preachy .
t'onLTccration ."
'The I-H'conuion of
t. wii T.uhn xv. 22;
...l ?' 1 1
rill, lit" ftiLlli;
tho familiar story
in t the parable.
Inidid home ho left.
liUW, ill VK'l UUIL t'l?Jll
ei 1 1... i
(1 irolir:i.litv. to-
li'ji mt ins tun i a on
ii:u ioririvi'iu'ss. won.
.1L( iin.uk imii; liny in
of th! oM farm liouso.
alter.' V hat is the mat-
on; uicv tjinie iinnc iiiu
out: nt a ring on Jus
liat a seeming absurdity!
ich a wretched mendicant as
.i.... 4 :..- .... ...... .1.1
iii.il in 1 1 a i ii im hf.ihi
want with a rinir: Oh, he is
;al hoii. ' No more tending of
in; notion. iiii.uu iijiim i n
1 II Hin I IL till- I Illl illl lll"iv
red feet. Oil with tho rags! On
tliorolie! )ut with the ring! liven
lit Je mil UUH : i j inn l'l ii. - II 111 II
wo come hack, mere are go m rings.
and jwarl rings, and cornelian rings, ami
diamond rings; hut tlie richest ring that
over llaslied on the vision is that which
our Father uts upon a forgiven soul.
I know that the impression is abroad
anions some jM-ople that religion bemeans
and iK'littles a man; that it takes all the
sparkle out of his soul; that he has to ex
change a roystering independence for an
ecclesiastical straight jacket. Not so.
"Wlieu .a man becomes a Christian ho
does not go down, he stalls upward.
Religion multiplies one by 10,000. Nay,
the multiplier is in infinity. It is not a
blotting out it is a polishing, it is an
ar!orescenee, it is an efflorescence, it is
an irradiation. "When a man comes into
the kingdom of God he is not sent into a
menial service, but tho Ixrd (Jod Al
mighty from tho palaces of heaven calla
upon the nu'ssenger angels that wait upon
the throne to lly and 'put a ring on his
hand.'? In Christ are the largest lib
erty, and brightest j'03", and highest
honor, and richest adornment, "l'ut a
ring on his hand. "
I remark, in tho first place, that when
Christ receives a soul into his love he
puts upon him the ring of adoption. In
my church in Philadelphia there came
the representative of a benevolent society
1 New York. lie brought with him
eight or ten children of the street that he
hud picked up, and he was trying to find
for them Christian homes; and as the little
ones stood on the pulpit and sung our
hearts melted within its. At the close of
the services a great hearted, wealthy man
tame up and said: "I'll take this little
bright eyed girl and 111 adopt her as one
of my own children ;" and he took her
bv the hand, lifted her into his carriage
anil went awav.
The next day, while we wore in the
church gathering up garments for the
poor of New York, tins little child came
back with a bundle under her arm, and
ehe said: "There's my old dress; per
haps Kome of the poor children would
like to have it.'' while she herself was
in bright and beautiful array, and those
who more immediately examined her
said that she had a ring on her hand. It
was a ring of adoption.
There are a great many persons who
pride themselves on their ancestry, and
' they glory over the royal blood that
pours through their arteries. In their
line there was a lord or a duke or a
prime minister or a king. But when the
Lord, our Father, puts uion us the ring
of his adoption we become the. children
of the ruler of all nations. "Behold
what manner of love the Father hath
bestowed upon us, that we should be
'. called the sons of God.' It matters not
how poor our garments may be in tins
world, or how scant our bread, or how
mean the hut we live in, if we hare that
ring of Christ's adoption upon our hand
we are assure"! of eternal defenses.
Adopt! Why, then, we are brother?
and sisters to all the good of earth an.'
heaven. We have the family name, th;
family dress, the family keys, the family
wardrobe. The father looks after us,
robes us, defends us, blesses us. "We
have royal blood in o'.vr veins, and there
are crowns in our line. If we are his
children, then princes and princesses. It
is only a question of time when we get
our coronet. Adopted ! Then we have th-i
family secrets. "The secret of the Lord
is with them that fear him." Adopted '
Then we have the family inheritance,
and in the day when our father shall
divide the riches of heaven we shall take
our share of the mansions and palaces
and temples. Henceforth let us boast no
more of an earthly ancestry. The in
signia of eternal glory is our coat of
arms. This ring of adoption puts upon
us all honor and all privilege. Now we
can take the words of Charles Wesley,
that prince of hymn makers, and sing:
Come, lot lis join our frienils above,
Who have obtained the prize.
And on the eajrlo wiDgs of love
To joy celestial rise.
Let all the saints terrestrial sins
With those to glory gone:
For all the servants of our king.
In heaven and earth, are one.
I have been told that when any of the
"""' members of any of the great secret so
cieties of this country are in a distant
city and are in any kind of trouble, and
are set upon by eneniieo, they have only
to give a certain signal and the members
of that organization will flock around for
defense. And when any man bclong3 to
this great. Christian brotherhood, if he
gets in trouble, in trial, in persecution, in
temptation, he has only to show this ring
cf Christ's adoption, and all the armed
Cohorts of heaven will come to his rescue.
Still further, wheu Christ takes a soul
into liis love he puts upon it a marriage
ring. Now, that is not a whim of ruins-:
"And I will betroth thee unto me for
ever; yea, I will betroth thee unto me i-i
righteousness, and in judgment, and ia
loviDg kindness, and in mercies." At
the
when, at tiu
March," under tin-
amid the aroma of otflag' t.( -
set that ring on tho round finger oi w.
plump hand, and that other hour when
at the close of the exhaustive watching,
when you knew that the soul had fled,
you took from the hand, which gave
back no responsive clasp, from that
emaciated finger, the ring that she had
worn so long and worn so well.
On some anniversary day you take up
that ring, and you rcpolish it until all
the old luster comes back, and you can
see in it the flash of eyes that long ago
ceased to weep. Oh, it is not an un
meaning thing when I tell you that when
Christ receives a soul into his keeping lie
puis on it a marriage ring. lie endows
yo;i from that moment with all his
wealth. You are one Christ and tho
fcoul one in pjmpathy, one in atTection,
one in hope.
There is no xnver in earth or hell to
effect a divorcement after Christ and the
soul are united. Other kings have
turned out their companions when they
got weary of them, and sent them adrift
from the palace gate. Ahasuerus ban
ished Vashti, Napoleon forsook Josephine,
but Christ is the husband that is true for
ever. Having loved you once, he loves
you to the end. Did they not try to di
vorce Margaret, the Scotch girl, from
Jesus? They said: "You must give up
your religion." She said: "I can't give
up my religion." Aud so they took her
down to the lieach of the sea, and they
drove in a slake at low water mark, and
the- fastened her to it, expecting that as
tho tide came up her faith would fail.
The tide legan to rise, and came up
higher and higher, and to the girdle, and
to the lip, and in the last moment, just
as the wave was washing her soul into
glory, she shouted the praises of Jesus.
Oh, no, you cannot separate a soul
from Christ. It is an everlasting mar-,
riage. Battle and storm and darkness
cannot do it. It is too much exultation
for a man, who is but dust and ashes,
like myself, to cry out today: "I am
persuaded that neither height, nor depth,
nor principalities, nor powers, nor things
present, nor things to come, nor any
other creature, shall separate me from
the love of God which is in Christ Jesus,
my Lord!" Glory be to God that when
Christ and the soul are married they are
bound by a chain, a golden chain if I
might say so a chain with one link, and
that one link the golden ring of God's
everlasting love.
I go a step further, and tell you that
wheu Christ receives a soul into his love
he puts on him the ring of festivity.
You know that it has been the custom
in all ages to bestow rings on very happy
occasions. There is nothing more ap
propriate for a birthday gift than a ring.
You delight; to bestow such a gift upon
your children at 6uch a time. It means
joy, hilarity, festivity. Well, when this
old man of the text wanted to tell how
glad he was that his boy had got back,
he expressed it in thi3 way. Actually,
Ix fore he ordered 6andals to be put on
hi.i bare feet; before ho ordered the
fatted calf to be killed to appease the
boy's hunger, he commanded: ''Put a
ring on his hand,"
Oh, it is a merry time when Christ
and the 60ul are united 1 Joy of forgive
ness! What a splendid thing it is to
feel that all is right between me and
God. What a glorious thing it is to
have God just take up all the sins of my
life and put them in one bundle, and then
fling them into the depths of the sea,
never to rise again, never to be talked of
again. Pollution all gone. Darkness all
illuminated. God reconciled, The predi
al gal home. 'Put a ring on his hand."
Every day I find happy Christian
people. I find some of them with 110
second coat, some of them in huts and
tenement houses, not one earthly com
fort afforded them; and yet they are as
happy as happy can be. They sing
"Iiock of Ages" aa no other people in the
world sing it. They never wore any
jewelry in their life but one gold ring,
and that was the ring of God's undying
affection. Oh, how happy religion makes
us! Did It make you gloomy and
sad? Did you go with your head cast
down? I do not think you got religion,
my brother. That is not the effect of
religion. True religion is joy. "Her
ways are ways of pleasantness, and ell
her paths are peace."
Why religion lightens all our burdens.
It smooths all our way. It interprets all
our sorrows. It. changes the jar of
earthly discord for the peal of festal
bells. In front of the flaming furnace
of trial it sets the forge on which scepters
are hammered out. Would you not like
today to come up from the swine feeding
and try this religion? All the joys of
heaven would come out and meet you,
and God would cry from the throne:
"Put a ring cn his hand."
You are not happy. I see it. There
is no peace, and sometimes you laugh
when you feel a great deal more like cry
ing. The world is a cheat. It first
wears you down with its follies, then it
kicks you out into darkness. It comes
back from the massacre of a million souls
to attempt the destruction of your soul
today. No iace out of God, but here Lj
the fountain that can slake the .thirst.
Here is the harbor where yoii can drop
safe anchorage.
Would you not like, I ask you not
perfunctorily, but as one brother might
talk to another wYmld you not like to
have a pillow of rest to put yjour head
on ? And would you not like, when you
retire at night, to feel that all is well,
whether you wake up to-morrow morn
ing at C o'clock, or sleep tlie sleep that
knows no waking? Would you net like
to exchange this awful uncertainty about
.the future for a glorious assurance of
heaven? Accept of the Lord Jesus to
day, and all is well. If on your way
home some peril should cross the Btreti
Y.I. ...
and we g .
dust, we can re;....
work is all done, and to-i
day an everlasting Sunday,"
Oh, v.hon, thou city of fiixl,
KIiull I thy courts ascend?
Wli?ro coiiKivtaitioiis ne'er break up,
Is nd SablKiths have no en J.
There are people in this house today
who aro very near the eternal world.
If you are Christians, I bid you bo of
good cheer. Bear with you our con
gratulations to the bright city. Aged
men, who will soon be gone, take with
you our love for our kindred in the bet
ter land, and when you see them tell
them that we are soon coming. Only a
few more sermons to preach and hear.
Only a few more heart aches. Only a
few more toils. Only a few more tears.
And then what an entrancing spectacle
will open before us!
IVautiful heaven v. here all Is lisht,
Ueuutiful angels cult lied in white,
beautiful strains that never tire,
lleautiful harps through ail the choir;
There nhall I join the chorus sweet.
Worshipping at tho Saviour's feet.
I approach you now with a general in
vitation, not licking out here and thero
a man, or here and thero a woman, or
here and there a child, but giving you
an unlimited invitation, saying. ''Come,
for all things are now ready." We invite
you to the warm heart of Christ and the
inclosure of the Christian church. I
know a great many think that the church
does not amount to much; that it is ob
solete; that it did its work and is gone
now, so far as all usefulness is concerned.
It is the happiest place I have ever been
in. except my own home.
I know there are some people who say
they are Christians who seem to get along
without any help from others, and who
culture solitary piety. They do not want
any ordinances. I do not belong to that
class. I cannot get along without them.
There are so many things in this world
that take my attention from God. and
Christ, and heaven, that I want all the
helps of all the symbols and of all the
Christian associations; and I want around
about me a solid phalanx of men who
love God and keep liis commandments.
Are there any here who would like to
enter into that association? Then by a
simple, child like faith, apply for admis
sion into the visible church, and you will
be received. No qtiestions asked about
your past history or present surround
ings. Only one test do you love Jesus?
Baptism does not amount to anything,
say a great many people, but the Lord
Jesus declared: "Ho that believeth and
is baptized shall be saved," putting bap
tism and faith side b hide. And Jin
apostle declares: "Repent and ha bap
tized, every one of you." I do not
stickle for any particular mode of bap
tism, but J put great emphasis on the
fact that yoii ought to be baptized. Yet
no more emphasis than the Lord Jesus
Christ, the great head of the church
puts upon it.
The world is going to, after a while,
lose a great many of its votaries. There
are to be revivals, of religion that will
shake the earth. We give you warning.
There is a great host coming in to stand
under the banner of the Lord Jesus
Christ. Will you be among them ! Will
you be among the gathered sheaves?
Some of you have been thinking on
this subject year after year. You have
found out that this world is a poor por
tion. You want to be Christians. You
have come almost into the kingdom cjf
God; but there you stop, forgetful of the
fact that to be almost saved is not to be
saved at all. Oh, my brother, after hav
ing come so near to the door of mercy, if
you turn back, you will never come ct
all. After you have heard of the good
ness of God, if you turn away and die, it
will not be because you did not have c.
good offer.
God's spirit will not always strive
With hardened, self-destroying man;
Ye who persist his love to grieve
May never hear his voice again.
May God Almighty this hour move
upon your soul and bring you back from
the husks, of the wilderness to the
father's house, and set you at the banquet
and "put a ring on your hand."
Tlie Prince Consort's nesting- Place.
Tlie old Whippingham church, which,
in the early days, was an abbey, was re
modeled in the. most elegant and expen
sive manner by the queen, out of her
own funds, in 1SG1, and is now one of
the most beautiful houses of worship in
the world. All the people of the pari.-h
attend here, as well as the queen's house
hold, but the latter have their own ii
vate entrance, and are separated fiMii:
the common herd by an artistic screen.
The royal pew, on the south side of tlic
chancel, is a square affair, very hand
somely upholstered, and contains a monu
mental tablet to the menory of the late
prince consort, with this inscription:
"To the beloved memory of Francis
Albert Charles Augustus Emanuel, prir.ee
consort, who departed this life Dec. 11.
1SG1, in his 43d year. Be thou faithful
unto death, and I will give thee a crown
of life. Revelations ii, 10. This monu
ment is placed in this church, which wa;
erected under his direction, by lii.
broken hearted and devoted widow.
Queen Victoria, 1SG4." Philadelphia
Times.
Width of tlie Amazon.
Tlie River Amazon at its narrowest
part is nearly a mile wide during tin
period of high water, with an average
depth of 225 feet, running with a vc hc
ity of nearly five miles an hour, and dis
charging 43.875 cubic yards cf water
per second, cr eight times the quantity
discharged by the Mississippi in a eecorn.'
during high water. Globe-Deraocrat.
by lieu..-.
strong human 1....
offers, refusals, exposiu..
discouragement.
A little booth at tho end of the wlTTrr.
was filled with a crowd watching some
boislerou.s men playing cards for candies;
with hats tipped back and chins out
stretched in eager disputations, t hey had
shuliled on? their mortal responsibilities
unto tho jack of trumps. Iu the opposite
booth lour strong, shaggy, black eyed
men and a wrinkled dame sat about a
dirty table and ate dry bread by the lilit
of a" candle. Tin; talk in this dingy cabin
was low and gloomy; a lad lying on his
back 011 a bench announced in precise and
bitter speech the condition of things:
"The boxes must be large, well tilled with
clean fresh berries; the price, then, ladies
and gentlemen, is fifteen cents!"
"Just so," replied one of the men, a3 he
crunched liis crust with vim; "we are
fourteen; wo picked hard during two
days, and got sixteen boxes; they gave rr.c
.f 'S.AO for tho lot; eighty cents off for the
boxes, leaves me ? 1.(30 for the prolit. If
they think that pays, let them pick and
we'll buy."
"No danger," Fald another, "of the'r
tramping over the rocks! ' And we're fools
to spend our time for them. Now I come
from near Lake St. John, about fifty
miles from here, with twenty boxes, and
I've got $2 net for picking three days with
twelve hands, and for driving a hundred
miles."
Then they were silent for a whiletill
the old woman, said, in a calm, tesignud
way:
"Well, yes, that's all true enough, but
what can we do? Blueberries are t ho only
blessed thing that can be sold for cash.
Where else could we get the- $15,000 a
year that conies into the country? It's all
very well to tell us to improve our farms
instead of picking berries, but we'd starve
to death on the farm alone." C. H. Farn
ham in Harper's Magazine.
The Conscientious Ncw-spaper Man.
It is my experience that a conscientious
newspaperman will da his work inter
viewing included rabout right if the man
who has the news to give will only let
him. Ilcportcnv don't wilfully and ma
liciously misquote talkers and nus.ue
facts, as they are so generally credited
with doing, and I find that x'he' best plan
to pursue in giving material for publica
tion is to state the facts clearly aad let
1 he reporter do tho dressing up. TLe.-e
ftllov.-s who always msist on being re
ported verbatim, and who must dictate
'he text of every item they furnish, in
variably make a sorry mess o it. An
other thing I've r.ocic.-di If a mjtn has a
speech prepared for a banquet, present a
! ion ot any occasion of that character, he
had better give the reporter the mam.t--cript
and go it blind than trust himself
to stick to his prepared speech, for, nine
tiroes in ten, he'll ge; uway from his
paper before. h ii, iiaif through, in which
case hCi'll thank his stars forever that the
reporter has a grammatical aad reason
ably coherent composition to print instead
of his disjointed impromptu" speech.
Dan Linahan in Globe-Democrat.
Tlie Darwin Theory In Commerce.
Thi3 application of Darwin's great
theory to commercial competition is more
than a parable. It is the scientitic expla
nation of causes which have wrecked
civilization in the past and may wreck
them in the future. The struggle mast
go on while men are impelled by the de
sire for a greater profusion of what sus
tains life or makes it happier. It often
has been, and often is, carried on by the
sword, but important victories may be
won, and disastrous defeats sustained, by
more peaceful means.
The discovery of the passne round the
Cape transferred the trade of the east
from the Mediterranean to Liondon and
Amsterdam, and most merchants in the
city allirm that the cutting of the. Suez
canal has once more deprived England of
the advantage of situation. The com
mercial success of Swi' ;;;rl:nd, however,
proves that national characteristics are at
least as import ; tit us geeirraphleal posi
tion, and it is well from Time to time to
ask if we arc (loir.:; ail that in us lies to
train those who shall follow, us to main
tain what our predecessors have .. on.
Nature.
Ieal lcfter OCice Tiiuseuru.
Connected with the dead letter office is
a sort of museum, where curious articles
that come in the mails and cannot be re
turned to owners are placed on exhibition.
In the cabinets which extend round the
room are shown articles innumerable and
varied, many of which have histories.
There are pictures and toys and jewelry
without number. Sovc-.l Indian hatch
ets which were uncla.mcd give to one of
the cabinets an archioological appearance,
and a pair of 'Indian pines of red sand
stone cross each other ia truly peaceful
style. One of the rare curiosities i.s a
sheet cf parchment, on which is j.ii.neu
the Lord's prayer in fifty-four langu.v.;vs.
It is said to be a duplicate of a parcU:neut
which hangs in irt. Peters's at Rome.
Chicago Herald.
A Harbor's Otserratioiis.
The loquacious barbers now nr.d thru
have intervals when they remark inci
dents that escape the attention of n.ai:y ii
the tear and ru.-h of life. "You sleep o;
the right side of ycur body."' one oi th-;
said the other day, as he chjr-ptd the set:,
blonde hair of a customer. "Why? Li
cause don't you see that yeur hair is
thicker on the rigkt than on the left side?
We can readily tell on which side a cus
tomer eieep-. The heat is confined to the
side of the head resting on the pillow, and
that heat raal-ei the hair grow thicker
about the temple." The barber didn't;
explain the accepted statement tiict th
constant wearing of the hat produces ao
much Leat that men addicted to the prac
tice are bald. New York Sun.
jiua .L'e.Li. In,..,,
Ladies' Tei. (J out. .
Men's JJurt Shoes. .
Men's Slides . .
Men's Shoes . .
Men's Shoes . .
'vhiklrens '-Little Giant School Shoes," the. Lest in the market, ?an)'e
reduction. JS'ow is venr chance to lav in .1 cheat) su.wlv.
irruxm, jourir nrra r, ,jlt-.
B E
J .
JUST RECEIVED.
Finnan Haddioa. California Evaporated
Nectarines , - - they are
ocston brown Bread
and nice.
. Prunella and Apricots. Asparagus in Cans.
Clam Chowder.
"D TT3 7
4
Have anything you want ircm a two v heeled t,o etui to a twent)fciu
passenger wagon.
CARRAG-a FOR PLEASURE AHD
SHORT DRIVE.
always kept ready. Q-Am or tight carriages, pall-Larer wagon
and every thing for I'uneruMnrnished in short notico. Term ca
tl rTS B4 E,! B 7 RfW TM rHiA WiUtwsent t tCt.K U
fci fcal W V:A i.VVA ftr Wr" fci " . A Handsome Boak nt 1
12.11..
Ion a post-il for
. SANGER, BAtf
IMPORTERS
Ph HARDWARE
TIN FLATS, SlSrf-srr- ?VI CSTLE2T.
KAILS, lrv' :-- fiwC i-r-
22, 24, 20, 23, SO & 32 Laka Street,
or Sale.
A fitrm oi VTf-i-:T Vjtcr l.!tu::i, tlv.
S. "W. i of Sf.' 21 T;?. 10. Rnnjjr
14. F!i ti i --" cf J.jjifri Vt .iit n i
Rock B.uilV for f.irlh-.T ; -.rlii-ul-ns
b'ii.t. 1-Ca;u.
4 -50 r'7r-r,ir "7
o to " " a uu
tl L0 " 2 00
wt. u Mum l ttmim. mmj famm .
N N E T T.
delicious
Mixture, --Something ne
3 T T.
ANNUAL FG111888
j ail vbo writ tor it 1 ia
! PfaAcw. ad u,liu iti abot ihm i I
IN. K1U r. anil riilWCd t 1
t BD.. With htindrttfW rJ
.. .1 i .. ; i. , j i ' . . ' . , V B
ecrib3 Hare Novelticnin VKOKTAHLf tnd FiToWKHK,!
I of rrnl value, which cannot bo obtunnd clmnrhnre. &mal mAArm
tho most complete C'atnlnxuR Kbllke4. to I
JOBBERS
e
Harness, saddles, vrhips. lridW
jcwlry ,,f -vriy kind and J
t :n ke-it i:i stok and 8atiract'
t- d at
Sire. "hi
IT
