The Abbeville press and banner. (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, February 19, 1896, Image 7

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1 ^REY. DRTALMAGE. IQkBjNDAY'S discourse by the bkrg noted divine. I Subject; "The King's Highway." Text: "And an highway shall be there, id a way, and it shall be called, the way of >liness; tno unclean shall not pass over it, it it shall be for those; the wayfaring men, lough fools, shall not err therein. No lion all be there, nor any ravenous beast shall > up thereon, it shall not be found there, it the redeemed shall walk there, and the nsomed of the Lord shall return and come Zion with songs and everlasting joy upon eir heads. They shall obtain joy and glad>ss,and sorrow and sighing shall flee away." Isaiah xxxv.. 8,0,10. There are hundreds of pepple in this house Iwuu waui iu uuu iuo ngui roau. iousuiuc ime; see a person halting at crossroads, and ? cu can tell by his looks that he wishes to fesk a question as to what direction he had fcetter take. And I stand in your presence fconscious of the fact that there are many of pou here that realize that there are a thousand wrong roads, but only one right one, land I take it for granted that you have come [in to ask which one it is. Here is one road [that opens widely, but I have not much faith pn it. There are a great many expensive tollerates scattered all along that way.' Inideed at tvtsry rod you must pay in tears, or ppy in genuflexions, or pay in flagellations. On that road, 4t you get through it at all. you will have to pay your own way, and since this differs so muoh from what I have heard in regard to the right way, I believe it Is the wrong way. Here is another road. On either side of it are houses of sinful entertainment and invitations to come in and dine and rest, but from the looks of the people who stand on I the piazza. I am certain" it is the wrong house and the wiong way. Hero is another road. It is very beautiful and macadamized. The horses' hoofs c'atter and ring, and they who ride over it spin alonjr the highway until suddenly they find that the road breaks over an embankment, and they try to halt, and they see the bit in the mouth of the flery steed and cry: "Ho! Ho!" But it is too late, and. crash! they go over the embankment. We shall torn and see if we cannot find a different kind of road. You have heard of the Appian w&y. It was 350 miles long. It was twenty-four feet wide, and cn either side of the road was a path for foot passengers. It was made out of rocks cut in hexagonal shape and fitted togother. What a road it must have been! Made of smooth, hard rock, 850 miles long! No wonder that in the construction of it the treasures of a whole empire were exhausted. Because of invaders and the elements and time?the old conqueror who tears up a road as he goes over it?there is nothing left of that structure but a ruin. But I have to tell you of a road built before the Appian way, and yet it is as good as when first constructed. Millions of souls have gone over it. Millions more will comc. The prophets and apostles, too, ~J -<?? H la !tA?a Kolrtm I[ runucu lUld ruuu nuno UCIU voivtv* Wm therefore will, without dismay. Still walk in Christ, tho Rood old way. First, this road of the text is the Kins s highway. In the diligence you dash on over the Bernard pass of the Alps, mile after mile, and there is not so much as a pebble to jar the wheels. You go over bridges which cross chasms that make you ho d your 1 breath, under projecting rock, along by j dangerous precipice, through tunnels a-drip with the meltings of the glaciers and per- ' haps for the first time learn the majesty of a road built and supported by Governmental ' authority. Well, my Lord the King decided I to build a highway from earth to heaven. It ] should span all the chasms of human j wretchedness; it should tunnel all the mountains of earthly difficulty; It should be ' wide enough and strong enough to hold 1 fifty thousand millions of the human race, ' if so many of them should ever be born; it 1 should be blasted out of the "rock of ages" 1 and cemented with the blood of the j cross and be lifted amid the shout ing of angels and the execration of devils. : "I 1 TT.-? Ho I'XUe lung sum. ais ouu iu uuuu iu?t iwu, put head and hand and heart to it, and after j the road was completed waved His blistered hand over the way, crying, "It is finished!" 1 Napoleon paid 15,000,000 francs for the build- 1 ins of the Simplon road that his cannon might go over for the devastation of Italy, bat our ling at a great expense has built a road for a different purpose, that the banners of heavenly dominion might comedown over it. Being a King's highway, of course it is well built. Bridges splendidly arched and buttressed have given way and crushed the passengers who attempted to crosj theai. But Christ the King would build no such thing as that. The work done, He mounts the chariot of His love, and multitudes mount with Him, and He drives on and up the steep of heaven amid the plaudits of gazing worlds. The work is done?well done? gloriously done?magnificently done. Still further, this road spoken of is a clean road. Many a fine road has become miry and foul be.-ause it has not been properly cared for, but my text says the unclean shall not walk on this one. Room on either side to throw away your sins. Indeed, if you want to carry them aloni? you are not on "the right road. That bridge will break, those ' overhanging rocks will fall, the night will 1 ?? A laat'inr* *?A1I of tKo m O m nf fllA I BUBKUUIO UV?TU iwailU), j'jyA o*. U*v?v; |K^E mountain bandits, and at the very next turn ^ of the road you will perish. But if you are H^^Hreally on this clean road of which I have D^Hbeen speaking, then you will stop ever and i |HH|anon to wash In the water that stands in the ' ^^^Hbasin of the eternal rock. Aye. at almost every stop of the journey ] HK-ou will be crying out: "Create within me ' clean heart." If you have no such aspiraR|[^Hitions as that, it proves that you have mis- 1 |HM^Kaken your way, and if you will only look 1 pKjjHip and see the fingerboard above Tour head, ffiX^H'ou may read upon it the words, "There is a HwHlray that seemeth right unto a man, but the : ^Dj^nnd thereof is death." Without holiness no 1 ^^^Hnan shall see the Lord, and if you have any HOj^Bdea that you can carry along your sins. I^^^Byour lusts, your worldllhess, and yet get at ^^^Hihe end of the Christian race, yon are so awHHflluliy mistaken, that, in the name of God, I HS^Hshatlcr the delusion! RffiflH Still further, the road spoken of Is a plain HBHroad. "The wayfaring men, though fools, HJHsbaU not err therein." That is, it a man is Hj^Hthree-fourths au idiot, lie can find this HH road just as well as if he were a philosopher. The imbecile boy, the 'auxhing stock of the ^ street, and followed by a mob hooting at him. has only just to knock <?n-n at the gate of EHH heaven, and it swings 0|>h:>. while there has B9 been many a man who in lecture about HQS pneumatics, and cheuii.-iU-. and tell th ) tstory of Faraday's theory o fleet rical polarBg^K ization and yet has been shut out of heavoc. There has beon many a ma:i who stood in au HKgB observatory and swept the heavens with his telescope and yet has not been able to see nffil moraine star. Maitv a mau has been fa I miliar with all the higher branches of mathematics and yet could not do the simple sum. "What shall it profit a man if he gain the whole world and lose his own soul?" , Many a man has been a fine reader of tragedies and poems and yet could not "read his title clear to mansions in the skies." Many a man ha3 botanized across the continent, and yet not known the "Rose of 8haron, and the Lily of the Valley." But if one shall come in the right spirit, asking the way to heaven, he will find it a plain way. The pardon is plain. The peace is plain. Everything is plain. He who tries to get on the road to heaven through the New Testament teaching will get on beautifully. He who goes through philosophical discussion will not get on at all. Christ says "Come to Me. and I will take all your sins away, and I will take all your troubles away." Now what is the use of my discussing it any more! Is not that piain? If you wanted to go to some city, and I pointed you out a highway thoroughly laid out, would I be wise iu detaining you by a geological discussion about the gravel you will pass over or a physiological discussion about (he muscles you will have to bring into play? No. Afier this Bible ba? pointed you the way to heaven, is it wise for me to detain you with any discussion about the nature of the human will, or whether the atonement is limited or unlimite J? There is I the road?goon it. It is a plain way. "This Is a faithful sayine. and worthy of all acceptation, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners." And Iha' is you and that is me. Any little child here can understand this as well as 1 can. "'Unless you become as a little child, you cannot see the kingdom of God." If you are saved, it will not be as a philosopher, it will be as a little child. "Of such is the kingdom of heaven." Unless you get the spirit of little children, you will never come out at their glorious destiny. Still further, this road to heaven is a safe road. 8ometimes the traveler in those au-! dent highways would thluk himself per fectly r.ecure. not knowing there was a lion by the way burving his head deep between his paws, and then when the right moment came, under the fearful spring the man's life was pone and there was a mauled carcass by the roadside. But, says my text, "No lion shall be there." I wish I oonld make you feel your entire security. I tell you plainly that one minute after a man has become o child of God he is as safe as though he had been 10,000 years in heaven. He may slip' he may slide; he may stumble; but he cannot be destroyed. Kept by the power of God through faith untocompletesalvation. Everlastingly safe. The severest trial to which you can subject a Christian man is to kill him. and that is glory. In other words, th? ??.- t-hinn Aon hnnnen n. child of God \> uiai iui"6 v* "~rr? ? is heaven. The body is only the old slipper? that h? throws aside just before putting on the siindals of light. His soul, you cannot hurt it. No flres can consume it. No floods can crown it. No devils can capture it. Firm and unmoved are they Who rest their souls on God; Fixed as the ground where David stood, Or where the ark abode. His soul is safe. His reputation is safe. Everything is safe. "But." you say, '"suppose his store burns up? Why, then, it will be only a change of investments from earthly to heavenly securities. "But," you say, "suppose his name goes down under the hoof of scorn and contempt?" The name will be so much brighter in glory. "Suppose his physical health fails?" God will pout iuto him the floods of everlasting health, and it will not make anv difference. Earthly subtraction is heavenly addition. The tears of earth are the crystals of heaven. As they take rags and tatters and put them through the paper mill and they come out beautiful white sheets of paper, so often the rags of earthly destitution, under the cylinders ol death, come out a white scroll upon which 9hall be written eternal emancipation. There was one passage of Scripture, the force of which I never understood until one day at Chamounix, with Mont Blanc on one side and Montanvert on the other, I opened my Bible and read, '-As the mountains are around about Jerusalem so the Lord is arouud about them that fear Him." The surroundings were an omnipotent commentary. Though troubles assail and dangers affright, Thniiffh frlnnHo ahmilri all fail and foes all unite, Yet one thins: secures us. whatevor betide, Toe Scripture assures us the Lord will provide. Still further, the road spoken of is a pleasant road. God give9 a bond of indemnity against all evil to every man that treads it. "All things work together for good o those who love God." No weapon formed aeainst them can prosper. That is the bond, signed, soalcd and dolivered by the President of the whole universe. What is the use of your fretting, oh, child of God, about food? "Behold the fowls or the air, for they sow not, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns, yet your Heavenly Father feedeth them." And will He take careof the sparrow, will He take care of the ravon, will He take care of the hawk and let you die? What is tho cse of your fretting about clothes? "Consider the lilies of the Held. Shall He not much more clothe you, oh, ye of littlo faith?" What is the use of worrying for fearsomething will happen to your home? "He blesseth the habitation of the just." What is the use of your fretting lest you will be overcome of temptations? "God is faithful, who wjll not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able, but will with the temptation also make a wav to escape, that ye may be able to bear it." Oh, this King's highway! Trees of life on cither side bending over until their branches interlock and drop midway thel: fruit and shade. Houses of entertainment on either side the road for poor pilgrims. Tables spread with a feast [of good things and walls adorned with apples of gold In pictures of silver. I start out on this King's highway, and I find a harper , and I >ay, "What is your name?" Th narper makes no response,"but leaves me to guess as with his eyes toward heaven and his band upon the trembling strings this tune comes rippling on the air: "The Lord is my light met my salvation. Whom shall I fear? The Lord is the strength of my life. Of whom shall I be afraid?" I go a little farther on the same road and meet a trumpeter of heaven, and I say, 'Haven't you got some music for a tired pilgrim?" And wiping his lip and taking a long breath he puts nls mouth to the trumpet ind pours forth this strain: "They shall hunger jio more, neither shall they thirst my more, neither shall the sun light on them, nor any heat, for the Lamb which is In the midst of the throne shall lead them to living fountains of water, and God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes." I go a little distance farther on the same road, and [ meet a maiden of Israel. ' She has no harp, out she has cymbals. They look as if they had rusted from sea SDray, and I sav to the maiden of Israel, "Have you no song for a tired pilirrim?" And like the clang of victors' shielus the cymbals clap as Miriam begins to discourse: "Sing ye to the Lord, for Be hath triumpheted gloriously. The horse und tho rider hath He thrown into the sea." And then I see a white robed group. They :ome bounding toward me, and I say, "Who are they? Tho happiest and the brightest, ind the fairest in al!. heaven?who are they?" And the answer comes, "These are they who came out of great tribulations and had tneir robes washed and made white in the blood of the Lamb." I pursue this subject onlyono step furthor What is the terminus? I do not care how fine a road you Jjut me on; I want to know where it comes out. My text declares, "The redeemed of the Lord come to Zion." You know what Zion was. That was the King's palace. It wa* a mountain fastness. It was Impregnable. Ana so neaven is tno lasmess ot the universe. No howitzer has loner Bncugh range to shell those towers. Let all the batteries of earth and hell blaze away; they cannot break in those gates. Gibraltar was taken; Sebastopol was taken; Babylon fell, but these walls of heaven shall never surrender either to human or satanic besiesrement. The Lord God Almightv lathe defense of it. Great capital of the universe! Terminus of the King's highway! Dr. Dick said that, among other things, he thought in heaven we would study chemistry and geometry and conic sections. Southey thought that in heaven ho would have the pleasure of seping Chaucer and Shakespeare. Now, Dr. Dick may have his mathematics for all eternity and Southey his Shakespeare. Give mo Christ and my old friends?that is all tbo heaven I want. Christ and His people that I knew on earththat is heaven enough for mo. Ob, garden or light, whose leaves never wither, and whose fruits never fail! Ob. banquet of God, whose sweetness n?ver palls the taste and whose guests are kings forever! Oh. city of light, whose walls are salvation and whoso gates are praise! Oh. palace of rest, whore God is the monarch and everlasting ages tho length ot His reign! Oh. soug louder than the surf beat of many waters, yet soft as tho whisper of cherubim! Oh, glorious heaven! When the last wound is henlarL when tho Inst heartbreak Is ended. when the last tear of earthly sorrow is wiped away, and when tho redeemed of the Lord ahull come to Zicn, then let all tho harpers take down their harps, and all the trumpeters take down their trumpets, and all aoross heavenlet there be chorus of morning stars, chorus of white robed victors, chorus of martyrs from under the throne, chorus of ages, chorus of worlds, and there is but one song sung, and but one name spoken, and but ouc throne honored?that of Jesus only. CRAND ARMY COLONY CROWINC. Several Thousand AYell-to-Do I'eople at Fitzgerald, On. There are now between GOOO and 7000 persons at Fitzgerald, Ga., and the Grand Army colony is growing rapidly. Tho Georgia and Alabama Railway brought in one day in January more than 500 colonists, aud Mr. Fitzgerald, the organizer of tho movement, IIIC*"* l licit lUcrO Will UU UUIWCVU auil 40,000 people there within tho next twelve months. Tho colony already includes persons from every State in the Union except two. Canada also being well represented. S. careful investigation shows that many of the colonists, all of whom have gone into that section within the last five months, are well-todo people financially, and that quite a number of them are worth from $50,000 to ilOO,000 each. In this respect it is probablv different from any great colonization work evei seen. Three banks are already organized, and buildings are under construction for them. Two local papers have also been established. Colored Porter Admitted to the Bar. In a law class which passed an oxamtnation before the South Dakota Supreme Court recently, Madison Jaokson, a colorec porter on the Northwestern Railroad, was ' admitted to pt&vtice. I SABBATH SCHOOL. E INTERNATIONAL LESSON FOR FEBRUARV 23. ] , nit Lesson Text: "Faith Encouraged," Luke vill., 43-53?Golden jus Text: Luke vill., 48? ma Commentary. a? pa 43. "A woman had spent all her livlnc: b? upon physicians, neither could be healed o? . any." Another helpless case, an opportun- " ity for the Lord to work. It is still true that we are slow to come to the Lord until we . have come to the end of ourselves. Ob, ' " that the Lord would bring us quickly to see our nothingness and the vanity of all earthly , things, that we might And in Him our all. Y" Ho is still, in His word, showing ''the glad tidinsrs or the kingdom of God" (verse 1) PJj? that He may allure us to Himself, but be- ~ 0 cause so many will not read. aa 44. "Immediately her issue of blool Pai stanched." The life of the flesh is in tne wfa blood (Lev. xvii., 11), and for twelve years her life had been ebbing away. The story a of the little girl of our lesson is that of twelve years' development of life suddenly ; cut off, and just as suddenly restored by the lu: same Jesus, who healed the life that wa? ^r< 1 " 1. 1 !!?.. pe< euuiLi# awnj. mere uaiurai inc. wuomoi j steadily developed or steadily frittered nway, 'n is nothing until it is touched by Jesus, who is 5,?' the life. He was crucified at "the place of a skull," and all that is on the earth of human .greatness or glory is us empty as a skull, apart from the cross of Christ. 1 45. "And Jesus said, Who touched Me?" th? The woman had heard of Jesus, perhaps was dol acquainted with someone who had been the healed by Him, and by their testimony was str encouraged to believe that if she could but str touch the hem of His garment she would be the whole. Faith cometh by hearing and hear- ain ing by the word of God (Rom. x., 17), so if bet we would strengthen otners and increase pr< their faith we must communicate that which of God has done for us and through us to H's dai glory (Phil. vi.). wil 46. "I perceive that virtue is trone out of rec Me." Thus spake Jesus in answer to the dis- bel ciples' statement that the multitude thronged to Him. As He preached to the household the the power of the Lord was present to heal tb! (Luke v., 18). but we read of no one being cot healed except the one who came through mo the roof. So in this case power went from di\ Him to only this one poor woman. As He swi sat at another time over against the treas- the ury His heart went out more to one poor Da woman than to all the others. Not all who Pa KO to church or read the Bible are blessed, but only those whose hearts go out to Him in conscions need or worship. ? 47. "She declared unto Him before all the ..1 people for what cause she had touched Him J j and how she was healed immediately." It seemed hard foijthis poor, timid, trembling woman thus to testify before all the people, "jbut observe that she did It "unto Him," and it was in gratitude for blessing received. Unto Him is the key to all service, and when thus we serve we do crt mind the peopie, WD whether few or many. 48. "Daughter, be of pood comfort. Thy faith hath made thee whole. Go in peace." 01' Surely it was worth while to confess Him publicly in order to receive this gracions 1,91 word from His own lips right to her heart. me If those wbo feel very weak and timid only jjS* would declare unto Him before the people, what a blessing they might receive! As far 'n 1 as is recorded she is the only woman He &re ever addressed as "daughter." Think how the words "good cheer," "made whole." "no in peacs," would keep coming to her in wil all her after life?His words to her soul. 49. "Thy daughter is dead. Trouble not J"0 the Master." The incident we have just been ln? studying occurred while Jesus was on His way to the house of Jairus to heal his little girl, who seemed to be dying when Jairus i left the house to go for Jesus (verse 41, 42). am Put yourself In the place of Jairus and imag- dw ine his heart, as every moment seemed an i? j hour that Jesus tarried in order to speak to tio the poor woman. Then think of the agony gel of soul as this message comes. voi 50. "Fear not. Believe only, and she shall y0i be made whole." Ere the father has time to m? say, or perhaps even think, "Oh, if He had i0^ only come without delaying!" these gracious thi words fall from Jesus's lips. In Mark v., 36, it is, "Be not afraid, only believe." ths 51. "He suffered no man to go in save bit Peter ana James and John and the father n0| and the mother of the maiden." That would , make just seven, with the little girl, seven ( altogether, the perfect number. On two ; other occasions these three disciples were f the favored ones. Why, we shall knowsome 1 day. If we are willing to be His choice 1 ones, "set apart for Himself." "a people for I His own poasseasion" (Ps. iv., 3; Titu9 li., 14, i'S' B. V.) I do not know why we may not. llg 52. "Weep not. 8he id not dead, but sleepeth." Thus He spake as they all wept and bewailed her. In the case of Lazarus _ He calle.i death asleep (John xi., 11-14). The 1 body sleep?, but as to the spirit, the person, ra! the word is, -'Absent from the body; present Pr! with The Lord." "Departed to be with . Christ" (Phil. J., 21, 23; II Cor. v., 9). For }ze the Christian who lives for Christ, to die is , pain. ro 53. "And they laughed Him to scorn, ?V! knowing mat she was dead." They had J"1 only natural sight. They believed what they saw, and seeing is believing with the c.?l natural man. But to the spiritual man, believing is seeing. "Said I not unto thee that if thou wouldest btl'eve thou shouldest ?v< see?" "Blessed are they that have not saen, Ire yet have believed" (John xi., 40: xx.. 29). yp1 The believer is to believe God rather than his own eyes or feelings or thoughts or any- bul thing. No matter how things look we are 1 ever to say, "I believe God that it shall be tl(! even as it was told me" (Acts xxviL, 25). Abraham considered not his own body nor fes thoughts nor feelings, *5ut jast believed that nrl God was able to keep His promises, and it was not for Abraham to ask how. 54. "And He put them all out and took her by the hand and called, saying, Maid, arise." j The weeping, wailing unbelieving ones may int not be permitted to see His power. Only cjj, faith eon see, and unbelief hinders. There"- )|n( fore it must depart. Weeping Mary could oti not recognize Him on the resurrecilon 0f morning. Neither could the unbelieving tr., two who walked to Emmaus. ,ng 55. "And her spirit came again, atd she w0 arose staaightway, and He commanded to ^ give her meat." Some of the resurrection thoughts that flt in here will be found in the last lesson in connection with the widow's son. I often wonder how thi.* earth and rec things of earth would appear to one who p?x had seen the realities of' the heavenly land," ho even though but for an hour. We are to on live in some measure as such, for we are set dead with Christ, and, risen with Christ, are oh to have our affections set on things above of and live as strangers here.?Lescon Helper. Go ADVERTISED AND COT A WIFE. ( The Newspaper Grew Old Under a Carpet mt Till the Bride Found It Cleaning House. K.n As the result of an advertisement published ^ in a paper at New Brunswick, N. J., nearly |?j( a year aso, W. I. Smith, a farmer, living at ( Spainvllle, Nottoway County, Va., gained a ua wife a few weeks ago. .1.' Last April Robert Carson, Postmaster of m( New Brunswick, received a letter from j. Smith asking him to publish ia some paper _-| an enclosed advertisement for a wife. lif ? r-~.ll.. n.mofl Cimmnna who had lived I for many years on George's road, near New ay Brunswick,moved to Newark in the fall of 1895. With them they* took a number of old papere, th? which they used to place under the carpets. 0f About New Year's Day a servant girl named tlx Annie Norton took up the carpet and hap- wt pened to see the advertisement. In a .spirit of fun she wrote to Smith, admitting that she had no money, but would like a com- j fortable home. Smith telegraphed her to bri s??nd on her photograph and references. its After seeing these Smith came on, met the fat girl and decided that she would do. He in- de duced her to return with him, and he and ab she, married and happy, are now living on a an small larai near Spainville. soi T-arso?t Rn?l Kver Cast. si' The Bethlehem (Penn.) Iron Company has just completed a feat in steel manufacture which no other works in this country can " equal. It is the turning out and delivering within two weeks of a steel connecting rod i" of intricate design, weighing ten thousand ] pounds. The rod is for th? Saale. of the pr North German Lloyd Hue, which broke her hei I connecting rod on the last eastward passage. nr, To Plant 500,000 Acres In Coffee Tre^s. "" The representative of a syndicate of Enerlish capitalists has just purchased 500.000 t acres of .coffee land on the Isthmus of '. Tehuantepec, Mexioo. The tract will be J planted in ooffee trees. American capital\ lets have invested several hundred thousand < ? dollars In the coffee lands on the lethmns TQ4 wlthia thapagt few months. tei LELIGIOUS READING. THE INVITATION. [)o we half appreciate the valve of a defle, earnest, personal invitation to beoome a ristian? The question is awakened by iding a little incident in a private letter it received, showing how the word of truth iy lie dormant in a human soul for years cl at length blossom ana lrucniy mw ;hteous living. About twenty years ago a stor, when on exchange duty, noticed a y in the Sunday school class which he wht that day whom he thought ought be a Christian. Not satisfied, however, th a general presentation of Christ's claims the class, the minister took pains, the folring day, to walk a long distance to the y's hou*o, but did not find him.- Neversless, he talked with the mother, a poor iow, and left a tender, earnest message the son, asking him to write the stranger Jacher, who left a card and address, enover he surrendered himself to the viour. The man moved to another risb, and the seed sown by the wayside s nearly forgotten. After the long lapse ?ears a letter in an unfamiliar han i, as of forking man, was forwarded from the Ulster's former place of residence, telling > glad news of the man's conversion last nm^r, and his union with the church, abably the thought that somebody exited him to become a Christian remained the boy's heart, followed him into manod and influenced him to yield his life to d. FAINT BKNEATH THK CROS8. ["he difficulty with average Christians is, tl it they faint beneath the cross on the via lorosa, the way or gnei, ana never wnuu 3j lir Calvary. They do not by faith gird on g, ength for the hour when they mu9t be tt etched upon the cross. They shrink from st > torturing spike, and from the spear tc aed at the heart of their self-life. This n] ;okens weakness of faith. But when the a >mise is grasped with the grip tl a giant, no terrors, no agonies, can ai unt the soul. In confidence that there c II be after the crucifixion a glorious resur- oi ition to spiritual life and blessedness, the c< iever yields his hand to nail, and his head jg the thorn crown. That flinty centre of b i personality, the will, which has up to tl s hour stood forth in resistance to the tl nplete will of God, suddenly flows down, a tl Iten stream under the furnace blast of t< 'ine love, melted into oneness with "the Si set will of God." After such a death h ire is always a resurrection unto life.? si niel Steele, D. D., in "Half Hours with St o aL v b LIKE THE SHIP AT 8E.V. _ P The most beautiful ship of the ocean is not ' j one of freshest paint, or whitest sails, or 11 iviest anchor that has never fluked the ' >an's bed; but rather it i9 that monster, 1 ting at the end of the stormy voyage, a oso paint has been scraped by the Ice it 5 tossed back; whose sails have been 81 etched and blackened by tempests; * ose decks have been swept by the hurri- jle that could not engulf its freight . of a * lusand souls; whose Knchor bears signs ?' the imtaenso grip it held against hurri- 5 no and angry seas, below where deep-sea jj lesswim. Every one, like that ship, is a asured by what he endures alone. The v jnies of Gethsemane were met by the Sl inely given strength; but even more than J! this angelic ministry the divine oharacter [j lathes in those utteriy desolate words: "My d, my God, why hast Thou forsaken me?" f one can give comfort who cannot stand | ;hout it, if necessary. Thougb all men ior>k Paul, the Lord stood with him.?D. O. 8 are, D. D., in "Inspired Through Sufforto be BELioiora. 8 c to be religious is not to be a seer of visions r i a dreamer of dreams. It is not to be a t eller on the Mount of Transfiguration. It c lot to be rapt in sweet and serene medita- j n. It is to be yourself; and, belni: your- * f, to take the nature which liod has given , j, and use it in his service by using it for f lr fellow-men. "He that hath My com- i 1 * ? - ? -1 Ku if in fhof liU LLltlLI L3, U11U hCDjiuiu tuciu, u? an ?? ?*? ? reth Me." Wo all know the Twenty- , rd Psalm: "Toe Lord is my 8 apherd; I shall not want;" and he \t can sin* it with glistening eyes counts nsolf religious. But the 24th Psalm we do t know so well Vho shall,ascend into the hill of the Lord, )r who shall stand in His holy place? ie that hath clean hands and a pure heart Vbo hath not lifted up hhsoul into vanity. )r sworn deceitfully." iut it is more difficult to live the 24th tlm than to sing the 23rd ;and it just as reIous.?Lyman Abbott, D.D. EXPERIENCE. ['here is nothing on God's earth that grows lk sooner than an experience. It is a . nciple, universally true, that the more icnte a thing i3 and the more linely organdy the more directly it will decay and fall pieces when once it is parted Irom the root ( m which it sprang. The perfume will c iporate from a rose and its fragrance n into offence almost as soon as it has left t ) stalk. There is no limit to the meaning \ l'.alned in all this, and it lies < wn closely at the level of our need. , od things require to be made over and t 3r and everlastingly reduplicated. The ( sh riv&r must incessantly draw on the E am; rivulets that incessantly trickle from [ > hillside. Christian joy that we call ours, j t that does not bear the stamp of today, ] not an experience, but a relic and an an- | uity; and no more our own personal pos- ( sion than though it hpd' occurred in a J or generation.?C. H. Parkhurst. D. D. 1 PUBI.tC WO 83 HI r. < 3o' not allow public worship to degenerate ' 0 a mere saying of your private prayers in j Lireh. Set yourselves against this selfish ' 1 narrowing teudency. Think of the mani ? lers who are around you at public worship J their sins, trials, wants, wishes, mercies, f ing to throw yourself into their case. Too iny Christians go to church with this idea irking in their minds. '"I go to c for what I myself want and to re thanks for what I myself have I t seived, and do not-busy myself with other e ople." Then you might as well stay at c :iio. Tho closet is the place for pouring j t the heart to (iod and laying down the a jret burdens at the throne of ?race. The h uroh is tho place for the intercommunion a saint* with one another and of all with b id.?E. M. Qoulburn. t 1 (? >:>'* wishes. j Sod desires and God loves to make grand c >n and uraud women oT us. Tnere is no c andeurin that lifeihat falls like Lucifer s im the heaven of powor, of icve, of duty, p truth, of integrity, of purity, of power in f i. It is down, down, down to the bot- t niess pit. God knows it and has wa ned c Angola know it. Men know iL But u 3re is . grandeur in a life that liv8S and ^ >ves with God. Is there a full purse in, a Well, Ood says so, and He has proved it' louses and lands "an hundredfold" in this ?. But there is something better and b?er. There is a full heart; there is peace; j *re is a place of love for you and thousands 3 frior.ds. Tho higher you rise with God, r 3 more men will love you. for you lift up a irid with y <11.? Michaol Ilurnham, D. D. * A 8 \ <-ry-ita! is sometimes formed in the emnee of a bowlder of granite. To clear it of 8 rough enclosuro, and to bring its beautiful C ;ets to the ligrir, nature submerges it in 1 sp waters, shatters it hv tempest?, an t rades it bv contact with stones and mud o d the rubbish of the sea. Thus a redeemed ii ni is, by the plan of God. immersed in the e res. trials, an 1 usefulness of a world of i. so that by sheer resistance o:' evil, and ration with depravity, it may b j polished the transparent image of Him who made ?Austin Phelpo. Killing Wild Hor^eo. d During tho fall (here were killed on the aser range near Pyramid Lake, Nev., 400 c ad of horses. Theirhides. tails and manes 5 disposed of at the rate of 32 per animal ri tho nownwM left to decay. Wild horses * getting to be a great nuisance on the ices in Nevada, and many are killing thorn save the feed they eat. ^ The Blcycl* Fever. g rhe bioycln trade this year promises to g ich $100,000,000. Th? "bicycle fever" exids from Maine to Texas. , TEMPERANCE. WHEBE THEBE's DBINK, THEBE'S DAJfOZB. Write it on the liquor store, Write it on the prison door, Write it on the gin shop fine, Write, aye write, this truthful line: 'Where there's drink, there's danger. Write it on the workhouse gate, Write it on the school boy's slate, Write it in the copy book, That the young may at it look: "Where there's drink, there's danger. Write it on the churchyard mound Where the drink-slain dead are found, Write it on the gallows high, Write it for all puss-ers by: "Where there's drink, there's danger. Write it underneath your feet, Up and down the busy street, Write it for the great and small In the mansion, cot and ball: "Where there's drink, there's danger," , Write It on your ships which sail, Borne along by steam and gale. Write it in large letters?plain m ori^ fKa main. u nr uui jouu ^ ......... "Where there's drink, there's danger." Write It in the Christian's home, Sixty thousand drunkards roam Year by year from G6d and right, Proving with resistless might "Where there's drink, there's danger." ?National Temperance Advocate. TWO MIOHTY BEA80X8. In giving reasons for his adherence to to;1 abstinence, a Califomlan lately advanced iese two powerful arguments in support of Is course. Of the numerous occasions of n, said he, intemperance is by far the reatest. It is head and shoulders over iem all. We can make this statement even ronger, for wo are told in no uncertain ines by our Prison Chaplains, our Judges, ad by those ia a position to know, that Ineteen-twentieths of the crime brought to lelr notice is the direct result of intemperace. Upon this point that eminent prelate, ardinal Manning, says: "If drunkenness is ne sin it is the foundation out of whioh ames all manner of sin. So long as a man I sober, so long will he resist temptation; ut when he has lost his sense and his will aere is nothing he will not do." And with ae full realization tbese words give us of he extent and power of this greatest of all jmptations, is it not the sensible course to ceer as dear of it as possible? Have we not eard the warning, "he that loves danger hall perish therein." However, confident f our own moral strength, we hied it not, re see not the dreadful examples of our rothers who, like us, went forth in the ride of their strength, and the result is that re fall. I am a total abstainer because I ally appreciate my own moral weakness rhen in the strong arms of temptation, 'herefore, I place the temptation from me, nd the self denial makes me all the stronger. Inasmuch as the family is the unit of the ooial structure, the relation of intempernce to the family becomes important. Tnfortunately that relation is but too wallnown. Intemperance has been aptly :rmed the "destroyer of the family." who as not seen the happy home, the peaceful reside, devastated and laid bare by this emon of drink? Will we do nothing to preent this curse from sapping the very life of oolety?the family? Weigh the question rail. On the one side the peaceful home, he happy family, economy and consequently he moaest bank aocount. On tne other, uin. despair, shame, poverty,1 the toil of a Ifetime for the benefit of the saloon-keeper. have weighed it well?I am a total abtainer. WINES WITHOUT OBAPE8. A few years ago I was at Bordeaux and inw a whole cargo of "chicken" rice, con'sting of 28,000 sacksfal, bought by a liquorcaking Arm and taken into their distillery o be malted, fermented and distilled into ilcohol for use in making wines and other ntoxicants. In the same distillery I saw ens of Indian wheat, and two vats each :ontaining 2500 tons of treacle, which was ilao to be fermented and distilled for simiar purposes. In point of fact, there is made in factories vhlch I have seen at Hamburg, Germany, ind even in France, thousands of gallons of (o-called wine without a drop of grape-juice n them. Cider, gooseberries.. alconoi and ither elements are mixed to resemble wines, [t there were a year or two bad harvests for .'orn the price of bread would increase betauseofthe scarcity of corn; but although ime after time there have been bad harvests >f grapes?nearly all being destroyed by th? avages of insects ? the French can always supply us with the same quantities of vines at about the same prices?for they nanage to produce the wines whether they mve any grapes or not. Canon Hopkins, in his book on Bible iVines, oites a wine grower who said, "I trow 400 pipes of wine and I sell 10.000."? los. Malins, B. W. G. Coun., in Watchword. THE BE8ULTS OF NO LICENSE. Brockton, Mass., has built a magnificent 3ity Hall at a cost of $310,000. At its dedi.atlon, Hon. Z. C. Keith said : "The cost qf this building has been more han saved to the people of this city during be seven years last past by the banishment )f the saloon and the licensed places, by four votes, supplemebted by the action of he several boards of aldermen; and ere this lebt Is paid, four-fold its cost will have been laved in this direction alone. Is this allV rbis is dealing with the financial aspect only. Sow about the physical, moral, and Intelectuat interests involved? Can the value of :hese be computed? Which is the better, :his legacy of bonds to be paid to some ex:ent by a future generation, or the bondage * * ka?. >f ruined lives, Desoneu pnrouio, auu ?ared children which otherwise would have jaen wntailed? This building is to be the lome of your representatives who have in :harge tho sacred interests of this flourishng people. You have conceived, completed ind furnisned it as a fit temple for noble and rue men, who, in the administration of iffairs, have it in their power to so promote he prosperity of its people that what at >resent seem to be burdens shall prove (lcssings in disguise." ST0XTED EV SALOONS. A recent press despatch from Des Moines, owa, states: "The return of the saloon has been disasrous to prosperity. There are hundreds of mpty houses here, business is stagnant, exept in the dram shop3, and the population, nstead of reaching 80,000, as was expected, ,nd as doubtless would have been the case ind prohibition continued, is shown by the itate census to be hovering in the neighbored of 57,000, an Increase of about 7000 in he last Ave years, as against an increase of 7,000 in the preceding five years of solid rohibitlon. Business men. who clamored or saloons as the best method of making a ity of Des Moines, see the sudden stoppage if immigration of the best classes from the mall towns of the State, and from other arts of the country, yet are apparently oath to Admit the error which led tuem into he great mistake of lowering the civic tone if our municipality. You may loolfcfor an iprising against the saloon, as soon as the aaven of adversity permeais the community, nd brings it to the point of action." IT MAKES A DIFFERENCE. The mortality experience of the United Clngdomand General Provident Institution, if London, from 1866 to 1893, inclusive, * * '? affarajrato uowfci luo muuitiuj uvu. - -ota- -0 esults: > ;fotal Abstinence Class, Expectod Claims- o'/lcies, 5811. 8ums assured, 66.343,000. lci ial Ciatms?Policies, 4131. Sums as* ur. (J, $4,317,789. General Class, Expected Claims?Policies, 44<l Sums assured, $8,012,21)3. Actual Jluttis?Policies. 82CG. Sums assured ?8,40,'>00. A.tual claims in total abstinence class, nl*. seventy per cent, of the expected, while at'iogeneral class they amount to ninetyight per cent, of the expected. stray 9hot3 at the saloox. Lend a hand to close the bir-rooms. The saloon is an open gate to perdition. Beer is never as flat as the man who rinks it. Whisky has been called the "dynamite of ivilization." The bottle slays inflnitoly more people ban the battle. Drink first dims, then darkens, tien deadds, then damns. No man is strictly sober who has taken injxioating liquors. What a young man earns in the day-time oes Into his pocket, what hespends at night oes into his character. The natural effect of one glass of grog is to rvate a desire for more. AGRICDLTORAL 0UTL00E Secretary Morton Takes a Favorabl View ot the Situation. EXPECTS NORMAL CROPS IN 1896 Possibilities of Farm Prodnction Depen on the Soil's Hamldlty?Deficient Ral Fall for Five Years?Planting of Tree Urged?Tillers Should Become Scler tlgts?Farmer Feeds All. Washington, D. C., February 5.?Sec retary of Agriculture J. Sterling Morto takes aix optimistic view of the outlook fc agriculture during the present year. In hi opinion normal crops for 1896 may be ej pected. "Possibilities of farm production durin the year 1896," he said, "must depend ver largely, of course, upon the amount of hi miditylnthe soil of the great agriculture sections of the Union. "It is, perhaps, not generally known tha the rainfall of the United States, as a whoh for the past five years, and in some looal ities for a longer periou. has been deficient In some sections of the Union this deflciene has been continuous. In others It has bee broken by one or more years of average o excessive rainfall. "There was a wet period extending iror 1881 to 1885. It was followed by four yeai of scarcely normal rainfall?1886 to 1889, an one year (1890) of deficient rainfall. Thu we have a total of five years below normal. "Deficient rainfall for the five years end ing with 1890 extended over the 8tates c North and South Dakota, Minnesota, WL< conain, Iowa, Illinois, Indiana, Norther Ohio, Kentucky, Tennessee, Mlssissipp Louisiana, Texas, Arkansas, Kansas, Mi soari and other States to the westward. "Denudation of the forest lands of tt country is no doubt one of the princip causes of drought. The State of New Tori It it permits the destruction of the forests i the Adirondaoks or fails to conserve its woo lands generally, will be in a state of droug] compared to which all former droughts wJ appear mild and inconsequential. "Self-preservation should prompt eve: good citizen in each State to conserve tre< and to plahtthem. Agriculture and her! 8EOBETABY OF AQBICCLTCBE M0RT05. onUnM in hnman life itself, is denen ent upon forest life and woodlands, "ifa of the most thorough investigators of ollm tology, however, predict that the three ye? just past are exceptional* and that there tt now be a return to normal preclpltatt throughout the continent. "The American farmer, however, must b come more and more a scientist. He mu understand the analysis of the soil 1 plows. He must learn that deep tillage good in the sol Is of the prairie States, whe the subsoil is composed almost entirely < silt, and he must also understand that ploi ing upon the sides of hills must b* so deft done as to prevent erosion and loss of soil t torrential rainfalls. "But the farmer of to-day must understai that the producer must divide the lessen oost of production, which improved impl ments and mac ^ry have brought abou with the consumer. Wheat sown broadcas harvested with the sickle and cradle ai thrashed with the flail brought a dollar bushel and upward. The labor cost of th cereal, with those implements, was mo than three times the labor cost of a bushel wheat raised by the improved plow, t ' * ,-J" 1 wlfh ha Mlinfir A] wnear aru;, um vaicu nuu r? _ 1 self-binder and thrashed by steam. "Human muscle does not enter into t production of the modern bushel of whe | as it did inthat of fifty years ago. "The American farmer, who intelligent tills his fields, cares for his orchard and co ; serves subsidiary sources of income like t poultry yard and the dairy, and keeps out debt, is the most Independent and comfo: ably homed of any citizen of the Republ The farmer feeds himself and all othe When he ceases to make a profit he w starve hLs fellow citizens, because he w 1 cease producing to sell to them." THE ST. PAUL FLOATED. Palled Oat of Her Sandy Cradle on ti Jersey Shore Uninjured. The good ship St. Paul, all but lost throui winning her race with the big Campanl was rocked from her oradle of sand and mi on the Long Branch (N. J.) beach and we up the bay to her pier at New Yo; City under her own steam, saluti on every hand by vooiferous crafl The nine ions: days on the sand?nine da; and nights of strain and tug and haul?le no marks upon the splendid steamshipmarvel of strenirth and stability. She wi examined and declared to be In as fine co: dition a3 when she startecf on her maid( triD. She presented a magnificent sight just b fore she floated, as she rolled impatiently i her bed, iurchiug, rolling and struggling I free herself. At this time she had alreat begun to work her propellers, and churnt a muddy, foaming sea about ber. In less than two hours of hard work tl wreckers drew ber to the northeast almo her entire length. Then suddenly tugg< strongly to the east, the big steamer electj fled the spectators ashore by swinging gran u. nf on onvin into deeD water, wi oiuuuu ?r>? . her bow straight toward the beaoh and h stern pointing oceanward. Entnusiasticoheers rose from the crow of watchers who had been waiting in ll sleet and g&fe to see her pulled off. Kpidomlc of Religion. An epidemic of religion struck George ! Smith College, Sedalia. Mo., and all but foi of the 100 students professed religion. Tl shouting and singing of the studonts put * end class work, and an all-day pr^li moeting was held in the college chapel. Betrothal of King Alexander. It is announced that Kiug Alexander. Servia, has been betrothed to Princess Helci thir l daiiRhler of the Prince of Montenogr Kin? Alexander is in his twentieth yea and Princess Helene is just past twent three. Woman Botanical Gardeners. Women have been engaged as gardeners Kew, iu London, on conaiuon iuui im weur trousers. Christian Endeavor Convicts. The penitentiary at Santa Fe, New Me: ico, contaias a Christian Endeavor Societ, The New York State Federation of Labc elected the following officers for the yea President, Daniel Harris, cigarmaker, Ne York; First Vice-President. Thomas D. Fit gerald, moulder, Albany; Second Vice-Pres dent, William Llppman. tailor. Troy; Seen tary and Treasurer, Blchara H. Ctirrai Boohester. j i t ' . ' *' i_\r ' ? i Manufacturing Cottonseed on. m, The manufacture of cottonseed-oO is a recent industry in this country, bat it has attained mammoth proportions in tho brief time it has been in existence. The process by which tho oil is extracted ie simple, and it is a wonder that the method of mating it was not found out many years ago. |t The seeds of the cotton when taken to the mill for oil extraction are soft and white, and as they lay piled up in th<> d seed room they resemble discolored n snow banks. From this room the )g small round seeds are drawn, by sue* lm tion through a long trough to the mill proper. As they emerge from tho fViow fall nnnn irnn suroana jU \ >' #* - which separates the dust and dirt n from them. The seeds are covered :M .r with small particles of cotton fiber, is which most be taken off before the oil can be made, and the next prooess of ' removing these is called "linting.'* ^ g These small fibers are saved, and make , Wm y "linters' cotton," valuable for certain S L. kinds of manufacture. It is excellent a for stuffing and packing upholstered -J articles, and also for cheap grades of ? X cloth. On eaoh ton of cotton seed* , about sixty cents are made from the K cotton fiber. After the "linting-pro > cess" the seeds are carried to another ? set of machinery where they are r rapidly hulled. The remainder of ^ the seeds are then carried to large \ a iron ovens where they are steam 1 5 cooked for a few minutes. At the M 3 same time a pressure of forty to sev-* enty pounds to the square inch is [j turned upon the mass of seeds. The j. work here must be done according to n strict rules, for too much heat {night -J ^ injure the seeds permanently. The huge oil presses then extraot the oil, ie pressure from three to five thousand al pounds to the square inch being nec*'f essary to get all of the oil out The j. oil gushes out and runs into the tit troughs on all sides, and is led away by the Ipipes, It is left in the "set^ tling" tanks for five hours, and tha& a3 pumped into the tank cars waiting on ti- the siding. Most of the mills produce ? the oil only in the crude state, and send it elsewhere to be refined. In this crude condition it is a clear, red- .--?j dish-brown liquid, and has a peculiar oil taste, and a distinctive oily odor. ?New York Independent. One of the Joys ot Cycling In Persia. "I hope you will sleep well,*' said my host, as he led me to my night quarters, looking out upon the mountain peaks just above us and gleaming white in the moonlight. "By the way, I forgot to tell you we usually have an earthquake abont sunrise, but don't N let it disturb you. The shocks have ,' };?. been very slight lately, and it's sure not to last long," he added, as he calmly closed the door and left me to my slumbers. I am not particularly nervous, but t.rt hp nnridenlv aronsed from sleep by a load crash, as if tho house were fall- / ing about one's ears? to see, in the __ gray dawn, brick walls bending to and d, fro like reeds, floors heaving like the a* deck of .a ship, windows ratihng, [& doors banging, with an accompani* ^ ment of women and children scream0D ing as if the end of the world had come, is calculated to arouse in the boldest man a little uneasiness. I ^ must confess to a feeling of that kind is when, about 6 a. m. the following re morning, the foregoing phenomena of took place. As prophesied, it did not fy last long?eight or ten seconds at >y most, which seemed to me an hear. A loir, rambling noise, lifce distant ^ thunder, accompanied the shook. It le. seemed to come from the very bowele it, of the earth. rt) "We have them every day," said ^ my host at |breakfast, placidly, "but at one gets used to them." He was re obliged to acknowledge, however, ' that the morning's shook was "a little | sharper-than usual."?Outing. he African Climate. v. As for the climate, whites Henry M. ly Stanlev, describing the development ? of Africa, in the Century, it is no of worse than that foand elsewhere in rt- tropic lands. The heat is not so great lc- as in India or as it is sometimes in New .York in summer. Fortunately, the 1i; coast-belt on both sides of Africa, where the heat is greatest, and where ^ the climate is most unhealthy, is narrow. In four hours a railway train at ordinary speed would enable us to h? cross it, and so avoid the debilitating temperature. Ascending the sides of . the coast range by the same means of . conveyance, we should in two hours reach a rolling plain which gradually 1 rises in height from 2500 to 3500 feet D above the eea. Here the climate is sensibly cooler, and the white maa 3. can safely work six hours of the da? ys in the open without fear of sunstroke, lft though he must not count on im^3 munity from fever. In some ten to a- twelve hours the traveler by train -Q would meet another steep rise, and wonld find himself from 5000 to 8000 la feet above the sea, on the broad cen:o tral plateau of the continent, which J? varies from 600 to 1000 miles across. ' It is in this section that the great ie lakes, snowy mountains and tallest st bills are found. Here we have cold *jj niehts and a hot sun when the skies d. are not clouded, though the air in tha tb shade is frequently cool enough for an 0t overcoat; and it is on the immense uprd land that the white man, when com le pelled by circumstances, may una ? home. / Manufacture ot Wooden Boxes. r. Among the thousands of industries Jr whose headquart ers are located in New 19 York is the manufacture of wooden in boxes. Over ninety per cent, of the 50 business of the world in this particular line of goods is done through New York. It is not surprising, then, that t the metropolis should boast of tba 0 largest aud oldest box establishments |e in the world. Faucy boxes of every description y.' are made. Thero are all shapes, sizes and styles, aud they are finished in ? great variety of colors. "It is not generally known, but it is a fact," R. said a prominent member of the trade, "that wooden boxes are cheaper than those made of paper, glass or tin." They are shipped to almost evory country in the world, one large New y. York house having established agencies in all the .European countries, >r Asia and Australia. ? Patent automatic machinery is used j. in their manufacture, and over 10,1-. 000,001) feet of lumber a year is made 9" into boxes by one large New York B'; firm aloue.?New York Mail and Ex- y-vj* preaa.