Historical Newspapers of South Carolina

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wr * i 11 LUKE H/ || THE * |jBy Prof. Wm. Henry Pe< $ | Author of the '"Ee Stone-Cutt i & 2 of Lisbon," Etc. CHAPTER XXVI. 3 Continued. J "Harriet Foss has ceased to exist," 1 ? said Marks. "Ah! good! Your hand, John Marks!" s exclaimed Hammond, wild with joy. ( John Marks extended his hand slow- ly, saying: "You do not shrink from this hand?" 1 "Not a hair," said Hammond. "But when did she die?" "Harriet Foss ceased to exist at 12 1 o'clock this day," said Marks. "And no** I come for my reward." 1 "Yes?of course; you and Nancy Harker will settle that little matter," 1 *?i/i nomirmnfl. "Rnt I want nroof of 1 Lor <leatli?I must know it." "What proof do you want?" "I must see the body, John Marksnothing less. You may be deceiving me," said Hammond. "Very well; you shall see the body of Harriet Foss," said Marks. "But when?" "When I shall be convinced that my son exists," replied Marks. Hammond reflected. "I must leave that to Nancy HaTker," eaid he, at length. "Nancy is your con's mother, you know, and, of course, eke can tell you more than I can. I know, however, that your son does live. Nancy showed me his likeness not long since?a splendid youth, tool" How he lied! "Then let me see Nancy Harker," said Marks. "I must not be trifled with." x' "Yrrn shnll spa her. Rnt von mnst not hope to see your son until you have , showed me the bedy of Harriet Foss," : caid Hammond, firmly. "If Nancy Harker proves to me that ? my son is living, then, Luke Hammond, " you shall see the body of Harriet Foss * to-night," said Marks. "Enough," said Hammond, gleefully. He summoned Nancy, and she soon appeared. "Mrs. Harker," said Hammond, . "John Marks has brave news lor us. Harriet Foss is no more." Nancy Harker turned deathly pale, j and staved at Marks. "Is this true?" she asked. _ "As true as that I am here," said Marks; "Harriet Foss has ceased to t ?xist." c "Prove it, John Marks," cried Nancy, j "Ah, that is what he "will not do until c you, Nancy, shall have proved to him t -xiim ue iias u sou, sam nauiuiouu. f "It -was not in our agreement," said f Nancy. "John Marks was not only to j do the deed, but also to prove it before * any steps should be taken to put him t In the possession of his son." j "Stand on that, and I 'will prove ? nothing," said Marks. "I demand a private interview with Nancy Harker." j "You shall have it," said Nancy, after s a pause. "I fear you, John Marks, j and must take precautions that you attempt no violence." r "Conduct him to the rear parlor," j said Hammond. "It is not far from r here. I have no desire to hear what j you say. You. Nancy, can sit near the r parlor bell cord, with your hand on ^ It. You see the bell there above my t heed John Marks?" "Tiiese precautions are useless and j nredless," said Marks, with a scornful ( smile. "Take them if you wish, however. All I wish is a private interview ( with Nancy Harker." "Come, then,"' said she, revolving a ? * plan to put him off. "This way." ( Nancy conducted hiri to a small parlor, and then s^t down ne^ir the bell ] cord. "Now what have you to say, John > Marks?" said she. j "You and I," replied Marks, "used to speak a language your brother could ? never master. Do you speak it still?" j "You mean German?" said Nancy, f speaking in that language. "It is well," said Marks, sitting down e to as to face her. "I have something to ^ Bay. and you must not scream if ycu ^ are astonished." i "Something ver* interesting, no r <Ioubt," said Nancy. "You shall judge," continued Marks. "First, I must tell you That Charles j Hammond has not left New York." ^ 'Ah!" cried Nancy, growing white , again. j "I warned you not to scream," said . Marks. "And. secondly, I must fell : you that Charles Hammond is in my power." j Nancy Marker scarcely breathed and shrank from the firo of the eyes of John Mark. i "He is iu my jiower," continued Marks, "and if you or your brother i vtlnvt At. " t "? 1- y iut' iawv, Ui. ,*uu Jim IIL IIUVC tricked me, by my life. Charles Ham- ] mend dies. Now toll me?but first : let me tell you a little more. "One month ago I saw Charles Ham- ] mond for the first time. It was in Liverpool I met him. I supposed him to ] be the son of au American gentleman named Luke Hammond, who had once ! befriended me in my distress. I made the acquaintance of Charles, and from that moment loved him-tloved him I knew not why. 1 loved him so much : that I would no; ask him for money, t>ut hastened to America to see his father, thinking that father to be my ] former friend. I was surprised to see ] ay former brother-in-law. Roland Dune, bearing the name of Luke Hani- < mond, Yor.r brother?let us call him Hammond?has told me that he once ( saw my son and his playing in child- i hood. As he told rue of your having 1 charge of the affair, I grew stronger in a suspicion I hail already conceived." ( "A suspicion:" cried Nancy. 1 "Yes. A suspicion that was born in a wish when I fir6t saw Charles," said Marks. "When I saw liira, and learned what a noble heart lie had, I wished that God had given me such a son, 11 4 uvimondTiI USER. || l!tt! W 'W v\ vvvvB f^Fjt. Ma. //ir/.//^r/.//^/.//.<'/.r/.//. if/. B :k, I Copyright 1896, I ^ jr by Bobibt Bonkeb'8 Bona. 9 w It (All rights reserved.) f Wj Nancy Harker. Since I have met you %*%*! tfAtiw K??rx4-V*nt? 4Vl/% TTl'ch fTTOTV lTltA 4UU J VUi U1 \J LiiCX , uuc <l c- %- .. i suspicion. The suspicion made me lesire to see your face when you should see Charles after a separation 3f years. I feigned sleep and saw rour agitation, and then, Nancy Har:er, the suspicion became a certainty in ny mind." Nancy Harker was as pale and moJonless as if carved from white marJle. "Now, Nancy Harker, is Charles not ny son?" Nancy was not so strong and bravo is she had been all her life, and renembering the dead body of her moth?r in the room above, and weakened )v the web of crime and danger in vhich she was entangled, she daxcd lot lie. "John MaTks," said she, in a whisper, houffh sDeakinsr a tongue her brother ?onld not have understood even if he lad heard. "Charles is our son." John Marks heaved a deep sigh and said: "You only assert what I believe. 3ut now tell me, Nancy Harker, what fou would have done had I not dis overed the secret of your life? As my :on lives, does the son of this Luke rlammond, your brother, still live?" "He does. See his portrait," said fancy, taking the picture of the idiot rom her bosom. John Marks gazed at the ugliness vith surprise, and returning the picure, said: "I pity him. From my soul I pity aim. Had you shown me such a sou, fancy Harker, and proved him mine, [ would have gone mad on the spot, md torn you to pieces. We were man tnd wife once, let us be friends and illies again, for the sake of our son. 3ive me that picture again. I may lave use for it." She gave it to him dreamily. She vas thinking of the rage that would 'ollow when Luke Hammond should cam this secret. At lengt-n sne asaea: "How did you prevent Charles from eaving New York?" "He was sitting in the car." said Harks, "and they were about to start, vhen I said to him, 'Wait for a few lours. You have time enough, and I to not think the woman you love has eft New York.' He followed me at >nce. I had already gained his affecion, and as he bad made me his conidant, he was willing to trust me arther. We returned to the Metropoltau Hotel. I have told you'enough, ^ancy Harker. Now tell me what is ; his you and Luke Hammond are dong? Or, rather, what do you expect to ;a\n by it?" "A fortune for my son," said yaacy 3arker; and this was the purpose to iccomplish which she had aided in im)risoniDg Elgin and his daughter. "I was in England," she said, "when : ny brother wrote to me to come to America to aid him in this dangerous iffair. I hoped Charles and Catharine Slgin would love each other when they net. I5nt circumstances nave presented their meeting, and that par: of he plot has fallen to the earth.'' "Forsake the whole," said John Harks. "Leave your brother to work >ut his own villainy." ' But where is my son? "Where is Charles?" asked Nancy. "He is well," Baid Marks, evasively. 'But once again, will you abandon this langerous p'an?" "If you will prove to me that Harriet "oss is no more, I will," said Nancy. "If I show you the body this uight, fancy Harker, will you abandon your >rother?" Nancy reflected. She resolved to lie. She would do anything to know that Jarriet Foss was dead, to be freed rom that terrible warning from Ihe jrave. "I will," said she, aloud. But in her leart she said: "When I have seen the >ody of Harriet Foss, I will be avenged in you, joxin Marts, woo nave sicueu ny secret from me!" And John Marks said in his heart: "You lie, Nancy Harker! You -would iave tricked me?you and your ply jrotber. You shall be tricked to-night, ind then let the law catch you both, or all I care!" Marks then said aloud: "When you have seen the body of Hariet Foss, you shall see Charles." "So be it," said Nancy. "And now. et not Luke Hammond dream of this." , "Not I." said Marks. They returned to the library, llaranund was writing;. "Nancy Harker has proved to me that ny son exists," said Marks, coldly. "Right. I am glad to hear it,"' said latmuond. "Nancy is a great woman; ind now " "I will show you the body of Harriet Poss to-night," said Mark." "You will bring it here?" said Hamnond. "Yes. in a carriage.'' said Marks, as lighted his cigar. "At what time?" ".Between 10 and 12," said Marks. 'Right," said Hammond; "acd then , Cou can witneBs a wedding." i "A weddingi" said Marks. ^YPS* T nm rrninr* tr\ Pn thr rifln Elgin, anil I need your presence." said Hammond. "You shall have it." said Marks; and conducted by Daniel left the library. ' And now to prepare for the wedling," said Luke Hammond. "Come, Mrs. Nancy Harker, let's visit the i jride." His hard. dry. cackling laugh ecnoed ] Wong the hall, as he and his scarcely ess evil sister left the library. i CHAPTER XXVII. A TRAP FOR LUKE HAMMOND. 1 Luke and Nancy soon reached the i vhite and gold chamber, and Nancy 1 V r ' r - -vii.. I. * } unlocked the door and entered without ceremony. "Mr. Hammond wishes to see you," said Nancy. "He is a villain -wearing the name of an honest man. I have no desire to see him." was the spirited reply of Kate Elgin, who was pacing the floor, I still firm and strong. The knowledge that her lover still ! lived and was escaping, as well as the j food she had taken in her father's pri- ! son, upheld her amid dangers. "Still untamed, my lady." said Hammond, striding into the room, and wearing his grim, exultant smile. "Nancy, what did I say when we started hither?" "You said, 'Come, let's go visit the bride," " said Nancy. "I am to be a bride," said Kate, "but not yours, sir. I may even become the bride of death, but never hope to call me wife." *<No? You are confident,'' sneered Hammond. "But, fortunately for my happiness, Miss Elgin, you mistake. I intend to marry you this coming night. Ah! you have slipped your handcuffs. But that is no matter. Mrs. Harker, be so kind as to retire into the hall. Your presence may embarrass my woo- J ing." Kate .grew very pale and her heart beat thick and fast, but she said nothing as Nancy Harker went out. "Now. Catharine Elgin," said Hammond, assuming a softer tone than she thought so bad a man could use, "let me tell you something you may not believe, but I swear it is true." "Come not near me. wretch!*' cried Kate, as he seemed about to step nearer. "Since I must hear what you have to say. speak! But swear to nothing, for I will believe nothing you can say." "Catharine Elgin, my son, in falling in love with a woman before his return to New York has done me a service. I love you." "Silence! base, villainous wretch!" cried poor Kate, growing alarmed as Hammond's eyes seemed to blaze. "Yes, by my soul. Catharine Elgin, I adore you. I began this affair from love of gold. I was rapidly verging into hopeless bankruptcy, and to save myself from ruin and disgrace, I conceived the plot to gain the fortune Henry Elgin intended for James Greene. Love of gold was then my i nnltr rtneirn Rnt sinc<> I hflVO knOWH I your character, and because my son will not advance his suit for your hand I am no longer in love with gold. I am In love with you!" "Ob, detestable villain!" said pocr Kate. "So much do I love you," continued Hammond, "that were ten times your father's wealth now mine I would cast it away to call you my wife. I love you, and am willing to set your father free, and to risk his anger, to dare the law. if you will consent to be my wife." "Never!" exclaimed Kate. "Consider your situation. Catharine Elgin, you are wholly, hopelessly in my power. Your father is more in my power than you are, for the world thinks he lies mouldering in his tomb in Greenwood. You have your choice. Consent to be my wife, or see your father die before your eyes!" His calm ferocity of look, and bis air of iron, unchangeable will, awed Kate more than his words. And Luke Hammond was in earnest. He was in fatuated with Kate's great beauty as much as he loved her father's wealth. Kate remembered her father's caution?to gain time. 'Will you give me one day more to reflect?" she asked. "One day more." repeated Hammond, looking at her eager face with his ' keen, gray stare. "There is something in your face I do not like, Catharine Elgin, all lovely as it is. 1 see that you ask for time, hoping to he delivered. You need not hope. I told you yesterday, I think, that the days of miracles- j had ceasud. You are In my power, and yet I suspect a plot to escape. You have already slipped off your manacles." "No; starvation has reduced the size of my hands," said Kate: "the handcuffs fell off with their own weight. Grant me another day to consider." Hammond reflected for a long time, but as ho had told Nancy he scented rlnnow In +hp nir "No. I will not grant it." said be, looking at his watch. "It is now 2 o'clock. Yon shall see me at 17 tonight, and remember that I shall come to make you my wife." "Can you lind a man so villainous as to degrade his holy office by going through n ceremony at which I shall cry 'Nay!' even If my last breath soes with my denial?" said Kate. To be continued. AXasty Habit. Jim calls me fastidious because 1 object to handliug a book that some one lias turned over by the aid of a thumb or finger moistened in the mouth, jt a.wl/<n i! 1 >Y1U?S lli liUliUUIl JLlUlii. *11114 was with ino 1 lae other day in a shop when I asked for a price-list. The shopman, instead of handing it to me, stood officiously turning over the leaves in a way I Jiavc mentioned and pointing out tiie various illustrations. The people who are working so well to check the spread of consumption should give some attention to this point. The postman, when he hands iu the letters, picks them off the heap of others with a moistened thumb. ! The clerks in offices turn over the leaves of directories in the same horrid way. The readers of hooks from circulating libraries leave only too unmistakable traces of the disgusting habit on the leaves of the volumes. Wherever one goes it is the f>nme. and sometimes those of whom one might have expected better tilings are guilty of the odious practice. A well-known actor of the first rank, in playing the part of a distinguished Frenchman, actually moistened his forefinger when turning over the leav?-> of a document, and another actor, in dealing cards on the stage, facilitated the operation in the same was. Suppose the sood and earnest persons "who are tryiug to defeat consumption were to agitato to have this nasty practice 'ombated iu the hoard schools. Do you think it a sood idea, or do you t-cgard it as "finiclcin'V" "He snys he fell in love with her at irst sight." "Perhaps I can Lie of servce to him. I know a first class ocuist."? Philadelphia Bulletin. A SERMON FOR SUNDAY ; i AN ELOQUENT DISCOURSE ON "CHRIS. ] TIANITY'S BROAD MINDED NESS." 1 i i ? flie Rev. Dr. Ttenry C. Swontzol Contracts j tlie Cliurch WJIU tJio Xarrow-Cau ;e < Average Man?One of the Miseries of I 1 i Irreligion l'ointed Out in Detail. Nrw York City.?Dr. Henry C. Swentzel, rector of St. Luke's Church. Clinton avenue, near Fulton street, preached Sunday on "The Broadmindedness of Christianity." lie took his text from Psalms cxix:9fi: "Thy Commandment is exceeding broad." Dr. Swentzel said: The Son of God l.as called men into a place of liberty and has set their feet, in a large room. His example, His teachings and His whole tone illustrate and prove His broadmindedness. No one who rightly appreciates the Gospel can well contend that it seeks to make human nature smaller and feebler than it is, or that it would lower the dignity and lewsen the freedom and banish the opportunities of human life. In the broadmindedness of Jesus is one of His most notable characteristics. He lived in the open, and His every word indicates the comprehensiveness of Hie ; thinking and the perfect sanity of Hid i 4iAMnlMMAMn TTA f I V*rA?J^Oef VlOltirT . who has trod this earth and He has given the broadest religion that man lias known, a religion which is not racial, national or provincial, but.worldwide. It is intended to inspire the most liberal ideas and to make the largest men. It is the embodiment of broadmindcdness in doctrine and ideal, in its outlook, its estimate of possibilities, and its conceptions of human destiny. Kvery follower of Christ should divest, himself as far as possible of narrowness and pettiness in living his life and doing his work. Let him be thoughtful and honest and industrious and brave: let him be sane, broadminded in his ideas, generous in his principles and loyal in his conscience. He is rot railed upon to emulate the paltry disposition of the past, or to try to restore the regime of a bygone age or to clamor for the return of conditions which were well enough for a younger civilization, but which should not be installed in the twentieth century. Religion is not superstition, faith is not bigotry, godliness is not intolerance. We all do well to take account of the Lord's admonition concerning tiie use of t language. He lias warned us that we must i answer at the last for every idle word we < speak. How many idle words are used, i and how massive is human guilt in this f particular. F-ven those words which j should he pronounced with reverence are s mixed with frivolities. Other words which \ should he used always seriously and with i the utmost accuracy are connected with t the pronouncements of earrulous brains : and flippant lips/* "Breadth" is one of the 1 words against which people sin most often, i so that earnest, souls have almost reached 1 the point of suspecting its tenor whenever j they hear it. In common parlance a $ "broad" Eomanist is a Roman Catholic j who cares little or nothing for his church t or for the relia-ion which it preaches. A 3 "broad" Christian is a man who. though i he may rot have broken with Christianity, { has iio definite religious principles, no 1 clearly stated rules of richt and wrong, i and has no fault to find with a propaganda, the success of which would mean not < only the overthrow of faith but the ruin t of society. It is supposed to be "broad" ( to be not too scrupulous about one's amuse- r ments, to encourage irreligion, to disregard 1 the sanctities of Sunday. It :s supposed I to be" "broad" to say and to do nothing j that would indicate that one has religious i feelings, to out himself in the attitude of < sympathy with bad things. It is supposed j to be "broad" to upset the Bible, to cast i discredit upon the church, to brand holy traditions as a nack of lies, to make the s gospel mpan as little as possible, to reduce i religion, not to its lowest terms, tyit to no < terms at all. Thus the noble word is ; clothed with a sense which it ought not to < have. When people tell of a "broad state- i ment" they mean a statement which is 1 suspicious, if not inaccurate. When tney i refer to a "broad story" they mean a storv i which is not quite decent. It were well < to distinguish between a true breadth and f a spurious breadth, so that we might be ( spared from the ills that follow in the train I of a tn.-r* catchword, and have the blessing ? aa.' the power which are imparted by the s breadth of thought and sympathy which r is one cf the very finest marks of a son t of God. * From whatever standpoint it is viewed t the religion of .Tesus Christ is characterized < for it? broadmindedncss. It is to-day the 5 only world religion, and the church looks > forward to the time when all the people t of all the nations will become the Lord's 1 disciples. An examination of the theories t or schemes which have been set up in c opposition to or rivalry with the everhst- I ing gospel will disclose their essential nar- t rowhess. both as to ideas and life. In con- I trast with the notions held by those who i stand aloof from Christ, how broad and j strong is the platform of Christian belief! i In all the world there is no creed or con- a fession which is so ample and liberal and 1 nnmnrpliAncivp nc flip \Tir?priA rrppH Ih is great in what, it says and in what it does ^ not say, in what it defines and what it re- r fuses to define. Its expressions and its <" reticence are significant and impressive. In ^ it technical terms have be^p reduced, to a f minimum, and it stands as an nnt'ailine 1 source of truth and aspiration which shall c bless and enrich all classes of humanity un- v til the close of the latest age. It proposes * the divinity of the Trinitv and the trinity v of divinity, but not in the forms of phi I- c asophr. It dec'arcs the fatherhood of God, the Sonsbip of Christ, the perpetual ministry of the Holy Ghost, but not in the elaborate phrases of the theologian. Jt a upho'ds the virgin birth of Jesus. His. c worldwide office and His omnipotent en- ' deavors ''for us men and for our salvation," ? but without the glo?ses of a mistaken dpvotion. It oroclaims the continuity * of the church of the apdstles. but without a th* speculations and dicta of the ecclesiolocist. It announces the nearness of God's children in every world, and the blessed r life of endless felicity which awaits the souls that He has redeemed, but without a theiancies and guesses and vnearies which t have vainly tried to explore the hereafter. These truths are not only re. arkable in h the manner of their statement, but also in themselves. They are the foundation on i: which we are asked to build while we are y here, and the structure of our thoughts and motives and efforts should be spacious n accordingly. What an unspeakable crimc it is to nl- t tack such a belief on the score of its al- t leced narrowness. It presents the largest ideas I hat man has known, and it presents them in the largest possible way. Its portrayal of Jehovah is in harmony with His v divine majesty: its account of .lesus has r the sweetness and reverence of the gospel [ according to St. John; its interpretation of the Holy Spirit is a comforting and in- s spiring cioctrine for the needs and sorrows and possibilities of the present; its declara- v tion of the church marks it as a society . of grace and biessintr which was founded by the Lord. and. like a ?eautiful angel, y it points to "the life of the world to come." c These are the dearest of all doctrines, the f I i. i a., i?' ut'St unu i lie mt. ku^wjiw r?..M ? most liberal. Whatever else they are, lliev an? not contracied or paltry, but as catli- " olic as Cod and as universal as man. In- ?. deed, our religion is the only thins in the wor.'d that professes to desire the allegiance v of everybody. It has the length and breadth and depth and height of the love of God in Jesus Christ our Lord. It does not give us views or conjectures, but oniy P the commandment of God which in "ex- " ccedinj broad." n The clever pettifogger can make it difli- v eult for us to defend anything, though we v may be infallibly sure of its truthfulness. n l'fce cross-examiner may succeed as lar as 1 to bring us lo the verge ot do'ibting the v trstimony o{ our own senses. Even so are >' doubts easily possible concerning the mat- 11 tors of Christian belief. It is not the pur* v pose of this discourse, however, to discus* 0 the "rounds ot skepticism except in so jar t30 lliey would irnpeaeh the breadth ot Christianity. Several forms of unbelief, or of Indifference, which is in a sense the 6ame tlnnc; logically, present a sorry spec- Cl tacle in the presence of the inclnsiveness v of the (Jospel. What are the truths for w which they stand, and how real are tho?e ('' -ruths? I'hey talk perhaps of their inlcl- " I unlity, but they should remember that *1 the men who are responsible for the Mi- (> cene Creed were pastmasters as metaphysicians. They refer to the liberty js of which they are the champions, but the G liberty which they advocate is ir. ejsence e] the very doctrine of nihilists and unaich- bi ' ' " -v.-* ists in society and politics.- With blar^ jf trumpet tney herald their own broad) mindednesp, but if they had their way, ana f ti.ey could sweep religion from the facd jf the earth, burn iro the Bibles, dynaraita ihe churches, it requires no prophet to foretell what a dreadful situation would ( >ncno .u fhp rpsiilt nf their havoc. The : nan who puts agnosticism against the ?reed has nothing to give this world except j ivhat would make men more narrow than ' Lhey are. and would speedily plunge them j ;nt<> eonditionB first of civilized paganism i i d .1 little later of rank barbarism. The j =keptic is no more an apostle of liberality ! than is the anarchist an apostle of liberty. With great regret it must be confessed that there are and have been multitudes sf narrow-minded Christians. Inasmuch is human nature finds it difficult to attain into liberality, it is not to be wondered at I ;hat so many fali short of the brood til of >ur holy religion. Christians have not >nlv been persecuted, but they have actually persecuted one another, because of iiffcrences of opinion. Oniy too frequently iave they failed to recognize tiie comjrehensiveness of the Gospel, and they prefer their confessions to the catholic aith and their sects to the catholic :hurrh. It is simply impossible to apologize for them or to offer any argument in ixtenuation of their grievous offenses along ;his line. They have restricted their God ind their Bible and their creed, and lave stood up stoutlv to resist the Jargenindedness of their Xord. Hut this does lot really affect the issue which we have n hand. It does not ar, all impair our lontenticm that ths gospel of Christ itself -not Protestantism or Puritanism or Wu/llnvnKjcrr] Vint- tJip cnqnpl?rontains the vroadcst doctrines, the broadest ideas of 3od and of man and of destiny; and the vroadest working principle of thought and if life. God's "commandment i? exceeding noad'' in its practical application to man'a ; :onditious. It preaches God's Fatherhood, ; vhich iti a mighty foundation for ihe in^' ellectual life, and man's brotherhood*: vhich makes the scope oi' moral obhgatio* , rod's relation to us is most assuring, arnil \ >ur relation to Him and to all our broih-f :rs makes the theatre of action and aetp * orth the sphere cf coascience, sympathy ,1 md endeavor. One of the miseries of ir- .' eligion is that it despoils humanity of all/ Ifis. The heart which cares not lor the' loctrines of Christian belief is sadly im* joverished and reduces this present exist:nce to a small affair, for it has nothing o say of the higher things or of an eternity >f blessedness, yid nothing that avails for ;lie enlargement of aspiration and the re* nforcement of energy. Christ truJy disiovered the individual. He argued that a nan's soul was more important than the ?ain of the whole world; He came expressly to Jift human nature out ot' its imallness and to place it in an environment vhere Ihe sons of God rightly belong; He evealed the model which is nothing less han the character of the King of kings, ind called all the sons of men to a royal ifc; He disclosed a large meaning for du:ies and griefs, pleasures and possibilities; fTe would have His people stand on the Mount oi tne ascension wnence iuey can i iee the present in its oerspective. and have I in expansive outlook for the study of themselves and their lives. The broadminded Liord has given a broadminded religion for nen when they pray and work and suffer, tnd He would inspire them to rise up .0 the obligations and opportunities whicli wait upon them every hour in the day. How narrow is the average man! Mod;rn conditions are not an unmixed boon :o the masses. There have been many rains, but there have been many losses ilso. Among the losses in the world as we enow it to-day is the almost inevitable ;endency of our way of livine and our netho^s of. business to curtail the individlal in the living of his life and the doing )f his work. More and more are the peo- ; )le of the workaday world hampered and | estricted bv the demand for specialization. L'.ie individual is being called upon to do | some evne task and to do it over and over , urain three hundred days in the year, all , )f which is equivalent to shutting him vithin confines where ha can scarcely hope ! o develop into his best self. This effect j s one ot the depiorarue ins 01 ine nines, i The rules of offices and factories and shops vhich encourage experts is ruinous to the ndividual who indeed learns to do one hing perfectly, but who is thus hindered rom knowing anything else outside of his lailv task. Then, too. the spirit* of the jusiness msn that makes him ambitious md satisfied to become a man of business md thus reduce his life to the level of a nore monev-maker, is likelv to produce he same direful result. No one should v'illinely become a machine. In spite of he advancement which is one of the wonlers of the age. the people of the United kates arc now face to face with a situation vhich sorely requires a crusade in favor of jroadmindedness?a crusade that will ex- I iort the people, in spite of discourage- I nents to the contrary, to find leisure for :onsidering tonics and resorting to occu>ations in addition to those which belong o their daily engagements. We must sim>ly make time for thought and reading and o'ireation; we must rise to the glorious ihierty of the children of God; we must nust for ourselves that the most import* irjt things aro not meat and drinR. out tne cineilom of God and Hie righteousness > j Wc need the broadmindedness of Jesus. iVe need His outlook, His doctrine. His nodel of thoneht and life, His symmetry >f character, His proportions of manhood. The Saviour of mankind would saye ns rom pettiness and illiberality. He would iave us accept God's largest estimate of nirselves. He would call us to a life which vill issue at last in the heavenly land. He vould fill us in mind and heart and sou] vith God's commandment which is bo cxeeding broad^ ' What He Had Lost. The following sugeestive parable, which ippears in Rev. Charles M. Sheldon's hurch paper, is unsigned, but is doubtless rom the pen of the'gifted author of "In . lis Steps:" " "He was weeping bitterly as if he had ! net with some great calamity, and the ngel who was going by stopped and asked: " 'What is the matter?' " '1 have had a terrible loss,' replied the nan. *"I am very sorry to hear it,', said the ngel with a tear of sympathy. 'Is it very crrible?' " 'V.ww' nncvrfrpfl the man. wee'Dim? larder than before. " 'Would vou mind telling me what it s?' asked the angel gently. 'What is it on have lost?' " 'I have lost my money!' exclaimed the nan. weeping as if his heart would break "'Oh/ said the angel, 'is that all? I bought from the way you were weeping 1 hat you had lost your soul.' " j Oar Puk-t l^Mrntlal. God has a p'acc for each one of us and a j rorfc for each one of us. God does not ex- , lect us to fill more than our own place, or o do more than our own work, but each j we of us is important in his or her own nhere. All the offc.-ings of the wealthy in he courts of the temple in Jerusalem ' icrc well in their time and amount. But he poor widow, who had only her two i rcitcs. should not have felt that her gift j iMs unimportant. It seemed as if .Testis at watching and waiting for that little of- J oring, and the story of ber doing her part as been told the world over in the centnr- | 03 since then, as a lesson, and as an in- ' niration. Even though our part is but a ittlc one God, as it were, watches ana r'aits for that. Shall it be lacking? i \ Superiority in Confection oT Wronjj. ' 1 A confession of wrong may be proot of a osscssion of superior ability. One who is laJcincr :iro2resa is likely to sec truth :n a icw ligllt to-dav, and to perceive that he ras not right in the liizht which he had esterday. i'ope sa.vstru.y, "A inan should ever he ashamed to pay he has been in he wrong, which is but saying in other ( >ords that he is wiser to-day than he was esterday." Therefore it often requires | lore ability to admit having been in the j ,'rong than to stand by the position which I ne maintained yesterday. Have you ?hi9 owcr to grow? Sin, or Peace? I ( Peacc is union and accord. Strife is dis* 1 ord and variance. This is so among men < rith reference to each other. This is so rith man in his relations to God. Peacc 1 omes with holiness. Sin is in itself war- i ire with God. Do we desire peacc, or i trite' Arc we seekers after holiness, or , 0 wo accept a measure of sin with >ta dii sequences? Every conscious act 0/ in 1 a deliberate declaration of war against ! lod, and an invitation to God to be our Oe*ay. Longing after union with God u < 3 /ar pegct wi;H its attendant blessings. ' ' . 'tf.-' \y " ' ' V*' ' *' " THE RELIGIOUS LIFE READING FOR THE QUIET HOUR WHEN THE SOUL INVITES ITSELF. Poem: Only One Life -We Ar? <o Watch For the Coining of ttan Lord and Hope For That Coming; in the Near Future ? Let No Doty Be Undone. Men may talk of the turf and the bow]: Men may revel in songs that are wild; But when all has been said, and sung, soul, There is only one life reconciled. When the battles are fought, and won, man, And riches come in with the tide, Even then cries the heart in the van, There is only one life, without pride. You may boast of your fortune to-day, You may travel to climes that delight, But the scenes that entrance plainly say, There is only one life that is right. In the midst of your pomp and your pride^ When the nations look on with dismay, There's a voice must be heard at your side, There is only one life, and this way: You must all use your wealth and your minds, In the service-of Christ on earth; For in doing God's will the soul finds, There is only one life, a new birth. "Why We Art to Watch. Ihftusy world divides its time between -t?|rag.'treasures and trying to keep them. i-fitggr'V-^nan has gained a little wealth the VieStjMing is to know where to put it that lfc 'dm&be safe. If the inhabitants of the fownsw^out Mont Pelee had known for a Airei there was to be a fatal eruption <Kh' a, attain day they would not have put .jfleicitBfiL or kept their all, in a position ^wre~tBur would be sure to be destroyed. ^ flO low had they watched the distant B^Bce'cunSig from the crater and seen the fcy\unny and undisturbed, and so M^Lrtawe were they there that they be* 9KH; think, as some Bible men of old IMIKdv 'ffor since the fathers fell asleep all, tWigs/nave been as they were at the begjmiing',^ and did not pet ready for the coming of she danger which threatened. We nut'our monev that we have rained into real estate, which may burn up or depreciate in, value; we buy stocks and bonds, which may,turn out valueless; we f>Iace it with trust companies, which may ail. and we put our treasures in safe deposit boxes which, with even the cunning2st devices against burglars, may be taken from us. All this to provide for our old age, which seems to us an eternity. And yet each one of ns knows that we may be called at any moment to leave this world, where gain netting seems to be the main object, and to go into a world where f.uch treasures cannot be carried and will credit os nothing. For years has stood the warning to ns who journey all unthinkingly to a country whose borders we may enter at any moment, tlat we turn our treasures into ?oin of that land, that we provide our.-elves "bags which will not wax old" in which to keep it. But the Lord delayeth His coming. We have grown used to not expecting Him. Death, common as it is, seems but a shadow in the ''istance, and the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ is not even believed in by the many. Since the days of the apostles there have not been lacking in every as:e men to confidently predict the immediate return of the Lord. Many pereons have been carried so far by the fears in- i duced by these predictions as to part with their property, turn their attention altogether away from secular to spiritual things, and even gather white-robea at the time and place appointed by the self-styled prophets for the Master's appearance. The final effect of such upheavals has always i been evil. A careful, prayerful stndv of the spirit of Christ's words must ha^e prevented any such action. We are indeed enjoined to watch, but this watching involves in its very essence a constant diligence, a careful, unrelaxing attention that no duty be left undone, that no enemy gain admission, that no temptation take U6 unawares. We are to watch for the coming of the Lord, and even though the ages have been rolling on since first this hope was given, we yet have a distinct right to hope for that comine in the near future. Of i His coming w& Know rioi the day nor the hour, though v&Ctfft nowhere told that we may not search to know it by the signs of ; the times and by the signs of prophecy. A great blessing is promised to. those who are daily expecting Him. Who knows what that blessing may be? Blessed are thope servants whom the Lord when He cometh shall find watching. . < You all know now it is when you are expecting home a long absent loved' one. How the house from one end to the other is put in order, how the table is set with the best 1 dishes and the fine linen, and how the 1 breath of flowers is in every room. Not a corner of the house is left in disorder, for all must breathe to the loved one of welcome and home and peafe. And while we wait at the window and glance out to see 1 if the train is in yet, we look now about I the room, and cast our thoughts all over 1 the premises to see if aught there be that J pet needs attention, and we stand in front 1 ? '? * - ? _e I i DI tne glass to put up a stray iuci^ ui uan ind straighten the collar that we may look our hc9t to the loved eyes. When Jesus j :omes will lie find our corner of the earth in order for Him? Will the perfume of the incense of prayer reach Him? Will the sound of praise of redeemed souls greet Him? Will there be no sin in your heart to mar the child He loves? Will all the iouls about you know that you are His and 1 that you strive to follow in His steps? And even if it be that you and I a?re numbered 1 imong those who "sleep" before His com* 1 ing, still will He come to each at death, md we must be ready to say: ! And come He soon or late, The Lord of the estate Shall find me watching still. ?-Gnce Livingston Hill, in the New York 1 Mail and Express. ftod'a Promise* Sore. \ God is ever better than we think. Wc are ' not so readv to realize that God is sure to make good His promises, as He is ready to ; remember His every assurance and to give ; good gifts according to His children's ' needs. One of God's loved and loving cliil- 1 dren, expressing gratitude for the coming sf a longed-for blessing, said: '"God told me long ago that some day this should come to ' me, and I could not doubt His word. When it came I was not surprised, only ii J & way as the coming of the inevitable sur< prises us. Sometimes, you know, we are surprised to see the sun rise or the tide come in." Oh, that all of us were as ready to be as sure of God's word as of the rising o{ the sun or the coming in of the tide! ' Spiritual lJrr>uresg. Every sincere wish and prayer for good- ( ness, every earnest attempt to fulfill difficult duty is sure to help on our spiritual progress, either directly or indirectly. TJy one road or another every such efFort brines us nearer to God.?James Fresmao Clarke. Cllncing to the Worthless. .* It is not always the thing of value that j we hold to. "A feeling of revenge is not * worth much, that you should care to keep 5 it," said Philip Wakem. And yet many a man in a pitch of excitement would let go a fortune rather than cast out a burden of J revenge from his heart. No good can come J of his horrid possession, yet how he hugs 1 it! Men are not only wicked?they seem " determined to be foolish. "It's poor folishness to run down your enemies." Hatred and revenge never harm any one so much as the hater, and still he will not let ^ bis destroyer go. Oh, for a man who is * strong enough to part with his weakuess! ' . 1 Russian* Know Several Lnnjruaces. Every educated Russian knows three : languages besides his own, and many of ( them four. Knowledge of the Knglish, French and German languages is colloidL-red necessary to culture. A family having small children employ, two to four govern?sses, from whom the children learn foreign c tongues before they are taught the more i difficult Russian. This command of Ian- c puage makes possible the fact that Rim- 'J sians have a better knowledge of the t world's affairs than any other people. A City Ilall Worth 913,604,000. The official valuation of the Philadelphia j ? 3ily Hall and grounds is $13,604,000. ] 1 - - - i-L-* TEE SUNDAY SCHOOL | INTERNATIONAL LESSON COMMENTS \ FOR AUCUST 2. 6nbject: Samuel Anoint* David, t Sstrt? - ' ;-J!j xtI.i 4-13-Oolden Text, 1 tjiui. xvl.t ? < W.m... f...... 11.l^_S>n,l? Vjirual 1.13?Commentary oil the Day'? Leason? I. Planning for a new king (vs. l-5)?^ . Samuel's grief because of Haul's rejection: v : was great. This showed his affection for; . | Saul and his interest in the kingdom. s ' But to continue long in such grief would A hinder him in .his public duties as prophet *|j and also dishonor Clod. It was Samuel's V->'? duty to recognize God's will as supreme, ^ and not continue to cling to S'ar.l v*u ;n' \..Ji God had rejected him. The divme ?-ure ^ 'A for grief is a greater faith in God. W 4. "'Samuel?came." The Lord told Samuel to go to Bethlehem and anoint !y; 1 one of the sons of Jesse. But Samuel said* , "How can J go? If Saul hear it he will kill me" (v. 2). The Lord then told Samuel to take a heifer and go to Bethlehem i and sacrificc nnto the Lora. "The ciders.'* -Wj Men who acted as civil magistrates.' : I "Troubled." Some think that the breach' between Samuel and Saul was now so great that they feared the anger of Saul if they, I; criteriauieu iae prupiici, u ui. it dkuid more probable that they feared that his ':'f . coming was for-the purpose of. punishing . some sin among them. or of pronouncing . some judgment upon them. "Peaceably. if he had come with no hostile purpose h>? ' * fA visit would be considered a blessing. 5. "Sanctify yourselves." Change your 0$ clothes, and wash your bodies in pure w&* #*? ter, and prepare your minds by medita- ; 'h<; tion, reflection and prayer, that; being inf.the spirit of sacrifice, ye may offer acceptably to the Lord. See fix. 19:14, 15. ' "Jesse and his sons.*' Samuel himself took the greatest care in the sanctification o? ^ Jesse's family. Some think the eldera. were invited only to join in the sacrifice, ' while the family of Jesse were invited by themselves to the subsequent feast. It ap- . j pears from chapter 20:27-29, that Jesse's family were a devout relitrious family. Samuel instructed them in the nature of "wfl the sacred ordinance and by his counsels I and prayers assisted them in preparing to .... -.J attend to it acceptably and profitably. It I is probable from the acts and words of. ^ Samuel on this occasion that he. privately, <&aj informed Jesse of his purpose to anoint -'Aiil one of his sons, but it nowhere appear* . that Jesse -was informed as to the object of that anointing. This was left fol- future 1 "#.1 developments to disclose. ' v. ,-' II. The Jx>rd chooses Day id (vs. 6-12), -S;j' 6. "When they -were come.'' After the public sacrifice, there was the sacriocial -v.l'i feast, and ir order to partake of this feaafc Samuel wept to the home of Jesse. Between the sacrifice and the feast several I hours would necessarily elapse as the "vie- I tim would have to be prepared and oooked. ' ? J During this interval tne sons of Jesse were - fl made to pass before Samuel, for it aupear* I from verse 11 that David was sent for be- -H fore they partook of the meal. "Eliab." V Jesse's oldest son. one of Saul's army in the Palestine war (1 Sam. 17:13). and -V, afterwards the ruler of Judah under David. ^ 'SvSSj In l Chron. 27:18 he is called Elihn. We have an exhibition of hid rude and overbearing temper in 1 Sam. 17:28. "?urelv." etc. "Samuel was impressed vniK hi* * 'TKjS stature and beauty and remembered' *bafc . ?. ? ko/1 n'miUrilf 41 t ??. as* Sam. 10:24). But the day was past tvh$n kings were chosen because they were bead gjJS and shoulders above the rest." 7. "Look not," etc. Even Samuel was still judjfing from outward appearance*. A*.s "That which chiefly recommended Saiil to k f a the favor of Israel was his size and beauty, ^ hut now in selecting a man after bi$? own heart Jehovah shows that his divine judg- A ment. is based not on external form or comeliness?, but. on the inner life. David -/IN also, however, was of a goodly appearance" (v. 12). ''On the heart.'' fiod does not fl look at one's earthly possession, or social >Si5|j| rank, or family history, or literary attainraents.. or natural ability, for He does wot 'A fls judge from apnearances. not even from . fl religious manifestations?such as many ? tears, many prapcrs, a serious deportment. ' U a solemn tone to the voice, etc.; but God 'ftjajk looks on the heart, the inner life, the-character. and judges accordingly. H 8-10. "Abinadab?Shammah.'* These '> * two, with Eliab. were the sons of Jesse B nonf 1,1. ira* arraincf PhiliaHnM (chap. 17:13). "Again." Jesse, no doubt, brought his sons before Samuel in the , order in whicli he considered them to rank, j >. bringing the most likely first. "Not chosen . V these." David s seven brothers had passed I before Samuel and the Lord had refilled " V ] fhem all. This expression implies that Samuel ' had alreadv privately informed $4 Jesse of the object of his coming. 11. "Are here all." Samuel was not '( ? ready to give up. He quickly surmised ^. that there might be one overlooked or counted unfit by the father. ' Jease Iwl M ' offered all of his sons, whom hfc supposed-" V\j were at all likely to suit. Eut the Lord, . M had sent Samuel, and the errand could ,''W not be in vain. "The youngest." Jes?e having evidently no idea of David's wis- , * rlom and bravery, spoke of him as'the jj most unfit, (>od in His providence to ordered it. that the appointment of Dqvid . ' might the more clearly appear, to "be a. . I' divine purpose and not the design either f, of Samuel or Jesse. His name si^hifie* t ? "beloved," and he was an cYninent typo of the beloved Son of God. "Sit dow,n." The word thus rendered means "to surround." and here suggests the sitting down / or reclining around a table. Samuel did . not propose to hive that family gather V . round the table of the peace offerings with one of the sons absent. Here a lesson . bearing on family worship may be learned. 19 "RnrMv " Thp worH denotes the red hair and fair skin which are regarded fis a mark or' beauty in southern countries VH where the hair aid complexion are gen- ' eraily dark. "Beautiful countenance.** Literally, of beautiful eyes. This indicates ' that h'B eyes were keen and penetrating, enlivened by the fires of genius, and beaming with a generous warmth. David waa : pvidently a beautiful young man as he stood there before Samuel. "This is he." v This was God's choice and Samuel was commanded to anoint him At once. We t?an see here bow little fitres6 the Lord i really puts on outward forms and core- J>U monies, for David was not present, whe>V> jfl Samuel sanctified Je.>-?e's sons with such jreat care. V TIL David set apart for his work fv. . 13). 13. "Anointed him." David waa M mointed in the presence of his brethren, though it is not at all likely that they nn* * ? a- ?I-*- V.a rlfrslooil at ur.s nine 10 \timi nusaiuu ,j;? , iva? beint; called. It i.? extremely doubtful if David understood the ipnanir.jr of the net. "Spirit caine mightily." Such a netting anart v. ould have a mighty influence upon his life. The anointing was not an pmptv ceremony but a divine power Jittended it, so t hat David was inwardly advanced in wisdom and eo'iraec and concern for the public, with all the qualifications of a prince, though not at all advanced in bis outward circumstances. Tbc pift of the Holy Spirit is the greatest au/ best gift of God to man. 1 ?r Plan Tnimel Under tlin Seine. A plan for buildin- a tunnel under trie 9 :eine. either at Tat.1? rville or Qmtlebcuf, ? ranee, ii&n l:een worked out by a French Jm ngineer, .feaii Deriicr. who was omployed kH| ' L cl.?,Iui.j r.wi. W or uic uiimubu i#y i.ic vnauuuo , _ ncree for the cities of Havre and Roup?!. w Vjf H;iv:e it is ccsircd t:? secure another jfl ailway connection, a:ul llouen wants a 9 tetter means of getting acroas the river iiiin is afforded by the ft .Ties which now 9 njoy a mor.opo.y of the traffic. , H Ministers Ineligible to t-egtulatare. JB The Constitution of Tennessee provide! H ihat whereas* ministers of the uospel are JH iy their profession dedicated to God and MM .he care of fouls, and ou?ht not to bo di crted from the great duties of their funcioas. therefore no minister of the Gospel.. ;r priest of any denomination whatever] shall be eligible to a seal in either House ij^K )f the Legislature. St. Andrew'* Cliurclj. Cape Town. BH St. Andrew's is the oldest Presbyterian HE hurch in South Africa, and it has tor HBMB icarly seventy-five years been the garrison. lurch for Presbyterian soldiers in Cape ['own. It is proposed to erect * building YB o seat i-bout 1200 people. ' The Insane In Praaila. There are 70,829 insane patients in^H999H TO norrli-mo n{ Prilooil n mn pH 1 T1C il7 uajiujiio v/1 A x u^oiu, "VVW? ~*-o 'rjcsian statistical office. . . wnKn