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CAPITAL CITY COURIER, SATURDAY MARCH i,b .Soi.
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PLAdTTR OK HAD BOOKS.
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DR. TALMAQCS THIRD SERMON ON
THE EVILS OF CITIES.
II Mnkm Strung I'nlnt AkhIii.I TIiom
I'm mil. Willi Tiki Nil Tlinuulit m
j MTIuit Their Children Mltnll llml-A
J Attrntlte AiiiUmr I'ri-.rnl.
J Nr.w Yoiik, Mureh 8. The iIukuo f
iKTiilcloUH literature formed the Aiilijcct of
Dr. TnlnuiKi'V nerinon today, which wiim
tho third of thenerle Im In reucliliiKun
thn "Ti-n I'hiKiie of lm Cltleit." Tho
Brooklyn Academy of Miudo whs tilled In
tlio inorntiiK by n deiuio eroml euer to
)iir It, nnd at nlht at tlio Christian ITcr
uldnervlro In thn New Ynrk Academy of
MAiild tlio ilnont had to Im cloned luiur De
fer the hour of norvlre, there helii no
oMCo available within tho ImlldhiK for
more hearer. So luruo lit thn uuinher of
iIiomi every week disappointed of Kidding
ndinludun that thn project of hiring tho
Madl.ion Spiuni (lurdcu hat aalii Wen re
vived. One rltlxuii hu olTorod to pay nil
the expeiim If tho Ourdon can Imi m-curcd
ntul Dr. TnlumKocun Imi Induced to preach
In It, Tlio text of tlio preacher' dUeoui-Mi
won taken from l!x. vlll, 0, 7i "And
tho froKt cutno up anil covered tho land of
Kypt. And tho iiiiikIcIuiin did mo with
their i'lU'hantinuntN, and hroiiKhl lip fros
upon tho land of KKyiit."
TDK ANCIKNT I'l.AOtIK OK VIHMIH.
Tlieru K idinnttit iililvontnl aversion to
froit, and yet with tho KKyptlun they were
honored, thoy were twered, and thoy wore
ohJucU of worship wlilln alive, and after
death thoy werueinlinliucil, and today their
remains may Imi found iimum tho nepul
cIitoh of Thelie. These creature, ho lit
tract I vu onco to tho Knyptlan, atdlvlno
lieheit hceuinuohno.xInUH and loathsome,
and they fent uronkliiK mid hopping ami
Icapluu Into tho palace of tho Mug, mid
Into tho bread trayi and tho conches of tho
mhi1o, and even tho ovciih, which now are
uplifted ulnive tho earth and on tho hide of
chtiuneyn, but then wci-omiiuU holes In tho
earth, with sunken pottery, wore tilled
with frOKs when tho housekeeper camo to
look at thi-ni. If a man wit. down to oat n
f run nliifhtcd on IiIh plate. If ho attempted
to put on a hIioo It wiw pivoccuided by a
froji. If ho attempted to put Id head upon
it pillow It hud boon taken ponsesloii of by
u f row.
Frojpi high mid low and everywhere;
loathsome frogs, rtlltny froK", Ih'sIcrIiik
fnKi lunumorablo fros, urcut pluue of
froK". What made tho matter vuru tho
mutflclunrt Mild thorn won no mlrnclo In
thla, mid they could by tdclht of hand
produce tho hiiiiio thing, and they seemed
to succeed, for by nlelKlit of hand woudcro
tuny bo wroiiKlit. After Alone had thrown
down his statl mid by mlraclo It became a
xorpent, mid then ho took hold of It ami by
mlraclo It attain liecnino a staff, tho her pent
charmern Imitated tho hiiiiio thhiK, ami
knowing that there wore tterpouU In
Egypt which by a peculiar pressure on tlio
neck would become tut rigid as a tlok of
wood, thoy neeuittl to chuugv tho serpent
Into tho itaff, mid thou, throwing It down,
the tait became tho erent.
So likewise, theao mttKtclRiis trlod to Imi
Ute the pUkuo of froR, ami purhnw by
ttmell of fowl attraction n great nuiubor of
them to a certain point, or by shaking
them out from u hidden place, thu ma
Kel -aotaetlia Memetl to Accomplish
theaamo miracle. While these maglclana
made the plaguo worse, none of them tried
to make it better. "Frogs came up and
covered tho land of Egypt, and tho ma
gicians did ho with tielr enchantment, mid
brought up frogs uKn tho laud of Kgypt."
TIIK MOUKltM 1'I.AOUK OF KH008.
Now that plaguo of frogs has como back
upon tho earth. It Is abroad today. It Is
smiting this nation. It comei In tho shape
of corrppt literature. Thes-i frogs hop luto
tho store, tho shop, tho olllce, tho Imnklng
house, tho factory Into tho home, Into tho
cellar, Into the garret, on tho drawing room
table, on tho shelf of tho library. While
tkUdls rending tho bad lMok the teacher's
fao la turned the other way. Ouo of these
frogs hops upon tho page. While tho young
woman Is reading the forbidden novelette
after retiring at night, reading by gaslight,
one of these frogs leaps upon thd page.
Indeed they have hopped upon tlio news
stands of the country and the malls at tho
poMonce'iiliaktt out In the letter trough
hundriAs or them. The plague has taken
at different times possession of thla coun
try. J Is one of tho most loathsome, ouo
of the most frightful, ouo of the most
ghastly of the ten plagues of our modern
cities.
There Is a vast number of books and
newspapers printed fetid published which
ought never to see trie light. They are
tilled with n pestilence that makes the land
swelter with a moral epidemic. The great
est blessing thut ever came to this nation
is that of an elevated literature, mid the
greatest scourgo has been that of unclean
Utscatare.jc'-ThMi last has Its victims lu all
oocuytkttoas and departments. It has
helped .tQtlll ;liisane asylums and pent
teatUriesRad almshouses ami dens of
shame. The bodies of this Infection lie in
the hospitals and In the graves, while their
souls are being tossed over "into n lost
eternity, nu avalanche of horror and des
pair. "' ''
The Loudon plaguo was nothing to It
That counted Its victims by thousands, but
thlsmoderu pest has already shoveled It
millions into tuecnarnel House of the mor
ally dead. Tho longest rail train that ever
ran over tho Krlo or Hudson tracks was
not long enough nor largo enough to carry
the beastliness and the putrefaction which
have been gathered up iu lmd books and
newspapers of this land lu tho last twenty
years. The literature of a nation decides
the fate of a nation. Good books, good
morals. Had Ixxiks, bad morals.
TUB MM7KS7 G7 BAD LITKUATUUK.
I begin with the lowest of all the litera
ture, that which does not even pretend to
be respectable from cover to cover a blotch
of leprosy. There aru many whose entire
business it Is to dispose of that kind of lit
erature. Tjiey display it before tho hchool
boy on his way home. They get tho cata
logues of schools ami colleges, take the
names ami osto(llco addresses, and send
their advertisements, and their circulars,
and their pamplets, and their Itooks to
every one of them.
In tho possession of these dealers in bad
literature were found nine hundred thou
sand nunies und pustolllce addresses, to
whom it was thought it mluht Imi nrollt-
able to send these corrupt things. In the
year 1873 there were one hundred and sixty,
live establishments engaged lu puhlishiiiK
cheap,.corrupt literature. From ouo pub-i
llshlng house there went out twenty differ
ent stjles of corrupt books. Although
over thirty tous of vile literature have
iMien destroyed by the Society jfor the Su
pressioii of yice; still there Is enough of it
left h'Iij country to bring down upon uc
the thunderbolts of an Incensed God. '
lu the year ItioS the evil had Im-comio fo
great in this country that the congress of
the United States passed a law forbidding
the transmission of bail literature through
tho Unltisl States mulls, hut there were
large loops lu that law through which
criminal might criutl out, and the law
was a dead failure that law of INW. Hut
lu IBTO another law wns passed by tho con
gress of the United .States against tho
transmission of corrupt literature thruia-h
tho malls it grand law, a potent law, n
Christian law ami umler that law multi
tudes of these scoundrels have (wen ar
rested, their property confiscated and they
themselves thrown Into tho penitentiaries
where they Monged,
now aid: wk to wak aoainst nt
Now, my friends, how are wo to war
against this corrupt literature, and how
are thn frogs of this Kgyptlau plague to bo
slnlnr First of all by tho prompt and In
exorable execution of the law. Iet allgobd
postmasters and Unltisl States district at
torneys, and detectives and reformers con
cert In their action to stop this plague.
When Sir Howlaud Jf 111 Mjnt his life In
trying to secure cheap postage not only
for Knglaiid, but for all tho world, and to
open tho blessing of tho post olllce to all
honest business, mid to all messages of
charity ami kindness and affection, for
all healthful Intercommunication, ho did
not mean to make vice easy or to till tho
mall bags of the United States with tho
calm of such a leprosy.
It ought not to Imi In tho power of every
bad man who can raise a one cent stamp
fur a circular or. a two cent stamp for a
letter to blast n man or destroy a homo.
Tho postal service of this country must Imi
rlean, must, Imi kept clean, ami wo must all
understand that tho swift retributions of
tho United .States government hover over
every violation of tho letter Imix.
There are thousands of men mid women
In this country, hoiiio for Krsounl gain,
some through innate depravity, some
through a spirit of roveuge, who wish to
use this great avenue of convenience and
Intelligence for purposes revengeful, sala
cious and diabolic. Wake up tho law.
Wnkn up All Its penalties, tat every court
room on this subject bo a Sinai thunderous
and allame. tat tho convicted offenders
Imi sent for tho full term to Slug Sing or
Ilarrlsburg,
I am not talking about what cannot bo
done. I am talking now about what Is Im
log done. A great many of tho printing
presses that gave themselves entirely to
tho publication of vile literature have lieen
stopped or have gone luto business less ob
noxious. What has thrown off, what has
kept off the rail trains of this country for
some time back nearly all thu leprous pe
riodicals? Those of us who have been on
the rail trains have noticed a great change
In the last few months and tho last year or
two. Why have nearly all those vilo period
icals Wn kept off tho rail trains for Homo
time backf Wlto effected Itf Theso soci
eties fur tho purification of railroad liter
ature gave warning to tho publishers and
warning to railroad companies, und warn
ing to couductort), and warning to news
boys, to keep the Infernal stuff off the
trains.
Many of tho cities have successfully pro
hibited tho most of that literature even
from going on the news stands. Terror
has seized upon tea publishers mid tho
dealers In Impure literature, from tho fact
that over a thousand arrests have been
made, mid tho aggregate time for which
the convicted have Iwieu sentenced to the
prison Is over ouo hundred and ninety
years, and from tho fact that about two
million of their circulars have been de
stroyed, and thobuslncos Is not as profit
able as It used to be.
THU LAW) TIIK LAW I
How have ho many of tho news stands of
our great cities been purified? How has so
much of this iniquity been balked f By
moral suasion f Oh, no. You might as
well go Intoajunglo of the tiast Indies
and pat a cobra on tho neck, and with pro
found argument try to iHirauado it that it
is morally wrong to bite mid to sting and
topolsou anything. Tho only answer to
your argument would Imi nu uplifted head
and a hiss und a sharp, reeking tooth struck
Into your arteries. Tim only argument
for a cobra Is a shotgun, and tho only argu
ment for these dealers in impure literature
is tho clutch of the police and beau soup In
a penitentiary. Tho lavyl The lawl I in
voke to consummate the work so grandly
begun!
Auother way lu which wo are to drive
back this plague of Egyptian frogs is by
tilling tho minds at our young pcoplo with
n healthful literature. I do not mean to
say that all tho books and newspapers In
our families ought to be religious books
aad newspapers, or that every song ought
to bo sung to the tune of "Old Hun
dred." I huvo no sympathy with tho
attempt to make the young old. I would
rather, join lu a crusade to keep the
young' young. Boyhood and girlhood
must not Im abbreviated. Out there are
good books,' good histories, good biogra
phies, good works of fiction, good books of
all styles with which we are to till tho minds
of the young, so that there will be no more
room for the useless and the vicious than
there is room for chaff in a bushel measure
which is. already MUd with Michigan
wheat. ) -7 v I'
Why are SO per cent, of the criminals in
the 'Jails and penitentiaries of the United
States today under twenty-ono years of
agor Many of them under seventeen, un
der slxtecurr Under fifteen, under fourteen,
vuner hlrteenr Walk along one of tho
corridors of the Tombs prison In New York
and look for yourselves. Dad books, bad
newspapers bewitched tliem as soon as
they got out of the 'cradle. Bevyare of all
those stories which end wrong. Beware
of all those books which make tho road
that ends In perdition seem to end lu Par
adise. Do not glorify the dirk mid the pis
tol. Do not call tho desperado bravo or
the lllwrttue gallant. Touch our young
people that If they go down Into tho
swamps and marshes to watch the Jack-o'-lauterns
dance on tho decay and rotten-ne-ss
they will catch tho malaria and death.
"Oh,"MyBome one, "lam u business
man,-mid I have no time to examine what
my children reud. I havo no time to In
spect the books that como into my house
hold." If your children were threatened
with typhoid fever, would you have time
to go for the doctor f Would you huvo time
to watch the progress of the disease! Would
you have time for the funeral? In tho
presence of my God I warn you of the fact
that your children are threatened with
moral ami spiritual typhoid, and that un
less tho thing be stopped Itwlll Imi to them
funeral of body, funeral of mind, funeral
of soul. Three f uncials lu one day.
My word is to this vast multitude of
young people: Do not touch, do not lsr
row, do not buy a corrupt Isxik or a cor
rupt picture. A book will decide n man's
destiny for good or for evil. The Isnik you
read yesterday may have decided you for
time and for eternity, or it may bo a book
that may como Into your possession to
morrow. TIIK POU'KII OK A 0001) llllllK,
A good book who cuu exaggerate Its
Iower Jienjauiiu Franklin suid that his
reading of Cotton Mather's "Kssajs to Do
Good" lu childhood gave him holy aspira
tions for all tho rest of his life, tieorge
l,n'v declared that a biography he read lu
childhood gave him all UU subseiueut
iih; ciitlcs a iierg)man, many jeais
agii passing to thn far west, Mopped at a
hotul. lie saw a woman copying some
thing from Doddridge's "Itl-o ami Prog
ress." It seemed that sho had Isirrowcd
tli.i Imms'c, and there were some things she
wanted especially to remember.
Thn clergyman had lu his sachet a copy
of Doddridge's "Hlse and Progress," mid
so lie made her a present of It. Thirty
years passed on. Thn clergyman emtio
that way, and lie asked where tho woman
was whom he had seen so long ago. "She
lives yonder lu that beautiful house."
Hn went there and said to her, "Do
you rcmc iiiInt inof" Sho said, "No, I
do not." lie said, "Do you rememlier a
man gae you Doddridge's 'Itlso mid
Progress' thirty years r.go?" "Oh, yesj 1
remeinlMT, That book saved my soul. I
loaned tho IsMiktoall my neighlMirs, ami
they read It and they were converted to
God, ami we had a revival of religion
which swept through tho whole communi
ty. We built a church and called n pastor.
You see that splro yonder, don't you?
That church was built as the result of that
book you gave me thirty years ago." Oh,
tlio power of a good hookl But, alosl for
tho inllueiice of a bad lok.
John Angel James, than whom Kuglaud
never had a holler minister, stood lu his
pulpit at lllrminghntu ami said: "Twenty
live years ago a lad loaned to mo an in
famous iMMik, Ho would loan it only lif
ted! minutes, and then I had to give It
back, biiUthat Isiok has haunted mo like a
specter ever since. I have lu ngouy of soul,
ou my knees iM'foro God, prayed that he
would obliterate from my soul the memory
of It, but I shall carry thu damngo of It un
til the day of my death." Tho assassin of
Sir William Kussoll declared that hn got
the inspiration for his crime by reading
what was then a new and popular novel,
"Jack Slieppurd." Homer's "Iliad" made
Alexander tho warrior. Alexander said
so. The story of Alexander made Julius
Ciesar and Charles XII both men of blood.
Have you lu your pocket, or lu your trunk,
or in your desk at business a bad book, a
bad picture, a bad pamphlet? Iu God's
name 1 warn you to destroy it.
TIIK CllltlsTIAN I'llKSS.
Another way in which wo shall fight
back this corrupt literature and kill the
frogs of Kgypt Is by rolling over them tho
Christian printing press, which shall give
plenty of healthful reading to all adults.
All these men and women are reading men
mid women. What are you reading? Al
stalu from nil those books which, while
they bad some good things about them,
havo .ilso an admixture of evil. You have
read books that had two elements lu them
the good and the bad. Which stuck
to you? The had! Tho heart of most peo
ple Is like a sieve, which lets the small par
ticles of gold fall through, but keeps tint
great cinders. Once Ins while there Is a'
mind like a loadstone, which, plunged
amid steel and brass tilings, gathers up the
steel mid repels the brass. Hut It is gener
ally tho opM)slte. If you attempt to plunge
through a fence of burrs to get one black
Isary you will get more burrs than black
berrlcJ. You cannot afford to read u bad book,
however good you are. You say, "Tho in
Uueiico is Insignificant." I tell you that
tho scratch of a pin has sometimes pro
duced lockjaw. Alas, it through curiosity,
as many do, you pry Into mi evil book,
your curiosity Is as dangerous its that of
t lie man who would taku a torch luto a
gunpowder mill merely to see whether it
would really blow up or not. In a menag
erie n man put his arm through the bars
of a black leopard's cage. Tho animal's
hide looked so sleek and bright mid beauti
ful. Ho just stroked it once. Tho monster
seised him, and he drew forth a hand torn
and mangled and bleeding.
Oh, touch not evjl oven with tlio faintest
stroke! Though It mof bo glossy and
beautiful, touch It not lest you pull forth
your soul torn and bleeding under tho
clutch of tlio black leopard. "Hut," you
say, "how can I find out whether a lniok Is
good or bad without reading It?" There Is
always something suspicious alMiut a bad
book. I never knew mi exception some
thing suspicious iu tho Index or stylo of
Illustration. This venomous reptile almost
always carries a warning rattle.
Tho clock strikes midnight. A fair form
ImmkIs over a romance. Tho eyes Hash lire.
Tho breath is quick and Irregular. Oc
casionally the color dashes to the cheek,
and then dies out. Tlio hands tremble as
though a guardian spirit were trying to
shake ttio deadly Isiok out of tlio grasp.
Hot tears fall. Sho laughs witli a shrill
voice that drops dead at Its own sound.
The sweat on her brow Is the spray dashed
up from the river of death. The clock
strikes four, and the rosy dawn soon after
Is'glus to look through the lattice upon the
palo form that looks like a detained specter
of thu night. Soon In a mad house sho will
mistake her ringlets for curling serpents
mid thrust her .white hand through the
bars of the prison, mid smite her head,
rubbing it back as though to push tho scalp
from tho skull, shrieklug: "My brain! my
braiut" Oh, stand off from that! Why
will you go sounding your way amid the
reefs and warning buoys, when there Is
such a vast oceau In which you muy voy
age, all sail set? V
WHAT IS A BOOK?
Wo see so many books wo do not un
derstand what a book U. Stand it ou
end. Measure Jtr-the height of it, the
deptli of It, the length of it, tho breadth
of It. You cannot do it. Kxmnlno
tho paper and estimate the progress
uiiido from the time of the impressions
on clay, and then on to the bark of
trees, and from the bark of trees to papy
rus, mid from papyrus to tho hide of wild
beasts, and from the hide of wild beasts
on down until the miracles of our modern
paper manufactories, mid then see tho pu
(Mir, white and pure as an Infant's soul,
waiting for God's Inscription.
A Ixiokl Kxauiine tho type of it. Hx-ir.-.lr.c
the printing of It, ami seethe prog
ress from the time when Solon's laws were
written on oak planks, and Heslnd's poems
were written ou tables of lead, and the
Slnlatla couunaudtt were written ou tables
of stone, on down to Hoe's perfecting
printing press.
A book! It took all the universities of
tho past, all the martyr llres, all the civil
ljitlous, all the battles, all the victories,
all the defeats, all' thu glooms, all the
brightnesses, all the centuries to make it
possible.
A book I It Is the chorus of thenges; it
is tho diuwiug room lu which kings and
ipieens andoratorsanil poets anil historians
tome out to greet you. If I worshiped
nil) thing ou earth I would worship that,
if I burned Imeiisn to any Idol I would
build an altar to that. Thnuu God for
(;ood books, healthful liool.s, iiisplilu
hooks, Christian Ixioki:, hoiks of men,
luniks of women, Hook of God. It Is with
tht'Ni good Ismks that we aru to iiveiioiin
corrupt literature. Upon the frogs swoop
with thi-HOi-nglcs. I depend much for tho
owrthron- of Iniquitous literature upon
the mortality of Imoks, Kveu good books
lime a hard struggle to live.
Polybills wrote foity books' only live of
them left, Thirty Isxiks of Tacitus hao
M.-i-idicd Twenty books of Pliny linui
perished I.lvj wroto one hundred and
forty books; only thirly-flvn of them re
main. iK-rhjIiiH wrote one hundred
dramas; only seven remain, F.uripidcH
wrote over n hundred; only nineteen re
main. Varro wrote the biographies of
over seven hu id red great Koinaus. All
that wealth et biography has perished,
If good and vuliinhle Ixxiks have such n
struggle to llv, what must Imi the fate of
those that are illso.sed and corrupt and
blasted at the very start. They will dlo as
tho frogs when tho Iord tr.rncd biest tho
plague. The work of Chrlsilaul.atlou will
goon until there will Imi nothing left but
good Ixxiks, mid they will take the su
premacy of the world. May you mid I live
to see tho Illustrious day)
KIHIIT TIIK HAD WITH TIIK UOOII.
Against every bad pamphlet, send a good
pamphlet; against every unclean picture
send an Innocent picture: against every
scurrilous song send a Christian song;
against every bail book send a good Ixjok;
ami then it will Imi as It was in ancient
Toledo, where thu toletuiu missals were
kept by the saints in six churches, and thu
sacrilegious llonmns demanded that those
missals Ixj destroyed, mid that, tho Human
missals bo substituted; mid tho war came
ou, mid I am glad lu say that thu whole
matter having U'en referred to champions,
the champion of the Toletuiu missals with
one blow brought down the champion of
the Human missals.
So It will Imi In our day. Tho good liter
ature, tho Christian literature, In Its cham
pionship for God and thu truth, will bring
down the evil literature In Its champion
ship fur the devil. I feel tingling to the
tips of my fingers ami through all the
nerves of my bisly, and all thu depths of
my soul, thu certainty of our triumph.
Cheer up, oh, men and women who are
tolling for tho purification of society! Toll
with your faces iu the sunlight. "If God
bo for us, who, who can Imi against us?"
tally Hedtr Stanhope was the daughter
of tho third Karl of Stanhope, and after
her nearest friends had died sho went to
tho far east, took possession of a deserted
convent, threw up fortresses amid the
mountains of tabanon, opened tho castle
to tho poor, and tho wretched, and tho sick
who would como in. Sho mutlu her castle
a home for tho unfortunate. Sho was a
devout Christian woman. Shu was wait
ing for tho coming of tho Lord. Sho ex
pected that tho tard would descend in jier
son, and sho thought upon it until it was
too much for her reason. Iu thu maguili
cent stables of her palace sho had two
horses groomed mid bridled and saddled
and caparisoned and nil ready for the day
In which her Lord idiould descend, and hu
on ouo of them end she ou the other should
start for Jerusalem, tho city of the Great
King. It was a fanaticism and a delusion;
but there was romance, and there was
splendor, mid there was thrilling expecta
tion In tho dreamt
Ah, my friends, wo need no earthly pal
freys groomed and saddled mid bridled mid
caparisoned for our Lord when ho shall
come. Tim horso Is ready In tho equerry
of heaven, and tho imperial rider Is ready
to mount. "And I saw, and lxihold a white
horse, and he that sat on him had a bow;
and a crowjj was given unto him; and ho
went forth conquering mid to conquer.
And tho armies which were in heaven fol
lowed him on white horses, and on his
vesture and on his thigh were written,
King of kings, and tard of lords." Horse
men of heaven, mount! Cavalry of God,
ride on! Charge! charge! until they shall
be hurled back ou their haunches tho
black horse of famine, and tho red horse of
carnage, mid the pale horse of death.
Jesus forever!
A Ntruntce Story.
Early in Jnuuarvof the present yeur a
woodman engaged in chopping somoof tlio
monster oak.t iu tho northern part of tho
great "Black Forest," Germany, and who
had built u lire against a largo dead log
preparatory to partaking of his midday
meal, was surprised to seo it serpent of gi
gantic proportions crawl from thu log as
soon as thu rottou wood had got well
warmed through. Tho day was bitter cold
and tho snako only made a few yards over
tho fro.eu ground until his convolutions
became smaller mid smaller, until hu finally
ceased to wiggle mid quietly colled up
near a largo pile of brush.
Tlio sturdy German chopper, who had
lK!en more surprised than scared, waited
until the creature had become thoroughly
benumbed with the, cold and then ap
proached and dispatched him with his axe.
Measurements showed tho slimy creature
to Imj 27 feet U inches in length and nearly
15 inches through the body iu thu middle.
Just back of the Immense head, which
was 11 Inches lu length and almost as
broad, a little gold ring had U-uu put
through the skin. It was In thu form of
two rings rather than one, being shaped
not unlike a figure 8. One part of t ho ring
was through tho skin, while the other wits
through a hole iu a small copper coin bear
iug date of 171'J. One side of the coin was
perfectly kinooth with the exception of
these letters ami figures, which had evi
dently ts-en cut on it witli a ookct knife,
tho workmanship being very rough, "Louis
Krutsser, II. G. O., 1781."
Some of tho older inhabitants of tho
"Black Potest" remember hearing their
parents tell of "Krutzer, the serpent
eharmer," and they all unite In declaring
that this glgitiitio seriMjut was formerly tho
property of the old "charmer," mid that It
was at least 115 years old when killed by
tho woodcuopper ou that cold January day
of 18U1.-S:. Louis Hepublle.
A Unique WHiilliif I've.
Last, spring, when one of thu younger
ministers of thocity was devising ways and
means for a summer vacation trip, there
was a ring at thu doorlwll and a caller
upon the minister announced. The stranger
Introduced himself, explaining that hu was
recently from Buffalo, but now of Albany,
and h salesman of barbers' supplies. With
very few Introductory words thu gentleman
asked tho minister to perform tho mar
riage ceremony for him in two weeks' time.
Promptly at tho hoiirnppolnted the couple
camo. An ofllcerof the church had Is-eu
invited iu to witness the ceremony. While
the necessary papers were la-lug filled out
the groom opened a small traveling bag
and produced u half pint Ixittle, with glass
stopper.
"There," said he, placing the bottle on
the minister's desk. "I leave thiswlth ,mii
as a token." Then the marriage ceremony
was performed, congratulations offered
mid tho certificate. placed In the hand of
the brldt. As thu happy couple weiu leav
ing thu study the gloom drew- from his
pocket nu envelope and handed it to Hie
minister A few minutes later tho envel
ope was opened uid the following found!
"Albany, May :.". I will call on jou ou
Saturday Night and Pay you my feu what
you may ask." .Many Saturday nights
have come and gone since then, but the eu
thusiastla salesman of bailx-rs' supplies
nas not Im-cii seen by tho minister, lint he
still has thu Isittlo. Albany Journal.
Kllzuheth Hiirgcnt, M. I), daughter of
our foriner milliliter to lierllu, Im an ocitllnl
of exceptional nklll. She lives In California.
The New Realistic Novel
"HER HUSBAND'S FRIEND,"
Hy ALHKUT HOSS
The Latest out by this famous author. In Paper Kdltlon 5(x;. to be had at
THE GOTHAM, uoi N Street.
This is the Season of the year when
COAL is KING
when Competition is Close and Everybody has the
best. Then is the time to go direct to Headquarters.
You need a supply for the Winter and as now is the
time to buy, why not call on
BETTS, WEAVER & CO.
and see their line and get prices. There you can get
the pure article direct from America's greatest mines
noted for their purity and excellent quality.
Call up Phone 440. - Office, 118 south 1 ith st.
H. W. BROWN
DRUGGSITHLBOOKSELLER
The Choicest line of Perfumes. D. M. Ferry's? Finest
Flower and Garden Seeds.
127 South Eleventh street.
Most Popular Resort in the City.
i
Exposition Dining Hall,
S. J. ODELL, Manaukk.
-o ti'9, 1 12 1 and 1123 NStreet. o
Meals 25 els. $4.50 per Week.
a- Tv;si,j:',5sS&5i&-wiEajga
i-'IKB95IIIIIBnKipi
vHHilHiBIHRiJti
MHiiiHmMyiwii liii
TUB MitKCT LINK TO
Chicago, Peoria, St. Louis, St. Joseph, Kansas City,
Ami all polntH Kustiiml Huutli,
Denver and the Pacific Coast,
ALSO TO
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Anil all polntH In tlie llluuk Illllx,
THROUGH VESTIBULE TRAINS
OAII.Y HKTWKKN
DENVER, OMAHA CHICAGO
Pullman Palace Sleeping Cars.
Reclining Chair Cars, Seats Free.
Famous Burlington Dining Cars.
Bremen, Hamburg, Berlin, Vienna, Paris, London, Havre,
Liverpool, Glasgow, Dublin, Londonderry and all European Points.
can iii:stiikui:aoiikii nv 'rm:
BTJsi-finsra-Tonsr eotjtb,
.i It ('(innei'lH wllh nil till; popular lint 11I nieim HtcuniMlilpM.
A.r. ZIK.Mi:it, City INI AkI., Lincoln. .1. 1'llANCM, (ton, I'nxs. At.. Onmhii Neh,
w
HEN YOD WANT FINE JOB PRINTING
See the WESSEL PRINTING CO.
Nebraska's Leading Hotel.
THE HURRAY
Cor. 13th nud Harney Hts ,
STRICTLY FIRST-CLASS
All Modern Improvements and
Conveniences.
B. BILLOW AY, Pro-rietor.
IRA HIOBY, Principal Olerk
i