The Abbeville press and banner. (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, December 26, 1894, Image 11

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Prey, dr. talmage. f THE BROOKLYN DIVINE'S SUN[ DAY SERMON. Subject: "The City of Blood.^' Text: "Our bones ara scattered th? EKprave'3 mouth, as when oaf outteth aad ^ leaveth wood upon the earth. Bat mine eyes nre unto Thee, 0, God, the Lord !"? Psalms cxli., 7. ^ TVi/%?n.fc T?n-n mw ronrf thlq tnxt from the A J V ? ?*?'V * Bible, I read it as cut by chisel into the pe destal of a cross beneath which lie many of B the massacred at Cawnpur, India. To show you what Hindooism and Mohammedanism really are, where they have fall swing, and not as they represent themselves in a "parliament cf religions," and to demon^stra^to what extent of cruelty and abom Ination human nature may go when fully let K loose, and to illustrate the hardening proAces? of Bin, and to remind you how our glorious Christianity may utter its triumph over death and the grave, I preash this my second sermon in the round the world series, W and I shall speak of "The City of Blood," or ft Cawnpur, India. Two hours aad ten minutes after its W occurrence Joseph Lee, of the Shropshire [ Regiment of foot, rode in upon the UawnL pur massacre. He was the first man I met nt Cawnpur. I wanted to hear the story V from some one who had been here in 1857 and with his own eye9 gazed upon the ^slaughtered heaps of humanity. I could ^Ki&rdly watt until the horses were put to the ^ urlage, and Mr. Lee. seated with us, ^Hputed for the soene, the story of whioh Snakes tame in contrast all Modoo and ^^Ihoctaw butcheries. r It seems that all the worst passions of the century were to be impersonated by one man, and he Nana Sahib, and our escort at Cacnpur, Joseph Lee, knew the man perk eonally. Unfortunately there is no cor* B roct picture of Nana Sahib in existence. The p pictures of him published in the books of F Europe and America and familiar to us all R are an amusing mistake. This is the fact in regard to them: A lawyer of England was called to India for the purpose of tie reading the case of a native who had been charged .. -'with fraud. The attorney came and so skillfully managed the case of his client that the client paid him enormously for his services, and he went back to England, taking with blm a picture of his Indian client. After awhile the mutiny in India broke out, and Nana Sahib was mentioned as the obampion villain of the whole affair, and the f newspapers of England wanted a picture ot him and to interview some one on Indian affairs who had recently been in India. Among others the journalists called upon this lawyer, lately returned. The only picture he had brought from India was a picture of his client, the man charged with 1 fraud. The attorney gave this picture to the Journal as a specimen of the way the Hindoos dress, and forthwith that picture was used, either by mistake or intentionally, for Nana Sahib. The English lawyer said he lived in dread that his client would somo day see the use mode of his picture, and It was not until the death ot his Hindoo ollent that the*lawyer divulged the facts. Perhaps it was never intended that the face of suoh a k demon should be preserved amid human At records. I said tp our escort. "Mr. Lee, r mna ativ T>acnliarltv in Nana Sahib's appearance?" fhe reply was: "Nothing ' very peculiar. Ho was a dull, lazy, cowardly, sensual mas, brought up to do nothing and wonted to continue on tne same scale to lo nothing. (From what Mr. Lee told mo and from all I oould learn In India, Nana Sahib ordered the massacre In that city from sheer revenge. . His father abdicated the throne, and the English paid blm annually a pension ot 1400,000. Wnen the father died, the English Government declined to pay the same pension to the son, Nana Sahib, but the poor l fellow was not in any suffering fiom lack of I funds. His father left him $90,000 in gold. ornaments, 9500.000 In jewels, 9800,000 in A bonds and other resources amounting to at g least 91,500,000. But the poor young man Bfras not satisfied, and the Cawnpur massa pre was his revenge. General Wheeler, the ^ taglishman who had command of this city, Valtbough often warned, oould not see that Ihe sepoys were planning for his destruc Ption. and that of all bis regiments ana au the Europeans in Cawnpur. Mr. Lee explained all this to me by the fact that General Wheeler had married a nak tive, and he naturally took her story and L thought there was no peril. But the time P lor the proclamation from Nana Sahib had K, come, and such a document went forth as before had seen the light of day. I Hgiv9 only nn extract ISr "As by the Iclndness of God, and the good I fortune of the emperor, all the Christians | who were at Pelhi, Poo nab, Sattara and other places, and even those 5000 European soldiers who Went in disguise into the'forLmer city and were discovered, are destroyed and sent to hell by the pious and sagacious | troops who are firm to their religion, and as I they have all been conquered by the present ^government, and as no traoe of them is-left Kn these places, it is the duty of all the sub ecta and servants of the government to re^fc>tce at the dellghttul Intelligence and carry HBd their respective work with comfort and BHue. As by the bounty of the glorious Al^Biighty and the ehemy destroying fortune of ijBxo emperor, the yellow lacea ana narrow minded people bare been sent to hell, and Cawnpur has been conquered, it la necessary that all the subjects an<l landowners and government servants should be as obedient to the present government as they have been to the former one that it is the Incumbent duty ot all the peasants and landed proprietors of every district to rejoice at the thought that the Christians have been sent to hell, and both the Hindoo and Mohammedan religions have been confirmed, and that they should, as usual, be obedient to the authorities of the government and never suffer any complaint against them elves to reach to the ears of the higher authority." ' "Mr. Lee, what is this?" I said to our escort as the carriage halted by an embankment. "Here," he said, "is the intrenohment where the Christians of Cawnpur took refuge." It is the remains of a wall which at the time of tha mutlnv was only four feet high, behind which, with no shelter from " the sun, the heat at 130 degrees, 44U men, 660 women and children dwelt nearly a month. A handful of flour and ?plit peas was the dally ration, and onlyttfo wells near by, the one In which they burled their dead, because they had no titno to bury them in Che earth, and the other well the focus on Which the artillery ot the enemy played, so that it wa^ a choice .between death by thirst Land death by bullet or shell. Ten thousand grafting Hindoos outside this frail wall and 1000 suffering, dying people inside. In addition to the army of the Hindoos and Moslems, and invisible army of sickness swooped down upon them. Some went raving mad under exposure. Others dropped under apolwcy. A starving, mutilated, ' favored, sunsiruck, ghastly group waiting Jo die! Why did not the heathen dash down those mud walls and the 10,000 annihilate Hkhe now less than 1000? It was because they ^Boe.med supernaturally defended. MyNanrf Sahib resolved to celebrate an anBalversary. The 23 I of Juae, 1857. would be tuu years since tne Dattle or Flassy, when, Httnder Lord Olive, India surrendered to England. That day the last EuroDean in Bfeawnpur wasto be slaughtered. Other on^fcveraaries have been celebrated with wine. ^htfs whs to be celebrated with blood. Other ^Hmiveraarios have been adorned with gar^wnris. This with drawn swords. Others j^Kvo been kept with songs. This with exeB^B&tlons. Others with the dance of the gay. ^Hhls with the dance of deitb. The inrantry ^Hkd cavalry and artillery of Nana Sahib made |H|that day one grand assault, but the few d?j6I the English and Scotch put to flight Hindoo timers. The courage of the F ends broke against that mud wall as the ^graves ot the sea against a lighthouse. The J^kivalry horses returned full run without I^Reirrlders. Th* Lord loo1'"' nnr froni th? heavens, and on that anniversary aay gave the victory to His people. Mtpirerefore Nana Sahib must try some ^Hher plan. Standing In a field not far from H&i9 lntrenohment or the English was a ^KiativeChristian woman, Jaoobee byname, ^Eolding high up In her hand a letter. It Bras evidently a communication from the Hflnamv. and General Wheeler ordered the ioman brought in. She banded him a proved treaty. It General Wheeler and his en would give up their weapons, Nana failv would conduct thom into safety, le^' could march out unmolested, the men, Lmen and children. They could go down -morrow to the Granges, where they oold find boats to take them in peace to There was some opposition to signing is treaty, bat General Wheeler's wife told >!. ' Si ' ' ' film he could trust the natives, and bo he signed the treaty. There was greatjoy In the lntr^nchment that night. Without molestation they went out and got plenty of water to drink an3 water for a good wash. The hunger and thirst and exposure from the consuming sun, with the thermometer from 120 to 143, would cease. Mothers ro{oiced at the prospect of saving their children. The young ladies of the intrenchment would escape the wild beasts In human form. On the morrow, true to the promise, carts were ready to transport those who were too much exhausted to walk. "Get into the carriage," said Mr. Lee, "and we will ride to the banks of the Ganges, for which the liberated combatants and non-combatants started from this place." On our way Mr. Lee pointed out a monument oyer the burial place which was opened for General Wheeler's Intrenchment, the well Into which every night the dead had been dropped. Around It Is a curious memorial. There are Ave crosses, one at eaoh corner of the garden and one at the centre, from which inscription I to-day read my text. Riding on wo came to the Memorial Church built to the memory of those fallen in Cawnpur. The walls are covered with tablets and epitaphs. I copied two or three of the inscriptions: "These are they who come out of great tribulations also. "The dead shall be raised incorruptible also, "In the world ye shall have tribulation, but be of good cheer. I have overcome the world;" also, "The Lord gave. The Lord hath taken awayalso, "Come unto Me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden." "Get into the carriage," said Mr. Lee. and we rode on to the Ganges and got out at a Hindoo temDle standing on the' banks. <(>TAH* " oil') W?? T ?tU<M?. {a A ?\1b/ia a xiv/Wy aaiu iUi. jjouj uu& -v 10 iuu j/iaw *v which General Wheeler and his people came under the escort of Nana Sahib." I went down the steps to the margin of the river. Down these steps went General Wheeler and the men, women and children under his care. Taey stood on one side of the step3, and Nana Sahib and his stuff stood on the other side. As the women were getting into the boats Nana Sahib objeoted that only the aged and infirm women and children should go on board the boats. The young and attractive women were kept oat. Twentyeight boats were filled with men, women and children an-1 floated out into the river. Each boat contained ten armed natives. Then three boats fastened together were brought up. and General Wheeler and his staff got In. Although orders were g?ren to start, the three boats were somehow detained. At this juncture a boy of twelve years of age hoisted on the top of the Hindoo temple on the banks two flags, a Hindoo anl a Mohammedan flasr, at which signal the boatmen and armed natives jumped from the boat3 and Bwam tor the shore, and from innumerable guns the natives on the bank fired on the boats, end masked batteries above and below roared with destruction, and the boats sank with their precious cargo, and all went down save three strong swimmers, who got to the opposite shore. Those who struggled out nearby were dashed to death. Nana Sahib and his staff with their Bwords slashed to Eleces General Wheeler and his staff, who ad not got well away from the shore. I said that the youog and attractive women were not allowed to get into the boats. These were marched away under the guard of tho sepoys. "Which way?" I Inquired "I will show you," said Mr. Lee. Again we took seats in i the carriage and started lor the olimax ot desperation and diabolism. Now we are on the way to a summer house, called-the as sembly rooms, which had been built for reoreation and pleasure. It had two rooms, each twenty-nine by ten, and some windowlees closets, and here were imprisoned 206 Helpless people, it was to oecome tae prison of these women and children. Some of these sepoys got permission ot Nana Sahib to take one or more of these ladies to their i own place on the promise the/ shonld be , brought back to the summer garden next i morning. A daughter of General Wheeler , was so taken and did not return. She after- j ward married the Mohammedan who had taken her to his tent. Some sepoys amused < themselves by thrusting children through j with bayonets and holding them up before their mothers In the summer house. Ail the doors closed and the sepoys standing guard, the crowded women and children waited ; their doom for eighteen days and nights ] amid slokness and flies and stench anl 1 starvation. The butohers came out exhausted, think- < ing they had done their wprk, and the doors I were closed, but when they were again i opened three women and three boys were ] still alive. All these were soon dispatched, 1 and not a Christian or European was left ia 1 Cawnpur. The murderers were paid fifty cents for eaoh lady slain. The Mohammedan assassins dragged by the hair the dead bodies out of the summer house and threw them into a well, by which I stood with such feelings as you cannot Imagine. Bat after the mutilated bodies had been thrown into well the reoord of the scene remained in hieroglyphics of crimson on the floor and wall of tne slaughter house. An eyewitness says that as ho walked in the blood was shoe deep, and on this blood were tufts of hair, pieces of muslin, broken combs, fragments of pinafores, children's straw hats, a cardcase containing a curl, with the inscription, "Ned's hair, with lovea few leaves of an Episcopal prayer book; also a book entitled "Preparation lor Deatha Bible on the fly leaf on which was written, "For darling mamma, from her affectionate daughter, Isabella Blair," both one who presented It and the one to whom it was presented departed forever. Then Nana Sahib heard that Havelook was coming, and his name was a terror to the sepoys. Lest the women anl children ImnrtannMl in th? ?nmm?r housfl. op nMnm. i bly rooms, should be liberated, he ordernd , that their throats should be cut. The offl- | cers were commanded to do the wort and attempted it, bat failed because the law ot caate would not allow the Hindoo to hold the victims while they were being slain. Then 100 men were ordered to fire tarough the windows, but they fired over the heads of the Imprisoned ones, and only a few were killed. Then Nana Sabib was in a rage and ordered professional butchers from among the lowest of the stypsiea to go at.the work. Five ot them, with hatchets and swords and knives,began the work, but three ot them collapsed and fainted under the ghastliness, and it was left to two butchere to complete tbe slaughter. The struggle, the sharp cut, the blinding blow, tbe cleaving through scalp and skull, tbe begging for life, the death aeony ot hour arter hour, the tangled limbs ot the corpses, the piled up deud? : only God and those who were inside the* summer house can ever know. I said: "Mr. Lee, I have hear 1 that indelicate things were found written on the walls." He answered: "No, but these poor creatures wrote in charcoal and scratched on the wall the story ot the bru:allties they naa sunerea. When the English and Scotch troops came upon the scene, their wrath was so great itbat General Nelll had the bntchers arrested, and before being shot compelled them to wipe up part of the floor of this Dlace ol 1 massacre, this being the worst of their punishment, for there is nothing that a Hindoo .so hates as to touch blood. | When Havelock cauae upon the scene, he bad this order annulled. The well was now not only lull of human bodies, but corpses ; piled onthe outside. The soldiers weca for . many hours engaged in covering the dead. It was about S o'cloefcln tne evening wnen. I came upon this place in Cawnpur. The building in which the massoore took place has been torn down, and a garden of exquisite and fragrant flowers surrounds the scene. Mr. Lee pointed out to us some seventy mounds containing bodies or portions of bodies of those not thrown into the well. A soldier stands on guard to keep the foliage and flowers from being ruthleAsly pulled. I asked a soldier if I might take a rose as a memento, and ho handed me a cluster of roses, red and white, both colors suggestive to me?the red typical of the carnage there enacted, and the white for the purity of tbo3e who from that spot asoended. But of coarse the most absorbing interest concentrated at the well, Into wnioh hundreds of women and children were flung or lowered. A circular wall of white marble Incloses this well. The wall Is about twenty feet high. Inside this wall there is a marble pavement. I paced It and found it fiftyseven Daces around. In tho center of this Inclosure and Immediately above the well of the dead is a sculptured angel of resurrection, with Illumined face, and two palm branches, meaning victory. This angel is looking down toward the slumberers beneath, but the two wings suggest the rising of the last day. Mighty consolation in marble! They went down under the hatchets of the sepoys. They shall come up under the trumpet that shall wake the dead. I felt weak and all a-tremble as I stood reading these words on the stone that covers the well: "Saored to the perpetual memory of a great company of Christian people, ohlefly women and children, cruelly massacred near this spot by the rebel, Nana Sahib, and thrown, the dying with th? dead, Into the well beneath on the 15th day of July, 1857." On the arch of the mausoleum were cut the words, "These are they who came out of great tribulation." The sun was sinking beneath the horizon as I came down the seven or eight steps of that place o! aepulcher, and I bethought myself: "No emperor, unless it was Napolleon, ever had more glories around hi3 plllow of dust, and no queen, unless it were the one of Taj Mahal, had reared for her grander cenotaph than crowns the resting places of the martyrs of Cawnpur. But where rest the bones of tno Herod of the nineteenth century, Nana Sahib? Two men sent out to find the whereabouts of the daughter of General Wheeler tracked Nana Sahib during a week's ride into the wildordesfl, and they were told that for awhile after the mutiny Nana SaMD set up a intia pomp in the jungles. Among a few thouaad Hindoos and Mohammedans he took for him* selt the only two tents the neighbors had, while they lived la the rain and mud. Nana 8ahib, with one servant carrying an umbrella, would go every day to bathe, and people woold go and sttire. For some reason, after awhile he forsook even that small attention, and disappeared among the ravines of the Himalayan Mountains. He took with him In his flight that which he always took with him?a ruby of vast value. He wore it as some wear an amulet. He wore it as some wear a life preserver. He wore it on his bosom. The Hindoo palest told him as -g as he wore that rubv his fortunes would be good, but both the ruby and the prince who wore It have vanished. Not a treasure on the outside of the bosom, but a treasure Inside the heart, is the best protection. Solomon, who had jubles In the hilt of swords, and rubles Jn the lip of the tankards, ana rubies In his crown, declared that which Nana Sahib did not find out In time, "Wisdom is better than rubles." When the forests of India are cleared by the axes of another civilization, the lost ruby of this Cawnpur monster may be picked up and be hr.mchr back aeain to b'.aze among the world's jewel?. But who shall refilalrn for decent sepulture the remains of Nana Sahro? Ask the vultures! Ask the reptiles! Ask the jackals! Ask the midnight Himalayas ( Much criticism has been made of Sir Henry Havelock and Sir Colin Campbell because of the exterminating work they did with these sepoys. Indeed it was awlul. My escort, Mr. Lee, has told me tnat he saw the sepoys fastened to the mouths of cannon, and then the guns would firs, and for a few seconds there would be nothing but smoKe, aDd as the smoke began to lift fragments of flesh would be found flying through the air. You may do your own criticism. I here exEress no opinion. There can be no doubt, owever, that that mode of finally treating the sepoys broke the back of the mutiny. The Hindoos fourd that the Europeans could play at ti * same game which the Asiatics badstarted. The plot was organized for the murder of all the Europeans and Americans In India. Under Its knives and bludgeons A P?oaK??av)anlom if a ffloHflM aiuuiiuau & ?voyjbWfe<(>uu)wu ?vw? -? 0 missionaries, Bay. Mr. and Mrs. Campbell, Rev. Mr. and Mrs. MacMullln, Rev. Mr. and Mrs. Jobnson, Rev. Mr. and Mrs. Freeman. The work of slaughter had been begun in all directions on an appalling scale, and the commanders of the English army made up their iplnds that this was the best way. The Blaolc Hole prison has been torn down, but a stone pavement twenty feet by twenty Indicates the ground covered by the Srison The building had two small winows, and was Intended for two or three prisoners. These natives of India orowded Into that one room of twenty feat feet by twenty feet l4$Europeans. The midsummer heat, the suffooation, the trampling of one npon another, the groaning and shrieking and begging and praying of all, are matters of history. The sepoys that night held lights to the small windows and moolced the sufferers. Then all the sounds ceasei. That night of June 20, 1766, passed, and 128 corpses woro ibkou uui. vui; inoui;-kuiw people of the 146 were alive, and they had to be palled oat from ander the corpses. Sirs. Carey, who survived, was takes by the Indian nabob into his harem and. kept a prisoner six years. Lnoknow In 1857 was only an eoho of Calcutta in 1756. Daring the mutiny of whloh I have been speaking natives who bad been in the servloe of Europeans and well treated by them, an<1 with no oause of offense, would, at the call of the mutineers, and without any compunction, stab to death the fathers and mothers of the tiousehold and dash out the brains of the children. These natives are at peace now, but give them a chance, and tbey will reBnact the scenes of 1756 aM 1857. They look upon the English as cor . irors and themselves as conquered. The matjy of 1857 occurred because the British Government ivas too lenient and put in places of trust ind in command of forts too many of the natives. I call upon England to stop the present attempt to palliate the natives by allowing ham frt hnlrl nnalflrtna of frnaf T nm Tin alarmist, but the only way these Asiatics caa be kept from another mutiny Is to put them out or power, and I say beware, or the Lucknow and Cawnpur and Delhi martyrdom", over which the hemispheres have wept, will be eclipsed by the Luoknow and Cawnpur and Delhi martrydoms yet to be enacted. I speak of what I have seen and heard. I give the opinion of every intelligent Englishman and Sootchman and Irishman and American whom 1 met in India. Prevention is better than cure. I do not Bay it i3 better that England rule in India. I say nothing against the right of India to rule herself, but I do say that the moment the native population of India think t&ere is a possibility of driving back Europeans from India they,will make the attempt, and that they have enough cruelties for the time suppressed, whicn, if let loose, would submerge with carnaga everything from Calcutta to Bombay and from the Himalayas to Coromandel. Now, my friends, go home, after what I have said, to see tne beauties of the Mohammedanism and Hindoolsm wnioh many think it will be well to have introduced into America, and to dwell upon what natural evolution will do where it has had its unhindered way for thousands of years, and to think upon the wonders of martyrdom for Christ's sake, and to pray more earnest prayers for the missionaries, and to contribute more largely for the world'a evaugelization, and to be more assured than ever that the overthrow of the idolatries of Nations is such a stupendous work that noth iu{? uut nu omuipoieui uuu turoutja tue gospel of Jesus Christ can ever achieve It. Amen? Hawaii Has a Thanksgiving Day. The Thanksgiving proclamation of th? Hawaii Republic, brought by the last mail, adopts not only the United States custom, but selects the same day. On November 20 President Dole, through the Minister of the Interior, Mr. King, Issued the following proclamation: "in view of the special protection and cars which an overruling Providence ha3 vouchsafed to our country and the people during the past year, whereby wo nave had exemption from pestilence, civil disorder and other public disaster; have experienced large progress in the development of our institutions of government; and have been blessed with abundant crops and due recompense for the labor of hand and brain, I, S&ndford B. Dole, President of the Republic of Hawaii, recommend that Tnursday, the 39th of this present month of November, be Bet apart as a ?;ay of national thanksgiving to Almighty God for the blessings of the past and the promise of the future, and of prayer ' Wta fa vnr " iur IUU UUUUUUauvu VI UIP tufv*. The Pacific Commercial Advertiser In commenting editorially upon the announcement of this distinctly American holiday, said: ' "The President of the republic issues today the first Thanksgiving proclamation under the new form of govdrnment. The young republic follows its great sister across the ocean in perpetuating here the custom of devoting especially one day in the year for the public acknowledgment ot the many blessings received by the people In material prosperiiy and spiritual growtn." Foreign Return Postal Card. Postmaster-General Bissell has received from the Postofflce Department of France a request for an arrangement with this country of a return postal card system as now used in this country. It is intended to secure replies as now used here. Mr. Bissell will consider whether the advantages to b# derived are sufficient to warrant extension to foreign countries. Cost of the House of Representatives. The tf port of James Kerr, Clerk of the House of Representatives, shows that lor the year ending June 30, 1894, the salaries ot members and other expenses of the House amounted to $980,380, of whioh total 039 was for the hire ox member*' olerka. RELIGIOUS HEADING. CONDUCT TESTED BY FRAYEB. A young man, son of one of the most respectable and wealthy inhabitants of Pennsylvania, was converted to Christ. His father was a violent opposor of religion and endeavored by various methods to banish serious impressions from his mind, but in vain. The work of the Holy Ghost coMldnot be undone. While the father was employing every means to dissuade his son from serving God, a ball was announced in the village. He compelled his son to attend. The merry party assembled in the lighted hall. Beauty, wealth and fashion were there; all that was gay and alluring of the world was there. Joy beamed in every countenance and gladness swelled in every heart. The young convert was urged to lead the dance. As the happy circle took their places upon the floor, and the cotillon was about to commence, the I ?? ? ? A?aa Kooi'onTT?nrr? V U11 LI LLUlil llliua Ul? OJUJ UOUVWUTTUitAf and said, "Let us pray!" Tha assembly was silent with astonishment; the hall be came still as the grave. Prayer in the ballroom was a strange incongruity to all. To supplicate the Divine blessing upon the merry dance, appeared to the most worldly a bold trifling with God himself. Although the young man did not intend to invoke the blessing of God upon the dance, but upon the souls of his cay companions, yet it doubtless seemed to them like opening the ball with a prayer. The fact shows that there are objects which we cannot guiltlessly commend to God in prayer, and places in which prayer seems a dreadful mockery. The truth may be variously illustrated. A Christian trader is engaged in scattering abroad the light, pernicious literature of the age.. Thousands of minds have been fatally poisoned by its contaminating influence thousands more have been unfitted by it for serious thought It has often nullified the pungent truths of the gospel; it ha^ been an imposing barrier to the progress of the church. Now, can he invoke the divine blessing to rest upon his pursuit? Can he carry contaminating novels in the arms of his prayer to the mercy-seat? Can he aSk God to smile upon the sale of books which multiply the enemies of religion? He dare not commend his business to the notice of God. It is a winter's evening, and there is an innocent, social gathering in the village. The church and the world are alike represented. None are there for the purpose of moral wrong; and the moments ny apace, wnue yec nothing occurs to alarm the Christian's conscience. At length the table is sprend, and the worldly begin to shuffle the printed cards. Shall the disciple of Christ participate in the amusement? No gamblers are there; the game is all for pleasure; it seems innocent But when the Christian regards the influence and tendency of such amusement, dare he invoke the Divine blessing upon it? Let him propose to pray, and quick as thought, the company lose their relish for the game. Send the theatre going disciple to his closet. The evening has arrived, and he has resolved to go. He has seen the flaming placard, and his interest is all aroused to witness the play. Can he cheerfully and conscientiously seek the favor of God as he goes to the amusement??Not he. The thought of bowing before the Most High, to seek his presence as he visits such a place, chills his very soul. He may go with 6uch worldiness as to have no thought of God or personal responsibility ; but he dare not go thither from his closet. A gulf as deep and wide' as that which yawns between Lazarus and Dives, seoarates the closet from the theatre. 4a If tKo vauHflf. nf InfnrlitftHntF drinks? Sometimes we find htm in tie church of Christ. Does he dream of co a.mending his destructive parsuit to Alm^hty God! What horror would seize our touis to hear him supplicate Jehovah to give him success in his misery-making business, to increase his trade and multiply his customers, as the means of a livlihood! For such an object it is solemn mockery to pray. ABE TOD SATISFIED? As I was passing through one of the obscure streets of the city, my attention was arrested by a noise at the door of a house, who3e red curtains at the window and green screen at the entrance intimated that here you mignt step In and get drunk, without being seen by decent people without A man of poverty-stnjck appearance, was disputing with the bar-keeper, and as he staggered away he said 'are you satisfied'" 'Yes,' returned the other contemptuously, 'I am satisfied. There had probably been some altercation about the score marked against the poor' wretch, and his last cent had gone to settle it. As I walked home, I could not forget the looks and words of the inebriate. Satisfied,' I thought, and then I followed him to liis home, and pictured tho scene. The toil-worn, heartsick wife, the J * ? Via? rti^K^'U, iiuiiger unucu uunuiou, iuv comfortless hovel?all seemed to ask the rumseller 'are you satisfiedV Then I followe d on a little while and taw the end, the delirium, the convulsion, the hoipital, the death pane, the rough box, the hasty burial, the drunkard's grave?all seemed to cry out to the rumseller,'are you satisfied?' I followed in my thought still farther. I heard the deep waillngs of a woe-worn spirit. They seemed to pierce through the earth, and ask the rumseller, 'are you satisfied?' Still onward I looked. I saw the hopeless agony, the reproachful gesture, with which a despairing wretch pointed to another trembling one. as ever at long interval*, he asked the rumseller ns they passed the eternal prison house, 'are you satisfied?'?New York Observer. THE BELIEVEB'S CROWN. "Choose you whom you will serve"?but with all do not forget to count the intrinsic worth of that choice; for everything depends upon it. Knar Henr rpftder. what is vour Hftniqlnn? We have read of one who said: "I have counted all things but loss, that I may win Christ; nor in t" s pursuit do I count my life dear." Long and hard was the struggle for this self-sacrificing hero of the cross; but in the end he could say: "I have fought the good fight of faith, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith, and hence there is laid up for me a crown of glory, which the Lord, the righteous Judge will give to me in that day." Well, all things considered, I had rather be the poorest believer, than the greatest monarch. How small a thing may effect the overturning of the greatest kingdom on earth. J3uttho believer is heir to a crown and a kingdom that cannot be shaken. The heavens may be rolled together as a scroll, the earth melt with fervent beat, and flee from the presence of the approaching Saviour; but let me posse s that kingdom which cannot be moved?that inheritance which is incorruptible, undeflled and fadeth not away.?Church Advocatc. TA9T TRIALS TO BE REMEMBERED. The remembrance of our past troubles and of the impressions which they produced, should recall to our minds what we then intended to do, and what we have forgotten to do. Let us turn over the book of our lives: we are fond of reading many books; but no book next to the Bible will do us so much good as reading the history of the dispensations of Providence in our own particular cases. "Thou shalt remember all the way which the Lord thy God bath led thee, to Erove thee and to know what was in thy eart" Let us particularly dwell on the pa*es of distress, and on the special deliverance afforded us; these are to be gratefully remembered.?Cecil. , ^'hpn a church is full of side-shows to raise cash, it is a sure evidence that most of its members do not believe in God with their money.?! Jam's Horn. One reason why some men swear is because it does not tiike any courage or manliness to do it ?Ham's Horn. Twenty Times a Mother. Mrs. William Stoen, who, with her husband, lives on Colbert avenue extension, Oil City, Penn., recently gave birth to her twentieth child. Mrs. Steen is only thirtyeight years old. The oldest child is twenty-one years and there have been no twins and triplets in the family. Stamp Sales Indicate Prosperity. Twelve million postage stamps are used every day by the inhabitants ot the United States to conduct thoir correspondence. There has been a noticeable increase in the weight of the mails in the last two months, whioh is taken as a sign of returning pros' perity. . SABBATH SCHOOL. INTERNATIONAL LESSON FOE DECEMBER 30. Review of the Fourth Quarter?Scripture Reading, Isaiah xlll., 1-9? Golden Text: Heb. xllL, 8?Commentary. Lesson L?Jesas at Nazareth (Luke !v., 16-80). Golden Text, Heb. *11., 25. "See that ye refuse not Him that speaketh." As we see Jesus reading from the prophecy of [sat&h In the synagogue In His own town and proclaiming that those words were fulailea In Him we remember His words to the iwo with whom He walked to Emmaus and believe Him surely to have been the one of rxrhnm Mnaen anil thft nronheta did Write. Dor hearts would say with Nathanael: "Thou irt the Son of God. Thou art the King of tarael." Lmson II.?The Draft of Fishes (Lute v., HI). Golden Text, Mark 1., 17, "Come ye ifter Me, and I will make you to become 3?hers of men." See Him feeding bunsry iooIb with the bread of life which never perlsheth, and then in a moment giving the weary toilers for that which perlsheth such m abundance as they had not dreamed of, tnd for which they had tolled all night in rain, then testing them by the command. "Follow Me." Lesson III.?a 8abbath in Capernaum (Mark 1., 21-34). Golden Text, Mark i.. 22, I "He taught them as one that had authority and not as the scribes." On Sabbath day j jnd weekday He is ever doing good, healing bodies and souls and utterly forgetful of . Himself. Healing the sick and preaching the word is His constant occupation, in all ihlnga glorifying God and honoring that word which is forever settled in heaven. I Lessor IV.?A Paralvtic Healed (Mark if., 1-12). Golden Text, Mark ii., 10, "The Son of man hath power on earth to forgive sins." Again He Is preaching the word, and the service is interrupted by a sick man being let down through the root. Jesus is never upset or put about by any emergency. He commends the faith of the foar frlepds by attending to the sick man. First He goes to the root of the master and forgives his sins; then He heals his body also and sends him away, carrying the bed which had carried him Thoro nr? mnnv pftsea of naralvsis to day which would be healed it brought to Jesus. The hands and feet and eyes and voioes that He could give life to if allowed flret forgive their sins?bring them all to Him. I Lesbos V.?Jesus, Lord of the Sabbath (Mark ii.. 23-28. and 1U., 1-5). Golden Text, Mark 11., 28, "The Son ot Man is Lord also of the Sabbath." He Allowed His disciples , to pluck and eat corn on the Sabbath day, | and in the synagogue heals a withered hand. | The Pharisees are grieved, and He would ; show them that not the mere bard letter of the word 13 to be observed, but the real spirit of it Sacrifices, although commanded, may become an abomination, for He will j have meroy and not sacrjfice (Isa. 1., 13, 14; j Hos. vL, 6). God Is ever seeking man's hap[ |>iness and true welfare and to that end has : set apart His special day that man may be : free to enjoy God. Lxsson VL?The Twelvo Chosen (Mark 1 111^6-19). Golden Text, John xv., 16, "I have ohoaen you and ordained you that ye should go and bring forth fruit." He will j have men to represent Him here while He ' is absent, as prophets, priests and kings represented Him he/ore He came, but with a different object. Alter a night or prayer ne calls unto Him some from all His disciples, | whom He would have to be with Him, and whom He might send forth in His name to witness unto Him. Lxssoir VII.?The Sermon on the Plain (Luke vi., 20-31). Golden Text, Luke vi.t 81, "As ye woald that men should do to you, do yoa also to them likewise." We cannot say that these laws and principles of the kingdom ore very fully acted oct now, but the Kingdom has not come yst. If, however, I we are children of the kindom, or, perhaps i more oorreotly, join theirs with the kiags, and, therefore, already in the kingdom by faith, we should manifest these principles in ' our lives. We cannot do it, but Christ in us . can. Lesson TIIL?Opposition to Christ (Mark ! 11L, 22-85). Golden Text, John I., 11, "He : came unto His own. and His own received > Him not." Here we have on the one band ! the hatred and opposition of His enemies, j who acoused Him of being in league with | the devil, and on the other His wondrous i love, promising forgiveness to even those who talked against him, if they would but turn to him, and assuring them that they might becometo him as brother and sister. Lesson IX? Christ's Testimony to John j (Luke vii, 24-35). Golden Text, Luke vi!., i ;27, "Behold, I send my messenger before : thy face." The people followed John, and - " - ** J ?kA many believed ana were oapuzoj, out ii? religious rulers were the great hlnderers. It is even so to-day. The people are hungry 'for the bread of life and receive it eagerly from any vessel that is cleaned by the precious blood, but the religious leader* actually protest against the word of God taken in its simplicity and object to those who, like (John, seek nothing for themselves., but live to proclaim the coming one. Heed not earth's great ones who go against the Book, but let us study to show ourselves approved unto God and earnestly covet to be great in the sight of the Lord (II Tim. il., 15; Luke i.. 15). Lesson X.?Christ Teaching by Parables (Luke viii., 4-15). Golden Text, Luke vi'i., 11, "The seed is tbe word of God." The threads running through this quarter's les- j sons seem to be, The words and works of I Christ, the common people gladly hearing, the leaders of the people* opposing and blaspheming. Lessen XL?The Twelve Sent Forth /Math, x., 5-16). Golden Text, Math, x., 7, l"As ye go, proaoh, saying, The kingdom of heaven Is ot hand." The one thing for the 1 disciple of Christ to give special heed to Is | [obedience, or, as in Isa. i., 19, to be "willing and obedient." He who sends us forth makes Himself responsible for oar food and raiment, so we are to have no care about (that. We have only to go in His name and tell the good news, proving by our lives that it has indeed been and is good news to us. ' Lesson XII ?The Prince of Peace (a Christmas lesson), Isa. lx., 2-7. Golder. Text, Isa. ix., 7. "Of the increase of His government ana peace there shall be no end." This is the kingdom long foretold which in the last lesson the apostles preached to the Jews as at hand, the kingdom which shall have Jesus for Its king, sitting on David's throne at Jerusalem, from whence He shall reign as king over all the earth. Israel and Judah sh?.U dwell safely in their own land, a hoi)* people, and all nations shall be blessed through them (Jer. iii., 17; xxiii., 5, 6 ; Isa. lx., 1-3). The practical part tor as is to let Jesus now have the government of all our affairs,jmd in quiet ness of mind live to matte mm Known.? ; Lesson Helper. Wheat Feeding to Cattle. A special report on the feeding 0! wheat to cattle has just been issued from the Agricultural Department, Washington, as follows: Tho returns from the correspondents of th< statistical division ol the Department ol Agriculture relative to the amounts of wheat fed to stock estimate the quantity alreadj fed?that is to say, up to October 30?16.030,000 bushels, and the estimated amount to be fed 29,273,000 bushels, making a total of 75,303,000 bushels. These figures on wheat feeding are merely the meagre estimates irom those States wherein corrnjpondents have complied witt tUO re%j UC3L Ul IUO t/opuinuuuv, be taken as anything more than an attempt at approximation of the total feeling o wheat irom present supply. The severity and length ot the winter will necessarily influence the Hnal iladings upon this question. Indians Beggared by Gambling. About a month ago a party of forty or fifty Spokane and Calispel Indians visited their friends, the Kootenais, on the Kootenai reservation in Washington State. Their ostensible purpose was trade, and their real object gambling. They did up the Kootenais brown, and after a stay of some three weeks left for home, taking with them almost everything the Kootenais possessed. All the winter supplies of the Kootenais are gone, and most of them have lost even their blankets, and are in a pitiful plight at the beginning of the winter. So serious is their plight that they are even asking lor work in order to live through the winter. Armenians in .Uasauchusetts. Miss Alice Stone Blackwell, who has takeD a deep interest in the Armenians who* have come to thi3 country, says that in Massachusetts alone there are now 2000 Armenians. * . J AGRICULTURAL. TOPICS OF INTEREST RELATIVE TO FARM AND GARDEN. "WHEAT FOB HORSES. The feeding of wheat to horses, as might have bee a easily believed, has not been found desirable. The grain of wheat is especially rich in gluten, a substance that becomes as tough and insoluble in tne stomacn, unless n is cooked, as leather. Thus, when horses are fed on the whole grain of wheat, it is not digested for this reason. If wheat is fed at all, it should be coarsely ground and then mixed with finely cut straw, so that the grain is divided in the stomach and intestines, and is acted upon in an effective manner by the digestive fluids. The horse is the most exacting of all animals in this respect, and the necessary precautions should be taken. ?New York Times. AN EXCELLENT DBINKING TANK. The illustration of a drinking tank is from M. K. Barnum, Nebraska. It is simple, cheap and easily cleaned. It is a tin box, about two inches, deep and a foot square, having a detachable cover, with the corners of the covei cut away to permit the chicks to drink. The portions cut out may be small, so as to prevent chicks from getting in the water, but with such a shallow tank they cannot drown at all events. The cover also keeps the dirt out, and prevents evaporation of the water. Mr. Barnum states that there is no patent on it, and he sends it as a gift to our readers. A larger and deeper tank on the same design may be used for fowls. The plan may also be adapted to a tight wooden box if desired.?Farm and Fireside. "WINTER MUXiCHING OP SrRAWBEBBIES. As plants grow until freezing weather seta in, mulching must be delayed until the ground is frozen sufficiently to hold up a loaded wagon. With a wide-tired vehicle there is less danger of injuring the crowns. Any kind of straw may be used. That most free from weed or grass seeds is best. 3table manure is good where the land Deeds enriching, but it must not be placed directly on the plants. Marsh bay is most desirable, but any straw Dr ooarse litter will answer. The object of mulching strawberries in autumn is to prevent rapid thawing. When once frozen the frost should come out very gradually. If the ground is merely shaded this object will be accomplished. To oonserve moisture in the spring until after the berries are picked, apply the mulch thiokly between the rows. Put a little light chaff direotly on the plants. Bake off this chaff when growth begins. As freezing and thawing is not rapid or frequent in December, mulching may often be Jelayed even to the latter part of Janaary.?American Agriculturist. EXSUiAGE NOT A COMPLETE FOOD. Ensilage alone is not an economical food, as it is deficient in the starchy matter, and has so much water in it that a cow must eat 100 pounds of it to get enough nutriment to live upon. For in 100 pounds of it there are only Iwenty-two pounds of dry matter, of which one-fourth is not digestible. The digestible matter has about two pounds of protein, or matters that go to make flesh; six pounds of carboniceous matters, that go to support the inimal heat, and not quite half a pound of fat, while an animal of 1000 pounds must have fully two and onelialf pounds of the first, twelve and jne-half pounds of the second, and nearly half a pound of fat. Thus the annilage is deficient in the heat-forming substances, and it will need some addition of starchy matter, such as middlings, to complete it. But 100 pounds of food of any one kind, except it be of the best pasture grasses, is too much, and especially of ensilage, which is by no means desirable for the sole nutrition of an animal. Thus it is better to give one-half this quantity, or fifty pounds, or even forty of it, and make up the rest of dry fodder, as clover hay, with sufficient grain food to make the even ration. With forty pounds of ensilage and ten of hay, adding four pounds of cornmeal and the same of bran, or the equivalent of any of the oil meals or the gluten meals for these, will make a full ration for a cow giving a pound of butter a day.?New York Times. hai;gd?'g a stable door. In windy climates some other way of hanging the stable door than swinging it on hinges is greatly desired. A device to do this is shown in the engraving from a sketch by J. L. Townsend, of Utah, and can be made from ^SPfFTff: I III II ii ii S i lip till ML 111 j >4 ppi Hi! | SECURELl HCNO STABLE DOOR. the following descriptioa : For a doorway three by eight feet, make a batten door in the usual manner, weigh it, and procure two square sash weights that together will just balance the door, or make the door to balance the weights. Purchase about eight yards of sash cord and two large sash pulleys. Place in position a frame made of two by eight inch plank having the pulleys near the top, and fit the door so that it will elide up and down without wearing the cord. Fasten the sash cords to the bottom of the door near the batten. On each side of the door fasten to the frame strips of inch square piecee to hold the door in position. The weights may slide up and down on each side of the frame, which may project out far enough for the purpose, or be boxed in to protect them and the cord from the weather. This method costs less than the common overhead hangers, is very durable, can be used for doors or uhutters, and any farmer who is handy with tools can easily put it into practice.?American Agriculturist. HOW A MTJLCH ACTS. The value of a mnlch is only partially appreciated by Americans, and there is a wide field for development in using mulches of all kinds, thinks A. B. Barrett We obtain our ideas of mulches from the prairies and forests, where nature forms her own mulch. The decaying leaves and stems soon form a mass on the surface, which prevents the soil from losing much of its moisture. This leaf mold and accumulation of vege table matter acts as a protecting covering for the soil, and it will be found around the trees in every for* est, and around the roots of wild grasses on every meadow. In imitating nature, as she works in the field and forest, we adopted the artificial mulch around our fruit trees, and found that it worked to their advantage. A mulch, besides retaining the moisture in the soil, also secures a more uniform temperature and adds considerable plant food to it. The nature cf the mulch is an important 1 part of the work. Flat stones may be 1 used around trees, forming a permanent mulch, but their 'action is merely mechanical. It retains the moisture and temperature of the soil, but it adds nothing to it. Sawdust is but little better, but straw and new-mown lawn grass form rich mulches that add plant food to the soil. The exact change which takes place in the soil when a covering is placed over the surface is not generally understood. Some chemical change takes place, and the soil is enriched for a time. In some of the gardens of France the benefit derived from shading a portion of the soil is understood and carried out successfully. Tiles cover tho strawberry beds, with holes made through them here and there lot the vines to crow out of. Flower gardens are likewise covered with tiles or cement, leaving no part of the soil exposed except where the plants come through. Expert horticulturists there find this method of great advantage. In a lesa expensive way parchment paper can be used for covering the garden soil. Brown paper dipped in sulphuric acid should be used for this purpose, as it is then made tough and waterproof. In times of drought this mulch acts splendidly. It retains the water, accelerates the growth of the plants, and keeps down the weeds. More experiment with mulches will in time make gardening much easier and more profitable. The parchment ' paper mulcn, however, for small places is the simplest, cheapest and most effectual that has yet been experimented with.?New England Farmer. fabji and gabten notes. Ventilate the frait cellar. ' Let the strawberry patch be thoroughly frozen over before mulching. A warm blanket on the horse will save more than its cost in feed during one season. Wagon grease costs but little, and is hardly any trouble to put on. Remember this at all times. Don't forget that fall plowing sometimes saves a great deal of labor in the spring, when time is precious. Let the poultry have access to the manure pile when the ground is frozen, so that they may scratch and not become over fat. If you have a lot of old mongrel roosters running around, kill them as soon as convenient, as they are of no value as breeders. Do you raise calves from your best cows only. If your best cows make 810 a year more than your poorest cows this is five per cent, interest ou 8200. The .feeding and milking of the batter cow operates just as the training and racing of the horse. It tends tu fix the performing habit?and heredity tends powerfully to transmit all fixed habits. Feed the fowls whole corn at night if you wish, but in the morning lei them have wheat, oats, bran or corn meal, mixed wun tae scraps itum vu? table; mix to a stiff dough with water or milk. When the real cold weather comes, keep the horse's bridle in the kitchen by the stove. This will be appreciated by the animal, as it will overcome the necessity of having to take a cold bit in his mouth. The Alabama State Farmers' Institute and Agricultural Society at their late meeting recommended that the farmers of that Stite reduce their cotton acreage twenty per cent, and grow diversified crops. Cottonseod meal fed to excess will injure the flavor of butter just as linseed meal in excess will injure the grain and flavor. The wise way is to mix the different foods so as to secure the best flavor, grain and hardness. Fowls are creatures of habit in the strictest sense, and when once they form a habit, such as egg-eating, . feather-pulling, or eating to excess, they will continue the fault as long ai they have opportunities for so doing. Every farmer is, or ought to be, interested in protecting his own products, and every pound of buttei properly made and sold at a fair valuation, is a paying factor in the interest of every other butter maker. It would be well to remember that during the long winter evenings yon can occupy your time profitably bj reflecting upon the mistakes of lasl - -1 3?- ?K. SGJISOD, UI1U ueviamx DUIUO uicauo kjj which you can overcome them in the future. The time has fully come when the dairy interests of the country c*q best be subserved by a united and harmonious working together of all who are in any degree connected therewith, and in no way can the best interests of each individual dairyman be better promoted than by becoming a member of hia State Dairy Association.