HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Exeter Times, 1895-6-13, Page 7IS
THE BIXBTHR TIMES
SHAM:GA.11'S OXGO.A.D.
ITS inE AS A WEAPON AGAINST THE
PHILISTINES.
Iltev. Dr. -Talmage Enforces the Neeeseity
of Using the•Weapon We Have at Rand
For All *Great lemergenelea- But We
Must Have God With V.
New York, June 2.—In his sermon to.
Rev. Dr. Talmage discusses one of
the most heroic and picturesque char-
acters in ancient Jewish history, a man
a, who, like nearly others who achieved
high distinction, came from the sturdy
rural classes—the agriculturists. The,
subject of the sermon was "Shamgar's
Oxgottd," the text beings "After him
Was Shamgar, which slew of the Phil-
istines 600 men with an oxgoaci" (Judges
iii, 31.)
'• One day while Shamgar ,the farmer,
was plowyng with a yoke of oxen his
Demmand of whoa -haw -gee was changed
to the shout of battle, Philis tines, al-
ways ready to Make trouble, march up
with sword and spear. Shamgar, the
s plowman, had no sword, and would not
probably have known how to wield it
41, if he had possessed one. But fight he
4, must,. or go clown under the stroke of
the Philistines. He had an oxgoad—a
• weapon used to urge on the lazy teem;
* a weapon about eight feet long, with a
eharp iron at one end to puncture the
beast, arid a wide iron chisel or shovel
at the other end with which to scarpe
the clumps of soil from the plowshare.
Yet, with the iron prong at one end of
the oxgoad and the iron scraper at the
• other, it was not such a weapon as
it! one would desire to use in battle with
armed Philistines. But God helped the
• farmer, and leaving the oxen to look
e after themselves he charged upon the
invaders of his homestead.
e Some of the commentaries, to make it
, easier for Shamgar, suggest that per-
haps he led a regiment of farmers into
the combat, his oxgoad only one of
• many oxgoads. But the Lord does not
e need any of you to help in making the
• Scriptures, and Shanigar, with the Lord
• on his side, was mightier than 600 Phil-
istines, with the Lord against them.
The battle opened. Shamgar, with mus-
• cle strengthened by open air and plow-
, man's and reaper's and thresher's toil,
, e uses the only weapon at hand, and he
y• swings the oxgoad up and down, and
this way and that, now stabbing with
the ircum.prong at one end of it, and
now thrusting with the iron scraper at
'e -the other, and now bringing down the
whole weight of the instrument upon
, the heads of the enemy. The Philis-
,, tines are in a panic,and the supernatur-
al forces come in, and a blow that would
not under other circumstances have
prc strated or slain, left its victim life-
less, until, when Shamgar walked over
the field he counted 100 dead, 200 dead,
300 dead, •4007dead, 600 dead, 600 dead—
all the work done by an oxgoad with
Iron prong at one end and an iron
shovel at the other. The fame of this
• achievement by this farmer with an
awkward weapon of war spread abroad
and lionized him until he was hoisted
into the bighest place of power and
became the third of the mighty judges
falsrael. So you see that Cincinnatus
s not the only man lifted from plow
eo throne.
For what reason was this unprece-
dented and unparalleled victory of a
,rnser'S oxgoad put into this Bible,
where there was no spare room for
the unimportant and the trivial ?
It was, first of all, to teach you, and
to teach me, and to teach all past ages
since then, and to teach all n gas to come
that in the war for God and against sin
TVO ought to put to use the best weapon
we happen to have on hand. Why did
not Shamgar wait until he could get
a war charger, with neck arched; and
back caprisonecl, and nostrils sniffing
the battle afar off, or Until he could get
war equipment, or could drill a regi-
ment, and wheeling them into line com-
mand them forward to the charge ? To
wait for that would have been defeat
and annihiliation. So he takes the best
weapon he could lay hold of, and that"
is an oxgoad. We are called into the
battle for the right, and against wrong,
and many of us have not just the kind
- e of weapon we would prefer. It may
not be a sw`Ord of argument. It may not
he the spear of sharp, thrusting wet.
It may not be the battering ram efr de-
nunciation. But there is something we
can do, and some forces we can wield.
Do not wait for what you have not, but
use what you have. Perhaps you have
not eloquence ,but you have a• smile.
'Well, a smile of encouragement has
changed the behavior of tens of thou-
sands of wanderers,andbrought them
back to God, and enthroned them in
heaven: You cannot. make a persua-
sive appeal, but you can set an exam-
ple, and a good example has saved
More souls than you could cciunt in a
year, if you counted all the time, You
cannot give $10,000, but you can give as
much as the widow of the gospel, whose
a two mites, tbe smallest coins of the He-
': brews, were bestowed in such a spirit
e
e as to srnake .her more famous than all
• the contributions that ever endowed a,11
sr• the hospitals and universities of all
a Christendom, of all time. You have a
very limited vocabulary, but you can
'S say "yes" or "no," and a firm "yes"
ee 'or an emphatic "no" has traversed the
e •centuries and will traverse all eternity
a with good influence. You may not have
the courage to confront a herge assem-
blage, but you can tell a.Sunday school
class of two—a bby and a girl—how to
• 4 find Christ, and one of them may be-
come a Wiffiam Carey to start influ-
ences that will redeem India, and the
other a Florence Nightingale, who will
• illumine battlefields covered with the
dying and the dead.
• That was a tough case in a town of
England where a young lady, applying
for a Sabbath school class, was told
by the superintendent she would have
to pick up one out of the street. The
worst of the class brought from the
street was one Bob. He was fitted out
'With resectable clothing by the super.
in tendent. But after two or three Sab-
baths he disappeared, Re was found
With hie clothes in tatters, for he had
been fighting. The Second time Bob
Was well clad for school, After corn-
ing ence or twiee he again disappeared
• and was found in rags consequent upon
fighting. The teacher was disposed to
• give him up, but the superintendent
said, "Let us try him again," and a
• third sett Of clothes wale provided Mtn.
• Thereafter lie carries Until he , was con-
Verted, and joined the church, arid start.
ea ear the goepel Ministen and beeaine
a foreign IniSSIOneess, preacning arm
translating the soriptures. Who was
the boy called Bob ? The illustrious
Dr, Robert Morrison, great ea earth,
and greater in heaven. Who his teacher
was 1. know not, but she used the op-
portunity opened, and great has been
her reward. You may not be able to
load an Armstrong gun. You may not
be able to hurl a Hotchkiss shell, You
may not be able to shonlder a glittering
musket, but use anything you can lay
your hands on. Try a blacluanith's
hammer, or. a merchant's yardstick, or
a mason's trowel, or a carpenter's plane,
or a housewife's broom, or a farmer's
oxgoad. One of the surprises of heaven
will be what grand results came from
how simple means. Matthias Joyce, the
vile man, became a great apostle of
righteousness, not from hearing John
Wesley preach, but from seeing him kiss
a little child on the pulpit stairs.
Again, my subject springs upon us
the thought that in calculating the
prospects of religious attempt we must
=lee omninonece aria omniscience
omnipresence, and all the other attrib-
utes of God into the calculation. Whom
do you see on that plowed field of my
text ? One hearer says, "I see Sham -
gar." Another hearer says, "I see 600
Philistines." My hearer, you have
missed the chief personage on that bat-
tlefield of plowed ground. I also see
Shamgar and the 600 Philistines, but
more than all, and mightier than all,
•and more overwhelming than all, I see
God. Shamgar, with his unaided arm,
however muscular, and 'yeah that hum-
ble instrument made for agricutural
purposes and never constructed for
combat, could not have wrought such
Victory. It was omnipotence above and
beneath, and back of and at the point
Of the oxgoad. Before that battle was
over the plowman realized this, and all
the 600 Philistines realized it, and all
who visited the, battlefield afterward
appreciated it. I want in heaven to hear
the story, for it can never be fully told
on earth—perhaps some day it may be
set apart for rehearsal, while all heaven
listens—the stary of how God blessed
awkward and humble instrumentalities.
Many an evangelist has come into a
town given up to worldliness. The
pastors say to the evangelist : "We are
glad you have come, but it is a hard
field, and we feel sorry for you. The
members of .our churches play progres-
sive euchre, and go to the theatre, and
bet at the horse races, and gayety and
fashion have taken possession of the
town. We have advertised your meet-
ings, but are not very hopeful. God
bless you." This evangelist takes his
place on the platform or pulpit. He
never graduated at college, and there
are before him 20 graduats of the best
universities. He never took one lesson
in elocution, and there are before him
20 trained orators. Many of the ladies
present are graduates of the highest
female seminaries, and one slip in gram-
mar or one mispronunciation will result
In suppressed giggles. Amid the general
chill that pervades the house the unpre-
tending evangelist opens his Bible and
takes for his text, "Lord, that my eyes
may be opened." Opera glasses in the
gallery curiously scrutinize the speaker.
Be tells in a plain way the story of
the blind man, tells two or three touch-
ing anecdotes, and the general chill
gives way before a strange warmth.
A classical hearer who took the first
honor at Yale and. who is a prince of
proprieties finds his spectacles becom-
ing, dim with a moisture suggestive of
tears. A worldly mother who has been
bringing up her sons and daughters
in utter godliness put her handkerchief
to her eyes and begins to weep. Highly'
educated men who came to criticise and
find fault, bow on their gold -headed
canes. What is that sound from under
the gallery ? It Is a sob, and sobs are
catching, and all along the wall and all
up and down the audience, there is deep
emotion, so that when at the close of
the service anxious souls are invited to
especial seats, or the inquiry room, they
come up by scores and kneel and repent
and rise up pardoned; the whole town
is shaken and places of evil amusement
are sparsely attended and rum holes
• lose their patrons, and the churches are
thronged, and the whole community is
cleansed and elevated and rejoiced.
What power did the evangelist bring
to bear to capture that town for right-
eousness ? Not one brilliant epigram
did he utter. Not one graceful gesture
did he make. Not one rhetorical climax
did he pile up. But there was something
about him that people had not taken
in the estimate when they prophesied
the failure of that work. They had not
taken into the calculation the omnipo-
tence of the Holy Ghost. It was not
tbe flash of a Damasaus blatle. It was
God, before and behind, and all around
the oxgoad, When people say that
crime will triumph and the world will
never be converted because of the seem-
ing insufficiency of the means employed,
they count the 600 armed Philistines on
one side and Shamgar, the farmer,
awkwardly equipped, on the other side;
not realizing that the chariots of God
are 20,000, and that all heaven, cherubic,
seraphic, archangelic, deific, is on what
otherwise would be the weak side. Na-
poleon, the author of the saying, "God
is on the side of the heaviest artillery,"
lived to find out his mistake ; for at
Waterloo, the 16 guns of the English
overcame the 250 guns of the French.
God is on the side oa the right, and one
man in the right will eventually be
found stronger than 600 men in the
wrong. In all estimates of any kind of
Christian work, do not make the mis-
take every day made of leaving out
the head of the universe.
Again, my subject springs upon us
the thought that in God's service it is
best to use weapons that are particu-
larly suited to us. Shamgar had, like
many of les, been brought up on a farm.
1 -le lcnew 'nothing about javelins and
bucklers and helmets and breastplates
and greaves of brasa and catapults and
ballistae and iron scythes fastened to
the axles of chariots. But he was famil-
iar with the flail of the threshing floor
and knew how to pound with that, and
the axe of the woods, and knew how to
hew with that, and the oxgoad of the
plowman and knew how to thrust with
that, and you and I will do best to
•nee those means that we can best
'handle, those weapons with which we
Can make the most execute -M. Some
In God's service will do best with the
pen, soine with the voice, some by 'ex-.
tempotarieoes speech, for they havethe
Whole vocabulary of the English
lang-
tiage half way between their brain and
tongue, and others will do best with
Manuscript spread Out before them,
Some will serve God by the plove, rais-
ing. wheat arid corn and giving liber -
of What they eell to churches and
neissions ; some as merchants, and out
of their profits will dedicate a tenth to
the Lord ; some as physicians, prescrib-
ing for the world's ailments, and some
as attorneys, defending innocence arid
obtaining rights that otherwise would
not be recognized, and some ass sailors,
helping. bridge the seas, and some as
teachers and pastors. The kingdom of
God is dreadfully retarded by so many
of us attempting to do that which `we
cannot do—reaching up for broadsword
or falchion or bayonet or scimiter or
Enfield rifle or Paixhan'a gun—while
we ought to be content with an ox -
goad, I thank God that there are tens
ot thousands of Christens whom you
never heard of and never will hear of
until you see them in the high places
of heavn, who are now in a quiet way
In home a and schoolhouses, and in pray-
ing circles, and by sick beds, and up
dark alleys, saying the saving word
and doing the saving deed, the aggre-
gation of their work overpowering the
most ambitious statistics.
In the grand review ofheaven, when
the regiments pass the Lord of Hosts,
there will be whole regiments of nurses
and Sabbath school teachers and tract
distributors and unpretending workers,
before whom, as they pass, the kings
and queens of God and the Lamb will
lift flashing coronet and bow down in
recognition and reverence. The most of
the Chr:stlan work for the world's re-
clamation and salvation will he clone
by people of one talent and two talents,
while the ten talent people are up in
the astronomical observatories studying
other worlds, though they, do little or
nothing for the redemption of this world
or are up in the rarefied realms of
"higher criticism" trying to find out
that Moses did not write the Penta-
teuch, or to prove that the throat of
the Whale was not large enough to
swallow the minister who declined the
call to Nineveh and apologizing for the
Almighty for certain inexplicable things
they have found in the Scriptures. It
will be found out at the 'last that tne
krupp guns have not done so much to
capture this world for God as the ox -
goads.
Years ago I was to summer in the Ad-
irondacks, and my wealthy friend, who
was a great hunter and fisherman said,
"1 am not going to the Adirondacks
this season, and you can take my equip-
ment and I will send it up to Pa.ul
Smith's." Well, it was there when I
arrived in the Adirondacks, a splendid
outfit, that cost many hundreds of dol-
lars, a gorgeous tent, and such elabor-
ate fishing apparatus; such guns of all
styles of make and reels and pouches
and bait and torches and lunch baskets
and many more things that I could
not even guess the use of. And my
friend of the big soul had even written
on and engaged men who should ac-
company me into the forest and carry
home the deer and the trout. If the
mountains could have seen and under-
stood it at the. time, there would have
been panice among the antlers and the
fins through all the "John Brown's
Tract." Well, I am no hunter, andnot
a roebuck or a game fish did I injure.
But there were hunters there that sea-
son who had nothing but a plain gun
and a rug to sleep on and a coil of
fishing line and a box of ammunition
and bait, who came in ever and anon
with as many of the captives of the
foiest and stream as they and two or
three attendants could carry. Now, I
fear that many Christian workers who
have most elaborate educational equip-
ment and theological and professional
equipment and most wonderful weapon-
ry, sufficient, you would think, to cap-
ture a whole community or a whole na-
tion for God, will, in the last day, have
but little except their fine tackling to
show, while some who had no advan-
tages except what they got in prayer
and consecration, will, by the souls
they have brought to the shore of eter-
nal safety, prove that they have been
gloriously successful as fishers of men
and in taking many who, like the hart,
were panting after the water. brooks.
What made the Amalekites run before
Gideon's army? Each one of the army
knew how much racket the breaking of
one -pitcher would make. So 300 men
that night took 300 pitchers, and a lamp
inside the pitdher, and at a given sig-
nal the lamps were lifted and the
pitchers were violently dashed down.
The flash of the light and the racket of
the 300 demolished pitchers sent the
enemy into wild flight. Not much of
a weapon, you would say, is a broken
pitcher, but the Lord made that awful
crash of crockery the means of triumph
for his people, and there is yet to be a
battle with the pitchers. The night of
the world's dissipation may get darker.
and darker, but after awhile, in what
watch of the night I know not, all the
ale pitchers, and the wine pitchers
and the beer pitchers, and the whiskey
pitchers of the earth will be hurled into
demolition by converted inebriates and
Christian reformers, and at that awful
crash of infernal crockery the Amalek-
itish host of pauperism and loaferdom
and domestic quarrel and cruelty and
assassination will fly the earth.
Take the first weapon you can lay
your hand on. Why did David choose
the sling when he went at Goliath and
Goliath went at him? Brought up in
the country, like every other boy, he
knew how to manage a sling. satire
armor was first put on him, but the
giant's armor was too heavy. The hel-
met was clapped on him as an extin-
guisher, and David said, "I cannot go
with these, for I have not proved them."
And the first wise thing David did after
.putting on Saul's armor was to put it
oft. Then the brook Ellah, the bed of
which was dry when I saw it and oue
vast reach of pebbles, furnished the
five smooth stones of the brook with
which Goliath was prostrated. Whether
it was a, boy's sling or a broken pitcher,
cr an oxgoad, take that which yon can
menage and ask God for help, and no
power on earth or in hell can stand be-
fote you.
Go out, then, I Marge you, against
ties Philistinee. We must admit the
odds are against us -600 .to 1. -en the
matter of dollars, those devoted to
worldliness and sin and dissipation,
when compared with the dollars devoted
to holiness and virtue -600 to 1. The
houses set apart for vice and deepol-
lotion and ruin, as compared with those
dedicated to good, 600 to 1. Of printed
newspaper sheets scattered abroad from
day to day, those depraving as com-
pared with those elevating, ars 600 to
1. - The agencies for making the world
Worse compared with the agencies for
making the world better, 600 to 1. But
11105ete in his song, chants, "How thouicl
one chase a thotipancl and two pet ten
thoumand to flight ?" and In my text
one oszond onctuers 0.00 u.afted battle-
•-•••••,*
axes, and the day of universal viciory
is coming unless: the Bible be a fabri-
cation and eternity a myth, and the
ebariots of God are unwheeled on the
golden streets, and the last regiment
of the celestial hosts lies dead on the
plains of heaven. With us, or without
us, the work will be clone. Ch, get
Into the ranks :somewhere, armed some.
how ; you with an needle, you with a
pen, you with a good beolt, you with
a loaf of bread for the hungry, you
with a vial of met:U.31/1e for the eick.
you with a pair of shoes for the bare-
footed, you with a word of encourage.
ment for the young man trying to get_
back from evil ways, you with some
story of the Christ who came to heal
the worst wounds and pardon the black-
est guilt and call the farthest wanderer
home. I say to you as the watchman
of London used to say at night to the
householders, before the time of street
lamps came : "Hang out your light l"
"Hang out your light 1"
. .
.immarramonsommoaanoms
THE SUNDAY SCHOOL
INTERNATIONAL LESSON, June 16.
"Peter and the Risen Lord." John 21, 417.
Golden Text, John 17.21.
GENERAL STATEMENT.
The seventh appearance of the Saviour
after his resurreetion took place on the shore
of the Sea of Galilee, among- the scenes of
his ministry and his miracles. A number
of the disciples went forth upon the see, at
night to engage in their old employment of
fishing. All night they toiled, but without
success. The Master was not with them
and their work viias in vain. In the early
gray of .the morning they eaw a figure
standing upon the shore, and they heard a
voice which bade them oast their net on
the right side of the ship. They supposed
that the stranger had seen on that side the
evidences of a school of fiele and followed
his advice. Their toil was rewarded by a
wonderous ingathering, for their net was
filled with fishes. In the boat was one
thoughtful man, who at the empty tomb
had been the first to realize that his Lord
had risen, and now was the first to recog-
nize in thislone figure on the shore his
risen Lord. He spoke to the disciple who
was his very opposite in traits of character,
yet his warm friend and chosen companion,
Simon Peter. "It is the Lord 1" With all
the ardor of his nature, Peter leaped over-
board from the boat and swam to the shore
that he might cast himself at the feet of the
Master whom he had so recently denied.
Soon afterward came the rest of the com-
pany, dragging the net to the land, and all
sat down together, as of old, to a meal upon
the shore. After the breakfast came ten-
der conversation between the Saviour and
his repentant disciple. He who had in one
night thrice denied his Lord now thrice de-
clared his love for him, and was once more
commiasioned as an apostle and shepherd of
souls.
EXPLANATORY AND PRACTICAL NOTES.
Verse 4. When the morning. The Re-
vised Version reads, "When day was now
breaking," in the early dawn. Jesus stood
on the shore. Watching their work, as
now from the heavenly shore he watches
ours, his fishers in the sea of the world.
The disciples knew not. The resurrection
body of the Saviour was so controlled by
his spirit that it could assume any form and
appear in any place at will. (1) Perhaps
our celestial bodies will have like traits
hereafter.
5. Children. A common term ot address
from a superior to a friend. Have ye any
meat? The Revised Version gives the more
correct rendering, "Have ye aught to eat?"
The question meant, "Have you caught
anything?" They answered him, No.
They had not been guided by their Master
in their work, and their work had been
without result. He knew of their failure,
yet he would have them acknowledge it. (2)
'It is when we have fully realized our own
insufficiency that we receive of the fullness
of C ris t."—Dr. W hedon.
Cast the net on the right side. He would
show them his complete knowledge of the
deep and of the things therein, and would
show them,too,that their success depended
upon his direction and help. They coat
therefore. Not yet recognizing the Saviour,
they supposed that this stranger saw signs
ot a shoal of fish and was directing them
tnward it. Were not able to draw it. To
draw 11 up into the boat.
7. Therefore. At that moment, and as
a result of the event, the knowledge flashed
upon the mind of John. That disciple
whom Jesus loved. John,the deep thinker,
is the first to remember a time when, on
that same shore,there was another draught
of fishes and a call to discipleship. He re-
cognizes his Master in the stranger. Saith
unto Peter. Opposite as were the character-
istics of Peter and John'almost invariably
in this book and in Acts they are named
together. Each found in the other the
complement of himself, in one the life of
contemplation,in theother the life of action.
He girt Ms fisher's coat. A short sack
without arms, placed over the undergar-
ment. For he was naked. Having on only
his underclothing, a sort of ekirt, reaching
from shoulders to kneee,and girded around
the waist. Cast himself into the sea. It was
like John to be first in recognizing his Lord,
and like Peter' to be forward in rushing to
meet him. (3) It is well for us to forget
fish and net, houses and lande, when we
can find Jesus.
8, 9. The ether disciples. Some of them
are named in verse 2. Came in a little
ship. Perhaps the small boat used with
the larger vessel in fishing. Two hundred
cubits. About a hundred yards. Dragging
the net. It mey be that they did not hear
John's words and hence did not recognize
Jesus until they landed. A fire of coals,
Perhaps of charcoal, much used in oriental
lands. Fish . . . and bread. The simple
provision for a meal, provided in his own
divine way by the Lord.
10, 11. Bring of the fish, Some expositors
see in all this incident a symbolism of the
work of winning souls, and ab this pokit a
picture of the earnest minister bringing the
results of his toil to the feet of Jesus. Simon
Peter went up. Always the leader of the
apostolic band, in action and in speeoh. A
hundred and fifty and three. Their size
and number led the dieoiples to count
them.
12. Come and dine. More properly,
"Come and breakfast," since it was the
first meal of the day. None of the disciples
dust ask him. They knew that he was
their Lord, but reverence restrained them
from asking any question.
13, 14. Takebh bread, and givoth thein,
11 may be inferred that Joeue, 08 00 another
ocoadion after his resurrection, peace* of
food with his disciples. So this wax a fore.
tokening of the banquet of the Lamb, when
the laborers for Christ shall it down With
their laird on high. (4) Perhaps we may
learn also that those who give themselves
up to Christ's work shall be fed by him.
This is now the third time. The third time
in the presence of the disciplee in a body;
no account being taken of several appear.
anees to individuals,
15. When they had dined. Revised
Version, "Broken their fast," Jesus seith
to Simou Peter. Three times had Peter
denied his Lord, and now three times he ie
called upon to confess him, Lovest thou
me ? The verb ia not the same in these
three sentences. Dr, Sohaff translates the
three questions, answers, and commands as
follows : 1, "Lovest thou me more than
these ?" "I dearly love thee," "Feed my
lambs," 2. "Loveet thou mo?" "1 dearly
love thee." "Shepherd my sheep." 3.
"Deist thou love me dearly 7" " I /early
love thee," "Feed my sheeplings." More
than these. Peter had declared that lie
would be true to the Saviour, even though
all forsook him; he is now asked whether
he loves Christ more than these his fellow-
disciplea loved him. Thou knowest that 1
love thee. He no longer avouches his own
loyalty, but appee.le to the Saviour, who
knows his heart, to behold hie love. Feed
my lambs. A charge to the apostle, who
had learned by experience the weakness of
his own character, to care for and strength-
en the weak ones in the flock of Christ, (5)
The first requirement of the disciple is
love for his Saviour. (6) He who loves
his Saviour will love his Saviour's
followers, and deal with them gently.
16. The second time. .Again Christ
asks the same munition, and Peter makes
the same answer. Lovest thou me ? As
before, Jesus uses a word referring to the
higher love from man to God ; and Peter
answers with a word indicating the lore of
O natural affection, a friendship between
man and man. Feed my sheep. Revised
Version," Tend my sheep," or "Act ars a,
shepherd," meaning care and guidance as
well as feeding.
17. The third time. The third time
jesus uses Peter's own expression and
asks, "Do you indeed love me as a friend?"
Peter was grieved. Not merely at the
threefold inquiry, but at the change in his
Lord's language, which pressed upon him
the question, "Are you indeed my friend ?"
Thou knowest. Notice that the pride and
self-confidence of Peter are all gone, and
that now he bids his Saviour look within
his heart and see his love.
ONCE HAPPY LAND OF CHINA.
The Miseries Civilization Will Bring
lJpelLIt.,
The Republique Francaise publishes an
interview with a Chinese scholar who lives
in Paris and is the author of & volume on the
Parisians. "You wish to know," said he,
"the opinion of our philosopher:: and sages
In regard to the effect of the war just ended
upon the condition of the Chinese. Well,
I will give it to you. I put aside all the
humiliations of defeat, and place myself
upon more solid ground. The war has
robbed us forever of our tranquility and
our happiness. We were happy, and Ied
simple lives; but, by bringing to us what
you may call the 'benefits of civilization,'
the Japanese will destroy our traditions
and our hereditary virtues, confuse our
customs and mode of living, and make us,
like themselves, ambitious, restless, and
eager for conquests. And what will we
gain by that?
"You fancy that the Chinese are ignor-
ant, poor, and wretched, but you must
remember that happiness exists in the idea
that one forms of it. In other words, a
man is berme when he believes himself
happy, when he confines his desires to the
few joys which are within his reach. The
peasant who eats his rice at the close of his
day's work is satisfied with his fate,
provided he keeps his eyes away from the
riches of others, and closehis heart against
covetousness.
TEE EVIL SENTIMENTS
of envy, jealousy, and sooial hatred have
never yet penetrated our population, I
assure you that you wrong the poor Chinese.
They are gentle, mild, good humored,
honest, scrupulous, loyal, sympathetic, and
charitable. You may have read the
accounts of certain cruelties and barbari-
ties, but they belong to the laws of war,
whioh are equally barbarous in ail coun-
tries. In a condition of peace, when their
quietude is not disturbed, the Chinese are
of marvellous benignity, which is only
equalled by the gentleness of their wives,
I fancy that I know the Parisian ladies,
but I do not hesitate to say that the Chin.
eee women are superior to them. In the
first place, our ladies have little feet. They
are good natured and devoid of all coque-
try. They have a deep sentiment of mod•
esty, and their existence passes alongivitin
out disputes and without quarrels. The
woman who makes scenes is unknown in
our favored climate. Our women are con-
tented with the diesses that their lords
and masters give them, and theynever run
up bills with dressmakers or modistes.
Moreover, luxuries in China are not costly.
A furnished house with all the modern im-
provements can be rented for sixty francs
a year. For a few cents a day you can
have the most sumptuous dinners.
" The victory of the Mikado means the
disappearance of our golden age. He has
thrown down our walls. Now, the walls
of Chide were symbolical ; they eheltered
the country against the winds from with-
out. I mean those winds that bring with
them pests and civil war."
COLONIAL JUDGES.
Lord ltosebery's tiers or the
Canadian and Australian Supreme
Courts May Sit jSL MO Privy COMICAL
A despatch front London says :—Lord
Roseberyhae introduced a bill in the House
of Lords to authorize any judge who has
been a member et the Supreme Court of
Canada or of any one of the Australian
colonies to become a member of the Judical
Committee of the Privy Couucil. The
salaries of such judges, under the bill, are
to be paid by the col onies.
The Times says that the bill is intended
to add another link in the golden chain of
the Empire. Lord Rosebery implies that
if the colonies want to be better represent-
ed on the Imperial Court of Appeal, they
must pay for the representation. If the
meaeure has any practical result, it will
moan that the Canadian Chief Justice,
previously made a right honourable, will
ocoasionally nome over and sit in a Cana-
dian appeal ease, The memo will be true
with the Chief Justices of the colonies in
Australia, and Africa. This meet be a
practical and useful but it is not a very
inagnificenb reform,
,Tonee—"I hear that you have a good
organ at your lodgings. 30o you know how
nutny stops it has 1" She—"Only about
three a day, and those are not long
ABOUT THE HOUSE.
Dyeing Straw Hats.
Cleanse the etrow thoroughly first, This
on be done by making a solution of 2 oz
cooking soda to 1 gallon hot water. Pb
the hat in it, weight it down with a clean
stone, so that it will all be covered, and
let it remain all night. When you are
ready to dye it take it out and rinse in
several waters, Prepare a package of
diamond dye for cotton aocording to the
directions on paekets for cotton goods, ex-
cept that less water should be used, as a
stronger dye is necessary for straw goods
than for ordinary fabrics. Bleak, navy
blue, slate or any other color may be used
in the same way. Have the vessel large
enough to hold the hat, with plenty of dye
to cover it, and boil the hat in it from 30 to
45 minutes. If you are dyeing anything
besides black, let it remain until the desired
shade is produced, or if a black dye is used,
until it becomes a jet black. Rinse in two
waters, scouriug with an old tooth brush. If
you have a hat mold of the desired shape,
put the hat on it until dry. A block of
wood, out to fit the crown and covered with
aeveral thicknesses of cloth, will answer
the purpose. It should be just; high enough
to allow the brim to rest on the table.
The last proceeding before trimming is
to stiffen and make the hat glossy. Take
a piece of glue the size of a hickory nut and
about the same quantity of gum arabic and
dissolve in a pint of warm water. Brush
the hat ail over with this water, wetting it
through and through, Now must come
the final shaping, as it will take when dry
any shape into which it te pressed while
wet. A quantity of good dye will be left
after the hat is done and it may be used
for any kind of cotton goods or for carpet
rags. Do not feel discouraged, you who
have old hats to renovate, for the work is
very simple and the average woman can
accomplish wonders in this line.
Canned Salmon.
Salmon is one of the emergency meats
with us. It admits of a variety in the
manner of serving. If to be served hot,
place the oan in hot water for a few minutes
before opening. Turn out on a platter,
remove bones and simply serve with salt
and pepper or pour over it a drawn butter
gravy made by mixing smoothly together,in
a saucepan, over the fire, a tablespoonful of
flour and one of butter. Add water; when it
boils itshould be of the consistency of thick
sweet cream. It may be served cold with
salt, pepper and yinegar or with slices of
lemon. A more elaborate dish is made by
removing all bones and skin from one can
of salmon, adding four tablespoonfuls of
sweet cream, season with salt, pepper and
mix in the beaten yolks ot 4 eggs and then
the whites, beaten to a stiff froth. Fill
buttered custard cups two-thirds full of this
mixture, stand them in a pan of hot water
and bake 15 minutes in a hot oven. Remove
carefully from the cups, serve in a flat dish
with parsley and sliced lemon.
A Few Hints.
I colored my white straw hat black by
applying four or five coats of French dress-
ing, with the sponge that comes in the
bottle, and my hat is a nice black and is as
good as new.
New brushes that are an improvement on
the feather duster have long handles with
the brush of lamb's wool,which gathers the
dust and holds it These brushes can he
washed after using, whereupon they are
again made as white and soft as wool.
Shoes repay good care. On taking them
off do not leave them in the shape of the
foot, bui smooth them by etretching out
the wrinkles andbending the soles straight.
If buttons are locking, sew them on at
once, and never wear a shoe with a single
button off, as it destroys the shape. If
heels become worn down on one side,
straighten them without delay or the ehoe
will take a permanent twist.
" In cooking green vegetables, such as
peas, beans and a.sparadue," said an
experienced housekeeper, " it will be
founil that by soaking them for an hour or
two in cold water they will regain much of
that fresh, delicious flavor which is the
principal charm of country vegetables.
Also that e. spoonful of salt in the boiling
water in which they are cooked will pre.
serve their green color."
Chloride of lime should be used quite
freely in warm weather as a disinfectant in
water closets, sinks, drains and in cellars
where cooked food is not kept If it is
homemade it is quite inexpensive, and is
nearly as good as that in the market. Make
a brine, using a quart of salt to a gallon of
water, and use it to slake sufficient stone
lime to make a moderately stiff paste.
Limewater should always be kept in the
summer. A teacupful added to bread
sponge will prevent souring. A little in
milk or cream will retard acidity several
hours. Milk which would otherwise "turn"
when heated will not curdle if a little
limewater is added before it is put over the
fire. Limewater and milk used freely
correct indigestion. Keep it id jugs or
colored bottles.
In response to an inquiry about canning
meat after being cooked, writes Mrs. E. H.,
my way is to fill cans comfortably fnll, not
crowded, then solder the cap on and solder
the vent tight, put into some vessel and
boil 40 minutes, then punoh the cover to
let out the hot air and seal or solder that
place immediately. I have kept chicken in
this way several years perfectly good.
Raw meat is treated the same and then
boiled for two or three hours, when it will
keep for years.
Knew Some English, but Not That.
A Frenchman was boasting that he had
thoroughly mastered the English language
when he was asked to write from dictation
the foltowing choice specimen of our ohoice
eccentric vernaoular :
"As Hugh Hughes was hewing a yule
log from a yew tree a man dressed in
garments of a dark hue eame rip to Hugh
and said : MVO you seen my ewes?' To
which he replied If you will wait until
I hew this yew I will go with you -to look
for your ewes,'"
After an attempt the Frenchman admit -
tett hie mistakes. He used to imagine he
wee used to English epeaking,but he would
in more careful how he used the language
be future.
SIZE 01? FAMILIES IN ERANCE•
eilany Odd rods About Marrlatteti andII
Oirtha Obtained by tiM
Stitt IS Meta.%
Turquan, a Parisian statistioian, has been
studying the reports of marriages and
births in his native country and has drawn
therefrom some interesting conolusions as
to the size of the French family. During
the first two years after marriage half of
lhe newly wedded couples in Freuce have
no children at all ; two-fifthe have mtechilds
about one-tenth have two; per cent, of the
entire number rather overdo the business,
having three children,
Of couples that have been married three
to five years, only one-fifth are without
children; more than a third have on apiece)
a forth have two and a tenth have three,
which is apparently the maximum number,
as no higher figure is mentioned.
Ati the length of the married life inoreasee
the number of children aka increases, and
the number of families having ne living
child diminiehes; of those that have been
married sixteen to twenty-five years only
13 per cent. are childleas while 3 to 4 per
cent, have seven oitildran. The average
duration of marriage at which the family
reaches its maximum number is found to be
twenty years.
The average number of living children in
a family throughout France is 2.10. If the
families who have no ohildren are thrown
out of a000unt this number rises to 2.594
A little thought will show that if these
figures are oorreot population cannot be in-
creasing very fast in 1 ranee, and is probebly
stationary or tending to deoreaee.
M. Turquan has also treated his statistics
in a different way, calculating from them
the chances of having a child at different
periods of wedded life. It appears thaft
the chance of having a living child at the
end of the first two years is slightly snore
than one-tnird; the chance of having one
from the third to the fifth year and keeping
it alive till the end of that period is only
one -filth; from the sixth to the tenth years
it falls to a sixth, and from the eleventh to
the fifteenth to a fourteenth while after
the twenty-fifth it is inappreciable.
KING DAVID AS A GENERAL.
--
A French fictionist Comments OIL the Tacticei
IleLsed In Routing; the Philistines.
At the last meeting of the Academie dee
Inscriptions et Belles-Lettres, of France M.
Dieulafoy, the well-known explorer in Per-
sia, read a very interesting account of his
visit to the scene of the deoisive encounter
between King David and the Philistines in
the Valley of Rephaim. 1.L Dieulafoy
describes how, after the capture of Jerusa-
lem by David and the establishment of the
Israelite monarchy, the Philistines resolved
to crush therm:went kingdom, and how after
alternations of success and failure, they oo-
cupied the Valley of Rephaim, situated at
the foot of the slopes which led from the
west to Jerusalem. It was then, according
to M. Dieulafoy, that David, constantly
attacted by his enemies, executed one of
the finest military manoeuvres recorded in
his story. M. Dieulafoy, while indioating
the various advances made by military art,
and having shown that before the wars of
the Medes no nation had any acquaintance
with the rules of higher tactics and strategy
dwelt upon the fact that David was the
first of the Israelite leaders to form drilled
and disciplined troops, and pointed out
what good use the king made of this army
in the valley of Rephaim.
The plan of the battle, very clearly de-
scribed in the Bible, which ascribed the
conception of it to Jehovah, comprised a
flank march, a rapid change of front, the
rapid encompassing of the left wing of the
Philistines, and an attack from behind on
this wing. This was a complicated and
bold turning movement,very difficulttoexe-
cute and something quite cm tof the common
for the age in which it was carried out.
M. Dieulafoy, who had discovered the
theatre of operations and had made use of
the general topography of the region in
order to reconstitute the principal phases
of the battle, pointed out that this move-
ment presented a striking analogy with
those executed by Frederick II. at the
battles of Mollwitz and Rosebach and by
Napoleon at Austerlitz. In the conduct of
this operation David gave evidence of the
highest capacities, taking advantage of all
the inequalities of the ground, forming hie
troops afresh in the wood, and charging
impetuously, and M, Dieulafoy insisted
very strongly upon the similarity of his
military genius to that of Napoleon.
CANADA HAS ALL THE NICKEL.
sin This may cive lifer Control or the
Shipbuilding Industry.
When nickel steel conies into general use
for the construction of vessels,as it undoubt.
edly will, Canada will, in a sense, control
he shipbuilding industry, because, so far
as is at present known, there is very little
nickel outside of the Dominion, while we
have nickel -bearing pyrites practically
without limit. That whole vaet stretch of
territory reaching from Lake Superior to
Labrador is rich 10 it and will produce
hundreds of thousands of tons of it annually
for an unlbnited period whenever the
demand requires it.
It has been demonstrated by conclusive
tests that steel, mixed with, say, 5 per
cent. of nickel, is double the strength of
ordinary steel. In the oonstruction of
men.of•war the advantage is obvious and
in building merchant vessels the benefit to
be derived from the use of nickel -steel is
equally plain, as it will enable them to be
bnilt much lighter than they are now,
which means leas coal and less engine power
with an equal amount motility and equal
amount of speed. It will only be
a few years when a wooden vessel
will be something of a novelty and
the new vessels will before very long,
for the reasons indicated,be made of niekel.
steel and this will he the only metal in
demand for the purpose. Another advent.
age which steel having nickel in its com-
position possesses over ordinary steel
is that it will not corrode and that:
barnacles cannot get) a foothold on it, so
that niokel-steel ship's bottom will never
require to be scraped.
Absent .Minded.
Customer (with chapped ha.nde)—Have
you anything, that will drive away chaps
Druggist (man of fainily)—Yseer,
keep a clog ,
What He Wished,
Cobbs—That was a • pretty Sentiment:
'young Masher got off the other night when
bidding Miss Plumpy good•niAlit.
Dobbs—So? what Was it ?
Cobbsi—He Raid he wishoil. she wa
ed up in his arms ali4 the kity lost. .00