'SLEEP AS GOD'S GIFT"
la Eloquent Sunday Serron By Rev.
T. A. Nelson, D. 0.
i Stirring Addrttt With Aa Appropriate Text
el Comprcbeaslrt Mslof.
KBOOKI.TX, N. Y. At the Second Pre
byterian Church Sunday morning the pas
tor, the Rev. T. A. Nelson, D. 1)., preached
on the subject,' "Sleeplessness." He took
for his text, Daniel ii, part of first verse.
"His spirit was troubled and sleep went
from him," and said:
That line of the poet Young, "Sleep, na
ture's sweet restorer," like every other true
Jiopt's saying, was inspired. "Blessings
ight on him who first invented sleep,"
pays Sancho Fanka, in "Don uixote," and
Coleridge exclaims, in the "Ancient Mari
ner," "O, sleep, it is a gentle thing!" Ten
nyson speaks of "the mystery of golden
Jleep," and what a mystery indeed it is. It
s the most interesting and the moat per
plexing of all physical and metaphysical
mysteries. The mother bends lovingly
over her infant in the cradle and wonders
what it means this harmless, painless,
lapsing of all life into unbroken tranquil
lity. Those little hands, now so quiet, but
o busy most of the time, how beautiful
nd still tliev are now. Those limbs com
posed in attitudes of such unconscious
grace, lying on the pillow: how hard it
generally is to keep them in order during
wakeful hours. And how unspeakably sol
emn it is to think how far the child is now
beyond our reach. Who is it, when the
face of the mother fades from the vision,
that takes its soul in charge?
But when a man sleeps the spectacle is
more suggestive. Think of Caesar on his
couch, his vigilant eyes closed, his voice si
lent, his brain udworking and still. Think
of Alexander in the night, looking as he
finally looked in the coffin, dead. Imagine
how David felt when he saw iSaul entering
the cave. Think of Cicero fast asleep. Think
of the sleeping Christ lying asleep in the
midst of the tempest, aa if He were resting
in the heart of God. When Christ turns
way from us with closed eyes there is al
ways afforded opportunity for the storm.
We are only at peace while He is wakefully
with us. While He sleeps not only is the
light withdrawn, but the darkness is felt to
the utmost; lite s ship is tossed with the
torm and we are threatened with mortal
danger. A sleeper Christ will do me no
good. A painted Christ will not be of the
Vaguest service in my life. A wooden cru
cifix or ivory cross will not help me. It
must be a wakeful Christ with every en
ergy astir; power in every look and move
ment; an actual, positive, real and per
sonal Christ. We are mocked by His
figure; we are saved by His personality.
It is Christ, not in the temporary paralysis
of unconscious sleep, but Christ alert in
Watchful omnipotence that I need. Unless
.we nightlv sink into sleep we are not pre
pared to live, and anything over which we
nave control which prevents out sleeping
in proportion to our need should be es
teemed guilt before God. Since the strength
of our life belongs to Him we are not at
liberty to waste it. Nevertheless, in our
day we live in such fashion that, like the
eastern monarch, our spirits are troubled
and our sleep departs.
This has come about sometimes from the
baste to get rich. People rise early and sit
up late in their eager pursuit of wealth,
and when the jading day is done at last
and they lay their heads upon their pil
lows, sleep may fly from them and they
may seek it in vain. Now this is not a
light matter. There are few things more
dispiriting and truly exhausting than the
loss of natural aleep; to count hour after
iiour in feverish wakefulness, seeking for
getfulness which will not come.
Now what is the root of all this dis
tress? The physician will doubtless diag
nose it aa owing to unhealthy excitement
of brain and undue sensitiveness of the
nervous system. But in its last analysis
you will find aa a general rule the great
cause of this weary wakefulness, anxiety
and misery is simply want of faith in God.
It is because we are not able, as we ought
to trust ourselves and all that concerns us
to a sure providence, and many of you
know that it is mental anxiety that break
your rest. It is because you are trying to
bear the burden and build the house your
aelves, to keep the city yourselves, that
you have the anxious hours. It is because
you will plan too far ahead instead of let
ting each day bear its own burden; be
cause yon will ask what is to become of
you and your children if such and such an
event takes place; because you wiH take
the future into your own hands instead of
leaving it to Jesus. t
But why ahould we not have faith in
God? If we had, many of us, would not
we sleep? If, once for all, you have in
trusted your soul to His keening you are
aure that all things will so well; that noth
ing can go amiss; that God will keep you,
angels will guide your footsteps and the
Holy Spirit will dwell within you from
hour to hour. You will then lay your head
down upon your pillow and rise again, with
the morning light, refreshed.
After trying to explain away our weary
hours of sleeplessness on the basis of phy
aical infirmity, we have to confess that the
real source is found in the things that prey
on our minds by day and break our rest at
night, and mixed with those anxious
thoughts there are the thoughts that will
intrude themselves of a more serious char
acter. In the still, wakeful hours, even
the most heedless one is forced occasionally
to think of Him before whom we niust
urely appear and give account of our
selves.' It is impossible, then, quite to sup
press a question as to where the soul will
he when the body shall be down in its lit
tle bed, when all earthly things have faded
from us. But if you can truly trust that it
is well with you, that amid your deep un
worthiness you are simply believing on
your Saviour and are striving to grow like
Him; that your tank is appointed you of
God, however humble your sphere, it ia
large enough to achieve character; if you
can always feel that Christ is near and
ready to help: that you and those near to
you are provided for by Him and that you
ahall never want; if you have once for all
learned whether awake or asleep that you
are the Lord's and that you ahall live to
gether with Him, then surely you may sink
into untroubled rest and sleep a refreshing
and peaceful sleep.
But let me come closer still to the exper
ience of some perhaps among professing
Christians. You know that healthful aleep
is our most peaceful state. You see human
nature in that state in which it ia most
thoroughly free from all annoyance and
trouble, and that ia a symbol of the prov
ince, ''Thou wilt keep him in perfect
peace whose mind ia stayed on Thee."
That is a wonderful promise, but there ia
no blinking the fact that comnaratively
few even among those who claim to be
true followers, ever experience it in its ful
ness. As a rule it is far from being per
fect. One of the aucient schoolmen wrote
in summing up the chief characteristic of
life: "I entered this world in loneliness; I
have lived in anxiety; I aball leave it in
fear." That about expresses the aituation
of many of you. Look at the faces en the
street. Almost every one is careworn and
anxious. There ia no doubt that care aita
heavily on mankind. What is wrong?
fciniply thia: That while God baa promised
peace and ia ready to give it it must be re
ceived by faith. It goes without saying
that the amount of peace and quiet we
aLall experience will be in proportion to
our trust in Uod. If we were really able
to trust God with everything instead of
doing, aa most Christians do, never trust
ing God and more than they can help and
never feeling quite aure a to what He
may do; if we would cast our cares upon
Him iustead of bearing then ourselves
What unspeakable peace we should enjoy.
But we have not quit got at the real
root of the difficulty yet. Doubtless some
of you are thinking that if some particular
thing which vexes you were out of the way
yon would be all right and your pence
would flow a a river. No, that is not the
trouble. It is not some petty vexation
that constitute the bitterness in your euii.
If you probe your hearts deeper you will
discover that the real reason is that you
are not right with God. You have not
truly and heartily believed in Jesus. You
have thought a Rood deal about religion,
hut you have never clearly taken the peace
ful step, and until you do you will never
experience a true and abiding peace. Un
til you do this fully in obedience and devo
tion to Jesus Christ; nut until you are !)
f J My very humbly, yet with sincerity; "X
know" wnoW I hae believed." Not till
then can you he at peace.
I am not called upon to explain the mys
tery of Christ by which we are able to ar
rive at this blessed conviction of faith. It
would be a difficult thing to follow by a
logical process. There are mnny things in
the working out of your deepest conscience
which are beyond our logic. Nevertheless,
I say there is no escape into the realm of
rest save by faith in the atoning grace of
Jesus Christ. The thing that is at the bot
tom of the fear is the Intent conviction that
you are not right with God. Tt is that
which kept you vaguely unsatisfied. It is
eating the heart out of your enjoyment of
life. Get that right once and you will re
ceive the "peace of God which passeth un
derstanding." Perhaps I may not have
been sufficiently personal, direct and pun
gent, and, if so, I pray God's forgiveness
and yours. It will not heal a deeply
poisoned wound to skin It over. I pray
yiu. probe your hearts to the uttermost.
If you feel you have been wrong until now
begin to be right from thia hour. Get the
central stav made firm and strong. Get fast
hold of God. The great step is to be really
persuaded that God is your Tuther Til
be persuaded that He loved you, unworthy
as you are; that He reckons yon among
the number of those to whom He gives
eternal life. The unrest comes from the
fear that you have not got on the solid
f round; that you are still worse, risking
he losing of your soul. At any moment
the Master may rise and clone the door.
Your soul may suddenly look back upon
the probation period forever and look for
ward toward heaven for everlasting. O,
try. I beseech you, for the hone set forth
in the gosnel. Have it out with God, once
for all. Get on terms of peace with Him
before the day may close. Cast yourself
in the everUsting arms.
I have apoken of two things. First, the
consuming care; second, the latent convic
tion. There is one other experience that
may break our sleep. I pray God that none
of yon may have it. It is the experience
of one who has committed spiritual suicide.
In one of Victor Hugo's books there is a
character who, after a long series of exper
iences, at last arrived at a great crisis; he
wavers, hesitates, and then commits a co
lossal sin. Conscience is insulted beyond
forgiveness. Then suddenly he hears, as it
were, an internal burst of laughter laugh
ter of the soul and the soul rarely hears
this innermost laughter more thnn once
without hearing it forever. Thia character
afterward falls asleep and dreams. He en
ters the town; he comes upon many men
standing in various postures, silent and im
movable, as if dead. In unspeakable terror
he tries to flee out of the lifeless city,
when, looking back, he is appalled to see
the inhabitants coming nfter him. They
overtake him and hold him and cry: "Do
you know that you have been dead for a
long while?" Now and then, in polite so
ciety, in select communities even in this
fellowship, unknown to us, but not un
known to God, one comes upon one of
these dead men, who have heard the inter
nal burst of laughter, who mocks and de
fies God and insults divine tnercv. There
is such a thing as spiritual suicide. Men
sometime by their action or non-action
take the life of the soul; thev are dead to
repentance and to hope, and at last they
are dead to God. Thus men drive sleep
forever from their eyelids, like Macbeth.
When once the conviction seizes upon the
soul then farewell to slumber and peace.
God forgive me if I have spoken too
plainly, if I have misrepresented the spirit
of truth, but if I have been true to the
word of God then let him that hath ears
hear what the spirit says: "To-day. if you
will hear His voice, harden not vour
hearts." Lay hold upon eternal life. Then
you may lay down in sleep, since when yon
awake you shall still be with Him; lid
whether you wake or not, you will be ths
Lord's and His forever.
God's Overture to Ue.
Jehovah is the unchanging God. To-day
He answer' our longing desires, saying.
"There is a place beside Me." He would
hot keep us at a distance, but always woo
us to nearness That place i the place of
understanding. You must see the picture
at it right angle if you would know it
meaning. So it i in life. History and ex
perience have their dark problems. The
stained glass window is a mystery when
seen from within by artificial light. But
when the sunlight streama through and
transfigure it, we read its meaning. So
God would let Hia light fall upon our past
experiences, and reveal Hi purposes work
ing through their ever-changing vicissi
tudes. It is also the place of His presence.
Jacob is, much slower to leave Bethel than
he was to run into it. The thought of
Ksau filled him with fear. But he saw
"the place beside God," and said, "The
Lord is in this place. The experiences
of life may not alter, but they are vastly
different when we are conscious of God'a
presence amid them. It is the place of
transfiguration. The unbroken calm of
God's peace, and the assurance of eternal
aeeurity and success take possession of the
soul and the outer life responds to this in
ner possession. This reserved place and
waiting blessing is God's overture to us at
the threshold of another year. May His
Spirit help us to stand beside Him snd ac
cept this unspeakable gift.
Keep Moral ltleae Clear.
We need, above all things, to keep our
moral ideal clear and high. "Woe unto
him that puts light for darkness and dark
ness for light, sweet for bitter," etc. That
is, woe unto him that confounds moral dis
tinctions. Not our patriotism or our par
tisanship must blind us to truth. Neither
for .ourselves nor our country nor our
party may we condone sin or falsehood or
meanness. If a prophetess, a chosen mes
senger of God, could go wrong, bow easily
may we. Dean Hodge i just publishing
a book on "The Human Nature of the
Saints." A companion volume might be
"The False Judgments of Christian Peo
ple." Bias is almost irresistible. What
helps on that which we much care for we
are apt to praise without looking too close
ly at its moral quality. So doing, we close
our insight, extinguish the light of God
kindled within us, and by and by we may
than light, perishing, perhups, as Balaam
! perished among the enemies of the Lord,
Be Completely Satisfies.
God is lovet God is light! This ancient
message i also the most recent report of
our own personal experience. Oh, God is
our home indeed! We can no mora de
scribe this consciousness to a man who has
never possessed it than we can make a
foundling from a workhouse understand
the mysterious joys of an earthly Christian
home. Yes, we are at home with God. He
satisfies I He satisfies! It is He who gives
the completing touch to thought, to work,
Ia nleaaure snd to life. Without Him our
j intellectual ladder has neither foundation
I to stand upon balow nor rest to lean
' against above. Without Him our purposes
miss their best fruition and our joys their
' perfume. He is our nome indeed, and w
' Iknow the unmistakable sign when we feel
1 the outstretched lor of stir Father bsad-
log over us.
A Hug Charger.
When the celebrated king of Mace-,
donla, Alexander the Great, was car
rying on a war la the Bast be went
gainst a prince of India called Porus.
It Is aald that to large was Porus
that when be rode bis elephant Into
tattle be looked In proportion to It
as an ordinary inaa does to a horse.
This elephant was almost human in
bla cleverness, and when his master
waa fainting from the many wounds
he had received, the faithful beast
knelt carefully down, drew his master
gently off hla back and plucked out
the sharp darts from the wounds with
I his proboscis.
J You may have seen the elephants
I take peanuts Into the opening at the
I end of tbelr trunks and then pass
i them into their huge mouths, using
the trunk almost as an arm with two
fingers, but surely you never dream
ed that a clumsy, stupid looking beast
had such a remarkable cleverness
that he could care for bis muster a
did the yet of the Indian Prince
Porus,
THE SUNDAY SCHOOL
INTERNATIONAL LESSON COMMENTS
FOR NOVEMBER 20.
Bnlject' Isaiah's Message to .lurtnh.
I 1-9 10-40-Oolilen Text, Isa. I.. 16,
17 Memory Verses, 1R-S0-Commentary
on the Day's Lesson,
I. The superscription (v. 1). 1. "The
vision." A title applying to this entire
book of prophecies, spoken or written dur
ing the reigns herein mentioned. The
word denotes a supernatural perception,
inspiration, revelation, prophecy; here
taken collectively for a body of prophecies.
"Isaiah." Of his origin nothing is posi
tively known beyond what is stated in this
verse. His name means "The salvation of
Jehovah." His home was in Jerusalem.
Ho exercised the prophetical oflicc about
sixty years. Tradition tells us that he suf
fered martyrdom, being sawn asunder at
the hands of Manassch, King of .Judah.
The story i that he was placed within n
rifted cedar tree, and then tree and pro
phet were sawn in two lengthwise, lien.
11:37 muy be nn allusion to it. "Concern
ing Judah," etc. Other nations are also
the subjects of his prophecies, but only as
they had a bearing on the Jews. "Uz
ziali." Called also Azariali. Isaiah began
to prophesy near the close of Uzzioh's
reign Ichap. 6:1).
It. A rebellious people (vs. 2, 31, 2.
"Hear," etc. Heaven and earth are ap
pealed to and are asked to listen as wit
nesses. "The Lord." The Hebrew is Je
hovah, a nnme considered so sacred thnt
it was never uttered by the Jews, the word
Lord being used in its stead. '"Have nour
ished," etc. God had cared for Israel from
their infancy. Notice, 1. The Fatherhood
of God. 2. The wickedness of man. 3.
The purpose of divine chastisement. "Have
rebelled." This would include three things:
1. The sin of idolatry. 2. Breaking the
moral law. 3. Rejection of the prophetic
message. 3. "Ox knoweth," etc. The in
gratitude of God's people is rebuked by the
fidelity shown by the dumb animals to
their keepers. Ox and ass are mentioned,
not as the most stupid animals, but as the
only thoroughly domesticated animals of
the Hebrews, f hey were lodged probably
under the same roof as their owner and
his family. "Doth not know." iy people
have lust their knowledge of Me and do
not recognize Me as their rightful owner.
III. A corrupt people (vs. 4 9). 4.
"Ah." The same as alas! The exclama
tion denotes sorrow. "Seed of evildoers."
Offspring or race of evildoers. Compare
Matt. 3:7. "That are corrupters." See K.
V. The word denotes violence. "Have
provoked," etc. The real meaning is
brought out in the Revised Version.
"Backward." They had despised and for
saken God. This conduct is (1) criminal
and (2) inexcusable, but (3) common.
fl. "Why." It is doubtful whether the
question in Hebrew is, "For what reason,"
or "upon what part," will ye be stricken?
The sense is, Why permit yourselves to be
smitten more? Your whole person is al
ready bruised in every part, as the proper
punishment of your evil doings. "Ye will
revolt." See R. V. "Sick faint." In this
figure the nation is meant. The moral con
dition of the people i represented by a
body sorely wounded and sick unto death,
ti. "No soundness." Here we see the des
perate moral state of God's chosen people.
Priests and prophets, subjects and rulers
...n ll i I I XT - -
nwc ail mvuiveu. mil n spot III llie CUlllcn
or body politic was left unsmitten. The
moral is that priests and false prophet did
not turn the people to God, who alone
could heal their maladies, but instead
adopted worldly policy.
7. "Your country." The figurative lan
guage ia now dropped. "Desolate." Notice
now nearly every word corresponds to the
curses threatened in Lev. 26 and Deut. 28.
".Strangers devour." In this verse we see
the- terrible devastation and oppression
that was to come or had already come upon
them from foreign conquerors. 8. "Daugh
ter of Zion." The church God's people.
Zion was the strong hill of Jerusalem, on
which the king' palace wa built. The
term Zion is frequently used figuratively,
sometime meaning all Jerusalem ana
sometimes God' Israel the church. The
church wa called "Daughter of Zion," de
noting virgin innocence and youthful prom
ise ot vigor and fruitfulness. There would
be a faithful few in Jerusalem even when
ravage of war would be upon her. These
Isaiah sees are to be left aa a desolated,
tumble-down lodge ia left after the harvest
of the country garden. "Cottage lodge."
These were erected as a temporary shelter
for those who guarded the vines and cu
cumbers from robbers and wild animals.
After the harvest these would be left. R.
"Small remnant." By remnant Isaiah
means the righteous, in distinction from
the multitude, of the ungodly. Had it not
been for the few godly one the nation
would have been wiped out as were Sodom
and Gomorrah.
IV. Reformation demanded (vs. 1017).
In verses 10-15 the prophet shows how ut
terly valueless are their prayers and relig
ious ceremonies while they still continue
in their ungodly practices. Their sacrifices
would not be accepted and their prayeu
would not be heard. It). "Wash ye."
What (iod desire is a thorough moral
reformation. The allusion here is doubt
less to the injunction on priests, who, on
pain of death (Exod. 30:10-21), were re
quired to wash their hands and feet before
they ministered at the altar. The svmbol,
no doubt, wa at once understood by the
wicked men before the prophet.
17. "Cease learn." Note tho order
here; before we can "do well" we must
"cease evil." "Seek judgment." Or jus
tice. Instead of aeeking bribes and per
verting justice, a was the connro.i prac
tice, they were to seek to do justly. " Re
lieve the oppressed." This verb should be
translated "set right." The condition of
the oppressed, the one r.njustiy dealt with,
must be set right. But the Revised Ver
sion, margin, renders this, "Set right tho
oppressor; that is, restrains lum within
the bounds of justice." "Fatlicrlesu
widow." Defend and help the wta't thoro
who have no natural protectors, rice i'su.
10:18; 72:4; Exod. 22:22-2; James 1:27.
V. God's offer of mercy (vs. 18-20). 13.
"Come now." Cod is here pleadinj witH
backslidden Israel, "ilea.ion together."
Let us discuss the case together. To se
cure their consent to examine tho iisue is
to secure their own self-conviction. How
wonderful that God ahould conJcscer.il to
reason with sinful men! "Scarlet crim
son." Scarlet and crimson are really syno
nyms for one color, properly crimson.
There is perhaps no ot'icr instance of red
used as a general symbol for sin, though
white is tho natural emblem of innocence.
10. 20. On condition of obedience, land
and city shall bo preserved; on continued
disobedience the ru.hlcss i-ivider will briug
destruction, a sure as Cod livctli.
Why Cows Dislike Dogs.
Why should a cow so bate a dog?
If only an innocent little poodle bap
pens Into a pasture with a cow you
will see a lowering of horns and a
stamping of feet that sends the poodle
scampering for a place of safety. The
reason dates back for hundreds of
years to the time when all dogs were
wclves and all cows were wild, shaggy
cattle almost as savage. There was a
constant warfare between them, and
the wild cattle, nearly every day, had
to use horns and hoofs to keep them
selves and tbelr calves from being
eaten by the buugry wolves. Dogs
have been for so many hundreds ot
yeara the close frieuds of men tbst
they have forgotten some of their nat
ural enemies, but tho cattle have not,
as you can see almost any day In the
gelds.
Wring on Mosquitoes.
, Mosquitoes belong to the fly family,
but differ from common flies In many
respects. One of the most Interest
ing differences Is the fringe of balr
Ilke scales on the edge of the wing
end on the wing veins. These scales
are exceedingly transparent and dain
ty In appearauce, and the accom
plished mioruscopUt looks at thorn
with great Interest, because, once up
on a time, the English-speaking ml-
NOVEMBER TWENTIETH.
"How to Express Our Thanks to
God." Psa. 138:1-8.
8crlpture Verses. Ps. 1:23; 72:15;
Isa. 12:1-6; 47:8; 48:21; 1 Thoss. 6:
18; 1 Cor, 15:67; 2 Cor. 9:15; Eph.
6:11-16.
Lerson Thoughts.
"The things we should miss the
most if we did not have them are
Just the things for which we forget
to be thankful."
"You are not In the right habit of
thanksgiving unless you pray a word
of thanks to Ood just as soon as a
good thing comes Into your life."
"Just as you use your handsomest
tote paper in writing notes of thanks,
so use your best powers of express
Ion In giving thanks to God."
Selections.
The best thing thut hearts that are
thankful can do
Is this to make thankful some
other heart too.
It is a pleasant sight to sen any
body thanking Gord for the air is
heavy with the hum of murmuring,
and the roads are dusty with com
plaints and lamentations.
I am grateful for Joys ami for the
sorrows that have taught ma more
than my Joys. Grateful for health
and fur sickness which has been
health to my soul. Grateful for
faith and for doubts which have
been stepping-stones to higher faith.
Grateful for money and for money
withheld In God's knowledge that It
would have been my ruin. I am
grateful for successes and for fail
ures; for life and for death into
eternal life; for all things that have
been ordered by the all-wise God.
I tended the plant of gratitude, and
lo, I found upon It the flower of con
tentment, and later the fruit of happi
ness. The fact that we said, "Thank you,"
yesterday, when water was handed
us at the table, does not excuse us
from saying "Thank you" today.
Gratitude is for every day.
EPWORTH LEAGUE LESSONS
NOVEMBER TWENTIETH.
Our Thanks to God Psa. 138. 1-8.
The sweetest, richest music that
swells and sweeps through God's
word and God's world is the music of
thankfulness. Bible writers summon
us more frequently to praise than to
prayer. Grumbling Is not commend
able. Murmuring makes no music.
No true person ever admires It. Com
plaint against Providence Is ungrac
ious. It soon mars and jars the soul,
rendering the spirit harsh and dls'
cordant.
What a burning shame! American
Epworthlans finding fault when their
lines have fallen in such pleasant
places and they have so goodly a
heritage! How can we feel ungrate
ful who live In this best age of hu
man history, this freest land beneath
the sun, with all the light and warmth
and Inspiration of the purest form of
Christianity ever enjoyed by man?
How can we be ungrateful who dally
breathe the wholesome, exhilarating
air of happy Christian homes, loving
and being loved, shielded, guarded,
sheltered by affection's tender con
slderateness? Why complain? The
recollection of God's bounties ought to
shame us out of the ugly practice.
Said a missionary of Persia' to a
young friend, "Do you ever feel
thankful when God blesses you?"
"Always," was the reply. "Did you
ever tell him so?" "Well, I don't
know that I have." "Then try It, my
young friend. Tell him so; tell him
aloud; tell him so that you will hear
It yourself." Sing thankful hymns.
Pray thankful prayers. Live thank
ful lives. How easily we forget his
benefits toward us!
Ingratitude has been styled the
devil's sponge because It wipes out
from the memory the favors our
Father has bestowed so lovingly and
so liberally. The Israelites bad
.scarcely dropped their chains of
cruel bondage when they murmured
against God who had delivered them,
by miraculous power and Infinite com'
passion. When we sustain losses and
meet new trials we forget past
mercies.
Thanks to Him from whom comes
every possibility of enjoyment. It
ought to be easy to feel grateful to
him constantly. A lady said one day,
"My husband feels thankful all the
while; I only know that I ought to
feel so." Each Christian heart ought
to be a perennial fountain of thanks
giving. Let us Increase and Improve
the tone of our thankfulness by think
ing much upon God's character. Re
member that thankful and thought
ful are derived from the same root
and have a kindred meaning.
RAM'S HORN BLASTS.
srjj rr. HE height of fush
JLJ I ion Is usually the
v 01 cowrdly ,olly'
F Airl VtfvlfE? Better a dry ser
mon than one that
evaporates before It
can be applied.
Love never metis
to be taught by du
ty. A new bat does
not make a new
heart.
There's no such thing aa living God's
way until you love God's way.
No human character can ripen or
sweeten without the sunshine of love.
Some try to quench a man's thirst by
tbrowlug him Into boiling water.
The people with the opera cloaks
won't have all the front seats In
Heaven.
Many people who reside In hell got
there by resting on the road to
Heaven,
God never falls to open you a path
though. He may refuse you a phlloso-
rhy.
The clouds may shut out today's sun,
but they cannot hide yesterday's uroin
Ues. Many who fear to walk under a lad
der have no, hesitation In climbing all
over the commandments of God.
It Is hard to catch heavenly fruits
when .you are carrying earthly frets.
The flowers of sweet character bljoai
where the storms of trM fciTi Llown.
M
THE GREAT DESTROYER
SOME STARTLING FACTS ' ABOUT
THE VICE OF INTEMPERANCE.
Talcs Ahnut Men Who Ilnve Heroine the
Victims nf the ftnlnon Wolves- The
Cnrpt.nter and Hie Wild lleasta Whlcb
lpvotireil Him Hulls For Prey,
One who becomes a patron of the saloon
Is often worse than a prey of wild beasts.
One cannot rend of a man's being torn
by the wolves without desiring two things,
to help the in ii n in his hunt and to wish
to destroy the wolves.
1 have known ninny a man to become
the victim of the saloon wolves, and have
tried to help free him from them. But
they would pursue him as relentlessly as
wild beasts would.
A man whom 1 knew waa elected to the
Legislature of Ohio. He owned a farm
worth $10,000. Hut as ho got into politics
he began to drink with other politicians,
and the appetite for drink became strong.
He mtide numerous efforts to break away
from the habit, but the liquor men were
after his money, and they invented all
aorta of devices to get him into the saloon
ao that they could cause him to break his
pieugc. Again and again he tried to oe-
einmo Iran f.,m tl,tn ntirl nirain .nil atriitti '
they captured him. In less than ten years
from the time he entered the Legislature
an honorable, upright citizen they hud got
ten all his money anu involved him heavily
in debt, and the shcrilf sold his beautiful
farm to pay his debts. It left him with
little money no home covered with dis
grace and his proud spirit broken. He had
been the prey of the wolves.
He took his family and went to the pro
hibition State of Kansas and settled where
there were no saloons, to begin life anew
at fifty years of age.
I knew a mechanic in Indiana who
earned $t a day as foreman for a house I
building company. Of course with his
wages wisely expended he could have kept
his family in comfort.
But he had an appetite for drink, and
the wolves were ever ready to devour him.
When he would receive his $24, a week's
wages, he would go to the saloon nnd pay
out the greater portion of it for his drink
and treating bills. Then sometimes, if he
had a few dollar left alter "settling" he
would treat some of the "boys," and the
saloonkeeper would "mix" his liquors so as
to render mm incapame ot Knowing now
much change he should get, then take hi
last $5 bill for fifty cents worth of drinks,
and hand him back fifty cents instead of
14.50.
Then the carpenter would go to his home
with fiftv cents left out of his 24. Of
course fifty cents would not go far toward
feeding a family for a week, hence there
would be distress in the house and various
expedients used to get food and clothing.
'The mechanic often quit drinking and
would save his money for awhile. But the
wolves behind the bar would send other
drinking men with a bottle of liquor to get
him to drink and break his pledge.
If he took one drink after he had re
formed for months they knew they were
sure of their prey. They cared nothing
that the man cut up the bedstead and
burned it in the stove to keep his family
from freezing one hitter cold night aftct
the saloon had gotten all his money and
left not a penny with which to buy wood.
On one occasion this mechanic had a
Slut) bill paid him on a job he was doing.
His family was destitute, needed every
thing. On his way home with the money
he stepped into a saloon to buy one glass
of beer, thinking he would then go imme
diately home and purchase the many things
the f'umily needed. Ah! The wolves!
Their fat prey! What a meal they made
of him!
He told me himself: "I don't know
what happened during the next three days
after I drank the glass of beer. I only
know that when my distressed wife sent
some one in search of me three days later
they found me iu the back room of the sa
loon, with no money and just 'coming to'
from the effects of the drugs put into that
beer."
Ah! mv young friends, the wolves ol
northern Michigan never gnawed the bones
of an unfortunate hunter more greedily
than these wolves in human shape devour
the blood of their unfortunate victims.
W. G. II., in Dial of Progress.
Abstinence and Longevity.
"How Abstinence Pays" is the title of a
little pamphlet received recently by the
Herald. Their author attempts to ahow,
and he does show, that abstinence from
intoxicants pays higher dividends in health,
wealth and happiness thnn any other form
ot self-denial. Especially interesting are
the mortuary tables taken from the report
of a life insurance actuary who has made a
careful study of the subject, ("ompari-iona
are made, uot between excessive drinkers
and total abstainers, for excessive drinkers
cannot secure life insurance, but lictwccu
total abstainers and moderate drinkers.
The table shows, for the caM's investi
gated, that the deaths among moderate
ill-inkers between the ages of twenty and
thirtv yens were heavier by eleven per
cent." than among the total abstuiners. Be
tween thirty una forty years of age the dif
ference in favor of the total abstainers was
sixty-eight per cent. Between fifty and
sixty the abstainers were forty-two per
cent, better off, and between sixty and sev
enty the difference was nineteen per cent.
The figures show conclusively, therefore,
that the man who drinks not at all lias a
far better chance to arrive at mature years
than the man who drinks moderately. The
small percentage of difference between the
ages of twenty and thirty years is ac
counted for that the habit of drinking,
even in moderation, can hardly be said to
be fixed until after the individual ha
passed the nte of thirty years. Bui cveu
then there was a difference.
It will be generally conceded, wc be
lieve, that the average man's period nf real
usefulness and influence, his greatest ca
pacity for work, lies between the ages of
thirty ami sixty yars. It will be noted
that the avei-.if of deaths of non-driuhcrs
during those years is sixty-one and one
third per cent, less than amon moderate
drinkers, 'lhut is to say, out ot every KiO
deaths of men between the ages of thirty
and sixty, yeara something like sixty-three
are moderate drinkers and thirty-seven aio
total abstainers, a proportion of not fur
from two to one.
There are enouirh other reasons why men
should not drink at all, but these figures
are more illuminating than anything ol the
kind we have reccutly come across. bait
Iikc Herald. . .
Th Church Aroused.
At last the church is rousing itself to
direct contest with the one great evil that
more than all others haa hindered its ad
vance and negatived its work. We are to
have pledges instead of platitudes, speech
instead ot silence, direct action instead of
vague negation. The young people' socie
ties are going to work against the young
people' destroyer.
Th Crusad la Hrlcf.
Of 22,154 persons arrested in New York
City for disorderly conduct 18,770 admitted
being intoxicated.
"Buffalo Hill" is a atrict total abstainer,
which is doubtless the secret of hi tireless
energy and splendid physique.
Hotel and drug store in Boston selling
liquor to women nave suffered the penalty
of withdrawal of their license.
The Total Abstinence Society of Copen
hagen, Denmark, report a membership of
over 100,000, among whom are thirty-seven
ministers and 403 teacher. Lost yesr the
society arranged for 30H1 temperance lec
tures at a cost of about tl7.000.
A. H. Berg, a Swedish Good Templar, ia
aid to have given 10.WK) temperanc lec
ture in the past thirty-two years.
The French Government ia having put
up in all army baracka an illuminated post
er with th legend, "Alcohol ia your ene
my." (Similar diagrama era being displayed
iu th school.
Th Uwcdish Temiieranee Publishing
Company bos published a collection of all
th temperance literature written by Kev.
Per Wieselgren, the father of the modern
temperanc movement iu bwedeu.
Who wife and children do you want
to en well dressed this year, your own or
.t'ie fcalooukecper's? If you help to clothe
his family tirst you will not have much lett
with whirls to clothe your own. If you
think his family is better than )uuu, giv
it the prsfvieut:.
iivaoy
ire&Jtfbf
Bhins Just Where fan Ar.
F.VA WILLIAMS Mil.LOSI.
Don't waste your time in longing
ror bright, impossible things
Don't sit supineiy yearning
ror the swiftness ot angel wings
Don't spurn to be a rushlight
Because you are not a star.
But brighten some bit of darkness
By shining just where you are.
Tlicie is need of the tiniest enndle,
As well as the garish sun
The humblest deed is ennobled
When it is worthily done,
You may never lie called to brighten
The darkened regions afar
So tiil for the day your mission
By shining just where you are.
Just -vherc you arc, my brother,
lust where (iod bids you stand,
Though down in the deepest shadow,
In-tead of the sunlight land.
You may cany a brightness with you
That no gloom or darkness can mar,
Foi the light of a (,'hnst-hke spirit
Will be shining wherever you are.
A rowhnys Funeral.
A little adobe schoollioiise fenced in
from the surrounding nmg"s with barbed
wire, a wide expanse of semi arid land
with Mnall areas under cultivation, and
large herds of cattle roaming over extend
ed tracts nf nearly sterile country thia
was the picture outside. Within was a
little Massachusetts schoolteacher, "not
bigger than a pint of cider," as her ad
mirers in the neighborhood said, beginning
a missionary school with half a dozen pu
pils.
There was need of work. There was no
place of worship, and thcie had been no
ai'hool until the opening of the little mis
sion, and the coining ol the little woman
from Massachusetts.
Slowly tiie school grew, and Tadually
other pupils entered than the very little
ones who had constituted the tirst half
dozen. But there was a wide disparity be
tween the age of the oldest pupil i nd that
of the one who arrived one morning after
the school had been iu operation about a
month. He was a tall young man, with
spill's, lariat and sombrero, and lie sat his
Indian pony as if he had been a centaur.
Fastening his horse to the barbed wire
fence he came inside without knocking,
and took his seat without removing his hat.
"Would you like to become a member of
the school?" asked Miss Selhv.
"Well, I don't know," said he. ' I'll sea
how I like it."
His invesfisation continued that day and
the next. He took no part in the school
beyond the occasional throwing of paper
wads. This disconcerted the school a lit
tle at first, but later attracted no atten
tion, for the teacher herself disregarded it,
and found means to suggest quietly to the
younger children that they show theii
visitor a model school. When the school
was dismissed at the close of the second
day he approached the teacher with his
sombrero iu hand and raid:
"I know I hain't behaved decent. 1
hain't been to school since I was a little
shaver, and don't know how to act, but I
know better'n I've done, anil it you'll for
give me I'll settle down to studv. I'd like
to come and learn."
The teacher had been waiting for this
capitulation, and she improved the oppor
tunity by. telling him what obligations be
must assume in the way of conduct if he
became a member of the school, and by
this time he was ready to promise any
thing. With great diligence he applied himself
to his books, and with even greater ardor
to the reading of the papers and maguzincs
which friends in the
r.ast were sending to
the teacher.
The little schoolteacher also had a Sun
day-school, and although at first the cow
boy pupil thought little of this institution,
he attended that he might assist the teach
er in the arrangement of the seats. He
soon became a most attentive pupil, and
before long an earnest seeker alter a bet-
ter life.
So matters went on for more than a year
and the second winter came, the severest
known in the settlement. Cattle perished
on the prairie. The horses which the
children rode to school shivered in the
frail sheds in the rear of the building, and
in one terrible blizzard these very sheds
had to be torn down and burned, since
other fuel was lacking. A week the bliz
xard lasted, and when it was over the cow
boy pupil did not reappear in srhool. He
was sick with pneumonia, and in a few
days he died.
There wa no minister within twenty-five
miles, and no Christian funeral had ever
been held ill the settlement, but the whole
community deemed it urjucoining that
Jack should he buried without a religious
service. So they brought his body three
miles across the plains to the b tie school
house, and the frail young teacher atood
before the open coffin and read, "I am the
resurrection and the life." Then alio
closed her Bible and spoke to the people
who had gathered. What she said she
never could remember. At first it had
I seemed impossible that she should say
anything, but the blood ol I'uritan ances
tors that had never quailed at duty rose
within her, and she stood between the
living and the dead, and spoke of the
change that had taken place in .lack since
first he gained the love of learning, and
then the love of God.
The little schoolteacher' health broke
down soon afterward, and she returned to
her Maksacliiinctts home, but tiie school
had grown, and two ten hei-s c.ime to take
her place. Many were the traditions which
these gathered of their predecessor ill the
work, but of all her good inlluenret. thnt
I most frequently referred to whj the ear
I nest word and prayer of the little school
I teacher at the grave of her cowboy pupil.
I Youth's Companion.
L The Kenrless Treacher.
The venerable Dr. T. C. Cuvler advocate
the fearless preacher. "Bear thia in mind,"
said he, before a recent Methodist Confer
ence, "that no Presidential chair, no em
peror'a throne, was ever yet built high
enough to be within ten leagues of the pul
pit in which the fearless preacher stand
winuing immortal souls to Jeau Christ."
Th Command to (to.
B. F. Jacobs says of the gospel's message:
"There ia a mighty go in the gosjiel aa
well aa come, it is come, go. Go preach
and heal; go horn to thy friends; go into
the highways; go into all the world. Many
(christians do not obey; many churches
hive no blessings, because they do not go."
' Hoaor th C. E. Soelatr-
' The Rev. Harlan P. Beach pays a trib
ute to ths Christian Endeavor Society in
these words: "I am especially grateful for
the foreign department of the Endeavor
Society, since it means so much to have an
organiaation in non-Christian land which
make real th phrase of th creed, 'believe
in th communion of saint.' "
After th Wolf.
Tter. Mark Guy Pearsa waa one re
proved for making too many temperanse
siieeches, and when told he ouht to be
I taking care of his flock, he auswi-red: "Th
I flock all right, just now; 1 am looking
I after the wolf."
Watoh More Than a Century Old.
A man named Tiffany of Bristol,
Couu., ha just received from a Win
sted friend a watch formerly owned
by his grandfather. It Is an open face
bullseye, over 125 years old and keeps
good time.
Snow Whit Partridge.
Michael J. Toomey of Rutland, Vt.,
shot ' aa albino partridge ' on Bold
mountain. The bird Is snow white
ond weighs one and three-quarter
pounds.
WAWaWaWsVaWAW.
HOUSEHOLD . - 5 i
r
S 9 9 MATTERS
88 SI
i'AW.V.WA'rVrWJW,
Itadlsh and Cucumber Salad.
Arrange on a bed of carefully wash
ed watercress, alternate thin slices of
red skinned radishes and cucumbers,
snd pour over a French dressing. The
combination of scnrlet, wlte and twe
shades of green Is attractive, while tb
criapness and blending of spiclncss and.
coolness pleases the pnlute.
Chlrhen Fricassee.
Have the chicken disjointed snfT cooK
nntll nearly done; then drain from tb
broth. Put one-half cup of butter la
a frying pan and fry the chicken until
brown. Pour the broth Into the pan
and thicken by allowing one levef
tablespoon of flour to each cup oP
broth. Put the chicken In a deep disk,
nnd pour the gravy over.
Artichoke Pnnp.
Artichoke soup Is another Tnrinnt.
but It needs to be thickened with
little white roux. The artichokes
peeled and put for a few minutes Into
cold water) must be boiled In a quart
of ml Ik, rubbed through a sieve and
(ensoncd; nnd If creniu Is at bnnil ay
spoonful or two may be added. Cream
tlwnys adds to the velvet smoothness;
of thick soups.
For Hour Milk.
riere Is a new use for sour milk:
Put your silver Into the milk when it
is thick; let it stand for half nn hour;
take the pieces out and wrkIi them In
clean lint soapsuds; wipe dry, and you.
hnve clear, bright silver. It would
pay a busy housekeeper who lias to
do her own polishing to buy two or
three quarts of milk and let it sour
lor the purpose. Deborah.
Crap Catsup.
Cook five pounds of ripe grape wlthv
n little water until soft and strain
through a colander. Add five cups of
sugar, two cups of vinegar, one leve
tablespoonful each of clnumon, clove,
nllspice and black pepper and salt. If
this Is not spiced enough to suit the
taste add a little more of all kinds)
In the same proportion. Cook together
until thickened, th.-u seal in bottler
or jars.
Parsnip Fritters.
Cook parsnips In boiling wafer until
tender and then press through a ricer
or sieve. Measure two cups of sifted
pastry flour and sift with one and one
holf level teaspoons of bnklng powder.
Beat two ecis light, and two cups of
milk, then add the flour: beat and add
the cold sifted parsnip. Bent well and
fry In tablespoonfuls in deep hot fat
In dropping the spoonful Into the fat
hold the spoon near to top of the fnt.
When a light brown drain the frit
ters and serve at once.
Knuath Pies.
For two squash pics allow three enpt
Of stewed and sifted squash, two cups
of boiling milk, one cup of Huuur. one
level teaspoon of salt, one-hnlf levef
teaspoon of cinnamon and two eggs
beaten slightly. If the squash Is very
dry a little more milk put In a round
mi; tablespoon of powdered cracker.
Neither squash nor pumpkin plea;
ihotild be made with many eggs, for
they should retain the taste of th
vegetable from which they are made
fliid not taste like a custard pie.
' rr
Hints1
for Housewlvt
For pponplng out bureau drawers or
sideboards use tepid water containing
a small quantity of thymolln.
The old Idea of putting oilcloth under
the washstand cover is now adopted
for dollies ou highly polished tables.
Jars and bottles thut smell of onions
w 111 be quite sweet and odorless if left
outiof doors filled with sund or gurdea
mold.
Raisins for fruit cake are much Im
proved by cooking. Let them soak
slowly aud then sltumer until the skin,
is tender.
A great convenience, at trifling cost,
when building a new house. Is a dumb
waiter connecting the kitchen with tb
floors above.
If stilt Is sprinkled over the range
before frying Is commenced, there will
be no disiip-eeuble odor If the fat
sputters over.
Varnished walls In the bathroom and
balls are easily washed off, and It costs)
little In either money, time or trouble)
to varnish theui.
If silver Is washed every week la
warm suds containing a tublcspoonfut
pf ammonia the polish can be pre
served for a long time. ,
When using a broom don't swecp
with your back; use your arms. Sweep
In one direction with long, light
strokes. Sweep the carpet with tbe
pile, not against It.
Nuts are said to make a gTeat Im
provement In chicken salad. A eup
of English walnut meats to a cup of
celery cubed and one of chicken also-
cut In cubes Is the proper proportion.
The cano furniture, with white aud
gilded woodward, so much in vogue lot
tho eighteenth century, la bavins;
quite a fashionable revival at present
for elaborate roocia of the French
tle. ,
Desk sett of brilliant scarlet leather
give a pretty touch of color to ombr
desks of weathered oak. The brons
f urnlshlngs now so much In vogue har
monise beautifully with the dull brown
of this wood.
When the eyes are tired from too
long use or reading by insufficient
light, moisten pieces of old linen or
absorbent cotton with some good ex
tract, and plsce Ihem on the closed
eyelids for fifteen minutes or longer
while you lie down In a quiet room.
For bachelor apartment ef re
stricted dimensions, a abavlng stand
thut Is really a small chiffonier, raise!
ou legs, 1 a most convenient article.
This has a square swinging mirror ft
the t end sli shallow drawees. J t
large enough to accowttieals a f
of folded shirts.