The Abbeville press and banner. (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, July 13, 1892, Image 7
KEV. DR. TALMAGE.
THE BROOKLYN DIVINE'S SUNDAY
SERMON.
Subject! "The Iinmc=o?? Cost.'
(Preached in London.)
( Text: are bought with a vrice."?
|X Cor. vi., 20.
f Vnnr friend tnlrAs vnil through his valua
Jble house. You examine the arches, the
frescoes, the grassplots, the fishponds, the
conservatories, the parks of deer, and you
say within yourself or you say aloud, "what
did all this cost?" You see a costly diamond
flashing in an earring:, or you hear a costly
Idress rustling across the drawing roam, or
you see a high msttlei spin of horses harnessed
with silver and gold, and you begin
to make an estimate of t is value.
I The man who owns a large estate cannot
instantly Sell you all it is worth. He says,
|"Iwill estimate so much for the house, so
much for the furniture, so much for laying
out the grounds, so much for the stock, so
much for the barn, so much for the equipage?aiding
up in all making this aggregate."
Well, my friends, I hear so much about
our mansion in heaven, about il? turniture
and the grand surroundings, that I want
to know how much it is all worth, and what
has actually been paid for it. I cannot
complete in* a month nor a year the magnificent
calculation, but before I get throuaru
to-day I hope to give you the figures. "Ye
are bought with a price."
With some friends I went to your Tower
to look at the crown jewels. We walked
around, caught one glimpse of them, and
being m the procession were compelled to
pass out. I wish that I could take this audience
into the tower of God's mercy and
strength that you misht walk around just
once, at least, and see the crown jewels of
eternity, behold their brilliancy and estimate
t.hpir value. "Ye are bought with a
(price."
Now if you have a large amount of money
to pay, you do not pay it all at once, hut
you pay it by instalments?so much the
the first of "January, so much the first of
April, so much the first of July, so
much the first of October, nntil th9 entire
-amount is paid, and I have to tell this
audience that "you have been bought with
a Drice," and that that price was paid in
different installments.
i The first installment paid for the clearance
of our souls was the ignominious birth
of Christ in Bethlehem. Though we may
never be carefully looked after afterward,
our advent into the world is carefully guarded.
We come into the world amid kindly
attentions. Privacy and silence are afforded
when God launches an immortal soul
into the world. Even the roughest of men
know enough to stand back. But I have to
tell you that in the village on the side of the
hill there was a very bedlam of uproar when
Jesus was born.
In a village capable oE accommodating
only a few hundred people many thousaud
people were crowded, and amid hostlers and
muleteers and camel drivers yelling at
stupid beasts of burden the Messiah appeared.
No silence; no privacy. Abetter
adapted place hath the eaglet in the eyriehath
the whelp in the lion's lair. The exile
of heaven lieth down upon straw. The first
night out from the palace of heaven spent
in an outhouse! One hour after laying
aside the robes oi Heaven, areaseu w a.
per of coarse linen. One would have supposed
that Christ would have made a more
gradual descent, coming from heaven first
to a hair way world of great magnitude,
then to Caesar's palace, then to ? merchant's
castle in Galilee, then to a private home ia
Bethany, then to a fisherman's hut, and last
of ail to a stable. Not It was one leap from
the top to the bottom.
Let us open the door of the caravansary
in Bethlehem and drive away the camels.
Press on through the group of idlers and
loungers. What, O Mary I no light? "No
light," she says, "save that which comes
through the door." What, Mary! 710 foo l?
' None." she says, "only that which was
brouzht in the sack on the journey." Let the
Bethlehem woman who has came ia her*
with kindly attentions put back the covering
from the babe that we may look upou it.
Ixiokl Look! Uncover your head. Lac us
kneel. Let all voices be husaed. Son oc
Mary I Son of God 1 Child of a day?monarch
of eternity 1 In that eye the glance of
a God. Omnipotence sheathed in that babe's
arm. That voice to be coanged from tho
feeble plaint to the tone that snail wake the
dead. Hosanna! Hosanna!
The second Installment paid for oar soul's
clearance was the scene in Quarantania, a
mountainous region, full of caravans, where
there are to this day panthers and wild
beasts of all sorts, so that you must now go
there arme l with knife or gun or pistol. It
was there that Jesus went to think and to
pray, and it was there that this monster of
neli?more sly, more terrilic than anytninz
that prowled in the country?satan himself,
mat Christ.
The rose in the cheek of Christ?that PubHun
Lectullus.in his letter to the Roman sea
ate, ascribe! to Jesus?that rose had scattered
its petals. Abstinence from food had
thrown Him into emaciation. A long abstinence
from food recorded in profane history
is that of the crew of the ship Juno; for
twenty-three day3 they had nothing to eat.
But this sufierer had fasted a month and tea
days oefore He broke fast. Hunger must
have agonized every tiber of the body and
gnawed on the stomach with teeth of death,
i The thought of a morsel of bread or meat
must have thrilled the body with something
like ferocity. Turnout a pack of men hungry
as Christ w?3 a-hungertd, and if they
l?aa strength, with on9 yea tney would devour
you as a lion a kid.
It was in that pang of hunger that Jesus
was accosted, and satan said, "Now change
these stones, which look like bread, into an
actual supply of bread." Had the temptation
oome to you and me under these circumstances,
we would have cried, "Bread it
shall be!" and been almost impatient at the
time taken for mastication. But Christ
with one hand beat back the hunger, and
with the other hand beat back the monarch
of darkness. Oh, ye tempted ones! Christ
\was tempted. We are told that Napoleon
Ordered a coat of mail made, but he was not
quite certain that it was impenetrable, so he
said to the manufacturer of the coat ol'
mail. "Put it on now yourself, and let m
try it," and with shot after shot fro-n his
own pistol theEjiperor found out that it
was just what it pretended to be?a good
coat of mail Then the man received a
large reward.
I bless God that the same coat of mail
that struck back the weapons of temptacion
from the head of Christ we may now all
wear; for Jesus comes and says: "I have
been tempted, and I know what it is to be
tempted. Take this robe that defended ma
and wear it for yourselves. I shall se>
through all trials and I snail saeyou through
ail temptations/'
"But," says satan still further to Jesu?,
"come and I will show you something worth
looking at; and after a half day's journey
they came to Jerusalem and to the top of
the temple. Just as one mijrht go up in the
tower of Antwerp and iook off upon Belgium,
so satan brought Christ to tae top of the
temple. Some people at a great height feel
dizzy, and a strange disposition to jump; so
satan comes to Christ in that very crisis.
Standing there at the top of tho temple they
look off. A magnificent reach of countrv.
Grain fields, vineyards, olive groves, forests
and streams, cattle in the valley, flocks on
the hills and villages and cities and realms.
"Now," says satan, "I'll make a bar^aio.
Just jump off. I know it is a great way
from the top of the temple to the valiev.
but if you are divine you can fly. Jump off.
It won't hurt you. Angels will catch you.
Tour Father will hold yea. Besides, I'll
make you a large fortune if you will. I'll
give you Asia Miuor, ['11 give you China,
I'll give you Ethiopia, I'll give you Italy,
Til give you Spain, I'll give you Germ iny,
I'll give you all the world." What a
temptation it must have bejn!
Go to-morrow, mornin* an I get in an
altercation with some wretch crawling u;i
from agin cellar in the lowest part of your
city. "No," you say. "I would not bemean
myself by getting into such a contest." men
think what the King of heavea and earth
endured When He came down and fought
the great wretch of hell, and fou?ht him in
the wilderness and oa top of the temple.
But I bless God that in the triu'nph over
temptation Christ gives us the assurance
that we too shall triumoh. Having Him*?:f
Dee a temptea, He Is a:>:e tj sucsor all tao33
who are tempted.
I care not how great the height or how
vast tne depth, with Christ within us and
Christ beneath us anrl Christ abova us and
Christ all arouni us nothing can befall us in
the way of harm. Christ Himself having
been in the tempeit will deliver all those
who put their trust in Bim. Bhssai be His
glorious name (braver.
The third installment paid for our redemption
was the Saviour's sham trial. I
call it a sham trial?there ha3 never been
anything so iniecent or unfair in any
criminal court as was witnessed at the trial
of Christ. VVhy, they hustled Him into the
courtroom at 2 o'clock in the morning. They
gave Him no time for counsel. They gave
Him no opportunity for subpoaiaing witnesses.
The ruffians who were wandering
around through the midnight, of course they
saw the arrest and went into the court
room. But Jesus's friends were sober men,
were respectable men, and at that hour,
2 o'clock in the morning, of course they were
at home asleep. Consequently Christ entered
the courtroom with the ruffians.
Oh, look at Him! No one to speak a word
for Him. I lift the lantern until I cin look
into His face, and as my heart beat3 in sym
pathy for this, the b83t friend the worn
ever had. Himself now utterly friendless, an
officer of the courtroom comes up and smites
Him oa the mouth, and I see the blood stealing
from gum and lip. Oh! it was a farce
of a trial, lasting only perhaps an hour, and
then the judge rises for sentence. Stop! It
is against the law to give sentence unless
there has been an adjournment of the court
between condemnation and sentence: but
what cares the judge for the law? "The
man has no friends?let Him die," says the
judge; and the ruffians outside the rail cry:
"Aha! aha! that's what we want. Pass Him
out here to us! Away with Him! Awaj
with Him!"
Oh! I bless God that amid all the injustice
that may have been inflicted upon us in this
world we have a divine sympathizer. The
world cannot lie about you nor abuse you as
much as they did Christ, and Jesus stands today
in every court-room, in every house, in
every store, and says: "Courage! Bv all
my hours of maltreatment and abuse, 1 will
protect those who are trampled upon." And
when Christ forgets that two o'clock morning
scsne, and the stroke of the ruffian on
the mouto, and the howling of the unwashed
crowd, then He will forget you and me in
the injustices of life that may te inflicted
upon us.
Further, 1 remark: The last great installment
paid for our releinption was the demise
of Christ. Tho world has seen many
dark days. Many summers ago there was a
very dark day when the sun was eciipsed.
The fowl at noonday went to their perch,
and wo felt a gloom as we looked at the astronomical
wonder. It was a dark day in
London when the plague was at its height,
and the dead with uncovered facas were
taken in ODen carts and dumped in the
trenches. It was a dark day when the earth
opened and Lisbon sank, but the darkest
day since the creation of the world was
when the carnage of Calvary was enacted.
It was about noon when the curtain began
to be drawn. It was not the coming on
of a night that soothes and refreshes; it was
the swinging of a great gloom all around
the heavens. God hung it. As when there
is a dead one in the house you bow the shutters
or turn the lattice, so God in the afternoon
shut the windows of the world. As it
is appropriate to throw a black pall upon
the coffin as it passes alone, so it was appror>niat-o
that, pvarvthin?' snould be somber I
that day as the great hearse of the earth
rolled on, bearing the corpe of the King.
Th9 waves of a man's hatred and of hell's
vengeance dash up against the mangled feet,
and the hands of sin and pain and torture
clutch for His holy heart. Had He not been
thoroughly fastened to the cross thev would
have torn Him down and tramoled Him with
both feet. How the cavalry horses arched
their necks and champed their bits, aud
reared and snuffed at the blood! Had a
Roman officer called out for a light his
voice woull not have bjen heard in the tumult;
but louder than the clash of spears,
and the wailing of womanhood, and the
neighing of the chargers, and the bellowing
of the crucifiers there came a voice crashing
through?loud, clear, overwhelming, terrific.
It is the groaning of the dying Son of
God! Look! what a scene! Look, world,
at what you have done!
I litt the covering from the maltreated
Christ to let you count the wounds and
estimate the cost. Oh, when the nails went
through Christ's right hand and through
Christ's left hand, that bought both your
hands with all their power to work and lift
and write! When the nails went through
Christ's right foot and Christ's left foot,
that bought your feet, with all their power
to walk or run or climb. When the thorn
went into Christ's temple, that bought yoor
brain, with all its power to think and plan.
When the soear cleft Christ's side, that
i bought your * heart, with all its power to
love ana repent and pray.
Oh, sinner, come, come back I If a man is
in no pain, if he is prospered, if he ia well,
and he asks you to come, you take your time
and you say: "I cin't come now. I'll come
after a while. There is no haste." But if
he is in want and trouble you say: "I must
go right away. I must go now." To-day
Jesus stretches out before you two wounded
hands and He begs you to come. Go and you
live. Stay away and you die.
When the Atlantic cable waa lost, in 1865,
do you ramember that the Great Eastern,
and tae Mei way, and the Albany went out
to find it t Thirtv titles they sank the grapnel
two and a half mile: deep in water.
After awhile they found the cable and
brought it to the surface. No sooner had it
been Drought to th9 surface than they lifted
a shout of exultalion, but the cable slipped
back again into the water and was lost.
Then for two weeks more they swept
the sea with the grappling hooks, and
at last they found the cable, and
they brought it up in silence. They
fastened it this time. Then, with great ex*
citement, they took one end of the cable to
the electrician's room to see if there were
really any life in it, and when they saw a
spark and knew that a message could be
sent, then every hat wa3 lifted, and the
rockets flew and the guns sounded until all
"-""-I" ?*? b-nonr tha wort
tuc T033010 WU tuu ?MW> * ??
was done, and the continents were lashed
together.
Well, my friends. Sabbath after Sabbath
Gospel messengers have come searching
down for your souls. We have swept the sea
with the grappling hook of Christ's Gospel.
Again and again we have thought
that you were at the surface, and we began
to rejoice over your redemption; but at the
moment of our gladness you sank back
again into the world and back again into
sin. To-day we come with this Gospel
searching for your soul. We apply the
cross of Christ first to see whether there is
any nfe left in you, while all around the people
stand, looking to see whether the work
will be dona ana the angels of God bend
down and witness, an i oh! if now we could
see only one spark of love and hope and faith,
we would send up a shout that would be
heard on the battlements of heaven, and
two worlds would keep jubiloo because communication
is open between Christ and the
soul, and your nature that has been sunken
iu sin has bean lifted into the light uni the
joy of the Gospsl.
Evidently the modern muse has
fallen into the same sort of error
which has deluded the feet of h^r
merely mortal sisters, for a recent
English poetess proclaims that her
muse
"Walk* life's muddy ways
Barefooted; preaches, sometimes prays.
Is modern, Is advance I. has views."
With all due respect to the authoress
of these line's, we humbly suggest
that the best thing that can be done
with a muse of this description is to
shut her up in a Penitent Females'
Refuge; and if she refuses to be penitent
enough to belong there, then
let her be provided with a padded
cell in some religious lunatic asylum,
wherein she may be comfortable and
may mull over her "views" without
troubling anybody. At least one
thing Is certain, she should be takt-n
up as a vagrant and restrained from
' continuing to walk life's muddy ways
barefooted.
I ?____
i. oiajilua win uuu uu vtuuiajt
without moral and material value if,
In the impassible condition of coun;
try roads during the next month and
more, the farmers and village taxpayers
will read rightly a lesson they
[ are slow to learn?the necessity of
I making good roads in every part of
J the country and keeping them in reoair.
. .
TEMPERANCE.
nature's hint to siav.
Observe when Mother Earth is dry.
She drinks the droppings of the
And then the dewy cordial gives
To every thirsty plant that lives.
The vapors which at evening weep
Are beverage to the swelling deep;
And when the rosy sun appears
He drinks the ocean's ini3ty tears.
?Thomas Mooro.
etrong drinu as a tactlr of crime.
At a recent funeral of a man who wai
killed in Kansas City, Mo., in a saloon riot,
the Rev. Dr. Jesse Bowman Young, pastor
of the Grand Avenue Church, of that city,
in his remarks declared that "by actual
count, a. majority of the murder? which
had been committed in that community
within ten years, had been perpetrated by
men imbrutedand maddened by drink.1' The
man who committed this murder was himself
a drinking member of the police force.
Dr. Young took occasion also to read the
Mayor and other officials a sharp lecture for
the Dlacine of drinkinsr men oh the noliea
force. What is true of Kansas City is true
in other places where acts of violence are
committed. The majority, and a large majority,
are perpetrated by those who have
been drinking; have all bean incited to the
evil deeds by the maddening influence of
*l"<ihoL '
HE STOPPED TO THINK.
A mechanic who had been in the habit of
dropping into a beer saloon twice a day, and
spending five ceuts each time for a glass of
beer was captivated one day by a new
thought. "I am poor," he said to himself,
"my family need every cent I can earn; it
is growing more and more expensive every
year; soon I shall want to educate my
children. Ten cents a day for beer! Let me
see: that is sixty cents a week! That is
thirty-one dollars and fifty cents a year!
And it does me no gooj; it may do me harm.
Let me see"?and here he took a piece of
chalk and solved the problem on a board?
"I can buy two barrels of flour, one hundrad
pounds of sugar, five pounds of tea, and six
bushels of potatoes for that sum." Pausing
for a moment, as if to allow the grand idea
to take lull possession of himselr, he tlieu
exclaimeo: "I will never waste another
cent." He never ha?, and ha is to-day a
prosperous man.
A FATAL ERROR.
Dr. N. S. Davis, an ex-President of an International
Medical Congress, and for forty
years an active practitioner of Chicago, says:
"mere IS HO greaioi U1 mum urauuviaiB
error existing in the public mind than the
belief that the use of fermented and
distilled drinks does no harm so long as they
do not intoxicate, 'it is not the temperate
use, but the abuse of alcoholic drinks that
does barm.' is the often-repeated popular
phrase tnat embodies the error which Helps
to rob more than ICO, 000 persons of troin
five to twenty years of life in the United
States, throughtue gradual developement of
chronic structural disease*, induced by the
daily use of Deer, ale, wine or distilled spirits
in quantities so moderate as at no time to
projuce intoxication. No more true or important
remark was made in the noted discussion
in the London Pathological Society
than the one by Dr. George Harley, that
for every drunkard there arj tifty others
who suff er from the effects of alcohol in one
form and another.'"
WHERE LIQUOR COMES FROM.
In a survey of the imperial statistic? of
the consumption of alcoholic drinks in Germany,
Dr. Wm. BoJe says that the production
of the raw material manufactured into
wine, beer or spirits, occupies about onefifteenth
of the cultivated land of. the emDire.
On this area of farming land enough
rye might be grown to supply 3300 millions
or pounds 01 Dreaa more a year w wmy uuo
of the fifty millions of people inhabiting
Germany, or 330 pounds to an average family
of five persons, which is the entire food
needed by the family for nearly fifty days,
or about oue-eighth more of food than they
can enjoy at present. Ona-fourteenth of all
the productive forces of Germany is engaged
in this pernicious industry. The amount of
money spent on drink has been estimated at
about *1^0,000,000 a year, or $2.40 to each
inhabitant, or $12 to each average family of
five, frotessor Schmoller, the economist,
says: "Among our working people the
conditions of domestic life, of education, of
prosperity, of progress or degradation, are
all dependent on tbe proportion of income
which flows down the father's throat. The
whole condition of our lower and middle
classes?one may, even without exaggeration,
say tha future of the Nation?depends
on this question. If it is true that half our
paupers become so through drink, it gives
us some estimate of the costly burden we
tolerate. No other of our vices bears
comparison with this."
HELLING HIS OWN CHILD FOfc B*ER.
A recent number of the London Temperance
Chronicle had a striking cartoon, a
picture of a father and mother eager for
drink accompanied by a little boy whom
they were trying to sell for a drinlc of beer,
saying: "Give us a pot and you shall have
'<*v* " m-n onW wAntan nrnro nhflPffA'1
?" lunuiauauu nuiuuu <rv* v
at one of the London police courts with begging,
and thus came out this dreadful fact
of their offering to sell a little boy for a pot
of beer. The poor child, it is stated, was in
a dreadful condition, his head and body was
literally covered with cuts, bruises and
scars; a shivering, starved, ill treated, uncared
for, unloved atom of humanity. The
Chronicle, referring to the incident, says:
"What a revelation of the power of drink. a
father selling his own child for a pot of beer
to be ussd as a decoy in robbing the public.
Such conduct makes the blood tingle in one's
veins that such things should happen
in a Christian land. But such
is the power of drink that a little child is
offered up in sacrifice to satisfy the unholjr
desire for more liquor." Thus is furnished
in modern times the parallel to the words of
the Prophet Joel, "They have sold a girl for
wine that they might have drink."
In view of sucn awful extremities and
such unutterable degradation as the drink
habit is thus shown to induce, how fundamentally
important the total abstinence
movement which teaches the wisdom and
duty on the part of all to avoid strong drinlc
altogether. Both in this country and in
England there is urgent need tor increased
and more effective total abstinence propagandists
Such shocking cruelty ana inhumanity
as this London incident reveals,
should be a stimulant to all to enlist heartily
and earnestly in the total abstinence crusade.
- ?
x?.jirjfcka^il;& i\r<vya an u huxao.
Australia is said to be the best customer
England has for beer.
Eight measures relating to temperance
have been introduced into the British Parliament
during the present session.
An excellent scientific temperance education
law has just been passed by the Legislature
of Nova Scotia. This is the first one
for Canada.
) The Gene-wo (III.) Woman's Christian
Temperance Union has recently established
headquarters and coffee rooms, with a saloon
on eitner side and one directly opposite.
Miss Mary Allen West has been commissioned
by the W. C. T. U. as superintendent
of its School of Methods, and is goin; to the
Sandwich Islands and Japan to teach and
train workers by means of schools held for a
few days in each place.
Frank Turner, the white proprietor of a
"blind tiger," in Lancaster, a loc&l-option
town of Kentucky, has been fined in 57?
cases, the penalty amounting to $57,700.
John Smith, a colored man, who was en- j
gaged in the business with Turner, confessed
in 1535 cases, or $155,50J worth of
fines.
* * AM a rjAftn f- Run IflV n '
[ AU oa^man, UlityU., uu a wu.. .M/t M ,
decided stir was created by the distribution
! at the doors of the prominent churches of
folders on which ware printed the names of
I all saloonkeepers, with the names oc their
I bondsman. This was done by thy Ministerial
Association lor the purpose, as stated in
the folder, "that all may know with whom
they have to deal."
The King of Samoa is determined that his
subjects shall be sober. The following order
is his own proclamation, any breach of
which is to bo risited by heavy penalties:
"2fo spirituous, vinous or fermented liquors,
or intoxicating drinks whatever shad bg
sold, given or ofiferei to be bought or bartered
by any native Samoau or Pacific
Islander resident in S*moa."
Mew industries.
It Is surprising to learn that the
United States contain more than
500,000 almond trees and nearly aa
many cocoanut trees, all of which
hao r frilifc
SABBATH SCHOOL.
INTERNATIONAL LESSON FOlt
JULY 17.
Lesson Text: "The First Christian
Cliurcli," Acts ii., 37-47?
Golden Text: Act* ii.,
4 7?Commentary.
37. "Now when they heard this they word
pricked in their heart, and said unto Peter
and the rest of the apostles, men and bret)>
ren, what shall we do?" When the people
accused the Spirit-filled apostles with being
drunken, Peter arose, ana from Joel ii., 2832;
Ps. xvj.;8-ll; II. Sam. vii., 12, 13, and
other Scriptures, preached unto them Jesu9
and the resurrection in such power that the
results were as described in this lesson.
Jesus had said that the Spirit would reprove
or convince of sin, righteousness and judgment
(John xvi., K-ll), and already on the
first day of His coming behold how mightily
xio worns ^uai. h., oj. outouserve mat 110
wrought conviction by the word spoken by
the prophet?, and as Jesus crucified and
risen was therein presented to the people.
38. "Then Peter said unto them, Repent
and be baptized every one of you in the
name of Jesus Christ, for the remission of
siD, and ye shall receive the gift of the
floiy Ghost." They had thought Jesus to
be a deceiver and impostor; teter proved
that by the miracles and wonders which
God did by Him and by raising Hiin from
the dead Uod had testified that He was indeed
Israel's Lord and Christ of whom ail
the prophets bad spoken. The one thing,
therelore, for the people now to do was to
change their minds about Jesus of Nazare'.b,
accept Him as their Messiah, confess
the same by baptism and thus be forgiven
and receive the Spirit that they too might
become witnesses unto Him.
29. "For the promise is unto you. and to
your children and to all that are afar off,
even as many as the Lord our God shall
call." Peter again referred to the promise
in Joel ii., 2S, which he had already quoted
(verse 17), and probably to such pro units as
lsa. xnv., a, "i win pour my apirit tijjun
thy seed and my blessing upou thine offspring."
See also isa. 1, 21. That it is the
pleasure of God to bless and save whole
households is evident from the stories of
Noah, Abram, Lot and Eahab (vJen. vii., 1;
xviii., 19; six., 12; Joshua ii,, 18), and also
trom such instauces as that iu Acts xvi., 34.
40. "And with many other words did He
testify and exhort, saying, Save yourselves
from this untoward generation." Not in
His own words, but in the words of the Holy
Spirit He must have continued to speak uuto
them, for being tilled with the Spirit tuo
Spirit would speak through Him according
to Math, x., 2u. We can easily imagine Him
using such, encouragements as lsa. i., 18;
xliii., 25; lv., 3, 4; Ezek. xxxri., 26, and
many otners.
41. "Then they that gladly received His
word were baptized, ana the same day there
were added unto them about three thousand
souls." It is not enough to hear or kuow
about Jeaus< we must hear and then believe
or receive His wor.i (i. e., Himself, John v.,
24; vi., 63). Relieving means receiving
(John i., 12), and if we ao not receive Him
we cannot be said to believe Him. It is
having or not having Him that decides
whether we have lite or not (L Joan v., 12).
There is nothing saving either in baptism or
the communion, but being saved by receiving
Him them we confess our death, burial
and resurrection witn Him by the rite of
baptism, and rejoice in toe communion to
chnw forth His aeath "till He come."
42. "And they continued steaaCastly in
the apostles' doctrine and fellowship, and in
breaking oi bread and in prayers." These
were the outward evidences of the sincerity
of their faith in Christ. Through the apostles
they were lurther instructed and thus
built up and established, and continuing in
prayer, and commemorating from time to
time His death, tbey rejoiced in Jesus as
their Saviour and King, and daily expected
His return to restore to Israel the kingdom
liii., 21).
43. "And fear came upon every soul, and
many wonders and signs were done oy the
apostles." As it is written in Mark xvj.,
20, "They went forth and preached everywhere,
the Lord working with them and
confirming tne word with signs following."
The signs are mentioned in Mark xvi., 15-id,
and 1 do not Know way such signs should
not be seen' to this day, for it is nowuere
said that thes< signs snould continue uutil a
certain time and then cease. We want more
whole hearted loyalty to Christ and utter
abandonment to Him, that so He by His
same Spirit may still worjf in us to His
glory.
44* "And all that believed were together
ana had all things common." They were
now children of one Father, brothers and
sisters in one great household of faith; they
had a whole heart for Him who had given
Himself for them, so having received the
Holy Spirit they counted notning their own
any more, but rejoiced in ministering to all
ot their substance as each had need. See
chapter iv. 32, 34.
45. "And sold their possessions and goods
and parted them to all men, as every man
had need." Thus they set their affections on
things above and laid up treasure in heaven,
walking in the footsteps of Him who thouijt
He was rich became poor lor us tnat w<
througn His poverty might become rica
(Col. iii., 2; Math, vi., 2U: ll. Cor. viii., yj.
"And they continuing daily witn on?
accord in the tempie, ana breaking breac
from house to house, did eat their meat witi
gladness and singleness of heart." Tnen
was no self seeking and no boasting in man
They knew no name but Jesus, and wen
completely carried captive by Him. They
had not ministered to Him when He was
among tbem in the flesh, but they did most
earnestly minister to Him now in the parsons
of their fellow believers.
47. "Praising God, and having favor with
all the people. And the Lord added to the
church daily such as could be saved." Such
lives and testimony in the power of the Holj
Spirit would be the most powerful preach'
ing even in our day, but where is it seen'
instead of pouring ourselves out for others,
is it not largely each one's own inter e3t an(
welfare that seems to be uppermost P Ther
was no strife in those days as to which ?
called church would get the new members
for there was but one church, of whicl
Jesus Christ wa3 the one head. It is so stil
before God, but it f,eems impossible for some
to see it. The Lord oprm our eyes.?Lesson
Helper.
The Floe Lauy s Mmrtor Catechism,
What is the whole duty of women:
To dress?to sing?to dance?to plaj
on the pianoforte?to gabble French,
and to preside gracefully at table
What is a man? A thing to wait;
with?to flirt with?to take one t(
the theater?to laugh at?to be mar
ried to?to pay ones bills?and tr
keep one comfortable! What is life:
?A Polka?a schottische?a dance
that one must whirl through as fasl
as possible! What is death??H'm?
something that it's unfashionable tc
think of; so the less that'* said about
It the better.
Insurance men are departing from
their former position that it was no
part of their business to concern
themselves with methods of buildingconstruction,
but only to accept risks
from whoever was willing to pay the
price. This policy has brought sc
many companies to bankruptcy, however,
that insurers are now beginning
to recognize that the most important
element in their business is to secure
| the adoption of the safest possible
I methods in building.
If King Lehanzin, of Dahomey
undertakes to curry out his threat t<
kill the French or drive them ofT thi
Dahomey coast of which they have heh
possession some fourteen years untie
cession from the king's lute father
the world will have an opportuuitj
of learning how well the Dahotne;
ladies can right against civilizet
troops. Of tht.'ir courage and feroeitj
there is no doubt; but they will neec
something more than these inconflici
; with troops with arms of precision
?
RELIGIOUS HEADING.
A PRAYRIJ.
While I tread life's weary path,
Give me faitb. 0 Lord, to sec
In tbe trials that iurrounil nie
Naught but thee.
Give me strength, 0 Lord, to lighten
Tbe burdens of the weak around,
And to tell the peace to others
I have found.
"When I reach the valley dark,
Give me eyes, O Lord, to see
In that awful, awful darkness
Hound me?thee.
When I touch the gloorry river,
Hold me that I cannot sink;
Hold me, Lord, that I may see thee
On the briuk.
Take me to the "many mansions"
That thou hast prepared for me;
There I would abide forever,
Lord, with thee!
FROM THIS (iUTTER.
Some time about 1870, or earlier, three
ministers were walking on a country road, a
little north of Aberdeen. It was late at
night, and they had been attending a meeting
in the country. As they went along they
noticed a countryman in a state **f intoxication
scrambling on all fours out of the ditch.
One of the ministers said, '-I must go and
speak to that man."
The two others tried to dissuade him, telling
him it was of no use. and that he would
get nothing but abuse.
But the minister said, "The Spirit of God
bids me. and I must speak him."
By this time the man had got out of the
ditch. The minister began to speak to him,
whereupon the fellow took off his coat aud
wanted to fight him.
The minister said, "I can fight, but Dot
with your weapons;" and getting down on
his knees, he began to pray very earnestly
for the man. As he pleaded, God touched
the man's heart, and he got down on bis
knees beside the minister. By the time the
minister had finished his prayer,
the drunkard was ready to be spoken with;
and he was pointed to a sin-forgiving Saviour.
They stopped at the first cottage on the
road, aud asked the people if they could
lodge the man for the night.
AllCT lUUh.iiig ai una iui> vv/t?vi umu
"Why, we have just been holding a prayer
meeting for that very man. He is my brother.
We have had a Hpecial prayer meeting tonight,
to ask God lor bis salvation."
Five years afterward the minister was
gladdened by knowing that the man was
still standing a living witness to the power
of God, and was being used as a great blessing
to others.?[Selected.
TITE WAY Tft.VT GOD LOOKS AT SIX.
During last summer a Christian lady, who
was visiting a seaside place, asked some little
children to come to her every Lord's day
afternoon to hear about the Lord Jesus.
One afternoon she wanted to tell them
what God thought about sin, so she took a
microscope, and gave them some very small
print to look at through it.
They all exclaimed, "Hew large the letters
seem, and when we look at them without
the microscope they are so very small!"
So then the lady told them, "That is the
way God looks at sin."
You see, God thinks sin is very big, while
vou and I think it looks very small. We
need to look at it through a microscope, as
the little children did at the small print, to
see how big it really ia, though it looks so
small to us.
Now, dear children, perhaps you think it
is a very little thing to tell a story, or get
out of temper, or be disobedient to your
parents; but God does not think it a little
thing. God thinks it so big that nothing
but the blood of Jesus, His own dear Son,
could wash it away; and God loved the
worl 1 so much, and "the dear little children
too. that "He gave His only begotten Son"
to die on the Cross, so th?t His prccious
blood might wash away all their sins.
"don't step tftere.w
A man started out for church one icy Sunday
morning, and presently came to a place
where a little boy was standing, who, with
a choking voice, said:
"Pleuse don't step there."
' Why not?"
"Because I stepped there and fell down,"
sobbed the little fellow, who had thus taken
upon himself to warn the unwary passers-by
of the danger into which he had fallen.
There are many men in the world who
have -rood reason* for giving such a warning
as thin. The man who has trod the dark
and slippery path of intemperance, as he
sees the young learning to take the first
i gla*s of spirits, or wine, or beer, has good
reasons to sav to tbetn, "Don't step there,
for I stepped theie and fell down."
you will never find
, A perfect preacher.
t A community without crinks.
An egolist who is not offensive,
, A Christian who does not make mistakes.
I A church that died from giving too much.
v An aristocratic church with much spiritj
ual power.
A community where the gossip's tongue
J does not wag.
A j;i:l who has bten mentally helped bj
leading :io\cls.
A home where the grace of forbearance i!
not often needed.
A Christian who can do a good job o]
i serviug both God and Mammon,
i A consistent young Christian who doe;
i not ha*---' the respect of his worldly com
r pauious.?[Epwor:h Herald.
f
, a r.KCStPT i.v full.
8 Do you remember the story of Martir
j Luther wbeu Sutan came to him. as hi
thought, with a Jong black roll of his sins
i which truly might make a swaddling bant
L for the round world? To the arch enenr
i Luther said, "Yes. I must own to them ali
i Have you hiiv more?" So the foul tienc
went his way and brought another longe
roll and Martin Luther said. "Yes, I mus
own to them all. Have you any more?'
The accuser ef the brethren, being expert a
business, soon supplied liim with a furthe
f length of charges, till there seemed to be n<
end to it. Martin waited till no more wen
[ forthcoming, and then he cried, "Have yoi;
any more?" "Were not these enough?'
Ave. that they were. "But," said Martii
) Luther, "write at the bottom of the whole
account,'The blood of Jesus Christ cleans
eth us from all sin."' Brethren, this was ?
' receipt in full, stamped in such a manne:
' that even Satan could not question the cor
5 rectness uf it.?[Selected.
it is reiresning 10 Know mat me ieaucr o
) the Progressive party In J.ipan is a Preshy
j terian elder; another leader is a trustee ii
the v.tue church, and his wife an influential
cultured. Christian woman; that still an
l other prominent .statesman i.< a Prchytoriin
( elder, and another a < 'nngreiratioual deacon
elected against a Bu4'lhUt. while four othe
i members'of the new House of Hepresenta
tives are members of ih? ludepeuden
Church. A little lcu\cn leaveneth thi
1 whole lump.
I '
t Make your liotn^ the brlg'.-.tc.i platvi 01
earth, if you would cliaria you children t(
the high path of virt::e and rectitude and re
' ligion. Do not alwavi tuvn tht liiiuds tin
wrong way. i.ot;h<: li^ht. which gold
' or. the tfi-ntiau nnl on the j an.-v. poui
> into your dwelling. Do sot ox poet tilt
liitli> ftut t.-i l-oon it lo a r'tt.il M^rcfx.
7 1- - ? 1
cratignt a i-rotty snake.
) Ed A. Babcock, of North Stoning
ton, Conn., while crossing his rockj
1 farm met an odd and brilliant look
r ing snake of a species that was be,
iieved to be cxtinet in Connecticut,
r and after a lively chase captured it,
j It is a little fellow, not half grown,
j and is black, except that a broad
polden band encircles its neck. Ii
r belongs to the gold-bauded racei
1 species, which grow to be ten or tif&
teen feet long and are swift aad fe
rocious.
. ' ' " -r';
I BLAINE'S SUCCESSOR, j
General John W. Foster Appointed
Secretary of State.
The New Cabinet Minister's
Long Diplomatic Experience.
The President, a few day3 ago, sent to
the United States Senate tha name of John
W. Foster, of Indiana, to be Secretary of
State in succession to James G. Blaine.
Soon after the nomination was received
by the Senate, on the motion of Mr. Sherman,
Chairman o? the Committee on Foreign
Relations, an executive session was
Held to consider cne nomination, it was at
onca contirmad, a most unusual compliment
to the nominee, one which has heretofore
been extended only to Senators sitting in
the body, when nominated to office by the
President.
The President that same afternoon signed
Secretary Foster's commission.
Sketch of His Career.
The Hon. John W. Foster has been for
some years past practising law in Washington.
His chief work is in the domain of international
law in which he is conceded to
be an exoert. He has been three time3 appointed
Envoy Extraordinary and Minister
Plenipotentiary for tae United States in
foreign countries, being once accredited to
Mexico, again to Russia, and a third time to
Spain.
Mr. Foster was born in Pike County, Indiana,
on March 2, 1836. He was educated
in the public schools of the State, an4 afterward
went through the State University of
Indiana, where he graduated in 1955.
Then Mr. Foster studied law at Harvard
University, and returning home began the
practice of his profession at Evansvifle. He
had already made his mark among the young
lawyers of Indiana when the Civil War
broke out.
He at once volunteered for service and was
appointed Major of the Twenty-fifth Indiana
Infantry Volunteers. After, seeing some
hard fighting he rose to the full rank of
Colonel.
In General Burnside's expedition to East
Tennessee Colonel Foster headed a brigade
of cavalrv. and was the first to occupy
... J 3
KnoxvUle in is do. ai me euu ut wo nm uo
was a Brigadier-General by brevet. His
chief services during the war were with the
Western army of Grant and Sherman.
After General Foster settled down to civil
life again he edited the Evansville Daily
Journal. In 1809 he wa3 made postmaster
of that city. His first prominent political
office was the Chairmanship of tne Republican
State Committee of Indiana in
1872.
In 1873 General Foster wa3 appointe i by
President Grant to be Minister to Mexico.
At the expiration of General Grant's term
of office Mr. Haye3 reappointed him.
General Foster went to Russia as Minister
in 1880, and held that office until late in the
year 1881, when he resigned and came home,
owing to the pressure of urgent private business.
In 1883 General Foster was appointed Minister
for the third time, on this occasion being
sent to Spain. This nomination was
made by President Arthur at the desire of
Secretary Frelinghuysen, who wished to
avail himself of General Foster's knowledge
of international law to negotiate a treaty
with Spain involving many delicate points
about naturalization. Since his return from
Spain General Foster has resumod his prao
tice in Washington.
flFTY-SEOQND C0N&RE33,
In the Senate.
118th Day.?The conference report on
the Military Academy bill was presented
and agreed to Then the bill for the free
coinage of gold and silver was taken up and
discussed for the remainder of the day.
119th Day.?The Niciragui Canal was
discussed The Agricultural Appropria1
tion bill was also considered.
120th Day.?The Legislative and Judicial
Appropriation bill was considered. ,
121st Day.?Mr. Hale sDoke on the tariil
question, and was answered by Mr. Vest?
The Agricultural Appropriation bill was
passed.
122d Day.?The Legislative Appropriation
bill, after the adoption of several
amendments, was passed and sent to the
House for conference The Fostoffice
Appropriation bill was passed?
The Invalid Pension bill, after a debate on
the several amendments, was passed^?A
bill for the relief of certain settlers on lands
in North and South Dakota was passed
The nomination of General John vV. Foster
to be Secretary of State was confirmed.
143d Day.?Concurrence in several conference
reports was refused.
In the House.
137th Dat.?The Hou3e then went into
Committee of the Whole (.Mr. Lanham, oI
Texas, in the chair) on the General Deficiency
bill, and the entire session was consumed
in the consideration thereof.
138th Dat.?The House met at 11 o'clock,
but adjourned immediately without transacting
any business. No quorum was present.
139th Dat.?The House was in session
only tea minutes and then adjourned without
action.
14(h h Dat.?The House was in session just
r three minutes, Mr. Matson making the point
? of no quorum.
j 141st Dat.?The General Deficiency Appropriation
bill was passed Mr. Oates ref
ported from the Judiciary Committee the
Committee the Bankruptcy bill??The
} House refused to accipt the conferencj renorc
on tho Military Academy bill, and in
structed the new conferrees to insist
upon an amendment appropriating $15,000
tor an electric light plant Mr. Geissenhainer
reported the Revenue Cutter Transfer
bill?Inability to command a quorum
' resulted in early adjournment.
- 14"2d Day.?It was soldiers' day, the Comi
mittae on Invalid Pensions having the floor.
] Bills were passed to pension army nurses
f now without means of support who wrvecl
for six months in caring for and nursing the
J sick and wounded; to provide a pension of
r J50 a month for non-specitic disabilities, and
t to remove the disability of those who parti
' cipated in the Civil War, and who have
t since enlisted in the navy or army of th<
r United States and become "disabled.
0
i The Famous Blarney Stone.
Five miles west of the city of Cork,
. Ireland, in a little valley where twc
streams meet, stands the little village ol
1 Blarney. The fame of Blarney is world[
wide. It has a castle, and in the wall5
of the castle the famous "Blarnej
Stone " is set.
j The stone is a part of the solic
masonry, is fifty feet from the ground,
i and about twenty feet below the pro
. jecting roof of the building.
To kiss the blarney stone is supposec
1 to endow one with captivating witchery
r of manner, to loosen his or her tougu<
-- of the conversatici
3U tUUU bUb n?w?..
l will bo one solid stream of honejec
words.
The situation of this talisman is sucl
J that the kissing of it is rather a danger
1 ous feat, it being necessary to let thi
votary down over the walls by means o
I ropes. On the top of the castle there i
r a scone which many claim is the 44tru<
1 Blarney" because the feat of kissing i
more easily accomplished.
This spurious stone has been in it
present situation only seveuty years; thi
true blarney, mentioned as being set ii
' the wall, bears the date of the buildio<
of the ca-tle, which is 14-10.
louug inuii, uci .Jinmra.
The average mortality of unmarrlei
men between the ages o! 20 and 25 1
, 1,174 in every 100,000, while that q
I ru>n is ouly 597.
1 why is a~young" man courting t
girl like a suicide? Because he's Iiei
" fellow d'er see? The point of thi:
' Joke has been brought a long distauce,
aud is tired.
? - .j ...
V. OEDS OF WISDOM.
Love is a great care.
Love needs no messenger to say it'?
come.
_ ') *T"
Gratitute is the soil on which joy
thrives. Jv!
Nothing is difficult; it is only we who
are indolent.
Fortune has rarely condescendcd to be
the companion of genius.
The great end of all human industry is
the attainment of happiness.
TT? ia tnVtA ^aoi'poa alnrava f/|
JO.O 10 ? UIJ guuu -WW- j" ?
bear the inspection of good men.
There is always room for a man of
force, and he makes room for many.
Happiness does away with uglinew,
and even makes the beauty of beauty. ,:*!
Our domestic affections are the mo?t
salutary basis of all good government.
Ignorance, in the midst of the rennements
of society, is the most hateful of
all mixtures.
Individuality is everywhere to bo
spared and respected as the root ot
everything good.
No man has come to true greatness!
who has not felt in some degree that hi*'
life belongs to his race.
A rich man is an honest man,
thanks to him, for he would be a double,
knave to cheat mankind when he had)
no need of it.
It is a shameful and unseemly thing to
think one thing and to speak another,
but how odious to write one thing and
[ ctUQK anotner. , ^
A gentleman is one who understands,
and shows every mark of deference to
the claims of self-love in others, and
exacts it in return from them. < iM
First Things.
Tinware was first made in this country
in the town of Kensington, now Berlin,(
Conn., which became lamous at a very
early day for its manufactures in that!
line, says a writer in the House Furnish-i
ing Review. About 1740 an Irishman*
named Edward or William Patterson,j
settled in that place, and being a tinsmith
by trade, introduced the industry
and began taking apprentices. For
years he and others peddled tinware in
baskets, carried by hand and then on.
horses. Later wagons with one, two and
even four horses were employed for thi?
purpose. The trade finally extended all
over the land and formed the first of
these industries which have made Berlin
so widely known. After tinware waa
introduced tho manufacture of brass bo-!
came extensive in that town, especially1
nf oloi'rrVl Kollfl Thftn fnllflWPfl
luu rnaaxug vt u w*w#. .?
brass and iroa and harness buckles. As
a matter of course all these articles wera
produced by band, but now machineryproduces
immense quantities that fiud a
sale in all parts of the world.
Curn poppers owe their origin to the
inventive genius of a New Hampshire
man named Francis P. Knowlton, who
in 1857 made the first popper in existence.
He used wire netting, cutting tha
various parts of the lequired shape and
sewing them together with small wire..
Thinking he saw a field of usefulness for,
his invention he made several and took
them to a store in Concord, where he
expected he would be able to introduce
to public notice a useful utensil and afc
the same time improve his financial condition.
The venture proved to be very;
unsuccessful, the proprietor at the store'
ridiculing his production and refusing to
have anything to do with it. Unwilling
to be thus thwarted he proposed leaving
the poppers to be sold on commission,
and was told that he might do so with
one or two if he would pay storage.
This he was unable to agree to, and.
he took them back to Hopkinton,
little thinking that in a comparatively!
short time they would be found in almost
"--t J 1 A ? fi. u
every new rjagmuu uumc. ao ?? ?
caa be ascertained this invention waa
never patented. The original popper is
now in the possession of the Antiquarian
Society at Contocook, N. H.
In 184S the first bird cages were manufactured
in the United States. Previous
to this they were imported from Germany.
G. Gunther was the first to make
them in this country, in New York City.
There are to-day nine manfacturerers of
bird cages in the United States. Of lata
years the prices of these articles have
been so cut that the profits are so limited
that in some cases the cages are sold below
the cost of production.
No Bice in Bice Paper.
Rice paper is not made from rice; nor
from rice stalks, noi has it any connection
whatever with rice. It is of Chinese
manufacture, and is made from the pith
of a certain tree resembling the elder.
The pith is extracted from the tree in
large cylindrical masses, and with largo
, knives the Chinese pare off the cylinder,
[ till, instead of a cylindrical form, they
| have a large flat sheet. This is pressed
and other sheets added, until the required
. thickness is secured. The paper is then
i rudely sized, and is ready to use. It was
3 called rice paper under the supposition,
when it was first introduced into Europe,
that it was made from rick stalks, and
the name has never been changed.?New
i York Journal.
i i.
Killing Caterpillars by Electricity.
, Electricity has many ramifications.
r The latest is the suggestion that cater *?
~f 1 \ fe* m?7
piaars, tuose pesus ui wuuuj
[ be prevented by a current of elecricity
from doing further mischief. The beat
[ of it is, the "dead shot" is touched off
by the caterpillar himself. The scheme is
1 simply to run alternate wires of copper
j and zinc around the trunk of the tree, at
, a distance of about half an inch apart.
[ When the caterpillar starts in his ascent
j he strikes the copper wire, poses hib littla
nose over it, and continues. Half an
j inch further up his forward feet strike
the zinc wire, while his body is still ia
contact with the copper, and immediatej
ly there is an electric current through hia
body.?Boston Journal.
o
s Where the First Pipe Was Smoked.
Sir Walter Raleigh's Irish home ia
3 County Cork, became the property of tho
* t-. ir v,?a
a late air joun rope hcuuumj, an* *?<?*
1 been pat up at auction recently. 4'It
J was here," says the London Telegraph,
"that Elizabeth's famous courtier smoked
the first pipe of tobacco in Ireland, and
, received an unexpected bath from a
faithful servant-maid, who, on seeing
'2 the blue smoke emerging from her
master's mouth and curling around his
head, thought Sir Walter was falling &
i victim to spontaneous combustion, acid
r threw a pail of cold water over him to
5 extinguish the conflagration.?Boston
i Transcript.
S