The Exeter Advocate, 1896-5-14, Page 7A PLACE OF CHOICE FLOWERS
AND SELECT FRUITS.
Love, Joy, Peace, Patience, Charity, Broth.
erly Kindness. Gentleness and Mercy
Grow Abundantly in the Garden of
Christ—Religion is a Healthful Fruit.
• Washington, May 3.—As the parks in
Washington are abloom with hyacinths,
and the gardens are being made, the
simile dominant in this subject is very
suggestive and practical. Dr. Talmage's
text was Isaiah lviii., 11: "Thou shalt
be like a watered garden."
The Bible is a great poem. We have in
..Lt faultless rhythm, and bold imagery,
and startling antithesis, and rapturous
lyric, and sweet pastoral, and instructive
narrative, and davotionalpsalm—
thought expressed in eetyle more solemn
than that of Montgomery, more bold
than that of Milton, more terrible than
that oflaante'more natural than that
of Wordsworth, more impassioned than
that of Pollock, snore tender than that
of Cowper, more weird than that of
Spenser.
This groat poem brings all the genie
the earth into its coronet, and it weaves
the flames of judgment into its garlands
and pours eternal harmonies in its rhy-
thm. Everything this book touches it
makes beautiful, from the plain stones
of the summer thrashing floor to the
daughters of Nahor filling the trough
for the camels from the fish pools of
Heshbon up to the psalmist praising
God with the diapason of storm and
whirlwind and jbb's imagery of Orion,
Arcturus and the Pleaides.
My text leads us into a scene of sum-
mer redolence., The world has had a great
many beautiful gardens: Charlemagne
added to the glory of his reign by decree-
ing that they be established all through
the realm, deciding even the names of
the flowers to be planted there. Henry
IV., at Montpellier, established gardens
of bewitching beauty and luxuriance,
gathering into them Alpine, Pyreneean
and French plants. One of the sweetest
spots on earth was the garden of Shen -
stone, the poet. His writings have made
but little impression on the world,
but his garden, "The Leasowes." will be
immortal. To the natural advantage of
that place was brought the perfection of
art. Arbor and terrace and slope and
rustic temple and reservoir and urn and
fountain here had their exowning. Oak
and yew and hazel put forth their richest
foliage. There was no life more diligent,
no soul more ingenious, than that of
Shenstone, and all that diligence and
genius he brought to the adornment of
that one treasured spot. He gave noo
for it; he sold it for £17,000. And yet I
am to toll you to -day of a richer garden
than any I have mentioned. It is the
garden spoken of in my text, the garden
of the Church, which belongs to Christ.
He bought it, He planted it, He owns it,
and He shall have it. Walter Scott, in
his outlay at Abbotsford, ruined his for-
tune, and now, in the crimson flowers of
those gardens, you can almost think or
imagine that you see the blood of that
, old man's broken heart. The payment of
the last 400,000 sacrificed him. But I
have to tell you that Christ's life and
Christ's death were the outlay of this
beautiful garden of the church of which
my text speaks. Oh, how many sighs,
and tears, and pangs, and agonies! Tell
me, ye women who saw Him hang! Tell
me, ye executioners who lifted Him and
let Him down! Toll me, thou sun that
did'st hide, ye rocks that fell! Christ
loved the Church and gave Himself for
It. If the garden of the church belongs to
Christ, certainly He has a right to walk in
it. Come then, 0 blessed Jesus, to-
day; walk up and down these aisles and
pluck what Thou wilt of sweetness for
Thyself.
The Church, in my text, is appropria-
tely compared to a garden because it is
the place of choice flowers, of select
fruits and of thorough irrigation. That
would be a strange garden in which there
were no flowers. If nowhere else, they
would be along the borders or at the
gateway. The homeliest taste will dictate
something, if it be only the old-fashioned
hollyhock or dahlia or daffodil', but if
there be larger means, then you will
find the Mexican cactus and. blazing
azalea and clustering oleander. Well,
now, Christ comes to His garden, and
He plants there some of the brightest
spirits that ever flowered upon the world.
Some of them are violets, inconspicuous,
but sweet as heaven. You have to
search and find them. You do not see
them very often, perhaps, but you find
them where they have been by the
brightened faee of the invalid and. the
sprig of geranium on the stand and the
new window curtains keeping out the
glare of the sunlight. They are perhaps
more like the ranunculus, creeping
sweetly along amid the thorns and briers
of life, giving kiss for sting, and many
a man who has had in his way some
great black rock of trouble has found
that they have covered it all over with
flowery jasmine, runing in and out amid
the crevices. These flowers in Christ's
garden are not, lik.e the sunflower, gaudy
In the light, but wherever darkness
hovers over a soul that needs to be com-
forted there they stand, night blooming
carcases.
But in Christ's garden there are plants
that may be better compared to the
Mexican cactus—thorns without, loveli-
ness within'men with sharp points of
character. They wound almost every
one that touches them. They are hard to
handle. Men • pronounce them nothing
•but thorns, but Chirst loves them -not-
withstanding all their sharpnesses. Many
man has had a very hard ground to
cultivate, and it has been only through
sewer° trial he has raised even the small-
est crop of grace. A very harsh minister
was talking to a very placid elder, and
the placid elder said to the harsh minis-
ter, "Doctor, I do wish you would control
your temper." "Ah," said the minister
to the elder, "I control more temper in
five minutes than you do in five years."
It is harder for some men to do right
than for other men to do right. The
grace that would elevate you to the
seventh heaven might not keep your '
brother from knocking a man down. I
had a friend who came to me and said,
"I dare not join the Church." I said,
"Why?" "Oh," he said, "I have such a
violent temper! Yesterday morning I
was crossing very early at, • the Jersey
City ferry, and I saw a milkman pour-
ing a large quantity of water into the
milk can, and I said to him, 'Is think
that will do,' and he insulted me, and I
• knocked him down. Do you think I
ought ... a. join the Church?" Nevertheless,
that very same man, who was so harsh
In his behavior, loved Christ and could
not speak of sacred things without 'tears
of emotion and affection. Thorns with-
out, sweetness within—the best speci-
men of the Mexican cactus I ever saw.
There • are others planted in Christ's
gatden who are always radiant, always
impressive, more like the roses of deep
hue that we occasionally find, called
Giants of Battle.'the Martin lathers, St.
Pauls, Chrysostorns, Wyclife, Latimers
and Samuel Rutherfords. What in other
men is a spark in them is a conflagra-
tion. When they sweat, they sweat great
drops of blood. When they pray, their
prayer, takes fire. When they preach, it is
a Pentecost. When they fight, it is a
Thermopylae. When they die, it is a mar-
tyrdom. You find a great many roses in
the gardens, but only a few Giants of
Battle. Men say, "Why don't you have
more of them in the Church?" I say,
"Why dqn't you have in the world more
Eadinboldts and Wellingtons?" God gives
to some ten talents; to another, one.
In this garden of the Church which
Christ has planted I also find the snow-
drops, beautiful but cold looking, seem-
ingly another phase of winter. I mean
those Christians who are precise in their
tastes, unimpassioned, pure as snowdrops
and as cold. They never shed any tears
they never get excited, they never say
anything rashly, they never do anything
precipitately. Their pulses never flutter,
their nerves never twitch, their indignae
tion never boils over. They live longei
than most people, but their life is in a
minor key. They never run up to C above
the staff. In their music of life they heve
no staccato passages. Christ planted
them in the Church, and they must be of
some service, or they would not be there.
Snowdrops, always snowdrops.
But I have not told you of the most
beautiful flower of all this garden spoken
of in the text. If you see a century plant
your emotions are started. You . say,
"Why, this flower has been 100 years
gathering up for one bloom, and it will
be 100 years more before other petals
will come out." But I have to tell you
of a plant that was gathering up from
all eternity, and that 1,900 years ago put
forth its bloom never to wither. It is the
passion plant of the cross! Prophets fore-
told it, Bethlehem shepherds looked
upon it in the bud, the rooks shook at
its bursting, and the dead got up in their
winding sheets to see its full bloom. It
is a crimson flower, blood at the roots,
blood on the branches, blood on all the
leaves. Its perfume is to fill all the
nations. Its breath is heaven. Come, 0
winds, from the north, and winds from
the south, and winds from the east, and
winds from the west, and bear to all.
the earth • the sweet smelling savor of
Christ, my Lord!
His worth if all the nations knew,
Sure the whole earth would love Him
too.
Again the church may be appropri-
ately compared to a garden because it is
a place of fruits. That would be a strange
garden which had in it no berries, no
plums or peaches or apricots. The coarser
fruits are planted. in the orchard or
they are set out on the sunny hillside,
but the choicest fruits are kept in the
garden. So, in the world outside the
Church, Christ has planted a great many
beautifill things—patience, charity, gen-
erosity'integrity—but He intends the
choicest fruits to be in the garden, and,
if they are not there, then shame on the
Church.
Religion is not a mere sentimentality.
It is a practical, life-giving, healthful
fruit—not posies, but apples. "Oh,"
says somebody, "I don't see what your
garden of the Church has yielded." In
reply I ask, Whore did , your asylums
come from, and your hospitals, and your
institutions of mercy? Christ planted
every one of them: He planted them in
His garden. When Christ gave sight to
Bartlineus, He laid the corner -stone of
every blind asylum that has ever been
built • When Christ soothed the demoniac
of Gailee,- he laid the corner -stone of
every lunatic asylum that has ever been
established. When Christ said to the sick
man. "Take up thy bed and walk," He
laid the corner -stone of every hospital the
world has ever seen. When Christ said,
"I was in the prison and ye visited me,"
He laid the corner -stone of every prison
reform association that has ever been or-
ganized. The Church of Christ is a glor-
ious garden and is full of fruit.
I know there is some peer fruit in it;
I know there are some weeds that ought
to be thrown over the fence. I know
there are some crab apple trees that ought
to be out down. I know there are some
wild grapes that ought to be uprooted
But are you going to destroy the whole
garden because of a little gnarled fruit?
You will find worm eaten leaves in MM.
tainebleau, and insects that sting in the
fairy groves of the Champs Elysees. You
do not tear down and destroy the whole
garden because there are a few specimens
of gnarled fruit I admit there are men
and women in the Church who ought not
to be there, but let us be just as frank
and admit the fact that there are hun-
dreds and thousands and tens of thou-
sands of glorious Christian men and
women—holy, blessed, useful, consecrated
and triumphant. There is no grander,
nobler collection in all the earth than
the collection of Christians,
There are Christian men in this house
whose religion is not a matter of psalm
singing and church going. To -morrow
morning that religion will keep them
just as consistent and consecrated in
their worldly occupation as it ever kept
them at the communion table. There
are women here to -day of a higher type
of character than Mary of Bethany.
They not only sit at the feet of Christ,
but they go out into the kitchen to help
Martha in her work that she may sit
there, too. There is a woman, who has a
drunkard husband, who has exhibited
more faith and patience and courage
than Ridley in the fire. He was con-
• sumed in 20 minutes. Hers has been a
20 years' martyrdom. Yonder is, a man
'who has been fifteen years on his back,
unable to feed himself, yet calm and
peaceful as though he lay on one of the
green banks of heaven watching the oars
men dip their paddles in the crystal
river. Why, it seems to me this moment
as if St. Paul threw to us a pomologist's
catalogue of the , fruits growing in this
great garden of Christ—love, joy, peace,
patience, charity, brotherly kindness,
gentleness, mercy—glorious fruit enough
to fill all the basket§ of earth and heaven.
Again, the Church in my text is ap-
propriately called a garden because it is
thoroughly irrigated. No garden could
prosper long without plenty of water. I
have seen a garden in the midst of a de-
alt yet blooming and luxuriant. , All
around us were dearth and barrenness,
• but there were pipes, aqueducts, reeohing
from this garden up to the mountains,
and through those aqueducts the water
aass:te streaming down and tossing up
into beautiful fountains until every root
and leaf and flamer was saturated. That
is like the Chiirch. The Church is a gar-
den in the midst of a great desert of sin
and suffering, Out it is well irrigated,"
for "our, eyes are unto the hills from
whence conieth our help.", From the
mountains of God's strength there flow
down rivers of gladness. "There is a
river the stream whereof shall make glad
the city of our God." • Preaching the
gospel is one of the aqueducts. The Bible
Is another. Baptism and the Lord's sup-
per are aqueducts. Water to slake the
thirst, water to wash the unclean; water
tossed high up in the light of the Sun
of Righteousness, showing us the rain-
bow around the throne, Oh, was there
ever a garclen so thoroughly irrigated!
You know that the beauty of Versailles
and Chatsworth depends very much upon
the great supply of water. I came to the
latter, place, Chatsworth, one day when
strangers are not to be admitted, but by
an inducement which always seemed as
potent with an Englishman as an Ameri-
can I got in, and then the gardener went
far up above the stairs of stone and
turned on the water. I saw it gleaming
on the dry pavement, coming down from
step to step until it came so near I could
hear the musical rush, and over all the
high, broad stairs it came, foaming,
flashing, roaring down, until sunlight
and wave in gleesome wrestle tumbled
at my feet. So it is with the Church of
God. Everything comes from above—
pardon from above, joy from above,
adoption from above, sanctification from
above.
lEcark! I hear the latch of the garden
gate, and I look to see who is doming. I
hear the voice of Christ, "I am come
Into my garden,"
I say: "Come in, 0 Jesus. We have
been waiting for Thee. Walk through the'
paths. Look at the flowers•'look at the
fruit; pluck that which Thou wilt for
Thyself." Jesus comes into the garden
a,nd.up to that old man and touches
him and says: "Almost home, father;
not many more aches for thee. I will
never leave thee; take courage a little
longer, and I will steady thy tottering
steps, and I will soothe thy troubles and
• give thee rest Courage, old man." Then
Christ goes up another garden path, and
he comes to a soul in trouble and says:
"Peace! All is well. I have seen thy
tears. I have heard thy prayer. The sun
shall not smite thee by day nor the moon
by night. The Lord shall preserve thee
from all evil; he will preserve thy soul..
Courage, 0 troubled spirit!"
Then I see Jesus going up another gar-
den path, and I see great excitement
among the leaves, and I hasten up that
garden path to see what Jesus is doing
there, and, lo! He is breaking off flowers,
sharp and clean, from the stem, and I
say, 'Stop, Jesus; don't kin those beau-
tifut flowers." He turns to me and says,
"I have come into My garden to gather
lilies, and I mean to take these up to a
higher terrace, for the garden around my
palace, and there I will plant them, and
in better soil and in better air they shall
put forth brighter leaves and sweeter re-
dolence, and. no frost shall touch them
forever." And I looked up into His face
and said: "Well, it is His garden, and He
has a right to do what he will with it.
Thy will be done"—the hardest prayer
ever man made.•
The heaven of your little ones will not
be fairly begun until you get there. All
the kindnesses shown them by immortals
will not make them forget you. There
they arc, the radiant throngs that went
out from your homes. I throw a kiss to
the sweet darlings. They are all well
now in the palace. The crippled child has
a sound foot now. A little lame child
says, "Ma, will I be lame in heaven?"
"No, my darling; you won't be lame
in heaven." A little sick child says, "Ma,
will I be sick in heaven?" "No, my dear;
you won't be sick in heaven." A little
blind child says, "Ma, will I be blind
In heaven?" "No, my dear; you won't
be blind in heaven. They are all well
there."
I notice that the fine gardens some-
times have high fences around them and
you cannot get in. It is so with a king's I
garden. The only glimpse you ever get of '
such a garden is when the king rides out
in his splendid carriage. It is not so with
this garden, this lning's garden I throw
wide open the gate and tell you all to
come in. No monopoly, in religion. Who-
soever will, may. Choose now between a
desert and a garden. Many of you have
tried the garden of this world's delight.
You have found it has been a chagrin.
So it was with. Theodore Hook. He made
all the world laugh. He makes us laugh
now when we read his poems, but he
could not make his Own heart laugh.
While in •festivities
confronted a looking -glass, and he saw
himself and said: "There, that is true! I
look just as I am—done up in body,
mind and. purse." So it was of Shen -
stone, of whose garden I told you at the
beginning of ray sermon. He sat down
amid these bowers and said: "I have lost
my road to happiness. I am angry and
envious and frantic and despise every-
thing around me, just as it becomes a
madman to do."
0 ye weary souls, come into Christ's
garden to -day, and pluck a little hearts-
ease. Christ is the only rest and the only
pardon for a perturbed spirit. Do you
not think your chance has almost come?
You MOil and women who have been
waiting year after year for some good op-
portunity in which to accept Christ, but
have postponed it 5, 10, 20, 30 years, do
you not feel as if now your hair of de-
liverance and pardon and salvation had
come? 0 man, what grudge hest thou,
against thy poor soul that thou wilt not
let it be saved? I feel aa if salvation must
come to -day in some of your hearts.
Some years ago a vessel struck on the
rocks. They had only one lifeboat. In
that lifeboat the passengers and crew
were getting ashore The vessel had
foundered and was sinking deeper and
deeper, and that one boat could not take
the passengers very swiftly. A little girl
stood on the deck waiting for her turn to
get into the boat. The boat came and
went, came and went, but her turn did
not seem to come. After a while she
could wait no longer, and she leaped on
the taffrail and then sprang into the sea,
crying to the boatman: "Save me next!
Save me next!" Oh, how many have
gone ashore into God's mercy, and yet
you are clinging to the wreck of sin!
Others have accepted the pardon of
Christ, but you are in peril. Why not
this moment make a rush for your im-
mortal rescue, crying until Jesus shall
hear you and heaven and earth ring with
the cry: "Save me next! Save me next!"
Now is the day of salvation! Now! Now!
This Sabbath is the last for some of
you. It is, about to sail away forever.
Her bell tolls. The planks thunder back
In the gangway. She shoves off. She
floats out toward the great ocean of eter-
niey. Wave farewell to your last chance
for heaven. "Oh, Jerusalem, Jerusalem,
how often would I have gathered thee as
a hen gathereth her brood • under her
wings, and ye would not! Behold your
house is left unto you desolate!" Invited
to revel in a garden, you die in a desert!
May God Almighty, before it Is too late,
break that infatuation!
LESS DRUNKENNESS.
WE DON'T BEGIN TO DRINK AS DID
OUR FOREFATHERS.
This Is a Temperate Age--somany Drunk-
ards Other Days That .rood Prices Were
now,
Intemperance is popularly supposed to
be a growing evil, if not one peculiar to
our oten times, yet the fact is that nun
ancestors a century and a half ago drank
three times as much been and eight times
as mach spirits as we do to -day Judging
by the drink figures of the middle of the
last century this is decidedly a temperate
age instead, of the reverse
"The History of London," published
about 1750, by William Maitland F R 5
contains probably the most complete and
careftil account that was ever printed re-
garding the population, the consumption
o,f liquor and the number of public
houses at that time The author was a
scientific man, whose only object was
to ascertain the facts, and he spared no
pains to make them as accurate as possi-
ble The statistics of population were
reached by an extremely careful compa-
tation of the bills of mortality, which
furnish the most satisfactory data for
the purpose, short of a census The
number of public; houses was ascertained
by actual survey, and the figures of con-
sumption were derived, from the Custom
House and excise returns
The population of London was found
to be at that time 725,908 This seems to
be approximately correct, for the number
of houses was 95968, which gives an av-
(lege of neatly eight persons to a house
Nowadays the houses in the English me-
tropolis are larger, and the average is be-
tween eight and nine persons The quan-
tity of liquor consumed by this popula-
tion of three-quarters of a million is al-
most incredible, as will be seen from the
following figures: Beer, 70,955,604 gal-
lons; spirits, 11,205,627 gallons, and wine,
80,040 "tuns." The wine may be 'left
out of the reckoning, because it is not
certain at this day what is meant by a
"tun," but the others show the following
consumption per head Beer, 97 gallons;
spirits, 14 gallons SY
The force of these figures will be ap-
preciated when it is stated that the aver-
age consumption per head in the United
laingdom during the last thirty Years has
been Beer, 28 e gallons; spirits and wine
together, 1 48 gallons The highest figures
recorded during these three decades are
Beer, 34 gallons, in 104; spirits and
wine, 1 81 gallons, in 1875 The con-
sumption in the United States of these
beverages is somewhat less per capita
There were 654 inns and taverns, 5,975
alebouses, and 8,659 "brandy shops"—in
all 15,288 houses, for the consumption of
liquor on the premises in this age, which
has been called by contemporary writers
a besotted one There was, therefore, one
pothouse to every six other structures,
and one to every forty-seven persons In
1891 the proportions were one to sixty-
three and one to 550 respectively At the
present day, even if the total number of
retail licenses of. all sorts, both for con-
sumption of liquor on the premises and
off, is taken, including grocers' licenses
and those for restaurants, they only rep-
resent one to every 430 persons The
drinking places in London in the last
century were, therefore, nearly ten times
as numerous, according to the popula-
tion, as they are to -day
The largest number of these old-time
drinking places were the "brandy shops
or places where strong spirits were
sold almost exclusively The majority of
these were in the poorer quarters of Lon-
don, in the East End and on the Surrey
side of the Thames Alehouses. were
everywhere, being pretty evenly distribu-
ted, but they were more numerous in the
better parts of town
This seems to throw some light on the
habits of the working glasses of that
time and. to dispose of the idea that bar
drinking is a modern invention As a
matter of fact, the public house was
even less a place of real refreshment and
more of a mere bar than it is to -day
The most striking fact contained in
the foregoing figures is the prodigiotts
quantity of spirits consumed In 1685 the
distilling business in England received
such favorable legislation that it in-
creased with incredible rapidity and the
product was sold at an astonishing low
figure compared with the prices in vogue
to -day Up to the latter part of the sev-
enteenth century the English lower classes
had been almost exclusively beer drinkers,
but7when the stronger form of alcohol
cheapbecame they took to it • h
avid-
ity, and the demand was almost equal to
the supply In the course of forty years
the amount precluded ran up from 500,-
000 to nearly 10,000,000 gallons per an -
man, and a great deal was imported in
addition At the same time the consump-
tion of beer fell off, but not to a corre-
sponding extent
The list of spirits that were drunk in
those days includes thirteen different
Inseams, but several of them—such as
"citron" and. "cordial waters," Geneva,
Hungary waters, rackee and usquebaugh
—were only consumed in very small
quantities These were all imported The
British distilleries turned out but three
kinds, "malt spirits," "cyder spirits,"
and "molasses spirits," of which the first
represented three-fourths of the total spir-
ituotis consumption It was doubtless
what is now known as gin, and it was
then the universal drink of the lower
classes The only other kinds used in
large quantities were foreign brandy and
rrms The amount of whiskey—which was
known as "usquebaugh," and was im-
ported from Ireland—was very small
Gin nrest have been extraordinary
cheap, as it was at this time that the
publicans hung out the famous sign,
"Drunk for one penny; dead drunk for
two pence; straw for nothing" The truth
of this' legend has been denied, but it
originated with Smelled, the novelist,
who lived at that time, and. it is backed
up by Lecky, the historian, so there is no
reason for doubting its accuracy- Ho-
garth's Gin lane was less a caricature
than a realistic sketch of everyday scenes
In the metropolis
According to Mr Maitland, who is, as
has been said, the best authority extant
upon the subject, for he wrote as a set-
entbac contemporary observer, the addic-
tion of the people to spirits was so gen-
eral and so great as to affect the price of
food "The excessive drinking of spiritu-
ous liquors," he says, "has so enervated
the stomachs of the populace as to render
them incapable of digestion, whereby the
appetite is so much depraved that its in-
clination to food is lessened and the con-
sumption of provisions greatly dimin-
ished, which has occasioned victuals in-
stead of rising to fall in price very con-
siderably, to the no small less • of the
landed interest" .
Attempts were made to (aloe!: the ea II
by legislation, but at first they were too
severe, then too mild, and both din more
harm than good Later, more reasonable
counsels prevailed, road successful 'efforts
were made to reduce the spirit traffic,
with benefieial results People turned
again to beer, which was less obviously
injurious Intemperance never rose again
to such a height as that reached in the
last half of the eighteenth century, but
neither did it sink to anything like its
present comparatively trifling proportions
The consumption of spirits, it is worthy
of note fluctuated from time to time ac-
cording to the rise and fall of the excise
duty, whfch was frequently changed, and
made the article cheap or dear, as the
ease might be
During the first third of the present
century the old state of things prevailed
The number of public houses, the quan-
tity of liquor consumed. and the amount
of public drunkenness were all enor-
mously in excess of what they are at
present
HE PROVED THE OMEN.
A Sailor's Prediction of Disaster Proved
by His Own Death.
"Speaking of sailors' superstitions,"
remarked the veteran lighthouse keeper,
Josh Reeves, of Sea Isle City, "reminds
me of an incident that happened half a
century ago off the Five Fathom Bank
lightship, in which a sailor's prediction,
based on an omen, resulted fatally to the
prophet himself
"A bright winter morning had caused
the crew of the lightship to row a short
distance away in search of codfish, which
are very abundant off the Capes in winter
time A few hours' fishing resulted in a
goodly catch and a return 'was made to
the lightship 'The fish were cleaned and
the refuse thrown overboard, but a calm
sea, with not a breath of air to disturb
it, caused the refuse to drift in a circle
around the ship Towards noon a large
flock of geese came in sight and settled
under the lightship's very bows and com-
menced to feed The water fowl became
very tame and swam chattering and hiss.
lug close to the ship's sides
"Josh Crowell, a grizzled old member
of the crew, shook his head and predicted
death to ,some one on board within
twenty-four hours He said that whenever
geese became so tame as to feed aroma('
a vessel's bow or stern, it was an unfail-
ing omen of impending death on board
Crowell's companions laughed at his
fear, but he told. them to bide -their time
"Toward noon a strong gale came out
of the nor'east and kicked up a hea-vassea
Crowell was on the forward or bow watch
"Many of the crew were in the main
cabin below, enjoying a social game of
euchre, checkers, or dominoes, when sud-
denly they heard the sound of a chain
running rapidly through the starboard
bow scuppers We rushed on deck in dis-
may, thinking the windlass gearing had
given way The Sight witnessed will
never be forgotten Crowell had been
caught in the relief chain and ground
around the rapidly revolving windlass
His death was instant 'His omen came
true"
The seriousness of Life.
The following is an Eastern apologue
that has made a deep impression on many
minds, amongst others on that of Tolstoi;
A traveller in the desert is attacked by
a furious wild beast, and to save himself
gets into a dry well; but at the bottom
of the well he sees a huge serpent with
jaws wide open to devour him He dares
not get out for fear of the wild beast He
dares not descend for fear of the serpent
So he catches hold of a branch growing
out of a crevice of the well His arms
grow tired, but he still holds on; and
then he sees two mice, one white, one
black, gnawing through the branch inch
by inch He knows that he must give way
soon and he must perish; yet seeing a
few drops of honey on the leaves, he
stretches out and takes them, though he
finds them no longer sweet The inter-
pretation is not difficult The desert is the
world; the wild beast is passion; the ser-
pent is death; the branch is the life to
which we cling; the black and white
mice which gnaw through the branch
are the nighls and the days; the honey
on the leaves are the few poor transient
pleasures at which men vainly clutch as
they hang over the abyss And what are
they worth?—Farrar's Social and Present -
Day Questions
For Late Sleepers.
Here is an argument to be absorbed by
those who love to take another forty
winks in the morning The British Med-
ical Journal sees no physiological reason
for getting up early On the contrary, it
says learnedly, that, "as a matter of fact,
physiology, so far as it has anything to
say on the subject at all, is 11 against
the early rising theory Physiological ex-
periment appears to shows that a sna,n
does not work best and. fastest in the
early morning hears, but, on the con-
trary, about midday The desire to rise
early, except to those trained from youth
to outdoor pursuits,is
sign,
not of strength of character and vigor of
body, but of advancing age Thus pater-
familias, who goes to bed at 11 P M,
wants to get up at 5 or 6 A M, and
looks upon his healthy son, who lies till
, as a' sluggarden this foolish inter-
pretation of a proverb about health and
wealth to be got from early rising is
combined with the still more foolish
adage, which says of sleep: 'Six hours
for a man, seven for a woman and eight
for a fool,' then we have a vicious system
capable of working great mischief to
young people of both sexes"
A Deserved Rebuke.
It takes a bright woman to rebuke an-
other woman's rudeness, a general state-
ment well borne out by a story from the
Atlanta Constitution:—
A lady entered a railway train and
took a seat in front of a newly married
couple She was hardly seated before they
began making remarks about her
Her last year's bonnet and cloak were
fully criticized, with more or less gig-
gling on the bride's part and there is no
telling what might have come next if
the lady had not put a sudden stop to the
conversation by a bit of strategy
She turne4 her head, noticed that the
bride was considerably older than the
groom, and in the smoothest of tones
said:—
. "Madam, will you please bare your
son close the window behind you?"
The "son" closed his mouth, and the
bride no longer giggled
Hadn't Struck Him Yet.
"My friend," said the prospective can-
didate to the cross- roads Georgian who
never saw a railtoad, "what do you think
about national finances?"
"'Bout what?"
"National finances!"
"What's that?"
"Don't you know?"
"No, I don't! 'We've had the measles,
an' the slow fever, an' the rheumatism,
an' the seven-year eeteh, bat I never
hearn tell o'' that in this settlement!"—
Atlanta Constitution
A DOUBLE RESCUE.
TWO YOUNG LADIES BROUGHT
BACK TO HEALTH AND
STRENGTH.
One was Threatened With Chinsumptinia,
Following an Attack of Pneunionia...The
Other Was in an Advanced Stage of Anae-
mia—Dr. Willis/Ws' Pink Pills riesior.
Health After Other Medicines Fail.
From The Truro, N.& , News.
Among the residents of Truro there are
none batter known or more highly es-
teemed than Mr. and Mrs. Jas. Turner.
Mr Turner is an elder in the Presbyteriah
chureh, and a man whose word is as
good as his .bond. pi his family reside
two young ladies, Miss Maud Christie,
an adopted daughter, and Miss Jessie
Hall, a sister of Mrs. Turner. Both young
ladies are known to have had trying ill-
neeses, and were said to have been
restored to health by a popular medicine,
the name of which is a household word
form the Atlantic to the Pacific. Judging
that their story would be of popular
interest, a reporter called upon them and
asked for such information as they
might choose to make public. Both young
lathes were averse to publicity, but when
it was pointed out that their experience
might be belpfunto some other sufferer,
gave a statement for publication. Miss
Christie, whose case is perhaps the most
remarkable, is given precedence. She
said: "lam now 19 years of age and have
never been very strong. On the 26th of
July last I was attacked with pneu-
monia., brought on by a severe cold. I was
confined to bed for almost eight weeks,
'when I was able to get up once more.
During these weeks I was under treat-
ment by our physician, and still eon -
tinned taking his medicine. I did not
appear to recover my strength however,
and on the 14th Nov, was again force&
to take to my bed,' this time suffering
from great weakness and nervous isrostra-
don. The doctor's medicine now seemed
to do inc no good, and I grew gradually
worse. I became so .low that it seemed
hardly possible that I could live long.
The doctor said that I was in consump-
tion and that medicine was of no more
use to me. At this time an article was
published in the paper concerning the
cure of a young lady in Toronto by the
-use of Dr. Williams' Pink Pills, and Mr.
Turner at once bought some. After I had
used about six boxes I began to get
gradually better, my strength began to
return, my appetite improved, and I had
sound refreshing sleep at night. I have
now used fifteen boxes of Pink Pills
and have no hesitation in saying that
they have effected a wonderful cure in
my case,"
In the ease of Miss Hall the Pink Pills
have also accomplished marvels. She
was attacked with dizziness, severe head-
aches and fainting spells, followed later
by swelling of the feet and limbs, to-
gether with other symptoms of anaemia.
After having been treated by a physician
for some time without any noticeable im-
provement she decided, to give Dr. Wil-
liams' Pink Pills a. taint After using a.
few boxes of the pills there was a decided
improvement in her condition arid with
the continued use of the medicine full
strength, health and activity returned,
and Miss Hall is now feeling as well as
ever she did in her life. Both Mr. and
Mrs. Turner were present during the
interview, and strongly endorsed what
the young ladies said, and expressed
their thanks for what Pink Pills had.
done for them.
, The experience of yams has proved that
there is absolutely no disease due to a,
vitiated condition of the blood or shat-
tered nerves, that Dr. Williams' Pink
Pills will not promptly cure and those
who are suffering from snob troubles will
avoid much misery and save money by
promptly resorting to this treatment. Get
the genuine Pink Pills every time and do.
not be persuaded to take an imitation or -
some other remedy from a dealer, which
for the sake of the extra profit to himself,
he may say is "just as good." Dr.
Williams' Pink Pills cure when other
medicines fail.
Lillian Russell's contract for next year
contains a forfeiture clause by which she
is to pay $50,000 if she marries within
the year. This is a pretty severe handi-
cap on Cupid, but Lillian never did treat.
the little fellow right.
Do Not Swear Oft
Because a, very small percentage of
men, who swear off drinking, are able to
keep their vow, probably about ninety
per cent. or even more, perjure them-
selves. Their friends may ridicule them
for want of will power;' but this is un-
just. When the drink disease has once
taken root in the system, nothing but
scientific treatment can eradicate it
The patient himself has no more control
over it than he would have over any
other disease. Do not get discouraged,
even if you have sworn off again and
again, and yet have gone back to the old
habit. Your case is by no means Singu-
lar. Hundreds of other men have done
the same; and hundreds have been cured
of the habit, and have had all desire for
etinuilant completely removed by a five
weeks' course of treatment at the Lake-
hurst Institute, Oakville. It will repay
you well in every way, if you give it a
trial. For full information address: The
Manager, Lakelaurst Institute, Oakville,
Out.
A 14'3e64SM 0,1s Avstern Prinoinle,
MUT IYAL
RESERVE
FEND
• I "FE
Association
._—
,Edw. B. 'Harper
Founder.
:Fred. A. Burn.
ham
President.
Is Years Com-
pleted
The Largest
and
Stron west
Natural
Premium
Lifeinsurance
Company
In the World,
$89,000,000 ofNOW Rusihoss in 1805..
$808,660,000.of. Bminess•in Force.
$4,08-1,07A Death Claims
Began.
' t
125,000,000 Death Cias Paidijnent Business
1895 shows an increase in Gross Assets, Ne.
Surplus,
Income and Business in Force.
VrOver 105,8'0 members interested.
fjigMtrigitY',Manater
fOntario,Fiehoid LanBldiuToronto Out. R. VoNICHOL, 4auager or Mahltoba,
British Columbia and North-West Territories,
McIntyre Block. Win»ipejr, Mae.; B. 5, aBs-,
SETTE, Manager for QuebecisPlace d' Armes,
Montreal, Que.; COL. JAMES DOMVILLE,
Manager for New Brunswick,'St. John, N. B.;
W. J. MTJRRAY, Manager for Nova Scotia,
Halifax, N. S.