Nebraska Newspapers

    RAILWAY TRAVEL.
Accidents Are Few Compared with
the Number of l'uwitcrt.
About three yearn ago the govern
ment at Washington, through the
weather bureau, published a table of
the Iiuiii!t of itbou( ia the United
States ki!d by lightning in the previ
ous Ii-ht mouth. Writing from mem
ory, I think it was 'S1. Now, there
are very few persons who gist: ih.-iii-aelves
much concern over the possibil
ity that they may become the victims
of au ehvtrical storm, but there are
many who do not set out on a railway
Journey without the fear ls-fore their
eyes that "something may hapi-ti." It
may be reassuring to Mich persons, ari
well a to many who are iu temporary
alarm just Dow hereabouts, to l-ar in
niind that they are aliiioet as likely to
be struck by lightning although the
chances that they will be are only one lu
about 3d, say as that they will lot
their lives iu a railway accident.
Ir. Lardner some time ago. when the
safity of passengers on railroads was
not as well provided for a it is to-day.
estimated that the chance that he
might lie killed was one to tri.iiini.iHHi
for every one mile traveled. The sec
ond Charles Francis Adams, when he
first began to study railroad problems,
gave conclusive pnsif that a man who
would stay (lie year round iu a first
class passenger '-or on an express train
had less prospect of meeting a violent
death than if he were to remain for the
same time in his own house. Colonel
Thomas A. Scott once remarked that a
railroad car was a safer place than a
hotel. Franklin K. Cowen. vfhon
taking a special flyer on one of the
mornings when lie was whirled up to
Pottsville to prosecute Jack Kehoe and
other Molly Maguires, observed that
he could trust his safety on a frain at
tifty uiihu au hour a good deal more
than hla father could have done fifty
years In-fore in a stage coach at ten
uiiles au hour. Chauneey M. Dcpeu
has pointed out how the Empire State
express made its great runs daily to
Chicago without the loss of a life, and
the Chicago "Limited" of the Pennsyl
vania, with its tremendous rule of
speed, hag l-en running for years with
lu record unmarred by more than two
or three serious accidents ami none of
them a wholesale wreck. The inter
state commerce commission's reiort,
Issuei last year, shows that the entire
number of passengers carried on the
railroads of the United States was up
ward of 540,000,000, and yet only 3l!.
lost their lives In accidents.
Now, the real havoc of modern rail
roading is not among passengers, but
among the employes of railroads and
among trespassers ami pedestrians and
nontravelere. How to diminish this
destruction of human life is one of the
chief problems which thoughful rail
road men are considering to-day. The
Introduction of the automatic car
coupler is certain to lessen It among
the brakeiuen, and the abolition of
, grade crossings has done something to
reduce the slaughter iu large cities and
their suburbs. From the day when
George Stephenson's Rocket, at the
very beginning of railroading, struck
down and killed, in the presence of the
duke of Wellington, the famous Hus
kinson, who had been a member of his
cabinet, the death roll on the rail has
been numbered by the tens of thou
sands. I fancy th.i' few of us pause to
think that in a sin.-Ie twelvemonth the
number of lives destroyed on the rail
roads of this country alone is greater
than the entire loss of Meade's army at
the battle of Cettysburg. The whole
war of the rebellion, indeed, hard!;;
presents a more ghastly record than
the list of dead and wounded on the
railroads of the United States in the
period following the war. For exam
ple, in IS'.M there were li.-Ui persons
who lost their lives and upward of .Ti
(Hrt) who were wounded, and within the
last eight years the death roll aggregated-fully
00,(100 jwrsolis who were
not passengers, as well as more than
2T)0.000 who were classified among the
"wounded." Philadelphia Bulletin.
Oregon Wood Kats.
The Oregon wood rat has a curious
fondness for bright colors. It is larger
than the common rat, with a long,
bushy tall; and it makes its nest at the
top of fir trees a mass of sticks and
moss. Hut as soon as any one builds
a hut in the forest, the wood rat comes
to inspect it, us they are very curious,
atKl also very fond of Appropriating
ny bright objects, and will carry away
forks, spisuis. and so forth. They often
desert the trees and begin to build a
nest under the roof of the hut, or in
any uudisturlied place. I once found a
nest half made in an old wash tub. and
lined with red flannel. When we ar
rived here thirteen years ago from
England, say the writer, it was near
ly evening; the roads had lcen very
rough from Corvallis, and we were
quite tired out, and very glad to see
the. old hut on Hie claim we hail bought.
No one felt Inclined to do much that
ulght, so we spread mattresses on the
floor and prepared to havp a good
night's rest. But ho sooner was the
light extinguished than there came a
hurry -senrry of little feet, and bright
eyes shone nil around us, much to our
alarm: but they nil vanished as soon
as the caudle was lighted, some taking
(light up the wide, open chiutuey,
others up some stairs into a loft.
The man who came with us said:
"Oh. those are wood rnts. They will
carry to their nests any little articles
you may leave about."
The next day we obtained traps, and
tried to catch them In the same manner
U English rats with tousled cheese or
piece of bacon; hut they took no no
tice of theae delicacies. We noticed
that several times, when I left a bright
red crochet sh.t wl I bad lying on a
chair at night, plet were torn off If,
oti re It was dragged np the step
i t.k loft: Co we threw It over a trap.
the net um.Uttiii a large wood
trt, Manuring sixteen Inches from
head to tip of tall was caught; and that
was the first of ten that were attracted
by the same shawl, which nvr faih-d
to catch one whenever the trap was
covered with it. '
We very rarely see one now. I sup
Ixwe they have retired farther bac k in
to the forest, away from civilization.
In one of their iiets here I saw a
pocket kuife. a sted fork, a collar stud,
arjd piece of a red flannel shirt. They
live uimui berries, nuts and various
! roots, and seeds of the fir cones, but do
not care for maize, oa's, wh-t or
tatoes, and .so forth, like squirrels and
chi'unuiiks.
Thieves in Africa.
The gold ami diamonds of South Af
rica have already attracted a very fair
proportion of the thieve, of the world
to that favored region. Some very
tine haul, have been made and others
all but ma le. Decidedly the most sen
sational attempt was one a few years
ago ,a the diamond train. To reach
I Cape Town from Kimberley used to
1 take three days, or at h-a,t two days
and three nights. The diamonds were
carried in a safe in the pos;..nVe sort
ing car. Some expert thieves found
out where the safe always stood in
the ear. ami under that spot, beneath
the bottom of the car. rigged tip a plat
form of rope and plank whereon a man
could hi- ami work with a drill as the
train sped on its way.
It is a lonely journey, with hours
and hours between stations. The thief
endured his uncomfortable position be
neath the moving train long enough
to bore a circlet of holes In the bottom
of the iron safe, having first cut a
piece out of the bottom of the car.
His plan was to complete the circle iu
this tedious way so as to remove a
piece of the safe-bottom, and leave a
hole large enough for the Insertion of
an arm. lite removal of a bag and the
capture of a fortune in diamonds.
Unfortunately for him, he was either
distiirb-d. or he got tired, or he dropped
olT his planks. At any rate, he did
not cut out the p;i-ee of metal, conse
quently ,iid not reap h:s glittering re
ward, lie escats-d.
' The postottice people in the car heard
nothing of the drill -which probably
was silent save when there was the
clatter-racket of the wheels to drown
its noise. When the platform and
the pierced safe were discovered, the
thief had gone, and left no clew be
yond his handiwork, which never prov
ed sufficient for tracing his where
abouts. Then and Now.
The Countess of Ancaster deplores
the bad manners of the dancing people
of to-day. The gentleman of the old
style politely asks:
"May I have the exqulftiup delight of
be-lng your ladyship's humble cavalier
in the coming country dance?"
"Oh, sir, you are vastly polite, ajid 1
am overwhelmed by your request,"
says the lady.
"Then I do no make too bold?"
"Oh. sir, I would not have you mis
construe my words!"
"May I then reckon utxm your tread
ing the measure with your devoted ser
vant?" "1 may not say you nay, sir," curtsey
ing. "Madam, you are too condescending.
I will not fall to claim ymir hand," re
tiring with courteous humility.
The gentleman of the new style says:
"Ah. Lady Florence, got an entry
left, or is your book full?"
"Well, here's a quadrille running
loose," says the lady, looking at her
card.
"Oh. hang quadrilles! I'm not out for
walking exercise. Not on the square,
t wiggey vous?" says the genth-fnan.
"You funny old cripple! Here's a
lolka I'm not sure aliout."
"A polka! Thai's my form! We'll
fire right Into the brown of 'em. and
have a glass of the boy afterward, eh?"
"It's a ls-t." says the lady.
"I lone So long." says the gentleman.
Kneipp Cure lor Horse .
The Ktielpp cure, or that part of it
which consist in walking through the
dewy grass in the early morning, has
long been known to horsemen. A
horse trainer and tamer commends the
treatment for horses, to keep toe hoofs
in good condition. "I do not liellcve
In packing and soaking horses' feet, as
many horse-owners do," he says. "In
the summer time I would have the
horse to Is? treated led early In the
morning through the dew. Think of
it yourself. If you are out walking
in the early morning, even wearing
thick boots, you will remember that
in a few moments the dew penetrated
through to your feet. Dew passes
through the boot when ordinary water
would not. This work's the same with
horses, nature having provided this
simple preventive and cure for dis
eases of the hoof." New York 'null's.
Italian's Lamp Invention.
A new lamp which has Just been in
vented by an Italian will. If nil that Is
said of it be true, bring Joy to the heart
of the housewife. The lamp, which Is
declared to be no heavier thnn one of
the ordinary kind, generates Its own
gas. The cost, however. Is only one
fifth that of the ordinary gas, while the
illumination Is as bright as that of an
electric lamp and much whiter. A sin
gle lamp floods a large room with light,
and ns. In addition. It Is clean and
odorless, one cannot wonder that Itoth
the electric light and the gas com
panies dread Its rivalry. Btrt unfor
tunately the promises of Inventors are
not alwHys carried out to the letter.
He i playfully) How old are you, Miss
Browne? Hlie I cannot tell a He. I
"Oh, if that is the case, I will not take
a mean advantage of you. I withdraw
the question." Cincinnati Enquirer.
One of the things that always dls
frcs.e a itinn Is that the girl he likes
lino l existence L.ci'ure he discovered
her. '
LAUGHTER A GREAT TONIC
Keep the Fpirita Bpovaat, the Heart
and Face Yonna;.
'I presume If we I fug bed more ws
ehould all be happier and healthier,"
writes Edward W. Bok in the Ladies'
Home Journal. "True, we are a busy
and a very practical jteople. And
most of us probably find more in thin
life to bring the frown than the smile.
Hut, nevertheless. It U a pity that we
do not laugh more; that we do not
bring ourselves to the laugh. If need
be. For we all agree that a good
laugh Is the best medicine in the
world. Physician have said thai no
other feeling work so much good to
the entire human body as that of mer
riment. As a digestive, it Is t X-
celled; as a means of expanding the
lungs, there Is nothing better. It keeps
the heart and face young. It is iac
best of all tonics to the spirits. I; is.
toe, the mo,t enjoyable of all sen- i
tictis. A good laugh makes us lieiu-r
friends with ourselves and everybody
around us. ami puts us into clo-er
tomb with what is b.-st and hrlgh.e,:
in our lot in life. It is to be regrett -a.
then, that such a potent agency f. r
our personal good is not more oH.t:
used. It costs nothing. All other me. 1
icines are more or less exeniv".
'Why,' said an old doctor not long ago.
'if people fully realized what it me.ii
to themselves to laugh, and laughed
as they should, ninety per cent, of tin
doctors wotim have to go out of bust
ness.' Probably when we get a lit;!--less
busy we shall laugh more. For.
after all, the difference between glo-:;i
and laughter is but a step. And if
more of us simply tisik a step a.-i.b-of
tener than We do, and rested mot--,
we would laugh more. By laughing I
do not mean the silly giggle Indulge I
In by some woiiu-u and so many girls.
There Is no outward mark wh'eh ili-'.ti
otistrates the woman of shallow mind
so unmistakably as that of giggling.
There Is no sense In the giggle; no ben
efit to be derived from It. It mak-s
a fool of the person herself, and ren
ders every one about her uncomfort
able. But Just as th" giggle Is th
outcome of a small mill I. the hearty
laugh Is the reflection of a healthful
nature. What we want Is more goo I
laughers In the w orld - not more glg
glers." Ktory i f a bug.
In the flush days of steam-boating,
before the war. the captain of a Mis
sissippi river boat had a dog that
could distinguish between the passen
gers If once be had heard their names.
The matter was mentioned one night
iu the saloon, and a passenger sneer
ed at the Idea.
"Bet you five hundred dollars the
dog can't do It once In three times,"
he said.
"Ltoue," rejoined the captain. "Write
a note to your wife and I will write
one to mine. Both are iu the ladies'
cabin. We will give the notes to Snip
at the same time, and If be fails to
deliver them properly the money is
yours."
The passenger wrote merely his
wife's petnanie inside a slip of paper,
which he folded and addressed. The
captain's missive ran:
"Hear Wife Send me word at once
what Snip does when he comes into
the cabin."
lie delivered both slips to the do.:,
saying as he handed over the passen
ger's note:
"Snip, this is for Mrs. M , who sat
beside me at supper, liive ll to her,
then lake this other note to your Miss
Catherine."
Snip ran away. The men si! smok
ing and chatting. Very soon a waiier
brought a scrap of paper to the pus
senger. His wife had written:
"What does It nn-.iti. your sending
me a note by this little dog'"
Shortly after came this note from
the captain's wife;
"Snip came iu and ran about snitlhig
at all of us. then jumped In Mrs.
M- 's lap. druppt d a bit of paper
there, and came to me with the o-iicr
one."
The passenger offered one thousand
dollars for Snip, saying luck would
not go against him if he owned so wise
a beast. But the captain would not
part with Snip, who lived and died a
river dog.
John I. Hale's Pleasantries.
In speaking of the Mexican war.
Hale referred to the Western man
who said he "got caught by opposing
the last war, and he didn't menu to
get caught again; he intended now io
go for war, pestilence, and f limine.
Not less amusing was his reference
to President Polk's backdown on the
Oregon treaty, in which he said: "The
President exhibited a Christian meek
ness In the full scriptural degree: but
he didn't inherit the blessing of the
meek-he didn't get the land." The
Congressional records abound in such
examples of Mr. Hale's pleasantries.
They always embodied some truth
which could thus be more Imperssive
ly told than In the form of a serioiu
argument. Century.
A flrmarftnhln Ivcho,
tine of the most remarkable eelu;cs
In the world Is that produced by the
suspension bridge across the Menal
straits in Wales. The sound of a blow
with a hammer on one of the main
piers Is returned In succession from
each of the cross lieams which sup
port the roadway, In addition to which
the sound Is many times repeated be
tween the water and the. roadway, at
the rate of twenty-eight times In five
seconds.
Hefidrlcks Say, If we can't get this
crowd In front of us out of the way, we
are going to miss our train. What
shall we do? CarrI have It. Let's
atari a discussion on the coinage ques
tion. Cincinnati Enquirer.
The trouble wltb making a confldan
of a frh-Li! Is that yo:i do not dare to be
anything else but a friend afterward
TAUIAGE'S SERMON.
THE PREACHER ON WRESTLING
WITH THE SUPERNATURAL.
lie Draws Lcsona of Remarkable
Power from a btraate Bible t-ceae
1 he Mrutfttcg of Life It Is Pros
perity Killa and Trouble Saves.
A Kvtre Urujcgle,
Out of this strange scene of Bible tiuipn
Ir. Talmare. in his srruiou Sunday,
draws reuiurkable lessons of imo.1 cheer
sad triumph. His subject is ."W restling
with the Siirnutural" ami the text
iemis xxvii., 'J.". '-': "And when he
taw that he prevailed not ait.iinst hi:u he
touched the hollow of bis thigh, and the
hollow of Jacob's thiKU was out of joint
as he wrestled with him. And he said.
'Iet tne go, f.,r'!l- tiny breukcth.' And
he said. '1 will uol iel thee go except thou
bleu inc.' "
There is a cloud of dust from a travel
ing herd of (tittle ale! oliei ; aiiil goats
and caineU. Tiny are the pn--nt that
Jacob scuds to gain the pood will of his
ofTemled brother. That night Jacob halts
by the brook Jablx.k. But there is no rest
for the weary man, no shining ladder to
let the angels dow n into bis dream, but a
severe struggle that lasts until morning
with an unknown visitor. They each try
to throw the other. The uiiktiou ll visitor,
to reveal his superior power, by n touch
wrenches Jacob's thih lHne from its
socket, perhaps maiming liiui for life.
As on the morning sky the clusters of
purple cloud begin to rijien, Jacob sees
it is ati angel with whom he has beeu
conleiidint: and not one of his brother's
coadjutors, "lj-t me go," cries the angel,
lifting himself up into increasing light;
"the day bn-aketli."
You see, in the first place, that (lod al
lows good people sometime to get into a
terrible struggle. Jacob wan u good man,
but here he is left alone in the in'Mniirlit
to wrestle with'n tremendous intluein-e
by the brook .fiihlnik. For Joseph, a pit;
for Daniel, a wild Ix-ast den; for David,
dethronement and exile; for John the
Baptist, a wilderness diet and the execu
tioner's x; for Peter, a prison; for Pnul,
shipwreck; for John, desolate Patnios:
tor I brist, the cross. l or whom the
racks, the pibbels. the prisons, the thumb
screws? For the sons and daughters of
the Ixinl Almighty. Some one said to a
Christina reformer. "The world is against
you." "Then," he replied, "I am against
the world."
The fctruattlr.
I will go further and say that every
Christian has his struggle. With finan
cial misfortune some of yon have had the
midnight wrestle. Kedttot disasters have
dropped into your store from loft to cel
lar. What you Isiught you could not sell.
Whom you trusted fled. The help you ex
pected would not come. Some giant
panic, with long anna, and grip like
death, took bold of yon in an awful wres
tle, from which you have nut yet escaped,
and it is uncertain whether it will throw
you or you will throw It Here Is an
other soul in struggle with some bad ap
petite. He knew not how stealthily it
was growing upon him. One hour he
woke up. He said, "For the sake of ray
soul, of my family, of my children and of
my (bid I must stop thi!" And behold
he found himself alone by the brook of
Jabtmk, and it was midnight. That evil
appetite seized iiNn him, and he seized
iqHin it. and. oh, the horror of the con
flict! When once a bad habit hath roii-d
itself up to destroy n man. and the man
has sworn that by the help of the eternal
Cod he will destroy it, nil lu-iiveii draws
itself out in long line of light tu 1-s.k from
above, and all hell stretches itself in
myrmidons of spite to look up from be
neath. 1 have sis-n men rally themselves
for a struggle, and they Lave bitten their
lip, and clinched their fist, and cried with
a blond red earnest ness and a ruin of
scalding tears, "(bsl help me!"
From a wrestle with habit r have sen
men full back defeated. Calling for ua
help, but reiving on their own resolu
tions, they have come into the struggle,
and for a time it seemed as if they were
petting the upper hand of their hnbir.
But that habit rallied again its infernal
power and lifted the soul from its, stand
ing, and with a force borrowed from the
pit hurled it into darkness.
But, thank Cod, 1 have often seen a
better termination than this. I have
seen men prepare themselves for such a
wrestling. They laid hold of Cod's help
as they went into combat. The giant
habit, regaled by the cup of many dissipa
tions, came out strong and defiant. They
clinched. There were the writliings ami
distortions of a fearful struggle. But the
old giant tsgaii to waver, and nt last, in
the midnight alone, with untie but 'bid to
witness, by the brrsk of Jahlsik, the giant
fell, and the triumphant wrestler broke
the darkness with the cry, , "Thanks be
unto Cod. who giveth us the victory,
through our Iord Jesus Christ."
Ifnmble lleroe.
There is a widow's heart that first wan
desolated by bereavement and since by
the anxieties and trials that came in the
aupiiort of a family. It ia a sad thing to
see a man contending for a livelihood
under disadvantages, but to see a deli
cate woman, with helpless litlle ones at
her back, fighting the giants of poverty
and sorrow is more affecting. It was a
humble home, and passera-by knew not
that within those four walls were dis
plays of courage more admirable than
that of Hannibal crossing the Alps, or in
the pass of Thermopylae, or at Bnlaklnva,
where "into the jaws of death rode the
six hundred.' These heroes hail the
whole world to cheer them on, but there
was no one to applaud the struggle in that
h hie home. She fought for bread, for
clothing, for fire, for shelter, with aching
head and weak aide and exhausted
strength, through the long night by the
brook Jabbok. Could it be that none
would give her help? Had Ood forgotten
to be gracious? No, contending soul.
The midnight sir is full of wings coming
to the rescue. She hears it Dow, in the
sough of the night wind, in tho ripple of
the brook Jablsik, the promise made so
long ago, ringing down the sky, "Thy
fatherless children, I will preserve them
alive. Slid let thy widows trust In me!"
Home one said to a very pisir woman,
"How is it that in such distress you keep
cheerful?" Khe said: "I do it by what 1
call cross prayers. When I bad my reut
to pay and nothing to pay It with and
bread to buy and nothing to buy It with,
1 nsed to sit down and cry. But now I do
not get discouraged. If I go along the
street, when I eom to a corner of the
street, I say The Lord help me. I then
go on until I come to another crossing of
the street, and again I say, 'The Lord
help me!' And so I utter a prayer at
every crossing, and since I have got iut-
the habit of saying thee cross prayers I
have been shle to keep up my coiiratf"
Learn again from' this subject that peo
ple sometime are surprised to find out
that which they have been struggling
with io the darkness is really an "anfl
of blessing." Jacob found in the nmru
iug that this strange (icrsonage was not
au enemy, but a tiod dispatched mess, u
ger to promise pr-isp rity for him and for
his children. And so many a man at the
close of his trial has found out that lie
has been trying to thn-w down his own
bs sMug.- If you are a Christian man, I
wi!l t b'-k iu your history and find that
the graiidit things that have ever luqe
l ne, to you have Ix-cu your trials. Noth
ii g short of scourging, imprisonment and
shipwreck could have made Paul what he
was. When Dutid was fleeing through
the wilderness, pursued by his owu sou.
he was being prepared to become the
sweet singer of Israel. The pit and the
dungeon were the I ,t ssfmols at whiih
Joseph ever graduated. The hurricane
that upset the tent and killed Job's chil
dren prepared the man of l'j: to be the
subject of tli,. niHgudieeiit p.icui that ha
astounded tin- ag. s. There is no way t i
gel the wheal out of the straw but to
thrash it. There is no way to purify tin
gold but to burn it. Lmk at the soph
who bii-.e always had it their own way.
They are proud, discontented, useless ami
unl.ai py. If y oi want to find cheerful
folk, go among those who have been puri
fied by the tire. After Uossini had ren
dered "William Tell" the five hundredth
time s i-ompany of musiciiiris came under
his window iu Paris and serciiaded him.
They put upon his brow a golden crown
nf laurel leaves. But amid all the ap
plause and euthiiHiasm Uossini turned to
a friend and said, T would give all this
brilliant scene for a few days of youth
and love." Contrast the melancholy feel
ing of Uossini, who had everything that
this world could give him, with the joyful
experience of Isaac Watts, whose sorrows
were great, when he says:
The bill of Zion yields
A thousand snered sweets
Before we reach the heavenly fields
Ir w alk lie golden streets.
Then let our sougs abound
And every tear be dry.
We're marching through Iii'mimicl'
ground
To fairer worlds on high.
Trouble anil Prosperity.
It ia prosperity that kills nnd trouble
that saves. While the Israelites were on
the march amid great privations and
hardships they behaved well. After
awhile they prayed for meat, and the
sky darkened w ith a great Hock of quails,
and these quails fell iu great multitudes
nil about them, and the Israelites ale and
ate and slutted themselves until they diiil.
Oh. my friends, it is not hardship or trial
or starvation that injures tile soul, but
abundant supply. It ia uot the vulture of
trouble that eats up the Christian's life.
It is the quails. It Is the quails. You
will yet find out that your midnight wres
tle by the brook Jablsik is with an angel
of (lod come dow n to bless and to save.
I -earn again that, while our wrestling
with trouble might lie triumphant, we
must expect that it will leave its mark
iqsin us. Jaoob prevailed, but the angel
touched him, snd his thigh bone sprang
from its socket, and the good man went
limping on his way. We must carry
through this world the mark of the com
bat. What plowed these premature
wrinkles in your fu.-e? What whitened
ymir hair before it was time for frost?
hat silenced forever so much of the
hilarity of your household? Ah, it is !-i-nuse
the angel of trouble hath touched
you thai yon go limping mi your way.
You need not be surprised that those who
have passed through the fire do not feel
us gay a s mice they did. Do not be out
of patience with those who come not out
of their despondency. They may tri
umph over their b,ss, and yet their gait
shall tell you that they have been trouble
touched. Are we Stoics that we can un
moved see our cradle rifled of the bright
eyes mid the sweet lips? Can we stand
unmoved and ss- our gardens of earthly
delight uprooted? Will Jesus, who wep't
himself, be angry with us if we pour our
tears into the graves that open to swal
low down what we loved best? Was
Lazarus mure dear to him than our be
loved dead to us? No. We have n right
lo weep. Our tears miirt come. You
shall not drive them buck to sen Id tin
heart. They fall into (bid's bottle. Af
flicted ones have died because tley could
tint weep. Thank Cod for the sweet, the
mysterious relief that comes to us in
tears. I niler this gentle rain the flowers
of hope put forth their bloom. Cod pity
that dry. withered, parched, all consuming
grief that wrings its hands, and grinds
its teeth, and bites its nails into the
quick, but cannot weep. Wt may have
found the comfort of the cross, and yet
ever after show that in the dark night
and by the brook Jabbok we were trouble
touched.
The I lax Dawn.
Again, we may take the idea of the text
and announce the approach of the day
ilnwn. No one was ever more glad to see
the morning than was Jacob after tlmt
night of struggle. It is appropriate for
philanthropists and Christians to cry out
with his angel of the text, "The day
breaketh." The world's prospects are
brightening. Superstition has had its
strongest props knocked out. The tyrants
of earth are falling fiat in the dust. The
church of Christ is rising up in its
strength to go forth "fair as the morn,
clear as the sun and terrible as an army
with banners." Chip your hands, all ye
people, "the day breaki th."
As I look around about me I see many
who have passed through waves of trou
ble that came tqi higher than their girdle.
Iu Cod's name I proclaim cessation of
hostilities. You shall not always go ad
ib-niii and heartbroken. Cod will lift
your burden, dsl will bring your dead
lo life, (iod will stanch the heart's bleed
ing. I know he will. Like as a father
pilieth his children, so the LipI pities
ynu. The pains of earth will end. The
dead will rise. The morning slar trem
bles on s brightening sky. The gates of
the east begin to swing open. "The day
breaketh."
L-ither and Mebinehtlion were talking
together gloomily about the prospects of
the church. They could see no hopo of
deliverance. After swhile Luther gut up
nnd said to Melanchthiiii, "Come, Philip,
let us sing the Forty sixth Psalm, 'Ood
is our refuge and strength lu every time
of trouble.' "
The Baybrrak.
Death to mnny nay, to all Is a strug
gle and a wrestle. We have many friends
whom It would be hard to leave. I rare
not how bright our future hope Is, it is s
hitter thing ti look upon this fair world
and know i it we shall never again see
its blosso'ilng spring, 's autumnal
fruits, its sparkling stream and to say
farewell to these with wli-on we played tu
i liildunod or ouiiselct iu manhood. Ia
that night, like Jacob, we may have In
wrestle, but ("oil will not have us un
blessed. It shall not lie tnl-1 iu heaven
that a dy ing soul cried unto Cod for help,
but was uot delivered. The lattn-e may
lie turned to ks p out the sun. or a Issik
set to dim the l.ght of th.- midnight taper,
or the room may I filled wilh tin- cries
of orphanage or widowhood, or the
church of Christ may mourn over our
going; but, if Jesus calls, ail is well. The
strong wrestling by the br-iok will i-ease.
The hours of death's night w.l! pa,
aloiir-1 o'clock iu the morning. - o'clock
iu the morning, 4 o'clock in the m irning,
0 it'dock in the morning -"the day breuk
cth." So I would have it when I die. I am in
no haste to In- gone. I won! ) like to stand
lu re twenty years ami preach this gos
pel. 1 have no grudge against this world.
The only fault I have to find with tins
World is that it treats me too well. But
when the time comes to go 1 trust to b
ready, my worldly afiairs all settled. If
1 have wrongi-d others, I want them to be
sure of their forgiveness. In that last
wrestling, my arm enfeeble. I with sick
ness and my head faint. I want Jesus lie
side nie. If there he hands on this side
of the fl,,o, stretched out to hold Ine
back, I want the heavenly hands stretch
ed out to draw me forward. Then, O
Jesus, help me en and help me up! I'n
f earing, undonbtiiig, may 1 step right
out into the light and be able to look
back to my kindred and friends, who
would detain me here, exclaiming: "Let
me go! Iwt me go! The day breaketh."
Short Sermons.
Influence of Kin. Kvcry sinner sinks
In the eyes of bis fellows. Men may
join you in evil doing, but they can not
rcspi-ct you for It. Sin debases the
soul In the estimation of others. Theru
is a mom tonic In the gis,. opinion
men have of us. It helps us to keep
itp a certain standard of conduct.
Hi-v. A. 11. Bartholomew, Episcopa
lian, Pottsville, Pa.
Christianity. --Christianity has given
the world its best civilization. It has
raised the estimate of human iife, nnd
bus been the iilicoiiqitering foe of every
corruption In church and state. No
other religion had such a mass of evi
dence in Its favor. Christ and the
Christian religion fit the human life
exactly. -ltev. David Cregg, Presby
terian. Brooklyn, N. Y',
Church Side Shows. The church is
not ii theater, a lecture nsuii or an
amusement hall. I've seen a thousand
anil one things tried which filled the
pews for the time being. They were
secular nfTalrs, am when they were
done there were no results. A minis
ter should preach the gospel, and only
that. Kev. .1. W. Hathaway, Presby
terian, Jersey City, N. J.
Prayer. Ict us pray. Prayer Is con
verse of the heart with Cod. In It we
ml dress him us our omnipotent and
loving father. In response we receive
the whispered word of dlrectioti, the
needed bnlm of consolation, the expe
rience, the comfort that flows from
feeling that our little lives are float
ing on the stream of the divine pur
IHises. Kev. S. (J. Nelson, Baptist,
Brooklyn, N. Y.
Self-indulgence. Nine men out of
ten will not nllow malicious propensi
ties to dominate them. Hespect for
themselves, the n-Hiect of society, the
desire for worldly applause or Indiffer
ence, restrains many a bund that else
would have stained Its apparent white
ness in the foul stream of self -indulgence.
And all this simply In the In
terest of self.- Uev. Hunter Davidson,
Episcopalian, Augusta, Cn.
The Living (iod. -The teaching of
the Bible Is not merely that there Is a
(bid, who Is a righteous (bid, supreme
mining the gods, but that be Is u living
Cod. a Cod among us; not a Cod afar
off, uot in the heavens more than on
earth, not among the angels more truly
than among men, not In past history
any more than In present circumstances-
living (bid among men. - Kev, Ly
man Abbott, Coiigregationalist. Brook
lyn. N. Y.
Evolution. All transformations of
character must needs Is- gradual. Men
mat lire slowly. They can not be In the
April of their life what they may In lis
mellow autumn. Knncilllcatinn, too. Is
gradual. Holiness Is a conquest, n
struggle culminating In the pence of
glory of attainment. Life Is a series
of iigonles-a Calvary which we can
only climb on bruised and aching
knees.-Kev. Malcolm Diitia. Cotigre
gatloiialist. Knsiklyti, N. Y.
To Save the Nation. The hope of our
nation li'-s In the church. If the church
can be aroused from Its seeming state
of a pathetic lethargy. If the church can
be brought buck Into a condition of
humility, confess lis unfaithfulness
and pour forth un earnest appeal tor
pardon for lu-r own sins and the sins
of the nation; If the church throws off
ln-r secular nnd worldly practices, then
this nation Is saved. -Uev. D. S. Ken
nedy, Presbyterian, Toledo, Ohio.
The Preacher's Mission.-The minis
ter who Is true to Ids commission ilm-s
not serve self, nor dis-s be preach, to
please men. He who serves self Is
self-culled, mid be who serves men
nloiie Is usually culled of liii-n, but he
who Is truly called of Cod serves God,
nnd even though be Is truly called of
Cod, he Is but human. The people he
serves must n-cognlzc that he Is but
a humim being, nnd ns liable to err as
the member of the church. The pastor
and his people nre co-laborers togeth
er with Cod.-Ke W. B. HolllugsliJoil,
Methodist, Spokane, Wash.
Finish every day and le done with It.
You have done what ypti could. Rome
blunders mid absurdltim, no doubt,
crept In; forget them ns soon as yon
can. To-morrow Is a new day; Is-glu It
well and serenely, ami with too high a
spirit to be cumbered with your Vd
nonsense. This day Is all tNit Is gorsj
and fair. It ia too dear, with Its hope
and Invltatkifia, to waste a moment om
tho yesterdsya. Emerson.
Orwslp Is the language of plgnilet.-'
Auou.