"DIVINE COMPANIONSHIP" ' Aa Eloquent Discourse By Bct. Charles E. Benedict. , Jtatrti a Beiitllul Ceanaeatiry th Brief til Yet Meet Ceoiprefceaaire Blf uphjr Crtr Wrlttea. TnooKt.v, N Y.-TI.e Rev. Char) E. Benedict, pastor of St. James' M. E. Church, Eighty-fourth street nnd Twen tieth, avenue, jtensonhurst, prcachai 8un Isy morning on "Divine Companionship." he texts wore from Genesis v:24: "Enoch ft-alked with God. and he was not, for God look him," and Hebrew xi:: "Before hil translation lie had this testimony, that he ld God." Mr. Benedict said: This is one of the briefest yet most com prehensive biographies ever written. Thee , passages, containing twenty-tlirce words, toll ii about all we know concerning this ian Etioi'h. Imagine the Lforv of your ffe told in three sentences! l'fe walked nth God, he pleased Ood an' he was translated. This is the record of Enoch's , bf Jt reads more like an epitaph than biography, yet I would rather have those 5rt two statements true of my life than to have the most eloquent tributes or eulo istie praises ever written or spoken by men. To walk with Cod and to please Iim! Do you know of anything more dc linble? It in said that a man's walk is indicative if his career. Manner and gesture are an Index to character. It is possible to make ii estimate approximately correct of the ype of men you meet on the street by not !ig the poise and bearing of the average pedestrian. One walks with a firm, quick ten, head erect, shoulders back, and you feel instinctively that he is an energetic, .resolute, sell-respecting mini, bound to sue Seed. Another shambles by with shiftless gait, dragging his feet rather than lifting them, unci you put him down for a loafer. A third glides along noiselessly, threading Ins way in and out among the' crowd, and foil know intuitively that- Jie is a sly, Icheming trickster. Another walks with Unsteady gait, stepping carefully, as if the (lavement were rolling and bumping against tiis feet, and as with pitying glunce you watch him stagger along you say, "The floor fellow is drunk." So a man's gait be- trava him. His walls signifies the mannoi of his life. One is likewise known bv the company .ie keeps. We are largely what our friends nd companions are. Tell me the sort ol persona with whom you associate, in whom you confide, to whom you go with all your troubles and with whom you share your very joy, and I will have no difficulty in tatimating your character. To retain pur ity of character if one's associates are base iid ignoble is an impossibility. And it would seem equally impossible to live an Impure, vicious, wicked life if all our asso Siates are noble and virtuous. .We are in fluenced unconsciously by the words and actions of our friends. Like the chame leon, we take on the hue of our surround ings and reflect the likeness of our com panions. The human heart under normal condi tions craves companionship. From the ginning it was so. Cod saw that it was not good for man to be alone, so He gave him t companion and helpmeet. We ore so ionstituted that we must have some one with whom to share our happy hours, lome good, true friend who enters into iir experiences with sympathetic appre siation, whose heart aches in our sorrow nd rejoices in our jov. The strangest truth contained in all God wonderful volume of truth is that He who created the universes, the Lord tou Omnipotent, whose wisdom is omnis tiencc, whose goodness is perfection, whose name is love, that He should condescend to become the companion mid associate of man, His creature. I said that this is the strangest truth. Let me take it back. There is one truth more astounding yet. Tis this that man should refuse the friendship and disdain the companionship of Jehovah, his God. Of all the divine humiliations what eoula lie geatcr than this, that He should seek the friendship of mortal man and find it not? That He should offer Himself for thf closest and most intimate relationship, as a companion for life's pilgrimage, a comrade for life' struggles, un ussociate and confi dant amid all life's changing scenes, and yet be rejected! The trouble is and has ever been when men have rejected Cod that thev love the darkness lather than I he light, because their deeds are evil, from the opening chapters of human history until now it has been true that man, the creature, has been out of harmony with Cod, the Crea tor. . It is refreshing, therefore, to find in the inspired record, amid the genealogies of ancient nobodies who lived long, bore chil dren, and eventually died, the storv of one holy lite, a man who walked with God and who Pleased God. From this fragmenting sketch of Enoch's life, reading between the lines and penetrating beneath the sur face of the words which contaiu his bio graphy, we may discover some helpful truths concerning divine companionship. To walk with God implies, first of all reconciliation with God. Man bv nature it not on good terms with his Maker. Time was when the most loving intimacy and harmonious relationship existed between them. "Adam walked with God in the garden in the cool of the dav." N'ot be fore Him as a herald, nor behind Him as a slave, but beside Him, as His companion ana I had almost said His equal. But something came between them. They had foiling out. As one has expressed it. Sin came and opened the mightv chasm ol separation, and since then the carnal mind has been enmity against God." The Father's heart has yearned for rec onciliation, but how could reconciliation be made? The heart of man was who"v estranged. An impassable g.ilf vawned J tween him and his Creatir. Ho had inned against Divine Majesty and for feited the Divine favor. Hut The love of God is broader 1 ban the measure of man's mind; And the heart of the Eternal Is most wonderfully kind." Therefore, "God, who is rich in merev, for His great love wherewith He loved us. even when we were dead in ,is." deter (mined to bridge the chasm, to heal the breach and win back the affections alien ated by sin. He sent Christ into the world as Mediator. And He, who is our peace, Hath made both one. and hath broken down the middle w,,l of partition between lis, having abolished in His flesh the enmi ty and reconciled u nnto God by His death on the cros. Acceptance of Jesus Christ is the basis of reconciliation with Ood. On no other term, can our estrangement be healed. ; Ihe trouble began when men insisted itixm turning every one to his own wav The difficulties are perfectly and satisfactorily adjusted when man is willing to turn back into God's way. And whenever one reaches tho point of willingness to accept Jesus Christ, then he begins to walk in newness of hie, and walking thus he makes a dis covery. He discovers that "Old things are passed away, and all things are become new." . Patrick Daley, of Boston, had the right idea ,t the new birth. He wn. a Catholic by profession, but a drunkard by practice. He attended an evangelistic service und ,u. ...n iime m Ins lite tieard the gos- ital II .....!.. , . . B ..... ... iiiuue a comn fIM biirrnni i ti .'hrist. and was riiliv.nt r,. .1.. 1 1 age of drink A few weeks afterward ha approached Dr. A. J. Gordou with a prob tain which had perplexed him greatly, buid he: iou see, your reverence, 1 know J ood "" hei I get it, nnd when I found salvation I couldn't keep it to nrv- slf, 1 Peter Murphy lived up stain in tho tame tenement with me. lie was s worse He drunkard than I, if that could be, and wej liad gone 011 many a spree together. Wl, ivlieu 1 got saved and washed cleun in the blood of Jesus Christ, 1 was so happy I didn't know, what to do with myself. So I went up to Murphy aud told him what I had gut. He was just getting over a spies nd felt pretty sick and sore, and was ready to do anything I told him. ho I got liim to sign the pledge and told him Jesus' ilone could help him keep it. Then I got him oil his knees and made him pray and surrender to the Lord as I had duut. You never see such a change in a man an there Ivus in him for the next week. X kept) natch him and. or U"d for liiiu and tteipen mm on tne nei 1 coma, and sure, he was a different man. Well, come Sun day morning, Joe Healer called around to pay his usual visit. He used to come every .Sunday and bring a bottle of whisky with him, and them two would spree It all Jay until thev turned the whole house into a bedlam. Well, I saw Healey coining last Sunday morning, and I was afriid it would be all up with poor Murphy if he got with him. I went down to tne door, una wnn he asked if Murphy was in I said, 'No, Murphy is out. He don't live here any longer. Po I sent Healey off and saved Murphy from temptation. But what I want to know, your reverence, is this, did I tell a lie? 1 meant that the old Murphy did nut live there any more. You know Mr. Moodv told us that when a man it converted he is new creature; old thing have passed away. I believe Murphy is a new creature, and that the old Murphy does not live any more in that attic." "If any man be in Christ he is a new creation. Old things are passed away: be hold all things are become new." After a man makes this discovery he begins to learn important truths, He learns that he must now walk, not after the flesh, but af ter the spirit. This is by no means an easy thing to do. I wonder how many have mastered this art? 'Tis one that can not he acquired in a single lesson. I sometimes think we shall never know per fectly how to walk after the Spirit so long as we bear this body of flesh. There is much misnpprchenmon on this point. Not H few have been sorely perplexed, and some have been quite disheartened in their attempts to make the plain facts of their experience fit certain doctrines taught from the Scriptures. Here is a typical ex ample. A young man entered upon the Christian life. There was no doubt as to the genuineness of his conversion. He ac cepted Christ intelligently, and with an earnest purpose to give Itim a loyal serv ice. He had run the whole gamut of sin ful indulgence, but the change in his life was a radical one. Ho ceased to do evil nnd tried to learn to do good. But he was hindered by old habits and tendencies which still lurked in his flesh. The strug gle w.-s fierce and he faced it heroically, until one day more severely tempted than usual he vent to his pastor and said: "It's no use, I n'ight as well give up trying. 1 have been guilty of some of the same old sins that X lined to indulge in, and I won't be a hypocrite, so you can take my name off the record. The pastor made use of his Master's method, and answered the young man with a parable. It was the old story of a farmer who was plowing in a meadow lot. He kept his eyes fixed on a tree at the farther end of the field, and de termined to make his first furrow as straight, as possible. That was to be his guiding line, and it was his intention to make each furrow as straight as the first. He succeeded fairly well for awhile, until a bird flew close to hia face and startled him so that he jerked on the rein with the result a crook in his furrow. .Several times in the course of his plowing he got off the line, but just as soon as he discovered hie deflection he pulled back and got on the straight line again. How aptly this illustrates the initial ex perience of n child of God. He starU out with the determination to walk in the footsteps of his Master. That is the cen tral purpose of his heart. His new nature throbs with a single motive of loyalty to Christ. But in his immature condition he blunders, he flies into a passion perhaps, or indulges some old sinful habit, forget ting his new relationship with God, and he makes a crook in his furrow. But in the instant when he comes to himself he repents of his deflection and, fixing his eyes upon Jesus, he gets back on the line and tries again. Such deviations from the line of rectitude often dishearten young Christians. Their blunders of immaturity are mistaken for tokens of insincerity. Walking with Chri.t in the school of expe rience they will learn that the evidence of their loyalty to Him in whose footstens they seek to follow, is not found in the ab solute perfection of their walk. The real test lies in their immediate repentance nod turning back to the line when a de viation or deflection has been discovered. A soul-inspiring truth that one ought to grasp at the beginning of the Christian life is that walking with God leads ultimately to God's house. A beautiful commentary on this point was that made bv a little girl, as related by Dr. Morgan, of London. Ifer mother questioned her ubout the les son learned at Sunday-school. She had been studying Enoch, and told her mother that he was n man who used to take long walks with God. And one day thev went for an extra long walk, and God said to Enoch. "You are a long way from home. Enoch, and you had better come in and stay with Me." It has been truly said that: "Heaven is sometimes spoken of as a place, admission to which is gained by some lenient act ot divine amnesty. People speak of going to heaven as though it were a conceit room, to enter which a ticket only is required. Nothing could be more nnscriplural. Heaven is not a place into which we are admitted, but a place into which we grow. It is little short of foolish the way sotno talk of going to heaven when they die. They exclude God from their life on earth. They find no love in His presence here. Heaven would be a place of painful im prisonment." The felicities of the heavenly country will be conditioned largely upon our capac ity to receive. And our capacity to re ceive will be determined by out- ability to serve. Tho service of heaven wi'l be a ir vice of love. I think we should stifle in the atmosphere of heaven's love unless we had learned to breathe in its p-rity aud live in its beauty here below. One must learn to keep step with Jehovuli here and now if he would enter upon the joy of the divine presence hereafter. Leiitn to love what God loves, and hate what Grid hate. Get in step with Him today and let Him be your companion for life. "They 8hH.ll dee Coil." A mighty twofold fact runs to and fro through all the earth and under the earth and over it high and far. Many do not see it or hear it and therefore do not feel it, but nevertheless there is no other thought so real, so vital and overwhelming known to science or history or revelation. This mighty fact is the immanence and the providence of Almighty God, 111 all things, through all things and for all things. He has created man and put Himself under universal und ceaseless obligations and re sponsibilities to His creatures. To know this is an indescribable privil ege, but to ignore it or treat it as a invth is the acme of idiocy or perversity. To see the divine presence ami power in nil things that we see, and to discern Itim .vlierever we go and wherever wo ore, is to liscern the revealed secret that "in Ilim ye live and move and have our continued !Xit.tenco." And so it shall come to pass that the King's children shall all see "Books in the running brooks Sermons in stones And good (God) in everything." -Christian Ceniiirr. Gema Found In Maine. The minerals of Maine are becon. Ing of world-wide reputation. The great aqua-marine, found In Stonebam, and probably the most valuable gem ever found on the American continent, baa recently been purchased as a val uable acquisition to the crown Jewels ot Germany. The German prince, while In this country, saw the gem at Chicago, and admired it so uiucb that the government baa been nego tiating for It ever since, and recently sent a man over to this country, who 1 finally succeeded In closing the trade, taking the gem back to Germany with hlra. At the world's fair at Chi cago the gem was vi.lued at $30,000. It wolfjhed 183 carats. One crystal taken at Paris, Me., this summer has been sold tor $500. ' Paid Freak Election Bet One of the Danbury, Conn., letter carriers paid an election bet by which ,ho was compelled to travel ovor hja I route with ono leg ot his truusera turned half-way up to tho kaee. THE SUNDAY SCIIOOL INTERNATIONAL LESSON COMMENTS FOR JANUARY 29. Snhjeeti Jems ami Nlcoriemns, John III,, 1-IS Ooldeu Text, John III., IS Memory Verses, 14, 15 Cnmmentart on tli Day's Lesson. I. Nicodemus eomej to Christ (vs. 1, 2). I- "Of the Pharisees." A verv strict and religious sect of the Jews. Thev were orthodox and believed in the immortality of the soul and a future state. They hid great stress upon their traditions, esteem ing them as highly ns they did the Scrip tures. They expected the Messiah would be a temporal deliverer and king, and were generally looking for Him. " Nicodemus. A rich ruler of the Jews, a Pharisee and s member of the Sanhedrin, the supreme council of the Jewish nation. All we know of him with certainty is recorded hi re and in John 7:00 and 10:119. 2. "Caine by night." The act of cleansing the tem pie had brought Christ into prominence I he plain inference is, also, that He had performed miracles that are not mentioned by the Bible writers. He came privately, by night, "ns an art of prudence and dis cretion." lie had strength of character and was an unprejudiced, earnest seeker after light. "Rabbi." This was slum inn great respect to one who had not been nl ueated in the rabhinical schools. "A teach er come from God." This was a complete indorsement of Jesus and His work, and now, having thus indorsed Him he was under gronter obligations to accept the truths that Jesus was about to proclaim. II. The new birth (vs. :i-B). 3. "Jesus answered." Not to a spoken question, but to the deep unspoken question of his unul "erily, verily." These words were used to express the truthfulness of what was about to be spoken and were considered of equal import with the most solemn oath. "I say unto thee." Jesus here entered into the very heart of gospel truth. He did not undertake to preach a pleasinz ser mon in order to make a new disciple of this "master in Israel." but gave 11 per sonal, thorough, heart-searching talk, in which Nicodemus was made to iimjerxtiinil that he was not in the kingdom of God imply because he was a pious .lew. "Kx rept.' "Jesus meets the 'except' of Nicode inus with another 'except.' Nicodemus avi 'do; Jesus says 'be.' We must be before we can do." "Born again." "Final above." anew,' converted, regenerated. The one born again has a new life, with a new na ture, new principles, new affections, new aims. "Cannot see." Knioy. share in. en ter (v. B). "Kingdom of God." The king dom of grace here and of glorv hereafter. 4. "How born," etc. To be born again w;as a familiar figure with the Jews, but Nicodemus evidently thought Christ's de scription of this being born again to be sn radical and absolute as to suggest and jus tify the query whether it did not include a re-birth of body. 5. "Of water and of the Spirit." We present three different views as to the meanint of the term "water:"' 1. Water, washing and cleansing are fiyiir ative expressions used in Scripture to de. note a spiritual operation on man's heart. It is not necesary that, we should under stand two different things, and this is probably only an elliptical form of speech for the Holy Spirit under the similitude of water. . A number of expositors think the "water" lus reference to Christian baptism. 3. The expression refers 10 Johns baptism, which was unto repent ance, and was alone known to Nicoilenius. 0. "Of the flesh is flesh." Like produces like with regard to both flev,h and spirit. We are thoroughly fallen, und a clean thing cannot come tiom nn unclean. III. An illustration (vs. T. 8K 7 "Marvel not." Do not wonder nt this there are many things you do not under stand. Thou canst not even understand the blowing of the wind. "Must be." This law is unchangeable. Tin-re is no other wuy of entering the kingdom of heaven . H" i'1"' blowcth." This illustration was likeiy suggested by the sound of the night wind about the house. .Icmh speci fies three points in which the Holv Spirit's work in regeneration is like the Win J: 1. Independence of movement, "where it list eth.' 2. Distinctness, of effect, "thou heurest the sound." .1. Its surpassing out comprehension as to its origin and its des tiny, thou "canst not tell," etc. A fourth anulogy is certainly worthy of mention, though not in point with Nicodemus, namely, the varieties in the power, some times gentle as a zephyr, oguin raging ns a tornado. In Hebrew the term for "wind" nnd "spirit" is the same. This would make tho illustration all the more forcible "So is every one." The laws of the spirit ual life are unknown. We can understand the new birth only as we receive il. IV. Christ's words the foundation of faith (vs. 9-13). ft. "How," etc. inverse 4 his question was really an objection, hue now he is not unbelieving hut bewildered. He could not npprehend spiritual truth. 111. "Art thou the teacher" (I!. V.) The question is a reproof. Have vou studied the Scriptures o you are capable of leach ing them without learning these all impoi taut truths? II. "We." Kderslieim thinks that in nil probability St. John was present during this entire interview. "Do know." lie s.ioke with the greatest possible assurance. Not upon hearsay, but from personal knowledge. "Ve receive not our witness." They received His mir acles us genuine, yet reused to accept the spiritual truths lie taught. "Ye" is al ways plural, and is spoken with reference to the class to which Nicodemus belongs, 12. "How shall ye believe." If you do not believe the first principles the begin nings of gospel truth how shall ye believe if 1 continue the subject further and tell you of the deeper things, the hcavcnlv things, such as. "My divinity (v. 13); the atonement (v. 14); salvation bv faith (v. 1"): the great love of God (v, 10) " 13. "And no man." etc. There ivas a false notion among the Jews that Moses had ascended up to heaven to get the law. Jesus in effect ays, No one, not evrn Moses, hath ascended up to heaven to search out heavenly things; but the Son of man has dwelt "from all eternity in the bosom of the Father," and has come di rect from heaven. "In heaven." He is o 11 nip resent, filling heaven and earth with H's presence, and even now is in heaven. V. The way of salvation (vs. 14, V). 14. "The serpent." Num. 21:4-1). The history of tho brazen sernout is a parable of the gospel. "Son of Man be lifted up." 1. In His crucifixion. 2. In Ilia exalta tion. 3. In tho publishing and preaching of His everlasting gospel. Jo. "Whoso ever," etc. GeDtiles as well as Jews. "Whosoever" is better for each one than though he were called by name, for the same name might belong to another, Those who accept Christ as their personal Sa viour will be saved from the effects of sin. which naturally end in the destruction of the soul, and will be given spiritual lifa here and in the world to come life ever lasting. "Kterual life." Eternal life w fulness of life, joy, peace and love. Class Workmanship. One ot the greatest artistic marvels ot the world is to be seen In the m se ll m at Harvard university. This curi osity consists of hundreds of speci mens of flowers aud plants formod ot glass, but with such exquisite fidelity to nature that they appear to be real, every tint and marking, every tiniest detail, being faithfully reproduced. They are made by a secret process, the artists being a father and soq In Germany, who. It Is said, may lei their secret die with them. As an In stance of tho wonderful workmanship, It may be mentioned that the very hairs which appear on the stems on certain plants are reproduced un the glass Imitations. Small Farms In Denmark. In .Denmark there are S24.0U0 rural land owners. More than half have not more than ono acre, 06,000 have less than Tour acres, nud only 2,000 have more. The small land owners mainly occupy themselves with the egg aad fowl l4u6try. JANUARY TWENTY-NINTH. "Heroes of Foreign Missions; What They Teach Us." 2 Cor, 11: 21-28. Scripture Verses. Luke 10, 1, 17; Acts 13. 49 62; 16, 23-25; 20, 22-24; 23, 11; 2 Kings , 1517; Ps. 31, 19, 20; 34, 7; John 15, 4, 5. Lesson Thoughts. The work of a foreign missionary not only leads him Into greut danger for his life but into great labors. Christian work In our own land, where the prevailing sentiment favors, la often discouraging and laborious, what must It be in a lnnd where the sentiment Is strongly antagonistic? It is not always tha daring, thrill ing deed that calls for heroism; per hups oftener It Is the patient fidelity to humdrum duty. "Tho care of all the churches" Paul added as the cli max of his list of missionary hard ships. Selections. it matters not what (lidlcullles and dinco;inipementn we may meet. If we are confident that we are doing God's will, we shall have songs Instead ol sighs and be ever overflowing with the pence of God. When we want to describe over whelming odds, wo say, "It was one against a thousand." But often tho missionary is one against ten thous and or a hundred thousund. Wo would not think ot sending a single soldier to hold a fort In nn enemy's country, but often a single missionary holds the fort in the midst of millions of heathen, all bitter enemies of the gos pel he is trying to teuch, and keefi iu every way to thwart hlni. George L. Mackay toiled for twenty three long years In the great island ot Formosa. He visited village aftr;r vil lage where not a soul would listen to him. Still he kept on, because he be lieved that one with God is a majori ty. He declared thut in all this work he never saw anything to discourage bim. Whoever comes to in-each the un searchable riches of Christ among the heathen, comes on a wurfare which re quires all prayer and supplication to keep his armor bright. Moffat. I was never left without hearing that promise, in nil its consoling and supporting power, coming up through the darkness and the anguish, "Lo, I am with you alway!" Pattor.. Asleep or awake, I am happy be yond the poor compass of language to tell! Richard Wlllinms, starved to death in Pategoniu. Men who live near to God, and are willing to suffer uny thing for Christ's sake without being proud of it, those) re the men we want. Judsou. EPWOfiTHlfflETESSONS JANUARY TWENTY-NINTH. City Evangelization. Isa. 62. C; Jon all 5. 10, 11. The last ten years have witnessed a great advance in the recognition of the need of the salvation of our great cities. About that time our National City Evangelization Union was organi zed. Local societies are now main tained In about sixty cities. The so ciety publishes leaflets and a monthly organ. The Christian City, edited by Dr. North. The last General Confer ence gave special attention to this work, and appointed a special com mittee on this phuse of work. They reported some changes in the powers ot local organizations, and planned for an Increase in this arm of the church's work. The imperative need of this work Is seen In The Size of Our Cities. A great proportion of our population Is mass ed In comparatively a few cities. The cities are growing faster than? the country. They are rapidly becoming the greut renters of population and in fluence. The Dangers of the City. These grow out of several factors. The cos mopolitan character of their popula tion, embracing all nationalities, com plicates the problem. The size of the city makes vice and crime easy and secure. The misrule of cities Is a con stunt menace to the nation. Wealth, boodle, and rum unite to endanger the social and moral life of the city. The Influence of the City. The In fluence of the great city Is almost ab solute In politics, In social life, and In a commercial way. To conserve this influence for right we must evange lize it. While the rural districts must not be neglected and they have their own problems, we must multi ply our work in the city. There is need of a greut awakeplng In our land and church as to this work. May this les son help iu doing It! Dr. Jefferson, whose-church In the heart of New York Is doing such a noble work says that "If Christianity fulls In Ihe city, it falls everywhere. The world has no use for a religion that falls at the most Important point, and that Is the city. The city Is like a heart pumping poison through the entire system. It must be cleansed, or the whole body will perish." Dr. Purkhui'st says that it Is a very Important point in illumination to put the light where it is dark. "It cor porations did not understand the phil osophy ot lighting cities by gas better than some of us seem to understand tho philosophy ot lighting cities by gospel, the nights in some ot our wards would bo as black us the mor als are." RAM'S HORN BUSTS 1MK servers ate eternity losers. Originality If, sim ply personality. Heaven is the In terpreter of earth. A live meetlug need j little leading. The best criticism of the Uible would be to give us a bet ter one. It Is never hard to l hold the people if you are really helping them. Some men will nt believe they ate suved from drowning until they feel dry. You cannot warm your heart on the Lible and refuse its light on your way. It's no use a man's praying for a clean hoart If ho will not waah his face. , They who love God for His gifts never know huw murti His love i-ati give. The Home of the Blast. Around about me Is a world, A world I cannot see: Its boundaries are infinite, Its breadths encompass me. The wonders of this blessed land, Where joys eternal dwell, Are too exalted for the words Of mortal man to tell. Mansions that glisten in the sun, Which lights that country fair. Are homes of our beloved ones Who now are sheltered there. No hate. nor fear, nor anger lucre, No selfishness, nor greed. The only law they know is love; Suflicient for their need. The air so pure is nndctilcd lly erring mortal,.' breath: An angel guards the city's gates And mortals call him. Death. 1 do not fear the sentinel. I know my Lord is King, Oh. grave, where is thy victory? Oh, death, where is thv sting? Prank IJeard, iu the ltam's Horn. Tlia Victories of the Meek. F.lessed are the meek for Ihey shall In herit the earth. Matt, v., 5. When these words were spoken by the Son of Man who had not where to lay His bend Imperial Caesar had but to nod to be obeyed by a hundred millions ol peo ple. Itehiud Caesar were the nroud legions, slid nil the "boast of heraldry and pomp jf power" (hat went along with them, while behind the Son of Man there was nothing but the simple truth which He hoped might, some time or other, make us ill "free." Caesar and his legions nnd pandects and palaces are a faded memory, a part of the archaeology of things, hut the Galilean is stronger to-day than He was when. L'fOO years ago lie uttered that word about the meek. Steadily since that date the Man of love and gentleness and truth has been grow ing, while the man of uower. the max with the legions back of him, has been dwind ling. The empire of arms, the dominion ol brute force, is slowly but surely retrograd ing, while the kingdom of reason, of love and of quiet truth has been pushing to the front . When Jesus announced His truth about meekness it sounded very strange. Il was n time of storm and stress, of blood and iron. of organized violence and robbery, and in the midst of such condition of af fairs what show was there for such as were "meek," for such as were modes', gentle, unassuming? Hut Jesus knew what He was about, lie was talking, not wildly, but rationally and well, and the twenty centuries that have, elapsed since He threw His beatitude into the world only seem to show how well He knew what He was saying. Unite force and violence are lint prelim inary. When the man comes in to take the place of the beast for brute force we have reason and for violence love. The history of the process wc call civili zation is the history of the slow, but steady advance of the spiritual upon the animal, the elimination of the animal, the enthronement oi the spiritual. p.ven when the most noise is being made, when the armies are tSiunilerinx and the trumpets are clanging, it will be found that it is the quiet genius of the few thinkers behind it all that is doing the business. Power, when all is said, is subjection, not objection; a thing of Ih? brain and heart and soul, rather than of the mighty enginery panoplied with its ii'jignii of material might. This is the greatest nnd ;;i-ainlest gene.-a-tiou simply because it is the fullest of lovt. of gentleness and of "sweet reasonable ness." The old idea of the ronqucrer "wading through slaughter la a throne" and found ing his "dynasty" on the wreck and ruins of millions of human live is fast making way for another idea- that of the one who eonouers bv good will, by the force of truth, by the silent omnipotence of princi ple. And so it lias steadily gone on from the beginning right down to the present, that the "meek" the kind, the rational, the just have been getting more srid more of a footing on the earth, and a largn' share in its true possessions. The old-time "struggle for life" still goes nn, it is true, and in the struggle it is still the fittest that survives, but the tittest ot to-day is a liner thing than was the tittest of the long ago. There has necn a great moral advance, and the cockles of men's hearts to-day are warmed by the great spiritual ideals which Caesar never dreamt of and of which the Alexanders and l).i rinses never once heard. The "giants of tha Prince that tare each oilier in their shrine" are long since dead, and the physical force that once lorded it over the world is beginning to be subordi nated to the force of mind and character which wins its battles not by blows and blood, but by the silent influence of its own superior excellence. Thomas H. Greg ory, in the Now York American. . Cod's Pence. Fe, then, how faithfully the Lord is leading thee to true peace, who surround eth thee with so many crosses. It is called "the peace of God which passeth all understanding;" that is, which is not known by feeling or perception or think ing. All our thinking eanr.ot attain nor understand it; none but those who of free will take up the croas laid on them these, tried and troubled in all they feel and think and understand, afterward exper ience this peace. Luther. The Music or tlie Heart. Piety is a much abused word, but that th-re iu a true piety as distinguished from false piety is clearly shown by the Kev. J)r. ( uyler iu the words that follow: "True piety iu the harmony of the soul with God. His will becomes the will of His loving and obedient child, and such a Christian finds his happiness in the chime of his own desires with what God bids him to do. This is the fountain of all genuine music of the heart." The Itlght Kind of Prayer. Do not pray for results. Pray for power to achieve them; not for ease, but for tho healthy spirit thac rejoices in activity; loi energy that makes mountain climbing an exhilaration rather than that the path ba made smooth. Hev. Jesse K. Hronnnn. i Way of the Cross. Go where thou wilt, seek whatsover thou wilt, thou shalt not find a higher way above, nor a safer way below than the nay of the holy cross. Thomas a Kempi. A Poor Huecess. There it n success in all this world which ia so to be dreaded as the success of getting away from God's purpose for u. --llobert E. Spear. Nssd Not Hop. The man who is afraid of burning up his wick need not hope to brighten Ihe world. Scottish Iteformer. Rejected Insinuation. A young luwyer was sent from Edin burgh to a country north ot the Forth to act as Junior counsel In a licensing club case. He had to cross-examine the certifying Justice, who was very diffuse aud rather evasive in hi an awei's. "Speak a little more simply aid to Ote point, please," said the counsel, mildly, "you are a little ambiguous, youliuow." "I am not, sir" replied the wltuesa, indignantly. "I have been strictly tee totalfor a year." Ram's Horn. fHE GREAT DESTROYER SOME STARTLING FACTS A30UT ..THE VICE OF INTEMPERANCE. Hie T.ntost Ifews In T.ll Tnnrnre rlrcles Is Astonlshlnc His Tipplers Ielll Kt Among Moderate Drinkers Much X-rs;er Than Among; Abstainers. The Hoslon Herald, under the editorial head "Favoring Total Abstainers." says: "If t lie insurance companies decide to favor the total abstainer, it will lie pretty strong proof that their investigations have led them to the conclusion that even the moderate use of alcohol is not conducive to long life. If this step is taken by the insurance companies it will unquestionably jirove a very strong temperance, or rather total abstinence, argument. In many lines of industry the total abstainer is now given special advantages. There will be few temperance arguments more eloquent to the average man than the as surance that he may receive s better rat ing from the insurance companies if he is a total abstainer than if he is an occasional user of alcohol. "The New York Tribune "lutes that s number of actuaries and -medical directors have been working on the statistics for some vears. and have rnnie to the conclu sion that those who refrain entirely from the use of alcohol live longer by from twenty to fifty ner cent, than do moderate drinkers as a class. Even if the minimum named was the maximum in real ity it would justify the companies in talc ing the temperance factor into ronsideru lion. If total abstainers lis V twenty per cent, longer on the average than do those who indulge in a moderalf use of alcohol. Unit fait, should be taken into consideration in figuring the risk o! insurance on either class." The Kansas Citv Journal, under the cap tion "Alcohol as pood." says: "Medical science has reached the conclil sion that it is useless if not injurious tf take alcohol even for its possible food ele ments. And this scienlilic view has beer received with approval in the biisinesi world. The big life insurance roinpanief are about to give special low' rates for lit insurance to those who are total abstain ers in the matter of spirituous nnd mill' liotiors. The companies have approachec this matter without prejudice, as it il merely a matter of dollars and cents wit! them." The New York American, in comment ing on these latest bulletins of the life in surance societies notes the following testi mony of Dr. Shrady, the famous praeti tioncr who was General Grant's physiciai throughout his last illness: "Dr. George P. Shrady voiced the senli ment of a score of prominent physician when he said in speaking of the now insur ance policy: " 'I think it is a good and just plan, an the liberality of insurance companies ti non-drinkers will be a profitable arrange ment. That reduced rates should be givel on the lives of total abstainers can be am ply shown. No figures are necessary t tell of the higher percentage of deatlu among peonle addicted to the use n liquors. It is simply a matter of daily ot serration. " 'The extent to which drink shorten1 life will be a matter for deiicatc adjust ment. It must, of course, depend upon th amount of liquor taken into the system The moderate drinker of to-day may be come the immoderate drinker of to-mor row. There are all sorts of things whicl must enter into the calculations of the in surance companies and to arrive at n pro per reduction will require some very def figuring.' ''The proposed new'policy. it is said, wil contain many safeguards to protect tli company against fraud on the part of tie policy holder and against any fall fron grace ofter the policy is issued. These -ils are still under consideration." Alarming fleruinn Comparison. The commission appointed by Kaise Wilhelm to look into the drinking habit of his subjects reports that the Germai people consume alcoholic liouids to th. value of 75O.UO0.0OO in the course of on. year; that the portion of income spen by the Germans for drink on the averag. is one-eight! of all they earn. The aver age income of a grown up German is sail to be IIK) per annum. 'The commission bv comparing, found that the German peo pie's drink bill is four times as high as th State's total income from duties and fool and drink taxes, it is eleven times as higl as the entire budget of the post and tele graph, twenty-one times as high as tin cost of old age insurance, thirty times a; high as the amount of fire insurance z the Empire. 1000 times as hih as the cn of caring for the poor, und considerabi; more than ia spent by the Government t 'tain its immense army and navy.- Increae of Women Drnnkards. The figures relating to deaths reanllini from alcoholic excess in the decade ending with the last century are appalling. Tin number of such deaths among women ii 1000 was more than double the number il 18H1. and the increase is far greater that in the case of deaths of males. Tha figurei given in the annual report of the ltegistrar General show conclusively that drunken ness, especially among women, has mark edly increased during the past twenti years. Thev are as follows: Female Englund and Wales. 1801. 19U0. 1002 Alcoholism, delirium tremens "to 1,573 1,11! Males: Alcoholism, delirium tremens 1,327 2.003 1,67.' Compared with the number of deathi from these causes among women in 1H83 which was M7, the rigure lor 1900 is al the more striking. Women Victims. Cirrhosis of the liver, which is induced by alcoholic excess, accounted for th deaths of 1357 women in Knglund in 1883, 2112 iu 1900 und 1770 in 1902. In Ireland a similar state of affairs prevails. The re port of the registrar-general just issued shows That in 1891 nineteen women died from delirium tremens and chronic alcohol ism, and in 1900 this number had increased to torty-one. an increase, as in this coun try, of over 100 per cent. The deaths ol males, on the other hand, from the sum cause had increased only from 112 to If' Demanding Total Abstinence. Railways, manufacturers and others ar demanding total abstinence from ull whe enter their service. The day may come when the voice of public sentiment will call for the same requirement in those who arc entrusted with the responsibility of con trolling the National forces. Il such self denial is reasonable and salutary in great private enterprises, why should not the same rule hold good when the lives of vast numbers and the safety and honor of tiny country are at stake? The Kev. D. Stuart Dodge. The Crusade la Brlol' The drunken chauffeur is a class apart for whom there should be speed I and dras tic legislation. The drunken chauffeur adds a new ter ror to life. The automobile in the hands of a sober chauffeur is bad enough. Repretentative Baker, of New York, is a total abstainer, and does not hesitate to say a word lor temperance whenever occa sion offers. 1,1 Camden. N. J., three citirens counted 1205 men going into a corner saloon one Sabbath between 7 a. m. and 5 p. m. It is needless to ask why the men are not in the churches. The temperance cause is making gieat headway in Germany, so much so that the consumption of lieer has recently lallen be low that of the United States. About $37,500 has been subscribed by friends of the United Kingdom Hand ot Hope Union toward s new fund of $50,000 required to renew for the next five years the union's scientific temperance lecture system among the elementary chuol of the country. If an automobile in drunken charge were dangerous only to those who entrust, them nelvcs to such keeping, the evil 11111.U'. be left with some justice to cure itselt. Hut the great peril to others in an automobile managed i r mismanaged by a mun criued with liquor is so obvious .uj uiUui ju '.u einnU special regulation. .. JBE KEYSTONE STATE Latest News of Pennsylvania Told ia bhort Order. Charters were issued at the Stat Department to the following corpora lions: Pittsburg and New , York .Coal Com pany, sl'ittburg; capital $15,000. Poyntclc-Orson Ice Company, Carbon dale j capital ?l.5,ooo. S. R. Moss Cigar Company, L'.ilca tcr; capital $X),otx). O. W. Miller Cigar ompany, Shir Icysbttrg; capital $51,000. Oakmont Land & Improvement Com pany, Oakmont ; capital $50,000. Willianisport Planing Mill Company, Williamsport ; capital $100,000. Willamsport Hardwood Lumber Com pany, Willianisport; capital $50,000. Columbia Llectric Light, Heat and I'ower Company, Columbia; capital $10, 000. Johnson Motor Company, Chester; capital jjio.uoo. Roberts lirotliers Company. Pcckvillf. ; capital $5000. Pcnn 1-ruit and Produce Company, Pittsburg; capital $15,01x1. The Hells Mill Coal Company, P.lairs ville; capital $,io,ooo. Abbott Packing Company, Carnegie; capital $50,000. William C. ISurtt Company, Tittsburg; capital $10,000. Ferroman Land Company, Philadel phia; capital $15,000. Harmony Light, Heat and Power Company, Harmony; capital $5000. Zclicnople Light, Heat and Power Company, Zclicnople; capital $5000. Jackson Light, Heat and Power Com pany, Jackson Township, Blair County; capital $5000. Charters were issued to a Pittsburg syndicate for ten water companies, with a capital of $5,000 each to do business in Allegheny County. The titles of the companies are as follows: The Ridge, Ingrain; The Rosslyn, Carnegie; The Pan Handle, Esplen; The Idlcwood, Chartiers; The Kcrnwood, Sheridan; The Chestnut Ridge. Green Tree; Tho Westwood. Union; The Lebanon Heights. Scott Township; The Beach wood, West Liberty, and the Oakwood, Craft on. Motonnan Walter Scott and Conduc tor Elvin Sterner were bringing a trol ley car from Tumbling Run to Pott, ville, when a man jumped upon the front platform anil threw Scott off too car. When Sterner came to his motor man's assistance, the intruder drew revolver and forced Sterner to jump off the car. All the while the car waj running at a high rate of speed. Sterqr ert after leaving the car, went to tlo nearest telephone and sent this mes sage into headquarters : "A masked roh bcr has stolen our car." At Sterner! suggestion, the power was cut oil from the division and that stopped the car. The robber lied, leaving bis hat behind. A hero hunter was engaged by trie Carnegie Hero l-'mul Commission. Not that there is any hesitancy 011 the part of persons to proclaim themselves he rocs, thousands of appi lea lions being on hie, but the commissioner., are not convinced they are the real thing. In order to be absolutely sure on this point, George A. Campsey, a Pittsburg news paper man, was engaged to investigate the claims of heroes, lie will travel all over the L'tiiled Stales and Canada and will meet the heroes face to face, hear their stories, examine their proofs and talk to witnesses ot the heroic deeds. Then he will report to the commission. It is proluble, in view of the great army of claimants, that the commission will add other hero hunters to the corps. The commission held its annual election, but made no changes in its officers, re-electing Charles J. Taylor, president ; W. J, Holland, vice-president; J. II. Reed, treasurer; F. M. Wilmot, secretary and manager of futuL Unknown to each oilier, two couple! left Coushohockeu 011 the same train 011 Saturday night to be married. Jamei Campbell, a basket ball player, and Miss Emma Hartmaii went to Wilmington, shere they were married. The bride is '.he sister of William Hartman, guard of the Consholiockcn basket ball team, and she was often an interested specta tor at the games. Action brought twenty years ago to abolish the old Mintzer burying ground, in Poltstown, reached final stages in Orphans' Court at Norristowu in tho audit of the account of John A. Weber, .trustee to sell the half acre of land used for burial purposes since Revolutionary days, under the will of Mary Joes. An interesting phase of the case was tha discovery of over 170 heirs entitled to a share of the proceeds, amounting to $930. Judge Solly traced the genealogy of each of the 170 heirs in order to de cree equitable distribution of the $")jo. Cashier Pearce, of the State Treas iry, received a communication from James W. M. Newlin, of Philadelphia, cautioning him not to pay the increased salaries to Judges, and saying that tho State Treasurer's bondsmen will be held responsible and the matter will be takers to the highest courts. Pardons were recommended by Board of Pardons to John Lydick' and William A. Moore, Indiana, burglary and larceny, and James F. Miller. York, felony. Rehearings were granted in tha cases of James Goodfellow, Allegheny, voluntary manslaughter, and William J. Byers, Allegheny, first degree murder. In the cases of Eugene liloch, Lehigh, and Charles Yarnell, Philadelphia, first degree murder, a commutation of death sentence to life imprisonment was res fused. The cases of J. H. Dingman, Venango, larceny, and William Rear don, Allegheny, felony, were held und-r advisement. Predicting the fast approaching end in a poem published three weeks ago in an Altoona paper, W. Scott Wilson, aged 51, ex-minister, poet, orator and edi tor, whose life had been wrecked by excesses, died in the city prison. He ia said to hi.ve been found in a state of intoxication, and, as an act of charily, arrested. Death, it is claimed, resulted from heart failure due to alcoholism. Wilson was a regularly ordained Meth odest minister and held charges at Houtzville and other places in this con ference. He edited the Altoona Blade and other papers published in that city, Willie Victor Maffa and Pietto Abn so, aged 4 years, were coasting tha yard of their home at Wycombe, their sled plunged into an open well. Both of the boys were drowned. "Some day after I get out of jail I will oome back to Chester and blow ut the Pennsylvania Railroad Station," shouted J6H11 Brown, who, after loiter ing about the depot and acting in a mys terious manner, was arrested. M 1 trate Smith' committed Brown to 1 Jail for 30 days, ami the prisoner r his startling threat as be was t from the city lockup to tha c prison. Drown a' bis hr 1 1 1
Significant historical Pennsylvania newspapers