University of South Carolina Libraries
p? ^ ' - | Ailbc Vlllc ^ m lr BY HUGH WILSON. ABBEVILLE, S. C., WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 12 1890. VOLUME XXXIV. NO. 38. 1 r In Error. i "(iivp me, this tiny. dear I.onl," ! cried, ".Some blessed station mar thy sick*; Some work in every deed for thee. That I may know Thy need of me." | Thus pleading, praying, tip and down ^ 1 wandered, searching lield and town, Intent on task, the very best, Kiuding still my eager quest. And morn to noonday briahteneil; niulit Drew slowly toward the fading height, Till I, low kneeling at the throne With empty hands, made weary moan : "Thou hast not any room for me! No work was mine, dear Christ, for thee!"' Then sudden on my blurring sight Swept majesty and love and li^lit. The Master stood before ine there In conscious answer io my prayer. Ho touched mine eyes. In shame I blushed, In shame my weak complaining hushed ! For, !o! all day, the swift hours through, The work, Christ given, for me to do In Mine own house had slighted been, And I, convicted so of sin, Could only lift my look to His, The uraee of pardon ask for this, That I had wandered far aud wide, instead of watching at his side; That I had yet to learn how sweet The Home ta^ks at the Master's feet. Margaret A\ .SHnyx/cr. Winning a Good Name. "Charlie Leslie," called out a farmer to a boy who was passing, "we are short of hands to-day. Couldn't you give us a turn at these pears? They must be ofi'to-morrow morning. If you wi'l help me this afternoon. I'll pay you well." "Not I," said Charley; "I am off on a fishing excursion. Cant leave my business to attend to other people's and with a laugh he walked on. "That's what boys are good for nowa-days," growled the farmer. "These {>ears might rot on the trees for all the lelp I could get from them. Time was when neighbors, men and b<iy s both were obliging to each other, and would help in a pinch, and take no pay but 'thank ye.' Lads now-a-day> are above work, if they haven't a whole jacket to their backs." "Could I help you, Mr. Watson," said a pleasant voice, as Fred Staey appeared around the clump of lilac-bushes which had iiid him from view. He had heard the conversation with Charlev. and, as he was an obliging boy, lie was sorry to see the farmer's fruit waste for want of hands to gather it. "I have nothing particular to do this afternoon, and would as lief work for you a while as not." ' Might know it was you, Fred,' said the farmer well pleased. I don't believe there's another boy about who would oiler his services." The matter was soon aiuanged, and Fred pulled oft* his jacket :md went to work with a will, picking and assorting the fruit very carefully, to the the great admiration of -Mr/\Vatson. "If that boy bad to work for a living, I would engage him (juick enough," he thought. "JJut lie'll make his way in any business. Oinso obliging will make a host of friends who will be always willing to lend a helping hand." Fred would take no pay from the faTmer, who, he well knew was working hard to pay oil* his mortgage. But he did accept a basket of pears for his mother, as they were very excellent ones, and the fanner insisted so warmly on his taking then:. Ever after tlmt Fred was sure of a good friend in farmer Watson, and one who was always reauy lospeaiv u worn for him whenever his name was mentioned. Oil, if boys knew what golden capital this "good name" is, they would woi k hard to yet it. Well die; the wisest man say, "It is rather to l.e chosen than great riches." It h:is-helped many a man to acquire riches." It is of great importance to a boy what the men of his place say of him. Never fancy they do not know what you do?that they have no interest in what you do. Every business man sees and estimates the boys that pass before him at pretty nearly their worth. Every man with sons of his own lakes an interest in other men's sons. There is nothing like obliging ways to make friends of people, and to lead them to speak well of you. That will be a stepping stone to your success in life. A Born Lawcr. A Unrvar fur n c?lnrl; TliP next morning his ollice was crowded with applicants?all bright, and many suitable. lie ba<le them wail until ail should arrive, and then ranged them in a row a id said he would tell them a story, note their comments, and judge from that whom he would choose. "A certain farmer," began the lawyer, "was troubled with a red squirrel i? "that got in through a hole in his barn and stole his seed corn, lie r< solved to kill the squmd at the liist opjx-it till ity. Seeing him go ii: at the hole one noon, he took his shotgun and lived away; the first set the barn on fire." "Did the barn burn'.'" said one of the boys. The lawyer without answer confined : "And seeing the barn on fire, the farmer seized a pail of water and ran to put it out." "Did he put it out?" said another. "As he passed inside, the door shut to and the barn wa? soon in flames. When the hired girl rushed out with more water?" "Did they all burn up?" said another boy. The lawyer went on without answer : "Then the old lady came out, ami al! was noise and contusion, and everybody was trying to put out the tire." "jf)id anyone burn up?" said another. The lawyer said: "There, that will do; you have all shown great interest ill the story." Jiut observing one little bright-eyed fellow in deep silence, he said : "Now my litlle man, what have you to say?" The little fellow blushed, grew uneasy, and stammered out: "1 want to know what became ol that squirrel, that's wiiat i want to know!" "You'll do," said the lawyer; "you are my man; you have not been switched oil" by a confusion and a barn burning, and hired girlsaixl water pail* you have kept your eye on the squirrel."? Tact in Court Do not build a home larger than yon C really want. A thousand dollars' worth of house for other people l< look at is a cosily vanity. Have a good cistern and a large one, with a brick filter in it. It will pay the cost ten times over a single year. J\r. E. Farmer. ^^M5tands to reason?A lawyer in court. Simple and Complex Characters. The observing mother cannot fail to j note the diU'erence in the diameters of! her children. Some are simple and I harmonious in their or^auixaUon; I their digc-iion is jiood, their nerves,' not easily irritated ; (hey sleep well; they are ^ood-nattircd and easily! amuse themselves. Others aie all the j tinieailinj; in one way or another: they dislike certain articles of food ; they are fretful : they nearly die in get-; tin^their teeth ; they need to beamus-j ed and eared for continually. f.ll 1 lit ! ?? 11 ir If |W Jllld MS.-0(i- I ate with their fellows in the playground j or at school these dillerences appear| more and more marked. One will i make friends with every liod.v ; tiici other will be Inclined more to solitudv and brooding. ".Brutus with himself at war forgets the shows of love to oilier men." Natural courage in one will make him foremost in foals of agility ami strength; natural timidity in the oilier will restrain him within narrower limits. These two types of character we i meet every day, and few indeed there are who do not delight to analyze and j discuss them. This delight in 'the I proper study of mankind" may prop-1 erly be charged with a great deal of: gossip that cannot otherwise he accounted for. When elevated above the! region of gossip it takes form of ids- j toncal and biographical analysis or ofj studies in Shakespeare or some other j delineator of the human soul. The mother who discovers in her! child a complex rather than a simple nature will, if slit is wise, address herself to work of instilling such prinei*! pies and inspiring such motives in her! '"ill ?!? /. Ii'iti .1 i.lmr ti\ IijmiI i Vllliu 4415 ? 1II fji>v mill u \ iv.? him through tlie mazes of the labyrinth he niu.-t tread, and straighten as j far as may be tiie tortuous path hej mL'lit follow. If he can he trained to1 speak the truth, to do the ri?ht thinii| i the unsellish thing, to obey tlie paren-' tal command implicitIv and without j |(|Ut'Stion, she will have done much to) I set her complex-nalured child in the I way to life and peace. Speaking the j plain, unvarnished truth is (he tirsl point to be made when the child can speak; but this must, in the nature oi things, be after the habit of obedience is formed, which is done best in in fan- j cy, beginning with its earliest' stages! and long before the child can talk. A 1 child wliose word can be depended on, j whose simple Yes or No is as good as1 an oath, can be trained to be depend* J ed on to do right in every thing, no | matter how complex is its? character or I how great its tendencies to weakness -v.. W.I W.I, ti?, i?.,vnn <if habitual truth-telling will work in J the character till all is leavened. ? .wo mm - Cold Weather Rules. A recent issue of the Sa-rilaruin con tains the following cold weather rules: Never lean with your hack upon j > anything that is cold. Never begin a journey until the' j breakfast has been eaten. Never take a warm drink and thenj immediately fro out into the cold. Keep the back, c-pcci'aily between i ! the shoulder blades, well covered; al-oj the chest well protected. In sleeping I in a cold room, establish a habit oil ; breathing through the nose, and never j with the month open. Never go to bed with cold or damp! feet.. Never omit regular bathing, for unless the skin is in active condition the cold will close the pores and favor con- j gestion and other disease*. After exercise of any kind, never j ride in an open carriage < r near the! window of si car lor a liiimn n!; it is dangerous to health or even life. When hoarse, speak as iit'.le as possi!>le until tiie hoaiseness is recovered from, el-e the voice may l>e permanent-1 ly lo>t or ditlleuliies of the throat be produced. Merely warm (he hack hy the lire,1 and never continue keeping I lie hack exposed to the heat after it has licconie comfortably warm. To do otherwise is' debilitating. When poius from a warm atmosphere into a cooler one keep the mouth closed so that the air may he warmed j in its passage through the nose ere it, reaches the lungs. Never stand still m cold weather, especially after having taken a slight de-1 gree of exercise, and always avoid standing on the ice and snow, or where the jicrson is exposed to cold wind. Girls and their Photographs. I Learn to say no when asked Ibryour I photograph by some one not especially dear to you. There is in that littlei word much that will protect yon from evil tongues. Learn to think that your face is too sacred to decorate the apartment of Tom, Dick or Harry, no matter if each one of the three is one of the plcasantcst fellows in the world. When the sun imprinted in Idaek and I whte, just how sweet and how dainty you look, it did not incui tlud the pic- j ! t;ire should have tnccu:-c in the shane of tobacco smoke. or dubious praise in ] the foiln of it ui.-eiission o!' your points, rendered to it. (Jive away your picture with discretion. llcmemher that; some day will come ::!on;r l'rince! fliaiMiiiiir, who will have a r;?*ht, I In* ritrlit owned by tin- master of tin.* heart to ask for the counterfeit presentnient of yourself afbT he knows thai he is fjoin?r to have the real jiiil loi* his own. Think how niortiiied you wctiid he if he .should di.-eover lh:?t the i;iviu^r away of your photograph has been almost as general as the invitations to your New Year's parly. Think how, he will feel ii he sees your face looking over the mantel-shelf in J)iek's room --Dick whom lie knows to he a brag xartt and a man Ibr whom lie has the utmost contempt ! Then just learn to say no. Don't display your photo-; graphs to your men friends and you will not have this unpleasant task; Ik i v r i I' vnt! ithniilil dn if. ! i v i <! It-i v/i iml Hit.- courage to say the little monosyllable, lie wise and refer them to papa. JjUilirJ J finite .JuiiriKii. Here is an item for persons sid'l:?.*(< <] , lo the habit of chewing gum. 1'arafline is the tar deposit li ft after the ker. osi-ne has heeii extracted from the . crude petroleum. About seventy-live barrels of jiarailiii" are shipped weekly from Jiradford, I'a., to .Xt'A" York and Boston, about liaif of which i~ ; made into chewing gum. 1 "What did you see at church?"! 1 grandfather ask d Minnie alter her 1 first visit to the sanctuary. "T saw a man come in with his nightgown on, an' he was so 'shamed ; lie hid his face in his hand a little! while 'fore he dared to say a word." Examiner. I The Art oT Leaving. 1IOW TO Do IT. W!ivli Mine. de Stael visited Weimer j with the avowed intent ion of inleliee'.- : ually rapturing the literary lions of ' tlie day-(.Joolhe and Schiller?she , made one fatal mistake : she stayed too 1 long. (Soclhe wrote to Scliillt'r: ' "M me. de Stael is a bright person, but 1 she ought to know when it is time to go." _ ; The art of leaving is less understood * by women than by men. The habits ; of business, the recognized fact that to ] a business man time is money, the throng and press and exactingness of : btisiness life, all tend to make men [ who live in cities the best possible ex- ! emplars of the line art of leaving ' (juiekly and neatly. A business man's social call is usually a model of good J manners in this respect. When he ' has said what he has to say and listened to what there is to hear, be takes [ his hat, says "Ciood-evening," and is ' out of your presence without giving . any time or chance for the too often tedious and embarrassing commonplaces \ ot mutual invitations ami promises mi call airaiu which seem to he a kind of'! social formula with women. In stiik- 1 ing con (rust with this neat and skillful:! method or cutting short the parting word of an intervirw or call is the tool* common social practice of visitors, ! who, commencing to leave, seem temporarily to abandon their purpose, and f then linger as though it were a kind of ( compliment to the visiting party to 1 appear loath to part. Who does not dread the visitor who 1 starts, then thinks of something else to say ; rises, and then thinks of an-j: other subject of conversation ; nearly >l reaches the door, and, most probably 1 holding it open, is aroused to a degree ( "f meiitnl brilliancy that threatens his ! health and that of his host or hostess ' by long detaining of both in a cold * draught while he discourses? What a . tax on the patience and politeness of j J the listener, \\ ho vainly strives, by as-:1 senting inst:in!iy to every proposition, j1 to end the interview and break the le- ' straining bond of polite attention ! Piiilctdrhihia I'ccorrf. : ... . : Tin? Secret ni Ilenllli. i Don't worry. Don't hurry. "Too swift arrives as * lardy as too slow." i; "Simplify ! simplify! simplify!" I' Don't over-wit. Don't starve. "Let 1 your moderation lie know to all men." ( Court, the fresh air day ami night. A "(). if you knew what was in the air!" : Sleep ami rest abundantly. .Sleep is Nature's benediction. Spend less nervous energy each day ' than you make. : ]Jo cheerful. "A light heart lives 4 long." ! * Think only healthful thoughts. "As a man thinketh in his heart, so is ( he." .< "Seek peace and pursue it." "Work like a man; but don't be11 worked to death." Avoid passion and excitement. A1 < moment's anger may be fatal. Associate with healthy people. I Health is contagious as well as disease. J Don't carry the whole world on your!; shoulders, far less the universe. Trustjt the Eternal. Never despair. "Lost hope is a fatal': disease." ' t // yc A-i/oir ///csc things, haj)py\\ areyc ij yc do than. The Z,a?'s o/ Ltjc. 11 ? <?S> I | The Evils or Siwxkixo.?While!, children arc much more indulged and considered in this :i*re than ever before, j I hey are still (he victims of a barbar-js ous custom. I refer to the piaetiee of j whipping as puni.shment. Though it has long since been hugely abolished ;j in our country and oilier countries .is a most inhuman mode of punishment, j little ehildren are still beaten, cufivd j and by fond (?) parents in aij most unconscionable manner. It is L pretly generally conceded that culling ; ehildren on the head or ears, is frequently fraught with the most serious!, results-many cases of deafness and; even brain disease having arisen from i j this practice. Evils quite as grave, J N am assured by a lady physician of cx-j tensive practice, result from the pun-j, ishment known as "spanking." Blows , yiven with more or less severity ami srreater or less fremicncv. in the "region of the spine, will, she contends, cause j'i serious brain or spinal (rouble. Moreover, the slate of (he brain ami | nervous system, haven great ellect upon (he disposition and shock whichj may possibly cure one fault, may, by! disordering and deranging the nervous >ystein, produce faults of a much graver and more complicated nature. Jfaric Mcrr!< /:, in October Ladies1 ][<>hu: Joimud. im-J* + mm Bird Ages. 1 The ordinary duration of a man's life is fixed at seventy years. Of course 1 we all know that some people live to ' be eighty, ninety, or a hundred years 1 old, and in very rare cases to pass be- 1 yond the centennial; and we know, too, thai (he majority die before leaching seventy. Amonjr birds there arc lhive?the cniile, swan, and rsiven ? which live to 1 the a?*e of a hundred or more. The ' ]?:;:*<??jii<-( ;iiid heron naeh (he limit :it 1 ahout sixty, The sparrow-hawk duck, ' and pelican may live to lie forty, while ' the peacock ami linnet do not often jjet I heyond twenty-live. The canary, it i* s said, sometimes lives to he tw< nty-l'our j1 hut out of a larpe nmnher with whose ' histories we have Ucn personally ac- ' i|tiainled t here was not one that lived ' hcyoiid lift (t n or sixteen years. Per- 1 haps in a free state their lives are Ion- ^ Her, and I hey do live to hoover twenty: 1 huf it is to lie douhted if they do when ' t Pr JI mi: ?The I'ev. Dr. * ('hamtierlain, ??!* jirooklyu, told a ( laughable story in thecouive <>f his ad- i drcss Ix lore the Evangelical alliance*, 'j Ik* .-aid shat a little UrooUlyn girl returned home from Sunday School in a -ad state iTmind because she had heard there tnat .Jesus was a Jew. Sin* appealed to her mmher lor a enniir.nation ?.f the* report. "Yes, my dear, Jesus v.as a Jew," said her . other. "Well, inainina, he was the Soli of ; (?od, was he not; " ve?, my dear." t "Well," said the little one, "1 don'l i see how it ever happened that J oils ] was a Jew, when (iod himself is a .. Presbyterian."?JSonfon Adva'timr. \ As much as a pint of water may he eliminated from the blood within ten t minutes, under conditions of intense t emotional excitement. The Hygiene of .a Smile. Considered on its merely physical side, who can estimate the value of a smiling face opportunely sheddimr its cheerful rays. A writer, in (rood Health, )>iUs the matter in a clear| lijjht. as showing the importance ofI good nature in lines where there is so much discontent and irritation : When, in the midst of life's hurry md worry we meet a smiling face it -eenis a perfect (Jod-seud, and we sometimes think, when seeing how much won and sullering there is in the ivorld, that if we would, each of us, anile more life would he so much easier to live for all of lit?; for a sunny face sweetens both outside and in, both the iwner and the beholder, The trouble; with us is, that when we lake the! pains to smile we feel, as a general i hing, that wo arc doing it solely for somebody else's benefit, while, if we lid but know it. it is "life and health ! ind peace" to ourselves in many ways, j For one thing it is morally impossible to snarl at the same moment we nuiiu; nu in .^I'Jivr ?vi n.-7, win < imio| will soften to keep the.smile company ; neither can we tret: and so botli snarl-! iiifj and fretting have to go?and good riddance! Worrying, too, is perforce janished ; for an entirely different set! ?f muscles is brought into plnv, those' which make a smile utterly refusing toj ie used in making people unhappy. I Snarling, fretting, worry]lis;?the three! _>vi! genii that rule over the spirits of j lien?how comfortable would be this! > resent life of ours could they be once: utterly put to rout! And they can be. Let us mnko this! i matter of duty, for a smile is the hy-J ;iene of life just, as surely as sunshine aid fresh air. If you answer that you j lo not feel like smiling, then all the j nore I say, Smile; and my word for it ife's affairs will begin to mend with! rou from this hour. The magical change which thctrain-j ng of the muscles of Mie human coun- j enaiice in one particular direction will liake upon our habits of thought, even j 0 involving a correefion of character, j who can explain ? Strange that a niclincholy mood of the mind should go .vitli a downward curve of the mouth, i while a serene and erjiinJde frame in-' variably accompanies an upward one !j IJutsoit is. Let us then make it! he real business of our lives to culti-l ,*ate this all-powerful "upward curve!" j I'hus we shall open the door and let nto our hearts ami lives the fair godless of Jlygiea, and all In r goodly, j well-favored train, love, joy, peace, i Did the rest. With these faces of ours, which have! ici'ii set so long in the frown of discon-J ent or the pucker af worry, it may be 1 little hard at first to coax the unac-j Mistomed muscles; but once we get he physical habit established the licr-i ;ous energy will travel the same route; iver *Vud over wilhout thought or voli-; ioi, of ours; and whether reckoned as :atise or as e'net the vicloiy will bej vorlli the winning. Iii'isiiiius for Jiorri?wiii(r! limits. Iii many homes, the merry-making mil festivity of the holiday season ouchcs with a jar hear'-strings still! 'ibrating with the keen pain of recent! uid heavy bereavement. There are hose whose eyes are moist with tears, i vhose hearts are swelling with" sad, iweet memories, as they contemplatei he vacant seat at the fireside, and lis-. en vainly for the cheery, loving greet- j ng of a dear sweet voice which never icfoie failed to add to the Christmas! heer. My message to such is the one which tills my own grieving, and shames rc-i icllious thoughts?the blessed as<nr- i nice that those dear ones who.no long-j >r walk with us the paths of earth, I a ill, tliis precious Christmas-tide, lie larinkers of joys illimitable: will lave part in the grand Allelujah ciio-i us with which the angels celebrate| he Nativity. Their voices will swell j villi a fulness of harmony and rapture! lever dreamed of on earth. The care, he grief, the pain, which forever put j liinor strains ami unwilling discords nlo the highest aniljJSns of praise, vhieh the children of iffrtli can ad'ord, liar not the sweet voices of those! 'who walk in white" singing the. 'ncufesong" of s'blessing and honor md glory and power, unto Ilini that itteili upon the throne, and unto the, ,ord forever and ever." Shall wo not allow this symphony of! iwiveil to find a true rliytlimic re-\ ponw in our hearts, sorely wounded j lioiiL'h tiiey lie? Shall we not^lit least; to happy, knowing that (hey me hap-; >y V Awl further, shall not the con-1 eiousness that at some future day, we, oo, with them shall he "forever with! hi' I-onl" soothe our hearts like the i >alm from Cjilead? 1 le who has exalted our dear ones to I >e with Him aud has thu* made Ihem! 'most blessed forever," has not left us iomlortle^s, if we hut open our heartsj o the true source of comfort, while A'illi our hands we t-ike np the "next, hint?" of love awl duly. 7 '/< / \v. Ifrtf/nzinc Head Helpful Verses, how many of you, as you take upj he liihle for the morning devotions, j :urn to something whie'li will he of jtraclieal use I hi'ou^h the busy day at' a hose threshold you pause to render loniage to liim whoso kindly presence! roil neeil throughout its hours? There; ire strong, helplnl words, that will, has read, .-day hy children as Iho.v f?"' ?li' to the school-room, slay hy your! ivil'e al homo, rinjr succt music in four own soni all day long. "As! nuchas liolh in you, live |>racoal>Iy| ivith all men," may keep your hodyj ml of a lisrht. "Study to show thy-1 ioli'approved unlo (Jed, a workman j ;hat noodelh not to'he ashamed," may! idp him lo overcome the tcmptaiion j o do a litile cheating in his lessons. | 'Kven Christ |ilc:i^e?i not himself;" he memory of that verse may help: ,-our 3L.fir 1 to In; i:mcl(i.-h and kind.! i? i .1... i >: 1.1.. : l .... LlVilW t 111_ JMtlU' ill VI III I.-V, 11.1II 11 MM ivith your 1 :i11:i!y if you like, hut when roil gather llit in around y? hi in thai; iivriMt-i morning time, jrive ihetn as :i u-y-nnte for the day smui' helpful Oiil IV-taim-nt story <.f lV.ili: ami its re-J tvanl. a psalm full of praise or const'-j Million, sweet words of comfort ami: eunsel ironi the lips of ( In is! and his ipo-lles. If you are pres.-ed I?y fares, i t't?I have (1 ii if * hut for a lew wives, let j hem tie words that shall lie "echoes of! ilis^-iii!!." all day, and (Jod alone j viiiiwn how much good may he the result of thus "lijrhlly dividing the ,vord of truth."? The J'rashijlcriun. There is nothing under the face ofj lie sky thai can be quite so stuck up is a sheet of stamps when it tries to. Detroit Free Press. AY lion Your Sccrct is Yours. One (lav, while living in Maine, I was walking to a place where a meeting w:is to lie held, and was overtaken by an elderly Quaker and his wife, who were riding to the same place. They ottered me a seat in their carriage, which I gladly accepted, and, as we jogged along, our conversation became quite animated, for they were very pleasant people. Having been residents of the place all their lives, they were able to answer the many questions c ncerning it and its people, which my being a newcomer there led me to ask. Little by little, however, the talk took a drift towards persons alone, and the good people told me of ihis one and that, and the other of the citizens, usually giving them words of praise, as they evidently like to do. J5ut unfortunately one party was spoken of whom they felt unable to commend, and they explained their doubts of him by giving some parts of his personal history, which, perhaps, had better Leen left out of the converO.>( /> > 1> U'hu <ln iifi-umiittl vr iipmp fn oittaw... .. v "?" ' that sort <>f gossip which good people condemn, and arc supposed always to slum. The thought of this flashed all at once upon the old lady's mind, anil looking at me with a queer twinkle in her eye, she said: "Mow, thee will remember we are telling thee these things, hoping that thee will use better sense about them than we have." Many a time since then the quaint remark of the old lady has come up in my mind. It was valuable, not only as a bit of keen humor, but because, also, it taught a lesson of importance, it was an exceedingly neat and pointed way of emphasizing the folly of tclling'to others what we should not wish to have them repeat, and what we had better keep to ourselves. When we conclude the recital of a piece of "news" with the remark, "Xftw don't mention it again, will you?" we arc only putting it a tamer form my good old Quaker friend's expression: "We are telling thee these things, hoping thee will use better sense about them than we have." Watchman, A Little New Year's Sermon. (!od gives you something hard to do - 'i i.:..i. i...? iww...? i_r? ill uie year which jiusjush ucguu. m. asks you to light that besetting sin of yours every day all the time. Jt may not be one pitched battle and then a final result. That would be easier. Vou are to be on picket-duty to-day, watching for the enemy. You are to encounter him to-morrow, and win? win, remember?after a struggle. You are to hide and let your adversary pass by the next day ; and the next, when you come upon him suddenly, you are to meet him bravely and win?always win. Hard? Why, yes it is. But you would not ask lbr an easy place behind all the lighters in the battle-ranks, would you! (Jood soldiers do not feel so. What, then, is your besetting sin? Temper? Quench it. Selfishness? Undermine i?. Uneharity? Shield with love. Deceit fulness? Force to the light. Degrading thought? Flee it, light it, stamp it out, but never give way to it?never! Remember two things : First, God is always behind you in this warfare; lie will surely coine to your rescue if you call upon him. Second, if you win to-day, your victory will be easier to-morrow; this, of course. liut suppose you fail to-day? Then you have taken a back step and must inrtke it up. How do you climb a slip-: pery hill? Do you give up at each! slide, or push forward the more resolutely because you have lost ground? i Finally, what a joy it will be to, bring in a well-worn battle-flag at the: end of the year! Our Father will j know, and all your friends will know,' the meaning of it. Faithfulness and?victory. Well-Spring. Talking. It has been estimated that a public speaker says, in one hour, on an average, what, if printed, would occupy lif-j teen octavo pages. In ordinary conversation words How from the lips! (juile as rapidly as in public speech.| Supposing, then, that all the talk oi l one day be estimated as equivalent to lour hours' consecutive speaking, a man says in one week what, if printed, would be an octavo volume of pages. I n one year he speaks fifty-two such volumes; and in thiity years he would have an cxtensfve library of 1, >(><) volumes. It is a matter of rejoicing that the talk of society is not thus printed and perpetuated, l-'ew men, if any, could pass creditably through siicn a severe test. It is said that Swift, at an evening party, on one occasion retired to a corner' of the room and commenced noting down the talk of the company. JJcing asked what lie was doing, he produced the verba tim of the conversation which had just taken place. Each speaker felt lamentably chagrinncd at ti:e supeificial and trilling character of his utterances. So, doubtless, would every right-mimhd man feel if some disciple! oi the phonographic school were al wnys Willi lis jii vin^ JUS >?iui? ever we speak. J'ut there is a reeordiii.ir angel by our side. Every word is written, though not by aiiy visible agency. Our conversation exercises a power lor good or evil 011 the mental and moral life of others, and no word as tiie vehicle of a thought can pause in its relative elled. ? The Quiver. It is a foolish habit that some anxious parents have of discussing the health of delicate children in the children's presence. The Christian Union says- "A physician, speaking out of a deep and practical mind, said: "If you hear a mother refer to her daughter as nervous in the daughter's presence, if you can not speak, glare at her, hut if you can speak say, "Madam, your conversation would makea wooden girl nervous, to say nothing of a 11 11 and-hlood young person like your daughter." "Tin; idea," says the Chicago times, "that the Sunday mail must be seen, is entirely a fallacy resulting from long habit Nothing is gained in the end i>y this Sunday work. A business house does no more business by reason of it. A merchant adds nothing thereby to his year's profits. It is simply an inability to shake oil* the shop oil Sunday. The government ought not to bo expected to assist by what amounts to the persecution of employees in fostering this bad habit." A still'brush in the stable, judicious ly used on the farm horses, is a good horse doctor. What Others Say. New York Christian Advocata. "I ought, therefore I can," is the suggestive title of a Sunday-school publication. If the author had never written any thing besides this title he would deserve to be remembered with gratitude. This is one of the finest specimens of logic in all the range of literature. There can be no possible obligation beyond the range of ability. The |ilca of inability has been made to do a deal of mischievous strvice for the human conscience. The drunkard says : "I know I ought to abstain from drink, but I cannot." The sinner says: "I know I ought to repent and be converted, but I cannot." Many a Christian says: "I know I ought to pray in the prayer-meeting and in my family, but I cannot." The fallacy of such statements should be apparent to every one. If it be true that one ought to do any thing, it is not true that he cannot. Let every Christian remember that his ability is coextensive with his obligation. Nothing is duty which lie cannot perform: and in our effort to persuade men to forsake sin and turn to Uod and live a holy life, we should never forget that any man can do whatever he ought to do. Assertions to the contrary arise from ignorance, thoughtlessness, or dishonesty. 2Tew York Christian Advocate. During (he Roman Catholic Centennial celebration at Baltimore, a prominent layman of that Denomination complaiued bitterly of the treatment the Catholics have received at the hands of the citizens of the United States. His address indicated that the perils and persecutions through which that C'&urcn has passed in this country are something wonderful. Among other things he declared that a Catholic could not be elected President ol the United States. Dr. M'Glynn drove home a nail in his speech al Cooper Union on a recent Sunday evening when referring to this remarkable XT a cnl.l H'Plio A morion n ftUMUIUCIJ t. lit Ot?U XJUW AAUVI IVMll people will not elect a Catholic to be President until it shall become much clearer than it is to-day that a man caii be a good Catholic, and at the same time a true American. It is not clear to day. The American people believe in the preamble of the Declaration of Independence; the pope and the pope's men do not." yew York Christian Advocate. Sound common sense, the ability to consider things in all their relations with self-control and reticence until opinions mature by a rational process into convictions, can alone give the foundation of a stable character and an enduring influence. God grant this wisdom to our brilliant young men ! Personal magnetism and bright parts, as a speaker, are not enough to insure success. Conscientious, earnest piety ; a stronger desire to see Christians edified and sinners converted than the ? ? -m. n.. i House crowcieu wuu me mu^uiug uuu fluttering auditors, and secular newspapers applauding and reporting, and calls numerous, these are necessary ; to these let us take heed, for in so doing we shall both save ourselves and them I hat hear us. & S. Times. With this world as it is, a man is often at a temporary disadvantage through doing his duty. But with this world as it is, a man is sure to be at an advantage in the Jong run through doing iust what he ought to do. The world says, "Honesty is the best policybut to the world's eye tiicre is many :i nine wucn n, rccm.the very worst policy for a man to be strictly honest. Then it is that faith is to take the place of sight, and that a man must believe that it is always the best policy to do just as God has commanded, whatever appearances may indicate. yew York Christian Advocate. Physical pain is not altogether evil. Tt serves at least two good purposes; it calls attention to the fact that an important law has been broken, and admonishes the transgressor to proceed no farther in that direction. It is the mission of pain to prevent suffering. There is a spiritual pain which is more poignant and more important than physical. Pangs of remorse admonish the transgressor to repent and seek pardon. The anguish of a guilty con science is not the punishment or sin but a merciful warning that punishment lurks somewhere in the direction the sinner is pursuing. Pain is Nature's danger-signal. George C. Herkwith. If war is light for us, it must have been equally so for our Savior; but can you conceive I lie Prince of Peace, or one of his apostles, leading forth an army to their work of plunder, blood, and devastation ? Is there a Christian way of burning villages and plundering cities, of perpetuating the wholesale butcheries of the battlefield, and hurling thousands on thousands of guilty souls into the eternal world? JJoes the gospel tell us how to do such things aright ? When we arc the church of the American people let us by all means call ourselves "i he American Church," but until we are let us bo content with iu> nioio modest, not to say a more de criptive name. A ludicrous mistake happened some time ago at a funeral. The clergyman was reading the service, until he came to that part which says, "our deceased brother or sister," without knowing whether the deceased was a male or female. He turned around to one of the mourners and asked whether it was a brother or a sister. The man very innocently replied, "No relative at all, sir?only an acquaintance." Gather the leaves which collect in the fence-corners, all trash along fences, soils which arc slipping away into the road, all the scrapings about cowyard, pigpen, chickenyard, etc., and place them in the barnyard, to be ??,i with tlu! manure. A I large1 quantity of valuable fertilizer can be collected on any ordinary farm. Tt was a Virginia lady who presented a check to be cashed, and was met! with the customary polite response to j strangers, "Madam, you will have to j bring some one to introduce you before' we can cash this check," Drawing: herself up quite haughtily, she said! freezingly "but I do not wish to knowj you sir." Life is a short day, but it is a work-' ing day. I Success. Sorrows sore our little lass Kelt each day in spelling class; Never could she go ubove Lily, or for gold or love. Though she studied with might and main Lily twice as hard again . Studied, and, the lesson saia, Kept her old place at the head. nut one day, at last, she came Running with her face aflame. She the Rubicon had passed, .< .? She was at the head at last! What delight! what pride! Wesald, "Areyou really at the head?" "Yes, oh yee," shecrled In glee, "Lily stayed at home, you see!'' H. P. Spo/ford. Serve God by doing common actions in a heavenly spirit. The credit that is got by a lie only lasts till the truth comes out. T f All H n rv i> r\ f J /-v -? MA/tlltf V* o y. ii wui cunuiiiuu uac icuiij liaFrJt we should have no occasion to divert ourselves from thinking of it. To rejoice in the happiness of others is to make it our own ; to produce it is to make it more than our own. Self-denial is that which gives the martyr a crown of glory and exalts the beggar above the dignity of a king. Self-denial is a kind of holy association with God ; and by making you his partner interests you in all his happiness. Personal work for Christ is a vague expression. Go and do something for some needy fellow creature. That is definite. Treat all men and women considerately and you will be surprised at the dividends that will come to you daily and yearly. ' All the doors that lead inward to the secret place of the Most High are doors outward?out of self, out of smallness, out of wrong. rP 11n irnrDf arlnnofinn faanKaa X 11 w VTV/XOU VUUVMIIUU UUJVU IVUV/UVJ self-denial is better than the best which teaches you every thing else, and not that. Self-denial is a virtue of the highest quality, and he who has it not, and does not strive to acquire it, will never excel in any thing. M It is not interesting to have a man tell how rich he might have been if he had good luck. It is better to know what he has been able to do against bad luck. Faith shines most brightly in believing things that seem incredible?hope ' shines in expecting things that seem improbable?patience, in bearing crosses that appear intolerable. Our admiration of a famous man lessens upon nearer acquaintance with him, and we seldom hear of a celebrated person without a catalogue of some notorious weakness and infirmities. As the word of God, well studied, will help us to understand his providences, so the providences of God, well observed, will help us to understand his word, for God is every day fulfilling the Scripture. It is a great comfort to people of commonplace gifts and talents to know that the measure of success, in the Master's sight at the last, will uot be * largeness of result, but faithfulness in the use of what the Master has entrusted to us. Nearness of life to the Saviour will necessarily involve greatness of love to him. As nearness to the sun increases ^ the temperature of the various planets, so near and intimate communion with Jesus raises the heat of the soul's affections toward him. The moment a human being arrives at that point where he feels the object of life is to give rather than to get, when he prefers the place where he may be able to do the most for others, rather than to receive the most that others may do for him, that moment ? i. i U!.- J-l- il manes me transition miu auumer aim higher phase of life. A smooth sea never made a skilful mariner, neither do uninterrupted prosperity and success qualify for usefulness and happiness. The storms of adversity, like those of the ocean, rouse the faculties, and excite the Invention, prudence, skill and fortitude of the voyager. The martyrs of ancient times, in bracing their minds to outward calamities, acquired a loftiness of purpose and a moral heroism worth a lifetime of softness and security. They who "hunger and thirst after righteousness"?whose consciences will not let them rest; who seek after a better standard of right and wrong, 4. ? i.i. fnl(,Al?AA/l rvnrtfxr onH itnnila iruilj ilUII liliscilt/uu, J/UI1VJ uuv ? rity, justice and injustice, than tney find in the world around them : to whom justice is a positive joy, and injustice a deep and rankling grief: who long with the longing of the psalmist, in ? dry and thirsty land, to be belter themselves, and to make others better also; who prize God's law more than gold, yea, than much fine gold ; whose heart and whose flesh cry out after the living God?these "shall be satisfied." Alas ! it may not be here; but in that new and better world wherein dwelleth righteousness. Inflammatory. The New York Christian Advocate, publishes a letter a column and a half [small typej long, relative to alleged abuse of a Rev Thomas Joiner of the Northern Methodist Church. The letter is headed* "A most dastardly outrage against a Methodist minister in the South," and is signed, "Susan Masley Grandison" ?a negro woman we infer. Considering the general bitter, sectional and race prejudice of this inflammatory communication one feels at a loss how to understand its appearance, without note or comment in Dr. Bulkley's paper. If all the Northern manufacturers " " ft J -11 and drummers 01 -Keiues aim an the Southern manufacturers and drummers of "pots" would only form an Alliance and establish themselves in some Island "out of the world" and confine themselves exclusively to an exchange of manufactures would not the millennium for the United States, if not for the world at large, be hastened a thousand years? How long shall sensible and peaceable men, Xovth and South, be kept at enmity by these enemies of God and man. Strife is their glory, peace their torment.