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? <**2. '-.'ft - V" I ij. :;,w ' ' V . f^__ . ? ^rnr -y E\V YEAR'S la the oldest and the I most widely observed of all the world's festal days. In every country this day has been celebrated J" I from the beginning of civilization. ^ ^ The day does not come slmultane r "iTSfiti ous'y over the globe, for some countries have a different calendar from ^at of America and Europe. All countries, however, aim to have their civil year coincide, in duration, and as far as practicable, with the solar year. The nations which hold their festival In accordance with the Gregorian calendar, comprising the United States. Great Britain, Franco, Germany and most of the other white countries are those which are leaders in civilization. and give tho law to the world. Tn its universality this day difTers from all tho otters which have written their names on the world's calendar. Thanksgiving is a strictly American holiday, which did not extend beyond the boundaries of New England until about a generation ago. Nowhere outside tho United States does tho Fourth of July make any especial demand for observance. It had neither a local habitation nor a name until we furnished them. Xot until after Yorktown nnd the adoption of tho constitution was this aspiration of 1776 transzallted Into fact. By the Puritans Christmas was placed under the ban, and not until a time within tho easy recollection of living men was it permitted to cross the boundaries of New England. Moreover, primarily Christmas is dedicated to the children, and in its observance the older members of the familv are morelv uni-miaim-v in celebrating it the children hold the center of the stage, with the adults uh the properties and accessories which Rive the spectacle its scenic effects. But New Year's dedicates itself to the grown-ups, especially to those who have the capacity and the inclination for physical and social activity. Particularly does It send out its appeal to everybody who has the freshness of spirits and the enthusiasm which give zest to enjoyment of all sorts, who are capable, when occasion demands, of turning bark the hands on time's clock and thus who can, through a child's eyes, look out upon life. Although this Is the oldest of the world's gala days, its especial function is to tell us to look forward and not backward. For the moment the sponge has drawn itself across the desires and the deeds of the year which, a few hours ago, was thrnst back into the shadow. A blank tablet rises before us, on which the coming days will write their story. On the world's calendar this incoming cycle figures as 1914, but for the present hour this arbitrary division may bo disregarded. And while the hour remains with us we are all privileged to set up our own calendar. While tho transition casts its spell upon us everything Is new. We are at the beginning of an era. This is day 1 of year 1 in the new dispensation. The uncertainties and tho adversities of the dead cycle can no longer molest us or make us afraid. Even where fortune has been kind to us in tho recent past. the days which are before us stand ready to hand us choicer prizes. Keeping sunshine in the heart, we can laugh at any tales which tho thermometer or the barometer may tell us. While this days lasts hope is the only deity which claims any allegiance from any of us. All are invited to A NEW YEAR'S THOUGHT. "Thou shalt love the Ix>rd thy God with all thy heart, with all thy soul, and with all thy mind? torn shalt thou serve and to him shalt thou cleave." What, then will be the reward of faithful lovo and service be? Or are we working without the hopo of a reward? Jo bo pure and true, lovo must be disinterested. Granted. Yet, la there not an exquisite joy. a keen Incentive to further service, In the encouragement which God in his Infinite goodness grants to use from time to time, and that in spite of all the Imperfections of our love and service? Why, then, should wo not look forward to our great reward?God's approval? If we truly love him, should we not strive with all our might for his final "Well done?" Surely It is not wrong to look forward to the joy of that assurance, even while we are fully awaro of our * coming short of It, yet, in our best work; for thus we learn to know more, and to think more, of the love which, seeing the Intention, gives us credit tor the effort, though the result may not be, is not, what we had hoped to offer him. With such thoughts the Now Year begins. As ? child tries to please the father ho loves so dearly, as a friend who seeks every opportunity to prove hl? friendship, bo may we loving, thank-ful children of our God, rejolctng In the knowledgo of his love, go on our way, full of trust for the future, neglecting no opportunity, however small It may be, to prove our thankful lore, and asking tolm to kindlo In us an intense desire to pleaso lilm. an ardent longing for his blessed words of commendation, "Well done, thou good and faithful servant!" HER MISTAKE. ""What Is a young man's maiden speech, pa?" ""His first one, my dear." "Dear me! I thought it was a proposal " THE FORT MILL TI DOES milER TIME HOLD IN THE ^ OTHER HAND ? build their air castles without any fear of any dissilluslonment, "for over the sea lies Spain." We can get all the exaltation which came to Abou Hassan when the amiable deception of Har>.jn-al-Raschid was played upon him. without any of the ill effects which we may presume came to him when his dream of power dispelled Itself. The day and the scene invites us to enjoyment, and to contribute to the enjoyment of others. For this ono day, at least, of the year the golden age is no myth. It is hero with us, and we must utilize it while it stays This is the hour when life's wireless telegraphy cycles greetings of good will between all the individuals and all the peoples of of tho earth. To every one of us the world stretches forth the glad hand and salutes us with a "May you live long and prosper." The old prophets conceived the sublime thought that the Creator set the heavenly bodies in their places to mark for man the progress of time. The early leaders of the human race who watched the stars in their courses, and from their movements worked out the division of the days and years, left a blessing behind them for all time to come. For if we are to believe the records of the rocks ami clays the first men who lifted their faces to the skies in profound awe and with germs of thought stirring in their brains had little if any more conception of time and of the moving planets than the brutes that shared with these primitive savages the caves or the huts which wero all the houses they had. It took long ages to learn that the sun is a fixed body as regards our earth, to divide the globe into degrees and the day into 21 hours. The seasons came and went and savage man had no conception of why beyond the sun's declension below his zenith and the return of tho fiery orb to a place high above his head. Then from the crudo superstitions of astrology men of high civilization worked out our year and set the day that, as this we now live, marks the beginning of a new circle of the fmfr seasons. The crudest savage needed no prophet with a message from the skies to teach him that if ho desired to prolong his life ho must work. He was the man of all generations who knew best that "in the sweat of his face" he must "eat bread" if ho ate at all. Stored-up wealth thero was none. Each generation began practically where the last did, with no inheritance to profit by. Nor was there a spark of charity to minister to the needs of age or sickness. The child born with low vitality met its fate early in its career. The man who met with an accident sufficient to incapacitate him for tho chase or for war was left to perish miserably where he fell. When age dimmed the eye or made the hand nerveless tho useless one was not permitted to be a burden on society. As the wounded deer is left, as the aged wolf is abandoned, so was the wounded man or the toothless -woman. Parentage or other relationship counted nothli^. As civilization climbed the path of progress to Vt 1 oV\ nr lnifrvlo ? - ? icfClo iuii uei'biui! more constant, more pressing. The savage has few needs and therefore much leisure. He needs no weekly day* of rest. With Increasing needs to meet man had to bend his hack more Incessantly and to strain muscle, tendon and ligament. Idfe had more enjoyment at the cost of longer hours of toil, that made rest seem very sweet. Then arose the leader of men, the reformer, the teacher, philosopher or prophet who ordained that as thero were times and seasons so there should be days of rest. If we were to run the world around we would find many Sabbaths. The follower of Mohammed takes his rest on Friday, the Het rew on Saturday, the Christian on Sunday. And the man of advanced ideas who gave man his Sabbath was a leader and a benefactor In very deed. The man who stands in the Eseorial in Spain and looks on the sepulchers of kings reaching back 300 years, has a span about as long as tho most ancient history of America. When he goes to Granada ho i9 faco to face with the times of tho Moors, whose Invasion of the peninsula was centuries before Columbus was born. As he looks on somo paved road or seme aqueduct he is carried back to tho Sclpios, to Hannibal, nnd back to his forefathers who moved about here; and so wo go back to Carthage, which was a great city before Rome was founded, and Carthage takes us over tho sea to Asia where Moses' people and some Philistines came into combat. And we go back to Egypt and Its pyramids, to tho Pharaohs and Jacob and his children, and on back to Abraham and the nomad chiefs who fed their flocks in the fat plains of central AHia as long before the Christian era as It Is from the year 1911. In these landH, among those rnces of men, grandfathers unu eni-grunaramers count for little. One meets men whose ancestors took part In the expulsion of the Moors, with others whose ancestors resisted them when they first Invaded Spain, and still others whose forbears were in the armies of the Sciplos or of Hannibal. The mind loves to dwell on tho memory of these far-away days and to dream of the way of life of men and women who died so long ngo, and to whom we owe our being and our civilization. The oldest title lands In tho Pacific states do not go back far. There aro titles in Spain that date back centuries. Castles here are owned by families who come down directly or collaterally for ages. To these a generation is as shor* as a year to us In our brandnew civilization. It Is all impressive, but after dreaming of such things the mind Inevitably reverts to our own generation, to our own time. / -"X-J i- - - IVIES, FORT MILL, SOUTH CAROLINA APTING t WAYS f and the question comes up with spcntanloty, 1 ] "What of nil this to me?" j In a country so new as ours, whore cue's great < grandfather was about the earliest 01. record. , time does not imi?ress us. It seems as if every- , i thing began yesterday. In old lands whoso his- 1 tory goes back centuries upon centuries the piog- < ress of time seems very impressive. ' 1 But say what we will. It is our own life that is j the most impressive, and as the years stretch out behind us the memory of our own youth makes a , deeper Impression on us this New Year's day than ! j all the written history of the world, than all tho , traditions of all the races, than all the records of j | the rocks. The individual souls on days like this 1 naturally divide into two classes. On New Year's day youth looks to the future and ago to the past. To the young all the paths before the feet look rose-strewn and smboth. So be it. Let the eye brighten as it feasts in anticipation on the good things that must lie everywhere to the end. Youth! Youth! The time when there can be "no doubt of any mystery save that life's longings and its hopes could die." Let youth dream on of roses without thorns, of bright days without a cloud, of hopes that always find fulfillment, of ambitions j always fully satisfied. All wo need do for youth is leave it alone with its dreams, its hopes, its am- | bitions. With these It will tnko care of Itself. And let not age. whatever the years may have brought, say a word, shake a head or give a dubious look to dispel the glory of the dream, the brightness of the hope, the vaulting nature of tho ambition. | Time will do enough of this. So let youth have its undimmed joy today. But age looks back. The fires of ambition are dimmed. They are all burnt-out ashes now. The | hopes that buoyed us up so safely in youth have found what there is of fulfillment all too little, of disappointment all too much. We dream no longer of Joys to come, but of grief that has so strewed the path along which we have come. The smell of the woods in early spring when the first violets bloom, or in the heat of summer when all is ltko the spice islands, or in fall when decay is in tho fallen leaves, or in winter when death absorbs 1 all, no matter to the aged, all call back to days long gone. We walk alone now, and all along tho far road lie mounds where we stood and confided to the breast of Mother Karth so many that walk- < ed with us In the heydey of our life. The mother < whose soft touch banished rain, the father v hose i ripe experience taught us where to walk, the 1 brothers and sisters who were our playmates in ? those days when the world was all sunshine. I Then when tl:e wing of love ceased to brood over I us in the paternal nest and we went forth to i create a new family under the banner of love, how I a day like this calls up all the joy and tenderness of these days of early manhood and womanhood! i So we dream of tho long-lost clasp of the hand of ; lover or friend; so we dwell in tender memory i on all those days ol' hope, of joy, of expectancy 1 and fruition. We feel that all will soon be over. | This may be our last New Year's day on litis earth i where we have pushed so many eventful years, j When those who are left again "ring out the old, I ring in tho new," wo may not be hero to ring i either chime of bells. So we sit and dream and \ call up from tho treasure-house of memory tho i faces, words and deeds of those who walked with | us In the days of our youth and of our prime. Hut j i wo would not be gone yet. He is less than a man who thus can sit and dream, think of his do- 1 , parturo, and not "cast one longing, lingering look j behind." We must go to the poets to Interpret ! ] this life to us. Not to the great ones of the world, ! . but to those whose verse deals with the common i ( things of life; to Hums and his "hanks and braes i j o' bonnie Doon," his "Highland Mary;" to the man ' ] who wrote "Home, Sweet Home;" to the poet of j the poor slavo in the south and his "Suwanee 1 River," We can go far back in the ages, and all j ] the time the common heart of a common humanity | was the same as now. King David would take j the aged Hnrzillai to the capital, to tho court, i , Ilut the plain man of the people would ho left ^ alone to dream the last dreams of life in peace. , "Let me go back that I may die in mine own city." j And after death "he buried by the side of my fa- ( ther and of my mother." Oh! the tenderness of old age! There are no flerco passions left. Ambition builds no more castles In the nfr imi bo lot dream of tho days that aro gone, of the early home and all it contained, and then 1 lo down with tho companions of youth and for centuries and centuries, throughout the great eternity, let our ashes mingle with those we loved so well. NEW YEAR RESOLUTIONS. Wliiie New Year is only an Imaginary line drawn through timo to mark its divisions, it possesses a sentiment which moves us all. It marks a definite startinapoint in our lives every year and we take a fresh'liold upon our prospects and renew our faith in ourselves and look out upon the coming year as upon a new, fair field, with promise of better things. I do not much bellevo in formal 1 resolutions proclaimed loudly from tho eminenco of our vanity. Tho man who, on New Year's, "swears off" his had habits for a definite period ' and notifies his friends and neighbors, is, from my observation, only hypnotizing himself. Ho ' may honestly Intend to stick to his good resolu- ' tlnno e ?" ?1 yvi;inpa manes hir announcement as a sort of mental and moral prop. Hut If ho la In deadly earnest ho only needs to promise nllogl- ( anco to God and himself. If ho does the things he means to do his friends and neighbors will give him credit, and if lie falls they will not know of his broken vows. Reforms come from within and deeds, not words, prove a man's sincerity. The old year has been kindly a one to the farm- j ere of Amerlcn. They have prospered, and they have made national advancement In socinl and moral life, better methods of farming, and a broader view of the field of endeavor have been among the achievements of the old year. From the year to come wc hope that every one of ub maj have greater prosperity, larger blessings, ' and better lives. \ AN ABANDONED PROJECT. , "Two hearts that beat as one." The Museum manager mused. "Oh. well," he went on, continuing his soliloquy, "1 suppose we could get up a freak !!ke ' that, but she wouldn't be in It with the twW- ' headed girl, anvhow."?Puck. ' rRAPPER IS CAUGHT IN HIS OWN SNARE \lew Mexico Man Meets Death and Skeleton Tells Story of Hopeless Struggle. Santa Fe. N". M.?Literally caught In lis own trap was the fute that befell j 'onio unknown hunter In the wilds of Socorro county, NT. M.?not only j aught but devoured by the very unimals he sought to entrap. This terrible story was brought to Santa Fe by Charles McCarthy, a anchman, who discovered the chewedit skeleton of the victim, the wrist bones still held in the vise-like grip if the trap. The condition of the ground told its own story of the last lesperate, hopeless struggle of the tin- { known trapper, fighting against a > || I t/.<.ri>o j Evidence of Fearful Struggle. death from which there was no cbca po. The trapper had driven in his ! wagon, to which was hitched u team 1 >f little mules, many miles into what Is the heart of the wildest section of [lie state. It was evident that he was after bear, for he had one of the largest steel traps ho could secure. It is believed the unknown had fin- j Ishefl baiting and setting the trap and ! was in the act of leaving it when, by j i misstep, lie stumbled into the grent [ steel jaws. In falling the bones of ! both hands were eauuht between the sroat steel rims at the wrist. Once caught, there was no escape | without the help of another human > being. He was 50 miles from civiliza- j tlon and in a region seldom entered jy men. The trap had been made stationary and. pinioned as ho was, it was impossible to disconnect it. On the ground about the trap were j evidence of the fearful struggle of the man to escape the fate which he knew would be his. Hut night came and found him still held fast. With lie darkness also came the wild animals he had sought, to entrap. He knew their haunts and had selected 'lis site well. Attracted by the human j halt in the trap they attacked him. | He fought as best he could, but, with hands useless, there was but one outcome. Hear, mountain Hon, coyote, whatever It was, vanquished the trapper. perhaps began feasting on his flesh before he was altogether dead. One week after this tragedy, McCarthy happened across the scene. Nothing was left of the unknown save the skeleton, and even some of the j bones had been crunched. The steel , trap still retained its grip on the mortal remains of its victim. RATS GNAW A DYING MAN Eyes Were Punctured While He Lay Unable to Beat the Rodents Off. "Williamsport, I'a.?Rats attacked Lewis Jackson, a negro, as ho lay dying in his home here and punctured hoth his eyes. The old man was par- ! Llally paralyzed and helpless. While In an unconscious condition, the rats i attacked him. They were still on his , tied when he regained his senses, but j tie was unable either to beat them off I or call for help. After the old man died the rodents ogaln invaded the room and, but for the constant vigilance of a daughter ind friends, they would have gnawed the corpse. As it was they mnnngcd to get at the face and bite It several times while the watchers wore out of I he room. Other members of the family have suffered from bites by the rats Several days before a rodent attacked a small child but was driven off before it had drawn blood. Tree Sent by Parcel Post. Franklin, Pa.?A tree was shipped Prom hero to Ohio by parcel post. The branches had been bound closely to the trunk of the tree with twine, and ( the girth was only four inches. The I roe was eight feet long and Rural Car- J rler Hunnell would not accept it un- i 111 lie had sawed it off to keep the parcel within the limitations. Some Turnips! Albany, N. Y. James A. D. S. Fin ley, a farmer, presenting Governor Gllynn with a ten-pound turnip, said t was a common thinfe- to raise "200 to the ton" variety. ' ' > ]? ; !P __ tfffksational 1 suNMrscnooi - Lesson (Br E. O. SETiT.RRR- Dlrftrtnr nf Pv?nlf? Department, The Moody Blblo Institute, t. ' Chicago.) LESSON FOR DECEMBER 28 A DAY OF DECISION. (Review.) READING LESUON?Joshua 24; Hstk 11:28-31. GOLDEN TEXT?"For God so loved th* world, that ho gave hln only begotten son. that whosoever belleveth on htm should not perish but have everlasting life."?John 3:16. The lessons for this past quarter, omitting the temperance lesson, coter one of the moBt interesting periods In the history of Israeh In them there Is presented five of Israel's greatest characters, Moses, Aaron, Miriam, Joshua and Caleb; one of the strangest characters In all history? Paallm; and the typical troubler of the nation, Achan. We have pro^ sented the strength and weakness, victory and defeats, of four, Moses, Aaron, Miriam, and Joshua. Israel's History. The first of the scripture passages presented for the day's reading lesson contains tho fnrewell discourse of Joshua. In it he surveys Israel's history from tho days of Terah to the moment thev possessed Camum em phasizing that in it all Ood was directing and operating. H? then appeals to them to serve Johovah and to put away all other Gods. The alternative is. that with such evidence before their eyes, if it seemed evil to serve Jehovah, they had choice between the gods their fathers abandoned beyond the river and those they had found in the land. As for himself his choice was made, "as for me and my house, wo will serve the Lord." After repeated declarations of fealty on their part Joshua, entered into a covenant with them that they were to serve Jehovah. The passage taken from Hebrews ought to begin at verse thirty. Moses leads out of Egypt (a typo of sin), through the wilderness experiences, but. could not lead them into the land: Joshua took up the work where Moses left off and led them into the promised possession; but he was not able to lead thum Into that perfect rest which only comes from a perfect conformity to the will of God. The message of the Hook of Hebrews is that of the son who fulfills all that these great leaders of the past failed to do. He leads from bondage into possession and on to the final rest which remains for the peoplo of God. Recapitulation. Omitting tho temperance lesson (Nov. 9) six of then? lessons deal with Moses as the leader, and In Ave wo have Joshua as the leader Qf Israel. I. Under Moses' Leadership. Lesson I. Moses' Cry for Help, Num. 11:10-18, 24. 25. (1) Complaint and controversy, vv. 10-15; (2) Comfort and Counsel, vv. 10-18, 24, 25. Lesson II. Jealousy and Envy Punished, Num. ch. 12. (1) The Accucusatlon. vv. 1, 2; (2) The Arrest, vv. 4. 5; (2) The Arraignment, vv. 6-8; (4) Tho Judgment, vv. 9-10; (6) The Intercession, vv. 11-12. Lesson III. The Report of the Spies, Num, 13:1-3, 25-33. (1) The Spies, vv. 1-3; (2) The Majority Report, vv. 25-29; (3) The Minority Report, vv. 30-33; (4) The Sequel, ch. 14. Lesson IV. The Sin of Moses and Aaron, Num. 20:1-13. (1) The People's Petition, vv. 1-5; (2) God's Plan, vv. 6-8; (3) Moses' Mistake, vv. 9-13^ (a) Deception, (b) Pride, (c) Selfglory. (d.) Disobedience. Lesson V. Balak and Balaam, Num. 22:1-6, 24:10-19. (1) Tho Call to Curse, 22:1-6; (2) Tho Wayside Challenge. 22:22-35; (3) The Changeless Message, ch. 24. Lesson VI. Temperance Lesson. Lesson VIT. The Death of Moses, Deut. 34:1-12. (1) The Old Leader, vv. 1-8; (2) The New Leader, v. 9; (3) A Great Character, vv. 10-12. II. UnHpr loeki 1 ?LI ... - ..... vv?muh o ucauci oillp. Lesson VIII. Joshua the New Leader, Josh. 1:1-9. (1) The Call; (2) The Charge; (3) The Counsel^ (4) The Companionship. I*esson IX. Crossing the Jordan* JoBh. 3:7-17. (1) The Leader, vv. 7, 8; (2) Thoso Led, tv. 9-13; (3) The Dry Ground, vv. 14-17. Lesson X. The Fall of Jericho* Josh. 6:8-11, 14-20. (1) God's Orders, vv. 1-5; (2) Joshua's Instructions, vv. 6-8; (3) Tho Obedient People, vv. 9-16. Lesson XI. The Sin of Achan, Josh. 7:6-15. (1) Joshua's Error, vv. 6-9; (2) Tho Cause of Defeat, vv. 10-12; (3) Tho Victory of Defeat, vv. 13-1S. Lesson XII. The Division of the Land, Josh. 14:1-14. (I1) Those Left Pehlnd, vv. 1-5; (2) Caleb's Claim, vv. 6-12; (3) The Promise Fulfilled* vv. 13-15. Tho golden text Is peculiarly slgnlfl* no n lr? 14" ?? " ** v.uuv hi im uh we nose mo studios for this year. Tho final word, the fruit and flower of this new nar tion, Is epitomized in this the simplest, yet the most sublime language of the New Testament. What Moses and Joshua did in type and what they each left not being able to accomplish, God in the person of his greatest gift to men can and does fulfil In abundant measure. The widest stretch of human imagination cannot measure tho breadth of his lovo. The deepest depths cannot fathom the aw? fui woe of unbeliever.