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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Brussels Post, 1899-5-5, Page 6BrI7ssELS POST. MAY 5, 1899 PDT 1 RING ON HIS HANDL REV. DR. TALMAGE SPEAKS OF THE PRODIGAL SOL A. d'r1'eeg impression ,Abroad es to Deli - Are Axxlired el EtotvliU De. Domes 81'M, the Ring ur Christ's Aden' ileo IIpon One Ilanit-lie linden% You With All Itis `I'ealth-An Unlnalledl Invitation Mr ail to Come tO I.ed. A despatch from Washington says: -Rev. 'Dr, Talmage preached from the following text: "Put a ring on his hand," -Luke xv. 22. T tvi11 not rehearse to you the fam- iliar story of the fast young man of the parable. You know what a splen- did home he left. You know what a hard time he 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 of Parental forgiveness. Well, there is great excitement one day in front of the door of the old farm house. The servants Dome rushing up and say: " What the matter? What is the matter?" But before they quite arrive the old man cries out: "Put a ring on his hand." What a seeming absurd- ity. Whet can such a wretched men- dioant as this fellow that is tramping on toward the hone want with a ring? 0, 1318 is the prodigal son. No more tending of the swine trough. No more longing for the pods of the carob -tree. No more blistered feet. Off with the rags! On with the robe Out with the ring l Even so does God receive every one of us when we come bank. There are gold rings and pearl rings, and eornelian rings, and diamond rings ; but the richest ring that ever flash- ed on the vision is that whioh our Father puts upon a forgiven soul. I know that the impression is abroad among some people that religion be - means and belittles a man; that it takes all the sparkle of his soul; that he has 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- plier is in infinity. It is not a blotting out, it is a polishing, it is an arbor escence, it is in efflorescence, 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 upon the messenger angels that wait upon the throne to fly and "put a ring on his hand." In Christ is the largest liberty, and brightest joy, and highest honour, and richest adornment. "Put a ring on his band." I remark, in the first place, that when Christ receives a soul. into His love Hie puts upon him the ring of adoption. To my church in Philadel- phia, there name the representative of the Howard Mission of New York. He brought with Line sight or ten chil- dren of the street that he had pick- ed up, and he was trying to find for 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: "Pll take this little bright-eyed girl, and I'll adopt her as one 02 my own chil- dren ;" and he took her by the band, lifted her into his carriage, and went away. The next day, while we were in th'e church, gathering up garments for tile poor of New York, this tittle child came bank with a bundle under her arm, and she said: " There's my old dress, perhaps some of the poor 0hil- dren would like to have !t," while she eterself was in bright and beautiful ar- ray, andthose who more immediately examined her said that she had a ring on her band. 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 blood that pours through their arter- ies. In their line there was a lord, or a duke, or a prime -minister, or a king. But when the Lord, our Father, puts upon us the ring of his adoption, we become the children of the ruler of all nations. "Behold, what manner of love the Father hath be- stowed upon us, that we should be 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 I 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 veins, and there are Browne 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 i When we have the family secrets. The seoret of the Lord is with them that fear Him." Adopted! Then we have the family inheritance, and in the day when our neither shall divide the riches of heav- en we shall take one share of the mansions, and palaces, and temples. Henceforth lot us boast no more of an earthly anoestry. The insignia of eternal glory is our coat -of -arms. This ring of adoption puts upon us all hon- or and all privilege. Now we can take the words of Charles Wosle', that prince of hymn matters, and sing: "Come let us join our friends above, Who have obtained the prite; And on the eagle wings of love To joy celeatiai rise, " Let all the saints terrestrial sing, 1, iLh those to glory gone; For all Elle servants of our king, In heaven end earth, are ons." I have been told that When any of the members of any of the great tw- eet sooielies of this oottnt ry aro to diatant oily, slid are In any kind of trouble, and are set upon by enemies, they have only to give acertain signal, and the members of their organization will (look around for defeuoe. And when any man Uelun s to hla great e at Christian brotherhood, if he gets in trouble, in trial, in persecution, in temptation, be has only to show this ring of Christ's adoption, and all the armed cohorts of heaven will come to his rescue, Still further: when Christ takes a' soul into his love He puts upon it a marriage ring. Now that is not a whim of mine. "And I will betroth thee unto Me for ever ; yae, I will be- troth thee auto Mo In righteousness, and in judgment, and in loving -kind- ness, and in meanies," Hosea U. 19. At the wedding altar the bridegroom puts a ring upon the band of the bride, sig- nifying love and faithfulness. Trouble may come upon the household, and the carpets may go, the pictures may go, the piano may go, everything else may go; the last thing that goes is that marriage ring, for it is consider- ed sacred. In the bridal hour it is withdrawn from the hand and kept in a casket, and sometimes the box is opened on an anniversary -day, and as you look at that ring you sea under its arch a long procession of precious memories. AN ithin the golden Circle of that ring there is room for a thous- and sweet recollections 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 amid the aroma of orange -blossoms, you set that ring on the round finger of the plump hand, and that other hour when at the close of an exhaustive watching, when you knew ihrtt her soul had fled, you took from that hand which gave back no responsive grasp, from that emancipat- ed finger, the ring that she had worn so long and worn so well. On some anniversary -day you take up that ring, and you r'epolish it until all the old lustre comes beak, and you can see in it the flash of eyes that long ego chased to weep. 0, it is not an un- meaning thing when I tell you that when Christ receives a soul into His keeping, He puts on -it a marriage ring. He endows you from that mom- ent with all His wealth. You are ono, Christ and the soul -one in sympathy, one in affection, one in hope. There is no power in earthor hell to effect a divorcement after Christ and the soul are united.. Other kings have turned out 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 10 divorce Margaret, the Scotch girl, from Jesus? They said: "You must give up your religion." She said: "I oan'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, expeoting that as the tide Dame up her faith would fail. The tide began to rise, and came up higher and higher, and to the girdle, and to thet lip, and int 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 cannot co it. Is it too much exultation for a elan,, who is but dust and ashes like myself, to cry out this mot ning: "I am persuaded) that neith- er height, nor depth, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things tocome, nor any other oreature shall separate me from the love of God which 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 oue link, and that one link the golden ring of God's everlasting love, Is the harbour where you can drop safe anchorage. Would you not like, I ask you -not perfunctorily, but as oue brother might talk to another - would you not, like to have, a pillow of rest tee put your head ono And Would, you not like when you retire at night to feel that all is well, whither you wake up to -morrow morning at six o'clock, or sleep the sleep that knows no waking? Would you not like to exchange this awful unoer- Ininty about tbe future for a glorious assurance of heaven 2 Accept of the Lard Jesus to -day, and all is well. If on your way home some peril should cross the street and dash your life out, It would not hurt you. You would rise up immediately. You would stand in the celestial streets. You would be amid the great throng that for ever worship and aro for mot. happy, 11 this day some sudden disease ahonld come upon you, it would not frighten you, If you knew you were going you could give a calm farewell to your beautiful boane on earth, and know that you are going right into the com- panionship of those who have already got beyond the toiling and the weep- ing, You feel on Saturday night dif- ferent from the way you feel any other night of the week,. You come home from the bank, or the store, or the shap, and you say: "Well, now my week's work Ls done, and to -morrow is Sunday.' It is a pleasant thought. There Is refreshment and 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 our bed of dust, we can realize: "Well, now the work is all done, and to -morrow is Sunday -an evailasting Sunday," I go a step further, and tell you that when Christ. .receives a soul into His love ele 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 Lo be- stow such a gift upon your children at such a time. It means, joy, hilar- Ity, festivity, Well, when ibis old man of the text. wanted to tell how glad he was that his boy had got bank, he expressed it. in this way. Ac- tually, before he ordered sandals to be put on his bare feet, before he ordered the fatted calf to be kille& to appease the boy's .hunger, he commended: "Put a ring on his hand." 0, it is a merry .time when Christ and the soul are united. ' Joy of for- giveness! What tt splendid thing it is to feel that all is right: between me and God. 'What a glorious thing it is to have God jus, take up all the sins of my life and put: them in one bundle, and then fling them into tbe depths of the sea, never to rise again, never to he talked of again. Pollu- tion all gone. Darkness all illumin- ed. God reoouciled, The prodigal home. "Put u ring on his hand." Every day I find happy Christian peo- ple. I find some of them with no second coat, soma of them in huts and tenement houses, not one earthly com- fort; afforded them;• and yet they are as happy as happy can be. They sing: "Rock of Ages" its 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 effe.otlon, 0 !roes 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 brot:ber. That is not the effect or religion. True religion is a joy: "Har ways are ways of plea- santness, and all her paths are peace." Why, religion lightens all our bur- dens. It smooths all our way. It in- terprets all our sorrows. It changes the jai' of earthly [Mooed for the peal 55festal bells. In front of the flam- ing runtime of trial it sets the forge on whioh sceptres are hammered out. Would you not like to -day to come up from the swine -feeding and try this religion? All the joys of heaven would Dome out and meet. you, and God. would cry out from( the throne: "Put a ring on his hand." , You are; not; happy, I See it. There' is no peace, and some- times you laugh when you feel a great deal more like ,Crying. The world is a Chat. It first wears you down with its follies; th'ent it kicks your out into darkness. It comes back from the maasaore of a million solus to 12 ti mope the dcsbruetion of your soul t.o-day. No peace trot of God but here is the fowl. lain that enn slake Ito thirst. l-1ere "0, when, thou city of my God, Shall I thy courts ascend? Where congregations no'er break up, And Sabbaths have no end." There are people iu the house to -day who are very near the eternal world. If you are Christians, I bid you be of good cheer. Bear with you our con- gratulations to the bright oily. Aged men, who will soon be gone, take with you our love for our kindred in the better land, and when you see them, tell them that we are soon Doming. Only a few more sermons to prettoh and heat'. Only a few more heart- aches. Only a few more toils. Only a few more tears. And then -what an entrancing spectacle will open be- fore usl "Beautiful heaven, where all is light, Beautiful angels, clothed in white, Beautiful strains that never tire, Beautiful harps through 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 !n this Church. On the next Lod's day the door of communion will be open, and you will all be invited to. come 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 an 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 _ltink ;,Sat the Church does not amount to much ; that it is obsolete ; that it did its work and is gone now so far as all usefulness is concerned. It is the happiest place I have ever been in except my own home, I know 'there are some people who say they are Christians, who seem to got along without any help from others, and who culture solitary piety. They do not want any ordinances. I do not belong 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 all the symbols and 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?. Then by a simple, childlike faith apply for ad- mission into the visible Churoh 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 great many people ; but the Lord Jesus declared : Ho that believeth and is baptized, shall be saved," putting baptism and faith side by aide. And an apostle de- clares: "Repent and be baptized, every one of you." I do not suckle for any particular mode of baptism, but I put great empbasis on the feet that you ought to be baptized. Yet no more em- phasis than the Lord Jesus Christ, the Great Head of the Chureh 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 hast 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 sheaves? Some of you have been thinking of this subject year after year. You have found cut that this world is a poor portion. You want to be Christ- Lacs.. You have come almost into the kingdom of God; but there you stop, forgetful of the fact that to be almost saved is hot to be saved at all. 0, my brother, n.fter having (some so near to the door of mercy, if you turn back you will never come at all. After all you have heard 02 the goodness of God, if you tarn 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 -destroying man; Ye Who persist His love to grieve Mee, never hear His voice again." May God Almighty this hour move upon your soul and bring you bank from the husks of the wilderness to the le'ather's house, and set you at the banquet, and "put a ring on your hand. INDIe1'S RICHEST PERSON. The richest person in India in pri- vate life is a eix-year-old boy, who has just inherited an estate of $0,000,000, MS is the son of the late Sir Asmau Tall, and his mother has been appoint- ed solo executrix of rho estate until he becomes 01 age. The estate is esti., mated at 27 crones, which is equivalent ftp L1,800,000. There were 178 ocean disasters in 15(81!. YIYti'tYJY,41fai�hAlrJdkdfikd IVr1AftM1114NN11� HOUSEHOLDC a V111??IMir, 41At1l,1lWVY45NWU NOB44NUB1NRI�W QUEEN VICTORIA AS A HOUSE- IEEPER. Queen Victoria is a first rate house- keeper. She is the mistress of palaces, castles, and country -houses, and, al- though the aatcal daily housekeeping is, of course, done by deputy, the !toy- al head of the establishment remains ever in a very real sense the mistress. She perceives immediately anything amiss, and perceives also the remedy. She is a kind but also an exaoiing mistress, and as she pays well, and never fails to consider a reasonable ex- cuse, quite properly demands good ser- vice and tolerates no shirking. A recent little volume upon her private life re- lates several entertaining household anecdotes of the Royal lady's ways. She has, it seems, a dislike to cold meat, whioh she never eats. But eti- quette demands that at luncheon aside table shall stand ready provided with oold fowl and a oold joint, no matter what varieties of hot food the dining - table may offer. These' viands being never cal,ed for, the nook grew careless and one day the Queen's quick -eye ob- served that the side -table presented only a very mean and meagre half of a small and unattractive -looking fowl. Promptly giving e hint to her near- est neighbors, the Princess Beatrice, and Lady Ely, her Majesty requested a slice of cold chicken, the other two ladies desired the same. The poor lit- tle fragment was brought into sudden prominence, to the consternation and confusion of the cook, who never Se far forgot himself as to sl, ht that side -table again. Like every good housekeeper, the Queen knows and remembers her vain - able household possessions, and is fully aware of their individual merits and the places where they ought to be kept. She does not know them all, for they number thousands. But hundreds of them she does know; and elaborate catalogues are kept of the real, -fur- niture, brio-a-brao, china, glass, silver; draperies and other furnishings -by her order, and in large leather-bound books provided in a000rdanoe with her ideas. Only a small proportion of her many hundred articles for table service are actually in ordinary use; and she is in the habit of using but three of her many servioes of plate and china at Windsor Castle. But ones after a talk, with the Ger- man Ambassador, who was visiting her, the members of the Queen's household were surprised on coming to the table to behold strange china set before them, each plate adorned with land - It It soon appeared, that the Ambassa- dor, having mentioned in the morning that his birthplace was Furstenberg, the Queea bad recalled to mind n ser- vice of china, never used, and for nine years put away and forgotten by ev- etyone but herself, whioh had been manufactured there, and was decorated with painled scenes of the town and its vicinity. She knew exaotly where it was, and how it looked, and by her order it had been produced and used at dinner - suety a very pretty attention from a Royal hostess, as well as something of a feat of memory in a Royal house- keeper. TO CLEAN LINOLEUM. Linoleum should never be touched with either soap or a scrubbing brush. Have it well wiped over with a soft flannel cloth and warm water, drying it carefully with another Olean cloth. Skimmilk is also a very good thing to wash it wtih, as it gives it the gloss you wish for. The great rule is to wash linoleum .as seldom as -possible, unless you use skim or sour milkfor thepurpose, and every now and then polish' it with linseed oil or occasional- ly with beeswax 'and turpentinefurni- ture polish. Sept in this way it will both look nicer and wear infinitely bet- ter, for scrubbing wears it out and too much water rots it. [SPONGE AND ANGEL CAKES. A rioh sponge cake is made by the following rule: Six large eggs, three gills of sugar, three gills of flour and one lemon. Wipe the lemon very clean and grate a little of the rind into a deep saucer, squeeze the juice on this; beats the eggs, yolks and whites sep- arately; add the sugar to the yolks, and beat until light; add the lemon - juice and rind, and boat a little long- er; put the flour and the whites of tbe eggs into the flavored sugar and yolks, adding only a little at a time and doing the work lightly and gently, seas not to break down the frothy egg; pour the mixture into paper -lined pans and bake in a moderato oven. The time of baking will depend upon the thickness of the loaf. If it be three inohes deep when put into the pan it. will take one hour to bake. The slow oven will cause the sponge to rise, evenly, making the cake tender, etch and moist. Angel cake names under the head of sponge cakes ; !t le one of the most delicate Oakes that is made, and is as nearly "next to nothing" as It is pos- sible to be. This cake should be baked in a round tin with a funnel in Limo center, fund the tin should not be greased. If you aro going to form the angel cake habit and make it fre- quently 1 would advise that you keep a pan 'sacred" to the baking of this special cake, It will etc more likely to bo always in condition. The sucooss of angel cake depends upon the baking and the proper beating of the eggs, For thi8 Cake you will use the whites of five eggs, one want gill of pastry - flour, after siftin 'o e flour, measure g, n and nen-help Hill,: or nrtvdar•orl air nn,• half a teaspoonful of cream of tartar and one half a teaspoonful of vanilla 03(100ot, Mix the cream of teeter with the flour, and sift four times; this 15 so that the flour will be as light as 11 da possible to mairo it, and not packed at all. Beat the whites of the eggs to a stiff, dry froth, sift the pow- dered sugar 011 2110 eggs, and boat for three minutes; add the vanilla ; gradu- ally add the flour, and beat it in quickly; bake for about forty minutes in a rather cool oven. When the cake is baked take the pan from the oven and invert it, letting it rest on a sieve or rack, so that there shall be a bur - rent of air all around the cake while it cools, FOREHANDED. Thrifty housewives aro looking well to the ways of their household by in- ventorying the summer's sewing, and repairing old garments and making such new ones as shall be required for ass in the early spring -time. Let us begin with the linen first. Carefully inspeot the table linen. Cloths that are too much worn to longer do duty on the dining table, can be out into napkins, tray or lunch cloths. While such pieces as are not sufficiently good for these purposes should be neatly hemmed and used for wiping the silver. Why not hemstitch the new linen? Time was when the "drawing of the threads" in such firm fabrics was a most disagreeable teak, but this ob- stacle has been removed since the learned to soap the threads to be drawn with a bar of hard soap, toilet and laundry are equally effective, The bedd ng should be looked over, re- paired where possible and make a good supply of new, so that frequent changes can be made during the heat- ed season. There Is real economy in thus changing. The bedding is more easily washed, consequently will last longer, and the housewife is less tired than if obliged to wash dirtier pieces. Next in order come the undergar- ments and hoisery for the various members of the family. By the time these are done with, the everyday work dresses and kitchen aprons, the wash suits of the wee !eddies and lit- tle maidens can be made. There are so many pretty designs for these gar- ments illustrated in the pattern page that no one need dress herself or any member of her household in any but modern and b000mingly made gar- ments. It is well to remember that the simpler styles are the mors ele- gant, and that inexpensive but pretty and durable fabrics should be select- ed in wash goods. HOW TO CLEAN GLOVES. Flora is a glove "wrinkle" used by a well-known society lady, and which ie vouched for by her us infallible int its effects: She prooures a tin box, or a jar with a tight, close fitting cover. and puts into the bottom a lot of lump ammonia. Then she suspends the gloves in the box or jar, closes it tight- ly, and allows it to remain this way four or five days. At the end of this time she removes the gloves, and every spot will be. found to have van- ished. EVER, -READY GLUE. To prepare glue for use all any time it is only necessary to put the quan- tity desired into a bottle and cover it up with whiskey. Cork tightly and set it away for a few days, when it will be fit for use. Glue thus pre- pared will keep for years. CAPTURING A PYTHON. Remarkable Exhibition of Strength In a Snake. Pythons are numerous in the Philip- pines. We often heard lee very large ones, says Mr. Dean C. Woroester in his interesting account of these much - talked -of -islands, but the nearer we got to them . the smaller. they .grew. Finally, however; we got a fine specie mem Some Men had found':him oohed up under a fallen ares. Arranging rattan slip -nooses so that he could not well escape them', they had then poked him' till Ile crawled into their snares, when they jerked the knots tight, and made the lines fast to trees and rocks. When we reached the python I nearly stepped. on bine, for he was stretched out on the ground and look- ed for all the world like a log. A ven- omous hiss warned me of my mistake, and caused Me to beat so sudden a re- treat as to afford great delight to the assembled crowd of Tagbanuas. The reptile had about three feet of play for his head, and I thought it wise to treat him with respect. Drench- ing a handful of absorbent cotton with chloroform, I presented it to him on the end of a piece of bamboo. He bit it savagely and it caught on the end of his long, recurved teeth, so that he could not get rid of R. Then I saw a most remarkable exhibi- tion of brute force. Under tho stimulus of the chloroform that python broke green rattans three- quarters of an inch in diameter, and that without apparent exertion. There was no thrashing about. It was all quiet, steady pulling. He soon broke or twisted out of every one of his fast- enings except a running noose around his neck ; and getting a hold for his tail around a stump, be pulled until it seemed as if his head would come off. Eventually the chloroform quieted him somewhat, and I gave him more. When he was 8ti11, I stabbed him, to the heart to prevent further diffi- oulty, and removed his skin. He meas- ured twenty-two feet and six inohes, ago A VITIATED TASTE. I suppose, she said, you are a close student of literature? No, answered the young man with black eimmed glasses, I'm a student Of illttcraiure. I like dialect startles. What a lawyer doesn't think ha TO TELL THE WEATHER. THE VARIOUS WAYS BY WHICII I7' CAN BE FORETOLD, ...-• ilk one Knows Ilea to Head Nai,u'e's Slg the llovernn,ent iialletlnx are Uaneees. eery-'l-'eld by Actions or Animals sad AP110111,1111d0 et the Pleads, Atmospheric phenomena in all ages has been a source of great speculation nut only to the soieniifio mind. but to those of lowly pretences; in fact, no class of men aro or !rove ever been free from the luvo of prognosticating the weather. The aeoumulated observa- tions of ages has demonstrated that many signs of atmospheric changes are, without doubt, to be depended upon excepting in very, vary dry weather when ell signs tail and even the wahine thio signal service finds its prodloiions aro faulty. Coming events -in a weather sense - always oast their shadows before them, and it is only necessary to read those shadows correctly in order to become a fair prognosticator or weather prophet. The instinct of animal and insect life and the sensitive vegetables and plant furnish the most numerous data by which the common people of the world foretell the o„ming weather, and it is remarkable how true are their predic- tions. The sun, moon, planets and stars all have, been closely observed by the unlettered, and their appearance to the eye, regardless of their astrono- mical situation in the heavens, are made to forecast all and every change and condition ob weather. Among the popular prognostics whiob indicate wet weather, are oats washing their faces, dogs becoming drowsy, hogs running with straws or leaves in their mouths, spiders leaving their webs and crawling about on the fences and walls, swallows skimming the sur- feoe of tee earth, insects of all kinas drawing near the ground, flies becom- ing very troublesome and stinging with unusual vigor, frogs making con- tinuous noises, leeoees in jars being very aotive, 1L13EUMATIC PEOPLE. complaining of aches, and numerous others, alt of which have for ages been "sure signs" of atmospherio disturb- ances and rain, An old provers nae it Au evening red, and a morning gray, Are sure signs of a fine day; ' Be the evening gray, and the morning• red, Put on your hat or you'll wet your head. Sailors have their signs and proverbs, and it must, be said that .they very seldom sail in their predictions, even where they atm cirrus clouds, which they cal! mares' tails, they know that a rain is close at hand; and the sunset and sunrise always indicate the weath- er for the following day. They say: Red at night, sailor's delight, Red at morning, sailor's warning. And again they have it: If woolly fleeces strew the heavenly way. Be sure no rain disturb the summer day. During clear weather if ons sees clouds form and disappear in quiok succession it is a certain indication that the fine. weather is over; and - When clouds appear like rocks and towers, The earth's refreshed by frequent showers. A halo around the sun or moon de- notes rain in summer and snow or sleet in winter, and the larger the Menlo the nearer is the downfall of moisture. When the new moon rests upon his back wet weather is sure for nearly seven days. But when the moon rests upon one horn with its back to the west clear weather may confident- ly be predicted. l Probably the. most noted plant which beeeousts the weather is' the "chick- weed," and it is a MOST EXCELLENT GUIDE, There wit be no rain when its flowers are expanded freely, for with the least moisture in the air the flowers begin to close, and when the rain comes they are closed entirely, "The poor man's weather glass" is the pompern-1, and the regularity with whioh it closes its petals at the approach of wet or foul weather is truly remarkable. All water fowl become more active and noisy just prior to storms, and sea- birds approach the shore with very few exceptions. Geese and ducks will dive and splutter in the water, and barn- yard fowls becomo agitated. The hooting of owls in the afternoon de- notes rain, and the piercing sor'eam of the peacock is always heard before a storm, Water rats will invariably leave the water before a thunder shower, and mine and rats will quarrel and fight among themselves; ants hus- tle about, parrying their eggs, and seem very uneasy before approaching wet weather, Bats flying of a summer evening and remaining out late at night, denote pleasant, dry, weather, but if they seek shelter and enter the houses, wet weather is sure to follow. Sheep are very rentatant to leave their pasture when rain is expected, and they seem to have au extra good appetite at such times, ,!'hese are only a few of the signs, mostly for summer weather. But the Indian sign for wet weather has novel' been known til fail. They say: "When it is cloudy all round and pouring down in the middle, then expect wet weather." DRUNKENNESS ON INCREASE. Statistio0 oolleoted by a London tem- perance society show that drunkenness Is on rho increase in England and Wales. T,he increase in the number of prosectitiolls brought during the past year over those in the preceding Lwelvemontb was 0,077. The total number of prosecutions was 110,789, tee which 67,207 were brought against per - ewe. lee wenn the nirn or 21 anti ep. EXPLORING THE UNKNOWN TWO LARGE EXPEDITIONS TO START FOR THE ANTARCTII IN 1000. '1'nun England Money ix Seemed n q dand liernatny \I'1111'uI Thea, 111 the Mehl- Thoy l:xpeat to be 4one Two Yearx- O,lillno or theft. Selontllle Programme. The splendid douatioa of $120,004 whiob Mr, L. W. Langstaff, a Fellow of the Royal Geographical Society, hat just etude for the purpose of equip- ping a British Antarotio expedition, settled the question of Great Britoin'1 participation in the work of disoovery in that vast unknown expanse which' Germany will enter upon next year, The Royal Geographical Society start- ed the subseriiption with $20,000, and these two donations, amounting tit $100,000, assure the finances of the en- terprise. It is not at all unlikele that the fund will be increased to al lsimst $200,000, which is the amount the society desired to raise. At tiny rate, a sufficient sum' is already secured to enable England to oo-operate with the finely equippjid German expedition which will enter the Antarctic: field next season under the command of the distinguished Greenland explorer, Dr. Erich von Drygalski, whose writings on Arctic glaciers are conceded to be the most authoritative on that topic. Scientific societies of Great Britain and Germany have been planning since 1805 for this renewal of Antarc- tic ntarestic exploration on a scale so large as to take part of the world oat of the realm of the unknown. A year, ago last month the Getman Commission met at Lelpeig and adopted the plan of exploration which Drygalski will est aboat carrying out next year, It is probably the MOST THOROUGH SCHEME of polar investigation ever devised. The British experts fully approve of the German programme, and instead of working independently on lines of their own they will join the Germans in carrying out their ideas of what is best to be done in Antarotio explora- tion. This does not mean that they will occupy exactly the same field, but that they will have the same scientific programme in view. Sir Clements Markham, President of the Royal Geo- graphical Society, has distinctly an- nounced since Mr. Langetaff's gift as- sured the sending of a British expedi- tion that the British vessel will co- operate with the Getman expedition. The fact that the two expeditions will be engaged in work on the same lines gives additional interest and import- ance to the German plan of action, of which the following are the leading features: The Drygalski expedntion proposes to sail about the beginning of August, 1900, and to return in dune, 1002, an absence from home of nearly two years. The exploring steamer will carry twenty-five mon, of whom five a geographer, geologist, biologist, ob- server of magnetic phenomena and physician, will compose the selentifio staff. There will be five ship's of- ficers, including two engineers, end fifteen mon in the anew. The purpose is to winter on Victoria Land, discov- ered by Ross, fifty -Dight. years ago, and the nearest approach to the South Polo yet made; in the southern spring of 1001, to advance over the toe of Vic- toria Land by sledges toward the South Pole; in the summer and early annum:. to fix the location of the south magnetic pole, anti if possible to ex- plore the west coast of Victoria Lend. whioh has not yet been visited, and later in the same season to start north- ward for home, The advance mato the Antarctic area wilt be made on the meridian of KER,G Uk7LlN ISLAND, whose advantages for this purpose are believed to be that'nti attaok,apon thee eou1h polar regions hits yet been rondo. along this line; that- the magnetic work of thn expedition may be diroot- ly .connected with the records at the observatory at Melbourne and the tropical observatory at' Mauritius; that the oceanographical work will continue that done by the Gazelle deep-sea expedition and to be done by the Chun expedition now afloat; and, further, what is known of the Lae con- ditions in those waters ,justifies the ex- pectation that they will be favorable for navigation south of the Kerguelen for the next year or two. During the journey to Victoria Land the expedition will endeavor definitely to locate tee coasts of alt lands dis- covered, to oolitica geological speei- mens from then and from the masses oil earth found on drift ice, study tho origin and structure of the drift ice and the sea as to els depth, tempera- ture, ubemical conditions and Organic life, collect plankton, or ocean or'gan- istus, peculiar to i.he surface waters for the study of surface currents and take deep sea temperatures to determine the origin of the deep son currents that emerge from the Antarctic area' iota the epos oceans; regular magnetic oh• sor'val.ions will be iltade on board ship and also on land and Lee when oppor- tunity. occurs, anti nlel:eorological ob servalitpns will a Iso be a part of the regular rnutlne. The saute pro- gramme will be carried out during the return, It is expected that the station on Viol oria Land will be maintained at lent n full yen,' and the work there meLerologiral tine mngnet.le obeerva- tuetdoroliogimtt and tint geode observe - geological journeys and collections, zoological and botanical collections, studies or the land los and its [never nlchts, hydrographic week, including tidal measurements, astronomical de- lernlieation 0C the site of the hit tion, map work and pendulum nbseevetions. Duringthe s Fin . o p g and s un tutor will are our the southern sledge journey, ex- peditions along the coasts and the lo- cating of the south magnetic polo. Theta 18 a paradox in pride--tL makes some 11011 tidiculotts, but prevents oth' ars from becoming so. -.Colton,