OLD-TIME HUSKINC BEES.
Memory often takes an outing 'Mid th i husks upon tho (loor,
From the present passing show After waich the girl would snugglo
Spreads her pinions and goes scouting To hi:n closer thau before,
To the soenes of long ago. Blushing to her linger tips
Back unto the fun and froiio From the thrill boru on her lips.
Of the rural Bports and plays,
Pleasures charmingly bucolio How the happy picture lingers
That wore ours in younger days, With us through the fleeting years
And the very chief of these Of the way the toil scarred lingers
Were the country husking bees. Snatched the jackets from the cars.
Of the Hashing lanterns hanging
On the old barn floor we'd gather, 'Bound, and casting flickers o'or
Boys and girls and older folks. Merry dancers who were banging
Heart* us light as downy feather, Dust from out the old burn floor
Lips all ripe with rustic jokes. As the flddler jerked his bow
Air just sparkling with our laughter Muscularly to and fro.
As the gay hours onward sped
Until every cobwobbed rafter Everyday I hear the singing
In the shadows overhead Of some dear old rural ode,
Seemed to quiver and to ring Melody of youth-days ringing
As a high-keyed llddle string. Through our mountalnland abode,
And my loving glances wander
Now and then the air was riven To that happy wifely face
\\ ith a shout t d wake the dead, That I learned to love back yonder
Telling that the fates had given In that far east country place.
Some glad cuss an ear of red, She is all the world to me;
Then would come the kissing struggle Found her at a husking bee.
j WHY IS A JELLY-FISH? I
j A WONDERFUL TALE OF JAPAN. C
i
j BY F. W. REMY. |
You little children of today, who
are so wise in school-room lore, may
objoct to the title of my story,—"Why
is a jelly-fish?" I hear you say iu
scoffing tones, "Why, because it is,
of course,— -just .like a clam or an
oyster; it just is a jelly-fish?"
But I atn going to give you the
answer that the Japanese fairy-tales
give to the brown-eyed little ones of
old Japan. You know how very old
Japan it is quite likely that in
her past history she would have seen
the very beginning of many things;
aud she says that the jelly-fish was
not always the holpless, quivering
mass that you see lying helpless
among the bright lined shells and
shining pebbles on the seashore.
Years and years ago, when the
world was very young, the Japenese
fairytales tell us that the jelly-fish
was far more active aud spry thai any
of his finny brothers; for he, besides
his fins and tail, had tiny feet, which
enabled him to walk upon the land
with the utmost ease and grace.
I do not myself believe that his brain ]
was very active; for I think that auy j
fish—yes, even a clam—would today
be wise enou- 1 to escape the horrible
fate by wh 1 oue silly jelly-fish
mined a whole race of active, agile
creatures. For just see what
happened.
The old king of the dragons, who '
had for many years been a cross, i
cranky old bachelor, fell in love with j
and married a beautiful young ;
dragoness. So lovely was she, with
sea green eyes, coral lips, and yellow
jair, that it was 110 wonder the old
king adored her. Great was the re
joicing throughout all the kindgom at
the marriage festivities. Every fish
that could swim, from the least to the
jeatest, came bearing beautiful gifts.
But the clams and the oysters were
jonsidered iu those days the wise
men of the kingdom; aud royalty even
leferred to them, waiting for hours at
itime for them to open the r mouths
>n grave questions of state. So, they
aever left home, but received in great
fereinonv iu their own domains. To
;hetn, attended by a long train of
•ourtiers, composed of the finest
Icholars in all the schools of fish,
.vent the dragon king and his wiu
lome bride;and so everyone in Dragon
Land welcome 1 the sovereign',and all
joy. But, a'as! this happiness
.vas too great to last! At the zenith of
,he lioueymoou the sweet young
Iragon queen became mysteriously
,11; a id iu spite of constant care from
ihe best doctors iu the realm, she
ained away, and seemed about to die.
One day, iu a voice as soft as a fish's
Dreath, she said to her husband: "In
i dream I learned of what will cure
aie. Fetch 1110 the liver of a live
monkey, and your little periwinkle"
—for so the king had often called her
in a tender moment—"will get strong
again." "The liver of a live monkey,
periwinkle of my heart!" cried the
astounded king. "Why, monkeys
live far away, among the great forests
on the land! They, poor things, can
not swim nor live iu tli3 water
kingdom of the dragons! Heart's
periwinkle you must be mad!"
Then the young quoen moaned and
Bobbed: "All! it is true what mamma
sa d. You never loved me! One
little thing I ask, to save my life; and
you will not give it to me. Go away!
Disport among fairer aud younger
dragonesses!" Iu great distress the
dragon kiug sought coui:selamong the
scholars of the jelly-fish school, and,
after listening to the strange fancy of
their idolized queen, the bravest
among them said:
"Listen, O dragon kiug! I will
swim across the waters, and climb the
forest hills; and so sweetly will I sing
of the beauties aud delights of Dragon
Land that I will entice the monkeys
from the tree tops, and they will all
clamor to return with ine. But I will
choose the plumpest and the youngest
and bring him on my back to your
august dragouship."
"Do this," said the dragon king,
and the choicest coral house, inlaid
with pearl, and the most radiant
dragoness in the kingdom shall be
yours!" Sothe gallant jelly-fish started
•n his "Liver Quest." He swiftly
swam across the water; and'—fortuue
always favors the brave—just where
ho happened to land stood a grove of
trees, aud up iu the top of one ho saw
a beautiful young monkey. He knew
by the monkoy's cheerful face, and the
enjoyment with which he was eatiug
nuts, that his liver was iu good shape.
3o he commenced his beguiling
talk:
'•O Mr. Monkoy, jump down from your tree!
Come, cross the beautiful water with me!
There shall you see a beauteous land,
Where fruit-trees and nut-trees grow stately
and grand;
And man, who is always annoying you here.
That radiant country does never eoine near."
The monkey, entranced by this
lovely song, forgot the ties of his
home, anil clambering quickly down
from his perch, suid: "I accept your
invitation. Lend ine your bathing
suit."
"No," said the wily jelly-fish.
"Jump on my back, and I will take
you there. It is not litti:ig that a
guest to my king should even wet liis
worshipful feet." Now you know
how impulsive a monkey is) and also
how clever. So it is 110 wonder that,
alter they had started, the monkey be
gan to think and wonder if he bad
not been acting unwisely in trusting
himself to this stranger. So he put
011 his most winning manner, and
offering the jelly-fish his last nut,
said: "How clever you are! Yon
walk so beautiful on the shore, and
swim with such ease in the water! If
all your people are so smart, why
should you care to take such a clumsy
creature as I to your 1 eautiful •
country." And now the jelly-fish,
who had become very tired of carrying
his heavy load, and also was not loalh
to show that his brain was quite as
clever as his shell, l'elt that he could
safely tell his real reason for taking
the mon >ey on this journey. "Oh!"
said he, in an airy manner, as he shook
the salt drops lrom his tail and wiped
the water fioni his eyes with one tiny
foot, "Oh, I forgot to mention that,
although Dragon Land is far 1110 e
lovely than I have ever told you,
your visit will Vie short. His majesty,
the dragon kin;, really wishes for
your liver, that it may be made into a
medicine lor his wife, the lovely young
queen."
Now the shell of the jelly-fish was
so thick in those days that he could
not feel the shiver of fear that shook
the monkey from head to tail, and the
roar of the waters drowned the gasp
of horror that the monkey gave.
He only heard him say: "I ask
nothing better than to yield up my
( battering, frivolous life for the sake
of the queen of the dragons, the fame
of whose b;a'lty has mounted to the
tops of our highest trees. But, un
fortunately, I left my liver hanging
011 the branch of the tree in which I
was playing. You see a good liver—
and mine is of the best—is too precious
a thing to carry about with one; aud
so I usually take mine out when I a 11
playing, and only put it in when I am
ready togo home. Ia n sorry to
ask you togo back fort. But, you
see, I would be of no se vice to the
queen at present, unless."—a sudden
thought seemed to strike him, —
"unless my heart, lungs, or brains
would be of use. All I have is
ners!"
"No," said the jelly-fish: "only a
liver. We must go back for yours.
I wish I had told you at first what I
really wanted yon for. bit I had 110
idea you tree dwellers were so good
natured." The jelly-fish was so ill
nature.l on the return trip that he
chose the roughest course he
could, aud the moukey l>e*aine
very sea-sick before they reached the
shore again.
"Now hurry up your liver!" called
the jelly-fish, as the moukey bounded
from his back as soon as they touched
the shore of Monkey Land.
Up to the topmost branch of the
tree climbed the moukey in less than
no time; aud then, after scrambling
a'lout in the branches, and making a
great fuss, he called out: "I cannot
find my liver auywhere. Some oue
must have stolen it, or perhaps my
mother has taken it home to keep it
safely for me. I will go and look for
it; but you had better go home and
tell your king about it, or he may be
worried about you. Come for me to
morrow at this time, and I'll have my
liver all ready aud waiting for you."
Of course, you all know what the
silly jelly-fish never dreamed of,
that the monkey had no intention of
giving tip his liver for any dragon
queen, and that he was chuckling to
himself at the ease with which he had
fooled the jelly-fish.
But the jelly-fish started off in high
good huuior, and hastened to the
dragon king with a glad heart. What
was his amazement, however, when,
after telling the kiug all that had
happened, he beheld his briny ma;esty
fly into a fearful rage-
So wild with fury aud disappoint
ment did the king become that he
called to his "officers of shell-fish
law," —the sword-fish and the whale,
and bade them deal with the jelly-tish
to the fullest extent of the law.
"Away with this barnacle of stupidity!
Bent him to a jelly! Let no boue, nc
smallest bit of nh.dl, remain nnbroke.il
May his feet, his tins, his eyes,—yes,
nu I his liver—-al 1 become oue shapless
mass."
So the officers seized him, and did
ns the king commanded; and that is
why, at this la e day, jelly-tishes have
110 bones, are nothing but a pulpy
mass. And the dragon queen? Why,
would y< u believe it? When
she found that she could not have fl
liver from a live monkey, she simply
made up her mind to get well without
it, especially after she heard twc
young star-fish talking, as they glided
past her poarl window one night, o)
the 1 eauty and charm of ayouiia
dntgoness who had just been presented
to the drag.in king by her match
making and fat-seeing parents.—
Christian .Uegislor.
QUAINT AND CURIOUS.
A youug man in Buffalo, N. Y.,
from some impulsive freak, took il
into his head to save all his cents. lit
wearied after two years when he g:>t
1201) of them and tried to sell them,
but nobody would buy even at 80 cents
on the dollar. Some shopkeepers in
timated that he might have been rob
bing poor luxe', and th • agony of the
young man is not to be measured by o
boxful of cents.
They pay that on Mcosehead Lake,
Maine, an angler recently was tishin :
with a steel rod during a thunder
storm and struck a trout at the
instant that a thunderbolt dallied with
his rod. The cork handle prevent* d
the angler feeling anything more than
a slight sho. k, but when h;> hauled it
in he found the TO :t stone dead. He
figured it out thai the lightning bolt
followed the rod and the enameled
line down to where the trout had just
taken hold of tho hook, and there
killed him.
A workman drove a wagon loaded
with sixty gallons of nitroglycerin '
into Van Buren, Ind., the other day
and dismounted to transact soma busi
ness. The horses became frightened
and run down the principal stee t of
the town, causing a panic. Citizens
ran from th ir offices aud stores, de
serting their business and seeking
safety by getting a distance from the
wagon, wlii. h was expe ted to explode
every second. Finally the horses
broke loose from the wagon and left
it standing in the street.
English police report the strange
death of a valuable horse belonging
to the Lancashire & Yorkshire K ul
wav company, which hail been placid
in a field under suspiiion of madness.
At midnight it es aped from the fi Id
aud kuo -kel up the landlord of tho
Fielden Arms by battering his front
door with its forefeet. Driven tlitiu.e,
it was s£en to try to scale several cot
tage bedroom windows, and being at
length captured by the village con
stable ami sundry helpers, and placed
in another held, it dashed away at a
gallop and leaped madly into the
swamp, breaking its neck against a
brick culvert.
It has just been mad > pulili • that a
find of incalculable value to science
was made a' a stone quarry n. arAkrou,
Ohio. The find consists of the skele
ton of a gigantic man, believed to
have lived in prehistori • times, and
reliis of a time when civilization was
just beginning to dawu. In clearing
away refuse qnarrymen found the
almost complete skeleton of a man.
The skill was entire ami the lower jaw
boue of such proportions as to easily
tit over the outside of the jaw of the
largest modern man. Vertebrie wore
found, as were aso ribs and femurs
an 1 the large pelvis bone, which was
broken in two. It is believed the man
must have been at hast ten feet in
height.
Gwan lu in Africa, which coutains
between 10,000 audio,ooo inhabitants,
is surrounded by a palisade of tree
poles, the top of every i ole 1 eing
crowned with a human skull. There
are six gates and ttie approach of each
gate is laid with a pavement of human
skulls, tho tops being tho only part
that shows above gronud. More than
2000 skulls are used in the pavement
leading up to the gate. The pave
ment is of snowy whiteness, polished
to the smoothness of ivory by the
dai y passage of hundreds of naked feet.
Among other curious materials which
have been used for pavements may be
mentioned molasses mixed with sand
aud compressed into blocks; hors s'
teeth set. in cement, granulated lork,
India rubber, shells, steel and glass.
A pave.uent of grass blocks has been
laid in the city of Lyons, France.
The costliest macadam on record is
that whi h once paved the streets of
Ivimberley, South Africa. It was so
thickly studded with diamonds that
gemsf worth millions were taken from
it.
Tnvolins in J.iva.
A man who has been traveling in
Java thus writes about the I>.nch
colonial rail ways. He says: "Trains
are liseil in Java, not on account of
their speed, but on ac.ount of the
long distances one lias to cover. If
you are in a hurry and you haven't
more than five miles to go—walk.
You may lind some difficulty in keep
ing up to the train if it is going down
a stiff' gradient, but you will more
than make this up on the flat, as
you'll romp past it on coming to the
slightest ascent. It is a solemn fact,"
he continues, "that once in the course
of a mile walk along a highway itin
ning parallel with the railway line I
| caught up to aud passed a 'snel' (ex
! press ti ain\ Toward the end of the
! walk I entered a shop to purchase
( an article, and only after I had been
in the shop ten minutes did the train
! aeain pass me."—Pinanz Gazette
DE. TALMAGES SERMON.
SUNDAY'S DISCOURSE BY THE NOTED
DIVINE.
Subject! Our Father's House God's
Homestead, Untitled on tile Hilts of
Heaven, Provides ltoouis For All-
Vivid Picture of the Celestial Home.
[Copyright, Louis Klopsch, 189W.1
WASHINGTON, D. o.—ln a unique way the
heavenly world is discoursed upon by Dr.
Talmage iutbis sermon under the figure of
a home; text, John xiv.,2, "In My Father's
house are many rooms."
Here Is a bottle of medicine that is n
cure all. Tho disciples wore sad, and
Christ offered heaven as an alterative, a
stimulant nnd a tonic. Ho shows them
that their sorrows are only a dark back
ground of a bright picture of coining
lellcity. He lets them know that, though
now they live on the lowlands, they shall
\et have a house on the uplands. Nearly
all tho Bible descriptions of heaven may bo
figurative. I aim not positive that In all
heavon there Is a literal crown or harp or
pearly gate or throne or ohariot. They
may be only used to illustrate tho glories
of the pluce, but how well they ilo It! The
favorite symbol by which the Bible pre
sents celestial happiness is a house. Paul,
who never owned u house, although ho
hired ouo for two years iu Italy, speaks of
heaven ns a "house not made with hinds,"
and Christ in our text, the translation of
which Is a little changed, so as to give the
more accurate meaning, suys: "In My
Father' 3 house aro many rooms."
This diviuely authorized comparlsou of
heaven to a grent homestead ot large ac
commodations I propose co carry out. In
some healthy neighborhood a man builds
a very commodious habitation. He must
have room for all his children. The rooms
come to be called after tho different mem
bers of the family. That Is mother's room,
that Is George's room, that Is Henrv'sroom,
that is Flora's room, that Is Mary's room,
and tho house Is all occupied. But time
goes by, and the sons go out into the
world ami build their own homes, and the
daughters are married or have talents
enough singly togo out nnd do a good
work iu the world. After a while the
father and mother are almost alone In the
big house, and, seated by the evening
stand, they say, "Well, our family Is no
larger now than when wo started together
forty years ago." But time goes still
further by, and somo of the children aro
unfortunate aud return to the old home
stead to live, and tho grandchildren como
with them and perhaps great-grandchil
dren, and again ttie house is full.
Millennia ago God built on the hills of
heaven a great homestoad for a family In
numerable, yet to be. At first He lived alone
in that grout house, but after awhile it
was occupied by u very lurge family, cher
ubic, seraphic, angelic. The eternities
passed on, and many of tho inhabitants
became wayward nnd left, never to return,
and many of the apartments were vacant.
1 refer to the fallen angels. Now these
apartments aro lining up again. There are
arrival-) at tho old homestead of God's
children every day, and the day will i-ome
when there will be no unoccupied room in
all tho house.
A« you and I expect to enter It and mako
there eternal residence, I thought you
would like to get some more particulars
about tho many roomed homestoad. "in
my Father's house are many rooms." You
see, tho place is to be apportioned off into
apartmonts. We shall love all who are in
heaven, but there aro somo very good peo
ple whom we would not want to live with
In the same room. They may be better
than we are, but they are of a divergent
temperament. We would like to meet with
them on the golden streets and worship
with them In the temple and walk with
them on tho river banks, but I am glad to
say that we shall live In different apart
ments. "fn my Father's house aro many
rooms." You sec, heaven will bo so largo
that if one wants an entire room to himself
or herself it can be afforded.
An ingenious statistician, taking tho
statement made In Revelation, twenty-first
chapter, that tho heavenly Jetusaleiu was
measured aud found to be 12,000 furlough
and tbat the length and height and breadth
of it are equal, says that would make
heaven in size U4S sextilllon 088 quliitilJlon
cubic feet, aud then, reserving a certain
portion for tho court ot heaven aud the
streets aud estimating that the world may
last il hundred thousand years, ho ciphers
out that there are over 5,000,000,000.000
rooms, each room seventeen feet long, six
teen feet wide, fifteen feet high. But I have
no faith in tho accuracy ot that calcula
tion. Ho makes the rooms too small. From
all I can read the rooms will bo palatial,
and those who have not hail enough room
In this world will have plenty of room at
the last. I should uot wonder if, instead
of tho room that the statistician ciphered
out as only seventeen feet by sixteen, it
should be larger than any of tho rooms at
Berlin, St. Jaines or Winter palace. 'lu
my Father's house are many rooms."
gtJarrylng out B[ |u further the symbolism
of the text, let us join hands and go up to
this majestic homestead aud see for our
selves. As we ascend the golden steps an
invisible guardsman swings open the front
door, und we are ushered to the right into
tho reception room of tho old homestead.
That Is the place where we llrst meet the
welcome of heaven. There must bo a pla:;e
where the departed spirit enters aud a
place iu which It coufrouts the inhabitants
celestlul. The reception room of tho new
ly arrived from this world—what scenes it
must have witnessed since the first guest
arrived, the victim of the first fratricide,
pious Abel! in that room Christ loviugly
greets all newcomers. Ho redeemed them,
and He bus the right to the llrst embrace on
arrival. What a minute when the ascended
spirit first sees the Lord! Bettor than all
we ever real about Him or talked about
Him or sang about Him in all the churches
aud through all our earthly lifetime will
It be, just for one second to see Him
Tho most rapturous idea we over had of
Him on sacramental days or at tho height
ot some great revival or under the uplifted
baton of an oratorio is a bankruptcy of
thought compared with tho first Mash of
His appearance in that reception room. At
that moment when you confront each
other, Christ looking upon you auil you
looking upon Christ, there wilt bo an ec
static thrill and surging ot emotion that
beggar all description Look! They need
no luttoduction. Long ago Christ chose
that repentant sinner, und that repentant
sinner chose Christ. Mightiest inomect of
an Immortal history—the first kiss of
heaven! Jtsus und the soul! Thosoulauil
Jesus!
But now into that roceptlon room pour
tho glorified kinsfolk, ouough ot earthly
retention to let you know them, but with
out their wounds or their sicknesses or
their troubles. See what heaven has douo
for them—so radiant, so gleeful, so
transportingly lovely! They call you by
name. They greet you with an ardor pro
portioned to the anguish ot yonr parting
and the length of your separation.
Father! Mother! There is your child.
Sisters! Brothers! Friends! I wish you
joy. For years apart, together again in
tho reception room of tho old homestead.
You seo, tboy will know you are coming.
There are so muuy immortals filling all too
spaces between hero und heaven that news
like ttiat flies like lightning. They will be
there in an Instant. Though they wore In
somo other world ou errand from God, a
signal would bri thrown that would
fetch them. Though vou might at lirst
feel diized anil overawed at their super
nal splendor, nil that feeling will be
gone at their llrst touch of heavenly
salutation, and we will say: "Oh. my lost
boy!" "Oh, my lost companion!" "Oh.
my lost friend! Aro wo hero together!"
What scenes In that reception room of tho
old homestead have been witnessed! There
met Joseph aud Jacob, finding it a brighter
room than anything they saw in Pharaoh's
palace; David and the little child for whom
he once fasted und wept: Marv aud Laz
nrus nfter the heßrtbreuk of Bethany,
Timothy ami Rraudinotlier Lois; Isabella
Oraham BDII her sailor son; Alfred and
George Cook man, the mystery ot the sen
at last made manifest; Luther and Magda
lene. the daughter ho bemoaned; John
Howard and tho prisoners whom he gos
pelized, aud multitudes without number
who, once so weary and so sad, parted on
earth, but gloriously met in heaven. Among
all the rooms of that house there Is no one
that more enraptures my soul than tbat
reception room. "In my Father's house
ure many rooms."
Another room lu our Father's house 1 <
the throne room. We belong to the royal
family. The blood of King Jesus Bows in
our veins, so wo have a right to enter tho
throne room. It Is no easy thing on earth
to get through even the outside door of n
king's re?ldenco. During the Franco-Gor
man war, one eventide in tho summer of
1870, 1 stooil sludyiug tho exquisite sculp
turing of the gate of the Tullories, Paris.
Lost in admiration of the wonderful art of
that gate, I know not that I was exciting
suspicion. Lowering my oyes to the crowds
of people, I found myself being closely In
spected by the government officials, who
from my complexion, judged metobea Gor
mauand tbat for some belligerent purpose
I might be examining the gates of the pal
ace. My explanation lu very poor Fnuich
did not satisfy them, and they followed mo
long dlstance-i unlii I reached my hotel
and were not satisfied until from my land
lord they found that I was only an Inoffen
sive American. The gates of «rrtlily pal
aces are carefully guarded, and if so, how
much more the throncroom! A dazzling
place is It for mirrors and all costly art.
No one who ever saw the throneroom of
the first and only Napoleon will ever for
get the letter N embroidered In purple and
gold on the upholstery of chair and win
dow, tho letter N gilded on the wall, the
letter N chased on the chalices, the letter
N flaming from tho celling. What a con
flagration of brilliance the throneroom
of Charles Immanucl of Sardinia, of
Ferdinand of Spain, of Elizabeth of
England, of Boniface of Italy. But
the throneroom of our Father's house
linth a glory ocllpslng all the throne
rooms that ever saw scepter wave or crown
glitter or foreign embassador bow. for our
Father's throne is a throne of grace, a
throne of mercy, a throne of holiness, a
throno of justice, a throne of universal
dominion. Wo need not stand shivering
and cowering bofore It, for our Father says
wo may yet one day come up anil sit on it
beside Him. "To him that overeometh
will I grant to sit with Mo in My throne."
You see, we are princes and princesses
Perhaps now wo move about incognito, as
Peter the Great In tlio garb of a ship car
penter at Amsterdam or as Queen Tirzah
in the dress of a peasant woman seeking
tho prophet for her child's euro, but it
will be found out after a while who we aro
when wo get Into the throneroom. Aye,
we need not wait until then. Wo may "by
prayer and song and spiritual uplifting
this moment enter the throneroom. O
King, live forever! We touoh the scepter
aud prostrate ourselves at Thy feet.
Another room In our Father's Is
tho music room. St. John and other Bible
writers talk so much about tho music of
heaven that there must bo muslo there,
perhaps not such as on earth was thrum
med from trembliug string or evoked by
touch of Ivory key; bat, If not that, then
something better. Tnere are so many
Christian harpists and Christian composers
and Christlau organists and Christian hym
nologlsts that have gone up from earth,
there must bo for them some place of es
pecial delectation. Shall wo have muslo
in this world of discords and no music in
the land of complete harmony?
In that music room of our Father's house
you will some day meet tho old masters,
Mozart and Handel and Mendelssohn and
Beethoven aud Doddridge, whoso sacred
poetry was as remarkable as his sacred
prose, and James Montgomery and William
Cowper, at last got rid of his spiritual mel
ancholy, and Bishop Hober, who sang ot
"Greenland's Icy mountains and India's
coral strand," aud l)r. R.ifTies, who wrote
of "High in yonder realms ot light," and
Isaac Watts, who went to visit sir Thomas
Abney and wlfo for a week, but proved
himself so agreeable a guest that they
made him stay thirty-six years, aud side
by side Augustus- Toplady, who has got
over his dislike for Methodists, and
Charles Wesley, freed from his dislike fot
Calvlntsts, and George W. Bethuno, as
sweet as a songmaker as he was great
as a preacher and the author of"The
Village Hymns," and manv who wrote
in verse or song, in church or by eventide
cradle, and many who wore passionately
fouil of music, but could make none thorn
selves, tho poorest singer there more than
any earthly prima donna nnd tho poorest
players .there more than auy earthly Gott
sehulk. Oh, that music room, the head
quarters of cadence aud rhvthm, sym
phony and chant, psalm and anliphont
May wo be there some hour when Ilaydn
sits at the keys of one of his own oratorios,
aud David the psalmist fingers tho harp,
aud Miriam of the Red sea banks claps the
cymbals, and Gabriel puts his lips to tho
trumpet and the four and twenty elders
chant, and Lind and I'areparender match
less duet in tho music room of tho old
heavenly homestead! "In my Father's
house are many rooms."
Another room in our Father's lrt>uso will
bo tho family room. It may correspond
somewhat with tho family room on earth.
At morning nnd evening, yon know, that
Is the place we now meet. Though every
member of the household have a separate
room, in the family room they all gather,
and joys and sorrows and experiences of
all styles are there rehearsed. Sacred room
in all our dwellings, whether it be luxuri
ous with ottomans nnd divans aud books
lu Russian lids standing in mahogany case
or there be only a few plain chairs and a
cradle. So the family room on high will
bo the place where the kinsfolk assem
ble aud talk over tho family experi
ences of earth, the weddlugs. the
births, the burials, tho festal days of
Christmas nnd Thanksgiving reunion.
Will the children depnrtod remain chil
dren there? Will the aged remain aged
there? Oh. no! Everythiug is per
fect there. The child wilt go ahead to glori
fied maturity, ami the aged will go buck
to glorllled maturity. The rising suu of
tho one will rise to meridian, and tho
descending sun of the other will return to
meridian. However much wo love our
children on oarth, we would consider it a
domestic disaster if they staid children,
and so we rejoice at their growth here.
Aud wlieu wo meet iu the family room of
our Father's house wo will be glad that
they have grandly and gloriously matured,
while our parents, who were aged aud in
llrm here, we shall be glad to flail re
stored to the most agile aud vigorous im
mortality there.
I hope none of us will he disappointed
about getting there. There Is a rooir. for
us If wo will go and take it, but lu order
to reach it it is absolutely necessary that
we take the right way, and Christ is the
wav, ami we must enter at tho right door,
and Christ Is the door, aud wo must start
In time, aud the only hour you aro surenl
is the hour the clock now strikes, and the
only second tho one your watch is now
ticking. I hold 111 my hand a roll ot
letters inviting you all to make that
your home forever. Tho New Testa
ment is only a roll of letters inviting
you, as the spirit of them practically
say.-: "My dying yet Immortal child In
earthly neighborhood, I have built for vou
a great residence. It is lull of rooms. I
have furnished them as no palace was ever
furnished. Pearls aro notli ng, emeralds
are nothing, chrysoprasus is nothing, illu
mined panels of sunrise aud suuset noth
ing, the aurora o the northern heavens
nothing, compared with the splendor with
which I have garnttured them. But you
must be clean before you can enter there,
and so I have opened a fountain where yon
may wash all your sins away. Come now!
Put your weary but cleansed feet on the
upward pathway. Do you not see amlil
the thick foliage oi: tho heavenly hilltops
the old laml-y homestead?" "In uiy
Father's house are manv rooms."
rHE GREAT DESTROYER,
CCWIE STARTLINC FACTS ABOUT THE
VICE OF INTEMPERANCE.
Co"il Water—A Pleasant Cure For ihe
Liquor Habit—'Fresh Fruit Will Take
Away tile Craving Fur brink—Distilla
tions of Nature's Laboratory.
Shall e'er colJ wnter be forgot,
When wo sit down to dice?
Alt, no! my frlonds, for is it not
Toured out by hunds divine?
Toured out by hands divine, my friends,
Toured out by hands divine,
From springs und wells it Rushes forth,
Toured out by hands divine.
Cold water, too (tho' wondorfui
'Tis not less true again),
The weakest of all earthly drinks.
Doth make the strongest men.
Doth make the strongest men, my friends.
Doth make the strongest men;
Tho weakest of all earthly driuks,
Doth make the strongest men.
And as the bells of tulips turn
To drink the drops,.tliat fell
From summer clouds, then why should not
The two lips of a belle?
The two lips of a belle, my friend?,
The two lips of a belle,
What sweetens more, than water puro,
The two lips of a belle?
The sturdy oak, full many a cup,
Doth hold up to the sky,
To catch the rain, then drink it up,
'Tis thus the oak gets high.
'TIs thus the oak gets high, my frioud.->,
'Tis thus tho oak gets high
Dy having water in its cups—
Then why not you and I?
Then let cold water armies fling
Their banners to tho air;
So shall the boys like oaks get strong,
The girls like tulips fair.
Toe girls like tulips fair, my friends,
The girls like tulips fair,
The boys shall grow likesturdy oaks,
1 he girls like tulips fair.
—IiU--ien Minor, In the Now York Observer,
Antidote For Liquor.
A writer in a European tomporancn jour
nal calls attention to the value of fruit as
an antidote for the craving for liquor. Ho
says:"ln Germany, a nation greatly in
advance of other Cjiintrles iu matters re
lating to hygiene, alcoholic disease has
been successfully coped with by tho adop<
tion of pure diet' and natural iurativ«
agencies. I have said that the use of fresh
fruit is an autldote for tho drink crave, anil
this is true. I havo met men who hnvt
told mo that fruit has often taken awaj
tho craving for drink. It may bo asked
How can fruit and pure diet do all thlsl
The explanation is simple.
"Fruit may ho called nature's modiclna
Every apple, every orange, every plum and
every grape Is a bottle of medicine. Al
orange is three parts water—distilled ii
nature's laboratory—but this water Is rtcls
in peculiar fruit acids medicinally bai
auced, which are specially cooling to tin
thirst of the drunkard and soothing to th«
diseased state of the stomach. An apple
or an orango eaten when tho desire toi
liquor arises would generally take awaj
that desire, and every victory would mnkt
loss strong each recurring temptation,
Tho function of frosh fruits und succulent
vegetables Is not so much to provide soiii)
nourishment as to supply thenoedful acid(
and salines for the purification of th<
blood. Once get the blood puro, overj
time Its puro nutrient stroain bathes thl
several tissues in the body it will briny
away some impurity and leave behind lit
atom of healtuy tissue until in time tht
drunkard shall stand up purlllod und it
his right mind."—Christian Work.
A Great Physician on Moderate Drinking,
One of the most famous medical men of
Europe Is Sir Henry Thompson, surgeon of
tho University College Hospital, fellow of
the lioyal Society, and Surgeon extraor
dinary to the King of the Belgians. SiF
Henry has made an especial study of alco
hol and its effect upon the human system,
und lias been most vigorous in his denun
ciations of the business of selling it as a
beverage and of its use as such. On one
occasion ho made this observation:
"I havo long had tho conviction thai
there Is no greater cause of evil, moral and
physical, in this country than iho use ol
alcoholic beverages. Ido not mean by
this that extreme indulgence which pro
duces druu kenness. The habitual use ol
fermented liquors to an oxtout fnr short
of what Is necessary to produce that con
dition, und su:h as is common in all ranki
of society, Injures tho body and diminishes
the mental power to an extent which fovt
people are aware of. I have no hesitatlor
in attributing a very large proportion o)
some of the mrfst painful and dangerous
maladies whic l ' come under my notice, at
well as those which every medical man has
to treat, to tho ordinary and daily use of
fermented drink taken in tho quantity
which Is conventionally deemed moder
ate."— Tresbyterian Banner.
The lloys Oot Scared.
As a result of the recent visit of Dr.
Crothers (editor qf the Journal of Inebri
ety) to Butte, Mont., whither ho was called
to give expert testimony in a case before
the courts, the saloon keepers of that city
report a perceptible decroase In their cash
receipts. So says a leading liquor organ
The doctor, it Is stutod, "drew such a dis
mal picture of the dangers of alcoholism,
declurlng thnt every man who had once
been drunk is never afterward perfectly
sane, that the boys havo got scared and
have been thinking In double shifts." Th«
anti-liquor forces would make much mor«
rapid strides toward victory if there were
more such specialists as Dr. Crothers ic
tho field to testify by voice and pen to the
true nature of alcohol. Tho most potent
arguments for total abstinence in these
days—tho arguments which cause quickest
arrest of thought—are, wo believe, to be
found in the sclentiilo phases, of the prob
lem.—Union Signal.
Manila (letting "Civilized."
O. E. Banker, a St. Tanl (Minn.) poilco
man, who joined the Thirteenth Minnesota
and is just home from service in the Phil
ippines, Is quoted by a St. Paul paper us
saying:
"Manila is getting to bo a real hot town
nnd it has assimilated Americau ways very
rapidly. On tho Escoltu there are some
fine saloons, and you can buy American
boor there—that is, if you waut to pay
eighty coats t bottle (Mexican money) foi
It. Some of the saloons take In as high tis
S3OOO a day, whioti is not so bad."
The Gin-Mill Krtart.
Joseph Cook says that "the road to po<
lltlcal preferment runs through the gin.
mill," nnd tho voting church appears tc
havo deliberately elected to travel thai
road in peace rather than run the risk ol
temporary defeat by making an heroic ef
fort to remove tho glu-mlll from its path.
The Crusade in llrlef.
Total abstinence is self-disclplino.
Drunkenness is individual anarchy.
The saloon nevor takos a vacation.
'Tis bettor to abstain thnn to reform.
Tho saloon stays because we are too lazy
to be in enrnest.
Day and night, Sunday nnd week-dny,
liquor continues its ruinous work.
With the sanction of t'ne law tho liquor
traffic robs men of money and health un<]
character.
An ordinance has been passed In West
Palm Beach, Fla., forbidding females to
enter saloons.