University of South Carolina Libraries
| REV. DR. TALMAGE. [THE BROOKLYN' DIVINE'S SUNDAY SER3ION. Subject: "Comfortfor Business Men.'* ( Text : "Speak ye comfortably to Jerusajtem."?Isaiah xl.. 2. ! What an awful six weeks in commercial circles! The crashing of banks from San iPrancisco to New York and from ocean to iosean. The complete uncertainty that has Ihalted all styles of business for threo months land the pressure of the money market for the !last year have put all bargain makers at itheir wits' end. Some of the best men in the land have -falterod?men whose hearts tare enlisted in every good work and whose hands have blessed every great teharity. The church of God c^n afford to * . [extend to them her sympathies and plead bejfore heaven with all availing prayer. The W schools such men have established, the lohurches they have built, the asylums and i (beneficent institutions they have fostered, Ell be their eulogy long after their banking ititutions are forgotten. | 8uch men can never fail. They hive their [treasures in banks that never break and will jbe millionaires forever. The stringency of the money market, I am glad to say, begins (to relax. May the wisdom of Almighty God (ooma down upon our National legislature at their convening next month in Washington land suoh results be reached as shall restore foonfldence and revive trade and multiply [prosperities! Yet not only now in the time of financial disaster, but all through life, our active business people have a struggle, and I think it will "be. appropriate and useful for me to talk about their trials and try to offer pome curative prescHptions. i In the first place, I have to remark that a jgreat many or our business men feel ruinous ,trials and temptations coming to them from Ismail and limited capital in business. It is Everywhere understood that it takes now three or four times as much to do business yell as once it did. Once a few hundred doltlars were turned into goods?the merohant rwoiild be his own store sweeDer. his own salesman, his own bookkeeper. He would manage all the affairs himself, and everything would be net profit. Wonderful ohanges have come. Costly apparatus, extensive advertising, exorbitant store rents, heavy taxtation, expensive agencies, are only parts of the demand made upon our oommerolal men, and when they have found themselves in such circumstances with small ioapltal th^ have sometimes been tempted to run against the rocks of moral and financial i destruction. hk I This temptation of limited capital has 9 k trulned men in two ways. Sometimes they F ihave shrunk down under the temptation. rThey have yielded the battle before tfte first phot was fired. At the first hard gun they purrendered. Their knees knocked togethef jat the fall of the auctioneer's hamn.er. They (blanched at the financial peril. They dl^ (not understand that there is such u thing a (heroism in merchandise, and that there are (W&terloos of the counter, and that a man loan fight no braver battle with the sword than |he can with the yardstick. i Their souls melted in them because sugars were up when they wanted to buy and down when they wanted to sell and unsalable goods were on the shelf and bad debts in i their ledger. The gloom of their countenances overshadowed even their dry goods and groceries. Despondency, coming from limited capital, blasted them. Others have felt it in a different way. They have said . "Here I have been trudging along. I have been trying to be honest all these years. I Lnd it is of no use. Now it is make or fcreak." The small craft that could have stood the stream is put out beyond the lighthouse on the great sea of speculation. 8tocks are the (dice with whioh he gambles. He bought for * few dollars vast tracts of western land. purnc uiau at luc nooi itvrn^ vu a lai nvLutrStead meets this gambler of fortune and is persuaded to trade of? his estate here for lots In a western city with large avenues and oostly palaces and lake steamers smoking at the wharves and rail trains coming down (with lightning speed from every direction. - There it is all on paper! The city has never peen built nor the railroads constructed, but everything points that way, and the tning (Will be done as sure as you live. And that Is the process by which many have been tempted through limitation of capital into labyrinths from which they could not be extricated. I X would not want to chain honest enterprise. I would not want to block up any of the avenues for honest accumulation that jopen before young men. On the contrary, I jwould like to cheer them on and rejoice When they reach the goal, but when there are such multitudes of men going to ruin for this life and the life that is to come through fwrong notions of what are lawful spheres of enterprise it is the duty of ministers of religion and the friends of all young men to .utter a plain, emphatic, unmistakable protest. These are the Influences that drown men in destruction and perdition. I Again, a great many of our business men are tempted to over-anxiety and care. You know that nearly all commercial businesses are overdone in this day. Smitten with the love of quiclc Rain, our cities are crowded With men reeolved to be rich at all hazards. They do not care how money comes. Our fbeet merchants are thrown into competition /With men of more means and less conscience, and If an opportunity of accumulation be neIgtected one hour some one else picks it up. From January to December thestrugglegoes ion. Night gives no quiet to limbs tossing in metleesness, nor to a brain that will not stop Hunting. The dreams are harrowed by imaginary loss and flashod with imaginary gains. Even the Sabbath cannot dam back the tide of anxiety, for this wave of worldliness dashes clear over the churches and leaves its foam on Bibles and prayer books. Men who art living on salaries or by the culture of the soil cannot understand the wear and tear of body and mind to- which L our merchants are subjected when they do ^ not know but that their livelihood and their r Business nonor are dependent upon tne uncertainties of the next hour. This excitement of the brain, this corroding care of the heart, this strain of effort that exhausts the spirit, sends a great many of our best men in midlife to the grave. They And that Wall street docs not end at the East Biver. It ends at Greenwood! Their life dashed out against money safes. They go with their store on their back. They trudge like camels, sweating from AJeppo to Damascus. Thev make their life a crucifixion. Standing behind desks and counters, baulshed from the fresh air, weighed down by oarking oares, they are so many suicides. Oh, I wish I could to-day rub out some of these lines of care ; that I could lift some of the burdens from the heart; that I could give relaxation to some of these worn muscles! It is time for you to begin to take It a little easier. Do your best, and then trust God for the rest. Do not tret. God manages all the affairs of your life, and He manages them for the best. Consider tho lilies?they always have robes. Behold the fowls of the air?they always have nests. Take a long breath. Bethink betimes that God did not make you a pack horse. Dig yourselves out from among the hogsheads and the shelves, and in the light of the holv B&ODatn day resolve tnat you will give to the Kinds your fears, and your frstfulnsss, and vour distresses. You brousht nothing Inf-n. the world, and it Is very certain you can carry nothing out Having iood and raimant, be therewith content. The merchant came home from the store. There had been great disaster there. He opened the front door and said in the midst BS of his family circle: "I am ruined. Evm erythlng is gone. I am all ruined!" His wife said, "lam left," and the little child throw up its hands and said, -'Papa. I am here." The aged grandmother seated in the room said, "Then you have all the promises " Of God beside, John." And he burst into tears and said : ''God torgive mo that I have P been so ungratsful. I find I havo a graat many things leit. God forgive me." Again, I remark that many of our business men are tempted to neglest their homo duties. , How often it is that the store and the home ?eem to clash, but there oueht not to be any collision. It is often the case that the father Is the mere treasurer of the faintly, a sort of agent to see that they have dry goods and grocorios. The work of family government fie does not touch, Once or twice in a year he calls the children up on a Sabbath afternoon when he has a half hour he does not exactly know what to do with, and in that half hoar he disciplines the children and chides them and corrects their faults and gives them a great deal of good advice, and then wonders all the rest of the year that his ohlldren do not do better when they have the wonderful advantage of that semi-annual oaatteatlon. Tne family table, which ought to bo the ! place lor pleasant discussion and cheertul- 1 ness. often becomes the place of perilous expedition. If there be any blessing asked at all, it is cut off at both ends, and with the hand on the carving knife. He counts on his lingers, making estimates in the Interstices of the repast. The work done, the hat goes to the head, and he starts down the street, and before th<? family has risen from j1 the table he has bundled up another bundle " of goods and says to the customer, "Any- [j thing more I can do for you to-day, air?" A man has more responsibilities than those m which are discharged by putting competent Instructors over his children and giving A them a drawing master and music teacher. .1 The physical culture of the child will not be attended to unless the father looks to it. He 0 must sometimes lose his dignity. He must k unlimber his joints. He must sometimes ^ lead them out to their sports and games, ri The parent who cannot forget the severe du- bi ties of life sometimes to fly the kite, and w trundle the hoop, and chase the ball, and t< jump the rope with his children ought never fc to have been tempted out of a crusty and un- u redeemable solitariness. e: If you want to keep your children away si from places of sin, you can only do it by w making your home attractive. You may w preach sermons and advocate reforms and ft denounce wlokedness, and yet your children p will be captivated by the glitterinj saloon of i sin unless you can make your home a si brighter place than any other plaoe on earth to them. Oh, gather all charms into your house! If you can afford it bring books and al pictures and cheerful entertainments to the 0, household. But, above all, teach those ohil- jt dren, not by half an hour twice a year on the r( Sabbath day, but day after day, and every ^ day teach them that religion is a great glad- w ness that throws ohain3 of gold about the di neck; that it takes no spring from the foot, ai no blitheness from the heart, no sparkle from tt the eye, no ring from the laugilter, but that pj "her ways are ways of pleasantness, and all s\ her paths are peace." a, I sympathize with the work being done in 3? many of our cities by which beautiful rooms s, are set apart by our Young Men's Christian Associations, and I pray God to prosper them [ in all things. But, I tell you, there is some- q thing back of that and before that. We need more happy, consecrated, cheerful Christian homes in America. 5, Have vou ever ciDhered ont in the rule of loss and gain the sum, "What shall It profit 3j a man If he gain the whole world and lose tj, his soul?" However fine your apparel, the rc winds of death will flutter it like rags. Homespun and a tnreadbare coat have some- ^ times been the shadow of coming robes m made white in the blood of the Lamb. The pearl of great price is worth more than any a gem you can bring from the ocean, than A ustralian or Brazilian mines strung in one car- ^ canet. Seek after God, And His righteous- ?c ness, and all shall be well here; all shall be well hereafter. But I must have a word with those who during the present commercial calamities have lost heavily, or perhaps lost all their estate. If a man lose bis property at 30 or 40 years of age. it is only a sharp discipline gen- a: erally by which later ho comes to larger sue- vi cess. It is all folly for a man to sit down in midlife discouraged. The marshals of w Napoloon came to their commander and tb said, "We have lost the battle and we are being cut to pieces." Napoleon took "] his watch from his pocket and said: "It tb is only 2 o'clock in the afternoon. You have <sc lost that battle, but you hava time enough in to win another. Charge upon the foe!" m Though the meridian of life has passed with you and you have been routed in many a conflict, jjive not up in dlsoouragement. There are victories yet for you to gain. But sometimes monetary disaster comes to a J11 man when there is something in his age or something in his health or something in his surroundings which make him know well th that he will never pet up again. In 1857 it was estimated that for many al years previous to that time annually there . had been 30,000 failures in the United States. P? Many of those persons never recovered from 01 the misfortune. But let me give a word of j" comfort in passing. The sheriff may sell you dc out of many things, but there are some Bl things of which he oannot sell you out. He ai cannot sell out your health. He cannot sell to out your family. He cannot sell out your c0 Bible. He cannot sell out your God. He J" cannot sell out your heaven. You have more than you have lost. Sons and daughters of God, children of an eternal and all loving Father, mourn not when your property goes. The world is yours, and life is youra, and death is yours, w and immortality is yours, and thrones of im- \y poiiai ^iquucui aio juu.it), auu xxvoio vi gladness are yours, and shining mansions ,u are yours, and God is yours. The eternal God has sworn it, and every time you doubt ja it you charge the King of heaven and earth m with perjury. Instead of complaining how fri hard you have it, go home, take up your m Bible full of promises, get down on your u, knees before God and thank Him for what ^ you have instead of spending so much time fr lh complaining about what you have not. Some of you remember the shipwreck of ^ the Central America. This noble steamer had, I think, about 600 passengers aboard. Suddenly the storm came, and the surges ro trampled the decks and swung into the ^i hatches, and there went up a hundred voiced ^ death shriek. The foam on the jaw of the ^ wave; the pitching of the steamer as though ^ it were leaping a mountain ; the dismal flare w] of the signal rockets; the long cough of the 0I steam pipes; the hiss of the extinguished 0; furnaces; the walking of God on the wave! The steamer went not down without a Struggle. al' As the passengers stationed themselves in rows to bale out the vessel, hark to the , thump of the buokets as men unused to toil, ^ with blistered hands and strained muscle, t tug for their lives. There is a sail seen tkucW Tka fl.iah nf <??aiixok oa;, Xiao uwu v*. vuo uwucoa gun is sounded. Its voice is heard not, for it is choked in the louder boomiug of the sea. A few passengers escaped, but the steamer gave one great lurch and was gone! 80 there are some men who sail on prosperously of in life. All's well, all's well. But at last wi . some financial disaster cornea?a euroclydon. tr Down they go ! the bottom of this commercial sea strewn with shattered hulks. fe But because your property goes do not th let your soul go. Though all else perish, fo save that, for 1 have to tell you of a more th stupendous shipwreck than tha? which I w have just mentioned. God launched this ti< world 6000 years ago. It has been going on th under freight of mountains and immortals, be but one day it will stagger at the cry of Are. w The timbers of rock will burn, the mountains pi flame like masts and the clouds like sails in nc the judgment hurricane. Then God shall at take the passengers oft the deck, and from hi the berths those who have long been asleep m in Jesus, and He will set them far beyond fr the reach of storm and peril. w But how many shall go down? That will se never bo known until it shall be announced w one day in heaven?the shipwreck of a world. Oh, my dear hearers, whatever you lose, though your houses go, though your lands go, though all your earthlv possessions perish, may Almighty God, through the blood of the everlasting covenant, save all your souls. yp h< A Detkoiter possessed of the idea e\ th .t he was a sleuth of the class iu which Vidocq made his great fame, w went to Chicago, and succeeded in jf* having his name placed on the list of Columbian Guards. He was bright te and full of business. He thought very well of himself, and as a result e of all these considerations he was ^ made a detective. This sudden ele- w vation of a tyro to the position of a lo full-tledgfd thief-catcher suggested to 10 the light-fingered gentry that their ability was being under-estimated bj ihe management, and they proceeded y] to show just how much of a "fly cop" tb the man from Detroit was. They [j] robbed him twice in rapid succession, |>< and then at rather brief intervals until he really began to wonder whether he was enough of a detective to keep his uniform from being stolen off his person in broad daylight. lie has entirely revised his opinion of himself as a sleuth-hound and is deluging his friends at home with requests to get ci him a job as a street-car driver. b "Ded the wholo company rise and drink Howler's health?" "He didn't say, but I guess they did, for he isn't je able to sit up tt1 U morning."?later . Ocean. - - - m RELIGIOUS READING. THE CHILDREN'S OOSrKL. Louise Chandler Moulton, in an .article m Childhood," says: "I thick my first real isson in the true spirit of human brotherood came from a lady who weut long ago to er reward. There were no factories in the laco where I lived, no crowded tenements, o starving poor, but there was a certain mount of poverty and of ignorance, and lore was in this place a lady?the richest idy in all the country, so I heard the people ly?and I watched her comings and goings ith a sort of a romantic eageress. She used to drive about, al[ ver tho bi# sparsely settled township, in a ttle open wagon, and in that wagon were ooks for children who had no home libraes, dainties for sick people, toys for fretful abies, whose mothers had their own houseork to do. And this rich lady?who seemed > my childish eyes a sort oi Goddess of good irttine?never iudulged herself in any luxry. Fashion for her was as if it did not ?cist- She wore a simple cotton gown in immer, an equally simple woolen one in inter, and she went on her errands of mercy ith a sunbonnet shading her sweet face om tho hot suns of June, or a warm hood rotecting her ears from the blast of January, don't know that I ever said to myself, "Of ich is the kingdom of heaven," t>ut I surely ilt it. One dav I was sent to her house on a ight commission for my mother. She was ut, as usual, but her housekeeper, diacernig, I suppose, ia my face something of the sverence with which I regarded her mistress sked me suddenly, ''Do you want to see here she prays?" and thereupon opened the Dor of a room almost as simple as a monk's, ad pointed to a couch where I could see le impression of a head bowed in rayer. ''There," she said, ''is where >e kneels." The housekeeper was called way, and shyly, and almost as if it were a icriloge I was committing, I kneeled in the >ot where the Lady of Heaven, as I called sr in my thoughts, was wont to pray, and said a hurried prayer that T. might, with od's help, walk in the holy way she trod. I ?d been taken to church all my life, I had sard prayers enough and sermons enough, it I do not remembor that any ono f tham had ever moved me to a ngle thrill of spiritual longing and aspiraon such as I experienced in that hushed >om, where she was wont to kneel, whose lily life seemed to me more than prayer or >rmon..... There is no truth in the world ore solemn than that our lives are the gosjl of our children, a gospel that outweighs thousand-fold any teaching with which our ps contradict it. Put on what deft dislises we may, the thing we are is apparent the young eyes that watch us so unoeasgly.[?Message and Deaconess World. THS BLOTTED PAOE. The writing master entered the class room id passed from one pupil to another to re OW LUU UUH UO lliiu W3L UVIUIO UICUI. He paused before the new comer; the page as blotted, scratched, and disfigured with ie stain of many tears. "Master," said the boy in trembling accents, [ have labored in vain; my hand is crippled j iere is no resemblance between these crook1 lines and the model I have endeavored to litate; but, master, pity me, for I have done y best." By his side sat his companion. "Behold my page!" he exolaimed. "It is fair and clean, unsullied by a bio*., ltouched by an ungainly mark. Oh, masr, in my wisdom I forbore to incur your spleasure. Is not a blank page preferable to e tear-stained, misshapen attempts of a ippled hand that can not and never will be >le to make a fair copy?" The master threw aside the clean white ige without vouchsafing to cast a glance upi it, but he leaned with nfinite compassion id tenderness toward the pupil who had >ne his best; gently he took his hand ' and lided it over the lines, with words of love id encouragement?and the humble pupil ok courage and rejoiced whilst his idle mpanion looked upon his (air white page, id saw its brightness overshadowed by the spleasure of his master.?[N. Y. Observer. THE HKLPINO HAND. I shall never foreet the feelines I had onc? ben climbing one of the pyramids of Egypt, hen half way up, my strength failing. I ared 1 should never be able to reach the mmit or get back a^ain. I well remember e help given by Arab hands, drawing me on rther; and the step I could not quite make yself, because too great for my wearied ame, the little help given me?sometimes ore and sometimes less?enabled me to go >, step by step, stop by 3tep, until at last I ached the top. and had a grand outlook om that lofty height And so in life's journey, we are climbing, e are feeble. Every one of us, now and en, needs a little help; and if we have sen a step higher than some other, let ns ach down for our brother's hand, and help m to stand beside us. And thus joined ind in hand, we shall go on conquering, up by step, until the glorious eminence shall ) gained. Ah. how many need help in this Drld?poor afflicted ones; poor sorrowing tea; poor tempted ones, who have been ercome, who have been struggling, not lite able to get up the step;' trying, falling; ying, falling; trying, desponding; hoping, most despairing! Oh, give such a one help, little kindly aid, and the step may be taken; id, instead of dying in wretchedness at tho ise, he may, by a brother's hand, be raised safety, and finally to glory.?[Bishop Simp n, in limes 01 fteiresmng. mr HCRRIED, WORRIED, WKAUIRD. Worry is a token of weakness and a cause weariness. There is a calmness in strength; aakness struggles and exhausts itself in uitless efforts. Probably nothing tires one so much as eling hurried. When in the early morning e day's affairs press on one's attention berehand, and there comes the wonder how in o world everything is to be accomplished, hen every interruption is received impaintly. and the clock is watched in distress iis e moments tlit past, then the mind tires the >dy. We are wrong to drive ourselves with hip and spur in this way. Each of us is omised strength for the day, and we must )t wear ourselves out. If only we keep cool id calm, we shall be less wearied when wo ive reached the eventide. The children ay bo fractious, the'servants trying, the iend wo lovo may fail to visit us, the lotter e expect may not arrive; but if wecanprerve our tranquillity of soul and demeanor, e shall get through everythiug creditably." "He that believeth shall not make haste." The story of grace has a beginning, but ace itself has none. We cann "t lovo a i..J Ull ?/> I... U/>n,l ln,,a. K,,t H.J. 1UUU, tlAi yy iuno II II icuu ly wub mo 'art which loves bus throbbed within us ?er since we breathed. We cannot weep ,-er the dead, till there are the dead to weep . er; but the soul that feels and the eye that eeps were not created by the sight of death, was the night of the multitudes that awoke le compassion of Jesus; it was the tight of le city that broko up the fountain of his are; but the tender spirit that commiserates iffering was his always. Ho it was the sight ! sinning, suffering man, that called forth in den the grace of God; but the grace itself id been there during all the infinite past was only waiting for an object towarda hieh it might flow out; and now, like a ng pent-up river, it burst forth in strength i overflow the earth. ?Rev .H. Bonar. If so be that you know much of the Holy [>irit and he, as the Holy Spirit, openeth to ?u the things of the Father and the Son, ten you are walking in light that is noar to le holiest of all; for he comes to show us all lings, and you shall soon learn what it is to arfeot holiuetis in the fear of God. "Things are coming my way at st," murmured Hamphat, the tra;dian, as he dodged a deceased cat id received an ancient egg in the ght ear.?Philadelphia Record. "Do you tnink a porous plaster can ire him from stuttering?" Doctor -Yes; when he comes to take It off e wilJ swear without stopping.? Qter Ocean. That graduate from school or col>ge has learned most who best realms how much knowledge U yet to be squired. SABBATH 8CH00L. INTERNATIONAL LESSON FOR AUGUST 6. Lesson Text "Paul at Miletus," Acts xx., 22-35 ? Goldea Text. Heb. xlil., 7 ?Commentary. 22. ''And now behold, I go boitnd In the spirit unto Jerusalem, not knowing the things that shall befall me thera."List week ws left Paul at Ephesus alone, his companions having gone to Macedonia. Then followed the uproar, after which Paul left Macedonia, went as far as Greece, tarried there three . months, then returnea tnrougn aiaceaouiB, and w? now find him at Miletus on his way J to Jerusalem, hastening to be there if possi- < ble by Pentecost (verse 16). Touching at Miletus on their homeward voyage, he sent to Ephesus to have the elders come down to him, and our lesson to-day is his farewell to them. Ha reminds them of his manner of life among theih and of his teaching. Doing must precede teaching. See Math, v., 19; Actsi., 1; Marie vi., 30, Josh, i., Ifc vii.. 10. 23. "Save that^the Holy Ghost witnesseth in every city, saying bonds and afflictions abide me." While he did not know what particular events might befall him, he had a general knowledge that it would be as itliad been, and even so to the end. It was in his commission that he should suffer (Acts lx., 16), and large foretastes had he already in the stoning at Lystra and the scouring and imprisonment at PhilippL 24. '-But none of these things move me, neither count I my life dear unto myself, so that I might finish my course with joy." The ambitions of this servant of Christ may be seen in such passages as this in connection with I Cor. ii., 2; II Cor. v.. 9 ; Phil. L, 20, Gal. vi., 14. To make known the gospel of grace, to make Christ known through these bodies, to be in all things pleasing unto Him and have his service accepted of j Him, these were his constant aim, and in these directions he exhorted his son TimcA thy (H Tim. ii.. 3; iv., 15), and through his writings exhorts all believers. 25. "And now, behold, I know that yo all among whom I have gone praaching the kingdom of God, shall see my faoe no more." In some way he knew that he would not meet them again till he should meet them at the judgment seat of Christy and therefore he would speak to them thtf more earnestly and waste no time on vatn words. If when we speak to people, even in ordinary con* versation, we felt that we might not meet lr? fKla urnrlH twA tpnnlrl hft mnrfl feuoiu a^nm IU nvk*u. n? ?w... apt to say something about Jesus and things eternal. 26. ''Wherefore I take you to record this day that I am pure from the blood of all men," not only In the sense of having wronged, corrupted or defrauded no man (II Cor. vii. 2), but he had oleared himself of all responsibility in reference to their soul's salvation. If we, as the messengers of God faithfully declare His messages of salvation, then we are dear of the blood of those who hear, whether they believe or not. See Ezek. iii, 7 9 xxxiii.; 17-19. 27. "For I have not shunned to declare unto you all the counsel of God." That which he had received of the Lord he had made known unto them without diminishing a word (I Cor. xv. 3 Jer. xxvi.. 2). He had kept back nothin?-(verse 20) through fear of man. He believed in his heart that it his was to please men he was not worthy to be called a servant of Christ (Gal. i.. 10). So he lived and labored not as pleasing men. but God. who trleth our hearts (I Thess. ii.. 4). What a needful word this is, "He that hath My word, let him speak My word faithfully" (Jer. xxlii.. 28). 28. Take heed therefore unto yourselves, and to all the flock, over the which the Holy unost nam mtwe you uYoreww, iu mo churoh of God, which He hath purchased with His own blood." One of the risen Christ's last words to Peter was a threefold exhortation to feed His sheep and lambs (John xxi. 15, 17), and Peter passes It on to us, saying. "Peed the flock of God which is among you" (I Pet. v., 2). Nothing can feed us but the word of God. The written word is full of Him who is the living word, and He Himself said, "He that euteth Me, even he shall live by Me" (John vi., 57). 29. "For I know this, that after my departing shall grievous wolves enter in among you, not sparing the flock." It was Paul's delight to maintain himself by his own labor that he might haveto giveto the needy things temporal and spiritual. But there were and there are those who, professing to be shepherds, not only do not feed the flock, but take good care to live upon the flook?wolvee in sheep's clothing (Math, vii., 15, 16). 30. "Also of your own selves shall men arise, speaking perverse things, to draw away disciple# after them." It Is one thing for a man to be accused of drawing people after him, while his whole aim is to point them to Jesus (I Cor. lii., 4, 5). It is quite another matter for a man to live and labor for the sake of a following (Acts v., 36, 37). 31. "Therefore watch and remember that by the space of three years I ceased not to warn every one night and day with tears." Woe be unto the pastors that destroy and scatter the sheep of My pasturage, saith the Lord (Jer. xxiii., 1). See also Ezek. xxilv., 2. Prayerfully, tearfully and unceasingly had Paul labored for their souls' welfare, and as he foresaw the possibility of false teachers and souls ruined and lost his heart was I prrieved. 32. "And now. brethren, I commend you to God and to the word of His grace, which is able to build you up and to give you an inheritance among all tnern which are sanctified." He knew that If they would only hold fast to the word of God they would not waver nor be led astray. The only safety then and now is "to the l#w nnd to the testimony. If they speak not according to this word, surely there is no morning for them" (Iaa. viii., 20, It. V.). 33. "I liave coveted no man's silver or gold or apparel." He was not seeking theirs, but them. He wanted nothing from them, but he hud something to give them. Though he was poor, yet he made many rich ; though he seemed to nave nothing, yet he possessed all things (I Cor. vi. 10). When any gave him gifts, he was especially glad for them, because it was just so much added to their account in heaven. 33. "Yea. ye yourselves know that these hands have ministered uuto my necessities and to them that were with me." Therefore when the false teachers would come, seeking theirs and not them, only wanting to make rtometblng out ot tnem. not caring iur iu??r souls, they could say "Thus did not Paul. He never asked us for anything for himself." See further instruction upon this point in II Thesa. ili.. 9. 35. "I have showed you all things, how that jo laboring ye ought to support the weak, and to remember the words of the Lord Jesus, how He said, It Is more blessed r'? give thun to receive." It is not recorded :hat Jesus ever said just thesa words, so that jossibly Paul has here given us some oi the inrecorded words of Jesus. This principle, lowever was certainly hi His teaching and vwry prominent (Luke vl.. 30 . xiv , 13, 14).? L,easou H0'"-' A sTonr is told by the New York Times of a certain young New York woman, who was recently abroad, and while walking oat in Dresden one day the stolidity of the soldier sentinels, pacing back and forth like automata, attracted her notice. A sudden impulse seized her to test this cast-iron rigidity, and, waiting tili one had passed, she slipped into his little sentry-box. When he reached it on his return, marching with mcasurod precision, she suddenly jumped out before him, crying "Boo!" In Ilia vorv T'hr* soirllf>r was completely upset at this most unexpected performance and actually dropped his rausket and ran away, while the young woman, having thus routed a portion of the German army, walked on and demurely rejoined her friends. The incident, it is said, came to the ears of the Emperor himself, who expressed a wish to meet this extraordinary young woman, but Miss admitted that her desire did not equal his, as she was not sure in quite what light her Jesting .impulse would be officially regarded. A "dkab, bwkbtthing"?the sugar ?ruat?Philadelphia Record. KEEP THE CHICKS DBY. 8 Look out for showers, especially for the young broods. Not a few chickens a are lost every year by reason of becoming drenched with rain. A coop 0 with a tight roof and a bottom raised ' a short distance above the ground, low 8 enough to be easily accessible to the cchickens, so placed that the rain can- * in 1 a all fViaf ia J Given suoh a coop, and warm rain will not injure the chickens unless the storm 8 be a long continued one. ?American Agriculturist. f t KEEP THE WEEDS DOWN. t Tt is estimated that weeds draw so 6 much nutriment from the earth that s the same amount represented in vege- I tables would be sufficient to supply the * whole population of the country for ' one season. This may startle some of c our readers, but we believe it to be I true. This is the season when the ? weeds begin to appear. The harder 1 you treat them the better it will be for 8 both you and the crops. Peter Hen- v derson has aptly said that a man will v hoe and rake over six times the surface 1 of the soil when the weeds are quite c small than he would do if the weeds * were six inohes higher, Keep all crops clean and use the hoe with plenty of muscle. Let the rake also come in 1 use.?American Farmer. 0 ; a CELEBY LEAP DISEASES. * Investigations at the New York State c station by S. A. Beach and C. E. Hunn t show that when sprayed celery is stripped and ready for market, that rj the sprayed plants are no more poisop- ^ ous than the unsprayed. Thus copper mixtures of the usual strength may be used without fear of poisonous results. Celery Septoria attacked the J 3eed as well as the foliage. The ex- * periments indicate that strong Bordeaux mixture (three pounds copper ^ sulphate, two pounds lime and twenty- t' two gallons water) is to be preferred ^ for celery leaf spot. It is recom- g1 mended that diseased seed be rejected; that plants be thoroughly treated with ' strong Bordeaux mixture in the seed bed; that the treatment with Bor- Q deaux be continued from transplant- ^ ing time to blanching time if there be ^ reason to expect attacks of leaf spot; x and that the refuse of a diseased crop be not allowed to rot on the ground if ^ it is expected to grow a crop of celery ^ there the following year.?American Agriculturist. HOW TO CULTIVATE CABBOTS. Carrots may be profitably raised for ^ winter food for cattle. Horses fed on. them will always be in good condition and they will increase the flow of milk whnn to nnfrn. Each horse or cow I eats about twenty pounds a day, or f' one and a half tons during the winter. Carrots yield from twenty to thirty p tons to the acre, and a fair crop can be had even from poor land. The pro- ^ duce of one acre will therefore be enough to feed twelve cattle through the winter. Mellow land plowed deep 8 is the best for carrots. A dressing of well rotted manure will greatly improve the orop. c The ground should be well harrowed v before planting. The seeds, which have been soaked for a few days, are b covered with about an inch of soil e and planted in rows twenty inches apart, thinned to six inches apart in a the row. These rows must be straight g if a cultivator is to be used. Planting may safely continue as late as the 10th e of June if the seed has been properly 1 prepared by soaking. The digging is done by running a turning plow close to the row, always throwing the furrow ?. away from the carrots. They are pulled, the tops cut off, and then left in the sun to dry. When they have h dried two or three days they may be w stored, either in a cellar or in pits, like turnips.?Colman's Rural World, tl ci TOMATOE8. h There is nothing which strikes a foreigner more than the abundance of to- ai matoes in this country. Great im- ri provement in their culture has been 11 made in the last few years. The ground Bhould be well turned up and heavily fi manured, though the lighter covered ft! varieties will succeed in almost any b soil. Tomatoes allowed to trail on the ground bear much more plentifully a; than when prutied and trained to t* s< trellis. The fruit on the latter plants, ai however, is free from rot and larger, and therefore brings better prices. An ^ insufficient amount of pollen will produce misshapen, smaller fruit, with ^ fewer seeds, than where an exeess of pollen is applied to the stigma. The .j cultivation should be thorough At first ^ until the roots begin to spread, after which it is only necessary to keep down the weeds. For a late crop the seed should be sowu between the 1st and the 15th of June. A purple tomato f* is the best for market purposes, as it 11 can be picked before it is quite ripe, but the number of first-class varieties w is now so great that each per3on must ci be guided by individual preference. s( One great enemy of the tomato is the disease known as the tomato ai HHrrht. The first svmntom of the dis- tn O "" t t ? f 15 easo is the wilting of a single leaf near tl a head, as though suffering from Ci drought. The other leaves soon follow suit, and the whole head wilts. The ^ death of the plant is then a mere ques- -g tion of time. It is suggested that the ^ ground becomes contaminated with j Q( bacteria, and that therefore tomatoes should not be planted on any soil where the plants showed signs of :e blight the preceding year. It is also advisable to destroy the vines by burn- r? ing as soon as they show signs of dis- ei ease. As the tomato blight appears to be 111 the same as the potato blight, it is tl: probable that the following recipo, dj which has proved effective for the lat- C tor disotiae. may also answer for the fr forcer: Forty-five pounds of copper cc I riv ulphate (blue stone) are inclosed in a ^ iag of coarse canvas and suspended in ^ , vessel of -water containing 220 gal- Yu ons. In a separate vessel 22.5 pounds 8111 if ntiinHitmfl ova alaVoi^ Ktr Th 'A. I^UIVUIIIUV/ U1W 04t#ttV;\A KM J HUV4^U rater and are passed through a fine ftre ieve into the copper solution- This ev* [uantity of the mixture should be snough for one acre of land.?New fork World. int UMMER CASE OF YOUNG FRUIT TBEBS. 8^C The first season after the young ?*, ruit tree has been transplanted from ^ he nursery to its permanent home in , he orchard is a critical period'in its ? nistence, and it is hardly too much to . ay that, on its growth during this >eriod, depends, in a great measure, ' he future value of the tree, writes P18 ,Vebb Donnell, in the American Agri- on inlturist. If it receives a check at this ^ei >oint in its career its full possible per- 1 ection will probably never be real- er zed. Of course much of the first ?ea eason's success or failure depends 0 ipon the care or carelessness with J*1 rhich the transplanting has beemdone * n the spring, but still the summer ? a are will have much to do in helping , he tree through the first season. ! The greatest danger the tree will ncotinter is the scalding effect of aidsunimer heat, and the weakening B 1 if its vitality by a drying of the earth waj bout its roots. The first difficulty rill be at least partially obviated, and he latter almost wholly, by taking are that the earth is made firm about P j he roots when the tree is transplantd, and kept thoroughly well mulched. lire mulching should be spread on If" hickly and as far out from the trunk ,,e f the tree as the roots run, and if car- ^ ied considerably farther it will be all he better, as the moist condition of "J* he soil beyond the extremities of the e*^ oots will induce root growth. Another care of summer is to be on , e he lookout for the eggs of the apple UI ree borer that may be deposited upon mo he trunk, from which eggs, if not de- ?ep broyed, will come a brood of larvae /, apable of inflicting irreparable dam- j, ge upon the tree. Another important ^ ummer care is tne cutting off at once ' f all branches that are not desirable m j or the growing tree to possess, as in his way much strength can be saved o be expended in growth, where ^ rowth is desired. Care at all points hroughout the season is amply repaid y the orchard in after years. tor wh: FARM AND GARDEN NOTES. Pumpkins are excellent feed.' of , Sorghum will grow on any land' that a a ill grow corn. Ion Keep the summer stable clean and ^ .c ree from all odors. . ^ fnr Good clover hay is one of thft best . ( eeds for the dairy cow. . . Currants and gooseberries are easily ropagated from cuttings. Shallow cultivation is easier for the sou oraes and better for the corn. An< Small quantities of oil-meal are con- a A idered valuable as appetizers for the bar wes. the There is no "sure cure" for hog holera, but cleanliness is a good preentive. Timothy is a very valuable grass, con ut in many sections it is sown too t^e xclusively. ^ Excess of milk cannot be more profit- mei bly disposed of than in feeding it to gun rowing pigs. ' mai It will pay to give a little grain rea ach day to the cattle, even if they - ket re on pasture. bag When selecting a dairy cow look ut for a hearty eater. She must eat a8? ; she milks well. ' ' ma' A good pasture for low, wet and ^ eavy soils is redtop, especially if ^ hite clover is sown with it. u8e If the fodder is going to be scarce lis winter, part of the oats may be m0( it while in the milk and cured as bus ay- son A cow should be judged by the wot mount of butter fat her milk contains mo< ither than by the amount of the hav .ill. rir f LUfW. The Shropshires are noted for the per ne quality of their wool and mutton, han i they have quality and growth com- twe ined. . sole Work horses need a liberal allow- moJ nee of grain during the working ma( ?ason, and a variety is far better than OCCl ay one kind. raP by The farmer who keeps a good dairy as a more constant source of income ^ ian one engaged in almost any other ranch of farming. ^aQ When the hives are moved again let me2 lem rest in the shade of some tree. but lmost any kind of tree will be of ben- an<j St in hot weather. glot Never stand directly over the hive nett hen working bees at this season, and, woo possible, never open the hives dur- hou lg the working period. foui One ton of hay properly cured is orth twice as much as if improperly m c ired, and the extra labor required to ers jcure a good article is very slight. ec^ During the summer three changes , nt alwf rts UKUbSSttl V Wll/U PUCO|J yituvj ui ]jf(. i>od pasturage, all the pure water ^ ley can drink and salt where they m help themselves. The right time to place on surplus j8 t oxea is when the hive or lower story j3 e3 full, or nearly so. As long as the keej ees have abundant room there is no pasi eed of any surplus boxes. the < The cost of production can be own sseaed by having better cows, a Trit etter milking season and a cheaper ition. In realizing tho best profit A rery advantage must be taken. facti Use the best combs for the brood 0169 ist and the oldest and roughest near ara 1 le outside for storage. Do not allow weai rone comb to remain in the hive exspt the colonies you wish to breed ^ om. Cut it out and izwert workers' ^50, >mb in its place. WW HAMMOCKS, kKING SUMMER COUCHES IS hi YUCATAN INDUSTRY.. Itlvatlng the Sisal Hemp on PIaa-* tatlons?How the Fibre fa Prepared for Market?Pretty Girls at Work. 7 DEOPLE who use Mexican hammock perhaps would like tolearn something about their r" history previous to their aral In the United States. To begia ;h just imagine yourself in a very ge field in the famous peninsola of catan, under a scorching midday i, and not a tree anywhere near.1 is field and several adjacent one* planted with "agave silalensis," an srgreen succulent plant indigenotw Yucatan. It grows well in stony s 1 and requires little care. Tha k brown natives, perspiring in tho ense heat, are removing the young >ots which grow out from the roots ' ' the mature plant. These shoots ich they call "sons," hare be?a b to gather strength from the parent ,nt during one year; now they ax* KA AlflAwlt 4A?I mi UU nauo^iouifou CiDOTTUUlO vou \jm: jive feet distant from eaoh other. is space is necessary because whoa tore the leaves are about five feci. ig, and as they are tipped with y sharp point, the laborers must re room to pass between them. Afthree years' growth the leaves aire kdy to be cat; the plant continues yield filament for about twelve irs, after which it runs to seed and ) stems are utilized where they : ^ nd by planting beans there, so thai ! vines may twine about them. The np plant is commonly called "hen??9n." Another familiar name for it "sisal hemp," beoause it used to bt* pped from the port of Sisal, which t 9 afterwards abandoned for Pro!80, from which place some $7,000,) or $8,000,000 worth of the fibre ia w exported every year, the greater rt being landed in New York. [n one field are found laborers roving the young plants; in another, nsplanting them; while in a third iy are cutting mature leaves fromi' stem and throwing them into eelbarrowfl. Their implement is the chete, a heavy steel blade nearlj hteen inches long. The loaded bar?8 are wheeled to another part of i plantation, where there is a large tiding, in which, with machinery ved by steam power, the filament is arated from the green part' of the I. mis ib inrown out to serve as der as cattle, and they thrive on it. >% vlao helps to enrioh the sofl^ but Lie rotting it burdens the air with s st unpleasant odor. n the last few years the machinery d for henequen has been improved >n and its dangers somewhat obvia- ^ Accidents are therefore less quent than formerly, but even yet m rkman's hand or arm is occasionally n off by being caught in the machine ile feeding it with the leaves. The ives have their own primitive ways extracting the filament. They use jraper of very hard wood, a foot g and four inches wide. One end larved to form a handle; the other, ' a and sharp, is scooped out in the m of a crescent. There is a grove the leaf.* This is placed on a round ik, which is held obliquely. Wrtk scraper the leaf is then split lengthe in two or three parts, each beingf eezed between stick and scraper. )ther method is to place the leaf oa. at board and scrape' it with a twoidled wooden knife. Working thus, most diligent man can obtain only nty-five pounds of filament in a day. ien these methods are employed the :k is begun at midnight and aban-' ied at sunrise, because the plant .tains an acrid principle that, witb heat of the day, blisters the skin. liter the squeezing process the filar at is spread on trestles out in tha to dry and bleach. It it then i'e up in bales of 300 or 400 pound*, dy for export or for the home mar, to be converted into hammocks, ^ and cordage. These are most >ortant industries. Twenty year? comparatively few hammocks were le for exportation, but they were, hey are yet, the only couoh used oughout Yucatan. Beds are con;red uncomfortable. The hammocks d there cost from $2 to $30 each. m came the demand for cheap haxn:ks abroad, and the pretty girls and :om matrons were set to making lething very much coarser than tha k they were accustomed to?ham;k^that they themselves would not e deigned to rest in?worth fifty lixty cents when finished. An ex t can make three or four of these imocks a day, and receives about Ive cents for each. The article ia I ip New York for SI or a little re. Formerly all the twine waa le by hand; now this is only done asioually. Men and boys twist it idly. Colored hammocks are made combining red, blue and yellow ae, the dyes being obtained from native woods. f a hammock were made in Yucar it is probably the work of a pretty stiza (half-breed) girl. Barefooted, jn flowing white cotton garments* With her black hair smooth and wy as a raven's wing, she stood ;ing the hammock on an upright den frame. In the hut or outse whore she worked were three or : other members of the family, 1 with their frame and a hammock ourse of construction. The workwere cheerful, gentle and contentfor they were earning their bread making the best of everything, tys looking at the bright side of ; such is their happy disposition. 1 the eastern part of the peninsula .rticularly fine, soft hemp ia projd. It is called "pita" and 10 highly appreciated that none iported, the people of the country nns; it for their own hammocks, liouable young women of Merida, capital, taue priue 111 neuing ineir luxurious hammocks. ?New York >une. new England firm of shoe mauuurers has twenty-two retail agenwhere Bhoes purchased of thorn shined free of coat as often as tho rer desires. is estimated that there are 62,? 000 horses-in the world, 195,150,* cattle and 134,500,000 sheep. 4