The Abbeville press and banner. (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, September 10, 1890, Image 2

Below is the OCR text representation for this newspapers page. It is also available as plain text as well as XML.

-'fs -V ' - - ? fshippjlg- cattleT (the way beeves embark for i a tkaxsatlaxtic voyage. ) > |Tho Operation of Transferring the > Unruly Steers From Transport Barges to the Cattle Steamer ?A Typical Embarkmeut. I Loading cattle on a ship for Europe is an operation that requires several hours of hard work, a vast amount of patience, many skirmishes and hand to horn or hand to tail conflicts and no end of profanity. The first part of the work is the simplest. The cattle shippers provide their own superintendents, who [hire the men to go with the freight to [Europe and who supervise the work of Wtting the beeves on shipboard. The (favorite hours for loading cattle are late IB the afternoon or early in the morning. 'The first barge load usually leaves the Stock yards before daybreak, and by the ftime the sun is beginning to make itself (uncomfortable the last bullock is in his iplace and ready for the voyage. | The work of letting the cattle out of iheir peas, where they have been fed and ^watered since their long trip from the (West, is comparatively an easy task. Superintendent Flynn, two collie dogs end two old men armed with long sticks 'constitute the force, and unless a steer is particularly unruly and makes trouble UiC Liiuuij luoio tun imuuiu. IUL | work begins when the cattle are forced into the pens at the end of the covered pier. The gangway leading to the barge opens invitingly, but it al ways require.? more or less urging to induce the first bullock to make the journey over it. In cases of this sort the crew of the barge give a chorus of wild yells, iutended to be encouraging, the superintendent .whacks the steer over the flanks with his Jprod and the task is generally over. The Test of tiie bunch follow the leader without much persuasion. From the moment fchf> haro-e leaves the slin the cattle are solely ia the agents bands. Tho Exeter City loaded one day recently from her pier instead of from the upper Bay, where most cattle ships take on their living freight. This made the work slow and laborious. The vessel was not ready, there were lighters and tugs in the way, and the loading of the regular cargo was not entirely finished. This ; led to endless annoyance between the ! two sets of laborers and greatly heightened the'confusion. As the barge slowed up and made fast to the steamer while the gaugways were being run out, the cattle had an opportunity of viewing for the first time their quarters for the coming fortnight during their first and last ocean voyage. It was Vint nn invitinrr snprtnolp. The r7.iv hot. The longshoremen had shed such ! of their garments as could be spared,and were carrying on their backs the bales of hay to be used as fodder. These wore dumped on the deck between the cattle pens, where a large, square space was ?- filled with the odds and ends of the cargo, fresh meat and vegetables, strong boxes and barrels not yet stowed away in place. The pens were half bedded down with hay, and the men under direction of the second officer were busy taking down tin; whitewashed bars that separated them one from the other. Altogether it was as hot a spot as could be found along the river front, and the long day's wait had not put the men in special good humor with themselves or with their work. At last the pens were ready and Super inienciem nirsn ana xoreman jsraaiey, who with six underhands were to go with the cargo to the other side, began loading. As the barge hands went below and opened the first pen the cattle realized that they were about to have another experience and in an instant the place was noisy with their complaints. Some of the more fractious steers kicked and prodded each other with their horns, while others contented themselves with huddling in the most distant corners cf the - pen, to the intense disgust of the men. "Here there, not so fast?" , Four fat bullocks were wedged in the gangway. "ill, Jim; stir mm up. I The gangway has a railing on each side and offers every chance for the successful stirring up of refractory steers. A minute later several young men who had bfcen sitting on the side of the steamer, heavy and stu^ with the heat, awoke i with the most surprising activity, and arming themselves with sticks proceeded ; to make the frightened bullocks wild; with fear and pain. 0 "Stop that. I didn't ask you to kill I him. Just start him up." Two men left theft: work at this point : and showed at once the superiority of; skilled over the improvised apd unlearned | labor. They flourished their arms and sticks before the bullocks' eyes and sueonorior? in rlriinnr* thorn Tlirtn na i iU V4UI1U^ vLiv. 1m I'll*. U< 4 UOUj C* J j the foremost bullock started on a wild dash, one of the men caught him by the j tail and acting as a rudder steered him j neatly into port at the further end of the j Bhip. After this experience the work went j on rapidly and with less friction. When a pen was lilted the bars were put up. Only a certain number can go into a pen, | as the ship's rules are that each bullock j must have at least eight feet by two fct, j eight inches space. At the end of two hours the task was i ended and the cattlc were safely housed . for the voyage. . This was a typical embarkmcnt. Some- i [times the cattlc are more obstinate than ; ^ ivney were on me i^x'jier u;ry, ana sometimes the conditions are not so pleasant. [Loading early in the morning, before (daybreak, in midstream and in cold ( weather, tries Fne patience of the men land temper of the cattle to the utmost, j [in the winter when the wind comes up the bay, tingling the face and benumb- ' (ing the hands, and the cattle are forced ; out of their warm quarters and into the ! jchilling blasts, there is more or less j ;harsh treatment and the work is hastened <in a way that gives the men a chance to ; get riJ of some ol their surplus ill (nature. But even then there is not grave ! icruelty. Each cargo is loaded under the \ ifiimrrvision of a trusted airent of thi* shipper, and as ill treatment has the ef- i jfect of lessing the weight of the cattle during transit, nothing of a serious nature is allowed.?New York Ilcrald. ' ' Twenty-one thousand five hundred j 'dollars is the amount paid for the last re- 1 'corded sale of a seat in the New York 'Stock Exchange. ' St. Petersburg, Russia, is the only capital in Europe in which the population j (is steadily diminishing. j !'/ \ Tlie Sultan's Housekeeping. It is estimated that over six thousand persons arc fed daily at his Dolma Bagtche palace when the Sultan is there. One who is well informed gives a graphic picture of the Sultan's housekeeping, lie admits that it is clear that there is a good executive ability about the management of this enormous household, for there is scarcely ever a jar or a hitch, evfcn under the impulse of the most untimely demands. Every different department is under the control of a person who is directly responsible for that, and he has a corps of servants and slaves under his orders who obey him only, and he is subject to the treasurer of the house-' hold. Women have no voice whatever in the management of anything in any department. Their sole occupation is to wait upon their respective mistresses, or to serve the Sultan iu some specified capneitv: and the labor about the nalace is so sub-divided that no one works very hard except the Lord High Chamberlain and the treasurer of the household. The chamberlain is mostly occupied in administering to the wants and Cf. prices of the Sultan, and is in almost constant at-. tendance upon him; so the treasurer of the household has the burden of the housekeeping on his sturdy shoulders. He has an organized force of buyers, who are each charged with the purchase of certain supplies for their individual departments, each having his helpers, servants and slaves. One man is charged with the duty of supplying all the fish, and as to furnish fish for at least 6000 persons is no light undertaking in a place where there are no great markets such as there are in all other large cities, he has to hfve about twenty men to scour the various small markets and buy of the fishermen, and each of these men has two others to carry the fish they buy. About ten tons nf fish a week are reouircd. There are nearly 18,000 pounds of bread eaten dailj*, for the Turks are large breadeaters, and this is all baked in the enormous ovens situated at some distance from the palace. The food for the Sultan is cooked by one man and his aids, and no others touch it. It is cooked in silver vessels, and when done each kettle is sealed by a slip of papci and a stamp, and this is broken in the presence of the Sultan by the High Chamberlain, who takes one spoonful of each separate kettle before the Sultan tastes it. This is to guard against poison. The food is almost always served up to the Sultan in the same vessels in which it was cooked, ""'1 ni.A Affnn A? n?hnn r\f a"u 6v/4?, baser metal the kettle is set into a rich golden bell-shaped holder, the handle of which is held by a slave while the Sultan eats. Each kettle represents a course, aud is serve;! with bread and a kind of pancake, which is held on a golden tray by another slave. The Sultan never uses a plate. He takes all his food direct from the little kettles, and never uses a table and rarely a knife or fork?a spoon, his bread, a pancake or fingers arc found far handier. It requires just twicc as mauy slaves as there are courses to serve a diuner to him.? Chicago Neics. Three Kinds of Teeth. m man tnere are mree uinus 01 icein: the incisors, the canines and the molars. The incisors, eight in number, are placed in front of the jaw and are kept to a sharp edge by the abrasion of the upper and lower sets. They are gnawing teeth, and in rodents, such as rats and mice, arc subject to severe wear, and are consequently continually growing from the base. In man, however, having once attained their full size, their growth ceases. The rodentia, or gnawing animals, are characterized by the presence of greatly enlarged and modified incisors. These are tubular and have a persistent pulp, and the material of which they are made is so arranged that the hardest portion is the frout surface, and the softest the back. Thus a chisel-like tool is formed, nnrl lr/mf nrmcfortflr cVinrnrmorl ]?r fViP end of the opposing tooth in the other jaw. "When one of these incisors, by any chauce, fails to meet its fellow, it continues growing, and forms a long tusk, which sometimes curves around uutil it pierces the skull. The canines, or dog teeth, are characteristic of carnivorous mammals. They are formed by nature to seize and tear prey, and^are lacking in rodents and most grass-eating animals. In apes they are very prominent, those of the gorilla nearly equaling the lion's in size. They ure never more than four in number. The molars have rough and flattened surfaces, and are used for crushing and grinding. In man they exceed iu number both the incisors and canines, but in certain fishes they are exceedingly numerous. Thus, in the looroids, or as they are commonly called, the "clam-crush ers, vc find all the upper ami lower jaws paved, from front to back, from one side to the other, with hemispherical grinders, which exhibit the greatest j economy of material in the construction of a surface capable of resisting pressure; aud immense pressure is brought to bear upon these teeth, for the fishes thai own them take a hard-shell, salt-water ciam, or even a small oyster, and, closing their powerful jaws, crack the shell to fragments, swallow the clam aud spit oul the shell. The grinding and crushing action to which these teeth are subjected results in their wearing aw, aud ultimate destruction, necessitating a succession of teeth; so that we see here one of the most primitive cases of true molars having regular suecessots.? The Ledger. The Myriad Ways of Eating. Did you ever watch the myriad ways of eating? There is the aggressive eater, who bites his broad as though ho owed it a grudge, and drinks his coffee with I*..:..- u:.. uvus uiMi i;im\ jjiiia' uvei iiiu uj mi in 111a cup with unappeasable wrath. The timid eater, who nips his foo;l apologetically; the preoccupied eater, who doesn't seem to know salt from sugar; the hungry eater, who eats as men have championed a lost cause. I never watch a company of caters but I feci that the line of demarkation between the human family and the brute creation grows very faint and dim as it approaches this common centre. i have often wondered if the race, as it advances, will not one day escape the bondage of the appetite. Relief c:m only come through methods of simplification. "When science shall condense a whole beef into a lozenge and the nutriment of a week's baking into a pastil, we shall iose much of our present kinship with the brutes that perish.? Chicago JJcrald. A clock owned by Lewis Van Loan, of [Coksackie, N. Y., dates back to 1717. Catching and Caring Cod in California. The manner of catching and curiDg codfish on the Pacific coast is generally similar to that on the Atlantic side. Large schooners of from 200 to 300 tons are employed to bring the cod down from Behring Sea and Alaskan waters to the depots at Tiburon, California City and Kershaw Island, where the fish arc cured. Formerly the salt supply was brought from the Alcmcda "saltings," but to-day the principal supply is obi tained from Alviso, being transported on clumsy looking, square-bowed sailing crafts, of which many types may be seen rotting in the marshes and lagoons of Tiburon. The cod arc caught on the banks of Alaska and the Okhotsk Sea by men who 4-K/V tnAel- ivnuf or?l i f O ril T7 in XKJl LiJU lllUdl/ jJUl l? n ui i\ gvijuiui j *-? "dories," small boats from twelve to fifteeu feet long, with flat bottom, sharp prow and square stern, specially fitted to receive the catch, which averages 200 fish of four or five pounds daily for each man. In other cases a larger dory is used, and the crew work sociably on shares or for a fixed rate per man. The spells of labor may average three or four hours, when there is an interval for meals, and at the end of the day the entire crowd proceed to "take care of the fish." One makes a hasty rip vertically and horizontally and passes the fish to the "header," who breaks of! the head and removes the viscera. A third takes out the principal bones and passes it to the Salter, by whom it is packed in brine in the hold. Both the boning and salting process are mere temporary expe'dients, the actual curing of the fish taking aw COM uu aiinai at uau a. tauuiotv;. When a cargo of the headless and eviscerated fish reaches one of the packing stations of San Francisco Bay the first step is to wash the cod in large tanks with false bottoms freely communicating with the bay. At such spots there is sure to be a large gathering of smelts and local predatory fish. Then the cod are piled on trucks and run on a short lino of rails into the interior of tho factory, where a thorough steeping in brine tanks takes place. Next the fish are spread out on long lines of "flasks," or drying frames, where in the desiccating air of California the second process is rapidly completed. The remaining bones are then removed, where "boneless cod is callcd for," and lastly the product is packed ready for shipment.?San Francisco Chronicle. A Brazilian Delicacy. ''Talking of centipedes," said a New Yorker in the Tribune, "reminds me of a dish I ate oncc in Brazil. I went away up the Amazon one winter among the wretched Indians there, buying up raw rubber. Several of us left the boat one day and. made our way into the dense forest to see if we could shoot any toucans. TVe got lost in short order, and wandered about for a day and a night before we found the little creek in which our boat lay, aud we were only brought back then by some Indians whom we met carrying rubber to the river to soil. We met them just as they were about to camp for the night, and as they promised to show us the way out of the forest,we camped with them. "We had some tinned beef left and some whisky, but us I had lived on tinned beef and fresh fish for some time and was mightly tired of them both, I was looking about for a change of diet and was glad to see that the Indians had some native food with them. This consisted of some soit of grnyish-white paste, that looked like a mixture of suet and 'grits.' I asked them what it was, but I could not understand what they said and our interpreter had gone off for water. It did not taste at all bad, and the flavor was unlike anything I had ever eaten, so I had swallowed a bit of it about as big as your fist before the interpreter returned and told me that the dish was made of some sort of dried root, pulverized and mixed with the ornshnrl lindifis nf white ants. "I did not cat any more." IIow Indians Stand Hot Weather. It is as much a part of the Indian's creed to become inured to the heat as to the cold. It is not au infrequent spectacle to see infants in heavy blanket shirts weighted with elk teeth tied into beaded frames or cradles and left standing against the heated frame wall the ration house, while their mothers gossip hours away within. "We have seen, after the issue of beef upon the hoof, a half dozen squaws drag the steer that fell to their allotment into the open prarie, aud, under a scorching sun, clean, quarter and divide it when perhaps a few mesquite trees not far distant or an overturned wagon would have furnished a partial protection from the intense glare and heat. A young Pueblo girl's toilet for a hot summer evening is the same that she would make in December. Her limbs from the knee to the ankle arc wound with not less than ten thicknesses of deer skin. The costly black native blanket is carcfully adjusted with a brilliant woven girdle at the waist. A scarlet kerchief hangs backward from the shoulders and over all is the shawl draped from the head. Fill a jnr with water that gushes from a rock a full mile from her adobe home, place it upon her head, start her olt under a fervid sun and contrive to meet her at the other end of the line, and you will find her as placid and undisturbed as the limpid water witinn cue jar upon uer ueuu.? | Wit?hin<jt?i Slur. A Precious anil Inlercstsir; Metal. Tin, which every one knows, but which few, except men of science and metallurgists, are acquainted with, is one of the most precious and most interesting metals. After gold and silver, it is intrinsically the most precious of those in use. It is nearly of the same color and almost as bright as silver, but has less resistance and is less valuable. "When | warmed by friction, it has a pronounced ' odor and tasic. When it is bent, the | dcr--ui?c:>icnt of the crystals of which its i - ' i - * mass 13 iunucu cause's il, nuuuut uuj | fracturc taking place, to emit .1 peculiar sound which metallurgists call its cry, and by means of which an expert can nearly determine its degree of putity. The places where tin is produced arc few, scattered sparsely over the surface of the globe; ami it disguises itself under the form of a blackish mineral which, to the profane eye, gives no sign of the treasure that is within it. One of the richest, as well as the most ancient tin-mining districts is in the Malay Peninsula, the Golden Chersonesus of the ancients. The name of the province, Perak, signifies silver; but it is peculiarly the province of tin.? Washington Star. i RE 7. DR. TALMA6E7 THE BROOKLYN DIVINE'S SUNDAY SERMON. Subject: "Kind Words Never Die, Cherished and Blessed." Text: "A soft tongue breaketh the bone."?Prov. xxv., 15. When Solomon said this he drove a whole volume into one phrase. You, of course, will not bo so silly a3 to take the words of the text in a literal sense. They simply mean to set forth the fact that there is a tremendous power in a kind word. Although it may seem to be very insignificant, its force is indescribable and illimitable. Pungent and all conquering utterance: "A soft tongue breaketh the bone." If the weather were not so hot and I had time I would show you kindness as a means of defense: kindness as a means of useful ness; kindness as a means of domestic harmony; kindness as best employed by governments for tho taming and curing of criminals, and kindness as best adapted for the settling and adjusting of international auarreAs; but I shall call your attention only to two of these thoughts. And first I speak to you of kindness as a means ot defense. Almost every man in the coarse of his life is set upon and assaulted. Your motives aro misinterpreted, and your religious or political principals are bombarded. What to do under such circumstances is the question. Tho first impulse of the natural heart says: "Strike back. Give as much as he sent. Trip him into the ditch which he dug for your feet. Gash him with as severe a wound as that which he inflicted on your soul. Shot for 6hot. Sarcasm for sarcasm. An oye for an eye. A tooth for a tooth." But the better spirit in the man's soul rises up and says: "You ought to reconsider that matter." You look up into the face of Christ and say: "My Master, how ought I to net under these difficult circumstances?" And Christ instantly answers: "Bless them that curse you, and pray for them which despitefully useyou." Then the old nature rises up again and savs: "You had better not forgivo him until first you have chastised him. You will never get him in so tight a corner again. You will never have such an opportunity of inflicting the right kind of punishment upon him ogain. First chastise bim and then let him go." "No," says tho better nature; "hush, thou foul heart. Try the soft tongue that breaketh the bone." Have you ever in all your life known acerbity and acrimonious dispute to settlo a quarrel? Did they not always mako matters worse and worse and worse? Many years ago there was a great quarrel in the Presbyterian family. Ministers of Christ wore thought orthodox in proportion as they had measured lances with other clergymen of the same denomination. The most outrageous personalities were abroad. As in the autumn a hunter comes home with a string of gamo, partridges and wild ducks slung over his shoulder, so there were many ministers who came back from the ecclesiastical courts with Ions? strings of doctors of divinity wliom thoy had shot with their own rifle. The division became wider, the animosity greater, until after a while some good men resolved upon another tack. They began to explain away the difficulties; they began to forgive each other's faults, and lo I the great church quarrel was settled, and the new school Presbyterian church and the old school Presbyterian church became one ?the different parts of tha Presbyterian order welded by a hammer, a little hammer, a Christian hammer, that tno Scripture calls "a soft tongue." You have a dispute with your neighbor. Tou say to him, "I despise you." lie replies, "I can't bear tho sight of you." You say to him, "Never enter my bouse again." He says, "If you come on ray door siil m kick you off." You say to him, "I'll put you down." He says to you, "You are mistaken, I'll put you down." And so tho contest rages, and year after year you act the un-Christiau part. After a wnile tho better spirit seizes you, and one day you go over to the neighbor and say: "Give me your hand; wo have fought long enough. Time is so short and eternity is so near that we cannot afford any longer to quarrel. I ieoi you nave wrongeu me very mucn, out let us settle all now in one great hand shaking, and be good friends for all the rest of our lives." You have risen to a higher platform than that on which before you stood. You win his admiration, and you get his apology. But if you have not conquered him in that way, at any rate you have woa the applause of your own conscience, the high estimation of good men, and tho honof of your Lord, who died for His armed enomies. "But," you say, "what are we to do when slanders assault us and there come acrhnoaious sayings all around about us, and we are abused and spat upon?" My advice is: Do not go and attempt to cha-:e down tho slanders. Lies are prolific, and while you are killing one fifty are born. All your demonstrations of indignation only exhaust yourself. You might as well on some summer nicht. when the swarms of insects are coming ujTfrom the meadows and disturbing you and disturbing your family, bring up some great "swamp angel," like that which thundered over Charleston, and try to 6hoot tbom down. The game is too small for the gun. But what, theD, are you to do with the abuses that come upon you in life. You are to live them down. I saw a farmer go out to get back a swarm of bees that had wandered off from the hive. As he moved Maid them they buzzed around his head, aad buzzed around his hands, and buzzed around bis feet. If ho had killed one of them they would have stung him to death. But he moved in their midst with perfeot placidity until ho had captured the swarm of wandering bees. And so I have seen men moving amid the annoyances, and the vexations, and the assaults of life w such calm, Christian deliberation that all the buzzing around about their soul amounted to nothing. They conquered them, and above all they conquered themselves. "Ob," you say, "that's a very good theory to preach on a hot day, but it won't wor^." It will work. It has worked. I believe it is the last Christian grace we win. You know there are fruits which we gather in Jnna, and others in July, and others in August, and others in September, and still others in Ocfcobsr; and I have to admit that this grace of Christian for -W ? rsf 4-Krx PKmo. 10 uuuuu iiuo ioou uuiu ul uud vui utian soul. Wo hear a great deal about tho bitter tongue, and the sarcastic tongue, and the quick tongue, and the stinging tongue, but we know very little about "the soft tongue that hreaketh the bone." We read Hudibras, and Sterno, Dean Swift and other apostles of acrimony, but give little time to studying the oxaniplo of Him who was reviled, and yet reviled not again. 0 that the Lord by ilis spirit would endow us all with "the soft tongue that hreaketh the boae." I press now to th? other thought that I desiro to present, and that is, kindness as a means of usefulnsss. In all communities you find skeptical man. Through early education, or through tho maltreatment of profossod Christian people, or through prying fvirinaifrp fiKmf. t.hn fnhllPft wnrlil fcllWA n.rA ft crront main* ne^Dlo who b200113 skeptical in religious tiling--;. How stall you capture them for Go.i? Sharp argument and sarcastic retort never won a single soul from skepticism to tho Christian religion. While powerful books on tho "Evidences of Christianity" have their mission in confirming Christian people in tho faith they have already adopted, I have noticed that whoa skeptical peoplearo brought into tho kingdom of Christ it is through tho charm of some genial soul, and not by argument at all. Men are not saved through tho head; thoy are saved through tho heart. A storm comes out of its hiding placo. It says: "Now, we'll just rouso up all this sea;" and it makes a great bluster, but it does not succeod. Part of tho sea is roused up?perhaps ono-half of it, or one-fourth of it. After a whilo tho calm moon, placid and beautiful, looks down, and the ocean begins to rise. It comes up to 1 high water mark. It embraces tho great Imnillmirlc Tfc CTlhmnrfrM t.llfl hfiflCheS (if nil tho continents. It is tlio heart throb of ono world against ths heart throb of another world. Anrl I have to tell you that while all your storms of ridicule and storms of sarcasm may rouse up the passion of an immortal nature, nothing loss than tho attractive power of Christian kindness can over raise thoaeathless spirit to happiness and to God. I have more faith in tho prayer of a child Ave yeare old, in the way of bringing an infidel back to Christ and to heaven, than I have In all the hissing thunderbolts of ecclesiastical controversy. You cannot overcome men with religious argumentation. If you como at a skeptical man with an argumont on behalf of the Christian religion, you put the man on his mettle. He says; "law that man Ijas a car' . ' ' . V bine, ril use ray carbine. I'll answer his argument with my argument." But if you :omo to that man pDrsuading him that you desire his happiness on earth and his eternal welfare in the world to come, he cannot answer it. What I have said is just as true in the reclamation of the openly vicious. Did you ever know a drunkard to be saved through the caricature of a drunkard? Your mimicry of the staggering step, and the thick tongue, and the disgusting hiccough only worse maddens his brain. But if you come to him in kindness and sympathy, if von show him that you appreciate the awful grip of a depraved appetite, if you persuade him of the fact that thousands who had the grappling hooks of evil inclination clutched in their soul as firmly as in his have be 7i delivered, then a rav of light will flash across his vision, and it will seem as If a supernatural hand was steadying his staggering gait. A good many years ago there lay in the stroots a man dead druuk, his face exposed to the blistering noonday sun. A Christian woman passed along, looked at him and said, I "Poor fellow." She took her handkerchief and spread it over his face, and passed on. The man roused himself up from his debauch and began to look at the handkerchief and lol on it was the name o? a highly respectable Christian woman of the city. He went to her, he thanked her for her kindness, and that one little deed saved him for thi3 life, and saved him for the life that is to come. Ho wa3 afterward Attorney-General of the United States; but higher than all, he became the consecrated disciple of Jesus Christ. Kind words are so cheap it is a wonder we do not use thorn oftener. There are tens of thousands of people who are dying for tb| lack of on? kind word. There is a busine^ man who has fought against trouble until h? is perfectly exhausted. He has been think, ing about forgery, about robbery, about suii cide. Go to that.business man. Tell him that better times are coming, and tell him that you yourself were in a tight business pass, and the Lord delivered you. Tell him to put his trust in God. Tell him that Jesm Christ stands beside every business man in his perplexities. Tell him of the sweet promises of God's comforting1 grace. xnac maa is aying ror ttie lack of just ona kind word. Go to-morrow and utter that one saving, omnipotent, kind word. Hera is a soul that has been swamped in sin. H? wants to find the light of the Gospel. H< feels like a shipwrecked mariner loolring out over the beach, watching for a sail against the sky. Oh, bear down on him. Tell him that the Lord waits to be gracious to him, and, though he has been a great sinner, there is a great Saviour provided. Tell mm tnat though his sins are as scarlet they shall be as snow; though thoy are red like crimson they shall be as wool. That man is dying forever for the lack of one kind word. There used to be sung at a great many of the pianos all through the country a song t.hof. Vina olmnof sIiasI A?f. T nrioli c/m*iaKa/1t? V"?w MMU MtUJVOV U*?U WUWl A ?T IOU JVUIOUUUJ would start it again in our social circles. There may have not been very exquisite art in the music, but there waa? a grand and glorious sentiment: Kind words never die, never die; Cherished and blessed. Oh, that we might in our families and in our churches try the force of kindness. You can never drive men, women or children into the kingdom of God. A March northeaster will bring out more honeysuckles than fretfulness and scolding will bring out Christian grace. I wish that in all our religious work we might be saturated with the spirit of kindness. Missing that we miss a great deal of usefulness. There is no need of coming out before men and thundering to them the law unless at the' same time you preach to them the Gospel. Do you not know that this simple story of a Saviour's kindness is to redeem all nations? The hard heart of this world's obduracy is to be broken before that story. There Is in Antwerp, Belgium, one of the most remarkable Dicture3 I ever saw. It is "The Descent of Christ from the Cross. It is one of Rubens's pictures. No man can stand and look at that descant from the cross as Rubens pictured it, without having his eyes flooded with tears, if he have any sensibility at all. It is an overmastering picture ?one that stuns you, and staggers you, and haunts your dreams. One afternoon a man stood in that cathedral looking at Rubens's "Descent of Christ from the Cross." He was all absorbed in that scene of a Saviour's sufferings wlion the janitor came in and said: "It is time to closo up the cathedral for the night. I wish you would depart." The pilgrim looking at that "Descent of Christ from the Cross," turned around to the janitor and said; "No, no; not yet. Wait until they got Him down." Oh, it is the story of a Saviour's suffering kindness that is to capture tho world. When the bones of that great Behemoth of iniquity which has trampled all nations shall be broken and shattered, it will be found out that the work was not done by the hammer of the iconoclast, or by the sword of the UUIi^UCI U4, XJk UJ bUU iViuu Vi |/viouvuvtwu| but by tho plain, simple, overwhelming force of "tho soft toDguo that breaketh the bone." And now I ask the blessing of God to come down upon you in matters of health, in matters of business: that tho Lord will deliver you from all your financial perplexities; that he will give you a good livelihood, large salaries, healthful wages, sufficient income. I pray God that He may give you tho opportunity of educating your children for this world, and through the rich grace of our Lord Jesus Christ of seeing them prepared for the world that is to come. Above all, I look for the mercy of God ur>on your immortal souls; and lest I stand before some who have not y et attended to tho things of their oternal interest, in this, the closing part of my discourse, I implore them here ana now to seek after God and be at peace with Him. Oh, we want to be gathered together at last in the bright and blessed assemblage of the skies, oar work all done, our sorrows all ended. God bless too, and your children, and your children's children. And now I commend you to God and to tho word of His grace, which is able to build you up and give you an inheritance among all them that are sanctified. An Autograph That Lasted. On the furm of William Wilkinson at SheltoD, N. Y., stood a beech tree that was curiously marked. Year3 ago when the tree was young, John Leland, sailor, cut the initials of his name on the bark of the tree, and beneath the letters carved a handsome sailor's anchor. Not long ago the beech tree was cut down, it being about fifty years old, and when the woodsman split open the trunk he was startled at seeing in the hard, white wood, near the core of the tree, the big letters "J. L.," on a densely black background. They were just as big and clearly cut us they were nearly forty years ago when John Leland did the act with his sailor's knife. Between the lUlll'i a *J 11 LULU IJ( 11 i\ \jl bub v.ww f. w. V thirty-seven rings, and as a tree grows in girth just one ring a year, it was easy for the woodchopper to tell cxactly the year find almost the month in which 4,J. L." had bceu carved in the beech. It is a curious feature that th3 letters have stamped themselves all the way from the heart of the tree to the bark. Though they have been overgrown by thirtyseven rings of wood libre, it is easy to read '*J. L."ou the outer bark. Another curious thing is that along the crossbar of the anchor the wood is cracked it right angles with the natural grain of the tree.?A'eto York Sun. ??? Tim Value of Pepper. The value of pepper in cooking seems to have been known long ago. Its use ns a medicine wjis common in the days of TTinnocratcJ, who applied it, moistened with alcohol, to the skin of his patients, Just as sugar and tea have been in pagt times so dear as only to be within the reach of the wealthy, so pepper was in the Middle Ages a very costly condiment. So much was it valued that a small packet was at that time deemed a suitable present to offer a great person. Common 01 black pepper is now grown in manj tropical countries. It is a climbing plant some twelve feat high, bearing fruit of t bright red color the sizo of a pea, which, when dried, turns black.?Timet Dem crat. _ _ ... ... . , . RELIGIOUS_READING." THE "SUMMER LAND." "Over the river," the "Summer land'' lies, Fadeless its blossoms, unclouded Us skies, Towers shimmer not in the sun-ray's light. Stars never glow?for there falleth no night, O'er it God's glory transcendent!}' flows, Bathing it ever in"holy repose. Ah! we get gleams of that glorious land, When by tiie river's bank trembling we stand. Watching the wave3thnt unceasingly flow Over the crossing where loved ones must go, Ihev see the beams of heavenly light Gliding its glittering columns of white. They hear the songs, and the rustle of wings, We?but the echo their ecstacy brings? Why do we sorrow when happy they lie Ready for angels to bear them on high! Such treasures we need their sunlight tc throw Over our pathway while waiting below. Are there no flowers in the bright Summer T.finil9 Aye, tenderly kept by our Father's hand, Borne in His love from the chill light of Time, Transplanted; they bloom iu a heavenly clime, ?May we be welcomed at last to the band Who," "sinless" are roaming the blest Summer Land. ?[Bell Clinton. FIFTY YEARS OF EMANCIPATION. If I bad to select, from the beginning of the world down to the present time, and so on to its close, the fifty years in which I would pass my active "life, I would choose the half century in which I have lived, because in that half ceutury there has been the emancipation of the slaves; there has been the emancipation of the restrictions upon the Catholic; there has been the emancipation of all the restrictions upou the Corn Law; there has been tne emancipation of the voter from restrictions upon suffrage. It has been fifty years of emancipation, and the only half century of which that can be said.?[Gladstone. "ROOTED AND GR0C5DED." I have seen, says a writer, shrubs and trees grow out of the rocks, and overhang fnnrful nrarnniroa nvirinor rfttnrfirfrs. nnil deep running waters; but they maintained tbeir position and threw out "their foliage and branches as much as if they had been in the midst of a dense forest, it was their hold of the rock that made them secure, and the influences of natare had sustained their life. So believers are oftentimes exposed to the most horrible dangers in their journey to heaven; but so long as they are "rooted and grounded" on the Rock of Ages, they are perfectly secure. WHO WILL THANK Y0C? There is one thing which is worth remembering, and that is, no one will thank you for killing yourself. You may work yourself to death and when you "have done it people may call you a fool for your pains.What you'are is'of more importance than what you do. A strong, vigorous, courageous man or woman is esteemed and valued, but one who is helpless, feeble, fretful and discouraged, gets little comfort or consideration, even if it be admitted tbat the feebleness and helplessness is the result of useful work, and work done 011 behalf of others. Bad men are ungrateful, good men are forgetful. flip I'mviilpncp nf finrl mnlrps nprsrms rf sponsible for tbe careful preservation ami the proper use of their powers. They have lio right to needlessly throw away the energy which (Jod has granted them. "They Have iio right to expect others to take care of them, while they nesrlect to take care of themselves. It is their right, their duty to guard themselves against excess, to avoid dansrer, to abstain from everything which can injure or destroy them, and" to maintain themselves in vigor and strength for purposes of usefulness and bhssing to those around us. Take care of yourself. No one else can care for you. "iou must see to it that you have food, and raiment, and re*t, ami sleep, and protection, so that you will be fitted for tbe best and most lasting service, for the ?lory*of God and the good of mankind.? The Common People. WAITING FOR THE GOSrEL. "What can we do in forming a conception of the conditions and wants, the fears and hopes, the sorrows and agonies, the sins and rum. the dancers and nossibilities. of mu'.ti plied millions "groaning and travailing in pain" who never heard of the Saviour of men? Each individual a human being?a brother man, with a soul capable but ignorant of God?needing the Saviour and waiting for the Gospel! And there are continents full of them! "We refuse to look steadily at this dark and sorrowful procession going its way to eternity. We cannot while we neglect them. If there were only one man in the world who had never heard of Jesus, it would-be worthy the combined efforts of heaven "and earth to carry him the "glad tidings." What exertions have we witnessed to find Sir John Franklin?only lost in the Arctic seas! And yet there are hundreds of millions drifting into unknown darkness. Saving nothing of Paeans in Christian lands, there are, of Mohammedans, 1(30,000.000; of Asiatic Buddhists, of one sort and another, idolaters all, 600,000,000; of miscellaneous heathen in Africa and the islands of the sea, "200.000,000 more. If the church looked steadilvatsuch facts; if she read in the light of the feible and with full faith in God their meaning?so porten tious for both worlds?she could never rest till she had "preached the Gospel to every creature." Dr. Olin has said, as rightly as eloquently: "Did the church really believe the Gospel to be as necessary to the heatheu as it is to us, there would be at once and forever an end of her guilty repose."?Go or Send; A I'lea for Missions. GLADSTONE AND THE SABBATH. The following incident shows bow careful the Hon. XV. K. Gladstone is to observe the Sabbath at borne or abroad. It occurred on the occasion of his recent visit to the continent. The city authorities of Naples wlsbed to show Mr. Gladstone an extraordinary attention, and arranged with the authorities for a visit to Pompeii, at which there should he a great excavation in the "City of the Dead.'' lie accepted the invitation, although | no day was named. Knowing his love for classic archeology, j the authorities did not doubt for a moment | that he would full in witn an tneir pians. So tlicy lisciI upon Sunday, and on Saturday morning it was announced in all the papers that a special steamer would take Mr. Gladstone and family, the authorities and newspaper correspondents to P?*mpeii, where there would :?e an excavation. But they "counted without their host." or rather their quests, for the "grand old man" tirmlv hut politely informed them that "he did not use the Sabbuth for mere worldly excursions:" that they must change their whole plan, or lie would not go. And vet without his knowledge, the correspondents, seeing the announcements in the Saturday papers, without further inquirv telegraphed to their journals in Englamf, Franee and Germany, which published on Monday morning. tliat',Yo?teruay (Sunday) 31 r. tiladstone went on an excursion to I'ompeii!" Many were the recriminations in the opposition journals and in the religious weeklies in England. and some, not opponent?, deplored that he should set mii'ii -i iii>rnieiotis example. Vet on that >S;'l>!>atIi Mr. (Jlailstuiie was in his regular place at church. mhI <liil not visit Pompeii until the Tuesday after.?[Exchange. The new bridge to be built over the Hudson River between New York and j Jersey City will eclipse the monster Brooklyn strncturo. The great central J span will be 2,800 feet long, nearly : ! twice tho length of the span over East j I River. There are to be five towers ris-! ' ing to a height of 500 feet above the 1 water. It is one of the most daring; < feats of engineering undertaken in this | ' or any other county. j ! Money to a man is like water to a plant, only useful as long as it promotes and facilitates growth?liko the water in the fountain or water in th? tank, keep it flowing, and it blesses; keao it atftgAaatv jusL itioinres. 1 1mm school. i INTERNATIONAL LESSON FOB B SEPTEMBER 11. H >^s Lesson Text j " Parable of Pounds," Lake xfx.t 11-27?Golden Text: Luke xix., 20?Commentary. 11. "And as they heard these things, He added and spake a parable, because Ho wal nigh to Jerusalem, and because they thought that the Kingdom of God should immediately appear." Although He had said again and again that He was going to J erusalem to be crucified and to rise again from the dead (chap, xviii., 3?34; Matt, xvi., 21; xvii., 23), yet they understood not, and thought that now they sbould see Him proclaim Himself King of Israel and restore the throne of David, or the throne of the Lord, at Jerusalem, on which David and Solomon sat as the representatives of Jehovah (I Chron. xxix., 23). That this was the Kingdom they expected is clearly stated in Lulce xxiv., 21; Acts 1., (3; and that they had a right to expect this is seen in the Davidic covenant (II Sam. vii., 12-16); I Chron. xvii., 11-14); also in all the prophets (see Isaiah ix.. 6. 7: Jer. iii.. 17). and in the words of Gabriel to Mary (Luke L', 32. 33). That they had much ground for expecting v the Kingdom at that time is seen in the fact that John the Baptist, Jesus Himself, the twelve, and the seventy, all preached that the Kingdom was at hand" (Matt, iii., 2; iv., 17; i, 7* Luke x., 9. Why then this parable, and why was the Kingdom not then to be established? The Kingdom in the person of the King?Jesus, the son of David?nad been at hand and in their midst, but they knew Him not, received Him not, and were now about to kill Him. Therefore He said: "The Kingdom of God is taken from you and given to a nation bringing forth the froita thereof (Matt, xxi., 43). Tneir rejection of Him as a nation postpones the restoration of the throne of David until His return (Acts iii., 21), and they have lost certain high privileges which will be given to another elect nation, even the church or body of Christ, now being gathered out of all nations (Acta xv., 14; I Pet. ii., 9). >j3 12. "He said, therefore, a certain noble-^Jl man went into a far country, to receive for himself a kingdom and to return." He refers to Himself and the Kingdom now postconed, but to be established on this earth at His return. His approaching death He speaks of as a iournev into a far countrv. 13. "And He called his ten servants, and delivered them ten pounds, and said unto them, Occupy till I come." while He Is absent He expects Hi3 servants to be busy in His affairs, and He gives them something with which to work or do business for Him. In this parable each one receives the same, while in the parallel parable of the talents (Matt, xxv., 15) each receives according to ability. The pound to each may signify the Spirit, which is given to every man to profit withal, while the talents may refer to the special gifts of fche Spirit given to teach as He (the Spirit) willeth (I Cor. xii., 7, 11). The servants must be those who believe, in Him and hath thus become His redeemed, and they are to bo engaged in His work right up to the time of His coming again. 14. "But His citizens hated Him and sent a message after Him, spying, We will not have . 1 this man to reign over us. In verse 27 these citizens are called enemies. They are under His care, they are nominally His subjects, He loves them and seeks their welfare, yet they hate Him without a cause and desire another King (Pd. lxix., 4; John xv., 25; ISam. viii., 19; John xix., 15). Is not every uue ?uu itnuaea w icucivo ueausaa ma o?viour virtually doing just as these citizens? They would not like to say that they hate Him, but their actions say it, their heart says it, and He reads the heart. All who are only Christians in name, and whose only desire Li to escape hell, but would be glad u there was no hell and no need of a Saviour. these are surely His enemies. 15. "And it came to pass, that when Ho was returned, having received the Kingdom, then He commanded these servants to be called unto Him, to whom He had given the money, that He might know how much every man had caiued by trading." He will yet receive the Kingdom, He will return, His servants must give an account of pounds or t&lente A. Intrusted to theni. He speaks of the futur^-^^ as if already present. He sees the end from the beginning. He speaks of the time mentioned in Dan. vii., 13, 14; Rev. xi.. 15. But ere the Kingdom is fully established, the sen-ants in this present time must be reckoned with, and their places in the Kingdom appointed them according to their faithfulness. 16. "Then came the first, sayiliz, Lord, Thy 1 : 3 L ft TCU??. puuua liiiui fciuutru icu puuuus. ?? uui jv/jr this one would have in rendering his account. He had lived for his Master, and had evidently sought his Master's interests. And yet notice he does not say, Lord, I have made your pound into ten, but, leaving himself out, he says, "Thy pound hath gained ten pounds." As when Paul said concerning his labors: "Not I but the grace of God which was with me" (I Cor. xv., 10). It is God who giveth and it is God who worketh, and to Him alone shall be all the glory. 17. "And Hu said unto him. Well, thou good servant; because thou hast been faithful in a very little, h:. t thou authority over ten cities." All that is intrusted to us to do here in this present time is but a very little compared with our service in the Kingdom when it shall come; and it is not success that He coilimends, but faithfulness. 18. "And the second came, saying, Lord, Tby pound hath gained five pounds." Each one shall give account of himself. Every man shall receive his own reward according to his own labor (I Cor. iii., 8). 19. "And He said likewise to him, Be thou also over five cities." There is no reproof Uin lio/J Ma4- /vninAri frtn T?? urwiuao uio puuuu muu iivi? ^<uuwu iuu. *u h his measure ne had been faithful, and in that I measure he is rewarded. Every one accord- B ing to his own labor. One star differeth fl from another star in glory; so also is the 8 resurrection of the dead (I Cor. xv., 41,42). 9 20. "And another came, saying, Lord, be- B hold, here is Thy pound, which I have kept B laid up in a napkin." The Lord's gift un- B used and therefore not improved. Like some B who say that years ago they were converted; but no one ever heara them tell another how fl to get eternal life. They can talk, but not of Jesus and His love; they causing, but not of ^ _ _fl Him; they have time enough at their dis- tKM posal. but instead of using it for Him they labor to while it away; they have money, g but it is spent upon themselves; yet they pro- fl fesstohave eternal life, and are members in good standing of some orthodox church. M 21. ''For I feared Thee, because Thou art an austere man; Thou takest up that Thou fl layedst not down, and reapest that Thou B didst not sow." Having received salvation fl as a frea gift from God, we are then to work B it out with fear and tre.-ubliug, for it is Ciod wiio worketh in us (Phil, ii, 12, 13). '21. "And He saith unto him: "Outoi thine own mouth will I judge thee, thou wicked servant.'' By our words we shall be justified or by our words csndemned (Matt, xii., 37). Gol reads thd heart, but out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh. Jesus is the Word of God and the faithful manifestation of what God is. *23. "Wherefore then gavest not thou Mv money into the bank, that at My coming I might have required mine own with usury?' It is God who giveth us all things, and whether it be eternal life. His holy soirit, or the ordinal y temporal biessiu^s of daily life, all cvme under the head of "His money," j 'Him own," which He expects us to use for His glory. "Take from him the pound and givg it to him who hath ten pounds." so every one who uses well what he has will have more futrusted to him. while the wicked j-jrvants who bear the M ister's name but know Hi:nnot, shall lose w hat they have, or rather what they seem to have."or think they have (Luke "viii.. IS and margin). For what we do not enjoy or make some use of we canr.ot truly be said to have. We may k - !?" *>.> > n.usn?in'r likrt tllft numfl to life, without the reality; from which may B the L jnl deliver Ui.?Lesson Helper. I Many parents are apt to consider M their daughters worth their weight in B gold, but a Scotch gentleman estimatod 9 his two daughters' valuo at even a 9 higher rate than this, bequeathing to A J each her weight in ?1 notes. The elder seems to have been slimmer than her sisier, for she got only ?51,200, while ! the younger received ?57,344. _ _ fl A xt&Ai.i?? juuug numiiu trnu waa% I asked the place of her nativity replied] I that she wasn't born anywhere in par-! 8 tieular, as she was the daughter of a M?:Uodiat minister. .. .. J ' 1 / --i ? --