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DR. TALMAGES SERMON.' SUNDAY'S DISCOURSE BY" THE NOTED DIVINE. Sttl>jcct: Pillar* of Smoke?Trial* of Truth Kxi>res?e<l With a ISiblical Symbol? . / Tli? Sufl?ring of the Churcli of Go?l k l'owerfully Set Forth. I [Copyright, I.oui> Klapji'h. ISW.' W.yshixotox, D. C.?The trials through which the truth has struggled nre by Dr. T:ilmage here set forth uuder n Bible symbol of great suggestlveaess and -power; text, Solomon's Song, iii.. 6, "Wbo is this (bat cometh out of the wilderness like I Hlars of smoke?" The architecture of the smoke is wondrous, vbether God with His finger curves it into a cloud, or rounds it into a (Some, or points it in a spire, or spreads it in a wing, or, as in tne text, hoists it in a pillar. Watch it winding up from the country farmhouse in the early morning, showing that the pastoral industries have begun, or see it ascending from the chimneys of th?i city, teiliug of the homes fed, the factories turning out valuable fabrics, the printing presses preparing book and f newspaper and all the 10,000 wheels k of work in motion. On a clear day this ' vapor spoken of mounts with such buoyancy, and spreads such a delicate veil across the sky, and traces such graceful lines of circle and semicircle, and waves and tosses and sinks and soars and scatters with such affluence of shape and color and suguestiveness that, if you have never noticed it, you are like a man who has all his life lived in Paris and yet never seen the Luxembourg, or all bis life in Rome and never seen the Vatican, or all his life at Lockport and never seen Niagara. Fortyfour times the Bible spoaks of the smoke, and it is about time that somebody lirAiirthed a sermon recognizing this | strange. weird, beautiful, elastic, charm- j ing. terrific and fascinating vapor. Across the Bible sky floats the smoke of Sinai, the sraolce of Sodom, the smoke of Ai, the smoke of the pit, the smolre of the volcanic hills when God touches them, and in my text the glorious church of God comiug up cut of the wilderness like pillars of smoke In the first place, these pillars of smoke in my text indicate the suffering the church of G.od has endured. What do I mean by the church? I moan not a building. not a sect, but those wiio in all ages and all lands and of all beliefs love God and ure trying to do right. For many eeuturies the heavens have been black with the smoke of martyrdom. If set side by side, you could girdle the earth with the flres of persecution?Rowland Taylor burued nt Hadleigb, Latimer burned nt Oxford, John Rogers burned at Smlthfleld, John Hooper burned at Gloucester, John Huss burned at Constance, Lawrence Saunders burned ut Coventry, Jona of Arc burned at Rouen. Trotestants have represented Catholics as having a monopoly of perseoutorf, but both Protestant and Catholic havo practiced infamous cruelties. The Catholics during the reign of Hunneric weraby Protestants put to the worst torturer, 'stripped of their clothing, hoisted in the air by pulleys with weights suspended frbm<|jpqir feet, then let down, and ears and-eyes, nose and tongue were amputated^fct^teted hot plates of iron were put agalndt tbtf't'enderest part of their bodies. . fipnrco Bancroft, the historian jHBK'Of the.Stute of Maryland: "In tb? lafl&iJHch Catholics had opened to Protestan^vf&ass might not be 9aid publicly, nojwCtaclir: * priest or bishop might utter hUfdpt in a voico of persuasion, no CathoflS might 1 teach the young. If a wayward child of a papist would become an apostate, the law wrested for him from I1I3 parents a share of their property. Such were the methods adopted to prevent the..g*owth of popery." , Catholicism, as well as Protestantism, ha3 bad its martyr?. It does SQgjja as if when any onesectgot complete do^ifcanoy In any land the devil of perdecutioujwdl cruelty took possession of that 3ect. Tb?hv see the Catholics after the Hugugfiotig.: the gentiles after the Jews in Tourata0ewhere a great pit was dug and fire lt&hl$$lat the bottom of the pit, and 160 Jewish vlc? tims wereconsuined. Seethe Presbyterffr parliament of Eugland, more tyrannical in their treatment of opponents ttxad'&ad Lbeen the criminul courts. Persecute air'J agalust the Baptists by Pted&Baptlsts, parT-j secution of theEstabllshed Churoh ugai&st i the Methodist Church, persecution the Quakefs, perseeuthjjaiigainst tftj? PtIHf- J ^Bp^^OOOmore of them died from baaisbf^^tj I Witness the sufferings of the Waldens<?,l I of tbu Albigenses, of the Neatoriang,;.,Wit#] nesa St. Bartholomew's massacr^.; I the Duke of Alva driving oat ot-mff ltyttfl Cbrlstiaos. Witness Herod And- Nfero-rtaul Decius and Hildebraud and Torqudj^^H and Earl of Montfort and. Lo/d (BmHH bouse, who, when told' that liemcMHHH account for his cruelties, said, '*1 havtfnV | need to account to man, and as t?r0o<?l:| will take Him in my own hands.'Vjl red lino runs through the church.I'lflgMfr of 1900 year9, a line of blood. NofnSy the hnudreds of thousands,but-by the mi.-ions, must we count tbose slain for Christ's sake. No wonder John Milton put tbegroarasof the martyrs to an immortal tone, writing: , Avenge, 0 Lord, Thy slaughtered' saints whose bones \ , Lie scatteied on the Alpine mout^ri|(lBS t p cold. The smoke of martyrs' fcomea and martyrs' bodies if rolling up once' would have eclipsed the noonday and^ turned the brightest day tho world ever ?t?K Into a midnight. "Who Is this thats cometli up oat of the wilderness like pfl-i lara of smoke?" Has persecution ceased? Ask that young man who is trying to be a Christian U* a, store or factory, where from morni^#??)? [ night he i:> the butt of all the mean witw ticlsms of unbelieving employ??. Ask yiat wife whose husband makes, her fondness for the house of God and even he kneelirig prayer by the bedside a derision and is no more fit for her holy companionship tbau a filthy crow would be flt oompaniou t tor a robin or a goldecoriqia^.Ooxpttro; mise with tbe world and surrendBr^to Its conventionalities and It may let you alone, but all (vlio will Jive godly In Christ Josua.j [.* must suffer persecution. Be a theatre going** I card playing, wine drinking, roaud dauoing L Christian and you may escape criticism, r / and social pressure. But bo an up and t down, out and out follower of Christ, and worldling will wink to worldling as lie L speaks your name, and you will be put in many a doggerel and snubbed by th09e not worthy to blacken your oldest sbpes. V When the bridge at Ashtabula broke and I let down tho most of the carload ot passengers to instant death, Mr. P. P. Bliss was seated on one side of the aisle of the I car writing down a Christian song which be was composing, and on the other side a group of men were playiug cards. Whose landing place In eternity would you prefer?that of P. P. Bliss, the gospel singar nr nf Hill piirtl nlnvers? A great compluiut comes from the theatres about the Indies' high hats because tb?y obstruct the view of the stag*, and a lady reporter asked me what I thought about it, and I told her that if the indecent pictures of actresses in the show windows were accurate pictures of what goes oa in many of the theatres night by night, then it would be well if the ladies'hats were a mile high, sous to completely obstruct the vision. It professed Chrlstiaus go to such places during tho weeK, no one will ever persecute them for their religion, for they have noue, aud they are the joke of lieli. But lot them live a consecrated and Christian life and they will soon run against sneering opposition. For a compromise Christian character an easy time now, but for consecrated behavior. grimace aud caricature. For tho body, thanks to the God of free America, there are now no swords or llery stakes, but for tho souls of thousands of tbe good, iu a figurative sense, rack and glbbot and Torquemada. The symbol of the domestic and social and private and publicsuffering of a great multitude of God's dear children, pillars of smoke. What an exciting scene in India when, during the sepoy rebellion, a regiment of bighlanders cameup and found the dead body of one of General Wheeler's daughters, who had been insulted aud mauled and slain by the sepoys. So great was the wrath against these "\ murderers that tho Scotch regiment sat down, aud, cutting off the bair or this dead daughter of General Wheeler, tbey divided it among them, and eacli one counted the numbtr of hairs given him, aud each took an oath, which was execu , / ' ' daughter they would dash out the ^ors1 bestial sepoy, But as we look over the story ot those who In all ages have suffered, I for the truth, while we leave vengeance to i the Lord, let us baud together In one solemn vow, one tremendous oath, afier i having counted the host of the martyrs, I that for each one of those glorious men and women who died for the truth an immortal shall live, live with God and live iurvvttr. But, .13 I already hinted in tbe first sentence of this sermon, nothing cau be more beautiful than the figures of smoke on a clear sky. You can see what ycu will In the contour of this volatile vapor, uow enchanted castles, dow troops of horsemen, now bannered procession, uow winged couriers, now a black angel of wrath under a spear ol the sunshine turned to an angol of. light, and now from horizon to horizon the air is a picture gallery filled with masterpieces of which God is the artist, burning clouds of smoke born in tbe sunrise and evening clouds of smoke laid in the burnished sepulchers of the sunset. The beauty of the transfigured smoke is a divine symbol of the beauty of the church. The fairest of all the fair is she. Do not call those persecutors of whom I spoke the church. They are the parasites of the church, not the church itself. Her mission is to cover the earth with a supernatural gladness, to open hII the prison doors, to balsam all tbe wounds, to moss all the graves,to burn up the night in tbe lireplace of a great morning, to chuuge iron handcuffs into diamonded wristlets, to turn the whole race arouu'a and whereas it faced death, commanding it, "Right about face for heaven!" According to the number of j tbe spires of the churches in all our cities, towns and neighborhoods are the good homes, the worldly prosperities and the pure morals and the happy sotils. Meet me at any depot the world over, and with my eyes closed take me by the hand and lead me.so that my feet will not stum- j ble, and without my once looking down or j looking on the level take me to some high ' roof or tower and let me sefe tbe tops ot the churches, and I will tell you the proportion of suicides, of arsons, pt murders, of tberts. According as the churches are numerous are the crimes few. According as the churche* nre few tlio crimes are nu? | merous. Tlie most beautiful organization | the world ever saw or ever will see is the | much maligned church, the.'friend of all j good, the foe of all evil, "fair as the moon j and clear as the sun." Beautiful in her Author, beautiful in her ml* ion, the heroine of the centuries, the bride of Christ,-' the queen of the nations! Men may desecrate it, as Cromwell.when ; hestabled his cavalry horses la St. Paul's j Cathedral; or "break olT the image ot j Christ, as did tbe iconoclasts in York min- | ster; or hurl against it august literary an- j tipathies, as did Gibbon; or plot its over- . throw, as do some in every community whose pride and hate and debauchery are reproved by the Ten Commandments which it thunders and tbe sermon on-the mount which its breathes. But it will stand as long as the earth stnnds, the same unique and wonder working and beatific and miraculous thing jIqv ! which God decreed it. Small wits tax | thsir brain to say things that will put ! her at disadvantage, but many ot them ! rcl11 aanri for Its nnnrinlAnfH .When dv> ! Ins:, and their cbiiitrcn will be gKtDored up ' uDder its benedictions after the parental I curso 1ms been removed. Through her j gates will mureh all the influences for Rood i that ?hall ever reach our world. Take her j membership ns n mass, not sfra^king of the ; acknowledged exceptions, they are the ; noblest, grandest, kindest, best men and j women of the age?. But for them the . earth would lougago have beea a burned j out volcano. They have been the salt that j Das kept the human race from putrefac- j lion insufferable either to human or augolic olfactories. You lying and hypocritical world, shut up those slanders about the church of i Christ, an institution which, far from being j what it ought to be antl never pretending j tabs, perfect, Is 500 times better *than any , institution that the world ever saw j ,ojT#v?r dreambd of. The highest honor I ever had*and the highest honor I shall ever reeeive and the highest honor I ever Hi to hate my name on he;: records ember*,. At her altars I repented, jacrameuts I believed. In her serme,dl?B<?rom her doors let me be 0 church of Godt Thou home of j _ iteous! Thou harbor from.tempe3i! .Thou refuge for the1 weary!:' Thou lightmouse of many nations! Thou type of Fbeavenl I oould .kiss thy Tery dust with Bgukiuu. r y tears shall fall, * ray prayers asoend, y toils and cures be given Is and cares shall end. h smoke;" says Solomon m the rloK my text. Not like the 3d up from the throat ot a it polsoued with the cases ot | torles, or floating iu black i the coaflagratloa ot borneilphurous from biasing batreet as a burning grove ofcin- j Qfjle of sassafras, or the odors j censer. "Wuo is this that ^.uiuotHgmi. of the wilderness like pillars | of smok3,perfumed with myrrh and frank- | incensed' Hear it, men and women everywhere, that the advance of the j?enuiuo churoh of Obrlst means peace for all nation.-. , Viotofc^Hugo, in his book entitled j *iljlive^r-tliree," stiys: "NothiDg calmer than^fmoke, but nothinp more startling. peaceful smokes, and there are uvlaBKc,: 'The thickness and color ot u make the. whole difference holes of ships will vanish. ' ' fcA distinguished general of our Civil War t|oJd me that Abraham Lincoln proposed to TOf^idour civil conflict by purchase of all theaves ot the South aud setting them preer^He calculated what would bo a reasonable price for them, and when the number of millions ot dollars that would bo required for such a purchase was announced the proposition was scouted, and the North would not have made the Offer, an<l| the South wojld not have accepted It It made. "But," 8Aid my military frknd, "the war went on aud just the .number of millions ot dollars that Mr. -Llacolu calculated would have been enough to make a reasonable purchase of all the slaves was spent in war, besides all the precious lives that were hailed away in the 250 battles. Ia other words, there ought to be some other way tor men to settle their controversies without butchery. Oh, come Into the church through Christ the door, a door more glorious than that of the temple of Hercules, whloh had two pillars, and one was gold and the other emoraldl Come in to-day! The world you leave behind is a poor world, and It will burn and pass off like pillars of smoke. Whether the flnal conflagration will start, in the coal mines of Pennsylvania, which in some plucesbnvo for many years been burning and eating into tho heart of the mountains, or whether it shall begin near the California geysers, or whether from out the furnaces of Cotopaxl and Vesuvius and Stromboli it shall burst forth upon the astonished nations I make 110 prophecy, but all geologists tell us that we stand on the lid of a world, tho heart ol whl?h is a raging, roaring, awful flame, and some day God will let tbo red monsters out of their imprisonment of centuries, and New York on Are in 1835, ana unar;estou on nro m iou.-j, ;iuu omwco ou lire iu 1872, and Boston oa tire in 1873 wero only, like one spark from a blncKsmith's forge uh compared with that last universal blase which will be seen in other worlds. But gradually tho.,' Humes will lessen, and tho worjd TTliii become a great living coal, aud Ahjra will take on ashen hue, and then oui cruiuft* plauet will begin t>> smolco, and tha^aipunt aius will smoke, and tbu valleys svllt&rnoke, and tbe islands will smoke, and,the seas will smoke, and tbe cities -will smoke* andtbe live continents will be five plIlurB of smoke. But tbe black vapors will bogla to lessen in height and density, and then will become hardly visible to those who look upon it from the 9ky galleries, and after awhile from just one polut tbere will curl up a thin, solitary vapor, and tbeu even that will vanish, and there will be nothing left except the charred ruins of a burncH out world, the corpse of a dead stang^H allies of an extinguished pianst, a^Hn pillar of smoke. But that will not interfere with^H89B| vestments if you have taken Chr^^^SHH Saviour. Secure beaven as yo^^K^gBf home, und you can look dowu^^^BBSS mantled, dlsiui*.>d and without anv perturbation. flHHH IKE GREAT DESTROYER, 30VIE STARTLINC FACTS ABOUT THE VICE OF INTEMPERANCE. Oil! For a Wanliincton?Theatre* to Help Stop Drunkenness ? Awe-tnaplrlnc Piny*?Horrible Seen ex of Drunkard" Demi* to Tench Temperance. Oh! for the patriot's spirit now To battle for the right; Ob! for a Washington to lead Our armies In the fight; Oh! for a victory over wrong; Oh! for the time to come When we shall celebrate the day Our nation conquered ruin. Novel Means to Combat Itnrn. Intoxication is so alarmingly on the increase in Belgium that tlie authorities are at their wit9' end to discover some method of checking its growth. It i9 asserted that in Brussels and in the rural places every other man is a drunkard. In Antwerp alcoholism is cot so prevalent, but it is tad enough even there. It is feared that the national life is in danger, and the Government is thoroughly aroused because of the seriousness of the situation. The prohibition element, which is very small, is doing all it can in an evangelical way, butjs not especially successful in Its labors, me latesc oraer 01 me uoverument in the matter directs that in Antwerp, Brussels and In the rural towns the professional and amateur theatrical talent are to devote one night a week to plays that teach temperance. All of the theatres aro;oxdered to reserve one night for preaching 'from the stage through the medium of a play, and many of the leading playwrights ofythe country have been asked to prepare dramas depicting the fearful oursro brought upon the people through alcohols , . y It is suggested that in the plays pro-, duced on "Alcohol Nlght9" there shall be scenea illustrating the degradation and ' misery resulting from drinK; "showing homes, wherein father or mother, or both . are drunkards, and little children are suffering frofci their drunken fury and their neglect; de&fiteating "the horrors of delirium tremens* and murders in the frenzy of intoxication, and to,be especially particular to make prominent tbe offensive and awful side of the use of intoxicants by women and girls. Tho matter has been taken up with eh-! orgy In Brussols. and here the walls -and every possible place where a poster can be placed is adorned witty pictures of scenes of horror from the "alcohol" playp. Warnings In big prints und placards of various kinds are to derio everywhere. Of course, the unsympathetic scoff at this parental effort of the Government of Belgium to uplift the people and save the nation from degeneration. It is too early now to say howmuch'good will come oujt of this extraordinary war on drink, but the authorities are sanguine that a great work will be doue. 1 JDrankenoett. J>xaitkeiincss Everywhere. In Princeton Henry Cunulngham gdt <*?Anoi1 lifa Jinnafl fnr hfu bottle. He overturned a Iam|> and was burned to deatb. John Kane, after swearing solemnly that bo would never again touch liquor, drank himself Into convulsions and died, strapped to a cot in Bellevue, with wife and thre'e. children wailing about him. Mrs. Emilv Bigelow, wearing dinmonds ouough to lit oat a showcase, and with a bank-book showing a balanco of $39,000,, tried to spend it all for liquor. 8he wag* found drunk in the ptreet* crying, "GriiW me a drink or I shall go acazy." /"J Drunkenness; drunkenness, drnqkenaesff' everywhere and on all sides. The police stations are Oiled with it, the courts ere swamped with it, the country is cursed with' it. It seems to be a national failing without a national cause. We are prosperous. Therefore it cannot have hopelessness for a starter. Wo are a hard working and wealthy nation. Therefore poverty cannot be tho general incentive. Our Puritan ancestor* were not drunkards. isuc cue strum oi uruuscuura: exists, and, strange to say, it is regarded by drinkere themselves not as a Habit, but a recreation.?New York Journal. EflecU of Social Drlukini;. People do not need to become drunkard* to do prreat barm in this field. After a quarter of a century of industry the family discovers mnny social privileges denied them, because tbe father indulged daily in a few glasses of beer. But for such prac.Ices, how much more widespread would be the uses and delights of education? The childreu have been forced to leave school before they otherwise would; thoy have to go to work beforo they aro able to appreciate good literature and thus its ennobling influences are wholly lost to them. Tiiftir minds remain woali and unstable audthey seek pleasure in light and* trifling nmusotnents. The effect of this in arresting development of strength of character can not be doubted, vwe see I traces of it everyday ii the faces^of,' bfQv dreds who have never themselves been addicted to the use of intoxicants. This is one of the most awftil charges against intemperance, and it is due more to what nre often called temperate habits than to drunkennoss. How much of joy andsweetness and power Is thus denied us! Hov | urgont the demaud for total abstinence! A Great Editor on Drinking. , "It would b9 well for every Frenchman ; to rise every morning with ttie thought that he belongs to the raca thut consumes the most alcohol. "Alcohol Is death to the racs. "Alcohol will kill the Europeans as it killed the Indians iu North America. "Alcohol taeaas disease, means tuberculosis-, means decay, sterility, impotence. "Alcobdl la another word for wickedness, cruelty, vice aud Insanity. "Alcohol means misery, downfall of nations. "Tne best way to prove patriotism, and to be useful to one's oountry is to lUht against alcoholism."?Editorial iu the Par Is Figaro, most largely circulated paper in France. The God of To-iUy. Lady Somerset, in speaking recently of the* $1,150,000,000 of English capital invested in breweries, said: "The god of to-day is six por cent. To secure the investment of their funds in stocks that will pay high rates, is the sole aim of too mauy whoso first prayer ought to be the elevation of their age and race. Under the stimulus of these great compani?3, which are composed of such respeotabie elements, drunkenness has increased in many English communities from twenty-two to thirty-six-pe; ;ent." making; Klind Boys Drunk. The managers of tho institution for tho blind in Columbus, Ohio, are exceedingly troubled over tho fact that the boys who are inmates of their /nstiiutiou are being nticad into the saloons of Columbus on Sunday when they have been allowed to go outside of the Institution to attend church, und are there being made drunk. The Crusade In Uriel. It is estimated that in England on/1 io j every 1000 persons is arrested for drunkenuoss and fined and imprisoned. A Good Templar District Lo ig? has been 1 instituted for Ceylo'i, when* tha order inJ eludes naval, military, civilian and native members. 1 Tho City Connrll o? Rjdwood Fails, Minn., has passed an ordinance to remove alfeBdreens or other obstruettonsto the pubUovlQw 'a saloons ou Sundrfjg. .. fcUft&ovra Supreme Court"%asv decide 1 ,tlwt*&y. persju who obtains liquor for a drunkard is as guilty of -violating ; a liquor^d^ouler^w.Uo soils the muannuolnc fl All | Artfj LiRfl/I R ft in f> fl. . A UUjf II UII. u UB, hub u Itimn n drunltea mau lylus ';i the frutier In Trout of It, lie opened the doer ;iadaaid: "Mister, your alga's fell do vn." The saloon keeper chased hfm half tirouud the square. 4alngl? vessel 3:iiliup from the port of Boston has taken oae hundred itud thirtyone thoasufcd gallons of rum to Africa, ;iul reports bave.oome of snips carrying ;ygfl gfe missionary ant^^^^ulred t THE SABBATH SCHOOL. INTERNATIONAL LESSON COMMENTS FOR JANUARY 7. Vfcfojcct: TIio Birth of Ltikn ii.. 116?Coition T?-xt: Matt. i.t ~ 1?Memory V??r.?e?, S-l 1 ? Coinnienlary on th? Day'# I.eaaon. l>T3o:?ct.Tio>\?Six months nnsg away ifter tho birth of John, tho foreruaner, find theu oomcs the birth of Jesus, the Messiah. the most important eveut iu tho world's history. Our lesson begins with great majesty as it rofers to the Emperor Augustas, "at whoso feet lay the whole known world, and to whose commnml obedience was rendered iu every country, and city, and village." It theu descends to tell of the obscure birth of an infant, in one of the incst obscure towns, in an ob. curo province; but it rises again into greater maje3ty as it describes the multllude of heavenly visitants who announce the glory and greatness of the child. 1. "In those days." That is about the time John the Baptist was born and the events took place as related in tho preceding chapter. "Caesar Augustus." The (Irst or tho Koman emperors. "All tho world." All of the Romau world. At that time tho ltoman empire extended further than ever before, or tban it has since, and was called "the empire of the whole earth." "Taxed." Enrolled, or registered, probably with a vie^w to.taxing. . . 2. "First made.'VTlt seems there were two onrollmeats,- "Cyryilus." Or Quir,.? inins., There ft a chronological difficulty here. Qairlnius was Governor ot Syria in A. Ik8, ten'years lbter than this,, and at that'tlmehe toolc a census to which St. Luke refers fn Acts 5: 37. ^Maay T explications have been suggested. The most satisfactory explanation ot the matter seems to be )Uat Quirlntus was twice Gh>yernor ot Syirta, In B. C. 4, as well as la ti i>. 6. This Ka a ?all lot 3CDIU9 IV VD "lOil VDkaUl V0UOU (Utk. *3. ''Into bis pwu city." The Roman custom was to enrol persons at the place of residence, but the Jewish custon*1''required tbe enrolment to take place id the native city. 4, "Went up." From Galilee to tho much more elevated region of' Bethlehem. ,"Citv of David." Wiipre Dnyld was bom. 5. "With Mary.". It Is uncertain whether her presence was obligatory .or voluntary, bat It Is obvious that, afterj^vhat she hacl suffered (JIatt. 1:19), she-choae to clini; to 1 the presence and protection; of her husbahd. "Espoused wlte/^Bette'r; *'who wa3 'betrothed to him." ? v6,. "While there." , C?3ar Augustus was hat an Instrument In the'h?nd of Providence to folftll the prophecy Of Micah (chap. 5:2) with respect to the birth-place xot the Messiah, v " 'jgM' 7. "Her ilrst-born son.?' .Kiat excellent I and glorious person, who wa*the flrs'-born of every creature, and the. h0lr a11 things; whom all tho 'fU^t-b'oca in the Old Testament preffgUrafc \whom tbo angels adore (HeD. 1:6); and Ito whom those that believe become the jirst-lborn and tbe flrsttraits of God's creators. "In a manger." Probably some. dr grotto used for sheltering cattle, >nod perhaps belonging to the *ame shepherds to whom the "plnd tidings", werejfltst brought. "God and roan; tbe old aM hftTT covenants; heavoa and earth, me?c lyiuaaanger." Tne only person who had thtjil vilest of chocsing Ills Dlrttiplac&J:Cbi??vto bo born la a mangar; itivffiT-rA. square erection, opeu inside, wfrera travelers put up, ami whose tear portions -wore used as stables." ^,8. "Satfad country." Near, ptobably not mj^ ivfiy. ^Shepherds." It was vary proper that the announcement should be jtnadoto shepherds/ Abraham and David, f to whom the promise o' t&e Messiah was ^flrstmade, were shepherds, and now the Chlor Shepherd is about to appearand tho i shepherds are the first to receive the clad news. "Iu the field." They undoubtedly had tents or booths under which they dwelt. "Keoplng watch....by night.'* Or. "keeping uightwatche3." They watched by turns, against wild beasts and robbers. The (act that the shepherds were in the fields affords no ground for concluding 1 that the nativity could not have taken i place in tho winter. Tho average tempera, j tnre at Jerusalem for Ave years was, in I December, fifty-four degrees. 9. "Augel." Diviue messenger. "Carr.a upon tliem." Stood over them. "Glory of tbo Lord." That extreme splendor In which the Deity is represented as appearing to men, and sometimes called the Shej ohinah?an appsaranco frequently attend I ed. as in this case, by it company of angels. ; It is likely that the angel appeared la the I air at some littio distance above them, and j that from Him the rays o( the glory of the i Lord shone round about them,as the ray? 1 of light are projected from the sun. "Sore I afraid." "Terrilted with the appearauce ; of so glorious a being." Thero la no prool i here that tho shepherds were morally imj pure and afraid that divine justice was r about to be meted out to them. Even holy ! men tremblo when thoy come in contact jwith the supernatural. 10. "Good tlilings." "The literal meaning of Gospel." I am come to declare the loving-kindness of the Lord. My message i will cause great joy. It is a message to you I'(Jews) first, and it also reaches to "all the I people," R. V. To the whole human race See, Gen. 12:3; Mutt. 23:19; Lute 2:28-32; 24 11, 47: Col. l:2i-2S. 11. "Is boru." Isa. 9:5; John 1:14 j 'David's greater Son begins bis earthlj irutrux iu ins nuucoivi a uu.u^. outuit uuu ired years before, a prophet bad predicted the Messiah's birth at Bethlehem. MIc. 5 2." "A Savior."' (1) A deliverer. (2) A restorer. (3) A preserver. Matt. 1:21 "Not.shnll be u Savior,but 'horn a Savior.' * "Christ." The Anointed One. .Christ Is the Greek word correspondiijc to the He. brow word Jl'.'ssiab. Iu ancient times pro phots, priests aud kings were anointed with oil when set apart to their sacred work. "Christ was anointed for these holj offices, which wo may share with Him by His anointing us with the Holy Ghost.'"Christ is sufficiently qualitied to sustain these unspeakably important offices bccause He is "The L?rd." God, as well us man." ' 12. "A sign." The vory thiog thai would Ivivo rt'iiiDftil Hiarrt ivuo marla fhn sign unto them. Auy fear as to whether they may approach the naw-bora King and offer Him their homage is dispel 9 I by.the iutimatlon of Iii9 lowly condition, while their carnnl views of t lie nature of His klagdora aro thereby "Oti attracted. 13. ' A multitude." They descended to honor tbo Prince of Peace. "Heavenly host." The army or angeia which is renresonted R.5 3Urrou jdiug tlx* thronn of Qod. Sep 1 Kings 22:19: P.?a. 103:20,21: 119:2. 14. "J!ory....in th? highest." Christ is the highest glory of God. "On earth peace." Peacotoman: peace with God; peace of conscience. "Goodwill:" God ba3 shown His good will by sending the Messiah* < 15. "Let us now go." There is no time to lose. Let us go now. "Thi3 is the language of obedience, desiriug to receive assurance and strength." by seeing for themselves "this thing wiiich Is coma to pass." 1G. "With haste."' Filled and thrilled with holy joy they could not linger. "And found." "It is probable that by com muni< atini? their experiences to each othar their faith we? greatlv strengthened." BLOODHOUNDS FOR CANTON, OHIO. Dor* Purchased to Hunt Burglars and Footpad* Who Infest the City. Mayor James H. Robertson, of Canton, rtiiin ratnrnml from Chattanooga to Can ton a few days ago, having been la that Southern city to purchase two bloodhounds for the Polio* Department. The two animals have arrived and they cost the city $200. The purchase of the dogs by Canton's Mayor was authorized by the City Council, although the money to pay for them was raised by popular subscription. Tiie dogs are to bo kept by tho Police Department, ancLthe city will pay for their care. There tjfcve been numerous pe tty burglaries In Canton for several mouths. Holdups have been of almost nightly occurrence, and the police have beui unable to run-in and convict any of the footpads and beggars. Popular indignation has existed for several weeks. Commissioner GOD'S MESSAGE TO MAN. precnant thouchts from the world's createst prophets. fio Modern Saint? Weed* Come from Not Weeding ? The ]Y1 Inintration of A Uhavop fnr Turoui' rirAlVth-, Life It Love and Service. Mo monkish garb he wears, no beads he tells, Nor is Immured in walls remote from strife. Bat from bis heart deep mercy ever wells; He locks humanely forth on human life. Cn place of missals or of altar dreams He cons the passioned book of deeds and days; Striving to cast the comforting sweet beam3 Of charity on dark and noisome ways. Not hedged about by sacerdotal rule, He walks a fellow of the scarred and weak; Liberal and wise his gifts; be goes to school To Justice, and he turns tH other cheek. He looks not holy; simple is nis belief; His creed, for mystic visions, do not scan: His face showo lines cut there by others' grief Aud in his eyes b lovo of brother-man. Not self nor self-salvation la his care; He yearns to make the world a sunnier clime To live in, and his mission everywhere Is strangely like to Christ's in olden time. I N . ' No medieval mystery, no crowned Dim figure halo-ringed, uncanny bright; & modern saint! A man who treads earth's ground Ana ministers to men with all his might. ?Bichard Burton, in The Independent. Weed* Como from Not Weeding. ,Wbat tor.gb, sturdy, impudent things weeds ate! There is the flaunting poppy, turning its scarlet face up to heaven and refusing to icok at the com?such a plain creature, it ought to be ashamed of itself. And^the charlock laughs at the trembling stalk. "You golden, indeed! Here, let me show myself. Jt is really a pity that the sun should waste bis thiuiDg upon you." And !;ere stands the haughty thistle, thrusting the corn aside with its prickly arms, I and nodding its h?>ad jauntily to the Wg I bumble-bee. "Glad to see you," said the | thistle. ' You can get something out of me, | but I can't think, for my part, what anybody I can see to admire in the corn." "Nor fI, j either." says the bumble-bee, a9 he flies away. "What is thisV" cries the Lord or the J Harvest. "Hero I should have a crop. This fleld that ought to have yielded sixtyfold at least, is full of weeds." "Please, sir, I did not do anything." says the servant, quite satisfied that it is no fault of his. "I did not plunt them." ' Plant them," says the Master. "Plant them. What impudence! NOj indeedbut you neglected to pull them up!" My friends, weeds are not things that people Call sins. They are not actual offences | of which you can say that this is wrong and that. Weeds come from not weeding. It is neglect, and yot that may bring about a condition of things as bad as if the plowman bad never turned a furrow, and the sower bad never cast the seed. ' But," says the servant, "they come of themselves. The soil is so rich,and we have had so much inin and then so much sunshine that tb?y have flourished wonderfully." '-Worse and wotee," says thti Muster. "'The soil that grows such weeds ought to grow good corn: and the rain and the sunshine that have been spent upon them would have brought in a good harvest." No. there is no excuse. You may talk of your peculiarities and circumstances and difficulties. A man who does so much in the Vworld ought to be some good in the church. Dear friends, there is no excuse. If you and I do belong to God and havo received the good seed, nothing in the world will exI f use our not bringing forth good fruit.? j M;:rk GuyPearse. In Horailetie. The Ministration of Grief. It is not always true that they who have experienced no deep sorrows are incapable of true und deep sympathy with the griefs of others. Sometimes they enter most appreciatively into the feelings of their Tini- -is tli? rule, thev who look upon suffering only from the outside fuii to grasp its fullest significance, and their sympathy is more an expression of kindly feeling than of genuine"comprehension aud fellowship. Personal experience of suffering unquestionably deepens dXfcsympathitos.and for this reason undoubtedly^rMar no other, we are olten called upon to sufferr*-&o one can do the largest possible work in a w??;ld in which suffering holds so prominent'!*, place who is not qualified to minister with pertineut and powerful appreciation to those in trouble. No one's character is well rounded, no one's experience of life sufficiently contprehensive. no one's sense of personal insignificance and of entire dependence upon divine support is what it needs to be, until the finger of sorrow has | been laid upon life with its always painful i nn<i nftpn atincrin?. vet in the end ennobling touch. A I' ayer for I.arjjer Orowtli. Spirit of vue living God, by whom all truth and wisdom come to light, so quicken, wa beseech thee, the minds and hearts of thy servants who gather to take counsel together that ail their deliberations may be for the glory of Christ acd the upbuilding of his kingdom. May all who speak be taught of thee. May all who bear listen with an attentive and teachable spirit. Kemember the needs of the churches, and build them up in a fruit-bearing faith and rlghteou.snt.ss. Show thou thou the way in ail perplexities. { and give thy servants quick and discerning j minds. In sympathy and forvmt zeal, with J love of the truth, as of those whom Christ | has made free, and rejoicing in a common hope may all their work and thought be acceptable in thy sight and profitable for the help of thy people. Bless and quicken I abundantly the whole church of Christ. 1 May all its members be imbued with a deeper sense of the presence of thy spirit, a fuller joy in tb3 communion of saints, a truer vision of tne power and unity or truth. And this wo ask through Jesus Cbri9t our Lord. Amen. Life Is Lov j and Service. The days go. but the pain and sorrow stay, ami yei someinmg eise, wuicb is uui paiu and is not sorrow, comes and stays,and that is the assurance and the certainty of things invisible. Hopes dashed and buried spring up in immortelles. Music bushed here, and, hark! the echoes come, soft and still and clear, from a land which is not far off. The life, the soul, that was in the fac.e tbat greeted us but juat now, stUl is, and needs not longer earth's fine clay to shrne through. Life is endurance; it is also aspiration; it is also love and service. Ah! wo may be glad and thankful th.it some things never die. The dear one who has gone has not gone out of life, but into lifo; not finished, but just commenced the service she was born for.?Kate Sanborn, in "S arlight Calendar.'* No Death but Change. Make life what it has In it to be. In disjipleuhip to this great Christ do a strong manly or womanly part; accept the mercies that come with a glad thankfulness; take hold of work and duty with a firm, h?arty grip: in ail life's intercourse, whether of hom? or in the busy world, fulfil a loving, aelpful part, and let your heart go out towards that greater life of Ood, out of which ours comes, and which is with us I iiivmv <\n<1 th,.n thnll f,ifrt tea strfiiirthen I III1 II ing, gn-ateiiiny. all the way; aud there f.hall be no death, but only, some day, just as t!ie iiiWf n[ hfing briuj: it, a change, u pacing 3n, and tl.o uospoki-u- word to "come up fitehor" into the next aud tlni'r atavje ot thi.j j ROuJorful "Life."?lirooke Hurford. D. D, 'apali btHiupn Out 1l?e i'lnjiue. The Japanese authorities are receiving great praise lot: ilio spued aud skill wiiu wliieh tliey have stamped out tlie bubouiu plague. Ttie disease was not spread bevond Um^hvcu Remarkable^H^^ffln^HSMB in^^HBHHH II linUBilUUS Ul ? Uiuuwv.? For Service In Month Afrlci^^^H^Hc don to Equip a Corp*. j London (By Cable).?Whatever may be goinR on at the seat of war, there la an outburst of patriotic enthusiasm in England nnd Scotland worthy of the noblest tradN tlons of the Elizabethan era. The Mlnt?> cers have appealed to the nation for men to fight the battle of the empire in South Africa, and the response is fairly electric. Battalion after battalion of militia is \ jlunteerlng for foreign service. Lord Chesham is enlisting a body of three thousand yeomanry cavalry, and the number can be doubled. London regiments of the volunteer force are ready to provide fifty thousand trained citizen soldiers at short notice, and from England, Wales, Scotland aud North Ireland oome offers by which that number of volunteers can be trebled. The fibre of British patriotism is as strong and genuine as It was. in the time of the Spanish Armada. There are no signs of flinching in any quarter from the defence of the empire. The ministers have put the nation on Its mettle, anil can now pick and ch6oas the men they Want and hold immense reserves behind for future draft?. Mr. Goschen reports that the Admiralty has already nrovlded sea transoort for 129,000 troop? of all arms to South. Africa. Another 120,000 are available If the Minis* ters need them. . The War Office, while embarrassed by the spirit an l fervor of this national uprising, is going methodically about the work of reinforcing the British army now under lire. The Seventh and Eighth divisions will be mobilized like the previous divisions, with urmy reservists. In this way what remains of the army reserve, nominally 78,000 men, will be brought Into active servloe. Nine battalions of militia will be sent to Africa out of the twenty-four embodied, the preference being shown for artillerymen. How large a force of volunteers will be employed is not yet determined, but artillerymen again will bespecially favored, and also the best marksmen among the riflemen. The yeomanry force bare'.y exceeds ten thousand, but the War Office will take all these sturdy rural cavalrymen It can get. | It will also encourage enlistment of the i mounted lorces in uanaua ami oiuor uuionies and avail itself fully of assistance from the loyalists of Cape Colony and I Natal. To what extent India will be nl| lowed to co-operate in the defence of the | empire is unknown. At a meeting of the Corporation of the | City of London 8150,000 was donated toi ward equipping a special corps of 1000 volunteers for service in South Africa. It was resolved to confer the freedom of the city on each volunteer, following the precedent of 1759. Australia Sends Iloapltal Corps. Sydset, N. S. W. (By Cable).?The Government of this colony has decided to send a field hospital corps and a battery of artillery td .South Africa In addition to the mounted contingent. FIRES COST EIGHT LIVES. Two Disastrous Tenement Blazes In New York City. New Yof.k Citv (Special).?Eight persons mot death In two tenement house flres which occurred in the city a few days ago. Several more persons were burned and otherwise Injured. Six of the dead aod all of the injured were victims of a Are which nearly gutted tlie five-story double tenement house at the southeast corner of Third avenue and 102d street, known as the Mentor. That the loss of life was not greater wa3 due to the splendid work of the firemen, who were on the scene in an incredibly short time and effected heroic rescues by means of their scaling and extension ladders. The list of dead in the Third avenue fire is as follows: Patrick Barrett, thirty-three years old, laborer; Mrs. Patrick Barrett, twenty-seven years old; Julia Barrett, six years old; Mary Barrett, nine years old; Richard Nickerson, bricklayer, and an unknown woman. "TN,The other flro occurred in a Tenth aventv*. tenement. It started in ash barrels on Miq first floor, and quickly swept through the entire building. The many inmates of tins place made their way to the roof and to the rear fire escapes, and, though the confusioH-^asgreat, It was believed all had escaped uBtSt&e flames had been extinguished. Then i found Mrs. Fox, with her child arras, on the stairway of the third floor. They had been smothered to death by the smoke. LYNCHING FOLLOWS MURDER. Necro "Workman in Pennsylvania I? Chased and Shot by a Mob. Dunbab, Penn. (Special).--Sanford White, Superintendent of Construction for the< \Y. J. Rainey Coke Company at Mount Braddock works, w.is shot by Calob Pierce, a negro laborer, and died while being ] taken to the hospital. The murderer fled for the hills followed by a c rowd of .citizens and workmen and Anally overtaken and shot seven times. Pierce was chased for two miles before his pursuers came within shooting distance. The negro held his revolver in his hand as the mob rushed up. He dropped the revolvor and begged his captors not to lynch him. With an oath one of the mob shot him and a fusillade of bullets followed. Tho same men who had done the shootiDg improvised a atretcberandstarted to carry Pierce back to the hospital. He died on the way. Sanford White was fifty years of age and ?leaves several children. He was very popular with the workmen. Pierce, the murdarm ( ame to Mount Braddock recently from Virginia. Elephant Kills HI* Trainer. Patsy Forepaugb, trainer for Forepaugb and Sell's circus, was killed At Columbus, Ohio, a few days ago, by an elephant belonging to the circus and known as Sid. Forepaugh was trylnsr to get the elephant to ko to another part of the building where the elephants were, but Sid was sulky and refused to obey. Forepaugh sunk a hook into tola trunk which greatly angered the elephant. Forepausjh was seized in tha elephant's trunk and thrown to the ground with great violence. Sid tiieu placed hia forefoot upon Forepaugh, and throwing UU weight upon him crushed his life out. Advance In Price of Stove?. An advance of a full twenty-flve pei cent, in the price of stoves and ranges bus baen decided on by the Association of i Stove Manufacturers in session at Chicago, j TLp advance will take effect January 1. It is claimed the advauce was made necessary Dy the increased prices of iron and titeeJ. .!*nmi Slcrn* The Hacue Convention. Tho Japanese envoy at The Hague, HoiI.md, ou behalf of tho Mikado, has signed all the conventions of the International Poaco Conference. I)c\rey Wants this a pro^HB^^nn^B|n one-half velocity of^HHHH^^^B^H ond. The recoil of thM^^B^HHBHS checked by means o^Q^HB^^BEjH brake, a spring cylinder andllH^^H^H spade on the trail. ' The breech mechanism is on^^l^H modified Schneider system, which Crnesot works have adopted for alj their qnick firing field gnns. It is o! a screw pattern, working with onlj one movement. The rapidity of flr< I is from eight'to ten shots a minnta The shrapnel shell especially designer for the gnn contains 254 bnllets ani a bursting charge of ninety graina A.t the maziihum angle of twenty d? grees the range of the projectile is n< * less than five miles. '* The wheel gauge of the gun car riage and limber is only three feel six inches. The gan, however, grest# in the axletree in a manner that re> duces the firing shock and gives the carriage the stability required io j spite of the narrow width be^ees -jfry ! wheels. When limbered up thegru? jjflj j is kept in the same horizontal plant , as the trail, which is an interesting 1 innovation, bnt one that seemB tc <> J justify the designer's idea?that thf 'Yi '< ! muzzle of the gun will thus be car: f*:- ' ! ried well above ground, and that it : will not get choked up or knocked | about when tho battery is manoeuT j ring over rough ground. j The gun is constructed of forge^ ; and tempered steel, and is subjectec to the same tests as those imposed bj the French War Office. Its total length is eight feet two inches, and its weight about six hundred pounds. The body of the gun includes three component parts?a tube in which the breech is screwed, a ring masking this tube, and a steel band forming i the outside shell of the gun and hold<< ! iug the whole together. \ As already hinted, the breech mechanism is beautifully simple. Ona ? y'* turn of a lever fixed Closed to the axle- y tree undoes the breech screw and opens the chamber. Again, this / i : J i. N LLiuuLinuiBUi uuco uuii rc^uuo ^ number of intricate pieces. Tlie few / there are are simplo and strong, work easily by hand without the employment of any tool, and are placed in positions where they are least likely to be accidentally injured or struok by stray bullets. Tho piece is actu< ally discharged by means of a percus sion fusing apparatus that works automatically, while a subsidiary electrical device is also carried. In lyirg for elevation in the bat tery position the gun and the cradle on which it rests are balanced by the limber?that is to say, the gun comet into action limbered up. Later*!* direction is obtained in the usual way . by the aid of a traversing lever, a business much simplified by the addi?, tion of two little backsights half way . iown the gun, which enables the ao :uracy of tne aim to be louowea who ?ach discharge. - Tampon Inland's Aquatic C?t?. 'I read a description the other day >f the retrieving cat owned by a sportsnan on Metairie Ridge," said a planter :rom the South coast, "and while th? ?ase was certainly remarkable it is completely eclipsed, in my opinion, by a family of swimming cats owned by > Captain Bosco, of Tarpon Island. ? Bosco is well knownin New j Orleans, wn<.-^ I to do some j popular with the cimq ihat^^hjj^ down to the Tarpon Club for periodt^^JP cal ontings. He is the kingpin fisher* ' ! man of Bay Adams and as quaint and J original a character as you could find : on tue wnoie coasi. nis Bwimmmg cats, about which I started to tell yon,. belong to a feline tribe that has lived at the captain's place from time oat of mind. There are at present, perhaps, a dozen all told, and they have apparently lost every vestige of the , natural antipathy of their species for wal.er. They will wade unhesitatingly through the shallows on the beach, hunting for small fish, aud three or four will actually swim out to nearby luggers to get oysters. Like all cats they are very fond of .that kind of food, and when the drain's lugger in from a visit to the beds sev eval of them are certain to jump off the landing and swim to where it lies at auchor. It ia very strange to se"e them come scrambling on board, mewiug and shaking themselves and seemingly as indifferent to the wetting as so many setter puppies. How they developed such an extraordinary trait I don't pretend to say, but it has probably been a matter of gradual evolution. Captain Bosco doesn't romember when his cats began to go in to the water, but it was many years ago, and with each generation the natural aversion must have become fainter and fainter. It wouldn't surprise me if they developed web feet in the course of time."?New Orleans Times-Democrat. Feminine FlnaucIerCuK. ' That women are the best financiers of the world we have ofteu had opportunity to acknowledge, says the Honolulu Independent. We liavoseon them at the auction sales wheu they made a "bargain" by buying au article they had no use for whatever, aud we have seeng^^M them haggling over the pri^^y^M^^^H a r a<1n LUL I* M. W