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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Brussels Post, 1899-9-14, Page 66 THIO gRUSIBELS POST, PREPARING FOR ETERNITY REV, DR, TALMAGE PREACHES TO THE UNCONVERTED. e -e Strong. Words to Those Who IleJeet the miristiosi Religion- Something tor Pete pm Who Keep I1re11111110 1.11011, 1P111. wises -The Dr. Talks Strong''y on the l'ollY ur reeerestinatten. A despatch from Washington says:— Bev. Dr. Talmage preached from the texi:—"A certain man had two 8011A; and he none to the first, and said: Son go noel. to-aay in my vine- yard. He answered, and said: I will nut; but afterwards he repented and went. And he earae to the second, and said likewise, and he answered and said: I go, sin and went eon"—Matt. xxt. 28, 29, 80.. While 1 was casting about in my mind as to what I should preach about to -night, ray door -bell rang, I was celled to the dying bed of a Christian woman; and while I stood there inmid the weeping kindred aud heard the last whisper of a soul pushing out in- to the great beyond, I said within my- self: what is there on earth, in impor- tance, compared with preparation fig eternItyl And I said then and there to myself: when Sabbath comes, morn- ing and evening, I shall stand before multitudes of souls who will very soon be in the same position of this dying one; and I must bring a message, God blessing it, to help them to prepare for this future. teed here Is the message. Yonder is a vineyard. It is July in Palestine. I look oven the edge of the vineyard and I feel that i1 is all over- grown with large grapes. They tell us that in this land in those days there were some single clusters of grapes that weighed twelve pounds. I think that some of the vines map have been transplanted from the hills of En- gedi and the valleys of Eshcol. Splen- did vines they were. And I look over and I see the man who owns the vine- yard, and I find he has two sons. He is very anxiou.s that they go and take care of the vineyard. There are hun- dreds and thousands of dollars' worth of vintage that mud immediately be looked after or perish. The first son made a flat refusal. He said: "I won't go. If father wants that vine- yard looked after. Id him get some- body else to do it, or else attend to the matter himself. I have other matters to look after." But after awhile he begins to soliloquize, and he says with- in himself: "I wonder if this Is treat- ing father as he oughtto be treatedl willing to call you and allow you to call me 'brother.'" SU a great point is gained. New, I propose to ask you Et aeries of ?questions, nly brother, and yOur silence will give consent, Is Cad your Father'? . Yes: 'Has Ile betel kind and loving, and tender, and pa- tient with yen 1 II is Ile teethed, 11 114 sheltered, and fed you? 'Yes. liits He given yeti a home, and a good many very good frieents? Yes? And do all theee things all Woe kincheess- PS on tho part ef Ood, Imply that you ought to love Him? Yes. Do 300 love Him 1 You acknuwledge it is fair, and right, and bonest, rind just that you should, and yet how mane of ele dear felencle in this hoese to -night, are in thee souls competted to 1111811T11 "No, I don't love 'Him." I go 011 with more questions. 111 (011 you found out that this world cannot make yuu hop - 1 Yes. Hey° you sounded it tend found it a hellow 10001) 11 Yes, lies it slandered you, and abused you, and maltreated pm, and have its highest ..,Iievnients had fearful retie( ions? Yee. Have its gains, and 111 ('31(11)1(1(115, and iiiprova Is Went fearful failures, and do pm feel down in the depths of your sole to-uight, a longing for tot:nettling better thin this world can give you? Yes! Yes! II I inu thew eou a re- ligion that, will eouthe your eorrows and help SCE,L1 111 all youe (1(51 ('08808, . and for in thousand million ages give you unalloyed liat piness, will you tic- ; 0,1,1 It 1 yes. 'Dye you had kindred 10 friends—t do say a great many of them—but leave you had kindred er fMlideson:i.sire'ntil7=dttlearuZ;;Vh'. Now, I do not ask you m to tako y tes- tmony. et ask you to take theIrs. 'they pronoenced religion a joy in 1111 0, and peace in death, a Itrilliant antici- pation far eternity. Be the life and death of those whdre tem loved, and who adorned the Christian name, I dn. land that you acknowledge that there ien 3 SOME [TING IN RELIGION I worth having, after all. You will ! not ebarge falsehood upon their ay- in,g pillow. You look back ten, twen- ty, thirty, forty years ago to your father's house, e here came a crisis of sickness or deate to that household. Who in the household bore up the beat under tee troultle ? Those who were When 5000 or tepee why were not Tour little sister cited, and she laid in the next Item, what did your Christian mother say about it ? And bow del she put her hand on your father's sheulder, who was almost frantic with grief, and tell him to be comforted, that J.esus had taken the dear little lamb, and that all would be well? Do you remember it? She was very tender-hearted, and yet how she bore up under it I though she had not slept for three or four weeks dur- ing the illness; or sleeping in the next room, had every few moments rushed out at the cough or at the stir, fear- ing that it was the last movaent. Do you remember it? When the last moment had come, and she bent over and kissed the white lips, and said: "The Lord gave and the Lord bath tak- taken away, blessed be the nume of the Lord."—was it all a sham? 0, no, You have seen enough of Christ's pow- er to soote the broken-hearted to make you confess to -night, in all frankness and honeety, that the grace of God is a magnificent and triumphant real- ity. should not wonder if some or t 00 in this class to whom I am now speak- ing, had children in heaven. You certainly do nut adopt the horrible doctriee of annihilation. Yoe do not thjnk thate hoof 011 the pale borse crushed that bud into the dust for ever. Where did you get the idea that your departed child is heppyl From Mahommedanism? 0, no, From Paganism? 0, no. ram human plo,osophy V 0, no. From the Thiele? Aye from the Bible, either directly ttr iediretely ; and so you see, there is something in the Bible that is true, people have been BROUGHE TO CHRIST What a pity it would be to have all those grapes spoil. Inse it mean in mac to refuse to do that which is so very reasonable? Here I ain 1101, ashamed to confess I was wrong., and I will just go and attend td this mat- ter. Father, where is the knife? und at what end of the arbour do you want me to begin?" Bravo! It is a grand Bung to see a young man or en old man, when he is wrung, confess it, and TRY TO DO RIGHT. I want nothing to do with amen who does not knotv how to make an apol- ogy. 1/311. first young man of the text: Christ uses as a type of those persons who openly rejeet the Christian reli- gion; who say: ''We don't want any of that influence around us. Nee don't want the Bible. We don't want Christ. We are disgusted With church- es and ministers, and all this that profess to be sacred. Away with your religious nonsense." But the very next time you see him, he is, body, mind, and soul, enlisted in the front rank of Christians. There are people within twenty yards of where I stand to -night, who are illustrations of that very thing. I could call them by name. "Where sin abounded, grace dote much more abound. 1hey said: "I will 'Jai" but they repented and went. God bless them. Butt here is an- other young man in the text. As soon as the father points him to the vine- yard, he says; "Yes, sh, I will go. Hid very right that I should serve him. Those grapes ought to be picked. You will be surprised how many of those ripe clusters I shall gather into the baskets before nightfall. Yes, sir. I will go, father.". Ho lied. He did not go. He took it all out in promises,. Be said: "I go, sir; but he went ((toe And Christ uses him as an illustration ot a very large number of people who promise to become Christians, but everlastingly are breaking the solemn engagement. 1 wish to -night, in thefirst part of any discourse, to try to address myself to those who openly and above board reject the Christian religion; and then in the knee part of my sermon, I will have time to address myself to those who have a long while been promising to become Christians and have always brola•,n their promisee, Do you tell me I dare not address the first class? I dare. 3 belonged to that class. I know; all about them, If I should put my hund on such an one's &milder, and soy: "Be(•oine a. Christian to-nightl" he would say, with an eat- phaeis that would resound through the Tabernacle: "Nol I didn't come in here for that purpose. Some of the worst ecoundrels that I have ever known have belonged to the Cheree. You may have all your prayers and all your preaching, and all your religious talk; but don't bother me about religione. Let me say I hove the strongest hope, a stronger hope for this class than for almost :My other. .1 Litele A POSITIVE MAN, and not one hall -end -heti. I know that when such a men is persuaded be is wrong, and turns in the olher diret- lion, he will be just as positive in that direction. I suppose you will allow me to call you 'brother, have no gown, no bands no surplice, not even n white necktie. The platform on which X stand may be higher than the pews in which tem sit. It is not beetles° I see Myself bigher than you, but only teat deeding here I allay gain peer attettion. And these things, being se, ,tene say teen: "/ ton • by the death of their children. et dents as if when a man cermet be touched in any other way, teed touches him in that way. There was a dying girl in England. She sent for an evangelist. He came to pray with her. She said: "Pray now for father, and mother, and brother; they are not Christians." And he knelt. down and prayed for them. After he had risen, the dying girl said: "Mamma, will you become a Chrtstuire and ooill you meet me in heaven 1" ehe said, " I will. Then the girl. turned to her father, and said, " Papa, will you become a Christian, and meet me in heaven'?" and he re- plied. My dear child, 1 will," Then she tarned to ber brother, and said: " Will you become a Christian and meet Inc in heaven?" and he replied; " I will." Then site began to beckon, and they said to her, ''What are you beckoning for 1" She said: "I run beck- oning for jesus to COMB. Come, Jesus. Come Jesus, Come, Jesus." Oh, do you wonder that that little hand thrust! from under the coverlet, preached that whole household into the kingdom of God? And are there not 50010 of you to -night rushed upon by such memor- ies as are enough to shake the foun- dations of that determination that you will not serve God? 0, my brother, you cannot afford, you cannot afford to be lost. You cannot wade through all the prayers that have been offer- ed for your redemption. You stand chin deep in the streams of God's inerey, You have been called, and invited, arid thundered at, and coaxed, until Sinai has no more threatenings to offer, and Calvary hae no more tenderness to plead. 0 Heaven, will they shut them- selves out from thy glory 1 0 World of Darkness, will they dare all thy pangs? 0 J'udgment Day, will they cline themselves under thy felling mountains? This night and this Tab- ernacle aro the Thermopylae in which the deatiny of tby soul wilt be decided. Tonight I To -night 1 Ten million ages from now, you tvill lock back tition this hoer as the one in which you were saved or lose Turn en, tor why will ye die? 0, break the infatuation now. Let it be recorded of you as was re- eorded of this young man in the text, Ho eaid; "I will not, hat afterwerd he repented and went." Let me tell you, my brothers, that there have 0(011 01011 ewe: an much set Against religioe as you are, lend yet they SURRENDERED TO CHRIST. Do you) know the story of John Bun- yan, declaring that he ivOtIld not go tnie the kingdom of Goa with an oath s0 horrid that even the abandoned pee. pie in' the street tried to hush him up, and yet, in a little while dieareing &care of beaven so sweet that the mere recital of it has enchanted all Obris- tend= ? Mr. Maddee weld to scoff at John Wesley while he preached, and the mere announcement of the text : Prepare to meet thy Cod," convert- ed bine Only a few months ago In New York Cite, a man in indignation leaped wIte boat feet upon the Bible so did he hate it 1 yet 111 a few weeks after, he held that vete, Bible on his lap reading with tearful eyes the glorimet penalises. 0, it is a mighty Goatee charged with the invited:um and the cenuteranations of hell. It has overcome other souls, and togaignt it will, hy the grace of the omnipotent Christ, evercome you. Do not look around tla though you fett nothing on this eatelect. Your eyes are already moist with tears, and. there is a trem- bling down in tke depth of your heart and yenn. feet are slipping over the brink,, and thls night you may be in hell!0, stop I stop 1 immortal man, immortal woman, 1 rine the last ben of God's, invitation to your soul. This ; may be your last night on earth, this th.' last (leek' sermon yoa will ever hear, thls the last call ot the Holy Spirit that will ever strike your soul. IN ben we mere the next lune, it Luny be when the world is in a blew), and pardon repenlance ace hnpossible. 0 that to-niglo il night bo written of you: " Ile sal(1 1 will not, but after - Ward he erpented and went," Now, I have a word for another class, and that is for those who have been Promising to become Christians, but all the time breaking their promises—re- resented by this other young man in tha text. I suepose, my dear friends, yea think, your glee is very promising. Ah no, it is net half so bright ail the ease 01,111080 I 1141411 been talking (hoot. You ave been promising o bottoms Christians a gcod while, but you have ALWAYS l31IOKEN YOUR PROMISE. When did you first promise? Per- haps it Wfls when yeti, were flat on your back in fearful sickne.s. You knew telt °fiances Were aga.nst yeu :totting wail. There (0). t24 nurse sitting by you—tbe clock litking away the painful Mune You turned your head on ?the hot pillow, and said: "What time is it ,"They said: "One o'clock." "0," you said: "1 thought it was ihree or fella o'clock. How long the night is, isn't 10 11" And just then and there you, said: "0 Lord, Let me got well awl I will serve Thee." Yon got well. You are well nen ght. You Nan': "I go, sir ;" but you we•nt not. Or it was in tee hour of spiritual awakening. Your friends were ell gettinginto the kingdom of Ged. said ,: will attend to the tout t,': morrow, or next week, or next month, or next year ;" bee you let the harvest seastia pass by. You. said: "I go, sin" but you went not. Or, there was dan- ger that a loved one would be taken from yen(' household ; and so you went Lo the dootor• as he went to the !door, and yeti, asked him about the ease, and ye0 tried to get him committed posi- tively on t he side of the recovery of your loved one; but be gave you no satisfaction; and you pressed him stil further with questions until he gave you that answer which a physician al- ways gives when! he does not want to break tee heart, and at the same time has given up the case: "As long as there is life, there is hope' Yon said: "0 Lord, let her get well, end I Will serve Thee." She got well. Have ycu served 'Him? No1 You said; "1 go, sir ;" Ita, you event not. 0, bow many broken promises to God and your own deathless EpirIL. You hand, your head, your heart filled with promises that you have not kept—solemn promises— premises made with tears, promises with the Menlo% of the eternal world tbem. Why, you might better have never made any premises at all, than, having mede £1 promise, to have de- spised, and rejected it, and brelren it. Yet nu gleat is the infatuation to- night, that while: I speek there are 0 thousand souls in this audienee promi- slag for the future no1 knowing how- ever, that these phowses will be brok- en, like all the premises of the past. 0 spirits of darkness, down to the pit Throw not over this audience the de- lusion of future repentance. Thou liest. Thou knowest that if they miss this thence for heaven, THEY' MISS THE LAST CHANCE, Down into the darkness, thou despoiler of immortal souls! 0 my hearers, if we could only see the blindness, and the delusion, and lite damning infatuation that press down upoa than souls of some here to- night, there would, be an agony audi- ble and overwhelmlag. Aye, there would be a shriek like in the night when the desireying angel swept over Egypt, and there was one dead in eaoh heuse: foe in 501113 of our houses they are all dead—dead in trepasses and in sins—lead beyond areueal—dead for ever I 11 have. 11.1. more faith in words. lif I eould talk uf the glories of k eaveo with the tongue of an Edward layson, IP I mold speak of the sorrows of flee banished with the longue of a Rite:Led "Dexter, if 1 could describe the glories of the reserreetion with the tongue of a Sc. Patel,. I would have no faith te Words, eery only oonfidence is ill 11110 Omnipotent Spirit, that /le will this night break into this audience, puking it to wail, for its sins, and to beg for the Divine mercy, Eternal Spit it? speak, now I The work is too groat for es; we cannot do it. All our lm - seething fails. Eternal Spirit, agile new 1 Bid all these semis 11110 the life ofib' Gospel. Ye dying soul, repeat lest tee door of Timmy be shut, and year conderanatiori be irrevocable. 0, that we might have some such pray- ing to -night here, for each other, as the 1011 11(1 exercisea when she prayed for big husband, and said: "0 Lord, bring my husband to Christ to -day, 00 blot out my name from Thy book of life." Awl when they tried to rush her up no having made a melt prayer so taught mere earnestly did she My out: "0 Lord, bring my husband to Clarite to -clay, or blot out my Inariel trait Thy book of life ;" and God heard, and that' day the work wits done; and so far from having her 11/1 Me struck off the book of God's remembrance, there 'IVIES another name: set down beside it, arta there was joy over that prodigal returned. 0, pray fee your oompren- ions, pray for your parente, pray for your children, pray rag this liege* es- denblage, pray for yourselves, C01116, Holy Ghost I He has already emit. Yield to Hie influences, ye dying yet imatertal auditory Tee rate of vilaretion of the rattle- snakes tail is said to be Sixty per sewed. It you, doubt it Count for youresif, , FINGER RINGS. The woman weo carelessly toys with the gemmed itauds upon her Ungava to -day, delightleg only 111 tee: glitter of the faceted stones, or the fairesse their eoler imparts to her bands, is, perhapa totally ignorant uf the import- ant place rings have 11s1d.oin innall and great affairs from time to time since civilization began. " And Jae gealed It with his seal" does not now mean the impressiou made with a peculiar and personal ring— something not transferrable, held sac- red and individual, but a mechanical die, worked with a lever, and second- ary to many considerations int lieport- ame. Not eo were the seal rings of bygotte ages. The signet ofi tee King, the Pope or any great dignitary was guarded carefully, its impression car- rying all the weight: oe personal com- mand, and regarded as quite infallible, The use of signet rings as symbols of greet respect ancl authority is men- tioned lu several parte of the Scrip- tures, from which it would seem that they were then common among per- sons of rank. In Genesis we find that joseph had conferred upon him, the roy- al signet as an insignia of authority. Thus, Abrasuerus transferred his au- thority to Rumen. The ring; !was also used as a pledge for thel performance of a promise. Darius sealed with his ring the mouth of the den of lions. Queen Jezebel, to destroy Naboth, made use of the ring of A.hab, King of the Israelites, her husband, to seal the counterfeit, letters ordering the death of that unfortunate man. The earliest materials of which rings were made was of pure gold, the metal usually very thin. The Israelitish peo- ple wore not only ringsi on their fin- gers, but also in their eostrils and ears. Apropos of this custure, reaching ,down Lo a later date, Mr. Layard, ,in "Nine- veh and Its Remains." describes the wife of an Arab sheikh whom he met, as having a nose adorned with a pro- digious gold ring, set with jewels of auch ample dimensions that it cover- ed her mouth, and she tvas ubliged to remove it when she ate. We are not to assume, however, that all ancient seals, being signets, were rings intended 1.0 be worn on the band " One of the largest Egyptien signets I have seen," remarks Sir j. G. "was in the possession of a French gentleman of Cairo. It oon- tained nen, $100 worth oE gold. It coesisted of a massive ring, half an inch in its largest diameter, bearing an oblong plinth, on which the de- vices were engraved. On one side was the name of a king, the successor of Ameneph III., who lived about 1400 years before Christ; on the other a Bon, with the legend, "Lord of Strength,' referring to the monarch; on one side a scorpion, and on the oth- er a cr000dile. This ring passed into the Waterton Dactyliotheca, and is 11010 the property of the South Ken- singtom Museum. ' Rings of inferior metal, engraved with the King's name, may probably have been worn by officials of the court. In Rome every freedman had the right to use the lame:leg, but the use of a gold ring was restricted, for many years to persons of dignity, or those whose wealth exceeded certain sums. In the course of timeet became cus- tomary for all the Senators„Ichief ma- gistrates, and the equites to wear a gold seal ring. This practice, which was seubsequently termed the jus urei, or the jus annulorom, re- mained for several centuries atoRome, their exculsive privilege, while others continued to wear the iron ring. The keeping of the imperial ring, oura annuli, was confided to a state - keeper, as the great seat of Englancl is placed in custody of 'the Lord Chan- cellor. With the increasing love of luxury and show, the Greeks, as, well as the Romans, covered their fingers with rings, and. some wore different sizes for summer and winter, immoderate both in number and. size, eaemostbenes wore many rings, and he was stigma- tized as unbecomingly vain for to - 101.5 so in the troubled 'times of the state, In many of the Roman 'keys that that have been discovered the ging was adually worn on the finger. The shank disappears, and the wards were at' right angles to the ring, or in the di- rection of the length of the finger. Rings were given in Anglo-Saxon times to propitiate royal favors. 'Thus, toward the end of the' tenth century, Beorhtric, a wealthy noble in Kent, left in his will a ring worth thirty minimises of gold that the Queen might' be his advocate that the will should stand. In the earlier history of Ireland 100 find instances of a wonderful develop - met oE artistic skill in goldsmith work. Queen Elizabeth bed an immoderate love for jewelry, and the description given of her dresses covered mite gems of the greatest rarity and beauty reads like a romance. For finger rings she had a remarkable fondness. The same oustom of wearing many rings !long preveiled hi France. Mercier, in his " Tebleau de France," mentions that at the el ose of the 'eighteenth eentury enormous rings were worn. Re adds that " the nuptial ring is now 11000' 11(0(1 on the fingers of !women; wide and profane rings altogeLlaer conceal this warrant of their faith." So en- pertant a basitess was the making, of rings thitt it was separated, from the ordnetry work of the goldsmith and be.came a dished trade. hi the South Kensington Museumiiis a messive and heavy brass, ring, with octagonal bezel armed with five 'pro- jecting poinls, used as a weapon by pennants in Upper Bavatlat from the year 1700 to the present time, In In- dia tee preferred ring hen a largo floriittea face, syn,eactieg over three fin- ger:I like a shield. When made for the wealthy, in missive gold, the flower leaves are ot ?tee jewels, but the hum- bles Glasses who equally. love display, nre conteet with theirs in end Arabian printesses wore golden rhino on their fingers, to welch little bells were avelemded, Lis well as ih the flow - SEPT, 151 1890 • Ing tressee of their Itair, that their su- perior rank miget be known and teat they roight receive, in passing, the homage due to them. A me of old -Venice work is eel. with three stones in raised. bezels; I o their bases are affixed be a swivel gold pendant ornamenta, each set with a garnet Aa the hand moves these leen- dents fall Ithout the fingers, (the stones glittering in the movement. Thisofaalt- ion wee evidently borrowed from: the East, where people delight: in petulant ornaments, and evea affix them leo ar- Melee ef In the oollections of aptiquaries are numerous specimens of thumb rings; signet rings of this kind WOVO worn by rich oitizena; or persons id imb- alance not entitled to bear urms. staff bragged that in his earlier days he had been so slender in figure that he could readily have crept through an' alderman's thumb ring.' In leo borle's "Hand. -Book of the Fine Arts In the Middle Ages" is a representa- tion a a fine thumb ring of Moho workmanship out out of a single 'piece of jade, decorated with gold filagree, and incrusted with rubies. At one time in Eugland the wedding rring was worn on the thumb. Orientals: wore a large ring on tee thumb made of eor- nelian, chalcedony and agate, with le- gends in Arabic on the face, for tbe use of signets. They are used on the thumb to help in drawing the bow- string, width leo Orientals pull 'with the bent thumb, catching it against the shank a the ring, and not with the first, two fingers, as is leo practice of English archers. A truly wonderful ring was given to an envoy (A the Germav Emperor by the Groat Mogul, and is the only ono of its kind ever seen in Christendom. Says the Rev. C. W. 'King: "Tho very first sight of this jewel sufficed to convince one that it could have had no oLher origin than this, such a show of barbarian splenaor did it exhibit, forming in itself a complete cabinet.of every kind of precious stone, of color to be found in his dominions. Its form was that of a wheel, abouto3 inches in diameter, composed of several cancan- , . Inc circles, joined together by the spokes radiating from the center, in which was set a large, rouret ;sapphire. The spokes were gemmed; in' fact, ev- ery stone of value, except the diamond, occurred in this glorious company.. On the back was fixed the shank and when worn it covered the whole hand like some huge mushroom." A. mysterious significance has been assoulated with ring.s from the earliest periods among venous nations. They were supposed to proteet from evil fas- cinations of every kind, against the " evil eye," the influence of demons, and dangers of every possible charac- ter ; though it was not in the rings themselves that the supposed virtues existed, bet in the materials. of which the,y were composed, in some paeticu- lar precious stone set in them, a charm or talisman, or some device or inscrip- tion on the stone, or some magical let- ter engraved on the circumference of the ring. The early Hebrews associated grave powers to certain rings, and the sig- net ring of Solomon is credited with miraculous powers. From Asia legends connoted with rings were introduced into Greece, and numberless magio powers were as- cribed to them. The great potentate, Charlemagne, we ant told by old Frenela writers, was en his youth desperately in love with a young and beautiful woman, and gave himself up to pleasure in Iter soci- ety, neglecting the affairs of state, she died and Charles was inconsolable at her lass. The Archbishop of Cologne endeavored to withdraw him from •hr dead betty, and at length, 'approaching Cho corpse, took from its mouth a ring in which was set a precious stone cif remarkable beauty. It was the talis- man welch had charmed the monarch, whose passionate grief became now immediately subdued. The body was buried and the Archbishop, fearing ilest Charles might experience a similar ma- gical effect, threw it into the lake near Atx-la-Chapolle. Tbe virtue of this marvelous ring was not, however, lost by this incident, for the legend re- lates that the monarch became so en- amored of the lake that his chief de- light was in walking by its inargin, snd he became so much attached to the spot that he had: a• palace erected there and made it the seat of his em- pire. The employment of :rings for crim- inal purposes was common itt past ogee and even in late (times. Hannibal, we are told, from a fear of being de- livered. up to the Romans., swallowed poison, which; to be prepared for the worst, he (tarried with him In the hol- low of a ring. , Demosthenes is also said to have died 111 0 similar man- ner. Then hollow rings were put together with a degree of akin far, beyond that of modern jewelers. • Sometimes the poison was concealed beneath the stone, which opened with a opting. It requir- ed but a small space for. the virulent poisons which were eoncocted by Ital- ian ehemists 131 the sixteenth and sev- enteenth centuries. The signet ring of Ceesar Borgia was exhibited a few years ago. It is of gold, slightly enameled, with the date 1501, and has a motto around the in- side. A box dropped into the front, having on it "Borgia," in letters re- versed. At the back is a slide, within which, it is related, he :carried the poi- son he was in the habit of dropping into the wine of his unsuspecting guests. A singular story of a poisoned ring appeared in the iiiireiach newspapers a few years ags to tee effeet that a gentleman who had purchased SOM0 Ob - 10C18 of art at a shop de the Rue fie Honore, was examining an ancient ring, when he gave himself a slight: scratch in the hand with a abarpt part Of R. HI) continued talking to the clettler eshort time, When he suddenly' felt an indes- cribable sensation over las whole 'bode, which appeared to paralyee his, facul- ties, and ha became so seriously ill that a aootor was quickly summoned. He applied strong atiLiddese and ie short time the gentleman, was, in a measure, me/Wired. Tee ring in ques- tion, having been examined by lee medical man, who had long resided in Venice, was found to •be•what was for- Merly celled a " death ring," in use by Italians, When acta of polsoeing were frequent about the Middle 011 (10 moventeente century. Attaehed to it eide were two claws of 4 lion made of the sharpest steels, =a having defts in them filled With 0 Mosteeireleat poi - SUM El crowded assembly, or at Ll ball, the wearer of lei:elate! ring, wieh- ing to exereise revenge, on any pertion, would take his hand, awe. evbea press - in the sharp claw, would. bo RSPB to infliet a elight seance un tee elan, This was enough, for on the following morning tee teethe. \\multi be sure to bo found dead, Noiwilloitanding lhe many yearn ranee whieli (he. amison had been plaited there, it retained Its strength auffieiently to muse great in- ronveniencs to tee gentleman, as dal - ea. In Spain the gilt of 41 ring is looked mem aa a promise of marriage, ana is eoesidered sufficient prouf to ennble .0 maiden 10 (1131(111 her hubana. The weds (ling rings of the Romans were gen- erally of iron, called " prom:lune" sem- helical of the lasting clutateter of I he engagement, and probably springing out of another Roman custom, t he giv- ing of a ring as earnest, upon tee eta:elusion of 0 bargain. • The ring was used in marriage am- ong Christians as early as 800. Prom - b11 or pledge rings passed :between the (entrap( ing 1)11 11301 among the Romans. When the marring° settlement had been properly smiled, rings, bearing the 1100100 of the newly married couple, were handed around to thee 'guests. FEEDING THE BABY. lir. Jactison's 1611oerlenee VIII' the Cult or Polar near, The care of babies is never a sine- cure, as many of our readers min tes- tify, and the ordinary difficulties of the ease sometimes assume extraordi- nary proportions. An Englisb lady in India was recent- ly worried about tbe failing health of her learnt. The milk was suspeoted, ansi the doctor ordered that the child be fed asses' milk, The lady spoke to O native officer of the district, and re- ceiving a satisfactory ieply, drove with a man -Servant to the station wbere the ass was to be waiting. To her amazement, there, tied to a post, all reedy to be milked, stood a huge she bear. It seems that in the native dialect, the words ass and bear are so nearly alike as to be scarcely distinguishable in the mouth of a E A. variation of the milk problem was presented to Mrelt. G. Jackson, the Arctio explorer, when he found and adopted the infant cub of a polar bear, there seemed no way to feed the poor little beast until Mr. Jackson hit upon the following ingenious method. Taking a bit of sponge, he covered it with chamois leather and fastened it to a rubber tube which had pre- viously been inserted in a bottle. Fix- ed to the cork of this bottle was a piece of glass tubing through which air might be blown to make the milk run freely. The cub took to the bottle like any other baby, and sucked away in most ravenous fashion, with a contented look upon her lace, as If the last of her troubles were ended. , THE DARING DOCTOR of the Rlythswood. Money began to pour out over the green cloth like the ru,shing torrents over the crags of his native Trossachs. He began to lose his fine mane of deep brown ,aair, his eelf-contented rotundity, and in- somnia became the demon of his dark- er hours. Remorse was written in blood red letters over the taco cd: 'earth and heaven, and 5080 11 the glances pf his trusting fellow creatures whose money was going over to the bank un- der the oro.upier's diabolical little rake—the bank teat pays no interest on deposits nor honors drafts at sight —oven In their honest faces he saw the look of auspieion, and it madden- ed ilaga. Still he plunged. The insane optimism of the ganabler was epee beet. From a sober, oonserv- ative, pioue, reticent Scotehman,,whose integrity was iron, and whose heart; was gold, Dr. Colquhoun changed to a getting of the gambling hell, a losing gamester, who sacrifices 60910r, home, family, and the main stays of those near and dear, as well as oonfiding vestors by the hundred, and great was the fall thereof. • For a time the Doctor paid interest an bands and securities that had no existence—paid it to investors out of their own principal; but that make- ehif t did not last long. His mind weakened under the terrible stroin Thee 'the finaneier was taken 'to are - treat at Garenevel torecuperate, Soon, the trusting ones began to put their heads together, and trouble was rife. Mighty men of figures went over great etagere, while the Doctor was baled the stones walls of Um asylum; awl 0111 the very day of eis rolea.se the culprit was arrested on a cherge of misappropriating his clients' funds. Facts poured in. The prisoner held his head high until the last, but he could not escape. He netv awaits a trial the verdict of which caninot be doubted. Glasgow; is still dazed ewer the event. CHINESE CHILDREN. One evening there will be about tour miles of little lanterne sent floating down the great river in honor of the dead. Or there will be the' baking of rice °ekes, with many curious cere- monials, And in it all the child takes his part, and his elders aro very kind to him, and never bother elm with eleaning up or putting on Mabee to go out. He Strtol to the waist or be- yond it in eummer ; teen, as the win- ter comae on, puts oh another and an- other garment, ulnae bettontes as broad as he is long. At night time, perhaps, 110 takes off soroo clothes but they aro all 1,1,0 1511014) shape, all quite loose and easy. Then he stover need he afraid ok breaking anything, tor most things aro put away, and Chinese things are not like ours; tins Shining black pol- ished table, for inatanee, can have a hot kettle stood upon it and be none the Worse. .Wlien we see a 11111.32 striking an at- titude we nevatia tool like knoeking him down. I-IEALTI-I. CA.I1d3 OF YOUR HANDS, Teore is a great knack In using' the 13511113 gracetally which seem' to be but little taiderstood by girls and 100- 0150 generally. 13ands Wash. Did you 1CrlaW that? If tem are oonsoious of your hands they will grow red and envy looking. If you forget them they will return to thole normal wear. It heeds are Lomely in shape 'despiee the best ope eon do they should be shieltlecl with sleevea that drop ovnle the hand. Thin hands can be made plump by rubbing them wth °ream. Bands Mae ere crimson when they are held down often pass for excieptioaally .pretty' hands because their oweer deft- ly contrives to keep them up 50 teat the blood shall not settle ln theme 9111 ldren should not be allowed to. "caulk their knuckles to enlarge in a 1iide0Ua way. Some hands are naturally pretty and some are naturally homely, but many, homely hands can be greatly laments - ed by judicious care. One's employ- ment has a great deal to do with the look ot the hands, of course, and the bard et the work is on the hand the 11101.0 care is required to keep it in good condition. An abnormally small hand is not attractive. The hand should be in proportion to the rest of the body. It should have character, too, and should be used expressively. ineeed the hand does much to express the character. When its owner is a nonentity, the hand is merely a Deadl- ine. When the owner is an Individue al, the hand follows suit. To keep the hands smooth 1196 a few: drops of this lotion after washing: Three ounces of rosewater. One ounce of glycerine. Ten, drops of carbolic maid. Ten grains of bicarbonate of soda, Cost, about 20 cents. TO REMOVE WRINKLES. A. woman in the West End of London follows the peouliar calling of wrinkle removing, and claims that if she can- not always remove wrinkles she can in O great measure prevent them, if her instructions are faithfully earried out. Much, she declares, depends upon the causes, which have produoed the wrinkles; those occasioned by care and sufferine are the hardest Lo deal with and if the producing causes are not removed, it is almost impossible to ob- literate the wrinkles. Tricks and mannerism of feature, such as frowning twisting the mouth and su on, are fruitful sources of wrinkles, and emotional people—those every ready to ory or laugh—are most- ly subject to them; whilst placid tolk and those of a phlegmatic nature seldom show them till extreme old age conies Laughter produces even more wrinkles than tears,. but she does not 011 that account advise her patients to preserve wooden end impassive coun- tenances; ber method is quite differ- ent, and relates chiefly to perfeotly natural, but unusal toilet methods. WORRY STOPS DIGESTION. The cat has served to teach mankind an all-important lesson concerning the working of the stomach. The X-rays directed upon a cat's stomach have de- monstrated that any irritation or dis- agreeable nervous excitement arrests the process of digestion. Dr. Fritz Lange, of Munich, who makes a apeoial study of the stomach, performed a series of experiments, which resulted in this interesting discovery. After tee oat had oaten the X-rays were turned on, and Dr. Lange watelaed the animal's stonaaoh. Then he irritated the, cat by placing a Eve mouse just beyond its reach. Dr. Lange was able to observe that digestion was absolute- ly interrupted by the irritation of the animal. Briefly stated, the lesson for men, and women is; Don't let anything bother or inieugupt your dinne. COLDS. I have noticed that persons who suf- fer most frequently and severely from colds usually insist that they exercise the greatest care to avoid exposure. Thus taya a wrtier in Pcpular &dente Monthly and, continuing, says: "They have dressed in the warmed clothing, wrapped the neck in the heaviest mufflers, remained in tee closest rooms and avoided every (Irate and yet they continually take cold. The street urchin, on the other hand, with ooly Iwo or three gai mettle and with- out shoes and who lives out of doors, suffers less frequently from this af- fection.. THE YELLOW CAME. That's, the only way I can describe it —the yellow flash that came •and, stayed. "The funny part of it wee that in amongat all the other feelings, I could see that old horse jogging along, jog- ging along—not all of hill, you know, just his hips a,nd the breathing teat kept rubbing, delete have an ache or; a pieta," elantey went on, "not ;the first bit of trouble, :5. didn't even know that anything had happened, only T !wondered at Wm yellow that wits everywhere, and the hot feeling 13 my head, and 1 thought it was kind ot strange thet I dweld feel so 15111 ,31)41 all split up, I couldn't zee anything Indethe old horse's hips, and it tie:keel after utvitile 115 if we were away the afr seenewliere, 1,11-11)0(41105 and lie just jogging along the saints os ever— Gee, 'how my meat pains me." "Anti bow long did that last?" "I done know how long, but it Wag till I felt something sling my face, Then the yellow and the old horse faded away, and the doctor said, 'flow are you, Maineoy ?' and 0 said, 'What, me? I'm all right,' sbIt theu 11 feterin myself a,1 1 bundled up in 001 - ton 0011 0133 miles and p01103 801 At," TOUCHING, I suppose you wore toeched when your wife gego you tent $50 easy chair. Of coutse I How olse do you imagine my Wife eOuld 05100 by $50?