VV
I *
MY POOR WIPE
J. P. SMITH.
0
CHAPTER V.
I tried to folloAV at the same speed ,
but , after going a few yards , had to
come to an ignominious halt , clinging
wildly to a clump of gorsc ; . My hat
went rolling ntendily down to .the
Khorc , scA'eral hundred feet beloAV ,
AvhilEt my face and hands Avere
scratched and bleeding , and my feet
constantly slipping from under me.
At last , jammed in between two bush
es , 1 crouched cautiously forward to
review my position. My sprightly
guide had reached the sheep track ,
then , after looking hastily round for
me , J saw her suddenly npring up the
side of a block of granite , as bald as
the palm of my hand , and disappear
seawards over the aummit.
"By JOVP ! " I exclaimed in utter
astonishment. "Why , she's an ante
lope , a mountain cat , the old witch's
granddaughter ! I wish I had neA-er
come acrocs either of them ! I sup
pose I must get down somehow ! "
Half kneeling , half sitting , I de
scended slowly , swinging myself from
liush to bush , heedless of the stinging
"hloAA-s from furze and thistle , keeping
ray clumsy heels Avell off the treach
erous soil , whan suddenly , almost
lialf-Avay down , from under a bed of
bracken that covered her to the chin ,
Helen's face looked up at me full of
eager , contrite concern , her strange
dark eyes sweeping ray disfigured , per
spiring face Avith a look that thrilled
me almost uncannily.
"I am EO sorry , " she panted ; "oh ,
so sorry ! I quite forgot you Averc a
stranger and unaccustomed to the
cliffs ; they are dreadfully slippery this
weather. I have to go after the sheep
for Mike every day now he can't hold
on a bit , though he AA'as born on the
mountain. Ah , how you have hurt
yourself , to be sure ! Those dreadful
furze bushes ! Put your hand on my
shoulder , I Avill guide you down the
rest ; AVC have only the ferns to work
through noAV to the path. Here's
your hat ; it's not spoiled a bit I
picked it up on the beach before the
water had time to reach it. "
"It was after my hat you Avcre scal
ing that cliff ? "
"Yes , I had no time to go around by
the path ; the tide ia on the turn and
would have taken it off to America in
IAVO minutes more. "
"You're not going away now , are
you ? " I asked eagerly , lifting my hand
from her slender shoulder. "You'll
see me beyond the first point , won't
you ? "
"Yes. yes for sure , yes , " she an-
sAA-ered quickly ; "I will go with you to
the Goat's Back , if you like ay , and
beyond it. Oh. Mr. Dennys. what a
rude , wild , ill-mannered girl you must
think me to fly off and IcaA'e you like
that after you being so kind to come
that long way from London itself
just to toll granny about poor Uncle
Brian ! Will you forgive me , please ? "
I pressed the childish hand , saying
smilingly
"Yes , yes , I forgive you. Miss
Helen. "
"And you Avill let me Avipe the blood
from your poor face. Avon't you ? " she
pleaded , dipping a large cool leaf into
a little crystal pool under a rock
handkerchief this child of nature had
none , I suspected and passing it over
my hot and blood-stained face.
After this we marched on side by
side and became fast friends. Long
before we reached the ruined cabin , 1
knew the whole story of her lonely ,
neglected life. I kneAv that she had
been born on the mountain had lived
there all the eighteen years of her
uneventful life , never once having vis
ited the post-town of Droomlague ;
that she had no father or mother ,
brothers nor sisters , but lived all alone
with her grandmother and two serv
ants , Mike Doolan and his wife Bid
dy ; and finally , though the poor child
made no complaint of her natural
guardian or indeed seemed aAvare there
AA'as cause for any , yet I clearly saAV
that she AA-as shamefully neglected by
her , and no more concern paid to her
bodily or her mental well-being than
if she had been a goat browsing on the
mountain-side , instead of a dead
daughter's only child.
After helping for a couple of hours
every morning in the dairy and farm
yard , she told me she was free to do
Avhat she pleased , wander whither she
would the whole day long , make Avhat
chance acquaintance she liked , come
in at any hour of the eA'ening unques
tioned , unrestrained indeed , she had
often spent the whole night lying on
the cliff , when she found her ill-ven
tilated attic too hot and close to sleep
is. and no one had been any the wiser ;
and even if they were , she argued in
answer to my dissenting look Biddy
wouldn't mind , and granny wouldn't
care not she ! And , besides , what
harm , was It ? Sure nothing in the
world made her feel so good and hap
py as lying there all alone in the great
stillness , waiting for the first streak
of dawn to wake up the sleeping sea ,
watching the white-winged sea-birds
sailing In and out among the great
dark rocks !
"And now I must be going , Mr. Den
nys , " she said , when a cluster of
thatched roofs lying close to t e shore
came within view , " for there's Bally-
killagan before you. How quickly AVC
have -walked , to be sure ! I never
thought I came so far. Good-by and
thank you again and again for comv
ing. I'm afraid you won't get the train
from Droomlcaguc tonight it's too
bad ! "
"Tonight ? " I repeated dreamily.
"I I am not going away tonight. I
think I am going to stay in this neighc
borhood. for a few days more. "
"Yes ? Why , what would keep you
here ? "
"I don't know. "What am I saying ?
Fishing no , no , I mean sketching !
You must know , Miss Helen , I'm a bit
of an artist a very little bit indeed ,
and from what I've seen of the coast
today "
"Oh , yes , " she interrupted eagerly ,
"you're right ! It's quite a familiar
ground for marine artists. Two or
three of them come every summer and
put up at Murphy's farm at Ballyf
killagan , and you'll find it quite clean
and comfortable. And fancy , Mr. Den-
nys. last year one of tham put me in
a picture just as I sat on a rock fort
ninijt him ; only he painted my feet
bare , my skirt red and my face quits
quite prettj- . "
"You'll let me try my hand if I
bring my easel this way tomorrow ? "
I aeked quickly ; to which she gave a
pleased assent and promised to show
me all the picturesque points within
a radius of nine miles.
CHAPTER VI.
I stayed on in Donegal , and during
fourteen golden days caricatured the
"royal walls of the Atlantic , " Avhile
Helen sat at my feet and did the hon
ors of her natiA-e soil , her brown hands
busy all the time mending old Dad
dy Griffin's tattered fish nets , bleach
ing for miles along the parched turf
that covered the brow of the cliff.
"Well , yes , it is a bit of a job , sir , "
she admitted deprecatingly ; "but , sure ,
if I did not do it for him , Avho would ?
His sons are away at sea. and Milly ,
his wife she Avas my nurse Avhen I
Avas a baby has gone to see her
daughter at Droomleague ; and he's
so old and blind the creature ! Who
AA-ouldn't giA'e him a hand ? " I
She netted busily , whila * I daubsd
lazily and amused myself drawing out
this impulsive child of nature , to j
AVhom all the artificial beauties and '
Avonders of the great world beyond
that lonely Avail of rock were as unknown -
known as to an inhabitant of the Caribbean -
i
ibbean islands in the last century. i
The pastime began to grow upon ! |
me ; I felt a daily increasing interest '
in Avatching her dark face gloAving
and brightening , her strange eyes
sparkling , distending Avith wonder ,
horror or delight in obedience to my
sybaritic fancy. Then , becoming
more interested in my companion , I
telegraphed up to toAvn for specimens
of magical modern art. then for books ,
pictures , photographs , hot-house floAAj j i
ers , bon-bons , all of Avhich she believed - { I
lieved * I daily unearthed from my in
exhaustible portmanteau at Mur
phy's farm. I stayed on , heedless of
aught beyond the fact that I was
clearly giving pleasure to a savage ,
interesting A\-aif , f who seemed not
to be worth any one's Avhile to look
after , much less amuse , and at the
same time improving my own despairing - '
ing condition , for the air of Donegal
was certainly healing my wounded
heart. Day after day the haunting
image of my fair false love became
fainter and less painful to my sighf.
I was gleefully looking forward to the
time when I could cast her from me
altogether and return free and whole
in heart to the ancestral acres , when
one morning a letter from a friend At
Colworth , which commented casually
on the "apparently successful innings
Lord Sandmouth's son was making i i
with the heiress , " awoke my slumber
ing Jove and jealousy to life again.
Helen at once noticed my woebegone -
gone appearance , and , accepting piti
fully my explanation of a "beastly
headache , " begged me to lay aside j
my work and lie down quietly in the j |
shade. I complied ; but , soon tiring j
of inaction , began to read first to
myself and then aloud a rhymetic tale
of love , despair , and death told , ty
a master-hand. The sea-stained nets
soon dropped from Helen's fingers ,
the color dyed her clear cheek , her
eyes filled , then drooped , and I had
the selfish satisfaction of reducing
her to the same dismal , unhappy state
as myself.
Neither of us rallied again ; and ,
when we parted that night , I stood on
the hill carelessly watching her retreating -
treating figure , and saw her dog
a painfully sensitive little terrier ; the
only living thing she loved appar
ently begging to be told the cause
of her unusual preoccupation , crouch
ing , wriggling at her feet , jumping
up against her , challenging her atten-
Uon by every art of dog , but in vain.
She walked along with downcast head ,
her arms drooping by her sides. I
was moving after her unconsciously ,
to say , to do. for the life of me I did
not know what. Perhaps to tell her '
not to mourn over imaginary woes ,
but to keep her real sighs or real
sorrow , for the pain perhaps of love
betrayed wantonly betrayed liks
mine , when a yellow hand clutched
my shoulder , and a 'coarse voice ex
claimed breathlessly
"Stop , ye thief o' the wurrld stop !
What are ye after eh ? "
I turned indignantly and found ray-
self confronted by an old woman in
a long blue cloak , and a limp white
cap framing an ugly face.
"What dy'e mean ? What business
.Is it of yours ? " I asked , shaking off
lyr hand.
"What business ? Yo may well ask ,
yo dirty spalpeen , " she retorted bit-
terly. "No , no ; I tell ye , I won't get
out o * yer way ye'll have to knock
me down first. I'm only an ould
Avoman , and ye'll do it easy enough :
but even then I'll hang onto ye , an'
dig me nails into ye , until ye tell me
v/hat ye've said to that motherless lit-
tic crayther that hasn't sowl in the
wide wurrld to care whether she "
"Oh ! " I interrupted quickly , all the
anger leaving my face and voicq. "I
understand. : You arc old Molly Griff
fin coine home at last. "
"Ay , ay , an' it's about time I did
come home , I'm thinkin' . Ochone.
ochone ; but isn't this a cruel Avurrld
entirely ! Oh , aren't ye ashamed of
yerself , you that calls yerself .1
gentleman belikes , to to play scoundrel -
drel ; like that ? Wouldn't her very
innocence i , her folornncss spake to yer
black soAvl and bid yer go yer Avay
an' laive such as her in peace ? "
"Molly , Molly , " I said gently , for I
felt a certain respect and liking for
this uncouth old dame , the only friend
and protector poor Helen seemed to
have , "don't let your tongue run .10
fast , if you please. Allow me a word
in i self-defense. "
Then I explained the cause of the
girl's depressed appearance that particular -
ticular evening. After a little hesitation -
tation a look of relief crossed her
face , and I saw she believed me.
"Well , well , I beg your pardon ,
that's all I can say. I oughtn't to
have been so hasty maybe. But
I've had bitter cause , heaven knows ,
to suspect the likes o' you. Not , sir ,
that I've heerd anythin' but good ul'
you , so far. How you've come all the
Avay from London to tell the auld
Avan' bout poor Master Brian , an'
give up his letters the heavens be his
bed this night. But but , " she Avenr
on anxiously , after a slight pause ,
"what I want to knoAv is , yer kind
Avork done , Avhat en earth keeps ye
loiterin' on here at the A-ery back o'
Godspeed-
"I am doing no harm , " I muttered
iloggediy.
"An * I sny ye are. No harm to yeri
self , an' manin' none mayhap , ather
ways ; but harm all the same to her.
She was happy , contented , at laisf.
poor child , in her lonesome , qu'.et
ways , scampering about Avid her dog.t
swimmin' and splashin' about in the
say , until you came with yer soft
voice , yer white hands , an' yer handt
seme face , givin' her what no wan
ever give her before , flowers , an'
books , bVvT-Jties , an' purty gimcraclw ;
an' sAveeter still , kind Avoids an' sniil1
in' looks. Avhat her poor little heart'll
miss 'an hunger for sore when ye've
gone yer ways an' forgotten her very
name. But ye mane no harm of
coorse , of coorse ah , get away Avith
ye , man alive ; yer all the same the
wurrld over , rich or poor , high or
low every mother's sou of ye self ,
self , self ! "
"You're mistaken , you're mistaken
indeed , old woman , " I broke in earnestly -
estly ; "she's a child , a mere child.l
I know her better than you. She'll
forget me before I Avill her , you'll see. "
"You knoAV her better than me , Avho
nursed her from the cradle an' her
mother before her , " retorted Molly
contemptuously "you ! An' I tell ye
to ver face , it's you that are mistaken ,
not me. I sec a change in her the
last month , a great change ; I seen it
at the first moment I looked at her
last Tuesday , an' I've watched her
close ever since. "
"Well , what have you found cut ? "
( To be Continued. )
JUBAL A. EARLY'S JULEP.
Tein ; > er.iiH'e Commentary Ity Vance < > '
North Carolina.
Nearly a quarter of a century ago ,
as all old and middle-aged persons Avill
remember , the religious temperance
women of the north organized a moA-o-
ment against the saloons , which assumed -
sumed large proportions and took the
form of a veritable crusade. It invaded -
ed almost every city and large town ,
bands of enthusiastic A\romen going
from saloon to saloon praying and
singing in every place Avhere they could
secure permission. While the crusade
of the "praying sisters" AVSS at its
height J that stanch old rebel , Jnbal A.
Early , visited Richmond , Va. . for the
first time since the close of the civil
Avar. "In the hotel , " said he to the
Avriter , "I met my old friend. Governor
Vance of North Carolina , since United
States senator. Although I was not
the governor of South Carolina , Vaneo
suggested that it had been a long time
fifteen years in our case between
drinks , and AVC Avent in quest of a jti-
lep. j 'General , ' said he. after remark
ing * that Virginia Avas the place for ju
leps * , 'have you read how the AA-omen
of the north are trying to destroy the
liquor traffic by praying in the saloons -
loons ? ' I told him that I had , AA-hen he
asked : 'Do you belie\-e it's true ? I
have an idea that it's only a joke of the
yankee ncAvspapers. ' I told him that ifc
Avas true , that a friend of mine had
r
Avitnessed the rather unique proceeding
in Columbus , 0. 'Where do they get
their authority , general ? For the life
of me I can't understand. ' 'They profess - t
fess to get it from the bible , ' I replied. t
'NOAV look here , Early , ' he responded f
very earnestly , 'as a boy and young ,
man I Avas A pretty regular Sundayt
Echool scholar , and the only instance c
in the bible that I can recall Avhere e
any one ever asked for Avater Avas a
poor deA'il in hell , Avhere I think he j
rightly belonged. ' " c
The only material difference be
tween a cold and the grip Is In the
doctor's bill.
TALMAGE'S SEEMON.
"THE CRADLE OF THE TWENTIETH -
TIETH CENTURY.
From the Followlnc nlblo Text , Cliroii.
XII , as : "Tho Children of Issuclmr
Had L'ntorstun ! < llnsr to 1C now What
Israel Ou ht to Do. "
Great tribe , that tribe of Issachar.s
When Joab took the census , there Avere
] 45.GOO of them. Before the almanac
was born , through astrological study ,
they kneAV from stellar conjunctions
all about the seasons of the year. Before -
fore agriculture became an art they
Avere skilled in the raising of crops.
Before 1 politics became a science they
knew 1 the temper of nations ; and
whenever they marched , either for
pleasure or Avar , they marched under a
three-colored flag topaz , sardine , and
carbuncle. But the chief characteris
tic of that tribe of Issachar was that
they understood the times. They AA'ere
not like the political and moral incom
petents of our day , who are trying to
guide 1898 by the theories of 1828. They
lacked I : at the divine indications in
their own particular century. So we
ought to understand the times , not" the
times AA-hen America A\-as thirteen col
onies , huddled together along the Atlantic -
lantic 1 coast , but the times AA'hen the
nation dips one hand in the ocean on
one side of the continent , and the oth-
er hand in the ocean on the other side
the continent ; times which put New
York NarroAvs and the Golden Horn
of the Pacific within one flash of elec
tric telegraphy ; times when God is as
directly , as positively , as solemnly , as
tremendously addressing us through
the daily newspaper and the quick revolution
elution of events as he eA'er addressed
the ancients , or addresses us through
the Holy Scriptures. The A-oice of God
in i Providence is as important as the
voice of God in typology ; for in our
OAvn day AA-C have had our Sinais with
thunders of the Almighty , and Cal-
A-aries of sacrifice , and Gethsemanes
that sweat great drops of blood , and
Olivets of ascension , and Mount Pis-
jahs of far-reaching vision. The Lord
who rounded this world six thousand
years ago , and sent his Son to raileem
it near nineteen hundred years ago ,
has yet much to do with this radiant ,
but agonized planet. May God make
us like the children of Issacharvhich
Avere men that had understanding of
the times , to know what Israel ought
to do. "
The birthday of our nineteenth cen
tury occurred in the time of war. Our
small United States navy , under Capt.
Truxton , commanding the frigate Con
stitution , was in collision with the
French frigates La Vengeance and
L'Insurgente , and the first infant cries
of this century -ere drowned in the
roar of naval battle. And political
strife on this continent was the hot
test , the parties rending each other
with panthcrine rage. The birthday
present of this nineteenth century was
vituperation , public unrest , threat of
national demolition , and horrors national
J
tional and international. I adjure you ,
let J not the twentieth century be met
in that awful way , but with all bright
ness of temporal and religious pros
pects.
First , let us put upon the cradle or
the new century a new map of the
world. The old map was black with
too many barbari.si.to. and red with too
many slaughters , and pale with too
many sufferings. Let us see to it that
on that map , .so far as possible , our
country from ocean to ocean is a
Christianized continent schools , col
leges , churches and good homes in
long line from ocean beach to ocean
|
beach. On that map Cuba must be
.
free. The archipelago of the Philip
pines must be free. If cruel Spain
expects by procrastination and intrigue
to get back what she has surrendered ,
then the warships Iowa , and Indiana ,
and Brooklyn , and Texas , anil Vesu
vius , and Oregon must be sent back to
southern waters , or across to the coast
of Spain , to silence the insolence , as
decidedly as last summer they silenced
the Cristobal Colon , and Oqucndo. and
Maria Teresa , and Vizcaya. When wn
get those islands thoroughly under our
protectorate , for the first time our mis
sionaries in China will be safe. The
atrocities imposed on these good men
and women in the so-called Flowery
Kingdom will never be resumed , for
our guns wil be too near Hong Kong
,
to allow the massacre of missionary
settlements.
On that map must be put the Isth
mian canal , aegun if not completed. No
long voyages around Cape Horn for
the Avorld's merchandise , but short and
cheap communication by water instead
of expensive communication by rail
.
train , and more millions Avill be added
to cur national Avealth and the world's
betterment than I have capacity to cal
culate.
On that map it must be made evi-
dent that America is to ba the world's
civilizer and evangelizer. Free from
the national religious of Europe on the
one sirto. and from the superstitious ot
,
Asia on the other side , it Avill haA'e
,
facilities for the Avork that no other
continent can possibly possess. As *
near as I can tell by the laying on of
the hands of the Lord Almighty , this °
continent has been ordained for that a
work. This is the only country in
the Avorld where all religions are on
the same platform , and'the people have a
free selection for themselves without
any detriment. When we present to
"
the other continents this assortment
of religions and give them unhinder
ed choice , we have no doubt of their
selecting this religion of mercy , and
kindness , and good will , and temporal
and eternal rescue. Hear it ! America
is to take this world for God !
On the map which we will put on
the cradle of the new century we muster
have , very soon , a railroad bridge
across Behring Strait , those thirty-six
miles of Avater , not deep , and they are
spotted with islands capable of holding
the piers of a great bridge. And what
Avith America and * Asia thus connected ,
and Siberian railway , and a railroad
now projected for the length of Afri
ca , and Palestine and Persia , and India
and China , and Burmah intersected
Avith railroad tracks , all of which will
be done before the new century is
grown up , the Avay Avill be
open to the quick civilization
and evangelization of the Avholc world.
The old map AVC used to study in our
boyhood days is dusty , and on the top
shelf , or amid the rubbish of the gar
ret ; and so will the present map of
the Avorld , however gilded and beauti
fully bound , be treated , and an entire
ly new map will be put Into the infan
tile hand of the coming century.
The work of this century has been
to ' get ready. All the earth is ; now
free to the gospel except two little
spots , one in Asia and one in Africa ,
Avhile at the beginning of the century
there stood the Chinese Avail , and there
flamed the fires , and there glittered the
SAVords that forbade entrance to many
islands i and large reaches of continent.
Bornesian cruelties and Fiji island
cannibalism have given aAvay , and all
the gates of all the continents are
sAvung open Avith a clang that has been
a positiA-e and glorious invitation for
Christianity to enter. Telegraph , tele
phone and phonograph are to be consecrated
crated to gospel dissemination , and in
stead of the voice that gains the atten
tion of a few hundred or a few thou
sand people within the church walls' ,
the telegraph will thrill the glad tid
ings and the telephone will utter them
to many millions. Oh , the infinite ad-
A-antage that the twentieth century
has over Avhat the nineteenth century
had at the starting ! * *
I do not belicA'e there is in all this
house a temperance pledge , and you
Avould haA-e to take out a torn letJer-
enA-elope or a loose scrap of paper for
the inebriate's signature. I found out
afterAvard that there AA-as one such
temperance pledge in the audience , but
only one that I could hear of. Do not
leaA'e to politics that which can 5e
done now in ten thousand reformatory
meetings all over the country. The
tAA-o great political parties. Republic
an and Democratic , will put a prohib
itory 5 plank in the platform the same
day that Satan joins the church and
turns perdition into a camp meeting.
Both parties A\-ant the votes of the
traffickers in liquid death , and if you
AA-ait for the ballot box to do the AA-ork ,
first you Avill haA-e local option , and
then you Avill have high license , and
then a first-rate law passed ; to be re
voked by the next legislature.
Oh , save the young man of today ,
and greet the coming century Avith a
tidal waA-e of national redemption ! Do
not put upon the cradle of the twen
tieth century a mountain of demijohns.
and beer barrels , and rum jugs , and
put to its infant lips wretchedness , disease -
ease , murder , and abandonment in so
lution. Aye , reform that army of in
ebriates. "Ah , " you say , "it cannot
be done. " That shoAA-s that you will |
be of no use in the Avork. "O. ye ot
little faith. " AAvay back in early
times , President Davies of Princeton
college , one day found a man in utter
despair because of the thrall of strong
drink. The president said to him :
"Sir , be of good cheer ; you can be sav-
ed. Sign the pledge. " "Ah , " said the
despairing A-ictim. "I haA-e often sign
ed the pledge , but I have always broken -
en my pledge. " "But , " said the presl-
dent. "I Avill be your strength to keep
the pledge. I Avill be your friend , and.
Avith a loving arm around you. Avill
hold you up. When your appetite
burns , and you feel that you must
gratify it , come to my house : sit down
with me in the study , or Avith the fam
ily in the parlor , and 1 Avill be a shTeld
to you. All that I can do for you \vith
my books , my sympathy , my experi
ence , my society , my love , my money ,
I Avill do. You shall forget your appe-
tite and master it. " A look of hope
glowed on the poor man's face , and he
replied : "Sir. Avill you do all that ? "
"S'irely I will. " "Then I Avill over
come. " He signed the pledge and kept
it. That plan of President Davies.which
saved one man. tried on a large scale.
Avill save a million men.
Alexander the Great made an impe
rial banquet at Babylon , and though
he had been drinking the health of
guests all one night and all next flay ,
the second night he had twenty guests
and he drank the health of each sep
arately. Then calling for the eup of
Hercules , the giant , a monster cup.
he filled and drained it tAvice. to shoAV
his endurance : but , as he finished last
.
draught from the cup of Hercules , the
giant , he dropped in a fit. from which
he never recovered. Alexander. Avho
had conquered Sard is. and conquered
Halicarnassus. and conquered Asia ,
and conquered the AA-orld. could not
conquer himself ; and there is a threat
ening peril that this good land of ours ,
having conquered all \vith whom it
has eA-er gone into battle , may yet be
overthroAvn by the cup of the giant
evil of the land that Hercules of infamy
,
famy , strong drink. Do not let the
staggering , and bloated , and embruted
host ' of drunkards go into the next
century looking for insane asylums ,
and almshouse ? , and delirium tremeus.
and dishonored graA-cs.
Another thing AVC must get fixed is
national lav/ concerning diA-orce.
William E. Gladstone asked me while
(
walking in his grounds at IlaAvarden :
"Do you not think that your country is
in peril from Avrong notions of di
vorce ? " And before I had time to an- f
sAA-er he said : "The only good laAv of (
divorce that you have in America is
the law in South Carolina. " The fact
is that instead of state la\vs on this
subject. AVC need a national laAV pass
ed by the Senate of the United States
and the House of Representatives , and
plainly Interpreted by the Supreme
Court of the country.
There are thousands of married pso-
ple Avho arc unhappy , and they ought
never to have been wedded. They were
deceived or they were reckless , or they
were foohs , or they were caught by-
dimple , or hung by a curl , or married
in joke , or expected a fortune and It
did not come , or good habits turned to
brutality , and hence the domestic
wreck. But make divorce less easy
and you make the human race more
cautious about entering upon lifetime
alliance. Let people understand that
marriage is not an accommodation
train that will let you leave almoHt
anywhere , but a through train and
then they Avill not step on the train
unless they expect to go clear through
to the last depot. One brave man this
coming Avinter , rising amid the white
marble of yonder Capitol Hill , could
offer a resolution upon the subject of
divorce that would keep out of the
next century much of the free-lovism
and dissoluteness which have cursed
this century. * * *
It has been the custom in all Chris
tian lands for people to keep watch-
night as an old year goes out and a
new year comes in. People assemble
in churches about 10 o'clock of that last
night of the old y.car , and they have
prayers , and songs , and sermons , and
congratulations until the hands of the
church clock almost reach the figure
twelve , and then all bow in silent pray
er ; and the scene is mightily impre.--
sive , until the clock in the tower of the
church , or the clock in the tower of
the city hail , strikes twelve , and then
all ri.se and sing with smiling face and
jubilant A-oice th'e grand doxology. avl
there is a shaking of hands all around.
But Avhat a tremendous watchnight
the world is soon to celebrate ! This
century Avill depart at'twelve o'clock
of the thirty-first of December , of the
year 1000. What a night that will be.
whether starlit , or moonlit , or dark
with tempest. It will be such a night
as you and I never sav.- . The = e who
watched the coming in of the nine
teenth century , long ago went to their
pilloAA-s of dust. Here and there one
will see the neAv' century arrive who
saw this century enter , yet they wer
too infantile to appreciate the arrival.
But on the AA-atchnight of which I
speak , in all neighborhoods , and towns ,
and cities , and continents , audience
Avill assemble and bo\v in prayer , - waiting
ing for the last breath o * the dying
century , and when the clock shall
strike twelve there will be a solemnity
and an overwhelming awe such as has
not been felt for a hundred years : and
then all the people will arise and enact
the welcome of a nev- century of joy
and sorroAV. of triumph and defe.it o *
happiness and woe. and neighborhood
will shake hands with neighborbcoJ.
and church with church , and city sritlJ
city , and continent with continent , and
hemisphere with hemisphere , and eartn
with heaven , at the stupendous -iopar-
ture and the majestic arrival. May *
all be living on earth to see the - >
,
leninities and join in the songs ani
shake hands in the congratulation
of that watch night : or. if bct-e-n
this and that any of asno ; 1
be off and away , may we bo in
habitants of that land where a
thousand years are as one day. " !
.
in the presence of that angel sjvVa
of in the Apocalypse , who at th * eni
of the Avorid will , standing with or'
foot on the sea and the other fron
the land , "swear by bim that l.\ -
forever and CA-cr. that , time shall 1 o - >
longer. "
GLADSTONE AS A CHEF.'iST
Another Srionco the ro.-\l St.Uoman
AVi * lniiliar With.
If Mr. Gladstone seldom indil.ce i
sarcasm itas no : because ho 'a >
J the gift for he possessed it in a h
degree but because he forbore t- > .
it. says the Fortnightly
j
hurt an opponent's feelings
pain and Avlien he did it uninten ;
ally he would sometimes cross lV : ! ' . > , -
of the house , and. sitting for a tVN " ' *
incuts by the side of the man A\.VI
he had just demolished , say sonu vri
to assuage the wound. One of hituo
persistent , but never ill-nature . . *
ics Avas the late Sir John I'ope V *
nessy. who told me the following -
to illustrate tin * generous trait in M
Gladstone's character : Sir John r- ' > " ' *
himself on his knowledge of ohonus.t *
and in one of the debates on the tor
mercial treaty with Fram-o he nu.U > A
speech exposing , as he believed. : i s '
rious ehemioal blunder in the nv.r.x
Jlr. Gladstone followed , "anil > v *
turned me inside out in the most annis.
ing manner. " Miiil llonnossy in ro'.x.
ing the story , "proving , as if ho lud
boon a chemist by profession , thai t
Avas 1 Avho had blundered esveslon U
Having thus disposed of his erStu M
Gladstone Avont and sat by him un A
moment. "I hope you ilon't feel Inn
Mr. Hennessy. " ho said. "Your sr-oei * i
was ingenious and it may console \ t
to know' that the omroror of the
French made precisely the same O' K .
tion that > ou have intulo The ( i
is. both you and ho Know a Rood ' . * >
about chemistry , but not t-noush u >
keep you from golnj : astray. "
Uur on ' I'j-oln l Mor Vi
The universally popular cull of r.
cycle has rcool\od a ehooK In ouo JM
of the Avorld. The Kinporor of Mor.veo
who only a short time a so pun-ha > .M
a luxurius cycle-wheeled oah from o - >
of the largest mamifaoturoix Iw * mm
forbidden the mm of the oyolo in .u *
domains.
Christian science has * finally ro.io'io I
the City of Mexico , Avlu-ro the fad lu
quite a following In th Anglo-Amori
can colony.