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Home My WebLink AboutExeter Times, 1896-3-12, Page 3OCIESENT NOTES. Ergland and France have at last s�1 - tied the dispute between them growing out a the division of the territory taken by feroe freen Siam. It will be recalled that, a few years ago, France, in furtherance a her policy to ereate a great dependency in Indo China, in the belief that she can thus control THE EXErl'ER INImim■IINftwOON11•1111111111k CHRIST TI1E °ENTRE. Might have p' re -eminence," You notice that nearly all the sinners mentioned as pardoned in the Bible were great unsearchable that in 11 thin s He "UNTO RIM SHALL THE GATHERING sinners -David a great sinner, Paul a OF THE PEOPLE BE." eeat sinner, Rehab a great sinner, Magdalen a great :sinner, the Prodigal Son a great sinner. The world easily What the 1rO014CSCOpe SILOWCa to the understood how Christ could pardon a Patriarchs as They Looked Through It half-and-half sinner, but tweet the Down the corridors of the centuries. world wants to be persuaded of is that Christ will forgive the worst sinner, Washington, D. C., Mathis 1. -This the hardest sinner, the oldest sinner, the most inexcusable sinner. To the sin -pardoning Shiloh let all the gather- ing of the people be. But I remark again, the people will gather around Christ as a sympa- thizer. Oh 1 we all want sympathy. I hear people talk as though they were independent a it. None of us could live without sympathy. When parts a our family are away, hew lonely the house seems until. they all get homel But alas! for those who never come home. Sometimes it seems as if it must be impossible, What, will their feet never again come over the thresh- old? Will they never again sit with us at the table? 'Will they never again kneel with us in family prayer? Shall we never again look into their sunny faces? Shall we. never again on earth take counsel with them for our work? Alas! me, who can stand under these griefs? Obl °best. Thou canst do more for a bereft soul than anyone else. It is He who stands beside us to tell of the resurrection. It is He that came to bid peace. It is He that comes to us and breathes into us the spirit of submis- sion until we can look ,14) from the wreck and ruin of our brightest expec- tations and say: "Faber, not my will, but thine be done," Oh, ye wbo are bereft, ye angutsh-bitten, come into this refuge. The roll of those who came for relief to Christ is larger and larger. Unto this Shiloh of omnipotent sym- pathy the gathering of the people shall be. Oh, that Oblast would stand by all these empty cradles, and all these desolate homesteads, and all these broken hearts and persuade us it is well. The world canna offer you any help at such a time. Suppose the world comes and offers you money. You would rather live on a crust in a cel- lar and have your departed loved ones with you, than in live in palatial sur- roundings and they away. Suppose the world offersyou its honors to console i You. What s the presidency to Abra- ham Lincoln when little Willie lies dead in the White House? Perhaps the world comes and sags: "Time will cure it all," Ah, there are griefs that have raged on for thirty years and are rag- ing yet. And yet hundreds have been comforted, thousands have been com- forted, millions have been comforted, and Christ had done the work. Oh, what you want is sympathy. The world's heart of sympathy beats very irregularly. Plenty or sympathy when we do not want it, and often when we are in appalling need of it, no sym- pathy. There are multitudes of people dying for sympathy -sympathy in their work, empathy in their fatigues, sym- pathy in their bereavements, sympathy in their financial losses, sympathy in their physieal ailments, synapathy in their spiritual anxieties sympathy in the time of declining years -wide, deep, high, everlasting, almightysympathy. 'We must have it, and Christ roves it. That is the cord with which He is go- ing to draw all nations to Him. At the story of the punishment a man's eye flashes, and his teeth set, and his fist clinches, and he prepares to do battle, even though it be against the heavens, yet what heart so hard but it will succumb to the story of compassion! Even a man's sympathy is pleasant and helpful. When we have been in some hour of wealtnese, to have a brawny man stand beside us and promise to see us through, what courage it gives to our heart and what strength it, gives to our arm. Still mightier is a woman's sympathy. Let him tell the story who, when all his fortunes were gone, and the world was against him, came home and found in that home a wife who could write on tbe top of the empty flour barrel, "The Lord will provide ;" or write on the door of the emptac, wardrobe, ' Consider the lilies of the field; if God so clothed the grass of the field, will He not clothe us and ours?" Or let that young man tell the story who has gone the whole round of dissipation. The sha- dow of the penitentiary is upon him, and even his father says, "Be off 1 nev- er come home again!" The young man finds still his mother's arm out- stretched for him, and how she will stand at the wicket of the prison to whisper consolation, or get down on her knees before the Governor, beg- ging for pardon, hoping on for her wayward boy after all others are hope- less. Or let her tell the story who, under villainous allurement and baa - patient of parental restraint, has wan- dered off from a home of which she was the idol into the murky and thunder- ous midnight of abandonment, away from God, and further away, until some time she is tossed on the beaoh of that early home a mere splinter or a wreck. Who will pity her now? Who will gath- er these dishonored locks into her lap? Who will wash off the blood from the gashed forhead? Who tel.] her of that Christ who came to save the lost? Who will put that weary head upon the clean white pillow, and watch by ,day and. watch by night until the hoarse voice of the sufferer becomes the whisper, and the whisper becomes only a faint motion of the ripe, and the faint mo- tion of the lips is exchanged for a silent look and the cat feet are still, and the wearyeyes are still, and the frenzied heart is still, and all is still? Who will have compassion on hex. when no others have compassion? Mother, Mother 1 - But m larger vision see the nations in some kind of. trouble ever since the world. was derailed and hurled down the embankments. The demon of sin came to this world, but other demons have gone through other worlds. The demon of conflagration, the demon of volcanic disturbance, the demon of de- struction. La Place says he saw one world in the northern hemisphere sixteen months burning. Tycho Brahe said he saw another world burning. A French astronomer says that in three hundred years fifteen hundred worlds have dis- appeared. I do not see why infidels find it so hard to believe that two worlds stopped in .Toshua's time, when the astronomers tell us that fifteen hundred worlds have stopped. Even the moon is a world in rums. Stellar, lunar, solar catastrophes innumerable. But it seems as if the most sorrows have been reserved for our world. By one toss of the world at Tictiboro of 12,000 inhabitants only twenty-six peo- ple escaped. By one shake of the world at Lisbon; in five rniuntee 60,000 per- ished, and 200,000 before the earth stopped rocking. A mountain falls in Switzerland, burying the village of Gordan. A mountain falls in Italy in the -night, when 2000 people are asleep; and they never arouse. By a commis sion of the earth Japan broke off from China. By a convulsion of, the earth the Carribean islands broke off from America, Three islands near the. moutlnof the Ganges, with 346,000 in-. .habitants -a great surge of the sea breaks over them, and 214,000 perish that day. . Alas, alas, for our poor the trade cf Soutbwestern China, fore- sermon sounds the note of triumph, the nay occupied all the territories of Siam note that all will be glad to hear in lying east of the Mekong river. The these times, when so many are utter - pretext for seizure was that the terrie log and writing jeremiads of disoour- tory rightfully belonged to Anem, and agement. Dr. Talmage took as his so to France as the possessor of Anam; text Genesis, 49: 10 -"Unto Ulm shall and the treaty which concluded the the gatherings of the people be." blear struggle with Siam, confirmed the Through a supernatural lens or what title of France, and also her rights to Insight call a prophescope, dying jacob the navigation of the Mekong and over loons down through the coreidors a zone twenty five kilometres to the of the centuries uutil he sees west of that stream, Against French Christ the centre of all popular at - possession of the territory east of the traction, and the greatest being in all Mekong and north of the great west- the world, so everywhere acknowledged. wardly bend of that river Enland, bow- ; It was not always so. The world never, protested, on. the ground, that tried hard to pat him down, and to meuch tenure would bring the French put him out. In the year 1200, while frontier against that of Britisli Bur- ' excavating for antiquities fifty-three man; a cardinal point of British policy miles northeast of Rome, a copper plate being that the boundaries of no Euro- tablet was found containing the death pean power in the East shall marine warrant of the Lord Jesus Christ, read - with those of Britain Accordingly, a ing in this wise: buffer state was created out of the 1 "In the year 17 of the empire of Ti - territory lying immediately north of berius Caesar, and, on the 25th of the great bend of the Mekong, between ltfarch, I, Pontius Pilate, Governor of it and China, and handed over to Pekin ! the Praetore, condemn Jesus of Nazar - on the promise not to cede it to any ; eth to die between two thieves, Quin - other power; a cession which, while ef- this Cornelius to lead him forth to the fecting the object in view, also prevent- place of execution." , ed French access to Southwestern China j The death warrant was signed by by way of the Mekong, save with several names, First, by Daniel, rabbi, China's consent, Pharisee; secondly, by Jobannes, rabbi; thirdly, by Raphael; fourthly by As suoh acoess was one a the chief Capet, at private citizen, This capital punishment was executed according to objets of French expansion in that law. The name of the. thief crucified quarter, France at once set to work to on the right hand side of Christ was defeat the arrangement, and taking ad- I t Dismas; the name of the thief crucified vantage of the *Japanese war, obtain- i on the loft hand side of Christ was ed from Pekin the cession to her of the buffer state. As this again extend- Gestus. Pontius Pilate, describing the tragedy, says the whole world ed the Frenoh possessions from Ton- • lighted candles from noon until night. quirt to Burmah, and, so cut off Burrnah Thirtv-three years of maltreatment.. and British India from aceesti to South - i They ni-ascribe bis birth to bastardy and. ern China, England demanded and se- a.. s d eath to exeruciatien. A wall of cure from Pekin in turn the little the city built about those times and Shan states lying south and west of , recently exposed by archaeologists, China, and extending west from the . shows a caricature of Jesus Christ, Mekong to British Burmah, By this evincing the contempt in which he was cession France was blocked from fur- held by many in his day -that carica- ther progress to the west, save through Siam proper, England possessing a raunrde aon the wall representing a cross donkey nailed to it, and under virtual protectorate of the Siamese it the inscription: "This is the Christ Shan states; and by the treaty conclud- whom the people worship." But I re- joice that that day Is gone by. Our Christ is coming out from under the world's abuse. The most popular name on earth to -day is the name of Christ. Where he had one friend Christ has a thousand friends. 'rhe scoffers have become the worshippers. Of the twenty of Mongsin, north of the bend. of that most celebrated infidels in Great Brit - stream, to make her possession come ain in .our day, sixte,en ha.ve come back pieta, and England is to be supreme to. Christ, trying to uncle the blatant mischief of their laves -sixteen out of west of the Mekong and of the Maping. 4•1,••••••1410 ed last month the two powers agree not to invade the body of Siam,defined as the valley of the Meinam, and to pre, vent other powers from doing so. France is given the territory east of the Me- kartg up to the. Chinese border, Eng- land withdrawing from the little state the plan of a buffer state being alien- -teemed. Both powers thus gain access to Southwestern China, and under the treaty are to enjoy equally all trad- ing privileges that have been or may be secured by either from. China; and while France makes substantial terri- torial gains, England acquires a fresh treaty right to govern or proteot the entire Malay peninsula. The sufferer by the arrangement is, of course, Siam, who will be left nothing of her king- dom say ethet IVfeinam valley, protect- ed by tbe treaty France being certain in time to appropriate everything out- side of et. — HONEY AS A FOOD. it es Easy or Digestion -Beneficial in Some Eases or Disease. Probably most people consider honey as the equal in value for food of any sweet sauce -no better, no worse. All should know that it possesses one great superiority -ease of digestion. The nec- tar of flowers is ahnost wholly cane su- gar. The secretions added by the bees change this to grape sugar, and so pre - parte it that it is almost ready for assim- ilation -without any effort on the part of the stomach; in fact, Prof. A. j. Cook onee styled honey "digested nec- tar." It will be readily seen that hon- ey is a very desirable food. for those with weakener' digestive powers. If a person is very tired, "too exhausted to eat," it is astonishing how a few tastes of honey will act almost like magic. Alnaost no effort is required to make it ready for assimilation. Persons sui- eering. from some forms of kidney trou- ble will find that honey is a much more beneficial food for them than is cane sugar. In eating comb honey, many strive to eject everypraticle of wax, fearing that, ai s wax s indigestible, nightmare and other troublesome conseq,aences will follow an indulgence in warm bis- cuit and honey. It is true that bread is more easily digested than warm bis- cuit, as the latter Is inclined to "pack" in chewing, but it may surprise some to know that comb honey is really an aid to the digestion oe hot bread or bis- cuit. The philosophy of the matter is that the flakes of wax prevent the " packing " while the honey readily dis- solves out, leaving passages for the gas- tric juice th enter the mass of food. The flakes of wax are indigestible, that is true ,but when warmed are perfectly smooth and oft, and will not injure the most delicate membrane; in fact, they rat as a gentle stimulant,and are beneficial in some forms of alimentary difficulties. The unpleasant symptoms from which some suffer after eating honey may often he removed by drink- ing a little milk. GETTING EVEN. " Sister. 'panked met yesterday, said small sister, who was entertaining big sister's young man. Indeed? • 'Deed she did. But I got even with her. I went up Ito her room and chang- ed the tags on her engagement ring.% and now she doesn't "mow which al whose. Winged time glieos on insensibly,a,nd deceives us; and there is nothing more fleeting than yeare.--Ovid. tha twenty. Every man who writes a letter or signs a document wittingly or unwittingly, honors Jesus Christ.. We date everything as 73.0„ or A.D.-B. C., before Christ; A.D., Ann() Domini, in the year of our Lord. All the ages of history on the pivot of the upright beam of the cross of the Son of God, 33. C., A. D. I do not care what you call him -whether Conqueror or King, or Morning Star or Sun of Righteous- ness, or 13alm of Gilead, or Lebanon Cedar, or Brother or Friend, or take the name used in the verse from which I take my text, and call him Shiloh, which means his Son, or the Tranquil - etas.. or the Peacemaker, Shiloh. I only want to tell you that "Unto Him shall the gathering of the people be." In the first place the people are gathered around Christ for pardon. No sensible man or healthfully ambitious man is satisfied with hispast life A fool may think he is all right. A sen- sible man knows he is not. I do not care who the thoughtful man is, the review of his lifetime behavior before God a,nd man gives to him no especial satisfaction. "Oh," he says, "there have been so many things I have done I ought ont to have bone, there have been so many things I have said I ought not to have said, there have been so many things I have written I ought not to have written, there. have been so many things I have thought ought not to have thought. I must somehow get things readjusted. I must somehow have the past reconstructed; there are days and, months and years which cry out against me in horrible vociferation." Ali! my brother, Christ adjusts the past by obliterating it. He .does not erase the record of our mis- doings with a dash of ink from a reg- ister's pan, but, lifting his right hand, crushed., red at the palm, he puts it against his bleeding brow, and then against his pierced side, and with the crimson accumulation of all those wounds he rubs out the accusatory chapter. He blots out our iniquities. Oh never be anxious about the future; better be anxious about the past. I put it not at the end of my sermon; I put it at the front -Mercy and pardon through Shiloh, the sin -pardoning Christ. "Unto Him shall the gathering of the people be." "Oh I" says some man, "I have, for forty years been as ba,d as I could be, arid is there any mercy for me?" Mercy for you. "Oh,' sayssomeone here, "I had a grand an- cestry, the holiest of fathers and the tenderest of mothers, and, for my per- fidy there is no excuse. Do you think there is any mercy for me?" Mercy for you. "But," says another man, "I fear I have committed what they call the unpardonable sin. and the Bible says if a man commit that sin, he is neither to be forgiven in this world, nor the world to come. Do you think there is any mercy for me?" The fact that you have any solicitude about the mat- ter a5all proves positively that you have tiot committed the unpardonable sin. Mercy for you? 01 the grace of God which bringeth salvation! The grace of God! Let us take the surveyor's chain and try to measure God's mercy through Jesus Christ. Let one surveyor take that chain and go to the north, and another surveyor take that chain and go to the south, and another surveyor take that chain and go to the east, and another survey- or take that chain and go to the west, and then make a report of the square miles of that vast kingdom of God's mercy. Ay1 you will have to wait to all eternity for the report of that mea- surement. It cannot be measured. Paul tried to climb the height of it, and he went height over height, altitude above altitude, mountain above moun- tain, then sank down in discouragement and gave it up, for he saw Sierra, Ne- vadas beyond and Matterhorns beyond and waving his hands back to us in the plains, he says: "Past finding out; world, It has been recently discovered that a wbole continent has sunk, a continent that connected Europe and America -part of the inhabitants of that continent going to Europe, part coming to America over the table- lands of Mexico, up through the val- leys a the Mississippi, and we are finding now the rentable of their mounds and their oities in lafexcio, ux Colorado and the table lends of the west. It is a matter of demonstration that a whole continent has gone down the Azores off the coast, of Spain only the highest mountain of that sunken continent. Plato described that con- tinent, its grandeur, the multitude of its inhabitants, its splendor and its awful destruction, and the world thought it was a romance, but archaeo- logists have found out, it was history. and the Englisia and the Garman and the American fleets have gone forth with archaeologists, and the Chal- lenger and the Dolphin and the Gazelle have dropped anchor, and in deep sea soundings they Jaave found the contour of that sunken continent. Ohl there is trouble marked on the rocks, on the sky, on the sea, on the flora and the fauna. Astronomical trouble. geological trouble, oceanic trouble, political trouble, domestic trouble, and standing in the presence of all these stupendous devastations, I ask if I am not rigat in saying that the great want of this age, and all ages is divine sympathy and omni- potent comfort, and they are found not he the Brahma of the Hindoo, or the Allah of the 'Mohammedan, but ha the Cbrist unto wlsom shall the gather - hag of the people ine Other worlds may fall, but, ties Morning star will 'sever be blotted from the heeverts. Thei earth may shake, but this Rock of Ages will never be shaken from its foundations, The same Christ . wno fed -all the world's hunger. The saute Christ who cured Bartitaeus will 11.- lunaine all blindness, The same Christ who made the dumb speak will put ou every tongue a hosanna. The same Christ who awoke Lazarus from the sarcophagus will yet rally all the pious dea,d in glorious resurrection; "1 know that my Redeemer livetb," and that "to Him shall the gatherings of the people be." seld my triends, When godliness," and it would have been an Christ starts thoroughly and quickly to life this roiserable. wreck of a sunk- affroreligious sense to tbe general if reasonable neighbor ; xf such a. man does what such a man asks, what will our Father who is in heaven do for us? en world, it will not take him long to he had not each day at the regular I cannot rise. The pounding and shout - lift it. • hours of worship volaIly offered formal a ing continued, bowever, arid he pres- I have thought that this partioular . Prayer, with his face direct ed toward entdy eiltang,ed his mind, and rose, age m whine, we nye. may he given up - - • • sp. necause he is his friend. (6) . to discoveries and inventions by whieh, Jerusalem. Ws rebuke of hypoeritical Friendship is a staff beautiful to look through •quick and instantaneous cora- prayer at street corners and his teach- Upon, but weak to rest upon. Impose mumeation, all elites, and ail eommuni- ties, and all lands will he brought. ing concerning closet prayer (Matt, 6. tunity opens ail gates of blessings; per- sistent purpose, wine, (7) Nine men gether, and then in tmother eertodeeer- out a ten who beve failed would have haps, these inventions whieh have leen used for worldly pureoses millet erought out for Gospel invitations, •and souse great prophet of the Lord will tame and snatch the mystirious, sultieue ; rel mir- aculous telephone from the land of com- merce, and all lands and kingtirans eon - sleeted by a wondrous wire, this prophet, of the Lord may, through I-el...mimic communication, in an instant announee sample= to epproaale God exeept, by re- and haraeking with imputtunity, and mzin to all nations pardon and sypatheed cognized form. Rabbis were aceueiem- surely he will he as kind as was ths life tbrough Jesus Christ, and, then, eo to furnish to their diseiple$ pattern i uncivil friend. But be is not indiffer- putting the Lord's prophet, the response prayers. (1) We all need to leant how mit and hearth.ss. He is our tender - shall come back: "1 believe in God the • to prate Our private. devotions woubi hearted Father. Aek.-I. _. seek. Father Almighty, Maker uf heaven and be much more helpful if we thought, • • . knoek. Three worts that re - earth, and in. Jesus ,Christ, His only be- out beforehand what we need and de- present, ik desire of increasing intensity. gotten Son." You and I may notlive eire-s,just as we inevitably woula if our Thee- imply (1) A eonsciousuess of to see the day.. I think those of us wit -turas were to be presented to a hu- evil:heal need : (2) A longing to have who are over forty years of age, eau man president- and not to God. t'ztill the rhe'd signaled; (3). A recognition scarcely expect to see the day. 1 expect more che we neel to study how to prey of divine arantiance and divine will - before that time our 'tulles will be in public ; not, of course, to memories inenese; (4) Earnest seeking after God's sound asleep in the bammosks of .the any form. certainly not to mimics es.Zy 111"sing. It shell be given. God; an - old Gospel ship as it goes sailing. on. But Christ will wake us up in time to spirit prayer and to learn how heel not always come in the manner sought method,of but - to acquire mere of the sweat; prayer, though the answer may 0.1) s'ie see the achievement. We who have to lead othed r evout souls. • ,, The and eerd•ted, Yet, Cif Clod deny us sweated in the hot, harvest -fields wili want of ideas, the want of words, and , be at the speteno thing for whieh we ask, be the want of faith are as common aO Will give us something better. the door of the garner when t he sheaves come. in. That work for which they are grievous."-Bruee. Jinn alie 10. Every one thet asketh receiveth. in this World we toiled and. wept, And . taughthis dispieles. To nir eyes nein; In every depertment of life success is struggled and wore ourselves ounshall is simply our Lord's forerunner, but eonditioned upon* endeavor. In spirit - not come to consummation and we be when these • weals w ere speken uel things success is sure to rewardethe oblivious of the achiee•ement. We will it was :4111 an 01)11goestion set•kiug, while in the worldly life man. whieh • of the two. was t he gnater maY strive and fail. with the, victors. 1 We who funght in prophet, awl it was not easy to think be allowed to come out and shake hands 11. AgIt breed, . . h give him a the earher battles will have just as oi tether without comparison or eon- ' • 1* - give bus a 1 .. • much right to rejoice as those who red- . trast with ths other. answer. The loaf of the East, is some - doted their feet in the last Armaged- 4 WI ., • .. z -, .. .. This . what like a smooth flat stone in ap- don. Ahl yea, those who could only mane len nen mere 'literally. obeyed P"ar"11('''. ' (0) Sometimes men seek for give a. cupful of cold water in the name than neat of thee.. given by .h•su,s, but stones, supposing them to be bread, as of a diseiple, those who could only very often in a misteken spirit." The i Whiql they strive for riehes, as if .geld scrape a handful of tint for a wounded. Lord's Prayer is not a magical formula 1 coul I feed the soul.. Wben in our blind - soldier, those who could rally adminis- to do any sort of good by repetition; ness we ask for a stone, God mercifully ter to old ago in its decrepitude, those it is not, primarily, the mull; it. is simply , j denies our prayers, and gives us bread; ; who could only coax a poor waif of e type, a specima en, pattern. The mor; when, 'ander misapprehension, we ask street to go back home to her God., carefully one seethes it the better he 1 al a a . is rt'ally a snake, he heatowes in the arms of Christ, will have as every ' faatest offered. Our Fat her. A I , 18. It ye t hen, being evil. A cone- ; upon us food. those who could only lift a little cbild • can pray. Its hotness slanted be upon much right to take part in the ova- phrase which shows God's loving .re_ 1 parieon of faulty human eharacter with tion to the Lord Jesus Christ as a lotion to us, anti hints at th4e lave-oncelurks in the best of men and the holiest . , th° Purity of 4.4°1- (10) The taint of :sin Chrysostom. It will be . your victory obedience, and *godlikeness which should i of relationsitips. How much more 1 and mine, as well as Christ's. He the mark us as Ins children. The word 1 11 • • . Father. he conqueror, we shouting in his train. our does not belong to the text. here, t •. . i eartlify relation WA •can reason up to Christ the victor will pick out ine but was probably added from Mat thew: el e tee aeavenly. from our imperfect love humblest of His disciples in the crowd, but it belongs to the whole spirit 1' 1 (3-' up to the complete love of teed. (11) So and turning half around on the white our Lord's teachings, as given in the . ; much more may we expect God to give, horse of victory. He shall point her . first three gospels. Which art in heav- t as God's 'power outruns man's. as God's out for approval by the multitude, as en. And, because in heaven, therefore I H • "Sh d'd e het .1 o ild " on earth as well F • • v J s - -11 !wisdom surpasses human knowledge, THE SUNDAY SCHOOL INTERNATIONAL LESSON, MAR. 15 " Teaching About Drayer " auhe en tette. women Text, Luke en 9. not live by bread alone." We cannot free ourselves from sin, God's forgiven- ess (a) blots our sins out of his book of remerabranee; (2) it frees our souls from stain; (3) it makes us strong to do right. For. What an awful werd. in this conueotionl It means both "be- cause" and "if," We can hardly ut- ter it without tremor. Suppose that This lesson seems to be part of a fa- Ira% have noct forgiven t every; one that miller conversatiou between Jesus and forgive. Vearsitor:11 "re oaelsr°- his disciples. It is to be dated after selves also forgive," "That mercy 1 tbe third Passover, tuid. probably be- to c4thers sho*w, That merey show to tween the Feast of Tabernacles and that itlidoenk,itekkrixableifea.rtetdriions any way.o.... Teem' p t il of the Dedication (late in the year 29, al cluiracter, e,specially the influences of are uncertain. Indeed, most of what or early in 30); but the time and place Ict)S oraemt sa:r,fverexedITie.wetliifus tichGwott lir tivpersayudtowibse. we study this week was retry probably expect grace to oovereceorae.es1Seliveer aurs sthalled Lmorodre's tPhraanyeTgeiVeTnilebyvemrsiatotnneowf from evil. Neither are these words in the oldest menuseripts; like the others differs slightly front what we have ria:Egd EteyntillotZL tme.h si'n waeo PtZVAT, here; the occasion and the words and that this prayer ought to agree wore. events which follow it are still more for word with that of Matt. 6. different, and it is probable that that pe5r. gorw tohtt the discities hav?t al pro.. that the aqiirieroafyeerarnestIss is alle-trn, version was given. about a year before this. A parallel to verses 9-13 ea to be portant. A friend., It is hard to tell, found in Matt. 7. 7-11. Again our at- !.1,1 thi.s., story, whether the " friend " or tention is called to our Lord's habits Lnbeie. 0, fricenelciafmtheettrrieeont losvmesor,auenIserl000nt- in prayer. There are in the gospels has in all ages lived from hand to mouth turenty-one instances given of our Lord's and this story is singularly characteris- praying, of which at least six refer to tie iodfujErtthrn raanners;t neverus teheletis secret prayer, and the writer of the ask sucTa a favor.ThePig! telfr°00 tolateees2 Epistle to the Hebrews tells as, as a atogioeaftheort sovuorusl.d not be larger than half Personal characteristie of Jesus, that in Prayers and supplications with strong licgiet,ahrt Nivta, e 6, 7.1, A friend. . . is comeocratrnot.imil. tthte'erEtteoturledaay the days of his flesh he offered up cries and tears. The instance with a visitor enters, he must 'be entertain: which our lesson begins was an in- stance of what we might call private prayer in public, something unknown in Europe and A.raerica, but thoroughly cbaracteristic of oriental life. PRA•CTICAL NOTES. Verse 1. As he was praying. Evi- dently in fall view, end probably in full hearing, of his disciples. Our Lord was careful to observe all the "forms of ed. Nothing to set before 1nm. In one particular at least this man repre- seats the true spirit of prayer, He asks not for bienself, but for another. (6) Are we as anxious to supply the souls of our friends with spiritual food as we are to feed their bodies My children are with me in bed. It seemed better for one stranger to go hungry to bed than Lox' a. houseful of sleeping children .to be disturbed. In this story Jesus in- tentionally selects an uncivil man and subjects him to the request of an un- bypecrisy anti a statement of pereonal sueceieltel if they Lad only kept on. The duty rather than as a prohibition of the ...emlanon si'llS."" wiliell wins in seslitar pious habits of the hay. In a certain gfastrafeshould be applied to our rehg- place. Possibly in Bethany, but prob- 9, As -le, and it shall be. given you. ably in some village of Pereo.. none Our. Lord's nearers had thought of god teach us to pray. The leetgew mind asusvninoduifi7eiiii . and i Wart less, Vt, ell. was intenselY ritualistic. It seemed pre- is; thenr 1-t°eIts4p Itnins'•lieTtti'itilirleefirilrPPeaesceing° I as God's love 3.6" greater than that Then putting His hand on the head of understood that heeven hail an intimate ' ant --- . some man who by his .industry made interest in this world's cifitt ies. eTh, 1 of earthly fathers. one talent do the work of ten, he will high and holy One that inhabiteth eter- say: "Thou haat been faithful over a nay" dwells also "with him Hen is of few things I will make thee ruler over a lowly and contrite heart." Hallow- THE OCEAN BED. ten cities." Two different theories ed be the- name. "Reverenced be thou." -- about the fulfilment of this promise: In the Hebrew use of words the name now Strange It 'Daum aeon tit the sea There are people who think Christ sii•thdoodosfonrotchmairtthtetuesr. irlOuar lovefax'will come in person and sit on a throne. that aur Perhaps He may. I should like to see heavenly Father is to he a reverential the scarred feet going up the stairs of . love. Note that the first petition of a palace in which all the glories of this pattern prayer is not for ourselves, the Alhambra, arid the Taj Mahal, and . but for tbe glory of God. (3) Surely the St. Mark's and the Winter Palace . none who offer up this prayer can ever are gathered. I should like to see the , use God's name lightly. Note, also, world pay Christ in love for what it what we shall presently say in explan- did to Him in maltreatment, I should . ation of "as in heaven." Thy kinglom like to be one of the grooms of the . come. From God we protease in thoueht chargers, holding the etirrup as the to God's kingdom, and pray that it may King mounts. 0, what a glorious time extend overpour hearts and the hearts of ' it would be on earth if Christ would , all men. The men to whozu this prayer was given has just preriehed through - break through the. herive.ns, and right 1 out Galilee that the "kingdom of God" here where He bas suffered and died was at band (Luke 9.2) ; but they had have this prophecy fulfilled. "Unto Him shall the gatherine of the people not yet sufficiently grown in spiritual be. , life to me:lenient' fully either their ser- " I mon or the Lord's Prayer. Wonderful take social and political changes must place before God's kingdom is perfectly IW a fine gray mud, like chalk, while i come ; but it is coming. Thy will be The appointment of Gen. Weyler as done. This, also, is added from Mat- tile three valleys would be ocoupied by head of the Spanish troops in Cuba ap- heaven, so in earth." The early Chris- . thew, as are the next phrases, " As in red clay. The physical features of the new country would present a striking pears to be having the result that was , tians were -disposed to make the two contrast to the scenery of our existing prophesied. Gen. Weeder acquired an versions uniform, because in the midst continents. The outlines would be soft evil reputation during his former con; " ritual," soraething to learn sharp ridges would be almost unknown. and flowing. Arecipices, gorges, and nection with the isla.ncl. In the bestir: of prevailing ignorance they felt the neede. • by word. y _word xis a st andard. And al- The broad troughs would rise gradually rection begun in 1868 and brouglat to a i though these words aro not in the earl- and smoothly into the elevated plat - close ten years later Gen. Weyler sim- iest manuscripts of Luk, it is on the I whole wise to adopt them here, for they WI SO carried on a war of extermination. • are in the closest harmony with all our It is judged_ that that will be his pole I Lord's teachings. This is not a pray - icy again. Gen. Campos was recalled! er that our will may be lost, but that apparently because he allotved some it may be fully conformed to the divine . rights to the insurgents. "I warn you," 1 wall it is a prayer that God's will may he telegraphed bp done to us in his dealings, done by to Spain shortly before ' his recall, rebel chiefs caught in arms "I will not alter my polies'. us in our acts, and done in us in our I shoot the ! character. .A.s in heaven, so in earth. A , and I send the prisoners to penal send- ! frOsh meaning comes to the eirst,three tude; the rebels retells our prisoners i petitions of this matchless prayer if and take care of our wounded that fall , we unite them all with this phrase, ; into their hands. I have ,given orders which is in thought. as closely con - to shoot on the spot all brigands anected with the first two as with nd i incendiaries -I cannot and will not g.0 ; the last: beyond." If Gen. Weyler begins a unt- ! Hallowed be thy name versal no -quarter campaign et will pro- Thy kingdom come ' bably And in the grantmg of belligerent States. rights to the xebels by the • United GEN. 'WEXLER IN CUBA. Rn Dry. It would form a huge valley, with the mountain masees of the Eastern and Western continents rising on either side. Itself 3,000 miles in width, it would lits divided by two ridges, parallel to each other end to ihe marginal rims, into three minor valleys, each from 300 to 600 miles in breadth. The di- viding ridges would reach about half the elevation of the continental mar- gins, and would form broad, undulating plateau.x. Here and there they would rise into lofty summits, mostly volcan- ic, which now are known as islands,eueh as Iceland, and the Azores. These mountain platforms would be covered Thy wil be done As in heaven, so in earth. • 3. Give us day by clay our daily bread. Daily trust; daily prayer. We are to bring to God all our needs, of the body, Muggins-I am afflicted with lung of the mind, of the soul. For (4) Men's trouble. BURginS--Why, you look all minds and souls are as liable to star - right. Muggins-Oh, it isn't me. We vation as their bodies. have got twins at,our house. 4. Forgive us our sins. "Man shall forms. This difference is due to the absence of atmospheric action. The bed of the Atlantic has not been exposed for oountless ages, if ever, to the wear and tear of frost, rain and running wat- er, and, consequently, the phyiscal fea- tures of the new land would be such as would be mainly determined by the gradual upheaval of parts of the great Atlantio trough, or lan the planing act- ion of the waves during submergence. In course of time river systems would be formed and the sculpturing of the new surfaoe would become more varied and picturestine. ONLY AN AVERAGE SPECIMEN. I am going to be married, said Miss Trotter to Miss Rittish. Yon! You going to be married. I thought you were an inveterate man- hater, who wotildn't marry the best man in the world. Yes, but that was before one of the horrid men had proposed to me." VENUS'S DAY A YEAR LONG* ONE SIDE OF THIS PLANET IS AL. WAYS IN THE DARE. 111.1•IMEM The Other Siete Alertly* lthdItoulltriothe, Consequences or the Dleouvere Joe Made by the Astronomer Scletsparelles Notwithstanding that Venue more nearly than any of the planets reeesea- bles tbe earth, and is the least distant', it has persistently refused to reveal to us secrets which have long since been fathomed in the case of the more re- mote members of the tiolar systeme Among these secrets is the period of the planet's rotatien about its pads, ea 'm other words the length of its day, The obstacle to a fair view of mark. ings on Venus is a thick envelope of vapor, or "cloud," as it has been pope, laxly called, which effectually screen the surface from the eyes of ourioue observers. Venus, in fact, seems loath to reveal her naked beauty to as vu' gar gaze of the universe. Time and time again have a.stroaraneref attempted to pierce this mist with their eyes, end their success, or lack of it, may be judged from the statement that there have beeie until recently two schools, one labia assured the world that Ven- us rotated, on her axis, in something over twenty-three hours, the other that the length of her year, namely 225 th elength of ler year, namely, 225 (earthly) days. The famous astronomer Schiaparelli, who first observed the so-called canals on Mars, has just announced that there is NO LONGER ANY DOUBT that Venus moves about the awe with one side constantly presented to that luminary, in the same way that the moon moves about, the earth, only one- half of the moon's surface ever being visible to us. .Astronomers terna such a motion a "rotation onee in a. revela- tion," that is, the body tarn ou its axis owe in the course of one revolution around the central body. If this is true of Venus ;then follows the curious cir- cumstance that one side of the planet must be perpetually in the sunliglet and the other side perpetually in the dark. Prof. Schiaparela observed tbe planet from duly 8 to it last, under all kinds of ronditioas, and readied the conclu- sion that "the aspec(. of tile dusky markings distributed over the disk did, not undergo any important modification in form or situation during that period. Save a fesv small exceptions, all the var- iations observed belong to the cate- gory of those apparent changes of dai- ly period which may be explained by the, varying state of rest and purity of' the atmosphere icif the earth) and the different grades of illurnina,tion of the baekground of the sky." In conclusion be observes that the period formerly euggt•sted by him as the probably eor- , rem one of the planet's rot ations, to win 220 (earthly) days " appears to be placed beyond all doubt." IThis sober ittatenient from so pro- found an astronomer as Schiaparelli leads us to some intt•resting and cur - bus eonclusions. It. is evident that if the planet keeps one side always to- wards the sun there can be I NO SUNRISE AND SUNSET. 1 The period of 221.7 is exactly the time required for Venus to pass through its orbit around the sun. It is also net•es- saris to modify ruany of the suggestions hitherto put forward as to the exist- ence of life on the planet. If living creatures are tbere it is probable they are not at all like huraan beings. In two respects -the size of the planet and its density -Venus corresponds very well to earthly conditions, and an in- habitant, of the earth would not, so far as these are eoneerued, find bimself put ' to much inconvenience if he should be traneported to our neighbor. He would feel teach lighter, could jump higher and walk faster, but it is not likely that he would live very long. If he were placed on the side lighted by the sun he wuuld probably perish from the intense heat, fox., if etchiaparelli's view be correct, the sun has been scorching that particular side for countless ages. lf, on the other hand, he should chance to alight on the dark side, he would likely the of the intense cold, for this side has never seen the sun's face, never felt the warm touch of his com- forting rays. If tbe transplanted hu- man were wise he would seleet some., spot where the sun would appear lying close to the horizon, for there he would avoid the intense heat and also the in- tense cold. But even there he would be uncomfortable, far the mist that sur- rounds Venus Is for denser than any we know on the earth. It is so thick as probably not to support sueh life as we are acquainted with. Furthermore we know absolutely nothing of the sur- face of the planet. It may be entirely covered with water, in which event the earthly visitor wattld be put to his wits to swum a livelihood, to say nothing of keeping himself afloat. STRANGE FISH Thal Inhabits Ow 311editerraneau aud Erults Ilteetrie Many people know of, the electric eel of South America, but there are com- paratively few who have heard of the torpedo or electric ray of the Medi- terranean Sea. This curious fish is about the size and shape of a large frying pan with a short and exceedingly broad handle. It is flat and swims horizontally in the water. ThP torpedo whish is found principally in the Bay of I3iscay and the shores of the Mediterranean Sea, is so called because of its habit of giving electric: shocks. Such shooks are feaeble, as a rule, not greater than those of a small electric battery. If 'the fish is en- raged, however, it is capable of giving a much more powerful shock. It uses this carious weapon to stun the small fishes and animals on which it preys, thus making the victim in- sensible previous to devouring it. It is a very sluggish fish, and will lay fax hours buried in the sand a few feet from the shore in shallots,. water. Electricity is much talked of as a medical agent nowadays, and for elicit uses is spoken of as a, new diseovern but in the days of Caesar this natural electricity was much used for the same purpose and physicians at the time ap- plied. it to the leg or arm of a person suffering with rhenmatism,, gout nervous diseases, the patient keaping his hand or foot on the fish as long as it was possible to bear the shooks This was said to have been an excel- lent remedy, ,