.J ,
MY LITTLE LABORER. * 1
A tiny man, vrith fingers soft and tender,
As any lady fair;
Sweet eyes of blue, a form both frail and
slender,
' And curls of sunny hair.
A household toy; a fragile thing of beautyYet
with rising sun
Begins his round of toil, a solemn duty,
Thnt. must, ho rtailv done.
I To-day he's building castle, house and tower,
With wondrous art and skill,
Or labors with his hammer by the hour,
With strong, determined will.
Anon, with loaded little cart he's plying
A brisk and driving trade;
Again with thoughtful, earnest brow is try.
iag
Some book's dark lore to read.
'?1 kaAaf /\f Vtnt>/1an
JJOW, itlUtfll HivO &UUJC Jluwo uoaov vi KSIMV^M,
He drags himself along,
And now his lordly little voice is heard in
Boisterous shont and song.
Another hour is spent in busy toiling
With hoop and top and ball?
And with a patience that is never failing
He tries and conquers all.
But sleep at last o'ertakes my little rover,
And on his mother's breast,
Joys thrown aside, the day's hard labor over,
He sinks to quiet rest;
And as 1 fold him to my bosom, sleeping,
I think, 'mid gathering tears.
Of what the distant future may be keeping
As work for manhood's years.
Must he, with toil, his daily bread be earning,
In the world's busy mart,
Life's bitter lessons every day be learning,
With patient, struggle heart?
Or shall my little architect be building
Some monument of fame,
On which, in letters bright, with glorious
gilding,
The world may read his name?
Perhaps some humble, lonely occupation,
But shared with sweet content;
Perhaps a life in loftier, prouder station,
la selfish pleasure spent.
*">?' iiwio foot mAv rroas the
fercuttLii-o iucw ubMw *w? ^ ?
portal
Of learning's lofty fame, (
His life-work be to scatter truths immortal
Among the sons of men!
?New York Advertiser.
A TIMELY HINT.
BY HARRY ROMAINE.
EORGE SCHUY>*<MWO\~FSf/
wen* home
' i\/|-ijl| from the office
pNyiHF with two problems
?|0 The first did
Nl ' I muc^> *or ^ was
\ 7s*" ~"JK only a small mat;v^?~~JB\
ter in connection
' ' with his business.
was a y?UQg
architect grappling
with his first large order: the erection
of a thirteen story office building.
In ODe corner of the lot which the
structure was to occupy .a troublesome
bit of quicksand had been discovered;
but he knew several ways of overcoming
quicksand, and it only remained for him
to choose the best of them.
i The other question was more important
and difficult.
What sort of a Christmas present
should he give to a girl who had always
had everything she wanted from her
**ro^lp tin?
I it He could estimate exactly the tensile
strength of any species of building material,
or fbe number of pounds weight
that a steel truss would hare to sustain;
but be knew no formula that would help
him in such a case as this.
i The trouble seemed to be that while
George could look at the building from
& coldly professional standpoint, he
could take no such view of anything
which concerned Rose's happiness,
f He was not in love with the gigantic
mass of brick and iron; but he was
/violently, and, so far as he knew, hopelessly
in love with her.
\ I He was willing to give her anything
,that would please her, but he doubted
the good taste of a too lavish expenditure.
2io; it must be some elegant trifle that
she had never seen before, and that
would move her irresistibly to "Love the
Giver." Something that would give her
a hint of the condition of his heart, and
prepare her for the words he hoped to
,utter, some day.
Rose Wyckoff was the daughter of a
man, who valued the substantial fruits
/of the harvest above the pink and white
buds of the springtime.
, ; Most of George's prospects were still
1 in the bud. When that big building
^ was really finished, and one or two more
that he hoped to get orders for under
way, it would be soon enough to apfv
roach the old gentleman.
Although George hid a very clear
idea of what Mr. Wyckoff would say if
he spoke now, he could gain no iJea of
j-wbat Rose would say; but he was grimly
determined to try to be worthy of
her. He left the rest to fate, and contented
himself with drawing the designs
for magnificent and glittering castles in
Spain.
When George went to call on Rose
that evening, he tried to be as cherry
and animated as usual, but his nervous
and absorbed manner must have given
her some hint of tho heavy load of
anxiety he was carrying; for, as he stood
drawing on his oveicoat in the hall, after
Al_ - 1 3 L.J I :J -V - 1
tue loot gouu-Djguis uuu uetru suiu, aue
threw herself across the outside door,
and barred his egress.
As she stood with her gracefully
rounded body well set out by the polished
oaken door, and her bright face turned
up to him with an expression which a
bolder man might almost have confltrued
as an invitation, George felt that
ie would have given the value of all the
buildings that he ever hoped to plan, to
tell her how much he thought of her.
He was somewhat surprised at her sudden
movement, or as much so as he ever
permitted himself to be at any of her actions,
which were generally unaccountable
from a masculine standpoint. He
only thought that if she were going to
appear in the character of a jailor, he
could sta^d a life sentence with considerable
equanimity.
"Now, before you go, George," said
Rose, with her hand still on the knob,
'*'1 want to ask you one question. You
are not thinking of making a Christmas
i. Al_ * OH
present 10 me inis year, are you*
George owned that he had taken the
matter into serious consideration.
' "And you are determined to persist in
doing so in spite of my disapproval?"'
the asked, with a smile that must have
have warned him that her disapproval
would not be of a serious nature, for lie
^srv,. " / -A, .
had the fine presence of mind to signify
firmly that he was not only adamant in
that respect, but even iridium.
"Well, I like a determined man," admitted
Rose, with an admiring glance at
his sufficiently assertive chin; "and if
you are determined, I want to ask you
to allow me to choose mv own ores
7 ~~ ?y r
ent.
"With pleasure!" exclaimed George.
"That is awfully nice of you," said
Rose; "but be sure to remember not to
get anything until you hear from me. I
will let you know in good time. Must
you really go now?" she asked; for
George, with the fortuitous absent mindedness
of a truly bashful man, had placed
his hand over hers on the knob of the
door. "Good-night, then," she said, as
it yielded to their united efforts, and
George found himself standing outside
on the steps. He raised his hat as the
door closed srently,as if it were reluctant
to shut him out from her presence.
Tlinfr nirrVit dpi- rcrn ^r?tr sr?mf> nrelimi
nary sketches of the Spanish chateau,
that were full of detail as to the chatelaine,
but hazy as to the stairways.
After that, he saw Rose quite often
before it was time for the green wreaths
to hang in the parlor windows; but she
always said that she was not yet ready to
tell him what kind of a present she
wanted. It was not until Christmas Eve
that he received a little note hastily
scribbled on the back of a visiting card.
Dear George: I find that I have neglected
to give you the information I promised.
But it doesn't matter. We have gone
to the country tor our winter outing, and
mother wants nid to ask you to join us for
as many days as you can spare from business.
I hope you will come and give me a
chance to keep my promise.
Sincerely jouri,
p.obe.
George accepted the invitation with
alacrity. He put an "Out of Town?'
sign on his office door, and left the big
building to its own' devices.
On New Ytar's morning Rose suggested
a ride to Sunset Hill, one of the wildest
and most picturesque spots in the neighborhood;
and, after the horses were
brought around to the door, they set
out together through the bright, frosty
air. Thej rode half-way up the hill and
then dismounted and, leaving their
horses tied to a bar-post, followed a
rough foot-path to the summit.
Rose stood close to George, looking
far out over fields and woods and groups
of cottages, and gazing with thoughtful
eyes on the Sound, where the snow-covered
ice-cakes glistened in the morning
sun. The strong wind rushed through
the tree3 and pressed her closer to him.
He steadied her with very unsteady
hands.
"What a wreck I am," she said,as she
put back a brown tress which strayed
across her face. "Oh, I nearly forgot
to tell you about my present. Frankly,
would you mind giving a ring to me?"
George's face fell, as he returned:
"what kind of a ring? You have so
many of them; and I wanted to give you
something original."
"A ring would be very original, from
you;" and she smiled demurely; "and I
fancy a plain turquoise would be the
proper thing, now. Here, you may
measure my finger; the third, please."
And diawing off her glove, she slipped
a warm, little left hand into his.
"The third 1 Why, that -is the engagement
finger 1" exclaimed George, as
j the air assumed for him the balmy mild'
ness of an Indian summer.
j "You said it yourself, George Schuyler
1" she cried, with a brave attempt to
be saucy; but her voice was timid and
choked, as she rested her delicate head
lightly against his shaggy coat; and,now,
you can never tell auy one I proposed t
you, even if?even if this is L?Leap
year."?Puck.
A Grotesque Shark.
The hammerhead, or ground shark, i3
one of the most grotesque objects in th <
ocean, its huge skull, which is placed at
right angles with the body, having a
mo3t uncanny aspect* The eyes, which
are at the extreme ends of the head, and
from eighteen to twenty-four inches
apart, have an uuusually truculent expression,
and, being very large, add to
the 3trange and forbidding look of the
creature. This species, as might be inferred
from the uncouth form of its intellectual
department, is a resident ol
deep waters, and rarply leaves the bottom.
It preys, mainly, on such finny
creatures as frequent the depths in which
it dwells, but it rises occasionally to capture
the swift dolphin, sea trout, or red
fish. Fishermen fear it more than the
species that swim near the surface, because
they are likely to step on it, or to
feel its resentment when they are drawing
seines in the deep channels which it
frequents. Being sullen and fierce, it
sometimes assails them without any apparent
reason, but I have yet to hear of
its causing the death of a man, or even
of its inflicting a serious wound upon
him. Both this species and the brown
shark may be taken on a rod and line
with mullet or meat bait. Specimens
weighing from ten to fifty pounds are
often caught with rod and reel in various
parts of Florida; but, as they are listless
in movement,and merely hang back like
_ J J ! t- A. J A. 1
a aeau weigni,evea aruuui yuuugaagiera
care little for them. They are so persistent
io takiug the bait intended for
better fish, and even in pulling edible
captives off a hook,that anglers are often
compelled to change their fishing
grounds for some place which they do
not frequent.?New York Po9t.
It Would Not Lather.
The Norwegians make a sort of brown
cheese of goats' milk and put it up in
little bricks. It does not present a very
inviting appcarance to the foreigner,
though the natives esteem it a9 a delicacy.
It is called "mysost." A native,
Dr. Julius Nicholson, sending some
delicacies to a German friend, put in a
cake of mysost. His friend wrote,
thankinsr him for the salmon, etc.. and
continued, ,iThe soap is very nice, but
we find difficulty in making a lather."
A cheese that would lather without
difficulty would be rare indeed.?Picayuue.
The Largest of Cruisers.
The belted armored cruiser Rurik is
being constructed for the Russian navy
at the Baltic works. She is 420 feet in
length, displaces about 11,000 tons, and
will be the largest cruiser afloat when
finished. It is estimated that her sea
speed will be about eighteen knots. She
will carry enough coal to steam 20,000
knots at her economical speed of ten
knots an hour. The armament will consist
of four eight-inch, sixteen six-inch
guns, fourteen 4.7-inch guns, eighteen
small rapid firing guns, and Eye torpedo
tubes.?Boston Transcript.
- ,y V
f'. ' ' . '
*
REV. DR. TALMAGE. '
THE BROOKLYN DIVINE'S SUNPAY
SERMON*
Subject: "The Sundial of Ahaz.n
Text: "And Isaiah the prophet cried
1- *1. - T J. 7 rj- 1 JL. _ L I
UTiUJ tfK; uvru. una uo vr uityru, cf*e .i/tuu.oio
ten degrees backward by which it had
gone down in the dial of Ahaz."?ll King
xx., II.
Here is the first clock or watch or chronometer
or timepiece of which the world
has any knowledge. But it was a watch
that did not tick and a clock that did not
strike. It was a sundial. Ahaz, the kin2,
invented it. Between the hours giveD to
statecraft and the cares of office he Invented
something by which he could tell the time
of day. This sundial may have been a great
column, and when the shadow of that column
reached one point it was nine o'clock
a. St., and when it reached another point it
was three o'clock p. it, and all the hours and
half hours were so measured. Or it may
have been a flight of stairs such as may now
be found in Hindostan and other old countries,
and when the shadow reached one step
it was ten o'clock a. ji., or another step it
was four o'clock p. M.t and likewise other
hours may have been indicated.
The clepsydra or water clock followed the
sundia), and the sandglass followed the
clepsydra. Then came the candle clock of
Alfred the Great and the candle was marked
into three parts, and while the first part
was burning he gave himself to religion, and
while the second part was burning he gave
himself to politico, and while the third part
was burning he gave himself to rest. After
awhile came the wheel and weight clock,
and Pope Sylvester the Second, was its most
important inventor. And the skill of centuries
of exquisite mechanism toiled at the
timepieces until the world had the Vick's
clock of the Fourteenth century and Huygbens,
the Inventor, swung the first pendulum
and Dr. Hooke contrived the recoil
escapement. And the "endless
chain" followed and the "ratchet and
pinion lever" took its place, and
the compensation balance and the
stem winder followed, and now we have the
buzz and clang of the great clock and watch
factories of Switzerland and Germany and
England and America turning out what
seems to be the perfection of timepieces. It
took the world six thousand years to make
Kha nrAannf. rhrnnomntpr. So with tho
measurement of longer spaces than minutes
and hours. Time was calculated from new
moon to new moon; then from harvest to
harvest. Then the year was pronounced to
be three hundred and fifty-four days and
then three hundred and sixty days, and not
until a long while after three hundred and
sixty-five days. Then events were calculated
from the foundation of Rome, afterward
from the Olympic games. Then the
Babylonians had t_eir* measurement of the
year and the Romans theirs and
the Armenians theirs and the Hindoos
theirs. Chronology was busy
for centuries studying monuments,
inscriptions, coins, mummies and astronomy,
trying to lay a plan by which all
question of dates mignt be settled and
events put in their right place in the prosession
of the ages. But the chronologists
Dnly heaped up a mountain of confusion and
bewilderment until in the sixth centurv
Dionysius Exlguus, a Roman abbot, said,
"Let everything date from the birth at
BethleheiA of the Lord Jesus Christ, the
Saviour of the world." The abbot proposed
to have things dated backward and forward
from that great event. What a splendid
thought for the world! What a mighty
thing for Christianity! It would have been
most natural to date everything from the
creation of the world. But 1 am glad
Fho .nViT-nnrvlrvnricrfa /VMilri nnf oaoiltr miacs
VUO VUi VUVWgWIM VUM1U UVV WV WUOUJ g UWOU
how oldthewoj-ld was in order to get the
nations in the habit of dating from that
occurrence in its documents and histories.
Forever fixed is it that all history is
to be dated with reference to the birth of
Christ, and, this matter settled, Hales, the
chief chronologist, declared that the world
was made five thousand four hundred and
eleven years before Christ, and the deluge
came three thousand one hundred and fifty*
Ave years before Christ, and all the illustrious
events of the nineteen centuries and
ill the great events of all time to come have
been or shall be dated from the birth of
Christ. These things I say that you may
know what a watch 13, what a clock is,what
in almanac is, and learn to appreciate
through what toils and hardships and perplexities
the world came to its present conleniences
and comforts, and to help you to
more rescectful consideration of that sua*
dial of Ahaz planted in my text.
We are told that Hezekiah, the king, was
dying of a boil. It must have been one of
the wort kind of carbuncles, a boil without
any central core and sometimes deathful.
A. fig was put upon it as a poultice. Hezekiah
did not want to die then. His son, who was
to take the kingdom, had not yet been born,
and Hezekiah'e death would nave been the
death of the nation. So he prays for rep/ivppt
and is told ha will trflt woll Rnfchft
wants some miraculous sign to make him
rare of it. He has the choice of having the
ihadow on the sundial of Ahaz advance or
retreat. He replioi it would not be eo wonderful
to have the sun go down, for it always
does go down sooner or later.
He asks that it go backward. In
other words, let the day instead of going
on toward sundown, turn and go toward
sunrise. I see the invalid king bolstered up
ind wrapped in blankets looking out of the
window upon the sundial in the courtyard.
While he watches the shadow on the dial
the shadow begins to retreat. Instead of
going ou tovrara six o'clock In the evening
It goes back toward six o'clock in the morning.
The big poultice had been drawing for
tome time, ana sure enough the boil broke
and Hezekiah got well. Now I expect you
will come on with your higher criticism
and try to explain this away and say it
was an optical delusion of Hezekiah, and the
shadow only seemed to go back or a cloud |
came over and it was uncertain which way
the shadow did go, and as Herekiah. expected
it to go back he took the action of
his own mind for the retrograde movement.
No; the shadow went back on
all the dials of that land and other lands.
Turn to JI Chronicles xxxii., 31, and And
that away off in Babylon the mighty men of
the palace noticed the same phenomenon.
And if you do not like the Bible authority
turn over your copy of Herodotus and find
that away off in S.gypt the people noticed
that there was something the matter with
the sun. The fact is that the whole universe
waits upon God, and suns and moons and
stars are not very big things to Him, and He
can with His little finger turn back an entire
world as easily as you can set back the
hour hand or minute hand of your clock or
watch.
At the opening of the n 3W year paoole are
moralizing on the flight of time. Yoa all
feel that you are moving on toward sundown
and many of you are under a consequent
depression. I propose this morning
to-set the hands of your watches and clocks
to going the other way. I propose to show
you how you make the shadow of your dial
like the shadow on the dial of Ahaz to
ofnn rminer fnrwnrH iinr) mnfrft it ffo back*
Bkvr 6v,"e " ? ? ? 0_
ward. You think i have a bie undertaking
on band, but it can be done if the same Lord
who reversed the shadow in Hezkiafc^s courtyard
moves upon us. While looking at the
sundial of Hezkiah and we find the shadow
, retreating we ou^ht to learn that God
controls the shadows We are all
ready lo acknowledge His management
of the sunshine. We stand in the
glow of a bright morning and we say in
our feelings if not with so many words,
"Ibis life is from God, this warmth is from
God." Or, we have a rush of prosperity
c-ad we say, "These successes are from God.
What a providential thing it was I bought
that lot just before the rise of real estate!
How grateful to God I am that I mada
that investment! Why they have declared
ten per cent, dividend! Wuat a mercy it was
that Isold out my shaiwi before that collapse!"
Oh, yes; we acknowledge God in
the sunshine of a bright day or the sunshine
of a great Drosoeritv. But suppose
the dav is dark? You have to light the
gas at noon. The sun does not show himself
all day long. There is nothing but
shadow. How slow we are to realize that
the storra is from God and the darkness
from God and the chill from God. Or we
buy the day before the market retreats, or
we make an investment that never pays, or
we purchase goods that we cannot disuse
of, or a crop of grain we sowed is ruined
by drought or freshet, or when we took account
of stock on the first of January we
found ourselves thousands of dollars worse
off than we expected. Who under such circumstances
says, "This loss is from God. I
must have been allowed to go into that unfortunate
enterprise for some zooi reason;
, v -< ' ,' '*
God controls the east wind as well as the
west wind."
My friends, I cannot look for one moment
on that retrograde shadow of Ahaz's dial
without learning that God controls the shadows
and that lesson we need all to learn.
That He controls the sunshine is not so necessary
a leason, for anybody can be happy
when things go right. When you sleep
eight hours a night and rise with on appetite
that cannot easily wait for breakfast and
you go over to the stora and open your maLl
to read more orders than you can fill, and in
the next letter you find a dividend far larger
than you have been promised, and your
neighbor comes in to tell you some flattering
thing he has just heard said about you,
and you find that all the styles of goods in
which you deal have advanced fifteen per
ceAt. in value, and on your way
Virunft vnn nmt vrmr ohiMrfln in full
romp and there are ro3es on the center of
the tea table and rosea of health in cheeks
all round the table, what more do you want 1
of consolation? I don't pity you a bit. You
feel as if you could boas the world. But for
those in just opposite circumstances my text
comes in with an omnipotence of meaning.
The shadow! Oh, the shadow! Shadow of
bereavement! Shadow of sickness! Shadow
of bankruptcy! Shadow of mental depression!
Shadow of persecution! Shadow
of death! Speak out, oh sundial of Ahaz,
and tell the people that God manages the
shadow! As Hezekiah sat In his palace
vj i appcu iu luraiiutBLU auu oui i uuuuou uy
anodynes and cataplasms and looked
out upon tbe black hand of the
only clock known at that time and saw
it move back ten degrees, he learned a
lesson that a majority of tbe human race
need this hour to learn?that the bust friend
a man ever had controls the shadow. The
setbacks are sometimes the best things that
can happen. The great German author,
Schiller, could not work unless he had in his
room the scent of rotten apples, and the decay
of the fruits of earthly prosperity may
become an inspiration instead of a depression.
Robert Chambers's lame feet shut him
up from other work, and he became the
world renowned publisher, and helped lashion
the best literature of the ages. Th9
painful disorder like that of Hezskiah called
a carbuncle is spelled exactly the same as
the precious stone called the carbuncle,
and the pang of suffering
may become the jewel of immortal value.
Your setback, like that of Ahaz'a sundial,
may be recovery and triumph. I never had
a setback but it turned out to be a set forward.
You never would have become a
Christian if you had not had a setback. The
hichMt thrnnM in heaven are for the set
backs. In 1861 the shadow of the sundial of
this nation was set back, and all things
seemed going to ruin, and it was set back
further in 1862, and further in 1863, and still
further in 1865, but there is not an intelligent
and well balanced man?north or
south, east or west?but feels it was sot back
toward the sunrise.
But I promise to show you how the shawows
might be turned back. First, by going
much among the young people. In most
family circles there are grandchildren. By
this divine arrangement most of the people
who have passed the meridian of life can
compass themselves by juvenility. It is a
bad thing for an o!d man or old woman to
sit looking at the vivacity of their grandchildren
shouting, "Stop that racket!"
Better join in the fun. Let the eighty-yearold
grandfather join the eight-year-old
grandson or granddaughter. My father and
mother lived to see over eighty children and
grandchildren and great grandchildren, and
a more boisterous crew were never turned
out on this sublunary sphere, and they all
seemed to cry to the old folks, "Keep
young," and they did keep young. Don't
walk with a cane unless you have to or only
as a defence in a city afflicted with
too many canines. Don't wear glasses
stronger than necessary, putting on nam*
ber tens when elghteens will do as well.
Don't go into the company of those who are
always talking about rheumatism and lumbago
and shortness of breath and the brevity
of human life. It is too much for my gravity
to hear an octogenarian talking about the
shortness of human life. From all I can find
out he has always been here and from present
prospects he is always going to stay. Remain
young. Hang np your stockings in Christmas
time. Help the boys fly the late. Teach the
girls how to dress their dolls. Better thaa
arnica for your stiff joints and catnip tea
for your sleepless nights will be a large do3e
of youthful companionship.
Set back the clock of human life. Make
the shadow of the sundial of Ahaz retreat
ten degrees. People make themselves old
by always talking about being old and
wishing for the good old days, which were
never as good as tbeae days. From ail i can
hear the grandchildren are not halt as bad
aa the grandparents were. Hatters have
been hushed up. But it jou have ever Seen
in a room adjoining a room where some vary
old people, a little deaf, were talking over
old times, you will find that this age does not
monopolize all the young rascals. It may
now be hard to get young people up early
enough in the morning, but their grandparents
always bad to be pulled out of bed.
It is wrong now to play mischevious tricks on
the unsuspecting, but eighty years ago at
tchool that now venerable man sat down on
a crooked pin not accidently placed there,
and purposely drove the sleigh riding party
too near the edge of the embankment that
he might see how they would look when
tumbled into the snow. And that man who
has so little patience with childish exuberance
was in olden times ud to pranks, onehalf
of which if practiced by the eight-year*
old of to-day would set grandfather and
arandmother crazy. Revive your remem
Eranee of what you were between fire and
ten years of age, and with patience capable
of everything join with tbe young. Put back
the shadow of the dial not ten degrees, but
fifty and sixty and seventy degrees.
Set back your clocks also by entering on
new and absorbing Christian work. In our
desire to inspire the young we have in our
essays had 'much to say about what has
been accomplished by the young; of Romulus,
who founded Rome when he was
twenty years of age; of Cortes,who had conquered
Mexico at thirty years; of Pitt,
who was Prime Minister of England ^t
twenty-four years; of Raphael, who died
at thirty-seven years; of Calvin, who wrote
his "Institutes" at twenty-six; of Melancthon,
who took a learned professor's chair
at twenty-one years, of Luther, who had
conquered Germany tor the Reformation
by tne time h9 was tnirty-flve years. And
it is all very well for us to show how early
in life one can do very great things for God
and the welfare of tne world, but some of
the mightiest work for God has been done
by septuagenarians and octogenarians and
nonagenarians. Indeed, there in work
which none tut such can do. They pre*
serve tbe equipoise of senates, of religious
denominations, of reformatory movements.
Young men for action, old men for counsel.
Instead of any of you beginning to
fold up your energies, arouse anew your
energies. With the experience you nave
obtained and the opportunities of observation
you have had cruring a long life, you
ought to be able to ao in one year now
more than you did iu ten years right after
you have passed out of your teens. Physical
power less, your spiritual power ought to
be more, dp to the last hour of their lives
what powers for good old Dr. Archibald
Alexauder, old Dr. Woods, old Dr. Hawes,
old Dr. Miiuor, old Dr. Alcllvane, old Dr.
Tvng, old Dr. Candliah, old Dr. Chalmers!
What have been Bismarck to Germany, and
Gladstone to Eogland, and Oliver Wendell
Holmes to America in the time of an ad'
vanc#d age? Let me say to those in the afternoon
of life: Don't be putting off the harness;
when God wants it off he will take it
off. Don't be frightened out of life by the
grip as many are. At the first sneeze of an
influenza many give up all as lost. No new
terror has come on the earth. The microbes
as the cause of disease were described in the
Talmud seventeen hundred years ago as "in*?*
-i n r\ u
visiuie legions ot (mugeroun uuea. uvu v uo
scared out of life by all this talk about heart
failure. That trouble has always been in tha
world. That is what all the people that ever
passed out of this life have died of?heart
failure. Adam had it and all of his descendants
have had it or wili have it. Do not be
watching for symptoms or you will have
symptoms of everything. Some of you will
yet die of symptoms. Symptoms are often
only what we sometimes see in the country
?a dead owl nailed on a barn door to scare
living owls. Put your trust in God. go to
bed at ten o'clock,have the window open sis
inches to-let in the fresh air, sleep on your
right side, and fear nothing. The old maxim
was right, "Get thy spindle and distaff ready,
r.nd God will send the flax."
But while looking at this sundial of Ahaz
and I sea the shadow of it move, I notice
that it went back toward the sunrise instead
of forward toward the sunset?toward the
morning instead of toward the night. That
thing the world i> willing now to do, and in
many cases has done. There have a great
many things been written and spoken about
the sunset of J"*- have said some of them
myself. Bat my text suggests a better idea.
The Lord who turned back that day from
going toward sundown and started it toward
sunrise is willing to do the same thing for
all of us. The theologians who stick to-old religious
technicalities until they become soporifics
would not call it anything but cou version.
I call it a change from going toward sua*
down to going toward sunrise. That man
who never tries to unbuckle the clasp of evil
habit and who keeps all the sins of the past
and the present freighting him and who
Aguuies luw uoo rtuieujpuuu uiauo uj iua
only one who could redeem, if that man will
examine the sundial he will find that the
shadow is coing forward and he is on the
way to sundown. His day is on the road to
nignt. All the watches that tick, all the
clocks that strike, all the sand glasses that
empty themselves, all the shadows that more
on all the sundials indicate the approach of
darkness. But now, in answer to prayer, as
in my text the change was in answer to
prayer, the pardoning Lord reverses things
and the man starts toward sunrise instead of
sunset. He turns the other way. The Captain'
of salvation gives him the military command,
"AttentionI Right about face!" He wasmarching
toward indifference, marching
toward hardness of heart, marching toward
prayerlessness, marching toward sin, marching
toward gloom, marching toward death.
Now be turns and marches toward peace,
marched toward light and marches toward
comfort and marches toward high hope and
marohes toward a triumph stupendous and
everlasting, toward hosannas that ever hoist
and hallelujahs that ever roll. Now If that
is not the turning of the shadow on the dial
of Ahaz from going toward sundown to going
toward sunrise, what is it?
I have seen day break over Mount Blanc
and the Matterhorn, over the heights- of
Lebanon, over Mount Washington, over
the Sierra Nevadaa, and mid-Atlantic,- themorning
after a departed storm, when the
billows were liquid Alps and liquid Sierra
Nevadas, but tue sunrise of the soul is more
effulgent and more transporting. It bathesall
the heights of the soul, and illumines all
the depths of the soul, and whelms all, the
faculties, all the aspirations,, all the ambitions,
all the hopes with a light that sickness
cannot eclipse, or death extinguish,
or eternity do anything but augment ami
magnify. I preach the sunrise. As I look
at that retrograde movement of the shadow
on Ahaz's dial, I remember that it was a
sign that Hezekiah. was going to get well
and he got well. So I have to tell all you
who are by the grace of God having your
day turned from decline toward night to
assent toward morning, that you. are going
to get well, well of all your sins, well of all
your sorrows, well of all your earthly distresses.
Sunrise!
But, says one, all that you say may be
true but that does not hinder the horrors of
dissolution. Whyv you who are the Lord's
are not going to die. All that the grave
gets of you as compared with your chief,
your immortal nature, is as the clippings of
your finger nails as compared with your
whole body. As you run the scissors along
the edge of your thumb nail and cut off that
which is no use but rather a hindrance, you
do not mourn over the departure of that
fragment which flies away. Death will be
only the scissoring off of that which
could be of no use, and the soul has
no funeral over that which would be
an awful nuisance if we could not
get rid of it This body as it now is,
what a failure it would make of heaven if
our departing soul had to be burdened with
" OTViiln nthprs there firo
lb 111 buo ucau tiwkw., . .
ten thousand mi lea a minute we would ta?e
about an hour to walk four miles, and while
our neighbor immortals could see a hundred
miles we could see only ten miles, and the
fleetest and the healthiest of our bodies if
seen there would make it necessary to open
in heaven an asylum for cripples. No, no;
one of the bast possible things that will happen
to us will to the Bloughing off of this
body when we have no more use for it in it*
pres ant state. When it shall come up in its
resurrected form we will be very glad to get
it back again, but not as it is now with Its
limitations and badwarfments innumerable.
Sunrise!
There shall I bathe m y weary aoal
In seu of heavenly reft.
And not a wave of trouble roll
Ac -<t my peaceful breast,
Sunrise! .out not like one of those mornings
after you had gone to bed late or did
not sleep well, and you get up chilled and
yawning and the morning batn is a repulsion
and you feel like saying to the mornicg
an shining into your window, "I do not see
whatyoa find to smile about; yonr bright*
ness is to me a mockery." Bat the Inrush
of the next world will be a morning after a
sound sleep, a sleep that nothing can disturb,
and you will' rise, the sunshine In your
faces; and in your first morning in heaven
you will wad<3 down into the sea of glass,
mingled with fire, the foanl ou fire
with a splendor you never saw on earth,and
the rolling waves are doxologins, and the
" ?" onH t.hfl
rOCICS 01 tuac buoici cue
pebbles of that beach are pearl,and the skies
that arch the sceae are a commingling of
ail the colors that St Jehu save on the wall
or heaven?the crimson and the blue, and
the saffron, and the orange, and the purple,
and the gold, and th? green wrought on
those skies in shape of garlands, of banners,
of ladders, of chariots, of crowns,of thrones.
What a sunrwe! Do yon not feel its warmth
on your facss? bcoville McC uilum.the dying
boy of our Sunday-school,uttered what shad
be the peroration of this sermon, "Throw
back the shutters and let the sun in!" And
so the shadow of Ahaz's sundial turns from
sunset to sunrise.
WOBDS OF WISDOar.
Love is always a burden-bearer.
Love that is not kind is the wroncr
kind. '
(Anything is wrong that kills the spirit
of devotion.
The patience of love never wearies.
It is provocation proof.
It doesn't break the heart of love to
have the clothes-line break.
Wherever there is a dead conscience
it means that the soul is dead.
Love does not boast of the battles it
has fought, nor scratch its scars to maie
them look bigger.
Love never keeps her seat and says
nothing when the conductor happens to
miss her in the street car.
The love that is right itself will not
spend much of its time in looking for
black spots on other people.
Love never picks out a two-cent
piece from a purse full of gold coins to
put in the collection basket.
"Love that is love, Is not veneered or
grained timber, but is solid oak clear
through, and is never one bit afraid of
the auger or buzz-saw.
No harm to do this, and no harm to
go there, you say. Well, that depends.
The swill barrel is a good place for a
rotten apple, but a very poor place for a
sound one.
Tiee sensation just now in Europfl
Is the frank announcement of the objects
of the Franco-Russian alliance,
which promises to be aggressive.
These objects are the occupation of
Constantinople by Russia and the
compulsory retirement of the English
from Egypt. This means a heavy
blow at England. When the newlj
allied powers oegin tuese preparations
for the fulfilment of this programme
England will be in the field
against them, whether the Triple
Alliance moves or not. And with
Russian armies already stepping over
the Roumanian frontier, and French
fleets massing at Toulon, we maysay
that war is within measurable distance.
The sorrow which the Viceroy of
Nanking expresses for the recent outbreaks
against foreign missions would
be more likely to help the Chinese
Government in foreign estimation if
it were accompanied by some evidence
of effort to find and punish the guilty
ones. . .
i
' . \ ' . :K~t ' '? '' v^?^':V-:.'^"'
'
SABBATH SCHOOL
INTERNATIONAL LKSSON FOR
JANUARY 3JL.
Lesaon Text: "The Suffering Saviour,"
Isaiah, liif., 1-12?Gold-,
en Text:: Isaiah,. 1111., 6?
Commentary.
li "Who hath believed our report? And
to whom is the arm of the Lord revealed*1
Borne one has said that this section, chapter
lii., 13 to liii.. 12, reads as if written beneath
the cross on Golgotha. It is the unraveling
of Psalms ixii. and ex.; and is the most central,
deepest and loftiest portion of Old Testament
prophecy. From the first intimation
of a Deliverer (Gen. iii., 15) onward, He is
repeatedly foretold as a suffering Saviour
(Luke xxiv.,.26), but here we have the most
complete description of His sufferings in the
whole Old Testament.
3. "lie fcata no form nor comeliness; and
when we shall see Him, there is no beautv
that we should desire Him." Like the tabernacle
in the wilderness, there was no outward
beauty to the surrounding nations,
but Israel could tell of the holy place, ana
the holy of holiep, with vessels of pure gold,
and the glory of God between the cherubim.
To the unsaved Jesus is still unattractive,
while they eagerly foHow the attractions of
the world, the flesh and the devil.
3. "He is despised and rejected of men.
a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief."
He was so unlike other men; Be never considered
Himself; did not His own wiH;
sought not Hig own glory;: never sought to
be made much of, but was always honoring
His Father. Self-sacrifica consumed Him
as a fever; a man of constant and painful
endurance misunderstood, slandered, despised
and rejected; how all tbis will come
home to Israel when they see Him coming in
power and glory (Zech. xii., 10).
4. "Surely He hath borne our griefs and
carried our sorrows; yet we did esteem Him
stricken, smitten of God and afflicted." He
woo in nni? oraoA a
VTMO vui uuvafivukQ, in wu? oucau^ a vucuiuua
sacrifice; but we, like Job's friends, thought
He deserved it; thus will Israel confess in
that day.
5. "But He was wounded for our transgression*,
He was bruised for our iniquities,
and with His stripes we are healed." Could
there be any stronger expressions to denote
a violent and painful death? The precise
manner of it is more fully described in Ps.
xxii., 10, "They pierced My hands and My
feet." Read this verse with "my" instead
of "our' in the first three clauses, and read
"lam" instead of "we are" in the fourth
clause, and with all you heart thauk Him
that it is so
6. "All we, like sheep, have gone astray;
we have turned every one to bis own way;
and the Lord hath laid on Him the iniquity
of us all." Many readily believe the first
two clauses, but how few receive the last.
7. "He is brought as a lamb to the
slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers
U dumb, so He openeth not his mouth."
Shorn of comfort, honor, good name, life, a
lamb led out to die, see how He was oppressed
and afflicted, and still let your heart
sav, "All for me?" When He suffered He
threatened not, thus leaving us an example.
8. "He was taken from prison and from
judgment, and who shall declare His generation?'
Taken away by distress and judgment
is the marginal reading, which agrees
nearly with the K. V
9. "And He made His grave with the
wicked, and with the rich in His death, because
He had done no violence, neither was
any deceit in His mouth." Not only do we
read of His cruel treatment, sufferings, and
death as if recorded by an eye witness, but
also the events of His burial; and how liter
ally all was fulfilled we know. The kindness
ana devotion of Joseph of Arimathea rescued
His body from the authorities and from the
gTave prepared with those of the malefactors.
and gives it burial in His own new
tomb (John xix., 88-42;.
10. "Yet it pleased the Lord to bruise
Him. He shall prolong His days, and the
pleasure of. the Lord shall prosper in His
hand." Not only His sufferings, death and
burial, but also His resurrection is here recorded;
for how could one's days be prolonged
who was dead and buried except by
resurrection. Bee the same great truth in
Ps. xvi., 8-11; Acts 11., 25 31. Observe in
the first sentence of this verse from whence
came His greatest sufferings. All through
the sinless one, He became our sin offering,
and our sins being laid on Him. God spared
not Hisown Bon. The wrath of God against
sin fell on Him.
11. "He shall see of the travail of His soul,
and shall be satisfied." Not only His resurrection,
but His future glory clearly foretold.
He shall in due time see the full result
of all His sufferings and He shall be satisfied,
This is all clear to Him, and He is not
discouraged by things as they have been or
are now, for He is sure of final triumph
(Num. xiv.,21; Rev. xi., 15). Let us with
eyes and heart fixed on Him go calmly on,
diligently serving Him, and like Him rejoicing
in the consummation (Isa. xiii., 4; I ret.
iv., 18).
12. 'Therefore will I divide Him a portion
with the great, and He shall divide the
spoil with the strong because He hath
poured out His soul unto death." Observe
now often He is spoken of in this lesson as
fnr ininnihr tranncTASSSOIl End Sin.
Compare the blessing of Ps. xxxii., 1, 2, and
see in Acts viii., 26-39, how a certain man
entered into this blessedness by the opening:
up to him of this very chapter in Isaiah. D
we enjoy the forgiveness ot sins through His
finished work (and there is no other way),
then we shall share with Him the glory of
His kingdom (Dan. vii, 27 Rev. v., 9, 10
iii., 21). Bat if not hid in Him who
suffered in our stead, then there must
come to all such the everlasting
torment of Math, xxv., 41; II Thefts, i., 7-9;
Rev. xiv., 9-11; xx., 15; xxi., 8. The sufferings
of the "Seed of the woman, the seed of
Abraham and of David, the Son of Man and
Son of God, are the scarlet lind running
through the whole Bible from beginning to
end, and we cannot place too much emphasis
upon the fact that these sufferings were substitutionary.
He suffered in our stead with
our sins actually laid upon Him. Otherwise
there is no meaning to verses 4, 5, 6 of this
chapter, and to such passages as II Cor. v.(
21: I Pet. ii., 24. Let no one
rob you of this great truth or try to explain
it away.. Hold to the very words of
the Scriptures' in their very simplest significance
and die for them if need be. Remember
those who overcame by the blood of the
lamb, and by the word of their testimony
and loved not their lives unto the death
(Rev. xii, 11.) A truth we are not willing
to suffer for we do not think very much of.
He poured out His soul unto death for us,
willing: to be counted a transgressor and die
under a false accusation. If we are filled
with His great spirit, suffering will not ter*?
"? ^ wn mow rrlnrif*r Rim flfir)
I HJ U3, U WUIJ *?W u?wj gw. ? ,
have a little part in tne fellowship of His
sufferings (Phil. L, 21 29ill., IO.j?Lesson
Helper. ___
A WRONG IfEA.
A great many people claim that beer is
. very nourishing. Some say they coald not
live without it. These assertions are simply
nonsensical, because a glass of bear contains
but very little nourishment. Has any
one ever proved the contrary? We have
never known a person to be strengthened or
benefited by it; but, ah! how many unfortunate
souJs have been lost to God by its
demoralizing influence? How many homes
has it blastea?Ho w many prisons.reformatories,asylums,etc.,has
it tilled? How many persons
has it taken to an early grave? How
many mother's hearts has it broken? These
are some of the questions that thos9 who
claim that bear is nourishing should ask
thAm?nI\rA9
The drunkard's end is a sad on?, one
which should appeal strongly to every man
and woman who have at heart the honor ol
God and the welfare of their country.?
Sacred Heart Review.
No wonder those good Missouri
people threatened to lynch the villains
who abducted a little child, and
would return him to his parents only
when they had paid $5,000 ransom!
A little wholesome hanging is certainly
merited by persons vile enough
to engage in such brigandage. But
what shall be said of the condition of
a community where such an abduction
can be successfully carried out?
It would seem as if the agents of the
law and those who watch over the
public security thereabouts must be
perpetually gone a-flshing.
RELIGIOUS READING.
HOLD MY HAND.
Hold tbou my hand, O Father,
Hold tbou my hand, I pray,
When shadows fall about me
And hide the beaten wav.
When clouds ban* low and heavy, ri
And storms of doubt assail,
I blindly grope and falter,
My strength ot none avail.
I cannot tread unpuided
The upward leading road; >. j
I cannot bear unaided
The burden of tbe load. (.VI
seek to journey onward,
I tbinlc to bravely stand, /
But unawares I stumble? 1 y-1
0 Father, hold my hand I ; \ ?
/; <:&AM
Hold tbou my band securely
When 80BTOW8 dim my sight v.":
And hide from me the beauty
And sweetness of the light.
Mv heart will make no murmur
Wbate'er may come, I know, \";' n
If thou will lead me, Father, &
Wherever I may go. . 'J,
? [Northwestern Christian Advocate*
' T CANNOT FEEL SAVED."
"Whosoever believeth that Jesus is the $
Christ is born of God."?I John v. 1,
Martin Luther, in one of bis conflicts with :.i
the devil, was asked by the arch-enemy if ha >
felt his sins-forgiven. "No," said the great
reformer, "1 don't.feel that they ere fop- V"given,
but I know they are, because God
savs so in His Word." Paul did not say,
"Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou
shalt feel saved;" but, "Believe on the
Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved.'* \ jffl
No one can feel that bis sins are forgiven. jygSji
Ask tbat man whose death was paid by his
brother, "Do you feel tint your debt is
paid?" "No," Is the reply, *'I don't feel
tbat it is paid; I know from this
receipt tbat it is paid, and I feel happy because
I know it is paid." So with you, dear sj
reader. You must first believe In God's -./r.
love to you as revealed at the Cross of Calvary,
and then you will feci happy, because l
you shall know that you are saved.
A dear old Christian, on hearing persona
speaking of their feelings, used to say.
"Feelings! feelings I Don't bothor yourself
about your feelings. I just stick to the old 1
truth that Christ died for me, and He is my -S
suretv rlcht on to eternitv. and I'll stick to : :
that fike a limpet to the rock."
" B? my feelings what they will,
Jesus la my Saviour still."
3EIZING OPPORTUNITIES. ' 'i'M,
A gentleman driving along overtook * . . ^
stranger, and invited him to ride. As be
approached him, he said to himself, "I -U
wonder what tbe man is thinking about, and
what subject of conversation he will introduce.
Surely it will be one of three things?
the weather, the crops, or the coming eW 'ikj
tion." It was neither. His mind waa on a
greater theme. His first words after the
usual salutations were, "How's salvation
down in your country?' The question
startled the gentleman a little bv its directnesa,
but it showed where the others bent
and hopes were, and led to a long and profitable
conversation of heavenlv things. How <
much might be accomplished by each of us If \&;vjg|
our hearts were warm and glowing with love ' j *
to Christ, and our niinds on the alert to improve
everv opportunity that God sets before
us. We are forever discussing the question
how to reach the unconverted. We
spend large sums of money for preaching
and singing. We employ evangelists ana
hold special meetings, and yet greater than
all these combined is the power of Christian
conversation. A dozen consistent man
and women who would go out into tbe community
and talk for Jesus Chrirt could do
more for it than the best evangelist in tbe . ;
land. There is no community that cannot
be aroused to an interest in any worthy rub- ,
ject by the persistent efforts of a few man.
Will yon be one?? [Goldeu Rule.
THE RESURRECTION LIFE.
It is a mighty theme?tbe central truth of
the world's history, the foundation of our
faith, the crown of our religion. If Christ ssj
be not risen our faith is vain; we are yet in
uui giuoi %
But there is do room for doubt on this -1
momentous question, because the testimony
of history to the physical fact that Christ
did rise from the deau is overwhelming and
incontrovertible.
He who will receive it can, however, hava '
more satisfactory evidence than any that i
could be given liim by others to tbe truth -A
and power of Christ's resurrection. For he 'M
may have the witness of tbe Spirit of God,
bearing witness with his Spirit, not only
that Christ is risen, bat that he himself alto >
is ri>en with Christ?dead unto sin; alive . \.' i
unto God?crucified with Christ in the flesh, 7$
but living with Christ in tbe Spirit
Mary looked into the empty tomb to find if
her Lord; and He was standing beside her
grieving over her unbelief. How many or ' ' ?
us have not got any farther advanced in our
spiritual life than Mary was on that resur* <T
rection morning! She believed in Jesus; she '
loved Him?bnt she thought -He was dead
and gone. She could not realize that He
was alive and waiting near her to speak
words of cheer to ber discouraged heart.
We. too, stand over tbe tomb of Jesus and
bless God for His atoning sacrifice on the
cross. Well may we do so; but let usLnever
forget that It was when he ascended up on
high that "He led captivity captive ana gave
gifts unto men." Christ in His humiliation
passed through infinite-sorrow for us and
paid the penalty of our sin, but it was Hia
exaltation which gave Him power to make
His own sacrifice effective by the bestow*
ment of tl>e Holy Spirit.^ "If I go not
awiy." He had said, "the Comforter win not >:i
come unto you. but If I depart I will send
Hira unto you." Truly, then, might He
say, "It is expedient for you that I go
away," although that utterance must have
been incomprehensible to His sorrowstricken
diacipiea at the time, and sounds
strange even in o.ir ears. Indeed, if He bad
not said it Himself it would seem liko blasphemy.
]f Cbri6t should come today?tomorrow
how gladly would we forsuke' every worldlypursuit
and run to Him We think so, at
least. But suppose He should come again
in the guise of a poor peasant and lead us to>
ward the mocking and the scourginsr and the
crucifixion, would we really be glad to go?
Would we not, like Peter, first lag behindfollowing
afao off?and then deny Him altogether?
Christ is not coming again in poverty and
suffering in His own person, but he is here
in the persons of his poor brethren and si*
ters of whom He has said, "Inasmuch as ye
have done it unto one of the least of these,
ye have done it unto Me." And we have
nnnnpfnnitv everv dav of visiting Him,
and nursing Him, ntid feeding Him, and
clothing Him, and cheering Him. Nor is it
a mere figure of aprech to say that Chriat is
among ua, waiting to receive the kindly
offices which He calls upon us to perform;
for in some mysterious way which is beyond
the comprehension of our finite minds Christ
is personally present by the power of His
Spirit in the hearts of those who love Him
aud He does personally receive the service
rendered to Him in the person of one of His
disciples; it does give Him personal pleaaure.
And he, too, who renders su- h service, or
in any way gives proof of love to Christ?he
also is a living temple of the Holy Ghost; he
ilso is not only a representative of Christ,
but is himself a living embodiment of Christ
to the extent to which he has yielded his
will to the guidance and control of the Holy
Spirit.
Yes, Christ te risen, and the regenerated
lives of thousands of believers, scattered all
over the world, testify to the power of Hia
resurrection life. Alas, how many there are
who believe in the death of Christ, but have
not yet felt the power of the life of Christ
energizing their mortal bodies and vivifyiug
their spiritual natures!
, The next time you near a man
criticising a man, notice what he
says. He does not find fault with his
neighbor because he is not as good a
man as himself, but because he is not
up to an impossible standard. If a
man should appear who was as good
as we expect our neighbor to be, none
of us would be fit to live with him,
he would be so nice. We all criticise
each other in this absurd way; a community
of work mules criticising each
other for not being race horses, would
not be more ridiculous.
9