Nebraska Newspapers

    TALMAGE'S SERMON.
THE PREACHER DESCRIBES EM
. PLOYMENTS OF THE BLEST,
Back fcaved Boat, Each Great Paiater,
Each Great IseieatUt Laboring la the
Great Workshop of Paradiee Graad
' Sociality-Librarv of the Uoiverae.
Vlaiona of Heiteo.
Dr. Talmage's kthmh Sunday give a ,
very unusual view of the celestial world j
and is one of the most unique discourse I
of the great preacher. The text U Eze- j
kiei I.. 1, "Now it time to pass in the
thirtieth year, iu the fourth month, in the
fifth day of the month, as I wa among
the captive by the Kiver Chcbar, that
the heavens were opened."
Eaekiel, with others, had been expa
triated, and while iu foreign slavery,
standing on the bank of the royal canal
which he aud other serfs had been con
demned to dig by the order of Nebu
chadnezzar this royal canal in the text
called the river .f Chebar the illustri
ous exile had visions of heaven. Indeed
it is almost always so that the bright
est vision of heaven come not to those
who are on mountain top of prosperity,
but to some John on desolate I'utmos, or
to some Paul in Maniertine dungeon, or to
some Ezekiel standing on the bank of a
ditch he had been compelled to dig yea,
to the weary, to the heartbroken, to those
whom sorrow has banished. The text is
very particular to give us the exact time
of the vision. It was in the thirtieth year
aud in the fourth month and in the fifth
day of the month. So you have had vis
ions of earth you shall never forgpt. You
remember the year, you remember the
month, yon remember the day, you re
member the bonr. Why may a'p n f
have some such vision now and it he
in the twelfth month and in sixth day of
the month?
What Are They Doine?
The question is often ailently asked,
though perhaps never audibly propound
ed, "What are our departed Christian
friends doing now''" The question is
more easily answered than you might
perhaps suppose. Though there has conn
no recent intelligence from the heavenly
-city, and we seem dependent upon the
story of eighteen centuries ago, still I
think we may from strongest inference j
decide what are the present occupations
of our transferred kinsfolk. AftPr God
has made a nature he never eradicates
the chief characteristic of its tempera
ment. Yon never knew a man phleg
matic in temperament to become san
guine in temperament. You never knew
a man sanguine in temperament to be
come phlegmatic in temperament. Con
viTsiou plants new principles in the sonl,
but I'aul and John are just as different
from each other after conversion as they
'were different from each other before
conversion. If conversion does not eradi
cate the prominent characteristics of tem
perament, neither will death eradicate
them. Paul and John are as different
from each other in heaven as they were
different from each other in Asia Minor.
S'ott have. then, only by a sum in sub
"traction and a sum in addition to decide
what are the employments of your depart
ed friends in the better world. You ar?
"to subtract from them all earthly gross
neas and add all earthjy goodness, and
then you arp come to the conclusion that
they are doing now in heaven what in
"their best moment they did on earth. The
reason why so many people never start
for heaven is because they could not
stand it if they got there if it should turn
out to be the rigid and formal place some
people photograph it. We like to come
lo chun h, but we would not want to stay
here rill npxt summer. We like to hear
the "Halleluiah Chorus,' hut we would
not want to hear it all the time for fifty
centuries. It might be on some great
occasion it would be possibly comfortable
to wear a crown of gold weighing several
pounds, but it wonld be an affliction to
wear sneh a crown forever. In other
words, we run the descriptions of heaven
into the ground while we make that
which was intended as especial and cele
brative to be the exclusive employment
in heaven. Yon might as well, if asked
to describe the habits of American socie
ty, describe a Decoration Hay or a Fourth
wf July or an autumnal Thanksgiving, a,
thongh it were all the time that way. i
The Different Kmp'orinc-n t.
I am going to speculate in regard to
the future world, but I must, by inevits- j
ble laws of inference and deduction ami ;
iominon sense, conclude that in heavea j
we will be just as different from each
ther as we are now different, and hence
that there will bp at least as many dif
ferent employment in the celestial world
as there are employments here. Christ
is to be the great love, the great joy. the
great raplnie. the great worship of heav
a, but will that abolish employments?
JJo more thau love on earth paternal.
Slial, fraternal, conjugal love abolishes
earthy occupation.
In the first place. I remark that ail
Those of our departed Christian friends
who or earth found great joy in the fine
art arp now indulging their tastes in the'
snare direction. On earth they had their
KladrWi pleusurt-s nuiid pictures and star.
Mary and in the study of the laws of light:
and shade aud perspective. Have you
ny idea that the affluence of faculty al
sleath collapsed and perished?
I remark again that al! our departed
Christian friends who in this world were
Itaasionately fond of music are still re
nding that taste In the world celestial.
The Bible says so much alsiut the music
f heaven that it cannot ail be jguratire.
Way alt this talk als-tit hallelniahs. and
"hair on the glass and tr?iniHr and
harp and oratorios and organs? The
Bible over and over again speaks of the
mn of heaven. If heaven had no
songs of It own, a vast number of those
earth wonld hawe been tskeuup by the
arthly emigrant. Snrely the Christian
art death does not lone bis memory,
la Bloodleae Pattle.
Again, I remark, that those of our de
parteti Christian friend who in this
"world had rery strong military spirit are
low in armies celestial anff out in blood
less battle. There ire hundreds of peo
pit horn soldiers. They cannot help It.
They belong to regiment in time of
yjeare. They cannot hear a drum or a fife
wtthmft trying tw keep step to the music.
Ihvy are Christian, and when they fight
C-jty tfht on the right side. Now. when
T;i tar CbrWtisu friends who had Mt-w-a-l
and powerful military spirit entered
1 aaien, their eatered the celestial army.
W of heaven scarcely opens but
f i tW a Military deutoaarrstsxi. ' Da
IffM oot, The (ft f God are
llT Kfeha sew the- nsaestauM tXevi
with reteatiaf cavalry. ft. John said.
"The armies which are in heaves fol
lowed him on white horses." Now, when
those who had the military spirit on rth
sanctified entered glory, I suppose they
right away enlisted in some heavenly
campaign. They volunteered right away.
There must needs be in hear en soldiers
with a soldierly spirit. There are grand
parade days, when the King reviews the
troops. There must be armed escort eot
out to bring np from earth to heaven
those who were more than conqueror.
There must be crusades ever being fitted
out for some part of (iod's dominion
battle, bloodless, groanless, painless
angels of evil to be fought down and
fought nut, other rebellious wrlds to
be conquered, worlds lo be put to the
torch, worlds to be hoisted.
Our departed Christian friends who
had the military spirit in them sauetitied
are in the celestial army. Whether be
longing to the artillery, or the cavalry,
or the infantry. I know not. I only
know that they have started nut for fleet
service aud courageous wrvice and ever
lasting service." Perhaps thpy may come
this way to tight on our side and drive
sin and meanness and satan from al!
our hearts. Yonder they are coming,
coming. Hid you hear them as they
swept bv?
Kverlasttng Metaphysics,
But what ire our mathematical friend
to do in the next world? They found
thwr joyt and delight in luatbcutatii.
There was more (sn-try to them in Km lid
than in John Milton. They were a pas
sionately fond of mathematics as I'lnto.
who wrote over his door, "-I.e! no one
enter here who is not ueqttainted with
geometry." What are they doing now?
They are busy wi;h ngun yet. No place
iu all the universe like heaven for fig
ures. Numbers itihuite, distances infin
ite, calculation's infinite; if they want
them, arithmetii s and algebras and geom
etries and trigonometries for all eternity.
What fields of space to be surveyed;
What magnitudes to measure! What
diameters, what cirrumfereBce. what
triangies. what iUtenimn, what epicy
cloids. wh.it parallelograms, what coni'
sections! What are our departed friend
who found their chief joy in study doing
now? Studying yet. but. instead of a few
thousand volumes on a few shelves, al!
the volutins of the universe open before
them geologic, ornitholosic, conebohigie.
botanic, a-tronomic, philosophic. No
more need of I-yden jars or voltaic pil-
or electric batteries, standing as they
do fa-e to face with the facta of the uni
verse. What are the historians doing
now? Studying history yet. but not the
history of a fev centuries of our planet
only, hut the history of the eternities
whole millenniums before Xetiophon or
Herodotus or Moses or Adam was born.
History of one world, history of all
worlds. What are our departed aston
mcrs doing? Studying astronomy ret.
but not through the dull lens of earthly
observatory, but wi;h one stroke of wing
going right out to Jupiter and mars and
Mercury and Saturn and Orion and th
Pleiades, overtaking and passing the
swiftest comet in their flight. What aro
our departed Christian chemists doing?
Following out their own, sciencf1, follow
it? B out and following ont forever. Since
they died they have solvpd 10KSt ques
tions which pnr.zled the esrthly labora
tory. The Men of the Lit.
But what are the mi n of the law ii
in this world f.mnd their chief joy in the (
legal profession, what are they doing !
now? Studying law in a universe where
everything is controlled by law from the
flight of humming bird to flight of world
law, not dry and hard and drudging, but
righteous and magnificent law, befor
which man and cherub and seraph ami
archangel and God himself how. The
chain of law long enough to wind around
the immensities and infinity and eternity.
Chain of law. What a place to study
law, where all the links of the chain are
in the hand.
What are our departed Christian
friends who in this world had their joy
in the healing arts doing now? Busy at
thp'ir old business. N'o sickness in heav
en, but plenty of sickness on earth, plenty
of wounds in the different parts of God's
domiuion to be healed and to tie medi
cated. Those glorified souls coming
down, not in lazy doctor's gig, but with
lightning looqinotjori. Those who had
their joy in healiug the sickness and the
woes of earth, gone np to heaven, ar
come forth again for benignant medica
ment. Grander Sociality.
But what are our friends who found
their chief joy in conversation and In
sociality doing now? In brighter con
versation there and in grander sociality.
What a place to visit in, where your next
door neighlior are kings and queens, you
yourselves kingly and queenly! If they
want to know more particularly about
the first paradise, they have only to go
over and ask Adam. If they want to
know how the sun and the moon halted,
they have only to go over and ask Josh
ua.. If they want to know how the storm
pelted Sodom, they hive only fo go over
and ask Ixrt. If thpy waut to know more
about the arrogance of Hainan, they have
only Ut go over and ask Monlecai. If
they want to know how the Hed S.-m
boiled when it was cloven, they have only
to go over and ask Moses. If (hey ;tnt
to know the particulars about the Beth
lehem advent, they have only to go over
and ask the serenading angels who stood
that Christmas night in the balconies of
crystal. If thpy want to know more of
the particulars of the crucifixion, they
have only to go over and ask who were
personal spectators while the monn'atns
crouched and the heavens got black in
the fare at the spectacle. If they want
to know more about the sufferings of the
Scotch covenanters, they have only to go
over and ask Andrew Melville. If. they
want to know more about the old time
revivals, they have only to go over to ask
Whitefield and Wesley and Livingston
and Fletcher and Nettleton and F'.nney.
Oh. what a place to rialt in! If eternity
were one minute shorter it would not he
long enough for such sociality.
What are our departed Christian
friends who found their chief joy ,;
studying God doing now? Studying God
jet No need of revelation now, for, nn
bhui'heil. they are face to face. Now
they can handle the omnipotent thunder
bolts just as a child handles the sword of
u father come hark from victorious battle.
They have bo sin; no fear, consequently.
Studying Christ, not through a revelation
save the revelatio of the sears that sleep
lettering which brings it all up euick
enough. Studying the Christ of the Beth
lehem caravansary; the Christ of the
trial massacre, with Ita heMrrfca of
hoed and ba4 aa4 foot aad side; the
Christ of the shattered , mauaoteura;
Cfcrtet rh sacrraVe, the er rh .
the Man, the Ood, the Ood-Msn, the Mas
Cod.
But hark! The bell of the cathedra
rings the cathedral hell of heavett. What
is the matter now? There is going to b
a great meeting ia the temple. Worship
ers all coming through the aisles. Make
room for the Conqueror. Christ stand
ing in the temple. All heaven gathering
arocnd hina. Those who loved the beau
tiful come to look at the Hose of Sharon.
Those wbe loved music come lo listen to
his voice. Those who were mathemati
cians come to count the years of bis reign.
Thise ho were explorers come to d.s
oover the height and the depth id ;he
length and breadth of his love. Those
who bad the military spirit in heaven
ronie to look at the Captain of their sal
vation. The astronomers come to look a:
the Morn.ug Star. The men f ibe law
Come to look at him who is the judge of
quick and dead. The men who healed the
sick come to Uiok at him who was wound
ed for our transgression. All different
and different forever in many respects,
yet all al.ke in admiration for Christ, id
worship for Christ, and sll alike in join
ing in th" dnxology. "Cnto him a ho
washed ;is from our sins iu his own bhi
and made n kings and priests unto God.
to him be glory m the church throughout
all ages, world without end." Amen.
To show you that your departed friend
are more alive than they ever were, to
make you homesick for heaven, to give
you an enlarged view of the glories to b
revealed. I have preached this sermon.
Two friends.
The late Mr. if. C. Bumier, the editor
of I'mk. aud Iwren-e Iliitton were
the rliMi of friends. They began,
says Mr. Htittoti. in his sad reminis
cence of hrs dead friend. puldb-d In
the Bookman, in that often desirable
far-hion, "with a little aversion.'' Kach
avoiihsi oven an intriMjiu-tion to the
other until fate atually threw them
together, not to Is- wirtod more. Their
mutual "gfifHl times" were dear at the
moment and "ph-asanl. ts. to think
on." There w;is much "excellent fisil
ing" there, and vihi-u HtiUoii wa mar
ried it but added a third desirable- nieui-la-r
to the company. The marriage it
self tthowson hat terms of happy non
sense they lived. Mr. Iluttnn says:
He and Mr. Telford and I t-in-iit to
gether at the Westmoreland and In
Bunner's rismis the last evening of my
single life. lie had heard that luck
would be insured If the groom, on the
osrsion of his marriage, would wear
"something old, something new. some
thing borrowi-d and sonn-thing blue."
He urged, therefore, my aijsiraiice
m-xt day in pair of socks procimd
eiss ially by hitn for nie. One wu ab
solutely unwom: the other had sisn
service and was daniwl. But they were
Isith blue. And I must borrow them.
Mr Teiford. I remember, lent me a
liiH-ktie for the same purpose: and both
of those dear boys were married, when
tbvir time -anie. Id something blue that
Wiut Isirrowed from nie.
When Bunner was married we sent
his wife a traveling chs-k as a wedding
gift, to which I attachisl a card bear
ing the lities:
For Old Times' sake
Will you and H. C. B.
At this time take
The Time from mine and me?
Time is. Time was.
I-t Time lw old or new.
The Times for us
Are High Old Tim wiih yon.
To this the lady responded:
1 lack the time, in spite of time from yon.
To write the heartfelt thanks I feel are
due.
But every passing hour, while time en
dures. Shall speak to me and mine of you sn l
yours.
Hating Slowly.
The opinion that hurry in esting is a
prolific cause of dysjiepsla is founded
on common observation. The ill results
of Isdting fswl have been attributed to
the lack of thorough mastication and
to the incomplete action of the saliva
uisin the food.
Two-thirds of the food which we eat
Is starch, and starch cannot ! utilized
in the system as food until it has licen
converted Into sugar, and this change
Is principally effected by the saliva.
But there is a third reason why ra
pidity of eating Interferes with diges
tion. The presence of the salivary ac
cretion In the stomach nets as a stimu
lus to the secretion of the gastric juice.
Irrespective of the mechanical func
tion of the teeth. fod which goes Into
the stomach ln-ompleteJy mingjed with
saliva passes slowly and Imperfectly
through the process of stomach diges
tion. Therefore, as a sanitary maxim, of
no mean value, teach (he children to
eat slowly, and in giving this Instruc
tion by example fhe teacher, as well as
the pupil, may receive benefit.
I eap Vrar.
The present year, IH., Is a leap year;
such a veer will not occur again for
eight yetirs. This arises from the year
V.W having been specially excluded by
I'ope Gregory, together with 17(10 and
lxttO, as in his adjustment of tbe cal
endar three genuine leap years had to
lie deprived of their rights. Tbe se
lected were thoae of the centuriew which
were not divisible without remainder
by 4(10.
Had Big Families Then.
Mention may be made of an frws-rip-tloti,
according to Pennant, on a tomb
hi Coo-way (England! cbnrchyard:
"Here lleth the body of Nicholas Hock
er, of (Vnway, gentlenxm, who was
th 41st child of bis father. William
Hocker, by Alice-, his wife, and the
father of 27 children, 1H37.
A liincstieUo Peddler.
I,. Goldstein, of Wert , Bowdoiu.
Maine, speaks and writes ancient and
modern Hebrew, Greek, Polish, Rwe
dlsb, German, French, Latin, Russian,
Chlneae and Engllah. Yet be find
contentment a a common peddler of
tinware.
OnmthM Paeee
Ixmdoa omIdm carried over Ti,
o.w isFOfit tot rmt. .
THE CONFESS KN.
Once I was a yeongster happy.
Not a shred of care I knew;
Mirth was ever oa the tapis.
Winged with Joy the moments flew.
If I had a heart it never
Was the kind inclined to "love,
And the meaning of "forever"
Was a thing I dreamed not of.
How I scorned my cousin Polly!
"Nothing but a girl!" I said;
How I mocked at melancholy.
Moony, spoony brother Ned!
But the height of my sbhorreuce
Was a chap who went around.
Quoting versee to "his Florence,"
With his eyes upB the ground.
Wo for all my ohteu revels!
Mirth and joy alaek a day!
Now I dance with the "blue devils'
If she looks the other way.
She! my heart is limp as vellum
When I tout b her tiny glove.
And there haunts my cerebellum
"ljt r forever"- ever "he!"
But lO direst altera) icu!i
(Awful irony cf fate!l
I, who from exiiltdl station
Made sui h moi k( l but illte.
Now (and luis my pen rehares
With ai'asi inent most profound).
Ive to wander, quothi? verses.
With my eye upon the ground.
- Detroit Fn-e lres.
MY OWN DECEASE.
Although undoubtedly I had been
very 111. I am by no means certain of
my facts at about this rime; so wheth
er I was a victim of a little loo much
Indulgence in the flowing bowl, or of
a lively Imagination, or of a hypnotic
trance, I really cannot say. anyway,
one morning I seemed to Is- conscious
thst I was talking with a demon, who
sat by my bedside. lie was a very
pleasant sort of fellow and no; bad
looking, but somehow I knew that he
wua a demon.
"Would you like to hear hat they
are saying about you and go to your
own funeral?" he asked pleasantly.
"People generally do attend that
ceremony personally," 1 suggested;
then after a moment's refh-ction, I
asked: "Am l dead, then?'
"Of course. Did you not know It'"
"If I did It must have escajwd my
memory," I replied imperturbably.
"Well, yon are dead, but I will give
you tbe remarkable power of going
among your famH.v In Ibe spirit and
Invisible to them."
"That's very kind of you. but I've
heard yon people seldom erform serv
ices for nothing. What recompense
do you require?"
"None. The penalty you will pay
will be sufficient reward to me."
"What penalty?"
"To sec yourself as others see you,
and bear what tbey say of you."
My friend then dematerlaliaed him
self Into thin pale air, and the next
moment 1 was gliding noiselessly down
the stairs.
I should explain to you that I am
an orphan, without parents, but a
member of a large family; sisters,
brothers, cousins and all the rest of it.
I happen to have more money than
any of the owners, and have hitherto
been much sought after on account of
my excellent personal qualities. I
am not married. Well, the fact is, I
am of a rather retiring disposition,
nJ. not having yet come across a girl
who would help nie out with the pre
liminaries. I had not found courage to
take the fatal plunge. My eldest sis
ter. PrlsclHa, had therefore been keep
ing house for me.
I passed easily through the closed
parjor door without opening it, which
was very convenient, and found my
self, unseen by them. In the midst of
relatives from different parts of the
country- They were waiting break
fast for some imortant persou who
had not yet made his appearance. I
wos foolish enough to think It might
be myself and sat down In my cus
tomary seat at the foot of the table,
bnt of course, no one saw me. I had
forgotten for the moment that I was
a deniaferiiiliKed spirit. Soon, how
ever, the door opened and the Impor
tant individual entered the apart
ment. It was my eldest brother Tom.
Now I began to understand. He was
my exectsKir and residuary legatee.
He represented me, the late. Crawley
Wowqulcker, Ks deceased, hence all
the court and deference paid to him.
This was absurd, you know, for a
bigger fool never lived.
Well, he made straight for my chair,
and sat down where I was sitting!
This was stepping Into my shoes with
t vengeance actually usurping the
same place occupied by my disembod
ied spirit Tom was a bulky fellow,
and I felt the affront. Bcsidi-s. wish
ing better to watch the proceedings,
I got up quickly and sat Ik hind my
chair.
Two things especially attracted my
attention, and somewhat shocked me.
In the first place, Prlscllla's presiding
seemed more lavish than under my
regime, and In the second, I was struck
by tbe happiness and gayety of the
whole company. This was calculated
to take my fatuity down a few pegs,
for I had fondly Imagined that my
death would plunge my entire family
in the uttermost depths of despair.
But It hadn't!
"I never like going Into black," Prls
rllla was saying In her even tones to
Aunt Gwen, "It's so very unlucky."
"I don't mind the change at all,"
said Aunt Gwen, "the color Just suits
me, you know. But I really- can't
tell what order to give, not know
ing bow I am provided for."
'That's aa good as aaklng," aaid
Tom, with one of bla horrible laugh
wblch I used to consider so bearty.
"A nod's aa good aa a wink to a Mind
haraav I aappoae toe refalar thing la
to read tha will after the fnnerai, bat
It's all aanoof ouruelvM It doesn't
Battar, and ITl read It ta all directly
auT'hrMkfnat" .-.-:
Then they started talking about their
late relation, Crawley Slow-quicker,
and the things I heard about myself
positively astonished me.
They were a'j sadly deficient la the
bump of reverence, and I found that
nut one of them entertained that re
spect and affection for me of which I
had imagined they were all possessed.
Now I fully realized the truth of my
friend the demon's words. It was a
dreadful penalty to pay, a sad morti
fication to hear what they Kaid of me,
and to see iriynelf an othera saw tne.
"Well, of course, my cousin Ver
non said, responding to some remark
in a virtuously deprecatory tone. "Of
course, de mortals nil nUi bonurn, and
all that sort of thing, you know; but
I can't help saying that Crawley was
always mean horribly mean!"
Confound the fellow! And this waa
a man to whom I had lpft -Vi, fur
giving him all the money he owed tne
w hich wan a good a loubling the leg
acy! "No, no; not mean," Tom answered,
,and I blessed him for tho words'.
but he skilled It all by adding. "A bit
careful, you know."
"Ah, I should tuiuk so," m.vs I'ris
cilia. "You would hardly believe It.
but it's a fai t he never allowed tne
inoticy enough to keep house decent
ly." Of course, this was not true, as you
may imagine. She was always want
ing more money, and yet It never suc
ceedeil in pun-hawing anything re
markable. Ami this was my sister
I'ris.. whom I had alwaya thought so
affectionate, so entirely devotivl to
me. Oh. It was too horrible
These three were my principal lega
tees, if I had only known isooner!
But how was that possible?
I knew what I would do. I hail j
made tip my mind -and having no
body. 1 w;ts all mind now I would
go at onip to my solicitor's, and have
a codicil drawn up while there was
yet tirn". But say, thcr was no time;
it was too late. I had quite forgotten
that I was only a povt ghost, a demn
terialiwd eplrtt. and that oh! Idiot.
Sharpltlaw. was so wedded to routine
and old-fashioned custom that ho
would certainly regard a posthumous
testament an Informal, and as I was :
Invisible he would treat my signature.
aR null and decidedly void.
When nex I turned toward my
amiable and disinterested family cir
cle. I perceived that the breakfast j
things had lon removed, and Tom
Slowqulcker sat in Hie armchair with
my will spread out before him.
"There" some one missing." he said,
looking around him magisterially ;
"who Is It?"
"Only my sister Minnie," Vernon re
marked casually. "I went to her this
morning, but she's so upspt about bis
death thBt she feels quite 111, and
could not come down to breakfast."
"Don't be absurd." said Prtscllln;
"why, she never gave him o much as
a civil word." Then, ottn voce lo her
brother, "And that's what has upset
her. I expef'1- I" afraid she has
spoiled her chances of a legacy."
Oh. that spiteful Prlscilla! If I
could only alter my will! But it was
too late, for here was my executor
standing, or rather sitting, in my place.
At least, there was one thing I rottld
do; I would find my friend the demon
and sec If arrangement) could not lie
made for haunting them!
But these precious words about Min
nie had sent balm into my tortured j
spirit, so that my Incorporate heart
throbbed, shaking the Venetians, and j
Tom nsked where the draft, came from.
I would go to her at once, so I tra
versed the closed door again, passing
them all us the sigh of a summer
breeze, which Is we know not what,
or whence It comes, or whither It goes
a breath from well, no matter
where; I don't exactly know myself.
Thus I went upstairs, and Into Min
nie's room, where I found the poor
girl still in bed. her cheeks pale, her
eyes red with weeping, all the signs
upon her of a sleepless night of sor
row, and pressed close to her soft
bosom she held a likeness of my un
worthy self, which I had given her
once long ago. And this was the girl
who never spoke savp to ridicule and
poke fun at me, whose dlxlike for me
was almost proverbial In the family,
and yet the. girl w hose love with usual
human perversity -1 would have given
all Ihe world to win.
Ah, this knowledge of her heart's
secret was sweet to me! It gave nie
courage. I would comfort her. I
would po"f forth my love. I would
tell her -stay! What could I tell her?
Was I not forgetting again that I was
only a poor ghost - -merely the shadow
of a shade? Was I not unseen by her?
And even wen? It possible for nip to
make myself visible for a few mo
ments I should only aueceed in terri
fying my poor love out of her senses.
A lax! was this the realization of a
hereafter? The punishment of early
vanities and sins? To see things Just
as they are and yet to be ao miser
ably impotent to alter them; to
too what might have been and to boat
out my weary spirit on Into eternity
In vain longing for a fruition that can
never come!
My funeral was appointed to take
place the next day. It was a very
grand affair altogether, and cake and
wine had been laid In the parlor to
entertain the guests upon this festive
ocaslon. I dare say I should have
done Ihe name bad I been burying a re
lation, but somehow it hurt me to see
my best dry sherry being put away.
As I accompanied the mourners down
the atepa I suddenly perceived my
friend the demon by my aide. Vainly
I sought a coach, but could And no
room. I turned to him somewhat, an
grily and remarked;
"I nay, yon promised I should fo to
my own funeral, but I don't seem fo
bare been considered la the arranfe
meat at all."
"Yon forget that corporeally jroo
hoM the place of honor at the bead of
the proreaeion. hot In the spirit yea
can get lu here. There's only the doe
tor and the clergyman."
"Between the doctor and the parson I
Really, my dear demon, you are re
markable for a most sardonic homer."
Well, the men of medicine aud re
ligion talked politic all the way. which-
f thought Inappropriate, bn. as they
were both conservatives they did set
dUagree. I am a liberal myself, aad
began vociferously exsiumllng Mr.
Gladstone's policy, quite oblivious that
my gesticulation were unseen, Bty
words unheard by them.
"Good Job for yourself you are dead."
said the demon. "You're Just the eort
to get into a jolly row with red hot
politicians."
The cemetery was soon reached, aid
I looked down and saw my coffin low
ered Into the grave.
"Karth to earth "
A few lumps were thrown, and fell
upon the lid with a grewsome rattle,
and
I awoke with a start, and my eye
met thwe of my brother Tom, , who
asked cheerily, "Well, how do you
do now, old fellow?" But I turned
from him for I could not help thinking
of him as I had seen him last, read
lug my will down In the parlor turn
ed away and encountered my darling
little Minnie, who sat unobtrusively In
a remote corner of the room, and I
felt, oh! so grateful and happy at see
ing her there. I felt then that It was
not all a dream.
I have used feigned names In thU
veracious tale, because I think she
would not like to know the mrange
experience which led me to take the
courage to woo and by and by wV4
her.-Spare Moments.
Hanging Above a Tiger.
A British olliivr In India had goneow
upon an elephant in search of a tiger,
which had Just killed n man and tw
bnlliK-ks within half a mile of camp.
The limit was brief, and the officer prevf
etilly got two shots at the tiger, but
without killing him. The Jungle was
heavy, and It was alridy getting duek
when the wrvaut touched the officer
from lwhlnd atid aid, "There he la!"
The adventure l best di-scrtls-d by the
man himself, as quoted by Gen. Wlfkfa
non. The tiger wa'a lying w Ithin ten yard
of tue, unablo to rise, at; I afterward
found out, from IiIh loiim Ix-lng broken.
Seeing that he wan not dead, however,
I was in the act of taking up my rifle,
when nomethlng struck me on the, bark
and Jammed me to the front of the
howdah. I had jurt time to lay bold ef
the branch of a tree and pull mywclf ut
of Hip howdah. otherwise jty back
would have Is'en broken.
Then the frightened elephant ran
away, hikI left me tmsjM-nded Immedi
ately over the tiger, which lay looking
up at me, growling and lushing fci
Hide.
You may Imagine my feeling. In
vain I tried to g4 Into the tree, and at
last, my fingens becoming crumped, I
lost my bold and fell on the tiger, ft
wa like dropping Into the Jaws ef
death.
Tlx- instant I touched the ground, the
tiger with n terrific roeir wclxed my left
foot In liiR mouth, and with tine bite
crushed the heel ami ankle Isme to
lwdcr. Then he gave me three other
bite, two on the calf of the leg and owe
on the knee, every bite breaking the
Isine to piece.
Sly agonies were dreadful. In vain I
called for help, but after a struggle I
got my right leg free and gave the tfger
a frciiu-ndoiiH kick on the head, wbJrb
induced him to let go. Instantly I got
np and hobbled to the foot of the tree,
where I fell exhausted, with the tiger
still a few paces off.
The sepoy, who had lieen with me in
the howdah. had lodged safely In the
tree, and wltnctwd the whole twene.
Now he came down within a few feet
of the ground, and ls-gK'fl me to get
Into the tree. At first I thought I could
not, but when the sejsiy told me that
the tiger would lie at me again, I gave
the fellow my hands, and he managed
to pull me up Into the lower hraiy-hi.
By and by my brother officer, whone
elephant, like my own, had bcroiue. un
manageable, came Ixick. aud final It
killed the tiger, after which I was
somehow got Into the howdah and ear
rled back lo camp.
A Russian Crtnic.
A simple method of murder and rob
bery, wilh mll chances of detection,
devised by some Huswbin cauint on
the PruLnn border, bits recently be-n
brought to light A fever -for emigra
tion has existed for some yitirs In Po
land, and jieoplc who could not oltaln
passiorIs to leave Russia after wiling
all they had, would secrete their money
Uou their M-rsons and hire these peas
ants to smuggle them ncros tlie fron
tier. As tlwlr departure had to be kept
secret, and the emigrant were general
ly illiterate persons of no prominence, it
was easy to lead them Into out-of-the-way
places, murder them and strip
them, with little prolwibllity of their be
ing missed.
For Preservation of Timber.
Another method of preserving tim
ber has recently been tried. It con
sist In dissolving In naphtha the heavy
oils and waxes left after the distilla
tion of petroleum, aud forcing the so
lution Into the seasoned timber In the
same manner as In creosotlng. The
timber Is then heated, when the naph
tha evaporates and Is recovered In a
cooling chamber, while, the waxes, etc.,
remain Is-hlnd In the wood, water
proofing It.
Two thousand nine hundred and alnc
ty-two peonies have been taken up is
the Canton, O., acnoobi aa coOectlon
for the Prancle Kay moaumaat which
la being erected at Frederick, hid.
How a man does bate ta air a ay.
tblac that will eteaatWt artful , - .