The Manning times. (Manning, Clarendon County, S.C.) 1884-current, November 02, 1887, Image 3
ALVAN CLAER.
The Interesting Story of a Busy Life,
The city of Cambridge, Mass., has
lost her most widely known and time
honored citizen. At the ripe age of
four score years and three, Mr. Alvan
Clark, the world-renowned telescope
maker and astronomer, has joined the
hosts of illustrious men who have
passed through death into life im
mortal. He was one of the most
famous men that this century has pro
duced, yet, withal, one of the most
modest and unassuming of gentlemen.
When in company with a friend, a few
weeks prior to his death, the conversa
tion turned on his own great age and
the short time that must elapse ere he
should go to his final rest, and he recited
with a simplicity that was touching
and impressive those beautiful lines
ALVAS cLA.
from Bryant's "Thanatopsis," which
have been an inspiration to many since
they were -penned by their noble
author. "Who could constantly study
the works of the Creator as I have
without trusting him?" he said. There
is something grand in the life of such
a man. and his name will live for cen
turies in the list of those who have
risen from the ranks to be our nation's
noblemen.
Mr. Clark was a typical gentleman
of the old school. It was once my
privilege to enjoy his hospitality
and to visit his manufactory in
his company. A more entertaining
host could not have been found. His
style of conversation was somewhat
quaint and desultory, a fact which
added to its interest, .and he seemed to
take pleasure in telling to me the story
of his unrivaled success as a lens
maker.
In a jocular tone he asked: "Would
you think I was over eighty years old?
I will be -eighty-three on the 6th of
next March," he said. "I hold my own
pretty well, though I don't expect it
will be for long now. Eighty-four and
a half is the average at which men die
after having reached my time of life.
Very few of my old associates are left.
I retain full possession of all my facul
ties, and with my eyesight in particu
lar I have been very fortunate. I have
exposed myself night after night, dur
ing the past forty-five years, to the cold
and rain while making astronomical
observations, and it is a great wonder
that it has not wrought a detrimental
effect on my system.
"I was born and brought up in Mas
sachusetts-born in Ashfield March 6,
180f. I served nine years at engraving
and calico printing-first in Lowell.
then Providence, New York, and three
years under IRobinson at Fall River.
Thence I came to Boston and made a
modest livelihood for about twenty
years by pursuing the self-taught art
of portrait and miniature painting, be
jnanLU& mny oLnawaL2 nn6U 2L ?2 t one o .n =*
of small telescopes. Here is a miniature
portrait of old Dr. Bemis which I
painted almost fifty years ago. It haa
just been sent back to me. That picture
you see there is of a man who was once
the sheriff of Boston, a man widely
known in those days.
"But you want to know how I came
to be a manufacturer of lenses. Well,
LIcK TELEscOPE AT MT. HAMILToN%, cAL.
it was, I suppose, my taste for astron
omy. While my son was at Phillips
Academy, in Andover, he made all the
castings of a telescope without consult
ing me first. In taking hold to teach
him I became interested myself, and
finally devoted my whole attention to
it. Having been led by accident to at
tempt the grinding of lenses, Iproduced
some objectives equal in quality to any
previously made.
"You can, of course, recollect old
Dr-. Bigelow, your family doctor. On
his return from a visit to Europe I met
him, and during our conversation,
knowing he was somewhat interested
in astronomy, I asked him if he called
on Merz & Mahler, at Munmch, while
he was away; also, I said I had been
making some telescopes. 'Ah,' said
he, 'if you wish to know anything
about telescopes you must go where
they are made.' About forty years
later, when he was President of the
American Academy of -Sciences, he
was present at the time I had the
honor of receiving the Rumford medal.
I recalled the conversation, and said
to him: 'If you wish to know any
thing about telescopes come and see
me at Cambridge.' We enjoyed a
hearty laugh over the reminiscence.
Both of my sons and myself are mem
bers of the American Academy of
Sciencees, an~d my eldest son is a mem
ber of the Rumford Committee. I am
also a member of the Philosophical
Society, and have the degree of M1. A.
from four different colleges-Chicago,
Amherst, Princeton, and Harvard.
"While testing telescope lenses, I
made the discovery of some ditlicult
double stars. My son Alvan, while we
-were completing an eighteen-inch glass
for the Chicago Observatory, turned
his glass on Sirius, the dog star. 'Why,
tather,' he exclaimed, 'the star has a
companion.' I looked, and there was a
faint companion due east from the
bright star, and distant about ten sec
onds. This was the predicted direc
tion for that time, although he knew
nothing of it. As news of the discov
ery spread, all the great telescopes
were turned upon Sirius, and it was
found that many telescopes would show
it, now that the observers knew where!
to look. For this discovery my son
was awarded the Lalande medal by
Professor Chancenac, of the French,
Academy of Science. While trying a
glass on Hercules, which is a double
star, I found that its companion was
double also. In one year alone I discov
ered eight new double stars, and with
*telescopes of my own construction.
B3ev. W. B. Dawes, one of the leading
member of the Royal Astronomical
Society. purchased an object glass of
me and found it so efficient and perfect
in definition that he finally ordered a
whole telescope. Soon after this my
glasses began to be appreciated in my
own country. In 1860 I received an
order from the University of Missis
sippi, of which Dr. F. A. Barnard was
then President, for a refractor of
eighteen inches aperture, which was
three inches greater than the largest
telescope that had then been made.
While it was in progress the civil war
broke out, and prevented the party
originally ordering the instrument
from taking it; but it was shortly after
ward sold to the Astronomical Society
of Chicago for :20,000 and mounted it
1863.
"After we had proved that efficient
instruments could be made of mor
TELESCOPE AT WASHINGTON.
than two feet aperture the attention of
Congress was called to the deficiency
of the National Observatory. It had
nothing better than an ancient Munich
refractor of nine and a half inches. In
1870 a bill was passed by Congress
authorizing the Superintendent to con
tract for a telescope of the largest size
of American manufacture. The aper
ture agreed upon was twenty-six inches,
and the contract was given us, 8s we
are solitaire in our line in this country.
It proved extremely difficult to obtain
rough glass even of this size, and it was
over a year before we were ab!e to get
rough disks completed of the required
size. We import our glass froir
Paris. The glass arrived in December,
1671; the polishing was completed in
October, 1,72; the whole instrument
in a year more, and was finally mounted
and ready for observation in Novem
ber, 1873. We were paid forty-six
thousand dollars in gold for it, and
gold was then at a premium. In im
porting rough lenses we were obliged
to pay thirty per cent. duty because the
edges of the glass used to be ground
smooth and polished, so that the maker
could inspect them to see if there were
any defects before they were shipped.
Now I order them ground off rough
again, which allows them to be passed
under the head of raw material, es +hey
should be either way."
"Have you shipped many out of the
country?'
"Quite a few."
"Any large ones?"
"The one we made for the Russian
Government was the largest refractor
at that time in the world. It is thirty
"How did you come by the contract ?
I inquired.
"Mr. Otto Struve, the great Russian
astronomer, received permission irom
the Czar to contract for a telescope
which would be more powerful than
any which had been made up to that
time. After traveling over his own
Icountry and Europe, and not finding
anything which appeared to suit him,
Ihe came to America. He might pos
sibly have seen some telescope of our
manufacture in Europe. He visited
the Naval Observatory at Washington
and then came to see us. Before he
went away he contracted for an instru
ment to cJost 8.32,000. I asked him if
he required bonds of us for the fulfill
ment of the contract. He laughed at
the idea and gave me a check for
812,000 as a guarantee that he meanit
business himself."
"Do you ever make any small-sized
instruments?"
"What we call small size. Yes. For
schools and colleges of lesser note.
We made one for the Madison College,
Wisconsin. One day a man came intc
the workshon and asked. to be sho~wn
some good telescopes, saying that the
LOOKING FOF. FLAWS.
people 'out his way ' seemed anxious
to have a good telescope. Theirs was
too small, and, as he was coming in
'this way,'he thought he would lcok the
matter up for them. Hec ta'hed bus.
ness for pretty good-sized figures, and
iinally ordered an instrument at a good
round price, in fact, expensive. Not
knowing-who he was, I asked him his
name. He said: 'O-well--h'mphi!
Excuse me, my name is Washburn. If
you would like to know a little more
about me. I have been Governor of the
State.'"
Mr. Clark then invited me to enter
his house, and exhibited some fine oil
portraits of Henry Clay and other emi
'ent men and prominent statesmen of
a gcneration or so ago, all of which
were eeuted by himself..
Mr. Clark was also the inv-entor of a
micrometer that has proved to be of
almost inealculable value to astrono
n' ers, as through its use any distance
can be measured with acc :rac-y up to
one degree. Although e:ghty-three
years of age. Mr. Clark performed
manual labor and took actifre interest
in his basiness up to the date of his
death, and worked with eq{ual zest to
that of his sons. He was a self-made,
representative, progressive man of this
century, whose genius at invention
placed him alone and unrivaled in his
specialty, a specialty without which
much that is now known of the once
mysterious blank that surrounds the
universe never could have been brought
to light. His life-work can never be
overestimated, and no appreciative
praise of his endeavor-s can be too great
in honor of his memory. -Burt Ar nold,
in Keokuk Democrat.
'THE inventor of the saw is said by
the old Greek writers to have been
Talus or Perdox, and the invention is
said to have been suggested to him
while using the jawbone of a snake to
cut through a piece of wood. His
master, jealous of the honor won by
Talus, caused him to be privately put
UPRIGHTNESS.
DR. TALMAGE'S SUNDAY SERMON.
The Christian Should Be as Straight,
Morally, as a Plumb Line.
I'EXT: "And the Lord said untome.Amos
what seest thou? and I said, a plumb line.
-Amos vii.. S.
The solid masonry of the world has to me a
fascination. Walk about some of the trium
phial arches and the cathedrals, 400 or 600
years old, and see them stand for centuries,
as erect as when they were builded, walls of
great height not bending a quarter of an
inch this way or that. So greatly honored
were the masons who builded these walls that
they were free from taxation and called"free"
masons. The trowel gets most of the credit.
for these buildings, and its clear ringing on .
stone and brick has sounded across the ages.
But there is another implement of just as
much importance as the trowel, and my text
recognizes it. Bricklayers, and stone masons,
and carpenters, in the building of walls, use I
an instrument made of a cord, at the end of
which a lump of lead is fastened. They drop
it over the side of the wall, and as the plum
met naturally seeks the centre of gravity
in the earth, the workman discovers
where the wall recedes, and where
it bulges out, and just what is the perpendicu
lar. bur text represents God as standing on
the wall of character, which the Israelites
had built, and in that way measuring it.
"And the Lord said unto me, Amos, what
seest thou? and I said, A plumb line."
What the world wants is a straight up and
down religion. Much of the so-called piety
of the day bends this way and that, to suit
the times. It is horizontal with a low state
of sentiment and morals. We have all been
building a wall of character, and it is glar
ingly imperfect and needs reconstruction.
How shall it be brought into the perpendicu
lar? Only by the divine measurement. "And
the Lord said unto me, Amos, what seest
thou? and I said, A plumb line."
The whole tendency of the times is to make,
us act by the standard of what others do.
If they play cards, we play cards. If they
dance, we dance. If they read certain styles
of books, we read them. We throw over the
wall of our character the tangled plumb-line
of other lives and reject the infallib'e test
which Amos saw. The question forme should
not be what you think is right, but what God
thinks is right. This perpetual reference to the ,
behavior of others, asthough it decided any
thing but human fallibility, is a mistake as
wide ns the world. There are 10,000 plumb
lines in use, but only one is true and exact,
and that is the line of God's eternal right.
There is a mighty attempt being made to re
construct and fix up the len Commandments.
To many they seem too rigid. The tower of
Pisa leans over about thirteen feet from the
perpendicular, and people go thousands of
miles to see its graceful inclination, and by
extra braces and various architectural con
trivances it is kept leaning from century to
century. Why not have the ten granite
blocks of Sinai set a little aslant? Why not
have the pillar of truth a leaning tower?
Why is not an ellipse as goo-l as a square I
Why is not an oblique as good as straight up
an-l down? My friends, we must have a
stand ird; shall it be God's or man's?
The divine plumb-line needs to be thrown
over all merchandise. Thousands of years
ago Sclomon discovered the tendency of buy
ers to depre. iate goods. He saw aman beat
ing down an article lower and lower, and say
ing it was not worth the price asked, and
when he h id purchased at the lowest point he
told everybody what a sharp bargain he had
struck, and how he had outwitted the mer
chant. Proverbs xx, 14: "It is naught, it is
naught, saith the buyer, but when he is gone
his way then he boasteth." So utterly askew
is society in this manner that you seldom find
a seller asking the price that he expects to
get. He puts on a higher value than he pro
ses to receive, knowing that he will have
to drop. If he wants fifty he asks seventy
five. And if he wants 2,000 he asks 2,500. "It
is naught," saith the buyer. "The fabric is
defective the style of goods is poor: I can get
elsewhere a better article at a smaller price;
it is out of fashion; it is damaged;it will fade;
it will not wear well." After a while the
merchant, from over-persuasion or from de
sire to dispose of that particular stock of
e--- --- "All. to it at :ur own
price," and the purchaser goes home with
light step and calls into his private offie his
confidential friends, and chuckles while he
tellshow that for half price he got the goods.
In other words, he lies and is proud of it.
Nothing would make times as good, and the
earning of a livlihood so easy, as the univer
sal adoption of the law of right. Suspicion
strikes through all bargain making. Men
who sell know not whether they will ever
get the money. Purchasers know not
whether the goods shipped will be in accord
ing to the sample. and what, with the large
number of clerks who are making false entries
and then absconding to Canada, and the ex
plosion of firms that fail for millions of dol
lars,, honest men are at their wits' end to
make a living. He who stands up amid all
the pressure and does right is accomplishing
something toward the establishment of a high
commercial prosperity. I have deep sym
atyfrtelaboring classes who toil with
randanfooet. But we must nut forget the
business men who, without any complaint or
bannered processions through the street, are
enduring a stress of circumstances terrific.
The fortunate people of to-day are those who
are receiving daily wages or regular salaries.
And the men most to be pitied are those who
conduct a business while prices are falling,
and yet try to pay their clerks and employes,
an-1 are in such fearful straits that they
would quit business to-morrow if it were not
for the wreck and ruin of others. 'When
people tell me at what a ruinously low price
they purchased an article it gives me more
Idismay than satisfaction. I know it means
the bankruptcy and defalcation of men in
nmnny departments. The men who toil with
the train need full as much sympathy as
those who toil with the hands. All business
life is struck through with suspicion, and
panios are only the result of want of confi
dence.
Th rsueto do wogis allthestronger
fothfat that in our dy the large busi
ness houses are swallowing up the smaller,
the whales dining on bluefish and minnows.
The larre houses undersell the small ones be
cause they can afford it. They can afford to
make nothing, or actually lose, on some styles
of goods. assured they can make it up on
others. So a great dry goods house goes out
side of its regular line and sells books at cost,
or less than cost, and that swamps the book
sellers: or thedry goods housesells bric-a-brac
at lowest figures, that swamps the small
dealer in bric-a-brac. And the same thine
goes on in other styles of merchandise, ana
the consequence is that all along the
business streets of all our cities there
are merchauts of small capital who are
in terrific struggle to keep their heads
above water. The Cunarders run down
the Newfoundland fishing smacks. This is
nothing against the man who has the big
store, for every man has as large a store and
as great a business as he can manage. To
feel right and do right under all this pressure
requires martyr grace, requires divine sup
port, requires celestial reinforcement. Yet
there are tens of thousands of such men
getting splendidly through. They see others
gomng up and themselves going down, but
they keep their patience and their courage.
and their Christian consistency, and after a
while their turn of suc'ce-s will ('ome(. Theu
owneirs of the* big husiness will dil- andl their
I :oys will get powNssion of the l:usiess, and
with a cigar in the mouth, and full to the
"hin with the best liquor, ann behind a pair
of spanking bays they w'.ill pass everything
on the turikeh~ road to temnporal and eternal
perdition. TIhen the business will break up.
and the smalle r dealers will have fair oppoxr
tunity'. Or the spirit of contentment ami
ri'i:ht feeling ilnl t'ake possession of the
hrge* lirni.a recently in the canse of
A. A. Low~ & C~o. and the firm w'ill
say: "We hav e enoughr money for all our
nedsand the needs of our children; now, let
us dissolve business~ and make wvar for other
men in the 'samne lin." Instead~ of being
star tied at a solitary instance of magnanimu
ity, as in thie ease .iust mentioned, it ih be
conme a common thini". I know of scores of
gre'at business houses that have had their o;>
portunity of vast accumulation, and who
ought to quit. But perhaps, for all the days'
of this generation the struggle of small houses
to keep aim" e under the overshadowing pres
sur of g1reat houses will continue: therefore.
taking things as they are, vou will be wise to
preserve your equilibrium, and your honesty.
and your faith, and throw over all the coun
ters, and shelves, and barrels and hogsheads,
and cotton hales, and rice casks, the imeasur
ing line of divine right. "And the Lord said
unto me, Amos, what seest thoui andI
said, A plumb line."
In the same way we need to measure our
theologies. All sorts of religions are putting
forth their pretensions. Some have a spirit
ualistic religion and their cgief work is with
ghosts, and others a-rgligionf f political econ-'
ery by a new style of taxation, and there is a
humanitarian religion that looks after the
body of men and lets the soul look after itself,
and there is a legislative religion that pro
to rectify all wrongs by enactment of
tter laws, and there is an aesthetic religion
that by rules of exquisite taste would lift the
heart out of its deformities, and religions of
all sorts, religions by the pe.k, religions
by the square foot, and religions by
the ton-all of them devices of the devil that
would take the heart away from the only re
ligion that will ever effect anything for the
human race, and that is the straight up and
down religion written in the book which be
gins with Genesis and ends with !Revelation,
the religion of the skies, the old religion, the
God-given religion, the everlasting religion,
which says: "Love God above all and your
neighbor as yourself." All religions but this
one begin at the wrong end and in the wrong
place. The Bibie religion demands that
we first get right with Go:. It be
gins at the top and measures down, while
the other religions begin at the bottom and
try to measure up. They stand at the foot
of the wall up to their knees in the mud of
human theory and speculation, and have a
plummet and a string tied fast to it. And
they throw the plummet this way and break
a head there, and they throw plummet an
other way and break a head there, and
then they throw it up, and it comes down
upon their own pate. Fools! Why will
you stand at the foot of the wall measur
ing up when you ought to stand at
the top measuring down? A few days ago
I was in the country, thirsty after a
long walk. And I came in, and my
child was blowing soap bubbles, and
they rolled out of the cup, blue, and gold.
and green, and sparkling, and beautiful, and
orbicular, and in so small a space I neversaw
more splendor concentrated. But she blew
once too often and all the glory vanished into
suds. Then 1 turned and took a glass of
plain water and was refreshed. And so far
as soul thirst is concerned, I put against all
the glowing, glittering soap bubbles of
worldly reform and human speculation one
draught frm the fountain from under the
throne of God. clear as crystal. Glory to
God for the religion that drops from above,
not coming up from beneath! "And the Lord
said unto me, Amos, what seest thou? and I
said, A plumb-line."
I want you to notice this fact, that when a
man gives up the straight up and down re
ligion in the Bible for any new fangled relig
ion, it is generally to suit his sins. You first
hear of his change of religion, and then you
hear of some swindle he has practiced in Col
orado mining stock, telling some one if he will
t in $10,000 he can take out $10,00, or he
as sacrifced his chastity, or plunged into ir
remediable worldliness. His sins are so broad
he has to broaden his religion,and he bezomes
as broad as temptation, as broad as the
soul's darkness, as broad as hell. They
want a religion that will allow them to keep
their sins, and then at death say to them:
"Well done, good and faithful servant," and
tells them: "Allis well, for there is no hell.'
What a glorious heaven they hold before us!
Come, let us in and see it. There is Herod
and all the babes he massacred. There is
Charles Guiteau, and Jim Fisk, and Robes
pierre. the friend of the French guillotine,
and all the liars, thieves, house burners, gar
roters. pickpockets and libertines of all the
centuries. They have all got crowns, an.i
thrones, and harps, and scepters, and when
they chant they sing: "Thanksgiving, and
honor, and glory, and power to the broad re
ligion that let us all into heaven without re
pentance and faith in those disgraceful dog
mas of ecclesiastical old fogyism.
My text gives me a grand opportunity of
saying a useful word to all young men who
are now forming habits for a lifetime. Of
what use to a stonemason or a bricklayer is a
plumb line? Why not build the wall by the
unaided eye and hand? Because they are in
sufficient, because if there be a deflection in
the wall it cannot further on be corrected.
Because by the law of gravitation' a wall
Must be straight in order to be symmetrical
and safe. A young man is in danger of
getting a defect in his wall of character that
may never be corrected. One of the best
friends 1 ever had died of delirium tremens
at 60 years of age. though he had not since
21 years of age-before which he had been
dissipated-touched intoxicating liquor until
that particular carousal that took him off.
Not feeling well in a street on a hot summer
day he stepped into a drug store, just as you
and I would have done, and asked for a dose
of something to make him feel better. And
there was alcohol in the dose, and
that one drop aroused the old appe
tite, and he entered the first liqor store. and
stayed there unti thoroughy under the
power of rum. He entered hi ome a raving
maniac, his wife and daughters fleeing from
his presence, until he was taken to the city
hpiatodie. The combustible material of
earhabit had lain qniet nearly forty years,
and tat one spark ignited the confiagatton.
Remember that the wail may be one hundred
feet high, and yet a deflection one foot
from the foundation affects the entire stiruct
ure. And if you live 100 years, and do right
the last eighty years, you may, nevertheless,
do something at twenty years of age that will
am age all your earthly existence. All you
who have built houses for youselves or for
others, am I not right in saying to these
young men, _you cannot build a wall so high
as to be independent of the character
of its foundations? A man before thirty years
of aemay commit enough sin to last him a
lifetime. A cat that has killed one pigeon
cannot be cured. Keep it from killing the
first pigeon. NTow, John, or George, or
Charles, or Willicm, or Alexander, or An
drew, or Htenry, or whatever be your Chris
tian name or surnam.-, say here and now:
"No wild oats for me, no cigars or cigarettes
for me. no wine or beer for me, no nasty
stories for me. no Sunday sprees for me. I
an going to start right and keep on right.
God help me, for I am very weak. From the
throne of eternal righteousness let down to
me the princioles by which I can be guided
in building everything from foundation to
castone. Lord Go.!. by the wvounided hand
of Christ, -hrowv me a phurnb l ne!
Lord Nelson's general directioni when go ng
into naval battle was, no mn cani do wron
th~t places his ship close alongside that of the
Ienemy. My frieind, you wvill ne' er do wrong
if you will 'keep your life close a'o1gsid~e the
T~n Commandments. Do right, and y ~ou can
be as brave as Maria Theresa, who rode up
the Hill Defiance. and s.hook her swo: d at the
four corniers of the earth.
"But." you .say,. "vou shut us young folks
out from all fun."~ Uh. no: I like fun. I be
lieve in fun. I have had lots of it in my
time. But I have not had to go into paths of
sin to find it. No credit to me, but because
of an extraordiary parental example
and influence I was kept from outward
tragressions, though my heart was bad
enough and desperately wicked. I have had
fun illiitilble, thouzh I never swore one
oath, andl never gambled for so much as the
value of a in, and never saw the inside of a
haunt of sin save as when, ten years ago,
wth commissioner of police and a detective
and two elders of my church, I explored these
cities by midnight, not out of curiosity, but
that I might in pulpit discourst set before
the people the poverty a?nd the horrors of un
derground city life. .Ylet though I never was
intoxicated for an instant, and never com
mitted one act of dissoluteness, restrained
only by the grace of God, without which re
straint I would have gone headlong to the
bottom of infamy, I have had so much fun
that I don't believe there is a i. an
on the planet in the present time
who has had more. Hoar it, men and
bys, women and girls, all the fun is on the
side of right. Sin may seem attractive, but
it is deathful, and like the manchineel, a tree
whose dews are poisonous. The only genuine
happiness is in an honest Christian life. The
Chippewa, wanting to see God, blackens his
face with charcoal and fatis till he has a
vision of what he cails God. Mr God I can
see best when I take my hat oif and let the
sunshine blaze in mv face, an-l after a rea
sonable breakfast. lIe is not a God of black
ness and, starvation, but of light and plenti
tud, and the glory of the noondany sua is
Egyptian midnight compared to it. There
they go-two brothers. 'lhe one was convert
ed a year ago in chuirch,one Sunday morning,
during prayer3, or sermon, or hymn. No one
kne w it at the tim". The persons on either
side of him suspected nothing, but in that
young man's soul this process went on:
"Lord, here I am, a young man amid the
teiptations of city life, and I am afraid to
risk them alone; come and be my pardon and
my help; save me from making the mistake
that some of my comrades are making, and
save me now." And quicker than a flash God
rolled heaven into his soul. He is just as
jolly as he used to be,is just as brilliant as he
used to be. He can strike a ball or catch one
as easily as before he was converted. With
gun or fishing rod in this summer vacation
he was just as skillful as before. The world
is brighter to him than ever. He appre
ciates pictures, music, innocent hilarity, so
cial lie, good jokes, and has plenty of fun,
first-class fun, glorious fun. But his brother
is going down bill. In the m.orning his head
aches from the champagne debauch. Every
body sees he sis in rap.d descent. What cares
he fo'eght, or decency, or the honor of his
fanily nae? Tuxrned out of employment,
4n+e~pe in heath, mas Anwn in spirita the
typhoid fever strikes him in the smallest
room on the fourth story of a fifth rate
boarding house, cursing God, and calling for I
his mother, and fighting back demons from b
his dying pillow, which is besweated and p
torn to rags, he plunges out of the world,
with the shriek of a destroyed spirit. Alas
for that kind of fun! It is remorse. It is de
spair. It is blackness of blackness. It is woe 1"
unending and long reverberating, and crush- o
ing as though all the mountains of all t
continents roll on h:m in one avalanche.
My soul, stand back from such fun.
Young man, there is no fun in sip
wrecking your character, no fun in dis- u
g your father's name. There is no c.
fun in breaking your mother's heart. There is i
no fun in the physical pangs of the dissolute.
There is no fun in the profligate's death-bed. a
There is no fun in an undone eternity.
Paracelsus, out of the ashes of a burnt rose, is
said he could recreate the rose, but he failed: n
in the alchemic undertaking, and roseate life c
once burned down in sin can never a gain be
made to blossom.
Oh, this plumbline of the everlasting right!;
God will throw it over all our lives to show f
us our moral deflections. God will throw it t
over all churches to show whether they are
doing useful work or are standing instances
of idleness and pretense. He will throw that
plumb line over all nations to demonstrate
whether their lives are just or cruel, their
rulers good or bad, their ambitions holy or'
infamous. He threw that plumb line over 0
the Spanish monarchy of other days, and
what became of her? Ask the splintered
hulks of hr overthrown armada. He threw
that plumb line over French imperialism. t,
and what was the result? Ask the ruins of n
her Tuileries, and the fallen column of the V
Place Vendome. and the grave trenches of D
Sedan, and the blood of revolutions of differ e
ant times rolling through the Champs Elysees.
He threw that plumb-line over ancient
Rome, and what became of the realm of the t
Casars? Ask her war eagles, with beak
dulled and wings broken, flung helpless into
the Tiber. He threw it over the Assyrian t
Empire of a thousand years, the thrones
of Semiramis, and Sardanapalus, and u
Shalmaneser, of twenty-seven victorious ex
peditions, the cities of Phoenicia kneeling to
the scepter. and all the world blanched in the
presence. What became of all the grandeur?
Ask the fallen palaces of Khorsabad and the
corpses of her 185,00 soldiery slain by the
angelof the Lordin onenight,and the Assyrian
sculptures of the world's museums, all that
now remains of that splendor before which i
nations staggered and crouched. God is now
throwing that plumb line over this American
republic, and it is a solemn time with this
nation, and whether we keep His Sabbaths or
dishonor them, whether righteousness or m- 1
iquity dominate, whether we are Christian
or infidel, whether we fulfill our mission or
refuse it, whether we are for God or against
him, will decide whether we shall as a na
tion go on in higher and higher career or go
down in the same grave where Babylon, and
Nineveh, and Thebes, and Assyria are
sepulchered.
"But," say you, "if there be nothing but a
plumb line what can any of is do, for there
is an old proverb which truthfully declares:
'If the best man's faults were written on his
forehead it would make him pull his hat over
his eyes.' What shall we do when, according
to Isaiah, God shall lay judgment to the line
and righteousness to the plummet ? Ah,
here is where the Gospel comes in with a
Saviour's righteousness to make up for our
deficits. And while I see haning on the
wall a plumb line, I se also hanging there a
cross. And while the one condemns us the
other saves us, if only we will hold to it.
And here and now you may be set free with
a more glorious liberty than Hampden,
or Sidney. or Kosciusko ever fought for.
Not out yonder, nor down there, nor up here,
but just where you are you may get it. The
invalid proprietress of a wealthy estate in
Scotland visited the continent of Europe to'
get rid of her maladies, and she went to
Baden-Baden and tried thos3 waters, and
went to Carlsbad and tre I those waters, and
went to Homburg anl triel those watersand
instead of gettin, better she got worse, and;
in despair she said to a physican: "What
shall f do?" His reply was: "Medicime can
do nothing for you. You have one chance
in the waters of Pit Keathly Scot
land." "Is it possible?" she replied. "Why,
those waters are on my ownestatel" She re
turned, and drank of the fountain, and in a
few months completely recovered. Oh sick,
and diseased, and sinning, anl dying hearer,
why go trudging all the world over, and
seeking here and there relief for your dis
couraged spirit, when close by, and at your I
very feet, an. at the iloor' of your hieart. aye
within the very estate of your own consciou '
nes. the healing wate'rs of eternal life may
be had?, and hadl this very hour, this very
minute. this very Sabbat! Blessed be God
that over against the plumb line that Amosi
saw is the cross thr:ou-rh the emncipatin: ;
power of which you an.i I ma~y live an I live
forever!
Granulated Eyelide.
"What is granulation of the eyelids:
What are its cause, symptoms, and:
cure ? Is it the cause of morable linee
over the sight?" are questions that are
often asked. There is no connection
between disease and the lines mention
ed. The latter are of little importance.
Most people may see them on looking'
steadily at a white wall or a cloud.
They are supposed to be shadows of
objects within the eye-parts of its
structure-thrown on the retina, and'
thence projected, greatly enlarged, in
to space. They trouble short-sighted
people more than others, but they do:
not indicate disease.
Granulated lids are a form of con
junctivitis, an inflammation of the
mucous membrane which lines the lids
and front of the eyeballs, called the
conjuncti'va.
There are four varieties of conjun"'
tivitis. 'With two of thenm we have, at
present, nothing tou do. The infantile,
which is due to contagion, and may
speedily result in blindness if not
promptly treated; and the diphtheritic,
which occurs mainly in feeble and ill
fed children, and which is a serious dis
ease, but, thus far, it is not known to
have appeared in this country, though
German immigration may at any time
bring it here.
The other two varieties are the simple
and the contagious. The simple is
Igenerally due either to some irritating
substance getting lodged under the lid,
or to exposure to cold. In the first
ease the trouble subsides on the ro
Imoval of the offending cause. In the
second, a simple wash, which should:
be prescribed by a physician, with rest
for the eyes and protection from dast
and sun, will soon remove intamma
By neglect and aggravation from
surroundings it may run into the con
tagious. In the simple form the secre
'tion is only mucous, but if it passes into
the contagious the secretion becomes
Asle agnrlthing, the contagious
form is due to contagion from a similar
case, or from some other foul secretions
in the blood. A single infected child
at school may give it to many of his
mates. Cases of blindness have so re
slted. A towel used in common has
often imparted it. One should never
wipe with another's towel.
The granulations are minute, swollen
protuberances under the lid, sometimes
quite'fine, sometimes large enough to
give the lid a puffed look. They strong
'lv incline to be. ome purulent, and thus
I ontagious. They are most common
among children living in badly venti
lated rooms.
In both simple and contagious 'on
utivitis the main reliance is on
astringent washes, but for the treat
ment of a contagious case the physician
should be promptly called. No one
suffering from it should be allowed to'
attend school-Companionl.
GAs was Er: t evolved from coal by
Dr. Clayton in .7:i9, and first applied
as an II umninating n"ochum by Mr.
Murock, in Cor .waV, in 139L2. Thei
first disp av of gaslight was in Birm-|
ingham, 1ngIandi, in 1602, on the oc- |
Main of the npea reioicinirs.
Treatment of Gapes.
Obtain a wooden box large enough to
:commodate as many chicks as you will
e likely to want to treat at one time,
erforate the bottom and use a window
ght for the top; procure a second box
f the same breadth and length of the
rst so that one will set snugly upon the
ther; place the chicks in the per!ora
fd box and in the other place an iron
r a brick, hot; drop upon this hot
-on a spoonful of carbolic acid and im
tediately place the box containing the
cicks over the fumes of the acid aris
ig from the hot iron. The chicks will
ough and sneeze anal after a while will
ppear much releaved. This treatment
also good for lice. Care and judg
ent are necessary when the chicks be
ome too much affected by the vapors
ed acid. Remove the glass top of the
ox a moment and give then a little
tesh air. Give one treatment a day unA
i a cure is effected-usually about 4 or
days.-W. B. Hinsdale, M. D,, in N.
"Poultry Bullstin."
Fifteen officers of high rank are to be
ried at St. Petersburg, Russia, accused
f being Nihilists.
Good for Hard Workers.
It Is fully claimed and pretty well sustained
cat hard workers can accomplish almost
rice as much and save themselves from ill
ess and loss of time if they take eight cents'
orth per day of the extract of the Moxie
erve Food Plant, now creating so much dis
2ssion. The dealers gay its sale is the largest
rer known. If a nervous woman gets hold of
bottle ihe gets the whole neighborhood to
ilking about it, and a u oman's curiosity has
> be gratified if it costs the price of a bonnet.
A poet sent to an editor a contribution en
tled, 'Why do I liver' The editor answered
Because you sent your contributions by madl
2stead of bringing them,'
"The Blood I. the Life."
Thoroughly cleanse the blood, which is the
ountain of health,by using I)r. Pierce's Golden
Medical Discovery, and good digestion, a fair
kin, buoyant spirits,vital strength,and sound
iess of constitution will be established.
Golden Medical Discovery cures all humors,
rom the common pimple, blotch, or eruption,
:o the worst Scrofula, or blood-poison. Espe
dally has it proven its efficacy in curing Salt
heum or Tetter,Fever-sores,ip-joint Disease,
'crofulous sores and Swellns Enlre
ilands, and Eating Ulcers.
Golden Medical Discovery cures Consume
ion (which is Scrofula of the Lungs), by its
onderful blood-purifying, invigorating and
tutritive properties. For Weak Lungs, Spit
ing of Blood, Shortness of Breath, Bronchitis,
,evere Coughs, Asthma, and kindred affec
ions, it is a sovereign remedy. It promptly
ures the severest Coughs
For Torpid Liver, Biliousness, or "Liver
jomplaint," Dyspepsia, and Indigestion, it is
t unequaled remedy. Sold by druggists.
General Booth, the London Salvation Ar
ny leader, has just put out an appeal for 5,
O0 officers to be trained as missionaries.
Silk and bilious headache, and all deran.
nents of stomach and bowels, cured by .
Eeirce's "Pellets"-or anti-bilious granules. 25
:ents a vial. No cheap boxes to allow waste of
rirtues. By druggists.
A Nashville paper says "the cream of the
>ase ball club should be found in the pitcher,"
iut it is sometimes found in the batter.
0 * * * Delicate diseases of either sex radi
ally cured. Send 10 cents in stamps for book.
Address, World's Dispensary Medical Associa
lion, Buifalo, N. Y.
The most economical man has been heard
rom. He tried to pawn a coat of tar
ad feathers, the gift of his neighbors.
In every community there are a number of
nen whose whole time is not occupied such as
eachers, ministers, farmers' sons, and others.
o these classes especially we would say if you
wish to make several hundred dollars during
the next few months, write at once to B. F.
Johnson & Co., of Richmond, Va., and they
will show you how to do it.
ROYAL GLUE mends anything! Broken Chi
ia, Glass, Wood. Free vials at Drugs. and Gro.
Tired All Over
s the expression a lady used in describing her condi
ion before using Hood's Sarsaparilla. This prepara
Ion is wonderfully adapted for weakened or low
tate of the system. It quickly tones the whole body.
ives purity and vitality to the blood, and clears and
reshens the mind. Take it now If you feel "tired
L over."
" eeling languid and dizzy, haing no appetite
ad no ambition to work, I took Hood's Sarsaparilla,
ith the best results. As a health iavigorator ad
nedicine for general debility I think it superior to
nything else."-A. A. BErs, Albany St., Utica, N.Y.
N. B.-Be sure to get the Peculiar medicine.
Hood's Sarsaparilla
lold by all druggists. $1; six for *5. Prepared only
yy 0. L HOOD a Co., Apothecaries, Lowell, Mass.
100 Doses One Dollar
KIDDER'S
A SURE CURE FOR
INDIGESTION and DYSPEPSIA.
Over 5000 Physicians have sent us their approval of
DIGES'LIN, saying that it Is the best preparation.
for Indigestion that they have ever used.
We have never heard of a case of Dyspepsia where
DIGESTYLIN was taken that was not cured,
FOR CHOLERA INFANTUMs
IT WILL CURE THE MOST AGGORAvATED CAsES,
IT WILL STOP VOMITING IN PREGNANCY.
IT WILL RELIEVE CONSTIPATION.
For summer Complaints and Chronic Diarrhcea,
which are the direct results of im erfect digestion.
DIGESTYLIN will effect an immediate cure.
Take DYGESTYLIN for all pains and disorders of
the stomach ; they all come from indigestion. Ask
our at for DIGESTYLIN (price $1 per large
bottle). I he does not have It send one doular to us
and we will send a bottle to you, express prepaid.
Do not hesItate to send your money. Our house Is
telable. Established twenty-five years.
WM. F. KID DE R & CO..
Manufacturing Chemiet'. 53 John St., N.Y.
, 1foundit a specife for
LYS Hay, Fever. For ten iyears
I have been a great sufferer
ne" from August 9th tilt frost.
,El y's Cream Balm is the only
H A1EV E R preventire I have ever
found. Hay Fever sufferers
sr should knolc of its efficacy.
Frankuf B. Ainsteorth, Pub
lisher, Indianapolis, lnd,
'" uta. Apply Balm into each nostril.
COCKLE'S
ANT I-B L IOUS
PILLS,
THE GRE A TENGLISH REMETY
For Liver. Bile. Indigestion. etc. Free from Mern
en: C NCE T TlITO . ew -ok
D .HAIR '
UR Eflias ab olu~e.y cured tens of thou
Cu sands. The only Asth ma Cure and
-- -....Treatmenut Ianown to the medical
world that will, positively, y rianently cure Asth
ma and Haty I ever. Lnques.tionable evidence
wrill be found In moy .4-page 1 reatise. sent free.
DiR. 15. W. 11411 n~.i W. 4th s . CincinnatI. o.
EAUTY WA ant nppe*at"Totconceu
"Pleae send me another box of your most precious
Dr. Campbell's ArsenIc Complexion wafers: they
are ImprovIng my complexion very muich; many,
many thanksi. Send rltht away." By nail. $1.
Depot. 1 46 west 1;th e -e t. New York. DruggIsts.
AGENTS WANTED ?*n0a~a r he eo*.
SH A 31S: Sample patirzmailed. Sk'. Also Tidies.
i5Iats. Sationery Pkgs., :c, Business 1ight and
iJen eel CLOiWE-S Reedsville, Pa.
L oensggnuine r1e"~ Don'twvssteyottrmonev:
lamped with the a; ove is boltly" t nden
TRAD ..AR- ._Aklori'he''FISH BRAI'
ot haveOt nO.f' -rAsm 5vo.nd for deserintive ca
THRE
Irab~Orchard Wat
"nCRAB nORCEAbD WA-R~ CO. Prop ra.
HAT
AILS
YOU?
Do you feel dull. languid, low-spirited, life.
ess, and indeseribably miserable, both physi
:lly and mentally: experience a sense of
ullness or bloating after eating, or of gone.
~ess," or emptiness of stomach in the morn
ug, tongue coated, bitter or bad taste in
nouth. irregular appetite, dizziness, frequent
7eadaches, blurred eyesight," floating specks"
efore the eyes, nervous prostration or ex
2austion, irritability of temper. hot flushes,
lternating with chilly sensations,
iting, transient pains 'here and there, oold
Feet, drowsiness after meals, wakefulness, or
isturbed and unrefreshing sleep, constant,
ndescribable feeling of dread, or of impend
ag calamity?
have all, or any considerable number
)f tese symptoms, you are suffering from
:hat most common of American maladies
Bilious Dyspepsia. or Torpid Liver, associated
with Dyspepsia. or Indigestion. The more
Complicated your diease has become, the
Treater the number and diversity of symp
"oma. No matter what stag It has reached.
Dr. Pierces Golden Meical Dscovery
will subdue it, if taken according to direc
ions for a reasonable length of time. If not
ured, complications multiply and Consump
ion of the Lungs. Skin Diseases, Heart Disease,
heumatism, Kidney Disease, or other grave
aladies are quite liable to set in and, sooner
)r later, Induce a fatal termination.
Dr. Pierce's Golden Medical Dis
covery acts powerfully upon the Liver, and
:hrough that great blood-purify'ing organ,
Cleanses the system of all blood-taints and im
rrities, from whatever cause arisian. It is
~quall efficaciousinacting upon t e Kid
ieys. and other excretory rang ps, cleansing.
trengthening, and healing their diseases. As
.n appetizing, restorative tonic, it promotes
igestion and nutrition, thereby building up
>oth flesh and strength. In malarial districts,
this wonderful medicine has gained great
elebrity in curing Fever and Ague, Chills and
Fever, Dumb Ague. and kindred diseases.
Dr. Pierce's Golden Medical Dis.
covery
CURES ALL HUMORS,
from a common Blotch, or Eruption, to the
worst Scrofula. Salt-rheum, Fever-sores,
caly or Rough Skin, in short, all diseases
mused by bad blood are conquered by this
powerful, purifying, and invigorating medi
ine. Great Eating Ulcers rapidly heal under
its benign influence. Especially has it mani
ested its potency in curing Tetter. Eczema,
Erysipelas, Boils, Cai jncles. Sore Eyes. Scrof
ots Sores and Swellings, Hip-joint Disease.
"White Swellings," Goitre, or Thick Neck.
nd Enlarged Glands. Send ten cents in
stamps for a large Treatise, with colored
plates, on Skin Diseases, or the same amount
(or a Treatise on Scrofulous Affections.
"FOR THE BLOOD IS THE LIFE."
Thoroughly cleanse it b using Dr. Plere'S
Golden IlIedical Discovery, and good
digestion, a fair skin, buoyant spirits, vital
strength and bodily health will be established.
CONSUMPTION, ?
which is Scrofula of the Lungs, is arrested '
nd cured by this remedy, if taken In the
earlier stages of the disease. From its mar
velous power over this terribly fatal disease,
when first offering this now world-famed rem
edy to the public, Dr. Pierce thought seriously
of calling it his "Co;SUMPoTI Cua," but
abandoned that name as too restrictive for
a medicine which, from its wonderful com
bination of tonic, or strengthening, alterative,
or blood-cleansing, anti-biious, t a d
nutritive properties. is unequaled, not only
as a remedy for Consumption, but for all
Chronic #1seases of the
Liver, Blood, and Lungs.
For Weak Lungs, Spitting of Blood, Short
ness of Breath, Chronic Nasal Catarrh, Bron
chitis, Asthma, Severe Coughs, and kindred
affections, it is an efficient remedy.
Sold by Druggists, at $1.00, or Six Bottle.
for $5.00.
'Send ten cents in stamps for Dr.Plerce'S
book on Consumption. Adrs
World's Dispensary Medical Association,
663 Main St., BUFFALO, N.Y.
P N4 U39
ROU O
" Rb on Itch," Ointment cures SIdn HU
mors flpes, Flesh Worms.
yPoisn Baber's ltchSea d Hen a m
ROUGHUPILES
Cuespie or hemorodIcigp~rd
exenlremedy In each -aksS Sure enrn,
50. Drggt or mail. E.8S.WelS Jersey CitY.
Small Dose. For Sick Headache Billousness
Liver Complaint, ConstipatIOn, -nUBIous.
ROUGHiCATARRH u
lOlHEOOTHACHE jl~.
ROUGHCRNSS&o~. 15G.
DAL NAMMRLESS. |DALY ThREE BARRB.'
MANHATTAN HAMMELS. IPIEPER BREECH L.SDER
Send for Catalogue of Bpecialties.
seMOVERn1xwe. DALY & GALUSa,
sad se cambers Street. New York.
FR AERDAL
E INt Te G enunD Sold Everywhere.
PensionSm.der, He. Snsam
$1000
13 N. 11th 5t.. Philadelphia. Fa. sold by ani Drgstl'
ine not unde the orse'sfeet Wrte
Brevrster Safety Rein Holler Co.. Holly. Nc
HERRAND FIFTH WHE EL A~ g"
Improvemet._ HERBRAND CO., Fremon,
P A TE N T Sinvetr.- Me"L%
nur Paen AtornyWashington, D. C.
= g aGreat English Gout and
PiS illS. anematey..
OL woth 340 proud lb. PetiEelve
~.rthl 1t) bati sol at 2.abx by delrs.
T E iC Au m H Yse**sybe******
urnise.Writ NSe~tn rnoB TVW
ER IshbeBest
"u~xA nD i taeo the I eretrker
c itmt r O E amnSt . Boc*