University of South Carolina Libraries
HUMDRUM ABOLISHED: . TALMAGE PREACHES ABOUT SPICE IN RELIGION. Wl>f People lit, . Not Go to Churcli ? Wor ship Should II? Llb? the Offering* QaMn Balkis goat Solomon the Who Means of Enilrenlujc ftorvlcev. Brooklyn, May 3.?The capacity ot the new tabernacle was hilly tested this morning hy the vast audlenco which as sembled to hoar Dr. Talmage in his handsome and spacious church. Ho is now preaching there morning and even ing aud the Christian Heraldservices In Is off York have been discontinued. This has caused much regret to many people in that city. A memorial was prepared and signed by influential citizens asking Dr. Talmage to coutiuue the services. He could not see his way to comply at the time, but, as lie was evidcutly im pressed by the warmth of the welcome given him In the metropolis, and deeply moved by the good that was done, it is not itnprobablo that in the near future he will again be found duplicating his usefulness by ministering to two con gregations, as he has been doing during the past seven months. Uis subject this morning was "Humdrum Abolished," and his text. II Chronicles ix, 0, "Of spices great abundance; neither was there any such spice as the Queen of Sheba gave King Solomon." What is that building out yonder, glit tering in the Bun? Ilavo you not heard? It is the House of the Forest of Leb anon. King Solomon has just taken to It his bride, tho princess of Egypt. You see the pillars of the portico, and a great tower, adorned with one thousand shields of gold, hung on tho outside of the tower?live hundred oi tho shields of gold manufactured at Solomon's ordor, five hundred were captured by David, his father, iu battle. Sco how they blaze in tho noonday sun! (Solomon goes up tho ivory stairs of his throne between twelve lions in statu ary, and sits down on tho back of tno golden bull, tho head of tho brouzo boast turned toward! tho people. Tho family and attendants of tho king aro so many that tho caterers of tho place have to provide every day ono hundred shedp and thirteen oxen, besides tho birds and the venison. I hear tho stamping aud pawing of four thousand fluo horses m the royal Btables. There wore impor tant ofllcials who had cliargo ot tho work of gathering tho arrow aud tho barloy for those horses. King Solomon was early riser, tradition saya, and used to take a ride out at daybreak; and when in his white apparel bohiud tho swiftest horses of all tho realm, and followed by mounted archors iu purple, as tho cav alcade dashed through tho streets of Jerusalem, I aupposo it was something Worth gottlng up at 5 o'clock in tho morning to look at. Solomon was not liko somo of the kings of the present day?crowned im becility. All tho splendor of his palaco and retinue were eclipsed by Ins Intel lectual power. Why, no seemed to know everything. Ho was tho first great nat uralist the world over saw. Peacocks from India strutted tho basaltic walk, and apes chattered in the trees, and doers stalked the parks and thero wcro aqua riums with foreign fish, and aviaries'with foreign birds;hmd tradition says these, birds were so well tamed that Solomon might walk clear across tho city under the sdadow of their wings as they hov ered and flitted about him. More than this, ho had a groat reputa tion for tho conundrums and riddles that he made ant! gucsBcd. Ho and King Hiram, his neighbor, used to sit by tho hour and ask riddles, each ono paying in money if ho could not answer or guess tho rlddlo. Tho Solomonic navy visited all tho world, and tho sailors, of course, talked about the wealth of their kings, and about the riddles and enig mas that he mado and solved; and tho news spread until Queen llalkis, away oil' south, heard of it and sent messen Sers with a low riddles that sho would ke to have Solonmon solve, and a few puzzles which sho would liko to have him And out. Sho sent among other things, to King Solomon, a diamond with a hole so small that a nccdlo could not penetrate it, askiug him to thread that diamond. Aud Solomon took a worm and put It at tho openiug in tho diamond, and tho worm crawled through, leaving tho thread in the diamond. Tho queen also sunt a goblot to Solomon asking him to fill it with water that did not pour from tho sky, and that did not rush out from tho earth; and immedi ately Solomon put a slave on tho back of a swift horse and galloped him around and around tho park until tho horse was nigh exhausted, and front tho porspira tion of tho horse the goblet was filled. She also sent King Solomon 500*girlsin boys' dress, wondering if he would bo acute enough to find out the deception. Immediately Solomon, whon he saw them wash their faces, knew from tho way they applied the water that it was all a cheat. Queen Balkis was so pleased with tho acutencss of Solomon, that she said: "I'll Just go and sec him for himself." Yonder it cornea?the cavalcade?horses and dromedaries, chariots and chariot eers, jingling harness and clattering hoofs, ana blazing shields, and Hying ensigus, and clapping cymbals. Tho placo is saturated with tho perfume. She brings cinnamon, and saffron, and calamus, and frankincense, and all man nor of sweet spices. As tho retinue sweeps through tho gale, the armed guards Inhalo tho aroma. "Halt!" cry the charloteors, as tho weels grind the gravel in front ot tho pillared portico of the king. Queen Balkis alights in an atmosphero bewitched with perfume. As the dromedaries aro driven up to tho king's store-houses, and tho buudlos of crmphor are unloaded, and tho sacks of cinnamon, and tho boxes of spices are opened, the purveyors of tho palaco dis cover what my text announces: "Of spices, gre-tf abundance; neither was there any euch spices as the Queen of Sheba gave to King Solomon." Well, my friends, you know that all theologians agree in making Solomon a typo "of Christ, and making the Queen of Sheba a type of every truth-seeker; and I shall lake tho responsibility of saying that all the spikenard, and cassia, and frankincense which tho Queen of Sheba brought to King Solomon aro mightily suggestive of tho sweet spices of our holy religion. Christianity is not a collection of sharp technicalities, and angular facts, and chronological tables, and dry statistics. Our religion la com pared to frankincenBo and to cassia, but never to nightshade It is a bundle of myrrh. It is a dash of holy light. It is a sparkle of cool fountains. It is an opening of opaline gates. It Is a collec tion of spices. Would God that we wero as wiso in taking spices to our Divine King as Quoen Balkis was wise in taking the spicoa to the earthly Solomon! What many of us need Is to have ?hc humdrum driven out of our life and the humdrum out of our religion. The American, and English, and Scottish church will dlo of humdrum unless t here be a'changc. An editor from San Francisco wrote me say ing he was getting up for his paper a symposium from many clergymen, dis ing among other things, "Why do not people go to church?" and he wanted my opinion and I gave it la one sentence. People do not go to church because they CAtmot stand tho humdrum. Tho fact Is that moat people novo so much hum rhlly calling that they and exhortation* and songs aud orayers more of what Quceu Balkis brought to Solomon, uaraeTy more spl< e. The fact Is that the duties ami cares of this life, coming to us from time to I time, are stupid often, aud insane, and I intolerable. Here are m??n who have been bartering, and negot ating, climb ing, pounding, hammering for twenty I years, forty years, fifty years. One ! great long drudgery has their life been. ? Their lace anxious, their feeling be I numbed, their days monotonous. What is necessary I? brighten up that man's life, and to sweeten that man's acid dla [ position, and to put sparkles into the man's spirits? The spicery of our holy religion. Why, if between the losses of life there dashed a gleam of eternal gain; I if between the betravals cf life there came the gleam of tho undying friend ship of Christ; if in dull Urne? in husi [ ness wo found ministering spirits flying I to and fro In our office, and store, and shop, every-? lay life, Instead of being a stupid monotone, would be a glorious I iuspltatlon, pcndulumlng between calm I satisfaction and high rapture. IIow any woman keeps house without tho roliglon of Christ to help her, is a mystery to me. To have to spend the greater part of one's life, as many wo men do, in planning for the meals, in stitching garments that will soon be rent again, and deploring breakages, and supervising tardy subordinates, and driving off dust that soon again will set tle, and doing the same thing day in and day out, and year in and year out, until their hair silvers, and the back stoops, and the spectacles crawl to the eyes, and the grave breaks open under the thin solo of tho slioe?oh, It is a long mono tony! But when Christ comos to the drawing-room, and comes to the kitchen, and comes to tho nursery, and comes to the dwelling, then how cheery become all womanly duties. She is never aione now. Martha gets through fretting and joins Mary at the feet of Jesus. All day loug Deborah is happy because ehe cau help Lapidoth; Hannah, because ehe can make a coat lor young Samuel; Mir iam, bocauso sho can watch her Infant brother; Kachel, because she can help her father water tho stock; the widow of Saropta, because the cruise of oil is being oplcnishcd. O woman, having in your pantry a nest of boxes cantaiaing all kinds of condiments, why have you not tried in your heart aud life the spicery of our holy religion? "Martha! Martha! thou art caroful and troubled about many things, but ono thing is neediul. and Mary hath choson that good part which shall not bo taken away Irom her." I must conless that a great deal of tho religion of this day is uttetly insipid. There Is nothing piquant or elevating about it. Men and women go around humming psalms in a minor koy; and cuituriug molancholy, and their worship has in it more signs than rapture. We do not doubt their piety. Oh, no. But thoy are sitting at a feast where the cook has forgotten to season the food. Every thing is flat in their experience and in iheir conversation. Emancipated irom sin, and death, and hell, and on their way to a magnificent heaven, thoy act as though thoy woro trudging on toward an overlasting Botany Bay. Religion does not seem to agreo with them. It seems to catch in tho wind-pipe and be come a tight straugulation instead of an exhilaration. All tho infidel books that have been written from Voltaire down to Herbert Speucor, have not done so much damago to our Christianity as lu gubrious Christians. Who wants a re ligion woven out of the shadows of tho night? Why go growling on your way to celestial enthronement? Come out ofthat cave, and sit down in I he warm light of the Sun of Righteousness. Away witu your odes to melancholy and Her voy's "Meditations among tho Tombs." Thon lot our songs abound, And ovory tear bo dry; We'ro marching through Emanuel's ground To fairer worlds on high. I have to say, also, that wo neod to put more spice and enllvenmont in our religious teaching; whether it be in the prayer-meeting, or In the Sabbath school, or in tho church. Wo ministers need more fresh air and sunshine in our lungs, and our heart, and our head. Do you wonder that the world is so far from being convcrtod when you find so little vivacity in the pulpit and in the pew? Wo want, liko the Lord, to plant in our sermons and exhortations more lilies of tho field. Wo want fewer rhetorical elaborations, and fewer sesquipedalian words; and when wo talk about shadows, we do not want to sap adumbration; and when wo mean qucerness, wo do not want to talk about idiosyncrasies; or if a stitch in tho back, we do not want to talk of lumbago; but, in a plain vernacu lar preach that Gospel which proposes to make all men happy, honest, victori ous, and lreo. In other words, we want more cinnamon and less gristle. Let this bo so in all tho different depart ments of work to which the Lord calls us. Let us bo plain. Let us bo earnest. Lotus bo commoc-sonsical. When we talk to tho people in a vernacular they can understand, thoy will bo very glad to corao and receivo tho truth wo pre sent. Would to God that Queen Balkis would drive her spicc-laden dromedaries into all our sermons and prayer-meeting exhortations. More than that, wo want moro 11.e and spice in our Christian work. The poor do not waut so much to be groaned over as sung to. With tho bread, and medicines, and tho garments you give them, let there be an accompaniment of smiles and brisk encouragement. Do not si and and talk to them about the wretchedness of their abode, and the hunger of their looks, and tho hardness of their lot. Ah! thoy know it better than you can tell them. Show them the bright side of tho thin: ,, if there bo any bright side. Tell thorn good times will cuttle. Tell them that for the children of God there is immortal rescue. Walto them up out of their stolidity by an in spiring laugh, and while yon send in help like tho Qucon of Sheba also send in the apices. There aro two ways of meeting I he poor. Ono is to come into their house with a noso elevated in disgust, as much as to say: "I don't see how you live here in this neighborhood. It acu ally makes me sick. There Is that bun dle? tako it, you poor miserable wretch, and make the most of it." Anothor way is to go into tho abodo .of the poor in a manner which seoms' to saj: "Tho blessed Lord sent mo. He was poor himself. It Is not more for the good I am going to try to do you than it is for tho good you can do me." Coming In that spirit, tho gift will be as aromatic as tho spikenard on tho feot of Christ, and all tho hovels in that alley will bo fragrant with the spice. We neod more snice and enllvonment in our church music. Churchos sit dis cussing whether they shall havo choirs, or precentors, or organs, or bass-viols, or cornets; I say, take that which will i bring out tho most in ipiriug music. If we had half as much zeal and spirit m our churches as we have in the songs of our Sablml h-schools, it would not be long before the wholo earth would quako with tho coming God. Why, in most churches, nine-tenths of the people do not sing; or thoy sing so feebly that tho people at their elbows do not know thoy arc singing. People mouth and mumblo the praises of God; but there is not moro than one out of a hundred who mikes "a joyful noise" i . the Bock oi our Salvation. Sometimes when tho congregation forgota itself, and is all ab sorbed In tho goodness of God, or the glortos of heaven, I get an intimatlou of what church music will be a hundrod years from no r, when the coming gen eration shall wake up to its duty. I promise a high spiritual blessing to any one who will sing In church, and who will sing so heartily that the people all around cannot help but sing.' Wake upt all the churches from Bangor to San Francisco, and across Christendom. It is not a matter of preference; it is a matter of religious duty. Oh, for fifty times mete volume of sound. German chorals in German cathedrals surpass us, and yet Germany has received noth ing at the hands of God compared with America, and ought the acclaim In Ber lin be louder than that in Brooklyn9 Holt, long-drawn-out music, Is appro priate for the drawing-room and appro priate for the concert; but St. John gives an idea of the sonorous and resonant congregational singing appropriate for churches when, in listening to the tem ple service of heaven he says: " l heard a great voice as the voice of a great multitude, and as the voice of many waters, and as the voice of mighty thun derlngs. Hallelujah, for the Lord God omnipotent relgneth." Join with me m a crusade, giving me not only your hearts but the mighty up lifting of your voices, and I believe wo can, through Christ's grace, sing; 50,000 souls Into the kingdom of Christ. Au I argument, they can laugh at, a sermon, they may talk down; but a vast audl I once joining in one anthem is irresistible. Would that Queen Balkis would drive all her spice-laden dromedaries into our church music. "Neither wastnero any I such spice as tho Queen of Sheba gavo I King Solomon." I Now I want to Impress .this audience I with the fact that religion is sweetness I and perfume, and spikenard, and safTron, I and cinnamon, and cassia, and frankin cense, and all sweet spices together. J "Oh," you say, "I have not looked at It as such. I thought It was a nuisance; it had forme a repulsion; I hold my breath I as though it were malodor; I have been I appalled at its advance; I have said, if I I have any religion at all, I want to have just as little of it as is possible to get I through with." Oh, what a mistake I you have made, my brother. Tho relig I ion of Christ is a present;and overlasting redolence. It counteracts all trouble. Just put it ou tho stand beside tho pillow I of sickness. It catches in tho curtains, and perfumes tho stifling air. It sweetens tho cup of bitter medicine, and throws a glow on the gloom of the turned lat tice. It is a balm for the aching side, and a soft bandage for the temple stung I with pain. It lifted Samuol llnther ford Into a revelry of spiriturl delight, I while ho was in physical agonies. It I helped Richard Baxter until, in tho I midst of su ih a complication of diseases I as perhaps no other man ever suffered, I ho worte, "Tho Saint's Everlasting Rest." Audit poured light upon John I BurTyan's dungeon?the light of the shin I ing gate of the shining city. And it is I good for rheumatism, and for neuralgia. I and for low spirits, and for consumption; I it is tho cathohcon for all disorders. Yes, It will heal all your sorrows. Why did you look so sad to-day when I you came in? Alas! for tho lonliuess I and tho heartbreak, and tho load that is I neyer lifted from your bouI. Some of I you go about feeling like Macaulay, when ho wrote: "If I bad another montli I of such days as I have been spending. II would be impatien t to got down into my narrow crib in the ground like a j weary factory child." And there havo I been times in your life when you wished J you could get out of this lief. You have j said: "Oh, how sweet to my lips would j be the dust of the valley," and wished you could pull ovor you in your last slumber the coverlet of green grass and daisies. You havo said, "Oh, how beau tifully quiot it must bo in tho tomb. I wish I was there." I see all around me widowhood, and orphanage, and child lessness; sadness, disappointment, por I plexity. If I could ask all those to rise I in this audience who have folt no sorrow I and been buffeted by no disappointment I ?if I could ask all such to rise, how many -<dd rise? Not on?. A widowed mother and her little child j wont West, hoping to got bettor wages there; and she was taken sick and died. Tho overseer of the poor got hor body I and put it in a box, and put it in a wagon, I and started down the street toward tho cemetery at a full trot. The little child ?tho only child?ran after it through tho streets, crying: "Bring me back my mother 1 Bring mo back my mother!" And it is said that as the people looked on -ind saw her crying after that which lay in the box in the wagon?all she loved on earth?it is said the whole vil lage was in tears. And that is what n great many of yon are doing?chasing the dead. Dear Lord, is there no ap peasement for all this sorrow that I see about mc? Yes, tho thought of resur rection and reunion tar beyond this scene of struggle and tears. "They shall hun ger no more, neither thirst any more, neither shall the sun light on thorn, nor any heat; for the Lamb which is in the midst of tho throne shall lead them to living fountains of water, and God shall I wlpo away all tears trom tlieir eves." Across the couches of your sick, and I across tho grnvos of your dead,'.I fling this shower of sweet spices. Queeu Balkis, driving up to the pillared portico of the house of cedar, carried no such pungency of perfumo as exhales to-day from the Lord's garden. It is peace. It Is sweetness. It is comtort. It is inll mto satisfaction, this gospel I commeud to you. Some one could not understand why an old German Christiau scholar used to be always so calm, and happy, and hopeful, when he had so many trials, and Bicknessee, and ailments. A man secreted himself in the houso. Ho snld: "I mean to watch this old scholar and I Christian," and ho saw the old Christian I man go to his room and sit down on tho chair beside the stand, and open tho Bi ble and begin to road. Ho read on and on, chapter alter chapter, hour afttr hour, until his face was all aglow with tho tidings from heavon, and whon the clock struck twelve, ho aroso and shut his Bible, and said, "Blessed Lord, wo aro on the sanio old terms yet. Good night, good-night." Oh, you sin-par ched and you trouble-pounded, here is satisfaction. Will you come and get it? I cannot tell you what the Lord offers you hereafter so woll as I can tell you now. "It doth not yet appoar what we shall bo." Have you read of tho Taj Mahal in India. In some rospects tho most majestic building on oarth? Twen ty thousand men were twonty yenrs in building it. it cost about $16,000,1)00. Tho walls are of marble, inlaid with cor nelian from Bagdad, and turquoise from Thibet, and jasper from the Funjaub, and amethyst from Persia, and all man ner of pr? clous stones. A traveller says that it seems to him like tho shining of an enchanted castle of burnished sllvor. The walls aro 245 foot high, and from tho top of these springs a dome thirty more feet high, that dome containing tho most wonderful echo the world has ever known; so that ever and anon travolers standing below with flutes, and drums, and harps, are testing that ocho, and tho sounds from below striko up and thon como down as it were tho voices of an gels all around about the building. There Is around it a garden of tamarind, and banyan, and palm, and all tho floral glories of the ransacked earth. But that is only a tomb of a dead empress, and it is tamo compared with the grandeurs I which God has bulldcd for your living and I Immortal spirit. Oh, home of the bless I edt Foundations of gold! Arches of victoryl Cap-stones of praise! And a domo in which there are echoing and re echoing the hallelujahs of tho ages. And around about that mansion is a garden? the garden of (Jod?and all the springing _. , . loin tains are the Im>? tle?l teirs of the ctmrch iu tlte vilderness, aud all the crimson of the (lowers is the deep hue that was caugh up from tho carnage of earthly martyr ott-n, and the fragrance is tho prayer o all the saluts, and the 1 aroma puts iat> ? utter forge tfulnesa the | cassia aud the -pikouard, and the frank incense, and tho world-renowned spices winch the Queen Balkis, of Abyssinia, (lung at tho feet of King Solomon. When shall theso eyes thy heaven-built walls And pearly gates behold, Thy bulwarks, with salvation strong, And streets of shining gold? Through obduracy on our part, and through tho rejectiou of that Christ who makes heaven possible, I wonder if any of us will miss.that spectacle? I fear! I fo n! The queen oi the south will rise up in judgment against this generation and condemn it because she came from the uttermost parts of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon, aud behold, a greater than Solomon is hero! May God grant that through your own pructical experience you may lind that rohgion's ways aro ways of pleasantness, and that I all her paths are paths of peace?that it | Is perfume no* and perfume forever; And there was an abuudance of spice "neither was there any such spice as tho Queen of Sheba gavo to King Solomon." THE CHARLESTON DEMOCRACY. Representftton to be llased en the State Constitution. Charleston, April 30.?The volco of the unterrified Democrac y of Charles ton was uplifted to-day and its song will be heard all over tho land. The City Democratic Convention, which met in Hibernian Hall at noon, consisted of 115 out of the 144 delegates elected. In tho ranks of tho delegates were many of tho men who auswored to the roll call in 1870 aud quito auumbcr of the youug Democracy who have grown up since. Tho object of the convention was to endeavor to heal tho broach now oxisting in tho party. Jit was presided over at the outset by Major Edward Willis, tho Chairman of tho Municipal. Domocratic Executive Committee, who, in calling the convention to order, said: "I believe the best interests of tho Democratic party will bo promoted by open door deliberations. I urgo the most liberal aud unrestricted registra tion. I favor primary elections that will be fair and impartial, recognizing every organized lactiou of the party. 1 hope your deliberations will bo such as many spare tho citizens of Charleston dissenslou, bittcruess aud excitement likely to grow out of tho long campigu which is before us. It is tho duty and privilego of tho municipal Democracy to BO alter our rules as to adopt whatever there may bo iu tho rules of tho State Democratic Committee which will ena ble us to act in concert und harmou y with tho party. We owo it to tho members of tho Domocarcy of Cbarlostoa to select tho best men in our ranks to rep resent us." [Applause.] B. II. Rutlcgo, Jr., was then elected Chairman of tho conveution. Ou mo tion of State Senator A. T. Smythe, a committee of twelve, one from each ward, was appointed to consider and ro port what changes, if any, wero neces sary iu the constitution ot tho municipal Democratic party. This committee, af ter a recess, submitted a report, winch in effect adopts tho constitution of tho parly adopted by the State Democratic party in 1890. It provides for tho elec tion by the convention of a now execu tive committee which is to servo until the mooting of tho Democratic Conven tion in the Fall. Tho members of the committeo arc to be suggested by the j Democratic ward clubs. The represent ation in the convention is to bo based upon tho membership of tho ward clubs as under tho Stuto Democratic party constitution. Iu other words, every I concession was made to tho demands of tho reformers. After electing an execu- [ tlvo committeo, the convention adjourn ed, subject to tho call of tho committee. Another convention under tho au spices of Mr. Ocktv Cohen will be held ou Monday next. At this convention the delegates ?will bo solected by the De mocratic ward clubs recently orgnnizod iu the city, and it is expects ! that a municipal ticket will bo put out. Tho regular Democracy will not nominate its ticket until fall. It should be mentioned that a very considerable number of the Domocrats of Cherleston bavo enrolled themselves I iu the newly organized ward ciubs. It | is not improbable that tho May conven tion will bo captured by tho regular De mocrats. There aro in tho city not over 3,500 registered voters, white and black, Democrats and Republicans. At tho Democratic primaries yester day nearly 1,300 votes wero polled. No roport was made to-night of tho number of reformers who voted at tho ward club meeting for delegates to the May convention.?ltogislcr. Millions of Caterpillar*. Charlotte, N. C, May 2.?Tho Car-1 olina Central trainmen have been hav ing peculiar experiences with caterpil lars for four or live days past, and it is something unheard of in the railroad history or this State. Just East of Lum berton is what is known as-"Big j swamp," and tho railroad goes through it on a trestle work, broken here and there in tho solid portions of the swamp by embankments of earth. List Tuesday an army of eatorplllars began moving out of tho swamp, and when thoy reached the streams over which the trestles carry tho rails, they massed on tho railroad and proceeded to cross on tho t reitlcs. The rails and ties woro | covered several iuehes deep. Tho llrat train that discovered tho in was brought to a stand still, the drlv-1 ing wheels of tho engine slipping J around us if the rails had been thoroughly oiled. The engineer ex hausted i he contents of his sand box buforo ho got through tho swamp and reached a clear stretch of tho track. It was thought that tho trip would bo the end of tho caterpillar trouble but the very next day the train encountered another army of caterpillars crossing the trestlo mid had same diffculty. Tho Charlotte bound passengor train yestor day had a similar experience and the I passengers say tho scene was something | wonderful. The rails and crosattos of the trestle were actually obscured from sight by the caterpillars and ground and swamp on each side of tho track were littered with fragments of mil lions of caterpillars from the wheels of Sassing trains, and from this an unen urable stench arose. Where tho cater pillars oaine from is not known. Tho farmers on this side of tho swamp ex press no uneasiness for tho safoty of i hen- crops so long us the advancing army persists in using tho trostle as its means of getting across streams, for I none of thorn have got more than half I wayaorosi before a train wouldcomol along and convert them into fertilizers. Terrible Tale or Woe. Hacine, Win., May 3.?Two weeks ago the brother of Mrs. James W. i'al mer, a prominont railroad man of Omaha, shot himself while suffering from an attaok of the grip and was brought hore for burial, hast Wednes day her husband died and was buried and yesterday hor mother died. Her little 0-year old son is very sick and Mrs. Palmer herself is lying at the point of death. The prevailing disease being tho cause of all the sickness and death. Mio? Kat Hie Money. Banoou, Mo., April 30.?Nathaniel Leavltt, a farmer of St. George, put away in a canvass purse, monev to pay a mortgage due this month. Upon go ing after the purso, he found that mice had totally destroyed every bill. MACHINlSItY. W. H. G1BBES, Jr., & Co., COLUMBIA, S. C. SOLE AGENTS for LIDDEl & CO. A um Dkalkrs In Engines of nearloll make, Lcuinotive and Tubular Roll era, Traction aud oth er Mounted Engines or the beat and latest Improved style, Saw Mills, Grist Mills, Olns, Bosk Cotton Presses, Shingle- Machine, Plainer* and Wood Worklag Ma ehluory, Brick Machinery. Cotton Seed Oil outfits, Ac. A large Stock or ENGINE Fittings, of all kinds and sizes, in Stock for prompt dolivery aud at Book Bottom Prices. BELTING and PACKING at LOW Figures. A large atook or Pumps, of ?11 sizes and styles. * DEAHING Mowers, Reapers and Rakes always in stock. 1st-our Mr. K. R. BAUGHAM, Laurens, 8.0.. who Is fully competent, will bo ploasod to call to see you. or answer any communication directed to blm, an* will aell you as cheap as it you were here in Person. We buy for cash and pay our Traveling Mon a Salary, thereby saving the Con sumor Agent's Commission?Quick Sales and Small Profits is our Fort. Write to Mr. Bauirbam. or to us direct, and get prices and discounts. Mp-Old Engines traded for. K. R. BAUGHAM, ) W, H. GIBBES, Jr., A CO., Traveling Salesman, > Laurbns.S.C. > COLUMBIA, 8.0 KENNEDY BROS UNDERTAKERS LAURENS, S. C NORTH SIDE PUBLIC SQUARE, - - Over KENNEDY BROS., Store. Keep constantly on hand a large assortment of Coffins and Casket^ oth Wood andMetalic, which will be sold low down. Furnished at ny hour day or night. Hearse sent when desired. viy9 KENNEDY BROS., Successor to J. M Robertson. Whipped, Tarred and Ducked. Waco, Texas, May G.?In tho suburbs of this city, early yesterday morning, William Reel was severely pun ished. He had confessed himself the author of objectionable articles written from various Texas cities to a Kansas City paper, attackiug the characters of various people. He was taken to a quiet spot, whipped, ridden upon a rail, tarred and feathered and ducked in a convert niont pond. At this time he lies in a country house not far from the city, whore friends aro picking the feathers and scraping the tar from his body. ltool was arrested Thursday evening and put iu jail. Ho was anxious to be balled out Thursday night, and succeed ed in giving a bond that was acceptable to the officers. About 1 o'clock ho loft jail, and, with some companions, got into a hack for the purpose of getting out of town without meeting any ot the cit izens. When at Padgett's Park the hack was overtaken by a party of pur suers, who took Heel from his compan ions. In a small grove, out on the bor der of the city, Heel was stripped and given about 200 lashes. ? After the whipping Reel was put astride a rail and given a tide. Not satisfied with this his persecutors ap plied a thick coat ,of tar and feathers. Tho culprit was ducked in a pnd near by, and then turned loos?. Aggrieved pooplo were present from Fort "Worth and Corslcana to help tho Waco contin gent. _ A Remarkable Surgical Operation. Cleveland, May 0.?A remarkable surgical operation, and one rarely per formed, has lust taken place at the Hu ron Street Hommopathlo Hospital, Dr. H. P. Biggar being the surgeon. It was practically that of building a new nose for a young woman. The patient, Miss Mamie Miller, is 16 years old. A can cerous affection had destroyed the left side and lower portion of her nose. The operation was performed last Sat urday afternoon. Pirt, the diseased flesh was cut away. Then a flap of skin and flesh of the pro per size and form to replace the lost portion of tho nose was cut from above the muscle of the left arm. The flap wns allowed to remain attached to the arm on one side. The arm was then raised to tho face and over the head in such a manner as to permit the flesh of the arm to bo grafted and stitched to the edges of the lost portion of the nose. The arm was then placed in-a specially constructed harness and se curely strapped up to the face In that position. Tho operation promises to be entirely successful. The living flesh of the arm has grown to the nose, and it Is ex pected that Saturday the flap will be severed where It still adheres to the arm, and the slight remaining operation of fitting and stitching tho remaining edge to the nose will then be performed. Prom present appearences the healing will be so perfect as to leave little or no soar. Do You Wear Panto? Washington, D. C, May 0.?A tele gram went out from this city on Satur day that caused a gleam of satisfaction to spread over the presidential face on tho Paciflc coast. It was to the effect that Benjamin Harrison McKee, who had been left in charge of the govern ment while tho rest of the family' went swiuging around the circle, had donned pants. This was his first pair, and of course created a mild sensation at the White House. The promotion seems to have been authorized by Lieutenant and Mrs. Parke, relatives of Mrs. Har rison, who have been left in charge of the domestic arrangements of the White House during the President's ab sence. In the exuberance of his delight tho favorite grandson of the President strutted all over the building, calling upon everybody to take notice of his manly appearance. All would have gone well had it not been for tho fact that the youngster met the wife of a cabinet minister in the East Parlor, who had several young ladles with her. Young McKee called out to the lady in a loud voice: "Do you wear pants? I do." There wero blushes, a slight scream, and Baby McKee was rushed off to the conservatory. Tell-Tale Letter?. Washington. May 0.?Dr. John A. P. Baker and Mrs. \V. R. Gilmer are under arrest charged with the murder of Mrs. Baker, wife of Dr. Baker, and an at tempt to murder W. R. Gllraor, hnsband of the woman under arrest. Mrs. Baker died suddenly more than a y< ;ir ago. Re cently some tell-tale letters were found, which were written by Mrs. Gilmer to Dr. Baker. They show that a criminal intimacy existed between the two, and that they bad ploted Mrs. Baker's death. Mrs. Gilmer has made a confession that Dr. Baker poisoned his wife and sent her Jiolson with instruct ions how to admin Bter it to her husband. 8he did so, and nothing saved his life but the timely ap rival of Dr. Gilmer, a brother or the poisoned man. All parties are promi nent in Abingdop, and the affair has created the greatest sonsation the town has ever known. A complete Bedroom Suit for $10.50 freight paid to your depot. Send for Catalogue. Address L. F. Padgett, Aufl?st?, Ga. THE LAURENS BAR. H, Y. SIMPSON, ATTORNEY AT LAW. LAJREN8, 8. C. W. II. MARTIN, ATTORNEY AT LAW. LiK u KKfto, - 8. 0' T. JOHN80K. TT. K. RICHH JOHNSON * IUCHKT ATTORNEYS AT LAr7. OrriUK?Fleming's Corner, Nortlmta ?ide of Public Square. LAURKNH, H.. - -_S.C. BAILABALL, Ittirxiti at Law, LAURENS. - - - - S.C. Oat. J2, im W. W. KENNEDY. ATTaRWBT AT L ATT Special attention glTan ta tho in vosti gatlan aftftles. Laurans C. H. S. C. April Prolmbl? Dosei-tern. Corpus Uiikisti, Tex., April 28.? The lates solution of the mystery sur rounding the fifty-two human skelotona unearthed on the banks of the Obo Ka goon near here last week, Is contained in a letter received from William Payne, Manager of the Farmers' Alliance Agri cultural association, at Whitewright, Texas. Mr. Payno says that shortly before the close of tho war, between seventy flvo and eightv of his comrades left Hunt county, Texas, for Moxico. They were expected to return, but not one of them has ever been heard from, and be thinks that they were pursued and murdered. The letter concludes as fol lows: "One horse was found near Corpus Christi, and that is our only clue. They were armed, and I think they surren dered and were murdered." Their burial place, if ttiis was the place, would indicate that they were purBued and hemmed in by water, as there is no conceivable reason why they should reach that point unless fleeing to avoid capture. It Ib believed that the soldiers were deserters. Experts say that the skulls are not those of indians, and they believe tho bodies are those of the Hunt county dosorters. Further search for the exact number of skeletons will be made. Pianos and Organs. N. W. Trump, 134 Main Street. Co lumbia, S. C, sells Pianos and Organs, direct from factory. No agents' com missions. The celebrated Chickering Piano. Mathushek Piano, celebrated for its clearness of tone, lightness of touch and lasting qualities. Mason & Hamlin Upright Piano. Sterling Up right Pianos, from 9225 up. Mason & Hamlin Organs surpassed by none. Ster ling Organs, 950 up. Every Instrument guaranteed for six years. Fifteen days' trial, expenses both ways, If not satis I factory. Sold on Instalments. The lmportanca of purifying the blood cannot be over-estimated, for without pure blood you cannot enjoy good healh. P. P. P. (Prickly Ash, Poke Root and Pottassium) is a mirac ulous blood purifier, performing more oures in six months than all the sarsa parillas and so-called blood purifiers put together. Rheumatism.?James Paxton, of Sa vannah, Oa., says he had Rheumatism so bad that he could not move from the bed or dress without help, and that i he tried many remedies, but received no relief until he began the use of P. P. P. (Prickly Ash, Poke Root and Potas sium;, and two bottles restored him to health. Joe Muliiatton, the famous inven tor of sensational newspaper lies and the drummers' candidate for president in the ladt general election, Is reported to have been carried to an Insane asy lum. As the Greenville Nows says the trouble about the story is that it may have come from Mr. Mulhatton. Rheumatism is cured by P. P. P. Pains and aches In the back, shoulders, knees, ankles, h'ps, and wrists are all attacked and conquered by P. P. P. This great medicine, by its blood cleansing properties, builds up and strengthens the whole body. ??**? - ? rA ' '' ? Before assuring your life, or Investing your mon ey, examine tho Twenty Tear Tontine Policies of THE EQUITABLE LIFE ASSURANCE SOCIETY OF TUB United States. Policies maturing In 1891 realize cash returns to tho owners, of amounts varylqg trom 120 to 170 per oeni, or tho money paid in, besides tho advantages of the Assurance during the whole period of twenty yoars. The following Is one of the manv actual cases maturing this year: Endowment Policy No. 64,928. Issued In 1871, at age 27. Amount, 85.000. Premium, 1239.90. Total Premiums Paid, 84,798. ResultS at end of lontlno Period in 1891: UA8H SURRENDER VALUE, 18,449.48, (Equal to 117610 for each SlOo paid In premiums, which is equivalent to a re turn of all premiums paid, with interest at "\i per cent, per annum.) Or, in lieu oi cash, A PAID-UP LIFE POLICY FOR 819,470. (Equal to 8405,80 for each 8100 paid in promiums.) OR, A LIFE ANNUITY of 8033.55 One fact is worth a thousand theories There Is no Assurance extant In any com pany which compares with this. ' Tho Equitable Is the strongest company in tho world and transacts the largest business. For fuither information address or apply to tho nearest agent of tho Society, or write direct to W. J. RODDEY, April 8-3m ROCK HILL, S. C. THE LARGEST STOCK, MOST SKILLED WORKMEN. LOWEST PRICES Stroth Carolina MarMe Worts, T. JET. HYATT, PROFlKIKTOIt. Is tho best place in South Carolina ot Southern States to secure satisfaction in American and Italian Marblo Work. All kinds of Cemetery Work a speciality. TABLETS, HEADSTONES, MONUMENTS, &c. Send for prices and full information. F. H. HYATT, April8 ly COLUMBIA. S. C. WHY NOT USE OURS ? MURRAY'S IRON MIXTURE IS A GENUINE BLOOD TONIC 1 MURRAY'S SARSAPAR1LLA is a Blood Purifier and Spring Medicine! We are the Manufactures and Solo Pro prietors of both. This is tho time of the year the system requires a tonic and tho blood a purifier. Our stock of Drugs. Medicines, Chemi cals and Druggists Sundries is complete. Our facilities for filling your orders cannot bo excelled, We solicit your patronage. The Murray Drug Co., _COLUMBIA, S. Q. CHILD BIRTH ? ? ? ? ? ? MADE EASY! " Mothers' Friend " is a scientific ally prepared Liniment, every ingre dient of recognized value and in constant use by the medical pro fession. These ingredients are com bined in a manner hitherto unknown "MOTHERS' ? FRIEND" ? WILL DO all that is claimed for It AND MORE. It Shortens Labor, Lessens Pain, Diminishes Danger to .Life of Mother and Child. Book to " Mothers " mailed PRBB, con taining valuable information and voluntary testimonials. Sent by express on receipt of price fl.M) per bottle BRADFIELO REGULATOR CO., Atlanta. Ga. BOLD BY AM. ?RUOOI8T8. First Class Work. V ery Low Prices. Buggies, Carriages, Road Carts, Wagons, etc., Warranted Second to none. Inquire of nearest doalor In those Koods, or send for Catalogue?Mentioning thh paper. HOLLER & AN DE RS0N BUGGY CO.. ROCK HILL, SC.. TERRY M'F'G CO. *:*aHViLLe. Tnnt* Pa?te? Pays the FreitliH : \ Ott) AT Ov.KKK that MAY kot AOalr HK RkFtiATKn. so do HCl oki, \ tf, "Stiuvk Whu.kthk Iron is Hoi"." Write tm i'?t.iloguonow, ana n?y ? ha [paper you saw this advertisement In. ', Remember that 1 6*11 overythlnp the Sees to furnishing a homo?uiaiiufrctur ng sonio things and buying others In th< Jlargest possible lot), which enables nie t< [wipe out all competition. HKRK ARB A FKW OF MY START l ,1 Mi BARGAINS A No. 7 Flat top Cooking Stove, full _slte, 18x17 Inch ovon. tHtod with SI pieces* Rof ware* delivered at your own depot, ?all freight charges paid by me, foi only Twelve Dollars. Again. 1 will sell you a S hole Cookin Raugo 13x13 Inch oven, 18x2? tnoh top, tit ted with 21 pieces of ware, for TlUR THEN DOLLARS, and pay the lrclght U your depot. DO NOT PAY TWO PRICKS FOR YOUR GOODS, i will send you a nice plush Parlor suit, walnut frame, either lu combination oi banded, tho most stylish colois for 33.30 to your lallroud utatiou. freight paid. I I will also sell you a nice Bedroiuoa ui consisting of Bureau with glass, i hlg' i' head Bedstead, 1 Washstaud, 1 Cimtrt 'ltniile, 4 cane seal chairs, x cane seat auu Jback rocker all for ld.?u, and pay frelgh to your depot. I Or I will scud you an ologant Bedroom suit with largo glass)#tull marble top, to. |30, and pay freight. ? Nice window shade on spring rollor 8 ?0| Elegant largo walnut? day clock, 4.00 s Walnut lounge, 7.001 Lace curtains per window, l.OOa 1 cannot describe every tulug in a small ?advertisement, bin have an immense store |coutabling 22, GOO feet of floor room, with ware houses and factory buildings lu other parts of Augusta, inaklug in all tho lar gest business of tills kind uudur one man agement lu tho Southern States. These storeaaud warehouses are crowded with tho choicest productions of tho best facto ries. My catalogue containing Illustrations [of goods will bo mailed If you will kludlj pay where you saw this advertisement. 1 pay freight. Address, L F. PADGETT, Fropnotor Padgett's Furniture, Stove and Carpot Store, 1110-1112 Broad Street, AUUUSTA, OA. ? a spring i MAD AND WOMAN. 1 i* will utility and Titallze your l;lo >i .:r ? it it "?> .?'. oni>"('toatid glvoydur v. ii -lv > .:??? ?! lom H. -i si i angth. .'. .\ |.fo< iin?ni railroad r.ui>crfntcnrtentat .^3 Suvu nili.eiiiVerliig will) ?i'??i.i. Ilvapon .. i. i id itlttM liidtlsin stc . |>& fi \ : lie never felt so well hi Iiis life, on" ? ? ;<?? ; ? ! i ii ? eo 11.1 livotcrover, If he &.oid "1 itlk-.si>R I?, P P." jj if youAn? t!m1 out fr.tM??,v. ......cina g uIoku uouiliietuoiit, take ?. P. P. ?; tr you nro feeling b"dly lu tho spring ?-. tin.I nut of .. .i >.| tiili.l n and out of sorts, tiiUo I p. p. p. ?j If your digestive orgsns need toning up, 13 take I' v >\i suffer wlthhoadaoho, indigestion, doblUty und weakness, take ; P. P. P. P. P. P. If you ?iifTrr with rervous prostration, nerves unstrung and a general let down of the system, tako P. P. P. l;'or Dlond Poison. Rheumatism. Scrof ula, Old Boras, Malaria, Chronic Fomalo Complaints, tako . P. P. I Prickly Ash, Poke Root and Potassium. J Th^s best blood purifier In tho world, i MPPUAN imoa, Wliolesftl? Drugglstr. Polo Proprietors, I.ivpiian's Ilixicn, Savannah, Oa. v ^^r??^^^aaa?cMMMan LOW PRICES will be made onjjj TALBOTT h SONS' ENGINESJand BOILERS, ' 1 Qpeclal estimates on Machinery generally at bottom figures. CORN MILLS, ? - ?115 to SS7C. PLANERS and MATCHERS, ?200 to ?1,500. SAW MILLS with Ropo Feed, Variable Friction or Belt Feed, ?200 to ?000. Wo particularly call attention to these Saw Mills. They have patent doublo act ng set works and are the best mills on tho market. Cotton Gins and Presses at low figures. V. C. BADHAM, GENERAL AGENT, Columbia, s. c. Buy the Talbott Engine, it is the best. Fcb 19-ly. VIC'l'OHY I'Olt 'l'IIH SAII.OIS MA?IIINI3RV? Exhibited side by side with Its loading competitors at the State Fair, 18U0. The Superintendent and Committee of the Mechanical Department, iu inspecting those features not Included In tho Premium List, deem worthy of special mention tlio Sailor Seed Cotton Elevator, Distributor and Cleaner exhibited by W. 11. Giblxis, Jr., it Co. The system operates most eflleiently, and much Improves the sample, facilitates the ginning Of WOt cotton, and saves largely in labor and -ost el handling. The Committee recommend to the farm ers of the State an investigation into tho inoritsof these ili vices. [Signed.I D. P. DUNCAN, for Committee. W. II. G1BBES, Jr., & CO.. v Columbia, S. C. State Agents and l /ealers in hist class Machinery, Haggles, Wagons, ?C. Si'F.ciai. ?To test tho advertising value of Tin: Statk, we will sell to any fanner referring to that paper one of the best Dow Law Cotton Planters made for 4.B5, cash. The usual price is ?5.00 W. II. C1HBES, Jit., &CO. LIPPMAIf BROS., WhotettlePraffffUta, Sols Proptkton, Mppnun^aiock, S?Tinnth,flK.