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The Montgomery Monitor. 3>. C. Button, Editor and Proprietor. ; REV. DR. TALMAGE. THE BROOKLYN DIVINE’S SUN DAY SERMON. Subject: "David Acting the Fool.” INotE: There was another largo mMition to tlvi> church yesterday, malting <>l7 new members received during the present revival, 80 that the communicant membership of the Brooklyn Tabernacle is now 4,007.] Text: “Aiul he ehitmjed his briinmor be fore them, nnd feigned himsel f mad in their Aamto, <tnd strflblded on the doors of tiie flair, arid let his spittle fall dona upon la's ward.” 1 Sum. xxi., iff. Thetv Is one scene in the life of David that Jam may not have pondered. You have seen ium with a harp playing the devil out of Saul; with a sling, smashing the skull of Coliah; with a sword, hacking to pieces the Philis tines; with A Sceptre, ruling a vast realm; with a psalm, gathering all nations into d«x --ology: out in my text, you have David play ing the fool. Ho has been anointed King, vet he is in exile and passing incognito among Tho Uatliitos. They begin to suspect who he is, and say: “I wonder if this is not the warrior, King David? It looks like him. Is not this the man about whom they used to make poetry, nud about whom they composed n dance, so that the maidens of the city, reeling now <on ono foot and now on the other, used to sing; ‘Saul has slain bis thousands, but David has slain bis tens of thousands?’ Yes, It is very lnicti like David. It must be David. It is David.” David, to escape their •hands, pretends t<> ho demented. lie said within himself: “If I act crazily t’.ion of course these people will not injure me. ISo one would lie so much of a coward as to as sault a madman.” So, 'one day while these Oathites are watching 1 >avid with increased suspicion, they sec him standing by the door running his hands meaninglessly up and down the panels—scrabbling on the door as though he would climb up, his mouth wide open, drooling like an infant. I suppose the boys of the streets threw missiles •at him; but the sober people of the town said; “This is not fair. Do you not see that he has lost his reason * Do not touch this madman. Hands off! hands off!” So David escaped; but what an exhibition he made of himself before all tho ages! There was a majes ty in King Dear's madness after Kogan and Gonorfl, his daughters, had persuaded him to banish their sister Cordelia, and all tho friends of the drama have been thrilled with that spectacular. The craziness of Meg Mer rilies was weird and imposing, and tho most telling passage in Walter Scott’s “Guy Man nering. ” There was a fascination about tho insanity of Alexander Crudcu, who made the best concordance of tho Bible that the world ever saw—-made it between the madhouses. Some time ago, while I was visiting the in sane asylum on Blackwell’s Island.a demented woman came up to mo and said, in most tragic stylo: “God moves in a mysterious way, His wonders to perform; Ho plants His footsteps in tho sea And rides upon tho storm.” * r But there was nothing grand, nothing ■weird, nothing majestic, nothing sublime about this simulation on tho part of David. Instead of trusting in the Lord, as he had on other occasions, ho gathers before him a vast audience of all generations that were to come, and standing on that conspicuous stagc| if his tory, in the presence of all tho ages, he im personates the slavering idiot I “And lie •changed his behavior bob ire them.ami feigned himself mad in their hands, and seraiibled at the door of the gate, and let his spittle fall upon liis beard.” Taking the behavior of David as a sugges tion, I wish to tell 3'ou how many of the wise, and the brave, and the regal sometimes play tho fooL And in the first place, I remark,that those men as badly play the fool as this man of the text, who in any crisis of life take their caso out of the hand of God. David, in this case, acted as though there were no God to lift him out of the predicament. What a contrast between his behavior, when this brave littlo man stood up in front of the giant ten feet in height, and looking into liis face, said: “Thou comest to me with a sword, anil with a spear, and with a shield; but I como to tlieo in tho name of tho Lord of Hosts, tho God of the armies of Israel, whom thou hast defied. This day will the Lord deliver tliee into mine hand,ami I will smite thee, and take thiae head from thee, and I will give tho carcasses of the hosts of the Philistines this day unto tho fowls of the air, and to the wild beasts of the earth, that all the earth may know that 1 hero is a God in Israel”—between that time and this timo, when ho debased himself, and bedrag gled his manhood, and affoeteu insanity in order that ho might escape from the grip of tho Gathites. In tho one case ho played the hero. In the other case he played the fool. So does every man who, in tho groat crises of life, takes his case out of the hand of God. Tho life of the most insignificant man in this house is too vast for any human manage ment. One timo, returning from the West, I very easily got on the hx’omotive while pass ing over the plains and talked with the on fr'"per; but coming on toward tho Alleghany Fountains, I thought I would like to sit on the locomotive as it came down from the mountains amidst that most wonderful scenery on this continent. I asked the en gineer if I might ride, but he courteously de nied me, for there the grade is so steep” and so winding, and so perilous that he must not have any one on the locomotive who may divert his attention when eye, and hand, and foot, and brain must lie concentred, ready ba the most sudden emergency. Well, my friends, life is so stoop, and so perilous, aud so expos <1 to sudden surprises, that none but the Lord Almighty can guide and engineer it, and our disasters come from the fa- t that we want to get up and help the Lord to manage the train. Keep off the engine! Be willing to let Go.l pull you where Ho wants to pull you. You nave no right for an instant to surrender vour sanity and manhood as David surrendered hi-. Put your trust in God, and He will take you through and over the mountains. I very much suspect that all the successful enterprises that were ever carried on, and all the sir ess ful lives that have ever been lived, have been fully surrendered to God. When the girl Victoria was awakened in the night, and Slid that the throne of Great Bi itain was hers, she said to the Prelate informing her: “I as!.: your prayers,” and then and there they knelt down and prayed. Do you wonder that though since that time all the thrones of Lu rope have fallen or been fearfully shaken, hers stands as firm as th" day she ax'-ended it; and in every country under the sun, wherever an Englishman hears that name pronounced, he feels like waving his hat and crying: “God save the Queen!” That man and that woman, who put their trust in God. will go through in triumph; while those who attempt to gather under their own supervision the intricate and elaborate affairs of their life, are miserably playing the fool. I stood on the beach, looking off upon tho sea; and there was a strong wind blowing, and I noticed that some of the v, ads were g. >- ing that way. and other vessels were going another. I said to myself: “How is it that the wind sends one vessel in one direction and another vessel in another direction? I found out, by looking, that it was the different way they had th ■ sails set. And so d-x- t.roub e come on this world. Rome men it drives into the harbor of heaven, and other men it drives on tho rocks. It depends upon the way you fcave your sails set. Ail the Atlantic and Pacific oceans of surging sorrow cannot sink n soul that has asked for God’s pilotage. Tho difficulty is. that when we have misfortunes of any kind, wo put them, in Go Vs hand, and they stay there n little whilc; end then w - go anil get them again, amt bring them back. A Vessel comes in from a foreign port. As it comes near the harbor it six's a pilot floating about. It hails the inlet. The pilot comes on board, and he says: “Now, Captain, von have hi 1 a stormv passage. Gy down aiyl sltvii, and I will take the vessel hltii Now’ York harbor.” Aftel' awhile the Captain begins think: “Am 1 right in trusting this vessel to that pilot? I guess T'll go up and ;-.ee.” So li" comes to the pilot and says: “Don’t you see that rook? Don't von six' those headlands? You will wreck the ship. Let. me lav hold the helm for awhile for mysrif. and then I’ll trust to von.” The pilot becomes angry, and says; “Twill either take care of this ship or not. If you want to, T will get into mv yawl and go ashore, or back to mv boat.” Now wo xnv to tlio l ord; “ O God. take mv life, take my all. in Thy keening! Be Thou my guide; bo Thou mv pilot.” We go along for a littlo while, and snddeiilv -.vakc up, and say: “Things arc going nil wrong. O. Lord, wo are driving on these rocks, and Thou art going to lot ns bo shipwrecked.” Go I snvs: ‘Yon go and rest: I will take charge of this vesseljnnrt tnko It into the Humor It is God’s business to ePmfort.nnd it is our business to be comforted. Herbert. tho great, thinker, philosophized' about himself, philosophized about this world, philosophize! about ovorv thing. then in his living moments asked that only ono word might be cut upon his tomb stone, and that word “Tnfolicissimiis" —most, unhappv—descriptive of tho state of the lives anil of the deaths of those who take their case out of the hand of God. Tho only uppronriai ' inscription for their banqueting hail, and their eouipago, and their grave, and the wall of their eternal prison-house—“lnfelieissi mus.” In drooling, moral idiocy, tliev are scrabbling at tho door of their happiness, which never opens; miserably playing tho fool. Again, 1 remark that all those persons plav the fool, as certainly ns did this man of the text, who allow tho technicalities of religion to ston their salvation. David was wise about a great manv things, but bis cuttings-up in the text for a littlo while eclipsed his char acter. And I know wise men and groat men, competent for all other stations, who are acting a silly and foolish part in regard to tho technicalities of religion. They ask us some ouestions which wo rnunot answer categorically, and so they burst into n broad guffaw, as though it is of onv more interest to us than it ought to bo to them. About the Atonement, about God’s decrees, about, man’s destiny, tliev ask a great many questions which we cannot answer, and so they deride us. as though we could not ask them a thousand questions that they cannot answer, about their eves, about their oars, about, their finger nails, about, everything. A fool can ask a question that a wise man cannot answer. O. you cavilling men! O, von pro found men! O, you learned men, do please admit something. You have a souD Yes. Will it live for ever? Yes. Where? Yon say that Jesus Christ is not n Divine Saviour. Who is He? Where will von go after von leave your law books, and your medical prescriptions, and vour club room, and your newspaper office —where will vou go to? Your body will lie six feet under ground. Where will your soul be? Tin- black coat will be off, the shroud on. Those spectacles will be removed from your vision, for the sod will press your eyelids. Have you any idea that an earthly almanac describes the. years of your lifetime? Df what stuff shall I gather tho material for the letters of that which describes your eternal home? Shall it bo iron chain or amaranthine garland? Tho air that stirs the besweatod locks of your (lying pillow, will it come off a garden or a desert? O, quit the puzzling questions and try these momentous questions. Quit, the small questions and try these great questions. In stead of discussing whether tho serpent in Eden was figurative or literal, whether the Mediterranean fish did or did not swallow the recreant prophet, whether this and that, and the other thing is right or wrong, come and discuss one ques tion: “How shall I get rid of mv sins ari l win heaven?” That is the question for you. Yea, there have been men who have aotually lost their souls because they thought there was a discrepancy between Mosos and Professor Silliman—because they could not understand how there could be light before tho sun rose the light appearing in verse three of Genesis, and the sun appearing not until verse sixteen —and because they do not know how the moon could stand still without upsetting the universe, and be cause they had decided upon the theory of natural selection. A German philosopher In dying had for his chief sorrow that, he had not devoted his whole life to the st udy of the dative ease. O, when your immortality Is in peril, why quibble? Quit these non-es sentials, my dear brother. In tho name of God, I ask you in regard to these matters of the immortal soul, that you do not play the fool. What is that, man doing over in Bowling Green, New York? Well, he is going in for i ticket fora transatlantic voyage. He is quarrelling with the clerk about thv spots - the red spots on the ticket —and he i.-i quarrel ing about the peculiar signature of the Fresi lent of the steamship company, and he is quarrelling alxiut the manner of the clerk who hands him <h“ ticket How long has he lieen standing there? Three weeks. Meanwhile, perhaps twenty steamers have zone out of port, and I hear the shriek of the steam tug that could lake him to the last ves sel that could lx-ar him to his engagement in London. .Still he stands in Bowling Breen diseasing the ticket. What do you sav i:i regard to that man? You say he isa fool. Well, in that very way are many men acting in regard to the matters of the soul. They are caviling alxiut the Aton i rnont, the red spots on tho ticket—alxiut the •haracter of the minister who hands them tiie ticket—about win tin r it has n Divine or human signature, and mean while, all tln-ir onjx rtunith s for heaven are sailing out of the harbor, and I Ivacthe lart tap of the lx 1! aanouneing Heir last chance for heaven. Go aboard! Do no' waste any more time in higgling anil carping, anil criticising, and wondering, nud. in tic presence of an astounded heaven, playing the fool. i go still further, and say to you that there men p'ay the fool v.ho mill- rtake to j ay nut eternity for time. How little care, do v.e 1. 3to upon the railroad depot wh re we st >p twenty minutes to dine. We dash in and >ve dash out again. We do note-amir the architecture of the building, nor the five of tho caterer. Wp supply our hunger, we pay our money, and we put <n our hat and take our place in the train. What is that depot as compared wi!h th - place for which we are bound? Now, rny fro id- , thin world is only a stopping pi;ve on the way to a momentous destination, and yet how many of us it down as though we lindconsmiim;'.!* I our journey, a-; though w had come to a final depot, when our stopping here is a.-: compan d with our stopping there as is twenty minutes to twelve hours—yea, r tin- one blind re th part of a second compared with ton thousand miliii n years! Would Spain sell ,i i f’uha for a bushel of whoa* ? Would i-j; :!ur:d sell us India for a ton of coal ? Would v eni-e sail us all i.er pictures for an American school lioy's sketch? Ah! fl.at would in- a Ix'tter bargain for England. Spain and V« ni-c tc • i that man makes who gives h.s eternity for time. Yet how many there are who are say ing to-dav: “Give me the world's dollars MT. VERNON, MONTGOMERY COL, GA.., WEDNESDAY, MARCH ( .l, IHSi. m iki von may havo tuo ctornai rowaras Give ini'flu wilrJd’S nppjntlse mil you may have tlic garlands of God. Give uui tWintyj or forty, or sixty years of worldly sncchsscS mid 1 den t care v. hat bccoincs of the future. lam going into that world unitisuro 1.1 take the responsibility. Don't bother me about vour religion. Hero I liaVe the two worlds before me—this one and the next. 1 have i'll -on this. Go away from me, God an;l angels; and all thoughts of the future!” But. where is CroesuS anil Cleopatra: and .Ksopiis, who had one dish of food Hint cost one million fourhimili'ivl thousand dollars: and [•outulus, who had a pound of fish worth a hundred and seventy live thousand dollars; and Scaur us, who bought a country scat for twenty-nine million dollars; and Tiberius, who left at death :i fortune of one hundred and eighteen million, one hundred and twenty thousand dollars? Where are they? If a windy day should blow all tho dust that is left of them into your eyes, it would not make you wink twice! Ah, my friends, then very certainly your comforts of surrounding cmuiot keep back the old archer. \qu can not cl arm him with music, or dazzle him with plate, or decoy him with pictures, or bribe him with your money. What is the use of your struggling for that which you cannot keep? As long ns von ha ve clothes and food and shelter and ixluedt.ioii for yilm-si lvi s ami your children and tho means ibr Christian generosity, be satisfied, ’i on worrv, and tug, and sweat, and wear yourself out for that which cannot sat isfv. Whole flocks of crows’ feet on vour temples and cheeks before they ought to have conic there. You arc ten yean Idcr than you ought to be, and yet you can not take along with you into the future world even the two pennies on your eyelids to keep them shut after you are dead. Arid yet you hold on to this world with the avidity of the miser who persisted in having his bonds and mortgages and notes of hand tn the bosom of his dressing-gown while M was dying, and in the last moment, held his pnrcqnieiit in snob a tight grip that the lmdorlftkor after death must almost break the mail’s fingers in order to get t lie bond away. Men arc actually milking that choice, while there are others who have done far differ ently. When they tried to bribe with money Martin Luther,some one said: ‘There’s nouS ' trying to do that, that Dutch beast cares nothing for gold.” Wheri they tri*’it;by giving him a cardinal’s li.-it , to bribe Savonroln, he stood up in his pulpit and cried out: “1 will have no red hat, save that of martyrdom, colored with mv own blond.” These men chos:' Christ amid great qiei*sooiitioiis: but how many there aro in this day, when Christianit y seems to be popular, who are ashamed of Christ, and not, willing to take hardships- the seeming hardships—of His religion. And,alas for them! for long after the crash of the world’s demolition, they shall find that in all these years they were turning their backs upon the palaces of heaven, scrabbling on the door of this world’s treasure bouse, th" saliva of a terrific Immevon their lins horribly and overwhelmingly playing the fool. Once more T sav to you that those men qilav tho fool who. while they admit the righteous ness of religion, sot it down for future at tendance. Do you know how many times the word “now” occurs in the Bible? Over two hundred times. Ono of tho shortest words in the Bible, and yet one of the grandest in meaning anil ramifications. When does tho Bible say is the best time to renent? Now. When does the Bible sny t hat, God will for give? Now. WhondoesGod say is the onlv safe time to attend to the matters of the soul? Now. But, that word “Now” molts away ns easily ns n snowflake in the evening rain. Where is the “now” of the dead of hi t, venr ? (iho “now” of tho dead of last month? the “now” of the dea l of last week? tho “now” of the dead of yesterday? Time picked it up in its beak and flew awav with it. Swam merdam and other naturalists tell Us there aro insects which within the space of one minute are horn, fulfill their mission, cele brate their nuptials, and die; but this won derful “now,” is more short lived than they. Tt is a flash, a stroke, a glance. Its cradle is its grave. If men catch it at nil, it is with a quick clutch. Millions of men have lost their sou! immortal because they did not understand the momentum and the ponderos ity of that one word. All the strategic pow ers of hell are exerted In trying to subtract from tiie energy and emphasis of that word. They say it is only a word of three letters while there is a better word of eight letters —“to-morrow.” They say: “Throw awav that small word and take this other grand one;” and so men say: “Give its ‘to-morrow’ arid take away from us ‘now;’” and between those two words is the Appinri Way of death, and a great multitude throng that road, jostling and elbowing each other, hastening on swifter and swifter to die. For how much would you walk the edge of the roof of your house? For how much would you come out on the most dangerous peak of the Matterhorn and wave your cap? You say: “No money could induce me to do it. Anil yet you stand to-day with one foot on a crumbling moment ind the other foot lifted, not knowing where you will put it down, while the distance Ix*- tween you and the bottom of the depth be neath you no plummet can measure, no arith metic calculate, no wing of lightning cleave. And yet tho Bible tells us that unless a man has a new heart he cannot get into heaven; and some of you are not seeking for that now heart. In Mexico, sometimes the ground suddenly opens, ami a man standing near the gap can see down an appalling dis tance. But O! if to-day, at your feet, there should open the chasms of the lost world. how you would fling yourself back and hold the pew, anil cry: “God save me—now! now! now!” I greet you to-ilny, my brother, in the very gate of eternity. Some of us may live a longer and some of us may live a shorter time: hut, at the longest, life is so short that I feel we nil stand on the door-sill of tie' great future. The next stop—all the angels of God cannot undo the consequences. Will your exit from this life be a rising or a falling? The righteous go up. Tho Saviour helps them. Ministering spirits meet them. Th" doors of Paradise open to receive them. Up! up! up! Oh, what a grand thing it is tonic with a strong faith in God, like that which Stonewall Jackson had. when, in his expiring moments, he said: “Let us cross over the river, and lie down under the shade.” But to h-ave this world unpreparedly is falling- falling from God, falling from hope, falling from peace, falling from heaven- swiftly falling, wildly falling, for ever Billing. So it was with one who hail Ix—ri eminent for his intellgonae, but who hod omitted all preparation for the future world and had come down to his last hour. He said to his wife, seated bv the bedside: “ t), don’t talk to me about pain; it is the mind, woman, it is the mind! Os all the years of my life, / never lived one minute for heaven. It is uwfully dark here,” he whi pared. “It is awfully dark, f scorn to stand on the slippery edge of a great gulf. I shall fall! I urn falling!” And with a shriek, as when a man tumbles over a precipice, he ex pired. Wise for this world, alxiut ail the mat t‘ is of his immortal soul he was, his life long, playing the fool. I will take tho ease of some one In tho building to-day and a k you what you think about that ease. He lias rxin all his life amid Bibles and churches, so that he knows his duty. Christ has offered to do nil for that man that a Divine Savior ran offer to do for a dying soul. Heaven has been offered him, yea, Ix-en pushed upon him, and yet he has not t.i" pted it and to-day he sits de lilx rately ai owing his chances for life to go away from him. What do you say of that one? “Hallucinated,” says one: “Monoma niacal,” says another; “Huy ing the fool," says another. Ob, how many-there are taking “gUB DEO FACIO FORTITER.** just that qMsition! There is such a tiling as pyrotnania. an insanity which disposes one to destroy buildings by lire; but who would have {in’’light !hnt there was a pyromaniii of the immortal nature, ffitd that any one could be so struck through with that insanity as to have a desire nnd disposition to ciittsume the soul? Awake, man! awake, woman! from tho phantasm, real or affected. Take Christ,. Eseup" for eternity. Jlist see what has bren done for you. Lift the thorn/ cup from the brow of Jesus, and six' the price that was puul for your liberation, Ixiok at the side, unit see w lr'iv life spear writ'tin mid moved round and roaaii, amid broken utter it's, the blood rushing forth in aufiil sacrifice for tour sins. (), wrap those bare and mutilated foot of the dying Lord in your womanly Dp. for they were torn in a hard tramp for your soul! i), for tears to wrep over this liieern lion of Christ! O, for a broken heart to wo s lip Him! O, for an omnipotent impulse strong enough to throw this whole nadioneo down at tiie feet of a crucified and risen Jens! \Ve must repent. Wt most bblievo. We must be snveil. I cannot eon sriit to have you lose your souls. Corin' with lfle, nnd as in the summer l ime we go down tip the bench and bathe in the waters, so to ithy let us join hands and wnde dow n into the summery s'-n of God’s forgiveness. Roll over up tides of (tverltiMing love, roll over us! Dear Lord, we knock nt the doer of njct'ov, not ns the demented knock, nlft knowing wind they want; Imt knocking ut tho door of mercy, because wo want to come in, while others run their meiiniiigloss hands up and down the panels, and scrabble at. the gale, in tho presence of Gixl, and men, and angels, and devils, playing the fool. The I’ro.te of Cow l’U ichingi Time was, and not so very long ago either, when the cowboys received their pav after the round up they felt in duty bound to go to Miles City and blow it in at the gambling dens, saloons, and other disreputable places. Cow punch ing is at best a very tough business, find full of risks to the life and limb, and uav is small nud by no means adequate, and after the round up there follows a long period ol enforced idleness, during which they arc given food ntid lodging only by the ranch owner. Tho average cowboy was wont to turn up afler his semi annual spree with a very largo head nnd not a cent in his pocket. Os late, however, the boys have taken a tumble to themselves and are saving their money. Ho common has the eco nomical spirit become among them that Miles City has seen this year its quietest season. Most of the cowboys looked upon their coming to Montana to herd cattle as the mistake of their lives. The glow ing stories of thrilling adventure and sudden wealth of the cowboys’ life which are common in tho Must arc in most cases responsible for their entering the field, but tho reality is quite a different matter. Many of the economical ones ’have been enabled by their savings tc return to their Eastern homes. People who have not been through the had lands have but a faint conception of the utter desolation and worthless ness of a cowboy's home, lie is roasted in summer and frozen in winter. 'Flic lutids can never he used for anything hilt grazing, and the distances arc therefore something immense. One peculiarity of the country makes rapid riding a very difficult, not to say dangerous, under taking. The earth is so frainhlc that u tiny watercourse will speedily cut sot itself a deep gully, or "coolie,” as it is called, the depth of which when filled with snow is entirely problematical. A horseman who rides with a cowboy’s recklessness mav suddenly find himself at the bottom of a six or eight foot coolie, with liis horse on top of him, and no way to get out if he happens to I e still alive —save tunnelling up to the head of tiie stream through the snow. Then one of your broncho’s feet is as likely ns not to sink suddenly two feet down into a coyote's hole when he is going at a furious pace. Result: Hisleg snaps off like a pipe stern mid you arc shot through the air to a point far he yond, ami picked up more dead than alive, 'iho water is generally bitter with alkali, and scorches your throat as you swallow it; there is little to cat,aud that is hard to get. A Sharp Retort. The following story is too good to drop into oblivion: In a Vermont county court an unpromising looking witness was being badgered by, a ch an cut lawyer, who stands high in his pro fession, and who, although well ad van ced in years and completely bald, prides himself upon hii youthful appearance and persona! presence. The point aimed at was to determine which of two barns, one of which was destroyed ny fire, was covered by insur ance; and the method of the witness in distinguishing them as tho “old” and the “new” barn, caused the lawyer to brancli out in a series of confusing questions, winding up with “what is tiie age of the one you define as the ‘old’ barn, and what are the distinguishing marks that attest its age?” ‘'Ball,” said the badgered wilnesi, looking tho lawyer straight in the e o, “the old barn must have been as nearly as old as you are, and needed shingling full as bad.” A wjuTKit in a f'anadian paper, speak ing of the possibilities of pulp as a sub stitute lor lumber in the manufacture of furniture and other artic cs, now exclu sively made of wood, calls attention to the resources afforded by northern t an ad a for the best pulp making wo ds. It is found that in some localities the for ests are now at the best age for pulping purposes, and capable of yielding from forty to one hundred and twe ty cords per acre, if the whole of the timber were utilized. By mixing the pulp with clays, Steatite, asbe tos* plumbago, mica, etc , substances of cVery possible color aud compactness may be produced. 1/18 A rro INI E D to LON ISIS Mr. NirlioltiV I xiicrih>> 0'v:*lls v -l M;i. rlatlsllu r*t*l 1 1»• :si«-ti»• S.ts Pi.'Ancisco. —A number of colo histS fromOwens'sSocialistic settlement, at Topdllyuntpo, in tin; Btato of Sanaloa, Mexico, arrive*/ in this city Sunday night on the stcitrfMW Newdxnti. John W. Nichols, one of their number, from New YOrfe, tells the story of hi* expo nonce, winch detracts somewhat from the glowing descriptions of life on the shores of the Gulf of California that have neon so freely printed in tlie East. Fer tile soil. magnificent harbor, lovely cli mate all were pie!lift'd so seductively that it is no wonder that intelligent men and women were carried away mill in ! duccd to make a move which they will tepertt *'ll their lives Instead of the soil being fertile, Mr. Nichols says terse ly that the siteciidscii for New Jerusa lem lor tin* Socialists consists of nothing but rock and sand, and vegetable growth is entirely of the cactus family. Tncro i is no fertile land of anv extent within «!5 miles of the “city.” The locality is so slightly elevated above the sea level, too, that at every high tide it is covered with water, and at low tide 1,000 acres of mud are exposed, sending up a cloud of malarial exhalations which is anything but conducive to health. Althou li the colonists have been locat ed there for some time, there 1* as yet no growing crop of any kind beyo'ffd a little patch of “garden sauce,’ which might at a pinch afford a mouthful to each of 100 or aOO deluded mortals who are broiling under the sun on sandy waste. There is just one building In this entire town, it such by courtesy it may be termed. Tills is a rough board structure, <li nified by the name of A1 bertin Hall, mid which u thrifty New England farmer w mid hardly think tit shelter for bis horses. All ho people there are living in tents, nn*l while that method in life is sometimes not, altogeth er without its advantages, still, as a regular thing, it may as we l bo admit te*l to have some drawbacks. Astotho harbor, concerning wlii< li so much lias been said, it Is so shallow that none but vessels of the lightest draught can cuter it, and Nichols and his companion had to wade over half a mile in water almost knee deep in order to reach a small boat Unit took them l*> deep water to catch the steamer. When Mr Nichols started for Topnlobampo from New York lie fell in with a party of enthusi astic colonists from Maine, and they traveled together. When they reached Guaymas an agent from I opolubampo met them and levied an assessment for the purpose of proeur ing food. They all contributed, tilt sums advanced varying from $> to SIOO and a goodly supply of provisions was purchased. As soon ns they reached the sand and cactus patch where the canvas city is situated, they found that they were to be assessed twenty five cents apiece for meals; hut, to counterbalance this, they were allowed credit “on books” of'n a day for labor performed. That none of them will become wealthy from thin source, however, is shown by the fact that so far all the work done lias been confined to road making and nn attempt at grading a bed for railroad tracks. This latter is progressing so rapidly that it is possitde, if nil bands turn to and work real hard, that in the course of five years or so us much as a mile or u mile and a quarter may be constructed. In the work Mr. Nichols says that the whole scheme is a fraud of the first water. The colonists will be obliged to depend entiicly upon outside sources for their food supplies, and if for any reason these cease or do not come regularly, milch suffering must ensue, There are many there who would only be too glad to get away if they could but who are not so fortunate ai to be possessed of enough means to pay for steamer passage. A Man who Has to ho Patient. The Pittsburgh l> H/mtch says : For nine years John McCracken has oc cupied a bed at Hie City Poor Farm. For the past three years he has been entirely helpless. Every joint, except ing about tin: jaw, has become as stone, perfectly immovable. The case is one of the most peculiar over recorded in this portion of the country. A dozen vears ago John McCracken was a well-known and popular young man living in Lawrenc rville. One night when Jie was out with a party of friends he was exposed to the rain and cold for several hours, iiis constitution was sup posed to be sufficiently strong to with stand almost any tiling, but that night of rain and cold proved an overdose even for him. The next day he lmd rheuma tism, and from that day to this he has never left his bed. Gradually the disease fastened itself on him, and at the end of a couple of years lie was helpless and his money v/as gone. He was sent t > the Poor Farm iu 187 M. lie lius ooen almost in one posi tion there since the first. The lactic acid in his blood destroyed the synovial membranes and fibrous struc tures about the joints of his body, and the empty spaces gradually filled with deposits of lime, salts and mineral sub stances. The lower limbs became still first; the toes, ankles and knees Then tiio hips and arms became immovable, and finally it became impossible for him to move liis head more than half uu inch. He ia now absolutely helpless. Two cowboys fresh from the range squared o*T at twelve* pa es for a duel in < lieyenne. The artiilery was raised arid ready for the word, when one of tlie combatants suggested that they take a farewell drink. This was agreed to, and, ua they took more than ouo drink, they soon forgot to light. VOL. 11. NO. I. THE COMMASDERY BALL. Many I'rrtty l.iullrn nml (he CoiiliKan They Wore. At thcCommandery Hall in New York, a grand alTair, the following wero among the costumes noted: Garnet velvet and point lace; dia monds and pearls; boquet of pink roses and white lilacs Worth dress of ciel bleu silk, point laco, diamond necklace and pink roses. White silk nml ctucliesso luce, pearl trimmings and diamond ornaments. Pale blue satin, embroidered in poarls, tea roses and diamonds. White silk and lacc, made dancing length, with bodice of pale blue, bodice pearls and white neplretus roses; dia mond ornaments. Bronze satin, cream white flowers and diamonds. Black satin, with jet ornaments and black marabout feather trimmings. White pointe d’Esprit draped over white silk anil worn with white feath ers and diamonds. Black satin, with jet ornaments and black marabout feather trimmings, white bonnet and feathers, diamond orna ments. White pointe d’esprit, draped over white silk and worn with white fcathera and diamonds. Dark blue velvet, with a court traiu and panels of Elite cut jet passementerie draped in point laec; diamonds. Cream white silk frise; pearls. (.’ream silk, draped in lace, with bod ice of scarl t velvet, sash of moire; dia monds. Heliotrope silk and pansy velvet with pearls, point lace and pink roses; dia monds. Cremn white satin and poi >t laco, with Medici collar. Pink satin and pearl passementerie; diamonds. An elaborate toilet of olive and laco, and diamond ornaments. Pluck thread lacc over satin, with jet ornaments, white pompons in the hair; diamond*. Pale blue silk and white lacc, pink roses and diamonds. Heavy brown silk and Persian passe menterie, white roses and diamonds. Black satin und jet, diamonds and pink roses und blues. A lovely blonde, wore rose pink silk, draped with white laco, pink roses and pearls. A pretty gown of heliotrope silk with pointed corsage; long heliotrope gloves, pearls. A peach blow silk, decollete, with pink roses. White lace over silk, with pointed bodice, shoulder pius of diamonds, crimson roses. Mauve silk anil bronze velvet brocade, with pearl embroidery and diamonds. Black satin and luce, with Spanish roses and diamonds. V. hitc silk, embroidered iu flowers and draped in Oriontul silk, point lace, pearls and diomouds. Black batin and lacc, pink roses and diamonds. Black brocade anu steel passementerie, pink crush roses and diamonds. Black satin and jet, orange tips and diamonds White silk and lace, scarlet tulips and diamonds. Point laco over white pearl trimming, diamond ornaments. White lace draped over silk, with clusters of lilacs. Hose colored silk, with pearls and sash of moire, pearl ornaments. Lavender silk anil white lace, cut de collete, and lavender feathers. White faille francaise and silver tullo, trimmed with pearl ornaments and pink feathers. White tulle and sash of pale green satin and carnations White Ottoman silk and brocade, diamond aud ruby ornaments, A Mar It min’sc ncc. The Portland Qrt(j<mian says: While or: his way home at an early hour in the morn ing a reporter fell in with Captain John I fiends, h me ward bound also. If was blowing rather fresh and raining, and the reporter remarked, “Itathei rough. Cap’ll.” “Not so rough ns it was where I was JO years ago to day.* was the reply. “Where was that?” “It was landing provisions at Vera Crua for the American army. The soldieri were sulfering for food, find we took a lot of provisions to the mole in a life boat and threw them ashore, and tin soldiers, with life lines around them, waded out in the water to catch the (lour, bacon, etc.” The United States brig Sumner, commanded by Kaphue) Kemmcs, was wrecked in the same storm near Vera Cruz. (’apt. Iliends com manded the United States dispatch boat Camargo on the Lower Mississippi during the rebellion, and there threw overb aid a pilot who ran him ashore under a rebel battery. Healing a Car. Albert L. Mtirdcok. of Poston, writer to th** I'rantieri/il as follows: “There are at tin* Patent Olfice, Wash ington, ;:<:0 models for heating railroad ears and not one adopted by any rail road company in the United States, and never will be until public opinion forces them to action. 1 will deposit 9500 in bank on notice of any one equipping a train of five cars, and. after running three months, if accepted by the rail road company, and an order is given to equip twenty five cars, the sum shall be payable on presentation of the contract to the inventor of the first method that is accented.”