"LIGHT IN A HIDDEN WAY" A Brilliant Sunday Sermon Ey Rev. Robert Collyer. Evtry Lilt Sbosli ft Aa Opta Slf-Coa-lalatd Prevldeaet Let Nil Heart aad teal Khooki.yn, N. Y. Dr. Robert Coltyer who recently passed liit eightieth birthday. f reached Sunday morning in the Second 'niturian Church. Thn audience filled the church and listened with great atten tion to the eloquent wordi of the famous Drencher. Ir. Collyer took for his subject ''Light on a Hidden Way." His text won Jeb iii:l: "Why is light given to a man whose way is hid?" He said: "The Hook of Job," snys Thomas Carlyle, "is one of the grandest things ever written with a pen; our first statement, in books,! of the problem of the destiny of man and the way Ood takes with him on this' earth: grand in its simplicity and epic melody, sublime In its sorrow and recon ciliation; a choral melody, old as the heart of man, soft as the summer mid night, wonderful us the world with it seas and .stars; and there is no-other thing in the Bible, or out of it, of equal merit. 1 suppose it is not possible now to tell whether the book is a true story or a sort of Oriental drama. The question is one that will always keep the critics at work as long as there lire rational and what ought, in all fairness, to be called not rational schools in theology. My own idea is that the rude outline of the story was floating about the desert, as the story of l.ear or Macbeth floated about in later times among our own fore-elders, and that, like those great dramas, it was taken into the heart of some man now forgotten and rame nut again endowed with this won drous quality of inspiration and life, that will bear it onward through all time. But whatever the truth may lie in this direc tion this is clear, that when Job put the ?Luestion I have taken for a text he waa as ar down in the world as a man can be who is not abased by sin. Job had been the richest man In tha countryside, honored by all who knew him for his witdom, his goodness or his money. He was now so poor that, he says, men derided him whose fathers he would not have set with the dngs of his flock. He bad been a sound, healthy man. full of human impulses and activities; he had been sight to the blind, feet to the lame, father to the poor and a defender of tbo oppressed, lie was now a diseased and broken man, sitting in the ashes of a ruined home; his fires all gone out, his tiousehold goods all shattered, his children all dead, and his wife, the mother of his ten children, lost to the mighty lovo which Will take ever so delicate and true-hearted a woman at such a limo and make her a tower of strength to the man. His wife, who should have stood, as the angels stand, at oace by his side and above him, turned on him in his uttermost sorrow, and said, "Curse Ood, and die." Two things, in this sad time, seem to have smitten Job with unconquerable pain. First, he could not make his condi tion chord with his conviction of what ought to have happened. He had been trained to believe in the axiom we put up in our Sunday-schools, that to be good is to be happy. Now he had been good sod yet hero he was, as miserable as it was pos sible for a man to lie. And the wor.it of all was, he could not deaden down to the level of his misery. The light given him on the divine justice would not let him rest. His subtle spirit, pierced, restless, dissatisfied, tried him every moment. Questions like these came up in his mind: ' Why have 1 lost my money? I m:tde it honestly, and made good use of it. Why is my home ruined? I never brought upon it one shadow of disgrace. Why am I tiereaven of my children, and worse than bercaven of my wife? If this is the result of goodness, where is cause and effect? What is there to hold on by, if all this misery and mildew can come of upright, downright truth and purity?" - Questions like these forced themselves upon him and would not be silenced. If these spirits that troubled bim could have whispered, "Now, Job, what is the use of your whining? You know that you have got just what you deserve: that you are a poor, old pewter Pecksniff, with not one grain of real silver about you. Your whole life has been a sham." The second element in Job's misery seems to lie in the fact that there appeared to be light everywhere except on his own life. If life would only strike a fair aver-, age; if other good men bad suffered, too, or even bad men then he could bear it better. But the world went on just the tame. The eun shone with as much aplendor as on his wedding day. The moon nred out her tide of moulton gold, night ted the blue vault with fires, tree blossomed, birds sang, and young men aud maidens danced under the palms. Other Homes were full of gladness. This man tiad sold bis clip for a great price; the lightning had slain Jobs sheep. That man had done well in dates; the tornado Bad twisted job a trees down. May, worst of all, here were wicked men, mighty in wealth; their houses in peace, without tear; their children established in their sight, ending forth little ones like a flock, spend ing their days in prosperity and yet say ing, "Who is the Almighty that we should fear- Him?" While here he was. a poor1 wreck, stranded on a desolate shore: a broken man, crying, "Oh, that it were with me as in days gone by, when the candle of the Lord shone round about me; when I took my seat in the market place, and justice was my robe and diadem! When I think of it, I am confounded. One dieth in tbe fullness of bia prosperity, wholly at ease and quiet; another dieth in tha bitterness of bis soul, not having tasted pleasure. How is it? What does it mean? why is light given to a man whose way is v hidf" Now, I suppose that not many men ever fall into auch supreme desolation as this, that is made to centra in the life of this most sorrowful man. "It is the possible of that which is in itself positive." But then, it is true that we may reach out in all directions and find men and women who are conscious of the light shining, but who cannot find the way; whose condition will not chord with their conception of life, and who, in a certain sense, would be better if they were not so good. The very perfection of their nature is the way by which they are moat easily bruised. Keen, earnest, onward, not satisfied to be below their own ideal, they are yet turned ao woefully this way and that by adverse circumstances that, at the last, they come to accept their life as a doom, and bear it in grim silence, or they cut the masts when the storm comes and drift, a helpless hull, broadside to the breakers, to go down finally like a stone. A young man comes to town from the country full of purpose and hope. He finds difficulties confront him; he striven, uu remains poor. At last, when hungry and faint ana alone, the devil comes a .nice person, probably, i but still a devil and tempts him. The young man yields. Or. lie succeeds, and then slides into the belief that there is a Providence that will keep bim prosperous because be is a good man. Disaster comes, and be loses bis all. in cluding nis belief in God. Or, a maiden leaves her borne full of trust and love. Under adverse conditions she loses hope, and asks: "Why is life given when tbe way is bid?" ... Or, here, in the larger life, is a prince aad leader of men. The roots of bis power begin to ramify through all the land. He seem to be the one indispensable man of tbe time. In the sorest need of all, be is mitten down and dies. Or here is a great cause, reaching bark into a great principle. The iigbt of the divine justice bines on the principle and so wins men to it that they cannot rest. Year after year they will stand, suffering, toiling, dying tor their cause; but me way apes not open. Yet they cannot choose but fol low the light. If the light bad not shone so in our own land we might have ground along in some sort of aHiuity te slavery. It waa light poured on the conscience of the natiou that brought on the war; it was light shining through tho darkness ' that kept the nation steady. Had no such light shone, we should have con si rue ted a new Union with the shackles of tbe slsve for a wedding ring. But. the light stood like a wsli of fire; yet bow long it was only a light shining on a bidden way! Our homes, black witb drsolatiou; fathers, mothers, wives, only putting on a cheerful look, because they would not. by their sudnrtis. dishearten the groat bear? of the nation. And so, 1 say, in men and nations you will find everywhere this diacord between tlw longing that is in tbs soul, aud what la.auau. Kaa. do. - Out Uie aa actio ens said oT ihfTCutliedrnT of Cologne, s'cerns to be a broken promise made to Ood. Now, in trying to find some solution of this question, 1 want to say frankly that I cannot pretend to make the mystery nil clear, so that it will give j oil no more trouble; because I cannot put n girdle around the world in forty minutes, and also became a full solution must depend greatly on our own dissolution. I believe, also, that the man who thinks lie has ieft nothing unexplained, in the mystery of providence and life, has rather explained nothing. I listen to him, if 1 nm in trou ble, and then go home and break my heart nil the same, because I see that he has not only not cleared up the mystery, but that he does not know enough about it to trouble him. The "Prineinia" and the Single Rule of Three are alike simple anil enay to him because he does not know tho Rule of Three. And so 1 cannot be sat isfied with the last words which some later hand has added to the book that holds this sad history. They tell us how Job has all his property doubled, to the lust; ass and camel has seven sons again and three daughters, has entire satisfaction of all his accusers, lives a hundred and forty years, sees four generations of his line and then dies satisfied. Need I ssy that this solution will not stand the test of life, and that if life, on the average, came out so from its most trying ordeal, there would be little need for our sermons. For then, every life would be an open, self-contained provi dnre and the last page in time would vin dicate the first. Men do not so live snd die; snd such cannot have been the primi tive conclusion of the history. It lias deeper meaning and n suhlimer justifica tion, or it had never been inspired by tbe Holy Ghost. And this issure to suggest itself to you an you rend the story, that Job, in his trouble, would have lost nothing and gained very much if he h id not been so im- Sitient in coming to the conclusion that od had left him, that lite was n mere apple of Sodom, that he had backed up to f:reat walls of fate and he had not a friend eft on the earth. Ilia soul, looking through her darkened windows, concluded the heav ens were dark. , The- nerve, quivering nt the gentlest touch, mistook tho ministra tion of mercy for a blow. He might have found some cool shelter for his agony; he preferred to sit on the ashes in the burn ing sun. He knew not where the next robe was to come from; this did not deter him from tearing to shreds the robe that was to shelter him from the keen winds. It was a dreadful trial at. the best; it was1 worse for his way of meeting it; and, when he was at once in the worst health and temper possible, he said: "Why is light given to a man whose way is hid?" Is not this now, as it was tlieo, one of the most serious mistakes that, can be made? I try to solve great problems of provi dence, perhaps, when I am so unstrung as t- be entirely unfitted to touch tneil more subtle, delicate and far reaching har monies. As well might you decide on soma exquisite anthem when your organ is broken, and conclude there is no musia in it because you can make no music of it, as, in such a condition of life and sucb a temper of the spirit, try to find thes great harmonies of Ood. When I am in trouble, then, and darkness comes down ou me like a pall, the first question' ought to be, "How much of this unbelief about providence and life, like Cowpcr's sense of the unpardonatV.e sin. comes from the moat material disorganization? la the darkness I feel in the soul, or is it on the" windows through which the soul must see?" Then, clear on this matter, the man tried so will endeavor to stand at the first, where this sad hearted man stood I nt the last, in the shadow of the Almighty, if he must stand in a shadow, and hold on to the confidence that somewhere within ill this trial U the eternal, the shadow of a great rock in a weary land. Friends peculate all about the mystery, and their sonclusions irom tneir premise are entirely correct; but they have forgetten to take in the separate sovereign will of God, at working out a great purpose in the man's life, by which he is to be lifted into a grander reach of insight and experience than ever he bad before. Job said: "I suffer, I am in darkness and disappoint ment and pain, because it is fate." Job's' friends said: "No, you suffer because you bave sinned. Rushes never grow without mire." They were both wrong, and all wrong. He suffered because that was the! divine way of bringing him out of hi. sleek, well satisfied content; und when throughsuffering this was done be said: "1 bave beard of Thee witb mine cars, but; now mine eyo seeth Thee." If I had never gone into darkened rooms, where the soul stands at the parting of the worlds; or sat down beside widows and little children, when the , desire of theil eyes was taken away with a stroke, ol grasped the hands of strong men, when all they had toiled for was gone, nothing left but honor; or miniBtered to men mangled on the battlefield beyond all tell' ing: arid heard in all these places wherrf darkness was on the way, melodies, melo dies that I never beard among the com.' monplaces of prosperity, I could not be i sure as I am that Ood often darkens th way so that the melody may grow clear nd entire in the soul. There is a story in the annals of scienrt touching this principle, that we cannot struggle faithfully with these things and leave them as we found them. Plato; piercing here and there with his wonderful Greek eyes: "Searching through all, he felt and saw 'i he springs of life, the depths of awe, To reach the law within the law," was impressed by the suggestive beauty ol tha elliptic riaiire. He tried to search out its full meaning, but died without the sisht. A century and a half after Plato, Appolonius came, was urrestcd in ths same way, took up the question where Plato left it, tried to find out its full meanings, and died without the sight; And so, says a tine writer, for eighteen centuries, some of the best minds were fascinated by this problem, drew from it strength and discipline; and yet, in all this time, the problem was an abstract form, i beiutiful or painful speculation. It did not open out into any harmonious prin ciple. There was light on the thing, but no light on the way. In the full time. Kepler tame; sat down to the study; and by what ne call the suggestion of genius, but ought to call the inspiration of the Almighty, found that the orbits of the planets were elliptical, and he died. Then Newton waa born, took up the problem where Kepler had laid it down, made all the established facts tbe bsse of his mightier labors; and, when he had done, he hsd shown that this Sgure, this problem, which had held men ipellbound through the ages, is a .prime tlement in the law of universal gravitation -at once the most beautiful theory und the most absolute conclusion of science. Then men could see how it was, because Uod had made the light shine on the thing, that the way was found. From New ton back to Plato, in tiuc upsotolic order, every man. bending over this mystery of n liaht where there was no way, and wrest lit,, faithfully witb it. bad not only grown mr nooie in hit own soui in tin' struggle, hut ,:ad done his share toward the solution i,, mil hv Hi 1.1 ureateat and last, who was also "born under the law that they might receive the adoption of sons." bo. I tell you, is this restless search for a condition that shall answer to our concep tion; this fascination, which compels us to search out the elliptic of providence, the geometric certainty underlying the apparent eccentricity. And every struggle to find this certainty; every endeavor to tluuib the deepest causes of the discord etween- what tho nature bears and what the soul believes; overy striving to find the Uod of our loftiest faith in our darkest day, will, in some way, aid the demonstra tion, until, in the full time, some Newton of the soul will come and. gathering ths result of u!l these struggles between our :onception of life anu our condition in life, will make it the baso of sonis vast generalization, that wilt bring tbe ripest conclusions t)l tbe science of provi dence into perfect accord with tbe grand apostolic revelation. "We know that all things work together for good to them that love Ood." . s , 4. . We wrong the deepest revelations of life when we are not content to let this one little segment in the arc of our exist ence stand in - ita own simple, separate intention, whether it be gladness or gloom; and trust surely, if we are faithful, the full and perfect intention must come out in the full range of our being. Uod seldom perhaps never, works out His visible pur pose in one life, bow, then, shall He in one (.I- unrli mil Ilia lutrfect H, 1 11 T TIlS JuDlO poetry in William Burns, the father, had to wait for Hubert Burns, the eon; Ber nardo waned to be perfected in his son, ... . . nr. II. U.H.UI iuitr i lorquato asssu; lvuiwui p-. ItaPl J-HXttUkUi itt.Un heavens. ior.Tohri Ifrschef -tr mase fiesr; reopnlr Mozart wrestled with melodies that Chrysoetom Mozart found afterward of themselves in every chai..ber of his bruin, ami Ksymond Bonhciir needed his daughter Rosa to come nnd paint out his pictures for him. Dr. llcid has said, that when the bee makes its cell so geometrically, the geometry is not in the bee, but in the geometrician that made the bee. Alns. if in the Maker there is no such order for us s there is for the bee! If God so instruct the boa; if Ood so feed the bird; it even the lions, roaring utter their prey, seek their meat from Ood; If He not. only holds tho linnet on the spray, but the lion on the spring, how Shall we dure lose heart nnd nope? So, then, while we may not know what trials wait on nny of us, we can believe that, as the days in which this man wrestled with hie dark maladies aie the only days that make him worth remem brance, und but for which his name had never been written in the book of life; so the days through which wo struggle, finding no way, but never losing the light, will be the most significant we are called to live. Indeed, men of all ages have wrestled with this problem of thn differ ence between the conception and tho con dition. Life is lull of these appeals, from tho doom that is on us to the love that is over us from tbe Ood we fear to the God we worship. The very Christ cries once: "My Ood!" Why hast Thou for saken Me?" Yet never did our noblest and best, our apostles, martyrs aud con fessors, flinch finally from their .rust, that Ood is light; that life is divine: that, there is a nay, though we may not see it ; and have gone singing of their deep con fidence, by tire and cross into the shadow of death. It is true, nay, it is truest of all, that "men who suffered countless ills, in battles for tho true and just," have had the strongest conviction, like old Latimer, that a way would open in those moments when it seemed most impossible. Their light on the thing brought n commanding assurance that there must somewhere, sometime, be light on the way. Aim High. If one seems to promote his own per sonal welfare, it is at the best a low aim, unworthv of a true man. - Selfishness, or selfncss, even of the highest sort, is ever below what is superior to a man- and any man and every man should always be as piring and striving toward that which is superior to himself. There are two vital difficulties in the way of a selfish man's strivings for his own personal good, even the highest. In the first place, it is a man's duty to seek what is more important than his own per sonal good; nnd in the eecond place, thn man who strives to secure his own high est personal good is pretty sure to fait in his pursuit. Any man who does his duty and tills hia place has some object of pursuit which he deems more important than himself; and, on the other hand, on ly the man who lives for something out side of himself is successful in his striv ing. It is a mistako and a folly to strive in an effort where, at the best, he will hopelessly fail. In every sphere of lifo the highst interest of self comes as an in cidental consequence of living for some thing which one deems superior to self. Pelf is at the best unworthy of our life nnd endeavors. A citizen who lives for himself, for his own welfare and happiness, is not likely to have happiness, or to find true enjoy ment, or to secure the highest personal welfare. His fellow-citizens arc pretty sure to he giving their thoughts and best regard to those who show themselves worthy of their devotion and honor. . (Striving to gain in one's own way one's personal good is, at the best, a low nun. A better way is living for others, denying self for the good of others, or in obedience to Ood, and to honor Him. Thoso who live for self dishonor Ood and lose their best selves. Those who live for Ood. or for those to whom they are sent or set in the providence of Uod, honor Ood, and incidentally have honor secured to them selves. Sunday School Times. "Pray Through." An interesting incident of how far-reaching is the influence of two words, occurred recently at Liverpool, Kngland, during the Torrey-Alexander meeting. Mr. Alexander had occasion to go with a friend to one of the leading banks in the city, in order to exchange some American coinage for British currency. While he was waiting nt the counter., he- traced on the blotting paper in front of him the words "Pray through," which, he had been using in the course t an address. These words formed the motto of the convention at the Moody Bible Instituto at Chicago. Almost un consciously Mr. Alexander wrote the two words several times on the blotting paper; then, having finished his business in the hank, he and his friend left. Shortly after wards a customer of the bank came in. He had been passing through a time of great anxiety, and while he was waiting at the counter his eve fell on the words, "Pray through." It interested him. and he asked the clerk who had written them. The clerk was not able to tell him, but the gentleman felt it was a direct message to himself to cease bis anxiety and to con His crown; be sure that unless you follow tinue in prayer until the cause of it waa removed, or he was given strength to un derstand the Divine plan. Helping the Poor. The great need of the world to day is not some one to bear its burden for. it, but some one who will teach it how to bear its own burden. There is much done for the poor and afflicted in the name of charity that falls far short of the highest uelptulness. un every nana organizations are springing up to provide food for tho hunerv and clothins for the naked, and some Christiana arc foolish enough to say that they are 01 more value to tae com munity than tbe church. To improve man's circumstances without improving the man is to do him more of evil than of good. It is better to open the eyes of the blind and thus enabie bim to provide for him self than to give him alms. The cure of DauDcrism will not be found in the gener osity of tbe rich, but in the regeneration of the Donr W W weeks, u U. Marvela of Memory. Tbe newspapers are telling of tha remarkable ft of a postal clerk who In a civil aervlce examination did not make a single error In properly sort ing 42,000 tent postal cards, each rep resenting; a postofflee In a certain ter rltory assigned. This waa done at the rate of thirty-three and one-half cards a minute. Far more noteworthy 1 the memory of an expert piano play er, who will play an entire season's concerts without a note of printed music before htm. His memory la ao perfect that hundreds of thousands of notea must be at the orderly and In stant disposal of tbe will. And this Is combined with a multiplicity of synchronous recollections of timbre, tempo, expression, etc. Tho myaterj la at present past the hinting of any explanation, and this fact la aa beau tlful as It la apcallfng. It ahowa us bow far we are from any real science of psychology. American Medicine. Propheuy by a Babe. An extraordinary atory cornea from Penryhn in Walea. The wife of a quarryman wat bathing her 8-months-oid babe when aha waa thunderstruck to bear tbe child aay plainly in Welsh, "Next year will be a terrible yaar, mother." Tbe mother rushed In terror to tha next door and told what abe bad beard to a neighbor, who ran immediately back, picked up tbe infant aa she toothed and caressed It Coaxlngly ask td if It bad told Ita mother that nest year aould be a terrible year. - To ir astonishment the child looked at ber and said: "Yea," and fell back dead. Tbe atory baa been discussed far and near and tbe two women bave been croaa-queatloned without shaking tbely atory. At Penryhn, where the people are rather primitive and, religions, there la much foreboding. THE SABBATH SCHOOL International Lesson Comments Tor February II. Suhjcel: J:idi Ferfivsi Sins, Mark II., 1. 12 GoUes Tex', Mark II., 10-Meraory Ver sts, J-4 Commeatary hs Day's Lesion. t. A palsied sinner brought to Christ (vs. 1-41. 1. "And again." At tho close of the missionary tour in Galilee. "Cap crr.num." Which was his home or head quarters. "It was noised." Tho news spread very rapidly. "In he house." Kit.hcr the house which He occupied with His mother and His brethren (Matt. 4: 13), or possibly that of St. Peter. 2. "Many were gathered." The audience included Pharisees and doctors of the law who had come f-om the towns of Oalilee, Judea and Jerusalem (Luke 5: 171. They hsd come to inspect and criticise this new Teacher. "About the door." There was a great concourse of people so that the house and court were both tilled. "Preached the word." The doctrine of the Son of Ood. They had come partly to criticise und partly, out of curiosity, and now Jesus seizes the opportunity to preach the gos pel. We should be instant in season and out of season to point others to Jesus. Preaching and healing went together and made a powerful impression. ;). "Come unto Him." Access to Jesus seemed impossible. There were many ob t.'ic!cs in the way. Should thpy have waited for a convenient season? no. They must force their way to Christ. "Bringing one." He was young, for Jesus calls bim sou, but he was full grown, for it re- ' quired four to carry him. there are many so weak and discouraged that they cannot go to Jesus without, assistance; we should always be ready to hel, such. "Siek of the palsy." Palsy, a contraction of the word paralysis, is a disease that deprives the part affected of sensation, or the pow er of motion, or both. This patient is utterly helpless. The disease is consid ered incurable. "Borne of four." Each one holding a corner of the "pallet," or lied, which was merely a thickly badded quilt or mat. There was co-operation in this work. One could not havo done it; it needed four. In the union of hearts and hands there ib strength. United they bad no difficulty. 4. "The press. ' It seemed quite impos sible for the crowd to make an opening sufficiently large for them to pass through. "Uncovered the roof." Luke says, "through the tiling." In the Kastern coun tries the houses wore Hat-roofed and joined together, so one could walk upon them from one end of the city to thn other. These housetops were places of prayer and meditation, and from the housetops criers proclaimed the times of public worship. Outside stairs always led to the roof. "Broken it up." They took un the tiling. They determined that noth ing should stand in their way. "Let down." Imagine the surprise of tho crowd ns this opening through the tiles appeared, and a pallet was let down beforo them. 11. Christ forgives sins (vs. 5-7). 5. "Saw their faith. Many of the gitts ot healing and restoration were ontained through the faith and praye's of thy friends of the xufferers. See Matt. R: 13; Mark 5: 30: John 4: 50. Jesus "saw" their faith. Ileal faith acts. Their holy boldness pleawd Him. 'Thy sins arc forgiven" (it. V.) Our first great need is the forgive ness of sins. Jesus rightly puts this ahead of the healing of the body. We can not doubt that this paralytic was a conscience-stricken young man. The condi tions neeesnary to forgiveness arc repent ance, eonfesnion, forsaking sin and faith. 6. "Certain of the scribes." The scribes Were tho leaders of the nation, the the ologians, legislators, politicians. They had come up from Jerusulem and other places tor the purpose ot opposing mm. in their hearts. They had not spoken open ly. 7. "Blasphemies." To blaspheme is to slauder Ood or speak impiously against Ood. In thi case they supposed that Christ was taking to Himself what be longs to Ood onlv. He is intruding on the divine rights. '1'hc blasphemer win to be put to death by stoning. "But Ood only." They rightly understood that all sins are sins against Ood. and therefore only Ood could forgive them. See Psa. 61: 4. 111. Christ heals disease (vs. 8-12). 8. "Jesus perceived." In telling them the thouiihts of their hearts Jesus gave them e the fullest proof of His divinity. He "feareheth nil hearts and understandetii all the imaginations of the thoughts." No siu escapes His notice. "Why reason ye?" Matthew says: "Wherefore think ye evil?" Why are you putting a misconstruction on iny words? 9. "Wnether it is easier." Both are equally easy and equally difficult. Everything is equally easy to that power which is unlimited. A universe can be as eaily produced by a single act of the di vine will as the smallest part of mutter. 10. "That ye may know.' External mira cles are the proof of internal ones. Christ was conscious of divine power. If failure hud been the result His humiliation would have been overwhelming and final. He pro poses now to nrovellis divinity beyond ques tion. "Son of Man." This is the title which Christ most frequently applied to Himself, sometimes interchanging it with the "Son of Ood." He appropriated to Himself tho pronhecy of Daniel (Matt. J6: 63, 64; Dan. 7: 13 1. It is applied to Christ more than eightv times in the New Testament. L It implies His humiliation (Matt. 8: 20), and that He, the Son of Ood. became f true man (Kom. 8: 3). 2. That He was tlw one perfect roan, sinless, and complete it every human virtue. 3. That He was tin representative man, elevated above mdi vidua), class and national prejudices. 4 That lie was, officially, tne representativi of the human race in Hvs life and death fol man. "Power on earth." They wert thinking of Ood as being in heaven, ana Jesus calls attention to the fact that then is power on earth now to forgive sins Th'j Son of Man has come to earth and has brought this power with mm. 11. "Arise." Here is the test. Christ show His ability to forgive siua by Hii ability to heal. 12. "He arose." The man bad a part to perform. Had he not acted at the word of command he could not have been Ilea led. lie exercised the pow er of his will and put forth the necessary effort to arise, believing that strength and healing would be given him, Before them all." This thing was not done in a cor ner. Christ s miracles were pertormed m tk mii nublic manner and were never questioned by those who witnessed them. "Amazed." Luke adds: "They were filled with fear. "Glorified Uod. J hey Had a high degree of reverence for Ood and were filled with, admiration for His power and goodness. "On this fashion." Christ's works are without precedent. He acts independently and advises with no one. Thev had seen three marks of His divinity: 1. Forgiving sins. 2. Perceiving thoughts. 3. Healing disease. The works of Christ are astonishing the world to-day. He is tbe same mighty Saviour as ever, and is still uble to forgive sins, perceive thoughts and heal diseases. Remedied. Women havo a resourcefulness thai men can never hope to attain. A young lady named Kate was mar rled the other day. When on bei honeymoon abe bad occasion to make some purchases in a abop. and ordered tbe gooda to be sent to ber at the Roy al hotel. But In an absont-mlnded moment she gave her maiden name to the shopkeeper. She bad acarcely reached the door, however, when abe noted ber mistake With admirable wit abe stepped baca and said to the shopman: "Oh, by the way, aend that package to Mlsa Kate , care ot Mrs. . Royal Hotel," and ahe swept. out of tbe ahop as If ahe had been married flfteun years London Tit nits. Minister Rebuilds Church. Rev. W. A. Lewie of the Cherry Valley. Pa.. Methodist church Is a handy man. Hia church waa recently rebuilt, and he did the painting, mason and carpenter work, and even carried the bricks and mortar up a 60 foot lad' der. CHRISTIAN ENDEAVOR NOTES. Ptbrnary I4-"Whst Will Real Frlcadshla Der-I 8am. 10:1-11 Scripture Veraea. 2 Chron. 20:7; James 2:23; Pror. 27:6, (t, 17; John 35:13. 14; Ham. 181; Prov. 11:20, 21 17:7; 18:24; 27:6. Lesson Thoughts. Truo friendship Involves much more than rmre affection; It means to seek In every way the welfaro of those whom we love, evpn at our own cost; It moans also coufldrnre in them, and a real desire to gratify every proper wish, in short, true friendship means real, devoted service. The atrongest bond of earthly friend ships fa a common friendship with tho truest of all friends, who is also our perfect example In tho crerclse of friendship. Selections. r'rtendiihlp Is kept and cherished by little acta of love, by mutual helpful ness, by dwelling on the virtues rather than the faults of frtends, by mutual service In some nobler cause, by love of Ood. Hall, friendship: since the world be gan, Heaven's kindest, noMeht boon to man. All other Jovs, with meteor fir. Quenched In tlw mists of time, ex pire. But thoa, unhurt by fortune's blast, Shln'at bnifVest, clearest to the last. True friendship ran rinly be made between true men. Hearts are the soul of honor. There can be no lasting friendship between bad men. Bad men may pretend to love ouch other; but their friendship U a rope of sand, which shall be broken at any conven ient season. lint if a man have a sincere heart within him, and be true and noble, then we may confide in him. Do not keep the alabaster boxes of your love and tenderness sealed up un til your friends are dead. Till their Uvea with aweetness. What worth is eulogy's blandest breath When whispered in ears that are bushed In (heath? No, No! If you have but u word of cheer. Speak It while I am alive to hear. Prayer. O Thou true and loving; friend, we pray that all our earthly ftiends may be Thy friends, and may this bind us all closely together. He-lp us to value more Thy wonderful friendship, and make us daily more worthy of It; as Thou hast loved us, may we love one another, and all for Thy doar name's sake. Amen. EPWCRTH LEAGUE MEETING TOPICS. February I4-R:sl Friendship (I Sstn. M, 1-23.) History and literature furnish many noblo examples of true friendship: Damon and Pythias; Soerates and his friends Plalo, Crlto, Phaedim; Arthur ,i kij UnnnH Tultlo' .fnfiriMon and nui, i, iv. . . ..' .. ...... , ...... -- - his immortal group: I.arnl and his companions; the Concord circle; Schiller and Goethe; Arthur Hallam and Tennyson. Hut neither history nor literature has a more cliarminn picture of real human frlvndshlp than we have here. It has a romance, a beauty, a padios, all its , own. Friendship Is rooted In the natural desire for companionship. The nor mal man wants society. Though lord of all he surveys In so'.ltude, hi would say, "Better dwell in the midst uf alarms than reign lu this horrible place." The root, of real friendship Is mutual affinity. Amos asks, "Can two walk together unless they are agreed?" Ragle and snail, blooded steed and clumsy ox, lion and lamb, cannot companion together. Neither can philosopher and fool, dull-souled sot and rtflned, asplslng BpirJt. When Jonathan aud David met after the vic tory over Oollath each saw in the other youth so comely, so sincere, ao valiant, so generous, so chivalrous, that it waa as though each saw in tbe other a reflection of hlmBelf and aaid to his soul, "Ah! there is one after my own heart." Henceforth their souls were Unit together. Friendships that are fed only on similarity of taste, like occupations, congenial tempera, may endure a wbile and be a blessing as long aa they last, but will never clothe them selves in tbe rich blossoms and ripe fnilts of true heart affections, and will find It hard to endure through the winter of adversity. That fed by love Is perennJal. Jealousies, rivalries, skulking envies, wither and die In its aroma. Love's sweet breath Is thtlr poison. Jonathan could not be Jeal ous of David so long as he loved him as his own soul. ' Heal friendship comes to Its flower In sympathy and loving service. Its blossoms exhale sweetness for the stricken heart and yield the sooth ing balm of helpful ministries. Even .lob's friends, blundering comforUrs thmitrh thev were, wanted to do some thing for him in his sorrow. They were Irritating Instead of soothing an,i hoinfni hut thtv saw at least that they ought not to leave him alone with his grref. How .Inexpressibly comforting to David, when hunted like a patrldge by Saul, to know that he had the sympathy of a great heart like Jonatnans: ies. anu iuviuh hoin Tnia friends will seek to btVBS each ether In the mod delicate, kind ly, generous manner. l ney win oe more to each other Id adversity than when all goes well. Never waa Jonathan ao mucn to uavm aa woes David was a fugitive In peril. White Black Bird la Shot. A genuine albino black bird has Just been shot near Catterick Bridge. York shire, England. Scientific ornithologists bave clearly enough explained the phy aiological nature ot albinism In birds, but It Is still a mystery what originates these- physiological conditions, and alao why It la that very dark-plumaged birds, auch as blackbirds, rooks, etc., are more liable to albinism, pure cr partial, than any otbera. It la strange, for Instance, that white robins are rare, and It la notable that tbe last found In this country waa obtained In Yorkshire (Bedbergh district). Last summer a perfectly white aand martin waa aeen by hundreds In the Buntharu (Yorksbt.e) district, and three or four In other parts of the north ot England. House martlna. also barn swallows, are liable to assume albinism, and many records are preserved In York shire. As for 'pled" blackbirds, rooks and auch like, they are aa common as tbe proverbial blackberries, whereas In tbe whole of Kngland there are prob ably not more than two records uf al blno woodcocks. ifcevKfi&sl One Day at a Tltue. One day at a time! Thai's ull it ran be; No taster than that i the hardest fate; And days bave their l::mts, however we Begin them, too earV and stretch them too late. One day at a time! Every heart that aches Knows only too well how long that can seem ; But it's never to-dsy which the spirit breaks; It's tho darkened future without t gleam. One day at a time! A burden too great to be liorne for two can be borne by one: Wbo knows what will enter to-morrow's gatu? While yet we are shaking all may bt done. One day at a time! bn a single day. Whatever it load, whatever its length) And there's A bit of Scripture to sav That according to each shall be fail strength. The One Just ttecord. The onlv absolutely just record of our lives is with Ood. He searcheth our hearts. He knows the motive of our best and worst deeds. We may succeed in de ceiving others, but wc cannot deceive Him. Our sorrows and our shame, our desires and our purnoscs, our imagination ami mental struggles, our ideals and dreams all, ull are known to Hun Who readetb our lives, Who "hath set our secrrt sins in the light of His countenance." These are our records. What is the les ion for us? Can we expunge what we have written'.' Never. But do we not talk of a past covered by atoning blood? Yes, the love of Ood ran heal the wound that sin has made, but nothing can remove the scar. We must keep our records clean. We must learn to say no to sin promptings and world syrens that lure us to ill. What of the record we have left in ths minds of them? if it bo unfavorable, the only way to heal it is to comnel them to change their estimate by giviug them plain evidence ot a changed life. The re cord from faults may remain, but we can write across it some such sentence as this: "He is a changed man. He is not what he once was. He is living a holv and blame less life." And what of rod's hook of nidgmeut? I bring you good news. He proinwes to cover our nins from His own sight and remember tiieni against us no more forever. He offers lu east them inti the sea of folgetfulness. And all for the sake of His eternal Son. "With Him u mercy and plenteous redemption." But, remember, there is only one way to ob tain that pardon, that runi.-'.oii. It is His way. "There is none other name.1' Rev. C. C. Alurrtson. True and False Tnterntlnn. Many people confuse tolerance and in difference, i hey think they are tolerant in their feelings, when, as a uiatter of fact, they do not care enough to huve any feeling. How often will ,1 men who is deeply interested in politics spivik and act most bitterly toward those whose politi cal principles are not hi- own, and yet think himself tolerunt because he does not care enough about matters of religion to mind differences ol opinion there? Mat ters of triiM and faith are worth feeling about. They are 10 much worth feeling about that it is better to be bigoted be cause we feel strongly about them, than it would be not to feel about them at all. The old Puritan who has written as his epitaph in the uncient Massachusetts churchyard : "Let. men of Cod in church and nation watch 'Oainst such as would a tolcratiou hatch." is more honorable in our eyes than the modern dilettante who feels very i-trongly about the color of Iim cravats, but has no feeling about errors in religious truth. Yet theru is a genuine and Christian tolera tion which is not indifference. It con sist with thn most deep and serious feel ing. This toleration cares about truth, and cares about what seem errors in its teaching; but it rests confidently in faith that truth will win its own victories in Ood's good time; and it acts consistently on the knowledge that love is greater even than truth, and must break the path in places where trutn has not yet appeared. This ia tho tolerance of faith and charity, which a man shows in places where he feels deeply, whether those placos be Us politics or in religion. Sympathy' Llftlug Power. A world without' sympathy would be a cruel abiding place. Those who have suf fered and received expressions of true sym pathy from friends would hardly dare we require to watch over and mange our think what their suffering would have been without a spoken word of comfort from a living soul. We are often tempted to feel that any word of sympathy we may apeak or writs to another, at a time of special trial, ia not worth the doing; that so many such words will be spoken to that one that our own will count for noth ing. The prompting to keep silent in an other's time of sorrow is a false one. Spok en sympathy is as a mantle of love; it comforts, strengthens and inspires. Our Lord Jesus Christ loosed for svmnathv. There ia no more affecting passage in the record of His life than that which tells of wis failure of His chosen and dearest friends to watch and sympathize with Him in the hour when His soul was "exceeding sorrowful." There has never been a word too much of sympathy spoken to a sorrows ing on. Sympathy's very cumulation forma a great force that uplifts and strengthens. It is needed by the weak; it ia still more needed by the strong. It is within every one's power to give it. And Ood. who is love, will bless it always. Sunday School Times. Be 'hrful. We ought to be as cheerful as we can. If only because to be happy ourselves is a most enectuai contribution to tne happi ness of others. There is no doubt soma selfish satisfaction in yielding to melan choly; in brooding over grievances, espe cially if more or less imaginary; in fancy ing tnat we are victims ot fate, lo be bright and cheerful often require an ef fort: there is a certain art in keemnii our selves happy; in this respect, as in others, we require to watch over and manage our selves almost as if we were somebody else. oir jonn Loiuoout. ' Kliht Leading and Might Foltowlog. If we eee a good example we well may imitate it. But we are not to be always remembering what has been done success fully. -dUr'hat can be done wa almulii ran. sid' . 'Ood baa set before us great princi- i'i4 iur uur initiation anu guidance. L4rd Bacon says: "Set it down to thyself, a wll to create good precedent a to fol low tkm." It I well to tread in tbe steps of those wbo have gone the right wsy be fore us. It is even better to tread in a way that shall lead others aright, as they are influenced by us. Are we leading aright, as wa aeek to follow right prece dents? Eaay Way of Measuring Heights. Anybody who knows how to take tha altitude of the sun or a star with a sex tant, and wlshea to take that of any distant hill, steeple, or Ihe like, should put a tea-tray on the around, fill It with water, and then retire from It un til tha top of tbe hill, steeple, or what not is reflected In the liquid. Now take the sextant, and make the Image of the summit coincide with Ita roflo tton in the liquid. The angle of eleva tion wHI tbua. obviously, have been measured double. Half of this will give the measurement reqalrest THE GREAT DESTROYER SCME STARTLING FACTS ABOUT? THE ,VICE OF INTEMPERANCE The Drunkard and the Law The IeV men si- majority of Toper Have) Walked With Open Ky Into a Trap Already Crowded by Victims. The State Commission of Prisons is 4e posed to takp a partly medical and at largely charitable view of drunkenness. Tni its annual report the Commission how) that nearly one-third of the commitment to jails and penitentiaries in New Yoraf during the past year wore for the offeneej of intoxication, and says: '"J his offence should not be treatesj strictly as it crime. Drunkenneas has in if no clement of mshce one of thn usual ana necessary elements of crime. Habitual drunkenness arises largely from mental weakness, und its treatment should pf lake of the characteristics which the Btatsl has deemed wise to use in other cases ef mental aberration. There is a large dies' tinction between the man who csnnow control his appetite for drink and the maat who wilfully and maliciously commits enf offence against the person or property efl another. The law should recognise thisj distinction. The present practice of send ing him to jail or to a penitentiary, brands! ed as a criminal, to consort with thieveau only depraves and discourages him, and all the same time inllitts punishment and prig vation upon his family. Some wiser mctnodi of dealing with this offence should be ee certained and adopted. " 1 There is a lot of truth in all that, el course, but there is also dangerous doeV trine. I A man may not know what he is doiruf when drunk, hut he knows what he is do ing when he begins to drink. If he ia af lunatic in his cup and commits crime, is the law's theory that, as he is a volun-4 tary lunatic, lie should be held responsible) for his acts. And that is common sense. i So doubt in some cases drunkenness is) a disease in the case of the born dipso-j niauiae, who periodically yields to the iras pulse to cast aside all self-restraint, and) also in tne case of the man who has drunk: eteadily until his whole system is poisoned Both need the doctor more than the po beeroan. I Hut it is also true that the dipsomania who has a really "uncontrollable impulse1 to drink is rare. The average dipsomania is paralleled bv the man who knows that! lie has a hereditary tendency to consump tion. In each instance the duty is imposed! to seek conditions of life least favorable to the encouragement of the tendency Forewarned should mean forearmed. The immense majority of drunkards ar men who have simply acquired a habit that has strengthened into a vice. They, hare walked with open eves into a trep already crowded with victims. The drunkard is to be pitied, but pitjj fiven in too generous measure does harm t reduces the man's sense of rcsponstbuV ity for his sins. It obscures the truth thai in all save one case in a hundred the drink cr is suflcring from the Weakness of will that follows upon habitual self-indulgence. Every man who controls his appetites, oa has lost control of them, knows as a face of experience tnat the will can as readily be made strong by exercise as the musclc or rendered flabby by disuse. The State Commi-sion of Prisons means well. Its spirit is kindly. Wc believe is is right in holding that the State should make a distinction between the man with) whom drinking is a disease, nnd the wilfuL sensual drunkard. The place for the first is the ho-pital. the place for the latter, 04 now, is the jail. Hut when all is said this great fact If true: A man should be master of himself, and every man who has not something fatally the matter with bis make up to start witb, can be master of buu-cif if he honestly tries. Let us be inst to the drunkard, and mer rifiil. but for Ins own n.kc, and the sake of his family and the community, don't coddle him. New York American. A Warning Incident. In the Pineville Democrat Iaira S. Las mance reports the following instructive incident, full of warning for drinkers and encouragement for abaiainera and temper ance advocates: About seven years ngo Benny Nichols, si fourteen-year-old schoolboy, was careless Iv handling a gun. It was accidentally di.-charged and a heavy charge passed through his srm. almost tearing it from the body, shattering the hone in several ilaccs, and lacerating the flesh until il i u 1 1 if in strips from the bone. An old soldier who helped to care for the boy until the doctor could get there, said he never saw as sickening siuht upon any battlefield, or saw as tearfully a lacerated wound. W hen the doctor came he made immedi ate preparations to amputate the arm. The boy bejged pitrousiv that it might not he cut off. Moved bv lu pleading, the physician took the father to one side and said to him: "Mr. Nichols, if that were nny other man's hoy in this whole township, I would amputate thai arm at oiue, as the onlv chance to escape blood poisoning. But 11 know you never touched beer, whisky or tobacco in your life. You gave your boy pure blood, and you have brought him up in the same way. I take the chance Wateh 1n m closely, and if blood poisoa ig appears, we'll remove the arm at once." The boy's arm healed perfectly, bus frightful sears will always mark it. Re peatedly the doctor has told lnm: "Young man, you can thank your father for your good fortune. If there had been any al cohol taint there, you'd have but one arm now." This boy is our own nephew, and we know these facts to be exactly aa stated. What wss a total abstinence father worth to this boy? .Ian. Alrohollsin In Childhood. Dr. Kassowitz has seen both functional disorders, such aa delirium tremens, al coholic mania, and epilepsy and actual or ganic lesions follow the protracted use ot alcohol in children, and believes that they, are often produced by even the mildest forms of stimulating beverages, such aa) beer aud light wines, given in amount) universally regarded aa harmless. It,' therefore, seems justifiable to conclude thai there is a special susceptibility of tbe) immature organism as a whole, and espe cially of it nervous system, to ti e effect) of alcohol, and tbe prevalent belief that small amounts may in some condition ol weakness aud disease lie advantageously given to children as a tonic and roberant u unfounded. A Village Turned Teetotal. A Somersetshire innkeeiier, who bad be come bankrupt, gave aa the reason for hie insolvency at his public examination the statement that "the whole of the village bad turned teetotal," The Crusade la Brief. The Belgium city of Liege, witb a popu lation of 150,UiK, maintains lu.OUO drink sellers. Of every 100 alcoholics attacked by pneumonia seventy die, while of every 1UV non-alcoholic so attacked only twenty three die. During the last thirty years, owing la drink, Normandy, in France, baa lost 147 .Out) of her people. During the same pe riod the province of Orne has lost 71.U0O. In the whole of France in the tst fifty years, while the consumption of alcohol, he increased 250 per cent., the populati has increased only twtive per cent. American spend $1,000,000,000 a jreer for alcoholic drinks. It is estimated from a study of ee-oper ative statistic thst t nor are over 10,009 murders a year in tha United State. Krosa inquiries mads in the large cities, where the fuels nre more acrruibW, it is evidvat that over ..evenly per cent, are committed by inr-on. under the iuliaeaco of spirit) at the liino oi the commission uf the crina. According to the annual report, the fluval Annv 'icmperam-e Ashormtioa baa a membership of lil.T-ti in ludia aloae. Uird Kitchener has voiiseutcd to becowe president of the association, ft is i-Uisuo I that uwiulx-i-ohip of the association ha ' important bearing upon health and e return, and ia of immense value to I disr returning to social hie.
Significant historical Pennsylvania newspapers