HomeMy WebLinkAboutExeter Times, 1896-7-2, Page 7TIE NATION'S KARMA,
THE CAUSES WHICH AFFECT THE
DESTINY OF COMMUNITIES.
The 5tar of -wormwood. es, Atter An, se,
thing More Than the
worldly Pride Expressed by Teem as
au Aggregation.
Washington, Stine 21. -It was appro-
priate that this sermon on the destiny
of nations should be preached ba what
has long been called the presidents'
church, beer:Luse Presidents 4ackson and
Pierce and Polk and Cleveland have at-
tended it. Dr. Talmage chose for his
text Revelation viii, 10, 11: "There fell.
a great star from heaven, burning as
it were a lamp, and it fell upon the
third pert of the rivers and upon the
feuntains of waters, and. the name of
the attar is called Wormwood."
Mafteoramentators, like Patrick and
Lowth, Thomas Scott?, Matthew Hen-
ry and Albert Barnes, agree in saying
that the star Wormwood, mentioned in
Revelation, was Attila, king of the
Huns. He was so called bemuse be was
brilliant as a star, and, like Worrosvood,
he imbittered everything he touched.
We have atudied the star of Bethle-
hem, and the morning star of the Re-
velation, and the star of peace, but
my present su.bject calls us to gaze at
the atan of Wormwood and my 'theme
might be called "Brilliant Bitterness."
A more extraordinary character his-
tory does net furnish than this man
thus referred to -Attila, the king of
the Huns. One day a wounded heifer
came linaping along through the fields,
and a herdsman followed its bloody
track on the grass to see where the
heifer wee wounded and went on bank
fartber and farther until he came to a
sword fast in the earth, the point
downward, as though it had dropped
from the heavens, and. against the
edges of this sword the heifer had
been cut. The herdsznan pulled up
that sword and presented it to Attila.
Attila. said that sword must have drop-
ped trona- the heavens from the grasp
of the god Mars, and its being given
to huai meant that Attila should con-
quer and govern the whole earth.
Other mighty men have ,been de-
lighted. at being called liberators, or
the megeiful. geod, but Attila
l'11;11"xlifestilf and &mended that
ers call him the Scourge of God.
tbe head of 700,000 troops ixiounted
Cappadocian horses, he swept every -
ng from the Adriatie to the Black
He put his iron heel on Mace -
Ea and Greece and Thrace. He
e Milan and Pavia and Padua and
one beg for mercy, evhich he be -
sed not, The Byzantine castles,
not hies ruinous /eve-, put up at
on massive silver tables and vases
lid gold. A city captured by him,
nhabitarits were brought out and
nto three elaeses-the first class,
who could beer arms, who must
iately enlist under Attila or
itchered; the second class, the
fut women, who were made cap-
aneenelluns ; the third class, the
Jaen credo women, who were rob -
everything, and let go back to
ty to pay heavy tax.
vas a common saying that the 0
never grew again where the f
of Attilit's horse had trod. His a
,s reddened the 'waters of the t
end the Moselle and the Rhine h
cernage and fought on the Cate- 1
n plains the fiercest battle since
world stood -300,000 dead left on 1
ield 1 On arid on until all those who 1 g
others or an imbitterment, a blessing
or a cuXse a balsane or wormwood?
Sorn.e of you, I kuow, are morning
stars, arid. you are =eking the dawning life of your children briget with
gracious influences, and you are beam-
ing 'upon all the opening enterprises of
philanthropic and Christian endeavor
and youare heralds of that day of gos-
pelization whieli will yet flood all the
mountains and valleys of our sin -tinned
earth, Hail, morning star! Keep on
shining with encouragement and Chris-
tian hope I
Some of you. are evening stars, and
you are -cheering the last days of old
people, and though a cloud sometimes
wines over you. through querulousness
or -unreasonableness of your old father
and mother it is only for a moment,
and the star soon comes out clear again
and is seen from all the balconies of
the neighborhood. The old people will
forgive your occasional shortcomings,
for they themselves several thries lost
their patience when you were youn,e arid
slapped you when you did not deserve
it. Hail, evening star, hang on the
darkening sky your diamond coronet I
But are any of you. the star Worm-
wood? Do you scold and growl from
the thrones paternal or maternal?
Are your ehildren everlastingly pecked
? Are you always erying, 'Hush!"
to the merry voices and swift. feet and
their laughter which occasionally trick-
les through at wrong times and is sup-
pressed by them nntil they can hold it
no longer, and all the tamers burst
bato unlimited guffaw and eachinnation
as in high weather the water has
trickled through a slight opening- in
the milldam, but afterward makes wid-
er and wider 'breach until it carries
all before it with irresistible freshet?
Do not be too much offended at the
noise your children now make. It will
be still enough when one of there is
dead. Then you would give your right
hand to hear one shout from their silent
voices or one step from the still foot.
You will not any of you have to wait
very long before your house is stiller
than you. want it. Aloe, that there
are so many homes not known to the
Society for the Prevention of Cruelty
to Cluldren, lettere children are put on
the limits, and whacked and cuffed and
ear pulled and senselessly called to
order and answered sharp and sup-
pressed, until it is a wonder that un-
der such processes they do not all turn
out Mocloce and Nana Sahibs!
What is your infitience upon the
neighborhood, the town or the city of
your residence? I will suppose that you
are a star of eve. What kind of
rays do you shoot forth 1 Do you use
that splendid faeulty to eradiate the
world or to rankle it? I bless all the
apostolie college humorists. The man
that makes me laugh is nay benefactor.
.1 do not thank anybody to make rne
cry. I can do that without any assist-
ance. We all ery enough and have
enough to cry about. od bless all
skilltul punsters, all reparteeists, all
propounders of ingenious conundrums,
all those who mirthfully surprise us
with unusual juxtaposition of words.
Thomas Ilood and Charles Lamb and
Sydney Sinith had a divine mission,
and so have tbeir successorsin these
times, They stir into the acid bever-
age of life the saccharine. They make
the cup of earthly existence, which is
remains .3 stale, effervesce and bubble.
They placate animosities. They foster
longevity. They slay follies and absur-
dities which all the sermons of all the
pulpits cannot reaoh.
They have for exaxnple Elijah, who
made fun of the 13aahtes when they
called down fire and it did not come,
suggesting that their heathen god had
gone hunting, or was off on a journey,
✓ was asleep, and nothing but you-
eration could wake him, saying: "Cry
loud, for he is a god. Either he is
eking or pursuing, or peradventure
e sleepath and mu.st be awaked/'
They have an example in Christ, who
with healthful sarcasm showed up the
yin, hypocritical Pharisees by sug
esting that such perfect, people like
not oppose lum with arms lay
trate on their faces in prep*, and,
loud of dust eeen in the distance, a
ishop cried.: "It is the aid of God!"
and all the people took' up the cry,
s
It is the aid of God 1" As the aloud
of dust was blown aside the banners
of re -enforcing armies marched in to
help against Attila, the Scourge of
God.) The most unimportant occur-
rences he used. as a supernatural re-
source, and after three months of
failure to capture the city of Aquileia
and his army had given up the siege,
the flight of a stork and her young
from the tower of the city was taken.
by hirn as a sign that he was to cap-
ture the city, and his army, inspired
by the. same occurrence, resumed the
siege and took the walls at a point
from -whicli the stork had emerged in
So brilliant was the conqueror in at-
sk tire that his enemies could. not look ea
at hig, but shaded their eyes or turn-
ed thelr heads.
Slain on the evening of his marriage
by his bride, IIdico, who was hired
for the assassination, his followers be- e
wailed him not with tears, but with el
blood, cutting themselves with knives et
Lind lances. HI e was put into three ne
coffins -the first of iron, the second of ee
silver and the third of gold. He was "'
buried by night, and into his grave acm
were poured the most valuable coin a
end preeious stones, amounting to the
wealth of a kingdom. The gravedig-
gers and all those who assisted at the "
burial were massacred, so that it ai9
would. never be known where so tamale
wealth was entombed. The Roman th
empire conquered the world, but At- e°
Lila ceneuered the Roman empire. He e;
was right in calling himself a scourge, „ea
but instead of being the Scourge of a
God, he was the scoerge of hell. Be-
cause of his brilliance and. bitterness
the commentators were right in be-
lieving. him to be the star Wormwood.
As the regions he devastated were
parts most opulent with fountains and
streenas and. rivers, ycru. see how gra- „
PI& is the reference in Revelation,
" There fell a star from heaven, burn - 11-e
ing as it were a lamp, and it fell up- w„ a
on the tlaird pert of the rivers and ',tie
upon the fatnetates of waters, and. the , 0,
-name of the star is called Wormwood." SIC
Have you ever thought how many
inibittered lives there are all about us -
misanthropic, in.orbid, aerid, satur-
nine? T e European plant from which
wormve d extracted, Artemisia, ab- Ma
thiura, is a perennial talent, and all Re'
1 t gear reund it is ready to exacta its oa
o . Aod many human lives there hag
is a Perennial distillation of acrid ex-
eriencee. Yea, there are some whose
hole work is to shed a baleful in-
luepoe on others. There are A.ttilas tn
of. the home, on Attilas of the social the
eirole, Or Attlee of the ohansh, or At- ati
tiles of the stale, and one-third of an
the :waters of all the world, if not two- the
*thirds the waters are poisoned by the al,
fallipg of the star Wormwood. It is see
net compliraentary to humae nature ma
'teat most men, as soon as they get per
great power, become overbearing. The T
more power men have the better if tha
their power be used for goad. The less Th
power men have the better, if they use me
it for evil ada
Birds circle round and round and thi
roue before they , swoop upon that sin
whichthey are aiming for. And if my " clic
discourse so far has been swingleg er
mend and roahd, this moment it drops sem
etraight on you- heart and asks the ti
question, fe youe life a benediction to ste
themselves needed no unprovemente,
sNring, "The whole need not a physi-
cian, but they that are sick."
But what use are you making of
your wit? Is it besmirched with pro-
fanity and uncleanness? Do yeti em-
ploy it in amusement at physical de-
feets for which the victims are not
responsible? Are your powers of
mimicry used to put religion in con-
tempt1 Is it a bunoh of nettlesome
investive? Is it a bolt of unjust scorn?
Is it fun at others' miefortune e Is
it glee at their disappointment and
defect ? Is it bitterness put drop by
drop into a cep.? Is it like the sque.ez-
ing of Artemisia absinthium into a
draft already distastefully' pungent?
Then you are the star Wormwood.
Yours is the fun of a rattlesnake try -
g how well it can sting., It is the
an of a hawk trying how quickly it
n strike out the eye of a dove.
But I will change this and euppose
you are a star of worldly prosperity.
Then you have large opportuaity. You
can encourage that artist by buying
is picture. You can improve the
elds, the stables, the high -way, by
troducing higher style of fowl and
orse and cow and sheep. You can
ess the world with penological
hievement the orchards. You can
vance arboriculture and arrest this
athful iconoclasm of the American
rests. You can put a pieoe of smile -
use into the mehe of that public
adenayi You can endow a college.
oil can stocking 1,000 bare feet from
e winter frost., You can build a
hurohs You can put a missionary of
hrist on that foreign shore, You can
lp ransom a world. .A. rich man with
is heart right -can you tell me how
much good a James Lenox or a George
Peabody or a Peter Cooper or a Wil-
liam E. Dodge did while living or is
doing now teat he is dead? There is
not a city, town or neighborhood that
has not glerious specimens of °onse-
t d lth.
But suppose you grind the face of
e poor. Suppose when a man's
ges are due you make him wait for
em because he cannot help himself.
impose that, because his family is
k and he has had extra expenses,
he should politely ask you to raise
his wages for this year, and you
roughly tell him if he wants a better
place to go end get it. Suppose by your
nner you act as though he were
thing and you were everything.
ppose you are selfish and overbear -
and arrogant) Your first name
ought to be Attila and your last name
Attila, bemuse you are the star Worm -
urged, and you have imbittered one-
nel if not three -thirds of the waters
t roll past your employes and caper -
yes and dependents and associates,
d the long line of carriages which
undertaker orders for your Lauer -
in order to melee the oecasion re -
°table, will be filled with twice as
ny dry, tearless eyes as there are
sons occupying them.
here is en erroneous idea abroad
t there are only a few genitesee.
ere are millions of theme That is
n and women who. have especial
ptation and quickness for some one
ng. It may be great, it may be
all. The circle may be like the
uneferenee of the earth or no large
than a thimble., Theee are thee -
ds of geniuses, and in some ene
ng you are a star) What kind of a 1
✓ are you?, You will be in this
s-
world but a few mixattess As cora-
pared with eteenity the stay of the
longest life on earth is not more than
a, minute. What are embittering the
domestic or social or politioc4 foun-
tains, or are we Iike Moses who, when
the Israelites in the wilderness com-
plained tlaat the waters of Lake Marah
were bitter and they could not drink
them, cut off the branch of a certain
tree and threw that branch into the
water, and. it became sweeter and
slaked the thirst of the suffering host?
Are we with a branch of the tree of
life sweetening all the brackish foun-
tains that we can touch?
Dear Lord, send as all out on that
naission. All around, us imbittered
lives-inabittered by .persecution, im-
bittered by hypererithesin, imbittered
by poverty, imbittered by pain, inabit-
tered by injustice, imbittered by sin.
Why not go forth and sweeten them
by smiles, by inspiring words, by be-
nefactions, be hearty counsel, by
prayer, by gospelixed behavior?Let
us remember that that if we are
wormwood to ourselves, and our life
will be bitter and our eternity bitterer,
The gospel of Jesus Christ is the only
sweetening power that is sufficient. It
sweetens the disposition., It sweetens
the manner. It sweetens Rife.
It sweetene mysterious providences. It
sweetens afflictions. It sweetens death,
It sweetens everything. I have heard
people ask me is social company, "If
you could have three wishes gratified,
what would your three wishes be?"
I tell you what they would be;
First, more of the grace of God; see,
and, more of the grace of God; third,
more of the grace of God.
In the dooryard of my brother, John,
missionary in Amoy, China, there was
a tree called the emperor tree, the two
characteristics of which are that it
always grows higher than its sur-
roundings, and its leaves take the
form of a crown. If this emperor tree
be planted by a rosebush, it grows a
little higher than the bush and spreads
out above it a crown. If it be planted
by the side of another tree, it grows
a little higher than that tree and
spreads above it a crown. Would. to God
that this religion of Christ: a more
wonderful emperor tree, might over-
shadow all your lives? Are you lowly
rn anabition er circumstance, putting
over you its crown? Are you high m
talent and position, putting over you
its crown? Oh, for more. of the sacs
charine in our lives and. less of the
worrawood.
Tyre, the atmosphere of the desert,
fragrant with epees, coming in cara-
vans to her fairs; all seas cleft into
foam by the keels of her laden mer-
chantmen, her markets rich with horses
and camels from Togarmith, her bare -
ars with upholstery from 1)edan, with
enierald and eoral and agate from
Syria, with wines from Balboa, with
embrfildered work from Ashur and Chil-
mad-where now the gleam of her tow-
ers, where the roar of her chariots,
where the masts of her ships? Let the
fishermen who dry their nets, where
once she stood; let tbe sea that rushes
upon the barrenness, where once she
ehallenged the admiration of all na-
tions; let tee barbarians who set their
rude tents where once her palaces glit-
tered -answer the que,stion. She was
a star, but by her own sin turned. to
wormwood and has fallen.
Babylon, with her 250 towers and.
her brazen gates and her embattled
walls,the splendor of the earth gather-
ed wiehni her palaces, her hanging
gardens built by Nebuchadnezzar to
please his bride, Aneytis, who had
been brought up in a mountainous
country and could not endure the flat
country round Babylon -these hang-
ing gardens built terrace above ter-
race, till at the heieht (if 400 feet there
were woods waving and fountains
playing, the verdue, the foliage, the
glory looking as if a raountain were
on the wing. On the tiptop of a king
walking with his queen, among statues
snowy white, looking up at birds,
brought from distant lands, and drink-
ing out of tankarels of solid gold or
looking off over rivers and lakes upon
nations subdued and tributary oryntg,
"is not this great Babylon which I
have built."
I prey that our nation may not copy
the crimes of the nations that have
perished, and our oup of blessing turn
to worm.wood, and like theme we go
down. I am by nature and by grace
an optimist, and I expect that this
country will continue to advance until
Christ shall come again. But be not
deceived! Our only safety is in right-
eousness toward God and justice to-
ward God and justice toward man. T1
we forget the goodness of the Lord
to this land and break his Sabbaths
and improve not by the dire disasters
that have again and again come to ua
as a nation, and. we learn saving les-
son neither from civil war nor raging
epidemic no drought nor mildew, nor
scourge of locust and grasshopper nor
cyclone nor earthquake, if the politi-
cal corruption which has poisoned the
fountains of public virtue and be -
slimed the high places of authority,
making free government at times a
hissing and a byword in all the earth;
if the drunkenness and licentiousness
that stagger and blaspheme in the
streets of our great cities as though
they ;were reaching after the fame of
a Cornith and. a Sodom are not re-
pented of, we will yet see the smoke
of our nation's rain, the pillars of our
national and state capitols will fall
more disastrously than when Samson
pulled down Dagon, and future his-
torians will record upon the page be-
dewed with generous tears the story
that the free nation of the svest arose
in splezeder which made the world
stare. It had. magnificent possibili-
ties. It forgot God. It hated justice.
It hugged its crime. It halted on its
high march. It reeled under the blow
xETER T 11V1111 8
THE SUNDAY SCROO
- •
INTERNATIONAL LESSON, JULY
T /clustered around Judah. Some of them,
Lee however, were of the tribe of Benja-
nirn. Ile men of Jabesh-gilead were
they that buried Saul. Poor , Seal
a. had been hung with his three sons,
on the wall of the deserted city of
-11 Bethsba.n, four miles from the Jordan.
The Plailistin.es had taken his armor
arid presented it as a trophy to ari idol
temple. But t here were some people
est faithfai to the bailee of Saul, even in
his extremity, and especially the men
ars of Jabeshegilead, whom be had helped
em- when in great straits (1 Sana. 11. 1-11).
ing Thee- marched straight through the
e.„„ territory which was oyerruri by the
ali. took down. the bodies, and
ale buried them. (4) Valor, always respect -
his ed even by the most degraded, is ele-
be vated into a, holy virtue by both Testa-
ments.
e 5. David sent messages unto the
r's men of Jabeslegilead. He was orily
il- King of Judah yet, but of tounte in-
tended to be king of all Israel as soon as
" he could; for that purpose be had been
re( anointed by God's prophet. So thie was
ed an eminently wise message. Blessed be
ee- ye of the Lord. Doubtless a pious
la prayer, but a charaeteristically tame-
" tal one in form. This kindness unto
li- your lord. Burial has always been re-
garded ars of the utmost important* in
ng the East; a sacredness attaehes to it
ere that is unknown among the
-eee ideas of Europeen and their American
d descendants.
ale 6. The Lord show kindness and truth
unto you. A coritinuance of the prayer
n, g of the last verse. I also will requite
be .you this kindness. "Requite" means
th, 'manifest to." Saul had been David's
be chief enemy ; the men of Jabesh-gilead
, had been Saul's warm friends ; David
eY not only sees the rectitude and good-
ie ness of their action, but desires to win
nd
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"David, Ring Judalk." 0 Sant. 0.1
Golden Text. Psalm 014.
GENERAL STA.TEMENTS
Six months leave passed since wel
studied concerning David; and six ye
or more stretched bete-cen the in
dent then studied-Jonathen's lov
lea:ye-taking-and the present even
David's coronation as Ring of Jud
When, with tears, Jonathan showed
friend that he was no longer safe
Saul's court he fled, and. Jonathan's 1
was nearly sacrificed. by hie Utile
fury over David's e,stetipe. From. Ph
!stip, where he first sought refug
David soon returned to Judah, whe
in a cave near Adiellana, he gather
around. him. a few hundred advent
era who had tired of Saul's rule. Toget
e4 they lived by forays on. the Phi
stifles, weta thietime overran Jed
and. by levies made on neiglabori
towns as the price of David's prot
tion. After a while he marched. aroma
the, lower endef the Dead Sea and 1
his aged. parents in cheep of the lei
of Moab, with whom, as well as t
King of Anution and. the Ring of Ga
to kept on friendly terms. When t
Philistines and. the Israelites got rea
for the tremendous struggle which soo
ended in the overthrow ot Saul a
the ruin of the earlier Israelite kin
dein, David's position became ezcee
ingly delicate arid difficult. He w
cast text of the Philistine army a
though he had been a faithful adhe
exit of the Philistines king, and. aft
adventures of a rtauantic and pieta
esque sort he found laieeelf et t
head of an army in the suathern pa
ot Judah, in the midst of national a
archy, but with a nuuaber of fortifi
Ohne about him whose. leaders we
inclined to accept his claims as kin
'The question arose whether the tim
had come for Jur' a to assert. this king
rights given by Samuel's ordinatiu
This lesson shows huw this questi
was divinely answered, and how Day
became king over J adah, governing pe
haps one third, or a little less thi
one third, of the territory which h
belonged to Saul.
PRACTICAL NOTES.
Verse 1, After this. After the ove
throw of the nation by the Philistine
David. haquired of the Lord. Usuaa
and ProleablY on this occasion, he 1
quired of the " Grim and Thunituim
but it is not certain what these word
stand for. The het means " lights
and the second "perfections." It iseem
that they were in the breastplate
the high priest. Now, this breastpla
was made of four (rows of proem
stones, three in a row, and set in
square of gold. It was fastened to
garment called ephod, and betwee
the breastplate and the ephod was
picket. Some suppose that three pr
mous stones, collectively called lerin an
Tbuinnan, were cast into this pocke
one of which stories represented "Yes.
another "No," and the third "No an
swer." The one drawn out by the big
priest after earnest prayer was the on
regarded 0,5 the answer given by tlo
Mann interesting 'acts concerning th
are given in Illustrative Notes. (1) W
should always ask God's direction i
secular affairs. (2) If God hese. king
dom waiting for us he will certain'
glade us in the best way to reach i
Shall I go up into any of the cities o
Judah? When Saul was killed Davi
was at Ziglag, in the southern extrena
ity of the Philistine kingdom. On thi
region savage AmaIekites pounced jus
as soon as the Pliiiistina army .ha
marched northward against Saul. Davi
pursued them and gained possession o
the great spoil that they had taken
He showed bow anxious he was to re,
gain his popularity, which probabl
lessened when he showed friendship t
his nation's enemies, the Philistines, b
dividing this ,spoil of the Amalekite
among a number of towns in the neigh
borhood of Hebron. He must hav
known that the leading men of Israe
were not activeiy hostile to him,, but
on the other hand, none of them elame
ed any disposition to help him to th
throne, and, as an indiscreet movemen
just now would be fatal, h
asks this question. If he made
any movement toward the throne it
must be by way of the cities of Judah
for the more northerly regions would
be favorable to Saul; besides the nor-
thern part of the kingdom Was now
held by Philistine invaders whom Dav-
id was not strong enough to drive
out. Unto Hebron. Hebron is one of
the oldest cities of the world, To "go
up" meant to assume royal authority.
It is noticeable that throughout the his-
tory of the Israelites, from their en-
trance to the Holy Land until the sac-
red history comes to a close, the nor-
thern tribes pulled together, while
those of the south were it community
by themselves. The estrangement
which afterward was so distinctly. re-
cognized had already its beginnings.
The dividing line ran from east to
west a few miles north of Jerusalem.
2. So David went up thither. March-
ed with his little army northward to
Hebron. And his two wives also. leis
whole household, for he has no longer
to journey from plaoe to place in the
wilderness, but to settle down as prince
or king in a city) The Jezreelites. A
native or resident of jezreel, not the
eat and splendid city which after-
ard became the capital of the Israel-
sh kingdom, but a little town in the
ountain region of Judah.: Nabal's
ife. Nabal's widow. 'The Carmelite.
native of Carmel, which is also a
tle town in the mountain region of
01 calamity. It fell. And as it was . gr
going down all the despotisms of
earth from the top of bloody thrones 11-4
began to shout, "Aha, so would We M
4.
lit
have it,
while struggling and op-
pressed people looked out from dun-
geon bars with tear e aryl groans and
ories of maold agony, the scorn of
those and the woe of theseuniting in e
the exclamation: "Look yonder/ There
fell a great star from heaven, burning h
as it were a lamp, and ib fell upon the
third part of the rivere and upon the
fountams of waters, and. the /lame of ,
the star is called. Worrawood."
un
Judah near to Jezreel, and is to be dis-
inguished from Mount Carmel.
3. His men that were with him. His
and had greatly increased since the
earlier days of Adullara. Every man
with his household) The enaphesis with
which households are brought to the
rout shows that David's plans had
dergone a changei He was no long-
er planning for war, but or peace.
ey dwelt in the cities of Hebron. The
y towns which surromided and de-
nded upon this center of population.
4. And the men of Judah came. 3,0
If we win do our duty God may be
depended upon to control the hearta of
those about les. The men of andel
were tee elders, tbe repinsentatives of
leading [amities, the heads of clans,
many of them recognized asgovernors
i
of small territories, It is nteresting
to note that while most of the land
was either overrun by Philistine hordes,
or seeking a frightened protection und-
er the name of Saul, with Ishbosheth
for king, the southern part, most near-
ly impregnable becteuse of its high cliffs,
and always disposed to go by itself, ad-
opts David as its monarch.' Anointed
David king) He had already been an-
ointed by Samuel as a prophetic act;
but this ceremony Was altixi to a cox,
°nation or inauguration,1 The hose of
Judah) The houses fir clans which
WHY IT STICKS. Th
tin
The increased friction noticeable when pe
the current in electric railways passes
from the carriage wheels to the rails
has recently been explained. The theo-
ry has now been accepted that this ad-
ditional resistance is due to a slight
weiclin,g action caused by ,the heat gen-
crated by the current. .
COMPRESSED SAWDUST FOR FUEL,
Sawdest is turned into transporta-
ble fuel in some parts of Scotla,nd by
a very simple process, It is heated un-
der high steam pressure int the resin-
ous ingredients become sticky, when it
is pressed into bricks.One man with
a two -horse power machine can turn out
9,000 bricks it day.
Love is our bigheet, worl and the
syribeyra of Goci-Emer on
them over to be friends of his own.
Saul's kingdom, and at the outset
David's kingdorn also, were in kirad not
very different from the feudal mon-
archies of the Middle A.ges, The sue
promo king exercised an numb, author-
ity as he dared to exercise over a num-
ber of lesser "lords," who, in turn, bad
their own town or towns to rule over.
7. Let your hands be strenethened.
This was good advice, the advice of a
patriotic master -nand to a daring lit-
tle group of patriotic men who needed
just such leadership a.s his. The ceche
try was trembling and swaying on the
edge of ruin. our master Saul is
dead. This was a reminder of the fact
that the ohl kingdom had gone to
pieces. The Juane of Judah have an-
ointed me kine over them. This was
David's invitation frankly made. What
the house of Juoah had done it will be
well for all Israel to do. It was au
earnest bid for the loyel adherence of
the brave warriors of Jalesslagilead.
8. Abner, the son of T-.4.1er. Abner was
the uncle, or as some make out, the cou-
sin, of Saul. He was a. bold soldier, and,
as we may infer, an uneerupulous poll -
theme Captain of Saules host, And,
under Saul, founder of the standing
army of Israel. Doubtless he had been
the most influeutial of all of Saul's
subjects. Took Ishbosheth. The
youngest of Saul's sons. Brought
him over to Mahanahn. He hastily
crossed the Jordan toward the east,
and entered a fortified city of Gilead
riot far from the place where jamb
had wrestled with the angel. The bet-
ter part of Saul's kingdoxu was in. the
possession of the Philistines, but the
regioui which was afterward known as
Perea was still unconquered by them,
and Abner, with his troops and with
the last representative of theroyal
family, retired there to re-sstablieh the
kingdom. From a soldier's point of
view this was the wisest mitvement
that multi have been made.
9. Made him king. So now there were
two kings-Ishinebeth on the east, and
David on the south. Each gradually
extended his power over the central re-
gions, which had been devastated by
the war) After a 1j tle the boundaries
of Isebosheth's kingdom were nearly
those of the later monarchy of Israel,
while the boundaries of David's king-
dom were those of the later monarchy
of juda h.
10. Reigned two years. He probab-
ly reigned longer than that, but the
two years Indio:rite the time when his
monarchy prevailed over all Israel.,
11.. Feven years and six months. All
this time there was war bet ween Judah
and Israel, but probably not waged with
force, for it was neither :according, to s
David's desire or policy eo conquer . fi
terael; indeed, there are many indiea- s
lions that there was a sort of consti- a,
tutional "state's rights" in northern t
Terael always recognized.
RACE FOR PREMIERSHIP. f
sir...lasthur Balfour and Mr. Joseph ar
Chamberlain Hiding Hard for the Goa
-Odds In Favour or Pushful Joe.
The great raxe for the Premiership of d
England between Mr. Arthur Balfour g
and Mr. Joseph Chamberlain has g
become extremely interesting to ta
dose observers. The rivalry be-
tween these two statesmen al- P
P:
ways has been keen, but the
actual race commenced wben they
became members of the same cabinet.
THE 'VAT13, YOU DRINK,
HOW TO DETECT IMPURITIEtEN
WELL AND SPRING WATER.
ure and Impure Waters and Simple Tests
to Distinguish Thent-Thneral /4Priag
Waters tsually Gerndems-tiontmer
e.ation Health gluts,.
If would be manifestly improper for
one to attempt such a thing as a series
of instruetione for determining the
character of water supplied for deink-
ing, considering tee fact that complex
and eleborate analyses are required for
that purpose.
One raigiat, perhaps, mention a chenti-
cal test which would show the presence
of certain impurities, while other and
possibly very injurious foreign ingredi-
ents in the water might exist without
detection.
ABSOLUTELY PURE WATER RAR,E.
A. celebrated authority once stated
that absolutely pure water, consiating
ceemical union with condensation
of two volumes of hydrogen and one
oxygen, is a cher.aical curiosity."
Tee impurities of water are usually
placed under two beetle, organic and in-
organic. Of the first class the impuri-
ties may be in the form of bacteria, or
they xnay consist of particle.s of organic
substances, sueh as decomposing animal
or vegetable naatter.
Of the !attar class the chemist usually
finds ewe things as nitrates and nis
trites, free unerionia, chlorine and
various other cheznieal substances.
nitrites are usually the product of de-
em Nasition, following the contamina-
tion of water with sewage.
HARD AND SOFT WATERS.
Water is usnally spoken of as either
bard or soft. Hard waters contain lirae
and rengnesiuna salts, or other chemi-
cal substances eshieh curdle soap. The
impurities usually found in soft water
are ineonsidenible.
A *inutile and convenient znethel of
deterrabaing whether a water is bard
or boa. is by raceme of tineture of soap.
Tliis preparation pride:es no , effect
when added to pure diealled water.
When cotribinet1 with soft water it
causes a rilight opalescence, while with
hard water a milky. appearance is por-
duced. tallith latter is due to the forma-
tion of an insoluble compound through
the nombinatien of the fatty acids of
the soap with the lime or magnesium
salts existing in the water as im-
purities.
PURE WATER.
Pure water le transparent, colerless
tasteless and oderless. Any wate
that is turbid, with an oder and un
pleasant taste, may be condemned
unfit for constunption
In order to be fit. for cooking and
drinking, water need not he chemi-
cally pure. Natural water is seldom
if ever free from foreign ingredients.
On the other hand water may raeet
all the other requirements given abetve
anti yet be dangerous bemuse it is
contaminated with disease germs, such
as the bacilli of typhoid and malarial
fevers.
.Bacteria may be found in all well
waters. When a well is frequently
pumped out and allerwed to refill. the
number of bacteria, ie ainunt greatly
dinainis.hed. The leeteria usually
found in well water are comparative-
ly laarruless. It is only when the wa-
ter beeomes contaminated With sew
age eontaining the dangerous varie
the that use of the water begone
perilous.
In water from a well-pecatected sprin
the number of bacteria is usually vere
small. In the water of lakes ineteri
are abundant near the shore, will'
ery few were found in the water ob-
ained from the middle of the hare.
LMPROVES BY KEEPING.
'Water is gad to be improved by
tering for a time. As there is not sui-
dent sustenance in the water, a
ort of starvation process is carried out
nd the bacteria perish and fall to
he bottom.
The idea that freezing destroys bact-
eria is still entertained by many. Re-
eated experiments have proved that
reezing merely renders them Mac-
ive, and that they multiely with great
apitlity as soon as the. ice is melted
nd the conditions are favorable.
Mineral springs are, as a rule, nacre
r less free from bacteria. This free-
om is attributed to the carbonic acid
as with which the water is impre-
nated.
There is no simple method of ascer-
ining the presence of bacteria in
rater. The microscope is usually era-
loyed for that purpose. There is a
reparation known as Pa.steur's solu-
tion that is sqm.etunes used. This solu-
tion consists of ten parts of candy
sugar, one, part of tartrate of am-
monia, one hundred parts of water and
the ash of one, part of yeast.
TO TEST WATER.
The solution is mixed with suspect-
ed water in a flask. If ehe soluticn
remains clear it is an indication that
the water is free frora. bacteria. If it
becomes sub,sequently turbid. it means
that banteria are preseet
Although there is no simple method.
of determining the presence of im-
purities in water, there is a very sum -
pis way of. rendering it fit for use,
at lectst so far as bacteria, are coo:marri-
ed. Boiling will destroy them, one
an alt.
14 18 only necessary to boil the water
five minutes, but it is better to boil
it ten or even fitte,en minutes when
there is reason to suspect contamina-
tion of a serious character.
Many people believe that by mix-
ing an equal quantity of wine with
water containing bacteria a harmless
drink may be made. This unpres.non
is erroneauts. It is true that some
bacteria peeish in the mixture, but the
inajoeity do not. e
People entertaining such an idea
wo-uld better follow the Bibical in-
junction and drmk no longer water,
but use e little wine, for thy stometh's
sake."
RANDS OFF IRE 1500N
A Telescope that Will Ralln
hot Otmervers 'WM Want
Tile huge block of orystal w
orae the mirror tor the great
(mope has solely arrived in Paris. J-11
aLt goes well the Exhibition of 1,000
will be able to bout of a ellstinct fea-
ture. Whether the moon's features
-will be equally distinet is another ques-
tion. Prof. Loewy thinks note but X.
Deloncle is still determined to carry
through his idea.
thru.s711teh:asclinenaaeneofyatt.cle JOttan"tiontewlee"'
cope was spoken. of in the papers, but
M. Deloncle, howe.ver ambitious be may
be 131 Central Afriea, protests that be
never had so preposterous a notion. He
Jaime that it will be possible to throw.
on to a screen. views of our satellite
brought within it distance of thirty -
miles. This remains to • be seen. How-
ever, everybody will wish IL Delenele,
and still more especially bis sharehold-
ers every suceese in what One rattst
8'4 regard as an experiment,
The new telescopic anixamr is the
largest ever made. It was cast at
Jtheetuniaosntt,Fareniner suftaatiotunrinoug t japelaceionantod
Liege, Colonge, and Berlin. Thie
splendid block of homogeneous crystal
weighs 3,000 kilogrammes. Its diae
meter is 2.05 znetres and in ita preseet
nearly rough state it vest $4.„000. Of
course it was conveyed to Paris in a
s,pecial train. It was wrapped up in
heavy felt bla.rakets, proteeted by
hooPs of soft wood, with metal tires
zziounted on pivots. Thus packed, the
mirror was tightly wedged In a case
that wam placed in the wagon or, a bed
of burdles a.n.d layers of hay..
Por greater safety,. the tram stopped
only once, at Tergmer, and went at
as slow a wee as it royal train, escort-
ed by a railway inspector. It was in-
sured to its full value. The same af-
ternoon it was removed from the north-
ern terminus to the workshop. The
mirror, before leaving Jeuraont, went
through a second grinding of Refaces,
being as sraooth as a fine plate glass -
But for telescopic purposes this sort
of eznuothness is roughness itself. The
finishing proeess will take two years
and efx months, and by more expedie
tioue processee teen hitherto in use,
whieh, moreover, will give gre,ater an-
caraey than anything known.
Hitherto astronomical mirrors and
lenses have been polished by hand by
slowly rubbing the glass with the naked
hand, sometioaes, but not always,
moistened with all, albumen, and other
eubstanses which are the maker's secret.
The drawback of this process is that
tthhee insiterrfeaci:eatto oNf.atrlipe. hand may cause
Tbe new mechanical process, of which
partieulars are not given, will produce
, ui axe approaching a true plane,
within one ten -thousandth part of v.
- Even this marvellous fin-
es ish will leave a margin, astronomers
tell, or errors. The whole finishing
proeees will cost X0,0210. The silvering
will not cost anything to speak of.
The mirror will be mounted on two
arms ten naetres long, iwad will be set
in motion by machinery of the usual
sort. The rays gathered from plane-
tary space will be reflects(' horizontally
through a maxamoth tube 60 metres
long, laid on piles of xaasonry. The
lenses of flint and crown glass will
be 1 metre 25 centimetres, the largest,
in the world, and the images, enlarged
6,000 timee, will be thrown on to a
sereen, which thousands of people will
view at a time.
The moon will, if all gees well, be
brought within thirty-eight tulles, but
.. is most doubtful whether images on
- this scale will prove correct. • M.
• Loewy, the assistant director of the
1 Paris Observatory, who has submitted
g 1 some splendid pbotographs of then:loon,
. believes that the limit of ninety-four
a 1 miles he has reached is the utmost
,
e practicable for a long time to come.
Larger images will be indistinct.
Mr. Chamberlain's opportunity came
with Jameson's raid into the Trans-
vaal, andhe took it boldly. The ground
he thsn gained has been more than
maintained, and in the opinion of ex-
pert politicians he is now too far ahead
tor Mr. Balfour to catch up to him.
Last week added greatly to Mr.
Chamberlain's popularity, for as
honorary president of the Congress of
the Charo.bers of Commerce of the
Empire assembled here he rode the
high Imperial horse with grace and
!dexterity) It is impossible for Mr.
'Dolour to compete with this show
business.He has the disadvantage of
1 being a. deep thinker, and is blessed, or
• cursed, nett' the philosophic mind.
Therefore he has lost ground in the
political race. Moreover, he has
managed the business of the House of
Commons badly, with the result, that
things parlimentary got into a tangle,
whicia brought diseedit upon the en-,
tire Cabinet except Mr. Joseph
'Chamberlain, who has carefully ab-
stained from taking any part in the
management. Finally, Mr. Arthur
Balfour is handicapped through being -
a bachelor and he shows no mclinaton
to remedy this defect, Mr. Joseph
Chamberlain enjoys the immense ad-
vantage of having it clever, cherming
'vile, whose ambition, like that of her
us an , as no limit.
A PECULIAR LAZE, -
A curious lake has been found on the
Island of Rildine, North Sea, tvhich con-
tains salt water mader the surface,. in
which stiOnges, codfish and other marine
animals flourish. The •surface of the
wa,tee, however, is perfectly fresh,
and supports fresh -water creatures and
vegetation.'
AHEAD Ole DATE.
You/ 'wife assents anxious to be up
to date, Tugby.
ITp to date? She's 'way ahead. She's
got a, lot of trouble borrowed for year
• LUCKY ADAM.
• Wraggles-Well, Adam was a lucky
man.
Barker -In what partioular wa,ye
Weaggles-He didn't home to prance
aroma(' the garden like a blamed idiot
holding Eve on a hundred dollar bike!
THE APPRECIATED PARTY.
Boullion-Yes, sir, I am a pro-
fessional took, and it gives me pleasure
to think that rbelong to a profession
teat is fully oppreciated. When a par-
ticularly palatable dish is set 'before
you, your gratitude goes out to the
cook, does it not?
Mr. Binks--Well, to tell the truth,
nay gratitu.de generally goes out to
the tvaitee.
STYLE OF AN EMPRESS.
There was a sort of intoxication in
the very atmambere of Paris, a fever
of enjoyment- a passion for constant
amusement, for constant excitement,
and, araong women, for extravagance
in dress. This was encouraged, by the
court, with the intention of giving an
impetus to trade, and of gaining pop-
ularity by favoring constant festivities,
and consequently constant expense. In
the days of Louis Philippe there had
been great moderation in all matters of
luxury; the king and queen were aged,
sensible, and economical; the young
princesses were kept within rigid
bounds by example above them. But
when the emperor came to the throne,
after a period a revolution and conse-
quent commercial stagiaation, he wish-
ed to revise trade, and also to give the
prestige of splendor to a court which
SO many did pot seem to take in earnest.
leis beautiful wife, suddenly raised to
9, supreme position for which nothing
ea her previous life Jaad preps -red her,
finding what seemed utamuted means
within her reach, keenly enjoyed the
possibility of procuring everything that
pleased her, and enhanced her remark.
able personal attraction.s by all the ad-
vantages of exquisite toilet without
consideration of cost.
Everything that she wore suited her
admirably; others tried to imitate her,
and the general tone became raised. She
had the art of constantly choosing
something new and unusual, which at-
tracted attention, so that, instead of
being satisfied with conventional types
of silks and satins, which formerly had
been considered sufficient for all occa-
sions, every one tried to invent some-
thing different from others, and to nn -
prove upon what had been seen before.
Consequently, not only in dress, but in
all matters of taste and luxury, there
was an eager struggle to outvie others,
to reach a higher degree of splendor,
and extravagance became universal.
Paris was a sort of fairyland, whene
every one seemed rich and happy. What
lay underneath all this would not bear
close examination -the dishonorable acts
of all kinds which too often were peed. -
ed to produce the glamor deceiving sin
perficial observers.
HABISLY-KNEW-IIIIVIS-Erre"
Why, you're a new mari-they've
shaved you ou.t of all recognition.
7 -e -a --he. he -es, the iirst thrie
loolred iu the glass Imlay knew inyeel4
by my voice.
Geed, the more comanzeicatecl, the
more abundant growee-ilifilton.
• The jealous is tioseessett by a "eine
mad devil" and a dull spirit ate
Lavater. •
HOPE
However long and dark the day,
By 'eight it will have paesed away,
ehougeli wearisome and lorg the night,
14 entattb with the mornbig