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(W w " [eey. drtalmage THE /BROOKLYN DIVINE'S SUN* DAY SERMON. Subject: "Fairest of the Fair.** Text: "He is altogether lovely."?Soloimon's Sour v.. 16. 1 The human race has darine centuries been improving. For awhile it deflected and d&> generated, and from all I can read for ages the whole tendency was toward barbarism, jfout under the ever widening and deepening * dnflaence of Christianity the tendency is now jin the upward direction. The physical apjpearance of the human race Is seventy-five |per cent, more attractive than in the sixteenth. seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. [From the pictures on canvas ana tne laces ana forms In sculpture of those who were consid,ered the grand looking men and the attractive woman of 200 years aco I conclude the nperiorky of the men and women of our {time. Such looking people of the past centuries as painting and sculpture have presented a? fine specimens of beautv and dignity would be in our timecousldered deformity and repulsiveness complete. The fact that many men and women in antediluvian times were eight and ten feet high tended to tmake the human race obnoxious rather than Winning. Such portable mountains of human flesh did not add to the oharms of the .World. i But ln.no ollmate and in no ago did there ?b*t nnrxwr anv one who in physical at tractireneoB could be compared to Him Whom my text celebrates thousand? of yeara beiore He put His Infantile foot on the hill back of Bethlehem. Ha was and is altogether lovely. The physical appearance of Christ Is, for the most part, an artistic guess. Soma Writers declare Him to have been a brunette or dark complexioned. St. John, of Damascus, writing 1100 years ago. and so much nearer than ourselves to tho time of Christ, and hence with more likelihood of accurate tradition, represents Him with beard black, and curly eyebrows joined together, and "yellow complexion, and long "flnsrers lite Eus mother." An author, writing 1503 years ago, represents Christ as a blond: "HU hair Is the color of wine And golden at the root, Btralght and without luster, but from the level of the ears, curling and glossy, and divided down the center after the fashion of the Nazarenes. His forehead is even and kmooth, His face without blemish and enhanced by a tempered bloom, His countenance ingenuous and kind. Nose and mouth are In no- way faultv. His beard is full, of the same color as His hair and forked in form; His eyes blue and extremely brilliant." la it xrnq a Jewish face. TTtn juj ?? ?i mother was a Jewess, and there is no womanhood on earth more beautiful than Jewish womanhood. Alas that He lived so long before the dagaerrean and photographic arts were born, or we might have known Hia exact features. I know that sculpture and painting were born long before Christ, and they might have transferred from oldeo times to our times the forehead, the nostril, the eye, the lips of our Lord. Phidias, the sculptor, put down his chisel of enchantment 600 years before Christ cama Why did not some one take up that chisel and give us the side face or full faoe of our /Lord? Folygnotis, the painter, put down his pencil 400 years before Christ. Why did not some one face it up and give ns at least the eye of our Lord?the eye. that sovereign of the face? Dionyslos, the literary artist ,who saw at Heliopolis, Egypt, the strang? darkening of the heavens at the time oi Christ's crucifixion near Jerusalem, and not knowing what it was, b\A describing It as a peculiar eclipse of the sun, and saying, 'Either the Diety suffers _or sympathize! with some sufferer," ttat LMonysius migni iavt) put bis pen to the work and drawn the portrait of our Lord. Bat, no; the fine arti ware busy perpetuating the form andap? pea ranee of the worl l*s favorites only, and not the form and appearance of the peasantry, among whom Chirst appeared. It was not until the fifteenth century, or until more than 1400 yean after Christ, that talented painters attempted by pencil to give as the ldsa of Christ's face. The pictures before that time were so offensive that the oouscil at Constantinople forbade their exhibition. But Leonardo da Vinci, in the AN teanth century, presented Christ's face on two canvases, yet the one was a repulsive face and.the other an effeminate face. Raphael's face of Christ is a weak face. Albert Durer's face of Christ was a savage face. Titian'? faee o( Christ is an expressionless i face. The mightiest artists, either with pen* ell or chisel, have made signal failure In attempting to give the forehead, the cheek, the eyes, the nostril, the moathof oar blessed Lord. Bat aboat His face I can tell you something positive and beyond controversy. I am sure it was a scralfut face. The face Is ouly the curtain of the soul. It was Impossible that a disposition like Christ's should not have demonstrated itself in His physiognomy. Kindness as an occasional Impulse may give no illumination to the features, but irindness as the lifelong, dominant habit will pro-luce attractiveness of countenance as certainly as the Shining of tho sun produces flowers. Children are afraid of a scowling or hardvisaged man. They cry out if he proposes to ?ake them. It he try to caress them, ha evokes a slap rather than iklss. All mothers know how hard it is to get their children to go to a man or woman of forbidding appear* nee. Bat no sooaer did Christ appear In the domeetlo group than there was an infantile excitement and the youngsters began to strnggle to get out of their mothers' arms. They could not hold the children back. ,''Stand back with those children!" scolded aome of the disciples. Perhaps the little ones may have been playing in the dirt, and their laces may not have been clean, or they may |. Jnot have been well clad, or the disciples may Shave thought Christ's religion was a religion (chiefly for big folks. But Christ made the Pntile excitement still livelier by His saythat He liked children better than grotvn people. deolariag, "Except ye become as a little child ye cannot enter into th9 kingdom ?f God." i Alas for those people who do not like children ! They had better stay out of heaven, lor the plaee Is full of them. That, I think, is one reason why the va3t majority of the human race dl9 in Infancy. Christ is so Vond of children that He tanes them to Himaelf before the world has time to despoil and harden them, and so they are now at the Windows or the palace ana on cue aoorsreps and playing on the green. Sometimes Matthew or Mark or Lake tells a story of Christ, and only one tells It, bat Mitthew, (Mark and Lake all join In that picture of jChrist girdled by children, and I know by what occurred at that time that Christ had a face tall of geniality. t Not only was Christ altogether lovely In His countenance, but lovely in Hi9 habits. I know, without being told, toat the Lord who made the rivers and lakes anl oceans was Cleanly in His appearance. He disliked the j disease of leprosy not only because it was distressing, but because it whs not clean, and His curative words were: "I will. Be thou clean." He declared Himself in favor of thoroughly washing and oppose 1 to superficial washing when He denounced the hypocrites for making clean only "the outside of the platter." and He applauds His disciples by sayins?, "Now are ye clean," and Riving directions to those who fasted, among other things. He says, ''Wash thy face," and to a blind man whom He was doctoring, "Go, wash in the pool of Siloam," and He Himself actually washed His disciples' feet, I suppose not only to demonstrate His own humility, . but probably their feet needed to be washed. The fact is, the Lord was a great Iriend ol water. I know that irom the fact that most of the wbrld is water. But when I tind Christ in such constant commendation of water I know He was personally neat, although He mingled much among very roagh populations and took such lona journeys on dusty highways. He wore His nair long, according to the custom of His land and time, but neither trouble nor old ' age had thinned or injured Ilis 1oV.cs, whic'1 ere never worn ehasrsv or umienpt. Yea, all His habits of personal appearance were 'lovely. Sobriety was also an established habit o! * His life. In addition to th? water. He drink the juice of the si-ape. When at a wedding party this beverage gave out. He made catIons on gallons of grape juice, but it was as unlike what the world makes In our time ad health is different from disease and as caim Ipuises are different from the paroxysms of delirlam tremens. There was no strychnine In that beverage or logwood or nax vomica. The tipplers and the sots who now quote the winemaklng in Cana of Galilee as an excuse for the fiery and damning beverages ol the nineteenth century forget that the wine at the N6W Testament wedding had two characteristics?the on? that the Lord mail It and the other that it was made oat ol water. Buy all yon can of that ldnd an< drink It at least three times a day and send i barrel of It round to my cellar. You cannot make m? believe that thi blessed Christ who went up and down heal ing the sick would create for man that styli of drink which Is the cause of diseasa mor than all other causes combined, or that H who calmed the maniacs into their rlgh mind wonld creato that ?*tyle of drink whlet tfoeo more than anything else to fill insuM I asylums, or that He who was so helpful to the poor would make a style of drins that crowds the earth with pauperism, or that He who came to save the nations from sin would ' epftfttn a Honor that Is the source of most of | the crime that now staffs the penitentiaries, i A, lovely sobrietv w.is written all over His face, from the hair line of the forehead to the I bottom of the bearded chin. Domesticity was also His habit. Tboasrh too poor to have a homo of His own. Ha went oat to spend the night at Bethany, two or three miles' walk from Jerusalem, and over a rough and hilly road that made it equal to six or soven orainary mile3, every morning and night going to and fro. I would rather walk from here to Central Park, or walk from Edinburgh to Arthur's Seat, or in London clear around Hyde Park, than to walk thai road thit Christ walked twice a day from Jerusalem to Bethany. But He liked the quietude >f ho*ae life, and He was loveJy in His domesticity. How He enjoyed handing over the resnrrected girl to her father, and reconstructing homesteads wnich disease or ddath was breaking up! As the song, "Home, Sweet J Home," was written by a man who at that time had no home, so I think the homelessness of Christ added to His appreciation oI domesticity. Furthermore, He was lovely in His sympathies. Now, dropsy is a most distressful complaint It inflames and swells and tortures any limb or physical organ it touches. As soon as a case of that kind is submitted to Christ, He, without any use of diaphoretics, commands its oura. And what an eye doctor He was for opening the long closed gates of sight to the blue of the sky, and the yellow of the flower and the emerald of the grass! What a Christ He was for cooling i iU?aMi en mrtrth na n anrtnnfnl nf *OTTl IVUVUk STV iUUwu ww *~m U^VVM.V.. V. febrifuge, and straightening crooked backs without any pant; of surgery, and standing whole oholrs of music along the silent galleries of a deaf ear, and giving healthful nervous system to cataleptlcs! Sympathy! He did not give them stoical advice or phtlosoShize about the selenoe of grief. Ha sat own and cried for them. It U spoken of as the shortest verse In the Bible, but to me it Is about the loagest and grandest, "Jesus wept." Ah. many of us know the meaning of that ( When we were in great trouble, some on9 came in withvol. uble consolation and quoted the Scripture In a sort of heartless way and did not help us at all. But after a while some one else came In, and without saying a word ait down and burst Into a flood of tears at the sight of our woe, and somehow it helped U3 right away. "Jesus wept." You see. it was a deeply attached household, that of Mary and Martha and Laaarus. The father and mother ware dead, and the girls depended on their brother. Lazarus had said to them: "Now, Mary, now, Martha, stop your worrying. I will take care of you. I will be to you both fAthar and mother. Mv arm Is stronjc. Girls. you can depend on ma!" Bat now Laziras was slot?yea, Lazarus | was dead. All broken up, the slaters sit disconsolate, and there is a knock at the door. "Come In," says Martha. "Coma In," says Mary. Christ entered, and He just broke down. It was too much tor Him. Ha had been so often and so kindly entertained in that homo before sickness aud death devI astateJ it that He choked ap and sobbed I aloud, and the tears trickled down the sad j face of the sympathetic Christ "Jesu3 . wept." Why do yon not try that mode of | helping. You say, "I am a man of few I words, or "I am a woman of few words." ! Why, your dear soul, words are not neces! wry. Imitate your Lord and go to those af> dieted homes and cry with them. I John Murphy I Well, you did not know him. Once, when I was in great bereavement, he came to my house. Kind ministers of the gospel had come and talked beautifully -Jid prayed with us and did all they could to console. But John Murphy, one of the beet friends I ever had, a big souled, glorious Irishman, came in and looked into my face, put out his broad, strong hand and said not a word, but sat down and cried with us. I am not enough of a philosopher to say how It was or why it was, but somehow from door to door and from floor to ceiling the room was filled' with an all pervading oom fort. "Jesus wept." I think that Is what makes Christ such a popular Christ. There are so many who want sympathy. Miss Fiske, the famous Nestorlan missionary, was in the chapel one . day talking to the heathen, and she was in very poor health and so weak she sat upon a mat while she talked and felt the need of ' something to lean against, when she fe& a | woman's form at her back and heard a ; woman's voice saying, "Lean on ma." She leaned a little, but did not want to be too , cumbersome, when the woman's voice said, "Lean hard; if you love ma, lean hard." And that makos Christ so lovely. He wants all the sick and troubled and weary to lean against Him, and He says, "Lean hard; If you love Me. lean hard." Aye, Ha is clo3ebywlth His sympathetic help. Hodley Vicars, the famous soldier and Christian of the Crimean war. died because whan he was wounded his reglmant was too far oft from the tent of supplies. He was n^t mortally wounded, and if the surgeons could only have got at the bandage and the madtclnesho would have re?ovarei. So muih of human sympathy and hopefulness cones too late. But Christ Is always close by if we want Him, and has all the medicines ready, and has eternal life for all wjo as'.c for it. Sympathy! Aye, He was lovely In His doctrine. Sail sacrifice or the relief of the suffering oi others by our own suffering. He wasthe only physician that ever proposed to cars His p itlents by taking their disorders. Self sacrifice! And what did He not give up foe others! The best climate in the universe, the air o! heaven, for the wintry weather of Palestine, a scepter of unlimited dominion for a prisoner s box tu an eartniy courtroom, a flashing tiara (or a crown of Ktnglns brambles, a palace for a cattle pan, a tliroon for a crosi Self sacrifice! What is mora lovely? Mothers dying for thair children down with scarlet fever, railroad engin^era going down through the open draworidge to save the train, firemen scorched to death trying to help some one down the ladder from the fourth story ol the consuming house. All these put together only faint anJ insufficient similes by which to iUustr.ue m grander, mightier, farther reaching self sacrifice of the ''altogether lovely." Do you wonder that the story of His self sacrifice has led hundreds of thou3an'is ti die for Htm? In one series of persecution! over 200,000 were put to death for Carist': sake. For Him Blandina was tied to a po>t and wild beasts were let out upon her, an i when life continued after the ifttackoi tox i and paw she was put in a net, and that u.*( containing her was thrown to a will bull that tossed her with its horns till life w.is extinct. All for Christ! Huguenots dying fot Christ! Albigenses dying for Carist1 Tht ' Yaudois dying for Christ! Smlthfleld ilres endured for Christ! The bones of martyrs, if distributed, woul l make a path or molderlng life all around the earth. The love!1nes? of the Saviour's sacrifice has Inspired all the heroisms and all the martyrdoms of subsequent centuries. Christ has had more men and women die for Him than all the other inhabitants of all the ages have had dio foi them. 1 Furthermore. He was lovely in His sermons. He knew when to begin, when tc ; stop and j ust what to say. The longest ser mon He ever preached, so far as the Bibl( reports Him?namely, the sermon on th< ^ mount was about sixteen minutes in deliver} ?at the ordinary rate of speech. His long est prayer reported, commonly called "Th< Lord's Prayer." was about half a minute ' Time them by your watch, and you will flnt ( my estimate aecur ite, by which I do no | mean to say that sermons ought to be onh ' sixteen minutes Ion-.: and prayers only hal a mlnuto long. Christ had suoh infinit< > power of compression that Ho could pu ' enough into His sixteen minute sermon an< His half minute prayer to keep all the fol ! lowing ages busy in thought and action. N( one but a Christ could afford to pray 01 : preach as short as that, but He meant tc teach uh compression. At Selma, Ala., the other day I was shown ' a cotton pres3 by which cotton was put in such shape that it occupied in transporta' tion only one car where three oats were forf merly necessary, and one ship were three ship3 had been required, and I imagine that we all need to compress our sermons and oui prayers into smaller spaces. And His sermons were so lovely for sentii ment and practicality and simplicity and illustration. The light of a candle, the crystal i of the salt, the cluck of a hen for her cbick[ ens, the hypocrite's dolorous physiognomy, 9 | the moth In tie" cloflSes closet. Fhe~bIaok 1 wing of a raven, the snowbank of white lilies, our extreme botheration aboat the J splinter of imperfection in some one else's ( character, the swine fed on the pearls, 1 wolves dramatizing sheep, and the peroration made up of a cyclone in which you hear t the crash of a rumbling house unwisely con C strucrea. jno tecnnicaunes, do upmuitj ui i hairs between north and northwest side, no i dogmatics, but a creat Christly throb of helpfulness. I do not wonder at the record which says, "When He was come down from , the mountain, fjreat multitudes followed Him." They had<but one fault to And with His sermon. It was too short. God help all of ns in Christian work to get down off our stilts and realize there Is only one thing we have to do?there is the great wound of the world's sin and sorrow, and there is the greaF healing plaster of the gosr pel. What you and I want to do is to put the plaster on the wound. All sufficient is the gospel if It is only applied. A minister preaching to an audience of sailors concerning the ruin by sin and the rescue by the gospel accommodated himself to sailors' vernacular and said, "This plank boars." Many years after this preacher was called to see a dying sailor ana asked him about his hope and got the suggestive reply, "This plank bears." Yea, Christ was lovely In His chief life's work. There were a thousand things for Him to do, but His great work was to get our shipwrecked world out of the breakers. That He came to do, and that He did, and He did It In three years. He took thirty i * I years ro prepare iur mm luj.cc jiwiity. From twelve to thirty years of age we hear nothing about Him. That intervening eighteen years I think he was in India. Bat He came bask to Palestine and crowded everything Into three years?three winters, three springs, three summers, three autumns. Our life Is short, but would God we might see how much wo could do in three years. Concentr.?' 'on! Intensification! Three years of kim words! Three years of living for others! Three years of self-aacriflce! Let us try It. Aye, Christ was lovely in His demise. He had a right that last hour to deal in anathematization. Never had any one been so meanly treated. Cradle of straw among goats and camels?that was the world's reception of Him! Rocky cliff, with hammers pounding spikes througa torture! nerves?that was the world's farewell salutation ! The slaughter of that scene sometimes hides the loveliness of the sufferer. Under the saturation of tears and blood we sometimes fall to see the sweetest face of earth iand heaven. Altogether lovely! Can coldest criticism find an unkind word He ever fepoke, or an unkind action that He ever periformed, or an unkind thought that He ever [harbored? What a marvel it is that all the nations of aorth do not rise uo in raDtures of affection ,for Him! I must say It hero and now. I lift my right hand In solemn attestation. I love Him, and the grief of my life Is that I do not (love Him more. Is It an impertinence for tee to ask, Do you. my hearer?yon, my reader, love Him? Has He become a part of your nature? Have you committed your children on earth into His keeping, as your children in heaven are already in His bosom? Has He done enough to win your conSdeuce? Can you trust Him, living and dying and forever t" is your back or your face toward Him? Would you like to have His hand to guide you, His might to proteot you, His grace to comfort you, His sufferings to atone for you, His arms to welcome you, His love to encircle you, His biaven to crown you? Oh, that we might all have something of the great C-eraaan reformer's love for this Christ which led him to say, "If any one knocks at the door of my breast and says, 'Who lives there?' my reply is, 'Jesus Christ lives here, not Martin Luther/ " Will it not be grand if, when we get through this short and ragged road of life, we can go right up into His presence and live with Him world without end. And if, entering the gate of that heavenly city, we snoald be so overwhelmed with oar anworthiness on the one side, and the super* nal splendor on the other side, we got a little bewildered and should for a few moments be, lost on the streets of gold and amoog the burnished temples and the sapphire thrones, there woold be plenty to show a? the way andtake as out of our joyful bewilderment, and perhaps the woman of Naln would sav, "Come, let me take you to the Christ who r?i?wvi mv onlv bov to life." And Martha would say, "Comej Jet ma take you to the Christ who brought up my brother Lazarus from the tomb," And one of the disciples would say, "Come, and let me tako you to the Carlst who saved our sinking ship in the hurrlciwe ou Gennesaret." And Paul would say, "Come, ani let me lead you to the Christ for whon I died on the road to Ostla." And whole groups of marryrs would say, "Come, let us show you | the Ohnst for whom we rattled the chain and waded the floods and dared the fires." And , our own glorified kindred would flock around us, saying, "We have been waiting a good while for you, but before wa talk over old times, and we tell you ot wiat wa have enjoyed since we have Iwen here, ani you tell us of what you have suffer. *1 siaca wa parted, come, come and let us show you the greatest sight ia all the place, the most resplendent throne, and upon it the mightiest conqueror, the exaltation of heaven, the theme of the immortals, the altogether great, the altogether good, the altogether fair, the altogether lovely!" Well, the delljhtful morn will coma When my dear L >rd wll brla? me home, And I snail nee His f ace. Thea. wita my Sav.our, Brother, Friend, blest et?rn ty I'll ape.m. Triumphant In His grace. Held a Royal Hand. A pleasant incident of the journey to , the north taken some years ago by Mr. Gladstone, Lord Tennyson and a large number of friends is related by Mr. Lucy. "After luncheon at Copenhagen," he writes, "It was suggested that Tennyson should follow his custom of an afternoon and read aloud from his poems. The poet laureate usually Hud seated next to mm tne young lady of the party, and had 1 formed a pleasing habit of holding her haud with fatherly affection while he declaimed favorite passages from his works. In the arrangement of guests and visitors iu the smoking room after the Copenhagen lunch, the Princess of Wales chanced to sit on Tennyson's left, the place occupied by the other young lady. Tennyson read OIaud.' As he proceeded, losing himself, as ! usual, in the intensity of the poem, the ! other guests were horrified to observe his left hand fall into its accustomed position, and seize that of his companion on his left. Her Royal Highness smiled and left her hand passive in the poet's vigorous grasp, where it 1 was held till the reading was linished." 1 ?Detroit Free Press. , Shrinking in Size. The bringing of Missouri and Kenl tucky horses into the Spanish-Ameri can Territories has re jd the average r 6ize of these beast., there greatly. Years ago practicallv all the horses in ? New Mexico were bronchos, which, however, looked big beside the still | smaller Spanish mules and burros r (asses). A man liviug a few months - in that country got used to their 3 standard of size, so thai when he went j back East, over the plains, it was easy t for any smart trader who first met him . r to palm off a small horse upon him as ' being a big one. t In those days people traveled mainly I on horseback. An unsuspecting man, just returned from Santa Fe after buy' ing a "States" horse at the Missouri , River, would see his steed apparently shrink in size every day as he traveled i among the large-boned Missouri stock. Horse traders understood this peculi- J arily, and used to mako a good tiling i out of pilgrims returning hast across the plains.?New York World. ( ?^ < Canada's Yearly Fish Catch. | The annual report of the Fisheries Deport- | 1 ment shows that the total catch of the Cana- , dlan fisheries for the calender year 1S33 u i i valued at $20,636,660. RELIGIOUS READING. A GOOD 8EBMOX. We have heard a story of the elder Dr. Beecher, now of Cincinnati, that is said to be true, and is worth being put into types, as illustrating the truth that we never "can tell what may result from an apparently very insignificant action. The doctor once engaged to preach for a country minister, on exchange, and the Sabbath proved to be one excessively stormy, cold and uncomfortable. It wa6 in mid-winter, and the snow was piled in heaps all along in the roads, so as to make the passage very difficult. Still the minister urged his horse through the drifts, till he reached the church, put tbe animal Into the shed, and went in. As yet there was no person in the house, and after looking about, the old gentleman?then young?took his seat in the pulpit Soon the door opened, and a 6ingle individual walked up tbe aisle, looked about and took a seat The hour came for commencing service, but no more hearers. Whether to preach to such an audience or not was now the question?and it was one that Lyman Beecher was not long in deciding. Ho felt that he had a duty to perform, and he had no right to refuse to do it, because only one man could reap the benefit of it; and accordingly he went through all the services, praying," singlne, preaching, and the benediction, with only one hearer. And when all was over he hastened down from the desk to speak to his "congregation," but he had departed. A circumstance so rare was referred to occasionally, but twenty years after, it was brought to the doctor's mind quite strangely. Travelling somewhere in Ohio, the doctor alighted from the stage, one day, In a pleasant village, when a gentlemen stepped up and spoke to him, familiarly calling nim by name. 'I do not remember, you,1 said the doctor. 'I suppose not,' said the stranger; ' * * 1 ? - 4? A. 4n a Dut we spent two nours lugeiucr, m a house, alone, once In a storm.' 'I do not recall it, sir,' added the old man, ? 'pray when was it?' 'Do you remember preaching, twenty years ago, in such a place, to a single person?' 'Yes, yes,' said the doctor, grasping his hand. 'I do indeed, and if you are tne man, I have been wishing to see you ever since.' 'I am the man, sir; and that sermon saved my soul, made a minister of me, and yonder is my church! The converts of that sermon, sir, are all over Ohio ' SUNDAY AFTERNOON PBAYEB. Perhaps you have sometimes asked youp? selves, "What is the good of prayer?" 0 e sufficient answer to that question is, '"Prayer 19 good practice." Prayer means business. It is the going over, in face of God. or all our difficulties, duties, and sins; it is the rehearsing of the means that we must take to overcome thom. It is the setting In order of our faculties and passions, of our thoughts and tempers, in order to meet them. Use prayer in tws way, ana 11 mi neverue umoio form to you; nor will you ever be without a reason to Rive to people who ask you "What's the good of prayer?" The Salvation Army call prayer drill; und so it is. But I will go further and say that prayer is not only drilL It is the battlefield itself. Look at the prayers of the Lord Jesus. Where wero the real battles of His human life fought out? In His prayer?. There He fought and there He won His victories; and that was why the times, which in other men's lives are fullest of struggle, the times when He faced His material enemies, where to His full only of peace and calm fortitude. He came out from God before men as one who had already conquered. In our own time there was a man who had learned this secret of Christ?General Gordon. He fought and won all his greatest battles, he tells us, on his knees. If you read his letters to his sisters you will find such passages as these: "I had a grand half-hour hewing Agag in pieces before the Lord." Ho says that over and over again; and he means that on his knees he first of all overcame self and sin and every other enemy, at the beginning of ever}- day. That was why, for the rest of the day, Gordon was always so ready, so dutiful, so brave. No man can be really bravo who has not thus learned to make prayer the real battlefield as well as well as the drill-ground of life.?{G. Adam Smith. SPIRITUAL ATHLETICS. Have you ever noticed how high a valuo God places on detsrmination of character? His command is, "Only be th?u strong and very courageous."?J?ch. 1: 7. "Go In tills thy might. "The Lord' Is with thee, thou mighty man of valor."?Judges 6:12-14. And all through the Bible we find that it was the determined men, such as David and Daniel, who won the favor of God and were greatly blessed by Him. Take Jehu for an illustration. The Lord appointed him to be king, but he had to win for " himself the kingdom which God had given him. And see how promptly and energetically he acted. Ho set out at once, and drove furiously; he would not stop, even for a moment, to par ry with the king's messengers or with the king himself, but pushed straight ahead until he had killed the king and bis ally and established himself in the royal palace. Even so, God has promised aerown to each of his faithful sen-ants, but none of us will receive our kingdom unless we hustle for it? 2 Tim. 4:8. It is possible for each of us to allow some one else to take our crown.?Rev. 3:1L Now as in the day3 of our Lord, "the kingdom of heaven suffereth violence, and the violent take it by force."?Matt. 11:12. Read the account on another page of the intense eagerness Henry Belden showed in seeking closer fellowship with God. It is only a sample illustration. i nousanas nave passed through equally intense struggles, and every one must undergo a liko sifting process in some way befo re he can enter fully into the peace of God. ESTIMATE OF THE WORLD BY A SIAN OF THE WORLD. ' I have run the silly rounds of business and pleasure and have done with them all. I have enjoyed all the pleasures of the world, and consequently know their futility, and do not regret their loss. I appraise them at their real value, which is. in truth, very low. Whereas those woo nave not experienced, always overrate them. They only see their pay outside, and are dazzled with the glare. But I have been behind the scenes. I have seen all the coarse pullics and dirty ropes which exhibit and move the gaudy machines; and I have seen and smelt the tailow candles which illuminate the whole decoration, to the astonishment and admiration of the ignorant audience. When I reflect on what I have seen, what I have heard and what I havo done, I cus hardly persunde myself that all frivolous hurry of bustle and pleasure of the world had any reality; but 'I look upon all that is passod as ono of those romantic dreams which opium commonlv occasions; and I do by no means desire to repeat the nauseous | dcwe. for the fugitive dream. Shall I tell you that I bear this melancholy situation with that meritorious constancy and resienation which most people toast of? No; for I really caunot help it. I bear it, because I must bear it, whether I will or not! I think of nothing but ki ling time the best way I can, now tnat no is neeome my enemy. It is my resolution to sleep in tlio carriage during the remainder of the journey." -?{.Lord Chesterfield. "You see," says Bishop Homo, remarking on this passage, " in how poor, abject and unpitied a condition, at a time when he most wanted help and comfort, the world left him ami he left the world." In a very different manner an Illustrious Christian lived and triumphantly Soft the . world. '*1 am now ready to be offered, and the time of mv departure is at hand. I have fought a good light: I have finished my course; henceforth there is laid tip for :ne a crown of lighteousni-s- which God, the right- i eous judge, will givo me that day.?Paul. New York's Charitable Work. According to reports mado by sixteen of the charitable organizations of New York City S15.000.000 was spent for tho support of the Door durinsr tho year ended Fnbruary 28,1894. $5,000,000 or one-half more than in any previous year. No exact knowledge probably will ever be obtained of all the expenditures for the relief of the needy, as many societies do not keep careful accounts, others dispenso clothes, food and fuel, received in largo proportions from private individual, the value of which is not noted, trhiie a very large item in the charity ledger Is that of privalo aid by families, business offices and Individuals, who do not count the cost. SABBATH SCHOOL, international lesson for MAY 13. I?fison Text: "Israel In Egypt," Exodus L, 1-14?Golden Text; Psalm cxxlv., 8? Commentary. !. "No*, these are the names of th? children of Israel which came into EgyDt." Every man and his household came with Jacob." The more detailed account of this is found in G*m. xlvi., 8-27. and in versss 3, 4, the comforting and assuring words of God to Jacob concerning his going into Egypt?the promise of His presence ana blessing and of their sure return to the land of promise. It Is always safe to go where we are sure of the presence and blessing of God. These children of Israel are first mentioned by their names, with the meaning of their names, in Gen. xxix. and xxx. The last reference to them is in Rev. xxi., 12, where their names seem to be written on the twelve (fates of pearl of the New Jerusalem, the Bride, the Lamb's wife, which is to come down from God out of heaven. 2,8. 4. ''Reuben, Simeon. Levi and Judah, Issacbar, Zebulum and Benjamin, Dan and Naphtall, Gad and Asher." These eleven came with Jacob, Joseph being already in Egypt, as in the next verse. The names here are not in the order of birth, but in the 6ame order as in Gen. xxxv., 23-26, which is there explained, the wives coming first and then the handmaids. The many various orders of arrangement in which the Spirit baa written these names throughout the Scriptures cannot be void of significance. 5. "And all the souls that come out of the loins of Jacob were seventy souls, for Joseph was in Egypt already." This agrees with Gen. xlvi., 26, 27, and Deut. x.,22. Stephen's statement that Joseph called seventy-five to him in Egypt (Acts vli., 14) is no discrepancy, for he Includes all bis kindred, which would take in Jacob's sons' wives, who were not included in the seventy. See Gen. xlvL, 26. The word of God is infallible. 6. "And Joseph died, and all his brethren, and all that generation." We are reminded of the e'?ght times repeated ''And he died" of Gen. v. and of Heb. ix.. 27. "It Is appointed unto men once to die." Bnt we remember that two men have been excused from keeping this appointment, Enoch and Elijah, and all believers alive on the earth at the coming of Christ will not sleep, but be changed in a moment and caught up to meet Him intho air (I Cor. xv., 51, 52 ; I Thess.. iv. 16-18.1 7. "And the children of Israel were fruitful and increased abundantly and multiplied and waxed exceeding mighty, and the land was filled with them." God had said to Jacob, "Fear not to co down into Ejrypt, for I will there make of thee a great nation" (Gen. xlvi., 8). And He had done it according to His word, for "Hath He said, and shail He not do it? or hath He spoken, and shall He not make it good" (Num. xxxiii., 19)? When such Increase is seen in all the earth, then shall Gen. i.. 28 be obeyed, and the blessing of the Lord be made manifest. Confidence in God and obedience to His word will always bring sbowers of blessing. 8. "Now, there arose a new king over J Egypt, which knew not Joseph." That was ! not the worst of it. for his own testimony was, "I know not Jehovah" (Ex. v., 2). In I this he was surely guilty, for he could not j help knowing about Josephs and the God of i Joseph, and the great deliverance wrought by God through Joseph for his land and people. The presence of these children of Israel in his land was a witness on behalf of Joseph and his God. 9. "And he said unto his people. Behold, the people of the children of Israel are mora | and michtier than we." Thi3 is equal to a ! confession that he knew Joseph in the sense | of knowing all about him ana his people, but j he was determined not to acknowledge any obligation to Joseph or these, his people. This is the sense in which those who have heard the gospel know not Goo. They will not regard Him nor acknow>;dge their obligation to Him. 10. "Come on. let us deal wisely with them, lest tbey multiply, and it come to pass that when there falleth out any war they join also unto our enemies and fight against us and so get them up out of the land." He In his wisdom would fight against the very thing God bad said He would do, "I will surely bring thee up again" (Gen. xlvi.. 4). ! 8atan's way is to go directly against Go1, as j in the beginning, when God said, "Thou shalt surely die," tbe serpent said, "Ye shali not surely die." ' 11. "Therefore they did not set over them taskmasters to afflict them with their bur* dens. And they built for Pharaoh treasure cities, Pithom and Raamses." This also had been foreseen and foretold, for God^had said to Abram that in the Strang* land his seed should be afflicted, but that afterward He would brine them out with ereat substance (Gen. xv., 18, 14). It 3eems stranee tons I that God should allow satan to afflict His [ people, but so It is. Consider Job and the I captives taken to Babylon for their pood | (Jer. xxlv., 5) and the church at Smyrna (Rev. II.. 10) and sea I Pet. iv.. 12, 13. 12. "Bat the more they afflicted them the more they multiplied and grew. And they were grieved because of the children of Israel." Thus the Lord laughed at man's e* forts to frustrate His purpose. It is so with the word of God, and with the church, and with the individual Christian. The more I Dersecution the more it grows; the more we die the more we live. ''Except a coru of wheat fall into the ground and die It abideth alone, but if it die it bringeth forth much fruit" (John xll., 24). Their grief because i of Israel makes us think of those who were exceedingly grieved beaause a man had come to seek the welfare of the children of Israel CNeh. ii., 10) and of the time when Jerusalem shall be a burdensome stone for all people?all that burden themselves with it shall be cut in pieces (Zecb. xl<., 8). 13, 14. "And the Egyptians made the children of Israel to serve with rigor, ami they made their lives bitter with hard bondage in mortar and in brick and In all manner of service in the field, all their service wherein they made them serve was with rigor." In at least three places this Is called the Iron furnace of Egypt (Daut. iv., 20 .1 Kings, viiJ., 51; Jer. xi., 4), and In I?a. xlviii., 10, the Lord sayj: "Behold, I hava refined thee, but not with sliver. I have chosen thee in the furnace of affliction." From Ezek. xxiL, 17-22, and Zech. xiii., 9, and elsewhere it looks as if there would bo more furnace work than ever for Israel era they all know the Lord from the least to the greatest. As to our individual lives, when we are lu the furnace we may be sure that the Lord h is His eye upon us, looking lovingly to see His own imago more clearly reflected In us (Mai. ill., 3). The remainder of this chapter tells how in spltn of the orders to kill all the male children as soon as bore the people multiplied and waxed very migaty.?Lesaon Holper. Japanese at Hawaii. The Japanese qu3StIon is the all-absorbing I topic of interest at Honolulu. SInco the arrival of the new Japanese warship, the Taklchiho, the Japanese have taken on a more independent air than formerly, and are openly claiming the right to a voice in the affaire of government, The warship Naniwa went to Hilo, on the Island of Hawaii, recently, carrying the Japanese Minister, Jujul. with her. The Minister has not yet returned,and is said to be conferring with the Japanese contract laborers. As there are many thousands of these laborers on the island, the people are becoming alarmed as to what tho outcome may bo. It is surmised that if the Japanese insist on the voting franchise and it Is refused tbem they will try to take matters in their own hands, and compel tho Provisional Government to recognize them. Should such a contingency occur it is more than likely that the Chinese would join forces with the Japanese, and tho white population of the islands would stand a poor chance of victory. Uses or the Peanut. United States Consul-General lo Frankfort Frank Mason has forwarded a report, founded on researches and experiments recently made by the German Government, upon the uses of the peanut. Four samples, according to the report?peanut grits, peanut flour, peanut biscuit and diabetic chocolate biscuits?were tried in a public hospital in Berlin, and supplied as food to 120 patients. More than half found peanut soup made from grits palatable and excellent, and ate gladly. Its durability surpasses even that of the hitherto unequalled 'soja beans" of Japan and China. Biggest Fountain of Kuowledge. The number of students at the University of Berlin this winter is 8150, probably the largest number in any educational institution la the world. < i FASHION'S EMPIRE. SOME OF THE LATEST DECREES OF THE FICKLE DAME. The Doable Skirt Has Arrived?The > Empire Style Dictates Many Smart Costumes ? Suitable Gowns for Little Ones. It has arrived, the oversklrt, but after all our extravagant talk on the subject Is such a model of meek simplicity, and so vague a euiwrestlon of old-time drapery, as to utterly disarm criticism. A very great many of the smart spring frocks have what are called double skirts. These are of equal length, but the top gulpe Is caught up slightly on either side and held by knots and rosettes in flat graceful folds upon the hips. The effect is extremely nice. One charming importation I saw the other day had the under petticoat faced up about twelve Inches with cerise velvet, over which fell a full skirt of thick black satin. Slender and sparkling jet crescents lifted the satin slightly so as to show a line of the splendid color beneath. The bodice of satin had a broad, wrinkled band of velvet folded closely about the waist, and black-spangled net that fell in a deep drooping frill ovor the shoulders, completed an elegant toilet. Then, too, in the little ready-made muslin frocks that are a decided feature of the olrfrfa ora raw nnfiAAfthlA. The top skirt, which la frequently edged with lace, Is lifted and fastened on the hips by chunks of narrow ribbon. In nearly every Instance the bodice has a yoke of alternate strips of muslin and lace framed by a roll of velvet, which material forms a girdle and collar, while wide crimped shoulder flounces of muslin hang over the big puffed sleeves. Even in the very best shops these pretty gowns sell for prices ranging from sbc to sixteen dollars, and are bought up instantly they are shown. They are of pale pinks, blues and lilacs, striped with black, between which delicate garlands of flowers bloom. Both black satin and velvet show advantage* ously In these combinations. Although ft Is impossible to foretell what sort of a summer we will have, the sale of these stuffs haf been phenominally large. Ore pons are unquestionably to be the mater* ials of the year and those brought over from Paris are very varied, with the new soft silk puckered stripes carried across the goods and embroidered with tiny motifs and In the most charming colors. There never were so many shades of pink and a bright beige green is coming to the front. Many pretty garden gowns, to be seen on the Newport lawns this summer, are of fancy open work canvass, trimmed with white satin and guipure lace. The street colorings too are delightful in thin woolens for young girls' gownb, such as cau de nil and pink, grey and gold and cau de nil and moire. Many of the Parisian novelties are accompanied by fine special embroideriey designed for decoration, and when well made such costumes have an air of superior elegance on account of this rich needle work. A number of the smartest spring toilets are fashioned after the empire stylo having smooth unbroken lines from throat to foot. An extremely pretty model is the one given here. The foundation is a golden brown bengallnecut to lit rather closely in tront and flare decidedly below the hips in the back. Doublo bands of heavy cream lace and dark brown satin stitched with gold are laid over the front seams and help to add light and distinction to the figure. Tho bengaline sleeves are slashed in tho pulls to discover the embroidered satin beneath; there ar?6mall cuffs to match, a collar an.l folded belt Of plain satin and handsome bertha of laco gracefully draped over shoulders and bust. Beautiful toilets bring to mind so^e exquisitely pretty robes now in tho hands of tho modistes for April brides. One mad-a 1'Empire of thick ivory-tinted ducheaao satin, has a scarf of old point laco draped across the hips and falling to one side of the otherwise plain skirt. Tho sleeves are of tho new butterfly form, of which nothing can be moro airy, and tho bodice that opens In a V-shape, is fdled in with laco to match the deep squares gathered over tho shoulders and held by a knot of white violets. Pailletted tulle is used lavishly in trimming Bummer silks for both afternoon and evening wear. When the foundation is of black satin and tho rest spangled with irridesceut blue and silver paillette, the effect is wonderfully brilliant and becoming. A remarkably important looking gown that has attracted eon JJ : iderable attention, has a plain blaok moM skirt, the bodice of the same moire made high at the neck and opening in a Y-shape with wide reveres in front A deep Job fringe hong around the waist, and from the back fell two long sash ends of pink and green chine silk, which trimmed the skirt tcf perfection, while the arms appeared to be thrust through a scarf of black pailletted ne? bordered with jet, which was enormoualj; 'wide. White satin capes were introduced over the sleeves, and lent an air of marked distinction. The attractive frock for a young girl of which a picture Is given, Is of swivel silk of a pale sage green. The full skirt has a narrow double frill about the hem, and the waist 1* elaborately trimmed with yellow lace. A touch of color is Introduced by the bit of old rose velvet ribbon that is drawn across th<j bodice, knotted at the belt and falls in loops and ends below. Muslin guimpes are |ij much In vogue as ever for slender childre&j while those of stouter build have accordion cimped vests let in tha front of their bodlofisi All the fashions of their elders are adopted for the little people, who wear tight undeiv sleeves, with huge puffs above, and the ores present shoulder and sleeve frills. Theil gingham and print frocks are simply mad^ and depend upon the freshness of OQlor, and beauty of embroidery for value. For ful] dress costume a great profusion of lace and ribbon Is used with collar, belt and auh of either satin or-velvet . .. J This group of shoes Include about all that is to be found in the shops at present^ Women who care to be correctly shod need at least six pairs of boots and slippers. Heavy kid with patent leather tips are for morning tramps. The full vamped patent leather U . better suited for afternoon calls or driving!. There is a low buttoned shoe for home wea* and three styles of slippers for full dress occasions. The russet shoe Is seen In twoj shades of brown, and since last summer several new and handsome skins have been jadopted tor footwear. Brown slippers tied ;,j^b with black eatlnbows will be frequently seeni with fresh morning gowns this summer, and look particularly well with the butcheat . V,4 linens that have taken a new lease upont popular favor. Maet L. Bislito. EECTS FOB WOMBS. 'JrJuSm A hint to the woman who values her good looks, bat revels In lamp shades of all sorts and varieties. Banish heliotrope, and beware of green unless you have a muddy skin. Rose pink is very flattering and wflJ take ten years off a woman's age much mora skillfully and gently than all the hair dyes, face bleaches, and beauty balms in existence} Now a word for the girl who wishes to * make a good impression on a soon to bf fiance?don't run down the good looks <4 other girls, and don't think it necessary to add ten per cent to the cost of any article In your wardrobe in order to impress the masculine mind with the richness of your posses* siona. There have been instances of man being scared off at such tactics, realizing 2 that their pooket-book and such prices did ' :'?> notgeet There is such a lot of things to suggest to the young married Woman, that to pick at random will be certain to hit some particular case anyhow; therefore here goes, for, you know, no wife was ever perfect, therefon the hint cannot come amiss no matter if if doesn't exactly fit the case like a tailor-madt frock on a Venus de Milo. T5a in of oc frtatrrr ahnnfrnnr tinnflflrnnM marriage as before. Your husband admirer a fluffy being, bat he will not appreciate curl papers. Lcok uot for the first squall; doal let it run into a tornado. Give your husband plenty of well-cooked food if you want him to enthuse over the new bnreau cover?ami whisper, don't show the cover to him uatU after dinner. ' - ' How can we tell the young mother that her darling cherub is at times a most awful bore. She never considers her baby aught but a thing of beauty and a joy forever, and consequently monopolizes all conversation with anecdotes of his cute ways, and whenever possible produces the one perfect specimen of babyhood and feels deeply offended if the entire community does not at once bow down ind worship and go into spasmodic raptures jf baby talk, which, unless practiced hours beforehand, so frightens the infant that a. perfect Babel ensues, and the unhappy wouldbe, but ignorant adorer, is set down aa a horrid, unfeellcff brute, who frightened v? " mother's Iovoy dovey by his ugly bogey ways. Babies to be appreciated should be kept in the nursery as much as possible, and not be foisted upon an unappreciative oircle of acquaintances until they are old enough to anjoy a conversation not necessarily sprinkled with cooing utterances which "was a lorey zing," or "precious darling fetsy wetsy," and other similar unintelligible sentences form a largo part Imitatire ol the Fish. It would probably be found that a. smooth surface of iron or steel is about the worst which we can give to our ships. For a smooth metal surface has apparently the property of attracting and detaining the particles of water in contact with it, whether by molecular attraction or otherwise. Thereby the water in immediate contact with the vessel's side or bottom ia drawn along with her, and its particles communicate their motion to an outer circle of particles, and so on till a vast mass of water is set constantly in motion along with the ship. This is precisely what we want to avoid, as the essence of the reduction of fluid friction is to slip easily through the water with the least possible disturbance. Herein lies, as I imagine, the great advantage of the surface structure of the fish. It would probably be found by experiment that an exact model of a fish iu any ordinary material, as wood, iron, steel, etc., when towed through the water at a given rate, would communicate ino- > tion to a straw or light floating object lying near its course, to a far greater extent than would the real fish passing through the water at the samo speed. Experiment on this point would be easy, and would be as valuable and suggestive when applied to different materials and surfaces as the former suggested experiments on horse power. ?The Contemporary Review.