•TALM AGE'S SEBMOJf.j
— !
FROM FAR ABLE OF THE FR JD- j
ICAL SON.
■« Bill** Pf urUtiM mt Mlf Right
MMMM Ml lb* Uc> mt *T»
pMSf far ib« rsttait Ml Bifwie
ICoffRfM. SM. by Lowm !
Test. Lube gsr„ ». “And be wa* an
gry and would not go in."
Many i.an ha«e I been asked to
preach » sermon about toe eider
brother of the parable 1 received a
artier from Canada saying “la the eld
er atm of the parable so unsympathetic
end so cold that he is not worthy of
T**-ogn;ttonThe fad » that we
naatm pursue the jounger son A on
can hear the flapping of his rags in
many a ma nnir t>r«e*e and the
crane sing of the pods. tor which he i
was an ansncwaMlRl contestant. 1
confess that tt has been dltteult bir me
to t-a.a tbe camera obarura upon the
eider son of the parable. 1 could not
get a negative of the photograph.
There was not enough light in the gal
lery. or the ibrmical* were too poor
' tr.#- ► •••e r. icd in t&r picture But
now 1 think 1 have him not a aide face
or a three-quarters or the mere bust,
but a full length portrait a# he appears
to nut The father la the parable of
the prodigk. had sotting to brag of
•w 1 his two sons The one was a rake
and the other a churl 1 find nothing
admirable in tbe dissoluteness of the
one and I ted nothing attractive in
the acrid sobriety of the other Tbe
©nr gwu down over the larboard side,
and the other goes down over the
star‘-used side hut they both go down
From sU the windows of the old
homestead bursts th minstrelsy Tbe
gt»or quakes with the feet erf the rue
t. eg. no dance is always vigorous
and resounding The neighbors have
beard of the return of the younger
non from hie wander.age. and they
have gathered together. The house
i* fall of (ungratulators I suppose
the tables are loaded With luxuries
not only -fa*- ane kind of meat men
tioned. but its ccnmmitants “Clap*"
r the rrmbala. thrum!" go the
harps. ": lick*" go the rhalsres. up and
C- *t fn the aside while outside
1* a moef sorry spectacle.
1U »MMr *»!•»
The senior son stand* at the corner
of -b I a frigid phlegmatic. He
has Jvat come in from the field* in
aery awhPEMBKidl apparel. Seeing
sae Vfl| ♦ xiiiiamtion* around the
©id manse** be asks of a servant pas»
it f . a iii a of a ne on hi*
shoulder arhat aL the fuss 1* about
One would have thought that, oa
tearing that t:s younger brother had
got bach, he would have gone Into
fib*- house and rejoiced, and. if he were
not conacientioaniy opposed to danc
ing that be would have Joined the Ori
ental arhottlah. No there be stands
ti<* brow lowers; bis face darkens;
his lip carl* with contempt He stamps
the ground with indignation; be see*
nothin# at. nil to attract. Tbe odors
of the feast, coming out on the air
do not sharpen his appetite. The
lie# !y m sir doe* not put any spring
set© Lis step He is in a terrible pout.
He -Tit. 1ST* the expense, tbe injustice
and tb* morals of the entertainment.
The father rashes cut bareheaded and
coaxes b.m to come m He will not go
:n He scolds the father. He goe* in
to n yasquinade against the younger
brother, and he m*ke# the most t:n
<~->peiy tom. He aav*. TstJ'cr. you
;* : ;-ftt .n. on ta#abond:*m 1
staid at home sad worked os tbe farts. ,
> . tever made a p-ny for me; you
didn’t *o much as kill a kid. That
wouldn't have cost half ns much &s a
■ atf |«t this scapegrace went off in
fine i iotaet and be comes back not
fit to ae teen, and what a nme you )
| mak* ©vet him! He breaks your heart
and yoa pay him for it. That calf, to
which we have been giving extra feed
daring all these weeks, wouldn't be so
fat and »M :f ! had known to what
use yoa were going to put it. That ,
vagabond deserve* to be cowhided in
stead of banpweted. Veal ia too good j
for h:®." That evening, while the
yoswger sop sat telling bis father
about his ad*e*turva and asking about
what had occurred on the place since
ut* departure, the senior brother goes
t© bed disgusted and slums the door
after him That senior brother mill
lives. Yoa can see him any Sunday,
any day of the week.. At a meeting of
*m.B.iters .a Germany some one ask*d
, the paean©*. "’Who is that elder son**’ j
and Krutsmaeber answered. **I know
t.m. ■ I saw him yesterday." And when
they ia* *ted upon knowing whom be (
meant be said ‘Myself: when 1 saw
toe amount of the conversion of a
most chactioai man I was irritated.**
First, f-e aen or brother of the teat
tot the se!*- ongrat ulatory .self
satisfied. arlf-wt-sLipful man With
the earn* breath in which he vitupe
rate* aga.net ts younger brother he ■
utter* a panegyric for himself. The
•ptf-rgttmiu man at the text, like ev
«-"* a n* self righteous man was full
of faults He was an ingrate, for be
did not .*», •»,«. home blessings
which be bad all those years. He
was disobedient, for when the father
told him to come n he staid out. He
was a liar .for he said that the recreant
non had detoured his father ■ living. -
wb*r. the fa: h*r. so far from being
redur*d to penury had a homestead
left aad instruments of music had i
-» bad a m. a- on. and instead of
being a pauper was a prune This
nmior brother with sa many faults of
ha m w** amiku la his mtirism
ut the oang»r brother. The oaly per
fev - people that I have ever known
m*r* utterly oMuaioua 1 was never
so badly cheated in my life as by a
perf*- e m He got so far op In his
grvctlun» that he was dear up above j
^•U the rules of iwnuson honesty
Prhmt asm that go ahum prowling
among prayer meetings sad la places
of taalMaA filing bow good they are
—look sm tor them, beep your hand
that ;-It .1. proportion *» a man g«*u
rivulet,
ty a store that had
window than
1U Mr-Ktckt«oa> Mmn.
This self-righteous man of the text !
stood at the corner of the house hug- J
glng himself in admiration. We hear ;
a great deal in our day about the high
er life. Now. there are two kinds of
higher life men. The one is admira
ble. and the other is most repulsive.
The one kind of higher life man Is
▼err lenient in his criticism of oth
ers does not bore prayer meetings
to death with long harangues, does
tot talk a great deal about himself,
but much about Christ and heaven.
g<rts kindlier and more gentle and
more useful until one day his soul
spreads a-wing. and be flies away to
eternal rest, and everybody mourns
his departure. The other higher life
man goes around with a Bible conspic- |
uously under his arm. goes from ,
church to church, a sort of general
evangelist, is a nuisance to his own
rastor when he is at home and a nuis
ance to other pastors when he is away
from borne, runs up to some man who
:• counting out a roll of bank bill3
or running up a difficult line of figures
and asks him bow his soul is. makes .
r»-hgion a dose of ipec acuanha. Stand- j
icg in a religious meeting making an
address, he has a patronizing way. as
though ordinary Christians were i
clear away down below him. so he had
to talk at the top of his voice in order
to make him hear, but at the same
t .me et -ouraging them to hope on that
by elimbmg many years they may
after awhile come up within sight of
the place where be now stands. I tell
you plainly that a roaring, roistering,
bouncing sinner is not so repulsive to
me as that higher life malformation.
The former may repent; the latter
never gets over his Pharisaism. The
younger brother of the parable came
back, but the senior brother stands
outside entirely oblivious of his own
de nquennes and deflcits.pronouneing
t « own euiogium. Oh. how much easi
er it Is to blame others than to blame
ourselves! Adam blamed Eve, Eve
blamed the serpent, the senior brother
oiamed the younger brother, and none
of them blamed themselves.
Again, the senior brother of my text ,
stands for al! those who are faithless '
aoout the reformation of the dissipat
ed ani the d*.-solute. In the very tones '
of his voice you can hear the fact that
he has no farth that the reformation ;
of the younger son is genuine. His
entire manner seems to say: “That |
boy has come back for more money.
He got a third of the property; now
he ha? come back for another third
He will never be contented to stay on .
the farm He will fall away. I would
go in too and rejoice with the others ,
:f I thought this thing were genuine; i
but ;t is a sham. That boy is a con
firmed .nebrrate and debauchee.” Alas. :
my friends, for the incredulity in the
churi b of Christ in regard to {he re
clamation of the recreant! You say a
man has been a strong drinker. I sav,
' Yes, bu: he has reformed.” ”Oh.”
you say. with a lugubrious face. “I
aope you are not mistaken; I hope you
are not mistaken.” You say: “Don’t
re jo. -e too much over his conversion,
for soon he will be unconverted.I fear.
Iton't make too big a party for that
return* d prodigal or strike the timbrel
too loud: and, if you kill a calf, kill
i:.e one that is on the commons and
not the one that has been luxuriating
in the paddock.” That is the reason
wf j more prodigals do not come home
to 'heir father's house. It is the rank
infidelity of the church of God on this
■ uiject There is not a house on the j
streets of heaven that has not in it a !
prod.gal that returned and staid
home There could be unrolled before
you a scroll of a hundred thousand 1
mrnes—the names of nrodigals who j
-"atiif ba*k forever reformed. Who
was John Bunyan? A returned prodi
gal. Who was Richard Baxter? A re
turned prodigal. Who was George
Whitefteld. the tfaunderer? A returned
prodigal. And 1 could go out in all the
aisles of this church today and find
on either side those who. once far as
tray for many years, have been faith
ful. and their eternal salvation is as
sure as though they had been ten
year* in heaven. And yet some of
you have not enough faith in their re
turm.
Greeting the Prod I gel.
You do not know how to shake
hands with a prodigal. You do not
know how to pray for him. You do
not know bow to greet him He wants
to sail into the warm gulf stream of !
Christian sympathy. You are the ice
berg against which he strikes and
shivers You say he has been a prod
igal. 1 know it, but you are the Bour,
unresponsive, censorious, saturnine,
cracky elder brother, and if you are
going to heaven one would think some
people would be tempted to go to per- 1
dluon to get away from you. The
hunters say that if a deer be shot the
other deer shove him out of their com
i
pany, and the general rule is—away
with a man that has been wounded
with sin. Now. I say, the more bones
a man has broken the more need he
has of an hospital, and the more a man
has .seen bruised and cut with sin the
more need be has to be carried into
human and divine sympathy. But
tor such men there is not much room
come back after wandering.
Plenty of room for elegant sinners, for
sinners in velvet and satin and lace,
for sinners high salaried, for kid
gloved and patent-leathered sinners,
for sinners fixed up by hairdresser,
pomatumed and lavendered and co
iogned and frizzled and crimped and
*'bang«-d" sinners—plenty of room!
Such we meet elegantly at the door of
our churc hes and we invite them into
the best seats with Chesterfieldian gal
lantries; w« usher them into the house
of God and put soft ottomans under
th* ir feet and pu‘ % rtlt edged prayer
In their bar *-nd pass the con
i’'uution box befoi them with an air
• apology, wliiie they, the generous
•*ouls, take out the exquisite porte
monnaie and open it.and with diamond
f ::g-r push down beyond the $10 gold
pi--es and delicately pick out as an
expression of gratitude their offering
to the Lord—of one cent! For such
sinners plenty of room.plenty of room.
But for the man who has been drink
ing until his coat is threadbare, and
his face Is erysipelased. and his wife’s
wedding dress is in the pawnbroker’s
•bop, and his children, instead of be
ing in school, are out begging broken
bread at the basement doors of the
city—the man. body, mind and soul on
fire with the flames ttat have leaped
from the scathing, scorching, blasting,
blistering, consuming cup which the
drunkard takes, trembling and agon
ized and affrighted, and presses to his
parched lips, and his cracked tongue
and his shrieking yet immoral spirit—
no room.
Oh, if this younger son of the par
able had not gone so far off, if he had
not dropped so low in wassail, the pro
test would not have been so severe!
But, going clear over the precipice, as
the younger son did, the elder son is
angry and will not go in.
Sjmputbr lor the Fallen.
Be not so hard in your criticism of
the fallen lest thou thyself also be
tempted. Do you know who that man
was who Sabbath before last stagger
ed up and down the aisle in a church,
disturbing the service until the service
had to stop until he was taken from
the room? He was a minister of the
gospel of Jesus Christ in a sister de
nomination! That man had preached
the gospel, that man had broken the
bread of the holy communion for the
people. From what a height to what
a depth! Oh, I was glad there was no
smiling in the room when that man
was taken out, his poor wife following
him. with his hat in her hand and his
coat on her arm! It was as solemn to
me as two funerals—the funeral of the
body and the funeral of the soul. Be
ware, lest thou also be tempted!
An invalid went to South America
for his health and one day sat sunning
lumself on the beach when he saw
something crawling up the beach,
wriggling toward him, and he was af
frighted. He thought it was a wild
beast or a reptile, and he took his pis
tol from his pocket. Then he saw it
was not a wild beast It was a man,
an immortal man. a man made in
God's own image, and the poor wretch
crawled up to the feet of the invalid
and asked for strong drink, and the
invalid took his wine flask from his
pocket and gave the poor wretch
something to drink, and then under
the stimulus he rose up and gave his
history. He had been a merchant in
Glasgow. Scotland. He had gone down
under the power of strong drink un
til he was so reduced in poverty that
he was living in a boat just off the
beach. “Why,” said the invalid, “I
knew a merchant in Glasgow once,
a merchant of such and such a name.”
And the poor wretch straightened
himself and said, “I am that man.”
“Let him that thinketh he standeth
take heed lest he fall.”
Again. I remark that the senior
brother of my text stands for the spirit
of envy and jealousy. The senior
brother thought that all the honor they
did to the returned brother was a
wrong to him. He said, “I have staid
at home, and I ought to have had the
ring, and I ought to have had the ban
quet, and I ought to have had the
garlands.” Alas for this spirit of en
vy and jealousy coming down through
the ages! Cain and Abel, Esau and
Jacob. Saul and David, Haman and
Moruecai, Othello and lago, Orlando
and Angelica, Caligula and Torqua
tus, Caesar and Pompey.Columbus and
the Spanish courtiers. Cambyses ar.d
the brother he slew because he was
a better marksman. Dionysius and
Philoxenius, whom he slew because he
was a better singer. Jealousy among
painters. Closterman and Geoffrey
Kneller. Hudson and Reynolds. Fran
cia, anxious to see a picture of Ra
phael, Raphael sends him a picture.
Francia. seeing it, falls in a fit of
jealousy, from which he dies. Jeal
ousy among authors! How seldom
contemporaries speak of each other!
Xenophen and Plato living at the same
time, but from their writings you
never would suppose they heard of
each other. Religious jealousies. The
Mohammedans praying for rain dur
ing a drought; no rain coming. Then
the Christians begin to pray for rain,
and the rain comes. Then the Mo
hammedans met together to account
for this, and they resolved that God
was so well pleased with their prayers
he kept the drought on so as to keep
them praying, but that the Christians
began to pray, and the Lord was so
disgusted with their prayers that he
sent rain right away so he would not
hear any more of their supplications.
Oh, this accursed spirit of envy and
jealousy! Let us stamp it out from
all our hearts.
Getting Back at Him.
“Know Jones, of course?” said the
drummer, as he settled himself in a
chair and lit a cigar. “Travels for a
shoe house, and considers himself the
greatest practical joker on the face of
the earth. His friends call him cute,
and I call him a confounded nuisance.
He is always seeking to make some
one the butt of his wretched jokes.and
no one is safe when he is around.
Well, we met the other day on a train
during one of those heavy snow
storms that we had some time ago. The
train was delayed, and there was no
telling when it would get through.
Jones seized the opportunity to get ofT
a number of silly jokes, and finally
went to sleep, much to my relief, as
well as the rest of the passengers. The
train crept along, and finally took a
siding to le. another train pass. As
it was about to take the main track
again an idea occurred to me. Jones’
destination was Albion, and, leaning
over him, I yelled in his ear. It
worked just as I thought it would.
Only half-awake, he didn’t wait to see
where he was, but grabbed his grip
and jumped off just as the train start
ed, landing in a snowdrift. Whep he
got the snow out of his eyes he found
himself at a blind siding, not a house
in sight, and the nearest hotel five
miles away. I am sorry that I wasn’t
able to hear w’hat he said Detroit
Free Press.
Th® Proverb Did Not Applet
The little girl stood on the street
corner sobbing as if her heart would
break. On the stone flagging were th*
bits of a broken pitcher. “There, there,
little girl,” said the benevolent man.
“don’t cry, don’t cry, little girl; ‘never
cry over spilt milk.’ ” "But it Isn’t
milk,” sobbed the girl, “it’s beer.**
The wild pigeon can fly 120 miles an
hour, the teal 100 mile?, mallard 85
miles, and the wild goose 70 to 75
miles.
“D--NS” THE TARIFF.
CURSES THAT MAY COME HOME
TO ROOST.
Sentiments Not Likely to Be Shared by
Sheep Kaisers Who Have Profited
Knormeasly Through the Restoration
of Protective Duties on Wool.
**D—n the tariff and all its fools!”
Such is the message of the Field and
Farm, an agricultural journal pub
lished in Denver, Col., in response to
a request by the American Protective
Tariff league for information concern
ing the industry of sheep raising. The
inquiry sent out by the tariff league
was as follows:
“Dear Sir: We are anxious to show
by reliable reports the actual effect of
the Dingley tariff upok the industry of
sheep raising. Wool was upon the free
list under the Wilson free-trade tariff
and is now adequately protected by
the provisions of the Dingley tariff.
“Kindly fill out the blank spaces on
the reverse side of this card and re
turn the same to us at your earliest
convenience.
“The information asked for will be
held strictly confidential, and in no
case will the figures furnished be used
otherwise than making up the totals
upon which general percentages are
to be computed. Yours very truly,
“THE AMERICAN PROTECTIVE
TARIFF LEAGUE.
“Summarized returns of this investi
gation will be printed in the American
Economist, and a copy mailed free to
persons furnishing reports.”
Accompanying this inquiry was a
leaflet showing the effects of protec
tion and free trade on wool growing
and sheep raising. For example, from
1878 to 1882, inclusive, under the Mor
rill tariff the number of sheep
throughout the country increased by
over 11,000,000. Under the tariff of
1883, in which the duties on wool
products were materially reduced, the
number of sheep decreased by about
6.000,000. With restored protection to
wool through the McKinley tariff of
1890 the number of sheep increased by
nearly 4.000,000. The Wilson tariff,
with free trade in wool, practically
went into effect when Mr. Cleveland
was elected, and immediately the
flocks throughout the country began
to decrease, and from ’93 to ’96 de
creased by about 9.000,000. The Ding
ley tariff reimposed the scientific
schedules of the McKinley tariff, and
with the promise of protection through
the election of McKinley and a Repub
lican congress the sheep industry im
mediately began to advance. From
1896 to and including 1898 the number
of sheep advanced by about thirteen
hundred thousand.
The effect of protection and free
trade in regard to the number of
sheep owned throughout the country
is not more impressive than the effect
as to values. Under the Morrill tariff
the lowest price per head was $2.09,
and the highest $2.55. Under the tariff
of 1893 the lowest price per head was
$1.91, ana the highest price was $2.27.
Under the McKinley tariff the lowest
price was $2 49 and the highest price
$2.66. Under free trade the lowest
price was $1.58 and the highest price
$1.92. Under the Dingley tariff the
highest price in the history of the na
tion is recorded—namely, $2.75.
These facts of vital interest to the
Eheep raisers of Colorado and adjoin
ing states seem to have an inflamma
tory effect upon the editor of Field and
Farm: Hence his objurgatory re
sponse, “D—n the tariff and all its
fools!” Why? We do not know. We
could not possibly have supposed that
the citation of acts like those gleaned
from official statistics and quoted
above would operate on the mind of
the editor of Field and Farm as a red
rag operates on the sensibilities of a
bull, and cause him (the editor) to
lose his temper and fall to cursing like
a drab.
We hardly think the sheep raisers
of his section will join this Bryanite
in “d—ning the tariff.” Over the bor
der in Utah they will not be likely to
echo his profane sentiment. A sheep
raiser in Utah county, for example,
will not "d—n the tariff,” for he re
ports that whereas in 1896 (Wilson
free wool tariff) he owned 8,000 sheep
of an average value of $2 per head, he
owned in March. 1900 (Dingley pro
tective tariff), 11,000, of an average
value of $4.25 per head.
Sheep raisers in Chotaeu county,
Montana, do not "d—n the tariff.”
One of them reports that his flock has
increased from 4,000 in 1896 to 6,500
in 1900, and that the value per head
has increased from $2.25 in 1896 to $5
In 1900.
From Bingham county in Idaho
comes the statement from a farmer
who owned 2.900 sheep in 1896 and
now owms 6,000; market value in
1896, $2.50 per head; market value in
1900 $5 per head.
Reports from Colorado are even
| more impressive. A Trinidad man now
has 8,000 sheep, against 6.000 four
years ago, and their present value is
$4.50 per head against a value of $2.00
per head in 1896. Another Trinidad
man has increased his flock from 3.500
to 5,000, and quotes value at $4 per
head instead of $1.25 per head in 1896.
A Trinchera flock owner has 4,200
sheep, or 2,700 more than he had in
1896, and the value at $4 per head, or
just double the value of 1896.
These are fair samples of the large
number of reports received from the
localities from which (presumably)
the major portion of the reading pat
ronage of the Field and Farm of Den
ver is forthcoming. Do these prosper
ous farmers, who are, in the aggregate,
many millions of dollars richer be
cause of the change from free wool to
protection, “d—n the tariff?” We
should think not. It is much more
reasonable to suppose that their pro
fane expletives, if they use any such,
w ill be applied to an editor who, while
publishing a paper for farmers, has
so little sense as to showrer curses upon
an economic policy through whose
operations, directly and indirecetly,
the farmers of the United States have
in the past three years been able to
recoup in great measure the frightful
losses—estimated at upward of five
billion dollars—which they suffered
during the four years of Cleveland
free trade. ‘ D—n the editor” tl«
farmers might, and with just caawe.
but not the tariff.
1
Tbe Fact Remain*.
It is no longer necessary to put a for
eign label upon home-made goods in
order to hasten their sale.—Philadel
phia Record.
Why is it no longer necessary? How
has the silk industry of the United
States, to which the above remark is
applied by the Record, attained to the
enviable position of being able to
market its products as home-made
goods and to supply 85 per cent of all
the silk fabrics worn and used in this
country? Because of the sound com
mon sense of insuring to that industry
a fair living chance to sell its products
in the home market through the opera
tion of protective duties. In the ab
sence of such defense against the
rivalry of silks made in countries
where labor is cheaper the silk makers
of the United States *;ould not possi
bly have succeeded as they have done.
They would have failed in spite of all
their energy, skin, enterprise and busi
ness ability, just as many other flour
ishing industries would have failed,
and for the same reason. The Phila
delphia Record points with pride to
the tremendous development of silk
manufacture in the United States, not
ably in Pennsylvania, which heads the
list in the total number of silk mills
within its boundaries; but the Record
carefully refrains from pointing with
pride to the true reason for this tre
mendous development The fact re
mains. however.
How ‘.he New Broom Sweep*.
One week’s record of new railroad
equipment shows a total of 7,800 cars
of different kinds distributed among
eight different roads. In addition four
other rnjds have put in orders for a
total of twenty-three engines. It is
this* M«rt of thing which has been re
ported almost every week, in the news
of the railroads, for many months I
back. There seem to be no signs of a
let-up, but, on the contrary, tbe de
mand for more equipment by the rail
roads, which demand is only a by- i
product of the increasing demand for
all kinds of American products, con
tinues to be steady. The Dingley law.
like the proverbial new broom, swept
clean; and in a very brief space of
time freed us from the want and idle
ness and poverty which free trade had
brought upon us, and, unlike the new
broom, it grows more effective as it
grows older. As it and the protection
which it gives to American industries
grow in length of days, our national
prosperity grows in volume. The
American people will see to it that the
law continues in force for many a long 1
day yet
Who Said Stop?
“I shall not stop talking about the
money question until 70,000.000 people
secure the right to attend to their own
business without asking the aid or
consent of any one to attend it for
them.”— Wm. J. Bryan.
Well. now. who said stop? Nobody,
so far as we know, has ever expected
William Jonah Bryan to stop talking,
unless his tongue becomes paralyzed
or his jaws drops out of place from in
cessant wagging.
It seems that the people were attend
ing strictly to their own business on
the 6th of November, 1896, when they
chose between the policies of Wm. Mc
Kinley and W J. Bryan.—Elizabeth
town (111.) Home News.
Evidently Dnngeronsly III.
“Alas, poor Bryan!” said the
thoughtful man, as he laid aside his
paper.
“What’s the matter with him?”
asked the Populist in alarm.
“Sick.” replied the thoughtful man,
regretfully; “dangerously ill, beyond
question.”
“Nonsense!” exclaimed the other,
reaching for the paper. “How do you
know? What proof have you?”
“Only yesterday,” answered the
thoughtful man, pointing to the para
graph he had just been reading, “h<
asked to be excused when called upon
for a speech."—Chicago Post.
i
“
Severe Teats for Watches.
At Kew, at the meteorological obser
vatory, a watch is tested id every po
sition and its rate measured and re
corded by the hour. It is hung upside
down, hung from each side, placed dial
down, and back down and at any num
ber of angles, and to finish it is baked
in an oven and frozen in a pail of ice.
When it is considered that 19.000 vi
brations an hour occur in a w’ateh and
it must not vary a second in a week
it is easy to see why no watch has
ever been perfect.
•lout the Reverse.
Under the Cleveland regime a deficit
used to turn up at the end of each
month. Matters are just the reverse
now. Each month shows an increase
in the surplus of the United States
treasury, and, besides that, the public
debt is being steadily reduced.—St.
Louis Star.
A POSSIBLE PRESIDENT? NO!
W. JAYjBRYANr
PlSCOVERER OP jj
PERPETUAL noTtoJj
On the It rink.
And now it appears that New York
cabled to London on one day an offer
to take the whole of the $150,000,000
war loan which England is floating.
Pretty good for a nation that is on the
brink of moral, political and financial
ruin.—Sioux Falls (S. D.) Argus
Leader.
THE SUNDAY SCHOOL.!
LESSON VIII, MAY 20—MATT.
13: 1-8; 18: 23.
Golden Text—"Tbe Seed la tbe Word
of God”—Loke 8: 11—Tbe Parable of
the Sowar—A Hoay Day In tbe Lite
of Jean*.
—
1. "The same day” in which the first
three events noted above occurred.
“Went Jesus . . . and sat by the sea
side.” He seems to have loved the
country and the sea.
2. "Great multitudes were gathered to
gether unto him." From every city
(Luke), including every variety of char
acter represented in the parables spoken.
Most of them had heard him and seen
his miracles, or heard of him. Great ex
pectations were aroused concerning the
Messiah and his kingdom that was at
hand, and these needed both encourage
ment and correction. "So that he went
into a ship.” A fishing boat. Here he
"sat” as in a pulpit, while the multi
tudes stood upon the circular shores of
the bay.
3. “And he spake many things (taught
many truths* in parables.” The group of
eight parables spoken at this time (seven
in Matthew and one other in Mark* were
concerning the kingdom of heaven in va
rious aspects, and should be read and
studied as a group, in order to obtain a
view of the drift and burden of Jesus'
teaching at this time. These parables
are followed by a group of miracles, as
was the Sermon on the Mount in the
record given by Matthew, as if on pur
pose to confirm the teacher's authority
for the great truths he spoke.
4. “Some seeds fell by the way side.”
“The grain fields are rarely fenced,
though the landmarks are definite and
plain. There are little paths leading
through, hither and thither, some being
the highways along which the horsemen
ride and asses carry their burdens. It
was along such a way as this—a foot or
so in width—that the seed fell which the
birds of the air immediately devoured."
—Prof. Hall. "It is of exactly the same
soil as the rest, but many passengers
have trodden it hard.” “And the fowls
(birds) came and devoured them.” be- |
cause they were in sight. “Birds In
Syria, and especially about the Lake of
Tiberias, are extraord:nartly numerous.
As Syria is the winter feeding ground of
many migratory birds from Northern
Europe and Asia, this marsh (of the
Huleh Lake) is then filled with a greater
variety and multitude of waterfowl than
I have ever seen elsewhere.” "Myriads
of crows come from all quarters of the
heavens." “At early dawn they begin
their calls again, and then make long
lines of flight for the nearest wheat
fields." "Descending to the plain of Oen
nesaret. we passed a hillside which was
black with over one thousand of tht-m.
who were waiting there for the unhappy
plowmen to move far enough away for
them to descend on their fields.”—W. H.
Thomson. M. D. 19. "Heareth the word
. . . and understandeth It not. For the
heart is unprepared to receive it.
5. "Some fell upon stony (rocky) places,
where they had not much earth.” It dul
not fall among stones, for on accouilt
of the nature of the rocks “the most
vigorous growth of wheat may be seen cn
land which at first sight seems covered
with stones.”
6. “When the sun was up. they were
scorched.” The sun soon dried up the
hot surface soil, which could draw up
no moisture from the deep earth, and the
roots had no depth of soil into which to
run and drink in the moisture.
20. "The same is he that heareth the
word, and anon (straightway) with Joy
recelveth it. Their emotions are touched,
but the word does not reach their moral
nature; and their will and character are
unchanged. They are moved by the winds
of popular excitement or enthusiasm, but
there is no new life. "Their fault is not
the mere fact of receiving the word with
joy. For joy is a characteristic of deep
as well as of shallow natures. Absence
of joys in a religious life is a sign, not
of depth, but of dullness. Joy without
thought is a definition of the stony
ground hearer.”—A. B. Bruce. (V. 21.)
"Hath he not root in himself.” No deep
principle, no real change of heart, no fire
within, but only warmth from without.
21. “When tribulation.” This word
“tribulation.” both the English and the
Itatin equivalent of the Greek, is derived
from the Latin tribulum, which was the
threshing instrument or roller whereby
the Roman husbandman separated the
corn from the husks; and tribulation in
its primary significance was the act of
this separation—R. C. Trench. Often
numberless small annoyances are greater
tribulations than heavy sorrows. A whole
army has been defeated by wasps. "Or
persecution.” almost certain to arise.
"Because of the word." This would test
them whether they wore true Christians
or had embraced religion for Its rewards
and pleasures.
7. And sonic fell among the thorns.
In good soil, but preoccupied with the
roots of thorns. “And choked them.”
Took up the virtue of the soil and shaded
them from the sunshine, so that little of
the wheat came to maturity and few of
the grains filled out.
22. “The care (cares [Mark], anxieties!
of this world.” The absorption in world
ly interests of labor, business, and pleas
ure. “And the deceitfulness of riches."
Riches which deceive by giving us the
impression that they are able to bestow
what they cannot give; which make
things seem honest which are not so;
which are continually luring men on in
search for blessings that elude them.
Luke adds the “pleasures of this life.”
Even pleasures which are right in them
selves may become too absorbing, may
occupy too much attention, and thus
choke the word.
8. “Other fell into good ground.” The
larger part of the field sown was of this
kind. “And brought forth fruit, some an
hundredfold, some sixtyfold, some thirty
fold.” “At Geneva, in 1S55, I got from
an adjoining field a single ear or spike
of barley containing two hundred and
seventy-six grains. Trench, in a note,
remarks that 'Herodotus mentions that
two hundredfold was a common return
in the plain of Babylon, and sometimes
three: and Niebuhr mentions a species
of maize that returns four hundredfold.’
23. "He that heareth the word, and
understandeth it." "In a good and hon
est heart,” “hold it fast” (Luke!. The
word goes into the ears, is understood
by the mind, "accepted” iMarki by the
w-ill as the guide of life and as the truth
of God; held fast in patient culture
against all enemies and all hindrances to
the end.
Expected Too Much.
Rastus—See hyah. I done thought
you tole me dis 50-cent shirt wouldn’t
fade! I done only had it washed once!
Grabbenstein—Vashed! Vashed! Vat
could you egspect? Vy didn’t you
keep id glean?—Indianapolis Press.
That Qaeered Him.
Ferdy—So you told Mrs. Cotrocks
she looked as young as her daughter!
I suppose that caught the old lady?
Percy—Yes; but it lost me the daugh
ter.—Puck.
LOVELY WOMAN.
If a girl of 16 should give her age
as 36 some woman would say, “I know
she is older than that.”
A woman is glad afterward when she
refrained from saying something mean,
but a man is sorry that he didn't say
it
A woman’s idea of a true friend is
one who, when she has company, will
entertain the guests and take them
down town mornings to give her a
chance to clean up the house.
SHUNTING CARS.
Liability of a Railroad rom
Company to a
• **ron.
A railroad company is ]iabl t
shipper for injuries infixed an Z
by negligently backing *r‘ ' him
against a car on a side tr „ I‘gI"e
is loading it with hogsfromka"teie.*
And the fact that the plaintiff ought
have escaped injury if he had notlg*
tempted to shut the ea* door ♦„
vent the escape or a," ^'a e^
discovered that the engiae wa‘", *
proacbmr does no, ne ...tarilv Bho „
that be was guilty of „„ „
negl,gente as deprive c ot “
o recover. The Supreme Court of II
linois so held in affirming a i„ i
for $1,000. recovered bv j'u V 1Cmnn|
ngnins, the Illinois ' Ctn.ra|
company. Anderson ioa„iDg ,7a,
to ™ “ * Th ,ra k fOT s”ipn!er.(
to Chicago, when defendant s l„,.al
,ZTl Came al°”f under
took to remove a car o' wood that
stood on the same track w.th the stock
car Just as Anderson had finished
putting the hogs into the a, and was
trying, with the help of hu brother
to close the car door, the ens ne stri -k
the line of cars with such Lee£
knock him out of the door He fell
on the end of a cross tie and several
of his ribs were oroken. and he was
otherwise injured. He insisted that be
went into the car. not only for the pur
pose of keeping his hogs from escap
ing. but in order to avoid being caught
between the car and the chute, it ap
peared that the persons in charge of
the engine knew the situation or An
derson and his brother when they ran
it against the cars, and that when An
derson stepped into the car he signaled
to the fireman to stop the engine. The
Supreme Court said that Anderson had
a right to be in the car. and had no
reason to apprehend that the engine
would strike it while he was closing
the door, after he had signaled it to
stop.
KEEPER FACED DEATH
In a Huge Python's Coils, t.ut \Ta*
Rescued.
Either of the two big pythons just
brought here on the steamer Afridi.
for the Bronx Park zoo. would easily
crush the ribs of a horse in its terrible
embrace. One of the serpent is twen
ty-seven feet six inches long, the other
is at least twenty-six feet long, an i a*
big around as a water pail. Keeper
Horan on Wednesday afternoon had a
fcaif minute of time which could easily
have ended his career. Around his
body wound a coil of the twenty-six
foot python. He was not hurt. The
other keeper rushed in and as quick
as human hands could work released
him. But for one instant Horan, al
most paralyzed by the situation, could
not know whether he would sleep that
night on his bed or on his bier. There
were two pythons which Horan was
directed to measure. The female py
thon was stretched out at full length
and the tape was applied. Tnen Horan
applied the tape to the male python,
that also lay stretched out motionless.
He had measured off nearly half the
length when the huge reptile seemed
suddenly to awake. There was a shout
of warning from Keeper Snyder and
the others who were watching the
measurement, but before Horan could
stand erect the whole huge body of
the pythen had suddenly taken life.
The great head was suddenly raised,
the great mass of ringed muscle na l
swept around in a living coil, and
Horan, pale as death, stood transfixed
with terror. Snyder and his assistants
dashed into the cage. They knew that
the reptile was still semitorp::! with
cold. Fearlessly they caught hold of
the great body and shouted to Horan
to jump out of the living circle. He
did so. The men left the cage and the
python lazily stretched out its full
length and sank again into the torpor
Cf cold.—New York Journal.
•»' *
i5' '•» - t
She Meant to ll* Practicil.
The happy pair had survived the
congratulations of friends and rela
tives. and were being whirled rapidly
toward the railway station, before the
bridegroom began fairly to realize that
the vision of loveliness at his side was
indeed his own. A dawning sense of
what he had done, and of the sacred
charge that was now committed to his
care, began to creep upon his be
numbed faculties, driving the rc»e of
health from his downy cheek, and sub
stituting therefor the pallor of haunt
ing responsibilities. "Darling. he
whispered softly, “it will ever be my
sacred care in life to—” She inter
rupted him somewhat brusquely,
“Now.” said she, “don't sit on vouf
coattails that way and get them all
wrinkled up. and for goodness' sake
don’t lay your right elbow right in
that dustl Heaven only knows how
long it will be before you get another
good suit, so that you had better take
care of this one. Now. when we reach
the station, you’d better get a couple
of sandwiches in case we feel hungry
in the train, and two hard-boiled eggs,
and don't forget a small paper of pep'
per and salt-”—Tit-Bits.
■•nret Drawers of To-day.
“Most people seem to think,’’ said a
maker of furniture, “that secret draw*
ers and hidden receptacles only exist
in novels and plays, but this is by no
means so. I very frequently take or
ders for such items and I employ a
clever woman designer, who show»
positive genius in planning places of
concealment, which no amount of tap
ping or measuring could reveal. In
most cases even where the hollow re
ceptacle discovered the woodwork
around would have to be cut away, st
complex are the fastenings. Most of
the orders come from women—and
rich people, of course—and I have no
doubt that a desire to hide articles
from too curious servants dictates the
orders."—The American.
Ills Order.
“What else have you got?” asked
Cholly, looking languidly over the bill
of fare, for something to tempt his
jaded appetite. “Well,” replied the
waitress, “we have hot biscuits, too.”
"That'll do,” said Cholly, resting his
intellect by tossing the bill of fare
aside. “Bring me a hot biscuit stew.”
—Chicago Blade
