Historical Newspapers of South Carolina

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f *? j |WHERE INSTINCT*FAILS jj ^ ^ gy JL UOH ^ ^ ^ j Tf" ET the reader, as he finds oc-j | f? casion and opportunity, try I J V the following experiment: I Take a deep, wide-moutbed J*r, say from seventeen to tweuty j Inches long, with a neck from five to ! l 9LJ (rXSDDTO UPON THE HONEY-DEW j FT7BNI8HXD BT THE SABKAnCXIA) ABOUT TO K3TKB THB PLANT CNDEB < THE HOOD. ( 1 I even Inches In diameter. In this im- i prison a bee and two or three flies. 1 Place the bottom of the Jar squarely galust a pane In the window, drop the curtains about the jar. and unstop Jts mouth. The flies will Invariably make the most of the opportunity given them to escape; the bee. on the contrary. though popularly supposed to be the wisest of Insects, will buzz iu. anely about the closed end through Which the light comes, without seeking to escape in any other direction. Light tod liberty with the bee are synonyms, and she will perish rather than prove i false to ber convictions. You can keep her confined with the back door of ber prison house wide open as long as you j choose; she will never find her way out. Mr. My, on me contrary, an Idle inlow. **a man about town." whose Irregular habits subject htm to Innumerable perils, has de*-?loped a faculty ; for getting out of scrapes which, though ' perhaps not equal to that be possesses : for getting into them, la superior to I Anything of the sort bis more Indus trious compeer can boast of. Near the cottage where an experiment similar to the one here described ' was. In pursuance of the suggestion of Sir John Lubbock, tried, grew some pitcher plants; and toward these, as if to show that the Instinct of dies also < has Its limitations- the prisoner that first escaped from the Jar made his way. These pitcher plants are the tippling places of fast Insects of var-j ions sorts, particularly flies. Spread about toe opening 10 me vegewiuie ?uloons Is a regular free-lunch counter open to all couiers. Mr. Fly. attracted THE PLANT RAFFLESIA ARNOLI TAINTED BEEF. UPON WKIICI e drops of nectar upon the cur lous leaf or fbe sarracoiua. uususpectingly follows the trail of treacherous sweetness to the portals of the vegetable saloon where the nectar is abundant. He is a thirsty individual; perhaps tab free lunch makes him more so; and ttae cool, green depths of the pitcher-1 CUB* >ACKING UF plnnt contaiu a store of tempting liquid refreshment. He crosses the hospitable threshold and enters what is to him a spacious and elegant apartment. strolling along, stopping bore and there to sip a drop of nectar, until he Is well within the walls of the enfolded leaf. Here he encounters a rnnpr n nortioD of tlie leaf of such a peculiarly smooth and slippery surface, consisting of delicate, overlapping glossy hairs, upon which even he. that can walk upside down upon a class skylight, finds It difficult to keep his footing. He slips and falls, but ttpreadlng his wings, dies and attempts to alight on the opposite side, a little further down perhaps, to avoid the slippery zone, but encounters a surface thickly set with stiff, downwardpointing hairs, that affords him no footing; and even if he succeeds with the greatest difficulty In alighting, prevents bis progress upward. Taking (light again and pounding against the ^va lis, oewuuemi, urea, pernaps stupefled or intoxicated by the food be bas taken, be Inevitably, sooner or later, fall* Into tbe liquid at tbe bottoni of the tubular leaf, a pool of deatb In which are already Imprisoned tbe bodies of numerous previous victims, md so Incontinently becomes a subject 'to point a temperance lecture or adorn i tale." Some very interesting and amnsing experiments have been made In en itril VUUliK IU UC1CIUIIUV iuc *44*11*1*; vi tbe Instinctive faculty that Impels tbe mason bees to build tbelr curious i bks (chalicodoma) xrkctixo a srrSORAPBB UPON A CELL ALBKAD7 BUILT. structures. Mason 'oees fashion nests of very solid masonry. Cbalicodoma niuraria Is solitary In her habits; she constructs her habitation alone and unaided, usually selecting a bowlder of considerable size as a solid basis npon which to build an adobe edifice of a suitable sort of earth moistened with her own saliva. When this Is about an lncb bigh she proceeds to All . **-*? >1, GIVING OUT TIIE SMELL OF I FLIES LAY TUEIIl EGGS. _L? "?-" > '"'If Lilil i_l? tinni.r i ml fit it aiiVUl MUli 4MM ? w. pollen; lays an egg on it. and closes it over with a roof of cement. After eight or nine of these cells have been coranleted <*hc adds an additional pro teetion, a thick layer of mortar placed over the entire construction. A eel! In an early stage of construction wai taken away, and in place ol - . v. . .. ..... . L - - , PUMPKIN THAT'S A WHOPPER. j i Four-Y??r.Old Olrl Can Stud Inatda TbU CallfonU Record-Breaker. At the exhibition of farm products ' icld last fall under the auspices of the 1 mabIamm (not IflffA In VntP VAI"L* Plfr D ?From the N'ew York Tribune. it was substitute*! one already built and stored with houey and pollen. One would, in such a case, naturally supnose thnt the mason bee. clad to be saved so much labor, would simply i supply the necessary egg and seal up I the cell. But no. indeed! the regular, t ancient and established custom in the Chalicodoma order of procedure Is far too important to be disturbed by a little thing like this; tlie bee calmly 1 goes on building until the cell Is built 1 up as much as a third more than the proper height; then, although a sufficiency of provision for the larvae bad been already supplied, she waste? MMA *T.T KKTOAPPED BT THE BRISTLES i OF 8ABBACEKIA. j labor In adding thereunto a second and a supererogatlve store of food. Another experiment consisted o4 piercing a hole In the cell below tbd part where the bee had been working, In this case the bee Is of the saint! genus, but of a different species froui t that Juat described; It is the Chalico-' 1 doma pyrenaica. This species buildi { cells as does the other, but tills then! 3 with honey as she goes on. raising thtJ 1 walls a bit, tben going on several ex petitions for honey. tben building up tbe walls again, and so on until the cell is finished. ( A cell was chosen which was almost f completed, and while the bee was away ^ a bole was pierced in the cell below t where tbe bee was working, allowing 0 tbe honey In the cell to gradually os cape. Entirely Ignoring an incident so contrary to precedentand established usage, tbe bee on ber return calmly worked away as If nothing bad happened, adding mortar to tbe edges of tbe cell and honey, which Immediately ran out. leaving the nest eniDtv. This experiment was repeated many times I with differences of details, but none ' In the results. As it might possibly be conjectured that the bee had failed to notice the Injury a cell was selected which had but a rery little honey In it A large bole was made In this, which the bee returning with the honey certainly noticed, for she went down to fhe bottom of her cell, and not only examined the aperture carefully, but! felt Its edges with her antennae and j nnulioil tlium thrniKrh If Dial iilia th?ni y UQUVU tUVMt ?MIWM9W WMV MVWf J as tulgbt naturally l>e supposed. stopl ( It up? Not at all. To do so would be t to prove false to all the traditions of her race?be a departure from the im^ memorial usages of the ChalleodomJ | laus. and introduce a new and a disturbing element into the ancient and j honorable order of mason beea. However this Is, the poor, dovcted creature went on emptying into this 1 vessel load after lood of honey, which, us a matter of course, escaped at the bottom as fast as sbe emptied it at'Tlie top. All of one long, hot summer afternoon did she labor at this bootless task, and began again next morn Inc. $ At last. when, regardless of the result, t sbe had performed her prescril>ed duty in the prescribed manner, made the customary amount of journeys nml supplied the usual amount of honey, she conscientiously laid her egg and closed up the empty cell. It is quite common to speak of the Intelligence of insects, but it really seems, in the light of recent scientific investigations, almost as correct to siH'ak of the intelligence of a watch, j Insects doubtless accomplish wonder- I ful results, but such results seem to be effected fas are the equally wonderful adaptations of means to an end by the vital organs in our own bodies) by automatic. unconscious. and unintelligent obedience to internal or external stimuli.?Scientific American. Leonid*' lOOOtli Tour. The tu-xt return of the Leonids, or November meteors, will mark the lUOUth anniversary of the first record I of this swarm. Last November, on the mAMiinff nf tin. l"tli i>>11 Am??ri<?nn observatory estimated that 1(J00 uie> teors au hour were falling. lu Eng land a number of meteor* were iloui?ly observed, the me;in heights of eight being thus calculated at SI to r>li miles, I with visible paths of '*2 to <J7 miles. A Japanese family of Ave can live ; oa less than $8 a mouth. &UJC14uui iuomuiv ?u *V4?% mm; * l pnmpkln raised on Long Island wm c xhlblted and was the centre of Inter- * st to the farmers who attended the a 1 ? ^l- ?. ?*?!?!?? na n K/\n fir/ I ? iUOW. A. 1419 |/uui|iaiu n uo uuvuw *. ?* > M md a half feet in height and was con- a tidered a wonder. 1 California, however. produces pump t clns that put the Long Island piroduct r o shame. One was .exhibited there jj ecently which was a whopper. It iras so large that after an opening bad jeen made in the top and the pulp re- & noved there was room enough insidf [ o allow a four-year-old girl to stand a here. Photographs were taken tc c >rove how large the pumpkin reallj e lY.is, so tunt not even ine scepiu-aj 'armers of the East can express doubti t ibout It?New York Sun. J L Geographical Centre of the Union. & This monument at Fort HHey, Kan. , narks the geographical centre of tb? c United States. It was not erected foi f a A i he purposes of designating such a act. but was placed there out of afectlon on the part of Joseph O. Sawrer. railroad builder, for Major Ednund Ogden, U. 8. A., who died at ?"ort Riley In 1850. An Optical Illusion. The well-known French chemist and 'ngineer, P. Horsln Dean, of Paris. >ubllshes in a French contemporary ome interesting illustrated articles or lie deception of the human eye. Our iccompanylng cut represents one of A DECEPTIVE DIAGRAM. I: ? I bese deception*. The Judgment as to ? he direction of straight lines is en- * irely diverted by means of numerous x Ircular cross lines. It consists, as ihown in our cut. of ? system of con oniric circles, with w bleb a rectangu- P ar triangle has been drawn, the sides ! I if which nppenr in the middle to l>e | t *>nt inward, while they are. iu reality. T ibsolutely straight. The deception is | j xplaiuc-d by the fact that the con-1 r TUHIV VIICIUO i*c?. wviu VMWU W. | , he sides of the triangle in a reversed tense. j A Jar That Whlntlmi. The piece of Inca pottery here shown, iay? the Southern Workman, is an Incresting "whistling water croft," confer . . V * ' " '* * .e * . . . v. a "whistling water croft." ' t listing of two water jars, connected !?} a handle. One Jar has for the stop- , |ht a bird that whistles as the water I is poured into the tube ol* the opposite '*' |ar. Very few museums have many , l?erefet specimens of the Mack Inea i (tottery. The IVabody Museum of ' Harvard University proltaMy has the [ best collection in the United States. , It is considered that Japanese men i nre among the best ueedlcwoikers iu ? (lit? world, their only equals being the j women of Russia. t 1 The City of Mexico, with a population t of nearly ."{T'MKMj. still has an annual 1 death rate of o2;2 per 10U0. ( DB. CHAPMAN'S SEBMON k SUNDAY DISCOURSE BY THE NOTED PASTOR-EVANGELIST. latjKt: A DlKoar?i?d M?n-Hoit r?opU DU??ti*flrd Uri?Dt? Th?y Lektl Too Artificial? Life?No Kvom la the Kingdom of GoU For PcMlinlun. [Tbc Fev. J. Wilbur Chapman, D. D.. is kow the mo4t distinguished and best mown evangelist in the country. He wm stond onlv to Dr. Talciage, but since the ieath of tnat famous preacher Dr. Chop:ian has the undiluted possesion of the >ul(iit a* the preac'aer to iuiluence the >lam people. His services as a:i evan^el?t are ia constant demand. His sermon* lave stirred the hearts of tien and women o a dejrc2 unapproached by any latterlay divine. J. Wilbur Chapinai: was horn n Kicamond, I'.id., June 17, 1S.VJ His uother died when he was but twelve l I -* - J I 'Card 01 age, acu ms iaiaer uicn seven ear* alter ward. Consequently he was tot onljr deprived of a mother's care at he formative age of boyhood, but he was hrown upon hi? own resource* before he iau reachcd early manhood. He was eduated at Oberlin College and Lake Forest Jniversity, and graduated fcr the ministry rora t.'ic Lane Theological Seminary, Cininnati, Ohio, ai 138f. While there ha aani tested t'.ie character and the spirit rhich have followed him a* an evanreiist 41 over the country. They have made his ainistry a contiuual success as pajitor ?nd * a revivalist. His sermons are simple nd direct, so that their influence is not o much due to exciting the emotions a* o winning the hearts and convincing the rikid* of those who bear him. Dr. Chapnan is now in charge of the Fourth Proytenan Church, New York City.] Nkw York Citt.?The Rev. Dr. J. Wiliur Chapman, America's most famous pa*or-cvangelist, who took charge of a montund church in this city several year* ago, nd it now preaching to an overflowing ?ka fallnnnnir ongrcrgnuuu, u?a &utunuvu >w?v?. .MA loquent sermon to the nress. It was ireachcd from the text: I Kinz*, 10: 4, But he himself went a day's journey into he wilderness, aid came and sat down mder z juniper tree, and he requested for linself that he might die." Ths history of Elijah begins with the eveateenth chapter of 1 Kings and starts rith the word "and." The preceding haptcr tells us of the idolatry of the peoilc of the reign of lawlessness and the pparent triumph of iniquity. It seemed s if the end of all things had corae, and 1 uppose everybody living in that time bought so, but i: this was the impression, he fatal mistake had been made because lod is left out of all consideration. It is veil for us to remember that He is never t a low. The land may be overrun with niquity, His witnesses may be aiicnced. ?ut all the time He is preparing a man in ome quiet village as He prepared Eliiah. md at the right time He will send uir.i orth with no uncertain testimony! There s really no place f>r pessimism in the ungdoxn of God. He has never made a ailure in the past, He never will in the uture. "If Cod be for us, who can be igaiast us." It is literally true that when he enemy cornea in like a flcod this spirit if the Lord shail lift up a standard against lim. The story of Elijah is most interesting, md wc trace him from his sudden appearince here daaning like a me tec r upon the cene of action, down to Chcrith, where te is fed by the ravens, over to Zarephath, rhere he relieve* the distress of the wornin who meet* him, but the most remarkable scene in his life is on Mt. Carmel, rhcre, facing the prophets of J'aal. after heir inability to call down fire from heav tn he produces tlie tire from the very lard of God, which consumed the sacriice. licks up the water in the trencher .nd give* him victory of a most remarksile kind. The prophet* of Baal are disrested, and the news concerning their deeat is carried to Jezebel. She is intensely ngrv. and declares that Elijah shall be as ler prophets are at a certain hour of the iay. Instead of looking up to God and riumphinz over this wicked woman Eli,.h c'.oes quite the opposite, and thus it is hat the text is written to describe his sad all. ! How are the mighty fallen? It would ie difficult to imagine a man in whose lite here was more of reaf contrast; now he is nastcr in prayer and the pendulum which win^s one way toward glory swings in lis l'.fe in the other direction toward depair, and the prayer for victory becomes i wail of distress; now he is lockini up he heavens and holding the key and apiarc..t!y at his own will the rain tarries or alls, and now utterly dismayed lie i? rusnjg to the wilderness and wishing that he aight die. but Elijah is not alone in this lesire. The most of men have at one time i T another wished that they rait,ht end all. loses did, "And if Thou deal thus with ae, kill rte, I pray Thee, cut of hand, if I iave found favor in Thy sight, and let me lot see ray wretchedness.' Numbers 11: J. .So olso did Jonah, '"Therefore now, O aord, take, I beseech Thee, my life from ne, for it is better for me to die than to 1 ive." Jonah 4: 3. And even the great tpostle Paul ?aid, 'T an in a strait be-1 wixt two. having a desire to depart and to >e with Christ, hut the trouble with the oost of us is w# want to die our own way. Sliiah was not willing to die at the hand if Jezebel, bat he w^s quite ready to sleep I limself away into i-i-ens.bility under the aniper tree in the desert. Elija'i nude a Teat mistake in running away If he had toed l.is ground he might hare saved bis ountry, jrevented the captivity of the >ecplc, for I doubt not the 7000 that had -,ot biwed the knee to Uaal would have __j .i? ._?! omc xorin, auu iuc> nuu.a tiu>?. , orward conquering and to conquer, but Slijah is a picture of ourselves. and we all I ike hin ha\-e been t:iae? without number inder the juniper tree. The object ct this er.nrn is tc nsk the question, "Why we ire thus disc ranged," ard then to acterniae if possible what the difficulty was rith Elijah. Why are we? There are thous:nd* cf ieo">le to-day who are utterly dissatisfied ritii !ifc because they are living too artui- j ia! an experience. We have very many hit gs that our ancestors did not poises*. J Tlu :?osM>?ion of the*e things ought to iring to us great blesstr.fi ia every way. >ut as a matter of fact it is true that icither happiness, r.or brotherly love, nor tower nor go id have leen increased in !ie least. W : have indeed gone lr. the opposite direction, and manv of us are of it nen n ost miserable. We are diseonented because wc are trving t > samebins that we are not. 'Ihe business man hinks he ir.twt keep pace with hi* compeltor whatever the co*t to hiniseit. a id in n it tie time he tinJ* hinxeif out of r.n include. In sccie'y thousand1 of peop! are iping the custom* and manners ot those vlio .ire in an e .tirelv different set from hemselve*. by whose ?i<!e they can r.cver tand. and if they i!i?i they would he only he more unhappy. and there are thou* tads if hosr.ei ?vhe:e instead of living a *nnn!e ifo the member* of the !.ou?ehoM are liens at a pace that is terrific, and ali this ? killing the bu?ine*a man, the society von.an. the parent* and the children, and nsteid of [ ossesaim; joy and pea we are mder .!?<. juniper tree. The thirst for >!en>i.re it. the.'e d.\vs is s > great th:t we iave become abs >iuteiy uns rupuiou- in on: ittempts to ijnn the obje-ts <>i our dclire* We ought to be satisfied with jusl ilia*. we ire an i in the ino-t natural way. A'e hive come into the world wr!i ?!i !it j.it:*. sonic one with sold, other* with nlver. . till others with marble and many vitii only clay, and <>ur ta?!c is t > nsiiion hese tilings into tlie strongest manhood itld the truest womanhood, and to d> it n tiie nio*t simple and unaffected nt in* icr \\'i> are too ?? "fi-h in our livtr.js. we on:; t<> .-.iti?iv our ..t?j?et:tes. our pa*?ion? itiil oiii d^-iie*. Tin* lon^in>r lias become i[.f.i!isi.>?t in >ur livuu. an I the mart who :uke? it i. takes his appetite Mromer ii.ii. iti.. -* !:. .m 1 his need is ilrcmiiul. foi ie wl o lives simply to eat. to drink, to lei-p at d to dress, whether he be pauper ir | nine is oa the dowaward graut- to depa ir. Cot t'-atnont is one rf the frearVm )! *'iius in tiie world. It is not a <jt;e.t;oH if the ;M?*.?e*Mon of either poverty or ii:hes. He who knows how to he eon tent >.>-*e-<*es tlie secret, not berauv he in ,'ither poor or rich. but ^inpiY becau?e lit1 enow* ii'iiv !>o content. r!ie mere facl ;Iiat we are Chr.?:i.i;.? .W* n.>t amount :o much in many ca?e?; it our religion in:reasej our cwotiiieove, our hope, our love, ? " ' j it is good, bat if It girec us the spirit that we are better than other people, if we seek to control the interest* of other people, make them fashion their liven according to our own plan, if we are good simply that we mar escape punishment, such a frofewion r.t religion U almost worthless. he difficulty is not in our surroimdings.but in our?eIvcii. "Joy it not in things, it u in us." I met a young woman this winter in the South who told me that she was the possessor of a $10,000 violin, and with a shining face she said, "You should hear the music of that instrument." and yet in ?h* hands of very many people it would have been just a producer of unharraonious sounds, while in the hand* of this gifted vo-.ing womin it was truly marvelous, and all because the music was in her. and the violin was the beat movement of the expression of that mu*ie. When Ole Bui!, the great violinist. played in Princeton, one of the professors a?ked him if the secret of his succcss was in the violin or in the bow or in himself, and he aid, "The violin and the bow amount to but little. I never play until I feel that there is mttiic in me that muit be ex?res?ed. and then anv instrument I touch become* remarkable.'' Many of us arc unfitted for life because we have become too artificial, have had wrong ideals and have tried to be what we never can be. A friend recently sent me that wonderful little book, "The Simple Life," by Charles Wagner, which every one would do well to read. To the author of thil book I am indebted for some of the expressions used above, but in one of the chapters he tells us in speaking of Jhe home life, "In the time of the Second Empire. in one of our pleasantest sub-prefecturea of the nrovinces. a little way from *vne bath* frequented by the Emperor, there was a mayor, a very worthy man, and intelligent, too, whose head wa* *uddenly turned by the thought that hi* sovereign might one dav descend nnon hi* home. Up to thi* time he had lived in the house of hi* fathers, a son respectful of the slightest family tradition*. But when once the all-absorbing idea of receiving the Emperor had taken possession of his brain he hecamc another man. In this new light what had before seemed sufficient for hi* need*, even enjoyable, all this simplicity that his ancestors had loved, appeared poor, ugly, ridiculous. Out of the question to ask nn Emperor to climb this lvooaen suurca?e, nit in ine.se oia armchair*, walk over such suneranuated carpet*. So the mayor called architect and masons, pickaxes attacked walls and demolished partitions, and a drawing-room was made out of all proportion to the rest of the bouse in size and splendor. He and his family retired into close quarter*, where people and furniture incommoded each other generally. Then, having emptied his purse and upset his household by this stroke of genius, he awaited the'royal guest. Alas, he toor. saw the end of the empire arrive, but the Emperor never. The folly of this poor man Is not so rare. As sottish as b* are a'l those who *nrrifiri- their home life to the demands of the world." n. What was the difficulty with Elijah? Fir?t hi* physical strength had been overtaxed. He had been laboring under the highest tension, hia nen.es were unstrung, and he was just in the position where Satan could tempt him the wont. There are maay like him to-day. They are is despair, and they need not ao much a spiritual physician as the presence of a doctor who can tell them that their bodies must Have rest, their nerves must be built up, and they themselves nust remember that their bodies are the temples of the Holy Ohost, and that they may sin against God just as truly when they break commands touching the body as when they commit sins touching the soul. Elijah needed rest, and instead of taking it he prayed that he might die. Second, he looked awav from Cod to his circumstances. Up to that time he endured as seeing Him who was invisible, then like Peter when he saw the wind that was boisterous he began to sink. I do not think that any minuter could preach today if he realized the iniquity that surrounded nin, the hypocrisy in many hearts, the awful ?ins in many lives; he would grow faint and sick at heart, and all because he looked down, while it is possible, on the other hand, for anvbody to preach in the nidst of all thu desolation it he keeps his eves turned up, and the difficulty with you is not that your power is dead, but that your eyes are fastened upon the ground instead of turned toward to heaven, and the cause of your distress is not that your mother has gone away from yw home, but that you are standing like Mary looking in at the tomb, when you ought to be standing with upturned* face looking by faith into the very midst of the angel company in heaven. it ***** !ook to God in it all. The other day in my mail came a little piece of poetry from a friend in England, which has been tinging ita way like a bird of paradise through my soul all the week. "Wher the way seems dark and dreary, Think of Him. Lett thy heart grow faint and weary. Think of Him. For ITe knowcth all the way, .And His strength will be toy stay; He can cheer the darkest day, Think of Him. "When some sorrow sorely presses, Think of Him. For through trials of: He blesses, Think of Him. He alone can understand. Leave it all in His diar hand; lit His lov* for th>>e He planned. Think of Him. ''When some anxious care perplexes, Think of Him. Lest thv inmost ?oul it vexes, u.m I X II1UA \Ji AA1UI. Bring thy care and thou ahalt see, He will bear it all for thee; lie would hare thee peaceful be. Think of Him." III. But there was still another difficulty with Elijah. First. he was alone. In verse 3 we real that he left hu servant at Beersheba, and he himself went into the wilderness. It is a jtre.it mistake to be alone when trouble comes. "Bear ve one another's burden*, ani no fulfill the law of (!od," guvs us a picture of human fellowship, while the verse. "Take my yoke upon you and learn of Me." gives us an idea of that fellowship which we may have with Him. John M -NViil. the greit Scotch preacher, has a tine illustration of this noint in his sermon based upon I Samuel, the 27t!i chapter and the tirst verse, "And David said in his heart, I shall now perish one day by the hand o: Saul; there is nothing better for me than that I should speedily escape into the land o: the l'hihstines. and Saui shall despair of me, to Keek me any more ir. any coast of Israel; so shall 1 escape out of his hand." "David said in Ins heart," and John McNeill says it would have been well if* instead of saying it in lu? heart he w<>u;d have said it out loud. It i* the tnin^ we ?iy in our heart that jjrown to ?uch great proportion and le.r.U u* to believe rh.it we are on the verne of despair. Wuh-vi' <iue?iion tIn* parage w true, and Mr McNeil! su?uentj three eitre*. Fir?t?Why didn't Div.d <ay it aloud to hi* servant and let h:* servant argue Innt out of hi* position, for there an? many thine* we think we would uevcr dare to >av to our dene?t friend*. Second?Why didn't Divnl pray it. He ivaa a master in prayer, and it he had but fallen on h:* knee* and ?aid it to fJod, at lea?i have tried to sav it. he would have found that In* very tongue would have cleaved to the roof of In* mouth, for there are thin.:* we think that ve would blusli if we dared to say them to Ood. Third?Why didn't he sine it. lie wa* much of a ?tnccr. wa* David, and if he had 1 ""I" 111- t ! > would li.lVi" .irou'ii hot. and he Would have with *rai!iii",rine and otnnibhti;. and then *.iid Mp. M' N'oiil. "Why way we not follow ihin rule, and when we have a ditficultv. imaginary or real. let u< *ay it. or pr.iv i:. or ?ins it. and if we rannot *ny it. and it won't pray, and wi:l n.>t *n?^ there i.? nothing in it. It i* hut tit" devil'* delusion to {dunce ii< into desnair. Fourth?lie ?.it down. Th.:t wa? a sre.it ?; . i*. ..... .... jl.^n*.i i?v !?? *.. . . If he hail n'y kei?t xotnic lie w.j.iM havel found victory. T'tero :?r-? < > m.inv jteonle in th church to-day who have done ju>t exactly wuai Elijah did. They have sat I - I I down. The nun who mm taught a 8mday-whool cltn ia now tifcinf nothing mm fast slipniog awar from Chriat. The number of the church who naed to ba faithfel at the prayer meeting ia now abaent ana aiitinc down in hi* home he ia of aO W# moat miserable. That man who waa open in t^e church and lored the chnrcb BM ?*t down in the world, and he question* if he ever knew Chrut, no let na keep jroinjf. It ia when a man ia idle that Sataa trin? him up. Fifth?He wanted to dictate to God ' -'J a- t*:_ <?T-? .. T( ( v?*nen nr *jihj io mm ucv utc mk. * ? a good thine that God did not take bin at hi? word, for he would hare died under A e!oud. and vronld haw been haried in tltt dcaert. What a merrr it ia chat God doc* not fire u* all we a?k for. .And my owa experience I doabt not i? yours. the things that God ha? refused to we hare been my rreate?t bW?>n?r*. Then let an remember that "no" in junt aa Rinch of an anawer a* "yen." and your experience in your born* haa been that no for your children usually i? the better answer. R-it how 'gracioas ,a God i*in Hi* dealing* **nth those who art out of the war. He call* Adam in tenderre** when He aavs. "Whew art thoaf* He woo* David back again to rirtoe ia the atory of the ?w? lamb, and fires as a picture of Himaelf in the seeking lor* of the father of the prodigal for his boy, lets us understand something or tin lonpvenes* when He sends in the nerson of His Son to write upon the sand His disposition to remember no more the sin of a guilty woman, ivul then whispered to Eli. ih M he is under the juniper tree in a still small voice, and continues to whisper until at la?t Elijah is on his feet and fleeing for his life back again into the light. Ob, let us come out from under the jttniMr * tree. It is a sad place to find a Christian and a good place to keep a way from. Rp?ar Points. The light from heaven can never lead astray. The world must read the Gospel in Kvine epistles. Resignation is putting God between one's set* and one's grief. The most momentous truth of religion is that Christ is in the Christian. TV- a:?- ?? ?onf Oiriatian man* hood in when it is put to the tore test. You cannot dream yours.'lf into a character; you must hammer and forge your* self into one. The lirht of the Christian abinea brightest for Chrut, when he ia leaat conacioua that it ia ahining. Not all Cod's messenger* are angeb. Any hand that knocks at the door may bring a call from the King. It is better to build a life than to mate a fortune. Character ia a greater accom pli'hment than riches. He who manifests humility, lore and gratitude when told of hi* fault* baa made large attainment* in the Christian life. Spiritual sustenance cannot be effeetfr* in an abstract form, as pare Ttatfc; it mast come to as through the energy of ft :-jM spiritual lib. We need a faith that will "grasp Christ with the heart" in order to "en- ".Jj dure to the end." Heart oommunlon iff? alone will give as this grasp.?Barn's Horn. Thlncs Tkat th? WorU VMS. There are maajr things that the world 'M needs, and there is much work to bo done in many directions; bat most of all does the world need God, most of all ? doe* it need righteousness, faith, hope and love! The world needs better ooa? ditions for its poor and wretched, better tenements in which to house them; bat it needs also better lives for the tent- - >;$ ment* when built. It needs bettor opoer* - m fimitiM for iti timing multitudes: bat it needs also clearer vision to m the op- "X\ portunities and stronger willa to gTMD 'j them. The world need* scientific knowfedge, bnt it need* religions emotion m <31 well. It need* its thunderous industries, but it needs the sense of kinship to God. It needs its practical ideals; but it needs supremely the vision of the Highest. "As the heart panteth after the water brook*. panteth my soul after Thee. 0 God! My soul thirsteth for God, for the Living God!" From Him we came, and we in diinuieted until we rest in His bosom? until we feel the ocean of His love flowing about our imperfections swallowed up is His perfection, and our restlessness melting into His everlasting peace.?Rev. Mr. Shutter. A Useful Ufa. Do not try to do a great thing; jtm may waste all your life waiting for the opportunity which may never come. Bat since little thinu are always claiming your attention, do them as they come. from a great motive, for the glory of God. to win His smile of approval and do good to men. It is harder to plod on in obscurity, acting thus, than to stand on the high places of the field, within the view of all, and do deeds of valor at which rival armies stand still to gase. But no such act goes without the swift recognition and the ultimate recompense of Christ. To fulfill faithfully the duties of your station; to use to the uttermost the gifts of our ministry; to bear chafing annoyances and the trivial irritationa as martyrs bore the pillory and stake; to find the one noble trait in people who try to annoy you; to put the kindest construction on unkind acts and words; to be content to be a fountain in the midst of a wild valley of stones, nourishing a few lichens and wild flowers, or now and again a thirsty sheep; and to do this always, not tor ?t p>?k v> w>u, for the sake of God?this makes a peat and useful life. Ttas Power of Family Prayer. Christian people of to-day, as never be* fore, are coming to a realizing sense of the value of family prayer. More and more are they feeling its influence upon their daily lives. Regarding this religious observance, Dr. Cuyler says: "Family religion underlies both tb? church and the commonwealth. Mo Christian government, no healthy public conscience. 110 Dible philanthropy, no godljr church-life, can exist without God in th? household. Lot me be ansiired that I f irmly altar stands in every home, and I ( care little what political party bears rule at the ?.*at of government. No prelude , t > the day is sj powerful in its sacred influence ax the union of loving hearts around tiie throne of grace. When the inroads of wealth and fashion crowd out family devotions in the morning and the weekly prayer-meeting in the evening, there is but ?nia!l hope of rearing suclk household-* in the nurture of the Lord. Home religion i? the Mieet-ancuor ot our nauon's weii-hring " A Child XMMDpr of God. The *ti!l form of a little boy lay in k col!in iiurrounded by mourning triend*. A nuvin came into the room ami &?ked to .it the lovely face. "You wonder that 1 care no much," he ?aid, a* the tear* rolled down hi* Hieek*, "but vour boy wast a me**enger of (?od to me. One time I waj commit down by a long ladder from a very high roof and found your iitt!*? boy elo*e liebind me when I reached the mound. He looked up into :nv face with a rhilduh wonder and a?!;ed frankly. "Weren't you afraid of falling when you were up no high?" and, iictore I had time to answer, he Mid: 'Ah! I know why you were not afraid? V'?i had ?aid your prayer* thin morning before vou went to work.' 1 had not - i i ... i ?? j>r.iycu. mn i net 1*1 ivik<h h? |????? huu? tisat <!ay t? thw, and by God'* blessing I never will." Th?? Ilrward of Pr*y?r, True prayer never fail* to brine it* revar>l. l'rayer con*i?t? of mippiieation c.d laanks^ivmjr. Petition t* but an incident ot prayer, and it may well be inii>:ed whether thai which i*on?i?M of jwution alone i? true prayer. Prayer > communion with t?od. Spending a* large j"M-:;.?n ?: time in company with fiod. we !>??n:uc m<>re and more like <?od. Intimate relation* are e?tabli*hrd between our Heavenly Father and the man of Three <;irt? t?? )li" Cxi ha< j.wu three gift* ; man, faith. ?lojH.*, love. Without faith tnere could be no tm*: in my one; without hope, life would be uarkneno, and without love it would lie i living death. The three are in daily cxerciae toward men. Their hijucdt exercise u god ward. i m