The Abbeville press and banner. (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, August 21, 1889, Image 1
The Abbeville Press and Banner?
BY HUGH WILSON. ABBEVILLE, S. C., WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 21, 1889. VOLUME XXXIV. NO/13.|f|
The Quiet Hour.
A little rest in the twilight.
After my work is done,
A little time with the Master
At setting or tlie Bull.
The day has been one of trial,
Of failure oft, and tears;
But Jesus knows all my weakness.
He knows my doubts and fears.
All sordid thoughts i can banish,
And let my spirit tly
Above the earth and its sorrows
To God's white throne on high.
The door of a place of refuge,
A palace of quiet rest,
Is near-and my soul is longing
To find that portal blest.
I come with all my heavy burdens,
I come with all my sin;
I knock, and the door swings open,
And Jesus let* me in.
My sin departs, and my tronbfe
Is lost In blissful calm ; !
This quiet hour with my Saviour
Hub soothed my heart like balm.
The Savins: Habit.
A large proportion of the educated I
never save at all, and a still larger pro- j
portion do not begin the process until
the last ten years of their working i
lives. There is not a charity in London
whose secretaries cannot tell <
frightful stories of the poverty in
which educated professional men often i
pass old age, and of the utter destitu- s
tion to which the death of the bread- i
winner reduces the most respectable
and even prosperous families. The (
number of educated men in a hundred 1
who begin to save early, may be counted
on the fingers of one hand, and the J
number of bachelors who save at any
time is scarcely larger. It seems to be <
a part of the national temperament not i
to dread old age until it is close at
hand, or rather, to keep on thinking
that strength must last until it has disappeared.
More than half of the sav- <
ingsof thesa.ving class are made be- i
tween forty-live and fifty-five, some- s
times even later still; while there are 1
men in thousands who will confess i
that up to sixty they have never given <
the matter a thought. The fear of the '
future, which is the root of thrift, has i
never entered their minds. This being
the state of affairs with the cultivated,
it is unjust to blame the artisans, who
are only following their example.
The workmen, owing to their work, i
have more youth in their nature than i
the middle class, or rather?for the re- <
mark is not true of the women?their j
men keep the boyishness of spirit very ]
much longer. They can smile, for ex- s
ample, at horseplay till they are sixty, j
and professionals cannot after thirty- j
five. It is the essential quality of boys ,
to be hopeful as to the future, to think ,
little or nothing of its risks, and to J
deem saving needless while the reser- ,
voir of health and strength is still full ]
to overflowing. The workmen retain
much of this quality, which is in part ,
recklessness, but in part also cheerful- ,
ness and courage; and so, in a very
singular degree, do the classes employ
ed upon the land, whom we think the s
worst off. They, no doubt, look to the \
rates, but some of their carelessness,
often rather fine to see, is also mental. ,
The laborer who told his master, "I'm
a braver man than you, for I dare ?
spend my last shilling, and you dar- j
sen't," revealed a truth of temperament
which is at the bottom of much <
of the workingman's unthrift. We ]
hope yet that the latter will one day a
see what insurance might do for the \
whole community.?The Spectator. |
1
Teasing. j
"Mamma, may I go out on the piaz- <
za and play?" asked a little girl of her
mother. j
"No, my dear, I'm afraid you'll take
more cold." ]
"But, mamma. I'll wrap up warm, <
and I'm so tired of staying in the j
house." i
And the little girl kept on teasing, j
until at last the mother said: l
"Yes, my dear, if you are willing 7
to take the consequences. You are <
almost sick now, and if you go out and t
play in the cold you may have the <
pneumonia and die. Those who have
pneumonia suffer dreadfully, and it ]
is very hard to take carfe of them. ]
Now, bundle up and go, if you are
ready to take all the risks." i
The child didn't dare to take the <
risks, and stayed contentedly in the 1
house. The sooner a child can be j
taught to choose intelligently, the
sooner will the disposition to tease be
checked.
But there is a time, before the child
has developed enough to be able to i
choose, when the parent must make |
choices for it. These choices should be ]
final, and not changed by any solicitations
of the child. We call this pro- ]
cess forming right habits in the child, s
An infant may be taught to lie quietly ]
iu its crib and go to sleep without being
rocked or sung to, and it may be <
taught to expect and demand being <
rocked or sung to sleep. A child may 1
be indulged in eating between meals,
or in munching candy and sweets, un- j
til it expects and demands the indul- |
gence. A child may be encouraged in :
its whims and caprices until they con- 1
trol it.
A teasing child is the natural re- i
flection of an unwise vacillating, weak 1
mother. The mother who knows
what is good for her child, who is firm 1
in her convictions as to what is good 1
for it, and who abides steadfastly by
those convictions, is very unlikely to J
have a teasing child. She leaves no :
room for the disposition to tease to
grow.
The late Bishop Pierce in a letter
gives this advice to a young mother in
reference to her baby boy : "To train
him right is a grave task, aBd will require
patience, judgment, and resolution.
The main thing is, have a steady
plan, be uniform. Exact a prompt obedience,
but be careful about your commands.
Do not allow him to tease you
about any thing. Let your yeas be
yeas, and your nay, nay. Never give
up your authority. Do not use the rod
much, only in extreme cases. Let
your rules be few and simple. Explain
your commands. Give reason
for duty. Do not govern by force of
authority. Furnish rierht notions,
proper principles, and let the child
learn to govern himself."
Bkief and Practical.?A little
nap before the noon meal will rest the 1
nerves and promote dipestion.
Eight hours' sleep will prevent more *
nervous diseases iu women than all ]
the medicine in the world can cure. J
Thin people would be apt to gain 1
flesh if they could be induced to drink '
a pint of sweet milk each night before 1
going to bed.
It is yery unpleasant for the sick, !
sitting or recumbent, to read or use the
eyes closely; the eyes, probably from :
their intimate relation with the brain,
are sympathetically affected by every
ill that may attack any other part of i
the body.
I "> t '
Breaches or Etiquette.
It is a breach of etiquette to stare
around the room when you are making
a call. i
To remove the gloves when making
a formal call.
To take your dog with you when j
making a call. I
To open the piano or to touch it, if ,
found open, when waiting for your (
hostess to enter.
To go to the room of an invalid without
an invitation. <
To walk about the room examining
its appointments when waiting for ]
your hostess.
To open or shut a door, raise or low- ;
er a curtain, or in any way to alter the <
arrangements of a room in the house ,
at which you are a caller. I
To turn your chair so as to bring <
your back to some one seated near you.
To remain after you havo discovered ,
that your host or hostess is dressed to go
out. i
To fidget with hat, cane, or parasol,
during a call.
To resume your seat after having j
Dnce risen to say adieu. i
To preface your departure by re- marking,
"Now, I must go," or to in- i
sinuate that your hostess may be weary (
:>fyou. j
For a lady receiving several callers |
to engage in a tete-a-tete conversation ,
with one.
To make remarks upon a caller who j
b as j ust left the room. <
To call upon a friend in reduced cir- ,
3umstances with any parade of wealth in
equipage or dress. t
For the hostess to leave the room ?
when visitors are present.
To assume any ungraceful or uncouth
position, such as standing with
irms akimbo, sitting astride a chair, .
smoking in the presence of ladies, j
wearing the hat within doors, standing
wiih legs crossed or feet on the 1
jhairs, leaning forward in your chair 1
with elbows on the knees?all of which
icts denote lack of good breeding. :
Scottish American.
"Apples or P'ars.v
It costs something, now and then,
to be courteous. Yet a gentleman
will not hesitate to pay the price. ,
Several years ago three young men, :
iust graduated from college, went on a (
bunting tour through "West Virginia, ;
seeking sport and health. One day
ihey stopped at a farmer's house to
;ake dinner. They were cordially weljouied
by the good man and his wife, 1
whose table was bountifully spread.
A.I the close of the meal a basket of
1 J ? I 1 fa_
ippies auu pears was pitw;eu uu iuu ?
:>le.
"Mr. Ames, will you take apples or
p'ars?" asked the farmer's wife, addressing
one of the young men.
The young man was perplexed. He
svanted pears. "But," he said to himself,
"if I say peairs, I may mortify
my hostess by seeming to correct her
pronunciation. Should I say p'ars,
:he boys would laugh."
"An apple, if you please," he answered,
denying himself that he might
ae courteous.
A similar question was put to Mr.
Jhilds, who also concluded to deny
ais appetite for tho sake of courtesy
md take an apple. Mr Smith, the
/hird student had made up his mind
hat he would take a pear. When the
ady asked, "Mr. Smith, will you take
ippies or p'ars?'' he answered, as
jourteously as if addressing a duch:ss:
"Thank you, madam, I'll take'
p'ars."
Two beautiful pears were passed to
iim, somewhat to the chagrin of his
mmnnninna urhi\ otu fhoir linrplishfid
^umjjuuiuuoj *? uvw vuv?? ??
ipples In silence. As they were leavng
the house the kind-hearted matron
;ave to Ames and Childs several ap3les,
but to Smith three or four pears,
the young men hastened to get out
>f sight that they might divide the
spoils and enjoy a laugh over the selfJen
ial their courtesy caused them.
"Boys," said Ames, "I wouldn't
iave mortified the old lady for a basketful
of pears."
"Nor I have said 'pears,' "remarked
Smith. "There's a time and place for
iverything; but the dinner-table is
aot the place to correct your hostess'
pronunciation."? Youth's Companion,
Househald Hints.
When recipes call for a cupful it
means just half a pint; this amount in
granulated sugar weighs just half a
pound.
Salt will curdle .new milk; so in preparing
custards oer porridges the salt
should not be added until the dish is
prepared.
Red pepper poda or a few pieces of
charcoal thrown in to the pot in which
:>nlons^ eabbages, e tc., are being boiled
will prevent the ui xpleasant odor.
Two tablespoonf uls of washing soda
in a gallon of boil ing water makes a
?ood disinfectant f- or the kitchen sink.
Poiurlt in at night, while it is still at
tx>ifing heat
Tin pans can be prevented from rusting
by heating th m and rubbing well
with linseed oil ;and heating again.
Wood ashes or wh iting (which is better)
mixed with ke rosene will brighten
them.
Make a list, in the order in which
you pact them, or tne contents or
your woolen chest, and paste it on the
outside. Then the articles at the head
the list will be ii i the bottom of the
box.
Rusty black ca&hmere should be
sponged with equaJ parts of alcohol
md ammonia, diluted with a little
warm water. WheiQ pressing use a
piece of alpaca or undressed cambric
next the warm iron.
If ironed when da mp, and pressed
till dry, table linen takes a certain
stiffness which is mole permanent and
less subject, to creases than the stiffness
of starch, which is also injurious
to the fabric.
Lime and alkali stains may be remov3d
from white goods by simply washing.
In the case of colored goods and
silks the goods should be moistened
ind citric acid, much diluted, applied
with the finger.
Good Mutton" and Wool.?A fact
not to be forgotton in sheep husbandry,
says a recent writer, is that while
sne may raise fin e wool and very poor
mutton, you cam lot raise good mutton
without raising good wool also. All
authorities agree that the best fed sheep
that fatten and mature in the shortest
time make the bt st and soundest wool,
50 that this by-product from suoh
sheep will always find a ready market.
If we can raise miutton on the Irusis of
making the meat pay the cost, we shall
have the wool for clear profit.
For cleaning vrindows use chamois
skin instead of cloth, if you wish a
bright, polished auface.
{ :; .. ( . _ -
I
Little Sister Mary Turner.
Rev. H. M. Eaton, writing to the
Maekiw Republican, relates an incident
that occurred in tlie early days of
Maine Methodism, which illustrates!
how easy it is for a man to imagine
that his own inclination is a manifestation
of the Divine will. In the days
of which Mr. Eaton writes it was the
custom for young ministers to consult
their Presiding Elders before taking a
wife. Once during a campmeeting in
sastern Maine, a young minister approached
the Presiding Elder and said
he wished to be married. "Whom do
you propose to marry ?" asked the Elder.
"Well," said the young man,
"the Lord has made known to me very
clearly that I should marry Sister Mary
Turner." "I know her very well,"
jaid the Elder; "she is a fine girl. I
will see you again before the meeting
closes." During the week four other
young ministers consulted the Presiding
Elder on the subject of marriage.
Each of them gave the name of the
young woman to whom he proposed
to offer himself. They had all prayed
over the matter a great deal, ana each
was certain that it was God's desire
that he should marry the person nam2d.
Neither of the five" young men
knew that any one else had consulted
the Elder on that subject. On the last
day of the camp-meeting, at noon, toe
Elder called the Ave ministers to his
tent to receive his opinion. He said:
"Now, brethren, it may be the will of
God for you to marry, but it is not His
will that five Methodist ministers
3hould marry that little Sister Mary
Turner."
? # mm
"Like Ton do When Tou Laugh."
A baby of three years once preached
me a sermon, and I pass it on for the
benefit of other downcast'and despondent
ones who need to learn to "rejoice
Bvermore."
"How is the baby?" I asked drearily,
standing at the foot of the staircase
leading up to a chamber where the little
one lay ill. I was tired, unhopeful;
my mood came out in my tone.
" 'Peak like you do when you
laugh," called the weak little voice
upstairs; and, if I ever felt rebuked by
an angel, that was the moment. Jt
has come up to me a hundred times
since; I hope I am the brighter and
cheerier for it.
"Speak like you do when you
laugh." That means sparkle and
gladness and good-will. Those fretful
lines at the mouth corners don't come
from laughiug. The weary ones around
the eyes nave another origin. But the
plainest outward sign of despondency
is that in the tone. The sick feel it;
that is why "visitors are forbidden."
Little children are infallible weatherprophets
; they will not "takfe to" you.
Auu you and I?just common working
men and women, neither sick nor
young nor old, but busy and often
tired?we love?ves. that is the word?
we love the bright, loving, laughing,
happy voice. "Speak like you do
when you laugh."?Anon.
He Forgot Something.? A passenger
on a street-car was talking to a
friend on a trip down-town, aud all
the other passengers listened with attention,
as the theme was one of general
interest. His little boy, a small
urchin of three years, sat beside him
regarding him with fond delight.
"There is no sense," the speaker was
saying, "in the way people go through
the world forgetting things that they
ought to remember. They hurry put
of street-cars leaving valuable packages
behind them, forget their operaglasses
in the theatre and their overcoats
in hotels. Now* it is a very weak
mind that cannot remember its own
bundles. Here I have a package?an
umbrella and an overcoat. I could
carry them from here to Kamschatka
without ever forgetting them.' This is
my corner; good-morning."
He bolted out of the door without
waiting for the car to stop, and the
other passengers were musing over the
truth and wisdom of what he said
when a small, wailing voice piped out:
??jn 4-vflp onh fnrfirat mo ''
xtiy pa a uu uuu ivigu? uivi
Then a bluff old man in the corner
remarked:
"We are all tarred with the same
stick." ?
And it was not until the return trip
of the car that the man who never forgot
anything recovered his small boy.
Just a Hint to Boys.?I stood in
a store, the other day, when a boy
came in and applied for a situation.
"Can you write a good hand?" was
asked.
"Yaas."
'Good at figures?"
"Yaas."
"Know the city well?" "Yeas."
"That will do?I don't want you,"
said the merchant.
"But," I said, when the boy had
gone, "I know that lad to be an honest,
industrious boy. Why don't you
give him a chance ?"
"Because he hasn,t learned to say
'Yes sir,' and 'No sir.' If he answers
me as he did when applying for a situation,
how will he answer customers
after being here a month ?"
"What could I say to that? He had
fallen into a bad habit/ young as he
was, which turned him away from the
first situation he had applied for.
UM. Quad" in Free Press.
"Scotch Anecdotes.?Dr. Scott, of
Greenock, used to ten or a sanor wno
came to be married, but when asked if
he would take the woman to be his
wife, looked blank and said, "I would
like to know first what you are going
to say to she." At another time, when
the woman was asked if she would
obey, but did not answer, the man?also
a sailor?exclaimed, "Leave that
to me, sir."
In those days people who felt sleepy
during the sermon used, as now in
Germany, to shake off drowsiness by
standing up, but poor human nature
made this at times an occasion of display.
At old Monkland, a man who
nad on a rather gaudy vest stood up
and threw back his coat, apparently to
let his vest be seen. Mr. Bower, the
minister, at length said: "NooJohn,
ye had better sit doon. We have a'
seen your braw waistcoat."
"Pshaw !" exclaimed Grimshaw, "I
have no patience with a woman. You
look under the bed to see a man aud
you'd scream blue murder if you saw
one." "What of that?" retorted his
patient wife; "I saw you put your
hand 011 the radiator to see if it was hot,
and you jumped up and down and
swore like a trooper when you found
that it was." Grimshaw has now lees
patience with 'em than ever.
1 1 - v
Always keep your hens at work.
An idle hen is never a good layer.
The Arm of tlio Lord and the Arm or
Flesh.
The following incident in the life of
John Hunt, missionary to the Cannibal
Islands in 184o, is a grand illustration
of the influence Christianity has
produced upon the heathen inhabitants,
when not accompanied by war
or drunkenness. Thakombau, the
Mbau king, had just arrived on a warlike
expedition against the island of
Viwa, where the missionaries were
living.
"The missionaries pleaded with
him fora long while to be merciful.
The Christian natives were very firm,
two of them meeting near the mission
house, shook hands warmly, and, with
a cheerful smile, exclaimed, 'Heaven
is very near.' They even prepared
food to set before their enemies. They
retired to the bush, their usual place
for prayer, and many a voice was
heard there in exulting praise, and
many praying for the salvation of
AHAm 1 AO
UliCl I CUCUiiWi
"The heathen said : 'Oh, if you
missionaries would go away! It is
your presence that prevents us killing
them. If you would go away you
would not reach Moturiki?an island
close by?before all these Viwa people
would be in the oven !' While the
consultation was going on in the stone
house, Lydia Vatea, the converted
queen, entered, and, on her knees,
with many tears, besought her kinsman,
Thakombau, to join the Lotu?
become a Christian. She told how
happy the religion of Jesus made her.
and how it fortified her against all
fear of death, Tha great chief wondered
at this strange religion, which
enabled its followers to be so happy in
the prospect of the ovens.
"All tnat day the returning warriors,
armed with clubs and muskets,
were arriving at Viwa, until the place
was filled and surrounded with the
forces of Mbau, against whom the few
Christian were powerless.
"But they showed uo wish to resist,
They were God's people, and He in
whom they trusted cared for them.
In proportion as the heathen grew in
number, so they seemed to waver in
purpose, until they said, 'We came to
kill this people, and we cannot lift a
hand.' Towards night they withdrew
quietly, acknowledging that the
Christians' God was too strong for
them. As they passed through the
bush to their canoes, many of the convered
Viwan3, whoai they had come
to destroy, accompanied them, carrying
for them the clubs that had
been brought for the expected slaughter.
"After this the dark and imminent
storm passed away, and the missionaries
and their charge were left in com'
* 3 11
parative ireeuum.
The Hawaiian Kingdom?Sandwich
Islands?with a population of 57,000,
is governed on peace principles ; and
they have prospered so well under
them, that though it is not yet a century
since the missionaries commenced
the work of reclaiming them from
their wars and other savage practices,
they have now a constitutional monarchy,
an excellent civil code, a well
observed Sabbath, good public schools,
and a more extensive commerce in
proportion to their population than
any other country in the world. This
has been accomplished under a gospel
preaching that was not obliged to
stifle its true sentiments on the war
question for fear of displeasing influential
hearers, as is so frequently
the case in more powerful countries,
where too many of the ministers are
fas far as war is concerned), like
Isaiah's dumb dogs that cannot bark.
Isa. 56: 10.
The independence of the islands
was several times threatened by
France, and some of the inhabitants
were urgent for a forcible resistance ;
but the king and council, at the
prompting of their peace-loving missionary,
Titus Coan, sent a proclamation
over the group of islands, callinor
r?n the churches not to fight, but
pray. The French were naturally discouraged
at pushing a conquest that
would bring so little glory and so
much disgrace, so they retired. Before
leaving they destroyed several
thousand dollars, worth of property,
but any resistance would have caused
'an increase in this destruction, and at
the same time woule have lessened
the disgrace of the aggressors. The
British took possession with a small
frigate, but there was no resistance.
The invader was monarch for five
months, and the British flag floated
over custom house, fort, and port.
But public opinion in the islands and
in Europe brought down the British flag
and sent up the Hawaiian signal.
?Harris Knight in Messenger of
Peace. ^
Try Them.
Many Sunday-schools have a very
pernicious practice of sending their
little girls to hawk their festival and
picnic tickets. A gentleman besieged
by the children, said :
"I will buy tickets of all who can say
the Ten Commandments." Out of the
twelve not one could make the required
recitation, and all belonged to the
same Sunday-school, and to the same
class. Another made her appearance.
"How many commandments should
you say there were?" she was asked.
"Sixteen."
"You place the figure rather high,
but let's hear what you know."
"" VV?jll, BUC 3SI14 DlUHJjr, A uuu 1/
know but four."
"Say the four for me, then."
A moment's pause. "I don't believe
I know but two."
"We will hear the two, then, if you
please."
"I've forgot them," said the vendor
of tickets.
"Well, then, I cannot deal with
you," and she was dismissed. As
many as fifty children applied, and
yet none could su.y the commandments,
except one little girl, of which
tickets were bought. If our Sundayschool
scholars were put upon the
stand, hov many could repeat the Ten
Commandments?
If you would not be foiled by temptation,
do not enter into a dispute with
Satan. When Eve began to argue the
case with the serpent, the serpent was
too hard for her; the Devil, by his
logic, disputed her out of Paradise.
Satan can mince sin, make it small,
and varnish it over, and make it look
like virtue. Satan is too subtle a sophister
to hold an argument with him.
Dispute not, but fight.
It is poor encouragement to toil
through life to amass a fortune to ruin
your children. In nine cases out of
ten a large fortune is the greatest curse
which could be bequeathed to the
young and inexperienced.
'; is
Jacob's Sermon.
"Had a good sermon, Jacob!" my
wife asked me last night when I came
home from church.
"Complete, Rachel?" said I.
Rachel was poorly, and couldn't go
to meeting much so she always wanted
me to tell her about the sermon and
the singing and the people.
"Good singing, Jacob?"
"I'm sure I couldn't tell you."
"Many people out to-day?"
"I don't know."
"Why, Jacob, what's the matter?
What are vou thinking about?"
Squibs.
The life of a Christian is a praying,
waiting life.
It is better to be nobly remembered
than nobly born.
Nothing but love to God can conquer
the love of the world.
"Let the world have the world; the
whole of it can make but a poor all."
You can learn to be patient and
cheerful, in spite of pain and 110 play.
No pleasure is comparable to the
standing upon the vantage ground of
truth.
Conscience, once unbalanced by the
overweight of wrong, tends to an underestimate
of wrong.
Four things come not back?the
spoken word, the sped arrow, the past
life, the neglected opportunity.
The propensity to evil or dishonorable
course is much more to be deplored
than the acts which come of it.
He is happy whose circumstances
suit his temper j but he is more excellent
who can suit his temper to circumstances.
The sacred Scriptures teach us the
best way of living, the noblest way of
suffering, and the most comfortable
way of dying.
The mind is weak where it has once
given way. It is long before a principle
restored can become as firm as one
that has never been moved.
It is not often that great accumulations
of wealth do anybody any good.
They usually spoil the happiness of
two generations?one in the getting,
and one in the spending.
"Nothing is more opposite to the
true Christian spirit than strife, revenge
and tumults. The Christian religion
teaches men to do good and receive
evil; to receive evil and return
good."
Let not him who prays suffer his
tongue to outstrip his heart; nor presume
to carry a message to tne throne
of grace while that stays behind.
A true perception of the Gospel is
the eptire forgetfulness of self, utter
absence of any pretension, and the
complete and entire refusal to accept
the world's praise or judgment.
Instead of hunting around to find
out the missing link between man and
a dirty little monkey, I prefer to look
for the mi3sing link that will connect
man with the throne of an eternal
Henry Martyn laments that want of
private devotion, reading, and shortness
of prayer through incessant sermon-making
had produced much
strangeness between God acd his souI?
Many a preacher is lean from the same
cause.
There is a burden of care in getting
riches; fear in keeping them ; temptation
in using them; guilt in abusing
them; sorrow in losing them ; and a
burden of account at last to be given
up concerning them.
Works of which the effect is to correct
our errors, to strengthen our reason,
to elevate our spirit, to improve
our mind, are as productive in their
way as those that tend to lower the
price of meat and bread.
By desiring what is perfectly good,
even when we do not quite know what
it is, and cannot do what we would,
we are part of the divine power
against evil, widening the skirts of
light and making the struggle with
darkness narrower.
The man who has learned how to
Eut himself to work and keep at it,
as reached a condition of mastery
that promises him success in almost
any situation. He has then a possession
infinitely better than the gift of
genius.
Religion in its purity is not so much
a pursuit as a temper: or rather it is a
temner leading to the pursuit of all
that* is high anil holy. Its foundation
is faith ; its action, works; its temper,
holiness; its aim obedience to God in
improvement of self and beneyolence
to men.
When you find a person a little better
than his word, a little more liberal
than his promise, a little more than
borne out in his statement by his facts,
a little larger in deed than in speech,
you recognize a kind of eloquence in
that person's utterance not laid down
in Blair or Campbell.
There is no case in all our Lord's
discourses in which the recompense
which he proposes to man does not
consist mainly in the deliverance from
the selfishness which is his great torment
and oppression, but upon which,
alas, the followers and ministers of
Christ have been content to build their
notion of His kingdom in this world
an d the world to come.
Learning- to Sing:.
The following eight reasons why
every one should learn to sing are
given by Byrd, in his "Psalms, Sonnets,
and Songs," &c., published in
1588.
1st. "It is a knowledge easily
taught and quickly learned, where
there is a good master and an apt
scholar."
2nd. "The exercise of singing is
A frt or?H nrAnH tf\ nfO
UCJUgUI/lUI LW Uai/Uiv, UUU WW
serve the health of man."
3rd. "It doth strengthen all parts
of the breast, and doth open the pipes."
4th. "It is a singularly good remedy
for a stuttering and stammering in
the speech."
5th. It is the best means to procure
a perfect pronunciation, and to make
a good orator."
6. It is the only way to know where
nature hath bestowed a good voice . . .
and in many that excellent gift is lost
because they want art to express nature."
7th. "There is not any music of
instruments whatever comparable to
that which is made of the voices of
men; where the voices are good, and
the same woll sorted and ordered."
8th. "The better the voice is, the
meeteritisto honor and serve God
therewith, and the voice of man is
chiefly to be employed to that end."
"Since singing is good a thing,
1 wish ail men would learn to sing.
Lifting the Hat.?Do our boys
ever think, as they raise their hats to a
lady or ii girl friend, why respect
should be shown in this way? Here
is the explanation of the custom:
The custom of lifting the hat had its
origin during the age of chivalry,
when it was customary for knights
never to appear in public, except
in full armor. It became a custom,
however, for a knight, upon entering
an. assembly of friends, to remove his
helmet, signifying, "I am safe in the
presence of my friends.
The age of chivalry passed away
with the fifteenth century, but, among
the many acts of courtesy which can
be traced back to its Influence, none is
more direct in its origin than that of
lifting the hat to acknowledge tliepresence
of a friend.
"The sermon/'.
"What was the text?"
"I don't think there was any. I
didn't hear it.
"I declare. Jacob, I believe you slept
all the time.''
"Indeed I didn't. I never was so
wide awake."
"What was the subject, then ?"
"As near as I can remember, it was
me." '
"You! Jacob Gay!"
"Yes, ma'am. Yoyi think it a poor
subject. I'm sure I thought so, too."
"Who preached? Our minister?"
"No, he didn't preach?not to me,
at any rate. 'Twas a woman?a young
woman, too."
"Why^Mr. Gay ! You don't mean
it, sure! Those Woman's flights .folk
haven't got into our pulpit?
"Well, not exactly. The minister
preached from the pulpit, but I could
not listen. I was thinking about my
sermon. I will tell you about it.
You know that young woman at the
post-office, Mrs. Hyde's niece. She
and I were the first ones at meeting.
I have seen her a good deal in the postoffice
and at her aunt's when I was
there at work. She is a pleasantspoken
and a nice, pretty girl. We
were talking about the meetings.
You know there is quite a reformation
--?! ni.- ?Ut
going on. oue was ajjeamug ui iuio <
one, then that one who was converted.
There was quite a silence, and then
she said, sort of low, and trembling in
her voice, and a little pink flash in her
cheek, and the teal's just a-starting.
'Oh, Mr. Gay, some of us were saying
at the prayer meeting last night that
we did so want you to be a Christian.'
Her cheeks flushed redder, and the
tears fell. I knew she felt it, and It
was a cross to say it. I never was so
taken back in all my life. 'Why,
bless your soul,' I said, 'my child, I
have been a member of the Church
forty years.' My tears came then, and
I guess my cheeks would have been
redder than hers if they warn't so
tanned. .
" 'Do excuse me, Mr. Gay,' she said.
'Excuse me for hurting your feelings,
but I didn't know you were a Christian.
I never see you at prayer-meeting
or Sabbath School, ana never noticed
you at communion. I'm sorry
I've hurt your feelings.'
" 'Tut, tut, child,'I answered. 'No
harm done. I'm glad you thought
about an old man. I'm a member, as
I said, but I haven't worked at it much
I'll allow. I don't go to prayer meeting
or Sunday School, because?well
?I make the excuse to myself and
other folks that Eachel was poorly,
and needed me to stay with her, but
I'm afraid the Lord wouldn't accept
it.' ^
"Just then the people began to
come, and I took my seat, but the
looks and words of that young woman
went to my heart. I couldn't
think of anything else. They preached
to me all the meeting time. To
think that some of the young folks in
Wharton didn't know I was a member,
and were concerned for the old
roor> T cjoirl tn mirnplf. hv WftV of at)- I
ujau' ? ?J ?, ~J ?? ? - J,
plication : "David Gay, you've been
a silent partner long enough. It is
time you woke up, and worked for
the Lord; time to let your light shine
so that the young folks can see it'
Golden Rule.
Drudgery.
Many a young married woman finds
tfre romance of life fading out as she is
confronted day after day with the
ever-reiwrring tasks of daily life. Said
such a one the other day:
"I do hate to do the ordinary routine
drudgery of housekeeping. I never
was systematic. Things get out of order,
and there they stay till I can get
round to pick them up. It takes bo
long, especially the dishes. I seem to
be doing dishes a good deal of the
time; they seem like climbing up a
high mountain, the top of which I
never reach."
The friend to whom she was talking
made this reply:
"I really have learned to enjoy my
dishes. I make it a point to have
abundance of clean- hot water and
plenty of clean cup towels. I know
that artists and musicians obtain their
fine effects by tireless attention to details.
I take this principle into my
every-day life. While I am doing the
dishes I study the best method of doing
them ; the quickest, the easiest,
the most agreeable. Generally I attack
the pots and kettles first, and get
them all scraped as clean as cold water
will do it. While my hands are busy
with the routine I have time to think.
I plan my other work, think what
needs doing most, and what can wait;
think up pretty styles for my dresses,
think over my Sunday-school lesson,
the sermons on Sunday, the last new
book or magazine I have read, recall
my own actions, and think how I
could have done better. Thus the
time passes quickly, and if my mind
is profitably occupied, it is not spent
only in getting my work done.
"You know we have a great many
stockings to be mended, and I used to
hate to darn stockings; but now while
doing that I make a practice of sewing
with my open Bible near me. Proverbs
is a good book to study when
sewing, for there is so little connection
between many of the verses. I have
learned while thus quietly repairing
stookings and mending to talk to God
as I can talk to no one else. I tak6- all
my doubts and fears straight to Him.
I have found the most disagreeable
tasks made really pleasant by trying
to see how much I can please Him by
doing them well." .
"" tn j j . iir ?.:n
IVlUg JJHV1U SttJU . x niu nccj) uijr
mouth with a bridle (Pa. xxxix : 1.)
That whs a good resolution. If one
does not bridle his tongue, he will 3ay
a great many things that he ought not
to say, especially when his passions are
excited. If one is angry, let him stop
and count ten before he says a word
aud then sing Old Hundred.
He that is habituated to deceptions
and artificialities in trifles, will try in
vain to be true in matters of importance;
for truth is a thing of habit,
rather than of will. You cannot in
any given case, by any sudden and
single efi'ort, will to be true, if the habit
of your life has been insincere.
A writer in the July number of the
North American Review says:
"Those who have visited the White
House since March 4th must have
been pained, if not humiliated, at the
spectacle of all kinds of people from
all sorts of places dinning into the
Chief Magistrate's ears the merits, and '
sometimes the demerits, of candidates,
sincerely laboring under the impression
that the dispensing of patronagi
is the chief, if not the only, fanctioii ';';M
of his office, and going away with as iyM
little appreciation of the courtesy received
as though they had paid' a dol- )i\
lar at an intelligence office and left
their characters behind them."
"A little while ago I stood in the t
President's room with forty or fifty
others similarly privileged, while at
least twice as many more were waiting ^K5
a chance at him in an adjoining room. : ^
Mr. Blaine was anxious to present Mr.
Whitelaw Beid, who desired to bid the M
President farewell, previous to his de- - ^
parture for Paris; Senator Hawley v ctijjg
was looking for a chance to introduce = < q
a distinguished Englishman; Gen. N.
P. Banks simply wanted to pay his respects
; Henry Cabot Lodge was pa?- vjs
iDg the room looking at his watch, and
a distinguished senator from the Pacific
Slope told me he wanted to speak to
the President about the discrimination;:
of the inter-state bill in favor of foreign
corporations; yet during the time ' < A
these gentlemen were waiting, a delegation
of citizens were recommending
their candidate, who was. present, for
the postmastership of a town which ^
had, perhaps, barely risen to the dignity
of a place in the Gazetteer.'-'
"This is, I presume, a fair sample of
what happens every day. I confess I
had a little axe with me, myself: but
after what I saw I had not the temeri- " > 14'
ty to submit it to very severe friction, .\:m%
and brought it home with me with its . - $4
edge about as dull as when I took It
there."
Many a pastor is dissatisfied with his ..1
situation and anxious for a change
who is sure to be still more discontented
after his change comes. Every po- '-/$
sition has its peculiar disagreeable features,
and no one can see them so clearly
as the incumbent himself. A few
months ago a Denominational paper in
Boston published an announcement of
a vacant pulpit, and stated that Although
the salary was not large, yet it il;
was a field in which a suitable man
could soon achieve success. Among
the answers received was one from a
minister who stated that it was just
such a field as he had been looking after
for six months, and it turned out
that this eager applicant was the very \man
who had recently vacated the
church. It is much easier to see inviting
features in others fields than our
own. The hardships one encounters,
in a position were not manifest before
he entered it, and the quarter to which
he looks with strong desir6 is baiet
with as many ills as the one from
which he fain would flee.
Are you in tlie Vine T "
THOMAS GUTHBIE. ^
I have seen a branch tied to a bleed-,
ing tree for the purpose of being engrafted
into its wounded body, and "
that thus both might be one. Yet A
no incorporation had followed; mere
was no living union. Spring came .
singing, and with her fingers opened
ah the ouds; and summer came wkh.. -,"f
her dewy nights and sunny 'days, aad$3lg
brought out all the flowers; and :-li
brown autumn came to shake the fe rj
trees and reap the fields, and with
dances and mirth to hold the,"harvest
home;" but that unhappy branch
bore no fruit, nor flower, nor even leaf. >?$
Just held on by dead clay and rotting
cords, it stuck to the living tree, a; J-jx
withered and unsightly thing. 80 ateo ' $
is it with mapy who have a "name to;
live and are dead."
Look Long to Jesus.?Take a good
look at Jesus as often as you can. You
expect soon to behold Him in open ?. Ap
vision, but they who look most
Him here will see most glory in. Him
hereafter. In heaven some will see fer a}
deeper into Christ than others. The V-ia
deeper you see into His grace now, the
deeper you will see into His glory
then, for glory is measured by graoe.
Linger at the place of secret prayer.
If you do not know just what to pray i
about, look to Jesus for Him to give SB
you a prayer. Look to Him for your ^
prayer and your faith. After yon ,
nave opened all your heart to Him, .il
take time to linger for His answer; to |
listen to marching orders; and should Vj
He choose not to speak, trust Himjust ; ;?
the same, and take time to adore Him. V3
Go away from your cloBet with the
clear image of Jesus hanging in yoor ,' ^
mind.?Dr. G. D. Watson.
The tone of both the press and popu- '
ulace is considerably changed if the
preacher turns crank, and begins to
classify sin and catalogue transgreesions
as did St. Paul. Let him once ;'r:
say certain classes of men are sinners
and certain classes of women are sinners,
he is denounced as a barbarian,
lacking the instincts of a gentleman 1
and the charitable spirit of a Chris- 1
tian. He is branded as intolerant and '
unworthy. It is at this point we file Oi
our complaint against many of the sec* i
ular papers. We do so for two rea- 0.
sons: First, because they hold out to v>*
the world a false hope, saying, "Peace,
peace, when there is no peacesecondly,
because, wittingly or unwittingly,
they tend to bring the pulpit info >3
bondage, making it succumb to a time- i
serving spirit, thus rendering to Ceeaar
more than Caesar's due.
-'5
Although the tired body must have
rest; although the overtaxed brain ;
must have the strain off-lifted for
awhile; although the mind must have
chauge of subject and refreshment,
yet we must remember that there is
no vacation for the service of the soul; :v
that our "Christian living," our <
"Master's service," must go right on ^
all the time, whatsoever the season,
wheresoever we are placed. Blessed be ?:
His name, there's to be found a con- V j
stant, an every-day renewal of our
strength; a divine feeding and refreshing
of our souls; a wonderful variety w
given to our service; a marvelous
adaptability of kind and amount of
service required of each one, so that V
fatigue never comes to the soul from
any overwork for Christ.?Selected.
Just at present much is being said Id
favor of the revision of the election
laws in order to prevent frauds. A . 3
good move. But a better oue would be- \
to revise the voters, and disfranchiseevery
man who directly or indirectly
gives or receives a bribe, or otherwise
is guilty of fraud in elections. Mea.
1 who are guilty of such frauds are eu*- '4
mies lo society.