The Union times. [volume] (Union, S.C.) 1894-1918, July 21, 1899, Image 8
/ AN ANCIENT EPI (i HA M
I DR. TALMAGE FOUNDS HIS SERMON
ON AN OLD SAYING.
lie l's?n It tu Illuuti-ate the Lndlcrou*
Ilelinvlor of Thowe Who .IIiikihIi'}'
' Small Slim and U.uorv tironl tinea, i
Much In Little.
[Copyright, Louis Klopsch, 1SC9.1
Washington, July 10.?iu tliis tils(
course, founded on nu ancient e[>igram
repented by Christ, Dr. TaImage
illustrates the folly of being very piirtlculnr
about iusiguitlcaut things,
while neglectful of vast concerns. Tl:e
text is Matthew XXitl* 24: "Ye blind
guides, which strain at a gnat aiul
f swallow a camel."
A proverb Is compact wisdom, knowledge
in chunks, a library in a .sentence,
the electricity of many clouds discharged
In one bolt, a river put
through a mill race. When Christ
quotes the proverb of the text, he
means to set forth the ludicrous behavior
of those who make a great
bluster about small sins and have 110
appreciation of great ones. In my
text a small Insect and a large quad-*
ruped are brought into comparison?a
gnat and a camel. You have in museum
or on the desert seen the latter,
a great awkward, sprawling creature,
with back two stories high and stomach
haviug a collection of reservoirs
for desert travel, an animal forbidden
to the Jews as food and in many literatures
entitled "the ship of the desert."
The gnat spoken of i:i the text
is in the grub form. II is born in pool
or pond, after a few weeks becomes
a chrysalis and then after a few days
uiTuim^ 11.1- gusu ;'.s we iTCO^iiiKt' ir.
But the insect spoken of in the text Is
in its very smallest shape, and it yet
inhabits the water, for my text is a
misprint and ought to read "strain out
a gnat."
My text shows you tin* prince of inconsistencies.
A man after long observation
las formed the suspicion
that in a cup of water lie is about to
drink here is a grub ,or the grandparent
of ;? gnat. lie goes and gets a
sieve or struitr.T. He takes the water
and pours it through the sieve in the
broad light. He say:-. "I would rather
do anything almost than drink this
water until this larva be extirpated."
This water is brought turner inquisition.
The experiment is successful.
The water rushes through tlie sieve
and leaves against the side of the sieve
the grub or gnat. Then the man carefully
removes the insect atjd drinks the
water in placidity. But going out one
day and hungry, he devours a "ship of
the desert." thi' camel, which the Jews
were forbidden to cat. The gastitju- ,
oiuer br)H .'jo compunctions of conscience,
lie suffers from no indigostlou.
He puts the lower jaw under .
the camel's forefoot and his upper jaw (
over the hump of the earners hack and ]
gives one swallow, and the dromedary
rl I on pp. -p f a
\Y.,' \.,;s - .
stalling oln7^*- i
Ills illustration " ''.7o.. $ '"'fm. /
less they were tod* v..M ' stand
the hyperbole -Christ practically
said to litem, "That is you." ITiuc
tilious about small things; reckless
about atiairs of great magnitude. No
subject ever winced under a surcoon'a
knife more bitterly than did the Pharisees
under Christ's scalpel of truth.
As cu anatomist will take a human
body to pieces and put the, pieces under
a microscope for examination, so
Christ buds his way to the heart of
the dead Pharisee and outs it out and .
puts it under the glass of inspection .
for all generations to examine. Those j
Pharisees thought tlint Christ would a
flatter them and compliment them,
and how they must have writhed un- 1
tier the red hot words as lie said. "Ye a
fools, ye whi ted sepulehers. ye blind
guides, wlileli strain out a gnat nud
swallow a eainel."
There are in our day a great many
gnats strained out and a great many
camels swallowed, and it Is the object
of this scrmou to sketch a few persons
who are extensively engaged in
that business.
First. I remark, that all those ministers
of the gospel who are very sentpulonsabout
the conventionalities of religion.
but put no particular stress upon
matters of vast importance, are
photographed in the text. Chureli services
ought to be grave and solemn.
There is no room for frivolity in religious
convocation. I*tit there are II.
lustrations, and there are hyperboles
like that of Christ in the text, that
will irradiate with smiles any Intelligent
mullcnce. There arcu twcrr?tffco <
those blind guides of the text who ad- I
vocato only those tilings in religious '
service which draw the corners of the i
mouth down and denounce nil those <
things which have a tendency to draw <
the corners of the mouth up. and these I
V men will go to installations and to '
presbyteries and to conferences and to 1
associations, their pockets full of fine t
sieves to strain out- tlie gnats, while I
tn tlinlv ?.1A...,.1 ?
... ...v,. iiiuiciH-s 111 iiuuiu I'vury
Sunday there are. r>0 people sound I
asleep. Tliey make their churches n
?rent dormitory, and their somniferous >
' sermons are a cradle and the drawled 1
> out hymns n lullaby, while some wake- >
ful sou! in a pew with her fan keeps 1
the flies off unconscious persons op- 1
proximate. Now. I sny it is worse to '
eleep in church than to smile in church,
' for the latter Implies at least atten- 1
ion. while the former implies tlit? In- '<
llfTereuce of the hearers and the stu- 1
Idlty of the speaker. f
In old ape or from physical Inflrml- ^
-> or from lonp watching with the
i ck drowsiness will sometimes over- '
I >wer one; but when a minister of the . 1
i sjiel looks off upon axi audience and '
I ( ds healthy and Intelligent people *
ft uppllnp wiili drowsiness It Is time <
ft him to give -out the doxology or '
ft nouhce the InrtivdJvUoti. The gfWt ,
I y
Iii Lit of church services today Is not ;
too uutich vivacity, but too much
somnolence. The one Is an Irritating i
gnat that timy be easily strained out,"
the other Is a great, sprawling and
sleepy eyed camel of t'.ie dry desert.
In all our Sabbath schools, in all our
Bible clashes, in all our pulpits we
need to brighten up our religious message
whu such Christlike vivacity as
we tiud in the text.
WIS m:(l Hiautot*.
1 take down from my library tlie
biographies of mi ulsters and writers ;
of the past ages, .inspired mid unin- j
spired, who have done the most to I
bring souls to .Jesus Christ, and 1 iitid j
that without a single exception they j
consecrated their wit and their humor j
to Christ. Lilijah used it when he ad- ;
vise;! the Baulltir, as they could not j
make their god respond, to call louder, j
as their god might be sound asleep or j
gone a-huutlug. Jolvtised it wlieil he j
sai l to lils noil' conceited comforters. 1
"Wisdom will die with you." Christ !
not only used it in the text, but when !
lie ironically complimented the cor- 1
mpt Pharisees, saying. "The v.hole j
need not a physician." and when l?y \
one word he described the cunning of (
Herod, saying, "(So ye and tell that ;
fox." Matthew Henry's commentaries
from the lirst page to the last corruscated
with limnor. as summer
clouds with heat lightning.
John Hnnyan's writings are as full
of littmor as they are of saving truth,
and there .is not an aged man here who
has ever read "Pilgrim's Progress"
who does not remember that while
reading it lie smiled as often as lie
wept. ('brysostoin, (ieorge Herbert.
Ilohcrt South, tJoorgc Whiteileld. Jero
my Taylor, Rowland Hill. Ashael Nettleton,
Charles <1. Finney and all the
men of the past who greatly advanced
the kingdom of (lod consecrated their
wit ami their littmor to the cause of
Christ. So it lias been in all the ages,
and I say to all our young theological
students, sharpen your wits until they
are as keen as sci:.liters and then take
then into tills holy war. It is a very
short' brldpe between a smile ;uid a
tear, a suspension bridge from eye to
lip. and it is soon crossed over, and a
smile is sometime.: ii" I -is s-io??wl no .
x ' Itvi V\I ??o u
tear. There is s;s much i\ ligion. and I
think a little more. in a. spring morning
than in a starless midnight. Religious
work without any humor or wit
in it is a banquet with a side of heel ,
and that raw an 1 no condiments and
no dessert succeeding. lYopIe will not
sit dowti to such a banquet. Ry all
means remove all frivolity and all
bathos and all lightness and vulgarity;
strain them out through lite sieve of
holy discrimination; but, on the other
hand, beware of that monster which
overshadows the Christian church today.
conventionality, coining tq> from
the Great Sahara desert of cedes!fisticism.
having ou its back a hump
of sanctimonious gloom, and vehemently
refuse to swallow that.camel.
I'ni-1ic 11 Inr At>oiit Small 'I'liiofCN.
Oh, how particular a great many people
are about the intiuitesiiuals, while
I'tjy are quite reckless about the untgI
UfaTv coilld BMrrnrar &h?T l.'H
'it rirr,-'r'!' TJr"^uued people in his time
;x,;?vA to wnsl1 Ultjh"
hands beio.i -l/4Ml,1>ut (]it| uot wash
their hearts? It Is a had thing to have
unclean hands; it Is a worse thing to
have an unclean heart. IIow many
l)l>01ltl> thao-ft aim it! ..111- till... ??.!.*?
very anxious tliat after their death
tliey shall be buried with their face
toward the east and not at all anxious
that during their whole life they
should come up in the resurrection of
J''lier4UikL W " nlulfu "
T
it i
SI (t
n i
!,
"i
} n
ixr.rTgiKcuiio ii.iii i-iiumg, the
'veiling of (lio very day when lie walereil
(ho stock, will llud a wliarf rat
dealing a daily paper from the basement
doorway and will go out and
?atch the urchin by the collar and
Iwist the collar so t'j<litly the poor follow
lias no power to say that It was
thirst for knowledge that led him to
Hie dishonest act, but grip the collar
tighter and tighter, saying: "I have
lieen looking for you a long while,
i'ou stole my paper four or live times,
iiiveu't you. you miserable wretch?"
\nd then the old stock gambler, with
i voice tliey can hear three blocks,
will cry out, "Police, police!" That
Mimo ninn tho evening of the day In
which lie watered tho stock will kneel
with ids family In prayers and thank
"Jod for (lie prosperity of (lie day, then
kiss Ids children good night with an
ilr which seems to say, "I hope you
>11 will grow up to be as good as your
'nther!" Prisons for sins insect lie In
size. hut palaces for crimes drome
larlau. No tnercy for sins animalcule
u proportion, but great leniency foi
nastodon iniquity. A poor boy fclyl.i
akes from the basket of a market wo !
nan a choke pear, saving some on>
dse front th? cholera, and you smoth
>r him in the horrible atmosphere of
Raymond street Jail or New Yorl
Combs, wlifts hi* cousin* who knt booh '
*- ???
skillful enough to st< ul $10,000 from
the city, you make it candidate for the I
state legislature.
Oiuiilimtrtii i u?;
There is a good deal el uneasiness
aii.l n .wousnosa now among some people
iu our time who have got unrighteous
fortunes, a groat Meal of uuensiuess
about Mynainite.' 1 toll them
that t,oil will put under their uurlgk'eous
fortunes something more explosive
than <!;. naiaite, the ? arthquake
of his omnipotent indignation. It is
time tl.at we kniu in Aineriea that siu
Is not. excusable iu proportion as it Me- j
.lares large dividends and lias outrld- I
or3 iu equipage. Many a man is rid- i
ing to perdition postilion abend and j
lackey behind. To steal one copy of a
newspaper is a gnat; to steal many
thousands of dollars is a camel. There
is many a fruit dealer who woui 1 not |
Consent to steal a basket of peaches ;
from n neighbor's stall, but who would ,
not scruple to depress the fruit mar- !
Uet, and as long as I can remember
we have heard every summer the
pem.ii crop of Maryland is a failure,
and by the time the crop comes in the |
misrepresentation makes a difference '
of millions of dollars. A man who
would not steal olio 1 nsket of peaches
steals f;0,000 baskets of poaches.
tie dowu Into llio public library, Su :
the reading rooms, and see t!:o news- |
paper it ports of ike crops from all
pnita o4* tlie country. ami their phraseology
is very tuueli the same, ami the
same men wrote litem, methodically i
and infamously currying out the huge \
i.\ lug about titer grain crop front year
to year and for a score of years. Aft- '
or awhile there will he a "corner" In '
the wheat market, a.tul nun who had j
a contempt for i etty theft will burglarize
the whea.t bin <d* a nation attd
commit larceny upon the Antcricau
corn crib, and some of the men will sit !
in churches and in reformatory institutions
trying to strain out the small 1
gnats of seoundrelism. while in their
grain elevators and in their store I
houses they are fattening lingo camels
which they expect after av.ldlo to 1
swallow. Society has to be entirely re- i
constnvt ad on t^sis subject. We are i
to find that a sin is inexcusable in pro- !
portion as it is great. I know in our i
time (lie tendency is (o charge religious
frauds upon good mint. '11 toy i
say, "tilt, what a liost of frauds you '
have in llio Church of Goil in this
day!" And when an elder of a church,
or a deacon, or a minister of the go?-.- .
pel, or a superintendent of a Sabbath
school turn:; out a defaulter what dis* j
play heads there are in many of the ;
newspapers. Great primer type. Five
line pica. "Another Saint Abscond* i
ed," "Clerical Scoundrel ism," 'Tloil- j
glon at a Piscouut," "Shame on the
Clinrehes," while there are a thousand
scoundrels outside the church to one
inside the church, and the misbehavior ,
of those who never see the inside of a j*
church Is so great that it is enough to '
tempt a man to become a Christ in 11 to '
get out of their company. I>ut In all
circles, religious and irreligious, the
tendency is to excuse siu In proportion
demnn Sntan, gives such a grnWJJVPWo
scription of him you have hard work
to withhold your admiration. Oh, this
straining out of small sins like gnats
and this gulping dowu great iniquities
like camels!
(taller)' of I'lctnro*.
This subject does not give the piclure
of one or two persons, but is a !
gallery in which thousands of people j
may see their likenesses. For instance, |
all those people who, while they would
not 10b their neighbors of a farthing,
appropriate the money and the treus- !
tire of the public. A inau lias a house j
to sell, and he tells his customer it is
worth $20,000. Next day the assessor
comes around, and the owner says it j
is worth $ir>,0'J0. The government of
the United States took off the tax from
personal income, among other reasons '
because so few people would tell the
truth, and many a man with uii in* j
como of hundreds of dollars a day
made statements which seemed to ini* ,
ply lie was about to be handed over to 1
the overseer of the nnm*. Pnmfni
pay their passage from Liverpool to ,
New York, yet smuggling in their Saratoga
trunk ten silk dresses from I'arls
and a half dor.en watches from Geneva,
telling the custom house o Ulcer on
the wharf, "There is nothing in that
trunk hut wearing apparel." and putting
a ?r? goid piece in" his hand to i
ninetuate the statement.
Described In the text are ail those '
%vho are particular never to break the ;
.i\v of grammar and who want ail
heir language an elegant specimen of
yntax, straining out all the Inaccura- !
ies of speech with a line sieve of lit- >
orary criticism, while through their
conversation go slander and innuendo
and profanity and falsehood larger
than n whole earn van of camels, when 1
they might better fracture every law
of the language and shock their intellectual
taste, and better let every verb
seek in vain for its nominative, nmi ?v. i
erj' noun for lis government, and lot
every proposition lose Its way in the ,
sentence, and adjectives and partlcl- 1
pies and pronouns pet into a praud
riot worthy of the Fourth ward of '
Now York on election day than to ' '
commit a moral Inaccuracy. Hotter , 1
swallow a thousand gnats than one i
camel. f.1
Such persons are also described in 1
the text who are very much alarmed | 1
about the small faults of others and :
have no alarm about their own great 1 '
transgressions. There are In every '
community and in every church watchdogs
who fool allied upon to keep
their eyes on others and growl. They <
are full of suspicions. Thoy wonder If
this man Is not dishonest, If that man
Is not unclean. If there Is not something
wrong about the other man. 1
They are always the first to hear of [
anything wrong. Vultures are always >
the first to smell carrion. They are '
Rolf appointed detectives. I lay tlda f
down as a rule without any exception 1
timt \hrm pwptw wire httvtr tire revet 1
faults themselves arc most merciless
lu the It* vutchhij; of others. From
sculp of head to solo of foot they are
1 till of jonlouskv; nit 1 hy parent k-isMJ.
They spend their life in huutitf* for
inuskrats anil mini turtles instead of
hunting for Kock.v mountain u, lis,
always for soiucthiu;; mean luste:: 1 of
something grand. They look at their
neighbors' Imperfections through a
microscope and look at their own hisperfections
through a telescope np-dJe
down. Twenty faults of their own do
not hurt tlieui so much as one fault ni
somebody else. Their tu Ighhor.s' Imperfections
are like gnats. and they
strain thorn out; their own imperfections
are like camels, and they swallow
them.
Treaxtiros In ttonvtn.
But lest too many lni^ht think they
escape the serutiuy ol the test 1 have
to tell you that we all como ;.t. lor the
divii.o satiro wliotl wo make the (pactions
f time ntoro prominent than the
questions of eternity. Come, now. let
uti an go I'i'.o Uio confessional. Are
not nil tempted to make the question.
Where shall 1 live uow? greater than
I ho question. Where shall I live* iij"ever?
How shall I sot moro dollars
hero? greater than the question. Ilow
shall 1 lay up treasures in lion von V tho
question, How slm'.I I pay my del. to to
man? greater than the question, IIow
shall 1 meet my obligations to Clod?
the quest ion. * How shall 1 gain tiie
world V greater than the question,
What it' I lose my sjuI? the question,
Why did (Jo:l let sin come into the
world? greater than the question. IIow
shall I get it extirpated from my nature?
tlie question. What shall i do
with the HO or -10 or 7<> years of my
sublunar existence? greater than the
question. What shall I do with the
millions of cycles of 'my post terrestrial
existence? Time, hew small it
is! F.ternity. how vast it Is I The former
"more insignificant In comparison
with tiie latter than a gnat is insignificant
when compared with a catnel.
We dodged the text. We said. "That
does not mean me. and that does not
mean me," and with a ruinous benevolence
we are giving the whole sermon
away.
But let us nil surrender to the charge.
What an ado about things here. What
poor preparation for a great eternity.
As though a minnow were larger than
a behemoth as though a swallow took
wider circuit than an albatross, as
though a nettle were taller than a
Lebanon cedar, as though a gnat were
greater than a camel, as though a tniu
mi' wore longer man u century, as
though time were higher, deeper,
broader than eternity. So the text
which Hashed with lightning of wit as
Christ uttered it is followed by tlie
crushing thunders of awful catastrophe
to those who make the questions
of time greater than the questions of
the future, the oncoming, overshadowing
future. Oh, eternity, eternity,
eternity!
"The InipcudluK Crinta" Man.
llintou Itowau Helper of North Caru
ifffflWtteu j
ids prophetic work in 1857, and from
that time he was an exile from his native
state. Mr. Helper differed much
from the old northern abolitionists, but
was powerful In bringing the crisis ho
had predicted. Today he would settle
the race question by deporting the
African. He said lu a recent interview:
"I can recommend today what I advocated
in 1857?deportation to Africa.
We do not even want the negro in tho
West India islands. If I could have
seen tho first slave trader who ever
lauded on this continent and had the
power, 1 would have killed him and also
his captive?tho former for his horrible
crime of man stealing and tho
mild lur nil? WL'ilKUl'ijS WlltCU Ul.llie It
possible for him to be a slave."?
Spriugtielu (Mass.) Republican.
"Fellow" In tlie llllile.
The New England papers are having
a pleasant little battle over the origin
and exact meaning of the word "fellow."
They have dragged forth examples
from the four corners of literature,
but by some strange frcuk they
have missed the word as used by Tyndale.
The free use of old days allowed
him to write in translating (Jcncsis
xxxix, 2, "And the Lord was with Joseph,
and he was a luekie fellow."
That looks at least quaint to most of
us, but the effect Is accentuated when
we come to Mark Iv, -11: "What felowe
is this? For booth winds and see
obey him." and Mark ii, 7, "How doth
this felowe blaspheme?" Again in
John vi, 52, we read, "IIow can this
? . ..... .
reiowe give i;s liis tleshhe to eat?" Let j
the people of New England study the
early IJlbles.?Philadelphia Press.
1'n r t ridxcn us Tame an Chicken*.
The idea that a partridge could not 1
he tamed has always been a prevailing
one, and that, too, not without I
foundation. The experiment has often
been tried without any success. Mr.
Joseph (.Solloway of this city, however,
lias made an exception to this seemingly
natural rule. He has a number
jf partridges about 2 years old which
were hatched on his premises. They
ire perfectly gentle and are as do
most ion ten in tneir nanus as the com- )
won clilckon. Tliey go about with
tlio other fowls and In like manner
livood and raise their young. This
lemons!rates the possibility of what
ins always been considered impossible.
thinks Mr. Golloway.?Morrlstown
,Tenn.) Gazette.
Stntco Renllnm.
Joseph Jefferson tells a story of a i
friend of his who was playing "Riehird
III" on tiie Texas frontier. When
t eame to the wooing of the Lady
\nne, an Indignant cowboy Jumped up
ind shouted: "Don't you believe him,
narni! Ile've two Mexican wives ,
town in Bm ActtmttrT '
I .v * ?M?f ??
> *
THEY CAME BACK? j :
A Lover In n Uornc nntl n Letter C'nr- , (
ri'.r In :i Duti.
So.no time ago ;i stor.- was told about j
a bor.sc which was owned by a farmer
at IJsh. N. Y? which showed Its foinl- _
ucss for a young woman of that place j
in such a marked ay.il unmistakable |
manner that some people of llu; place t c
expressed the belief that thi^piflt of j
the young woman's lover, who had died j
a few years before the horse appeared ^
on the scene, had returned in the horse. (
'J'iie young man, the story went, was a ^
linn believer in the transmigration of
l-r.il'J ...,-,1 1..-.. I,,. ?n11.,.l
DWiio, tur.i iviwi \J mr* nvti 111 ?V vm?iv:\? ^
his sweetheart and told her that even J;
if lie died ho wou'.d always ho with '
hoi* in some form, and would in any
form dcmousi'rate ids nITcctiou.for hoi*. ^
The young woman, a Miss Davis, acquired
possession of the animal, and,
although she did not subscribe to the
theory advanced by some of her
friends, named tire animal Jesse, after
her dead lover, and had a comfortable
room built next to the house, in which
he was maintained in lior.se luxury.
A transmigration story with kss romance
comes from All any. A practicing
physician in that place owns a
handsome Irish setter. The dog is a .
great pot in the family and is remarkably
Intelligent.
"Ho minds his own bin.'. ..ess, has no
bad habits, and would bo pm feet if it
were not for one trick." raid the owner,
"and we forgive him that since wo
know the reason for it."
The setter takes every opportunity
to get out of the house early in the
morning, and it is iticod that whenever
lie gets away !:*. tnah-s a straight
dash down the Capita! ldll and never ci
stops until ho gets t > ike postoJ'dee. i
There the dog waits until the letter o
carrier;! <-o;;:o out with their delivery
pouches, and the first t tan in the strei t j
has the dog's company until lie returns i
to the posioflieo. lie hat*, no favorite o
on the force; any letter carrier r: "fas t
to suit bis purpose, ami his anxiety to t
make the rounds. Ids familiarity v.dh e
the hours of duty, and his friendship f
for the uniformed carriers have c.V.tscd c
many people to point tj> the dog as g
proof that there is something in the v
transmigration of souls theory, and I
that the spirit of a tired out carrier has
found its way into the dashing setter.? I
New York Tribune. 1
Ciirlyle u:i the f.onl'K I'rnj'ir. \
Carlylo. although u disciple ( f ihc I,
skeptical philosophy, livingnprayerless 8
life, once wrote to his friend. Tho^nis p
IOrskine, the following testimonyujf The
adaptability of the Lord's I'r./yer to
man's nature: 3 i
"'Our Father, which art lu/heavon,
hallowed be thy name. Thv/kingdoni
come. Thy will ho done.' m'liat else
cau we sayV The other ninht, in my
sleepless tossiugs about, v/hleh were
growing more and mor^e luiserahle,
these words of that hriejf and grand
prayer came strangely i,nto my mind 1
with an altogether new /unphnsis, as if 1
within, and shining fior me In mild,
liure splendor on th/e black bosom of
I * ^''ii I, as it were, read
tucm word by word, with a sudden 1
check to my imperfect wanderings,
with a sudden softness of composure
which was much unexpected.
"Not for perhaps 3d or 40 years
had I ever formally repeated that 1
prayer?nay, I never felt before how 1
intensely the voice of man's soul it is;
the inmost aspiration of all that is 1
high and pious In poor human nature; 1
right worthy to be recommended with 1
an 'After this manner pray ye.' "
Well, Wn* ft f '
Tho Kennebec (Me.) Journal tells this 1
story: "The committee on library In the 1
Sunday school of a church In one of 1
Portlanfl's suburban villages recently <
determined that some of the books in (
the library were not exactly proper
for Sunday school books and took it 1
upon themselves to expurgate the li- *
brary. The books in question were of 1
a very high class from a literary stand- 1
point, and tlie objection to them was '
that they did not teach religion, as (
Sunday school bodks should. - 1
"The committee went over the library 1
carefully and picked out the volumes 1
which did not meet their ideas of what 1
the Sunday school standard should be, 1
having previously determined that they '1
should be burned. When they had been 4
laid aside, however, it was decided that
It was too bad to burn them, and the
matter was finally compromised by
voting to present them to the library I
of the other church In town. I
"Now, was that Christian charity?" c
'We Xeeil n Mcltliiur." ?Apropos
of the proposed "Anglo- 6
American alliance," the story of Ilqr- I
ace Greeley's neat rebuke of the englishman
who once agreed with him too
literally may he worth telling. Mr.
Greeley was discussing in n general
company the faults and needs of his
own nation.
"What this country needs," said he
in his piping voice and Yankee accent,
Mis a real good licking."
It happened that there was an Englishman
present, and he promptly said,
with unmistakable English accent: e
"Quite right, Mr. Greeley, quite right, c
The country needs a 'licking.' " i
Hut Mr. Greeley, without glancing In f
the Englishman's direction or seeming a
to pay auy attention to the interrup- r
tion, went on in the same squeaky c
tone:
"But the trouble Is there's no nation t
that cau give it to us!"?Youth's Companiout
a
c
Tornndo Proof Dwelling*.
Now that Iron and steel can bo so j
cheaply made lu the United States, v
there should bo evolved some form of e
tornado proof tenement suitable for rj
the use of the inhabitants of the Mis- ^
slsslppl valley. Nothing less stable v
than a well anchored bessemer dwellIng
seems a safe place of residence lu v
the prairie etates.?Philadelphia Bee- t
** . .-1
THE SOY BEAN.
iiltlvntrd Ldltv-* Corn?Tip jlcillam
Marly Variety Heeon?ii?ei??Ic?l.
The eoy bean is one of tbe staple
rops of Japan which in now becoming
nito commonly grown in this country,
"lie crop is cultivated like corn, the
ped being planted in drills ut the rate
t about half a bushel per acre. Its
niln value, as demonstrated in recent
ears, seems to bo that of a forage
rop. The composition of the plant
hows a high percentage of food ingrei
: H!j
J i -j;s ...< 3
SOT IIKANS?EAKLY, MIIDI CM A SI) J.ATK.
i tents, and, as it is one of the legumnons
plants, it doubtless derives much
f its nitrogen from the air.
There are many varieties which at
resent are classified by a few seedsmen
nto early, medium and late; others
iflcr simply soy or 4,soja" beans, which
he New Hampshire station has found
o be usually the late variety. This
tat ion has cultivated tiio soy bean for
our seasons. The cut.shows specimens,
f early, medium and late varieties
;rown last season and represents their
arums degrees cf development when
ihotographcd in September.
No. 1 is dead ripe, with leaves fallen,
t contains, on an average, from 40 to
bean pods, with from two to three
leans each. No. 2 is the medium early
'ariety, and, although green wlieu
unvested, the seed was matured. No.
I is tht> late variety, and, although of
;ood sizo-it iw.._ still in blossom when
lltfuvtjgraphed.
The average yield of each variety'per
acre, when grown upon a fairly rich,
hut poorly drained clay loam, was for
No. 1, the early, 3 tons, 1.S08 pounds;
for No. 'J, medium early, 4 tons, 1,1)23
pounds; for No. 51, the late, 4 tons,
l.GtSO pounds. The seed of the early is
brown, while that of the medium early
is black. Professor Pane in bis report
on this plant advises that, all things considered,
the medium early variety
the best on account of its inaturinulMt Igj
large quantity of seed, as well as inii'?fl H;
iug a fine leafy growth, that: -em.'**
ono either to sell tLe seed or convert the
whole into silage.
The Velvet Bonn In the Hontli.
A nw^tif 4-1*^ . . 1? f ? ? ? 41? _ x_
uiiiuug mo jiiiiuin iiTi'utiy introduced
to tho public few have received
go much notice in the gulf states na tho
velvet bean. In Florida within the last
few years it has come into extensive
use and has found general favor, especially
aa a plant for use as a fertilizer
in orange groves. The Alabama station
says that, although Alabama has no
arange groves, the farmers of this state
also have uses for the velvet bean,
which matures seed in the southern
part of Alabama and makes a luxuriant
;rowth of vines in every part of the
itate.
As a ruin the leguminous plants
prized for soil improvement are also excellent
for feeding animals, their large
percentage of nitrogen making them especially
nutritions. 13uth vines and seed
>f the velvet beau are used as food for
louiestic animals, and some slight use
las been made of the seed as food for
uankind. Another use for velvet beans
s as mcaiis of crowding or shading
troublesome weeds. In the velvet bean
ve probably have a means of lighting
iermnda and nut grass and perhaps
llsri .Tnlmurtti
v..MUv/U ft'UOO.
Lifting; a IInyriu?k Off ami On.
A correspondent sends the Iowa
lonicstead a device for unloading and
Hitting on a hayrack, which has been
>f great help to him: To make this
*\ke two 2 by 0, lt3 or 20 feet long,
spike each to posts, as in the cut. The
hortest post or the top of 2 by 0 most
jo 8 feet 8 inches high or just high
... I-J
IlKVICE FOB LIFTING A HAYUACJC.
>nough to catch nmlrr the crosspiecen
if the rack. Tho highest cud most bo
nnch higher. The post must he or G
ect high, owing to the height of stand*
rds on wagon or the height tho rack
nnst be raised to clear standards Spiko
n some braces.
Set tho posts so the tram and wngon
an pass between, which will l o G or
IJli feet. Take a chain or , ieco of wire
nd chain from end of tongue to front
rOHspiece of rack. This is to poll tho
ack on the inclined 3 by G. Tako the
earn by the bits and lead them through
intil the incline has raised rack high
notigh, unhook the chain and drive off.
'o put rack on, back nndcr and cbnin
ind axle to the rack. Be snre to chain
rngon directly under ruck. Back team
nd tho rack will settle to its place on
rogon without any lifting. I have used
bis for ?na? tfw?t and it is all rifbfc