SIR HUMPHREY GILBERT.
They say of Sir Humphrey Gilbert that, sailing the western sea,
The sailors had (ears of a tempest, but never a fear bad he ;
" For God is as near by sea as by land," he said with sturdy oheer,
And home through the dark to Englahd he bade the helmsmau steer.
The two ships plowed the waters, and the heavy night grew black.
The clouds oame over the quiet stars und lild them with their rack ;
And through the storm and the darkness each ship for the other's light
Watched eagerly, but Sir Humphrey went home to God that night.
And whenever a sudden flurry drives my boat before the blast,
1 think of that stout old sailor and know, with the sky o'ereast,
That God is as near by sea as by land ; and how can I feel dismay
When into His hand my will Is given, and for Him I go or stay !
—Lewis Worthlngton Smith, in Youth's Companion.
j STRANGE ADVENTURES OF A POET. J
s
J How He had the Romance Taken Out cf Him. J
Narcissus Brown was a most esti
mable young man of studious hab
its. His father, a tradesmau, had
taken pride in giving him a liberal
education. At the age of 19 years,
therefore, Narcissus had finished his
education and had become a philos
opher.
But youth is fickle. An ardent im
agination and restless instincts worked
their way, and three months later
Narcissus became a poet.
"Father," said he, one day, "l feel
within me the poetic instinct. lam a
poet!"
"very well, my son," said the pa
ternal Brown, "be a poet if you will.
So much the better, too," he added,
with proud fondness, "because it will
vex Green, the grocer. His son is a
writer, but he only writes prose."
fio Narcissus became a poet. Every
day he wandered off to the little vil
lages near his native city, and there
communed with nature. The dusty
trees which lined the roadside moved
him to poetry, and even the windmills
stirred his soul.
"All," he would sentimentally say,
"how romantic they look! See the
white sails glinting in the sun like
those of a fair galleon gliding over
the waves to some far-off shore."
The sea! He had never thought of
the sea before. The idea suddenly
flashed across his brain.
"Ah," be mused, "the 6ea! The
blight, blue, boundless ocean! That is
tha place for a poet. What is there
poetic in this humdrum life ashore?
On the ocean man struggles with na
ture; he combats the elements; he de
fies the storm. I shall goto sea."
He returned to the paternal shop
and declared his intention. But his
father only yielded after much per
suasion. At last he consented and
made up a package of fancy dry goods
which he thought would sell well at
the colonies. To this he added a
purse, some tears and bis blessing,
and Narcissus started for the nearest
seaport.
There he repaired to the house of a
cousin, a resident of the place; he
stated his intention and asked for ad
vice. The cousin was well acquainted
with the captain of a brig which was
about to sail for Martinique, and se
cured him a passage aboard of her.
Narcissus experienced a slight j
shock when he heard the name of the
vessel.
"If it were only a little more poet
ical!" he thought. The Undine, or
the Mermaid, or something like that.
But the Sarah Ann!" And he asked
the captain's name. When told it was
Smith, he almost fainted. He was to
sail aboard of the brig Sarah Ann,
Smith, master. He would have wil
lingly given a larger sum if the cap
tain had hud a nautical name.
However, there was no help for it—
Lis passage money was paid. So the
next day, accompanied by his cousin,
he took a boat and went on board the
Sarah Ann, to see what she looked
like. Ou the way out the water was
very rough, the boat was small, and
Narcissus at once hoped and feared
some accident—something romantic.
But he only got seasick.
When he reached the deck ho cast
an eager glance around upon the hardy
•sons of the sea. Most of them were
swabbing the deck after getting iu
cargo, and there wore several engaged
in washing and hanging out shirts
upon the rigging to dry. With an ex
clamation of disgust, Narcissus turned
away.
"They only need flatirons to be ■
washerwomen," said he.
However, he descended to the cap
tain's cabin. That individual was talk
ing to a stout, thickset man, and!
sigued to Narcissus and his cousin to
seat themselves. They did so, and
Narcissus immediately began to in
spect the cabin. To'his disgust he
found it was a prosaic little room, with
a carpet, chairs, table and pictures on
the walls—exactly like a room on
shore. Narcissus sighed and turned
his eyes upon the captain. His ideal
of the man who was to brave the ele
ments and command a turbulent crew
was as follows: A mariner of giant
frame—at least six feet; a massive
head; fierce eyes; a voice of awe-in
spiring qualities. He looked at Cap
tain Smith and saw that he was a
short, thin man about 40 years of
age; he was extremely polite iu his
manners; he wore a wig, and he took
snuff. It is impossible to describe the
revulsion of feeling that swept over
Narcissus when he beheld this insig
nificant personage.
The individual who was talking to
the captain was, as we have said,
stontly built; he was a jolly-looking
fellow, aud was deeply interested in i
tryiug to beat down the rate of pas- |
sage.
"Come now, captain," said he,
"can't you put it a little lower?"
"I have only one price," replied the ,
captain.
Narcissus thought of the paternal
shop and shuddered.
"Well," said the stout man, after
much debate, "what must be must be. j
One conditio'!, however: my boxes ]
must have air, and dampness will in
jure them. You know what they con
tain. So I want you to promise me
that they shall not be putin the
hold."
"All right," said the captain; "they
shall be placed ou the orlop deck."
"Aud I can examine them whenever
I like?"
"Whenever you like."
"Well, here's your money," said
the stout muu, and he placed the sum
upon the table, saluted and left.
"Who's that fellow?" asked the
cousin,
"Oh, it's a poor showman. He's
going to the colonies with a lot of wax
figures, to exhibit them."
"Wax figuies! Why, they'll all melt
if you leave them ou the orlop deck,
won't they?"
"Well, that's Irs business," replied
the worthy captain, good-naturedly.
Then, turning to Narcissus, he said:
"Well, sir, I am pleased to meet you.
I shall make your voyage as agreeable
as possible. You will be very com
fortuble—just exactly the same as if
yon were ou land."
Narcissus left the Sarah Ann aud
did not reappear until the hour of
sailing, such was his disgust at the
unromantic character of vessel, master
and crew.
When he went to the pier to engage
a boat to take him out to the brig, he
met the stout man whom he had seen
iu the captain's cabin. This individual
proposed that they should hire a boat
jointly to transport themselves and
baggage to the brig, and Narcissus
consented. He bade farewell to his
cousin aud tumbled into the boat. The
stout man followed him.
"Have you ever been to sea, sir?"
he asktid.
"No," replied Narcissus; "and
you?"
"Never, sir; thi< is the first time. I
am going'to the colonies to exhibit my
wax figures."
_ "What do they represent?" asked
Narcissus, mechanically.
"That," said he, pointing to one—
they were long, narrow boxes, about
six by three—"that contains a mag
nificent figure of the Emperor Napo
leon; that, a figure of li s holiue-is the
Pope; that, an Albino," aud he went
through the list.
"Well what do you bother me with
it for?" demanded Narcissus, glad to
find someone to vent his ill-humor
upon.
"I only told yon because you asked
me, sir," replied the mau, submis
sively.
"Well, shut up, will you!" replied
the gentle Narcissus; "you talk too
much!"
The stout man's eyes snapped an
grilv, but he said nothing.
They reached the vessel's side, and
with unheard of precautions the show
man had his boxes put aboard. He
made the sa lors a'most expire with
laughter at the gingerly way in which
he clim! Ed the ladder, and his calling
the masts "tho poles" furnished them
fresh food for merriment.
At 5 o'clock in the evening the
Sarah An I weighed anchor and set
out on her voyage. Narcissus re
mained on deck watching the sun set,
nud thus, as he expressed it, "re
lighting the torch of poesy iu his
soul." But he hadn't been there long
before he became extremely seasick,
and two griuuiug tars took him below.
Narcissus did not sleep. As he
tossed restlessly upon his pillow he
invoke! the muses.
"O muses nine!" quoth he, "pity
me, aud send us something romantic
- —a tempest, a shipwreck— anything.
I have quitted the realms of pins,
needles aud tape, and abandoned my
self to the caprice of the waves, only
that my life may become exciting.
Pity me then, ye gods! Blow, old
Boreas, blow! Lash thy wave, O
Neptune!"
It is doubtful whether either the
muses or the gods heard him,,but it
is certain that something very singular
took place almost upon the heels of
h!s prayer.
The brig was not provided with
staterooms for passengers, so the
apartment occupied by Narcissus con
sisted only of an old sail draped
arouud the place 'tween decks where
his hammock was swung. This can
vas he could see over, and this is
what took plaoe. The feeble glimmer
of a ship's lantern served to illumine
the place without, and its rays fe'l
upon the showman's boxes, which
were lashed up against the vessel's
side. Emerging from the darkness
Narcissus saw the figure of the burly
s'lowman.
"The base hind!" thought he, "al
ways anxious for his business. Here
In is examining his figures when he
might be watchi ig the stars iu yon
azure vault "
Narcissus paused in his poetical
flight. His eves opened widely; he
almost ceased to breathe. For the
sUowman, after careiully g'aucing ,
a'-ound him, had opened one of tho ]
bjses, and a man stepped out. The
uew.omer exchange! a whisyored
word with the showman, and be:nn to
bhaka his nutnb nnd rigid limbs.
"This is indeed romantic," mutters!
Narcissus. But he felt a cold sensa
tion creeping up his back.
The showman continued his task of
opening the boxes. One by one the
wax figures stepped forth, shook them
selves aud felt their joiuts. When the j
last box was opeued, there were six
of them, besides the showman. Ear'h
man drew out pistols and knives,
looked to the locks, and replaced the
weapons in convenient positions.
"Well," thought Narcissus, "that
is the most wicked-looking gaug of
cnt-throats I'evor set eyes ou. This
is altogether too romantic. I wish I
was home."
But his thoughts were interrupted
by the aound of the showman's voice:
"All ready," Euid he, iu a hoarse
whisper.
"All ready," was the whispered ro
ply-
"Then, here we go!"
With cat-like tread thev sto!e away
in the darkness.
Narcissus would have called out;
his tongue clove to the roof of his
mouth. Ho would have risen; his
head seemed glued to his pillow. A
cold perspira ion broke out upon him.
Ho had realized the fact that the
1 showman and his comrades were pi
-1 rates.
The minutes passed on. Th y
I seemed hours to him. Then he heard
an outcry; the trampling of feet on the
do'k ovo.' his head; the short bark of
pistols, muttered curses, groans; then
there was a wild yell of triumph; the
found of conversation; t' eu he heard
at i :terva s the found of heavy bodies
dropping into tlie wa er—"Splash! :
Splash! Splash!"
It was altogether too romantic. Nar
cissus fainted away.
When he came to his se'r es he had
experienced a complete revulsion of
feeling. The ocean to hiin was dis
tasteful. He was enamored of green
fields aud babb'ing brooks. He would j
have exchanged the Atlantic o can for j
the smallest brook that ever ran. His I
fevered fancy carried him to the
meadows around his native city; he
thought of the flowers there; of the
smiling sraiu and
"Boom!"
What was that? It sounded like a
ca-not shot.
There was a crackling sound. The
side of the vessel seemed to be burst- 1
ing in. The planks and splinters flew,
aud from the midst there emerg'd r: i
round-shot—a jolly, pudgy ronud
shot, which came wildly skipping along i
the deck toward him. As it ueared !
him it made a tinnl bound, and im
bedded itself in tho wood over
his head.
Again Narcissus lost his senses. He
liked romance, but h j was getting too j
muca of it at one time.
When Narcissus lecovered con- !
sciousuess he found himself lying
upon the deck of the brig. There
were irons upon his hands,irons upon
his feet. On either side of him
squatted a swarthy sailor, each with
a cutlass, and each watching him with
the most flattering attention.
Narcissus turned his head. Behind
him lay his friend, the showman, iu
the same predicament as himself.
Bunged iu symmetrical rows lay the
cotnra lts of the showman, all ironed
aud guarded. Lying near the brig
was a large man-of-war with the Span
ish flag flyin*.
"Si l ," said Narcissus, addressing
the showman, "can you tell me what
all this meansV"
"Hallo!" was the reply, "why
there's the little landlubber. I'd for
got yon completely. Certainly; I'll i
take great pleasure in telling you all
about i\ Do you see the yards of ;
that ship?"
"What are the yards?'' asked Nar- !
cissus, gravely.
"Ha! ha! Well, you see those po'es
that run across the masts?"
"Yes."
"Do you see a man astride of one
of them at the end?"
"Yes."
"Do you kuow what he is doing?" :
"No."
"He's fixing a rope."
"A rope! What lor?"
"To hang us."
"To ha—to haug us! To hang you,
you mean."
"No—us."
"Why—why—what do you mean?
You are a pirate; I am a poet. My
name is Brown—Narcissus Blown;
and I live "
"Oh, well, tell theiu so, theu.
There's an officer."
Assuming an air of dignity tem
pered with submission, Narcissus ad
dressed the office , detailing the story
of h jw he came to be aboard the brig.
The officer interrupted him curtly in
Spanish, by giving an order to one of
the sailors.
"Well," said the showman, "do you
know what he said?"
"No."
"He said, 'flag that cur.' "
"Then he didn't understand what I
said?"
"Not a word. Neither he nor any
of the others speak aujthiug but
Spanish."
"But you speak their language?"
"Flueutly."
"Well, then,tell liiin, yjti, that "
"My dear boy, do you remember
when we came out in the boat to
gether? You told me I talked too
much. Now I will be silent. Keally,
you should have been more civil. But
then you are going to be hanged in
ten minutes, and it will teach you
manners."
Narcissus was about to reply, but
at that moment the sailor had pre
pared the gag, and his mouth was
stopped.
"It's no more thin right," cantin
ned the showman, "that you shonld '
know why you're going to be hanged, '■
so I'll tell you. I've been api ate for ' :
20 yi ars aud never been unlucky. This !
is my first mishap—l'm afraid, though,
it'll be my last. Well, about sis
months ago, I boarded a Spanish mer
chautinau from Peru, aud, of course,
I ha<l to mule 3 all the crew walk the
Xdank. Unfortunately, a ring that the
captain had took my fancy, and I've
worn it ever since. Well, this meddle
i *ome follow boarded me y. sterduy.and
j I would have got oft' unsuspected had
iit not been for the cursed ring. The
| captain of the merchantman had been
| a friend of this officer, wh > had given
|it to him. His suspicions being ex
| cited, he examiued tho ship's papers,
I and thus found out my last l.tt e
! game. That, though, yon know all
about. bo he's going to hang us a'l.
I would have beeu s.rrier for yon, my
boy, if you had been a little more
civil."
Itwasmorally and physically impos
sible for Narcissus to reply; he was
therefore silent.
The doomed men wero taken aboard
of the man-of-war. One by ona the
pirates weie slowly strangled at the
yard's end. There remained only Nar
cissus and the showmau.
"After you," said the latter, with a
fiendish grin. "You are younger than
I am."
The noose was placed around Nar
cissus' neck, fctilwart arms swung
hiin up to the yard. As he drew up his
; writhing limbt iu his death agony, the
showman turned away his face.
"Well, it was his owu fault," he
muttered, " but I'm half sorry for
him."
A few moments passed, and the two
men were agaiu together—but n„t in
this world.
QUAINT AND CURIOU3.
Metal never rusts in the waters ot
Lake Titacaca. A chain or an anchor
can be left in it two weeks and will be
as clean aud bright as when it came
: from the foundry, which is probably
owiug to action of some of the chemi
ical salts in the water.
If all the dressmakers known to
exist iu America worked 24 hours of
each day for a whole year, without
stopping for sleep or meals, they would
still be able to make only one dress
apiece for less thau seven-eighths of
the women in America.
An ascetic is living outside tho Delhi
Gate at Lahore, India, who, it is said,
has not parted his lips for the last 50
years, nor has demanded anything
ever from any person to satisfy the
irresistible demands of the stomach.
People flock to see him in large num
bers.
One of the queerct corners iu the
world, is Chatham Islan 1, off the coast
of Ecuador, and <3OO miles west from
Guayaquil, Iho island abounds iu
black cats, which live i:» the c evices
of the lava for-untion near the coast,
and subsist by catching fish and crabs
instead of rats. Other animals found
on this island are horses, cattle, dog-*,
goats aud chickens, all of which ure
perfectly wild. The equator ciosses
the islaud.
In Damascus, Syria, is a celebrated
thoroughfare, the identity of which with
the "street which is called straight,"
referred to iu Acts ix., I-', 11, is un
questioned. It b gins at one of the
gates of the city aud extends about a
mile. Formerly it ran in a straight
direction, but modern changes have
converted it into a winding, zigzag
shape. Many localities in Damascus
are pointed out us having been con
nected with incidents in St. Paul's
life. The house iu which he lived is
said to bo still in existence.
The blind postman of Filgiave,
England has just been retired ou u
pension. Ho lost his sight through
au accident, but his misfortune did
not prevent him from securing the
position of postman between Filgravo
aud Newport Pagnell, a distance o.
about two miles. He carried out this
work daily for many years, relying
entirely on his wonderful memo y, and
seldom making a mistake. His dog
always accompanied him ou his rounds,
and he always found many friends at
hand to tide him over any difficulties
that arose.
Tho Ceogi-Hphy of Nome.
The geographical position of the
Nome region is the southern face ol
tho peninsular projection of Alaska
which separates Kotzebue sound oa
the north from Bering sea on the south,
and terminates westward iu Cape
Prince of Wales, the extent of tlia
North American continent. Iu a di
rect line of navigation, it lies about
2500 miles northwest of Seattle aud
170 miles southeast of Siberia. The
nearest settlement of consequence to
it priov to 1877 was St, Michael, 100
miles to the southeast, the starting
point of the steamers for the Yukon
river; but during the year various
aggregations of mining population
had budt themselves up in closer range,
and reduced the isolation from the
civilized world by some HO mile*. The
Nome district as settled ceutres about
the lower course of the Snako river,
an exceedingly tortuous stream iu its
tundra course, which emerges from a
badly degraded line of limestone, slaty,
and schistose mouutain spurs, gener
ally not over 700 to 1200 feet elec
tion, but backed by loftier granitic
heights, aud discharges iuto the sea
at a position 18 miles west of Cape •
Nome proper. Three miles east of
this mouth is the discharge of Nome
river. Both streams have a tidal
course of seve al miles.—Appletons'
Popular Science Monthly.
An Knrly Start.
" That Blinkersdorf girl in the
promptest yonug woman [ ever had
the pleasure of oscortiug."
"Slu comes by it naturally. Her
father was a car starte —Cievelaud
Plain Dealer.
DK. TALMAGES SERMON.
SUNDAY'S DISCOURSE 3Y THE NOTED
DIVINE
Suoject! Out Father's UONIT A Lemon
«»t' Fatiullco—>An Impressive Warning
Against iielu&r Pulled Up Willi Tran
sitory Earthly Grandeur.
[Copyright ljiuu.l v
WASHINGTON, D. C. This discourse of
Dr. Talmugo is pertinent at this time of
yeiir, when many people uro moving from
house to house, and it tonches lessons of
patience and equipoise In very trying cir
cumstances; toxt, l'bilipplans iv., 12, "I
know both how to be übused, ami I know
how to abound."
Happy Paul! Could you roally accom
modate yourself to all circumstances in
life? Could you go up without pride, and
coufrt you come down without exaspera
tion? Tench the sumo lossou to UB ull.
We are at a season of the year when vast
populations in ull our cities are changing
residence. Having been born in a bouso
and having all our lives lived in ahou.se,
wo do not liave full appreciation of whut a
house is. It is the growth of thousands of
years. The human race llrst lived In clefts
of rocks, the beasts of tho fleldj moving
out of the caverns to let the human raco
move in. Tho shepherds and the robbers
stll! live in caverns of the earth. The trog
lodytes are a ruce ;wliioh to itbis day ore
fer the caverns to a house. They are warm;
they are large; they,are very comfortable;
they ure less subject, to violent changes of
neat and cold. We come on along down in
tho history of the race, and we come to the
lodge, whlsh was a home built out of
twisted treo branches; wo como farther on
down in tho history of tho race, and wo
<torue to the tent, whieh was a homo built
with u round.polo lu tho centre and skins
of animal 3 reaching out in all directions,
mats on the floor.
Tlmo passed on, and the world, afler
much invention, came to build a house,
which was u space surrounded by broad
stones, against which the earth was heaped
from the outside. The roof was made of
chalk and gypsum and coal and stones und
ashes pounded together. After awhile the
porch was born, after awhile the gate.
Then liuadreds of years passed en, ana in
the fourteenth century the modern chim
ney was constructed. Tho old Uobrows
had openings In their houses from which
tho smoke might escape if It preferred, but
there wa< no inducement offered for It to
leave until tho modem chimney. Woodon
keys opened tho door, or the keyhole was
large enough to allow tho flayer to be in
serted for the lifting of the latch or the
sliding of it. There being no windows the
people wero depeudent for light upon lat
ticework, over which a thin veil was drawn
down in timo of winter to keep out the ele-
I mollis. Window glass was, so lato us 200
| or 300 years ago, In England and Scotland
i so great a luxury that only the very wealth
iest could afford It. A hand mill and an
oven and a few leathern bottles and some
rude pitchers and plates made up the en
tire equipment of the culinary department.
Thank God for your homo, not merely
the house you live In now, but tho house
| you wero born lu and the many houses you
have resided in since you began your
earthly residence. When you go homo
to-day, count over the number of those
house's in which you have resided, and you
will be surprised. Once In awhile you will
liud a man who lives in a house wnero he
was born and where his father was born
and his grandfather was boru and hi*
graat-graudfatber was boru, but that Is
not one out of a thousand coses. I have
not been more perambulatory than most
people, but I was amazed when I came to
count up tho number of residences I have
occupied. The fact Is there Is in this
world co such thing as permanont resi
dence.
In a privato vehicle, and not Inn rail
car, from which you can see but little,
I rode from New York to Yonlcers and Tur
rytown, on the banks of the Hudson, tho
II nest ride on tho planet for a man who
wants to see palatial residences in fascl
■ natlng scenery. It was In the early spring
| and before tho gentlemen of New York
j had gone out to their country residences.
| I rode Into the grounds to admire tho
1 gardens, and tho overseer of the place
| told me—and ihey all told me—that
■ all the houses .had been sold or that
: they wanted to sell them, and there
was literully no exception, although
I I called ut many places, 'just admiring the
[ gardens and grounds uud the palatial resl-
I tlences. Some wanted to sell or had sold
because of financial misfortune or because
tneir wives did not want to reside In the
I summer time in those places while their
husbands tarried In town In the night,
always having some buslucss on hand
keeping them away. From some houses
the people hud been shuken out by chills
and fever, from some houses they hud
gone because death or misfortune had oc
curred, and all those palaces and mansions
had either chaDged occupants or wanted
to chunge.
Take up the directory of any city of
England or Americu und see how few
people live where they lived llfteen years
ugo. There Is no such thing as permanent
residence.
I saw Montlcello, in Virginia, President
Jefferson's residence, und I saw on the
same day Jlontpoller. which was either
Madison's or Monroe's residence, and I
saw nlso the White House, which was
President Taylor's residence and President
Lincoln's residence uud President Gar
field's residence. Was It a permanent
residence in any case? I tell you that the
race is nomadic and no sooner gets lu ono
place than it wants to change for another
place or Is compelled to change for another
place, ami so the race Invented the rail
road and the steamboat in order more
rapidly to get into somo other place thuu
that in which it was then.
Aye, instead of being nomadic, it Is im
mortal, movlug on and moving on! We
whip up our horses and hasten on until the
hub of the front wheel shivers ou the tomb
stone and tips us headlong Into the grave,
the only permanent earthly residence.
A day this spring tho streets will be filled
with the furniture carts and the drays and
the trucks. It will be a hard day for
horses, because they will be overloaded; it
will be u hard day for luborers, for they
will overlift before they get tho family fur
niture from one house to nnother; it will
be a hard day for housekeepers to see their
furniture scratched, and their crockery
broken, und their oarpets misfit, and tholr
furniture dashed of the sudden showers; it
will be u hurd day for landlords; it will be
a hard day tor tenants.
Especial graco Is needed for moving day.
Many a man's religion has suffered a fear
ful strain between the hour on the morn
ing of the first of May, wheu he took his
immature breakfast, aud the hour at night
wheu herolled Into his extemporized couch.
Tho furniture broken sometimes will result
in the breaking of the Ten Commandments.
My first word, then, tn this part of my
discourse is to all those who move out of
small houses Into larger ones. Now, we
will see whether,like theupostle, you know
how to abound.
Do not, because your now house has two
moro stories than the old one, add two
stories to your vanity or make your bright
ly polished silver doorplatethe coffin pluto
to your buried humility.
Many persons moving into a larger hour •
liave become urrogant uud supercilious.
They swagger where once they walked;
tbey simper where once they laughed; thev
go about with an air which seems to say,
"Let ail smaller craft get out of these wa
ters if they don't want to be run over bv a
regular Cunarder."
I have known people who wor;? kind and
amlablo and Christian in their smaller 1
house. No sooner did they go over the
doorslll of the new house than thoy be
came a glorified nuisance. They were the '
terror of dry goods clerks nnd tbe amnze- 1
ment of ferryboats into which they swept
and, it compelled to stund a moment, with
condemnatory glance turning tup peo- I
pie seated Into criminal!) nnd convlc
They begun to hunt up the family coat
arms and had lion couchant or uulcor
rampant ou the carriage door when, 1
1 tlioy had the appropriate coat of aruis, 1.
would have been a butter firkin, or a shoe
last, or a plow, or a trowel. Instead ol
being like all the rest of us, made out of
, dust, they would have you think that they
. were trickled out of heaven on a lump ol
loaf sugar. The llrst thing you know ol
them the - father will fait lu business and
the daughter will run oIT with a French
dancing master. A woinau spoiled by u
[ liner house Is bad enough, but a man so
' upset is sickening.
i But I must have a word with those who
■ In this Mayday time move out of larger res
idonces into smaller. Sometimes the pa
thetic reason Is that the family has
dwindled in size, and so much room Is not
required, so they move out into small
■ apartments. I know there are such cases.
| Marriage has taken some of the members
I of tho taihily, death lias taken other mem
bers of the family, and after awhile fathec
and mother wake up to find their family
lust tho size It was when they started, and
they would bo lonesome and'lost in a large
' house; hence they move out of It. Movlup
i day Is a great sadness to sueh If they liavo
; the law of association dominant. There
are the rooms named after tho dilTer
; eut members of the family. I supposs
it is so in all your households. It is sc
1 in mine. We name the rooms after tha
' persons who occupy them. And theo
■ there is the dining hull where the festivi
■ ties took place, the holiday festivities; there
; is tho sitting room where the family met
I night after night, and there is the room sa-
I cred because there a life started or a lif»
stopped—the Alpha and tho Omega ol
; some earthly existence. Scene of meeting
' and parting, of congratulation and heart
■ break, every doorknob, every fresco, every
| mantel, every threshold, meaning more tc
you than It can ever mean to any one olse.
1 When moving o;it of a house, I liuve always
> been In the habit, after everything wits
gone, of going Into each room and bidding
• it a mute farewell. There will he tears
rimnlug down many cheeks in the May
. time moving that the carmen will not b®
i able to understand. It is a solemn and a
! touching and an overwhelming tiling
[ to leave places forever—places where we
i have struggled and toiled and wept and
sung and prayed and anxiously watched
i and agonized. Ob, lifo is such a strango
• mixture of honey and of gall, weddings
i and burials, midnoon and midnight
. clashing! Every iiome a lighthouse
; against which the billows of many S'a i
i tumble. Thank God thac tuo'i change:
i aro not always going to continue; other
i wise the nerves would give out and the
brain would founder on a dementia like
! that of King Lear when his daughter
Cordelia caiuo to medicine his domestic
calamity.
But there are others who will move out
of large residences into smaller through
1 the reversal of fortune. The property
must be sold or the bailiff will sell it, or tho
income is less and you cannot pay tho
house rent. First of all, such persons
should understand that our happlnoss Is
not dependent ou tho size of the house we
live in. I have known people enjoy a
small heaven In two rooms and others suf
-1 fer a pandemonium In twenty. There Is
as much happiness in a small houso as Inn
large house. There Is as much satisfaction
under the light of a tallow canile as under
the glare of a chandelier, all the burners at
full blaze. Who was the happier—John
liunyou in Bedford jail Or Bolßhuzzer In
the saturnalia? Contentment Is something
you can neither reut.nor purchase. It Is not
extrinsic; It is intrinsic. Are tliere fewet
rooms in tho house to which you move?
You will have loss to take euro of. Is it
to be stove Instead of furnuce? All tho
doctors say tho modern modes of warming
buildings are unhealthy. Is it less mir
rors? Less temptation to your vanity. Is
it old fashioned toilet instead of "water
plpe3 nil through the house? Less to freere
and burst when you caunotgot a plumber.
Is it less carriage? More room for robust
exorcise. Is It less social position? Fewer
people who want to drag you down by
their jealousies. Is it less fortunoto leave
In your last wlil and testament? Less to
spoil your children. Is it less money for
the marketing? Less temptation to ruin
the health of your family with pineapples
and indigestible salads. Is it a little deaf?
Not hearing so mnuy disagreeables.
I meet you thissprlugtime at tho door ot
your new home, and while I help you lift
the clothesbasket over the bauisters and
the carman Is getting red In the faco try
lug to transport that article of furniture
to some now .destination I eougratulata
you. You aro going to have a bettor tlrna
this year, some of you, thau you ever had.
You take God and the Christian religion In
your home and you will be grandly happy.
God in the parlor—that will sanctify youi
socialities; God in tho nursery—that will
protect your children: God in the dining
hall—that will make the plainest meal an
Imperial banquet; God In the morning—
that will lauuch the day brightly from the
drydocks; God in tho evenlug—ttnt will
sail tho dav sweetly into the harbor.
And get joy, one and all of you, whether
you rnovo or i'o not move; got joy out ot
the thought that we are soon all going to
have a grand moving day. Do you want a
picture of the new house Into which you
will move? Here It is, wrought with the
hand of u master: "We know that, if out
earthly house ot thli tabernacle wore dis
solved, wo have a building of God, n
house not made with hands, eternal in
tlie heavens." How much rent will we
have to pay for it/ We are going tc
own it. How much must we pay foi
it? How much, cash down, aud" how
much loft on mortgage? Our father is
going to give it as a free gift. Whcu are
wo gcing to move into it? Wo are moving
now. On moving day heads of families
are very apt to stay in the old liouso until
they have seen evorythlng off. Tlioy send
ahead the children, and they send ahead
tho treasures and the valuables. Then
after awhile they will come themselves.
I remember very well in the country that
in boyhood moving day was u jubilation.
On almost the first load wo, the children,
wore seut on ahead to the now house, and
wo arrived with shout nu<4 laughter, and
In an hour we had ranged through every
room in the house, tho barn and tho gran>
ary. Towurd night, aud perhaps in th<j
last wagon, father aud mother would come,
looking very tired, and we would com*
down to the foot ot the lane to meet
them and tell them ot all the wonders
we discovered in the new place, and
then, the last wagon unloaded, cau
dles lighted, our neighbors who had
helped us to nvove—for In those times
neighbors helped each other—sat down
with us at a table on which there was
every luxury they cculd think of. Well,
my dear Lord knows that some of us
have boen moving a good while. We
have sent our children ahead. We have sent
many ot our valuubles ahead, sont many
treasures ahead. Wa cannot go yet. There
is work for us to do, but after awhile it will
be toward night, and we will be very tired,
and then we will start for our new home,
and those who have gone ahead of us,
they will see our approach, and they will
come down the lane to meet us, and they
will have muoh to tell in of what they
bure discovered in the"house of many
mansions" and of bow large the rooms are
and of bow bright the fountain*. And
then the last load unloaded, the table will
be spread, and our celestial neighbors
will come into sit down with our reunited
families, and the challoes will be full, not
with the wine that sweats In the vat ot
earthly intoxications, but with "the new
wine of the kingdom." And there for the
llrst time we will realize what tools we
were on earth when we feared to din, since
death has turned out Ouiy to bo tho movl ng
from a smaller house into a forger ono and
tho exchange of a pauper's hut for n
prince's custle and the going up stairs
from a miserable kitchen to a glorious par
lor. O house of God not made with hands,
eternal in the heavens!
The proportion of sickness in human lift
is nine days cut ol tbe mat-