FARM AND GARDEN, MATTERS OF INTEREST TO AGRICULTURISTS. •ran Cp-to-d»te Illuta About CiHIn tt«a of t be Soil and Yields Thereof —Horticulture, Viticulture m4 Flori culture. ! - RIMSON clover has been grown In In diana for several yearn. It has proved an almost absolute failure ,1a Home Instances, while in others very satisfactory crops have been grown. It Is, at best, a rather un-. certain crop in this latitude, but It has •everal characteristics which make It a desirable acquisition where It can be grown successfully. Characteristics of Crimson Clover. It is a true clover, but earlier, small ?r and usually less hardy than the com mon red clover. It starts promr-My an(l more vigorously from the seed than common clover, and this feature adapts It to mid-summer seeding. It comes Into full bloom at this station, early In May, and Is ready to he cut for seed about the 1st of June. It Is an annual, the parent plant dying when it has Aliaiuim IIB BCCU. Crimson Clover n Catch Crop.—Be ing an annual and unable to endure V winters, crimson clover cannot take fj rank as a staple crop In Indiana. It to, however, well flted to be a "catch ,‘i crop,” because, under favorable condl lions as to moisture, a "catch" can be secured in July and even In August, to which case It wili furnish winter and early spring pasture, or If preferred, a rery early crop of hay or need. If cut tor hay a crop of corn could follow the same year. Crimson clover Is espe / dally commended as an inter-crop he Ijpfy tween two crops of corn, the seed being sown when "laying by” the first crop v of corn and the clover turned under the following spring, with or without pasturing, as a green manure for the awcceedlng corn crop. In case of fnil ; 4 ore to get a stand of common red clov , «r in wheat, crimson clover may be :if„ aowu to advantage as soon ae the crop SP of wheat is removed. Crimson Clover as a Forage and Fer 4, ' tllizing Crop.—This clover has proved excellent for pasture In the late fall, *'?■ winter and early spring, and Judging L from its chemical composition, It will doubtless prove a better food fertillz M ' 1ng crop than the common red clover. Time and Manner of Sowing.—Crim ■K son clover should be sown la July, or j early In August, to insure a vigorous fall growth in which case it will prob ably pass the winter with slight dam age. If It Is to follow corn, sow Just before the last cultivation, using a fine tooth cultivator to bury the seed. If It is to follow wheat burn the stubble If possible, pulverize the ground thor oughly with disk or spading harrow, sow, harrow again with a tooth harrow and roll. The methods described above were successfully used last year In sowing crimson clover on the station farm. It Is well to sow thickly—say ten pounds to the acre—as many plants may be killed by drouth and frost. W. C. Latta, Indiana Experiment Station. Turnips for Early C§e. Market gardeners make much larger profits out of the turnip crop than do farmers. If they did not they could not grow them at all. The reason is that they grow the turnip early, hav ing it ready for use, sweet and good by midsummer, at which time the farmer is Just ready to sow his crop. The gardener sells most of his turnips done up in bunches for a few cents each, but making a price per bushel that would j make a farmer’s eye bulge out. Why Is | it that farmers do not grow more early | turnips? We don’t mean every farm er, of course, or we should have a worse glut of turnips than there wae of pota toes last year, when Secretary Morton urged all farmers to go Into potato glowing. Still, more farmers might j begin in a small way the growing of I early turnips in amounts that they could easily market. To do this, they I must do as the gurdeners do, fertilize 1 yihe early sown roots with some avail- i able nitrogenous manure. The turnip metis a good deal of nitrogen to make a n Knnuu. i lie i.ur nuwii iuiui|in flail this nitrogen lb all cultivated (arm land alter midsummer. That Is prob ably the reason why turnips are so gen erally sown late and as a catch crop, aad why. also, the price of late turnips Is always so low that there Is very little profit lc growing them for market.— is. Mstahiag A bulletin of the Minnesota Experi ment Station says: It Is not generally understood that ' n mulch may with benefit Iw applied j la cultivated ground. The usual meth od of applying roars* Utter and man ure to trees and small fruits Is falling Into disrepute with some of our best horticulturists This method causes ' the root system to form tow near the j Surface of the ground, so that when th* mul< hiug becomes thin or n pro ; truvted diought ensues, Ihs trees ! tjut* M> sue* ink Moreover. ntltUI * Uua Is Sot possible with Ihs thus mul-h and reueeuueattr coarse see I* grow up. sad guava grass finally takes possess too t« the total destruction of th* tress or small Iruita Many h-*ru •ultnrtsis are now advising the alma dnam»at of the thhh Utter mubh sat ( pres- rlhtag instead only «u>tl«atioa or ‘ the dry earth mulch Pul this method has disadvantage* also t nder it th. i laad h*«Mm»* imporeftshed owing to | the stpwsuis el us bats toll to Ut« { fierce, dim* heat, et the sun's ray*. Nitrification is retarded since It pro gresses more favorably when the surface of the ground is partly shaded. Again, ttoe cultivation method, to be effective, must be frequent and thor ough—conditions not always easy to meet. Earth-Utter mulching as prac ticed by this writer obviates most of the difficulties named. Short-fibred manure or litter is spread evenly over the surface of the ground to a depth of one or two inches. In a few days the ground Is cultivated, thoroughly mlxiug the mulch with fine surface earth. In the case of small patches, this may be done with a hoe, but in the majority of cases It is best done with a cultivator. After some time, when the appearance of weeds or when other causes make it necessary, the cultivation is repeated. The advant ages of this method are: 1. The moisture is more effectually conserved, and the root system takes its proper position. 2. The soil is better protected from the direct heat of the sun. The earth litter mulch is a good non-conductor. 4. The manure thus applied keeps intact the supply of humus, thus in creasing the soil capacity for moisture and maintaining fertility. Nitrifica tion is also favored. 4. The best features of both old sys tems are retained, and the method is applicable not only to trees and small fruits, but to any cultivated crop. 5. Labor is saved, the required cul tivation being materially reduced. ftnmU V. I.vrgs I.nngi. Professor Playfair said recently be fore the Roya! Agricultural Society of England that small lungs in proportion to the total bulk, are helpful to the fattening of animals, l ne order oi me smallness of the lungs of our domestic animals Is; 1, pig; 2, sheep; 3, ox; 4, horse, and as a remarkable proof of the Importance of small lungs as Indicative of a tendency to fatten, the order of the aptitude to fatten of the animals Just named Is exactly the same as the ■or der of the smallness of the lungs. Thus the pig has the greatest tendency and the horse the least tendency to fatten of all our domestic animals. Thus, for Instance, a Chinese pig has small lungs, an Irish one large; the Chinese pig fattens much more quickly than the Irish. The "disappearance" of food from the system of an animal is owing to the combustion of the food by means of the air Inspired by the lungs. The oxygen which has once en tered the system never again escapes from It without being united either with part of the body or of the food. This statement may be quite correct with reference to the deposit of pure fat. But the health and constitutional vigor of any animal depend very much upon healthy and regular waste through the skin and lungs. Excess of fatty deposit In proportion to lean fibre Is the very thing to which pork curers object The same thing holds good for over-fed beef. Developing New Plante. We select seeds of certain plants which come the nearest to ottr stand ard of perfection. No two breeders of any kind of stock have the same Ideal standard In all particulars, so with those who improve plants. Our choice shorthorns, draft horses, Merino sheep, Essex swine, light Brahma fowls were not brought to their present state of perfection by mere good luck or acci dent, but by the long and patient study and experience of able men. The same is true of many plants, more especially of plants which are raised for the beauly of their flowers or foliage. It Is not by accident that our green housea and gardens are so well sup plied with choice roses, orchids, rho dodendrons, azallas, camelias, pansies, petunias, phloxes, dahlias, gladiola, hyacinths, tulips, pelargoniums, calce olarias, asters, fuchsias, chrysanthe mums. These and many others have been produced by judicious labor in breeding and cultivation. The poorest and those of medium quality were weeded out; only a few of the choicest were saved. The work was divided. One man devotes years of patient work to certain strains of pelargon iums; another to asters, roses or pan sies, and so on through the long list of "Floia's sweetest treasures." Bur bridge says: "From a houseful of fuch siaB, Mr. H. Cannel, who is well known for his new varieties of this favorite plant, only obtutus about a quarter of nn ounce of perfect seed, the value of which cannot be calculated, a» It is never sold." One man raises 10,000 pe largoniums. and each year for ten years or more, and only gets half a dozen a year tit to send out under a name, and many of these are soon re placed by other*. Choice stratus of cineraria and calceolaria and primula rn'MH HI v wui HI f»»” VI TI w ■»! VMM" , fpotf or even |1.5W) per pound.—l*ro (« «»or W. J. Heal. Iisgatng Ueepse. Oorrespomkut ol ••♦Irecir'a Fruit Urower" ask* (or Information on this subject. \W have purchased paper bag*, be says, such a* are used tu gro ceriee and sold by the thousand nt Id to to cents. These bags are longer and larger around than the largest duster of grape* when matured. We have placed these hag* ever a cluster ef grape* * ben the fruit wa« about the •is* of bird shot, or aemetlme* when the grape* wet* •* large aa peas pin ning the Mouth of the bag around the base el the ai«M of the fruit »* cbsssly aa posathk No great shill la required in thl* operation It I* not necessary to arrange fur the ••Magee of air la the hag. hut It la well ta pkh a pta hole la th* hott-uu of the bag to allow water ta eaeape The dusters of grape* that we bats bagg* I eeeM*d ta rtpea earlier thsa those got •• operated upog, and the cluster* w*r* of gsrirhar beauty. cul.it tug beautifully, the bieom. af court*, being undisturbed by a tad, ol bird. *r tus*-1 Whether It la t -**tble og a torge scale, depends upon t.t clr -ugMtag.cp ha. 1’AtM AGE’S SERMON. ; —i- < "ANOTHER CHANCE” WAS LAST t SUNDAY’S SUBJECT. I - I "Toxt:” If the Tr«« Pall Toward the Booth, Or tho North, In the Place Where the Tree Palletb, There It ■hall ba—EccL 11:3. HERE Is a hover* log hope tn the minds ot a vast multitude of people that there will be an opportunity in the next world of correcting the mis takes of this; that however complete a shipwreck we may make of our earthly life, It will be on a beach up which we may walk to a palace; that as the defendant may lose his case In a Circuit Court and appeal It and have it go up to the Supreme Court or Court of Chancery and all the costs thrown over on the other party, so a man may loae his case In this world, but In the higher Jurisdiction of eternity have the decision of the earthly case set aside, dll the costs remitted and the defendant be triumphant forever. The object of my sermon is to show you that common sense declares with the text that such an expectation la chimerical. “If the tree fall toward the •outh, or toward the north, In the place where the tree falleth, there shall it be," There are those who eay that If the Impenitent and unfortunate man enters the next world and sees the dls •ster, as a result of that disaster be will turn, the distress the cause of his reformation; hut we have ten thousand Instances all around about us of people who have done wrong and disaster sud denly came upon them—did the disaster heal them? No, they went on. There Is • man flung of dissipations. The doctor says to him: "Now, my friend, U you dot’t stop drinking and don't •top this fast life you are living, you will die.” The patient thanks the phy sician for his warning and gets better; be begin* to sit up, begins to walk •round the room, begins to go to busi ness and takes the same round of grog shops where he got bis morning dram •nd his evening dram and the drums between. Down again. Same doctor. Same physical anguish. Same medical warning. But now the sickness is more protracted, the liver more obstinate, the stomach more irritable, the digestive organs more rebellious. But still, un der medical skill, he gets better, goes forth, commits the same sacrilege against his physical health. Some times be wakes up to see what he Is doing, and he realizes be Is destroying bis family and that his life is a per petual perjury against his marriage ▼ows, and that that broken-hearted woman Is so different from the roseate wife he^married that her old school mates do not recognize her on the •treet,’ and that his sons are going out In life under the taunt of a father's drunkenness, and that his daughters are going out In life under the scarifica tion of a disreputable ancestry. His nerves are all a Jangle. From crown ol head to sole of foot he Is one aching rasping, crucifying, damning torture. Where Is he? He is In hell on earth. Does It stop him? Ah, no. After awhile delirium tremens pours out upon his pillow a whole Jungle of hissing reptiles. His screams horrify the neighbors as he dashes out of bed cry ing: "Take these things off me!” He Is drinking down the comfort of the family, the education of his children, their prospects for this life and per hops their prospects for the life to come. Pale and convalescent he sits up. Physicians say to him: “Now, my good fellow, I am going to have a plain talk with you. If you ever have an at tack of this kind again you will die. I can’t save you, and all the doctors In creation can’t save you.” The patient gets up, starts out, goes the same round of dissipation and is down again: but this time medicines do not touch his case. Consultations of physicians says there Is no hope. Death ends the scene That process of Inebriation and physi cal Buffering and medical warning and dissolution la taking place within a stone's throw of where you sit and In •very neighborhood of Christendom. Pain doee not reform. Suffering does not cure. What Is true in regard to one ■ In la •■Mia In M.aaB.I all ..laa n.J yet tn**n are expecting in the next life there will be opportunity for purga torial regeneration. Take up the printed reporta of the prisons of the lulled State* and And that the va*t majority of the criminal* were there before, aome for two time*, three times four tlmea, six tiinsa. funUhed again and again, but they go right on. Mil lion* of incidents and Instance* work ing the other way, god yet men think that in tha next world puuUbment will work out for them waivable effect* Why you and I cannot Imagine an> worse torture from another world than we have m*«i men In in this* world, and without any aalutnry ronieguenc*. furthermore, the pr»et*#«n of refor mation in aaotaev worm i* mere im probable than her*. l*o )*4 not rea l** the f*et that a man start* In tht* world with the tanuceac* of Infancy ‘ In ta* 11 her v**e, Martina in Ih* other world, be atari* with the accumulated bad hahU* of * life time I* it **( to b* • peeled that you tout4 build a bet et > dp oat of mw umber than out *f *n v 4 hulk t *iaI haa b*e* grown I up *u the break re! If etuilleg with «*«• l r*u»* inaoemery Ih* me* doer wot •me gedly. u It ywtlkl* that start ■ t with eta a eeruph mi he * volute I - > iher* sot mere pt>>*r« ?t that a e»- eiy i -r *ui mutt* a Baer atatue out «4 a e.eek of pur*, whit* fan** mgr hi# < ban out of a Mark rock that has been :racked and twisted and split and icarred with the storms of a halt cen ury? Could you not write a last will ind testament, or write a deed, or writ# in Important document on a pure wftilte iheet of paper easier than you could vrite it upon a sheet scribbled all over vith infamy and blotted and torn from op to bottom? And yet there are those who are so uncommon-senslcal as to believe that though a man starts In bis world with Infancy and its inno cence and turns out badly. In the next world he can start with a dead failure »nd turn out well. "But," say some people, "we ought to have another chance In the next world because our life here is so very brief; we scarcely have room to turn around between tbe cradle and the grave, the wood of the sne almost striking against the marble bf the other. We ought to have another chance because of the brevity of this life.” My friends, do you know what made tbe ancient deluge a necessity? It was the longevity of the antedi luvians. They were worse in the sec ond century than in the first, and worse when they got three hundred years old, and worse st four hundred, und worso at five hundred, and worse at six hun dred, and worse at eight hundred; until the world had to be washed und scoured and scrubbed and soaked and Bunk und anchored a whole month un der water before It was fit for decant people to live In. I have seen many pictures of old Time with his scythe to cut, but I never saw any picture of Time with a chest of medicines to heal. Seneca said that In the first few years of his public life Nero was set up as an example of clemency and kindness, but he got worse and worse, the path de DV.V IIUIUQ, UIKII Bl, IJ U1 age be wan the suicide. If eight hun dred years of lifetime could not euro the antediluvians of their Iniquity, 1 undertake to say that ail the ages of eternity would be only prolongation of depravity. “But," says some one, “In the next life the evil surroundings will be withdrawn and good Influences will be substituted, and hence, expurgation, sublimity, glorification.” But you must remember that the righteouu, all their bins forgiven, pass right up into a beat ific state, and then having passed up into the beatific state, not need ing any other chance, that will leave all those who have never been forgiven, and who were Impeni tent, alone—alone! and where are tho sal cable influences (o come from? Can It be expected that Dr. Duff, who spent hts whole life in pointing the Hindoos to heaven, and Dr. Abeel, who spent his life In evangelizing China, and that Judson, who spent his life In preach ing the Gospel to Burmah—can It be expected that they will be sent down from some celestial Missionary Society to educate and to save those who wasted their earthly existence? No. We are told distinctly that all mission ary and evangelistic Influences will be ended forever and the good having passed up to their beatific state, all the morally bankrupt will be together, and where are the salvable Influences to come from? Will a specked or bad apple put In a barrel of diseased apples make the other apples good? Will one who is down be able to lift others up? Will those who have miserably failed in the business of this life be able to pay the debts of other spiritual Insol vents? Will a million wrongs make one right? Poneropolls was the city where King Rufus of Thracla, put all bad people of his kingdom, and when ever there were iniquitous people found In any part of the land they were all sent to Poneropolls. It was the great 'apltal of wickedness. Suppose a man or a woman had opened a primary school In Poneropolls, would tho par nts of other cities have sent their chil dren there to be educated and re formed • • • Again, I wish you further to notice that another chance In another world means the ruin of this. Now, sup pose a wicked man Is assured that after a lifetime of wickedness, he can fix it all right up In the future. That would be the demorali sation of society, that would be the demolition of the human race. There are men who are now kept on tho limits pf sin by their fear. The foar that if A-e are had and unfurglven hero it will aot he well with us in the next extst »nee. is tho chief Influence that keeps civilization from rushing back into -emi-barbarism. and keeps semi-bar barism from rushing bsck Into tnid uigbt savagery, and keeps midnight '•«« J IIUUI | UUVA IUIU WA’ limit* of ela. Rut this idea coming Into tila aoul. this idea of auother chance, he •aye, "Go to. now; I'll get out of this world all there la In It." Como glut tony and revenge and uncleannoea and all eenaualttie*. and wait upon me. It may abbreviate my earthly life by die* •oluteneaa. but that wtll only give me lieaveniy Indulgence cm a larger ecale in a shorter length of time. 1 will over take the righteous before loug, I will inly come In heaven a Utile late, end I will be a little more fortunate than thoee who have behaved themeelvee on erth and went an eight u» the bu*»ww »f God, bera.ee I w.U aee m» e end hav# alder ea*ome Into teaven vis Gehenna, via Nheoir Hear* fra* Halers' Anather ehenee In tho teat world wean* fro* license and tho lemoliiion ef Ihla duppoee you had v t«*e ia court, aad all tho judge# and ill tho attorneys agreed In telling )m he Bret trial ef It It would he tried nww Dm nr*t trial w«wld not he el •ry nnwh Unyerunee, hot the eeewnd rial would d- -.no everything tin ehteh trial would yon put the we«i vpewdliwre* «M whwh trial would you • »p!*y the a hi- at «a **#*!• an whkh rUI would y«u he meet aaitaue is ■ « e the attendance >1 all the wit* ye Mil *tth " yea eeuid any "If them M t te ha two trial*. wad the tret trial does not amount to much, the aaeant i trial being everything, everything de pending upon that. 1 must have tin most eloquent attorney, and I must ^ have all my witnesses present. and 1 will expend my money on that." II these men who are Impenitent and who are wicked felt there were two trials. < and the first was of no very great Im portance, and the second trial waa the one of vast and Infinite Importance, all tho preparations for eternity would he post-mortem, poet-funeral, post sepnkbral, and this world would be Jerked off Into Impenltency and god lcssness. Another chance in another world means the domllltlan of this world. _, . • • • uc "■*- • A dream. I am In the burnished judgment hall on tho last day. The great white throne Is lifted, but the .lodge has not yet taken H. While w# are waiting for his arrival I boar the Immortals In conversation. "Whnt are you watting for?" saye a aoul that went up from Madagascar to a aoul that went up from America. The latter respond a: "l was In America forty years ago, and I heard the Gospel preached, and I had plenty of Bibles In my bouae, and from the time that I knelt a® my moth er's knee In prayer until my last hour. I hud great opportunities; bet 1 did not improve them, and I am here to day waiting for another chance." ''Strange, strange " aaya the aoul Just come up from Madagascar. "Strange; why I never heard the Gospel call but once In all my life, and I accepted It, and I don’t want anotbor chance." "What are you waiting for?" aaya one who on earth had very feeble Intellect to one who had great brain and whose voice was silvery, and who had scep tres of power. The latter replies: "I had great power on earth, I muat admit, and I mastered languages and I mas tered libraries, and colleges conferred upon me learned titles, and my name was a synonym for eloquence and power; but somehow I neglected the matters of my soul, and I must con fers to you I am here to-day watting for another chance." Now. the ground trembles with tho advancing chariot Tho great folding doors of tho bur nished hall of judgment arc thrown open. "Stand back," cry the nsbera, “and let the Judgo of quick and dead pass through.” He takes the throne. Ho looks oft upon the throngs of na tions come to tho last judgment, come to tho only Judgment, end one flash from the throne roveals each man's history to himself, and reveals It to all the others. And then the Judge nays, “Divide!” and tho burnished walls eche It, "Divide!” and tho guides nngaHe an swer, “Divide!" and the Immortals are rushing this way and that, until there Is an aisle between them, a great aisle and then a vacuum, widening, and widening and widening, until the Judge looks to one sldo of that vacuum, and addressee the throng, end says: “\jrI him that Is righteous be righteous still, and let him that is holy be holy ■UI1.*' And then, turning to the throng on the other side of the vacuum, he aays "Let him that is unjust be unjust still, and let him that Is filthy he filthy still." And then he stretches out both hands one toward the throng on each aide of tho vacuum, and saya: "If the tree fail toward the south, or toward the north In the place where tho tree falleth there It shall be!" And then I heai something jar with n great sound; it li the closing of the Book of Judgment The Judge ascends the stains behind th« throne. The Hall of the last Aaoine It cleared and shut. The High Court ol Eternity adjourned forever. The Church la rUMMa The time is coming when the church will demand that all the chief places In tho city government shall be filled with men whose personal character doc command high respect. It 1b high tim< to cease tolerating the pretence of any man as a city official who la himself hand and glove with that which b most degrading. The democratic Chris tlan church haa a right to make dr mands and enforce them.—Rev. K. M Fairchild, Unitarian. Troy, N. Y. SOME STRANGE TREES Thcro is an oak tree In the state of Georgia that Is tweuty-sevan feet In diameter. A bluo gum tree In Nev South Wales, 482 feet high, is thought to be the tallest tree In the world. At Orovllle, Cal., there is a cherry tree only 18 years old, which Is six feet through the trunk. The magnolia tree was named after n Prsfifh nrrifotutnr* Mfirrifil m natural lat, who died In 1716, One variety of the Indian rabbet tree hat bright green leave* that ar* edged with flaming rod. The aucrcd bo-tree of Ceylon la (aid to have aprung from a (dtp of the tret under which liuddha waa born. The eelltuated age of a dragon tre* at Orotava la 5.00u yenra, hut it t» not authentic, like the record of the law bardy cypress. Two large white gum trees In Goate mala have grown In auch a mtnnci that the foundatlona of a church haw been shifted seven Inches The empress of ttuasta raoaatty chsa* a white vail with n hue t b Ukt ■round and a black bordnr, eoaatettng af a tingle row of black ilwalka spats The combination of black aa4 whitt It to be mu'h worn thin nnotmer It ha* the advantage af looking cool ant being stunning an well. goats of the pretty veils astevted h Europeta royalties anon to bn nmlit are rreoceat vb. prj sad drees ap It •l the hat. They are of brews ekl white sputa, oklto with Mack smuts and pure w kite. There ta ns troth hi the motor that bMch mocking* aro so !**#>< to hi went. Though brews aro Pfhari mrt 1 far vyoHag, the ht* u aro tost on hash tenable *n aver, ad ages work wap* j -tally aw 1 rHE SUNDAY SCHOOL. LESSON VIII. AUGUST 23. AB SALOM'S REBELLION. laMn Teat: "lloaor Thy Father ul Thy Motb.r, That Thy Dan May Be I-oo* Upon tha Land Wbleh tha Ufd Thy Uo4 tilvath Thee**—Ba. SO:IS. K now trace soma of the conaequencea which flown] from David's nin th, fruit, which that part of hla conduct bore, and at the name time acme of the aweeter. humbler, holler, no bler characteristic* which grew out of bla repentance the auhdued tight of thn afternoon *ky ahln Ing upon aralterlng atorm clouds, with heaven's deep blue showing In many plan* lielween. Instead of the brilliant, unelouiled glories of noon. But our chief lesaoua must come from Absalom, as we look upon his life, hi* training, hi* youth ful conduct, bursting Into bitter and poi sonous blossom*, and ripening Into 'lie Head Hcu fruit of Sodom. These are les son* of warning, like the angel that t I opte d llalaura. like the sign which Christian and Hopeful placed at the turning of the way to tba oaaU. of iliant Despair. Tlio section Include* chapter* IX to 1«. "lie who would understand the story of Absalom's rebellion must read with It I’sslms IX and 41. Psalm 4 and Psalm 3 l«et him read them In that order. They tell the atory of Davids battle anil hla victory.”—Lyman Abbott. Also Psalms 29. 41. K. and 63. Historical setting. Time. Absalom's rebellion oc* rurred II. (!, MU and lt«3. eleven or twelve years after our last lesson. The ealeu* lei Ion la 20. Today's lesson Includes verses 1 to 12, chapter 14, Hceond Hook of Hamucl, as follows: I. "And It rame to pass after this.'' After Ihe apparent reconetlUailon of Ab salom lo hla father. "Prepared him Char iots and lioraea." Absalom set up a ear i:,, ii Siam I di i . ami fifty mm ns runners before him; llist I*, to run before hltp when he drove out, xml attract the attention of the peo ple by a dlspluy of princely pomp, as A deni j» b afiarwards dhl (l King* 1; I).— Kdl. The Oltefituls are very fond of such dlspluy. 2. "Anil Absalom rose up early.” Bo «s lo In on hand before the hour when Ihe king set In the gate to hear Ihe com plaints and right the wrongs of the peo ple. "Itcslde the way of the gate." Hy the side of the rood leading to the guts of the king's palace. The gate where roads from different directions met, and In front of wjrt' ti was usually an open square, wmt a natural place for public meetings and business. “Any man that hail a controversy." {letter, a suit, as verse i 2. ''Be#!, thy matters,” etc. lie artfully flatter* each suitor hy pronouncing a fa vorable decision on hls case.—Cambridge liitde. 'There la no man deputed of the king." Thera Is no official hearer up pointed. It was Impossible for the king to hear every case In every detail. I "Oh that I were made Judge." It 1* so easy for the "outs” to criticize the "Ins;" and many Imagine, because they ran see some details where they could make Improvement, that therefore they could do the whole work belter. fi. "1'ut forth hls hand . . , and kissed him." With amazing flattery, Ab salom feigned humility and condescen sion aw well us Justice. He was an un scrupulous politician. The only way to Judge such Is to see what they do after election. fi. "Bo Absalom stole the hearts of the men of Israel." Never was a word more fittingly employed. It was stealing.— Johnson. In unjust ways he obtained what belonged to hls father, and what he should have sacredly labored to have Imvld retain. Hls youth and beauty made him look "every Inch a king.” I. "And H came to pass after forty years.” This Is doubtless a transcriber’s error for four, a mistake easily mail a when numbers were designated by letters often very similar. The Rev. Ver. mar gin says. "Koine ancient authorities read •four years.’ '• Bo does Josephus. "Let me go and pay my vow . . . In He bron." A place conveniently distant for his purpose, and at tbe beginning of llavid's reign the capital of Judea. S. "I will serve the Lord.” Rather to do a service, explained by Josephus to mean to offer a sacrifice. 10. "Hut Absalom sent spies." Secret emissaries had been sent out before he went to Hebron, to prepare all the dis affected ones for revolt. He could easily secure leaders In every place by prom ises uf office or gifts to them when he became king. "Aa soon as ye hear the sound of the trumpet." Clericus believes that Absalom arranged u succession of trumpeters at proper stations from south to north. "Absalom relgneth In Hebron." Bn the first news tbe people would have of the rebellion would be that It was an accomplished fact. II. "Two hundred men . . , that were called.” Invited to the sacrlflclal feast us Absalom’* guests. In all prob ability they were men of dlstincllon. and would naturally lie regarded, both at Je rusalem and at Hebron, as accomplices hi the conspiracy. 'They knew not any thing.” This shows the extreme secrecy with which the conspiracy was conducted, and accounts for Uavid’s having no aus picious. It "Anti Absalom sent for Ahlthophsi." I'aval's chief iounaelloi and a man of marvelous sagacity Absalom doubtless knew that he waa disaffected with Uavhl: perhaps from the dishonor don* to Kathiiheha. hls urstiiM*uehti.r from 111* |MU*Uon of th« grow ing t « gugr «B1» of Alnukloin'a nui'cm." "The < • 11- the Brat MdJav The kaau who la dolag the thing U *»( waota him to do la *ngag«4 In a great aot'k. the wt*a who work* for the Lord by lha day will aavar ho aatioO*I with ta* i*H ho gvte The twet thing lo do. when we ran vat kee to ggy ether direction, l* te own etmight up. Thn wan who la trylna ta hide ha> kind n hynurrtta now will not do II a lha fndgtteai, lha man who la willing tw da U*I1 aiH wtil wot long ha k«gt la d«uM ded abut la Und'a will. Whan tha davit gala a ehaac# t* dMI a thorn la ih Inhof » —l Wnl Be