social duties,
bhev began to substitute it for the various
malt preparations they had been in the habit
of taking, or the hot wine and water which
their maids usually administered when they
came in too tired out to dress for their next
/?j. mj
HTlgHgHHIPnr'r*? J wnuz-JLSCfiiuvi Ml,
TEMPERANCE NEWS AND VOTES.
Salt Lake City has a Loyal Tcmperance
Legion in each ward.
A "Woman's Christan Temperance Union is
about to be organized in Oklahoma.
In Belgium a person arrested for drunkenness
is compelled to sweep the public streets
for two hours after he gets sober.
Tho district and county conventions of the
W. C. T. U. now being held throughout the
country show uniform prosperity and steady
progress in the work.
In response to the earnest request of the
Washington W. C. T. U., President Harrison
ssued an order prohibiting the sale of liquors
it the national encampment of the District
National Guards at Fort "Washington.
The Medical Revimv says: "The deatli-ate
in the case of brewers, commercial travjlers
and others exposed to the temptation of
xequent alcoholic drinking, is six times
greater than in all other industries com)ined."
The city of Leroy, Kansas, which is quite a
ailroad center, was recently the scene of a
adical transformation of signs. Through
;he magical influence of Prohibition the ugly
idvertisement "beer" has given place to the
nore cheerful announcement "beef."
Though there is occasionally a liquor user
vho appears to enjoy good health and goes on
o "ripe old age," he is no more to betaken
is a proof of the general harmlessness of
Irink than is the man who stands in the thick
rarnage of battle a proof of tho general
larinlessness of war.
Even mistakes may have a mission. Mrs.
tlary C. Leavitt, while lecturing in Japan,
poke through an interpreter. On one occalon
she was giving statistics and said the
onsumption of beer in a certain State was
-gallons. The interpreter put it: "Drinkng
the beer of a certain State produces conumption."
The members of the Maryland State Temterance
Alliance at a recent meeting in
Baltimore passed a resolution to bring cider
rithin the category of strong drinks?intoxiating
boverages. The discussion was
omewhat heated. One clergyman in the
Llliance went so far as to declare that he
bought cider was worse than whisky.
?London Christian.
OIL YOURSELF A LITTLE.
Once upon a time there lived an old gentleman
in a large house He had servants and
everything he wanted, and yet he was not
happy, and when things did not go as hi .. *>
wished he was very cross. At last his serv- 1,
ants all left him. Quite out of temper, h<
went to a neighbor with the story of his dis
tresses. "Itseems to me," said the neighbor,
sagaciously, "'twould be well for you ti
oil you; self a little." 'To oil myself?' "Yes,'
and I will explain. Sometime ago one oi ?
the doors in my house creaked. Nobody,
therefore, liked to go in or out of it One
day I oiled its hinges aud it has been constantly
used by everybody ever since.*'
'Then you think that I am like a creaking "
door?' cried the old gentleman. "How dc
you want me to oil myself?' "That's ax
easy matter," said the neighbor.
"Go home and engage a servant, arid . ;
when he does right praisa him. If,
on the contrary, he does something, do n<X
be cross; < il your voice and your words witt
the oil cf love.''
The old gentleman went home, and n<
harsh or ugly wr.rds were ever heard in th*
house afterward. Everybody should' have f
supply of this precious oil, tor every familj
is liable to have a creaking hinge in th?
shape of a fretful disposition, a cross tamper,
a harsh tone, or a fault-fkding spirit.?
Selected.
"PAT JOHX WILLIAMS."
At a prayer-meeting "a >wn j&asr,- a man
noted for bis failures to meet business obligations,
arose to speak. Tde subject wa?:
"What shall I do to be saved?" He commenced
slowly to quote the words: "What r 1
shall I do to be saved?" He paused, looked
around, and said a^ain: "What filiall I do
to be saved?" Again with more solemn ton*
he repeated the question of questions; when
a voice from the assembly, in clear and distinct
tones, replied: "Go and pay Jo'n Williams
for that yoke of oxen."
The incident stirs up solemn thought. A ~
great many people before they can be saved,
or guide others to the Saviour, will have to
"go and pay John Williams" the money
they honest y owe him. Shrewd trick-.tej*
in the marts of the' world are not shrewd
enough to be dishonest at heart and retain
the favor of God, who "loves purity in the '
inward parts." Neither can a hope Of the
world to come bs like a sheei-anchor in the -J
soul of any one wh) robs God by being dishonest
to bis fellow-man.
Thousands read no other Bible than the
lives of those who pr..fess to be following' its
precepts in their daily lives. Tue greatest
need of the church is true, pare, upright
living?"living epistles, known an'i read of
all men." The square man is the best shape.
The tree is knowu bv i s fruit "Go and
pay John Williams.*'?Mid-Continent.
' , ' r'
THE TONIC OF TRUST.
When our divine Master says to us ,4Cast \ > v
your care on Me," He does not release us iy,'
from legitimate duty or the joy of doing it. v '
He aims to take the needless lire out of us
by taking iuful anxiety out of our hearts,
and putting the tonic of trust in ite place.
Thi? glorious doctrine of trust is a wonderfully
restful one to the overloaded. For let
us remind ourselves again that it is not honest
work that usually breaks God's children
down. Work strengthens sinew, promotes
appetite and induces wholesome sleep. The
ague fit of worry con umes the strength,
disorders ino nerves uuu wuuura oirm^
refreshing slumber.
A life consecrated to Christ, that oils all
its joints with cheerful faith and tones lt?
blood with the iron of its promises, never
grows pale in the cheek or crippled in ite
5ait. Look at that glorious old gia it of
esus Christ who dre v the O spel cl ariofc
from Jerusalem to Rome, and had "tho care
of all the churches" on His big heart. Ha
never complained of being tired. He never
chafed His limbs with the shackle of doubt,
or loaded one extra ounce of godless anxiety
on his brawny shoulder*, and so he marched
on to glory (-houtiug. Knowing whom he
be ieved, he was only solicitous to do his
Master's will, and finish his Master's work;
he knew that his strength would be equal to
his day until he had won the everlasting
crown.
Lean on Jesus, and He will rest you.
Labor for Jesus, and He will bless you.
Live for Jesus, and your soul shall mount
up as on an eagle's wing; you shall run and
never weary, you shall walk arm in arm
with Him and never faint.
"Tired? No, not tired!
While leaning on His breast
My soul with full enjoyment
Of His eternal rest."
?Rev. Theodore L. Cuylec.
A NEWDCTY.
It is pleasant to know that very many of
our churches all over the land are rejoicing
in an ingathering of new converts. Just
here begins a new duty. It is not enough
that these converts be brought into the
ciiurch. That is really only the beginning.
There is need that these converts, the?e
young Christians, be trained. For even
though the great mission of the church is, instru
t on tally, to secur> the conversion of
sinners, scarcely less important is the work
of the edificati m of the saints. In other
words, it is not enough to bring men into the
church.but they ought to bctraintd into both
symmetry and vigor of Christian chara ter.
The ten ency, however, is for us to be content
with getting converts into the church.
We are inclined to think th it then the work
is done. And yet the fact is that very much
remains to be done. "What a large proportion
ot the members of our churches are inefficient
! They cannot be depended upon for
any service. In the judgment of charity
tl ey are to b account d as Christians, but
they do almost noth ng to advance the interests
of the Redeemer's kingdom. They
give very little, and they put forth small
Sersonal efforts. They have a name to livei,
ut they are dead.
One reason lor this state of things in them
is, very likely, that they were not trained
into activity on their first entrance into the
church. They were rejoiced over as so
much gain from i he ranks of the world.
But having been gathered into the church
they were left to take care of themselves.
"" ' ' Knf fho h'nin.
ltlO rejoicing was nunnui^u,
in? ought to have accomp uiied it.
Pracically the best thing to do is to set
these converts to work, each according to
his capacity. There is plenty of work to be
done in any church. There are abundant
oppor I unities of usefulness everywhere. Religious
aciivity need by no means be confined
to distinctively religious meetinga
There is call for the use of talents of every
sort in Christian service.
What a gr eat gain it will be for tlie church
of Christ in our land if the thousands who
have recently become enrolled among its
active members shall b j trained into habits
of effective usefulness! Let them be so
trained. Therefore let pastors and church /
oflic rs and all older Christians roaliza their
responsibility and address themselves to the
work. ?Messenger.
AX ORIENTAL LEGEND.
The San Francisco Chronicle says: "There
is an oriental legend to the effect that an evil
spirit once obtained the mastery over a man
and gave him his choice as to whether he
would get drunk or rob a house or commit a
murder. The man, thinking to choose the
least of the evils, selected intoxication; but,
says the legend, when he had become intoxicated
he committed both the other
crimes. There is a good deal of philosophy
in the story. It illustrates the cunning of the
evil genius as well as the folly of the human
being, and is, in a measure, an answer to the
not unusual argument which seeks to excuse
one from the consequences of his own acts
because he was drunk."