Another club woman, Mrs.
Haule, of Edgerton, Wis., tells
how she wa3 cured of irregulari
ties and uterine trouble, terrible
pains and backache, by the use
of Lydia E. Pinkham’s Vegetable
Compound.
“Dear Mrs. Pinkija m ; — A while
ngo my health began to fail because of
female troubles. The doctor did not
help me. I remembered that my mother
had used Lydia E. IMnkhttni’s
Vegetable Compound on many oc
casions for irregularities nml uterine
troubles, and I felt sure that it could
not harm nie at nny rate to give it a
trial.
“ I was certainly glad to find that
within a week I felt much better, the
terrible pains in the hack and side
were beginning to cease, and at the
time of menstruation I did not have
nearly as serious a time os heretofore,
go I continued its use for two months,
And at the end of that time I was like
a new woman. I really have never
felt better in mv life, have not had a
sick headache since, and weigh "0
pounds more than I ever did, so I un
hesitatingly recommend your medi
cine.” — Mrs. May IlArt.E, Hdgerton,
Wis. .Pres Household Economies Club.
— S 'l000 forfolt if or'ninal of about letttr proving
genuineness cannot be produce4.
The Boer Irreconcilables.
The former Doer generals. De Wet,
Itotha and Delarey. are about to visit
India in order to persuade the Boer
irreconcilables there to take the oath
of allegiance. Few of these prisoners
are now lef, in the various camps. In
Ceylon, for instance, there are only
five; and it was recently suggested in
India that the time had now come to
repatriate inem all. and keep them in
some form of confinement in South
Africa until they took the oath.
Kother dray's Swee; rjwflcm for Children,
Successfully used by Mother Gray, nttrsa
In the Children's Home in New York, cure
Constipation, Feverish nes.i, Had Stomach,
Teet hing Disorders, move and regulate the
Bowelsaud Destroy Worms. Uverau.tNxites
timonials At all Druggists. 2Sc. Sample
1' ttEE. Address A S. Olmsted, LeJttoy.N.Y.
Always in Stack.
A chemist was boasting in the com
pany of friends of his well-assorted
stock in trade. "There isn't a drug
missing, ' he said.
"Corne, now," said one of tDo by
standers, by way of a jok<\ "I bet
that you don't keep any spirit of con
tradiction. well stocked as you pre
tend to be "
“Why not? ’ replied the chemist, not
In the least embarrassed at the unex
ported sally. "You shall see for your
self." So saying he left the group
and returned in a few minutes leading
by the hand—his wife!London Tid
Bits.
Dealers say'that as noon as a cits
tonier tries Defiance Starch it is im
possible to sell them any other cold
water starch. It can be used cold
or boiled.
A Mulatto Nobility.
The color line cannot be absolutely
drawn in the artistocrary ot Great
Britain, for the announcement of the
coming marriage in South Africa of
Dadv Mary Grey recalls the fact that
the third wife of the late and eighth
Earl of Stamford is a mulatto, the
daughter of a Hottentot cook and
laundress in the family of tnat peer,
whom he married aftei* she nad borne
hint two children. Lady Mary takes
her place in Burke's Peerage, but John
and Frances, the son and daughter
borne by Martha Solomon before the
earl married her in 1880. although le
gitimate Dy tiie Dutch law, are not so
in the estimation of the house of lords,
whose committee on privileges deter
mines the succession to peerages.
Pise's Cure ts the best medicine we ever used
for alt directions of the throut rwid lungs.—YVM.
O. Knosliv, Vanburen. Imb, t'eb. lu, 1000.
Wonderful Flight of Birds.
Thorp is-conclusive evidence to
show that in one unbroken nocturnal
flight the European bird known as the
northern bluethrnat passes from Cen
tral Africa lo the German sea, a dis
tance of t.fiftO miles, making the
Journey in nine hours. From its win
ter home in Africa observations have
determined that it starts after sunset,
arriving at its far northern summer
haunts before dawn on the next morn
ing.
Mr*. W!n*1nvr** Byrufj,
For children teething. Aoftcna ih»? gunii, reduce*
Cumulation, allay*pr.,n.cum* wind tollc. 2VabotU*.
The more of a man the saint Is the
more of a saint the man will he.
When tried by fire, some people, like
ate&l, are hot tempered.
A brotherly boost is often worth a
whole lot of sisterly sympathy.
Always found wanting—the beggar.
___ . %
A thief Is one who takes liberties.
DON'T SPOIf. YOUR CLOTHS!).
Use Red Cross Ball Blue nud keep them
white as snow. All grocers. 5c. a package.
You cannot carry a crooked rule
along the straight road.
ft Is only tomorrow’s burdens that
break the back of todav
The Star of Bethlehem is a theme
of wondrous power. It has fascinated
sages of the East and philosophers or
the West. It has been discussed these
nineteen hundred years by men of
varying minds with a freshness that
never fails. It excites a glow of fer
vid love in the breast of the saint. It
kindles the dying embers of hope in
the soul of the sinner. It is the ray
of Heaven's own light to the afflicted.
It beckons the prodigal hack to the
Father's home. It gives strength to
the living. It brings peace to the dy
ing.
But though a mystery of awe to
angels, it is a Symbol of Ix»ve Divine
to men. As such it. cannot fail to pro
foundly interest every intelligent in
quirer after truth. That, we may the
better .understand the subject and
more thoroughly appreciate the ways
of God with man. I propose to treat
the subject under the following heads:
]. The star was a real, true, bona
fide star—not a mere temporary mir
aculous creation for the specific pur
pose.
It is allowed by all authorities
that the Magi, or Wise Men, were
learned. They would, therefore, make
use of words and terms with discrim
ination. But not only were they
learned, they were astronomers.
Hence, when they used an astronom
ical term, they would use the appropri
ate word or phrase descriptive of the j
object referred to. They use the word |
“aster." which means an ordinary and ,
permanent star, not an extraordinary ,
and temporary one.
Now, in the Bible star is used only ;
in a twofold signification—literally or
figuratively. In its figurative sense it 1
Tty Rev. F. P. Duffy, M. D . Secretary of the American Church Bible Institute.
0. It was a fixed star—not erratic
in its movements. The term "star”
was used by the Wise .Men. But they
were skilled astronomers and knew
the difference between a star, a plan- j
et, a comet or a meteor, for all of :
which there were distinct names. I
Hence planet, comet, meteor are ruled !
out by the word aster (star). And *
henee we conclude that the Star in j
the Hast was a fixed star.
7. It was a star in the sign Pisces j
of the zodiac—the Sign of Judea. This J
is an important factor. Among the j
ancients there was a part of the heav
ens called tlie zodiac. It was a belt
encircling the heavens on each side of j
the ecliptic, or apparent path of the j
sun among the stars, within which the
larger planets always remain. It ex- |
tended to eight degrees on either side j
of the ecliptic. It was divided into |
twelve parts called the Signs of the
Zodiac. Tlie different countries of
the earth were divided among the
twelve signs. Judea belonged to the
sign pisces. the twelfth. The Magi,
like all other astrologers or astron
omers. believed in that division.
So far we have traced some of the
necessary conditions of the star. Let
us now try and discover the star that
lulfils these conditions, in doing so
we shall briefly discuss the different
theories put fortli and held by differ
ent people, some of t hem men of
great eminence in their own partial- j
lar sphere. We shall also show the i
untenableness of the different hypoth
esis.
1 The star was not an angel. No
less a father of the church than Tlie
nphylact hold this view. He believed
it was an angelic apparition. No doubt
seen, the Star of Bethlehem had a '
periodic time, which must necessarily j
have corresponded with "the fullness ;
of time." But the periodic times of
Mars, Jupiter, Saturn are all known
and are of short duration. Even if
we apply the periodic time to the con
junctions of the planets the objection
still holds good. The times of the <
conjunctions are known and are com
paratively short. So that attractive
as is the theory of Kepler, we must
dlmiss it. and look elsewhere.
There is one star which fulfils all
the conditions, (a) It was in an espe- <
rial sense the Magi's star. <b) It has
a periodic time. <c) Its revolution is
of indefinite length, (d) It was in the i
sign Pisces at the birth of our Lord, :
<e) I believe we can find a peculiar- I
ity by which it could be called "His i
Star." That star was Sirius, the i
brightest in the firmament of heaven.
Before we can arrive at our final 1
conclusion it is necessary to learn 1
something about the Wise Men, or J <
Magi. Who were the Magi? Where | .
did they come from?
The etymology of the word Magi is I
Involved in much doubt. It is gener
ally supposed to be primarily a Per
sian word, but the Persian is only a
form of the original. Our word Magus,
of which Magi is the plural, is but the i
l.atin rendering of the Greek Magos,
the Persian of which is probably Maz. t
Maz is cognate to Maj in Major. Mag t
in Magnus and Meg in Megas (Raw- <
linson). "It is an intensitive and
means much or all." In Aliura Maz-da,
Persian name for God. it means the <
all wise or all powerful. 1
It is clear, however, that the Per- !
sians borrowed the word, as they as- I
?ftoir go Hierusalbnr,” which shows
[he Irish belief that the Druids were
Vfagians.
It is a matter of iHstory that part of
ihe Gaels or Ifieh in the westward,
movement of the race returned by
ihe valley of the Danube and settled
n Asia Minor. They prefixed their
>wn name to Asia, and called their
Diode Gael-Asia. Galatia, as it caimo
:o he spelled.
Whether the Druids or Magi t\#>
vhom the Star of Bethlehem appeared
vere residents of Ireland, Scythia, or
Jalatia is immaterial, for they were
ill the same Gaelic race. Having, as
hope, made it clear that it was to
he Gaelic priests or Druids that the
dar of Bethtehem appeared, let tas go
lack to primitive times, when Mag
sm was incorporated with Zwmster
sm.
Besides Ahura-Mazda there were
he Amesha-Spentas. or "the Immor
al Holy Ones.” There was a third
■lass lower than the Amesha-Spentas.
\niang this class were Mlthra and
Hstrya. Mithra was the spirit of
ight, or the sun. Tistryn was the
spirit of the brightest star in the
irmament, or Sirius. Ultimately
dithra became associated with Ahura
dazda and placed almost on an equal
ty with him. So we may exclude
dithra from our calculations. Tis
rva. next to the Divinity, became the
ibject of the Magi's reverence. Sirius
vas his star, and thus became to the
dagi “the star."
Balaam, the Kali-Mag, Chief Magian,
ir Arch Druid of his time, was a
irophet like larbonel of the Gaels. In
iis prophecy, which still lives, he ut
ered, under the inspiration of Jeho
means a king or other civil ruler, an
ecclesiastical teacher, and perhaps an
angel. It is not. used in its metaphor
ical sense here. Therefore it means a
real star.
2. It was a star in motion—it
changed its position in the heavens.
Motion is characteristic of all the
heavenly bodies; and the words of
the sacred narrative are, “The star
went before them till it came.” When
first they saw the star it occupied a
particular spot in the sky. Now, how
ever, it has a different position, not
relatively because of the change In the
field of observation, but absolutely by
change of location in the heavens. No
doubt the motion was a movement in
its orbit. This will appear more plain
ly from our next proposition.
3. It was a star that had an asters
tice—it stood at a particular point in
the sky above them. The statement is
very distinct: "It came and stood
over where the young child was.”
A It ivi)4 n that mnvoi) in an
angels were sent on messages from
Heaven to men, and the Angel Gabriel
was used in the Annunciation. But
the angelic vision would disappear
with the accomplishment of the ob
ject. Not so the star; it remained.
II— The star was not a meteor.
This view lias been largely held. It is
asserted that some hind of meteoric
phenomenon would best meet the ne
cessities of the case. But any meteor
drawn to the earth would either be
consumed by the atmospheric friction
or else would fall to the ground and
become extinguished. Its appearance
would be almost momentary.
III— The star was not a comet. One
of the greatest fathers of the church,
Oregon, held this view. But not all
the weight of Oregon's great scholar
ship could obtain credence for such a
belief. .lust recently this theory of a
comet has been revived, unconscious
ly. however, that Oregon was the
father of it. Prof. David Forbes in
Fnirlanrt and Prof. Serviss in America
similated the priesthood, from the
Medians, and the Medians received it
from the Accadians. who inhabited ttie
country afterwards called Babylonia.
The Accadians were the "'Highland
ers' who descended from the moun
tainous region of Elam" (Sayce).
The statement of the evangelist,
"There came wise men from the east
to Jerusalem," may seem to militate
against this view, but in reality it
strengthens it. The phrase is apo an
atole, "from the east.” Apo is a prep
osition of severance. It means "far
from.” when motion is excluded, as
in this instance. (See Liddell &
Scott. Greek Dictionary). Its relation
is to something external. Had the
Magi lived in the east the preposition
used would be "ek.” Apo "marks in
strictness the separation of objects
externally; not in or within another,
for in respect to such ek is used.”
(Robinson; Lexicon of the New Tes
tament). Indeed apo not infrequently
has the force of negation, and equals
vah, “The star shall come out of ,1a
eob." Sirius was “the star" to all the
Magians. The stars symbolized kings
or rulers. He whom Sirius symbol
ized. therefore, would be greatest of
all kings.
If we could connect Sirius in any
way with Jacob at the time of the
Nativity there could be no question
- as to the star of Bethlehem. And we
j ran do it. The twelfth sign of the
| Zodiac was Pisces. And Pisces was
| the Sign of Palestine, or Jacob, or
] land of Judea. That part of the hosiv
j ens known as Pisces presented a most
i remarkable spectacle at the time of
j the Nativity. There the splendor
of the heavens appeared to culminate.
The sun seemed to shine wftli a
deeper effulgence. Meteors, precur
sors of some mighty event, dashed
athwart the sky. Comets shot from
out the darkness of space and illumi
nated the sign with their fiery (low.
Mars and Jupiter and Saturn hatted
very distinct: “It came and stood
over where the young child was.”
4. It was a star that moved in an
orbit—it had a periodic time. This
is a most remarkable statement. We
are told that Herod privately learned
of the Magi “what time the star ap
peared." The margin of the Revised
Version gives us a better, because a
more correct translation of the
phrase; it is, “The time of the star
that appeared.” But the literal ren
dering is “the time of the appearing
star."
0. It was a star that had a relative
position in the sky—it was in the
east. Assuming that the correct ren
dering of “anatole" is “in the east.”
then it has reference to that particu
lar part of the heavens to the east of
the observer. The observers, there
fore, must have been west of Jerusa
lem. This is a point to be borne in
mind, as we shall have to refer to it
more particularly later on. The con
clusion here arrived at is contrary to
the generally received opinion. As
far as I am aware, it is universally
held that the Magi were resident or
located in the east at the time the
star appeared to them. Yet according
to the plain terms of the statement,
they must have been located in the
west. Anatole means (1) the rising
of the heavenly bodies from the horiz
on; (2) the dawn or dayspring; (3)
the east or Orient. Whichever mean
ing you adopt the beholder must have
been west of the star. The star must
have pointed to or been at Jerusalem
when first b&Ji,'ved by the Wise Men.
Therefore the Wise Mr:, must have
been west of Jerusalem.
father of it. Prof. David Forbes in
England and Prof. Servian in America
both claimed to have identified the
Star of Bethlehem with Halley's com
et. At the time 1 refuted the theory in
an article that appeared in the Chica
go Evening Post, April 11. 190.3.
IV—The star was not a conjunction
of planets. This is the most feasible
as well as fascinating theory. It is
that of the great astronomer, Kepler.
He calculated that there was a con
junction of Mars and Jupiter on the
night of Dec. 25 iu the year of Rome
747. Next year Saturn joined Mars
and Jupiter, and according to Dean Al
ford. the eminent commentator, the
light of the three planets blended and
appeared to the beholder as one light.
What a beautiful illustration of Trin
ity in Unity—the lights of three plan
ets blended into one light! Ideler con
firmed Kepler’s calculation as to the
conjunction of the planets. W’ieseler,
who followed, makes the conjunction
in A. U. C. 750, the year of the Na
tivity now agreed upon by the learned.
It is remarkable too that the conjunc
tion of the planets took place in the
sign pisces, the Sign of Judea. This
theory is also free from the objections
above referred to.
But beautiful as is the theory. Bibli
cal conditions compel us to reject it.
Christ’s birth took place, according to
St. Paul, in “the fulness of time.”
This fulness of time is an astronomi
cal expression meaning the comple
tion of a cycle, or the revolution of a
• sphere in its orbit. That cycle, or
l revolution, occupied thousands of
1 years in its completion. As we have
a not. Apo anntole, therefore, ex
cludes every part of the east as the
residence of the Magi.
The Irish claim t6 be descended
from Magog, the grandson of Noah.
They originally came from Scythia.
Their language belongs to the Scythic
tongue or stock of languages, which
connects them with the ancient Ae
cadians. This is the same stock and
race to which we traced the Magi.
The original country of the Magi and
Gael is the same.
It is well known that the Irish were
some centuries ago known as Scots.
Scot comes from Scuit. and this is the
Irish for Scythia. The Greek vocali
zation of Scuit was Skuthes. and later
Skotos. (See Keating’s History of
Ireland and the Century Dictionary.)
From Scuit comes "Scut,” a term of
derision, referring to the short gar
ment or kelt of the Scot (Irish).
In the seventh century before Christ
the Greeks came in contact with a
race "whom they called Scythians. An
exacter form of the name was Scoloti.
Herodotus and Hippocrates clearly
distinguish the Scolots, or true Scythi
ans. from all their neighbors. (En
cyclopedia Britannica.) It will be seen
at a glance that Sco(lo)ts is but a dif
ferent linguistic way of spelling Scot
or Scuit.
The Irish word Druid means wisdom
or Magian. It is worthy of record
that the Irish Scriptures render "there
came wise men from the east” by
“there came Druids from the east.”
The Irish words are: “Draioch o naird
in ai i in*- i\ > . v ii* i .'nut ii’
out the darkness of space and illumi
nated the sign with thc*ir fiery flow.
Mara and Jupiter and Saturn halted
in their orbits to focus their lights
into one mighty blaze in Pisces. And
wondrous sight! The star—the Ma
gians' Star—his star—Sirius!—enters
Pisces, and is now in Jacob!
ThL wondrous event occurred in B.
C. Jj. The heliacal rising of Sirius
took place on the same day in four
successive years, the fifth, fourth,
third and second B. C. There Is some
thing most remarkable about this
heliacal rising, it is on the same day.
But sameness is unity. It thus sym
bolizes the Unity of the Deity. Then,
assuming that U. C. 4 is the correct
year of the Nativity, which scholars
assert, there was one year before the
birth and three after it. In the sym
bolism of numbers one is Unity and
three Trinity. But the one year be
fore birth signified the past revela
tion of God, or unity of the Deity. The
three years after the birth symbol
ized the new revelation, the Trinity of
Persons. Lastly unity and trinity
tone year •+- three years) equal the
complete and perfect number four, the
years that Sirius may be said to have
remained in Pisces. This symbolism
occurs with the rising of Sirius, which
signified the rising of the Light of the
World. It was as if, whilst heaven's
arches rang with the angels' loud ac
claim, Sirius flashed through space,
“Arise! Shine! For thy light is
come!”
Raveuswood, Chicago, Feast of the
Nativity, 1903.
[ Copyright, 1903, by F. P. Duffy.
Wefen Keller is * Class Officer
Miss Helen Keller, the blind deaf
mute-., has j;:3t been elected vice presi
dent of tne senior class at Radoliffa
college, the woman's department of
Harvard She is pursuing four full
courses, two in English and two in
Latla. She has thus far passed all
her examinations with as much credit
as if she had all her faculties and is
accomplishing more in scholarship
Ilian any other person in the world
so handicapped.
How’s This?
Wi offer One Hundred Dollar* lie ward for »ny cm*
off Catarrh that cannot fee ouraa by Hall’* t’attarli
*i KJ. CHENEY A CO.. Prop*..Toledo. O.
We, the underttlfued, have known F.JsCheney for
rb. lut 13 year*. and beltere blm perfectly honorable
lit .11 hoalnee* transaction* and financially »ble to
Marry oat any Obligation* made by th*lr Ann
We.*t A Tliti, Wholesale Dnieiri*i* Toledo,O.
Wt'.DlHO Kixkas A Maavi.N, Wbole.alo Drug
Kdit*, Toledo, O.
Jlall’a Catarrh Cur* !» taken Internally. acting
directly upon the blood and mucoua anrface* uf tha
^ratem. Teatlmonlala lent freo. trice Tic u«i
buttle. Sold by all Druggist*. .
Uall'a Family Cilia are the beat.
Quiet Reform.
Those interested In the fall elec
tions would do well to take a look at
an article In the November Every
body's if they are at all uncertain
what a reform administration can. ac
complish. In “Reform that Reforms"
Alfred Hodder tells specifically some
of the changes for the public good
that have been brought about in> New
York during the present administra
tion— uotably by the commissioners of
health and charities. The qwiet re
forms of which the public does not
h iar are often the most significant—
the stopping of a leak, accomplished,
for example, by paying fifty cents of
the public money for a gallon of al
cohol in place of a former J5.76; the
rigid inspection of drugs aiwl groceries
to check adulteration. Reform may
make its mistakes, but one is incl!n*«t
to think that these are mistakes in an
uncommonly good direction, after con
sidering Mr. Hodder’s facts.
Sensible Housekeepers
will have Refinance Starch, not atone
because* they got one-third more for
the same money, hut also because of
superior quality.
If you stand nround and wait for
sonic one to shake the tree, you v.iii
never fill your sack.
There are sonic blufTs you can't af
ford to call.
The best men are always looting
for the best meat.
The babyless go-ta;t is not yet !n
vogue.
ON THE ‘'DUDE” TRAIN.
Johnny Drummer, V/ ho Is Site
Tracked to let the Limited Go
By, Expresses His Sentiments
Regarding That Superb
T rain.
“Tt has been my dram of joy supreme
To ride in plush ami velvet splendor
Parlor ear for a sv\ i ll tailmider
Platform feneed wi'ha swell brass fender j
Ou the Keyular Limited Train
Electric bell right under your nose
Porter to come and brush your clothes
Grub in the diner the best ihat grows
A downy bunk for a uight’s reposo
On the liegular Limited JTiuiu
ClIORCs
Biff! Barg! a mile a minute
So other method of travel is in it
1 want, to go ripping, skipping and zipp’t.g
Away on the Limited Train.”
These lines are not original with me.
They are taken from a tuneful little
ditty sung in George Ado’s comely,
"Peggy from Paris.” The jingle oaneed
through my brain the other day a • we
lay on the siding at Prairie .lime*' m,
or some such pir.ee, to let tne tsuuta
Fe's west bound California Limited
go by. It was a gorgeous train of pal
ace cars, and benind the plate glass >
observation windows beauty and f.tsh- !
Ion and youth and old age were lolling
among the luxuriant cushions, some
visiting, some reading, some pleas
antly dozing, some making wreaths
ot cigar smoke, some gazitig dreamily
through the windows at the passing of
cities, and fields, and forests ana riv
ers.
1 stood on the rear platform of the
Iasi, car of our train and watched the
California Limited as she faded away
toward the golden west. And I
thought of the difference between
travel now and travel in the
days of '49, when it took the
gold-seeker half a long. weary
year, filled with all kinds ot hardship
to travel the distance that is now
covered in three days. 1 thought of
the slowly moving wagons, the dust,
the stones, the jolting, the thirst, the
hunger, the homesickness, the snail
like crossing of plains, the laborious
climbing of mountains, the weary
dragging weeks, the never ending trail.
In these palaces that had just gilded
by were people going to the same
place to spend the winter months
where the climate is perpetual sum
mer. And they were not to endure a
slngie hardship on the journey.
When nivht t ame they were to lie
in beds wnose soft embrace makes
sleep a luxury—and in the day time a
the velvet cushions of their seats were 'W
to be made deeper still by pillows—
and they were to spend a delightful
part of their time in the gilded and
glittering dining car, where every
dainty that ever tickled the palate is
enticingly served—in short, they were
to have on the trip all the comforts of
home—and of the best kind of home.
I stood there and watched them pass
out of sight while my soul was con
sumed with envy. But I derived some
consolation out of resolving that some
time I, too, would see Califoraia, and
I promised myself that if l ever did go
there it be would be over the Santa
Fe.
"JOHNNY DRUMMER."
Every widow exaggerates her mon
ey
4
