"CROSS BEARING A Brilliant Sunday Sermon By Rev. James E. Ho mes. L'rjM III to Hivt thj Paul Spirit of Co.iragt tail Contentmco', Evca When Wt Sill ier Under Load ot Adverilly. Brooklyn, Y. In the Siimmerfield Mcthodiet Kpiscopal Church Sunday morn ing the pastor, the Rev. James K. Holme, hid for hia aubjert "Crosa Bearing." Me took aa hi text Matthew xxvii: 32: "And u they pome out they found n man ot Cyrene, Simon bv name; him they com pelled to bear Ilia croaa." Mr. llolmei laid: Three kind of croasea wero in uae in tho days of Jcaua, the so-called St. Andrew's cross, the croaa in the form of the letter "T" and the ordinary Latin croaa, It was on the laat of these that Jcaua auffered trticilixion. Thia conaiated of a etrong up right post, which waa enrried beforehand tn the place of execution, and two croaa- pieces, which were born by the victim. It waa these transverse piecea which proved too heavy for the Master. It wai prob ably between the hours of 9 and 10 o'clock in the morning that that memorable pro cession, of which Jesua wns the central hi' ore. aet forth for the place of execution; a place outside the city walla. Ordinarily tuch a procession waa in charge of a cen turion, and preceded by a public crier, who from time to time proclaimed aloud the nature of the crime. Ho also carried a white wooden board on which this waa written. The longest route wos always o'ected, and the most crowded streets, to attract the attention of the people. Kach nf the condemned would bo accompanied by a guard of four aoldiera, and, as a mat ter of course, a grent crowd would follow. The weight of the cross soon proved too heavy for the exhausted strength nf Jesus. You must remember He has not tasted food or drink aincp the Paschal supper the niiht before, and that cvonte ha'd occurred lince then in quick succession, every one of wnicn must nave stirred rue soul witn deepest emotions. The betrayal by JuJas, and the farewell to His disciples' had oc curred, after which He had anent some hours alone in Uethsemane, encoded in a terrific mental and spiritual struggle. It wis then, as von remember, that Hia ne eraies found Him, since which time He has stood surrounded by enemies, practi cally alone; for His discinles had all for taken Him. Meanwhile He has been hur ried from place to place and from one official to another; from Annas to Caiphns, then to 1'ilate, then to Herod, and then gain to l'ilate. Indignity upon indignity, torture upon torture have been heaped upon Him nil that, livelong night and all that morning, so that it is not to be won dered at that ti.e weight of the cross was too great tor ilim. bp to the Inst ate, however, no managed to drag ir. but ere He sank exhausted beneath tho heavy load. It happened just then that thia man, Simon of Cyrene, came upon the scene, and him the Konian soldiers seized tnd compelled to carry tho cross the re mainder of the way. On first thought it might seem atranse that the people would ncrmit such an in- inity put upon a fellow jew, but thu iimon was undoubtedly a foreigner, which bis dress would indicate, and the aoldiera would know that it waa safer to put thia Humiliation on a loreigner tnan upon a Dative of Jerusalem. As it was. the peo ple do not seem to have resented it, that a fellow Jew had to Buffer the defilement of bearing a heathen cross, and thia may have been the explanation that Simon waa I foreigner, and only a proselyte Jew. How reatiy surprised ana chagrined ne must ave been, to be thrust ao unexpectedly into such a predicament! How it hap pened that he waa there walking abroad on a fast day we do not know. He may have been idly strolling along that country road without any particular aim or purpose in view, or he mnv have lived outside the city walla and was entering the city on Dunness or to worship or merely on pleas ure bent. We cannot know how to explain his nresenre there on that road between Calvary and Jerusalem just at that moment wtion some one waa needed to Dear the cross of Christ, but it happened that he appeared on the scene just as Jesus sank beneath His load, and ha finds himself seized by the Roman soldiers, and despite his remonstrances, compelled to bear the cross of Christ. It is all so sudden, and so nne::nccted. thnt he can acareely know whether it is not all a dream. We see it all as he did not. We see in Simon's experience that for which we would gladly give nil that we have. And why could he not appreciate it? Was it ignorance on his part? Had he never heard the name of Jesus of Nazareth? Had he not heard of those strange and itart'.ing events that had been stirring Jer usalem of late? To him it only appeara as in unfortunate necident thnt he happened to crosa the patli of this man Christ on the wav to execution, iust nn He sank imn under the weight of Hia crosa. Aa it is, he considers himself abused, humili ted, disgraced, and now he longs for the moment of release, that he may hide him self from the gaze of the people and bear in ailence the defilement that hue come upon him and upon hia house. Ana now 1 wish to place alongside oi thii. and in contrast to it. the words of the apostle Paul. "Clod forbid that I should ilory save in the cross of Christ." To Simon the eroas of Christ means disap pointment, disgrace and loss; to 1 aul it n tho one thing glorious and worth re joicing over. How explain the difference in sentiment? It will not do to tay I'aul is simply dealing in figure of speech, while Simon actually suffered the weight tnd the disgrace of an actual cross, for Paul bore the crosa of Christ aa actually u Simon. It waa the cross thnt brought him into conflict with the authorities and with mobs; it waa the crosa that drove him from place to place, a vagabond on the ice of the earth; it waa the crosa I hat brought him into prison, and into ''an I"; it was the croaa that made him a di Pace, and n name an execration wher vere there waa a Jewish synagogue. Paul Differed loss and pain and humiliation over M over ngain on account of the cross. Call it a figure of speech if you will, but his back waa bent, and broken: hia bodily Piina were aa genuine, hia humiliation was deep and hia loaa aa great aa came to Simon of Cyrene and far more ao. The "periencea of the two men were very "Hilar, almost identical; for it waa on a nuntry road leading into Damascus that Jul first came face ta . face with Jesus hrist, snd it waa then and there that t cross of Christ waa laid unon him. "I that from that moment until he died " bore that cross, feeling keenly the 'tight of it, the humiliation of it, the it occasioned him, but, unlike the ther men. glorying in it and rejoicing on fount of it. Why the contrast? Ah! nul understood tlx croaa, ita meaning, ita ferpoM, ita power; Simon did not. Poul that that croaa, instead of being the strument of. torture and ahame, waa on ! contrary God'a saving and sanctifying Jttrument among men. In that cross r'il beheld the method and the meant hereby the transcendent plan of the Al nhty to save thia ainful world waa made fibie. Mow any accident, or any provi "Mial occurrence that linked him to that . and thua to the glorioua purpoaea ol J- Lord, Paul rejoiced in and counted jt fortunate. And now, my friends, I ask you to eon wr for a little while these two method! J cross bearing. The world ia divided to Simons and Paula: I am almost tempt1 i the one hand there are the peoplf 'tosa Uvea are a perpetual groan and upWint. and their burdens are not imag ry. either. Their backs are bent aor J,4king; theit hearts are wounded to th lT core; their aoula are crushed. Life it l1 feat disappointment. It waa not ever with them: no, it ia of comparatively nt happening. Almost without note) ; forewarning, in a moment, in the twiuk f5 of an eye, they have had thrust upon aa uoapeakabl aorrosv, or some sp elling responsibility, or some irksome re rtuit, or perhaps it ia an overwhelming rac. Now are they like Simon of Woe, full c bitterness and resentment, Vmghng along under their, burden with K-d persistence, but finding no )oy and profit in their croaa. On the other hand, are the Paula; the nun and the 7en that are bearing burdens Just a Pu and just aa heavy aa the others, rbey their own responsibilities and re 7'nta, their own sorrows and disappoint , ". and .1 tf.jar team to, oarry, nncf as painful, too, as men ever nave rn this life. liut what a contrnst they pre sent! for their life note is .' ivous mi l tri umphant, notwithstanding the cii-s on their backs. Simon is the man win ia hearing his lot in gloomy and sniicn si lence, and bearing it in a wiy flint makes you feel he is none Hie bptter for having t- do it. Paul is the man whose sufferings and loaves you can plainly see arc the explanation of ,iis buoyant and courageous spirit. His lot, disagreeable and difficult as it is, lie accepts, not as the other man. with bitterness and resentment, but in that spirit of faith and obedience that (iod has a right to expect from all His chil dren. I know there are some to whom this will Round strange and perhaps impossible, and I know they are conscientious and religious people. They accept it ns b, fact that men must expect to be suddenly halted in lire, i- 1, like Simon of Cyrene, made to bear tome heavy and humiliating cross, and they endeavor to be stout-hearted and brave under the ordeal, but it is always and only a disagreeable and unfortunate circum stance in their lives; and they resent it and rate it aa did Simon: and that is all. They never seem to find the aourcc of strength and happiness in their cross. Now, is it true that the Paul attitude and the Paul npirit are possible? Possible to the over age man, I mean? Or do they require the Paul conversion nnd the Paul visions? Is it true that tho Paul spirit is possible in ordinary life, or must one have first caught a glimpse of the third heaven? I ask you to ponder this query, in the hope that we may clearly see nnd be convinced that it ia no unattainable principle for any man, anvwhere in this world. Here are two young men e'assm.atci it college, or shopmates. if vou please, in the same oPice or factory. The one is about as diligent as the other and about as suc cessful. Nevertheless, there is n marked difference. The one finds study or busi ness, as the rasa may be, irksome and slavish, it neither inspires nor develou him. He simply docs what he docs be cause he ought to or must, and his whole life is nothing more than a stolid persist ence lacking the heartiness nnd the hope fulness of the other. The other man is no better scholar, no better workman or busi ness man, but he is a contrast, notwith standing. Whether it is study or business, he finds his joy nnd inspiration in what h does, nnd does what he does from n snirit of love. There are the same restraints, the same burdens upon both, but the ono exults in them nnd is developed by them, where ns the other is full of resentment, nnd is in no way benefited. WhHe the nn? is full of enthusiasm nnd anticipation, ti e other is hea-tless nnd crushed.' The one is Paul, the o'iier is Simon. People used to wonder why (lor;p Wil liam Curtis, the dist'nguished and gift.' I editor of Harper's Magazine, entered the lecture field. Ho was known to have n lucrative position nnd a considerable in come from his writings: nnd so it seemed strange to many people that ho should take up lecturing, with its inconvenience nnd risks. Some were inclined to regard him as mercenary, bat nn his death tin explanation appeared. Years before, so it is said. Mr. Curtis had engaged in a busi ness enterprise with n fiicnd which proved unfortunate for both. It was in order to meet 1 the ob'iTations incurred bv the firm yhich bore his name that necessitated his goinv on those extended lecture tours: nnd Mr. Curtis lived long enough to retire from the lecture platform and that, too, after he had paid everv dollar of indebted ness, with interest. Some might say that is superfluous honesty, and vet mnnv men there nre to-dav who would do this vcrv tiling Mr. Curtis did, and as a matter of fact the number of men who have done ao in the past is not small. Indeed, there nre men living in our midst who nre striv ing to do this self same thing, ilut all men do not manifest the same spirit in thia otherwise noble task. One man will net aa if he were a bond slave, and while lie is faithful to his duty, does it in a cheerless, heartless manner, apparently finding nothing in his hard experience to rejoice in or be thankful for. He goes about his task as Simon bore the cross--cursing the luck that brought him to the hour, and full of bitterness and resentment on accou it of it. Withou' heart or in spiration, nnd without comfort or joy. he takes un his cross nnd trndires toward Calvary. On tho other hand, there are j men 10 wnom rnese neavy rasKS preome an inspiration and a source of strength: who nrj finding their happiness nnd their de velopment in cariviiia the cross, a linn- ; pines? and a develonmcnt that they would otncrwise never nave Known. If you and I are to have the Paul spirit nf courage and contentment, even while we stagger under tho heavy crosi. it cm I only be by the way of the Paul attitu do toward und and the Paul relationship to Jesus Christ. This is the same Paul who wrote, "We are child'-en oi i J rnd if children then heirs: 1 eirs of Ood and joi-it heirs with Christ;" the same Paul who wrote, "All things works together lor pood to them who love (iod." Afterward Simon of Cyreno understood the c-oss of I hrist, and then he beeamo a ran . Ihoagn the authorities turned him out nf th- syn agogue as defiled, though he nnd his f iniily became ostracised, it mattered little to them, since they could elearlv se how exeat a good had come to tlu-m in the form of misfortune. And do we not see how true this is of many people about us? Po we roc ec that the burdens of the family to that young mother, and that the new and heavy re sponsibility to others w-era just what thev needed to round out their characters and to till their career with force and trength? And whatever may be the form of the weight of the cross laid upon na in this life, mv friends, let tit remember these two thincs: That it ill possible, like I'aul, the apostle, to t'nd the inspiration and joy af our lives in fho cfoss: nnd. further, that it must be so if our attitude toward God ia one nf faith and nliedienee nnd our relationshio to Jeans that ot a loyal i.J loving diacip'.e. Cod's nine. Into all our lives, in many simple, fa miliar ways. Cod, infuses this element of joy from the surprises of Hie, which unex pectedly brightun our days and rill our eyea with light. He drops thia added sweetness into His children's cup and make it to run over. The success we were not counting on, the blessing we were not trying after, the strai.i of music in the midst of drudgery, the beautiful inoriiins. picture or sunset glory thrown in as we pass to or from our daily business, the un sought word of encouragement or expreg sioq of sympathy, the sentence- that meant more for us than tho writer or speaker thought these and a hundred others that every one's experience can aii"iiy are in stances of what I mean. You may call it accident or chance it often is; yau may call it human goodness it oiten is. but ni ways, always cn'l it Hod's. love, for that ia always in it. These are bis free gi.'ts. H. W. tongfellow. Entirely For Itself. No nation has a right to live entirely for itself any more than an individual. Ilev. Dr. Woods, San Jt'rancisco, Cal. JN THE DAYS OF 8MALLPOX. Old Advertisement Brings to Mind Dr Jenner'a Dlacovery. A little more than 100 yean ago Dr Jenner announced hia discovery of vaa clnatlon a3 an alleviator of smallpox. The following la a verbatim copy of that call published In the London Times, which was signed by about lor of the medical profeiklon, scientists mojibers ot parliament, and the nobil ity: London, January 10, 1803. The Invaluable Discovery of Dr. Je nr, for the Extermination of the Bmal' Pox, having undergone the most rigor ous investigation, and received thi sanction of Parliament, a meeting wll' Ve heid at the London Tavern, Bishop gate-street, on Wednesday, the 19U Inst., at 11 o'clock, to consider of the best means of carrying the same tnU effect; when the company of every Oentlettan disposed to concur In thu laudable Undertaking la earnestly re quested. The Chair will be taken b) the Lord Mayor precisely at ) o'clock. THE SABBATH SCHOOL International Lesson Comments tor September 20. Subject: Abstinence From Evil, I Peter lr., I II Ooldea Text, Eph. v., 18 Memory Verses, 1-2 Commentary oa the Day's Lesson. 1. The true life Ivs. I, 2). 1. "Foras much." Compare A: 1.3. 'I lie apostle points us to Christ s sutTcrins as an example "Arm yourselves." With a resolution such as animated him to suffer nil the evils to which you may be exposed in the body, and particularly to sutler death, if called by God to do so for your religion. For this will be armor-proof against all your enemies. Thera is still fighting, for sin will be molcstini you; though wounded to death, yet will it struug'e tor life and seek to wound its enemy; it will assault the graces that nre in you. You may take the Lord's promise for victory; that shall not fail; but do not promise yourself ease in the way, for th-jt will not hold. "He that hath suffered." etc. It is only by a severe conflict in which you must be armed with a readiness to suffer with Christ, that the power of sia over you can be made to cease. 2. "No longer should live." Referring to the preceding clause, "Arm votirsclves with the sane mind that was in Christ, in order to live no i-mger in the flesh to the lusts of men, but to the will of (iod." We cannot deliver ourselves from the tilth of sin: but when wc are renewed, taking on n likeness of Christ, then we arc armed sjgninst the lusts and de.ileinents of the world. "To the will of (iod." This will be a new life. The on'y true wav to livo is to live in hannonv with the will nf (iod. Vlnt He wills is he.-t and to the Christian is "iiood and owua'ile" (llom. 12:2). II. The old lite (vs. 3, 4. 3. "Miy aiithee." A uentle way of wiving we have spent too long n time in our sins. "Ot the ficntMe.s." The term (Sent ilea here means evil ones; intemperate. wi"ked -'nd wanton; lndulgiiii; in every sin forbidden by (Iod and man. !'K.-;ces of wine," etc. Intemperance was a curc in the apostle's day. us svell ns in our own. He utters azainst it condemnation of no uncertain sound. Kvery person nnd especially every man of (Jod should lie outspoken against intemperance. "Ahoniinibie idolatries. " In an age when sensuility was wrought into all forms of literature nnd art, was blazoned shamelessly in the decorations of private houses, and enshrined i:i the tem ples of the gods, the contrast of a chaste nnd (iodly conversation in the Christian community, witnessed for the saving and cleansing power of the flospel. Tne ex hortatijiis oi the unost'.es nt once testify of this contrast, und ure that it be made emphatic. 4. "Think it stranse." It is strange to the carnal man to nee t'le rhi'd of (Iod disdain the pleasures of sin; he knows not the higher and purer pictures that the Christian is called t). "Kxeess of riot." K.lther. "same slntwh nf dehaneliorv " '"Speaking evil of you." The wicked and dissolute always have a s;icer for those who refuse to share in their evil doings. The wicked do not hesitate to speak falsely when they meet a Christian. III. An account to l e rendered to (iod (vs. j. 0). H. ".Shall give account." He hath the day set: and it shall surely come, though they think it far off. Though the wicked themselves forget their scoffs against the godly, nnd tho-i'h the Christian slights them nnd lets them pass, tiny pass not so; they nre nil registered; anil the great court-day shall call them to ac count for all these riots and excesses, nnd withal for nil their reproaches of the godly that would not run with them in these ways. "Ready to judge." See chap. 1:0. As the salvation of the godiv is fully ar ranged, so is the judgment of their calum niators, whether livi:m or dead. 6. "The Gospel preached also." They that formerly received the (iospel received it noon these terms. And they nre now dead; all the pain of living is over for them. If they had not died to their sins by the Gospel, they had died in them, and so died eternally. It is therefore a wise prevention to have sin indeed and put to death in us before we die. If we will not part with sin, if we die in it nnd with it, we bhall perish forever; but if it die first, before us, then we live forever. "Live . . . to (iod." A bitter fount;iin sends forth b'tter waters; a sweet fountain, waters that nre sweet. A soul living hi (iod will show that life by action. If the heart bo rk-ht i-i the sicrh of Jehovah, the outward r.:;mwill reflect His image. IV. Various txhet-tutious (vs. 7-11). 7. "Knd ... at hand." This might have been said nt nny point of the world's duration. To the eternal Lord that made ii nnd appointed its period, a tiiou-nr.il years are as one day. We think a thou sand years a great matter in reaped of our short life, liut what is the utmost length of time, were it millions of years, to u thought of eternitv? To reach man the end of all thinss is. even after oir measure, nt hnnd; io- when he dies the world ends for him. "Be sober, and watch unto prayer." Sobriety is the friend of watchfulness, and prnver of both. When the affections are kept quietlv under con trol, and care is taken that e--en in lawful things thty follow the world but liihtly; when tlv necessary duties oi this life ore 'one faithfully, yet with a mind free and riiseng.iged. then the soul can more easily turn to spiritual things, and he ready con tinually for divine meditation and prayer. 8. "Above nil things." Paul puts love at the head of the Christian graces, in his Matchless chapter on charity (1 Cor. 131. l'eter likewise does the same. Paul goes so far as to say. "Love is the fulfilling of the law." Charity must be as tho crown, or the outer garment. Jt must be used bv the Christian ns th r'ojt important and niost distinguished ('h'-itufn virtue. I.o-.-e is the essence of reiig'on. It must be nt work in the h?art and shown in the life, or all other things will amount to nothing. It is above all in value, beeaui-e it comes froji (iod, and is the one thing that wo n-av keep through life anl carry to heaven with us. "Co-er . . . sins." It delight not in undue disclosing of h-cthren' fail ings, and doth not expose them wiilingly to the eyes of ohr-s. 911. "Hospitality. " As would often be nocesary toward the suffering. "Without rrud'Ting." ot murninrini at the cost o trouble. "Tha gift." Kndowment. of any 'ml. b it, Especially that conferred bv the Ho'v Snirit nouey, ability, influence or wh itver (Jod has given. "(Jood stew ards. " Whatever we have is to be "min-istc-d" to others as 'iod mny direct. We nre His stewards. What wo call our own iTf fro:i Co I end be'o-i-s tj i,oH, and we ahouM, ns "soid stewards," use it to Hia glor--. If we have an opnortunitv to vote n-rai-st th n'om and fail to do ao, in stead of ministering good to others wo will bo r'itt'ng a curse upon 'hem.' "As the op'ik " Those who srier.k for (iod must unenk Ilia words, what He reveal to them; they "mat sneak the tru'h as revealed in the holy 8criptire. "Minister." Thia piiv refer to service- in general. Our ability 4 tk simit of our obligation. A Few Conundrums. What torles have always been suc cessful? Victories. What sects are people striving to exterminate? Insects. ( What stream of water Is made from the union of two liquors? Brandywine creek. When does a gentleman' dress In feathers? When he wears a swallow tail coat. When does a little girl become a city ot .China? When she is Pekin (peeking). What tree answers the questions, "Which would beat In a race, a cat or a cur?" Dogwood. When Is a doughnut like one of Dickens' character? When It ia all of a twist (Oliver twist). The Irony of Fata. A lady purchased a nice new door mat tha other morning with the word "Welcome" stamped thereon la glow ing letter, and the first to cone along and put hut number elevens oa It wag a tax collector. CHRISTIAN ENDEAVOR TOPICS. September 20 "W hy soil Mow Wt Should Bear Witness lor Cbrlai." Acts iill-iZ. Scripture Verses. Pa. 71:8, 15; 107: 1, 2; Matt. 5:16; John 13:34, 35; 1 Peter 2:11. 12; Rev. 12:11. LESSON THOUGHTS. Witnesses in court are often sub poenaed and compelled to testify. Our witnessing for Christ must Ire a volun tary and a grateful confession. Neither deeds nor words alone are a sufficient testimony; words for Christ without corresponding deeds In his ser vice would be hypocrisy; good deeds without a verbal confesnlou of Christ as their inspiration would bo solf rlghteouaneas. It Is not always an easy thing to wit ness for Christ; from Its very deriva tion the word means "to suffer;" but we must bB willing even to su-ffer If need he that we may testify for him. SELECTIONS. What we want ia men with a little courage to stand up for Christ. When Christianity wakes up, nnd evTry child that belongs to the Lord Is will ing to speak for him, U willing to work for him, and, if need be, Is willing to die for him. then Christianity will ad ance, and we shall sue the work of the Lord prosper. Some people actually say that they arf not Rood enough to confess Christ, which Is precisely as sensible aa to say. "i am not well enough to call n doclor." it Is the sick that need to confess a physician, and It is the sinner that needs to confess Christ. "Let the redeemed of the Lord say to." Say what? Not what Browning, or Sptirgerm, or Meyer says about re demption, but let them say that tho Lord has redeemed them. After you have confessed Christ with your mouth, then everything you do confesses him. Here Is Smith and Hrown's sowing-machine, with no name on It. Do-eB It confess Smith and Brown, though It turn out a thousand fine garments? No. But stamp upon It the firm's name, and every seam It 30ws thenceforth Is a credit or a dis credit to Smith and Brown. SUGGESTED HYMNS. Behold how plain the truth is made. Stand up! iitand tip for Jesus. No matter what the world may say. Am I a soldier of the cross H'cst Jesus, grant us strength. The call of God is sounding clear. EPW0RTH LEAGUE TOPICS. ! September 20 The Call ol Jeremiah (;r. I. 4-10.) It Is not Important that we should knowi Just how "the word of tire Lord came" to JeremtaV, or to any other prophet. The word tame. That Is ths great thing. It Is proved, not by any strangeness of the revelation, but by the power, pungency, and truth of the word which was revealed. Ood has seen Jeremiah before Jeremiah had seen God. From the beginning Jere miah waa In God's plan. There waa need of such a man; God provided him, and educated him for his task, and in the fullness of time called him to take up the work. No man really receives God's call to great service without being humbled by It. The work Is so great, who am I, that I should presume to think myself sufficient for 4t? Such humility of spirit Is natural and wholesome. When God psrslsts. in spite of our protest that we are not able, ho usually shows us that he will work through us. He will link omnipotence to our arms, and will put tho word of life upon our lips. No work for God is ever done without his co-operation. He never asks for or desires Independent work. He seeks servants who are willing to know him as well as they know men. They are to translate divine messages into human speech. The great moral virtue required In a prophet is courage. The prophet Ib no mere functionary. All hours and sea sons are his. Ho tpeaks so personal a message that It compels men to take sides, for or against. The prophet will have a hearing. He may lost his pop ularity, his ability, even his bead, but he will prophesy a straight message. And he will not falter. To him "Thus salth the Lord" Is passport and safe conduct auywhete. It may land hlra in prison, or condemn him to death, but it cannot destroy hlra, or silence his message. If we could have a few Jeremiahs equipped to-day as was he, with the word of God as the great cre dential and material of their preaching, they might make themselves unpopu lar, but they would do a great work for God. It Is, of course, true that few men are called to be prophets to a whole people. But everyone who knows God is called, whether In great or small place, to God's prophet, God's witness. There are many methods of prophecy, but everyone has three elements; a di vine message, tho understanding of it, and power to tell It to others. To a no ble mind the privilege of working and suffering and fighting for a worthy cause Is strong Incentive to loin It Thj grandest leader In existence U Jesus Christ, leading In the noblest cause that ever touched the heart ot man, the redemptJon of the whole world from sin, the conquering of every evil, the transformation of earth into heaven. To Guess Several Drawn Cards. For this trick you employ a pack, consisting entirely of similar cards, from which ycu let two or three per sons draw cards. They should not sli too closely together, however, lest one should see the cards drawn by the others. They note their cards and re place them In the pack. You turn, and while pretending to look through the pack, you take two other cards which you must have at hand, place with them a card out of the pack, and ap proach those persons who have drawn cards, asking each If his card Is not among the three. On receiving an answer In the affirmative you point out the drawn card. Suparstltlonx If two persons raise their glasses to their Hp simultaneously they are In dicating the return of a friend or rela tive from foreign part. The same In timation 1 conveyed by bubble In cof fee or by the accidental fall of a piece of soap on the floor. A flickering Came In tha Are or an upright excrescence In a burning can die U Interpreted a predicting the ar rival of a guast, whose stature U Judged by the Isnjti cf the flame or xcreicecea.. If cne dralr a glass cf tha content of which time ooa c'.sa has partaken bo will learn the socrota of tha Utter. THE RELIGIOUS LIFE HEADING FOB THE QUIET HOUR WHEN THE SOUL INVITES ITSELF, I'opiiii Rowing nnd tirnplnc Cmistlr Se . verily Olvps n Curtain Evil l'li-nsurs- to I'eoplx Wlio Drlltilit In llt-lng Tlionghl sincere A I'rlii li ss Possession tsTisrt. Wc sow our seeds with idle, careless hnnd, Nor heed their full, But hurry onwurd like the laborer freed At sunset cal). The evening dews refreshing moisture snrend. The ripe earth warms them in its welcome . bed. Wheat, tares and all. Upon o day we come to view the field So idly sown; Alas, how small the wheat, bow big and gre.it The tares have grown. With bitter toil we strive to clear the weeds, Rcmeinberiiiff that the casting of tha sreds Was but our own. -Elliot Field. The Value or Tact. 'Taet." says the dictionary. "i ,1 (piirk or intuitive appreciation of what is tit, proper or right: Hue or ready mental dis cernment shown in sayinir or doing the proper thing, or especially in avoiding what would offend or disturb; skill or fac ulty in dealing with men nr emergencies' ".Sincerity," frays the blunt person. "i telling exactly what you think about every thing, without regard to another's feelinus in the matter." Tact is an extra faculty not understood, because of long disuse, by such people. It would h a ennd lil.m if ov-prv tlipo ' logical seminary and everv school for Christian workers possessed n clas in tact Paul long ago suggested the course of study to he pursued by such n class. Lack of tact miitlit lie culled a bad habit rather than a failing, for one is certainly to blame to some extent for the thought lessness that will permit constant words nnd actions that hurt the feelings or the conscience of onother soul. There is a certain evil pleasure to some 5eople in being what they call sincere, hey cultivate a caustic sincerity until it becomes a habit, and it is very hard for them to ever wholly admire or take pleas ure in anything not their own. And they not only do this, but they make a virtue of it. They know- notliinn of the lowly spirit that can humble itself to meet oth ers more lowly, nnd win their love; that can conceal personal likes and dislikes and ignore for the time unessentials. Such may think they love their neighbors, but surely not "as themselves," for if thev did they would know at once how their words some times cut nnd t.tiiig. how unlovely they make their religion appear, and how use less it is for them to try and win others whom they have first alienated. True love for others will beget sympathy. Perfect sympathy and thought for others will be get tact, which is the opposite of vulgarity, according to .John P,u?kin. lie says in "Sesame and Lillies:" "lint briefly, the essence of all vulgarity lies in want of sensntion. Simple and in nocent vulgarity is merely on untrained and undeveloped bluntness of body and mind, but in true inbred vulgarity there is a deathful callousness, which, in extrem ity, becomes capable of every sort of bes tial habit and crime, without fear, without Fleastire. without horror and without pity, t ia in the blunt hand and the dead heart, in the diseased habit, in the hardened con science, that men oecome vulgar; they are forever vulgar, precisely in proportion as thev are incapable of sympathy of quick understanding of nil that, in dceu insist ence on the common, but most accurate term, may be called the 'tact' or 'touch faculty' cf body and soul; that tact which the Mimosa has in trees, which the pure woman has above nil creatures: fineness nnd fulness of sensation beyond reason; the guide and sanctitier of reason itself. Reason can but determine what is true; it is the God-given passion of humanity which nlon can recognize what God has made good." iow there nre a great many questions of good or evil which while every man must decide them for himself nnd such decisions are imiiortant nre nevertheless subordinate to the great question of sal vation in Jesus Christ. Paul did not seek to belittle these questions, nor did he hid nny man go azainst his conscience in or der that he niitrht win souls who did not think as he did. lint lr- was trvini; t dhow- them that there was a time for even important details to stay in the hack ground ; that they could' not stuff doc trines down the throat of the man who had no appetite for them they must first i.iake him hungry for Jesus, niid then tho living word would be acceptable. So Paul diil not enter the lions? of a man who believed it wrong to cat n eat offered to idols, and forthwith flaunt the new free dom from nil such laws that was his in Christ Jesus, by saying: "Brother, I saw this morning ns I passed by the market place some unusually fine cuts of mtat fresh from the temple offered nt a low rate. You should go and purchase some." No. He quietly ate what was set before him. nnd won their confidence by accept ing their wavs ns his own. nnd then tnlked of Jesus and His new way of ralvation. The voung girl who invit.i a poor serv ant uirl to come to tho Christian Kndeavor meeting with her and seeks to win her to Christ, but remarks on the way to th meeting that she could never hear to wash dishes because it makes the hands so red nnd rough, will never succeed in her en deavor. The tactless nerson has fallen info the habit of excusing himself, and of feeling that he cannot help the blunders he makes. His friends deplore his stupidi'v, and siith and licln him on sometimes, liut fur the sako of righteousness nnd the cause of Jesus Christ no Christian should allow himself to lie hack rontent, a slave to so deplorable n habit. It is his duty to break it. He can do it with God's help. First,' he must get into his heart a love for his fellow men and a forgetfiilness of self. Next, he must study thoise about him, nnd learn to knots- their circumsctanres, their sorrows and joys, their ways. In short, he must learn to read character and teach his heart to syinnatluze. The new habits will exnel the old. Grace Livingston Hill, in the New York Mail and Express. "V I-rlra of rower. Paul no more shrank from inner con flicts and agonies than he feared outer perils and foes. He reminded the Corin thians, until a true and touching pathos, of the heas-v atrain under which he lived hourly, the burden of all hia churches rest ing upon his'eager sympathy, so that he felt every lapse as a personal fall, nnd made all weakness his own. He might have escaped from all this, but he did not. Any Christian worker can secure rest nt this point bv simply allowing his symna thiea to harden. It is an easy thing. Hut it costs him all his power. The price o,' gower ia strain From an editorial m Tha unday-achool Times. Factors in tfia World, Christ takes us where wc are. If we inherit good, He asks tor service at the level of our good. If we are born with evil tendencies, a large part of our work will be in the overcoming for which Ha 5ivea us strength. We are never lielulc-ss. 'he powers of the universe are really on our aide calling us to be of good courage, to take our place and do our part. Our mere existence is a pledge of an ancestral victory, not in anywise complete, but offer ing hope, in our own conflict. Insofar aa we recognite our evil tendencies, we know how and what to light. And in our battle we are fitting ourselves to he factors in tha great world victory of Christ. Shairel When a man' foot get tangled up with a woman' under the table and ha get mad about It, you can ma'j her madder by pretending you thought It u somebody olsa. Origin of Ox-Tall 4oup. Ox-tall oup, ndw regarded a a na tional Engliih dish, waa first mad by the very poor of Huguenot refugee from France, after the revocation of the edict of Nantea. because ox tall thea taJ co market value. ' WOULD NOT ADVftRTlSE. Engtlslimnn fnum! That tt.e Calls of Po. llteness Made It Impossible. lie wns nn Engllslimnn, mid although he hnfl lived In New York for sevcrnl yrnr.a, he clung to insular opinions with ft tu turlt v ?l'(it Duzxtoil his friends. Tor no tiiln -in itlsulalticd typewriting inn elnne. But oven though his aversion for that nee.'sxlty of the modern age whs well known, his iu-iunltitnnct- wore linrdly prepared for his lote.st ex hibition of extreme punctiliousness in the mutter of correspondence. Thnt oiuno out through his reply to n mini who had ndvlwed him to advertise In the dully papers n certain teaimodlty which he desired to soli. "Oh, but I ilnn't wniit to ntlvertlse,, romoiiNtnited the Englishmen. "It la too much trouble." HIh adviser combated the point. "1 don't nee how you make that out," list wild. "All you have to do is to write out your nil. nnd pay for It, nnd After ward rend the answers. I fail to see whore the tremendous amount of trou ble conies In." "But you forget the r.iost Important point the nnswei-iiig of nil the letters 1 shall got." said the Englishman. The ninn with nilvlee to throw away looked curious, und the Englishman proceeded to explain. "An ndvertlsiMiieiit In Now York papers calls out so confoundedly many letters', .vou know." lie said. "I have had occasion to advertise twice since coming to till s country, once for a homo with congenial people, n:n'. again in re gard to u fur tiiiifT I happened to find mid each time it took me throe slays to clean up ensuing oonvspnmleiioc." "Hut you don't moan to say," ex claimed the unitized advisor, "that you answered nil the letters you rocolvod?'- "I certainly slid." returned the Eng lishman. "Wlmt else cnnld a gentle man do? Those people hail boon kind enough to write to nr.', and oven though most of the letters wore worth less they represented time and labor find expense, and common courtesy tie uiandod that I lvply ami toll the writer that I could not see n,y way clear to transacting further liusln?s.i with him." "Oh. of course," sals1, the adviser. "If you hold that view of commercial amenities. I cannot m-jro yr.i to adver tise very often." The Englishman shook Ills hoad sat1. ly. "You do not seem to appreciate my point of view." lie said. "You Amer icans are so impolite in business af fairs." New York Times. Hpelllns; ltefon i Anla. There is a new outbreak, says the Minneapolis Tribune, of spelling re form. Earnest persoiis are writing I) the newspapers about it, and some newspapers are trying to begin at home nnd reform their own spelling, accord ing to the artificial rules of the learned societies. It is the old story. We nre to begin with simplifying the spelling of twelve large and hard words. When we have Induced all the users of English to adopt our reformed spelling of these, we nre to take twelve more, anu so on. until we have lightly adventured nil through she dictionary from A to izzard. Will the earnest reformers never learn that the sprlliug, wiititis and pronunciation of t lie English language me among the things beyond control by statute law or mass mooting re uuiuMou? We t!o not spjll the English lan guage. The English language spoil Itself, and we have to go along with it. It Is n living organism, fluid, grow ing, changing, like a Jolly fish floating In the water. We talk wisely about the laws of language: but the wises men tell us that they know lit tic a'.iout them. If the English language, or nny living language, have a formative, shaping force, it is the general, un conscious consent of its users, as vague ns It Is Irresistible, as fluid and shifting ns language itsoir. When a language begins to yield to tie shaping hand of the learned acad emies it begins to die. When it li dead you may spell and pronounce it any way you like, as wo spell and pronounce I.aiiu and ftroeU; but not before. Ciinnlna; Itals. The achievements of tho rat would be Incredible if they were not estab lished on authority beyond dispute. A rat lias boon seen, for example, to mount a table and ups n a box of ligs on to the Hour for the benefit of twenty waiting rats; nnd the stopper in a fiask of oil has been removed by itus which thou dipped their long talis into tha bottle until It was dry. Sugar has been found la deep drawers thirty feet from the place where the rats had found It, und they have been known to curry eggs frorj the bottom of u house to the ton without breaking them, the egg resting upen the hind legs of one rat nnd the forelegs of ua ther as they climber the stairs. A man-of-war was once so overrun with rats that they destroyed n hundred weight of biscuits every day, nud It svas necessary nt lust to tmioko the alii;) bctsveja de-Us. Alount Ararat. A Trench puper states that two I-'renclmien recently succeeded in reaching the summit of Mount Ararat, in Palestine, ut u height of IT. ITS feet. The Inhabitants of t ie regions sur rounding Mount Ararat still believe, that the mountain Is absolutely Inac cessible, though It Is known shut ns fat back us lSy.t the summit win ascended l.y Parrot. In lSJU tho I'.uskIhu. Al tonswoff, succeeded In reaching thu summit. Of all the persoiis, however who ever nscended to tho top of tho famous nioun(uti) none is better known than General Gordon, the hero of Khartoum, who In IS.' 8 ascended the highest point of Mount Ararat. Save Yosir Erea. Looking Into the nre la very Injurious lo the eyo, particularly a coal fire Tho stimulus of light and heat unites) soon destroy the eyes. Looking at molten Iron will soon destroy the sight r.endin; In the twilight Is Injurious to the eyes, na they nre obllginl to uiuk grat exertion. Iteadiug or sewing with a side llg'jt liijr.res the eyes, a ,totj eye saoild be exposed t an enuar force of light. Those who wish to preserve their sight stould preserve their general health by correct habits of living, and give their eye Just work :iough, with a due degree of light. THE GREAT DESTR0TEK SOME STARTLING FACTS ABOUT THE VICE OF INTEMPERANCE. A Doc-tor's Opinion Almholle Bvsiiaat as is I'reillspnslng anil Exciting- Casssssr of Disease anil Crimeflora Ilaale Ishes the Strength or tlsa Bsxlx. Tames Thacher. M. D., was a promiasmU physician and surgeon throughout taw revolutionary War. lie was a man oJ keen observation and sound judgmeBt In addition to his valuable Military Jour nal, he published hia celebrated jUtiileias Practice of Medicine. I quote from thia work his opinioa re garding the ellect of ardent apinta a)j-, tor it was not generally believed setntjr tive years ago that wine, beer and oihetr "soft drinks were harmful. "There are marked chronic offevts nK ardent spirits uiion the body and the mia.K On the nody tliey dispose ti ererr form, of disease. Moreover, they excite vario diseases, as obstruction of the liver, jaun dice, dropsy, cough, consumption and other pulmonary diseases, eruptions on the fans and nose, called rum buds (we call theim rum blossoms now), and gout in all irs forms. "Ardent spirits often incite fatal dis eases without producing drunkness. f have known many persona destroyed fvtr distilled liquor svho were never completelsr intoxicated during the whole course of their lives. The solitary instance of loa uevity which are now and then met witts in hard drinkers no more disprove the deadly effect of ardent spirits than the solitary instances of recoveries from drou'tnns prove that there is no dUngKT to life from a human body lying an huur or two under water. "N'ot less destructive arc the effects nt distilled spirits upon the human miml. Dr. Waters, of Pennsylvania IfrrspDAl, tells me that the insanity of one-tljird of the patients there was induced by ak-ohobe uriiihs. They impair the memory, debili tate tne utiiler-stanmng, and pervert tne moral faculties. Not only falsehood is produced by them, hut unclcanness, framt, theft and murder. No more afiecting spec tacle can be exhibited than a persoa whose condition has been generated by the Dibit, of drinking ardent spirits. "Is he a husband? How deep the an euish which rends the bosom of his wifr Is the drinker a wife? Who can measure the shame and aversion which she excite, ill her husband? Is he a magistrate, or has he been called to fill a responsible po sition in the councils of tne nation? What humiliating fcni-s of corruption iw the administration of the laws appear in the countenance of all who see him! I be a minister of the (iospel? Here Lin coaxe fails me. If angels weep it is a,t ueh a sight. Poverty and misery, rrime. ami imamy, disease and death are al) the natural and usual consequencea of the nsro-lutiL-ed use of ardent spirits. And this death i suicide. "Put the use of distilled liquors is be lieved by manv people to give strengthi to the body in certain circumstance. They nre said to be necessary in coldl weather. This is not true; for the tem porary warmth produced is always suc ceeded by a greater disposition of the body to be affected bv cold. They are ajto declared to be needed in very svarm weather. Experience shows that increas ing instead of lessening the effect of heat uticin the body is the result of their sue. Dr. Dell, of the West Indies, declares that rum always diminishes the strength of the body and renders men unfit for any ser vice in which vigor and activity sre re quired. "Ardent spirits do not lessen the effect nf hard labor upon the body. Look at the horse; with every muscle of Ins body swollen from morning till night when at tached to a plow of in a team! Does ta make signs for a glass of toddv to eaabls him to do his work? No! He requires, nothing but cool water and substantial food. There is no nourishment in ar.leni spirits. So meat is the danger of con tracting a love for distilled liquors that the smallest amount possible should be prescribed by n physician. A physicfant of eminence who died near the close of the last century in London lamented in pa thetic terms that he had innocently mad many sots by prescribing brandy and wa ter in .summer complaints. Smoking anil chewiim tobacco, by rendering water m i Minnie beverages insipid, dispose to the ui- nf ardent spirits. "No man ever became a drunkard su.I di nly. l!y gradually accustoming tha t.i-te and stomach to ardent spiriU .. habit is funned, nud the desire for mure liquor increase; the odious nuisance of at dram drinker's breath becomes a per manent acquisition, with the accompani ment of dnwnright stupidity and impa- ll'IH-M. Ministers of the (Iospel of cvrrv de nomiiiatinu in the I'nited State aid me with all the Height of the influence yoit possess, bv your precept and example, t prevent tho multitude of crimes nnd mis eries the offspring f strong drink! "It is limlily probable that not -ss than 4m) people die annually in the I'nue.l States from the use of intoxicating drink. W here are all the Indian tribe whose numbers and arms formerly spread terror ninong their civilised neighbors? In the words nf the famous Mingo chief, 'the blood of many of them tlowa not in that veins of any human creature. They have perished not by pestilence r.r war. but bv a greater foe to human tiie than either of these, ardent spirits. . . . The loss of 4000 American citizens bv the-yelloM- fever in a single year awakened? general sympathy and terror, and called, all the strength and ingenuity of list ti prevent its recurrence. Whv is not the same zed manifested in protecting ojr citizens from the more general and da iinung ravaies of distilled anirits'1" . Menrv I). Didama, M 1)., Vice-President of Anuritun Medical Temperance Associa tion. What One I'ltsrky Mlaltr lld. " Rev. F. If. Argo, the young rector of aa Euiscnpal Church nt Itockhdge, Pa., has shown what one determined mail can d- in driving out gamblers, home poolroom, men svho had been forced to leave Phila delphia established quarters near Mr. Ar ' church. He railed upon them, bin: was denied admission. He then told the gamblers it would be better for thera t go asvay nuietly, for he should keep after them until every one waa coavicted. Airer a consultation, the gamblers notified the clergyman they would leave st oner, asui they and their belongings disappeared. Miter Under tho Baa. No more cider, asrret or hard, raa be sold in the commonwealth nf Mssaachia setts without a license. The Superior Court has decided that sweet cider is aa much under tho ban aa whisky. Thai compilers of the revised atatutea of Mia aachusetta thought thev would make tha second section of the liquor law nor i telligible, ao they inserted a comma here ami there. 'One of these commas but caused the trouble for the cider-nukcra and userj. The Onsada In Brief. The billots of freemen muut drfemj tie honors of freemen. National Advocate. Through all ages the sia of intemDeraan ha been pointed out and slrunkennnsa condemned. Thu Crest Creator set tits seal of disapproval upon it tarongh hia prophets nnd firoujh our Saviour, Hi only begotten Son. Statistics allow that out of the total London's curable drunkards oHewlers who have been convicted more than tea time 3000 are women and 430 mca. la twenty year tha deaths of worn is fruas chronic alcoholism increased over 14 par cent. Journal of Inebriety. "Man is born unto trouble as the a parka fly unward;" snd the drunkard's wife is married tt trouble, oa sure as aakosa draug -down-vard. ' The new hall of the National Temper- . tncs Society snd piiblscstioa hoaa at 3 Lost Fourteenth atreet. New York City, lias Iwe-i -dedicated. Dr. Cuyler, of Brook -vn, cVis-ered si addrrsts in m-nory ! t late William E. Dodrn aid Mm. Dailse, for who-u tha natr It til of the aasaciatassi it rained. It looka aa if Boston woaid sasa U a fr et lit r to her many c'.aiiaa le itistiatitiaa -that of binj a city where drsutkca aaa and wor.im ave not SMa. Tbis M dste te the effort o.' the new CasiraaaB oi tha IVicB tto i.-d, William H. H. Kaaanana. sakaj has iinnauaued that he will iWuuK k1 m iuhu m iMHjsaii asv
Significant historical Pennsylvania newspapers