Historical Newspapers of South Carolina

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%'d, Wife u a < B? MRS. Al C A/WWVAm PART II. CHAPTER II, I Continued. ' "Take thou the lead, lieber Gerhardt, rid let ns go. "Here, Lies, Lies! Here is a cavalier for you. Major von Steinbausen, Meine cousine Las lost hers by tbia sudden summons, to the Adjutant. "Go. meine Liebling, the Herr Major ?*?! ? rrn.rJ\ f.\T(? of Vfin 2rul YOU ,*ViiJ Uinxr gjx/vrx*. VW* V v ^ - ?. ? can show him the way." Need it be said with -what avidity Steinhausen pounced upon this golden chance? The stars in their courses fought for him at last, he thought, as with a rtudiously grave, composed air he offered his arm to Lies, who had been (hidden by the wide expanse of the Burgomeister's figure. , She looked pale and slightly confused, but infinitely pretty, in a warm winter costume of gray cloth and dnrkibrown fur, and a cap of the same, over which a blue head "Tuch" (knitted woolen scarf) was loosely thrown to shield their ears from cold and frostbite. v She hesitated and drew back at hii approach. "Perhaps, Herr Major, you cave aiTeady made some other engagement. I can go with?" "It is our duty at once to obey." he interrupted, with much decision, and. drawiug her -arm within his own, he led her away to his sleigh almost a prisoner, so tightly did he hold her hand against his side. Von Steinhausen's movement appeared to put an end to the hesitation; the company began rapidly to arrange themselves in their sleighs, and the Burgomeister undertook the duties of leader. When all were seated he gave the word "Vorwartz," and they started in the order prescribed by the rules of eleighing parties. First came the six "Einspanner" <one-horee vehicles) of the urkparried gentlemen, each accompanied by the lady he had invited; nest a large sleigh with four horses, conveying the hand; then eight or nine ''Zweispanners" (two-horse sleighs), each holding four, and driven by married gentlemen, closed the procession. Behind each rode a servant, enveloped in lure, on a saddle-tike seat, his feet resting on a narrow ledge beneath * the body of the carriage. Away they went, the horses tossing . their heads as if proud of their bells, their gay trappings and the many-colorwl tufts of hair that liunir from the arch above their heads. The sleigh-bells rani; merrily, the drivers cracked their-long whips, the band clashed out a quick march, the metal ornaments of tfic carriages glittered in the sunshine, the little boys shouted with delight as the whole cortege swept rapidly down a narrow street past the Lazaret, and away over a narrow steep bridge ihat panned the river on which the town ivas built, now fast locked in the frost's icy grasp, into the open country, away past cottages, their windows thickly framed with green pine boughs to keep out the winter blast, past farmhouses with their central dirt-heaps congealed, frosted over, and sparkling in the Jight, past rare human figures, like walking Knr?/llAo tirliA l r> W1.1IU1CO VI ViVlUVC, "iiv CVV^^V-U ?4?JV* fctared after the say company. .Away still, leaving all trace of houses and life behind, always ascendln?, sometimes so steeply that the fresh, eager horses were obliged to go eloM^y. The goal was a mountain "village which lay at tlie foot of a huge, conical hill, or rather mass of rock, crowned by seme beautiful ruins. Falkenburg was renowned as an object for both summer and winter parties. and especially for sleighing "Geselleschaft."' Nearly all the driverr were familiar *vith the way; but to Stcinhauten it svas quite new. He was therefore obliged to keep his feorse well jn band, to that animals preat disgust, manifested by bounds and prancings which fuliy exercised his driver's skill and strength of wrist. Steinbausen bad wrapped and packed ?p his companion in the luxurious furs of his sleigh with the tcnderest care, for which she thanked him with a glance and smile of unusual friendliness, and then au cwkward silence fell upon them. "You are half frightened, T see," exclaimed Steinhausen at last, locking down at Lies, as she unconsciously shrank nearer to him during seme of their steed's "wilder performances. "No, scarcely frightened, a little uncomfortable, and I fear for you, so lately recovered. , "This tiresome horse is too much." "No, ho is :vot," said Steinhauscn. Shortly. "But, mein Cnadige, you know the road?may I venture to give Mohr his j bead, and pass on to the front? "It is this holding in that makes Lim troublesome." "Yes," she returned, "I know tie road well." With a dexterous hand, Steinhausen shaved, perilously dose, past the foremost sleish, and then off they went like the wind, leaving the rest, who Kleouted reproaches after them for breaking the line of march, far be.'iind; the black horse, relieved of the inJig uuy VI JJUVJ1I? l\J AUIlvMV illlVMliVl ? out" tlrl down into a steady rapid trot. "That's all right," said Lies' <*arioteer. "New we can talk in comfort." > Bnt he exorcised tie privilege with exceeding caution, determired rot to startle his companion into being on fjer gtiard. He Inquired with deep Interest for *er brother, and listened with proSjhioaJ Atfontinn hof hisi/w /if bimi y ' 1 \ nr AT a ui yuiuui/v ; r ii % Fnen)? gU mnnimniiniuiru ? il LEXANDER, ^wvwvw then he led her on to speak of her Dew home at Leipsic, enjoying the ready freedom of her conversation now that they kept on indifferent topics. She was evidently familiar with the country and gave him many particulars of its history and traditions. At length, as Steinhausen was be? - ? i- VIA <\nmioh ginning- 10 T.U1J1K ixit?,y uuu liau of indifferent subjects, and that his lair companion was rather too much at her ease, the road, which had hitherto been constantly ascendiug, approached the first rocky, pinesprinkled hills that guarded the entrance to the valley and village which was the object of the excursion, and began to descend the side of a picturesque gorge, at the bottom of which in summer time gurgled and chafed a little stream, now still and silent in the iron grasp of winter. The hills rose high at either side, studded with huge gray rocks which stood out on all kinds of fantastic shapes, loaded with snow on one side and bare 011 the other, as the wind had drifted: the sreat solemn pine tives looked dark and weird over the exquisite dazzling white which shrouded the earth; the death-like, utter silence was almost oppressive. They might have been the first human visitors that had ever broken in upon the profound solitude, so far a* appearance went. A sense of their complete isolation seemed to force itself upon Lies Gehring. She turned once or twice to look back and said: "How far we have left the rest behind!" "Yes: they -will not be up for this half-hour." returned Steinhauseu, cool- ' ly. "But that is no matter. What curious rocks," pointing to a gray mass high above their heads and in front of them. ' 'It is*'called the 'Basket-woman,:' she replied, "and here on the left is the 'Stein Bock.' 1 "See! you can trace the ihead and horns quite well. The shapes of the rocks here are very curious." "Very curious, indeed," said Steinbnusen. looking about him. "They are strangely worn and cut." "Learned people say that a great lake or sea once filled up this valley and the country round, and these rocks are worn and shaped my the action of i tides and currents. "I believe Bohemia was once an inI land sea, and we are cloise to the fronj tier." ( J "Close to the borders?" replied Stein- 1 1 hausen, laughing and cracking his I whip. I 4,It is a temptation to cross it and bid our party a long farewell." And glancing at his companion, he laughed again at the expression, halfannoyance, half fear, that crossed her 1 face. 1 "You believe me capable of any wick I edness, I suppose." he continued. "Do you not also believe that, wbat! ever temptation may assail me. my ( I first thought is and ever 'will be for 1 | you? j "You may trust in my deep regard for you.'* , Lies was silent, and when she spoke again It was to direct him -which of two rather faint tracks to take. They had traversed the windings of j the gorge, -which now opened out in an oblong valley or basin, at one side of which was a small ''Dorf." the houses looking like -white hillocks ' above the universal snowy mantle that lay thick and soft upon the earth. Over the village towered a suilden ' mighty mass of rock rising six cr seven hundred feet, quite clear from all the j other hiils and crowned by the graceful ruins of a "Kloster." The sides were plentifully dotted 1 with pines and gnarled Cr trees; but 1 hero av.d there groat sheer surfaces cr rock showed bare and unccuth with a sort cf savage strength. Underneath the read wound past theGrst outljing better houses, through the narrow street, and finally, bf. Lies' directions, they stopped at a larger and more pretentious "Restarration" than could have been cspcctcO in so small a place. It was built on ito side cf the hill or rock, and was readied by a fight of steps. The view over the valley was very charming, and the principal room was quite surrounded by windows' that commanded it. A respeetable-tochins woman was standing at the doer to receive them, 1 while within a warm stove and long tables spread for coffee, with endless , piles of cakcs, showed they were ox- ' peeted. Stcinlir.rnen threw the reins to his groor.i anJ assisted Lies to disentangle herself Iron her wraps and to alight; then the horse and sleigh were led o.T to the stables, and they ascended the J steps to the little terrace before the entrance to the "Restauration." 1 Here Lies paused, and looking bark along the road by which they had just ' come, said, rather anxiously: "I can see no sign of them yet." "I thought I heard a faint sound of 1 music,"' returned SteinLauaen; 4,they 1 are not far off," he continued, and 1 vemuriru. l j auu. "Are you afraid cf nerr nauptmann's displeasure at our demarchY" "Not at all," she answered; he is far i too much occupied with Gretchen to s tMink of me." 1 Greatly surprised at this admission. : Steinhausen, looking into his compan- . ion's eyes, ventured to observe: "This is to me incomprehensible; to ' you it must, I fear, be'very painful." 1 He spoke feelingly, and with unusual : diffidence for him. < " liitv ilb TBDbfll ' thought a bitter unile; "en the cou- ] trary. it is in many ways a relief." Steiiihausen's heart beat exnlfingly | at this extraordinary avowal, and yet i an odd sort of disappointment marred his complete satisfaction. Lies was to him not only a charming woman, the touch of whose hand sent a subtle, delicious thrill through every vein, but an ideal woman, too?and his first ideal! For a moment he did not know how to reply. For a moment he did not know how to reply. He feared to presume on her strange ?he hoped peculiar?confidence jn him. But her manner left him in douDt, and -while he doubted, the first sleigh of the party they had left behind came round a turn of the road under the great rock, and rapidly approached. Steinbausen uttered a strong expression of disgust. "I did not think they were so close upon our heels," he said. Lies made no reply, but. after an instant's silence, said, as .she played somewhat nervously with the scarf she had taken from her head: "Tell me?as we have fallen into a confidential tone?why Frau von Steinhausen is not with you?" "Frau von Steinhausen!" ho repeated, greatly puzzled. "Who is she?" "Your wife, of course," said Lies, opening her great blue eyes. ' "My wife! I have none?I never married. Who told you so?" "I thought?I understood you to say that " "You misunderstood or misconstrued anything I could have said,"' he interrupted, eagerly. "Ah, Lies! distance, time, various distractions may have dimmed the first vividness of the impression you made upon me, but no other has ever interfered with it. "Must I never tell you of the agony it is to feel that you are another's? another who does not value the jewel he possesses " He stopped, for the long line of sleighs were ail in sight, and the first almost at the place where they stood. Lies still gazed at him as if bewildered, then a sudden, bright, sweet smile lit up her face; a quick blush flitted over her cheek, she'lcoked down and had just begun to speak: "I think I begin to see how the mistake when the newly arrived sleigh driver shouted from beneath: ' You were not so far ahead, alter all. Herr Major, though you did break our rules so boldly." "Better hreak rules than bones." re turned Steinhausen, hastening down the steps to assist the lady who oceu- | pied the socond seat in the sleigh to extricate herself from her furs. She was a pretty, simple girl of seventeen, the Burgomeister's daughter, and as soon as she was liberated from her profuse wrappings she ran up the steps to link her arm through that of Lies, and began chattering at a rapid rate. The rest of the party now drove up in quick succession, and the large room of the Restauration was crowded with gay, laughing, noisy, t.ilkative groups, which contrasted with the deathlike silence and stillness which reigned without. Most of the gentlemen charioteers bad delayed a few moments to see personally to the accommodation of lmveAD thATT onnrv fhti IUCU JUITX0V.O, - UUL lU^J OuwiJ JV1MVU i?\' rest, and then coffee was brought, and the pleasant confusion of finding seats ensued. During this time Steinhausen carefully bestowed his attentions on every other lady except Lies, yet uever lost sight of her. He saw that she talked with much animation with nearly all the ladies, and many of the gentlemen. He noticed a light in her eyes, a bloom on her cheek that made her. in his opinion, quite lovely: and be attributed both to the .excitement of wounded feeling. He saw. too. that brute of a husband of hers speak tc her with an angrj brow and a look that made .^teinhausen long to tear him limb from1 limb. And how sweetly she smiled r.pcn him in reply! Steinhausen wondered at her. It would be wiser "to show more spirit. Sc. internally chafing, be sat down with the rest to take his coffee. New the ladies, according to German sleighing custom, attended sedulously to the wants of their chilled cavaliers, whose hands, numbed with cold, despite the thick fur-covered driving gloves, could scarce at first hold a plate or pick cut the slices of rich caka . which were handed round. (To be Continued.) The Untidy Houocwile. Mrs. Craige, writes Cousin Madge in Loudon Truth, has discovered a bit of social custom iu England which is Quito unknown to the English. I End it in her new book, "The Vineyard." Writing cf an English village, she says: "In that part of the world no lady was ever expected to be quite prepared so far as her own raiment was in question, to receive sudden callers. Rooms were supposed to be swept and garnished?that was the infallible sign of good management?our a nousewue i who was always found spick and span in her best gown and did not have to keep Visitors waiting while she dressed in order to receive them, would have made a bail impression. In the first place, she would have the air of one j who loked to find the whole neighborhood on her doorstep?an arrogant assumption; secondly, it would point to extravagance, vanity or wilful pride." | This is described as part of the social system in Frampshire. Surely this Frampshire must be in New England, not our nice, tidy old England, where decent people are neatly attired in the j afternoon, even though they may not tiave their "best gown" on. Two Intercstinc Inscriptions. In liussia, beside an old highway, is a bronze tablet bearing this inscription: "Napoleon Bonaparte passed eastward along this road in 1S12 with an army of more than GOO,000 men." And beside another road only a few miles distant is another tablet, on which these words are inscribed: "Napoleon Bonaparte passed westward ilong this road in 1813 with an army if less than 200,000 men." That'* .u i 5^/POPULARi^\X~^ I ^y^/f a SCIENCE ^ ^ J8 I Two London investigators are seek- j | in? persons, who. in the (lark, can see ' colored rays from the bninan body and I i Reichenbacli is said to have proven j i that thirty persons in every 100 can see j | the latter. j London fogs are of local origin, al- j | though their cause seems to be not | fully understood. Kew loses only ten j per cent, of the annua) sunshine j | through l'og. while Westminster loses : ! thirty-six v?er cent. I I ~~ i Science now transforms radishes intc ! j ! potatoes. Showing a process of Pasteur. ! , M. Moillard cultivates a young radisb | in a glass retorr, in concentrated g'.u cose, when tho radish develops mucb starch and swells out. losing its pep periness. and acquiring the taste, con! sistenc.v and nutritive properties of tht I j potato. The toxin of fatigue is obtained by | ; Herr Weichardt, a German biologist ! from the muscle;; of animals that hav? ! been worked to exhaustion. Thi? muscle extract Is separated from other products of rousetilar activity by dialysis. great care being taken to avoid j contamination by bacteria, and it can i be dried and preserved for a short i I time, uut rapidly loses us power. Glass hires for bees are well known, but a portable ants' nest, as supplied j in London under the name of "The Lubbork Formicarium," is something of a novelty. It is expected that one of these nests will serve six years or more for study or exhibition. The nest resembles a picture frame ten inches square, and contains the smvll yellow ant in its various stages'!, with or withI out a queen, and with associated in sects. Concrete is finding an important new application as a setting for posts, both wood and iron. When the wooden post is treated with tar and the hole around it is filled with well-tamped concrete, a cheap and practicable, indestructible foundation is secured: and similar bedding gives to iron posts for telephone lines and other purposes the stability hitherto lacking. The concrete protects the iron from rust, as it docs the wood from rot. Some substances darken on being I heated, while some lose color at low temperatures, and the hypothesis tbat all colors would fade to whiteness at the absolute zero of temperature has met with considerable favor. An investigation of the effect of liquid air i freezing has been made' in France by Jules Schmcdlin. It appears that in 1 | solid state or fixed on textile fibres, like siik and wool, coloring matters change ' slightly, but in alcoholic solution, some ! of them?especially some of the rosa- ! lines?are much altered. Even in solution, however, other dyes?such as methylene blue and malachite greenare not altered in color by the cold ' of liouid air. ; < HOW HE ESCAPED CONFIDENCES. jj A Doctor's Ruse to Sidetrack Those Who Would Have Spoiled His Vacation. 1 "On one of my recont vacations," , said an eminent divine. "I wished to travel unknown. 1 took off my clerical , suit as soon as my home city was well out of sight, and I determined that for the next few weeks I would hear no tales of woe. comfort no weeping peo- ' pie, and not have to live up to the repu- j tation a minister of the gospel has to maintain. 1 would be normal for a . time, anyhow. I "But what was my dismay to find that one of the cottages near the hotel i I had chosen was owned by a fellow | townsman. He greeted me effusively < as 'Doctor' before1 had a chance to shut ; ' him up. But luckily it was on the beach, and 1 thought no one was in j hearing distance. 1 explained, and he | i promised absolute silence. As it happened, however, one of the men at my < hotel had overheard the greeting, 1 though not the rest of the eon versa- 1 tion, and he took me for an M. D. He ' had troubles of his own. He wanted { to go to the seashore. His wife pre- ' ferred the fresh water beaches. So he , determined to get hold of a doctor and < make him prescribe salt air. 1 was the j i victim. He took me aside anil told me I ] all his symptom*, and though I man- { ' aged to turn the conversation, after a ; jcvhile I saw things getting serious. But j I evaded him so skilfully that at last , he went to the man who knew me. 'Is that man a doctor of medicine:' j he demanded. i " 'No,' said my friend. 'See here. I'll i tell you what he is if you'll promise on < your solemn worn ana iionor u<n tell.' : "'All right.' said the other man. 'I [ .won't. What is itV* "My fri??ml leaned over confidentially. ] 'He's a private detective," he whispered, j "And I was left in peace throughout i the rest of ray vacation."?Cleveland 1 Plain Dealer. . I The Snn'H Nearest Neighbor. The rarely seen planet Mercury reached its greatest western elonga- 1 tion from the sun on January 22, and 1 since then has been favorably placed 1 for observation as a morning star, rising an hour and a half before the sun in the southeast. It is an achievement 1 io catch a sight of this elusive baby planet, and it is on record that Coper- ( oicus never succeeded in seeing it. < Those who are not early risers must wait until the end of March, by which lime Mercury, moving at the rapid rate ] )f nearly ls:(K? miles a minute, will have I passed to the other side of ihe sun. and be even better situated as an evening t 1 star in the northwest. The planet j hines with a dull rosy hue. and to natch its quick passage through the stars is most interesting. ! ; It Itaincd Geen?. Though Hungary can never hopo to compete with America in tr.ilness of ineodotL*. the following effort is not i o:i<1. It i*. reported from ^ v:!!age in ihiit country that the inhabitants have >een kept indoors by a heavy shower >t wild geese. It is supposed that the birds flew from a moist layer of at- 1 mosphere to a cold one. got their wings Irozei: and were tumble 10 fly.?Lou- ; Iol Giobe. THE GREAT DESTROYER SOME STARTLING FACTS ABOUT THE VICE OF INTEMPERANCE. Horrible Cruelties That TToul<l Cease Attract If the Stimulus Afforded by the Traffic in Strong l>rlnk Were Withdrawn?Destroy This Business. [Below is presented a remarkable philippic from the Rev. Walter Walsh, Chairman of the Prohibition party of Scotland, and one of the most heroic characters :now in Scottish public life.] The commonwealth of God is menneed by th'e trade in strong drink, which, therefore, cannot be tolerated by the new spirit growing up in the modern world. The times are distinguished by their growing devotion to the cause of reform and humanity. Men are drawing nearer to the institutions which are established amongst them, asking why they exist, and what they-can contribute to the common good. The times are audacious, not afraid to challenge the most ancient prerogatives, bold to defy privileges which are not found to promote the well-being of the human race. But the liquor trade has grown to be the mightiest enemy that ever warred against society and religion. It is the centre of the horrible inferno that welters at the bottom of the civilized world. Round the drink trade, in concentric rings of flame, revolves the whole hellish phantasmagoria of gambling, brutal sports, prostitution, as well as drunkenness. Besides being an evil in itself, it is frequently the direct ' ause, and always the direct support, of every other evil. The publican and the book-maker are always fast friends find are frequently the same person. The bar is the great house of parliament for the betting fraternity. When the British Cato shall nave abolished the public-house, he will be found to have abolished, in great part, the betting and gambling interest, which is eating the heart of honor out of the country. Without the agency of the public-house, again, it would be impossible to organize those brutal sports which disgrace such' large numbers of our fellow-countrymen. In districts where such sports are customary, it is the publican who promotes rabbitcoursing, pigeon-shooting, sparrowtournaments. The publican is the oriranizer of boxing-matches, assaultsnt-arms, prize-lights. Without its agency and the stimulus afforded by the traffic in strong drink, those horrible cruelties, which are eating tne honor and manhood out of large masses of our people, simply could not exist. Do you ask proof of these charges? Invest a few pence in'the press orgaDS of the liquor trade, and you will be horrified at the depth of filth and slime in which this enemy of the human race is causing masses of our fellow-countrymen to wallow? But as, in Milton's hell, a lower deep forever opened beneath the lowest, so beneath the foul circles of the gambler nnd the tormentor, gapes a. lower circle for the fallen woman. The harlotry nf the nation would be impossible but for its drink. Whisky fires the hell of prostitution. Many bar?, parlors and licensed music-halTs are places of resort; our poor, fallen sisters know where to find their patrons. Let there be no mistake about this thing-. The majority of these, our sisters, would never have gone down - without the seductions of alcohol; and being down, would not remain down but for its enslaving power. "We could not do it without drink," Ls what they all say. Can you reckon the misery, heartbreak, shame, disease, infanticide, sui ide represented by the two hundred md fifty thousand abandoned women in this United Kingdom of ours? Try! And by so much as you are not able to r-ount it, lift your right hand to heaven and vow with me, The drink traffic must be destroyed! A monopoly, the most gigantic, determined and unconscionable that ever lug its fangs into the vitals of man kind, is represented by the traffic in al?oholic liquors. It Is bound up with the selfish interests of every class in the eommumrj But its day of trial has come. In greater numbers, and with terrible emphasis, this generation, like a Cato ome to judgment, is demanding of the Irink trade a reason for its existence; and in the absence of a reason, has made a holy vow to take no rest till this enemy of the human race is overthrown. Let there be no mistake, rhe case is plain. There is no room m the same sun-lit, God-created planet ror the new reforming spirit and the old drunkard-factory. There, on that land, towers a vast, firmly built, richly endowed iniquity for the manufacture jf drunkards: here, on this hand, works the new religious and humanitarian spirit pledget! to making the world sweet and clean and right. Animated by that spirit, the Prohibition Cato marcies up to the Drink-Carthage, and mys, "You must come down! Strong [is you are; firmly rooted as you are n the deep soil of rapacity and greed; ortitied as you are by greedy priests uitl mercenary ministers;' propped as rou" are by parliaments, and defended ?y the most unscrupulous ring of monopolists the world has ever seen?I HI you. you must fall! I am not afraid r>f you! You stand between me and my purpose of mercy to mankind. You fire the pitiless foe of purity, truth. Iiealth. virtue, justice; and therefore I im your foe! You are ruining the people I want to save! You and I cannot live in ihe same world! You are destroying men, and therefore 1 will detf'roy you! 1 doom you. and will shorty damn you! 1 am Cato come to judgment." The drink traffic must be destroyed!?New Voice. At present. States and cities which [jave prohibitory laws cannot control [he incoming shipments of liijii-jr in original packages. Temi rraucn Nolr*. Anti-alcoholic .aws?that is the of the day. An anti-lieating movement is making considerable headway in .Montreal. Quebec. The W. C\ T. V. of Tiffin, Ohio, has succeeded in securing an ordinance prohibiting the further conduct of saloon vaudeville. The liquor dealers of Scranton, Pa.. Iiavo signed an agreement to observe the law by reason of the efforts of th.? Municipal League. It is planned to buy extenive coal land at the new inebriate hospital near Knoxville and put the m<ni sent to the institution at work with fuel at actual i-osi oi proiiueuon. Lord Iioberts, ll.e fi^kl mai'hri! o;* Hie Unglish array, said re.enUy that >ne-ibinl of th? British array in India who were abstainers furnished liiHW more effective ir<ioj?s than the twothirds who were not ::bstair.or?. The'city of 0:naha is ?tirred with indignation on aecoun; of a dastardly attempt !o destroy by dynamite ibc bouse of an attorney who lias been pushing the enforcement of the Jaw against saloonkeepers and sambltis. v'v"-" V THE SUNDAY SCHOOL ?KiTPDM*TintJil I P?flM COMMENTS FOR MARCH 12. finbject: The Slavery of SI*, John Till., 31-40?Golden Text, John tIII.i 34? Memory Verse*, 31, 38?Commentary on the l>ay'? Lemon. I. The test and blessings of discipleship (vs. 31, 32). 31. "Then said Jesus. Better, as R. V., "Jesus therefore said," because many had; believed on Him after His declaration that He was the Light of the world, and after His answers to the Pharisees, and now Jesus directed His remarks to these new disciples. "Which beliered." The term "believed" applies here to the disposition, openly expressed, to acknowledge Jesus as the Messiah. "If ye abirle" (R. V.) Not a fitful, intermittent relation, but thorough, intense and continuous. "In My word." If ye obey My commandments and follow My teachings carefully. | Our spirits must drink in Christ's words as our bodies inhale the atmosphere. No * man is worth listening to on questions of faith and doctrine who is not himself a reverent listener to Christ. Abiding in God's word mu9t become the permanent condition of our life. "Disciples." A disciple is a learner; one who accepts and follows another as teacher and master. Tru* disciples are real renresentati\ es of Christ, who live a holy life before the world. 32. "Shall know the truth." Shall know it doctrinally, spiritually, experimentally, not as a mere theory, but as a living power; shall know the reality of things, and shall know Christ Himself, the embodiment of truth (John 14:1). The rule2?a had spoken of knowing the Jaw? Jesus speaka of knowing the truth. This is a species of learning infinitely transcending all the guesses of doubting scientists and sneering philosophers. ''Make you free." Intelligence is not sufficient. A learned man is -still a wicked man under the bondage of sin unless he has been made free. Knowledge appears as the fruit of faith, and freedom as the fruit of knowledge. Christ associates liberty always with the truth, which He is Himself, and so presents the truth as th? cause of liberty as the effect. II. Freedom offered from the slavery of sin (vs. 33-36). 33. "They answered." Many commentators refer this "they," not to the many who believed (v. 30), but to the other Jews who had not believed. The little episode of verses 30-32 is thus held as a pleasant parenthesis, and the believers are all allowed to be genuine and perhaps permanent. The words cannot be spoken of the simple people who had already believed, but to the* carping, caviling fhari sees. "Abraham's seed." They had Abraham's blood in their veins, but not his faith in their hearts. "Never in bondage." This answer was not more time than the language of pride ordinarily. Politically, the seed of Abraham had been in bondage to Egypt, Babylon, Persia, Greece, Rome. Spiritually, they had been in bondage to idolatries in past times, were dow to the rabbis, who were literalists in interpretation, and without spirituality or svmpathy (Matt. 23:4). "How sayest Thou." Upon what possible principle dost Thou promise to us that which we already are proud of possessing, viz., glorious liberty? We already possess as our birthright what Thou art offering to us as the full result of diacipleship. v 34. ,'Eerily, verily." A solemn declaration enforced by tnese words. "Whoso* ever committeth sin." In these words Jesus utterly expels the political question from His scope! He states first the principle and then the application. He spoke of a more degrading bondage and a higher freedom than they imagined. He whose tendency and habit is to commit sin. He who makes choice of sin; prefers the way of wickedness before the way of holiness; who makes a covenant with sin, enters into ledeue; who makes a custom of sin; who walks after the flesh and makes a trade of 1 ''To tVia oomrortf a? ein " To tVift oltVP the bond-servant of sin. He does the work of sin, supports its interests and accepts its wa-^es. He cannot dismiss sin at pleasure; tne moment he attempts it he finds the chains drawn tighter. Dream not of freedom while under the mastery of your desires. Temperance instruction may be brought in at this point. No bondage is greater than the bondage to etrong drink. Servitude iB repulsive to all men. In our land of freedom men demand f^eir rights in business, yet there are hundreds of men and boys and sometimes wimien who put themselves under the bondage of the drink habit. 35. ** "The servant abideth not." The reference may be to Hagar and Ishmael find Isaac?the bond and the free. They had 6poken of themselves as the seed of Abraham. Jesus shows them that there may be of that seed two kinds: the eon, properly so call, and the slave. These Jews might be tne seed of Abraham, and yet, not being his spiritual children, might not abide in his household of faith. Not many years after this their capital and nation were destroyed, and the Gentiles took their n'.ace in the kingdom of God. Think not to be made free from sin by the rites and ceremonies of the law of Moses, for Moses was but a servant and had not that parental authority in the church which the Son had. "The Son abideth" (R. V.) The comparison here is between any son and a bona servant, and son should not begin .with a capital. Sinners, are 6!aves, Christiana are sons and heirs. 36. "If the Son." Christ now refers to Himself. The Son of ,God alone has pouer to liberate those who are slaves to sin. Jesus Christ is the he?.d and has full authority and ability. The Father hath given all things into His hand (.John 17:2). '"Free indeed." The Jews boasted of an imaginary freedom, but the liberty which Christ onered was real and lasting in its effects. It wou'.d have saved the nation from the bondage of captivity, to Babylon centuries before: it woulcl rave them from bondage to the Romans. What freedom they had under the Romans was due to what they had learned and practiced of the word. Jesus knew that deliverance from the Roman yoke was the mat work expected from the Messiah. Hp therefore spiritualized this hope. III. Jesus shows* the character of the wicked Jews (vs. 37-40). .37.-^"Abraham's -f' ti /-ii?: .j. tL?:_ _i_; I Bceu. V^JIIJMl iKlluih men Claim- mat incjr are the natural descendants of Abraham, but denies that they are his children (v. 39) in the highest and best sense. "Seek to ki*." That they desired the death of Abraham's truest bon is proof that they are not true sons of Abraham. Their mur? derous intent proves that they are children of the devil (v. 44) instead of Abraham. "No piaee in you." You do not allow My word to enter your hearts and lives. 33. "I speak," etc. The Son existed with the Father during past eternity and He reports the things He had seen. "Ye do." etc. Their father was Satan (v. 44), and they were instructed and led by him. 39, 40. The argument here is that they were not true children of Abraham because they were not like Abraham in character ana actions. Abraham's life was wholly unlike their. Food Takes Half Family Pnrae. As shown by data collected by tie Bureau of Labor regarding the incomes and expenditures of some 2500 families, collected in thirty-three States, during recent years, the average expenditure per family for food is found to be nearly one-half the total expenditure for all purposes. To be exact, this figure "was placed at $326.90 per family, which represents 42.54 per cent, of all expenditures. Preacher Killed by a Bee. Rev. S. W. Foulk. buried in Holtcn, j Kan., was the victim of a bee sting. Nearly two years ago he was stung ! on the jaw, and a swelling appeared i which 7)0 amount of treatment sufficed I to cure. He was operated on once or j twice, but the trouble grew worse un\ til it caused his death. Seek to Lower Death Kate. German manufacturers liave united in a movement to lower the industrial dpath rate. In Holland there is a museum of safety, which has demonstrated the value of educating the public in the use of safety appliances. Pigs In Every Stable. 'A pig is usually kept in every stable in Persia, .? 1 Tlllnri to KfmMMbty; ! "A little hope, a little faith serene, """ A little word,oi strength for those w}># fall, A little Bmiling;, tho' tears come between* A little charity if need should call? ; And, 0! not palti^.is our life, nor rasa]], ; But big ana fine and filled with sweet delight, ' , . ? If that we keep, each for the sake of all, ' These little things in sight." Erected the Family Altar. The following incident from the early manhood of the late General Clinton B. Fisk is but one case in many: He had thrown himself into business pursuits after his marriage, and gradually had ceased to think of religion. One night about font years after his marriage his little threeyear-old daughter came and knelt at hi* knee to say her evening prayer. It was a trying experience to the young father, especially when Mary prayed, "God bless papa and mamma." It was stOl worse when, rising to kiss him good night, the child asked: "Papa, why don't you pray?" He made some bght answer and went off In V..1. * ? l.:. T>?4 WV/ ViAG UCL liJV UCU011V.C UIO OVUUUUlIi. iJUt lie was deeply moved. When he returned home and he and his wife were; alone he said: "Did you hear the question Mary asked me?" "Yes, Clinton, I "heard it, answered Mrs. Fisk. "Well, Jenny, IVe been thinking it all over, and I've made up my mind that with God's help we'll have the prayer there ought to be in this household hereafter. If you'll hand roe the Bible we'll begin now. They did so; the family altar was reared, and never after, either in sunshine or in storm, was it ? taken down. In Bli Own LHceneu. ' God made man in His own likeness, i4 the statement of Scripture. Mail sprang from the animal kingdom is the statement, of science. The Bible nowhere maintain* he did so. It simply goes back furthez than our scientific observation can penetrate and seizes upon that primal element. Further still, is not the entire aoimal creation as dust compared to man? Bat be sure that man is man not by any inherent force of evolution. The animal cannoti propagate the human. Like begets like, M| God breathed into the duet and it became a living soul., after that it was prepared by being carried up through unnumbered A centuries of animalistic differentiation if you like. ? Rev. Dr. Robert McDonald, H New York. , H The Church Democratic. H The distinction in the minds of the com* HBj mon people is not that of terms, but oi ^Bj fact. "Consecration" and "ordination," at Bn well as "order"' and "office," mean little to wg us except as they stand for the principle* ^Bj of our beloved Methodism upon which we HD stand. The 'democratifc consciousness of the church remains unshaken. The people ^Hj are the church?we common people, God Hi bless us!?and no fine woven web of "ex-. H planations" can substitute any other Epia* WA copalianism than that we both give and Vfl can take away the powers which reside' in HB us as the body of Christ!?Eev. George H. Birnev. Ml Take Heart. Is there one among you who is cast Hj down and discouraged? Has the way KB6 seemed rough, the burden heavy? Have you been thwarted, opposed and perhaps HH inclined to give up? Take heart, my friend, Per crutem, ad lucem! Per -aspera. KM ad astra! By the rough road to the stare! BM I hear the songs of heaven coming this way. I see the light streaming through the gates. The odors of the King's garden flow toward us. Ob, the hosannas and hallelujahs! The glory dazzles like a sun- H burst. Ijfe! Life! eternal life!?Rev. Dr. D. J. Bun-ell. Joy of Production. m Every one of us has been to some fac- KM tory or industrial centre where through the lack of sympathy between the people and |H the manager* there has been a-stolidity and even sullenness of temper, and where Bffi the people have gone to their work and re- M| turned home with a heavy tread and joy- BH less. Thev have stayed there only because Hi they had to. They have taken no pride or satisfaction in their labor, because of a EBj sense of injustice or hopelessness. Those conditions need* changing, to bring into play hopefulness and the "joy of prodnc- MB tion."?Bishop William Lawrence, Boston. S2 Support the MU?lonar.,es. yM Robert E. Speer says: "If Christianity if MB what the New Testament represents, and M the experience of millions of Christians MB proves, it is the business of all who have received it to support the missionaries 1 who are trying, not to bear this or that fruit of Christianity to heathen lands, but to plant there its roots, that they may produce among each people the living BR works of God.'' 99| The Fir?t Martyr. Ml James and John were both with Christ PpH on the mount of the transfiguration, and James was eo passionately friendly with ^Hj Christ that he became tne first martyr j alter the cross, lor ne saw jesus oniy bum MB believed in what be saw. Passing to these H9 later centuries we find that men and wornen do not see Jesus only, but look at all |fflj things in a far more worldly manner?Rev, H Anson Phelps Stokee. Jr., Yale College. gflfl When Money is Evil. SB !t is commonly supposed that money ig j^H the root of evil. Such, however, is not fegfl the ca3e. Money in itself is neither good nor bad. Whether money is a curse.01 blessing depends wholly upon the mannei ia which it be used. It is the excessive H love of money that may be termed the root of evil; it is when money becomes the mas* H ter, instead of being our slave.?Rabbi A, H| Guttenacher, Baltimore H Keep Thy Heart. 8H Heaven's most impressive . caution i?. Bag "Keep thy heart with ail diligence"? guard it, protect it, keep it pure? 'for onfc of it are the issues of life." (Prov. 4:23)<i BH It controls our destiny for weal or woe, even to eternity. It is a fountain, whose "IS waters may heal and bless* or poison and blight, wherever they flow forth.?Bishop flR Geo. D. Cummins. SHE Hoi J to tbe Bible. ^Hj Hold fast to the iiibJe. Write its pre- BH cepts on your hearts and practice them m your lives. To the influence of this book we are indebted for the progress made in true civilization and to this we must look IB a9 our guide in the future.?Grant. The Attitude of KeTereiier. BM When the soul becomes accustomed to BBS the attitude of reverence, love and obe- fcfit dience toward God., it iR heaven on earth. BN I ?Bishop 0. P. Fitzgeraid. |H ChooM ih? Beat. MH Choose always the way that ?ecms the RH best, hojvever rough it may be. Custori EHB will render it ea*y and agreeable. ?Scolti>li Reformer. " nflg Activity Lendt to G?oit. KM 'Life i# hut .1 fhort day, bat it is a work* BJ ing day. Activity may lead to evil, but in* activity cannot be led to goo J.?Scottish IfflE Reformer Ml Two Blind Farmers. ' .^^9 Near Mayetta. Kan., live two broth- ppf ots, who for twenty years have eon- MB ducted their farm and kept house for Mg themselves. although cue i? entirely EM blind and tho other nearly so. Their names are Elijah and William Bun- BB nell. They live in a dujrout. which is M a sort of combination of a sod house and a cellar. Elijah Bunnell has been blind for the last twenty years, and nTni;rt?, I?AA 1^04- ti>/. ^.nn. AV^ >V JlllJUJ XX?l? 1UOI I U L \JL WUU tj Mjna entirely, and the vision of the other is MB extremely limited. Elijah does tho farm work, and either of them performs the housework. JflB I