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# THE WOODLAND CAMP. 'There is a spot where the nlumy pines "O'erliang the sylvan baiiKs of Otter; IVVherc pigeons feed among the vines That hang above the limpid water. 'There wood-ducks build in hollow trees, And herons among the matted sedges, While drifting on the summer bree/e Float satin clouds with silver edges. *' 'Tis there the bluejay hides her nest, In thickest shade of drooping bushes, The fish-hawk, statue-like in rest. Stands guard o'er glassy pools anu reaches. The trout beneath the grassy brink. * Looks out for shipwrecked liics ana midges. The red deer conies in search of drink From laurel brake and woodland ridges. ""Beneath a hemlock prim and dark Where shrub and vine are intertwining, Our shanty stands well roofed with baric, In which a cheerful fire is shining. The smoke ascends in spiral wreaths. With upward curves the sparks are trending. The coffee kettle sings beneath. Whore smoke and sparks and leaves are blending." ?Forest and Stream. \ 1 Held For Ransom. I r r was evening among il ^trie "olive-sandaled ^ gUshinan and his 1 1 VH^e* ^ad climbed 1 3xf I tlie 8teeP ^ ^ru* fj SS I cis, and,seated upon i-jLimr | a projecting rock, / Pl$ / were entrance(i by / |the bewildering HI ^Ue tlle Medi" m u /v i terranean. jluc v; breeze from the JI bills was ruffling the blue into purple, and. further off, where the sea was silvery green, the distant mountains of Corsica rose fatnt" ly from its breast. ' Jack," continued Cathcart, turning to his valet, "an hour hence it will be dark and we have not yet struck upon the hospice of San Columbo, where we thought of spending the night." - | "We are on the right J&th," said the; valet, "of that I am sure; but threa good miles have yet to be done fore we get shelter." "Th^n we had better go on. Th$ shadows are beginning to darken the yallpys with their gloom." "That is not our way," said * the valet. "It is an unfrequented pa&$ You can see, sir, there arp no footsttfflr on it"' Cathcart examined the two paths, -and after some thought said: "Jack, you are rig||t, I think.* The route selected led into a narrow gorge overhung by frowning precipices. Twilight soon faded away and Hg&rkness gradually encompassed travelers. Cathcart was a brave man and cared little for danger; bat Jack, the valet,, began to/grow uneasy at the situation. Two or three times they saw a dim Hgnt m tae^istance, out merely for a moment. This was the only indication they had of life until a low whistle startled them. "Did you hear that?" asked Catlicart. as he turned round and peered into the darkness behind. "There are no brigands here: so the innkeeper told me. Indeed, I have left my pistol behind me." "Let us make off:" cried the valet. "Xo," said C'athcart, firmly. "We must stand our ground. Here they come." As he siK>ke two men of dark visage i came up. They wore long, loose cloaks and slouched hats. "We have lost our way," said Cathcart to the strangers. "Can you point out the path to San Columbo?" "We can." answered both of the .voices. "This is the road.",-.. All journeyed on together, Enrico, as one of the strangers called himself, beguiled the way with song until he reached a mountain cavern. "We are :it S:in Columbo," he said. "Giotto handcuff these men." And Enrico produced a heavy horse-pistol, and threatened to shoot at the tirst man who made any resistance. Cat heart and the valet were led man_ acled into the mountain gorge, and. making a gradual descent, they found themselves in an isolated hollow. Around a bright wood tire were scattered a motley group in strange costumes. Four sinister-looking ruffians were lounging on the grass. Two or three were attending to the horses. An ucly. haggard old woman, like a Pythian sorceress, stirred a pot which hung V?t l I tic 1UU. "We have really fallen into the hamls of robbers, Jack," whispered Cathcart. In an instant the prisoners were surrounded hy the whole group. "Art thou an Englishman?" asked Enrico. ma. "I am," said Cathcart. "Then thou art rich like all thy countrymen, and thou canst afford to pay a good price for thy ransom, r.ruthers!" he added, "what's to be the . ransom V" "Five thousand crowns." chorused the whole gang All Cat heart's valuables were taken from him, but he was allowed to keep a small portrait, which he earnestly begged he might be allowed to retain. Three days were given to Cathcart wherein to pay his ransom, and lu* and his valet were left alone by the lire. As the prisoners talked over the sit nation a young gin appeared upon the scene, briujiin.^ them some food. There was an air of tenderness and compassion upon her face as she gazed on the captives which inspired them with hope. "IIow conies one so beautiful as you among these mountain wilds':" asked Cat heart. "My fa!her is the captain of our band," she answered, "and I wait upon his fortune, though I little like our life." Three days passed alternately in bone si ml desnair, Teresa becomiue hourly more friendly with Cathcart. Tin* ran.-'om was not furthcoming, anil threats of violence had bom muttered more than once, in menacing toiH'S. Catheart could easily see that his situation was critical, and was at a his-; to know the cause of the mysterious delay. l>u tiie tiltii night of his imprisonment he sat moodily at tho lire. Ilis memory reverted to his wife, and he opened the locket containing her portrait. .While gazing at it Teresa entered. and. Touching Cat heart upon the shoulder. she said, with sudden surprise: 'lyio is that beautiful lady? The face is not strange to mo." "That,** he said, "is the portrait of my wife, Anina." Your wife! She ^as my best friena when I was ill in Rome. She tended me in the hospital; she supported me during the weary months of cohvales cenco. Slip was more than a mother to mo. You must not suffer, for her sake alone. I came to tell you that the Government troops have been j scouring the hills. To-morrow, should tliey approach, you might be made away with. You must fly to-night." "Fly!" said Catlieart. "Wo are watched and guarded." "Fortune favors your escape to night." she said. jymy birthday. and before an MiuS^es^flMre will be high carnival here. You will be asked to drink. Do not refuse; but the cups of all the other*" shall be drugged. When they sleep we shall set pff. Will you put yourself to lily hands?" "Certainly," said Catlieart. "You are as noble as you are beautiful." , Amid the wild revel of the birthnight celebration Cathcart's heart trembled "within him. What was Teresa doing? Did she repent of her promise While these thoughts occupied Cathcart Teresa reproached Conrado with not having toasted her health that evening. Indescribable enthusiasm followed as Conrado tilled out a flagon. ' To Teresa, our beauty!" they said, as they drank the insidious draught. The deed was done. One by < ope the noisy brigands \ dropped to sleep, and Teresa beckoncd | to the prisoners to follow hor. ' They journeyed through the small j hours of the morning over many rugged. treeless steeps and through many windings of the mountains. The beautiful face of Teresa, her jubilant spirits, captivated the heart of the wjet. When they reached (lenoa, M^Mkbcart begged Teresa never again.,upturn to her mountain life. ?New"York News. An Antediluvian Fish In a Glacier. Slate Rish and Game Commissioner JttgBson *|g one of the oldest cowboys in the State. He is an exceptionally [entertaining talker and a man who in past years has been considered mod- j ( est,' truthful and kind to those easily ! induced to believe stories concerning ! ' rtoe beasts of the field and the fishes of j j fme seay j ( BuytM?,has apparently changed. This marnft^he claims to have seen a man w^wf^sk frozen in the ice in the , perpetual glacier of Long's Peak. I | "Thi^-^tory is a true one." said Mr. ' JohnatgL .for the man who told it to me w^t ?iciei:tl3t and "one of the most | prominent men in the country. His dfscoyery wfll be announced at Washington and a scientific investigation , may follow. J3e tells me the fish ap- i pears to bg^bout eighteen feet in length, as shirty as one could estimate lookihg tficd^li a field glass." "But there are no fresh water fish j of su?h proportions." was ventured. j ' 'Tisn't a fresh water fish. It's a salt water fish." j i ' Rut how did it get there?" ' Easily enough to a fish man. That J fish has boon frozen in the ice glacier there ever since the time of the Flood, when all the land was inuu- j . dated. That is the reason the find is an important one."?Denver (Col.) j ' Times. Garlic Katera in tlie ('lilted State*. i , '"There are he twee u 2."0.000 and 300, j 000 pounds of garlic aunuallv con- j ] suuied hy Italian. French and other | foreign residents of the United States," ( said a wholesale dealer in the vegetable in New York City recently. "About three-quarters of the garlic eaten in the country is imported from Italy and j the rest is raised on farms in Connecti- i cut, in Louisiana, in Texas aud in | j New Mexico. All garlic, both import- i . ed and American, is put tip in strings i or bunches. The vegetable is put up ' in tl.at torui because it keeps better i and can he easier handled. The work | is done entirely by hand, and an ex- j i pert buncher can -put up irom 400 to j ."?()?) bunches a day. , "(Jariic comes in hampers containing about 110 pounds. It is sold by the 1 pound or by the bulb, which is worth one cent, in its commercial rorm ury garlic does not yield tlio strong smell i for which it is famous. When stacked 1 up in large quantities or packed in a J hamper, there is no noticeable odor from the vegetable. But if one of the several bulbs of which each set is com- j posed, and which are called cloves of , garlic are broken off and cut in two < the powerful and characteristic odor at once becomes perceptible."?Wash- , ingtou Slar. i How to Dentroy Monqultoen. ' Two and one-half hours arc re* J quired for a mosquito to develop from 1 its tirst stage, a speck resembling cholera bacteria, to its active and von- 1 onions maturity. , . "The insect in all its phases may i be instantly killed by contact with minute quantities of permanganate of potash. It is claimed that one part of this substance in l."00 of solution f distributed in mosquito marshes will * ? -i r\i% lum'OA im. tVIMKT I 111." lU'U'iujmum, vi tuw ?u* possible: that a handful of permanganate will oxidize a ton-acre swamp,kill 1 theemhryoinsectsand keep it freefrom organic matter for thirty days at a cost of twenty-live cents, that with care, :i whole State may he kept free of insect pests at -a small cost. An ellicious method is to scatter a few crystals widely apart. A single pinch of permanganate has killed all the germs in a thousand-gallon tank." It is generally believed that the filling in of marshes with ashes from cities, etc., prevents the development .of these pests. It is doubtless because the potash leaches from the ashes and like ;i solution of permanganate of potash renders the development of insect life impossible.?l'uhlic Health Jourmi 1. I nich Trier* For Chinese Tottery. In London recently very high prices were given for some pieces of Nankin pottery, the purchasers hoi 115 prohahly moved to unusual prodigality by a suspicion that after the present Chinese troubles shall have been sott.'ed such pottery will bo more than ever dillicult of procurement. Three vases, each ton inches high, brought $lli>5, and a pair of Jong-nccked bottles sold for *lUoO DR TALMAQE'S SEBMON. y SUNDAY'S DISCOURSE BY THE NOTED DIVINE. fiabjeet: The Kind of Religion That the World iseede?Only That Which Cornea Straight Down From Ileaveu Can Be of Benefit to Humanity. [CopyrlRht lHuu.1 Wasitingtox, d. u. ? from ivorway, whore Dr. Talmage is now staying, he sends the following discourse, in which he shows that the world can nev^r he benefited by a religion of human manufacture, which easily yields to one's surroundings, but must have a religion let down from heaven; text, Amos vii, 8: ''And the Lord said unto me, Amos, what secst thou? And I said, A plumb line." The solid masonrv of the world has for me a fascination. Walk about some of the triumphal arches and the cathedrals, 400 or 600 years old, and see them stand as erect as* when they were btiildnd, walls of great height, for centuries i?ot bending a quarter of an inch this way or that. So greatly honored were the masons who ouildcd these walls that they were free frm taxation t.nd called "free" jnasons. The trowel gets most of the credit for these buildings, and its clear ringing on stone and brick has sounded <tcoss the ages. Hut ther? is another implement of just as much importance as the trowel, and my text recognizes it. P.ricklayers and stonemasons and orpenters in the building ol walls use an instrument made of ? cord, at the end of which a lump of leatl is fastened. They drop it over the side of the wall, and, as the plummet naturally seeks the centre of gravity in the earth, the workman discovers where the wall recedes and where it bulges out and just what is the perpendicular. Our text represents God as standing on the wall of character, which the Israelites had built, and in that way tes.ting it, "And the Lord said unto me, Amos, what secst thou? And I said. A plumb line." XX'Uof it-nnfa ia afrrncrVif nn I and down religion. Much of the so-called piety of the day bends this way anil that to suit the times. It is oblique, with a low state of sentiment and morals. We have all been building a wall of character, and it is glaringly imperfect and needs reconstruction. How shall it be brought into perpendicular? Only by the divine measurement. "And the Lord said unto me, Amos, what seegt thou? And 1 said, A plumb line." The whole tendency of the times is to make us act by the standard of what oth- ( era do. We throw over the wall of our character the tangled plumb line of other lives and reject the infallible, test which Amos saw. The question for me should not be what you think is right, but what God thinks is right. This perpetual refer- ' cnce to the behavior of others, ns though ( it decided anything but human fallibility, is a mistake as wide as the world. There arc 10,000 plumb lines in use, but only one is true and exact, and that is the line of , God's eternal right. There is a mighfv at- \ temnt being made to reconstruct ana fix ] up the Ten Commandments. To many they , seem too rigid. The tower of Pisa leans , over about thirteen feet frt>ra the perpen- < dicular. and people go thousands of miles j to see its graceful inclination and tolearn j how, by extra braces and various arebftW*" | tural contrivances, it is Kept leaning irom century to century. Why not have tne ten \ granite blocks of Sinai set a little aslant? , Why not have the pillar of trujh a lean- , ing tower? Why is not an ellipse as good ! as a square? Why is not an oblique as J good as straight up and down? Mv , friends, we i. ust have a standard. Shall j it be God's or man's? The divine plumb line needs to be thrown , over all merchandise. Thousands of years . ago Solomon discovered the tendency of ! buyers to depreciate goods. He saw a j man beating down an article lower and ] lower, and saying it was not worth the ( price asked, and when he had purchased at the lowest point he told everybody , what a sharp bargain he had struck, and , how he had outwitted the merchant. "It j is naught, saith the buyer, but when he is . gone his way, then he boasteth" (Proverbs xx, 14). Society is so utterly askew in this matter that you seldom find a seller asking the price that he expects to get. < He puts on a higher value than lie expects J to receive, knowing that he will have to > drop. And when ne wants fifty he says Beventy five, and is he wants 2000 he asks 2500. "It is naught," saith the buyer. . >a fho oK'ln nf onnrlR A lie IWU1 IV IO UWV*.V??VJ vuv w?rf.v w. n | is poor. I can get elsewhere a better ar- , ticle at a smaller price. It is out of fashion, it ?s damaged, it will fade, it will not , wear well." After awhile the merchant, , from overporsuasion or from desire to dis- j pose of that particular stock of goods, says, "Well, take it at your own price," and the j purchaser goes home with light step and ; calls into his private office his confidential J friends and chuckles while he tells how , for half price he got the goods. In other words, he lied and was proud of it. Nothing would make times so good and ! the earning of a livelihood so easy as the J universal udoption of the law of right, j Suspicion strikes through all bargain making. Men who sell know not whether they 1 will ever get the money. Purchasers know ' not whether the goods shipped will be ac- 1 cording to the sample. And what, with 1 the .large number of clerks who are male- 1 ing false entries and then absconding and ] the explosion of firms that fail for mill- ' ions ot dollars, honest men are at their j wits' ends to make a living. He who stands up amid all the pressure and does rimn. is accomplishing something toward 1 the establishment of a high commercial ; prosperity. The pressure to do wrong is stronger from the fact that in our day the large business houses are swallowing up the 1 smaller, the whales dining on bluetisii ana ; minnows. The large houses undersell the 1 Bmall ones because they buy in greater ' quantities and at lower figures from the ' producer. They can afford to make noth- ' ing or actually lose on some styles of ( goods, assured they can make it up on otli- ' era. So a great dry goods house goes out- 1 Bide of its regular line and sells books at : cost or less than cost, and that swamps 1 the bookseller, or the dry goods house sells bric-abrac at lowest figures, and that 1 swamps the small dealer in bric-a-brac. ] And the same thing goes on in other styles of merchandise, and the consequence 1 is that all along the business streets of all 1 our cities there arc merchants of small ' capital who are in terrific struggle to keep 1 their heads above water. The ocean liners 1 run down the Newfoundland fishing 1 3maeks. This is nothing against the man ! who has the big store, tor every man has J as large a store and as great a business as he can manage. 1 To feel right and do right under all this 1 pressure requires martyr grace, requires 1 i ivine simnort. renuires celestial re-en forceinent. Yet there are tens of tliou- I sands of such men getting splendily ' through. They see others going up anil ! themselves going down, but tliey keep ' their patience and courage and their Christian consistency, and after awhile their 1 success will come. There is generally re- I tribution in some form for greediness. The owners of the big business will die, and their boys will get possession of the busi- 1 ness, and > th a cigjir in their mouths and 1 full to the chins with the best liquor and behind a pair of spanking bays they will 1 pass everything on the turnpike road to ( temporal and eternal perdition. Then the j business will break up, and the smaller j dealers will have fair opportunity, or the > spirit of contentment and right feeling will take possession of the large firm, as re- < cently with a famous business house, and the firm will say: "We have enough money < for all our needs and the needs of our i children* Now let us dissolve business < and make way for other men in the same | line." Instead of being startled at a soli- I tary instance of magnimily it will become . a common thing. I know of scores of great business houses that have had their opportunity of vast accumulation and who i ought to quit. But perhaps for all the days ] of this generation the struggle of small ' houses to keep alive under the overshadow- j ing pressure of great houses will continue. | Therefore, taking things as they are, you i will lie wise to preserve your equilibrium j and your honesty and your faith and throw over all the counters and shelves and casks j the measuring line of divine right. "And ; inc Lord saitl unto me. Amos, what sccst thou? And I said, A plumb line." In the same way we need to rectify our theologies. All so.ts of religions are putting forth their pretension. Some have a 1 spiritualistic religion, and their chief work < is with ghosts, and others a religion of j political economy, proposing to nut an end to human misery by a new style of taxa- .] tion, and there is a hi%ianj(;arjan religion that looks after the qbdies of men and lets the soul look afterlitself, and there is & legislative religion tlfot proposes to rectify all wronrs by enactment of better laws, and there is ?n aesthetic religion that by rules' of cxqii1site taste would lift the heart out of itsydeformities, and religions of ah sorts, religions by the peck, religions by the square foot and religions by the ton, all of tbe^ devices of the devil that would- take thb heart away from the only religion.that yrill ever effect anything for ine i man race, and that is the straight up and down religion written in the book which begins with Genesis and ends with Revelation, the religion of the skies, the old religion, the God given religion, the everlasting religion, which says, "Love God above all and your neighbor as yourselx." All religions but one begin at the wiong end and in the wrong place. The Bible religion demands that we first get right with God. It begins at the top and measures down, while the other religions begin at the bottom and try to IIICIIOUIC up. I want you to notice this fact, that when a man gives up the straight up and down Teligion of the Bible for any newfangledreligion it is generally to suit his sins. You first hear of his changc of religion. and then you hear of some swindle he has practiced in a special mining stock, telling some one if he will put in $10,000 he can take out $100,000, or he has sacrificed his integrity, or plunged into irremediable worldliness. . Ilis sins Are so broad he has to broaden his religion, and he becomes a) broad as temptation, as broad as the soul's darkness,'as broad as hell. They want a religion that will allow them to keep their sins and then at death say to them. "Well done, good and faithful servant," and that tells them. "All is well, for there i-. no hell." What a glorious heaven they hold before us! Come, let us go in and see it. There are Herod and all. the babes he massacred. There are Charles Gaiteau and Robespierre, the feeder of the French guillotine, and all the liars, thieves, house burners, garroters, pickpockets and libertines of ail the centuries. They have all got crowns and thrones and harps and scepters, and when they chant they sing, "Thanksgiving and -onor and glory and power to the broad religion that lets us all into heaven without repentance and without faith in those humiliating dogmas of ecclesiastical old fogy ism." My text gives Hie a grand opportunity of saying a useful word to all voung men who are now forming habits for a lifetime. Of what use to a. stonemason or a bricklavn" is a plumb line? Why not build the wall by the unaided eye and hand? Because they are insufficient, because if there be a deflection in the wall .it cannot further on, be corrected. Because, by the law of gravitatiqn, a wa}l must be straight in pjtjeir ta be'vsymmetrical and safe. A voaafc man is ui danger ot getting a a eiect in his troll of Character that may never ?e Remember that-ft'he wall may be 100 i feet high, and%e(? a deflection one foot J from the foundation affects the entire I structure^ And if you live. 100 years and do right the last eighty years you may nevertheless do something at twenty years of age that will damage all your earthly existence. All you who have built houses for yourselves or for others, am I not right in saying to these young men, You cannot build a wall so high as to be independent of the character of its foundation? A man before^thirty years of age may commit ataoogb kv to last him a lifetime. Now, Johiijbr George or Henry or whatever be your Christian name or surname, say here ind now;."No wild oats for me, no cigars or cigarettes for me, no Wine or beer for me, no nasty stories for' me, no Sunday Bpr.^es for me. I am- going to start right md keen on right. God help me, for I am very weak. From the throne of eternal , righteousness, let down to me the princi- j pies by which I can be guided in building I everything from foundation to capstone, j Lord God, by the wounded hand of Christ, j throw me a plumb line." Hear it, men and boys, women and girls, I ill the fun is on the side of riiht. Sin may j seem attractive, but it is deathful. and like I the manchineel, a tree whose dews are j poisonous. The only genuine happiness is j in a Christian life. i There they go, two brothers. The one ! was converted a vear ago in church one | Sunday morning during prayer or sermon or hymn. No one knew it at the time. I Ihe persons on either side of him sus* j pected notning, but in that vounq I man's eoui mis process went on; uuiu, i here I am. a young man amid the temptations of city life, and I am afraid to risk them alone. Come and be mv pardon and i mv help. ?ave me from making the mis- | take some of my comrades are making, and i save me now." And quicker than a flash Uod rolled heaven into his soul. He ig iust as jolly as he used to he, is just as brilliant as he used to be. He can strike i""ball or catch one as easily as before he ivas converted. With gun oriishing rod in thfe slimmer vacation he t.r iusV.is skH]ful_ is before. ' The world is brighter^' nrnT than ever.- He appreciates pictures, music, innocent Hilarity, social.life, gobd jokes j \nd has plenty of fun, glorious fun. But Ill's brother is going down hill. In the morning his head aches from the champagne debauch". Everybody sees he is in rapid descent. What cares he for right sr decency or the honor of his family name? Turned out of employment, depleted in health, cast down in spirits, the typhoid fever strikes him in the smallest room on the fourth story of a fifth-rate Hoarding house, cursing God and calling for his mother and fighting back demons irom his dying pillow, which is besweated *nd torn to racs. He plunizes out of this u-orld, with the shriek of a destroyed snirit. < Young man. there is no fun in shipwrecking your cnaracter, no fun in disgracing rour father's name. There is no fun in breaking vour mother's heart. There is no fun in the physical pangs of the iissolute. There is no fun in the profit- | rate's deathbed. There is no fun in an unlone eternity. Paracelsus out of the ashes >[ a burnt rose. Baid he could recreate the rose, but he failed in the alchemic undertaking, and roseate life, once burned/down n sin, can never again be made to blossom. God is now throwing that plumb line jver this republic, an'd it is a solemn time : with this nation, and whether we keep i His Sabbaths or dishonor them, whether -ighteousness or iniquity dominate, whether | we are Christian or infidel, whether we fulfill our mission or refuse, whether we ire for God or against Him, will decide whether we shall as a nation go on in ligher and higher career or go down in the same grave where Babylon and Nineveh ind Thebes are sepulchered. "But." say you, "if there be nothing but i plumb line, what can any of us do, for there is an old proverb which truthfully leclares, 'If the best man's faults were i written on his forehead, it would make | lira pull his hat over his eyes.' What shall | we do when, according to Isaiah, 'God diall lay iudgment to the line and righteousness tfce plummet?'" Ah, here is where the gospel comes in with a Saviour's righteousness to make up for our deficits. And while I see hanging >n trie wall a plumb line. T see also hang* ng there a cross. And while the one conic'tns ns. tin? other saves us, if only we will I'old to it. And hero and now you may be spt free with a more glorious liberty than llanip- j :len or Sidney or Kosciusko ever fought ' for. Not out yonder or down there or ? ' here, but just where you are you may get ; .... The invalid proprietress of a wealthy | ;statc in Scotland visited the continent of l - -:J -f I-? nn/l I r>uiu|ic in gut nu in nci iiKuaiiiuo, t?4?vA <he went to Baden-Baden, and tried these ivatcrs, and went to Carlsbad and tried those waters, and went to Hombuiff and tried those waters, and instead of petting better, she cot worse, and in despair she said to a physician, "What shall I do?" [lis reply was: "Medicine can do nothing for you. You have only one chance, and that is the waters of l'it Keathly, .Scotland." "Is it possible?" she replied. "Why, those waters are on my own estate." She returned and drank of the fountain at her own Rate, and in two months completely recovered. Oh, siek and diseased and sinning and dying, why jo trudging all the world over and seekin" hci' and there relief for your discouraged soirit when close by and at your very feet and at the door of your heart, aye, within the very estate ot your own consciousness, the healing waters of eternal life may be had and liad this very hour, this very minute? Blessed be God that uver against the plumb line that Amos saw is the cross, through the emancipating power of which you and 1 may live anil live forcv:rl } L |P?' ' * ' " ' THE SABBATH SCHOOL INTERNATIONAL LESSON COMMENTS FOR AUCUST 26. Subject: Jcaan the Good Shepliort!, John x., 1-1G ? Golden Text: Jolin x., 11 ? Memory V?r??>, 9-11 ? Commentary on the liay'? Luiuu. 1. "Ry tlie door." The sheepfolds of the East are not covered like our stables, but are mere enclosures surrounded by a wall of loose stones with thorn-bushes upon the top, but usually ah cti'er *-.ual barrier against the wolves. There is only one door to Oriental sheepfolds. Here the door is the way appointed by God for entering Ilia kingdom, and the leadership in it. It includes consecration to God's service, unsel iish devotion to the good of others, preparation by the knowledge of the truth, by spiritual experience, by the presence of Cod, to enable the disciples to shepherd the sheep. Later, Christ Himself is represented as the door, all the above being found in Him. "The sheepfold." The true church of Christ. "A thief and a robber." A thief endeavors to gain his booty slyly and avoid detection; a robber is a brigand prepared to do violence. These false teachers, who rejected Christ and who were devouring the sheep from a purely mercenary standpoint, were the thieves and robbers.( The application was easy. 2. "By the'door." Openly, with no need to conceal His purpose. By the way which He directs the sheep to enter. There is not one salvation for the -teacher and another for the taught; the door is the same to all. 3. "To him the porter openeth." The Holy SpirjJ is one who opens the door to the shepherds; see frequent uses of this .symbolism by the apostles. Acts 14:27; 1 Cor. 16:9; 2 Cor. 2:12; Col, 4:3. The Holy Spirit recognizes true shepherds by especially annointing and qualifying them for the work of rescuing lost men. "The sheep." True Christians. Those who, like sheep, are "innocent, trustful, teachable, obedient." "Hear His voice." His voice IN cl JJilVtSrUlt VUIt'C. It KUIIieU IIICS HUt'IIlH severe, hut is always in love, "By name." In the East in a Hock of hundreds each sheep would have its own name. Christ knows us and loves us as individuals. "Leading them out." l'sa. 23. When we trust oureeTves to the leadership of our great Shepherd, He will lead us out of our trials and difficulties, into "green pastures" of joy and blessing and heavenly sunshine. 4. "The sheep follow Him." We must follow where Christ leads. Sometimes the best pastures and the waters of rest lie beyond deserts and mountains, and rough ways lead to'them; still, Jesus leads Hiy chosen ones there. 5. "A stranger will they not follow." This is true among the sheep in the eastern Countries, and vt is equally true among God's people. Shrewd men may deceive for a time, but some day the mask will be torn off by Christians themselves. v 6. - Understood not." Aware that these descriptions were leveled at themselves (Matt. 21:45; Luke 20:10), they did not sec the exact hinge on which the application turned. They did not wish to understand Him. The blind beggar found no trouble in knowing what He meant. 7. "I am the door." Works, ordinances; character, are not the door; the church is not the aoor; Christ alone is. Eph. 2:18 1. Jesus brought the truths of salvation. 2. He made an atonement for sin. 3. Hs brought new spiritual life. 4. The sheep enter this door by faith. o maii iu.1. -\r~ ? an. o. aii tiiiiu uumc uciuru Die. x nuat who came pretending to be pastors or guides to tne people. The scribes and Pharisees claimed to be instructors of the people; claimed the right to regulate the affairs of religion; whose only aim was tc promote themselves and oppress the people. 9. "If any man enter in." What are the benefits to be received by entering in through Christ? 1. Salvation?"shall be saved." 2. Liberty of soul?"go in and out." 3. Soul satisfaction?"find pasture." Isa. 58:11. 4. Protection and care. . "Go in and out." We must "go in" to trust, to rest, to think, to pray, before we can "go out" to do effective work for the Lord. 10. "And may have it abundantly." (R. V.) Christ is able to give His people abundant life. Many are seeking "more" life; whht such need in "life"?the Christ life, the abundant life. "By this is meant, 1. Fulness of life. 2. Overflowing life." Such a life is a growing, increasing life. 11. "Giveth His life for the sheep." Precious truth? John 3:16; 1 John 4:10. What a contrast was this, between Himse' arf) the unholy men He was address'i,. ' hireling." The hireling is the one who labors simply for wages, with no love or uonaTii iui uuv vvum. fuui a jit-ison seeks his own interest and happiness," "* and neglects and destroys the flock. He "-sacrifices the sheep for himself, and not himself from tTTe"stIeb??r?i|Xbe wolf." The wolf is the enemy of souls iflT&ny of his manifold disguises, such as persecution, heresy, worldly living, or a low standard of morals 14. *'I am the good shepherd." Watching, feeding, guarding, teaching, dying for the flock. "Know My sheep." There is a mutual affection between the shepherd i and the sheep. There is a mutual affection between the Father and the Son; one is parallel with the other. As the Father knows the Son. so does the Shepherd know the sheep; as the Son knows the Father, so do the sheep know the Shep- ( herd. As His Father read His heart, so 1 did He read the heart of man aftd recognize His own. 13. "Other sheep I have." The Gentiles who were soon to be brought into His church. The Good Shepherd sweeps the world with His thought. Here is the universal relation of Jesus to sinners of all . j.: i , iiiiliuds aim ci'iif^uca. unaii i;ci.viiiv unt flock." (R. V.) One flock not in creed, or name, hut in what is far more essential ?one in Christ. One in heart, one in purpose, one in the service of God and man. Teachings.?Christ's sheep. 1. Know the Shepherd's voice. 2. They hear?or heed His voice. This is one of the surest marks of a sheep. 3. They follow Him. The way may seem dark and difficult, and even dangerous. but where He leads they follow. 4. They know not the voice of "strangers" and will not follow them. Strangers talk glibly, and many professed Christians will go after them, but the sheep will not. 5. On the contrary the sheen flee from them. The Good Shepherd. 1. Knows His sheep. 2. Is known by His sheep. H. Has a personal interest in iTis sheep. 4. Gives them liberty. 5. Gives soul satisfaction. 0. Careth for the sheep. 7. Giveth His life for them. 8. Giveth thcrn eternal ,ite. , i CHINA MAKINC CUNS. A United States Army OIHcer Writes of IIli VUlt to thfl Kalnjj-Wan Arsenal. j A letter was received by a Government official in Washington from a United | States Army ofiicer traveling in China, in < which the officer detailed a visit he had < made to the Kaing-Wan arsenal. He i spoke of the immense works, covering j acrcs of ground, in which thousands of , Chinese were constantly at work. There j were facilities, he said, for manufacturing , rifles and cannon up to nine inches bore, j and they were turning out many guns of j vet y creditable workmanship. He went ' all through the works, and there were but two foreigners there, both Englishmen, who w-'Vi superintending the works. < PLICHT OF PlTCAIRN ISLANDERS. 1 Women Ttrilileiit* Are Compelled to < Wear Male Apparel. The ship John A. Uriggs, which rgrived a few days ago at Philadelphia froiii J'ort Townscnd. touched at I'iteairn Island i;i the South Pacific, and found 150 per> . . .1.:...!.. ?f ii'prc Worn. sons, ahti'.ii uvu-niiKin .? en, almost all descendants of the mutineers of the ship Ilounty. Lack of feminine apparel lias compelled the women to adopt male pari). Almost i all wear coats and trousers, in which com- J fort rather than Jit is aimed at. The crew i of the IJripss pave the women some femi- s nine clothing, and in return were reward- < ed by the grateful natives with gifts of i veleniablcs and fruit. Cincinnati'* t'o|>uiMTioii, :r:3,! Director of the Census Merriam. at , Washington, has made public the ofiicial J i count of the population of Cincinnati, I i Ohio, showing a population of 323,902. ' ' i':'< " ' " ";,-V GOD'S MESSAGE TO MAN. PREGNANT THOUGHTS FROM THE WORLD'S CREATEST PROPHETS. The Hen venly Sowing?I.ove tlie Supreme Teat ? There It Always a Response ? Rose Leaves and Old Lace?A Piayer by Phillips Brooks?There Will be Joy. Sower Divine! Sow the good seed in me, Seed for eternity. "fia a rough, barren soil, Yet by Thy care and toil, Make it a fruitful field, An hundred fold to yield. ; Sower Divine! Plough up this heart of mine! Sower Divine! Quit not this wretched field Till Thou hast made it yield; Sow Thou by day and night, In darkness and in light Stay not Thy hand, but sow; Then shall the harvest grow. Sower Divine, Sow deep this heart of mine! < Sower Divine! Let not this barren clay, Lead Thee to turn away; Let not my fruitlessnesa Provoke Thee not to bless; Let not this field be dry, Refresh it from on high, Sower Divine! Water this heart of mine! Love the Hapreine Test. In these days, when much is said and written about confessions of faith and the tests that should l>e applied in determining who are Christians, it is well to bring to mind the statements and requirements of the Xew Testament. The (Juspels and Epistles have much to offer directly and inferentially on the subject. "Hereby shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love ohe to jnother." "By their fruits ye shall know them." Peter said to the inquirer by the wayside, that in asserting "I be neve unit .it'su.s jurist in ine con 01 , God," lie was entitled to be baptized as a Christian disciple. Paul declares that "as many as are led by the spirt of God they arc sons of God," and he also declares, "he that hath not the spirt of Christ is none of his." John wrote. "He that confesseth that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh, is of God." "He that loveth, is born of God aud Unoweth God." Jesus emphasized the two great commandments as expressing the essential principles of the religions life. Again, Paul, in harmony with Jesus and John, says, "that love is the fulfilling of the law." This is the essence of the Gos jiri. ijvyc is iuhch* tne condition or ciose fellowship with the Father, of true discipleship with the Saviour, and of right relationship with the world. Jesus was the groat exemplar of the divine love for man and of man's duty toward God and his fellow-beings. Love is the supreme test of sonship with God and of discipleship with Jesus. He who manifests this love is a Christian, because he has Chrit's spirit and is seeking to live the Christ ilfe. There Is Always r? Reaponse. "High hearts are never long without, hearing some new call, some distant ' clarion of God, even in their dreams; and soon they are observed to break up the camp of ease and start on some fresh march of faithful service." It is the privilege of the Christian teacher to sound this new call, and to create the inspiration in the "high hearts," now resting in the "camns of ease," and Quickened them for the onward march. The responses are oft-times encouraging to the faithful minister, and he rejoices when his leadership is acknowledged and followed. Every faithful minister has the assurance that the divine voice of dnty, voiced by one who would sincerely and prayerfully do good to his fellows, always finds an answering response in duo time. "Xo voice, however feeble," writes Whhtier. "lifted up for the truth ever dies amidst the confused noises of time. Through discords of sin and error, woe and death, it rises a deathless melody to blend with the great harmony of a reconciled universe." Rose Loaves and 01<l Lace. i Yon cannot nutate thorn. There is something' in the soft yellow of ancient meshes and something in the delicate fragrance of the leaves .of roses which diifr nll Efforts to copy them. They are the gift of the long years ?nd the summer sunshine. Rose leaves and old lace have taken time into partnership and the bond cannot be ' broken. How gracious they are! You do not need to pull the odors out of the rose jar. Just leave the cover off. The odor of the rosi s and the spices will steal out of itself. You must never.pull hard at lares. That only vends them. Let the soft folds fall as they will. There is grace enough in the pliant veil. It is nothing that the leaves and the laces have put on. It is something that is in th'jir very nature, this ministry of grace and fragrance. If it were cxter- 1 ua!, then we might make rose leaves and old lace by mechanical processes. But just because it is within and of the very nature of the thing itself, we are baffled. A Prayer by Phillip* Brooks. On my country's birthday ... I ma) nsk you for your prayer in her behalf. That on the manifold and wondrous rhance which <Soil is giving her?on her freedom (for she is f ; <><>, since the old *tain of slavery was washed out in Itlood); on her unconstrained r. iigiou* life: on her passion for education, and ( lier eager search for truth; on her jeal- 1 mis care lor me poor man s rigais aim i opportunities; oil her countless quiet . liomes where the future generations of tier men arc growing; on her mi 1111 fa c:ures ai::l her commerce; o:i her wide ;ates open to the east ami to the west; 111 her strange meetings of the races i >ut of which a new race is slowly lie- ] ins Itorn; on her vast enterprise ami her 1 illimitable hopefulness?on all those ma- \ ferial* ami machineries of manhood, on ( ill that the life of my country must mean for humanity, I may ask you to l?ray that the bless!tig of (Jod the Father 1 >f man, ami Christ the son of man, may t rest forever.?Phillips Brooks. There will be joy for us in unexpected luarters if we will only look. Our temp- < ations are not joyful; but it is written, . 'Count it all joy, my brethren, when ye fall into divers temptations." Life is j iften hard, yet it is the school which (Jod ' ieliberately chose for us and glorifies by < lis presence. We have special trials, persecutions, grievances; but of worse jiitluranees than these I'aul wrote, "Nay, in all these very things we are more than < omitierors." If joy be hidden, she is i not hidden far if with full confidence of ( love we only seek for her in unexpected [ places.?J. 0. Itankln. t dood-bye to Pain and Care! I take j Mine ease today; I riere where these sunny waters break, ( And ripples this keen breeze. I shake &1! burdens away from my heart, all weary thoughts away. ?Whittie?. ( ( plight of pitcairn islanders. Women Aro Compelled to MVar iUiile Apparel. The ship John A. Hriygs, which ar- ] rived a few days a;j? at I'hilaueipnia irom i'ort Townsend, touched at 1'ilcairn Island In tlie South I'acilie. and found 1.10 per- i >o;is, about two-third* of whom wore worn n. aimost all descendants of the muti- ] neers of the ship Jlounty. t Lack of feminine apparel lias eompelled the women to adopt male garb. _ Almost ill wear coats ;iu<l iron-its. in which com- l fori rather than lil is aimed at. The crew t l)! the liri^ gavo the women some fejni"'He clotliiii!!. and in return were rewarded by the- grateful natives with jjii'ts of f l"ele*tab!es aud fruit. i I _i . - WWm$?m A FATAL TRAIN ROBB^R^! Sleeping Passengers Wakened Ona? at a Time?One Killed "A'Sr-. Cqndactor Carried the B*r?TI?bt)eri R?.. turned His Watch So He Codld Ban Train?A Woman's Base. Sallna, Kan. (Special).?Union Pa ciflc east-bound passenger train No. 4, from Denver, was stopped by several men west of Hugo,. Col., ninety miles this side of Denver. The paqsengers In. the Pullman sleeping cars were robbed of their .money and valuables. An old man named fay, a resident of California, who had been visiting in Denver and* was on his way to St. Louis, refused to surrender his valuables and fired a shot at one of the robbers, but n^lssed. Thereupon the robbers fired, one shot entering Fay's mouth and coming out of the back of his head, killing him almost instantly. The robbers got on to one of the eleeping cars near Limon, and after the train had started the men made a noise at the door. The conductor, thinking they were tramps, opened the door to put them off. The robbers, who were masked, pointed a pistol at his head and ordered him to lead the way through the coaches. All of the passengers were asleep, and the conductor was ordered to wake them up one at a time. The frightened passengers were told to keep quiet or they, would be killed, and at the same time were asked to hand over their money and valuables. The robbers obtained about $100 in cash and a number of feUlU WULUUCO UUU U L11VJ1 U1 JC Tt" elry. The conductor, who was compelled to hold the bag while the robbers relieved the passengers, lost his watch, and asked that It be returned to him in order that he might run his train on, time. The robbers gave It back. After ransacking the two coaches, the men made the conductor pull the bell cord, but the train was going so rapIdly that It arrived at Hugo before It slowed down enough to enable them to jump. They compelled the conductor to get,off ahead of them, so that if any of the passengers had been watching for them they would have shot him first. After the robbers had dismounted they ordered the conductor to return to his train. Miss Shaw, of Denver, a passenger on the train, stated that when the men entered the cars every one was asleep, and very few knew anything of what was going on until they were awakened by the robbers. When the men came to her berth a pistol was pointed at her face and she was told to be quiet and hand over her valuables. With great presence of mind she opened her pocketbook, letting a number or Dins rail out, ana men handed the purse containing some silver, to the robbers. She also managed to save her watch, which was pinned to her dress, by placing her arm over it TWO BUILDINGS WRECKED. Eighteen Peraona Injured by an Explosion In Scranton, 1'enn. Scranton, .Benn. (Special). ? An erplosion, the cause of which the police are investigating, brought about the collapse and total destruction of two large brick buildings in the heart of the city. On structure was that occupied by the Merchants' and Mechanics* Bank, oue of the oldest institutions of Via L-inH in Hir> TIlP other build ing was occupied by D. I. Phillips as a furniture warehouse. This was owned by the James Blair estate. At least eighteen persons were Injured, but all of them are expected to recover with the exception of the bank watchman, Frank Woelkers. It is declared that the affair was due to nn explosion of illuminating gas. The concussion was terrible, and was heard for miles. All the windows of the buildings adjoining and across the street were wrecked. The two buildings collapsed like broken eggshells. The front walls shot out into thn street, injuring several persons on the walk, and one young girl was buried In the debris. How any one Inside the two buildings could escape alive Is difficult to comprehend, and yet many were there and none was killed. The loss is $30,000. Many deeds of daring were witnessed In rescuing the injured. > FOUR KILLED IN A FICHT. Harris Brother* and the Dooleys Have Batlle in Missouri. Farmington. Mo. (Special). ? Four nna fflfflllw It'II >\ t'l c utltcu auu vuu ,/ounded in a shooting affair at Doe Run between William Dooloy and hla four sons ou one side, and the four Harris brothers on the other. William Dooloy. Wesley Harris. James Harris and John Dooley are the names of those killed: Frank Harris is fatally tvounded. A young girl. Mary Littrell, tvas struck just above the ankle by a rifle ball. A few days ago the Harris boys sent word to t lie Doole.vs. with whom they had a feud, that they would be at a picnic at Doe Run, aud intended to run :he Dooleys off the grounds. Just how the shooting began is not clear, but )nee begun it was deadly. Three of the Dooley boys, who were unhurt, came to Farni/ngton anC ^ave :nemselves up. They are in Jail. 91,000,000 Fire In Aaliland, Wit. Fire at Ashland, Wis., destroyed COAA AAA nt tha ?>1,WU,WU 01 ?puvv,vw U 4 iUV loss being lumber belonging to the Hlnes Lumber. Company, of Chicago. The mills .were saved by the use of lynamite. Tliirteen-Tear-OId I'olftoner. Freil Hines, thirteen years old. has :onfessed that he poisoned his father, svho is lying dangerously ill at tne bounty Hospital at Fresno. Cal. The )oy said his father treated him cruelly ?nd refused to allow him to drive liis :eam. He concluded to kill him. He ind his younger brother bought the loison. which Fred put ia his father's oll'ee. I.oulfiville Ilaii 20-1,731 Soult. T1k> population of tilt' city of Louisrllle. Ky., according to the official :ouut of tbu twelfth census, is 201,731. The Xntlon.il Game. Lajole's return to the team has groaty braced tip the PhilnriHphias. Just now tlio New Yorks are playng the best ball in the League. Manager llanlon considers Ely. oT ?ittsliurg. the greatest iicldiug short itop in i!ie business. The reiurn to his old place of Ilernan I.??ng on the I'.ostou team has lone wonders to help the team along. IMtehcr Dolniiy l::ts been "farmed" mt by the New Yorks to Comiskey's ,'lilcago team of ibe Atuer' ^n League.