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HomeMy WebLinkAboutExeter Times, 1899-7-6, Page 3W.HB EZETEB 'TIMES NQ 4S IND' C0I1,4111 "NT$. • 1VIala is a eocial being. Arreest Ids enern aetion Peoves it. The grogbe- Mae instieet iea rengiiu mi asit1 • any other animal. Dogs deliglit to • hent in pecks ; so do mere only tlaeir packe are larger, and the game' they puraue is mere aifficult to capture. "It Is nOt good for Man to be alone," and snoet cases he es not elinie. He firide,.for eiraseif eompanions, he fel- 1°W4tPs in some quarter or other. Everybody teens somehoWe on some- body else. The sOcial inelivation ever xemaina influeutial, ssrleicla is after all but the flout:going a the heart after name kin -soul who Will prove to the otherwise isolated. nature a true "so - eine," or fellow. Maltiply this corre- lation of sympathies indefinitely, by the numberless reduplations of a ramified, nationa life, ad there re- sults the idea of society, which is af- ter all but the organization of fel- lowahips, the fornsel union of commun- ions, wherein, swayed by a common emotional, intellectual, oommercial or political interest, ein-soul seeks kin, as affinitive atoms, according to tee themist's theory, rush to a mutual em- brace. • So social sympathy tends to social. organization.; so personality merges itself in politicality ; so in- formal co-operation advances oftinaes to formal corporation. Moreover, it is evident that the num- ber ot the cog -wheels, of the moving springs tied of the interrelated me- -cillartiem., is on the increase. New cor- relations and new complexities are sonstantly to be noted. Social pri- vilege, in other wordis, is becoming, as lines of traffic -push out farther and father, as international relations are extended, as internal resources are de - as co-operative tendencies in all lines Oselife are expanded, a thing of ever largee and finer promise. All this innshee a eresponding increase Df responsibiene, It is no light thing to be an a.ctce, in such an age on this. If the social hnpacts are more num- erous and slgeificant the opportuni- ties for Christian usefulness are just so much the more essingly invested. with responsibilities at forecast the judgment day. If n average be- liever case directly orl'‘irectly, by personal • contact, by sp by his writings, by his contribeeene, other wise, affect more peopleNan did the apostle Paul, or we may sa the Master himself, the amount of social duty to the men of his own ge eration very clearly appears. If s but ...the sum of all its pant all the more necTiekia:y is it tat the human total should be constituted of segments that for good and benevolent • purposes actively multiply themselves together, rather than of languidly weak units svhieb passively, by some 'chance addition at the hands of forces and circumstances outside of them- selves, happen to fall into the same „social columns. To be silent partner in society is not enough. The call is to be that kind of a human factor describable as a• social benefactor. The eubject of sociality, however, should not be approached merely from the side of self-interest, but be also considered in the light of opportun- ity and obligation. The point is not that as civilization advances main raay obtain neer chances to simply enjoy himself among his fellows, but that the multiplied extensions of social privilege, and, so to speak, the et- largenaerits of the very capacities of • society itself, impose upon all in- creasin.g bardens and possibilities as • time goes by. In other words, Man carteot contentedly remain eimply a social being, he must become a social factor. And a social factor, to some extent, and in some line, every man ie. Each individual inapinges with a eortain amount of force on society about him, and. contributes a quantuin of constructive energy to its enter- -prises. Every life affects every oth- er life, though that be not the pre- • eise. original teaching of the dealer - talon: "No man limeth unto himself, • and no Man distil lento himself." Ac- • cordingly, what any one man does at all he does not do alone, but as a so- cial factor. His activity is a, force among forces. His position is not the status of an isolated, unattachernagent like some unassisted Robinson Crusoe on, a desert isle, but rather that oran aesiociate na.ember in a complex organ - feta. Fax society is, after- all, but a great system of cog -wheels playing orte into another, it series of deliber- ate adaptations, each to each of nice- ly adjusted coadjutant parts. ABOUT "RINGS. • Wearing two rings ozx one finger has elWays beeu considered quite enough, Now il seems to be the thing to wear three, and alt on the little finger of the left:hand. Thie fashion was set in vvlaere all the young women seem, to he Wearing their ringe in this way. ,They are necessarily handsome tinge; the simpler they are; the better. gold bands with' stones set deep In are the most fashionable. MEAN ADV,A.NTAGE Tn.HEN. Along the Adriatic seit swallowe and ottiee migratory birds are oatight . eve cry year by the laundreds of thousands and eaten by the Italiens, Mica sinned nee% ili wilieh as teeny ae 800 to 500 if the tired buses aa e °might at once, .„ WITAT DOES 11.0D 11E1)111E1E 9 RRV,• DR, TALMAGE SPEAKS OF OUR GREAT RLESSINOS. _ We 01111$1 Clive as hiesiount to ieod or !every Event in Our elfe-Sonte of the itiess- eigs Enaloy an TIAN •Wor111-1Unheed. 54 ivarithennelany Feta eseedents ;net Seaman Deaths-Ttie Dr.% rietare OrARO Dyef J11011.:1111ent• s A deepatoli from Washington says:— Ben Dr. Talmage prea.ohed from the following text :,—"God requirell that whieh is past."—Ecclesiastes, iii, 15. We are all loeking forward. The plougbinan who svould strike out a straight farrow, takes sight by the post at the end of the field, toward which he drives, and not by the post behind him. The Sportsman aline at the target before his face, not et the one behind him. • The boatman steers by the headland which he is approach- ing, and not by the headland that he hes left bellied him. SD we are all looking forwarae and where in this auctienoe to -night there are a hun- dred thoughts directed toward to -Mor- row,. there is not more than one tholight directed toward yesterday. I think it was Longfellow who spoke of the "dead past." indeed, it seems to be a greet cemetery, in winch are buried dead hopes, dead opportunities, dead joys, dead sorrows, dead everything,. But, -my friends, there is really no such thing as at 'dead past." We shall not travel it any more. But are Germany, and England, and Rus- sia dead and interred because we shall never see them again, having once seen them? • 0, no. They are alive with population jual as certainly now we do not go there as when we did go there; and so though we may not travel through the past, it is all popu- lous with living events. We ought to be just as much interested in yes- terday'as in Lo -morrow, for "God re- quireth that Whieh is past." There is in law what they call a re- lease. If you have an encumbrance upon your property, by the payment cif a certain sum of money on your part the person to whom you are obligated gives you a docuraent freeing your property from any in- cumbrance. That is a release. Well, when a maid becomes a Christian, for, and in consideration of what Christ has paid. in his behalf, God grants him a full release, and all his old sine go down into the very depths of the ocean, never to be brought up again, neither in the crises of this world nor in the Day of judgment; but until arrange,ment is made, "God re-- en—nee teat en-teno. are not responsible for anything that occurred beforewe were born, God will not ask as anything about that. As we axe not responsible for anything We could not help, God willt not ask us anything about that,. But there are in ali our lives, however insigni- ficant, a multitude of events for which we must give an accoant and though Ilia events have gone away from us an angel, to redeem you, Did he? No, sent Gabriel from the throne to resoles you. 0, no. Ue eried out to DliOlael, tile erebangel, "Go forth and ransione that man." 0, no. He, sent His only Son. Now if there had been te,n divine sous in the family, and He had sent one end nine nail staid with Him, the sacrifiee would not have been so greet. • But the Lord's family was small, There was only one Son, end the their eaVerniasteriiin reeArc llties, a $ totAn'e IleVe shrieked in 121.p ea GOd. toenight, So He is dpizx 14 this very -essemblege. Some of- Yo who °time In thoughtless, now feel the. yoe are immortal, God is senian you so loisein ,Veu cannot stop you ears egenet it; "0 mane WIlelre is th 'dying ,neOther's • entreatiee? 0, mut where have you .spent your night sineenepx ehave been in town? 0 men Ile eame fertle and fie °eine here ; and it.you eliould die in,ypur seat to -night the Father was willing thet the divine Where would you g� to ? 0 man, how family should be' beoleen up, and the long will you liver Some one answers Son, should come. Why? To heal your "I expect to live sixty, seventy, eighty wounds, and to wipe e,way your tears, years.' You 'will live longer than to carry your burdens, to die your that? You will. live 'a hundred years death, and, to save your soul; and fee ,You melt live • a quadrillion of years these last ten or twenty years He laae Icon will live a quintillion of years been asking of you one Attie thing, And vvhen Yon have gon'through that and thet is that you would let Him you will be no nearer the terminus of ;ilia stand inside ,the door of your your journey than you are to -night. heart. 0, have you .done it? You .r Bute where'? In What radiance or in cruelty ,to Christ, and your, ingrate- what gloom? Say, say, what of the tude to God make up a very rough night?' On vvhet roacl?.What have been Paragraph. Look at Jesus 1 Whet is the prcpleeciee of the past ten years of He weeping for ? :East He eot got over your life? Are not all the fingers tlae death of Lazarus yet? 0, yes; He pointing one Way? just as certainly is Weeping for the treatment He h4S as this giillere sweeps around, so God received at your hands. He did not de- sweeps around every man's heart to - serve thus, 0, it was herd, after He eight a circle, esaying: Before you came so far, and enclared so much. If come mit of thet you will decide your there eVer was tiny one that you ought destiny " There is in every war a deoisive bat- tle. Once it'was Marathon, onee it was Waterloo, once it was Gettys- burgh, once it was Sedan; but I have to tell yen that in tiles great war' go- ing on about your soul, to -night is the decisive battlel to -night! to-nightt A sailor that was„en board Columbus' 'vessel, when henaine ashore, said, it was a flock of land -birds that shovred them where the land was. He slid they saw them flying just before caPee? I remember two or three times nightfall,' and that they made up • when I came near drowning. I remem- their ,minds that the birds must be go- ber with what chagrin I was obliged mg toward. land; "so," he said, "we to take the last berth in the. teat sleets:- steered in the direction they went, and ing-car of the express train from CM- we soon found land." So, to -night, cago ; but I did not know that before there are aexious souls flying .away morning the two front sleePing-oars toward. Christ and heaven. That is would be hurled over an embankment your direction, and that is the safe dir- in great slaughter, and the frent of coin)... Did. I say it was" Lhe decisive the car in. which I was sleeping would battles Why,, 'heaven or hell, in the be crushed to atoms. I did. not know next half hour, will get the victory for at. 0, I suppose all you. men who all eternity over your immortal spirit. have lived an active life, have run a There is another point at which God great many risks, and have many nere makes requisition and that is the row escapes. Did you not think God last hour we live on earth. I know was calling' to you then? Did you not that physiCia.ns do not like to have say within yourselves: "If I had been many people in the -sick -room. When a on the front of the boat, instead of man is expiring they say it vitiates the in the stern, or if I couldn't have swum air, and. it is abdisturbance; but wheth- or if I had been on the fourth floor er doctors like it or not, when a sin - of that burning hotel instead of the ner dies the room is always crowded, second floor, or if I had been on the from the door to the bedsicleo from the U p train instead of the down train, floor to the ceiling; what would have becomeeof me? I was. CROWDED WITH MEMORIES entirely unprepared then?" Did you heed that warning? 0, my brother, next time you may be on the bow in- stead of on the stern ,• or on the up train instead of the Ion train, or, your arm palsied of a falling spar, you regiment ot past sins. He calls thsoe May not know how to swim. God re- th-rtee regiments, and they come in, arnmembers all these narrow escapes. n.He, they present arms and has made a record of them, and. " ne requires that which is past."' So God. will require 'ot you all the warnings that came to you through sickness. It is very seldom that any one Gurnee to mid-life or even manhood without having been bombarded of toesreora quiet, you eannot silence the disease. You. were driven into a room v es. What is God doing with that and kept there as thoemli saexpeeneolse dense Qn. ,T lac 4 "r squiring Ten ktb eee.i..6;`,..i,%egrguirtihneg nerves, or your iar or your heart, or your limbs, that made "What about those Sabbath -breaking t asked.byyeofurPseerletearinteh nyTyheeurcifureiesntidosn, rides? What about those words bias - and by the doctor was: " Will I ever phemou,s or unclean? What about come out of this? will he ever come those malpractices in trade? What out of this?" And as you laid there about those million bed thoughts dur- and th.e world seemed to be growing ing your life of envy, or hatred, or out of your grasp, and the great Eter- lust, or pride? Come to resurrection nay seemed to be hovering so near all ye days and months and years; that you thought you could feel itS come to resurrection. And they come. breath on your cheek 0, how rapidly There is no anodyne that can soothe you thaught ; what resolutions you neat a pang, for I have tried it. There made ; what vows before God you is no stimulous that can brace up piedeed. Did you keep them? You re- that eouiage. There is no febrifuge member very well that night when that can cool that excitement. You you heard the watchers whispering one may tell all the disturbances to leave to another: and you were alarmed at the bedside and go away; they will your breathing; and the clock struck not go. What is God doing with that twelve at midnight, end the falling of dying man? Ile is "requiring that the clock's bam_mer seemed like a knell which is past." . sounding through your soul. God re- There is one other point at which members that time. He has made a God will make requisition, that is in record of that time." He requiretb that the great final elay. I suppose you which is past." That sickness in which have dreamed of that day. We are you said: "0, God! if I can only get very apt, in our dreams, to have no - well, I will serve Thee." You got well. tions and ideas about things we have Did you serve Him? thought of in the day time, and. every So, also, God will require of year all thinking man has thought -something those. warnings that came to you about that day. saw the day of through the sudden decease of your jausdgabmbeantht owncehe.n hwaadslaatatrhde acionaseiniosf- friends. How many quick ways there tee of Christ preach his farewell ser - horse; to get out of life; a stumbling mon. It had been a day' of ,deeea erne - horse ; the capeizing of a sail -boat, a sep at the bend of the stairs; a break- 1:triounms,peainsd.cvathnadt, night e Iwha:anrodmthuesi:.:lisnt gine3t upaliveoaf rtalitelinrolga;nhwehUfawilienngt to it, for lovas not ready; but the sound had. well; the flash of a thunderbolt : was dreep-sawand.theloiniga;shandofoyear megirneeart- the clash of two swift vehieles, end Splendor, and on one side there was one of your friends is gone. A friend that sat with you at the table, or at a vast illumine,d space filled with the Chamber of Commerce, or in the hthaeerpay wfaacsesa; thick on the fortohmerwhsiisahe Board of Direction, he is gone. You take up a morning paper and you are Dthiedr el Youy oe. seeglesmtheed books hollow wNitoh. shocked. "Why," you say, "the peint- ask me did I see .the great white ers must have got hold of the wrong type. It can't be. It csn't be." But it throne? No. You ask me why? It was beca.use the falling of the moun- was. The store wes closed. You saw it as you went along tobusiness. Friends tains and the hallelujahe a the saved end the shrieks of the lost woke me gathered in aympathy. A long pro- -up and with beswe,ated brow I thought cession was formed going outl toward 0, if the dream is so vivid, evhat will the cemetery. and in the course of three the reality be ! On that day, jest so days the whole story .of sickness, death and its obsequies 'was ended. How did 'Plainly , prophesied. in this Bible, that no man cloabts its coraihg who believes it affect you.? Did you hear the. bell in the Bible—on that day "God will ring? 'That was the alarm of God's require that which is past.' • Though providence. Aye, there was orte went in 'thee tire the books of account out from your own household. heuld be consumed, and the last leaf HOW strEDENLy HE WENT. into ashes, our memories would be There was one that wene from your so aroused and invigorated that they closest business, associatiens. How sues would bring, up all the past. On that eerily he went. suppose that there day our unrepented sins will glare in have been thirty or forty startling upoe us with eyes Of ,fire, and claitela providences in your life, evhenyou were for Us with fingers flame, Is it impressed with the fact More or less e notion of mine? No. Eeclesiateee, tsvelfth and fourteenth: "God hath impressed' with it, that l'ife was uncer- tain, A il.c1 that at; eny inoinent eternity appaintea a. day in which He might: 'move in upon your soul. How Judge the world in righte.ousness by aid you feel about it? Did you put the th.at man whom. He hath ordained." That is, fair etiongh. "0," you say, warnings tbat gave you to any practical application, or has it been' "that wrong thing I did was iri the Nevettheless, God saw there. proved that there lexica' power God's tk_ight.". providerices to move laid arouse and You gay there was not one, present, arreet your soul? 0, my dear friends, and eould not be. 'intend, Neverthe- less God saw 11;1 Without a single ex - if notwithstanding all theee tall the emforgivert „sins of sounding thunders of admonition, you ocPtion, per east life will &Mee up before hs, do not turn to God and live, whet, will and. before an aSsembled uolverse Move you? "God requiretb that whicb will be questioned , them. I We is past. There are three points at which "God say, ,„ „ ' requires that which is past." One is lusle vaxl. U-C411.0•KWYliaN SING. nose. Ninny a man ba, collie to, You will see thein on that day just their& and sat looking at the ceiling, as plainly as you, see the Shaking Of Or tliti lights, exi tit the aleptirel of the Mountains in the chill of it gteat the 'people near hille,or has been coolly terror, and the shrivelling of the hes- eStimating the intellect of the'eareach. vets like a ecroll; and you Will' hear and jut ,at that:moment the tord those sins On that day as plainly as' has turned, ovee on Min all the memere You heat the .baying of the thundere and the aftsh of the Oceene as it Mellen es' cif his pastl HAN and the veleta of 0 to have greeted with a great deal of hospitality, it wee this One; yet you have closed the door in His face, and you have driven Him down the steps, and "God requireth that which is paste, UNHEEDED WARNINGS. Again, I remark that God will require ot you, and does require of you, the warnings that were unheeded all your life. Did any of you have narrow es - crowded until you can crowd in no more. And God, in every sinner's dying room, calls the roll of three regiments: the regiment of past merc- ies, the regiment of past warnings, the they take aim, and. they fire. The saddest and the busiest room in all the world is such a room. You may turn on all the lights, you cannot expel the darkness. You may talk about the importance of having twenty years ago, in God's sight they stand close by us as though they had transpired only three minutes ago. A mariner puts his sea -glass to his eye, and looks off upon the ocean, and beholds the hulk of a charred steamer. The sea is quite rough, and he tells the crew to give a wide berth to that hulk. But, my friends, we cannot steer clear of the dismaated events which burned to the water's edge in our past life. They float all about us, significant and tremendous, fax "God requireth that which is past." UNRECOGNIZED BLESSINGS, In the first place, God will require of us all our past unrecognized bless- ings. When I coiasider how much it takes to clothe,* and shelter, and feed a 'man for only a year, and tlaen cal- culate. how much it would cost him for twenty, thirty, forty, fifty, six- ty yeaxs, I come to the conclusion, when I see you hare to -night, that; you have been very much blessed. Why, the humblest of you has been at an e,xpencliture of $5,000, V7,000, $10,000, $15,000, $20,000 through the coulee of your life. Besides that, you have re- ceived so many things entirely free from cearge. The most of the light you hal) got for nothing. "0," you say, "we have to furnish the lamps and the. candles, and it costs a great deal to light oar rooms and light our homes s. and light our churcheProm five • o'clock in the morning until seven o'clock in the evening, hove much does it cost you for light? Does not God's candle light up the earth and the Hea- ven fax all those hours? and it costs you nothing fax at least twelve hours of the day. So it has beets with the most of your fuel. "0," you say, "wood and coal are up and it costs us O great deal for fuel ;" but from May to October svhose fireplace is it that n Welles the eart? It is God's. And how much does it cost you? Nothing. • You get the most of your light fax no- thing, and tins rtiost of your fuel for nothing, end frem. the moment you were born God, has carxied you. arouttd in the arms of His benefaction. fla ha,s kissed you with His sunshine, and stroked you vvitb Hie air, and bathed you With Xis Walesa, ;int], garlanded you with His flowers, end fed you at His granaries, and rocked you in the i:radle of His beautiful World. Mess- age behind yen; blessings before you; biesangs ort eithet sine Of you; hlese- 'zags above you; blessings beneath you; aleseings within you. What thanks have nee tendered? What gratitude have you felt? Have you been tit -ting , noon, and night:, at as' 'Lord's table without ever praising the divine goodness? Have you elope at night on an easy ataubla and never re- turned. thanks for the divine goodnes8? Have you children be your house, elail- drat hearty, robust and, well, nett have yoe ne,vor reeognieed the divine power that keeps them 'healthy and roseate? 0, Cidcl has been very good to you. Have you been good to God / "God .requireth that which is past." More that that; Ile saw' yoie dying and sent itself in its last agony. "1 saw the dead, small and great, stand before Gott, axta the books were open, and the deed were juslged out of the thinga Written in the bootcs according to their werics; and there was a great enrthnuake, and the sun became black as secirelotli of hair," What peeportieu of this audienee is reedy for that day? Half of it ? hope so—I believe so. If so, let the half who are prepared cry aloud un- to God in behalf of the half that are not. Do you not know that one who sits by, you to -night, thougb he inay be a stranger, will be near you in the last day? 'Will he onthat day be ens ablecl. to charge you with making no effort; to -night for his rescue? Eter- nal God, overwhelth these ehristian °•IC*S1113.130nSialtfltly, sand. eensMe onfllentheaill the impeaitent with a great anxiety. "0," Says some one here in the gallery, "what's the use, of talk - in& b about the thetllef"Uthialast d ll 1Qaur day, w, there is no way out? 1 know 1 have been a sinner, Don't tell me anything about 11." hfo,,b bo pay alt y brdoetIrs,r,anCidilet feeaardlyy y 18 not only to arm met and erase every sin you have ever committed, but as YOn. nlight put your finger in a bet tie of ink and then With the ink on that finger rub out something that had been written on a beautiful Pegs, so God says, He will not only erase your sins and cross them out, but He will blot out your transgression, go that neither man, angel, nor devil can tell. what it was. Now is not -that el:Me- lt-ling to 'believe? Is it not, good news? The arelaangers trumpet: that shall up- set ehe pyramids end sbatter the solid masonry of Westminster Abbey, can- not be blown so loudly that it can wake up a sin when God has buried it. The swimmer thet goes down on the Atlantic beach to bathe has not so' much xoom in the great ocean as there is to -night in the wide fountain of Gochs mercy, for you to come and weal away all your sins, 0, will you, my brother, be so obstinate as to put away this chancs fax heaven? Come to tho Lord Jesus Christ now. How often you have heard that invitation—heard it from platform, from pulpit, from in- dividual Christians, in all circumstan- ces. It hes got to be an old story. °cone to Jesus. Some people scoff at Christians because they n'y thoss three words so often; but, my friends, that short sentence EMBRACES EVERYTHING, and. why should we, not use it, and who cares what the world. says, if only our souls are saved? So I tell you, come to Jesus. Come now, 0 wanderer from thy God; come now. I feel that you must he in earnest to -night. I do not think that on such,a stormy night men come to the house of God unless they have some reason fax coming, and I feel that this is the hour of your sal- vation. I am certain of it now, after I heard the prayers that were offered in the Lay College building at half - past six o'clock, where men laid hold of the horns of the altar and plead with the Lord for His blessing on these services with an importunity He will not deny.. Ever since that I have. expected that the Lord would graciously appear here, and that there ehnield be many souls this night who 01 ib ),:eneyo4..*u ? ili'ince'sgu7'?416";.'rou4 man, what good news it would be to send honae to your father and mother in the country. They ere wondering where you are to -night. What good news it would be to send them. 0, ye who have parents in heaven what good news it would. be to send them. "There ia joy among the angels of God over one 'sinner that repenteth," and I do not believe that you would have been in the hope of the Gospel one minute before they would hear of it before the throne, and cry: "Praise Him! Praise Him! 0, the grecs of Jesus, that bee brought home my lost boy. Hallelujah 1" I can promise you no pardon for Monday. I can promise you no spiritual hope for ten o'clock to -night. There have been seventeen hundred people who have died since we began theservice to -night. There will be thirteen thousand people who will die before to -morrow morning, who will die yet to-night—thirteen thou- sand. I would be very silly to stand here and promise you anything in the way of future repentance and future pardon. "Escape for thy life, lest thou be consumed." Mercy long grieved may leave the gate, and the uplifted sword of justice fall, and then thy chance. is gone and. thy doom is fixed. I suppose that this very moment, while I speak, there are thousands in the world of the, lost who felt once just as you feel to -night, and came just as near being saved_ as you have ccirae, and yet they did not take the decisive step while they could, and now they could not if they would. Beware, lest, through the same halting, you come to tiae same fate. "To -day the, Saviour calls, Ye. wanderers aurae ; 0, ye benighted. souls, Why longer roam? • The. Spirit calls to -day, Yield. to His posver ; 0, grieve Him. not away, 'Tis mercy's hour." THE SUNDAY SCHOOL INTERNATIONAL LESSON, JuLy. 9, "Mantel 1111 Ina1))111k 0." DOS, 1. 8-11. noneen. Text. bun. s,8. PRACTICAL -NOTE& Verse 8. Daniel purposed ' his beast that he would not defile aelf witb the portion of the king's meat. Dtnil is specially inexationed as being the leader of the four y oaths. "Mat" means food in general—the luxurious "rations" given daily te the ,attaches of the court.• So lavish wee the sup- ply that a royal favorite would be able to raithetain a family and servants on the "portion" m of the king's eat. Indeed, quantities of the "king's meat/1 were sometimes sent to the market and. sold. for the benefit of the cour tiers who had received it. Was the danger of " defilement " reel or imagi- nary? It was reel, First, we must reraember that ceremonial defilement was loathsome to a devout Hebrew, ,The whole Mosaic system was an el- aborately acted xeligious parable, Nearly everything in tenure was clas- sified. as either " ceremorainie Pure"' or "ceremonially inapu.re," and there- fore syrabelized either goodness and purity of character or, sin. Lepers, tunong the , diseased, and reptiles, as articles of food, were classified as un- clean because they furnished. ready symbols of moral pollution. For such symbolic reasons the flesh of pigs and rabbits, and of many other animals which are now freely used. for food, was pxohileitede and the animals that Hebrews were permitted to eat must be slaughtered in a peculiar way, so as to be earefully rid of the blood, which symbolized.' ;animal life, and in the interest of purity was avoided. But the Babyloniens cared as little fax such "ceremonial purity" as far the real moral purity it represented, and as the "portion of the king's meat" would inevitably include prohibited food, it was defiling. In the second piece, even the moat immoral n: tions of the an- cient world were in. a we y religious, and it hid become the universal habit to consecrate food to the god that was vrorshiped by the eater. This was not always done, as at our Christian ta- bles, by the asking of a. blessing, but sometimes in the process of cooking, or by aetting aside a, portion for the god; so that the man who was feast- ed by heathens almost certainly par- took of food already consecrated to some abominnale idol. The third cause of defileraeat was one to which many young people are exposed itt the pre- sent day, the evil results '0r luxurious diet. Intoxicating liquors and to- bacco do immeasurable barna, and many highly spiced end tooth- some viands are so prepared as to arouse unwholesome cravings. The pare in heart should avoid all such things. Notice, that Daniers purpose Was “in his heart." it was a moral resolution. Therefore he requested of the. prince of the eunuchs that he might not defile .himself. His con- eltect turenehes an almost perfect ex- eheenifeuperienienewho are tempted. by is did noe-se-elesenseeeneeenetaletneen scold; he requested, "keeping bim.se as long as possible in formal obedienc to authority, and ha made his reques on religious grounds, d'His very re- quest thus became a profession of re- ligion. 9. God had brought Daniel into fay- or.asul tender love. Such a fact evould be explained by most raodern biographers as due' to Dalliers person- al charm. But tha inspired writer implies what the dust of this world's affairs sometimes keeps from our sight, that every event of human life is in a deep sense brought! about by God. The prince of the eunuchs. These eunuchs were men set apart for the care of the royal harem, and their prince was one of the most important personages al cove 10. I fear my lord, the king, He had good, reasons to fear a king whose slightest wish was law. Who hath appointed your meat and youe drink. Eastern despots ,arbitrarily decide de- tails which might wisely be left La the care of subordinates. Worse liking Lhasa the children which are of your sort. Looking less healthy than oth- er youths of yohr age. These young men were four out of many, and as they were brought up to be service- able and ornamental to the court their physical appearance was of importance. Endanger my head. Beheading et ancient: courts was an every day oc- currence. 11. MeIzar. Instead of being a proper name this word means "the steward," the man who directly gave the dinn(srs or "rations" to the young men. Daniel. Hananiah, Mishael, And Azariah. The last there are elsewhere nailed by Chir Chaldean names Shaaraela, Me- sbach, and, Abednego. Daniel also bed O Chaldean • name, Belteshazzar, "Prince -of -Bel." - 12. Prove, Pet to Lhe test. Thy ser- vante. A gracious self -disparagement, Ten days. Short as this time was, Daniers requestwas not an appeal to a miracle. One week and a half al - feeds envie Lime to show the effect of soma foods on health, especialey svhere alcoholic drinks and varied flesli moats are included, and where. so radical it change of the manner of life had, been experiemied as here. Pulse. Vege- table food, especially what is grown trona, seeds. Water. It has been well said, "If the people of the leaned States would try Daniel's experiment it would save eoth year .$'35,0000)0, the cast of suppoeting 500,000 papers." ib tat our countenances be looker upon before thee. Let due tests of our befall be ripplied. As thou seest, deal with thy servants, Throu.gbeut thie transaction' ,Daniel was standing for God, end he was not afraid ti them on God God's task of making the rigbt cense vietbrions. 14. Ile consented. It Daniel bar* itermed rind raved, probably he svonlet have bean refused. The eourtesy 01 his remiest helped to make it success- • 15, Fairer and tatter. • In stre,ngt1 rind beauty the young men had improv ed because of their wholesome diet and beeauee of the bieseing af the Lord. "Men, cloth not live by breed alone, but by every woril that proceedeth om of: the. mouth ot the Leta," le, . Took away the 'portion of their meat and the wine. lie Ol'ilSO.d•their isaMes erten the list of those Who were SULLIVAN AN INVENTOR. Sir Arthur Sullivan has turned his attention to invention. He is respon- sible fax a life-saving apparatus to he attached to • carriages, releasing the horse from the oarriage when occasion arises. This device is due to the sad death by a carriage accident or the late Countess of Latham,. an intimate friend of the composen who set out to devise name means of preventing such fatalities. The "Sullivan safety shaft" has been attached to carriages made by an English firm. , REVENGE. It was apparent that the barber was highly pleased, What has happenedt he was ask - I had tbe pneumonie last winter, be answe,red, • Yes? Well, the doeter who doctored me got out of my ehair just before you come in. If his Wife recognizes hhn when he gets home it'll be by his WISDOM. Why do you say that you will man only it widow? wou, 1 twilit it is the pert of Win dom to get sone oils Who hag already discoVeted thet man are riot an gels. • to be fed by daily "portioseni fro bus royal table, Gave thein pulee. ,Vur- , mitted them to continue the Vielieles sesee food which did eot offerid their consciences, 17. These four ceildrese ‘Itouths,n God gave them knowledge and 1ifl in all leareixig a, aid wisdom Knowledge is the gift of leteil Mit there is no indioatieu here that Gerd by mitaide opened the treasuries 01 knowledge 'tO eseyoaeieii ebleeendtl811e11 avotviodom110ybsaid100 usa ,111 gcodlbYsseZliti°nitawhiC4 wholesomefood. ad hIessintof- the Lord had brought these youee men lege • the foundetIon of their growth in knowledge and w4 - dont, ,The morat eoescience which kept them from defliement by food kept them. from 'vises which would have dulled their iaitellects. Daniel had understanding in all visions, and dreams. He who was about to send the dreams and visions,' prepared the interpreter. 18, At the en& of the days. At the erid of the three trines' training whieli the Ishii; had prescribed. 19. The king oommuned with them, naked freely, and, as Nebuchadnez- zar was evidently himself a man et great intellectual foe-ce, sve 1114,Y sup- pose that his cenversatiou savored some of an examination. None like Daniel, IIananiah, Mishael, and Azar- iah. None showed their clearness of intelleet, Therefore stood they be- fore the king. As counselors and chin( men of state. We troy think of Nei)n- ehadneZZar bejeweled and crowned, seated on a rug, hjs eowase,lors stand- ing bebind him and at.his side. 20. Ten times better than all, the magicians and astrologers that were in all Inc realm. Their wisdomwas so much better because it was part- ly scientific and partly revealed dir- ectly by God, while the priests and astrologers who studied the occult sciences and practiced the blade arts were dependent on neither tbe natu- ral nor the supernatural, on neither religion nor science. but on tricks and conjeetures. BIRTH OF FASHION. It is a curious fact that most of the revolution of fashion' have been due, to the desire on; the part of leaders of soolety to mask some permanent or temporary deformity. In all probability the female costume itself was solely due to the malforma- tion. of the female shape. According to Larisch and Gottfried Schadow it is deficient in harmony of form, the legs bein,g too short for the bust, and the antique sculptor was quite aware, ac- cording to the savants, of the aesthe- tic defects of men's companion, and tried, to remedy them by always drap- ing their figures and placing them in a standing position. In the eleventh' century long shoes were worn. And why? Because a Comte d'Anjou wished to hide the pro- tuberances of his misshapen feet. Un- der Charles VII, the fashion for men was to wear very long garments! sire- ly beceuse the King was angular and - e a -pe t cois I., the one day, the King rec in the head during some amnesty near Romorantin, his leeches cut off t il his locks. At once the fashion changed, to short hair because of his wound. Henri II., had some nasty scars about the neck. This infirmity was responsi- ble for the introduction of ruff collars, and the gouty toes of King. Henry were responsible' fax the bulging shoes so often seen in pictures on the dandies of his period. Princes were not the only cxeators of fashion, which has oleo had its queens. Witness Mnae. Recamier, who, they say, had ugly ears i and fax that reason brought in wide bonnet strings to hid the defect, A parallel case is the "Madonna" style ot wear- ing the hair over the ears, which was introduced by a fam.ous Parisian beauty to hide the fact that her ears were not quite so Shell-like as they might be. ' At the present time it is essential ti. "smartness" to shake hands after e. complioated fashion, quite different from (he ordinary manner of greeting formerly in vogue, The arm. must be raised so that the elbow is on a level with the shoalder—this is an baaport- ant point. Then the arm is gracefully bent so that the hand. descends to a Level with the waist. Does the reader know why this strange rae.thocl came into practice? At a certain epoch the Princess who FAL the fashion was suffering from a sore place under her arm, which pre- vented 'her lowering it as usual. Her ladies in waiting imitated liereind soon (he old-fashioned shake was dethroned, to give place to the new and ridicul- ously abnormal gesture, Ia it right to say that the desire to hide such and sueih a deformity or in- firmity was responsible fax the evolu- tion of fashiot ? That cannot be held in doubt. Misshapen feet, lead to the in- troduction of long Shoes; scars are hid - dee tinder the ample plating of a, starched ruff ;-it diseased scalp is cov- ered with a wig; a sore in the armpit causes an ungainly fashion of shaking hands, .A.I,LIMINUM IN WAR. The German Government possesees several torpedo boete eoestructed af illuminant, end it MIA eieuippee, 4 army corps in nit tneir metal aecontertnents , i with aluminum; these nctuding carte ridge boxes and cartridge cases, cans teens, cline, sword handlee, beerotiet ecebb1rde the devieea on their helmets, ilea the metal work :of Ilis stirrups ;tad acddles. Bven the buttions on their unifortnA and the Pegs ill their boots are tOnStrttotad of the stirle I i gli t tneI01. • APE All the steitere for ,b.girls ,he.nd itt riellieo are ejtpeoted to.l.le generous in' , pre,.19,11ts 10 he, Tlics.$d pvtoottA are • never,- returned. 'There:fora Om • artful fiegiaid bang 'tlefers'a' nest:Vivo lection • of ' the happy Man.' : • : •