The Exeter Times, 1895-12-12, Page 3GOD AND •TilE N.A.TION
DEL TALMAGE TALKS TO THE GATH
BRING CONGRESSMEN.
nation in armee indignation. What
could eorae but extermination I
the opening a the war the com-
mander-in-chief of tbe 'United Stetee
- forces, Wag a man who ad beea great
in battle, but olcl age had come, with
many infirmities, aucl he had a right
to quietude. He could eot mount a
horse, and lie, rode on the battlefield
in a oarriage, asleing the driver
not to jolt too mach. During
the most of tbe our years of the con-
test on the Southern Side a mart in
midlife, who bad in hie veins the blood
of many generations of warriors, him-
self one of the heroes of ahdrubusco
and Cerro Gordo, Contreras and Chap-
ultepece As the yeera passed on and
the scroll of carnage unrolled there
came out •from both sides a honied:,
and a strength, and a determination
that the world had never seen mar-
shaled, And what but extermination
could come wnen Plallip Sheridan and
Stonewall Jackson met, and Nathaniel
Lyon and Sidney Johnstoe rode it
from North and South, and Grant and
Lee, the two thunderbolts of battle,.
clashed? Yet we are a nation, and yet
we are at peace. Earthly oourage did
not decide the conflict. The upper
forces of the text -they tell us there
was a battle fought above the clouds
on Lookout Mountain, but there was
something higher than that
Again, the horses and chariots of
God came to the venue of this nation
in 1876, at the close of a presideutial
eleotion faraoua for ferocity. A dark-
er cloud yet settled clown upon this
nation. The result: of the election was
in dispute, and revolution, not between
two or three aections, but revolution in
every town and. village and city of the
Matted States, seemed imminent. The
prospect was that New York would
throttle New York, and New Orleans
would grip New- Orleans, and Boston
Boston and Savannah Savannah, and
Washington Washington. Some said,
Mr. Tilden was elected, others said
Mr. Hayes was elected, and how near
we came to universal massacre some el
us guessed, but God only knew. I as-
cribe .our escape not to the honesty
• and. righteousness of infuriated poli-
ticians, bet I ascribe it to theupperforces of the text.
Chariots of mercy rolled in, and
though the wheels were not heard, and.
the flash was not seen, yet alt through
the mountains of the North and the
South, and the East and the West,
though the hoof did not clatter, the
cavalry of God galloped by. 1 tell you
• God is the friend of this nation. In the
awful excitement at the massacre of
Lincoln, when 'there was a prospeot
that greater slaughter would open up-
on this nation, God hushed the tem-
pest. In the aerial excitement at _the
time of Garfield's assassination God.
put his foot on •the neck of the cyclone.
To prove God is on the side of this na-
tion I argue from the last eight or
nine great national harvests, and from
the national bealth of the last quarter
• of a century, epidemics very excep-
tional, and. from the great revivals of
religion, and from the spreading of the
church of God, and frora the continent
blossoming with asylums and. reform-
atory institutions, and from an Eden-
ization which promises that this whole
land is to be a paradise, where God
shall walk.
I am encouraged. more than I can
tell you. as I see the regiments wheel-
ing down the sky; and my jeremiads
turn into doxologies, and that which
was the Good. Friday of the nation's
crucifixion becomes the. Easter morn of
its resurrection. Of course God works
through human intrumentalities, and.
this national betterment is to come
among other things through a scru-
tinized. ballot -box. By the law of reg-
istration it is almost impossible now to
, have illegal voting. Therewas a time
I -you and 1eemembee it very well -
when droves of vagabonds wandered
up and down on election day, and from
poll to. poll, and. voted here and voted
there and voted everywhere, and there
was no challenge, or, if there were, it
amounted to nothing, because. noth-
ing could so suddenly be proved upon
the vagabonds. •Now in every well or-
ganized neighborhood every Toter is
watched with severest scrutiny. If I
am in a region where I am allowed a
vote. I must tell the registrar my
name, and low • old I am, and how
long I have resided in the state, and
how long I have resided in the ward
or the township, and if I misrepresent
50 witnesses will rise and shut me out
from the ballot box. Is not that a
great advance? And then notice the
aw that prohibits a man voting if he
has bet on the election. A step far-
ther needs to be taken, and that man
forbidden a vote who has offered or
taken a bribe, whether it be in the
shape of a free drink • or cash paid
down, the suspicious cases obliged to
put their handon the Bible and swear
heir vote in if they vote at all. So
through the sacred chest of our na-
tion's suffrage, • redemption will come.
God will sa,ve this nation through an
aroused moral sentiment. There has
never been so much discussiou of mor-
als and iramorals. Men, whether or
not they acknowledge what is right,
have to think what is right. We have
men who have bad their' hands in the
public treasury the most of their life-
time stealing all they could lay their
hands on, discoursing eloquently about
dishonesty in public servants, and men
with two or three families of their
•own preaching eloquently about the
belutie,s of the seventh commandment.
The question of sobriety and druuken-
• ness is thrust in the face of their nae
time as neeer before and takes a ipart
in our political contests. The question
•of national sobriety is going to be res-
pectfully and deferentially heard at
the bar of every legislature, and every
house of representatives, and every
state senate, and an omnipotent voice
will ring down the sky • across this
land. and back again, saying to these
rising tides of drunkenness which
threaten to 'whelm home and church
and nation, "Thus lar Shalt thou come,
but no farther, and here shall thy
proud waves be staid."
I have eot in my mind a shadow of
disheartment as large as the shadow of
a, house fly's' wing. My faith is in the
upper forces, the -upper armies of the
text. Gad is not dead. The chariots
are not unwheeled. If you would only
pray more arid wash your 'eyes in the
cool, bright water fresh from the well,
of Christian reform, it would be said of
vote as cif this one of the text, "The
Lord opened the eyes of the young
man, and he saw, and, belaold, the
mountain was full of hones and char-
iots of fire roiled about Blithe."
When the array of Antigonus went
into battle, his soldiers were very
inueh diseottraged, and they rushed, up
to ate general and said to him, "Don't
yoa see we have a few forces, and
thee have so teeny more ?" And the
soldiers wen, affrighted ate the small-
ness of their number and the greatness
of the enemy. Antigonus, their com-
mender, stratghtened lainuelf up Mad
said, with iedignation and vehemence.
"How many do you reckon me to .bo?
And, Whee we See the vast artnies ex-
-tend. against the cause of sobriety it
may sometimes be very discouraging,
but I ask you in makitig up your esti-
mate of the tome of righteousness -
eek eou how many do seott reckon the
Lord. &cel. Almighty te, be 1 He is ow'
commander, The Lord of Poets is his
15 Sere that Divinity PI on Our Ode
anti That one March willtrovirY r°111'
tics and Prolect the RiiIOtRon tn the
nee,
Washington,. Deo, 1. --As to -morrow
the Congress of the United States as
sembles and many of the Menabctrs
were present at the delivery of this
tome% Dr. '.1.3alinage took a raost ap-
propriate theme, showing that in all
their ovork they might realize that God
has always been on the side of this na-
tion. Text, II, Xings vi, 17." And the
Lord opened the (Ina of the young
mart, and he saw, and, behold, the
mountain was full of horses and char-
iots of fire round about Elisha."
The American Congress is assein.b1-
ling. Arriving or already arrived here
are the representatives .of all sections
• of thia beloved land, Let us welcome
• them with prayers and benedictions.
A nobler group at men never 'entered
Washington than those who will to-
morrow take tneir plans in the Senate
eluunber and. the Howls of Represen-
tatives. Whether they eome alone or
leave their families at the homestead
far away, may the blessing of the Eter-
nal God be upon them 1 We invite
them 'to our churches, and together,
they in political spheres and. we in re-
ligious oireles, will give the coming
months to consideration of the best
interests of this country, which God
has blessed so much in the past that I
propose to show younnd show them, so
far as I may now reaeh their ear or
to -morrow their eye thrangh the print-
ing press, that God will be vvith them
• to help them as in the text he filled
the mountains with help for Elisha.
As it cost England. many regiraents
and §2,000,000 a year to keep safely a
troublesome captive at St. Helena, so
the Xing of Syria sends out a whole
army to capture one minister of relig-
ion -perhaps 50,000 men to take Elisha.
During the night the army of Syrians
earne around the village of Dothan,
where the prophet was staying. At
arty daybreak the manservant of El-
ena, leashed en and said: "What shall
we do There is a whole army come
to destroy you.1 We must die! We
must die!" But Elisha was not scared
a bit for he looked up and saw the
mountains all around. full of supernat-
ural forces, and he knew that if there
were 50,000 Syrians against hire there
were 100,000 angels for him, and in an-
swer to the prophet's prayer in behalf
of his affrighted manservant the young
mans saw it too. Horses of fire har-
nessed to chariots of fire, and drivers
of fire pulling reins of fire on bits of
Lire, and warriors of fire with bran-
dished swords of fire, and the brilli-
ance of that morning sunrise was
eclipaed by the galloping splendors of
the celestial cavalcade. "And the Lord
•neened the eyes of -the young man, and
ssee" e saw, and behold, the mountain was
full of hoeses a.nd chariots of fire
round about Mishit." I speak of the
upper forces of the text that are to
fight on our side as a nation. If all
the low levels are filled with armed
threats, I have to tell you. that the
mountains of our hope and courage
and faith are full of the horses and
chariots of divine rescue.
You will notice that the divine equip-
age is always represented as a chariot
of fire. Ekekiel and Isaiah and John,
when they come to describe the divine
equipage, always represent it as a
wheeled, a harnessed, an upholstered
conflagration. It is not a chariot like
kings and conquerors or earth mount
but an organized and compressed fire.
That means purity, justice, chastise-
ment, deliverance through burning es-
capes. Chariot of rescue Yes, but a
chariot of fire. All our national dis-
enthralnaents have been through
scorching agonies and.• red disasters.'
Through tribulation nations rise. Char-
iots of rescue, but chariots of fire. But
how do I know that this divine equip-
age is on the side of our institutions?
I know it by the history of the last 119
years. The American Revolution start-
ed from the pen of John Hancock nei
Independence ffall, in 1776. The colon-
ies, without ships, without ammuni-
tion, without guns, without trained
warriors, without money, without pres-
• tige. On the other side, the mightiest
nation of the earth, the largest armies;
the grandest navies and the most dia-
. anguished commanders an resources
inexhaustible, and nearly alt nations
ready to back them up in the fight:
Nothing as against immensity.
The cause of the American colonies,
which started at zero, dropped still
lower through the Qua.rreling of the
generals, and through the jealousies
at small successes, and through the
winters which surpassed all predeces-
sors in depth of snow and horrors of
congealment. Elisha surrounded by
the whole Syrian army did not seem.
to be worse off than did the 13 colon-
ies encompassedand overshadowed by
foreign assault. What decided the con-
test in oar favor? The upper forces,
the upper armies. The Green and.
White mountains of New England,
the highlands along the Hudson, the
mountains of Virginia, an the Amble-,
thian ranges were full of re -enforce-
ments wflioh the young man Washing-
ton saw by faith, and his men endured
the frozezl feet, and the gangrened
wounds, and the exhausting hunger,
and the long march, because "the Lord
opened the eyes of the young man, and
ID saw, and, behold, the mountain was
full of horses and chariots of fire
arouna about Elisha." Washington
himself was a miracle, What Joshua
was in seared history, the first Araeri-
ean president was m secular history.
A thousand other men excelled him in
different things, but he exeelled them
all ha roundness and completeness of
character. The world never saw his
like, and probably never will see his
.like again, because there probably
never will. be another atoll exigency,
He• was let down a divine interposi-
tion. He, was from God direct.
/ do not know how many Oen read
the history of those time without ad-
mitting the contest was decided by the
upper forces. Then, in 1861, when oar
Chvil War opened, many at the North
end at the South pronounced it na-
tional suicide, It was not pottrage
against cowardice: it was not wealth
agahist poverty; it was not large
etates against smell states, It wee
heroism against heroism; It was
the re,sourne of many genera-
tions against the resources of genera-
tions ; it was the prayer of the North
against the prayer of. the South ; it
• was orte-half of the nation in armed
Wrath meeting the other half of the
•
TBE EXETER TIMES
naine, 1 have the beet atrthoritg fo
saying that the enariots of (sod are 20,
000 and the monntains are full of then
Hen yott any doubt about the nee
of the Cluestian religion to Perit
and. make decent American Poi
ace? At every yearly er quadren
nial election we Sieve ia this eoun-
try. great manufactories-menufac-
ntLilets,Qarialiciest-haarttahrenY aolu'et rhuallf daaYiler.zilelnd
a day, all equipped and ready for full
ailing. Large lies and sniall lies. Lice
peivatek and lies public), and lies pru-
rient, hes cat bias, end lies cut diags
onal, long limbea lies, awl lies with
double emelt actiou; lies complimentaXY
and lies dcl'arna,tory ; lies. that sense
people believe, and lies that all people
believe, and lies that nobody believes ;
lies with humps like camels, and. scales
like croccaliles, and necks as long as
storks, and feet as swift as an ante-
lope's, and stings like adders; lies raw
and scalloped and penned and stewed;
crawling lies, and jumping lies, and
soaring lies; lies with attachment
screws and. ruffiers and braiders and
ready wound bobbins; lies by Christian
people who never lie except during elee_
tions, and lies by people who always
lie, but beat themselves in a presi-
dential campaign.
I confess I am a.slaaraed to have a
foreigner visit this country in such
times. I shoutd tlunk he would 'stand
dazed, his hand on his pocketbook, and
dere not go' out nights. West will
the hundred of thousands of foreigners
who *come here to live think of us 'i
What a disgust they must have for
the land ot their adoption, Tbe only
good thaw about it is many, of thein
cannot understand the Englissh lan
guage. But I suppose the German and
italian and Sweedish and French pa-
pers translate it all and peddle out he
infernal stuff to the su.bsoribers. ,
Nothing but Christianity will ever
stop ,such a flood of indecency. The
Christian religion wifl speak after a
while. • The billingsgate and low .scan-.
dal through which. we wade every year
of every four years must be rebuked
by that religion which speaks from its
two great znountains-sfrom the one
mountain intoning the command, "Thou
shalt not bear false witness against
thy neighbor," and. from the other
mount, making tales for ,kindness and
blessing rather than =ming. Yes, we
are going to have a national religion
There are two kinds of national reli-
gion. The one is supported by the state
and is a matter of human politics and.
it has great patronage, and under it
men will struggle for prominence with-
out reference to qualifications, and its
archbishop is supported by a salary of
§75,000 a. year, and there are great
cathedrals, with all tbe machinery of
music and canonicals, and room for 1000.
people, yet an audience of 50 people, or
20 people, or 10 people or 2. We want
no such religion as that, no such nation-
al religion, but we want this kind of
national religion -the. vast majority- of
the people converted and evangelized
-and then they will menage the secu-
lar as well as the religious.
Do you say that this is impractic-
able? No. The time is coming Just as
certainly as there is a God, ancl that
this is his book, and. that he has the
strength and the honesty to fulfill his
promises. One of the ancient emperors
used to pride himself on performing
that which his counselors said was im-
possible, and I have to tell you to -day
that man's irapossible,s are God's eas-
ies, "Hath He said, and shall He not
do it? Hath He commanded, and will
He not bring. it topass?" The Chris-
tian religion is coming to take posses-
sion of every ballot box, of every
schoolhouse, of every home, of every
valley, of every mountain, of every
acre ef our national domain. This na-
tion, notwithstanding all the evil in-
fluenees that are trying to destroy it,
is going to live.
r names written on tile areniteeture of mar
eliurelies and our sebools, and our asy-
1. lulus, and our bones of mercy, but
a God te the architeet of this continent,
.31 and he *as the seulptor of all its gran-
t -
doors, and long affer--through thi
wash of the ages and the tempests of
centuries all other names shall be ob-
literated, the divine signature, and di-
vine natne will be brighter and brighter
as the millenniums go by, and the
world shall see that the God who made
this contiaent has redeemed it by his
grace treat, all its sorrows and from all
its crimes,
I/eve you faith in such a thing ee
that? After all the thariots have tease
unwheeled, and after all the war char -
gore have been crippled, the °harlots
whioh Elisha saw on the morning of
his peril will roll on in triumph fol-
lowed by all the armies 'of heaven on
wlaite horses. God (Auld do it without
us, but he will not. The weakest at us,
the faintest of us, the smallest brained
of as, shall have a part in the triumph.
We may not nave our narae, like the
lame of Sostratus, out in imperisia-
able rook, aed, conspicaous for centur-
ies, hut we shall be remembered la a
better place than that, even in the
heart of him who came to redesea us
and redeem the world, and our names
wen be seen °lose to the signature of
His wound, for, as to -day Re throws
out lais arms to us, He says, "Behold,
I havegraven thee ma the palms of my
h.and.', By the mightiest of all agen-
cies, the potency of prayer, I beg you
to seek our national welfare.
• Some time ago there were 4,600,000 let-
ters in the dead letter postoffice in this
city --letters that lost their way -but
not one prayer ever directed to the
heart ef God. miscarried. Tne way is
all clear br the ascent of your eupplica-
tion heavenward in behalf of this na-
tion. Before the postal comrounicetion
was so easy, and long ago, on a rock
100 feet high, on the ooast of England,
there was a barrel fastened to a post,
and in great letters on the side of the
rock, so it could be seen far out at sea,
were the words "Postoffice," andwhen
ships came by, a boat put out to take
and. fetch.letters. AIM so seemed were
those deposits of affection in that bar-
rel that no lock was ever put upon that
barrel, altheugh it contained meseages
for America and. Europe and Asia and
Africa, and all the islands of the sea.
Many a storra tossed sailor, homesick,
got inessages of kiedness by that rock,
and many a homestead heard good
news from a boy long gone. Would
that an the heights of our national
prosperity were in interchange of syrn-
pathies-prayers going up meeting
blessings coming down.- Postal celes-
tial, not by a storm struck rock on a
wintry coast, but by the Rock of Ages.
• Never since, according to John Mil-
ton, when " satan was hurled headlong
flaming. from the ethereal skies in hid-
eous rum and combustion down," have
the powers of darkness been so deter-
mined to win this continent. as now
What a jewel it is -a jewel carved in
relief, the cameo of this planet On
one side of us the Atlantic ocean di-
viding us from the wornout govern-
ments of Europe. On the other side
the Pacific ocean, dividing us from the
superstitions of Asia. On the north&
us the arctic sea which is the gymna-
sium in which the explorers and navi-
gators develop their courage. A con-
tinent 10,500 miles long, 17,000,000
square iniles and all of it but about
one-seventh capable.of rich cultivation.
One hundred millions of population on
this continent of North and South
America -100,000,000 and room formany
hundred millions more. All flora and
all fauna, all metals and all precious
woods and all grains and all fruits.
The Apatachian range the backbone
and the rivers the ganglia carrying
life all through and out to the ee-trem-
Hies. Isthmus of Darien the narrow
waist of a giant continent all to be
under one government and free and all
• Christian and the scene of Christ's per-
sonal reign on earth if according to the
expectation of many good. people He
shall at last set up His throne in this
world. Who shall have this hemisphere
-Christ or Who,
? Who shall have the
shore of her inland seas, the silver of
her Nevadas, the gold of her Clolora-
dos, the telescopes of her observator-
ies, the brain of her universities, the
wheat of her prairies, the rice of her
savannas, the two great ocean beach-
es, the one reaching from Baffin's Bay
to Tierra del Fuego and the other
from Behring strait to Cape Horn, and
all the moral and temporal and spirit-
ual and everlasting interests of a pop-
ulation ve6t beyond all human compu-
tation.? Who shall have the hemis-
phere? You and I will decide that, or
help to deeicle it; by conscientious vote,
by earnest prayer, by maintenance of
Christian institution, by support of
great philanthropies, by putting body
mind and soul on tbe right side of all
moral, religious and national move-
ments.
• Ab, it will not.be long before it will
not make any difference to yoa or to
me what becomes of this continent so
far as earthly comfort is concerned, All
we will want, of it will be 7 feet by
3, and' that will take the largest, and.
there will be room and to spare. That
is all of this country we will need very
soon -the yeungest bf as all. I3ut we
have an anxiety about the welfare and
the happiness of the generations that
are cottung on, and it will be a grand
thing if, when the Archangel's trumpet
sounds, we find that our sepulchre,
like the one Joseph of Arimathea pro-
vided for Christ, is in the midst of a
garden.
One ef the seven wonders of the
world was the white marble watch
towers of Pharos of Egypt. Sostratus,
the arehitect and sculptor, after build-
ing that watch tower cut his tame on
it. Then he covered it with plaster, and,
to please the king, he put the mon-
areh'e name on the outside, cat the plas-
tering, and the Atones beat arid the
seas dashed in their fury, and they
washed off the plastering, and they
witsbed it out, and they washed it
down, but the name of Sostratas was
deep era in the impeeishable rook. SO
&came the fade ,of this nation there
have been agreat many names 'written
-amuse our finances, tterosS our relig-
ion, names Worthy of remerabeance,
REAL HEROISM.
The Armenians Are the Most Heroic People
•
In the"World for the Sake or Their Re-
l
egi
o
r.n.
InMFrederick D. Green's book,
"The Armenian Crisis in Turkey,"
occurs the following sentence: "
handsome, newly wedded couple fled.
to a hilltop. Soldiers followed, and
told them they were pretty and would
be spared if they would accept Islam;
but even the thought of the horrible
death svnich they knew awaited them
did not prevent them front confessing
Christ."
This is only one of thousands of heroic
martyrdoms, equal to any the world has
ever seen, that happened in August,
1894, when the atrocious Turks des-
troyed many • villages and massacred
thousands of Armenians for no other
reason than that they were Christians.
This massacre in Sassoun only proves
again that of all nations the Armen-
ians are perhaps the most heroic in en-
durance for the sake of their religion.
The following story will illustrate the
national characteristic:
Fifteen hundred years ago, when Ar-
menia was a province. Persia the Persian
king wished to convert the people to his
ov. n religion,and sent an embassy bidding
them abandon Christianity and become
fire -worshippers. To this delegation
Vartan, the Armenian leader, boldly
said: -
" All our goods and possessions are in
your hands, and our bodies are before
you. If you leave us Mir faith, we will
not accept any other lord in place of
you; but we ,will accept no God in place
of Jesus Christ. We are not better than
our fathers, who gave for this testimony
their goods, their chattels and their
lives.', •
The Xing of Persia was amazed and
enraged. at the temerity of the refits., for
Persia was invincible, and Armenia was
as a spot upon the map. He sent an
army of two hundred thousand against
the stubborn mountaineers, and. Vartan,
with a handful of patriots, met this
force in battle under Mount Ararat.
The resistance was obstinate. Vertical
was killed, while old men and women
and. children fought with the strong for
their religion. An old historian quaint-
ly put it thus: "The swords of the
slayers grew dull, but the necks of the
conquered were not weary."
The Persian high priest, seeing that
although the battle bad been won, the
people had not been conquered, said to
the king: " These men have put on
Christianity not like robes, but like
their flesh and blood. Men who do not
dread fetters, nor fear torments, nor
care for their property,: and what is
worst of all, who choose death rather
than life -who can stand against
tbem ?"
• The people proved then, as they did
again a few months age, that while they
were ready to give up their lives, they
would never give up their faith. And
to this day, although the celebration
bass been forbidden by the Turkish gov-
ernment as seditious, the mountaineers
of the (3au.casus solemnly drink at their
festivals to the health of the dead Var-
tan; and the legend goes that even the
nightingales in Arroenia sing. " Var-
tan! V3rta,n1"
Beside a story of naartyrdom like this,
how slight and almost insignificant
seem the religious struggles of our
sheltered. lives
A Conjuror's Mistake.
A Platen conjuror, doing a perfotra-
ance at the court of Madagascar, naked
the queen through an ieterpreter if she
wduld taste a glass of wine. Oa her
refusal tbe conjurer, with simulated
anger, emptied the glass over her, and
the contents dropped in the shape of a
rose bite her majesty's lap. The botirt
functionaries were so indigrtant at his
.proceeding that they jumped up from
their seats, iesisted upon the queen's
leavitig the aPartritexit, mad charged
the performer With high treason. The
anfertunate mati had te be peotected
by tlao eaten troops from the fury Of
the populace, and was cote eller' to
leave the capital before day treak,
•
THE SUNDAYSCHOOL.
INTgRNA,TioNAL IzssoN, Deo, 15
"David And Jaaatiiale. 1 t4a)u.50,34-44
ir,;01464 Text, Prov, 18 54.
• GENERA'. STATEMENT.
A
e v e n t3/4' arLe. 1 a°tre anlionrethhe",iaspail sisne131:"Cpeatvbe
icl
otsel,aclvanced from One Station to an"
despite tne jealousy of Seel, ancl
now as a prince, having the king's
clationter as his wife, he sits with 3.ona-
than and, /Unser, the head of the army,
at the royal table. The eyes of all Is_
reel are upon him, and the suspicion
has now grown to a, certainty in the
laud of Saul that David is predestin,ed
king of Israel. Saul endeavors to fight
against God's purpose, and °ace and.
again, plans to compass his innocent riv-
al's death, At last David is compellea
to fly Irene court and. take refuge with
the venerable Samael at Ramale Hith-
er Saul pursues nim, thirsting for his
blood, but the spiritual atmosphere
around the aged seer overwhelms his
etinutrmof G
po5r,anocrsil
dforweicie hour Saul, the
is found among
God's prophets. But it is only for an
hour, for again the monarch is nurs-
ing hi a bitter purpose for David's blood.
Jonathan, the generous prince, royal, in
• friendship as dauntless in battle, secret-
ly meets with David, and agrees to
seund his father's mind toward him. A
signal is agreed. upon, svhieh sball re-
veal to David, and to David. only, what
are Saul's real. sentiments and whether
David may return to his place by the
throne, or must seek an exile's life afar.
Tete next day Saul's unrelenting and
eanseless hate is fully revealed, and he
is ready even to slay his own son for
speaking' in David's behalf. Jonathan
turas away from the untested food in
sore grief, not at his own wrong, bat
at his friend's. The next day, as David
sits in the shadow of a'rock, eager to
learn his fate, he sees jonathen and a
little boy come out saf the city. The
arrows are shot far over the plain, and
the fugitive's heart sinka as he hears,
"Is not the arrow beyond thee? make
speed, haste!" The sad truth is now
clear that he has naught but death to
expect from Saul, and he must hide
from bis hate among Israel's enemies.
The boy is dismissed, unconscious of the
message which has been delivered
through hire, but the two friends cap -
not part without a farewell meeting.
Tear.: and promises mingle as tlaey em-
brace each other, and the covenant is
renewed, pledging each to faithfulness
to the other, and their children after
them forever. The sad farewell is ut-
tered, and Jonathan returns to his
father, while David turns his face to-
ward yeare of exile and of wandering.
EXPLANATORY NOTES.
Verse 32. Jonathan. Jonathan ful-
filled the difficult part of loyalty to
the king, his father, and to David, his
friend, and in both relations was 'utter-
ly forgetful of self and. selfish interests.
Answered Saul. Who had just ordered
him to bring David that he might be
slain, since Jonathan's accession to the
throne could not be secure while David
lived. Wherefore shall he be slain?
David had. committed no crime, and
jonathan loved him too well to permit
his slaughter merely on account of
jealousy. Here the true princeliness of
Jonathan appears,. since be had only to
remain silent and see his formidable
rival to the throne removed from bis
way . •
33. Saul cast a javelin. This may
mean "brandished it," as in last les-
son, verse 10. He showed the same
ungovernable fury toward his own son
as toward David. Jonathan knew.
Convinced now that the desire to kill
David was not an insane ,frenzy, but
a settled purpose. Determined. .
to slay. He had tried to expose David
to the swords of Philistines; had hurl-
ed his spear at him, and had sent to
murder him at his own house; and now
was ready to slay his own son for speak-
ing hi David's behalf. 'Unwillingly Son-
athan was now certain that David
could no longer be safe at the court.
34. Arose from the table. At the
afternoon meal, for the interview with
David took place on the next morning.
In fierce anger. Not, however, for the
insult offered to himself, but to his
friend. Eat no meat. His sorrow for
David taking such complete possession
of his thoughts that his own bodily
needs were forgotten. Done him shame.
By branding him a traitor and order-
ing his death. (1) True friendship feels
for a friend more than for self. (2) It
i
is a. noble trait to bear wrongs n sil-
ence.
35. In the morning. Early on the
day following. Into the field. The
open country, probably near Gibeah, four
miles north of where Jerusalem after -
Ward stood. Time appointed. The plan
had been arranged, and David was in
hiding behind a rock or heap.of stones,
eager to learn his fate, whether of re-
conciliation or exile (see verses 18-24).
A little lad. Who would not suspect
the purpose of Jonathan, yet was neces-
sary to the plan. (3) Efeyv often people
are unconscious links in the cham of
destiny1
36. Run, find out now. The boy was
sent on in advance, and jonathan shout-
ed the directions aloud, so that David
might hear. The arrows. Three ar-
rows had been agreed upon; to be shot
at a distance if David was in danger,
avanncicenectofrhbany. if le could safely return.
running the arrow was shot far n ad -
As the lad ran. While the boywas
i
37, 38. Come to the place. Where he
might expect to find the arrow. Is not
the arrow beyond thee? Ile uses the
form of a question, in order the more
certainly to avoid suspicion, David
was listening, and. would know that the
words meant that he must excape for
his life. Make speed, haste. Words
whien would more clearly show to Devid
shis own danger and, the necessity for
Ispeedy flight out of the kingdom.
Gathered up the arrows. TMs would
indieate that three had been shot, as
had. been previously agreed upon.
39, 40. The lad knew not. (4) So we
are often unconscious helpers of higher
purposes than we dream. jonathart
and David. Jonathan is named first as
the higher in rank, and perhaps as the
more •lofty and. self-denying charcieter
in his friendship. Ilis artillery. His
weapons of archery, bow, arrows, and
quiver. The word is an old one, and
its present use, as referring to cannot,
Is ciente modern. Carry them to the
oity. Ile wished to find opportunity
to most David alone. This had not been
in the pla,n, bet be could not beer to
have his dearest friexia depart into exile,
perbaps never to nteet again, without
a word of farewell; though the inter-
view may ha,ve been at the risk of both
their lives.
41, David arose. From the place be-
hina the stone Ent where it hiding
ID had. wetehod and, listened. 0 rt of
e place I °wards the settle "A place"
Ls notni the original. "Out of the
south"is the literal interpretation;
perhaps referring to tbe south side of
the stone heap. The text ID the orig-
inal obscure and the lfiesninK
soune-
wbat uncertain. Pell on ids face,. Full
of feeling, and yet recognizing not only
tbe superior rank or, jonaban, but the
fact that he held David's life in his
halide, and. gratefully acknowledging his
kindness. Bowed himself three times.
Still showing sips of reverence. They
kissed tine enotlaer. Ito -silica' into each
other's arab as they drew near to each
other. Wept one with enotter. Both
had qauee tor aorraw-jonetheat in the
conactopeness of emanating cleitas of
duly, tne parting WW1 Ms best beloved
Uinta, the uneertainties of the future
and. his Oint loeely eta/edition ae the
court. David exceeded. Because his
was the greater trouble, exiled from
home, pareots, wife, friends, tee wor-
ship of God, wttn the eonsciOusness of
wrongs suffered innocoutly and the
daeger of death before him. These
were tee teve bravest men in Israel,
yet they wpb; the two noblest in the
realm, yet tier found eause for sot --
row. (5) H,igh birth and exalted station does not lessen the ills of life.
42. .Jonathan said. Everv moment
of delay was perilous, for Saul's ser-
vants might be watching for David, and
tne precious interview must be brought
ID a close. Go in peace. The comnaon
form of bidding fareavell. Our word
" good-bY " 'means "God be with you."
We have sworn, The vow of perpetual
frieedship had been already Made, and
eves here reeetved. In t e name of
the Lord. Every event in janathanes
life shows, not only a bran man, but
a believer. (13The stablest ohmmeter.
in God, The Lord be between me and
thee. As a withese to the mutual Prom-
ise, and an avenger if either shall fail
ID keep it. My seed and thy seed.
jonathrua felt that David. was to be
king, and the promise *as in view of
the time when his family might need.a
protector, as David needed one now.
The pledge was kept, and. at David's
royal table, la tbe atter years, sat Me-
hiboslaetn, the lame son of Jonathan
2 soars 9). He arose and departed.
David went forth to a life of exile and.
wand.erIng, which lasted until tne death
of Saul. Jonathan went into the intr.
He clung to bis father, though faithlia
to ins friend, and was the main sup-
port of his tottering throne.
and the bravest
deeds spring from faith
ROMANCE OF A WIG.
A Characteristically Parisian Love story
Wtth a Tragic Ending.
A tragic ending to a comic scene' has
resulted in the heroine of the adven-
ture being conveyed to the hospital in
a very precarious state, while the hero
is .securely under look and key at the ,
depot of the Prefecture of Police. in
Paris. The whole affair turned on
some silly fun and stupid horseplay
about a wig. A young man had. been
fascinated by the attraetions of a girl
a few years his junior and had asked
• to be permitted to pay his attentions
to her, but she was by no means dis-
posed to return the compliment, as he
had become very bald through illness,
and, as the object of his affections con-
cisely put it, she would never dream
of marrying any one with no hair on
his head.
The youth meditated over his dis-
comfiture, and then a happy thought
flashed upon him. He would repair
the ravages of unkind. nature by a re-
course to art, and forthwith he wend-
ed. his way to a hairdresser's shop and
became the delighted possessor of awig
with curls and love -locks and elaborate
partings in front and behind, which,
as he fondly hoped, would produce the
desired. impression on the heart of the
obdurate young woman.
• Thus adorned, he proceeded that
evening to a restaurant where she was
dining with some friends, but to his
horror she not only burst out laugh-
ing when he appeared on the scene,
but presently made a dash at his wig,
which she tore off, revealing his de-
nuded head to the astonished gaze of
the party. The youth endtiavored,to
wrest the wig from her grasp, and so,
finding herself hard pressed, the fair
maiden. passed it over to one of her
companions, who tossed it to the other
side of the room and then, as ignorant
of the fact, he still struggled, she dealt
him a slap in the face.
Beside himself with disappointment
and wrath, the young man snatched a
knife from the table, and ere the spec-
tators of the scene could interpose he
had stabbed the girl in the neck. Cries
of dismay now resounded, instead of
the peals of -laughter which had hith-
erto rent the air as the young wo-
Maia fell fainting to the floor. The po-
lice were summoned, and while the
youth was led off in custody the girl
was taken to the shop of a neighbor-
ing druggist, pending her removal to
the hospital. It is feared that she will
not recover.
Tricks of' Mexican Pickpockets.
TWO German gentlemen were talking
at the corner of First Plateros street,
just off the entrance of the Portal, in
the city of Mexico, when suddenly one
of them was roughly pushed by a pel-
ado. The C4ertnan tried to remonstrate
and even made motions with his cane
the tannish the offender. At this mo-
ment his companion felt a stinging pain
at the back of his neck. Another pel-
ado had thrown a burning match in-
side of his collar and naturally made
him throw up his hand, and while so
doing the pickpocket grabbed the man's
watch and chain and ran away, followed
by a policemen. The rater° was not
caught. The •Gerrnan's timepiece was a
silver one, of little value, and what the
Teuton felt most keenly was the burn-
ing of his neck.
British Army Pensions.,
The ordinary pension to the widow of
a,Lieutenant in the army is A40, and
410 for eachT child. A Captain's widow
has £50, and 412 for each child: a
Littatenatt Colonel's widow, £90, and
£16 for each child: a General's widow,
A19q, and 420 for each child. If death
is directly traced to fatigue, privation
or exposure, the pensions are Increased
by half as much again; if the officer is
killed in setion, or dies al wounds with-
in twelve months of the battle, the Pen-
sions are doabled. The ordinary pen-
sions are not granted if the officer was
twenty-five years older than his wife.
EXperienee.
Mr, Gotham -Live in tbe suburbs,
eh You. have had plenty of experience
at catching trains then, I suppose.
Mr. Saburb-Well, 0-0, can't say thet
I have; but. Inc had lots of experience
at missing 'ens.
---
She-tfave you ever loved anybody
else, Harold S He (apalogetiectlly)--
Well-you know how it youreelf.
INCREDIBLE &TROCITIES
BD BY A XISSIONARY,
Nattves kaildeolf Shot PoWn Titer plate
to firlag, Tribute lieniandq4-4groed
Pettf CoveVIAOrfi 101%01a4tnit 141040
and hoineing 'ThousandS to SiOrVaiioill.
Tne Bev. 'Tan B. Murphy, et ti4
•staff of the 4merican Baptist Mitisiore.
lay Union, wit° hap werked le the
Congo for nbae years, returned to Auto
were) reeently by the steamship Leo*
poldyille, His leet etatiell WAS Ef,-Lwo
ville, in the mitre of the Congo Fre4
State. He Is the last arrival frora thera,
He says
" The seat of the government of thie
Congo Free State Is at Board, camel
fifty miles from the coast and 250 frox4
Stanley Pool, alien ought to be the real
Omago centre. It tekes four weeks
conaraunicete between these two plena
been it becomes almost iscipossible to
the governor to manage his vast an4
unwieldy territory SO that the commiSo
stoners of petty governors or late intetiniA
districts nave almost unlimited Powell
The °facers of tite state are young 444
inexperienced. They do not come out al
colonists to develop the country, but i0;
order thet tney may receive quick pro
motion, the Cougo decoration, and, above
all, to get money. Of course there ael
some noble exceptions, but it is onl ,
the few who have an interest in the coicat4
try and the well-being of the people.
"It has been said by some trader that
the Xing of the Congo Free State is the
largest slave -holder in the dominionned
this is true, although the ofacers, by
play upon words, get rid of the stater
meat by calling them liberated slaves. I '
ha,ye been told. by naval and other
officers of the state that a certain au ,
per head is paid by the government t
the commessaires of the districts froift
which the slaves are reeeived and to the
naval officers who bring such slaves in0
ID camp. These wretched slaves semi
find that they have only cita,nged mas-
ters, and it will be found that about
fifty percent of these are in
A STARVING CONDITION.
" The state has placed posts in all the
towns upon the river banks and in mos%
of the inland towns. Each. post is cones
mended by a black corporal and acme-
pany of soldiers belonging to a hostile
tribe. They are armed with Europeati
guns, and are commanded to stop every,
canoe that passes the river post.
The rubber question in our distrait
has reduced the people to a state of des-
era,te despair. Each town is foreed to
ring a certain quantity to the heads,
quarters. The soldiers drive the peeple
into the bush, and if they will not gett
shoot them, and their left hands are out
off and taken as trophiea to the conaznis-
saire. Their hands -the hands of men,
women and children -are placed m eowit
before the commissaire, who counta
them to see that the soldiers have not
wasted, their cartridges.
"One day a state corporal who wasin
charge, of the 'post' of Toilfe, was going
around the town collecting rubber; he
came to a poor old woman whose hest.
band was away fishing. He said: 'Where
is your husband?' She answered by
pointing to the river. He then said:
Where is his rubber?' She answered:
It is ready for you.' Whereupon hp
said.: 'You lie.' Then lilting his gun,
he shot her. In a little time the hus-
band returned and was told of the mur-
der of his wife. He went straight to the
corporal, taking with him his rubber and
asked. why the corporal had shot his
wife. The bereaved. man was so enraged
ID could contain lumself no longer, so
ID
• SHOT THE CORPORAL.
The soldiers ran away to the headquar-
ters of the state and made misrepresen-
tations of the case, with the result that
the comraissaire sent an army to sup-
port the authority of the soldiers. The
town was looted, burned and many peo-
ple killed and wounded.
" In one place in the interior I stood.
by the side of the river and heard a lit-
tle boy describe how he had seen them
shoot people for not fetching rubber,
and at the same time he pointed to the
flagstaff to which the poor victims had
been tied, and which still bore the bul-
let and blood marks. My companion
pinractlitiece.field. bas witnessed this awful
"I cannot tell how many wars this
burning question has caused.,but I will
tell of one. In November 1894 they had.
a great fight upon the Bosira, because
the people refused. to give rubber, and I
am told. upon the authority of a state
officer that 1,390 people were killed in
the fight. The conamissaire is peed_ %—
commission of about one pmeny a
pproounmcle.duinpogns. all the rubber he gets. The
plants are being ruined by the hasty
"The wlaite °facers do not know the
language of the people, ancl trust too
much to their native soldiers, evhoee
chief aim in life, as a rule, is to plunder.
These men are sent out to fight very
often without any responsible ,officers
being with them. -
" On Dec. 23, 1893, the state sent down
some canoes under cover of night to the
town of Ikengo. The people were -via-
ly sleeping in their beds when they heard
a shot fired. They ran out to -see what
the matter was. They found that the
soldiers had landed and surrounded the
town. Their only thought then was to
escape. They ran out of their nomes,
men, women and children, only to be
RIITECLESSIX MURDERED
by these inhuman monsters. Their
town was utterly destroyed, and is a
ruin unto this clay. The only reason
Lor this fight was: They had failed
to bring kwartga (food.) to the state
upon that one day.
"Again, the people of Lake Mum-
tumba had run away on account of the
cruelty of the state. Being anxious
to get these people back they sent a
party of soldiers, m charge of a color-
ed. corporal, to treat with them. On
the way they met a canoe containing
seven of them, and. for some paltry
pretext made the people land, shot
them, cut oft their hands •and took
them to the eorataissaire. The Men-
tumba people came and complained to
the missionary at Irebon, arid he went
down to see if it Was true, He found
that one of the seven was a little
girl who was not, quite dead. He re-
scued the child and she lives to -day,
ttliael,s.tump of her handless arta being
a. witness against this horrible prac-
The Difference.
Mrs. Suburb -What is .this, a term-
naent.honee ?
Mrs. De Platt-tiadeed it isn't. It's
ail apartment -house.
'What's the difference ?
All the difference ie. the world.
a tenement -house you rent roo
ertil.111 nai apaetment-house you 1
apartmente. •