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a A Tale. / |j of the...::.... I Y0] ^ Anglo-Indian \MIS1 SecretServtce \ ii CHAPTER VII. 5 Continued. "I have not seen Charlie," he said, -quietly, as he followed her, "since he went to sea. He could not get away from Greenwich till this evening, and of course the colonel and I have been spending a happy day at the Foreign Office. I suppose he is a great, big fellow now; he was rather weedy when I went to India; but there was a promise of great strength v about him." i tniiiK, said tne giri, soiuy, ne is the strongest man I have ever seen." Winyard looked up quickly into her face, which he could now see, as she had turned at the top of the stairs to wait for him. "In every sense of the word?" he asked; for he thought he detected a deeper meaning in the tone of her voice than the mere words conveyed. But he never received his answer, for at thai moment the drawing-room door opened, and Mrs. Wright came forward to receive him. "It is striking seven,1' she said, with a smile. "You are here to the minute. I know now how it is that you never hurry, and always have time for everything, as the colonel tells me you have. I need not in troduce you two, apparently." "'No, it is not necessary, thank you," replied Mistley, standing aside to allow Lena to pass into the room. Colonel Wright entered, and after carefully raising his trousers so as to avoid dragging them at the knees, sat down. Mrs. Wright nodded in acquiescence, she continued: "When I said we would be a family, I forgot that it would be necessary to explain that Laurance Lowe would be here. To your mother such an .explanation was unnecessary, as she > knows our ways. Mr. Lowe is such an old friend that we consider him one of the family, you understand." "I think," said Colonel Wright, in his peculiarly slow and somewhat hesitating manner?"I think that Mistley knows a great deal about Laurance Lowe. You see, we had a large amount of spare time upon our hands out there?morning papers were not readily procurable. Mudie's was some way off, and altogether we were thrown a good deal upon each other's society, so we talked of home. Eh, Mistley?" "Yes," chimed in Winyard, cheerfully; "we got quite learned in each other's family affairs, and by dint of hearing extracts from letters began to take an absorbing interest in the doings of people we know nothing whatever about. I shall be glad to meet Mr. Lowe." "Laurance Lowe," said the Colonel, sturdily, "is the most silent man and the truest friend I have ever known." Winyard Mistley nodded with a peculiar little acquiescent smile, which meant that he was not thinking very ; much about the subject under discussion. "A silent friend," he said, presently, with a great show of gravity, "is as rare as he is valuable?I think I hear Mr. Loewe upon the stairs." The next moment the door opened, and Laurance Lowe entered the room, -closely followed by Charles Mistley. . CHAPTER VIII. Laurance Lowe: The old man entered in his usual Slow*and deliberate manner. The Colonel advanced to meet him with outstretched hand and a hearty word Vtf rr??Anf ir? nr VJ. &ICCUU5. "Ah., Laurance, I am glad to see you! There's life in the old dogs yet, although the young ones are growing 30 big around us!" Lowe answered never a word. He took the outstretched hand in his thin, strong fingers, and bowed as he pressed it with a quaint, old-fashioned courtesy. In the meantime the two brothers had met "Halloo, Charlie!" "Well, Win!" They were close to Lena when they shook "hands, and she heard the characteristic greeting. She also saw the long, slow glance of their eyes as each noted the work of the last three years in the development, bodily and mental, of the other's forces. As they stood thus together before her she saw with feminine rapidity of thought that there w?.s not such a a remarkable resemblance between the two brothers as she had of fircf imao-inpH Whaf Hlronpcc there was lay rather in manner and carriage than in the features. She saw now that -Charlie was a much bigger man than his brother; also that he was fairer and with blue eyes, while Winyard's were gray and quick In their glance. In one, the slow, sure characteristics of a Saxon predominated; in the other, the quicker organization of a Celt. Lena's comparisons were at this moment 'iterrupted by her father, who came up and shook hands with Charles Mistley, dispensing with an introduction. "Ah," he said genially, "you should have been a soldier instead of a sailor! You are too big a fellow to be cramped up in a torpedo boat. I am afraid we old soldiers think that every mau should be a red-coat, and nerhans we're risht. after all. I know that every time I hear the roll of the drum or the tread of trained f??t I look down for the gold lace on my arm and think that if I had another life to live I would try soldiering again." Winyard Mistley had turned away . " .. ?* - Sfc:. UNG\Bsbsl | m 9 I Sofrtn J!F T J | and across the room his eyes met Laurance Lowe's calm gaze. Mrs. Wright had been watching them in anticipation of that moment, and now she hastened to introduce them formally. It was not until after the ladies had left the room that the conversa(tion turned upon the subject dearest to the colonel's heart; and then Mistley learned with some surprise that upon tms, as upon every omer question that had been raised, Laurance Lowe knew something. This tonguetied, callous Englishman was one of the few who from the enervating security of peaceful Britain could look afar with watchful eyes and note the rising of that tiny cloud in the East, which at times seems about to rend the heavens with the fury of its lightning and then again will dwindle away to mere vapor, floating over the blue ether of time. Winyard, being of a colder, less enthusiastic nature than the colonel, was more correct in his reading of the public opinion in England upon matters Indian and colonial. He was well aware that a fresh and daring encroachment upon tho frontier of the Indian Empire would rivet the gaze of every Eng lishman upon the sullen movements of the aggressor for the whole space of a week, provided some fresh excitement, some thrilling murder in Paris, or a shipwreck attended with graphic details did not usurp Its place In the public interest. But beyond that he was too wise to expect anything. He recognized, therefore, that Laurance Lowe was more learned on this question than the majority of Englishmen. But in this, as in everything, Winyard found that strange lack of enthusiasm and even of interest. He found that Lowe's observations, keen and far-sighted as they were, confined themselves to the more indifferent criticism of a looker-on whose life or happiness could in no way be affected by future events. . Thus it came about that Laurance Lowe, who was no favorite with young men, added that evening to his scanty circle of admirers. The attraction also was naturally In some degrees mutual, as such friendships invariably are. Lowe was prejudiced greatly in Winyard's favor from the mere fact that he had proved such a valuable assistant to Colonel Wright and also as the brother of Charles Mistley. Lena also had that evening cast a little ssed upon the broad earth by the mere singii?g of a plaintive song. It had f-.llen upon a spot where other seeds had taken root, and grew in strength already; but within that little germ lay power and life to outgrow them all in strength and height and splendor. . . CHAPTER IX. In Walso. Away up in the gently undulating land that rolls northward from the Cheviots to the Lammermuir and Pentland Hills lies the little town of Walso. Indeed, it lies upon the downward slope of Cheviot, and the clean streets, now grassgrown and silent, have many a grim tale to tell of the warm blood trickling down their gutters into the glancing river, if stones could only speak. Walso is a town with a past history such as few can boast of?a history full of brave deeds and fierce horror, for it stood in the very midst of border warfare when the Cheviot burns ran blood and the great silent hills echoed the ring of steel. The women in Walso, as also?I am iea xo unaersianu?in oiuer parts of the world, must necessarily be of superior intellect to their spouses, as they find time not only to manage their own affairs, but also those of every othv,r woman in and around their native town. One worthy woman there was, however, who by experience had learned discretion in its closet sense. This was Mrs. Armstrong, who let her lodgings in the High street. Her lodgers were mostly of the same habits and inclinations?in fact, they were all trout fishermen. But now it happened that the busy tongues had really something tangible to thresh out between them, for Mrs. Armstrong had let lodgings to a stranger much more interesting than an obtrusive, indifferent fisherman. This was no other than a young lady, "a furrineer," as was generally supposed. The worst of it was, that no one in Walso could put forward, for the general benefit and information, a single fact concerning her. nPV*\rs nrcmt ^Lr?l 1 rkTxrin or r?lncft linATl the arrival at Broomhaugh of Mrs. Mistley, young Mr. Winyard and several guests, among whom was a real "cornel," proved almost too much for Warlso. As it was more or less generally understood that Mrs. Mistley was in some degree capable of managing her own affairs, the greater share of public criticism and assistance was kindly acorded to the young lady of foreign proclivities who enjoyed the hospitality of Mrs. Armstrong's roof. Now, this'young lady was no other than Miss Marie Bakovitch, or, as she was pleased to call herself upon occasions, the Baroness de Nantille ?a title enjoyed by her mother before that lr.dy married the Odessa merchant, Peter Bakovitch, her sec ond matrimonial venture. With a gentle wonder at the glibness of her tongue, the girl had told Mrs. Armstrong on arriving that she ejected her brother Ivan in a few, K" ' V . .. ' V. days. The old woman knew the responsibility of her position too well to abuse it by retailing to her neigh Dors inciaenis'xnat mignt be injurious to her lodgers, but the ways of this vague, fair-haired girl were not her ways, and Mrs. Armstrong positively ached to confide the fruit of her observations to the ear of some sympathetic soul. Mrs. Armstrong succeeded in containing herself until the arrival of Ivan Meyer at Walso. This took place two days later than the advent of Marie Bakovitch herself, and before the wonder of her coming had been fully discussed or exhausted. Meyer soon discovered that the silence of the absorbed and dreamy girl was more likely to do harm than a discreet straightforwardness of speech. He therefore informed Mru, Armstrong of sundry particulars concerning himself and his sister Marie. Without ill-treating the truth, h? slipped round about it by that same path which at first looks so broad and easy, but soon becomes tortuous and hard to trace with reliant clearness. Ivan Meyer was young, and therefore full of hope, which is essentially a flower of springtime growth. To have constant intercourse with Marie Bakovitch was to this patient lover a source of happiness. His cold northern blood allowed his mind such thorough control over his heart, and those latent passions which exist deep down in the soul of every man, be his eyes of calm blue or fiery black, that he could, at her bidding, in very truth cast away the lover and become a brother. He still hoped to persuade the girl, whom he in his simplicity looked upon as possessed for the time being by a mental disease?though he did not suspect that the doctors had already commenced to give it a name? to give up her mad project of serving her country by a useless murder. Aisn hp honed, bv the constant iaflu ence of his presence, to turn her thoughts f > other things, and bring back the sweet and merry little Marie of his boyhood. Yet behind the sublime light of hope he vaguely felt toe presence of a cloud. A dull misgiving was ever at the portals of his heart, awaiting the night hour, or the aid of some passing untoward circumstance, to efTect an entrance. He rather dreaded the first mention of the subject which occupied the girl's mind, and, though he did his best to talk of other topics, she took the very earliest opportunity of bringing it forward. Mrs. Armstrong had just cleared away the remains of their simple evening meal, and set the lamp on the table. Meyer produced his portfolio and spoke of his latest sketches; but the girl'quietly placed her hand upontIt so as to keep it closed, and looking across the table, forced him to meet her eyes, and said, slowly: "Ivan, what news have you?" "He is here," replied the young artist, reluctantly. a A a. 9" Al. DI UUUlliaugu . "At Broomhaugh. His mother is there also; Colonel Wright, his wife and daughter as well." Marie Bakovitch sat for some moments in silence. Her hands, very white and beautifully formed, were lying upon the green tablecloth, with a peculiar stillness which was characteristic of the girl. It was a stillness without peace. Without raising her eyes, she said, presently: "And the other?the sailor?" Her voice was singuj^rjx?aim and indifferent. "He comes- ijht. At present he is?' ' -duties at Chathrt'' > ay informant co\ "When dfc... . . "On Mont' . f you, Marie." The girlJ" % \ in rftoTif- r?nifP-. v - jte? ment. r"Have Jg??' fk i? asked, su^V ' "i "And yi; !< Ivan?" . "No," iv t- 3 head sloW 3 besa des?r- V" ders." VI "But yi". . ^ . 10^Yes-fe '&:""What i\_if , "Of me^-i' v- . .waders. hOC " isaei!cA' v ?tr '~ ? % "Je^ge," si -want it "Ye?, sub - : old H6W." V "Thqt's evid<^v wish to marryV"^ " - v . "Well, ledge, terS^ hody gimme a long coV'V /vLr-=i _ br en a waikin' cane, en iS^JSfK"Yman wli?.t says she kin :oake% ?JVin" fer me, en I feels des Ink' a honeymoon!" ?Atlanta Constitution. liolilest oT Editor*. Tbe editor of the Grindstone (S. D.) Bee evidently has not an ax to-grind. He writes thus: "Miss Fowler, the accomplished cook at the Fowler Inn, liad quite an accident last week. She baked a batch of biscuits which I : ?K ?rl Iana 4-Vtnvi rs TIAnnfl no f'h " we.oLlL'U icoa Iiiau u jjuuhu v>*?? Style In ?1 Keno. Black Coyote was iu town to-day. In dress he ahvays keeps a little ahead of the fashion piates. To-day he wor# a blue suit with white polka dots and his trousers were creased on the sides.?El Reno American. Tlie Glorj of Iceland. They say tlmt Iceland has one policeman, no jail, no intoxicating liquor, domestic or imported, and not one illiterate past the age of ten. A poor1 country; and yet what country is richer in the riches that do not have wings and fly away??Everybody's Magazine; Tues In. Can any "fan" or "rooter" explain why nearly all the champion baseball players turn In their toes? ? Victor Smith, in tho*New York Press. Indiana Territory .was organized July 4. 1800. RAILROADS KILL 60, IMF 51 IN u wiims Refugees From Russian Tyranny Caught in Head-on Crash. MANY HELD DOWN AND ROASTED Spectators Powerless to Aid the Victims?Many Had Been Broughr From Russia to Escape Death, Only to Lose Lives. Casualties in 24 Hours on American Railroads. Seriously < Dead. Injured. Wreck nt Woodville, Ind 47 38 Explosion at Colli j /-v c C J1I1WUUU, . . u " Wreck at Sargent, Cal 6 .1 Wreck at Detroit 1 '3 Wreck at Watertown, N. Y... 0 4 ! Totals 60 51 : Chicago.?The second section of a through Baltimore and Ohio immigrant train from Baltimore to this city, bearing 165 passengers?Russian Jews, Servians and Poles?and a freight train ran together in a head-on collision near Woodville, Ind. The trains came together at high speed, and in the crash six passenger coaches and several freight cars were knocked into kindling wood and together with the locomo tives went rolling down the ten-foot embankment. Although many of the injured were saved by the desperate efforts of the train crew and surviving passengers, the greater part of those who were pinned down in the debris* were burned to death. The flames spread through the wreckage so rapidly that it was impossible to save some who were only slightly hurt, but were holil fnnt hv tlmhprn. These were burned in plain sight of the throng that stood around the scene, utterly unable to render assistance. The lire continued until all of the shattered cars were consumed, and of the forty-seven persons whose death followed the collision forty-five were burned to ashes. A large number of the relatives of passengers were at the B. 'and O. station here awaiting their arrival, When the report waB received that ; many had been killed and injured, the scenes around the station were harrowing. Men were there who had come to this country to escape the massacres in Russia, and who, after months of hard work, had saved enough to pay the passage of mem- ( bers of their families. They became crazed when 'they realized that possi. bly all their sacrifice had resulted only in the death of those whom they had sought to Bave. Among the wounded was Mrs. Anna Chyza, from Warsaw. She is blind. Her husband recognized her as she was being carried through the crowd by two policemen'. He fell across the stretcher, carrying it to the ground and kissing his wife repeated- ; ly. The wife recognized his voice and the two* clung together so desperately that it required the efforts of both policemen to force them, apart. . . Crew in Fear Jumps. Detroit, Mich.?While engaged with an engine in switching in the Michigan Central yards here, the crew saw a passenger train approach- ; ing behind them, thought that there would be a collision, and jumped from the engine, leaving It, speeding unchecked. The engine dashed into the Third street station, striking the west wall, tearing out a section and causing the second and thfrd floors to collapse. ' G. R. Booth, the parcel clerk, was killed in the parcel room, and three employes at work on the third floor were carried down with the wreckage and badly injured. T~ rr~ Locomotive Boiler Explodes. San Jose, Cal.?Through the explosion of the boiler of the locomotive hauling the Sunset Express, south-bound from San Francisco to New Orleans over the Southern road, i, at Sargent's, eighty-seven miles south of San Francisco, two railroad employes and four or five tramps were j killed, one railroad man was fatally J hurt and many passengers were injured by broken glass and a severe shaking up. t r* 1 Six Killed, Ff*e Hurt. Cleveland, Ohio.??A boiler in the 'shops of the Lake Shore and MichiJ\ gan Southern Railroad at Collin* wood, a suburb, exploded, killing i six men outright and Injuring five others. The dead are Max Crawford, Albert Bloom, A. V. Latto, Paulo Lanceoni, Giovanni Pacioni and Julius Maeder. Four Hurt in Wreck. Watertown, N. Y.?An east-bound fwiterlit triin nn + Vi ri Man/ Vnrlr f!on. f tral collided with a work train about two miles south of this city, injuring four workmen. The locomotive and several cars were smashed and the wreck caught fire. Delmas to Defend Thaw. Judge Delmas, of California, who presented the name of Hearst to the St. Louis Convention in 1904, was retained in New York City to defend Harry K. Thaw, slayer of Stanford "White. He is said to have been paid $100,000. Killed Under Higher Law. When Lincoln C. Whitney refused to right a wrong done Orlando Murray's sister, at Portland, Ore., Murray killed him and surrendered. Feminine News Notes. Miss Rosemary Sartoris, grandI nf Dmeirirant titoa I UAUgUlCl SJM. JLAWOAUWUW V-? I UUt, V> M..J married to George H. Woolston, of Florida. The New Zealand Parliament has voted a grant of $30,000 for the widow of*M Seddon,the late Premier. M. Seddon left a fortune of about $50,000 only. Mrs. Mary Tabaree, the widow of an American missionary who was slain by Persians, has been granted an indemnity of $50,000 by the Persian Government. i * ' THE GREAT DESTROYER SOME STARTLING FACTS ABOUT THE VICE OF INTEMPERANCE. Only a GIiiss of Beer?How Many Useful Lives Have Been Wrecked by What is Oft-Acclaimed to Be an "Innocent Beverage!" "I only take a glass of beer now and then," said a young man of my acquaintance; "it rests me, and there is no harm in it." That was four years ago, and t.o-day that man is fast becoming a drunkard, if he is not already one. After awhile one glass did not satisfy him, so he took another, until now he is an habitual ' drinker. "Only a glass of beer" four years ago, and to-day a drunkard. How many useful lives have been wrecked, how many thousands have gone down to a drunkard's -grave, how many are spending weary years inside the prison doors, and "6nly a glass of beer" was their first downward step! Boys, don't touch it. If you never take the> first-drink youare on the safe side. Don't think you are strong. enough to stand when others strongei than you have fallen. Don't you think you can take a few drinks and then stop when you choose, for with the appetite it is sure to create and the saloons looming up on every corner it is dangerous business, and you cannot afford to take any chances. If you have commenced, stop at once. Don't drain the cup to ita bitter dregs, for you will find nothing but sorrow and a waste of life. Take your stand against it like a boy' I know, who will boldly say, "I have never drank and I never shall." This boy's father was a drunkard, and there was misery and sorrow in that home. It made a deep impression on the heart of-the boy, and though he has groWn up with temptation all around him and every opportunity to go astray, he has firmly stood his ground. ! He is never seen standing in front bf the saloons. The gambling table has no charms for him. He never goes^with evil companions, and if by chance he is thrown in. their way he boldly looks into their faces and dares to say "No." Mothers point to him as a model for their (ions to imitate. Would to God that till men and boys were like Mm. inere wouia oe no saioons, with their doors wide open like the mouths of ravening wolves seeking whom they may devour. We would not have to urge the men who call themselves Christians to *vote the curse out of existence. "Only a glass of beer," yet what an outcome! Sorrow and misery all along the way, a wasted life, and .finally a drunkard's eternal hell. 'Touch not, taste hot, handle not," for in.that alone lieth safety.? Frances M. Wheeler, in the National Advocate. Why People Drink., John Bennett, of Sunman, Ind., is a mortal enemy to the drink evil, and has just had printed a three cent leaflet on "The Dangers of the Flowing Bowl," that is well worth read-: Ati/* V* fltrfi rooonno whv OA 1U5* VUt Ui. JUM U|? A ^(MVU0 i?Uj . MW many people drink Is as follows: "People drink becaus^ they, are not seriously religious. A good and practical -Christian, knowing the great evil and danger of alcoholic drink will avoid it always and everywhere, if for no other reason than for the sake of giving good example. Besides,^to remain voluntarily in the occasion of 'sin is a sin, and the socalled moderate and habitual drinkr er is in the occasion of sin because he is playing with fire and creating an appetite for liquor. 1 This appetite once started the way is always open that leads directly to drunkenness, which is a great and abominable sin, before the. Lord. Show ,us the so-called moderate drinker, that has not at some time or other overstepped the bounds of moderation!" Cat His Hand Off For a Drink. -t < ) r . According to the American Maga-zine Professor James, of Harvard, cites the case ol! an Ohio dipsomaniac who cut his hand off for a drink. This man, crazed with a desire for liquor, was in an almshouse. Within a few days he had devised various expedients to procure rum, hut had failed. At length he hit on one which was successful. He went into the woodshed of theestablishment,placed one hand on the block, and with an axe in the other struck it off at a single blow. With the stump raised and streaming he ran into the house and cried, "(Jet some rum. Get some rum. My hand is off." In the confusion and bustle of tl*e occasion a bowl of rum was brought, into which he plunged the bleeding member of his body, then raising,the bowl to his., mouth', drink freely, and exultingly' exclaimed, "Now I am satisfied!" > ' ' \ I '* r "J. "But They All Drink." A number of years ago a certain firm of four young men in Boston were rated as "Al." They were rich, | prosperous, young and prompt. One of them had the curiosity to see how they were rated, and he found the above facts in Dun's and felt satisfied; but at the end these words were added: "But they all, drink." He thought it a good joke at the time; but a few years later two of them were dead, another was a drunkard and the fourth was poor and living partly on charity. That one little note at the end of their rating was the most important and significant of all the facts collected and embodied in their description.?Young People's Paper. Temperance Notes. Beer cuts a man's life in two. Tbose wbo seek solace in whisky merely pickle their grief. Men cannot spend several hoars ia a saloon and be in good condition," physically or mentally, to take put ax train. In Holland, if any one applies for, i o nanin mitof fall a A i i^cnoc, Uio uaiuc mudb uw |/uu<iuuv\? so that those who have anything against him can get a chance to be heard. There are now in Indiana 64& townships and forty cities where the Prohibitionists have driven out the licensed rum traffic. In other words, more than one-half of the townships of the State are "dry." Prof. Buchner, in the University of Munich, in describing the damages) irom aiconoi, says uiai me uniiK. custom, particularly of students, is a shady survival from the middle ages which is a disgrace to our times. Liquor dealers of Virginia have sent letters ^o their friends imploring them to take concerted action as: the only hope of preventing the Anti-1 Saloon League making the, entire' State prohibition. TO^OGHTSFg^TH^ TO HIM THE PORTER OPENETH. To Him the porter openeth? Shepherd divine; The right of entrance is His own, Password and sign. To Him the porter openeth? To Him, who waitsJesus?with low, appealing knock At the heart's gates. We want to welcome, yet thro' sin We scarcely dare; To Him the porter openeth? Him?waiting there. When our response is, "Come, oh, com?, Lord, cleanse my ein," To Him the Spirit openeth And brings Him in. , .1 The Holy Ghost thus ushered Him Into my soul; Trembling, yet overjoyed, I knelt And gave the whole! ; And there are some at whose closed doora Christ waiteth still; 0 heavenly Porter, lead Him in v At their, own will. ?Winifred A. Iverson, in London Christian. _____ t. Beyond the Curtain. The life which we are living now is more aware than we know of the life which is to come. Death, which separates the two, is not, as it has been so often pictured, like a great, thick wall. It is rather like a soft and yielding curtain, through whfch we cannot see, but which is always wavlner and trembline with the impulsee that come out of the life which lies; upon the other side of it. We are never wholly unaware that the curtain is not the end of everything. Sounds come to us, muffled and doll, but still Indubitably real, through its tbiek fohls." Every time that a new soul passes through that vale from mortality to immortality, it seems as if we heard its light footfalls for a moment after the jealous curtain has concealed Jt from our sight. As each soul passes, it aWo seems as if the opening of the curtain to letMt through were going to give us a sight'of-the unseen things beyond; and, though we are forever disappointed, the shadowy expectations always comes back to us again, when we see the curtain stirred by another friend's departure. After our friend has passed, we can almost see the curtain, which he stirred, moving tremulously for a while, before it settles once more into stillnoss. Behind this curtain of death St. John, in his great vision, passed, and he has written down for us what he saw there. He has not told us many things; but he has told us.much; and most of what we- want to know is wrapped up in this simple declaration, "I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God." I think that it grows clearer to us all that what we need are the great truths, the vast and broad assurances within which are included all the special details of life. Let us have them, and'we are more and more /* IflowA fhn cnoptol rlotflllfl unknown. With regard to eternity, for instance, I am sure that we can most easily, nay, most gladly, forego the detailed knowledge of the circumstances and occupations of the other life, if only we can fully know two things?that the dead are, and that they are with God.?Phillips Brooks. i. < ' ir "I Am Saved." A young theological student, while passing down a street in one of our large cities, -fras attracted to an openair service, where he heard a young girl tell the simple story of God's love, and the power of Jesus Christ love, and the power of Jesus Christ. At the close of the service our cultured friend approached the speaker and expressed his astonishment that she, an unlettered.girl scarcely out of her teens, should be there upon the street preaching. "How much preparation have you had?" he inquired. i,/Nt >r ^ "UB, Very lline, Blio muucou; ?oplied, "but I am making the best of what I have." "Why," said he, "I have been through college! and am now closing my third year at the seminary. I can read the Old Testament in Hebrew, and can even repeat ' the Lord's Prayer out of my head in Greek." "Oh," replied our young street preacher, as she looked up to her superior, "I can do better than that; I can say from my heart In English, I am saved." This is the kind of workers needed to-day, not so much men of learning or of great intellectual ability, but men who have been born again, and can in English say with our young friend: "I am saved," or with the blind man, "One thing I know, that whereas I was blind now I see."? Walter H. Oldfield. God is Considerate. Let us not live fretful lives. God will never stretch the. line of our duty beyond the measure of our strength. We ought to'live with the grace of the flowers, with the joy of the birds, with the freedom of wind and wave. Without question this is God's ideal of human life.?W. L. Watkinson. Robustness Commands Respect. Let the preacher believe robust truth robustly; and then let him practice, as well as preach, with terrible earnestness the cardinals of our orthodox Christianity and everywhere will a godless world have for the ministry a merited and wholesome respect.?Cumberland Presbyterian. A New Life Stirring. The day is coming when no one will be called a Christian unless he * l- ...? -.*Jnn TAf 11 a 1 'wnil A J1V0S lur 11 u hi mi it/ us ... new life is stirring in the hearts and minds of men and women to-day. It is a new vision of the Christ.?Horatio W. Dreeser. Greatest of Truths. There is no truth greater, more certain, or more precious than this: That God is merciful- that God la ready to forgive. World's Sheep Supply. This country is beginning to gain slowly in its number of sheep and yield of wool. But nere tne iamD and mutton demand has developed so rapidly that from this cause the increase is slower than in some other countries. Argentina seems to stand at the head now in numbers, having 74,379,562 head and Australia 72,Ortrt /\ * o in + 666tyiG. ivuss/a is Liiiiu witu auuui 53,000,000 and the United States next with 45,170,423. The United Kingdom claims 29,076,777. France has 17,800,985 sheep, against Germany's 7,907,173. Cape Colony has 11,318,829 sheep and Natal 726.752. 4 ' ' ? v - ' ' ??V , I THE SUNDAY SCHOOL, ? INTERNATIONAL LESSON COM- M MENTS FOR DECEMBER fl. ' Subject: Jesus on the Cross, Lake > xxiii., 33-46?Golden Text, $ake xxiii., 34?Memory Verses, ' V 43?Commentary. i I. Jesus crucified (v. 33). -.33.1 '"When they were come." A great company of people and of women fol-! lowed Jesus to the cross, who alsof bewailed and lamented Him. The-, three Marys were there: Mary, the: toother of Jesus; Mary,-the wife of] Cleopas; and Mary Magdalene, wit& ' ao\ 'Wii-i* oc vciai i/kuci 11 ivuuu \ ? < / * -yw- .. -> vary." Calvary is the Latfn, andj Golgotha the Hebrew word xrith tbei same meaning. Jt is just outside libel > city of Jerusalem. "They cniclfiedf Him:" His hands and feet werej nailed to ttie.cl'oss (Luke 24:39^4^)4 and then it was lifted and sunk intoj the ground with a sudden shock pro-. v .ducing great pain. "The malefacj tors." Two thieves were crucified? with Jesus, one on the right hand,! : and the other o~ the left. II. The mocking crowd (vs. 34-* 37). 34. "Father, forgive them."There were seven sayings of Christ' -Jt while on the cross. This, the firsfe -> one, is a prayer for His murderers.' "Parted His raiment." The four sol* diers divided among themselves Hi* outer robe, head-dress, girdle anef sandals, but for His "coat," that is, ^ His tunic or under garment, wUctty.,; was without seam and which would have been ruined if divided, they<si8# f lots (John 19:23, 24). "Cast lot#.'! . See Psa. 22:18. What a picture! 35i i "The people stood beholding.!' Vairt crowds were in Jerusalem to attend , the feast of the Passover. "The rul-> ers." The dignitaries and member* A of the Sanhedrin. "Derided Him." The crowd mocked Him from S till ' ,; 12 o'clock. The women were last at ; i the cross and first at the grave. "Lett Him save Himself." They thought that if J&sus were the Messiah, surely He could deliver Himself from uw? Roman cross. 06. "Vinegar."' The soldierspre-^ tend to treat Jesus as a king, to whom the festive cup is presented v. ^ III. The superscription (v. 33). jjj "Superscription." The white tablet;. ^ nailed upon the cross, above the head : of the victim; to declare the crime for >' which He was crucified. "Was written." Pilate .wrote this superBcriptioii evidently in defisfcm (John IS:! !. 19). "King of the Jewp." The words are somewhat different-in the differ- ^ : ent gospels, probably because some of the writers copied from ona lain^ guage and some from another. IV. The robber's conversion (vs.gg ' 39-43). 39. "Railed on Him." The two thieves crucified ' wittf M Him may have belonged to the * band with Barabbas. "Save Thyself."' ' & etc. Prove your claim to the Measiahship by delivering yourself an# .*# us from death. 40. "Dost not thouj fear God." Whatever the recklesa : crowd may do, thou art near death;] does this have no effect'upon youa 41. "We?justly." He is a true , penitent, confessing hiS sins. "Noth^ j ing amiss." He may have heard and* ~ seen much of Jesus at the trial. ' .V -:M 42. "Lord." The very ttse of the word implies*. faith. "Thy kingdom." He thus recognized Christ as '% a real King. 43. "To-day." This was the sec-' ond saying of Christ on the cross. "Paradise." This is a word ofiPer- ' aian origin, denoting a beatotifulparkJ V. The supernatural darkness (v*.(' ! 44, 45")." "44. "Sixth hour." Noon.1 "Darkness." The darkness continued three hpurs, from noon till 3 o'clock.' "Over the whole1 land." (R. V.) - Of Palestine. This darkness was typical of the moral darkness that filled: the land. This was a miraculous oc-J currence, showing' the amazement of. God at the wickedness of the cruci-: fixlon of Him who Is the light of the' world and the sun of righteousness.} "The ninth hour." The hour of the, offering of the evening sacrifice. Dur-j ing the darkness occurred Christ's V. -11 . J! IOUTLU Ulierituce vu iuc uuw. iuj| God, My God, why hast Thou for-; saken Me?" (Matt. 27.46). The fifthsaying was, "I thirst" (John 19:28).;,$; 45. "The veiL" The great veil of the temple that hung between the' 4 Holy Place and the Holy of Holies, 40. cubits (60 feet) long, and 20' (30! feet) wide, of the thickness of thej . palm of the hand, and wrought In 72} squares, which were joined together. \ \ These veils were very heavy. "Was; rent." Its rending typified "that thel ? veil that shut out the vision x?f holi-i ,* ness from the hearts of the people! * had been taken away" (2 Cor. 3:14-1 16). "Its rending was emblamatical! and pointed out that the separation j , between Jews and Gentiles waa now abolished, and that the privilege of the high priest was now communicat- , ed to all mankind." VI. Our Lord's death (v. 46)," ?6-~ "With a loud voice." As it were the / triumphant note of "a conqueror." What He -> id first at this tliae-is re-1 corded in John 19:30, and was HiBrifl sixth saying on the cross. "It is fln-f 4 ished." "Father," etc. This was Hi? s; seventh saying. "The word 'Father' shows that His soul has recovered full serenity." Not long before this ' when struggling in the darkness He called to His "God;" now the darkness is gone and He sees God as a loving "Father." ."I commend My spirit." I deposit My soul in Thy hands. Here is another proof of the ^ immortality of the soul, and of Its separate existence after death. "Gave up the ghost." "He dismissed the spirit." He Himself willingly gave up that life which it was impossible for man to take away. As Jesus gave up His spirit there was an earthquake.: of such power as to rend the r*cks . and open the tombs (Matt. 27:5153). Uses 500,000,000 Matches a Day. Estimate is made by a British newspaper that the United Kingdom consumes 500,000,000 matches a day, or about twelve for every man, . woman and child. Smokers probably account for the greater number. About ninety tons of wood are used up in the form of matches every day, or about 35,000 tons a year. Sweden and Norway export more than 25,000 tons of wood in matches every year. In France, where the tax on matches averages eight cents an inhabitant, the consumption is com-fl paratively small. % Claims Cotton Picking Record. "Zeb" Johnson, a young man liv ing near iviarun, xexas, citums iuu world's record in cotton picking. Iu the presence of eleven other pickers he gathered in one day 1135 pounds of cotton, and in the forenoon of the same day picked more than 700 pounds. Water For Dogs. Constantinople has a water baslft for dogs on every block.