VISIT OF QUEEN
OF SHEBA
One of the Twelve Stories of Solomon.
BY THE "HIGHWAY AND BYWAY"
PREACHER
H'oii.vi Ictil, IVOH, I ho A 111 liol , W 8. IMmiii )
Scripture Authority. KIiibh, 10: L 13.
SERMONETTE.
fit
fit
"Behold, a greater than Solo-
mon la here." Do you hear the
challenge of Scripture? A con ff
temptation of thlo story of Solo-
It mon and appreciation of his wis-
V rjntv. r.lnxw lirlnn lAIHl Hlf (11
nothing but condemnation In if
$ that we can discern the splen- &
'"! dors that marked his life and if,
reign while at the 6ame time tit
we miss the beauty and charm of 'ft
'if the son of God, the greater than f(t
2; Solomon.
fi "Tho queen of the south shall
j rise up In the Judgment with 'if.
'fit this generation and shall con-
ff demn It." And the judgment $
fit will be just, for how can we es-
ff cape when we have neglected
;t so great opportunity of seeing
'if, and knowing him who is called
"Wonderful, Counsellor, The $
$ Mighty God, The Everlaotlng Fa- &
fft ther, The Prince of Peace?" fjf
' True it Is of the world as Isa- ?;
fit ,ah declares: "When we shall
sie him, there Is no beauty that
f we should desire him. He is ff
$ despised and rejected of men, a rjt
Mi Vman nf tnprniue rnrt arnnalnteri
1
with grief; and we hid as It
wer our facen from him: he
was despised and we esteemed fit
$ him not." It is not that the $
beauty and the glory and the fit
: power are not there, but it is 'if.
?!i that we turn our faces from fit
him who would reveal all these i
fft things to us, and see only the fit
:Jf temporal things of life. i
ft Having ears we hear not. But
if, not so with the queen of Sheba,
ft the country far, far to the south. ')
for when tidings came of a i(t
certain King Solomon, and of
. his wisdom and the splendors of fit
his kingdom, she listened to the
ifi story, and determined that she
would prove to hep own earB if
f(i and her own eyes that all she
had heard was true. And so
she camel fjt
$ CAME! Do you grasp the sig- 'Jft
nifjeance of that word? Where
you are now dwelling in ease if.
and contentment you will never -'
be able to know that these
things which are spoken of the
greater King Jesus are true.
You have heard the reports.
You have been told over and
over again by those who have
come straight from the presence
of King Jesus that he and he
alone can satisfy the heart of
man, and yet you have been
content to stay where" you are
in the far country of sin. Why
not, like the queen of 8heba,
come and prove whether the
things you have heard are really &
so 7
King Solomon received the
queen of Sheba because she
came as an honest inquirer. He
was willing that she shoulch see
and hear and know. And the
greater than Solomon invites
the most searching kind of hon
est investigation and testing.
'Prove me," Is the Invitation.
THE STORY.
nUT whut If the story In true?"
D and as the question kept prov
ing Itself In upon her, she tapped her
dalntlly-snndnled foot impatiently upon
the polished marble lloor. as though
Eager for Bible Knowledge.
Rov. W. M. .lunkln writes from
Korea of tho Korea; i Christians malt
ing sacrifices in order to attend the
Dlblo teaching sor vices and says:
'Whero but on tho mission Held can
you find mon clamoring for Hlbles
und running with them to anyone who
can teach them saying: 'Tell me the
meaning?' This Is the caso here and
it is tho most encouraging plume of
tho work In Korea at present."
Nature's Decoration.
: v During the past few months In
Switzerland mid France there havo
.been brought to light several caverns
.In which petrification of water has
wrought marvelous effects of crystal
line decoration. Tho last of these to
:bo announced is a magnificent grotto
I 'laid hare by a fall of rock at tho
'Vpolnto du Taland, Canton of Hollo
! Islo-on-Mor. Tho grotto Is accessible
. I ! A 1 11.1.
tow iiuu.
,
'' i .Need Cotton Hand Loom6,
I Tho rovlval of tho cotton hand loom
Id' 'thought to bo tho solution of the
question, of tho industrial regeneration
oX India. This year there woro spun
she demanded answer from the very
stones at her feet. Hut no answer
came to her ears but the soft, muf
lied tap of her foot upon the floor.
"It all conies from listening to the
Jdle tales of tho wanderer and adven
turer," she exclaimed at last Impa
tiently; and then almost In tho same
breath sho added:
"Hut what If the story is true?
How I wish I knew.
"This King Solomon of Israel must
he a wonderful person," she contin
ued musingly to herself, as she
threw herself upon the low divan and
gave free rein to tho thoughts which
crowded Into her troubled heart. "And
his God must be even more wonderful
than the gods or Sheba.
"Hut no." sho added hastily, "this
cannot he. Let mo not he disloyal to
my gods and my land. What fairer
land could they give than the spice
laden fields', the golden sands of her
rivers and the precious stones? Sure
ly tho Clod of Israel cannot have done
more."
"Hut your gods never divided the
waters of a mighty river, nor threw
down the walls of a city," came back
the answer as snatches of the story
or the nation of Israel canio to her
mind as they had been related to
'her but a few days before by the
traveler.
This tiaveler had come on one of
the trndlng ships which had touched
at a near-by port, and the wonderful
stories of the land from which he
had come had reached her ears and
she had sent, for hlin. And lie had
come, glad of tho chance to tell to the
bountiful queen of the land of Sheba
his story. Eagerly sho had listened
while he had told of tho peoplo of
Israel, of tho God of Israel and his
wonderful leadings and dealings, of
the land which ho had given to his
people, ami of the wonderful king
whom God had established upon the
throne. And when he had gone and
the first thrill of the story had been
spont, she found doubt creeping Into
her heart.
It was naught but the fair dream of
a romancer. No land could he bet
ter than her land. No gods wen
better than the gods of her fathers
and her fathers' fathers. Sin; would
not prove disloyal to them. Hut al
ways while she sought, thus to bring
herself, back to rest content with what
she ulready possessed, there persist
ed this question:
"What If the story is true?"
"And how shall I ever know wheth
er It. Is true or not?" sho asked her
self at last.
"Why not go and see?" An incredu
lous little laugh burst from her Hps
at the very thought, of such a thing,
und to prove that it was Impossible
she began to run over In her mind
the many seemingly insurmountable
things in the way of such a long,
hard and perilous journey. She
might just as well give up her people
and her kingdom as to undertake such
a journey, for while she was gone,
what might, not happen?
"Hut what If the story Is true?"
came back the question again and
again. And It gave her no peace. To
every reason great and sninll which
she could think of why she should not
go on the journey, the question kept
coming back with redoubled force
"What if it is true?"
"If it is true," she exclaimed at last
with an air of decision, "I want to
know. And how shall I know save as
I go and see for myself? Did x I send
a deputation to this King Solomon, I
should havo only their say-so. If
Israel has such a king and such
God. I must see and know for my
self, if 1 would be satisfied."
"And so would you go?" she asked
herself at last. "Yea. 1 would." she
exclaimed with an air of decision.
Rising hastily as though that matter
was now settled, she summoned her
waiting maid.
"Go, Folicn, and dispatch messen
gers to the port, I would see the
traveler who came thither on the
ship and who told such wonderful
f stories of the land from which he
came. .Make haste, for If I remember
2i;i,0o7,r:tl pounds of cotton, u falling
off o more than 14,000,000 pounds, but
tho yards woven amounted to 251,284,-
u, an Increase of 2:1,000,000 yards.
ihls bus been duo to tho meat in
crease in tho number of hand looms in
use.
Fortunes in Australia.
Tho 'commonwealth of Australia is
still wide enough and undeveloped
enough to offer those opportunities for
which adventurous and ambitious men
are over seeking. It still holds enough
or romance to glvo a zest to evory
day life. There are still fortunes to
be made by the man who boglns with
nothing but a stout heart and a ready
wlt.HrltlHh Australasian.
Bible in Dakota Schools.
There is at least one state in tho
union which doos not seem afraid to
teach the Niblo In tho public schools.
In North Dakota a two years' course
In Hlblo study has been made a part
or the curriculum of tho State Nor
mal school. Recently 330 pupils at
tended theso classes, which were glv
en by olllcors of the Sunday School
Bociatlon.
rightly the boat .vas to have sal:od
this day."
finis admonished Follca quickly had
the swiftest runner on his way, and
hat evening he had returned, bring-
ng with him the travoler whoso
stories had so nroiiBcd the fair queen.
Mow can one make the Journey to
thy land?" bIio demanded, engerly.
"What," exclaimed tho man, won-
derlngly, "would you face the fa
tigue and danger of so long a jour
ney
,.r
"Yes, yes," the queen responded.
Thy stories have roused in mo a
spirit which will not. bo stilled. I
nust go and prove thy words."
"And thou shalt not bo disappoint
ed," was the confident response.
One month later found tho quoen
of Sheba well on her way to tho
and of Israel. Her determination to
make the long, perilous Journey had
Mime as a surprise and shock to her
people, but when they realized her
earnestness of spirit and desire to
learn tho truth of the wonderful
tilings she had heard, they had at
ast heartily entered into her plans
and had laden her camels with tho
lcliest treasure which her kingdom
afforded, for, said they:
"Our queen shall carry off her best
to the land where the grent and
mighty God rules."
Hut, oh, tho wcarisomeness of that
ong journey. Had not her desire
been so great she would havo turned
back more than once. Hut It was
when on the burning sands of the
desert that the greatest test came.
riiore was murmuring among her
great retinue of servants and she was
weary and faint, and their water was
almost exhausted. Should she go on
or should she turn back? Did not her
own country offer all that her heart
could desire?
"Hut I would know of this wonder
ful King Solomon, and of tho God who
has his dwelling place in the midst of
ills people." she cried almost In
despair at last. "Yea, I will keep my
face set steadfastly toward this land
of Israel, though I perish In the at
tempt."
And with the final resolve and the
putting away of the temptation to
turn back there came peace to her
heart and she said, softly: "Perhaps
the God whom I seek will bring me
back this way after t have seen all
the wonderful things of which I havo
heard."
"Yes," said the queen, lifting her
eyes and looking about her. "Yos, I
thought I was not mistaken. This is
tho place. Ah, how near I came to
turning back in my quost, and how
Kind 1 am now that I kept on. What
wonderful things have I heard and
seen. Truly the God of Solomon Is the
one and only God. Not half was told
me of all the wisdom and prosperity
which the God of Israel has given his
servant Solomon. And now I go back
to my land, and the God of Solomon
shall be my God, and he shall bo the
God of my people, for I have seen and
do know that there are no gods like to
the God of Israel."
Aids Prison-Gate Work.
The Countess Von Hoos-Farrar, a
relative of the late Archdeacon Farrar,
Is deeply interested In tho prison-gate
work of the. Salvation Army. The
countess Is gifted with a beautiful
voice and has on several occasions
sung to the prisoners in the tombs.
She sang lately to the men of the
llowery mission, New York city.
Shows Gains.
The last report of 'the Presbyterian
Congo missions says: "The work is
gaining In quality and quantity. There
has beon a great increase in the in
tensity and extonslveness of tho work.
The results are worthy of all the sacri
fices made. The government and the
conscienceless Catholics are our chief
source of embarrassment."
Pay 18,000 Men In Twenty Minutes.
At the Haldwln Locomotive works,
Philadelphia, the clerks are so expert
in handing out wages on pay-day that
1S.000 men receive their pay in less
than 20 minutes.
Industrial School for Korean Boys.
The Southern Methodist mission in
Songdo, Korea, opened last year an in
dustrial school for boys with 17 pupils,
and now reports 120, which could bo
easily Increased to 203 If they could
bo accommodated. The girls' school
had last session 19 pupils, 23 of whom
were boarders and 40 members of tho
church.
Antlaulty of Beer.
Tho ancients had boor, but wkother
It was mndo from hops doos not ap
pear. It Is known that tho Egyptians
made beer from barley, and iJuny
writes of a beer that was mado in
Gaul and othor parts of Europe from
corn and wator. Lager beer, or Ger
man boor. Is probably of compara
tively modern dato.N. Y. American.
True Manhood.
It should be tho highest ambition of
every man to possess true manhood
that divine attribute which distin
guishes tho human from tho rest of
the animal creation and makes htm
tho best and noblest object beneath
tho 'skies, tho crowning work of an
almighty baud.
WHERE
LINCOLN
GREW
MANHOOD
LANDMARKS ASSOCIATED
WITH THE
lRLY LIFE
And INDIANA
N February 12 of
every year the
mind of every
American loyal cit
izen is momen
tarily turned to
the thought that
upon that day, just
so many years
ago, Abraham Lincoln, one of the
world's greatest men, was born. Some
morely give the celebration a. thought,
but those who havo made the life of
Abraham Lincoln a study, and those
people who live in Kentucky, Indiana
and Illinois look upon the birthday an
niversary as something more .than the
mere passing of a milestone. Each
of theso states claims a right to being
tho home of the man who has mado
for himself an immortal name In the
history of the world's greatest men.
Historians say that Lincoln was
born In Hardin county, Kentucky. In
fact, he was bora in La Rue county,
which, however, is a subdivision of
Hardin county. Chroniclers continue
wltji their biographies and say that
he, together with his father, mother
and a sister, went to Indiana and en
tered a claim to a piece of land in
Spencer county. As a matter of fact,
he entered a claim to a piece of land
In Warrick county, but which has been
Bet aside and named Spencer county.
The Lincolns went to Indiana in 1816,
the same year that Indiana was ad
mitted to the union as a state. Ho
entered a quarter section of land, built
a log cabin and lived there until 1830.
It was known that ThomaB Lincoln,
father of Abraham Lincoln, was In
poor circumstances. To say that Abra
ham Lincoln was the son of a poor
carpenter and farmer gives an inBlght
Into hard conditions that little Abe
had to face when he was a youngster.
When he went to Indiana he was just
sovon, and remaining In Indiana until
1830 ho spent 14 years of his life in
Indiana, or until ho was 21 years of
ago.
During Abraham Lincoln's 16 years
of life in Indiana ho hnd read and re
read this list of literary and histori
cal books over and over again. Ills
good nature among Lincoln City peo
plo was not unnoticed; all agrood to
his honesty and good nature. Ques
tions of dlsputo and petty differences
were at first submitted, to him In a
joking way, and later on In a slncero
way, until he was complimented for
his honest and just way in sottllng
disputes and dlfforencos. Ho was told
more times than onco that some day
ho would turn out to bo a lawyer,
Having road all tho literary books
and what few thero woro of law in and
around Hoonvlllo, Lincoln hoard of tho
court at Boonvllle. Ho resolvod to go
down to that place, 20 miles distant,
EMANCIPATORS
IK KENTUCKY
and learn what he could in the real
court, which was in session there sov
eral times during the year. Tho court
house in Hoonvlllc, then a small ham
let of less than 300 Inhabitants, In
strong contrast to the beautiful
new structure that now adorns the
beautiful little town, stood In the very
spot where the new one now stands,
In the center of a large court square.
It was a frame building; the architect
ture was, to say tho least, very novel.
A ditch, two feet wide and two feet
deep, waB filled with smoothly hewn
logs, on which was built a stone wall
18 inches high. This furnished tho
foundation upon which tho building
proper rested. The building itself
was never entirely completed. It was
weather boarded, but neither plastered
nor lathed. It remained in this condi
tion until 183G, which was after the
Lincoln family had moved to Illinois.
It was capable of holding only a hun
dred people and could only be used In
the summer. In the night the cattlo
which grazed about town would go
there for shelter. Such was the struc
ture where President Lincoln received
his first impulse to become a lawyer.
Here It was that he received his first
rudimentary practice In pleading cases
that afterward aided In making him
the lawyer of the reputation he had
Shortly after the assassination of
Abraham Lincoln a picnic party from
tho little town of Dale went up to
Lincoln City to the Lincoln farm and
spent the day. The excitement was
so high at that time that old people
as well as young went to the farm and
enjoyed themselves visiting the his
torical places in and about the Lin
coln farm.
The cabin was still standing and but.
a short distance up on the hillside was
a marble slab that marked the spot
where tho good mother of Abraham,
Lincoln lay beneath tho sod. Whllq
there tho plcnickors went through thq
cabin whoro Lincoln saw his mother,
pass away and from which placo ha
returned to Kentucky to got a minister
to come to Indiana and bury his moth
or, Nancy Hanks Lincoln. A few old
relics wero found, among them being
an old knot maul and an old fashioned
mouldboard plow, both of which had
been loft thoro when tho Lincolns
moved to Illinois. Tho old plow was
brought outsldo and an old man by
tho namo of Gabriel Medcalf stood be
tween tho handles whllo ono of tho
party caught a picture of tho old Lin
coin cabin. Tho old man carrying tho
polo was Joseph P. Haines, bettor
known as Undo Porter Haines. Tho
picture of Lincoln's second log cabin
was made from tho original takon at
the tlmo this party wont to the home
along In tho seventies,
