REV. DR. TALMAGE.
THE BROOKLYN DIVINE'S SUNDAY
SERMON.
Subject: "Uses of Stratagem."?
Preached to the 13th Regiment,
N. Y. S. N. G., at
the PeekskiU iN. Y.)
> State Camp.
Text: "Then ye shall rise up from the
ambush and seize upon the city."?Joshua, |
viii, 7.)
Men of the Thirteenth Regiment, and their
friends here gathered, of all occupations, and
professions, men of the city and men of the
fields, here is a theme fit for all of us.
One Sabbath evening with my family
around me, we were talking over the scene
of the text In the wide-open eyes and the
quick interrogations and the blanched
cheeks, I realized what a thrilling drama it
was. There is the old city, shorter by name
than any other city in the ages, spelled with
two letters?A, i?Ai. Joshua and his men
want to take it. How to do it is the
question. On a former occasion, in
a straightforward, face to face fight
they had been defeated: but now they are
foing to take it by ambuscade. General
oshua has two divisions in his army?the
one division the battle-worn commander will
lead himself, the other division he sends o.'j
to encamp in an ambush on the west side o!
t the city of Ai. No torches, no lanterns, nq
sound of heavy battalions, but 30,003
swarthy warriors moving in silence,
speaking only in a whisper; no
clicking of swords against shields,
lest the watchmen of Ai discover it, and tha
stratagem be a failure. If a roystering
soldier in the Israelitish army forgets hinii
self, all a!o:ig the line the word is "Hush!"
Joshua takes the other division, the one with
which he is to march, and puts it on the north
side of the city of Ai, and then spends the
night in reconnoitering in the valley. There
he is, thinking over the fortunes of the
coming day, with something of the feelings
of Wellington the night before Waterloo, or
of Meade and Lee the night before Gettyburg.
There he stands in the night and says
to himself: "Yonder is the division in ambush
on the west side of Ai. Here is the
division I have under my especial command
on the north side of Ai. There is the old city
slumbering in its sin. To-morrow will be the
battle. Look! the morning already begins
to tip the hills. The military officers of Ai
look out in the morning very early, and
while they do not see the division in ambush,
they behold the other division of Joshua,
and the cry: "To arms! To arms!"
ruugs luruugti ail my streets ut tut)
T' old town, and every sword, whether
hacked and bent or newly welded, is
Vv. brought oat, and all the inhabitants o?
the city of Ai pour through the gates, an infuriated
torrent, and their cry is: "Come,
we'll make quick work with Joshua and his
troops." No sooner had these people of Ai
come out against the troops of Joshua than
Joshua gave such a command as he seldom
gave: '-Fall back!'' Why, they could not
believe their own ears. Is Joshua's courage
failing him?
The retreat is beaten, and the Israelites are
flying, throwing blankets and canteens on
every side under this worse than Bull Run defeat.
And vou ought to hear the soldiers of ;
Ai cheer ana cheer and cheer. But they huzza j
too soon. The men lying in ambush are strain-:
ing their vision to get some signal from
^.-.Joshua that they may know what 1
time to drop upon the city. Joshua takes his i
burnished spear, glistening in the snn like a j
shaft of doom, and points it toward the city; j
and when the men up yonder in the ambush I
it, with hawk-like swoop they drop upon j
Ai, and without stroke of sword or stab of j
spear take the city and put it to the torch, i
So much for the division that was in am- j
bush. How about the division under Joshua's }
command? No sooner does Joshua stop in
the flight than all his men stop with him,and
as he wheels they wheel, for in a voice of
thunder he cried: "Halt!" One strong arm
driving back a torrent of flying troops. And,
. then, as he points his spear through the
v golden light toward that fatal city, hi3
v troops know that they are to' start for it
What a scene it was when the division in ambush,
which had taken the city marched down
.. against the men of Ai on the one side, and
the troops under Joshua doubled upon their
enemies from the other side, and the men of
A i 4-^* U.,..;Aonaa
Ai ncicuiugui/ uri/nccii buc?c (?nu uuniwuico I
of Israelitish courage, thrust before and
behind, stabbed in breast and back, ground j
between the upper and the nether millstones j
of God's indignation. Woe to the city of :
Ai! Cheer for the triumphs of Israel!
Lesson the first: There is such a thing a3
victorious retreat. Joshua's falling back
-r* was the first chapter in his successful besiege- |
ment. And there are times in your life when (
the best thing you can do is to run. You !
were once the victim of strong drink. The j
demijohn and the decanter were your fierce i
foes. They came down upon you with greater i
fury than the men of Ai upon the men of I
Joshua. Your only safety is to get away ;
from them. Your dissipating companions
will come around you for your overthrow.
Run for your life! Fallback! Fallback
-from the drinking saloon. Fall back from j
the wine party. Your flight is your advance.
Your retreat is your victory. There is a J
saloon down on the next street that j
has almost been the ruin of your i
soul. Then why do you go along that !
' street? Why do you not pass through |
some other street rather than by tha place of j
your calamity? A spoonful of brandy taken
lor medicinal purposes by a man who twenty
years before had been reformed from drunkenness,
hurled into inebriety and the grave
one of the best friends I ever had. Your re- !
<* ': treat is your victory. Here is a converted j
y:% infideL He is so strong now in hi3 :
?&~laitti In the Gospel he says he
can read anything. What are you j
rooHmv? "RnlintrhrnlrA? Anrlmw .Tflrtsftn '
Davis's tracts? Tyndall's Glasgow Univers- |
ity address! Drop them an 1 run. You will i
be an infidel before you die unless you quit
-v that These men of Ai will be too much for !
you. Turn your back on the rank and file
of unbelief. Fly before they cut you with
their swords and transfix you with their
javelins.
There are people who have been well-nigh
rained because they ri-keda fool-hardv expedition
in the presence of mighty ana overwhelming
temptations, and the men of Ai ;
made a morning meal of them. So also there ]
is sucn a tning as victorious retreat in the j
-- religious world. Thousands of times the |
kingdom of Christ has seemed
to fall back. "When the blood of
the Scotch Covenanters gave a deeper
dye to the heather of the Highlands when
the Vaudois of France chose extermination
rather than make an unchristian surrender,
when on St Bartholomew's Day mounted assassins
rode the streets of Paris, crying;
'Kill I Blood-letting is good in August!
Kill! Death to the Huguenots! Kill!"
when Lady Jane Grey's head rolled from the
executioner's block, when Calvin was imprisoned
in the castle, when John Knox died
for the truth; when John Bunyan lay rotting
in Bedford Jail, saying: "If God will help
me and my physical life continues I will stay
here until the moss grows on my eyebrows
rather than give up my faith," the days of
retreat for the church were days of victory.
The Pilgrim Fathers fell back from the
ether side of the sea to Plymouth Rock, but
now are marshaling a continent for the
: V- Christianization of the world. The Church
or Cbrlst falling back from Piedmont,
falling back from Rue St Jacques, falling
back from St Denis, falling back from
Wurtemburg castles, falling back from
the Brussels m.qrlr?fc nlnrv* vnf-. nil fho
y?. time triumphing. Notwithstanding: all
the shocking reverses which the Church of
Christ suffers, what do we see to-day? Three
thousand missionaries of the cross on heathen
ground; sixty thousand ministers of Jesus
Christ in this land; at least two hundred
millions of Christians on the earth. All
nations to-day kindling in a blaze of revival.
^ Falling back, yet advancing until the old
Wesleyan hymn will prove true;
"The lion of Judah shall break tbe chain.
And give ns the victory again and again:"
? But there is a more marked illustration of
, victorious retreat in the life of our Joshua,
np the Jesus of the ages. First falling back
V from an appalling height to an appalling
k?? depth, falling from celestial hills to terrestrial
valleys, from throne to manger; yet
that did not seem to suffice Him as a retreat
Falling back still further from Bethlehem to
Nazareth, from Nazareth to Jerusalem, back
from Jerusalem to Golgotha, back from Gol &e.
eotha to the mausoleum in the rock, back
:;7 down over the precipices of perdition until
he walked amid the caverns of the eternal
captives and drank of the wine of the wrath
f Almighty God amid the Ahab3 and the
' Jezebels and the Belshazzars. O men of the
pulpit and men of tbe pew, Christ's descent
from heaven to earth doss not me>as?ir<? Mlf
tbe distant. It was from glorv to perdition.
He descended into hell. All the records of
earthly retreat ara as nothing compared with
this falling. Santa Anna with the frag- <
rrents of his armv flying over the plateaux |
of Mexico, and Napoleon and his army re- |
treating: from Mo3cow in the awful i
snows of Russia are not worthy to
be mentioned with this retreat, when j
all the powers of darkness seemed to be pur- {
suing Christ as he fell back, until the body |
of him who came to do such wonderful
things lay pulseless and stripped. Methinks I
that the city of Ai was not so emptied of its
inhabitants when they went to pursue Joshua i
as perdition was emptied of devils when they
started for the pursuit of Christ, and he fell
back and back, down lower, down lower,
chasm below chasm, pit below pit. until hi
seemed to strike the bottom of objurgation
and scorn and torture. Oh! the long, loud,
jubilant shout of hell at the defeat of the
Lord God Almighty!
Bat let not the powers of darkness rejoice j
quite so soon. Do you hear that disturbance ;
| in the tomb of Arimathea? I hear the sheet
rending! What means that stone hurled j
down the side of the hill? Who is this coming
out? Push him back! the dead must not :
stalk in this open sunlight. Oh, it is our
I Joshua. Let him come out. He comes forth
and starts for the city. He takes the spear
of the Roman guard and points that way.
Church militant marches up on one side and j
the church triumphant marches down
on the other side. Ana tne powers ui ,
darkness being caught between these ranks ,
of celestial and terrestrial valor, nothing '
is left of them save just enough to illus- 1
trate the direful overthrow of hell and our
Joshua's eternal vitory. On his head be all
the crowns. In his hand be all the scepters. 1
At his feet be all the human hearts; and
here. Lord, is one of them. |
Lesson the second: The triumph of the
wicked is short. Did you ever see an army
/n a panic? There is nothing so uncontrol- I
lable. If you had stood at Long Bridge, !
Washington, during the opening of our sad '
civil war, you would know what it is to see J
an army run. And when those men of Ai j
looked out and saw those men of Joshua in a
stampede, they expected easy work. They
would scatter them as the equinox the
leaves. O, the gleeful and jubilant descent
of the men of Ai upon the men
of Joshua! But their exhilaration was
brief, for the tide of battle turned,
and these quondam conquerers left their
miserable carcasses in the wilderness of I
Bethaven. So it always is. The triumph of
the wicked is short. You make $20,000 at the ,
gaming table. Do you expect to keep it? You
will die in the poorhouse. You made a fortune !
by iniquitous traffic. Do you expect to keep itl
Your money will scatter, or it will stay long
enough to curse your children after you are
dead. Call over the roll of bad men who i
prospered and see how short was their prosperity.
For a while like the men of Ai
tbay went from conquest to conquest,
out atter a whole disaster rolled back upon
them and they wero divided into three
parts; misfortune took their property, the
grave took their body, and the lost |
world took their soul. 1 am always inter- .
ested in the building of theatres 'and the <
building of dissipating saloons. I like to j
have them built of the best granite and bwe j
the rooms made large, and to have the pillars
made very firm. God is going to conquer
them, and they will be turned into asylums,
and art galleries and churches. The stores
in which fraudulent men do business, the
splendid banking institutions, where the
president and cashier put all their property
in their wives' names and then fail for
$200,000?all those institutions are to become
to places where honest Christian men I
do busines?.
How long will it take ^our boys to get
through your ill-gotten gains? The wicked
do not Jive out half their days. For a while
they swagger and strut and make a great
splash in the newspapers, but after a while
it all dwindles down into a brief paragraph:
"Died, suddenly, July 22, 1S88, at 35 years of
age. Relatives and friends of the family are
invited to attend the funeral, on "Wednesday,
at 2 o'olock. from his late residence on Madison
square. Interment at Greenwood." Some
of them jumped off the docks. Some of them
took prussic acid. Some of them fell under
the snap of a Derringer pistol Some of
them spent their last days in a lunatic asylum.
Where are William Tweed and his
associates? Where are Ketcham and Swart- j
wout, absconding swindlers? Where is j
James Fisk, the libertine? Where is John
Wilkes Booth, the assassin, and all the other
misdemeanants? The wicked do not live out
half their days. Disembogue, O world of
darkness! Come up Hildebrand and Henry
II. and Robespierre, and with blistering and
blaspheming and ashen lips hiss out: "The
triumph of the wicked is short!" Alas for
the men of Ai when Joshua stretches out his
spear toward the city.
Lesson the third: How much may be ac
complished by lying in ambush for opportunities.
Are you hypercritical of Joshua's
maneuver? Do you say that it was cheating
for him to take that city by ambuscade?
Was it wrong for Washington to kindle
camp fires on New Jersey Heights, giving
the impression to the opposing force that a
great army was encamped there when there
was none at all ? I answer, if the war was
right, then Joshua was right in his stratagem.
He violated no flag of truce. He broke no
treaty, but by a lawful ambuscade captured
the city of Ai. Oh, that we all knew how to
lie in ambush for opportunities to serve God.
The best of our opportunities do not lie on the
surface, but are secreted; by tact, by stratagem,
by Christian ambuscade, you may take
almost any castle of sin for Christ. Come up
toward men with a regular besiegement of
argument, and you will be defeated; but just
wait until the door of their hearts is set ajar,
or they are off their guard, or their severe
caution is away from home, and then drop in
on them from a Christian ambuscade. There
has lean many a man up to his chin in scientific
portfolios which proved there was no
Christ and no divine revelation, hi3 pen a
scimetar flung into the heart ot theological
opponents, who, nevertheless, has been discomfited
and captured for God by some little
three-year-old child, who has got up and put ,
her snowy arms around his sinewy neck and [j
asked some simple question about God and h
heaven, k
Oh, make a flank movement; steal a marcl ?
on the devil; cheat that man into heaven. "
A five dollar treatise that will stand all tha jj
laws of homiletics may fail to do that which E
a penny tract of Christian entreaty may ac- >
complish. Oh, for more Christians in am- ij
buscade, not lying in idleness, but waiting r
for a quick spring, waiting until just tha "
right time comes. Do not talk to a man *
about the vanity of this world on the day '
when he has bought something at "twelve"
and is going to sell it at "fifteen." But talk
to him about the vanity of the world
on the day when he ha3 bought something !'
at "fifteen" and is compelled to sell at i
"twelve." Do not rub a man's disposition
the wrong way. Do not take the imperative .
mood when the subjunctive mood will do j
just as well Do not talk in perfervid style r
to a phlegmatic, nor try to tickle a torrid ?
temperament with an icicle. You can take '
any man for Christ if you knowhowtoget
at him. Do not send word to him that tomorrow
at 10 o'clock you propose to open
your batteries upon him, but come on him 1
by a skillful, persevering, God -directed am- 1
buscade.
Lesson the fourth: The importance of talc- 1
mg kwu ami. iiwrc uuusuua, uuo uuvr ?*o
these people in ambush up yonder to know
when they are to drop upon the city, and
how are these men around Joshua to know
when they are to stop their flight and advance?
There must he some signal?a signal
to stop the one division ana to start the
other. Joshua, with a spear on which were
ordinarily hung the colors of battle, points
toward the city. He stands in 3uch a conspicuous
position, and there is so much of the
morning light dripping from that spear tip,
that all around the horizon they seo it. It was
as much as to say: "There is the city. Take
it. Take it now. Roll down from the west.
Surge up from the north. It is ours,the city of
Ai." God knows and we know that a great
deal of Christian attack amounts to nothing
simply because we do not take good aim.
Nobody knows and we do not know ourselves
which point we want to take, when i
we ought to make up our minds what God j
will have us to do. and point our spear in ,
that direction and then hurl our body, mind, ,
soul, time, eternity at that one target. In J
our pulpits and pews and Sunday-schools and
prayer meetings we want to get a reputation
for saying pretty things, an I so we point ,
our spear toward the flowers; or we want ,
a reputation for saying sublime things, J
and we point our spear toward the stars; or
we want to get a reputation for historical (
knowledge, and we point our spear toward
the past; or we want to get a reputation for
great liberality, so we swing our spear all
around; and it strikes all points of the
horizon, and you can make out of it whatever
you please: while there is the old world,
proud, rebellious and armed against all
righteousness; and instead of running any
further away from its pursuit, we ought to
turn around, plant our foot in the strength
J of the eternal God, and lift the old cross and
point it in the direction of the world's conquest
till the redeemed of earth marchirg
up from oni side, and th-4 glorified of
heaven marching down from the other side,
the last battlement of sin is compelled to
swing out the streamers of Emanuel. Oh,
church of God, take aim and conquer. i
1 have heard it said: "Look out for a man
who ha3 only one idea; he is irresistible." 3
say: Look out for the man who has one idea,
and that a determination for soul saving. I
believe God would strike me deid if I dared
to point the spear in any other direction.
Oh, for some of the courage and enthusiasm
of Joshua I He flung two armies from the
tip of that spear. It is sinful for us to
rest, unless it is to get stronger
muscle and fresher brain and purer
heart for God's work. I feel on my
head the hands of Christ in a new ordination.
Do you not feel the 9ame omnipotent
pressure? There is a work for all of us. Oh,
that we might stand ud side by side and
point the spear toward (he city! It ought tc
be taken. It will be taken. Our cities are
drifting off toward loose religion or what is
called "liberal Christianity," which is so
liberal that it gives up all the cardinal doctrines
of the Bible, so liberal that it surrenders
the rectitude of the throne of the
Almighty. That is liberality with a vengeance.
Let us decide upon the work which
we, as Christian men, have to do, and in the
strength of God, eo to work and do it.
It is comparatively easy to keep on a
parade amid a shower of bouquets and hand
clapping, and the whole street full of enthusiastic
huzzas; but it is not so easy to
stand up in the day of battle, the face blackened
with smoke, the uniform covered with
the earth plowed up by whizzing bullet!
and bursting shells, half the regiment cut to
pieces and yet the commander crying: "Forward,
march!" Then it requires old fashioned
valor. My friends, the great trouble of
the kingdom of God in this day is the cowards.
They do splendidly on a parade
day, and at the communion, when they
have on their best clothes of Christian
profession: hut nut them out m the
great battle of life, at the first sharpshooting
of skepticism they dodge, they
fall back, they break ranks. We confront
the enemy, we open the battle against
fraud, and lo! we find on our side a great
many people chat do not try to pay their
debts. And we open the battle against intemperance,
and we find on our side a
great many people who drink too much.
Anrl nnon t.lin hnf.fclft Atrninsfc nrnfnnif-.v
and we find on our own side a great many
men who make hard speeches. And we open
the battle against infidelity, and lo! we find
on our o .vn side a great many men who are
not quite sure about the Book of Jonah. And
while we ought to be massing our troops and
bringing forth more than the united courage
of Austerlitz and Waterloo and Gettysburg,
we have to be spending our time in hunting
up ambuscades. There are a great many in
the Lord's army who would like to go out on
a campaign with satin slippers and holding
umbrellas over their heaas to keep off the
heavy dew, and having rations of canvas
back ducks and lemon custards. If they cannot
have them they want to go home. They
think it is unhealthy among so many bullets!
I believe that the next twelve months will
be the most stupendous year that heaven ever
saw. The nations are quaking now with the
coming of God. It will be a year of successes
for the men of Joshua, but of doom for the
men of Au You put your ear to the railtrack
and you can hear the train coming
miles away. So I put my ear to the ground
and I hear the thundering on of the lightning
train of God's mercies and judgments.
The mercy of God is first to be tried upon
this nation. It will be preached in the pulpits.
in theatres, on the streets, everywhere.
People will be invited to accept the mercy of
the Gospel, and the story and the song and
;ne prayer win De mercy." JBut suppose
they do not accept the offer of mercy?
rthat then? Then God will come with His
judgments, and the grasshoppers will eat the
:rops, and the freshets will devastate the
^alleys, and the def alcations will swallow the
money markets, and the fires will burn the
:ities, and the earth will quake from pole to
pole. Year of mercies and of judgments. Year
jf invitation and of warning. Year of jubilee
ind of woe. Which side are you going to be
jn? With themen of Ai or the men of Joshua!
rass over lijis oauoain into sao ranim ui x?rael.
I would clap my hands at the joy of
four coming. You will have a poor chance
tor this world and the world to come without
Tesus. You cannot stand what is to come
upon you and upon the world unless you
have the pardon and the comfort and thfr
help of Christ. Come over. On this side is
pour happiness and safety, on the other side
is disquietude and despair. Eternal defeat
to the men of Ai! Eternal victory to the
men of Joshua!
TEMPERANCE.
Independence Day.
This is Independence Dayl
Who is independent?
Who can raise his hand and say,
Truth is my defendant?
A slave is he who takes his toddy 1
A slave to rum in soul and body!
How the guns do crack and roar,
Across the continent
Over mountain, lake, and moor
The crackling flash is sent;
Tis followed fast by freedom's thander.
And grape-shot knocks its victims under.
Filled with stars the baniwi' flies,
Unhindered every wher o;
Copied from unclouded skies
Coqueting with the ajr.
A million throats greet with hosannas
Our clean, cold-water, shilling banners.
All hail to the whitest day
In freedom's history!
We'll keep it, unstained for aye,
Sacred to Liberty.
And temperance and peace forever,
Deserting from nur array never 1
?Georgo W. Bungay, ?? the Banner.
Hereditary Inebriety.
In the International Congress of Anthropology,
held in this city last month, among
:he papers read was one contributed by Dr.
Gorman Kerr, of London, .President of the
Society for the Study of Inebriety, upon
hereditary inebriety. The paper, which was
ead by Dr. Lewis D. Mason, of Brooklyn,
iwakened much interest. Heredity, it was
iffli med, was the most potent cause of those
sading to ine'. riety. "Fully one-half of
nebriates," says Dr. Kerr, "have had this
fatal inheritance handed to tnem." Again he
jays: "A morbid state of organ or tissue may
iescend. Thutt, the first child of inebriate
:arents may be an idiot, the second an epileptic,
the third a neurotic, and a fourth an inebriate.
The heredities are so powerful that
the health history of inebriates should be
carefully traced, so that proper allowance
:ould be made for the physical inability unier
which many suffer.*' The lesson of this
paper emphasizes very strongly the wisdom
and duty of total abstinence, especially for
ill those who would assume parental responsibilities.?
National Temperance Advo
:atn.
Iowa Saloons Must Close.
A decision of importance, and involving a
new point under the prohibitory liquor law
jf Iowa, was rendered recently by Judge
Phelps, of the District Court. Two years
ago a saloon keeper, whose place was enjoined
as a nuisance appealed to the Iowa
Supreme Court, and alter filing a supersedeas
bond continued the traffic. The injunction
was sustained, and the saloon keeper
again gave bond and carried his caae to the
United States Supreme Court, whore it is
not likely to be reached for a year or two
yet. Recently proceedings were brought to
have him arrested and fined for contempt of
court in continuing the illegal traffic notivifiiofonHincr
the iniunction. His defence
was that pending the decision of the federal
court the injunction did not apply, but the
District Court now decides that the injunction
must stand and that the saloon must
close. The saloon keeper at once closed up
and others will follow suit, as they admit
that further reslitence to the Jaw is useless.
Saloons Depend Upon Drunkards.
The cost of alcoholic liquor in the United
States is $900,000,000 annually. In 1883
there wero 120.!,liquor dealers and manufacturers,
aud the capital is estimated at
$1,000,000,000. The saloons could not exist
upon the patronage of moderate drinkers.
I he inaint< naiico of these places depends
upon the drunkard. Intemperance is often
an intangible quantity. The sufferer himself
is not conscious of its ravages. Every
morning the police calendar is black with
the names of men and women arrested for
drunkenness. The Bureau of Labor of Boston,
after a careful investigation, declares
that eighty-four per cent, of all crime is the
direct or indirect fruit of alcohol. All studies
of American political economy bring the
conclusion that poverty would scarcely exist
were it not for drink.?Prairie Farmer.
A bushel of corn, costing forty conts, makes
four gallons of whisky worth $16. That isnt
enough profit, however, and so they make
four gallons of whisky out of acids and drugs
which cost only twenty-eight cents.
A. convention of the W. C. T. Unions of
Minneapolis his declared officially against
holding religious banquets in hotels where
liquors are sold.
. > . *<* >' -' ' "
RELIGIOUS READING.
"He rondotla.''
Not always doth Christ lead His flock
Beneath a sunny sky;
Not always among p .stures green
Makes He His sheep to lie;
Not always by the waters still
Doth he their needs supply.
O'er rugged paths they oft must climb,
With aching, weary limb;
Through lonely deserts they must go
Though light is growing dim;
He trod a dreary path, and they
Must follow after Him.
Sometimes he turns their joy to pain,
Their sunshine into gloom,
And oft the things they cherished most
He hides within the tomb,
That they within their hearts may ha^#
For Him more ample room.
He fear3 lest, loving earth too well,
Their hearts be turned astray
From Him, who with such tender love
Has led them all the way,
And who will surely lead them on
To everlasting day.
If only they will follow Him
Where He has gone before,
Though narrow may tho pathway be,
And low and dark the door,
He'll guide them to the fold above,
To dwell for evermore.
Nor thirst nor hunger there they'll know,
For Christ Himself doth feed
His own; and wipes all tears away,
Supplies their ev'ry need,
And whe;e the living fountains flow,
His blood-bought nock doth lead
?[London Christiaa
Seeking: CJod.
Men have lost sight of God. Even the
knowledge of God lias vanished from whole
nations and from continents. The sight of
the nations covered with gross darkness, sitting
in the shadow of death, and groping
blindly in the dim domain of nature for a
touch of their lost God, "if haply they
might feel after him and And him, though
he be notfar from everyone of us," (Acts 17,
27), is most pathetic. But that search after
God is the source of Pagan religions^ and ,
their one redeeming feature. Religion without
revelation would have perished from the
earth wore it not for this unquenchable desire
that remains in the sad heart of despairing
humanity, to feel after God, if haply it
may find him. Sin has robbed us of God,
but not of the sense of Divine power to help
us. We may feel as if we could manage
without God in this life, but when tne
thought of death and beyond overshadows
the soul, we feel like orphans in need of a
protector and guide. So long as that sense
of want remains, the altar to the "Unknown
God" will not be torn down, and when that
nltnp nnrvs riisiT.nenrs then all other altars
and fanes and idols of Paganism will crumble
and decay. The heart that feels no desire
for God, at any time, is dead. The disciples
spoke more wisely than they knew
when they told the Saviour, "All men seek
for thee," Mark 1, 37.
But God can be found. He is not far from
every one of us. His presence, though unseen,
and often unfelt, wraps our little being
round like the soft, unconscious enswathement
of air and light on this glorious May
day. True, by our sin we have wandered
away from him, and the bridges and arches
of tne road have been broken and destroyed
behind us, but Christ has opened "a new and
living way, whereby we may come to God."
A highway is there, cast up for the redeemed
of the Lord, that leads from every soul to
the throne and to the heart of God. Yea,'
if we but reach out the hand of trust, we
may touch Him, and in that touch is life. '
He has said, seek, and ye shall find; they
that seek me early shall find me; seek ye my
face; draw nigh unto me and I will draw
nigh unto you; come unto me, ye weary, I
will give you rest. And many more are the
grf.at and exceeding precious promises of
His Word, whereby we are made partakers
of the Divine nature. And should anyone
be so utterly lost and helpless that he cannot
find God, like the lost sheep, God will find
him; He will find him though the road be
rough and steep and thorny, and though he
must go to the wildest desert. Blessed be
His holy name!
Cor t'lkHit'i Hake.
She was the only daughter of wealthy, but
worldly, parents. Brought up in the lap of
luxury, it was her lot to know nothingof the
privations which so many endure. Riding
out in the carriage one day, her attention
was drawn to a plain, unpretentious chapel,
the singing in which caught her attention.
The hymn:
"Jesus, lover of my soul,
Let me to Thy bosom fly,"
rrassung with great fervor. She alighted
from her carriage, and there heard the gospel
preached with-simplicity and power. Her
heart was touched. Convinced she was a
sinner in the sight of God, and without
Christ would be lost forever, she sought Him,
and believed in Him and was saved.
Frequently she visited this plnce of worship,
to the annoyance of her father and the
family. Her soul was fairly enlisted in the
service of Christ, and she determined to
deny herself, take up her cross and follow
Him. Now came the testing-time. Her
father insisted on her leaving "this low rabble,n
as he called the church members, but
her heart was fixed. She had received
Christ, and could not, dare not, deny Him,
but remembered Hi3 words. "Whoso lovetn
father or mother more than Me is not
worthy of Me."
As a last resort her father said to her:
"You must leave thes3 poor, low people and
Wirr* no ak tr>MCT Innro AliP
We will disown you." This wns said in tha
evening, after a return from a delightful
meeting. Her father desired her to consider
the consequences of her decision, "Jf you go
with us you shall have houses, land, silver
and gold, and other treasures; but if you
will not give up these religious notions, then
I will cut your name from the family bible,
and disown you as my danghter." Of course,
these storn words of her father's drove her
to the mercy-seat, where she found mercy
and grace to help in this time of need. Sho
kissed her father good night, expecting that
would be the last Kiss of affection. Much of
that night was spent in prayer for divine
direction and divine strength. Both were
given to her. Dressing herself in a pure
white dress, she came down the next morning,
never looking more beautiful; calmness
and peace on her brow, with the love of
Christ in her heart. Her father inquired
what was her decision. She answered; "I
am determined to follow Christ and leave all
the rest to Him." With his penknife he cut
out her name from the family bible and
burned it, and told her to be gone from the
mansion and never return. She obeyed, and
as she walked down the steps sang in a sweet
voice, without a tremor:
"Jesus, lover of my soul.
Let me to Thy bosom fly;
While the raging billows roll,
While the tempest still is high;"
Neighbors and friends heard the song.
Many doors were flung open to receive her,
but she passed on to a very plain house, and
there met with many seeking Je>us. Here
He related her struggle and its results.
Many were converted." She became a real
missionary. And, strange to say, that stern
father in less than a month sought her
prayers and became an earnest Christian.
Thus God made the wrath of man to praise
him, and the residue He restrained. Is it
not i est to follow Christ and leave all consequences
with him? To obey is batter than
sacrifice. What are all the riches of earth
compared with salvation? "What shall it
[>rofit a man if he gain the whole world and
osehis own soulf"?[.Christian Press.
I slept, and di earned that life was beauty;
I woke,?and fo intl that life was duty.
Preach the ti uth in love, but tho whole
truth faithfully, if you wish to build up a
strong church.
A Babe Made Drunk.
A case of shocking depravity was brought
to light recently, at Youngstown, Ohio.
John Kirby and his wife were found on the
floor of their mi?erabla hovel dead drunk,
and their baby, aged three weeks, beside
them, also drunk. The child had been fed
on whisky until it became insensible. Kirby
and his wife were arrested and the child
placed in good hands. A few days previously
the house occupied by the Kirby took fire,
and the baby was rescued from under a bed,
where it had been placed by its heartless
pareuts,
Kentucky distillers have organized a trust
to limit the output of whisky. Now, will the
public organize to limit the inputI
' ' "I?' "V.
WORDS OF WISDOM.
Mirth becomes a feast.
He that want3 health wants everything.
Force meets force and when resistance
is met motion ceases.
If you earnestly seek for the truth it
will not escape you long.
Having decided for yourself, grant the
same privilege to others.
Life is too short to dwell on failurespush
on to a new success.
Disappointment often does a person
more real good than success.
All persons are not discreet enough to
know how to take things by the right
handle.
Books are waste papers unless we spend
in action the wisaom we get from
thought.
Felicity, pure and unalloyed, is not a
nlant of earthlv errowth. Her cardens
are skies.
He who steals a little, steal3 with the
same wish as he who steals much, but
with less power.
As the ivy twines around the oak, so
do misery and misfortune encompass the
happiness of man.
If we could read the secret history of
our enemies we should find in each man's
life sorrow and suffering enough to disarm
all hostility.
Every solitary kind action that is done
the world over ia working briskly in its
| own sphere to restore the balance between
right and wrong.
A more glorious victory cannot be
gained over another man than this, that
when the injury begins on his part the
kindness should begin on our3.
Do to-day's duty, fight to-days temptation,
and do not weaken and distract
yourself by looking forward to things
which you cannot see, and could not understand
if you did see them.
A Plague of Bags on Board a Ship.
A Tpnpnt. isftiin nf the Philadnlnhia
Record says:
The mate of the newly arrived British
bark Douglass, from Montevideo, tells
the biggest bug story of the season, and
it is no romance. The voyage from the
River Plata to Philadelphia was one
long fight with myriads of loathsome
insects, swarming up through the
hatches from the cargo' of bones below,
more dreadful than a continuous tempest
and more irrepressible than hunger on an
unprovisioned raft.
Barrels of the pestiferous bugs -were
scooped from the vessel's hold alter her
arrival at this port, and the painful nature
of the ordeal through which crew
and officers had passed on the voyage,
was shown in their drawn countenances
and discolored skin. A half bushel of
small crawling things, with dirty brown
backs and a wormy squirm, crawled
about the after part of the deck as the
mate told the painful story of the voyage
and pointed them out as the living
evidence of his narrative. "We have
been fighting these torments ever since
we left Montevideo," said he, "and it
has been a painful straggle, in which the
crew were not always sure of a survival.
We lay for many days at anchor in the
T?i por Plata OTOnifincr nn ?dvn.nrft in
freights which never came, and, finally,
in despair, took on a cargo of bones for
Philadelphia. None of us will ever forget
that cargo or the voyage which followed."
The bones had been gathered from the
plains of the Argentine Republic and
Uruguay, and were hurriedly lightered
on board, the flesh still remaining on the
inside of the skulls and on the vertebra?.
We had hardly landed our Spanish
pilot before unwelcome passengers began
to appear from below the hatches ana to
make themselves acquainted with the
halyards, store-rooms and the sleeping
apartments. When we came into the
warm latitude of the Equator their attacks
were terrible, and a night's sleep
was impossible.
The bugs would creep the through
anything, and at night would crawl into
our mouths and ear3. Often the crew
were compelled to seek refuge in the
rigg ng, and the men stretched hammocks
between the masts to avoid the
bugs.
When the Douglass arrived here the
insects had multiplied by the thou ands,
on/1 offer tVin onrorn hiifl hefin d isphftrrwd
it became necessary to resort to sulphur
fume9 to ride the vessel of them before
another cargo could be taken on board.
Bushel after bushel of the asphyxiated
pests were taken out of the hold.
The sailors on the Douglass declare
that in all their lives on the ocean, and
in all the stories they had heard of
strange things at sea, their experience
on this voyage wa3 the strangest, and
that nothing could induce them to ship
for the River Plata again if the return
voyage shall be made with a cargo of
South American bones.
Long Search for Submerged Treasure.
Anchored in the East River, opposite
Mott Haven, within a stone's throw of
the New York and Hartford Railroad
tracks, lies a large wrecking pontoon
familiar to boatmen on the Sound. It
has appeared there regularly every summer
for twenty years, and although its
owner remains unknown it is .kept at
work on the river every summer searching
for treasure?some $200,000 of the
British ship of war Hussar, which went
down off Mott Haven during the Revolutionary
war with all hands on board.
The Hussar came over to pay the British
troops, and anchored where the wrecker
has been dredging for the past twenty
years.
jL 1 XX V JL) i it JO ii waawiw nuk> u
large number of "Hessian troops" on
board and it was among these that the
mutiny broke out. Whether it was the
desire to escape from the Continental
troops who at that time occupied Mott
Haven, or a desire to gobble the Eng.
lish gold that caused the mutiny, will
never be known, but any way the IJussan
sank in twenty futhoms of water and
not a spar of it has been seen since.
One of the English marines who was
on the Hussar cscapcd. It was he who
told the story of the large amount of
gold in the ship. Years passed and the
sinking of the ship was forgotten, but recalled
again about twenty years ago by
the appearance of the pontoon, which
anchored where the English ship went
down. The river for almost a mile
around the spot has been dredged, and
toward the end of the second year
the community was startled by the news
that the wrecker had fouud the treasure.
People came from mites around and
for a short time the sunken ship was the
talk of the country. Divers were seen
going down and reappearing with bags
tilled with something, said to be British
gold, and for almost a year the man on
the pontoon made a fortune. For $5 a
diver would descend to the depths and
bring up a rusty bolt, or perhaps a copper
coin, and to possess one of these
men paid handsomely. Curiosity soon
died out, however, and since that time
but few relics have been found. Th?
divers have not despaired, however,and
the are working away as hopeful as ever.
?Naw York Telegram.
T CRACK SHOT. [
A.N OLD-TIME HUNTER'S SKILL
WITH THE RIFLE.
Kit Carson's Famous Shot at a Monster
Rocky Mountain Eagle
that was Flying Away
with a Lamb.
Kit Carson was the crack shot in the
Rocky Mountains in his day, and many
are the stories told on the frontier of his
quick eye and unerring aim. There will
never be another Kit Carson, for there is
no longer a great and unknown wilderness
to develop men of hi.i peculiar type.
Occasionally now you find in the West
gray-headed, sturdy old pioneers who
knew Carson in his prime, when the aim
of his rifle meant death, for he was often
heard to say: "I can kill as far as my
rifle can carry.''
Captain L. W. Cutler, one of the proprietors
of the Denver Field and Farm,
was a "Fifty-niner," and he knew CarBon
well, and in a recent conversation ;
related an incident in the life of the old
hunter and ecout which showed his
wonderful skill with the rifle, and the
story as told me by Captain Cutler
probably recalls as fine a shot as Kit CarBon
ever made, and of which the Captain
was an eye-witness. It was in the spring
of 18G3, and Captain Cutler, then a
Deputy United States Marshal, was- ea
route to old Fort Bent, below Pueblo,
this State. The country was sparsely
Bettled, only here and there finaing a>
small settlement along the Arkansas
River, which he was following. He was
traveling alone on horseback, and the
second morning of his journey broke
camp very early, starting out at dawn.
He had followed the course of the river
some distance, when just at sunrise the
loneliness of his journey was relieved by
the sight of a cabin in a heavy growth
of cottonwoods on the bank of the
Arkansas.
Just at this- moment he saw a monster
Rocky Mountain Eagle darting down
almost with the rapidity of lightning.
Near the cabin was a corral in which
were a large nnmber of sheep, and
thither the great eagle was bent for prey.
Reining up his tiorse the Captain awaited
the result. There was a wild bleating
and a rapid flight of the sheep, but a
moment later the eagle rose from the
corral bearing a large lamb with it. The
lamb did not seem to impede its flight in
the least, andi the great strength of the
eagle can readily be discerned by its
breaking some branches near the top of
A V _ A I 1L. A /..l -A, 1--. ~ C lL
me irees* uy me itariui mru&u oi jis
wings. Upward and upward it soared,
the course of its flight being not far from
the perpendicular. At this moment a
woman came out of the cabin and seeing
the eagle with the lamb in its talons,
uttered a shriek and hastened to the'
house. A moment later Captain Cut'.er
saw a man come out of the cabin with a
Long rifle in hand. He was dressed in a
slouch hat, pantaloons and a white shirt.
Just think of it, a white shirt in Colorado
as early as 18653. By this time the eagle
was soaring high, with its course o-ver
the river. To the Captain it was becoming
more like a dark speck in the sky,
and when he saw the man raise his rifle
to shoot he said to himself: "I wonder
what fool is going to try and shoot that
eagle." But hardly had he muttered
the exclamation till there was a flash from
the rifle. Only a .g^pond had the man
looked towarcTthe eagf^&nd the slock
of the rifle had hardly reacBfdJbis shoulder
before he fired.
For a moment it wa3 difficult toTeTT"
the result of the shot, as the eagle was
so far away. The speck became larger.
The eagle had been hit. It was tailing.
It came down slowly, for it fluttered
desr>eratelv. swooDiner its great wings.
trying to retain its place in"mid-air. "it
then circled round and round, and,
losing control of its wings, eagle and
lamb fell in some thick brush on the opposite
side of the river. With a iook of
amazement, Captain Cutler rode up to
the cabin to learn the name of the man
who had made such a wonderful shot.
The man had been leaning on his rifle
until the rider came near, when he exclaimed
:
"Hello, Captain Cutler, is that you?"
"Why ? it, if it isn't Kit Carson?"
said Cutler, as he dismounted, and the
two old friends shook hands, and Cutler
continuing said: "I saw you come out of
the cabin, and was wondering what fool
was trying to kill that eagle. But had I
known it was you, Kit, I would not have
doubted a moment."
"Well," replied Kit, "I was a little in
doubt myself, but I knew I would hit
I Vvt if mtr Ann TITAHM OQ frxr T nan
mc U11U IX lilJ guu (IVUiU VHtiJ, A VMM
hit as far as a gun will carry a bullet.
But, as luck would have it, my old rifle
made by Hawkins in St. Louis was
loaded," and the old hunter gave a look
of pridp at the now old-fashioned, longbarreled
muzzle loader.
. Mounting his horse, Cutler said he
would ford the stream and find the eagle.
"Be careful," advised Carson, "the eagle
may be only wounded, and if so, it will
be dangerous. I shot for its head."
"Its head," exclaimed Cutler in astonishment,
"Why how could you see an
eagle's head that far away?" and Kit
Calson only laughed for reply.
Captain Cutler found both eagle and
lamb dead, the talons of one leg still
buried in the back of the lamb, which
weighed about twenty pounds. Returning
to the cabin, the Captain said: "The
eagle wa3 shot through the throat."
"The thruat?" said Carsont "well the
eagle was so far away it was hard to
judge the distance. I shot at the head
by aiming a little above it. I should
have aimed half an inch higher."?New
York World.
What's me matter mm xmsj i
A subscriber writes: "A friend asks
me to multiply $5 by $5. I do so and
announce the result as $25. All right.
Kow multiply 500 cents by 500 cents,
giving the answer in cents pure and simple,
not as fractional parts of a dollar. I
do so and am surprised to see the figures
climb up 250,000 cents, which is $2500.
As $5 and 500 cents are equivalent, the
result is puzzling. It cannot be urged
that decimal marks should be used. A
cent, as such, is as distinct a unit as a
dollar, and, as result is to be announced
in cents, the decimals cannot.be pleaded
in extenuation of tbe rather surprising
result. But there is clearly something
wrong. What is it?"?Penman's Art
Journal.
Comanche of tlio Rosebud.
The Seventh United States Cavalry is
making a long march in changing its
post from one at the far north to one in
Kansas. All along- the route the people
crowd to see an old j iderless horse which
marches proudly with the regiment, i
This horse is old " Comanche," the one
living survivor of the Custer fight, in
| which he was ridden by Captain Keogh.
I Since that light he has never carried a
rider, having been adopted by the regiment,
in which he has now served the
better part of twenty years. He brought
| away from the battle two scars, which
I are examined by visitors and of which
: he seems as proud as any other veteran.
*53^* v -J . - C, 'J~ y..\ e__
.* , " :* ;' _ :--t-' - 1 .-. '
How Insurance Is Effected on Ves?els?|
Headers who are not acquainted with
maritime affairs are often puzzled by the
references they occasionally find in th?j
newspapers to what is known as "The}
Lloyd's." Cass ell'8 Magazine gives some,
very interesting information on this sub- '
ject. ;
If an underwriter is desirou* of be-|
coming a member of Lloyd's at thepres-i
ent day he must pay an entrance fee of!
$500, and annual subscription of twelve!,
guineas, and five guineas for the prear
ence of a substitute in the rooms. Ia
addition to underwriters thero are nonunderwriting
members who pay $875 for
entrance fee. " ;
All members, whether underwriters or
not, have to pay five guineas a year for*
seat at one of the many desks in the*
rooms. Upon the payment of five guineas
per annum any individual is entitled
to visit the rooms, re&d the papers and
notices, and collect shipping intelligence
generally. It is not needful here to attempt
to describe the busy throng which
frequents Lloyd's rooms daily, with it8
merchant princes, anxious brokers, pros*
nerous underwriters, and their attendant
clerks, captains and others interested in
mercantile pursuits, mingling, gliding,
and here and there crowding in groups,
anxious to make the best of the day. Is
may, however, be of interest to furnish'
a brief sketch of how marine insurances
are generally arranged.
An insurance broker having received
instruction from a shipowner to effect
insurance upon a particular vessel to the
amount of, say, $.45,000, proceeds to the
underwriters* with a "slip?' on which is
given the name of the ship, with its'
master's name, cargo and destination.
The broker endeavors to procure the
name of a well-known underwriter to
"lead off "or head the "slip" with a
large amount, say $2500; others are then
easily induced to follow suit with names
and amounts they agree ,to stake. The
insurance is considered'effected so soon
as tfae full amount is subscribed. A.
policy is then duly filled up with the
names of the underwriters aod amounts
written on the back of the form. In-j
surance on cargo is similarly dealt with;,
but "ship" and "cargo" policies are'
effected quite separately, for various
reasons?among others, a ship might become
a total wreck, and yet the cargo
might be wholly or partly saved; or a'
ship might run aground, and receive
little or no damage to hull, while her
cargo might be completely ruined by the
accident The rates of premium for single
voyages vary from two shillings six
pence to six guineas per cent. Any<
amount above this would be deemed a
"annrt-iner rislr " An underwriter effect
ing an insurance has, therefore, to consider
everj particular appertaining to
the vessel?owners, class, cargo dangerous
or otherwise, duration of voyage,
and weather likely to be encountered,
and many other items too numerous to
mention. ~
i -- ...
A Few Hints on Health.
Never go to bed with cold and damp
feet.
Never lean with the back upon anything
that is cold.
Never begin a journey until the break- ?
fast has been eat jo.
Never take warm drinks and then immediately
go out into the cold.
No doctor can prescribe diet. Eat
what you like if it agrees with you.
When hoarse speak as little as possible
until the hoarseness is recovered from,
else the voice may be permanently lost
or difficulties of the throat produced.
"""When gorag from a warm atmosphere
into a cooler one keep the mouth closed
so that the air may be warmed in ita
passage through the nose ere it reaches
the lungs.
Merely warm the back by the fire, and
never continue keeping the back exposed
to heat after it has become comfortably
warm. To do otherwise ix
debilitating.
Never stand still in cold weather,
especially after having taken a slight
degree of exercise, and always avoid
standing on ice or snow, or where the
persoa is exposed to cold wind.
Keep the back, especially between the
shoulder blades, well covered; also the
chest well protected. In sleeping in a
cold room establish the habit of breathing
through the nose, and never with
the mouth open.
Never omit regular bathing, for unless
the skin is in active condition, the
cold will close the pores and favor congestion
and other diseases. After exercise
of any kind never ride in an open
carriage or near the window of a car for
a moment; it is dangerous to health or
even life.
A Phenomenal Medical Case.
George Solomon, a life-long invalid,
died recently at th3 home of his mother,
in New York, in his eighteenth year.
From the date of his birth to the hour
of his death he was afflicted with congenital
hydrocephalus, commonly known
as "water on the brain." Since hig
birth he has shown no sign of pleasure
or knowledge of any kind except to hia
mother, whom he seemed to recognize.
He was born a healthy child, but at an
early age his head began to become enlarged,
and at his death it measured
twenty-six inches in circumference. For
a few years during the middle of hia
life he was comparatively strong, weighing
130 pounds, but finally there was no
assimilation of food, and for the past
few years he has weighed only abouf
fifty pounds. He has never uttered a
syllable.
At various stages of his disease eminent
physicians of this city have treated
him. Dr. George E. Hubbard has beeq
treating him of Tate, and stated that the
case of young Solomon was a marveloua
one. Usually a person afflicted with
water on the brain dies in the first year,
as the accumulation of fluid produces an
abnormal development of the cranium,
a distension of the brain and a separation
of the "stitches" in the skull. Occasionally
one so afflicted lives fifteen
years, but not once in five hundred times
can a being so afflicted live a3 lone
ns did voung Solomon.?New Torn
Times.
A Drill by Sightless Soldiers.
Forty-five sightless boys recently went
through the evolutions of company driH
with all the precision of trained veterans
on the trimly-kept lawn of th?
grounds attached to the Blind Asylum
in Philadelphia. They comprised the
cadet corps attached to the institution.
The boy3 carried dummy muskets and
marched with perfect step. "By columns
of fours," shouted Major W. King,
the commandant, and from single fiU
the boys made the movement without >
single misstep. "Company front" wai
formed with equal perfection, and th<
wheels wero made without a break.
Each boy kept his distance by placing
one hand on the shoulder of the boy jusl
in front of him, and by this means wenl
through the drill with but one mistake.
Equal proficiency was shown itx the manual
of arms, the young soldiors handling
their wooden musketa like "West Poinfe
ers.?Record. ,
*