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Jf } INTERNATIONAL PFESS ASSOCIATION. I
_ - - „
CHAPTER IX. fpoNTlKUKD. )
An unpleasant , sinister look crossed
-my listener's face , but his voice still
remained bland and suave. "I am sorry
to differ from you. Dr. Brand , " he
• aid , "but I know him better than you
do. I have seen him as you have never
yet seen him. Only last night he came
to ms in a frantic state. I expected
every moment -he would-make a mur
derous attack on me. "
"Perhaps he fancied he had some
reasons for anger , " I said.
Ralph Carriston looked at me "with
those cold eyes of which his cousin had
spoken. "If the boy has succeeded in
converting you to any of his delusions ,
I can only say that doctors are more
-credulous than I fancied. But the
question is not worth arguing. You
s ( decline to assist me , so I must do with
in -out you. Good-morning , Dr. Brand. "
* He left the room as gracefully as he
had entered it. I remained in a state
of doubt. It was curious that Ralph
Carriston turned out to be the man
whom I had met in the train ; but they
evidence offered by the coincidence was
y
not enough to convict him of the crime
of endeavoring to drive his cousin mad
hy such a far-fetched stratagem as the
inveigling of Madeline Rowan. Be
sides , even in wishing to prove Charles
Carriston mad , he had much to say on
! Lis side. Supposing him to be innocent
of having abducted Madeline , Carris-
ton's violent behavior on the preceding
evening must have seemed very much
like insanityIn spite of the aversion
with which Ralph Carriston inspired
me , I scarcely knew which side to be
lieve.
Carriston still slept ; so when I went
out on my afternoon rounds I left a
note , begging him to remain in the
house until my return. Then I found
him up. dressed , and looking much
more like himself. When I entered ,
dinner was on the table , so not until
that meal was over could we talk un
restrainedly upon the subject which
was uppermost in both cur minds.
As soon as wc were alone I turned
toward my guest. "And now , " I said ,
"we must &ettle what to do. There
seems to me to be but one course open.
You have plenty of money , so your
best plan is to engage skilled police as
sistance. Young ladies can't be spirited
away like this without leaving a
trace. "
To my surprise Carriston flatly ob
jected to this course. "No , " he said , "I
shall not go to the police. The man
who took her away has placed her
where no police can find her. I must
find her myself. "
"Find her yourself ! Why , it may be
.months years before you do that !
Good heavens. Carriston ! She may be
H BP"murdered , or even woise "
HS V "I shall know if any further evil
M happens to her then I shall kill Ralph
B ft > Carriston. "
W | "But you tell me you have no clew
KjR whatever to trace her by. Do talk
Kjv plainly. Tell me all or nothing. "
KMj Carriston smiled , very faintly. "No
Kp clew that you , at any rate , will believe
B in. " he said. "But I know this much ,
HX she is a prisoner somewhere. She is
i' nnhappy ; but not , as yet , ill-treated.
Kh Heavens ! Do you think if I did not
ET know this I should keep my senses for
Hjl "How can you possibly know it ? "
V "By that -gift that extra sense or
whatever it is which you deride. I
1/
Hf' Itnew it would come to me some day ,
| D ut I little thought how I should wel-
Kl\ come it. I know that in some way I
Bff J shall find her by it. I tell you I have
Kmf already seen her three times. I may j
f se > her again at any moment when the |
Bflf strange fit comes over me. "
Hbj ( a Tt LL this fantastic
BSl j& II nonsense was
Hly\ weSeSsII spoken so simply
\
/
HEjffiSlJS jj K and with such an
BS : / wSl&i 111 a'r ° conviction
fluRr N ltf llMi suspicions as to theM
iP state of his mind
Hffi ) M/ Plii iiV ! were aroused. In
B Et y ? rXww\ \ spite of the brave
at V I tSP * answers which I
" had given Mr.
RB A
ra Ralph Carriston I felt that common
BIl sense was undeniably on his side.
HHK "Tell me what you mean by your
BBf strange fit , " I said , resolved to find out
K the nature of Carriston's fancies orB
B\ hallucinations. "Is it a kind of trance
\
Hr you fall into ? "
W HT He seemed loath to give any inK -
K * formation on the subject , but I pressed
BKw him for an answer.
Hae "Yes. " ne said at last. "It must be a
Bfi 3cind of trance. An indescribable-feel- *
Br/ * a = * conies over me. I knowmy
HKLfteyes are fixed on some object sent-
f * ly that object vanishes , and I Le Made-
Bl "How do you see her ? "
Bh * "She seems , to stand in a blurred
Bw -circle of light as cast by a magic lan-
Hn tern. That is the only way that I can
H -describe it. But her figure is clear and
plain she might be close to se. The
H\ carpet on which she stands I can se ? ,
KT the chair on which she sits , the tabl-3
| B on which she leans her hand , nythi g
| Br * she touches I can see , but no more. I
R l vf , have seen her talking. Once she was
H ' * s entreating some one ; but that some
ByC < m& xvas invts'D e- 'et > * * sne touched
/ '
B \--J \ So far t * I could see Carriston's case
(
Bjj apptare < 3 to be one of over-wrought or
Bl ! unduly stimulated imagination. His I
1 had always considered to be a mind
H of the most peculiar construction. In
B nis Present state of love , grief , and
H suspense , these hallucinations might
come in the same way in which dreams
come. For a little while I sat in si
lence , considering how I could best
combat with and dispel his remarkable
delusions. Before I had arrived at
any decision I was called away to see
a patient. I was but a short time en
*
gaged. Then I returned to Carriston
intending to continue my Inquiries.
Upon re-entering the room I found
him sitting as I had left him directly
opposite to the door. His face was
turned fully toward me , and I trem
bled as I caught sight of it. He was
leaning forward ; his hands on the
table-cloth , his whole frame rigid , his
eyes staring in one direction , yet , I
knew , capable of seeing nothing that I
could see. He seemed even oblivious
to sound , for I entered the room and
closed the door behind me without
causing him to change look or position.
The moment I saw the man I knew
that he had been overtaken by what
he called his strange fit.
My first impulse a natural one
was to arouse him ; but second thoughts
told me that this was an opportunity
for studying his disease which should
not be lost I felt that I could call it
by no other name than disease so I
proceeded to make a systematic exam
ination of his symptoms.
I leaned across the table , and , with
my face about a foot from his , looked
straight into his eyes. They betrayed
no sign of recognition no knowledge
of my presence. I ani ashamed to say
1 could not divest myself of the im
pression that they were looking
through me. The pupils were greatly
dilated. The lids were wide apart. I
lighted a taper and * - ° ld it before them ,
but could see no e. pension of the iris.
It was a case , I confess , entirely be
yond my comprehension. I had no
experience which might serve as a
guide as to what was the best course
to adopt. All I could do was to stand
and watch carefully for any change.
Save for his regular breathing and i
sort of convulsive twitching of his fin
gers , Carriston might have been a
corpse or a statue. His face could
scarcely grow paler than it had been
before the attack. Altogether , it was
an uncomfortable sight , a creepy sight
this motionless man , utterly regard
less of all that went on around him ,
and seeing , or giving one the idea that
he saw , something far away. I sighed
as I looked at the strange spectacle ,
and foresaw what the end must surely
be. But although I longed for him to
awake , I determined on this occasion to
. let the trance , or fit , run its full course ,
that I might notice in what manner
i and how soon consciousness returned.
I must have waited and watched
some ten minutes minutes which
seemed to me interminable. At last I
saw the lips quiver , the lids flicker
once or twice , and eventually close
wearily over the eyes. The unnatural
tension of every muscle seemed to re
lax , and. sighing deeply , and appar
ently quite exhausted , Carriston sank
back into his chair with beads of per
spiration forming on his white brow.
The fit was over.
In a moment I was at his side and
forcing a glass of wine down his throat.
He looked up at me and spoke. His
voice was faint , but his words were
quite collected.
"I have seen her again , " he said.
"She is well ; but so unhappy. I saw
her kneel down and pray. She
stretched her beautiful arms out to me.
And yet I know not where to look for
her my poor love ! my poor love ! "
T waited until I thought he had suffi
ciently recovered from his exhaustion
to talk without injurious consequences.
"Carriston , " I said , "let me ask you
one question : Are these trances or vi
sions voluntary , or not ? "
He reflected for a few moments. "I
can't quite tell you , " he said ; "or ,
rather , I would put it in this way. I
do not think I can exercise my power
at will ; but I can feel when the fit is
coming on me , and , I believe , can , if I
choose , stop myself from yielding to
it. "
"Very well. Now listen. Promise
me you will fight against these seizures
as much as you can. If you don't you
will be raving mad in a month. "
"I can't promise that , " said * arriston
quietlj"See her at times I must , or
I shall die. But I promise to yield as
seldom as may be. I know , ' . well as
you do , that the very exhaustion I now
feel must be injurious to anyone. "
In truth , he looked utterly worn out.
Very much dissatisfied with his con
cession , the best I could get from him ,
I sent him to bed , knowing that natural
rest , if he could get it , would do more
than anything else toward restoring
a healthy tone to his mind.
XI.
ns = ai LTHOUGH Carrls-
fiJII llton \ stated that he
7fe\J | came to me for aid ,
( § jmlb ? > \ an < * ' * * • maj' e >
3HK3lffijy j | protection , he man-
rt ® x7 tested the greatest
TXaO&JTJ/u. reluctance in fol-
XTyJi& g lowing any advice
\2J2i& l offered him. The
/g fjjfelO obstinacy of his refusal -
} § * > fusal to obtain the
assistance of the
police placed me in a predicament.
That Madeline Rowan had really dis
appeared I was , of course , compelled to
believe. It might even be possible that
she was kept against her will in some
place of concealment. In susti case it
behooved us to take proper steps tc
trace her. Her welfare should not de
pend upon tl > e hallucinations and ec-
" ' ' " V " ' iii ( wai ni win ww Miim , in !
n m i
• * "
centric Ideas of a man half out of Mb
senses with love and grief. I all but
resolved , even at the risk of forfeiting
Carriston's friendship , to put the whole
matter in the hands of the police , un
less in the course of a day or two we
heard from the girl herself , or Carris
ton suggested some better plan.
Curiously enough , although refusing
to be guided by me , he made no sug
gestion on his own account. He was
racked by fear and suspense , yet his
only idea of solving his difficulties
seemed to be that of waiting. He did
nothing. He simply waited , as if he
expected that chance would bring what
he should have been searching for high
and low. ,
Some days passed before I could get
a tardy consent that aid should be
sought. Even then he would not go
to the proper quarter ; but he allowed
me to summon to our councils a man
who advertised himself as being a pri
vate detective. This man , or one of
his men , came at our call and heard
what was wanted of him. Carriston
reluctantly gave him one of Madeline's
photographs. He also told him that
only by watching and spying on Ralph
Carriston's every action could he hope
to obtain the clew. I did not much
like the course adopted , nor did I like
the look of the man to whom the inqui
ry was intrusted ; but at any rate some
thing was being done.
A week passed without news from
our agent. Carriston , in truth , did not
seem to expect any. I believe he only
employed the man in deference to my
wishes. He moved about the house in
a disconsolate fashion. I had not told
him of my interview with his cousin ,
but had cautioned him on the rare oc
casions upon which he went out of
doors to avoid speaking to strangers ,
and my servants had instructions to
prevent anyone coming in and taking
my guest by surprise.
For I had during those days opened
a confidential inquiry on my own ac
count. I wanted to learn something
about this Mr. Ralph Carriston. So I
asked a man who knew everybody to
find out all about him.
He reported that Ralph Carriston was
a man well known about London. He
was married and had a house in Dor
setshire ; but the greater part of his
time was spent in town. Once he was
supposed to be well off ; but now it was
the general opinion that every acre
he owned was mortgaged , and that he
was much pressed for money. "But , "
my informant said , "there is but one
life between him and the reversion to
large estates , and that life is a poor
one. I believe even now there is a
talk about the man who stands in his
way being mad. If so , Ralph Carriston
will get the management of every
thing. "
Alier this news I felt it mere than
ever needful to keep a watchful eye on
my friend. So far as I knew there had
been no recurrence of the trance , and
I began to hope that proper treatment
would effect a complete cure , when , to
my great alarm and annoyance , Carris
ton , whilst sitting with me , suddenly
and without warning fell into the same
strange state of body and mind as pre
viously described. This time he was
sitting in another part of the room.
After watching him for a minute or
two , and just as I was making up my
mind to arouse him and scold him
thoroughly for his folly , he sprung to
his feet , and shouting , "Let her go !
Loose her , I say ! " rushed violently
across the room so violently , that I
had barely time to interpose and pre
vent him from coming into contact
with the opposite wall.
( TO B3 C0NTI\-JS3.
A < lutlsrc of Ribbons.
In one of the large department stores
up town is a pale-faced , red-headed
child with a pair of heavy spectacles
that impart a solemn look to her deli
cate face. She stands all day in front
of a counter hung with gayly colored
ribbons , and it is her particular duty
to take ribbons out from the electric
light of the shop to the street door
and decide there whether or not they
arc exactly the same shade. The shop
girls have learned that her judgment is
to be relied upon , and it was the acci
dental discovery of her exactness in es
timating colors that gained for her the
novel place she occupies at present.
All day she is kept running backward
and forward between the ribbons and
the door deciding whether ribbon is
cream or whke and the complicated
questions as to tints and shades. She
is an important personage in her way ,
considerably more exalted in position
than the young cash girls of her own
age. Her duties are really important ,
and out of the yards of ribbon that are
daily sold over the counter every sale
which depends on a question of match
ing is decided by her. New York Sun.
An Important Adjunct.
"Sadie is all right , but her father
don't like me. "
"But you're not going to marry the
father. "
"Not exactly ; yet he controls the
check book. " Philadelphia North
American.
I > lkcs and Dislikes of Birds.
It is said that birds are nearly as
Sensitive in their likes and dislikes as
dogs. Some people can never gain the
friendship of a caged bird. A bird haste
to learn by experience that it is safe
with a human being before it will respond
spend to kind treatment.
These Dear Girls.
Minnie That Laura Figg had the
impudence to tell me that I was beginning -
ginning to show my age.
Mamie Beginning to ? Laura always
> did have a conservative way of considering -
• sidering anything. Indianapolis Jour-
• nal.
"Hi" i i i. 1 1. II I
TAMfAGE'S SERMON.
A SHATTERED FAITH LAST
SUNDAY'S SUBJECT.
rrotn the Text : "And Some Are Kx-okrn
Pieces from tlm Ship" Acts. Chup.
ter XL.VII , Verne 44 .Savinjr the
Wrecked ou l-lfe'n TcmpestuouK Sea-
TTfj jssn EVER off Goodwin
if Sands , or the Sker-
! > ries , or Cape Hat-
li teras , was a ship in
J\ \ worse predicament
* j than , in the Medi-
f
t e r r a n ean hurri
cane , was the grain
ship on which two
hundred and sev-
eLty-tlx passengers
were driven on the
coast of Malta , five miles from the me
tropolis of that island , called Citta
Vecchia. After a two-weeks' tempest ,
when the ship was entirely disabled ,
and captain and crew had become com
pletely demoralized , an old missionary
took command of the vessel. He was
small , crooked-backed and sore-eyed ,
according to tradition. It was Paul ,
the only unscared man aboard. He
was no mors afrnid of a Euroclydon
tossing the Mediterranean sea , now up
to the gates of heaven and now sinking
it to the gates of hell , than he was
afraid of a kitten playing with a string.
He ordered them all down to take their
rations , first asking for them a bless
ing. Then h ? insured all their lives ,
telling them th2y would be rescued ,
and , so far from losing their heads ,
they would not lose so much of their
hair as you could cut off with one click
of the scissors : nay , not a thread of
it , whether it were gray with age or
golden with youth. "There shall not
n hair fall from the head of any of
you. "
Knowing that they can never get to
the desired port , they make the sea
on "the fourteenth night black with
overthrown cargo , so that when the
ship strikes it will not strike so heavily.
At daybreak they saw a creek , and in
their exigency resolved to make for
it. And so they cut the cables , took
in the two paddles they had on those
old boats , and hoisted the mainsail
so that they might come with such
force as to be driven high up on the
beach by some fortunate billow. There
she goes tumbling toward the rocks ,
now prow foremost , now stern fore
most , now rolling over to the star
board , now over to the larboard , now
a wave dashes clear over the deck , and
it seems as if the old craft has gone
forever. But up she comes again.
Paul's arms around a mast , he cries :
"All is well , God has given me all those
that sail with me. " Crash ! went the
prow , with such force that it broke off
the mast. Crash ! went the timbers ,
till the seas rushed through from side
to side of the vessel. She parts amid
ships , and into a thousand fragments
the vessel goes , and into the waves
two hundred and seventy-six immortals
are precipitated. Some of them had
been brought up on the seashore , and
had learned to swim and with their
chins just above the waves and by the
strokes of both arms and propulsion
of both fpet , they put out for the beach ,
and reach it. But alas for those others !
They have never learned to swim , or
they were wounded by the falling of
the mast , or the nervous shock was too
great for them. And others had been
weakened by long sea-sickness.
Oh , what will become of them ?
"Take that piece of a rudder , " says
Paul to one. "Take that fragment of
a spar , " says Paul to another. "Take
that image of Castor and Pollux. "
"Take that plank from the lifeboat. "
"Take anything , and head for the
beach. " What a struggle for life in
the breakers ! Oh , the merciless waters ,
how they sweep over the heads of men ,
women and children ! Hold on there !
Almost ashore ; keep up your courage.
Remember what Paul told you. There ,
the receding wave on the beach leaves
in the sand a whole family. There
crawls up out of the surf the centurion.
There , another plank comes in , with
a life clinging fast to it. There , an
other pipce of the shattered vessel ,
with its freightage of an immortal soul.
They must by this time all be saved.
Yes ; there comes in last of all , for he
had been overseeing the rest , the old
missionary , who wrings the water
from his gray beard and cries out :
"Thank God , iAI are here ! "
I believe in both the Heidelberg and
Westminster Catechisms , and I wish
you all did ; but you may believe in
nothing they contain except the one
idea , that Christ came to save sinners ,
and that you are one of them , and you
are instantly rescued. If you can come
in on the grand old ship , I would rather
have you get aboard , but if you can
only find a piece of wood as long as the
human body , or a piece as wide as the
outspread human arms , and either of
heni is a piece of the cress , come in
on that piece. Tens of thousands of
people are today kept out of the king
dom of God because they cannot be
lieve everything.
I am talking with a man thoughtful
about his soul who has lately traveled
through New England and passed the
night at Andover. He says to me : "I
cannot believe that in this life the des
tiny is irrevocably fixed ; I think there
will be another opportunity of re
pentance after death. " I say to him :
"My brother , what has that to do with
you ? Don't you realize that the man
who waits for another chance after
death" when he has a good chance be
fore death is a stark fool ? Had not
you better take the plank that is
thrown to you now and head for shore ,
rather than wait for a plank that may
by invisible hands be thrown to you
after you are dead ? Do as you please ,
but as for myself , with pardon for all
my sins offer3d me now , and all the
joys of time and eternity offered me
now. I instantly take them , rather than
m
mi nwapjyMi | [ < W | | | | | | | | lnhiwi i i fluTin
run the riak of such other chance as
wise men think they can peel off or
twist out of a Scripture passage that
has for all the Christian centuries been
Interpreted another way. " You say :
"I do not like Princeton theology , or
New Haven theology , or Andover
theology. " I do not ask you on board
either of these great men-of-war , their
portholes filled with the great siege-
guns of ecclesiastical battle. But I do
ask you to take the one plank of the
Gospel that you do believe in and strike
out for the pearl-strung beach of
heaven.
• Says some other man : "I would at
tend , to religion if I was quite sure
about the doctrine of election and free
agency , but that mixes me all up. "
Those things used to bother me. but
I have no more perplexity about them ;
for I say to myself : "If I love Christ
and live a good , honest , useful life ,
I am elected to be saved ; and if I do
not love Christ , and live a bad life , I
will be damned , and all the the theo
logical seminaries of the universe can
not make it any different. " I flounder
ed along while in the sea of sin and
doubt , and it wss as rough as the Medi
terranean on the fourteenth night ,
when they threw the grain overboard ,
but I saw there was mercy for a sin
ner , and that plank I took , and I have
been warming myself by the bright fire
on the shore ever since.
While I am talking to another man
about his sou ! he tells me : "I do not
become a Christian because I do not
believe there is any hell at all. " Ah !
don't you ? Do all the people of all
beliefs and no belief at all , of good
morals and bad morals go straight tea
a happy heaven ? Do the holy and the
debauched have the same destination ?
At midnight , m a hallway , the owner
of a house and a burglar meet ; they
both fire , and both are wounded , but
the burglar dies in five minutes and
the owner of the house lives a week
after ; will the burglar be at the gate
of heaven , waiting , when the house-
owner comes in ? Will the debauchee
and the libertine go right in among
the families of heaven ? I wonder if
Herod is playing on the banks of the
river of life with the children he mas
sacred : I wonder if Charles Guiteau
and John Wilkes Booth are up there
shooting at a mark. I do not now con
trovert it , although I must say that for
such a miserable heaven I have no ad
miration. But the Bible does not say :
"Believe in p ° rdition and be saved. "
Because all are saved , according to your
theory , that ought not to keep you from
loving and serving Christ. Do not re
fuse to come ashore because all the
others , according to your theory , are
going to get ashore. You may have a
different theory about chemistry , about
astronomy , about the atmosphere
from that which others adopt , but you
are not , therefore , hindered from ac
tion. Because your theory of light is
different from others , do not refuse to
open your eyes. Because your theory
of air is different you do not refuse
to breathe. Eecause your theory about
the stellar system is different , you do
not refuse to acknowledge the north
star. Why should the fact that your
theological theories are different hin
der you from acting upon what you
know ? If you have not a whole ship
fastened in the theological drydocks
to bring you to wharfage , you have
at least a plank. "Some on broken
pieces of the ship. "
"But I don't believe in revivals ! "
Then go to your room , and all alone ,
with your door locked , give your heart
to God , and join some church where the
thermometer never gets higher than
i fifty in the shade.
"But I do not believe in baptsm ! "
i Come in without it and settle that matter -
! ter afterward. "But there are so
many inconsistent Christians ! " Then
come in and sho" * them by a good ex
ample how professors should act. "But
I don't believe in the Old Testament ! "
Then come in on the New. "But I
don't like the Book of Romans. " Then
come in on Matthew or Luke. Refus
ing to come to Christ , whom you admit
to be the Savior of the lost , because
you cannot admit other things , you are
like a man out there in that Mediter
ranean tempest , and tossed in the Me-
lita breakers , refusing to come ashore
until he can mend the pieces of the
broken ship. I hear him say : "Iwon't
go in on any of these planks until I
know in what part of the ship they
belong. When I can get the windlass
in the right place , and the sails set ,
and that keel-piece where it belongs ,
and that floor-timber right , and these
ropes untangled , I will go ashore. I am
an old sailor , and know ail about ships
for forty years , and as soon as I can get
the vessel afloat in good shape I will
come in. " A man drifting by on a
piece of wood overhears him and says :
"You will drown before you get that
ship reconstructed. Better do as I am
doing. I know nothing about ships ,
and never saw one before I came on
board this , and I cannot swim a stroke ,
but I am going ashore on this shivered
timber. " The man in the offing , while
trying to mend his ship goes down.
The man who trusted to the plank is
saved. 0 my brother , let your smash
ed up system of theology go to the bottom
tom , while you come in on a splintered
spar ! "Some on. broken pieces of the
ship. "
You may get .ill your difficulties set
tled as Garibaldi , the magnetic Italian ,
got his gardens made. When the war
between Austria and Sardinia broke
out he was living at Caprera , a very
rough and uncultivated island home.
But he went forth with his sword to
achieve the liberation of Naples and
Sicily , and gave nine million people
free government , under Victor Em
manuel. Garibaldi , after being ab
sent two years from Caprera , returned ,
and , when he approached it , he found
that his home had , by Victor Em
manuel , as a surprise , been Edenized.
Trimmed shrubbery had taken the
place of thorny thickets , gardens the
jplac of barrenness , and the old rook-
a
s \ ( I
'I t H
cry In which ho once lived had gfre * J | H
way to a pictured mansion. And I tell -3 t M
you If yeti will come and enlist under | t J
the banner of our Victor Emmanuel , p W M
and follow him through thick and thin. ' H
and fight his battles , and endure his I M M
sacrifices , you will find after nwhilo \i \ m M
that he has changed your heart front i B
a jungle of thorny scepticisms into a ! f H
garden all abioom with luxuriant Joy I B
'
that you have never dreamt of. From f H
a tangled Caprera of sadness into a ! ; |
paradise of God. H
I do not know how your theological ; H
system went to pieces. It may be that : H
your parents started you with only ' " - H
one plank , and you believe little or H
nothing. Or they may have besn too J M
rigid and severe In religious discipline. H
and cracked you over the head with H
a psalm book. It may be that some H
partner in business who was a member j H
of an evangelical church played on you M
a. trick that disgusted you with re- H
Hgion. It may be that you have asso- J M
elates who have talked against Christianity - H
tianity in your presence until you are M
"all at sea , " and you dwell more on H
things that you do not believe than on H
things you do beiieve. You are in on © M
respect like Lord Nelson , when a slg- M
nal was lifted that he wished to dis- S M
regard , and he put his sea-glass to hia M
blind eye and said : "I really do not M
see the signal. " Oh. my hearer , put M
this field-glass of the Gospel no longer M
to your blind eye , and say , I cannot M
see , but put it to your other eye , the M
eye of faith , and you will see Christ , M
and he is all yoi need to see. H
If you can believe nothing else , you H
certain I j- believe in vicarious suffer- H
ing. for you se it almost every day in H
some shape. The steamship Knicker- H
becker , of the Cromwell line , running H
between New Orleans and New York. H
was in great storms , and the captain H
and crew saw the schooner Mary D. |
Cranmer , of Philadelphia , in distress. H
The weather cold , the waves mountain |
high , the firct officer of the steamship - H
ship and four men put out in a life- J
boat to save the crew of the schooner , j J
and reached the vessel and towed it |
out of danger , the wind shifting so that |
the schooner was saved. But the flvo |
men of the steamship coming back. H
their bout capsized , yet righted again ) H
and came on , the sailors coated with , H
ice. The boat capsized again , and three < H
times upset and was righted , and a H
line thrown the poor fellows , but their H
hands were frozen so they could not ( H
grasp it , and a great wave rolled over H
them , and they went down , never to H
rise again till the sea gives up its H
dead. Appreciate that heroism and H
self-sacrifice of the brave fellows all |
who can , and can we not appreciate ; j H
the Christ who put out into a more H
biting cold and into a more overwhelming - H
ing surge , to bring us out of infinite , H
peril into everlasting safety ? The i |
wave of human hate rolled over him |
from one side and the wave of hellish * |
fury rolled over him on the other side. . J
Oh , the thickness of the night and the I H
thunder of he tempest into which ! > H
Christ plunged for our rescue ! , H
t
You admit you are all broken up , one W H
decade of your life gone by , two de- j ; H
cades , three decades , four decades , a ; ( H
half-century , perhaps three-quarters H
of a century gone. The hour hand and < H
the minute hand of your clock of life H
are almost parallel , and soon it will H
be twelve and your day ended. Clear < H
discouraged are you ? I admit it is a H
sad thing to give all our lives that H
are worth anything to sin and the H
devil , and then at last make God a H
present of a first-rate corpse. But the 1
past you cannot recover. Get on board H
that old ship you never will Have H
you only one mora year left , one more |
month , one more week , one more day , H
one more hour come in on that. Perhaps - |
haps if you get to heaven God may let j H
you go out on some great mission to |
some other world , where you can somewhat - |
what atone for your lack of service in. | | |
From many a deathbed I have seen H
the hands thrown up in deploratiou H
something like this : "My life has been H
wasted. I hai good mental faculties H
and fine social position and great opportunity - |
portunity , but through worldliness and H
neglect all has gone to waste save these |
few remaining hours. I now accept of |
Christ and shall enter heaven through H
his mercy ; but alas , alas ! that when I H
might have entered the haven of eternal - H
nal rest with a full cargo , and been H
greeted by the waving hands of a multitude - H
titude in whose salvation I had borne |
a blessed part , I must , confess I now H
enter the hartor of heaven on broken |
the ship. " fl
The Forcuj > Ins H
The current opinion that a porcupine - |
pine throws its quills at an enemy is |
not supported by facts , says the j H
Portland Oregonian * The spines of H
the porcupine are very loosely attached - H
ed to the body and are very sharp H
as sharp as a needle. At almost the |
slightest touch th y penetrate the nose |
of a dog or the clothing or flesh ofa J
person touching the porcupine , and J
stick there , coming away from the animal - |
mal without any pull being required. | |
The facility in catching hold with one |
end and letting go with the other has H H
sometimes caused people to think that j H
the spines had been thrown at them. 1
The out r end of the spines , for some H
distance down , is covered with small l fl
barbs. These barbs cause a spine once I B
imbedded in a living animal to keep |
working farther in with every movement - H
ment of the muscles. H
Theory About H
It is claimed that the tree from tha J
bark of which quinine is obtained fur- H
rushes no quinine except in malarial re- H
gions. If the tree is planted in a malarial - H
larial district it will produce quinine ; ! B
ii it is planted in a non-malarial district - H
trict it will not produce quinine. It is. ] |
therefore , inferred that quinine is a H
malarial poison , drawn from the soil |
and 3tored up in the bark of this tre * . H