HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe East Huron Gazette, 1892-03-24, Page 2URGENT PRIVATE AFFAI:
CHAPTER III.
DPEt,'ING THE DRAWING -BOOM OF GABWOOD
HOUSE.
"Dream or fact?—dream or fact'—dream or
fact ?" thought Nellie Morton, as she lay on
the bed of her own room after Mrs Bathurst
had lefteher. Haat-she heard this man say
he was hopelessly ruined ? Had she dream-
ed that the old woman indicated that she,
Ellen Morton, could save him? If she had
not dreamed, what could the words and
gestures of Mrs Bathurst mean? Only one
thing—only that this monstrous creature
should come by whatever money her
father hi._ saved. How was that to be
done ? Only in one way—by this awful,
this monstrous man marrying her !
What a horrible, what an intolerable
position was hers ! Colonel Pickering had
bidden her good-bye, and she had no ad-
dress for him between the leave-taking and
Gibraltar. In all the world she did not
know a soul on whom she could rely for
help or advice. She thought of her old
school, but that was in Yorkshire. Most
of her acquaintances in Leighton were con-
nected with the regiment, and on the move
with the Colonel. She had never gone a
journey by herself, and she felt like a lost
wanderer in a desert, or the sole human be-
ing on an island where beasts of prey lurked
in every shelter.
She was alone in Garwood, alone in Lon-
don, alone in England, alone in Europe!
There was no one to whom she could appeal.
She was imprisoned within the high v-alls
of these lonely grounds. She was certain
it would be worse than useless to ask assis-
tance of any servant in the house. The old
woman who had opened the lodge -gate
would, she knew, refuse to let her out. 'Even
if she succeeded in gaining the public road,
what could she do there? She could not wan-
der about day and night. She had only a lit-
tle money in her pocket, and even if she had
ten times as much, what could see do with
it? She never iu all her life had bought food
or been across the threshold of an hotel. 1
But what was the use of thinking about
liberty? From the grounds of Garwood
House she could no more escape than flee to
her father in remote Brazil.
Mrs Bathurst had chilled her, had sent
the blood back into her heart, until she felt
suffocating, until she awoke to shadowy
terrors threatening her in the distances and
silences andspaces of that oppressive house.
In any other house the nooks and corners
had been no more full of fears than an
esplanade or terrace or country lane. Here
uooks and corners were the hiding -places
from which ghosts fled on one's approach
Here the vast spaces over the stairways
were the haunts of shrouded mystery and
and boding echo.
Mrs Bathurst had chilled her :
William Bathurst had made her
blood freeze with terror. The hideous-
ness of his appearance stunned her,
and at sound of his monstrous voice and
sight of his revolting capers, she had swoon-
ed. And then to think—if she could trust
her numbed senses—this old woman had
indicated that this hideous man was to be
her suitor ! She who had never heard word
of love from man was by a vile conspiracy
to be forced into the arms of this loathsome
creature, in order that his ruined fortunes
might be made whole with her father's
money ! Surely no one in England could to-
day contemplate so odious a crime ! She
would die, ay, die a thousand deaths of
agony before yielding to so hateful a fate.
Could it be that she gathered the real im-
port of what had gone on while she sat half
she had dieeountenanced. 0 Once you go
south of the equator I abandon you,' she
had said to him long ago when he first broke
loose from her counsel, "You're not to men-
tion to me -any of your affairs in that region
of thieves and revolutions. All I will ever
hear of South Amenia is that Christopher
Morton's money comes safely out of it, and
does not go back there to be lost."
She knew that by this time the amount of
Christopher Morton's investments must be
thirty or forty thousand pounds. This was
not a large fortune, but it ought to be
enough to give her son time to recover him-
self ; and she was quite sure William would
never again disregard her actvice, and that;
with the aid of this girl's fortune and her
advice, her son would once more be able to
hold up his head as a member of the Stock
Exchange.
She knew that in the will lodged with
Christopher Morton's lawyer the dead
engineer had left all his money to hes daugh-
ter, and appointed her son and Colonel
Pickering guardians and trustees. The
father now was dead ; and the other guard-
ian and trustee would be out of England be-
fore morning, and would not be back again
until this girl was of age—until she was
married.
Mrs. Bathurst rang the drawing -room
bell, which had not sounded for no one
knew how long.
" Let this room be thoroughly done out
to -morrow," she said to the servant ; "and
for the future, when the sun is off this side
of the house, let the blinds be pulled up."
While - Mrs. Bathurst was taking a first
step in arrangements for her son's future,
that son was hastening back to London to
stop disaster in the present. Having once
made up his mind to use Cristopher Mor-
ton's money for his extrication, there was
no difficulty in the way, though there was
possible danger of the direst kind.
Christopher Morton being dead, and
Colonel Pickering as good as out of the
country, it was necessary only to produce
the signature ot a dead man on a certain
document, so as to enable William Bathurst
to raise money that very evening. There was
no need to tell any one in the City that
Christopher Morton was dead. In fact, it
would cause fatal delay it the news in the
telegram from Brazil got abroad. The mes-
sage had been forwarded from his office un-
opened, so he was safe from premature dis-
closure.
Bathurst had no moral scruple about
creating the document he required. It was
dangerous work his fabricating of signatures,
even of a dead man ; and dangerous this
concealing of the dead man's death, and
dealing with his property as though the
signature were genuine and the supposed
signatory alive. Bathurst did not in his
mind use the word fraud or felony, but he
was not blind to the gravity of the act he
contemplated.
Morton was dead, the girl was under his
roof, the other trustee on his war to India ;
months of undisturbed possession of the
money could be counted on—even if the girl
did not become his wife—and in months all
could be put right, Even the girl did not
know of her father's death, and was not to
know of it until there had been time for s
letter to come from Brazil.
Truly, as his mother said, fate had
played into his hands ! If he had been
allowed to design the situation, noth-
ing could have been better ordered.
Luck 1 Yes ; he believed in luck. He
had always been lucky until he touched
South America, and the very moment South
America proved a ravenous quicksand under
conscious ? * his feet, from that self -same South America
There was no room for doubt. Had not a, hand of succour was stretched forth to
the old woman begun with a reception chil- him !
Her than December? Had she not told her A band of succour stretched forth to him?
this William Bathurst would never marry ? —or was he stretching forth his hand to
And then, after learning that her son had rifle the tomb of a friend? Bah ! Such
lost his money, had she not spoken in terms thoughts were childish, and could not be of
of affection, nay, of endearment, to the girl, use to a keen man in the City this day of
whose presence seemed a burden and an in- hideous disaster !
jury an hour before? What more confirma- He had told his clerks in Langley Court,
tion was needed? - Fenchurch Street, 'that he was going to
Sloe was the centre of a vile plot, encom- Garwood. He had not said anything about
passed byinviolate walls, alone, helpless, coming back. They did not know whether
friendless ! On, would not merciful death they should see him again that day or not.
. come -to deliver her ! - When he walked in at five o'clock they
Inviolate wall? The grounds were not were not surprised. That day no one was
closed in on all sides by walls—at the foot surprised by anything done in the City.
of the grounds flowed the river! William Bathurst went straight into his
Nellie rose from the bed. She was dead- private office and locked the door. In a
ly pale. She caught up the hat worn that quarter ot an hour he emerged, pale and
day in the grounds, and stole out of the anxious, and hurried out. That day the
room, out of the house, and following the banks shut their doors at four as usual, but
- dip of the land, took her way towards the private offices forgot custom and were open
dames. long after closing -time. - When William Bathurst had left the In less than half an hour, Bathurst was-
' ht ase at- the.bidding of his mother, - the old back, had saved his house, had borrowed
wo !tan rang the bell and ordered the lunch- money on.a signature which was not genuine
eon things: to be taken away. She then and on the faith that Christopher Morton
crossed the great hall into the large gloomy was alive.
drawing -room- At ordinary times, months Once more he corned • his face towards
went by without a visit from either herself home. In the hurry and excitement of his
or her son to this great chamber. The operations in the City the necessity for do -
blinds were always kept down, and in spite ing speedily what he was about prevented
of the blazing unclouded June sun, only a thinking. to the cab which took him to
dim twilight filled the place. the train and in the train that carried hum
She drew up the blinds. That was her away from town he had plenty of time for
first act towards changing the aspect of the reflection.
house, as an -indication that -all within had "Saved !" he thought, as he jnmped into
changed. Up to this day she had her mind the cab. "Saved !" he thought again as he
made up her son would never marry. This flung himself into the cushioned corner of
day she made up her mind William should the railway carriage. Saved from imminent
take a wife. She raised the blinds as the and complete ruin 1 How easy it had been
first aet of preparing the house for her son's i What a trifling effort it cost him to place a
marriage. 1 sedum barrier between his house and des -
She had been the inspirer of her husband's truction ! To -morrow, the names of all the
speculations in the City, and he lett all he houses sucked down in the whirlpool would
- 'died worth to her. This was not the house be known in the City, would be known
where her husband died. He bought it a throughout all commercial world ; al d
short time before his death, but had never but for the thing he had just done, the
- lived in it. The widow let it until her son house of William Bathurst would be is that
began to be troubled with those alarming black list !
hysterical seizures : then, it being quiet, re -1 Favoured by circumstances, and .aided by
tired, surrounded by high walls and large his mother's advice and -his own bold vigor -
grounds, out of the way, ane well qualified ` • ous action,hadbeen- able to save I he brim-
to'b cep• asecret,-she went to live in it her- self from bankruptcy—from being posted as
. • ge f, taking her son with her. {adefaulter—he posted ! who had_ for years
When mother and son moved into Gar- 4 held his head so high, regarded
} g ,and being re�,ard
wood House,"the place was furnished as a rock of good sense, as a slow -going,
for ordinary family use. Mrs. Bathurst ` money -making . speculator ! He had kept
_had not then decided William should his dealings in South America to himself.
never marry. But as years went on, I No one need now know that he had burnt
the_ air of retirement deepened around the ; his fingers, to say nothing of escaping an -
house, -the isolation of its inmates . became' nihilation in•the fire.
'more strict, nntil from year's end to 'year's l' True, he had been obliged to run risks ;
end no stranger enteredits gates. 1 but were the risks "worth taking into count ?
The; raising of the `drawin room:window# Supposing the worst, were the risks very
.. _blinds = to -day was, to let in the dawn of a great ? No. For, even if Colonel Picker -
:new era. William had lost all his -money, I- ing were - not. going abroad, he would be
and all her money as well, in those villainous :friendly and allow his, fellow -trustee to do
Southeamericanspeculations.. But=thevery pretty much as he liked ; for the Colonel,
some day thatnews of the -disaster reached.j nodoubt, knew that the -dead man had
London, this girl, Ellen Morton, strayed ' placed unlimited faith in William Bathurst.
oder their roof withafortune large enough`' When his mother suggested his using this
n nave William y, more, the finger of money,; she did not take into count the risk
pointedindubitaliferto.the match; for, the would run. No doubt she had no suspi-
o thee%! ith America; which had, engul-cions- there ware any risk beyond that of
Wiia_money, the: moneyof. this _ I using -another man's moneywithout his
��e�►dered into- their hands; and the , authority or knowledge. In the. hurry and-
�- ch bro€ightruin to;the City =confusion, her notion most likely was that
soot hong newafrohe thesoutb: he could get Morton's--.,
. an gi , :money as - readily as
'�`nf`1iite ` I=u ftttiier -and the de- .:the money standing to his own credit in his-
7iie pen's friends from England, own: bank. There would be no need to un-
'Wad,ilen 1 orto>zivit-h her for . deceive her. Or, indeedit might be that
ate in`their wer.' b
powers she knew exactly whathehad been obliged
in ow.knew all her nunfaaffairs to do. - ected width :the speculations i „\ . What I She,.his mother, . knew that he
was at that moment a felon ! Monstrous i "
His mother know he was a felon t 'His
mother approve—nay,seggeetthatheshould
commit a crime ! commit two crimee a In=
tolerably monstrous ! Masculine as her mind
was, still first of all she was his mother,
and no man ever"yet could believe that his
own mother would urge him to crime !
Ugh ! he would think no more of this ghast-
ly side of the affair. He would dwell alto-
gether on the fact that he had been threat-
ened with destruction and . bad saved him-
self. - - He reached the door of Garwood in pro-
found cogitation. He had resolved to take
his attention away from unpleasant aspects
of the affair, and yet no sooner did he for a
moment forget this resolution, than, like a
spring at the release, his mind flew back to
the question : Did his mother know what
following her advice involved, a crime on
his part ?
" Where is Mrs Bathurst ?" he asked of
the servant who opened the door.
"In che drawing -room, sir."
"In the drawing -room !" cried he awak-
ing out of his reveeie. "Did you say in
the drawing -room ?" he asked in astonished
incredulity. During all tbeir years in this
house she had never awaited -him in the
drawing -room before.
"Yes, sir; the mistress ordered dinner to
be put back, and said that when you came
you were to•be good enough to go to the
drawing -room, where she is alone."
He hastend across the hall, and entered
the room which he had not seen for—months
—years. His mother was sitting in the arm
of an old-fashioned sofa at one of che win-
dows. She motioned him to shut the door
and comeinear her.
" Yon are surprised to find me here. I
have drawn up the blinds in honour of Miss
Morton -in honour of your future wife.
Sit down here." She pointed to the other
end of the sofa. " How did" you get onin
the City ? Did you arrange everything sat-
isfactorily?"
" Yes. There was no hitch." He sat
down at the other end of the sofa.
" I am glad of that. - I am greatly pleased
you acted so promptly. You have taken all
means to ensure safety ? "
"Oh yes, all the means."
" And there is no going back upon what
you have done ? Even suppose you thought
of changing your mind sow, you could not
go back ?
" No. I have drawn Morton's money,
and the proceeds have been paid way against
my undischarged liabilities of to -day."
What could she mean by asking could he
go back? It seemed clear from this that
his most horrible suspicion was true. It
was now plain she must know he could not
have extricated himself withoutcrime. This
was terrible.
"I am glad to hear you cannot go back,
that you erre now obliged to go on towards
prosperity once more. Something has oc-
curred since which made me for a moment
fear you might be able to go back upon
what we this morning resolved to do."
" And you think if I could I would ?
What is it that has happened?" The cold
sweat broke out on his forehead. That
morning he had been distracted, driven
frantic, made half mad by the things that
had occurred in the City. Never in his life
had he felt fear until now. He felt cold
with fear, clammy with fear, sick with fear.
" An unexpected event has occurred here
since you left."
" What is it?" He was not sure that his
voice uttered the question.
"Colonel Pickering came back."
"Why?„
"He found a Telegram for him announc-
ing Morton's death, when he got to town.
We never thought of that. We never
thought Morton would have said that Colo-
nel Pickering, also, crust be telegraphed to
if he died."
"No ; we never thought of that. Tele-
grams from Brazil are so dear, I fancied one
would be enough."
" Yes ; we never could have been prepar-
ed for this. Does it make much differ-
ence ?"
"Perhaps. I do not know; I cannot say
yet. What has taken place here ?" He
groaned and wiped the cold sweat from his
forehead. -
"He came not thinking we had word of
Morton's death. I diel not tell him we had
a telegram"---
" Thank Heaven for that 1"
" He said he got the cable, and ran out
to break the news to Miss Morton'. I sent
a servant for her. She was not in her room
The servant supposed she had gone into the
grounds, as her hat bad disappeared. Col-
onel Pickering said be would - go out look
for her." She pointed to the window, " He
had only just left me when you knocked.
Does it make much difference ?"
"I thought this nian was leaving London
today ?"
-' He says if he can get away by a train
near eleven to -night he can catch f he ship. —
I asked yon, does it make much difference,
and you have not answered me. I ark you
again, Does it snake much difference ?"
" It may." Again he groaned and wiped
his forehead. -
" It may." He loosed his collar at the
neck and stared. His face was ghastly, his
jaw dropped.
For a minute silence was unbroken ; each
sat regarding the other. In that briet in-
terval he knew she must know alt. In that
brief interval he knew more than associat-
ing with her a -lifetime had taught him. In
that brief interval he knew she valued as
dross the wealth he had believed she wor-
shipped for itself ; and that for her heart,he
and he alone, the ugly duakliug, the Croco-
dile, was the only gold she saw or worship-
ped. In that brier interval he knew she
had devoted all 'her life to lurn, because
she had come to the crnceesion no
toher woman v otild ever love him. In that
brief interval he fathomed her plan of con-
centrating all his mind on getting money in
order that he might have a pursuit which
would not stale with time—a pursuit that
would grow in interest and become more
ardent and ah:orbing with time—a pursuit
which successfully followed would make him
powerful and respected in spite of his grot-
esque figure and his odious face. In that
brief interval the son saw through the mystic
robe of the sibyl deep in the bosom of the
woman, the heart of the woman blazing
with the in tolerable "gloryofits unselfish love.
Blinded and awed, like Moses by the fiery
bush, he was mute.
"If it is too much," she said, " you will
try to remember I am a mother, - and all - I
did I did for love, and it is hard for a mother
ae help loving too much." - - -
ale held out his hand to - her, but could
nor, speak.
She caught his hand, and sinking upon
her knees, raised it to her lips in a _transport
of gratitude, crying to herself :-" He will
iF
e . He forgives forgive ms me even
ornow..
f gigi
At that moment Bathurst saw a man run-
ning towards the house with something in
his hand. He :raised his mother hastily and
flung open the door into the grounds.
The man shouted : " I cannot find Miss
Morton. She is not in the; grounds. - I found
this, her hat, on thebank. The hat torn,
and there are signs that some one has fallen
into the river. "- - - -
(TO Ba C1:011,1.* -11)..) .
THE TEAOHING OF ISAIAS.
BY GEORGE HODORS. -
It makes a great deal of differenne how
one reads the Bible. Some parts of -the
Bible are so familiar that we know - the
words by heart. The consequence is that
they make little impression upon us. Other
parts of the Bible are so difficult that we
cannot undeordingly,erstandistomany themp. The Bible, ac-
e ®one of the
dullest books in the "world. Leave; a man
in a room alone with two books, one ofthem
a Bible and the other any stupid book you
please„ and see if he will not take the other
book. The Bible is really the most inter-
esting, the most uplifting the most wonder-
ful book that was ever written. But it has
to be read in the right w iy.
I talked once with'-aentucky farmer
who lived five miles limit the Mammoth
Cave. He was aware that there was such
a cave in the neighborhood, and that people
came from long distances to see it, and that
wonderful things were said" about it. But
he had never explored it. He informed me,
me, however, that he had ventured a con-
siderable distance into a number of other
caves ! Somehow, we too know a great deal
about a number of lesser books, while we
lack interest in the supreme book.
Let me make some suggestions about read-
ing the Bible. If you know French or Ger-
man, let me advise yon for a time to read
the Bible in those unfamiliar words. You
'will be surprised at the new meanings that
will be discovered in it. If you do not
know French or German, let me offer another
counsel. Read -these four books, which fol-
low along the lines ot the Bible: Stanley's
"History of the Jewish Church," Eder-
sheim's "Life and 'Times of Jesus, the Mes-
siah," Conybeare and Howson's "Life of St.
Paul," and Farrar's "Early Days of Christ-
ianity." You will find that you will pre-
sently be reading the Bible in spite of your-
self. If, however, instead of accepting
either of these suggestions; you desire to read
the English Bible in the King James' Ver-
sion, you will find great help in a good com-
mentary. The little Cambridge "Bible for
Schools," in quite a number of inexpensive
volumes, is the best general commentary I
know of.
I want to sti dy to -day, the
first five chap-
ters of the book of Isaiah. Th e four headings
five chapters can be set under ;
(1) the charge, (2) the defense, (3) the prom-
ise. (4) the punishment.
God makes the charges, and the defend-
ants are the people of Judah and Jerusalem
The charge is that they are rebellious chilGod is their
dren. That sums it all out. r
Father ; He has brought them up, and cared
for them, and loved them, , and theg have
turned away from Him. defense ? Why
And what -is the people's d ,
that the services in the temple are more
elaborate and beautiful than they have ever daily offered
been before that sacrifices are ,
prayer is hourly uttered, and all the holy
seasons reverently kept. To which God
answers that ritual without righteousnessii
abominable in His sight, that no magnifi-
cence of ecclesiastical architectare, no beauty
of ornate service, no costliness of sacrifice,
can be of any value apart from genuine
obedience to his moral laws. " Wash, you,
make you clean, put away the evil of your
doings from before Mine eyes. Cease to`do
evil, learn to do well.' Thus alone can
man expect to win the appro
righteous. God. Do justices to
protect the widow; help the
That was more than 2,50
And Jesus of Nazareth has
world- since the words were
brought all the emphasis of h
into the cause of true religi
even to day we ueed two
Sunday on this same old text. Even to -day
we understand but dimly -that the theology
and sociology go together tha
self put them together into two command-
ments which he pronounced
essential value. And Lowell's
if it had been wriSten in H
have fitly set here among th
Isaiah, needs to be read to da
s
bation of the
the fatherless,less,
poor.
0 heals ago!
Iived in the
spoken, and
is olivine life
on. And yet
.>iermons every
t Christ him -
alike in their
poem, which,
ebrew might
e sermons of
Y.
" With gates of silver and bars of gold
Ye have fenced my sheep fr)m their
father's fold: -
I have heard the dropping of their tears
In heaven these eighteen hundred years.
"O Lord and Master, not ours the guilt
We build but as our fathers built;
Behold thine images, how they stand
Sovereignand sole, through all our land."
Then Christ sought out an artisan,
A low-browed, stunted, haggard man,
And a motherless girl. whose fingers thin
Pushed from her faintly want and sin.
These set he in the midst of them,
And as they drew back their garment -hem
For fear of defilement, "Lo, o, here," said He
"The images ye have made of me 1"
Nevertheless, there is a promise. Who
ever turns back to God and seeks to do Him
service, offering to Him the acceptable sac-
rifice of a just; and upright, and helpful life,
trying to serve God, not only in the temple,
but out of it also, at home, and in the street,
and through the hours of business, God will
receive and forgive. Yet God knows that
the promise of pardon will not be heeded.
The chapter closes with the prophecy of pun-
ishment. And yet not a universal nor a
final punishment. Some will turn and be
saved : and after punishment there will be
righteousness.
The next four chapters belong together.
They were prollably preached at the close
of the reign of Jotha,n, or at the beginning
of the reign of Ahaz. These chapters are
all one sermon. And they are different
from most other sermons in the Bible in
that they begin with a text. The text,.
which was also used byIsaiah's contempor-
ary, a',icah; is at the beginning of the second
chapter. Nobody knows who' wrote it ;
probably some older prophet than Isaiah or
Micah, now forgotten. It sets forth an
ideal of the kingdom of God.
One day in Jerusalem the man who had
that all from God of which I spoke last
week stood up to preach. He was not an
ecclesiastic. He was not a professional in-
structor in religion. He was only a layman,
a young man belonging to one of the pro-
minent families of the city.
That is worth remembering. That the
greatest preacher of the Old Testament was
not a clergyman at all. The idea that all
the preaching ought to be left to the par-
sons, is one of the most mistaken ideas in
the world, Every layman, according to
his ability, ought to ,speak'every chance he
has for the cause of righteousness. The_
two religious societies which have made the
most remarkable progress iu the course of
recent history are' the Methodist Church ,
and the Salvation Army, and in both of
these emphasis is laid on the importance of -
lay preaching. -
This young layman stood up somewhere
in the city, in a court of the temple, in the -
market, or on the curbstone of some crowd-
ed street and recited his text. And at once,.
as he uttered the words, his eyes fell upon
the people who were hindering the 'fulfill-
ment of God's ideal for his people. - Some
were soothsayers, dealers in magic, devotees
of false and degrading religions ; some were,
rich people, riding by in handsome car-
riages, decked out with gold and silver and;
all manner of _luxurious adornment. At -
once the preacher flames out against them
. Qn account of such as these the chum and
the state are alike in peril. For their sins
the lofty towers of the great city shall be
laid low. -
The sermon which is contained in these
four chapters falls into three divisions :
(1) The ideal of the kingdom of God, (2) the
hindrances to its fulfillment, and .(3) the
sure punisnment that awaits the hinderers.
The ideal of the kingdom is the absolute
reign over it of the God of Sion. It is the
God of Sion, of the holy city. of the temple,
God the father of His people ; not the
God of Sinai, of the bleak desert, of the
law, the terror of the nation; who -is to rule
oyer the ideal kingdom. All religion is
progressive. God changes not but our
ideal of God grows wider and higher and
truer, as we grow. Isaiah knew more of
God than Moses. We know more of God,
ought to know more of God, than Isaiah.
The God of Sion is to rule some day over
all the nations of the earth. Isaiah .looked
forward to that day ; Jesus looked forward
to that day, and taught us to pray for it.
We are looking toward it still. John Fiske,
speaking as the prophet of our most modern
philosophy closes the pages of his paper on
" The Destiny of Man " with a look into
the future such as Isaiah dimly had in the
old. time. It is this old chapter translated
over again, with all the wisdom of the ages
brought into it,
" It shall come to pass in the last
days," says Isaiah, " that the mountain of
the Lord's house shall be established in the
top of the mountains and shall be exalted
above the hills ; and all nations shall flow
into it. And many people shall go and
say, come ye and let us go up to the mount-
ain of the Lord, to the `house of the God of
Jacob ; and he will teach us of his ways,
and we will walk in his path$ ; for out of
Sion shall go forth the law, and the word of
the Lord from Jerusalem. And He shall
judge among the nations, and shall rebuke
many people ; and they shall - beat their
spears into pruning hooks ; nation shall not
lift up sword against nation, neither shall
they learn war any more."
"The future," says Fiske, " is lighted for
us with the radiant colors of hope. Strife
and sorrow shall disappear. Peace and love
shall reign supreme. The dream of poets,
the lesson of priest and prophet, the inspira-
tion of the great musican, is confirmed in
the light of modern knowledge ; and as we
yield ourselves up to the work of life, we
may look forward to the time when in the
truest sense the kingdoms of the world shall
become the kingdom of Christ, and He shall
reign forever and ever, king of kings, and
lord of lords."
The realization of the Fatherhood of God,
as Isaiah faintly saw it, as Christ plainly
saw it, will be the supreme characteristic of
the ideal kingdom. God is our Father, the
Father of the meanest, the obscurest, the
poorest, even the most depraved of human
kind, and all we are brethren. Even now
we are but beginning to realize the blessed-
ness, the desirability, the supreme necessity
of that old ideal.
Isaiah says that that day of :the. Lord will
come not by force, by conquest, by the
sword, not by insistence upon uniformity
nor by persecutions for heresy, not by
strikes nor by lockouts ;-no, by instruction,
by teaching, by the persuasiveness of the
simple truth.
Isaiah says that when the day of the Lord
comes all unbrotherliness will slink away
out of its glorious light. And he singles
out for illustration that most unbrotherly
of all our institutions—war. All disputes
will then be settled, he says, by arbitration.
God will be the <iudge ; that is, all troubles
will be adjusted by reference to the eternal
laws of God. The military establishments
which exist in the nations of Europe will
be exchanged for industrial conditions ;
swords will be converted into ploughshares.
Nor will there ever be any further instruc-
tions given in the art of war.
The two chief characteristics of the ideal
kingdom, then, are truth and love; truth in
doctrine, for God will be the teacher ; and
love in conduct, for God will be the judge.
Now, in Isaiah's time, what hindered the
coming of this ideal •kingdom? The preach-
er, in his sermon, gives an abundance of
plain answers. In the second chapter, he
says that the hindrances are the soothsayers
and the worshipers of idols, and the posses-
sors of inordinate riches. In the third
charter he says that the hindrances are the
elders and the princes who oppress the poor,
and the aristocratic ladies who think only
of their fine apparel. In the fifth chapter
he describes the hindrances under the head
ings of six woes; woe to the great landlords
woe to the luxurious livers, woe to open
sinners and sacrificing unbelievers, woe to
the teachers of a false morality, who per-
suade people that stealing and lying are all
right when they are carried on upon a large
scale in business, and that murder is com-
mendable when it is done by a large army in
war, woe to the selfaconceited politicians
who oppose reform, woe to the unjust judges
who oppress the poor.
That is, the root of all real hindrance to
the coming of the ideal kingdom was the
love of money, which even yet is not ex-
tinct.
Then follows the declaration of punish-
ment. Isaiah says two things about this
absolutely certain punishment. It is a con-
sequence. Really, we punish ourselves.
We set in motion the great inevitable laws
which visit our transgressions on our own
heads: - Sin is a cause which always has
punishment for a consequence. There is no
escape from punishment. And punishment
is remedial. God has set this consequence
With this cause, not in anger, but in mercy,
for our good. All punishment in this world,
and in the world to come must be remedial.
Or else, God is not as good as we are.
Finally, it is worth noticing that in all
these_ utteran'ies'of Isaiah, iie addresses not
theeindividual`but the ni,tion: We need a
great increase of national religion. We
need a great increase of national religion.
We peed to bring the Creed, the Lord's
Prayer, and the .Ten Commandments into
our national politics. We need to learn
that whatever is wrong for an individual -is
wrong also for a nation.
A Onerous Dan er-
The;i`ron •;clipper ship Winifred reported
on her arrival at Melbourne from London
that when in lat. 44" S. and long. 14 E. she
became surrounded by icebergs, which rang-
ed from 3501t: to 4501t. high, one of the
largest icebergs showed signs of disintegra-
tion. Subsequptly immense portions be-
came detached, slipping into the sea like an
avalanche. The atmosphere was filled with
foam and�mi t, which so obscured the ice-
berg that the ship was three times threaten-
ed by some.. bergs in a similar manner, the
breakage in each instance causing an entire
alteration of the outline, appearance, and
altitude. "Only by constant watch and at-
tuition was the safety of the ship secured
against " this and other mountains of ice.
More bergs and a quantity of drift ice were
met for a day or two, with nasty weather
and occaszonallyfalis of snow, but the ship
being"passed to the' southward of Kerguelen
was witihaeeeobsereations for several days,
and afterwards; got into - more favourable
winds cud clearer weather.
LATE FOREIGI -
e
A submarine cable to connect Cub and
some point in Yucatan is to be laid soon.
There are ninety licensed gwblic gambling
houses in Caracas the capital of Venezuela,
all doing a prosperous business.
A French company is now building a
streetcar line in Tashken,the capital of Rus-
sian Turkestan, where, not very many years
ago, any white 'man who had visited the
place would have lost his head.
A new series of postage stamps has been
issued by the republic of San Salvador. All
stamps previous to 1892 have been called in,
and only the new stamps are the accepted in
payment of postage hereafter.
The population of Bogota, the capital of
the United States of Colombia, decreased
854 during 1891. There were 2,305 births
and 3,159 deaths in the city during the year.
Emigration and immigration are not factors
in the city's economy.
A viaduct over the River Lea, in Bolivia,
for the Antofagasta Railroad, is described
as the highest viaduct in the world. It is
9,833 feet above the sea level, and the height
of the viaduct above the river is 4,008 feet.
It is 10,497 feet long, the highest pillar is
3,736 feet, and the weight of the structure
is 9,115 tons.
A terrible catastrophe is reported from
the village of Koaba, in the neighbourhood
of Algiers. Seven Arabs had taken shelter
for the night in a grotto, when the roof fell
in, killing them all on the spot. The bodies
were recovered two days later.
A stretch of track across the pampas on
the new" Argentina Pacific Railroad from
Buenos Ayres to the foot of the Andes is
211 miles long, without a curve, a single
bridge, an opening larger than an ordinary
drain, a cut greater thaifone metre in depth,
or an embankment more than one metre in
height.
The recent civil warein Chili cost the
victors, the Congressional party $15,000,000
according to a recent -estimate made by the
Chilian newspapers. Of that amount $885,•
000 was contributed by Senora Dona Juana
Edwards, the mother of DonAugustinEd-
wards, Minister of Finance, from her pri-
vate fortune. The cost of the war to the
Balmaceda partisans has not been figured
out, perhaps because they lost everything
and it is a big thing to estimate on.
It is related that at the marriage of Mr.
and Mrs. Sumner Soule of Freeport; Me.,
recently, the minister, in the course of a
long prayer, said : " O, _Lord, give grace to
some soul to -day." As the groom was
known familiari!y as " Sum" Soule, and ac
his bride's first name was Grace, the prayer
was answered satisfactorily, although the
clergyman was unconscious of having said
anything so well fitting the occasion.
A remarkable piece of engineering work
is the tunnel of the Parana Oroya Railroad
through an Andean mountain peak at
Galera, Peru. It is at an elevation of 600'3
feet above the perpetual snow line, and is
to be 3,817 feet long. It is the highest rail-
road tunnel in the world and is located in
the highest inhabited region in the world.
The town of Galera is 25,636 feet above the
sea leve!, nearly 1,500 feet higer than the
hotel on the top of Pike's Peak.
The natives who killed Crampel and disper
sed his expedition in Central Africa last sum
mer captured 80 improved rifles, 30,000 car
tridges, a number of muzzle loaders, and a
good supply of gunpowder and revolvers, all
of which has now passed into the hands of
the Arabs. De Brazza's lieutenant, who
ascertained the facts, says that Arabs err
now so well armed that they can interpose
great difficulties in the way of any subse-
quent expeditions north of the Mobangf
River.
A Sonth African mining journal says the
surfaces ot numerous boulders have been
polished by the constant rubbing of count,
less herds of large game such as the wilde-
beest. These examples of the attrition of
rocks by animals are found in a good many
parts of the Transvaal. The parts of the
boulders which offer convenient rubbing
place for the animals have been put to so
much use that they present highly polished
surfaces, which are very unlike anything
resulting from glacial or aqueous detrition.
A remarkable invention is said to have
been patented by a Japanese gentleman. Itis
a little instrument which enables the pos-
sessor to send "a cloud of blinding dust'
into the eyes of a foe at a distance of 12
feet. It is said that the poor " foe " iE
thereby absolutely deprived of sight, and
therefore, of course, at the mercy of his as-
sailant." -The claims of humanity, however,
are not entirely overlooked, for it is stated
that the blindness only lasts for about 26
minutes, after which the sufferer's eye -sight
is as good as ever.
heath in Church.
An English medical journal, the hospital,
says that there are hundreds of persons kill-
ed in London every winter by bronchitis
and inflammation of the lungs who contract
those fatal diseases while sitting in churches
and chapels. This maybe considered a bold
statement to make, says the Hospital, but
it is not more bold than true. There are
hundreds of clergymen and ministers who
are the victims of chronic sore throat, bron
chial catarrh, asthma, and cardiac irritabil-
ity who owe those distressing and life -short-
ening affections entirely to the insanitary
condition of the buildings in which they
conduct their religious worship. Many
persons make it a rule to abstain from at-
tendance at a church from the beginning of
October to the end of MMarch, except on
those rare occasions whet, the weather hap-
pens to be both mildand dry. Nobody need
wonder at the hoaisetiess of the clergyman,
the continued coughing of the congregation,
and the general discomfort of the Sunday
morning service in our town churches. We
hale a climate which in winter is the damp-
est of the damp, and more changeable even
than a fickle woman. To manage the an
mosphere which sneh a climate supplies us
with inside a public building requires train-
ed skill and unwearying attention. But
what Bind of person do we ordinarily em-
ploy to cleanse, warm, . and ventilate our
churches? Is it not hire case that the sexton
or church officer is very frequently a man
who, having failed at half a score ordinary
occupations, is foisted into his office by
some sympathetic patron- because every
other resource has been exhausted except
the parish? A man of this class -would be
just as likely to make a successful Prime
Minister as asuccessful sexton. So far -is it
from being the case that the workman who
has failed at every occupation is Likely to
make a good .enot'gh sexton, that only the
very best and most intelligent workmen are
in any sense fit for such an office.
A few nights agog. band of masked men
broke into a house in Mining Austria, occu-
pied by a young widow. They found their
way into her bedroom, bound her see::crely
to the bed, saturated her clothes with pet-
roleum anid set her on Dire, and rem:Votedd,
unmoved by the victim's agonies, u t&il the
body wase, charred masa - -
tallow e 'sem. i _
I3
<B,
lifted
racy r
child 1
sum us
In no
Arne
and at
distur'
ne, ;u
hunar
The
thews
and ra
earthe
fer rh
ed otos
The c
half -gr
Henri,
to the
the of
A gl
book
quietly
and b
gentle!
even fi
down
of its c
dren, n
the m
girls
vanity,
pride.
The
iron s
knives
so, lik
thensse
Iilarie-
Bois-br
served
the pal
faded
other e
M. d
ignan-
the Mi
man's
against
in Fra
some t
Rieheli
posing
justice.
ssch an
tecting
censitai
selves,
adegna
estate,
arty;
poor."
to mak
fortune.
his dut
-more in
of the
officer
was of
saw to
positio
same in
his par
book -1
Dyer his
:ently o
what w
;hat he
family
tolicitin
son; w
the Bar
trt of w
,he fam
Mads
>ther g
lisappo'
ending
which 1
nanded
mined
i return
is her f
Ars gran
:onten
;areless
tempt
ind rap
woman,
of her
ed, som
The c
unedu
dered
for any
tural d
A lo
silence
quieted
a mom
"1.'11
" You'.
asks y
But
ing wa
bable e
fowl le
his ow
tured
proach
mad e
tight-fi
W0/11 c
his wai
ornam
a short
ped wi
His
book,
expect
He
his gni
table
Henri.
instant
around
clutch
him o
sprawl
A sh
discom
angry"
force a
with ei
noliaven
But no
orderin
plate
what r
same u
Whet
over to�
the sid
beer, f
staring
" Do
challe
torted,
The
Stantly
mother
roused
?wawa]
loo ea