The Abbeville press and banner. (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, March 28, 1894, Image 7
\ KEY. DR. TALMAGE.
$HE BROOKLYN DIVWE'S SUN
DAY SKK31UN.
Subject: Unappreciated Services."
Text " Through a win'lo>p, ?n a basket,
teas I let down by the wall."? II Corinthians
XL. 33.
Damascus is a city of white and glistening
architecture sometimes called '"the eye of the
East." sometimes called ".i pearl surrounded
by em*?r:ilds," at on-* time distinguished
for sword* of tlio best material, called Damascus
blades, and upholstery of richest
fabric, called damasks.
A horseman ot the name ot Paul, riding
toward this city, had been thrown from the
saddle. The horse had dropped nnder a
flash from the sky. which at the same time i
"was so bright it blinded the rider for many
days, and I think so permanently injured his
eyesight that this defect ot vision became the
thorn in the flesh he afterward speaks of.
He started for Damasous to butcher Chrisk
tians, bat after that hard fall from his horse
he was a changed man and preached Christ
In Damascus till the city was shaken to its
lounaauoo.
The mayor gives authority for his arrest,
and the popular cry is "Sill him! Kill
himThe city is surrounded by a high
wall, and the gates are watched by the police
leet the Cllician preacher escape. Many of ,
the houses are built on the wall, and theli
balconies projected clear over and hovered
above the gardens outside. It was customary
to lower baskets out of these balconies and
pull up fruits ami flowers from the garden.
To this day visitors at the monastery of
Mount Sinai are lifted and let down in baskets.
Detectives prowled around from house to
house looking for Paul, but his friends hid
him, now in one place, now in another. He
Is no coward, as fifty incidents of his life
demonstrate. But he feels his work is not
done yet, and so he evades .assassination.
"Is that preacher here?" the foaming mob
shout at one house door. "Is that fanatio
here?" the police shout at another house
door. Sometimes on the street incognito he
passes through a crowd of clenched fists, and
sometimes he secretes himself on the housernno
At loot the infuriated neoDle eet on
but? track of him.
They have positive evidence that he is in
the house of one of the Christians, the balcony
of whose home reaches over the wall.
"Here he is! Here he is!" The vociferation
and blasphemy and howling of the pursuers
are at the tront door. They break in.
"Fetch out that gospelizer and let us hang
his head on the city gate. Where is he?"
The emergency was terrible. Providentially
there was a good stout basket in the house.
Paul's friends fasten a rope to the besket.
Paul steps into it. The basket is lifted to
the edge of the balcony on the wall, and
then while Paul holds on to the rope with
both hands his friends lower away, carefully
and cautiously, slowly, but surely, farther
[ down and farther down, until the basket
' strikes the earth and the apostle steps out.
and afoot and alone starts on that famous
missionary tour, the story of which has astonished
earth and heaven. Appropriate entry
in Paul's diary of travels, "Through a
window, in a basket, was I let down by the
wall." a
Observe first on what a slender tenure c
great results hang. The rope maker who s
twisted that cord fastened to that lowering s
basket never knew how mach would depend c
on the strength of It. How if It had been f
broken, and tne apostle's life had been dashed j
out? What would have become of the Chris- a
Man Church? All that magnificent mission- ,
ary work in Pamphylia, Capadocia, Galatia,
Macedonia, would never have been accom- a
plished. All his writings that make up so f
Indispensable and enchanting a part of the ^
New Testament would never have been
written. The'story of resurrection would f
never have been so gloriously told as he told
It. That example of heroic and triumphant u
endurance at PhilippI, in the Me Jlteocanean t
euroclydon, under flagellation and at his be- g
L heading would not have kindled the courage e
of 10,000 martyrdoms. But the rope holding .
I that basket, how much depended on it! So ?
again and again great results have hung on c
what seemed slender circumstances. t
Did ever ship of many thousand tons e
crossing the sea have such important pas- t
senger as had once a boat of leaves, from s
taffrail to stern only three or four feet, the c
r vessel made waterproof by a coat of bitumen a
add floating on the NUe with the infant law- t
giver of the Jews on board? What if some c
crocodile should crunch it V What if some
of the cattle wading in for a drink should e
sink it? Vessels of war sometimes carry c
forty guns looking through the portholes, j
ready to open battle. Bat that tiny craft on s
the Nile seems to be armel with all the guns ?
of thunder that bombarded Sinai at the law- f
giving. On how fragile craft sailed how
much ot historical Importance.
The parsonage at Epworth, England, is on
fire in the ni^ht, and the father ru9hed ,
through the hallway for the rescue of hi3
children. Seven children are out and safe
on the ground, but one remains In the consuming
building. That one wakes, and finding
his bed on fire and the building orumbllng,
comes to the window, and two peasants
make a ladder of their bodies, one peasant
standing on the shoulder of the other, and
down the human ladder the boy descends?
John Wesley. If you would know how much
depended on that ladder ot peasants, ask the
millions of Methodists on both sides of the
sea. Ask their mission stations all round
the world. Ask the hundreds of thocsands
already ascended to join their founder, wi>o
womld have perished but for the living stair
of peasants' shoulders.
An English ship stopped at Pit cairn island,
and right in the midst of surrounding cannibalism
and squalor the passengers discovered
a Christian colony ot churches and
schools and beautiful homes and highest
style of religion and civilization. For fifty
years no missionary and no Christian influence
had landed there Why this oasis of
light amid a desert ot heathendom? Sixty I
years before a ship had met disaster, and one ]
ot the sailors, unable to save anything else,
went to his trunk and took out a Bible which
his mother had placed there and swam
ashore, the Bible held in his teeth.
toe oook was reaa oa an aiaes uiim mo
rough and vicious population were evangelized,
and a church was started, and an enlightened
commonwealth eetablished.and the
world's history has no more brilliant page '
than that which tells of the transformation >
of a nation by one book. It did not seem of 1
much importance whether the sailor con- 1
tlnued to hold the book in his teeth or let it
fall In the breakere, bat upon what small cir- >
cumstance depended what mighty results! i
Practical Inference?there are no insignifl- 1
oancos in our lives. The minutest thing is 1
Eft of a magnitude. Infinity is made up of 1
flniteslmals ; great things an aggregation
f small things. Bethlehem manger pulling 1
on a star tn the sastern sky. One book in a
drenched sailor's mouth the evangelization 1
of a multitude. One boat of papyrus on the
Nile freighted with events for all ages. The 1
fate of Christendom In a basket let down 1
from a window on the wall. What you do. 1
do welL If you make a rope, make it strong 1
and true, for you know not how mnch may
depend on your workmanship. If you fashion
a boat, let it be waterproof, for you know
not who may sail in it.
If you put a Bible in the trunk of your boy
as he goes irom home, let it be heard in your
prayers, for it may have a mission as farreaching
as the book which the sailor curried
in his teeth to the Pltcairn oeacb. The
plainest man's life is an island betweeD two
eternities?eternity past rippling against his
shoulders, eternity to come touching his
brow. The casual, the accidental, that which
merely happened so, are parts of a great
plan, and the rope that lets the fugitive apostle
from the Damascus wall is the cable that
holds to ito mooring the ship of the church
in the northeast storm of the centuries.
Again, rtotice unrecognized and unrecorded
services. Who spun that rope? Who
tied it to the tassel? Who uteadied the
jasrrtons praiener as no stepped into it f
Who relaxed not a muscle of the arm or dismissed
an anxious look from his face until
the basket touched the ground and discharged
its magnificent cargo? Not one of
their names has come to us, but there wan
no work done that day in Damascus or in all
the earth compared with the Importance of
their irorir. What if they had In their agitation
tied a knot that could slip? What If the
sound of the mob at the door had led them
to say, "Paul must take care of himself, and
we will take care of oureelvee." No, no!
They held the rope, and 1n doing so did
more for the Christian Church than any
thousand of us will ever accomplish. But
God knows and has made eternal record ot
their undertaking. And they know.
How exultant they must have felt when ,
they read his letters tn the Romans, to the |
Corinthians, to the Galatians, to the Ephe- i
sians, to the Philippians, to the Colosslans,
to the Thessalonians, to Timothy, to Titus,
to Philemon, to the Hebrews, and when they
heard how he walked out of prison with thf
earthquake unlocking the door for him and
took command of the Alexandrian corn ship
when the sailors were nearly scared to deatb
and preached a sermon that nearly shook
Felix off his judgment seat! I hearthe men
and women who helped lilm down through
the window and over tho wall talkinu in
private over .the matter, ard saying, '"How
glad I am that we effected .hat rescue! In
coming times others may get the glory of
Paul's work, but no one s'uall rob us of the
satisfaction of knowing that we held the
ropp."
There are said to be abou. 69,000 ministers
of religion in this country. About 50,000, I
warrant, came from earlv homes, which had
to struggle for the necessaries of life. The
sons of rich bankers and merchants generally
become bankers and merchants. The
moet of those who become ministers are the
sons of those who had terrific struggle to get
their everyday bread. The collegiate and
theological education of that son took every
luxury from the parental table for eight
years. The other children were more scantily
appareled. The son at college every little
wnile got a bundle from home. In it
were the socks that mother had knit, sitting
up late at night, her sight not as good as
once it was, and there also were some delicacies
from the sister's hand for the voracious
appetite of a hungry student.
The years go by and the son has been ordained
and is preaching the glorious gospel,
and a great revival comes, and souls by
scores and hundreds accept the gospel from
he lips of that young preaoher, and father
md mother, quite old now, are visiting the
10m at the village parsonage, and at the close
>f a 8abbath of mighty blessing father and
nother retire to their room, the son lighting
he way and asking them If he oan do anyhing
to make them more comfortable, sayng
if they want anything in the night just
o kqock on rne wan.
And then all alone father and mother talk
>ver the gracious influences of the day and
?y: '-Well, it was worth all we went through
o educate that boy! It was a hard pull, but
ve held on till the work was done. The
vorld may not know it; but, mother, we held
:he rope, didn't we?" And the voice, tremuous
with joyful emotion, responds: ''Tea,
falher: we held the rope. I feel my work is
lone. Now, Lord, lettest Thou Thy servant
lepart in peace, for mine eyes nave seen Thy
jalvation. "Pshaw!" says the father. "I
never felt so much like living in my life as
now. I want to see what that fellow is going
jn to do, he has begun so well."
Oh, men and women here assembled, you
jrag sometimes how you have fought your
way in the world, but I think there have
>een helpful influences that you have nevex
fully acknowledged. Has there' not been
tome influence in your early or present home
hat the world cannot see? Does there not
each to you from among the New England
lllls, or from western prairies, or from south)rn
plantation, or from English or Scottish
>r Irish homes, a cord of influerce that has
cept you right when you would have gone
istray, and which, after you had made a
srooked track, recalled youV The rope may
mve been as long as thirty years, or 500
nllee long or 3000 miles long, but hands that
?ent^)ut of mortal sight long ago still hold
UO IU^/C|
You want a very swift horee, and you need
o rcwel him with sharpest spurs, and to let
hereins lie loeseuponthe neck,and to givea
hout to a racer if you are going to ride oat
>f reach of your mother's prayers. Why, a
hip crossing the Atlantic in seven days can't
ail away from them! A sailor Dads them
>n the lookout as he takes his place, and
inds them on the mast as he climbs the ratines
to disentangle a rope in the tempest,
md finds them swinging on the hammock
yhen he turns in. Why not be frank and acknowledge
it? The most of us would long
igo have been dashed to pieces had not
gracious and loving bands steadily and lovngly
and mightily held the rope.
Bat there must come a time when we shall
lnd out who these Damascenes were who
owered Paul in the basket and greet them
tnd all those who have rendered to God and
he world unrecognized and unrecorded
e trices. That is going to be one of the glad
incitements of heaven?the hunting up and
licking out of those who did great good ou
tarth and got no credit for it. Here the
hurch has been going on nineteen cenuries.
and this is probably the first sermon
iver recognizing the services of the people in
hat Damascus balcony. Charles G. Finney
aid to a dying Christian, "Give my love to
It. Paul when you meet him." When you
ind I meet him, as we will, I shall ask him
r\ |ntf>n/1nna ma fA fVinoa nnnnlo mhn him
>ut of the Damascene peril.
Once for thirty-six hoars we expected
ivery moment to go to the bottom of the
cean. The wave3 struck through the skyights,
and rushed down into the hold of the
hip, and hissed against the boilers. It was
in awful time, but by the blessing of God
ind the faithfulness of the men in charge we
tame out of the cyolone, and we arrived at
lome. Each one, before leaving the ship,
hanked Captain Andrews. I do not think
here was a man or woman that went off
hit ship without thanking Captain Andrews
ini when years after I heard of his death I
vas impelled to write a letter o! condolence
o his family in Liverpool.
Everybody recognized the goodness, the
:ourage, the kindness of Captain Andrews,
>ut it occurs to me now that we never
hanked the engineer. He stood away down
n the darkness amid the hissing furnaces
loing his whole duty. Nobody thaneed the
mglneer, but God recognized his heroism,
md his continuance, and his fidelity, and
h(*v?A will ho inaf ?a htoh rfltrnrrt for triA An
jineer who worked out of sight as the capain
who stood on the bridge of the ship in
he midst of the howling tempest.
a unnuwsn wwaan was seen going along
he edge of a wood every eventide, and the
leighbora in the country did not understand
low a mother with so many cares and anxle:ies
should waste so muoh time as to be idly
launtering out evening by evening. It was
'ound out afterward that she went there to
pray for her household, and while there one
evening she wrote that beautiful hymn,
famous in all ages for cheering Christian
hearts:
I love to steal awhile away
From every cumbering care
And spend t te hours of setting day
lu humble, grateful prayer.
CVioll fhoFU Kn nrt fqwo rH fnr an oh nnnra
tending yet everlasting service?
We go into long sermon to prove that we
will be able to recognize people in heaven,
when there is one reason we fail to present,
and that Is better than all?God will Introduce
us. We shall have them all pointed
out. You would not be guilty of the impoliteness
of having friends in your parlor not
Introduced, and celestial politeness will demand
that we be made acquainted with all
the heavenly household. What rehearsal ol
old times and recital of stirring reminiscences.
If others fall to give Introduction, God will
take us through, and before our first twentyfour
hours in heaven?if It were calculated
by earthly timepieces?have passed we shall
meet and talk with more heavenly celebrities
than in our entire mortal state we met with
earthly celebrities. Many who made great
QOlse of usefulness will sit on the last seat by
the front door of th?i heavenly temple, while
right up within arm's veach of the heavenly
throne will be many who. though they could
not preach themselves or do great exploits
for God, nevertheless held the rope.
Come, let us eo right up and accost those
en this circle of heavenly thrones. Surely,
they must have killed in battle a million men.
Surely they must have been burled with all
the cathedrals sounding a dirge, and all the
towers of all the cities tolling the national
erlef. Who art thou, mighty one of heaven?
"I lived by choice the unmarried daughtei
in a humble home that I might take care of
my parents in their old age. and I endured
without complaints all their querulousness
and ministered to all their wants for twenty
years."
Lst us pass on round the circle of thrones, m
Who art thou, mighty one of heaven? "1^
was for thirty years a Christian invalid and
suffered all the while, occasionally writing -4
note of sympathy for those worse off than I,
and was generaf confidant of all those who
had trouble, and once in awhile I was strong
epough to make a garment for that poor
family In the back lane." Pass on to another
throne. Who art thou, mighty one of
heaven? "I was the mother who raised a
whole family of children for God, and they
areoutlnthe world Christian merchants.
Christian mechanics, Christian wives, and I
have had a full reward of all my toil." Let
U3 pass on In the circle of thrones. ' 'I had a
Sabbath-sohool class, and they were always
on my heart, and they all entered the kingdom
of God, and I am waiting for their arrival."
But who art thou, the mighty one of
heaven on this other throne? "In time of
bitter persecution I owned a house in
Damascus?a house on the wall. A man
who preached Christ was hounded from
I
' Street to street, and I hid him from the assassins,
and when I found them breaking in
my bouse and I could no longer keep him
safely I advised him to flee lor his life, and a
basket was let down over the wall with the
maltreated man in it, and I was one who
helped hold the rope," And I said, "Is that
all?" And he answered, "That is all.''
And while I was lost in amazement I heard
a strong voice that sounded as though it
mfffht once have been hoarse from manv ex
posures and triumph as though It might
have belonged to one of the martyrs, and it
said, "Not many mighty, not many noble
ire called, but God hath chosen the weak
things of the world to confound the thinsrs
which are might}*, and base things of the
world and things which are despised hath
Sod chosen?yea, and things which are not
?to bring to naught things which are. that
do nesn snouid glory In His preeenoe." And
[ looked to see from whence the voice came,
and, lo! it was the very one who had said,
'Through a window in a basket wa3 I let
down by the wall."
Henceforth think of nothing as insignificant.
A little thing may decide your all. A
Cunarder put out from England for New
fork. It was well equipped, but In putting
ap a stove In the pilot box a nail was driven
coo near the compass. You know how the
aail would afifect the compass. The ship's
officer, deceived by that distracted compass,
put the ship 200 miles off her right course,
ind suddenly the man on the lookout cried,
''Land, ho I" and the ship was halted within
a few yards of her demolition or Nantucket
shoals. A sixpenny nail came . <?ar wrecking
a Cunarder. Small ropes hold mighty
destinies.
A minister seated in Boston at his table,
lacking a word, puts his hand behind his
head and tilts back his chair to think,and the
ceiling falls and crashes the table and would
have crushed him. A minister in Jamaica
at night by the light of an insect, called the
candlefiy, is kept from stepping over a precipice
a hundred feet. F. W. Robercson, the
celebrated English clergyman, said that he
entered the ministry from a train of circumstances
started by the barking of a dog.
Had the wind blown one way on a certain
day the Spanish Inquisition would have been
I established in England, but it blew the other
way, and that dropped the accursed Institution
with 75,000 tons ot shipping to the bottom
of the sea or flung the splintered logs on
the rocks.
Nothing unimportant in your life or mine.
Three ciphers placed on the right side ot the
figure 1 make a thousand, and six ciphers on
the right side of the figure 1 a million, and
our nothingness placed on the right side may
be augmentation illimitable. All the ages of
time and eternity affected by the basket let
down from a Damascus balcony!
POPULAR SCIENCE.
I
Jupiter liaa a red spot and a white
spot, and both puzzle astronomers.
About half a pint of water is said to
be thrown off by the lungs every half
hour.
Horseshoes of aluminum weighing
but seven ounces eaoh are talked of for
the use of the cavalry horses in the
army.
The famous "agricultural ants" of
the Southwestern United States often
build their houses or nests from twelve
to twenty feet high.
Twenty-six Western railroads now
liave a system of watch inspection by
which the time pieces of employes are
regularly examined and regulated.
At Hot Springs, Esmeralda County,
. Nev., a new spring of cold water has
made its appearance at the base of a
large rock which separates two hot
springs.
In the Western deserts a spot of
ground becomes excessively heated,
causing the air above to descend. This
produces an influx of the atmosphere
from all sides, but unequally, the result
being a gyratory motion and a
sandstorm.
The newspapers are discussing the
preparations of the Arctio explorers
who intend to go North this year.
The concensus of opinion is that a
small, compact expedition like Lieutenant
Peary's would probably accomplish
more than would a large and
/v-ioflTT orriorlit.inn nf the old tVT>e.
?
A member of the Royal Meteorological
Society has experimented on
the size of raindrops, which vary from
a speck so small as to 'oe almost invisible
up to a diameter of two inches.
Drops of the same size do not always
contain the same amount of water.
Some of the largest drops are hollow.
Land snails are distinguished by an
extreme tenacity of life in every stage
of growth. Dr. R. Stearns, in his report
on the mollnsk fauna collected
during the voyage of the Albatross in
1877-86, tells of one snail living without
fool for at least six years and
being apparently no worse for the
long fast.
Aluminum is gradually working its
way into various produots in the iron
line. Experiment has proved that
aluminum mixed with iron make the
latter metal ponr smoothly, prevents
blow holes and liability of cracking
and benefits the iron in every way.
Such experiments have been made by
the Michigan Stove Company at Chicago.
The success of the test will undoubtedly
arouse interest in iron
manufacturing circles.
A celestial body is said to be eclipsed
when it is immersed in the shadow of
another. Thus a lunar eclipse is caused
by tbe moon entering the shadow 01
the earth. Jupiter's satellites are frequently
eclipsed by passing through
the shadow cast by their primary. A
solar eclipse is due to the interposition
of the moon between the sun and
earth, and the phenomenon is strictly
an occulation, but the former term is
retained for convenience.
Pump Shotguns For Robbers,
Messengers and guards for the
United States Express Company are
being furnished with rapid-tire repeating
shotguns with which to guard the
property in their charge. Beside the
bullet and bomb proof doors to the
I express cars and the burglar-proof
! safes, which cannot be opened even by
the messengers, train robbers will find
guards and messengers supplied with
these guns in addition to the revolvers
they have always carried and ready
and willing to engage in a shooting
scrap at short range.
To ex-Senator Thomas C. Flatt,
President of the United States Express
Company, is due the adoption of the
1 repeating shotgun. He has been experimenting
for some time with guns
of various makes, and perhaps he
would yet have been undecided as to
what make was best for the purpose,
but a practical demonstration of the
value of one gun was made when one
Devery, a would-be-robber, drew a
pistol on Guard Bell in the Washington
depot. Bell had a Winchester
"pump" shotgun with six cartridges
in it, and he tired twelve large-6ized
buckshot into the person of Devery,
and he was carried to a hospital to
have his wounds dreBsed. The attending
physician expressed surprise at
the wounds, and said that at forty
yards a man would be riddled with the
discharge from it. ?Detroit Free Press.
RELIGIOUS READING.
WHAT TO DO NEXT FOB CHKIST.
Do the next thing unless it is something
wnic& you cannot ao tor unnst. \> nen ai>y
ono has determined to begin the Christian
life, and sometimes when a Christian of some
experience is decided upon living henceforth
in a more thoroughly consecrated way. there
often occurs a kind of pause or interval before
the new manner of life is fairly entered
upon. We know this delay to be needless
and indefensible but we do not quite see how
to prevent it.
Do the next thing for Christ. In the case
of Matthew it was to rise up and accompany
Christ, and he rose up and followed Him.
After Paul's vision it was to submit himself
to those who had been His followers and to
let them guide him to hi3 journey's end he
did so. Whenever any one comes facfe to face
with Jesus, so to speak, and acknowledges
allegiance to Him, the next step is to do the
next thing for His sake in whole-hearted
faithfulness, whether it be making a cake or
a bargain, loading a hay cart, solving a philosophical
problem, comforting some invalid,
appealing to some other sinner, or something
else.
But if the next thing in the old order has
become wrong by reason of the change of
one's purpose and cannot be done for Christ,
what then? Dntv then means refusal, as if a
bar-tender were to give himself to Christ
when on the point of mixing a drink for
some toper. Do the next thing, whether
positively or negatively, so as to show that
you have become Christ's servant. The importance
of this next thing lies in the fact
that it presents the first opportunity of illustrating
the principle of loyalty newly adopted,
of clinching the determination to be true
to the Redeemer. Neglect of that opportunity
means unfaithfulness. It involves the
weakening instead of the strengthening of
holy purpose.
THE BIBLE SCHOOL.
The Advance of Chicago has some very
sensible remarks on the Bible school as follows
It would be safe to affirm, that not
one-half is being done through the agency of
the Sunday-school which might, and which
because it might, ought to be done. More
urgently than words can express, there
is need of a "great awakening" on ali
sides to this matter. The exigencies of
these tremendous social, industrial and
other crimes and revolutions, which some
look upon with exceeding hopefulness,
others with deep alarm and foreboding,
aurtVi na nniv n oniilf-v hlindness of mind
and hardness of heart can disregard. Ministers
might oftener preach on the matter tnan
they do. In the midweek prayer-meeting
conferences might well often be held, and
with an intensiveness of practical interest as
though it were a "council of war" in anticipation
of the impending conflicts. And,
more than all else, everybody who knows the
time and is actually intent on doing his own
part, "without tarrying for any," obedient to
his own diviner impulses, may add his individual
momentum to the common movement
More can be brought in. There can be better
teaching. The intellectual element can
be made more worthy of the theme of study.
There could be a great deal bettor preparation
on the part of the teacher. In the home
the subject of the les-ons from week to week
might be made matter of common interest
and investigation, and in way9 that
should give delight to all mental activity and
make revealed truths seem of all things mo9t
winsome. Then when one comes in. as a
member of the church school, the church at
school, he will come to stay.
THE DRU>'KA.RD'fi APPEAL.
- " i Mnnfa M%?.
J. lie liquur UU91L1CS3 U1 X1UU.U uuu
finer sensibilities of the man who engages in
it. His heart becomes adamant. His conscience
is hardened. His soul becomes imbruted.
But occasionally the sting of remorsa
arouses him to a proper view of the
awful situation in which he has placed himself.
A young man entered the bar-room of a village
tavern, and called for a drink.
"No," said the landlord, "you have had the
delirium tretnens once, and I can't sell you
any more."
He stepped aside to make room for a
couple of young men who had just entered,
and the landlord waited on them very politely.
The other had stood by silent and
sullen, and when theyhad finished ho walked
up to the laudlord and thus addressed him:
Six years ago, at their age, I stood where
those two yoting men are now. I was a man
of fair prospects. Now, at the age of 28, I
am a wreck?body and mind. You led
K"? HrlnL- Tn this room I
formed the habit that has been
my ruin. Now sell me a few more glasses
and your work will be done! 1 shall soon be
out of the way; there is no hope for me.
But they can be saved. Do not sell it to them.
Sell it to me and let me die, and the world
will be rid of me; but for heaven'3 sake sell
no more to them. The landlord listened,
pale and trembling. Setting down his decanter.
he exclaimed, "God help me, it is the
last drop I will sell to any one!" And ho
kept his word ?Selected.
"Ble3sed be the God of all comfort?who
comforteth us in all our tribulation, that we
may be able to comfort them which are in
any trouble." Try to recall the joy and peace
and thankfulness that have ever filled your
heart when you became sure that God hail relieved
you from some great dauger, or shed
upon you some great blessing. Think how you
thanked him! Thiuk how your happiness
filled you with kindliness to other people.
: But ask yourself at the same time, did any
I such thought as this come up fore|
most to my miud and seem to
I me the most precious pan, ui uu
my blessings that God had done this for me,
to make me a fitter and more transparent
medium through which ho might send his
comfort to other men? I think no man can
really mount up to the idea that God personally
cares for him enough to reach down and
turn the bitterness of his cup to sweetness,
without being, as it were, compelled to look
beyond himself; and the only way to make
it our joy and mission to help mankind is to
feel all through us the certainty that the help
which ha3 come to us, has come from God.?
Phillips Brooks.
Economy in the season of prosperity is on?
of the lessons of the hour. While sickness,
accident and misfortune have reduced some
to want, while others have been compelled to
straggle even in prosperous times to supply
themselves nnd those dependent upon them,
-111' ii'na nottmllv needed for comfort. I
mm ? j it
cannot be denied that there are persons,now
brought intostraits,who by prudencein the p.ust
might have escaped their present embarrassments.
In the times when they were receiving
good wages, they lavishly spent .them as
fast as they received them. They assumed
that tomorrow shall be as this day, and even
more abundant; and now their families must
suffer or be the recipients of charity. The
past cannot be changed: but its errors and
mistakes can be corrected in the future.
Frugality and thrift go together. Lavish expenditure
and want are close companions.
The former should be cultivated; the latter
avoided. It is well to heed this lesson of the
hour.
The last sacrifice a Chinese woman mates
to her faith in Jesus Christ, is the unbinding
of her feet. When the feet are ilrst bound,
the agony is inteuse, until they reach the
proper size, then by keeping them loosely
bandaged, the pain leaves them. To unbind
the feet causes as great agony as to bind
them, and the process is a very slow one.
Little by little the bands are loosed, and the
life-current is allowed to flmv in, where every
throb is like the plunging of a knife into a
nerve. A Chinese Christian woman when
asked why she unbound her feet knowing
what agony she would have to endure, replied
: "It I could endure such torture for
the devil, I surely cau do as much for my
Saviour."?Mission N' udies.
Education of the Kaiser's Son.
The Emperor of Germany has bought a
villa near the new palace at Potsdam, with
extensive grounds reaching to. the river
Havel, as a residence for the Crown Prince,
who is not quite twelve years old. The military
and general education of the Prince will
be continued in this residence until ho is
prepared to enter the university. Tho reason
that a residence for the Prince was chosen in
proximity to the river is due to a desire of
tho Emperor that his son receive a naval
training.
He Wouldn't Be Vaccinated.
Joseph Holmes, of South Boston, Mass.,
was convicted of refusiug to be vaccinated,
and was sentenced to pay a Una of $5. Tbis
is the first case to be prosecuted by the Boar J
of Health.
WOMAN'S WORLD.
PLEASANT LITERATURE FOR
FEMININE READERS.
azrv cnprfl xrnstn ttpi?.
Chicago has the first woman setter
of music type in the person of Mrs. L.
S. Jones. Mrs. Jones is said to be the
pioneer of her sex in this work in this
country. She thinks it a valuable and
very suitable trade for women, as it i
requires patience and neatness rather
than strength. She is of New England
birth, and learned her trade in Boston
against pronounced opposition from
the members of the other sex working
at it.?New York Times.
VEILS THAT BLIND.
The injurious effect on the eyes
caused by wearing dotted veils is an
old warning which has been sounded
to no purpose, and the fact that oculists
are growing rich under this
reign of fashion does not alarm the
wearers of this attractive bit of feminine
vanity. The dots are larger or
smaller, closer together or further
apart, as they are more of less becoming,
while the possibility of impaired
eyesight is left entirely out of conai^ATftf-inn.
It has been discovered
lately that the dots are not their only
harmful quality. There is some substance
U3ed in stiffening or coloring
the net which is poisonous if it chances
to find its way into the eye.?New
York Sun.
THE OVEBSKTRT fTKRK.
The overskirt, unmistakable and undisguised,
is here. The round,
"apron front" of fifteen years ago is
reappearing. There was an extremely
pretty dress on exhibition last week
whose prettiness was spoiled by this
piece of ugliness.
It was of very heavy dark blue eerge,
with a perfectly plain skirt. The
bodice consisted of i tight-fitting
Eton jacket and a vest of yellow crepe
and chiffon. The cuffs of the jacket
were of yellow satin, under a heavy
dark blue braiding, and the broad
shaped girdle was of the same material,
says the Cincinnati Commercial Gazette.
But beneath this simple and satisfactory
waist a senseless, useless
J.J 1 U1?? ? Ualf I
ruuuucu picuc Ui uiuc OCL^o UIUI^ uau
way down the skirt and over the
waist. It was faced with dark blue
silk. The back of the overskirt consisted
of a straight, plaited piece of
bine serge about as long as the apron
front.
THE BLOUSE OF THE PERIOD.
All the dressmakers are crying ont
against the continued popularity of
the blouse, which reads for them ruin
to a great extent. At least, so they
imagine, but they are absolutely .
wrong as a matter of fact, for the
blouse to-day is very different to what
it was yesterday. It ifl no longer formless,
liningless and boneless; it is
made on a tight foundation, fitted absolutely
like a bodice, preserving but
X? "LI T i. /?? iU?
rts D10U.8C UUHrHCLCIIBblUQ OU Ittl CK? bliC
loose front and the belt around the
waist are concerned. A charming
blouse I have seen this week is made of
velvet, the fullness reaching only
three inches below the bust, extending
thence perfectly plainly, and a
broad sash of black watered silk wound
twice around the waist and fastened in
the front with diamond brooches at
the top and bottom. This, of course,
preserves the outlines of the figure at
its best, and equally, of course, has
need of the artist to insure its charm.
T* - ii mil ?li. iA
XI IS rULJJtJi UlillUUlt tu ycu tUO YCIYOI/
blouse comfortably beneath the tightfitting
jacket, which fashion ordains
should be ours this winter, but still
for those who wear a semi-fitting coat,
it may be highly recommended. Very
delightful bodices are made of watered
silk, and on the whole it may be noticed
that cerise is the most popular
shade, and beautiful this really looks
in connection with the mink and lace
so invariably connected with all this
season's costumes.
READY MADE FROCKS.
The shops do their best to help
alone: home dressmaking. Skirts come
ready, are cut and gored, and the insertings
of lace topped with braid or
other woven trimming, as merely the
lace, are set in, needing only the band
to complete it. The waist material is
similarly planned out with its trimming
and sleeves as well. In the
cashmere robes, plaiting of silk, combined
with embroidery, are adjusted.
Another novelty for white gowns are
exquisite flounces of nainsook and
sheer muslin, edged with bands of pale
pink and blue and lace trimmed, or
tiny violets Ueacl a Duttonnoie edge 01
heliotrope on Dresden china colorings
above lace; the variety is large and
the choice correspondingly difficult.
In making up the striped or brocaded
black grenadines it is a good
rule to have the silk lining the color
of the contrasting stripe in the grenadine,
or of one of the colors in the
bouquet of the pattern. These are not
cheap dresses, but they are very elegant.
They are not particularly cool,
but are serviceable for the seashore
rather than for the country. Plain
black grenadines are laid in accordion
pleat for the skirt, over a lining of
rose color or pale green. Bayadere
stripes are figured with raised knots
of color, such as brown, marine blue,
moss green, India blue and gray. A i
blue grenadine, which is always a most
distinguished dress, has Bayadere
stripes of coffee brown or emerald
green. These stripes again have flecks
of blue upon them. ?New York Advertiser.
MAKING A PLAIN OIRL PRETTY.
She never thought she had any
points; she had quite made up her
mind to the irredeemable ugliness
which, she had been told, was her lot.
Then spoke a good, sweet, wise woman
: "Ask your mother to let you
eome to spend the day with me when
next you are going to a party, and we
will see what can be done." So the
poor ugly duckling went, and this is
what her fairy godmother did for her,
says the Housewife : i
She took, her first for a short expedition.
which interested and amused
but did not tire her. Then she gave
her a thoroughly comfortable lunch,
and made her lie down in a warm <
room for two or throe hours. The
ihort, refreshing sleep induced by the
warmth and quiet ended, and a cup of
tea enjoyed, the dressing began. Now,
at home, the routine of the day had
never been interrupted because there n
was to be a party that night. The
recrulation work and afternoon walk
having been taken, the girl reached H
home tired, just in time to have a
hasty cup of tea and dress. The
operation of dressing was carried on
in a cold room, giving time to get
thoroughly chilled, so that the transition
to a warm drawing-room sent the ]
blood with unbecoming force to the
face.
But the wise woman did nothing bo
foolish. She made the girl dress ^
leisurely before a good fire. She
taught her it is a great mistake to
stand before a looking-glass to do the
hair. It is better to sit and take it jj
easy, else a tired expression comes ~
into the face. She allowed no hasty "
washing with water to irritate the Cl
skin, but refreshed her face gently a:
with a cloth dipped in rose water. *
She kept up a running commentary on
the girl's points as she brought them a
out one by one. .
"Your hair looks bright as the light ^
falls on it. I admire that pretty chestnut
brown, with shades of red and gold "
in it. There, now your complexion n
looks as clear as possible. My dear, a
how bright and rested your eyes look! n
Now do use the hand mirror to see a
Vinw -nrptk-r that onrve of vour neck is,
with those little curls just waving IJ
about it!"
And the fairy fingers of hope and 81
happiness touched this girl's eyes with 0
light and tinged her oheeks with soft ?!
color, and gave her gait a firmness and
elasticity which prevented all awk?
wardness, and when she entered the ,,
crowded room she was able to look ^
people in the face and let them see her
eyes, with the new-born light of pleas- _
ure and satisfaction dancing in them, g]
and the rest of this girl's story, is it
not written in the chronicles of her
happy life, and is not the name of this
dear, judicious woman engraved upon
her heart?
The moral of my little preachment ?
is that if a girl is plain, you won't
make her any prettier by dinning into j
her ears that she is plain. And that r
attractiveness, if not prettiness, is "
within the reach of all women who ?
realize what their good points are.
And that it is a mistake to tire one's &
self ont before a party. y
u
FASHION NOTES. O
Mutton-leg sleeves are invariably ti
narrowed at the wrista to suggest deep a
cuff. ii
A very high band of velvet is worn ^
about the throat and fastened with a *
square buckle of the same width. ^
3mall diamonds are never used to 11
more advantage than in the dainty
flower-wreathed brooches that are in 13
vogue. ^
French sateens in changeable tint- ^
ings and with a shimmer almost equal Sl
to silk are among the new importa- ^
tions. n
Black flowers on colored bonnets b
are one of the fashions of the day, r<
black violets more especially, with ti
green foliage. p
Three large rings of cased silver set w
* ? ?onn Vionrr arrainaf ti
m ?u uiiiumcubcu t ooo u?u^
the wall and are intended to hold ^
cards and letters. "
Every garment that extends below ^
the waist line hangs in godets to the
lower edge, apparently increasing the
size of the figure. "
A new material %r party toilets
closely resembles crepe, except that
it is as glossy as satin and is manufactured
in the most exquisite colors. ,
Amethyst is a favorite color and the p
newest silk waists show stripes of it <<
with tlie inevitable soft velvet collar Q
of a deeper shade to be worn with the b
waist. y.
Many of the new bonnets are van- a]
dyked at the edge with guipure. Chip fi
will be qnite a favorite, and roses close a]
set together are introduced under the fc
brims. a:
A fad for answering social invitations
in verse is said to have sprung w
up. To the other treats of a hostess w
this will add increased danger of ner- a*
vou8 prostration.
Embroidery done by intricate ma- ^
chine procesaea, but having all the
effect of handwork, ia to be thia year
more than ever favored, as it can be ^
so constantly utilized on bodices and
skirts of new gowns.
Fashion still approvea all the eccen- ^
tricitie8 employed in broadening the p:
feminine shoulders with berthas, pre- w
tellee, cape collars, revers, puffs, frills ^
and all sorts of wide spreading ele- jj.
gance in lace, velvet, silk and moire. ai
Short skirts seem to be the rule for ai
the spring, and we may expect to see ti
a new arrival in the shape of dainty w
footgear if the shortening keeps on. p]
Especially women who go in for ath- ca
letic exercise, such as bicycle riding m
and walking, will adopt the ankle m
lengths. w
Woman is a natural martyr. She ti
dies a dozen deaths in one ordinary tr
life from a masculine point of view. n<
What with straps and steels and tl
springs and wires and belts, buckles di
and bauds, the probabilities are she st
has been the greatest impediment to
her own progress. cc
Skirts do not change greatly in style Y
or shape, remaining close about the ?
hips and flaring from the knee down. e*
Many, when made of single width 8
goods, are of half circle shape, with J.
the single eeam up the back, while
others of narrow width silk and other
material have gored breadths and
godet plaits in the back. 18
Moire silk petticoats are decidedly ^
elegant. Those in yellow aud pale ca
colors are shown for evening wear. m
Dark ones for the street are stiffened tjj
to help give the dress skirt that flare wj
which is so desirable. Silk petticoats w]
will wear much longer if they are ij.
lined with cashmere, a light quality 1
behi? selected for the purpose so not j'f)
to add to the weight. k;
A dress pronounced beautiful was in
the result of a happy idea, the com- hr
billing of two old dresses, a tan cloth JsT(
und a striped green silk. The cloth
skirt opened on a front of the striped
silk. The coat bodice was made with
uarrow cutaway fronts showing a wide, m
tight fitting vest of the silk. The full lo
puffs of silk for the sleeves were fin- El
ished with close cloth cuffs. So many Ja
different material are combiuod this Ai
season that a little tasto will accomplisli
wonders. Ai
? >
.V
RAREST OF GEMS.
r IS THE ORIENTAL, OR PIG-+
EON'S BLOOD RUBY.
!ovr Rubles Are Found In Bur-*
ma and Other Parts of
Asia?King Theebau'a
Jars of Gems.
' :.V
rHE true or oriental ruby
the gem of gems, and ex- "
ceeds in value, when perfect,
even the diamond, says the
opnlar Science News. But to give il*
lis great value its color must be of
lat peculiar shade of red called
pigeon's blood," which is a pure,
eep, rich red, without a tinge of
lue or yellow. And when of this
?il>A tmkw 10 a marmiA.
ccp, I1UU 1CU lUC X SJL UJ JO w UM(3U?U
ent and resplendent gem, whioh the
Qcients gave a heaven-born origin by
myth representing that it drops in
lood-red crystals from the clouds
mid the flashes of lightning.
In the language of gems the ruby if
tie emblem of elegance and beauty.
!y the ancients it was also considered
> possess the power to correct evil*
ssulting from mistaken friendship,
ad to reveal poison; and in the
liddle ages it was regarded as an
mulet, protecting against the plague,
idness, evil thoughts, wicked spirits,,
1 health, danger and death.
The oriental ruby, the oriental
ipphire, the oriental amethyst, the
riental emerald and the oriental
quamarine are all "corundum or pure
lumina, having the same form of
rystallization, like composition, and
tie same hardness. They are all,
therefore, the same mineral, and difsrence
in color is the only reason for
hanging its name, in calling the blue
aby a sapphire, the green ruby an
merald, and the purple ruby an
methyst.
Rubies are usually found in aaDciation
-with sapphires, topazes,
ircons, rutile, magnetic iron and
old. The crystals of the gem are
^metimes found perfect, tapering at
ach end, but more often abraded or
ounded; while frequently various
olors in bands extend across the
rism of the crystal, as when both
nds of the crystal are white and the
enter red, or the reverse, or wheii
ny one of the colors is replaced by
ellow or even black. These gems are
sually obtained from layers of earth
r river beds and streams, near cryailline
rocks, such as gneiss, mica,
late and granite. Rubies are found1
1 Farther India, in the kingdom of
va, in Siam, and in the Capelan
Iountains, in Pegu. They also occur
i Ceylon, at Hohenstein.on the Elbe,
1 the Rhine and Danube, in Australia*,
nd in the rivers Auvergne and Iser,
i "Rnh^min,.
The ruby mines of Burma, from
hence for ages the finest rubies have
een obtained, are situated about
sventy miles from Mandalay, and ex5nd
over an area of a hundred square
liles. For centuries this district has
een regarded by the natives with ?
sverence almost approaching veneraion,
and no stranger has ever been
ermitted to approach the mines
here the precious stones are oblined.
All that is known of them is
lat they are worked by sinking pits
1 the earth until the ruby-bearing
;ratum is reached, which varies in
epth from two to twenty feet. Theee
lines produce annually vast quanties
of rubies and sapphires, besides
riental amethysts and topazes, toether
with chrysoberyls and spinal
ibies. For centuries these mines'
ere regarded as the special appanage
f the crown, and one of the highest
wirraA fiftna nf fKo TTinnrr\f Rnrma vaa
Lord of the Rabies." Though the
overnment did notworkthese mines,
at leased them at a monthly rental,
et it reserved for the royal treasury
II stones that were worth more than'
fty dollars, thereby giving the King
[most a monopoly of the ruby fields,
>r it is only very small rubies that
:e worth less than this sum.
Though the superintendents closely
atched the miners, many large stones
ere carried away by stealth, and
;ain, when a ruby or a sapphire worth
tore than $50 was discovered, the
nder, in order to be able to retain
le gem, broke it in twain, and tiro*
iany fine stones were ruined. When
1 unusually large and fine ruby waa
>und, a procession of grandees with
ildiers and elephants was sent to
ring it to the royal treasury. When
le late King Theebau wished to imress
a visit r with his immense
ealth, he conducted him into hi*
easury and permitted him to thrust
is arm into the great jars of rubiea
id sapphires which stood in rows*ound
the apartment. In this collecon,
the rarest and finest in the
orld, were many gems ;of almost
riceless value. When Theebau abdirted
the throne he took with him
any rare and beautiful gems, but
ost of the jars of rubies and sapphire*
ere looted during the interregnum
lat followed tne sovereign 8 deparire.
The rubies from Ceylon, though
jt found in as large quantities as
lose m Burma, are very tine, and are
scovered in river beds and large
reams.
The oriental or true ruby is often
>nfounded with the spinel ruby,
bich is an inferior and entirely difrent
gem, containing about twentyght
per cent, of magnesia. These
ones are often sold through error, or
ith the intention to defraud, but the
flference may be easily detected by
ie inferior hardness and lower spefic
gravity of the spinel ruby. Thw particularly
the case with Ceylon
inels. This is an old error, for in
icient times all red stones were called
rbuncles and rubie6, and even at the
esent time this name is applied inscrimately
to various red gems,
bich is very deceptive to the novice,
bo imagines the ruby to mean only
e red corundum. Even the two
rge stones exhibited by Queen Vicria
as rubies at the London Exhitiou
of 1862 were found on an emulation
of their specific gravity and
irdness to be spinels.?New York
ews. ,
Regular Christian N'arnes.
According to statistics, Mary is the
ost popular of Christian names, folwed
in ord?r by William, John,
lizabeth, Thomas, George, Sarah,
Lines. Charles, He'rry, Alice, Joseph,
an, Jane, Ellen, Emily, Frederick,inie,
Margaret, Emma, Eliza, Robert,.
rthur, Ed war J. ?Detroit Free Preaa*:
(