"PLEA FOR SIMPLE LIFE"
Sundny Sermon By the Rev. Dr. Donald
S. Mackay.
(I li Ihl Daly of Ihe Pulpit ( Sound Warn
lo( Not la Regard to Modern
E: travsgs.net In LIt'bj.
New Your ClTV. At the Colleuinle
Church. Fifth avenue and Forty-eighth
afreet, Sundny morninir. tho minlatcr, the
Rev. Dr. Donald Safte Mackay, presented a
itrona sermon on a lieu 101- inn cimiimo
Life. The text wan from Matthew vi:
31-S'i: 'Take i" tlwtinht saying, 'What
xli rat t or What hnll we drink? or
Wherewithal shall we bo clothed? For
vnur heavenly Father knoweth. Dr.
Jlnrkny said:
,Int 100 years bro, in lftffl, William
Wordsworth, the great English poet, then
1 young man and comparatively unknown,
wrote a sonnet entitled "J'lain Living and
High Thinking." It ii io significant that I
quote it in full:
"O friend. I know not which way I must
look
For comfort, being as I am opprcst
To think that now our life is only drest
For thow; mean handiwork of craftsman,
cook,
Or groom! We must run glittering like a
brook
In the open sunshine, or we arc unblest!
The wealthiest tnnn nmnng is the best!
No grandeur now in nature r.r in book
Delights us. apine. avarice, expense
This is idolatry, and these wc adore.
I'lain living and high thinking arc no
more
Hhc homely beauty of the good old cause
Js gone our pcare. our-simple innocence.
And pure religion, breuthing household
laws."'
The remarkable thing abrut these lines
is that although describing tho follies nf
100 years ago. they are exactly applicable
to the conditions of life to-dav. What
Wordsworth u-itieised so forcefully in 1803
is still prevalent in 1003. In spite of tho
vaunted progress of the nineteenth cen
tury, notwithstanding the enormous ad
vance in every sphere of human activity,
it is a sad commentary on our civilization
that to-day we are just as much the slave
of vulgar ostentation as our fathers were
when the last century still was voung.
I need scarcely remind you bow power
fully this same criticism of our over-elaborated
life has been set forth in that remark
able little book by Charles Wagner, "The
Simple Life." Everybody is reading it and
admiring it, but not every one. I fear, is
ready to accept its teaching. Wagner is n
Protestant pastor in Paris, a man of keen
sensibility, a prose poet, a shrewd philoso
pher and trenchant critic. In this latest
book of his. "The Simple Life." he has put
forward a plea to his fellow Parisians pre
cisely as Wordsworth did to bis contempo
raries a century ago. Like Wordsworth,
W agner sees in the elaboration and com
plexity of modem life not mcrelv a menace
to the stability of the state, but to the in
tellectual and spiritual life of the individ
uals who compose the state. Nowhere,
surely, is this complex life of luxurious
pleasure seeking extravagance so visible
as in this metropolis of the New World.
Everywhere the drags arc off, and the
wheels of commerce and society are un
ning wild. When the stoppage will come,
as come it must, or how it will come, no
one can tell, but that this career of extrav
agance in living, which New York has been
following, especially for the past five years,
is bound to end in catastrophe, moral and
social, unless sanctified common sense in
terposes, it needs no prophet to predict.
Already the shrewd, bard-headed men in
Wad Street are scenting the approaching
danger from the commercial standpoint.
They tell us that the limit of over-capitalization
and headstrong speculation is
reached, and the reaction, unless it comes
gradually and under proper control, will
spell panic from the Atlantic to the Pacific.
How true that may be as a commercial pre
diction I do not know; but from the stand
point of religion, in the interests of moral
ity, the evil results of this over-elaborated
mode of living, common even among the
poor as well aa the rich, are already with
us. One docs nof require the vision of a
seer to recognize them.
It is in the face of such conditions that
the pulpit of to-day. if it be brave and true
to its duty, is called upon to sound forth a
warning note. It is indeed a thankless task
for the preacher. He must sav things, es
pecially in a pulpit such as this, that will
cut sharply the feelings, if not the eon
iciences, of those whom he addresses. Nev
ertheless, because there is still a residuum
of good sense even in the most extrava
gant of us, I venture this Lenten Sunday
morning, in the name of Jesus Christ, to
bring before you thig plea for "plain living
and high thinking."
My first remark ia an obvious inference.
Plain living is an absolute condition of high
thinking. Strenuous thinking cannot come
from pampered living. There can be no
life of worthy thought where existence ia
loaded down with the vulgarities of luxury.
Thought, which is the life of the soul, not
only deteriorates, it dies when we make
the carea of the body the be-all and the
end-all of our days. The two most illiter
ate classes in society to-day are the abject
poor, who by necessity must think of the
needs of the body, and, therefore, can
think of nothing else, and the idle rich,
who by choice devote every hour of the day
to the trivial problem of what they shall
eat and what thev shall drink and wbere
withal thev shall be clothed. "The body it
is," says Bossuet, the great French preach
er, in one of his sermons, "which drags us
down from the loftier levels of thought,
which chains us to the earth when we
ought to be breathing the pure air of
heaven." So it ia that to-day we are put
ting an undue emphasis upon the merely
outward life. We are elaborating the mere
framework of the picture, ornamenting tbe
gilded trappings, indifferent to the essen
tials which alone give lasting beauty to
lite and character.
w hat are some of the causes of this over
elaboration in the material comforts of life?,
., ,!Ino,r1'T'5' there is the passion for luxury
itself. e are to-dav essentially a luxuri
ous race The pitiful thing is that we are
proud of n. We boast about our luxury
as something that lifts us above other na
tions. You meet people, for example, who
f? roiOi and when they return what ia
Uie burden of their conversation? Not to
tew you of beautiful scenes of nature which
tliey have visited, but to complain that,
naving gone nbroad confessedly for change,
they did not find anything exactly the same
T"'.?! cnfortable aa at their own
fireside. Ihcy criticise the temperature of
the houses and vividly describe to you the
'',orr of shivering in a temperature a lit
tle below the fever heat ill which they live
at home, fhey denounce the cooking and
complain because at an altitude of fiOOO feet
A- i m'p lhcy uid nt t dclicaoioi
which they were able to enjoy six montha
betore the season in their own New York
homes. y0 may smile at inch thinge, and
yet it is tail craving for luxury that is de
atructive of high thinking. It produce a
n i 'mbec'"y which, is unable to ap.
preciat. those truth, which give dignity to
wi"! ,dd1 "trene'l to character.
What is luxury? It may be defined aa
u t.ve' ' co,tlv a"d auperfiuous. And it
limfl thl cfavin 'or what is costly and
superfluous that is making this city a hot
nr Mt"vagance.
JJI, course, not everything is superfluous,
wiiliw eo,tly- Mrr to be distin,
Si l!rom ?oi i- 1,d " certainly
not to be counfimnded with high art. There
u a sense in which things once regarded as
ZTL J : Tbi? ' ,0 because life has ad
rif'telly nd iu outward want.
Sfi ""r become more variael. An Eng.
w. PSPy ', h,t bec" People
were mtroducmv li : . ...
the smoke to escape, by the door, and J
.nnnin io use vessels ot earthen.
r in place of the old-fashioned wooden
..V0"""'." be says, "bouse,
ere of willow and men were of oak; now-
wiriow"0"" ,r 0t k "ni meu ,ro oI
l,iiut, nev'rtheless thy fact remains that In
hkW , cr5v" 'r things which sre
both costly and superfluous lies one fertile
esuse of the low-toned, intellectual ,f Q
mi l"""'0" for l"ury is a
niii
an
A IliAAn ..- . , , ,. ' . ...
In -.7- '." , " emonraiion or lire
tiriV,m" u the P"'t eoropoti-
ww! 7- ?.here '" , vu,'!,r "mbition evcrv-
insUn. ii. rji"neni. lake, lor
oiuu. w ioo4 society, who bav a certain
limited Income. One ftr two courses is open
to them, either to give up all needless
travaganee and devote themselves to build
ing tip a quiet home, or to give up the
blessings tf home life nn t bang on to th
luxuries and pleasures of their set. Too of
ten. under the spur of social competition,
it ia the latter course that is followed.
Home life is deliberately, yes and crimin
ally, sacrificed for social life, nnd social life,
so chosen, becomes the vestibule through
which many n young husband pusses into
the prison Iiohpc of debt. Unconsciously
often, such n mnn enters u race with his
fashionable associates, nnd they, not hit
own personal comforts, create his stcndnid
of living. He must dress as well as thev;
he most enterlain ns luvinhly as lhcy: he
must keen up the same pace as they. And
meanwhile these associates nf his are com
peting with another set just a little higbet
.in the social scale, until society becomes n
vulgar, feverish competition, in which
every bid for notoriety is Hampered, nnd
every fine feeling is sacrificed. One lm but
to read the so-called society columns of nny
daily newspaper to witness the ilisjiisting
aneetaelr of tlii competitive stiiiit'in the
struggle for Focial supremacy. What nlace,
under Mich conditions, is there for "plain
living and hiah thinking.",
A .third cause for thr elaboration of tho
material nide. of life in our time is the un
due crnving for pleasure. The emphatit
wortlx nre undue craving. I am not advo
cating a sour puritanisni or 'Tabbed asceti
ck.n. l'ienrure has. of ooiirs". its essemii:!
place in the scheme of righi living, nnd tn
deny that nlnce creates a reaction which,
however ruinous, i.: inevitable. Hut in our
time pleasure has become a tyntiny. Its
desnotism has invaded every' day of tho
week. It has no respect for timo or s."n
sons. It appeals to every passion of tho
soul, nnd by veiled miTTcsUons it dciec-ntes
the holiest emotions of life, J."ew Yor'; bo
comes everv evening a vast Vanity Fair,
where irrational and too often degraded
pleasure lures men and v.-ompn bv the thou
sand to its gilded shrine, and before that
shrine "high thinking and plain living" aio
niehtly immolated.
. These arc some of the thincs which inm!
in tho wnv of the simple life here in New
York. What are some of the perils which
must inevitably result?
This life of luxury nnd erfrnvr.iance in
tensifies class distinction. Tho poor mnn,
unable to share in these wanton extrava
gance, chafes beneath the restrictions, and
hatred of his pamnered betters bites at tho
ropes of separation. In Kurone. where a
certain hereditary distinction between tho
rich and the poor is recotnized, this class
bitterness is not so keen, but in a repuhlid
like ours, where every man feels himself as
fond fis another, these ostentatious displays
of luxurious txtravanance become a hotbed
of discontent in which anarchy and com
munish ferment. Some years nro a friend
of mine wns driving past one of 'the beauti
ful old homes in rural England, standing in
its stately park. He asked the driver who
lived there. "Oh." said the man. "we used
to have lots of aristocratic company there.
Thev bad plenty of money and thev spent
it frcelv. We poor folks were well off
then. But now the nlace belongs to a
woman, and she is a Methodist, and every
thing is going to the bad." So spoke tho
countryman, nnd from bis little view this
lo.s of luxury nnd extravagance was nil
wrong, even for the poor man. But mean
while there was another side to the picture.
That estate also included a Invge tenement
district in one of the worst portions of
London. In wretched hovels surrounded
by saloons nnd low resorts the miserable
people paid their rents, exorbitant for smcIi
quarters, and these rents supplied the
funds for the luxury nnd extravagance of
the former owner. But now what has hap
pened? The lady who owns the estate to
day is using her revenues, not for her own
luxury, but in bettering these homes, in
driving out these saloons, nnd in creating
a new spirit of respect and love between
her and Ik r tenants. A few country yok
els get less to spend for drink, but a great
city population has more real joy of living,
and the better class distinction between
wealth and poverty is at an end.
A second penalty that we must pay for
our extravagant modes of life is that' they
create unnatural appetites. The essence of
an unnatural appetite is that it demands a
constant stimulus. It needs to be pamp
ered by new sensations, and in the effort
to satisfy this false and unnatural appetite,
we are inventing forms of amusement so
foolish that even pagan Rome might ex
claim with wonder, "Behold how these
Christians amuse themselves!" Under such
conditions, who cares for the simple manna
nf the wilderness, even though it come
down from God. if he can fill himself with
the flesh-pots of Egypt, even though he
make himself a slave to do so?
Once more, one other penalty must be
paid, and that is the heaviest of all. This
mode of life is absolutely at variance with
the spirit of the teaching of Jesus Christ.
It is pagan, not Christian: it is barbaric,
not civilized. No man who is honest ir.
his effort to follow in the footstens of Jesus
Chritit can live a life whose only thought
is to satisfy the merely sensuous desires.
What is the one dominant note in the ex
ample of Him who when He walked this
earth had not where to lay His head, but
this: that we should live simply, that we
should deny ourselves daily, taking no
thought of what we shall eat or what we
hall drink or wherewithal we shall be
clothed, for our heavenly Father knoweth.
The way of the cross js the way of simple
life; not the way of self-indulgence nnd vul
gar extravagance, but the wnv which He
valked with bleeding feet is the path
along which we alone can find the joy of
plain living and high thinking.
For some of us this secret of the simple
life cannot be learned. We have dwelt too
long in the cellar of our appetites, and the
reek of the kitchen is in our brains. Wo
must die as we have lived, in the tyranny
nf those tastes which our surroundings
have stimulated. For such of us. plain liv
ing and high thinking are both alike impos
sible. But there are our children. Please
(iod we need not. nnlew our imbecility
has become epidemic, condemn our off
spring to this nightmare of extravagance
which has so shriveled our own intelligence.
We can at least ask God's grace to help us
to train the new generations iu
"That homely beauty of the good old cause,
in siinplj innocence
And pure religion, Dreathing household
laws."
ior them at least we can make the beauty
of the simple life no poet's dream, but a
divine evangel for the generation yet to
come.
Forgiveness.
It would be well for us to study and take
to heart the lesson of forgiveness. ThoFe
who foster jealousy and envy are their
own bitterest enemies, and tho heart that
is free from those things experiences a
feeling of freedom, for it belongs to God.
With our hearts free from envy and anger
we know what peace and contentment are
and become more Christlike. Kevenge is a
sin that makes bim who entertains it un
happy ani miserable.
On the railroads In Canada it is neces
sary to keep over 600 snow plows in opera
tion every winter. -
' Mrs. Rutsoll Sage Objects.
Mrs. Russell Sage objects emphati
cally to the newspaper notoriety that
her husband's movements sonietlmes
bring, upon the family. Her reasons
tor objecting are many.
It was last summer, when the (treat
financier was living at Cedarhurst, L.
(., and was suddenly taken sick. Mrs
Sage was expounding on the annoy
ance caused her by the constant visits
of reporters.
"I do not like their coming down
here," she said. "Mr. Sago Is here to
rest, and I will not have htm annoyed
by the papers. Why can't these men
see him at his office and not come
here to bother bim when he should
be resting. Why, when Mr. Sage was
sick a lev weeks ago these men were
running down here all the time, and
had to pay an awfully large bill at
the clipping agency last month. New
York Mall and Express
Blighted Earthly Hopes.
. It you want a boy baby don't let tha
stork know It or It will bring a girl
You will And, by the way, that some
Influence similar to the stork's htt
followed you In avU ummr 1sltss
Atchison Qlob
THE SABBATH SCHOOL.
International
Lesson Commenis
April 12.
Ft!
Subect; Th; Resurrection, I Cor. xv., ?0, 31,
53.58-Qoldcn Text, I Cor. xv., 20
Memory Verses, S5-68 Com
menlery on the Day's
Lesson.
oJ. Christ's resurrection affirmed (vs. 20,
20. "Xow is Christ risen." Taul begins
this famous chanter with a tnarnhaling of
the proofs of the resurrection of Christ.
Ho brings witness after witneus. even fiOO
at ono time, who, during the iorty davj
between tho resurrection and the ascension
saw Jesus, touched Him, heard Him talk,
ate with Jlipi, walked with Him at differ
ent times in various places. And many of
these witnesses were familiar acquaint
ances. Later on Paul himself met Jesus,
saw Him, heard Him. Jesus must be alive.
No event in all history has greater or mure
convincing proofs than that Jesus rose
from the dead. Sight, hearing, touch, all
combined in tho proof. Then, the Chris
tian church, nnd indeed every convert and
every miracle, was a proof that a living
hnviour was working in the world. "Tho
1'irst Fruits." The first fruits were the
first ripe cars of grain, offered under the
law (Lev. 23: 10. 11) ns a grateful acknowl
edgement to find for His goodness. It was
the pledge nnd promise of tho whole har
vest. So Christ's resurrection was the
pledge that the whole resurrection harvest
would follow. "That slept." A most beau
tiful and instructive term for death. Cem
tery means sleeping place. Death is called
a sleep because, 1. In both the person is
unconscious of the worldly activity around
him. 2. The soul continues to live, while
the body is unconscious. 3. There is to
be an awakening to new and fresh life.
The very expression implies immortality.
I 21. "By man." It pleased God that in
some way humanity should within itself,
however aided with divinity, work out its
ow-n destiny, both for dea'ih and life, in
j.uan, u,m iii . nrisi. nme ucatli.
Compare Rom. 8: 1210, with the narrative
in Gen, 3. "By man the resurrection."
Mortality came by Adam, immortality bv
Christ; so sure as all have been subjected
to natural death by Adam, t sure shall all
be raised again by Christ Jesus.
-J1, ,Ine incorruptible body (vs. 80-57).
50. "This I say.'' The apostle shows
clearly that man in his present condition
eannot enter the portals of eternal glory,
"rlesh and blood." Man in his present
state of ' ' -mity and decay, with n bodv
that is ...igCo nnd weak. "Cannot inherit.1'
His nature is not capable of enduring the
eternal weight of giory." In order to bo
able to inhabit the eternal mansions man
must be immortnl. "Kingdom of God."
Heaven- appropriately called the kingdom
because Ho will reign there in undivided
aod perfect glory forever. "Neither
doth, etc. Our ordinary flenh nnd blood
is by its very nature destined to corrup
tion. It is not with such flesh nnd blood
that we can become partakers of the in
corruptible life.
61. 52. "A mystery." A truth not known
before, and even now that it is reveiled it
'" too deep for human reason to fathom.
" e. That is, the -vhole bodv of Chris
tians who are candidates for the glorious
resurrection. The use of the word "we" in
this connection does not prove, as some
seem to think, that the nposllc expected
... ui: niivc ni me coming ot t iinst. -.Not
all sleep." Y e shall not all die. "All be
changed.' Those who aro niive Rt the day
of .judgment shnll be changed so that their
bodies will become spiritual bodies like the
bodies of thoie who shnll be raited from
the dead. "Twinkling of an eye." In an
instant of time; as soon as a person can
wink. The resurrection of nil the dead
from the foundation of tho world to that
time, and the change of all the living then
upon earth, shall be the work of a single
moment. "Last trump." The trumpet
will be sounded on the last great dny to
call the dead from their graves. It was
probably never beard hut once bv human
ears, and that was at Sinai (Ex. 10: 10-19).
. 5J S4-. "This incorruptible." The mor
tal bodv is not destroyed and again created,
but it is "clothed upon" with Immortality.
It receives an r.dditlon of qualities which
it did not possess before. "Is written."
In Isaiah 23: . "Swallowed up." Death
is here personified nnd represented as u
devouring being, swallowing up all the
generations of men, nnd by the resurrec
tion of the body and the' destruction of
the empire of death, God is represented as
swallowing him up. "In victory." The
victory over death and the grave will he
complete. The changed bodv will be (1)
incorruptible. (2) glorious, (3) powerful,
(4) a spiritual body, (5) one like the body
of the glorified Christ. What a time of vic
tory that will be for the righteous!
oS5",57' TllY iin-" Quoted from Hosca
13: 14. Death is here represented as hav
ing a sting. "O grave death." The R. V.
also transposes the two members of this
verse. "Sting-sin." Death could not have
entered into tho world if sin had not en
tered first, and it is sin that has armed
death with its destroying force; by sin both
body and soul are slain. "The law." That
which gives sin its power is the fact that it
is the transgression of the righteous law
of an all-wise and all-holy being. There is
not a rav of light in the law for the sin
ner; the law pronounces the death sentence
and shows no mercy. "But." The sinner
can rejoice that there ia One who bas made
an atonement for sin and thus made it pos
sible to deliver the transgressor from the
curse and power of the law. This i ; done
through the mercy of God, and we should
give eternal thanks to His name for His
unspeakable gift. He giveth the victory
over Hutan, death, hell and the grave.
Ill- The church astonished (v. 38). 58.
Therefore. We come now to the conclu
sion of this wonderful chapter. "Stead
fast. Be settled and firm iu vour faith
in the resurrection, which some (v. 12) aro
endeavoring to overthrow. "Unmovable."
"Let nothing move you away from this
hope of the gospel which is given unto
you. "Always abounding." Steadfast
means positive, intrinsic firmness; unmov
able implies resistance to the mightiest
outward pressures and fiercest onsets;
abounding means energetic action. "Work
of the Lord." That which the Lord re
quired; all the duties of Christiana. The
conversion of sinners and the upbuilding
of the church. "Ye know." Christians
are a positive people. They do not live in
uncertainty and doubt. "Not in vain."
Your labor will be rewarded. There will
be a resurrection and then you will be
fully recompensed. The sentiment of the
whole verse is that the hope of the resur
rection and of future glory should stimu
late us to great and self-denying efforts in
honor of Hiui who has revealed that doc
trine, and who purposes to reward us
there. Other men are excited to great ef
forts by the hope of honor, pleasure or
wealth: Christians should be excited to toil
and self-denial by the prospect of immor
tal glory, by the assurance that their hopes
are not in vain and will not deceive them.
His Leniency.
Trof. Hopkins of Amherst, who lilts
many a good New Englander, Is some
what theologically Inclined, is fond of
telling how he was worsted In argt
ment by bis small daughter. He ha
forbidden her to play with his pockol
knife, but she bad kept on Just the
same, and finally succeeded In cutting
herself quite badly. The professor
called her to his study, and said very
gravely:
"My little girl, I should punish you
for your disobedience, but I do not
need to, to God has punished you al
ready." "Yea," replied the child, "but He
let me play with the knife an awfully
long time first" New York Tin..
A Ghastly Custom.
It waa formerly the custom to han
the heads of criminals on Londor
bridge. The head of Sir William Wal
lace was hung there In 1305; Siraor
Frlsel, 1306; Lord Bardolf, 1408; Bol
Ingbroke, 1440; "Jack" Cade, 1461;
Fisher, bishop of Rochester, 1S35; Bli
Thomas More, 1S36. There were many
others.
CHRISTIAN ENDEAVOR TOPICS.
April 12. -Christ leaching shout tbe Reuur
rectloa." John xl. 21-27, 40-44. (Easter
Meeting.) Dally Readings.
April fi. Old resurrection truths.
Ts. xllx. 13-13.
April 7. The Jews' faith Dam. xil,
1-3.
April 8. Denied by tho Sadducecs.
Matt. xxll. 23-33.
April 9. A irasonablc doctrine.
Acta xxvl. 6-8.
April 10. Trcathcd by Peter. Acta
lv. 1-3.
Apiil 11. Tho blessedness of It
Rev. xx. 1-6.
. April 12. Cbrlst'H tearhlna about
tho resurrection. John xl. 21-!17, 40-44.
Sorlpture Verses. Mark viil. 34, 33;
Lukf Ix. 25, 24; Acts xv. 23, 2fi; xx.
24; Horn. vl. 10, 11;- I. Cor. x. 31; II.
Cor. v. 15; Phil. 1. 20, 21; Itev. v. 8,
10; xll. 11.
Lesson Thoughts.
We must look to God for our future
and nptrlttial life Just ns we have de
rived from him our present natural
life.
"Still seems It strange that thou
cho'.ildst live forever?
Ii It loss mi-alien that thou Bhotildst
live at all?" Young.
Christ 'a resurrjrtlon means our res
urrection; for he has promised: "Ha
that bellcvcth In me, though he were
dead, yet shall he live."
There Is a certain reKiirrcctlon that
believers have now, without waiting'
for the death of the body a resurrec
tion from the death of sin to the life
of holine.sa.
Selections.
'TIs not the thought that Jesus died
That comfort to my heart doth give;
But, more than all the world beside,
That evermore the Christ doth live.
Lanier Is absolutely tmcompromlft
Ing. It will not admit even the slight
pat exctme for misery. The last enemy
has been conquered, death. This
means that there is no enemy left,
and therefore there Is nothing but
treanon In a furrowed brow or a wor
ried lipart, trenf-on, foul treason to
the Lord of Eastertide.
Many persons want to rise above
sorrow, and carts, and worries; but
that Is not the risen life. The risen
life llses above sin. And when we
rise above sin, then we rise above sor
row end worries and cares.
Longfellow, with great Insight and
beauty, compares our life to a tarry
ing In the crypts of some vast cathe
dral. We can hear the organ above
us, and the chanting of the choir. As
some friend goes up before us we
catch a gleam of light, streaming
through the door. Shall we be afraid
when our turn cor.ics to mount the
dark, narrow staircase that leads us
out of the crypts into the cathedra'
glory above?
Suggested Hymns.
As lives the flower within the seed.
Christ has risen! Hallelujah!
The call of God Is sounding clear.
Take my life and let It be.
He dies! He dies! the lowly man.
He lives and loves, our Savior.
EPWORTH LEAGUE MEETING TOPICS.
Apr! 12 The Danger ol Idleness (Prov. 24,
30, 31; Rom. 12, II.)
"It was all grown over ,with thorns,
the face thereof was covered with net
tles" (Prov. 24. 31). Nature has a
way of passing a verdict, and writing
down her Judgment of a man. How
quickly she will begin to point out
tbe habitation of a sluggard, or the
farm of a drunkard. Perhaps nature
needs to keep a stock of thorny bush
es, weeds, and thistles, just to be
able to express her opinion of peo
ple. What are her thoughts when she
fills the grounds around a church and
the parsonage backyard, with bur
docks? "In diligence not slothful;
fervent In spirit; serving tho Lord'
(Rom. 12. 11). Serving Christ fer
vently, with unflagging zeal. There is
no room In the apostle's view of the
Christian life for spiritual idleness.
There appears to be slight danger
In many cases that the leaders In
Christian work and the officers of
Church and League should be idle
In the present conceptions of duty,
or of what Is demanded for the good
of the cause, far too large a share ot
activities falls to a few. To Inspire a
change new Ideals are needed. Devo
tion should be given, not so much to
the church as to the kingdom, not bc
much to the society as to the Christ
"Why stand ye here all the day Idle?"
Is the question asked In the parable of
the laborers (Matt. 20. l-l(i). "Because
no man hath hired us," Is the answer.
Let us see that nobler motives appeal
to those, who seem to stand Inactive
In tbe market place, and that their in
vitation to enter the vineyard of toil
conies from sympathetic hearts, de
termined to give each one a chance to
servo, even at "the eleventh hour."
Service is often presented upon too
low a plane. An unending round of
mere outward and material tasks,
such as are Involved In suppers and
entertainments for money raising, c an
not give the soul of any worker the
thrill of delight and reward that
comes from genuine Christlike work
Open up the fresh fields of the "For
ward Movement." Guide your force?
Into mission and other great benev
olent actlvltlea, Into Bible study,
Christian stewprdship, personal evan
gelism, and they will taste, perhaps
for the first time, the Joys of utterly
unselfish service.
Christ'a thought of dlsclplcship In
cludes service; "to teach one his
work" (Mark 13. 34). The one who
made no use of his "talent" was "a
wicked and slothful servant." and the
command was given by his lord. "Cast
ye out the unprofitable servant Into
the outer darkness" (Matt. 25. 28, 30).
There Is immeasureable danger In
spiritual Idleness. How the world
around us cries cut and appeals to us
for what the lover of Christ can give.
And often we "know what to do," but
are not alert enough, not made wise
and free by love, so that we can speak
the right word and do the right deed
at the moment. All at It, and alwaya
at It," la a Mothodlst motto that ought
to be taken from he retired list and
unanimously elected to office.
Magnanimous Boya.
Horace Mann says: "You are made
to be kind, boys; generous, magnanl
tnous. If there la a boy In school who
baa a clubfoot, don't let him know you
ever saw it. If there la a boy with
ragged clothea, don't talk about ragr
within bis bearing. It there la a bun
gry one, give bim part of your dinner
It there ia a dull one, help him to get
bis lessons. If there ia a bright one,
be not envious of him; for If one bo;
la proud of bla talents, and anothei
boy la envious of them, there are two
great wrongs, and no more talent thar
before. If a larger or stronger boy
baa Injured you and ia sorry for it, for
give bim."
OUT OF THK ORDINARY.
Little Storlea Tending to Weaken
Some Popular Theories.
I watched my wife dressing her halt
the other evening. By Jove, her hair
Is longer and darker than It was when
we were married.
"The. teacher asked u to-day if
there was ever a greater man than
Ab ra ham Lincoln, and I told her 'My
papa.'" This at dinner, from Mollie,
Dur elrest, aged 6.
A neighbor brought my wife tickets
for n cwell muslcnle recently. On the
night It was to come off I went home
not particularly uplifted In anticipa
tion. At dinner my wife said: "Wo
won't go out to-night, dearie. You look
tired. What do you say to a rubber of
crlbbage?"
Jack Davis, an old huddle of mine,
came out to dinner the other evening
Really, everything did run smooth
ly. I went to the door with him. Ho
whispered: "Say, old man, for ravish
Ing cooking, an Ideal den and the can
dy outf.t all through you've got the
world beat. And say, pardon nnd all
that, but this In from an old pal. The
mlssii3 Is one of the finest little women
I ever saw."
Last week my wife's father 'phoned
mo to hustle over to his offlce. "My
boy," said he when I arrived, "you'vo
got two hours and a half to scrape to
gether every piece of collateral In
your name 150 minutes there'o
something doing." It cnty took me
a half hour. This morning, referring
to me. ono of the papers printed tho
following: "The street Is rccognlzlnrj
a new Napoleon of finance In the per
son of young Mr. , who has Just
turned a mighty clover and exceed
ingly profitable deal." Pittsburg Dispatch.
Sewing In Public Schools.
Halifax chool board wishes to dis
continue teaching Infants sewing, on
the ground that It causes defective
vision.
Weak?
" I suffered terribly and was ex
tremely weak for li years. The
doctors said my blood was all
turning to water. At last I tried
Ayer's Sarsaparilla, and was soon
feeling all ri;ht again."
Mrs. J. W. Fiaia, Hadlyme, Ct.
No matter how long you
have been ill, nor how
poorly you may be today,
Ayer s Sarsaparilla is the
best medicine you can
take for nurifvinp- and en
riching the blood. H
rnn't ririiK It mi lrmir X
whole trust in it, throw
away everything else.
ll.tOsballle. AlUmtrliMi.
Ask yonr dortnr whnt h tlitnlcs of Avr's
flamtniiriltA. H knowHll Hbmit this grand
old family madlnno. Follow litiadvica and
we will W alllll.
J. C. aver Co., Lowell, Mass.
Where the Toddy Went.
Here Is a characteristic Btory cl
Captain, afterwards General George
Pickett, famous at Gettysburg. It
was at the time of tho disputes bo
tween England and Amerlra as to the
boundary line between British Colum
bla and Washington territory. Capt.
Pickett had Just mixed himself n
toddy, when his attention was arrest,
cd suddenly by a courier, whoEo mes
sage caused him to mount Immediate
ly and ride off, leaving the drink be
bind him. He was gone some hours
When he returned the empty glass
was on his camp table, whereupon ea
sued the following colloquy;
"Orderly."
"Yes, sir."
"Where's that toddy?"
"Threw It away, sir; thought you
had done with it, sir."
"Where did you throw It; down
your throat?"
"Yes, sir; down my throat,
sir," accompanied by a regulation sr.
lute. Pittsburg Gnzette.
Mrs. F. Wright, of Otlwein,
Iowa, is another one of the
million women who have been
restored to health by Lydia E.
Pinkham's Vegetable Compound.
A Yountr New York Lady Tells
of a 'Wonderful Cure j
" My trouble was with tbe ovaries
I am tali, and tbe doctor said I grew
too fast for my strength. 1 suffered
dreadfully from Inflammation and
doctored continually, but got no help,
I suffered from torr'ible drag-ping sen
sations with the most awful pains low
down in tbe side nnd pains in the back,
and the most agonizing headuches.
No one knows whnt I endured. Often
I was sick to the r.tnmacli, and eery
little while I would bo too aick to go
to work, for thr e or four days ; I work
la a large store, and I suppose stand
lag on my feet all day made me worse.
"At the suggestion of a friend of
my mother's I began to take I.ydi.t
E. Pinkhani's Vegetable Coni
nound, and it is simply wonderful.
I felt better after the firt two or three
dojes t it seemed aa though a weight
waa taken oft my shoulders ; I con
tinued its use until now I can truth,
fully sav I am entirely cuved. Young
girls who are alwaya paying dortor'b
bills without getting any help as I did.
ought to take your medicine. It
costs so much less, and it la aura to
cure them. Yours truly, Adklaipr
Pbarl, 174 St. Ann's Ave., New York
City." coe ftrftii if riti tf Ittut
DRflPnY "W l0OTIBT;si-
y J I axk ralMlue saraa swat
sas. a l twiMim IO laaatswM
M Bs. a. a. oassa s seas. us.Aaiaau, u
tern
Doto t Kidney Pills have leaped Into Public favor because the people cua write tired
to the makers and secure a (rial tree. Thus has been boilded the greatest lame
and larfeit sale known le sny Kidney medicine in the world.
CrnTtrn, O. 1 hn.d such severe psln In mv
tnck thnt I could net milk. I used tin- cam
ple of Dosn's Kidney Tills with (tirh pood n
Milts I font to Toledo fur nimHier linx. nnd
thry cured me. fUltAii E. Cuttrcll, fur
tive, O.
F.u.MorTH, V.v I aitfTrrod ovrr twelve
months with i-nln In the mnll of my tun-k.
Medlrines nnil tikiaters (.'.no onlv trniporarv
relict. Dosn's Kidney Tills cured inc. F. e.
liiiowx, Falmouth, Yn.
Wbt JlAvr.v. Cnx. F.lpht months sco I
took n evere Jialn In my hsi-k. 'I lie sample
tiox of Donn s Kidney Tills helped me n,
much i purchased two boxes : nm on my sec
ond box. My heart does not bother me' n it
ucd to and I feel well. Smiaii E. llluM.tv.
No. uVJ Lira Street, West lluven, Colin.
Hoi-stow, Tltx. I took the f.imple of
Doun's Kidney Tills with such great benefit
I bought s box at our druirilnt's. I'wd over
h:ilf r.nd stopped, beeun-w ' my urine which
before had only nuns (lrlbbliiiir. now I ecame I
to free. 1 l.ad lucillciiic er;c.iii.'h. Iliad him
buco nnd t tie pllli rid me of It. I xhoulj li:ie 1
written oticr. but vou know how soon a well
person foieeto about helm; sick. Mr. C. II. !
IIiir.Ni.-KB, Xv. ZiVJ MvKcuny Ave., Houston.
Tex.
Bc cautious in bclicviiisr and in rc-
pcatitifr kosmi). lest bc who brought it
to your dnor ascrt be found it there,
and your report confirm his assertion
when he is asked for authority.
k Y.nir ripnter For Allen't Fnnt-Ksie,
A powder to shake into your choes: rests tho
feet. Cures Corns, (Junlonp. Swoollen. Sore,
Hot, Callous Achiuv, Swfntlng Fe-"t and ln
t,Tov;lnc Nail. Alle-i's Foot-Eae makes new
or tiitht hoe puy. At all dmirclslF and
: it store;. 2. cent. Sample mailed Free.
Address Allen s. Olmsted, Lclioy, X. 1'.
The overuse straight ahead motion of the
star is now put at twenty-one miles a
second.
How's This?
Te offer One Hundred liollnrs T.ewnr l for
sny esse oT Caturru that cannot be cured by
Hall's Catarrh Cure.
1". .7. L'iiekkt A Co., Toledo. O.
We, the undiri-iiriied, Lave known F. .7.
Cheney for the last 15 years, and believe him
perfectly honnrnbli In all busintM trnr.n-.c.
linns and financially able to carry cut nnv
obligation made I v their firm.
WrM A Xrcax Wholesale brtiggist, Tolc.lo,
Ohio.
Wai.i.iso. Ki.vnax A Maiivik, WloleF.csIc
J ' riipif ists. Toledo. Ohio.
Hall's t atari u I lire la tnkn !ntf rnnlly, act
ing directly upon the blood and mueoria utr
tacea of the system. Testimonials sent free.
Trice, 75e. per bottle, hold by all UrugKiets.
Hall's Family Tills are the best.
The barber should have no difficulty in
scrupiiur an aeuuaintar.ce.
AJMrffflTnNvyi.lJOA Kt"'' ' 1'
nmuawuutivn rotuM. . '
Is the Standard Rheumatic Remedy.
The ONLY compound on the market that cures this terrible
disease without doing Irreparable harm to the digestive organs.
UNEQUALLED as a BLOOD PURIFIE.R.
CHEERFULLY RECOMMENDS IT.
.....' Fhskstats. 8. C, Aug-. 18. lace.
K-ftliTtKTn1).?1?" Vr'nS 1
. w n,tj wrufiu. j iiufroincr i user, neveu bottles unri tha
cure seems to be complete, as I have had no symptoms of run atTsm ilnce"
I van cheerfully recommend your medicine. n. F. FEN1QAN,
For sale by Druggists, or sent exprcwage prepaid on receipt of $i.oo.
Bobbltt Chemical Co., . . Raltlmore n,i
A Golden Rule
of Agriculture:
Be Rood to your land and your crop
will be good. Tlenty of
Potash
in tne fertilizer spells cpiality I ,V
anu quantity in the har
vest. Write ua
we will send
our money winning oyf L(t
books. itlM
H Naaus Street, CP
Mew tors.
litri Rapt,
S PEL. 2-1
Wtaiintil
fowl j
FARM
.vaialrt
Ul.J.
LOO
SEEDS
' D,,,rni. m-mww.. .
,000,000 Customers
.4 Z " v "T aeM,nn OH CAM h.
ini- aire I rat lmaj out fur miis wi
LSIQsQOfpr IOc.
X our ittir..'i?rT-,n."i ,
'C;?.,,i'vp,"'fr ww
lo c-t a nart wim.
IaaH
ai at liar i Wim
ru-toc but km.
aaa anaimpaj.
4d w I k
nfavlts
iU. to cut Mr.
fiaaalM tapos C C C. Hevar soli b balk.
Bcwars of tba Sealer who tries to sell
"tost thing jnrt aa good."
mm
i 1 TTUt . W sr." vr"VkFM
i
I See Couii Syrup. TaMaa UuuO. Cat I I
1 In '""a. ""Id bi drussuu. I
Aching bncks arc cased. IIlp. back, and
loi.i pains overcome. Swelling of the
limhsnnd dropsy signs vanish.
They correct urine with brick dust sedi
ment, high colored, palu in pnsslug, drib
l.lintr, frcipieney, bed wetting. Doan'f
Kllncy IMlls n-inovo calculi and gravel
Itelicvo bc.'irt palpitation, sleeplessness,
headache, nervousness, dizziness.
CIIAND FOR SPRING KIDNEY ILLS
nt.iB's
A VHIIU r, J?
tWVT'V'i
FoTT.Ml!.rax CA, nuffnle. W. Y.
I'lense ft.nrt me by nisll, without charge,
trial box lioan's Kidney l ills.
Name . m, ,, , .
i State .
(Cut nut rrmpfn e-i ft.,tle lln.-a and mail to
l'.M.r-Miiwirn i. o.. liuiralo, N. Y.)
i Medical Advice Tree Strictly ConfldentfatiT
The best ipecac i that from liraztl.
FITS permanently cured. .No ills or nervous
tesi'Sfterflrit day's use of Iir. Kline's Great
Nei voltes vrer. 'i triul bottleand treatise fre
Lr. I1.1I.Klim:. l.til.. Ml ArcliBt.,l'liiiu.,l'a.
The (inner of i coin is often a part of
the hand of fate.
Mrs.Wlaslow's Soothlni;Syrup for children
Ic ethlnif ,Kof tea the gums, reduces Inflnoiins
lie n.ullnyn puln, cures wind colic, ibi. ubottle
Lots of excuses are not worth the
trouble it takes to make them.
jm sure Tiso's Cure tor Consumption sivel
my die tliree years oro. Mns. Ihomas Itos
Iinb, Maple (St., Norwich, K. V Feb. 17,
Our own troubles arc always the worst
in the worliT
Money refunded for each package of
1't t.n au Fadkless Dyes if unsatisfac
tory. A day in the planet Eros is five and a
half hours.
I ST. JACOBS I
OIL
POSITIVELY CURES
Rheumatism
Neuralgia
LSacKactio
Sciatica
Sprains
Bruises
Soreness
Stiffness
f
I CONQUERS j
j PAIN.
l'Cf ? ,0 tttke." KlITOMACIDB." I U,A tWO
ADVERTISE" JTO" IT PAYS
r
'MCSSON
asaizDi
10 CENT!
HtADACHFS.
tali
PAINMNGUISH
AMIRSTERINS
ANGELTHOU:
SoiD EVERYfflRE.
w'i'aV Thompson's Ejt tetcf
i FREE
J IV III I as