HomeMy WebLinkAboutExeter Times, 1896-8-13, Page 3URRE NT ATTER.
We are sorry for the poor aninsals
that are viviseeted, and we are sorry
for the people we° defend the practice.
It is a fair question whether anything
a real value is even learnea by such
operations. Sir Charles 13e11, for exam-
ple, declares that vivisec.tion. "Ims done
more to perpetu.ate error than to en-
force the just views taken from ana-
tomy and natural science." The satis-
fying of the curiosity of a medical stu-
dent who inay for some poor animal
victim be turning a laboratory into a
hell is not necessarily the same thing
as promoting Use progress of science
or developing the theory of life. And
the hardening effects upoa the oper-
ators of sueli torturing of helpless ani-
mals may have not merely a demoral-
izing influence morally, but also an in-
jurious result professionally. A bru-
talized practitioner is not apt to study
his pateints sympathetically and with
dual care. One physician remarks, re-
gsalning the training of medical students
at the present day: "It is too mater-
ial. Vivisection. bardens." And these
thin ge we say in spite of the fact that
the Outlook recently quoted an illus-
tration front Prof. William James,
which it called "pertinent" and "strik-
ing," the gist of which is that if a
dog undergoing vivisection, who Ilea
strapped on a board and shriekiag at
his executioners, could only be made
to Welt a glimpse of the buman inten-
tions at work in the process "all that
is herolo in him would religiously ac-
quiesce." Of course it is very easy for
a well fed, professor or an editor com-
fortably ensconced in his office to the-
orize as to the potential religious capa-
cities of a canine, but we think that
until the dog acquires a religious sen-
sibility o suck an exalted nature it
would be as well for the surgeons to
spare the poor beast tee horrible tor-
tures.
Every bealthy man ought to live to
Pc a hundred years old, So says Dr.
\lecher of the International Institute
of Statistics. Unfortunately, the Ina-
jority do not live so long, but, we are
told, that, is their own fault. However,
it is at kaet consoling to fin,d that, ac-
cording to carefully prepared statistics,
the live chaps, of to -day are six years
better than their fathers and grand-
fathers who lived at Use close of the
last century. In other words, the
average of human life is six years long-
er than it used to be in the good old
days. M. Vacher gives 78 as the aver-
age figure for those who have round-
ed the rough and dangerous point a of
certnin periods in life. After passing
these points men have comparatively
easy sailing in the Indian summer of
their existence. At the end of alite
Walt ceutelio figured in a fashion some-
otbeirticailar to that of Dr. Vacher, fix-
ed life's average limit at 67.
But we met eot mi,sintexenet these
figures; they cannot be taken as the
general average, which is extremely
low, on account of the high death rate
among children and young persons ap-
proaching the dangerous period of
twenty. But, all things considered, it
Is fair to presume that the man who
at the present time has reached the
tige of 30, without contracting any
serious malady, has a chance to reaoh
the age of 73 years; that is to say, he
has added to his possible score six years
snore than his grandfathers had.; and
all this in spite of trolleys, cable ears,
and scorchers! The reason for this
is simple enough It is to be found in
the wonderful advance of medical sci-
ence, which is rolling back theepidemics
teat ravaged the world one hundred
years ago.
In this country just now, according
to the testimony of those who remem-
ber, xnen of fifty and sixty are far
more vigorous and better preserved
a than their predeeessors of the same
ages who lived forty or fifty years ago.
And our girls, bless them and their
beauty, are far taller and fatter than
the old-time belles. Our athletes, too,
have smaahed the old records all to
pieces. We can run faster, box herder,
march longer, and row better than
our grandfathers ever could; and we
are still improving. Perhaps the
most =wising fact of all is that the
average height and weight of the
soldiers in the colossal armies of Conti-
nental Europe to -day are equal if not
superior to the standard that was re-
' eteuired in the smaller armies of the
(lest century, for which the recruits
were carefully picked from antong the
' most able bodied in the population of
each country. Surely we are great
fellows I
ONE WAY TO DO IT.
Rev. Mr. Coldwater (vehemently)__
No, sir; this country will never be fit
to live in until it has more churches
than dram -shops'
Alderman O'Donegal.—Well, who's
hinderin' yez from buildin' more
ohurches11
•••••••••..m.
•
MOST NUTRITIOUS FOOD.
Taking all the ordinary food stuffs,
the one which would bestfulfill the
requirements of life and strength would
be substantial slices of whole meal
wheaten bread, eaten with the crust and
spread with good butter. Practically
all the constituents necessary for the
support of life and the building up of
tissue are contained in this food. It
as the further advantage of being ex-
areraely satisfying. If fresh milk or
buttermilk were drunk taith it an al-
most complete diet wouldabe obtained,
eo far as the mere sustaining of phys-
ical health and strength was concerned.
john R. Stevens, consulting engineer
In succession to Jobn Hayes Hammond
for the companies operating in Johan-
nesburg, is in Roseland, B.C., examin-
ing the prineipal mines.
ANCESTRAL POWERS,
THE PHYSICAL PROCLIVITIES
WHICH ARE DUE TO HEREDITY.
tem They May be overcome That One
Spiritual. triethelly May Be Won, anti
How We May Become Sons and Dangle
tow or emineetaitty.
Washingtou, Aug. 2..—Rev. Dr. Tal-
mage chase as his text I. Samuel evil.,
58, "Whose son art thou, thou young
man?"
Never was there a more unequal fight
than that between David and Goliath;
David. 5 feet high, Goliath 10; David a
shepherd boy brought up amid rural
scenes, Goliath a warrior by profes-
sion; Goliath a mountain of braggae
doeio, David a marvel of humility ; Go-
liath armed. with an iron spear, David
armed with a tiling with smooth stones
from the brook. But you are not to
despise these latter weapons.
There was a regiment of stingers in
the Assyrian army and a regiment of
stingers in the Egyptian army, and
they made terrible execution, and they
could cast a stone with as much ace
curaoy and. force as now can be sent
by Ishot or shell. The Greeks in their
army had stingers who would throw lea-
den plummets inscribed with the irrita-
ting words. "Take this!" SO it was a
mighty weapon David employed in that
famous combat. A Jewish rabbi says
that the probability le that Goliath was
in such contempt tor David that in a.
paroxysm of laughter lie threw Lis
head back and his helmet fell off, aed
David. saw the uncovered forehead, and
hie opportuuity bad come, and taking
his sling and swinging it around his
head two or three times and aiming
it at that• uncovered forehead crashed
it like an eggshell, The battle over,
behold the tableau: King Saul sitting;
little David standing, his fingers clutch-
ed into the hair of the decapitated
Goliath. As Saul saes David stand-
ing there holdiug in his hand the
ghastly, reeking, staring trophy, evi-
dence of the complete victory over
God's enemies, the king wonders what
pareutage was honored by such hero-
ism, and in my text he asks David his
pedigree, "Whette son art thou, thou
young mo.n ?"
The king saw' wiaat you. and I see,
that tbis question of heredity is a
mighty question. The longer I live
the .more I believe in blood—good blood,
had blood, proud. blood, humble blood,
honest, blood, thieving blood, heroic%
blood, cowardly blood, Tee tendency
may skip a generation or two, but it
is sure to come out, as in a little (Mild
you sometimes see a similarity to a
great grandfather wbose picture hangs
on the wall. That the pbysical and
tnesntal. and tnerea onteeheee "tee*ein
his eyes open, Tbe similarity is so
striking sometimes as to be amusing.
Great families regal or literary, are
apt to have the cisaracteristies all down
through the generations, and what is
more perceptible in elute families may
be seen on a similar scale in all fam-
ilies. A thousand years have no power
to obliterate the difference. The large
lip of the how* of Austria is seen in
all the generations awl is called the
Hapsburg lip. The bouse of Stuart
always means in all generations cruelty
and bigotry and sensuality. Witness
Queen of Soots, witness Charles L and
Charles IL, witness James 1. and
James II. and all tee other scoundrels
of that line: Scottish blood means per-
sistence, English blood means rever-
ence for the ancient, Welsh blood eueans
religiosity, Danish blood means fond-
ness for the sea., Indian blood ineans
roaming disposition, Celtic blood means
fervidity, Roman blood means con-
quest. The Jewish facility for accum-
ulation you may trace clear back to
Abralsa,m, of whom the Bible says, "he
was rich in silver and gold and cattle,"
and. to Isaac and Jacob, who had the
same characteristics. Some families are
characterized by longevity,. and tbey
have a tenacity of life positively Me-
thuselish. Others are characterized by
Goliathian stature, and you can see it
for one generation, two generations,
five generations—in all the genera-
tions.
Vigorous theology runs down in the
line of the Alexanders. Tragedy runs
on in the familyof the Ketables. Lit-
erature runs on in the line of the Trot -
lopes. Philanthropy runs on in the line
of the Wilberforces. Statesmanship
runs on in the line of the Adamses.
You can see these peculiarities in all
generations. Henry and Catherine of
Navarre religious, all their families re-
ligious. The celebrated family of the
Casini, all mathematicians. The cele-
brated family of the Medici, grand-
father, son and Catherine, all remark-
able for keen intellect. The celebrated
family of Gustavus Adolphus, all war-
riors. This law of heredna asserts it-
self without reference to sooial or po-
litical condition.for you sometimes find
the ignoble in htgh places and the hon-
orable in obscure place. A descendant
of Edward I, a tollgatherer. A de-
scendant of Edward Ht. a doorkeeper.
A descendant of. the Duke of North-
umberland a trunkmaker. Some of tbe
mightiest families of England are ex-
tinct, while some of those most hon-
ored in the peerage go back to an an-
cestry of hard knuckles and rough ex-
terior.
You know as well as I know that you
can make the centripetal force over-
come the centrifugal. and you can
make the centrifugal overcome the
centripetal, as when there is a mighty
tide of good in a family that may be
overcome by determination to evil—
as in the ease of .Aaron Burr, •the lib-
ertine, who had for father President
Burr, the consecrated; as in the case
of Pierrepont Edward% the ecourge of
New York society 80 years ago, who
had a Christian ancestry—while, on
the other hand, some of the best men
and. women of tbis day are those who
have come of an anceetry of which it
would not be courteous to speak in
their presence. The practical and use-
ful object of this sermon is to show you
that, if you. have come of a Christian
ancestry, then you are solemnlybound
to preserve and develop the glorious in-
herita.nce, or, if you have come of a
depraved ancestry, then it is yoltr duty
to brace yourself against the evil ten-
dency by all prayer, and Christian de-
termulation. And you are to find out
the family frailties, and in arming, the
castle put the strongest guard at the
weakest gate. With these smooth
stones from the brook I hope to strike
you. not where David truck Goliath,
LU the head, but where Nathan struck
THE EXET1111 TIMES
David, in the heart, "Whose son art
thee, thou young man?"
There is something in all winter hol-
idays to bring up the old follet. I think
meaty of our thoughts at such times
are set to the tune of "Auld. Lang
Syne." The old folks were so busy at
such times in making us haepy and
Perhaps on loss resource made their
sons and daughters happier than you
on larger resources are elle to make
your sons and daughters. The snow
lay two feet abovet 'heir graves, but
they shoals off the white blankets and
mingled in tlae holiday festivities—the
same wrinkles, the same stoop of shoul-
der uuder the weight of -age, the slate
old etyle of dress or coat, the same
smile, the same tone of voice, I hope
you remember them before they went
away. 11 not, I hope there are those
who have recited to you what they
were, and that there may be in your
house some article of dress or furni-
ture with which you associate tad.: ,
memories. I want to arouse the most;
sacred memories of your heart while I
make the impassioned interrogatory in
regard to your pedigree, "Whose son
art thou, thou young man?"
First, 1 accost those who are de-
scended of a Christian ancestry. I do
not ask if your parents were perfect.
There are no perfect people now, and
I do not suppose there were any per-
fect people then. Perhaps there was
sometimes too inueb blood in their eye
when they chastised • you. But from
what I know a you, you. got no more
than you deserved, and perhaps a lit-
tle m.ore chastisement would have been
salutary. But you are willing to ack-
nowledge, I think, that tbey wanted
to do right. From whet you over-
heard in conversatione, and from what
you saw at the family altar and at
neighborhood obsequies, you know that
they bad invited God into their beart
and their life. There was something
that sustained those old people super-
naturally. You have no doubt about
their destiny. You expect if you ever
get to heaven to meet them as you ex-
pect to meet the Lord Jesus Cbrist.
That early association has been a
charm for you. There was a time
when you got right up from a house
of iniquity and walked out into the
fresh air because you thought your
mother was looking at you. You beep
never been very happy in sin because
of a sweet old tare that would present
itself. Tremulous voices from the. past
attcosted you until they were seemingly
audible, and you looked around to :tee
who spoke. There was an estate not
mentioned in the last will anti tete a -
meat, a vast estate of prayer awl
holy example and Christian entreaty
and glorious memory, The survivors
of the family gathered to hear the will
read, and Otis was to be kept, and thet
was to be sold, and it leas "share and
share alike."
I3ut tbere was an unwritten will that
read something like this: "In the name
of God, amen, 1, being of soma mind,
beq,ueath to my children all my pray-
ers for then salvation. 1 bewarith to
them all the result's of a lifettme's toil.
I bequeath to them the Christian re-
ligion, which has been so much com-
fort to me, and I hope may be solace
Lor therm I bequeath to them a hope
of reunion, when the partings of life
are over. ' Share and share alike •
ma
they inherit eternal riehes. 1 bequeatxi
to them the wieh that thee, may avoid
my errors and copy anything that may
have been worthy. In the name of God,
who made me, anti the Christ, who re -
•If they oneet, %wee
sanctifies roe, I make this my last will
and testament. Witness all you hosts
a heaven. Witness Cline, witness eter-
nity. Signed, sealed. and delivered in
this our dying hour. Father and
Mother." You did not get that will
proved at the surrogate's office, but I
take it out to -day and read it to you.
I take it out of the alcoves of your
heart. I shake the dust off it. I ask
ifyou will accept that inheritance, or
will you break the will?
Oh, ye of Christian ancestry 1 You
have a. responsibility vast beyond all
measurement. God will not let you
off with just being as good as ordinary
people when you had such extraordin-
ary advantage. Ought not a flower
planted in a botlsouse be more thrifty
than a flower planted outside in the
storm? Ought not a factory turned by
the Housatonic do more work than a
factory _turned by a thin and, shallow
rnouneam stream? Ought not you of
great early opportunity be better than
those who had a cradle useblessed? A
father sets Lis son. up in business. He
keeps an account of- all the expendi-
tures—so much for store fixtures, so
much for rent, so much for this, so
much for that, and a,11 the items ag-
gregated—and the father expects the
son to give an account. Your heavenly
Father charges against you all the ad-
vantage of a pious ancestry—so many
prayers, so much Christian example,
so many kind entreaties—ail these
gracious influences, one tremendous ag-
gregate, and he asks you for an ac-
count of it. Ought not you to be bet -
ten than those who had no such ad-
vantage? Better have been a found-
ling picked up, off .the city commons
than, with such magnificent inherit-
ance of consecration, to turn out in-
different.
Ought not you, my brother, to be
better, haviug had Christian nurture,
than the man who can truly say this
morning, "The Bast word I remember
my father speakieg to me was an oath;
the first time I remember my father
taking hold of me was in wrath; I
never saw a Bible till I was 10 years of
age, and then I was told it was a
pack of lies; the first 20 years of my
life I was associated with the vicious.
I seemed to be walled in by sin and
death ?"
Now, nay brother, oughtyou not—I
leave it as a matter of fairness with
you—ought you. not to be better than
those who had no early Christian in-
fluence? Standing as .you do between is
the generation that past and the
generation that is to oome, are you
going to pass the blessing on, or are
you going to bave your life the gulf
in which that tide of blessing shall
drop out of sight forever? You are
the trustee of piety. in that ancestral
line, and are you going, to augment or
squander that solemn trust fund Are
you going to disinherit your sons and
daughters of the heirloom which your
parents left you? Ah, that cannot be
possible—it cannot be possible that
you are going to take such a position
as that ! You are very careful about
the life insurance, and. careful abont
the deeds, and careful about the mort-
gage, and careful about the title of.your
property, because when you step off
the stage you want your children to
get it all. Are you making no pro-
vision that they shall get grand-
father's or grandmother's religion?
Oh what a last will and testament
you are making, my brother! "In the
name of God, amen. 1, being of sound
mind, make this my last will and testa-
ment. I bequeath to my cbildren all
the money I ever made and all the
houses I own, but 1 disinherit them, I
rob them of the ancestral grace and
the Christian influence that 1. inherit-
ed. 1 have squandered that on my
own worldiness. Share and share alike
inuat they 'in the misfortune and the
everlasting outrage. Signed, sealed
and delivered in the presence of God
and men and angels and devils, and
all the generations of earth and. Ilea -
yea ;mil hell, July, 1890."
Oat, ye of highly favored ancestra,
wake up this morning to a, sense of
your opportunity and responsildlity I
think there must be an old cradle or
a fragment of a cradle somewhere that
could tell a story of midnight, sun-
pieta:Um in your behalf. Where is the
old reeking chair in which you were
sung to sleep with the holy nursery
rhymeP Where is the old clock that
ticked away the moments of that sick-
ness on that awful night when t here
were but three of you awake—you and
God and mother? Is there not an old
staff in sortie closet?. We beg you to
tura over a new leaf tlais very day.
Oh, the power of ancestral piety,
well illustrated by a young man of
New York who attended a prayer
meeting one night, and asked for prayer
and then went home and wrote down
these words: "Twenty-five years ago
to-nigatt my mother went to heaven,
ray beautiful, blessed mother, and I
have been alone, tossed. up and down
upon the billows of liftes tempestuous
oeeart. Shall I ever go to heaven? She
told me I must meet her in heaven.
When she took toy hand in hers and
turned her gentle loving eyes on me,
and gazed earnestly and long into my
face, and then lifted. them to heaven
in• that last prayer, she prayed that
1 might meet her in heaven; I wonder
if ever I shall? My mot her's prayers!
Oh, my sweet blessed mother's pray-
ers! Did ever a boy have sueli a
mother as I had? For 25 years I have
not heard her pray until to -night. I
have heard all her prayers over again.
They bave heel, in fact, a terrible re-
surrection. Oh, bow she was wont to
pray! She prayed as they prayed to-
night—so earnest, SO importunate, so
believing. Shall I ever be a Christaint
She was a, Christian. Ole how bright
and pure and happy was her life! She
was a cheerful and happy Christian.
There is my mother's Bible. I have
not opened it for years.; Did she be -
neve 1 conld ever negleet her preeioue
Bible ?i She surely thought I would
read it much and often. How often
had. she read it to net! HMV did she
cause me to kneel by my little bed
and put my little irante up in the at-
titude of prayer! How has site knelt
by aus and Over me, and I. have felt
her warm tears, raining down upon
my bands and face!
"Blessed mother, did you pray in
vain for your boy ? It shall not be in
vain. Ali, no, no; it shall not he In
vain! I will pray for myself. Wile has
sinned against so much instructive as
have—against so many preemue
prayers put up to heaven for nu? bY
one of the most lovely, li-nder,
eanfiiiing, trusting of mittliers in her
heavenly Father's Stare and grave? She
never doutetel. She Itetieved. ehe al-
ways prayed as if tea did. My Bible,
my mother's Bible and my eonscienee
teach what I am and weal. 1 have
made rayself, Ol, the bitter pangs of
an ,,neeusing conseienee: 1 need a
Sevi3aur mighty te save. I must seek
Hun, I 1 ani oa the see of ex-
istence, and I ecu never get off from
it. I mil afloat. No anehor, no rud-
der, no conapass, no Welt of instrue,
lions, for I have put them away from
me. Saviour of the periehing, save
or I perish!" Do you wonder that the
next day he arose .in prayer meeting
and said t "My brethren, stand be-
fore you a monument of God's =ax-
ing mercy anti goodness.' Forever bless -
ea be His holy nautet AU 1 hare and
A
Sal.t-i4our,man(11 me°yntsleoedr.1"t1. 011 jttelsituisitotam-eyr
of ancestral prayer. 'Bear it! hear it!
But I turn for a moment to those
who had evil parentage, and I want
to tell you that the highest thrones in
heaven and the mightiest triumphs
and the brightest crowns will. be for
those who had evil parentege, but who
by the grace of God conquered—con-
quered. As good, as useful, as splendid
a gentleman an I ever knew had for
efather a man who died blaspheming
God until the neighbors had to put
their fingers in their ears to shut out
the horror. One of the mast consecrat-
ed and useful Christian ministers of
to -day was the son of a drunken horse
jockey. Tide of evil is tremendous in
some families. It is like Niagara
emends, and eyet men have clung to a
rock and been rescued.
There is a ramilv in New York,
whose wealth has rolled up into many
milLions, that was founded by a man
who, after he had vast estate, sent
back a paper of tacks because they
were 2 cents more than he expected.
Grip and grind and gouge in the fourth
generation, I suppose it will be grip and
grind and gouge in the twentieth. gen-
eration. The 1 horst of intoxicants has
burned down through the arteries of
a hundred and fifty years. Pugnacity
on combativeness characterizes other
families. Sometimes one form of evil,
sometimes another form of evil. But
it may be resisted.; it bas been resist-
ed. If the family frailty be avarice,
cultivate unselfishness and chaaity and
teeth your children never to eat an
apple without offering somebody else
half of it. Is the family frailty com-
bativeness, keep out of the company of
quick tempered people and never
answer an impertinent question until
you have coutated a hundred both
ways, and after you have written an
angry letter keep it a week before you
send it, and then burn it up. Is the
family frailty timidity and cowardice,
cultivate backbone. Read the bio-
graphy of brave men like Joshua or
Paul and see if you cannot get a little
iron in your blood. Find out what the
family frailty is and set body and
mind and soul in battle array. Coo -
quer your will. I think- the genealogi-
cal table wee put in the first chapter
of the New Testament not only to
show our Lord's pedigree, but to show
that a, man may rise up in an ances-
tral line and beat back successfully
all the influences of bad heredity. See
in that genealogical. table that good
King Asa wae born of vile King Alma.
See in that genealogical table that
Joseph and Mary and the most illustri-
ous Being that ever touched our world,
or ever will touch it, had in their an-
cestral line scandalous Rehoboa,m and
Rehab and Thamar and Bathsheba.
If this world is ever to be Edenized—
and it will be—all the infected families
of the earth are to be regenerated and
there will some one arise in each
ofaamilly a and open a new genealoga
There will be some Joseph to .arise
12 the line and reverse the evil influ-
ence of Reboboare, and there win be
some Mary to arise in the line and
reverse the evil influence of Bathshena.
Perhaps the star of hope may point
down to your manger. Perhaps you
are to be the hero or the heroine that
is to put down the brakes and stop
that long line of genealogical tenden-
cies and switch it off on another track
from that on which it has been running
Lan a century. You do that and 1 will
Promise you as fine a palace es the
architecta of heaven can build, the
arcetvay inscribed with the words,
"Moro than conqueror." But vrbatever
your heredity, let me say you may be
sons and daughters of the Lord God
Almighty. Estranged children from
the homestead, come back through the
open gate of adoption. There is royal
blood in our veins. There are crowns
on our escutcheon. Our Father es
king; our Brother is king, we may be
kings and queens unto God forever.
('unix' and alt down on the ivory .beneh
of the. palace. Come and wa,sh m the
fountains that fall into the basins of
crystal and alabaster. Come and look
oui of the upholstered window upon
gardens of azalea and amaranth. Hear
the full buret of the oreheetra while
you. banquet with potentates and vic-
tors. 011, when ttte text sweeps back-
ward; let it not stop at the cradle that
rocked your infancy, but at the cradle
tbat rocked the first world! And when
tbe text sweeps forward let it not sten
at your grave, but at the throne on
which you naay reign forever and ever,
”Whose son are thou, thou young
man?" Son of God, heir of immortality,
take your inheritancei
THE SUNDAY SCHOOL.
INTERNATIONAL LESSON, AUG. 16.
"Davide Confession and Forgiveness."
Psa. 32, 1-iI. Heiden Text, Pita, 31, 10.
•••••••••
GENERAL STATEMENT.
David was now about fifty years old,
and had reigned as king nearly twenty
years. The nation was highly prosper-
ous. There were no rebellions at home.
The brilliant victory of our last lesson
was sucoeeded by the siege of Rabbah
in the following spring. Then, when
"all Israel" was nmesed at the metrop-
olis of the Amraonites, striking deathly
Wows for king and country, -David tar-
ried at Jerusalem. This was oue se-
cret of bis downfall. From tie youth
he had. been. a man of war. No call
"to the field" needed. repetitiori. Now
when he could. hear it and sleep he was
morally sick, though he knew it not.
Prosperity had brought sloth and self-
indulgence in its train. Tait double
eritties of adultery and naurder were
committed (2 Saul. Sonia months
after Uriah's death Joel) bent to David
the mt.ssage contained. in 2 Sara, 12, 27,
213. The king- went to Itabbah,
was euccessful, awl returned. Bathshe-
ba's child was born a. little later, and
then came Nathana visit. By a beauti-
ful parable Natiroi got the king by con-
demning another to cumin= bhuself
unconseiousl,y. The sentence pronourie-
ed by God and the suitsequent death of
the child brought 1.t Id to the deepeet,
axid sincereet repentanee. In Psalm 51,
suppotten to have even written at this
time, we read the earnest pleadings of
a ',Token antt contrne heart, aeknowl-
4.dging terriele guilt aud praying for
mercy and eartiun. Having ()teemed fur-
gate:tees, he tieseribes 12 unday*s lesson
the hapIiint's o one teetered to the
divine la.vor ite coutratatel, in his own
experience, web the ixtteery of an Im-
penitent concealment of sin. Like Paul
(1 Tim. late he repreeeute ids tevu
experience of torgiveuess as designed to
be an example and encouragement to
others. lite crime muet be judged from
bus times, hie surroundings, anht from
tits standpoint of las repentanee and
sorrow. If the Mule uuveils the sin
in bold details, it also shows how
David's whole efter-life was darkened
by the shadow of that great eclipse. It
even that even in the case of God's
friends "sorrow traeketh wrong as echo
follows song, ore on, ou.'".the chief ten-
phasee should be placed on repentance,
pardon, and tho effort to help cabers.
'rime from the dark depths of bleak-
est ein the way will be revealed to
thorough foreavenese fullest joy, and
subsequent u.sefuluess. By Augustine
this. psalm WitS licellICLI se precious that
uring his last Illness he caused It to be
written upon the wall of his chamber,
opposite his couch, so that his eyes
ralght easily rest upon its comforting
sentences.
PRACTICAL NOTES.
Verses 1, 2. Illeesed. The word is
plural, 0 the blestednesses denoting the
multitude of bitewings which accompany
pardon. (1) Though ours may not be
the joy of angels who have never sin-
ned, we may pastes the blessedness of
the forgiven. Trausgreesion means
crowing a Itoundare; "breaking faith;"
Lalling away; breaking God's law by en-
tering the forbidden fields of sin. Sin
is, literally, missing a mark; deviation
from a. path. The word for iniquity
conveys the idea of distortion, "perver-
sion/ and contrasts the crooked ways
of smilers with the straight line of duty.
(2). However varied the aspect of sin, its
oreginal is the same. To meet these
aspects of sin we have a. threefold des-
cription of forgiveness. Is forgiven.
The burden of sin is taken away and
the heart made to feel glad and free.
When this takes place the sinner is re-
garded and treated as if he had never
sinned. The teacher should make plain
to the scholars how forgiveness is ob-
tained for them. Covered. So that
its foulness no longer meets the eye of
the judge. "Hidden," not from mem-
ory, but from. judgment. Imputeth not.
As the canceling of a debt which is no
longer reckoned against the offender.
(3) Let us not brood over sins which
God refuses longer to look at. In whose
spirit there es no guile. No deception
of himself; no dissemblingtoward God.
(4) There can be no forgiveness with-
out sincerity on our part.
3. This verse and the next shed light
on David's history, and show that be-
fore Nathan approached him with his
pointed parable (2 Sam. 12) his con-
science was active and his life wretch-
ed from remorse. Kept silence. Sil-
ent before God, but not silent to him-
self. My bones. His guilty secret wore
away his life's foundations. 'Youthful
spirits departed, and old age came sud-
denly, because of, mental agony. Roar-
ing. The chained lion seemed to be
an apt figure of his own inward groan-
ing because of unconfessed sin.
4. Day and night. Through the day
his royal robes covered an aching heart;
night brought heavier shadows to his
burdened soul. Was heavy upon me.
Partly by remorse of conscience, part-
ly, perhaps, by ectual sickness. God's
chastisement is always in love. My
moisture, Like a plant that is shriv-
eled and dried up by intense heat. In
Palestine green valleys are quickly ren-
dered parched and desolate by intense
heat. (5)Every pain sent by God may
be turned by us into an angel to beck-
on us nearer to hire. If a child burns
his finger with fire or cuts it with a
sharp. knife, the pain is very great.
This es to guard htm against the fire
or knife next time. If no pain ensued
he might be so careless as to cut or burn
his hand so severely as to lose it for
life. So God sends suffering after sin
to deter from sinning,. It is uncertain
whether the e.xpresnons of verse 3 and
4 are figurative, referring to mental
anguish only, or whether they. suggest
that David's trouble of conscience re-
sulted in illness and. physicial suffering.
5. I acknowledg%L
ed. is was during
Nathan's visit (2 Sam. 12. 13). About a
year elapsed between the commission of
the, crime and. its confession. Have
not hid. By the two psalms written
at this tiroe (one of which was given
to the xnusteia,n of the temple service)
be publiely made kisown Ms sin 'and
corifession. Nothing was palliated or
withheld. Thou Forgavest. The orig-
inal expresees the immediateness of the
pardon. (0) Thorough healing will de-
pend on thorough probing and remov-
al of the evil tbat caused- pain. (7) Goa's
forgiveness bas a breadth and power
what man's cart never possess.
6. For this. Rather, Therefore let
every one. Dated presents bis own ex-
perience of pardon as an encouragement
to ()there. Mayest be found. Literally,
in a time of fiading. The meaning is,
let no one delay, for there is a time
of not finding (Prot!, 1. 28) The great
waters. Conviction of sin and punish-
ment come like an overwhelming moun-
tain torrent. Penitence will arrest tbe
nu eeding judgment; persistence in siu
wxU cause the offender to perish. Not
come nigh. He will be safe like the
one wee stands secure on a rock out
of reacls of tee raging flood. (8) If we
seek the Lord early we are sure to find
him.
7. Thou art my hiding place. Au
allusion either to the terror-strieken
rawnslayer and the city of refuge, or to
the rocky crags which were inaccessible
to an enemy. Compass me about. A.
little while ago every event of life was
an accuser, but now wherever he turna
he finds a new song. "It suggests the
center of a circle of joy."—Van Dyke.
(9) Some of the richest lessons of wis-
dom are learned under the rod of dis-
cipline.
8. 1 will instruct thee. David ire ad-
dressing another godly person over-
taken in tranegression, mad offers to
point out to luta that path of ado y.
(Compare Luke 22. 32, and Pealin 51,
13.) With mine eye. The Itevised Ver-
sion bas, "I will counsel thee with mine
eye upon taee." Tee idea is that of was
who is teuing another what way he is
to take to reach a certain place, antl
he says he will keep an eye upon Itim,
he wdl not let lam go erong. Tim
popular view whieli represents Jebovah
as the speaker ea this veree and the next
steins to as forced aud inaccurate, al-
though it is upbeld hy a few sato/ars.
9. Be ye not as the, horse, or as the
mule. The mule is a preverbial type
of stubborn persistency. Bit and hridle.
If ellen will not be governed by reason,
God. will use force. Lest they come
near. Better, "else they will not come
eear"—will not be sulkiest to your con-
trol. (1.0) Saints are drawn to God by
love, sinners by fear.
10. Many sorrowe. .Frorn them there
is no escape and in them no victory
while he remains whited. He that, trust-
eth. Thie imitate: that he has con-
fessed and forsaken els sin, txt.I MAY
Rivets lairaself up to God in truetful tees
thence. Compass hate alaut. :surround-
ed on all sides by mercy, harm can Collie
to !Mu from. no direetion.
II. Be glad in the Lord. The cam%
for exultation is it the knuwledge. etre-
seesion, and enjoynient of Guth Shoue
for joy, all ye. The eived cannot re-
frain a hearty outburst of ,sonses, and
kindred spirits name ehere the joy of
a pardoned soul, (11) 1 here Ls no need
to seek for pleaeure in the way of sin,
wbile there is each fullness of joy at
God's right hand.
SUMMER SMILES.
"Fame,' said Uncle Eben. "am jes'
swingin' in er hammock. Ilit am
dieteegsititrei•nggotanelafutlinattpf soyemr.e.,body, dean' cut
"Do', your family sympathize with
you when. you have Lustannia ?" "Yes.
When 1 can't sleep I sit up aU nigh.t
and praetiee on my accordion."
"1 V.olat to take a quinine capsule this
Inaopt,rntingit, jann utlatm,t obulatte carathinewiti.3
d"eeAdb,r,that as a bitter parting, in-
Willie—al Grandpa. tell rae a. story,"
Grandpa—" Once upon a time before
faePeoyu.s.:_latest‘okleriFif_ht„ oohf ,Iniairrdeoingu.t fitrvan1110313-
"I suppose your are fond. of Shaks-
Peare," amid one legitimate actor to an-
other. "01 course I am." "Then why
in ta4hetinnaginbeisopflahrt,seatnity do .you insist
ori.Just like our hopes
Which often vanish in vapor,
Are the candidate's promises;
Strong—on paper.
Mechanicse" I bave just been mar-
ried and would like a raise in my
wages." Employer—"1 am scary, but the
company is only responsible for .acei-
dtheentsfateitalyt ha.,, ppen to the men whde m
aaa eTudilhoene.hr,oetis'stishainklon."inaeythslg:ae.";s11511-alrontggoodhinntg.gout Hicks.o"
Waggles—" 1
thing. It doesn't seem to trouble 'aim
" It seems to me, Mr. Stillson, that
your new home is laeking in a judicious
use of fretwork." "Well, my wife will
fill that deficiency just as soon as site
gets her eye on those measly closets."
He—" I a,m going to pay you the high-
est compliment a. man can pay a -wo-
man." She—" This is so sudden." He—
"1 know it, but I came away without
my pocketbook—can you leaaa me a dol-
lar until to -morrow?"
"And how is your papa, Eddie?" ."Pa -
ea. 12 feeling ever so much better to-
day." "I suppose it's the change in the
weather?" "No, ma'am, 'taint the
weather. Mamma has decided to start
for the seaside to -morrow."
First Wheelmatt—" I always get rat-
tled when I see a woman crossing the
street ahead of me." Second Wheelman
—"So do I. They have so many pins
in their clothes that if a fellow colledes
etvureith athetirrne.he is almost sure to purics
"No," said Memel Dawson, in answer
to his benefactor's question, "hard times
is not the best for our business. Nor
yet good times. The times that suits
work ain't too plenty, nor money too
scarce." me best is about medium—when. the
"Once for all, girl," he hissed, "once
Lor all, will you marry me?" "Yes,"
she said, "I'll marry you, but I don't
know about the once for all part of it.
1 guess yciot,uyeb,a.ven't lived. here long en-
ough to catch the spirit, of our enter-
pnisixxg
Fuckly— ' Snapshot was showing me a
lot of photographs he has taken. They
are only passable, but to hear Snap-
shot talk you would think them mar-
vels of the photegraphie art." Duddy—
Yes, Snapshot esn't much of an art-
ist, but then his views are better than
his opinions."
WORLD'S DEATH RATE.
It has been computed that the, death
rate of the globe is 68 per minute, 97,-
920 per day., or 35,765,280 per year. The
birth rate is 70 134).' minute, 100,800 per
day, or 36,817,200 per yeaxe reckoning
the year to be 365 1-4 days in length,.
BOBBY'S GRIEF.
Bobby, what are you sti unhappy
about?
I'm. mad 'came eve ain't got no big
famay ; over at Billy Hopkins's house
he's got two gramenas an' three aunts
ter help him git his own way.
IGNORANT MINERS.
Many ltose Their Xives Through Not liaidOW-,
ing What To Ho.
Scientifie inquiry Ls being directed- tO
the sa.ving of launtan life in slab* explo-
sions. Dr. Haldane bas established, the
fact that the loss of life in colliery so-
aidents is far greeter then it need be
whea those who work in the mince and
tbose who manage them heve elearer
knowledge of tae right thing -to do in
the face of the ea/amity. In is recent
naive explosion, where 57 men and 30
horses were killed, the cause of death
1 itt every carte was prove4 to be not the
want of oxygen in the air of tlui pit
atter the epiosion, but to comparative-
ly slow poisoning by carbou monoxide.
Su/fit:tent oxygen to support life was
bat La the airways all along the, tracic
of the expiosum. It appears that men
from want of knowledge now go straight
to their death in endeavoring to escape.
Dr. Haldane 12. convinced that atundeeds
of men lost theutlives by hurrying bainca,
ly toward the shaft, or by not rettring
toward the face when they met the
• after -damp. In many parts of the mule
there will be, beyond. the limits of the
explosion, abundant* of aur to effect di-
lution of the poisonous carbon -monox-
ide ,on breathing winch the men sud-
denly loee the Use of their limbs and
fna fly cobsciousness. So that a man
who waits for the rescuers, or long en-
ougn for the after -damp to diverse, Will
be able to escape either by the intake,
or, if this is blocked, by the return. air-
ways.
WELL -PACKED TRUNK,
The marvel of packing. paeleing of
clothes, I mean, is that it is so simple,
when you we for the first time a, pro-,
fessional French packer put u.p your
best gowns you feel sure you will come
to year journey's end without a, rag to
wear, says a. writer. He puts three
timee as many things in the same space
as you would. Of course, anyone can
pack well enougb if she eas the room
—a, separate box for every waist, a
tray for every skirt. Then, too, some
goods wrinkle so badly that no ca,re
can avert catastrophe; they COMO to
grief even in the hands of a French
maid at home. Test everything you,
buy from point of view. With mater-
ial not given over to evil you earl learn
to rank ext that your clothes won't tell
• the tale of their prison house.
The cardinal point is to wrap lap
every delicate garment separately; of
• couzett it should be folded amootbly, and
to teach bow to fold. tate hes in print is
not easy. Any good dressmaker, bow -
ever, tan give you points on that. and
the wrapping is the more important
thing; pin towels or sheets of tissue
pared.' about your garment, but re-
' member that -newspapers are what you
sbould fold between each layer of pret-
ty things in the trunk. Nothing else iii
so gotta; it is so unyieldiuts that wrink-
les and protuberanees cannot make
themselves felt through it to mark the
fabrics beneath them any more than it
you had used sheet iron. it is use-
less to try to arrange heavy things at
tile bottorri,llglit on top.; the laggag,e
smasher knows no top and no
bottom; just concentrate eourself on
keeping a smooth even surface for each
successive layer. Bows and sleeves cam
be stuffed put with newspapers better
than anything elee. Be sure that your
wrappings are pinned firsnly so that
there will I* tio coming undone, they
are your bulwarks.
In packing breakable articles it is ea-
tonishing how many people will jara
them down in corners and sides where
they get the full form of every concus-
sion against the unelettling walls. Tie
on your corks w 11 with bits 01 rage and
taint, and. put your bottles near the
middle of a compartment. and you xnay
carry ink and shoe dressing in safety
around the world.
In packing shuch things as delicate
hats, bonnets and fancy waists of such
a frou-frou nature. that rto pressure ean
be allowed on them it is still better
to fill up the empty spaces of the boxes
allotted them with lightly twisted.
sheets of tissue paper than to give there
a. chance to move, and with all due res -
pea to the best packing in tbe world
it is still well to unpack., as soon as
you can.
IVES, THE BILLI.aRDIST,
Frank Ives, champion billiard player
of the world, can. strike a billiard ball
with a, eue harder than any other living
man. With one blow he can drive the
ball around the table until it has strut*
eleven. cushions. Fitzsimmons can bare-
ly touela nine cushions, whileorhett
can touch one lass. Ives thbaketeratitis
peculiar ability is due to some unusual
construction of his arm, and he has
just made a well m which he directs
that at his death his right arm should
be severed from his body and sent to
his physician for dissection. The rest
of the body will be cremated. Ives,
by the way, has aloe! 300,000 during
his career.
CALLS HIMSELF A FOOL.
Wbere are you going, Colonel? asked
Mrs. Yerger of her husband, as he put
on his hat to go out.
Look here, Mrs. Yerger, a sensible ,
woman never asks her husband wbere
he is going.
But, of course, the sensible husband
bas the right to ask bis wife where
she is going, when she goes out," re, -
torted Airs. Yerger, scornfully.
A sensible man, responded the Colon-
el, never does ask his wife where she is
going for the simple reason that the
sensible man never has a wife, and with
a triumphant smile he put on his hat
and sallied forth.
---•
SAME OLD PICTURE.
What landscapes is there about your
hotel, landlord?
The same they have at all resorts;
The summer girl entertaining her beau.
Mother—" Mary, that youn.g Spinners
has been paying a. great deal of atten-
tion to you of late. Do you thistle he
means business?" Mary (with a far
away look)—" I am afraid he does, moth-
er. He is an agent for a bicycle firm,
and he has done nothing but try to sell
me a eyele ever since be has been com-
ing here."
LIFE-LONG DEVOTION ASSURED.
Mrs. Sosial—And so Miss Flirtie is en-
gaged to your son. Do you think she
wffl be true to him.;
Wise Dame—Oh, she'll be true to him
xis long as other women admire him,
and. I guess lisal be handsome all his
life.
WIDE AW.A.EB,
George, can you sit un 'with me to-
night?
My dear wife, are you ill?
No; but there's to be a silk sale toe
morrow morning at Bargain & Coes,
and 1 wave 12 be on theta.