r
Only Fascinating
Romance
by
Alan Adair , , ,
CHAPTER V.
A dirty , untidy lodging in an Eng
lish slum. An unkempt man , with all
the signs of drink and dissipation
upon his low face ; such was the man
and such was the surroundings of a
man whom Alan Mackenzie used to
visit In his beautiful estate of La Paz.
His had never been an honest , attrac
tive face ; but now there had come Into
it a look of such devilish cunning and
dissipation had given him such a
bloated appearance , that It was evi
dent ho would soon reach the lowest
depths of degradation.
Alan Mackenzie's denunciation of
him had been his ruin. He had tried
to retrieve himself , had speculated ,
and had floundered deeper into the
mire. He made even Rio too hot for
Inn ; , and returned to England. Veron
ica's disappearance meant nothing to
him. He would have got rid of her to
the highest matrimonial bidder , that
was all. She was not his daughter ,
as he had told her , only the orphan
child of a man he had ruined , and
whom he had brought up because her
beautiful mother had been the one
woman he had really cared for. But
for Veronica herself he had not the
slightest affection. She was too
I quiet , too affectionate. Her mother ,
who had jilted him , had been a co
quette , and had thus won Hutchin-
aon's love and admiration.
He was Just now sitting at the cor
ner of a very dirty bed , with a glass
of some spirits at his elbow. He
looked pleased with himself. "So he
married her ! " he said , and burst out
into rude laughter. "He married her
and she got drowned ! Who would
have thought it of them , both so inno
cent ! Now there is only one thing to
be considered. Shall I let him marry
the other , and bleed him afterwards ,
or shall I stop it now ? Which will
hurt him most , I wonder ? I think he
loves this girl. Shall I separate
hem ? "
He thought a moment. A look of
cunning came over his face. "No , " he | '
said , "they shall get married. I will i
'
give him six weeks , and then he shall
either bribe me or be exposed ! "
He rubbed his hands with glee and j :
then pulled himself up again. "But i
he isn't going to cheat me of my re
venge ! " he cried. "That would be
nothing a man soon forgets a wom
an. After all , it will be the woman
who suffers most ; but he he has beg
gared me ! He has deprived me of
my very life ! He shall suffer for it.
I shall never rest until my knife is
driven into his very heart ! "
Hutchinson took a draught at his
glass. "There's nothing left me but
this , " he said "nothing ! And I have
so much carriages and horses , and
fine living and everything going well.
I should have been the richest man in
Rio , the most powerful Englishman
over there. There is no need for mete
to prompt my memory lest I forget ;
the wonder is that I did not come
across him before. Let me see , he is
such a soft , he will have told this girl
all about it before. No , no ! My best
plan will be to wait until after the
marriage his second marriage ! And
Veronica ?
"Well , she does not know where to
find either him or me. I can drop her
for a week or two. She has more cun
ning in her than I should have
thought possible , for she never men
tioned Mackenzie's name to me. I
had no idea that he knew anything
about her. It was the merest guess
work ; but what a. chance ! I haven't
had a chance for more than four
years. Perhaps the luck has turned ,
and the man who ruined me is des
tined to put me on my legs again. But
no quarter ! Whatever he does I shall
still take my revenge ! "
Meanwhile , the object of all these
plots and plans had gone home a lit
tle disturbed. Alan Mackenzie could
not look unmoved at the picture of
the wreck of a man's life. He knew
that he counted for something in
Hutchinson's ruin nay , for a great
deal. Hutchinson had never been a
good man ; but there had been a differ
ence between the man who schemed at
La Paz , surrounded by every luxury ,
and the dirty , drunken scoundrel he
had met in the streets of London.
Y Then , too , the mention of Veronica
disturbed him. He had never thought
so much about her as he had lately ,
perhaps because he had never under
stood before what love meant. Now ,
in his love for Joyce , he began better
to understand the poor dead girl's
feelings. He did not regret that he
had not loved her better ; he rather re
joiced that his best love should go to
Joyce. And he knew that he had al
ways been perfectly kind to her , as
he was to most women ; but he knew
now what the separation from him
must have meant to Veronica , and
how , when she was drowning even ,
her one regret would be that she
should see his face no more !
The preparations for the wedding
went on apace. Joyce was very popu
lar among her friends , and quite recog
nized to be a pearl among womanhood.
Old General Grenville , her father , had
a large acquaintance , who were all
disposed to make much of the beauti
ful , bright girl. Not a few men were
envious of Alan's luck. There was
quite a little stir in 'the circle of which
Joyce was the ornament. It only
wanted a fortnight to the wedding ,
and Joyce and her betrothed were
driving down Regent street * together.
It was the beginning of May , at I they
were to be married on the even-
teenth. Both Joyce and Alan vere
willing to forego the details of the
London season. They had taken a
charming house in the country , where
they intended to spend the summer in
honeymooning. If they liked the
neighborhood , and It suited them ,
they thought of buying it. as a little
country bouse where they could live
when tired of London. But for this
season it was to be their home as
soon as they had returned from
abroad. They were on their way to
Liberty's to buy hangings for their
new abode when a block occurred in
the traffic. Joyce and Alan were
laughing at some foolish joke , am
waiting for their hansom to be allowet
to move on. A slight woman w4th a
child in her arms attracted his atten
tion.
tion.The
The child was about three , an <
Alan could see that his head was cov
ered with rich brown curls. He could
not see the woman , but the pose of
her head seemed familiar to him. In
an instant the color forsook his face
and everything seemed to turn black
before his eyes. When he had " re
gained control over himself the wom
an was gone. Joyce turned quickly
and saw the pallor on his face.
"Alan , " she cried , in alarm , "my
darling , what is it ? Are you not
well ? "
"A passing faintness , " he said. He
could not tell her that this strange
woman carrying a child , and whom of
course he had never seen before , re
minded him of Veronica , and it gave
him a shock.
"Are you often like this ? " she
asked , anxiously. "Oh , Alan , there is
only a fortnight more , and then I
shall be able to coine and take care of
you always ! I am sure you do too
much , " she added , tenderly.
He gripped her hand hard. It would
be exquisite to have her with him al-
ways ; but he was truthful above all
things. "I have never been faint be
fore , " he said.
"Then it is the prospect of spending
life with me that alarms you , " she
said , gaily. Alan had regained his
usual color and his usual manner.
The cab stopped at the door of the
shop , and he sprang out to help her
down. They were both very much in
earnest over their purchase. Joyce
had exquisite taste , and Alan was
deeply interested in getting all that
she wanted ; but he was conscious all
the time of a feeling of strain. Do
what he would he could not get the
woman's figure out of his head. It
was an utter absurdity that this
strange woman with her child should
have so upset him , and he hated him
self for the thought that he must al
ways keep something from Joyce.
Although she knew all about it , yet
he felt that he should not have liked
to tell her why he turned faint when
the hansom stopped. He did so yearn
to be entirely one with the girl who
had promised herself to him , and how
could he with the shadow of the past
over him ? And all the time that he
criticized Joyce's hangings , and the
colors and tints that would do well
with her fair skin and light hair , he
felt an undercurrent of restlessness.
"It's only because my happiness has
made me nervous. I feel like the old
Greeks , who made libations to their
gods when some great good fortune
happened to them. If I could only give
something a thank-offering for what
I have got ! "
Joyce was too much in sympathy
with him not to know that something
was worrying him. They went to
lunch at some quiet place , and when
she had got her gloves off she put her
hand in his and said : "Now , what is
worrying you ? I must know ! "
He looked at her. and , to her sur
prise , his eyes were full of tears. .
"Joyce , " he said , "I cannot quite tell
you , because it is difficult to make you
understand. When our cab stopped in
Oxford street , and I turned faint , I
saw a woman with a child who re
minded me of poor dead Veronica.
Mind you , I did not see her face , but
something in her walk was like ,
and "
Joyce was as pale as Alan had been.
"It has made you sad , Alan. You
loved her more than you thought. "
"No , no ! " he said , "it is not that
at all , Joyce , but the sight of that
strange woman made me realize how
necessary you are to me. Darling , it
is because I love you so. that I cannot
bear to think of losing you. If I had
to wait another two months instead of
two weeks I think I should go mad ! "
He pushed his hair from his brow
and leant his head on his hand. Joyce
saw that he was overdone and nerv
ous , and that she must brace him up
a little. She recognized , with a gush
of thankfulness to God , that here was
a man who loved her as few men love
women , and that the poor dead girl
could never have had his heart. It
was only pity , as he had said. She saw
this in a flash even as she looked at
him.
. "Alan , " she said softly , "put away
these fears , sweetheart. See , here I
am ; look at me. I am yours till death
and after. Death itself has no terrors
of separation for people who love as
we. What do you think that flesh -
t
and blood could contain our love ?
No ; we belong to each other for al
ways , and Hero comes our lunch ,
and you will have to eat It. "
And ho did eat It , cheered by the
sunshine of her eyes and the music
of her voice. And' after lunch they
sat up in one of the balconies and
watched tlie boats go down the grimy
but sunlit bosom of Mother Thames ,
for the hotel looked out upon the river.
And Alan smoked , and they made
plans for the future. Where they
would go , and What they would do ,
and what'they would see , together , to
gether , together always. And they
talked of the folly of married men and
women who go their separate ways ,
not recognizing the divinely blessed
link between husband and wife. And
when they rose to go they knew that
they were nearer to each other than
they had ever been before. It had
been a golden afternoon , although now
the sun had gone from the river , and
the mist was rising a little. Still , as
Joyce said , "No mist can blot the sun
out forever. " She meant it as an alle
gory , and as an allegory Alan under
stood it.- '
And then they drove home again to
gether ; and that evening Alan spent
quietly , doing a little v/ork which v/as
necessary , seeing that he had spent a
good many hours doing nothing but
making love to Joyce. And on the
morrow he had forgotten the strange
turn that the woman had given him.
Nothing happened during the cext
fortnight , which went all too slowly
for him , until his wedding day. On
the contrary , each day his heart be
came lighter , and he looked forward
each day to that which would see the
consummation of his'dearest desires.
And so the wedding day came , and
Alan forgot everything but that the
sweetest woman in the world was go
ing to belong to him from that day
forward fcrevermore. His responsas
rang out clear and fluent , as did hers.
He forgot Hutchinson and Hutchin
son's enigmatic prophecy that there
might be a strange wedding guest-
though he could not have known that
Hutchinscn had changed , his mind , ami
that there would be no strange wed
ding guest that day.
He forgot everything , save that the
lime was coming nearer and nearer
when the carriage door would be closed
behind him and Joyce , and ho would
whisk her off , his own dear bride. And
it is no exaggeration to say that the
sun -had never shone on two happier
people than Alan and Joyce MacKen-
sie.
( To be continued. )
Could Not Bo Fooled.
Miss Elizabeth Alden Curtis , the
talented niece of United States Attor
ney General Griggs , and one of the
latest versifiers of the Rubaiyat , has
a penchant for scientific'pursuits , and
takes great pleasure in mountain
climbing , forest searching and geolo
gizing , says the Philadelphia Post.
Last summer , while rusticating at
Lake George , she went walking with
a party of friends , chiefly college men
and women , and came across some of
the beautiful minerals which abound
in that district. They picked out a
number of specimens which they car
ried back to the hotel. Here they ex
hibited their treasure-trove to the
other guests , more especially a piece
of rose quartz , in which were many
flakes of plumbago. Miss Curtis , after
explaining , left the veranda , giving
the quartz to a benevolent looking ,
spectacled old lady. She had scarcely
departed when the latter , who had
been scratching the specimen with her
scissors , broke out : "That girl is
either fooling us or else she is crazy.
Plumbago , indeed ! It is nothing but
an old stone with some black pencil
lead in it ! "
Born Among : the Bullrushes.
There is a variety of grebe ( colym-
bus minor ) which hatches Its young on
a regular raft. Its nest is a mass o i
strong stems of aquatic plants closely
1
fastened together. These plants con
tain a considerable quantity of air in
their cells and set free gases in the
process of decaying. The air and the '
gases imprisoned in the plant make
the nest lighter than water. The bird ,
usually sits quietly on its eggs , but if
any intruder approaches or any dan i
ger is feared the mother plunges one (
foot in the water , and. using it as a i
paddle , transports her floating nest <
to a distance.often dragging along with 1
it a sheet of water plants. A natur 1
alist who frequently watched this re 1i 1i
markable removal says : "The whole i
structure looks like a little floating Is
land carried along by the labor of the
grebe , which moves in the center of a
mass of verdure. " Cincinnati En
quirer.
Famous Echoes.
Most people are familiar with the l
famous whispering gallery in St.
Paul's , but there are other instances of
curious , if less well known , echoes in
churches. In a Sussex church there
is said to be one of the most remarkable -
able ever known , while in a Hertford-
shire church the tick of a watch may
be heard from one end of the building
to the other. It is also stated that the
cathedral of Girgenti , Sicily , the
slightest whisper is borne with perfect
distinctness from the great western
door to the cornice behind the altar , ,
a distance of about 150 feet.
c
Powerful Kuhmkorff Colls.
Two of the largest Ruhmkorff coils
ever made have been ordered in the
United States for a foreign govern
ment , and will give an electric spark
forty-five inches in length expending
energy amounting to three or four '
horse power , and having a potential of :
half a million volts. ;
ffALMAGE'S SEKMON.
GIVES SOME HINTS ON WHAT
TO READ.
Say * That the Greatest Blessing of a
Nation I.i an Klcvatcd Literature Its
Greatest Curse nn Iinpuro Literature
Koine Timely Suggestion * .
( Copyright , 1MO , by Louis Klopsch. )
Dr. Talmage , who has been spending
a few days in St. Petersburg , sends the
following report of a discourse , which
will be helpful to those who have an
appetite for literature and would like
some rules to guicl'e them in the selec
tion of books and newspapers : text ,
Acts xix , 19 , "Many of them also
which used curiojis arts brought their
books together and burned them be
fore all men , and they counted the
price of them and found it 50,000 piec
es of silver. "
Paul had been stirring up Ephesus
with some lively sermons about the
sins of that place. Among the more
important results was the fact that
the citizens brought out their bad
books and in a public place made a
bonfire of < them. I see the people
coming out with their arms full of
Ephesian literature and tossing it
into the flames. I hear an economist
who is standing by saying : "Stop this
waste. Here are $7,500 worth of books.
Do you propose to burn them all up ?
If you don't want to read them your
selves , sell them and let somebody
else read them. " "No , " said the people
ple ; "if these books are not good for
us , they are not good for anybody
else , and we shall stand and watch
until the last leaf has burned to ashes.
They have done us a world of harm ,
and they shall never do others harm. "
Hear the flames crackle and roar !
Well , my friends , one of the wants
of the cities is a great bonfire of bad
books and newspapers. We have
enough fuel to make a blaze 200 feet
high. Many of the publishing houses
would do well to throw Into the blaze
their entire stock of goods. Bring
forth the insufferable trash and put
It Into the fire and let it be known
in the presence of God and angels and
men that you are going to rid your
homes of the overtopping and under
lying curse of profligate literature.
The printing press is the mightiest
agency on earth for good and for evil.
The minister of the gospel standing in
a pulpit , has a responsible position ,
but I do not think it is as responsible
as the position of an editor or a pub
lisher. At what distant point of time
at what far out cycle of eternity , will
cease the influence of a Henry J. Raymond
mend , or a Horace Greeley , or a
James Gordon Bennett , or a Watson
Webb , or an Erastus Brooks , or a
Thomas Kinsella ? Take the over
whelming statistics of the circulation
of the daily and weekly newspapers
and then cipher if you can , how far
up and far down and how far
out reach the influences of the Ameri
can printing press.
What is to be the issue of all this ?
I believe the Lord intends the print
ing press to be the chief means for the
world's rescue and evangelization ,
and I think that the great last battle
of the world will not be fought with
swords an.d guns , but with types and
presses , a purified and gospel litera
ture triumphing over , trampling down
and crushing out forever that which
Is depraved. The only way to over
come unclean literature is by scatter
ing abroad that which is healthful.
May God speed the cylinders of an
honest , intelligent , aggressive , ChristIan -
Ian printing press.
Good Books a Blessing.
I have to tell you that the greatest
blessing that ever came to the na
tions is that of an elevated literature ,
and the greatest scourge that has
been of unclean literature. This last
has its victims in all occupations and
departments. I It has helped to fill in
sane asylums and penitentiaries and
almshouses and dens of shame. The
bodies of this infection lie in the
hospitals and in the graves , while
their souls are being tossed over into
a lost eternity , an avalanche of horror
and despair ! The London plague was
nothing to it. That counted its vic
tims by thousands , but this modern
pest has already shoveled its millions
into the charnel house of the morally
dead. The longest rail train that ever
ran over the tracks was not long
enough or large enough to carry the
beastliness and the putrefaction which
have been gathered up in bad books
and newspapers in the last twenty
years.
Now , it is amid such circumstances
that I put a question of overmastering
importance to you and your families.
What books and newspapers shall we
read ? You see I group them together.
A newspaper is only a book in
a swifter and more portable shape ,
and the same rules which will apply
to book reading will apply to news
paper reading. What shall we read ?
Shall our minds be the receptacle of
everything that an author has a mind
to write ? Shall there be no distinc
tion between the tree of life and the
tree of death. Shall we stoop down and
Irink out of the trough which the
wickedness of men has filled with pol
lution and shams ? Shall we mire in
impurity and chase fantastic will-o'-
the-wisps across the swamps when
we might walk in the blooming gar-
Sens of God ? Oh , no ! For the sake [
af our present and everlasting welfare ;
we must make an intelligent and
Christian choice.
Standing , as we do , chin deep in
fictitious literature , the question that
i-oung people are asking is , "Shall wo ;
ead novels ? " I reply. There are nov- :
jls that are pure , good , Christian , ela-
i'ating to the heart and ennobling to
he life. But I have still further to ti
ay th i I believs that seventy-five
out of the 100 novels In this day are
baleful and destructive to the last de
gree. A pure work of fiction Is history
and poetry combined. It is a history
of things around us with the licenses
and the assumed names of poetry. The
world can never pay the debt which
It owes to such writers of fiction as
Hawthorne and McKenzle and Landon
and Hunt and Arthur and others
whose names are familiar to all. The
follies of high life were never better
exposed than by Miss Edgeworth.
The memories of the past were never
more faithfully embalmed than In
the writings of Walter Scott. Cooper's
novels are healthfully redolent with ,
the breath of seaweed and the air of
the American forest. Charles Kings-
ley has smitten the morbidity of the
world and led a great many to appre
ciate the poetry of sound health ,
strong muscles and fresh air. Thack
eray did a grand work in caricaturing
the pretenders to gentility and high
blood. Dickens has built his own
monument in his books , which are a
plea for the poor and the anathema
of injustice , and there are a score of
novelistic pens today doing mighty
work for God and righteousness.
ICmioldliifj mill I'urlfylnjr.
Now , I say , books like these , read
at right times and read in right pro
portion with other books , cannot help
but be ennobling and purifying ; but ,
alas , for the loathsome and impure
literature that has come in the shape
of novels , like a freshet overflowing
all the banks of decency and common
sense ! They are coming from some of
the most celebrated publishing houses.
They are coming with recommenda
tion of some of our religious newspa
pers. They lie on your center tables
to curse your children and blast with
their infernal fires generations un
born. You find these books in the
desk of the school miss , in the trunk
of the young man , in the steamboat
cabin , on the table of the hotel recep
tion room. You see a light in your
child's room late at night. You sud
denly go in and say , "What are you
doing ? " "I am reading. " "What are
you reading ? " "A book. " You look
at the book. It is a bad book. "Where
did you get it ? " "I borrowed it. " Alas ,
there are always those abroad wha
would like to loan your son or daugh
ter a bad book ! everywhere , every
where , an unclean literature , r "barge
upon it the destruction of 10,000 im
mortal souls , and I bid you wake up
to the magnitude of the evil.
I shall take all the world's litera
ture good novels and bad , travels
true and false , histories faithful and
incorrect , legends beautiful and mon
strous , all tracts , all chronicles , all
poems , all family , city , state and na
tional libraries and pile them up
a pyramid of literature , and the :
shall bring to bear upon it so
grand , glorious , infallible , unmis
able Christian principles. God h
me to speak with referenuce to
last account and help you to listen.
I charge you in the first place
stand aloof from all books that g
false pictures of life. Life is neitl1
a tragedy nor a farce. Men are
all either knaves or heroes. Worn ?
are neither angels nor furies. And
yet if you depended upon much of ihe
literature of the day you would got
an idea that life instead of being
something earnest , something pract'-
cal , is a fitful and fantastic and ex
travagant thing. How poorly prepar
ed are that young man and woman for
the duties of today who spent last
night wading through brilliant pas
sages descriptive of magnificent
knavery and wickedness ! The man
will be looking all day long for his
heroine in the office , by the forge , i'i
the factory , in the counting room , and
he will not find her , and he will be
dissatisfied. A man who gives him
self up to the indiscriminate reading
of novels will be nerveless , inane and
a nuisance. He will be fit neither for
store , nor the shop , nor the field. A
woman who gives herself up to the in
discriminate reading of novels will be
unfitted for the duties of wife , mother ,
sister , daughter. There she is , hair
disheveled , countenance vacant ,
cheeks pale , hands trembling , burst
ing into tears at midnight over the
fate of some unfortunate lover ; in
the daytime , when she ought to be
busy , staring by the half hour at
nothing , biting her finger nails into
the quick. The carpet that was plain
before will be plainer after having
wandered through a romance all night
long in tessellated halls of castles.
And your industrious companion will
be more unattractive than ever , now
that you have walked in the romance
through parks with plumed princesses
or lounged in the arbor with the pol
ished desperado. Oh , these confirmed
novel readers ! They are unfitted for
this life , which is a tremendous disci
pline. They know not how to go
through the furnaces of trial through
which they must pass , and they are
unfitted for a world where everything
we gain we achieve by hard and long
continuing work.
Avoid Partially Bad Books.
Again , abstain from all those books
which , while they have some good
things , have also an admixture of evil.
i'ou have read books that had two ele
ments in them the good and the bad.
tt'hich stuck to you ? The bad. The
beart of most people is like a sieve ,
which lets the snXilI particles of gold
fall through , but keeps the great cin-
iers. Once in awhile there is a mind
ike a. loadstone , which , plunged amid
teel and brass filings , gathers tip the
steel and repels the brass. But it is
generally exactly the opposite. If you
ittempt to plunge through a hedge of
jurs to get cue blackberry , you will
et more burs than blackberries. You
annot afford to read a bad book , how-
jver good you are. You say , "The in
fluence is insignificant. " I tell you
hat the scratch of a pin has sometimes
produced lockjaw. Also , if through
curiosity , as many do , you pry Into an
evil book , your curiosity Is as danger
ous as that of the man , who would
take a torch Into a gunpowder mill
merely to sec whether it would really
blow up or not.
In a menagerie In New York a man
put his arm through the bars of a
black leopard's cage. The animal's
hldo looked so sleek and bright and
beautiful. Ho Just stroked It once.
The monster seized him , and ho drew
forth a hand torn and mangled and
bleeding. Oh , touch not evil , even
with the faintest stroke. Though It
may be glossy and beautiful , touch It
not , lest you pull forth your soul torn
and bleeding under the clutch of the
leopard. "But , " you say. "how can I
find out whether a book Is good or bad
without reading it ? " There Is always
something suspicious about a bad book.
I never knew an exception something
suspicious In the Index or style of il
lustration. This venomous reptile al
ways carries a warning rattle.
Again , I charge you to stand oft
from all those books which corrupt the
imagination and inflame the passions.
I do not refer now to that kind of book
which the villain has under his coat
waiting for the school to get out , and.
then , looking both ways to see that
there is no policeman around the block
offers the book to your son on the way
home. I do not speak of that kind of
literature , but that which evades the
law and comes out In polished style ,
and with acute plot sounds the tocsin
that rouses up all the baser passions
of the soul. Today , under the nostrils
of the people , there is a fetid , reck
ing , unwashed literature , enough to
poison all the fountains of public vir
tue and smite your sons and daughters
as with the wing of a destroying an
gel , and it is time that the ministers
of the gospel blew the trumpet and
rallied the forces of righteousness , all
armed to this great battle against a
depraved literature. * * *
Chrrlsh Good BookM.
Cherish good books and newspapers.
Beware of bad ones. The assassin of
Lord Russell declared that he was led
into crime by reading one vivid ro
mance. The consecrated John Antell
James , than whom England never pro
duced a better man , declared in his
old age that he had never yet got over
the evil effects of having for fifteen
minutes once read a bad book. But
I need not go so far off. I could Ml you
of a comrade who was great hearted ,
noble and generous. He was studying
for an honorable profession , but ho
had an Infidel book in his trunk , an.l
he said to me one day. "De Witt , would
you like to read it ? " I said "Yes , I
would. " I took the book and read it
stringent. I have heard or him ud
twice in many years. The time before
the last I hoard of him he was a con
firmed inebriate. The last I heard of
him he was coming out of an insane
asylum in body , mind and soul an aw
ful wreck. I believe that one infidel
book killed him for two worlds.
Go home today and look through
your library , and then , having looked
through your librarylook on the stand
where you keep your pictorials and
newspapers and apply the Christian
principles I have laid down this hour
If there is anything in your home that
cannot stand the test do not gi"e it
away , for it mignt spoil an immortal
soul ; do not sell it , for the money you
get would be the price of blood ; but
rather kindle a fire on your kitchen
hearth or in your back yard and then
drop the poison in it , and the bonfire
in your city shall be as consuming aa
that one in Ephesus.
Gently Itfbuked.
A good many people maintain that
the only argument that really reaches
a practical joker is a stout club. Yet
the Philadelphia. Times prints an in
cident of an Italian cafe which seems
to show that milder measures answer
when there is in the offender's make
up a spbstratum of manly feeling. In
the evenings there was always fine
music in the cafe , made by a man and
his wife. She played on a stringed in
strument , and after several selections ,
carried around a little filigree silver
basket , in which she collected coins
from the guests. One night , as thf
music began , a man seated at one of
the tables held up a gold coin. The
woman smiled , and the man droppp'I
it on the marble slab that covered the
steam pipes. When she made her col
lection she went first for the gol-l
coin , but as she picked it up she gave
a cry , and dropped it again , for it
had become heated on the slab. Tl
next evening , when the musician ? ap
peared , the woman's hand was ban
daged , and she had some difficulty in
managing her instrument. When Fh *
made her collection she avoided th
man who had played the practical joke
on her ; and night after night she
did the same thing. In vain he of
fered her apologies and other coins
but she merely bowed and smiled in
passing him , and never allowed h.m
to give her the slightest donation. Of
course one can imagine the offender's
feelings ; but who can find fault with
the woman's gentle , yet dignified , re
buke. Youth's Companion.
Methodist Missionary Receipt ? .
The total receipts of the Methodist
Foreign Missionary society for the last
year were § 1,37G,399.07 , which is the
largest amount ever paid into tlie
treasury in one year.
