Juniata sentinel and Republican. (Mifflintown, Juniata County, Pa.) 1873-1955, September 19, 1894, Image 1
illllll THE O9NSTITUTION-THE UNION AND THE ENFORCEMENT OF THE LAWS. R. eiOHWEIER, MIFFLINTOWN. JUNIATA COUNTY. PENNA.. WEDNESDAY. SEPTEMBER 19, 1894. VOL. X1AIJI -Utter ud Pxwprteter. NO. 40. REV. DR. TALMAGE. THE BEOOXtYN DIVINE'S SI.'.V DAY S'iK.MOX. ijubject: "The l!etciia.n Titt: "BAlleye on thnLord Jens Hirist, and thou shalt be saveJ." Acts vL, 31. Jails are dark, rinIT, damp, loathsome places even now, bat they were worse la the apostollo time!". I luaeine to-day we are standing In the Phillpnlan dungeon. Do you not feel the ohlll? Do yoa iot hear the crroana of those Incarcerated ones who for ten years have not seen the si?n light and the deep nlnh of women who remember their father's honie and mourn over their wasted estates? Listen a (rain. It Is the conph of a consumptive or the strug (tie or one In the nightmare of a great hor ror. Ton listen attain and bear a eulprlr, bis chains rattling as be rolls over in bis dreams, and you say, God, pity the prison er P' Eat there Is another sound In that prison. It Is the song of lor and gladness. What a place to sing in? The mnilo comes winding through the corridors of the prison, and In all the dnrlc wards the whisper is beard i "What's that? What's that?" It Is the song of Paul and Silas. They cannot sleep. They have been whipped very badly whipped. The Ion? gashes oh their backs are Mee.line ye'. They lie flat on the cold ground, their feet fast In woo len sockets, and of course they cannot sleep. But ther can slnir. Jailer, what ar yoa do Jng with theg people? Why have they been pat in here? Oh, they have been trying to make the world better. Is that all? That is all. A pit for Joseph. A lion's cave for Daniel. A blaa'n? furnaee for Rhadrach. fMuhs for John Wesley. An anathema for Fhillpp Melanclitbon. A dungeon for Paul and Silns. Snt while we are standing In the gloom of the Philipplan dungeon, and we hear the mingling voices of sob and gronn and bias, phemyand ballelnjab, suddenly an earth quake! The iron t.ara of the prison twist, the pillars crack off. the solid masonry be. g!ns to heav, nn 1 all the doors swing open. The Jailer, 1'iel'ng himself responsible for these prisons! s an i believing, in his pagan Ignorance, suicide to be honorable sinoe Brutus killed himself, nn 1 Cuo killed him s-lf, and Cnssius killed himself put his rwor 1 to b!s own heart, proposing with one el ronz, keen thrust to put an end to bis ex. ritemi-nt an I airit.it inn. But Paul cried out: ".-'lop, stop I Do thyself no barm! We are all here !" Thi'n I see the jailer running through the dust an 1 amid the ruin of thit prison, an 1 1 see blm throwing himself down at the feet of these prison-rs, erring out s "What shall I do? What shall I do?" Did Paul answer? "G"t out of t'lis plrice before there is another enrthqu'ike. Put handcuffs and hobbles on these other prisoners lest they get away?" No word of that kind. His compact, thrlll Jng. tremndou9 answer memorable all tliroush enrth and heaven, was, "Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou Shalt be eared." Well, we havo all read of the earthquake in Lis' on, In Lima, in Alerpo and In Cars cas, but we lire in a latitude wherein all our memory there has not been one severe vol ennic di-turtmnee. An I ret we have seen fltty earthquakes. Hera is a man who has been building up a large fortune. His bid on the money market was felt In all the cities. Ho thinks he has got beyond all an noylng riralries in trade, and he says to him self, "Xow I am free and safe from all poss!- ' ble perturbation." But in 1857 or In 1S73 a national panic striKcs roe ioua jiuion of ma commercial world, and crash goes all that xnngnlflivnt business establishment. Here Is a man who has built up a very beiiUtiful home. His daughters have just come homo from the seminary with diplo mas of graduation. His sons have started In life, hon'-st, temperate and pure. When the evening lights are struck, there is a hap piness and unbroken family circle. But there has been an accident down at Long Branch. The young man ventured too fur out In the surf. The telegraph hurled tha terror up to the city. An earthquake struck under the foundation of thut beautiful home. The piano closed ; the curtains dropped s the Inughter hu9hed. Crash go all those do mestic hopes and prospects and expecta tions. So. my frlen Is. we have all folt the shaking down oi some great trouble, and. : there was a time when we were as much ex cited as this man of the text, and we cri-d out as he did t "What shall I do? What shall I doV" The same reply that the apostle ! made to him Is appropriate to us, "Believe' on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be j aved." There are some documents of so little Im portance that yon do not care to put any. J more than your last name under them, or even your Initials, but there are some docu ments of so gront Importance that you write out your full name. So the Saviour in some parts of tho Biiile U called "Lord," and in, other parts of the Bible HIs called "Jesus," , and In other parts of the Bible He Is cal:el "Christ," but that there might be no m!9-1 tako alout this passaira all three names co.ne tog-ther "the LorJ Jasus Christ." Kow, whole this being that you want me to trust In and bolinve lu? M -n sometimes come to mo with credentials and certificates of good character, but I onnnot trust them, j Thero Is some dishonesty in ttioir looks that makes me know that I shall Im cheated if I confl le in them. You cannot put yout heart's confl lcaeo in a man until you know whnt stuff he Is made of. and a-n I unreason- , able when I stop to ask you who this is that you want nn to trust In? No man would think ot venturing his life on a vessel going ' oat to seathat had never been Inspected. i No you mint hare the eertuteaie nung amidships, telling how many tons it enrries, and how long ago It W;is built, and who .Mt it nn 1 nil nhont it. And tou cannot expect me to risk the cargo of my Immortal l Interests on board any craft till yoa tell me . wimt it is made of, sr.l where it was mnue, end what It is. When, then, I ask you who this is you want rr- totru.-t in, yon toll mo He Is a vary at t r i Ire person . Contemporary writers do F -ribe His whole npp 'araaoo as being re- J sniendent. There was no need for Christ to tell tho ohil iren to come to Him. "3ufTer little children to come unto Me" was not ppok 'n to the children. It was spoken to the disciples. The ciill Iren oame readily enou.-h without any invitation. No sooner did Jesus appeoT thin the little ones jumps! from their ir. others' arms nn avalanohe of beauty and love, into His lap. Christ did not ask Jotin to put nis obi uowu uu bosom. John could not help but put his ; heal thre. I suppose a look at Christ was 1 just to love ntm. How attactive His manner J V'hr, when thev saw Christ coming I along trje sir -er, iney r iu im'j v.-s., andthey wrappul up their inralbls as quicK as they could an 1 brought them out that Ha might look at them. O.i, thore was somi thing so pleasant, so inviting, so cheering in everything He did, in His very look 1 Wbf.u these sick ones wltj brought out, did H say z "Do not br:ng bofora Hi these sorts. Do not trouHla M- with these leprosies?" No, no : there was a kind look , there was a geu tie word ; there was a healing touch. Thay could not keep away lrom Him. I think there nro manr under the fnh ence of the Spirit of God who are saving, "I will trust Hlra if you will only tell me bow." And the great question aske 1 by many Is. "now. how?" And whilo I answer vour question I look up and utter the prayer which Rowland Hill so often uttered in the midst of his sermons. "Msstor, help I" How are you to trust in Christ? Just as you trust an v on". Ton trust your partner in business with important tliin-r. If a commercial hous9 gives yoa a note par able throe months hence, you expect t;ie payment of that note at the end o' t'iree jnonth9. Ton have perfect confid-nci in their word and In their ability. Or, again. You fo home to-day. Tou expect there will be food on the table. Tou have confl ience In that. Now, I ask you to have the same eonfldenee In the Lord Jesus Chr'st. He lays, "Ton believe ; I take away your sins." nd they are all taken awar. "What V foa Bay, "before I pray any more? Be fore I read mv Bible any more? Before I cry over my sins any more?' Tea, this mo- j ment. Believe with all your heart, and you are saved. Why, Christ is only waiting to get from you what you give to scores of peo- pieeveryday. What tat flair cannaonoe, these people whom you trust day by day are more worthy than Christ, If they are mora Xalthful thaa Christ, Uthey bare done mora than Christ ever did. then give them tha preference, but If you really think that Christ Is as trustworthy as they are then deal with Him as fairly. "Oh," aays some one In a light way, "I believe that Christ was born in Bethlehem, and I believe that He died on the cross " Do rro believe It with youf head or your heart will Illustrate the difference. Ton are in your own house. In the morning you open a newspaper, and yon read how Captain Bravebeart on the sea risked his life for the salvation of bis passengers. Ton say t "What a grand fellow he must bave been I His fam ily deserves very well of the country." Ton told the newspaper and sit down at the table and perhaps do not think of that incident again. That la historical le!!."", But now yon are on the sea, and it to night and yon are asleep, and yon are awakened by the shriek of "Fire P Ton rush out on the deck. Ton hear, amid the wringing ot the hands and the fainting, the cry i "No hope, no hope! We are lost, we are lost i The sail puts out its wing of Ore, th. robes make a burning ladder in the night heavens, the spirit oi wreoka hisses In the waves, and on the hurricane deoka shakes out its banner of smoke and darkness. "Down with the lifeboats P" cried the captain. "Down with the lifeboats I" People rush Into them. The boats are about full. Room for only one more man. Ton are standing on the deck beside the captain. Who shall it be? Tou or the captain? The captain says, "Too." Ton jump an t are saved. He stands there and dies. Now, yon believe that Captain Braveheart sacri ficed himself for his passengers, but yon believe it with love, with tears, with hot and long continued exclamations, with grief at bis loss and joy at your deliverance). That la saving faith In other words, what yon beileve with all the henrt and believe In regard to yourself. On this hinge turns my sermon sve, the salvation ot your im mortal soul. Ton often go across a bridge yon know nothing about. Ton do not know who built the bridge, yon do not know what material it is made of, but yon come to it and walk ovt-r it and ask no questions. And here is an arched bridge blasted from the "Bo-k ot Ages" and built by the Architect of the whole universe, spanning the dork golf be t ween sin and righteousness, and all God asks yon is to walk across it, and you start, and you come to It, and yon stop, and yon go a little way on, and yon stop, and yon fall back, and yon experiment. You say, "How do I know that bridge will hold me I" in stead of marching on with flr.n step, asking no questions, but feeling that the strength of the eternal Goi Is under you. Ob, was there ever a prize proffered so cheap as pardon and heaven are offered to yoa? , For how much? A million dollars? It is certainly worth more than that. But cheaper than that you can have it. Ten tbousatd dollars? Less than that. Five thousand dollars? Less than that. One dollar? Less than that. One farth ing? Less than that. ''Without money and without price." No money to pay. No journey to take. No penance to suffer. Only Just one decisive action of the soul, ''Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved." Shall I try to tell yon what It is to bl eared? I cannot tell you. No man, no angel, can tell you. But I can bint at it. for my text brings me up to this point. "Thou shalt be saved." It means a happy life here, and a peace'ul death, and a blissful eternity. It Is a grand thing to go to sleep at night, and to get up in the morning, and to do bus iness all day feeling that all is right between my heart and God. No accident, no siok ness, no persecution, no peril, no sword, can do me any permanent damage. I am a forgiven oh lid of God. and He to bound to sea me through. He has sworn He will see me through. The mount ains may depart, the earth may burn, the light of the stars may be blown out by the blast of the Judgment hurricane, but Hie and death, things present and things to come, are mine. Yea, farther than that, it menu a peaceful death. Mrs. Hemansl Mrs. SI courney. Dr. Tonng and almost all the poets have said handsome things about death. There to nothing beautiful a-iout It. When we stand by the white and rigid features ot those whom we love, Bnd they give no an swering pressure of the hand nn I no re. turning kiss ot the lip, we do not want anybody poetizing round about us. Death Is loathsomeness and midnight and the wringing of the heart un til the tendrils snap and curl in tho torture unless Christ shall be with us. I confess to yon an infinite fear, a consuming horror of death unless Christ Bhall be with me. I would rnther go down into a cave ot wild beasts or a Jungle of reptiles than Into the grave unless Christ goes with me. Will yon tell me that I am to be carried out from my bright home and put away in the darkness? I cannot bear darkness. At the first coming of the evening I must have th. gas lighted, and the farther on In life I get the more I like to have my friends round about me. And am I to be put oft for thousands of years In a dark place, with no one to speak to? When the holidays come and the gifts are distributed, shall I add no joy to tho ".Merry Christmas' or the "Happy New Tear?'' Ah, do not point down to the hole In the ground, the grave, and call It a beau tiful place. Tjnleasthere be some supernatu ral illumination I shudder back from it. My whole nature revolts at it. But now this glorious lamp to lifted above th. grave, and all the darkness to gone, and ttt way Is clear. I look into it now without single shudder. Now my anxiety to not about death ; my anxiety to that I may live aright. What power to there in anything to chill Be in the last hour if Christ wraps around me the skirt of His own garment? What darkness can fall upon my eyelids then, amid the heavenly daybreak? O death, t will not fear thee then. Back to thy oavera of dark ness, thou robber of all the earth. Fly, thou despoller of families. With this battleax I bew thee in twain from helmet to sandal, the voice of Christ sounding all over the enrth and through the heavens : "0 death, I Will be thy plague. O grave, I will be tny destruction." To be saved Is to wake up In the presene or Christ. Tou know when J-sus was upos the earth how happy He male every house H went into, and when He brings us up ta His house in heaven how great shall he out glee I His voice has more music in tt than if to be beard in all the oratorios ot etern'ty. Talk not about banks dashed with efllor escense. Jesus is t he chief bloom of heaven. We shall see the very face that beamed sym p ithv inVietb.anr and t.ika the very hand that dropped its bVo l fro-n the short beam of the cross. Oh, I waut to stan l in eternity with Him. Toward tliat harbor I stn-r. Toward that goal I run. I b'i:iI1 be satisfied When I awake in His likeness. Oh, broken hearted men and women, how sweet it will oe in that goo l land to po.ir all of your hardships and bereavements an I losses into the loving ear of Oarist and then have Him exnlain whv it was best for vo l to be sick, and why it w is bust tor you to be widowed, and why it was best for you to ba persecuted, and why it was best for you to be tried and have Him point to an elevation proportionate to your disquiet u le here, say. ing, "Ton suffered with M- on ear.h ;cooia Up now and be glorified with Me in henv -n." Some one went into a house where there bad been a goo 1 deal of trouble an i said to the woman there, "ifou seem to be lon3ly." 'Tee," she said f-l am lonely." "How many In the family?" "Oaly myself. " "Have you had any children?" -'Iliad seven children." "Whore are they?- "Gone." "All gone?" "All." "All dead' "All." Then she breathed a long sigh into the lona liness and said, "O i, sir, I hava been ajjooi mother to the grave.' And so there are hearts hen that are ut terly broken dowJ by the b-rcava Jient of life. I point you to- lay to fie etern il b ilm f heaven. Oh.ngel men anl wuann wiio bave knelt at the throne of grace lor inree tcore years and ten wid not your deerjp' tude ohang. for the leap of a heart when yon come to look faae to face upon Him whom having not seen you love? O.a, that will be the Good Shepherd, not out in the night and watching to keep off the wolves, but with the lim'i r rlinlng on the sunlit hill. That will be th Captain of our salvation, not amid the roir and crash and boom of battle, bat ami 1 His disbanded troops keeping victorious festiv ity. That will bo the Bridegroom of the hurch coming from afar, the bride leaning inon His arm while He loo ts down intq ber face and says i "Behqld, thou art lair, my pye I Beheld, thon art fair !" It is a strange desire which men have to seek power and lose libel ty. (ireat 1 eurts alotie understand how tnich glory there is in doing guod. 11 il" . ... . I . . . .l.t ia 1 lA 4 is the con soi jusness of being right. MY aUEST. Chen Time and I set forth together In April weather, Oh, tender was the lilacs' morning For winter dead ; Green tassls. maple-tops adorning, Toseed high o'erhead ; And underneath a blue and sparkling sky V. journeyed joyously, young Tim. and X 1 could not tell you how it happened so, j But this I know, I That some time 'twixt bright day and dark some night, . i Time slipped away, , Vanished this airy winged sprit Who will not stay -vj fho kings by suble art strive to unchain ,' And left me only hope "We meet again. What should I do? Son J criers through tht town i To hunt him down? I Or should I pray the clocks, "When next y chime Soma passing hour, With both hands seize this truant, Time I Once in my power I'd clip his win-js, he could not fly so fast. Already golden summer is o'erpast?" Kt length wd m Jt, both gray and bent an old, With greetings cold ; lha saowHakes fell from out the leil;a sky, And in my ears , Tho wind's sad spirit seemed to sigh, j "Alas, the years ! ' Whero are the deeds thou promised in th) prime, iVho now art old, but in thy youth lost Time?" Nnney Mann Waddle, in the Independent A GRAND JUROR. ET ROBERT C. V. METERS. 'i HE day Mary Ham 2 mond acceptec Joyce, her mothej handed her a thou Band-dollar b o nd, her hare of hei father's life insur ance. Sho though) of pretty gowns tc r) worn as a bride. Then Hhe sobered up. David would think her silly, h was so practical. She was sorry for L av id. About a month after the engagement John Alroy was mado postmaster ol Garrett. He was young, quick and clever, and handsome. Joyce was busy at the store, so Mary often went to social gatherings without him, he calling for her later on in the evening. He did not dance ; Alroy did It gradually dawned upon him that Mary daneed a good deal with the post nifihter. He also found that the post master often met Mary by chance when the took Kiinny walks. In April he made his usual spring trip to buy goods. He had been away a week when he received a letter from Mary. She asked to be absolved from her engagement with him. The calm ness with which Mary met him told him his doom. ; "It is Alroy, of course?" he said. "It may seem to you that I treat you badly," she returned, "but I never knew what love was till I met him ;" and Joyce went away. 1 Throughout the summer he saw little o" t'.ie h:iipy pair, invented business escttses tukinj him much from home. Winter came, and the store claimed hiiii. April loomed up the anniver sary of his shattered hopes and he heard that Mary would be married in June. In June the marriage was put off till autumn. This was the reason. The postofliee at Garrett was third-class. Out of his salary the postmaster was expected to defray all office expenses. In a second-class office, clerk hire and other liabilities were met by the Govern ment, while the salary of the master was considerably increased. Alroy proponed to raise his office to second class, ho as to be in a position to mar ry. To do this he must prove that the buniness of his office had increased for a year to such an extent that it equalled existing second-class offices. Late in the summer he said that this was so. In September an expert dis covered that, while the sale of stamps for a year equalled that of an office of the higher grade ,it did not represent a corresponding increase in mailed matter. Alroy was accused of frand. In January Joyce was summoned to act as grand juror on the 20th of Feb ruary, in the city, more than a hun dred miles away. The afternoon of the 18th brought Garrett a blinding snow-storms : the streets were deserted, business was at a standstill. About four o'clock and nearly dark, a lady entered Joyce's private room at the store. It was Mary Hammond. "I have heard,' she said at once, "that you are a grand juror in the February term. The postmaster's case comes up before you. " Joyce's heart gave a bound. He bnd not thought ot that. "The grand jury, I am informed." the went on, "decide if there is suffi cient ground to make out a case to go before the court. You will have a voice in deciding whether or not there is a lose against the postmaster." Joyce's eyes were like coals of fire. "If it were in your power, you would convict the postmaster," she said. i Joyce found bis voice. I "If I knew him to be guilty, yes," he said. "He is guilty," she went on. "The stamps were bought by me, with the thousand dollars of ray father's insur ance. I proposed the fraud. Love for hint made me do as I have done ; love for me made him do the rest." Without another word she went from the room out into the snow-storm. Joyco trembled in every limb, The insult drove him wild. She knew that he still loved her, and she called upon that love to save Alroy even at tho cost orli.ni '. Tlie "Utrne'O of itl Alrnw was guilty, and thero was but one thing Lo do. Lov and honor contended hopeless love, inalienable honor. There sould be no question as to which would win, Tho following day, tho ' ontrago tho insult gnawing at him, he went ou the hundrcd-tuile journey. On the morning of the 20th hejlook oath that he would do his duty as a good and j loyal man in the matters to bo placed i before tha grand jury. In a few min utes more ho was sitting with twenty- three oth.fr men round ft long tabii U i listening to detectives and others testf fying against unseen people. ' How many eases were disposed of he hardly knew, when he heard the nam he had waited for. Joyce raised hit head. Now would come the revengi for all the pain he had silently suf fered ; and yet his revenge would be only his honest duty. His face grev hard and grim. A postoffice expert testified among other thing, that Alroy had openly boasted that he would raise his office to second grade so that the increase oi salary would warrant his marriage. Two other witnesses testified as to th facts already known. "Well, gentlemen," said the fore man of the jury. "I move that a true bill bo found,' cried a juror. "I second the motion," said another, "All in favor of true bill signify their assent by saying 'Aye. ' " Several "Ayes." "Contray 'No. " Several "Nos." The foreman and an officer of thi court looked round the table. - "Ho may, or may not, have though' the sales legitimate," aaid one. "Oughtn't he to have the benefit a the doubt?" asked another. "It il getting very easy to accuse men in of fice of dishonesty." "An official like a postmaster," sa a third, "should be above suspicion. "Rather unfair to make his wish ti be married the cause for his rascality, said the youngest juryman. "And to blame him for his ambition in trying to raise his office," said a kinf voice. "Gentlemen," said the court officer, "m majority of one is sufficient to mak out a true bill, and a like majority ol one may ignore a bilL Those in favoj of a true bill will please rise." The man next to Joyce sprang np t his feet. Another got up. Joyc counted three, four, five. "If he knew the bare sale of thi stamps did not substantiate his claim, that would make a true bill against him, "said a juror. Another man stood up, still another. "Only seven. Ah, eight, nine, ten. eleven." The juror on the otlier side of Jojc rose. -'. -' - "Twelve." . "V.,- Joyce with a feeling of exultation that his revenge was to be even great er than he had hoped when he could give the casting vote to decide the case against Alroy staightened hit knees to rise and form the majority of one. At that moment he heard a low, tremulous voice : "I proposed tha fraud. Love for him made me do as I have done ; love for me made him do the rest." He glanced fearfully around, almost expecting to see the owner of that voice the woman he loved the woman who had treated him so badly the woman who had gauged his honor and his love. "Your duty as a good and loya) man " "No majority," sang out the court officer, "a tie. Let me try again an other way. Those in favor of ignoring the bill please to rise." ("Your duty as a good and loynJ may-") ' Twelve men were standing up. 1 "How is this gentlemen," said the court officer, "still a tie." ("I proposed the fraud," came that low, tremulous voice. "Love for hinj made me do as I have done.") Love. Did Joyce know what lov was? Did he know the power Mary's love must have exercised over the man ahe loved the man she had ruined? Did he know her suffering now that she realized what she done? And did he think of Alroy's love for her ; of his striving after hap piness with her even at the price of that which men hold to be the first principle of man hood honor? . Was there not yet chance for retrieving, a chance foi their peace, made purer by mistak and suffering? Was there nothing higher than mere duty ? Was it duty to irretrievably ruin two lives which might yet be made better? Mary would never be sure of the part hei discarded lover played in this case, de spite her guessing, and oh, his honor, his honor t and oh, his pain his hope less love ! r "Still a tie," impatiently said thf eourt officer. Oh, his honor ! and oh, his pain his hopeless love ! But oh, Mary's happi ness! Joyce, the thirteenth juror, suddenly shot up on his feet, making the ma jority of one. ' "Majority !" proclaimed the court officer. "The bill is ignored." The thirteenth juror fell in a heap t the floor. New York Storiettes. Queer Matrimonial Methods. A convenient way they have in Hol land and Batovia of tying the matri monial knot when the lady is in one country and the gentleman in the other. For the Hollanders are such a thrifty industrious people that they like not to lose time even over the most solemn services. The marriage is af fected by procuration. The watches it the two parties the one say in Am sterdam and the other in Batavia are regulated to accord, or the difference in longitude allowed for. Then at the same instant of time the marriage cere mony is performed in both places, and the thing is done. The Perils or th Deep. Belated Passenger Oh, captain, I was so afraid that I should miss the steamer I haraly took time to swal low my lunch. Gruff Captain Well, never, mind, it will be all the same la an hour'? time. King's Jester. A Bare Thing. Miss Jones (the daughter of bis employer) I don't believe Mr. Cash ier, that pa will give his consent. Mr. Cashier Oh, yes, he will after he has examined the books, He will want to keep the money in the fam ily. Texas SIf tings. StiB Formality. She Chicago society is very ex elusive, isn't it? He Yes. When I was there 1 called at a friend's house, but the footman declined to take In my card until 1 was identified. Life. Cork pit ., mckta tha b$t matches. ! A Question of Vaat Interest to Farmer) and the Country at Large. Why do not our farmers think and talk more about the really very im. porta nt part they must take regard ing our country schools asksawrltet in the Western Rural. We know that thousands of them In our own State will not even attend the school meetinir for electing ihclr 02w But leave those "devoted few" wlo feel honor bound to help keep up the proper form of school government In their districts. I wonder if the peo ple of this beautiful State of ours will ever awaken to a full realization of their responsibilities us intelligent citizens. In every one of our towns and vil lages we find a good public school the J center of attraction there, they are a blessing and an honor to the peo ple. Still how many short-sighted farmers we see every year who are renting their farms and moving to town where they may have better facilities for educating their children, than is afforded them at the little schoolhouse at the cross-roads. The result of this mode of action is ot too common an occurrence to need description. If those same farmers would only take the same in terest in the management and growth of their schools that the majority of them take in politics there would be little or no necessity for such wild-, joose moves. Why should not the farmer feel just as proud of his ovu little district schoolhouse as the rich men of the city do of their grand col lege buildings? Surely the success of . these colleges Is dependent upon thq success of t hese same country schools. Our free schools are for the benefit of our farmers. Then is it not the duty ol every farmer to help make those schools a glorious success? One reason that our village schools are so superior to our country schools, is that tho peo ple take so much more interest i a their schools than those of the rural districts do. They will occasionally visit the school while in operation thus encouraging both the children and the teachers and see that thd children do the work assigned them.' On the other hand thousands of out farmers shirk the important rcsponsi-l bilities of school directors, often stating as a reason that there ii neither thanks or pay connected with it Who never visit the school oi take any interest whatever in any ed ucational work. Aud yet did yoii ever notice those same careless, negr liijent follows are the very worst class of people to grumble and com plain abo'it poor teachers and poor schools. Thev can seldom keep tho same teacher in the same district two years in succession. How can a wide-awake, progressive teacher afford to remain and "labor among a class of people who are seem ingly dead or perfectly indifferent to all responsibility of true citizenship? Who think it is the teacher's duty to take their children, keep them out of misclmf and "train them up in the way tacy should iro" without one par ticle of help or word of encourage ment from the parents themselves. Let us as farmers, citizens, and par ents arouse ourselves to the impor tance and grandeur of this work of educating our children. We can make our country schools a glorious success if we only so will it. Then let us co-operate with a hearty good will, each one with a determina tion to do all in our power to advance ano perfect our free country schools which are "with the farmers, by tho farmers, and for the farmers." Wedding Cuiitoui. In all civilized countries the biide -ontributes her share of the house hold goods. Here they follow the cosy German custom, although not entirely, for whereas the "Fraulein" begins to have table-cloths, napery, and sheets made up for her future wedding long before any bridegroom makes his appearance, and in fact while she is at her school-books, the American girl's purchases of house linen are the Urst Indication that the wedding is near at hand. There is a great deal of pride and considerable money to be expended in these dainty preparations, and the poorest girl in that country much prefers to furnish this part of her Tuture home-stores lor herself. In France, however, the expectant husband begins to pay his lady-love's bills before marriage. The bridegroom-elect formerly sent unmade dress patterns of rich materials. He now has to present them already oiade up. The bride's mother usually fur nishes three gowns, the wedding dress, the traveling-dress, and one other, which is worn at the family party preceding the wedding, called the "contract" party. The future husband Is expected to furnish all the others, the number varying from four to twelve. In England the husband's share of wedding preparations includes the house-linen, which is, of course, marked with bis family initial, and not that of the bride. What a diversity of good taste, or what is considered good taste, in dif ferent countries these wedding cus toms show! Though we take many fashions from France, it is not likely this will ever or soon be adopted lerc. As If Clot tics Did It. The man's the man for a' thai and a' that, and so is the woman, but it isn't everybody knows, especially wo men. The other day two fashion able ladies were going along Wood ward avenue, when they met a very poorly dressed little woman, whom one of them seem to know in an elee mosynary way. She stopped the lit tle woman and engaged her in con versation for three or four minctes, the other, meanwhile, listening to her and noting her manners. Then they passed on. "Who is she?" asked the one who had been observing. "Ob, she's a little woman I have on my charity list What do vou think of her?" "Think of her? Why, if she had on good clothes she'd be a lady." The man's a man for a' that and a' that, and so's the woman. Free Fress. - t . . , , OUR COUNTRY SCHOOLS. FAST SKATING IN HOLLAND The Dutchman Doesn't liook Handma But Be Gam m Lively Unit. The average Dutchman of thi South, though he can skate very well, looks rather foolish on the Ice. Ills short legs and wide breeches are ad mirable adjuncts to his nose, his thin cocked beard and the lumpishness of his expression, says Chambers' Jour ral To be sure, this breadth makes him look important, but if he were less muscular it would be a sad hin drance to him In battling with the wind, which in winter is apt to make skating in one direction somewhat ot a trial. The Frieslander, however, la taller, better proportioned and in all respects a handsome fellow. The yel- ' low beard he sometimes wears seems to put him at once on a footing of affinity with the other members of that respectable Anglo-Saxon family to which we ourselves belong quite as much as his provincial speech and his blue eyes. He is a most masterful creature when once he has put on those qa&&t old-fashioned skates of bis, and thinks nothing of making a score of miles from one village to an other before you and I are out ol bed. As for the cold, what cares be for it? He knows he must rely on that lusty circulation of his to keep hlra from being benumbed, though he clothe ever so lightly, and seems more regardful for bis head which a sealskin cap takes care of than of his well-shaped body. A Frlesland canal in winter is as lively as any thing can be. The ice may not bej verv good or of unquestionable strength, but no sooner are the boats penned in ana the broken pieces of ice sufficiently welded to allow him to skate between them than the sport begins. It is a feat of honor to be the first in the district to cross the canal when the wintry season is in its youth. The name ot the bold lad is remembered for a week or two, and I have no doubt his pluck stands him in good stead in the esteem of the cherry-cheeked damsels of his prov ince, whose eyes dance past one so brightly when the ice festival Is in full swing and journeying is all don on skatoa Emerald-Mining. Few persons who are familiar witl emeralds in their cut and mounted stated have any idea of the difticuties experienced by those who would traverse that part of the Andes where lie the celebrated emerald mines of Muzo. The scenery is of extraordir nary beauty, but in two flays' riding the traveler is obliged to follow some most dangerous mountain passes, and to maKe his way overprecipices where a single false step would dash him U destruction. ! The emerald mines, says Albert Millican.in "Travels and Adventurei of an Orchid Hunter." lie in a basin surrounded by high mountains in the form of circle. These mines aro now the property of the Government of Columbia, which rents them to a company employing five or six over seers and about four hundred nativ workmen. The means used for working the i are very primitive, but they yield every year a large amount of precious stones, which are immediately shipped to Europe. i The band ot rock containing the precious crystals is more than a thou sand feet hiuh, formed of black shale veined with pyrites of iron. Very few emeralds are found in the black stone, but by cutting down the face of the immense precipice, veins of white stone are uncovered; this is known as calcite, a crystallized form of carbonate of lime. The emeralds are sometimes embedded, and some times found in hollow cavities, and the work of cutting down the side of the rock is done by natives, mostly with a crowbar. A piece of rock a yard wide is se lected, running the whole length of the mine, on the top, this is cut down a few yards, and then another level of the same is begun again at the top, until the whole breast of the rock appears to be a monster stair case, the broken rubbish having been thrown down to the bottom of thf 1 precipice. On the opposite bank from the spot ' where the emeralds are taken out a stream of water is kept run , ning by means of sluices in a reser ' voir, and as the sluices are opened ' every fifteen minutes, the water is allowed to rush down the rocks with great force, the torrent clearing away all the broken stone thrown down by the miners since the last discharge A Queer People. The Chinese do everything back wards. Their compass points to the South instead of the North. The men wear skirts and the women trousers: while the men wear their hair long, the women coil theirs in a knot The dress-makers are men; thf women carry burdens. The spoken language is not written, and the written language is not spoken. Books are read bacicwards, and any notes are inserted at the top. White is used for mourning, and bridesmaids wear black instead of being maidens these functionaries are old women. The Chinese surname comes first and they shake their own hands in stead of the hands of one whom they wculd greet. Vessels are launched sideways, and horses are mounted from the off side. They commence their dinners with dessert, and end up with soup and Bsh. In shaving, the barber operates on the head, cutting the hair upward, then downward, and then polishes it off with a small knife, which is passed over the eyebrows and into the nosf to remove any superfluous hairs. To tell a dignified citizen to pull down his vest, is apt to make hire false bis choler. Overwhelmed by Sadness. Friend I suppose there are times when sad thoughts come to one who is to leave college for good. Gradu ate Yes; I was just thinking that I would have to buy my own tobacco' after this. Judge. , The Pnkind After-Though. "Dickey Is studying medicine.". "What for9" "He says be want to be a philanthropist and helppeople." "into the next world?"--WMhiog too SUtv WOMEN AT THIRTY-frTVS. admitting Thnt 8ha Kver Cats Tftar, That Is Her Most Charming Age In reality, at 35 a woman is still Causiag at the height of her;rresnal harm. She gained the height per aps seven or eight years before, has had small experience of sorrow and pain and apprehension, has not bad too hard work for mind or body, has bad but little illness, has kept her temper and spared herself worry, she has net fairly begun the descent; or If she has, then there is a slightly pathetic charm about ber, says Har per's Bazaar, as about the golden tarnish of a rose that drops its first petal, but is still the rose. For into the beauty of 20, gradually unfolding and expanding up to 25 or 26, the soul unfolding and ex panding, too, has infiltrated a new quality, one which is wanting to youth except in extraordinary in stances, and this beauty of spirit and of intellect has been added to beauty of flesh with ever-increasing power. And then Just as the contours begin to yield and the beauty ot the flesh assumes a doubtful part when diet and exercise and massage and sleep, and the right colors, and not too much light all have to be carefully considered, and a veil is needed to bide the fine times when in the sun and it Betty gives "the cheek a touch of red" and the hair a dust of gold powder it is not our affair to know of it nor does it diminish the fascina tion she unconsciously exerts then,' If she improved the years, comes the second stage the stage of a superior captivation to that exercised by the mere fleshy beauty. It is in the years of this period that unconsciously and unwillingly women charm men much younger than themselves, and always men of rather extraordinary intel lectual power, into proposals of mar riage. At this time a Wuman un derstands herself and knows how to balance and counterbalance the cir cumstances of the world about ber. She has probably read many books,; ibe has seen many people; if she! amounts to anything worth consid ering she has ta t and skill and ease, Df manner, she has learned some thing ot the intricacies of human na-j ture and of the secrets of the heart; ibe has learned bow to render not sniy herself but her surroundings at tractive; she is no longer exacting; she makes people near her comfortable:she puts them into conceit of themselves that Inexplicably pleasant mood. And people seek her presently for the fake of being comfortable, and for the delightful atmosphere that ber presence seems to create; men admire ber, women adore her, young people follow her; she is a social power; and Is ot more weight and consequence than any young person not upon a throne --for although sho live t threescore ana ten, her throna is upon men's hearti Poet and Musician. One of the most beautiful and in teresting things to be remembered concerning Sidney Lanier, the pctj whose life was full of promise, and who nobly fulfilled it so far as timo end disease would let him, is his love of music A recent writer Jn the Independent quotes the words of another, saying: "I have never cared for the flute, but to me Lanier did not 'play the flute;' I only heard a volt e breathing unutterable longings and messages of Joy and love and sorrow." His playing did not seem to pre sent the bare melody. It was a cre ator of broKen chords and of unex pected caden as, like these of a bird. The effect of this was illustrated dur ing the winter of 1873, when he was called upon to play a solo at the meeting of a choral society in San Autouio. When he had finished, the aid German leader ran over to him, seized his hand, and exclaimed: I h if never heart de flude accom pany itself pefore!" In bis youth Lanier was always improvising, and when a friend once asked him how he could invar iably respond when asked to play, he replied that he was forever hear ing a i ow of melody, and Deeded only to utter it in tone. His great diftl :ulty was to keep from listening to it when ouUidc matters demanded his attention. When he played before Doctor Damrosch, in .New York, he confided to him bis wish to pursue the study of music Do you know what that means?" asked Damrosch. "It means a great deal of work; a thousand sacrifices. It Is very ha ardous. I "1 know all that" says Lanier. 'It is not a matter of mere prefer ence. 1 must be a musician. It is a spiritual necessity. .but ill health fettered him, and the necessity of earning a living kept him too busy even to devote him self to his beloved poetry. He died young, but never to be forgotten. j youth's Companion. How Helena Started. The mines which built the city of Helena, in Montana, were discovered by a party of four prospectors who were on their way to a well-known ramp in the Kootenai country. Learning that the diggings in that quarter had failed, they turned aside to prospect In another direction, and for some time wandered about dig ging holes here and there, but find ing nothing that they considered worth working. About noon of the 15th day of July, 1864, they arrived oh the site ot the city of Helena, halted for dinner and to rest their horses. Dinner over, their horses were saddled, when one of their num ber walked down to the stream to get a drink before mounting. From mere force of habit be began mechan ically scratching the eravel with his . bands, when to his astonishment he ' drew out a nugget as big as a gold dol lar. A hundred dollars' worth of gold was taken out in about twenty minutes The men then immediately settled down and located claims. In a short time news of their success spread abroad. Hundreds cf other miners flocked to the spot and a mining camp of unprecedented rich ness was established. The city of Helena grew up on the spot and it is all that one of the banks ot that city is situated on a portion of tho first claim located by the lucky quar-et , The pupil of; the cat's eye always ha brought the menu with you? xmtracts during Bleey Eisenbart Russian Idea of a Joke i An inhabitant of Voro, in Finlar.5. named Sellquist, who for a long time past has been living on lad terms with his wife, bad late!.- a narrow escape from being poisoned by her. She called at a chemist's and asked for some rat poison. As these creat ures are very rarely seen in that neighborhood the chemist had his suspicions aroused and gave the wom an a perfectly harmless drug. On second thought he decided to men tion the matter to the husband, and . requested him to say nothing about It to his wife. In the evening, she was preparing the porridge, the man kept a watchful eye on her move ' ments, and noticed that she scattered ' something out of a paper into the , gjucepan. When the porridge was ready he sat down to the table aud began to eat. After awhile he got up in great excitement paced upand Down the room, and at last fell faint ing on the floor. This was what the I woman expected. .--he now pulled own a rope through a hole in the ceiling with a noose, whh-h she placed around ber husband's neck, where upon she ran upstairs into the garret in order to pull up the rope and hang her husband in that fashion. Mean time the husband got up and tied a few chairs to the rope. The wife did not return to the room, as she dreaded the sight, but went out in the village to raise an alarm, saying that her husband bad hacged himself in ber absence. Wben she came back with a host cf neighbors and cro. od le tears in her eyes there was her hus band sitting at the table laughintr till his sides ached. The chairs were still dangling on the rope. Novo remya. Speed of Torpedo Craft. I How high will the speed standard be carried in torpedo c.alt? The ' Havoc, only a little while ago, made ' a record exceeding twenty-seven I knots. Shortly afterwatd it was eclipsed by another Yarrow boat the Hornet, with twenty-eight Now a Thcrneycroft torpedo boat destroyer, the Daring, has outdone the Hornet. The figures chalked upon the Daring's funnels at the conclusion ot her steam trials were 29.2J8. It Is true that this great speed of knots was not the average of her perform ance, but the best of three spins on the measured mile. Still it w. s, in its way, unequaled, and in s; lte of the great speed there was very little vibration, this drawback having been overcome in modern torpedo craft Will not the maximum in torpedo boats beat thirty knots? It certainly looks so now. The Decoy is the mate to the Daring, and, taking togethei the torpedo craft building or to be built cn the Clyde, the Mersey, the Tyne, the Thames, and cUewhcre. more than twenty new boats are as pirants for great speed records. ! Across the Channe', too, JL Nor mand, it is said, expects to touch the thlrty-kn t notch with his unfin ished wonder, and presumably Shi chau of Elblng, will not yield the laurels he held so long, with ut a struggle to regain them, l'erbapi thirty-five knots for torpedo boats and something like thirty for trans atlantic steamers will be here bef re any young man living has grandchil ' dren. New York Sun. ' How? It is a significant question which comes to The Youth's Companion from a lady in Rhode Island who is the secretary of a Children's Friend Society, and who has read that there are many farms sufferintr from waut of help to till them, while there arc thousand of men out of work in the Eastern manufacturing citie and towns. 'Only this afternoon," this lady writes, "lhavc had an application to receive into our home the little chile' of a worthy English couple who can not get work. The man is used t faimlng, and the womau to house work. Foth arejioncst Industrious persons. I asked the woman, who wahe: for me, if her husband would be will ing to go West and work on the land. Oh, indeed he would.' she answered, 'if he could only get there: "Do not the farmer-.' wives tin 1 it as bard to get help as their husbaadj do, and is there not some way of re lieving both parties to their mutual goodv "One friend of mine has helped to send back to their native lane many such families, but wculd not it be a better plan to get them to soiuj place where tlieir work and thrill w .uld be a help to themselves and oth rs?" The two-sided problem presented by this letter is one of the gravest . of questions of the time, llovv to solve it is a matter well worthy the attenticn of our statesmen. Real Beauty. A reply which was at once wise and w.ttv is said to have b en made by a gentleman to wbose decision in regard to a certain matter two prettj young girls appealed. They were discussing the question as to what constitutes beauty in a band, and differed greatly in o; in ion. At last they leferred the mat ter to the old man. of whom the; we're both verv fond. "My dears," said the old gentle, man, with a kindly smile, "the ques-i tion is too hard a one for me to de cide. But ask the poor, and they will tell yeu that the most beautiful hand in tbe world is the band that iv;. the most freely." A Draadful MistaLa. "Here is a letter from poor Carrie. She and her husband both want a di vorce and neither can get it." "What's the matter?" "He, unknown to her, was about to elope with the governess. Just ai she, unknown to him, was about to elope with his secretary; they met ir the dark and eloped with each other.' Life. A Dusmma and the W ay Out. Footman Mr. F , the banker, and his lady bave the honor to invite your lordship to dinner on the l-'th inst Baron Hang it! I have two invi tations for the 12th. I have not yet decided, though. Do 3'ou happen U -----