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TO THOSE WHO FAIL. ( | Courage, bravo heart; nor in thy purpose ' falter; I Go on and win the fight at any cost. jThough sick nnd weary after heavy convict, ( f Rejoice to know the battle is not lost. IThe field is open still to those brave spirits < f. "Who nobly struggle till the strife is done, S Through suu and storm with courage all un- ^ daunted, ! "Working aud waiting till the battle's ] won. ; Thp ffliiVMst nrn frmnrl in t.ho rlpnnoct: 1 waters, f The brightest jewels iu the darkest mine; And through the vary blackest hour of mid 1 nijht s The star of Hope doth ever brightly shine. 5 Press on! Press on! the path is steep and t rugged ? And storm-clouds almost hide Hope's light ' from view; < Eut you can pass where other feet have t trodden: j A few more steps may bring you safely , through. ) The battle o'er, a victor crowned with * honors; 1 Bv natient toiL each difRonlt.r n?sfc. You then may see these days of bitter fail- J ure But spurred you on to greater deeds at * last. s ?Nellie Barlow, in Once-a-Week. s THE RAJAH'S HORSE. EY CHARLES G. D. ROBERTS. The Thalia, the American man of war ?n which I was midshipman, had, for eon:c inexplicable reasou, put iu at MaBulipatam, India, and lay there over a c mouth. Jack Shaler and I got leave to <] go ashore and stay awhile at a sort of 0 hotel, for the purpose of looking into ( native customs, ana so forth. Under the ? spell ~f a superabundance of servants and j( salaams wc soon realized our great per- v eoual and national importance, and what ^ is more, we succeeded in making the old Rajah realize it. Thereupon the Rjjah j feasted us, and gave us a very good time generally. s, The Rajah of Masulipatam has no doubt a many weaknesses, but the only one which n seems to call for present commeut was 0 his weakness for horses. His stable3 a were magnificently stocked, and I be- a lieve that his heart bad its dwelling t( therein. His steed was certainly one of p the finest to be found in all India. ti One morning the Rajah sent two e gorgeously appareled messengers to e invite us to a boar hunt, or "pig stick- j, infT " ns t.lio "Rnorlish in Tndin call it The messengers,who came on horseback, were followed by grooms in white turban and tunic, leading a pair of splendid t, tnirnals for Jack and me to ride. Need- ^ less to say, ye accepted the invitation n thus effectually backed up, and set out ^ for the palace wiih the highest kind of ^ expectations. A boar hunt was just the ^ experience we wanted. But wc didn't S| get it. that day. ^ When we reached the palace gate, to C( the evident surprise of our attendants, t< there was no hunting party gathered to p * receive us. We halted, withnut dis- u mounting, and immediately one of the ti chief officers of the palace appeared. He 0 almost effaced himself before us us he explained that there would be no hunt e % that day. (Jack aud I, you know, arc c r pretty well up in Hindustani, having j; been grinding at it all the time wc were ? Tn,1,'An \ vu iui; niuxau obakivu. j q . Presently the dusky apologist informed us that,if we pleased,His Highness would a receive us in the garden, whither he had ^ betaken himself to woo forgetfulness jj of a recent serious annoyancc. Of coursc \ ire went at once to the amiable potentate, genuinely concerned that he should be in ^ trouble. n Through a massive, wide, but low- jj arched doorway of exquisitely cut black j, marble, we entered the palace gardens 0 of Slasulipatani, and looked out upon a j, landscape which appeared to us to grow ^ more and more enchanting every time it ^ met our gaze. The officer, knowing that g we needed no further direction, and that ^ his master wished to see U3 alone, with- ^ drew in silence. In a secluded portico by the canal we found the liajuh await- s, ing us. v lie came forward to meet us. He b ^ 'was a man of the world, and had j, 9^*-- traveled in Europe; and toward foreigu- ^ ers he adopted the manners which be- v loDg to the gentleman everywhere. He was full of regret at having to disap- j, point us, and assured us that the hunt a was only postponed. His face wore a a troubled expression,and Jack made a dis- s cre:t and sympathetic inquiry into the f] cause of his disquietude. s "The fact is," said the Rajah, "my n beloved horse Bahrain has gone mad, ? hopelessly mad, I fear!" s "What! Bahram? You don't mean ^ it?" I cried in consternation. I lore u horses, and I had been consumed with jenvious admiration for that beautiful t animal, a dark, blood bay Arab, of mar- p Telous stature. c "Yes!" said the Rajah, "he was acting very strangely ytsterday, and his a groom could haidly manage him. This a morning, as he was being led out, and I r was almost preparing to mouut in spite I (] of the excitement under which he was c laboring, he suddenly plunged forward v with a horrid yell and seized the groom's t neck between his teeth. He shook the t mar> just as in England I once saw one of c j - those small dogs they call a terrier shake t ^ a rat. And the man was immediately t killed. Notwithstanding my great love s for Bahram, my pity for the unfortunate t groom was so exceedingly great that I ( was on the point of transfixing the horse through the body with my boar spear. ] iJut as I ruslica lorwara, (my mgicnea t attendants, being unarmed, had ran away \ precipitately) Bahrain dropped his victim, t and seeing the poor wretch was already f dead I thought it unnecessary to slay the ( horse, which was so much more valuable, , indeed, than many grooms. ' | ' Instead of attacking me, as I anti- . cipaicd, the infuriated, animal ? now whirled about, aud darted i back into the paddock which sur- ] rounds the stables. Leaping superbly j into the air, ann uttering a wild and \ fearful cry (which I have not the prop- j er English to explain to you), he darted ] _e ? ? ? r>.,f fim I 1 Ul anoiaui Ui iuu giuuiua. nuv mv I i twinkling of an eye the fellows had all j i disappeared within the stables, and had , closed the doors. I beckoned one of my , attendants to shut the gate beside which I was standing. But Bahram was now jcturning like lightning, aucLthc cowardlj slave was reluctant fo come forward. 1 Therefore I had to close the gate with my own hand, to keep Bahiam imprcS med; and the slave I have had whipped :or cowardice." ^ The Rajah's English was scrupulously :legant in accent, and he told the incilent with a certain dignified eloquence jf gesture that made it intensely iuter?stiug. "We asked it we could get a jlimpse of the demcuted Bahrain. Iu response the Rajah led us through a long tvinding alley of blossoming oleanders ind into a part of the garden which we liad never before visited. The terrace it this point overlooked the iuclosure in .vhich the stables stood and commanded it the same time a view of one of the jusiest thoroughfares of Masulipatam, ivhich at one point adjoined the stable grounds. Moving1 restlessly up nud down beside :he narrow strip of bamboo fence which separated him from the street, we saw ;be wretched horse; and the Rajah's face *rew even more dejected as we watched, rhe passers-by seemed awed by the mad mimal, for they kept crowding to the >ther side of the street and eyeing suspiciously the frail barriers of the bamboo *ate. Ever and anon Bahram would toss lis head back convulsively over his ihoulders, as if some insect were stingng the base of his brain. Then he vould jump up and down two or three imes aud press close against the fence a fcis maa nunger 10 get at me passing hrong. He was never for an instant it-ill. "It is a.bad case," said the Rajah adly, "aud in all probability incurable, rhat breed is liable to be affected thus in >ur climate. There is a chance of his ecovery if he is left undistured; but hat place is not good for him. The srowds excite him, and I know not how o remove him alive." "Why not lasso him?"suggested Jack. The Rajah did not understand. "I mean," continued Jack, "why ouldu't some tellows go into toe padlock on elephants, and throw a noose iver his head and upset him, and then hrow another over his hind legs, and so ;et him all tangled up so he'd be help?ss? Then he could be carried off somechere and kept cool till his senses came ack to him." The Rajah's woebegone face lit up at ack's proposal. "Certainly, we might try some such cheme," he responded. Tl'en we held n earnest consultation as to ways and leans. As Jack had a very definite idea f just how the thing should be managed, nd understood the nice art of throwing lasso, the Iiajah committed the matter 3 his hands. It was decided that,while lahram's attention was taken up with ' J- *1 1 ..< ae crowus hi tuc sul'ui wo ouuuiu titer the inclosure from the rear, on lephants, and proceed to put the horse lto a strait jacket. Hardly had we re-entered the palace j perfect our arrangements for the atick, when our ears were shocked by a jrrible outcry which arose in the street. s we started out to see what was the latter, we were met by the tidings wc ad been dreading. The mad brute had roken through the bamboo gate, and ras running amuck through the crowded ;reet. Having our revolvers in our elts, Jack and I rushed forth barehead3, jumped on our horses, and galloped )ward the scene of terror. The Rajah ickcd up his boar spear and made after s with digaificd alacrity, at the same ;me, in a tone they dared not disobey, rdering his attendants to follow. As we dashed down a sidewfly and merged upon the chicf street, the ries and shrieks became appalhg. Poor /wretches wild with ;rror met us in throngs, while others on ither hand assailed with prayers and lows the doors of the dwellings closed gainst them. We saw the mad horse aiting from side to side, his ears flat on is neck, his great mouth wide open. Tith his gleaming blood red coat ho joked like an incarnate fury. "We had a see him catch now one flying wretch, ow another, crushing their necks with is mighty teeth and dropping them lifeiss in the gutter. Uis mood seemed one f mingled rage and delight. Presently, 1 attacking a tall and athletic porter, e missed his accustomed hold, and the oomed man grappled with him magnicently. Upon this the brute sprang igh into the air and deliberately fell on is victim. Then we were upou him. The Rajah, eager and on a blooded teed, had distanced his attendants and ,-as now abreast of me, but we had both een so hindered by fugitives that Jack ad got a little to the front. As the mad orsc caught sight of him he left his last ictim and rushed to the encounter. Drawing his heavy revolver from his elt, and reining in his horse, Jack took cool aim, and tired. His horse swerved t the flush, and the ball, though it trunk, failed of its full effoct. Jack red again initaitlj, at the same time purring sharply to one side. This side movement doubtless saved his life, for Jahram, who was now upon him, only ucceeded in grasping him by the boot, 'he stirrup protected the foot from being cianglcd. The brute made a fine effort to tull Jack out of the saddle, but failed a he first attempt. Ere he could accom?lish his desigu the Rajah and I had :ome up. "Keep your grip!" I yelled to Jack, nd the beast dropped his hold and made , lunge at me. At that very instant my evolver was fairly in his car?yet that iignified old Rajah, whom we had never redited with such nerve, got in his vork ahead of me. He had dropped his >oar spear in the crowd, but his long, hin, curved sword, ere my cartridge :rackcd, slid softly acros3 the brute's hroat. My bullet fouud its mark, but he Rajah's promptness had rendered it uperfluous, and the ma<L Bahrain staggered against inc. almost knocking ine >rer, uud then fell dead. "When the excitement was past, the 3ajah, after exprcsfing his admiration of rack's daring, and satisfying himself hat the foot was not seriously injured, elapsed into a profound despondency. For i moment we thought this was on account )f the number of his faithful subjects ,vho had fallen victims, and we attempted :o condole with him. At first he stared it us in puzzled surprise. Then he laughed somberly, and explained that as far as those poor creatures were concerned, he nad felt bound to protect their lives if possible; but that really the loss of a thousand of them would not cause him tue sorrow lie experienced at tne late 01 Bahram. This was something of a sticker for us, but we felt the more called upon to admire His Highness's sense of duty and his cool effectiveness in an emergency so trying.?The Araosy. France receives a yearly revenue ol over $50,000,000 from its monopoly of the sale of tobacco. About two pounds per inhabitant are consumed yearly there. TiriTT i\n m i i ii i riTi > HM..UK. IALMAIiU. THE BROOKLYN DIVINE'S SUNDAY SERMON. Subject: "Monnt Lebanon." Text: "Tho cedars of Lebanon which Ht halh planted"?Psalm civ., 10. In our journey we cbauge stirrup foi wheel. It is 4 o'clock in the morning at Damascus. Syria, and we are among the lanterns of the hostelry waiting for the stage to start. A Mohammedan in high life is putting his three wives on board within an apartment by themselves, and our party occupy the main apartment of one of the most uncomfortable vehicles in which mortals 1 were ever jammed and half strangulated. ' But we must not let the discomforts annul or disparage the opportunities. We are roiling out aud up the mountains of Lebanon, their forehead ur.der a crown of snow, which coronet the fintoors of the hottest summer cannot cast down. We are ascending the heights around which is garlanded much of the finest poesy of the Scriptures, and aro rising toward the mightiest dominion that botany ever recognized, reigned ov6r by the most imperial tres that ever swayed a leafy scepter?the Lebanon cedar; a tree eulogized in my text as having grown from a nut put into the ground by God Himself, and no human hanrl had anything to do with its planting: "The trees of Lebanon which He had planted." The average height of this mountain is seven thousand feet, but in one plage it lifts Its head to an altitude of ten thousand. No higher than six thousand feet can vegetation exist, but below that line at the right season are vineyards ana orcnams ana ouve groves and flowers that dash the mountain side with a very carnage of color and fill the air with aromatics that Hosea, the prophet, and Solomon, the king, celebrated as "the smell i of Lebanon." At a height of six thousand feet is a grove of cedars, the only descendants of those vast forests from which Solomon cut his timber for the temple of Jerusalem, and where at one time there were one hundred thousand axmen hewing out the beams from which great cities were constructed. But this nation of trees has by human iconoclastn been massacred until only a small group is left. This race of giants is nearly extinct, but I have 110 doubt that some of these were here when Hiram, King of Tyre, ordered the assassinatian of these cedars of Lebanon | which the Lord planted. From the multitude j of uses to which it may be put and the em- , ployment of it in the Scriptures, the cedar is , the divine favorite. When the plains to be j seen from the window of this stage in which we ride to-day are parched under summer i heats, and not a gri-ss blade survives the ferridity, this tree stands in luxuriance defying the summer sun. And when the storms of winter terrify the earth and hurl the rocks in avalanche down this mountain side, this tree*grapples the hurricane of snow in i triumph and leaves the spent furvatits feet. From sixty to eignty ieet rngu ara they, the horizontal branches of great sweep, with their burden of leaves needle j ?haped, the top of the tree pyramidal, a throne of foliage on which might and splen- < dor and glory sit. But so continuously has i the extermination of trees gone on that for the most part the mountains of Lebanon are i bare of foliage, while, I am sorry to say, the I earth in all lands is being likewise denuded. The ax is slaying the forests all round the earth. To stop the slaughter God opened the coal mines of England and Scotland and America and the world, practically saying by that, "Here is fuels as far as possible let My trees a'one." And by opening for the human race the great < quarries of granite and showing the human i family how to make brick, God is practically sayiug, "Here is building material; let My trees alone." We had better stop the axes among the Adirondacks. We had better stop the axes in all our forests, as it would have been better for Syria if the axes had long ago beeu stopped among the < mountains of Lebanon. To punish us for our reckless assault on the forests we have th9 disordered seasons, aud now the droughts Deeause tnc upiuieci arms 01 me irois uu uui pray for rain, their presence according to all scientists disposing the descent of the showers, and then we have the cyclones and the hurricanes multiplied in number and velocity because there is nothing to prevent their awful sweep. Plant the tress in your parks that the weary inay rest under them. Plant them along your streets, that up through the branches passers by may see the God who first made the trees and then made man to look at them. Plant them along the brooks, that under them the children may play. Plant them in your gardens, that as in Eden the Lord may walk there in the cool of the daj-. Plant them in cemeteries, their shade like a mourner's veil, and their leaves sound ing like the rustle of the wings of the departed. Let Arbor Day, or tbe day for the planting of trees, recognized by the Legislatures of many of th9 States, be observed by all our people, and tho next one hundred year3 do as much in planting these leafy glories of God as the last one hundred years have accomplished in their destruction. When, not long before i his death, I saw on the banks of tho < Hudson in his glazed cap, riding on horseback, George P. Morris, the great song j writer of America, I found him grandly , emotional, and I could understand now he wrote "Woodman, spare that tree!" the verses of which many of us have felt like i quoting in belligerent spirit, when under ' the stroke of some one without sense or reasoM we saw a beautiful tree prostrated. , As we rode along on these the mountains , of Lebanon, we bethink how its cedara J spread their branches and breathe their aroma and cast their shadows all through the Bible. Solomon discoursed about them , in his botanical works, when he spoke ot trees "from the cedar tree that is in Lebanon even unto the hyssop that springeth out ol the wall." The Psalmist says, "The right- . eous shall grow like a cedar in Lebanon," j and in one his magnificent doxologiea calls on th9 cedars to praise the Lord. And Solomon says the countenance of Christ is excel- , lent as "the cedars, and Isaiah declares, "The day of the Lord shall be upon all the cedars ! of Lebanon." And Jeremiah and Ezekiel and Araos and Zephaniah and Zechariah 1 weave its foliage into their sublimit utterances. As we ride over Lebanon to-day there is a howling wind sweeping past and a dash of rain, ail the better enabling us to appreciate i that description of a tempest which no i doubt was suggested by what David had seen i with his own eyes among these heights, for < as a soldier he carried his wars clear up to ] Damascus, and such a poet as he, I warrant, ] spent many a day on Lebanon. And perhaps while he was seated on this very rock against 1 which our carriage jolts, he writes that >|on- I derful description of a thunder storm: 'The ' voice of the Lord is powerful. The voica of ( the Lord is full of majesty.. The voice of the 1 Lord breaketh the cedars of Lebanon .Yea, ' the Lord breaketh the cedars of Lebanon, i He maketh them also to skip like a calf, Let- i inou and Sir ion like a j-oung unicorn. The i ? ^ * ** a . voice 01 tne lvora aiviuetn me iiuuies ui flre." As the Uoa is the monarch of the fields and behemoth the monarch of the waters, the iedar is the monarch of the trees. And I think one reason why it is so glorified all up and down the Bible is because we need more of its characteristics in our religious life. We have too much of the willow, and are easily bent this way or that; too much of the aspen, and we tremble under every zephyr of assault; too much of the bramble tree, and our sharp points sting and wound; but not enough of the cedar, wide branched and heaven aspiring aud tempest grap pung. out me reason tuuse a ?!?< ?? well is that they are deep rooted. They run their anchors down into the caverns of the mountain and fasten to the very foundations of the earth, and twist around and clinch themselves on the other side of tho deepest layer of rock they can roach. And that is the difference between Christians who stand and th* Christians who fall. It is the difference between a superficial character and one that has clutched its roots deep down around and under the Rock of Ages. One of the Lebanon cedars was examined l?y a scientist, and from its concentric circles it was found to be thirty-five hundred years old and still standing, and therein such n thing as everlasting strength, and 6urh a stauchness of Christian character that all time and nil eternity instead of being its demolition shall be its opportunity. Not such are those vacillating Christians who are so pious on Sunday that they have no religion left for the week day. As the anaconda gorges itself with food, and then seems for a long while to lie thoroughly insensible, 90 there are men who will on Sunday get suoh a religious surfeit that the rest of the we9k they seem thoroughly dead to all religious 1 emotion. l.Tiey weep in church under a , . . ^ charity sermon, hut if on Monday a Subject ' of want presents itself at the door the beggar's safety will depend entirely on quick limbs and an unobstructed stairway. It takes nil the grace they can get to keep them from committing assault and battery on those intruders who come with palo faces and stories of distress and subscription papers. The reasonthatGod planted these cedars in the Bible was to suggest to us that we ought, in our religious character, to be deep like the cedar, high like the cedar, broad branched as the cedar. A traveler measured the spread of the boughs of one of these trees and found it one hundred and eleven feet from branch tip to branch tip, and I have seen cedars of Christian character that through their prayers and charities put out one branch to the utlarmnit narts of America. and another branch to the uttermost parts of Asia, and these wide branched Christians will keep on multiplying until all the earth is overshadowed with mercy. But mark you, these cedars of Lebanon could not grow if planted in mild climates and in soft air and in carefully watered gardens. They must have the gymnasium of the midnight hurricane to develop their arms. They must play the athlete with a thousand winters before their feet are rightly planted and their foreheads rightly lifted and their arms rightly muscled. And if there he any other way for developing strong Christian character except by storms of trouble, I nover heard of it. Call the roll of martyrs, call the roll of the prophets, call the roll of the apostles and see which of them had an easy time of it. Which of these cedar3 grew in the warm valley? Not one of thom. Honeysuckles thrive best on the south side of the house, but cedars in a 8yrian whirlwind. Men and women who' hear this or read this, instead of your grumbling because you have it hard, thank God that you are in just the best school for making heroes and heroines. It is true both for this world and the next. Rock that babyin a cradle cushioned and canopied; graduate him from that into a costly high chair and giye him a gold spoon; send him to school wrapped in furs enough for an Arctic explorer; send him through a college where he will not have to study in order to get a diploma because his father-is rich: start him in a profession where he begins with an office, the floor covered with Axminster, find a library of books in Russia morocco, and an armed chair upholstered like a throne, and an embroidered ottoman upon which to put his twelve-uollar gaiters, and then lay upon his table the best ivory cigarholder you can import from Brussels aiul have standing obtside his door a prancing span mat won tQe prize at the horse fair, ann leave him estate enough independent of all struggle, and what will become of him? If he do not die early of inanition or dissipation he will live a useless life, and die an unlamented death, and go into tool's eternity. A Lebanon cedar! John Milton on his way up to the throne of the world's sacred Eoes.v must sell his copyright of "Paradise ost" for $72 in three payments. And William Shakespeare on his way up to be acknowledged the greatest dramatist of all ages must hold horses at the door of the London theatre for a sixpence, and Homer must struggle through total blindness to n t> /I Tn)in Rnn mn mnuh nhoaf* himself on the way up by making a flute out of his prison stool, and Canova, the sculptor, must toil on through orphanage modeling a lion in butter before lie could cut his statues in marble. Aad the great Stephenson must watch cows in the field for a few pennies and then become a stoker, and a'terward mend clocks before he puts the locomo'ive on its track and calls forth plaudits from parliaments and medals from kings. Abel Stevens is picked up a neglected child of th e street, and rise* through his consecrated genius to be one of the most illustrious clergymen and historians of the century. And Bishop Janes of the same church in boyhood worked his passage from Ireland to America, and up to a usefulness where, in the bishopric, he was second to no one who ever adorned it. While in banishment Xenophon wrote hi9 "Anabasis" and Thucydides his "History or the Pelopoanesian War," and Victor Hugo must be exiled for many years to the Island of Guernspy before he can come to that height in tiie affections of his countrymen that crowds Champs Elyaees and the adjoining boulevards with one million mourners as his hearse rolls down to the Church of the Madeleine. Oh, it is a tough old world, and ir< will keep you back and keep you down and keep you under as long as it canl Hail sous and daughters of the fire! Thirty years from now the' foremost men in all occupations aod professions will be those who are this hour in awful struggle of early life, many of them without five dollars to their name. So in spiritual life it takes a course of bereavements, persecution, sicknesses and lossos to develop stalwart Christian character. I got a letter' a few days ugo saying: "I have hardly seen a well day since I was born, and I could not WTito my own name until I was 50 years of age, and I ani very poor; but I am, by the grace of God. the hanniest man in Chicaffo." The Biblo speaks of the snows ofLebunon, and at this season of the year the snows thera must bo trcmendoua. The deepest snow ever seen in America would beinsijrnificant compared with the mildost winter of suowa on those Lebanon mountains. The cedars catch that skyful of crystals on their brow and on their long arms. Piled up in (rreat heaps are those snows, enough to crush other trees to the ground, splitting the branches from the trunk and leaving them rent and torn, never to rise. Cut what do fKndrt anixn-o ?n Txhnnrtn ^ LI 13 ceuun WiciUi Vi4C.1U o?n-<u/i? . rhej look up to tho winter skies and say: "Snow on! Empty the Vhite heaveus udoq as, and when this storm is passed let other procession3 of tempest try to bury us in their fury. We have for five hundred wintors been aceastomed to this, and for the next five hundred winters we will cheerfully take ill you have to send, for lhat is the way we develop our strength, and that is the way we serve God und teach all ages how to endure and conquer." So I say: Good cheer to all people who are snowed uude ! Put your faith in God and you will come out gloriously. Others may be stunted growths, or weak junipers on the loner levels of spirituality, but you are going to be Lebanon cedars. At la^t it will be said of such aiyou. ''These are they who came out o( great tribnlation and had their robes washed and made white in the blood ol the lamb." But while crossing over these mountains of Lebanon I bethink myself of what an ?xciting scene it must be when one of the cedars does fall. It does not go down like pther trees with a slight crackle that nardiy manes tne woocisman iook up, or a hawk flutter from a neighboring bough. When a cedar falls it is the great event in the calendar of the mountains. The axmen fly. The wild beasts slink to their (lens. Phe partridges swoop to tte valley for escape. The neighboring trees go down under [ he awful weight of the descending monarch. Die rocks are moved out of their places, ind the earth trembles as Irom miles around ill ravines send back their sympathetic ichoes. Crnsh! crash! crash! So when tiie jreat cedars of the worldly or Christian niluenco fall it is something terrific. Within the past few years how many mighty and avertopping inyi have gone down! There ieems now to ho an epidemic ofnioral disaster, me moral world, tne religious world, the political world, the commercial world, are quaking with the fall of Lebanon cedars. It is uwfnl. Wo are compelled to cry out with Zachariah, the prophet. "Howl, fir trees, for the cedar is fallen!" Some 01 the smaller trees nre glad of it. When some great deoler in stocks goes down the smull dealers dap their hands and say, "Good for him! " When a great political loader goes down the small politicians dup their hands und say, "Just as I expected! " When a groat minister of religion falls many little ministers laugh up their sleeves aud think themselves somehow advantaged. Ah, beloved brethren, no one makes anything out of moral shipwreck. Not a willow by the rivers the plains of Jericho, not an olive tree in all Palestine is helped by tho fall of a Lebanon cedar. Bettor weep and pray and tremble and listen to Paul's advice to the Galatians when he says, "Considering thyself lest thou aUo be tempted." No man is safe until he is dead unless he be divinely nroteeted. A creater thinker th&n Lord Francis Bacon tli9 world never saw, and he 1 changed the world's raodo of thinkiug for all time?his "Novum Organum" a miracle of literature. With ?38,000 salary and estates worth millions and from the highest judicial bench of the world, ho goes down under the power of bribery and confessed his crimc and was sentenced to the Tower and the scorn of centuries. Howl, fir tree, for the cedar is fallen! In my journey up and down Palestine and Syria nothing more impressed me than the Ireea?the terebinths, th'a sycamores, th?? tamarisks, the oleauders, the mulberrys, the olives, the myrtles, the palms, the cedars? ' all of them explanatory of so mush of the Scriptures. And the time is eoarng when, through an improved arboricu'ture, the round world shall be circumferenced, engirdled, embosomed, emparnd'uea in shkde trees and fruit trees and flower trees. Isaiah | declares in one place, "The glory of Lebanon shall be given unto it;" and in another place: "All the trees of the field shall clap tlieii hands. Instead of the thorn shall come up the fir tree. Instead of the briar shall come up the myrtle tree." Oh. grandest arboresCence of "all time. Eegin! Begin! Oh, I am so glad that the holy land 01 heaven, like the holy land of Palestine and Syria. is a great place for trees, an orchard | of them, a grove of them, a forest of them 8t. John saw them along the streets; and on | both sides of the river, and every month they yielded a great crop of fruit. You j know what an imposing appearance trees give to a city on earth, but how it exalts my | idea 01 neaven wnen oc. Jonn aescnDes tue i :ity on high as having its streets and its rivers ' anei with them. Oh, the trees! the trees! . The jasper walls, the fountains, the temples were not enough. There would have been something wanting yet. So to complete all . that pomp and splendor I behold the up branching trees of life. Not like those stripped trees now around us, which like banished minstrels through the long winter night, utter their dolorous lament, or in the blast moan like lost spirits wandering up and down the gale, their leaf shall never wither. Whether you walk on the banks of the river you will be under trees, or by the homes of martyrs under trees, or by the heavenly temple under trees, or along the palace of the King's immortal under trees. "Blessed are th?y that do Hi* jommandments thntthev mavhave risrht to the tree of life.' Stonewall Jackson's dying 1 utterance was beautifully suggestive, "Let us cross over and iie down under the trees!" How to Kill a Tuxtle. A big turtle afforded the usual amusement for men and boys in front of a Madison street restaurant. An onlooker raised up hi3 voice and said he would bet a dollar that no one in the crowd could tell the process by which a turtle is killed. Whether no one knew, or whether the crowd had been caught in the Baring Brothers' whirl, is not known, but the bet remained open. The man lowered it to a half, and it still remained "on the table." After he had departed another man, a little fellow without any overcoat or shirt collar, said: "If I had had any stuff I would havet taken that bet. I am a professional turtle killer, j The business is a profession, and isn't picked up in a day. Now I will explain to you gentlemen how to kill a turtle. I know none of you could do it after I tell you, but I want to show you that the duffer who bluffed the crowd doesn't know it all. See? Now pay attention. First persuade your turtle to stick out his head, and when he does you cut his throat. If he gets obstinate and refuses to stick out his head, it may^ be necessary to grab the head with a pair of strong nippers, and hold the head betweeu thera until the throat is cut. Then you cut the muscles that connect the body with the shell, and leave the turtle to die. Now, how r^any of you can tell me how long that will take? None. Of course not. You don't 1 T*r^ll 4- nrnn 4-TT f Aim Krvnrfl KUOW. IIC11, UUL>ub mcuvj-wui uuu.a, There is a good deal of the human about a turtle. It likes to hang on, tli9 turtle does. If I had had the stuff, I could have won that bet." A philanthropic man in the crowd, who said he was fond of turtle soup, tipped the man a quarter and passed on.? Chicago Tribune. Elephants Fond of Finery. Strange as it may sr.em, the elephant is passionately fond of linery, and delights to see himself decked out with gorgeous trappings. The native Princes of India are very particular in choosing their state elephants, and will givo fabulous sums for an animal that exactly meets the somewhat fanciful standards they have erected. For these they have made cloths of silk so heavily embroidered with gold that two men are hardly able to lift them. . " An amusing instant of elephantine pride in his own gorgeou3ness is narrated by Baker. The elephant which usually led the state* procession of a Rajah being sick, the magnificent trappings were placed on one which had, up to that time, occupied'only a subordinate place. The animal, delighted with its finery, showed its glee by so mauy little squeaks and kicks of pleasure that general attention was attracted to it. Not long after another state procession, was formed, and the previous wearer of the gold cloths being restored to health, took his accustomed place and trappings, when the now degraded beast, imagining, perhaps, that he was being defrauded of his promotion, was, with great aimcuuy, resiraiucu nun* onav,aing the leader of the parade.?.Veto York Journal. Lnntern Symbols of Rank. The distinctions of rank which exists in European countries give rise to many troubles which, though they may seem rather amusing as well as trivial to us, are in reality quite serious to the persons concerned in them. In. Stuttgart, years ago, there existed a curious custom which is not yet entirely abolished, and, in fact, still florishes quite vigorously in some parts of Germany and Switzerland. This was the use of lanterns of different varieties and sizes by which, at night, the rank of the party could be easily distinguished. The lanterns were carried by the servants who were sent to escort their mistresses home from places of amusement, ana iney mime me suuurc m uum v.-i mc Royal Opera House, where most of the entertainments were then given, quite picturesque, with their lights bobbing up and down in every direction. The differences between some of these lanterns were slight, but they had to be strictly observed, or trouble arose. The order of rank, a? set forth in the "rank list," was something /rem which they could never swerve. Some had lanterns of tin, some of brass; 6ome had wax lights, and others tallow; even the number of lights was prescribed for each separate class or rank. ? Youth's Coin.' panion. The Camera Caught a Itoral Kiss. The camera is becoming a recognized accessory of any historic scene. The crowning iuciilent ot the Moltke celebration was a presentation to him by the Emperor, standiug amid a galaxy of fellow sovereigns, generals and statesmen. The Emperor concluded b_, asking tho Count to accept a new marshal's baton of silver, magnificently iulaid with stars and crowns of rubies and diamonds. Count Moltke could only find a few brief and incoherent words of reply, but he took the Emperor's hand and iuipriDted on ifc a long and fervent kiss. A photographer in attendance se.ized the moment and the negative will be developed into a grand historic picture.?.Yew York Journal. RELIGIOUSlEADlNa" THE NEW YEAR. "I am the little New Year, bo! bo! Here I come tripping it over tbe snow Slinking mv belis with a merry din; Bo open your doors and let me iu "Blessings I bring to one and all, Uig folk and Utile folk, short and tall; Such one from me a treasure may win, )o open your doors and let me in. "Some shall have silver, and some shall have gold; i )nic shall have new clothes, and some shall have old; Seme shill hi* ve bras3, and some shall have tin, Jo open your doors and let me In. "Some shall have water, and some shull have milk; Some shall have satin, and some shall have silk; But ench one from me a blessing may win, So open your doors and let me In." " GO AND DO IT. Don't live a single hour of your life without doing exactly what is to'bc <lo?i. in it, and going straight through it from beginning to end. Work, play, study, whatever it is, take hold at once aiid finish it up squarely and cleanly. Then, do the next thing, without letting*any moments drop between. It ia wonderful to s*e how many hours those people contrive to mnke in a day. It is as if they picked up the moments that the drawleru lost. if rtml xrmiraolf vvhprA VMl llflVfi so many tilings pressing you that you hardly know how to begin, let tue tell you a secret: take hold of the liret one that comes to band and you will find the rest all fall into tile and follow after like a eompany'of well-drilled soldiers. A man was once asked how he ''accomplished so much in his life." "My father told me,'' was the reply, "when I bad anything to do, to go and uo it," There i3 the secret. A HUMAN OB A DIVIXX CHRIST? Dr. Cairns, eminent for ability and learning, lias been lecturing in London 011 "Christ vnd criticism." In the course of it he asks: 'Why is American Unitarianism so feeble Ohat it has only some three hundred congregations against seventy thousand Trinitarian ?" He answers: 4,A human Christ has ueen weighed in the balance and found wanting; he brings uo light from the higher world." "The Unitarians," he says, "have, no douCt. a simpler Christ, but an infinitely poorer one, who has no mystery, becau e he ban no 5re.1tne.s3. Jtie was uttau, out \>?3 iiotaliv; and lie claimed a victory which was only delusion, was blaspbemv. A divine Christ we may be unable 1'uJijr to understand; but it is the mystery of greatness, of atoning love, of constant fellowship, and ?f full salvation which will ever move and win the human heart/' This Is the true and lull explanation. The American Unitarian ministry is learned, scholarly, often eloquent. Its vessels are of exquisitely ornamented china, of silver and gold; but thiy contain ftones while the world asks for bread, and the more sc -ptical of ttem bear scorpions to hungry men asking <or fish.?[Christian Advocate. THE WALK TO KMMAUSJ. It sometimes seems strange to us that, after the very plain worth" iu which Jesus had many times told His disciples of His resurrection on the third, day, that they should 20t have confidently watched for and expected it, instead of being so perplexed and astonished and hard to convince. But just | because tbev did not expect it, and were so slow to believe it, their testimony is the stronger and more unquestionable. Just as God put on record all the prophecies concerning the Redeemer of the world, and left them to be overlooked and misunderstood for centuries, until the time of their fulfillment cime, so Jesus spoke of His death and resurrection to men who, In spite of their loving fidelity, could not understand his meaning till the time should come when He Himself was ready to open their understanding. It was not the eleven chosen ones to whom I'.one the news of the resurrection was borne. There were multitudes of disciples in Jerutalem, scattered about, keeping out of sight, fettinz together secretly, not knowing how toon the hatred that bad crucified their Waster might be turned against his followers. From one to another the message was carried; some heard it from tue lips 01 tne women, ami some not so directly, hut they felt no assurauce. only greater perplexity? could it be? was it possible? Jesus was certainly none from the tomb, but had be risen? and if he hod would be appear to them again or bad be gone to his Father as he had said to the Jews when he assured them that they should seek him and not find him? Questions like these must have been in many hearts, and two disciples, we know, were" discussing* them as they walked along the road from Jerusalem to Emrnaus on this ; very day of the resurrection. They seemed imv# livnH in the little village, and wers perhaps returning to it after the passovei feast. They were sad, for they loved the Master; sad because they bad great hopes which seemed to nave come to nothing; but though the^ feared they had been mistakfn in supposing that Jesus was the promised Messiah, they knew he was a great prop! et. to whose power in word and de</ both God and mau testified. As they went on talking and questioning and growing more earnest, a stranger joineor himself to them and walked with tnem He, too, was coming from Jerusalem, and when, after listening awhile, lie asked them what it was of which ihoy were talking with such an air of sadness "they turned to him with astonishment. Was he a stranger in Jerusalem? But even a stranger must have known the things that had been passing there in these days. ' What things?" asked the stranger, and, wondering still more, they told him briefly of their laitb and disappointment, and the hopes that could not give up to despair, but clung feebly to a strange and hardly credible story some women had told about a vision of angels which said He was alive. They nnnlnobo for tpllilip the nvviucii ? ? 0 story, and yet they founu some comfort in it, as a mother might in a dieam of her dea{ baby. But now the stranger speaks; not scorn fully or even rebukingly. hut rather with pity ami compassion. The mother takes her frightened child in her arms and says, "Ob, you foolish little thing!" while she comforts and reassures it. So he said, "0 fools, ami alow of heart to believe!" and then, with wonderful speech, went on to show them that this death, which to them seemed the end of hope, was reallv its fruition; that, instead of showing that Jesus of Nazareth was not the Christ, it proved that he was. since only by suffering these things could he have entered into his glory. How they listened while this strangtr, whose face they did not know, bnt whose voice seemed to thrill their very hearts, repeated to them the familiar prophecies! He opened unto them the Scripture as one might open a box of jewels, and.* taking out of its Hentlis oromise after promise, beginning with Moses, held it up to tlie light, thattliey might see how upon every one was the same name?the name of Jestis Christ. Can you not imagine how Cleopas looked at hi* friend, and how this other disciple smiled ba?k at Cleopas, as t ie truth concerning Jesus began to dawn upon them? How they would go slowly on. lorgetting everything but these strange words, sometimes so absorbed as to stop for a moment by the way to listen, until before they reached Kmma'us the darkness was beginning to gather. Did not a look or a gesture or a tone sometimes draw their eyes quickly to the face of this stranger, only to find that it was indeed strange? Their hearts burned within them, for love knew its Master, buf "their eyes were holdcn that they knew him not."?[Emily Hunting ton Miller. In Moscow may be seen in the street!) any day a beggar who was a few year3 ago one of the liche.st men in the city. Hi.s father loft him $7,500,000, but he - " -r-r 1 i;t 11_ gainbleil it all away, necarea meriuiy for nothing but gambling, and if be had the money again he would risk it once more in the same way. Some dudo.5, who were annoying a Chinaman at Sedalia, Mo., were astonished when he suddenly mounted one of their bicycles and rode away, his que streaming straight out behind him, as if Old Nick were jiter him. SABBATH SCHOOL'IS INTERNATIONAL LESSON FOB JANUARY 4. Wesson Text: 4The Kingdom Di " ? vided," I Kings xif., 1-17? Golden Text: Proverbs xvlM h IS?Commentary. 1. "Rehoboam?Shechem?all Israel?to make Him King." Such are the words and phrases in this verse demanding our attention ; but let us remember that we are reading the word of the Lord, and the Holy Spirit ~ in this word is ever bringing before us per- \ . " i; sons, places and events which show us God honored or dishonored. God manifest and glorified, or the adversary manifest and God despised. Rehoboam was, so far as we know, the only son of Solomon,and therefore heir to the throne. His name, according to Young, signifies "Freer oZ the people," but he proved to be a great oppressor. Shechem >'3 was a city of the Levites, also a city of refuge, situated in Mount Ephraim. It was the place of Abraham's first altar In Canaan, and the Lord's first appearance tOhim in that promised land. There also Jacob bought a field and erected an altar, calling it * KSod, the God of IsraeV There the body of Jo- ... seph was buried after the conquest of the land by Joshua (Gen.xii., (5, 7, xxxiii., 20: " ^ Josh, xziv., 32). There all Israel gathered . -> to make Rehoboam King of Israel, but God . had determined that Solomon's son should 1 ' . not be King of all Israel (chap, xi., 31-36), and not all Israel nor all nations can overthrow the purpose of .God. 3. "Jeroboam and all the congregation of Israel came and spake unto Rehoboam." This seems outwardly all fair and submissive, but Jeroboam cannot have forgotten the promise of the Lord by the prophet Ahijah (xi., 2931), and he is only quietly awaiting the developments which shall give him the ten. tribes for his kingdom. a j.i.i 1- * ?1? ?1? -* jl uj Lamm uinuo our yok? grieyoua; make thou the grievous service * * * lighter, and we will serve thee." This, too, i" seoms fair and reasonable, and it looks as if . -:''i all might bs well with Rehoiboam if he will ,,M only do right. The grievous service and ?* heavy yoke of Solomon was a fulfillment of the word of the Lord by Samuel when the ;1 peopl; demanded aiding (I Sam. viii., 11-18). Things always turnout as God says. ' ' 5. "Depart yet three days, .then come again to me." The third day in Scripture is "; the day of resurrection and life and deliver- y ance (Hos. vi., 2; John ii., 19; Matt, xvi, 21), ' but only for sucj as follow on to know the " Lord. Neither Rhehobo&m nor Jeroboam "f% nor their followers wfre at this time much concerned about following the Lord, as their ; 7- \ after conduct plainly testifies 7. "If thou wilt be a. servant unto this jjH people this day. * * * and speak good words to them, then they will be thy servants for v ever." If he would only seek the welfare and peace of his people, as did those Kings who 2 sought to do right in the sight of the Lord, i and as did Mordecai (Estb. x., 3u at a later J? period, then all would be well. ^Jut this was - -y not his sDirit. He had not the SDirit of the King of fengs, who though He was rich, yet for our sakes became poor; who laid aside His glory, ana for His people's sake became a servant, saving: "I am among you - as one ' ' ' ' "i who serveth''(II Cor. viii.. 9: Luke xxii., 27). 8. "But he forsook the counsel of the old men ? ? # and consulted with the young men." The old men had stood before Solo- * < mon, his father, but these young men had Sown up with himself and stood before him. ley would be more to his mind, and being his fellows he would be more apt to listen to them. Just as young men to-day are more likely to heed the advice of their companions than the advice of their seniors, who are too often deemed by them as fossils of a ,j past age, having very antiquated ideas. >; 9. "And he said unto them. What counsel ye?' If he had only cried to the Wonderful ' Counselor, "Shew me Thy ways, O Lord; teach me Thy paths" (P.-. xxv., 4), how well it would have been with him. But he pr? ferred an arm of flesh, and proved in his experience the truth of tbe "Thus saith the Lord, Cursed be the man that trusteth in . ^ , man, and maketh flesh his arm. and whose heart departeth from the Lord" (Jer. xvfl^f 5). 10. "My little finger shall be thicker taan 1 my father's loins." This is part of the an- ^ ' swer which the young men instructed him to * give to the people. The loins are significant of strength as m Job xl.,16; Prov. xxxi., 17; but in the case of Solomon it *as strength of ?nKmi'tra that in thp oppressiuu. vusu?? ? ^ the word '"finger" is in italic?, indicating 2 that there is no word for finger in the Hebrew. The sense srems to be: "My little or least shall be thicker or heavier than my J father's strongest; or the heaviest yoke which my father put upon you shall seem light when compared with what I will do to v you. My lightest yoke shall be heavier than the heav-.est of my father." ' _ 11. "My father hath chastised you with / whips, but I will chastise you withscorpions." So tney would have him draw his people to him by encouraging him to act not as a shepherd of his people, but as a cruel taskmaster, a veritable Egyptian Pharaoh. Such insane / ; advice ?ne would think enough to slay itself and those who gave it. 12. "So Jeroboam and all the people came to Rehoboam the third day as the king had appointed." It is a dark day for Israel. ; j They are to hear no comfortiog words; their yoke is not to be lightened nor their service made easier. And yet this man was king on the throne of David, ruling over the Lord'.4 ' psople. A sorry representative of Jehovah surely he was. How he belied his God and acted as a true representative of the great opprt ssor, the father of lies, whom he served. IS. "And the king answered the peopli roughly.'1' "Roughly" is the same word that in verse 4 is translated "grievous." Joseph also spoke "roughly" to his brethren (Gen. xiii., 7, 30), but in his case it was only outward roughness, yet well deserved, while back of it there was forgiveness and love. JeeuF, the true King of Israel, always had compassion upon the people, and only spoke rouarnly to self righteous hypocrites, who richly deserved it. He was all love, but love despised brings wrath. 14 "And spake to them after th# counsel of the young men.'' Wicked counselors are a great curse, and are all in the service, for ? d the time at least, of the first wicked coun selor. who in the garden led Adam and Eve astray. It is bad enough when friends giva *> evil counsel, but how much worse when one's own mother is the evil counselor (Gen. nviL, 13: II Chroa. xxii., H). 15. "The cause was from the Lord." Back of all these apparently ordinary circumstances God was working. He cannot do evil, but He often permits evil to take its course, and yet overrules all for the good of His people. 10. "All Israel saw that the king hearkened- not unto them." Then they departed to their tents and made Jeroboam their king; thera was none that followed the house of David but the tribe of Judah only. And when Rehoboam would have gone forth to subdue the rebels Bod by His servant forbade him, and he had to be content to have it so (vs. 30-24). Thus the highly privileged nation was divided because of their sins, and to this day they have naval- hppn as a whole nation reunited. 17. "But as for the children of Israel which dwelt in the cities of Judah, Rehoboam reigned over them." Not for his sake, nor Solomon's, but for David's sake was this one tribe left him (xi., 13,36); and because the scepter should not depart from Judah till Shiloh should come (Gen. xlix., 10). Shiloh has come and gone, but He is coming again to make the twelve tribes one nation in tneir own land forever, and He Himself will be their King, the true freer of His people (Ezek. xxxvii., 21-28; Luke i., 31-33). Let lis not forget that in these there were some faithful witnesses for God txi., 29; xii., 23), who believed His word and stood nobly for Him. Here are the names of the two, but in darker days than these He had 7000 who bowed not down to Baal. Am I one of His faithful few '.?Lesson Helper. The excavations of the Grenk Archaeological Society on the Acropolis of Mycenaj have been rewarded by the M ^ ? J* discovery oi some siit/ tun U1CUV VI/ | jects of antiquity, among which are | bronze swords and knives, several' hatchets, a razor, a round mirror and some gold ornaments. B A French attorney was writing out a 3 brief. Ho was in splendid health, 1 n"i" vpftva old. and was writing rapidly, when all at once he stopped, I and from that moment could not tell , I his own name. Memory went out froi? him like a flash of lightning. j I