"PLEASURE AND GOD"
Sunday Sermon by the Rev. A. D.
Kinsiilving.
Showi Thai When the Soul Mm PouoJ 'Is
True Life lh Simplest Tilings Will Serv
Then a Man'i Heart I.iujlis.
Nfw YonK City. The Kev. Dr. A. Tl.
Kinsnlving, rotor of Christ Church,
Brooklyn, preached fnnday morning on
"Pleasure nnd God." 1 1 in text wan taken
from II Timothy in: 4: "Lovers of pleasure
rather than lovers of CioJ." Mr. Kinsolv
tag said:
Thin is one of (hue biting sentences of
which St. Paul's letters are full. It ocrura
in a hurrying category and arrests out
thoughts at once.
These two thing', religion and pleasure,
have always been here on God' fair earth.
'1'hey are undoubtedly primal constituents
of life, and yet it has ever been dillicult
for men to harmonize them and keep them
on friendly terms. Kcligiou people have
often committed the blunder of looking
askance at amusement. Indeed, some ol
the bent nnd most earnest among them
have conceived of piety as scarcely less
than a kill-joy. They' have represented
Goel as intensely jealous of life' innocent
ns well as its forbidden pleasures, until
their systems have gotten to be so one
aided, and extravagant, and over wrought,
and one-ideaed nnd melancholy as to cast
nn awful gloom upon communities for con
siderable periods. Such men have missed
altogether the cosmic note of gladness
which shimmers in the sunlight, dunces in
the laughing waters, which ripples and
murmurs in the brooks and streams, which
smiles from the blue dome above nnd
thrill us in the spring bird notes nnd the
summer flowers. ' The material for enjoy
mcnt." says some one, "is no inwrought
into the world's constitution that we can
not put n spado into the ground anywhere
without turning it up. lly travel, by stav
ing at home, by working, by resting, bt
strain of the muscles or strain nf the mind;
by speech, by silence; by solitude, by s-
ciety; by helping, tv being helped: by r
ceiving, by giving by all these diilcre.fc
roads do men reach jov."
And yet with our eye upon the bistort
of mankind is there not abundant rca-on
for religion's suspicion "f the riot of picas
lire? What nation of anticpiity lias not
been slain by its sensual pleasures? J T i n
through the list of I hem lialiyloii. Me
eiea, Persia, the llgyptian monan hy,
Greece, Carthage. Home did not the ij.m
sion for licentious pleasure and the cfi'em
inacy which in conseoicnrc came every
where in the place where manly virtue nnd
stoic self-control and splendid discipline ol
body and mind had been; did not these
undermine the mighty fabric of Home it
self?
Look at the world that Christianity en
tered. What made it so hostile to Christ
nnd His religion? What made it crucify
Him out of its sight and fling His follow
ers to the beasts in the great amphitheatre
at Home? Why. more than might else the
unbridled love of iinl'ul pleasures. With
fierce flashes nf anger these heathen liber
a!s refused to have their indulgences inter
fered with. They would not suffer a faith
to be taught m their midst which tin-j
astutely saw would have the moral ctfeel
of to'iping their games, nnd so thev cried
with hellish hntc : "The Christians 1 1 tin
lions," and to the lions they were thrown.
We know from the pages of Grote and
Gibbon something of the excesses of the
Greek and l'oman national games and fes
tivals. "That which bpgan with some show
of decency degenerated often into the ex
treme of licentiousness nnd ministered to
the basest passions. Frequently for days
nnd weeks together they absorbed the pub
lic mind, making men oblivious to every
moral obligation and deaf to the claims of
humanity." Gibbon says that Rome had
at one time 3s) female dancers anil as
many singers, and that when seasons ol
famine came, w hile all strangers and even
professors of the liberal arts were ban
ished from the city, the dancers were al
lowed to remain.' Their performances
were characterized by everything that was
morally degrading, nnd the orgies which
took place around the temples of the God
dess Flora and Voluptas, the Goddess ol
Pleasure, descended into the depths of
profligacy. In the times of Charles VI. of
France, in the time of the Georges, the
Borgias nnd the later Louis of France there
was only too much to remiud men of the
blackest moral chapters in past history.
Men "lived in treasure on the earth anil
were wanton: they nourished their hearts
in a day of slaughter." Xo wonder, breth
ren, with such spectacle. before them, that
serious Christian people, realizing the dead
ly peril from this quarter, should in their
moral earnestness often have gone too far
and failed to recognize that the thirst for
pleasure and amusement is a human thirst,
and mist be provided for and guided and
sympathized with, or else it will become
religion's rival nnd antagonist.
Again, when men have tried to solve the
mystery of laughter they have advanced
very, diverse opinions. Pascal thought that
the passion for amusement was nn illus
tration of the real unhappines of most hu
man live?. It is because they want to get
out nf themselves that they flock so to
spectacles of every kind, or gather in
crowds Jo laugh and tali; it is diversion
they seek, that is, anything to escape from
he somber ordeal of solitary thought.
I)ouhtles, bia explanation fits many cases,
but it hardly covers all. Play and jovous
ness are anion the primitive gifts of hu
man nature. The beginning of comrade
ship between the mother and cl'ld is the
liour when, ns she dangles some plnvthlng
before it. "the little, solemn face breaks
out into a dimnled smile." Humor is one
of the closest bonds of sympathy between
us. The contagion of hearty, genial merri
ment is notorious, nnd the world lias gen
erally rightly loved the people who made
it laugh.
Mr. James Piillv. nn Englishman nf let
ters, has just published a book, which is a
sort of philosophic study of laughter, in
which he deplores any wane of this great
human resource, and says that "it looks ni
it now only the more sordid material inter
ests moved the mind, as if snort had to
have its substantial bait in the shape ol
stakes, while comedy must angle for popu
larity with scenic snlendors winch are seen
to cost money." However this may be, it
Is perfectly certain that the plensiire in
stinct i a true note of our human nature
and that no life is whole without it. It is
the lighter torch nf this charming gavetv
which gives that large freedom and mobil
ity to life which it needs for its complete
expression. Amusement, relaxation and
happiness are certainlv part of the cosmic
heme. If at any period God should look
down upon His world nnd see only solemn
laces and hear no notes of riptilihg laugh
ter, I think it would grieve Him at Mil
'."a"- . ,"ut here they are ever side bv
aide; life s laughter and tears, and wher
ever innocent, we ran only imagine the
great and kind Father looking down benig
nantly upon a'l. Nothing is more conspic
nous m the character of the Lord .lesus.
with nil His intense moral earnestness,
than the beautiful simplicity of His svm
Tiathy with whit we my call the jovoiu
l.ackground of life. He begins His won
tier-working at a marriage fet at Cana
to which J,. had been invited as a mattei
of course The prodigal in his s'ory comer
home to mtii- and dancing. The kingdom
of heaven is itself like not a funeral-h:it
a ieat. ne was the enemy ot every bui
den which galled the necks of men and de
frauded them of their rightful happiness
J)oubtts mnny an hour in the intervale
of woric His soul was soothed bv the lyric
joy of nature hr the gentle starlight. h
the song of birds, by those Syrian field
(carpeted with unrivaled flower", by the
choral gee of young children On the hill
sides and around their homes.
","rrhn. hnt, think vou,
Would the Christ have said to penulr who
had corn t- ti.it p.risnc Cfn.r IVi? jlo
wbo said "My intat is l-v do the uii! of
linn that sent M sod to 'iiiitli His woik."
and again, "'I he f-on of Man came not ta
t ministered unto, but t minister and tit
vivo His life a lausoni tor many." He whu
found the deepest satisfaction ill life iu
joing His duly and rtvralmg God's prin
fiplts and love as the redemption of man
kind lion- must this ( hr st think of thus
who ncgiu-t t In r dlvinest duties for the
tittle, Uasing, diverting amusements, the
little yielding! to the spirit of sloth and
idleness which so frequently fill human
live. "What u your occupation?" was
skeii a ouug Frenchman ome years ago.
lis renly was "Je in 'amuse" I amuse my
self. That was only a frank admission i
hst it the only business of a treat many
!"nme time ago T went to call at a lions
shere there were several young men. To
ne or two of them I bore a messnge from
Wild which I nm entirely sure it was worth
:heir while to hear. And, having failed
repeatedly to lind them in, I took n 'mother
Into my ronlidencc nnd spoke nf my d tli
rulty. "Yes," she said, "they arc so' full of
ngagements outside of work hours that
'.hey seem to have no time to think nf any
:hing else but nleasnre. It is a continuous
round, nnd while thev are nt home thry atn
10 utterly tired out thnt they res'."
How many does that simple desrrintion
It? P.ut wfint is the utishot of it? Whv,
:his. while life slips rapidly nwnv God and
sternal relations are wholly crowded out.
The young innn subsists unon two diets-n
iiet of hard work and a diet of hard play.
And the motive in the work it. to get the
mean to piny, while the motive in recrea
tion is often chiellv to get the heallh with
which to work and earn. Hut what n sel
fish circle that describes! How narrow nnd
poor and shallow- is the young man who
prires only his capacity to labor and his ap
petite for' play! Who so lightly values nil
those diviner elements of his being ns to be
willing to mnkc no provision for their cul
ture! "Lovers of pleasure rather than lo"
;rs of God." It is a terrible epitaph upon
us. whether living or dead: "They wor
shiped nnd served the creation more than
the Creator, who is blcsse-d torevei-. Where
fore God gave them up to their own hearts'
lusts." These are words to make us sto;
ind think.
I have often noticed (hit it i apt to be
the ea that it is precisely those Vo.ing
men for whom find has done most who nre
itest to brink nwny from Him nnd live
the most sellish lives. There arc noble ex
reptions to the rule, wliifli shine like bea
ro:is, from Moses to Phillips Crooks. Hut
loo often the privileged life becomes n
worldly life nnd does not tell in the king
Horn of righteousness. Generally the love
nf pleasure in some form has in such lives,
likes the weds in your garden, rooted out
the love and service of God.
Men and women, we should try to see
life in its wholeness. A great mnnv peo
ple have too little laughter, too little rec
reation in their lives. They would be
wholes. n,er minded, freer in soirit. if ihey
could get oftener out of their dark pis
sages and rigid grooves. There nre more ol
such people than we think, nnd thry miss
a great deal that God puts within 1 licit
reach in His many sided world. Hut there
nre thousands of others who make them
selves imbecile by the headlong pursuit ol
mere pleasure. They never rend, thev
never ihink, they let their minds go, thev
forget thnt they possess souls, but spend
their seasons in things thnt give them n lit
tle pissing phyical pleasure in eating foi
the sake of rating, and dress nnd getting
themselves talked about, in contriving tc
have their names in some society organ,
till these things conic to be the nlxorhing
thirsts nf life. What is not sneriliced by
these giddv people on the nltar of their
social ambition? Where does not this sel
fishness, this love of voluptuous pleasure,
this hard determination to force life tc
yield them bodily comfort, even if tiod't
nnd nature's lawa must be broken to do so
where does not this spirit lead?
And how ready nre our leaders of opin
ion, sometimes, speaking great swelling
words of vanity nnd sophistry, to ridicule
whisperings of an educated and reverent
conscience and to revise for the- softer age
the statutes of nature and nf God!
Now these are some of the phenomena.
What is the remedy? First, this: Put
pleasure in its true place as the divine
Master did. If you look upon amusement
as the one great satisfaction of life, you
imply invert the intended order, nnd in
the end nre not satisfied. Our deepest
want is the great inner reconcilintion. We
may be diverted, we may for n while eg
rape from ourselves, but we shall never be
tatisfied until the soul is at one with God.
A brilliant writer, the author of "Our
elves and the J'niversc," reminds us that
"men called Xapoleon the unnmusable.''
Talma might play before him but
the conqueror extracted no (raycty from
Ihe performance. That is the nemesis of
'elf. When, on the contrary, the soul has
found its true life, the simplest things will
erve. A man then learns the heart's
laugh."
To make men linpry, my friends, we
must Dot lirst feed them with pleasuics of
the senses. The primal condition of hap
piness is that they be true to God and to
each other. "The soul rannot laugh its
own laugh till God has filled it." In that
relation there nre the unfailing wcllsprings
of pleasure. "In Thy presence is fulness ol
joy; nt Thy right Imilil there arc pleasures
forever more.' "These things have I spo
ken unto you that My joy might remain in
you and that your joy might be full."
When we know that satisfaction of dwell
ing in God nnd having God dwell in us. we
have a security against inordinate lower de
sires of every kind. One did not have tc
warn Washington against wasting his time,
or Gounod or Heethoven against making
discords.
Then we should have a care to retain, as
far as may be, the freedom, the mobility,
the wholesome interest in the rightful
amusements of others, especially of young
er persons, which will keep us in touch
with them.
If our diversions nnd amusements grow
on the same stem as our religion; if they
nre part of one organic unity, there w ill be
nn trouble about their regulation. There
will creep in them no poison of wilful law
breaking, no grimace of an uneasy, con
science stricken soul trying to escape from
itself, no wnste of time nnd faculty, nc
hunger for vulgar display. lieing in the se
cret of God, we shall have entered into the
secret of the child's heart, and live in sen
sible relations with every part of God's
great world.
The lasting pleasures of life are not the
fleeting pleasures of the senses, but those
of the mind, the soul, the spirit, the p'eas
ire which comes from a cultivated intellect
from sound and noble thinking, from re
fined tastes, from love and sympathy and
service.
Cross Word. .
Not only pleasant things, but sad ones
have their influence, and nre remembered
It is well to have this truth ever in mind,
and to act in view of it. "Kind words can
never die," says the little song. When one
heard that sung pleasantly he said sadly,
"Cross words can never die." One is as
true as the other. When we speak to an
other, it would be well for us to ask out
own hearts. "How will this be thouzht of
by and by, when it is recalled in memory?"
. Hy our words and by our deeds we are
' n,,l.iK.. ...... ...I.M !. .I...1I
xoandiK r 11,1 uilll'lH 111,11. Rllllll l(lV
pleasure, or give pain, in the coming day
Sunday-School Times.
The. HabuKth.
Of till the holy days none is more worthy
of the epithet than the Sabbath. Its an
tiquity, its rest for the body, mind and
spirit, it worship of God and study of Ills
word and works, the great events (if which
it reminds us, God's renting after creating
the universe and man and Christ's resur
rection from the dead with all the signifi
cance of that august event, combine to
make it the swccli-.t and holiest of all the
hu'y davs.
The Precldent's Many Visitors.
A man who la on duty most of th
tltno In tho White hnlisn nfllpna nnd hne
I a wf-altness for statistics hag made a
record for a month of the number of
visits which certain public men paid
to the president. Here are a few
Perns taken from tils record for Fer
rtiary: James H. Garfield, sixty-live;
John R. Proctor, sixty-four; Gen. Leo
card A. Wood, sixty-two; W. D
Foulke, fifty-eight; Senator T. C. Piatt,
thirty-five; Frank P. Sargent, forty;
Senator H. C. Lodge, sixty-one; Secre
tary of State Hay, ten; Secretary of
War Iloot, night; Senator Knute Nel
son, sixty-two. Mr. Garfield take
th lead because he has taken much of
tbt burden of the new department of
commerce off Secretary Cortclyou's
boulders.
Engine That Walks Upstair.
The Autotnotor Journal, London,
describe a new traction engine call
ed the "pedrall." which literally
walks upstairs with the stride and
surefooteduess of an elephaut. and
hauls loads far In exfess of those the
wheetw traction euglno can move.
THE SABBATH SCHOOL
International Lesson Comments For
May 17.
Subj:d: Paul Be lore Felix. Acts xxlv., 10-16,
24-26-0llea Text, Ps, xxlil., 4
Memory Verie. 14- 6 Study Vcrisi
1-27-Commentary on the
Day's ksetion.
If. Pull's defense (vs. 10-21). 10.
"Paul answered." Although twice before
Paul had spoken what lis culled a defense
first, before n vast crowd of .lew in tha
tcmnle urea, nnd ngain before the assem
bled Sanhedrin yet this is his first act
.tal defense, ns he now stands before an im
perial tribunal, the Governor representing
tin person nnd authority of the Kmperor.
' Koinsmuch n I know." It is remnrknble
that Paul did not begin bis speech, ns Ter
tulius had done, by any flattering address,
or by any ot the nits of rhetiwiu He
loiiniieil his pica on the justice of his ni.se
ind on tho fact that VVlis had bad so much
fxperience n the affairs of dudca thnt he
whs well qu.iliiied to understand the mer
its of the ease nnd to jud;c impartially.
Paul was well acquainted with his charac
ter, and would not by flattering words de
clare thnt which wns not strictly true.
"M inv years." For the comparatively long
period of six or seven years l'elix lind been
ill Jerusalem Hnd Caesar-en. "A judge."
A magistrate, or one nppointed to admin
ister the affairs of government. "More
.'heerfully answer." Hecnusc of Felix's un
iisunl fiimilarity with Jewish questions,
riii fact of his knowledge is r.ttesicd in v.
22.
11, "Mayest understand." From the
shortness ol his stay in Jerusalem, any of
fense committed there must have been r?-t-e-it.
Tlietv could be no (li('i"ult'.- in o'--tainni't
witnes.-es and or i.V's. "Twelve
Jays." From the time Paul left Cuesarea
until his return was only nine '.nys Only
right of the twelve days had been snent in
Jerusalem. His de-sis, i in Mentioning the
number of days was to show the imm-oha-hiliiv
that in so shor: a time he could ua
produced n tumult. "To wor-hip." lla
vent on purpose to worship nnd had n
tli itiulit of pro lucmg a turn. lit or of pro
faning the temple.
12, 1U. "Neither found me," etc. In
terms of un(iia!!iicd denial he meets the
tirst charge o: sedition. Worship, not
the plotting of insurrection, was the ob'ect
at his recent visit to Jerusalem, and whil'j
worshiping he was found and arrested.
He had not even spoken in public, much
ics by artful harangue sought to gather
disaffected persons cither in the temple,
the synagogues or the city. "Neither can
they jirov?." Here wns the pith of the
ease. This nppcal is boldly made; he chal
lenge! investigation. They hud made vague,
wild assertions about Paul, hoping that the
Governor might be influenced to condemn
him without trial, ns doubtless he would
have done but for his Koman citizenship.
They very well knew that their charges
could not he proven urdcr the Human law.
Accusation is not proof.
14. "This I confess." This verse nnd the
following contain Paul's renly to tho accu
sation of Tcrtullus, that he was a ring
leader of the sect of the Xaznrenes. Ho
boidly ind joyousiy confesses that he is n
Christian, but nt the same time declines
to acknowledge the opprobrious term used
by Tcrtullus. "The way." The way is
here used by Paul to signify the Christian
religion. See chap. 9: 2. "Heresy." A
sect. The word used is the same that Tcr
tullus vi -d in verse 5, when mnking his
charge. They had called the Christians a
"sect," nnd Paul does not disown the
name. "So worship." See 11. V. It is as
if he said: After the way which thiy call
false nnd erroneous, hut which is accord
ing to the inward light given me, worship
I my father's God, Jehovah; the God my
ancestors adored.
13, 16. "Hope toward God." Having n
hope of the resurrection ol the dead, which
arises from the promises o God. lie de
clares that, in common witfc many of his
accusers, nnd with the mass of his nation,
he holds steadfastly to the hope of a resur
rection from death, through the promise
end power of God. "I exercise niyreli."
lie strives ns the athlete ol warrior, only
his striiile nnd warfare is vithin the soul.
His riupreme nim and constant effort was
to keen his conscience from xtriking against
stumbliii't stones of accusing purpose,
wrong thought or evil deel. "Conscience.
The conscience docs no tell us what ij
right, hut urges us to do what we know to
be right, nnd rebukes us for doing what we
know to be wrong.
17. "After many ye?ra." Paul refers tn
the four years which hniK elapsed since hu
last "visit to Jerusalem (chap. IK: 221.
18-21. "Jews from Asia." Paul justly
compUma that the ve -y persons who ulone.
could testify against Jiim were absent, and
showed that there vas really no well
founded charge ngat.ist him. They nlono
could testily as to anything that occurred
in the temple, and as they were not pres
ent that charge o tght to be dismissed.
"Or else." Paul t;irn with a bold chal
lenge to the Saddiiceau Jews present. He
demands their own personal testimony
upon the facts thnt occurred when ho stood
before tho Sanhcdj in. With a keen thrust
he asks if the utterance of the hated truth
of the resurrection was not the only
chirpe of evil doiijg they could bring.
III. Imprisonr.ent at Caesarea (v. 22
24. "When Felix heard." The Governor
virtually decided Ihe ease in favor of Paul.
Hut he wished t6 keep tho good will of the
Jews. So he deferred nn answer from time
to tunc, in the .neanwhile allowing Paul
much liberty ,nd the company of hi
friends. "Kavijig knowledge. ' Felix
knew more than most ruler atroui inri
tianitv. He evijently knew the character
of the disciple and that what Paul aaid
was true. And yet he "deferred" the caso
because he did not wish to giveoffense to
the Jews. "After certain days." Felix
came into the audience chamber with his
wife, Hrusilla, snd the prisoner wa sum
moned before them. Thus Puul had an op
portunity in his bonds of preaching the
gospel, and nch an opportunity as lie
could hardly o . jerwise have obtained.
25. 28. "llensoncd of righteousness," etc.
Paul preaches s a faithful apostle should
have preached to such hearers. They gent
for him to hear uhout Christ. They heard
much more than they cared to hear. Paul'
boldness is all the mure striking when ws
remember thnt he was dependent on Felix
for pardon. ''Felix trembled," In view
of his past sins, and the judgment to come.
The prisoner prearhca. the judge trembles.
"Go thy way." Felix was troubled, but
instead of asking the way of peace, he sent
the messenger of warning away. He died
ss he had lived. "Convenient." The sin
ner is always looking for a "convenieut sea
son" to turn to God. A season when noth
ing will stand in his way and his worldly
-elati-ns will not be interfered with. Itu(
juch a time will never come. "He hoped,"
etc. lie hoped that Paul would pay fot
his fieedori. He knew that Paul had
many friends, and that "they were not
ton poor ur too (elfish to assist one uu'
th?r.
Darwin's Comparison.
In a letter Darwin wrote: "At a
house where , we have been staying
there were Sir A. and Lady Hobhouse
not long ago returned from India, and
she and he kept a young monkey ntic1
told me some curious particulars. One
was that her monkey was very fond of
looking through hor eyeglasses at ob
Jecta and moved tho r'a nearer and
farther so as to vary the focus. Thli
struck me, as Frank's son, nearly !
yoars old and wo think much of lilt
Intellect Is very fond of looking
through my pocket lens and I have
quite In vain endeavored to teach blm
not to put the glass down ou the ob
Jert, but be always will do so. There
fore I conclude that a child under 1
years la Inferior In Intellect to a mon
key." Prince Adopted by American.
Prince Intra, younger brother of the,
sultan of 8tilu, bas, at bis own and
his father's request, become the
adopted son of Col. Owen J. Sweet of
the Twenty-eighth United State lr
fantry. The young prince Is uow In
Boston with the colonel's family.
CHRISTIAN ENDEAVOR TOPICS.
May l7.-Tli Lad With thi Loaves am
FIbtV John vl. 911 (A Meeting With
the Juniors.)
Daily Readings.
May 11. Faithful In little. I.uko
xlx. 12-19.
May 12. "Whatsoever He sayeth."
John U. MO.
May 13. The widow's cruse. 1
Kings xvll. 10-18.
May 14. Everything possible. Mark
I. 23-27.
May 15. Thankful for dally bless
Inga. Psa. clll. 1-5.
May IB. WIho economy. Prov. xlx.
15. Hi, 24.
May 17. The lad with the loaves
nnd fishes. John vl. 9-13. (A meeting
with the Juniors.)
Scripture Verses Ps. xxxlv., 11;
cxlv., ; Prov. ill.. 1-2; vl.. 2U-22; Matt,
xvlii., 4; xlx., 14; 1 Sam. ill., 1-21
Murk x 15.
Lesson Thoughts,
No life is so sure to be a small and
petty life as one that is waiting for a
chance to do great things.
"No life's endowment Is too small
to become a real blessing in this
world."
Wo cannot know the value of tho
deed we do. Cod can use the seem
ingly must trilling service for great
ends.
Selections.
1 have read that at one of the great
mints some one discovered that the
thick layer of coal dust on the roof,
fallen from the smoke pouring out ot
the big chimney, was loaded with gold,
tlrawn up In fine particles from tho
gold-laden air below. Of course, that
got 1 dust was carefully collected at
onre. Thus it Is with many a deed
and many a life that seems insignifi
cant God's analysis shows the gold.
More great things would get done
many more if men were not waiting
to do great thinss and omitting to do
litt'.o ones. What If God had - said.
"I will not waste my time on water
drops and tand grains and grass seeds
and fish crs. I will wait till I can
make a world outright?"
There Is no work so small that God
;!oes not accept and reward It, If It
lias be-m prompted by love to him.
You never know all the good you do,
when you do good.
Ilelplul Eoti'.s, who are most loving
ly remembered and the loneost missed,
a-e those who have been mindful of
small opportunities.
We are but children, the thlng3 that
we do
Are as soprts of a babe to the Inflnlto
view.
That sees all our weakr.os3, and pities
it. too.
All great men have shown their
greatness in their care for the little
details of life. It Is this that wins
battles for the general, cases for tljo
lawyer and triumphs of Invention anJ
dUcovery for the scientist.
Suggested Hymns.
Brightly gleams our banner. '
Empty me of self.
I am not skilled to understand.
More love to thee.
Savior, like a shepherd lead us.
He lcadcth me.
EPW0RTH LEAGUE MEETING TOPICS.
May 17. Epwortb Leagu: Anniversary Day
(Rom. 8. 31.)
"What then shall we say to these
things?" (Rom. 2. 31). Paul has been
led, In this remarkable chapter, to sur
vey the powers and privileges by
which the Christians triumph is made
complete, and he Is just entering on
tho closing hymn or paean of victory.
What shall we, as a league, say to
"theee things" which God lias per
mitted our great organization to ao
compllsh during these "fourteen won
derful years?" Praise! Praise!
Pralpe for our departments and the
training they have riven to many thou
sands. Praise for the endless array of
good and right things made actual by
the work of each one of the six de
partments. Praise for our conven
tions, local district. State, Interna
tto'Ktl: for t"'- tbcii'jht. Instruction,
eioqiiLUCB, k.-., li r. ix, ...oti-
ships.
Praise for our Junior-1, for thdt
growth, their Epleu-dld leaders, their
songs, their Joy, their promise. Praise
for our new watchwords. Praise for
our mission movement, for Its pro
moters, Its Student Volunteers. 1U li
braries. Its study' classes, its monthly
meetings, Its grand first fruits. Praise
for continued Increase at the rate of a
thousand new chapters a year. Praise
for thirty thousand chapters and .be
tween a million and a half and two
million members. Praise! Praise! And
as for the future, "If God Is for us.
who Is against us?"
The League anniversary unites wltb
other festal and memorial provisions
of tho year in uplifting the name and
fame of John Wesley. The League
does not need to proclaim that its
roots go back to that epoch-making
life. Had It not been named Epwortlt
league It would have been wearing
the title Wesley League. Wesley and
the movement he Inaugurated had a
notable and far-reaching mission and
Influence toward the children and
young people. Wesley himself had felt
the value of sympathetic but system
atic training under the love and teach
ing of that very wise and resourceful
mother, Susannah Wesley. So careful
was his religious training that be was
admitted to the communion when only
eight years of age.
it Is not strange, therefore, that
Wesley's service for children In the
afternoon at Savannah, Ga., Is regard
ed as the first Sunday school In the
world, or that from the beginning of
the more distinctive Methodist move
ment the welfare of the young should
receive ever-increasing attention.
Finally his view of Christian doc
trine, full of tho sense of God's in
finite grace and impartial otTer of
mercy, has In It room for the trustful
approac h of young hearts to God, un
barred by thorny hedges of men's
thlnkln; or shut up In strong walls of
rarefuliy constructed theories. Every
Christian may well use the words of
John Wesley's singing brother:
"And shall I. Lord, confine thy love
As not to others free?
And may not every sinner prove
The grace that found out me?"
Orphans Benefit by Will.
John Summers, an old hotel keeper
of St. Paul, who suddenly died a few
days ago, bequeathed two-thirds of
bis estate, amounting to about (TOO,
000, to the Protestant orphaq asyluta
without condition of any sort, the riv
malnlng one-third going to bis widow.
Evil of Bachelor Life.
Star, registrar-general of vital sta
tistics for Scotland, declared bis
opinion that bachelor life was more
destructive to males than the iriost
unwholesome trade or tbe most un
sanitary surroundings.
THE GREAT DESTROYED
SOME STARTLING FACT3 ABOUl
' THE VICE OF INTEMPERANCE.
I'ormt Out nf the Depths The Bnrrln; o
Mnslnes g access to the Drlnklna Mnn
Is One of tli Wels-hllest Cause of Hit
Decline nt Drunkenness.
Out of the midnight, rayless and cheerless
Into the inornmn's qolden light;
Out nf the clutehes of wrong and ruin,
Into the arm of truth nnd right;
Out of the ways that arc ways of sorrow,
Out of tho paths that nre paths of pain,
ica, out of the cicnths has n soul arisen.
And "one that was lot is found again."
Lost in the sands nf an nwful desert.
Lost in the region of imps accursed,
With bones of victims tj mark bis path
way,
And burning lava to quench his thirst:
Lost in the darkness, astray in thf
shadows:
Father nhove, do wc pray in vain?
JInrk! on the winds come gleeful tidings,
Lo! he was lost, but is found again.
Found! nnd tho sunlight of God'j grral
mercy
Dispels the shadows nnd l.-rings the
morn :
Found' nnd tiie hosts of the clear Ho
cleemer
Are shouting nlott.l o'er n soul now born
Plucked, like a brand, from the conHa-.jr.i-lion.
Cleaned, like n garment, free fTOm stjin,
Saved, nray God, for ever and ever:
Lost for a season, but found again.
"Out of tho depths" by the grae? ol
heaven,
Out of the clcnth of woe and shame.
And he blots his name from the roll ol
drunkards.
To carve it again on the heights nf fame
'Wine is a mocker, and strong drink rag
ing:"
Glorv 1 1 God. he has snapped th. chain
That bound him with fe.tcrs of steel and
iron.
And he that was lost is found again.
Doivn with the cap. tho-.rjh it gleam like
rubies!
Down with the glass, thou-jh it sparkle
ind shine!
"It bites lik" a serpent' and stings like an
adder."
There is woe, end sorrow, nnd shame in
wine.
Keen though the sword be, and deadly its
mission.
Thre 'imc's its number the wine cup ha
slai".
God, send Thy gnrc u:ilo tlnse it has fet
tered God grant the lost m- be foii"d again!
F.lla Wluelcr Wilcox.
"uss of ttie Decline of Drunkenness.
In the discussion of exel-e matters eniiscii
by the enactment of a higher licnsa ln
it is generally aerpcil that while it entails
liaiilshin unon individuals, every legitimate
need of the eon'munity can be met nn.l
every taste of the consumer satisfied 1
fewer saloons. In proportion lo nopn'aiion
the number is likely to decline in the f:i
tore.
The barring of business success to thr
drinking man is one of the weightiest
causes in the declino of drunkenness.
Mr. .lohn Graham ltrooks has noinleii
out that the railroad companies ore nui
ereaiest single influence to- temperance.
Thov employ more than a million men, foi
nil of whom known drunkenness means dis
missal, and to a large i"rt"-irtion o, rvl:o:u
saloon visiting is forbidden. Mere are
seven per cent, of the ndolt nin'cs of the
country practically nledged lo alis'.ine-ire
Another cause which will gre.T'y limit
the saloon area nnd inHuence is tl.e num
ber of Mihtir'oai! "parks" ami eo t-.e ero ttis
being devtlimed by private cii'oul. wheicin
the deed of nil property sold carry rove
nants against 'nuisances" for fvam ten tc
fifty years.
in the eyes of the real estate rin the
saloon is the greatest of nuisances. lo m-
himself like an occasional drink, but he
will not let it be sold on his own land. .
million Xcw Yorkers will soon be living
upon land where no saloon can be pviiit
lained. And pronirquity powerfully alTcci,
habit. The swinging sign of the saloon
soggests thirst; its absence means sobriety.
The uverage man won't travel far for 'a
drink.
In time the influence of "restricted"
nre is must he rcfle' ted in the choicer resi
den e sections which nre not restrueled.
Purely ns a business matter, future muni
jinal managers will iinpjit-o why any saloon
should be tienpitted in i residence section,
where its inevitable effect is to depreciate
nropertv a'l about it. The money derived
from the license, were it twice as much,
?annot enmnensate for the loss in taxab'c
values. Is it iojd policy for a city thus to
?liennen itself?
These are some but by no t-icans all of
the considerations which' will limit the de
vastations of drink in future. And it !s to
lie noted that thev ere operating for o
Iniotv with greatest force at n time when
every Ntw England State but one has
given nn the attent to make men sob
by statute New York World.
A Itlc Factor In Mktng Drunkards.
It is a mistake to suppose that men alont
nre addicted to drink.
For obvious reasons a drunken woman
is rarely seen in the streets, but the homes
of the people might tell a different tale.
As to the habits of the wretchedly poor
I can speak out of a four vears' expe
rience as n missionary among them.
A llible visiio- in one of the slum dis
tricts of New York said to me recently:
"I don't think I know a man or woman
in niv district who doesn't drink."
Hut the noor arc not the only offenders.
Ask the physicians of our city, und, mulct
pledge of confidence, they will intimate
that there are skeletons in the closets of
many aristocratic homes.
In my judgment the responsibility rests
largely on husbands and fathers, who have
encouraged the habit by having wine on
their tables.
The only remedy is total abstinence. There
arc no drunkards, male or female, except
such as are recruited from the rank of the
moderate drinkers.
The beads of families, in particular,
should see the reasonableness of tho rule.
'"To.ich not, taste not, handle not." Hv
the Itev. Dr. Duvid J. llurrell. Pastor ot
the Marble t'ollegiute Church of Fifth Ave
nue. Swiss Want Temperance.
The Swiss Government has appropriated
a large amount of money this year for tho
publication and distribution of live books
against the use of alcohol. These books
are scientific ns well as practical and indi
cate a most pleasing advance in tho effort
to make the people acquainted with the
subject. Ono of these books ha the fol
lowing striking title: "The Ktfeets of Alco
hol on Work, lteing a ltesult of lloscarclics
of the Krapelin School." The other is on
"The Longevity Diminished by Alcohol."
Ailvlca lo llasabsll l'luvars.
An influential baseball guide (Witt's) bar
tho following wise, suggestion: Any man
now desirous of using his physical and
mental powers to their utmost advantage
must ignore tirsl, intemperance in eating,
and second, refuse to allow n drop of alro
holic liquor, whether in the form of spirits,
wine, beer or cider, to pass down hif
throat. S'o are not preaching "teumer
Slice'' to the fraternity, but telling them
facts, hard, incontrovertible facts, wluc-l.'
experience is gradually proving to those
who have charge of the training of nth
lute for feats of physical skill or viidur
once.' National Advocate.
rather Mattbaw on I'rot.IMIIon.
Tho tiic-slion of prohibiting the sale ol
ardent spirits, and the many other intoxi
cating drink which are to be found iu out
unhappy country, is not new to me. The
principle of prohibition eems to me tin
only safe and certain remedy for the evili
of inteuipei-une. This opinion has been
strengthened by the hard labor of mar
loan twenty year in the tcmpcranc caJ.
User llrotallsui. .
Beer brutalizes and render it victims
capable of committing uiost dreadful c.-iniet
and jet thi beverage is recommended to
people a'tafo aiihstituu for tint key,
called slruiigei: liuuois. .
THE RELIGIOUS I AYE
READING FOR THE QUIET HOUr!
WHEN THE SOUL INVITES ITSELF.
The TVnrlit I Too Mnch Willi ls-Aitnr
tittlnn rtocl and Kternllr Ihn Onlr
plnnatton t-or Some 1 lilng Hint Arlto
In Till Life.
"The world is too much with us." Night
nnd day
Xo tiiiic have wo to pause beside th? way,
V, l;?r roadside flowers in tende r beauty
bloom.
Or vl-ilrcs veil the dust above n tomb.
"The world is too much with us." Pelf
and sin.
The strrss of self, and earth's tumultuous
din,
Tli.' ciuseless probing Into things un
known,
Hal thiuugh our lives as acids through n
lone.
"The world is loo much with us" yet, if
wc
Linked earnest effort ,ti high purity.
'Then we would cease through fcndiil carr
to grope.
And sec. at times, the shy, sweet face of
hr pc.
William II. llavnc.
IMs Mfe lr.lv is 1 ruining.
"The round :nan in the square hole nnri
in the n und hole the square tnan" is oiten
said, and peoivo seem astonished, ns thej
sny it, lis if the occasion which provokeV
the remark were nn unusual thing, l'.nt a
little reflection shows thai in reality this
is almost thi rule rather than the exrep
lion. W ho does not know, for examp'e. a
clergyman who would have made nn ex
cellent banker or physician, a professor
who would have been a great strategist, n
soldier who would have been n lirst-rato
man of affairs'
Mi course, when it is said that for per
sons to miss their vocation is by no means
itnconi.ncn, (he truth nf the pnyine has to
be discounted bv making due allowance
for that "forward and delusive faculty," as
liuticr calls it, the imagination. People
are only too not. which is quite another
thine, to imagine, themselves misplaced.
It is soothing to wounded self love to flut
ter nncii'if thai one could have done much
beilet- had the lot fallen in fairer ground.
'Ihe environment, sav toe Saturday P,o
view, ,t must bo I'dmitted. seems in nine
rases nit of ten xingular'v inappropriate
It seems so. Is ii so rea''y? Cannot wc.
even with our verv limited vision, sec that
the cii'iieulties inherent in our sm-roind
ings are' often the vcy thing needed fot
the discipline of life, for the training am!
perfeciiiig of whntevcr nf good is in us
Life is called n nice. It is an obstacle
race, and the winners arc those who sur
moiin. the worst obstacles bravely and
wisely. A sensible teacher has said: '"Find
out what occupation a boy or girl likes
best nnd s.-ems nptcst ior. nnd develop this
liking, this aptitude, bin don't forget thnt
things uncongenial must be done also, fot
the sake of -ell con'-ob" Si"ipo . ! r
nil. the old story were true that this life
is but a training for nnother. that th"
rnallv important world were vet to come?
That s'ory which the world is ever derid
ing, but to which it so obstinately returns;
that belief which materialism piits on one
side, bii long experience of human nature
seldom t-iijs to replace. On that hypith".
sis certainlv much in life becomes iiitelli'ti
ble of which no olhr theory can make
anything but iarco. If the whole play is
plr.yed nut hc-e. nndeninbly life is very of
leu nothing but a farce, sometimes' sol
enin. sometime oim'id. That a man with
one great rs'inclty should through n" his
life be hindc-",! bv ci"eunistnnees either
exlev'Mi or of his own character from turn
ing that capacity to aecotnt i n wnste. a
I'eneral loss, so vst. no indefensible tint,
if this life were a'l. th e could be nothing
for it but a bitter l.-vvrV I, however, life
here were bu' a 'l'-e'ude to the real thing
-ct to come, it inivlu c-Tiomicallv be per
fee-t'v sound to debar the rem of one ca
pacity from u-iiig it until he hnd tone
thron-h a certain discinline that would en
no.e hint ultimately to ne it to greater ef.
feet. In fnct it w exactly what a sensib'e
parent does with a child that early dis
closes a Particu'ir gifi. li ile'i'ii'i-ate'v
proven ;a him making rse of i' until ho at
tains n rertain matn'-iiy. W'a' arc ten
year- to cisey; what then are sixty la etcr
niiy?
Tho denercsier of ti n Unjust.
"There nre pcr.--ons ahvays ready to do
you a kindness who cannot be trusted t
do yoj justice." said the professor thought
fully. "They like to give, but thev hate tc
pay. Generosity nnd free-haneledncss are
attractive qualities, but common honesty
is so very common that they scarcely think
it worth while.
"More than one man who pinches and
drives sharp bargains with bis workmen
all through the year makes a point o,' giv
jng tacit man a turkey at Christmas, und
tee.s very good over it. toa. There nre nus
bands who are lavishing gifts, often use
less ones, on a wife! who never receives Hit
simple justice of nnv share in the income
which she can call her own. Nor is it in
money matter alone that people nre in
clined to think an occasional spurt of gen
erosity will atone for the lack of steady
going justice. There nre those who would
make costly sacrifices for a brother in ne-eei
who never accord common justice to hii
work or his motives, and many n one
thinks ho is giving liberally to the cluireb
and Christianity while be is in fact with
holding; the whole life service which i hir
just dcot.'V-Wellspriug.
Not to t-.iieourHB- Xastness.
Henry Ward JJee-hcr once Kaid: "God"'
promises were never meant to terry out
laziness. Like a boat they are to be iowccl
by our oars, but many nie.ii, entering, for
get the oars, nn.l d-ift down more helpless -in
the boat than if they had stayed on
shore. There is n : an experience i.i life
bv wiiosb side God h is no: lined n promise
i'heni is not a trouble so deep and swift
running that we may not cross anfely ovet
if wo have courage to steer and strength
to pull."
Dnty of tho Cliurcli.
Professor A. L. Gillctt, of Worcester.
Mass., says: "Let me remind you of the
duty of the church to teach its young. He
cause the state has come lo recognise that
it i its cluty to teach its chilelien tlios
things which will make them good citizen
it doc?: not for a moment follow that the
church of Christ is absolved from teaeliin,
its children those things which will inaiie
them good citizen of heaven."
Taka It to th Lord In Trarrr
Nothing is too small or too pcrso ia! foi
prayer. If we loe something it is right 1 1
ask God to help u find it. If we have a
null and dillicult duty, it. is no inure to
m ill to luy before God than ii is too di!b
cull. If we took everything to God in
prayer wo should have God with us in
everything, and that would be heaven.
Wclwpiiii.
I'ersnnalltjr.
)pen the mysteries of personality and
the God side appears. A'oiic the person
stands, ,ll are powerless to render uny
uid. for no- one ran seo with the same
visio.i. J'lie spirit seem singing like a
planet iu space. Cut ali wove toward
one goal. A person is facing God. 'IVt
Christ in the temple came 10 tin realiza
tion. In nil Ilia life i...s certuinty rose
(il.iudlv us the climax of His truest self.
l'hc ltev. 11. L Cone, l-.'pucojjal, Uridgc
port, Cjiiii.
Most people experience considerable dif
ficulty i living up lo lliei.- L-cilic'-ijred
children.
Patent Commissioner' Report
The report of the Commissioner of
Patents for 1902 ahows a total of 49,
490 applications for patents, Includ
ing designs, and that 27,77a patent
including designs, were. Isuucd.
Statesman la a Car Conductor.
Boston bas a street car conductor,
John F. Hoar, who Is a member of
the common council, lie Is noted for
blB politeness to tbe passengers who
ride on bis car and they talk of send
ing blm to tbe legislature la tbe fall
NEW SOVRVe&ja fAPER.'
Th Strain Upon the Forest May Dt
Conslilerahl) Itellnvsit.
The development of rni'loux new
sjourccs of supply for pnper-mnkliig
iintetlnl promises to relieve very con
siderably the strain upon the forests
?aused by the continued cutting off of
normotis acreages of spruce, poplar
nd other trees for the production of
wood pulp. Tbe demnnd In this respect
litis, been so for In excess of the vlHlbls
supply that it hns become a serious
question, not only as to the results of
such extensive forest devastation, but
tvhet'o the material for paper making ,
wns eventually to come from.
Fortunately, the tendency appears
to be to look for pulp-making material
to vegetation of rapid growth, and
niilcli Is therefore correspondingly
nsy to reproduce, rather thnn to tree
which represent ninny yenrs of tie
velopment. The utilization of waste
materials also promises to afford no
little relief, and also to present Im
portant new means of wealth produc
tion. In the latter respect firent results
ere looked for from the utilization of
sawmill shavings Iu the production of
wood pulp. This hu been thoroughly
accomplished with yellow pine refuse
at a pnpor mill established for the
purpose nt Ornnge, Tex., where four
sawmills supply material sufficient for
R wood-pulp mill of 100 tons dally
rapacity. With paper Iu the neighbor
hood of $70 a ton, this means an enor
mous source of new wealth in turning
to valuable account materials which
hitherto have been burned to got them
out of the way. This means much not
only for the South,- where there niq
many hundreds of such sawmills, but
for all the lumber-producing parts of
the country is well. It is predicted
thnt every saw and planing mill of
any account will soon have its pulp
making attachment. Many thousands
of tons of wood-pulp may therefore
be expected from the utilization of
ebnvings nnd chips from such mills.
Oilier sources for paper mnking In
the woy of waste nintevlals lu tbe
South nre rice straw and bagasse, the
latter the refune of the sugar enne after
It bas gone through the mill. With
bagasse thus utilized in Cuba and iu
the other islands of the Went Indie!!,
tbe value of the product may turn out
to go very far in equalizing the con
ditions between tbe manufacture of
cane sugar and beet sugar, and per
haps even carry over to the former the?
economic advantage that bas lately
rested with the latter.
Another new source for paper mak
ing that Is coming Into prominence
promises to be of immense value for
troplcnl countries that Is, tbe utiliza
tion of bnmboo for the purpose. Bam
boo, which is a gigantic grass, grows
very rapidly, and produces nn enor
mous quantity of pnper-mnking tlbro
upon a given area. In nddltlon to the
abundant supplies growing wild, It i
proposed In various countries to culti
vate the bamboo especially for pnpor
making. When cut down, the bamboo,
like any other grass, will spring up
from the roots and soon develop an
other crop. In Jamaica various parties
are now going into the systematic
utilization of the bamboo for producing
wood pulp, and tbe colonial govern
ment promises to encourngo the In
dustry by admitting tho requisite
machinery duty free nnd remitting
taxes. Since the Island abounds 1c
mountain streams of clear water. It
should iuvlte not only the manufacture
of wood pulp from the bamboo, but
perhaps the establishment of mills for
the entire process of paper making on
the spot. Our own tropical possessions
Porto Eico, Hawaii and the Philip
pines should offer excellent opportuni
ties for the development of this Im
portant resource. Boston Herald. -
Place Names In the United States.
Mr. Henry Gannelt hns recently
published a report on the place names
of tho United States, from which a
few instances are given below, Chi
cago is an Indian word meaning wild
oulon or skunk weed; Chesapeake is
also Indian, and Is variously interpret
ed as highly salted water, great waters
or country on a great river. Chautau
qua is also an Indian word nnd has
several interpretations, as a foggy
place, a bag tied in the middle (refer
ring to tho shape of tbe lake), a place
where a child was washed away,
where the fish are taken out, place of
easy death, or, finally, place where one
wns lost. Ie8 Moines Is usually sup
posed to refer only to the Trupplst
monks, but It Is also connected with
an Indlun word meaning the road.
Niagara Is an Indian word signifying
across the strait, or at tbe neck. Shen
andoah Is Indian and means the sprucy
stream, or a river flowing alongside of
high bills. Massachusetts means near
tbe great bills, or tbe hill shaped like
an arvow-bead, or, again, the blue bills.
Mississippi means great water, or gath
ering In of all tbe waters, or an almost
endless river spread out.
Row Herbert Spencer Dictate.
When Herbert Spencer began the
composition of "First Principles," in
18(10, ho adopted tho practice of dic
tating to an amanuensis. He wa
spending tho summer by tho shore of
H Scottish loch. His bablt was to dic
tate for a quarter of an hour, then row
for on equal period, with the object
of stimulating tbe circulation ot tb
blood as to carry blm through auotber
fifteen minutes' dictation, nnd so on
through the forenoon. Neither tbei
nor afterward bus be worked in tho
afternoon. Teu years later, at time
when bis health fell to a low ebb, b
would go to a racquet court In lUir
north of London, play wltb tbe man Id
charge and dictate in tho Interval
' tho game.
Unostentatious Japan Court.
There Is 'no barbaric splendor about
tbe court of Japan nor does the Km
peror Insist ou fuutastlc forms of hom
age. He Is Just a plain individual
Ills guests he receives standing, find b
entors freely Into conversation with nil
There is scarcely subject that dor'
not Interest biui or one In which he
not well informed. A delightful host,
It Is hi custom to surround bluiseU
with clover men men who are sbinln
lights of their professions. Engineers,
artists, musicians, writers, soldier,
scientist every class of person who
have won distinction are welcome at
the royal tablu, for It Is one of tbe
characteristics of tbe Mikado that In
tbe distribution of bl favor ba I
thoroughly ItnparUaj, - --
I