HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Brussels Post, 1900-11-8, Page 2FILTHINESS OF THE SPIRIT.
Rev. Dr, Talmage on the Violence of
thereg e w e
�n g � rated Heart.
.rte
A deapatohv from Washington sayei
—Rev. Dr, Talmage preached from the
following text: " Then will: I sprin- j
k19 olean water upon you, and ye
AWL be clean; Prom all your fllthl-
i as, and trawn, all your idols, will I'
cleanse Yen. A. new heart' also will
I give you, and a new; spirit will I
Put within you; and I will take away
the stony heart out of your flesh, and
I will, give you a heart of flesh. Ana
I will put my Spirit within you."—
Eiekiel xxxvi. 25, 20, 27,
There les a dearth in all denomina-
tians,.Millions of dollars for minis-
ters' salary; millions of dollars for
choles; millions of dollars for thumb
buildings, Where is the return for
the investment? You say that one
soul saved is worth more than all
that money. True enough; but be
frank, and confess that, considering
the great outlay the religious advan-
tage reaped has been insignificant.
What is the matter? I think in try-
ing to adopt the Gospel to the age,
men have crippled the Compel. Start-
ing with the idea that the people
will not come to March, if the old-
fashioned doctrines of grace are pre-
sented, they have not sufficiently in-
sisted upon the first theory of the
Gospel, namely the utter and ruin and
pollution of the natural heart. The
inference in many of our churches is,
"Now, you are a very good set of fel-
lows; not as good as you might be,
and in some respects, indeed—if we
must say it --quite wrong ; but, then
we are hoping everything from edu-
cation, refinement, the influence of
the nineteenth century, and a genteel
saligion ; and ao we have gone to tin-
kering the human heart with soft sol-
der, and putting a few patches on the
coat of morality, wnen it is ai, .ruin
out, We have harped on the theory of
development, and h,tped. that man, who
according to the scientists, 'began as
a monkey, will go en impreeins anti.,
after a white, uuder each arm e...1 3e
telt ayro:.ting the feethere ce ere
angle. a wing. T.•.-e:o -a •.. tateaa eat. a
lutea pimp..:r Lee e rea.e.
rieeee
a of c.,rs 'ter -
.Ly Lr ares, aeneree eeeom =ea ee
alt wrong. 1t .a lar- u0 t= •-
a human gnat: ce-y ete :rate Lae wheat -f
the soul. The reason cna: m.re men
are not saved is bees se vo as nee
show their infinite need, tneer a"tea—
yea the rottenness of the human
aeart. If I am very sick, ane 1 ca:.
in a doctor, I do not want him to
begin testing me that there -i nothing'
special the matter with me, and that
all that I need is a Attie patinae, or
gruel, or catnip tea, when 1 want
the most radical and thorough treat -
meat, or in a week I am a dead man.
The Bible is either a truth or a lie.
11 it be a lie, cast it out and shut up
your churches. If it be true, listen'
to Paul in 1.phesians, where he says,
"We are by nature children of wrath;"
to Jeremiah, who says, "The heart is I
deceitful above ail things and desper-
ately .wicked;" to Muses, who says,
"The imagination of a man's heart is
evil from his youth;" to the Psalmist,
who says, "They are allgone aside;
Lhey are altogether become filthy."
,Ale l sin is no half -and -ball thing.
The human heart is not in a tolerable
condition. It is uneleaa. "From your
filthiness will i cleanse you." Sin is
not like wine, that gets better by be-
ing kept; it gets worse and worse.
A.11 the impure thoaghts of your life
have Ieft their mark on your soul.
The text is not too strong when it
speaks of the filthiness of the heart.
Your soul is vilely, terribly unclean.
It is loathsome in the sight of God.
L only take the Bible imagery wheal
say that your heart, unchanged, lea
sepulchre, reeking and stenenfut with
corruption. Sin has cursed you
th ou h and through. o
u h. It is a
le r
g g Posy.
People wbo had that disease in the
olden: time put bandages over their
mouths as they walked in the street,
and oried "Unclean!" And if we could
realize our moral defilement as we
advance, we would cry, "Make room
for the leper! room I" Sin comes into
the heart farther and farther, until it
takes full possession. 11 is a black, a
horrible, a damning thing. rt is not
satisfied until it h ;i
pushed the eoul
into an eternal prison-homse, and
Slammed and abut the door, and
shoved the bolts, and turned the
locks of an everlasting in -
concretion. A heart under auch un-
clean sorcery, how it mise appear to
God's all-scarohing eye! Ile sees it
through and through. Think of the
Holy Ono before whom seraphic pur-
ity is sullied—the One In whose quiv-
er are all the thunder -belts of an
omnipotent God—watching a soul
unclean, and wilfully unclean,
.Again; The text represents the
heart as idolatrous. "From all your
. idols will I cleanse you: liitem our
vary nature we must WOrshap some-
thing. It we da not warship the God
in heaven, we worship something on
earth This man worships pleasure;
this one, applause; this one money,
this tree' his family; That to wilial
a men gavel kala aupreme thought
and affection is his idol. How often
it fulls down, crushing its worship -
pee 1 God will heves no rivals. Amid
fire and darkneaa, thunder and earth-
quake, the arnumand went forth,
"Thou shalt worship the Lord thy
God, and him only shalt thou aer've."
If tbsre is anything on earth that
you think more of than you do of God,
than you are an idolater,
Again; The text represents the
heart as stony or insensible, 1f we
had any appreciation of our unclean
and idolatrous nature, could we be
as unmoved as we aro? No; before
God's umiveese we have been indicted.
The law bus pleaded against us. .L'he
arose has pleaded. for us, elhis night
may be announced our condemna-
tion or our acquittal. We are in-
sd,nsible. I saw men walking the
Louvre Gallery in Paris half -asleep;
no Hach came to their eyes, no flush
to their cheeks, no exclamation to
their lips, amid the most thrilling
triutnplis of painters' pencil and
sculptor's chisel. And so, until
grace touebes our soul, we walk
through the great picture -gallery of
the Gospel, and the wonders of Christ
and the glories of heaven strike no
thrill through the heart. Ali!
there are people who acknowledge
that their heart is bard; they carry
it about like a cake of lee in their
bosom; and they wish it would melt;
they say, "I cannot feel; I want to,
Tbat Spirit comae to every one of
your hearts at some time. There a
Masi says, "Oh for something better 1"
That la a stroke of Odle Spirit, Here
a Man says, "I wish I could be like
My old father and mother before they
died," That was a stroke of God's
Spirit, hers is a man who says, "I
wish I maid get ovar theeo perplexi-
ties about the future world." That
Is a stroke of God's Spirit. Yonder
is a emu wbo`looke all unoonoerned
but be trembles. He knows that
eternity is all 'around him, and that
one stop may plunge him beyond all
rescue, Oh eternity I eternity 1 etero-
ity 1 How many here feel that they
are not ready for it 1 They know that
they are keeping their old nature, end
that eseapt a man be born again he
eanmat see the kingdom of God, Oh
that Gods SPnrit would strike hard-
er to -night and thateach one of these
citadels might be captured i Forward,
ye troops of light. Wheel round the
thundering field -pieces of God's law,
Charge 1 charge 1 TJp I on the parapets
with the standards of li'mmanuel1
Surrender, oh immortal man! Sur-
render, oh immortal woman! Yon
want a new heart. Why not get It',
right away? Have you not postponed
it long enough? I would with both
hands lay bold and rattle the gates
of your soul. For this work you and
I must answer when the earth is
burning, and God is Doming, and the
trumpet is sounding, and the song of
the righteous shall rise into a per-
petual anthem, and the wail of the
wicked drop into the groan of un-
ending pain.
Oh man and woman of many brok-
en resolutions, when you were on the
sea in that storm you vowed; when
you hal that great elekneees you vow-
ed; when that last chld was born you
vowel; when you were bending over
but cannot." The text is true. the grave of some loved. one you vow -
Cold as a stone; Bard as a stone; ed; when, In some great revival, there
dead as a stone. A. company of per- was a stampede far heaven, you vvw-
sons snap -eel of crime were brought ed Tlsese vows have Ivan broken
before a jedgee only. one of thewas Haze you are, getting filer. You
cu
guilty, but how to fend out w nem ch ane have marah-'d mane a male on toward
w -as :ha question- The judge put the .cad of your e.1r1.13:y j.iurney. and
his ear eg . i..st the heart o'_ e nh ane
the .tpereng of year eternal :destiny.
THE SUNDAY SCIOOL,
rte;
1NTARNATIONAL LgSSON, NOV. 11,
rite Wets Alas nun Y,azal'ae.—►,plea 50, 10.31.
uolden Text— "ley up car 2apreelvca
rrMlsai't$ 111 heave,*."—Oats. 0, 10,
'noose 15. A aertntn rlelil man. Un -
aimed, Ile is sometimes called ;lives,
but tenet Is only Um Latin word for
o a rich man," Clothed in purple and
fine linen, In tee Orient a man's so-
cial standing, often his religion and
bis business also, is shown by his
dress. The uniform black garments
of Europe and America, whieh make
a bnakrupt look as "respectable," and
as funereal, as a millionaire, are for -
Eqpt to that Realm of the Picturesque,
A rich man there carries on his person
as much of his wealth as he can, and
in ancient times often ran tlrrough
the whole gamut of color to exhibit
hits wealth. '(Unostentatious wealth is
unknown in the Orient. There was a
famous purple dye, made from a Sy-
rian sea -shell, wbioh was on almost
Incalculable value, but is now lost.
Fine linen was used for inner gar-
ments. It was made f'roan a sort of
flax that gmew on the banks of the
Nile, was as soft as silk, and could
be woven so fine as to be nearly
hransparent. This Egyptian fine
linen was as costly as it was fine.
Fared sumptuously every day. With
wine and song, movement and color,
luxuries for the palate, the ear, and
the eye, he made kis whole life one
prolonged banquet. lieu he ac-
quired his riches wee are not told, for
it would hive little bearing oh the
moral of this story.
t.O. Lazarus, The same name as
Eleazar, which means "Gaal -is -the -
helper." This is the only instance
in all our Lord's parables of a per-
sona] name. Was laid at his gate.
We infer that he was too feeble to
letup there, so had to be borne. The
word translanted "laid," might as
wall be "throwa," left carelessly
there. Gates Lu the East, are infest
ante 1s wed ,r20o he alma to :he ed by beggars. No tial man could
Nit pardon, no peace, no prospect of
gall:% Dae, he aear3 in every thump �_, pass from Its husivass to his domestic
van. 0. Lord Gee, :ay h.:dd of
a' h.. bier^, �a ace—_nt of ea luxuries wathd>ut the presence of beg-,
of :h, e::3?- a ee
• see th tb at: !taa 1a -o Lot h 'i nae plunge off gars. That, however, is nearlyitrue
a 'd in our own ooantry. Everywhere
where there are no sa•,1t,' ' ', have
Yr.
the riot and poor meet fico to face.
a
ns ire w y :h that: cowardice that
that man: If thea 'x h== :est chance,
eee7e el,.;'e- a-,ce_ _s_, ...it%:air_ apses future puntslsment Full of sores. This is to be contrast -
.._e Of
T;
. - Tee, _} $-..tv? y_u '_-:.:t I wamout apaiegy, and that thicika the
• .sea.:?. :Hear _ word. "heli" too vulgar to be used in
--.. ,t y . prase -as. .n . t 33 po.ito assemblies.
fez e tereeYe_ :1 yeete The storm es coming; the cloud that
spr• kl. .i?11 •ar.'.tse ale= yea. and. was otay 2 speck of darkness on the
ye. ele,ie to ^_1e.".. A. new hear: a -..so sky has become a squadron of black
wile i give yaw. ani e. nuwv spirit saes, and the port -holes of the thun-
we. pa: withie you: end I .-1ti take der are opening for the cannonade In
away .ha _,.,,ay neat out of your which ail three who reject God shall
flesh, and I will give yore a heart of go dow,a Canal thou contend with
fixh-" him whose arm upholds the universe.
Abel it is no ansignifican=- process, and whose voice shall announce the
%his cbinge of heart. It is a change dem of all the dead? I tremble to
from[ black to white, from down to ' offend him. Rather would I have all
up, from the ht;hway to hell to the •
highway to heaven—the whole nature
made over again,
Scene the first; Paul, the perse-
cutor. He says, "Kill that man ; he
heaven and hall arrayed against me
than to stand one moment in the
darkness of his frown. Tremble, oh
anfargiven soul, tremble before him.
The God in whose hands is thy breath
loves Christ. Whip that woman; is angry with thee. Wilt thou defy
she believes in Jesus. Open the him any Langer@ ' 'Who will bail thee
prison doors, and get ready out of the prison -house of despairf
the share knives and we will put Who will help thea ashore from an
an end to Christ's religion. Bring
up my horses—fetch up a troop of
horses, and let us dash down to Da-
mascus ami exterminate this religion,
Mount and away 1•' I hear the quick
clatter of the swift hoofs as they
. dash off.
Scene the second; Paula back bar-
ed co the scoarge, and the blood run-
ning. For whom'{ For Jesus. Paul
on the floor of the Mamertine prison,
his feet fast, and the cold shivering
through hie agonized Lody. For it hum?
For Jesus. Paul atandL.g before the
rulers, making a speech that would
have thrilled another audience into
tumults of approval, yet interrupted,
scoffed at, coughed down, charged
with being crazy, and sentenced to
die. For whom? For Jesus.
There are mco who once rejected
the Bible, cared not for God, talk, d
eternal shipwreck? I take the
words of the prophet and cry out,
"Who among us shall, dwell with the
devouring fire? who among us shall
dwell with everlasting burningsl"
The gate of refuge is open—it is
wide open. The Spirit of God, with
flying feat, will bear thee within if
thou wilt. Let not the bells of eter-
nity toll the death -knell of thy soul.
Escape for thy Ufa, lest than be con-
sumed.
A. LIGHTNING CHANGE.
Recently there was quite a novel
experiment in bridge building at the
East Creek station, about eight miles
east of Little Falls. The bridge is
built to carry off flood water when
the East Canada Creek is frozen or
the channel in choked.
The all bridge was 75 feet long and
against high heaven, and now all CO feet wide, containingfour tracks,
their hopes are hung on one strong
In order not to delay truffle more
nail—Lha nail of the cross. One form than was absolutely necessary, the
is to them more glorious than any new bridge, which is a through plate
other—Lha form of the Son of God. girder bridge of steel, was construct-
"I take him," they cry, "through joy ed by the side of the old, one. Both
and sorrow, through fire and flood, bridges were at an elevation of ten
for time and for eternity. Nom, but feet above grade. To facilitate mov-
Jesus I none but Jesus!" They have mg them, both bridgea were placed
a new heart—new in its sentiments, 013 ear truelts under whittle rails were
in i hopes,ee in uta aff'c-
naw isw t Lased on the regular track and nt-
h g
i its ambitions.
Wens new n
inched to hoax ah sin s fastened to
WeiI,'you say, "how queer a man y
both bridges. These chains were pass -
must feel to turn around like that.'' ed around pulleys to give the bridge
The change is wonderful, If now, a sidewise motion. When everything
you hate somebody with a perfect was in readiness, the locomotive was
heti ea, one of your first desires would started. As the old bridge was mov-
ies, after suoh a change, to go and ed to the south, the new bridge, which
shako bands with him. If, now, your weighs 250 Lons, took its place, The
chief aim is to gain dollars, than you old bridge was left' by the side of 1.130
would be more anxious for a fortune tracks, where it will be Laken apart
in the skies. Now you shudder at and removed at leisure, The naw
Lhe thought of eternity; then the bridge having been put in place, went
word would chime like wedding -bells into neo et once.
in your soul, So quickly was the change made
Water has sometimes worn away that the passenger tracks oe the road
the rooks; but 1C that atone of a
were blocked but 20 minutes.
heart were placed under the water
that drops from the eternal fountain,
the hardness would not wear away.
God says to the text, "I will put my
spirit within you," God's holy, graci-
ous, quickening, arousing, rakindliag,
omnipotent Spirit only me do it.
Ertorrrs OFA CONVECT MINE.
The Tennessee conviot coal mine is
paying inebitttion, The profits in t
last six months will amount to mor
than 0100,000,
a
he what (Re ame, amid the delights of
e heaven. Lazarus in hie bosom. This
wretched beggar of earth, was now
.
ed with the sumptuous fare of the
rich man. Hard as times 01008i031 -
ably are, and desperate as is the
oc edition of many in stir land, it
ipi the very tiwu,rt of the heave)* ban-
quet,
24 "c' 1.
, H a vied. Shouted ao that
his Yeelee Weld 'Kier over tire great
cehnsm 'bobweeu the two graupa, Path -
et Aitr'a,ham, lay birth Chits Pleb mai,
Li,ko Lazarus deo, was a sole of Abra-
ham, end this was equivadteeit to
Modern Church m'ambereilip; it fixed
diose relatiann wiitb God and Ills pea -
141e, A quaint olid English divine ab -
serves that the rink man is quite will-
ing to say, "Father Aba'ab'aen," but
even iim hie "(torments" be does not
spy, "Brother Lazarus," Send Las-
ecus, It (would seem at first as if
even' in Hades :'this man blvpgght of
hiimusolf as better than the beggar, but
probably that thought domes from
our modern condiltions, Our Lord pic-
tures him as having concentrated his
attention opn Abraham and Laz-
arus, and he asks that the
duly one of bene two who oouid leave
the banquet should come to his re -
ha. Cool my tongue. His request
for a few drops of water from Laza
rus's finger tips is as moderate as
had been the desire of Lazarus for
the broken pieces of bread. "The man
who had lived so .luxuriously now
speaks of relief for lets tongue, which
had been gro;ified by dainties. This
hints at the elope connection with
sin and its punishment,"—Riddle. 1
am tormented. I am suffering pain.
In this flame. The anguish of re-
morse which comes when the con-,
scions sinner is brought into the
presence of the holiness 01 God, which
ie as a consuming fire, Is as Intoler-
able as the touch of earthly flame
1s to the nerves of the mortal body.
25. Son. Acknowledging the rela-
tionship on which the poor riot man
builds bis hopes. Thou in thy lifetime
receivedst thy good things. The mean-
ing is not that he got good things, but
rather that he lived in those good
things; that his horiz,n was sensu-
ous; that be bad no caro for spirit-
uel life. Lazarus evil things. He bad
in a true sense ohosen pains on earth
as the price of heavenly joys. Not
that the offer was ever made to him
to choose between a life of wealth and
comfort and a life of poverty and
pain. If tont choke had been given
him it would have been his duty to
choose the better of the two, But he
evidently had lived n spiritual life,
and the story shows that he was aa-
coinpanied by temporal misadventure
of the most painful sort. In heav-
en comes God's opportuirlty to right
the wrong.
an Besides all this. Not only is thy
request unjust, it is impracticable.
There is a great gulf fixed. A chasm,
a canyon. Character is. permanent.
Neither can they pass. There is no hint
of a purgatory, a progreserion, or an
still remains true thtt by =apart- eternal hope; but we again caution
soca we do not Lwow in Clanada and our teachers and scholars against re-
western Europe what poverty is: The gird ng this parable as a Deese pm
traiture of the actual conditions in
famished condition of hundreds of tee eternal world. Throughout the
thousands of people in the Orient no story we are in the region of symbolic
imagery.
pen can write.
21, Desiring. Hungering, but not
receiving. Crumbs. We make bread
so fine that the delicate and dainty
might leave the crust amid eat the
met portion; but in the ancient
Orient the crust was the better por-
tion of the Loaf. The inside was
doughy and tough, but the crust was
delicate in flavor and crisp in tex-
ture. It was this soft, doughy part,
which the luxurious wiped their fing-
ers on and threw away, that Lazarus,
wih'ose appetite was sharpened by
banger, desired. Moreover. But
even. The dogs. The ownerless,
hungry dogs o2 Eastern cities are de-
tested by nearly everyone, and would
not have been tolerated by Lazarus
if !ho had had physaeal strength to
drive them away. Linked his sores.
L7h re is no Indication of tenderness
e
on Chair part, and the linking did not
ableviabe, but aggravated, his suffer -
tags.
22. The beggar died. To him death
was happy release. Was carried. His
spirit was carried. His death was
not the end, but the beginning, of
life. The real life is that of the
spirit, which death cannot kill. By
Lhe angels. "This," says Dr. Plump-
trs, "is in accord with the popular
Jewieb belief. Either good angels in
general, or the special guardian ing-
els of the righteous, took on them this
office'.Abraham'sbosomA poular
phrase among the Jews to indicate
the heavenly stale. Abraham was
the father of the faithful., and he Was
supposed under God to "do the honors I
of heaven!. When arienials thought
of the dinner table the picture that
came up to them was of friendly peo-
ple reclining' side by side very near
tp eaoh other, The man who thus re-
clined at the banquet table of heaven
1
next to Abraham would be the most
honored guest—the one who lay in
Abrahams bosom. The rich man also
died. Not all the gold in the Yukon
can buy oft death. Was buried. And
doubtless bin funeral was suitably
pompous; but His of more importance
what becomes of one's spirit than
what becomes of One's body.
28. Hell, "Hades," Lhe invisibles
world, where, In the, belief of the
Jews, Cho spirits of dead men lived
without their bodies; separated, how-
ever, the righteous from the Wicked
Lifted up his eyes. The spirit is repro -
seated as having• senses like to those
enjoyed wad au,fferod an earth. Being
en torments. In suffering. Sloth
Abraham afar off. At we know not
27, 28. Send him to my father's
house. Perhaps from a burning de-,
she to save others—perhaps in a
weak attempt to ammo God of not
having given him enough opportun-
ity. Thatehe may testify antes them.
Tell them what he had, seem• Of their
brother and what he had himself ex-
parieoced,
29. They have Moises and the pro-
phets. Sufflcient to warn a heedful
mato from winked self-indulgence.
90. If dare went unto !them from the
dead, they well repent. This thought
we all have. Haw impressive( wealth
be the words of a .ghost spoken to as
—if suoh a thing could really, be. But
we ame mi.stmiken.
31. Neither will the be persuaded.
They who spurn God's word would
sneer at a voice from the grave. The
;raising dt Lazarus of Bethany was
a singular confirmation of this
statement.
UNKNOWN MOUNTAIN.
Th'e inland trip gave a good idea of
the, country, which is here mountain-
ous in the extreme. It resulted in the
discovery of a hitherto unknown moun-
tain, more than a mita high. This was
named Mount Eliot. Another moun-
tain was named Mount Faunae.
.Adams and Delabarre had to push
their way parallel with the coast for
upward of 100 miles, over mountains
ranging from 5000 to 1000 'feet high.
On account of the intense cold this
region tae no glaciers, and as a con-
sequence the rooks are split apart by
the terrible cold. Every mountain is
eurroundedi'by a long talus, or heap
of disintegrated . stone. They were
forced for a week or more to sleep on
Cha cold mountain tops, become the
valleys were inaccessible, and met
strange animals, of whish the native
Esquimaux could give them no infor-
mation. .The guide could not speak a
wordl of English.
WHERE GOLD WAS FOUND.
When the expedition reached Nach-
vak It faund the ship in the harbor,
with Daly and Palmer taking sound-
ings of the bay and measuring the ad-
jacent mountains. ,A, graphite mine
and 'gold and other minerals were
founds along Cho coast and inland in
this vicinity.
The explorers started to return on
September 9, and Inc nearly a month
i0 was tluaught they hied perished
in the terrible storm whioh. visited St.
John's and its coast that month, The
party anchored safely in the latter
port 0n October 8.
NEW SUGAR SUBSTITUTE.
Syrose is a material used as a sub,
White foe sugar. Itsswootoning pow-
or is 550 times greaterthan that of
sugar.
OUINNSB i Agri ATIONS.
.",Lira exagntinetion for the Second or
degree, of nominate, Ku -yen, only
talpee. &t a ones every th'rae Years,
and he lead in the oapttal of a prey-
inWe, under Cho presideuoy of the Gav-
eano'r,
It begins in autunnn elr lbs eighth
clay of the eighth moon, and oeoulries
(levee amnions' of three days each.
Theetbacel and last stage of the ex•.
amiinations, that for the degr'es of
doctor, Is enacted at the capital, l'e-
kim, undetr, the immediate auspices of
time life-enembere of the Llan -tin, who
are supposed to represent the best
sohalams which the ensplre can boast;
it is also a triennial institution like
the Itis-yan but does not" moue iw the
same, year, or at the same season, it
being' held' in the spring.
By apeciad'invitation 'of His Excel-
lency the Gavetrnar, ;foo -tai, in .lets.
capacity as paenident,et the examen-
a1bon board of the provtnees of the
'd'wo-gwang, and under the guidance
of tart Theodore Sampson, head master
of the Chinese Government School at
Canton, some Europeans wore recently
in a position to witness some of the
oeremonies of ane of these extraor-
dinary examinations for the degree of
licentiate, or Eu-yan.
The enormous examination hall is
ehtuated on the soiutb side of the
Street of Benevolence and Love, near
the prtunoipal east gate of the City
of Raane, as Canton is often called,
and covers an area of 1,980' ft. length
by 000 ft, width; it is divided into
two sections, the southern for the of -
Metals and the northern for the can-
didates.
There is nothing rontarkable as to
architecture, at the outer entrance
and in tete, courtyard, and also' the
principal inner admission portico,
much resembles the style of other of -
Hotel buildings or yauzens; but once
peat the Gate of Equity and proceed-
ingthmough the beautiful Dragon
Gate, will its •rich carvings, into the
Great Avenue, the aspeot is entirely
changed and very impressive. u:
To the right and left are the end-
less rows of Dells in wdnich the canal-
merit
inolosed in strict confine
meat for twenty-four :hours to write
their ase essays.
Thu same texts are :given to alt at
daylight, and the essays must be hand-
ed in the following manning at the
Hall of ltootitude, atter w,blah the
student may leave to re-enter the fol-
lowing day for the next trial
' These cells, with top windows for
daylight and candles at night, are 5
1-2 ft. long by 32-9 ft, wide, and to
say the least, noit vary comfortable,
being sparsely fu'rnishe,d by a desk
and a stool, and with their bare walls
and stone floor present nothing cheer-
fu0, so that the candidate is subject
to a severe strain, bath mentally and
physically; for once he enters, a stud-
ent is not supposed to leave again un-
til the twenty -Sour hours have expir-
ed, or to communicate with anybody
outside, except in case of emergency.
Aelhougb numbering as many as 11,-
616 in total, these cells are often in-
sufficient fox the enormous pressure
of applicants, so that consecutive oc-
cupation bas to be arranged for, in
order to render the competition a sim-
ultaneously valid ono.
--,„--
INTERESTING
rteINTERESTING SOUVENIRS.
Perhaps the most interesting sou-
venir of the expedition is a big stone
lamp, which for 500 years furnished
light to a village of Esquimaux in the
wilds of Labrador. It has been placed
int the Harvard Museum. This lamp
is a large stone instrument, having
two holes in Its top, one large, one
small. In the large hole was kept a
piece of blubber, while in the small
opening a wick made of .native plant
was inserted and lighted. When oil
was needed for the lamp the Esqui-
maux would chow the blubber, ox-
traoting the oil, and then put it in the
small opening. ,A pair of lighting
stones, shaped from iron pyrites, was
also found, Light was made by strik-
ing the atones together and allowing
the; sparks to fall into a kind of cot-
ton -like seed, which grows in the coun-
try.
The expedition also brought back 300
photographs of the country and its in-
habitants, walrus, bear and deer skins,
bones of Esquimaux, skulls, Indian are
rows and pottery, lesquimaux snow-
shoes, kyacks and other things,
CLO'1'II1NG l.1LOMPINL+', NE
BOLES..
N .CULL'
a.
Germans melte flannel undcrcloth-
Ing of the fiber of the pine needles,
as well as socks for mem and stockings
for the women, while knee warmers,
knitting and darning yarns, cork
soles, quilts, wadding, deafening pa-
per for walls, pine -needle soap, in
cense and even oigaes matte from the
raw material have been extorted from
Germany for years. Bathing resorts
have also been established at points
whore the pineneedles are crush
ed, and these resorts have long been
popular with people affitotod with
lrheumatlam and other 11Ls,
4
AN UNANSWERED PROBLEM,
"I don't see," gibe simpered, "how
you ever lame ee levo me,"
"01, well," he gallantly remarked,
"perhaps it would bo bettor to waive
these puzzling loading questions,
ON HER l?IAJ.f:'STY'S SE1dYiO0.
rho nesaengers 8Y*, a'e lliltrllstell WW1
?tela secrets,
Volumes as fasoinitting as anything
in fiction might be written of the
adventures of Her Majeaty's foreign
esrveoe messengers, wbo Darcy the
badge of the silver grey -hound and
the soct'ots of the Cabinet as sabre-
gate dfstenee of something like lane
000 miles a year to every oapitali in .
Lurope.
In these days of steamboats and
swift and luxurious express trains, s
trip to Constantinople and back, even
in winter, is little more than a boll-
day jaunt; but it ,was far otherwise
in days when a man had to parry
despatobes, on which, perhaps, the ,,
fakes of empires bung, aoross a cone
anent aflame with war, and when be
must perforce ride hundreds of miles
in a chaise or on horseback, when
every mile was fraught with danger,
;And yet' it is a remarkable fact
that, although a messenger might be,
snowed -up, taken prisoner, fail into
the hands oe brigands, or be ' ship-,'
wrecked, be newer failed to reach
his destination and to carry with
him his precious despatches.
!For such hazardous and responsi
bee work as this it is necessary to
employ men of remarkable enterprise
and resource; and, indeed, 'all, our -
foreign service messengers are men
who would' find the quickest route to
the lower regions if they were order-
ed to take the despatches there.
;But much of their glory as web as
romance bas gone in these latter
days. A century ago the bearer of
despatches to foreign Courts or Eme
lassies was a gorgeous creature in
uniform of blue and scarlet and gold,
whose progress was almost regal. •Toe
day when he boards bis train at Char-
ing Cross for a journey to Berlin or
Constantinople he is es unrecognise
able in his mufti as any ordinary pas-
senger; and only the initiated can
distinguish him by the leather, of- ti
ficial -looking bag in which are hid-
den away the aeerets of Courts and 0
Cabinets.
Ha still oarrys his badge of office,
whteh, when produced is as potent as
a Kings sceptre; but instead of wear- at
ing it round his neck for the. world
to see, he carries it in the recesses of
a pooket as carelessly as a bunch of
keys. This badge, which is silver
gilt, conslsts of a shield -about 5
tnehes long, bearing Lhe Royal Arms,
surmounted by the motto, "Boni soft
qui mai y pence," and surmounted by
a crown, while a silver greyhound In
Lull run depends from the shield.
He also naturally carries bis pass-
port with the Royal Arms emblazpn-
ed in red to distinguish himself from
the ordinary traveller. Bas despatthte
are carried in bags of white canvas,
eaoh bag being carefully sealed with
the Royal Seal, and bearing a label
with the signature of the Foreign
Secretary and the address of the Am-
bassador for whom the despatehes
are intended.
It is a little singular that mau In-
trusted with such a responsible mis-
sion should receive salaries which
many Government 'clerks would de-
spise. Of the eight foreign service
messengers, four receive £400 e. year
each and the remaining four only
A250. In addition to these salaries
they receive Al a day for subsistence
allowance when 6a
n uotually on s
e
xvico
and, of course, all travelling expenses. -• +
Of the eight present messengers two
are Army captains; but all aro natur-
ally men of good sooial rank and ed-
uoataon.
They take their duty In rotation,
and never know when they may be
summoned or for what destination.
This uncertainty leads to many emus
ing and some decidedly annoying ex-
periences;
x-periences; for, wherever they may bo,
they must obey the summons at once.
Thus it commonly happens that e
messenger may be called away from
a dance or dinner -table without time
to exchange his evening suit for tra-
velling apparel; and there is at least
one case in whioh a messenger start-
ed on a journey to Teheran in the
fancy-dress costume of a mediaeval
knight, eftecting the transformation
to this oentury attire in the train,
—4—
BULBS T1IAT DIE,
'1Vie hyeeenth, the narcissus, the daf-
fodil, the tulip and the lily all give
themselves up to death this, their
little ones may live. The gardener
picks out L•ho most perfect bulbs to be
mothers, and from each outs off a
shoo with his knife. The wounded
bulb is then covered with lime and ex -
Need bo bhc heat of the sun4 After a
few weeks the wound bears some 15
or 20 baby bulbs. Then the mother
is planted, ami next summer the lit-
tle bulbs will have grown into thriv-
ing planta. But the mother deep -
pears, and not a trace of lit is to be
Lound in the earth. It has given; all
lbs sap, its life, its existeanoo, ,to
niaurisb the children,
AVERAGE. SIZL 011' WHALES:
The average whale is from 00 'feet
to 65 feat in length and 55 fedi in car-
oumfeaenee. The jawbones arc f0
feet to 25 feet'long, wad a Longue has
been lnnowu La yield almost a ton of
oil, -
t
e'
w