The Abbeville press and banner. (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, July 22, 1908, Image 6

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! <l> vlivl> vif Oy-sl/ vjy v1:0/ \-W:' ^ I ty\i AMAIAWA? \lAt/vAf/ WW\i/ V'/x? \IAP \t#stAt A7\i>; i! | vv1/ s}/v(> sl? ?J> \)/ vJ> x'/ ^ '/'tv i ! A FA!J E ill * ' * * ""?r I I O/WtA'AtA'/vMAtAMWAlWAl/ nv ppppiPR III XI^IAtAt/Vl/vt/VAt^/vO^AlAtAtAVvtAlA'MO^/^/^AtAl/' CHAPTER Xn. 12 Continued. But for the next few days he enjoyed an inexpressible relief; the vaguely tremenduous test which would try his nerve and knowledge to the utmost loomed before him no more; he need not now repress the softer feelings and mortify his flesh; he could be as sentimental as his heart desired?and he was. Not that he had forgotten Campion and his affairs altogether; on the contrary he was anxious to help him now that he was no longer hampered by his Mahatma. And by frequent study of the message which had been "precipitated" by means of the Babu, Nebelseu had arrived at a new reading, which supplied a solution at once more practicable and more equitable than the first, and put the master's judgment In a better light. He was so delighted at his own ingenuity that he was determined to go to Campion at once and impart his discovery, but while he was preparing to do so there came a sharp rap -1. _ J I ill, nib uuur, clIJU me pui.ii.ci curatu. "You com at a goot time," said Nebelsen, cheerfully. Campion said nothing; he only only stood and looked. Possibly he was struck by the change in the mystic's appearance, for the ex-Chela had returned to the garb of ordinary citizens, and had sacrificed his curls and the greater part of his beard, leaving his ocher-colored hair rather short and rather spiky. He had destroyed his own picturesqueness without even attaining the conventionality such a sacrifice deserved. "Ach," he said, "I forget?you haf not seen me since I renounced the Mahatma." "No," said Campion, "and I wish to heaven I had never seen you before! When did I ask you to interfere between Miss Elsworth and myself? Read that?I found it when I came back to town last night." He tossed a note on the table be fore Nebelsen, who read: "I don't know what object you may have had in trying to induce me, through Mr. Nebelsen, to take back my present, but I am sure now that It was not a very creditable one. I shall not ask you to return the idol, because if you don't want it yourself I want it even less. If you really think yourself still bound by what I was so foolish as to make you promise, of course you are nothing of the kind, and are quite at liberty to get rid of it by all means, as soon as ever you please!" "I do not understands" said Nebelsen, as he laid it down. "It was more than a mistake when you took upon yourself to mention my affairs to Miss Elsworth. I was going to write to her, but you have put an end to all that.' Now after this, Nebelsen, I'll trouble you to leave me to manage my own business." "I say only this; the real advics that my Mahatma wrote " "I don't care to know it. I wish I had never been idiot enough to confide in you," said the angry Canpion; "rnn'va mnro Viavm hv vnn r meddling and muddling than that miserable old idol could if it was everything you say it is. And I've had enough of it. I am free to turn that thing loose as soon as I please, now, and I can do that "without anybody's asisstance. And in future, perhaps, you'll be kind enough not to interfere." The poor Chela was deeply hurt; he had meant to serve Campion; he did not even yet quite understand how he had offended, so that he could offer no defense. But, as Campion concluded, Nebelsen's pride and anger were kindled at last. He had meant till then to give the painter the benefit of his latest discovery, but if he would not be warned, why, after all it was no longer any business of his. oVi/\n1/l Vi cj tolr-o anv fitrfVior* f T LXJ OUVUiU 11V/ V.U1W UilJ i. U1 I.UV1 interest in maintaining the credit of theosophy? If the Mahatma allowed himself to blunder, he might correct his errors for himself?it was Karma. So his eyes blazed red like a hungry dog's as he said, heatedly, "You are ungrateful and a pighead. Certainly, I do not any more trouble myself with you. You haf refused to listen to what I dry to say. Very well, I shall not again speak. I vash my hand at you." Campion, too, was not dissatisfied with the result of his visit. He had freed his mind and disembarrassed himself of the muddle-headed mysticism in which he was ashamed of having placed such little confidence as he had felt. The next thing to be done was to get rid of the idol, as he now felt himself at liberty to do. He was betrinnlnc tr? fool loco ciinorotitinns J WW .WW*, about it; its behavior had, so far as he knew, been most exemplary since he had been away up the Thames, and he had almost argued himself out of the notion that it could possess any sort of intelligence, but for all that he was determined not to have it about him any longer. It was apparently on its best behavior, in the hope of being allowed to stay; but that could not be; not again would he expose himself to a demoralizing dread. Harmless or potent, the thing must go, and this time no one should have a chance of assisting it to find him again! He had meant to wait till nightfall before carrying out his plan, but after painting all the morning, he felt so giddy and confused that he determined to get the deed done while lie was still capable of action. He placed the idol inside a small leather bag and strapped it down, after which he walked out with his burden to ward North Bank. It vas a lovely afternoon, so hot that the warm air fell Iii:? ;; caress. ?.:id as Campion leaned over ilie parapet of the canal bridge ii<* enjoyed full possession of his faculties again. 11 ? E t/ ^ J/ i'i ll/ii/' 1/1A}J v)/vfWAl/ S .N IDOL | j i> \!/ vV vf / \1/'- / v*/\>> vl/ \3> vJ At> \(/\f > vt> * 1/ vtv \>>\t> v)> si/ | t ir> A MCTFV Vl/'vt/vt/vjAtAtAlAWAt/O/vVvWAt/ I ( IC AN&I tY. IMAtAtMAtA'AlAlAtAMAtAW'M I I - - ? ? t [ and only waited to be quite secure his purpose; for the spectacle of a well-dressed young man deliberately casting a bag into a canal might attract notice, and even suspicion. Very few people were about, however; the children were all at home lying down after their dinners, no carriages had yet appeared in the drive, only one errand-boy loitered by the palings, and he had his back turned, and no barge glided through the oily-green water under the hanging foliage. A universal siesta seemed to obtain in that non-commercial region. Now was his time. It was horribly like drowning a kitten, but he let the bag fall as if by accident, and saw it sink with a sudden splash. Then, as the last ripple radiated from the place it had struck and spread to either bank, he turned away, with a sigh of relief. He had done it at last. If the idol had been capable of understanding its situation, it would surely have I made some resistance before submit ting to be confined in a watery pris- ^ on, like Djinn Solomon sealed up in the coffer. Somehow he did not feel inclined to risk a return of his headache by going back to his hot studio, with the [ sickly smell of paints and mastic, and he turned into the park, thinking he might pass away the afternoon there; but the lake reflected a dazzling glare, and the turf was dotted with basking tramps, and in the shade under the trees he was haunted by torturing memories of his lost love. He did not stay there long, and, as i he turned into Marylebone, a passing omnibus carrying an advertisement of the military tournament at Islington suggested a method of killing time, and so it came about that an hour or so later he was underneath the gallery which surrounds the AgriculturI al Hall, picking his way through the dim and narrow space filled with a motley crowd of masked and leatherjacketed competitors, life-guardsmen, looking unfamiliar to civilian eyes, in caps, shell-jackets, and white buckskins; artillery guns, harnessed and unharnessed, and policemen. From above and all around rolled thunders of applause, but nothing could be seen until he came to a large gangway, through which he looked up the vast hall with its chocolate plain vanishing in a haze of light, above which rose dim tiers of heads and the blue panes of the erudely tinted arch of glass and iron. In the arena the artillery contest roan -inflt finichlnp- nnil thf> winnine' team was driving round at the gallop, y deftly shaving the posts, and plowing ^ up the tan in brown spurts at all the c corners; he stood at the gangway for a time, watching the brightly touched uniforms, the glancing coats of the horses, and the lead-colored gun, as they flashed in and out of the broad shafts of light. He was moving away, when he fancied he saw in the stream of people who were passing him the face which was never long out of his thoughts; it was only for a second, and then there was a cry that the team was coming out, and an order to stand back from the gangway. The warning was promptly obeyed; the crowd divided, hastily retreating to a safe distance, with the single exception of a girl who did not seem to Viqvo hourrl the nrdor nr unrtprstflnri i ~ ~ 9 ~~ I what was coming. There she stood c alone in the opening, looking dreamily back as if in search of someone, j and close upon her the team was bear- t ing down, while, owing to the sharpness of the corner, the officers in ? command would see nothing till too t late. And the girl, as Campion saw at ? once, with a thrill of horror, was z Sybil Elsworth! He called to her to stand back; nobody else seemed to a have eyes for her danger till then, when a general shout was raised. j Whether she was confused by that, -f or by a mutual recognition, or her x deadly peril, could not be known, but 5 she advanced with uncertain steps into yet more direct danger and then stopped, fascinated by fear and evidently powerless to move a step. Campion brushed aside some bystanders who stood in his way, and q rushing out into the open space ^ caught her and drew her back, just ^ as the heavy gun swept by with the rattle of gear and clank of metal r through the gangway, and pulled up sharp some yards beyond the spot ? where Sybil had been standing. Another second?and, well as the team ^ was handled?nothing could have e saved Sybil from a sudden and ter rible death. * He kept his arm nound her, and, if at first she seemed inclined to reject the support, she submitted after a quick side-glance at his face, which e was softened by a reverent joy, J though the shadow of his recent horror still lingered upon it. And the stream of people moved } on, backward and forward, and few c knew how nearly they had missed as- " sisting at a tragedy; in fact, no one . took any further notice, except a milif o ru_l nrvlr in rr mort nrVin ni m n iin im. IK.u.1 j man, niiv V*CW*A\> ui' mi mediately in the greatest anxiety and he had the excuse of being Sybil's father. "Good God!" he said, "it was the nearest thing?I saw it all, and was coming as well as I could in that crush. You would have been killed before I could get anywhere near you but for this gentleman?why, you know him?he broke off, as if suddenly enlightened by something in her expression. "Cant't you guess who it is, papa?" paid Sybil, with the faintest smile; and a light broke over the colonel's -ice as lie shook Campion's disenof-* ^ lwmrl w-i'th fnrvnr "Why to be sure!" lie cried, "of course?to thiuk we should have met 1 like this. Well, my little girl, under < I'rovid.-nc0" (he jerked this in as a t kind of safeguard), "owes her life to i you. i was just taking her down for 1 i cup of tea, and we got separated jomehow, and the next time I saw her ihe was?well, we won't talk about t. Couldn't have made your acluaintance at a better moment! And low," added the colonel, with a sly :hi*ckle at His own tact ana peneira.;ion, "I had better go back and tell ny sister where you are, eh? You ;ake her somewhere for a good strong ;up of tea, and that will put her all ight again. Sybil will tell you where ;o find us afterward." And before either Ronald or Sybil :ould say a word, the colonel had ;one off and left them together. Sybil :ould stand and walk without assistince now, and was little the worse for :he shock. She drew away slightly md stood looking at him under her long eyelashes, as if she expected him ;o speak. "Sybil," said Campion, "I suppose [ ought to say?Miss Elsworth?it's lot my fault that I'm forced upon you n this way?you must admit that." "Is it very painful for you?" she >aid, half amused and half wistful. "Tell me what you wish me to do, Sybil." "You were told to take me somewhere where there was tea," she said, neekly. A wild, incredulous joy seized Campion at her words, for he saw clearly hat. for some reason, she was angry ivith liim no longer. And leaving the reunited pair at :his stage, the story must go back for i few moments, if only to account for :he colonel's singular complaisance. He had only returned from India vithin the last two days, and Mrs. staniland had insisted upon his comng with them that afternoon; she iad taken four seats, two of them at some distance from the others, and he fourth seat was to be occupied by Lionel Babcock. For the time had come, in her opinon, when Babcock might propose to Sybil with perfect confidence, and Mrs. Staniland, being an old lady who iked her own ways even in details, iad arranged that her niece should be von in the course of this particular ifternoon, and in some part of the Agricultural Hall. The colonel was strictly enjoined lot to monopolize his daughter, vhich, as he was growing fonder and V? rxv> atmr-tr m nm on t h P Ji UUUC1 UJ. XJi V J. \/ ? Vi J ? hought hard. He had rejoiced greats' to hear that Campion's engagement was broken off, less on account )f its undesirability than of the opportunity it left for making his laughter's acquaintance before a over could step in between them? md now a fresh lover was at hand ilready, and the colonel felt an injured man. However, his sister was so ardent n her advocacy of Babcocfc, and discoursed so earnestly on the necessity )f protecting Sybil from falling again nto Campion's clutches, that the :olonel yielded at last. "If you say ie's a good felloe," he conceded? 'well, I shall see him at this tournanent affair, and then we can talk ibout it." Presently Mrs. Staniland saw her >rother coming along the chairs seaming. "Become of Sybil?" he ;aid, in answer to her inquiries; "oh, t's all right, she's in good hands. iVhom should we meet downstairs )ut this young Babcock, and?I renembered your orders?Hilary, and t struck me, by Gad, they'd get on >etter without a third party. Wasn't hat right, eh? And I like the felow, I must say; he deserves her for iis pluck." And with this the colonel old the incident of the gangway. "If ihe had fallen, nothing could have aved either of 'em; it was touch and ;o, by Gad! Think of losing my litle Sybil just when?and in that vay!" "Horace, it's wonderful, a special 3rovidence, really, and you've done luite the right thing! Lionel will lave something to tell us when he :omes back.", So in high good humor Mrs. Staniand watched the light cavalry, as * ? J ? Xl- 1* AMMAM 1? A on/1 ney maue iDeir uuiuc uunu ****** ifford cover behind which they dis:harged their carbines, and her conent lasted until she saw a welljloved hand held out and Babcock, ilaborately attired, was standing over tgainst her chair. "Well?is it all right?" she asked, tnxiously. "Oh, yes, thanks. Couldn't get iere, before, don't you know." He lad delayed from policy, thinking it veil that Sybil should begin by missng him, and unwise to appear too tager. To be Continued. Morgan and the Stutterer. A young reporter on the New York >un, who stuttered fearfully,was sent >ne day to try to get a. statement rom Mr. J. Pierpont Morgan. "Who and what are you?" denanded Mr. Morgan. In moments of surprise or nervous excitement the reporter's stammering ilways became acute, so he stood vith jaws locked, vainly trying to ;peak. Mr. Morgan began to fume, and inally he sputtered: "What in tne aevu are yuu; The reporter's sense of humor did lot share the clogging up of his :peech, and, after much facial conortion, he managed to gurgle out: "I-I-I?aaaa-m an elocutionist." Mr. Morgan saw the joke, he grimy related and when the reporter's ipeech-consciousness returned he got he statement.?Saturday Evening ?ost. He Knew. The pretty teacher was trying to ;xplain the difference between good nndiict and bad. "Good actions," >he explained, "are the lovely flowers. 3ad ones are the weeds. Now can iny little boy or girl tell me the difference between flowers and weeds? kVhat are flowers? What are weeds?" "Weeds," said Walter, who had )een struggling with the sorrel in his nother's garden, "are the plants hat want to grow, and flowers are he ones that don't."?Youth's Companion. Legacy Prom a Cat. A cat named Pinkeye has died at iVilkes-Barre, Pa., leaving an estate )f $20,000 to a sister cat. Each of lie cats inherited $20,000 last year 'rom B. F. Dillev, an eccentric milionaire.?Pittsburg Dispatch. * World's Riches ' \ ' ... \ . <* ' ; - ' . ^ JOHN D. ROCKEFELLER Tilting Bed Spring. A Chicago man has endeavored to I mol^ wr.mr.n'c. qmrlr oflgj- hv design ing the tilting bed spring shown here. In this bedstead the spring is pivoted to one side of the frame and is connected .at both ends with spring clamps. When the bed spring is raised the clamps hold it in a raised Q //" / . I position, so that the entire overhauling of the bedstead becomes an easy matter. An additional advantage lies in the fact that the floor beneath the bedstead can also be easily cleaned without the necessity of pushing the bed to all parts of the room-to get at it. Famous Caned Pulpits. St. Gudule, the cathedral church of Brussels, has a carved pulpit, representing is carved wood the expulsion from paradise. Among the animals are the bear, the dog, cat, eagle, vulture, peacock, owl, dove, ape, etc. There is an equally fine one in Antwerp cathedral. The decoration is of lavish and striking character, figures, FOREIGN The Wife?"Fancy, John, they an I wonder if it's any different from th? The Husband?"Probably has moi Tray For Odd3 and Ends. One of the many necessities required by the dressmaker and the tailor is a tray, or other article for holding pins, needles, buttons, hooks and eyes, etc. A plate or saucer often serves the purpose, with the result that all the articles in the disk | intermingle and must be fished out | when needed. An infinitely better j accessory for the purpose is the tray shown in the accompanying illustration. It is made of pressed glass and contains partitions which divide it into four compartments adapted for articles of various kinds. Only one partition can be introduced, increasing the size of the compartments. t Man at Play. ______ HHs* v *jti r t ON THE GOLF LINKS. birds and beasts being mixecl in artistic profusion. The church of St. Andrew at Antwerp contains a very elaborately carved wood pulpit, representing the calling of Peter and Andrew. The figures are of life size, standing in a boat. Beside them is a net with fishes. Wilton Church, near Salisbury, possesses finest pulpit in England. It is made of choice marble, most beautifully carved. In Worcester cathedral is a pulpit of carved marble, the gift of the late Earl of Dudley. A pulpit which certainly ranks among the finest in the world is that possessed by the church Df St. Mary, Radcliffe, Bristol, England. In the church Oxford street. Manchester, there is a marble pulpit with panels of beautiful mosaics. Each panel contains the portrait of a saint worked in Venetian marble. ?Argus. T I* -i- ?I Jet of Water at Grenoble, France, Which Cannot Be Cut Through With a Sword. ?Strand Magazine. In Australia there are nearly 247/ 000 more men than women. HUMOR. ' ' 5 getting out a woman's dictionary, s others?" *e words in it."?London Telegraph. The latter provides a convenien. means of separating the pins and buttons so that they can be instantly procured when desired. A Railroad of Curves. The first railroad west of the Alleghanies was built from Lexington to < Frankfort, Ky., in 1831. The road I was laid out with as many curves a a I possible, the engineers declaring thai this was an advantage. The cars : were in two stories, the lower foi women and children, the upper for men, four persons being seated in each compartment. The cars were at first drawn by mules, but aftei a time a locomotive was made by a Lexington mechanic. The tender was J a big box for wood, and a hogshead was provided for water which was drawn in buckets from convenienl wells. In place of a cowcatcher there were two poles in front fitted witfc hickory brooms for sweeping the track. The grand hall of the recent Bordeaux E{position will be re-erected for the Marseilles E::po:ition. ' v'.;.n*r?. , Qjj^^rTOurv "JESUS ONLY." (Matt. 17:8.) Naught that I do Can my salvation win, JNo strivings or my own Can purge away my sin; But "Jesus only" sned His blood for me, To wash away my sins and set me ?r?e. \ No look within To feelings of my own, Can make salvation sure Or for my sins atone; The Lord on Christ the sins of all hath laid, And "Jesus only" hath atonement made. No creed of mine, Howe'er correct it be, Can save my soul and give Eternal life to me; Through "Jesus only" comes the gift Divine, Through Him alone eternal life is mine. No need to wait! E'en while I waiting stand The years may pass, And death be nigh at hand: Now, Saviour of the lost, I come to Thee, With "Jesus only" for my only plea. ?W. D., in London Christian. God's Work For Man. v What is written in the law? How readest thou??Luke 10:26. Macaulay in one of his reviews says, "The deeper and more complex parts of human nature can be exhibited by means of words alone." To many of us they are mirrors, histories. Every new science adds many new words to our language. Every new discovery, every war adds a few more. Each one of these new words enlarges our knowledge. But words do not increase our knowledge of men morally or in the language of the heart. Moral science may have become more elaborate, but the vital and instinctive principles which are for the guidance and development of manhood and character have not been improved. All those words called the Ten Commandments, spoken at least 4000 years ago, describe man just as fully and exhaustively to-day as they did then. So also is this true of the laws ol the heart. If one of the Pharaohs looked in upon us he would be bewildered at the multitudinous changed in social, civic, commercial and indus? ??U ? + ft A>1ftnm r\f J n. llicli aiiau a, /ct wuai a &icaui ut ***telligent recognition and appreciation would come into his eyes the moment he looked upon two lovers, or a moth, er nursing her baby, or into the faces of sorrow by an open grave! Thest are the same throughout all ages. They are like the physical laws oi steam and of air and of electricity and of motion; they are always there? man does not invent them; he is their discoverer. Thus it is that man never progresses by trying to invent moral truth. When he seeks to discover it, follow it, live it, make it the supreme object in life, then he finds himself close to the divine. Presence, touching the things of God, breathing the spirit of God. And he needs not to go far afield, for he finds it in himself, in his relationship with his fellows, and in God's word. It is too often assumed that moral laws are restrictions, fences, guards, but the truth is that it is sin that is the restriction, it is sin that retards manhood growth, it is sin that causes the retarding complications in life, it +V*o+ norvorta man'a nmhltfnncr AO OIU tUUb JJ/Vi VA VM utwu w clouds his vision, dulls his ear, confuses and blights his affections. Whereas his hearty, loyal response to the moral and spiritual laws of God gives him freedom. It is in them that he finds bis true self, his manhood, the joy of living, calling into play his noblest powers. The nation's laws are not restrictions, fences curtailing personal liberty; they may be that to the criminal, but to the good citizen they are the means by which he reaches his best citizenship. We cannot imagine a citizenship without laws any more than we can imagine a manhood without laws, and so moral law is an essential part of every human life. This may be proved by looking upon manhood's failures as well as upon manhood's successes. They have corae by breaking through the provisions God has provided. Therefore Jesus did not merely express a religious truth, but one of the profoundest, deepest, furthest reaching of all moral principles, when He said to the young lawyer, "How readest thou? * * * This do and thou shalt live." Through that doorway he would find abundant life, he would find his true self, for just within it he would find God the source of truth and life, he would find Christ the ideal, the renewer, the pattern, the inspiration to the only life worth living?the life of God in the human soul. ? The Rev. John R. Mackay, North Presbyterian Church, New York, in the Sunday Herald. Germ of Divinity. Every soul has in it the germ of divinity. This germ will develop as sure as God is God, for it is always brooded over by the Most High. That weak, wicked, dissipated wretch will disappear, and the Son of God will appear. The sinner will become the saint by the necessity of his own being, which is from God.?Ursula N. Gestefeld. Spirituall Life. With no wide-reaching affection and no uplifting ideal, we make of our life a treadmill and of our duty j an unwelcome drudgery. We dis;laim the highest endowment of the soul and deny our sonsbip to God Karrow faiths and narrow hopes pul fetters on the spirit, and small affec- j 'vions keep small the heart.?Philin ! S. Moxom. The Bible Never Misleads. Of the profitableness of the sway of the Bible over individuals, myriad? have borne witness. "My heart has deceived me a thousand times," said Mr. Moody, "but that book has never deceived me once." Do Your Duty. "To enjoy communion with God, you must be found in the way of duty. If you play the truant, no wonder you are afraid af being whipped."? i'oulady. Ships Four Tons of Snakes. A shipment of four tons of live j rattlesnakes was made by F. B. Armstrong from his snake farm, near Brownsville, Texas. The reptiles are consigned to muesnms and circus performers throughout the North and East All nf the snakes were made harmless by the removal of their fangs and the extraction of their ! poison before shipment. rovcrty m JVew York. Investigation by settlement work- ' ers showed that extreme poverty is widespread on the east side, New York City. I lilt I &unfrot|-?x:ftoc>f j INTERNATIONAL LESSON COMMENTS FOR JULY 20. Subject: Saul Rejected by the Lord, 1 Samuel 15?Golden Text, Josh. 24:24?Commit Verse 22?Read Chapters 13, 14?Commentary. TIME.?A. D. 1091 B. C. PLACE. l> ?Gilgal. EXPOSITION.?I. Samuel Rebukes King Saul, 13-19. God had revealed His purpose to make Saul king first to Samuel, and to Samuel God first revealed His purpose to depose Saul because of his disobedience. There was no other man in all Israel whom God could so trust and of whom He could make such a confidant. Samuel grieved greatly over Jehovah's re c Virt cnonf tVlO Whole J6CUUI1 UL QClUl) 11C opcub i?Mv night in tears and prayer (v. 11), but he rose early to perform the duty that God had put upon him, unwelcome as it was. He will deliver God's message and deliver it at once. Saul greets Samuel with a great parade of piety. A guilty conscience often leads men to louder hallelujahs. Saul uttered a bare-faced lie, but it is not likely that he admitted even to himself that it was a lie. Many a man fancies that he is sincere when he says, "I have performed the commandment of the LORD," though in his inmost heart he knows that he has done nothing of the kind. Samuel was not in the least deceived by Saul's loud professions. It is impossible to deceive the man who is in God's confidence. Furthermore, the bleating of the sheep and the lowing of the oxen betrayed Saul's falsehood. There is no use trying to hide our sins . (Prov. 28:13; Nu. 32:23). The only way to get our sins covered out of the sight of man is to open them to the gaze of God (Ps. 32:1, 5: 1 Jno. 1:9). In all that had to do with obedience Saul sas's "I" and "we," in all that had to do with dlsobedW ence Saul says "they" and "the people." It is always the other fellow that is to blame, but if it is a question of credit, that belongs to us. The basest sinner can always invent a good construction of his vilest deeds. Saul would make an act of grossest disobedience to be an act of devotion. It is not uncommon for rebels against the holy will of God to decorate the gratification of their lust with the pretense of religion. Why Saul and the people really spared the cattle is evident (vs. 9 and 19). To give a part of one's ill-gotten wealth to the service of God will not set one's disobedience right with God (vs. 22, 23). Samuel did not venture to tell Saul what he thought of his actions. He . did something infinitely better, he told him what God Himself had said. Saul listened. s Samuel always com manded respectful attention, because men had learned that he spoko not his own mind but the mind of God. Samuel first recalls to Saul's mind tha wonderful grace of God towards him. The Bible constantly enforces our duty towards God and our guilt Id disobeying God by bringing to our attention God's goodness towards U8._ It was when Saul was humble, when he was little in his own eyes, that God exalted him (Lu. 14:11). Jehovah had appointed him to, the very first place, and he had repaid God by gross disobedience. What ingratitude! But not so great as ours when we disobey the God who has made us" His own heirs. Saul's commission was to destroy the Amalekites "utterly." The Amalekites were a type of the flesh, and God will have no H mercy on the flesh. It must be put to H death, the death of the cross (Gal. H 5:24; cf. 3:13). Many professed Christians deal with the flesh just a? H Saul dealt with Amalek. God sets H them aside just as He set Saul aside. H samuel sweeps away all Saul's soph- H istries with a single question, "Why H didst thou not obey the voice of the H LORD?" No possible reasoning can excuse disobedience to God. H| II. Saul's Worthless Excusc, -0- H 23. Saul put on a very bold face and H stoutly asserted that he had "obeyed B the voice of the LORD." He hoped B to lie himself out of his difficulty, but B he failed lamentably. He has many B imitators, but none ever succeed. Be- B fore God got through with Saul 'he B was forced to say "I have siuned" (v. B $0). Every sinner has to come to B this point sooner or later. The soonei B he comes to it the better. One should B never disobey God; but if one doee B - J ' ' J- J- A disobey, toe imug lu uu j& iu waive u clean breast of it at once. Saul ad- |H mits that the sheep and the oxen H9 should have been utterly destroyed, but again says that it was the peopl j that had spared "the chief" of them. | and that too with a good purpose, JH "to sacrifice unto the LORD." Then he adds, with the vain hope of conciliating Samuel, "thy God." If Saul |B had been as cunning as some of our modern scholars who find something inconvenient in the word of God, he would have told Samuel, "I do not Bfl believe in a deadly literalism in interpreting the word of God. I have kept the spirit of God's command, even if not the very letter." Many in our own day are seeeking to subst'tnte sacrifices and services of their own invention for simple obedieuce to the plain commands of God. God does not ask us to invent, but to hearken and obey. Witchcraft (in all its forms) and "idolatry and Teraphim" H are exceedingly hateful to God, but ^Bj "rebellion" and "stubbornness" are^H just as hateful. All disobedience toj^H what God has said is "rebellion" and BH "stubbornness." There was just on? cause of Saul's ruin, he had "rejected H| the word of the Lord." EH Twenty Die in Know. pflp A remarkable disaster has over- H taken the exploring expedition of^H Duke Adolf Friedrich, of Mecklenburg, in the volcanic region in the^H extreme northwestern corner of Ger- HH man East Africa. In the crater of^H Branca, one of the lower mountains, the party was overtaken by a terrible HH snowstorm and twenty of the black HH contingent, nearly half of the expedi- H9 tion, were frozen to death about ninety miles south of the Equator. HH The report has the official Indorsement of Duke Adolf Friedrich, whoflH subscribed his name to it and it was^E written in his behalf during his ill-^H ness. .Parcels 1'ost to France. BH A parcels post agreement betweeoHB this country and France, effective August 15, was signed at Washing-HH ton. Packages up to four pounds and^H six ounces will be carried at the rateHBB of twelve cents a pound. Later the^H maximum weight will be increaseaHM to eleven pounds. EH| Jlrazil Purchases 120 Batteries. Orazil has purchased from the^HD Krupii works, in Germany, 120 bat-^^M