HomeMy WebLinkAboutExeter Advocate, 1900-1-4, Page 3TALE IIIAT IS 10141)
Some Practical Thoughts °CIAha
CIOSing Year.
A GOOD STORY OR A BAD STOBY
Itev, D. 'Talmage Malcom Some Su./ -08 -
Ilona ati to lht Livitar,-iLxperiMicos
of rho Ihopt ('aldo* for the Future
T•avs etOttr lAves.
Washington, Dec.,'41.-e--In this holt-
' ,
day dIscouree Dr. 'Falinaen take g 'the
L opportunity of 'ofiering tsomee „very
(practical arid useful 'auggeetieris;
tiext, Psalms xc, 9, "We epend Our
'•`,/eariit as et l'etle that is told',"
talle• Ieeaelites were 40 years in the
`rilderness, and,. during SS years of
the '401nothing is ecorded of then,
and, suppose;' no 'other 'emigrants
had a duller or more uninteresting
htinie than they Stacl. So they got to
telling .stories--stoyies eoncoruing
themselves or concernitig others; st or-•
los about," the brick kilns of EgYpt,
where they had ' toiled • • in eleverye
stories about 'hoev water?' of the
.feed sea piled -tip into palisades at.
their crossing; story Of , the lanterfe
hung hi the liea,t,ens 'V.) (stelae these
by night; story of ibie,es idea-tn.:tying
the reptiles of the wilCieriiesse ster-'
i es .,of personal . erreotnter.,'. , It rrnis t
have been an awful 'thing to haveasafi
nothing to do for 38 )'CarS except to,
get lost every time they- tried to es-
cape from the wildernese. '$o they
whiled away the .time in Story:',telie
.ing. Indeed there Were persons
whose ohe btisiness was, 'to narrate"
),Lories, and they Were „paid 'by sect).
trifles as they could pick eip Saone
the 'surrounding lis tellers To shah
instances our 'text refers wheh. it
.says, "We spend Our years as ,a
tale that Is told."
At this' trecriencloils passage from
the yeer 1399. to the year 1900 it
will do as all geed, :to coasider that
our .whoee life is a, story told— a
good story or a'Pad story; a tragic
story or a mirthful story; a wise
story or a foolish storyf,. , a, :clean
story or a fi1th story a story of stic-,'
eess or a story of failure.. • f"We Spend
our years as a tale that is told."'-'
In the first place I reinark that` ay-
, ery Person's life is 'a very interest -o
ing story. My text' does not 'depreL
elate "a tale that is told." We have
all 'of us been 'entertained by the
story teller' when snow bound M the
rail train; or In the group a winter's
night in the faeinhoosen,or gathered
around a lelazirighearth .with some
hunters at the mountain inn: Ine
deed it is ae praiseworthy, art, to im-
t personate a good story well,. If you
dotitte the practical and .healthful
and 'inspiring uee Of Such a. story,
take doeSn from the library Washing-
ton Irving's '`Tales of Traveler,''
• • ,
or Nathaniel Hawthorne's ''Twice
Told Tales." .Bat as interesting •as
any of these would be the story • of
many an 'obscure • We, if the tale
were as well told. Whir do we all like,
ef biographies- and eh tobiographies? Be-
cause they are stories of eminen.tehu-
man lives. But the store, of the life
of a bacleweodsrnan; of a nian who,
looks. stupid, of` one about, 'whom you
(never heard a word, must be just as
thrilling „on a small scale as on a
'cirErer scale ie a life of a Cyrus, 'or a
le,esar, or a Pizarro; or, a Mark An -
Joey, or a Charleman,ge, or the late
.teneral .Gordon, who was upon a
parapet. leading his soldiers with nO-
thing lent a stick in his hand,, and
his troops cried,- "Gorden, come
down. You will be But • he
did not, come clown, and one of the
soldiers, said: "It ' is all - right. He
don't Mind being killed. Ho le one
of those blessed Christians."
As Oliver ,Cromwell on the anniver-
sary 01 his 'greatest vicory followed
his darling daughter to the grave, so
In the humblest and moat unpretencl:-
ing ,life there' has, been a com.m.ingl-
frig of gla'clness.n,nd glooni, of teiumpli
and despair. Nothing that ,Dayid
Garrick ever enacted at Drury Lane
Theatre in the way of tragedy ; or
Charles Matthews ever' played in Co-
vent G,arcien in .:Ehe. way pf comedy
excelled things which on 'a stnall
scale have beeo seete in the life of ob-
scure men and. women, ;Many a .pro-
founcl and learned sermon has put the
audience to sleep, while some • man
"Whose , phraseology could ;not ba
parsed and Whose attire ,was cut and
fitted and made up by the ,plainest•
housewife has told the story of his
life in a way that malted' the prayer
circle into tears as easily as a warm
April sun dissolvesethe now of the
previous night.
Oh, yes, while ,".we spend our years
as •a tale that is told" it is an inter-
esting story. It is the story of an
immortal, and that ,niaeccis it 'inter-
\ ting. Re is launched on anoce,a,n
,i) f eternal years in a voyage that
:trill never terminate. He is striking
elm keynote of an ant,hein or a dirge
that wili never coine to its la,sE ba,r,
That is what inakes the devotional
meetings of Modern .times so much
xnore interesting than they Used to
t.c Pe. They are filled not with dis-
eourses by laymen on the subject of
,of, mstifleation and sanctification,
,
.•1-,irhich 'lay discourses adminisees more
o the ,facetiotig than to,the edifying-,
'buteeteriele stories ef what God has
Itine for -the souls ---how everything
Uddenly changed; how the promises
became balsamic , in • times of latiera-
qion; how he was ,personally helped
,out and helped up and, helped on.
:Nothing ' can stand before math ,
story of perseruil rescue, personal
transformation, personal um ea -
thee. The mightiest and ,most skel I-
11 argument, aLi-,itinst, Christianity e01 -
lapses' wider the urigeatninaticai but
sincere statement. The atheistic,
professor of natural philosophy goes
down ',under the .s tory ' of that 'back-
woodsman's conversion.
The New Testanieut eliggeses the
power of the ''ea,le' that ' is told"
Christ was the most effective etorty
teller of all the ages, The pa,rotiles
aro only tales Well told. Matclitess
stories; That of the trayelee cut up
: • ,
by the thieves , and the Sanitirita,n
paying his board hill at the tavern;
that of. the big diener, to which • the
;invited guests sent In fletitfouis re-
grets; that , of the shepherd answer -
Ing the pleat .of the 'lost eheep and.
al:, the rural neighbors that hte1st•
helping him ecilebnete the 'feet that
it was :.afe, in the ,tatiaiyard: that of
the bad boy, reduced to the swines'
'trough, greeted hotite with sitch
bqu-
luetting 'and jewelry, ' that it
the Olcier son )vith, jealousY., aled d se'
gruntlernent: that of, 'the Pharisee
full. pf ;b,raggadoelo ?Led,- the, pUblicane
smiting, his bretest with a.ste pica that
broughe, ,down ,ehe, heaeons, in com-
miseration; • steries about lejlroPY,
about, paraly`sis, about, cafeelepsy,
about dropsy, about ophthalmia—
stories that he so well told that, they,
have rolled down te the ,preseift:'iand
will roll, down through the hoiitire
, The Most'• of lithe Old •TeseanlentUis
made tip of'iuspired.,attecdotea ah�dt
Adam': and Eve, about Jacob; ,dbOut
Esau„alSout, Ahab and,Se%',e`belabout
:Jonah,: . about Daniele. about • ',Deborah,
about', Vashti, abbue,- Men eate" eevoe
men of ,wheal the sitery gaite' an ac-
curate photograph long,,before.htlinna,
photography ' :was . Mira. Let all
Chriatiaaworkers, prayer- _meeting
talkers, Siarclay-Selmol teachers 'Mid
preachers know , the power.. ,of that
which ray tel the "tele that
is told:"..
In ,wha-E wayPeOuld the; fiiht that
infidelity- will not help any one. die
-well bet, eh' Powerfully pre:edit ted, as
by the incident coucoruiug a •eman
failing ,ill in . Paris 'Piet after . the
'death of Voltaire, -When a'prefeSsione
nurs,e. was• ceded "..ieadcl,,
ed,•'ihe gentielnan a christien?tt'i
,"Why clo ,you ask , that?'eeid. -. the,
, messenger. „ •""I are the horse who at-
tenslece ,•Vpltaire in hi iast: tillness;
and for the t wealelit•ofe,Ilueope
-would never see another
What .diectourse In its rnbral-�nd
spiritual' effect .could equal •a'.' ,A,a16:•
like that?'
Ydu Might argue. upon the feet
• ,
that .tlicese fallen ar'e • brbtheni, and.
sisters; but could we inspreed, , any
one _with such a" truth se, well as by
tlee' scene neer Victoria perk, Lon-
don, where • Men ,Were ..cligging, a , deep
drain and the shoring gave way and
a great pile of earth • fell 'upon the
workinen. A nano istood .there .evlth
his hands Ira his pockets ' lookieg at'
thosa wbo. were' trying, to -shovel
away the earth feenin those who were
buried, but when some' one said to
the spectator, "13111, yetin 'brother' is
doe -vie there," then the , 'speetator
threw off hiscoatand event to work
with an 'ag'aiir of ,earnestness to fetch
'up , his brother,. , What 'course of
g-un:lene. 'could so well • as that
ci-
. • • toil
for
set forth that when we tpd
„
• for the ,salvation of • a soul it is a
'brother .whom ye, are trying' to save?
. 'A secend ,r'ea,ding, of my ttest •. re-
inincls me that •life is not only a sfory'
'told, but that It -is' a' brief story: A
long narrative stretched out indefi-
nitely loses its interest : It Is gehere•
,ally: the story' that •takes only a min:.
u.te or half a., iminute to, rehearse that
"arrAti the ,attentiore And •_ that
,gives additional interest to the story,
of our. ,life., 11 is a sheet ,seet-Y. Sub-
tract froin our life all the hones. of
,
necesethey sleep, allthe hours of in=
napactity through fatigue ' or illness',
all • the hones of ehildhtiod and youth.
beforewe get ' fairly' to 'work, and
you have abbreviated the story of
life se much, that. you can appreciate
the peahnist,'S remark when haseys,
"Thou hest rnaciamy day e .as a handee.
breadth," and certappreciate the
apostle James' expression' when he
'comperes life' to "a vapor that ap-
peareth for a little SCaSOI1 and then
.vanish OS away." •
It 'does not take long to tell all the
vicissitudes of life—the gladness and
the griefs, the arrival's and the de-
partures, 'the successes and the fail-
ures, the victories and the 'defeats:,
the ups and the downs. The longer
w,e live the: shorter the heeetrs. We
hardly get over the bety,eidering fe-
eigue of selecting -gifta"for children.
and friends and seo that -the presents
get off in time' to arrive on the appro-
priate day than we. see another ad-
vanying group of holidays. 'Autumnal
fruit', so. sharply chases the shinnies -
harvest, and the silo* of the white
blessonis •of 'springtime c.orae so .Socin'
miter the snows of winter. It is a.
remark.so often made that it fails to
etialce ,any hapressioneand the plati-
tude that calls forth' no reply, ' -How,
rapidly' time goes." . .
Every, century is a big Wheel of
years, which inakeg, a hundred revolae
,tions and breaks dOwn.Every year
is a big :wheel 'Cif months. and makes
12 revolutions ,,and ehen ceases.. Ge-
ologists and-. theologians '"'0 into
elaborations • of 'guesses es to • how.
leng, the. world will probably •last;
how long 'before the veleanic Perces
will explode it, or metedrie stroke de-
molish it.,, or the -cold ofa twig -win-
ter .freeze • out its population e or the
fires • of a lest. •eonfiregration burn; it.
- My friends, as our life th sheet,
punctuality is one of the important
,virtues and lack of punctuality 'ape
of the worst of crimes,. .How many
who know nothing of punctuality!
They arrive at the depot five minutes
after the train is gone. They get' to I
the wharf in titTle to gee' that • the
s..Leamer has swung 500 yards • from
the dock. They are late at church
and annoy , all who have promptly
taken I:heir 'pieces, the late • ceMers
aol being ae good as a Christtau \V-
11100 who -whoa asked how 'idle (Mulct
always be .t.to early at church replied.,
'It is part of my religion not' to
dieted), the religion of otheeni" • The
tardy ones mentioned are apt' 'to
s,peak -,f,he Word of ,Poonsel when it is
too tate. They are reeebeed to re-
pent, at 'some time M the future, but
when • they come, •up "the door is
shut." They resolve to SaV41 a soul
tVhati it is alreadyrulned.
, But short'. as time is it is long
enough if we rightly employ ,it. The
trouble is We waste 'so much dare we
cannot catch Up. Some of us have
bhen chasing time we lost at 20 year'
of age, or 30 yeere of' age,. or ' 49
yetire of age, anci if we liyed -250
year. w.. ,could never overtake it. ,Jo-
seph, a petty .appren Lice, every ree:*e....
tag. peeeed • e, ceetaiti 'stiord as the
church clock ,strifctic 6 at, the, Moment,
when:tice mercimat ' took 'down. 'hie
each- ol" '0)01su seS`lufi •"Good'.
,a0 nothing' 'else'.
eliird reading of ine, tet reminds,
me tbat' lite is not ,orelYi'a,,story told,
, sat; a story lietened to. "[Pere is no-
thiree move vexietietts to ant, one than
•
in tell a' story When people a,r'a not
•atthncling, UflieY May , he Whispering
en settle other subject, on' they P -aro ,
I:weer:copied'. 'One criariehetell a story
efteritually unless there :are egocal
Weij tliitt Whieb, in ray text
is called the "tale that is told", has
Plenty of listenors There, IS he Suet
thizig as- being , alenee God listens
encl the elr ois, fell .oiespiritual intelli-
geecon ,all listeeinga „and the ,werit
listens' te.. the story of • our life,' seam
hoping It will be auccegkid, :others
hoPfng it, Will be a failure
We all tela' about • public lifo' and
Private lito,, •but thereis no ,Private
;fife.," The 'si Mu, of our. life, 116W -eve'
insieilitleent,'ip may, 'Seein, to be, wail
.'ntin the .appla use or /lief; ef a .grea"t,
nitillittide' that go ,man eatt holnber•
,As a —tale that is told" aMoak'
ad-
fl!101S r•:' tam') is te; baiestials or
pee:den-toe 010 1.1.61-ez:se is fell, er
lletehing 'ears OS Well as of 'gleaming
tYes .' Tf ivi say or do the ..right
thing,, that, is knOwn. 1 suppose. the
Popula 1 tee of the9ntdul igences in the
air is more 11011100019 than the popu,
lation of intelligences on the earth.
that'the story ai our life might
be fit for •such an fie:thence In such, an
auditorium ! C od greet that, wiedoin
and fidelity and earnestness and truth
may characterize. the "tale that'
t Id. -
Aye, all the World' will yet -Eaten'
to and be redeemed by a "tale •that
is ,told." We are all telling iE, earth
hi his, own', ,way—ssome.ay voice,
some by pen; schne' by 'artist's pencil,
°,TITIO' by harp anc1. soma by; epee; mo -
eh er tolling, it to child, tervithee
'ing it to .a.,Sabbath class,: reformer
tolling it to 'outcast, preacher telling
it to assemblage. The Seery of
.1-ovelieet of heaven coming dewn to
• this scarred and blasted islarid 01,
world., • He was Metered bank ,from
its:shores „and struck through witic
• larieee of Peahen" hate, as ,soma as he
landed:. Shepiterd's• dog ebaying 00
-the hllls that .,Christmas night was
better' treated than this roam -lee ...Of Pe
`race, iyet keeping. .1'4,0ft:eq.,. ,-bearifbles
ofi brow, feet 'en , spikee,, 'flagellated
with , whips, that had lathes: pre lead
:fastened to th.em,• 'through, 'midnight
without lanterns through storms
without shelter,' throughyears that
,
,got blacker until they ended, Joao,
noonday. with the sun blotted ,•otet.-
'11lightieet tale ever told, and keep on
telling It Until the ,last sorrow is as-
suaged and the last'aeimesity. is
quenched and the lase desert is white,
with the lily arid goldeu with the
cowslip and blue with the gentian
and crimson 'with the rose.
While reading my. text , the fourth
time 1 bethink rays.elf , that the story
of life will, end. When the group breake
up. The "tale that is told" steps
when the listeners depart. Some-
times We have laceu in, groups Inter-
estedly listening to some story -told.
when other engagements or the hour
of the night demanded the going af'
the ,gnestat. That stopped the story.
,By 'elcis exit of ,another Year I am re-'
'rnilld00 that these• earthly groups
willdbreakeope No family group or
sociel grotip. 'or religious group . or
.Pplitieal group staYs, longitpgether..
-.•The family group breaks up. ' 'Did
you ever kneW, a household that for
25 years rehmined intact? Not one .
Was there ever a church record . thu
same after the passage of 25 years
or .15 years dr 10 years.? -The facie
Is that the story of QT1i• life will span'
ende because the' group Of listerters
will, be gone. Bo you see if .wgare
going to give the 'right trend and,
emphasis we must give it right away.
If there are oldpeople in the group
Of our 'Influerifiet ell we can do • .'•for
them will be in five Or ten- years. If
there' are children' around,' es, he 111'
or 15 years.: they. irill be fashioning
the story of their own life. "What
thy hand findeth to do,. da it With all
thy might." :Passing all, • passing
every thing, as a ' tale Olaf is told.''
"'Hy text, in referring to the years,
nethinds Inc .that in 12 hoUra this
year, will foreeer -have gone away.
NinchS-nine out of the hundred years
of this century ;CYR! -have • disepheared,
We have only on year .of the Century
left. Thei-abught to be sotriPthing es-
pecially' suggestiVe in the last' year
of the 'century. It ought to be a
year of unparalleled industries, of , un-
heard of censer:ration " Not' a :per-
son in any • of' our audieeees this day
can remember the first yearof . this
'century. _Not a person •in any of our
audiences • to -day will .ever again see
the last year of a century.
Oh, crowd . this lest year with
prayers, with hosannas, • with • kind
worcl9, with helpf eMake the
peroration of ,the century the climax
Of tairistlike 'deeds. • the
ranks or God arid duricik this remain-
ing 12• months. 'charge mightily
against the host of Abs.ddon.', Have
no. reserve Cerpsa Let wifteet. gos-
pel Cavalry -.gallop,' and heaviest
moral artillery :roll, and 'mightiest
evangelistic batteries thunder, on the
scene,. Let ministere, of' the gospel
quit' all, controversy :with each other,
and in solid Phalanx march out. for
„the world's disinthrallment. , Let
printing presses, „secular and relig-
ious, make combined, movement to
,Inseruet • and emancipate the world.
'On all hide bit there be Elijah, pray -
Ing for "a great .ram," and .on every
contested field Joehiets to see ,ehat
P1101 victory is gained' before the' sun
'goes down, and 'every mountain be-,
come tin., transfiguration, and every,
Galilee' a walking .pla,ce 01 hitre who
can ' hush a tempest. Let us he jeale
dos pf eenry inontb. of every weele,
of everyday that • passes without
s o Meth Mg; signefi Can t and glorieus
wrought for 'God' and this sin oirsed
wrield. Let our churehee ,be throng.
ed With devout a,ssenibla,gese Let the
cherals be more like grand marcheg
than requienise I.Ot this corning year
.spe, the •last wound of Transvaal and
:Philippine' conflict, and the earth
quake with elite groundhing arms of
the lest V0 111001 mew, to be emershrth-
ed, and' the furnaces of 'the' foundries
blaze With • the fires, that shall talon
t90'last ,ewords into ploevshares,
:end may all 141690 whose. leyee shell
go out in -this iasc year, of, aCenturv,
as wetly • will, meet in the , heavenly
world th rise eith d in the 1I10l'fliflg and
noonday of thie hundred years tm ed
acid ',suffered for Ilia venrihns
tioh, Eo tell them hoWein Lich has -beeti
accomplished for • the giory OE biro
whose march Ahrotrai the'', last: 1,0
centuries ,and through allthe coming
een WOO the,' Seri p three describe , as
going fortli.. aougoseeng and to
quer . ' 09,, :the cen tr t beeween th i, •
Uplifted aptictaele of eternal, tiquinph
In the ;wheelie° of Grid and the Lamb
and these ,'eer,Chy 5( 0003 e her e ee e
spend our years. ,:ae 'a tale that: is ,
o (11
COULD BEAR A SHOOK.
Sliora on Lungs, hat Deem.-
' yOung man tvas either op-
tnity Long an Nerve,
timist or Um possessor of a harveyized
steel 'armor plated nerve. Perhaps he
was a little ef befb. '
,Aasitert time age he eatne to the eon-
clusion,that he would like to Mame hiS
life. With this object ha view he 'made
application to a prominent comp:111Y.
After filling Up the necessary foten he
reeeived an invitatiou to call upon the
medical °Ulcer of the company and
uadergo the usual medical examina-
tion. In dee, course Ii presehted him-
self at the °dice of the examining phy-
sician. :
Requesting the young MUD 10 remove
Pis coat ahd vest, the doctor piOduced
a stethoscope and began his examina-
tion. All at once he stopped Mal re-
garded the candidate with an el.)r.es-
eion of alarm.
"Young mall," he said,.,"do you think
you ean beer a shock?"
"Oh, I think so!" was the cheerful re-
sponse. Tire away end let in hear
the weret:"''
"You have only one' lung," announca
ed the doctor solemnly.
"Well, what of that?" retorted the
candidate, with the utmost composure.
never told. you I had any more,
did I?"
"What," exclaimed the doctor, "do
you 'Mean to say. YOU were aware; Of
your condition?" • .
-9,1 course I was.... Do you Seppoee,
a man could have only one lung with-
out 'tieing .aware. of the feet?",
"Anil yet," said the doctor, "yob, ap-
ply to a respectable company fot a poll-,
ey of life insurance: Do you expect to
get it?" '
"I certainly do.. Ncit.oniy that, but I
think 1 ought to get ,it at a. substantial
reduction in the premiutn."
"Teen ,wbat ground, , may I ask?"
t
"Upon the ground,that,. hawing only
one ling, I a,tri 50 per cent lesS, liable to
•contract consumption than if I had
two lung."—Rival.
WOMEN OPPOSE WOMEN.
The State of Affitirm Said to Exlot In
the Government Service. '
"Why is it that women are practical-
ly debarred from receiving promotions
to the higher places in the government
service?" asked a government clerk of
a quarter of a century's experience.
The question was put to several ladies
in the treasury department. Before
any one of them had time to reply the
questiouer proceeded to answer his
own interecgatory.
"It is because they are held back by
members of their own sex "-he said
"Some time ago a lady in one division
I know ofwas so favorably regarded
that she would have been made chief
of that .dieision, but as soon as her
prospects became known her fellow
clerks of the same sex became indig-
nant -and united in a protest. They de-
clared that, they could never work un -
Lew; ant they wetild a thottStind
times rather have a man than a woman
to 'boss': them. They wouldn't allow
her to 'lord it over them.'
h,.„. "That is only a Sample of many
Wettpen can be depended upon
to antagonize women under such cir-
cumstances. Not only did they do so
Ln the case I have cited, but they ac-
tually gave -the marble heart and the
Icy hand to this weinan after they de-
feated her prospects of a promotion.
I aim satisfied that one of the- most
fluential obstables to women In their
effort to secure equal recognition with
men comes from their own sex."
. The man who asked and answered
the question then moved off before his
audience of lady clerks had an opportu-
nity to reply to his assertions.—Wash-
ington Star.
The Laugh .on tlae General.
The late General Clinton 13. Fisk was
°ere addressing a Sunday school ego-
vLiation. One of, the speakers had re-
minded the children that it was Wash-
ington's' birthday...
"Children," said General' Fish, '!you
:all knew that Washington was, a gen-
eral.. Perhaps you k -now that I. am
also a general. Now. can, any one tell
what was ,the difference' between
eral Washington and myself?"
know,str;" replied a small boy in
' the back part of the room.
what,e,was the difference?"
said. General's:snail, smiling at the lad's
eagerness.
"George Washington Couldn't tell a
lie, ,:sir!" cried the .boy. In estuiltant,
tortes. Shouts of laughter followed, In
which the generel joined heartily.—De-
trolt News.
A. Candle Triek•
Let a candle burn until it has a good
long snuff; then blosi it out with a sud-
den puff. A bright wreath of white
smoke will curl up from the Pot wick.
Now, if a flame be applied' to this
smoke, even at a distance of two or
three inches front the candle.. the flame
will run 40W1.1 the' smoke and rekin-
dle the Wiek 111 a Very fantastic man-
ner. To perform this ceremony nicely -
there must 'he, no, draft or "banging"
deers while the mystic spell is rising.
Two Tower/4.
Shidents of architecture' may have
often svotidereci why, the two toivors
of Notre Dame at Paris were not of
the sante size. It appears that when
the cathedral was built 1105 the
cathedral of a setTragan bishop, who
was not entitled 10 two owers of equal
:height, and, for centeries the bisliop of
Paris was.stiffragan to the bishop of
Sens. • '
Stitrti;UFOttot,
Great A.Otress---'1'llat's an ittroc1ett5
portnnt! 'te that (90 best you efin do?
Is there no way you:can intprove upon
Siigges,t,
Pilot oarailh oil a tu you' might
pettnIt'vtrar uilderstinIV to sit for yott.
Plitia Deal r •
1
HOW PROFESSIONAL RAT CATCHERS
. ,
' USE THEANIMALS.
Vaasa ',Fiery TlYed, Iteror Toothed
JitIle Ilettata are caeetive Where
aeraies aita 'tsail—They r
irelierallr 'Worked ,With.ft Muzzle.
ferrets," 'said' a' Pro'
fessiottel rat eittebete, "are , about the
sante thing. tinporteci o ferrets
trained to; the business are.larger than
LIie Nyeagel, that is all.. After I am
through yieb rat catehlue I use me' fel'
vete to litIllt rabbit6 ova of brush Linea,
hay and slrItyv sleek's, which 1S 11. p101' -
Lab le business' when rabbits , are
piebty. What yeti 'call rabbits 'over
Pie we in England call hares,
"WPien 0, Juan once starts in as a
Precessional. rat ;catcher hind gets to
upderatandtrainiug and woriting• ,fer-
rets„ theresis such aa attraction in the
trade that heueyer willingly gives it
up. ;It's a profitable basiness ,withotit
too much competition." n
"Do the favrets.Pven bites you ?"
,
'It's a very careless and 'awkaanatel
nian that gets bitteu .by a' trained:ter-
ret. \Alien one is; bitter,' by an enrag-
ed ferret, the bite IS of aoeeey sesesee
character, extremely painful, and slow
to heal."' ,
As the rat catcher talked 'a 6-montli,
old ferret,' his fiery little eye's gleam-
ing, like living gems, A' S crawling over
hiS lap and trying to get In under his
coat.. "This fellow," said the 'rat
catchers 'is. as gentle as a.lritten and
likes to have his back rubbed aud to
Pc Caressed as well ag any cat you eVer
sew. When the . ferret bites a •eat's
neck, lie knows exactly what bele do-
.
ine and his trout teeth cutting 'Hee
. .
razoree, go right through the jugular.
"Of course we generally unazzle them
wben we Send them in after rats, and
,we always muzzle them when we send
'..them in after rabbits. If their teeth
'were at liberty, they would kill the
first rat 00 rabbit theY, Met and would
remain')in the hole sneking ha* blood.
When we put a ferret ithota house aft-
er rats, westep hp all the holesast, the
outside of the house except one or two.
Over these we place bags, and the fer-
rets, driving the game before them,
run the rats list° the bags. We keep
the ferret without hisordinary meals
before` using bine, and this makes him
keener in his chase.
. "It's mighty easy -to spoil' a ferret.
After a young ferret has been badly
bitten by a rat, as sometinaes happens,
you can't get him to go into a hole
muzzled. But when a ferret is full
grown and has the skill and euurage
that be should have he is a holy terror
to 'rats and is a valuable animaL I
would not sell a web trail/led ferret for
$56, the price of a good horse. Stich a
ferret I should be willing to put in a
pit with 50 rats, and he could in a short
time' kill every one of them.. Rats are
great fighters when they are cornered,
but no other animal of the same size
has As much eourag,,e as a ferret dr
weasel.
England the largest ferrets 'are
called. Polecat ferrets and are a cross
of the, two' a/lit/salsa Which are nsuch
alike. In this country the word pole-
cat is applied to the skunk, an.,entirely
different annual. Tbe word poleeat
Is supposed to be an abbreviation' of
Polish cat, and1,t1se aniosal abounds
all over Europe. The mink is much
like the weasel, except that it is larger,
and many- depredations that are at-
tributed to the weasel are committed
by the !mink. All these animals prowl
by night, and they frequently go many
miles in 3011101 101' food, even coming
into towns and the suburbs of cities."
Audubon, 11110 was a close student
of nature, was delighted with the
weasel, or American ferret. , Its loia,g,
flexible body, its, extraordinary length
of neck, the closeness of its fur, its
keenness of scent, its wonderful agili-
ty acid quickness of movement, all ex-
cited his admiration.
An American writer says; "The com-
mon weasel has sometimes been'
caught and carried off by large hawks
Lind owls. Sorry- was' the experience
of the captor in such cases. He has
caught a Tartar. The captive vvill bite
into the sides of theenemy, so that
both will fall to the ground, the bird
mortally wounded and the weasel 11's -ti-
nily comparatively unhurt. * * *
The weasel's courage ID defending it-
self when attacked by 'birds of prey is
universally admitted, noris it deficient
In tierce opposition to dogs and even
men when its nest is incepled by ei-
ther. It usually kills for f,00d, biting
through the head into the brain with
such expertness that its victim can
eceinely utter a cry of pain. it usually
eats the brain first; then the rest of
the body follows. In pursuing mice,
rats and moles it follows them into
their runs or holes. * * * A weasel's
proxiinit,e" to a poultry yard is not to,:
be desired. ,But in barns, hayricks
and grain stacks It Is decidedly ad-
,
vantageous. as it will surely exteml-
nate or drive away ratS, and mice." ,
The weasel's characteristics are not-
ed In two Arnmeen.
a weasel asleep" au "Sooner trust
vs easel with eggs," Stories are told ,
that a weasel will Wateb a hen on tbo
nest for an hour, waiting,for a freshly
laid eggi
Freak of the ,
A curious case of lightning tiestliar-
tion took place at Gatchlea, an,
peritilasnininerresidence oet 'far froth
Patereburg, where stood a Istous
coitime.'46 'feet high, held together by
Iron angles. When rain tell, more or
less water, pentrated the stones in tine
Interior of the montm,ient. (Inc day It
was struck by lightning. and instantly
the wholecolumn disappeared frem
.views, killing a lone sentry on 'guard.
The only explanation is that the heat
of the lig,litnine' instantly , generated ,
Stearn on coming in contact with eomtit
of the water, and the terrific exploSioa
followed.
A COTTON PLANT.
The Story of One steel -vie ou the New
Yuri: tsaei,ange.
There Is a story still told to vieitors
to the New York Cotton Exchange
which 'always amnses its tellers' quite
as much as its hearers.' It concerns e
very superb specimen of, the eet_tor-`
plant which was brought into the'ex-
ebange one October morning years' ago
and placed in the center of the Pit
around, which Sather every day the
men who buy and sell millions of ,bales
of the white staple eeery month. ,
There had been bad weather in Tex-
as that season, :with reports of irrep-
arable damage to the crop, but this
superb'Plant, laden with bolls through-
out its six feet of height and coining,
as it did. from Waeo, in the most im-
portant cotton schtiou ef the Lope Star
State, ,was exhibited as conclusive
proof that tlae stories of' a ruined crop
were certainly false. All New York's
big cotton operators came 10 look at
it and to admire it, and moat of them
eemainecl to sell a few thousand bales.
"If that is what Waco can produce,"
Ithey said, "the Texas crop ,alone will
.
be P1 enough to Pitt; eOtt011 down a
•,cent.or two per pound."
I , Late in the day, however, there
strolled' Into the exchange: a shrewd
old farmer frem one of tbe cotton
states east of the 'Mississippi. He had
_
heard Of di foot cotton plants from
Texas, and he wanted to see one. A
single look at this specimen was suffi-
cient.
"Humbug," he said. "That plant Is
made of wax, and it grew in South
Fifth avenue."
And SO it proved. The hoax had
demonstrated what its anthers assert-
ed, that 'very few people in New York,
even among cottons brokers, would
know a cottou plant it' they saw one.—
New York Mail and Express.
, Flow the oats Will Grow.
There are trees which would seem to
substantiate the theory of Some sci-
entists that there Is'no reason why a
tree shOold ever die 1.11110SS' destroyed
by unfavorable conditions or aceident.
The oak, for example, will live as a
sapling for ages 'untilgiven opportu-
nity for growth. `nbere is an old say-
ing TO the effect that If a pine forest le
cut ' down an oak forest will grow,
'and this is said to be literally true.
Many of the acorns carried into file
pine woods by birds and squirrels are .
left to sprout in' the ground. As the
tiny saplings grow browsing natives
of the forest shades' nibble off their
tender leaves. Again and again, new
leaves are put forth, only to serve as
food for hungry deer or moose or oth-
er maranding creatures. And so, bid-
den frena sunlight, deprived, as it
would appear, of every essential of
'life, the little plants live on, and when
at last the pines are felled and the sun-
light reaches then] they begin their era
of growth.
Txte 'Bente.
neterijeet, .
Cynlcus—Are you quick al. figures?
Miss Wanterwed-afrairly,
Cytneus—Then tell tue if you wait
for me to propose bow long it will be
before you are married. --Judy.
4.-te
et-iutt
d4;rliCe/444
40-74,4;w
Aix/ ket/
1-1
11