HomeMy WebLinkAboutExeter Times, 1899-5-4, Page 6l•
NOTES AND COMMENTS.
reported. i Italia that th'e Aunt
abanistpai raleala the question
•0 his complete inelepeudeuce, He
eieeke release from the eouditions undet
reoeivee from -the British lo-
diaat Government an annual subsidy
equivalent to about $750,000, Accord-
ing to tne reeent reports he is direct-
ly encouraged to pursue this policy by
Itliseia. The Novoe Vreinya, a St.
Petereburg recently suggested that
bota Russia and England elu1d have
Residents at the court of the .A.mir,
the edvantages being that England
would be freed from the chronic fear
of a Russian invasion, of India, and
Rosen by the removal of a great ob-
etecie to peace, would be able to de-
vote her energies to the extension of
her trade in Central Asia and Persia.
The Russian paper further describes
• the policy of subeidizing the Aran: as
a mistaken man the Mahan people con-
eidering themselves independent, and
regarding the payment by India in the
light of tribute rather than a subsidy,
The Turkestan Gazette, the official or-
gan of the Russian tedrainistration in
Central Asia, follows the same line of
ergument, and in addition proposes
• tbe meeting of the Indian and Central
Asian railways. It alto touches en the
question of the Persian Gulf and says
It is necessary that Russia should leave
an outlet on that side to the sea, de-
claring that she will continue the ef-
forts she has instinctively made in
that direction until she has attained
her end, and proposes that Russia and
England. should. came to an under-
standing, placing their relations as to
Afghanistan op a more satisfactory
footing than at present.
It is almost needless to say that this
advance by Russia is regarded by a
large section of the English press and
some of the Indian papers' with con-
siderable suspicion. On the other hand
influential Indian journals are in fav-
or of a decisive settlement of the ques-
tions in dispute between England and
Russia in that part of Asia, in order
that an end • may be put to the cease-
less agitation in the public mind in
India caused by the apprehensions and
discussion of a Russian invasion. Quite
recently it was reported that the sum
of 11600,000 was to be devoted to forti-
fying the entrance of the Khyber Pass,
and it is now announced officially that
the intention has been abandoned, and
that instead. further protection is to
be given to the railway line through
the Bolan. Pass to Chanaan in the dir-
ection of Kandahar. On the Russian
side, the railway from Mery stops
short some six miles of the boundary
line at the military cantonments at
Ruslik, and a number of Cossack set-
tlers have been established in coloniesthe Howard Mission of New York. He
in the Kushk Valley. -The point at i brought with him eight or ten chil-
which the Russian ralway stops i, ' dren of the street that he had pick-
ed up, and he was trying to find for
MT A RING ON MS HAND,
3EV. DR. TALMAGE SPRARS OP
TRE PRODIGAL SON.
Wrong Impresanin Aheoad 85 UR Hell.
giion -We Are ,i.siured or Eternal 00 -
fences With the lung et Oarhit's Adop
Gen Chola One SlantI—Ite Endows len
"Ma All 11108 Weoltk-An Vollealted
inkontloa l'or all to Gone to God.
aespa tch from Washington says;
—Rev. Dr, Talmage Preaohed from the
falowing text: "Put a ring on his
leand,a—Luke ay. 22.
I will not rehearse to you the fam-
iliar story of the fast young man of
the Taxable. You know what a. splen-
did liome he eeft. You know what a
hard time be had. And you remember
how that after a season of vagabondage
and prodigality he resolved to go and
weep out his sorrow on the bosom a
parental forgiveness. Well, there is
great excitement one day in front of
the door of tbe old farm -house. The
servants come rushing up and say:
"What's the matter? What is the
matter?" But before they quite arrive
the old man cities out: "Put a ring
on his hand." What a seeming absurd-
ity. What can swab a wretched neon-
dicant as this fellow that is tramping
on toward. the /muse want with a ring?
0, he is the prodigal son. No inore
tending of the swine trough. No more
longing for the pods of the carob -tree.
No ranee blistered feet. Off with the
rags I On with the robe! Out with the
ring I Even so does Gocl receive every
one of us when we come back. There
are gold rings end pearl rings, and
carnelian rings, and diamond minas ;
but the richest ring that ever flas.b-
ed on the vision is that which our
Father puts upon a forgiven soul.
• I knove-that the impression is abroad
among some people that religion be -
means and belittles a neon;, that it
takes all the sparkle of his soul; that
he bas to exchange a roystering in-
dependence for an ecclesiastical strait-
jacket. Not so. When a man becomes
a Christian, he does not go down, he
starts upward. Religion multiplies
one by ten thousand. Nay, the multi-
piler is in infinity. It is not a blotting
out,—it is a polishing, it is an arbor-
eisoence, it is in effloreecence, it is an
irradiation. 'When a man comes into
the kingdom of God, he is not sent
into a menial service, but the Lord God
Almighty from the palaces of heaven
calls
uPoil the raessenger angels that
wait upon the throne to fly and "put
a ring on his hand." In Christ is the
largest liberty, and brighteat joy, and
highest honour, and richest adornment.
"Put a ring on his hand."
a I remark, in the first place, that
when Christ receives a soul into His
love He puts upon him the ring of
adoption. To my church in Philadel-
phia, there •came the representative of
ebrialtin• brotherhood, if. he gets tez
trouble, in Wel, j Perseelattahi in
temptatiou, he has wily to show this
ring of Plirietn adeptien, and all the
arme4 eohorta oa /leaven will come to
hie :mono.
aterther: wheo 044;4 takes a
soul inte his love He puts upen it a
Marriage ring, Now taut is nOt a
whim of mine. "And I will betrah
thee unto ale for ever; yen I will be-
troth thee auto Me in rigirteoesneee,
and in, judgment, and in loving -kiwi -
nese, and in mercies," Hosea ii. 19. At
the. wedding altar the bridogrotan pule
a. ring upon the bane of the brid.e,
uifyiag love. and faithfulnees. Trouble
may unee upon the hoasehold, and. the
carpets may go, the pieteu•es may go,
the piano may go, everything else
-may go; the last thine that goes is
tint marriaga ring, for it is consider-
ed sacred. In the bridal bane it is
withdrawn from the hand and kept in
4 casket, and sometimee the box is
opened on an anniversery-day, and as
you. look at that ring you see under'
its anti a long procession of precious
meraories. Within the golden circle
of that ring there is 'nom for a thous-
and sweet recelleotions to revolve, and
you think of the great contrast be-
tween the hour when, at the close of
the "Wedding March" under the
flashing lights and. a.mid the aroma of
orange -blossoms, you. set that ring on
the round finger of the plump hand,
ond, that other hour when at the close
of an exhaustive wetehing, when you
knew that her soul had fled, you took
from that hand whith gave book no
responsive grasp, from that emancipat-
ed, finger, the ring that she bad worn
so long and, woru so well. On some
anniversary -day you. take up that ring,
and you. repolish it until all the otcl
lustre, eomes baok, and you van see in
Lt the flash of eyes •that long ago
ceased to weep. 0, it is not an un-
meaning thing when I tell you. that
when Christ receives a soul into Elis
keeping, He puts on it a marriage
ring. Ile. endows you from that mom -
eat with all His wealta. You. are one,
Christ and the soul.—one in synapatby,
one in affection, one in hope. There
is no power in earth or aell to effect a
divorceraent after Christ and the soul
aro united. Other kings have turned
one their companions when they got
weary of them, and sent them adrift
from the palace gate. Ahasuerus
banished Vashti; Napoleon forsook
Josephine; but Christ is the husband
that is true for ever. Having loved
you once, He loves you to the end,
Did they not try to divorce Margaret,
the Scotch girl, from Testes? They
said: "You must give up your religion."
She said: "I can't give up my religion."
And so they took her down • to the
beach of the sea, and they drove in a
stake at. low-water mark, and they
fastened her to it, expecting that as
the tide came up. her faith would fail.
The tide began to rise, and came up
higher and higher, and to the girdle,
and to" the lite• and in the last mom-
ent, just as the wave was washing her
soul into glory, she shouted the praises
of jesus. 0 no. You. cannot separate
a soul from Christ. It is an everlast-
ing marriage. Battle and storm, and
darkness amulet do it. Is it too much
exultation for a mane who is but dust
and ashes like myself, to cry out thie
morning: "I am persuaded that neith-
er height, nor depth, nor principalities,
nor powers. nor ,things • present, nor
thinge to come, nor any other creature
shalt separate me froxn the love of
Goa evhich is in Christ Jesus my Lord?"
Glory be to God that when Christ and
the soul are married they are bound
by a chain, a golden chain, if I might
say so, a chain with one link, and that
one link the golden ring of God's
everlasting love,
about eighty-six miles by road from
Herat, but material has been collect-
ed with a view to its prolongation
whenever circumstances naay require.
and the apprehensions of the Af-
ghans at its approach have calmed
down.
The official relations between the
Amir and the British Dadian Govern-
ment continue on their normal foot-
ing, and. frequent friendly letters have
been passing between the Amir and
Lord Curzon since. the Viceroy's arrival herself was in bright and beautiful ar-
in India. A quantity of new modern ray and those who more immediately
rifles from England for the Arair's
army have passed through from
Peshawur to Kabul, and this would
appear to raise some doubt as to the
reports concerning the A.mires attitude
on the question of his independence.
them Christian homes; and as the lit-
tle ones stood on the pulpit and sang
Our hearts melted within us. At the
close of hte services a great-hearted,
wealthy man came up, and said: "I'll
take this little bright-eyed girl, and
I'll adopt her as one of my own chil-
dren ;" and he took her by the hand,
lifted her into his carriage, and went
away. The next day, evbile we were
in the church, gathering up garments
for the poor of New York, this little
child came back with a bundle under
her arm, and she said: "There's my old
dress, perhaps some of the poor chil-
dren would. like to have it," while she
examined her said that she had a ring
ori her hand, It was a ring of adop-
tion. There are a great many persons
who pride themselves on their ances-
try, and they glory over the royal
Illood that pours through their arter-
ies. In their line there was a lord, or
a duke, or a prieaninister, or eking.
Onthe other hand, the dismim
ssal of But when the Lord our Father, puts
bis English Agent, Sir Salter Pyne, upon us the ring of bis adoption,
and others in Ins service, points to an we become the • children of the
intention to dispense with the employ- ruler of all nations. "Behold, what
rnent of foreigners altogether; but, af- manner of love the Father hath be -
ter the Oriental manner, this may be stowed upon us, that we shoulcl be
done only with the object of enabling
the Amir to refuse proposals from
Russia to receive an envoy and other
officials. The reports that the Amir
was approanhing his end were devoid
of foundation, but he has provided for
the succession of his eldest son, the
Birder Habib-ulla Kahn, with the ap-
proval of the British Indian Govern-
ment. Whether or not the new Amir
is allowed to assume the reins of
power without opposition will deter -
nettle the future of Afghanistan. At
present the disposition of the British
Government appears to be to cagey out
a policy of abstention, so as to avoid
giving any pretext to Russia for in-
terference in Afghan affairs.
• A HUSBAND'S VILLAINOUS StEG.
GRATION.
Here's an awful thing in this paper.
said Mrs. Henpeck, about burglars oat
West binding and gagging a woman
white her lausband stood. by without
offering the slightest assistance.
returned Henpeck; but then maybe he
thought they vrtere capable of doing it
unaided.
ELUSIVB.
Waggles—There is only one thing as
bard to find in this world as the North
Pole.
• JaggIes—What's that?
• Wagglee—The fellow who gets
•etearehing for it,
lost
• FEMININE LOGIC.
How do you manage to find your
Way across the °coati? said a lady to
tbe sett captain,
Why, by the Conepass. The needle
alevoye ponds to the north.
'Yes, 1 know. Ilut what if you wish
Lo go south?
called the sons of God." It matters
not how poor our garments may be in
this world, or how scant our bread,
or how mean the hut we live in, if we
have that ring of Christ's adoption up-
on our hand, we are assured of eternal
defences. Adopted! Why, then, we
are brothers and sisters to all the good
of earth and heaven. We have the
family name, the family dress, the
family keys, the family wardrobe. The
Father looks after us, robes us, defends
us, blesses us. We have royal blood
in our veitis, and there are crowns in
our line,. If we are His children,
then princes and princesses. It is only
a question of time when we get out
coronet. Adopted! Then we have
the family secrets. The secret of the
Lord is with them that fear Him."
Adopted! Then we have the family
inheritance, and in the day when our
Father shall divide, the riches of heav-
en we shall take our shars of the
Mansions, and palaces, and temples.
He,nceforth let us boast no more of au
earthly ancestry. The • insignia of
eternal, glory is our coat -of -arms. This
ring of adoption puts upon us all hon-
or end all privilege. Now we can
take the words of Charles Wesley, that
prince of laymie makers, and sing:
"Come let us join our friends above,
Who have obtained the prize;
And on the eagle wings of love
To joy celestial rem.
"Lot alt the saints terrestrial sing,
With those to glory gone;
For all the servants of our king,
In beavera and earth, are one.'
I have been told that when any of
the members or any of the great gee -
rat societies of this eountry are in a
destant eity, and are in any kind 'of
trouble, and are set upon by enemies,
they have only to give a certain signal,
and the mothers of their orgatizatimi
will nook around for defenee. And
when any man belongs to this great
Y911 wake up te-morrew morning at
six otelocka erelCep the tileep thai,
knowe no waking/ Would you not
like to exchange this awful limier -
allay about the future for a glorious
assurance of heo.veu? Accept of the
Lord Jesus to -day, and all is well. If
oo yolie way helve some peril should
orosn'the street and dash your life out,
it wapiti pot hurt you You would
rise up immediately. You would stand
iu the celeetia streets. You would
be amid the genet throng that for ever
warShtie Mad are for ever happy. If
this day 'some sudden disease should
canae upon you, it would not frighten
you. If you knew you were gang you
could give a calm farewell to your
beautiful luiene on earth, and leeow
that you are going right into the Com-
panionship ot those who have already
got beyoni the toiling and the weep-
ing, ,You feet on Saturday night dif-
ferent froan the way yin feel any other
nigh! of the week. You axone home
&mei tbebank, or the store, or the
shop, and you say: "Well, now ray
week's work is done, and to -morrow is
Sunday:" It is a pleasant thought.
There is refreshment a,nd reconstruc-
tion in the very idea. 0, how pleasant
it will be if, when we get through the
day of life, and we go and lie down
in ou bed of dust, we can realize:
-wen, now the work is all done, and
to-paorrow is Sunday—an everlasting
Sunday,"
I go a step further, and Jell you
that when Christ receives a soul into
His love He puts on him the ring of
festivity. You know it has been the
custom in all ages to bestow rings on
very happy occasions. There is -no-
thing more appropriate for a birthday
gift than a ring. You delight to be-
stow such a gift upon your children
at such a time. It means, joy, hilar-
ity, festivity. Well, when this old
man of the text wanted to tell how
glad he was that his boy had got
back, he expressed it in this way. Ac -
twiny, before he ordered sandals to be
put on his bare feet, before he ordered
the fatted calf to be killed to appease
the boy's hunger, he commanded: "Put
a ring on his hand."
0, it is a merle?' time when Christ
and the soul are united. Joy of for-
giveness! What a splendid thing it
is to feel that all is right between
me and God. What a glorious thing
it is to have Goa just take up all the
sins of my life and put them in one
bundle, and then fling then/ into the
depths of the sea, never to rise again,
never to be talked of again. Pollu-
tion all gone. Darkness all illumin-
ed. God reconciled. The prodigal
home. "Put a ring on his hand,
Every day I find happy Christian peo-
ple. I find some of them with no
second coat, some of them in huts and
tenement hauses, not one earthly com-
fort afforded them; and yet they are
n,s happy as happy can be. They sing:
"Bock of Ages" as no other people in
the world sing it. They never wore
any jewelry in their life but one gold
ring, and that was the ring of God's
undying affection. 0, how happy re-
ligion makes us. Did it make you
gloomy and sad? Did you go with your
head cast down? I do not think you.
got religion, my brother. That is not
the effect of religion. True religion
is a joy. "Her ways are ways of plea-
santness, and all her paths are peace."
Why, religion lightens a.11 our bur-
den. It smooths all our way. It in-
terprets all our Forrows. It changes'
the jar ef earthly diecord for the peal
of festal belIs. En front of the flam-
ing furnace of triad it sets the forge
011 which sceptres are hammered out.
Would you not like to -clay to come up
from the swine -feeding and try this
religion? All the joys of heaven would
tome out and meet you, and God would
cry out 'trona the throne: "Put a ring
on his hand," You are not happy. I
see, it There is no peacie, and some-
times you laugh when you fee) a great
deal more like crying. The woad is
a amt. It first wears you &am with
its follies; then iL kicks you out into
darkness. It comes back trom the
maseacre of a million souls to attempt
the destruetion of your soul to -day, No
peace out of God. but here is the faun -
tette that Can slake the thirst. Here
Is the haebotir where yon can drop
safe anchorage. 'Would you net like,
I ask you—not perfunctorily, but as
one brother might talk to another --
would you not like to leave a pillow
of test to put yoUr head call And
would you not like when yen retire at
night to feel that ail is well, whether
"0, when, thou city of my God,
Shall I thy courts asoend ?
Where congregations ne'er break up,
And Sabbaths bays no end,".
There are people in the house to -day
who are very near the eternal world.
If you are Christians, 1 bid you be of
good cheer. Bear with you our con-
gratulations to the bright city. Aged.
men, who will soon be goon take with
you our love for our kindred in the
better land, and when you see them,
tell them that we are soon coming.
Oaly a few more sermons to preaoh
and ,hear. Only a few more heart-
aches Only a few more toils. Only
a few more tears. And then—what an
entrancing spectacle awill open be-
fore us I
"Beautiful heaven, where all is light,
Beautiful angels, clothed in white,
Beautiful strains that never tire,
Beautiful harps througla all • the
choir,
There shall I join the chorus sweet,
Worshipping at the Saviour's feet."
I stand before you on this Sabbath,
the last Sabbath preceding the great
feast day be this Church. On the next
Lod's day the door of communion will
be open, and you will all be invited to
oorae in. And. so I approach you now
with a general invitation, not picking
out here and there a man, or here and
there a woman, or here and there a
child; but giving you a,n unlimited in-
vitation, saying; "Come, for all things
are now ready," We invite you to the
warm heart of Christ and the enclos-
ure of the Christian Church.' I know
a great many think that the Churbh
does not ainoune to much; that it is
obsolete; that ix did its work and is
gone now so far as all usefulness is
concerned. It is the happiest place 1
have ever been in except my own
home. I know there are some people
whosay they are Christians, who seern
to get along without any help from
others, and who eulture solitary piety.
They da not want any ordinances. I
do notbelong to that class. I cannot
get along without them. There are
so many things in this world that take
my attention from God, and Christ,
and heaven, that I want all the helps
of alt the symbols ane of all the Chris-
tian associations; and I want around
about me a solid phalanx of men who
love God and keep His commandments.
Are there any here who would like to
enter into that association? Than by
a simple, childlike faith apply for ad-
mission into the visible Church and
you will be received. No questions
asked about your past history or pre-
sent surroundings. Only one test—do
you love Jesus? Baptism does not
amount to anything, say a greet many
people.; but the Lord Jesus declared:
"He that believeth and is baptized,
shall be saved," putting baptism and.
faith side by side. And an apostle de-
clares: "Repent and be baptized, every
one of you." I do not stickle for .any
particular mode of baptism, but I put
great emphasis on the fact that you
ought to be baptized. Yet no more em-
phasis than the Lord Jesus Christ, the
Great Head of the Church puts upon it.
The world is going to lose a great
many of its votaries next Sabbath. We
give you. warning. There is a great
host coming in to stand under the
banner of the Lord Jesus Christ.
Will you be among them? It is go-
ing to be a great harvest day. Will
you be among the gathered sheaved
Some of you have been thinking of
this subject year after year. You
have found out that this world is a
poor. portion. You want to be Christ-
ians. You have come almost into the
kingdom of God; but there you stop,
forgetful of the fact that to be almost
saved is not to be saved at all. 0,
my brother, after having come so
near to the door of mercy, if you turn
back you will never come at all. After
• all you have heard of the goodness
of God, if you turn away and die, it
will not be because you did not have
a good offer.
God's Spirit will not always strive,
With hardened, self-destroyingman;
Ye wbo persist His love to grieve
May never hear His voice again.'
May God Almighty this hour move
upon your soul and bring you back
from the husks of the wilderness to
the Father's house, and 'set you at the
banquet, and "pun a ring on your
head.
THE SODA)! SCROOL
INTERNATIONAL LESSON, ]VIA I 7,
wilic Vine and the Grouches." John 15,
Fn. Golden 'ext. Jolla 18, 8.
PBACTICA.I. NoTzs.
Verse 1. The symbols a taie lesson
are so simple that explanation in de-
tail is hardly aeeded. One thought
runs through it all — the identity of
our Saviour math bis disciples, The
husbandman has close relation to the
vine he cultivates; the shepherd has
closer intiraacy with his sheep', the
Master and his disciples are brought
tato a union of interest and. heart; but
all such nearness and union are passed
by the identity which is her pictured
by the vine and the broaches. I am
the true vine. The ideal vine. As
England holds the rose, Scotland the
lily, Ireland the shamrock, and France
the fleur-de-lis, scl the Hebrew nation
held the vine for its symbol. In spite
of the prevalent rigid, interpretation
of the second. commandraent, this ern -
edam entered into the artistic and poe-
tic thought of the nation, and was
familiarly reproduced. A great gold-
en vine was festooned over the Golden
Gate of Jerusalena's teraple. On coins
Judea was represented by a cluster a
grapes, Centuries earlier the psal-
mist had sung of Isreal as a vine
brought out of Egypt and planted
where briers .had been; it took deep
root, and extended far; the hills were
covered with its shadow. its • boughs
were massive as a cedar. Neverthe-
less it proved to be a failure; for a
season it brought forth "wild grapes,"
then became "an empty vine;' the boar
out of the wood wasted it; the wild
beast of the field devoured it; it was
cut down; it was burned with
fire; it perished utterly. Now, to
understand the beautiful passdge
we now study we must put our-
• selves as nearly as possible in the
mental and spiritual attitude of the
disciples. To them the vine was a
ready symbol of that nation in which
the hope of the world was treasured;
for "salvation is of the jews." But
they had begun to feel proforundly
what the psalmist had long before be-
waned—that Israel had failed to
realize its holy ideal, and that • they
could no longer depend on its hope.
jesus here presets himself as the
ideal vine, of which even the holy
nation was an imperfect symbol.
Henceforth he is to stand before his
disciple's in place of temple, sacrifice,
prophet and priest. He, not the nation,
is the perfect fulfillment of spiritual
Prophecy. We, listening to his worda
through the echoes of nineteen cen-
turies, can hardly fail to place the
emphasis (as the disciples must have
placed it) on "I." Not the Church, nor
ASTOR'S BARGAIN.
In 1803 John Jacob Astor bought two
pieces of farm land on Ile side ef. New
York City enel paid for them §23,000.
'They are now worth about $5,000,000,
while the Astor family has eolleeted
in these 95 years some fel0,000,000 of
rents from them,
CHINESB MORGITB.
It the Chinese inorgoe, in an Frith -
else°, one of the strange sights is a
number of life-size delis, which ate
butned, to aceoraptiny the oorpses as
their servants to the next world, ,
CRUEL 'RE VENGB.
Mr. Bunk's marriage didn't come
of 1.
What was the Waiter/
HIS tailor was an Old rival and didn't
get his wedding eruil, made in time.
oreed, nor faith, nor prayer is the ideal
vine; jeans is., And so our earliest de- cause our Lord is the true vme; bee -
auction from this parable is that cause we are the branches; because his
spiritual life comes from Union with Father is the Husbandman; because
Christ, and in no other way. MY every branch that beareth fruit he
purgeth it; because, in short, of every
precious truth we learn from this les -
eon.
1, of weal' verses 2, le, aud I are a
purtioularigatioa. Fe tbat abicieth in
me, and 1 in him, tne eame bringeth
rearth fallen filen. ' Fruitfulness in the
-ute develops eonseiousnese of Cleristai
indwelling, and coneciousuess of
Christ's indwelling in the soul (level -
one fruitfalness in the life,"—Abbott,
P" Because, Without me. Apart:
from Line. Ye eau do nothing, So Paul
says, "1 labored, yet not I, but the
grace of Goa which was in Me."
O. If a man abide not in ane, he is
cast forth as a brohch, and is with-
ered ; and men gather them, and oast
them into the fire, and they are burn-
ed. An expansion of verse 2. Thetalaiii
English of it is that when a Cbris-
tian lives for earthly and not heaven-
ly eras he has already severed himself
from Christ, and his spirituality is in
ruins, It has been wisely re-
n2arked that vine branches are good
for nothing but to bear grapea and
the other dressings of the vineyards
are made into boofires because tames
is nothing else to do with them. In-
stead of "men gather them," the Ite-^
vised Version reads, "they gather
them." But we are not to think of
this passage as oontaining any doctri-
nal statement concerning, hell fire.
7. My WOrcis. By tile Scriptures
Christ is presented to us from different
points of view. He nese points to bira-
self not as the Lamb of God, nor as the
majestic commander of the forces of
the universe, but as the Teacher, the
Truth, the Utterer of God's words- Ye
shall ask what ye will, and it Weal be
done.. Rot remember the If with
w.hicl 'the verse begins. If the
'words," the "sayings," of the Lord
"abide" in the Christian, says Dr.
Moulton, his prayers must be eehoes
of those sayings. "This is the confid-
ence that we have in him, that if we
ask anything according to his will, he
heareth us; and if we know that be
hear us wha.tsoeyer we ask, we know
that' we have the petitions that we de-
sired of him." •
8. Her.eiii is any Father glorified,
that ye bear much fruit. "Let your
light so shine before men, tbat they
may see your good works, and glorify
your Father which is in beaven." So
shall ye be ray disciples. In direct
proportion, that is, to our fruit-bear-
neg.
9. As the, Father hath loved rae, so
have I loved you. A measurbment
great beyond. the finite comprehension.
Continue, Abide, ye in my love. "The
sap of the vine is love." "We have
known and believed the love that God
hath to us. God is love; and he that
dwelleth in love dwelleth in. Gode and
and God in him."
10. "Obedience and hate are per-
fectly correlative. Loves assures
obedience; obedience assures love."--
Westeot t.
11. nets things have I spoken
unto you. All the "things" in this
farewell discourse, and especially the
words of our lesson. That my joy
miglat remain in you. In his inter-
cessory prayer our Saviour pleads that
his joy might be fulfilled in his dis-
ciples, and the repeatedly expressed
desire of his heart is that our joy may
be full. There are many reasons for
Overflowing joy, even in a world wbere
we must have tribulation. "Our light
affliction, which is but for a moment,
worketle for us a far more exceeding
and eternal weight of glory." 33ut
especially should our joy be full be -
Father is the husbandman. Caring
for Christ and his followers.
2 Every branch in the that beareth
not fruit he taketh away. John the
-
Baptist had used almost the same
figure when he said that the ax was
laid to the root of the fruitless tree,
which was about to be hewn down and
cast into the fire. .Every branch that
beareth fruit, lie purgeth it, pruneth
it, that it may bring forth more fruit.
The divine Husbandman is working for
fruit, and we join in his endeavor. The
pains and limitations of life are his
pruning and husbandry, which some-
times bring panful experiences, but af-
terward work out for us the fruit of
righteousness. "When we, are judg-
ed," says Paul, "we are chosen of the
Lord that we should not be condemn-
ed with the world." What are the
" fruits" that we should bear? They
include in the first place, long-suffer-
ing, gentleness, goodness, faith., meek -
fleas, temperance. They include, intim
second place, all good deeds done to
others for Christ's sake. Peter gives
us, quite apart from any figure of the
vine, the great recipe for fruit -bear-
ing: If faith, virtue, knowledge, tem-
perance, patience, godliness, brother-
ly kindness, and charity abound in us,
we shall neither be barren nor un-
fruitful in the knowledge of our Lord
,Tesus Christ.
3. Now ye are dean through the
word. "Christ loved the Church, and
gave himself for it that he might sanc-
tify and cleanse it with the washing
of water by tha word." This "word"
is a collective phrase for the 'entire
potency of Jesus Christ, his life, teach-
ings, death, and resurrection, all of
which, taken together, are "the spring
and source, and not only the instru-
ment, of the Claristian's purity." See
verse 7.
e. Abide in me, and I in you. Our
Iwo cardinal duties are to keep our -
saves it, Christ and Christ in us. The
la.oly relationship may be illus-
trated by the love of two hu-
man beings, each of which in truth
dwells in the other's heart. But the
fellowship must be permanent; to adopt
Lyte's phrase, "it must be an abiding,
not a sojourning." "Wee are made
partakers of Christ, if we hold our con-
Sidence steadfast unto the end." "He
that, endureth to the end shall be sav-
ed." As the branch cannot bear fruit
of itself, except it abide in the vine!
TIO more can ye, except ye abide in ine.
Cut off a twig from a vine, and i1
dies; separate a Christian freia. Christ,
and his spirituel life ceases. "And so,"
says Dr. Drummond, "the problem of
the Christian life is simplified to this,
to abide in Christ, to be ill position,"
And he illustrates this by allusieri to
the sailor who simple' harnesses his
veS'ael to the wind, puts his wheel and
rudder in position, takes advantage of
energies already there, and lets the
vessel go by the force of the wind. So
we have aimply to put oureelvesxn
conneetion with Christ. For
prayer and faith in their last analysis,
are attitude. The soul is like a cup.
Upon it blessings are constantly pour-
ed. Turn it upeide down, and nothaas
is received; turn it straight up, and it
is filled to overflow.
5. 1 ani the vine, ye dre the brandi-
es. We go baek in oier thought to voila)
NEST -BUILDING PEOPLE.
''he Bushmen or Australia Live Like 'Beast
of the Field.
You know that, of course, hut nests
and nest -building birds and animals
are so intimately associated With eggs
In some indefinable way, that in speak-
ing of men who build nests to live in,
it may not be out of place to emphasize
the absence of eggs.
Travelers who have returned from
the heart of Africa and the Australian
continent, tell wonderful stories of
nest -building people who inhabit the
wilds of those ceiantries.
In the bushmen of Australia we find,
perhaps, the lowest order of men that
are known. They are so primitive
that they do not know enough to build
even the simplest forms of huts for
shelter. ,
The nearest they could approach to
it is to gather a lot of twigs- and
grass, and taking Lhera tato a thicket
or jungle, they build a nest for a
home, much os does a Wad, The nest
is usually built large enough for the
family, and if the latter be very nu-
naerous then the nests are of a very
large size.
Into this place they all turn and
snuggle and curl up together like so
many kittens. Sometimes the foliage
will grow together and forra a sort of
natural covering, but there is never
any attempt at constructing a protec-
tion from the rain and storms, and it
in a marvel how they endure them.
Where there is a particularly good
piece of jungle for home sites it will
be quickly appropriated for the pur-
pose, and sometimes hundreds of these
nests will be found together in tbe
bush, as it is called.
But though the bushmen of our Aus-
tralian colonies ate the very lowest in
the scale of ignorance, they possess a
rare instinct, that equals that of many
antanals, and is in its way as wonder-
ful ae man's reason. It is :almost im-
possible for them to be lost. Even if
they be led away from their heme
blindfolded, for mules, when released
they -will anerringly turn in the,xight
direction, and make their way to their
nestabonee, and thoogh tbest are alt
vete similar, they never make 4 mis-
take.
FULLY EXPLAINED.
Yes, that; was jobson's store. Poor
jobson, Splendid site, wasn't it?
Yes, and a fine building, too.
Ono of the finest in towel. And*theee
tever was a fitter man than Jobson.
Whole eoulecl, liberal and straight he
staing. To.think of the way he went
clown! it's too bad. But, of couree,
you know he had one ruinous fail -
Why, no. What was it 1
didn't advertise.
A Good Husband.,
We have been talkiog with several)
women of our acqueinta,noe, and have
gleaned conerelerable valuable inform-
ation as to what peculiar virtues and
graces a men should possess in order
to be entitled to the appellation of "a
good husband,"
One lady, who is acew having experi-
ence, with bor fourtb husband,. assures
us that above all things the good hus-
band saould be careful not to make
unnecessary work fOr his wife. Be
should hang up his coats and hats,
and keep his bureau drawers closed,
and put his cuffs arid collars where he
can find them without calling his wife
up from the pastry table, OT the wash-
tub, to assist him in the Search.
Now, with all due respect to this.
experienced lady's opinion, we knowo,
and all the rest of the feminine worna
knows, that the Man, does not exist
who can shut a. bureau drawer. It
isn't in hirn. In the words of the once
popular but now obsolete song, "He
isn't built that way."
He will pull out six drawers _Jut
quest of the clean stockings that lie
right on the top of the first one he
opens, and he will leave the whole six
°Pen, and stumble over them as he
merinos his wild and fruitless search,
and wonders why the dickens folks
can't keep bureau drawers in out of
the way, where tbey . belong.
, „ .
Did you ever know the average mari
to hang up his hat in his own house?
Of course not, he generally puts lit
down soraewheraa'so's to be handy
when he wants it." And it is so ex-
tremely handy that he overlooks it,
and everybody who is called to join i.
the search overlooks it ; and the bu
den of the blame falls oxi his long-sul
fering wife; and he tells her, in n /
chocolate caramel tone of voice, that
"he does wish she wouldn't be ever-
lastingly carrying his hat off; so that
nobody can find it when it is wanted I
Why cannot she let it stay where he
put it ?"
• And. When she meekly reminds hira
that he left it last night on the edit
in the front parlor, on which Marie
Angelina is in the habit of sitting in
the dark, "spooning" with her young
man, be scowls at her, and remarks
that he hung his hat up on the hat -
tree last night, as he always does. Oh,
certainly, of course.
To be a good. husband, a man must
eat aid not complain. Well, growling
over the food is a trial to the woman
who does the cooking. The woman,
who, hot and perspiring, has toiled all
the forenoon in a torrid kitchen, to
roast and broil and bake things for
ber husband's dinner, and who has
seen her apple dumplings fall as flat
a round of hardtack, and who has
been called from her chocolate frost-
ing to entertain a begging mission-
ary solicitor, with her hair in p
and the dreadful consciousness
that begging visitor was looking
the smudge of grease on her wrap-,
all the time she was whining abt
the dreadful need of a sehoolhouse-a.,
the Ladrone Islands --that 'woman i
hardly in a state to receive placidl
the anathemas her husband hurls at
the biscuits, and she will be little
short of an angel if she keeps her tem-
per when he -says tbat the gingerbread
looks like the sole of a defunct rubber
shoe I No, she- isn't.
A good husband must be willing to
take his share of the tramping at
night across the bridal bedroom with
the heir of the family, screaming with
the colic, in his arms. Why Reis that
babies always have the colic in the
night is a question. He must be thor-
oughly acquainted with the nature of
paregoric and syrup of squills.
The good husband must be willing
for his wife to "hays things like other
folks.' Everybody wants things like
other fonts, you know. He must not
fume when his wife wants a new bon-
net: like Mrs. Smith's, and: he must
not allude to the folly of women when
she declares that she really hasn't a
dress fit to wear. If Mrs. jonee across
the way has a new parlor set, his wife
must have ruffled curtains for her
sitting room, so that Mrs. Jones can
see them every time she looks out of
her window, and have the fact brought
home to her that she is not the only
woman in the neighborhood who can
have new things.
The good husband must not stay out
nights. It breaks a woman all up,
and ruins her nerves, to have a man,
prowling into the house after twelve
o'clock, upsetting things, ana coming
to bed with cold feet, and she is liabl
to have a headache all the next day i
consequence. But, somehow, she doe
not seem to think ranch about nex
day's prospective headache when she 1
ciut at a whist party or a club recep
ti
A good husband must be like Cae
sat's wife—above suspicion—in almos
everything; and if he happens to out
live his wife, all the people TO n
about will sing his praises, and all
widows ad. bachelor &loan t
be ready to console him.
PLAIN ENOUGH.
•i
Uncle James, said a young lady who
was spending a few days in the count
try, is that chicken by the gate
Brahmin? •
No, replied Tenclejames, he's a Leg
horn. '
Why, of course, to be sure! eaid 1.11
young lady. How stupid of me! I ea
see the horns 'on his ankles.
H18 PASSION.
Mrs, Prosy—Beading is quite
sion With ray husband.
Mrs. Dresser—Se it is with mine
wben he reads my milliner's bills!
TIM TACTFUL StIORKEEPER,
.Shookeeper—Come here, ifido 1 Inn
animal that. Your dog, sir?
Customer—My dog? I hope n
Wooldn't be 1 ollowed around by su
a 011T as that. •
Shopkeeper—Gee out, you btute 1
you OneW, I hate dogs?
a pas