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Harwell at LaGrange and Mr. Tal man at Woodbury and Mr Murphey ,t Hamilton has been the subject of much discussion and the apprehen¬ sion abounds that the short crop and poor collections will shove others to the wall. These depressions are fearful things and work great hard ship on some good men. Unlimited credit is a public calamity and is an other argument against the credit system. * * * The Congiess of United States met on the 5th; Hon. J. G. Carlisle was elected Speaker of the House and J. A. Clark, Clerk. The Georgia dele gation was present. This is the long session and likely to hold until next summer. The President’s message is wise and conservative and full of statesmanship. Mr. Cleveland will will be re-elected if the citmocrats act wisely and prudently. * * * The threatened French revolution has passed for the present. M. Sadi Carnot has been elected President of 4 France and temporary quiet restored. Time fully shows that the French people are not capable of self govern¬ ment. *•!: * * Why the Augusta Chronicle, Ma¬ con Telegraph and Enquirer-Sun, all able papers, should advertise Atlanta free of charge has not been explained. The wiser policy would be to let At¬ lanta “severely alone.” * * # R r ilroad circles seem to be quiet just now, but the near future will make some developments pleasant to know. * * * The papers are full of speculations as to what Congress will do. One thing they will do, if they can, that is manufacture political capital for next year. Every probability is that there will be a reduction in the tariff' and so it ought to be. Reader. Au Old and True Friend. Such is Thomas, the ‘No-Shoddy clothier of Columbus, to the well at j esseu _ cc _ i portion or e tne people OI the county of Harris. He has done as much as any man to educate their taste in dress and to teach them that >t pays to wear good clothes and to always buy the best. He proves the last proposition on every customer. for every sale he makes establishes its truth. A man cannot buy a suit of l homas without being . pursuaded before he needs another that it pays to buy the best. Mr ’ Thomas ’ at his store nevt to , p , • j , - tne Kan Kin House, constantly . is re ceiving lus tail and winter clothing, He makes a specialty of wedding outfits and he can suit vou if YOU ' contemplate ‘ matrimony y* He f *^ ako aLO tu.l line . of samples Carnes a and he can suit any taste m his special order PARABLE OF THE TARES. CRITICAL NOTES BY REV. GEORGE P. HAYS, D. D. f LL. D. hesHon XI of the International Series, for Sunday, Dec. 11—Text of Lesson, Matt, xiii, 24-30 — Golden Text, Matt, xiii, 39. This parable helps to correct two very widespread mistakes. First, it is a common supposition that hypocritical church mem¬ bers are due to the unfaithfulness of the preacher or the evilness of the preaching. This assumes that the tares are due to tho bad sowing or tho bad seed. This parable is diivctly in the face of such a doctrine. The sower here, in the divine explanation found in verse 37, is the Saviour himself and the seed is his own people. The ministry of the Saviour was the model of faithfulness, abil¬ ity and true doctrine; and yet his ministry was not specially successful if its success is to be measured by the number of ‘converts and the ^sence of hypocrisy. The tares are not He perversities and failures of backslid¬ ers and truo Christians. They are started and maintained alike by an enemy. Another mistake is to insist that the church must be absolutely pure. How often we hear the lamentation, “It is such a pity tho church is not faultless.” Often accusations are brought against ministers and church of¬ ficers that they do not, by church discipline, cast out of the church those whose purity is doubtful. This was the suggestion the serv¬ ants made in verse 28, but the Saviour in the parable takes quite a different view. He says, “Have patience. Let both grow to¬ gether until tho harvest.” The effects which he suggests as a good reason for delay (verse 29) are often seen in very hasty attempts at church discipline. As in agriculture, to pull up the tares will root up the wheat also, so an effort to execute the severity of church censuro on all offenders, however trivial tho offense, however uncertain the proof, and however unreliable the accuser, is suro to in¬ jure the growth of truo Christians. It will bo noticed that tho Saviour does not hero mako an argument as to what shall be¬ come of the tares, but makes the argument turn on what will be the effect upon the wheat. One Christian and his development in Christian grace is more valued than any number of outsiders. God’s children are like the sheep and tho shepherd, and it makes to God, as to the shepherd, little difference what may happen to tho wild beasts so the sheep are safe. The evil is the devil’s work, and those who do evil are his children and not God’s children. In vei-se 25, as often elsewhere by Christ, we are taught the existence of an actual, per sonal devil. We may not know how he works or how he comes to our minds, but it is Scriptural doctrine that he exists and is capable of tempting and influencing us to evil. Wheat and tares are distinct in their origin (vs. 24, 25), life, growth (v. 26), fruit and destiny (v. 30). The converted and tho unconverted differ in like manner. The first are the work of the Holy Ghost; the others spring from a corrupt source. The first de rived their life from Christ, to whom they are united; they grow up into his likeness; they have their fruit unto holiness, as is men tioned in Gal. v, 22. Their dastiny is the companionship of their exalted Head. Tho life of the other is of the earth earthy, and their growth is in the direction of selfishness and forgetfulness of God. The fruit thereof *? and the deslmyof those “represented by the tares is always similarly represented. In this world they are often greatly prospered, much perplexity arises out of this pros perity of the wicked. This perplexity is no new thing, neither is the explanation novel, Various devices have been and are still em ployed to evade God’s authoritative judg ment. People are constantly assuming that any method of divine administration which commends itself to them as right must there f ort > be followed by the Almighty. Tares may be very beautiful, but that does not save them. Thistles in bloom are exceedingly beautiful » but they are to be destroyed. At en d ? f tbe ' vorld ther l wd l stl11 111 the church , those who cause stumbling and scan dal and iniquity (v. 41). Blessedness.—As pain is thelegetimateout come of vice, so happiness Is the moral out- come of virtue. Good worts are as natural a growth out of a renewed heart as the cata¬ logue of evil deeds in Gal. v, 19-21, are the works of the flesh. Good fruit does not make a good tree, but it proves that the tree ia al¬ ready good. The thermometer does not make a room warm, but it shows its warmth. Bo a virtuous life does sot make the heart good, but it is the true proof of the renewal of the heart. When, therefore, Christ in interpret¬ ing this parable speaks of the righteous “shining forth as the sun” in the kingdom of their Father, he is simply indicating the cer¬ tainty that a holy life will abundantly mani¬ fest itself. The shining of the saints in the kingdom of God is perhaps to a limited ex¬ tent like the light of the moon, a reflected light; yet as they partake of the light and indwelling of the sun of righteousness, the light of that sun shines gloriously in them. It is not true, therefore, that the saints shall have nothing of enjoyment and excellence in themselves, for they shall have within them the life and power and spirit and holiness, in full measure, which was imparted to them by the Spirit of God in their conversion and sanctification and glorification. HINTS FOR PRIMARY CLASSES. BY ALICE W. KNOX. The last lesson was about sowing good seed in various places. Recall it. The present lesson is about seed sowing also, but of two different kinds of seed and two different sowers. There is the good seed sown by the Master—that is, the Son of man—and the tares or weeds sown by an enemy, who is the devil. City children will need more explanations than those who see the ground cultivated in the country. But a plant in a flower pot or vase, the flowers in a green house or con¬ servatory, can illustrate the lesson. Explain that the good seed, say of wheat, produces grain from which bread is made. All good seed produces something useful for service or beauty; but the seeds that pro¬ duce weeds, tares, are bad seeds and are sown by evil influences. Vv r rite on tho board, What is meant by the good seed ? The last lesson explains that, and the children, not the teachers, should answer the question. Ask, Who can recite a verse that is good seed? Wliat kind of fruit should that verse produce? What seed was planted in your heart? If not, why not? Perhaps the enemy has sowed tares with it, and they prevent the growth of the good seed. Go to the great Master and ask him to destroy the tares and cause the good seed to grow. The good seed here represents Christians. See v. 38. In the lesson the Master says, “Let both grow together till the harvest;” but that means that there are good and bad people in the church, and often it is hard to separate them, but at the end of the world the angel reapers will know which are good and which are bad, and will separate them. In our own hearts we must strive to keep the weeds out, that is, keep out evil thoughts which lead to evil deeds, and God will help up in that work. What is the field? The field is the world. It is a large field, and most of it is full of bad plants. Although the good and evil must grow together until the harvest, the laborers must go forth into all the world and plant the good seed of the Word. Who is the enemy? The devil is the chief enemy, and all who do his work are like him and scatter bad seed by their evil influence, There are two masters and two kinds of laborers, as well as two kinds of seed. Which do you choose? The tares in the heart are evil thoughts, evil words, evil deeds. Lying, stealing, anger drunkenness, disobedience to oftod WhenTne^rsTn feads anXr into sin, he is a laborer for Satan, the great enemy. Satan is wholly bad, and he wants every one else to be bad. As the ground is full of weed seeds, so the heart is full of evil, and only Jesus can change it. Pray for this; it, for those who seek shall find. All gin is bad fruit from bad seed, and *all such fruit pleases the devil but grieves the Lord, The wicked are the tares. Why are the righteous like good grain ? Good grain, such as wheat, oats, etc., is very useful. It makes food for man and beast. it sustains life and promotes growth. So good people are useful. They feed the huu S r >'’ tend tho sick > the ignorant, carry comfort to the unhappy. They make Christianity flourish, and promote the growth 0 f peace, plenty and happiness. Why are the wicked like tares? Because they destroy what is good; they put ev good, and produce misery and unhappi The devil deceives his followers, promi all sorts of fair consequences and rewar< evil doers, while, alas, the way of the trB* gressor is always hard. Peace of mtfl, | real happiness is found only in servi. J We cannot always tell the good froiB bad, for some people are kind, generous Godl j faithful, who, after all, do not love do right to please him but for self pleal i and selfish motives. God, however, km the very thoughts of the heart and thej tives that actuate every one. He will re* : no mistakes; his at the children last he and will who tell his an nc*~S ^ who are own are Teachers should read the description Re\^L o» harvest in the fourteenth chapter of r tion. Let every lesson lead to Jesus as !*. Saviour, who is able to overcome all evil, h not be afraid to teach the whole gospel to • tie children; it will arm them for tho v, ' fare with sin that is surely before them, w Jesus explained this parable. (See xiii, 36-48.)—Sunday Scho^ 1 World. k WOMEN’S WORK IN SYRIA. Cooking and Caring for the Children iB a Lazy Husband—Social Restrict! on . 1 There- are grand women in AralBt women of ability, keen insight and dorful capabilities. The duties of wife of a Syrian today are as follow She brings all the water for family i from a distant well. This is accomplish by filling immense jars and brinj them upon her head. She rises early goes to the handmill of the village, rying corn, enough of which for the bread she grinds by a slow, laborious p® cess. This she carries home and cooks an oven, which is made in the earth, is a round hole, lined with oval and f stones, and heated by a fire built in When the bread is mixed with water a a little salt she removes the ashes a plasters little pats of dough against hot stones crude? to cook. Could anything | more She cares for her children —usually l large family—ami does all the work at intervals, while the devoted „ husband calmly smokes his “argelie, ” hou® , sits cross legged upon his divan or i top, in conversation with some hard working member of Syrian The houses are made of a coarse stow roughly hewn. The housetops clay, covered with coarse gravel. In hot weather the sun bakes this mud formed roof and large cracks appear. The rain comes, and, as a natural consequent^, the roof leaks. This is something of which the tidious inhabitant of the Bible land does not approve. It does not add to his bodily comfort. He remedies the difficulty!, shall I tell you how? Not by any effort f his own; far from it; his wife ascends to the housetop, and in the ing rain pro pells a roller of solid stoi backward and forward, much as we u a lawn mower. This rolls the sun cracks together and prevents the of water. These are only a few of a Syrian wife’s duties. Her reward is not in world surely. She cannot speak to husband in public; she can receive caress before his friends. She goes and scantily clad. She has no time make her own habiliments, for her must weave and spin and embroider tistically and abundantly for the the In feet are protected onlv bv open 6 * D dais, and drops( Of blood mark her waj to the Syrian well. lhis is no extra] ordinary thing, but by thoge who havj repeatedly seen it, I have been informed! Of course this is among the lower and middle classes of society in Syria, those who belong to a higher class very, very few.—The Swiss Cross. Coin of tlie World. The London Economist estimates tha there are $5,000,000. UuO of coin in tl* present circulation of the world or avail able for circulation. Of this inagnificen total $3,200,000,000 is in gold and $1, 800.000.000 is silver