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: SUNDAY SERMON :
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J A Scholarly Dlicouri Br JJ
Rv. Lyman Abbott. J
Brooklyn, N. Y. At Plymouth
Church, the Rev. Lyman AMmtt, 1). I)..
Of-.'iiitfil Ms old pulpit In tlic absence
of the present pastor, the lt"V. . 1).
Hillls. lr. Abbott's subject was "The
Essential Spirit of Christianity." lie
chose fnr lils text the passage Matthew
x:i:7-.S: 44 Whosoever will be chief
among you let Iilin he your servant,
even ui the Son of Mini came, not to
lip ministered unto, hut to minister,
nml to give Ills life ti ransom for
many," n nil said:
What do we mean ly Christianity ?
What Is lis essential, speellie spirit?
It Is the spirit of the Christ who "rame
not to he mlnlslere I unto, hut to minif
ter." The spirit of the Christian is to
he li!;e the Christ. It Is to net hack of
ft 11 that Is Injurious and all that Is val
uable: all the accretions that are injur
ing hmiI all the iiiMiiinns which have
be.'ii made in tin- irvowth of Christian
ity. !o tmic, ill n.i 1 and institutional;
to ret back to the time of Clirl-t Him
self, and. If we can, n what Chris
tianity meant tlicn and tiie.e. in order
that we may get at the i eiitlnl spirit
of it.
Tiler;' appeared at toe beginning of
the s;)-ca!i"d Christian era a i-c'.igious
tea. lie.' in a province of P.ile-titie. lie
was certainly for that age and fur all
ngos a singular man. Tiie thins we
rare for most lie seme I to be Indiffer
ent ' lie did not car,.1 for pleasure,
but lie was not ascetic, lie did not
hid" Himself from the vo",d. There
Is n i Ins'auce in which lie refused an
Invitation to a fea;. 1 hi;aii His
mini-try he cr.'.itin; wine to probing
the festivities at a marriage feast, and
yet lie did not care to- wunt men call
pleasure. lie said Himself that lie
"had not where t i lay ills head." lie
often laid down to sleep with only the
stars overhead, lie Ihed on the sim
plest fund. He did net care for wealth.
He never called n man a fool but once,
and that was the man "lei -pent ail his
life In itccuiiiiiuia'.iiig and then did ii'it
know what to i!o with the nccumuhi
tions. He did not care for power, for
when lie was offered a crown lie re
fused it. One day they gathered about
Him. waved palm branches and
shouted "llosaumilil" and amid all the
Joy and acclaim He stopped and wept
us He remembered the sorrows which
were to come upon Jerusalem.
Ambitii.u did tint appeal to Him. He
was willing to preach to .".ntui or to Jon
or to twenty-live or thirty, or to sit
down with one po.ir wretched woman
and talk to her by the well: nml It did
not make any ditierence. What did He
care for? For service to go about
among men and make them happy.
Thut was what lie cared for. He cared
for all sorts of men. Hi- was equally
williiiL' to serve the Creek or ihe Jew.
If He lived now, He would be as will
ins serve the Jew as the Christian,
lie was willing to save the poor and
the rich. He was not n poor man's
prophet, nor n rich man's prophet. He
was willing to minister to the Ignorant,
and Just as willing to minister to the
wise. He would talk with the peasant,
or spend an evening with one of the
great rabbis at Jerusalem. Chnrneter
or past conduct did not separate men
from His sympathy. It did not make
any difference how badly n man hud
HvMit or how rotlpn wits his clinrnntor
He was ready to help him. He came
Into Jericho one day and the people
crowded round Him. It was a city of
priests and corrupt politicians. The
politicians were more corrupt than In
this day, and that is saying .-. great
deal. It was .. city of priests and poli
ticians, nml one of these latter, who
had made money by squeezing the pub
lic, was a little man. who climbed into
n tree, because he wanted to see this
strange man puss. This strange man
passed the priests and the orthodox
religious people and looked up at the
little man and said: "Come down; I am
going to dine with you to-day." He
sought out the bad man because lie
thought He could do something fnr
him. He was equally ready to minis
ter food to the hungry, healing to the
sick, comfort -to ttie afflicted, wisdom
to the igno-ant, inspiration to the de
pressed or succor to the simple and the
burdened.
The only question with Him was: "Is
this man in trouble''" Wha: kind of
trouble? "It does not matter what
kind of trouble, I want to help him."
That was absolutely His only question.
And yet this ma 11 saw that the deepest
troubles of nien are the troubles t tin t
come upon them because of their
wrong doing. In His tirst great ser
mon He gave the secret of happiness
when He said: "Messed ure the pure In
heart" and "Messed are the poor In
spirit," etc. The secret of happiness
Is whnt you are, not what you have.
So the thing He wanted to do was to
change men's characters, to get them
out of sin and lead them In the paths
of virtue and truth and good will. He
wanted to lift off the burden of their
sins and make them healthy, normal,
holy men and women. To this He
gave His life. He did not do this Inci
dentally, as It chanced Him; there was
something more. He said: "That is
wha r 1 am here for. That Is what
Cod put Me Into the world for; It Is the
mlsslc n He has given Me." He be
longed to a nation that had been taught
to look forward for ilie golden age, not
backward. They thought the gnml
lime was jet to come. Their prophets
hud told them so. They thought it was
to be brought about, some said, by the
nation. Ij.v a series of prophets, or by a
single man. a conqueror. And this
iii. :u Jesus .iid: "This kingdom if C'n!
is at hand. This goo I time Is already
here, and I am the one to bring It
about." The first time He preached
was at Nazareth and then He told them
this. Then Me gathered a few disci
ples about Him and nfler a year with
them He asked: "Whom do men say
that I iini':" They said: "There are
many i"'Tcrent things said. Some sny
a prophc; some a great teacher; some
one tiling and some another." And He
said: "lint whom say ye that I am?"
One can imagine the moment of si
lence and hesitation and uncertainty
that followed. And then one, an impul
sive one, raid: "You are the .Messiah."
He replied: "Yes. 1 am; that is right."
The mission of His life was to bring
about the kingdom of Cod on the earth
v.nil He sail, "'Ihe way to do It Is to
he'p iv;i'j c'".! in nesi. No matter
wiiat tne character- to help one t. otli.
er, that Is the way." The Jews minted
it another way. Qiietv people, those
Jews! They thought they were the
great people, which was very like the
Anglo-Saxons of to-day. They thought
there were no other people who were
' religious or civilized or who had the se
cret of great progress. They said the
klngdou' would couio ' Jerusalem, not
to Itome, and that not the Uoinans, but
Jhe Jews, would be dominant. Hut
Christ said. "No. that is u mistake.
The kingdom of .oil is uot in Jerusa
lem or Itome or Athens, it In la a
spirit of universal helpfulness." That
is the kingdom of Cod, and the king
dom will come when, every man helps
bl fellow man out of every kind of
feed, whatever It mrty be. i:, was
finally arretted and put upon on til and
asked: "Are You the Messiah?" "1
am." He said. He claimed to be the
Messiah and He claimed to bring about
the kingdom of Cod by diffusing the
spirit of hope and faith and good will.
The apostles went forth and preached
what? Not the Ten Commandments
or the Sermon on the Mount, but "This
Is the Messiah. The Deliverer Is
come." In the nature of the case He
could not do It alone. If It were to be
some sudden upheaval, some cata
clysm, some march of armies. It could
be done In n single period, but If good
will, peace nnd universal helpfulness
were to be brought about, that would
take generations. That must go from
kingdom to kingdom, from city to city
and nation to nation. And so He called
a few men to carry the message -II est
twelve, then seventy. Then He died.
Then, after His resurrection, lie sent
others. He sent them in the spirit of
good will nnd helpfulness, to heal the
sick, cleanse the leper ami restore com
fort to the sorrowing. To minister tv
i every lody. rich, poor, wise, ignorant.
to the Jew and the Centile,
There was something more. In all
ages men have believed in some great
occult power lying hack of the phe
nomena of nature. The Jews thought
there was one great Cod who inexor
ably demanded righteousness of His
people, and Jesus said. "Cod Is such a
one as I urn. actuated by the same
.-spirit. In My life and teachings I nm
Interpreting tills great Infinite Power,
this just, wise Coil, tiiis eternal Infinite
Presence." And lie Illustrated His
meaning by the parable of the king
whose subjects rebelled agaln-t him;
by the parable of the lost sheep and
the parable of the prodigal son. "That
is the kind of Father that Cod Is." said
Jesus.
There is still more in Christ's mes
sage. In all ages men have been try
ing to get to this unknown Co.l. They
have said: "We have done wrong, we
have aroused the wrath of lids Cod.
He Is right to be angry with us. How
shall we appease Ills anger? We will
offer sacrifices." It is illllicult In this
twentieth century to realize what wor
ship was twenty centuries ago,
1'h'-
lure the temple, the nltar. the white
robed priests. All around In the outer
court the cooing of doves, the bleating
of sheep, ami within, by this altar, u
butcher's simp, a shambles. Priests
cutting the throats of lambs and cattle
and the blood flowing in great rivers
out from under the altar. Why? He
cause these people thought Cod had a
right to be angry and they were right.
He had a right to be angry and they
thought lie was angry and they were
half right in that and they thought
the way to peace was by sacrifice, and
they were wrong in that. Je.-ns never
offered a sacrifice, so lar as we know,
or told anybody els - to offer sacrifice.
This world Is tiod's reformatory and
what lie has done Is .his: His Marshal
has come for you and mo. Has He
come lu power, with greatness of riches
or wond-rful display oi intellectual
wisdom? No. Come how? In sympa
thy, in tenderness. In love, in purity
and truth and righteousness. We can
see no way to happiness save by en
dowing with truth and purity and
righteousness, lie bus coin" to us to
you and mo.
He says. "Y'ou can do the same
thing." You say: "I have no power."
"Neither had I." "I have not wealth."
"Neither had I." "I was not an eccle
siastic." "Neither was I." "Come to
Me: get My spirit; live as I lived: be
willing to lay down your life for others,
as I was for you."
I have tried this morning to get be
hind all definitions, all creed.il state
ments, not because 1 think they are
bad, but because I am sure the spirit
of Christ transcends nil definitions and
creednl statements. Christianity ! What
is It? It Is the new doctrine of Cod.
It is the new faith in Cod. It is the
faith of Cod, who Is in His world as
He was In Jesus Christ, comforting the
sorrowing, helping the tempted. In
structing the Ignorant. It is the new
hope, the hope of the kingdom of Cod
that is coning. There is coming the
time when men will give to their fel
low men fair, honest, generous meas
ures and will "do unto others its they
would be done unto." That Is right
eousness. There is coming a time when
there will be peace In every heart be
cause it Is at harmony with Itself, and
peace In the whole world between man
and man, nation nnd nation. And it is
a new hope that Christianity brings
when it says: "Now, you can work for
that because you lire working In the
tpirlt of the Kternal. nnd it Is the spirit
of good will, of service, of sacrifice, of
laying down our lives for others as He
laid down His life for us."
Christianity! What is It? It Is that
"Cod so loved the world that He gave
His only begotten Sou, that whosoever
bolloveth in Him might not perish, but
have everlasting life." That is the the
ology of Christianity. "The kingdom
of Cod Is at hand." That is the hope of
Christianity. "A new commandment
give I unto you: that ye love one anoth
er as I have loved you." That is the
law of Christianity.
WIipta l.ftTa 1, Thpra lm! la.
Thoughts that disturb and trouble
us seldom come from Cod. It is gener
ally best to put them away, and throw
ourself, with lucreased trust In Him
and mistrust of self, at Ills feet. And
never forget, nuilil whatever may be
fall yon dryness, coldness, desolation
and disappointment, consciousness of
many faults, and of great weakness,
and want of faith that where love is,
there Cod is sure to be. He never yet
has suffered any soul to fall wholly
from Him which, amid all Its frallltiea
and falls, clings to Him In !ove. H. L.
Sidney I.ear.
4, oil's KrrnnUa,
Difficulties are Cod's errands, and
when we are sent upon them we should
esteem It a proof of Cud's confidence,
Hcecher,
Cape Cod Thrift.
On the way from one town on Cape
Cod to another a contributor came
upon a (harming house by the road
side, which immediately claimed his
attention. It bore a fresh emit of
white paint, which was well set off
by green blinds. There was a smooth
piece of lawn In front, a group of fine
shade trees and hammocks, piazza
chairs, brilliant sofi pillows and all
the adjuncts of summer comfort in
luxurious profusion.
"Whose place Is this?" he demand
ed of the boy of 12 who iccompanled
lilm as guide and adviser In general.
"That there," said the boy. "Oh,
that there's the poorhouse."
"The poorhousu'' the man exclaim
ed. "You seem to havo luxurious pau'
ters In this town."
"Well, you aee," was the explana
tion, "we hain't got but one, V she's
an old woman, 'n' the overseers they
board her out with one of the neigh
bor! V let the poorhouse to gome o'
them Boston folks for the summer,
'n' that pays for her keep." Roston
Transcript.
HIE SUiNDA SCHOOL
NTERNATlONAL LESSON COMMENTS
FOR APRILS.
fnblrrti Jmiii unit h Mbtiatti, Matt,
nil., 1-14-OnMrn Text, Kxoit. ..
a Mffmnrr VftMAi, 7, S Topic
Tli Lord's- Day.
1. An act of necessity performed ou
Ihe Sabbath (vs. 1-8). 1. "At that
;ime." It must have been In early sum
jipr during the harvest season.
'Through the corn." To an American
.pader the word corn suggest the Idpi
.vf Indian corn or maize: but the word
,n the text has reference to grain,
.nch as wheat, rye or barley. "Hegan
Ic pluck." They rubbed It In their
hands (I. like 11:1 1 to separate the grain
from the chuff. This was allowable ac
cording to the law lOent. 2.1:2.1). 2.
"Pharlspps saw It." The Pharisees,
who wore watching for an opportunity
tc catch bir.i. object to the disciples
doing this on the Sabbath day. They
considered the plucking nnd rubbing
in the hand sufllclently near to reaping
and threshing to constitute then, sec
ondary violations of the fourth com
mandment. "Not lawful.'4 The Phari
sees extended their Sabbath regula
tions beyond what Moses commanded
in order to avoid the possibility of
transgression. The worthless childish
ness of the Sabbath rules Christ op
posed may bp Judged from Its being
forbidden to go out with a needle or
a pen when Friday was closing, as one
might forget to lay them aside before
the Sabbath began. Thirty-nine classes
nf work were forbidden, and each of
these had endless subdivisions. These
regulations tended to make void the
law. and many of them were In direct
opposition to the real design of the
Sabbath. .'I. "Have ye not read."
To vindicate His disciples Christ re
ferred the Pharisee to n similar case
I'peordpd In their owr. Scrlntures and
with which they should have been
familiar. See 1 Sam. 21:l-ti. "An
hungered." Our I.ord here Is not nr
glling fill' nn exensp to lirenlc ttie lnw.
but for its true construction.
4. "The l ouse of Cod." The taber
nacle. "Did eat.' Ahimplpcb. the
priest at Nob. gave David and hi
conn anions the loaves of the shew
broad. The law provided that twelve
loaves of bread should be put in two
pile upon the table in the sanctuary,
to remain a week r.nd then to lie eaten
by the priests only (Lev. 1M :5-!i. Now
David. Hiving from Saul, weary and
huti'.'ry. had eat ui this bread contrary
to the letter of the law. Christ's argu
ment was that If David could do this
without Idan.e I4, must be right for the
disciples to satlsfv tlipir liuntrer on the
Siihhafli day. "Shewhread." Liter
ally bread cf setting fortli-ttiat Is,
bread that was st t forth in the sanc
tuary il.ev. 24:t;-S). .". "Profane the
Sabbath." Jesus continued KIs argu
ment by showing that even Hip law
under certain circumstances provided
I for flip doing of that which had been
expressly forbidden hy the law. On
the Sabbath days as well as on the
other days the priests were engaged in
killing, preparing and burning the sac
rifices and In performing the whole
temple servlc?. It was one of Hie say
ings of the rabbins that there was no
Sabbath keeping iu the temple.
0. "Greater Lan the temple." In
as much as the one who bullded the
house Is greater than the house. Christ
refers there to His own authority and
power. The law-giver is greater than
the law. Christ was greater than the
temple. 7. "If ye lual known." A
knowledge of the true meaning of
Cod's word will prevent rash Judg
ment. Jesus here charges His critics
with Ignorance of their own prophets.
S. Lord even of the sabbath. Jesus
now attirnis Hii-self gro ter than the
statute law oil Moses; nay. He is
greater than the Sabhath law estab
lished by Cod at the creation. Thus
does He maintain Himself to be the.
iuearti; te Legislator of the world. Af
ter tne resurrection of Christ the Jew
isU Sabbath wt.s aoollslied, and "the
Lord's day" (Ke 7:10), or Christiau
Sabbath, was given i..j in its stead.
II. Au act of mercy performed on
the Saboath (vs. V-VJ). 10. "Hand
withered." A case of paralysis. Such
diseases were considered incurable.
Luke say it ,vns his right hand.
"They asked Him." From Luke we
learn that they had been watching Him
before they usked this question.
"Might accuse." Might bring Him to
trial for breaking 'he Sabbath.
U. "lie said." Lu!:e says Ho knew
their thought.. Jems proceeded to an '
swer them by drawing an nrgumeut
from their own conduct. "It it fall,"
etc. This was a self-evident proposi
tion. Deeds of mercy and humanity
did not infringe on the Sabbmh day.
"Pit." Cisterns dug In the earth for
the purpose cf holding water, into
which animals often fell. li. - BHa
better than a sheep." Christ always
puts uu enormous value on man. A
man is of infinitely more consequence
and value thau a brute. It they would
show an act of kindness to a sheep,
would they not show mercy to a man?
"It is lawful." This was universally
allowed by the Jews themselves.
13. "Stretch forth." A remarkable
command. The uinu might have rea
soned that his hand was withered and
that he could uot obey, but belug com
manded it was his duty to make the
effort; ho did so and was healed. Faith
disregards apparent iu.posslblllties
where there is a command and prom
ise of Cod. "Restored whole." A
little before this Christ had claimed
divine authority; He now proves that
He possesses it. Obese two cases de
termined what may be done on tha
Sabbath. The one was a case of neces
sity, the other of mercy.
It. "Held a council." Marl; says
they called In the 1 erodlans who wore
in favor of the ltouiau dominion over
Judea. Thus did these sticklers for
the hw cf Moses unite with its bold,
political subverters in order to accom
plish their designs against Jesus.
Maimed Bird Did Well.
"Maimed birds show remarkable In
telligence in getting food tor them
selves," said a naturalist.
"I once found in my garden a blue
bird that a atone had wounded badly.
The poor little creature could neither
walk nor fly. I put it in a cucumber
frame and fed It regularly, but I sup
pose I didn't give it enough, for It
foraged industriously all the time.
Lying on the earth, It would cover It
self with leaves only its small eyes
would bo vislblo. Then, when a fly
alighted somewhere near swoop, the
bluebird's bead and neck would dart
from the covering of leaves and the
fly would be devoured.
"A finch with a broken wing lived
high all one summer In my garden at
the expense of the spiders. It pillaged
their webs. It wade a round of some
twenty webs a day and fattened on
the contents of those filmy larders."
APRIL. EIGHTH.
Our Pledge, and How to Keep It.
Matt. 28: 20; Eccl. 5: 1-7; Ps.
81:6.
No pledge could snfely bo made
to an absent Ood; any pledge He asks
may snfely be made to a present Ood.
If we know ourselves inwardly true
to the pledge, we need never think
about the appearance of pledge-keeping
outside.
An ounce of explntnatlon of the
pledge before it is signed is worth a
ton of exhortation to keep it after It
Is signed.
It Is better not to vow than to vow
and not pay; but far better than
olther Is It to vow nnd to pay.
Suggestions,
We Bhall not keep our pledge If it
Is made to man, but only as It is niado
to Christ.
It Is quite as much a question of
our pledge's keeping us as of our
keeping our pledge.
A pledge Is never broken so badly
that It Is not better to mend It than
to throw It away.
You keep the pledge in doing not
the part you find easy, but the part you
II nd hard.
Illustrations.
A pledge In the old days wag a gage
cf battle: so In ours, battle against
sin and sloth.
The pledge Is not n Jailer's chain to
bind you, but a surveyor's chain to
mark out the way.
The world's business is based on a
system of pledges money, checks,
bargains, deeds, notes, partnerships.
So Is "our Father's business '4
A pledge is like articles of agree
ment lu a business partnership; both
parties are the gainers.
Questions.
Is my pledge a burden or a help?
Am I keeping my pledge In the spir
it as well as the letter?
Am I trying to keep the pledge In
my own strength alone?
SUNDAY, APRIL 8.
The Cost of Service. Matt.
10. S7-
39; 18. 24, 25.
No great service is given without
suffeiing. But that Is proof of the di
vinity of service. The world says,
"Come and enjoy." God says, "Come
and suffer." i he more we love and
serve the greater our liability to pain.
There never was love like the love of
our Iyord, nor more perfei t service,
and he was the Man of Sorrows. He
was made pel feet through suffering,
and there Is no other process of per
fection for his disciples. He asks of
us the service of our whole being, for
others in his stead, and for his sake.
He shows us how we may enter,
through sorrow and humility and
service like his own, Into the high
place of his power and glory.
Drudgery and pain and humiliation
are part of the common lot. When
we take them as we nnd them, as
Christ did, they lift us into fellow
ship with him, and they are them
selves transfigured. The angel who
was sant to sweep a crossing was as
greatly honored as the one who was
sent to govern a kingdom. All serv
ice rankB alike with God.
The Christian life feeds on service;
without that It dies. Said Christ, '.'My
meat Is to do the will of him that sent
me." To do God's will is to he found
in God's service. God himself is a
servant, and that makes all right
service great.
Love is greatest when It serves.
This is the teaching of Christ's life.
The more fully we enter into the mind
of Christ the more eager we are to be
redeemers of men. We are not only
grateful to him for our own redemp
tion, but we are stirred by a sense of
fellowship with him In his work.
Adversity Is another way of spelling
opportunity. Put your Christian in
Jail and he may write you a Pilgrim's
Progress. Make him flee for his life,
and he may give a nation the Bible In
the common tongue. Send him in exile
to a rocky ls'.et, and you may get the
Jeweled coronal of Holy Writ the vi
sion of Patmos. Chain him to a
Roman soldier, and the free spirit
writes his letters to the Phllipplans,
to the Colosslans, to Philemon, and to
the Ephcsians.
Her Transient Cat Hotel.
The mania for collecting things of
some tort strikes almost everybody
sooner or later, but there U one New
York woman who has an odd fancy.
She collects cats, and her family is In
a chronic state of indecision as to
whether It is philanthropy or a nuis
ance. She Is an unusually tender
hearted person, and whenever she
sees a forlorn or hungry pussy In the
street she takes the cat home, feeds
It, washes It, pets It up for a while,
and then, when she has the former
outcast In good shape, she brushes its
hair, ties on a ribbon bow and takes
it for a present to some friend on
acquaintance who will give it a good
home.
Her house Is a ton of transient cat
hotel, and sometimes she has some
valuable guests. She has also fre
quently been the means of restoring
lost tala to their owners uqd of de
lighting some people with a feline.
Christmas present. ,
Farmer's Mechanical Figures.
Charles Coo, who lives in Killing
worth, has arranged a curious set of
life-size mechanical figures, which are
attached to a water wheel In a brook
near Mr. Coo's farm. Theso figures all
work on eccentrics- attached to the
water wheel. They are niadq to go
through characteristic movements.
There are eight of these figures anc
they cover a space of some twenty-tlvj
feet. There Is an old negro mammy
who Is beating time to her husband'i
fiddle. This fiddle is strung with
wires and Is beard to some distance
on a windy night. There are twe
pickaninnies swinging, and there art
two boys teetering on a hoard. There
is also an old man sawing wood.
These figures are made chiefly out
of natural crocks of wood which Mr.
Coe got from bis woods, and they are
all dressed In appropriate costumes
and all work together with precision.
Tbey form a queer spectacle and many
come to see them. Clinton corre
spondence Hartford Courant.
TREJJMJTIITS.
Lake County, to tho north, of Ban
Francisco, is so named from Clear
Lake, which Is tho largest body of
fresn water 1; tne State of California.
In this region may be found much Ann
lake nnd mountain gcoiipry, for which
reason it has been called the "Switzer
land of America.". Clear Lake is about
thirty miles long rnd ten miles wide
In its broadest port. W hile on a visit
there last summer the writer enmo
across the remarkable tree shown In
the photograph. It is an onk growing
near the edge cf the lake, the waters
x THE 15
of which have washed away tho soli
from the rocts, and then, receding,
have left tho tree supported oi ttilts,
ns it were. Several other trees on the
shore of the hike present n similar
appearance, but tho one shown was
the handsomest nnd also tho most free
from surrounding trees r brush.
Scientific American.
ROCKING BATHTUB.
The ordinary bathtub is amply suffi
cient for tho average person, but any
one who Is more fastidious nud desires
something unique can have recourse to
tho bathtub illustrated below, the In-
HOCKS BACK AND PORlOt.
ventlon of uu Ohio man. The con
struction s such that the person sitting
In the tub can rock It back and forth,
causing the water to swish over him,
and, if lie possess n vivid imagination,
he will think he is nt the seashore
taking a salt-water bath, with the
waves dashing over him.
The body of the bathtub is supported
upon rockers by uprights nt tho front
and back. Pivoted to the front of the
rockers Is an arm which extends to tho
top of the body. A pulley Is attached
to this arm, through which passes a
rope, tho latter being secured to the
body .of the tub, and, passing through
a second pulley, connects with a han
dle, which Is operated by tho person
in the tub to rock the machine, causing
the water to flow up Into a back por
tion above the seat. It will be readily
seen that by pushing the handle the
upper part of the arm will be pulled
forward, raising the front end of the
tub. The lining of the tub Is arranged
somewhat in the form of the sent and
back of a chnlr, with a deeper portion
for the feet.
A casing extends around the bnck
nnd partially along the sides, nt the
TH WILL-O'-THE-WISP
im COLD )40
height of the nhoulders of the occu
pant, when seated.
A covering can be placed over this
back portion and be supported upon
rods, the covering having nn aperture
for the bend, nnd can be used for tak
ing Turkish baths. When used for this
purpose n box for holding n lnmp Is
hung In the front end of the tub.
NOVEL LIFE-PRESERVER.
A chnlr which serves In case of need
n a life-preserver Is shown herewith.
In ii moment's notice It can be quickly
ON STILTS.
converted Into a raft. It is so con
structed that it can lie locked in the po
sition of either a chair or a life-preserver.
The back Is similar to that of nn
ordinary chair, with the exception of a
cork cushion covered with canvas in
steiiil of n hair cushion. The bottom
frame of the chair has on opening in
tin; centre, nn auxiliary bottom having
a cork cushion attached, fitting into ih.
sltlon when the device is used ns n
chair. The chair Is pivoted in such a
manner that when the catches are dis
engaged the whole spreads out, with a
cork cushion at each end, which gives
buoyancy to the raft tho form it them
assumes when it is thrown in the
water.
The auxiliary bottom, being folded to
the bottom of the raft, the opening re
mains in tho centre, enabling a person
to sit on the edges, with the legs
passed through the opening. Under
normal conditions the chair can bo used
on deck ns n steamer chair nnd In the
cabin. Philadelphia Record.
Advent urrra Rich ttooty
When Drake sailed the South Sen
In the Golden Hind upon bis pirati
cal voyago of circumnavigation In the
year ir77-'79, nnd when ho captured
the Nuestrn Senora della Coneepclon
(surniimed the Caeafuego or Spitfire)
off Cape Sau Francisco, it took three
days to transfer the treasure from the
captured ship to bis own. In that
single haul there was realized a "pur
chase," ns it was called, of over twenty-six
tons of silver, besides eighty
pounds of virgin gold, thirteen chests
of pieces of eight containing over a
million lu money, and an enormous
amount of Jewels nnd plate. Har
per's .Magazine.
OF TUIS DISMAL SWAMP.
Drawn for the Witness.
' U")(
As ii Life-Preserver.
SjS & ' SCIENCE a
There Is an electric plant In Call
fornln, on the Yuba Hlver, that sendi
power 140 miles, driving trains In Oak
land. a
The average weight of a stationary
gas engine, in proportion to Its horse
power, la only about one-fourth at
great as that of a steam engine.
Professor Wilhelm Wundt, the cru
alor of experimental psychology, now
In his seventy-fourth year, recent';
celebrated the fiftieth anniversary of
bis graduation with the doctors 4
gree.
A faintly luminous mist In the bull
and ou the fingers has been noted bj
Trofessor Rommers on rubbing elec
tric light bulbs that has beea not lon
in use. No satisfactory explanation
has been given.
Tests of the strength of wire rope,
conducted for the French Government,
show that the ultimate strength of i
round rope is thirty-three per cent
loss than the sum of the tensile
strengths of Its Individual wires be
fore being laid.
Palladium, a rare substance little
used, is the active agent in automatic
gas lighting devices. Flame is pro
duced as soon as the Illuminating gal
strikes a pellet of nsbestos covered
with a mixture of palladium and fine
ly divided platinum, known a plati'
nu m black.
It used to bo that astronomy, with
Its stupendous magnitudes. Incredible
velocities nud inconceivable distances,
seemed to make the greatest demand
on man's belief. To-day it Is physics
We read, for Instance, that Hertx'i
oscillations give rise to X),000,000 os
cillations per second. Where Is the
man who can conceive ot anything
happening In the five hundred mil'
lionth part of a second?
February, 1002, a great storm sweep
ing over the forests of the Vosges in
France, destroyed an immense quantity
of resinous trees. The trees that re
mained standing in the devastated dis
trict were more or less injured and
weakened by the removal of soil from
their roots through the upturning of
their neighbors, .since then there has
been an invasion of swarms of an in
ect called in France bostrlche, be
longing to the genus Curcullo, which
seems to have taken advantage of the
weakened Btate of the trees, as certain
microbes seize upon the human body
when in an enfeebled condition. Heal
thy trees resist the ravages of these
insects, but those that have been in
jured and wenkened fall victims to the
Invaders, so that lu the past three years
Ihe destruction caused by the storm hns
been greatly extended by the bos
triehes. Tho Kill In Other Lands.
In many quarters of the world kiss
ing is not In favor. Indeed, it Is re
garded as an outrage upon human na
ture. The Japanese, who bave under
stood nnd adopted many of our West
ern practices, cannot accept our cus
tom of kissing. We remember the
startled look of the young Japanese
nt n Cermnn university when an en
thusiastic Polo drank ''Bruderschaft"
with him and kissed him! The South
Sea Islanders do not kiss. They rub
noses. A most Inadequate substitute,
one thinks.
When Erasmus was In England and
thnt was nearly four centuries ngo
be noticed the pleasant custom of the
English girls, who kissed you when
you enme, kissed you when you went,
and kissed you while you stayed. And
their lips, lie added, "are soft, warm
nnd delicious." In commenting upon
this, Mr. Fronde, in a famous essay,
remarked, "Pretty good, this, for a
priest!"
Possibly the formal kiss, which lias
nearly died out In Eugluud, received
Its death-blow when Queen Anne met
the lady mayoress on tho Important 0th
of November. Until then the king had
always kissed the lady mayoress ns
the chairman of the London County
Council kissed the market queen. But
when good Queen Anne reached the
city well, where would the fun come
In? She didn't kiss the ludy mayoress.
And nn ancient custom seemed to have
lapsed.
But with the accession of George I.
hopes revived. There would be kiss
ing again. And Lady Humphreys, the
wife of the new lord mayor, concluded,
"from his known character for gal
lantry" that the king would pay the
traditional tribute to beauty. The king
took refuge behind the skirts of Queen
Anne. He did not give the kiss. And
the lady mayoress' conduct nt the
slight was such that the rumor went
round, "She was borrowed for the
occasion!" The king discredited the
report. "lie would have borrowed a
better!" said George I. Loudon Mod
ern Society.
Railroad In Mala Wllrfarneii.
It Is expc. ted that by some date early
In next December tho State of Maine
will have another new railroad, a road
that Is In some respect tho most re
markable of any yet built. This is the
extension of the Somerset Itallroad
from Bingham to Birch Point, Moone
heud Lake, a distance of close to fifty
miles. This road runs through the
Iieart of the Maine -wilderness for the
greater part of Its length, and the
scenery to be found along tho line Is
tome of the finest in New England.
Work on this extension vas begun in
the summer of 1004. Only about tlx
miles of the road were built during
tho first summer. The second summer
the work was continued, and up to the
present time the road has been com
pleted to a point on Moxle Pond, only
eighteen miles from Bingham. The
contract for the completion of the
work bat Just been awarded and the
contractor, are given au Incentive to
hustle the construction In that they
will receive a bonus of 110,000 If the
work Is completed by December 1,
1806. Some thirty-odd miles remain to
be built Lewhston (Me.) Journal.
People have been dying In Mexico
of the cold) while up In Maine tne old
est inhabitant confesses that lie never
knew ot such, a balmy winter.