D F. BOHWEIEB, THE OONHT1T U TION-THE UNION-AND THE ENFORCEMENT OF THE LAWS. Better and VOL. LI. MIFFLINTOWN. JUNIATA COUNTY. PENNA.. WEDNESDAY. MAKCH 17. 1897. NO. U, r 1 SO 1, t ) CHAPTER XVI. Continued. "Only for five minutes, at present!" she, aid. "You way have heard an old story about no uncle of mine who made an enormous fortune in America many years ago. There was a lawsuit about his money; it has been going on for some time, and none of us thought that we should ever benefit by what he left. We have gained the case. I suppose that I myself shall soon be a millionairess, if there is such a word. What do yon think of that. Master Jack? Oh, Jack, I'm so glad." She stretched out both ber hands to him. There was the loveliest look of joy and tenderness in her eyes. Hanning ton held her hands, but made no other sign. He was growing white about the lips. - : "Do you see. Jack?" she went on. was hoping that this would come true: 1 and I did not want you to throw yourself away on a child like Molly Moncrieff for the sake of her trumpery little fortune." "Why didn't you warn me? Wh? didn't you tell me this before?" said Jack wringing her hands wildly in his own without thinking what be did. "Oh, Val, if I had but known!" "But what difference does it make?" said Lady Val, with wide-open, unsus picions eyes. "I could not tell you then because I was not sure indeed, I did not know till within the last few days. Yoa know, of course, that Molly won't be a.;- to touch a farthing of ber money oi;tl she is twenty-one, if she marries witbvjt ber father's consent. As she is ba-vly eighteen now, it would hardly suit you to marry her and wait three years in po.er - ty. would it?" - - - i ' ' She was startled by the ejaculation that fell from Uannington's lips. I "I have ruined myself for nothing, then!" be exclaimed. She looked at bis pale face and frown ing brows, and a faint suspicion bean to creep into her mind. "I never knew till to-day that you cared: for me, Val." he said. "If 1 had kwn oh, how different life would have been for both of us! Kiss me, darling just once; kiss me and tell me that you love me. 1 have loved you all these years, and tried hard to tight it down. You are die only woman in the world, as I have often told you, that I ever loved!" She was not frightened by the loarsely spoken words, by the rough emtrace, or the man's passion of love and gref pas sion such as she had never thotgbt him capable of before. She lifted, her face and allowed him to press his lip to hers for one moment of mingled diss and . agony. Then she drew her fact away. "There!" she said. "Yea, I love yoo. Jack, with all my heart, and I always have loved you, and I have always done my best, as far as I knew 1", for your welfare. It is because I love you that I don't want you to do or say aiytbing now that you may live to regret. So tell me plainly what all this means." "It means, Val," groaned Hannington, heavily, "that although I loved you 1 married Molly Moncrieff this morning, and that she Is here in Glasgow with oe." CHAPTER XVIL The household at Torres tnuir had been aroused at dead of night by noises which were as alarming as they were myste rious. A cry, a scuffle, and a pistol shot, followed (as some of the servants de clared) by the sound of hastily retreat ing footsteps and carriage wheels along the road, caused much excitement, and It was generally thought that the place had been entered by burglars, who had been disturbed at their work. This theory was at first corroborated by the fact that Mr. Moncrieff, on proceeding to the tow er, fonnd the doors open, and his son and brother-ln-taw lying Incapacitated on the floor of Kingscott's sitting-room. Ber tie was quite unconscious; he seemed to have been stunned by a severe blow on the head; and Kingscott's left arm was found to be broken, and even shattered, by a shot from the revolver, which, as Moncrieff noted with surprise, bore Ber tie's name engraved upon it, and could not, therefore, be a burglar's weapon. He was turning away, when hia atten tion was arrested by a word from Kings cott's lips. Stella was bending over him and trying to do something for his arm: but the word he uttered made her hand fall suddenly to her side. "Hannington," he said. Stella half raised herself, glanced round ber, and said, almost below her breath: "Where is Molly." She thought that Alan would, if he could, have annihilated her on the spot "In her room, of course," he answered, sternly. "Yon are unnerved, Stella. What is Rnlph saying? Attend to Bertie I will look after Ralph. Do you know me, Ralph? Who did this? Who has been here?" "Hannington." Kingscott opened his eyes. A contrac tion of pain crossed bis brow. "What! Did he shoot me?" he asked, trying to it np, bat turning whiter than ever with the effort as he moved. "The young scoundrel T' Of whom are yon soeaking, Ralph?" "Of Bertie, of course. Isn't his revol ver anywhere about? He shot me. 1 tell you, whether by accident of not, I can't say. I think I knocked him down in re turn. "I'm afraid that Molly Molly has eloped with Hannington. They were steal ing out by the door in the tower when I came upon them. Molly had a bag; aha was in her cloak and hat. Bertie was wun mem vernaps ne meani w go wo, i can t say. I rushed forward to atop j Molly-and yon see the result. teniug to her, uisband's aide. The gray change in his w ee alarmed her. "Alan, it can't be true."" l-'ie put her hand on his arm, but h re. ilsed her. speaking harshly in his "Vim this your secret?" he said, ere you helping my daughter to bring dirace upon my name?" "Alan, don't say such a cruel thing. I knew that Mr. Uannington had met her I was trying to put an end to it I had no idea that Molly ever thought of leav ing us in this way! Ob, cannot we stop htr? Cannot we bring her back?" "Too late," said AJan, grimly. "If I could, I would not dot. Molly is no long er a child of mine. I hare done with bei forever. And If Bertie has helped her to disgrace herself In this war 1 will- "No. Alan, don't aaj aaythiof Just Du(V." Stella pleaded, as she hastened to Bertie s side, for the lad's eyes un closed with a bewildered dr. "What is it? What does it mean?" murmured Bertie. "Don't talk yet," said Stella, gently. "Do you feel any pain? We must have I yon taken to your room when you are auie to move, ana tne doctor will be here directly." "I'm not hurt," said Bert.!, in a strong er voice. "Only a little dazed, I think. What was my father saying about we? I did not understand " "You had better hold your tongue," said Kingscott, from the couch on which he was lying, in tones rendered harsh, presumably by pain. "Yon can do no good by talking." -Stella was sorry to see that the lad cowered when these words were spoken as though they contained a threat. She redoubled her attentions to him, and was rewarded presently by finding that, al though still sick and faint, he was able to move without difficulty; then, think ing that she could be of no nse at pres ent to Kingscott, she went away from the tower to make inquiries about Molly, and to give any orders that might be re quired. After a considerable search, Stella found a letter addressed to herself in Molly's room. It was short, but clear enough. "As you are so determined to prevent my marriage with Jack,' wrote Molly, "we have thought it better to take mat ters into our own hands. Jack Is wait ing for me with a carriage in the road. We shall not go to Dunkeld or to Perth, so you need not look for us there. Ws shall be married to-morrd morning, and then I will write again. I have written to my father, and 1 hope that he will not be angry with us. Indeed, I would not have taken this way if yoi.bad not driven me into it by trying to coVie between me and Jack. I am sorry fir my father's sake, but not for anything else, because I love Jack better than anybody in the world." She had signed ber. full name at the end "Mary Helen Moncrieff." Stella was cut to the heart by one sen tence: "I wonld not have taken this way if you bad not driven me into '.t by trying to come between me and Jack " Mnst she show her husband this letter, in which that accusing sentence seemed to stand out with such terribls distinct ness? She winced at Its latter words "trying to come between me aid Jack." What would Alan think of thrt? She dared not consider; she thrust tk. letter into her pocket, resolving to show it to him at once, without regard to conse quences. But this she fonnd impossible. He had locked himself into hia study, and answered when ahe knocked with a re quest that he might be left alone. His tones were muffled and nnnaturaL Stella thought, aa ahe lingered wistful ly outside his door, she was almost cer tain that ahe heard the sound of tioea heart-rending sobs which are the last ex pression of a strong man's agony. Then she was summoned away by th. an nouncement of the doctor's arrival, and found herself abliged to explain the state of affairs to him, and to conduct him ts bis patients. She did not gsin access to her b en band until the afternoon. "I wanted to tell you," Stella bogan, but ber husband hastily interrupted her. "Not just now. Tell me nothing at present. I have not heard Rx-'ph's story Vet, or Bertie's." "But mine ought to come first," said Stella, quietly. She began her story at once the story of Lady Valeacia's warning, of her ex pedition to Tomgarrow, and her inter view with Hannington and Molly. Het voire faltered a little as she told of the week's respite that she had given the lovers never dreaming that they would take advantage of her trust in them to cut the Qordian knot in this discreditable n ay. There was a moment's pause when she had finished. "This is all you know!" said Alan, in the dry, hard voice which sounded so lit tle like his own. "Yes." "And it did not strike yon that yonr first daty in the matter was to me? that I ought to have been told at once?" "I am very sorry," murmured Stella. "You have no more to say at present, I suppose? There are other things to be touched on later just now Molly's affairs nitist come first." Stella went with him to Kingscott's rooms in the tower. Ralph was in bed, evidently suffering much pain, but quits disposed to give bis version of the story . i u : j Bertie WM alllo preW!nt. He lootea white and dUlre8Sed and did not Teotw u t take a chair. And then Ralph was re quested to state what he knew. He gave his account much as be bad given it before, but not without interrup tion. At one or two points Bertie burst forth indignantly: "I knew nothing: I was not in league with Molly. It was not I who fired the revolver." And last of all: "Then k" --- - J.:.-, i- . f.th. er's study at one o'clock Just before ilollv went awa" itiugscott shook his bead pityingly. "It is a pity that you should try to affix blame on me. dear boy," he said. "The only excuse I ran make for you is that you are suffering from delusions caused by on over-excited brain." "1'ray, what were you doing to be out of your room at that hour of the night?" said Moncrieff to his son. Bertie answered by telling his own story; but it waa easy to see that Mon crieff did not in the leaat believe it. He believed in Kingscott apparently, and in nobody else. Neither would he credit Bertie's statement that be knew very little about Molly's meetings with John Hannington. Matters became worse when Bertie, In passionate, self-vindication, turned upon hia nncle and accused him of treachery. "There is one thing that I have kept to the last," said Moncrieff, when Bertie was silent. He spoke deliberately, but the tightening of the lines about his mouth told their own history of pain. "Do any of you know this ring?" He held up a little gold ring, with a red stone set in brilliants in the center. "Molly's!" exclaimed Bertie. Then he glanced at Kingscott, flushed deeply, and was dumb. ".Molly's, 1 believe. I found It in s l?ked drawer n mj atudr." said bis father, gravely. "I suppose it Is easy to see that Molly must have been there. To you three and to you only will I tell what has occurred. Molly, it seems, would not leave the house without possessing her self of her mother's jewels. They would have been hers in due course; I hardly blume her for that. But this is not all. She has taken papers, representing prop erty to a considerable amount; and and money." His voice grew thick, and his head sank as he spoke. "She knew that she was safe that she might keep her ill gotten gains. But I I would sooner have lain in my grave than been obliged to acknowledge that my daughter my inly daughter was a thief." (To be continued.) JOAN OF ARC BEFORE THE KING. Her Faith In Her Mission Overcame All Obstacle. Her conviction waa so strong that it gained the sympathy of the poor about her. To these humble beings, for whom everything Is difficulty and Impossibil ity In life, Imagination opens a rich field where all dreams seem credible. They believed the dream of Joan, and lent their aid to the accomplishment of her miracle. This help and complicity of the people she was to find every where on her road. The king and the nobles accepted her because she served their purpose; the people believed lu her and lent her strength. Thus from the first step of her undertaking her situation was clearly outlined, as it was to be to the end to martyrdom. The poor people gave from their poverty to buy her a horse and vestments or war, and a squire, Jean de Metz, won by the popular enthusiasm, offered to ac company ber with a few men. They set out for Cblnon, where the court was assembled. The way was long and beset with danger, bat Joan upheld the courage of her companions. "Fear nothing," she said; "the Lord God has chosen my route; my brothers in paradise guide me on the way;" and in safety they ar rived at Cblnon. There new obstacles arose; it was 'difficult to obtain access to the king. Jealously guarded from all outside Influence by his favorite La TremoUle. But, as in a fairy tale, doors were opened, walls fell before her magic, and one evening the yonng peas-' ant entered the great hall where, among the courtiers, disguised In a modest costume, stood the king, whom she bad never seen. Without hesitation she walked straight to the king, and, fall ing on her knees, proffered her request with so much grace and ardor that Charles VIL was moved. But Imposture, witchcraft even, was suspected, and before a decision was ar rived at, learned doctors and ecclesias tics were called on to examine her and scrutinize her conscience. To all the subtleties of her examiners she an swered with so much simplicity, so much profundity of good sense, that they were confounded. "There Is more in the book of God than in yours," she said; and added, "I know not a from b, but I am sent of the Lord God." "The National Hero of France," by Maurice Boutet de MonveL In the Century. Braved Hia Sovereign's Wrttb. King Leopold, of Belgium, has one subject who is ready to show his in dependence. M. Vandendrlescbe bought a lot in front of the King's villa at Os tend and built a bouse on It that inter fered with the King's view. The King remonstrated, whereupon M. Vanden drlescbe pulled bis house down and built a twelve-story Iron hotel on the lot. A tunn'4 word ii world more at all other times thaa when ha tells hts wife tbt he ba ou smoney. 'i'be pond is an ocean to the tad pole. Sarcasm is a rhetor ira 1 dower con cealing a le. 8 me people seem to imagine thai they emu make up tor lack ot deeds by a surplus of words. Real friendship is a slow grower, and never thrives unless crafted up in a stock of known and rcoipro?ai merit lie mem ber to make a difference be tween companions and friends. Hath any wronged tliee; be bravely revenged; slight it, and the works begun; forgive it, and, tis finished. He is low himself that is not above an injury. The wi e and brave dares own that be was wrong. A novel u a romance up to ths time a hero and heroine marry; after that it becomes an essay. When a man takes his sister our, be always acts as tbongh he wanted very body to know she wasnt tis best girl. Trust in bard work. Inpcrile on your banner, "Luck is a fool, tlnck is a hero.'1 Be generous. Meanness makes enemies and brerdi distrust. i 1 AM Al ft .- Oxygen in Surgery. Remarkable results are reported to have been obtained In England by treating wounds with oxygen gas. Two kinds of micro-organisms are found In wounds, one kind being beneficent and the other injurious in its effects. Oxy gen causes an increase of the former and a decrease of the latter, so that, according to a writer in the British Medical Journal, wounds treated with oxygen heal more rapidly and with Iras pain than by any other form of treat sent. Tlis Earliest Men. Dr. Ranke, of the German Anthrop ological Society, recently undertook to describe the physical characteristics of the earliest men, as ascertained from the examination of prehistoric graves. They were of a yellowish color, be said, and bad coarse hair. Their beads were peculiarly shaped, tbe part of the skull which contains the brain being large relatively to the face, while the face was small. They bad other pecu liarities, among which was the rudi mentary or undeveloped condition, of the third molar, or back grinder tooth. The Doctor believes that the first mea originated in Asia. Ftrawb.rrie. ss Fo.4. In an address on "Horticulture and Health," before tbe American Associa tion for tbe Advancement of Science, Prof. W. R. Lazenby dlscussed'the nu tritive value of various fruits, and showed that an average maa who should undertake to live on strawber ries a loii e would have to consume eighty-eight pounds of them in a day In order to obtain a sufficient quantity of one of the most important elements of food, protein. But while he was get ting the proper amount of protein from tbe strawberries, they would give him even times too much of another neces sary compound, namely, carbohydrates. Forty-four pounds ot tomatoes a day would supply nearly the right quantity and proportion of protein, carbohy drates and fat, the three most essential constituents of food. Tbe chief value of fruit consists In Its acids, which are Important to health. FtranKe Things on Man. The planet Mars has recently (Decem ber 11) been again in apposition to the sun and consequently favorably situ ated for telescopic observation. In fact, astronomers have been studying it for some months as it approached appo sition, and have once more discerned those curious lines on its surface called "canals." They have also seen again the round, or oval, spots that appear at points where many canals meet, and to which Mr. Lowell has given the name of "oasea." One of the latest and most interesting observations relates to an "oasis" called "Trlvium Charontis." On November 10 this spot, at which nine "canals" meet, was seen, at Monsieur Flammarlon's observatory near Talis, to be double, or cut In two. Five days earlier, at the same observatory, the I pot bad appeared dark, broad and single. The Lost Arts. If Wendell Phillips were living to-day he would find many fresh illustrations of ancient ingenuity for his celebrated lecture on the "Lost Arts." Mrs. Le Plogeon lately showed in Appleton's Popular Science Monthly that tbe old Peruvians must have understood the laws of atmospherelc pressure in order to construct the very curious jars and vases that they have left One of these pieces of pottery was ornamented with the figures of two monkeys, and when water was poured Into, or out of, the vessel, sounds like the screeching of monkeys were heard. Another similar vessel had the figure of a bird which uttered appropriate notes; another was ornamented with a cat which mewed, and another with snakes which hissed. A most Ingenious water-Jar bore tbe form of an aged woman upon whose cheeks tears were seen to trickle, while sobs were beard, when water was pour ed from the jar. Worn by the Sea. Astonishing effects are sometimes produced by storm billows teariitg away beaches and bluffs on the eea coast. But. upon tbe whole, the steady wearing effect of the ordinary ea waves striking, or sweoplng aloiiu, ''a shore-line exposed to in-driving winds Is even greater, although, being distrib uted over a comparatively long interval of time. It attracts less attention. Some statistics recently published show that on tbe eastern coast of England, be tween Flambo rough Head and Spurn Head, along a distance of hirt7 of forty miles, the beach lias been retreat ing before the onslaught of tbe ocean, for tbe last thirty-seven years, at the average rate of nearly six feet a year. The same publication shows that man sometimes unintentionally assists tbe sea in destroying the bulwarks of the land. This has occurred at tbe great chalk cliffs near Dover, which have suf fered from tbe withdrawal of a part of tbe drifting sand accumulating at their feet and shielding them from tbe direct assault of the waves. Long piers con stricted at Dover and Folkestone hare diverted the sand and It has been found necessary to construct heavy sea-walls to protect the cliffs. Freaks of Two Oats. In a Philadelphia store there Is a cat known as Jim. The other day a young woman entered the store for tbe pur pose ef paying a bill. She was given a at on a large settee while the office boy obtained tbe receipt. Now, the back of this settee fasts against a rail ing which Incloses th office. This rail ing la very much Ilka a back yard fence,, and for that reason Is a favorite place for Jim. He was in this place when the lady took tbe seat and he cast admir ing glances at ber. She was neatly at tired In black and bad a large stuffed bird i har W varyUiM wa wu until Jim spied this bird, and with a Jump be was on her hat, much to the alarm and fright of the lady, who in stantly sprang to her feet, screaming loudiy. Jim was quickly removed, but could not be driven away while the lady remained In tbe store. Tbe clerks are going to give Jim a stuffed bird for a Christmas present. James Bell, also a resident of tbe Quaker City, owns a pretty maltese cat, whose only fault is kleptomania. Madge Is tbe cat's name. Wbile Mr. Bell was eating bis supper a few even ings ago he was startled by a funny noise on the stairs. Running In the direction of the racket he beheld the thieving cat coming down the stairs with his gold chain In her mouth, while the watch was bumping each step, evi dently much to tbe delight of tbe cat Quickly seizing his timepiece, Mr. Bell made a lunge for tbe cat, but Madge escaped. Lately tbe family had been at a loss to know what Madge bad done with her kittens. Tbeir whereabouts were discovered by Mr. BelL who found the tiny creatures cosily nestled in hia new silk bat A New Way to Clean Carpets. There are some machines so simple and so useful that, seeing them for tbe first time, an observer wonders why be did not Invent them himself. Such is the pneumatic carpet-sweeper which the Pullman company has recently adopted. In this case, curiously enough, no one knows who Invented tbe article, which a New York Journal reporter found In active operation is the Chi cago yards. Trainmen were cleaning Pullman coaches wWeh had Just returned from California. Several hundred yards away from them was the power bouse, containing the engine that compresses air for broom service. Through under ground pipes tbe compressed air is car ried to the tracks. Here a rubber hose is attached to the connection. At tbe end of the hose is a hollow Iron pipe, about as large as a broom handle. The pipe terminates la a brass fixture a foot In width and hav ing an opening, clear across, not more than one-thirty-second of an inch wide. Through this aperture comes the com pressed air at the rate of about seventy five cubic feet a minute. The carpets from the cars are thrown face up on the platform, at the side of the track, and the pneumatic instru ment is pushed back and forth over the nap with the brass end immediately upon the carpet, or just above It The air rushing against the carpet with tre mendous velocity blows the dust and dirt out In a cloud like the smoke from a locomotive. The rapidity with which the work la done Is astonishing. Enough carpet to cover an ordinary room Is cleaned in less than five minutes, and so thorough ly that no more dust could be beaten out with a stick. . For cleaning the upholstery In the cars a smaller brass nozzle, only two or three inches in width, is used, but the operation is otherwise the same. The Death of Willie Lincoln. In the St Nicholas Mrs. Julia Taft Bayne gives an interesting glimpse of "Willie and Tad Lincoln," who were playmates of her brother, "Budd." Mrs. Bayne gives the following account of the death of Willie Lincoln: On Feb. 1 Budd had a severe cold and was kept In for a few days, and Tad reported that "Willie had a cold, too." When Budd returned from a visit, he said, "Willie Is dreadfully sick; be talks about me and the pony all the time." My mother went to Inquire, and Mrs. Lincoln told ber they feared typhoid fever. Sometimes the President would come in, stand awhile at the foot of the bed, and go out without speaking. Once he laid his arms on Budd's neck as he sat at. the bedside, and leaning over, smoothed Willie's hair. Although on Feb. 20, at noon, my mother brought news from the White House that Willie was better, saying that he had held Budd's band and knew him, Willie died at 5 o'clock of that day. Tad was overcome with grief, and was 111 for some time after. Unique Criticism.' It Is perhaps convenient that all the wer Id should not be of the same mind. yet the remarks occasionally made by the unsophisticated upon the works of eminent men are certainly calculated to keep genius humble. When Sir John Millais was painting his famous picture, "Chill October," on the banks of tbe Tay, In Perthshire, he had an amusing and unflattering expe rience with one of these critics nn day, when bis picture was arranged, and the artist at work, there came from behind the hedge a voice which said. Man, did ye never try photography?" "No, never," replied Millais, painting slowly. There was a pause. 'It's a hantle quicker " said ths voice. 'Ye-es, I suppose so." Another pause. Then came the final thrust "An' it's malr like the place." Evidently the unseen critic was not the only man who found "Chill Octo ber" little to his taste. The porter at the railway station close to the spot which Sir John chose for his picture, was quite of the same mind. In order to facilitate his work, tbe artist had a movable platform erected on the bank of tbe Tay, and when the water rose he used to get the porter to assist him In changing its position. Months after ward, when the picture bad become famous, a friend of Sir John's met the porter. 'I was read In la the papers," said that worthy, "that Matater Millais got a thousand poun' for a plctur", and I jeest thought it mlcht be the aae be painted doon there," and he pointed over his shoulder to where the Tay lay hard by. On being assured that he bad guessed rightly, he remarked, "Aye and he got a thousand poun' for yonl Weel, I wadna nae gl en half-a-crooa for it myself." Mot Tat 1 Tommy Tompkins Pa, waa Sana tor Docks worth, who died the other day. a politician or a statesman? Tompkins Nobody knew yet, as on; us estate hasn't keen XMftv REV. DR. TALMAGE. The Eminent Divine's Sunday Discourse. Subject: "Invited to a Banquet. Text:" 'Bring hither the fattel eaif and kill It.'- Luke xv., 23. In all agHs ot the world it hn baen custom ary to celebrate joyful events by festivity. The signing of treaties, the proclamation ot peace, the inauguration of presidents, tbe coronation ot kings, the Christinas, tbe car riage. However much on other days of thu year cur taln may have stinte I supply, on Thaukstriving Day ther must be sommiiioi! bounteous. Ami all tbe comfortable nome. of Christendom have at some time cele brated joyful evenls by banquet and fes tivity. Someth .nn hns happened on tbe old homestead greater than anything that has nver happened t efore. A favorite son whom tbe world supposed would become a vaga bond and outlaw forever has got tired ol sightseeing and has returaed to bis father's borne. Tbe world said he would never come back. Tbe old man alway said his son would come back. He had been looking for him day after day and year after year. Ha knew he would come back. Now having re turned to bis father's bouse tbe father pro claims celebration. There is in the paddock a alt tbat haa been kept up and fed to ut most rapacity, w aa to be ready for some occasion of joy tbat mitcht come along. Ah, there never would be a grander day on tbe old homestead tbao this day 1 Let the butch ers do their work, and the housekeeper; bring into the t Mo the smoking meat. The musicians will tak their pWces, and the gay groups will move up and down tbe floor. All tne. friends and neighbors are gathered In and an oxtra Mipply is sent out to the table of I he servants. Tbe father presides at tbe table and snys grace, and thanks Ood tbat his long absent I oy Is borne again. Ob, bow tbey missed him. bow glad they are to have him tmek! One bro,hitr stands pouting at '.he back door and says: This is a great ado about notning. This bad boy should have been chastised instead of create I. Veal is toe good for him!" Bu' the father says, "Noth ing Is good enough." There sits the young man, glad at the hearty reception, but a shadow of sorrow flitting across his brow at the remembrance of the trouble he had seen. All reviy now. Lit tbe covers lift. Music He was dead and he is nliva again! He waa lost and he is found! By such bold imagery does the Bible s-'t forth tbe merrymaking wbjn a soul comes home to Qod. rirst ot all, there is the new convert s joy. It is no tame thing to become a Christian. The most tremendous moment in a mm's life is when be surrenders himself to Ood. Tbe grandest time on tbe father's homestead la when the boy comes back. Among the great throng who in the parlors of our church professed Christ one night was a young man who next morning rang my door bell and said: "flir, I cannot contain myself with the joy I feel. I came here this morning to ex press it. I have foun I more joy in Ave minutes in serving Ood than In all tbo years of my prodtga ity, and I came to say so." You have seen perhaps a man running for his temporal liberty and the officers ot the law after him, and you saw him escape, or afterward you hear tbe judge had pardoned him, and how great was the iilee ot tbat res ouad man; but It is a very tame thing, tbat, compared with I he running for one's ever lasting life, the terrors of the law after him and Christ comlnn in to pardon and bless abd rescue and save. lou remember John Bunyan In his great story tells bow the pilgrim put his Angers to bis ears and ran. crying: '.'Life, life, eternal lifel ' A poor car driver some time ago, after years having bad to struggle to sun port bis family, suddenly was informed tbat a large inheritance was bis, and there was a joy amounting to bewilderment, but that is a small thing compared with the experience of one when be has put in bis hands the title deed to tbe joys, the raptures, the splendors of heaven, and he can trnly say, "lis man sions are mine, its temples are mine, its songs are mine, its Qod Is mine!" Oh, it is no tame thing to become a Christian. It is a merrymaking, it is the killing of the fatted calf. It is a jubilee. You know the Bible never compares it to a funeral, but always compares it to something delightful. It Is more apt to be compared to a banquet than anything else. It is compan-d ia the Bible to water, bright, flashing water, to the raorniug, roseate, flreworked, mountain transfigured morning. I wish I could to-day tnkeall the Bible ex pressions about pardon, and peace, and lire, and o-mfort, and hope, and heaven, ami twist tbem into on garland and put it on the brow of tho humblest child of Ood in this assemblage an t cry, "Wear It, wear it now. wear it forever, son of Ood, daughtet of the Lord Ood A mighty!" Oh, tbe joy of tbe new convert ! Oh, tbo gladness ol tha Christian service ! Vou have seen Rome times a man in a religious asembly get up and give his experience. Well, .Paul gave bis experience. He arose in the presence of two churches, tbe church on earth and tbe chnrch in heaven, and he said, "Now this is my experience sorrowful, yet always re joicing: poor, yet making many ri?h; having nothing, yet possessing all things." If tbe people in this bouse knew the joys of tbo Christian religion, they would all pass over into the kingdom of Ood tbe next moment. When Daniel Sandeman was dying of chol era, his attendant said, '-Have you much pnln?" Oh,'' be replied, "since I found tbe Lord 1 bave nev- r bad any pain except sin!" Then they said to him, "Would yon like to send a mesage to your fr.ends?" "Y-9, I would. Tell them tbat only lest night the love of Jesus came rushing into my soul like the surges of the sea, and I had to cry out, Stop, Lord, it is enough; stop, Lord enough!' " Oh, tbe joys o'. this Christian re ligion! Just pass over from those tame joys In which you are indulging, joys of this world, into the raptures of the gospel. The world cannot satisfy you. You bave found that out. Alexander longing for other worlds to conquer an. I yet drowned in his own bot tle; Byron whipped by disquietudes around tbe world; Voltaire cursing h s own soul while all the streets of Paris were applaud ing him; H-nry II consuming with hatred against poo;- Thomas a Becket all illustrations of tbe fact that this world cannot make a man happy. The very man who poisoned the pommel of tbe saddle on which Queen Elizabeth rode shouted in the street. "God save the Queen!" One moment the world app'ands. and the next moment the world snath- matizea. Ob, eome over Into this greater joy, this sublime solace, this magnificent beatitude! Tbenfgbt after the tattle of Shiiob, and there were thousands of wounded on the field, and the ambulances had not come, one Christian soldier lying there a-dying under the star light bean to sing: Tbere is a land of pure delight. And when he came to the next line there were scores of voices singing: Where saints immortal reign. The song was caught np all thrcugh tbe fields among the wounded until It was said tbem were at least 10,000 wounded men unit ing their voices ns tbey came to tbe verse There everlusting spring abides And never withering floweis. 'Tis but a narrow stream divides 'ibis heavenly Inn J from ours. Oh, it Is a great religion to live by and a great religion to die by! There is only one heart throb between you and tbat religion. Just look into the face of yonr pardoning Ood and surrender yourself for time and for eternity, and He is yours and heaven is yours and all is yours. Home of you, like tbe young man 61 the text, nave gone far astray. I know not the history, but yon know It, you know it. When a young man went forth into life, the legend says, his guardian angel werjt torth with him, and getting him into a Held, tbe guardian angel swept a circle around where tbe young man stood. It was a circle of virtue and honor and he must not step beyond that circle. rmed foes c.tmfl down, but were obliged t.i halt at that circle. Tbev could not tas. But one dav a temptress, with dia. monded hand, etr-jlehed forth and crosso-J that circle with tbe hand, and ths tempted soul took it, and by that one fell nrit, was brought bevond the circle and died. Some of you have stepped beyond that circle. Would you not like this day, by tbe grave ot Ood. to step back? This. I say to you. t? y&.ir hour ot salvation. There was In the e!-js n hours or Queen Anne what is eiilie 1 tiie elocfc scene. Flat down on tha pillow In helpless sic-kness. she could not move her head or move ber band. She was wilting lor the hour when the ministers of slate should gather in angry contest and worrie I and worn out by the com hour, and in momentary' absence o the nurse, in the power, the strange power, v.-nirh delirium sometimes giv--9 one. she arose and stood in front of tha clock nn l stood there watching the clock when the nurse returned. The nurse said, "Do you see anything peculiar about tbat clock'r" tb made no answer, but soon died. There is a clock scene in every his tory, if some of you would rise from the bed of lethargy and come out from your de lirium of sin and look on the clock of your destiny this moment, you would see and bear something you have not seen or heard before, and every tick of the minute, and every stroke of the hour and every swing of the pendulum would say, "Now, now. now, now!" Oh, come home to your Father's house! Come home, O prodigal, from the wilderness! Come home, come home! But I notice that when the prodigal came, there was the father's joy. He did not gr-t him with any formal "How do you do?'' He old not come out and say: "You are unfit to enter. Go nnd wash iu the trough by the well, and tbi-n you can come in. We have had enough trouble with you." Ah, no! When the proprietor of that estate pro claimed festival. It was an outburst of a father's love and a father's joy. Ood Is yonr father. I have not much sympathy with the description of Ood I sometimes hear, a though He were a Turkish sultan, hard and unsympathetic, and listening not to the cry of His subjects. A man told me he raw in one of tbe eastern lands a king riding along, and two men were in altercation and one charged the otherwith baviog eaten bis rice, and tbe king said, "Then slay the man, and by post mortem examination II J whether be has eaten the rice." An t he was slain. Ab, the cruelty of a scene like tbat! Our Ood is not a sultan, not a despot, but a Father kind, loving, forgiving and He makes all heaven ring again when a prodigal comes back. "I bave no pleasure," He savs, "In the death of htm thit dieth.'' All maj be saved. If a man does not get to heaven, it Is because be will not go there. Nc difference tbe color, no difference the history, no difference the antecedents, no difference the surroundings, no dif ference tbe sin. When the white horses of Christ's victory are brought out to celebrate the eternal triumph, you may ride one of them, and as Ood is greater than all, His joy is greater, and when a soul comes back there is in His heart the surging of an infinite ocean of gla ness, and to express that gladness It takes all tho rivers of pleasure, all the thrones ot pomp and sll the nges of eternity. It is a joy deeper than all depth and higher than all height and wider than all width and vaster than all im mensity. It overtops, it undergirds. It outweighs all. tbe united ep endor and joy of the universe and wno can tell what God's joy fs'r You remember read ing the btory of a king who on some great day of festivity scattered silver and gold among the people, who sent valuable presents to bis court.ers, but methinks, when a soul comes back, Ood is so glad that to express bis joy He flings out new worlds into space and kindles up new sums and rolls among tbe white robed anthems of tbe redeemed a greater halleluiah, while with a voice tbat reverberates among tbe mountains of frank incense and is echoed back from the ever lasting gates he cries, "This, my son, was dead, and he is alive again!'' At the opening of the exposition in New Orleans I saw a Mexican flutist, and ho played the solo, and then afterward tbe eight at ten bands of music, accompanied by tbe great organ, came in. but tbe sound of that one flute ns compared with all the orchestras was greater than alt the combined joy of the universe when compared with the resound ing heart of Almighty Ood. For ten years a father went three times a day to the depot. His son went off in aggravating circum stances, but the father said, "He will come back " The strain was too much and his,uis dea,i 1)0jy wIlh OI)e sillIu r,rov!s. mind parted, and threetimesadaythe lather , . ., . . ., . , , went. Iu the early morning ho watched the train, its arrival, tbe stepping out of the passengers and then tbe departure ofthetraiu. At noon be was there again watching the advance of the train, watching the departure. At night he was there again, watchidg the coming, watching the going, for ten years. He was sure his son would come back. God bos been watching and waiting for pone of you. my brothers, ten years, tweulyyears, thirtyyears, forty years, perhaps lifiy years, widliug, waiting, watching, waiching and if now the prodlgai should comi home, what a scene of gladness and festivity, nnd haw tbe great Father's heart would rejoice at your coming home. You wdl co'.ue, soma of you, will you not? lou win, you win. , I notice also that wheu a prodigal comes home there is the joy of the ministers of re- ligion . Oh, it is a grand thing to preacb this i gosppl! I know there has been a gre it deal said about the trials and the hardships of ; tbe Christian ministry. I wish somebody would write a good rousing book about Ibe joys of the Christian ministry, Bince I en- tared the profession I bave seen more of the goodness of Ood than I will be able to cele brate In ail eternity. I know some boost about their equilibrium, and they do not rise into enthusiasm, and tbey do not break down with emotion, but I confess to you plainly that when I see a man coming to Ood and giving up bis sin I feel in body, mind ana soul a transport, wnen l see a man bound band and foot in evil habit emanci pated, I rejoice over it as though it were my own emancipation. I notice n Iso when the prodigal comes back all earnest Christians rejoice. If you stood on Montaulc point and ther was a hurricane at sea, and it was blowing toward the shore. sod a ve-sul crashed into tbe rocks, and you w people get ashore in the It'eboaU, and :he very last man got on tbe rocks in sarety, you could not control your joy. And it is a glad time when the church of Oo1 sees men who are tossed on the ocean of tbeir sins plant their feet on tbe rock Christ Jesus. Oh, when prodigals come home, just hear the Christians sing. Just bear tbe Christians pray. It Is not a stereo typed supplication we bave heard over and over again for twenty years, but a putting of tne rase in tne nanus ot uod wttn nn Impor tunate plea-ling. No long prayers. Men never pray at great length nuless tbey have uothingto say and tbeir beans are bard and cold. All tbe prayers In the Bible that were answered were short prayers. "Ood be mercitul to me a si oner. "Lord, that I may receive my sight." "Lord, save me, or J perish." Once mors I temnrk that when th pro I- igal gets back the inhabitants of heowen keep festal. I an very certain of it. If you bave never seen a telegraph chart vou have no Idea how many cities are connected to gether, and how many lams. Nearly all the neighbc.rhooos or the earth seem reticulated, and news flies from city to city and from continent le continent. But more rapidly go the tidings from earth to heaven, nnd when a prodlgai returns it is announced be fore the throne of Ood. And if these souls now present should enter tha kingdom there would be some one in the heavenly kingdom to say: "That's my father," 'That's my mother," "That's my son," "That's the one I used to pray for." "That's the one for wnom l wept so many tears, and one soul would fay "Hosanna!" and another soul would say "Halleluiah!" 1 Pleased with the news, the saints below In songs tbe tongues employ. Beyond tbe skies tbe tidings go, And heaven is filled with jojr. I7or nncr''!s cn their Joy contain, Dot kind! with uew Are. The sinner lost is found, tbey sin?. And strike the sounding lyre. At the banquet of Lncullus sat Cicero the orator, at the Macedonian festival sat Philip the conqueror, at. the Grecian banquet sat Hocrates th philosopher, but at our Father s table sit all the returned prodigal.', more than conquerors. The table Is so wide its leaves reach a-ross seas and lands. Its guests are tbe redeemed ol earth and the gloriliet of heaven. The ring of God's for giveness on every hand. The robe of a Saviour's ri-bteousnei-s airoop from every shoulder. The win that glows in the ettps is from the lo .vis ol 10,000 sacraments. L-t all the redee.uedof earth and all the glorl!'ei of heaven ris j and with gleaming chalices drink to tho n turn of a thousand prodigals. Bing, sing, sing! "Worthy Is the Lamb that was slain to r!ve b-3',Z and riches an (J honor am' Ior" and power, worl 1 without end." That scene of jultilenee eoiues out be fore me this mon.ent as in a sort of picture gallery. All heaven in pictures. Look! Look! Thoe is Chi 1st. Cuyp painted Him for earthly galleries, and Cor reggio an i Tintoretto and llenjutnin West and Dore pniuted Him for earthly galleries, but nil those pictures are eclipsed hv this masterpiece of heaven. Christ! Christ! Thcra is Paul, tbe hero of the 8nnhedrim, and ot Agrippa's courtroom, and of Mars hill, aud of Nero's Infamy, shaking his chained fist in tbe very face of teettt chattering roy al ity. Hero is Joshua, the fighter of Betboron and Gibeon, the man that postponed sundown. And here fs Vashtl, the profligacy of tbo Persian court uuabieto remove her veil of modesty or rend it or lift it. And along the corridors of this picture gallery I And other gieat heroesand heroines David w th his harp, and Miriam with tha cymbals, and Zcbariah with the s -roll, aud St. John with the seven vials, and the resur rection angel with the trumiiet. On farther in the corridors see the faces of our loved ones, the cough gone from the throat, the wanness gone from tbecheek, the weariness gone from the limbs, the languor gone from fhe eye. Let us go up and greet them. Let us go np and embrace them. Let us go up and live with them. We will ! We will ! From this hilltop f c;itch a gdmpse of those billtops where all sorrow an I sighing shall be done away. Ob, that O i l would make that world to us n reality! Faith in trmt world helped old Dr. Tyog when he stood by the casket of his dead son, whoso arm had been torn off In the threshing machine, death ensuing, and Dr. Tyn?, with infinite composure, preaohod the funeral sermon of his own beloved son. Faith in that world helped Martin Luther without one tear to put awav in death his favorite child. Faith in that world helped the dying woman to see on the sky the le ter ,'W." and thev asked her what she supposed that letter "W" on the sky meant. "Oh, "she said, "don't you know? 'W' stands for 'Welcome.'" Oil, heaven, swing open thy gates! Oh, heaven, r.vl upon us some of the sunshine antheuis! Oh, heaven, flash upon us the vision of thy luster! An old writer tells us of a ship coming from India to France. The crow was mado up of French sailors who had been long from home, and as the ship came along the coast of France the men skippel the deck with glee, and they pointed ts the 3pires of the churches wltero they ouce worshiped and to the hills where they had plac ed In boyhood. lint when the ship came into port, aud these sailors saw father and mother ani wife nnd loved ones on the wharf, they spraug nutmre nnd rushed up the banks into tho city, and the captain had to get nuother crow to bring I ho ship to her moorings. So heaven will alt-jr atvhile come so fully in sight, we can see its towers, its mansions, its hills, and as we go into port and our loved ones shall cnll from that shining shore and speak our nnmes we will spring to the beach, lenving this old ship of a world to be managed bv auother crew, our rough voyaging ol the seas en-lc. forever. Frank James in a New Hole. Frank James as a guard on express: trains carying large amounts of money or valuables is one of the novelties the express people are now arranging. Ne gotiations have been In progress now for several weeks, but the probabili ties are tbat they will be closed up within a few days. The effect of James' name, in view of ills former prowess in robbing trains himself, is what the express companies are aiming fter. They do not know, they Kay, that he could stop a deterrnlnod robl' ny more than one of tlioir own ' sengers, but they think the opfliiiiify train robber would hesitate ffj tackle 'liui. James Is willing to accept the position, and guarantee that uo train iu bis charge will be robbed except over Ion, and that is that the express people put up n bond of $Jtt,0tio, this amount to go to lila widow lu case of his (loath. The express people are inclined to yield to this, though there Is some opposition. James hns been Arm iu standing out for it, anil will not go out on the road unless the bond is fixed up to his satis faction. Since lie became a respectable and law-abiding citizen he has taken very good care of bis family, and he does not propose to commence doing anything else now. When the negotia tions were Brut begun lie was asked if he could shoot with both hands. "Well," he replied, "it used to be that could, and I guess I have not forgot ten how yet." James has been working steadily for some time, but has never been able to tuake an exorbitant salary, and for tbat reason would be willing to take the rink of this venture. As one of his friends says: "It Is not as much risk as he has taken on hundreds of occasions before, whsn out on one of bis raids. The only difference would be that la this he would have the law on his sl.le." ICot a ''Peach." It Is said that Stuart, the celebrated portrait painter, bad small nHiience with the fault-finding of those siners who preferred flattery in a portrait to an exact likeness. lie was not t'.ow to speak his mind to su- h patroiut on dis played this feeling. At one time a man and wife came u. him to Iiave their portraits painted. The lady was a woman of much character, great kindness of heart, and withal possessed of a fortune which perhaps had helped her husband to discover and appreciate her many virtues, but she was extraordinarily plain in her personal appearance. When her portrait Xvas finished, the husband was not pleased. He wanted some of the peculiarities of her face softened on the canvas, though iu the original nothing could be done to im prove them. Stuart, with unusual forbearance, d;d his best to accede to his patron's wishes and yet preserve tbe likeness. When he had done all that seemed to him coiiM pofiSibly be done In honesty to his sit ter, he sent again for the husband. To his disgust the man expresseJ himself as still dissatisfied with the result At that Stuart, throwing up his hands with a gesture of despair, lxvau to pace hie studio, aud at last broke "tit Into a solinoQiiy. "What a miserable life the artist's Is!" he cried. "Worried to death by the demands and complaints of bis patrons! Here Is a uian who brings me an excel lent potato, and finds fault because I cannot turn it into a peach!" Some gilli Ret marrin.l just to let others tnow that tliey can. Tuc surest sign lint a woman want yon to love her is when she lierrtns n cotiib ber hair tha w:iv she tliiuks you like it. Tho man who pivet tlu world rohl will 1: forgotten, In' t ho who ives it good will not, I'.y diiienoii an.l p.ili.ticu t'.m ni .ini tilt iu two th? cabin. F. H. Sizer, of West Dergen, owns a Bible printed in London 297 yeira g'
Significant historical Pennsylvania newspapers