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- - - ' CHAPTER XXVITI?Continued. It was not a time for formality. The nearest to him, Ellen, was caught in his arms ana kissed, and then he folded Lea to his heart. "Oh, Ralph," said Lea, "we have passed a night of horror. But we care not now for that How has gone the "battle?" "God has prospered the right," replied the Captain. "And you have won?" asked both, agerly. "My gallant men have won, and Untilla's hand will this day raise the flag of our province above our prize, the pirates' ship." The girls gave thanks to God, and then asked for their friends. nr.. Tiovtnn ia cnfo hut Hedcres. sral Jant Hedges, is wounded: not 6eriou6ly I hope, for I want the world to know that to him, more than any one else under heaven, we owe our splendid vic. tory." While the captain was speaking, the oompanionway became darkened and IJntilla, Valentine I>ayton and the Surgeon came down, supporting Lieutenant Hedges. They laid him cn a lounge, and when Lea and Untilla knelt beside him and took his hands, he said, with a sweet emile on his bronzed face: "It Is only the loss of blood, my dears. Bless your noble hearts, I shall Boon be ready for eea again. But what matters it We have won: we have beaten captain Aiaa, me puam, auu | even death is not horrible in the face of such success. Hurrah! Hur " The Lieutenant raised his right hand, showing that the hilt of a broken sword still hung t-o It, and he would have gone on with his cheering had not the Surgeon rushed to his side and positively forbade it "I tell you, Val?I mean Mr. Dayton," Bald the Lieutenant, when Untilla had taken the fragment from his wrist, and he gave his nephew his hand, "you did gallantly, my lad. You fought tne oia Sea Hawk just as I knew you would. But we couldn't have won, not even with Captain Denham's timely Aid, if it hadn't been for Untilla. If I were King I'd share my throne with her." "But you are a king, uncle, and if at the right time the offer Is made, who knows," laughed Valentine. Both ships were badly shattered, and Captain Denham, with the eye of a true sailor, 6aw me neceb?ii.,y ui getwiig them to the quiet waters while the wind and tide were favorable. He gave the order to clear the decks. The pirate dead were put in weighted hammocks, and dropped overboard, and the wounded were cared for as well as those of the Sea Hawk. In ten minutes more Valentine Dayton, to whom the generous captain gave the command of the Sea Hawk, wo^id have ordered up the anchors, as Ralph hart Hnnft on the Wanderer, had not the attention of all been attracted by signals from the shore. ? Through nis telescope, Ralph Denham saw Doctor Hedges and his companions crowding down on the beach of Gardner's'Island, and he took in the situation. Doctor Hedges had witnessed the fight between the ships, and his firm belief was that Lea was killed at the first fire; and he felt, to the end of the con, test, until he saw Fox making for the shore near by, that the pirate must win. He and his friends were soon after taken on board the two snips. Dr. Hedges was crushed. After embracing his daughter, which he did with an affection that was strong and genuine, he sat apart in 6ilence, and watched Captain Denham as he came in and went out. ' At length the Doctor rose, and, extending his hand, he said, in tremulous accents: "Captain Ralph Denham, sir " "Speak, Doctor; I am your friend," aid Ralph. "I know you are, Captain; but, sir, I do not deserve such a friend. I am unworthy your regard, and Squire Condit should never speak to me again. I am afraid I am a fool." . "Not at all, Doctor. This fellow Kidd deceived us all." "Will he get away?" "He can't. I have sent a messenger to Mr. Gardner, and he will soon be captured. But see, Doctor; we are entering Sag Harbor agaiu, and from the crowds of people we shall have a hearty ? CIVVUIU. The Captain turned away to direct his ship. Side by side, as when first they entered the beautiful bay, both vessels came to anchor, and the crowds on N shore, seeing the provincial flag on the "Wanderer's peak, cheered themselves hoarse, and although it was broad daylight the boys lit bonflre3. CHAPTER XXI*. LORD AND LADT PALITO"*. Captain Denham's first duty, after he got clear of the delighted crowds that beset him, was to dispatch a wellmounted rider to New York with the news of his success. This rider was the man Fox had so arbitrarily arrested and imprisoned on board the Wanderer, where the Sea Hawk men found him. It may be said that in the meantime Squire C'ondit had captured Thrasher, and held him to await the action of authorities, who subsequently punished hitn with the pirates, many of whom were hanged in New York harbor. Lieutenant Hedges was cat ried ashore and in the same boat came Don from the Wanderer and Othei'o from the Sea Hawk, and when the part the youths ha<l played in the struggle became known they were lionized and made much of in a way that would have turned ordinary heads. The wounded Montauks, at Dr. Hedges' urgent request, were taken to his house. It may be that his brother, the lieutenant, suggested this, for, boinc close to the wounded w.irriors, he would bo sure to see a great deal of Untilla, and in this he was right. The wounded men of the Sea Hawk, in response to the prayers of friends, were sent to their own houses, where all subsequently recovered. But while the ships were coming to anchor and the people and the sailors were cheering on ship and shore, a different scene was taking place in the main room of the King's Arms Inn. There were assembled Col. Graham, Lady Paliton, the young provincial officer who had accompanied her, and old Dinah, and lor a part of the time. Squire C'ondit. They had been some time in consultation, and Old Dinah had just finished jh&r strange story when Graham said, . witk.a_8neer; ~"7f Xady Taliton chooses to believe the wild story of a crazy old negress to that of her dead husband's brother, well and good. She is a free agent," "A free agent," repeated the lady, starting to her feet and throwing back the long black veil that so far had partly covered her pale face, ."Since the day of my husband's death you have prevented my being a free agent." "How so, madam?" "How so. sir? Shall I reDeat the acts of all these years of cruelty, the stories of your spies, your attempts on my life, and your efforts to prove me insane, because " "Because, madam, you persisted in claim ng_ that your son, my nephew, was not'drowned at the" same "time aa your husband, my brother. More than that, madam, you persisted in assuring the world that I conspired against the lives of both." "En de lady was right," cried Dinah. "Kidd 'ee knowd it, en I knowd it, en I foiled de chile har, to dis Long Island, en Ize been har ebber sense." Colonel Graham raised his hand to his lips as if to hide a yawn, and without taking the slightest notice of Dinah, he said: "Of course, you believe this!" "I do, sir, and you will learn before the day passes that others believe it, tnn " Turning to the young provincial o?B cer who had accompanied h<-? from Kew York, Lady Paliton said: "Be pleased to call Squif* Condit" The Squire, who was waiting outside oame in, and, in obedience to the lady's request., he told of the coming of Ralph Denham to his house twenty-one years before. "And you remember the man who brought him to you?" asked Lady Palitun. "I do, madam; it was this man, Col. Graham, and every year since then he ha6 6ent me money for the care of the lad, not one penny of which have I spent, but have it all at interest. The boy became as dear to mv heart as if he' were my own, and God will bear me witness that Ralph Denham is a young man that a king need not be ashamed to acknowledge for his son." "You hear this, sir," said the lady. "Have you any reply?" "I have none, madam. You have no richt to question me. and I only yield irf order to humor the mania that has possessed you like an evil spi-it for years," said Graham. Attracted by the shouting of the people outside, lor the 6hips were anchoring in the bay, the Squire left the room. Up to this time Graham firmly believed that Fox had told him the truth about Ralph Denham, and that the latter was dead. And just then he would have rejoiced to know that the pirate had met a similar fate. As if in response to his wish, he heard a man shouting in the street: "Hurrah! hurrah! the pirate Kidd IB beaten and his ship captured!" "Kidd would never surrender," thought Graham, and for a moment he thought the fates were siding with him. "De ind is comir'; I feel de ind is comin'," said Dinah, going to the window and drawing back the curtains so that those in the room could see the snips as if they were painted and set iu a frame. "See," she continued. "Dar's Ralph Den'am's ship, en soon ye'll see Ralph Den'am hisself." i t IN i-i?~ xtaipn jjennam: eiwaimeu uiausui, then conscious that he made a mistake in not keeping his feelings under restraint, he arched his brows and said lightly, "I shall be pleased to see the gentleman." Coming quickly back Dinah pointed a long finger at him, and she fairly hissed as she said: "Ah, ye tink Kidd he kill Ralph Den'am? Ho, ho, I saw 'im in detomb, but me en Untilla sabed 'im. Look out at dat ship. Balph Den'am's on 'er dis bress'd minit," "No, Dinab, Ralph Denham Is here," said a stroupr, manly voice at the door. All turned to the place and there stood Captain Denham, very pale and very handsome, and beside him was Squire Condit. The instant Ralp* Denham came ashore, the Squire, who had learned the story of his adopted son's life the ni?ht before from Lady Paliton and Dinan, tooK mm to one siae, ana, wunout waiting to congratulate him on hia magnificent victory, he told him the 6tory of his birth as briefly as possible, announcing the fact that his mother, Lady Paliton, was then at the inn. During all the trials and the combat, Ralph Denham never lost his head, but now he was weak as a child. He gave no thought to the wealth and honors that might be his by right of birth, but the thought that he, who remembered nothing of a father's care or a mother's love, should have a mother living overpowered him. Ho permitted the Squire to lead him to the inn and he replied to Dinah's words, but beyond that for some his brain and heart wero in a whirl, and his recollection of events very dim at best. He recalled the cry. "My son! Oh, heaven be praised, my son!" And ho recalled the fact that he held the form of a woman in black in his arine, and that he kissed the closed eyes and the white face, till she looked up again and cried, "My son, Ralph, my son!" Not even in the war with the motherland?which came just eighty years after this?was Sag Harbor so much ex cued as at mis unie. xnere were noT. wanting those who had always believed that the day would come when it would be shown that Ralph Denham. now Lord Paliton. was of noble descent. Dr. Hedges was not one of these people. Indeed, Dr. Hedges, though thankful that all had turned out 60 well, was a humbled man, for ho confessed to the Squire that he had made " a pv^ao.l fool" of himself. He never expected Lord Paliton would marry i?>8 daughter, but it was not for this he cared. It w?? the fact that ho had courted an outlaw whom he did not know, and rejected a gentleman whom |he did know, that galled him. Those who waited on Colonel Graham in his room at the inn said that from the time Kalph Denham entered the place till the Colonel's death, two days afterward, he never spoke. Dr. Hedges attended him, but he never could tell the disease the man died o;\ and the few who knew his black history made no inquiries. Within the week a letter came from the Governor of the province, thanking Captain Denham and his men for his brilliant exploit, and announcing the fact that Fox?or Kidd?toad been captured and sent to Boston, from which point he would be returned to England lor trial. It is a matter of history that Kidd was afterwards hung in London; but, strangely enough, the crime of pirac y could not be sustained against him, and the charge on which he was convicted was for murdering an English sailor on the island of Madagascar. The governor ulso ordered Captain Denham to bring his own ship and the prize to New York, und to come by way of the Sound. A week alter the capture the ships were repaired so far as to make sailing safe, and on the morning of their departure some Rotable events happened. / Valentine Dayton was" marrred to Ellen Condit and took his wife on board bib ship. Lieutenant Hedges said be would like to go to New York, and felt quite strong enough, if only Untilla xcnniH f?omp ainna to helD care for him. and she consented. Lady Pallton feared that her Bon's affections were engaged, but when she came to know Lea Hedges, her fear J?ei came a delight, and kissing her, after j Ralph had told of his engagement, she ; 6aiu': j "I have found a son and a daughter. I am blessed." Ralph Denham took his wife and mother on board the Wanderer, and he insisted that his adopted father and mother should come too. He also prevailed on Dr. Hedges and wife to be or me party; ana ue urvugut uiuug ^uu and Othello to wait oh them. In New York Bay Ralph, to continue the name by which we know him best, met with a royal reception. The 6hips i in the harbor were dressed with flags, i all the puns in the battery at the south1 em end of Manhattan Island than* I dered out a welcome. When the story of his romantic life became known, the people forgot the brilliant exploits of the past, and the older members of society recalled the fate of the Governor of Bermuda and the loss of his son. Doctor Hedges was still humbled, : though the father-in-law of a rich lord; ! but Squire Condit took the whole matter for granted, and went on calling "his boy" Ralph, and behaving in that sturdy, manly way that always distin; gulshed him. Ralph gave his share of the prize ! money to the men, and soon after that i there were more marriages in Sag Hari bor than ever took place in the same ' period before or since. At Lady Paliton's?the mother's? j suggestion, the Wanderer was purchased to convey her son and daughter ! to England, though subsequently the j beautiful ship made a voyage to AmeriI TTaot* TrKon Tfn1r>Vi hio tpifo iinfl UtCi J JOtti I n uvu ? I increasing family came to Bee their old ; dear friends. j Don, the cabin boy, went to England . with the captain, and his mother comj ing to eee him, they both remained all i their lives in the service of generous ! Lord Paliton. Othello went into the service of Squire Condit, and though he showed a strong disposition to marry, Dinah | would not permit it while she lived. But he was only forced to live 6ingle ; for a year, at the end of which time the ; old woman died and was buried among j the Montauks. Uncas never recovered from his huj miliation. He took to drink and was ; soon gathered to his fathers. i Until!a still ruled the tribe. She took ! a great interest in Mr. Hedges, and | after a year beeame his wife. The Wanderer came back from England at j the time, and on her return Captain j Hedgre andlhis beautiful wife were on i hnnr/i t.hA rrtiests of Lord and Ladv j Paliton. I And thus it came about that a pe=*t of I the ocean, a wolf in 6heep's clothing, : was destroyed by the very devices he had set for the ruin of others. And thus it came to pa6S, the noble by nature was shown to be a noble by birth; and so proving that "worth makes the man, and .want of it the fellow. * [THE end. I POPULAR SCIENCE. Each salmon produces about 20,* UUU.UUO eggs. It is said that the Greenland whale sometimes attains the age of 400 years. The horse, when browsing, is guided entirely by the nostrils in the choice of proper food, and blind horses are never known to make mistakes in their diet. The cries of sea birds, especially sea gnlls, are very valuable as fog signals. The birds cluster on the cliffs and coast, and their cries warn boatmen that, arft tia?t the land. Plants that grow near the sea have | thicker leaves than those growing in' land. Apparently tho sea salt is the ; cause of this phenomenon, as plant? | cultivated in artificially salted soil : yield thicker leaves. For use as a fire extinguisher and alarm a quick fuse runs around the room and ends in the bottom of a water tank, where a quantity of explosives are stored, the explosion giving the alarm and breaking the tank so the water flows out. f liW a inoni?on/>fl ol/ai/ie3lr&ug> \Jl 111 u iuouluuvv ww?** j panies show that in the last twentyi five years the average woman's life has I increased from about forty-two to j fifty-six years, or more than eight per I cent. In the 6ame period man'u life I on the average has increased in length j five per cent. It has been pointed out by a naturalist that the irregular shapes of trees, their "anyhowness,"if we may use the word, fulfils a most important purpose. ! When a gale is blowing the branches ! will be seen to sway in all directions, j and their movements tend to balance i each other. Did they all swing together, the oscillations would either ; uproot the tree or despoil it of its j branches. The rapid rise of the land about ! Hudson Hay is said to be the most re! markable gradual upheaval of an ex: tensive region ever known. DriftwoodI covered beaches are now twenty or aK/%rrr? f VlP TX ftt.pt OlAVJ VI OCVCUVJ tvvv HWf V .. 7 new islands have appeared, and many chaaels and all the old harbors have become too shallow for ships. At tho present rate this shallow bay will disappear in a few centuries, adding a : vast area of dry land or Bait maruh to British territory in America. So Healthy Baby dries. A favorite assertion of the modern trained child's nurse is that no healthv ; baby cries. If he is well, as he should ! be, and properly clothed and looked | after, he will not cry. But on the ! other hand, some medical authorities 1 assert that crying is the chief and best j exercise for young children, and one j hospital superintendent says that a ; healthy baby should cry three or four j times a day at least, and from ten to | lifteen minutes at a time. This world would be dull, indeed, if all mankind j agreed. Saved by Water Buckets, i Water buckets saved Mrs. J. M. j Davis, of Buckingham, Va., from I drowning while she was on her way to 1 a spring. The path led over a tunnel > of nn abandoned gold mine, aud some I rotten timber giving away just as Mrs. ! Davis got above them, the tunnel roof ' collapsed and sho fell into thirty feet i of witer. An empty bucket on each j arm buoyed her up until she was able ! to grasp a floating log. A FrenJc of Variable Weather. | Alternate freezing and thawing in tho j Orawfordsville section of Indiana caused the j clover on what is known as the black lands to be ejected from the ground, tho roots ly! iug there all exposed. TEMPERANCE. BLESSED OB CEHSED. Long have we borne the tie that binds Our land beneath ram's dfrefu! reign, Blest be the arm that quickly finds A way i.o reach this hateful chain. & ... "NCursed bo the hand that lends Its aid, This in ->nster evil to uphold. Blest be the man \a strength arrayed, To smile the wrong wli:h couragebol<L_ ? ?> - . axan Cursed be the league of town or state, That shares the guilt for paltry gains. Blest be the worker, small or great:, Whose aid the victory attains. Before the judge at last must stand oniM-Ano/1 fho /Xnll+tr ^nmh. 1UO fjtviru a^/[/&VT?U| ?uv Come or depart at his command, Cursed depart or blessed come. ?Rev. C. A- Ruddock, in Ram's Horn. THE NATIONAL DRINK BIIX. The editor of The American Grocer, Mr. F. N. Barrett, ha* been in the habit of ntudyitg the Government statistics of the consumption of liquors, and his conclusions have been accepted with a great deal of confidence. Ho has just made a careful examination of the reports for the past ynar, atd shows by :i number of table3 that the hard times have resulted in a diminished consumption of liquors. The total per capita consumptian of spirits, wines and beer in 1892 was 17.04 gallons; in 1896 it was 16.42, Bhosrtng t. reduction of 10.62 gallons per - rnu~ capita in tnenve years. iun uiusi uumui'j reduction was in the use of spirits, wbici diminished from 1.50 gallons in 1E92 to one gallon in 3896. There was a similar reduction In th<> use of wines and a vary, slight red action in the use of bper. The number of gallons of spirits consumed was in round numbers, 71.000,000. which is less than waf>, consumed in 1897, ten years ago. From 10-87 to 1893 there was a sieady increase, the amount reaching in the last named year over 101 .,000.00(1 gallons. 8:nce then there has been a deriine. Mr. Barrett estimates the.t about 11,(00,060 gallons of spirits are used annually :n the arts, manufactures and in medicine, leaving abcut 60,000,000 consumed as a beverage. He further estimates that barrooms retail a gallon in about sixty drinks, receiving therefor $4.50, "thus maiing tt.e Nation's whisky bill in 1896 as a beverage, $270,000,000, while in 1892 and 1893 it avt raged $400,500,000." H3 says the importation of foreign spirits, while larger in 1996 than in the four preceding years, wfis lighter thun in 1890 or 1891. The increase In the consumption oi Deer m tne past twenty years has been very large. Theamotint consumed in 188? was a little less than 718,000.000. Mr. Barrett says that beer contests with coffee the claim to be our National beverage. The falling off in the consumDtion of irines Is wonderful. In 1887 there were consumed 27,706,771 gallons of domestic and 4,618,290 gallons of foreign wines, while in 1896 the amounts consumed were 14,599,727 of domestic, and 4,101,649 of imported wines. He makes the total alcoholic drinking bill of the United Stites for 1896 $861,693,832, or a per capita expenditure of $14.?ll. NOT ALWAYS THE BEST. Charles Pollen Palmer, in his recently published work on inebriety, under the heading "An Unselfish Wile Not Alwavs the Best," says; "A good woman is not necessarily a good wife. Od the contrary, she nay be. without m?aning It and in spite of her conscientious efforts to be otherwise, a very bad wife to her husbf.nd, and that in eptte of her gentleness, docility, piety and excessive lova for him; and it is possible that he might not be in the poiiition he occupies to-day if, instead ? * /.nullMdo oKq Via<4 .la. OI possessing lucoo 4uaiuiu, ouw veloped stronger or even more selfish traits of character. The continued exercise of ihe spirit of unselfishness on thu wife's part has helped in no small degree to restrain the husband from denying himself is. a hundred ways; and all innocently, but not the less fatally, 'ias fanned the' flames of self-indulgence until his power of resistance, insidiously encroached upon by loving handB, his flnallysuccumbed to her persistency, wid his great preservative against any strong temptation to which he cany be constitutionally inclined has become so weakened that he is umible to cope with the strong desire for drink when it manifests itself. . . . Eefore either of them is nware of it the husband's st rong mainstay and security against sudden and powerful temptation are gradually but surely undermined and when the circumstances of life, sure to be favorable at certain junctures, :invite the presence of an underlying vice, the man goes down nrirl in anit? nf his manifold struggle; and heroic resolves and efforts, falls utterly to redeem himself." let's dowu the saloox. Nearly all the crime committed In this oountry is in some way connected with whisky and the saloon. Not only do we have the crima itself, but we have the ruined charactei-s of the oriminals. the suffering of their innocent parents, wives and children, th? cost of the courts ar.d the pros^suting officers, of the jails ascl deputy shpriffs, and all other costs connected with the searching for and punishing those who commit crimes. And theti we must remember, that for pay? * 4.U? onfhAjHi'O A Iftf ftf iur IUD iOTO no huilv/hcv * w* saloon-keepers to breed all this crime RDd miaory. By thus licensing them we throw the protection of the law over them, and, in fact, go into partnership with them and share their ill gotton gain. How long are we goinj: to be willing to be partners in this wretchec, low-down business? We ought, to be ashamed of ourselves.?Michigan Independent. A CONTRAST. In Denmark the police take a drunken man to the station and place him under the care of a surgeon. When he recovers they take him home in a cab, and then present their bill to the person in whose house the victim had taken bis last refresher. In Turkey a drunken man is bastinadoed for the flrst, second and third offence, after which he is considered "privileged." A privileged drunkard is led home and is furnished with an account which he must settle forthwith. In the United States a man may drink h'mcftlf tn H -?nth- and there is no inouisition for blood; or he may forfeit his liberty and his wife and children suffer, and ratepayers pay the cost of his board in prison. The "trade" escapes, and not a scratch Is made on the back of ;ho license! THE OUTLOOK. The Washington Post, while admitting that the consumption of beer and domestic winaa is increasing, is hopeful for the temperance outlook, holding that the statistics show a decreased consumption of distilled liquors of all kinds;, and that habitual drunkenness is on the decline. The Post thinks that the greatest agency in temperance work is the stroug, healthy, public seniiment condemnatory of drunkenness. "Public opinion is forcing men to be temperate, by shutting the intemperate out of public offices and responsible private station."." While the real cure for intemperance is the gospel, and plenty of it, it is a fact tha't the g:)spel work9 out many of its purposes through various subsidiary means, one of these being an improved public opinion.?Independent. TE2T0TALISM AND LONGEVITY. Dr. Newman Hall, wto has just completed his eightieth year, was asked how he accounted tor his splendid physical condition, and he answered: "Sober habits, attention to the laws and habits of health, going to bed.in decent time, and not working hiird late?at night. I have never been a dinerout, <>r indulged in heavy suppers. I take a col>l bath all the year round, and have always bten a walker; I cau now do ten miles at a stretch without fat:i?ue. My sight and hearing are perfect. Teototalism has had a great deal to do with my good health, My father and mother were total abstainers, and ] have been one for sixty years." AN ArPEAL TO YOtJNO MEN. Young men, have confidencein yourselves, and in the capacities God has Riven you. 8hun intoxicating liquor; keep away from tho gambling table; seek for friends such men and women as you would not tie ashamed yourChristian mother should see you with; and having chosen with care the life business to which you are best a-n:otod, pursue it without faltering, and never fear but you will wring succes3 out of destiny.?Sacred Heart Review. TEMPERANCE NEWS AND NOTES. Wine in the home and club house helps the wine room. If some women did not drink wine, some men would not drink whisky. \ ;. '7'. -'V-..: SABBATH SCHOOL. INTERNATIONAL LESSON FOR APRIL 25. Lesson Text: "Peter Delivered From Prison,'' Acta xll., 15, 17? Golden Text: Psalm xxxlv., 7?Commentary, 5. "Peter was therefore kept in prison, but prayer was made without ceasing of the oburcb unto God for him." There is no doubt but that God couJd prevent the devil from touching one of His children, but such is not His way. When on earth, the Lord Jesu^ said: "In the world ye shall have tribulation. Whosoever killeth you will think that he doth God service" (John xvi., 83, 2). Prom the glory after His ascension H^ said, "The devil shall cast some of you into prison tnat ye maybe tried; and ye shall have tribulation'" (Rev. ii., 10). But this also we are perfectlj sure of, that nothing can possibly come to a child of God without uoa 6 permission (joo i.. ju, iz; -tiecu. 11., o. 8; Rom. vitl., 28). 6. "Peter wa^ sleeping between two soldiers, bound with two chains, and the keepers before the door kept the prison." The enemy dia his best to make sure of his prey. Two words in the Greek tell the story, of James (aneiie machaira) killed with a sword. For Peter, God had other work yet to be accomplished and suffered him to be placed in these circumstances that Ho might show forth His power. In the hands of the authorities and under the constant guard of four soldiers, to two of whom he was chained, the deliverance seemed hopeless, but the believers did all they could do and cried instantly and earnestly to God (mararin). 7. "And boh old the angel of the Lord eame." Double guards, chains, bolted doors nnd prison walls are nothing to one of those holy beings that excel in strength, that do His commandments, hearkening unto the voice of His word (Ps. oiii., 20). From Heaven to earth as a flash of lightning, through storm or sunshine, they haste to do His will and minister to His redeemed ones (Heb. i., 14; Ezek. i, 14: Acts xxvii.. 20. 23. 8. ''Cast thy garment about thee and follow me." Awakened by the angel's touch, Peter, loosed from his chains, arose from between the still sleeping soldiers and in the light that shone in the prison girded himself and bound on bis sandals. There is no stealth, nor injunction to step lightly, nor fear of any kind, but the quietness and majesty of the power of God. 9. "And he went out and followed him, and wist not that it was true which was done by the angel: but thought he saw a vision." In deepest trials God sometimes gives restful dreams or visions of coming blessings or deliverances, as when to Jacob in his sorrowful journey from home Ha revealed Himself to him at the top of the wonderful ladder on which angels were seen ascending and descending (Gen. xzvlii,, 12, 18). It seemed to Peter as if this were some such vision. 10. "They came unto the iron gate that leadeth unto the city, which opened to them of his own accord. The angel needed no open gates or doors for him to pass through, but for Peter in a mortal body doors ana gates must open, PDd they did without any touch from human hands. The same angelic ministry attends us to-day, and all doors will flv open before us when our Lord desires it. 11. "Now I know oj. a surety that the Lord hath sent His angel and hath delivered me out'of the hand of Herod." When Peter found himself alone out on the street in the night, he began to come to himself. There were no chains upon him. no soldiers near him, no walls around him, but God's earth beneath him, God's sky over his head, and perhaps the stars looking peacefully down upon him. Then he began to realize that for the second time (Acts v., 19) an angel had brought him out of prison. No power can hold those whom God wishes to set free. 12. "Ho came to the house of Mary, the mother of John, whose surname was Mark, where many were gathered together praying." He had no difficulty in deciding whitter to direct bis steps, nor did the angel need to tell him where to go. Does God see that when you are free from the duties of daily cares you will promptly go to where they meet for prayer? (Acts iv., 23.) J 13. "And as Peter knocked at the door of the gate, a damsel came to aak who was there named Khoda." Many women's names which w would like to know, such as the mother of David, are not found in Scripture, Why should this girl's namo be hare, inasmuch as the Spirit does nothing without a reasonV If any one has the answer, let us hs-ar it; if not, we can wait, and some day we shall know. 14. "And when she knew Peter's voice she opened not the gate for gladness, but ran in and told how Peter stood before the gate." Knowing Peter's voice makes us think of John x., 27, "My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me." Yet how many hear His voice, but because they will not open to Him Hh does not come in, and they do not become Hi9 sheep. In thiB case joy caused Rboda to lose her head, as we say, and she left poor Peter outside the gate while she ran in to tell. 15. "And they said unto her, Thou art mad. But she constantly affirmed that it waseven so. Then said they, It is his angel." Yet they had been praying that, if possible, he might be released from his enemies (verse &). Would we be about as much surprised if some of our prayers were answered, or do we always pray and expect an answer? 16. "But Peter continued knocking, and when they haa opened the dcor and saw him they were astonished." Peter was hound to get in, and therefore kept knocking. That is the way to do, even as our Lord taught us in Lukexi., 8, 9; xviii., 1. "Ye shall seek Me and find Me when ye search for Me with all your heart" (Jer. xxix., 13). The fear of tne Lord, the knowledge of God and wisdom will be obtained when we seek it as silver nnd as men search for hdden trensure (Prov. li., 4). Would gratitude or astonishment fill us if we had to-day the answer long looked for? 17. "But he, beckoning unto them with the hand to hold their peace, declared unto them how the Lord bad brought him out of the prison." Stilling them?which perhaps was no easy wort?he declared unto them the works of God. It would be very intaprtetin'_? to huar Peter's version of the angel'd deliverance. Some day in the glory he may go over it for us, but we have all the facts of the case in our lesson. Peter was simply obedient, and the Lord, by the angel, did it all. Having heard, they were to go and tell James, who seemed to be the leader (chapter xv., 13), and the others. This was not James of the favored three (verse 2), but James, son of Alpheus (Luke vi., 15). The great stir in the morning and the death of the soldiers make us think of the morning of Daniel's deliverance and the death of his enemies.?Lesson Helper. TELEPHONED TO A DIVER. DIfllcultlea of Cjimnuntcn^ion Overcome by a Kecent Invention. Telephone communication with divers while at work under water was successfully accomplished at the Chapman Wrecking Company's wharf, foot of Conover street, Brooklyn. The difficulty has hitherto been the disturbance caused by the pressure of the air in the helmet and the noise of its entry and exit. Captain C. P. Everett, for more than thirty years a diver for the Chapmans, was the demonstrator, and H. F. Atkinson, of the New York Telephone and Telegraph Construction Company, operated tnn upper end of the wires. The first message received after Captain Everett had descended bid them "slow up on t&e air pump," too strong a current having been sent down. A. conversation, lasting fifteen minutes, with half a dozen different men on the land end, then took place. The inven tion \va pronounced a success. POFOCATAPETL IS HICHEST. Its Superiority Over Orizaba Demonstrated by a German Explorer. Professor R. Chevers Stopel, of Heildelberg (Germany) University, says: "I ascended Popocatapotl during the middle of February," said the scientist, "and I reached the top of Orizaba March 10. I am the first Gormau in twenty-five years who has climbed that mountain. I found by accurate observation that Popocatapetl was i 18,333 feet-high, and thus the highest in ! North America, and that Orizaba was 17,723 feet high. "By this trip I was able to prove that Orizaba," though very lofty, is not quite so high as Popoeatnpetl, which towers to the great 1 altituoe of 18,333 feet." * ' i v . v i ; ' ' ' ' '* ' ] ' 'v RELIGIOUS REA.DING, 11 I The Lord of us all takes in His hand The leaden hammer called Anguish, And beats on the hearts Of His people S To try them, if they be strong a In His hope, in His peace, in His lovo. v And to each one He speaks E If they listen? "I am with thee, so be Not discouraged; Only those whom I love Do I chasten ; and when Thy small, painful years shall have ended, And thou seest before thee The glorious light, The plan and purpose of life, Then shalt thou see that The leaden hammer called Anguish Is My infinite Question, Which is put to the souls of men ; And if ye answer, My children. With unmurmuring, loving submission, Then will l lead you each Home by the hand. Into ineffable joy." ?N. Y. Evangelist LIFE FULL OF FBAGMENT8. Life here is short even at the longest. We cannot finish in threescore and ten years the great things we dream of in our best moods. Then, only comparatively a few lives reach this full limit of age. It is but a little that we can do in our short, broken years. We begin things, and we are interrupted in the midst of them. Before they are half finished we are called away to something else, or laid aside by iilness, or our me enas, ana ine worn remains incomplete. It is pathetic, when a busy man has been called away suddenly, to go into his office, his study, or his place of work, and see the unflniehed things he has left?the letter half written, the book half read, the column of \ figures half added up, the picture begun but not completed. Life is full of fragments, the mere beginning of things. If there were nothing beyond death, little wouid come of this poor fragmentary living and doing. But when we know that life will go on without serious break through endless years, it puts a new meaning into every noble and worthy beginning. Every right and good thin),', however small it may seem, shall live forever.?J. R. Miller, D. D., in "Things to Live For." OJJLT PART OF THE GREAT WHOLE. Every deed is part of one great drama through which flows one vast purpose, by union with which purpose alone does any deed be strong. What folly it is to be selfish ! It is one wheel of the vast engine unbelting itself from all its brother wheels,saying, 4,I will spin my own music; I will not ' ? J 1-1 ?-*x ?Vl_l- 11 Ui/v De lmpaucm, ami jo:.it wiiins wuuijr iUbV < space a minute and then drops into the ( sand and dies. That is dissipation; that is what men sometimes call life. Blessed is it if the poor, wretched, dissipated wheel is taken up by the kind master of the engine ] and reforged in any hot furnace of pain,and set once more in its true place from whence it flew. That is blessed ; but a thousand- . fold more blessed it is for the wheel which 1 catches from the first the glory of service, ? makes every revolution a delight in respond- t ing to the throb and beat of the central , power, finds every deed dignified by the ' entire motion of the whole, loses itself and so finds itself, and lives by obedience, and lives |ever more and more abundantly.? i Phillips Brooks, in' The More Abundant Life.' 1 | THE HOLY SPIRIT A MAGNIFIES. I once climbed the long flight of steps to a liehthonsG. I exoected to find a monster lamp in the tower, but was shown small ones, not larger than our parlor lamp. If one were set in the window, it would not cast light twenty feet on the water. The lighthouse keeper explained whence came its power. He set a lamp within a powerful magnifying glass globe, and reflected its light twenty miles out upon Lake Michigan, and thus protected many precious humaD lives from being dashed upon the treacherous rocks. That visit taught me a lesson. How often are Christians content to remain like those small lamps, casting such feeble rays! If we ire indeed "the light of the world," we must put our spiritual lamps under the magnifyirg power of the Holy Spirit. Then we shall be beacon lights to guide those who are upon the ocean of life and amid temptations hard to be conquered. Those lighthouse lamps must be kept clean and bright. So must our spiritual lamps be polished by holy prayer and holy living.? Rachoiel C. Kensull, in Northwestern Christian Advocate. WHOM THE LOBD LOVETH HE CHASTENETH. Jesus Christ takes a world of pains in the making of a first class Christian. Sometimes He applies His pruning knife so that every branch of his vine may bring forth more fruit. Knives are made to cut, and 5 sometimes our loving Master's knife cuts J deep. So does the sculptor's chisel. Before the sculptor's eye there rises a certain idea) 3 form which he desires to bring out of the t marble, and he does not ask the marble's I permission to apply either chisel or hammer. 1 T>-. |? a? irJaal nf S ueiure uur iuasici d cjc ?uuv v. *, what you and I ought to he, and if He can i correct our faults, and develop our graces, and increase our influence for good, and t make us better Christians. He does not hesi- c tate to use sharp instruments. "Whom I t love I chasten;" and the literal meaning of the word is to cause suffering. The Mattel 1 has a great many places for His gold where j He refines it. May you not be in just one e of those places now? If so. then it is the I best place for you.?Theodore L. Cuyler, a D. D. I 0 ' A PRAYER FOR PREPARATION. 0 God, our Father, whose will it is that * none should perish but that all should live, enable us so to use thy gift of freedom that it shall prepare us for the eternal life of holiness with thee. When in the tempta- j tions of the world we are sifted as wheat, grant us that our faith fail not. When we are in peril from the lusts that war again9t the soul. be d thou our guard. For thine own pity ? and for the love of those who need us and j who suffer when we fall, preserve us in the t hour of weakness. For the love wnerewitn 1 Christ loved us, grant us the fellowship of His spirit when we are tried in the likeness of His temptations. And Thou, who hast " helped us to the victory of faith shall re- " ceive our grateful service evermore through ^ Christ, who for our redemption was tempted a and overcame. Allien. !' b fi BLESSEDNESS IS WITH GOD. r Blessedness liath not in much or many, but in one and oneness. In one word blessedness lieth not in any creature or work of the creatures, but it lieth alone in God and P in his works. Therefore I must wait only ? on God and leave on one side all creatures fj with their works, and first of all myself. J In like manner, all the great works and *' wonders that God lias ever wrought, or even God himself with all his goodness, so K far as these things exist or are dune outside of ine. can ever make me blessed, but only " in so far as they exist and are done and ? loved, known, tasted and felt within me.? Theulogia Germauica. "Thy will be done" is the kev-note to whk'h every prayer must be tuned.?A. J. n Gordon, D. D. ?i If we leave our doors wide open to God ?' be enters in and makes a heaven of our J k If wo leave our doors wide open to God he enters iu and makes a heaven of our souls. B If w leave our doors wide open to God he enters iu and makes a heaven of our y< Souls. *i LADY ABERDEEN, ORATOR. i?lrst Woman to Addrens Chicaco University's Convocation. Woman's higher education was notably ex- /r omplifled within the walls of the Auditorium on the occasion of the last quarterly convocation of the University of Chicago. On the invitation of President William R. Harper.the unprecedented honor of delivering the convocation address was given to a woman, and an English woman, the Countess of Aberdeen, wife of the Governor-General of Can- U aila, both of whom are popular. Lady Aberdeen, in the critical presence of a. 5000 men and women, delivered a thoughtful ' address, taking for her subject, "The Uni- h versify and Its Effect on tho Home." ^ HHM JB |B "HEODORE pnnccwc. JWWW 'realdent McKlnley NohI^K^VReHHdKbH AgaUtant Secretary oM^KeBS^EH^^H President McElnley terminal^^H^Hfl^U ontest over tne appointment ecretary of the Navy by sending to te the nomination of Theodore BoosevettJ f New York. The ottier active canaiuaiw h rere Harry W. Raymond, of Germantown,; ? 'enn., who waa private secretary to General1 ^ j THEODOBE BOOBEVELT, OP SEW YOBK. rracy; ex-Congressman John B. Robinson, jf Pennsylvania, and Professor William H. Elliott, of Indiana. Theodore Roosevelt is President of the Police Board of New York City, and during tils term of office has very thoroughly reDrganized it. In order to assume his duties is Assistant Secretary of "the Navy, the posi-; :ion formerly held by former Congressman' McAdoo, of New Jersey, hewlll have to ro ilfio his position as Police Commissioner. , ; Mr. Roosevelt was born in New York Cityi ^-i in 1858, and graduated at Harvard in 1880. j ] The following year he entered politics. He :hen became interested in Civil Service re-| form matters. He was a candidate for Mayor, >f New York in 18S3, bat failed of election, (dr. Boosevelt has written a nnmber of 30oks,- mainly relating to his hunting trips n the West. He is also the author of a 'History of the Naval War of 1812" and Life of Thomas H. Benton." Mr. Rooserelt is wealthy, and a man who knows thei sountry well, having lived in Washington in; jfflcial life and on the plains as a cowboy. ',' \ WESTERN MUNICIPAL ELECTIONS. Results of the Contests for Control of the City Governments. At St. Louis, Mo., <c the triangular contest or Mayor Henry Zelgenhein (Rep.) won by. i majority of between 5000 and 8000. The otal vote was 35,000 as against 118,000 last' November. Elsewhere in Missouri all he elections show Democratic victories. i Incomplete returns from the municipal: elections In Kansas Indicate that the Bepnb-j leans have won a victory. At Evansville, Ind., William M. Akin, Jr.! Dem.)j was elected Mayor by a majority ot CARTER H. HARRI80X. (The newly elected Mayor of Chicago.) !763, this being a net Democratic gain of 1191 over the November vote. In Michigan of sixty cities in Which layors wero elected the Silver party carried wenty-eight, and Republicans twenty-seven.' "! teturns from the State election indicate the e-election of Justice Long (Rep.), of the' luoreme Court, by upward of 40,000 piuralty In Ohio returns from the municipal elecions show Democratic gains. Of the larger sities only Cleveland and Toledo remain In he hands of the Republicans. i f In Chicago Carter H. Harrison, a Bryan eader, was elected Mayor of Chicago by a (lurality of 75,000. Harlin, the In depending received a larger vote than Sears, the iepublican candidate, At midnight the ivailable figures gave Sears (Rep.), 60,000; larrison (Dem.), 148,000; Harlan (Ind.), 72,00; Heslng (Ind.), 18,000. Of thethirtyour Aldermen the returns point to the eleoionof twent>-six Democrats, four Republic ans and four Independents. BRYAN CALLS ON M'KINLEY. Sxcbanges Pleasantries With Bis Sacceia iui Avivai. William J. Bryan, the last Democratic caulidate for President, called at the Whit? louse in Washington with Representative IcMillin, of Tennessee, to pay his respects 0 his successful rival. They were immediately ushered into Presieut McK'nley's private cffice. The Present, who was talking to a group of gentle- ' ) len, advanced, and the President and the ^ efeated candidate shook hands cordially.; ^ Ir. Bryan remarked upon the President's 1 pparent good health, and the latter said he J ad received a copy of Mr. Bryan's book & e bw days ago, but as yet had not time to 1 cad it. 1 "There is no law which eompols you to 1 ead it," remarked Mr. Bryan, smiling. Afar some further exchange of courtesies and * leasnntries, Mr. Bryan expressed a desire 1 be shown through the White House, and oorkeeper Dubois conducted him through ae various parlors and the conservatory. In le main corridor he mot Mrs. McKinley and iluted her cordially. Mrs. McKinley acknowledged thesalut-) with a smile. The occasion of Mr. Bryan's visit to Wiishlgton was to aruue before the Supreme ourt the Nebraska maximum freight case. I Girl Thief ConfeMe*. All the mystery surrounding the ro'obeiles om Smith College girls at Northampton, .ass., during the last month was cleared ad Miss Caroline Belle NeaHy. recently a rpewriter in Boston and formerly of Dover, . H., a graduate from Smith, class of '96, Is idged in jail, the confessed thief. On each luuderlDj,' trip it had been her custom to lave Boston e?rly in the morning, spend vo hours in Northampton and return to oston in the afternoon. She bad secured liOO. Miss Neally is an orphan, twent3'-flve jars old. She has property in her own ght. Starved In Brooklyn. Leonard A. Campbell, cnce a prosperous-' erchant in New York City, was found dead! om starvation in his Brooklyn home, his >Jy guar led by his wife, who "has lost her! sason and will probably die. i; ? v , Minor Mention. ' ? Alabama is to have two new cotton mills. There are about 33,000,000 sheep in thet nited States. The Southern peach crop has been dam-i jed by frosts. About 3000 additional German troops Willi s sent to the German possessions in South-' n Africa. * ?J J