The Clinton News-Record, 1898-10-05, Page 2A STRANGER'S WLR'
IIEV. DR. TALMAGE PREACHES .AN
ELOQUENT SERMON.
He Draws some Useful Lessons Fro* CIO
Conversion of NIncveh-Preclaloa 1Str
Punctuality of the Divine A tflc ►
went -Religious Warning May :Stern
Preposterous -God Glues Every Alan se
Fair Chance for ais Life. e
' A despatch from Washington says: ---
Dr. Talmage preached from the follow-
ing text: "Yet forty days, and Nineveh
shall be overthrown," -Jonah iii. 4.
On the banks of the Tigris there is a
great capital, sixty miles in circum-
ference, surrounded by a wall
broad enough to allow three chariots
to go abreast ; fifteen hundred tur-
rets, each two hundred feet high, car-
rying aloft the grandeur of the city.
There are six hundred thousand inhabi-
tants. The metropolis is not like our
crowded cities; but gardens wreathe
the homes of private citizens with
tropical blaze of color, wet with the
spray of falling waters, and there are
pasture fields, on which cattle browse,
In the very midst of the city. It is a
delicious climate, even in midsummer
never rising to more than seventy de-
grees. Through the gates of that
city roll the commerce of Eastern ,and
Western Asia. On its throne sits
Sardanapalus, his every meal a ban-
quet, his every day a coronation. There
are polished walls of jasper and chal-
cedony, bewildering with arrow -head
inscriptions and scenes of exciting
chase and victorious battle. There are
mansions adorned with bronze, and
vases, and carved statues of ivory, and
ceilings with mother-of-pearl, and
mantel enamelling, and floors with
slabs of alabaster. There are other
walls with sculptured flowers, and
panelling of Lebanon cedar, and burn-
isbed copper, and doorways guarded by
winged lions. The city roars with
chariot wheels, and clatters with
swift hoofs, and is all a -rush and a-
blaze with pomp, and fashion, and pow-
er. The river Tigris bounds the city
on one side, and moat and turretted
wall bound it on the other sides, and
there it stands defiant of earth and
heaven. Fraud in her store -houses.
Uncleanness in her dwellings. Obscene
display in her theatres. Iniquity ev-
erywhere. Nineveh the magnificent.
Nineveh the vile.
NIN.EVEH THE DOOMED.
One day, a plain -looking man comes
through the gate into that city. He is
sunburned as though he had been
under the browning process of
a sea voyage. Indeed, he had been
wrecked and picked up by such a life-
boat as no other man ever rode in -a
whale's fins and flukes being to him
both oars and rudder. The man had
been trying to escape his duty of
preaching a disagreeable .sermon ; but
now, at last, his feet strike the street
of that city. No sooner has he passed
under the shadow of the wall and en-
tered it, than clearing his throat, for
loud and distinct utterance, he begins;
and the water carrier sets down his
jug, and the charioteer reins in the
steeds, and the soldiers on the top of
the wall break ranks to look and lis-
ten, while his voice shivers through
the avenue, and reverberates amid the
dwelling of potentate and peasant, as
he cries out: " Yet forty days, and
Nineveh shall be ,overthrown!" The
people rush out of the market places
and to the gates to listen to the
strange sound. The king invites the
man to tell the story amid the corri-
dors of the palace. The courtiers
throng in and out amid the statues,
and pictures, and fountains, listening
to the startling message: " Yet forty
days, and Nineveh shall be overthrown.'
" What is that fellow about ?" says
some of the 'people. "Is he a madman
escaped from his keepers? He must he
an alarmist, Who is announcing his
morbid fears. He ought to be arrested
and put in the prison of the city." But
still the man moves on, and still the
cry goes up: " Yet forty days, and
Nineveh shall be overthrown." There
is no madness in his eye, there is no
fanaticism in his manner, but only a
Divine authority, and a terrible earn-
estness which finally seizes the whole
city. People rush from place to place
and say: " Have you seen that pro-
phet ? What does he mean? Is it to be
earthquake, or storm, or plague, or be-
siegement of foreign enemy ?" Sardan-
apalus puts off his jewelled array and
puts on mourning, and the whole city
goes down on its knees, and street
cries to street, and temple to temple,.
and the fifteen hundred turrets join
the dirge: " Yet forty days, and Nine-
veh shall be overthrown."
A BLACK COVERING
is thrown over the horses and the sheep
and the cattle. Forage and water are
kept from the dumb brutes so that
their distressed hellowings may make
a dolorous accompaniment to the lam-
entation of six hundred thousand souls
who wring their hands, and beat their
temples, and throw themselves into the
dust, and deplore their sin, crying out:
" Yet forty days, and Nineveh shall
be overthrown?"
God beard that cry. He turned aside
from the affairs of eternal state, and
listened. He said: "Stop! I must go
down and save that city,. It is re-
penting, and cries for help, and they
shall have it, and Ninevah shall live."
Then the _apple took down the tim-
brels, and loosened the foot of the
dance, and flung new light on the pan-
els of alabaster, and started the sup-
pressed fountains, and the children
clapped their bands; and from Sarden-
npnlus on the throne, clear down to
the keeper of the city gate, where
brown -faced Jonah went in with hia
'hi idling message, there were song and
laughter, and congratulation, and fes-
tivity and jubilee. " And God saw
their works, that they turned from
their evil way; and God repented of
the evil that He hid said He would
do unto them; and He did it not."
1 learn, in the first place, from this
subjectthe preeesion and punctuality
of the Divine arrangement. You will
see that God decided exactly the day
when Nineveh's lease of mercy should
end. If Jonnb preached that sermon
on the first day of the month, then the
doom was to fell upon Nineveh on the
tenth day of the next month. So God
decides what shall be the amount of
our rebellion. Though there may be
no Sound in the heavens, He has deter-
mined the length of His endurance of
our sin. It may be forty days, it may
be forty hours, it may be forty minutes,
it' may he forty seeonds. The fact that
the affairs of God'a government are in-
finite and multifarious is no reason
why He should not attend to the min-
utiae. God no more certninly decided
thnt on June 15th, 1215, Eng' ind should
breve her Magna Charts ; n r that for-
ty days after Jonnh preachers that ter-
mini, Nintwah'n ehMTice Tor mercy ahnttid
end unless she repented, than He bas
the Point beyond which yon
#tat oases and stili obtain the
teinenoy, What careful walking:
t t •tp make for those who are
UAW,lest the hour -glass of their
OPPertItnit,r be almost empty. Men
atfd lvo?I1Qn do not lose their souls
through putting off repentance for
ever, but only by putting it off one
:second after the ti.n:Le is up. They pro-
pose to become Christian in mid-life,
but they die in youth; or they pro-
pose in old age to be Christians, but
they die in mid-life; or on the forty-
first -day they will Uttend to the mat-
ter, but on the fortieth
NINEVEH IS tERTHROWN.
Standing on ship` deck amid acoil
of chains, sailors r ughly tell you to
stand back if you do not want Our
limes broken, or by the chains be
hurled overboard; for they are go-
ing tr, let out the anchor, and when
the anchor does go the chains make
the deck smoke with their speed. As
swiftly our time runs away from us.
Now it seems coiled all around us in a
pyramid of years, and days, and min-
utes, but they are going, and they will
take us off with their lightning velo-
city. If I should by some superna-
tural revelation to -night tell you just
how long or how brief will he your
opportunity for repentence and salva-
tion, you would not believe me. You
would say: "I shall have tenfold that
time; I shall have a hundredfold that
time." But you will not have more;
you will have less. You have put off
repentance so long that you are going
to be very much crowded in this mat-
ter of the soul's salvation. The cor-
ner of time That is left you is so small
that you will hardly have room to
turn around init. You are like an ac-
countant who has to have a certain
number of figures added up by four
o'clock in the afternoon. It is two
full round hours' work, and it is a
quarter past three o'clock, and yet he
has not begun. You are like a man
in a case of life and death, five miles
from the depot, and the train starts
in thirty minutes, and you have not
hltrnessed the horse. You are like a
man who comes to the bridge across
a swollen river in time of a
freshet. The circumstances are such
that he must go across. The bridge
quivers, the abutment begins to give
way; but he stands, and halts, and
waits, until the bridge cracks in twain
and goes down, hoping then that on
the floating timbers he may get over
to the other shore.
God is not looking Inertly and un-
concernedly upon the position you oc-
cupy. Just as certainly as there is a
bank to the ebbing river, just. so cer-
tainly there is a bank to the river of
your opportunity. The margin is fix-
ed. There will be a limit to God's
forbearance. "Yet forty days, and
Nineveh pha1l be overthrown."
Still further; I learn from this sub-
ject that religious warning may seem
preposterous. So it is now that re-
ligioun warning seems to many an
asburdity. It is more to them a joke
than anything else. ."Repent ? Pre-
pare? Was there ever ai man with
st.ienger health than I have? Vision
clear, hearing alert, lungs stout, heart
steady. Insurance companies tell me
I shall have seventy years of life. My
father and mother were both long
diced Feel the muscle in my arm."
AL, my brother, it is not preposterous
when I come out to tell you that you
need to make preparation for the fu-
ture I. have noticed that it is
THE INVALIDS WHO LIVE ON,
They take more care of their health,
and so they outlive the robust and
athlete. I have• noticed in my circle
of a,gtaiutnnces, for the last few
years, that five rpbust and ' athlete
rite 6:, out of life to one invalid.
Death prides himself on the strength
of the cattle he takes. t "Boast not
thyself of the morrow, for thou know -
est not what a day may bring forth,"
A splinter may he lancet sharp enough
to bleed our life away. Look out! The
plip of a train from the track,the rush
of a runaway horse through the street,
any one of ten thousand perils may be
upon you. "In snob a day and hour
as you think not, the Son of Man
cometh." Your • opportunitse. for- ve.-
pentabee is ahetiost over. "Yet forty
days and Nineveh shall be over-
thrown."
Still further: I learn from my sub-
ject that God gives every man a fair
chance for his life. The iniquity of
Nineveh was accumulating. It had
been rolling up and rolling up. There
the city lay -blotched, seething, fest-
ering under the sun. Why did not
God put an end to its iniquity? Why
did not God unsheath some sword of
lightning from the scabbord of a
storm -cloud and slay it? Why did
He not with some pry of an earth•
quake throw it into the tomb where
Caraccas and Lisbon now lay? \Vhy
did He not submerge it with the scorn
of His indignation, as He did Hercul-
aneum and Pompeii? It was because
He wanted to give the city a fair
chance. You would have thought
that thirty days would have been
enough to repent in, or twenty days,
or ten days. Aye, you would have
said: "11 that city don't quit ils sin
in five days, it never will." But see
the wide margin. Listen to the gen-
erosity of time.."Yet forty day.;!"
Be frank, my brother, and confess
to -night that God is giving you a fair
chance for safety, a better one than
He gave to Nineveh. They had one
prophet. You have beard the voices
of fifty. ThOy had one warning. You
h•tve had a thousand. They had forty
days. Some of you have had forty
years. Sometimes the warnings of
God have come upon your soul soft as
the breath of lilies and frankincense,
and then again as though hurledfrom
a catapult of terrific providence. God
has sometimes led you to see your un-
saved condition while you were walk-
ing amid perils, and your hail. stood
on end, and you stopped breathing;
you thought your last moment had
come. Or, through protracted illness.
He allowed you in many a midnight
to think over this subject -when alt
was still save the ticking of the clock
in the hall and the beating of your
own anxious heart. Warned that you
were a sinner. Warned that you
needed a Divine Saviour. Warned of
coming retribution. Warned of an
eternity crowded with splendour or
catastrophe. Warned by the death of
those with whom you were familiar.
WARNED DAY AFTER DAY,
and month after month, and year aft-
er year -warned, warned, warned.. 0!
my dear brother, if your soul is lost,
in the day of judgment you will have
to aeknoe ;edge "no mon ever had a
better cLance for heaven than I had.
I was preached to, and prayed for, and
Divinely solicited. I was shewn the
right, and fully persuaded of it ; hut I
did not. act, and I did not believe,
and now, in the presence of a burning
earth and a flying heaven. I tnke the
whole responsibility. Hear me, men 1
Angels! Devils I -I took the life of my
own soul ; and I did it so thoroughly
that it is done for ever. And now I
trudge off over the hot desert and
under the burning sky --a suicide) A
Suicide I"
Yes, I think you have all been
warned; but if up until this very
hour you have happened to escape
such intimation to -night I ring it in
your ears: "Yet forty, days and
Nineveh shall be overthrown!"
Still further: I learn from this sub-
ject that when the people repent, the
Lord lets them off. While yet Nine-
veh was on its knees, and Sardanapal-
us sat in the ashes, and the unfed
cattle were yet moaning in the air,
and the people yet deploring their sin,
God reversed the judgment, and said:
"Those people have repented. Let them
rw.. Sated".vt,ednd. f iia newlaces fleww, eedTh,e gat
I* T S ..
bendred, thousand people saved -
belt of sixty, utiles•,et city saved. Le `
the awe ;be *lung from one wall to
the Other; from the east wall, clear
oyer to the west wall. Let the bells
ring. Let the cymbals slap. Let
flag's be flungcat from all the fifteen
hulndred turrets, Let the king's
lamp -lighters kindle up the throne -
room. "And God saw their works,
that they turned from their evil way;
and God repented of the evil that He
had said that He would do unto them;
and He did it not." In other words,
when a sinner repents, God repents.
The one gives up his sins; the other
gives up his judgments. The moment
that a man turns to God, the relation
of the whole universe towards him is
changed, and the storms, and
the lightnings, and the thunders,
and the earthquakes, and the gran-
deurs of the jedgment day, and the
realities of the eternal world, all be-
come his coadjutors. God and the
angels come over on his side. iRepent,
give up your sin and turn to God, and
you will be saved, "Ah," says some
one, "that's a tough thing to do." "I
have been drinking," says some one;
or, "I have been unchaste," says some
one; or, "I have been blasphemous,"
says another; or, "I have been a jSab-
bath breaker," says another; or, "I have
a hard heart," says another, "and now
you ask me to give up my sin. I can-
not do it -and I wont do it." Then
you will die. That is settled. •But
somebody else says: "I /will give uperey
sin, and I will now take the Lord for
my portion." You will live. That ie
just as certainly settled. You will
to -night either have to fling away sin
or fling away heaven. The one is a
husk -the other is al cornet. The one
is a groan -the other is an anthem.
The one is a sting -the other is an il-
lumination. Christ's fair complexion,
of which his contemporaries wrote, is
gone, and His fade is red, and His
hands as red, and His feet are red
with the rushing blood of His own
suffering endured to get you out, of
sin, and death and hells Oh, will you
to -night implore Him to let His suf-
fering take the place of your ill
desert? If you will, all is well, and
you may now begin to twist garlands
for your brow, for
YOU ARE ALREADY A VICTOR.
All heaven comes surging upon your
soul in the announcement: " there is
no condemnation to them which are in
Christ Jesus." Now, will you (10 it? I
care nothing for a sermon unless it
has an application, and this is the
application: will you do it? "Ah,"
says some one, "I believe that is
right. I mean some day to surrender
the entirety of my nature to God.
is reasonable. I mean to be a
Christian, but not now," That is what
thousands of you are saying. I am
afraid if you do mot give your heart to
God to -night, you never will, You
may have heard of the ship Rebecca
Goddard that came near one of our
porte this last winter. They were
all scoured up and ready for the land-
ing, when comeng, almost into the har-
bour,, an ice -floe took the ship and
pushed it out to sea, and it drifted
about two or three days, and there
was great suffering, and one was
frozen dead at his post. How near
they got into the hart our, and yet
they did not get in. How many there
are here to -night who feel they are
almost in the harbour of God's mercy.
Why do you not come ashore, lest
Tome ice -floe of sin and worldliness
drive you out again to the sea, and
you die in the rigging? I throw you
the rope to -night. I hurl you this warn-
ing. Make fast to heaven now. This
moment is vanishing, and with it may
go everything; and so I run up and
town through this audience with the
banner of the cross: Rally, immortal
men, rally!
"But," aye some one in the house.
"I wont take your advice. I'll risk
it. I dcfy God. Here I take my
stand, and I ask no odds either of
earth or heaven." Let me tell such
that you are in a battle where you
will be worsted. "Yet forty days!"
erhaps thirty days. Perhaps ten
days. Perhaps three days. Perhaps
one daga The horses that drag-on,that
chariot- of doom are lathered with the
foam of a great speed, and their hoofs
clip fire from the flinty •road, and their
nostrils -throb with the hot haste as
they dash on. Get out of the way, or
the wheels will roll over you. You
cannot endure the ire of an incensed
Gori. Throw yourselves down on your
knees now and pelt the henvene with
bloodred cries for mercy. The ter-
minal chance is going; the last, the
last chance is going, going. 0, wake
up before you wake up among the lost.
May Coe Almighty, by Hie Eternal
Spirit, wake you up.
There is a story running indistinct-
ly though my mind of a maiden ;whose
love was doomed to be put to death
when the curfew bell struck nine
o'clock at night, and she thought that
if she could keep that bell from ring-
ing for a little while her lover and
friend would be spared. And so
under the shadow of the night she
crept up into the tower and laid hold
of the tongue of the hell. lefterawhile
the Sexton tame up to the tower and
put his hand on the rope, and waited
for the right moment to come; and
then by the light of his lantern kind
his watch he found it was nine o'clock,
and he seized the rope and he pulled,
and the hell turned, but in silence,
and the maiden still held on
to the tongue of tho bell
swinging back and forth wildly
through the belfry, and the curfew bell
rang not and so time was gained and
pardon arrived, and a precious life
was saved. 0, it seems to me as if
there were those here doomed to death.
You have condemned yourselves. It
seems to me as if the death knell of
your immortal soul were about to
strike. The angel of God's justice has
his band on the rope, yet I seize the
tongue of that bell, and I hold on, hop-
ing to gain a little time, and I cry out:
"0 God, not yet 1 not yet I" hoping that
time may be gained and pardon may
fly from the throne and your soul may
live. May the God who saved Nineveh
save you. But some of you have put
it off so long that I fear time is up.
ANIMALS THAT NEVER DRINK.
There are some animals which never
drink; for instance, the llamas of Pata-
gonia and certain gazelles of the
Far East. A number of snakes, liz-
ards and other reptiles live in places
devoid of water. A bat of Western
American inhabits waterless plains. In
parts of Lozere, France, there are
herds of cows and goats which hardly
ever drink, and yet produce the milk
for Roquefort cheese.
BOTH HATED ED IT.
She-'Wltewl If I'd known you'd
smoked a horrid pipe, I never would
have married you.
JIe-If I'd known I couldn't smoke
oigara and support a woman, too, I
never would have married you.
The waiters, bell -boys, and other at-
tendants at the Fifth Avenue Hotel,
are inclined to stumble over one an-
other in their eagerness to serve Day, -
Id H. Moffatt, the Colorado' Millionaire,
who is frequently a guest there. When
he rings for a glass of lee -water, his
tip to the bell -boy is usually a dollar;
when his dinner pleases him, his re-
gular tip to the waiter is five dollars.
His Most generous tip was to Tom Gay,
the Tread waiter, whom lie recently took
'with bttn on a trip to irurope.
SUNDAY SCITOOL.
INTERNATIONA LESSON, OCT,. 9
"Jeiloshaphat's Cool ROW' V,!%1•.*Ron H.
1-10, Golden Text. Frirv.:3 6..
PRACTICAL NOW.%
Verse 1. Strengthened himself against
Israel. The young king had every
reason to expect attacks from the
north, for all his predecessors had been
forced to resist the aggressions of the
kings of Samaria. But Jehoshaphat
was a statesman as well as a soldier,
and we find that his steel -clad' hand
was soon extended in friendship to the
Israelite king. His first action was,
wisely, to prepare for war; his sec-
ond, still more wisely, was to estab-
lish peace, '
2. He placed forces in all the fenced
cities. In Jehoshaphat's age "stand•
ing armies" were in their infancy, and
it was the novelty of garrisons in the
great fortifications that led to this
special record. Amid present condi-
tions no ruler would think of erecting
a fortification without a garrison to
occupy it. Set garrisons in the land
of Judah. He established military
posts, and it is not improbable that
the standing army of Judah was the
earliest in the world's history. The
cities of Ephraim, which Asa his fa-
ther had taken. What these cities
were and when they were taken we
do riot know. It will be wise for the
teacher to read carefully the rest of
this chapter, and the next three also,
so as to get a complete view of Jehoshs
aphat's reign.
�J. The Lord was with Jehoshaphat,
Simply because Jehoshaphat was with
the Lord. The reason given by the
chronicler is not exactly plain to us
because of a slight question concern-
ing the text: Because he walked in
the first ways of his father David.
Many commentators believe "the first
ways" to mean the former ways, and
to contrast the relative purity and
holy ideals of the youthful king Da-
vid with the selfishness and sordid
characteristics which made him fall in-
to sin in his later years. But there are
reasons for supposing that the word
"David" has been put here accident-
ally. It dues not stand in the,Vatican
text of the Septuagint, which is the
motet valuable of all ancient versions
cif the Old Testament; and if it be
omitted, and we read, "he walked in
the first ways of his father," the refer-
ence is to Asa. Additional probability
gathers around this reading when we
get to the next verse, and find that
the word "father" there refers to
Asa, and when we read in the paral-
lel passage, 1 Kings 22. 43, "he walk-
ed in all the ways of Asa his father."
Asa's early life was conspicuously of
a higher moral tone than were his
later years. Sought not unto Raalim.
Which word here is probably used
generically 'to include all idolatry.
There were many sorts, ranging from
the worship of the true God with
the help of images, "the stn
of Jeroboam," down to the foulest
orgies that were ever misnamed wor-
ship. It is hard for unspiritual people
to worship without the help of their
senses. forms and ceremonies can-
not be done without till one has gone
far in faith, and to the very end of
our earthly life they are to a (degree
needed; but the tendencyi of unspiritu-
al people is always to elevate the
form above the spirit. Baalim is a
plural word-Baals; while there was
but one Baal, he had in the ancient
mind many personifications. The wor-
ship of the Phenician god Baal was
greatly strengthened in Isreal during
J'ehoshaphal's reign in Judah by the
'aggressive conduct of Queen Jezebel,
who had come from Phenicia
4. Sought to the Lord God of his
father. This, coming after verse 3,
seems to carry the meaning that he
not only imitated his father's policy,
' but that he shared his father's deepest
.religious convictions and experienc-
eta. Walked • in his commandments.
The commandments of God. Not
;after the doings of Isreal. Even when
Israel,- was- faithful -to Jehovah and
, worshiped the God of its father,' it did
'f5bii irregularly, from the point of view
of this chronicler. The Israelites en
masse .aid nut periodically gather to
Jerusalem to participate in the great
national feasts. Their interests were
diverted to Bethel and Dan. But they
were not merely lax and heretical in
, form, and probably in belief also; they
had in many cases adopted the abom-
inations of the religion of Baal.
5. The Lord established the kingdom
in his hand. Whatever a nation enjoys
of strength and stability it receives
from the Lord, whose scepter sways
above all human counsels. All Judah
brought to Jehoshaphat presents. He
was honored by the loyalty, service,
and affections of his subjects. People
are apt to respect rulers who try to
do right. In politics there can he no
true abiding success without upright-
ness.
6. His heart was lifted up in the
ways of the Lord. There is an uplift-
ing of the heart in proud self-con-
sciousness, see 2 Chron, 26. 16, which
ends with ruin, and there is an up-
lifting of the heart in the ways of the
Lord which brings divine favor. High
places and groves. It was not enough
for him to himself walk in the ways
of the Lord. it was his duty to abol-
ish 1h3 popular idolatrous worship.
Asa had done this before, but he had
not done it quite so 1 horoughly, and
the Jews had secretly made new idols
in the latter part of his reign.
7. In the third year of his reign.
It probably took two years to so or-
ganize his kingdom as to make possi-
ble this holy work of reformation.
Early in his reign he thus real-
ized thit false religions could
not be extirpated unless the
people were thoroughly instructed in
the truth. One generation thoroughly
taught in the Bible, at home and in
the Sabbath school, will give the world
to Christ. Sent to his princes. He sent
out the nobles in the realm to leach
his people. Note the influence of high
social position in extending reform in
religion. Three classes of men were
employed in this remarkable itinernnt
ministry: 1. The princes; 2. The
Levites; 8. The priests.
8. Levites. it was a great Bible
school, an assembly hold all through
the kingdom to indoctrinate the mass-
es In Scripture truth. We do not won -
dor that under such training the land
rose to a position scarcely inferior to
the golden age of Solomon.
9. They heed the book of the
law of the Lord with them. Theirs
was a teaching rather than a preach-
ing service; nearer to the Sunday
school, we may imagine, than to the
public worship. Evidently the book of
the law of the Lord was exceedingly
soasce. It was intrusted to them first
of all for their own instruction, and,
second, as a guarantee of their high
mission. Those who instruct in God's
law should have it in their hands as
well as In their hoada; for themselves,
that their teachings may flow from
God's pure fountain and not from the
broken cisterns of human thought ;
for their hearers, who will feel the
power of the direct reference far more
than the mere quotation. Throughout
all the cities. Not merely the lead-
ing cities; the more remote, the great-
er the need. Let us seek out the pen -
pie without waiting to be sought by
the people.
10. The fear of the Lord fell upon
all the __kingdoms that were round..
about, The surrounding nations re-
spected the frontier of Jcb•.shnphat
•
and dreaded the wrath of hie mysteri-
ous deity. The world can see and will
honor those who are in earnest in
God's service.
EXPERT HORSEBACK RIDERS.
A Malan Cavalryman Threads a Needle at
a Gallop.
Writing about the amazing deeds of
expert horseback -riders, the New York
Sun quotes a story related by a mili-
tary gentleman of Los Angeles, Cali-
forhia. He was talking about "a Rif -
tion Irregular cavalryman."
"I have seen Cossacks snatch a baby
from its mother's arms at full gallop,
toss it into the air, catch it, and re-
peat the performance," said Captain
Rathbone. "I once saw an Indian
rider in the far Wetst spring from his
pony's bare back while the animal was
moving at full gallop, piok up an !ar-
row, and remount instantly in a
standing posture. I have seen other
performances all over the world, but
for a neat, clever, clean-out feat this
Riffian exceeded them all,. I think.
"Several of us had been at Gibraltar
and found ourselves at a town on the
Riffian coast. We were entertained
by the Spanish oommander, who did
the honors finely. One morning we
rode outside the town and reached a
level stretch of sand, where there
were a number of Riffian horsemen.
"They were fine-looking fellows,
with gleaming faces of bronze, white
teeth, and attired in snow -while burn-
ouses. They were mounted on small
animals, slight but quick and wiry, of
the thoroughbred Arab bar type.
" W e were amused some time by their
charges and evolutions. They would
throw their swords and matchlocks
into the air, catching them by the
hilts and stocks infallibly. Finally
it was announced that something of
unusual interest would be accomplish-
ed.
'One of the men produced a needle
and a piece of thread, possibly two or
three feet in length. They were both
handed around for inspection. I sup-
pose the needle was, a cambric one, and
the thread fifty or sixty fine. When
we bad duly inspected both, one ois the
men signified that he would thread
the needle.
"He galloped his horse down the
sand about four hundred yards or so.
He finally wheeled his horse and re-
mained stationary, facing us. The
one who held °the needle and thread
waved them in his hand and rode to-
ward the other. When he had cover-
ed about two-thirds of the distance, he
halted and waved his hand to the far-
ther one. Immediately the latter
spurred his horse into a gallop, . and
came toward us at full speed. .As he
passed the other he took the needle
and thread from bis companion, bent
over for a moment, and pulled up when
he reached our party, holding, the
threaded needle triumphantly over his
head." •
A PATHETIC STORY.
The pathetic story of the last time
that Beethoven ever touched a piano-
forte is not very widely known. Hewes
traveling from Baden to Vienna, in
response to an urgent call from his
favorite nephew, who was in trouble,
and, to save money, was making the
greater part of the journey on foot. A
few leagues from Vienna he became
exhausted, and was obliged to ask a
night's shelter at a bumble house near.
The family received him kindly, gave
him .supper, ana then invited him to
a comfortable seat near the fire. Then
the head of the house opened a small
piano, and the sons each brought an
old musical instrument, and all began
For 25 years Beethoven had been'.,
deaf, and the music was' unheard by
him, but be could see its deep effect.
Wife and daughter laid their needles
down and listened• with tears stealing
down their cheeks, while the musici-
ans played with moist eyes dimming
the notes. Beethoven watched their
emotion enviously, and when the play-
ers ceased asked to see the music' that
had moved them so. The pianist hand-
ed him the "Allegretto in Beethoven's
Symphony in A." He flushed with hap-
piness. "I em Beethoven! Come and
let us finish it." Going himself to the
.piano, he played the remainder of the
evening following the concerted music
with heavenly improvisations. Far in
to the night he played, while the oth-
ers listened enraptured.
When he went to bed his veins seem-
ed full of fever. He could not sleep
and finally stole out of doors for
fresh air, remaining until he was thor-
oughly chilled. In the morning he was
too ill to proceed on his journey, and
his anxious hosts sent for a physician
and summoned his friends in Vienna,'
Hummel was almost the only one to
come, and he stood inconsolably be-
side the master's bed, as he lay there
apparently unconscious. Atlast. Beeth-
oven moved and caught IIummel's
bands in both of his own, "Ah, Hum- 1
mel, I musthave had some talent I''
he said faintly. They were his last
words.
Flowers for Flirting
Flirting with flowers is not only new
but it's English. It appears to have
been introduced by soma of the smart
young set in England's aristocratic
and titled society. Its code is now
well known to many pretty girls and
howling swells at Brighton and Bourne-
mouth, as well us ncrnss the Channel,
for English flirts have carried it to
Homburg, to Cannes and 9'rouville.
For instance, lake the rad, red ruse,
ordinarily accepted as the pledge of
true love. In the language of the flow -
Br flirt it conveys the idea of secre-
tiveness. So it is that a red rose held
to the lips of a pretty „girl moans
"Can you keep a secret 1" or "Will
you tell?" A white rose similarly held
says, " I trust you implicitly,"
The girl with a bunch of carnations
next her heart ennnot have the same
thoughts and ideas as she who hides
her laughing lips and penrly teeth in
n cluster of sweet peas, The former
pours forth the passion of her heart
and soul; the latter is free from a
single serious thought, and says no
more than this, " Why, yea, of course.
I'm a jolly good fellow."
The jack rose is the real flower of
passion, but it is not a favorite med-
ium of flirtation, save ono of the most
desperate character. Such a rose is too
fierce and hard to be popular. Yet
it figures in the code, and when held
lightly in between the lips by its short
stem means, "Don't think yourself so
awfully smart. It takes two to play
at that game."
,But the dninty little rosebud, what
cannot be expressed with it 1 Where
lives the man who can resist the temp-
tation placed before him by the sweet
faced girl, between whose ruby lips
rest rightly the fragrant, tiny, mod-
est bttd 1
Alt the glorious wild floweret What
a flirtation xuay be carried On where
they grow in abundance!, They enable
the girl flirt to appear innocent as the
daisy, as demure as the gladiolus or
as fascinating as the golden* rod, Then
there's the lily of the field, the embl'era
of purity. With it how she may repel
and command 1
With other flowers the flirt may
laugh and jest and coquet, but when
in her arms is held a stalk of lilies
thereis but one thing to be inferred --
the flirtation is at an end.
THEY STICK TO THE BIKE.
t~
BRITISH MILITARY MEN STILL
WANT THE SILENT STEED.
Ileo From the Regulars to Ile Thoroughly
i
nculcate
d lu Cycilug IIrII - Advantages
Over the Cavalryman-Depnrirueuts in
the Array ha Which the Cyclist Is Very
Successful.
The impossibility of testing the uti-
lity of the bioyole as a part bf the
paraphernalia of war during the opera-
tions of the United States army in
Ciba has not in the least discouragb3
the English advocates of the forma-
tion of a corps of military wheelmen.
On the contrary, the absence of the
bioyole in the Cuban campaign is used
as an argument in its favor,of a,'nega-
tive kind. Had the country been civil-
ized enough to possess good roads, it
is pointed out, there would have been
no distressing neglect of the wounded,
and the horrors of the road between
the firing line at San Juan and the
hospital, eight miles away, would
never have been. With a good path
fit for wheelmen to travel on, the bi-
cycle -ambulances would have conveyed
the wounded swiftly and smoothly to
the doctors' hands. There would
have been heard no cry of "ambulanc-
es and -wagons left behind for lack of
room." (Bicycle ambulances take up
little room, can be easily transported,
and, above all, don't require horses.
Col. Stracey, of the famous Scots'
Guards, is the man who first suggest-
ed the use of the bicycle in the Brit-
ish army, and after twelve years' per-
sistent hammering away at his pet
idea, he has at last succeeded in ;get-
ting the authorities to look with favor
upon the pian to establish a well -
drilled cycling corps in the regular
set. vice)
The volunteers, have long had their
cycling corps. The war office tried to
discourage the idea when it was first
mooted, but their opposition failed to
prevent the formation, on April 1,
1889, of the
FIRST MILITARY CYCLING CORPS.
the Twenty-sixth Middlesex Volun-
teers. '10 -day it, sm
est, and moil efficientisthe corps to Eart-
ng-
land, and it is mainly due to itsexer-
tions that the war office has been in-
duced uitlmattly to adopt the cycle in
connection with the regular service.
At the present moment it can mobilize
force of 120 men. It is a curious cir-
cumstance that, when this corps was
founded, it applied in the natural
course of things to the war office for
an official drill; but even this formal-
ity wad denied the cyclists, and they
were thus compelled to formulate their
own drill. When Lord Wolseley step-
ped into the position of commander-in-
chief of the British army vacated by
the Duke of Cambridge, it was antici-
pated that some concession to the
cyclists would be made, as Lord Wol-
seley had declared "that they would
be invaluable, especially upon the fine
roads in India." But the anticipation
was not realized, and it was only re-
cently that the army Authorities re-
lented, and now propose -'to dtaav" a
certain number' of..men:_, from, ytrLe
regulars and thoroughly to inculate
them in cycling drill at Aldershot.
The manoeuvess have shown that in
action the military cyclist requires
plenty of room to move around smart-
ly. etihen extended in a lateral line,
one, yard must be left between wheels
e enable the rider to ground his ma-
chine without .clashing with his neigh-
bor. !When marching in file, or single
file -that is, one behind the other in
one longitudinal line -a distance of
one foot aL the least, or, as it is call-
ed in the military vernacular, a "cy-
cle distence," must be regulated •be-
tween the wheels. µ3s may be natur-
ally supposed, to maintain anything
like order and uniformity the speed of
marching has to be gauged by the
pace of the slowest rider; but the aver-
age marching speed is about
TEN MILES PER HOUR.
This fluctates, however, according to
conditions of the road and the weath-
er. It is almost impossible to main-
tain an absolutely compact order, as
accidents to the machine, such as a
puncture, compel a man to drop out.
As a rule, while en route the cyclists
"march at ease," and,as they may not
leave their positions, they have a little
more latitude extended to them than
the ordinary soldiers, being permitted
to talk and to smoke.
As an advance guard it has been
demonstrated that the cyclist is in-
valuable. ;He presents a very small
mark as compared with a cavalryman,
'and when he is pursued nothing short
of the breakdown of his wheel Ilan
stop him. His tactics are bewildering
for he can advance and retire so swift-
ly that an enemy never knows where
he has been or where to look for him
nest.
!Another advantage among the many
that the cyclist soldier has over the
'cavalryman is this; Supposing the
horsemen wish to rltstuount en Mater to
use their carbines. one man out of
every foul' must hold the bridles of
the houses of his three comrades, so
that their attacking fore is thereby
reduced by 25 per cent. Even when
driven to duty, a posse of eyulists is by
no menus a despicable for. In this
eventually they take up their po itiona
behind the grounded eyelees, front
whence they can maintain a terrible
rifle fire. One hundred cyclists in such
a position could fire alum, 10.0,l0
rounds, so that they could account for
a fairly good number of their oppon-
ents before amin unition was a>pendcd.
Tho cyclist's paramount 1 neine»s is
skirmdshittg, recommit prints, ear rying
dispatches, and o'etnining information
in which departments he is eminently
successful, being able to hold out long-
er than horses. 1t is pre-eminence in
these duties of war that has earned
for the cycle corps the apposite cogno-
men of "the eyes and ears of the
army," After nightfall, owing to the
rapidity and silence with whieli he
moves, the cyclist is especially office -
elms, being able to creep along, noise-
lessly in the shadow, and at any mom-
ent whizz by the sentry.
When armed with the quick -firing
guns, with which they' aro about td be
equipped, these cyclist soldiers will"
form the most formidable corps in the
British volunteer army.
Dere's always bound to be kickers
exclaimed M andering Mike, "Did you
ever know a time xvhen de people
agreed unanimously dat dey had de
right man in de right pinecl OIn'y
ones, replied Plodding fete, I was
bein' put into jail nn de oceasion,
411W1416,- --In-11/11,1101101M0
p 8 DAY IN 8 DUTCH HUY.
A lady writer in the London Daily
Chronicle says: It is given to com-
paratively few to .,pay visits in 1101 -
land, for the Dutch are rather chary
of opening their doors to foreigners.
With public, -attention turned to the
little country for the sake of its youth-
ful Queen, there may be some who
would like to receive the imp at
eljLee
of an average English girl as to an
average Dutch home.
1 used to wake very early in the
Hague. Not nearly se early, however.
as the busy servants, in their short
skirts and tight lace caps. They rise
to clean the atreets in front of their
masters' houses, as streets are surely
never cleaned elsewhere. Spriugless
carts jog over the uneven pebbles of
the Zeestraat, largely freighted with
glittering milk cans and tidy old wo-
men. k'ruit and vegetable vendors
shriek the nature of their wares with
a harsh insistence of most aleesemltr-,
dering sort. So I get up and dresie
and linger at the window. Truth to tell,
the Dutch breakfast is not altogether
tempting. The windows are closed, and
Mynheer has obviously uuly just put
out his first cigar. Nor are the toilets
of Mevrow and Jufrow quite complete,
or enhanced by certain popular Eng-
lish hair -curlers. On the other hand,
the tea from Java is delicious, the ham
worthy of York. With the freshest of
eggs, one need not depend upon eith-
er the inevitable cheese or the
queer sausage. More especially as the
butter is perfection, despite the dam-
aging circumstance that we helped our-
selves with our own knives.
As to the Dutch "little breads,' they
are assuredly the best in the world.
Before the meal, all pray in a silence
that has a Quaker impressiveness of
its own. Then Mynheer, in a sonorous
voice, and with an indescribable accent,
reads a chapter from the French test-
ament. This ended, he vanishes, and
the ladies begin the arduous labours
of housekeeping. Mynheer was rich, his
cellar would have won the respect of
an alderman. Nevertheless, every ar-
ticle of food, plate, china and linen la
locked up, and weighed out, and talk-
ed over to an excruciating degree. Hon-
est Christie, the Friesland cook, was
radiant on Sundays with dangling ear-
rings of gold filigree, and a skull -cap
of pure gold under the fine thread lace
that is an heirloom. But she was never
trusted to take coffee or sugar at dis-
cretion. She had an aged mother whose
wooden shoes were too often heard
clicking in the back yard. Her spotless
kitchen was, scrubbed and rubbed at
some unearthly hour. As to the store
closet, crowded with potted vegetables
with dried meats, with potted vanilla
from Paramaribo, and scented spices
from Simatra, that is altogether the
sacred domain of Mevrow. Lunch came
at one o'clock. at rather resembled
Breakfast, save for a but dish of beef-
steak, and of those round, flowery po-
tatoes that grow incomparably in the
region of sandy Scheveningen. There
was tea, there was milk, there were
wines of all kinds: Mevrow was resplen-
dent in rich silks by this time, the
Jufrow prettily reminiscent of the
English modes she so much admired.
For Monday was reception day, and
by two o'clock: visitors, chiefly ladies,
dropped in plentifully. Aliso a newly -
married couple who had previously
been much discussed. The bridegroom
was of ancient family, and -horror of
horrors I -the bride was but bourgeoise
and very shy of the fire of critical
eyes directed towards her, despite her
smart new clothes.
At half past five came dinner and
two guests. Of course, they were cou-
sins, but, for all that, some of the hest
wines were brought out. Port and
sherry are served with rich soup, clar-
et with the rest of the repast. We
have over -roasted beef, carved after
the abominable Dutch fashion, by which
the carver whittles the meat away in
chips. \Ve have carrots in an exquis-
ite cream sauce; curry a 'Hollandaise,
with the rice in a pulp. Next irrevant-
ly comes a delicious mayonnaise of sal-
mon, and, finally, sugary puddings
and a handsome dessert of fine fruit.
At this stage the Rhine wines make
their appearance. Mynheer calls toast
after toast in old Rudesheim ; nor
does he neglect to press hilt choice li-
queurs. Heads are strong in Holland;
even the ladies sip their tiny glasses
of "' Parfait Amour." The hest china
was used on this occasion -rare old
Delft valued at twenty and thirty flor-
ins each plate. We did not linger for
coffee, but put on our hats and got
into the big old-fashioned carriage that
took u.s to Het den Bosch; in other
words, to the very beautiful beech
woods that surround the Hague, where
the spacious buildings belonging to
'the White Club make an agreeable
rendezvous for the gay world of the
capital. The night was fine and warm,
and, NvonderfuI to relate, not at all
damp. The band of the Grenadiers was
pitying the pretty music of the "Dame
Blanche." Very few people listened.
The Dutch are not a musical nation,
though everyone told me with pride
that these same Grenadiers bad once
wrested the gold medal from the
"Guides" of Belgian celebrity. V'e
had not indeed. much time to attend,
for every moment hats were raised
and greetings exchanged with profound
taws_ Mevrow brewed tea of alarming
strength, boiling her water c,n a
qusint stave that was, in fact, a pail
of tlaaitag chattveal. Our circle enlarg-
eest livery peessillee attention was shown
t to the .solitary foreigner. Butch gen-
tlemen are pidig.el enough of gallan-
tries evhieh do not souui amiss whis-
tpaieed in h"iaeneh At ten nil ens over,
east este wen` It lune 10 more lea and
duet emit eine Mel 51 last. Rt /111011I.°uaiduagtat•-ea ..Poem nit led wit 1* tent -
1k' ,'aniisins tired i leen nn orthodox
l'utetnwonaosn these mould have 1eon
rl.ut IS
etrawna tins. n g. rile nor
fi,+tea ani ,"teen ati iu,low s lobed me peaco-
ftid�r te> :leetep,
a BOUND TO GRUMBLE.
Mrs. Wetts-At rest you will
to admit that the lecture had the mer-
it of brevity.
Watts -Yes; but it was short at the
wrong end. Why didn't he begin an
hour sooner!
FOND OF' DISPLAY.
Mrs. Gadd, -I hear Mrs. Dadd is go-
ing to move,
Mrs. Gahb-Yes, site move every
year since Rho got her newe furniture.
1
When a `woman can speak three or
four languages fluently she is fool-
ish to throw herself away on a man
is a fool, or ease she has forgotten
that a word to the wiser le suffieleaat.