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HomeMy WebLinkAboutExeter Times, 1899-2-2, Page 3TIMES O• A OTES AND C'0111.1111ENTS • Notwithstanding the cool and somes what akeptical tone a the comments in Ilse Continental press on the pro- ject of partial disarmament conceived by the Czar , it is eertain that the subject will be considered in a con-, ferenee *Wale will be held at an early date, in' eviiicas all the great European powers will be repiesented. In view, too, of tbe manifest eineerity and earn- estness of Nicholas IL it ie not in- conceivable tbat. RI1SSia. may be able to fornaulate proposals that certain oth- er countries can wept., especially if she offers herself to furnish an exam- ple of partial disarmament by an im- mediate and considerable reduction of her standing army, Several grave dif- ficulties, however, must be surmount- ed, an it is these, no doubt, upon which the attention of the St. Peters- burg Government is now fixed, to the end that some practical method of cop- ing with them may be suggested. One of these difficulties is present- ed by the question whether the ex- isting status quo is to remain undis- turbed during the period for which the Continental powers might, on some grounds, be disposed to agree to a par- tial disarniament. It is evident that On no other basis could an agreement be reached, but it would bs far from easy to arrive at a definition of the status quo to which all European peo- ples would submit The French nation, for instance, would be extremely re- luctant to bind itself not to make any attempt to reco-ver .Alsace-Lorraine or to dislodge England from Egypt dur- ing a long term of year's. Neither is it likely that Germany wishes to guar- antee the territorial integrity of Aus- tria-Hungary against the disintegra- tion with which the dual monarchy will be threatened after the death of Francis Joseph. Provided these ob- stacles could be overcome, it would prove almost impossible to goarantee the status quo in China, even if this could be defined for the respective interests of the commercial powers might be, at any hour, variously af- fected by a palace revolution at Pekin or by a successful insurrection in the provinces. The utmost, seemingly, that could be done for the assurance of trangaility in this quarter would be for Russia to set the example of self- abnegation by remising to content herself with the acquisitions alreiely e made by her at the cost of the Middle aingdana, and then to assent to a de- marcation of the several spheres of in- fluence of the great powers interest- ed in the Far East. Ii such a demar- cation could be made, and freedom of access to all parts of China for the subjects or citizens of all the powers concerned could be guaranteed, there would, be some chance of perpetuating the arrangement throuhg a joint agreement to upheld the present Manchu dynasty for a designated num- ber of years. In the improbable event that a so- lution might be found for the pre- liminary problems relating to the status quo, there would still remain the question whether the proposed re- duction of expenditures should be ap- plicable to navies as well as arfmies. If an attempt should be made at the con- ference to answer this question in the affirmative, the peace proposals .would fall through, for not only Great Bri- tain but also Germany and France deem the prosecution of their present naval programme a matter of vital. import- ance. Those, therefore, who favor the conference and hope to see some ulti- mate results from its deliberations• may do' well to confine the scope of the projected • partial disarmament • to 'standing armies alone, and leave the powers interested to make such ex- penditures for naval purposes as they may see fit. The curtailment of ex- penditure, in some degree at least, would be the natural effect of such an agreement to maintain the interna- tional status quo. OFFERING HIMSELF AN INDUCE- • MENT. An Irishman, walking over a woixlen bridge, in counting some money acci- dentally dropped a penny, which role :led down a crack between twoof the boards, The Irishman was much put out by his loss trilling through it was and continued on his way in no happy mood. Early next day a friend, while walk- ing by the spot, discovered the Irish- man in the act of delibeiately drop- ping a shilling down the same crack. • The friend was much astonished at what he saw, and inquired his teasOrt for throwing a waymeney, "It was this way," said the Hibern- ian: "It's yiesterda,y I was passin"-this way when I lost a penny down that hole, Now, 1 raietmed that it wasn't worth inewhile to pull up that board for e penny; but last night a scheme stroek' Ina, and I'm dhroppink down the bob to make it worth me while." ATTRACTIVE ADVERTISE'MBNT, I noticed an aLteaotive adoertiseMent in the paper thie morning, said Me, Metiride to his wife. Was it a raillieety opening.? No, it was a dentist's advertisement; ancl what pertieularly struck me was the announeement that under no cir etimstancee would he furtlieh •mare than one set of ?teeth te a custoftier at the reduced figure, THE 1lYSTE11,Y 18. SOLVED, TIES/. DR, TAL1VIAOE DISCOURSES Of, THE OHHISTIAN WOIVIAN, Dorcas the lleneritetress—She was a Re- presentative 'Woman—Deeply Eitinentei: Their Death Struck Iler Dowit—riIv Dr. Draws a Vivid Picture of the tliMeu nisi rIbuilag the Crimean Medal,. • A. despatch from Washington says :— Rev, Dr. Talmage preached from the following t ext "Now there was at Joppa a certain disciple named Tabitha, which by in- terpretation is called Dorcas."—Acts ix. 36. There is in Joppa, a sea -port. town a woman with hey needle embroider- ing her name ineffaceably into the charities of the world. I see her sit- ting in the village home. In the door- way and around about the building, and in the room where she sits, are the pale faces of the poor. She listens to their plaint, she pities their woe, she makes garments for them, she adjusts the manufactured articles to suit the bent form of this invalid woman, and to the cripple that comes crawling on his hands and knees. She gives a coat to this one, she gives sandals to that one. With the gifts she mingles pray- ers and tears and Christian encourage- ment. Then she goes out to be greeted on the street corners by those whom he has blessed, and all through the street the cry comes, "Dorcas is coming!" The sick look up gratefully In her face as she puts her hand on the burning brow, and the loet and the abandoned startup with hope as they hear her gentle voioe, as though an angel had addressed them; and as she goes out the lane, eyes half put out with sin think they see a halo of light about her brow, and a trail of glory in her pathway. That night a half - paid shipwright climbs the hill and reaches home, and sees his little boy well clad, and says, "Where did these clothes come from ?" And they tell him, "Dorcas has been here." In an- other place a woman is trimming a lamp; Dorcas brought the oil. In an- other place, a family that had not been at table for many a week are gathered now, for Dorcas has brought bread. But there is a sudden pause in that woman's ministry. They say, "Where is Dorcas ? We haven't Seen her for many a day. 'Where is Dorcas?" And ono of these pool' people goes up and knocks at the door and finds the mys- tery soiree. All though the haunts Gf wretchedness the news comes "Doreas.1, is sick I" No bulletin flashing from the palace gate, telling the stages of all h king's disease is more anxiously awaited for than the. news from this sick bene- wa factress. Alas for Joppa! there is wailing, wailing. That voice which has uttered so many cheerful words is c hushed; that hand which had made so a 'ally the liarmony •of on orcheeirra, though the awful voices of tie sky w eet a group of friende bursting thro a gate -Way at erenlime,.with laugh and shouting, " :Dome the diseipi Would god that every 1Viery and ev Martha would this day sit down the feet of Jesus! Further, we see Dorcas the beuefa rese. History has told the story of erown ; the epie poet has sung of eword ; the pastoral poet, with verses full of the redolence of el° taps, and, a -rustle with the silk of corn, has sung the praises of the plou I tell you tbe praises of the need From the fig -leaf robe prepared in garden of Eden to the last stitela tak on the garment, for the church ea the needle has wrougnt wonders kindness, generosity and benefacti It adorned the girdle of the hi priest ; it fashioned the curtains in ancient tabernacle; it cusbioned t chariots of Xing Solomon; it prov ed the robes of Queen Elizabeth I a in high places and in low places, the fire of the pioneers back -log a under the flash of the chandelier, erywhere, it has clothed nakedness, has preached the Gospel, it has ov come hosts of penury and want e w the war -cry of ' Stitcla, stitch, stitch The operatives have found a liveliho by it, and through it the mansions the employer have been construct Amidsh the great triumphs in all ag and lands, I set down the conque of the needle. I admit its crimes, admit its cruelties. It has had mo martyrs than the fire; it has batch ed more souts than the Inquisition; has punctured the eye; it has pierc the side; it has struck weakness in the lungs; it has sent madness in the brain; it has filled the pottei field; it has pitched whole armies the suffering: into crime and wretc edness and woe. But now that 1 a talking of Dorcas and her ministeri to the poor, I shall speak only of t charities of the 'needle. This woman was a representative all of those women who make garmen for the destitute, who knit soaks f the barefooted, who prepare bandag for the lacerated W)211 fix up boxes clothing for Western missionaries, w go into the asylums of the sufferin and destitute bearing that Gosp which is sight for the blind, and bea ing for the deaf, and which makes t lame man leap like a hart, and brin the dead to life, immortal health boun ing in their pulses. What a contra between the practical benevolence this wo'man and a great deal of th charity of this day 1 This woman di not spend her time idly planning ho the poor of Joppa were to be relieve she took her needle and relieved the She was not like those persons wh ' sympathise with imaginary sorrow and go out in the street and laug at the boy who has upset his bask of cold victuals, or like that charit which makes a rousing speech on th benevolent platform, and goes out t kick the bggar from the step, crying, 'Hush your miserable bowling!" The sufferers of the world want not so much theory as practice; not so reticle tears as dollars; not so much kind wishes as loaves of bread; not so much smiles as shoes; not so much 'God bless you!" as jackets and frocks, will Out one earnest Christian man arc]. working, against five thousand lere eoris s on e su jec e ar- ty. There ars., many who have fine dense about church architecture who ever in their life helped. to build a hurch. There aro men who can give ou the history of Buddhism and Moh- mmedanism, who never sent a farth- ng for their evangelization. There re. women who talk beautifully about he suffering of the world, who never ad courege like Dorcas to take the eedle and assault it. al - ere ugh ter el" ery at et - the the bis ver the gb. le. the en ir, of on, gh- the he id - rid by nd ev- it er- ith od of ed. es sts re er- it ed to to ''s of h - es be of ts or es of ho el r- he gs d- st of cl; than all the tears tbat were ever poured in the lachrynaals that been been exhumed from ancient cities, There may be no mass for the dead; there may be no costly • sareophague; there may be no elaborate mausoleum; cell but in the damp ars of tbe citYr and through the lonely huts ot the mountain glen, there will be mourn- ing, mourning, mourning because Dor- cas is dead, "Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord; they rest from their tabours, and their.' works do fol- low them." I speak to you. of Dorcas the resur- rected. The apostle came to where she was, and said, "Arise; and ehe sat up." In what a short eorapass the great writer put that—"She sat up 1" Ole what a time there must have been when the apostle brought her out among her old friends! How the tears of joy must leave started! What clap- ping of hands there must have been.] What singing ! What laughter ! Sound it all through that lane! Shout it down that dark alley I Let all Joppa hear it! Dorcas is resurrected I You and I have seen the same thing many a time; not a dead body resus- citated, but the deceased coming up again after death in 'the good accom- plished. If a man labors up to fifty years of age, serving God, and t hen dies, we are apt to think that his earth- ly work is done. No I His influence on earth will continue till the world ceases. Services rendered for Christ never stop. Here is a Christian wo- man. She toils for the uplifting of a church through many anxieties, through many -self -denials, with pray- ers and tears, and then she dies. It is fifteen years since she went away. Now the Spirit of God descends upon that church, hundreds of souls stand up and confess the faith of Christ. Has that Christian worean, who went away fifteen years ago, nothing to do with these things? r see the flower- ing out of her noble heart. I hear the echo of her footsteps in all these songs over sins forgiven, in all the prosperity of the church. The good that seemed to be buried has come up again. Dorcas is resureected. After a. while alt these womanly friends of Christ will put down their needle for ever. After making gar- ments for others, some one will make a garment for them; the last robe we ever wear—the robe for the grave. You will have heard the last cry of pain. You will have witnessed the last orphanage. loll will have come in worn out from your last round of mercy. I do not know where you will sleep, nor what your epitaph will be; but there will be a lamp burning at that tomb and an angel of God guard- ngbit and through all the long night o e, no rude foot -will disturb the dust. 7, Sleep, on, sleep on Soft bed, pleasant shadows, undisturbed repose ! Sleep et on! Ye "Asleep in Jesus! Blessed sleep! From which none ever wake to weep." Then one day there will be a sky - many garments for the poor is cold and still; that star which had poured light into the midnight of wretched- ness is dimmed by the blinding mists that go up from the river of death. In every God -forsaken place in that town; wherever there is a sick child and no balm; wherever there is hun- ger and no bread; wherevei there is guilt and no eommiseration; wherever there is a broken heart and no com- fort, there are despairing looks, and streaming eyes, and frantic gesticala- tioni—as they ,ery, "Dorcas is dead 1" They send for the apostle Peter. He urges his Way through the crowd around the door, and stands in the presence of the dead. What expostu- lation and grief all about him 1 Here stand some of the poor people, who show the garments that this poor wo man had ,made for them. Their grief can not be appeared. The Apostle Peter wants to perform a miracle. He will nbt do it amidst •the excited crowd, so ha kindly 'orders that the whole room be ,cleanad. The door is shut • against the populace. s The apostle stands now with the dead. Oh, it is a serious moment,, you know, when you arc, alone with a lifeless body! The apostle gets down on his knees and .prays, and then he comes to the life- less form of this one all ready for the sepulchre, and in the strength of him who is the resurrection, he exclaims, "Tabitha, arise I" There is a stir in the fountains of life; the heart 'tut- te,rs ; the nerves thrill; the cheek flushes; the eye opens; she sits up? We see in this subject Dorcas the disciple; Dorcas the benefactress; Dorcas the lamented; Dorcas the resur- rected. If I had nOt seen that word disciple in my text, I would have known this woman was a Christian. Such music as that never came from a heart which is not chortled and strung by :Divine grace. But before I show you the needle work of this woman, I want to show you her regenerated heart,. the sonrce of a pure life and of ail Christian char- ities. I wish that the wives and moth- ers and daughters and sisters of this congregation would imitate Dorcas in her discipleship, Before you sit with tine Sabbath -class, before you cross the threshold of the hospital, before you refry a pack of tracts down the street, before you enter upon the temptations and trials of to-neornew, I charge you in the nettle of God, and by the tur- moil and tumult 'of the JUdgnaent-day, ch, women! that you attend to the first, lag and greatest duty 'of your life—the seeking for God and being at peece with Him. Now, by the court4- lee of Society, yot are deferred to, and lie were less thari a man who would riot obllige yob.' with kind attentiong ; but when the trumpet Shall sound, there will be an uproar, and a wreck of mountain and continentearal tio hu- man arm eon help yore. Amidst the ris- :ng of the dead, and amidst tbe boil- ing of the seu, and aneidet the live, leaping thtinders al tbe flyieg belay - me, there w.ili be no ehande fel' astir. Dat on that day, calm and plead will be e;ery woman's heart who hath eat her trust in Christ;ealin not- teithetandieg all tbe latnault, as though :he fite in the luta:vane were only the ef' an antetenal unest, as though the peal ef the trtutmet were a I am glad that there is not a pag of the world's history Nvhich is not i record of fercrile benevolence. Go says to all lands and people, come no and hear the widow's reife rattle door rending, and a whirl of wheels, and the r I flash of pageant; armies marching, , chains clanking, banners weving, thunders booming, and that Cheistian , woman will arise from the dust, and I she will be suddenly surrounded—sur- ! rounded by the wanderers of the street I whom she reclaimed, surrounded by thele wounded souls to whom she administer- ed! Daughter of God, so strangely surrounded, what means this? It means that reward has come, that the victory is won, that the crown is ready, I s that -the banquet is spread. Shout it I through all the crumbling earth. Sing e it through all the flying heavens. Dor- cas is resurrected. In 1855, when some of the soldiers 1 I came back from the Crimean war to 1 London, tbe Queen of England distri- buted among them beautiful medals, o called Crimean medals. I think of it tIc cHE SUNDAY SCHOOL. L. LESSON, FEB. "The leehIevean's fie» waled." John 4, • 43.54, 00Iden Text. .14Att 4. 53.. PRACTICAL NOTES, Verse, 43. After tWO days. ;Days spent in teaching the Samaritans, verses 40- 42, Departed thence. Left the beauti- ful valley between Ebel axid Gerizim. Went into Gelilee. 'There ending his northwa rd journey from Jerusalem. 44. This verse hardly fits into the story. It is indeed strange that jesus should go into his own country because a prophet hath no honor in his own couOtry, and especially because he him- self so testified. Various explanations have been attempted. Dr. Churton re- gards' this verse as giving our Lord's reason for staying away from Nazar- eth, the home of' his youth, and going to Cana and other places instead; and believes it to be merely a duplication of Matt. 13. 57; Mark 6.4; and Luke 4. 24. But in our text not Nazareth, but all Galilee is mentioned. A better ex- planation is reached by reading the next verse before this. The Galilearts received him on account of their ob- servation of his miracles Jerusalem and Jesus had hitherto refrained from working miracles in Galilee, because it is easier to gain honor' at home af- ter one has gained it abroad. This meaning is at least suggested by the Revision, 'So when he came," etc. But Dr. Alford gives, perhaps, the clear- est defihition of the whole passage. Publicity had gathered around our Lord and his ministry in Judea—such wide and sudden publicity as to endanger his plans in general; so he went into Galilee to avoid premature fame, test- ifying that his own country was the place where as a prophet he was least likely to be honoree. 45. The Galileans received him. Not because of memories of his beautiful early life, nor because oi any previous Galilean teachings or Miracles, but simply because they had seen all the things that be did at Jerusalem, thus illustrating the truth of the proverb our Lord quotes, as well as the, truth of the statement of a modern scholar: 'Jerusalem set the fashion in Hebrew estimate of men and things." The feast. The great passover festival celebrated annually at Jerusalem. To this "feast" men of Hebrew blood, from Judea, Gali- lee, and all foreign countries, gathered by the hundred thousand, The crowds overflowed Jerusalem's walls and filled the villages on surrounding hillsides. that our Lord attracted the attention of all Jerusalem in such a state of overflow indicates how wonderful ere the "things that he did." They also went. '' they" means the Gableans. Their province was often called "Gala- ee of the Gentiles" because of man Gentile cities within its borders, but it yearly sent its male Jewish popula- tion to Jerusalem. Thia clause is one of many evidences that John's gospel vas written for Gentile readers; for no ,Tew would require such an explana- ion. 46. Our lesson on our Lord's first miracle wrought in Cana of Galilee, of vhich the disciple Nathanael, that srealite in whom there was no guile, vas a citizen, is fresh, in the minds of ur scbolars. To that town he now came gain. A certain nobleman. Literally'a ingly person," or "one belonging to the king ;" probably an officer of the court of Herod Antipas. • One such dignitary at least, Manean became a e just now, as I recently had a book pres-n. ed me respecting that beauti- d to Crimean medal. Gal Leri es were V erected for the two Houses, of Parlia- ▪ ment and the royal family to sit in. There was a great audience to witness t the distribution of the medals. A t 'colonel who had lost botb feet in the , battle of Inkermann was pulled in on ` a wheel -chair; others came in limping on their crutches. Then the Queen of England arose before them in the name e of her Government, and uttered words , of commendation to the officers and the mcn, and distributed these medals se , inscribed with the four great battle- fields; 'Alma, Dalaklava, inkermann, and Sebastopol. ' As ,tbe Queen gave ; these to .the wounded men and the wounded officers, • the bands of musie -struck up the national air, and the peo- ple with streaming eyes joined in the song e "God save our noble Queen I Long live our gracious Queen ! God save the Queen ?" And then they shouted, "Huzza I buzzal" Oh, it was a proud day for those returned warriors! But a bright- er, better, and gladder day will eons', w when Christ shall gather those who a have tolled in his service, good soldiers of Jesus Christ. He shall rise before them, and in the presence 'of all the glorified of heaven he will say, "Well done, good and faithful servant!" and then he will distribute the medals of eternal victory, not inscribed with - Works of righteousness .wbicb we have done, but with those four.great battle- fields, . dear to earth and dear to heaven, Bethlehem! Nazareth! Geth- semane!. Calvaryl into ron p ox. e rincess Conti nod all her jewels t bat she migh help the famine -stricken. Queen Blanche, the wife of Louis VIII of France, hearing that there were some prisons, went out amongst the rabble and took a stick and struck the door as a signal that they might all strik it, and dcrwn went the prison door, and out came the prisoners. Queen Maud, the wife of Henry I., went down amidet the poor and washed sores, and. administered to them cor- dials. Mrs. Reston, de. Matagorda appeared on the battlefield while the Missiles 6f death were flying around, and cared for thewounded. . 1 now come eto speak of Dorcas the lamented. 'W'hen death struck down that good woman, oh, how .much sor- row there was in Joppa! I suppose there were women with larger for- tunes; women, perhaps, with handsom- er faces; but there was no grief at their departure like this at the death of Dorcas. There was not more tur- moil dnd upturning in the Mediterran- ean sea, dashing against the wharves of that seaport, than there were surg- lugs to and fro of grief in Joppa be- cause Dorcas was dead. There are a great many who go out of life and, are unmissed. There may be a. very large funeral; thers may be a great many car- riages and a plumed hearse; there may be high-sounding eulogrums; the bell may toll at the cemetery gate; there may be a fine marble shaft reared over the resting place; but tbe whole thing Inv be a falsehood and a sham. The Church of God has lost nothing, the world has lost nothing. It is only a nuisance abated; it is only a grumbler ceasing to find faillt; it is only an idler • stopped yawning; it is only a diesipated fashionable parted from- bis wine. -cellar; while, on the other hand, no useful Christian leaves this world without being miseed.. The Church of God criee out like the pro- phet: "Howl, fir -tree, for the cedar has fallen." Widowhood comes and shows the garments which the depart- ed has made, Orphans are liftedd, up to look into the calm, face of the sleep- ing benefactress. Reclaimed vagrancy comes and kisses tbe cold brow oft her who' charmed it away' from sin, and all through the streets of ,Ioppit, „there is mourning—mourning becatee :Dor- cas is dead, I seppose, you have read of the feet that When jesephine was eartied out to her grave there were a great many men and women of pomp fuul pride and position that went out, after her; but em most affected by the story of history that on that day there were, ten thousand of the poor of France followed her coffin, weeping 0,nd wail- ing until the ale earig again, bedews°, when tbey lost Josephine, they lost their lest earthly friend, Ole who weilld tiott rather baefe ankh obeequics onvert to Christianity, Acts 13. 1, nd another, Chuza, the royal steward, ad for his wife one oi the holy women vho ministered to Jesus, Luke 8. 3. Capernaum. A customs city,or port of entry, for Herod's dominion's. It ia now identified by careful scholars with Ehan-Minyeh, on the northern edge of Gennesaret. The older theory, that Tell -Hum was its site, is now gen- erally rejected. 47. ,When he heard that Jesus was acme out of Jardea into Galilee. The deeds of Jesus at Jerusalem had been ever -yes -here reporsed, and his arrival in a a ,ite., ttoussd hope in unnumbered heel e which had been like to break over dying dear ones. He went wet° him. Rather than sent for him. Ile was probably,' like Naaman, a great man with 'his master, but he had a Jew's deep reverence for a rabbi. Be- sought him. From Capernaurn he had doubtless traveled with all the dignity hich oriental offietels affect, but the golly of hie 10'4,t, iumiliates him in the presence or. this wonder-working rabbi. The phrase that he would come down reminds the student that Cana among the mountains was 1,350 feet, higher than Capernaum by the lake. 48. Our Lord reproves:the nobleman and his countrymen in bulk for re- quiring signs and wonders to compel belief. He tithes not reproaeh those who only beara of the Jerusalem wonders for not believing till those miracles had been duplicated in their presence. Rather he contrasts this nine's forced faith—his belief for the sake ot the miracle that he craved—with such spon- taneous faith as that of the Samari- tans, who believed " because of his word," John 4. 41, 42 .And so prejudiced were some of the Galileane that a year and more after thie, “though he had done so many miracles before them, yet they believed not on him1r John 12. 497. Sir, come down are my child the. Whether or not Jae held. Jesus to be the Messinbl, h: had no doubt of his power to heal; but he eupposed that to suo- cdeeeacia, the miracl e-evo rker mast be lose to the suffsrer ; and Very evidently he dreamt not f pater t o raise the gO . Go thy wsy, thy son ri elle Thus he who Card I "to COInforl, rine bele the week-ir arted" adapt his blessings to bbserneitutni neerte of the. recipient. On ano ler oconsion, os has • been aptly 1 by a comment:atter? "wh n be- muse at htliuiiy the c Murton, Matt, V, requ sts htra to eimk the weird on'y, he oftsrs to g,) to his home; hare, when pressed to go to the home lie speaks the word only," Tha nobler/inn believed the word, and with a glad heart, WOIlt hi8 •WaY. From the notable fact tbae be did not Meet the servants nail the mireaxi itt n yauirtinsace jag% tthenitt; 1161110, ra.e' ed bbs t , UNFORTUNATE SELECTION. Blingley, why does Oldboy refuse to speak to you? You used to be great friends. Yes, -whsn we were bachelors; but he's married now. ' And wh L d ifference does that make? Well, the fact is, 1 made him a hand- some wedding present of a book, and he hasn't spoken to ane &nee. What was the book? • Paradise Lost, TN NO HUBBY, Then 18 a good Scotch lady in Can- ada svho has long wished to revisit the scenes of her childhood, and Itist fall her sons decided, thab they eoeld gratify leer wish. Wben iniermed of this the prattical mother replied,: Aweel, aweel, Dm thinkire l'it bide a wee. It's been a gas wet summer, and T've nae doo't the sea is" unusual deep. Olf COURSE, Tipp—The bieyele sohool eterted with a good ettendaimee "rol)P4lut, e suppose' ihe attentlaece fell off ? °ono or waft Place by the 'wayside, whieh indicatee into what naatnrity has faith had grown. ' • 51, As he Was going down. Des wending the lailleiders. Thy son liveth "Is restorea," The exact words tbat our Lord had used, 02, The hem' when /as began te mend. He seems to have expected re- storation to health to be a, gradnal development. Yesterday at tile sev- enth bour the fever left him, Imply- ing, a eemplete and sudden cure. 'T)ae "seventh ho,ur," • according to the nsuage Of the other evangelists and to the general understendlog of Jews, was about one o'clook in the afternoon; but, as we have already seen, John in iriost cases, we will assume in all, uses another system of notation of time, nearly the same as our own; so that the seventh hour was about seven o'clock in the morning. 53. The father knew that it was at the same hour, And that was not all he knew. He knew tbat Jesus, by word could ecatimand beating influenees to shoot over miles awl mire a distant child and tie:nigh he may not have had a definite theological understand- ing of our Lord's power aud goothaesO and Meseiahship, he knew enough of himself to believe, and his whole house. The true believer consistently becomes the head of a believing household. "3 and my house will serve the Lord: But „ first obedient to his word I must myself appear; 13y actions, words, and tempers show That I my heavenly Maker know, And serve with heart sincere." " The word believed, absolutely, im- plies that in the fullest sense he and all bis became disciples of Jesus."— Alford. 54. The second miracle. Not the sec- ond which our Lord wrought, for he had wrought many at Jerusalem, John 2. 24; 4. 45; but the second wrought when he was come out of Judea into Galilee. NOT A HAPPY LOT. The Applicant for a Government rosltIon In China has a Hard Time of It. Difficulties of the civil service ex- amination are multiplied tenfold in the requirements set down by law of applicants for positions in the mail service of China.. In the tirst place an applicant must have strength and courage. To ac- quire these he goes through a very queer method. of training. He wan- ders through mountains and valleys, forests and caves. The exact time to be occupied in a trip is fixed by law and a heavy fine is imposed for unnec- essary delay. He must repeat these trips at night, and if he liste.ns to the bad spirit and thereby fails to appear at the -required time at a certain place he is sure to lose his rights to a posi- tion. This is not all. Fle is obliged to carry an enoenaous weight for many miles and return with it within a giv- en time. No allowance is made for his inability to defend himself against thieves and highwaymen, his road usually leading through a district thick with bandits. In training the candidates eats very little—though he is used to this—and he tries every straining exercise. Then comes his real examination, under the direction of government officials. He is taken into a long room where, suspend- ed from a high beam with strong ropes are very heavy sacks tilled with rocks. n The candidate must give a swinging a motion to all these sacks and then run a to and fro between them, carefully A guarding against a blow by one of the it heavy weights. a MUNICIPAL OAS OLANTN. Iv aOs 10 :Paranifirf oet box!: yitto.74:71eui 1n;u:, citis 0w - ed at the beginning of 1898 tkeir gas Plants, and Whlic a. few' Of thein show,. ed a orofft in operetion the Mejerity ta priv paiay a franchise tion Berlin granted. o a,to cram - of them didn't, Into1883suptibliey, 0;07; et lights. The princined streets Are 1114- nli5ated by electricity, but it wes deeme ea too expensive a system, to be adopt- ed by the general eoneurner, and these are furnished with gas by a company which pays a profit to Berlin of 'about 4?1,500,000 a year, Now Vienna is about to embark is a similar speculation in the line of state co-operatien, and the municipal administration of the Aus- trian capita' is tq lay its own gas pipes and erect its tewn gas retorts, It is hoped to have the entire works for the manufacturing and supply- ing of gas for its citizens finisbed by March, 1899, wlae3a the present con- tract between the gas company and the city expires. Tbe gas company has charged 9 1-2 kreutzer, 33-4 cents, a cubic metre for gas furnished to pri- vate parties, 7 kreutzers, 2.8 cents, for street lighting and 9 kreetzers for municipal buildings. A monthly rent has also been charged for gas meters. The Vienna city authorities began ne- gotiations looking to the purchase of the plant. Thirty-five million florins was the first price asked by the com- pany ,for its gas works. This was in time reduced to 30,000,000, 25,000,- 000 and finally to 16,000,000, all of which offers the city declined to agree to, until finally all negotiations were brok- en off and the city began to LAY ITS OWN PIPES. This arrangement has been expensive to both parties. With the expiration of the contract, the old plant will be almost a dead loss to the company, and the new ga,s works will cost the city more than the price asked for the old plant. A commission appointed by the city to investigate the cost of produc- tion of gas has reported that the city will net a clear profit of more than 3,000,000 florins, $1,216,500, annually; should the price of gas be the same the existing company is by contract permitted to charge. Nevertheless, it is pointed out that the Government is paying more for the new mains -than the former works were capitalized at, and that -Government control of ,gas works is quite certain to be more ex- pensive in the item of salaries than un- der private control. The city of Paris is supplied by a private company, which divides its pro- fits with the municipality, as a consid- eration for the franchise. Paris has 60,000 street lamps; London has 80,000, Landon gas works are owned by pri- vate corporations requiring in a year an outlay for expenses of nearly $15,- 000,000. It is, however, not necessary to go to Berlin, or Vienna, London, or Paris for an illustration of the work- ings of municipal ownership of gas plants, for there is an example much nearer home and much less encourag- ing in sundry aspects in the city of Philadelphia, where the gas works have entailed enormous expenses npon the takpayers and in which the quality fur- ished has been inferior. Many of the lleged profits of municipal gas °per- ilous by cities abroad, are fictitious. company is exempted from taxes; is relieved from water rates; occupy - ng public property, it pays no rent, nd it hes the free assistance of many public functionaries. MONEY -MAKING ELEPHANTS. sesee Three of Them In the London Zoo Earn Ten Thousand Dollars revery Teal, Three elephants earn 4?10,000 a year. These elephants are at the London Zoo, and they en en their money by carrying on their backs the patrons of the gar- dens. Every 'Arry takes his 'Arriet and hies him to the Zoo on bank holi- days, and for five cents they can jog about the ring on the back of one of the el ep haft ts. The elephants are stationed in differ- ent parts of the Zoo, and there seems to be a bit of professional jealousy be-, tween, them. Apparently they are on very good terms between hours, hut when business is brisk, and the larg- est one. is coining money, for he is the favorite, the other two try to lash him with their trunks as he passes. The largest elephant is a financial record breaker. He is the senior member of the than, so to speak. On one holiday he caused 1,600 persons. There are camels which are sought after by those left out in the scramble for the elephants, but the old patrons of the Zoo say the uneven motion of a camel is only appreciated by an old salt, who is most at Mine on an exceed- ingly choppy sea. The eamels are too cultivated a taste for the ordinary mortal to affect. Three c.amels earn about $1,200 a year, but they cost less to keep than their mere successful. brothers. • The elephants eat up most of their profits, The greatest number of visitors to the Zoo in one clay was 44,000, and an aver- age of 500 pounds of dainties were fed to the brothers of the royal executioner of India. HIS WISH. Mrs, Peck—Yes, Oehey missed some- thing from the counter where I bad been making some purchases, end as I was leaving the store a detective halt- ed me end led me back to the offioe, where they told ma I was suspeeted of being a shoplifter. Mr. Peck—Virell, that was awkward, to say the least. Mr e Peek—Awkward 1 For about a minute I was simply speeehless witb d igna tion. Mr, Peek, regretfully—oh, I Wish I had been there! Lord Rosebery and Lord Provost Richmond are heading a movement in Glasgow to mai:chase an anneity, or otherwiee provide, for Mr, Jas. Glen - cairn Thomson, Crosstnyloof, the only survivfng grandson of Robert 13111118, Ile 14 ateW /1 years of age, THE R0SE8 WERE DRUGGED. It ma,y be all right for heroines to make their adorers tremulously happy by presenting thane with roses. The novelists and dramatises must not be robbed of all their stock in trade. But it behooves the, nineteenth century mart to.be particular aboa the roses he ac- cepts, or rather about the -girl who, gives them. A short tithe ago a man and his two sisters were alone in a compartment on a German railway. At a station an elegantly dressed, thickly veiled woman entered tbe car- riage, carrying a superb bouquet of roses. When the train stetted, she asked her fellow; travellers if they WOUld object to her closing the INindow. The man heetened, to close it for her, and, in moving to get out of his way, the stranger tdropped her roses. 'He picked them up for her; and, thanking him charmingly, she asked hint to keep one. Then, turning to his companions, she graciously offered each of them a few of the flowers. Naturally the courtesy was accepted; .and the next thing of which the, travellers were can - cions was th tt the train had arrived in Berlin, that their veiled companion had disappeared, and thaa; all of their money ant era'. utibles had gone with her. Of course, the, roses had been drugged, Theepolice have discovered that the criminal is a young man, and that he bee leoncluded it number of daring robberies in similar fashion. One must admit that it is the refinement of robbery, and if am most be robbed, at all, the rose method is preferable to sandbagging oe garroting. VENGEANCE. Gondolfa glanced lovingly into the glowing eyes of Gabrielle. Fslice saw it all, and her heart be- came as ice, Would that I were in ber shoe ! muttered Feliee. Not unbalefully glowered she, con. tenaplating her rival.'s happiness. In her shoes, for just one momentl she moaned, Just long enough for the world to ase they are a mile too big fax In that hour she prayed to be aveng. ed. GIttait71'11r. Ilo cloeen't eueceed beeatiee he has no •nsa of hunier. Ali, kept dowel by (brae, of gravity, et) to epeek,