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rev. dk. talmage. THE BROOKLYN DIVINE'S SUNDAY SERMON. Subjcct: "The Song of Birds." \ Text "By V i shall (he fowls of the heaven have" habitation, which sing xamonrj trie bra ncnes. "?Psalms, civ., 12. There is an important and improving subject to which most people have Riven no (thought nnd concerning which this is tho first pulpit discussion?namely, "The Song of 'Birds." If all that has been written concern anj? music by human voice or about music sounded on instrument by flnijer or breath were put together, volume by the side of /volume, it would fill a hundred alcoves of tho national libraries. First. I remark that which will surprise . many, thnt the song of birds is a regulated and systematic song, capable of being written ? lout in note and staff and bar and clef as .much as anything that Wagner or Schumann ior Handel ever put on paper. As we pass tho Igrove where the flocks are holding matin or vesper service we are apt to think that tho sounds are extemporized, the rising o.* falling note is a mere accident, It is flung up and idowu by haphazard, tho bird did not know |What it was doing, it did not care whether it iwas a long meter psalm or a madrigal. What a mistake! i The musician never put on the music rack [before him Mendelssohn's "Elijah" or BeeIthoven'a "Concerto" in G or Spohr's B flat symphony with more definite idea as to Jwhat ho was doing than every bird thnt can . sing at all confines himself to accurate and predetermined rendering. The oratorios, the rohants, the carols, the overtures, tho interludes, the ballads, the canticles that this morning were heard or will this svening be jheard in the forest have polled down through the ages without a variation. Even the chipmunk's aong was ordainod clear back in the eternities. At tne gates 01 paraaisa it sang in sounds like the syllables "Kuk!" '"Kuk !" "Kuk!" just as this morninsr in a Xong Island orchard it sang "Kuk!" "Kuk !" |"Kuk!" The thrush at the creation uttered sounds likethe word "Teacher'" "Teacher!" '"Teacher!" as now it utters sounds like "Teacher!" "Teacher!" "Teacher!" ' In the summer of the year 1 the yollow hammer trilled that which sounded like "If!" j"If!" "If!" as in this summer it trills "If!" !"If!" "If!" The Maryland yellowthroat inherits and bequeaths tne tune sounding like ithe words "Pity me, pity me, pity ma!" The (White sparrow's "Tseep, tseep' woke our ; great grandfathers as it will awaken our great grandchildren. The "Tee-ka-tee-ka-tee-ka" I of the birds in the first ceatury was the same as the "Tee-ka-tee-ka-tee-ka" of the nineteenth century. , The goldfinch has for 6000 years been singing "De-ree-dee-ee-ree." 13ut these sounds, which we put in harsh words, they put in cadences, rhythmic, soulful and enrapturing. Now if there is this ^cycler and systematization and rhythm all through God's creation does it not Imply that we should have the 83tne characteristics In the music we make or jtry to make? Is it not a wickedness that so many parents give no opportunity for the 'culture of their children in the art of sweet sound? If God stoops to educate every bluebird, oriole and grosbeak in song, Ijow can parents be so indifferent about the musical development of the immortals in *ieir house P told? We want a hemispheric campaign of hosan nas. t'rom hearing a blind beggar sing Martin Luther went home at forty years of age ;to write his first hymn. In the autumn I 'hope to have a congregational singing school jhere during the week which shall prepare the people for the songs of the holy riabfbath. if the church of God universal is going to take this world for righteousness, fthere must be added a hundredfold of more !harmony as well as a hundredfold of more tvolumo to sacred mUsic. ' Further, I notice in the song of birds that it is a divinely taught song. The irarest prima donna of oai the earth could :not tench the robin one musical note. A jkingtlsiaer flying over the roof qf a temjpie aquake with harmonies would not 'catch up one melody. From the time that the first bird's tnroat was fashioned , on the banks of the Glhon and Hiddekel 'until to-day on the Hudson or Rhine the winged creature has learned nothing ifrom tae human race in the way of carol or (anthem. Th& feathered songsters learned (all thoir music direcs from God. He ^ave them tne ;irt in a nest of straw or moss or sticks and taught them how to lift that song ^ Jinto the higher heavens and sprinkle the learth with its dulcet enchantments. God tfashioaed, God timed, God launched, God llifted tauf ic 1 And there is a kind of music [that the Lord only can impart to you, my [hearer. } Song3 L'ke that which Paul commended to jtho Coiossians when hesaid, "Admonish one lanotncr m psalms and hymns and spiritual (Bongs, singing, with grace in your hearts, to She Lord." Songs lite Moses sang after the tragedy of the Ked sea, songs like Deborah janil liar a k sang at the overtnrow ot aiser-i, Bongs like Isaiah heard the redeeme<l ainR as lie came to Zion. Oh, God, teach us that !kind of song which Thou only canst teach and heip us to sing it on eartn and sing it in heaven. It was the highest result of sweet sound when under the playing of Paganiui one auditor exclaimed reverently, "Oh, !God!" and anotner soobed out,"Oh, Christ!" > Further, I remark'in regard to the song of (birds that it is trustful and without any fear iof what may yet come. Will you tell me 'how it is possible for that wren, that sparrow. that chickadee, to sing so sweetly wnea Jthey may any time oe pounca>t upon by a hawk and torn wins from wing? Therj a? j pruel beaks in thicket and in sky ready to Bl&ythe scng birds. Iierods on the win sr. Modocs of the sky. Assassins armod with Iron claw. Murderers o2 song floating up and down the heavens. How can the birds Bing amid such perils? Besides that, how is ? the bird sure to get food? Millions of birds ? mm Kn/m Vof If c1nn>a in fha rl on?n without any certainty of breakfast or dinner or supper. Would it not be better to gather its food for the day before vocalizing, i Besides that, the hunters are abroad. Bapg \ goes a gun in one direction. Ring! goefl a gun in another direction. The song Will attract the shot and add to the peril, i For every bird a thousand perils and disasters hovering and sweeping round and round. Yet there it sings, and it is a trustful song. The bird that has it the hardest sings the sweetest. The lark from the shape of her claws may not perch on a tree. In the grass her u3St is exposed to every hoof that passes. One of the poorest shelters oI all the earth is the lark's nest. If she sings at all, you will expect her to render the saddest of threnodies. No, no. She sings exultingly an hour Without a pause and mounting 3000 feet with. out losing a note. . Further, in the sky galleries there are songs adapted to all moods. The meadow lark i3 mournful, and the goldfinch joyous, and the grosbeak prolonged of note. But the libretto of nature is voluminous. Are you sad? You can hear from the bowers the echo of your grief. Are you glad? You can hoar an echo of your happiness. Are you thoughtful? You can hear that which will plunge you into deeper .profound. Are you weary? You may caicn a resrrui air. no \u? soa-^s ox birds .ire administrative in all circumstances. And we would do well to have a hymnology for all changes of condition. You may sin* your woes into peace and rouse your joys Into greater altitudes. Upon every conditioa ol body and soul let us try the power of song. ,The multitudinous utterances of grove and orchard and garden and forest suggest most delightful possibilities. i Some of the most deeply impressive songs * we ever sing nre family songs. They have come down from generation to generation. You were sung to sleep In your infancy and childhood by songs that will sing in your soul forever. Where was it, my brother my or sister, that you heard the family song?on the banks of the Ohio, or the Alabama, or the Androscoggin, or the Connecticut, or the Tweed, or the Thames, or the Raritan? That song at eventide, when you . were tired out?indeed too tired to sleep, and you cried witii le? ache, and you were 1 looked and sung to sleep?you hear it now, the soft voice from sweet lip3, she as tired, (perhaps more tired than you, but she rocked, and you slumbered. Oh, those family songs! I Mothers, be careful what you sing your (childran to sleep with. Lot it be nothing [frivolous or silly. Better have in it something of Christ and heaven. Better hava in f These family songs are about all we keep of the old homestead. The house where you were born will go into the hands of strangers. / JThe garments that were carefully kept as ) relics will become moth eaten. The family JSible can go into th# possession of only one of the family. The lock ot gray hair may be , lost from the locket, and in a few years all signs and momeatoes of the old homestead it something that will help that boy thirty years from now to bear up under the bombardment of temptation. Better have in it something that will help that daughter thirty years from now when upon her come the cares of motherhood and the agonies of bereavement and tho brutal treatment of one c who swore before high heaven that he would t' cherish and protect. a will be gone forever. But the family songs, 0 those that we heard at two years of age, at 0 live years of age, at ten years of age, will be v indestructible and at forty or fifty or sixty or ? seventy years 01 age will give us a mi^mv ? boost over some rough place in the path of u our pilgrimage. Many years ago a group of white children were captured and carried off by the Indians. Years alter, a mother who had lost two children in that capture, went among tho Indl- a aiis, and there were many white children in a linn, but so long a time had passed tho moth- f, er could not tell which were hers until she 5 began to sing the old nursery song, and her 3 two children immediately rushed up, shout- e ing: "Mammal" "Mamma!" Yes, there is jj an immortality in a nursery song. Hear it, v all you mothers, an immortality of power to rescue and save. What an occasion that must have been in Washington December 17, 1850, when Jennie Lind sang "Home, Sweet Home," the author j of those words, John Howard Payne, seated 3 before her. She had rendered her other fa- ^ voritesongs: "CastaDiva" and her "Flute Song," with fine effect, but when she struck ? "Home, Sweet Home," John Howard Payne j( rose under the power,and President Fillmore ^ and Henry Clay and Daniel Webster and the v whole audience rose with him. Anything _ connectea witn tome ransacks our entire nature with a holy power, and songs that [. get well started in the nursery or by the family hearth rolf on after the lips that sung them are forever silent and the oars that llrst heard them forever cease to hear. Be careful how you treat the birds. Remember they are God'3 favorites, and if you ( offend them you offend Him. He is so fond of ? their voices that there are forests where for a \ hundred miles no human foot has ever trod a and no human ear has ever listened. i: Put off startling colors, which frighten the f winged songsters into silence or flight, and put on your mora sober attire and move r noiselessly into the woods farther nnd far- t th?r from the main road and have no conver- t sation, for many a concert in and out of doors ^ has been ruined by persistent talkers, and a then sit down a mossy bank? v Where a wild stream with headlong shock C Comes brawling down a bed of rock. ti And after perhaps a half an hour of intense t solitude there will be a tap of a beak on a |_ tree branch far up, sounding like the Up of a j musical baton, and then first there will be i solo, followed by a duet or quartet, and after- n ward by doxologies in all the tree tops and t amid all the branches, and if you have a f Bible alone; with you and you can without [ rustling the leaves, turn to. the one hun- ( dred and forty-eighth Psalm of David and } read, "Praise the Lord, beasts and all cattle, < creeping things and flying fowl," and then turn over quietly to my text and read, "By them shall the fowls of the heaven have their habitation, which Bing among the branches," or if under the power of the bird ' voices you are transported, as when Doctor c Worgan played so powerfully on the organ at | St. John's that Richard Cecil said he was in 1 such blessed bewilderment he could not find in f his Bible the first chapter of Isaiah, though 1 ho leafed the book over and over, and you r shall be so overcome with forest harmony J that you cannot find the Psalms of Da*,id, 1 never mind, for God will speak to you so mightily it will make no rtinerence wnetner " you hear His voice from the printed page or 1 the vibrating throat of one of His plumed creatures. While this summer more than usual out of doors let us have what my text suggests, an out of doors religion. What business had David, with all the advantages of costly religious service and smoking incensa on the altar. to be listening to the chantresses among the tree branches? Ah ! lie wanted to make himself and all who should come after him more alert and more worshipful amid the sweet sounds and beautiful sights of the natural world. There is an old church that needs to be rededicated. It is older than St. Paul's or St. Peter's or St. Mark's or St. Sophia's or St. Isaac's. It is the cathedral of nature. That is the church in which the services of the millennium will be held. The buildings fashioned out of stone and brick and mortar will not hold the people. Again the mount of Olives will be the pulpit. Again the Jordan will be the baptistry. Again the mountains will, be .ho galleries. Again the skies wlir be the blue ceiling. Again the sunrise will be the front door and the sunset the back door of that temple. Again the clouds will be the upholstery and the morning mist the incense. Again the trees will be the organ loft where ' tho fowls of heaven have their habitation, which sing among the , branches." St. Francis d'Asstsi preached a , sermon to birds and pronounced u benedio- . tion upon them, but all birds preach to us, ) and their benediction is almost supernal. < In the time of Edward IV no ono was allowed to own a swan except he were a , kind's son or had considerable estate. Through 100 or 200 years of life that bird was said : never to utter anything like r#usic until its > last moment came, and then lifting its crested beauty it would pour forth a song of almost matchless thrill re- , sounding through the grovas. And so, although the struggles of life may be too much for us and wo may And it hard to ( sing at all, when the last hour comes to you . and me, may there be a radiance from above and a glory settling round that shall enablo us to utter a song on the wings of which we shall monct to where the music never ceases and the raptures never die. "What Is that, mother?" "The swan, my lovei He Is floating down from his native grove. No loved one, no nestling nigh? Ho Is floating down by himself to die. Death darkens his eye and unplumes his wings, . Yet the sweetest song is the last he sings. Live so, my child, that when death shall come, 1 bwatillfce and sweet, it may waft thee home;" An important industry. Yery few outside of its own locality | are aware that the place where all the 1 canceling and dating stumps used in | the postoffices throughout the United 1 States is located in Northumberland i County, "Virginia. At Lodge, on the I Yeocomico River, is a little town whose oro almncf un+.irplv fleiipn* dent upon this industry for their livelihood. There the malleable iron east- 1 ings in the rough are dressed, mortised, and, by hands almost as skilled as the engravers, each letter is tedi- i ously chiseled, then tempered, hard- 1 ened and polished. Here also are the type for the mortises made, as are also the familiar "Postage due.." "Unclaimed," and other stamps. The furnishing of these stamps is annually let to contract by the Government. Honorable Benjamin Chambers is the present contractor and has been for years, as was his father before him. Annually competitors from all parts of J the Union arise, but so far his1 prices and superior workmanship have stood him in good stead.?Detroit Free Press. Preserving Tools From Rust. Professor Olmstead t-tates that his method of preserving scientific apparatus from rust is one of the best known. His preparation is made by the slow melting together of six or eight parts of lard, to one o? resin, stirring until cold. Thi3 remains sami-Huid, ready for iise, the resin preventing rancidity una supplying an air-tight film. Rubbed on a bright lurfaee ever so thinly it protects and preserves the polish effectually, and it jsn be wiped off nearly clean if ever desired, an from a knife blade, or it may be trimmed with coal oii or benzine.?Detroit Free Press. New York Baby Hoarders. ihere are quite a number of women in New York who earn their living by taking in ,;baby boarders." These little tenants are anything but a burden to their footer parents, many of %'hom are widows or old maids who have passed the frivolous age and get a groat deal of comfort out of a baby \piest. " TEMPERANCE. ??? ,A <: A PITIFUL FATE. Have to no pity for the poor, miserable liildren? Is there no voieo strong enough a plead "liko ange)3, trumpet-tongued gainst the*deep damnation of their taking IT,"?of thcs*> children, who,in the language f Southsy, are not so much born into the rorld as predestined, as it were, to live lives f disease and degradation because of the rink in the midst of which they are hrought p and of which they have the hereditary nint in thoir very veins.?Canon Farrar. DRINK BILLS OF BIG CITIES. It has been shown that tho city of Chicago lone consumes 840,000,000 worth of heor In , singlo year. Pittsburg spends $18,000,000 or drink. New York spends not loss than SCO,000,000 to $70,000,000 for beer alono. 'here are in New York City about 3000 illicit stablishnrents whore drink Is sold without a Leense, and the drink establishments swing ride their doors day and night and guven lays in the week. a ctiicr l'Atrroii . The New York Medical Times notes tho net that in 1850 there was one criminal in 500 of our population, but that in 1890 there ras one in 780.5, a startling increaso in forty oars, and adds, "There must be some way o stay this mad rush of crime ; some remedy or this bacteria which is poisoning the founains of moral and physical strength." Wo enture to suggest to the Times, that chief mong the factors of the crime and dotOrior won wnica u uepiores are intoxicants. w o ttvite its help in our contest to abolish thom. -National Temperance Advocato. A Bisnor'8 PLEA FOB TOTAL ABSTINEKCE. At the World's Temporanco Congress at Chicago, a very remarkable paper by Arch ishop Ireland was read, in the course ot fhich he gave his reasons in favor of total .bstinonce. His views upon this point are Dtoresting, and practical and in briof aro as ollows r "Tho mero use of intoxicants is not a noral wrong. Tho wrong is in the abuse, he immoderate use. but the line betwoen he moderate and immoderate use is very aguo and shadowy. Philanthropists, reilizing tho extent of the drink evil and tho 'ico and sorrow it causes tho world, have ailed for a spell with which to put down the lemon. Tho spell has been found and it is otal abstinence. Millions have been killed >y alcohol who were never drunk in their ives, as the word is commonly understood, fhe effects of alcohol are so insidious, there ,ro so many opportunities for tho acquirenent of tho habit of intemperance. Let jood men, men of strength and power, be otal abstainers and the weak will follow. )h, for tho charity of a Manning who said le needed tho pledge becauso a poor dock aborer needed it." ** MODERATE DUIXRim That there may bo errors in Judgment imong medical examiners of life insurance sompanios in pronouncing upon a risk is irobablo, especially in eases of. what aro :nown as moderate drinkers?thoso who, in eply to the question 'in tho application in hat regard, say truthfully that they drink ilcoholie liquors moderately at night. And ret cases of that kind have been affected with >roDounced delirium and delusions. Summing up an ablo article on tho subject >f the relation of life insurance to inebriety, Dr. T.- D. Crothers says: "The object of all :ompanies, to minimize tho uncertainty and isks of all policy-holders, rfhd mako the luestion of the mortality oT its insured a oasonablo certainty, is a reality when the acis 01 aiconouc degeneration aru tnuuiuu ibovo the lovel of opinions and theories. The greatest peril to lifo insurance to-day is he confusion of theory relating to the nature ind action cJf alcohol. Every policy-holder las to pay for this ignorance in increased ates. The companies are periled and a dejrae of uncertainty exists which a larger and nore accurate study of alcohol would remove. Companies whoso managers and medical adflsopj are moderate drinkeA are on the road ;o failure. Companies who assume that this juestion is settled and the lines of health ind disease can be mapped oat aro failures ilready. Companies who regard this peril jom alcohol as one requiring the most careful scientific study and cautious application )f the apparent facts of-to-day will arrivo at some rational lines of successful solutiop ol ;he problem. Finally the alcoholic question, [rom every point of view, demands a now ind more exact study to lift it out of tho fogs ind moss-covered superstitions of tho cen:uries."?Mail and Express. TIIE VERDICT OF SCIENCE. That alcohol makes for the brain," when taken into tho system, has been proved on tho strongest possible testimony. Dr. Kirk tells us that on ono occasion he di§ed i man who died in a state of intoxication. "Ir two cavities of tho brain was found tho usual quantity of limpid fluid. When he smellodil the odor of whisky was distinctly perceptible, ind when he applied the candle to a portion in a spoon it actually burned blue?th? lambeut blue ilame, characteristic of poison, Dlavinz on the surface of tho sijoon for some joconds." We have similar experience related by Dr. Ogston, of Aberdeen, in the case r>( a women, who, it was believed, had rlrowned herself in a state of intoxication. "Wo discovered nearly four ounces of fluid in the lateral brain cavities, having all the physical properties of alcohol." Dr. John Tercy found that by distilling the blood taken from the system of one intoxicated he could reproduce a percentage of alcohol; and, by submitting the brain tc the enrne process, that the percentage wat much higher; from which he concluded thai "a kind of affinity exists between alcohol and the cerebral (or brain) matter." Tho la#l experiment on this point I shall relate is that of Dr. FiRg, who held a post mortem examination on the body of John Garter, a younj: athletic man, who drank a pint of rum a1 one effort. "The mouth, stomach, cardiat cavities and lungs presented no appreciable trace of the rum. Even on opening the cranium we found nothing to warrant a sup position oi us presence. vn waiting, nownvor, a section into the latorai brain cavities, the rum flqwed out in considerable quantities, altered in color, but with its characteristic odor." From all which it follows clearly, that alcohol has a special affinity foi the brain, and, as a necessary consequence, works its saddest and most deplorable results in this?the seat of reason. Whenever, therefore, you see men struck down in delirum tremens in the midst of their drunker debauch; when you see men who were oncc strong, quivering in every limb, writhing in agony on their bed of pain, with featuref contorted, and wild and staring eyes, screaming aloud at the fancied approach of the mosl loathsomo crawling creatures; when yon hear men, who wero wont to be wise, gibbering and chattering like a parcel of demontet! maniacs ; when you see those of tho weakei sex casting aside all modestyand self-respecl and acting tho pait of the demoniacal anc insane, you will in future bo able to give ? reason lor such conduct, and ;iscribo it tc that deadly poison which has entered theii brains, and stolen away the one great gift o God, which alone elevates thorn abovo Lh< jackal and the ape. TEMrF.RA.NCF. NtWS AND NOTES. Stockholm has tho highest death rate frorr drink of any city in tho world, ninety ii 10,000. Shetland i3 the roost tomporato county nnc Cork tho moat drunken town in the Unitec Kingdom. In sloven cathedral cities of England tlior' is an average of oao public house to over) 157 inhabitants. Curter Harrison, Mayor of Chicago, ha* issued an order that no drinking man will b< retained on tho police force. Queen Anne, of England, was extreme!] fond of brandy, and her faco bocame Si bloated that among tho populace she wa: known as "Brandy Faced Nan." Consider whether there is any real advan tage in shorter hours or higher wages fo: workingmen, if their earnings and unem ployed time are both spent in tho saloon. Of the 51,000 breweries in tho world Gor many has 2('>,240, England has 12,874 and th< United States have 2300. In the eonsump tion of beer the German province of Bava ria leads tho world, with an annual averagi of 222. litres per head. The inhabitants o tho United States average thirty-one litre; per head. Would men and women, adults and youth) bo safe beyond all peradventure? And \rh; should they not wish to be so, whon s< much, when all, is at stake? Then lot than bo tho faithful observers of total abstinonco Frude?nco i3 a virtuo prescribed of God am man. "Ho who loveth tho danger, shai perish thoreia."?Archbishop Ireland. RELIGIOUS READING. INTER thk n.visnow. What object in nature inspires more exquisite pleasure than a rainbow? When we gaze upon that miracle of beauty, its graceful form, r. its lofty span, its delicate "tints, wo do not wonder at the enthusiasm of tho poet Words- xvii. worth: ' My heart leaps up when I behold A rainbow in the sky: So was it when my life began, 22. "T So is it now I am a man, hill and i So be It when I shall grow old, that in a Or let me die! or. as in ??.,c n ralnhftm rniinrl nhrtllt the Wtt haVB throne in sight like unto an emerald." In- J1'3 preac spiration n<jver speaks at random, and "all *jle scripture is profitable for doctrine;" may we not therefore elicit from this comparison Tim some hidden meaning, of use to confirm our His spiri faith, enliven our affections, and magnify the city, the glory of divine grace? Now why. it may \*nf' in be asked, was this brilliant green color pre- Jesus an eminent above all others? Observe, then, 'lla'JfSI that this color, of emerald green, occupies "0 J ?\er the middle position in tho rainbow. It is a an(i Eton combination of two extremes, yellow and ? c0fVl( blue, which are very dissimilar and dis- Ifom th cordant. The first of these is a positive and , ?m ?H| exciting color. It is highly stimulant to tho le?JI1K " eye. It communicates the idea of light, of and n9Rj splendor, and of warmth; of honor, and of ',?s^3 , joy. It first heralds the risinp day, and it ^ also floods with amber the path of the sitting . sun. We see it in the intonso glow of flame, ueyotion and admire it as it shines in the diadem of "on> 10 gold : and a tinge of this color communicates ore brilliancy to the robes of empiro. The blue color, on the contrary, is of a more ?h r,r, quiet and negative character. It tends to Ltar wil calmness and repose. In perspective it is re- Y" tiring; in its effect it is cold. It calls up ideas ft forth of the shade, of advancing eve, of the azure ul?vor vault of night. In the color, therefore, which . . is compounded of these opposite and discord- 04. " ant extremes, we meet with an agreeable .l, t blending of light and darkness; warmth and . jj~ coolness; excitement and quiet. Th9 effect is _a. . softness and repose. It makes a pleasing im- jjret pressicn on tho eye, and fills and satisfies the acauainl mind. The spectator feels no rising wish They we for anything beyond, it is at once ncn His etei and modest. It neither dazzles nor fatigues, ?nrks ' but rather is a relief to tho eye. From the ttl]g medial station which it thus occupies in tho to ^ scale, it is capable of sustaining more gen- fHeb xi oral relations and accordances than any ^jang' ^ other, as well as forming more delightful ought tc nontru-sts; and hence it has been chosen by q0(j the Goil of Nature as the most appropriate (j0r' x. garb of tho vegetable creation. It is gentlo 25. ?' and agreeable to the eye; soothing and re- hands a freshing, rather than glaringly stimulant; its ing He t effect is calm and peaceful; and it suggests things." pleasing ideas of temperate coolness and de- have be< iicious retreats. It has also its symbolical qoci gre ?'al"?. It may be takon as no unapt emblem or oarth ?: th'* fresh and vigorous springtime. Its tho an(j ^elr opening season of the year. Nati/re is prodi- 0f the B jal of her favorite hue, clothing hillside and to give t Sell with verdure, and tinting the landscape hand is 1 with ever}- variety of light and shade, from breath 0 the delicate bud to the deeper graduations of His natv the foliage. Green, beiDg the cheerful color, g3ve Hi> lias easily been adopted by the poets as the receivet symbol of Hopo. 16; x., S ''l'ounir Hope like thoSpringin her maiftlo of 26. " GreeD, tions of Assumes that soft tint, sunny, pleasant and the eart tender; fore app And lends to the Emerald light so serene, tation." That the eye never wearies of watching its we not 1 splendor." created This color is also emblematical of immortality. Hence the Scriptures promiso to the ' jCoo<i man, that "he shall be like a treo plant- ?P!~v iP. id by the rivers of waters, that bringeth forth ? his fruit in his season, his leaf also shall not nentanc wither." .Jeremiah likewise celebrates the /Ji' J blessedness of the man that trusteth in thet CiOrd; he shall resemble a well-watered tree* ?7 iv lhat "shall uot see when heat cometh, but her , ,1;.' leaf shall be green." And tho tree which "'"' I unTO lim n hnnk of the river of life ?_7T' I was one whoso leaf shnli not fade, neither r ' shall the fruit thereof be consumed; and the f} , . fruit thereof shall be for meat, and the leaf r? i' ^ thereof for medicine."?[N\ Y. Observer. the Lor ?? See sucl XXIX., 1 GOD THE TRUE LIFE. 13 y0ry .< 0 God. the true life, of, and by, and in but thei whom ali things live, the common source of word ai all Rood! our faith in thee excitest our hope of how i exalts, our love unites us. Thou command- it to the ; est me to seek thee, and art ready to be 28. '] ' found; thou biddest us knock, and openest have ou when we do 30. To turm from thee i3 to poets h< 1 fall into ruin and death. To turn totheo, is spring.' , to rise to life and glory. To abide in thee, is stated ij to stood fast and secure from danger. No. sist." man lost thee who does not suffer himself to hi Titus be deceived: no man seeks thee who does not t0 indie submit to instruction and reproof; no man some ki l finds thee, who does not seek after thee with P'6 M 1 a clean heart and purified affections. To fr?m va : know thao is life, to serve thee is freedom, to We are I 1 t?njoy thee is a kingdom, to praise thee is the ^at we 1 joy und happiness of the soul. Io praise and ix., 22. 1 bless and adore thee with heart and voice 29. ' ] ; and ever}- faculty. I worship thee, I give springe , thanks to thee for thy great goodness, for thy N*8 God 1 innumerable and inestimable mercies, holy, stone g > holy, holy. Lord God Almighty. Quite a , I humbly beseech thee, 0 blessed Trinity, ln > to comc to me, to abide in me, to reign in me. prophet ~ w?i., u fiday evi to HUIKC en 13 [It'llri UI UIIUO it uuJjr IBU1|71U,U ..V > habitation for thy majesty. I entreat the lt5eQ;,rt I Father by the Son, the Son by the Father, the cr>' , Holy Ghost by the Father and Son, that all ?* uian, 1 those vicious dispositions may be removed S0l(* an > far from me which might give offence to {* 1 Thee who cannot behold iniquity; and that . , ? j all those virtues may be implanted, and grow and flourish and abound in me, in which 3,10W H ( God of unify delights. 0 thou maker and J?"* m01 ? preserver of all things visible and invisible! qn0D.?. i Keep I beseech thee the work of thy own ??* ; hands, who trusts in thy mercy alone for ?winked 1 . safety and protection. Guard me with the : power of thy grace, here in all places, now ?ai? i and at all times, within and without, before 0h , J and behind, above and below; let thy holy 'v1.?. ; angels pitch their tonts round about me, and Jv, y ! so possess themselves of all the passess to my w ! heart, that the troacheroas enemy of souls ^ o?. ! may have no jiluce open whereby to make his > approach. J1,??0.. A Thou art the guardian and defender of all h's that depend upon thee; without whose mighty ?j*.' , power none is a match for the danger and . .. temptations which every* moment beset him.? ' Thou art God, and there is none beside thee, beH~va i in heaven above, or in the earth beneath. 31 << Thou art great and dost wouderous things. 'hj , Who can recount, who can conceive them? Jl - Honor and praise arc thine: angels and l.jneH , spirits, and all the creation, join in setting u-*0 a'i . forth thy glory, and paying the constant 1 humble homage due from creatures to the 4nmrt ... j Creator, from servants to their Lord, from ry^ODle 1 subjects and soldiers to their victorious loadj 6r and universal King.?[Augustine. ' t turned 1 ' alive f( 1 PRAYING AT PEOPLE. tl'J.'iVOn Fublic prnyer uldressed to God and aim^d things I . at the congregation, neither gains his ear The gro : nor persuades them. It not only falls short Jr r*lig of being pious, i: is not manly. At a recent l*l> religious convention, when a brother who l'-: I Jc - ?- ? - ? ? ' ???maiKop Wi*AfKqc ot- Him tht t arose auei an intinc.'<au,> auumv. uivuv, tempting to demolish its argument in :i form burned [ of prayer, lie left the impression on some of ?Lcsao the hearers that he was afraid to stand up > manfully and reply to what hail been said. THE Once when a young minister, who was dis- fniipfi pleased with the conduct of some of his peo- iaueu pie, had expressed in public prayer hi* owed, i opinion of their actions, a good sister said to a^0 t him, "'Wnen you want to scold us, do so; but don't spoil our devotions by praying at Dearin I us." Ho has since said that that was some Their [ of the most valuable advice be ever received. . w . ? [The Congregationalism ueoiec t cerns ' r try si Wecnndeny ourselves, but we cannot ipailnr cleanse ourseives. The sheep can go astray Bd,Jur ' alone, but can never return to the fold with- 1Q the out Ctiij assistance of the shepherd.? [W\ not lej Seeker. ' Xo one can ask hone?tly or hope fully to D^ore ' be W-ivered from temptation unless he has sides i himself honestly and (irmly determined to raiiroa do the best lie can to keep out of it.?iUuikin. . . V prisms r , day o "Pray," inquired one minister o! - another, "seeing so many ladies at* tend your church, why do you in- fe ' . variably addres* your congregation as vation 0 Hlear brethren? Oh, the reason f is easily irlven," he replied, "the Ane ' brethren embrace the sisters."?Tit- type ol 3 Bits. way t f woodei ^ * ?? while 1 No wonder people can't under stand finance when it's alleged the re90na l more gold goes abroad the closer it heads gets.?Philadelphia Timei. wnoda * 1SBATH SCHOOL.NATIONAL LESSON FOR JULY 16. Text: "Paul at Athens," Acts , 22-31?Golden Text: John iv., 24?Commentary. hen Paul stood in the midst of Mars said. Ye men of Athens, I perceive 11 things ye are too superstitious,'' the H. V., "somewhat relistfous." passed by his farewell to Phllippi, shins at Thessalonica and Berea. and Jcutions he endured at each placs. And him at Athens, waiting for Silas othy, whom ho had left at Berea. t is greatly stirr d by the idolatry of and in the synagogue of the Jews the market of the city ho preached ] d the resurrection. From the time ( is met him on the way to Damascus mined to know nothing but Christ i crucified (I Cor. ii., 2), and the sub- 1 )f his preaching may be gathered is statement. He "reasoned with t of the Scripture, opening and al- \ lat Christ must needs have suffered a again from the dead, and that this I 10m I preach unto you | is Christ" , ii., 2. 3). For as I passed by and beheld your 3 I found an altar with this inscripthe Unknown God. Whom thereignorantly worship Sim. declare I i." It would seem that in their many ' >. many gods they feared lest any liave. been omitted, and hence tnis ;h its strange inscription. Very rehey were, but there wa3 nothing to ley knew not God. It is more sad, , to think of the religiousness of toIch means nothing. God, that made the world and all herein, seeing that He is Lord of md earth, dwalleth not in temples th hands." He takes them right to of Genesis and would make them ted with the Creator of all things, ire without excuse for not knowing rnal power and Godhead, for the f His hands should have taught them m. i., 19, 20). Before we can come ve must believe that there is a God L, 6), and the one whom these Atheiew not was the only one whom they i know?the Lord who is the true 3 living God and King of Eternity 10, margin). Neither is worshiped with men's, lu thnncrh Pffi needed anvthinflr. see jlveth to all life and breath and all What startling things these mast jn to be heard for the first time! A ater than sun, moon or stars, heaven , and the author and giver of all life ig. Yet this is the old, familiar 3tory ible which we possess, but areso slow ;o others, which tells of Him in whose the soul of every living thing andthe if all mankind (Job xiil, 10). It is ire to give. He so loved that He 3 only begotten Son that whatsoever h Him shall never perish (John iii., !7, 28). And hath made of one blood ail Namen for to dwell on all the face of h and hath determined the times be ointed and the bounds of their hnbiAll Nations may truly, say "Have ill one Father? Hath not one God, us" (Mai. ii,: 10)? And, as to the of habitation, not only has God orren this, but He has done so with reIsrael, as it is written. "When the gh divided to the Nations their inse, when He separated the sons of <??t the hounds of the neoDle ac to the number of the children of Is>eut. xxxil., 8). That they should seek the Lord, If tiey might feel after Him and find ough He be not far from every one of [f they would live up to the light they 1 would find ways to send them more s in the case of Cornelius and the an eunuch. The exhortations to seek d are very many and very Instructive, a as Isa. lv., 6, 7 ; Zepti. ii., 3; Jer. 3; Math. vl., 33. His nearness to us strikingly described in Rom. x., 6-10. 3 it speaks of those who have His id raises the question (verses 14, 15) uan they hear it unless some one take sm. For in Him we live and move and r being, as certain also of you own ive said, "For we are also His off" The first clause is very brieflyq Col. i., 17, "By Him al!things conThe use which Paul makes here and i L, 12. of the Greek authors seems ate the advantage to a missionary of lowiedge of the writings of the peo SUCH Knowieuije may may un mruuu nities to the true God (Acts xiv., 15). to use all moans wbich God can bless may by nil means save some (I Cor. Forasmuch, then, as we are theoff?f God, we ousjht not to think that Ihead Is like unto gold or silver or graven with art and man's device." commentary upon this verse is found x!.. 1S-23, anl elsewhere in the ;s. Is not the same sin manifest toan in the chursh when so much 1 is spent in raising money? The is for gold and silver and wisdom instead of for God, Who owns the d silver and has all the wisdom (Hag. ar. i., 30). If those who profes3 to in God would only trust Him and not . either men or metal. He would soon imself strong on our behalf and pour e blessing than we could manage (II xvi., 9). \.nd the times of this ignorance God at, but now commandeth all men lere to repent." In the R. V. it i3 od overlooketh," which is a much ranslation. He allowed to go unpunjcause He is long suffering and not that any should perish. Jesus told s that God su ffored many things bef the hardness of their hearts (Math. Mark x., 5). He was grieved all the [sa. Ixiii., 10 ; Mark iii., 5), but bore >m and many a time forgave them as wt Moses pleaded for thpm. But we lifferont days, bu.t God Has now maae jvision for all' through the finished His dear Son aud commands all to on Him (John ili., 23). Because He hath appointed a day in' ch He will judge the world In right3 by that man whom Ha hath or^ whereof Ho hath given assurance 1 men, in that He hath raised Him le dead." The Greeks had known eat men, loaders and teachers of two but they had never known one wno died lived again ; hence when Paul this point they either mocked or iway. Jesus, risen from tho dead, jrevermore, having all power in anl on earth, is the one who in all las and must have the pre-eminence, at question now Is not, "Am I moral ious or getting belter?" but, 11 ret of ive I received Jesus?" See John i., ?hn v., 12. Then am I so li7ing unto it tn tnat day the works stall not be up, but ri-.v.irded (I Cor. ill.. 11-15;. n Helper. i Australian oaflks which have within the last three months in the aggregate, a sum equal ut 75 per cent., of the interestg debt of the United States, liabilities exceeed the total inIness of all the business contvhich have failed in this counnce the beginning of 1891. es of equal relative magnitude s United States would Involve ss than $8,000,000,000, which is than the civil war cost toth together and more than our ids are worth. It is not surin view of such facts, that a f prayer and humiliation was ited in the Anglican diocese of urne, where the heaviest blows >r the purpose of imploring sa!from further financial disaster. a Eva Fay, of the Blavatsky t intellect and belief, is on her o distant India in quest of a | ,i head that talks. And this the air of her native land Is nt with vocalisations from distinctly and hopelessly v THE MOST FASHIONABLE BODICE. The round-waisted bodice, -whether plain, gathered or draped, is that most generally adopted, although short peaks are permitted when more becoming to the figure. Sleeves puffed up above the shoulders are now quite gone out of fashion; they are still ample in the upper part, but come sloping down from the shouldere, draped to the elbow, and then clinging to the wrist3. This shape is more graceful than the balloon sleeve, which is still fashionable, but becoming only to very slight figurea?New York. World. / NEW FEMININE COSTUMES. Boston is in a state of mind over the appearance on her streets of a number of prominent ladies arrayed in a -wide departure from the conventional costume of the day. There are said to be at least a dozen advanced thinkers of the female sex who have appeared in public in the new costume which they have determined to adopt. Mrs. B. O. Flower, wife of the editor of the Arena, and Miss Laura Lee, a prominent artist, have been shopping in their Syrian trousers, and they say that their unique attire has cause them ? -.41. 4 +A V?A Q^OVA/I UU Uliiici auuujauuo uuu uo oumvu at. They like it and mean to etick to it.?Argonaut. ?? A FOF.TTGHE OP SHELLS. A lady who spends her summers at the seaside has collected about a bushel, more or less, of small, almost flat, thin yellow shells, which abound at so many points on the coast. With these she this year fashioned a portiere that is novel and pretty beyond description. Each shell is pierced with a hot wire, and then strung on a delicate wire, so that the narrow end of one is next to the wide end of the other. A number of strings were made in this way long enough to reach from thg floor to the curtain pole, where they were securely fastened to a strip of plantation cloth of the same shade as the shells. Through the fretwork above this curtain is draped a length of sea-green India Bilk, falling half way to the floor r>n t.hp rirrht, sirlp. A less ambitious woman has made a curious scarf by sewing these ehells in artistic confusion on either end of a length of Nile Green silk, putting here and there among them bits of golden* brown seaweed. A fringe is made for each end by stringing shells on green embroidery silk instead of wire. ?Now York Commercial Advertiser. FABRICS FOP. MOURNING DRESSES. Deeply crinkled crepons of pure wool very thinly woven are excellent fabrics for summer mourning dresses. They are chosen at this season for tbfe first and deepest mourning dfesses, though many modistes commend Henrietta cloths and French bombazines all th? year round, especially for the first gowns worn by widows. Nuns' veiling is still liked for its lightness, and is already ordered for next year by the merchants. Iron grenadines of exceedingly fine meshes of mixed silk and wool and those with a sheer surface not defined by meshes are suitable for the deepest mourning dresses. A new fabric, called, "sable," is a silk crepon as thin as Liberty's silk, and deeply crinkled like Japanese sillc. The fashionable modistes use sable for the whole gown, and trim it with the soft-finished English crape that is now made without dressing and is entirely lustreless. Gauze grenadines with pin dots or with larger balls make thin dresses for midsummer or are used for blouse waists, with sleeves and skirt of crepon or grenadine. For general wear and traveling dresses is a new Priestly goods, called Carmelite, a light-waight mixture of silk and wool that sheds dust, and is as cool and thin as muslin. The silkwarp crystallette introduced lost summer is still liked for its dust-resisting surface and feather weight. Camels hair grenadine, as strong as iron, is an admirable sheer wool fabric, entirely without lustre, cool to the touch, and either plain, 6triped' or figured; it is forty-four inches wide, and costs from SI.50 to 32 a yard. All-wool batistes and tamise cloths are slightly heavier stuff's for "second-best" and traveling dresses. Plain black india silks have so little lustre that they are commended for cool summer gowns, for traveling, and lor World's Fair dresses for those wearing the deepest mourning. Storm serges of very wide twills and hop-sacking woven in basket checks are suitable for seaside, mountain and traveling gowns, and are -also Bafc purchases for tlie next seasort^ as the merchants have already placed large orders for these stuffs for a^tuinn and winter use. ?Harper's Bazar. HEX COSTLY ROSE OP SPUN GLAS3. Princess Eulalia, upon her return home, will introduce into the royal wardrobes of Europe a new and p? culiar product ot American invention. Her Highness, since arriving in this country, has 8 sen many things for which admiration was expressed. While making a trip through cosmopolitan Midway Plaisance, at the 'World's Fair, her eyes rested upon an object which seems to have charmed her above all others. She made no hesitation in saving it delighted her ' when it was first presented to her view, and long after she left the plaisance thoughts of possessing a sample tilled her mind. Next day her mind was made up to procure it at any cost, and negotiations were at once entered into for it. This product of our genius which the royal lady has so signally honored by her wish for it is, of course, a dreiis. But it is a dress such as no other woman has yet worn, although one, a 'distinguished actress, had found it before her and had made arrangements for having one made. The dress ia to be made of glasa, and will be woven e?- { pecially for the princess at the works on the plaisance. The material is made from a warp of silk woven in with? . body of spun glass so delicate in texfcnre that it is pliable as the softest silk.; The process was invented but recently,; and none of the peculiar fabric has a?yet been put upon the market except in small articles, such as neckties, and ii ?i ? r xv. luest) uuiy as buuvauixa iruiu tuo huim on the plaiaance. With the present facilities for manufacturing it can be made but slowly and at great cost. One yard each day is considered a big turnout. It therefore, expensive material, and tha dress which the princess will have when completed will cost about $5000. Cost, however, will not be taken into consideration eo long as the prince? is pleased with the figure and fit. H will be presented to her by the gbua works, when finished, and will bo taken to Spain for the especial deligfci of the courtiers at home. Manager Libby, of the glass works, said that all arrangements had not been completed for the acceptance of the dress, boi that they were under way and would doubtless be finished that day. ?Chicago Herald. FASHION NOTES. Black roses are novelties in millinery. Shot moire antique dresses are the latest. English coats of rain-proof cloth an in great demand. Eluish violet shades are now taking better in Paris than the reddish violet craze now here'. Belted waists, which the modiste* call blouses, are part of many of the imported dresses. Paris is advocating flesh-colored stiede gloves for evening wear in place of the pure white ao long wornDress nets, more popular than laoe skirtings, in large meshes, have a border trimming in guipure effects. Black organdies have clusters of cherries, unripe blackberries and hollyberries tossed gracefully on the sheer black surfaces. A favorite combination of color for evening dresses is white and bright orange yellow, the soft, rich tone of ft ripe nectarine. "Shoulder ruffles seem to suffer no d? UICttSD 1X1 pupiliai ltj OO vuo ocoovu m* ., .T ? ranees. They are used on almost all dresses of all materials. Waists are inolined to be short and are finished at the bottom with either a frill or soft folds of silk, and hare enormous drooping sleeves. ; Parasols are shown in all sorts of pretty and graceful shapes. They follow the dresses in being on the fluffy order, and are literally loaded with lace. Linen tatting, in the new intricate and really beautiful patterns, makes u> exceedingly pretty trimming for morning dresses for both women aad children. The hair at present is complete** waved all over the head. Fortunate ia the woman whose hair waves naturally. Others must betake themselves to the curling iron. The latest fad for weddings at which little girls act as bridesmaids is that they should be dressed as flower girls and carry wicker watering pots, filled . and twined with roses. Some of the new sleeves are made of three widths of summer silk. These are sewed together and drawn in at the shoulder and elbow. Added to these are capd-ruifles, either of silk or lace, that fall over these small balloons. The wide skirts must be supported, and to this end are provided under petticoats of grass cloth, sateen, mo* reer and linen canvas, which have flaring flounces that answer the same pnrpose that the tilting hoopskirt served . English walking gloves to be used with promenade costumes come in all the cloth shades to match the toilets. Gloves for the street fasten smoothly over the wrist by four or five button? and are made with pique-stitched seams. The half-hoop rings are largely used, and are sold in sets of from threw to five; ruby, diamond, sapphire and enameled ones are worn together, or two rings of colored gems are separated by a couple of diamond hoops. -gjjj Laco is to be worn to an extent heretofore unheard of. . To be strictly * fashionable, one may simply bo swathed in it. There is nothing that lends itself so readily to the fluflFf ruffly effect *>f waist trimmings as this material.. A fine quality of ladies' cloth, which is now called natui c;om, i? uu extremely popular material. It come* in oil the exquisite new shades, and is used not only for tailor-made costume? but for those that are much mow elaborate. f There are few fabrics that superceda mohair and alapaca in their dust-resisting aud admirable 'wearing qualities. These goods are now dyed in ? ! great many of the new shades, and | look particularly effective in rose color ) shot with gray, and reseda shading into iinln L'oldon russet. I"" I O Whoa will we hear the last of this I absurd tr.lk about hair-cloth? ()no ! may search for hours through the beet establishments and never find a yard j of it in most approved dresses. And j just why there should be so much talk i about it is something that no one j seems to understand. ' The belt-and-girdle furor seems to have no limit. Fitted belts of material elaborately embroidered with beads and jeweie, velvet folds and drapiugH, Bilk, satin, bengaline, ribbon, mull, lace?there ia uo end to the materials and combinations as foundation ao& finish for these popular accoesoriea