1 t , - "
The Sioux County Journal
VOLUME VI.
IIAKKISOX, NEBRASKA, THURSDAY, MARCH 1, 1804.
NUMBER 25.
fly
'
TALM AGE'S SERMON.
AN ELOQUENT DISCOURSE BY
THE EROOKLYN PREACHER.
A Conijmrl.on o VUlmu with the Mont
I'rf. Ii.u. Stan. Tl.e talue of It. Hcl.in
""' "f hlMii,u-j..iilru ItrouKht
Out hjr the Teu
Kublf HurpttMMtd.
The sub oct of I)r. J'almuge's sermon
last Sunday was, 'Huhies Surpassed"
hnd the text i'roverbs viii, II, "Wis
dom is better than rubies."
ou have all seen the precious stone
commonly called the rubv. It is of
deep red color. Tho Hfble makes
much of it. it flowed in tho first row
of the high priest's breastplate. I'n
d another name it stood in tho wall
of ibaven. Jeremiah compares the
rubby check of the Nazarites to the
ruby. Kekiel points it out in the
rolies of the king of Tyre. Four times
docs Solomon use it aw a syrnliol by
which to extol wisdom or religion, al
ways setting its value as bettr than
rubies.
Qtmlltlr of the Kubjr.
The world does not agreo as to how
the precious stones were formed. The
ancients thought that amber was made
of drops of perspiration of tho goddess
Ge. The thunuei stone wassupposed to
have dropped from a stormcloud. The
emerald was said to have been made
of the tire:ly. The lapis lauli was
thought to have been born of tho cry
of an Indian giant. And modern min
eralogists say that the precious stones
were made of cranes and liquids. To
me the rubby seems like a spark from
the anvil of the setting sun.
The home of the trenuino rubv is
Biirmah, and sixty miles from its cap
ital, where lives and reigns the ruler,
called "Ixird of the Rubies." I'nder a
careful governmental guurd are these
valuable mines of ruby kept. Rarely
has any foreigner visited them. , vVhen
a ruby of lurgo value was discovered,
It was brought forth with elalmrato
Ceremony, a procession was formed,
and, with all liannered pomp, military
guard. and princely attendants, the geiii
was brought to tho king's palace.
Of great value is the ruby, much
more so than diamond, as lapidaries
and jewelers will tell you. An exert
on this subject writes, "A ruby ol per
fect color weighing five carats Is worth
at the present day ten times as much
as a diamond of ejuul weight.'' It
was a disaster when ( harles the Hold
lost the ruby he was wearing at the
battle of Grand ou. It was u grout a'llu
ence when Rudolph II. of Austria in
herited a ruby from his sister, the
Queen dowager. It was thought to
have had much to do with the victory
of Henry V., as he wore it Into the
battle of Agincourt.
it is tho pride of the Russian court
to own tho largest ruby of all the
world, presented by Gustuvus J J I . to
tho Russian Km press. Wondrous ruby!
It has electric characteristics, and
there a' o lightnings compressed in its
double six sided prisma. What shall I
call it? it is fro.en tire! It is petrilied
blood! In all the world there, is only
one thing more valuable, and my text
makes the compari on, "Wisdom is
better than rubies."
Hut it is impossible to compare two
things together unless there are some
points oi sun lantv as well as ot di, er
cneo. I am glad there is nothing lack
ing here. The ruby is more Is.autiful
in the night ami under the lamplight
than by nay. It is preferred for eve
ning adornment. (low the rubies
glow and burn and (lash as tho lights
lilt the darkness! C atharine of Aragon
had on her linger a ruby that fairly
lanterned the night.
r.lohn .Vaudeville, tho celebrated
in v. Icr of too years ago. said that the
hi.ioeror of C hina had a ruby that
mime the night as bright as day. The
pi o'.ability is that Solomon, under some
o! the lamps that illumined his cedar
palace by night, noticed the peculiar
glow of the ruby as it looked in the
hilt of a sword, or hum; in some fold of
the upholstery, or boautiliod the lip of
some chalice, whiie ho was thinking at
the same time of the excellency of our
holv religion as chiefly seen in the
night of trouble, and he cries out,
"Wisdom Is better than rubies."
naces: as in Kekiel'g time to console
captivity: as in St. John's time to un
roll an aiioealypse over rocky desola
tions. Hear its soothing voice as it
declares: "Weeping may endure for
a night, but joy cometh in the morn
ing." "The mountains shall depart
and the bids be removed, but mv lov
ing kindness shall not depart" from
you." Whom the Lord loveth Ho
chasteneth.'' "They shall huneerno
more, neither thirst anymore, neither
shall the sun light on tlieiu. nor any
heat, for the I,amb which is in the
midst of the throne shall lead to living
fountains of water, and God shall wioo
away all tears from their eyes."
The most wholesome thing on earth
is trouble, if met in Christian spirit.
To make Paul what he was it took
shipwreck, and whipping on the bare
ba k, and penitentiary, and pursuit of
wild mol. and the sword of decapita
tion. To make David what he was it
took all that Ahithophel and Saul and
Absalom and Goliath and all tho Philis
tine hosts could do against him. It
took Rols-rt Chamliers' malformation
of feet to make him tho literary con
queror. It was bereavement that hi
William Haworth of Wesley's time j
from wickedness to an evangelism that
won many thousunds for Heaven. The I
world would never have known what i
heroic stuff Ridley was made of had not I
the (ires lioen kindled around his feet,
and not likingtheir slow work he cried:
"I cannot burn. Let tho (ire come to !
me. I cannot burn." Thank God
there are gems that unfold their best I
glories under the lamplight! Thank i
God for the ruhy! j
Solomon Wn. Klght.
Moreover. I am sure that Solomon
was right in saying that religion or,
wisdom is better than rubies, from the I
fact that a thing is worth what it will
fetch. Re lii' ion will fetch. Kclhrion i
j will fetch solid hap, ticss. and tho
i ruby will not. In all vour observation
did you ever find a person thoroughly
felicitated by an incrustment of jewels'
As you know more of yourself than
any one else, are yoi happier now
with worldly adornments and successes
than before vou won them? Hoes the
picture that cost you hundreds or thou
sands of dollars on your wall bring
you as much satisfaction aslhe engrav
ing that ut the expense of ." was hung
Ujioii the wall when you first U-gan to
keep house;"
Ho all the cutlery and rare plate
that g itter on your extension dining
table, surrounded by Haltering guests,
contain more of real bli-s than the
p ain ware of your iirst table, at which
sat only two? Does a wardrobe ci owded
with costly attire gio you more satis
faction thun your first clothes closet
with its four or live negs? Hid not the
plain ring set on the third linger of
your left bund or; the day of your be
trothal give more gladness than tho
ruby that is now enthroned or. the
third linger of your right hand?
If in this journey of life wo have
learned anything, w) have learned
that this world neither wit h its emolu
ments nor gains can satisfy tho soul.
li-tyr to Outjr.
There is also something In the deep
carmine of the ruby that suggests the
imitations of that ruby, but only one
ruby. Christ had no descendant.
Christ had no counterpart. In the
lifted ii) grandeur and glory and love
and sympathy of his character he ii
the Incomparable, the Infinite One!
"The only wi.-e God, our Saviour."
I. t all hearts, all homes, all times, all
eternities, bow low before Him' Let
His bunnor bo lifted in all our souls!
frliK of the (in.l.
In olden times Scotland wasdisturbed
by freebooters ttnd pirates. To rid the
seas and nrt8 of these deserudoeB,
the hero William Wallace fitted out a
merchant vessel, but rilled with armed
men and put out to sea. The Di rates,
with their flag inscribed of a death's
head, thinking they would get an easy
prize, lore down "upon the Scottish
merchantman, when the armed men of
Wallace boarded tho craft of the
pirates and nut them in chains and then
sailed for jsirt under tho Scotch Hag
flying. And so our souls, assailed of
sin and death and hell, through Christ
are rescued, and tho black flag of sin
is torn down, and tho striie(t flag Of
tho cross is hoiste.1. Hlessed be God
for any sign, for any signal, for any pre
cious stone, that brings to mind the
price for such a rescue!"
I like tho coral, for it seems the
BOlidilied foam of breakers, and I like
the jasper, for it gathers seventeen
colors into its Inborn, and I like the jet,
for it compresses the shadows of many
midnights, and 1 like tho chryoprase"
because its purple is illumined with a
small heaven of stars, and I like the
chrysolite for its waves of color which'
seem on lire. Hut this morning nothv.
ing so impresses me as tho ruby, for it
depicts, it typifies, it suggests "The
blood of Jesus Christ that cleansetfh I
from all sin." Without the shedding
of blood there is no remission. ' Tea. i
Solomon was right when in my toxfrhe
said, "Wisdom is better than rubles "
To bring out a contrast that will
illustrate my text, I put before "you
two last earthly scenes. Tho one is in
a room with rubies, but no religion,
and the other in a room with religion,
but no rubies. Vou enter the first
room, where an ulDuerit una worldly
man is ubout to quit this life. There Is
a ruby on the mantel, jiossibly arriontr
the loses. There is a ruby in the head-'
dress of the queenly wife.
On the linger ol the dying man theAs
Isaruby. The pro-ence of these "-rabies
implies opulence or all kinds. The
pictures ou the walls are heirlooms or
the trophies ol Kuropcan travel. The
curtains are irom foreign looms. The
rugs are from Dumuseus or C'uiro. T'he
solas are stuffed with ease and
quietude. The rocking chairs roll
backward and forward on lullabies.
I ho pillows are exquisitely embtoid-
ered. All the appointments of the
room an; u peroration to a. succentfuJi
commercial or professional life-. 1
tho man has no religion, never has
had anil never professed to have.
There is not a Hible or one religious
book in the room.
The departing man feels that his
earthly career is ended, und nothing
opens beyond. Where ho will land
stepping otr from this life is a mys
tery, or whether he will land at all,
for it may be annihilation. Ho has no
God may we all meet. For I confess to
you that my chief desire for Heaven is
not the radience, or, to take the sug
gestion of the text, not the rul eseence
of the scene. My one idea of Heaven
is the plai e to meet old friends, (iod,
our best friend, und our earthly friends
already trunsiorted. Aye, to meet the
millions whom 1 have never seen, but
to whom I have a ;mmi-tered in tho
gospel week by week through journal
ism on both sides of the sea, und
throughout Christendom, and through
many lands vet semibarbarie.
A Mighty AuilUmce.
For the last twenty-three years
evt-ry hlast of injustice against me has
multiplied my readers all the world
over, and the present malignancy
printed and ut tered because our church
is in linancial struggle after having
two great structures destroyed by firo
and were compelled to build three
large churches - I say the present out
rageous injustice in some quarters will
multiply my audience In all lands if I
can keen in good humor and not fight
back.
"A gentleman tapped me on the
shoulder summer nefore last on a
street of Edinburgh, Scotland, and
said. "I live in the ,-hetlaru Islands,
Noi'th of Scotland, and. I read your
sermons every Sabbath to an audience
of neighbors, und my brother Ihes in
Cape Town, South Africa, and he
reads them every Sabbath to an audi
ence of his neighbors." And I hear
ajid now say to the forty millionsof the
earth to whose eyes these words come,
that one of my dearest anticipations is
to meet them in Heaven. Ah, that
will le better than rubies.
.Coming up from different continents,
from (jtlerent hemispheres, from op
posite sides of the earth, to greet euch
other in holv love in the tiresence of
tfcu glorious ( hrist who made it iks
si bU) for us to get there. Our sins all
ipffrdonel, our sorrows all banished,
nyver to wee), never to hart, never to
diei I tell ou thut will be betterthan
ruhies. Others may have the crowns,
jand the thrones, and thesce)ters; give
us otfr own friends back uiain. Christ.
"tho fiTcnd who sticketh closer than a
brother," and all the kindred who have
gone up from onr bereft households,
.and all our friends whom wo have
ncv;r.yet seen, and you may have all
the rubies, for that will be "better
than rubies."
.Instead of the dving kiss when they
JooJteds pale and wan and sick, it
wotiH be the kiss of welcome on lips
jOUUant with song, while standing on
noors paved with what exquisiteness,
under ceilings hung with what glory,
hvufidedi by walls facing vs with what
fiuimur; amiu gladness rolling over
li with what doxologv far better, in-
;f Anilely i Urttor, everlastingly better
1 tfi rubies!
-THE
COMMERCIAL BANK.
ESTABLISHED 1868.
Harrison, Nebraska.
E. Brkwstlr,
President.
F. Corru,
ViM-PrwidMl
D. H. GRISWOLD, Cashi.r.
AUTHORIZED CAPITAL. $50 000.
Transacts a General Banking Business
CORRESPONDENTS:
Amduoui Eichanoi National Bank, New York,
Uted States National Bank, Omthft,
First National Bank, Chadroi.
Interest Paid on Time Deposits.
WDRAFTS SOLD ON ALL PARTS OF EUROPE.
THE PIONEER
sacrifice on which our whole system of ' "ur u 0'"'r 1(1 not know
..ii..;..n .1 ..I- u-.ti ' ... ! how to pray. jo hone of meeting
again in another state of existence. He
l is uirougu wiin tins me and is sure of
no other. J he ruby on the man
tel and the ruby on the wu.ted
finger oi the departing one say noth
ing of tho ransoming blood which
So far us v iv-
Wlivt thn World Neriln.
Oh, yes, It is a good thing to have re
ligion while thesun of prosperity rides
high and everything is brilliant in for
tune, in health, in worldly favor. Yet
you can ut such time hardly tell how
much of it Is natural exuberance ami
how much of it is tho grace of (iod.'
Hut let tho sun set, and the shadows
avalanche the plain, and the thick dark
ness of sickness or poverty or persecu
tion or mental exhaustion lill tho soul
and fill the house and lill the world;
then you sit down by tho lump of (Jed's
word, and under its light the consola
tions of the gospel come out: the peace
of (lod which jiuH-oth all understand
ing appears. ou never fully approb
ated their )wer until In the deep
night of trouble tho Divine Lamp re
vealed thoii exquisiteness. l'earlsand
amethynts for the day, but rubies for
tho night.
All of tho books of tho Hlblo attempt
in some way the assuagement of mis
fortune. Of the M walms of David ut
least ninety allude to trouble. The'o
aro slghlngs In every wind, and tears in
very brook, and pangs in every heart.
It was originally proposed to call the
President s rcsldeneo at Washington
''The Palace" or "the Kxecutive Man'
ion," but after it wuh destroyed in tho
war of 114 and rebuilt it was painted
white to cover up the marks of tho
moko and fire that had blackened tho
tone walls. Hence it was called "The
White House." Most of the things now
white with attractiveness wore onee
biack with disaster.
What the wor.d most needs is tho
consolatory, and here it comes, our
boly rgllgfon, with both bands full of
unodynea and sedatives and balsams, as
In Daniel's time tostop mouths leonine;
m ia dbadrach'i time to cool blast fur-
religion demands. While the emerald
suggests the meadows, and the sap
phire the skies, and the opul the sea.
the ruby suggests the blood of sacri
fice. The most emphatic and stud
ling of all colors hath the ruby.
noiomon. me author of my text, knew
all about the sacrifice of lamb and dove
on the altars of tho temple, und he
knew the meaning of saerilicial blood,
and what other precious stone cou d he
so well use to symliolizo it us the ruby?
Hed, intensely red, red us tho blood of
tho greatest martyr of all time - Jesus
-of the centuries.' Drive the story of
the crucifixion out of tho iliblo und
tho doctrine of the atonement out of
our reliuion, and there would be noth
ing of Christianity left for our worship
or our admiration.
Why should it be hard to adopt tho
Iliblo theory that our redemption was
jmrchused by blood? What great
bridge ever sprung its un-hes, what
temple ever reared its Independence,
what mighty good whs ever done with
out sacrifice of life? Tho great won ler
oi uie worm, the Drldes that unites
these two cities, cost the life of tho
first architect. Ask the shipyards of
Gla-gow and .New York how many cur
oenters went down under accidents
before the steamer was launched; usk
the three great transcontinental rail
roads how many in their construction
were buried under crumbling embank
ments or crushed under timbers or de
stroyed by the powder blast.
Tabiilute tho statistics of how many
mothers have lieen martyrs to the
crudle of sick children. Tell us bow
munv men sacrificed nerve und muscle
and brain und life in the effort to sup
port their households. Tell mo how
many men in Knglund, in Franco, in
Germany, in Italy, in the United
States, have died for their country.
Vicarious suffering is as old as the
world, but tho most thrilling, the
most startling, tho most stupendous
they so mightily typiiy.
ing solace or illumination to a,
big spirit, they are a dead
Midnight of utler
on all tho scene.
hopelessness dr
denart-
fai.ure.
ps
Ifc.tMT 1 him Rubies.
Another room of mortal exit. Re
ligion and no rubies. She never hud
money enough to buy one of these ex
quisites. Sometimes she slopped at a
jeweler's show window and saw u row
of them incarnadining the velvet. She
had keen taste enough to appreciate
those gems, but she never owned one
of them. She was not jealous or un
happy because others had rubies while
she had none, llut sho had a richer
treasure, and that was the grace of
(iod that had comloi ted her along tho
way umid bereavements una tempta
tions and persecutions und sickness und
privations und trials ot all sorts. Now
she is going out of life.
The room is bright, not with nictures
or statues, not with upholstery, not
with any of the gems of mountain or ,
of sea, but there is a strange and vivid
glow in the room. Not the light of
chandelier or star or noonday sun. but
something that outshines all of them. '
It must be tho presence of suner ,
sacrifice of all time and eternity was j solos, no thund
on a iiiiiii duck oi Jerusalem when one
Heing took upon him elf tho sins t.hn
agonies, the jierdition of a great multi
tude that no man can numlior between
iz o clock or a
o'clock In the
the ransom of a ruined world.
Dive in all tho seas, explore all the
mines, crowbar all the mountains,
view all the crowned jewels of all tho
emperors, and find mo any gem that
can so overwhelmingly symlsillo that
martyrdom as the ruby. Mark you.
there are many gems that uru some
what like the ruby. So Is the cor
nelian, so is theguriiet, so is the spine),
so is tho bulas, so the gems brought
from among the gravels of Ceylon und
New South Wales, hut there is only
one (fenulno ruby, and that comes from
the mine of Uurmah. And there is
only one Christ, and Ho comes from
Heaven, One Hedeomcr, one Hansom,
one Hon of Cod, only "one name given
undor heaven among men by which wo
can tie saved."
Ton thousand times 10,000 beautiful !
naturals. Irom her illuminated face , nati Tribune.
i lihiik sue must near sweet voices.
Yea, she does hour sweet voice
voices of departed kindred, voices
apostolic und prophetic and evangelic,
but all of them overpowered by the
voice of Christ, buying, "Conic, ye
blessed of my Father, Inherit the king
dom." From her illumined faco, I think she
must hear rapturous music. Yea. she
does hear rapturous music, now soft us
j Ir. Was a Nine honvenlr.
J A wedding which occurred a short
; time ago in t ine nnail, or at one of
' har bi-autiful suburbs, was the mak
ing or a good story. The groom was
a nice young fellow of good habits,
: amtj tious, etc., but poor. Financial-
ly the brine was in the same boat
Such a match created much gossip,
but no one hail any esp cial interest
beyond the two directly concerned.
A gentleman who knew them both
wished to make them a trilling pres
ent. He was limited in purse also,
but, a jeweler helped liira out.
"Why not give them a souvenir
spoon?" said the jew ler. "We have
lots of pretty designs. Some with
Nhakspearean mottoes are very suit
able." "All light," said the purchaser,
"put one up in a nice little box for
me."
It was done and the gentlemen
sent the present, conscious of a pleas
ant duty well done. Now the funny
part of it was n the quotation.
When the bride was looking over the
presents, and they were numerous,
though not extravagant in cost, she
examined the spoon.
"Why, Harry," she exclaimed,
"what an odd present from Mr. U
It's a i-hakspeaiean souvenir spoon,
with trie quotation 'Uhat
these mortals be.' I don't
that's very nice, do you?"
"No." said Harry, "but as
been married twenty years maybe he
knows more about it than we do."
The giver of the gift gave the jew
eler fits for his Ill-advised selection.
Hut he said "li s all right anyhow.
The jeweler hiu the nail on the head,
if he did hit it in the dark. Cincin-
Pharmacy,
J. E. PHINNEY, Proprietor.
Pure Drugs, Medicines, Paints,
Oils and Varnishes.
WARTISTS' MATERIAL.
WBBUSHES.
fools
think
he has
'roils as orchestras:
now a saintly voice ulone, now the hun
dred und forty ami fo.ir thousuil in
Concert. From her illumined face, 1
think she. imi.t. In-ivit I.,. I..
darkened noon and .'! j Yea, sho does inhale the aroma from
jiurt-iiuHiiig on mo garuons Whose l owers never
wither and from the blossoms of or
chards, every tree of which bears
twelve manner xif fruit, l-roni her
illumined face, I think she mu t see a
glorious sight. Yes, sho sees tho wull
that has j.ispcr at tho base und am
ethyst at the to)) and blood red rubles
between, (ioodhv. sweet soul! vV'hv
should you longer stay? Your work
MniliarrnsNing.
Mark Twain tells thus the story of
his first great London banquet, at
which, by the way, there were eight
or nine hundred guests. Ho admits
that not having been used to that
kind of dinner, he felt somewhat
lonesome.
Tho Lord Mayor, or somebody, read
out a list ol tlie chief guests before
we began to cut V hen he came to
prominent names, the other guests
would applaud.
I found the man next me rather a
good talker. .lust as wo got up an
Interesting subject, there was i tre
mendous clapping of hands. I had
hardly ever heard such applause be
fore. I straightened up and set to
clapping with the re t, arid I noticed
a good many people round about mo
fixing their attention on rue, and
School Supplies.
Prescriptions Carefully Compounded
Day or Night.
SIMMONS & SMILEY,
Harrison, Nebraska,
Estate Agents,
Real
Have
a number of bargains in
choice land in Sioux county.
Parties desiring to buy or sell real
estate should not fail to
call on them.
some of them laughing In a friendly
all done, your burdens all curried, your and encouraging way. I moved about
tears ull wept! Forward into tho light! ; in my chair, and clapped louder than
ever.
Lp into the joy! Out into tho grand
eurs! And after you have saluted
Christ and our kindred, search out"
him of tho palaces of Lebanon cedar
and tell hltn that you have fo ,nd
to bo gloriously true what thousands
of years ago ho assertod in this morn
ing's toxt, "Wisdom Is better than
rubles."
In those burnished palaces of our
"Who is it?" 1 asked the gentle
man on my right.
"Samuel Clemens, better known
in England as Mark Twain," ha re
plied. I stopped clapping. The life seemed
to ko out of ma I never was in such
a flu In all my days.
School Lands
leased, taxes paid for
non-residents; farms rented, ota
CORRESPONDENTS SOLICITED.
iff
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