The Morris County chronicle. [volume], August 11, 1908, Page 2, Image 2

About The Morris County chronicle. [volume] (Morristown, N.J.) 1877-1915

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If a man really has any virtues,
moralizes the New York Press, he
apologizes for them.
They have banished the automobile
from Bermuda. But they still have
the onion, boasts the Chicago Even*
tng Post.
The silk hosiery mills of Connecti
cut, announces the Atlanta Journal,
have increased tlielr working force
and are picking: up the dropped
stitches of prosperity.
Perhaps the time will come, prays
the Houston Post, even in Texas,
when the title "Judge” will not be
bestowed as soon as it has been ascer
tained that the youtn has purchased
his railroad ticket to the law school.
Baltimore has been making syste
matic war on the mosquitoes for the
last two years, with the result, notes
the Boston Transcript, that the city
was never before in a healthier con
dition during the hot months, there
being a noticeable reduction of mala
rial fever.
“Profanity,” moralizes the Wash
ington Herald, “is the acme of idio
cy.” And when we take into consid
eration that three "damns” in a mod
ern comedy satisfy the demand of the
average audience for witty dialogue,
observes the Louisville Courier-Jour
nal, we begin to realize the preva
lence of idiocy.
Says the Baltimore Sun: The ex
penses of living have greatly in
creased of late years and the pay of
the officers has been grossly inade
quate. The hardship has been in
creased by the policy in the last ten
years of having the soldiers travel
about from place to place—from the
United States to the Philippines, to
Alaska, to Cuba and from station to
station in the States. The army
regulations also increase the hard
ships of the officers by compelling
them to buy many expensive and use
less uniforms. The increase in pay
was a righteous measure and Con
gress is to be commended for this
act of justice and good policy.
"If it is true that national adages
give an insight into the ideas of a
people,” says the Berlin Radical,
"women must occupy a strange posi
tion in Russia. One of these old
saws runs: ‘Love your wife as much
as your mule,’ and another teils the
good man, 'Shake your wife as you
would a fruit tree.’ That woman is
not considered frail is shown by the
adage, ‘You may safely beat your
wife with a broom handle, for she
is not made of porcelain.’ Beating
must be considered a wholesome pas
time, to judge from the saying, ‘If
your wife deserves a beating in the
morning remind her of her faults bv
giving her another at noon.’ In jus
tification of this kind of attention
the Russian says, ‘The more a man
beats his wife the-better his meals
will be.’ ’’
At a meeting in Indianapolis of
representatives of water plants. Mar
shal O. Leighton, of the United States
Geological Survey, discussed the de
creasing underground water supply.
He asserted that the ground water
level beneath large areas has fallen
fifteen to twenty-five feet in the last
five years. Another evidence of the
exhaustion of the underground sup
ply, he said, was the fact that wells
have ceased to flow. In Chicago the
first artesian well was drilled in
1864 and the water rose eighty feet
above the surface, or 111 feet above
Lake Michigan. The flow has long
since ceased and now the water
stands fifteen or twenty-five feet be
low the Burface. Mr. Leighton as
signed the following causes for the
decline of the underground supply:
Waste, surface draining by ditching
for cultivation, overdevelopment of
underground waters and deforesta-'
tlon. __
If there is any artlclce of food as
native to this soil as baked beans,
it is pumpkin pie, and to the loyal
New Englander the man who makes
big pumpkins grow where small ones
grew before is something of a public
benefactor. Such a one seems to be
the farmer who has charge of the
gardens of a public institution in
Brattleboro, Vermont, boasts Youth's
Companion. He began raising mon
ster pumpkins twenty-one years ago.
This year he achieved his master
piece, a pumpkin of three-hundred
pie power, which means that it
weighs three hundred and twenty
two and a half pounds. It was not
a milk-fed pumpkin, either; in fact,
the grower says that the only time
he ever tried to use milk it soured
and rotted the pumpkin. His method
is to dress his field deeply as soon
as the snow is off, plow deeply when
the frost leaves the ground, use se
lected seed from his largest pump
kins, planting in deep hills a long
way apart, and pinch off all but one
pumpkin on a vine, then keeping the
neighborhood of that nursling free
from Weeds, and covering the pump
kin when the cool nights of autumn
come. The pumpkin-field coVers
only a quarter of an acre; the farmer
says he could not take proper care
of a larger one, and the results show
that caretaking pays. , )
ww vrywyrxiryiMf W»w wy/w^1' w >v '"W Mf ^■¥ w WWW m r ~i~ wi
A FALLEN IDOL.
BT FREDERIC ANSTEY.
CHAPTER XI. 11
Continued.
"Don’t you hope she’ll ask for her
figure?” whispered Mrs. Venham
Honiton; but Mrs. Pontifex was so
fortunate as to be able to remember
nothing, and the Chela appealed to
the company generally, who, from a
mean dread of being compromised as
witnesses, avoided his eye with sin
gular unanimity.
At last an elaborately disheveled
lady, with a sad smile and a low
trainante voice, said: "When I was
quite a child I had a possession I
dearly, dearly loved—a poor old doll
with no legs and arms and no fea
tures—just an ordinary nlnepin it
was, but it was almost the only thing
I cared for in the world! Do you
know, I have so often wished I could
see its poor old round head and long
neck once more!”
There was a touch of pathos about
this that touched all with any tend
ency to sentiment. The Chela .him
self was charmed by the simplicity
and poetry of the request, which he
readily undertook to gratify.
For some minutes he stood with
folded arms, absorbed and^_ silent,
with his eyes bent on one of the open
windows. At length he came out of
his reverie with a start: "If you
look inside the chair upon which you
are sitting, there will your long lost
ninepin be,” he said.
The lady started up with a cry of
rapture. “How can I thank you!”
and then she gave a pretty little
moan of dismay. “But—inside the
chair! Oh, Mrs. Staniland, may I—
may I have it cut open? I’m a fool
ish wretch, I know; but I should like
to see my poor old plaything once
more! ”
“Oh, my dear,” said Mrs. Stani
land, “how can you wait to ask? Cut
it open by all means.”
It was a large armchair, very lux
uriously padded, and when the cre
tonne covering was removed it re
vealed a richly brocaded stuff, imi
tated from an old pattern; this was
slit up with as little damage as pos
sible, and a white lining appeared
underneath, which was also cut open;
the condition of each covering prov
ing conclusively that it could not
have been tampered with, for the
stitches were strong and the mater
ial still unfrayed.
The excitement reached a climax;
the floor was gradually strewn with
horsehair, and fleck from the disem
boweled chair, which began to pre
sent a limp and emaciated appear
ance; but nowhere in its recesses was
the interesting ninepin.
“I am very sorry,” the Chela con
fessed, with his first approach to con
cision, “buj hier among so many in
herent or opposing individuals, I
cannot goncentrate my will power
upon a gommon ninepin. If I gontin
ue till morning light I shall do nod
Ing; nevare, nevare. And the broder
out on the balgony is gone away! ”
This statement was received in
chilling silence, broken by a few dry
coughs; Mrs. Houiton, who had just
refurnished her drawing-room, de
cided that it was not expedient to
have the Chela at her own house, and
Mrs. Staniland already regretted that
Stie had allowed hers to be the scene
of such a fiasco. * ■'
“Perhaps,” suggested Babcock,
'your Mahatma might do something
tor you if you ask him?”
The Chela seemed struck by an
idea. “Now, listen,” he said half
aloud. “My Mahatma is far away in
Thibet; don’t you think that if I write
to him and get a ledder back hier in
this room, these people will beleaf?”
“Not a doubt of it,” said Babcock.
“Capital notion! How will it come?”
“It will fludder from the ceiling
down,” said the Chela.
“I wrant you all to have still pa
tience,” he said, addressing the as
sembly. “I am going to write to my
Mahatma in Thibet, and you shall
see the answer when it arrives, and
hear also what he has to say.”
Babcock conducted him to a small
writing cabinet, where the Chela has
tily scribbled a few lines. “I shall
next place it on a magnetic gurrent,
and it will instantly to Thibet trans
ported be,” he explained, as he
stepped out upon the balcony and
stood there, holding out his mystic
billet in the warm starlit stillness.
In spite of themselves, the majori
ty were impressed by the sight of the
tall, strangely attired figure standing
silent there, and there was a murmur
of approbation when he re-entered,
saying quietly, “It is gone, and now,
until the ledder arrive, berhaps some
iaty will a liddle song sign.”
Some one sang “Good-by,” and
after the applause had subsided, the
Chela said excitedly: “The ledder will
be soon hier, in anoder minute.”
“Sharp work to and from Thibet
In ten minutes,” said Babcock.
“There is no time and no space for
the true adept,” answered Nebelsen;
but the anxiously awaited letter un
accountably declined to deliver it
self. “If somebody would again upon
the biano blay,” the Chela suggested
at last, feeling himself very much in
the situation of the priests whom
Baal so ungratefully left in the sa
cerdotal lurch.
But at last, when the general at
tention was despairingly directed to
the performer who was just sitting
down at the piano, a sudden excla
mation from Babcock startled the
room, and all eyes perceived a pink,
cocked hat note slowly sailing down
from the ceiling and drifting toward
the Chela's feet.
In the reaction which followed, all
gathered eagerly around him, while,
with flushed face and triumphant
smile, he picked up the mysterious
missive. “I tolt you,” he said, proud
ly, “the Mahatma has vindicated the
cause by sending to you this greet
ing," and he reverently unfolded the
cocked hat and began to read the con
tents to himself.
Many who had remained skeptical
and unmoved through all the preced
ing marvels began to waver now, and
on all sides there was a consuming
anxiety to hear what the Mahatma
had to say. It was not gratified.
Nebelsen, after studying the note
with a confused and angry face,
crushed it in his hand and thrust it
into his sash.
“But mayn’t we look?” cried Mrs.
Honiton. “I should so love to see
what an occult note looks like! ”
“I am not able to communicate the
gontents,” said the Chela.
“Too tremendous for our weak
minds to grasp?” inquired Babcock.
“Quite right,’’ was the answer; "to
read it aloud would not be of advtn
tage, and after this I do not think I
shall succeed in obtaining any more
results this evening.”
The announcement brought back
the former frost in increased sever
ity; eyebrows were significantly lift
ed, and smiles of private incredulity
freely indulged in. Nobody had a
good word to say for a faith which
was not even able to entertain them
for a single evening.
Mrs. Staniland began to send peo
ple downstairs, where a light supper
had been provided. “You never touch
supper, I know, Herr Nebelsen,” she
said, as she passed him.
“To-night, yes,” he replied.
“Oh, then, perhaps you will take
some one down by and by,” she said,
with a marked contrast to the dis
tinction she had shown him earlier in
the evening, and left him standing,
humbled, but patient, in the empty
ing room, where he aroused Sybil’s
compassion.
“I mustn’t—till I’ve seen every
body else go,” she said to Babcock,
who was hoping to secure her as his
companion. “Nobody has asked that
pretty Miss Chatterton; come with me
and be introduced." When she had
got rid of him thus, and only a few
scattered couples were left, she went
up to Nebelsen. "Will you be very
good and take me down for some sup
per?” she said. “Not now, it’s crowd
ed, and it will be pleasanter out on
the balcony.”
She stepped outside, and he fol
lowed with reverential submission.
When they were both seated, Sybil
made some ordinary remark; but he
was so long silent that she began to
feel uncomfortable.
At last he spoke. "I haf seddled
in my mind to renounce my Mahat
ma,” he said, glancing at her to see
how she took this tremendous piece
of information.
“Have you?” said Syybil, feeling,
in spite of her sympathy, a very
strong inclination to laugh. “Why?”
“Because,” said Nebelsen, vehe
mently, ’he is so imbolite, he does
not know how to behafe. In Thibet
they are—well, not schendlemen, and
a long time I haf borne it batiently.
But to-night it is too much. I drusted
all to him—and he leaf me quide
alone! Other Chelas of less standing
are assisted to make manifestations,
but for me there is noding done. So
from to-night I will no longer a Chela
be—I chuck up.”
“I’m so glad,” said Sybil. “I think
it's so sensible of you.”
“You do? And you are glad that
I renounce? Ah, you do not know
how happy you make me when you
say that!”
“And don’t you believe in theoso
phy any more?” .
“I beleaf the same as ever—yes>
That to-night I obtained only a few
phenomena makes noding—it is not
ungommon that the will-bower and
magnetic currents will not work;
there will be agsidents and break
downs—shust as on a railway line.
And, you saw, there did arrive the
ledder from my Mahatma.”
“But you wouldn’t show It to us,
you know.”
“That is where my Mahatma was
so inconsiderate. He writes me a
ledder, but he take care that I should
be unable to show it, or read it. I
will tell you, so that you will see
how insulting he can make himself.
When I open the note I see in Greek
characters, and forgif me that I re
peat such worts to you at all,but I see
written there: ‘Do not a damfool
be!’ "
Sybil was obliged to caress her lips
somewhat assiduously with the feath
ery head of her fan before 3he could
express her indignation with becom
ing gravity.
“After that, you know, there must
be and end com. And so to-night I
shall wride him a formal resignation.
He has never taken any pains when I
gonsult him. Sometimes he never an
swers one wort; sometimes the an
swer when it comes is—well, it is not
moch. I will tell you one instance.
There is a young frient of mine, a
bainter—but you know him, he made
that bad picture of you in the gal
lerie—he is named Campion.’*
“Well?’’ said Sybil, suddenly seri
ous.
“Well Tor seferal weeks he is very
unlucky—altogether, as you say, oft
his golors. He lose his name, his
frlents, and his money and his work;
he is ill, he worries, and he cannot
tell why; and all the time he never
guessed till I tolt him that it was all
caused by one leedle ogly idol.’’
“And when you told him,” said
Sybil, "did he believe It?”
"At first—no; but in the end—yes,
as moch almost as I. And this will
show you what my Mahatma is like—
I write to ask him what is the best
thing for Mr. Campion to do, and he
reblies that the only way is to send
the idol back to the giver! and that
is shust the one thing which Mr. Cam
pion will not do.”
"Why?” asked Sybil, shocked that
Ronald could put any faith in such
an extravagant" explanation, and hop
ing to find he was less credulous than
Nebelsen seemed to believe.
"Because he says it would be cow
ardly and selfish, and I gonfess he Is
quite right, and the Mahatma has
made a grand moral mistake to gif
advice at all. No matter, now, once j
more, I shall be able myself to help
Mr. Ca'mpion!”
"Herr Nebelsen,” said Sybil earn
estly, “I don’t think you ought to en
courage him in these morbid fancies
—I beg your pardon, but how can I
speak of them as anything else? You
can’t seriously believe yourself that
an Idol can have any sort of power!”
‘‘Exactly the same as Mr. Campion
say at first. But let me tell you how
he was convinced,” and he gave her
an account of the experiment with the
red paint, and its sequel.
"And he is afraid now?"
"When I see him last he was derri
ly afrait, and I cannot help thinking
that unless something is soon done
that idol will do a moch worse act.
Till now he plays the Poltergeist, but
that cannot always continue.”
Sybil gave a little shiver. "I wish
you hadn’t told me all this," she
said. “And now let us go in.”
CHAPTER XII.
For Old Sake’s Sake.
As Sybil thought over Nebelsen's
revelations ^he found it difficult
wholly to resist the impression they
made upon her. They had aroused
the superstltiton, which, in spite of
education, is more or less latent In so
many of us.
She had only to insist upon taking
the idol back, and when he saw that
nothing alarming happened to her,
he would be cured of his morbid
fancies. Perhaps Nebelsen’s Mahat
ma, whoever he might be, was right
in this at least.
Impulsive Sybil no sooner con
ceived this resolve than she was im
patient to carry it out. She must
save Ronald, and if—well, if there
was anything dreadful about the idol,
as to which she could not reason
away all her terrors—it was only just
that she should bear the brunt of its
inexplicable malice.
The following day was Sunday, and
as the afternoon drew on, Miss Sybil,
who was accustomed to restrict her
devotions to the morning service, as
tonished hef aunt by announcing that
she was going to church again that
evening.
Mrs. Staniland, as Sybil had antici
pated, did not propose to accompany
her, but sent one of the housemaids,
who attended in the worst of tem
pers, having made other plans for
spending the evening.
Romanoff Road looked more Arca
dian than ever in the warm Sabbath
stillness, and under a sky which wts
just beginning to melt from throb
bing blue to a luminous green. There
was no one to be seen except a pair
of lovers parting at a corner, and the
lamp lighter beginning his rounds at
the end of a turning.
And now Sybil was at the studio
door, and it seemed to her that some
one was within. Ronald often sat
and smoked there, she know, in the
evenings.
She had Louisa as chaperon, or
rather duenna, but she began to wish
she had not come, and to hesitate.
Suppose Ronald’s man or a mode]
were to come to the door, what
should she say?
Her hand was already on the bell,
when from within a peal of laughter
rang out on the silence, and she
shrunk back, terrified.
For it was laughter that conveyed
an insult, full of coarse triumph and
cynical mockery, and yet—it was like
Ronald's laughter, as it might be
come after some sad deterioration.
She turned to the maid with a
white face and startled eyes. ‘‘I—I
don’t think I will go in just now after
all, Louisa. Mr. Campion seems en
gaged.”
“Just as you think best, miss, I’m
sure,” said Louisa, primly; and they
went back to Sussex place.
On his return to his lodgings,
which were in a quiet street in Pad
dington, Nebelsen set about the busi
ness of repudiating his Mahatma. It
took him some hours to compose a
document which should strike a poig
nant remorse in his guru’s unsympa
thetic bosom, but he finished it at
last. “I will not send it by Babu
Chowkydaree Loll,” be reflected,
“because he will want to talk and to
argue, and induce me to retract. I
will dispatch it to the Mahatma my
self by occult means. He will get it
quite as soon.”
And then his pupilage was over;
the vision of transcendent knowledge
and power faded; he could no longer
flatter himself with the secret con
sciousness of superiority to the rest
of mankind; he had deliberately re
duced himself to their level.
To be Continued. •
One Little Screw.
Advertising is a subtle science, so
subtle, in fact, that by most of the
people it is regarded as more or less
of a game of chance. This is a mis
take. There is nothing in the world
more certain than advertising if it is
properly done. You can make a fail
ure in anything—any line of business
—if you do not go about it with a
full understanding of its details and
careful attention to them. Leave one
single, little, insignificant screw out
of a locomotive, and sooner or later
there is going to be a smash-up.
Whenever advertising doesn’t pay
there is a loose screw or a lost one
some place.- Two many advertisers
do not look beneath the surface.—*
Current Advertising.
Irving and His Cats.
A new story is told illustrating Sir
Henry Irving’s kindness of heart. An
old lady came to him asking employ
ment.
He telephoned to his business man
ager inquiring if there was any em
ployment at the theatre that could be
found for her. “Absolutely nothing
—nothing at all.”
Irving suggested that she might
look after the cats. The manager
telephoned back that there were al
ready three women looking after the
cats.
“Well,” said Irving, “you must
tlnd her something. Let her look af
ter the three women that are looking
after the cats.”—Human Life.
Stand-pipes of concrete, over 100
feet high and fifty feet in diameter,
have become actualities.
About 3000 pieces of crockery are
broken on each trip of a first-class
ocean liner.
New York City.—Never has there
a prettier style beeA In vogue than
that of the over blouse an^ it suits
the young girls so peculiarly well
that it is a special favorite among
the younger contingent. Here is one
that is charmingly graceful and at
tractive and which can be utilized
either separately or joined to the
skirt, making a semi-nrlncesse dress
as liked. In the Illustration the ma
terial is pongee with bands of taf
feta, while the centre front is made
of all-over embroidery, but almost
all materials that are used for girls’
dresses are appropriate and it will
be found equally satisfactory for the
thin materials of the present and
for the slightly heavier ones of the
Dead Leaves Brown.
“Dead leaves’’ is a term which rep
resents one of the new browns.
Hair Worn Plain.
On occasions when hats are dis
carded the hair is worn plain, or
adorned with beads or paillettes, the
ribbons being quite abandoned. .
Elastic Beltings.
We have had leather belts and silk |
belting, elastic belts, suede belts, gold
belts and silver belts, but now we j
have combinations of all these. !
Elastic of the finest sort embroidered
in gold and silver, and belting with ]
an elastic thread embroidered ia_all
colors of the rainbow, and gold
braided belts, decorated with flowers !
in silver and silk.
Motor Costume.
When milady goes automobiling
she must be provided with a dust- ;
prot>f cloak which has a double flap, 1
so that her dress will be entirely pro- j
tected. On her head she will wear a |
small straw toque and, to keep this .
on, a brown chiffon veil slit up both j
sides, so that it will tie in both front
and back; this will finish her motor
costume.
Child’s Reefer.
There is no coat worn by the small
girl that quite takes the place of the
reefer. It is very generally becom- j
ing. It is simple yet absolutely smart
in effect and it can be slipped on and
off with the greatest possible ease, j
This one is made of white serge with ;
collar and cuffs of Copenhagen blue, :
but the model can be utilized for
every material that is in vogue for
__ _ i
near future. The centre-front por
tion Is a feature and can be made of
anything in contrast. Bandings can
be utilized, and some of the Oriental
effocts are exceedingly handsome,
while again, the bands on the blouse
Itself can be cut from any contrasting
material or could be of the same em
broidered or braided with soutache,
or banding could be applied over
them.
The blouse is made with the fronts,
centre front and backs. The sleeves
are cut in one with it and there are
trimming straps which conceal the
shoulder seams while the shaped
strap finishes the neck, front and
back edges. The closing is made in
visibly at the back.
The quantity of material required
for the sixteen year size is two and
seven-eighth yards twenty-one or
twenty-four, two yards thirty-two or
! one and one-half yards forty-four
j inches wide with one-half yard eight
] ee'n inches wide for the centre front,
j three-quarter yard thirty-two inches
! wide for the centre front, three-quar
| ter yard thirty-two inches wide for
the trimming to make as illustrated.
Modish Belts.
The belt should match the gown
I as accurately as possible. Braiding
I may be introduced, but the color
j scheme should be the same. It is a
I mistake to introduce a foreign note
i in the belt for the reason that it de
tracts somehow from the style of the
gown. The French dressmakers have
for two seasons been refusing to make
up contrasting belts, holding that the
effect was poor; “a belt of the same
color assists, a belt of a contrasting
color detracts.”
Embroidered Net.
An exceedingly pretty touch is giv
en the hand-embroidered waist by
basting a fine net under certain fig
ures before embroidering them, cut
ting out the material afterward so
that the figures appear to be of em
broidered net.
little gills’ coats. White is always
pretty and attractive, but dark red,
dark and medium blues and mixtures !
are all In vogue, while for the real ;
warm weather linen, pique and
pongee all are liked.
The little coat is made simply with !
the loose fronts and back and with !
the big sailor collar. The shield
when worn is buttoned into place be
neath the cellar and closed at the
back. The full sleeves are finished |
with roll-over cuffs, but the plain j
ones are simply stitched to simulate i
straight ones.
The quantity of material required !
for the medium size (six years) is j
• V
three and one-eighth yards twenty
seven, one and three-quarter yards
forty-four or one and one-half yards
flf.ty-two Inches wide with one-half
yard forty-four inches wide for col
lar and cuffs. • * !
I
INTERNATIONAL
MENTS FOR
Subject: Saul Tries to Kill David, I
Samuel 18:6-16—Golden Text, j
Ps. 84:11—Read Chapters 18, j
18—Commentary.
TIME.—1063 B. C. PEACE.— 1
Gib ?ah.
EXPOSITION.—I. Saul's Envy of |
David, 6-11. David's great achieve
ment raised him at once to a high po
sition in the estimation of Saul, and
in the army. But it did not turn
David’s head. He acted with remark
able modesty. He was perfectly obe
dient to all Saul’s orders, though he
knew that he had been himself di
vinely appointed to the chief leader
ship in Israel (cf. vs. 18, 23). He con
ducted himself with great wisdom.
He patiently awaited Gad’s time.
Saul himself was at first disposed to
put David forward (v. 5). He was
commander in chief over the rude and
undisciplined army which Saul had
gathered together (cf. ch. 14:52). In
our day In times of war, men rise rap
idly from obscurity to a place of great
prominence by some act of great cour
age and prowess. Much more would
this be true in a time of such primitive
warfare. His deed was so splendid in
the eyes of all that none dreamed of
disputing his superiority. It was the
custom of the women of Israel to
greet their conquering armies with
dances and songs of victory and
praise as they returned from the bat
tle (Ex. 15:20; Ju.11:34; Ps. 68:25).
Nothing is dearer to the average sol
dier’s heart than the admiration and
praise of the fair women of the lard.
David was naturally the idol of the
hour. He was the nation's saviour.
Moreover, he had performed a deed
of unparalleled bravery. It is no
wonder that the women went wild
with enthusiasm. Their comparison
was just enough, but*not wise. Saul
was king and it was natural he should
be stung to the quick by having one
who had just corae to the front thus
highly exalted above himself. Fur
thermore, It was only a short time
since Saul himself had been the Idol
of the people (ch. 11:11, 12). It is.
hard to give up a place like that to
another without a pang of jealousy.
The song of praise to David was taken
up far and wide and became known
even among other peoples (cf. ch.
21:11; 29:5). It was the popular air
of the day. Probably Saul heard
it wherever he went. David was not
to blame. Doubtless he would rather
that the women had not thus sung.
But greatness, no matter how jiumblo
it is, is very maddening to mediocrity.
The small man can not forgive the
great man for being great. Saul
whimpered like a spoiled child. In
the story of Saul we see the tragedy
of a soul. The same story in all its
essential features has been Repeated
again and again. From that day on
there was no more peace nor joy for
Saul. David was the ghost of his ex
istence. "The evil spirit” was a
demon (cf. Acts 16:16-18; Mark
1:23-26). It was said this evil spirit
was “from God.” He was a messen
ger of Satan, but permitted by God
for Saul’s discipline (cf. 2 Cor. 12:7).
As far as God’s permission was con
cerned he was intended to ’torment
Saul and thus to bring him to re
pentance. In this aspect of mercy he
was “an evil spirit from God.” Even
the evil spirits and the devil himself
do God’s work (cf.Matt. 4:1), though
unwittingly to themselves. The fur
ther truth is hinted at here that if
men will not have the truth and the
good Spirit, then God gives them over
to error and evil spirits (2 Thess.
2:10-12). This is a solemn thought,,
but it is taught by both Scripture and
experience. Under the influence of
this evil spirit Saul “prophesied,” 1.
e., he went into an ecstatic state when
he was under the control of the
evil spirit (cf. Acts 16:16-18; 1 K.
18:29; 22:12; 20:23). We see tho
same thing in some forms of modern
clairvoyance and "inspirationalspeak
ing.” There is but a sten from envy;
to murder (cf. Matt. 27:18). Saul,
took that step. In murderous hate he
hurled his javelin at him. Nowadays
the envious man casts his javelin not
at the body but at the reputation of
the man he envies. Saul misled his
mark, but he was no less a murderer
at heart. God was taking care of
David, and no Saul can hurt the one
that God protects (Ps. 37:32, 33; Isa.
54:17; Lu. 4:30; 10:39).
II. Saul’s Fear of David, 12-16.
Saul's tormenting bate now becomes
coupled with tormenting fear. David s
conduct commended him to God and
"the LORD was with David” (cf. ch.
16:18). He had been with Saul in
the past (ch. 10:7), but He was now
“departed from” him. There is no
more miserable man than the one
who once knew the presence and
power of God and has now lost it.
The man who hasn't the presence of
God fears the man who has. But
David was still recognized as leader
(Nu. 27:16, 17; 2 Sam. 5:2). David
continued to conduct himself with
great discretion, going on from suc
cess to success. Saul read his own.
doom in each new triumph of David.
While Saul envied and hated and
feared, the hearts of the people be
came more and more completely
David’s (cf. Lu. 19*48; 20:19).
Our Duty.
Our business in the kingdom is to
see that the ground in God’s vineyard
is most carefully tilled and that we
do all in our power to win men to <
God.—The Rev. Bowley Green, Olney- i
vllle, R. I.
-__--—:
Move to Revive Silk Hat. —
A determined effort will be made
in London to revive the tyranny of
the top hat. For some years the hat
has been declining in public favor,
and derbys and straws have invaded
the West End of the city annually in
increasing numbers. A committee
has been formed by silk hat manu
facturers whose business is threat
ened, and a procession in which all
members will wear the best and most
perfect style in top hats will march
through the Anglo-French exhibition
with the object of showing how be
coming is this style of headgear.
To Repair Rubber Shoes.
A piece of caoutchouc (India rub
ber), not too thick, is beveled off at
the edges with the aid of a wet knife.
The damaged place and the patch are
then moistened with oil of turpen
tine; the parts moistened are brought
into contact and subjected, for twen
ty-four hours, to a moderately heavy
pressure,—Scientific American.
Census of Lakes.
A count just made shows.there are 1
40,000 lakes in Newfoundland. ;