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f" u amati 1 * Mil IRv Anna Katharine Green,] CHAPTER XXVI. ] Continued. ^ "Do you fear that?" cried the artist, coming hurriedly forward. "I have feared it for weeks, and that is why I ihave kept such a jealous watch over her." "How did you know of Miss Rogers' existence?" queried the detective. "Her name was not in the directory, nor could you have heard of her in the schools." "No, I heard of her in another way," declared the stranger; "i was siuuuuj^ one day on the steps of my hotel when two young fellows of fashionable appearance came out and passed near me, talking. The one was saying: 'Well, If you want to see a pretty girl, get an Invitation to visit Miss Aspinwall in Great Barrington. She has a friend !Witb her who is a beauty, I assure you.' 'Bah!' was the other's peevish reply, 'some stupid blue-stocking or demure Vassar miss. Excuse me.' But the other answered in these to me most startling words: 'No, unless you call the Slgnorina Valdi a blue-stocking. That is the name, or rather, that is not the name of this young beauty I mention. Her real name is Jenny Rogers, but she is lovely ' I heard no more. The coincidence was startling, but the impetus it gave me came in good time. I made inquiries concerning the prima donna, learned her touching history, and, satisfied that she possessed the necessary qualifications of being a New York girl telegraphed at once to Cleveland for the introducT nn/t nn conn ss I TP 11VUO X JUVVUVUf MMM. ? reived them came here." | "A strange coincidence, as yon say," repeated Mr. Gryce, "but it gives me no clue to the puzzle we are studying." Then "with more earnestness he inquired: "Where did you get the valet 1 whom you now employ?" A look of surprise passed over Mr. Degraw'a face, but he responded promptly: "In New York. He answered an advertisement which I put in the Tribune and as his letters were excellent I biredhim." -.....-.uij. , "Do you like him?" ' *' * * "Why, yes, as a valet. He is useful and exact in his duties, and I have no reason to find fault with him. But the man himself is not very agreeable. May I inquire " "In la moment," interrupted Mr. Gryce. "I would first like to ask whether you consider him honest?" "Honest? O, yes; I have never found A pin lacking." ^ "That is not an absolute proof of honesty. A man who will not steal will i sometimes abuse his master's confirdence in other ways. Are you sure of this fellow's discretion? Have you never seen him tampering with your papers, or peering into places where he had no business to look?" >While Mr. Degraw was considering his reply the artist drew near to Mr. Gryce and excitedly inquired if these questions referred to his fellow detective. Mr. Gryce smiled. "The name of your fellow-detective Is Byrd, and you say this valet is not tjyra." , "But you insisted." "Oh, never mind what I insisted," was the quick reply. "I talk sometimes to veil my thoughts. I knew that the valet was no officer of ours." The artist stared in amazement, confused by a revelation whose full consequences he could not in that one moment measure. Turning anxiously toward his namesake he waited for his answer to the question which Mr. Gryce had put to him, and did not know whether to be relieved or not when the gentleman finally remarked: "I do not know to what you refer, Mr. I Gryce, but have only good to say of Barton. Never to my knowledge has he gone a step beyond his duty in regard to any of my effects. As for my papers they are always kept about my person. By day I carry them in an inner pocket, and at night I place them under my pillow. He can have had no opportunity of handling them." "And yet I most decidedly believe that he has not only handled them but consulted them; that, in short, he knows their contents as well as you do, and that it is solely on account of this knowledge that he occupies his present position near your person." "Impossible! What makes you think this?- You alarm me, Mr. Gryce." And mingled with this exclamation came that of the artist, who, if not so greatly astonished as the other, realized, perhaps, with even greater force, the complications and conjectures to which this suspicion pointed. "You do not know the man," resumed jui. JL/cgicnY, nnu ovuiv vu\^i0j. >rWhen we came up here there was a moment on the train when it looked as if we were on the verge of a collision. The care shook and trembled with frightful suddenness, and while men started up and women shrieked this falet of mine threw himself in front of me with an instinctive movement of protection that I shall never forget. I may not like him, but I refuse to consider him a blackguard without very good cause." "He felt your life to be valuable. It was worth three million dollars to him and his accomplices," observed Mr. Gryce, quietly. "\vnat ao you mean.' My me worm anything to liim? I cannot think you are speaking seriously." "Listen, Mr. Degraw. In the course of our inquiries into this matter we have lately come upon a woman living In a certain doubtful quarter of New York, whom, if you have not seen, 1 Will characterize as possessing deviltry enough to make her waning beauty dangerously piquant. She 5< called Jcnr.y Rogers also?Mme. Jenny Rogers?and long before v/e knew what wag the aim o? 1b? conspiracy against the other girls bearing her name we were convinced that such a conspiracy V ? rER P .LIONS. Jl Author of "The Forsaken | 1 Inn," ?tc. ft OBCRT BONNER'S SONS. M existed, and that she 'was the centre of jt, and that some unknown man, then believed to bear the name of Hamilton Decraw, was her agent and co-worker. Your story betrays what the object of this plot "was. To gain your millions for Ibis base woman, other girls of her name were to be suppressed, or in eome way robbed either of their good name or of the opportunity to win your regard. You know, I suppose, how we first became aware of the existence of this plot?" "No; I know nothing but what I have told you and what you yourself have already told me." "Very well, then, understand that a short time previous to the string of unhappy events which we have been contemplating a young man of unquestioned respectability overheard a short conversation uttered under his window late one night between two persons wbo were passing by. A woman's voice spoke first, and these were the words he heard: 'But if some other Jenny Rogers ' Mark you, some other Jenny Rogers, which we take as proving that her own name was Jenny Rogers. The answer was in a man's gruff tones: 'Never let that trouble you. In a month there will not be another youDg girl by the name of Jenny .Rogers remaining in town. 1 win sec to them.' Does this not show the beginning of a conspiracy? And do not the explanations you have given us prove that the aim and object of this conspiracy were the millions which have been left to you for the use and benefit of some one by the name of Jenny Rogers?" "It does: it does; but?" "And this threat, thus overheard, had proved to be no vain one," proceded the detective, with an apologetic wave of his hand. "These girls have been 'seen to,' Mr. Degraw. As soonas yon showed the slightest interest in any one of them danger or dishonor has attacked her and taken her out of your reach. This I see now; an hour ago I saw differently. Then I thought you tho author nf th? throats I have Quoted as well as the occasion of whatever mischief has followed. But, with your explanations to aid us I am now ready to transfer all my suspicions from yourself to the man you have employed as valet. He it is who has worked in this woman's favor; he it is who poisoned the bonbons, wrote the letters?" "Pardon me, but what reason have you for ascribing these iniquities to him? I am not the man to take any one, much less a low and unknown body servant, into my confidence." "I know; I know.- But this low and unknown body servant may have oportunities for surprising your confidence, for all that. Tell me any one else who has been near enough to you to have access to these documents of yoors and I may consent to transfer my suspicions into some new quarter." "He has not seen my papers, but even if he has the plot you speak of | was started before he entered my em?!nv" "Are you sure?" "I did not see him till after those threats you have spoken of were uttered." "Then I am wrong, or he has learned, in some way other than through these documents, the conditions under which Mr. Delancy'g money was left you." "There is no other way." "You are wrong, there must be.'* "Why, how?" "Don't ask me to answer 'whys' and 'hows.' Just remember that a conspiracy has been found and carried out which proves that a man and woman living in New York knew almost as soon as you did that there was a great fortune to be angled for by a girl owning the name of 'Jenny Rogers.' Now, if this occurred before this man applied to you for the position of valet then it is among the possibilities that he made that application on account of the knowledge he possessed of your affairs. Has not the plot prospered better since he has been in your employ?" "Undoubtedly." "Was it not by his hand you sent the box of bonbons to their proper destination?" "Good heaven! Yes." "And has he not had ample opportunities for using your paper and; stealing your cards, and thus leading the silly girl at Miss Hadden's school to think that this letter he wrote came from you?" "Yes, if he has wit enough to concoct such a letter, and knowledge sufficient to know that it would produce the effect he desired." "Oh. he has wit and he has knowledge, if he is the man who is acting for the intrigante I have mentioned. Though you have been too absorbed iu your own affairs to be suspicious, you have doubtless not taken a step without his knowledge and surveillance." Mr. Degraw looked disgusted, but be simply remarked: "You speak of the intrigante who is at the bottom of this mischief. I think I remember her, a despicable woman whom I would not think of looking at twice. I saw her during the time of my first inquiries. Can it be possible that she thought me capable of being attracted by such as she?" "Such women are blinded by their vanity. Besides, she may have thought you were under compulsion to give this money to one of her name within a stated lime." "Well, it is nl! a mystery. I thought I had kept this affair a sc-crct from the whole world, and now you are trying to prove to me that it has been shared by the basest and most mercenary of my kind. Why, I did not even spenk llilS WUUIUU. ! "I oan believe it." "Xor Lave I ever seen her since tha! j owe." ' "I can believe that. too. She is i:: I hldiiiS. and knows that sbe lias but to 1show herself to be arrested. Her aceoiEtplice, on the contrary, has had full swing, and if we have ?ot found him in your valet " , "But we have," now broke in the artist. ""Why else should he have deceived me by saying he was a detective?" I "A detective?" repeated Mr. Degraw, of Cleveland. "Yes, and thus excusing himself for me curiosity ne eiiowcu uver a. jcuci which I was reading. If he has not meddled with your pf per, Mr. Degraw, be-certainly has shown a disposition I to do so with mine." ; "The scamp! And I have intrusted J him with notes to Miss Rogers!" "Did you send him to my rooms to- i night?" "No." "Yet he has> been there. Did you < ever utter threats against my life?" "Against your life, Mr. Degraw! Do | I hear you rightly?" "Yet this man told me that I was in | danger from your jealousy; swore that he had overheard you mutter threats against me." "Sir, you overwhelm me! I, the most peaceable man alive! I do not wonder you looked askance upon me. Is it j necessary for me to say that this villain has belied me; that, for purposes I dare not fathom he wished to raise an enmity between us?" "Say, rather," continued the other, "that he aimed at driving me out of town. He did not like the surveillance I kept over Miss Rogers; it interfered with his schemes;" "True," replied the other, turning pale. "If he is the conspirator you deem him he has another victim in prospect. Whither has the man gone? I cannot rest till 1 see him in custody." "That we may hope to do soon," asserted Mr. Gryce. "Ever since we knew that the Signorina Valdi, otherwise Miss Rogers, had come to this place unprotected we have kept a detective here to guard her. Though you do not know Mr. Byrd, who understands his business too well to make himself conspicuous, he knows you and^this other Mr. Degraw and all the rest of the persons connected with this affair. That he should have suspected your valet and followed him into this other gentleman's rooms to-night (as we know he did) adds to my own conviction of your valet's guilt. My colleague is now upon this fellow's track, and if nothing unforeseen occurs we shall presently have the pleasure of an introduction to him under circumstances that will make his escape impossible." This was encouraging, yet the gentleman he addressed still showed that he was very anxious. "And, meanwhile," he suggested, "who is watching over Miss Rogers?" At this question, so forcible and unexpected, the artist started and a thrill of emotion disturbed the countenance of the detective. 11, CUJUliUUCU 11JC11 UU91, ci , acy has been formed of the nature you describe, and every girl who seems to stand in the way of its success is liable to death or dishonor, how shall we measure the peril now hanging over the head of this beautiful woman, who, as any one can see, has not only attracted my admiration, but so won my regard that no doubt can remain in the mind of any one acquainted with my'purposes, of the direction which this trust money will take when it definitely leaves my hands. Barton has been anA io- rrmninsr awav. VOU lli^uvtuvu uuvi ?w * ?? ? 0 ? , ? say, but Barton may not be the only enemy she has in town. A plot involving 60 much money is sure to have more than two persons concerned in it. How can we tell, then, that the woman who brushes her hair has not sworn to kill her before morning?" "True," asented the detective, "there is no telling from what quarter the blow may come." "She does not fear- any blow," put in the artist, with increasing agitation, "and that makes her position only less secure. This villain?Barton, I mean?has so convinced her that the peril which surrounds girls of her name is in her case directed: not toward herself, but toward one whom she honors with her regard that she is abso? lutely reckless as to her own safety, and will court any danger unflinchingly." "Then," declared Mr. Degraw, with firmness, "we must dispel this danger *? - ?/?< Ar?/io lof Vim* ho it ueusive uuu vuvt jv-t ?v* wv known ns the legal owner of these millions, and there will no longer be any motive for injuring her. It is only while they remain in my hands and subject to the peculiar disposition which I am under promise to make of them, that the cause of these conspirators can be helped by her injury or destruction." "That is so," quoth the detective. To be continued. New Beacliy Head Llelithouse. In 1S28 a lighthouse was erected on one of the seven white cliffs of Beachy Head, the well-known headland on the south coast of England. The height of the light above the sea was 2S4 feet, the cliff itself being 2-12 feet above tide. The lighthouse was originally built 100 feet back from the^edge of the cliff. Of late years, several heavy falls of chalk have occurred, and the structure is now less than seventy feet from annihilation. It is evidently simply a question of time when the whole mass of masonry and iron will fall into the sea. This has led to the construction of a new lichthouse on the' sands below the cliff. This has just been completed; its light was shown first on October 2. It is 142 feet in height, and built of stones, each oue of wh*ch is dovetailed into its neighbor, so that the whole mass really consists of one immense boulder. Its light is made by an oil vapor burner working on the Kitson plan, and is of 2-10,250 candle power. It gives two flashes every twenty seconds. The old Beaehy Head light gave 22,000 candles. The new light not only gives ten times (he light, but uses only one-tenth of the oil required for supplying its predecessor. Woman1! Dream. When a woman really loves a man she pictures to herself the day when he will come to her with some great grief and sob with his head in her lap until he arises eomfortcd and strong. --New York Pre.??. | Hi* Motto. Til? stock broker's motto is: "If nt irst you don't succced, buy, buy | I. ^ain."?rbilade.pliiu Kceord. => 4 A SERMON FOE SUNDAY ed; ei A BEAUTIFUL DISCOURSE BY THE REV. tl DR. C. L; COODELU J . d< D Subject: A Sure Method With Donbt?Do r noi i>r jnupaneiik nuu n, umj mi tinne to Move Toward the Light Yon w Do See?Truth will Free You. ^ t Brooklyn, N, Y.?Sunday morning, in er the Hanson Place M. E. Church, the Rev. pi Dr. Charles L. Goodell preached on "A ?' Sure Method With Doubt." The text waB ol taken from Daniel v:-16, "And I have Vl heard of thee that thou canst make inter- V1 pretations and dissolve doubts." Dr tj Goodell said: bi If Daniel were alive to-day, with his T1 ability to dissolve doubts unimpaired and t' unimpeached, he would be tne busiest tl man of his time. And yet ours is no n more an age of doubt than any other hi which preceded it. There was infidelity w a hundred years ago in our universities ?: and a flippant skepticism among educat- |e ed people which is now quite outgrown, but it will always remain true, that every is generation must settle its own doubts. ? The generation is made ud of the indi- B vidual and the great questions of the soul n' nr? nercnnal fillPBtiotlK. Thev milst be wrought out for the most part by individual stress and struggle. There are tl phases of doubt that receive greater em- b phasis than others at a given time. In one st generation a deistic philosophy seems to w triumph in another agnosticism is at the "w fore. The generation now passing has fought out the great battles of evolution P and we may fairly say that its theory is It in no way a menace to the Christian faith, n There have been hot battles on the field tl of biblical criticism. Positions once held ai by the two great forces have been proven untenable and the orthodox party by giv- tr ing up what could not be defended has j* made its position stronger than ever be- ir fore. n The doubts to which I wish to refer and ^ which I would be glad to scatter as spec- 7' ters of the night are not so much of the n theoretical as of the practical sort. They 01 are the kind which make stout men weak, ?' which paralyze great upward movements " in society, and cut the nerve of personal o: devotion. P It is not strange or unreasonable that ? we should have doubts. We begin life knowing nothing. We journey in the A land of the unknown at every step. We ai investigate and experiment and question. " Little by little with material brought frpm * the unknown we Duna ine structure which we call knowledge, and in doing V this wc form a habit which masters us. It v will not let us rest. Life has become a " great interrogation point, and our jour- 11 ney a voyage of discovery. We sail into n every beckoning bay. One is a fair har- ? bor and nothing beyond; another a stretch jl of sandbar and shoal and we are fortunate if we are able to put again to sea; while jj another proves to be the mouth of a d n-eat river ud whose tide we go to glorious discoveries in a delectable country. '< The man who thinks cannot stop his 0 thinking. Often he is mocked by it and a pitilessly punished, like some adventurous y mountain climber, but climb he must s! though he fail in his quest. cl "That low man seeks a little thing to do, s] Sees it and does it; % This high man with a great thing to M pursue a Dies ere he knows it." y It is no wonder, then, that we are driv- P en to doubt, for life is too short to know y all. o It is not to be wondered at that our " doubts concern themselves chiefly with k religious truth. In the very nature ol Jthings religious truth is supernatural. It s] is not so much contrary to, as beyond, our ci senses. Its principles are not like the ax- . . -t xl TUo an|/> fiPM ot f? 10ms OX mainemnuice. xuc nuv.v religion is beyond the realm of the senses C and of scientific rules; therefore, it is to t! be wondered at least of all when we find b that in this field speculation and doubt si run riot. f] There is another fact to be considered t! which Horace Bushnell states admirablv: y ' Our faculty is itself in disorder. A brolc- If en or be?t telescope will not see anything v rightly. So a mind wrenched from its true lines of action, discolored and smirched t: by evil, will not see truly, but will put a f< blurred, misshapen look on everything, a Truths will only be as good as errors and n doubts as natural as they." h In view of all this, let us have done h with abusing those who doubt. Doubt c properly pursued is only knowledge in the t: raw, and Dr. Parks was right when he p said: "Infidelity is the ultimate result of n checking_ the desire for expanded knowl- a edge." Let us frankly tell our young peo- a nle that doubt is not a final condition save g to a dishonest mind. Through the doubt 1 of to-day they will come to the knowledge t of to-morrow, and let us also remind them t that what they hold as the truth to-mor- u row should have great expansive power, r so that coming day6 will give more light and add to the proportions of the truth s "I have heard of thee that thou canst p make interpretations and dissolve doubts," u was the K.ing's greeting to the Hebrew, h mi:- kaH ctnnrt before the h J-illb same ? _ King's father when he, too, was sore bur- c dened with mystery. He did not claim g for his own unaided wisdom the power " to settle doubts, but stoutly and honestly owned the source of his power, saying: t "There is a God in heaven that revealeth v secrets." It may be said truthfully that o the only sure method for the solution r of life's problems and the dissolving of its s doubts is by entering into right relations q with Him. If it is objected that one of the great doubts of life relates to His n very existence the answer is, Every man y is conscious of the great ethical impera- t tive, I ought. This relates him to 6ome f great law, and hence to some grea-t law t giver. It would not seem to be a very t exalted prayer, "Oh God, if there be a a God, enlighten my soul, if I have a soul," a and yet even a prayer like that, with an a honest purpose to follow each faintest ray y of light, would not be unavailing. In the matter of dissolving religious u doubts, the ultimate purpose is everything. No man ever comes to the truth by being simply curious. Speculation for speculation's 6ake leads nowhere. The mind is g, filled with conflicting arguments. It i$ a f, poor cause which has not something plausible about it. and so the mind chases if- gl self from sophistry to sophistry, from con- 8' troversy to controversy, darkening counsel and coming out nowhere. 0 The first thing for an honest seeker af- 0 ter truth to do is to pledge himself to g fcith ao hp finds it. To oiav J UUIUC U.v tue w uv.. m fa6t and loose with one's convictions is the j, first and second death. To fail to use 0 the light we have to refuse to live up to f, hat we know is right, is to put one's a self into the darkness of eternal doubt, j, Plato was right when he said: "Atheism g' is a disease of the soul before it becomes v an error of the understanding." French e atheism was a foregone conclusion when v one considers the condition of French mor- j als. Why should a man believe in God j. when his life was one long rebelling t against Him? Why should lie not cry "after us the deluge" when conscious tha-: 1 nothing: but an unfathomable sea ctuld cover the putrefaction of his lift? When a man has made up his mind to give hiqj- ,T self to the sensual and .the material, it is J hollow mockery for him to profess a de- ?j sire to know the truth. The truth abides 2 with no man who will not use it. and. on ^ the other hand, if he be, Hke Romanes, F pure of heart and purpose, he will think 11 hia way out of the darkness into the full 0 light of revealed religion and pillow his; 6 dying head upon a certain faith. Knowing the life of Shelly we would expect him 11 to be proud to write himself down "an atheist;" knowing the life of Wordsworth, we would expect the epitaph in Grass- F mere Church to read as it does. "To the ^ inemorv of William Wordsworth, a true philosopher and poet, who, by a special gift nna calling of Almighty God. whether he discoursed on man or nature, failed not f to lift up the heart to holy things, tired a not of maintaining the cause of the poor s and simple and so in perilous times wac r raised up to the chief minister, not on!v s ' 1 1 nn/1 r*n /IVO/I a Ot noniest poesy, uui/ ui ui^u u-u-ii au.Lu v truth." li Before vou seek any further for the dis- 1 solving o? your doubts, ask yourself hon- v estly the question: "Am 1 unalterably F piven over to right doir.g? Am 1 ready to obey the voice within me as steadfastly v as Socrates obeyed his daemon,' even though it should cross, my purposes and bring bitter losses?" It will be easy to beiieve in immortality r when we try to live a life trial; is good v enouirli to last forever. We shall uol I t \ V. jubt the fatherhood of God -wien we ve ourselves to the practice 'of'the brothhood of man. Our doubts trouble us and thereby prove lat doubt is not a state of equilibrium; e must move on toward the light. Action the panacea for doubt. Jf any man will ) God's will he shall know His doctrine, o you doubt the power of prayer? To hom do you think the reality of that atter is revealed? Certainl** not the man ho never prays. Put yourself as best du can in the attitude of prayer and lisTi You will then be able to know wheth God talks back. You have sat in the 2\v for years and you have heard sermons ithout number on the great fundamentals I the Christian faith. To some of them ju have given-intellectual assent, and yet au find yourself in doubt and uncertainr. Why is it tbus with you? There can e but one answer. You have thrown^ ourself in holy surrender at the feet-of e truth you have known. It costs someling to do that. I pity the man who had o Bethel in his life; no place where he as faced God and duty and said: "I ill" to the divine "you ought." Paul ad his Damascus, Luther his Erfurt, Wesy his Aldersgate, and Brshnell, lecturig to the students of Yale, said: "There a storv lodged in the little bedroom of le of these dormitories which I nrr - God [is recording anctel may note, allowing it ever to be lost." ' Do not be impatient with your doubt, aly be sure that you are moving toward le lighl you do see. Not what we are, t wnat we are becoming; not where we ;and, but whence we come and whither e go?these are the great things about hich we should be concerned. The fruit of the tree of faith may be lucked too soon and it is then valueless. ; takes a full season to ripen the best of ature's products and there are some lings in ^faith which only years and frost nd storm.will bring to maturity. It has been said that one of the greatest tlents in religious discovery is the findig how to hang up questions without belg anxious about them. Look at them ow and then as they hang and by and by, hen you turn some corner of thought, ou will be delighted and astonished to see ow quietly and easily they open their eeret and let you in. I know a great teachr of mathematics who always kept some ard problems by him. He would work , n one awhile and put it back in his ocket still incomplete. After weeks or lonths the problem would be solved and nother take its place in his thought, here are manv who say with easy assurnce: "Lord, I believe," but they have ever thought enough to have any doubts, hev have no sympathy with those who ie for a man or a cause. They could beeve anything that seemed to be necessary :r a good position in.society and a com?/????? The man who is honest )L laUiC lUCUUiv *uv lust adjourn some of his questions and ot be impatient. I expect to carry some f my questions with me into that larger fs toward which all men move, but that ict does not trouble me. Some things I ave settled and others can wait until the ay when all mystery shall be made clear. One of my parishioners some years ago lught me a great lesson. She was a lady f culture and refinement. She had been t the head of a great school for many . ears. Her eyesight at last failed her ana he became totally blind. I saw her at the lose of a service feeling her way up the isle from pew to pew, that she might (lake hands with me. The thought of her reat suffering and loss finally overwhelmed me and I said with deep emotion s I clasped her hand: "'It will be light up onder and you will know why God has emitted this great affliction to enter our life." She lifted a face transfigured y ineffable peace and said: "If I am so appy as to get to heaven, [ shall let byones be bygones and shall not. trouble the iord for any explanations." If one has a pirit like that, whatever doubts he has an wait. Remember finally that there are but a ?w things that are absolutely necessary to !hristian faith. Be 'sure that you have hem. whatever the price demanded may e. Do not try to make a bargain for a r~ ?i /.mirao That is an aw lie arm JJieuaaui. wuiav. ill mocking of the truth. But having setled the great problems be assured thlt ou need not be greatly troubled about the sser ones. Men have set up standards rhich God never ordained. We have multiplied dogmas and docrines to the confusion of the mind and I ear to the joss of the soul. Worse than 11 men have forgotten that right living is lore important than right views. They ave burned heretics to get rid of their eresy, and have banished good men beause they disagreed with them. Have paience with other men that they may have atience with you. Let your life recomlend your creed. Right opinions will vail us no more than they avail the devil nd his angels unless we hold them in the olden chalice of a pure and honest life, .'he great truths of life are not simply inellectual truths and the method by which hey are revealed are not chiefly intellectal. With the heart man believeth unto ighteousness. Doubt which is in moral earnest is a ervant of God to bring the truth. It has receded all great reforms in the individal and in the community. A faith which as been forged out through the awful leat of doubt is the only kind that beomes an anchor to the soul. It is worth oing through the fiery furnace to find the form of the Fourth." The conviction which honest doubt leads ? ?v:?k Viqo eVialren the o is tbe convicuou wmvu ~ rorld. Do not scorn any man, and least I f all the truth he holds. Keep the integrity of your mind. Think honestly, think eriously, for life's questions are solemn uestions. Do not be obstinate and refuse to own a iew truth which contradicts some position ou once held. Above all things realize hat the truth is the only thing that will ree you from an evil life. The verdict of he aces and the verdict of the facts is hat the truth is to be sought in a personlity and not in a theory, and no one has risen to dispute His words who said, "I m the truth." It is to Him that I ask ou to come. Well may you sav to Him: 'I have heard of Thee that Thou canst fiake interpretations and dissolve doubts." True Forgiveness. Phillips Brooks once beautifully decribed the meaning of true forgiveness as allows: "The true sign of forgiveness is not ome mysterious signal waved ' from the ky; not some obscure emotion hunted out i your heart: not some stray text culled ut of your Bible; certainly not some word f mortal priest telling you that your atisfaction is complete. Ihe 6oul full of ocnnneive love to Christ and ready long - -tig, hungry to serve Him, Is its own sign ? forgiveness. Must there not be sorrow or sin? Must there not be resolution of mendment? Surely there must, but it 5 not sorrow for sin for the sake of the orrowfulnesa that Jeaus ever wants. He rants sorrow for sin only that it may bring scape from sin. * * * I think that, rith all we'know of the divine heart of esus, He would far rather Bee a soul trust lim too much, if that ie possible, than to rust Him too little., which we know is ossiblc enough." Sunshine of Praise.1 Jf you see anything that is worthy of iraise, speak of it. Even if you cannot do worthy deed yourself, commend one who !oes. Praise is a power for good; both *od and1 man prize it. No prayer is comilete wnnout praise. The be6t worker for lis fellows who fails to give praise fails f doing as well as he can. Mrs. Stowe tates the truth effectively when she says: Praise is sunshine; it warms, it inspires, b promotes growth: blame and rebuke ain and hail; they beat down and beIraggle, even though they may at times be lecessary" Do we do our part in givng praise. "-Sunday-School Times. IVhat Better? Tfc is not. of course, the highest argument or Christianity, but it is always wen xo sk one who is refusing Christ what subtitute he has for Him. Upon what is he dying to escape from his sins? What ure comfort has he for his sorrows? What vidence has he of immortality? Whence las he earned certainty as to the character of God? What UDholds him in his i-ork in the world? Where >. oes he find lower to eonquer temptation? Often, if man can be made to see his poverty, he fill seek the true riches. The Rudder of the Day. The first hour of the morning is the iulf.er the day. It is a blessed baptism I . hu ll giv?s the first waking thoughts into ' he bosom of Cod.?Henry Ward iSeeeher. : . h > TIE SUNDAY SCHOOL INTERNATIONAL LESSON COMMENTS FOR JANUARY 24; yi v / < ' tjpn .r-r ! ? Subject: Jesus Rejected at Nazareth. Lnlc? iv., 10-30? Golden Text, John i., 11? Memory Verges, 18, 19?Coremontar on the Day's Lesson. T. Jesus preaching in Nazareth (v$. IC'21). 16. "Came to Nazareth." This was a trying visit. His own people were in no mood to receive Him. hut Jesus verv DroD* erly opens Hns public work in Galilee at Hie own home. "His custom was:" This is a good example for us. There are many, evidences that Jesus had fixed religious habits. "Synagogue." The synagogues were not in use until after the Babylonish captivity. They could only be, erected where ten men in easy circumstances (called "men of ease") could be found to attend them. The people sat with thenfaces toward the temple; there were "chief seats" for the elders, and the women sat by themselves. "Sabbath day." We should, on the Sabbath day, always avoid work, conversation and reading unfit for the Lord's day, and give ourselves to spiritual exercises. This was His custom. If He needed the means of grace surely we do. "Stood up." They stood up to read the Scriptures,.but sat down to teach. The whole congregation stood during the reading." 17. "Esaias." Greek form of Isaiah. "Opened the book." The roll. The Scriptures were written on parchment, with two rollers, so that as they were read ?ne was' rolled on and the other rolled off. The portion selected was Isaiah *61: 1, 2. 18. "Spirit?is upon Me." This was given Him as Hie baptism. "Hath anointed Me."' I have been set apart for this very purpose. This is the first great qualification of a true preacher. "The Gospel." Good news concerning Himself, His mission and the deliverance He brings. "The broken hearted." Those overwhelmed with sorrow for their sins or sufferings. "The captives." The gospel comes as a great moral emancipation proclamation to those in bondage to sin, evil habits or the devil. "The blind." The spiritually blind. THp liorht. of the world has aDneared?one who is able to unseal blind minds as well as blind eyes. "Bruised." As the great Dhysician He comes to heal those who are broken and crushed because of sins committed. The "wounds, and bruises, and putrefying sores" may now be "closed" and "bound up" and healed. Note the difference between the prophets and Christ: They proclaimed liberty, He sets at liberty. 19. "Acceptable year of the Lord."' A reference to the year of jubilee. Lev. 25: 8-17. This was the year when, 1. Debts and obligations were released. 2. All Hebrew servants were set free. 3. Each resumed possession of his inheritance. This was a type of gospel times. The genuine jubilee year goes beyond the gospel picture. The liberty proclaimed is soul liberty. 20. "Closed the book." Rolled up the roll. "To the minister." The ruler of the synagogue or his servant. "Sat down." See on verse 16. This indicated that He was through reading and wa& now about to teach. "Eyes?fastened on Him." Many things contributed to arrest their attention: 1. The report of His teachings and mighty works which had preceded Him. 2. The remarkable character^of the words He had read. 3. His manner and bearing. 4. The fact that they knew Him so well. 5. The unction of the Holy Spirit upon Him. r ?< ' ~ ? ? Jf TT~ 21. ".fuiniiea in your eans. jzc a? their condition and He knew that He could save them., He is prophet, physician. Redeemer,' deliverer. They are poor captives, blind arid bruised. He stands before them with the calm consciousness of power "to grapple with and overcome all their miseries." II. The discussion (vs. 22-27)-. 22. "Bare Him witness." "Gave signs o? approbation." "Gracioup words." This passage and John 7: 46, give us some idea ?f the majesty and sv/eetness which characterized our Lord's utterances. "Joseph's Son." How can it be possible that tne jon of this obscure family?a carpenter who has made furniture for our houses a man without education, without rank or office ?that He should be the Messiah, the King of the Jews? * . 23. "Ye?say." Jesus shows that He knows their thoughts. "Proverb." Or parable; denoting any kind of figurative discourse. "Physician, heal Thyself." That is, they would ask why He did not perform miracles in Nazareth?at home, instead of at Capernaum. Jesus had, only a few months before, healed a nobleman's son at Capernaum (John 4: 46-54), and this was probably only one example of many. "Do also here." Let us see Your power. The best modern equivalent is. "Charity begins at home;" do something here. Work a miracle and prove* to us that You ^ "Tr? TT?fl mvn ponn are me iuessiau. ?. ? try." No prophet is received in his own country as he is elsewhere. It is wry difficult for any people to believe in the greatness or power of one who has grown up among tnem. This is the reason He gives for declining to work miracles in Nazareth. Their unbelief hindered Him. He would not display His power merely to gratify curiosity. 25. "'I tell you.". He now proceeds to show how Elijah and Elisba, two of their greatest prophets, had' gone to the Gentiles with their blessings, and that by divine direction, while many in Israel were suffering unnoticed. "In the days of Elias." See 1 Kings 17: 1-9. "The heaven was shut up." There were two rainy seasons, called the early and Jatter rains. "The first fell in October, the latter in April. The first prepared the ground for the seed, the latter, ripened the harvest. As both of these were withheld, consequently there was a fjreat famine." 26. "Save unto Sarepta." Greek form of Zarephath. Elijah was not sent to the widows of Israel, but to a widow of Zarephath?& village on the Mediterranean coast. 27. "Eliseus." Greek form for Elisha. The meaning of these two verses is, God dienenses His benefits when, where and to whom He pleases. No Derson can complain, because no person deserves any good from Hi', hand. Jesus mijrht justly do the same in the displays of His grace. Thus He showed that His blessings were intended for Gentiles as well as Jews. "Naaman." See 2 Kings 5: 1-14. Til. The rejection (vs. 28-30). 28. When their race prejudices were struck they at once "were filled with wrath." prejudice is stronger than reason. They couid not give countenance to a preacher who even inferred that the Gentiles whom they hated so bitterly, could be blessed.; 29. "Brow of the hill." Nazareth spreads itself out upon the eastern face of a mountain, where therf- is a perpendicular wall of rock from fortv to fifty feet high. 30J "Passing through." His escape from thenij was no doubt miraculpus. They desired to see a miracle and here they had one. Feak ?f Moant Tacoma Falls. In Washington a great rock and land slide has reduced the height of Mount Tacoma and changed the entire configuration of the southeastern peak of the great mountain. As near as can be ascertained at least the greater Dortion of the highest peak of the mountain, the one that rises from its southeast slope, has toppled over, and millions of tons of rock and eartb were precipitated down the side of the mountain for a great distance. The altered configuration of the peak shows that nun dreds of acres of rock must have fallen. Finger Tip Worth S400. The Monumental Manufacturing Company. of Baltimore. Md.. has been ordered to pay $400 to Miss Maggie Wallace, an emplove, hv the sealed verdict of a jury. The nlaintiff allezed that the tip of one of her fingers had been cut off in a stamping machine, and whenever she touched anything with the tip of her affected finger she fell in a fit. Canal in Mountain. The first shovelful of dirt has been turned on the Huntley Flats irrigation project, intended to reclaim 30.000 acres. A canal fifteen miles long, piercing a small mountain will be constructed at a cost of $60,000. Italian Exposition in 1905. The completion of the world's longest tunnel, bimplon. it to be celebrated in 1905 at .Milan, the nearest important Italian e?.y- an international exposition, for which a fund cl' $000,000 has been raised. _ mreevKHsJi A Prayer of Gratitnfie. Lord, for the erring thought Not into evil wrought;' Lord, for the wicked will % Betrayed and baffled still; For the heart from, itself kept, < '* Our thanks giving accept. For ignorant hopes that were Broken to our blind prayer; . For pain, death, sorrow sent. Unto our chastisement; ' For all loss of seeming good, Quicken our gratitude. ?W. D. Ho well A, .' * * i i A Lost Opportunity. . v It was the Sunday before Christmas ' Chwstmas cheer was everywhere?in the ? fragrant wreaths of evergreen, in the joyous strains of church choirs, in the emiH ing faces of men. women and children, if seemed as if pain and loss and struggle and failure and death were forgotten ifll y the joy that Christ was born. yY. But not even Christmas could ease til8 / ache of one heart. In al! the great city there was probably , no. woman more wretched than Agnes Farrar. .She had once had all that seemed best *b; health, beauty, wealth, charm, lege. Sbe had had them, and had spent tb^e>. She vl had chosen ten years before to % ignore the requirements of her world and to become a law unto herself. She had founa the fate which surely waits for a woman who** so chooses. On Chriiftmafc 'Sunday! she faced the truth. Her money was gone. She had bartered her health for Ei | leasure. Only faint traces remained ot l| er heauty and her grace. Of the abun- I cant loves once given her without stiht* . i sne had chosen the cheapest and poorest, . i and the last fragment of that was gone. i ] "I've come to the end of it all! she said to herself, as she. stood before the dull mirror in her cheap lodging an Christmaa fiitnflav mnrninft . Wlfll fHftt WAT(f 'UU J ?JUUUl*J , , I W w. ? upon her lips she resolved to go to church ?for the last time. She thought with a' bitter sinile that she would at least be warm there. > ' ' , She entered the church as if in a dream',* j As fihe w&s shown up the broad aisle a' flood of memories swept over her. >An? j niem and Scripture lesson and pcaves j pa-ssed unheeded." One scene after anotne^ ] of her life unrolled before her inward viaf ion, until she was suddenly conscious thaiV she was weeping, and that a gracious woman beside her looked at her with fjentle? pitying eyes.- She roused herself ana turned her face up to the preacher. He had been speaking some minutes, although she had caught no word of the sermon* , Now this was what she heard: # "One night a man was groping his way done across a dark and dangerous mborJ Suddenly he slipped and fell into a deep , pit. In vain he cried for help. In "Vain be struggled to climb up the steep sides * of the pit. Morning broke, and found him wounded, thirsty, exhausted, despairing. * ?rn xi ~ fK? 1UCU mere came iu ^uc uiuuiu v? v?w Eit a Buddhist. He looked down at'the " roken figure and said, '0 wretched man* J your struggles are useless, and your suf-j fering is because of your struggles. "Cease, to desire to Jive and all will -be wetf. sFix your thought upon eternity, and present-' I" you will find Nirvana/ and the Buddhist passed on. "Then there came a student of Confucius. He also bent over the pit to' see . whence the cries csme. I hen he said, poor man, I see plainly that you have/ disobeyed the great moral i laws of . this world. You have neglected to reverence your parents or the st^te. If you yiere up here I would gladly instruct you in these duties, but as. you are quite in cap-' able of getting out, I must leave you.' | '"Then there came a Mussulman, and'he counseled patience and belief- in >one God, and also went his way. '< < \ But at last there came a Christian. .He leaned over the pit, and he called to. the man, who by this time- was almost dead. 'Courage! Courage, my brother! ' We will help you. I was once in that very pit myself. Be of good cheer; keep yoar hope a little longer and I _ will ieturp/ Then the Christian burned away, ?na quickly returned with men and ropes and/ food and drink. They all worked together to lift the injured man out of the pit; j and among them as they worked his dim eyes seemed to see a strange Figure, Kke as it bad been the Son of God. So pres-. ently the man was saved from hia? dire extremity, and was carried by strong, lov-', ias: hands to his journey's end." . The woman in the pew hung on ibe preacher's words. When theyi ceased she fell upon her knees as he gave the benediction. There was a hushed moment, and then the congregation rose and began to move slowly out. The lady in whose pew,* the woman bad sat glanced at her tear-' Stained face. She thought quickly, "That' woman is in trouble.1 She looks' as if she had been hearing her own story. I woader 'if I dare*-speak to h?r?" '' While she hesitated a friend whispered* "What time to-morrow can you come to , the Christmas sale?" 'The two moved down the aisle talking auietly. Agnee followed thein?hoping she knew not what. They halted at the door and others joined them. "What a thrilling sermon!" 6aid one. "I never heard him more inspired." answered another. 'Jne woman, now very pale, listened for a few minutes to their friendly chat. She heard one call back. "A merry Chriatmaa i to you all!" and then as the vestibule was almost empty, she made her way out. A fire, dry snow was falling, and the wind was bitter cold. 4 * * a i For an instant salvation naa seemea I possible to hc-r. although she know not now. But the moment of hope had passed. x ne black pall of temotation, failure and^ despair wrapped it3elf again around her, and hid her forever from the eyes of thoaj who might have rescued her. The next day the preacher said to one of his most useful parishioners, "Who was that striking woman in your- pew yesterday ?" , "I never saw her before," Rhe replied. . "Do you know, I was almost tempted to speak to her after service; she seemed much moved by >he sermon. But some friends came up. and she slipped away." "I wish you had snoken to her," eaid the preachcr.?Youth's Companion. Life a Reality. Life is reality?a useful, usable, noble realitv. Happy, too. when once the grim idol Self has been dethroned forever. For it is a truth which we all have to learn? oftentimes through many a bitter lesson? that we can never be happy until we cage k trying to make ourselves so.?Dinah Mulock Craik. Simply Way* Up the Mountain. Trouble and labor and weariness ar? simply ways up the mountain of loftier destinies. Tears may be given to wasn our eves that we may see these loftier destinies more clearly. "The grave itself is but a covered bridge Lead fog from light to light through a brief darkness." Rejoice then even in the difficult and darkened ways: the reason in them is just larger, loftier life. The Best Advice. Whatever you do, begin with Qod.? Matthew Henry. Experiments "With Radium. Dealers complain that 750,000 pounds sterling per ounce, widely quoted as the price of radium, is too high. In Franc? and England and Austria chemists aro working wherever they think it is possible' to extract a milligram. Professor Himstedt, of Freiburg, has made an interesting discovery. His experiments have provecf that all the products of water and petro-' leum sources yield a heavy specific gas which closely resembles and is probably, identical with the emanation of radium,' from which he concludes that a very largo niimhpr ni bodies are imbued with a nual-' ity emitting a kind of becquerel rays. In B this resDect radium differs from other bod- H ies in the degree onlv in respect to magnevfl tism as stetl differs from iron. . H l