A , "
MY POOR WIPE. I
BY J. P. SMITH.
CHAPTER I.
"Don't , Paul don't stare at me like
that ! " cried my wife , leaning forward
on her chair and laying her small hot
palm across my eyes , with a gesture
lialf scared , half petulant , that irri
tated me vaguely. "I I don't like it ,
dear. "
"I beg your pardon , Helen , " I re
sponded somewhat huffily , drawing
back. "I really was not aware you
objected so pointedly to my looking at
you. "
"I ' ' " broke in
don't I don't ! she
eagerly. "How could you imagine
such a thing ? It was the expression
of your face , Paul , that took me back
for the moment , when I turned my
head and found you sitting there
watching me with such a critical ,
searching sort of look , almost as if
you you "
"As if I what , sweetheart ? " 1 asked ,
appeased by the carressing touch.
"As if you saw something in me
you could not quite make out , and did
not like at all at all ! But I was
mistaken in that , wasn't I , Paul ? "
Then , after a moment's pause , as
I did not reply
"Sure it was only foolish fancy on
my part ? Say it was , only that ah ,
say it was only that , love ! " she whis
pered , inthe soft drawling brogue I
was learning to like.
"Well , dear , " I answered slowly , "as
you press me so , I must admit I was
a little surprised , after leaving you on
the lawn romping with the dogs in
the very ecstacy of high spirits , declar
ing that even the twenty-first of June
was too short a day to be happy in ,
to find you half an hour later sitting
Iiere alone , to all appearance a prey
to the profoundest melancholy , your
eyes perfect wells of despair , looking
as if the burthen of existence was too
heavy to be borne another summer's
day. "
"It was heavy so heavy ! You are
right. I could not have borne it much
longer. For the last twenty minutes
I I have been your widow , Paul. "
"Oh , " I said , with a feeling of unac
countable relief , stroking her tumbled
silky hair , "I sec ! You were my
widow , madam a very flattering and
satisfactory explanation of your ap-
p'earance indeed ! But , dear , don't you
think , all circumstances considered , it
is rather premature for either of us to
don the weeds even in spirit yet ? "
She was nineteen , as fresh and as
hardy as the mountain heather she
had lived among all her life. I was
twenty-five , " stood six feet one in my
stockings , and had not known an
hour's illness since I had the measles
many years before.
"That was not the kind of widow
hood I meant , " Helen said , looking at
me with a touch of pathetic reproach
in her strange eyes. "Your death ,
: I your mere bodily extinction , Paul ,
would not grieve me for long ; I should
I cease to mourn you soon enough. "
"Mrs. Dennys , " I exclaimed , in
mock indignation , "explain yourself ,
please ! You surely would give me
the conventional year of crape at the
least ? "
"No , I wouldn't not a year , not a
week , not a day , for I would die the
same moment you did. Do you think
I could live and you dead , husband ? "
"And yet you say you were my
widow for full twenty minutes , true
daughter of Erin ? "
"That was because I had lost you in
a way that severed us in life as well
as in death. "
"Lost me in a way that severed us
in life as well as in death ? This is
dreadful weather for conundrums ! I
give it up ! " I responded languidly.
"I was widowed , Paul , because I
had lost your love because you cared
for another woman more than for me , "
she returned , in a low voice , looking
at lie with eyes full of tragic denunci
ation , as Rebecca might have looked
at Ivanhoe , as poor La Valliere at
Louis when she bade him her laet
good-by outside the convent gates.
I laughed a little too boisterously , 1
felt , and drew her to my side.
"To be sure , to be sure , " I assented
volubly , "I never thought of that so
lution ! How long is it since I first
learned to care for you , ma belle ? That
day you and I slipped down the moun
tain side through the yellow broom ?
let me see seven , eight , why , nearly
nine months ago ! A long spell of Con
stancy almost time I should be weary
ing for another love , Isn't it ? Some
men , you know , would like a change
of wife with every change of coat ; but
as I happened to be of rather conserva
tive kidney , I think I ought to be able
to wear one wife to three coats at the
least , and I believe I courted you in
the very cloth your fingers are caress
ing now. It's getting a bit shabby ,
to be sure : but "
"You may treat my words lightly. "
she interrupted , leaning over me with
half-closed eyes , a bright pink spot
burning on - her cheeks. "I still
stick to my opinion , something
tells me I shall lose you , as I say some
day ! "
"Feed your melancholy on .the
fancy , " I retorted , with peevish uneasi
ness , feeling somewhat that I had
said too much , "if it pleases you. I
wonder if your morbid eye of prophecy
sees any chance of my losing you as
you are to lose me ? "
She .seemed at first not to under
stand , then answered quickly
"You lose me ? Oh.no.no ! What
ever happens , no matter how bitterly
you may make me suffer , you could
not lose me that way. "
"Am I to thank the gods , I wonder ?
What , Helen ! Through treachery ,
desertion , Indifference , brutality even ,
you will still cling to me like a limpet
eh ? Are you sure , quite sure there
is no other way but commonplace dis
solution through -which I can shake
you off ? Think , wife think ! " I re
torted banteringly , when , to my sur
prise and alarm , the look of scared ,
almost agonized , melancholy stole over
her dark winsome face again , her arms
tightened convulsively round my neck ,
her burning lips were pressed close to
my ear , as she gasped out
"You know you know you you
have guessed how you can lose me ,
then ? I I feared you would soon
soon. Oh , they ought to have told
you in time ! It was wrong wrong.
I tried to tell you often , but the words
wouldn't come. I I am not to blame.
Oh , Paul , Paul , my dear , if you had
not taught me to love you so well
I I "
CHAPTER II.
Thoroughly startled I sprang to my
feet , roughly lifting her from the floor
whither she had sunk , and held her
firmly before me.
"Helen , " I cried , "do you know what
you are saying ? What what is the
matter with you ? This is the way
you went on that day , at Lucerne ,
shortly after we were married ; what do
you mean ? I I insist on an expla
nation ! Speak out at once I tell you
at once ! "
She looked at me with gleaming
eyes , and utterly colorless face , her
lips moving , but no sound coming.
"What is it ? " I repeated , my wrath
rising , horrible suspicion blackening
my mind. "How have you deceived
me ? What have you done that I I
should have been told of before I
married you ? Helen , speak , or by
Heaven , I'll "
"I have done nothing , " she answer
ed , standing straight before me , 'not
the least sign of fear in her face.
"You may kill me if you like , I sha'n't
mind much ; but I have done no harm ,
you should know that well. One day
of my life was as dull , innocent , un
eventful as another until I met you. "
"Then what do you mean by these
hints and wild words ? Why why do
you thus torture , and try to raise a
demon in me , little me ? " I asked ,
very much ashamed of my brutal out
burst. "Tell me , Helen ? "
"I don't know I don't know , " she
replied , bursting into tears and lay
ing her white face on my shoulder.
"I mean nothing nothing. What
should I mean ? I I can't help it , I
'
suppose. Oh , pity me , pity me and
bear with me if you can , dear boy !
It's it's not all my fault. My pool-
mother was like that before I I was
born. "
"Your mother , dear ? " I asked pres
ently , when she was quite herself
again , and apparently as much asham
ed of her outburst as 1 was of mine. "I
never heard you speak of her before.
Do you remember her at all ? "
"No ; she died when I was a baby ;
but I often heard Molly speak of her , "
she answered quickly.
"And your father ? "
"My my father ? "
"Yes , did you not know him ? "
After a slight pause she said
"No , I did not know him. I believe
he died even before her. Ho was an
Englishman , and they knew very little
of him at home. Granny did not like
him , I believe. Paul , let me sit up ;
Misa Stopford is coming up the ave
nue. "
I withdrew my arm quickly , and ,
moving into the shade behind her
chair , said as carelessly as I could
"So she is. You and Edie seem to
be striking up a powerful friendship ,
Helen ; she was here yesterday after
noon , and on Tuesday morning also ;
wasn't she ? "
"Yes ; don't you like her coming ? "
"Of course I like it. I don't think
you could have a pleasanter compan
ion than Edith , or one who "
"Could civilize me more effectually.
I quite agree with you ; Edith is doing
her best to tone me down , Paul ; I
hope she may succeed. How prety
she is ! " sighed Helen , as her visitor
passed the window where we were
sitting. "I think she looks fairer in
blue than in any other color , Paul.
I often wonder bow you escaped fall
ing in love with that girl. "
I shrugged my shoulders vaguely.
"You have known her since she was
a child , haven't you ? " she pursued , as
I made no reply.
"Yes. During my sister's lifetime she
almost lived with us. She and poor
Lily had the same governess , studied
together all that , you know. "
"And one seldom falls in love with
a person one has known all one's life
looked upon -as a sister , you mean ,
Paul ? "
"I suppose not. "
"And yet your namesake , long ago ,
Paul , gives the lie to that theory. "
"My namesake ? "
"Yes ; the Paul who loved Virginia. "
"Oh ! He was an unusual specimen
of tropical produce ; besides , it's not
fair to quote him as "
"Hush ! Here she is ! "
Greetings r ! the new comer over ,
I rotlred to a distant window , and took
up the Field ; but ray eyes wandered
from the close , cramped print to th
heads of the girls bending over their
work , and thought what a charming
picture they made in the chastened
golden light , and how reflectively my
wife's dark tumbled locks threw out
the smooth coronet of burnished gold
that crowned Edith's stately head.
"She was a most beautiful woman
tall , fair , with soft blue eyes heavily
lashed , and a faultless profile. Never
before had I seen her look so attract
ive as she did on that evening while
she directed Helen's little clumsy
brown hand across that square of oat
meal cloth on which such wonderful
birds , butterflies , and flowering vege
tation wore to blossom into life. Her
dress , of a light blue stuff , trimmed
with delicate lace , fitted her exquisite
ly , and there was a suggestion of grace
ful poetic perfection about her general
appearance , her every movement , that
was most soothing to the senses that
lazy summer day. I felt as it I could
have watched her with unsatiated
pleasure for hours at a stretch "a
daughter of the gods , divinely tall and
divinely fair" while Helen , my wife ,
was a most distinct child of earth ,
small , dark-haired , dark-eyed , with
unformed babyish features , and a skin
which , though pure and healthy , lacked
the delicate peach-bloom of the other.
Was she ordinarily pretty or almost
plain ? I still asked myself that ques
tion after nine months of matrimony ,
and could arrive at no satisfactory so
lution. For Helen was seldom the
same ; either in mind , manner , or looks ,
two hours together.
One hour she would look , even in
the most partial eyes , dull , common
place , hopelessly unattractive the
next , for no apparent cause , her ap
pearance would change , 'her cheeks
glow , her eyes gleam "with a light that
I vaguely felt for a moment would , in
most men's opinion , dim Edith's placid
beauty into insignificance. She had
certainly very strange eyes I never
could ascertain their exact shade.
Sometimes they were deep , dark , still ,
like water in heavy shadow again ,
they were all life with flickering tawny
lights , as they were that moment , when
raised to Edith's in rueful expostula
tion.
"Oh , Miss Stopford , please don't ask
me to change my wool again ! Let
me finish to the stalk in this browny
yellow. "
"My dear Mrs. Dennys , impossible !
You have only three shades In the leaf
as yet , and I have changed my wool
as many as three-and-twenty times in
a single spray of virgin vine. "
"Have you ? Then I'll never be an
artist in crewels ! " laughed Helen , the
cloth dropping lazily from her hands ;
whereupon Jim , her little terrier ,
thinking the lesson over , jumped
briskly up on her lap , upsetting her
workbasket , the contents of which
rolled over the waxed boards scissors ,
tapes , needles , , bodkins went right and
left. A stout reel of black cotton
traveled languidly my way , and , stoop
ing to pick it up , the golden hair of
the only woman I ever loved brushed
my forehead deliciously.
"Meet me at the end of the cedar-
walk in half an hour , " she said in a
quick whisper , with downcast eyes ,
fumbling for the reel that I , in my agi
tation , had dropped again. "I have
something to say to you. "
I nodded , lay back in my chair , and
instinctively held up the paper to
"
shade my face from observation.
When my wife called me over to drink
a cup of tea , I glanced apprehensively
into a mirror to see if the color had
faded from my temples yet. No. it
was still there , burning brightly , even
through my tanned skin.
"Meet me at the end of the cedar
walk in half an hour , " I repeated
stupidly , again and again , na I strolled
across the lawn towards Bretton Hall ,
the residence of General Stopford ,
Edith's uncle , and my grandfather's
brother. "What docs it mean ? What
can she have to say to me ? I can't
understand it. "
( To be Continued. )
THE ROMANCE OF ALUMINUM.
Aluminum is a metal which we are
supposed to owe to modern science ;
but a curious passage of Pliny's works ,
which has hitherto received but little
attention , indicates that it was discov
ered once before , as long ago as the
first century of the Christian era. Dur
ing the reign of Tiberius , a certain
worker in metals appeared at the pal
ace and showed a beautiful cup com
posed of a brilliant white metal that
shone like silver. When the artificer
was presenting it to the Emperor he
purposely dropped it on the floor of the
chamber. The goblet was eo bruised
by the fall that it seemed irretrievably
injured ; but the workman took his
hammer , and in tht presence of the
court repaired the damage without de
lay. It was evident that this metal was
not silver , though it had almost the
same brilliancy , besides being much
more ductile and considerably light
er. The Emperor questioned the
artificer closely , and learned from him
that he extracted the metal from an
argillaceous earth. Tiberius then
asked if anyone besides himself knew
the process and received the proud re
ply that the secret was known only to
himself and Jupiter. This answer was
sufficient. The emperor had reflected
that if it were poasible to obtain this
metal from so common a substance as
clay the value c gold and silver would
be greatly reduced , so he determined
to avert such a lamentable catastrophe.
He caused -workshops of the discov
erer to be wholly destroyed , and the
luckless artificer was seized and decap
itated , so that his secret might perish
with him. It is thought that this metal
must have been aluminum.
Disarm a critic and he will kick you.
TALMAGE'S SERMON.
OUn BIRTHRIGHT LAST SUN
DAY'S SUBJECT.
From the FollOTrlnc Text : To Thin
KnU Waa 1 Horn.John , Chapter
xvlll. , Verne 07 The Jtlniilfold Ko-
of Tareutace Set Kurlli.
After Pilate had suicided , tradition
says that his body was thrown into
the Tiber , and such storms ensued on
and about that river that his body was
taken out and thrown into the Rhone ,
and similar disturbances swept that
river and Its banks. Then the body
was taken out and moved to Lausanne ,
and put in a deeper pool , which Imme
diately became the center of similar
atmospheric and aqueous disturbance.
Though these are fanciful and false
traditions , they show the execration
with which the world looked upon 1'i-
late. It was before this man when he
was In full life in a court of Oyer and
Terminer. Pilate said to his prisoner :
"Art thou a king , then ? " and Jesus
answered : "To this end was I born. "
Sure enough , although all earth and
hell arose to keep him down , he is to
day empalaccd , enthroned and coronet-
cd king of earth and king of heaven.
That is what He came for , and that is
what He accomplished.
By the time a child reaches ten years
of age the parents begin to discover
that child's destiny , but by the time he
or she reaches fifteen years of age , the
question is on the child's lips : "What
shall I do ? What am I going to beV
What was I made for ? " It is a sensi
ble and righteous question , and the
youth ought to keep asking it until it
is so fully answered that the young
man , or young woman , can say with as
much truth as its author , though on a
less expansive scale : "To this end was
I born. "
There is too much divine skill shown
in the physical , mental and moral con
stitution of the ordinary human being
to suppose that he was constructed
without any divine purpose. If you
take me out on some vast plain and
show me a pillared temple surmounted
by a dome like St. Peter's , and having
a floor of precious stones and arches
that must have taxed the brain of the
greatest draughtsman to design , ana
walls scrolled and niched and paneled ,
and wainscoted and painted , and I
should ask you what this building was
put up for , and you answered : "For
nothing at all , " how could I believe
you ? And it is impossible for me to
believe that any ordinary human be
ing who has in his muscular , nervous
and * cerebral organization more won
ders than Christopher Wren lifted in
St. Paul's , or Phidias ever chiseled ou
the Acropolis , and built in such a way
that it shall last long after St. Paul's
cathedral is as much : i ruin as the
Parthenon that such a being was con
structed for no purpose , and to execute
no mission , and without any divine in
tention toward some end. The object
of this sermon is to help you to find
out what 3'ou are made for , and help
you find your sphere , and assist you
into that condition where you can say
with certainty and emphasis and en
thusiasm and ti'umph ; "To this end
was I born. "
First , I discharge you from all re
sponsibility for moFt of your environ
ments. You arc not responsible lor
your parentage or grand-parentage.
You are not responsible for any of the
cranks that may have lived in your an
cestral line , and who a hundred years
before you were born may have lived
a style of life that more or less affc-cts
you today. You are not responsible for
the fact that your temperament i ? san
guine , or melancholic , or bilious , or
lymphatic , or nervous. Neither are
you responsible for the place of your
nativity , whether among the granite
hills of New England , or the cotton
plantations of Louisiana , or on the
banks of the Clyde , or the Dneiper , or
the Shannon , or the Seine. Neither are
you responsible for the religion taught
in your father's house , or the irrcfig-
ion. Do not bother yourself about
what you cannot help , or about circum
stances that you did not decrcs. Take
things as they arc , and decide the
question so that you shall be able
safely to say : "To this oml was I
born. " How will you decide it ? By
direct application to the only Being in
the universe who is competent to tell
you the Lord Almighty. Do you know
the reason why He is the only one
who can tell ? Because he can sec
everything between your cradle ana
your grave , though the grave he eighty
years off. And besides that. He is the
only Beius : who can see what has been
happening in the last 500 years in your
ancestral line , and for thousands or
years clear back to Adam , and there is
not one person in all that ancestral
line of 6.000 years but has somehow
affected your character , and even old
Adam himself will sometimes turn up
in your disposition. The only Being
who can take all things that pertain
to you into consideration is God. and
He is the one you can ask. Life is so
short we have no time to experiment
with occupations and professions. The
reason we have so many dead failures
Is that parents decide for children
what they shall do , or children them
selves , wrought on by some whim or
fancy , decide for themselves , without
any imploration of divine guidance.
So we have now in pulpits men making
sermons who ought to be in black
smith shops making plowshares ; an'J
we have in the law those who instead
of ruining the cases of their clients
ought to be pounding shoe lasts : and
doctors who are the worst hindrances
to their patients' convalescence ; and
artists trying to paint landscapes who
ought to be whitewashing board
fences ; while there are others making
bricks who ought to be remodeling
constitutions , or shoving planes who
ought to be transforming literatures.
Ask God about what worldly business
you shall undertake , until you are so
positive you can in earnestness smite
your hand on your plow handle , or
your carpenter's bench , or your Biack-
gtoue's Commentaries , or your medical
dictionary , or your Dr. Dick's Didiictic
Theology , saying : "For this end was 1
born. " . There are children who early
develop natural affinities for certain
stylus-of work. When the father or
the astronomer Forbes was going to
London , he asked his children what
present he should bring each one ot
them. The boy who v.-aa tobe an as
tronomer cried out , "Bring me a tele
scope ! "
Do you wait for extraordinary quali
fications. Philip , the conqueror , galuet !
his greatest victories seated on a mule ,
and if you wait for some caparisoned
Bucephalus to ride into the conflict you
will never get into the world-wide tight
nt all. Sainson slew the Lord's ene
mies with the jaw-bone of the stupi
dest beast created. Shamgar slew COO
of the Lord's enemies with an ox-goad.
Under God , spittle cured tae blind
man's eyes in the New Testament
story. Take all the faculty you have
and say : " 0 Lord ! Here is what 1
have , show me the field and back me
up by omnipotent power. Anywhere ,
anyhow , any time for God. " Two men
riding on horseback came to a trough
to water the horses. While the horses
were drinking , one of the men said to
the other a few words about the value
of the soul , then they rode away , ana
in opposite directions. But the words
uttered were the salvation of the one
to whom they were uttered , and he be
came the Rev. Mr. Champion , one or
the most distinguished missionaries in
heathen lands ; for years wondering
who did for him the Christian kind
ness , and not finding out until In a
bundle of books sent him to Africa he
found the biography of Brainerd Tay
lor and a picture of him , and the mis
sionary recognized the face in thai
book as the man who , at the watering
trough for horses , had said the thing
that saved his soul. What opportuni
ties you have had in the past ! What
opportunities you have now ! What
opportunities you will have in the days
to come ! Put on your hat , oh ! woman ,
this afternoon , and go and comfort
that young mother who lost her &abe
last summer. Put on your hat , oh !
man , and go over and see that mer
chant who was compelled yesterday to
make an assignment , and tell him of
the everlasting riches remaining for all
those who serve the Lord. Can you
sing ? Go and sing for that man who
cannot get well , and you will help him
into heaven. Let it be your brain , your
tongue , your eyes , your ears , your
heart , your lungs , your hand , your feet ,
your body , your nynd , your soul , your
life , your time. yor * eternity for God.
feeling in your soul : "To this end was
I born. ' "
It may be helpful if I recite my own
experience in this regard. I startea
for the law without asking any divine
direction. I consulted my own tastes.
I liked lawyers and courtrooms ana
judges and juries , and reveled in hear
ing the Frelinghuysens and the Brad-
leys of the New Jersey bar. and as as
sistant of the county clerk , at sixteen
years of age , I searched titles , natur
alized foreigners , recorded deeds , re
ceived the confession of judgments ,
swore witnesses and juries and grand
juries. But after a while I felt a call
to the gospel ministry and entered it.
and I felt some satisfaction in the
work. But one summer , when I was
resting at Sharon Springs , and while
seated in the park of that village I said
to myself , "If I have an especial work
to do in the world I ought to find it
out now , " and with that determination
I prayed as I had never before prayed ,
and got the divine direction , and wrote
it down in my memorandum book , and
I saw my life work then as plainly as
I see it now. Oh , do not be satisfied
with general directions. Get specific
directions. Do not shoot at random.
Take aim and fire. Concentrate. Na
poleon's success in battle came from
his theory of breaking through the en
emy's ranks at one point , not trying to
meet the whole Hue of the enemy's
force by a smaller force. One reason
why he lost Waterloo was because he
did not work his usual theory , an.1
spread his force out over a wide range.
O Christian man , O Christian woman ,
break through somewhere. Not a gen
eral engagement , and made in answer
to prayer. If there are sixteen hundred
million people in the world , then there
are sixteen hundred million dinerent
missions to fulfill , different styles ot
work to do , different orbits in wuicii
to revolve , and if you do not get the
divine direction there are at least fif
teen hundred and ninety-nine million
possibilities that you will make a mis
take. On your knees before God get
the matter settled so that you can firm
ly say : "To this end was I born. "
And now I come to the cllmactortc
consideration. As near as I can toil ,
you were built for a happy eternity , all
the disasters which have happened tn
your nature to be overcome by the
blood of the Lamb if you will heartily
accept that Christly arrangement. Wo
are all rejoiced nt the increase In hu
man longevity. People live , as near as I
can observe , about ten years longer
than they used to. The modern doctor *
do not bleed their patients on nil oc
casions as did the former doctors. In
those times if a man had fever they
bled him. if he had consumption they
bled him , if ho had rheumatism they
bled him , and if they could not make
out exactly what was the matter they
bled him. Olden time phlebotomy wia
death's coadjutor. All this has elmnsc-
ed. From the way I see people skip
ping about at eighty years of age. I
conclude that life insurance companies
will have to change their table of risks
and charge a man no moro premium
at seventy than they used to do when
he was sixty , and no more premium r t
fifty than when he was forty. By the
advancement of medical science nud
the wider acquaintance with the laws
of health , and the fact that the people
know better how to take care of them
selves , human life is prolonged. But
do you realize what , after all , la Ce
brevity of our earthly state ? In tie
'
times when people lived' seven ana < ,
eight hundred years , the patriarch Ja
cob said that his years were few. Looking - I
ing at the life of the youngest person
in this assembly and supposlas that hs
will live to be a nonagenarian , how-
short the time and soon gone , while
flaked up in front of us is an eternity
| so vast that arithmetic has not figures
i enough to express its length , or
! breadth , or depth , or height. For a
[ bsppy eternity you were born , unless
you run yourself against the divine in
tentions. If standing in your presence
my eye should fall upon the feeblest
soul here as that soul will appear when
the world lets It up. and heaven en
trances it. I suppose I would be so
overpowered that I should drop dowa
as one dead. You have examined the
family Bible and explored the family
records , and you may have seen
daguerrotypes of dome of the kindred
of previous generations , you have had
photographs taken of what you were
in boyhood or girlhood , and what yon
were ten years later , and It is very In
teresting to any one to be able to loot
back upon pictures of what he was tea.
or twenty , or thirty years ago ; but
have jou ever had a picture taken o *
what you may be and what you wilt
be if you Eeek after God and fe l tae
spirlt'u regenerating power ? Where
shall I plant the camera to take the
picture ? I plant it on this platform. 1
direct it towards you. Sk still or stand
still while I take the picture. It shall
be an instantaneous picture , laere ! 1
have it. It is done. You caa se the
picture in its imperfect state , aad s t
some idea of what it will be wh n
thoroughly developed. There Is your
resurrected body , so brilliant that th
noonday sun is a patch of midnight
compared with it. There is your souL
so pure that all the forces of diabolism
could not spot it with an Issperfeclios.
There is your being , so talghtr and so
swift that flight from heaven to Mer
cury or Mars or Jupiter and back again
to heaven would not weary yea , and a
[ world on each shoulder would not
: crush you. An eye that shell never shed
| a tear. An energy that shall never Il
a fatigue , A brow th&t shall never
; throb with pain. You are young again.
I though you died of decrepitude. You
I are well again , though you eoughe-J
i or shivered yourself into the tonsa.
| Your everyday associates are the apostles
tles and prophets and martyrs , ana
most exalted souls , masculine and fem
inine , of all the centuries. The arch
] angel to you no embarrassaeai. Go3
himself your present and everlasting
! joy. That Is an instantaneous picture
of what you may be. and what I an
sure some of you will be. *
What a strange thing It rauc-t be to
feel one's self born to an earthly crown.
but you have been born for a taroa *
on which you may reign after the la c
monarch of all the earth shall have
[ gone to dust. I invite you to start now
for your own coronation , to come ta
and take the title deeds to your ever
lasting inheritance. Through aa ion-
passioned prayer , take heaves and a
of its raptures.
What a poor farthing is all thai ta- <
world can offer you compared with par
don here and life immortal beyond t5f
stars , unless this side of them th re
be a place large enough , aad beautifu.
enough , and grand enough for all the
ransomed. Wherever it be. in wha"
world , whether nearby or far away : n
this or some other constellation , ha.
home of light , and love , and bl sxsi
ness. Through the atoning mercy 3'
Christ , may we all get there !
Ill * nirthilmy Gift.
When Mrs. Ransom weat away for
fortnight's visit , she called hr
boys to her and said , firmly : "Now
Rob. I want you and Ned 10
me that you will not tease papa to
you to the football game n\t
If he wanle to go he might wish to 1 *
with some friend , and not have th *
care of little boys like you. And dorT
forget that you are to give papa soni"
thing bought with your own money fo-
his birthday. " The boy * promised
and the mother departed Th * fa. "
that the birthday and : hc football
game occurred on the same dati %
seemed particularly unpropitiows l nt
the day before. Bob ha l a swUlen 'n
spiration. the glow of which was
shared with his brother. On Mr
som's plate at breakfast the n \r
morning was a somewhat rolled envelope
velope on which was printed in ram
ful letters. "Happy I'lrllulay. " 1 Open
ing it. the beneficiary found two imsx
quarters wrapped in a half-sheet of
paper which bore the words. "To b > A
tikket for the game. " And looUn * up
he encountered the gae of four wist
fully hopeful eyes , whose owners h.t 1
their strntejo
no reason to regret
Too Much.
A drill sergeant was unpopular
nmonc his men. They found him lo
particular. One day he had on h\ml ;
a party of recruits whom he was yni
ting timniKh the fuuenU exercise
Opening the rauUs so as to admit the
passage of the supposed "fuuewl eoi
tego amouK thorn , the instructor l \
way of imietlcul explanation.alKed
slowly down the luie : formed l > th'
two ranks , saying. : u * h * did so. "No\\
I'm the corpse , ray attention ! " H : \
lug reached the cud of the Hue he
turned , veganleil the meu with a sue
tinlziug eye for a minute , uml then c
marked : "Your 'umla U right , : n I
your 'ends I * Hxht. but you 'rtxen'i * o
that look of rexret you iwjtM to \\\e
CUtllxnttoti Slmltltf K'Mt ! .
A father with : i IOMK ttle of } Url > i u > .l
a wife and Iwb.x in av.i ou lra\\n b\
two hrlmlloou pass * * ! tmn ) > x > i
Hope. Ark. , on the \v y to I'tu-to Uico
to settle on u ytei'a of houl.
News.