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? ELF CONFIDENCE IS WEAKNESS Matthew 2?:31-36, 69-75? December 4 -U$ Seat tJUl thtnimitk M ttandtth tarn* httd leal w fmU -I ( er. jf.it. 8T. PETER has proven to be one of the nioet helpful of Christ's twelve Apostles, snd tbe secret of his assistance Ueo In the Scriptural rev elation of his human natvre, Its etrength and Its weaknesses. He was the first of the twelve Apostles to ac? knowledge the Master as the Messiah, the Sent of God; he was the first of the twelve to deny him. He was tbe only one of the twelve who drew his sword tn the Master's defense and the only who, later, swore that he never him By Divine arrangement, to given the keys with which eW iedsasjah m A* dosaV m to open the door to tbe High Calling to the Kingdom. At Pentecost be used gate of the keys of power and boldly pro? claimed to the Jewa the opening of the way to glory, honor and Immortality. ? Uttle utter, at tbe appointed time, he opened the door to the same High Calling for the Gentiles when, by his preaching, Cornelius, the first Gen? tile acceptable to God, waa received end begocten of tbe holy Spirit, this fact giving evidence that the middle wall of partition, previously separat? ing Jew snd Gentile, had been broken tlown. Yet, after all this knowledge end special opportunity, this great man ?obaeqnently dlseembled to the extent of Ignoring God's grace to the Gentiles ee being sufficient, discriminating be? tween Jews and Gentiles and their equality before the Lord. Bot In all these experiences St Peter displayed tbe fact that his heart, at fee core, w^a loyal to God. to truth, to rlrhfooutnese. and that the weakness? es, the faults, the blemishes of his character were of his flesh and not of hla reel heart intention. For bis de? nial of tbe M? tor he wept bitterly. And for his failure to recognize the GentIIee he made full reparation most hemt It The seme exhibition of human ? i tore which makes the Apostle Peter gdtfg' UtO hl that Which made Ihivld, the ropfc A ami king of Israel, at tra- fire Be was not so saintly that he could got make a mistake lie was mot so far at*>ve the remainder of humanity that they could not realize tn blm a fellow-creature Yet withal be was not so debused as to make him Abhorrent HIh weaknesses wa re fully rt by the abundant evidence of heart-loyalty to Qgd and to rlgh isness ITU very existences In grumbling und recovery have so srt %vatcd hla Psalms that they touch a tea|m?nslve chord In nearly every heart Which Is l??yal to i ;?h1 ami which has bad any degree ??f experience with sin end weakness lm own and those of others. Mow Otter? Saw St. Pster Peter remains e\en today the most faavtuatlug . f that bind of men who ?urronnded our Lord in the days of Ida earthly pilgrimage <;. f Morgan eald of Peter "Now I am convtm td it In Peter v ?? have the greaVst hu revealcd In the New Testa ?sent. 1 do not say the greatest man Ist his achievement or In one particu? lar capacity of his being, but the most wonderful revolution >f human na? ture. This man of Intelligence was ^en?etually making blunders. This man of emotions was guilty of such lmpn.se that he worked harm tn the vet/ cause be desired to help " Of Sr Pef.T Hoof house says: "Peter was sn average man. and for this rea eoe ho comes nearer to us than some of his colleagues do Rut average men have their splendid moments, auch as when St. Peter tried to walk On the water, for In this action gg tried ; ? do a thing for which he seem ed to have no abilities. He set out to do something of which he had no ex perlence." l?r Havl* ..aid about St Peter ??peter was intellectual. He asked Jesjus more questions than any other Of the Asiatics. The capacity for ask rng questions Is s revolution of tbe Intellectual. It may also be a revoke tjon of Ignorance; but the man who tsever asks a question Is < ertalnly de llrtent In Ids gttggga niallty. ? ? ? Pettf was a man of heart, sobbing and Im? petuous. His virtues and his faults had tbel- orutn . i root in his enthu? siastic dlrfposjltbui It Is to his praise that, along with Ibt treed of ra^li haste, there grew more stronjly Into Honesty needs no pains te set It eelf off.?fldward Moors. his life the fair plant of burning love and ready reception of Truth." Take H.ed to Yourselves" One of the great lessons which the Master taught his followers, aud which all In the School of Christ must learn, Is that, with burning love and zeal for God and for righteousness, we should also have moderation?exercising the spirit of a sound mind. Christ's fol? lowers are exhorted to be "wise as serpents and harmless as doves." Their wisdom Is not to be merely the selfish kind, \\ in. h would look out for Its own Interests, but of the generou kind lit* ti looks out for the Interests of s i, and particularly for the inter est., of the Lord's cause and for any shnre therein which he may entrust to us. In the course of his instructions, Jesus had said to his disciples, in ad? vance of the trying hour of his be trayal?"All ye shall be offended be? cause of me this night; for it is writ? ten (in the Prophets), 1 will smite the Shepherd and the sheep of the flock shall be scattered abroad. Bnt after 1 am risen again I will go before you Into Oalllee."?Matt 26:31, 32. Then spoke the Impulsive Peter. "Though all shall be offended because of thee, jet will 1 never be offended." (V. 33) Alas! how little did this cour? ageous man understand the nature of the trials and difficulties Immediately before him, or realize the weak point* of his own impulsive nature. Yet if we are grieved with his denial of the Master, we must rejoice to note his faith and love and zeal, as manifested In his acknowledgment of Jesus as the Messiah and his later declaration that nothing should ever shake his loyalty. However, It is the specially loyal and ardent that the Adversary seeks most persistently to entrap. Thus Jesus, on this very occasion, explained to St Peter, "Satan hath desired to have thee that he might sift thee" (Luke 22:31); that he might separate you from your loyalty to Christ and dis? courage you from disclpleshlp, over? whelming you with fear and with your own 'weaknesses. The Master added, "Bnt I have prayed for thee that thy faith fall not" We may well under? stand that the same loving Master still assists all of his true, warm-hearted followers, whatever their weaknesses of heredity. We may well understand, coo, that he Is able to develop all such Into strong characters, If they abide In his 1< ve, continuing in their zeal. "Before the Cook Crow" The Master discerned the danger of his loving but Impetuous follower, and uttered a warning word, that before cock-crowing he would deny his Mas? ter. How Improbable this seemed to St Peter! How he courageously de dared, "Though I should die with thee, yet will I not deny thee." And so said all of the e. ven. Their hearts were good. And the Lord looketh upon the heart Our study now passes to verse CO. The Master had been arrested. The scattered disciples had fled. St. John, because of an acquaintance with the high priest's family, penetrated further into the palace than St Peter, who stood In the court-yard. A malt' of the palace recognized St Peter as one of Jesus* disciples and so declared publicly. Fearful that he might shan the fate of the Master, St. Peter denied his Identity, declaring that he knew nothing about the matter. A little later another dednrod the same. Peter emphasized his denial with n;i oath, declaring that ho knew not Jsjrni Later llsl word spread throughout tB court-yard and many took it up. do< l:n lng that they believed what Hal u\i\W AtfrKHnrJetymg Jrsus tu A/j m$mW$M$ W votr/np \ tan+ctnrfM m h/s sendee e>en n/r/o sssst There are m*vy rays ofdenyiny CAnst 6y ev/f j said and that St. Peter had the (Jali lean dialect, anyway. To emphasize the denial St. Peter begun to curse, and to swear that he knew not th man. IMrectly after, cock-crow lng b< gan. Then St. Peter remembered the words of his Muster, "Before cock crowing thou ?halt deny me thrice." Alas! he had been too sure of bis own stability, too conlldent of his loyalty lie w:ts entrapped by the Adversary along the very line of his boast in.:. Another account says that Jesus tuna d and looked at Peter! That look was Hutlldent it spoke volumes to St. Pi? ter's loyal heart. It was not a look i f disdain. not one of anger, we may be sure. It was a look of loving s\i pafhy. It molted Si. Peter's heart He went out and wept bitterly. The followers of the Master today, boset by '??enkncNses and frallitles and tempta ?OHI of the Adversary, have the lesson of St Peter's experience as a warning to he confident In Ihn Lord nod to look to him for assistance, rather than t<? he self-confident. And those who fail today hOVt St. Peter's experience ns | lesson of the Lord's sympathy and pity. They. ton. should weep bitterly for ? raregressions and repent and profit by their experience. 1'urpone inmost energy and pur? pose makes energy.?Parkhourst. READING THE FLASHES. Llrhthouses Ar? Open Books to tha Experienced Mariner. Passengers are generally astonished vahen ou a dark night they bear the ship's officer remark to another. There's Egg rock." or "Crabtree ledge," or "Ueaver Tall." as the case may be, naming some headlnud or shoal along the coast. The landlub? ber strains his eyes, and far away there appears from time to time a flash of light, red or white. As these flashes seem to the passenger exactly like those from hundreds of other light? houses, he is astonished at the officer's assurance. It is really n very easy matter to dis? tinguish the American lighthouses and lightships, of which there are about 1,300 along the Atlantic and gulf coasts if one Is possessed of a copy of the code issued by the lighthouse board- Every light is known by the fixed light, the duration of flash, the length of the eclipse or the number of flashes shown In groups. No light? houses within a hundred miles of each other are ever similar In these par? ticulars. For Instance, one gnidepost of tbe see may flash a white light every fifteen seconds, never varying, while the next fleshes n red light every five seconds. The third may be an alternate red and white flash, with in? tervals of ten seconds between the flashes, and so on. The audible fog signals are identified by the time be? tween the blasts of the siren and the continuance of the blast Flashing lights are preferred to fixed lights for the reason that n fixed ligh' might be confused with some other light on shore. Only white and red lights are considered desirable in light? house*, since It baa been found that the rays from lights of other colors cannot be seen nt so great a distance. There Is but one preen light?a fixed one?on the Atlantic coast.?Harper's Weekly. HELPED BY A HAMMER. A Little Business Incident to Which Hange a Moral. Two blocks apart in a certain street are two stationery stores. The owner of one has abundant capital, has a wide, roomy place with a large stock of goods well displayed. The store of the other man is a mere hole in the wall in a dingy building, yet this deal? er is getting most of the business. The following incident may explain it A woman who had Just moved to the vicinity stopped in the larger store one evening to buy some picture nails, but was told that they were not sold there. "Where can I buy them?** she asked politely. "I flon't know," said the proprietor. The Woman went to the smaller store. Tliis man had no picture nails either. "I have a box of old nails that I use myself," he explained. "Perhaps some of them might do." The woman gratefully accepted his offer and found some nails that an? swered her purpose. She remembered then that she had no hammer. "I can lend you one." said the shopkeeper, "If you will bring it back in the morning." Evet since that time that woman has walked the extra blocks to patronize the obliging merchant. She has told her friends of the Incident and influ enced then to become customers. The lesson taught by this Insignifi? cant Incident is one that is only loo often neglected. It pays a small tradesman to be obliging?It pays all of us. Small favors bring large re? turns. -Chicago Tribune. Dreaded Premature Burial. Meyerbeer, like many other notable people, weid In dread of premature burial and left the most elaborate di? rections with a view to preventing ?neb a contingency. "My body Is to rang In untouched for a period of four 1 days after ny death is certified, with the face uncovered and in exactly the same position as at the time I tun sup? posed to have passed away. On the fifth day Incltlons are to be made In the throat and In the feet." lie also directed that two men should be ap- ! pointed to watch over him day and night in Case be should give any signs of life and that bolls should be attached to bis hands and feet. He Remained One. "It Is true." said a woman lecturer, "that some girls, marrying men to re? form them, succeed. Some girls, too. fail. "The hostess at a tea once said to a beautiful, sad eyed woman: " 'Are you fond of sports, Mrs. Blank V "Mrs. Blank smiled. Iler Fad eyes twinkled a moment. Then she sighed and answered: ??'Well. 1 suppose I ought to be. I married one.' " Egypt and China. In Egypt wa dig and delve and year by year recover the treasures she holds. In China there la nothing to re? cover, nothing to dig for. All her past is huddled on the surface. Her music and ber musical instruments of the past are here today the same as they aver were. There are no stages of de? velopment and no steps of ascent.? Hermann Smith. Preventing a Waste. "Why Is Mrs. .Jones standing bare beaded In the cold?" "Oh, she's got a half bottle of cold cure left from last year, and she wants to use It up to get the bottle out of the way."?Lippincott'a Had Done It Too. Knicker Ilanklng Interests some? times buy what they don't want to avert a panic. Hocker?As I buy my wife a dress Harper's Hazar. Nothing Is more dlagrmceful than Insincerity.?Cicero. SOUTHERN MERGER CASL FAMOUS SI FT AGAINST RAILROAD MONOPOLY COMMENCED. Only a Retiming Was Made Today? The Issue* of Fact Will lie Submit? ted to The Jury to Paws Upon Whether The Absorbed Railways Were Compiling and Parrallel or Not, Special to the Daily Item. Columbia, Nov. 29.?The issues of fact for the jury in the case of the State against the Southern Railway and subsldianry corporations the act? ion which was put to trial here to? day on its merits for the first time to test the question whether the Southern's merger of lines in South Carolina constituted an Illegal ab? sorption of parallel and competing lines, are in reference to the old Carolina Midland, South Carolina and Georgia road South Carolina and Georgia extension and the Asheville and Spartanburg. The question In QMh is simply whether these were parallel and competing lines to the Southern. Only one witness was heard today who testified that tick? ets from Columbia to Alken cost $1.85 via Trenton and $2.10 via Rranchvllle. President Flnley and other high officials and counsel of the Southern Railway are present. The so-called merger case was or? dered to be brought by the legisla? ture In 1904, and the cause was first set for a hearing in Kershaw county. Subsequently the venue was changed to Richland county. Tt has never been before a jury for determination, but In July 1908, the attorney general a^kel leave of the court to withdraw the suit. Judge Klugh permitted this, but the Supreme Court held other wise, basing its decision upon the fac*. that to discontinue the suit would work great hardship on the defend? ants, who have been put to the trou? ble and expense In summoning wit? nesses and holding references in dif? ferent parts of the State. The purposes of the action were first, to have annulled the agree? ments made by Asheville and Spar? tanburg Railway company, South Carolina and Georgia Railroad Ex? tension company, under which the roads were, as the complaint alleges, consolidated and merged June 23, 1902, Into one corporation called the Southern Railway?Carolina, division, and second, to have annulled a lease executed June 30, 1C02, by Southern Railway?Carolina division to South? ern Railway company. Roth the consolidation and lease were under? taken and carried into practical ef? fect In strict conformity with an act of the general assembly, passed Feb? ruary 10, 1902 The constitution pro? vides against such consolidation, and it is on this ground that the suit, be? gun today, was instituted. THE BAPTIST CONVENTION. Ninetieth Annual state Convention Organ!pod at Laurena, Laun ns, Nov. 29.?Organisation of the ninetieth annual State Baptist Convention was effected tonight af? ter the sermon by the Rev. J. P. Vines, D. i>., of Anderson by the elec? tion of officers, as follows: Walter H. Hunt. Bsq., of Newberry, president. J. J. Gentry. Kso.. of Spar? tanburg, and the Rev. John D. Pitts. ot Blackvllle, vice presidents; the Rev. a. C Jones, ?.r Bennettsville, secretary; the Rev. A. R. Kennedy, of Columbia, assistant secretary; c. B. Hobo, of Laurens, treasurer and Prof. B. ES. Qreer, of Greenville, auditor. Dr. a. J. S. Thomas, editor of the Baptist Courier, who has served as president of the Convention for two years, declined renomlnation. Prof. Co er, of Furman University, succeeds the late W. W. Keys as auditor of the Convention; Mr. Keys, it Will be re? called, passed away during the cur? rent year. Doll Basar Next Week. The ladies of the D. A. R. chapter are making active preparation! for the Doll Basar, to be held on Decem? ber 7th, and they expect to have a number of attractively dressed dolls on sale. The bazar will be held at the Lyric which the management has kindly turned over t? the ladies for the afternoon. At tie- same time, a lecture will be given for young folks on the care of the forests. This will be illustrated with moving pictures, and the holies are endeavoring to make it both Interesting and Instruc? tive, and they hope tin young peo? ple v. in be out in full force. The cotton crop ot Sumter county equals the crop of last year, but aas no| as equally divided among the farmers. A large number made larg? er crops this \ear than last, while many others had very poor crops. This was not a good crop year, and only those farmers who mixed brains .?. Ith work and used plenty of fer? tilizer succeeded in overcoming the handicap of late spring and unfavor? able weather conditions. The easy going, trust In the Lord type of far? mer .made a poor crop this year and will not pay OUt, despite high priced cotton. FIRE TUESDAY AFTERNOON. Negro House Occupied by Tommy DavlH I in i in < I tO ?1c uiinl. Tuesday afternoon the hose wagons were called out by an alarm of fire at 552 South Main street, and upon their arrival they found the house, occupied by a negro named Tommy Davis, to he enveloped in flames and before the hose could be stretched and joined together so as to reach the fire, the house was almost burned to the ground and all that the hose companlts could do was to save the neighboring property. The fire originated from what was supposed to be a defective flue, for when first seen it was burning through the shingles and was spread? ing. The alarm was turned in as quick? ly as possible, but as there was no lire alarm box in the neighborhood, it was some time before one was reached and the alarm sent in. The house was on the extreme southern limit of town and it took the hose wagons some time to get there and, when they were finally there, they found that the hose of neither wagon was near long enough to reach the tire. However, the hose from both wagons was joined together and, with the line thus lengthened to al? most 1,800 feet it was barely able to reach the fire, the stream of water even then being scarcely enough with which to fight the fire. The com? panies were able to save tbe adjacent property from catching, however, and after a fight of about an hour, the house having fallen in in the meantime, they were able to put the fire out. The house was a nice one-story painted frame biluing, and one of the best negro houses in the neigh? borhood. It belonged to Rev. M. M. Mouzon, of the colored Methodist Episcopal church, who now lives in Charleston. The tenant, Tommy Da? vis, saved almost all of his furniture, which was not insured. The house was insured for about two-thirds of its value. Mr. R. E. Wilder, acting chief of of the fire department in speaking of the fire, commented upon the fact that should a fire begin in the cen? tral part of the city when the hose wagons were at one of these fires on the city outskirts, that the hose wagons could not possibly reach tha second fire for at least 4 5 minutes af? ter the alarm reached them, and in such a case, should it ever occur, It would be hard to say what damages would result. IN THE POLICE COURT. From The Daily Item, Nov. 30. The police docket had the usual number of cases on it this morning for trial by the Recorder and which, if paid, will net the city a larger amount than th?- regular contribu? tion. , The first case up was that against W. A. Davis, white, for public drunk? enness. Davis paid a line of $5 for the privilege of being drunk where the public could see him. H, A. sfoseley, a young white man, Charged Laura Boyce, a colored wo? man, with assaulting him and rob? bing him of a sum of money, but as he could not say who it was that robbed him <t who hit him, the case was dropped for lack of evidence to substantiate the charge. Laura Boyce, Annie Johnson, Lucy Hicks and Alice Jones, colored, were charged with keeping a dlsreptuable place and found guilty, and each of them was sentenced to pay a fine of $30 or to serve 30 days on the pub? lic works of the county. The linos were to be reduced to $20 each, pro? vided that they were paid and of? fenders would leave town right Sumy. Lucius Boasard and Henry Jones, colored, were found guilty of the ( barge of vagrancy and were sen? tenced to pay fines of $10 or serve -0 days, and $15 or serve 30 days, respectively. T. B. Jenkins and A. J. Aid, white, were ui> for riding bicycles on for? bidden sidewalks and were sentenced to pay lines of $1 ?'ach or to serve 2 days on the public works of the city. yb<: tines were paid Into the city treasury. It is not too early to begin adver? tising Christmas goods. Mr. M< r chant) the holiday shoppers are al? ready looking arouno. The tureat, quickest and most economical means of advertising so as to reach all the I.pie of Burnt er, ? Ity and county, and hundreds of others In Clarendon and L' o counties, is to place your ad. vertlsemenl In the Daily Item and semi-weekly Watchman and South? ron An advertisement in both papers, at a combination rate, will reach more people?the buying class?at less cost than any other way you can ad? opt. Postmaster Shore and his assist ants are at home in the New Post office and arc ready to receive calls from the public. The transfer was made about noon, after the arrival of the morning mails and in a short time the business of the Postofflce was going on as usual. 11,000,000 BALES ESTIMATED. Senator Sn?tli Buses Statement on lb portv from t onst>rvatlv<> Corre HiM>ndentH. Florence, Nov. 29.?In a statement, issued today, Senator E. I>. Smith esti? mates the cotton crop of 1910-11 at eleven million hales maximum. Hig estimate is made from telegrams re? ceived in the last few days from conservative correspondents In every cotton growing State. It i8 made up from practically the same corres? pondents who reported condition! to him which he gave to the press a few weeks ago. Below will be found a detailed synopsis of these reports and his estimate: "Reports from Texas are to the ef? fect that the frost has done more damage than has been estimated, and, from information from correspond? ents the estimate is that Texas will make 3,000,000 bales, Including Un? ters. Correspondents from Mississippi declare that on account of the boll weevil and early frost Mississippi will make perhaps 1,000,000 bales. The season In this State was late and the frost comparatively early, and for the first time In its history the ravages of the boll weevil materially affected the crop. In North Carolina, conditions have ^ been fairly good. Advices are that this State will make 650,000 bales. In Arkansas, practically the same conditions exist as existed In Texas. Lets spring, comparatively early kill? ing frost, boll weevil. This State is estimated to make 65C 000 bales. ~ Advices from Louisiana are the most startling of all. One of the best informed correspondents telegraphed me yesterday that he did not believe the Louisiana crop would exceed 235,000 bales. From Alabama the report la, tak? ing an average of those that have re? ported, 1,150,000 bales. The reports from Georgia Indicate a yield of 1,650,000 bales. Oklahoma, 750,000 bales. All other States, Including Tennes? see, Florida and Virginia, 600,000 - bales. South Carolina, I give the average of the estimates so far received as 1,100,000 bales. This makes a total of 10,685,000 bales. Allowing for an error, on the side of under estimation of a quarter of a million bales of cot? ton, my estimate of the crop is that it will not exceed 11,000,000 bales. These estimates are made up care? fully from telegrams received from my correspondents in every cotton growdng State. I am fully convinced that the trade has totally underestimated the effects of the extremely low temper? atures prevailing in the early part of October. , A 12,000,000-bale crop would Justi? fy much higher prices than those that now prevail. The farmers are In a better condition than ever be? fore in their history to demand the full value of the remainder of the crop. It is entirely with them as to whthcr they will realize the same or not. Twenty cents cotton looks awful goof" to me, and those who for so many years had to take 4 and 5 cents. RESOLUTIONS. Adopted by Washington Stiax't Bap? tist ( lunch, \o\einbor ITtfc, 1910. Whereas, our beloved Pastor has signified his intention of laying dow"n the work of this field at the close of the year, and Whereas, ws desire to record an expression of our affection for him as a brother in Christ; of our ad? miration of his zeal, faithfulness and consecration to the work of tho Master; of our profound sense of obligation fco him for the wisdom, patience and love with which he has under Ood led us through the dan? gers and difficulties of the first ten years of our existence as a church; of our gratitude for his faithfulness as friend, adviser and pastor, and for his unselfish devotion to this church which has been manifested in so many ways: Therefore lb solved, That the resignation of Ree. F. M. Satterwhite as Pastor has caused the deepest sorrow to this church. Resolved, That we will ever cher? ish the memory of bis gracious v. ork In our midst and bear witness to the earnest leal of his pulpit labors, of the energy with which he entered In? to and led our varied enterprises and consecration of ids time and strength in advancing the cause of Christ, not only in this church, but in our town and country. Resolved, That we earnestly pra> that God will lead him In the futui*?. as v\ <? feel assured he has in the past, and that bis work for the Master wdl add Stars to his Crown in that day which Is awaiting all the Anally faith? ful. Resolved, That these resolutions be published In the Baptist Courier and In the papers of Snmter. E. c Haynsworth, W. F. Rhame, L. A. Nettles. Committee.