AN ARIZONA GHOST STORY.
A strange-looking little Arizona
newspaper, in a wayworn wrapper,
came with my mail a few mornings
ago, and when 1 opened it, wondering
why it had been sent to me and l>y
whom, my eye presently fell on a blue
penciled paragraph:
"Marshal Catlip and posae got back
late last evening. They had a lively
chase—and there is one bad man the
less. It won't cost this town anything
to try him. Dive Tranchard needed a
change. He was too fond of horse
flesh —other people's."
Probably Arizo;iians understood that
paragraph perfectly at first sight, and
it intimated even to a slow New Eng
lander that "Dive Tranchard" had
been sternly punished.
"Dive Tranchard!" Something in
the name set the chords of memory
vaguely vibrating all day.and when
I waked next morning, the full, fa
miliar name had come to me out of the
past—Dives Tranchard! It must be he
—the "queer boy" of the school where
I first began as a teacher in Kennebec
county, Maine, 20 years ago.
I was then only 18 years old, and
the school agent who hired me and
the good minister-member of the school
board who gave me my "certificate"
said that I might "pull through" if I
could manage Dives Tranchard.
In the schoolroom, Dives did not ap
pear formidable at first view, but I
was not long in discovering the fer
tility of his mischievous ingenuity.
The wits of the average schoolmaster
could not possibly keep pace with the
swift triekiness in which he indulged
himself.
He was a somewhat sedate and dis
tinguished looking youngster, with a
clear-cut, refined face, and the incon
sistency between his countenance and
his conduct was such that I never was
able to feel, during the whole time he
was my pupil, that I quite understood
him.
Dives was an orphan, who, while
still very young, had been adopted by
the storekeeper of the place, Mr. Mul
hnll.
Ilis father had been a very intem
perate and blasphemous man. whose
dearest delight had been to rail at the
Scriptures. In profane bravado he
had named his three sons Judas, To
phet and Dives. The two former had
died of croup while very young, and
Dives, or "Dive," as he was generally
called, was the sole survivor of the
family.
Naturally, a teacher only IS years
old could not hope to assume the role
of moral adviser to a youth of 1" with
entire success.
When I attempted it.with Dives, he
grinned in my face, and the effort end
ed in a rough-and-tumble fight over the
school house floor. In this conflict I es
tablished a kind of doubtful suzer
ainty over him. and afterward main
tained it with a bold front, but the
Issue was always in some little doubt.
What the outcome would have been
is far from certain. I have a feeling
that Dives would have been too much
for me, in time, had our relations as
pupil and pedagogue continued long.
Hut they lasted only throe weeks. On
the first day of January lie ran away,
in consequence of a curious prank.
District Number Eleven was the only
place where I ever saw what was be
lieved to be a ghost. The people there
Were not superstitious, but I found
that many of them had seen an ap
parition that they could not account
for. It had been seen three times the
previous winter and once late in No
vember. a few days before I arrived.
More than 'id persons admitted that
they had seen it during snow-storms,
but all made light of it: the people
were not ignorant, and the apparition
puzzled them much more than it
frightened them.
The mysterious thing, whatever It
was. had always been seen at night,
and seemed to be a kind of phantom on
horseback, an equestrian ghost, so as
to speak.
It had been discerned pasting at
great speed, but the hoofs made no
noise, and It looked thin, or white,
and was hardly distinguishable In out
line amidst (lie falling snow flakes.
That was about all I could learn re
gunllng the phantom; and as the repre
seiitntlvc of education, I set myself to 1
discountenance belief In the S|)e<tr*. I
My theories were received with re- ,
upeet the only dltllculty in the way of ;
their entire acceptance was that limn- '
hers of those who listened to nic lmd >
reall.v seen the ghost.
It was a place where the people re I
tallied many of the old customs of an- j
eestrul Puritan Ktiglaml, among other* ,
that "of watch night," or watching the
old year oat and the new vetir in, til I
the lllgllt of Deeelllller Hist. It Wit*
announced lit the meeting hulls,, till' |
previous Sunday that there would l» a
Watch night the following Saturday
evening, to last half past twelve, New
Year'* uiornlng Tlieie would l«- stug
lug and prayer*, but it wai not to I** i
an i**clu«ivcly religion* cere,nony. '
Oonversiitioii and even story idling
Would lie allowed
At the w«ti tj night Me eting there
Were :tn or MS people, old and young, j
ill. lading the Mc|h<*ll»( minister, Mr. )
IteeVe* who had h»'c|» *. 111> d tlo re bit? |
a few mouth*, a very .toting man,
with whom I hail already beeouie lull -
uiate.
lie v*i companionable ruhiiat and
hill) a youth * it* »lll| lit joyed iituw
hailing fur lwtani« Aft r »< hoot,
when 1 {MHOW*I the hou<« where ha !
Itveil, u UMiall} da.l ' I out, Ifwth j
from liis theological studies, and we
would go at a brisk trot for a mile to
gether along the road to the post-ottlce
and back.
The early hours of the watch-meeting
passed agreeably. We had all gath
ered about the meeting-house stove,
for the night was cloudy and bleak,
and after the usual hymn and opening
exercises, we amused ourselves by re
lating our "good resolves" for the New
Year. Many of these were admirable
and some very humorous. Mr. Smith,
the little shoemaker of the place,
whose wife Wis very large and strong
and active, rose to say, with a twinkle
in his eye, that he had sadly neglected
his duty for the past twelve months,
but had now firmly resolved to beat
Mrs. Smith more frequently during
the year to come, to which Mrs. Smith
responded with a breezy laugh, "I'd
like to see you begin!"
At about 11 o'clock one of the
boys, who had been to the outer door,
returned to say that it was snowing
fast and thick, and Indeed, we could
faintly hear the icy Hakes driving
against the window-panes. One of the
young ladies was playing, on the or
gan, the accompaniment to a hymn
which many of the older people were
singing.
Young Mr. Reeves sat near me, with
a quiet smile oil his face, pondering,
as I fancied, something which he
meant to say after the music. Sud
denly I felt him start, and glanced at
his face. His eyes were bent on some
object, but he turned at once.
"Don't look!" he whispered tome. "I
have seen that ghost. It Is outside,
looking in at the opposite window.
Wait a bit, then cast your eye In that
direction."
I did so, and saw as distinctly as I
ever saw anything, a long, white aw
ful face looking in! Much to my con
sternation, it moved, and appeared to
nod several times.
"Don't seem to notice it!" Mr.
Reeves whispered. "Sit quiet a mo
ment. When the people move back
from the organ, we will steal out and
see what we can discover."
Recovering myself in a moment I
stepped quietly to the door, and a few
moments later was joined by Mr.
Reeves in the dark entry.
We took our liats. and then, without
waiting to put on our overcoats, opened
the door carefully. Snow was falling
fast and drove in our faces: several
inches had fallen; but we dashed out,
doubled the corner of the house and
hurried toward the window.
A great, dim. indistinct object was
standing there which appeared to melt
away suddenly, with but the softest
possible sound. It disappeared round
the other corner of the house. With
out speaking, we ran after it.
We could hardly see anything on ac
count of the driving snow and dark
ness. yet we again discerned, dimly.
Hie great. Indistinct object moving to
ward the highway.
I confess I felt a shivery sensation,
for the spectral appearance made
hardly an audible sound; lint I dashed
on. side by side with Mr. Reeves.
We were pood runners, and a
dash to cat'di the thing. In the road,
a few hundred feet from the church,
we came so near at one time that I
reached out my hand in hope to lay
hold of the apparition, but it glided
away only the faster and I did not suc
ceed.
And now we both heard a kind of
regular ntntlled noise, as of great feet
falling softly: and these audible evi
dences of physical substance stimulat
ed us to continue the chase.
"Run it down!" Mr. Reeves said. In
a low voice, and I Settled myself to
keep pace with llltll.
The snow hindered us little, but not
withstanding our efforts the effigy
drew away from us. We had lost sight
of it when we ran past the house of
Mr. Mulhall, the storekeeper, but in
the very moment of passing, we heard
the large door of the stable creaking.
This, nt that hour of the night, seemed
so strange that we both stopped short
and turned back.
Kntcrlug the yard, we approached
the stable door, but found It closed.
I There Were slight noises In-idc, how
, ever, and soon a match gleamed
I through the crack of the door, and a
; lantern was lighted.
I To our astonishment, we now per
ceived that the person Inside was
Dives Tranchard, clad In a white gar
, nieut ami white cap. and that lie was
j untying what looked like snowy bags
i from the feet of Mlllhltll's old white
'■ mare. Having taken oIT these mutter*,
| lAvcs next proceeded to withdraw a
large, white, bonnet like structure
j from the mare's head.
When tin si singular trappings were
removed, he put the beast In her stall,
stripped off hi* own wkltu garment
and cap. and made the whole outfit
Into a bundle Then lie extinguished
the lantern, left the *tuh|e by a * d<"
door, and went to the hott*e. which h >
! intered cautiously by a door In the
rear.
My Mr*t Impulse had l<eeit to seise
j hint w hen he cum* "Ut uiitl compel hlui
I to confess to the prank, but a* he
L'lti**rgctl flout the stable. Mr Iteeve*
w hls|«ert*d, "Walt! Ihiii'l liijr any
j tlllllg to hllti. Iloti'l let hi 111 know yet
I we have caught hint"
We then fore *|IHH| a*lde in the dark
lie** and allowed niut to gu to iha
holla** unmolested and then, hastening
Imi k to the meeting loots. Julie d the
1 p» "pt> tl re. Our * t>*enet had Ikm
I Uulttl) Unlived.
At 8 o'clock tbe next morning,
after Dives bail gone to the school- j
house, we called at Mulhall's store and
told the astonished storekeeper what
we had seen. He did not at first be- |
lleve us, and wis Inclined to resent
the charge against his l'oster-son. I
At last, when Mr. Reeves said that '
he might perhaps be convinced by be- j
ing allowed to examine the room i
where Dives slept, Mullmll led the way !
up-stairs.
It was a large, open room, with many
okl chests, boxes and cuddies, and a j
very brief search disclosed the bundle j
which we had seen Dives bring from ,
the stable the previous evening. It |
contained not only his white shirt and
cap and the gunny bags, with which ;
he muffled the mare's hoofs, but a ;
curious padded contrivance of white
cloth and wire to tie on her head. j
The front of it was drawn to repre- j
sent a human face, with holes for the !
horse's eyes. It was this nodding
white face which we had seen at the
window.
Farther search In the chamber re- j
vealed other things; plunder of many
kinds; goods and trinkets from the ;
store; not less than 50 letters, appar
ently stolen from the post-office; four
bridles; 15 silver spoons; a bunch of
articles which Dives could not have
come by honestly.
By this time Mulliall, a rather simple •
man, was abusing his foster-son vig
oicisly 'is a tli■ 'f and wished togo at
once with us to the schoolhouse and
denounce him.
Mr. Reeves persuaded him to say
nothing till evening, and we arranged
to call at the house that night and en- I
deavor to get the truth of the matter
from Dives himself.
But before noon that day the youth
had, in some way, learned or guessed
that his thefts were discovered. Ho j
did notroturn to the schoolhouse in the i
afternoon.
He had run away, and I never heard
of him afterward until I saw his name
in the Arizona newspapers.—Youth's
Companion.
QUAINT AND CURIOUS.
A Chinese woman's shoe is often
only three inches loug. Naturally the
Chinese lady does little walking, and
when she does get about she leans con
stantly on her maid.
A marble statue of Apollo, witli the
head in a tine state of preservation,
has recently been unearthed near Ath
ens. Its workmanship shows that it
belongs to the fifth century B. C.
When a rich Chinaman is so ill that
he is likely to soon shuffle off this
mortal coll, his thoughtful relatives
hurry him off to an undertaker's,
where he may rest bis dying eyes on
the coffin that is to contain his bones.
This is to save time and trouble.
Numerous droves of cattle, each
beast with smoke tinted spectacles
fixed over its eyes, are in winter seen
ranging the stioweovered plains of
Russia. The glare of sunlight on tin*
snow causes blindness, hence the re
sort to spectacles to protect the eye
sight of the cattle as they pluck the
grass whichsproutsthrougli the earth's
white mantle.
What is the record price for a single
flower? From Australia comes an
answer to the query. A princess was
president of a music exhibition on
which a loss had been made. She ac
cordingly organized a flower show, at
which ladies of rank, including the
princess, had stalls. One of her cus
tomers was the wealthy Baroness
Keinelt of Trieste, who. in oho ising
a pink, asked: "How much may I
pay for this flower"f" "You. Itarnu
i ss, may in your generosity fix the
limit." "How much is wanted for
the music exhibition?" Forty thou
sand pounds." "1 will give that for
the pink," said tin- burouess.
A curious tight took place a short
time ago on tbe south bunch of the
Potomac. John Fisher, of Itoiiuiey,
W. Va., caught a 40 pound turtle.
.Inst as he landed It, the hook broke, 1
and the turtle elmsetl him all around
the boat. The fight lasted lo minutes.
Fisher defending himself with a pud
dle, when the turtle at last turned
tail and flopped Into the water.
A I'lM MilUtt I or H|»iit»|«*ra.
Queensland has been not Inaptly de
scribed us apa radix' for spinsters. The 1
last census taken there showed
more single men titan single women,
anil the efforts of the colonial g >vern
ineiit in the way of emigration nr»- now
chiefly devoted to making up the ile- |
tieleney. Indeed. W|r Horace Toiler, <
the agent general for Queensland, may
claim to b - one of the bttsl. t m.itrluio. '
ii in I ag uts In the world, for h* In -.end- ,
lug out large numbers of single women i
to Unit colony, and It Is said tint th" 1
objection entertained by the work>ng- '
men id A list t aba to free or assistml <
emigration does uot extend to the i'la a
exported b> ll I lit. HI long as lie In i lire '
ful to Select tbelli yoUllg Ulld tolerably ]
good looking It Is evident llitl the i
agent and his assistant-, must puss* ss <
unusual powers of discrimination with J
regard to picking out attractive cnil ,
grouts, fur ll up|»*ars that almut ."si i
per cent of the wuuieu marry within I
two years after thelrarrlv.il In Qie eii» I
laud V\li< nwe are told th il servant* ,
are always In demand lu the .lustra i
llan colonies, that Mages ateriigc th" j
tMwii tH»» ami 9.1*1 a >esr ami thai J
lu all probability wltlilu two {cars do- i
iue»itc wrvtie mat Iw banged fur I
It*.lt tmotlt It l| l*nt> to tll"l« l»l ift'l 1
wit) Queensland has Iwu H o> it | |
paradise tor spinsters,'* I
DR. TALMAGE7S SERMON
———
SUNDAY'S DISCOURSE Br THE NOTED
DIVINE.
Subject: The Faith of Rahnb—There Is
Mercy For All Sinners Cheer For All
Who Are Engaged In Life's Buttles—
| Meaning of the Hun's Standing Still.
[Copyright lttuu.l
I WASHINGTON*, D. C. —In this discourse
; Dr. Taliuage follows Joshua on his tri
' umphal march and speaks encouraging
; words to all who are engaged in the bat
! ties of this life; text, Joshua i, 5, "There
1 shall not any man be able to stand before
thee all the days of thy life."
| Moses waß dead. A beautiful tradition
Bays the Lord kissed him and in that act
drew forth the soul of the dying lawgiver.
■ He had been buried; only one person at
the funeral—the same One who kissed him.
: But God never takes a man away from
any place of usefulness until He has some
| one ready to replace him. The Lord does
1 not go looking around amid a great va
-1 riety of candidates to find some one especi
ally fitted for the vacated position. He
makes a man for that place. Moses has
passed off the stage, and Joshua, the hero,
I puts his foot on the platform of history
■ so solidly that all the ages echo with tHe
' tread. He was a magnificent fighter, but
he always fought on the right side, and he
never fought unless God told him to fight.
He got his military equipment from God,
who gave him the promise at the start,
"There shall not any man be able to
stand before thee all the days of thy life."
God fulfilled this promise, although Josh
ua's first Wttle was with the spring fresh
et, the next with a stone wall, the next
leading on a regiment of whipped cow
ards and the next battling against dark
ness, wheeling the sun and the moon into
his battalion and the last against the king
of terrors, death—five great victories.
I As a rule, when the general of an army
starts out in a war he would like to have
a small battle in order that he may get
his own courage up and rally his troops
and get them drilled for greater conflicts,
but the first undertaking of Joshua was
greater than the leveling of Fort Pulaski
or the assault of Gibraltar or the over
throw of the Bastille. It was the crossing
of the Jordan at the time of the spring
freshet. The snows of Mount Lebanon had
just been melting, and they poured down
the valley, and the whole valley was a
raging torrent. So the Canaanites stand
on one bank, and they look across and see
Joshua and the Israelites, and they laugh
and say: "Aha! They cannot disturb
us until the freshets fall. It is impossible
I for them to reach us." But after awhile
! they look across the water, and they see
a movement in the army of Joshua. They
say: "What is the matter now? Why,
there must be a panic among those troops,
and they are going to fly, or perhaps they
are going to march across the river Jor
dan. Joshua is a lunatic." But Joshua,
the chieftain, looks at his army and cries,
"Forward, march!" and they start for the
I bank of the Jordan. One mile ahead go
two priests carrying a glittering box four
feet long and two feet wide. It is the ark
of the covenant. And they come down,
and no Boonor do they just touch the rim
of the water with their feet than, by an
Almighty fiat, Jordan parts. The array
i of Joshua marches right on without get
ting their feet wet over the bottom of
the river, a path of chalk and broken
shells and pebbles, until they get to the
other bank. Then they lay hold of the ole
anders and tamarisks and willows and pull
themselves up a bank thirty or forty feet
high, and. having cained the other bank,
they clap their shields and their cymbals
and sing the praises of the God of Joshua.
But no sooner have they reached the bank
than the waters begin to dash and roar,
and with a terrific rush they break loose
from their strange anchorage. As the
hand of the Lord God is taken away from
the thus uplifted waters —waters perhaps
uplifted half a mile —they rush down, and
some of the unbelieving Israelites say:
"Alas, alas, what a misfortune! Why
could not not those waters have staid
parted, because, perhaps, we may want
togo back? O Lord, we are engaged in
a risky business! These Canaanites may
eat us up. How if we want togo back?
Would it not have been a more complete
miracle if the Lord had parted the waters
to let us roine through and kept them
parted to let us go back if we are de
feated?"
Hut this is no place for the host to
stop. Joshua gives the command. "For
ward. luarch!" In the distance there is
a long irrove of trees, and at the end of the
grove is a city. It is a city with arbors,
a city with walls seeming to reach to the
heavens, to buttress the very sky. It is
the great metropolis that commands the
mountain pass. It is Jericho. That city
was afterward captured by Pompey and
once by Herod the (Jrent and once again
by the Mohammedans, but this campaign
the Lord plans. There shall be no swords,
no shields, no battering ram; there shall
be only one weapon of war, and that H
ram's horn. The horn of the slain ram
was sometimes taken, and holes were
punctured in it, and then the musician
would put the instrument to his lips, and
he would run his lingers over this rude
musical instrument ami make a ureal deal
of sweet harmony for the people. That
was the only kind of weapon. Seven
priests were to take these rude, rustic
musical instruments, and they were to
go around the city every day for six days—
once a day for sit days and then on the
seventh day they were togo around blow
ing these rude musical instrument* seven
times, and tlien at the close of the seventh
blowing of the ratu's horn on the seventh
dnv the peroration of the whole scene
vt* to tie a shout, at ythich those great
y\ ill- should tumble from capstone to base
'lhe seven priests with the iude musical
instruments pass all around the city walls
on the tirnt day and score a failure. Not
►Li much as a piece of plaster broke loose
from the wall, not so much as a loosened
roil;, not so much as a piece of mortar lost
from its place. " I'lieie," say the unbe
lieving Israelites, "did I not tell you so?
\\ 11V. those ministers are fools. '1 he idea
ot going around the city with those uuui
rat instruments and exiiecting in that
Way to destroy it. Joshua has lieen spoiled.
He thinks because he has overthrown and
conquered the spnug freshet lie can o\er
tluow the stone wall. \\ hy, it is not
philosophic, IXi you not see there is no
relation Iwtneeii the blowing of these
musical instruments and the knocking
tlown of the wall? It is not philosophic.
And I suppose there were many wiseacres
who stood with their brows knitted and
with the forelmger of the right hand to
lh" foreliiigei of the left hand, arguing it
all out ami showing that it was uot po»
stble that such a cause could produce such
an effect. And I suppose that night in the
encampment there was plenty of canca
lure, and if Joshua had been nominated
for any high military position he would
•lot have received man) votes. Joshua e
atock was down The sevoml day the
priests blowiug the musical instruments
|" around the city, and agatu a failure
the third da*, and a failure; the lour Ih
day and a fai'urt ; filth day, in I a failure,
s ktb day and a tailors Ihe setculh
da) comes, the chiuactegic day. Joshua
la up early in the morning ana eternities
the troop#, walks all about and looks at
the city wall The priests stall to make
the eiiiUlt of the dty. khv) go all round
time, all around twice, three times* four
tones, five tlitrus, «js times, seven tiures,
•111 a ladiiie. these is uuly one mote
thing 1 1 do, and that Is to Utteff a gleat
ah'Ut 4 see the laraeUtish aim| gtraight
ening themselves tip, filling their lungs for
a vociferation such as never was heard be
fore and never heard after. Joshua feels
that the hour has come, and he cries out
to his host, "Shout, for the Lord hath giv
en you the city!" All together the troops
shout: "Down, Jericho! Down, Jericho!"
and the long line of solid masonry begins
to quiver and to move and to rock. Stand
from under! She falls! Crash go the
walls and temples, the towers, the pal
aces, the air blackened with dust.
The huzza of the victorious Israelites
and the groan of the conquered Canaan
ites commingle, and Joshua, standing
there in the debris of the walls, hears a
voice saying, "There shall not any man
be able to stand before thee all the davs
of thy life."
Only one house spared. Who lives there?
Some great king? No. Some woman dis
tinguished for great, kindly deeds? No.
She had been conspicuous for her crimes.
It is the house of Rahab. Why was her
house spared? Because she had been a
great sinner? No, but because she re
pented. demonstrating to all the ages
that there is mercy for the chief of sin
ners.
The red cord of divine injunction reach
ing from her window to the ground, so
that when the people saw the red cord
they knew it was the divine judication
that they should not disturb the prem
ises, making us think of the divine cord
of a Saviour's deliverance, the red cord
of a Saviour's kindness, the red cord of
a Saviour's mercy, the red cord of our
rescue. Mercy for the chief of sinners.
Put your trust in that God, and no dam
age shall befall you.
When our world shall be more terribly
surrounded than was Jericho, even by the
trumpets of the judgment day, and the
hills and the mountains, tHe metal bones
and ribs of nature, shall break, they who
have had Rahab's faith shall have Rahab's
deliverance.
When wrapped in fire the realms of ether
glow
And heaven's lost thunder shakes the
earth below,
Thou, undismayed, shalt o'er the ruins
smile
And light thy torch at nature's funeral
pile.
But Joshua's troops may not halt here.
The command is "Forward, march!" There
is the city of Ai. It must be taken. A
scouting party comes back and says:
"Joshua, we can do that without you. It
is going to be a very easy job. You must
stay here while we go and capture it."
They march with a small regiment in
front of that city. The men of Ai look at
them and give one yell, and the Israelites
run like reindeev.
Look out when a good man makes the
Lord his ally. Joshua raises his face, ra
diant with prayer, and looks at the des
cending sun over Gibeon, and at the faint
crescent of the moon, for you lflfcw the
queen of the night sometimes will linger
around the palaces of the day. Pointing
one hand at the descending sun and the
other at the faint crescent of the moon,
in the name of that God who shaped the
worlds and moves the worlds he cries,
"Sun, stand thou still upon Gibeon, and
thou, moon, in the valley of Ajalon." They
halted. Whether it was by refraction of
the sun's rays or by the stopping of the
whole planetary system I do not know and
do not care. I leave it to the Christian
Scientists and the infidel scientists to set
tle that question while I tell you I have
seen tho same thing. "What!" say you.
"Not the sun standing still?" Yes. The
same miracle is performed nowadays.
The wicked do not live out half their
day, and their sun sets at noon. But let
a man start out in battle for God and the
truth and against sin, and the day of his
usefulness is prolonged and prolonged anU
prolonged.
But Joshua was not quite through.
There was time for five funerals before the
sun of that prolonged day set. Who will
preach their funeral sermon? Massillon
preached the funeral sermon over Louis
XVI. Who will preach the funeral ser
mon of those five dead kings—king of
Jerusalem, king of Hebron, king of Jar
ninth, king of Lachish. king of Eglon?
Let it be by Joshua. What is his text?
What shall be tho epitaph put on the door
of the tomb? "There shall not any man
be able to stand before thee all the days
of thy life."
Before you fasten un the floor T want
five more kings beheaded and thrust in—
King Alcohol. King Fraud. King Lust,
King Superstitition, King Infidelity. Let
them be beheaded and hurl theni in. Then
fasten up the door forever.
What shall the inscription and what
shall the epitaph be? For all Christian
philanthropist! of all ages are going
to come and look at it. What shall the
inscription be? "There shall not any
man be able to stand before thee all the
days of thy life."
Hut it is time for Joshua togo home.
He is 110 years old. Washington went
down the Potomac and at Mount Vernon
closed his days. Wellington died peaceful
ly at Apsley House. Now, where shall
Joshua rest? Why, he is to have his
greatest buttle now. After 110 years he
has to meet a king who has more sub
jects than all the present population of
the earth, his throne a pyramid of skulls,
his parterre the graveyards and the ceme
teries of the world, his chariot the world's
hearse—the king of terrors. Hut if this is
Joshua's greatest bat tie it is going to be
Joshua's greatest victory. He gathers hia
friends around him ami gives his vale
dictory, and it is full of reminiscence.
Young men tell what they are going to
do: old men tell what they have done. And
as you have heard a grandfather or great
grandfather seated bv the evening fire
tell of Monmouth or York town and then
lift the crutch or staff as though it were
a musket to fight and show how the old
battles were won. so Joshua gathers Ins
friends around his dying coucn. and he
tells them the story of what he has been
through, and as he li<s there, his white
locks »nowing down on his wrinkled fore
head. I ask if (ioil has kept Ills promise
all the way through As he lies there he
tells the story one. two or three times
vuu have heard old jieople tell a story
two or three times over ind he answers,
"I go the way of all the earth, and not
one word of the pronu»e has tailed, imC
one word thereof has failed; all has come
to pass, not one word therwof*h.i» failed."
\iiil then he turns to Ins fannlv, as a dy
ing parent will, and says "Choose now
whom you will serve, the tlml of Israel or
the tiod of the Amorltes. As for me and
tiiv house. We will serve the 1,..rd" A
dying n.ireiit cannot lie reikless or
thoughtless of lii« child no. Consent to
part with them forever at the do»r of
the tomb we cannot. My the cradle in
which their infamv was rocked, by the
bosom mi which tlicv tirst lay, by the
bio, id of the covenant, by the (i el of
Joshua it shall not hi- We will not part,
we cannot part. Jehovah Jireli, we take
Thee at Thy promise "I will I•* a <lod to
thee and thy seed after thee "
Ik-aJ the old chieftain must he laid
out. Handle him very gently. That
•a* led bodv is over tiny* are of age. I .ay
him out, stretch oat thos# feet that
walked dty shod the Mailed Joidan t lose
those lips whtth helped blow the blast
at which the walls Jtlicho fell. fold
the arm that lifted the sjsau toward the
doomed • ity of ti fold it right over the
heart that .suited « hen the five k ngs
fell, Hut where shall we get the liurn
>thed granite for the hr*<l»loae and the
foot stone* I bethmg mvself How. 1 >w
agitie that (of (lit hi ad it shall he 'he
sun that stood still u| on liils n and fo#
Iku Isut the inuuh Uiit stood still 111 I it#
talien 111 AisWa.
ME GREAT DESTROYER
SOME STARTLING FACTS ABOUT
THE VICE OF INTEMPERANCE.
A Shameless Defaulter Drunkenness
Among the Itlch— British Wires and
Motherrt Acriuttidof« Tendency Toward
Inebriety—Proscribe Whisky For iiuhies
What kind of good cheer
Do you find in your beer—
I'd like you when sober to say"!
Js it the fun of destroying,
Disabling, annoying,
Of hitting and hauling,
Of punching and mauling
Whoever may come in your way?
Is that the good cheer
To be found in. your beer?
What sort of good cheer
Is there hid in the beer,
Since lawmakers give it a place?
We ought to enquire
While watching the buyer!
What comfortless clothing!
What faces of loathing!
What lawlessness, shame and disgrace!
Is this the good cheer
Measured out with the beer?
There should he good cheer
Hid away in the beer
To have it demanded "like bread."
But bread never makes you
A loafer, nor takes you
From health and from toiling,
While morals are spoiling
And vacuums filling your head!
Maybe sellers of beer
Get the most of the cheer.
Ah, me! It is queer
That we lay out for beer
Bright silver and gold by the ton!
Oh, grain that is wasted!
Oh, grief that is hasted!
> - Oh, little ones crying.
And hopes that are dying!
Oh. the good and the brave onesundone'
Each bubble of beer
Snonld be reckoned a tear!
Jessie MacGrcgor, in Temperance Banner.
Women Drift to Wine,
British women are drifting toward gen
eral drunkenness, according to the facts
and figures developed at the recent meet
ing of the Charity Organization Society of
London.
Not content with this disclosure. Dr.
Heywood Smith, the well-known special
ist on woman's diseases, asserted that ine
briety was more rabid and increasing with
greater, rapidity among the rich and well
to-do women than among the lower strata
of society.
In an interview with the Chicago Rec
ord's London correspondent Dr. Heywood
Smith said: "I get my knowledge of the
facts from every-day contact with wom
en's ills. Drunkenness has not yet
reached the aristocracy, but in the so
called upper classes it is epidemic."
Dr. Smith added that the medical pro
fession was not altogether blameless. lie
accused his fellow-practitioners of need
lessly prescribing wine and whisky to
many women patients, and he declared
that even babies in arms were not im
mune from alcoholic medicine.
Dr. Holmes, director of the Church of
England Temperance Society's police court
mission, said at the meeting that the ine
briates act ought to be amended so as to
give neglected husbands a release from
drunken wives. He claimed that more
homes were wrecked in London through
drunkenness of wives and mothers than
through the excesses of intemperate men.
Statistics that were introduced showed
10,116 cases where women were coAvicted
in the London courts of drunkenness dur
ing the year 1890. of which number 4145
were habitual drunkards.
Dr. Brooks, a member of the Fnlham
School Board, urges the incorporation of
temperance study in London's public
school curriculum.
Sanity Tested.
Bcv. John F. Hill, in Presbyterian Ban
ner. takes the following incident from a
New York paper, and adds a suggestive
comment:
"A gentleman was once being taken
over an idiot asylum. He asked an at
tendant how they knew when an idiot
was considered to be sufficiently restored
to sanity to be discharged.
" 'Oh. said the attendant, 'it is easily
managed. We take them into a yard
where there are several troughs. We turn
on the taps and give the idiots buckets
to bail out the water and empty the
troughs. Many of them keep bailing away
while the tap keeps running, but them
that isn't idiots stops the taps.' "
1 his little story, though by no means a
new one, may have proven amusing to the
readers, ar: I all will agree that the asylum
should not discharge an inmate who failed
upon this funny test.
But are all the people in asylums for
the insane or imbecile who "keep bailing
away," hoping to empty the trough with
out Stopping the inflow? Is not this pre
cisely what we do when through our state
and municipal governments we make des
perate struggles for the abatement of the
floods of crime and pauperism, and yet
neglect to close the saloon, which is the
acknowledged source of the greater part
of those awful streams?
The Whipping Post.
A preacher in Hartford. Conn., in ad
dressing a ministerial meeting, advocated
establishing the whipping -pout for thu
punishing uf drunkards Would it not tie
better and more humane to establish the
whippingpost for the mmishinent of the
men who engage in the drunkard making
business, and especialK for the punishment
of the preachers who fad to inveigh
against the legalized rum traffic? Whip
ping drunkards for getting drunk is quite
too much like "kicking a man when he is
down to suit our sense of fair pint. No
one reels like whipping a cripple for slip
ping down on a banana peeling carelessly
thrown on the sidewalk it is the feHow
who threw the peeling there who should
lie punished. So it is the fellows who
foi tilth) lucre s sake run the saloous
anil entrap the bo » and make drunkards
oi the in, and the preachers who tad to
cry out against the monstrous legalized
traffic, who are to blame tor the drunken
ne»s, and not the |«.or victims of their
greed and delinquency. Keligious Telt
SCO pc.
M ur«l«*r l*i «»(«•«'lt*«l It) l.iim .
Recently there w is a horrible wreck out
in Indiana on the Monon, at Kail 11 ,\ti
Open switch let a last 810 vine rnstrngrr
tram collide with a waiting freight, and
four valuable live* were snuffed out in a
svcoiid ol time, all because a tlruukeii
biakeiuan left the switch open Whet*
did the braktiiiaii get his intoxicants? Vi
the licensed saloon
The Crusade is* lirisf.
A saloon is 4 ihwlwl emptier an 1 »
heart breaker
Ihe liquor traffic restricts industry and
brings (Hit cirt).
■"vltishiicM ic many a man's direst devil
- mt is strung drink
Hum off New Zealand the same tee
tide III) t<MUes to the beneficial clteela of
uo la liar aa is but neb) titles aud towns
Ul Villein a
Kverjr ihui.h, Sunday ■» liool and Young
I't.'ple s Kiskli should have a lempcfaiitu
wi«»! Mit Htaiiiiuern and 'boss tun
UtvUd sit lid St. tllst it s-ss.