The Abbeville press and banner. (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, July 31, 1895, Image 7
I REV. DR. TALMAGE.
SUNDAY'S DISCOURSE BY THE
NOTED DIVINE.
Subject: "The Unpardonable Sin."
Texts: "All manner of sir. and blasphemy
shall be forgiven unto men. but the blasphemy
against the Holy Ghost sbail not bp
forgiven unto m-n. And whcsoe-T sneaketh
a wor i against th<>Son of Man it shall be forgiven
him. but whosoever speaketh against
the Holy Ghost it shall not be forgiven him.
neith<*?- in this world. neither in the world to
come. "?Matthew xii.. St. 32. "He found no
place of repnnt.inee. though he sought it
carefully with tears."?Hebrews xii.. 17.
A.s sometimes v.v<: " ithor the whole family I
around the eve.iinc stand to hear some book
read, so now we cither. a .srreat Christian
famllv arroa". to studv this text, and now
may one aM the same lamp cast its glow on
all the circl?\
Ton see :r>m the fir?t passage thaf I rea l
that ther:* i< a 5 in against the Holy Ghost for
which n man is never pardoned. Onc?
havincr e.-v'nmitt? I lr. he is bound hand and
foot for the ilunjeon^ of despair. Sermons
may be preached to hirr. sonsjs mnv be sum*
to him. orayers may be offered in hif behalf,
but h'I to no purpose. He is a captive fortius
world and a captive 'or th?? world that is to
come. Do you suppose that there is any one
here who has committed that sin? All sins
are asrainst the Holy Ghost, but mv text I
speaks of on<? 'specially. It is very clear to I
my mind that- the sin against the Holy Ghost J
the ascribing of the works of the spirit
to the agency of the devil in the time of the
apostles. .
Indeed the Bible distinctly tells us that. In
other words, if a man had sight siven to
him, orif another was raised from the dead,
and som? one standing there should say,
"This man cot his sight by satanic power:
the Holv Spirit did not do this; Beelzebub
accomplished it." or '"This man raised from
the dead was raised by satanic influence,"
the man who said that dropped down under
the curse of the text and had committed the
fatal sin atrainst the Holy Ghost.
Now. I ilo not think it is possible in this
day to commit that sin. I think it was possible
only in apostolic time?. But it is a very
terrible thins ever to say anything against
the Holy Ghost, and it is a marked fact that
our nice has been marvelouslv kept back
from that profanity. You hoar a mau swear
by the name of the eternal God. and by the i
Qamo of J'sus Christ, but you never hear a i
man swear by the name of the Holy Ghost. >
fhere are those here to-day who fear they i
ire guilty of the unpardonable sin. Have
you such anxiety? Then I have to tell you i
positively that yon have not committed that i
Sin. because the very anxiety is a result of j
the movement of the gracious Spirit, and
four anxiety is proof positive, as certainly as i
mythinz that can be demonstrated in math- i
imatics. that you have not committed the i
?in that I have been spelling of. I can look i
upon this audience and feel that there is i
salvation for all. It is not like when thev 1
put out with those lifeboats from the Loch 1
barn ior (ii? vine an rmvrr. iucj nuo? i
there wa* not room for all the passengers, i
but they were coin? to do as well as they jould.
But to-day we man the lifeboat of
the gospel, and we cry out over the ssa. <
uRoom for ail!" Oh. that the Lord Jesus j
Christ would this hour bring you all out of '
the flood of sin and plant you on the deck of ;
the glorious old gosnel craft!
There is an impression in almost every <
man's mind that somewhere in the future j
there will be a chance where he can correct j
all his mistakes. Live as we may, if we 1
Dnly repent in time God will forgive us, and I
then all will be as well as though we ha I |
never committed sin. My discourse shall
come in collision with that theory. I shall
show you. my friends, as God will help me. (
that there is such a thing as unsuccessful ]
repentance; that there are things done wrong <
F that always stay wrong, and for them you i
may seek some place of repentance and seek j
It citrefully, but never find it. ]
Belonging to this class of irrevocable mis- \
takes is the follv of a misspent youth. We j
may look back to our college days and think 1
how we neglected chemistry or geology or j
botany or mathematics. We may be sorry j
about'it all our days. Can wo ever get the <
discipline or the advantage that we would <
have h:id ha 1 we attended to those duties in i
&arly life.' A man wakes up at foriy years i
of ago aud Qnds that his youth has bean |
wasted, and he strives to get back his early <
advantages. Does he get them back?the ;
days of boyhood, the days in college, th } ;
days under his father's root/ "Oh," he says, j
"if I could only get those times b:?ck again,
how I would improve them!" My brother, i
yo\i will never get them back. They are
gone, gone. You may be very sorry about ]
It, ami God may forgive, so that you may at i
last reach heaven, but you will never get <
over some of the mishap* that havo come to i
your soul as a result of your neglect of early ;
duty. You may try to undo It: you cannot
undo it. When you had a boy's arms, and a I
boy's eyes, and a boy's heart, you ought to i
have attended to tho3?things. A man says i
at llftv years of age, '*1 do wish I could get <
oVer these habits of indolence." When did <
you get tham? At twenty or twenty-five i
years of age. You cannot shake them off. 1
They will hang to you to the very day o: i
your death. If a young man through a long
course of evil conduct undermines his physi?
cal health and then repents of it in afterlife,
the Lord may pardon him, but that does not
bring back good phvsleal condition. I said
to a minister of the gospel one Sabbath at the :
close of the service, "Where are you preasb^
ing now?" "Oh." he says. "I am not preaching.
I am suffering from the physical effects
of early sin. I can't preach now; I am sick."
A consecrated man he now is, and he mourns
bitterly over early sins, but that does not
arrest their bodily effects.
The simple fact is that men and women
often take twenty years 01 their life to build
up influences that require all the rest of
their life to break down. Talk about a man i
beginning life when he is twenty-ono years
ana. folb- ohniif n tr.iman hA<>innino? lift*
when sh9 Is eighteen years of age! Ah, no!
In many respects that is the time they close
Ufa In nine cases out of ten all the questions
of eternity are decided before that.
Talk about a majority of men getting their
fortunes between thirty and forty years!
They get or lose fortunes between ten and
twenty. When you tell me that a man is
just beginning life. I tell you he is just closing
it. The nexc fifty years will not be of as
much importance to him as the first twenty.
Now. why do I say this? Is it for the
annoyance of those who have only a baleful
retrospection? You know that 'is not ray
way. I say it tor the benefit of young men
and women. I want them to understand that
eternity is wrapped up in this hour; that the
sins of youth we never get over; that you are
now fashioning the mold in which your
great future is to run;that a minute, instead
of being sixty seconds long, is made
k up of everlasting ages. You can see what
dignity and importance this gives to the
life of all our young folks. Why, in the
light of this subject life is not something to
be frittered away, not something to b*
smirked about, not something to be danc9l
out, but something to be weighed in the
balances of eternity. Oh, young man, the
sin of yesterday, the sin of to-morrow will
reaca over 10,000 years?aye, over the great
and unending eternity. You may after
awhile say: 4'I am very sorry. Now I have
ant tr> thlrtv or fortv vearj of ase. and I
2o wish I had never committed those sins."
What does that amount to? God may pardon
you, but undo those things you never
Will, you never can.
, In this same category of irrevocable mistakes
I put all parental negleut. We begin
the education of our children too late. By
the time they get to be ten or fifteen we wake
tip to our mistakes and try to eradicate this
bad habit and change that, but it is too late.
That parent who omits in the first ten years
- of the child's life to make an etornal impression
for Christ never makes it. The child
will probably go on with all the disadvantages,
which miglit have baeu avoided byparental
faithfulness. Now yoit see what a
mistake that father or mother makes who
guts off to late life adherence to Christ,
[ere is a man who at fifty years of age says
to you, "t must be a Unristian," an! He
yields His heart to God and sits in the place
of prayer to-day a Christian. None of us
can doubt it. He goes home, and he says:
"Here at fifty years of age I have given my
heart to the Saviour. Now I must establish
* a family altar." What? Where are your
children now'/1 One in Boston, another in
Cincinnati, another in New Orleans.and you,
my brother, at your fiftieth year going to
establish your familv altar? Very well, better
late than never, but alas, alas, that you
did not do it twenty-five years ago!
When I was In Chamouni, Switzerland,
X saw in the window of one of the shops a
picture that impressed my mind very much. :
It was a picture of an aoeident that occurred i
>c the sid<? of one of the Swtss monntains
A company of travelers, with guidee, wen
up some very steep places?places which bu
few travelers attempted to go up. The;
were, as all travelers are there, fastened to
crether with cords at the waist, so that if on<
slipped the rope would hold him, the rop"
fastened to the others. Taking along th'
most dangerous point, one of the guide
slipped and they all started down the precipice.
But after awhile one more muscula
than the rest struck his heels into the ic?
and stopped, hut the rope broke, and down
hundreds an l thousands of feet, the res
went.
And so I see who'.o families hound to
sether by ties of affection and in many cases
walking on slippery places of worldliness
and sin. Th*> father knows it, and thi
mother knows it. and they are bound all together.
After awhile they begin to slidi
down steeper and steeper, and the fathei
becomes alarmed, and he stops, planting hii
fact on the "rock of ages." He stops, buthe
rope breaks, and those who were onct
tied fast to him by moral and spiritual influences
co over th* precipice. Oh, there is
such a thine as coming to Christ soon enough
to save ourselves, but not soon enough to
save others.
How many parents wake up in the lattei
part of life to find out the mistake! The par
ent says, "I have been too lenient," or "J
have been too severe in the discipline of mj
children. If I had the iittle ones around me
acrain hATP HifTVkrunf T urwilrl Ynn uril
never have th?m around again. The work if
done: the bent to tho character is given; th?
eteraitvis decided. I say this to young parents.
those who are twenty-five and thirty
or thirty-five years of age?have the famih
altar to-night. Hnw do you suppose thai
father felt as he leaned over the couch of hii
dying child, and the expiring son said tc
him: "Father, you have been very Rood tc
me. You have given me a fine education
and you have placed me in a fine social position:
you have done everything for me in
a worldly sense: but. father, you never told
me how to die. Now I am dying, and I am
afraid."
Iu this category of irrevocable mistakes I
place also the unkindnesses done the departed.
'When I was a uoy. my mother useil
to say to me sometimes. l'De Witt, you will
be sorry for that when I am gone." And I
remember just how she looked, sitting there
with cap and spectacles and the old Bible id
her lap. and she neversaid atruerthingthao
that, for I have often been sorry since.
While wo have our friends with us wo say
unguarded things that wound the feelings of
those to whom we ought to give nothing but
l-in<lnnj3 Porlinna tho nnront without in
quiring into the matter, boxes the child's
Bars. The little one. who ha? fallen in the
street, comes in covered with dust, and as
though the first disaster were not enough she
whips it. After a while the child is taken,
or the parent is taken, or the companion u
taken, and those who are left say: "Oh.
If we could only pet back thoso unkind
words, those unkind deeds! If we could
only recall them!" But you cannot get
them back. You might bow down over
tho grave of that loved one and cry and
cry and cry. The white lips would make no
tnswer. The stars shall be plucked out of
thair sockets, but these influence? shall not
b? torn away. The world shall die, but
there are some wrongs immortal. The
moral of which is. take cars of your friends
tvhile you have them. Spare the scolding.
Be economical of the satire. Shut up in a
lark cave from which they shall ueverswarm
forth all the words that have a sting in them,
k'ou will wish you had some day?very soon
you will, perhaps to-morrow. Oh, yes.
IVhile with a Arm hand you administer parental
discipline also administer it very
gently, lest some day there be a little slab
in the cemetery and on it chiseled, "Our
Willie." or "Our Charlie." and though you
bow down prone in the grave and seek a
place of repentence and seek it carefully
svith tears, you cannot find it.
There is another sin that I place in the
jlass of irrevocable mistakes, and that is
lo3t opportunities of getting good. I never
jometo ft Saturday night but I can see during
that week that I have missed opportunities
of getting good. I never come to!.uy
birthday but I fan see that I have wasted
many chances of getting better. I never go
k/>Tr?n An ffihhaf-h thf> Hia.-v.iQsirm <">f n.
religious theme without feolinc that I might
have done it in a morosuccessful way. How
is it with you? If you take a certain number
bushels of wheat ami scatter them overa
certain number of acres of land, you expect
% harvest in proportion to the amount ol
seed scattered. And I ask you now, Have
Ihe sheaves of moral and spiritual harvest
corresponded with the advantages given?
How has it been with you? You may make
resolutions for the future, but past opportun
[ties are gone. In the long pro cession of future
years all those past moments will march, but
the archangel's trumpet that wakes the dead
will not wake up for you one of those privi
leges. Esau has sold his birthright, andther*
is not wealth enough iu the treasure hcfuset
of heaven to buy it back again. What does
that mean? It means that if you are going t<
jet any advantage out of this Sabbath daj
you will have to get it before the hand wheels
around on the clock to 12 to-aight. It mean.'
that every momeut of our life has two wings,
und that it does not fly like a hawk in circle?.
but in a straight line from eternity tc
eiernuy. ic means taar, inoujfu otaei
chariots may break down or dracr heavily
this one never drops the brake and nevei
ceases to run. It means that while at othei
[easts the cup may be passed to us and we
may reject it, and yet after awhile take it,
the cupbearers to this feast never give us but
one chaace at the chalice, and rejecting that
we shall "Had no place for repentance,
though we seek it carefully with tears."
There is one more class of sins that I put
in this category of irrevocable sins and that
is lost opportunities of usefulness. Tout
business partner Ls a proud man. In ordinary
circumstances say to him, "Believe in
Christ," and hi will say. (iYou mind your
business and I'll mind mine." But there has
been affliction iu the household. His hearj
Ls tender. He is looking around for sympathv
and 90lace. Now is your tima. Speak
speak, or forever hold your peace. There is
a time in farm life whoa you plant the com
and when you sow the S9ed. L?t that go by,
and the farm3r will wring his hands whin
other husbanimon are gatharing in the
sheaves. You are in a religious meeting,
and there is an opportuuity for you to speak
a word for Christ. You say, "I must do it."
Your cheek flushes with embarrassment.
You rise half way, but you cower before men
whose breath is in their nostrils, and you
sag back, and the opportunity is gone,
and all eternity will feel the effect
of your silence. Try to get back
that opportunity! You cannot And it.
You might as well try to find the fleace that
Gideon watched, or take ia your hand the
dew that came down on the locks of the
Bethlehem shepherds, or to And the plume of
the first robin that went across paradise. It
is gone?it is gone forever. When an opportunity
for personal repentant or of doing
stood passes away, you may hunt for it; you
cannot find it. You may llsh for it; it will
not take the hook. You may dig for it; you
caunot bring it up. Remember that there
are wrongs aa 1 sins tha: can nevsr be corrected
; that our privileges lly not in circles,
but in a straight line; that the lightnings
haveaot as swii't feet as our privileges when
they are gone, anl let an opportunity of sal
vation go by us au incli?the one-'jundretti
part of aa inch, the thousandth part of aa
iach, the millionth part of aa inch?:ind ao
taaa can overtake it. Fire winged seraphim
caaaot come up with it. Tho eternal God
Himself caaaot catch it.
I stand before taose who have a glorious
birthright. Esau's was aot so rich as yours.
Sell it once, and you sell It for iver. I remember
the story of the lad oa th > Arctic
some years ago?the lad Stewart Hollan.l.
A vessel crashed into the Arctic in the time
of a fog, and it was found that the ship
must co down. Some of tho passengers
got of! in the lifeboats, some got off oa
rafts, but 300 went to tho bottom. During
all those hours of calamity Stewart Holland
stood at the signal gun aud it souuded
across the sea?boom, boom! The helrnsmau
forsook his place; the engineer was
cone, and some fainted, an l some prayed.
aud some blasphemed, und the powder wn
gone, aad they could no more set off the signal
gun. The lad broke in the magazine and
brought out more powder, and again the gun
boomed over the sea. Oh, my friends, tossed
on the rough seas of life, some have taken
the warning, have gone off in the lifeboat,
and they are safe, but others are not making
any attempt to escape. So I stand at this signal
gun of the gospel, sounding the alarm,
beware, beware! "Now is the accepted time.
"Now is the day of salvation." Hear it that
your soul may live.
Americans Abroad.
Americans have flocked to Europe this
summer In larger numbers than ever before,
and it was difficult to secure return accommodations
for any time between August 1
mm feu pirn pit.
Twenty-four Freight Cars Break
Through a Colorado Bridge.
WRECKAGE PILED THIRTY FEET.
Three Persons Killed, Three Fatally Injured,
and Fifteen Badly Hurt, Crushed
Under the Debris?Passenger Train
Had Safely Crossed the Bridge Twenty ]
or*(
^Iinutes Earlier.
oth
A Santa Fe freight train bound from Donver
to Colorado Springs fell through n by
bridge just south of Monument, Col., at 11 all
o'ciock a. m.. killing three persona, fatally
injuring three, and seriously injuring tlfteen ,
others. th<
There were twenty-four cars in the train art
loaded with stone, lumber and timber. The .al3
lnl
bridge gang, consisting of twenty men, were wa
working under the north eud of the bridge. If
The train passed over them and wus nearing f|3
the other side, when th ? timbers gave way
and thf train went through into the gulch, alt
fifty feet below. \
Nearly all the men working on the north tn<
end were thrown off and fell below. Mrs. On
Cooper, wife of Albert Cooper, the engineer ne
of the bridge work, was sitting on a ledge of gu
rock watching the men work, when the tim- ba
bers began to crack, and J. C. Childers, who nu
was on the structure, sprang to save her. no
The leap was to death, as he had scarcely th<
reached her side when the great mass of Bu
wreckage fell upon them. Both were ch
mangled and buried. Childers was foreman to:
of the bridge gang. There was a moment pe
of silence, and then came the hissing of we
steam and cries of the scalded mon pierced ]
the air. Fireman Frye was caught in his thi
?ab. but was pulled out. Two brakemen on no
the engine were scalded. ri?
As soon as possible a wrecking train was mt
brought from Denver, bringing physicians th(
and surgeons. All that was possible was Re
done for the sufferers. They were taken to be
the hospital at La Junta for treatment. tai
Th? hrifiir* of wood fifty feet high and gri
300 ff?et long. Twenty minutes before the
accident occurred the Midland passenger
train crossed the structure. The cause of ,
the accident is unknown. .
The wreckage was piled up thirty feet, '
and it was thought that there wore bodies J, 1
still under it. It took two days to clear it
away. About half of the bridge was taken fl
away by the train in its decent. .
The killed and injured are: Killed?Jim
Childers, foreman bridge gang; Mrs. Cooper,
wife of stationary engineer: unknown tramp. ^
Fatally injured?Mark Winohers, enarineei
freight train; D. N. Irby, brakenian; James
Neal.
Seriously* injured?Charles Halley. Frank CU]
Rhaw, Wallace Cooper. Charles Van Merter .
Tom Smith and Joe Williams, two tramp? gu
stealing a ride; J. W. Cole, C. C. Carpenter, jja
Thomas S. Stenhouse. Charles Sargeant. 3t0
As the engine neared the south end the wj,
workmen underneath saw the bridge rook j
and shouted an alarm to their comrades. 0f
Before the danger could be realized th<
engine and twenty-four cars came crashing ?0
through. Mr. Cooper shouted to his wife"
but the noise of the cars drowned his voice. i
thi
DEATHS IN THE NEW CONCRESS.
T?.?.?a?ntaHvp? Havp Dletl Since the err;
Election in November Lnsr. en
Only seven months have elapsed since the ^
election of members of the Fifty-fonrth Con- pa
gress, and yet thero has been a loss o( foi
seven from the ranks of the House of Representati
ves chosen last November, five by deal b
and two by resignation. The latter include
Representatives J. C. Burrows (Rep.) of
the Third Michigan District, who waschoseD
to succeed the late Senator Francis B. Stock- j
bridge, and whose successor has been elected lw
in the person of Alfred Milne, and Represen- Th
tative J. C. C. Black (Dem.), of the Tenth ski
Georgia District, who resigned in couse- sol
quence of reports that his election had been ski
secured by unfair or improper means. He his
will go before the people again, so that they 30I
may make it clear whether they desire that to
ho or Populist "Tom" Watson shall repre- mi
sent them. on
Those who have died include, besides Re- thj
nresentative Frederick R*roan, whose funeral wc
hivs just occurred in the Eighteeetn minou 01
District, the" following: Myron B. Wright cu
(Rep.), of the Fifteenth Pennsylvania Dis- lin
trict, November 13. 1894. James H. Codding thi
having been elected to flllthe vacancy; Philip of
S. Post (Rep.), of the Tenth Illinois Dis- da
trict. January 6, 1895. whose place will no
be filled by George W. Prince; Andrew J. ev
Campbell (Rep.). of the Tenth Now York dn
District. December 5, 1394. and Willian: un
Cogswell (Rep.), of the Sixth Massachusetts oft
May 22. Mr. Campbell was elected in Gen- hi.'
eral Dan Sickles's old district in New York po
and his successor is likely to be a Democrat, an
Iu the other two cases there is no chang* lat
expected in the political bias of the ne^ coi
Representatives. or
thi
in<
THE OUTLOOK FOR FRUIT.
Unfavorable Condition* Reported for thf r
Apple, Peach and Grape Crops. La
The fruit crop report of the Agricultural thi
Depurtment showsa moderate decline in con- j?1
dition. The report is summarizod as fol- ma
lows: thi
The condition of apples has been material
ly lowered since the report of Juno. Losses ^|j
have been especially marked in important foi
States having already low conditions, viz., wo
the New England States, New York, Penn- an
svlvania, Michigan, Wisconsin and Minne- wi
sota. In the Piedmont region the outlook is art
decidedly more favorable. In Missouri and Ph
contiguous States the decline has been ou
slight, not above 3 per cent, in any case, but me
the conditions are not quite as high as in in
the Piedmont orchards. On the Pacific dil
Coast conditions fell 8 to 11 percent., but
the prospects there are still good. Frost at
time of bloom, subsequent droughts, and
heavy droppings are the main causes of the
impaired prospects.
The peach crop returns are also unfavora- c'c
ble. Georgia and Connecticut alone of the SP'
leading commercial States have now a high "*i
percentage, the former having moved up to au
106, a gain of one point, the latter declining Jhi
to 90 from 94. New Jersey ha.* lost 12 points
and now stands at .73; Delaware. 13. stand- J?5
ing at 70; Maryland has advanced from 63 to W|
56. The condition of Virginia, 59, is lower
than in June by 13 points. Michigan has a bli
prospect of less than half a crop, while the
percentage of Ohio, 22, Is lowest of all. In iQ
California the condition figure declined from cri
3S on June 1 to 77 on July 1. tr(
. Forthe grape crop frosts have done much itdamage,
especially iu the more Northern belt ar
and iu the Central West. wv
Re
Carapoa in Battle.
While Captain-General Martinez Campos
was en route in Cuba from Manzanillo to
Bayamo, escorted by a detachment o of
troops, a large force of insurgents was mel be
with. The rel>els comprised the bands o.' '
Antonio and Jose Maceo and other leaders. be
A severe battle took place, and the loss oti ^
both sides was heavy. General Sautocildes
ui the Government loree, was killed. re
.. I , _ an
"liver >ervice lor int-ir my s
A silver service valued at *5000 was present
od to the United States cruiser Cincin- Va
uati, now at the Brooklyn Navy Yard, by a th
delegation ol citizens of Cincinnati. W
Tlio American Cotton Crop. sa
Oa June 1, the visible .supply of cotton in
ihis country for 1895 was 9,520,085 bales.
This is 2,212,820 bales more than were indi- ini
cated by the crop at this time last year. 8ti
These figures indicate that the entire crop au
this season will be no less than 9,800,000
bales, an amount that has never, heretofore, ^
been approached. 0[
C?
A Drunkard's Series of Crlmoa.
Joseph Nickman, of Pleasanton, Mo., shot or
his divorced wife through the heart, shot a P?
neighbor In the arm, and then ran to a brush trheap
near by and cut his throat from ear
to ear. He was temporarily insaue from Pc
l.-iuU. - w
ci
TEMPERANCE. R
A LITTLE SOSO.
Sing a song of sixpence, ?
You fellow full of rye; 0* t
With not a cent to bury vou .
To-morrow, should you dio. *
Saloonist in the barroom
Counting out his money; jj
His wife is in the parlor
With well dressed sis and sonny. .
Your wife has gone out working .
And washing people's clothes,
To pay for old rye whisky ..
To color your red nose. ?
run
MISTAKES ABOUT DBIXK. tO ]
' want to speak to vou about this drink he
il to point out to you the mistakes you and Nil
lers are apt to make. ren
ITZm* vni? am* .4a/vi waii rrr\r\A '* THic f"fl_n
a decided mistake. Calculate honestly, tha
the month of the year, all the good and Chi
the evil it has done you, and you will find is v
it. Instead of really doing you good, it has pec
ne you a great deal of harm. sufl
Second. But you say, That arises from tha
) abuse and not the proper use of the con
:iole." Here again you are mistaken. The the
use arises out of the use. from its peculiar rev
luence upon the human body. Its use al* t>tr<
iys has led and always will lead to abuse, poi
thoughtless boys play with gunpowder, rivi
nger is always near, and if men drink anc
uids containing spirits they get more isn:
irsty, become highly stimulated and are as i
nost sure to get more or less intoxicated. "
I'hird. But you reply, "Why did God send I si
jse liquors if they were not to be drunk?" the
i this point you are again mistaken. God hea
ver did send them, any more that He sent "
npowder, swords, cannons or cannon- he
lis. Neither barley nor barley-water, - coe
lit nor malt-water, the juice of the grape occ
r the juice of the sugar-cane will produce thii
3 least intoxication in its natural state, tim
it men take these substances and by a tail
emicai process manufacture them into in- lov
scicating liquor, and in this state ignorant stii
ODle have eennrallv conceived that they fro:
ire God's gifts. cat]
Fourth. You say. ''If doctors recommend un;
5se drinks, they must be good." I reply, an
t necessarily. Doctors are not always be?
;ht. But if they recommend them for the
>dicine this is a pretty clear proof that the
5V ought not to t>e taken as a beverage, anc
ader. in abstaining you are quite safe, and
assured that the favorable opinion enterned
by many of intoxicating liquor is o
eat error.?liev. E. A. Hall. q
ten
theih owx graves. per:
rhe punishment which follows wrong do;
is sometimes so evidently just and apopriate
that it is natural to speak of it its
oetic justice." The penalty is not only *
served, but it is so neatly adapted tn the Pet
ense as to seem almost ideal, or poetical Jru
its fitness. Under this head comes an "J1'
ler of General Scott's, lately printed in of 1
e Magazine of American History.
General Scott was in command at Rock
and when the cholera broke out there, tbe
d aftar various injunctions in this order are
to sobriety and cleanliness, he adds this aPI
rious paragraph: w*'
'In addition to the foregoing, the senior sa?
rsreon present recommends the use of , ^
nnel shirts, flannel drawers, and woolen '?u
>cking<?, but the Commanding General . tjje
10 has seen much of disease, knows that tae
5 intemperance which, in the present state
the atmosphere, generates and spreads the
s calamity, and that when once spread. arr
od and temperate men are likely to take ?tn
) infection. ? "er
He, therefore, peremptorily commands ??''
it every soldier or ranger who shall bo 'ea
ind drunk or sensibly intoxicated after of_(
i publication of this order, be compelled. 1
soon as his strength will permit, to dig a a?(
ave at a suitable burying place large w"
ough for his own reception, as such grave s"c
nuot fail soon to be wanted for the of
unken man himself or some drunken com- mu
nion. The order is given as well to serve
the punishment of drunkenness as to r*]
ire good and temperate men the labor of Jud
jging graves for their worthless compan- j133
i !
? hat
the
THE FOE OF BOTH.
Ucohol comes in to spoil the relations be- sha
een the employer and the workingman. for
e drinking workingman, no matter how He
illed and clever in his workmanship when via
ier, cannot claim the full wages of bis
ill. because he cannot be relied on. and
s employer is always on the lookout for a ?
r>er and steady skilled artisan with whom .
oust and replace the drinker. The latter a?*
ly work well for many day.-, but suddenly *j V
e morning he comes Into the shop, and in sldl
ree minutes has blundered away material ?.?P
?rth a week's wages, or by his derangement
the machinery some luckless comrade is P?1
t into pieces, or,if furious instead of maud* ?
i, he has in a few minutes smashed more
in he can make cood in weeks or months
labor. And yet, again, is missing for V*'
ys when work is pressing and hands can- 2.?1
t be spared. The employer who drinks, tv"
en though he be what is called a moderate ?'j
Inker, is thereby a tacit patron of all this .
reliability, and* in himself illustrates it.
:en failing to carry out- special promises to ?"j"
i men, thinking he will, but lacking will t
wertodomore than think and promise,
d?his unreliability further vitiates tne re- ) J~ *
ions between employer and man. In every- ?
ndition in life alcoholism, whether slowly ?
swiftly, surely destroys all certainty but
5 eertaiuty of disaster and downfall for the 2,/
iividual, for governments for the race. tbe
the
THE CAUSE OF CHIME AND PAUPERISM. call
rhe careful investigation of the Bureau of ad
bor, in Boston, results in the declaration a ?"<
it eighty-four per cent, of all crime brought A el
fore its tribunals was the direct or indirect the
tits of alcohol. Recently a grand jury evil
tde this ominous declaration: "'We find rinj
it in every case of murder or man- sidi
ughter, except one, the cause, leading to mo
3 crime, came direct from the saloon." Th<
1 studies of American political economy ext
ce upon us the conclusion that poverty It i
?uld scarcely exist, were it not for drink,
d yet our relief societies are over-burdene 1
th demands, our charitable institutions y
3 crowded.and our tramps number legions. t
ysicians speak with alarm of the numers
alcoholic cases brought up for treat- tj
int, ana 01 xne yei more aurusruus kito, DjH
which disease, whatever the form, is made jQ
Bcult because of the alcoholic poison per- ? j
sating the patient's frame. jor(
thr
THE EFFECTS OF DRUNKENNESS. bio
Drunkenness deprives a muu of God's pre>us
gift of reason, lleason in mau is a at
ark of God's intelligence. It establishes *,ou
a bond of union between man as creature 8ee
d God as his Creator. Drunkenness de- 'usl
rones the reason, and leaves mau a prey to e's<
} vilest passions. God made man a little 0301
is than the augels; the drunkard makes !in
mself a little less than the brutes.
Moreover, this horrid vice extends its tJia
trhting curse over man in his other rela- vie,
ins. It is ruin In prosperity, and despair an'adversity.
Cowardice, hypocrisy, theft, ?
nelty. murder, contempt of God. and liaid
of man go along with it and follow after
Disease of body and imbecility of mind j(
e notorious results of drunkenness. Who- aj, <
erloves humanity hates drunkenness.?
iv. Waiter Elliott. KO ,
c!a;
TEMPERANCE NEWS AND NOTES. *^0
In one year over a million dollars' worth |jV ,
property was destroyed by the failures of
er-drinking engineers and switchmen. s,-m
rwenty-one temperance associations hav? lion
en formed in Inuia during the past winter, fast
th an enrollment of "JOOU new members. goo
I cannot consent, as your Queen, to take ,J0tl
venue from that which destroys the souls 'i,,a
d bodies of mv subjects.?Queen of Mada
scar.
For every dollar paid the school to ouli j- '"j1.
te the Intellect of this country, $0 arc p-vM --i
0 saloon to blight this intellect.?George i.f?
Bain.
The W. C. T. U. of Fremont, Neb., are
Id to have paid in full for their Temperce
Temple, which was built at a cost of q
0.000. a,g
Drinking is like a dreadful plague, bring- Joi
g misery and ruiu to whole Nations and <le- ma
roving countless men and womon in body ho<:
d soul. '
My indignation at the havoc made by the me
ink trade and my sorrow over the miseries "tw*
our people are deeper as 1 grow older.? 1
irdlnal Manning. bot
1 believe the liquor traffic to bo tte direct
Indirect cause of a very large part of the f*'1'
luperism, crime and insanity of the coun- *01
f.?Hon. Elijah A. Morse. _
An Ohio man says that a peeled raw Irish
itato, dipped iato ice water and sucked 1
hen una feels inclined to take a driuk, vrili t0 1
ut> the most confirmed dipsomaniac. . .. -u:
ELIGIOUS HEADING.
"there shall de xo moht there." ^
It 13 heaven because it is beyond the reach
;hought. When I say, 'There shall be no i
ht there," can your utmost effort grusp
h a condition of things? When I add.
iere shall be no tears there.' have you the v
lmest apprehension of what the words
an? Human language has no terms in
Ich to convey tho truth about it; and p
nan thought has no appliance by which it
i be comprehended. We have certain
ts, but nothing more. P
There is an old rabbinical legend, and it
is thud : When Joseph was prime minister ,
Pharaoh, during the period of the famine, Cl
empted the chaff of his granaries into the
e. It floated far away on the moving cur- f(
t, and the people on the bank at a dis- .
ce saw it. It was only chaff, but it meant "
t there was corn in plenty somewhere,
iff nlways means corn; and yet the chaff
rorthless. You could not persuade these
>ple that they were mistaken. They were *
fering the pangs of hunger, and supposed
t the famine extended throughout the
intry, and that everybody was as hungry as 0
mselves. But that floating chaff was a t
elation. They were sure that if their
;ngth would enable tfcem to reach the .
lit <11 wmcn it nau ueen turuwu uiu iuc
5r, they would llnd plenty for themselves t
1 their famishing families. The paralieli
is faulty in many respects; but imperfect
it is. it serves my purpose." 0
You mean." I said, somewhat hastily, for a
iw the drilt of his argument, "that the _
ught of heaven implies the existence of ^
iven."
Somewhat more even than that, my son." t
replied; "the existence of heaven is a fact
iceded. What it is, and what will be our 3
upation there?we get a glimpse of these 3
tigs in strange ways. Adown the stream of
ie come floating to our hearts' doors ceri
dreams of bliss?reunion with those we P
ed and lost; the longing for rest; the in- I
ictive assurance that when we are freed t
m the handicap of flesh and disease we
t develop dormant faculties and satisfy
:ratlfled desires forholiness. The race, as
ice, ha<> enjoyed these hopes since it first f
to struggle. They are the chaff; but .
corn, which is higher up the stream, in '
granaries of God, will be ours in the by t
I by.?Rev. George b. Nepworth. fc
A TBCMPET CALL. J
>n a bright September day a traveler en- t
?d a Scottish city. It was thronged with ^
?ple who surged along the sidewalks, and
re only kept from trampling on each other e
the effects of a detachment of soldiers
m a Highland regiment. j
n front of a large hotel stocd two trumets,
waiting for the signal to sound their *
mpets. Men in long black robes moved t
her and thither; others watched the hands [
:he clock as they crept toward the hour of
ven. The traveler asked a spectator the
aning of all this. He replied: "This is a
autumn circuit court day. The judges 8
in that hotel. The hour of judgment is ,
jroachinsr, when it comes, the trumpets 1
1 sound and the judges will move to their v
ts."
'he looked-for hour arrived?the long,
d trumpet blast rang through the city; '
busy throng started at the solemn souDd; c
hour of judgment had come. No doubt j
,t trumpet peal startled the prisoners in
ir cells, for it told them that the time had
ived when they must face the judge, and t
nd their trial, and receive acquittal or connnation.
The circuit court day was a .
amn day to them; a day of hopes and 1
rs, of dread forebodings to the guilty and I
:heerful expectations to the innocent. J
'ham ia nnnth?r iiiHirment scene which VOU 1
11 shaM behold, another dread tribunal '
ich shall be established, another solemn s
nmons which shall be Issued to the sons i
men, another trumpet call which we
st hear. For "God now commandeth all
n everywhere to repent because he i
:h appointed a day in which he will j,
ge the world in righteousness, by that t
n whom He hath ordained: whereof He
h given assurance unto all men that He 6
:h raised him from the dead." And when 1
day comes, and Jesus of Nazareth, the j
be of Bethlehem and the Man of Calvary,
ill be seated on the judgment throne, bee
Him shall be gathered all nations, and
shall separate them as a shepherd dieth
the sheep from the goats."
COCBTESr AS A CHRISTIAN.
'he apostle's command, "Be courteous," *
>s not always receive the sort of heed t
ich it merits. Too often courtesy is con- i
ered a minor matter, provided one is .
ind in religious faith, and in some sense ,
j view is correct. Yet courtesy is an im- *
tant feature of true piety. The ordinary c
ircourse of daily life reveals the quality j
piety better thHD professions or what may i
called parade occasions, and unless it be '
ed by courtesy there is grave reason to t
lbt whether the piety claimed be genuine, c
courtesy, especially when babitnal.reveals fl
Ishness.and this is tho deadly foe of true igion,
Christian courtesy and the politeness 1
ich scciety demands in conduct resemble I
h other in appearance but differ radily.
The former springs from the heart, ,
iased upon love and the golden rule and
urposeful imitation of Jenus. The latter 1
omparatively supertlcial and formal, is t
tivated lest one become unpopular or, at ?
t. because of one's sense of propriety,
I has in it no element of consecration.
3 one has its sources in a heavenly spirit,
other in an earthly. The one endures,
other cannot be depended upon. Courtesy
Is for great self-control and often involves
ifflcult restraint of one's turbulent spirit,
?al victory after a hard battle within. Its
d of contest is the very Held where lies
ceDtre of the light between good and
I, the heart. A heartless courtesy always
53 hollow and seldom deceives by its outb
fairness. It shows itself in little, comn
matters as truly as in the more striking.
i home pre-eminently is the sphere for its
libition. Let no one regard it as a trifle.
3 a feature of religious duty.
YOUTH.
outh is not merely a lovely phase of the
asient years: it is a pervading quality of
iracter": a light in itself, and an Insplra1
to all surrounding lives. It is a peren1
freshness at the roots of being; and its
w of contagious life shines out often most
iantly bereath gray hairs and a wrinkled
ehead. The tree that has ripened its fruit
ough many spasons bursts iuto a springssoming
just as fresh and fragrant as that
ich unfoids from the half-grown sapling
its side. There are infinite beginnings
irgeoniog out continually from what
ms to us the end. While we live in the
piration of these, wherever and whatever [
> we may be, we are young. How can
rtais aee or youin aisturo tun uuu^uis m
inhabitant of the kingdom of heaven, in a
presence of Him who is at once the Child d
t is born to un and the Ancient of Days;
Root and the Offspring; the Beginning ,
I the End; the Morning-Star of every soul?
,ucv Labcosi, in As It Is in Heaven."
GLORIES OF LIFE.
t is a glorious thing just to bo alive. But
how much more glorious it is when we
>w that the life in which we rejoice will t
on and not die; that when this house of o
r, beautifully and wonderfully made, c
II have been taken down; when it shall .
e become too fragile and weather-beaten .
tho storms of earth to hold us any more. 1
shall not be cast out to parish, but >hall J
ply move on into some better and roomier ^
ise" which the Eternal Love that hold* us
: has provided for us. It is ?we?*t and ^
d to live, but how much sweeter and u
:er when we know that what we call 0
th will be merely a letting go of that
ieh we can no longer hold, a casting olT of
; which can 110 loug^r serve us, a going *
from that which .s but a prison door, -a
when everything that is mortal about us ?
I be swallowed up in the mors abundant
.?David H. Greer, D. D., in "From 8
ngs to God.' 81
a
Queen Victoria's Ilotidoir.
: -11.. u-i'rn recent Ir
>wed to penetrate Queen Victoria's bou- ,
r at Windsor Castle. Its state has re- ^
Ined unaltered since her Majesty's widow- n
xi. On the door is inscribed: y
Every article in (his room my deeply la- ^
titod husband selected for me in tho
mty-fourth year of my reign." ?]
"he Queen's bridal wreath, with the lirst ti
iquet Prince Albert presented to her. lies h
hered within a glass case, and on every
n are evidences ot the thouchtful devoi
of the Prince Consort to ner Majesty a'
^ Is
Furniture TrudeV Bright Outlook. n
'he ouHook for the furniture trade Is iU 1 it
je brighter now than at any other timd q
:n3* t he p.ust three years.
CURIOUS FACTS.
The width of the Suez Canal is 825
eet. i
The world's railroads reach 406,466
ailes. v
The modern system of fortification ^
ras adopted about 1500.
Women are not permitted to be
hotographed in China. a
Immersion in sand, mud or water
reserves wood for many centuries.
Every trne Mohammedan endeavors n
o make at least one journey to Mecca.
A Minnesota man has sued a barber 8,
ar $500 damages for ruining his rj
eard. a
The length of the adult American
rildcat is about three feet, of the tail Q
even inches.
There's an eighty-seven-year-old 1
lan in Eastport, Me., who is learning p
o ride a bicycle.
Tobacco seems to grow everywhere C
q this country. It is produced in for- ti
y-two States and Territories. s<
At Fort Yuma, Arizona, the ther- C
lometer frequently stands at 115,
nd when it drops to 100 the people o
>ut on their winter flannels. b
A man in Unionville, Mo., claims c
hat saltpetre is an infallible cnre for t!
nake bite, and cites personal experi- e
nee in support of his claim.
About 1G41 the apron was an indis ensable
part of every lady's dress. J'
t was made of all sorts of costly ma- ^
erials and was generally bordered P
rith fine lace. 8
A <?irl baby born the other day in
[okomo, Iud., is the fourteenth daugh- ?
er of a fourteenth daughter of a four- *
eenth daughter, a record which ia
hought to be unprecedented. *
In South China the chopsticks are
axed, and a man who can prove that
ia has no chopsticks?that is, no re- y
iable means of subsistence?may plead v
ixempt from the capitation tax. 1
A piece of the Charter Oak Tree of ?
Hartford, Conn., is to be made into a
able, on which it is proposed to have
he Governor of Utah sign the first
>ill passed by the Utah Legislature.
Japanese stookings are made with a ^
eparate compartment for the big toe, j
.3 the fastening of the sandal comes 0
>etween that and the next Few c
Forking people wear stockings at all. e
Count Paul Chandon de Briailles, i
rho died recently at Epernay, France, I
uganized at his own expense an am- *
ralance service of 600 beds during the 1;
rar of 1870, thus saving Epernay from c
be severities of the Uerman invasion, fc
A rattlesnake five feet long and hav- v
ng fourteen rattles was killed on r
Jount Washington, in the Berkshire
lillsthe other week. The man who ii
tilled it claims he has killed twenty- o
ix other rattlesnakes in that vicinity p
ecently. o
Ex-President Harrison has a double *
n one of his personal friends, General "
L H Beech, of Wheeling, W. Ya. c
lis figure and features, even to his ?
yes and the color of his hair, make J,
iim almost the counterpart of Mr. ?
larrison. *
?? c
Fishin? by Electric Light. e
Eastern anglers are taking a leaf out T
>f the book of the fishermen of the J
'acific coast. It will be remembered
hat an enterprising Californian was ^
he first in the country to utilize the
dea of attacking nsh by means of the
ilectric light. He had the nets for ?
i-a i-j l- I
us coast nsnmg siuuueu wim muaulescent
lamps, which were connected 1
o thfe batteries in an accompanying ?
joat. As Boon as the nets were sank
he enrrent was turned on and the in* c
landescent filament drew fish from far r
md near, greatly surpassing in its ef- v
ects on the hauling of the net the
nost irresistible of baits.
Now an Albany man has devised an fl
'electrical net," which works very 2
nuch after the same fashion, except .
;hat the electric light used is fixed ,
kbove the water instead of below its ,
inrface. When the light is placed in
*"" ''"'>'1 noto fir a oAta either to sea
yard of it or around it, flat upon the
jottoin. When the fish are drawn to 8
he lamp a rubber which runs along 8
;he top of the net is inflated by a 8
jump in the boat, the upper edge of ?
;he net will rise to the surface?the
ower edge being held down by sink- ?
>rs?and the fish are caught. ,
A New Yorker has made a moiifica- .
;ion of the California plan of using 11
mbmerged lights. He simply puts a
,hree-candle power lamp in a quart
jreserving jar, lowers it into the water,
lud runs it with a sewing machine batery..
He recommends those who wish
o follow his example not to spend $20 I ^
>n a battery, but buy an electric hand- | ^
jook and, with three goblets securely ^
astened in a plain wooden box, make
or themselves for about S2.50 a bat- ^
ery which works just as well. He
ays that night fishing becomes a very
ively sport if the light is placed anyrhere
in the neighborhood of fish. ^
?hey swim around and spend considrable
time investigating, but as soon
s their curiosity is satisfied they get
lown to business and discuss the
aited hook which is dangling near
iy.?Rochester (N. Y.) Herald.
A Midget Launch. e
H. B. Weaver, the artist, has built
steam launch which he claims to be
" -? ? a' u Tw
fie smauesi in iuu miu. xuo n
I the launch is nine feet, and it will
arry three persons. The beam is
hirtv-two inches, and there is a nine- le
ach propeller. The engine, which, o
Ir. Weaver Hays, has been declared w
he smairesfc marine engine in the
;orld, is an exact pattern of those gi
sed on large steamers, and weighs ci
nly sixty-five pounds, lhe water and t<
ir pumps are concealed from view, no
'he complete weight of the launch, h
ith nil equipments, is 175 pounds, n
>ak and cedar were used in the con- ri
truction. It has secret drawers for
toring brashes and materials used by d
n artist.
The launch and all equipments, in- m
hiding the engine, are the workmaoliip
of Mr. Weaver, who is an expert if
lechanic as well as an artist. Mr.
leaver has been twenty years in tl
uilding the launch, devoting his cl
pare time to the work. He has named h
tie boat Lizzie Weaver, in honor of
is wife. Mr. Weaver is nearly
?venty years of age, but is still g:
ctive. He says he considers bis ti
lunch perfectly seaworthy, and would
ot be afraid to sail on the cgean on tl
;. He contemplates a trip us far as hi
ape Henry, ?Baltimore American. qi
A > {
' Vr
* *' Jjjjl
===== ll
POl'CLAB SCIENCE.
Obsidian exists in large quantitiei
a New Mexico and Arizona.
A fortune awaits the successful in*
enter of an improved boat lowering
evice.
If cork be sunk to the depth of 200
iet iu ocean water, it will not rise on
ccount of the pressure. ,
The Directors of the Austrian Railaad
had a locomotive constructed
hich makes a run of seventy-four
xile3 an hour.
There were two total eclipses of the
an in the year 1712, and two in 1889.
'his rare phenomenon will not happei
gain until the year 2057.
Experiments in making water pipes
f paper have demonstrated that the
lea will eventaally prove sucoessfuL
'hey are made on muoh the same
rinciple as the fibre paiL
A bill was recently presented to the
lonntcticut Legislature prohibiting
be marriage of deaf and dumb parous.
It had been approved by the
iommittee on Humane Institutions.
Gold leaf of any thickness down to;
ne-four-millionth of an inch is now
eing made by electrolysis, and, acording
to Invention, at such rates a&
tireaten to extinguish the gold beatr's
art.
M. F. Walter has found that an uljy
consisting of ninety-five parts of
in auu UYC |/aibg \jk uuppoi auuutoa ov
enaciously to glass that it may be emloyed
as a solder to join the ends of
Ias3 tubes.
If a needle be inserted into the skin
f a supposed corpse and withdrawn,
he hole will remain open if the paient
be really dead. But if the paient
lives the skin will close up and
lole disappear.
The plant protector is a reoent inention.
It is made of translucent
raterproof material, is readily portble
and adapted for use either in;
arden or field as protection against
rinds, frost or rains.
Kin? Cobra in America.
Philadelphia is exoited over the
resence of a royal visitor. It is not
Persian Prinoe or a Russian Grand
take, but a veritable king?the king
f the serpent tribe?the redoubtable
obra. Two fine specimens, the first
ver brought to America, have been
stalled at the Philadelphia "Zoo."
Jnlike the cobras of the London
'Zoo," the visitors to our shores are
ively, aggressive iellows, unused to
aptivity and fond of spreading their
loous and displaying all the native
rickedness which makes them the teror
of the Indian jungle.
The reason why cobras are so scarce
i found in the faot that this snake ie ,
ne of the hardest to handle in trans- ,
iortation. It is one of the most pois>noua
known, and is remarkably quick
u its movements, says the Record.
?here are very few sea captains who
an be indaced to carry such a reptile
? a passenger. The two that have
ast arrived at the "Zoo" were brought
lirect from India to New York on a
ramp steamer. Each snake was inlosed
in a woodeu packing box the
ize of an ordinary soap box, over
rhich was securely nailed a piece of
rire netting. The two boxes were
hen inclosed in a larger one, having
i heavy woodeu lid with a few holes
or ventilation.
In transferring a snake from one
ase to another use is made of a long
orked stick, to which is attached a
loose. This noose is drawn tightly
.bout the serpent's neck and he can
hen be moved with impunity. The
lobra has a very narrow head that
?inV> clin tlirnnoTl fchfl TinnflA
UAgUW 4WUMMJ
inless great caution was observed,
rhereas the rattlesnake and others of
he snake kind have a broad, flat head
,nd narrow neck, which permits a sure
nd tight hold. When Superintendent
3rown moved his new charge ha
hought it proper to close the reptilo
louse to all visitors until the operaion
was over in order to avoid accilent.
When the house was thrown open
gain the new resident attraoted great
ttention. He was seen to be about
ix feet long, with a beautifully
aarked body, growing darker toward
he tail. He flattened his neck until
t resembled a hood, and, holding his
iead well in the air, darted forth his
lack forked tongue in wicked fashon.
The Inquisitive Clerk.
The mqrusitire clerk is everywhere
nd everybody has had an experinnoo
rith him, says the St. Louis Post-Exress.
One of the genus was "called
own" in a remarkably funny manner
a a West End drug store this week.
. tall, solemn-looking man came in
nd asked for a half dozen six-ounce
ottles.
"Bottles?" asked the clerk.
"Yes, bottles," responded the man.
"With or without corks?" asked
e.
"With corks," was the response.
"Want '?m empty?"
"Certainly."
"And new?"
"Do you suppose I want bottles
ou've been keeping strychnine in?"
The clerk said suoh an idea never
ntered his mind, and tben asked:
"What do you want them for?"
"To break," responded the impa;ent
customer, promptly.
"What?"
The customer beckoned to him to
:an over the counter and caught hold
f the lapel of the clerk's coat and
hispered:
"I wouldn't want the neighbors to
et onto it, but I like to hear 'em
rack. Just a whim of mine. It's betsr
than breaking windows and gives
te as much pleasure, but my supply
as given out and I want a few to hold
ie over until the next carload ar
ires."
The clerk looked at the customer
oubtfully.
"Oh, well, of course, it's nothing to
te," he said.
"Then what made you ask about
i?"
The clerk made no reply, but got
le bottles. As ho was making the
aange, however, the spirit moved
im to ask:
"What do you do with the corks?"
"Chew 'em," was the reply. "It'?
5od for the digestion. Try it some
me."
Then the customer walked out and
te clerk shook his head and tapped
is forehead, bat he asked no mora
iiestiou*.
. . , . k,\4t_c