Historical Newspapers of South Carolina

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THE*MY5TI 1N Aufhor of u The Aouse ICopyrlght, 1895, by CHAPTER XIX. Continued. "Miss Bostal takes her part? I did not think the dried-up little creature had It In her!" said Clifford, with ad' miration. "I shall go and see her." "That Is just what she wants you to do," replied Miss Lansdowne. "She has said so to me so often that I thought when I saw I had a chance of speaking to you, I would not let It slip." "It is very good of you," said Clifford. "Which was the dance you said I might have?" The next morning, before luncneontime, he was at Stroan. It was a bright day, and there was only just enough wind to stir the ail pleasantly on his way across the marsh road. The sun shone on the , white, chalky soil, and the place where the body of Jem Stickles had been found was now no longer distinguishable by any outward sign from the rest of the grass-grown border to the I road. People had begun to forget the ) tragedy, and even the fresh interest 1 excited by the more recent events at the Blue Lion had by this time faded j in their minds, relegated to the background by the pressure of some less . stirring but newer occurrence. The Blue Lion itself looked melan s CllOiy CllUUgil, liilN IU5 UCCU uuiuuauned for a montii. With its doors closed, its shutters barred, with broken panes in its upper windows, it was a dreary contrast to the little inn he had known. No 4 market-carts now drew up before the door; the ducks and the chickens no longer wandered about the road; the shed where the cart had stood was empty and already out of repair. Clifford, after one walk around into the little garden and down t? the shed where he had first met Nell, hurried away from the desolate spot and made haste to reach Shingle End. ' But a change had come over this place also. To begin with, the storms of the winter had dealt harshly with the old house.* Some slates had been carried away and had not been replaced, and a tree, blown down by a southwesterly gale, now blocked the little bit of ground which formed the front garden. It had injured the corner of toe house In Its fall, had carried away one of the outside shutters of the drawing-room front window and smashed half a dozen of the small panes of glass, which had been left broken. Sheets of brown paper had been pasted on the Inner side of the window, completing the desolate appearance of the old house. Clifford, as he approached the gate, found that the tree had fallen in such a manner that it was impossible to get in. Looking up doubtfully at the windows, he caught sight of a little, withered face, gray, haunting, peering out at him from behind the meager muslin curtain. Was it or was it not Miss 3ostal's? For a moment he stood undecided with D^L his hand upon the gate. Had some terrible , calamity?the death of the Colonel, the illness of his daughter? falflhi upon the place like a blight? Should he go back and maue Inquiries the nearest cottage betore he ven? tured to intrude upon what might be some great grief? There was an ancient cottage close by which had onci been a toll-house. He thought he would knock at the door and try to find out something, and was retreating for that purpose, when a hurried tapping on the glass of the upper window made him look round Ogain. Miss Bostal?if it was indeed she?made a sign to him to go round - to the back of the house. Obeying her mute direction, he found his way back to the little sidegate in the paling, passed througli into the garden and presented himself at the back door. He noticed witL surprise, as he passed the two lower windows, the one at the side and the other at the back of the house, that the blinds were drawn down. Surely, then, the Colonel was dead, he thought. He had not time to speculate as to why, in that case, the upper front rooms had bad their blinds up, when he heard the sound of somt one within drawln hack a holt and then another and another. Then the door was opened by Miss Bostal, who pat out her head to throw one frightened glance round the gar den, and then, seizing his proffered hand, drew him hastily inside, and be gan immediately to replace the bolts Clifford could not help feeling amused, although he took care not t( show it. It seemed to him clear thai the recent occurrences in the neigh borhood had got on the poor little , woman's brain, and made her absurd ly nervous about the safety of hei own little person and not very valua ble property. "You are well secured against bur glars, I see," said he, as he insisted upon doing the work of bolting tin door for her, and was surprised to fini how solid and strong the protectioi was. The little woman sta -ted, almos Jumped. "Oh, Mr. King!" gasped she, in i tone of acute terror. "Don't mak( jokes about it. It's too dreadful! never feel safe! Last night? Oh!' she paused, closing her eyes as if 01 the point of fainting. And Cliffori saw, by the light that came throng! the dusty panes above the front am the back door, that her little pinchei face had grown livid at some terribl thought. "Well, what happened last nightOh?" said Clifford, speaking in a cheerful a tone as he could, in th hope of soothing her nerves. But in stead of answering at once, little Mis Bostnl, suddenly opening again he faded light eyes and staring at hie with solemn intentness, led him to th ?oor oil the drawing-room, which sh J. on lUfc Aarsh," ere-.. Robert Bonner's Sons.* ' unlocked and threw open with a tragl< gesture. "Look in there!" whispered she. ' Clifford obeyed, and say notliinj ! whatever; for It was dark. When ' after a few minutes spent in rathei uncanny silence on the part of th( 1 lady, his eyes got used to the gloom ! he saw that the windows had beer barricaded from the inside in the 1 most thorough and ingenious mannei : with furniture and with planks nailec across from side to side. "Why," said he, in astonishment 1 "you seem to be preparing to stand ? siege." He bad already made up his mind that the eccentric little lady had gout t out of ner mind. "We are besieged," she whispered ! with a look which confirmed Clif > ford's hypothesis. "I can see that yoi don't believe me, that you think it Is only my fancy. But ask my father." And before Clifford could make anj answer, she bad quickly crossed the stone-flagged passage, had throwi open the door of the diniug-room and : with a gesture invited Clifford to en ; ter. As the young man did so, rathei fearing what sort of conversation ht should have to hold with her, he was much relieved to find that the Colonel was there, sitting by the fire, with his spectacles on, reading a weekly paper. But to Clifford's astonishment and alarm, the change in the old man waf 1 as great as in his daughter. Colonel Bostal. although his clothes were always shabby and old-fashioned 1 had always retained an r.lr of soldier ly trimness, had always kept his hali closely cut and his snow-white mus tache well trimmed, so that he had borne a certain air of smartness and distinction. Now he had lost every trace of it. His shoulders were bent His hair had been allowed to grow long. His mustache hung ragged and untrlmmed over a rough and straggling beard. More tlv?u this, there was in his eyes a look as pitiful in its restlessness as the haunting cxpresslon which Clifford had noticed 1e Miss Theodora's. 1 ' -X 1-J U xne oiu man siurieu wn-u ue om? the visitor, rose and held out his hand with mechanical, old-fashioned court esy; but it was doubtful whether he recognized him. Miss Bostal went softly round his chair with her quick, bird-like little steps, and put her hand gently on his ; shoulder. "Dear papa," she said in a whisper, "don't you remember Mr. King? He was bere in the summer. You dc remember, don't you?" "Oh, yes, certainly I do; of coursc I do, Theodora," responded the Colonel, witb a slight frown at the Implication that he was losing his memory. "Sit down, Mr. King, and tell us what the great world Is doing." Then Clifford saw that in a momcnl the old man had become quite himself, and it was the weight of some care which had given him his changed appearance. The young man was sorry when Miss Theodora at once recalled her father to the anxiety whicL 1 was pressing upon both of them. "I want you to tell Mr. King, papa," she said, as Clifford took the chaii offered him, "about the terrible perse cutlon we have been subjected to lately since the Blue Lion has been shut up." "It's not a very lively subject." ob jected her father, whose face fell n< i his daughter's words. "However, 1 will tell you, if the story is worth 1 telling." Clifford, although he was indeed I curious to hear the narrative, protest ed that he did not wish to do so, as t he saw that his host was by no meant anxious to relate it. But Miss Theo i dora insisted. ; "Well, then," said the old gentle i man, "it is simply this: At least hall ' a dozen times since the Blue Liot ( has been deserted we have been an : noyed by knocks and blows on oui , doors and windows at night. Anc i although we have done our best t( i find out who it is that annoys us it this manner, *.7C have been unable t( , do so." i "And have you no idea, no sus I picion?" The Colonel shook his head In i > troubled aud anxious manner, but ' Miss Theodora pursed her lips ant looked shrewd. 1 "I have a theory," she said. Anc she waited to be asked what her theo . ry was. ; Clifford expressed the wished-foi ) curiosity. t "I believe." she went on, with con vlction, "that it is-the person who ha! ? been at the bottom of the mysteries - we have been suffering here lately." r i>oiiseuse, my ueur, jiiicti-uiuvi her father, quickly, and not withou nervousness. "What on earth shouh - such a person want with us? We liav< I nothing in the house worth stalling i and If we bad. do you suppose tha i the person who was so very skillfu 1 in getting away and in evading jus tice, would try to batter our doors in t You are talking nonsense, Theodora.' But Theodora looked stubborn. Thei i Clifford made a suggestion, s "If you think that, why don't yoi I inform the police? They would la; ' an ambush for this person, and wouli 1 certainly free you from the annoy 1 ance of his visits, in any case." i To the young man's surprise Colonc 1 Bostal's face assumed an expressioi 1 of alarm which he tried in vain t e hide; but .diss Theodora broke in trl umphautly: "Thai is just what I tell him, Mi - * ? ?i- t-- ? ? yj- r,A?.. ~c u T->.,. S IVlIlg, UUt Liu wuu t ut-ur ui ii. jrei e baps you will be better able to pei i- suade him (ban I." s The Colonel, for answer, leaned bac r In bis cbair and drew bis daughter' n little thin bands round bis shoulders, e "I always think," he said, after e Ions silence, durine which gtranz S suspicions rushed through Clifford's mind, "that it Is better not to stir up scandals that are past and don-j with. I may have my own suspicions that the annoyance we suffer from is connected with the uncanny stories we have heard so much about. But still I will not interfere, and I refuse to call in the aid of the police. We must not forget that in delivering up this unknown person who annoys us, we ?1? -I Hnnfrar " IlllgUl ue uwig i,\j "What others, papa?" asked Miss Theodora quickly. But the Colouel would not answer. He turned the conversation to another subject, and the interesting topic was not again touched upon until Clifford, - having taken leave of the Colonel, stood in the hall with Miss Theodora. "Do you know why I came down > here to-day?" he then asked. . "Not to see us?" asked Miss Theor dora. "We could hardly have hoped > for that." "It was to see you and to thank you ? for your trust in Nell. I met Miss Lansdowne in town one evening, and she told me you were the one person 1 who still believed in her innocence." But, to his chagrin, the little lady . sighed and looked down. At last she l said: "I did hold out as long as I could 1 against the thought of her guilt, Mr. s King; but I must confess that I, too, have had to give way to overwhelm, ing evidence. In face of some fresh circumstances which have now come i to mv knowledge. I don't see how I i can escape tbe conclusion that she did commit these crimes." Clifford drew himself up with a i great shock of disappointment. Here, i where he cxpected a fortress, he found I a quagmire. "In fact, it is because my father feels sure that the person who comes here to annoy us is the very same crea? ture who instigated the girl to commit 5 these crimes, that he refuses to give [ information to the police." , "And who is the person?" asked Clifford, quickly. [ "A youug man who has obtained a , fcTeat Influence over her, and who has probably by this time become ner lius, band," replied Miss Bostal. Clifford could not repress a move. ment of anxiety at these words. Miss . Bostal tried to persuade him to come . back into the dining-room, with her [ and to stay to tea. But he excused I himself aud, with a rather colder . leave-taking than he had expected, he left the house by the back door, and . heard Miss Theodora draw the bolts [ before he reached the end of the gar. den. , This visit had left an extraordinary , impression upon him. There had flashed through his mind, , as he noted the effect which Theodora's prattle made upon her father, , an uneasy suspicion wnetner me [ Colonel himself was not In some way . Implicated in the murder of Jem Stic> kels and the robberies at the Blue Lion. It was quite clear that poor . Miss Theodore had no Inkling of this, , for she chattered away without even J noticing her father's uneasiness. It was in vain, however, that Clifford tried to imagine any series of circum| stances by which the old Colonel | could have been implicated in the crimes. On the other hand, they re, malned just as inexplicable at the hands of any other person. It was with a great sinking of the heart that Clifford began to feel his | own belief in Nell's complete innocence giving way. He was forced . again to take refuge in the belief that ' if she had been an agent in these crim( inal acts, she had been an unconscious | one. And the thought which was uppermost in his mind was: What steps snouia ue taue to uuu uer: j.u? ( feeling which was strongest in his heart was the desire to shelter her , from the consequences of those acts. But the question was: IIow to find her? Clifford had been down to Stroan already to make inquiries, but ! had been unable to obtain any tidings of the uncle or the niece more definite than the vague rumor that George j. Claris was "shut up somewiiere." f Clifford paused for a few moments | outside the garden gate of Shingle End, wondering whether he would I apply for information to the police at Stroan. It was a step he dreaded to take, although he began to think it was the oily one likely to lead to his obtaining the details he wanted. As he stood looking vaguely along the road he suddenly perceived an old i woman, who was standing at the door of the ancient turnpike cottage, was blinking and nodding at him in a mys] terious manner. He took a few steps | in her direction, and she came out in the road to meet him. To be Continued. ) Scarcely a Good Pleader. A well-known lawyer was called on recently by a woman wlio was anxt ious to secure Ills legal advice and his interest in her case. She explained j with tears the circumstances and begged him for advice. . "I hope," she sobbed, "that you will not refuse my case. I am so eager to have you for my lawyer, for I believe you can pull me through. Some4 one told me you would not take the case, but tell me that you will." The lawyer was touched. "Madame," he replied kindly, "you have my sympathy. Certainly I will j take your case, for, you know, everybody who knows me is aware of one j thing, and that is that I am always for the under dog in the fight." \ He meant well and kindly, but we ' must admit that his language was not j felicitous.?Louisville (Ky.) Times. Bears and Beavers in France. Bears are still found in France, their chief haunt being the primeval 3 fni'oof <-,f CnmliP d'lre. Lake Annecy, in the Alps. Summer tourists in that 3 forest never see them, because they P are then high up the uiouulains, and 1 only come down from them when the " snows cover the wild fruits on which they feast. Another of their haunts is the forest of Doussard. From 1SG7 u to 1803 only nine were killed. The 0 French hear is very large and power'* ful, with a reddish-grey fur, which is valuable as a rug. To the list of fur' bearing animals in France must be added the beaver of the Iihoue. Very ' ?<> nrr> loft hilt SteHS haVe | 1CW VI. .V. v, ^ _ been taken to preserve tliein from ex^ tinctlon, and even exploit them for 8 their pelts.?Cassell's Magazine. a It doesn't take an X-ray apparatus e to see through some people. [DR. TALMAGES SEElJ SUNDAY'S DISCONcW DIVINE. Subject: Lessons Taught by the Natlvit; On That Christinas Xlght God He ored Motherhood?A Tribute to Sclei ?Most Famous Night in History. Washington, D. C.?The discourse Tnlmana * rt full aP ?kn no f itfif TT on/) 1 jl/i jlaiiuakc to iuii ui wnv. uuwmkj uuu < propriate for the holidays; test, Luke 16, "And they came with haste and fou Mary and Joseph and the babe lying ii manger." The black window shutters of a Decc ber night were thrown open, and some the best singers of a world where they sing stood there and, putting back 1 drapery of a cloud, chanted a peace j them until all the echoes of hill and v ley applauded and encored the hallelui chorus. Come, let us go into that Chri mas scene as though we had never bef< worshiped at the manger. Here is a ^ donna worth looking at. I wonder i that the most frequent name in all lar and in all Christian countries is Ma And there are Marys in palaces a Marys in cabins, and, though German a French and Italian and Spanish and Ei lish pronounce it differently, thev are namesakes of the one whom we find or bed of straw, with her pale face agaii the soft cheek of Christ in the night of 1 nativity. AH the great painters have trii on canvas, to present Mary and her ch ar.d the incidents of that most fame night in the world's history. Raphael ,in thj different masterpieces, celebrated the Tintoretto and Ghirlandajo surpass themselves in the adoration of the Ma Correggio needed to do no more than Madonna to become immortal. The "J donna of the Lily," by Leonardo da Viu will kindle the admiration of all ages. I all the galleries ot Dresden are xorgoti when I think of the email room of tl gallery containing the "Sistine Madonni Yet all of them were copies of St. M thew's Madonna and Luke's Madonna, t inspired Madonna of the old book whi we had put into our hands when we wi infants, and that we hope to have urn our heads when we die. Behold, in the first place, that on 1 first night of Christ's life God honored t brute creation. You cannot get into tl Bethlehem barn without going past < camels, the mules, the dogs, the oxen. 1 brutes of that stable heard the first cry the infant Lord. Some of the old painti represent the oxen and camels kneeli that night before the new-born babe. A well might they kneel! Have you ei thought that Christ came, among otl things, to alleviate the sufferings of t brute creation? Was it not approprii that He should, during the first few ds and nights of His life on earth, be s rounded by the dumb beasts, whose mo and plaint and bellowing have for ages be a prayer to God for the arresting of th tortures and the righting of their wronj Not a kennel in all the centuries, not bird's nest, not a worn-out horse on tc Eath, not a herd freezing in the poo: uilt cow-pen, not a freight car in su mer time bringing the beeves to marl without water through a thousand mi of agony, not a surgeon's witnessing i struggles of fox or rabbit or pigeon or <3 in the horrors of vivisection but has an terest in the fact that Christ was born a stable surrounded by brutes. Standing then, as I imagine now I < In that Bethlehem night, with an infs Christ on the one side and the speech! creatures of God on the other, I ci Look out how you strike the rowel ir that horse's side; take off that curbed from that bleeding mouth; remove tl saddle from that raw back; shoot not i f;m that bird that is too small for foe forget not to put water into the cage that canary; throw out some crumbs those birds caught too far north in t winter's inclemency; arrest that man w is making that one horse draw a lc heavy enough for three; rush in upon tl scene where boys are torturing a cat transfixing butterfly and grasshopp< drive not off that old robin, for her m is a mother's cradle and under her wi there may be three or four musicians the sky in training. In your families a in your schools teach the coming gene tion more mercy than the present gene tion has ever shown, and in this marvelc Bible picture of the nativity, while y point out to them the angel, show thi alao the camel, and while they hear i celestial chant let them also hear 1 ??>? WU?Y a mucin. Behold also in this Bible scene how that Christmas night God honored chi hood. Childhood was to be honored that advent. He must have a child's lie limbs and a child's dimpled hand and child's beaming eye and a child's flax hair, and babyhood was to be honored : all time to come, and a cradle was to me more than a grave. Mighty God! M the reflection of that one child's face seen in all infantile faces! Enough have all those fathers and mo ers on hand if they have a child in 1 house. A throne, a crown, a scepter, kingdom, under charge. Be careful h you strike him across the head, jarri the brain. What you say to him will centennial and a thousand years will i * wn.nnliA "HA nnf c BLUJJ LUC CUilVS aim i?-6vnv. ? "It is only a child." Rather say, "It only an immortal." It is only a mast piece of Jehovah. It is only a being tl shall outlive sun and moon and star a ages quadriennial. God has infinite sources, and He can give presents of gr< value, but when He wants to give the ri est possible gift to a household He loc around all the worlds and all the unive and then gives a child. Yea, in all ai God has honored childhood. He mal almost every picture a failure unless thi be a child either playing on the floor looking through the window or seated the lap gazing into the face of the motl)< It was a child in Naaman's kitchen tl told the great Syrian warrior where might go and get cured of the lepri which at his seventh plunge in the Jord was left at the bottom of the river, was to the cradle of leaves in which a ch was lain, rocked by the Nile, that G called the attention of history. It was eick child that evoked Christ's curat sympathies. It was a child that Christ in the riidst of the squabbling disciples teacv 2 lesson of humility. A child cidei "aterloo, showing the army of J] cher how it could take a short cut throi the fields when, if the old road had bt followed, the Prussian general would h; come up too late to save the destinies Europe. It was a child that decided G tysburg, he having overneara two com erate generals in a conversation in wh they decided to march for Gettysburg stead of Harrisburg, and, this reported Governor Curtin, the Federal for started to meet their opponents at Getl burg. And to-day the chiH is to dec all the great battles, make all the la' settle .all the destinies and usher in i world's salvation or destruction. M women, nations, all earth and all heav behold the child! Notice also that in this Bible ni| scene God honored science. Who are i three wise men kneeling before the Div Infant? Not boors, not ignoramuses, 1 Caspar, Bathasar and Melchior, men v knew all that was to be known. They w the Isaac Newtons and Iferschels and F adays of their time. Their alchemy \ the forerunner of our sublime chemist their astrology the mother of our magn cent astronomy, and when I see th scientists bowing before the beauli babe I see the prophecy of the time wl all the telescopes and microscopes, an:! the Leyden jars, and all the electric I teries, and all the observatories, and the universities shall bow to Jesus. It much that way already. Where is the < lege that does not have morning prayt thus bowing at the manger? Who h; been the greatest physicians? Oinitl the names of the living lest we should invidious, have we not had among tli PhridHgn mpn liU*(> .Tames Y. Simpson i Rush and Valentine Molt and Aberert bie and Abernethv? Who have been < greatest scientists? Joseph Henry, v lived and died in the faith of the gosp< and Agassiz, who, standing with his t dents among the hills, took off his hat ii said, "Young gentlemen, before we sti these rocks let us pray for wisdom to God who made the rocks." All geoL will yet bow before the Rock of Ages, botany will yet worship the Rose of S ron. All astronomy will yet recognize 6tar of Bethlehem, Behold, also, in that first Christ: flHjHfl^tGod honored the fields. Come ^B|^^nepherd boys, to Bethlehem and see ^J^he child. "No!" they say; "we are not PT dressed good enough to come in." "Yes, -D you are; come in." Sure enough, the storms and the night dew and the brambles have made rough work with their apparel. but none has a better right to come in. They were the first to hear the music of that Christmas night. The first an.nouncement of a Saviour's birth was made to those men in the fields. There were wiseacres that nijjht in Bethlehem and of Jerusalem snoring in deep sleep, and there ap- were salaried officers of government who, ii. hearing of it afterward, may have thought na that they ought to have had the first news 1 a of such a great event, some one dismount im- knocking till at some sentinel's question, of "Who comes there?" the great ones of the all palace might have been told of the celeste tial arrival. No; the shepherds heard the an- first two bars of the music, the first in the al- major key and the last in the subdued mi' iah nor, "Glory to God in the highest and on 1st- earth neace, good will to men!" Ah, yes, are the fields were honored! la* The old shepherds with plaid and crook lot have for the most part vanished, but we ids have grazing on our United States pasture ry. fields and prairie about 42,000,000 sheep, nd and all their keepers ought to follow the nd shepherds of my text, and all those who g- toil in fields, all vine dressers, all orchardall ists, all husbandmen. Not only that Christi a mas night, but all up and down the world's 1st history God has been honoring the fields. ;he Nearly all the messiahs of reform and lited. erature and eloquence and law and ben^vild olence have come from the fields. Wash>us ington from the fields. Jefferson from the ree fields. The Presidential martyrs, Garfield m. and Lincoln and McKinley, from the ied fields. Daniel Webster from the fields. ,gi. Martin Luther from the fields. Before his this world is right the overflowing popula lations of our crowded cities will have to ici, take to the fields. Instead of ten mer* jut chants in rivalry as to who shall sell that ;en one apple we want at least eight of them lat to go out and raiss apples. Instead of ten i." merchants desiring to sell that one bushel at- of wheat, we want at least eight of them ;he to go out and raise wheat. The world ich wants now more hard hands, more bronzed ?re cheeks, more muscular arms. To the fields! ler God honored them when He woke up the s > ^ i-1 1 shepherds Dy tne manignc ansae , auu :he He will, while the world lasts, continue to ;he honor the fields. When the shepherd's lat crook was that famous night stood against ;he the wall of the Bethlehem khan, it was a 'he prophecy of the time when thrasher's flail of and farmer's plow and woodman's axe srs and ox's yoke and sheaf binder's rake shall Ing surrender to the God who made the counnd try, as man made the town. :er Behold, also, that on that Christmas ler niijht God honored motherhood. Two an;he gels on their wings mieht have brought an ite infant Saviour to Bethlehem without tys Mary's being there at all. ' When the vilur lagers on the morning of December 20 an awoke, by divine arrangement and in some sen unexplained way the child Jesus might eir have been found in some comfortable erajs? die of the village. ?ut no, no! Mother; a hood for all time was to be consecrated, ?w- and one of the tenderest relations was to rly be the maternal relation and one of the m- sweetest words, "mother." In all ages cet God has honored good motherhood. Jonn les Wesley had a good mother; St. Bernard ;he had a good mother; Doddridge, a good log mother; Walter Scott, a good mother; in- Benjamin West, a good mother. In n in great audience, most of whom were Christians, I asked that all those who had been io, blessed of Christian mothers arise, and irit almost the entire assembly stood up. Do ttoo vnn not see how imnortant it is tnat all y: motherhood he consecrated? Why did Ti> lto tian, the Italian artist, when he sketched bit the Madonna make it an Italian face? lat Why did Rubens, the German artist, in for his Madonna make it a German face? id: Why did Joshua Reynolds, the English of artist, in his Madonna make it an English to face? Why did Murillo, the Spanish art:he ist, in his Madonna make it a Spanish ho face? I never heard, but I think they iad took their own mothers as the type of lat Mary, the mother of Christ. When you or hear some one in sermon or oration speak ;r; in the abstract of a good, faithful, honest est mother, your eyes fill up with tears while ing you say to yourself, "That was my mothof er." nd The first word a child utters is apt to ra- be "mother," and the old man in his dyra ing dream calls: "Mother! Mother!" It >us matters not whether she was brought up ou in the surroundings of a city and in afflusm ent home, and was dressed appropriately ;he with reference to the demands of modern ;he life or whether she wore the old-time cap and great, round spectacles and apron of on her own make and knit your socks with Id- her own needles seated by the broad fire* i? -I.-. rrr-onf Vvnnlrlno ahlaze. on a win* uy jjjocc, n.,u , [ht ter night.* It matters not how many wrina kles crossed and recrossed her face or how :en much her shoulders stooped with the burEor dens of a long life. If you painted a Main donna, hers would he the face. What a [ay gentle hand she had when we were sick, be and what a voije to soothe pain, and was there any one who could so fill up a room th- with peace and purity and light? And :he what a sad day that was when we cam6 a home and she could greet us not, for her ow lips were forever still! Come back, mothing er, in these Christmas times and take be your old place, and, as ten or twenty or lot fifty year a ago, come and open the old ay, Bible as you used to; read and kneel in the is same place where you used to pray and er- look upon us, as of old, when you wished lat us a merry Christmas or a happy New nd Year! But, no! That would not be fair re- to call you back. You had troubles enough eat while you were here. Tarry by the throne, ch- mother, till we join you there, your pray>ks era all answered, and in the eternal homerae stead of our God we shall again keep ?es Christmas jubilee together. But speak <es from your thrones, all you glorified moth 1 4.^ oil fViAco vmir cona nnd ere era, uiiu a ay iu u.?* tuwaw, jv.. or daughters, words of love, words of warnon ing, words of cheer. They need your voice, ;r. for they have traveled far and with many lat a heartbreak since you left them, and you he do well to call from the heights of heaven )sy to the vallevs of earth. Hail, enthroned Ian ancestry! We are coming! Keep a place It right beside you at the'banquet! M "Slow footed vears! More swiftly rua '?d Into the gold of that setting sun. ) a Homesick we are for thee, ive Calm land beyond the sea." 8et [CopyrlKht, 1901, L. Klopach. ] to de;]u. Obligations of Good Will. 'Rh Just because it is so pleasant to receive fen courtesy and favor and service, it is one's lv? duty to be thoroughly appreciative that he shall not allow himself to impose upon j those whose delight is in generous and del?" icate ministries to his comfort and joy. . To give oS one's self is right, and the genin* uine, loving giver often fails to put any estimate upon his gift, and is satisfied in ces its bestowal. Hut he that receives even the slightest evidence of love and good , will is under obligation to esteem it and m|8' keep it in mind. It is ingratitude to receive without acknowledgment, and to jjjj' take for granted any service rendered. It ' makes one selfish and unworthv, and more than often wounds the loving heart whose life spends itself for others. No jne the would really enjoy the reputation of seline fishness, ingratitude, meanness, that such nit conduct deserves. No one need have it if '10 he studies to be thoughtful and thankful, ?re arjd more ready to give than to receive.? ar" Universal is t Leader. vas __ TV ji' Indecision. ose Indecision is many a man's ruin. This ful is true spiritually as well as temporally, len The soul's nafety demands prompt action, all Favorable opportunities for salvation must at- he seized at once. Gracious calls are to be all liceded without delay. When the Spirit is is working in a human heart it is a risky -o!- jinil liarful thing to say, "Go thy way for fs, this time; at a more convenient season I ive I will call for thee." The wise will imme: . .... . 11 i:? I.;., .r>r>tinrw nnrl IMf-' <l:ULe V I<1:1 llliu line iruu ma be accept tlie Saviour whom He tender*, am? em Jive as lie directs. "Now id the accepted md time; now id the day of salvation." Close )in* in with the overtures of mercy, lluii no Mr risks. Time presses. Eternity is near 'b? The judgment is at hand. It may be now e's> or never with you.?Presbyterian, ttu Jjj'j Fit Companions. the The scientist, more anxious to vindicate 3gy liis tlieory than to discover the secrets of All nature, is a fit companion to the believer ha- who is more concerned in defending his the creed than in learning the will of God.? Rev. L. Walter Mason, Unitarian, Pittsnas biirg. i g " WBI THE GEEAT DESTROYEM SOME STARTLING FACTS ABOlflB THE VICE OF INTEMPERANCS|rfH| Poem: Indifference?It la a Dnty to Tour Nel|hbor'i Cliild as 'Well as ^Hj^H Own?A Bade Sobering Machine Did Wonders For Temperance. HH If I and mine are safe at home, iSMB It matters not if wolves go by, Nor that my neighbor's children roam,^HH Nor that I hear them loudly cry, Pleading for help. it mine are sate ana unaentea, BBH It matters not what woe betide, Nor who beguiled my neighbor's child, AM Nor that dv ruthless hand it dies, flQH Calling for help. Alas, my child has climbed the wall, BBj Is out among the wolves so fiercc, (I dreamed no harm could him befall), But now their fangs his flesh will pierc^B Oh, God, send help. Think not the Lord will spare thy child. V If thou hast seen the wolves go by. I Nor warned thv neiehbor's son beguiled, I To pitfalls where he sure must die, 1 For want of help. 1 Or here or there the Lord will mete, J To thee the measure of thy deeds, 8 Works make the orayer of faith complete, g Helping thy neighbor in his needs, And pleasine God. . f ?A. H. U., in the National Advocate. ? J The Sobering Machine. r The "Tattler" recently met a quaint and * amusing old gentleman, who said: "A s portion of my life was scent in a sleepy r Pennsylvania town, which has grown lit- r tie in the course of a half a century, and c still preserves many of the auaint customs of its earliest days. You will find in this fc i idyllic retreat counterparts of all the celebrities who figure so delightfully in Miss P Mitford's 'Our Village.' In my boyhood c it had an institution which distinguished r it from all sister villages?an institution t nuite unknown to modern communities. J It was called the soberine machine. This J consisted of a rude, snrin^less two-wheeled !j vehicle, with a board body, drawn by a J motley assembly of bummers and rovster- F er9, old and young. who can always be ? summoned in a country nlace on the slight- !. est signal when anything exciting is ' the wind. "When one of the rather numer- , ous town drunkards was discovered in a J favorable oosition, the sobering machine was slyly backed up to the curb, the vietim was quickly pushed into the cart and then nulled through the Rtreets over every possible obstacle by the jeerine mob that manned the ropes. The victim, it g was assumed, was jolted, jerked and r thumped into semi-sobriety by this rough t riding. At any rate, few of the town ; loafers who had tested the tonic virtues { of the sobering machine vearned for a sec- ? ond dose. Many of the noisy, razeed ] crowd who helped to drag the sobering t machine over its devious route had them- . I eelvp* taken similar trips. fc "The rude apparatus. I suspect," con- l tinued the old gentleman, according to the 3 Philadelohia Ledger, "did more for the cause of temperance in its day than the (1 more gentle and respectable methods of c promoting the reform. The appliance was 3 carefully housed and all the bloods in town a knew where it was to be found. Sometimes it figured in parades, and, when bedecked \ and bedizened with flowers, flags and rib- r bone, it attracted almost as much notice as the little, sputtering hand engine, which was supposed to do duty on haystack fires." The Serpent in the Cnp. I was never more impressed with the tenable nature of the serpent which lies coiled in the cup than in learning the following story. A Christian physician had told a lady a sad story of woman's degradation, and in "closing said: "But I can show you something vastly worse." He took her to one of the hospital wards and brought her to a little crib, where, bound head and foot, that it might not aash itself to pieces, lay a babe of seventeen months of age in the agonies of delirium tremens. After reaching home this lady dare not tell the story until in black and white the facts were before her. So she : wrote to the doctor (who gives so much of his time and strength to the benevolent institutions of a certain city). She received from an inmate of his dwelling this reply: Ml is DOC an uncuuimuu mm* lui . children, from one year and upward, to j be brought to this hospital in delirium , tremens. Mothers begin to give their children intoxicating drinks at a very early age, which they increase, as the desire to go out for debauch or work, and so the little ones come to the hospital in j this condition. The babe of whom you ask has probably lost its sight, but not its 1 hearing, and the passion is ruling in death, 1 for it opens its mouth to receive the alco holic stimulant, as the bird in the nest to ! receive the food from its mother."?Brech ren Evangelist. I . t "What is in a Glass of Beer? A writer in a German newspaper, says the Pharmaceutical Record, has had the ' temerity to jot down the ingredients I wjhich go to make up a glass of beer in Germany. The pharmacopeia of the beer ' barrel this scientific man seta tortn in alphabetical order. We give the German * nomenclature for fear of spoiling the ' brew. "It consists," says the writer, "of 1 alcohol, althopfenol, aloe, belladonna, ' biercouleur, bilsenkraut, bitterklee, buch- ,' enspane. caraghenmoos, coloquinten, en- 1 zian, fichtennoneln, gogel, gelatine, gl.vcer- 1 ine, haselnuszspane, housenblase, herbst- ' zeitiose, hopfenaroma, hophenbittersaure, ) Ignatinsbohne, ingwer, kamille, kartoffel- I zucher, kardobendictenkraut, koke'.skorn- 1 er. koriander, lakriezensaft, laugensalz, ! malzextract, mettallsalze, mohn, moussirpulver, natron, pieszwurz, nux vomica, pikrinsaure, pottasche. quassia, reis salicy- ! gaure, schafgarbe, Spanischer, pfeffer, soda, strakezucker, starkemehl, strychnin, ' syrup, tannin, tausendguldenkraut, tisch- . lerleim, wachholdcr, waldmeister, weidenschalen. wermuth, zuekercoulor, etc." Well, the Germans can put all these ar- J tides into a glass of beer, but thev cannot Sut the beer into my stomach when it is rewed. To stand such a dose a man should have a stomach copper bottomed t and porcelain lined. Down with the beer j business! How the Law is tnioncii. Recently ^ome druggists and hotel men , of Burlington, Vt., were taught the lesson j which many such violators of the law in j other places need to learn. They were ( fined from $100 to $750 each and sen- j tenccd to imprisonment for sis months for j violation of prohibitory laws. In Kansas j a Topeka jointist was fined $7500, sentenced to 1350 days in jail and placed under bond of $10,000 for violation of prohibitory law. A few instances like this ( would have a salutary effect on many ( would-be liquor sellers.?Baptist Argus. , The Crusade In Brief. j Seventy of the ninety-3ix counties of tht ' State are now dry. i One hundred cases of liouor, confiscated ' from "blind tigers," was destroyed by or- J der of the court at Newport, Ark. j John Cahill, of Kvanston. 111., has been i fined $300 for keeping a "blind pig." The fine is the heaviest ever imposed for a like offense. Sa'oonists are objecting to the extension | of the rural free delivery system. Taking j , the farmer's mail to his door daily obviates i the necessity of his coining to town so of- 1 ten and hence, of course, "enjoying the ' privilege" of visiting the booze dispensary . [ i The Methodist Ministers' Association oj , Denver. Co!., has appointed a committee ( to petition the City Council to pass an or- | dinance which will put restaurants thai sell liquor under the same restrictions as I saloons. The postal director in the city of Dcubs France, has issued an order forbidding al! i letter carriers accepting alcoholic drinkj from their customers while on and ofl duty. He says the importance of the serv j ice demauds total abstinence. Why untrue statements in regard to al ' cohol cannot be discovered and uispruvet as quickly as any other errors, and whj the trutli of this drug should not be ivel corned and accepted with as much cond | dence as any other statement, are psycho ' logical mysteries. orranaoHB^nHMi 'as ouncS oom ^MMDDHB^BHnH 10 bui^^HUH|^nHHflH 3. 'flHRBH^HHI tie siga^nnflsn^nnniH^^H Clovoi* >arted me soiHH^HBnnHH| kteoKnnBHH mged fire ower yrnbol of triumnh^H^lflHHH^^HHB^HH resistless he errors and omfort. warmth. cheer^^H^^BHMH^^H fhich the Holy Soirit at." There were p? many cere persons, and they sat up^M9HB|HW| ome time to show the constan^K^^H^^^H { the Holy Snirit with them. 4. "Filled." Were entirely un^B acred influence and power. To srith anything is a phrase denoting tBBH he faculties are pervaded by it. n it. or under its influence. "WitU^H|HH loly Ghost." At this time their /ere purified^by faith and they were >4BH| ued with miraculous powers for the frfr^^H herance of the gospel. "Other tongues."^HB n nrtipr language which thev had not :nown before this time. "Utterance." burnished them with the matter as well V s the language. 5. "Dwelling." Both residents and vi#? - tors. "Devout." Truly religious. "Every " lation." "The -Jews at that time were, cattered into almost all nations, and in 11 places had svnagogues." 8. "When this sound was heard" fR. ' ' 7.) The sound that came from the upner oom. "Confounded." Perplexed, failng to understand what it all meant. 8ee . \ 12. "Own langu?7e." Or dialect; they * leard even the different dialects. See \8. ' \" .< 1. "Galileans." Persons wholly uneda ated and conesqu??ntly ignorant of those anaruages which they now speak bo fluntly. , 9. 'Tarthianp." For an explanation of he names in this and the following verses ee dictionary. 10. "Proselytes." Heathen who had ^ ccepted the Jewish relirion. 11. "Wonderful works." Concerning Testis, His death, resurrection and ascen- 1 ion, and His power t.o save men from sin. 1 12. "Amazed." In great perplexity. 'What meaneth this?" They could not "i mderstand what they saw. 13. "Others mocking." The word ren!<?red mockins means to cavil, to deride. ["here has seldom been a remarkable manfestation of the power of the Holy Spirit . hat has not given occasion for orofane nockery and merriment. The Saviour ??ir am) Urn pfforts of ' .xiijibcijl it ao Christians to save others ha*e been the lubject of derision. "New wine." Sweet vine. 14. 'Teter?said." Peter's sermon was . ilear and practical. It was founded on j acts, and was endorsed by the Holy Soirit. "Harken." Important truth is ibout to be spoken. 15. "Not drunken." We have not even leen taking sweet wine. "Third hour." ( [t is only 9 o'clock in the morning, too > ;arly to be affected with strong drink. This was also the hour of morning worship, and devout .Tews were not accus- -? :omed to take food or drink before that :ime; even drunkards did not usually be:ome drunk in the daytime. jj 16. "This is that." This is a fulfilment J| )f the predictions of one of your own pro)hets. "Joel." Pee Joel 2: 28-32. Peter pves the sense, but does not quote the ixact words. 17. "The last days." This expression 1 ilways denotes in the New Testament the ige of the Messiah, which the Scriptures renresent as the world's last great moral ?poch. The Christian dispensation. "Pour >ut." Not in drops as under the old covelant. hut in streams which He shed on . is abundantly. "All flesh." All races, anks and classes. "Prophesy." This vord denotes in general, to speak under i divine influence, whether in foretelling 'uture events, i" celebrating the nraises >f God, or in instructing others in the du;ies. of relicion. Paul's definition in 1 "'or. 14: 3. "Visions?dreams." These vere some of the ways God chose to reveal Himself, more especially under the old ' :ovenant. 18. "Servants?handmaidens." Former- 4 y there were achoo's of prophets, but iow the Spirit was to oe poured out unon 1 jersons of inferior rank, for the kingdom )f the Messiah is to he Durely spiritual. j 19. "I will show." There are a great variety of opinions as to the meaning of "*| verses 19 ana 20. "The sun," etc. These N ire figurative representations of eclipses, ntended. most probably, to point out the all of the civil and ecclesiastical state in rudea. S T -_4 ?? T>k.-? 11 an.. 20. "uay 01 tne j-iuiu. J.J110 *???. -j, tfv to any day in which God manifests Flimself, but particularly to a day whenf ~ Fie comes forth to punish men as at the' lestructron of Jerusalem, or at the dav of: udgment. These wonders were to take jlace before God was to come forth in iudgment. \ Revising the British Antheifc. The British national anthem is now un* ' . Jergoing revision in order to make it ac:ord with the new monarchy. As at present sung it read, "God save our gracious King." This apparently is not imperialis - 1. f "Meant nnurt llPQiHpQ 1 ,ic enougn iui me wm>., ? ffhich the word "gracious" is held to be fl more applicable to a queen than a king. I 5o at the coronation the refrain will be 9 changed to "God save our lord the King," which, by the way, M*as used in the ear- I licst extant copics of the anthem, dated I Talnable Find of Relic*. ffi A valuable find of ancient treasure is reported from Montalto in Liguria, Italy. H during the demolition of one of the most n indent ohurchcs in Italy a small under- H iround chamber was discovered filled with H objects of art dating back to the era of Ha the Roman Empire. They consisted chiefly sf silver amr?horae and vases finely chis-"^H jled and filed with gold and silver coins of H the Roman Empire. . H American sno? xnTacTe Annti'ia. Bfi Tt annnimwrl nf-. Vienna that H owing to the fact that American shoes are. invading the Austrian market the Ministry of Commerce has bought a number o! HE the latest American shoemaking machines, and will shortly institute a series of lectures and demonstrations for the benefit H of the Austrian shoe manufacturers and operatives. American Capitalists in Iceland. fH American capitalists may buy or lease pvritiferous lands in Iceland. ...