-A
I
HAFP1NESS.
Sermon iiy uf.v. dr. talma on.
Christian Content mont Will Mako
the Darkest 1'lare Kndlaiit.
TtXT.'-fi content irifc
y nare." Hebrew xlii, 6.
If I should ask some one: "Where I Hrook
lyn to-.layf-' ha would say, "At KrlKhton
fleaeh. or Fast Hampton, or Shelter Island."
"Where is .New Vrk to-day t" "At lma
fran.li." "Where I hiladelphiaf ' "At Capo
Way." 'W here is Boston f' "At Martha's
Vineynr.l." "Whore is VirRlnlaf" "At t!ie
Puli-liiir Hprlneg.'' "Where the grent multi
tude from ad parts of the landf" "At Hum
oca." the mcslern lethesda, where the angol
f health in ever ntirriiiff the waters. Hut,
my friends, the laiRest multitude are at Immo,
detained by business or circumstances.
A mon ft them nil newspaper men, Hue hardest
worked awl the least romeiia:ed: city rail
road employes, and ferry tnatrs, and the
police, and the tens of thousands or clerks
and merchants waitiiiK for their turn of ab
sence, and hoinchol.ls with an invalid who
cannot tie moved, and others hindered ly
stringent oircumstunces, and the great mul
titude of well to do people who stay at home
because they like home better thunany other
I dace, refuting to go awav simply because it
stiie fashion to go. When the express
wagon, with it mountain of trunks directed
to the Catskdls or .Niaigara goes through the
streets, we stand at our window envious and
impatient, and wonder why we cannot go as
well as others. Foo's that we aro, as though
one could not be as bnppy at home as any
where olso. Our grandfathers and grand
mothers bad as good a time as we have. Ion
before the tirst spriiiig was bored at Hura
4ga, or the lirnt desr shot in the Adiron
dack. '1 hey miide their wedding tour to
the nest farmhouse, or, living in Now York,
the celebrate. I they event by an extra walk on
ho Battel y.
Now, the (gcniiino Americnn Is not happy
Until he in (going somewhere, and the poxHioii
Is so great that there are Christian people
wHh their families detained in the city who
come not to the house of liod, trying to give
Csiplo the idea that they are out of town;
aving the door plate uiiscoured for the
mine reason, ami for two months keeping the
front shutters clo-ed whhe they sit in the
av-k part of the house, the thermometer at
ninety! My friends, if it is better for us to go,
let us go and le happy. Jf it be best for us
to stay ut home, ha us stay at home and be
happy. There is a great deal of good com
mon sense in haul's advice to the Hebrews:
"He content with such things a ye have."
To I content Is to be in good humor with
0"r circumstances, not picking a quarrel
wtt- , obncuritv, or our poverty, or our
social position. There are four or live grand
reaaons why we should be content with such
things as e have.
1 'J be first reason thut I mention as leading
to this spirit devised in the text, is the con
sideration that the poorest of us have all that
is indispensable in life. We make a great
ado about our hardnhips, but how little wo
talk of our blessmigs. Health and body,
which is given in largest quantity to those
who have never been pclted.and foiidlcd.nud
apeilcd by fortune, we take as a matter of
course. Itather have this luxury, and have
it alone, than, without it, look out of u
ralace window upon parks of doer stalking
between fountains and statuary. These mmi
1le sleep sounder on a straw mattress
than fushionable invalids on a couch
of ivory nnd engles' down. The dinner
of herbs tastes better to the apctito sharp
ened on a woodman's ax or a reajier's scythe,
than wealthy indigestion experiences seated
at a table covered with partridge, and veni
son, and pineapple. The grandest luxury
God ever gave a man is healtd. lie who
trades that off for all the palaces of the earth
is inUnitoly cheated. We look back at the
glory of the last Napoleon, but who would
have taken his Versailles and his Tuileries if
with them we had been obliged to take his
gout? "Oh," says some one, "it isn't the
grosser pleasures I covet, but it Is the gratifi
cation of an artistic and intellectual taste."
Why, my brother, you have the original
Iroin which these pictures ere copied.
What is a sunset on a wall compared with
a sunset hung in loops of lire on the heavensi
What is a cascade silent on a canvas com
pased with a caseude that makes the moun
tain tremble, its spray ascending like the
departed spirit of the water slain on the
Writs (Jh, there is a great deal of hollow
affectation about a fondness tor pictures on
the part of those who never appreciate the
original from which the pictures ure taken.
As though a parent should have no regard
for his child, but go into rcstasios over its
photograph. Wess the l.ord to-day, oh, man!
oh, woman! that though you mav be shut
out from the works of a Church, a Biorstadt,
a Kubciis and n Knpliacl. you Ht ill have free
access to a giillory grander than the louvre
or the Luxemburg or the Vutican the royal
gallery of the noonday heavens, the King's
gallery of the midnight sky.
Another consideration lending us to a
Spirit of c ontentment is the fact that our hap
piness is not dep ndent upon outward cir
cumstances. You mu cople happy and mis
erable amid nil circumstances. In a family
where the last loaf is on the table, ami the
last stick of wood on the lire, you sometimes
find a cheerful confidence in liod, while in a
very line place you will see and hear discord
sounding her wur whoop, and hospituliy.
freezing to death in trie c heerless purler 1
stopped one day on Hrondway ut the head of
Wall street, at the foot of Trinity churcti, to
ee who seemed tho happiest people pussing.
I judged from their looks the happiest issv
pie were not those who went down into Wall
street, for thoy had on their brow the anxie
ty of the dollur they exocted to mako; nor
the people who came out of Wall street, f ot
they they had on their brow tho anxiety
of the dollar they had lost; nor tho people!
who swept by in splendid equipage, for they
met a carriage that was titter than theirs,
ybe happiest person in all that crowd, judg-
ig iroin tno countenance, was tue woman
'ho sat at the apple stand knitting. I lie-
eve real happiness ortenur looks out of tbt
intiow or an humble Home Inan through
le opera gloss of the gilded box of a theatre.
I Hud Nero arowliuu on the throne. I Unci
'aul singing iu a dungeon. I find King Ahab
oing to bed at noon through melancholy,
'bile near by is Naboth contented in the ixie-
( session of a vineyard. Hainan, i'riuie Miuis-
woi rersia, frets himself almost to death
because a poor Jew will not tip his hat; and
Ahithophel, one of the greatest lawyers of
Bible times, through four of dying, hangs
himself. The wealthiest man, forty years
ago, in New York, when congratulated over
lua Urge estate, replied: "Ah! you don't
know how much trouble I have in taking
care of it." Hvron declared in his hut
hours that he had 1 1 A VAT auwtn ftittPM fttnn fcuvwl va
happy days in all his life. I do not believe
he bad seen twelvo minutes of thorough sat
isfaction. Napoleon I. said: "I turn with
disgust from the cowardice and selfishness of
men; 1 hold life a horror; death is repose.
What I have suffered the lost twenty days is
beyond human comprehension, " While, on
the othsr hand, to show how one may be
bnppy amid the most disadvantageous cir
cumstances, just after the Ocean Monarch
had been wrecked in the English channel, a
' k mT w" tTuil",,lt Blng the darkness,
when the captain heard a song, a sweet song,
coming over the water, and be bore dowu
toward that voice, and found it was a Chris
tian women on a plank of the wrecked
Jrmr. iingiug to the tune of "8t. Mar-
Jesut, lover of my soul,-
U ins to Thy Worn fly,
n hllo the billows nr m. mil
. While the teuipsst still is high.
The heart right toward Qod and man, we
are nappy. The heart wrong toward liod
. and roan, we are unhannv.
y ! noth' reason why we should come to
v Sto R'rL '"'ed the text u the fact
1 that all ths differences of earthly condition
I transitory. l"he housss you buUd, the
v land you culture, the places in which you
farter, are soon to go into other hands.
However hard you may have it now, it you
are a Christian the scene will soon end.
1 aln, trial, persecution never knock at the
( swot oi vue grave. A coma iude out ot plan
aoirdi I Just as gol a resting plaoa as
one made nut of silver mounted mahogany '
or rcswwoo I. Oo down among the resting
paces of the dead, and you will find that'
though people there had a greater difference I
of Korldly rlrcumstano-s. now they are all!
alike uni-ons 'inns. The hand that greeted '
the Henstor, and the 1'reddent.and the King !
is still as the hand that hardened on the
mechanic's hammer or the manufacturer's j
w heel. It does not make any difference now i
whether there Is a plain stone above them
from which the traveler pulls aside the weeds !
to read the name, or a tall shaft springing
into the heavens as though to toll their vir- ;
tues to the skiea.
In that silent land thore are no titles for I
great men, and there aro no rumblings of I
chariot wheels, and there la never heard the ,
foot of the dance. The Kgyptian guano 1
which Is thrown on the Holds In tho east for 1
the enrichment of the soil is tiro dust raked I
out from the sepulchers of kings and lords
and mighty num. Oh th-t chagrin of those j
men if they had ever known that in tho after '
a?es or the world they would have been
called Egyptian gutno.
lf how much worth now Is the crown of
Cicssrl Who bids for Itl Who cares now
anything about the Amphictyonic council or
the laws of Lycurgusf Who trembles now
liecause Xerxes crossed the Hellespont on a
bridge of boats f Who foars lcause Nebu
chadnnxAr thunders at the gates of Jorun
lom f Who cares now whether or not Cleopatra
marries Antony f Who crouches lsfore Fer
dinand, or Boniface, or Alaricf Cbii Crom
well dissolve the English parliament now)
Is William, Prince of tlranze. King of tho
Netherlands! No, no! However much
Elizabeth may love the Himiau crown, she
must pass It to 1'eter, and Peter to Catherine,
an 1 1 atherine to 1'nul, nnd Paul to Alex
ander, nnd Alexander to Nicholas. Ieopold
puts the Oerman as-ptcr into the hau l of
loseoh, nnd Philip cornea down off the .Span
ish throne to let Ferdinand go on. House of
Aragon, house of llitpsliurg, house of
Htunrt, house of Itourlton, quarreling
about everything ele, but agreeing
in this: "The fashion of this world
pnsseth away." But have nil these digulta
net gonof Can they not be calle I back.' I
have leeii In assemblages where I have heard
the roll called, and many distinguishes! men
have answered. If I should call the roll to
day of some of those iibghty ones ho have
gone 1 wonder if they would not answer. I
will call tho roll. I will call the roll of the i
Kings first: Alfred the tireat! William the
Concpieror! Frederick It! Iouis XVI: No !
answer. I will call the role of the poets; ,
Itnlwrt Houthey! Thomas Campls-lt! John1
Keats! Ueorgo Crnhtm: Hubert Burns! No
answer. I call the pill of nrti-.t.s: Michael
Angeln! Paul Veronee! William Tiirnorl
Christopher Wren! No answer. Eyes
closed. I.arsci.'ar. i.iM sneni. nanus pai
siel. Kcep'er, p-ncil, jsn. sword, put down
forever, why should wo struggle for such
baubles?
Another reason why we should culture this
snirit of cluvrf illness Is the fact that lol
knows what Is lsst for His creatures. You
know what is lsst for your child. Ho thinks
you aro not as liticral with him ns you ought
to bo. He criticis st your discinluie. but you
look ovcr the whole field, mid you, loving
that child, do what in your deliberate judg
ment is liost for him. Now, (io I Is the ls-st
of fathers Sometimes his children think
that be is hard on them, and that he is not as
liberal with them as he might b . Hut chil
dren do not know ns much ns u father. I
can tell you why you are not largelv aitturnt,
and why you have not Is-eii grandly success
ful It is becnusa you cannot stand the temp
tation. If your puth had lcu smooth, you
would have dcjicuilcd tisiii your own
surefootodness; but liol roughened that
fiath, so you havo to take hold of
lis hand. If the wentlver had lieen
mild, you would have loitcrod along the
water courses, but at the first howl of tho
storm you quickened your ace heavenward
and wrapped around you the warm rob) of n
Hoviour's righteousness. "W hat have I
donef" says the wha itshenf to the farmer;
"what have I done that you boat in i so hard
with your flail f" The farmer makes no
answer, but the rake takes oh the straw, and
the mill blows the chaff to the wind, and the
golden grain falls down nt the foot of tho
windmill. After a wliile, the straw looking
down from the mow upon the golden gruui
banked up on either sido the lb Mir under
stands why the fanner beat the wheutHheaf
with the Hail.
Who are those before the throne I The an
swer came: "These are they who, out of
great tribulation, had their robes washed and
made white in the blood of the lamb."
Would liod that we could understand that
our trials are the very Iwst t!iin for us. If
we hod an appreciation of that truth, then
wo should know why it was thut John
Noyra, the martyr, in the very midst of the
flame, reached down and picked up one of
the fagots that was consuming him, and
kissed it, and said: "Blewtocl be (io for the
time when I was born for this preferment"
They who sillier with ilini on earth shall bo
glorified with Him in heaven. Bo content,
then, with such things ns you have.
Another consideration leading us to the
spirit of the t xt is the assiiruuce that the
onl will provide somehow. Will he who
holds the water ill the hollow of his hau l
a low bis children to die of thirst Wid he
who owns the cattle on a thousand hills, and
all the earth's luxuriunceof grain and fruit,
allow his children to starve? Co out to
morrow morning at ." o'clock in the woods
and hear the birds chant. They have hud no
breakfast, they know not where they will
dine, they have no idea where they will sup;
but hear the birds climit at 5 o'clock in the
morning. "Behold the fowls of tho air;
for they sow not, neither do they rcup, nor
gathoD into barns, yet your heavenly
Father feedeth them. Are you not
much better than they!'' Seven thousand
people, in Christ's time, went into the desert.
They wore the most improvident sonlii I
ever beard of. They deserved to starve. They
might have taken food enough to last them
until they got back. Nothing did they take.
A lad, who had more wit than all of them
put together, asked his mother that morning
lor some loaves of bread and some llshes.
They wore put into his sa heL He went out
into the desert From this provision the
seven thousand were fed, and the more they
ate the larger the loaves grew until the pro
vision that the boy brought in one sac-hel wun
multiplied so be could not have carried tho
fragments home insixsucheU. "()," vousay,
"times have changed, and the day or miracles
has gone." I reply that, what tiod did then
by miracle, He does now la some other wav,
and by natural laws. "I have leon young',''
said David, "but now I am old; yet have I
never seen the righteous forsaken, nor His
seed begging bread.'' It is high time that
you people who are fretting about worldly
circumstances, and who are fearing you are
coming to want, understood that the oath of
the eternal Hod is involved iu the fact that
you are to have enough to eat and to wrtiir.
Again: I remark thut the religion of Jesus
Christ is the grandest influence to make a
man conteuted. Indemnity aguinst all llnun
cial and spiritual harm! It culms the spirit,
dwindles the earth into insignificance, and
swallows up the soul with the thought of
heaven. O ye who havo bum going about
from place to place expec ting to ilnd in
change of clrciini-tances something to give
solace to the spirit, I commend you, this
morning, to the warm hearted, earnest, prac
tical, common sense religion of tho lord
Jesus Christ "There is no peace, saith my
Hod, for the wicked, " and as long as you con
tinue in your sin vou will be miserable.
Come to Christ. Make Him your portion,
and start for h-aveii,and you will be a happy
man you will be a happy woman.
Yet, my friends, notwithstanding all these
Inducements to a snirit of contentment, I
huve to tell you this morning the human
race is divided into two classes those who
scold and those who get scolded. The car
penter wants to be anything but a carpenter,
and the mason anything but a mason, and
the banker anything but a banker, and the
lawyer anything but a lawyer, and the min
ister anytblug but a minister, and everybody
would be happy if he were only somebody
else. The anemone wants to be a sunllower,
and the apple orchards throw down their
blossoms because they are not tall cedars,
and the scow wants to be a schooner, and the
sloop would like to be a seventy-four pounder,
and parents have the worst children that ever
were, and everbody has the greatest mis
fortune, aud everything is upside down, or
going to bo. Ah I my friends, you never
make an v advance through such a tptnt a
that You cannot fret yonrtdf up; you
may fret yourself down. Amid all this grat
ing of tones I strike this string of the (tospsl
harp: "ttodliness with contentment Is great
gain. We brought nothing Into the world,
anil it Is very certain we can carry nothing
out; having foo I and raiment, let us there
with be content."
I -et us all remember, If we are Christians,
that we are going after a while, whatever lie
our circumstances now, to have a glorious
vacation. As in summer we put off our gar
ments nnd go down into the cool sen to huthe.
so we will put off these garments of tloli, and
step Into the cool Jordan. We will look
around for some place to lay down our
weariness; and the trees will say: "Come
and rest under our shadow;" and the earth
will say: "Come and sleep In my bosom;"
and the winds will sir: "Hush! wiiilo 1 sing
thee a cradle hymn;" and while six strong
men carry us oiit to our lost resting place,
nncl ashes come to ashes nnd dust to dust, we
will see two scarred feet standing amid the
broken soil, and a lacerated brow bending
over the open grave, while n voico, tender
with all alfection nnd mighty with all
omnipotence, will declare: "I am the resur
rection and the life; he that b-lieveth In me,
though he were chad, vet shall be live."
Comfort one another with these words.
Arm Tor the llatttn.
Arm for the battle of gl rv:
Strike for the cause of Truth;
Fathers with locks so hoary,
Sons in tho vigor of youth,
Mothers and sisters mill daughter),
With prayers and blessings comet
IVnthl death! w herever he lurketh
To the serpent whoso name is Hum!
Death! death! to the crested serpent!
W'or! war! on the curse of rum!
From mountain to valley the watchword
Itcpmt, while our heroes cotne.
Follow the trail of the monster'
Trail him through forest and glon,
Hunt him wherever hohideth
Stab him to death in hisdeu!
Hath lie not murdered our mothers
Brought thcirgray locks to the tombl
llnth he not imirderrd our brothers,
Yet in their manhood's bloom.'
Unth lie not coiled on our hearthstones,
Hissing witli I'lms brenth.'
Thi n on to flie warfare, brothers!
Nor ctase till he writhes in denth!
7'iiim' m are lif rorrtfs.
Tlio International Mcpior Traffic.
Kev. Joseph Cook, in a recent article In
Zoni's roil', iiHn "The lnteruslicual
Liquor Tralllc," writes:
'The vast, mignituiloofths rum tra Uniw
entering Africa and tne ( Irisnt is a new peril
to advancing civilization. In this mntter
thet liiicranee cau-e h is international op
poriuuity and responsibility. Take the isl
and of .Mudnunscai ; hold it up before your
ccinscieiic-e in the eve of liod. '1 lint Island
lies under great heat, an I yet not under tho
Worst influence of t lie tropics. It hail a torn-la-rat
population not very many years ago.
It 1 aine very largely Christian m the hub
its of its iieople. What happened! White
men found that suirnr cool. I I m raised profit
ably m the classic Ulan I of Mauritius once,
as you remember, the homo ol Paul and Vir
ginia. The refuse of the sugar-mills was
transformed into rum of coai'-e. quality. Tho
liquor was too poor to go to England; it was
sold to the natives of Mud igasrnr
very largely, an I the result was
that i rune le.insl up year after
vciiruntil it attained enormous proportions.
I he King of tne country paid the duty on
the imported li pior, caused the boa Is ol tlei
casks containing it to lie tdavod in on tint
shores, and executed a royal prohibitory
statute ns woll as he coM. What happened
next I British oltiriiils interfere.! with the
King. The merchants of Mauritius com
plained that their trade was in danger.
Pounds, shillings, and nce triumphed over
considerations of patriotism and Christian
principle, l i uior was forced upon Mada
gascar as opium has been upon China. 1 he
King, who had endeavored to exclude liquor
from his country, died. His son Ih-chiioo
helpless, drunkard an I a criminal iiiiiioac,
ami was finally assassinated by order of hit
own privy council. .Madagascar has given
itself up to drunkenness through large cir
cles of its population, nnd is to day idinw liig
how a Milage race, coning intoccntact with
the vices of civiiied couples, is gradually
s wo it oil' the face of the earth
"The day is coining, when, just as we now
prohibit piracy and the slave trade on the
sens, v.o shall prohibit this accurwsl tralllc
which ministers so fatally to tho weakness,
the ignorance, and the barbaric nps-tite of
the African. Here is an international aspect
of the t.'tiiperanre reform that 1, for one,
have not heard discussed as frequently ns I
could wish. It is high time that England
and America should jmu hands to check the
terrible (Insulation now occurring through
the international truglo in the worst of
liquors."
A I.lipior Maker's Con Tension.
A manufacturer of liimcirs with an experi
ence of twenty years bus declare! iu Now
York that a man has alsuit as good a chance
of Is-ing struck by lightning as he has to In
served w ith a pure bruudy in that city. U- -titicd
whisky, lie i-uys, can bo used us a buso
of mi imitation of any style of brandy.
And here are some more of Ins ronfce-sicun
wine hare not altogether rotclutions k1.hu
the same or similar statements havo been
made and published rep utedly. They havo
importiuicu. however, which justifies tlieir
publication again and uguiu. Tho llquc r
liiamilucturcr mivs:
"Wo mako champagne which you buy fir
the genuine nrtlrle. It costs to manufac
ture ft a basket. We sell ii for Unto deal
ers. We make the stuff and put it into our
owu bottles; make a fuo-similo label of the
genuine article; Spanish corks for tho bot
tles and French straw and bas
kets to pack theiu in. When we
want to imitate a genuine inqiorted wino we
buy a barrel of it (lurcoor takes the bur
re I as a pattern and makes one by it. They
are new and bright Wo put thuiu through
a steaming proeons, and they come out old
aud musty and worn just like the genuine
iuqiorttttion. Thirty-two deadly poisons are
used in the manufacture of wine. Not one
gallon in fifty sold here ever saw France.
We send thousands of gallons of whiskey to
France to have them come back something
else. Of all the poisonous liquors In the
world Bourbon whisky is the deadliest
Strychnine is only one of the jsjisoni in it
A certain oil is used in its manufacture eight
droj of which will kill a cat iu eight min
utes, and a dog in nine minutes. '1 he most
tenqierato men in New York are the whole
sale dealers. They dare not drink the stuff
they soli."
A Sunday Scool on Beer Kegs.
Great dilliculty is often experienced by
missionaries of the American Sunday-school
Union in securing rooms in which to hold
meetings in lHtkota. One who has bad great
succeta in planting schools during the leant
four years writes of working two or three
days in removing freight in a depot, so as to
kecure it as a place for organising a Sunday
school. At one place be secured of a saloon
keeper the use of an tipper room in his build
ing, in which to organize a Bible school the
saloon-keeper kindly aiding the missionary
in carrying up beer kegs, which were used as
supports for the seats. That school grew
into a church, aud the influence of the church
closed up the saloon.
One year after organising the Hundsy
school in the freight bouse, the missionary
was railed to the dedication of a new church
and the installation of a minister in that
place. Often be must lie on the Jloor of a
''Shack" or "Dugout" in families which have
not heard preaching or prayer in years,
wrapped in tils buffalo skin robe with bis
buggy cushion for a pillow, but through all
the privations and hardship be is glad to
carry the gospel to the destitute.
The public, school, the church and the home
are the conservators and generators of intel
ligence and virtue. Whatever neutralizes or
destroys their inlluences U hostile to our form
of government - ., " .
SUNDAY SCHOOL
LKSSON roil SI'MIA Y, Jfl.Y !2J
" ! Gin Tor (tin Tabernacle,"
Kxotltisj xxtv., 'JO 21 J old on Tr-M,
II. Cor. It., 7 l:pliiiutorr
Notes.
All the congregation . . . departed from
the presence of Moses" (v. 20). They ,nd
lKs n listening to the words of Uod as Moses
repeated them in their hearing. They had
le arned what Uod wanted them to do Thev
had heard the appeal for gifts and offerings
Tor the building of a tuliornncla for tho
Ixinl. Now the words cease, the sermon is
over, and the iHiopie depart But is that tho
end or itf W hat :ecoiivs of the sermon? A
frr-at tunny congregations assemble every
.ont s Day to bear what Uod has to sav to
them, l aithf ul men set apart to sieak for
(tod, come from communing with Christ and
titter tho messages they have leen com
missioned lo deliver. I he jM-ople listen re
sMctfuly. and then towing to receive the
U'tiediotlon, they depart to their homes
and back again to th-ir worldly
work. What Isx-omes of tint sermons I
Imthe Jieople take them s-noiislv to heart as
expressions of the will of (;,! Rl ,ot ,out
living them outf That is what this congre
gation in the wilderness did with theirser
moil. 'ihey did not Salislv themselves
with discussing iu literary merits, or Its
theology, or the mannerisms of the preacher,
but set about at ones, obeying the word of
Uod they had heard. It was a serino i on giv
Ing they had been told what the Lord wanted
them to give-and iu a little while Moses
looking out saw Dispeople lloekjng toward
bun from nil dins t ons with gifts and offer
ings; '1 lint sermon had its prop -r effect.
"They came, eery one whose heart stirred
him up, and everyone whom his spirit ma. In
willing ,v. an. The nppeul had Ken mndo
to the whole . nngregat ion. All were asked
to give, old and young, rich ami poor, men
and women. Yet tho ollerings mu-t ls vo.
iintniy. There was no taxinu' of tl e people
Kadi one must decide w het tor or not he
would give and what be would gite. Sown
find here the first element in the giving. It
was willing hearted. The s.ple's heart)
stirred them up and their spirits made t Ik-iu
willing to give what they brought. NoIh ly
Mime reluctantly or w ith complaint about the
burden of having to give so n h. All came
cheerfully, gladly iluiMii-tirallv with their
offerings. We get n I. ssoii in giving. I he
Lord loves a rhoerrul giver, lie wants no un
willing offerings brougnt to His altar. He
mav use a stingy mans uionev, given re
iii tnntlv.but the stingy man gets no blessing
in his giving.
'"Ihey brought the lord's offering to the
work of tho Itils-rnac'le iv. aii. The com
mand was: "Ss.ak unto the children of
Israel thnt they brmg mo nn offering." Uod
wanted th -people to build the tent of mee t
ing out of their own hearts, w ith their own
f lilts. Uod is ever asking his people to bring
urn oll'erings for the work he wants demo in
this world. He wants His Uospcl sent every
where and lie asks for money to sen I it
nbioad. Ho wants sanctuaries built every -where
and asks for money for this. He has
mnr people all about and' little ones iu n-cd,
and He wauls us to minister to theiu, to fetsl
and clothe' and shelter them. The message is
over ringing from our Lord's lips: ".s(sak
unto my Kiplo that they bring iiim uii of
fering." Thev came, both men nnd womaii and
brought bracelets, anil rarriugs (v. '.'l'i. tuici
lsuiitiful thing aUmt this groat enthusiasm
of giving was that everylaxly bad a share in
it Hero wo Ilnd that the women as woll us
the men brought ollerings. They took tlioir
personal ornaments, tlieir jewels, ami gave
them u the Lord. From the whole passngo
we learn that both rich and poor gave, rulers)
and common jieoplo. No doubt the children
also brought their gilts. One of the great
lessons bore to be learned Is that everylxsly
should have a share in giving to supisirt the
church and send the gospel to the heathen. In
some churches a few ric h eopli do all the
giving and the ioor are not eXss tsl to help.
This is a great wrong to the isor. It is not
a fuvor to Ksplo to withhold from them tho
privilege of giving to Uod's cause, for a
blessing comes with all true giving, whic h
even the ssresi cannot alforel to miss.
Husbands anil wives, parents and children,
old mid young, ri h nnd poor, should have
the opportunity of giving to Christ's cause.
"F.very man, with whom was found blue
nnd purple, and scarlet, und lino linen, and
goats' buir . . . brought them" (v. tfii.
The great variety of the offerings, and the
vnr.ety of their value's must lie noticed. The
rich lulers brought cosily precious stones.
Others brought rich yarns. Hue linen, s al
skins, gold, silve-r, bron, rich spices; but we
Unci also the gifts of the ior - goats' hairand
logs of woimI ni. elow ii in the camp. We get
the li'ssou that there is a place ill Uod's work
Mini sorvii-e for every kind mid grade of gift.
The poorest havo something winch they can
give and w hich Und can use. No one e an
say: "I have nothing that will be of unv uso
in my Mi sler h work '' We are to bring of
what we have. Christ asks no impossiiijli
ties. One who bus only n little goats' hair or
ttls ainof Wissl ih not asked to give gold or
onyx stones.
All the women that were wiso-lienrted did
spin with their hands tv. '.'"ii. And it didn't
soil tlieir hands a bit. eit her. Soma elaiutv
women "toil not. neither do they spin."
They keep the r hands soft and wlutee. The'V
think any kind of work would mar the
delicate beauty of their lingers. Hut they
make a great mistake. Tho hands that are
lienutiful iu heaven's sight are not the dainty
bands that are never roughened or hardcmsl
by toll. Anything is beautiful just in tho
measure in which it fullllls tho inisaiou fer
which it was made.
These ancient women were not afraid of
spoiling their hands by work. They Intel
learned to spin, ami now they spun for Uod.
Here we see how everyday gifts and occu
pations may be turned over into Uod' ser
vice. The young women of to-day do not
spin much many of them never saw a dis
taff or a spinning wheel -but they have
other common acquirements which they
may consocrute to Christ.
,rAni brought that which they bad spun"
(v. SSi. That is, they brought it to the Wei
to Ih. used iu the making of the tabernacle
for his dwelling place. A great many young
luilies make many beautiful things with their
hands, but they do not bring them to the
I.oril. They keep them for their own adorn
ment, or perhaps present them to their
friends. Hut these women brought their line
handiwork to tho Lord. They spun lsauti
ful threads to lie woven Into curtains and
embroideries of the tabernacle. American
Christian girls and women may help a great
many ways in building and prepuring dwell
ing plaiws for Uod. Christ has work for
them, eac h one. It them e onsocrste them
solves to Him and be ready for whatever lie
gives, and every clay somo service will be us
signed to them.
UKSSOV POINTS.
I. When we heur what Uod wants us to do
we should hasten away to do it. v. v!n.
!i. The true test of preaching or teaching Is
the way we carry out the divine will. v. ai.
II. Utid wants iu to give devoutly bringing
our gifts to His altar, v. Ul.
I. Uod wants us to give heartily and
cheerfully, not grudgingly, v. ill,
A. U'od wauls all to give, meu and womon,
rich and poor. vs. -"J, il7.
ft. God wants us to give according to our
ability, of what we have. vs. il'i-ill.
?. Uod wants us to give things that are
valuable and precious to us. va Ul-'iT.
is. Uod accepts the work of our hands as
woll as our money and property, v. -5, illi.
WUinititer Teacher,
All forms of Intoxicants, however mild,
should be avoided in the bay field. A pitcher
of lemonade or cool oat water is relished, but
perhaps the best drink to be thought ot is
the sweetened water of the old time days,
livened by a little ginger. Borne prefer cool
tea or coffee, but no drink should be fur
nished that is beating to the blood or very
sweet
RELIGIOUS READING.
Marsh t
The hand of th lynl is g-Mie out against
mo. Buth 1: l;l.
The hand of Uod against thoef No;
Oh, say not. Christian this Is so.
To stay thy doubts when winds are rough,
The past survey, 'tis sure enough;
'Tis He who le I thee all along,
TIs He who filled thy mouth wcth song,
His kindness gienms in nil thv way;
The hand ot Uod against theel Nay,
TWnuse thn hour Is dark with gloom,
Is thnt fnir reason to nsumo
That Ho In nnger turns awav
From thee lb. loved but yesterday!
The treasure thou mavst not obtain
iMh He withhold for greater gain;
His love is just as strong in wo
As w hon the fount of joy doth How.
If thou couldst only understand,
Against thee never is His hand;
The winds and storms. Ho gives them fforcc
To drive thee homeward in their course;
If sun ami mildness blend all clay
They might IshviIih tins, on thy way,
Thy vo-ol tossoel upon the tide.
Has still a pilot, port nnd guide.
His clinstisc incuts nre sure no sign
'flint He's forgot His love divine;
Thine eves with sorrow He makes l im,
Thnt thou mnyst grosi thy way to Hun;
In all His dealings tlwu tnnyst trace
His love. His mercy nnd His grace;
If thou canst only iinilerstnnil.
Against thoo Dover is His hand.
-Anna D. Walker.
Kins Hlnlteil Ont.
"t eonnot think whnt Is'comcs of all tho
sins Ucsl forgives, mother," said a littlo fel
low one day, ns he look his favorite seat oo
bis mamma's knee.
"Why, Charlie, can yoil Ml mo where nro
all the figures you wroto on jour slate yea
day f"
"I washed them nil out, mother."
"And whi-ro nro thev then.'"
"Why, they nro nowhere; they nre gone,"
said Chsrlie.
"Just so it Is with our sins, If we Isdiove In
tho 1 rd Jesus Christ; they nre gone
blottcsl out to Ih remembered no more. 'As
far ns iho east is frcm the. west, so fur both
Ho removed our transgressions from us.' "
Try to te Vnung.
Ihm't grow old and rusty nnd cross, afraid
of nonsense and fun. Tolerate the follies
and crudities of youth. Uray hairs you can
not escape but you need not grow old in
fooling unless vou choose. A le I so lung ns
your age is only on the outside yon will win
contldeMico from the young and find your life
nil the brighter for contact wild theirs. But
you have too many great thoughts. too many
weighty anxieties and duties, too much to do
to make tins trilling possible, you say. The
very reason, my friend, why you should cul
tivate fun, nonsense, lightn 'ss of heart be
cnue you need I belli so mu h, Is-causO you
nro "weary with thinking." Then do try to
Is. jonng, even if you have to 1st fool sli iu
so doing. Ono cannot Isi wise all the timo.
"Ves, l Is ll Trne!"
A farmer who bad recently listened fn nn
exposition of the text Iroin" Isaiah I, "The
ox kuowcth his owner, niel the nss his mas
tui's crib; but Israel doth not know, My
people de l h not consieiiT,'' hoc giving foul
to his stock, when one of bis oxen, evidently
grateful for his care, fell to licking his halo
nrm. Instantly, with Huh simple incident,
tho Holy Spirit tlnslicil conviction on the
farme r's mind. Ho burst into tears, nnd
exclaimisl: "Yoxj it is all true. How won
derful is Hod's Word! This poor dumb brute
is really more grateful to me than I am to
Uod, ami yet 1 am in debt to him for every
thing. Whnt n sinner I ami" The lesson
bad totind Its way to bis heart, nnd wrought
thero effectually to lend him to Christ
Words of Wlsdnns,
I'rosperlty is a groat teacher; adversity Is
a greater, l'osscssion pamHrs the mind;
privation trains and strengthens It.
Tcmiici alien and labor are the two Isest
physicians of man: lalsir sharMns the np
jaetito, nnd temperance prevents hliu from
indulging to excess.
Hit is only iu that freshness of our youth
that tho choice is possible which gives unity
to life, nnd makes the memory a temple
where nil relics nnd all votive offerings,
worship aeel Joy, nre nil unbroken history,
SHiii'titlisI by one religion
Wo all love pleasure und abhor sorrow.
No one will choose n cloudy sky and n rouh
path: but thi'so evils have tlieir gissl luirts,
and those wlio really long for ei'e unci hap
piness will try to Unci out and extract theiu,
instead of hurrying along resentfully or with
forced gayety.
Our habitual life is liki a wall hung with
pictures, which has been shone on by tho
suns of many vears; take one of the pictures
away nnd il leaves a ilc Unite blank space to
w hich our eyes can never turn w it lioul a sen
snl ion of disceiuifot t. Nay, the Involuntary
Ices of iiny familiar ob ject almost always
br,ni;s n chill ns if from an evil omen; it
Heems to be tho Ilr.it linger shadow of ap
proaching death.
The Nlghl of eUml.
Do wo not sometimes occupy so low a plane
of spiritual living thnt a view of lin I is abso
lutely impoKsibli-f Wo look intellectually
unto tho hills "whence cometh our help,"
but all in vain. How aro mi to make the dis
covery of (tcsl for it can not 1 e that wo urn
elcstiiiesl always to live without this night
Jos .is has shown us bow tiod may I keen.
"Blessed," he says, "are the imro fiih"nrt,
for they shall ses. Uod." He clues not make
reasoning ultout Uod a condition of soiling.
Ho. loos not tell us that it doends upon some
great work ou our part, nor iifsm
any remarkable strength of intellect,
but tiHu one single attainment heart
purity. How important that this ower to
w e shall not ho Impaired. If tho smallest
elust of human passion or prejudice is per
mitted to remain bow quickly will the Inter
ior eye grow dim. Anything that tends to
evil the love of thn world, the pride of life,
sinful anxiety about teiiiornl things, the
irritating particles of envy or ill-will, self
ease und sloth, all those will bring the soul
into a moral eclipse. Happy indeed is every
ono who really enjoys this cxiairiiince. lot
all such remember that it Is only retained by
humble trust iu the merits of Christ and a
corresMinding life of obcxlienco to His will.
(Selected.
Teetotalers the Iioiifgost-Ld vofl.
Tho Mrilirnl and Siirijii'nt litjinrtet notes
the f.u t that the great insurance companies
of Great liritani have, by their otlicial ac
tion, "pronounce! teetotalers longer lived
than those who make even a moderate list of
spirituous honors, aud bins: "One of the
largest and oldest of tints.) companies, which
bos ke pt sepal ato registers for twenty years,
declares thut among Hie strictly abstaining
class tho real mortality has fullen short by
'M ier cent of the ordinary expectancy,
while fully '.Hi mt cent of moderate drinkers
have uttailied this expectancy." It also in
vites public attention to the fact thai there
are now insuiam e companies and societies
for mutual aid in F.ughtnd designed ex
clusively for total ul st ueiico meu, "and that
the taking of evcu tin o.-i asional glass of
any intoxicant vitiates tneir policy." Life
imuruuets teaches the lesson of total alti
neiict), not usni moral or seiitimeutal
grounds, but strictly c-conoiinc. It, is teach
ing .thus a timely and valuable lesson evesi
to inuuy doctors.
Brewing beer is more lucrative than brew,
lug books. Coupled with the announcement
that Matthew Arnold's estate amounted to
only aliout f 50IX), we Ilnd the announcement
that the will of Mr. Ueorge Henty, brewer,
of Northlands, Chichester, puts the value of
his iwrsonal estate at over a million aud a
half of dollars.
The ItnliT Anarrhlnt.
A'oun I thn house all day he goes,
lly liahv fancies lee I;
He sometimes stands upon his toes,
Aud sometime on h s head.
He tokesi the flower, sit nild all,
And puts it in his lap;
He spdis the syrup In the hall
This naughty little chap. (
Your silk umbrella, spick and span,
Ho sticks in ee p rut hole. ;
Anl with his mother s rarest fan
Hammers your frailest Is) wis.
mm
"Yxsv "'T S?!1,'f?r2 nSM
He ties the otidulum with a string
While singing baby sons;
He's always sure to put on thing
Where something else belongs.
He'll take a match and liirl.l the cat,
He'll paint the poodle's bea. I,
And Miur frail era ke-rs in y.mr hat
And leave them in your heel.
Adown the register he'll throw
The spools with nimble wrist;
He's ofb'll Wlshe 1 in .lei l ho -
The Haby Anarch. st.
Hut. never war niii him wage'.
Nor w hip him till he roar
Suspend him ill a romnv cage,
Five fest alsive the l!o or.
-Nick
At Her Tongue's Linl.
He -''Of cour-e, you urn intorostecl
in politics.'''
Hie- -"Intensely. "
Hit "W hi. Ii snle is e,,ii07 to win''
She -'Well, iinL'liie; froin what I
liciinl i.ii.'i say la-t nijglit. Mr. Ielc:iti)
lias pit u run mi bis ilic.i l tic Uct, unci
.Mr. t'eoivcnlioii. of Illinois, if he cnu
carry flic ( liaii man of the jg.ivci-box by
n constituent, w ill - - "
lie -".lu-t watch i.'orl'u play tcu
nis !'' 7V.I.1.
In Mon In nn.
I'oet ito editor of tho lH.t-iii'j Wihl
Cut) "Ho I interrupt you sirf I liuvo
a poem "
F.tiitor "Interrupt? No, strnneger.
Only for n minute." i Shoots him ami
goes on with mi editorial.) Tumi.
A Clieni Letter Scale.
A cheap lnit Hiilliciently accurate scale
for weighing letters can be made out of
I lie i hcuju-st iim
tciiuls. 'lake a icco of
lircumitick about
u foot lon-g, ami
cut olT tho ends)
senmreutnl smooth.
( 1 1 mi ft i ii ri I lis mil
lUMl'll it HI'IUl
It RtiiMfi iitl fin
so that when flint
end is plaice) in water uhoiit two-thiidrt
of tin; woocl will I iu Mihmcrercil, un,l
the slick will stand upriu'lif.
Now put the whole in water, ami lay
upon the cure! iiiiytliin whic h you know
wuicghs just nil ounce. Marl; the point
to which this weight sinks yo'ir broom
stick scale; then load it with t wo ounces,
tinil murk that point. In this way you
ciin igTueliiiiti- the scale so that you "cut
'dull uny light iir'.iclc.
Ail IaccIIciiI Housekeeper.
"Well, l'.ingliy, they tell mo yon urn
inarrii d :''
"Yes, I urn. Finest wifu in thi
world. '
'ooil hou-ckccpcr,"'
"A iniirvcl. leooel in every wny.
Never have fr, cat any adamantine, hrcinl
or celluloid pies. I'crfcct litnnjuct thrco
times a day."
"So she's a cook, also?"
"No, but sin: buys everything lit tha
bakery.'' V ImiLt State J"iiri'il,
a weak r.nvH.
Sho (gazing at the elephant) ''What
ntiiiesty, Ueorge! Such massive elignity
uinl conscious power !''
llo-''Yc-cs; but don't you think,
dear, tluit thi! one small peanut ho has)
just tint into his huge body with such tv
childish relish somewhat weakens tho.
general elVectr ie;' Jiuur.
When Smoking Is rieusunt.
"Ia smoking offensive to you, slrf" bo
said to a strauger.
"Well -or 1 don't llko It luconA
Lund."
"Have a cigar i"'
"Thanks!" Aii York Sun.
There's Music in the Heir."
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