The URL can be used to link to this page

The Clinton News Record, 1921-10-27, Page 7s Grandma Twitchell's. Legacy By Daisy Wright Field a • "aew a oin' to have chestnut g dressing with the turkey this year, er oyster, or ?lain? • And be we gain' to have the eranab'ries so, ea jell 'em?"' Wrath Perkins dropped the stores.- log the was' toein':g' to s'tag'e sharply at her young sister Thankful, wile Was polishing some thin silver tea-, spoons, "Turkey!" he sniffed, jerking •on't a needle spitefully, "Now ain't that jest like you! As if I'd kill a turkey nee invite In our relations to help Ire rejoice, right after each a foal trick as • your losing Grandma Twlecheli's legacy afore I''d laid en aye upon it, • Turkey, indeed!" ".I don't see, Truth," ventured bee Osten, mildly, "as that has anything to do with our keeping Thanksgiving. What's one own foolish fault—and• I ain't denyin' '•twas main foolish of me to lay out that five hundred dollars in a diamond r:ng, and then lose. it—' can't rightly be blamed onto Provid dense. And it seems to one we ought to go on belie' thankful jest the same .fer sock bleasin''s as we have." "You can 'go on born' jest as thank- ful as you please, for all me," re-' totted the either sister, "but it'll be without any turkey, nor a crowd of hungry relations. to„help you. I never did 'believe much in' this bein' thank- ful far what you -her to work for, and new I'm done with it. No more each foolishness 'goes on 'in this house, while I am Truth Perkins.” 'Bet, Truth," pleaded the younger sister, quite flushing with the earnest- ness of her feelings. "think how poor old Aunt Becky will noise it and Civa'in" Hiram, and how Grandma Twitchell always enjoyed. herself. And maybe folks will think-' "Think what?" snapped Truth, as Thankful hesitated. "Maybe they'll think you just did it to please Grandma, so she'd leave us something. Nobody knows, you know, about us—I' mean me -losing cur legacy," "No," answered Truth, bitterly, "I bated• people to know what a fool you had made of yourself-. And they can think what they please. I wish you'd drop the subject, and go see if that ,old hen's tryin' to set again. I declare a hen's the aggorvetineet critter alive:" "I'm not goioi' to drop the subject till I've told you why I, put the money Grandma Twitchell was kind' enough to leave me, in. that ring. It was all mine, the very first I ever had, and I didn't went to spend it foolish," here Truth snorted, "and I thought I could keep it in the ring till I needed ft bad fer something. Solomon Prose prom- ised me my moneyback any time, and he's a man of his word, Besides, I'd never had' a diamond ring, in any 'life, and' you had, and I—" "Well, mine didn't bring me any luck, and neither die yours," answered Truth, 'her voice softening .slightly. "You know as well as I do that he died before I'd worn mine a'month, and you lost ,yours, Diamonds ain't fer seoh 'as we." • ' "I didn't ever intend to wear it on my oke brown hand, when I bought it," went en Thankful, but I couldn't re- sist the temptation that one time, and—" "And you won't be tempted again. Well, the's no use crying. over spilt milk, but I do say it would be silly to have a Thanksgiving dinner over it" That ended the subject. there 'and then, but it lingered on in Thankful's mind until the day before Thanksgiy- ing. That morning Truth announced • that she would ;take that business'trip to the city that she had long dreaded and delayed, and' probably wouldn't be home until the' day after Thanksgiv- ing. Truth went .to the city once a year, us•uiailaere he latter part of Oc- tober, but she had grown to put it off longer each year, as her old bones grew stiffer, and the discomforts of travel harder to- bear. Thankful' was too timid• to go in her piece, and had left all mewing to Truth—of neces- sity—so long as to be woefully in- efficient in business matters. . This, according to Truth, was proven be- yond dispute by her tieing Grandma Twitch'ell's legacy up in a diamond ring, end then losing the ring, "If she'd waited to talk it over with me," reflected' Truth, who, for all her hardness, was not all selfish, and not really jealous of the legacy 'being left _.rte be her sister 'instea'd of herself, "I'd have a•d'vieed her 'buying that meth forty, -and she'd' have hada little be- come for the rest of her llfe.roan it, But Thanlcful tteyer did have may business sense." Weal went to the city as she bila arranged, and Thankful was left to spend Thanksgiving by herself, I• don't think it ever entered the e'klor sister's mind that 'the younger would go against her express wishes, and I'm sure it never entered' Thankful's until slid stood in, the pen, feeding the dozen fat turkeys their morning meal on Thanksgiving Day. 'She was se- testing a dainty morsel from the pan for Peter, the bag turkey who was especially her own, as she had' found the egg in a hedge by the road, car- ried., 'it home 'and hatched' jt under a leen, and raised' the little turkey by hand, He was a vain and handsome monster new, and 'his owner knew what a juicy meal he would make, properly cooked with 'a savory dress- beg, flanked by cranberry jell and pumpkin pie. But ft might never have occurred to her so strongly at that particular moment, had be not strut- ted across the pen, in his sleek vanity, as if to show off to the best advan- tage. '!thus P'ri ° goet'h before a ' Fall, "Truth has gone away 'arse left me all a --lone to spend the day in my own way, ' and , it's my turkey," ran her thoughts, as she watched the big gob- bler fore it over las less plump and comely companions. Ordinarily, she would have fought for the life of her pet, but on this occasion's'he felt it a nobler deed to sacrifice him to the feast, and invite the poor relations afore -mentioned', than to a'acriface their feelings 'by having no feast at all. She knew it was the greatest joy of their rang and lonely year, not to mention the small Peffer's, who made a meal invariably of the gen- erous leavings from the Thanksgiving table of the Perkins sisters. "Thank goodness I made the mince- meat last week, and the pumpkin pie yesterday, and got the cranberries, jest to make b'liove we's ,goin' to keep the clay in the good old way. Ther's I plenty o' bread -and pickles and jell and sect, and one can of oysters left 'from Sunday's soup. I'll jest run over and get Lem Jones to chop 'off Peter's head+, and carry 'round the bids to Cousin Hiram and Aunt Becky, and then I'll get to, work. I don't care whet Truth says, end •gener'ly she's a :sight more level=headed than I ,be, the's anus something to be thank- : ful'for It was 'all my own foolish- ' nes.s that Post 'that five hundred del- , has, and maybe it served me right fer weenie' to own a worldly bauble I like that at my age. 'Tany rate, we ain't any worse off than we was be- fore, and we've allies been pretty corn- ! f''table. If we had' to go to the poor- hone now, or one of us had to give up the other—" But 'bustling action was needed if • Thankful's plans were to be carried Ioat, and she ran hastily out of the gate; and walked briskly down the read till she came to the little yellow house where lived the Widow Jones and hes 'half-grown son Lem. Leen readily consented to come over and execute the condemned turkey, and afterward carry round the verbal' in- vitations to 'Cousin I•Iir'am and Aunt Becky. By nine o'clock the prepara- tions for dinner were well under way, and the guests had' arrived, coming early, as they usually did', in order to enjoy the long day to the utmest. Aunt Becky had laid her things in the little guest chamber upstairs and Hiram bad hung his old brown coat and battered derby in the little hall - closet, and now they s'at-on each side of a little table in the warm parlor, deep in a game of chess, with which they always whiled away the time until dinner was ready. Thankful ex- cused herself, and with a huge 'ging- ham apron nearly extinguishing her tiny figure, was dressing the turkey. Suddenly the firin tread of feet wee heard' on the little stoop outside and Truth stood within the room, a light powdering of snow upon her black bonnet and shawl, Thankful turned quite pale, as she l'o•okedb up mutely for a reason for this unexpected• and startling appearance. "We'd never spent Thanksgiving apart 'before, and when I come to Canada Returns Thanks for Harvest We give thee thanks, 0 Lord! Not for armed legions, marching in their might, • Not for the glory of the, well-earned fight, Where brave men slay their brothers, also brave; But for the millions 'of thy sons who work— And 'do thy task with joy—and never shirk, And deem- the idle man a.burdened slave; For these, O'Lerd ourthanks: Robert Bridges. ' ' Canada this year celebrates jointly Thanksgiving Day and Armistice Day, due to a desire to fittingly observe the anniversary of the signing of the Armistice which ended the world War and also of our annual day of National thanksgiving without unduly disturbing business conditions. Our country has every, reason to be •thankful, •not only for the successful termination of the war and the return of our Canadian men from om overseas, but for the fact that. conditions et life In Canada erase satisfactory, in com- parison iv'i.tli those of other countries. With a gradual return to normal busi- ness conditions we can face thefuture with confidence. The war, however, 'baa left. in its. wake a heavy burden of national debt, bet ,The this does not dant the optimistic spirit of the Canadian people.' Ass sueceseors of the Weavers who opened the country to settlement, they look forward to the day wr;'e'n, with teeming millions, the present heavy pro rata debt will be so Minutely div::necl that it9 effect will be neg'liggi'ble. 1 The Royal Bdnh, 41. its S,epteniber monthly letter, reviewing' enemata conditions, earn In the `eai,.initafio'n of our natural reslourees• all Cdnadian teete ese will find' Teal uresperllsVu' With a return of the enthral tide of lin. isig set ipi. migrah,lony 'ttind tits improvement of m��...,..., conditions, due partly to the tent's brought in by settlers,'conditlens should comely warr`a2,t !lnaatoial he Mere to Intindertainn g the more oativ a develop/emit of natural ieo rc s, The Natural Resources Intelligence Brearoh -of the Department of the Interim' at Ottawa reports an inereasing number of inquiries and munch interested di'e' played' In'our national resourcelei a1 arts of Canada. This attloisated•de. Velapment, together With i raviaal d the building industry will early ora'- wr r m ti " a Cerra f. 1 l 1a' ao ie box a ri i l t nt . i � wli at r opt 1iSr f -, ...<r,ioymo situ Wit . _ ., pHs o0 on sd, etns4•rfisheries, d at ioutture producing to the maximum ��t., our urines fGpres�,q 44ii and our watea',powerd developetl tri elipply the electric energy essential to pjir manufacturers, both employer and employee wilt quietcly realize an iota pncefeinesti, in conditions that 'will tend to greater stability, Develolement of natural .reset/rtes, With the firodueaon of raw makerial therefrom, is unques• "a. tlonably our first,teeoeesity, Our country therefore, lists ' (vary meth to be ljtanlc•hii that Nature has so !avlehly pdred her with natural wealth, and also " for' the millions of her sons who work-•: - .Acid do their' task -With Soy,.'snd novel' sbalc," -z•- thistle of it, I couldn't ;toe ne good reason why we should this time, so I .-• rabankful Pericles, be you eleenjnn -a ttrslcey?" "It's Peter," defended '!,Thankful, weakly. • "Was you oxpectin' to eat bran all by yown'self? Well, I paver!" Thankful 'straightened up, with a' look ea near defiance as liar' sister had ever seen on her face, end answee''ede "No; I had no intention of spendin' this Thankegivin' alone: I hove invited the usual guosts, and they' aro in the parlor now!" • She leaned bask to leer turkey, end Truth jerked oil leer bonnet and shawl, and snapped out something aibput "old fools bein' the biggest fools of 'all" But she was iirtee'ruptel by a s'eeeanc from her sister. "Olt, Truth, hu::hl The hand+o' Prov- idelice was iii this, I know it ,wars. Here's the diamond ring!" Truth only stood' still end gasped, end stared at the sparkling thing in her raster's hand, "Peter had swallowed it! My Land choking between tears and hysterical laughter, "It must a'made the rascal choke goin' dawn, I remember now, goin' out to the pen' to teed' 'em with it on, and that's the last plane I noticed it on my hand. It was a mite loose, and slipped off when I was scatterin' feed', and he grabbed it, He was anus a greedy soul, and I geese he only got his just deserts To. think o'lcil'lfn' a turkey worth five hundred dollars fer dinner! Dot the' ain't any- body, not even the 'Governor-General, got anything more expensive fer ner to -day than that!" But Truth was not even coiling at her sieter's -gay raillery, She looked very solemn, very thoughtful. "Thankful, if you'd been a hard- hearted old wretch like one and hadn't insisted -on having a dinner, and in- vitin' in somebuddy to -eat it with you." "I tell you, sister Truth, the ways of Providence are past findin' out. To- morrow we'll go to town together, and get the money 'back for that ring, and buy the north forty. I've elks had a kinder h'an'kerin' after it, and it'll bring in something every year." Thanksgiving 'Day Thanksgiving Day will soon be here, How glad I am it is so near'! The hay is all in barn or stack, The grain is all in bin or sack, The corn is husked, the fodder in shock, While near the barn the pure-bred stock Look on with cairn contented eyes, Their looks expressing mild surprise.' The turkey gobbler, straight and true, And tat and heavy and juicy too Walks round the yard with solemn tread . And thinks not of the+days ahead. The pumpkin pies are ready to bake Andlots of cookies, tarts and cake, All these and many snore there'll be Won the table set for me, - At last Thanksgiving Day is here; We ripe and greet it with good cheer. Then off to church, then home to eat. That Thanksgiving dinner can't be beat. • And when at last we go to bed And all our prayers have been said, And as we he and think, we say, "Thank You" again for this glad day I Thanksgiving, 1921. The world with all its goodliest gains, - Home, with its calmest rest; Life's heaviest and life's lightest hours, Without Him are unbiest. He shares our griefs; let us our joys With Him devoutly share; And every festive day we keep, Be our Redeemer there! • "The fruitful season now is o'er, The Autumn has resigned her store, Ungrateful man to feed. How rich the bounty heaven be- Steihe To us unbounded goodness flows In every time of need." Menu for Your Holiday Dinner Cream of Tomato Soup Saltine Crackers Roast Pork with Chicken Spiced Peaches Hominy Creamed Onions Cole -slaw Pumpkin Pie with Quince Jelly Fruit Nuts Coffee The soup should be served very hot in cups, each 'cup set -on a plate, with two or three saltine cracker's, and brought in from the kitchen after the fancily is seated at table. Pork and chicken, roasted together, make a delectable dish and an ex- cellent substitute for turkey.. Select either loin or spare -ribs and roast the pork, side by aide in ttie pan with a stuffed chicken, basting frequently. Another way is to cut up a fowl, stew or steam it until tender, then lay the pieces in the pan with the roasting pork and allow the chicken to brown nticely. In. serving, lay •a slice of pork 'and a .piece of chicken on'each plate. Hominy requires such long cooking that it should be cooked the day 'be- fore and reheated, or cooked' over night in the fireless cooker. In fact, reheated hominy always tastes bet- ter than that which is freshly cooked. Cole -slaw is a refreshing, and wholesome addition to a inner. A firm, crisp 'head of cabbage: sheulct' be used for the slaw. A lcahfhour before serving dinner, cut the head' through the centre, removing the core and slice the cabbage se finely as possible. Mix the cabbage' with the cream salad dressing, made thus: One-half of a tablespoonful of sales:, one teaspoonful of ground mustard, one and one -ha f tablespoonfuls of sugar, a few grains of 'cayenne pepper, two tablespoonfu s of flour, yolk of one egg, one and one- half tablespoonfuls of incited 'butter, three-fourths of a. cupful of vinegar. Mix the dry .ingredients, add the egg yolk, slightly 'beaten, then the batter, milk and vinegar, very slowly. Cook the mixture in- a double boiler until it thickens, and when cool pour it over the cabbage. It is a singular fact that while 'boiled 'cabbage is one of the most indigestible of foods, raw cabbage is one of the most digestible. Any kind of spiced or pickled fruit or sweet pickles will combine well with this menu, and roles or baking - powder biscuits would make a pleas- ant 'addition. 'All housewives have their favorite recipe for pumpkin pie, but some think the flavor of the pie is improved if eaten with quince jelly, The 'pee- Is served as usual and -the jelly passed with it, Nuts can be placed in small bowls art each end of the table, accompanied by raisins, if desired; or individual paper nut cups holding salted peanuts can be -placed beside the butter plate at' each •plane. The fruit, prettily arranged in a low bowl or basket, can- 'be set on a mat of ferns or wheat heads in, the centre -of the table, either ferns or wheat radiating oat from the centre to form a border. Placed, thus the fruit serves for decoration and a re- rnireder of •the 'harvest for whi'c'h thanks are given on this, the 'national holiday, "-L i The Three L's Three things I cry into the world of men -- he golden iminer Love Labor Loyalty. hese are t11 circle of he . perfect life: �n those three swing all heavens eternally. y Bereft of them, you have not anything Though you possess the world. But having them, You have all things whatever else you lack. Think on this trine, The gods have only these: Love that makes glad the brother and the bride— Labor that builds their safety in the world— And Loyalty that holds the world in tune. —Edwin Markham, a i CANDIES FOR YOUR PARTY 'I A 'friend:• of mime ate some cream peppermints -at my house one day, and when I called on her a few days 'later dice immediately proceeded to 'get cut paper and pencil to "get my recipe" for the candy. I told, her: "Four tablespoons of mashed potato and. one pound of confectioner's sugar blend- ed into as smooth paste." I went on to explain that the amount would vary some' because of the difference in the moisture content of the mashed: po- tato, "That's all," I laughed. It seemed hard for her to believe it. Of course that is only the tomcat - tion, or'fo•ndant, for tare easiest made and most delicious home-made candy I have ever tried to make. I used to make the cooked' fondant, but I never shall again. When you have made the one pound of sugar and four tablespc'oarfule of mashed potato into the desired fauns dation candy, the next and mast inter- esting step is to divide it into 'as many parts as you want varieties of candy and to flavor and color them. We like peppee-mint extremely well, and you could hardly tell it from the expensive cream peppermints on the market, A little of the fondant col- ored pink with red vegetable coloring adds attractiveness of appearance, and rose is a good flavoring for this. I also use green- vegetable coloring, molding a bit of pale green fondant around a nialaga grape. I like a eand'ied cherry Inside 'a bit of white fondant delicately flavored with al- mond, and our family's fayvorite of them all is maple -flavored fondant with a raisin inside, and a walnut or other nut pressed' on top and bottom of the raisin -stuffed sweet. A good filling for potato Bandy, and one right in line with its general home -maleness, is candied apples, Rather tough, juiceless apples are best for this. Into a cup of -boiling white corn syrup put eighths of cored but not peeled apples of a variety as described 'above. Let the apples stea- mer in the syrup untilthey are trans- parent. Color the syrup writn red fruit coloring if you like, or not, as "suits the cook." A little lemon tor orange juice, or the flavoring extract of either, is good to add while cook- 1•ng the syrup-, but is not necessary. It's a matter of taste. When the apples are trans'parent,.'drain, them on a screen or sieve, dry them quite thoroughly, then use pieces of the candied apple for candy fillings. Carrots, first boiled, are good can- died so, and ueed.in the same way. These apple and carrot confections are delicious used plain, and add a decorative -appearance to the rest of the candies. They also snake very acceptable fillings, and are almost as good as the expensive candied cher- olies. I like peanut -butter centres in some of my 'candies, I particularly like dates stuffed with the white fondant, then rolled in granulated sugar. You can think of dozens of 'combinati'ons according to your taste. The shaping of 'lice candies by ]nand is easily done. Flat, thick little rounds like cream peppermints or wintergreens are made 'by pressing the edges of a bit of fondant with the thumb and finger of one hand while lightly p'in'ching the top and bottom of the piece with the thumb and finger of the other hand', Little reund' measles are easily made, and look pretty in bright pink, oinmamon- flavored (with the extract), or in pale green; which might be flavored with lime or pistachio, I used cream of tartar in -some green "marbles" with good' effect for Christmas. Pressing the chocolate or cocoanut kinds into a flat mass and cutting into squares makes variety. A round candy bellowed' on top, then dipped into chocolate, makes a very 'pretty shape. Let the chocolate drip off well, and. dip the confection bottom side down, letting it drip from one side. A little paraffin, acteaspoonful to the 'half -cake of bitter chocolate, will make the covering firmer, and it also looks 'nicer. Potato candy doers not sound' as good as it tastes or looks. It is just of the smoothest, whitest, roost finely grained ccnsistehcy that cams'be pro- duced with any candy paste, I shall nater make creamy foundations any other way. Tey it, too, for icings for cakes. It's delicious, and "then some.' Q What you allow to live in your heart, harbor in your mind, dwell upon. In your thoughts, are seeds which will develop in your life and produce things like themselves. 1-lat'e seed in the heart can not produce a love flower in the life. A sinister thought will produce a sinister harvest, The revenge seed will produce a bloody harvest, -0. B. Marden. - A Community Thanksgiving If there are 'faint -lies In the coan- munity who do not have family dine vers on Thanksgiving Day,',,erltiaps' a community Thanksgiving Day can 'be planned, After the :bountiful dinner wettish al- ways is of so tnuoh interest en this holiday, the falhowin'g prc'graate may be given: Thanksgiving hymn. Short address on Thanksgiving by manieken' or teacher, Solo. Short talks' by old settlers' --Tile History end Early Doys of this C.om- mntaiity, Pantomime—Than'ksgi'ving. Thanksgiving hymen, Three or four pioneers of the come munity are a -eked' to give short talks concerning the early days o'f the com- munity, These personal • lenient, beances will prove most interesting to all, Time boys and •girtes 'as well, as the men anti women will more fally appreciate the growth and' the de- velopment of the community aurae pioneer's themselves will enjoy re- calling incidents of their younger days. ' A Thanksgiving pantomime can be made very entertaining. The object is to 'have each- letter of the word "Thanksgiving" ...tend for a word de- noting something for which the com- munity is thankful. The moaning, of the. word is acted out on the stage but no word's are spoken. The suc- cess of the pantomime depends en• tirely on clever acting. Prepare twelve 'letters comprising the word "Thanksgiving" by cutting them out of cardboard or having them drawn or painted in black or red on heavy squares of stiff white paper. In beginning 'the pantomime, the chairman of the day, who introduces each of the 12 pantomimes, holes up the card': bearing the letter T. He then explains that the first pantomime rep- resents a word whose first letter is T. and that wore it not for this :par- ticular blessing, our Thanksgiving Day dinners would Ino in -complete. The ,curtain is then raised anti boys represent turkeys by strutting about and gobbling and end by chasing a little boy and girl off the stage. The curtain is lowered quickly and the chairman before introducing the sec- ond pantomime lots the company gness informally the woad just represented. In introducing the second panto- mime he holds up the cardboard bear- ing the letter H and explains that all farm'commiuneties look forward to the event described by the next word' to be 'acted' as it marks' the fulfillment. of the farmer's dreams. The curtain is raised showing a simple harvest scene, and then lowered,. In like manner,' all twelve pantos mimes ere introduced and. aatece vele It adds' to the interest if the eompany g+nesse's out each word ae it is coated, Local coiom can be added by making the letters oxpre'ss vaelou's !tonal lied' - dents, but the following is a sugges- tive outline, T;Turnkey---Two or three boyta eat like turkeys, gobbling and. strutting about, and finally .chase a little boy ante girl who are Watching them, off the stage. II- larveet—A harvest scene— Shajcke of corny pumpkins and branch,- es of autumn leaves, Shade the lights to imitate m'oon'light, A—Autos--Two small boys guide their wagons across the stage with much tooting of hone 'and manoeuvre ing N—Newspapers—A email boy walks ,across the stage crying, "Extra,, Extra! All about the—" (insert some local joke). K—Kinfolk—Mother joyfully reads, letter aloud telling 'her all her kinfolk will be with her on Thanksgiving_ S—Shows—A very short one act" movie. A burlesque of the timeworn theme in which the heroine is kid- napped by the villain and rescued by the hero can be steed out to the great amusement of the audience. (.4—Good Cheer—Several men and women, boys and girls come on the' stage, greet each other heartily and show every evidence of happiness. I—Income-.A farmer and his wade' count their cheques and make record'e in an enormous book labeled "In.come.". V—Visit—A family group visits grandmother who is dressed up in style of long ago: it is an old-time Thanksgiving visit. I—Infant—This can be a pretty, scene, young mother with her little' babe, asleep. The company may guess Infant or Innocence. The one wvho explains can say that but for the In -I nocents—•the Infants—where would! Thanksgiving gatherings be? N—Nation—A beautiful girl is dressed' as Miss Canada, and "0 Can- ada" played during this tableaux. 0—Giving—A very poor family is sitting down to a plain meal when in' conies Lady Bountiful with a well-' filled basket. Each pantomime should take only one to two minutes. If the costumes and stage setting are carefully plan- ned 'before the beginning of the mono - mimes, tiresome waits between acts: will be avoided-. Soft music played between and daring the pantomimes adds much to the general effect. The stage is banked in autumn' leaves, piles of tarn, corn s'hccks and: sheaves of grain. These decorations will call to mind the original purpose of Thanksgiving, whieh is so essential. i THE SUNDAY SCHOOL .� OCTOBER 30. Strong Drink in a Nation's Life. Isa. 28: 1-13. Golden Text—I-Iab. 2: 15. Time and Place—About B.C.727, and B.C. 704; Jerusalem. Lesson Setting—The great prophets oe the eighth century B. C. (Amos, Hosea, Isaiah, Micah) lived in a de- generate age. A period of great pros- perity was passing, and the sins of pros'peri'ty and civ:;ization were ravaging the lime of Samaria and Jerusalem; luxury and extravagance, drunkenness and greed ,were under- mining the foundations of morality and religion. With sin came God; lie carie to punish: that was Isaiah's word or warning. Could the people not hear the tramp of Assyrian horse- men? The Assyrians were the scourge in Jehovah's hand. City after city of Syria fell -before their terrible onset. At length they encamped within sight of Samaria, the capital of the North- ern Kingdom of Israel: in these cir- cumstances Isaiah delivered the oracle in vs. 1-4. 'Samaria fell in B. C. 722, and Judah, for the time, made her peace with the invader, at a great price, But Isaiah, the great prophet of Judah, warns his own people that a like doom to that of Samaria will come upon them, sure, unless they forsake their sins. I. The False Security of Drunken- ness, 1-6. V. 1, Woe to the crown of pride; not a wish, but a warning. The pro- phet has no pleasure Inc foretelling the doom of the sinful people, but, speak- ing for God, he musk point out the certain end of their course. Drunkards of Ephraim; that is, Israel, here nam- ed from its chief tribe. Amos had indicted the people of Sammie, thirty years before for luxury and debauch- ery, Amos 4: 1; 6. 1, 6. Isaiah saw their vices ripe for judgment, the people as good as ruined. Glorious beaiej,y; the magnificent and luxury of Samaria, A fading flower. The wreath is already withered. The head of the fat valley (Rev. Vea); the beautiful and fertile valley ever which Samaria looked. Overcome with wine; literally "ovine -stunned." . V. 2. A mighty and strong one; that Assyria, Jehovah's instrRiinent, as in ch. 10: 6, for the punishment of sinful Israel. Vs. 8, 4. Trodden under foot (Rev. Ver.); crushed by the remorseless in- vader. Hasty. fruit.; Rev. Ver., "first - ripe fig," which Might appear in June, while the proper fig seasen was not till August, These early figs were counted a great delicacy. Seeth .. in lits hand . , eateth it up. So swiftly and greedily will Assyria devour Sana'a. Vs,ora6, 6, in that day, This points to the coming Messianle age. . Lord crown of glory .. diadem of beauty, Jehovah will replace the false glory of splendor and luxury with the true glory of righteousness and pur- ity. The 'residue; not merely the rem - leant left after the Assyrian conquest, but a remnant turned to Jehovah. Spirit of judgment, Jehevah, the true glory of his people, will guide his People's judges, tar strength. Ho will also give valor to his warrior's. Turn hack the battle (lier, Ver,); ro- la! levaclers, I1. The .i"ouhoess of Intemiuermice, 7', 8. Pa. 7, 8. they clan; the people of Judah as well as Israel. Nearly twenty rears had passed tiniit'the fall of m Snaria,iir B, .C, 72' . r There, said Isaiah to the people of Judah, "is a' mirror for you to read your own char- acter and destiny." Judean nobles, priests and prophets, too, were drunk- ards (see ch. 6: 11-17, 22, 23). But in' their self-confidence they laughed et', Isaiah's warnings. III. The Insolence of Drunkenness. ; 9-13. Vs. 9-13, Whom shall he teach, knowledge? Did he take them for children. the drunkard -s asked, ex- citedly, when ho surprised them at a! carousal, that lie should repeat over and over Iris preachments, v. 10. Isaiah turned on them with a terrible threat: "Jehovah is at hand. You stammer now with your wine -thick lips. Jehovah will answer in a stam- mering tongue (the barbarian accent of Assyria). And when he speaks to you in a stammering tongue, you will remember lois plain words of promise and cheer, v. 12. You ridicule the A. B. C. of his deeds—judgment upon judgment, decay and ruin, slow, re-' Tentless, sure." Application. Strong drink in an individual's life is not a source of strength in any par- ticular, but a source of weakness. Its habitual use tends to diminish the power of body, mind, heart, will end conscience. The use of strong drink offers no substantial gain. mei does inflict, as a rule, untold loss. It is, therefore, a bit of speculative folly to tette to strong drink at all an a bev- erage. This experiment is altogether one-sided, Everything to lose and no- thing to gain, What then is the true course for every boy and man in the nation? Is it not the free course of total ab- stinence? See how athletes, who per- haps make no pretence to religion at all, give up the drinking habit abso• lu•tely during their period of training in order that they may have a better chance of victory. Is it not a shame that men are phot more willing to deny themselves for the salve of success in the greatest game of all --tie game of the life indeed—the game that wins that true cup of .satisfaction which brims full forever. If we only - lcnew how' to omit, how rich' 'fife should become. "Look not thou upon the wine when it is red." isfreedomn There no o .earth or in any star for those who deny freedom to others.—Elbert Hubbard. Every day that is born into; the world conies like a burst of music, and rings itself all til'O{ day through ; and thou shalt, make of it a dance, a dirge or a march, thou —. life ma as t ou ilt. h w Carlyle. You will be surprised to fippfi how well it will pay you to til, time to put yourself in tune. NO matter when you get out Of tune, stop working, refuse to d4 another thing until you are yeitr self, until you are. back on the throne of your mental kingdolti5j