I
CHRISTIAN VIEW OF DEATH
Rev. Dr. Talmage Sayi About 1870 Easter
Mornings Have Wakened the Earth.
Tb Cbirji t tht Black Oliat Root at ,
the King ol Terrors.
f WAsmnOTOif, D. C. The Christian
iew of death a the entrance to a fuller
life is presented in this Easter discourse
ty Dr. Talmage from the text I Cor. xv,
04, "Death is swallowed up in rietory."
About 1870 Easter mornings hare wakened
the earth. In France for three centuries
the almanacs made the year begin at East
er until Charles IX. made the year begin
at January 1. In the Tower of London
there is a royal pay roll of Edward I., on
which there is an entry of eighteen pence
far 400 colored and pictured eggs, with
which the people sported. In Russia slaves
were fed ana alms were distributed on
Easter. Ecclesiastical councils met in
Pontus, in Oaul, in Rome, in Achaia, to
decide the particular day and after a con
Jtrovenjf more animated than gracious de
cided it, and now through all Christen
dom in some way the first Sunday after
the full moon which happens upon or next
fter March 21 is tilled with Easter rejoic
ing. i The royal court of the Sabbaths is made
tip of fifty-two. Fifty-one are princes in
(the royal household, but Easter is queen,
(she wears richer diadem, she sways a
more jeweled scepter, and m her smile na
tions are irradiated. How welcome she is
jwhen, after a harsh winter and late spring,
she teems to step out of the snowbank
rather than the conservatory, to come out
of the north instead of the south, out of
the arctio rather than the tropics, dis
mounting from the icy equinox, but wel
come this queenly day, holding high in her
right hand the wrenched off bolt of Christ's
sepulchcr, and holding high in her left
band the key to all the cemeteries in Chris
tendom. I
-My text is an ejaculation. It is spun out
bf halleluiahs. Paul wrote right on in his
argument about the resurrection, and ob
served all the laws of logic, but when ho
'came to writo the words of the text his
fingers and his pen and the parchment on
which he wrote took fire, ana he cried out,
"Death is swallowed up in victory!" It
is an exciting thing to see an army routed
end flying. They run each other down.
They scatter everything valuable in the
track. Unwheeled artillery; hoof of horse
on breast of wounded and dying man.
lYou have read of the French falling back
from Sedan, of Napoleon's track of 90,000
corpses in the snowbanks of Russia, of the
retreat of our armies from Manassas or of
the five kings tumbling over the rocks of
Beth horan with their armies while the
hailstorms of heaven and the swords of
Joshua's host struck them with their fury.
I In my text is a worse discomfiture. It
eems that a black giant proposed to con
quer the earth. He gathered for his host
all the aches and pains and malarias and
cancers and distempers and epidemics of
the ages. He marched them down, drill
ing them in the northwest wind and amid
.the slush of tempests. He threw up barri
cades of grave mound. He pitched tent of
charnal house. Some of the troops
marched with slow tread commanded by
I consumptions, some in double quick com
manded by pueumonias. Some he took by
long besiegement of evil habit and some
.by one stroke of the battleaxe of casualty.
IfWith bony hand he pounded at the back
door of hospitals and sickrooms and won
all the victories in all the great battlefields
of all the five continents. Forward,
march! ordered the conqueror of conquer
ors, and all the generals and commanders-in-chief
and all presidents and kings and
sultans and czars dropped under the feet
of his war charger. But one Christmas
night his antagonist was born. I
f As most of the plagues and sicknesses
and despotisms come out of the east, it
.was appropriate that the new conqueror
should come out of the same quarter.
Power is given Him to awaken all the fallen
of all the centuries and of all lands and
marshal them against the black giant.
(Fields have already been won, but the lost
day of the world's existence will see the
'decisive battle. When Christ shall lead
forth His two brigades,, the brigade of the
risen dead and the brigade of the celestial
,2ioBt, the black giant will fall back, and
,the brigade from the riven sepulchers will
jtake him from beneath, and the brigade of
descending immortals will take him from
above, and death shall be swallowed up in
.victory".
The old braggart that threatened the
Conquest and demolition of the planet has
iost his throne, has lost his scepter, has
lost his palace, has lost his prestige, and
,the one word written over all the gates of
mausoleum and catacomb and necropolis,
on cenotaph and sarcophagus, on the lone
ly khan of the arctic explorer and on the
catafalque of great cathedral, written in
capitals of azaha and calla lilly, written in
musical cadence, written in doxology of
great assemblages, written on the sculp
tured door of the family vault, is "Vic
tory." Coronal word, embannered word,
apocalyptic word, chief word of triumphal
arch under which conquerors return.
Victory! Word Bhouted at Cullodcn and
Balaklava and Blenheim, at Megiddo and
Solferino, at Marathon, where the Athen
ians drove back the Medes; at Poitiers,
where Charles Martel broke the ranks of
the Saracens; at Salamis, where Themis
tocles in the great sea fight confounded the
Persians, and at the door of the eastern
cavern of chiseled rock, where Christ came
out through a recess and throttled the king
of terrors and put him back in the niche
from which the celestial Conqueror had
just emerged. Aha! When the jaws of
the eastern mausoleum took down the
black giant "death was swallowed up m
.victory." I proclaim the abolition of
death.
' The old antagonist is driven back into
mythology with all the lore about Stygian
ferry and Charon with oar and boat. Mel
rose abbey and Kenilworth castle are no
more in ruins than is the senulcher. We
shall have no more to do with death than
.we have with the cloakroom at a govern
or s or a president's levee. We stop at
such cloakroom and leave in clmrge of a
servant our overcoat, our overshoes, oui
outward apparel, that we may not be im
peded in the brilliant round of the draw
ing room. Well, my friends, when we go
out of this world we are going to a King'
banquet and to a reception of momirchs,
and at the door of the tomb we leave the
cloak of flesh and the wrappings with
which we meet the storms of this world.
At the close of an earthly reception, under
the brus.'i and broom of the portc-, the
coat or hat may be handed to vi better
than when we resigned it, and the cloak
of humanity will finally be ret-rned to ui
improved and brightened and purified and
glorified.
You and I do not want our bodies re
turned as they are now. We want to get
rid of all their weaknesses and all their
susceptibilities to fatigue and all their
slowness of locomotion. We want them
put through a chemistry of soil and heat
and cold and changing seasons, out of
which God will reconstruct them as much
bettor than they are now as the body of
the rosiest and healthiest child that bounds
over the lawn in Central I'ark is better
than the sickest patient in Bullevue hospi
tal. But as to our soul, we will cross right
over, not waiting for obsequies, independ
ent of obituary, into a state in every way
better, with wider room and velocities be
yond computation, the dullest of us into
companionship with the very beet spirits
in their very best mood, in the vory parlor
of the universe, the four walls burnished and
paneled and pictured and glorified with all
the splendors that the infinite God in all
the ages has been a'u'.o to inv.u. Vic
tory !
This view, of course, makes it of but
little importance whether we ore cre
mated or sepultured.- If the latter is dust
to dust, the former is ashes to ashes. If
any preler incineration, let them have it
without cavil or protest. The world may
become so crowded that cremation may be
universally adopted by law as well as by
general consent. Many of the mightiest
und best BpiriU have gone through this
process. Thousands and tens of thousands
of God's children have been cremated P.
1. Bliss and wile, the evangelistic singers,
cremated by accident at Ashtabula bridge;
John Itodgers, cremated by persecution;
Laiimer and Kidlcy, cremated at Oxford;
l'othinus and Blandina, u slave, and Alex
eJer. o physiciun. and their comrades
6rematcd at trie order of Marcus Aure:
lius; at lesst a hundred thousand of
Christ's disciples cremated, snd there can
be no doubt about the resurrection of
their bodies.
1 If the world lasts as much longer as it
has thus far, there perhaps may be no
room for the large acreage set apart for
resting places, but there is plenty of room
yet, and the race need not pass that bridgo
of fire until it comes to it. The most of
us prefer the old way. But whether out of
natural disintegration or cremation we
shall get that luminous, buoyant, glsdsome,
transcendent, magnificent, inexplicable
structure called the resurrection body.
You will have it; I will have it.
Ever and anon there are instances of men
tnd women entranced. A trance is death
followed by resurrection after a few days;
total suspension of mental power and vol
antary action. Rev. William Tennent, a
treat evangelist of the last generation, of
whom Dr. Archibald Alexander, a man
'!ar from being sentimental, wrote in most
tulogistio terms Rev. William Tenncnt
teemed to die. His spirit apparently left
the body. People came-in dav after day
nd said, "He is dead, he is dead." But
',he soul that fled returned, snd Will Ten
sent lived to write what he had seen while
it soul was gone.
It may be found some time that what is
tailed suspended animation or comatose
itate is brief death, giving the soul an ex
wrsion into the next world, from which
t comes back, a furlough of a few hours
ranted from the conflict of life to which
,t must return. Do not this waking up of
ncn from trance and this waking up of in
tects from winter lifclessnrss, and this
making up of grains buried 2000 years ago
nake it easier for you to believe that your
ody and mine after the vacation of the
jrave shall rouse and rally, though there
)e 3000 years between our'last breath and
:he sounding of the arehangelic reveille?
Physiologists tell us that while tho most
)f our bodies are built with such wonder
ill economy that we can spare nothing,
nu the loss of a finger is a hinderment,
.nd the injury of a toe joint makes us lame,
itill that we have two or three useless
hysical apparatuses, and no anatomist or
ihysiologist has ever been able to tell what
;hey are good for. They may be tho
oundation of the resurrection body, worth
lothing to us in this state to be indispen
lably valuable in the next state. The
Jewish rabbis and the scientists of our
lay have found out that there are two or
;hree superfluities of body that are some
thing gloriously suggestive of another state.
I called at my friend's house one sum
mer day. I found the yard all piled up
frith the rubbish of carpenter's and ma
ion's work. The door was off. The
plumbers had torn up tho floor. The roof
was being lifted in cupola. All the pic
tures were gone, and the paper hangers
were doing their work. All the modern
Improvements wcro being introduced into
'hat dwelling. There was not a room in
the house lit to live in at that time, al
though a month before when I visited
that house everything was so beautiful 1
:ould not have suggested an improvement.
My friend had gone with his family to the
Holy Land, expecting to come back at the
nd of six months, when the building was
to be done. And, oh, what was his joy
when at the end of six months he returned
ind found the old house had been en
larged and improved and glorified. That
ti your body. It looks well now all the
rooms filled with health, and we could
hardly make a " suggestion. But after
iwhihc your soul will go to the Holy Land,
nd while you are gone the old house of
(our tabernacle will be entirely recon
ducted from cellar to attic, and every
nerve, muscle and bone and tissue and ar
tery must be hauled over, and tho old
itructure will be burnished and adorned
iml raised and cupolacd and enlarged, and
ill the improvements of heaven intro
duced, and you will move into it on resur
rection day. "For we know that if our
iarthly house of this tabernacle were dia
lolved we have a building of God, a house
lot made with hands, eternal in the hcav
ins." Oh, what a day when body and soul meet
sgainl They are very fond of each other.
Did your body ever have a pain and your
loul not pity it, or your body have a joy
snd your soul not re-ocho it, or, changing
the question, did your soul ever have
any trouble and your body not sympa
thize with it, growing wan and weak un
der the depressing influence? Or did your
soul ever have a gladness but your body
celebrated it with kindled eye and cheek
nd elastic step? Surely God never intend
ed two such good friends to be very long
separated.
And so when the world's Inst Easter
morning shall come the soul will descend,
crying, "Where is my body?" And the
body will ascend, saying, -Where is my
soul? And the Lord of the resurrection
will bring them together, and it will be a
perfect soul in a perfect body, introduced
by a perfect Christ into a perfect heaven.
Victory!
Do you wonder that on Easter day we
swathe our churches with garlands? Do
you wonder we celebrate it with the most
consecrated voice of song that we can in
vite, with the deftest fingers on organ end
cornet and with doxologies that beat theso
arches with the billows of sound as the
Bea smites the basalt at Giant's Causeway?
Only the bad disapprove of the resurrec
tion. A cruel heathen warrior heard Mr. Mof
fatt, the missionary, preach about the
resurrection, and he said to the mission
ary, "Will my father rise in the last
day?' "Yes," said the missionary. "Will
all the dead in battle rise?" said the cruel
chieftain. "Vcs," said the missionary.
Then said the warrior: "Let nie hear no
more ubout tho resurrection. There can
be no resurrection; there shall be no res
urrection. I havo slain thousands in bat
tle. Will they rise?" Ah, there will be
more to rise on that day than those whose
crimes have never been repented of will
want to see! But for all others who al
lowed Christ to be their pardon and their
life und their resurrection it will be a day
of victory.
The thunders of the last day will be the
salvo that greets you into harbor. The
lightnings will be only the torches of tri
umphal procession marching down to es
cort you home. The burning worlds flash
ing through immensity will be the rockets
celebrating your coronation on thrones
where you will reign forever and forever
and forever. Where is denth? What have
wo to do with death? As your reunited
body and soul swing off from this planet
on that luHt day you will see deep gashes
all up and down the hills, deep gashes all
through the valleys, and they will be
the emptied graves, they will be the aban
doned sepulchers, with rough ground
tossed on each side of them, and slabs will
lie uneven on the rent hillocks, and there
.vill be fallen monuments and cenotaphs,
and then for the first time you will appre
ciate the full exhilaration of the text,
"Death is swallowed up in victory,"
Copyright, Wu, L. Klopich. 1
Mew Use for An Ice-breaker.
"The attempt to reach the north pole
with a Russian lce-broaklng vessel has
been abandoned," remarked Tenter
I hook.
, "I didn't know that such an attempt
; bad been made," said Hammersmith.
"That's because you don't keep up.
This happened some time ago."
"Then that's the reason. I knew of
It at the time, doubtless, but dismissed
It from my mind. You see, Tenter
hook," Hammersmith went on, "my
mind Is not like yours, a receptacle tor
all sorts of unimportant information
It's you who don't keep up, not I. For
got a few things."
"Much obliged, I'm sure, for your
kind words. But It seems a ylty that
a vessel of great crunching power
should fall to do tha work expected of
It."
'Oh, that's all right. The ship will
ellll be of use."
"How?"
"In winter It can keep the Ico In ons
of tho Russian harbors pounded up,
and In summr It can be used to break
off tho final jagged syllable of Russian
proper names."
THE SABBATH SCHOOL
International
Lesson
April f.
Comments Tor
Subject: Saul ( Tarsus Converted, Acts Ix.,
1-20 Ooldea Text: Acts II!.. 19 Mem.
ory Verses, 3-5 Commentary
oa the Day's Lessor
1. "And." "But."-R. V. The "but"
marks the contrast between the mission
ary teal of Philip, and the persecuting
teal of Saul. One is inflamed by hatred,
the other inspired by love. "Saul." The
tamo as mcn.ioned in the story of Stephen.
His name in Hebrew was Saul, his Roman
name was Paul. "Yet." Up to this mo
ment his blind, persecuting rage against
the disciples of the Lord burned as fiercely
as ever. "Breathing out threatening. ''
Persisted in persecuting the disciples with
increasing violence, as if he could not
breathe without uttering threatenings
against them, or would, if able, have slain
them with the breath of his lips. "Unto
the high priest." "Being a zealous volun
teer in the service he devised plans for
fully exterminating the religion of Jesus,
and was ready to carry tham into execu
tion to the utmost of his ability."
2. "Damascus." This is the oldest city
in the world, situated ubout one hundred
and forty miles northeast of Jerusalem.
3. "Suddenly." About noon (chap. 22:
C); nt midday (chap. 2C: I'M. when the
sun was shining so there could be no de
ception. "Light." It was "above the
brightness of the sun." Chap. 20: 13. It
was in tho midst of this glory that Christ
was seen by Saul (1 Cor. 13: 8), so that he
could enumerate himself nmong those
who had beheld the Lord after Ilia resur
rection. 4. "Fell to the earth." The whole com
pany fell to the earth. Chap. 28: 14.
"Heard a voice." In the Hebrew tongue.
The voice was clear and distinct to Saul,
but to those with him it was only a mys
terious sound. (Seo on v. 7.). "Why per
secutest thou Me?" Canst thou give any
good reason for it? Must I afresh bo cru
cified by thee? Those who persecute the
saints persecute Christ Himself, and He
takes what is done against them as done
unto Himself.
C. "Who art Thou?" Jesus knew Saul
before Saul knew Jesus. "Lord." Used to
denote respect for some unknown august
person. "1 am Jesus." He takes the name
which was the object of Jewish hate.
Thy enmity is against Me and My religion.
He whom you persecute is the Lord of lifo
and glory, not simply poor, fugitive disci
ples. "It is hard, etc. This clause and
the first part of v. 0 are omitted from the
Revised Version, but they belong to the
account for Paul himself utters them in
chap. 20: 14. "Kick against the pricks."
Or goads; ns stubborn oxen did, thus
wounding themselves the more deeply.
6. "Trembling," etc. A true description
of a sinner who neon the wickedness of his
heart. "What wilt Thou." etc. Convinced
that he had persecuted Christ, and that
his religious views and character were
wrong, he submits himself to the will of
Him who had arrested him in his blind
career, with the consent that he would
be obedient to all His directions, j, "Arise."
Until now he had continued prostrate on
the ground. "Go." Into Damascus, to be
instructed by one whom he was on his way
to destroy.
7. "Hearing a voice." In chap. 22: 0 we
are told that thoso with Paul "heard not
the words." What is meant is clearly that
they did not hear the words ns words
could attach no meaning to the sound.
We say that a voice is not heard, or that
we do not hear him, when, though we hear
his voice, he speaks so low or indistinctly
that we do not understand him.
8. "Saw no man." "Saw nothing." R.
V. The dazzling brightness of the light
had made him totally blind. This blind
ness was, no doubt, mercifully intended by
Providence to give hira an opportunity
to attend to the great matter of his soul's
salvation.
9. "Neither did eat," etc. The Mental
anguith for a time overpowered the natural
craving for food.
10. "Ananias." We know nothing of
this man except what we find in. this lesson
and in chap. 22: 12. He was a devout
man, in good report among the Jews, was
in communication with the brethren at
Jerusalem, and was trusted by them. "In
t vision." Saul was prepared for the visit
by a vision, and by a vision Ananias is
to'd to go to him.
11. "Straight." Main thoroughfare of
Damascus; so-called from its running in a
direct line from the eastern to the western
gate. It was a mile long, a hundred feet
Vide, and divided by Corinthian columns
Into three avenues. "He prayeth."
'Breathing out" no longer "threatenings
frd slaughter," but struggling desires after
It, ' and light in the persecuted One.
13. "Have heard," etc. This hesitancy
n the part of Ananias to visit Saul does
not prove that he was either fearful or in
clined to disobedience. He was merely ex
ercising due care; he desired to be sure
about the matter. "Thy saints." Tho
Christian converts were probably called
"saints," that is, "holy persons," at a
very early period after the death of Chrisc
because of the marvelous outpourings of
the Spirit upon the first converts.
IS. "Go." This brief, expressive word
of tho Lord (1) demands implicit obedi
ence. (2) puts the doubts of a weak fnith
to shame. (3) contains a promise of the
Lord's aid and blessing. A chosen ves
sel." One. whom in view of his fitness as
a man. Jesus had chosen for a great mis
sion. This, however, implies neither any
impossibility that ho would disobey His
call, nor any eternal predestination to sal'
vation. God chose and appointed Saul be
cause Saul chose the Lord.
10. 'Ho must suffer." Compare Paul's
own words in chap. 20: 23. See also chap.
14: 10; 2 Cor. 11: 23-28.
17. "Ananias went." How beautifully
childlike is the obedience of Ananias to
the heavenly vision. "Brother Saul."
Knowing that the Lord hadj chosen Saul
tj a sacred office. Ananias felt a great ro
sncct for him and an interest in his salva
tion. 18. "As it had been scales." There is a
difference of opinion as to whether literal
scales fell from his eye. There is no ques
tion, however, but that the restoration of
his sight was supernatural. The nature of
the injury we cannot determine, but it is
certain that the recovery was instanta
neous and complete. "Arose baptized."
Prom this we see that he was immediately
baptized before he hail received meat.
IB. "Meat." Food. "Certain days."
TIow long is not known. It might havo
been for some months, as he did not go to
Jerualsem until three years from this
time. He remained some time at Damas
cus, then went to Arabia and returned
again to Damascus, and then went to Je
rusalem. 20. "Straightway." Immediately.
"Preached Christ." He proclaimed that
Jeaus was the Christ. .V. 22.
Tales ot Lord Rustell.
' The story ot the late bishop of Lon
don's time-saving greeting to the sup
pliant clergy who came to him, "Good
morning; what do you want? No!"
has its follow In a formula, the late
lord chief Justice of England used to a
junior: "Stand up, speak up, shut up."
Dut Lord Russell of Klllowen was: not
always so brutally frank. He ' tem
pered the wind to the shorn lamb.
Justice Walton, who was associated
with him, says he cunnot remember
ever to have received from bis leader
a reproach expressed In violent lan
guage. When once or twice he was
caught napping, by Lord Russell the
worst he had to hear was, "Oh, I
thought you were taking a note," or
"Oh, I see, you have something else
to do." And that was quite enough.
Kollgluu (Services Are Short.
The Prussian prayer book enjoins
that the whole of the servlco, includ
ing the sermon, shall not last above
one hour.
CHRISTIAN ENDEAVOR TOPICS.
April 6 "drowlnf la Qrsce" 2 Peter III 17.
IS; I Peter It I, 2; Eph. Iv. 12-15.
Scrlirture Verses. John xll. 24; xv.
t, 6; 2 Cor. Ix. 8-11; xll. 7-10; Eph. vl.
11; Col. ill. 10; 1 Tim. Iv. 15; 2 Tim.
111. 1C, 17; Heb. II. 1, 2; Iv. 10; xll. 11.
Lesson Thoughts.
Fruits and flowers thrive only un
der the proper conditions of soil and
mositure and sunshine; men grow
physically strong only by observing
correct hygonic rules of exercise and
diet; and we cannot expect to grow
In grace except as we feed upon the
Word and dally oxerctso the grace
we have.
We are always krowlng. either
"unto the measure of the stature of
the fulness of Christ." or In the like
ness of sin. These growths are In
opposite directions, and each advance
In the one takes us so much farther
from the other. Which way are you
growing?
Selections.
'Faith, If It have not works. Is
dead in itself." The believer lives
and grows In power by exercise. Wo
are not If we do not. "His servants
ye ore whom ye obey." Spiritual
power is cumulative. The engineer
does not wait for the gauge to Indi
cate a head beforo taking hla engine
out on the road. He knows the
steam will rise ns the locomotive
speeds with Its train along tho sing
ing rails.
The pleasure of human friendship
does not roach Its height the moment
one has made the acquaintance of
the friend; the same Is true of fellow
ship with Christ nnd his followers.
The Bible may have given knowl
edge of sin and of the promise of
forgiveness and help; but that has
not exhausted Its depth. There aro
virtues to be cultivated, weak points
to be strengthened, victories to - be
won over besetting sin. Tho Chris
tian life Is a constant addition.
Suggested Hymns.
Blessed Savior, ever nearer.
Nothing but leaves.
Nearer, my God, to thee.
More love to thee, O Chrlat.
More of Jesus.
As lives the flower within the seed.
EPW0RTH LEAGUE MEETINO TOPICS
April 6 "Growing In Grace" 2 Pet. III. 17,
18; I Pet. II. I, 2; Eph. Iv. 12-15.
Nothing but llfo can grow. Tho
iccret Is with the Almighty. He Is
;he goal of all growth. Mere expan-
Jlon Is not growth. To grow we must
live. And to live we must continue to
?row. if we cease to grow we shall
begin to die. Growth is God's method
of developing life. Like life Itself, It
Is mysterious. It Is not an open secret
to the superficial observer. Getting
Into position to grow may require ef
fort. Hut the growing itself Is spon
taneous. It Is the involuntary out
blossoming of the Inner forces of life.
Life does not happen to enlarge It
sslf. Given certain precedent condi
tions, and growth Is a necessity. There
Is a law of growth for the soul. Mere
Inflation is abnormal. All real growth
19 normal. It follows the path of law.
Proper Nutriment Is Essential to
Orowth. Truth Is soul-food. It must
bo got from far. The word of God is
the food of the soul. Jesus declared
that "Man shall not live by bread
alone, but by every word that pro
ceedeth out of the mouth ot God."
Peter tells us In our lesson that we
are to have a longing desire for the
word. He likens the word to "milk."
That Is the natural food for the body.
Dy that he tells us that the word is
the natural food for the soul.
On the sea of life the Christian who
does not know bis Bible Js sure to
"run aground" and suffer shipwreck.
The Christian must be informed.
Otherwise he will be handicapped In
his work. He will suffer Irreparable
Iom. The word of God Is profitable
for instruction. There Is no other
book so Inspiriting as the Bible. It
shows the silver lining of every cloud
of human trouble In the darkest hour
its music strikes the high notes of
hope. No maMer how fierce the con
flict, It never loses sight of the great
Leader and Conqueror. No matter
how dark the night of sorow, it holds
aloft the torch of eternal truth.
. We need to grow in the grace of
mercy. It is the tenderest exerciso
of love. Mercy, of all qualities, Is 11k
est God. It Is heaven's breath of balm
on this bruised and buffeted world.
Ministry like unto Christ's ought to be
ours. In his eagerness to house others
rrom the pelting storms of misery he
went about homeless, and with no
place to pillow his head. Let that
spirit take possession of human so
ciety, and the millennium will break
In X till bloom over the world ere long.
RAM'S HORN BLASTS.
HE happy home
finds Its echo in
heaven.
It takes a great
man to lead a
small army.
God's presence
makes the great
church.
When a man
really is religious
he never gets over
it.
Our weakness is
the secret of our
strength with htm.
If Christ is the power ot life He will
also be its product.
Information does not make an edu
cation without Inspiration.
God does not give an explanation
with every demonstration.
The greatest University is the home
where the youth sits and learns at the
feet of Jesus.:
Saints are not fattened on grain from
the devil's fields.
Our credit In religion depends on our
debits to God.
He who parleys with principle Is pre
paring for perdition.
Conviction of sin leads to the con
sciousness of the Savior.
Stolen thunder never brings down
showers of blessings.
Better to be God's little child than
the world's greatest man.
The place Is prepared for the roan
who Is prepared for the place.
Tho wealth of tho world depends on
the value of the man and not on his
possessions.
It Is a good Idea to have some every
day virtues In your possession
before you pretend to have any uncom
mon ones.
The true Holy ot Holies Is the Christ-ln-dwelt
heart.
When God Is In our clouds they be
come, our protectors.
GOD'S MESSAGE TO MAN
PREGNANT THOUCHTS FROM THE
WORLD'S CREATEST PROPHETS.
Peeim A Beiuitlfnl Hope The Drifting
ItabltIt firings In Its Train Unrest or
Mind. Irresnonslveness to Duty nnd
f rids of Opinion.
Every dsy is a fresh beginning
ftvery morn IS tne woria maue new.
Vou who are weary of sorrow and sinning,
Here is a beautiful hope for you,
A , , J L ..
A bope for ms and a hope for yo
Susan Co
loolidge.
Don't Drift.
Fifty rears nan n small schooner was
launched at Gloucester, Mass., which for
forty summers did good service as a nulling
smack off the Atlantic coast. Latterly t ie
craft was used in the coasting trade, me
other day the schooner, says the Sun. was
drifting along in a flat calm in renooscoi
Buy, when "suddenly almost every seam
and butt appeared to open, and tne an
cient little craft "went down so quickly
that her crew had barely time to escape in
their roat." According to the skipper the
craft "dissolved." It was a case of a nauti
cal one-lions shay.
The interest of this incident, however,
lies largely in the fact that it was this
schooner the Amy Knight, which figured
in Kipling's "Captain Courageous.'' as a
craft that was always breaking adrift an
erratic and undcpendablc member of the
fishing fleet. In the loss of the Amy
Knight disappears tho last of sonic twenty
historic little vessels mentioned in Kip
ling's story.
The fisher folk of Maine, it is true claim
that Kipling was wrong in his estimate of
the qualities of this boat. Nevertheless, the
whole story suggests a moral. There are
people who may lie likened to boats always
breaking adntt. lliey never slay out ipng.
They never tie un to unything, and one
cannot tic up to them.
This tendency to drift is observable in
the peaceful affairs of life, and is also illus
trated in the realm of theories and beliofs.
Certain people never can be depended upon
to do any ono thing long. They shirk re
sponsibilities, civil, social or religious, or
it they assume them Boon tire of the work
and prove unfaithful to the trust. There
nro men of whom it will never do to make
trustees of anything under the sun, for,
however much of confidence is reposed in
them, they will surely sooner or later de
sert their first charge in "favor of some
newer attraction. Many of the accidents
or losses which are reported in tho papers
are attributable to the lack of fiduciary in
stinct and interest on the part of individ
uals who have never learned the important
lesson of remaining at the post of duty un
til relieved by higher authority.
There is also not a little drifting to be
observed in the sphere of theory and, be
lief. Many people do not know what they
believe two hours running. Their theories,
like the divine mercies, are new everv
morning and fresh every evening. To such
a settled creed is like a black buoy some
thing from which to steer away.
This tendency to drift, when persisted in
for awhile, readily becomes an almost un
controllable habit. That was the trouble,
according to Kipling, with the Amy Knight
she would break away from her moorings.
Unrest of mind, impatience of control, irrc
sponsiveness to duty, eagerness for novelty,
pride ot opinion, all these trames ana lev-,
ers, if allowed to run their course will in
evitably wreck tho usefulness of the most
promising life. Nothing is ever gained by
drifting over the tossing waters of life's
mysterious sea. The soul of man cannot
afford to be a mere derelict upon the
ocean. There nre voyages to be sailed and
ports to be made, under prescribed laws
of navigation. If chart ana compass pro
vided by God's Word and Spirit are dis
regarded, dire disaster will result. The
soul that allows the spirit of unrest so to
possess it as to wrest it from all safe moor
ings and to sweep it rudderless out to sea,
will end at last as did the Gloucester craft
in sudden and irretrievable ruin. Beware
of the first tendency to drift. Cultivate
the habit not of nervous Bcurrying atter
novelty, but of careful and constant at
tention to truth, and to the practical re'
sponsibilitics which spring from its accept'
ance. In order that your lifo may be sue
cessful, steady it. New York Observer.
The Line of Power.
It takes a great deal of courage simply
to be yoflrseli, and yet to be yourself is
ths line of power. Ve are all the time
thinking that if we act and speak or feel
as others do we shall be right, but once
in a while, in a moment of illumination,
it conies over us that we are not just like
any one else, and that we have to act and
think and feel according to our own na
ture. The grace of God is not designed to
make all Christians alike. It is designed
to liberate and purify the personality, not
to adjust it to a mold that some good u'
has set.
The Only Choice.
We have the choice before us day by
day, of doing as God would have us do, or
of failing or refusing to do as God would
have us do. The choice is ours, in tha
plan of God, and wo cannot avoid or evade
the choice, however wo may desire to do
so. As to this lifo of ours, with its impera
tive necessity of choice, Henry Ward
Bcecher said: "God asks no man whether
he will accept life. You must take it; the
only choice is how." Sunday-School
Times.
The 1)1. 1 no Mystery.
When the light of the Christ comes to
men, even there is mystery, and that mys
tery is the very joy of lifo. It is fashion
able to ask for the doing away of mystery
in religion and in God's revelation, but to
the end of the world there will be a my
tery, growing and deepening, of how Jesus
Christ lifts me from death to life, from
darkness to light. Kev. Dr. N. K. Wood,
President Newton Theological Institute,
Newton, Mass., Baptist.
The Old, Old Hook.
If asked what a man should chiefly look
to as the power that is to sustain him un
der trials, nnd enable him to confront his
inevitable ufllietious, I must point him to
something which in a well-known hymn is
called "the old, old story," told in an old,
old book, and taught with an old, old
teaching, which is the greatest and het
gift ever given to mankind. W. K. Clad
tone. Wherein Wlnloin Lies,
Half of the wisdom is in settiug a limit
upon our desires. Half of the wisdom lie
in the spirit and temper of the old stoics,
and nil of the wisdom lies in believing that
if a man lives in such a way as to increase
his own happiness and nt 'the same time
the happiness of the greatest manlier of
his fellow beings he has fulfilled the highest
end of life. Kev. Dr. J. K. KaLeits, Kan
sas City.
Kiieplng Silence.
Do you know what I.uther said? "Suf
fer and be still and tell no man thy sor
row; trust in God His help will not fail
thee." This is what scripture culls keep
ing silence before God. To talk much of
one's sorrow makes one weak, but to tell
one's sorrows to Him who hesreth in se
cret makes one strong and calm. Tho
luck. Forijet Itvarets,
Break away from morbid regret. Seize
the present opportunity. Life is an eternal
opportunity. Kev. William S. Jones, Ran
dolph, Muss.
No man Is so apt to fall as he who
Is ovcr-anxlous to rise.
To keep Christ In the heart Is to
keep in the heart of Christ.
It's poor policy to take your gun to
pieces In the face of the enemy.
The great man may be sometimes
mean but the mean man can never be
great.
The difference between Judaism and
Christianity is that between law and
life.
He does little to promote the King
dom who Is always anxious about his
wn promotion.
DEATH Of A ROYAL ANT.
for Fourteen Tears Sue Was Cared For
by Sir John Lnbboek.
Sir John Lubbock, the distinguished
aaturallst, succeeded In preserving two
int queens of Formica Fusca to a great
age, one of these having reached the
vast antiquity of over fourteen years.
Her longevity was due to the careful
protection extended by Sir John nnd
lis attendants; for it Is true of emmet
terds, as well as domestic animals, that
they thrive under human protection.
As I greeted Sir John one morning. In
response to an Invitation to breakfast
with him and some ot his friends, I In
quired ot once about the health of his
ancient queen, writes Dr. II. C. Mo
Cook.
"Alas! doctor." he replied, "I have
sad news. My old queen Is dead."
"Deadr" I exclaimed; "that is sad
news. Indeed. When did she die?"
"Only last night," was the response,
"and I have not yet told even my wife
nbout It, for I dure sny she will feel as
badly over the loss as I do."
Perhaps this may seem trivial to the
ordinary lay mind; but to Sir John nnd
to the writer It was a nintter of some
moment, for it ended one of the most
interesting experiments ns to the pro
longed life of Invertebrate creatures
Hint the world has ever kuown.
"May I see the queen?" I asked.
"Yes; she Is Just here In the adjoin
ing room."
Turning aside from the waiting com-
pnny of eminent persons who were to
sit with us nt breakfast, we went to
see the deud queen. She was In olio
of the chambers or open spaces exca
vated by the workers within oue of tho
artificial formicaries which Sir John
had provided. She lay on her back,
with her six legs turned upward, nnd
bent In the rigor of death. A crowd
f workers surrounded her. Some were
licking her, as though In loving care of
her toilet. One would nip nu antenna,
another a leg, und thus by various so
licitations they sought to mouse her.
It was curious, nnd touching as well,
to watch their methods of expressing
their manifest emotion.
"They have not yet accepted the
fact," said Sir John, "that their queen
Is really dead. Indeed, I doubt If they
are fully persuaded thereof. They have
been surrounding her, nnd trying to get
some response from her ever since she
died." And thus It wns still when we
left tho royal death room. New York
Independent.
rerlshable Cariosities."
In Mexico the billing of railroad
freight requires n knowledge nnd pre
cision which can only be attained by
yenrs of practice. This is due to the
peculiar classification of vnrious ar
ticles and tho different rates of cus
toms duties. A case recently occurred
which severely taxed the Ingenuity
of the statton-ngent, although lie final
ly succeeded in meeting nil require
ments. The town was overrun with tramps,
and the couucll determined that steps
must be, taken to rid the city of them.
It was finally decided to round them
up and ship them out of the country.
It would be too expensive to purebnso
tickets, so they concluded to hire stock'
cars and ship their tramps as freight.
The cars were procured and by the
aid of the police the tramps were gnth
ered; but then the question nrose as to
how the shipment should be designated
on the bill of lading.
The terra "persons" could not tie
used, as It -would conflict with the
State law relative to proper accommo
datious for the traveling public, and It
would also be In violation of the com
nany's rules governing the rates of
passenger traffic. "Marketable com
modifies" would not do, ns that would
subject the carload to a heavy duty
upon crossing the tariff zone. Again
they would have to be classified as
"perishable," or the despatcher might
order the" cars side-tracked along tho
line.
But fortunately there Is a customs
law which exempts certain kinds of
curiosities from duty, nnd so, after
much consideration, the tramps were
billed nnd forwarded as so many hun
dredweight of "perishable curiosities
unfit to ent." ;
A Hplnnlns; Ghost.
, On the post-road In southern New
Hampshire stands on old house which
was once famous for Its ghost. It had
been a tavern, owned and mnnnged by
two brothers and two sisters named
Mason.
Tho youngest of the fnmlly, Hnnnnh,
hod been Jilted in her youth. After her
desertion she never entered any door
snve that of her own home, but gave
nil her strength to hard work. She
would bntchel flnx for weeks, spin
unceasingly nnd weave on a band-loom,
without apparently n thought of rest.
She died after u short illness, nnd
still travelers said that their slumbers
were disturbed by the whir of the
wheel. Soou It wns whispered about
that the Muson house was haunted.
Strange sounds were heard from the
garret, where Iliuintih hud always
worked, and plainest of all was the
hum of the great wool wheel.
The brothers heard the story, nnd ot
once set out to solve the mystery.
Joseph went to the garret nnd
watched. After a time the wheel be
gun to revolve, lie struck a light.
Ou the rim of the whet was n great
rut, running around.
Freiiuent visits to the garret ren
dered this rat so tame tlmt be would
come out on the npluulug-vheel by dny
light, and several others were occa
sloualiy seen to take a spin In the
wheel, as If it were a pleasant recrea
tlon. Youth's Conipauiou.
A Giant Uaobab.
There Is a baobab-tree near Dakar,
In Lower Senegal, whose trunk mens
tires seventy-five feet in clroumfer
once. This species of tree grows ubund
nutly there, and Its fruit Is UBed tot
many purposes. The natives curdle
milk with It, and use It us a specific
for certain diseases. Decoctions of tiie
dried leaves aro also used ns a medi
cine. Strontr cords are made of the
bork, und the gum that exude from
the tree Is used as a salve. The natives
sometimes eat the roots or tha young
tree. AH of which furnishes nnothet
Illustration of the provision that na
turo has made for man, and of tho cer
tainty with which man discovers it
souoer or later.
TP GREAT DESTROYER
ABOUT
tniKV STARTLING rsm
W H S kl
THE VICE Or INTEWirtWAnvE.
Chaplain Monro, of ihnTnnis, ZLZ
- we
City, Tells How the -
Devil's Torn-The Bond to Bala
Promising Yoangj Vollof) Mmm. I
l - A.rmA more than ones how"
snv man who is familiar with tb u-
II n V fl nwuuvav . . . . ,
.1.. In thia eitv can say one worn
M . L aalnn tlMllillStion. SHS0O)
aeieneo vi """y" ; T
it has become a. weii nnown
gin mills make the criminals. JJ"
the tirst yesr oi m
.i . ..A tr, have been 223 canon tnU
i Hw. Nine-tenths oi
UUHMViuv i" .." " ; . . . ., . . I
can be charged, directly ra ismnnir, w
strong drink; not to speak of several ' thrwi
sand coses of felonious aseanii, Tg
hnrl.n irranrt larcenv ana WKmwm v
other crimes that can be laid at tho aoor
.1 .v.. . m mill, it is niao n ikm
that often under the same roof tho "Uoose,,
fosters the brothel, the gsmonng neu, tmm
dive and the poolroom. J
I cite here only s tew cases irom mj www
nersonal experience showing the nvacosl
tf tha u nnn rtiinnff tne nui lew puiuuv.
ltnt !, am nnlv a tithe oi I no caara a
tnnt in mv work anions: criminate. They;!
show that all classes ot tne community an,
affected more or less by this monstrouej
system. I
A snort time ago s young man, a pol
lute of one of the leading JSew r.ngiams
colleges, was found on the street helpkanljr.
drunk. An ammiiance was canea ana vim
case diagnosed by the doctor as alroholisml
His fond parents had given this yontit;
man a classical and legal training. It cost:
thein a mnnll fortune to do so. During tha
ix years which he spent within the wailat
of a Connecticut university he, unknown
to them, lived a dissipated life. It wan sv,
.!,.. ...'.niinfi. tlwiv mnrln II TI fl tnnm'
DMl,llHt niniu.i ii iiiij .
ently, it was too late to apply any remedy.!
He had formed drinking habits at eoHepr
with chums who were wild young men bkejj
himself, un tne uay oi nis Krauuaiion n
was a full Hedged confirmed arunaam:
He promised his people that ne wouia
farm, hut this is alwavs easier said tl
,i His nromises were made only to
broken. They found a position for him
a large law farm in this city. Mere ne
dissipated, irreligiom, companions like
nlf Ho drank tv-itA them to exceso.
his noaition and soon became a homeless
nrnififfnl Ha tried to secure emDloymenl
elsewhere, but nobody would have bimU
The last few months of his downward enj
reer he played rag music on an old pianos
nightly in a Tenderloin gin mill and nanee
hall for "drinks" and ten cents for lodging;
ticket. After his arrest he was sent to jai
for a brief time and then to the city fcospiW
tal for treatment. He was a physical, men
tal and moral wreck. Strong drink hat
ruined him. All that was left of him warn
a wasted life and a ruined character. The
only prospect he had for eternity wns it
drunkard's hell. J
Do you ask how he became a drunlcardK
I will tell you. I
He began drinking cider In his father!,
cellar. His father and mother eoanten
anced this in the old homestesd. Thejt
saw nothing wrong in it. After a whiles
the boy began to drink cider like hie)
father. Many a pitcher of cider he etolei
out of the cellar and drank with tho hiredt
man.
He formed a love for strong drink, anil
during his college years his appetite ivW
creased beyond his control till be became!
a drunkard.
How potent is the example of a parcaV
for good or evil.
There is a young man in Sing Sing prison)
at the present time serving a twelvo-yoasi
sentence for a awful crime committett
while in a state of beastly intoxications
How did he become a drunkard? 1
That boy's father was a drunkard, aodf
many a time he came home to his wife andf
children in a helpless condition. Whoa)
the boy was eighteen years of age ho wast
a drunkard also. He followed in his fathJ
er's footsteps. He thought if his fathet
could get drunk he had the same .right,
and he did so. Chaplain Munro, of tho)
Tombs Prison, New ork City.
Plain Talk to British Worknae
' Few men would dare to talk to i
meeting of workingmen as John Burns i
himself a workingman talked to (ma inl
London recently. His speech ia being tm
printed all around the Knglish-speakinaj
world, and -seems to condense in a font
forceful sentences more just criticism and
sound advice than have been given to tb
British "working classes" in a long time.
"Think more and drink leas," was hi
advice to the tenants of the densely packed!
East End district. "Drinking, betting mndt
gambling have got to be put down?' ho
told them, or the British working people)
would never rise above their present con
ditions. "Is slavery still in your blood?
he asked. "If not, why, with an once
whelming majority of votes in your hands,
did you send only tea members to too
House of Commons?"
"Three out of five in this room," eaidf
Burns, "will, before they die, land in the)
workhouse or some kindred institution,'
His hearers murmured at this, but ha i
minded them that it was only "tho colt
statistical fact."
"Faithful," indeed, "are the wounds of
a frieud. Kew York World.
Worst Kind of Idloeyt
It is becoming fashionable these days fat
speak of the bright side of the modern sa.
loon, where the toiler can refresh himself,
get a cheap lunch with a glass of beer OB
use the lavatory if he wishes. We havo
had occasion several times on tours of m-
vestigation to visit saloons and found Out
atmosphere to be putrid with profanity,
sour beer and rude jokes. To call the gin
null a workingman s club is the worst kind
of idiocy, the proper name for such
place is hell-hole. It is proper to call tho
saloons workingmen'e clubs if you qualify
your language. They are clubs UBed to beat
out the brains of those who patronias
them. They are the toilers' deadliest foes
and always have been.
Do you for a moment doubt this? VisiE
our police courts on Sunday morning, or
indeed any morning, and see the scores of
men and women with broken and bruiaedf
heads, the result of a few hours spent in .
city gin mill the so-called "workingman.'
club!
Cluse the Saloons. '
One of the first acts of Mavor ninch
clitie, of I'aterson, on the breaking out of
the disastrous tire that laid a large portion
of that city in ashes, was to issue an order
to the police to close the saloons, and that,
order was promptly olicyed, and be it re
membered that Mayor Hiuehcliffe is at
brewer. If the saloon is the "poor man'a
club," why order it closed at such a time,,
when hundreds of poor men are rendered?
homeless by the destruction of their
houses? Over 200 dwellings were burned. -Temperance
Banner.
. '
The Growing- llrlnk Trade ot Keg-land.
The revenue from drink has increase J
from $175,000,000 in 18W) to $215,000,000 in
11X11, while during lute years there has been
a marked consolidation of breweries. In.
IK.S'2 there were 13,741 breweries and iat
1901 but 6110.
Continuous Performance In Hate,
The liquor traffic is America's moC
deadly foe, aays a New York prison chap
lain. I hate the trafhc from the crown of
my head to the sole of my feet. 1 halo it
when I get up in the morning; 1 hat is
when I go to bed at night; 1 hate it oat
Sundays und despise it on Mondays. '
Captured by Whisky.
A German paper tells the story of a tier
man olticer, who, in command of tuns
Boers, managed to surprise a Britwh train.
ut some small wsysiue station. There waa
some excellent whisky on board, an
the Boers soon sampled it. with the n
suit that the good British spirit did itn
duty by laying them out fast asleep on ther
pialloim. Here tliey were found and ean
tured by some Knglish troops, who, in their
turn, took a little from a hulf-eutnLv rank- J
with the result that acting on hslt-stsrvett :
moo, me wnisxy sent mem to s.eep in
their turn. When the Uoer woke up thy
recaptured thoir uupturers, and thus in c
few hour ther was one Kritisu victor
and two Boer victories added to the reeoj.