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Slizal (Copyright, and 1*93, by ^ ? - - - t ' CHA1T.UK A. A DANGEROUS GIFT. Stanley's amazemant was comic. Notwithstanding his recent experience with Dolores, and the fact that he was practicing what he called "the modn8 operandi" of mesmerism,' he had no thought of the possibility of throwing Yan Tassel into a trance; but, after his first momentary surprise, he was quick to see that the chance which had befallen him might be made to prove a very lucky one. Although he was profoundly ignorant on ^he subject of pyschology in all its phases, he had, as he would have said, "picked up something of the jargon," and this he now proceeded to make use of. He brought a couple of pillows from a sofa; and, having placed them under the professor's head, in order, ns he told himself, that "poor old Van sha'n't get a crick in his neck," he drew a chair in front of him, sat tia Annl/1 toon VlTR fTH7.fi U.UVVU OKJ Ui/ai uw V/wuivi ?? 0 |k on the worn, pale, unconscious face, S and began to catechise him in a low, incisive tone. ,s\ j "Are you asleep?" he asked. To this there was, at first, no reply. Stanley saw the speaker's face twitch and hps unclose in the effort to speak, but no sound issued therefrom. He repeated the question at intervals of a minute, and when this had been done several times Van Tassel's voioe was suddenly heard, clear and distinct, but sounding as though it came from a distance. The effect was weird and startling, as if speech had suddenly proceeded from a galvanized corpse, and the words were calculated to increase this effect. "I am outwardly asleep, but my spirit is fully awake and willing to help you." ~ Stanley's heart bounded with triumph. He felt that his experiment was becoming very interesting. "Canyon read this parchment?"he asked, indioating the mysterious cipher. "All that i3 written or traced on that side vre have already made out; the key to it will be found in the manuscript now in the possession of the Senorita Mendoza." "What manuscript?" exclaimed Stanley, for he could not remember having spoken to Van Tassel on that subject. "I have said nothing about H IIKHI UOW1 ijj/W. "No; but yon are thinking of it at this moment, and I am now in communication with your mind, so that I can read your inmost thoughts." Stanley involuntarily recoiled with such foroe as to send his chair backward several feet. What man, even of the moct pure and noble mind, would be willing to submit his inmost thoughts to another? The situation was particularly startling to the Honorable Clarence Stanley. A faint smile passed over the professor's face, and his next words had a touch of satire to the ear of his listener. "Don't be alarmed," Van Tassel continued; "I shall know nothing of alj this wljen I return to ordinary consciousness. Go on, get all the information you can; it is not safe to keep me in this condition too long." 1 Stanley drew a breath of relief, and hastened to put his ideas into the form of questions. "How can I gain possession of that manuscript?" "To do so will be difficult, perhaps impossible; but you have already ' < epoken to Polly Hamilton about being present when the manuscript is read. That is your opportunity. You must arrange the details yourself." nn ? ?i A. _ii L.I xi ^an i you ten me wuai uie mnuuscript contains?" "I can tell yon nothing except what, is either mirrored in your own mind or connected with some object in this room. My vision does not travel, it sannot leave the atmosphere controlled by your thoughts. I can feel that the manuscript is connected with the cipher,because both are in your mind." "And the cipher, then? Can you tell me no more of that?" "Look on the other side of the parchment." Stanley seized the parchment eagerly, and turned it over. "It is blank," he said, with an accent of bitter disappointment; "there is nothing on it at all?not a line?not o m o vlr !*' M U1U1 A "Apparently so, and yet I can see it closely covered with fine -writing. Hold it for a few moments before the fire." Feeling very much as if he was in a ilream or had passed into a new existence, Clarence Stanley did as he had oeen directed, and to his amazement he saw, under the aotion of the glowing heat sent out by the blazing coals, word after word and line after line of fine writing come into existence on the hitherto blank side of the parchment. Of course he understood the mys i-. tei^y in a moment. The writing had ; ^been done by means of some chemically prepared ink, visible only under the action of heat. The writing was so fine and close?the piece of parchment being small?that he was obliged to find a magnifying glass before he could read it. This took some time, and when he had tried the glass he found the writing already so faded and indistinct that he could with difficulty make out a word or two, which only served to show him that the language was Spanish, the same ae headed the mysterious cipher on the other side. ^ "Confound the man who invented this puzzle," he thought. "But, no! I won't Pay that either; for if it had H^^been a simple one it would not have 99^^^maincd for me to discover it." ^^^^KVith the magnifying glass in hand, S^^^^wice more took the piece of parchthe fire, and as the writing B^H^HHAmteared, he read it word by HHHBB&ly thinking out the English ^^NngSB^BRs each line of the Spanieh ! before him by the j come to face flushed with At bbbhsm ?VEL. ?etl\ G. ?ir^cr. "* :astelar.) , Robirt Bonvek'k Sons.) triumph even more than by the glow of the coals, he seated himself by the table, and made, first, a copy of the writing in Spanish and, afterward, an English translation of the same. To do this had been a difficult and tedious task, and more than once, as the parchment cooled and the ink faded, he had been obliged to leave off, to recover the writing by the magic of heat; but at last it was completed, and the well-hidden secret, translated into English, read as follows: "The spot is twelve paces from a sycamore-tree, out of whose roots grow twelve separate arms (or trunks, perhaps). On the arm (or one of the trunks) is cut the rude outline of an Indian woman, the much-wronged ancestress of the American Mendozas. mi av - i ? tfco mere me ueusurc ?ao uui Vu mv night of October 12, 1792, by a descendant of the Indian princess and her treacherous husband. It is believed that her spirit guards the spot. The treasure can only be found by true descendants of the Mendozas. It can only be rightfully possessed by true heirs, male and female, mutually beloved and joined together in lawful wedlock. This secret can only be read by a Mendoza. To all others this parchment is a blank. Every true Mendoza inherits in some form the birthmark of our Spanish ancestry, and in some degree the mystic, spiritual gifts of our Indian ancestry. To that heir who discovers this treasure, and whose heart is honest and his soul pure, be blessing .and honor and all happiness in its possession; but to that heir who wrongfully acquires this treasure, and whose heart is deceitful and his soul impure, may it bring sorrow aud loss and all the train of evils * ' * 1 * J i - J.U _ cast aoroaa Dy ine wrong uuue iu me Indian woman from whom we are descended." The drawing of a little flower, whose star-like blossom seemed to tremble on its slender stem, completed the hidden message of the parchment, and under it was written the jvord "Anacaona," through which was drawn an Indian arrow. "Well," exclaimed Stanley, as he leaned back in his chair, "all the indications point me out as the true heir! I have deciphered the cryptograph! I have discovered the mysteriously hidden message! I bear on my brow the birthmark of the Mendozas, and apparently I possess some mystic gift, or I couldn't so readily have thrown the learned professor into a trance?though of all my claims to be a true descendant of the Mendozas, this last one pleases me least; unless, ? ? ?* .1.1. vJ-.* inaeea, it proves vamauie iu giving me control over that beautiful -Spanish girl." This reflection drew his attention again to the still unconscious Professor Van Tassel; but he failed to see that, the man's face showed even paler, more worn and pinched than it had yet looked, while his eyes were so deeply sunken and turned upward under their closed lids that they seemed almost lost in the sockets. | "I have made out the whole story," said Stanley gayly, as he placed his hand on the parchment, from which the appearance of the writing had again faded quite away, and here I have the whole secret of the Mendoza treasure at the tips of my fingers." "T Irnnw it,. T taavi followed von through it all," answered Van Tassel. ! His voice was very faint and sounded further away than when he had last spoken, but Stanley's own senses were so sharpened by excitement, tliat he failed to notice the change; "but are you the heir who is likely to obtain happiness in the possession of the treasure?" "Am I the heir?" exclaimed the other, "of course I am the heir! What do I care for the curse of that dusky princess? I believe in none of that rubbish! Let me but' get these hands of mine on the treasure, and the curse may take wings to itself!" "But you will not be the only heir; in your character of the Honorable Clarence Stanley, and making your claim through the Countess Windermara mill nnt rmir alrlov Virrtt.l??r anrl J w * ?* bis family claim an equal share of the treasure?" A look of perplexity for a moment came into the face of the listener. "I certainly did not consider that," he said, sharply, "but no matter! In the first place they are not immortal? both may die; and, besides, the treasure belongs to him who unearths it. I will snare it with no one except the fair senorita, and she is saintly enough j to avert all possible evil. Tell me, ' my wise friend, now that you are in what you call 'superior condition,' shall 1 ever gain the love of Dolores Mendoza?" "She will never love you, but there is some strong bond between you. I cannot tell what it is. She is too far away from me and from you. It may be the mysterious tie of blood and inherited tendencies. You may gain a power over her, through that you ?" - *?? ?! aw ? ? <1 imfln a?%aa It av Knf T may pciJJICA nuvi xuuucuwo uui^ uut * can see no more " ? "No need to, old fellow! That's enough," interrupted Stanley. "Let me gain an influence over any woman, and I will take care of the rest. Tbey are but weak creatures at the best, and already I noticed a difference in that girl. She no longer shrank from me to-day as sbe did on the occasion of our first meeting." He spoke merely as if uttering his thoughts aloud, and. when Van Tassel had replied, it had been also like listening to an echo from his own mind. Suddenly, he became aware 5f this, and, turning to the unconscious companion beside him, he said imperatively: "Forget all that has been paid and all that has been thought since you fell into the trance! And now, awake!" / Eut the professor did not stir, and as Stanley bent forward and looked keenly at him it seemed as if he did / . , * ~ ' ** %v " ?v . f' i . SagPjjSi "v/ V * i * j :j Jl not even breathe. The Honorable Clarence felt uncomfortable, but, retaining perfect self-possession, he began to make the upward passes ovei the pallid face with the same calm deliberation with which he had in. duced the trance. "Awake! Awake!" he said again, in his most imperative tone; but the professor gave no evidence of obeying; od the contrary, the trance seemed deeper and more deathlike than be 1V1 t A chill of apprehension caused Mr. Stanley a slight shiver, as of cold. "He can't be dead!" he muttered. "It would be devilish inconvenient, and just as he promised to be of use to me!" Again he made the upward mesmeric passes and again he said, in low, intensely concentrated tones: "Awake!" CHAPTER XI. DOLORES IS TROUBLED. "I don't like that girl," said Polly Hamilton, in a tone of great decision, when she found herself alone with Dolores. "Which of them?" asked her companion, absently, while she bestowed a farewell loving glance on the face of her mother, before closing the miniature which she still held in her hand. "Not Bertha, of course?no one could help liking Bertha; she's just as sweet and good as she can be; we have always been the best) of friends, and I am really quite fond of her, in a way., Not as I am of you, Rita. I never could love any girl as I love you, dearest; but the other one?Olive Gaye?I I think I could positively hate that girl!" "How severe you are, Maruj^; but perhaps you are justified iu feeling so. I hardly looked at Miss Gaye, and I had 110 conversation with her. But she seemed to me like a charming girl." "Exactly, that is just what people call her; but I don't think I ever in my life liked the sort of young woman that is called'a charming girl.' And I tell you, dear, my instincts about jvomen never deceive me?Olive Gaye may be charming, but she is not nice." "I will remember what you say, Maruja, and I will observe if future knowledge of Miss Gaye confirms it." "But didn't Mr. Stanley look handsome, Rita? I know you don't like him, and it terrifies me to think that it may be an instinct with you to understand men just as it is with me to understand women. But I hope you will learn to like him a little, Rita, just for my sake, and you must admit that he was very handsome to-day." "I think him the handsomest man I ever saw," said Dolores, with a sigh. "Perhaps that is not saying much, for I have really Been but few men, or, to be more correct, I have looked at few, and I have never seen any one like Mr. Stanley." "Oh, you darling!" exclaimed Polly Hamilton. "It makes me quite happy to have you say that, but you mustn't rush to the other extreme now, and fall in love with him, for I'm afraid I'm awfully jealous by nature, and that would be a terrible complication." A quick crimson flamed into the clear olive cheeks of Dolores, and some inexplicable emotion thrilled through her to the tips of her fingers. Was it pain or anger or sorrow? It surely could not be pleasure! And then she was conscious of a feeling that certainly seemed like fear. Ste drew herself quickly away from the embrace of her friend, and answered, coldly: "No, I don't think I shall fall in love with Mr. Stanley." "Now I have hurt your feelings, Rita; don't be over-sensitive, dear." But Dolores protested that &he was in no degree offended or hurt. And the two girls presently separated, the former tocorrecther friend's exercises in Spanish, and the latter to consult one of her assistants iu tne many charitable work3 in which she spent both time and mouey. With a commendable spirit of independence, Dolores had, from the first, declared that she must be permitted to make herself useful; and Mrs. Hamilton, seeing that it would greatly contribute to her happiness and self-respect to feel a certain independence,' engaged the young girl, at a fixed salary, as companion and teacher of Spanish to her daughter. >,. "Besides which, you are always to be oue of us?like'our own child, Dolores, for wo owe you more than life, in knowing that you risked your own life to save Mary." TO BE CONTINUED. Indian He turns to His Tribe. . When Spotted Horse, the yonng Cheyenne Indian who has returned tc the ways of his tribe in order to marr$ bis sweetheart, was united to her f month ago, the ceremony was celebrated with great formality. The girl's name is "White Dove, and she it said to be the prettiest girl on the re servatipn. Her fath^ was an Armj officer, and her . mother, although e full-blooded Indian, had been wel! educated. "When White Dove was born the whole tribe stood sponsor foi her and cared for her during her child' hood. She was stolen when ten years old by a Kiowa chief, and was rescued later by her people. It is said she was at wild as any of her people, anc ran away from one home to anotbei until she met Spotted Horse. Her re gard for him has stood the test of time, and for her sake lie has given up trying to be a "white man."?New York Tribune. 1l*nlr Annmmt Fnr Kvi?r* fliilil. Municipal authorities ot .Mons, Bel giura, have just adopted a resolutior which will prevent children from be ing born paupers in that city. Everj child born in Mons, after being regis* tered officially, will have a bank ao' count opened in its name with tllfil City Saving Bank. The authorities, will deposit one franc for the infant* who, when he arrives at a sufficient age, will find this as a nucleus to augment with hie penny savings. The original deposit of one franc cannot be drawn a; any time, but the interest accruing is the property of the young depositor. g ? Note issues of the Imperial Bank of Germany last year ran beyond the non-taxable limit sixteen times, and thffvtax paid to the Government footed up ^80,000. ,-ffi Chestnuts form a portion of the dailv food of the Mediterranean nations, though in America they are not ground into flour, but are eaten simply as nuts. I r '' > ni5nS jj? Designs For Costu Pc& :?yy.^?*)U'ar*! New York City (Special).?With the comine of the rude blasts of win ter the veil becomes an important adjunct to th^ toilet of all lovers of trimness. Women declare that it is impossible small chenille spoil ^^lain and figured nets in silk ind"cotton are also; lines are popular. big velvet jdots is becoming tOwtfRj complexions, bat great care marinm taken in itjr adjustment. ' Three^r* fonr dots to a veil is the rule, and'if one dot is allowed to come under the eye, another to the sidfi vof the chin and a third well back on the cheek, or nerffc the hair on the temple, the effect is piqnant and striking. A pretty French veil is of light COIFFURES FOK weight net, bordered with a narrow ruche of lace. Chiffon veils with and without spots are worn ou frosty days by women with delicate skins. All the newest veilings come in eighteen-inch width, to fit the toqueshaped hats so universally worn. Few colors fceaides black, white, browns and grays are in demand, although navy blue and mauve are occasionally ?een,on well dressed women. Oroainentlns the Hair. One of the charms of the present fashion., btfing eclecticism, one may select for ornamenting the hair other ornaments besides fringes withoiit being outlawed. Just what styles in coiffures are most prevalent is re vealed in the following chat by a New York woman of fashion. She said: "Last week I went to bee my hairdresser. She is the one who gets up those stunning coiffures for Mrs. Willie Vanderbilt, Jr., and for those beautiful blond Levi Morton goddesses. Her quick fiugers did up my locks in three styles, and all of them, she assured me, were bound to hold first place for evening attire for the next six or eight months. My hair she pomipadoured, so to speuk, all around in a soft roll above the face and then elaborately puffed the length of it on the crown. ,Tast a^ove-lock or two she permitted to 'rfray out ori my forehead, and then she inveigled me into the purchase of three distinct Btyles of hair ounaments by the shrewd device of fastening them in among the coil tmd. pufl jfcand leaving the mirror *and wfy vaiiftjHo ddfthe rest. I'. "However,; $hey'are the smartest little aids to beauty. The first is a butterfly made of 'Jisse, covered with opalescent spangles and with a delicate white osnrev springing in place of antenme from bis spangled wrought head. The second is a rose of black lisse, to the petals of which spangles in charming imitation of! tiny diamonds, are attached like dew drops. This rose is to set right in the centre and front of my hair, and from its stem, at the back of the petals, springs a black osprey, rather thickly threaded with twinkling little rhinestones, and anything more sweetly becoming to a woman with blond lights in her hair you will not ree this season. - My third extravagance was a serpent,' There now) '* .W f " : fammT] mes That Have Be- p i the Metropolis. don't gasp "with horror, for it is not one of those wicked-looking reptiles made of frivolous metallic-colored paillettes, but a very up-to-date 'and lovely ornament, having the flexible, tapering body covered wholly with breast plumage from a pheasant. She had a whole family of them, some covered with the blue-black raven feathers. These the blonds usurp, and a number are made with the rich mottled plumage of the breasts of wild ducks. "Whatever one's prejudice may be, the serpents are already vigorously adopted, and so entirely fascinating did I think myself with my new coiffures that I have had my picture taken in every one just as the hair-dresser completed them, in order to have an authority to refer to when I begin to do my pOmpadouring .and puffing at home." The coiffures for ^evening wear spoken of are shown in the large illustration. -The Box-Plaited Skirt. &; I EST f' T&e box-plaited skirt has evidently Despite all talk to the contrary, ever* new skirt will be full. There will b?fitb more of the habit back except with dressmakers who ,do not understand the progress of affairs.' The new box-plaited skirt has the 'box p)ait cut separate and set into the bacfc of the garment. The box plait is single, about, three inches wide on top, and broati&hs to form twelve to ..fourteen inches' toward the.bottom of the sfcjrt, where it is confined by an elastic t*pe to hold it intorform. Many other fdrihsof fullness are being introduced, bu? the box plait is ; in the ascendancy. SomCexoellen^ models are shown with two box plij&ifl \ .others, as we have mentioned mloH/ using a great many- side plaits! Thw L effect over the hips is quite as smootlr ; as before. The objectionable flatness of the^ back is taken away and the severity f of . the -habit back is dispensed with ?withqttf^dding materially to the fallfOess'^the drese. Altogether the in^oduOTibn is more than satisfactory. N?W?Mat?rIal For Tea Gowni. '' ' Samethibjfjaew in material for tea jfowns and wrappers is a smooth-facecl ig$oth, glossy as satin on ono side, and Coolly after the manner of eiderdown flannel, on the other. It io lees clumsy, however, than the latter, bnt very soft and pliable, and much thick-J f er than the broad-cloths. Chenille Fringe In Favor. Chenille fringe is greatly favored as Ik' yj > fi ~rSt>nL Jl EVENING WEAR. '' ! i '-Ti -ay"" garniture. This is sliown chiefly in . colors, its width varying from tbtee inches to twelve inches, according"to the purpose for which it is required. 5 Corduroy an a WaUt Fabric. Corduroy as a shirt waist fabric promises to be very popular. Charming Bodice Fashion. j In the accompanying cat is illustra- i ted a "cunning little bodice" which ' has just been designed by a versatile J modisto in New York. The owner, describes it as follows: "My bodice is - 1 ?i-;i- _?/i ?;n, f 01 piain auu tvuitu sjjullcu icu mm,, tbe collar toned down with straps of; .black taffeta and plenty of little clear/ glass buttons at the points of straps,/ on the cuffs and elsewhere. My only f A BED AND -WHITE SILK BODIES WIT? ' CLKAB GLASS EUTTtUTS. ';> objection to red is tkat^jlvjpfelly appears less worn tliis winterjlhan ever. Yon almost might take lor granted that the whole worm of women is in full or half mourning item the overwhelming jjggyfonjferqince of de?d blaok^grq^H^pKpj^fthlift es mnlw". ^ DB. TALMAGES SERMON. SUNDAY'S DISCOURSE BYTHE NOTED DIVINE. Snhjoct: Cradle of Christ?^harioTr* ami Sunshine on That Lowly Bed?The Story of the Incarnation Told in a New Way?Use* of the Festival. [l'opyripht, LouIh Klopsoh. 1W.1 "Washington, D. C.?The story of the Incarnation is here told by Dr. Tnlmago in a new way, and practlaal use is made of these days of festivity; text. Matthew, i., 17, "80 all the generations from Abraham to David are fourteen generations, and from David until tbo carrying nway into Babylon are fourteen generations, and from the carrying away Into Babylon unto Christ are fourteen generations." From what many consider the dullest and most unimDortant chapter 0! the New Testament I take my text and find it lull of practical, startling and eternal interest. The chapter is the front door of tho New Testament, thronch nil tV>? iplendors of evangelism and npostoliclty enter. Three times fourteen generations are spoken of in my text?tbat is, fortytwo generations?reachiBg down to Cbrist. They al! had relation to Him, and at least fortj'-two generations past affect u?. If they were good, we feel the result of the goodness. If they were bad. we feel the result of tbeir wickedness. If some were good and some wero bad, It is an intermingling influence that puts its mighty band upon us. And as wo feel the effect of at lenst'forty-two generations past we will in turn Influence at least forty-two generations to come, if the world shall lost a thousand years. 80, you see, tho cradle is nrore.lmportant than the grave. I propose to show you some of the shadows Upon tbe Christie cradle of Bethlehem aurl then the sunshine tbat poured in upon the pillow of straw. Notice among tho fthndnvQ nn fhnt Tnfnn**a ha/1 fl*of wns here and there n specimen of dissolute nncestry. Beautiful Ruth His ancestress? Oh, 3*esl Devout A?a one of His forefathers? Oil. ye?! Honest Joseph His father? Oil, yen!" Holy Mary His Mother? Oh, yes! But in that, Renealoslcal table were idolHtrous anil cruel Ammon and oppressive Rehoboam and some men whose abominations may not be particularized. So you pee bad men may have good descendants. One of the most consecrated men I ever knew wns tbe son of a man wbo lived and died a blasphemer. In the line of an oppressive Behoboara eoraes a gracious and merciful and slojrions Christ. Grejfttfe, conr.ieercenKfor those who bail ft tqp' forty-two generations that preceded then?,'" however close by or howevef/fRr back?], some instances of pernicious and balefal n^d corrupt ancestry. . r; *To ray amazement, I found ltWjjMarts of Australia to whicjn many yeaniHfarfelon<; were transported from Enf^nuj^t ^600^ mfa #i'1 ModMvomeD^ Some 1 j^jjjcQfg^ypdlcid benches in Austrn governmental positions, ro?toraamed and useful professions, and m Ifer* in social life, arc the ffrandsons'nnd granddaughters of-'men and women who were exiled from Great Britain to AtUfljraHa for arBon and theft and assault and fraud and murder. So you see it is possible for the descendants of those who do wrong to do right. \'w> Meanwhile keep carefully your family records. The old place . for the family record in the Bible, between the Old and New Testaments, is a most appropriate place. That record, put in such impressive surroundings of chapter, bounded on one side by the prophecies of Malachi and on the other side by the Gospel of Matthew, wiH receive stress and sanctity IroniittSi position. That record is appropriately t>ound up with the eternities. Do Sot limply say in your family record, "Bort af such avtime and died at such a time," but if there has been among your ancestocB sooye man or woman especially consecrated ?na: useful make a note M It. for tb?encouragement of the following generstloju^^Fo family records of the J3ible?tb#0>Bm Matthft# reaching from by tbe.^jS^itfl&faCenenitions whioh ait) past and thytgffiFWteo amarntloaa which are to come. ItjSM fc?rHlrtbd; *17 ' Another slit lie" ^k|{& cradle tc wthat It stood Tindor r q^^Hft&klag. Herod was at that ttrntornlerVP^Hft^riv plete impersonation or all It was an unfavorable time for*jfl^K|ce to expect pood treatment. So JEj^HEs lb* shadow dropping on tho eraTfa^^ma that iniquitous throne that tlie p.eflgBHnotber had to ltrt her babe out of it^HKflaiike hasty flipht. Depraved hatijtay^npfte in authority urn apt t^e_copieBj|HBgect?. and from v4W^ffltllOrHt5 | thro^jXjrfdge of the lmmort^B9RpUlon. riiJr* ttrs a malaria of sin lnJMKBh: when thejinfant Christ first breathdj^H^bickesf? shrjwl could not keep the when in :bat wintry mouth witb^ffiEmSbther He Historian.* say tb.it it was jdgSpttlme of peace that Christ was bora, ]&w||lji??lrth arohsed an antagonism of wMotftbe feethleh^m massacre was only a feeble expression. War of the migbtiesteniiltoif of the aarJh o.iuneri nmlnBtthcit cradle! Tbe in that oamo 'forth that nightlfom ^ijprroahd&ff of"canals and sbeep'and o^K^UqIM^H the Iniquities of all the eowatfloi aadrwill notjs&ase until It has deBKa them.'''flWanpjhfram n elatnento w$M forth from that jRekand barbarian tffifiuo, prnctfcally' snyfiifir, "Slay rill the iMgffa under two years Of age, and that ttltip-- slaughter will surely include tbe agSth of the one child that roost threatens my dominion." Aw/ul time It was'for the occupant 01 that cradle! If He escape tbe knife oMh? assassin, then the wil$oeust*9 paw or the bandit's clutch or tbe-jBanlght chill between Bethlehem of Jud?a and Cairo, Egypt, will secure His destruction. All the powers of earth and all the demons of hell bombarded that eradlo. Another shadow upou that Christie cr.-idle wns the obscurity of the place of birth. Bethlehem wns au obscure viilage. David, tin) stiepueru uoy, naa oueu uuru there, but after Ijh became general and king he gave it no significance, I think never mentioning it but to ask for a drink or water out of tho old well to which he used to go in childhood?the village sc small and uuimportant that it hud to be separated In mind from another Bethlehem then existing, and so was called Bethlehem of Judica. There was a great capital of Jerusalem: there were the fifteen beautiful cities on tho beach ol Galilee, any of them a good place to bo boru in; Mere wore great towns famous nt thai time, but tho nativity we to-day celebrate was in u village which Cbrlstintlmnted had been called by some "tho least among the, princes of Judn." Christ Himself was to make the town fuaiou-j for all time and all eternity. 0 meu and women or r/essfanic opportunity. why do you not make the plaice of your nativity memorable for your philanthropies?by the churches voa build, tho rrcf^libraries you open, the colleges you jndow? Go back to tb? village where you ivere born, as George Feabody went buck to Danvers. Mass.. and with your wealth bless the neighborhood where in childhood von played ajid near by where vo ir father sud mother sleep tho last sleep. Tuere are scores of such villages iu America being i generously remembered by prosperous men iuring life or helped in their las: will and testament, and there are a hundred neighborhoods w litiug for such benediction from their prosperous sons. Lv some such siiarity invito the Jiethlehem angels to como back again ?nd over ttie plain hou^e of your nativity ring out the old untliem or -' - " ----- > nv^.? j? ?? "UOCU Will IQ lUl'U. vuuni, win obscure p ace, made it so widely known by BUs self sacrlliees and divine charity that nil round the earth th<* village of liethlehetfibas Its uanio woven iu garlands and t- Deums'-and built in houses I jFoUt is.tlme wo see some or the sunshine brenking through the shadows on that cradle. For we must have jubilance dominate the Christmas festival, 'ihat was Walter Scott's opinion when in ' .Murea ion" be wrote, A Christmas gambol nit would cb<?er A poor man's heart through halt the year. It wa9 while the peasant and his wife were on a visit lor the purposes of enrollment that Jesus was born, 'iud Bible translators cot the ?vroDg woid when they, said that Joseph and MaTy bad gona to Bethlehem to fee "taxed." ^eopJeweut 4o farther then to eci tared than they do co^-, I'he effort of most people always has been t* escapd taxation. Besides tbat, these two bnrablo folk had nothing to tax. The man's turban tbat protected his head from the nan was not worth taxing; the woman's sandals wbich kept her feet from being cut by tbe limestone rock, of wbich Bethlehem is ,il" ??iTA?f>i farlntf. juusiiy iijttue uy, wcio uui tfvtvu kU^.MPV No; the fact is that a proclamation had been made by tbo emperor that all tbe people between Great Britain and Fortbia and ot tbose lan-ls included should go to some appointed place and Rive tbeir name-! Id, be registered and announce their loyalty totbe Roman emp ror. They had walked eighty miles over a rough road to give their names and take tbe oath of allegiance. Would we eighty miles to announce our allegiance ',/ our king, one Jesus? Cie3ar Augustus wanted to know by tbe record on wbleit that man and that woman wrote their names or had them written, Just bow many people in bts empire he could dep?nd on in case of exigency. How many men wonld unsheathe sword for the Roman eagle and. how many women could be depended ou to take care of the wounded on battlefields?" The trouble is that in the kingdom of Christ we do not know how many can bt? depended on. There are so many men and women who never givo in their names. -?3 They serve the Lord on the sly. Tbey do- * "IS not announce their allegiance to the kiDg who, iti tbe battles to come, will want A'JjB all His tro<ps. In nil cur 'churches- ; 1$ there are so many half aDd baif disci- .j. pies, so many one-tbird espousera. . -j| Ibey rather think tbe Bible Is true, at any jj rate parts of it, and they hope that some- * bow Christianity will disenthrall tbe na- A tions. They stay awiy from church on Otjjj | communion days'aiul hope when tbey have- [ lived as long as tbey can in this world they can somehow sneak into heaven. Ob, givo^ in your names! Bereglstered on tbo church- ? record down here and in the Lamb's Book c of Life up there. Let all the world know , j where you stand, if you have to go n?far as Joseph and Mary walked, if you have t& * <Tn nioliM7 mllu hofnro von And lUSt tlj?- . J J . ? right form of worship and just the right < j9 creed. Another gleam of sunshine striking through the shadows above that Christie | cradle was the fact of a special divine 15 protectioa. Herod was determined upon the child's destruction. The monster put >.-j nil his wits together ia stratagem for the- I stopping of that young lifo just started- .<3 He dramatized piety; lie suddenly go: relfgious; be would leave his palace and tatse chariot nnd have steeds whipped up, sothat he could kneel at that cradle. We have to smiie at what the imporlnl villain said wheu he ordered, "Go and Search diligently for the young Child, and when ye liaye found Him bring me word, that I \.J. may go and worship Him also." Dore'n picture of tho "Massacre of the Innocents" iiti"Herod's command?a picture full of 1 over walls and dashed xnd writhing under assasi us a littlo impression of wbich Herod would haveil Child if lie could have hands -on It. But Heroil Dnd that, cradlc. All he sent out failed! Id tbe.^BjMixeii. Yet it nau Deeu pointed by flashlight from tbemktoteht beayens. All tba Jtolghborbood ktwBj,ab?ut It. Tfae nngelle ehoruH in theclriHhad called musical attrition to it. XoHfBBtlnel Ruarded it with drawn sword, passing up and down by the pillow of time Bethlehem caravansary. Why, then, was it that tbe cradle was not despoiled of its treasure? Because it was divinely protected. There were wings hovering that mortal eye could not see; there were armed immortals Whose brandlsfited-SW&rd-jaortal eye could not follow; "there were charTdB_ of the Omnipotent the rnnble of whos^ x wheels only supernatural could hear. God :* bad started through tbe cradle to save our >.1 world, and nothing could fctop Him. ,-^j You cannot reasonably account for tbat '.} unburt cradle except on the theory ot a :'? special, divine protection. And most cradles are likewise defended. Can yon understand why so many children, wltb all to the epidemics tliat ascnuft them, and alt, their climbing to dangerous heights, and all their perilous experiments with explo* if;:,' sives and their running against horses* boofs, and daring of trolleys and eartsfast driveD, yet somehow cet through, especi-, ft 'ly boys ot high spirit and that are goto#-' , 1 to amount to mpoli? I account for tbeix j coming through all right, with only a few f wounds and bruises, by the fact that they J are divinetr protected. All your charge# j of "Don't 4o this" and "Don't do tbat" M and "Don't go there" seem to amonnt to -'nothing. They are the same reckless orea- 'jfl tares about whom yoa are constantly anx- 1 lous and woplerl^g what Is the matter JM I Another glea&Jjjf light, scattering some ll I qLjithe gl<jom!<Bijjrtliac ClirlsMc pillow in m Btolehem^a^ ^bo fact that it was the[ gtfft^gjJ9Kp4fthe most wonderful of all V ' careers.^O^kil^r^at Christ's iife from <9 mere womlly standpoints it was amazing V? beyond ail 'capacity of pen or tongue or, JH canvas to express. Without talcing a year** 3 curriculum jn any college or even -\ day ac - '^W any school, yet saying thiugs luat the- 7)S mjc^jest intellects of subsequent days | ; Ifltf? ar.d tried to expound! Great -^3 Hltertiy worWhy^UMlWti*^; part beea the result of mucWwanorntfon., Edmund ,.-.3| Burke rewrote the Conclusion or his speech j Avnlnat Warren Hastings sixteen times. a Lord Brougham rewrote bis speech 1q be- j halt of Queen Caroline twenty times, buf ? a the sermon on the mount seemed extern- jf pornrleoas. Christ was eloanent without-, va ever having studied one of tnelaws of ora*. '51 tory, *JEte was'the greatest orator that .ever ,3 Hyeffrvlt was not an eloquence Demos- A th6nw or. Ciceronlc or like that of Jean M Brfptlste MasBilion or like that \7bicl1 iam Wirt, himself a great orntor, was over- 'jfl come with in log cubln meeting house o* ,jB Virginia, when the blind preache* cjfcJeil 'm out in his sermon, "Socrates died lift a I philosopher, but Jesus Christ dledfjfe? b. Cut we must not only look at "^nHlrom a-- -*S worldly standpoint; How He smojyVWtitrU wiuds into sllenae, and madejCgApPkTtis ot ffi the sea lie down, anil opened?,#? doors of ;9| light into the midnight of tbojpr who had .? been boru blind, and turned dwtf ears into ifl callerle* of music, and 4gtti one touch J| made the scabs ot inca?|bie leprosy fall jBl off, nnd renewed berilthy circulation through severest paralysis, and made the J '* dead girl waken: nnd osli for her inotM$ j and at His crucifixion pulled down the; < clouds, until at 12 o'clock at noon it was as , dark lis at 12 o'clock at night, aDd starting "< an influence that wilt go on until the ln*c desert will grow roses and the lust weak ,f luug make lull inhalation, and the last case of paresis take bealthinl brain, am! the last illness become rubicund of cheek aud robust ol chest and bounding of foot,,. and the las: pauper will get his palacc," , aud the last sinner taken into the warm ? bosom ol a pnrdoning God! Where did wl tliis start? in that cradle with sounds Of i bleating sheep and bellowing cattle and amid roush bantering of herdsmen and ; came! drivers'. What u low place to start for f-uch great heights! O artists, turn J your camera obsenra on that village ot . Iielhlelieiu! Take it all In? the wintry skiev' lowering, the flocks shivering in thecbilf f. air. Mary the j-ale mother, and Jesus the Si Child. '"[M But sundow.? bave their use?. There must bo 11 background to every good pic- < vj| ure. Turner aiwuys put at least a fieck or Cioud on lils canvas, and the clouds cl <,-;5S earth will be the background to bring out 4] ir.ore mightily the brightness of heaven. ;jl| And will it not bo glorious it alter all till* v.?| scene of earthly vicissitude we meet itgaiu in our Fi'therV house aud talk over ttie &j| past in an everlnstiug holiday? Bat meanwhile look out for tho cradles. How much tbey decide for this world ami the next! When Wellington was l)OriV '-? < nr. Mornington, England, that decided Waterloo and saved Europe. When Han- *'<< del was born ic Hallo, .Saxonv, that decided th? oratorios of "Judas itaccabffiuV] ./r and "Esther"' a.ud "ifrael it> Egypt" ;uWi'"' ' Jephrimh.' aud "Messiah."' When Elf Whitney was bom at Westhoro, t'uat de cided tee wcmili or ail the eottou uelds ol | the South. When Guleuberg was bom at Metz, Germany, thnt decided the librariej of alj Christendom. Wben Ciarkson was boru'in Cambridgeshire, England, that do cided the doom of human bondage. Whet Morse was lorn at Breed's Ilill, Mas?. that decided that the lightnings ot heaven should become galloping couriers' or stretch a throbbing iron nerve clom-^- j under the sea. When Washington wat born ajt Westmoreland, Ya., that decided < American independence. When Christ wat born at Bethlehem, "'?.t decided there, doinption of the world. Oh, look out for -] the cradle."! May a Bethlehem star of hop* , .1 point down to each one ol them and everj ; liovtying cloud be tilled wttb chanting :iih gels ol mercy. Ia aU Spain there are only 3230 chil-dres 'J in the Sunday-schools. , M J