TAI MAGES SERMON
THE GREAT DIVINE’S SUNDAY
DISCOURSE.
VI** Thole* of a Wife—From a R untie
Bible Scene 1* Brawn a Practical »»*<!
Innpiring Lesson For All Classes of
People—The Calling For Special Work.
Text: “Now Moses kept tho flock of
Jethro, his father-in-law, the priest of
Midian.”—Exodus ill., 1.
In the southeastern part of Arabia a man
Is sitting by a well. It is the arid country
and water is scarce, so that a well is of
great value, and flocks and herds are
driven vast distances to have their thirst
slacked. Jethro, a Midianite sheik and
priest, was so fortunate as to have seven
daughters, and they are practical the sheep girls,
and yonder they come, driving
and cattle and camels of their father to
■ the watering. They lower the buckets
and then pull them up, the water plashing
on the stones and chilling their feet, and
the troughs are filled, Who is that man
out there, sitting unconcerned and looking
on? Why does he not come and help the
women in this hard work of drawing water?,
But no sooner have the dry lips and pant
ing nostrils of tho flocks begun to cool a
! little in the brimming trough of the well
than some rough Bedouin shepherds break
in upon the scene, and with clubs and
, animals that
shouts drive back tho were
drinking and affright these girls until they
fly in retreat, and the flocks or these ill
mannered shepherds are driven to the
troughs, taking the places of the other
flocks.
Now that man sitting by the well begins
to color up, and his eye flashes with indig
nation, and all the gallantry of his nature
is aroused. It is Moses who naturally had
i a quick temper, anyhow, as he demon
. strated on one occasion when he saw an
Egyptian oppressing an Israelite and gave
the Egyptian a sudden clip and buried him
in the sand, and as he showed afterward
when lie broke all tho Ten Commandments
at once by shattering the two granite slabs
on which the law was written. But tho in
justice of this treatment of the seven girls
sets him on fire with wrath, and he takes
this shepherd by the throat, and pushes
back another shepherd till he falls over the
trough, and aims a stunning blow between
the eyes of another, as he cries, “Begone,
you villains!” and ho hoots and roars at
the sheep and cattle and camels of these
invaders and drives them back; and hav
ing cleared the place of the desperadoes,
he told the seven girls of this Midianite
sheik to gather their flocks together and
bring them again to the watering.
The fact that it took the seven daughters
to drive the flocks to the well implies that
they were immense flocks, and that her
: father was a man of wealth. What was
the use of Zipporah’s bemoaning herself
with work when she might have reclined
on the hillside near her father’s tent, and
plucked buttercups, and dreamed out ro
mances, and sighed idly to the winds, and
wept over imaginary songs to the brooks.
No, nnd she knew that work was honorable,
that every girl ought to have some
thing to do, and so she starts with the
bleating and lowing and hollowing and
neigh ing droves to the well for the watering.
Around every home there are flocks and
droves of cares and anxieties, and every
daughter of the family, though there be
seven, ought to be doing her part to take
care of the flocks. In many households,
not only is Zipporah, but all her sisters,
without practical and useful employments.
Many of them are waiting fpr fortunate
J and prosperous lounger like matrimonial themselves alliance, will but
some come
along, and after counting tho large num
ber of father Jethro’s sheep and camels
will make proposal that will be accepted;
and neither of them having done anything
more practical than to chew chocolate
j ! the caramels, road of the life two together, nothings will step start on
every morn
; and more a failure. That daughter of the
Midianitish sheik will never find her Moses.
Girls of America! imitate Zipporah. Do
something practical. Do something help-
1 ful. Do something well. Many have
’ fathers with great flocks of absorbing
duties, and such a father needs help in
home, or office, or field. Go out and help
him with tho flocks. The reason that so
many men now condemn themselves to un
afflanced and solitary life is because they
cannot support the modern young woman,
who rises at 10.30 in the morning and re
j tires after midnight, one of the trashiest
of novels in her hands most of the time be
: tween the late rising and the late retiring
—a thousand of them not worth one Zip
porah. father
There is a question that every and
mother ought to ask the daughter at break
fast or tea table, and that all the daugh
ters of the wealthy sheik ought to ask each
other: “What would you do if the family
fortune should fall, if sickness should
prostrate the breadwinner, if the flocks of
Jethro should be destroyed by a sudden ex
cursion of wolves and bears and hyenas
from the mountain? What would you do
for a living? Could you support yourself?
Can you take care of an invalid mother or
brother or sister as well as yourself?” Yea,
bring it down to what any day might come
to a prosperous family. “Can you cook a
dinner if the servants should make a strike
for higher wages and leave that morning?”
There needs to be peaceful, yet radical
revolution atnong most of the prosperous
homes of America, by which the elegant
do-nothings may be transformed into prac
tical do-somethings. Let useless women
' to work and gather the flocks. Come,
go
Zipporah, let me introduce you to Moses.
See in this call of Moses that God has a
great memory. Four hundred years before
He had promised the deliverance of the op
pressed Israelites of Egypt. The clock of
time has struck the hour, and now Moses
is called to the work of rescue. Four hun
dred years is a very long time, but you see
God cau remember a promise four hundred
i years as well as you can remember four
hundred minutes.
No one realizes how great he is for good
or for evil. There are branchings out and
rebounds, and reverberations, and elab
orations of influence that can not be esti
mated. The fifty or one hundred years of
our earthly stay flap is only a small part of our
sphere. The of the wing of the de
stroying angel that smote the Egyptian
oppressors, the wash of the Red Sea over
the heads of the drowned Egyptians, were
all fulfillments of promises four centuries
old. And things occur in your life and iu
mine that we can not account for. They
may be the echoes of what was promised
in tho sixteenth or seventeenth century.
Oh, the prolongation of the divine memory!
Notice, also that Moses was eighty years
of age when he got this call to become the
Israelitish deliverer. Forty years ho had
lived in palaces as a prince, another forty
years lie had lived in tho wilderness of
Arabia. . Nevertheless, he undertook the
work, and if we want to know whether be
succeeded, ask the abandoned brick-kilns
of Egyptian taskmasters, and the splint
ered chariot wheels strewn on the beach of
the Red Sea. and the timbrels which Miriam
clapped for the Israelites passed over and
the Egyptians gone under.
Still further, watch this spectacle of
genuine courage. No wonder when Moses
scattered the rude shepherds, mattered he won Zip.
porah’s heart. What it to Moses
whether the cattle of the seven daughters
of Jethro wore driven from the troughs by
the rude herdsmen? 8enso of justice fired
his courage; and the world wants more of
the spirit that will dare almost anything to
see others righted. All the timo at wells
of comfort, at wells wells of joy, at wolls of re
ligion, and at of literature there are
outragos practiced, the Those wrong herds get
ting the first water. who have the
previous right come in last, if they come
in at all. Thank God, ( we have here and
there a strong man to set things rightl I
am so glad that when God has an especial
work tc do, He has some one ready to ac
complish it.
Still another, see in Jills call of Moses
that ir God has help any especial work for you
to do He will you. There were Egypt
and Arabia and the Palestine with their
crowded population, but the man tbeLord
wanted was at the southern point of the
triangle of Arabia, and He picks him right
out, the shepherd who kept the the (lock of
Jethro, his father-in-law, priest and
sheik-. So God will not find it hard to take
you out from the sixteen hundred millions
of the human race if He wants you for any
thing especial.
O what a fascinating and inspiring char
acter this Moses! How tame all other
stories compared with the biography of
Mosesl
SPANISH HISTORY.
How They Slaughtered the Holland Troops
in Ancient Times.
History tells us much about the
treachery of the Spaniards. The Span
ish navy and army consists of nothing
but deceivers and of men who believe
themselves more noble than the king,
although they are as poor as Lazarus;
men who play with word and honor as
a child with his toys; men who would
betray their own parents for the sake
of money.
A few instances, stristly historical,
will convince one of the truth of the
above
After the death of Charles V, emper
or of Germany, king of Spain and
count of Netherlands, his son Philip
the II., became heir of his dominions.
The Germans were not very much
pleased with his son, and it was a case
of voting among the different powers
then not yet united. They voted him
ont and elected another for their ruler
As it was, Spain and Holland had to
take him, whether they were pleased
with him or not. Very soon the
Hollanders got tired of him, and en
gaged in a war with Spain. It looked
as if Holland was going to be crushed,
Spain then being one of the most
powerful European nations, especially
upon the sea. The Spanish troops un
der Count Fernandez Alva, marched
into Holland, killing and. slaughtering
the inhabitants. The killing of the
population of an entire city is one of
the saddest pages in Holland history.
The Spaniards had besieged the city
of Haarlem, a strongly fortified place.
For months the Holland troops fought
with desparation against an over
whelming number; but hunger and
pest soon came inside the city walls
and made the situation horrible. For
this the Spaniards had waited. One
day they sent a messenger bearing a
flag of truce to the city gate, and
announced that “If the city would sur
render, they would spare the city and
allow the garrison to depart with mili
itary honors'.” An agreement was made
signed by both the Spanish and Holand
generals, and the next morning every
was ready for the surrender. Romeo,
the Spanish general, marched his troos
toward the city and stationed them in
long lines on both sides of the road
leading to the gate. The lines were
so far apart as to leave each line out
of musket range. The Holland troops
marched out, but no sooner had the
last soldier left the city and was mid
way between the Spaniish lines when,
from both sides, the Spaniards fired on
the Holland troops and murdered them
before they had time to realize what
was intended. Then the fiends took
possession of the city. Men, women
and children were butchered like cattle
Three hundred men were bound back
to back and thrown into the river.
Babies were taken by the legs and
torn apart, some men were skinned
alive and rubbed with salt and caustic.
Others were thrown into boiling oil,
in short, the Spanish committed such
horible deeds the even the savage
Arab soldiers would shrink from such
cruelties. That is the way the Span
iards keep their word. Often they re
peated these massacres. A little after
they took possession of the castle of
Bruck and burned their prisoners alive.
A Holland trooper, who was captured
by the Spanish and whom the Span
ish gave some wine, would not drink
of it and said “The wine is poisened
if it comes from a Spaniard.” Uncle
Sam may be sure that he will count
many Hollanders under his flag, as
there is *not a Hollander who has not
a deadly hatred against everything
that is Spanish.—Passaic News.
The Corinth Ship Canal.
The Corinth ship canal, after being
in operation four years, yields a total
revenue of about .$<>0,000; or just
enough to meet the working and ad
ministrative expenses. On the debt of
$4,2r><»,000 there is outstanding about
$1,000,000 in unpaid interest, The
one party benefited by the undertaking
in a financial way is the French Gov
ernment, which annually receives $2,
ooo in taxes on the shares and bonds
for the right of negotiation in France.
I
A BIT OF USEFUL ADVICE FOR
TIMES OF TROUBLE.
IT IS A SIM TO ALWAYS GRUMBLE.
We Have Much to lie Thankful For, and
Should Try to lie Content, Say*
William.
The best thing for a man or a wo
do , . troublous . . times ,. .
man to in these , is
to try to be content with our situation
and surroundings. Good Lord, what
a sight of time is wasted in longing
for , what , , we , haven ,, t got , amt , in . appro
bending trouble that may never come!
Ambition for fame or wealth or power
is a mistake. It is worse—it is a sin,
for it is founded in selfishness. Burke
tried them all and acquired them all
and deserved them all, and yet in his
old age he said, in a letter to a friend:
» I Solomon was right, for they are all
vanity. My time is nearly out and I
would rather sleep in the corner of a
little country churchyard than in the
tomb of the Capulets. ”
I was ruminating about this because
a Singer sewing machine agent visited
my house today and when he found
vs e did ii t vs ant another machine he
sat in the veranda and we talked
about the war and about the beautiful
region and the lovely weather and
•bout inventions and progress and the
restlessness and discontent of the
people. He was a philosopher and
had traveled. We agreed that if a
man was making a fair living here he
ought to be not only contented, but
thankful and happy. “This is the
most attractive part of Georgia,” said
he, “and I have not found a region so
signally blessed, and yet your jieople
do not seem to know it or to appreci
ate their good fortune.”
That is true. What a good idea it
would be for a man to keep a debtor
and credit account with his Maker and
oharge himself with every good thing
—his health and strength, his sun
shine and shower, the pure air and the
trees and fruits and flowers, the pictur
esqne views of hills and valleys, the
fast flowing streams, the songs of the
birds and the music that cheers the
hearth and home. Then there is the
daily greetings and meetings with
kind neighbors and friends and the
merry voices of the children and the
peaceful, inviting sound of the Sab
bath bells—and the blessed privilege
of worshipping God according to our
conscience, with none to molest or
make us afraid. Then there is the
daily morning prayer that is daily
answered. “Give us this day our daily
bread,” and He gives it, for we have
neither tramps nor beggars to afflict
us and nobody suffers for bread or the
necessaries of life. Above all, we have
peace within our borders, and Pope
says that, “All the joys of reason and
of sense lie in three woyds—health,
peace and competence. ’ Good graci
oils! what a debtor account we could
run up against ourselves, and every
item would be God-given.
Well, of course, there would he
some things to put down on the other
side—such as sickness, a death in the
family, or some afflicted child, or what
is worse, some son or daughter who
has disappointed our hopes or brought
grief to broken hearts. But most of
these things are not chargeable to
God, but rather to our own imprudence
or lack of duty. Fire and storm and
pestilence come through His laws, but
they rarely come,
There is more^sunshine than cloud
in our life if we only look at it right,
for we are the most helpless creatures
on earth, and a helpless man ought to
be thankful for everything he gets.
We don’t know where we came from
nor where we are going nor when we
will have to go, and yet we see folks
strutting around and swelling up with
consequence. The best way is to carry
our sunshine along with us and divide
with our neighbors, and if they nave
got any to spare let us get a little of
theirs and mix it. Heard a fat -woman
say at a picnic: “Needent bother about
a cushion for me; I always carry mine
along with me.” That’s a good idea.
I can pick out a dozen men in this
town who carry sunshine, and you are
glad to meet them. There are many
more who carry clouds and still many
more who don’t carry anything. It
has been forty years since old Uncle
Billy Baugh died, and I still treasure
bis memory, for be carried sunshine
everywhere he went and never com
plained. If he couldn’t sell his water
melons he gave them away. He raised
the best in the world, at least it seems
so to me now—a small, long, white,
thin rind melon with red meat and
white seeds. He peddled them around
town, and like old General Bethune of
Columbus, talked to the pretty women
and looked at them, through his spec
tacles. If they dident wish to buy, he
Would say: “Well, I would like to
give you one if you will come after it.”
But it wouldent do to send a Servant.
He said he wanted the sweet and pret
ty women to come nigh enough for his
old eyes to see them good, and so they
generally accepted the compliment and
went, My wife, she always went.
“When is it going to rain, Uncle
Billy?” “You’ll know by waiting,” he
would reply. I think of that nowadays
when anybody asks me what will be
the outcome of this old war. “You’ll
know by waiting;” and the days are all
coming this way. But the eager peo
ple don’t want to wait. Aunt. Ann,our
old Guinea African cook, came up this
morning wild with excitement. She
declared that two trains went up the
road “ ’bout daybreak dis morniu’ all
loaded down wid 400 dead soldiers
carryin’ e*n to Ohatanooggy to bury
’em. Dey just killed in de fust battle
and hadn’t been put in no coffins.
Blood runnin’ from ’em through de
floors of de cars jes like hogs. Dat s
wh>t dey te] , 8 me „ other
\y e are having birthdays and
episodes at our house nowadays just
like there wasn’t any war. My wife
has been saying « for a long time that
Bh(J owed social llebt8 t0 our
g00( ^ neighbors, and was just obliged
to give a dining—and she did. We
had given the anonymous peafowls
away an( j sent them to the country,
but they all came back in a few days
arui we ma naged to catch them
aud coop t h em , and so we had
a coup i e for the dining. They were
round an d fat and beautifully roasted,
There were twelve good lady women
or womanly ladies at the table besides
my wife and one man. I was thal
man .
The prop het Isaiah tells us of a
time coming when seven women shall
f a ke hold of one man, but there were
thirteen after me, and I felt as meek
as Moses and as humble as a dead In
( ii an . I got along pretty well, though,
considering age and infirmity, and
s t 00 d by my colors until the strawber- |
r j ea an q j ce cream were served, which
W as, I believe, the fourth or the fifth
course, and then I heard the door-bell
r ing, or thought I did ~ and left the
festive board. These sw a> 11 dinings are
hard Upon me, and upon the children.
Two dear little granddaughters had
waited and -waited and peeped through j
the crack of the door a dozen times,
and when I went out one of theni said,
“Grandpa, ain’t they done yet?” It
reminded me of the old Scotchman i
-who got tired of waiting for his wife
to come home from meeting—so he
wen t after her—and, as she was near
the door, he tiptoed in and whis
pe red, “Ain’t he doon yit?” time, “Yes,” but j '
lSa i c l she, “he be doon some
he won’t quit.” My old friend, Eu- !
gene Harris, says he has watched the
Methodist preachers at his mother’s
house during quarterly meetings— j
watched them through the crack of the ,
( i 00 r until they had eaten the last giz
zar d in the dish, and then they would
s it and sot over their coffee for half an
hour, and at last get up and say amen ;
ar5( l amen and pat their stomachs and
go, and then, and not till then, did we
boys get a chance at what little was
left.
And our little orphan grandchild
had a birthday yesterday. She rose
U p to nine years and gave a little out
door party to her little cousins. Ev
erything was home-made, and it was
nice, and I was invited and enjoyed
the cake and ice cream and strawber
ries as much as they did. And she
got some nice little presents from home
and abroad, and I believe that if I had
my way she should stay as young and
pretty and happy and innocent as she
is now all the rest of her days. Bnt I
reckon that couldn’t be did—could it?
—Bill Abp in Atlanta Constitution.
“ Structural Steel' Columns.
The way in which the kind of steel
which is now being extensively intro
duced into big warehouses and office
buildings will behave in case of fire
was well illustrated at Pittsburg a few
wheks ago. “The Engineering News’’
says that the second floor was sustain
ed in a certain warehouse where the
fire occurred by steel columns, com
posed of plates and Z-bars riveted to
gether. One of these columns had
yielded enough to lower the floor which
it supported about a foot. Others had
yielded less. The one which showed
the most distortion look as if it had
been hit sideways by some heavy ob
ject when softened by heat, perhaps
falling debris. “The Engineering
News” says:
“The incident is most interesting for
the manner in which it brings out the
reliability of steel as a structural ma
terial. Despite its sevtVe distortion,
this column still remains in position,
and from all appearances was still in
condition to carry a pretty heavy load.
In the same place a cast iron column
would probably have failed intirely by
breaking in two. This fact of tough
ness was still further evidenced by a
close examination of the distorted
plates and flanges, which, so far as
could be observed, did not show a sin
gle crack, though in some places they
were bent double. Another noticeable
feature was that none of the rivets had
been twisted or sheared off by the dis
tortion, though this was sufficient to
cause the edges of riveted plates to
spread apart between the rivets far
enough for the finger to be inserted,
while directly at the rivets the two
plates were still in contact.”—New
York Tribune.
No particular form of religion re
ceives official recognition in Japan. j
the minute.
mitt on l am. man fastens by me
he robe of his future, ' his great “To be*
° lo 8 e u - bast so noun can look in
hold , I fn . S. forever the
like pebble that great “Has ]} Ht ?’ ’ -
go p drops in the
am one of ’ the ticks of Eternity 86H se ’
—Mary E. Page, iu Boston T rnnscrlpt.
HUMOROUS.
Belle—And so they were 1;
married? Nell—Yes; each of '5
married somebody else. 5
Brown—Jones strikes me as a man
who is afraid to think for himself
Smith—Why doesu’t he get married?
Father—Has the young man any
prospects? Daughter — Well — er _
Papa, he has relatives in the Klon
dike.
First Friend—So he married i n
haste! Did he repent at leisure?
Second Friend—No; he repented in
baste, too.
The Tramp—Can you tell mo how I
can get some work, sir? The Citizen
(crustily)—Yes; buy a bicycle ami try
to keep it clean!
Bacon—And he’s kind-hearted, ig
he? Egbert—Kind hearted? Why, I
don’t believe he ever said an unkind*
word, even to an alarm clock !
Mr. Hopeful—How dull it was at
Wilkins’ party, last night. She—Yes;
in the early part of the evening. It
got brighter soon after you left.
Mrs. Straight—My daughter has
been very carefully notwithstanding,madam* brought up. Col
Blunt—But,
i find her a very interesting com
pan i on .
“Now, Bennie, here’s the medicine,
and here’s the dime papa left to pay
you for taking it.” “All right, mam
ma. If you take it and don’t tell, I'll!
give you half.”
“So you refused him?” “Yes; I
tol(1 ..... lum lt bette1 make
was ' \° a great
. happy by being engaged
many men to
them than to make one miserable by
man 7 lu . S , hlm .
'
Visitor (to insane . asylum) That
man looks rational, Keeper—Yes,
bn * be reab Y the craziest one in the
" bole P lace : b e keeps wanting to see
mother-in-law.
Business Man (to clerk, whom lie
has caught kissing his typewriter)—
Do I pay you to kiss my typewriter,
sir? Clerk—You don’t have to; I’m
willing to do it for nothing,
< ( What,” asked the dreamer, “would
you do if you could be a king for a
day?” “Me?” asked the practical
man. “I’d borrow enough money to
live on the rest of my life. ”
, ■
. . . .
American Tourist—1 under stand,
t ha t ?° n M! m °Y e wltb 3
distinguished . 1 Ameucan lady
on ac-,
count ot her pretty loot. Marquis—
Dat is it. Dat is it. De pretty way
she foots de bills. !
, Cos Stick—I don’t see you out rid
ing lately, old chap. You don’t wheel? mean
to say you have tired of your
Henry Peck—No, not at all; but you
see m Y wbo bas taken my tires for the
bab Y to out his teeth on.
Simpkins — Did you notice how
sheepishly Wigwag looked when I
asked him how the fare was at his old
boarding place? Timkins—No won
der. They fed him on mutton chops
three times a day as long as he was
there,
‘I understand that Jones is in bard
luck.” « i Yes, indeed ! He has been
obliged to become an agent for the
‘Hummer’ wheel after insisting for
years that the ‘Scorcher’ was the only
wheel any self-respecting bicyclist
could ride.”
i i How is your husband?” asked one
of two women. * i Very much run
down,” was the answer, ‘ ‘Perhaps
he works too hard.” i t No, he doesn't.
But he loses sleep and wrecks his con
stitution trying to figure out someway
to live without working at all.”
Across Australia.
David Carnegie, who is a son of the
Earl of Southesk, has just returned
from a remarkable expedition from
Coolgardie, in the south, to Kimbei
ley, in the north of Western Australia.
The journey of 3000 miles, which oc
cupied over a year, brought out the
innate determination, pluck and sel -
denial of the young explorer, Dur
ing the hazardous journeying* over
the endless sand deserts Mr. Carnegie
and his companions had on more than
one occasion to go without water in
order to give it to their animals, The
route followed by Mr. Carnegie, •<
whose expense the whole enterpim®
was conducted, had never before em
traversed by white man, au* 1
a tin
result of his observations is 1 1
has now been proved that the grew®*
part of the interior of the colony 1
nothing but waterless desert.
IInappreciated M elocly. good
Mrs. Weeks—In the name of
what going at your hon 3 ®
ness, was on
last night? It really did sound like
lot of Indians on the warpath. qw*e a*
Mrs. Meek—Oh, it wasn’t
bad as that; it was only in -Rich* Y I" 1 ' 0 * n( j
singing the baby to slbep.
Dispatch.
Fuller’s earth, since been its dl disco /. c0V ®‘Ld
Florida in 1894, has
iu paying quantities in Colonu ( »
Nebraska, New Mexico, a
Dakota York.
<K au Territory and New
