The Abbeville press and banner. (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, September 05, 1894, Image 7
REV. DR. TALMAGE.
THE BROOKLYN DIVINE'S SUNDAY
SERMON.
Subject: "An Only Son."
*' T*it : "Now when He came nTfjh to the
gate ot the city,. behoid there was a dead
man carried oaf. the only son of his mother,
and she was a widow, and mucti people of
the dtv was witn ner. Ana ween me jl,wi-u
8aw her He had compassion on her and said
onto her, Weep not, and Ho came and
touohed the bier, and they that bore him
stood still. And He said. Young man, I say
unto thee arise! And he that was dead sat
up and began to speak, and He delivered
him to his mother."?Luke viL, 12-15.
: The text calls us to stand at the gate of
the city of Nain. The streets are a-rush with
^business and gayety, and the ear is deafened
With the hammers of mechanism and the
wheels of traffic. Work, with its thousand
arms and thousand eyes and thousand feet,
fills all the street, when suddenly the crowd
'part?, and a funeral passes. Between the
wheels of work and pleasure there comes a
long procession of mourning people. Who
^s it? A trifler says : "Oh, it's nothing but
a funeral. It may have come up from the
hospital of the city, or the almshouse, or
some low place of the town," but not so, says
the serious observer.
t There are so many evidences of dire bereavement
that we know at the first glance
Borne one has been taken away greatly beloved,
and to our inquiry, "Who is this that
Is carried out with so many offices of kindness
and affection?" the reply comes, "The
only son of his mother, and she a widow."
Stand back and let the procession pass out t
Hush all the voices of mirth and Dleasure!
Let every head be uncovered! Weep with
this passing procession and let It be told
through all the market places and bazaars
of Nain that in Galilee to-day the sepuloher
hath gathered to itself "the only son of his
mother, and she a widow."
There are two or three things that, in my
mind, give especial pathos to this soene.
The first is, he was a young man that was
being carried out To the aged death becomes
beautiful. The old man halts and
pants along the road, where once he bounded
like the roe. From the midst of immedicable
ailments and sorrows he cries out.
"How long, Jbora, now long: rooisuro
and hardly bestead on the hot journey, he
wants to get home. He sits in the church
and sings, with a tremulous voice, some tune
be sang forty years ago and longs to join the
better assemplage of the one hundred and
forty and lour thousand who have passed
the flood. How ewoetly he sleeps the last
r sleep! Push back the white locks from the
wrinkled temples. They will never aohe
again. Fold the hands over the still heart.
They will never toil again. Close gently the
eyes. They will never weep again.
Bat this man that I am speaking of was a
young man. He was just putting on the
armor of life, and he was exulting to think
how his sturdy blows would ring out above
the clangor of the battle. I suppose he had
young man's hopes, a young man's ambitions
and a young man's courage. He said:
"If Ilive inany years, I will feedthe hungiy
and clothe the naked. In this city of Naln,
where there are so many bad young men, I
Will be sober and honest and pure and magnanimous,
and my mother shall never be
ashamed of me." But all these prospects
are blasted in one hour.. There be passes
lifeless in the procession. Behold all that is
left on earth of the high hearted young man
Of the city of Nain.
There is another thing that adds very
much to this scene, and that is he was an
only sen. However large the family flock
may be, we never could think of sparing one
of the lambs. Though they may all have
their faults, they all have their excellencies
. that commend them to the parental heart,
and if it were peremptorily demanded of you
to-day that you should yield up one of your
children out of a very large family you
Would be confounded and you could not
make a selection. But this was an only son,
around whom gathered all the parental exTTnnr
mnih rnpn In his ednCA
Itfoa! How much caution in watching his
habits! He would carry down the name to
other times. He would have entire control
of the family property Ion? after the parents
bad gone to their last reward. He would
Stand in society a thinker, a worker, a phil
anthropist. a Christian. No, no. It is all
ended. Behold him there. Breath is gone.
; Life is extinct. The only son of his mother.
I There was one thing that added to the
pathos of this scene, and that was his mother
was a widow. The main hope of that home
r had been broken, and now he was come up
to be the staff. The chief light of the household
has been extinguished, and this was
the only light left. I suppose she often said,
looking at him, "There are only two of us."
Ob, it to a grand thing to see a young man
step out in life and say to his mother;
"Don't be down hearted. I will, as far as
po3flible. take father's place, and as long as
1 live y.ou shall never want anything." It is
not always that way. Sometimes the young
people get tired of the old people. They
sat they are queer; that they have so many
ailments, and they sometimes wish them out
of the way. A young man and his wife sat
at the table, their little son on the floor playing
beneath the table. The old father was
very old, and his hand shook, so they said.
"You shall no more sit with us at the table.'
And so they gave him a place in the corner,
where, day by day, bo ate out of an earthen
bowl?everything put into that bowl. One
day his hand trembled so much he dropped
S,and it broke, and the son, seated at the
egant table in mldfioor, said to his wife,
4'Now well get father a wooden bowl, and
that he can't break." So a wooden bowl
was obtained, r.nd evory day old grandfather
ate out of that, sitting in the corner.
One day, while the elegant young man and
his wife were seated at their table, with
chased silver and all the luxuries, and their
little son sat upon the floor, they saw the
lad whittling, and they said: "My son, what
ar? you doing there with that knife?"
71 Ka ?<T.?T'ra mntlno? fpntivK fnt*
VU, oam "V, A A *** *e? ? "' o- ?v.
my father and mother to eat out of?when
tbey got old!"
Bat this young man of the text was not
Of that char.ictcr. He did not belong to that
school. I oan tell it from the way they
mourned over him. He was to bo the companion
of his mother. He was to be his
mother's protector. Ho would return now
ome of the kindness he had received In the
days of childhood and boyhood. Aye, he
would with his strong hand uphold that
form already enfeebled with age. Will ho
do It? No. in one hour that promise of
help and companionship is gone. There is
a world of anguish in that one short phrase,
"lie only son o! his mother, and she a
widow."
Now, my friends, it was upon this scene
that Christ broke. He came in without any
introduction. He stopped the procession.
He had only two utterances to make?the
.one to the mourning mother, the other to
the dead. Ho oriod out to the mourning
one, "Weep not," and then, touching the
bier on which tnc son lay, Ho cried out,
I "Young man, I say unto thee arise!" And
fie that was dead sat up.
I learn two or three things from this subject,
and first that Chirat was a man. You
see how that sorrow played upon all the
chords of His heart. I think that we forget
this too often. Christ was a man more certainly
tfian you are. for He was a perfect
man. No sailor ever slept in ship's hammock
more soundly than Christ slept in that
boat on Qennesaret. In every nerve and
muscle and bone and fiber of Hisbody, m
every emotion and affection of His heait, in
every action and decision of His mind He
Was a man.
He looked off upon the sea just as you look
off upon the waters. He went into Martha's
J""* ?? inin. o YTa
breathed hard when He was tirod, just as
you do when you are exhausted. He felt
after sleeping out a nisht in the storm just
like you do when you have been exposed to
& tempest. It was just as humiliating for
Him to beg bread as it would be for you to
become a pauper. He felt just as much insulted
by beiiiK sold for thirty pieces of silver
as you would if you were sold for the
price of a dojr. Fromthe crown of the head
to the sole of the foot He was a man. When
the thorns were twisted for His brow, they
hurt Him just as much as they hurt your
ibrow If they were twisted for it. He took
not on Him the nature of angels. He took
on Him the seed of Abraham. "Ecce Homo!"
behold the man!
But I must also draw from this subject
,thatHewasa God. Suppose that a man
,should attempt to break up a funeral obsequy.
He would be seized by the law, he
.would be imprisoned. If he were not actually
.slain by the mob before the officers could
secure him. If Christ had been a mere mortal,
would He have a right to oome in upoa
jfe1
!
: - ; ;>"< " x-;;-, " > ,
V
such a procession? Would Ha have succeeded
In Hi3 Interruption? He was more
than a man, tor when He cried out, "I say
unto thee, arise!" he that was dead sat up.
What exoitement there must have been thereabout
! The body had lain prostrate. It had
been mourned over with agonizing tears,
and yet cow it begins to move in the shroud
and to be flushed with life, and at the command
of Christ he rises up and looks into
the faces of the astonished spectators.
'Ob, this was the work of a God! I
hear it in His voice; I see it in the flash of
His eye; I behold it in the snapping of
death's shackles; I see it in the faoe of
the rising slumberer; I hear it in the outcry
of all those who were spectators of the
scene. If, when I see my Lord Jesus Christ
mourning with the bereaved, I put my hands
on His shoulders and say, "My brother,"
now that I hear Him proolaim supernatural
? CTl'n
deliverances, x muk up mw mo muo olu
say with Thomas, "My Lord and my God,"
Do you not think He was a God? A great
many people do not believe that, and they
compromise the matter, or they think they
compromise it. They say He was a very
good ma a, but He was not a God. That is
Impossible. He was eithor a God or a
wretch, and I will prove it. If a man professed
to be that which he is not, what is he?
He is a liar, an impostor, a hypocrite. That
is your unanimous verdict. Now, Christ
professed to be a God. He said over and
over again Hs was a God, took the attributes
of a God and assumed the works and offices
of a God. Dare you now say He was not?
He was a God, or He was a wretch. Choose
ye.
Do you think I cannot prove by this Bible
that He was a God? If you do not believo
this Bible, of course there is no need of my
talking to you. There is no common data
from which to start. Suppose you do believe
it. Then I can demonstrate that He
was divine. I can prove He was Creator,
John i.. 3, "All things wer9 made by Him,
and without Him was not anything made
that was made." He was eternal, Bevelation
xxii.j 13, "I am Alpha aid Omega, the beginning
and the end, the first and the last."
I can prove that He was omnipotent,
Hebrews I., 10, "The heavens are the work
of Thine hands." I can prove He was
omniscient, John ii., 25, "He knew what
was in man." Oh, yes, He is a God. He
aleft the sea. He upheaved the crystalline
walls along which the Israelites marched.
He planted the mountains. He raises up
governments and casts down thrones and
marches across nations and across worlds
and across the universe, eternal, omnipo- j
tent, unhindered and unabashed. That hand
tnat was nailed to tne cross noias me scars
In a leash of love. That head that dropped
on the bosom in fainting and death shall
make the world quake at its nod. That voice
that groaned la the last pang shall swear before
the trembling world that time shall be
no longer. Oh, do not Insult the common
Bense of the race by telling us that this person
was only a man in whose presence the
paralytic arm was thrust out well, and the
devils crouched, and the lepers dropped
their scales, and the tempests folded their
wings, and the boy's satchel of a few loaves
made a banquet for 5000, and the sad procession
of my text broke up in congratulation
and hosanna!
Again. I learn from this subject that Christ
was a sympathizer. Mark you, this was a
city funeral. In the country, when the bell
tolls, they know all about it for Ave miles
around, and they know what was the matter
with the man, how old he was and what
were his last experiences. They know with
whattemporal prospects he has left his family.
There is no haste, there Is no Indecency
in the obsequies. There is nothing done as
a mere matter of business. Even the children
come out as the procession passes and
look sympathetic, and the tree shadows
seem to deepen, and the brooks weep in
sympathy as the procession goes by. But,
mark you, this that I am speaking of was a
city funeral. In great cities the cart jostles
the hearse, and there is mirth and gladness
and indifference as the weeping procession
goes by. In this city of Nain it was a common
thing to have trouble and bereavement
and death. Christ saw it every day there.
Perhaps that very hour there were others being
carried out, but this frequency of trouble
did not harden Christ's heart at all. He
stepped right out, and He saw this mourner,
ana He had compassion on her, and He said
"Weep not!"
Now I have to tell you. O bruised souls,
and there are many everywhere?have you
ever looked over any great audience and noticed
how many shadows of sorrow there
are? I come to all such and say, "Christ
meets you, and He has compassion on you,
and He says, 'Weep not." Perhaps with
some It is "financial trouble. "Ob," you say,
"it Is such a silly thing for a man to cry
over lost money!
Is It? Suppose you had a large fortune,and
all luxuries brought to your table, and your
wardrobe was lull, and your home was beautiful
by music and sculpture and painting
and thronged by the elegant and educated,
and then some round misfortune should
strike you in the face and trample your treasures
and taunt your children for their fadod
dress and send you into commercial circles
an underling where once j*ou waved a scepter
of gold, do you think you would cry then? I
think you would. But Christ comes and
meets all such to-day. He sees all the straits
in which vou have been thrust. He observes
the sneer of that man who ones was proud
to walk in your shadow and glad to get your
help. He sees the protested note, the uncanceled
judgment, the foreclosed mortgage,
the heartbreaking exasperation, and Ho saya
"Weep not. I own th? cattle on a thousand
hills. I will never let you starve. From My
hand the fowls of heaven peck all their food.
And will I let you starve r1 Never: no, My
child, never!"
Perhaps it may be a living home trouble
that you cannot speak about to your best
friend. It may be some domestic unhappiness.
It may be an evil suspicion. It may
be the disgrace following in the footsteps ol
a son that is wayward, or a companion who
is cruel, or a father that will not do right,
and for years there may have been a vulture
striking its beak intc^the vitals of your soul,
and you sit there to-day feeling it is worse
than death. It Is. It is worse than death.
And yet there is relief. Though the night
may be the blackest, though the voices of
hell may tell you to curse God and die, look
up and hear the voice that accosted the
woman of the text ad it says, "Weep not"
Earth hath no sorrow
That heaven cannot cure.
I learn, again, from all this that Christ is
the master of the grave. Just outside the
gate of the city Death and Christ measured
lances, and when the young man rose Death
dropped. Now we are sure of our resurrection.
Oh, what a 3cene it was when that
young man came hack! The mother never
expected to hear him speak again. Rho
never thought that he would kiss her again.
How the tears started and how her heart
throbbed as she said, ''Oh, my son, my son,
my son!" And that scene is going to be repeated.
It is going to be repeated 10,000
times. These broken family clrolas have got
to come together. These extinguished
household lights hiwe got to be rekindled.
There will be a 3tir in the family lot in the
oemetery, and there will be a rush into life
at the command, "Young man, I say unto
thee arise !" As tho child shakes off the dust
of the tomb and cones forth fresh and fair
and beautiful, and you throw your arms
around it and press it to your heart, angel
to angel will repeat the story of Nain, "He
delivered him to his mother." Did you notice
that passage in the text as I read it?
"He delivered him to his mother." Oh, ye
troubled souls! Oh, ye who have lived to
see every prpspect blasted, peeled, scattered,
consumed, wait a little! The seedtime of
tears will become the wheat harvest. In a
clime cut of no wintry blast, under a sky
palled by no hurtling tempest and amid redeemed
ones that weep not, that part not,
that die not, friend will come to friend, and
kindred will join kindred, and the long proonaQinn
f-hnf inttrehna thfl .avenues of STOhl
will lift up their palrus as again and again it
is announced that the same one who came to
the relief ot this woman of the text came to
the relief of many a maternal heart iind ref>eated
the wonders ot resurrection and deivered
him to his mother." Ob, that will
be the harvest of the world. That will bo
tho coronation of prlnoes. That will be the
Sabbath of eternity.
Dried Horse for Food.
It has been discovered at Sioux City. Iowa,
that a firm hns been slaughtering cheap ranch
horses, the flesh of which is made into '-dried
beef." The product is all shipped to Jersey
City. The proprietors say that they have
converted 1100 horses into "dried beef."
They buy the horses for less money on the
ranges than cattle can be had for.
Michigan's Cheap Iron Ore.
Investigation shows that iron ore is being
mined as oheaply in Michigan districts as at
any place on the globe. 1
r??ga<a --n f
SABBATH SCHOOL.
INTERNATIONAL LESSON FOR
SEPTEMBER. 9.
Lesson Text: "Jesus and Nlcodc*
mus,'' John ill., 1-16-Golden
Text: John III., 16Commentary.
Having 30 many verse9 assigned for this
fesson, we will not quote them, but trust
you to study with the open Bible.
1. This chapter illustrates tue last words
of chapter il., and we might read this way:
He knew what was in man. Now, there was a
man. See R. V. So this ruler Nicodemus Is introduced
as a specimen, and Jesus proceeds
to read to him his thougnts and deal with him.
In the next chapter He takes the woman of
Samaria as a specimen, and from the rich
religious ruler and the poor ungodly woman
He shows us the best and the worst in man
and that each must and may be born anew.
2. Better to come to Jesus by night than
not at all. The great thing Is to come, and
the great assurance is "him that cometh
unto Me I will in no wise cast out" (John
vl., 37).
8. All the verilies in John are double
ones, and there are 25 of them, this being
the second one. The first is chapter L, 61,
and the third and fourth are in verses 5 and
11 of our lesson. It is just the word amen,
and might bo read amen, amen. Jesus calls
Himself "The Amen" In Rev. ill., 14.
4. Nicodemus, though so religious, was
only a natural man, and understood not
spiritual things, therefore asked so foolish
a question. The preaching of the cross is to
them that perish foolishness, and the things
of the Spirit of God are foolishness to the
natural man (I Cor. i., 18; ii., 14).
5. Jesus enlarged upon His first statement
as t? the necessity of the birth from above,
and now emphasizes that necessity and says
that it Is accomplished by water and the
Spirit. Both James and Peter testify that we
are born again by the word of God (James i.,
18; I Pet. i., 23). Paul says that the water
signifies the word (Eph. v., 26, with which
compare Johaxv., 3, and Ps. cxix., 9).
6. The flesh or natural man can only produce
the flesh or natural man. It may be
cultivated and educated and become very
talented and refined, but it is only flesh and
cannot please God (Rom. vili., 8). When we
frnm ahnvB hv renaivlnff a
AJ.O uviu auun V4 - ? 0 ?
life we never had before, even Jesos Himself,
then we are said to be in the spirit, not in the
flesh (Rom. viU., 9).
7. When Jesus says "Must," that settles
everything for the mind that is meek and
submissive. There is another in verse 14,
and as truly a3 the Son of Man had to be
crucified so surely must every refined, talented,
educated, religious man or woman be
born from above by receiving Jesus, or he
shall never see or enter the kingdom of God.
One may be very near the kingdom and not
enter in, like the scribe of Mark xli., 34, of
whom Jesus said, "Thou art not far fromthe
kingdom of God."
8. The work of the Spirit in the heart of
man is at first a secret work, "as if a man
should cast seed into the ground, and should
sleep, and rise night and day, and the 3eed
should spring and grow up, he knoweth not
how ' ("Mark iv., 26, 27).
9. The natural man continues to ask,
"How?" The man in whom the Spirit works
simply believes and receives with meekness
the engrafted word (Jas. i., 21). "The entrance
of Tby words glveth light. It giveth
understanding unto the simple" (Pa. oxiz.,
180), but as long as we are asking
"how or why we are not simply receiving.
Rather let us say, "Lord, I believe."
or like Mary, "Belt unto me according
to Thy word."
10. A tencher in Israel might have known
that at the word of the Lord, in the vision
/ ?f IT-raHfll fViA Htt* hrtnaa noma Ar
bone to his bone, find were covered with
flesh, and by the Spirit of the Lord they
stood up an exceeding great army (Ezek.
xxxvii., 1-10). The testimony of every
spirit filled man in the Old Testament history,
confessing his sin and helplessness and
giving God the glory, as Joseph, Isaiah,
Daniel and others (Gen. xii., 16 ; Isa. vi., 58;
Dan", x.,S, 10:Mic. lil., 8), taught the
helplessness ot the flesh and the necessity of
the Spirit and word of God.
. 11. Notice that "I say unto you" of Christ
In the gospels is equivalent to "Thus saith
the Lord" In the Old Testament, for the
Lord, or Lord of Hosts of the Old Testament,
is none other than the Christ of the New.
For a simple proof see Rev. xxiii.. 6, 16, or
perhaps Isa. vl., 5, with John xii., 41, would
be more plain to some. One who knows because
be has seen is surely a good witness,
yet how often a false witness is believed rather
then a true one! Compare chapter v.. 43.
12. The only one thing to do with the testimony
of a true witness Is to believe, as /
otherwise we make the witness a liar, and
those who believe not God are guilty of making
Him a liar (I John v., 10). Unbelief
keeps unsaved souls in a lost condition, and
even those who believe to the saving of the
soul are kept from enjoying the rest and
peace and joy which is their privilege by not
believing fully. The last half of John iii.,
18, proves the first, and Heb. iii., 18, to iv.,
3, the second. "Be not afraid ; only believe.''
13. Very often in this gospel we have tho
testimony of Jesus that He came down from
heaven, came forth from the Father, was
sent from God, but here He testifies that
even while He was on earth He was still in
heaven. The other view of this great fact is
that now in heavsn at the right hand of God
He is still with us alway, and wherever two
or three are gathered in His name He is in
!h? midst fMnth. ivvii).. 20 : Tviil.. 201.
11. Jesus now takes Nicodemus baok to
something he must have been familiar with
?the story of the sinning and bitten Israelites
and the wondrous healing by the brazen
serpent lifted up upon a pole in sight of all.
The brazen serpent was the likeness of that
which by its poisonous bite was slaying the
thousands of Israel.
15. Tho bitten Israelite who lorked upon
the bra/.tm serpent lived, ' WbeD j beheld
the serpent of brass he lived" (Num. xxi., 9).
Looking is equal to believing or receiving.
The sinuer, when convinced of his sin and
helplessness and led to see Jesus made a sin
offering on the cross for him, dying in his
stead, the just for the unjust, receives Him
as his substitute. and believing that Christ
was made a curse for him he, through the
atonement of Christ, is instantly saved.
16. Let a sinner convinced of his sin take
this verse and write it out, putting his own
name in full instead of "tho world" and
'whosoever" and let hlmlook up to God and
sav sincerely. "0 God, I do most heartily
believe thatthen ho can go on and say,
"And 1 thank Thee that, receiving Jesus as
my own Saviour. 1 have f by word for it that
I now h?ve everlasting life and shall novor
perish." I believe sucn a soul to be truly
born from above.?Lesson Helper.
A Remarkable Resuscitation.
A 8an Diego paper recently announced the
death at Moosa, Cal., of Washington E. Irving,
nephew of the great Washington Irv
ing. at the age of seventy-two. A day or
two later the surprising news was received
that, after all preparations for the funeral
had be?n completed and the lid of the casket
had been screwed down just prior to interment,
a knocking was heard inside by the
horrified attendants. Some persons present
hurriedly unscrewed the lid, when the sup
Oftrnc? anr nr* 7T?? nnnonnwl frv
r- I ? ' "V IV
dazed or out of brnr.th lor some moment?,
but finally managed to say that he was
hungry md weak !rom lack of sustbn.mce.
So great was the shock of the i-ulden transition
from apparent death to life that some of
the women present fainted, while the men
were so astounded that their ordinary wits
deserted them. Food was finally uirnlshed
the patient. So lar as can be learnud he has
nlmost entirely recovered from his lato
trauce, and is as strong us couJd reasonably
be expected.
Wisconsin's Big War Claim.
The State of Wisconsin is about to suo the
CTnited States for $7,975,005.77 for munitions
of war furnished in 1861, which wer? paid
for only in part by the United States, and for
interest on deferred payment. A United
States statute of limitations may be made to
apply to thi3 case as to bar part of the claim.
An Ex-Scnator's Bis Ranch.
Ex-Senator Warren's Wyoming ranch is
75x100 miles, and is stocked with 2000 !
horses, 15,000 cattle and 120,000 sheep. The
sheep are divided into bunohes of 8000 to
10.000, and driven from place to place, or
rather herded for a short time in one place,
the herders living In movable houses built
on wagons. 1
1 ' ; -r?<
RELIGIOUS READING.
FOUR IMPOSSIBLE THINGS.
1. To escape trouble by running away
from duty. Jonah once made the experiment.
But he soon found himself where all
his imitators will in the end find themselves.
Therefore, manfully meet and overcome the
difficulties and trials to which the post assigned
to you by God's providence exposes
you. Go at Sod's bidding, as did Moses, and
do the work laid upon you. His grace will
be sufficient for vou as it was for him, and
the end will be peace, honor and eternal
glory.
2. To become a Christian of strength and
maturity, without undergoing severe trials.
What Are is to gold, so in affliction to the believer.
It burns up the dross and makes the
gold shine forth with unalloyed lustre. Therefore,
do not timidly shrink from the troubles
which God's providence brings upon you,
but count it all joy to overcome them,
"knowing this, that tho trying of your faith
worketh patience."
3 To form tin indeDendent character, ex
cept when thrown upon our own resources.
The oak. in the middle of the forest, surrounded
on every side by trees that shelter
and shade it, runs up tall and sickly. Cut
away its protector, and the first blast will
overturn it. But the same tree in the open
field, where it is coctinuallybeat upon by the
tempest, becomes its own protector.
"As high and wide as it sends its boughs
aloft so deep and so wide does it strike its
roots below. So the man who is compelled
to rely on his own resourses, from an independence
of character, to which he could
not have otherwise attained. Therefore,
never purpose to be zealous and devoted
Christians only when others are so. but let
you faith, and love and zeal shine clear and
steady, in the dark days of general declension.
4, To be a growing man, when you look to
your past for influence, instead of bringing
influence to your past. Therefore, prefer to
climb up hill with difficulty, rather than to
roll down hill with inglorious ease.?Ohio
Obs.
WHAT 18 BALIEVING?
"At last," says he, "when I lost all hop?,
these words were deeply impressed on my
mind, "Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and
thou shalt be saved.' I cried out in agony,
"What is belioving? What is real Scriptural
faith?? Lord teach me! I know nothing?
I can do nothing! If thou save me not I
perish!" It was then brought to my mind,
"Cast all thy care upou him." I cried,"Lord,
the burden of my sin is all my care, and may
1 cast this upon thee? Wilt thou receive sucn
a sinner? I know thou art able to save and thy
hlnnri is sufficient to atone. But art thou in
deed willing?" It came into my heart?only |
believe. I felt a rising hope, and cried l,l
will," but my sins stared me in my face, and
I thought "0, it is impossible. My sins have
been so secret, sq complicated!" It came to
me again?only believe, I thought it cannot
be now. I must repent more,be more in earnest
It is impossible he should be so merciful
to forgive all my sins now. It was applied
a third time?Only believe. I said,
"Lord, help me to believe and to cast my
soul upon thy mercy! Let me know that I
am indeed born of thee; that I do believe to
the saving of my soul." I have nothing to
plead; but Jesus came to save sinners, even
the lost I am lost! Thou hast said, "Come
unto me, all ye that are weary and heavy
laden, and I will give you rest." I am weary
and heavy laden. I come, therefore; the
promise is for mo. While I wa9 thus pleading,
I was enabled to venture my soul upon
the redeemer, with an assured confidence in
in his promises. Then I was happy indeed.
His love was shed abroad in my heart; and
those precious words were applied: "He that
loveth i? born of God.'' Now, if I had a
thousand souls, I could have trusted him
with tbem all. I found a real change in my
heart. I was a new crcature?i was a child
of God.?Evangelist Magazine. .
alone yet not alone.
There are experiences in life when, whas>
ever the surroundings, one must, so far as
human counsel and help are concerned,walk
alone; when one knows that the Voice whose
word is supreme in loyal souls, has called
him to a path, whether longer or shorter, in
which not even his dearest ones can go beside
him. It is one of those places in which
the pilgrimage where the narrow way be
comes SO yarrow 11 VMI uuiy aurnn ilia t/cjosa;,re,
side by side, of ihe oeliever and his
Lord. Even the beloved Son of God, in his
human life, tasted this experience; and in it
xound, what ever}- true soul linds, "Yet I am
not alone because tho Father is with me."
And this revelation of the blessedness of
the Lord's companionship, its sweets and
supports and satisfactions, compensates the
soul for its human solitariness. It is one of
the most helpful and preciou9 lessons of life
to h?ive learned in our own experience the
truth of the poet's lines:
"A presence actual as the heart
From whence my own life-motions start*
A being real, though unseen,
More true than trace where form hath been',
A spirit to my soul is nigh.
Alone, yet not alone am I."
DBIFTIXQ APABT.
How many persons there are who are drifting
apart. Families part asnnder, husbands
and wives separate, brothers and sisters drift
away. The same roof may cover them, they
- may eitf at the same table, they may come
and go ostensibly members of the same family,
but in reality drifting asunder day by
day. Thoy have less in common, less union,
less friendship, less love, and then sometimes
love turns to hatred and disgust, and persons
who begin by drifting away,end in open warfare
and unbrotherly strife. Families which
begin to drift apart on trifling matters, are
llnally utterly wrecKea ana nroicen up.
Watch against the tendency to drift asunder.
Keep the bonds of affection bright,
Eray against the tendencies to evlJ. Let
eart end hands be united in sincere affection.
Let love be without dissimulation, abhor
that which is evil, cleave to that tfhich is
good. Stay the harsh words.be patient under
trials and afflictions, watch against sin, resist
evil, and pray that God may keep you
peaceful and united in a world of strife, "dissension
and desolation, and bring you to the
land of rest and peace, the home of everlasting
gladness in the presence of the Prince of
Peace.?The Christian.
ONLY ONE MUST.
8turdy Luther once in a time of fatnin?
found a lot of rough peasants about to break
into a mill where corn was stored- "What
do ye?" cried he. "Master Luther, we must
live, pleaded one of the peasants "Nay,"
thundered Luther, "I do know but one must
. We must be honest." To carry ever a thorough
surrender of ourselves to tho word of
the living God is our only saiety, as it was
the safety of the tempted Christ To cast
away the future for the present good, to barter
the relationship to God, and all that is
loftiest and best for a present and passing
gratification, is the sin of Esau. Temptation
can never justify sin; circumstances can
never justify it
Would our King tell us again and again,
"Fear not!" if ;here were any reason at aH
to fear. Would be say this kind word again
and again, ringing changes as of the bells of
heaven upon it, only to mock us, if he knew
all the time that we could not possibly help
fearing? Only give half au hour to seeking
out the reasons he gives why wa are not to
fear, and the all-inclusive circumstances in
which he says we are not to fear: see how we
are to fear nothing,iiiyl no one,and U'-ver and
nowhere; see how he himself is in every case
the foundation and the grand reason of his
command, his presence and his power always
behind it; and then shall u*e hesitate to say,
' I fear no evil, for thou art with me?" Shall
we even fancy there is auy answer to those
grand and forever unanswered questions,
"The Lord is my light and my salvation ;
whom shall I fear? The Lord is the strength
of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?"?F.
R. Havorgal.
The Drought In Nebraska.
The drought in Nebraska is so severe tunt
it is estimated that 10,000 farmers have ieft
the State. They are getting away while
thcv can. Many of thism are penniless.
They dread the winter that will follow the
failure of the crops and are working to
reach the Mississippi, where they will, many
of them, become objects of charity. There
are thousands of farai liamls Idle in Western
Nebraska and Eastern Colorado because of
the drought. The calamity is so seriuos
that it cannot fail soon to command national
attention.
Petrified In a Swamp.
Middlebury, Ind., is greatly excited ovor
the finding in a swamp of the petrified body
Of a man, which weighed 400 pounds.
WOMAN'S WORLD.
PLEASANT LITERATURE FOR
FEMININE READERS.
SHE IS AT HOME ITT AFRICA.
Mrs. Theodore Bent, while exploring
in Africa and Asia with her husband,
has always worn the same kind
of costume?a twBed and skirt (coming
well over the knees), breeches, gaiters
and shoes. The skirt is made in pleats
and arranged so that it can be altered
for walking or riding. She and Mr.
.Bent always rase 011 sueir eipeuinuuB
plenty of towels and sheets, but no
glass or crockery. All their cooking
and eating utensils are made of enameled
iron.?New York Tribune.
LADIES AT TEE BIFIiE.
The Duchess of Connaught lately
drove over to Aldershot, where the
Army Rifle Meeting is now held. The
Duchess took special interest in the
ladies' competition, distance fifty
yards, with small rifles, and watched
the firing for some time. Some fifty
ladies took part in the contest, with
weapons of various calibre, and handled
the rifles with wonderful dexterity.
Three ladies made within one of the
highest possible?34 out of the possible
35?Mrs. Pilcher, Mrs. Dumbreck
and Mrs. Grier.?New York Journal.
TWO BEMABKABLE WOMEN.
Two of the most remarkable women
in America lived in Glasgow, Conn.
The late Miss Abby Smith made a
uame for herself by steadily refusing
to pay her taxes, bbcause she was not
A Unwed to vote. Her sister. Miss
Julia, had even a more startling
record. She was curious to know
something of the original Hebrew,
which she studied diligently. She
found that no one man alone had ever
translated the Bible. She accordingly
decided that a woman should do the
work, and after going over her great
task five times, shut the fruit of her
labors up in her closet for a quarter
of a century. When she reached the
age of eighty-four her Bible was published.
When eighty-two she had a
law suit which was decided in her
favor, and she appeared on the stand
every day during the trial. She was
married at the age of eighty-six.?
American Farmer.
THE FASHION* IN GLOVES.
While there are any number of
fancv and bizarre colors in new gloves,
general taste is limited to but few
shades. Goldea brown gloves have a
large sale, and tan in all its tones,
with strange pertinacity, hold3 its
own even among those of the most
conservative tastes, but women who
do not like this color have a choice of
several very pretty shades of yellow
from jonquil, maize and primrose, to
the deeper dyes known severally as
golden rod, cowslip and chanterelle.
There are also imported some neutral
tints in violet gray, of a brownish
tone, thrush, fawn, mushroom and
dove gray. The approach of hot
weather has been the signal for the
purchase of suede-finished lisle gloves
and silk gloves in black and colors.
jmnrnro/l moL-aa nf fVlOQA orlflVPS
JL.JUU w. ?<?WWW Q?
are line and handsome, and another
thing in their favor is the fact that,
when soiled, their wearer, with the
aid of some lukewarm water and a bit
of fine soap, can restore them to their
fresh looks again.?New York Advertiser.
HE "FIXED" THE PIANO.
A Utica (N. Y.) family changed
their residence from one street to another
a few days since. Among the
household effects was a handsome
square piano, the cover of which had
in process of transportation been
slightly cracked Wh?t\ the tuner
came he noticed the cracked covei' and
told tho lady of the house that he
knew of a man who could repair it so
that it would not be noticed. There
was a carpenter working about the
house and as the cost of moving had
been considerable the lady decided to
have the carpenter do the wc rk, and
informed the tuner that he need not
send his expensive expert. Calling
the capenter she showed him the damaged
cover and informed him that he
could easily fix it with glue. The carpenter
set about his task and the lady
paid no further attention to him.
A day or two ago she had company,
and was requested to play upon the
piano. Haying found it, she learned that
her surmise was incorrect. Failing,
after repeated and strenuous efforts to
lift the lid, she was compelled to forego
the pleasure of entertaining her
guests in this way. When her husband
came home he exercised his muscle,
but to no avail. After three or
four trials he begun an examination,
and found that the carpenter had labored
under the mistaken notion that
the lid ought not to rise, and had accordingly
placed a thick coating of
glue between it and that part of the
piano upon which it touched. To
Jiake the job undeniably complete, he
further secured it by driving a tenpenny
nail through it.?Chicago
Times,
a prince's cradle.
The cradle in which the infant son
of the Duke and Duchess of York re- !
jjoses is a gift from the Queen, and ;
bears an inscription to the effect that
it was made in 1840 for the Princess
lioyal, was used for all her Majesty's
children, and was given by the Queen
to the Duchess of York in 181)4. The
Queen commissioned the firm of Edmond
Orr, Wigmore street, to fit it
up with pure white satin and Houiton
lace, and us the bassinette is itself in <
white wood, there is no scrap of color j i
about it. The Queen bus also given ft j j
second cradle to the Duchess, made of j i
mahogany inlaid with fine gilding, i <
This is lit ted up with brocade in deli-1 i
cately pale tones of color. The bed- j i
ding provided for both cradles is of <
the softest and lightest description, j 1
The sheets are of Irish lawn bordered > 1
with Valenciennes lace, and the blun- ' I
lcets are of Pyrenean wool, very white, ' i
and weighing very little, the texture 1
more nearly resembling eider down i
than Annuel. Two small eiderdown i
quilts have been provided for the 1
baby's use, one white and one pale i
pink. The Queen has also given the {
little prince several robes, including i
one of fine Irish lawn and lace, and a i
handsome cloak and hood of Zibeline 1
bilk. Three small plumes in the hood
suggest the Prince of Wales's feathers.
Such articles as these, for the children
of the wealthy, were some years ago
almost invariably made of French
cambric, but of late years the manufacture
of Irish lawn has so immensely
improved that it now equals, if it does
not even surpass, the finest products
of the looms of Cambray, so close, so
even and so clear is it.?London News.
FASHION NOTES.
White chiffon veiling is worn with
broad leghorn hats.
Very wide ribbons trim shade hats,
the bows being immense.
Parasols are profusely decorated
with ribbons in loops, bows and ends.
White, pink, blue and heliotrope
lawn ties, with plain or silk embroidery
are worn.
Tortoise shell hair pins grow more
elaborate and obtrusive with every
changing fashion.
Butterfly bows of moire satin and
shot ribbon, No. 12 wide, are mounted
on a long hair pin.
Blue canvas Oxford ties, with patent
tip trimmings, are worn to match
the popular blue duck outing suits.
A novelty in a sailor shape hat is
small and trimmed with large bouquets
of flowers and flat bows in stiff
effects.
Butterflies in silver and gold are
popular hair ornaments. They should
be perched on the coil at the back oJ
the head.
The sleeves of dressy costumes are
somewhat shorter than those heretofore
worn. The latest thing is a sleeve
with a full puff to the elbow and below
this a fall of lace six or eight inches
deep.
A pretty dress for a little girl is
made of fine white alpaca. It has a
round skirt with a gathered ruffle, 8
deep yoke, pointed front and back, a
gathered waist, a coiselet, belt and
sleeves with enormous puffs at the
shoulders and full ruffles below.
Shirt waists are standard articles in
the wardrobe of almost every welldressed
young woman. They are not
quite as mannish as heretofore, tha
fonilonnr +.r? ri Artnrn.+.ir>r> fftlrina noma
reui""*v; ? d
what from the severe styles that have
been accepted as the proper mode.
A stylish trimming for a dress is
made of old-fashioned serpentine
braid, alternating with very narrow
star braid. The latter is stitched on
in half a dozen close rows, then another
row of the serpentine. This may
be repeated antil the trimming is as
wide as desired.
The latest novelty in petticoats is
made of moire, with deep flounces of
lace. The moire is scalloped at the
lower edge, and falls over a ruffle of
plain material, that may match the
moire or not, as the wearer pleases.
A profusion of ribbons also appears as
trimming for these garments.
A gown of cherry red at a health resort
the other day was trimmed with
three bands of white insertion. The
bodice was of lace, with a draping of
the red sewed in at the armhole and
knotted in front at the bust. At the
waist was a belt with a silver buckle.
The sleeves were balloons with lace
cuffs.
There is one style of trimming a
dress waist that produces a, queer effect
in the eyes of the beholder. It
is where a deep fall of lace or fringe,
five or six inches, makes a straight line
from bust to hips. It looks for all
the world as if the wearer had fltxng a
towel over her shoulders while brushing
her hair and had forgotten to remove
the -towel.
A charming and effective tailor co3tume
has a waist slightly pointed at
the bodice and with a double front;
the inner front buttoning closely up
to a pointed shirt front. Over this
is a section that closes under the arm
and fastens up under the lapels of th?
inner waist. The effect is peculiar
and new, and will therefore have a
certain amount of popularity.
Distinctive names for one's gowns
are not exactly a fad yet, but may become
one, and has certainly more to
commend it than many of the fads of
the day. You see it simplifies directions
and explanations vastly when
you have only to say to your maid:
"See that the Scotch Mist is ready for
me to wear to-morrow evening, and
don't forget to pat a fresh balayeuse
in my 'Heliotrope Symphony,' for I
shall wear it to Miss C. 's wedding on
Thursday."
Lace ad libitum seems to be the accepted
trimming for frocks, whether
gingham, muslin, ciepon or silk.
Some of the coarse-meshed hand-made
laces are especially effective, and are
" i ? ? ji n.11 li.
in Very "good 8Cyie. C-oiiareite& are
becoming, worn with a ribbon band at
the neck and a big bow behind. They
give a pretty finish to any oostume,
and fill a long-felt want in solving the
problem of making a low body into a
high one, for some small function or
for an occasion "en plain jour.''
New fancy waists, of endless styles
are variously formed of delicate and
beautiful laces, of flowered taffetas
and summer 3atins, of India muslins
as shadowy in texture and pattern as
dreams, of chiffon plain and silk
wrought in floral designs, of batiste,
organdie, veiling and so on. They
are made appropriate for day or evening
wear, for yachting, luncheon,
garden party, church, coucert or
dance, according to their simplicity
or elaborateness of design, fabric and
garniture.
Flower (irowini? tor Perfume,
Grasse and Cannes, France, are the
3entres of a>ery active industry in the
manufacture of perfumery near the
Mediterranean Sea. In the vicinity
af the former city the annual output
jf orange blossoms is nearly four million
pounds, of roses three-fourths as
much; white jasmine, tuberose and
jther fragrant flowers are largely cul- i
;ivated. It is found that the most faro
r able conditions to the success of
lower growing for perfumes are an
ittitude of 500 to 2000 feet above sea
.evel, a soil ricn in calcareous elements,
and a situation well sheltered
ironi cold winds, and not subject to
;ho severe frosts which in autumn and
spring affect the lowlands. Flowers
jrown in localities of the elevation
mentioned are said to be far more rich
in perfume than similar varieties cultivated
in valleys or damp lowlands.
?American Agriculturist.
?
POPULAR SCIENCE.
Charcoal is said to be the best fuel
for prodaoing intense heat.
Seashells murmur because the vibrations
of the air are brought to a
focus in them.
A telephone has been invented
through which a voice may be heard in
any part of room.
Boiled water tastes flat and insipid
because the gases it contained have
been driven off by heat.
A tree in a forest near the southern
boundary of Japan attains a height of
four feet in seven weeks.
Scientists are now able, by means
of an ingenious machine, to count tha
particles of dust in the air.
Lieberkuhn estimates that the extent
of respiratory surface in the human
lungs is not less than 1400 square
feet.
Of 67,000,000 rays of light and
warmth radiated by the sun only 1,?
000,000 fall on the planets of the solar '
system.
Besearch shows that there is not a
particle of vegetation in the eastern
part of the North Sea. It is'one great
watery waste.
The earliest known attempt at an
explanation of the rainbow was made
by Aristotle. It was along the line of
modern scientific investigation.
The most remarkable formations of
frost known to the. meteorologist are
found on Mount Washington, where
the orystals are often a foot long.
Charles Mcllvaine, an American expert
on fungi, claims to have eaten
full meals of over 400 species of toadstools
without ever having been poiI
soned.
Electrical weaving machines are is
nse in Germany. Seamless stookings,
with doable heels, are rattled out of
each machine at the rate of eleven
pairs an hour.
Muscles of the eyes, ears and nose
show that several groups, which, in
the lower animals are very highly developed,
in man are in an almost rudimentary
condition.
Professor Ball, the Astronomer
Royal of Ireland, says that if the fixed
star Sirius is inhabited its people cannot
see our sun, which is 100,000,000,000
miles from them.
Animal magnetism is no new discovery,
but was practiced by Father
Hehl, at Vienna, about 1774, and had
wonderful success for a while in
France and England in 1788 and 1789.
In the interior of Australia is a
series of great lakes which are occupied
by water only at long intervals.
The mud which remains when the water
is absent is filled with the bones of i
geologic monsters. ^
An inventor has just discovered that
there is enough latent energy in a
cubic foot of air to kill a regiment,
and that this power can be "liberated
by vibration." This is the Keely
motor principle. As air is composed
of certain elements (gases), united in
proper chemical proportions, it ia
simply necessary to produce a vibration
of sufficient intensity to make a
new chemioal combination, and there
you have the power. Easy enough!
An Annual Crop of Meat. j
Upon a certain spot on the lawn of
one of my neighbors, year after year,
without fail, there spings np a moat
singular crop. For the first two years
of its appearance it was looked upon
with curious awe by the proprietors
of the premises, and usually ignominiously
spurned with the foot by thfc
indiscriminating and destructive 3malT
boy. One day I observed about five
pounds of this Delmonico delicacy
thua scattered piecemeal about
grass, and my pfotest has since sparga
the animal crop for my sole benefit.'
It usually makes its appearftflo^ifl l^ja
September, and continues in intermit-^
tent crops until November. A casual
observer of this cluster of edible toadstools
might imagine that he beheld a
convention of goose eggs standing oa
end in the grass, their summits more
or less spotted with brown. If one of
them is examined, it is seen to be a
curious short-stemmed mushroom
which never expands, perhaps five inches
in height, and whose surface is
curiously decorated with shaggypatches.
In its early stages it is white
and singularly egglike, but later becomes
brownish, and its shaggy points
almost black. The concealed gills are
I crowded and of equal length, at first
' creamy white, but gradually changing
I through a whole gamut of pinks,
sepias and browns until they becomtf
jet black, at which time the whole substance
of the cap melts or deliquesces
into an unsightly inky paste, which
besmears the grass and ultimately ,
leaves only the bare white stalk standing
in its midst. This is the "shaggymane"
mushroom, Coprinus comatus.
It is a savory morsel, and it cannot ba
confounded with any other fungus. It
should be gathered in the white or
pink stage, and may be prepared for
the table in various ways, either
broiled or fried, as described for
previous species, or stewed with milk.
?Harper's Magazine.
Pets Detested Aboard Ship.
"The officers -nd crews of oceangoing
steamships fairly hate to see a
passenger come aboard with a pet in
the shape of a bird or beast," said N.
F. Sidney, of Philadelphia, at the Arlington
this morning. "They know
the individual will be forever in the
fidgets about his animated possession,
and from captain to cabin boy a groan
goes up when a dog or a parrot comes
over the side. Many of the companies
charge heavy fare for pets, and the
French line that runs to Havre deA
' 1 _
rnands ;fiu passage ior a aog or a monkey,
and 34 for a parrot. If the pet
possesses any striking physical peculiarities
the sailors are pretty apt to
endeavor to bring it to grief before
the voyage is fairly begun, for they
are sure that the animal is a harliitiger
of bad luck. Several years ago 1 wa3
a passenger on the Arizona, and aa
English serio-comic singer aboard had
an ugly cross-eyed pug dog with her.
The second day out a big piece of lifting
tackle accidentally fell on the dog
an J broke its back. The singer was in
hysterics over her darling's death, but
the other men in the crew clubbed
together and bought a month's supply
of tobacco for the shrewd companion
who engineered the accident."?Washington
Star,