Newspaper Page Text
fflie ■ JHowfpincri] itlotnWs
ft. ft, SPTIONT* Editor m! Prop'r.
I mm BERMOiN.
THE NEWSPAPER PRESS A>
ALLY OF THE PI'LPIT.
Text: ‘'Beh >id a living roll."—Zaebnriak
v., 1.
The winged slieot of (he text. lin 1 a proph
ecy written on it. The flying nil of to-d iv
is the newspaper. You can no more ignore
it in calculating tho forces that affect society
than you cal' ignore the r.o nday still <>r the
Atlantic ocean. It is high t ime that I preach
ft sCrnnjn appreciative of what the liewi;-".
phr press has accomplished mi 1 ifareontplish
ihg: NB mail livitlg Or dead hftibedn. or is
gJ iiiiicbted to the fiewsp tpor pro s as myself
because il has given me pei'i e inl audience
ill every city, town and neiglibot h >od of
Christendom,, aiid i publicly; in the presenco
of ftbd and this aUdieueejSltpressniy thanks to
editors-, publishers; ebrapd utors aii l type-
Ftittrfs: and l give fair notice that I shall in
evgry jtO slide way try to enlarge tit- field,
hhetlier by stenographic report oil the Sab
bath; or galley-prddf on Monday; or previous
dictation. I .’long ago said t > tile officers of
this church "Whoever else are crowded, do
)k>i. (ilqwtl Die reporters.’ Every'intelligent
end honest representative of the press who
takes hit place in church, amounts to ten or
fifteen other churches built on to this. Ninrty
fivfe per cent: of the ne«spau3r.i arc my
friends, ami do mo justice and more than
justice; and the other live ofithe one, hull-lend
are sucli notorious liars that' nobody believes .
Ihcni, In self-d'fciicC, aud- sixteen ye in
bed; I employed an oillcial stenograph >r
Pi., ,my own because of tho
appalling . misrepresentations of myself
and church. But things have so miraca
lou-ly changed that it is just ns appalling in
the marvollous opportunity opened aril for
Which lam grateful to Chid every d iv. The
newspaoer is the great educator of tho ern
tiiyy. It is boolr. pulpit, platform aid
f- - uni all in one. Tue: eis not an :n crest —
religious, scientific, commercial, agricultural,
manufacturing, mechanical—but is with n
its grasp. All our churches, s diools, art
galleries, asylums and groat enterpriser
reformatory, religious or secu ar—feel the
quaking of tho printing press. The first
newspaper arose in Italy, while
Venice was at war with S flyman
in Dalmatia. The paper was pub
lished for the purpose of giving military
and commercial information to the Vene
tiaus. The newspaper arose in Englaudin 1588.
Tho first paper was called the Mercury,
and then there came the Weekly Dispatch,
the English Discoverer, the Secret Owl , the
ffevachnis Ilidens and so on, and ro on. In
France the newspaper was tiis 1 roon in 158!,
and was published by a physician for tho
health and amu enient of his patients. Tho
newspaper grew in trowel* until Napoleon I
wrote with his own baud articles for it. and
ill 1829 there were in the city of
Paris 19b' journals. Th> newspaper
press, however, has had its chief sway in this
land. In 17K1 there was but thirty-seven
journals on all the continent. Now there are
l.'i.iKX) strong newspapers rolling out copies
inthe year by the billions and billions. I
ha-, o tic. difficulty in accounting for the
world’s advance. Four centuries ago, in
Germany, attorneys in court f< light with
their fists as to wdiosh-ou'd have the firstca-e,
and the judge decided for the f t -ongest fist
and the stoutest arm, and if the judges's de
cision was disputed then h 9 hint elf fought
with both tho attorneys. Some jjf the
lords and the wealthiest men of that day
could not read the t ties to their own
property. Why the change? Books, you
say. No, sir; people do not read books.
It is exceptional when men read books. Taka
any promiscuous audience in this land, or in
any land, and how many treatises on consti
tutional laws have they read? how many
books of science, how many tKicks in regard
to navigation, in regard to geology, in regard
to botany, in regard to any intiicate subject?
How much have they heard of Bayle, of
Xenophon, of Herodotus, of Percival? The
people of the United States do not average
reading one book a year to til 1 individual.
How, then, do I account for the ( li'tugo
and the fact that people are able to
talk on all questions of science and
art, nnl intelligence is everywhere
ns the light, nnd men arc intelligent on all
subjects? How do you account for it? Next
to the Bible, the newspaper, swift-winged
and everywhere present. Flying over the
fence, shoved under the door, put on the work
bench, tossed into the country room, hawkel
through the cars. All read it. white, black,
Herman, French. Italian, English, American,
Swiss, well, sick, Monday morning, Saturday
night, before breakfast, after tea. Sunday,
week day. I declare that the newspaper
printing press is to be the mighty agent by
which the gospel is to be preach, d. crime ex
tirpated, oppression dethroned, the world
raised, heaven rejoiced, God glorified. To
the clanking of the printing press,
as the sheets tiy out, I h>nr
the voice of the Lord Hod Almighty saying
to the dead nations of the earth: ‘'Lazarus,
come forth!'’ and to the retreating surges of
•darkness: "Let there bo light!” How many
of the newspapers of city and town during
the past ten years have had mighty pleas in
behalf of the Christian religion and have
given some of the most effective interpreta
tions of God's providence among the nations!
There are only two kinds of newspapers.
The good, the very good—the bad, the very
bad. When a newsjaper starts it may for a
while have no especial reputation either
for virtuo or in'amy; but in a lit 1 la
while people decide for themsolve), and
they say, “it is good.” and it is good: and ‘it,
is tad, ’ and it is bad. The one newspar er is
the embodiment of news, it is the affy of
virtue, it is the foe of crime, it is the del.- tui
tion of elevated tad--, it is tile mightss*
agency for saving the world. The oth?r i-t
a brigand among moral forces.it is the le
slimer of reput ition. it is the foe of all that
is good, it is the mightiest agent of earth
for battling ihe cause of God and driving
back Christianity, if it could be driven back.
The one influence is mi angel of light, the other
influence is a fiend of darkrie s.and between
that archangel and that furv is to !x* freight
the battle that is to decide the destiny of the
human race. The Armaggedde of nations is
not to be fought- with swords
but with steel pens, nut with bn'-
let but with typ-, not with
cannon but with lightning nerfe ting pr<- .
and the Sumoters and the Moult!ios and the
Gihraltars of that confli -t are to Ik? the edi
torial and reportoiial rooms of our great
newspaper establishments. Men of the press
and men interest® 1 in its prosperity, up ri
you come down the most tremendous respon
sibilities of the earth. Men in all departments
need to be good, and most of all, men of the
press. Oh. bow great the change from the
time when Peter Shoeffer invented cast-metal
type, and because two books were alike tliev
were pronounced to be the work of the devil
—books were printed on strips of bamboo,
and the Common Council of the city of New
York solemnly voted the offer of forty
pounds to any printer who would come and
live there, and the Speaker of th- House of
Commons indignantly denounced the print
ing press because it had dared to notice their
proceedings —on to this time in Which we
live, when the printing press is wieldiog such
» vast pow r for good or for evil. The te e
eraph and the printing pire-s go down into
the harve-f field an i the telegraph tavs to
the printing press, ' 111 rake while you
bind," and the telegraph puts its
iron teeth down at oua end
i'n , harvest ueld STrl" hivj* - 1}!? t
dear a -ross and .1 lieu the inf.-rmatioll ”
gathered up tu jhoavos. and .tin painting
press puts one sheaf on the breakfast table,
m the share of mornuig news, and puts
an-dlier sheaf on the tea tible in the slYnp» < t
rven'n ' news, and tiiai man Who neither
(a!;es nor reads a newspaper is a curiosity
Wlmt a vast change from the time when
Cardinal Wools 1 v publicly declared that
. liber 'lie pft«tittgpv“ss down or the
( hurt'll of God must.go it. ivi. %> ttfis ‘ijpt!
when the pulpit and the priuting press are in
coniliuntion. and wh'len minister of religion
may on the Sabbath preach only tc
about r»'Kl people, through the fol
lowing week through tlio sen
hr all! religious puss ho may
i rea h ton tlli- ns and millions nnd millions.
Cut, let me say to the meu of that profession,
and t.!io,e who ale in auV wise allied to it, 1
■v 11 aid like td
pathy voi Have reclived dilring llie Cist
twel'.e months for yotir inq firlnid work.
Not ten. How many sermons in tho conrso
of y< ur life have you henid of pra tical
h il> fu n ss f ir the meu nnd tvonn n engaged
In thatj ft t.hu'it • profession? Net one, How
luanv words .of do .uneiatioH find imltappiv
ban in i in I iivpeiviiticisni ail l anise havri
you heard? Ten thousand; It ytvi area
typesetter aud ytl i get the type iii
tile wrong tout, then the foreman blow
you ii;>. If vod nrd it foremaf
and cannot, eiirmount (lie linsiirmountabl*
and g t tilt forms up at 111 > right time, the!
you are denounced by the publisher. If voi
are are a publisher an 1 you mismanage, thci
the owners cry oiit: “Where ax'e niy divi
(lends?'’ If you are an editor aud In youi
column anununen an unpopular sentiment
then tcii thousand pens are flung at you.
Are you n reporter, .then yen must under
stand the guest indistinct speaker find must
I ~1, 1 nldc.to write by gaslight after iiijduight
ns well as in the full noonday
sun. Are you a proofreader.
I lieu comes down ou you the wrath of
fvpeSetter and editor nnd owner ami pub
psia1 !' if you do not properly arrango tho
[ ono:ls nnd the semicolons and the exclama
tion points an l the asterisks. Plenty of
abuse but no sympathy. I hare for many
•• ears 1 1 >od in positions when I have seem
(ho while } ro ess going on, and I know all
about the annoyances and the maltreatments
and the sufferings, and I j ropo o this morn
ing to declare them, praying Almighty God
that a word of helpfulness may come to
many who need the help, w hile I hope to im
pre s the min Is of those outside the
newspaper profession with certain facts
t:iat wilt make them more lenient and kind
iu your treatment of those inside of it.
In the first pi tee, one of tho great trials of
the newspaper profession comes from tho
fact that more of the shams of the world
pass before it than before any other profes
sion. Every day through the newspaper of
fice go all the weaknesses of the w orld. The
vanities that wiuii to be puffed, the revenges
that want to b > wreaked, tho mistakes that
want to I e convcto 1, the men who wanttobe
set right who never were right, the meanness,
that, wants to get its wares announced in the
editorial column to save tho expense of tho
advertising column, the crack-b ainod phil
osophers who go through with stories as
long as their hair aud as gloomy as their fin
ger nails in mourning because bereft of
soap, and all tho long procession of boros
who come to si»ffy five minutes anil stay an
hour. It is a Wonder to mo that tho editors
an 1 reporters of tho laud have any faith
loft either in God, man or woman. Be
fore no class of peaple on earth do so many
of the shams and tha weaknesses of the world
pass. When X find some of the u scepti
cal I do not wonder at it. I
wonder they believe in any
thing. If the editor or reporter had not in
Ids early home, or has not in his present
home some model of earnestness of character,
or unless he throws hinuelf upon the uphold
ing grace of God, he will make temporal and
everlasting shipwreck.
Another trial of the newspaper profession
comes from inadequate compensation. There
is great rejoicing ever and anon in this land,
because the price of newspapers lias gone
down, from five cents to four, from four
to three, from three to two, from two
to one. There are men who would like
to hove the price go down to half
a ceiit. I never rejoi-e at such a
time because it means hardship, penury, do
mestic privation, starvation. You may not
see where it strikes, but it strikes. No news
paper in the land can afford to bo published
at less than five cents a sheet. Through Ihe
rivalries of newspapers it is necessary that
prices conic down. but oh, what suffering it
means, what hardship, w hat trial. Since the
days of Hazlett aud Sheridan and John M il
ton and the wail ,of Grub at London, liter
acy toil has never been appreciated.
Oliver Goldsmith, entertaining his
friends, has to sit iu the win
dow, because there is only one chair.
Linnaeus has to sell his splendid work for one
ducat. Be Foe, the author of 3IH volumes
dies penniless. The learned Johnson ha t
such shabby clothes that he could not dine
with gentlemen, so he sat behind the screen
and dined while the gentlemen on the other
side the screen were applauding his works.
Butler, after throwing the world into fits of
laughter w ith “Hudibrai” died for lack of a
crust. iSo it has always been. Manual tail
seems to have a giitdga against literary
toil, and it practically says: “You come
down here and shove a plane and break
cobblestones and pound the shoe last,
and get an horiert living like the rest of us in
stead of sitting there idly scribbling!” But
God knows there is no harder toil on earth
than literary toil. It is not a question es hard
times; it is characteristic of all times. The
world has no appreciation of the immense
financial, physical, intelle dual exhaust on of
literary toil, and so the world begrudges five
cents and says: “Can’t yon make it four "
an 1 then begrudges four and says: “Can’t
you make it three?’’ and begrudges the three
cents for a newspaper and says: “Can't you
make it two?” anil grind an 1 grind nnd grind,
and in that mill are ground up tho bodies
and the minds and the souls of men and
women. The world dips its chalice into tho
blood and says: “Aha! the price of news
papers has gone down.” While there are
men in the newspaper profession who have
made their fortunes. I tell you men anil
women of America that to the most it is a
straggle for bt tad. Let me say to ail such
in the presence of an unappreciative world,
von had better when you go home at night,
wi-m and nervous "and exhausted, kneel
down and commend your cage to God who
has promised to Ira your God und the God of
your children after you.
Another trial of tie newspairer profession
comes in the diseased appetite abroad for un
healthy intelligence. We *-ry out against
the murders and the scandals to which th :
newspapers give prominence. Why do so
many of the newspapers give prominence to
such things? Because the public taste de
mands them. Igo into a foreign city mi l
into a meat market, and I find that the
butchers have hung up on the most eonspi-u
ous hooks, meat that is tainted, while the
fresh and the savory meat is carelessly tossed
asids. What am Ito conclude? 1 unmistak
ably conclude that the peop’e of that
citv love tainted meat. If there is so
much iniquitous literature abroad in
tle shape ot took and newspaper, it is be
cause the public taste isso corrupt it daman Is
it. Now. you are an honest < itizen, you are
a goo-l citizen, you are an intelligent citizen,
you are a man of family, a newspaper comes
into your house, you open it; there are three
cr l imns of splendid written editor.als, next
to it there is a mean, contemptible divorce
case. Which do you read the more thor
o'lghly' Here at 1 - the splendidly written (d-
MT. VERNON, MONTGOMERY < l O.. Tin USOA V, lftsr>.
itorlaie evolving ticAittfttf rrttfrdl ssati
meat, o’rq-om. M-L rV YWV'.J ;
into it nnd s*' sptaprtwHy j"
&£ Si ' o
it »iiV‘i it” c i..ju . .••*»>’**' ! !V-'“.V.!l’
to the nonpareil .J f ‘ or*»". > - 11 ---I -
wife if she has rea l it. It i> o;i.> 111
d 'man i aud sup I y. New-pap -r m-n iu
not fixils. They know what you w 1 lit nn t
they give It to you. If tho church of God,
mid jf hotim able men of the world, would de
i lme so i'ml Hw*. depraved book* nnd
deprave l news]>:qx is tiiof f iUtld ,}*ot Ik>
publishe 1, for the simple reason t; at ' ey
would uot) ay, for iniquity gets poorer and
poorer nnd i o >rer and cannot afford tosupp at
literal lire It is the holiest men, the hard
working men, the pure meu of the world that
-upport, the literature. If a convention coni I
be calls I now and made up of all the editor:
hncl reporters of thn United States, and it
were plainly put them, which kind of a paper
rheysnould prefei tdi'tlblisl). (In 1 which style
of news to s aid forth:! tliiuk they ilthtld uhan
i mou sly tie -hire: “We would rather solid out
elevating literature than bad literature. ” 1
say this not in apology for a debauched j
tyowsiviprr, but I s»y it tluit you luuy Ih.n i\ j
(lividua ivAJonsibßftnr M.\vwi\ who
biiilt dint H'lid vVaa.
Anothai 4 tffeAt teaiptd‘loa til > .pa
per profesSioii romrd in tho rtllmvinunt> that
sunouiM it. Every a viiputioti, irmle { pro
fv44dn has ifaespecifil tb:nptit*ioiK it is so
tvitil tbe cleH'.ul prdfe»tsion; vti|.h tin iihmli; nl
pyroii-ssioii, v.ith tho
tho artistic profo«ion. h ovoiy trade,
every profession, every Imsiness. Jb ‘ iftnv;
jiapor i»fofe|uon is no cxeeptid.i. Voil kuo*V
there are great cli lifts on the nervous f<»rccs > .
and the brain istixcd. The blundering po- (
litical sjiOv'eh must bo mat* tn rowl well
for the sake of th j party , and th >
biitdr,fti\d reporter must make it rend well
tboutrli iilitto speech overv sentence was a
catnstfqpjie to. the Euglidi IrtneUajr* Ihe
newspaftcr ump must > correctly' report aW in
audible speech, the sne'ch of h inau Who
thinks it is vulgar tos]>oak loud, nltjhqdgh the
aud encethe night before sat with,|mnd be
hind the ear in vain struggling to catch n
single s< ntenc\ . The journalist must be ex
posed at the fln>, he must.write, in the fetal
alleyway, he must go into courtrooiru
nine-tenths of which are Btench
ful with rum und tobacco, he inust
go into heated assemblers and into audiema j
rooms all unventilated and where ad the pre
parations are for asphyxia, and added to all i
there must be hasty ma t cation an I irregu
lar habits. Under this awful strain of tin
nervous system, how many hundrerls hayi
cone to strong drink for relief God only
knows. They must take something to keep
out the wet, and something to keep out the
chill, and something to start tho mind in tho
morning after the scant sleep of tho night, j
That Is what made Horace Greeley such a
stout temperance man. Ho told me in my
own house, “I have seen so many of my
comrades nnd literary friends add heWs
paper associates go down under strong drink
I hardly dare look at it,” and so he went
preaching temperance all over the land. And
let me say to all men in that profession, Goa
docs not want you to do anything that you
cannot do without artificial stimulus. There
is no half way ground for you between teo
totalism and dissipation. I have so many
literary friends, I ha 1 -o many literary
i f iends who have been destroyed by strong
fir ink—and romo of them are now on the
down grade—that to-day I take the
words of another and cry aloud: |
“Look not upon the wine when it is red,when i
it movoth itself aright in the cup, for at the
last it biteth like a serpent, and it stingeth
like an adder.”
Another temptation of the newspaper pro
fession is in the fact that no one seems to care
for their soul. Tli *v feel it. They arc looked
upon as professional in almost a>l assembla
ges. It is not expected that a mart reporting
a sermon should bo converted to Goa by that
f-erinon, or an editor discussing a religious
item of news in his editorial column should
by that observation and discussion himself l»e
saved. Oh, you say it is all professional.
If you toll me that the men of the newgpajier
press are not saved in multitudes, and all
saved, then I say it is tho fau’t of the church
j Df God: it is because you do not expect them
jto come into tho kingdom. And then I re
memlier how one night in this church, iu the
fourth seat from tho platform, there sat a
journalist. He had I>een sent to caricature
the services. He came early. He looked
around and ho saw that ihe shanc of the
ouilding was not the usual shape of
churches, and he caricatured that. After a
while tho organ 1 egau its so’enm roll and 1
that was fun to him, and he caricatured that, t
After a while the pastor appeared ou tho
platform and he caricatured him. Then the
music went, on and that was still more funny.
After a while the text was announced and
that was irresistible. And he was writing i
un until the service was aboift half through,
md he said his baud began to tremble, and
(ia hardly knew why it tre nbled, and he said
!o himself: “don’t l»e a coward; don’, h" as
fected by anything in this church; you
same here professionally.” He rallied his
strength ana he concentred his energies and
he wrote on until he could write no more, and
jo put his iiencil in his pocket, put bis head
down on the seat in front and began to pray,
and when at the close of the service we
asked all those who desired to be commended
U> God in praver to m i e. be wax tho first one
thataro-ie. Ouning into the side room be
told us the whole story, nnd before the even
ing was past ho declared himself on the Lord’s
side, and ever since, though
still in the newspaper profession,
ever since on Sabbath afternoons he is preach
ing the gospel of Jesus Christ in a hall hired
at his own expense. And the day will come
when the men of the newspaper profession
will come into the kingdom of God by scores
and by hundreds and by thousand*. The
world will not be converted until they are
converted. They feel the sale as < th'' none
seems to care for t h? : r s mis. Many of them
were brought up by fine ancestry, and when
th*y left the parental roof, whoever regarded
or disregarded,they went forth with a father’s
benediction and a mother’s prayer.
and oft times when they think of thos • good
old times the tears fill the eye. and they go
down in this great roaring metropolis home
sick. and I say to any of taem who may hear
me to-day and any to whom these words
shall come, God is your friend. He has a
heart large enough to take in ad your annoy -
ances and all your misfortunes ami all your
distresses. Sometimes utterly disgusted with
the world, its shams and its trials, you know
not which way to turn; but this day you
may have the mercy, the pardon, the
sympathy, the lydp °f Almighty God if you
will ask for them. Hear it. Hear it. Horne
years ago, at the foot of Canal street, jncw
Vork, a iKxly was found floating. As it was
being brought Vi the morgue tbeynotknl by
the contour of the forehead that, th * rnau had
grijat intellectual capacity. They found in
his po *ket a reporier's pod, a lead pencil and
a photogiaph of someone who long ago had
loved him well. He had entire lth • news
paper profession, things iia I gon* wrong wih
hirn, his health had failed, he ha/i
taken to artificial stimulants t > keep up. and
he had gone down, down, dow.i until one
summer day, hot and w **.**/ and hungry and
Kick ami in despair, he flung hirnself from
the dock. Death, as it often does, ftari
smoothed out all th * wrinkles, and Km<x>the 1
off all the care from his face, and it was
as it ha/1 been heven years t»efore when he
ha/1 left the country home never to re
turn. The heartless world looked through
the window of the morgue and said.
ft Is only an outcast:” but God km id:
i “That ii a gigantic nature that perished
••SUB DEO FACTO FOIITITEii."
i.. „.|<e thi world k'iivo turn no rtianre. • .
l kiii to nil inett in I In- lien a|nq or nrofisdoil, ■
i- in n'nV “ I '“’ afiiod t) it, tii'in Got for your
,VJ-nV,i- A ot.oillv the p r onni ad-
F'.t>7-"- !
but lnv»UMt 'To -void .'ll tr 'ti oiUKi? I'J
. i». J'!—'- .-h'-iVb'J .'j.d .uvor, THuf
■d. \ lift.yow' li.'ind ir. on th o t iiilt' ;ii’ii( *
-{if»i«n- mol nliiinufroptiy and piitriotiaitf. ;
iin ttio |>' tr~ o' judqjo-'iil when you
i ~>!< off upon tli3 ..’.'i.Mßtiifle* wUotn youi i
ln.e inflii-'ni'-il, may ii i - " foimil 1
that, nmtiy thr nisli vo ir wmlf
wore tndiioo4 to stiirt on till* pathway
'Hrtf lo:iJd to til ’ renown of t o non. B 'tier
in ti.'lit (IA tv hay" lrt.nl nn editor in I with
tinj-or of tyj ’ mfhi<*'H'rtt,!'t \' tit,; iil iltvl infill
email it wrous. that, i V fi! ‘! un ,
gt*onod oxil' by the light of a vim. v* iron
pjratcxl on scraps of Now T, staiuniit l r ''
pii kod up from the hearth, h|hilli«l out tho
story of Him who oaueto taknawav the sins
r.f thn world, lu otornity Dives is the l)o;yt-nr.
But wo will all * urn ho throneh with writing, i
(.jK-d'ii'tg and jnili’.isli’ttfC, and in nil our pro
fSisittiil) Wild (iiVupHtioin wo will all soon bn
throtigh W lull tJtnil? Oils li r e is n
book. Our years dro thd Chapters, our
months are thn paragraphs, our davit (tie thn
sentences, our imitation of others is the quo
tation mark, our dould.s urn the interrogut ion
point---, otir desire of display a da h. d nth a
period, etei nitv the i prorat'.ou. And where
Will we spend iti H ive you heard the news,
tile tremendous news, news ino n thrilling
aiiytliiilg that has come us in
iji- jOiiriifils for tin past six weeks?
Not th' sinkiitg of the Ortcrnn, but, the
sinking of ri wmld. nut the" mUforttlm' of it
inau, bi?t, the overthrow of ri nn 1 . Terrific
news. But have ypti hoard th •go 11 nows!
Giad news ffoni thn throne Os God. ’lint
couriers of Heaven leaping rftfm III 1 pnlii-e
pate to earry the news, the glorious ltews
that there is |«irdon for all guilt nnd eon
fort for ail trouble Sot it up in double
l’a;led columns, and rtircv tit to the whole
,1 H -of. -h poet, insane on everything
I'lif rcllgiotl, tt t'nte this Beautiful but strange
rilytliiri:
God hath piirdoiiixi iiil mv silt,
Thill's tli that's the news,
I feci the witlfess dee';) within;
. That’s tile news; Hint,’s' flic liewri.
An I sin's* lie t >ok my sins itu p..
And tSught nt l hii.v to’ wa'ch a i I pr i.“#
I’m happy now frn.u il«.y to da} ;
That’s t’se uaws, that’s the nows.
An 1 now if anyone should r tty
“What’s th 1 news? what’s t ie naw.-tf"
Oh. tell him you've b 'gun to pray,
That’s the news, that’s tilt news.
Tliat, you have, joined th inonquerin ; ban I,
jVinl now with joy at (rod’s command
You’re marching to the letter land,
That’s the news, that’s tho i ow-.
Tilt l Horse in Ancient llislory.
“Fine horse ynt’ve gat thore?” said
.tones to a Kentuckian riding a beautiful
■ Bay stldd hf
“Pretty fair lioss,” responded (lie Kca
tuckian, with alTeeted IndilTeret e-.
‘ Tlmr ruglily trained as a saddle horse,
too, ain’t lie?’’
“Know-all th" undines, lie docs.*’
, Wlul do you call him'?')
'
“Tlieln-s? Tlmt’sodd. t never heard
sucli a name for a horse before. Wliat
do you i a 1 him tint’ for?”
“be iiitH" lie lias a hundred gaits, of
course. Id m’t. you know ancient his
tory t" Merchant- Traveler.
Shocking Had Taste!
“My dear, don't you intend to invito
Mr. and Mrs. Green to your party?”
asked Mr. Hiller.
“Certainly not.”
“W hy not, my dear? They are good
friends of ours.”
“What if they are? I inn going to in
vite Mr. and Mrs. Hrown.”
“Well, can’t you invito the Gricr.sas
well.”
“Why, John Hiller, you rliock me with
your taste. Brown and Ori on in my par
lors together! Why, next you'll he a k
iii" mu to wear blue and yellow. Ido
(flare you men have no idea whatever of
harmony." —Boston Times.
A Slight Acquaintance.
,‘I)o you know Y( ung
“The rich young fellow?”
“The rieli one.”
“No.” I
“Why, I thought I heard him lmil you
quite familiarly at the dub the other
night late.”
“Was hr. full?”
“Yes.”
“Ah! Well, I have fomc acquaintance
with him. He doesn’t speak to me when
he’s sober, and I don’t speak to him
when he’s drunk.”— San Francisco
Chronicle.
A Careless Cook.
Customer (to restaurant proprietor) “I
find t! is piece of shoe string in niy sonp,
sir.”
Proprietor ‘ Slice stiing, sir?” (To
waiter)—“Here, you, g<-l tnis gentleman
another plate of oup and (ell the eook to
strain if.” (To customer, apologeli- ally)
‘The look Ins ► t:ict orders to strain
the soup sir, before serving, but some
times she forgets, and then there is always
dissatisfaction. "--New York Hun.
For n Fact.
“I tell ye the West don’t fool with
folks,” observed a frontiersman, boa t
jngly. “I’ve seed men killed out tlmr
fur takin’ a pound o’ huffier meat.”
•That’s nothing,” dryly remark'd ft
bystander; “I lave seen men killed in
the Ea t for taken even less than that.”
“What uiought it a-hin, MUter (’ufc,
if you’ll excuse my imper’tucncc fur
askin’?" continued Bu' kskin, sneering!)'.
Half aa ounce of laudanum.” TuL-
Bitx.
With Mint Kniics.
De Jones-- “Say, have you he ird the
lews? Snifkin is going to marry Mbs
Lamb, the wealthy butcher’s daughter.”
Podgis in “No, you don’t meun it!”
That animated porposie?
I)e Joaes “Fad, I assure you. I
heard i’ Him morning.”
Podgeson -“Well,one thing will make
this lamb | abatable.”
I’e Jones “What’s that?”
Podge-on .“Mint sauce," Chicago
Rambh r.
A Mum Will PS A BEAK
Despernto Combat In tt Penn
sylvania Forest.
The Muie bhi!' R>» Heel* ITnou Bruin
Wkb Intel r"”G>»'oa.
t ie'enl letter from’ ft'runto • i 1 “u • i
to the New Vori Fit 1 * 1 nv. Ik- Garve.' |
nml Eph Dtmhiim, brawny 1
of the upper Lehigh timber region, tore*
a Iriiirl tff ttHiles last Batunlay and begun
to df*l' > > 'uilrimV? ties from the woods old
to the muni '“Ail Along iff flic after
noon they let the nii/le>? stand id flic
wood road, while they went illic’riw iii ei-il
down a lot of saplings. Presently tliey
saw a black bear tramping through the
snoW lit the rear of the sleigh. When
the bear reached flip sleigll he turned to
the right, walked past l(, ftbd sniffed at
tho heels of the old mule. The untie
who appeared to he sleeping when the
hear waddled up, stuck up his ears at once,
raised his right hind foot like a flush, nnd
gave the hear a terrible kick in the neck.
The bear tumbled over in the snow par
tially stunned by tho blow, the sharp
calks of the mule’s shoe having cut and
bruised the flesh dirc'-tly behind the enr.
Dunham and Garvey laughed heartily
at the mule’s peculiar conduct, for lie
had always been a very docile animal,
and ran down to tho team at once.
Meantime the bear had recovered from
the kick and got, on his feet again, and
tv as looking around to see where lie was
n/td to find out what had hit him. The
nude turned his head and got a glimpse
of the bear jitsl ns Dunham and Garvey
canto down to tho sleigh. The sight
t seemed to enrage tile limit, for he instant
ly became restless. Hr reared up, piling
cd forward, and tried to yank himself
away from bis mate. Every motion indi
cated that he wanted t. be let loose on
the bear.
“Hay we unharness him an’ let. hint
fight tho hear if lie wants to,” remarked
Garvey,
“All right.,” said Dunham; “we’ll do
it."
Dunhjm tip'll jumped t-.i lie
head and unsnnppod the lilies, In an
other second the humc strap and the be!-
i lybaud were unbuckled, and the mule
! slipped from under the harness with noth
ing on exeepj the headstall and collar.
Then the mule turned straight around
nnd made for the hear with all his might.
110 lunged forward with so much force
and speed that he went right over the
i bear’s hack before lie stopped. Tint bear
did not attempt to get away, but stood
upon bis haunches and was ready to fight
as soon ns the mule turned upon him.
The mule struck at the Imar savagely
with both forward feet, but the bear
dodged and thus escaped the blow, Then
the bear rushed at the mule, uttering a
grunt of anger as lie did so, and tried to
strike him in the breast. The mule, how
ever, showed more anger and grit than
tho bear did, and, as the latter came to
ward him, he struck the bear on th
shoulder with one of his sharp calks, and
the bear groaning with pain from the
blow, backed away. The mule quickly
followed up the advantage he had gained,
and the bear tumbled backward over a
log, making the snow fly. Thn mule
leaped over the log and struck the bear
on the back with both fore feet before be
had time to get up, but he paid dearly
for it, for the hear twisted his head
around and got the mule’s right foreleg
between his ,jaws and bit it badly.
Dunham and Garvey, who had the ut
most confidence, in the mule’s ability to
conquer the hear, kept at a safe distance
and watched the fight closely. While
the bear was try ing to crush the bone in
the mule's leg, the mule hit the bear’s car
and made ti c blood run. A moment
later the mule succeeded in yanking his
leg from the bear’s jaws, pranced around
in th • snow after he had done so, and ap
peared to be madder than ever. Tlicu
the two infuriated animals came together
again. As the mule raised his front feet
to strike, the bear sprang under his body,
knocked his bind legs from under him,
and tumbled him over on his side. The
rnule scrambled to his feet in a second,
rushed up to the bear, and gave him such
a tremendous thump on the nose that it
made the In ar stagger and roar. He was
not yet ready to retire fr,n: the conflict,
though, and as lie made another effort to
strike the mule the blood spurted from
Ids nostrils. He stuck his nose into the
snow arid groaned loudly, and the mule
stood off a few feet and eyed him steadily.
Presently the bear raised his head and
plunged at his antagonist again. The
mule wheeled suddenly as the bear
approached him, and, turning his tail
toward the bear, kicked him in the jaw
with one of his hind feet and kieted him
over on ids back. Ho fore he could get
on ids feet again the mule had Itogun to
stamp on hirn with his sharp calks. The
I bcur struggled dcsjK-rately 'to get away
VOL. I. NO. 11.
from the terrible r>lov>» which hla ton)?'
tnrod antagonist dcnll him, but his efforts
were useless. The bear was getting
weaker ami weaker, ami, when Dunham
sod Garvey ran to the spot anfl elubbeil
the rmiie elf, was unable to rise and wa<
moaning piteously. Harvey at once hit
(hi! hear on the tcvp of the head will
the hack of his axe, ;?*td put an end ti;
his sufferings.
Hi rniijrloil by mi Oetopn*.
Alt \mcri.uu tra, lling in Kurope
a hunt toi icS-rs ago observed in !1 ’ ‘ irn\
est assemblies of iris and \ ierina, ami in
the gambling halls at Monaco, .Mr. (I ,
one of his fellow-country men,a scholarly,
grave man, whoso tastes and pursuits in
life, as also his work, lay wholly in study
and research.
“What can bring him night after night
to such places? lie looks utterly wretch
ed, ” the s[ ranger asked of an American
official,
'‘lie is the victim of an octopus'," was
the jesting reply. “Ilia wife is omr of
those soft, clinging, absolutely selfish
creatures, who wrap themselves about a
man’s life, and bend it to their will, still
ing it and drawing all the strength out
of bis soul, precisely as the devil-fish
would out of his body. Mrs. C
chooses to live a fast, dissipated life, and
she forces her husband to indulge her in
it hi her incessant carowos and protesta
tions of affection.”
A year later Mr. (' —• became a bank
rupt, and soon after lost his reason, and
after a few ‘months he died. American
correspondents writing homo stated that
the cause was unknown, as his donuMtic
relations were most lmppy. Hut those
who knew him best, said that lie laid
been “stifled by an octopus."
Lnvator declared that each human face
boro a likeness to some animal, and also
indexed the character; thus that we
found in some men the features and qual
ities of the lion, the mastiff, or the wolf;
and 111 some women those of the rabbit,
the, dove, the cow, or the serpent.
If we follow out this whimsical fancy,
we may class many human beings with
the clammy, bloodless octopus. They
are usually men or, more often, women of
weak intellects and indomitable will, who
invariably consider their own comfort or
wishes firs! in life, and who liave found
wheedling by gentle nnimiers and caress
es the surest way to success.— Youth'*
Companion.
Presence of Mind.
While traveling in Jtussia, Peter the
Great, had to take, refuge in a monastery
from the inclemency of the weather. Tho
monks received him witli the greatest hu
mility and deference, und prepared a ban
quet for him.
One of the young monks presented the
mannreh with a large glass goblet of wine
The young niouk stumbled, the goblet
fell to the floor mid was shattered into a
thousand pieces beyond the hopes of re
pair, while most of the stomnchie distur
ber went down the hack of Peter’s neck.
Furious with rage, Peter the Great
sprang to his feet and raised his whip,
without which he never went out, and
was about, to flagellate the monk several
consecutive times. The monk, however,
folding his arms with dignity, ad
dressed the chair as follows: “.My lord
and e/.ar, not drop by drop, but in a per
fect gush are God's precious gifts poured
over tlice. May all thy enemies come to
grief even as this glass has been shattered
to pieces.”
I’ctcr the Great was disarmed. Instead
if laying the goad on the monk’s back,
hr made a motion to lay it on the table,
which was carried unanimously. He also,
appointed the young monk Arehiman
dritten of Patscherky, which was the
least he could do under the circumstan
ces. This is historical. We arc giving
it straight to the American public, but
always reserve to ourselves the right of
putting it into our own language. Tuu <
Siftin'/*.
A Street Car tit Sea.
There is a lawyer in Boston who is in
the habit at times of addressing individ
ual jurymen when inattentive or restless,
and sometimes his nrguincntem ad homi
nem is affective. Home time ago he was
trying a ease against a rtreet railway
company, and there was an old sailor on the
jury who seemed to give no heed to what
cither counsel said. The lawyer made
liis most eloquent appeals, hut all in vain.
Finally he stopped in front of the sailor
and said: “.Mr. Juryman, l will tell you
just how it happened. The pluntiff wai
in command of the outward-bound open
ear, and stood in her starboard channels.
Along came the inward-bound close cat
| and just as their bows rnct she jumped
1 die track, sheered to port, and knocked
the plaintiff off and ran over him.” Tin
I sailor was all attention after this versioi
I of the affair, ami joined in a $15,000 vep
diet for the injured man.