7
:-
T: V4'
rf-
:
i it
V;
" I
TALM AGE'S SERMON.
HANNAH WAS AN OLD -FASHIONED
CHRISTIAN MOTHER.
let Dr. Talmags Bars Her Iadoatry,
Bar Intelligence and Her Christian
.Devotion Kenned Her for Heavan-
- jb. Pica for Oar Mother,
A a Ordinary Woman.
This radical discourse will do doubt
nave it practical result in mauy home
steads tbrouguoot Christendom. Th
text was 1. Samuel it, 1. "Moreover bia
mother made h'm a httle coat and brought
It to him froir year to year when she
came up with her husband to offer the
yaxly sacrifice."
The atories of Deborah and Abigail are
Terr apt to discourage a woman's soul.
She say withu. herself, "It is impossible
that X ever anieve any such grandeur of
character, and ' don't niean to try." as
though a child rhould refuse to play the
ight notes because he cannot execute a
-"William Tell." Th: Hannah of tbe text
differs from tho persons I just named. She
una an ordiuaiy woman, with ordinary
Intellectual capacity, placed iu ordinary
circumstances, and yet by extraordinary
piety standing eut before all the age to
come the mtli Christian mother. Han
nah vii the wie of Elkanah, who waa a
Ieraon very muth like herself unroman
tic and plain, ni ver baring fought a battle
or been the subject of a marvelous escape.
Neither of then, would have been called a
genius. Just shat you and 1 might be,
that was EIk..na.b and Hannah. The
brightest time ,n all the history of that
.family wag th birth of Samuel. Although
no star ran ai-.ng the heavens pointing
down to his birthplace, I think the angels
of God stooped at the coming of o won
derful a prophi t. As Samuel bad been
given in answer to prayer. Klkanah and
H hw family, save Hannah, started up to
Shfloh to offer sacrifices of thanksgiving.
Tbe cradle whetc the child slept waaalf ar
snongh for H moan's grateful heart, tint
wheB the hoy was old enough she took
him to Shiloh ana took three bullocks and
.an rphah of Bour and a bottle of wine and
made offering of acritie unto the Ixird.
and there, according to a previous vow,
ahe left blm. f i there be was to stay all
the days of hi life and minister in the
aanctuary?
i-JTears rolled -.n, and every year Hannah
made with her own ha mi a garment for
JHarmiiel and too it over to him. The lad
xwmiA have go1, along well without that
- ga-TOieW. for 1 suppose he was well clad
bj the--ministry of the temple, but Han
- nah cou!i not b- contented unless she was
all the time do ng something for her dar
ling boy. "Moreover his mother made
him a little coat and brought it to him
from year to year when ahe came up with
her husband :o otter the yearly nacri-,
f Hannah's Indnatrv.
Hi'ituih stands before you, then, to-day,
" lrie first plate, i an Industrious moth
"rV4 There was no need that she work,
filkanah. her bnsband, waa far from poor.
He belonged in a distinguished family.
for the Bible t Ms us that he was the son
of Jeroham. thf son of Elihn. the son of
Tau, the sou of Znph. "Who were
ttbeyT' you say. I do not know, but they
were distinguihed people, no doubt, or
their names would not have been men
tioned. Hannnh might have seated her
self in her fam.ly, and, with folded arm
and disheveleu hair, read novels, from
-rear Jo rear. ' there had been any to
-reaA. But when 1 see her making that
xarwnt and taking it over to Samuel,
1 know she is i.idiiRtnoii.-- from principle
as well ns f rot : pleasure. iod would not
'-ha-ve a mother i-ceome a drudge or a slave;
he wonld have her employ all the helps
possible in thin lay in the rearing of her
-children. But Hannah ought never to
he ashamed be found making a coat
for Samuel. Moat mo 1 hem need no
counsel in thi direction. The wrinkle
n their brow, the pallor on their cheek.
The thimble mrk on their finger. attest
hat thev are fnitbrul in their maternal
duties. The bloom a nil the brightness
and the vivne'ty of girlhood have given
place to the grinder dignity and nseful
nee and industry of motherhood. But
there "w a heatiienish idea getting abroad
ia some of the families of Americans.
There are mvhers who banish them
lve from th? home circle. For tliree
fonrths of thor maternal duties they
prove themselves incompetent. They are
iz-iornnt of what, their children wear.
iijcl what, the.i- children eat, and nat
tT-eir children tend. They intrust to irrp
Irmible persors tbie young immortals
and allow then to 1 under influences
which mar cr';ple their notfies. or tnint
their purity, or sfKiil their manners, or
destroy their i.ouls. From the awkward
-nt of Samuel's coat yon know his mot li
ner Hannah did not make it.
Out from order flaming chandeliers,
and off from ir.iportd carpets, and down
the granite stairs there is coming a great
-T-wd of children in this day untrained.
ancy, Jncompi tent for all the practical
'Int'ies of life, rtady to be caught in tbe
first whirl of crme and sensuality. Indo
lent and unfaithful mothers will make in
dolent and unfaithful children. You can
not expect neitness and order in nny
house where the daughters see nothing
'but slafternlim rs and upside downative--oe-M
in their parents. Iet Hannah be
tifD, and most certainly Samuel will grow
Kip bill.. Who "re the industrious men in
ail mr occnpafSins and professions? Who
w iivy building the walls, tinning the
roof, weaving the carpets, making the
3aw. governing the nations, making the
oarth to iuake and heave and roar and
Tattle with tlw tread of gigantic enter-priw-?
Who are they? For the most
"part they descended from industrious
mothers, who in the old homestead used
to spin their own yarn and weave their
" -own carpets and plait their own doormats
and flag their own chairs and do their
-own work. The stalwart men and the
influent iitl women of this day, M) nut of
Jill) of them, csme from such an illustrious
.-ancestry of hard knuckles and homespun.
.hiA who are these people in society light
asr.T-fh, blown every whither of temptu
tln auB1 fashion tbe peddlers of filthy
toTM. fhe dancing Jacks of political par
ties, the cam of society, tbe tsvern
loan-rime, atore infesting, tbe men of low
wink and Bltb- chuckle and brass breaat-
pin and sotten nsaociations? For the moat
part they came frosn mot hers Idle and
-diagaatlnc, tbe scandal monfers of society,
jfolBjT tram bouse to boose attending to
' ' t-sff-ttfMiya h-selne-M bat their own, be-
Heristf kt witrnes m4 -rhosts, and boraa
srbasM to keep the devil oat of tbe churn.
. osskd b a saaiioea life settlnf their .-Ml.
r ss-ii.iig i;i"t ' '"
mothers of Sa-iiuel Johnson, and nf A!- '
fnad the Great and of Isaac Newtun. and I
of St. August, ne, and of ltu-uard CU
and of 1'rv.ni-nt Kdwards, t'tr the mt
part were indu-itrioua, hardwrt-king moth
ers. Now, whi'e I congratulate all Chris
tian mothers upon th wealth and th-
modern science which may afford tbem
all kinds of he'p, let me say that every
mother ought V be iln-rvaut of her chil
dren's walk, her children's behavior, ber
children's food her children's books, her
children's comiinionihiis. However
much help Hannah may have, I think she
ought every year at least make one gar
ment for SamneL The I'ni have merry
on tbe man wno is so unfortuuate as to
have bad a Ian mother!
Hannah's Intelligence. i
Again, Hannah stands 1-efnre you to-day
as an intelligent mother. From the way
in which she talked in this chapter and
from the way fhe managed this l'V you
know she was intelligent. There are no
persons in a community who need jo ne
so wise and rell informed as mothers.
Oh, this work of culturing children for
this world ani the next! This child is
timid, and it must lie roused up and push
ed out into ae.ivities. This child is for
ward, and he must be held back and tam
ed down into modesty and politeness. Ite-
wanls for one, punishments for another.
That which will make George will ruin
John. The rod is necessary in one case.
while a frown of displeasure is more than
enough in anotner. Whipping and a dark
closet do not exhaust all the round of
domestic discipline. There have been
children who have grown up and gone to
glory without ever having had their ears
boxed. Oh, bow much care and intelli
gence are necessary in the rearing of chil
dren! But in this day, when there are
so many hooka on this subject, no pan-nt
is excusable in being ignorant of tbe best
mode of bringing up a child. If parents
know more of dietetics, there would not
lie so many dyspeptic stomachs and weak
nerves ana Inactive livers among cnu
dren. If parepjs knew more of physiolo
gy, there Vould not be so many ciirved
spines and cramped chests ami juflamed
throats and d.Jeased lungs as mere are
among children. If parents knew nnwe
of art, and were jp sympathy with all
that is l-eut1ful, there would not lie so
many children coming out hi the world
with boorish roclivitiea. If parents
knew more of Christ and practiced more
of his religion, there would not be so
many little feet already starting on the
wrong road, and all around us voicn of
riot and blasphemy would not come np
with snch ecstasy of Infernal triumph.
The eaglets In the eyrie have no advan
tage over the eaglets of 1,000 years ago;
the kids have do superior way of climb
ing up the rocks than tbe old goats taught
them hundreds of years ago; the whelps
know no more now than did the whelps
of ages ago t ley are taught no more by
the' lions of the desert, but it is a shame
that in this day, when mere are so many
fifipoftunities f t improving ourselves in
the best manner of culrunng children.
that so often there is no more advance
ment in this respect than there has been
among tbe kids and the eaglets and the
whelps.
Hannah's Piety.
Again, Hanrah stands before you to
day as a Chr stian mother. From her
prayers, aim rtom uie wsy sue conse
crated her boy to iod, I know she was
good. A mother may have the finest cul
ture, the most brilliant surroundings, but
she is not fit for her duties unless she tie
a Christian ohm her. There may le well
read libraries in the house, and exquisite
music in the parlor, and the canvas of tbe
best artists adorning the walls, and the
wardrobe be crowded with tasteful ap
parel, snd the childfen be wonderful for
their attainments and make the house ring
with laughler and innocent mirth, but
there is something woefully lacking in
that house if it tie not also tbe residence
of a Christian mother. I Bless tlod that
tliere are not many prayerlens mothers.
The weight 'if reKtiibility is so great
that they feel the need of a divine band
to help, and a divine voice to comfort,
and a divine h srt to sympathize. Thou
sands of mothers have lieon led into the
kingdom of iod by the hands of their lit
tle children. There are hundred f moth
ers to-dav who would not have lieon Chris
tians bad it not been for the prattle of
their littU. one-. Standing some day in
the nursery, they iK-Hintict themselves:
"This child (' has given mc to raise for
eternity. Whnt is my influence upon it?
Not being a Christian myself, how can I
ever expet him to become a Christian?
Ird, help me!" Oh, are there anxious
mothers who know nothing of the intinile
lu lu of reiijrion? Then I commend to you
Hannah, the nir us mother f Samuel. Do
not think it is absolutely imixmsible that
your children come up iniquitous. Out of
just such fair brows and bright eyes and
soft hands and :nnocent heart crime gets
its victims extirpating purity from the
heart, and niohiiig out the smoothness
from tbe brow and quenching the Jnster
of the eye, ana snnveiiug up aim poison
ing and puticfying and scathing and
scalding and tilusting and burning with
shame and woe.
Every child is a bundle of tremendous
possibilities, and whether that child shall
come forth in life, its heart attuned to the
eternal harmonies, and after a life of use
fulness ou earth go to a life of Joy in heav
en, or whether across it shall j&r eternal
discords, and t'lr a life of wrongdoing
on earth it sha;' go to a home of imiiene
trable darkties and an abyss of immehs
prable plunge, i being decided by nursery
song and SaV'ath lesson and evening
prayer and walk and ride and look and
frown and smile. Oh, how many children
in glory, crowding all the battlements and
lifting a million voiced bosanna brought
to Jod through Christian parentage! One
hundred ami twenty clergymen were to
gel her, and they were telling their experi
ence and their ancestry, and of the 1J0
clergymen, how many of them do you sup-
sise assigned us the means of their con
version the inHiieiice of a Christian moth
er? One hundred out of the hundred and
twenty! I'hilip Doddridge was brought
to od by the Hcr.pt are lesson cm tbe
Dutch tile of the chimney fireplace. The
mother thinks she Is only rocking a child,
but at the sain, time she may be rocking
tbe destiny of empires, rocking the fate of
tuitions, rocking the glories of heaven.
Tbe same maternal power that Wy lift
a child np ma press a child down. A
daughter came to a worldly mother and
said she was anxlons about ber sins and
she had been pr-.ying all nbjrht. Tbe moth
er said: "Oh, str.p praying! I don't believe
in praying, (ict over all those religions
notions and 11, give you a dress that
will cost '), and yon mar wear it next
o-es-h to that puffy." The daughter took
tbe dress, and she moved la tbe gar circle.
the rarest of a'I the gar that Bight, and.
j ' ' s " ' - i ' ' ' aw - --
were gone and ahe sti-faped praying. Aj
few months after the came to die, and In
her dosing moments said, "Mother. I
wish you wouid bring me that dress that
cost f" - the mother thou gat it was
a very strange reojietit. but she brought it
to pletLse'the dying child. "Now," said
the daughter, 'mother, hang that dress
on, tbe f.t of my bed." And the dress
was bung the.e ou tbe foot of the bed.
Then the dyin girl got up on one elbow
and looked at her mother and pointed to
tbe dress and said, ""Mother, that dress
is the price of u y soul! ' Oh, what a mo
mentous thing ,t is to lie a mother!
Again and lastly, Hannah stands before
yon to-day the rewarded mother. For all
the cmiIs she trjude fir Samuel, for all the
prayers she offered for bim, fur the disci
pline she exerted over bim. she got abun
dant conipeiisjtinn in the piety aud the
usefulness and the pupularity of ber son
Samuel, and that is true in all ages.
Kvery mother get full pay for all the
prayers and Unr in In-half of her chil
dren. That man useful in commercial
life, that man prominent in the profession,
that master nieehauie by, every step he
takes in life bar an echo of gladness in
the old heart that long ago taught bim to
lie Christian aui heroic and earnest. The
story of what you have done or what you
have written, of the influence you hate
exerted, has gone taek to the old home
stead, for tlMit is some one always ready
to carry good tidings, and that story
makes the need!,' in the old mother's trem
ulous hand fly quicker and tbe flail in the
father's hand '.nte down upon the barn
floor with a mire vigorous thump. I'ar-
ents love to hear good news from their
children. Do ycu send them good news al
ways? Ivook out for the young man who
sieaks of hia father as the "governor."
the "squire" or the "old chap." Iyook
out for the young woman who calls her
mother her "maternaJ ancestor" or the
old woman." "Tbe eye that mocketh
at his fattier snd refuaetb to olwy his
mother the ravens of the valley shall
pick it out, and the young eagles shall
eat It" jod Cant that all these parents
mav nave roe gtvai satisiaciion oi seeing
their children grow np Christians. But,
oh, the pang of that mother who, after
a life of street gadding and gossip retail
ing, hanging on ber children tbe frip
peries and foilks of thu world, sees those
children tossed out on the sea of life like
foam on the wave of nonentities in a
world where only brawny and stalwart
character can s;j-nd the shock! But bless
ed be the mother who look uisjii tier
children as .ns and daughters of the
lord Almighty. Oh, tbe satisfaction of
Hannah in see.ng Samuel serving at the
altar, of MoLner huuice m seeing her
Timothy learned in the Scriptures! That
is the mother's recompense to see chil
dren coming up useful in the world, re
clsiming the lost, healing the sick, pitying
the ignorant, earnest and ueeful in every
sphere. That throws a new light back
on the old family Bible whenever she
reads if, and that will fie ointment to
soothe the aching limb of decrepitude and
light up the closing hours of life's day
with the glories of an autumnal sunset!
There she sits, the old Christian mother.
ripe for heaven Her eyesight is almost
gone, but the f lendors of the celestial city
kindle up her vision. The gray light of
heaven's morn has struck through the
gray locks wn'ch are folded back over
the wrinkled 'cmples. She stoojis very
much now under tbe burden of care she
used to carry for ber children. She sits
at home to-day too old to find her way to
the house of tiod, but while she sits there
11 the past coines back, and the children
that forty yeais ago trooped around her
armchair with their little griefs and joy
and sorrows, tl-ose children are all gone
now some caught up into a better realm.
where they ahull never die. and others out
in tbe broad world atSeting the exiel
lency of a Christian mother's discipline.
Her last days are full of peace, and calm
er and sweeter will her spirit Is-come until
the gales of life shall lift and let the worn
out pilgrim into eternal springtide ami
youth, where the liiulis never ache, and
the eyes never grow dim, and the staff
nf the exhausted and decrepit pilgrim
shall become (he palm of the Immortal
athlete.
Hard Times.
What ban canned Hie "bard Union"
through which we are imsiiliig.' Al-
ii'ittit every one haw IiIh theory aliout It.
One man xitys It In the jroltl stiindanl.
another that It l the danger of free
coinage; one that It l because tnrllT
duties nre too high. anoMier that it !
because the duties are no low as to
flood the country with foreign goods,
and these nre only examples of Hie
wide diversity of opinion that exists.
Perhaps, the straiiKest theory of all,
which neverthelcKH aeetnw to have
many adherents, is that the bicycle lias
caused it. It Is reasoned out tlmtt;
Hundred- of thonsaiiils (if persons have
been tavln) every upare penny to buy
a wheel, and have thus killed other
btiMiiiesm. Men, women ami young peo
ple of both aexeg wear their old cloth
ing, economize In food ami resort to
other mean of Having, and thus: the
bushes of the butcher, the baker ami
the CaVdlcHtick-maker la seriously di
minished. Watche. pianos, Jewelry, hooka and
other articles not necettnary In the
strb-test sense of the word used to be
the favorite luxuries; now all these
things are neglected for the bicycle.
The markor for horses waa greatly In
jured by the uulwttltutlon of electricity
for animal power In moting street-cars.
The trade certainly had another seri
ous blow Arlieu tbe bicycle liecftine the
popular iiVlde of locomotion.
In all this there is an element of ex
aggeration, but It cannot be denied
that tliere la a measure of truth In tbe
theory. That is, the demand for bi
cycles has probably Intensified the bad
times. But neither hard times nor good
times are a result of one cause. It is
a mistake to fix upon one peculiarity
of tbe situation and any, remove that
and all will be well. Ho far as the bi
cycle Is held responsible for tbe busl
iiea depression, W la sufficient to point
to the fact that the wheel-crate is
quite as prevalent In Kurope as It Is In
this country, and yet business abroad
is In an excellent condition. Youth's
Companion.
Mm Coald Not Resist.
Tbe Princess of Wales baa lately bad
ber plelura painted. It la remarkable
la that It la tha trot time aha baa pon
seated to b lopm ntad wearing th
. i , fc . .
A CHARACTER.
He as always sarin'; "It's all tt the
best;"
No matter what fortune was bringin'.
He did what be could left to heaven the
rest,
An' went on hia pathway a-singin'!
By day and by night in the dark, in the
light
You'd find him serene and contented;
The world, to his notion, was treatiu' bim
right.
An' his way w itb row was scented.
His
life was
a lesson all comfortin'
s weet !
A life that was kind and forgivin,
For ho, when the sharp thorns are
pk-rcin' his feet.
Can thank the good l-ord that be's
livin'V
But sometime I think when the heart in
the breast
la sick w ith it sorrow and grievin".
If tilings never hapien at all "for the
liest,"
We can make 'em the liest by hclievin'J
Atlanta Constitution.
THE FACE
AT THE WINDOW
During the Inst two years that I was
at boarding school, taking art as an
extra, I paid all my expenses by the
sale of the familiar cyanotypes, or
"blue prints." They were very popular
among the girls, and the utte of them In
friezes or la other wall decorations lie
came quite a fashion, su that I some
times sold hundreds for a single room.
Of course the choice of subjects was
largely determined by my prospective
purchasers, but there was a steady de
mand for local landscapes, and a pleas
ant afternoon usually saw me trudging
couDtryward, hunting the plcttireiiue
as a hungry sportsman hunts game.
On a certain day, when I hail pene
trated farther into the rural distrb-ts
than usual, an obliging farmer's wife,
whom I had Juxt "taken" In the act of
working a wellsweep, olxterved:
"You ought to go up to the old Turk
Ington Place, miss, If It's a real sightly
spot you're after; there ain't another
such lookout for miles around. You
keep right on past the bridge," and she
proceeded with directions of a bewil
dering prolixity.
"Who lives there?" I asked.
"Nobody lives there, and hasn't for
ten years. Old man Turklngton, he
lives," and here followed still more
puzzling directions. "Come to think,
you'd tietter got leave of hltn before
you go; be's dreadful queer. They do
say the bouse Is haunted," she called
out as I cliwed the gate.
Now, next to a "view," I loved an ad
venture, and this queer Mr. Turklngton
and the hypothetical ghost seemed a
combination too good to be lost. In
half an bour I had found the old man
and obtained the desired permission,
under promise of sending bint two of
TflEV I0 SAT TI1K llOf.'l E IS HAl'STKW.
tile photographs. If they proved good, a
matter that be. and nut I, treated as
open to doubt. Shouldering my tripod,
I climbed the long hill by a road evi
dently little dlsturlic-d by travel, and In
due time came In sight of an overgrown
yard and a large solitary mansion.
whose air of chilly desertion told me
Immediately that It was the Turkington
Place.
The house was a peculiar one. of
painted brick, with a hopper roof, and
there was something lmlentinlily
gloomy and weird In its aspect, al
though the front received the full rays
of the western sun. Everything sMike
of neglect and abandonment; there
were no blinds or even Ixiards at the
windows, and the side plllais of the old-
fashioned porch were held up only by
the folds of a gigantic honeysuckle.
Hastily choosing a favorable point
of view and adjusting my camera, I
secured a negative on one of my finest
plates, and, overcome by a mysterious
feeling of awe, without waiting for
further exploration, made the beat of
my way home.
That evening I developed my pic
tures. Probably many of you know
what It is to sit In the faint glow of
the ruby lantern and watch some cov
eted Image as It starts out bit by bit
from a surface as blank as an egg. For
my rt, I confess It excites me, and
I felt a thrill of more than ordinary
eagerness as I poured the chemicaU
over the Turklngton plate. First the
ky "came up," as we say, a dark shad
ow; then the house, the porch and a bit
of foreground and foliage, the various
details showing more an J more vividly
as I rocked the tray frou side to side.
I was Just congratuhtilng myself on
having captured a prir., when my at
tention was fixed by a peculiar ap
pearance alsnit one of the upper win
dows. It looked like a face yes, surely-a
woman's faVe, and my heart be
gan to heat suffocatingly as an unmis
takable, though shadowy, figure di'
fined itself behind the uncurtained
pa dcs.
Somehow, at the moment, I did not
think of a Mtural explanation; It waa
the plctui-J of a ghost, an intangible
being, in (slide to a normal eye, but
mysteriously patent to the sensitized
01 in. I recalled exactly bow that win
dow had looked, glassy and lifeless,
without a sign of occupancy. Waa it
possible that, the plate bad been used
made the suggestion pertinent; but u.
the negative was a brilliant one, per
fect In every particular; there was
clearly nothing wrong on tbe technical
side.
Observing tbe Image carefully, I
noted that tbe eyes were not turned to
the spot where I bad stood, but were
gazing out on the landscape, while the
whole attitude, I fancied, was that of a
troubled spirit revisiting earthly
scenes.
I thought of old Mr. Turklngton, and
bow be was reputed "queer;" should I
show bim what 1 had unwittingly
brought to light? Agitated and
wildered by an occurrence so strange,
I finally put up my apparatus and went
to lied.
The next day,, fortunately, was Sat
urday, and as soon after sunrise as pos
sible I had my wonderful negative in
the printing frame. The character of
the face came out clearly in the result
ing Impression, etixially when I
studied it under a pocket microscope.
It was a face that might have lie-longed
to a woman of 3rt, handsome but ema-
lated, with melancholy dark eyes. In
short, It w as Just the head that a paint-
r would have chosen for the easement
f a haunted house. A night's rest.
however, had steadied my nerves and
LIKE OJtE STfXSED FOR A TIM a.
revived my adventurous spirit, snd I
etermlned that the least I could do
was to submit the enigma to the owuer
of Turklngton Place.
Mr. Turklngton, when I found him.
was at work In his yard. He greeted
me pleasantly, but with obvious sur
prise at my early appearance, and by
this time my unmanageable heart was
besting so hard that I could ouly stam
mer, "I brought your photograph, sir,"
snd stretch forth tbe blue print.
He took It. very slowly adjusting his
spectacles, held It off, and liegau vague-
to scrutinize It, after tbe manner of
one unaccustomed to pictures. Sud
denly tbe color rushed Into his face.
He raised a long shaking forefinger
and iHiluted close to the telltale win
dow, saying with awful dellU'ratness:
"What does that mean?"
"I do not know, sir," I responded.
firmly, meeting his eye and finding my
i ce again. "I understood that the
bouse was empty and I saw no one
tliere, but when I developed that Is
when I looked at my picture, you
know, after I got home, I noticed that
there seemed to lie a woman Inside."
He remained like one stunned fur
some time. At last be asked:
"Do you know who It Is?"
"No, sir; do you'f" I rejoined, quick
ly, with Involuntary curiosity.
Yes, It's my darter Esther, who'
I thought he was going to say died, but
Instead he said "left me more than
ten years ago. I didn't even know
whether she was alive," lie murmured.
still gazing as If he expected the little
wralth-Iike picture face to open Its lips
and speak.
"But are you sure that this Is not an
Illusion of some kind?" 1 ventured.
after another pause.
Illusion" answered the old man.
with an angry start. "How do you
mean Illusion? Isn't It as plain as
dav?"
It seems so there, certainly, but I
assure you, sir, that 1 was as near to
the house as we are to the gnrden yon
der, aud looked at It most particularly
and there wasn't a soul there, at least
there wasn't anybody to be seen."
'Did you keep you eye ou the uotis
while you were taking the pieterV" he
asked.
I considered, and now remembered
that after uncapping the lens I had kept
my eye on the my watch during the ex
nosure a matter or rour or nve sec
onds. I said so.
Then she must have come to the
window aliout that time," replied Mr.
Turklngton, quietly. "Caught sight of
you. meblie, and started buck. The
Agger's falntish, you see."
A light broke lu on me, anil I Is-an
to fear that I was to lie bulked of my
ghost.
"I must go up there, of course," said
he. "There's uo time to be lost."
"0, limy I go with you'f" I erl-M
"Please let uie I'm so much Iniercsi
ed!"
"Yes yes, come along. I kin muk
you useful, perhaps. Hut put them
foolish uotlous out o' your mind."
By degrees, as we climbed the hill,
tbe little tragic history of discord and
a long standing grievance came out.
"She waa a fiery, high-spirited girl
waa Esther, though ao pretty -look lug,
ana always gay in ner ways; snu sue
I KtCOfiSIZEt) THE FACE IX AX tSSTAST
left home. I was fiery i lyseii, ana
niebbe utiressnnslile at times. She
weut amongst friend, and I kept think
ing we'd make It up. snd I'd get ber
lu-. k aaln: but I mit It off and two I
years weut by.
"Well, one dav there Came a leuer
from ber saying she was going to be
married next week to an Italian as hail
shop to sell Jiggers. That was Just a
little too much, expecting all along to
do well by her. as I was. I wilt and
said she could choose betwixt him and
me: I didn't w ish uo sou tn la w. h ast of
all an Italian, and if she wa n t back in
b-ss'n a fortnight, she tieedu t ever
show herself here again."
Sorrow and obstinacy, resentment
and tenderness, struggled In tne oil
man's face; I understood now why the
uelghlior considered him "queer."
"She didn't come of course; ana i
won't say I haven't made some Inquir
ies since I cooled down, nut mey movcu
and moved again, till I lost track '
them altogether it's eight years come
May."
By this time we bud reached tue
house, and Mr. Turkington took out a
rusty key aud let uie lu at the frout
door. There was some little riirniiuie.
few carpets and a kitchen siovc; but
these signs of former comfort semen
to Increase the dreariness iff '.he tnmn
like air aud the echoing, damp-stained
walls. An eerie fin-ling crept over uie
as I peeped into one room after another,
untenanted except by spiders ana
wasjis.
We mounted the stairs, and a look of
irri presilble disappointment docpenedy
the lines In the old man's face as "y
entered "Esther's chamber" and found J
it quite empty, forsaken and mournful
like all tbe rest.
"I am afraid, sir, that you will have
to gfre np the search," I said.
But the old man crossed to the win-
low, and looking down, uttered a sud
den exrlamination. In the thick dust
that covered tbe window-sill lay the
unmistakable prints of a woman's fin
gertips.
Call that a ghost, do you?" he ask.'d.
with an odd. tremulous elation; aud hia
eye kindled.
Descending to tbe kitchen, he opened
the stove and thrust In his band. The
ashe there were still warm there
were live sparks among them.
Depend tiou it she was here no
later than this niornlng-got In through
the back kitchen window, most likely,
and spent the night here. She can't
have gone far, and I'll lie up with her
within twenty-four hours. She must
ha' felt a hankerin to have a sight o'
tbe old place. Poor girl. If she looks
like that plcter o." yours she's had trou
ble enough."
At the foot of the bill we parted he-
to make a house-to-bouse pilgrimage
In search of his daughter, 1 to hasten
back to the school with my head full
of romance. As I entered the yard, one
of the gfrU nmt flying out to meet
me-.
"Quick, I-u," she cried, "get your
amera! We have such a picturesque-
subject for you. around by the ser
vants' entrance. We Inveigled her in
and have all been wasting our pocket
money on shoestrings and Impossible
letter paper, on, purpose to keep her
for you. Qttick: Don't wait to take off
your hntr
A woman; with a little gay-colored
shawl pinned over her head, after thi
fashion vt Italian street-vendors, sat
patiently on the step, while the kind
hearted girls were fast emptying tb
two valises that lay open beside her.
The black braids were hidden now; ex
posure and weariness were stamped on,
fhe features.
But I recognized the face In an in
stantIt was Mr. Turkington s Miner
t'tles (;iolie.
Kecreation, Before IleiHIme.
Want of sleep Is engendered to a
great extent by the overactivity of the
brain at night. Mauy people say that
night is their best time for work. ani
thus spend the earlypart of the day,
when the brain Is fryslu-st, in Idleness,
ami at night do thirfr work. Working
their brain until just before retiring to
led Is with many utterly fatal to a thor
ough rest. The overwrought audi tired
brain cannot tlrow off the thoughts
caused by the work, and on iaylug down
In bed they return with what appears
to be greater Intensity, and thus sleep
is banished. It Is a very got! plan to
stop brain work at n fixed hour before
retiring, and then to Indulge in some
recreation In the way of games or light
reading, such as newspapers, P,'rPj
cals, novels, etc. rT
The way to avoid Illness io.our home
Is by practicing care, cain'n and clean
liness. These are the Jtmiiortant and
necessary factors forsuccessful life.
Recollect that there tire two words that
must lie unknown to us, and they are
troujije and fntlgtie. We must hound
thfii orut from our vocabulary, for
Jfiey are lmossihh words In a well
regulated household. Of course the
mother must not lie In Is-d of a morn
ing: she must In- up and about, quick,
active und alert. She should recollect
that children are never consulted as
to whether they should lie warm or not,
so that It Is only a debt owing them If
we make their lives as healthy and
happy as possible, and this desideratum
cannot be achieved unless we are con
tent to sacrifice some of our pleasures.
(Mil Time Notices.
Papyrus leaves more than three thou
sand years old have been found at
ThelM's, describing runaway sin vis and
offering a reward for their capture, ntnl
at Pompeii ancient advert Yemenis
have been deciphered on the vnll-i
"Dah am er good many folks," said
I'ncle Eben, "dat seems ter t'lnk dat
when dey's made er good resolution,
dey'a done tuluied out er day's wub'k."
Washington Star.
The'p Is another reason why men j;
glad they are not wometit women
V
swmi v.4 esu a
m s-m -
'-!.
s .
7- 'i,
- i 1, i
li-A i""f