'TOE.TS KENIINCIATIONS" 4 Brffliart Sondaj Sermon Bj Rer. Dr. Joha .ipstooe. Ortwi Utsea Frea Chatter (be l.ltt I Slum. Ptter. Brookltk, N. Y. Dr. John ITump tone, pastor of Emmanuel Baptist Church, preached Sunday morning a sermon on The Life and Character of Simon Peter," the special Subject being "Peter's Renun ciations." The -xt wan from Luke. v:8, 10. 11: "When Simon Peter itt it, ) fell -down at Jesus' knees. Haying. Depart from me; far I am a ninfnl man, O Lord. And Jesus raid unto Simon, Kear not; from henceforth thon shalt catch men. And when they had brought their shins to land, they forsook all and followed lfiiu," Dr. Humpstone aaid: It wa the second decialvc day In the life of Simon Peter a day of deatiny. Month ago in Judea he had followed hia brother into the presence of -Team; for the firat time he then aaw and heard the Mes iah. With Peter, to see anil hear wa in tantly to decide. He became a disciple, forthwith. In the interval, Peter has been some of the time in company with hia Mae ter; but much of it at hia business, toiling and trafficking; meditation hia constant avocation: to teatify of the Chriat to nth era, aa he met them in the con t acta of the strand or the market, hia habit and hia pleasure. No laggard, half-hearted disci ple would Peter be, we are sure. Ilia wal and. enthusiasm would lean him rather to overwork the role of advocate; to urge men with heat and energy to accept the Mcssiahship of Jesus, even before they were reaclv. There is an unwritten chapter of Peter'a life aa only a disciple, which would be well worth the reading, if we had it. After its perusal we should be leas disposed than now we are to think that usefulness in Christ's service ia neccaaarily connected with ordination thereto aa an exclusive calling. There could hardly be a more effective showing of what a mere disciple can do for his Master and hia fel low men than this lost leaf of Peter's bio graphy would furniaii. If this were not the case yon may be s'.'re Jesus never Toulii nave called Peter this day to the continuous opportunities of the ministry; nor, later, to the weightier responsibilities of the apostolate. For an incipient crisis had been precipi tated in the career of Jesus as Messiah. His rejection at Nazareth was the cloud, no bigger than a man'a hand, that, neverthe less, portended the final diatunt storm burst of hate unto death, from which there would be no eirape for Him. Re jected by "His own" after the fleah, it was time He was gathering "Hia own" after the spirit and reparing them to be His perpetuators an interpreters. Bo He left Mazareth to ta i ip His residence at Ca pernaum, that e might be near the moat Sroitiineut and iromising of the group of is early disc 'es. What though these Wbre only a quartet of fishermen t The Lord saw not as men saw, but with the in flight of one who "knew what was in man, and needed not that any should teatify of man." He knew the time had now come to separate unto Himself and the service of His kingdom the founders of His church. His eye saw every precious possibility in their nature." He discriminated them' one from another, appreciating 'the individual ity of each, and yet discerning their com plimental temperaments and qualifications. With Him to feel was to act; when His "hour" had come He never deferred. In the early morning, therefore. He be took Himself to the lake's shore. There He found the multitudes already astir. The people were abroad, as the manner is in the East, with the break of day; taking the air, hasting on their errands, following each hia beat. But soon Jesus became the centre of their interest and attention. The fata? of Him was already everywhere. To see Him was to wish to hear Him, with an eagerness that would not be refused. Ac companied by a continually enlarging crowd He reached the place where the men He sought were washing and mending their nets after a night of unrewarded toil on the lake. The bonis were drawn up on the beach, in the mill -it. Kntering the one that belonged to Simon Peter, He asked him to "thrust out a little from the land" that He might use the boat for a pulpit, from which to address the crowd. It was to Peter He turned His first thought when He set about the business of selecting His future ministers. Whatever pre-eminence afterward belonged to I'eter was deter mined by the Lord Himself from the be- J inning. He knew the qualifications for eadership that were in him. He "knew also every abatement of his fitness to be first. But the elements that indicated bis gift of precedence outnumbered the weak nesses which continually threatened his primacy. So it was Peter's boat He elected to enter. It was around Peter's personal ity, chiefly, that He chose to nucleate the incidents of His calling of the four whom He would now detach from their business, that they might henceforth give all their time and thought to Him and to His mis sion. Two distinct preparations He arranged for the issuance and acceptance of the call itself. The first was a sermon from the boat to the multitude. Alas! that the dis course ia unrecorded. What a lesson it would be aa to what preaching in at its best. Sitting in the shadow of his Master that day, watching now the Speaker, now the audience, Peter go"- lis first intro-luc-tion to the science and the art of public discourse for religious ends. When, by and by, he became himself a preacher, we may be sure that his discourses reflect the Lord's manner nnd cop7 His method. The sermon finished, followed a miracle; itself a symbol of the aim nnd end of I (reaching). "Launch out into the deep and et down the nets for a draught." was the peremptory word of .Tears to Peter, when His discourse was done. Then followed Simon's characteristic exclamation (Peter esque to the uttermost): "Overseer, we have toiled all night and have taken noth ing; nevertheless at Thy word I will let dow. the net." As if he shiuld have said : "Thoi Lord, art the one to command, I to obe . I have not seen too much of Thy sower and presence to refuse. Cut I have my own idea of the uselessness of such a proceeding under the conditions. Expe rience is' worth" something, especially in fishing." Over went the net. at last, and in came the fish aa it was hauled. So many were the captives that both Peter's boat and John's, suddenly summoned to help, were filled almost to the sinking point. The effect upon Simon Peter was instan taneous and overpowering. As in a flash of thought he saw, aa he never had seen; felt, aa he never had known, the differ ence between his Lord and himself. Over against the Master's divine power his own helplessness and ignorance atood forth as a black blot on a white surface. He who had but just now assumed that air and professional superiority, slight though it was; who bad hesitated to trust implicitly and to follow Without question or protest the wisdom and the precept of his Master how was he fit for discipleship? In the mementary anguish of his spirit, awed by the vision first of his Lord, then of him self, he proposed to renounce his peculiar and personal relation to Jesus Christ, "I ta. net worthy that Thou shouldst stay in my boat or I in Thy fellowship," exclaims Peter even as he clasps his Lord's knees; "go forth from me, O Lord, for I ani a sinful man. But this is precisely the act of renuncia tion that Christ will not let any disciple of His make, though his infirmities be many and hia self-will assertively strong. Ho knows that when, in some time of su preme illumination, His disciple sees him self in silnouette against the brlglitnes ot bis Matter's .glory and power the sense of righteous self-depreciation will be overcjw rinkly at rong. But never yet did J su...;, never will tie answer accedingly th dt. spairiug, desperate cry of a soul tint., searched and scorched by the sense of tha contrast between himself snd his Lord. For He is come not to call the self-approving in their vain confidence, but sinners in their penitence and humility to a better knowledge of thimaelves and of Him. He who could see where the fishes swarmed in their multitude in the hidden deep knew also tin innermost heart of His disciple, and saw under all his frailty the firmness of his rocklike constancy and the (ixity of tils naaoent faith. No man need expect tijrial to leave uira because he knows Jtiiu,- Seir sinnu. ine muiiiens itm-ii nn most ! painfull? snd ahasinslv conscious of his weakness and inferiority is the instant in His disciple's experience when Jesus is surest to turn enconrager and restorer of His own. When we ore determined to say the worst of ourselves He ia busy making the best of us. When we think, such is our sense of nnworthiness, that He and we must part company, then He is most Tpsnlved never to lesve nor to forsake lis, "Kear not." rings out His word of cheer. "This is the beginning of richer life and wider service. Henceforth thou Shalt catch men." For the knowledge of self and the distrust of self it arouses, and the knowl edge of Christ, with the confidence in Christ It awakens these are the first shoots of spiritual growth and the first foundation stones In the edifice of a dis ciple's usefulness. Spiritual sensitiveness ia the condition of ministerial effective ness. It is the man who knows he is not fit to minister whom Christ can make so.4 Therefore, when the boats with their marvelous freight of fish, had been brought to land, did Jesus isk of Peter snd his partner that surrender of themselves to service, which involved the separ.iiing of themselves from every other interest and occupation to exclusive and continuous companionship with Christ, and to con stant work for others, under His direc tion. Then and there, as one of four, did Simon Peter make that supreme vennaria tion, which, because it was made at his own command, and was the manifestation of faith, and the proof of love, the Lord accepted, and forever after blessed: "They forsook all and followed Him." It was a sacrifice of conserration which only those I who have none the like are fit or compe tent to judge. If we are ready to put our selves in Peter's plsce. to face the indeter minate future as he faced it. that day; to think of the kind of interest in his busi ness a man of such encrgv must have had, and the enthusiasm for his.rceiipation as fisherman which evidently, to the last, he felt: if we are observed to note the latent evidences in the gospel atnrv that the busi ness hitherto had flourished and pros pered, so that Peter and hi associates dwelt in comfort, bordering on the edge, at least, of competence, estimated by the standards of that land and age then we hall know what a venture of faith and ex pression of confidence in his Lord Peter made when he left all for Christ, giving up tho chance of future gains and binding himself to the sacrificial use of present fiossessiona for the common good. It is reqnently said, disparagingly, of Peter'a renunciation of the world and its good, "It was a little all that he left," and I'eter has been criticised, for himself, re ferring, at a later day, to the sacrifice he, with others, now made "a boat, a few nets, dirty and old. an occupation espe cially laborious and in some features of it repellant to men of ordinary refinement." was what he left, we are told. Well! per haps it was so; more likelv it was other wise. But whether the "all" were little ol much, Peter left it; left it instantly, utter ly and without regTet. He transferred himself In profoundest faith and liveliest gratitude to Jesus Christ and His service exclusively, forever. For Christ's sake, the work's sake, the world's sake, he re nounced his former life and ambitions, to give himself and all he had unreservedly to Jesus Christ. And Christ welcomed, anplauded and has abundantly rewarded the sacrince. it is a surrender not asueii of every disciple, but in proportion as any disciple approximates ita spirit of faith . nnd consecration, in that measure wil he realize his completcat spiritual life. It is a sacrifice completer even than is naked of J every disciple called to an exclusive min- I istry; but only to the degree tnar. me mm j ister of Christ can detach himself from the world, and its spirit of gain getting, will , i hia largest spiritual power and widest in- ; fluence be realize J. Here stands Peter's ! noble example of renunciation for Christ's I j sake, upon the pages of acripture, summon- : ; ing us all. from our vain seeking for ma- I terial good ns the all of life; and from our i disposition to keep what we have gotten i as exclusively as our own. Christ's disci- vies belong to Christ, and all they have is I : His: whether they are called to use it all in His more immediate service or not. ' Let every servant of Jesus beware of los- ' inir his life in the effort to save and clier- ish it. "For what is a man profited if he : i shall coin the whole world and lost his : soul?" , . j ! Surely the incentive to such sacrifices is j not wanting in the light of Peter's subse quent career. On that later day, when the rich young ruler had gone away sorrowing because he had great possessions, and was therefore unwilling to make the renuncia tion, which, in his case, Jesus had asked to save him from the cancer of avarice, I which was eating out his life, Simon Peter, j after the Lord had discoursed a little on the deceitfulness and hindrance of riches j unduly loved, aaid. "Lo, we have left our : ovn and followed Thee." Whereupon i Jesus replied, "Verily I say unto you, I there is no man that hath left house, or , vife. cr brethren, or parents, or children, 1 for the kingdom of God's sake, who shall r.ot receive manifold more in this time, rid in the world to come eternal life. And has not that promise been abundant- j ly fulfilled in Peter's case? One thinks ! not so much of the eternal distinction that has come to him in the veneration of mul tudes who think of him as the foremost ! apostle of the church: nor ot a memorial to his name so magnificent as that which I rears its lofty, graceful dome to the Ito- I man sky, but of the unfolded fulness of his spiritual life aa registered in his epistles; of the influence he has exerted upon men from the Pentecost onward: of that pecu- , bar effluence of help and cheer which he eSVv has- exhaled through his Individual need for painful discipline and hia equally triumphant realization of a purified and , ennoble 1 character, grown strong and lux- . uriant out of the very soil of its many in firmities. Surely the renunciation of Si- mon Peter was not in vain, either for him self or for the world. What that little life of his might have remained to be, or , deteriorated to become, in its narrow Sy- 1 rian round, if he had refused the call ot Christ, who can adeauatetv sav? But the i imagined contrast between what he would then have been and what he now is suf fices to move its to the swift acceptance of every proposal Christ makes to us, and the speedy answer to every call of Hia for ourselves and our service, at whatever present cost that answer must be given. Seeing Christ. When Simeon went into the Temnle and saw the infant Christ he said, "Lord, now ' lettest Thou Thy servant depart in peace." : What was his reason? "For mine eyes have seen Thy salvation." Aye, that is it. I To see Jesus is to see God's salvation, and I to see God's salvation js ta be ready to ' die, and to be ready to die is to be ht to live. Ksv. W. Y. Fullerton. I Jlluu.lna.tai From Within. Carve the face from within, not dress it from without. , wi.lnn lies the robing room, the sculptor's w. ksuop. For who ever would be fairer, ill..iination must bi gin in the soul; the face catches the glejr only from that side. W. C. Gannett. Writes Morse on the Doorbell. Tha other afternoor a caller In a Harlem apartment bjuae was sur prised to bear the dcorkell ring long and intermittently, lays the New York Press. Sbe was equally sur prised wjion her hostess, Instead of complaining about the noise, went to the door-opener and pushed the button for a couple of -minutes. Then the ringing began again, with a second re sponse from the button, and the hos tess quietly sat down to chat with her friend. "It was only Harry," she explained. "He wanted to what I wanted brought In for dinner, and I said a steak. He said be would rather have chops, and I said go ahead and get them." Then the visitor remembered that Harry bad married his wife when she was an operator In the same telegraph office In which be was employed, and uuderfltcod that the Intermittent ring ing was really MorBe code, employed to save the huxbaud a climb ot four flights of stairs. THE SUNDAY SCHOOL INTERNATIONAL LESSON COMMENTS FOR JANUARY 22. BnMeeti The rirst Miracle In Cans, .Tntm II., 1-11 flnlilun Text, John II., Memory Verse, 11 Commentary on the Day's Lesson. T. The marriage in Cana (vs. 1, 2). I. "The third day. From the railing of . Philip and Nathanael, or six days from the time John the Baptist had answered the authorities from Jerusalem. It is cal culated that Wednesday was the day. it being the usual day for weddings for Jew ish maidens. Widows were married on Thursday. "A marriage." Including the marriage feast, which was frequently oeie bra ted for several days. The family was the first divine institution among men, and is the bssis of all that has followed. 2. "Jesus was railed." Invited. This was natural, especially if His mother woi a relative. It was according to custom that a strange Jewish rabbi visiting there should be invited. "Disciples." The dis ciples were those -already mentioned An drew, Simon, John, Philip, Nathanael and probably James. Jesus sanctities true earthly joy. We need not wonder to find the Lord of life at that festival, for lie came to sanctify all life its times of joy and its times of sorrow, and all experience tells us that it is times of gladness which especially need such a sanctifying power. God wants us to be happy, lie has riven a hundred joys to every sorrow. II. The mother of Jesus (vs. 3-5). 3 "When the wine failed" (R. V.) To Knst ern hospitality such a mishap would he very mortifying and would seem almost disgraceful. The family no doubt was ppor, extra guests had come nnd the sup ply was limited. There has been much dis cussion as to whether Jesus made wine that would intoxicate. Dr. Whedon says: "We see no reason for supposing that the wine of the present occasion was of that kind upon which Scripture places its atrongest interdict" (Prov. 20:1; 2.1:31; Isa. 22:13). No one can prove that it contained intoxi cating qualities, and there are manv and strong reasons for believing that it was aa pure and harmless as the juice of the grape fresh from the vines. Winebibbers need not undertake to fall back on thia miracle as an excuse for the gratification of their, perverted appetites. If Jesus were in America to-day we know very well what His attitude would be toward the accursed saloon and toward wine at banquets, and in fact toward the banquets as they are now carried on. We mav be sure that He never encouraged anything which would lead, aa our intoxicating liquors do, to degradation and ruin. "Mother saith." etc. She probably spoke to Him privately. Although Christ had aa yet performed no miracle, yet His mother feels sure that He is able to help them in the present emer gency. 4. "Woman." This at first sounds harsh to our ears, but it was equivalent to our saying 'Lady," and "was a highly respect ful and affectionate mode of address." He does not call her "mother," because it was necessary now, at once and forever, to show her that He was not Jesus the Son of Mary, but the Christ, the Son of God ; that as regarded His great work and mis sion. His eternal being, the significance of the beautiful relationship had passed away. It could not have been done in a li.anner more decisive, yet more entirely tender. VVhat have I to do with thee?" What is there in common between us? He cannot longer work in her way. She does not un derstand the influences directing His pres ent life. "Mine hour." The hour for the manifestation of His glory. Jesus rejects the worldly ambition in Mary's request, fane desires a brilliant miracle, as a public sign of His coming. Jesus penetrates this ambitious thought, and traces a boundary for Mary's desires, which she should no more attempt to cross. But this does not prevent His understanding that along with this there ia something to be done in view of the present difficulty. As soon as all fleshly claim to hold control over, or gain emolument by, His Messianic power was rejected as soon as His mother retired to her proper position then was tho last ob stacle removed; His area of action imme diately opened, and the hour to manifest lJ Hi" glory by miracle had arrived. 0. Whatsoever dn it." Punctually ob oril,;rs without asking questions. Her faith in Him had not weakened. The answer shows what she was expecting Him to do. Let us take her answer as the motto of our lives. I. H- The miracle wrought (vs. 8-11). 6. Six watcrpots." A large quantity of water was needed at a Jewish banquet be cause of "the manner of purifying of the Jews the hands and feet of the guests must be washed, and "the washing ot cups and jugs and bottles went on the whole day." "Two or three tirkins." A firkin was about nine gallons, therefore these watcrpots held between 108 and 102 gallons. 7. "To the brim." We do not know that they were entirely empty, but what ever had been drawn out was replaced. 8. "Draw out." The word for draw may be used in the sense of dip out. "Unto the fwernor." The president of the banquet. 'They bare it." Here faith was required, lo put water in the jars required obe dience, but to draw that water out and pass it to the chief guest as wine made a strong demand on faith. 9. Knew not." Knew not the miracu lous origin of the wine. "Servauts knew." The independent witness to the two ports of the miracle establishes its re ulity. The ruler of the feast declares what the element is, the servants knew what it was. 10. "Every man." This is the com mon custom among men. "Well drunk." Men who have had enough are indifferent as to the quality of the wine set before them. The ruler of the feast is but allud ing to the corrupt customs and fashions among men, and not to aught that was goi-ig on before his eyes, for such the Lord would have as little sanctioned by His presence as He would have helped it for ward by a wonder-work of His own. Sin gives its best its pleasures and honors first; its worst ita sorrow, poverty, dis grace and ruin follow. First harlots and riotous living, then swine. Christ gives first the cross, the race, the battle; then the crown, rest and glory, II. "Manifested forth His glory." A prophet would manifest the glory of Ood, nut He His own glory, for He was God. The miracles and wonders of Jesus were nil signs (1) of Christ's divine nature; (2) of His mission as from God; (3) of His food will toward (4) 0f the trutks that Ho taught: (3) of the nature and 'haraeter of God. "Disciples believed on Him. Their faith was now confirmed. 1 hey were now sura they bad found the Messiah. It waa 400 years since the Jew had seen a prophet who could perform miracles. The guests partook of the wins; the disciples had something far better an increase of faith. Others simply ate and drank. These men aaw God in Chriat raaftiiestini His glory. Parisian Railway Stations. In nothing Is Paris more artistic than In the designs of the metropoli tan railway stations. Beauty and util ity, divorced by our railway architec ture, are blended there In a building like a miniature palace. But there are malcontents. The new station In the Place de I'Opera Is denounced be cause it Is not what the French jour nals call "modern style." It Is eight eenth century, and looks like the Trianon at Versailles on a small scale. "What have we to do with the eight eenth century?" cry the conscientious objectors. "No true Republican can take his ticket at such a station with out violating bis principles. A bas Louis Qulflze! ConBpuez les Bour bons!" London Chronicle. Fan Made From 8late. J. 8. Roberts of Charlotte, Vt.", Efe a (late fan made from a piece of slate from a quarry In Wales, that was 2 by 7 Inches, and that opened Into ality perfect leaves composing the fan. CiSTIllJEraOflL'OTES JANUARY TWENTY-SECOND. "How to win Souls for Christ." John 1:40 40. (Led by the Lookout Com mittee.) Scripture Verses. Ezk. 34, 6; Matt. 22, 8-10; Luke 1, 78, 79; 14, 21-23; 15, 3-10; Horn. If), 1315; 2 Cor. 5, 14; 12, l 14; 1 Tim. 2, 3-7. I Lesson Thouahts. To be fishers of men Is such binding duty upon all Christians that each one will be held to strict ac count before the Judgment seat of God for the mission work he has had opportunity to do. To-day, now, is the time to talk to, your friend or neighbor who has not yet placed himself on the side of Christ; to-morrow his heart may be hardened, and he may turn his ears from the truth. Selections. On the highways, in the alleys, In the dusty marts of trade; In the palace, in the cottage, Thousands still the truth evade. These have all been fully purchased By the Savior's precious blood; And shall not they all be rescued From the dark, impending flood? Look upon every man and woman who la In love with sin as dead, n living corpse. Do not treat this as a striking metaphor; treat it as the truth. A man falls dying on a crowd ed street, and how eagir Is the throng to help In any fay! What are you doing for these throngt all around you that are far more really dying or dead? "How many do you carry In your cab?" asked a salesman of an engi neer. "Two," replied the man at the throttle. "Why don't you take three?" "Three?" "Yes, why don't you take the Lord Jesus Christ along?" The engineer hesitated, and then said that he had been thinking about that very speak to htm of Jesus!" "Go thou." Around Napoleon's tomb Is a mag nificent wreath of names of great victories. Will your tomb be garland ed with spiritual triumphs? If a poet would write a great poem, he must live the poem, dream It, talk It, walk with It, make It part of him self. There Is no poem so beautiful . as the conversion of a soul, and it I comes only through great painstak ing. EPWDRTH LEAGUE LESSONS JANUARY TWEWTY-SECOND. How to Win Souls for Christ -John 1. 40-40. In this IcHSim wo have thn very best of examples of how to win souls In the action of Jesus, the greut Teacher. The various ways used to Induce tho different disciples to follow him are very suggestive of the methods we may use now in bringing souls to Christ. Human nature chungos very little, and the Inducements offered to these men appeal to men to-day. Read, and reread carefully this chap ter, nnd note tho various methods us ed by the Master. He that wlnneth souls Is wise. The value of a soul; the permanency of. tho work; the rewards offered for It, ull make It. supremely wise to win souls to Christ. Public prcuchlnr;. Looking on Jes us, John the Haptlst said, "Behold the Lamb of God." It was enough. Two of his (lineipli'S, Andrew and John, Immediately followed Jesus. They were -ull prepared. All they needed wits to have the public call and they were at once ready to obey. 80 some In our congregations are prepared and ready. They simply need the evange listic sermon, the earnest exhortation. The public luvltntlon will reach them. Bring your friends to church; let them be put tinder the influence of the ser mon. Many of them will be saved by this method. Personal Appeal. "Andrew first I findeth his own brother Simon. And he brought him to Jesus." This Is the best way. While one may bo saved by the public appeal, ten will be won by personal work. The testimonies of our leaders all unite In the evidence that rTiey were won by personal work. Some brothor, friend, or worker enme to them personally. They were jier sunded to start uow. Andrew brought Peter. You may bring your friend. A large proportion of Christians are thus won to Chriat. There Is no need greater In all our Leagues and church es than bnnda of consecrated, pre pared, Intelligent, personal workers. If you have a revival In your church this winter It will very likely be be cause you devote yourselves to per sonal work. And as hand-picked fruit keeps the best, so souls won by per sonal appeal usually abide and remain the fruits of revival work. Experimental Test. Nathanael was like a good many people to-day. He wan Just a little skeptical about Jes us. Philip bad a remedy: "Come and see." He disarmed his prejudice by showing his willingness to put the matter to the test; and he conciliated Nathanael by Indicating his belief that he was able to judge In the matter. We do religion a service when we can induce men to test the matter for themselves. RAM'S HORN BLASTS HE devil has a good tryvJUfJ I servant in ine uiu fX-siv X who is proud of bis More lime mav be lost by labor on Sunday thau by loafing all the week. When the Chris tian is at home with sin he is not at home to the Sa vior. Opportunity makes tho great differ ence between the greedy and the grafter. It takes more than taste for fried chicken to make a gootl, pastor. r Bad habits have big harvests. Meekness Is the mark of might. The best democracy is a theocracy. The will' gives worth to our work. Erudition never needs to advertise. A selfish saint is like a black sun. Politics make a good test of piety. Nothing gives confidence for this life like the, consciousness of another lite. The more you get Into this world'ii pleasures the less you get out ot them. The kingllest thing In this world Is simple klnduess. irJ Two Worlds. God's world is bathed in beauty, uod'a world is steeped in light; It is the self-same glory That makes the day so bright. Which thrills the earth with music. Or hangs the stars in night. Hid in earth's mines of silver, Floating on clouds above Bringing in autumn's tempest, Murmured bv every dove One thought fills God's creation; Hia own great name of Love! Adelaide Procter. Dlfflcully In Prayer. "I read with isuch interest some papers in the Christian on prayer. I had been praying f ir M.. repeating the promise, 'B lieve that ye receive, and ye shall have.' But in one of the above naners the writer , says (and I know it is truel that God dos I not compel men to be saved. Though 1 Knew mis. vet ic came over me with great force and made me depressed for a time." Wo writes a friend in reference to pray ers offered for nearly twenty years. A'id where is the loving, praying heart that has not been oppressed, in greater measure or in less, with the same grief? This "trial of our faith" cannot have its full solution whilo "we know in part." Nevertheless, there are counter considerations. The fol lowing thoughts may help other discour aged hearts, as well as the correspondent quoted above. Their purpose (need it be said?) is not controversy, but comfort, and they are left for simplicity's sake in the form of direct address: You are troubled by the thought that God does not compel men to be saved. But are you not mistaken in allowing this fact to have a hostile bearing upon you! confidence in prayer for M-? Examine the statement a little more closely. What do we intend when we sav, "God docs not compel men to be saved?' Just this, that salvation is a matter in which compulsion has no place, no mean ing. You can compel physical changes, changes of place and of surroundings: but to talk of compelling moral and spiritual changes is sheer nonsense. The words have no meaning, when taken literally and absolutely, in reference to moral and spir itual things. We overlook this, and hence our mental confusion. On the other hand, God's prophecies and promises in the Word show beyond a doubt that God at least foresees human volitions. Ho who foresees human voli tions, and who has also appointed prayer as one perhaps the chief of the method of the co-working of His people with one another, and with Himself, never leads you to pray on a blind chance that M. may, and perhaps may not, be saved. Has not God helped you to pray? Is He not now heiping you? Does He not again and again cause His peace which passeth all understanding to keep your heart after you have prayed? ' What place, then, is there for doubts, fears, uncertainties? It is God, who cannot lie, with whom you have to do. Which of all God's great spiritual prom ises and prophecies does not turn? In the last development, upon the coalescence of the human will with the divine? And though the transition from opposition to harmony be long deferred, be interrupted, be to our feeble senses marred, yet it comes. In thousands of cases, likely and unlikely to human reckoning, God has saved men for whom His children have of fered persevering prayer. What we get in the very glo,w and glare of midday in the case of Saul of Tarsus ia happening in quiet and secrecy every hour. Cease looking at the mvsterv. What. have you to do with that? Look at the vv. nitii Willi ijumh til i.nv "According to your faith, be u."t W. S., in London Chris- I'romiser. it unto you. tin n. The Old Skipper's Rermon. A skipper who had lost his position on a fishing boat because he would not fish on Sunday was placed in change of a small smack hired by a few benevolent men in London, who charged him to catch more fish in six days than other men did in seven, and to preach the gospel as he went. Dr. Grenfell, the missionary to the Labra dor fishermen, told the story on his recent visit to Boston. When he arrived at the fishing grounds ho was boarded by the skippers of four other vessels, one of them being the "ad miral" of the fishing fleet, who knew the character of his new enterprise, and came prepared to despise it. "Not this e're cant but more whisky is what we wants," they said. The skipper of the mission ship had been sent on a hard enterprise. He believed hiimeli able to catch more fish in six days than other skippers in seven, but the mat ter of preuchiug was what appalled him. However, he prepared to carry out the agreement and to lose no time, but preach to these his first visitors. There was no grog on board, but the best pot of tea the old man could brew was hot 111 the cozy cabin, and four warm milliters were laid out. These the skipper Iminlcd to his visitors. "Look yere," he said, and this was the introduction to his sermon, "do y' see them 'ere mufllers?" They saw them, felt them, and knew they were warm and good. "What do they coat, Bill?" asked the admivii!. "I'll give 'em to ye on one condition." said tiie preacher, progressing with hia sermon. ' "What's that?" asked the admiral, cau tiously. "That you'll admit there's love in cm; for the ladies as knit 'em must 'ave loved ve. though ye never seed 'em." "That's right," assented the audience. ' "Well, then, take 'ein. There they are,' and so the sermon concluded. The lour men wrapped themselves in the mufllers and spoke their thanks. But as they were leaving Bill added ins benedic tion: " 'Ow much more mast Jesus 'ave loved yer, when 'e gave 'iniself for yer!" Dr. (ircenfell adds that this proved a most effective sermon, for three men out of the four resolved to return that love. The admiral "became an effective miiuion ary among his admiring followers,'' and Vie skipper more than made his seven days' work in six, and preached his ser mon many times. Youth a Companion. Bllent Threads That Gleam. Little self-denials, little honesties, little passing words of sympathy, little nameless acts of kindness, little silent victories over favorite temptations these are the silent threads of gold which, when woven togeth er, gleam nut so brightly in the pattern of life that God approves. -Canon Farrar. Help to Bear. Say what you will, the tears of the world have been shed at the feet of Jesus. "Shall Jesus bear the cross alone.''' There is not a strong and chivalrous heart among men that has not been stirred by this hymn. Kev. John T. Knsor, Balti more, Mil. Cast Away Keatlessueas. nere is my work to do, to worry over. "My work," I say. But, if I can know that it is not my work, but God's, should I not cast away my restlessness, even whilo I worked on more fuitlifully and uutu-uudv than ever? Phillips Brooks. Chestnut Exploded In Mouth. Picking a chestnut from the stovt upon which the children wero roasting nuts, Jesse Dayhoff. a farmer, near Mt. Airy, York cf-nty, Pa., placed It In his mouth, when It exploded, blow ing out several teeth and splitting his Hp. Station for Lieut. Grnt. Lieut. U. S. Grant HI, grandson of the lute President Grant, hus been de tailed to the white house as military aid to President Roosevelt and will 00 statloried at Washington, barrack. rilE GREAT DESTB0YER SOME STARTLING FACTS ABOUT THE VICE OF INTEMPERANCE. Hnslneea Men Find It Does Not I'ajr to Orlnk Men la Mereantllo or Profes sional Life Cm It Oat as m Matter of rollny. The vote of the Prohibition party in the recent election fell off perceptibly, which, to the careless observer, would indicate that the cause of temperance in the Uni ted States hss not advanced during the past four years. But a prominent New Yorker, in speaking on the subject the other day, took another view. "Temperance as a moral issue," he said, "may not be making vast, strides, but when it conies lo considering the number of nnn drinking men uf to-day in comparison with that of five or tn years ago there is no doubt that it has increased wonderfully. Men to-day do not drink as they did a few years ago, hut it is not a result of temper ance lectures. W. C. T. V. harangues ot Prohibition prosclvting bv any means What ia it. then? I'll tell you. "A man bas to be pretty swift these days to keep up with the procession. Things move swiftly. If your ryes are not wide open and your wits at their sliarpent you are liable to lose a trick hern and there that will put you completely out of the giiinc. You can't be brilliant one day and then 'lay off' Jhe next, taking up the hus tlo again on the third day. You've got to be there all the time, or while you ate nuring a katzenjammer the other fellow is liable to step in and take away the goods. "Now, the men have found this ont and taken a lesiion from it. They don't trans act business over the bar any more, and the tendency is to cut out the liquor en tirely. "A friend of mine, an actor, had just be come a proud father. He invited a few ol us to join him at lunch to celebrate the event. We sat down at a big table in the cafe of one of the prominent up town hotels, and the proud pnpa gave the order 'Bring a magnum of champagne' he told the waiter, after sizing up tlie crowd, some of whom ho had not seen for some time. But with one exception that bunch said in chorus, 'Not for mine no wine, nc booze; just plain ginger ale!' "Now in the aggregation of wine spurn era weie the following: A song publisher, two song writers, a playwright, four actors, two newspaper iner a theatrical manager and a ticket speculator. How is that foi a 'water wagon' crowd? Doesn't sound natural, does it? Yet it's true that not one of them allows himself to touch a drop to-day of anything, and hasn't for more than a year." New York World. Temperance Id His Will, James Callahan, of Des Moines, Iowa, who paid more taxes than anv other five Iowa men, disposed of .I.IHM.IXK) 111 his will in such a way that no user of liquor, mor phine or any other drug can benefit from Ins wealth in any way. Mr. Callahan preached the evils of intemperance (or three score years and ten, and lie preached them in his will also. In addition to direct bequests for the cause of temperance. Mr. Callahan dia posed of nearly $2.noo,OH) to hia relatives, most of them New Yorkers, in such a way that none of them who uses liquor can touch a cent of it. He made a bequest of $jO,000 to found a home for drunkards' wives and to provide for the families of drunkards, but he pro vided especially that not one cent of the money should be used to benefit the userf of liquor or the drunken husbands. A fc!0,0UO bequest for the Home for the Aged was protected against drunkards ia the same way. "My idea is," aaid Mr. Callahan in liif will, "that if a person will spend his money in the use of such filthy and useless drugs so that he has not enough left to support him in his old age he must suffer the consequences." The bequest is made on the further con dition that the Home for the Aged "shall pass within six months an amendment to the articlca of incorporation not to know ingly admit any person to the horiic who for the past ten years prior to the time of his application for admission has been or is in the habit of using morphine or any other drug or drinking habitually or to ex cess any intoxicating liquor or drinks, and on the further condition never to allovs. such persons within the institution." Decline of Drunkenness. According to Larky, in his "History of European Morals," "the virtue of veracity attains its highest development among commercial nations." It is also- because we are growing greater in business lines that there is less drunkenness at Christ mas as well as more truthfulness all the time? A long memory is not needed to re call a prevalence of yuletide indulgence in strong drink which now appears lacking. Holiday drinking was an inheritance from Anglo-Saxon ancestors. But where are now the egg-nogg and mulled wine of the Christinases of yesteryear? The modern sideboard is conspicuous for their absence and the saloon trade has fallen off. The reeling round of New i"ear' calls is thing of the past. Lady Falmouth has been saying in Eng land that she was struck during her recent visit tp the United States by the higher standard of sobriety prevailing here. She found a "total absence of the poor, drink-sodden-looking beings too frequently seen in England." Bookmakers report a sug gestive decrease of drunkenness at the race tracks. "It doesn't pay and it is dangerous," says the bookmaker. The clerk and his employer find it so and abstain. And the practical gain is to be commended whether the cause is self-interest or a higher spirit ual motive. What Spell Failure. Here is a word to young men- from s man now far advanced in life, who wa9 for many years the president or a railroad and leader in the commercial interests that centre in New York: "Failure- springs from the indiffc ence of young mei to the details of their work, snd their desire to grasp success before they have earned the right to its possession. Success may be explained in a few words; failure is- so complex and has so many causes that its definition is difficult. Dishonesty, intem perance, lack of industry spell failure." A good way to learn of success or of fail ure ia to study the careers of the men who have achieved one or the other. When such a man sneaks out of his he.-.it, his word is testimony to be heedxl by the generation standing on the threshold of the activities and possibilities .if life. Ep worth Herald. Texts For a Timely Sermon. Neither saloonkeepers nor any other body of men, it matters not in what busi ness they are engaged, can persistently ar ray themselves in antagonism to the law without arousing a dangerous public senti ment. Chronicle, Houston, Texas. Tha Crasado tar BHoT. Thirty-five saloons have been refused licenses at Dawson, in the Klondike. The fish that will nibble is sure to get caught, and the boy that will tipple will end as a aot. United Presbyterian. Any one who attempts to manage an au tomobile while under the influence of liquor should be treated as a criminal and punished summarily. You put rum among your ideas and the way they hurry out is like mad hornets with their nests afire, and it will kill all the ideas in time if you keep it up. These little mental children won't stand liquor long, and you may depend on that. It must be remembered that every line of temperance legislation to-day in Amer ica, with perhaps the exception of one State, is non-partisan legislation, and the same is true of its enforcement. Colonel John Kobieski, of Los Angeles, the direct descendant of King John 111. of Poland, the great wsrrior and 'statesman of. that country, a veteran of the Civil War, is an implacable foe to liquor, and spends most of his time iu temperance work. , It lias been a custom in Germany to give a "beer pause" in thr ;f;;noon to allow workingmen Xn get their drink, and in many establishir jnts the beer was sup- plied, This is jeing discontinued, and in , some factories le and coffee ' are, being liibat!tu,''. for btca THE KEYSTCNE STATU Latest News of PcnnsjlTjuiia Ttti fat Short Order. Charters were issued by the Statsr hrpartrtiriit to the following corpora tions: Log.in Township Water Company, liarrishurg ; capital, $5000. Veteran Water .Supply Company, C.recnshtirg ; capital, $5000, Veteran Water Company, Crecnslmrf capital, S.iOOO. Metallic Ladder Company, Pittsburg; capital, $5000. The Possum Glory Distilling Com pany, Indiana; capital, $10,000. The People s Savings & Trust Cons-pai-y, llazlcton; capital, $125,000. Martin Coal Company, Philadelphia) capital, Sio.ooo. ' The York .t Wiiufsnr Gas Company, Dallasfown ; capital, $20,000. Gcotgc B. McAbec Powder & Oil Company, Pittsburg; capital, $25,000. Washington Townliip Water Com pany, l'aytttc" County ; capital, $5oooc Yo;- Klcctric Light Company, York County; capital, $5000. I lariniinus Coal Company, Philadel phia ; capital, $100,000. I.ir ci Hamilton, Inc., riM-bnrg1; capital. $J5.ooo. Thomas R. Mnckcy B iking Company, Piit-.httrg; capi'.al, $5000. Voucher Cigar & Manufacturing Corrt l.any, McKccsport ; capital, $25,000 Kastcru Automobile Company, Phtla ilclpliia; capit ,al$io,ooo. N;ifi nil Metal Molding Company, I'ittsbtirjr : capital, $30,0001 Warrants for back pay under llic pro vi'inns of the Judges' salary act of igoj arc bcinir held up at the Slate Treas tiry. and the Auditor General's Depart nicnl lias bi en notified to issue no mor until the suit to lest the validity of tht act is settled. This condition is neccss.U lan d by a move oil the part of James W. N'cvvlin. of Philadelphia, who has. taken the matter into the United State Circuit Court in an appeal from the re cent decision of the State Supreme Court that the act is constitutional. Several warrants for back pay have already bce cashed by the State Treasurer. Frank Zillings ami Thomas Pick wick, aged 13 years, were convicted in Juvenile Court of Norristown of ma licious mischief in piling railroad lies os the tracks of tile Philadelphia & Read ing Railway below CVitlgeport, in ordei to wreck a northbound passenger train A disaster was averted by the discovery of the tics by a shifting crew. Pickwick confessed that there were five boys io the crovd. He also said ;hat the wcefc before lliey had set a merchant's wag gon on tire to get the iron on it fo junk. The boys were committed' to th Catholic Protectory at Flallands. A committee representing the League of Third Class Cities of Pennsylvania met at Ilarrisburg to prepnrc legislation for presentation to the Legislature. Tha committee decided to prepare bills em--powering authorities of third-class citie that own water plants to make contract to 3upply neighboring towns and ham lets with water and authorizing th water department officials of such citie to investigate the sources of llicir wate supply and protect them from contami nation. The committee has prepared bill authorizing city treasurers to rcceiv all taxes collected within the cities, and is working on a hill to make more uni form tlie assessment of real estate it third class cities. City Solicitor Gard ner, of Newcastle, is chairman of the committee. Positions as leltcr-cprricr at Potts town are eagerly sought, as the work is regarded as tending to prolong life. During the fourteen years that free de livery service has been in operation itt that town there lias not been a death among the letter-carriers. Three ol them were Civil War veterans, well past middle age, when appointed, and they are still carrying the mails. They are John H. Bond, William If. Jones- and G. V. Rohn. A. meeting of a commission of Na tional Guard officials, of which Genera) J. P. S. Gobin is chairman, was held at Harrisburg, for the purpose of dis cussing legislation- for an appropriation for the ereclion of armories for National Guard organizations throughout th State that at present are compelled to rent buildings. The meeting was a(V tended by Adjutant General Stew'.V Brigader General S'chall, Brigader Gen eral Gobin, Colonel A. J. Logan, Colonel Tilghman, Third Regiment; Colorst.f1 Bowman, First Regiment ; Color Dougherty. Ninth Regiment ; Colonel William F. Richardson, of Genera) Miller's staff, and Captain Jones, of Sheridan Troop. A long discussion en sued and General Gobin, Colonels Bow man, Tilghman and Dougherty and Cap tain Jones were empowered to draft bill covering recommendations- in General Stewart's report and providing for an appropriation of $50000 annually for armories for six years. Adjutant General Stewart in hii annual report says: "No State has been better served by the citizen soldier ihan Pennsylvania, and while the State fus been liberal io their maintenance, yet it lias failed to provide proper army facilities, and ha done nothing along tlits line beyond giv ing an annual allowance oi $joo per com pany for armory rent purposes. This if insufficient. In some communities where excellent organizations exist no suitable hall or building can be rented for armory purposes." In his report General Stew art will' also recommend that an annual allowance should be mad lo officer to assist them in defraying the expense of providing themselves with uniform and equipments. It is now believed that H. A. Klenv ing, who shot and killed Millie Crever, an Austrian, at Martic Forge, a week ago, is still m that vicinity. After the shooting Klcrrsiug 'disappeared near Safe Harbor. Tire other night the commiss ary department of the contractors, .by whom the two men were employed wa broken into and everything belonging to Klcnsiug, including his clothing, was taken. It is believed that the fugitive had been hiding in the river hills and decided to secure his effects before leav ing the country. The Postofficc Department has de cided that when there arc two place in a state the names of which sound alike, hut which are spelled differently, the older town has a prior right to re ti.it its n-tme. 'Citizens of K I wood City, in Lawrence county, have' been asking a change in 'the name of thepostoftice at Elwood, in Schuylkill county. Repre sentative Acheson) of Pennsylvania, who referred the problem to the lWottice Department, and Fourth Assistant Post master General RrUtow, decided tha!-' inasmuch as FJwood, is much the olderf office, the citirens of that town hue . prior right to retain the na;r?;
Significant historical Pennsylvania newspapers