The Fulton County news. (McConnellsburg, Pa.) 1899-current, December 17, 1912, Image 8

Below is the OCR text representation for this newspapers page. It is also available as plain text as well as XML.

    THE FULTON COUNTY NEWS, McCONNELLSBURG, PA.
The Gall of the
Gumberlands
By Charles Neville Buck
With Illustrations
from Photographs of Scenes
In the Play
(Copfight, tun. by w. i. wu a Co.)
8YNOPSJ3.
On. Mlfery creek, nl the foot of a rork
from which ho linn fifllen, Hull Miller
tlndi Gtiric l.e'iU, h IiihiIhi'iiiih paint
er, um-oimc IdiiH. uiitl lifter reviving him,
Eu"M fur H.sHlHtnii.fi. KniriHim Mouth ami
nil. tnklnif U--nU to HiiiiiNon's home:,
mrh met hy Hplrcr Booth, ttiit.1 of Uto
fnirttly. who iBia Uuta that J'mhi I'urvy
ku teen shut,
CHAPTER II Continued.
"I hain't a-wantln' ter suspicion ye,
Samson, but I know tiow ye feels
atiout yore pap. I hoored tliet I5ud
Ul'Icer come by hyar yUUIddy plumb
full of liquor an' lowud he'd seen
Jesse an' Jim Asberry B-talkln ter
Hefliur Jest afore yore pap was kilt."
He broke off abruptly. then added:
"Ye. went away from hyar last night.
an1' didn't git In twoll attr Bunui) I
1Ust beered the news, an" coine ter
look fcr ye."
Air you-all 'lowln thet I shot them
sh(j6U from the laurel T inquired Sam
eon, Quietly.
"Ef we-all hain't lowln' hit. Sam
son, we're plumb shore thet Jesse
rurvys folks will "low hit. They're
Jest e-holdin' yore Ufa like hostage
ler Purvy's, anyhow. Ef ho dies they'll
try ter git ye."
The boy flashed a challmige about
the- group, which waa now drawing
rein at Splcer South'a yard fence. Ills
eyes were sullen, but he made no an
sr,r. (Vie of the men who hurt listened In
ellc'uce now spoke:
'Tn the fust place, KauiHon, we hain't
a-sayln' ye done hit. In the not' place,
ef ye did do hit we hain't a -blaralu'
ye much. But I reckon them duwgs
don't lie, an', ef they trails in hyar
ye'il need us. Thet'a why we've done
come."
The boy slipped down from his mule
and helped Lescott to dismount He
deliberately unloaded the saddlebags
and kit and laid them on the top step
of the stile, and, while he held his
peace, neither denying nor affirming,
Ms kinsmen sat their horses and
waited.
Kven to Lescott it was palpable that
some of them believed the young heir
to clan leadership responsible fpr the
Bhootlng of JesBe Purvy. and that
others believed him innocent, yet none
the less In danger of the ejiemy's ven
geance. Rut, regardless of divided
oilnlon, all were alike ready to stand
at his back and all alike awaited bla
flhal utterance.
Then. In the thickening gloom, Sam
son turned at the foot of the stile
ana faced the gathering. He stood
rigid, and his eyes flatmed with deep
patfslon. His hands, hanging at the
netting of bla Jeans breaches, clinched,
aixl his voice came in a alow utter
ance through which throbbed the ten
ally of a soul-absorbing bitterness,
'f knowed all 'bout Jesse Purvy's
beln' ehot . . . When my pap lay
a-dyln" over thar at his house I was
a little shaver ten years old . . .
Jessa Purvy hired Btimobody ter kill
him . . . an' I promised ray pap
that I'd And out who tbot man was,
an tliet I'd git 'em both some day.
Bo help me, God Almighty, I'm agoln'
ter Kit 'em both some day!" The
boy paused and lifted oue hand as
though taking an oath.
Tin a-tellln' you all tho truth . . .
But I didn't shoot them shoots this
inornln'. I hain't no truce buster. I
gives ye my hand on lilt. . . Ef
them dawgs come hyar they'll And me
hyar, an' er they hain't liars they'll
go right by hyar. I don't 'low ter run
awny, an' I don't 'low tor hideout I'm
a-goin' ter stay right hyar. Thet's all
I've got ter say ter yo."
For a moment there was no reply.
Then the older man nodded with a
gesture of relloved anxiety.
"Thet's all we wants ter know, Sam
son" he eald, sfowly. "Light, men an'
come n."
CHAPTER III.
In days when tho Indian held the
Dark and Bloody Grounds a pioneer,
felling oak and poplar logs for the
home he meant to establish on the
banks of n purling watercourse, let his
ax slip, and the cutting edge gashed
his tinkle. Since to the discovered be
longs tho christening, that watercourse
became Crlppleshln, and so It Is today
set down on atlas pages. A few miles
away, as the crow fllos, but niuny
w.eary leagues as a man must travel,
a brother settler, racked with rheuma
tism, gave to his creek tho name of
Misery. The two ploneore had come
together from Virginia, as their ances
tor had come before them from Scot
laud. Together they hsd found one
of the two gaps through the mountain
wall, which for more than a hundred
miles has no othor paHssblo rift. To
gether, and as comrndoN, they had
made their liomnB and founded their
rut. What original grievance had
Biii'iing up between their descendants
none of the present generation knew
perlia pb It was a farm line or disputed
title to a pig. Tho primary Incident
wns. lost in the Umbo of the past; but
for fifty years, with occasional inter
vals of truce, lives had been snuffed
out In the fiercely burning hate of
these men whose ancestors bad been
enmndes.
CBil Splcer South and his nephew
Samson were the direct lineal descen
dants of the namor of Misery. Their
klnpnien dwelt about them : the Souths
the. Jaspers, the 8plcerg, the Wlleys,
t!i Millers and McCagers. Other fam
ilies, related only by marriage and
close association, were, in fend align
ment, none the less "Souths." And
over beyond the rldgo, where the
springs and brooks flowed the other
way to feed Crlppleshln. dwelt the
Hollmnns, the Purvys, the Asberrles,
the Hollisvs and the Uultons men
equally strong In their vindictive
fealty to tho code of the vendetta.
Iiy mountain standards old Splcer
South waa rich. His lands had been
claimed when tracts could be had for
the taking, and, though be bad to make
his crofs mark when there was a con
tract to be signed, his Instinctive mind
was shrewd and far seeing. The tlnklo
of his cowbells was heard for a long
distance along the creek bottoms. His
hillside fields were the richest and his
coves the most fertile In that country.
Some day, when a railroad should bur
row through his, section, bringing the
development of coal and timber at the
head of the rails, a sleeping fortune
would yawn and awake to enrich him.
There were black outcropplngs along
the cliffs, which he knew ran deep In
veins of bituminous wealth. But to
that time he looked with foreboding,
for he had been raised to the stand
ards of his forefathers and saw In the
coming of a new regime a curtailment
of pernonul liberty. For new-fangled
Ideas he held only the aversion of
deep-rooted prejudice. He hoped that
ho might live out his days and pass
before the foreigner held his land and
tho law became a power stronger than
tho Individual or the clan. The law
was his ener y, because it said to him.
'Thou shalt not," when he sought to
take tho yellow corn which bruising
labor had coaxed from scattered rock
strewn fields to bis own nioeh vat and
still. It meant, also, a tyrannous
power usually seized and administered
by enemies, which undertook to forbid
the personal settlement of personal
quarrels. Hut his eyes, which could
not rend print, could read the signs
of the times. Ho foresaw the inev
itable coming of that day. Already he
had given up the worm and mash
vat, and no longer sought to make or
sell illicit liquor. That was a conces
sion to the federal power, which could
no longer be successfully fought. State
power was still largely a weapon In
factional hands, and in his country
the Hollmans were the office holders.
To the Hollmans he could make no
concessions. In Samson, born to be
the fighting man, reared to be the
fighting man, equipped by nature with
deep hatreds and tigerish courage.
there had cropped out from time to
time the restless spirit of the philos
opher and a hunger for knowledge.
That was a matter In which the old
man found his bitterest and most se
cret apprehension.
It was at this house that George
LcbcoU, distinguished landscape paint
er of New York and the world at large,
arrived in the twilight
Whatever enemy might have to be
met tomorrow, old Splcer South rec
ognized as a more immediate call
upon his attention the wounded guest
of today. One of the kinsmen proved
to have a rude working knowledge of
bone setting, and before the half hour
had passed Lescott's wrist was in a
splint, and his injuries as well tended
as possible, which proved to be quite
well enough.
Whilo Splcer South and hie cousins
had been sustaining themselves or
building up competences by tilling
their soil the leaders of the other fac
tion were basing larger fortunes on
the profits of merchandise and trade.
So, although Splcer South could nei
ther rend nor write, his chief enemy,
Mlcab Hollman, was to outward seem
ing an urbane and fairly equipped man
of affairs. Judged by their heads, the
clansmen were rougher and more illit
erate on Misery, and In closer touch
with civilization on Crlppleshln. A
deeper scrutiny showed this seeming
to be one of the strange anomalies of
the mountains.
Mlcah Hollman had established him
self at Hlxon, that shack town which
had passed of late years from feudal
.ouuty seat to the section's one point
"Ef It Hain't Askln' Too Much, W
Y Let Me See Yt Paint One of
Them Thlngs7"
of contact with the outside world; a
town where the ancient and modern
orders brushed' shoulders; where the
new was tolerated, but dared not be
come aggressive. Directly across the
street from the courthouse stood an
ample frame building, on whose side
wall was emblazoned the legend,
"Hollmnn's Mammoth Department
Store." That was tho secret strong
hold of Hollman power. He had al
ways spoken deplorlngly of that spirit
of lawlessness which had given the
mountains a bad name.
When the railroad came to Hlxon
It found In Judge Hollman a "public
spirited citizen." Incidentally, tho tim
ber that It hauled and the coal that
Its flat cars carried down to the liluo
grass went largely to his consignees.
He had so astutely anticipated coming
events that, when the first scouts of
capital sought options they fouud
themselves constantly referred to
Judge Hollman. No wheel, It seemed,
could turn without his nod. It was
natural that the genial storekeeper
should become the big man of the
community and Inevitable that the one
big man Bhould become the dictator.
His Inherited place as leader of the
Hollmans In the feud be had seem
ingly passed on as an obsolete pre
rogative. ' Yet. In business matters, he was
i found to drive a hard bargain, and
men came to regard It the part of
good policy to meet rather than com
I s
jl
in
bat his requirements. It was essen
tial to his purposes that the officers
of the law In his country should be In
sympathy with him. Sympathy soon
became abject subservience. When a
South had opposed Jesse Furvy In the
primary as candidate for high sheriff
he was found one day lying on his
face with a bullet-riddled body. It
may have been a coincidence which
pointed to Jim Asberry, the Judge's
nephew, as the assassin. At all events,
the judge's nephew was a poor boy,
and a charitable grand jury declined
to Indict him.
In the course of five years several
South adherents, who hnd crossed
Holman's path, became victims of the
laurel ambuscade. The theory of co
incidence was strained. Slowly the
rumor grew and persistently spread,
though no man would admit having
fathered It, that before each of these
executions star-chamber conferences
had been held in the rooms above
Mlcah Hollman'a "Mammoth Depart
ment Store." It was said that these
exclusive sessions were attended by
Judge Hollman, Sheriff Purvy and cer
tain other gentlemen selected by rea
son of their marksmanship. When
one of these victims fell John South
had just returned from a law school
"down below," wearing "fotched-on"
clothing and thinking "fotched-on"
thoughts. He had amazed the com
munity by demanding the right to as
sist in probing and proeeoutlng the
affair. He bad then shocked the com
munity Into complete paralysis by re
questing the grand Jury to indict not
alone the alleged assassin, but also
his employers, whom he named as
Judge Hollman and Sheriff Purvy.
Then ha, too, fell under a bolt from
the laurel.
That wai! the first public accusation
against the Lh'.nd capitalist, and It car
ried Its own prompt warning against
repetition. The Judge's high sheriff
and chief ally retired from office and
went abroad only with a bodyguard.
Jesse Purvy had built his store at a
crossrouds 25 miles from the rail
road. Like Hollman, he had won a
reputation for opon-banded charity,
was liked and hated. His friends
were legion. His enemies were so nu
merous tbnt he apprehended violence
not only from the Souths but also
from others ' who nursed grudges tn
no way related to the lino of feud
cleavage. The Hollman-Purvy combi
nation had retained enough of Its old
power to escape the law's retribution
and to hold its dictatorship, but the
efforts of John South had not been
altogether bootless. He had ripped
away two masks, and their erstwhile
wearers could no longer hold their old
semblance of law-abiding philanthro
pists. Jesse Purvy's home was the
show place of the countryside. Com
modious verandas looked .out over
pleasant orchards, and in the same
Inclosure stood the two frame build
ings of his store tor he, too, com
bined merchandise with baronial
powers. Out back of the place rose
the mountain side, on which Purvy
never looked without dread. Twice
Its impenetrable thickets had spat at
him. Twice he had recovered from
wounds that would have taken a less
charmed life. And In grisly reminder
of the terror which clouded the peace
of his days stood the eight-foot log
stockade at the rear of the place,
which the proprietor bad built to
shield his daily journeys between
house and store, nut Jesse Purvy was
not deluded by his escapes. He knew
that he was "marked down."
The years of strain were telling on
him. The robust full-blooded face
was showing deep lines; his flesh was
growing flaccid; hla glance tinged
with quick apprehension. He told bis
Intimates that he realized "they'd get
him," yet he sought to prolong his
term of escape.
Yesterday morning Jesse Purvy had
risen early as usual, and, after a sat
isfying breakfast, had gone to his
store to arrange tor the day's busi
ness, une or two or nis nenenmen,
seeming loafers, but in reality a body
guard, were lounging within call. A
married daughter was chatting with
her father while her young baby
played among the barrels and cracker
boxes.
The daughter went to a rear win
dow and gazed up at the mountain.
Tho cloudless skies were still In hid
ing behind a curtain of mist The
woman was idly watching the vanish
ing fog wraiths, and her father came
over to her side. Then the baby cried
and she stepped back. Purvy himself
remained nt the window. It was a
thing ho did not often do. It left blm
exposed, but the most cautiously
guarded life has its moments of re
laxed vigilance. He stood there pos
sibly thirty seconds, then a sharp fu
sillade of clear reports barked out and
was shattered by the hills into a long
reverberation. With a hand clasped
to his chest, Purvy turned, walked to
the middle of the floor, and fell.
The henchmen rushed to the open
sash. - They leaped out and plunged
up the mountain, tempting the assas
sin's fire, but the assuesln waa satis
fied. Tho mountain was again as
quiet as It had been at dawn. Inside,
at the middle of tho store, Jesse Purvy
Bhlfted his head against his daugh
ter's knee and said, as one stating an
expected event:
"Well, they've got mo."
An ordinary mountaineer would
have been carried home to die In the
darkness of a dirty and wlndowless
shack. The long-suffering star of Jesse
Purvy ordained otherwise. He might
go under or ho might once more beat
IiIb way back and out of the quick
sands of death. At all events, he would
fight for life to the Inst gasp.
Twenty miles awny in the core of
the wilderness, removed from a rail
rond by a score of semi-perpendicular
miles, a fanatic hnd once decided to
found a school.
Now a faculty of ten men taught
euch as cared to come such things as
they eared to learn. Higher up the
hillside stood a small, but model hos
pital, with a modern operating table
and a ense 'of surgical Instruments,
which, It was said, the state could not
surpass.
To this haven Jesse Purvy, the mur
der lord, was borne In a litter carried
on tho shoulders ot his dependents.
Hern, as his Hteadfast guardian star
decreed, ho found two prominent nied
Icnl visitors, who hurried him to the
operating table. Ijiter he was re
moved to a white bed, with the June
' sparkle in his eyes, uleunantlv modu
lated through drawn blinds, and the
June rustle and bird chorus In his
ears and his own thoughts In his
brain.
Conscious, but in great pain, Purvy
beckoned Jim Asberry and Aaron Hoi
Us, bis chiefs of bodyguard, to his bed
side and waved the nurse back out of
hearing.
"If I don't get well," he said feebly,
"there's a job for you two boys. I
reckon you know what it is?"
They nodded, and Asberry whis
pered a name:
"Samson South?"
"Yes," Purvy spoke la a whtaper;
but the old vlndictivenees was not
smothered. "You got the old man, I
reckon you can manage the cub. If
you don't he'll get you both ons day."
The two henchmen scowled.
"I'll git him toinorrer," growled As
berry. "Thar hain't do sort or use
In a-waltln'."
"No!" For an instant Purvy's voice
rose out of Its weakness to Its old
staccato tone of command, a tone
which brought obedience. "If I get
well I have other plans. Never mind
what they are. That's my business.
If I don't die, leave him alone, until
I give other orders.
"If I get well and Samson South Is
killed meanwhile I won't live long
either. It would be my life for bis.
Keep close to him. The minute you
hear of my death jet him." He
paused again, then supplemented,
"You two will find something mighty
Interestin in my will."
It was afternoou when Purvy
reached the hospital, and, at nightfall
of the same day, there arrived at his
store's entrance, on stumbling, hard
ridden mules, several men, followed
by two tawny hounds whose long ears
flapped over their lean Jaws, and
whose eyes were listless and tired, but
whose black muzzles wrinkled and
sniffed with that sensitive Instinct
which follows the man scent. The ex
sheriff's family were Instituting pro
ceedings independent of the chief's or
ders. The next morning this party
plunged Into tho mountain tangle and
beat tho cover with the bloodhounds
In leash.
The two gentle-fared dogs picked
their way between the flowering rho
dodendrons, the glistening laurels, the
feathery pine sprouts aud the moss
covered rocks. They went gingerly
and alertly on ungainly, cushioned
feet Just as their masters were de
spairing they came to a place direct! v
over the store, where a branch bad
been bent back and bitched to clear
the outlook and where a boot beet
bad crushed the moss. There one of
them raised his nose high Into the
air, opened his mouth, and let out a
long, deep-chested bay of discovery.
CHAPTER IV.
George Lescott had known hospital
ity ot many brands and degrees. He
bad been the lionized celebrity in
places of fashion. He had been the
guest of equally famous brother artists
in the cities of two hemispheres, and,
since sincere painting had been his
pole star, he had gone where his art's
wanderlust backoned. He bad fol
lowed the lure of transitory beauty
to remote sections of the world. The
present trip was only one of many
like It, which bud brought him into
touch with varying peoples and dis
tinctive types of life. He told himself
that never bad lie found men at ouce
so crude aud so courteous as these
hosts who, facing personal perils, bad
still time and willingness to regard bis
comfort
Tho coming of the kinsmen, who
would stay until the present danger
passed, had filled the house. The four
beds in the cabin proper were full,
and some slept on floor mattresses.
LeBCott, because a guest and wounded,
was given a small room asldo, Sam
son, however, shared his quarters In
order to perform any Bcrvlce that an
Injured man might require. It had
been a full aud unusual day for the
painter, and Its incidents crowded In
on htm In retrospect and drove off the
possibility of sleep. Samson, too,
seemed wakeful, and in the Isolation
of the dark room the two men fell Into
conversation, which almost lasted out
the night. Samson went into the con
fessional. This was the first human
being he had ever met to whom he
could unburden his soul.
The thirst to taste what knowledge
lay beyond the hills; the unnamed
TRAINING BOYS FOR WARFARE
Youth of Australia, From an Early Age,
Undergo a Compulsory Mili
tary Service.
Australian lads of twelve years be
gin a more or less voluntary form of
military training. It Is an indulgent,
happy-go-lucky sort of thing, designed
primarily to bo of physical advantage.
When tho lads are fourteen years old,
a limited military service is severely
compulsory, with penalties for eva
sion, and lines laid upon employers
and parents who Interfere, and thus
continues, with physical exercises,
drill, parades, and rifle practice, for
four years, whereupon these cadets
are passed Into the citizen forces.
Four wholc-duy drills are required
each year, and 12 half day drills and
24 night drills. A perfunctory attend
ance upon these grave obligations In
apt, Bullon, frivolous behavior coifats
for nothing at all. If the cadot fails
to be marked ofllclcnt by his battalion
officers ho must perform his service
all over again. In Kalgoorlle of west
ern Australia a great dust storm
blowing that night we watched a
column of these "little conscripts"
march past with rifles and bugles and
drums; and thoy were smart to see
brown uniforms, with tricks of green,
and wide-brimmed Australian hats
caught up at the side in the Australian
way. It is no farcical affair. When
wanderlust that bad at times brought
him a reetlveness so poignant as to
be agonizing; the undefined attuning
of his heart to the beauty of sky and
hill; these matters he had hitherto
kept locked In guilty silence.
In a cove or lowland pocket, stretch
Ing Into tho mountain side, lay the
small and meager farm of the Widow
Miller. The Widow Miller was a
"South;" that Is to say, she fell, by
tie of marriage, under the protection
of the clan head. She lived alone with
her fourteen-year-old son and her sixteen-year-old
daughter. The daughter
was Sally.
The sun rose on the morning after
Lescott arrived, the mists lifted, and
the cabin of the Widow Miller stood
revealed. A tousle-headed boy made
his way to the barn to feed the cattle,
and a red patch of color, as bright
and tuneful ns a Kentucky cardinal
&4t$ iri
1 :'.0iSr
"I Couldn't Live Wlthouten Ye, Sam
son. I Jest Couldn't Do Hit."
appeared at the door between the
morning-glory vines. The red patch
of color was Sally.
She made her way, carrying a
bucket, to the spring, where she knelt
down and gazed at her own Image in
the water.
Before going home she set down her
bucket by the stream, and, with a
quick glance toward the house to make
sure that she was not observed,
climbed through the brush and was
loHt to view. She followed a path that
her own feet had made, and after a
steep course upward came upon a bald
face of rock, which stood ' out etorm
battered where a rift went through
the backbone of the ridge. This point
of vantnge commanded the other val
ley. Down below, across the treetops,
were a roof and a chimney from which
a thread of smoke rose In an attenu
ated shaft. That was Splcer South's
house and Samson's home. The girl
leaned against the gnarled bowl of the
white oak and waved toward the roof
and chimney. She cupped her hands
and raised them to her Hps like one
who means to shout across a great dis
tance, then she whispered so low thut
only she herself could hear:
"Hello, Samson South!"
She stood for a space looking down,
and forgot to laugh, while her eyes
grew religiously and softly deep, then,
turning, she ran down the elope. 8be
hnd performed her morning devotions.
That day at the house of Splcer
South was an off day. The kinsmen
who hnd stopped for the night stayed
on through the morning. Nothing was
said of the possibility of trouble. The
men talked crops and tossed horse
shoes in tho yard; but no one went to
work in the fields, and all remained
within easy call. Only young Tama
rack Splcer, a raw-boned nephew, wore
a eullen face and made a great show
of cleaning his rifle and pistol.
Shortly after dinner he disappeared,
and when the afternoon was well ad
vanced Samson, too, with his rifle on
his arm, strolled toward the stile.
(TO HE CONTINUED.)
we were In Brisbane of Queensland, a
Bcore of truant youngsters were
packed off to the military barracks
for ten days of close confinement mid
drill; and away they went, In a big
cape wagon, In charge of a sergeant
major, and under escort of some
brilliant artillerymen a melancholy
little crew, these trunnts, then, facing
ten days of absence from home, with
six hours of drill on the hot parade
ground, under a sergeant major, who
doubtless knew how to Improve tho
patriotism of small culprits, and would
do It with a switch. Norman Duu
can, In Harper's Magazine.
The Bible.
The Bible is nut "losing ground."
On tho other hand its circulation Is
steadily rising. Since 1S50 the Brit
ish Bible society has published 210.
000,000 copies of the Bible, and the
American Bible society, since 1816,
has published 100.000.OuU copies
Total publication for past century
equals 000,000,000 volumes.
Friend of the Farmer.
Dr. Marlon Dorset, bl-chemlst of the
federal bureau of animal Industry, is
the scientist who first Isolated the
germ responsible for that furm scourge
choltra In the hog. That accomplished,
be perfected a scrum to combat It,
protected his processes by patents and
then turned them over to the public,
to be used without charge.
i .: TrS
Privileges Arising
From Fellowship
Yiii God
Br REV. WILUAM EVANS, D. D.
Diraclor ct CiU Cwum, Magdr BiU ImuuM
f hif tt
TEXT-I John I:M-:L
Five distinct blessings are enumer
ated here as arising from, and en
Joyed by, those
who are in fellow
ship with God
I. Ths Assur
ance of Psrsonsl
Salvation (13). It
is the privilege of
, every Christian to
be assured of his
personal salva
tion. To claim
such assurance is
not the language
of charitable pre
sumption, but a
mark ' of confi
dence In the word
and promise ot
Cod, who has
very one believing in
his son has eternal life. Not to bo-
1 lieve that statement is to make God
a liar (10-12). The word "know" here
does not mean merely to perceive, but
to know with a settled and unques
tioning knowledge. The ground of as
surance of salvation lies not In our
feeling but In the unchangeable word
and promise of God.
II. Assured Answer to Personal and
Individual Prayer (14, 15). The
thought of assurance of salvation
leads to that of boldness in prayer.
If we know that wo have eternal life
we know that we have boldness. If
we are sons then we can speak freely
with the father, and mny rest assured
that God not only bears but also an
swers our prayers. The words "ac
cording to his will" may bo called a
limitation of prayer, and yet it Is
hardly a limitation, for God's will Is
always best. And indeed it is Just
this seeming limitation that makes us
free to pray; were it not so we should
not feel free to open our Hps to ask
a blessing for fear it might be a
curse, but when we know that what
we ask is according to God's will we
know that it can be nothing but good
for us.
Unannwerfd yet? The pray'r your Hps
hnve plearlpf!
In agony of heart tbptt many yrnni?
Dors faith begin to full. Is hop depart
ing. And think you all In vain thoi fulling
tmrsT
Ray not the Fathor hath not heard your
prny'r;
You nli all have your drnlre, sometime,
somewhere.
I?nanpwre4 yet? Tho' when you Unit
prMntK)
Thin one petition at the Fathere throne.
It 'mi1 you could not wait the time ot
anklnir.
Bo urnt waa your heart to make It
known.
Tho' yrnra hnve panned ilnoe then, do
not dmpalr:
The Lor! will answer you, aometlmo.
somewhere.
Unannwored yet? Nay, do not say un-
Rranted;
rerhaps your part Is not yet wholly
done:
The work brnn when first your pray'r
wns uttered.
And (lo'l will flnlnh what he hns begun.
If you will keep the Inrenae burning thrre,
Ills glory you shall see, sometime, some
where. Unannwered? Faith cannot be unan
swered; Her feet were firmly planted on ths
Rork;
Amid the wildest storm pray'r stands un
I daunted,
Nor qunlls before the loudest thunder
shock ;
Fhe knows Omnipotence has heard her
pray'r
And rrlm. "It nhall be done, sometime,
somewhere."
III. Assured Answer to Intercessory
Prayer (16, 17). We are encouraged
here to pray for others and our en
couragement lies in the fact that God
has promised to hear and answer
prayers. Two words are used in con
nection with prayer in this verse;
"ask" and "pray," the former being
used of an inferior to a superior, the
latter of an equal to an equal. Some
conditions of life, such as are meant
by those sinning a sin unto death, per
mlt us to "ask" only, while other con
ditions permit us to "pray." So, while
we mny not demand with certainty
the conversion of the willful rejecter
of Christ, we may nevertheless "ask"
God in his behalf, and Inasmuch as
this sin unto death is left undefined
we are therefore free to "ask" for all
men. Here is our attitude toward
our Binning brother a blessod minis
try of Intercession; pray and God will
give life.
IV. Assured Victory Over 8ln (18,
19). Tn these verses we are assured
that Christ, the begotten of God, keep
eta the Chrlstlnn. Victory over sin
conies through the Indwelling ot Christ
over whom Satan hns no power. The
words "keepeth him" denote Inward
power so that there would be no full
from Inward weakness.
V. An Assured Knowledge of God
In Whom We Have Believed (19-21).
To know Hint we have not been mis
taken In the person In whom we have
reposed our confidence and faith Is
something worth knowing. The Chris
tian hns the assurance that he knows
him whom he has believed, and he in
persuaded that he has not believed
any cunningly devised fable, but hns
trusted In the living God and Savior
of the wc'-'
Test Turkish Tobacco,
American consular officers In Tun
key recently procured seeds ot various
kinds of tobacco grown there, and for
warded them to the Philippines and
to California for experimental plant
ing. Dally Thought
If you wish for success in life make
perseverance your bosom friend, ex
perience your wise counselor, caution
your elder brother and hope your
guardian genius. Addison.
t "
T pi
' said that
In
mam
Lesson
!By B. O. 8KLLEH8, A.-Un- Director
Sunday School Course.)
LESSON FOR DECEMBER 20
THE ASCENSION.
LESSON TEXT Luke 2t:C0-U; Acts i
GOLDEN TEXT He was taken up A
Cloud received Him out of thirtr
We have now reached tho final If
son of the present course In tho U
of Christ, next Sunday being devoti
to the review. The leston coKmiltti
nave seiecieu mo continuous ncco
of this final earthy act of our L
as given u by St Luke, for the luA
oi acis is - connnuance of the G
pel of Luke (Acts l;l). Inadnnich
this Is really but one account we v
consider only that found in the Ac
I. The Proof of the ReiurrectiJ
vv. 1-3. This hook of "The Acii" l,
continuation of what Jesus "beenn
do" and gives us the record of how i
sontinued this work by means of Uii.i
wnom ne nau cnoscn (v. I). y4
lowing his resurrection be gats tlm
commandmouU "through the IK
Spirit," viz. in the power i
the Holy Spirit. A like honor res
upon every believer to hear and I
obey the commands of Jesus given I
the power and demount ration of iJ
Hcly Spirit The all sufllcU nt Km
(see also I Cor. 13:4-8) was that Jen
had been seen for a period of
days. This is the "many Ir.fallili;
proofs." During that tlmo thoy i,i
alone saw the risen lird, but cm
versed with him, ate with hlin, nnd h i
communion with him. Darin? tin t
days of communion he gave thun h
commands as to tho "things conc' -i
Ing tho kingdom of Cod.'' Thin
lulled a burden that thene comma! J
be proclaimed In ever widening i
clcs to the utmost bounds ot the carl
Additional Experience.
II. The Promise cf the Fjth
vv. 4-8. The disciples w ere not to h
gin the proclamation of their nmssa J
until they were fully equipped, unci
they had received that all esu-nt
preparation, the enduemcnt of lis
Holy Spirit. Here, attain, the Peri
tures are to be fulfilled (la. 44:1
Joel 2:8, also Luke 24:49). That t"
days' delay was not time lost, for tin
spent in preparation is never tla:
lost We must not suppose this
men as not regenerate (John 13:l'I
15:3), but as lacking an equlpmetf
necessary for the successful executlnl
of their Importaut tank. We as 1
llevers cannot call him Lord excel
by the power of 'the Spirit (I Co
12:3), but we do not nil have that i
filling of tho Spirit which alone will c
able us to render effective cervii
This is an additional experience, bJ
one open to all who will honestly mJ
Intelligently seek It (see Acts 8:1
and other rcerenc-sV This ex perl
ence 's (a) commanded, "charged ndl
to depart till, etc.," lb) to he prece!"J
by "repentance," and tc) to carry '
It authority, v. 7 H V. It does n
menu, either, temporal power nor Is
the prerogative of a vUlble chur.
and confined to an elect lew. Tl
kingdom Is a spiritual one. The Fn
gram of Jesus Is SDlrlt-filled men to M
his witnesses, and to bln "at 34
manlem." A true reception oi i
Holy Spirit means world wide mUsM
ary endeavor.
Presumptive Ignorance,
III. The Present Place of Jtwt
0.11 Even vet the dibCiples fail.'l
to crasn the Idea of a spiritual kit"!
lilonrnd bv verse hU
a most emphatic way he tells then
.(,,. la ., fnr theni to know tU
VlltStj IV B V .
"times nud seasons which the
... niihln hla own power' lJ
thorlty. v. 7. It. V.). Their poser i
not to be earthly, but spiritual (v. H
It is the height of presumptive
ance for any one to set me u. -
. , rneiiL 2J
our uoru a mmu - .
Jesus has given us explicit into
n thln nllOKllOll (Matt. " '
HUM VII fc.no - .
hi. nnrnhli.8 all Wanl
niiu ! , i.
YVMIn Ji'SUfl talKCa '
U1D uiot,i'n a n'lt'i
Hon of this now power and the p.
tlw.v u.rn to beijill ' cx .
.,..,1 from the un
and a cloud received blm fro"
sight as ho ascended "Into heave
... .... . ..... ." see si
(Luke Z4:ai; i . ir
Gen. 6:24 nnd lleb. 9:2S It. V..
parting benediction was an a 1
: . ... i nni n their1""!
to a llie OI BeriD
. . kisai.d eiiduem
ness, nut in m . h;l,
of power. Yonder Into hravon he n
gone to prepare a place lor u-.
14:2. Heb. 9:24.) There he ever i
eth to Intercede for U8i,,,'"1 .,,
His presence there makes us
.. ' cm Hob. I -
nany secure wuim. "- ,, .k
... .k. hnnven lea is "
His presonce in """-"' da)
guarantee that we, too.
be -with him': (Jo in u.--.-
This nope .nap,. -
evangelism to rylh:,i
raiintut service, u . (r0,a
r.insferrei "v n
our Lord s worn uu
his Invisible person. ,,,
Lifted up he was on j Xl
.irv that "
up no was uuu ntonif l
Ufted up. will draw a ' me -J-J
Mysterious Uinn, '"-
ous. marvelous ascenBlo"'
As this is rien r... e- ,d
in blood, and America i - - T
of prayer for p;'
a set season
hop"
only abiding pence we i bali
will he when the Prince of I e 1
return to rule and to reiM.-
The Modern Joke uo- J
Joe Miller die d too 'J
might have made his 1 WlnS
campaign boons. v.vo-
To Remove Iodine
To remove tincture o toa I
from your skin or cm
monla water is excellent.
One Purpose of ' ot trf
What do we live for " ' b lier
OJHKt! HIV ivpo -
George KUoL