THF PRAYER OF TIIF. PENITENT.
COMMENTS ON NEXT SUNDAYS LESSON,
BY REV. K. P. HOOKUB, D. D.
From Hew York Obwmr.
Ooloen text "Wash ma thoroughly
from mine iniquity and cleanm mo from
my sin."—Ps. 61: 2.
Central Truth: —A sincere Buppli
ant is a penitent suppliant.
This is one of the most remarkable
of all David's writings. Whether we
consider the time and circumstances of
its composition, the double guilt of
which it is the remorseful confession,
uud the touching, almost heart-broken,
repeutanec which it rcvenls, it is wor
thy of the distinguished place which it
has always held in these divine lyrics.
An ancient writer calls it "the bright
est gem in the whole book, and eon
tains instruction so largo, and doctrine
so precious, that the tongue of angels
could not do justice to the full devel
opment." Luther says, "There is no
psalm which is oflener sung or prayed
in the Church."
Tho occasion of its utterance is
familiar to all readers of the Bible.
David had been led into the commis
sion of two of the greatest crimes
which man can commit cither against
God, or against his fellow. The faith
ful rebuke of Nathan the prophet
aroused hint to a profound conscious
ness of luh sin, ami led him to bitter
repentance and humble confession.
This Psalm, supposed to have been
composed shortly after, is the expres
sion of his terrible anguish, profound
repentance, and agonizing prayer for
pardon.
His case was indeed one of fearful
guilt and deep remorse. It is an
enigma, or rather it would lie one, did
we not know thut human nature is de
praved, and that a man may be induc
ed by appropriate temptation to com
mit the worst of crimes. Every one
who knows "the plague of his own
heart" will understand the solution of
the mystery.
Much may be said of the character
of th 6 age (n which David lived; of
the power of his temptation; of the
despotic authority of Oriental kings ;
of the absence of the restraints which
in our day are around men, and yet
which are in many cases even now dis
regarded. But we do not wish to ex
cuse or extenuate his fault He did
not do so himself. No confession could
be more full and hearty ; no penitence
could be more sincere ; no prayer for
forgiveness more humble and earnest.
Everything was admitted; nothing
was spared of self-humiliation nnd ex
posure ; nothing was extenuated by
the remorseful king. He only asked
for mercy. He canuot forget liis sin ;
but let us not forget his heart-broken
repentance.
PRACTICAL BUOOEBTIONB.
1. Conviction of sin is something
more than a dread of punishment.
Tlie great burden on David's heart
was that he had sinned agaisnt a holy
God. This was what broke hiiu down
into true contrition, and brought his
humble confession. "Again*t thee, thet
only, havo I sinned," was his agoniz
ing cry. He was not insensible to other
aspects of his crime. He felt that he
had grievously sinned against Uriah,
and had wounded the cause of purity
and virtue in his kingdom. Hut still
the heaviest part of his burden was
the oflence wiiich he had committed
against a holy God. Could he hone
that God would forgive him, he might
again have peace iu hi* soul.
.So an ingenious child who has of
fended a good father feels the sad,
grieved look on his father's face more
than the punishment of the rod. This
was the feeling of the prodigal son. It
is a sign always of a true conviction.
2. Regret is not repentance.
Regret is not what David felt.
That is a selfish, cold feeling, which
graduates guilt only by its consequen
ces, not by its intrinsic evil nature aud
enormity.
Every wicked man feels sorry that
he has committed a crime, when the
penalty comes upon him. Paul con
fessed to David in one of his regretful
moments that h4 had "played the fool"
in his treatment of him. Hut he re
peated the folly again and again.
The fear of hell is one thing, and a
godlv repentance for sin is quite
another.
The famous chief of police under
Napoleon characterized a certain trans
action, thus, "It was worse than a
crime, it was a blunder." This is
about the character of some men's re
pentance. It is regret for the blunder,
not sorrow for the sin.
3. Human nature is depraved and
no man knows how far he may go in
sin.
Who would have thought that
Abraham and Moses and David would
have no yielded to temptation, and
been guilty of such grave offences?
But these instances only show what a
wreck humanity is without the grace
of God. There is something in all of
us which responds to any temptation.
David felt this when he prayed:
"Create in me a clean O God,
and raiew a right spirit within me.
Cast me not away from thy presence,
and take Dot thy Holy Hpirit from me,"
4. The Bible is an honest hook. It
does not conceal the faults of its heroes.
Human biographers have little to
say about the imperfections of their
subjects. And very many religious
works of this sort are anything but
piofitable reading on this very account.
The Bible is a consistent hook. Its
heroes illustrate its doctrines. It calls
things by their right names and pre-
Fonts human character in its true
light and correct pro|ortions.
6. God will not rcfuso to hear the
cry of the |enitent soul.
David found mercy when he repent
ed and asked God i'ur it. He wits a
great sinner, but God is a great God
und Saviour. And it his glory that
he can forgive the very chief of sinners.
He has no pleasure in the death of the
wicked, but that he should turn from
his evil way and live.
6. It is a good thing to IKS forgiven
for the past, but it is u better thing to
be kept from sin in the future.
David's prayer contemplated this.
He prayed : "Restore unto me the joy
of thy salvation, and uphold mo with
thy free spirit; then will 1 tench trans
gressors thy ways, and sinners shall be
converted unto thee."
7. When Christians fed most deep
ly their own sinfulness and weakness
they should be more tender and char
itable towards the sins of others.
8. When Christians enjoy most of
the joy of God's salvation, they will be
more earnest about the salvation of
others.
"Whenever saints are revived, then
sinners will lie converted."
9. Let him that thinketh he stand
eth take heed lest he fall.
10. Biu may be forgiven but its
evil consequences often remain to our
sorrow and shame.
David repented ami was forgiven.
But the Lord smote his young child ;
Absalom nearly broke his heart, and
a long series of judgments from God
mude the after part of his life a sad
history.
11. Lust and hatred in the heart, in
God's sight, are a* odious as actual
adultery and murder.
"Keep thy heart with all diligence,
: for out of it are the issues of life !"
"As he thinkelh in his heart, so is
he."
A Bashful Bridegroom.
NOT ABI.K TO BTANI) TIIK PRESSURE —
11K KAIM TO COMK TO TIME.
Frum the t,0.) fatorpfiw.
From Goshen township comes the
story of the most bashful man of mod
ern times. The young man resides
uear the village of Hunter, ami it ap
]H-nrs he struck up a courtship with a
very respectable lady of Chestnut
Level, hut just how lie managed to
woo and win the affections of the 'ndy
with all his bashfulneas is a mystery
which "no fellow can find out." loi*
Thursday at 1 o'clock was the time set
for the wedding, and the pareuts of
the lady had prepared a sumptuous
dinner, u large assembly of friends had
gathered to witness the nupitals, and
the bride prospective, perhaps, looked
| her sweet<#t in her bridal trousseau.
One o'clock came, but no bride grooru
fiut in an appearance ; 2 o'clock, still
ic came not; 3, 4 o'clock, and still be
tarried. By this time the preacher
could stand the smell of the edibles no
longer, and, true to his instinct and
education, suggested the propriety of
eating dinner, iest the victuals should
spoil. The suggestion was acted upon,
and a brother of the bride was dis
patched in quest of the delinquent
bridegroom. He found him at his
home, sitting before the fire, with his
"everv-day clothes" on, one side of his
face shaved, and seemingly in trouble.
He was asked as to his non-appear
ance, and replied that he attempted to
shave himself, but was so scared and
nervous that he could not accomplish
it. ilc finally told his brother that if
he would finish shaving him and help
-to trim up he would go and report for
duty. The brother kindly assisted,
and the two then started for the home
of his anxious and much embarrassed
intended. When within a short dis
tance of the house, the young man's
heart again failed him, and he declared
that he could not face the crowd, and
offered the brother |5 with which to
pay the minister. The brother refused
the offer of the money, and exerted his
persuasive powers upon the young
man, but all to no avail. No use talk
ing ; he could not stand the ordeal,
and retraced his steps homeward.
The brother went home and reported
the result of his investigation, and the
preacher, turning to theTady,said: "I'll
never marry you to such a man." On
the following Saturday the father of
the young lady sought an interview
with his ought-to-have-been son-in-law,
hut be was met with the same plea,
"I can't stand to face such a crowd ;
but if you will get a 'Squire and let us
get married after night, 1 will try it
again." The old gentleman said nay
to this proposition, declaring that the
ceremony must be performed in the
daytime. Ho, after being encouraged
by his would-be father-in-law, he con
sented to face the music, and Saturday
evening the knot was tied by the min
ister formerly engaged, who perhaps
thought it no harm to break a vow
rashly made, when a good supper and
a five dollar bill awaited him.
The conduct of this young man re
minds us of the old story of the fellow
who, when about to geV married, burst
out crying. His father asked him
what was the matter, and the son re
plied that he was going to get married.
His father told him he should not be
ashamed, and to brace him up said s
"Your mother and I got married."
"Yea," replied the son, out you mar
ried mother, and I've got to marry a
strange girl"-—boo-hoo-ooh 1
The Parisians have introduced
square umbrellas. They'll be just as
had as the other kind —never round
when it rains.
KIIKXCII MAItIMAUKM.
From lUrjHT'. Miguior.
Madame Lcsniontages was kind
enough to give mo a description of
the wedding of her daughter. When
a young man here wishes to become
acquainted with a young wumuii, he
mentions it to some friend of the
fumily, who npplics to the parent for
leave to introduce him. If this is
granted, and the pfircnts afterwards
conclude that lie is not suitable, they
tell him not to come any more. When
n young mail cornea to demand a lady
in marriage, the parents first interest
themselves in the family, whether it is
a respectable one, and in the young
man himself whether he is sage or
well behaved. The young jieoplo are
never left together without one of the
parents being present, even when there
is a talk of their being married.
At last the parents of the two young
people will meet to plan the marriage,
this parlement being held at the house
of the young woman, after having
had a good dinner, after having well
drunk, ami talked upon a number of
other subjects, the rest of the family
will leave the parents together, under
standing very well what business is in
hnnd. Then the young man's father
will tqicnk in this manner: 'We have
not come here to do nothing; we have
come to speak of the marriage of our
children,'adding, if he is a rich enough
landholder, 'I will give 25,000 francs
to my son ; how much can you give
your daughter?' If her parents do
not give al>out as much, the marriage
agreement will not be made, and the
parties will separate. However, about
one time in ten it will be found that
the young people are too much attach
ed to each other for the parents to
continue their prohibition, and they
are allowed to mnrry. And sometimes
it will hap|>cn, when the young people
are of age, that the parents entirely
refuse their consent, that the former
will make the three re-qs-ctful sum
mons, and then they can marry with
out the parents' consent. Such n case
may happen in this commune once in
three or four years.
Mine. L. gave her daughter on her
own part, and from the father's estate,
a vineyard of the value of 18,000
francs, and she is to receive more.
The young man's parents gave to him
a piece of land worth 20,0(8) francs,
and the young nnir occupy two rooms
in his parents' home, where they can
keep house if they should prefer it.
Mme. L. added that the young man's
mother gave him a furnished bed, ami
of sheets, table cloths, towels and nap
kins, each a down; also three down
shirts of hemp and flnx. 'I gave my
daughter,' she added, 'twodosen sheets,
two down napkins and two and n half
down towels, with a furnished lied, a
cupboard, armoire, and n night table.
The young man's parents gave him a
large bureau, ami he bought the rct
of the furniture. The young people
are well set out, well matched, and
both are industrious. He is, besides,
a inert bant of salmi*, buying these
shoes from the makers; ami no has
wood of his own, he employs people to
make them, and twice a week he goes
to to sell them.'
The only legal marriage in France
is that at the mayor a office, ami there
in a mayor in every commune. Mmc.
L. tell* me that thid marriage doe* not
•■odt anything, hut at the nine the cure
married them and put* the ring over
the joint of the hride'd finger. For
thid marriage he received 12 franc*.
(All the reiigioud and all the fashion
ahlc world have thid second marriage.
, Free-thinkers in Pari*—l met none iu
: 'he country —make n merit of oppos
ing it.)
Mux*. L. tells me that there were
about eighty guests at her daughter's
wedding and ail these gu to mass, com
ing to dine at the house at noon. She
herself did not sec the ceremony ; she
heated the oven while the others were
gone, 'for somebody must take care of
things.' There were three women,
however, to do the kitchen work, and
three to wait upon the table.
The two musicians were paid by the
young men guests. I hon ing was kept
up until. about three in the morning,
when the party sought a little rest
wherever thev could get it, some going
to the barn, the little children and the
hired women went to bed, and Mme.
L. got two hours' rest. She added :
I 'On Wednesday we had the breakfast,
aud then all went away about ten.'
Is the Moon Peopled!—An Important
Astronomical Work.
A great change is taking place in
the views in regard to the moon, and
j it may be that wc are on the eve of
discoveries which will make this cen
tury an epoch in astronomical history.
A Providence astronomer says:
Home American observers saw not
long since a crater on tbe lunar sur
face in active operation under condi
tions as reliable as human vision at
such a distance can be expected to
reach. A French astronomer has
made observations on a grander scale,
and confidently asserts that the moon
is inhabited. M. Camille Flammar
ion, the present originator of this
long-cherished idea, it a scientist of
honor and renown, well known for his
reputation as an observer and enthusi
astic writer.
He has written several articles to
prove his position, and has determined
to devote his life to litis branch of
astronomical research. No instru
ments on the globe are powerful
enough to afford a glimpse of our
lunarian neighbors. M, iuramariou
Is not in the least discouraged at this
apparently insuperable obstacle in
the way of a solution of his problem.
He is going to have one rna<Je that
will exhibit the men in the moon to
terrestrial eves, without a tKsuiibility of
mistake. fie iu urgently soliciting
contributions to a fund for an immense
refracting telescope, whose estimated
cost is a million francs, or
This instrument, the astronomer be
lieves, will be cfli-.ctual in revealing
the inhabitants in the moon really ex
isting, according to his sunguinc faith.
Some of the largest refractors iu the
world, if used when the air is pure,
bear n power of three thousand on
the moon; thut is, the moon upis-ars
as if it were at a distance of eighty
miles instead of two hundred and forty
thousand. It can thus be seen that
nn immensely increased power would
lie required to detect small objects on
the surface.
Kola-son the Worst Itohber.
Bays the Boston Herald, a candid
"republican" pajier, of George M.
Robeson, Secretary of the Navy under
the Grant regime : "His record is a
very bad one. Of all the men that
have from the foundation of the Gov
ernment until the present hour made
it their business to prey upon the
Government and rob the Treasury, he
ajijK.-ars to Ik* the worst.
"It is withiu the recollection of men
now living that a public officer who
wa a defaulter lost caste at once, and,
if he could escape the penitentiary,
was glad to sink into oblivion ; but
here is a man who is proved to have
destroyed the United States Navy dur
ing his term of office, and robbed the
Treasury of millions of dollars while
so doing; who by means df his ill
gotten wealth has secured an election
to Congress from the district in New
Jersey where he resides, and w ill claim
a scat in the House of Representatives
of the Forty-Sixth Congress.
"It is sincerely to IK- hoped that lie
fore that Congress assembles there
will IK? found virtue enough in the ad
ministration to turn him over to the
the courts, which can hardly fail, in
view of all the facts of his career, to
visit upon him the severest penalties of
the laws which he has so flagrantly
violated."
The Cincinnati Commercial, an em
phatic "republican" paper, but anti-
Grant, savs: "Tenderness toward cx-
Secrvtary Robeson seems to IK- a re
publican weakness. During bis ad
ministration a* Secretary of the Navy
bis department cost the country $182,-
496,033, and be left an unlawful in
debtedness of $7,083,503.25. After all
this we have no navy worthy the name,
and Secretary Thompson found all
sorts of rotten contracts and corrupt
methods of doing business. Then our
Robeson had a great number of ships
destroyed and sold the material, giv
ing insiders opportunities to make mil
lions. Still tlio republicans seem to
think it an esH-ntial part of tbeir bus
iness to vindicate him, especially as
be has been elected to Congress, and
Grant i* supposed to lie the conquering
hero coining,"
Oh, Oeorge!
They were on the ice yesterday
afternoon, he iu the glory of his new
found love, and she with a bran-new
pair of skates on her pretty feet.
They were very sweet on each other
and skated hand in hand, now for
ward, now backward, gliding smoothly
And gracefully, totally unconscious of
the smiles ol the spectators and the
chaffing of the had small boys. He
was skating backward and had hold
of her hand—a strong hold, with just
the least more pressure than would
have been desirable under other cir
cumstances. He was pulling her
along and talking the meanwhile:
"Ihirling Celeste, shall we always
glide together through life as smoothly
as we do now ?
"Oh, George, dear, I hope so!"
smilingly.
"And shall we ever to be each other
as dear as we now are ?"
"Oh, George, always I"
"Ami Celeste, shall the clasp of the
hand lie as warm in the future as it is
now t"
"Oh, George, it will!" lovingly.
"Dear Celeste, you are so kind to
keep me first in your aflec —"
"Oh, George!
There was a crash before that last
exclamation. George was skating
backward and they were looking into
each other's eyes. His skate caught
in a crack in tbe ioe and there was a
fall—Celeste on top. A series of mild
shrieks, a vision of dimitr, and then
two skaters left the ice. George had
a lump on the back of his hear! as big
as a prise pumpkin, and Celeste's nose
looks like a big ripe fig and all skewed
around like a mule's jaw. Oh, George !
Oatmeal Diet.
Undoubtedly one of the most health
ful and nourishing articles of diet is
oatmeal. When properly cooked and
eaten with sugar and cream, it forma
a dish which most people relish better
than meat for breakfast and it is very
much cheaper. Lei bog has chemically
demonstrated that oatmeal is almost
as nutritious as the very best English
Iseef, and that it is richer than wheaten
bread in the elements that go to bone
and muscle. Professor Forbus, of
Edinburg, during some twenty years,
measured the breadth and height, and
also tested the strength of both arms
and loin, of the students of the uui
versify—a very numerous class and of
various nationalities, drawn to Edin
burg by the fame of his teaching. He
found that in height, breadth, breadth
of chest and shoulders, and strength of
arms and loins, the Belgian* were at
the bottom of the list; a little above
them the English, and highest of all
the Scotch, and Scotch-Irish from Ul
ster, who, like the natives of Scotland,
are fed in their early years at least one
meal a day of good oatmeal porridge.
—Scientific American.
ALASKA.
NOT SUCH A COM) PLACE OP REHt-
DKNOE AH MOST PEOPLE SUPPOSE.
Turn R. Ju##|ih Ounk't I*ut Lvctvr,.
Alaska, as most of us may have
pictured it to ourselves, is so cold that
it can have no interest to us, and no
importance to the nation. Mr. Dal I,
of 1 fusion, who has written the stand
ard work on Aluska, tells us that on
half of the coast of the territory the
thermometer never has Is-eu known to
full below zero. lie thinks no jxdar
liear ever came withifl a thousand
miles of Sitka. Mr. Buiuuer was ac
customed to cite the experience of
navigators who would inoor their liarks
along the Alaskan shore and through
the whole winter never iind the ice
strong enough to make a bridge from
their vessels to the laud. The isotherm
of 50° of average annual temperature
ruus through Bitka, It passes also
through I>akc Buperior ami Quebec.
Captain Cook, who one hundred years
ago last year saw and named Mt. Bt.
hlias, said that cattle might subsist in
Ooimlaska all the year around without
ljciufj housed. The mean temperature
of winter in Aim-kit, as estimated by
the Smithsonian Institution, is 82.30 ,
while that of Bummer is 53.37°. The
Washington winter is 33.57°, and the
Washington summer 73.07 degrees.
The winters of Alaska do not differ
much from those of Washington, al
though the summers are colder. The
winter of Sitka is milder than that of
St. Petersburg or Jlcrlin or Boston.
On the Upper Yukon, in mid-summer,
the thermometer sometimes stands at
112 degrees, and the traveler blew-c*
the transient coolness of the midnight
air.
I'ope Leo's Daily Routine.
AN EARLY RISER, A TEMPERATE
EATER A SI) DRINKER AND
A ZEALOUS STUDENT.
Pope Leo XIII. rise* winter and
summer at nix o'clock, and generally
celebrates Ma in hut private chapel.
At 7 he taken a cup of coffee or
chocolate, with au egg bcateo in it.
After thin be taken a walk, either in
the garden* of the Vatican or in the
gallerien. He lookn and comment* ou
everything like a true and nubile ob
nerver. Nothing escape* hi* notice.
At * he receive* hi* Secretary of State,
, Cardinal Nina, and the day * business
begin*. He nign* document* and let
ter*, and receive* in audience, firstly,
the Cardinal*, then apostolic congre
gation*, then ecclesiastic* who have
lawn granted a *|iecial audience, and
then he receive* secular. Catholic*.
According to the length of the audi
ence* the dinner takes* place. Hi*
dinner i* very frugal. It consist* of
chicken brotfi, montly; then the boiled
chicken i* served. " He rarely eat*
other meat*. He like* pear* and
cheese. He drink* a couple of glawca
of red wine. He doe* not take coffee
after the meal. After dinner he doer*
awhile, on hi* arm chair mo*tly. He
then enter* hi* study and confer* with
hi* under-socreUrie*; write*, sign* and
read* petition*; give* order*. He then
take* another walk, but accompanied
thi* time hv a rait of cardinal* and
other familiar* of hi* court. When
tired he *it* in the first arm chair or
other *cat* he meet* with, and then
the walk change* into a conversation
or literary lecture. The Pope is very
learned in literature, both Italian anil
Krcuch. He apeak* elegantly. He ha*
ian excellent memory, and sometime*
recite* verw* of and Victor
Hugo. He does not read many news
paper*. On hi* writing table may al
way* be seen the Rerue de* Deux
Monde* and the Nuova Antoiogia, of
which he peruse* a fewr pages when he
has time. On another table lire open
Treves' large Hible, illustrated by
(iustave Ihtrc. Occasionally when he
rises front his table he casts his eye* on
the volume, and sometimes be remains
in oontcmnlatioo before it. After this j
second walk the Pope returns to his
apartments and remains an hour in
reading with his Chamber Prelate,
and then resume* public business for j
the last time in the day. During the
evening he gives his attention to the
interior arrangements of the Vatican.
At 10 o'clock he generally retires to
his bed room.
Whales Shaw a Nsrthwmt Pim|,
If arctic explorers hare not disoov
ered a practical northwest passage
whale* have, aa U shown by the fact
that whales have been captured in the
North Pacific having harpoons that
were thrown into them on the other
aide of the continent. Capuun Baui
dry of the Helen Mar of Sao Fran
cisco has taken a whale having in it
a large flint harpoon, supposed tn have
been put in by natives of Cape Bath
uret, or the regions beyond the mouth
of the Mackenzie river, because the
native* living to the westward of that
river never use such weapons, bat ai-j
ways bone or iron. A more positive
evidence b found in the foot that the
Captain of the Adeline Gibb* took a
whale in the Arctic with an iron in it
i which had been thrown the name *-
1 son in Hudson Imy. This is known to
I ho the ease, liecause the iron bore the
mark of a ship at the time eugaged in
; whaling in the hay.
Where the Appropriation mil ls--la
dlitnaut (aialrj Officer*.
hum lli riilU/M|<tiU Tlinna,
WAHHISOTOW, February 16.—The
nnny appropriation bill in still in the
Senate committee. The nub-commit
tee—M'*err. Blaine, Allison and
Withers—have not yet met to cooaider
the bill. The opinion is quite general
that the majority of the whole cotn
! inittee are in favor of the Butler
: amendment allowing railroad com
i panics to operate their line* for the
, government and for r-omme-rcial pur
poses. The Western Union Telegraph
i Company have u big lobby here and
; {are working hard and s|*-uding much
i money to defeat the Jones bill and
■ also the Butler amendment. Senator
S Wallace sent to the committee yester
day nn important amendment, which
provides that hereafter all appoint- 1
i merits to West Point shall lie made
i from the enlisted men in the ranks.
II As enlistments may now be made of
recruits at sixteen years of age this
iis practicable. It* purpose is to ini- i
; | prove the morale of the force aud give
> promotion to deserving soldiers.
; Some of the officers of the old Third
• Cavalry Division, which performed
. many heoric deeds under command of
i General Custer, are indignant at the
reported statement* in the testimony
• of Major Beno before the court at
Chicago to the effect that he had no
, confidence in General Custer as a
• soldier. These gentlemen character
ize the charge as cowardly and unjusti
fiable, as General Custer's reputation
wa perfectly established and could
not be injured by one on trial on a
charge of cowardice.
f
A Startling Derision.
. i From IV'i ImO.wn
i Among the cases lately decided by
the Hupreme Court of Pennsvlvanim, is
that of laizcar vs. Porter, which enun
ciates a rather startling principle of
law. It was a stated case to test the
question of the right of the wife of a
; bankrupt to her dower interest in the
real estate of her husband, when the
same has been sold by the assignee. It
wax held bv the Court below that a
sale of real estate by an assignee di
vested the dower interest of the wife
■ and this judgment is reversed bv the
higher court. This decision of the
, Supreme Court is the most startling
. and far reaching in its effects that that .
body has rendered for many a year.
Since the bankrupt law has been in
operation there have been millions of
dollars' worth of real estate disposed
i of under it. It has all been sold under
the supposition that the wives of the
Imnkrupts had no claim on it But
according to this decision every living
wife of a bankrupt, whose estate was
thus sold, can claim and recover her
third of the property from its present
owner. In other words, the title to the
property thus innocently bought by
■ the creditors or outside parties is cil
iated in their hands to tbc extent of
one-third. And tbc case may often be
worse than that. For the property in
many cases has depreciated greatly in
the hands of the present owners, who
nevertheless may be required to jar
i back the value of the third, as it was
at the time of the purchase. The
amount of suffering that this will
cause will make most people regret
that, if this be the Jaw, it was not
discovered earlier, so that while doing
justice to bankrupt wives, it should
not operate to do equal if not greater
injustice to people who never went
into bankruptcy.
m
lade Keiaas and Sherman.
Atlanta O-BaOlnUon.
J Uncle Remus walked into the office
; yesterday with a tin bucket on his
arm, and tackled the first man be mt;
"Boss, is Gener'l Sherman bin roun'
here sho nufff
"Not around here. He has been in
town."
"I>at's w'at I'm a drivin' at I
• thunk dem niggers was a ginnin un
me a gaiuc outwell I hear Mars Jones
rcadin' it in de paper yistiddy."
"Didn't you call on'hitn?""
"I sorter lingered rutin'on dcaidges
for ter see w'at 1 could see. but 1 wish
1 may be turn loose on de sea coas'
widouta nickel ef I ketched a glimpse
un 'im. Dey tells me dal he s got a
powerful stiff 'membunee," eoutinued
Uncle Remus, setting his bucket in a
corner.
"So they say."
"Dat wat 1 bear tell. I'd a like
,migbt'ly far to get a little confab arid
de Geoerl."
didn't you go and Are him?"
"WeO, in de day time, bom, I bas
ter scramble a roun' arter a piece of
bacon rine for ter grteae my stum
muck wid, an' w'en night come I got
ter sorter hang roun an' watch my
chicken-coop. De more piouser w'at
de niggers git de more closer w'at you
E^.r F r Mh - " ,ff:
The pedestrian mauia has proved
that all of woman's strength tluoMi't
lay In her tongue.
The high Cs—(handler, Cameron
and Coukling.