The Aiken recorder. [volume] (Aiken, S.C.) 1881-1910, June 21, 1889, Image 2
Lore He.
I wander through the blooming wood*
; Where no unhallowed thought intrudes
And song and sunshine fall in floods;
I hear among the budding trees
Contentment sighing in the breeze.
And even the winds reprove me,
For crying out 'mid scenes like these,
‘'Love me! Love me! Love me I”
I mingle with, yet walk apart.
The crowds that throng the busy mart,
And silent bear my breaking heart,
And live—Oh, life! with pain replete,
80 sweetly sad, so sadly sweet,
With only one hope to move me.
These e hoing h r art throbs still repeat,
“Love me! Love me! Love mef
The pinions of the day are furled
And night enshrouds the sleeping world.
But still, like restless billows hurled
Upon the shore; my spirit flie-,
From star to >-tar with weary eyes
Through the pitying skies above me
And in its hopeless anguish cries,
“Love me! Love me! Love me!”
—M. M. Folsom in Atlanta Constitution.
The Story of a Picture.
BY H. E. CLAMP.
It is about 10 o’clock p. m., the hour
when life in its lightest and most frivol
ous form is on parade in the upper part
of the city’s great artery of traffic—
Broadway.
Madison square is brilliant .with a
thousand lights; the great hotels are
thronged with idle groups, while up and
down the sidewalks continues the steady
stream of foot passengers which will not
diminish much before miduight. The
crowd upon the pavements and in the
hotels is frequently augmented for a few
minutes by persons leaving the theatres
in the vicinity during the entr’acte for
■an airing, refreshments or cigars.
The crowd on promenade is a motley
one, composed for the most part of well-
dressed men and women, and from the
animated tones and gestures, the gay
jests and light laughter, distinguishable
above the steady tramp of feet, the rat
tling of cab wheels and the jingling of
car bells, one might think that care
rested but lightly upon the shoulders of
most who are here.
Among the crowd of busy talkers,
thoughtless idlers and devotees of pleas
ure, walking at a leisurely pace and
with a thoughtful air, comes a man
whose genius has already made his name
a household word in many lands. It is
Geoffrey Vail, ti e artist. The hand-
some, scholarly face, with its delicate
white complexion, its large, soft, black
eyes and sweeping black mustache
which fringes his sensitive mouth, his
graceful carriage and the plain but fault
less style of his attire, stamps him easily
as a man oi superior type even to those
who do not recognize in the lone indi
vidual the well-known figure of metro-
life. ^ —" I " v v.
Above the jargon of sounds in the
streets rise occasionally from a side
street the tones of a piano-organ, ac
companied by the voice of a person
singing some Italian songs. The artist
pauses for a moment to listen to the un
usually pathetic ring of this voice, and
as he approaches it is struck by the ap
pearance of the singer. It is a young
girl, about sixteen years of age, with a
Madonna-like face touched with a look
of most exquisite sorrow. Is it possible
that the coarse-looking Italian yonder
can have any connection with this lovely
child? It is not of this the artist thinks
as ho lingers, thro wing coins into the old
man’s hat. It is of how that lovely face
would look on canvas!
Suddenly the girl sees his ardent gaze
and her eyes droop to the ground,
while a color like the first blush of sun
rise mantles her cheek. The artist is yet
more charmed, although he diverts his
gaze, still following the couple from
street to street.
Finally the organ is closed up and the
two performers prepare to go home.
Goeffrey Vail approaches the Italian as
he is about to go and touches him upon
the shoulder.
“Is it your daughter?’’ he asks, point
ing to the girl.
The man nods his head.
“I am an artist and would like to
paint her picture,” said Geoffrey.
The man shook his head in disap
proval.
“If you will allow her to come to my
studio every day for a month I will pay
you liberally.”
“How much?’’ asked the man,gruffly.
“One hundred dollars,” answered
the artist after a moment’s reflection.
“She would earn me more than that
with the organ.”
“Then we will say two hundred.”
The man’s greed was satisfied, and he
consented to the terms.
“When shall she commence?"
“Tomorrow, if it suits you,” said the
artist.
“Very well,” answered the man, and
Geoffrey handed him his card.
Geoffrey turued homewards, pleased
with his discovery. For a long time he
had meditated painting a series of
pictures representing the emotions.
“Here is my ‘Angel of Sorrow’ ideal
ized already,” he said to himself as he
pursued his way through the still
crowded thoroughfare home.
The pretty Italian found Geoffrey
Vail in his studio awaiting her visit on
the following day.
The strong light in the studio, where
the curtains were purposely drawn
back, revealed to the artist that he had
not been deceived with regard to her
appearance. The face was delicate, re
fined and indescribably sad.
She had evidently put on her best
clothes—a dress of some soft black stuff
and a shawl of the same sable hue
( wrapped round her head and shoulders.
“You have posed as a model before?”
asked Geoffrey, noting the artistic ef
fort of this simple costume.
“No,” said the girl, “never before.”
“What is .your name?” asked the
artist.
“Consuelo.”
“Consuelo,” repeated the artist, “and
you look inconsolable.”
The girl did not understand his re
mark, but her large dark eyes were
turned upon him wonderingly.
“Well, Consuelo, we must make the
best of our time, ” said the artist.
“Come, I wifi arrange you as I wish you
to sit,” and he placed a chair for her,
arranging with soms care her attitude
and drapery.
“You do not feel timid, do you?”
asked Geoffrey, kindly. • *
“Oil, no,” answered the girl, looking
at him with wonder again. It was in
conceivable to her that she should feel
timid in his presence.
The grave, gentle face of the artist
had won her confidence completely. Ac
customed to rough looks and sometimes
blows, the child seemed in the atmos
phere of this elegant studio to breathe
the air of paradise.
But the look of sorrow did not leave
her face; it was too deeply imprinted
there.
Geoffrey was soon busy with his pen
cil. An artist, his soul was in his art.
To him the animate beauty was only a
stepping-stone to the inanimate, every
thing lovely created that it might be
copied on the canvas aud immortalized.
Consuelo’s sitting was not a long one.
He thought it best not to tire her too
much the first day, and at the end of the
third hour rose from his easel, and
thanking her, dismissed her till the
morsow.
“You will come again, won’t you?”
said Geoffrey.
The girl’s look answered him.
For the first time that she could re
member Consuelo w r ent to her miserable
home happy. A new vista had been
opened to her. She had caught a
glimpse of another world with which
she seemed to feel some strange kin
ship.
How gladly those days glided by
while the Angel of S >rrow, half real and
half the creation of the artist's superb
fancy, grew upon the canvas!
The last sitting came. Artist and
model were to part.
Geoffrey, who had grown familiar
with the child, took her hand in his
own when he bade her adieu. Sudden
ly Consuelo burst into tears.
The artist himself felt unexpectly and
strangely moved. Even to him the
parting seemed painful. Why? Blind
egotist! unknown to himself he had
learned to love. Only_at this crisis did
the truth dimly dawn upon him. But
why these tears of hers? Strange infat
uation! Then the child must love him
also.
She had turned away to weep.
“Consuelo,” he said gravely, “come
here. ”
Consuelo came at his bidding.
“Look at me straight in the face.”
“I cannot,” she sobbed.
“Consuelo, why do you weepf”
The face could be doubted no longer
except by the bi nd.
Geoffrey folded her tenderly in his
arms, unresisted. The lovely head
rested upon his bosom. His lips were
pressed to the blushing cheek.
“Consuelo, would you like to stay
here always—to be my wife?” he said
rather nervously, half frightened him
self.
The girl looked at him and seemed to
make some sudden resolve.
Withdrawing herself from his em
brace she wiped her eyes, and then
without another word or look fled from
the studio.
“She is frightened, but I mu;t follow
her,” said the artist. How soon she
had become infinitely precious to him!
He hastened to the door, but no trace of
Consuelo could be seen. He paused to
reflect. He did not know even her ad
dress. The Italian had already called
for his money. How should he find
her? What strange impulse had caused
her to turn and fly so suddenly. It was
inexplicable, but; he must find a key to
the mystery. How? Would she not re
turn to her old avocation, accompany
ing the organ? If he searched the
streets for a few days he would soon
meet her again.
But days, weeks and months rolled
by, and no trace of Consuelo or the
Italian rewarded his anxious search.
So his passion died away into a vague
and hopeless regret. Nothing remained
of Consuelo but the blending of her
beauty with his own dreams in the
picture. So he devoted himslf with re
newed ardor to his favorite pursuits.
The “Angel of Sorrow” was completed;
extravagant offers were made for it, but
the picture was not for sale. Money
could not buy it.
It was hung in the artist’s own studio
—his greatest achievement—and many
wondered as they gazed upon the sor
rowful face whence came the inspiration
for it.
Geoffrey Vail received many visitors
at his studio. Wealthy patrons and
personal friends brought others often to
sec the great artist’s works, often sadl^
interrupting him when he wished to be
alone, but always courteously received.
Five years had gone by since his brief
love dream had had its sudden birth and
tragic finale.
His gentle face had grown gentler,
and perhaps a tinge of sadness had crept
in between the handsome lines: but he
had little to-complain of ao far as suc
cess was concerned.
He is busy in his studio when some
callers are announced. They are
foreign srs, evidently, from their names.
Geoffrey glances carelessly at the card,
and, not recognizing the names, is about
to excuse himself, but suddenly changes
his mind.
His visitors are shown into the studio.
A gentleman, refined and distinguish
ed in appearance, and a lady some
years his junior. A white veil partly
secludes the lady’s face.
Geoffrey bows politely, and advances
to meet them as they are announced.
The gentleman, speaking in French,
apologized for their intrusion and asks
permission to look at some of the artist’s
work, and the lady, who has observed
the artist's favorite picture, lends her
companion towards it. After viewing it
for some minutes and exchanging re
marks of admiration in their own
tongue, the gentleman, turning to Geof
frey, asks him if the picture can be
purchased.
“On no consideration,” replied the
artist. “It is reserved at a price which
even the most extravagant would never
care to go to.”
“Which means that you do not wish
to sell it,” replied his visitor.
The artist bowed in acquiescence.
“And did you ever see a face which
suggested such beauty?” asked his visi-
itor, adding “Pardon me, but I have a
purpose in inquiring.”
“I have seen one,” replied the artist,
“with which this creation of mine could
but feebly compare.”
As he said this his eye caught the
face of the lady who had removed her
veil.
“Consuelo!” cried the artist, forget
ting his visitors for a moment.”
But they were smiling at him pleas
antly.
. “Pardon me,” he said. “Some fan
cied resemblance compelled me to utter
that name.”
The lady approached nearer to him.
“Do you not remember me, <sthen?”
she said, softly.
The artist looked puzzled and per
plexed.
“Surely it is Consuelo; but, pardon
me, you have changed your name.”
And he glanced significantly at her com
panion. “Ah! and you are no more the
Angel of Sorrow; you might now pose
for the Angel of Jby.”
Consuelo teemed to enjoy his per
plexity. “And have not you found a
true Consuelo also?” she asked laugh
ingly.
The artist shook hi s head sadly.
“Papa, this is Mr. Vail,” said Con
suelo, turning to her companion, who
offered his hand to Geoffrey with a pleas
ant smile. __ * _ l]r
JWou are wondering what it all
means,” said Consuelo, also smiling;
but it is a long story; papa will tell you
while I look at some pictures round the
studio, and if you wish to repeat the
question you asked so long ago, which I
never answered, repeat it to him*”
The story was briefly told.
Consuelo had been kidnapped from
her home in Italy and shipped to New
York. After many years she had been
traced and returned to her parents.
She had fled from Geoffrey’s presence
because ashamed of her humble origin
and parentage, believing the padrone
to be her father, and had been rescued
immediately afterwards.
In Italy she had been educated, pre
viously exacting from her father a
promise that as soon as her education
was completed ho would bring her to
New York.
Such a story could have but one se
quel—a happy marriage. It was
assuredly a happy one, and soon after
it Geoffrey commenced the twin picture.
—[New York Mercury.
The Dakota “Rustler.”
The Dakota “rustler’’ is the direct
product of the blizzard. He moves with
a quick, resistless force. He does not
rest for sleep or food. He knows no
weariness of the flesh. He has no doubts
or fears. He believes, and he is an in-
spirer of faith. He will build a hotel of
300 rooms on a street-motor railway on
the blank prairie and wait for a town to
grow up around it. The town always
comes, if he be a genuine rustler.
You can’t tell by his looks, nor by the
cut of his clothes. His grammar is often
addled, and he makes a bib of his nap
kin at table. But when he turns himself
loose upon a project with money in it
the project projects. It looms. It
yawns. He keeps it ever in the way of
your eyes, and before you know it you
begin to see rainbows around it.
He cares nothing for money after it is
made. Ask, and it is given you. Tell
him a talc of woe, and out comes his
purse. He would moulder in a week
behind a desk or in a counting-room.
He is always on the lope. Today, he is
getting options on corner lots in Pierre;
tomorrow, he is building mills at Yank
ton. Then he is off to St. Paul bull
dozing “Jim” Hill for more railroads,
or off to New York placing the stock of
a new loan and trust company. He is
interested in everything. He lets no
enterprise escape him. They’ll all pay,
he says, or all “bust.” There is no
middle line out there.
His Complexion Confused Her.
Aggie—Oh, Mrs. Smith, who was
that Chinaman you were walking with
today?
Mrs. S.—Chinaman? Oh! It was
my husband; he’s just had the jaundice.
—Epoch.
THE SLAVE MARCH.
Terri
A Bio
iple Trials of Captives in the
African Coast Trade.
w In the Head Ends the
roubles of the Weak.
“Yes , I have seen the terrible slave
march,* said Mr. H. F. Moir, who for
many y< ars has traveled abroad, spend
ing mor s or less time in Africa. He was
speaking of the sufferings of those cap
tives wh > carry great burdens across the
deserts ii t the African coast trade. Mr.
Moir is s resident of New York State,
and Idst light in the lobby at the Grand
Hotel en ertained a few friends with t
recital i f some of his adventures.
“When the slaves are captured,” he
said, “the/ are taken to the headquar
ters of thl east coast traders. There i
yoke is paaced about their neck, and i:
allowed to remain night and day with
out beinglonce taken off. The constant
rubbing uWn the neck chafes the skin,
and gradftlly ugly wounds begin to
fester undflttic burning African sun
shine. who appear the
strongestj^^^^^KB'hose escape
feared,
sometin^^^^^^^K
a to
and ou placed the
ble goree ^^^H^^fticks. The yoke is
ayoungtr^^Wh forked branches. It
is generally^Wut five or six feet long,
and from three to four inches in diame
ter. One which I examined not long
ago was about twenty-eight pounds in
weight, but I am told that refractory
slaves are often placed in yokes weigh
ing fifty pounds or more. Through each
prong of the fork is a hole bored for the
reception of an iron pin, which, after the
neck of the slave has been placed in the
fork, is made secure by a blacksmith.
The opposite end is lashed to the corre
sponding end of another yoke, in the
fork of which another slave is held, and
thus the poor creatures have to march,
carrying besides this intolerable weight,
a load of provisions or ivory slung across
the center of the pole. Other slaves are
in gangs of about a dozen each, with an
iron collar let into a long iron chain.
“Are males alone of tiese captives?”
asked an Enquirer reporter, who was
one of the party.
“No, indeed.,'’ said Mr. Moii. “Wo
men slaves are plentiful. A mxn with
any spirit can scarcely trust himself to
look at the starting of one of the cara
vans. I accompanied one which con
tained many women. They are all fas
tened to chains or thick bark ropes.
Very many of the omen in the caravan
to which I ref«‘- in .v—•_
heavy vreig^
their little'
double weight almost too much,
and still they struggle wearily on
knowing too well that when they showed
signs of fatigue, not the slaver’s ivory,
but the living child, would be torn
from them and thrown aside to die.
One poor old woman I could not help
noticing. She was carrying a baby boy
who should have been walking,
but whose thin, weak legs had evidently
given way; she was tottering already; it
was the supreme effort of a mother’s
love—and all in vain, for the child,
easily recognizable, was brought into
camp a couple of hours later by one of
our hunters, who had found him on the
path. We had him cared for, but his
poor mother would never know.
During three days' journey but from
Licndwe death freed many of the cap
tives. It was well for them; still we
could not help shuddering as in the
darkness we heard the howl of the hye
nas along the track, and realized only
too fully the reason why. The attach
ment of the children to their mothers
and the mothers’ determination not to
be parted from their children,” contin
ued the traveler, “combine to carry them
along with the slave caravan—that is, so
long as their poor little legs can bear
them.”
slaves keep up under
'asked
lo it
aarch all day, and
fetop, a few handfuls
distributed among
Idl their food. As soon
'to fail, their conductors
lose who appear to be most
to their
carried
long,” was the
bej
“How
their bur
“Tb
answer,
at night,
of raw
them, an<
as any
approach
exhausted and deal them a terrible blow
on the nape of the neck. A single cry,
and the Victim? fall to the ground in the
convulsioins of death. Terror for a time
inspires the weakest with new strength,
but each time one breaks down the ter
rible scene is repeated. A friend of
mine told me that once when traveling
in Central Africa he was obliged to at
tach hinJself to an Arab slave gang, and
that th£ drivers deliberately cut the
throats of those who could not march.
I have also been informed,” said Mr.
Moir, “that in Central Africa these
slave-drivers have been known to cut off
an arm or any limb with one blow from
their swords.”—Cincinnati Enquirer.
The Bible in the Frozen North.
At Norway House, on a certain occa-
ion, says Mr. Egerton Young, mission-
ry of the Canada Methodist Church
here, a number of Indians came into
iy room, noiselessly, after their fashion,
o that the room was filled with them
•efore I knew it. When I became
ware of their presence I asked whence
hey were. “From a journey of four-
een nights,” they replied, for they
eckon distance by the number of nights
hey hre delayed to sleep.
“We have got the Ke-senaychen (the
Great Book), but we don’t understand
it, although we can read it.” I thought
they were joking, for the Indians can
not read unless some one has taught
them, and I knew from their account
they mu?t live far away from any mis
sionary; but I asked them: “From what
missionary did you learn?” “We never
saw a missionary nor a teacher.” I took
down from my shelf our Bible, printed
m the beautiful syllabic character of
the Cree language, and opened to Gene
sis; they read it with ease and correct
ness. I turned the pages, and they read
in many places.
I was amazed, and asked them again
where they lived. They described it to
me. It was far away, north of Hudson’s
Bay, hundreds of miles from any mis
sionary. Their hunting grounds, it
seems, adjoin those of some Christian
Indians—they cover great distances in
hunting—and, continued my visitors,
“We visited your Indians and found that
they had the Kessenaychen. We got
them to read it and then to teach it to
us, and we were so pleased with it that
wo all learned to read it during the
winter.”
Every soul in a village of 300 popula
tion had thus actually learned to read
the Bible without ever having seen any
white teacher; and having providential
ly come into possession of some copies
that happened to be in the hands of the
Hudson Bay Company’s agents, these
heathen Indians had journeyed through
the snows fourteen nights’ distance,that
to them might be given instruction in
the book they had thus learned to love.
PEARLS OF THOUGHT.
About Slate Pencils.
In the north-western part of the town
of Castleton, Rutland County, Vermont,
is the only manufactory of slate pencils
in the United States. The slate rock as
it comes from the quarry ic first sawed
into blocks as wide as the slate p2ncil is
long. These blocks are easily split into
slabs a little thicker than the finished
pencil, which is about five-sixteenths of
an inch. These are passed through a
slaning-machlne and over an emery belt,
which makes them even and smooth.
Next they are pushed into the jaws of a
machine called the “crocodile,” which
consists of a pair of steel plates, in the
under one of which are six rows of
curved knives, each being set so as to
cut a little deeper than the preceding one.
These plow out parallel grooves half-way
through the slab, which is then turned
and laid on a steel plate having ridges
which just fit the grooves. This slides
jack under the six rows of teeth of
another “crocodile,” which cuts the
grooves on the other side and leaves the
square pencils side by side.
They are then rounded and pointed
Icling tK«v
onST—~ v—a <. „„
day.
This factory makes 30,000 pencils
daily, and employs twenty-five hands.
We might wonder where so many pencils
50, but when we consider that there are
1,000,000 or 2,000,000 school boys and
girls, aud many of them rather careless,
and that slate-pencils are easily broken,
we have no doubt the factory will have
its “hands full” to supply the demand.
The old way of making pencils was to
saw them out square from the slab one
by one. They were then boxed and
distributed among poor families, who
whittled them round by hand for about
half a dollar per 1,000.
Pencils are made from slate much
softer than the slates upon which they
are used, and very nice pencils are made
from soapstone.
Diagnosing Disease by the Hair.
A Pittsb'Tg doctor says he can diag
nose ailments by examining a single hair
of the patient. Two young men as a
joke, took him a hair from a bay horse.
The doctor wrote a prescription and
said his fee was $25 as the case was pre
carious. They were staggered but paid
the fee, and after they got out laughed
all the way to the apothecary’s. The
latter took the prescription and read in
amazement: “One bushel of oats, four
quarts of water, stir well, and give three
times a day—and turn the animal out to
grass.” Then the jokers stopped laugh
ing.—Chicago Herald.
Usefulness is the true measure.
Love is satisfied only with love.
’Tis but a short journey across the
isthmus of now.
There is little influence where there is
no great sympathy.
Jealousy is the sentiment of poverty,
but envy is the instinct of theft.
Have the couragj to prefer comfort
and propriety to fashion in all things.
We gain nothing by falsehood but the
disadvantage of not being believed when
we speak the truth.
Though we travel the world over to
find the beautiful, we must carry it with
us or we find it not.
To be comfortable and contented,
spend less than you can earn—an art
which few have learned.
It does not depend upon us to avoid
poverty, but it does depend upon us to
make that poverty respected.
It is never the opinions of others that
displease ois, but the pertinacity they
display in obtruding them upon us.
If mind-reading becomes a success,
lies will be impossible, and lawyers will
have to look around for some other busi
ness.
There are several ways to speak: to
speak well, to speak easily, to speak
justly, and to speak at the right
moment.
Elephants on the War Path.
An elephant stampede, which was
nearly taking the same disastrous turn
as the one which occurred recently at
Munich, is reported from Riga. Eight
trained elephants have lately been ex
hibited at the Salamonski Circus. A few
evenings ago, one of the animals, in
stead of going quietly through the per
formance, raised his trunk suddenly and
began to trumpet. His comrades at
once became unruly and made for the
door. One of the grooms closed it, but
the first of the elephants burst it open
without trouble. A laly who attempted
to run across his path was seized gently
round the waist by the animal’s trunk
and safely deposited on one side. The
huge quadrupeds burst through another
door into the passage and found their
way to the box office. This seemed to
excite their curiosity, and they examined
it minutely. They then entered a small
court-yard and began a regular war
dance, uttering piercing cries as they
pranced about in their wild antics.
Eventually they were mastered and
walked off to their quarters. Two of
them, however, again got away, and,
curiously enough, trotted back towards
the circus. They missed their way, and
rushed into the yard of a neighboring
wererousecn^jptheir slumber* uy mo
elephantine assault. It took several
horn's to recapture the fugitives.
RELIGIOUS READING.
THE BLESSIXO OF 80X0.
“W bat a friend we have in Jesus,"
Sang a little child one day;
And a weary woman listened
To the darling's happy lay.
All her life seemed dark and gloomy,
All her heart was sad with care;
Sweetly rang out baby’s treble—
“All our sins and griefs to bear.”
She was pointing out the Saviour,
tV ho could carry every woe;
And the one who sartl? listened
Needed that dear Helper so!
Sin and grief were heaw burdens
For a fainting soul to bear;
But the baby, singing, bade her
“Take it to the Lord in prayer.”
With a simple, trusting spirit,
Weak and worn she turned to God,
Asking Christ to take her burden
As he was the sinner’s Lord.
Jems was the only refuge,
He could take her sin and care,
And he blessed the weary woman
When she came to him in prayer.
And the happy child, still singing,
Li:tie knew she had a part
In God s wondrous work of bringing
Peace unto a troubled heart
— Christian Observer.
WHAT IS THE END OF LIFE?
The end of life is, not to do good, although
many of us think so. It is not to win souls,
although I once thought so. The end of life
is to do the will of God. That may be on the
line of doing good or winning souls, or it
may not. The maximum achievement of
any man’s life after it is all over is to have
done all the will of God. No man or woman
can have done any more with a life; no Luth
er, no Spurgeon, no Wesley, no Melsuchthon
can have done any more with their live*;
and a dairy maid or a scavenger can do as
much. Therefore, tie mpreme principle
upon which we have to run our lives is to
adhere, through good report or ill, through
temptation and prosperity and adversity, to
the will of God, wherever that may lead us.
It may take you away to China, or you who
are going to Africa may have to stay where
you are, you who are going to be an evan
gelist may have to go into business: and you
who are going into business may have to be
come an evangelist. But there is no happi
ness or success in life liil that principle is
taken possession of.—Henry Drummond.
HELP UPWARDS.
I shall never forget the feelings I had once
when climbing one of the pyramids of Egypt.
When half way up, my strength failing, I
feared I should never be able to reach the
summit or get back again. I well remember
the help given, by Arab hands, drawing me
on farther; and the st-p I could not quite
make myself, because too great for my
wearied frame, the little he p given me—
sometimes more and sometimes less—enabled
me to go up, step by step, step by step, until
at last I reached the top, and breathed the
I mre air, and had a grand look out frem that
ofty height. And so, in life’s journey we
are climbing. We are feeble. Every one of
us, now and then, needs a little help; and if
we have risen a step higher than some
other, let us reach down for our broth
er’s band, and help him to stmd beside
us. And thus joined hand in hand we shall
go on conquering step by etep, until the
glorious eminence shall ( e ga : n d. Ah! how
many need help in this world—poor afflicted
ones; poor sorrowing ones; poor tempted
ones, who have been overcome, who have
been struggling, not quite able to get up the
step; trying, failing; trying, failing; trying,
desponding; trying, almost despairing! OH,
give such a one help, a little kindly aid aud
the step may be taken, and another step
may then bp taken; and instead of dying in
wretchedness at the base, he may, by a
brother’s hand be raised to safety, and
finally to glory I Your mission is to be
Christ to such, to take such by the band;
“for, to you, to live is Christ.*—BtsAqp
Simpson.
Gladstone on Washington.
When I first read in detail the “Life
of Washington, ” says William E. Glad
stone, the English statesman, I was pro
foundly impressed with the moral ele
vation and greatness of his character,
and I found myself at a loss to name,
among the statesmen of any age or
country, many, or possibly any, who
could be his rival. In saying this, I
mean no disparagement to the class of
politicians, the men of my own craft
and cloth, whom, in my own land and
my own experience, I have found no
le=s wanting than other men of love and
of admiration. I could name among
them those who seem to me to come
near even to him. But I will shut out
the last half century from the compari
son. I will then say that if, among all
the pedestals supplied by history fot
public characters of extraordinary no
bility and purity, I saw one higher than
all the rest, and if I were required at a
moment’s notice to name the fittest oc
cupant for it, I think my choice, at
any time during the last forty-five years
would have lighted, aud it would now
light, upon Washington.
The man who was blown thirty feet
in the air out in a Pennsylvania town,
while repairing a natural gas main, re
marked that he had been thrown out of
work.
What a Moslem Relieves.
Every Moslem, says Taylor in his
“Leaves From an Egyptian Note Book,”
believes devoutly in a personal God, in
an overruling Providence, in the mission
and miracles of Christ, whom they desig
nate as the Messiah, in the duty of
prayer, iu the immortality of the soul,
in a future state of rewards and punish
ments, and in the inspiration of the Bi
ble. An educated Moslem, if asked why
he does not become a Christian, may not
improbably reply that, according to his
own interpretation of the New Testa
ment, he is one already. Thus, in a let
ter lately received from one of my
friends, he styles himself “a Moslem and
a Christian at the same time.” Though
a most pious and sincere Mohammedan,
he claims to be one of those “who pro
fess and call themselves Christians,” for
whom we pray every Sunday that they
may be led into the way of truth. They
hold that Islam was the latest revelation,
perfecting the Christian revelation, just
as Christianity supplemented the revela
tion given to the Jews. Mohammed
may be considered as a reformer of
Christianity; like Luther he denounced
certain superstitions that had grown up.
The Koran says that God gave the Gos
pel to Jesus to proclaim, and that He
put kindness and compassion into the
hearts of those that followed Him; but
“as for the monastic life, they invented
It themselves.” “In the time of Mo
hammed,” says one of my friends,
“Christianity had become corrupt, as
many of your own writers admit, and it
was these corruptions that it was Mo
hammed’s mission to reform. We reject
the corruptions of Christianity. But we
claim to have a final revelation, predict
ed by your own prophets, just as the
coming of the Messiah was foretold to
the Jews, who nevertheless blindly re
jected Him as you reject Mohammed.”
|can aay
' -of
| to Snn-
on the
many
thought
' us on the
Eiose words
I know many children ej
that, and they know and if
each word. Every child j
day school knows that
cross to save sinners; bi
there are who have never j
very much of what He suffer
cross. They have often heard
read, “He was wounded for our transgres
sions.” but they have never taken It to them
selves an 1 said. “He was wounded for my
transgressions.” “Jesus died for me.” It is
my most earnest prayer that every child
who reads this paper may understand why
it was that Jesus had to suffer on the cross
for us that we might be > aved. ,
Some time ago I was in the cemetery at
Nashv lie, Tenn., and I called to mind t he
touching story of a stranger who was seen
there pi nting a flower over a soldier’s
grave. When asked, “Was your son buried
t here?” “No,” was the answer; “Your son-
in-law?” “No!” “A brother?” “NoP’ “A
relation?” “NoP’ After a moment the
stranger laid down a small board which he
held in his hand, and said, “We 1; I will tell
you. When the war broke out I was a farm
er in Illinois. I wanted to enlist, but I was
poor. I had a wife and seven children. I
was drafted; I had m m >ney to hire a sub
stitute, and so I made up my mind that I
must leave my poor sickly wife and little
children and go and fight the enemy. After •
I was all ready to go a young man whom I
knew came to me aud said, ‘You have a
large family, which your wife cannot take
care of—I will go for you.’ He d d go in my
place, and in the oattle of Ci ickamauga he was
wounded, and taken to Nashville hospital;
but after a long sickt.ess he died, and was
buried here. Ever since I wanted to come
to Nashville and see his grave, and so I saved
up all the money I could, and yesterday I
came on, and today found my dear friend’s
grave.”
With tears of gratitude running down his
cheeks he took up the small board and
pressed it down into the ground in the place
of a tombstone. Under the saldier’s name
was written only these words: He died for
me.
No wonder the tears were running down
that farmer’s cheeks. He well knew that
soldier bad saved his life. Gladly, therefore,
he spent his time and hard-earned means to
do w hat little he could to express his love and
gratitude.
If you bad stood by the side of that grave
and heard him say, “There is the grave of a
man who went in my place, and died for me;
but I don’t care; I didn’t ask him to go. Ho
might have staid at home, if he had a mind
to, what would you have thought of him? I
think I hear you *ay, “A mai: that would
talk in that way ought to be shot.” I say so,
too. But did you knew that the dear, loving
Jesus has died a more dreadful death for
you, and yet, if you are not a Christian, you
ilo not love him for it. You have never
thanked him for dying for ' ou. You have
never shed any teal's as you have thought of
His great love for you.—E. P. Hammond.
European Postofflces.
In mere numbers Germany heads the
European countries in the number of
post offices with 18,638, the United
Kingdom coming second with 17,587.
England ha% however, in addition to
the above number of post offices, 19,163
other receptacles in which letters can be
posted, consisting of wall and pillar
boxes, etc., which make its postal fa
cilities, on the whole, superior to those
in Germany. If the number of post
offices is considered in proportion to the
population, then Norway and Sweden
come first, with 480 to every million of
inhabitants. If Norway be considered
separately from Sweden, it stands still
more to the front, having 1217 post
offices, or 680 to every million Inhabi
tants. Russia comes last, with only
fifty-five to every million of population.
It is better to be nobly remembered than
nobly born.—Ruskin.
It is a great shame to a man to have a
poor heart and a rich purse.—Chaucer.
They must keep close to the thron ;of Grace
who would win the throne of glory.—Trial.
A man that can not mind his own business
is not to be trus’ed with the king's.—Saville.
Nothing is too sacred to be profaned when
men are under the influence of wine.—
Barnes.
The finest epitaph ever carved on a stone
was a little girl’s: “Her companion said. ‘It
was easier to be good when she was with
us.’ ”
Baron Liebig, the German chemist, says
that “as much flour as can lie on the point of;
a table-knife contains as much nutritive con- ’
stituents as eight quarts of the best and most
nutritious beer that is mado.”
i Frances E. Willard mys: “Theiiodern de-
lenda est Carthago is ‘The saloon, the saloon,
the saloon must go.’ Our loyal temperance
legion marches to this time and tune.
The Rorisl Templars, of Preston, Out.,
have united with the W. C. T. U. ta erecting
a temperance halL