" - J ' . J . ., - a . . t . t . . L .at m.. ..! . ; '. . '..".. V I t .. .. .. . ....... . a , . . . .... .... . a .... , ,, , ;
"1 , :f-riT ,'" - .- .i ...... . - . ..... ' . -.- t ,
a,
CIIA PTEK XX iPontinned.)
He had taunted her as u adventuress
and a husband huntress. This right-minded,
resolute creature, who had refuved
the utmost promotion to wbu.h a (cirl in
C'T position could asjure. a rieu. uiuuiimi j
Husband, high-placed, ranious, cuviog a.i
qualities calculated to charm woman, ex
cept youth. Why had the so Bung awaj
hish fortune, why refused such a help
mate? Simply because she did not love
bim. Wan her young heart a blank, then,
or was there anyone else? Vet who else
could there be for her who had lived like
a bird in a cage who hud never since his
brother's death been iu the society of any
men of refinement except Nestorius and ,
old Verner? There could be no one else:
her heart must be f.till una wakened to the
mystery of woman's love.
"You are very nieicifut, in your si.eie e,"
he said, after a Ion it pause, leturniiit to
the front of the (hep'H'e where Nestorius
was slandin;. "Hut no upbiiiidiiitf you
could bestow upon me ould iuttusify m;
sense of my brutal folly. I v. as like a
child destroying a InttterMy in wanton
race at its beauty. If she w.-ie be.e I
-wixiid ask her pardon on my knee-. 1
'iave liei'n miserable from the hour of lier
f'ihtlhe i-hlc.t slave of remorse. All
lliiids of it :,ors h.ivc prcseiiti-d
selves to ley mind, cvrij the i.iea of sui
cide, that she mis;ht have rtisbed down to
the rier and RuiiK herself in "
! "No. no," iu!crniiled Nestoiius, o,ui('U-
v. "I have no four of sin h sinful foily
Tier mind is too we:l bal.ttx
that inner eeiisc iousncss
I and she has
renins whi'h
is ntiiiost as an armor airn-n-t !ne arrows
-of fa!e. Her dominant 'met was that she
would be able to support b-r-elf by liiera
"tute, K ponr out her wetilth of thought
.and fttocy in tii tion. Sin- had her day
dream of a t ott.'Uie near the A v. u, with
an old nurse of hers for hoiisc-ieeper and ,
con paniotx, She had a scheme for the t
futuie, and in leaving this house you may
be sure she went, with the intention of j
working out her own destiny iu that, man-;
Iter. I am not afraid of any folly on her j
part. My only fear is for the danger to !
which her absolute inexperience of the j
world might expose her." !
"She was penniless," said I.ashmar, j
"unless as Lady Carniinow suggested i
he had borrowed money from you.
"Did Ijidy Carniinow make that sue
ircstion? How like I.ndy Oanninow! No,
he had no money from me. poor child!"
"You say she has literary aspirations,'
said Lnshmar: "and you !iply that she '
has talent for writing." j
"She has more than ta nt, I.ashmar. '
She has genius origins I genius, rarest
gift in these days of h.iin-tive art. She j
has genius as original ami as unique as J
that of Charlotte liroeie. she uiun'oied ;
child of those lonely m Us'.ure moors you
and I know so well. Hut I will not ask i
you to believe this up-n my assertion.
You shall judge for yourself, if you will
allow me to ask for my letters here. 1
I.ashinar rang the bell and Mr. .o- !
torus' letters were brou h:. among them ;
a packet of printer's proofs, which N'es-,
t'orius opened, unrolled and arranged in j
eiiuence with the deftness of hands mi- !
customed to dealing w ith ptoofs. - j
"Read for yourself!'' he said, "when
you have an I.o.ir" leisure. That is the j
Detuning ot ,-sieiia s siory. i reau ine
w hole of it in manuscript." .
"What can she write about, she who
has seen nothing of the world?"
"ISIind Johu Milton had never seen hell
and John Keats had never seen a Titan,
a:.d yet they contrived to write about ;
u. h thtngs w.th very fatr effect, answer- j
ed Nestorius. ,
"It seems to me that she confided all i
ber plans and aspirations to you-her . mnrj him,(.lf frep t&
manuscripts even. You were pnv.leged , , niri. unheipd and Iinhindered. Mr
in receiving so much of her con h.lence. NMforil hired . flv ,n the Ti nd
"I am her tutors oh! friend, and she . droye to Kf whpn bf a
knew that I sympathized with her. Th-me fc lmiiln and thpn did thrpp or ft,r
two facts brought us at once en rapport. h()Urs). iTatp d(,tw.tive work ,m h! flwn
AYell, now, Lashmar what have you done , 0rotlnt( poriB, street after street, in
towards finding her.' 1 quiring closely in all manner of quietly
Lord Lashmar gave a detailed account , rI1tflhe neighborh.rt,d. where such a
of lua efforts in Brumni. j jr, ag Hte,u mj(,ht Iilltnr1y 1(M,k fof nn
j inexpensive lodging; visiting the Free hi
CHATTER XXI. brary and Interrogating the librarians:
Nestorius mused somewhat sadly upon ; strolling in that dreary pleasure ground
bis interview with Lashmar, as he walked j known aa the People's J'ark; but by a
across the park in the blustery autumn strange fatality avoiding Just that one
morning. What a fitful, selfish, master- 1 long, narrow street on the way to thecem
ful spirit young love seemed to the man . etery, and that one particular chandler's
of mature years, who loved with an nn- ship in which the Chapmans had their
eirish tenderness and capacity of self- : dwelling place.
attcrifiee unknown to youth. And ao it j He was weary, disheartened and alto-
was love, after all dominant, uneon -
qiterable love which had impelled Iash-
uiar to bitter speeches and affected scorn,
Hp, too, had felt the strange witchery of
that bright creature's personality, had
been conquered and had struggled against
the victor. '
' "Hid fhe care for him all the time?"
1'estoriua asked himself. "Win it for his
ake she refused me wns it for love of
bim she was cold and deaf to my pray
ers? I pressed her hard, tried to fathom
the depth of her heart and mind, but
could discover no secret passion there.
Womanly pride ia o close an armor."
"Yes, she lovea him. It was that which
nmde the sting of his insolence so sharp.
Khe lovea him caught by that young
frace of his, the darkly handsome face,
with Its strong lines and eagle glance,
the pride of youth and strength, and tin
lisciplined power: the radiance of a young
ipirit that ha never known fate's re
rerses. Vh, ahe loves him. It was his
image that kept ber young heart sealed
Igatnst me. He stands at tbe door and
keep me oat. Middle age bas no charms.
Bhe would rTrenc gray hafra perhaps
deem it an art of duty and devotion to
give her life to ao aid man: but I, the
hard, active maa of the world, csn.hsve
o claim on her affection, aw apell for her
ImagiiMtioa. I sUad without tbe pale."
He fooiM Gabriel Verner with an open
tetter hefete htm, brs ight by that morn
lafi part.
It was from Stella. There was no ad-dnv-i,
but the .Ktmnrk was Hniuim.
"You may see this letter, for it con
tains a message for you," said Verner.
after he and Nestorius had exchanged a
few friendly words, the old uian much
surprised at the statesman's return. "It
is for your eye, but no other. !e sure
you do not mention it to Ixird Lashmar.."
'Certainly not. If she des res other
wise."
"V'ou will see."
Nestorius read the letter, in the fine,
clear hand he knew so well from the
rill's manuscripts. She had always striv
en Jo make her stories look as attractive
as neat penmanship could make ihei
'I'he idea that they would ever take the
still more attractive form of print had
seenu-d so remote a hoic. And in this
j wise she had cultivated writing as a rim
art. I "I'o not be unhappy about me. deal
friend and master," wrote. "I have
done that whi h is bet f..r my own bap
pines. My life I.ashmar has lieeu a
very hard one ever siio-e niy benefactor's
OCBth, ami souiPilim; occurred yesterday
j to make it unbearable. 1 could not stay
in that bouse another hour,
j "I'roviiieiice has b'-rii very good to me.
and I have found new friends and a new
. home with kind, homely pe..,lc, a b,,me in
iwhiih I can work at literature until I
; am able to w in my indopeiidem.-e. Ii
rectly that is won, 1 shall come bark to
you and carry out the dream of niv life.
j w hich Is to have a cottage and u pretn
'garden by the river you and I love so
well-the river by which I spent so many
happy days in my childhood and which
recall the memory of the dear friend I
lost.
' Please tell Mr. Nestorius that I thank
him with all my heart for his iroodncs
to me, and that 1 am happy to leave the
fate of my first book in his baud. If
he. w ho has suh experience in literature,
will correct the proofs of my story, it will
be one more favor for which 1 shall b
deeply grateful. If the book should be a
failure I shall be more sorry upon thai
kind friend s account than upon my ow n.
"Heaven bless you, dear friend, and be
sure that absence will not lessen my a(Tec
tioii for the teacher to whom I owe so
min h more than my loving care can ever
repay. Hut I look forward to the hope of
having you by and by for my abiding
guest in Dreamland Cottage.
"Iou't you think that would be rather
good name for my house, if ever I am
happy enough to own one? Your ever
graieful pupil. STKI.I.A.
"I S. On no account let anyone at the
castle, except Mr. Nestorius. know thai
you have heard from me."
"Thank heaven, she has not fslle.,
tnnong thieves," said Nestorius, w hen he
had read this letter. And yet in the next
moment his heart sank within him as he
asked himself whether any girl so utter
ly inexperienced as Stella could be trusted
to discriminate between fair and foul?
AYhether these new friends of homely
class, found with such strange facility.
might not be wolves In sheeps" clothing?
Her yonth and beauty and ignorance of
the world's ways were so many sources of
peril,
Mr NforJ.1(. W(.tlt bark to ,ne
and got rid of the grime and dust of a
long railway journey, and issued forth
from his dressing room refreshed and re
juvenated, but he did not stay to lunch
eon. He left a little note for IVird I,ash-
nnr tn tVia ttffant that ti hn1 an
nwnt ,n Blllmm Uf, h( ,
him at h,lr t (hrP( in ,ht nfrf
ft,. ., T .
Having thus stolen a march upon Lash-
. gether disgusted with himself at half
past four o'clock, when, punctual to the
very minute, he entered the hotel coffee
room and found Lashmar drooping d
, apondently over a local newspaper.
! The police had leen able to tell him
I nothing. It was as if the earth liRd opeu-
j ed and swallowed the girl for whom tby
were searching
"She must have gone to Ixmdon,'' said
Lashmar, "thol is tl e only place iu which
any one could so completely vanish from
human ken."
Nestorius knew she had not gone lo
London, but he held his pence. They were
alone in the coffee room, where there was
no fire, and where the newly lighted gas
w as singing a dismal chorus,
"I have been rending her story," said
Lnshmar. "It is delightful so new, so
hiw ei ful allopeiher fresh and simple.
j and fervent and true. To think that Hold-
wood's daughter should be a genius and
that kind of a genius. Not a vehement
partisan of Radical politicians, a shriek
ing claimant for womnn's rlgbls, but a
poet, a dreamer, a wearer of fancy's most
enthralling web. How she will acorn us
and the cage In which we kept her! How
she will laugh at her tyrants when she
has burst upon the world In all the charm
of her originality and baa won thousands
for her frlenda. Rnch a book must make
a lilt."
"That waa what the publisher'! reader
told dm," aoanered KtaterhM quietly.
"Publishers' reader are sometimes
w rong; thiee or four of the tribe rejected
Miss Hionle's 'Jaue L'yie,' and it is nid
that 'Vanity 1'uir' went a begging; but
this gentleman wa very positive, "lake
my word for it, tin- bk will go,' lie said.
'It lias all tbe fire and freshness of youth,
and the grace of a highly cultivated style.
Tbe writer must have fd her fancy with
the very finest order of intellectual food.
1 here ia no taint of garbage from the first
page to the last." Knowing how 8ua
had been trained by your brother and p'X'r
old Verner, I thought this criticism ar
gued some power of judgment on the
part of the publi.-her's reader."
"Yes, !:e has been fed on the best food.
,1 have I a 1 1 - - !j i .1 at seeinc her poring over
Homer or Virgil. My mother told me
that girl knew Milton better than any on
she bud eer met. except .lohu Bright,
and that she had Shelley and Keats inter
woven iu her memory. She has an extra
ordinary power of memory, my mother
says, and a line ear for melodious combi
nations of winds. Perhaps she bus some
thing to thank her ladyship for in her two
years' drudgery as a reader. My mother
never cared for inferior writers, and the
mill in which Stella worked ground only
the finest corn."
"Kme weaves in a loom wnose mechan
ism we know not." answered Ni morius
gravely. "The education of submission
may have been the best education for
genius, but it was not a ;oj i:s experience."
'No, she lias been badly treated. Do
you think that I shall deny that after my
free coiifessiuii this morning?" asked
Lasbnuir bitterly,
"1 ihink j..u aie full ,,f gem-ions in-stineis-marred
by icrver; ed prioe," an
sweic,) Nestorius, w ith his u;, Din. hing air.
"I think you have treated that girl ab in
innbly, I think you buve mar!,, h, r suffer;
and that by way of revenge she will make
you the noblest ;n. KnvlMi gentle
man nis-d cvej h'i,t ,,, win for him-elf,"
"You think -she will ever be I roiu-lit to
forgive mt?" faltered La-humr excite Jly.
"I think you are both passionately iu
love with each other, and 1hat it needs
but one luok and one word from yon 'o
heal every wound you eoi im'i. ted upon
that pine rnd generous heart."
"h! it ii you who are generous. It is
only who are noble," t ried Lashmar.
"I lime lived twenty years longer than
you, and I have learned one of the lessons
that time tem-hes," answeted Nestorius
gravely. 1 have learned the wisdom of
renunciation. Not another word, Ijish-
mar. 1 am too old for sentiment."
CILUTI.Il XXII.
Lashmar found his mother sitting by
be fire in her morninv room, with her
book table and rending lamp beside her,
but with no njearance of having been
reading. She was seated in a despondent
attitude, gazing dreamily into the fire.
She started at her son's entrance.
"Well, have you heard of her?'" she said
at once.
'Not a word. She has disappeared ut
terly. Both Nestorius and I have hunted
'or her all through Brumm. Tbe police
can do nothing' to help us."
"Then I supjsise we must resign our
elves to the idea that she has gone for
ever, said tier lailyslnp. Mie has been
ery ungrateful."
"Oh, mother, what cause had she for
?ratittidc except to my brother? What
kindness have you or I ever shown her?"
"We have given her such a home as she
could have had nowhere else. We have
given her the opportunity to educate her
self to the highest point. Hut for our
kindness she would have had to earn her
bread by the sweat of her brow. She
must have beeti a domestic wrvant or a
factory girl."
"She would never have remained a ser
vant or a factory girl. She is a genius,
mother."
And then IaOrd Lashmar told his mother
about the proofs that he had read and of
Nestorius' and the publisher's praise.
"What then?" asked her ladyship.
"That, book is the fruit of refined sur
roundings, of years of elegant leisure. Do
you suppose that in service, her genius
if you please to term it genius could ever
have been developed? Do you think there
are no gifts strangled and blighted by
adverse circumstances no great intellects
among servants and factory girls? I tell
yon she had the strongest reasons for
gratitude and yet knowing herself use
ful, almrst invaluable to me to me, a sick
woman she leaves me without compunc
tion, without a word of regret."
"Then you do miss her, mother; you are
fond of her," exclaimed Larhmar, with
llushed ( hecks and brightening eyes.
The dowager looked up from the fire for
tbe fu time and scrutinized her son
keenly.
(To be continued.)
Out for a Trade.
He had the manner of a Cheater.
Held and the long white beard of a
patriarch, and those who saw hltn ac
coat a youth who atood at the corner of
."3th and Walnut treta Inst evening,
noting the cut of hla black Prince Al
bert coat, thought that lie must be a
minister of Uie gonpel. "Pardon me, my
young friend," he said, with a benevo
lent amlle; "pardon me for venturing to
address you, but I wish to ask what
may seem to be an impertinent ques
tion. Do you smoke?"
"No, air, I do not," replied the youny
man addressed.
"Ob, Indeed!" eiclaltned the old gen
tleman, his face lighting up with a
pleased expression, "Now, you would
lie atirprlsed," he continued, "to know
bow many of our young men of whom
I have asked that same question during
the jmst few weeks have made the
same reply." The listener elevated bll
eyebrows, but said nothing. "How
ever," resumed the speaker, "I have la
my pocket a good cigar, and it waa my
Intention. In caw you smoked, to glvs
It to you In exchange for " Here be
hesitated, h'n continued In apparent
confusion: "For a car fare." Another
pause followed, but as tbe youth made
do move to produce the desired "car
fare" the benevolent papy moved on,
adding: "Never mind, may be tbe
conductor will be lenient enough to ac
cept the cigar."
A moment later he wai seen la cotv
versa t Ion with anothet pedestrian
whom he had accosted half a block
way. Philadelphia Kecoid.
He Had.
"I have designs on you," remarked
tbe tattoo artist, aa be finished bU
work and looked at hl subject prand-
U. Detroit Free I
TESTIMONY OF KUCK8.
REV. DR. TALMAGE ON THE GE
OLOCY OF THE BIBLE.
A ' ermon of lnteret to All, Hiowlnc
tbi t 'eoloy C'onurni the Truth of
tfa, iVord of Cod II. e Hock of Aiccs
Never let l.'pstt.
Our Wusliiu, 'ton Pulpit.
The thror totnii.i; to Dr. Tahnaie's
eea blue services ai the l'iist 'rehytv
- i.ii Chiirih in a jniLton are ail the
Ar inej.-asMig and far bew.nd.tlie i a--:ci:y
of his church to h .id. In this
"r,n he ji-i -ii'ses a subject interesting
i Hi! vi' , "'I he Ceology of the H.bio;
r, !.! moi g tbe Pocks." The text is
1 1. Sir .net t:, 7: "And when they came
to ;.ahon' threshing Moor I'zznh put
fo.tti his hand to I lie ark of C,.i and took
'Id of it; for the oxen shook it. And
I'o anger of he Lord was kindled
. -a:i s! Czz.ih, itel tits' smote him (here
f -i !, s error, a A there j,. died by the ark
of 1 .d."
A hand of mils'.' is coming down the
r'-:d, cornet blown, timbrels struck,
1. irps thtutomcd and cym! als c!apcd, all
! on bv Dfnv", who was himself a inusi-
.ii,. '1 hey ate chond of a wagon on
I'liuh is the sacred box called the ark.
'i be yoke of oxen drawing tbe wagon
::; ;.er;!os it. Some critics say that tbe
i kicked, be ni: s'ru. k with the driver's
goo!, but my knowledge of oxen lends
i. e to say that if oil a hot day they s-e
p. shadow .f ins- or wall, they are apt
to MlMen'y shy off to gel the eoolliesis ,,f
'. shadow. I think these oxen so ud
1 niy funis) that the sacred box scem
i 1 . bom to iii-et iitni be ihtov.ii to the
.'!" 'ind. I'zvib rushed forward and Said
1. old of t!,c 'irk to kw-;i it upright. Put
1 Pad r.o rrtlit to do so. A spceinl eorn
n and had l. s n given by the Lord that no
e pave the i,: -'. under any ctrcutn
' .unos .-h.-n'i! touch that hex. Nervous
n'il exeitu) ii nd irteveient. I "mill dis
' ."! when be to.ik hold of the ark, and
" ;; I as s cr n-e litem e. In nil ages,
never iieue s i than in our own day,
'.ere are j.o,.d people all the time afraid
' at the Holy Bible, whnh is the sncred
irk of our t n.e, will be upset, and they
lave been a long while afraid that sci-
ce, and eri-i'eially geology, would over
throw it.
V- bile we are not forbidden to touch the
holy hook and, on the contrary, are urged
I i fondle rnd study it. any one who is
I! f raid of liie oveithmw o," the hook is
gieiitfy often. ling the Lord with his un
le'ief. The oven have nd yet been yok
e ' Inch can u; set that nrk of the world's
salvation. rit ten by tbe Lord Almighty,
he is going protect it until its mission
is fuliiilcd and there shall be no more
need of a Bible because ail its prophecies
will have biti fulfilled and the human
tace will have exchanged worlds. A trum
pet and n violin are very different instru
ments, but they may be plated in perfect
a cord. So the Bible account of the crea
tion of tin- world and the g-ologieal ac
count ate different one story written on
pa i ohmoiit and the other on the rocks and
jet it. ,sTfect and eternal accord. The
word "day," rej-eated in the first chapter
of Cenesis, has throw n into paroxysms of
cri t i-m many exegete. The Hebrew
woid "yom" of the Bible tneans some
times what we call s day, .nd sometimes
it means ago". It may mean ;M hours or
i-i),issi,i!ist w ars. The order of ft cat ion
us written in the bs,k of (ienesis is the
oi'h-r of creatioii ibscovensl by gologists
ciow bar. So uoiiiy I'zzahs have been nerv
ously rushing about for fear the strong
o il, ,f sc;'tililic discovery would Upset
ll.e I'.lble tbit 1 went somewhat appre
hensively to look into the mutter, when I
found tU.it the Bible and geology agree in
saying that first were built the rocks, tlmi
the p'unts gr-ene) the earth, then inn rim
rnii lures were create! from niinuow to
whale, then the wings and throats of
seiinl choirs were coloied and tuned, and
the ijuadi upeds began to Ideal and liellow
and neigh.
Now. it reuires no stretch of Imagina
tion to realize that (J'xl could have taken
millions of years for the bringing of the
rw ks and the timtrs of this world to
gether, yet only one week more to make
it inhabitable and to f unrif-h it for human
ri-saleuee. HetniTiiber also that all up and
down the Bible the language of the times
was us"i common parlance and it waa
not always to he taken literally. Just aa
w e say every dny that the world is round
when it is not round. It is spherical
flattened at the poles and pmtnlierant at
the equator. Prof. Knell, with hi chain
of triangles, and Prof. Varin, with the
shorto-iicd pendulum of his clock, found
It was not round. But we do not liccomp
eritiosl of any one who anya the world i
round. I.-M us d-al aa fairly with Mows
or Job as we do with each other.
Kverlustinic Hlglit.
P.ut for years good people feared g-e,,l-ozy,
and without any imploration on iheir
p-rt apprdiended that the rocks and
mountains would fall on them until Hugh
Miller, the elder of St. John's Piebyte
nsn church In Kdinburgh and parishioner
of Dr. tiuthrie, came forth and told the
world that there was no contradiction be
tween the inonnta.iiis and the chun h, and
ft. M. Mitchell, a brilliant lecturer before
he became brigadier general, dying at
Beaufort, S. C, during our civil war, took
the platform and spread his mop of the
strata of rock in the presence of great au
diences, and Prof. Alexander Wiucbell of
Michigan I'uiversity and Prof. Taylor
Iw is of 1'nlon College, showed that the
"without form and void" of the first chap
ter of Genesis was the very chaos out of
which the world waa fomulaied, the
hands of Jod packing together ihe land
and tossing up the mountains into great
heights and Hinging down the seas into
their great depths. Ilefore 1 d gets
through with this world there will hardly
be a book of the Bible that will not find
confirmation either in archaeology or ge
ology. Kibumed Babylon, Niiievah. ,li
rusalem. Tyre snd Kgyptiau hieroglyphic
are crying out In the ears of the world:
"The Bible Is right: All right! L'verlusl
logly right!" Geology Is saying the same
thing, not only continuing the truth about
the original creation, but confirming so
ninny passage of the Scripture that I
can only slightly refer to then..
But you do not really heliev that story
of the deluge and tin- .. ,iug off tbe moun
tains under tbe ware? Tell ns something
we can believe. "Believe that," says ge
ology, "for bow do you account for those
en shells and seaweeds and skeletons of
sea animals found on tbe bob of some of
tbe highest mountains! If the wafers did
not sometimes rise sbont the mountains,
bow did those seashells and seaweed snd
skeletons of sea animal get tbe re? Hid
you pot tbeas Ultra?
But, now, ynn do not really hel eve that
Mory shout the storm of fire and brim
stone whelming Sodom and Oomorrah,
! and enwrapping Lot's wife in siKh scline
incrustations thnt she halted, s sack of
stlt? For the confirmation of that story
the geologist goes to that region, and
after trying in vain to lake a swim in the
luke, so thick with salt he cannot swim It
the lake Ix-ncsth which Sodom and t!o
morrah lie buried, one drop of the water
so full of sulphur and brimstone that it
Mints your tongue, and for hours you can
not get rid of the nauseating drop the
srentiut then digging down and finding
sulphur in top of sulphur, brimstone on
top of brimstone, w hile all round there are
jets rtrd crag and peaks of salt, and if
one of them did not become the sarcopha
gus of loot's wife, they show yon how a
human being might in that tempest have
been hailed and packed into a white mon
ument that would defy the ages.
But, now, you do not reaiiy neneve that
New Testament story about the earth
quake at Ihe time Christ was crucified, do
you? Oeology digs down into Mount Cal
vary and finds the rocks rupture,! and
aslrnt, showing the work of an ',-e dal
enrthonake for that mountain, and an
earthiiin'.:e which did not touch the sur
rounding region. Co and look for your
self, and see ilierea dip and cleaverage of
rocks as now here else on the planet, geolo
gy thus announcing an esjieeinl earth
quake for the grcatesi tragedy of all the
centuries the assassination of the Son if
God.
Confirmed by Geology.
But you do not really believe that story
of the binning of our world at the last
dny? (leobgy digs down and finds that
the world is already on tire and that the
center of this rlobe is incnndi -cent, molt
en, volcanic, a Imniing cal. lvirn.it g out
toward the surface, and the interna! fires
have so far re,i lied the outside t in that I
do notfwe how the world is to keep from
complete contlagrat Ion until the prophe-ci-s
concerning it are fulfilled. The lava
poured forth from the mouths of Vesu
vius, Mount I'.tna and Cotip.iii and Kii
auea is only the regu-gitati-ui fr.itit tin aw ful
inllamrr.nl ion thousands of mile d-cp.
There sre mines in Penn.-yU a nla and in
several parts of the world that have been
ou iiie for many jears. The-e coal m.iws
bnniins down and Ihe Internal litcs of i In
earth Imni'iig up, after awhile ihc-e two
fires, the descending and the ascending,
will mt, and then will occur the uni
versal conflagration of whbh the Bibie
i-peaks when it says, "The elements shrill
melt with fervent heat the enrth also,
and the works that are therein shall l-e
burned up."
Inwtead of dile!ievltig the Bible story
attout the final conflagration, since I have
looked a little into geology, finding that
its explorations tire all in the line of con
firmation of '.list prophecy. I wonder how
this o!rl craft of a world can keep sailing
on much longer. It is like a ship on fire
at sea. the fact that the hatches are kept
down the otiiy reason that it iIiks not be
come one complete blaze maws on fire,
ratlins on tire, everything from cutwater
to taiTrail oil fire. After geology has told
us how near the internal tires have al
ready burm-d their way toward tbe sur
face, it ought not to lie a surprise to ns at
any time to hear the ringing of tbe fire
U'lls of a universal conflagration. Oh, I
am so glad that geology bas Us-n born!
Thank (!od for the testimony of the rooks.
I this day proclaim the banns of a mar
riage b"tweeti geology and theology, the
rugved bridegroom and the fairest of
bride. It them join iheir hand, and
"whom texl hath joined together let not
man put asunder."
Never Yet Upset.
.If anything in the history or condition
of the earth seems for the time contradict
ory of anything in geology, jou must re
momlxT that gr-ology is all the time coi
retitig itself and more and more coming
Hi harmonization with the great b'sik. In
the last century the French Scientific As-M-iation
print's! a list of eighty theories!
of geology which had been adopted and
afterward rejected. Lye!!, the scientist,
announced fifty theories of geology that
had lcsn believed in and afterward
thrown overboard. Meanwhile the story
of the Bible has not changed at all, and
if geology haa east out between IIS) and
iIMt theories which it once considered es
tablished we can afford to wait until the
last theory of geology antagonizing divine
revelation shall have Ii-eti given up.
Now, In this discourse uism the geology
of tie Bible, or God among the rocks, I
charge all agitated and affrighted t.'szuhs
to calm their pulses atiout the upsetting
of the Scriptures. I-ct nie see! Por sev
eral hundresl years the nun have been
jerking the ark this way and that and
pulling It over rough places and trying to
stick it in the mud of derision and kicking
with all ihe power of their hoofs against
the sharp goads and trying to pull it into
the cool shade away from the heat of
retribution from s God "who will by no
means clear the guilty." Vet have you not
noticed that the book has never hs-cn up
set? The only changes nmde in it were
by lis learned friends in the revision of
the rv-ripture. The book of Genesis has
been thundered against by Ihe mightiest
batterie, jet you cannot to-day find In all
the earth a copy of the Bible which has
not the fifty chapter of the first copy of
the book of Genesis ever pi inned. starting
with tbe woid "In the beginning God"
and closing with Joseph' coffin. Pierce
attack ou the book of Kodu ha been
made because they said it was cruel to
drown Pharaoh and the rtory of Mount
Sinai was improbable. But the book of
Exodus remains intact, snd not one of
u, considering the cruelties which he
would have continued among the brick
kilns f Kgypt, would have Ihrown Pha
raoh a plank if we had seen him drown
ing. And Mount Ss-nni is to-day a pile of
tossed snd tumbled basalt, recalling the
cataclysm of thai mountain when the
law was given. And, ns to thie-e Ten
Commandments, nil Itunisn law, all Ger
man law, all Pnglish law, all American
Ian.- wot th nnjlhitig are s.iiare!y founded
on Ihem. So mighty aassnlt for centuriisi
has b'-n made on the book of Joshua. It
was said that the story of the detained
sun ami inti is an insult to modern as
tronomy, but lhat book of Joshua may
be found to-day in the chape! of every uni
versity in America, in defiance of any
fcleeo) projected from the roof of that
university. The les.k of Jonah ha been
Ihe target of ridicule for the small wit of
are, bill theie it slunk, with its four
chapter liiviulale, while geology puts Up
in its museums remain of sea monsters
capable of doing more tlmn ihe one which
allowed the re. riint prophet. There
stnnd the l,rf chapter of fhe Bible not
withstanding nil the nttHcks of ages, and
there fhey will stand until they shglvel up
In the final fires, which geologist say are
already kindled and glow le.ter than tbe
furtmces of an ocean steamer ss It pata
out from New York Narrows for Haas
burg or Southampton.
The God of th Rock.
The geology of the Kible shows that OWt
religion is not s namby pamby, nr-vekssa,
dilettantish religion. It tss projected
and bas Is-en protected by the God of the
rocks. Bcligioii a hnliu? Oh, yes. Re
ligion a B"Hithing pow er? Oh, ye. ' JX
ligion a beautiful sentiment? Oh. yeif.
But we mtil have a God of the rocks, a
mighty God to defend, n.i omnipotent Ood
to achieve, a force able to overcome all
other forces in the universe. Hose of
Sharon and Lily of the Valley is he, com
bination of all genllene and tendenwasj
and sweetness? Oh, yes. But if the
mighty forces now arrayed for the de
struction of the nations are to be met and
connueri-d, we must have a God of tbe
rocks. The "Lion of Judah's tribe," aa
well as the "Lamb who was slain." One
hundred and thirty times dix-s the Bible
sM-ak of the rock a defen-e, a arma
ment, as refuge, as overpowering
strength. David, the palmist, lived among
the rocks, and they reminded him of the
Almighty, and he ejaculates, "The Lord
liveth; blessed lie my rock." "Lead ine
to ihe rock that is higher than I." And
then, ns if his prayer had been answered,
he foe! the strength come into h's soul,
and he cries out, "The Lord is my rock."
"lie shall Mt ii. e up Hin a rock." '
How- much the rocks have had to do
with the cause of God ill all Hges! In the
wilderness God's Israel were fed with
honey out of the rock. How the rock of
lloreb paid Moses back In gushing, rip
pling, sparkling water for the two stout
strokes with which he struck it! And
there stands the r k with name -1 guess
the longest wmd 111 the Bibie se'a bain
mablekoth, and it was worthy of a re
sounding, soso, ml jwdn lia n nomenclature,
for at (bill rock Saul waa compelled to
quit his cm suit of David and go bonie
and look after Ihe Philistines., who were
milking a flank movement. There were
ihe rocks of Bo7.ez and Seneh, lietween
w hich .lona-hnin liuilM-d up and sent flying
in retreat ihe grrtison of the uncircum-ci-eil.
And yonder si-c David and his
icn hidden in the nick of Odutlam a4id
Mi. -sli.
Divine Ileliberntion.
But while I go on with my study of the
ecology nf the Bible, or God among the
rocks, I get a more intelligent and help-;
ful idea of divine dclilicrution. These1
rocks, the growth of thousands of years,
mi 1. geology says, of millions of years,
ought to show- the prolongation of God's'
plans and cure our impatience becatisel
tlcng are not done in short order. Men'
without seeing It become critical of the,
Almighty and think, Why does he not do
this and do that and do it right away?
We feel sometimes n if we could not
wait. We!!, I sm we w ill have to wait.
God is never in a hurry except about two
things. His plans, sweeping Ihrougb
eternity, are beyond our comprehension.1
They have such wide circle, such vastucse
of revolution, such Infinitude, (hat we can-,
not compass ihetu. Indeed he would not'
lie much of a G.d whom we could thotj
oughly understand. That would not be
much of a father who had no thoughts or
plans larger than his babe of 1 year could
compass. If God takes millions of years
to make one rock, do not let in become
critical if he takes twenty years or a cen
tury or several isiiturk-s to do that which
we would like to have done immediately.
Do not rcpe-at the folly of those w ho con
clude there Is no !od or that he Js not in
sympathy with the right and thcWood bej1
cause be do- not do certain things ii
the time we set apart for their ds-rforra-ntiee.
Do not let us hold up our little
watch, with its tiny hour hand ami min
uie bund, and by it try to correct tbe
clock of the universe, its pendulum taking
ii"-! years to sw ing this way and 600 year
to sw ing that way. I Hi not let us met uj
our little spinning wheel beside the loom
in which G'sl weaves, sunrises and sun
sets and auroras. We have the best of
authority for saying that "one day with'
the Iird is ss a thousand years and a
thousand year as one day." Do not ex
Iiect that l .zah's oxen, even if tbey do
not shy off, but go straight ahead, can
keep up wilh the fire shod lightnings.
Truth of the Omnipotent.
But concerning all the vast tiling of
GikI's government of the universe be pai
lierit with the carrying out of plans txjr
yond our measurement. O man! O wom
an! So far a your earthly existence 1
concerned, only the Insect of an hour, lie
nit impatient with the workings of the
Omnipotent and the Eternal!" ;
And now, for your solace and your
safety, I ask you to come under the shel
ter, and Into the deep clefts, and the sJ-'
mighty defense of s rock that I higher
than you, higher than any Gibraltar,
higher than the Himalaya the Hock of
Agi that will shelter you from the
storm; that will hide you from j-otir ene
mies; that will stajid when the eaxtb
(limke of the last day get (heir pry under
ibe mountains snd burl them Into sewT1
boiling with the fires which are already)'
burning ttieir way out from red hot centers " 1
toward the surfaces which are aliMl
here and there sauting with fire amkl
the quaking of the mountains under the
look and touch of bim of v. bom It Is stud
in the sublhnest sentence ever wrirtenp
"He iooketh upon the mountains, snd tbey
tremble. He toucheth the hills, and thly
smoke."
Hie yon one and ail to the Bock" of
Ages. And now as before this sermon oa
the rocks I gave out the signlflesnt and
appropriate hymn, "How firm a founda
tion ye taints of the Lord" I will give
out sfter this sermon on the rocks tbe
significant and appropriate hymn:
Bock of Ages, cleft for me,
It me hide myself In thee!
Copyright. 1Mi7.
Hliort Hermon.
Church I.'nlty.-L'Dity does not mean
conformity lo the same thought Thto
would mean the stagnation of tbe r.
Ilgioti world. No body of men cmn eeer
formulate a creed that tbe world will
accept. There will lie "many men of
tunny minds" as long as there to
th night, fnlty should not mean tbe
obliteration or suppression of Individ
ual thought, but the harmony of tbe
thinkers.-Itov. X'. K. Mllbvrn, Univer
salis., llncinnatl, Ohio.
Chnraoter.-We deecriy men by tbe
niiie.n uiey nun, i tie reputation thej
....... mr money u,ey ran command,
but these are but the merest accldenlaV
Tbe man la not what he baa or what
nu n say of him, but what be la, Xb
chief fact about a map the man him
self. There Is somewhat Inside the n
cle of circumstance, underneath bla
words, behind bis deedt, and that some
what la ehaiaeter.-rtov. c. W, Ou
letu, Mttuodlst, Cincinnati, Obi.
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