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THE WEEKLY CONSTITUTION-. ATLANTA. GJU TUESDAY" DECEMBER 15 1885.
TALMAGE IN THE WEST,
SERMON PREACHED YESTERDAY
AT DETROIT.
KoQnent Discourse Delivered Yesterday Morning
the Subjoct; "A New Scroll or Martyrs???*-The
Heroes of Toll of the Blok-Boom, and of
Common Erery-Day Life-Etc.
Detroit, Mich., December 13.???[Special.]
The Rev. T. DeWitt Talmage, D. D., the cele
brated Brooklyn preacher, arrived here yester
day morning. The Jefferson avenue Presby*
. tcriari church was crowded this morning, when
he delivered an eloquent sermon. The hyuin
'sung was:
"Jesus, lover of my soul.
Let me to Tbjr bosom fly!???
The subject of Dr. Talmage???s discourse was:
???A New Scroll of Martyrs,??? and tho text, ???
Timothy 2, 3: "Thou therefore enduro hard
ness.??? Dr. Talmage said: ???
Historians are not slow to acknowledge tho
merits of great military chieftains. We have
the dill-length portraits of the Cromwells, the
Washingtons, the Napoleons and tho Welling
tons of tho world. History is not written in
black ink, but with red ink of human blood.
Tho gods of human ambition do not drink
from bowls made out of silver or gold or pre
cious stones, but out of the bleached skulls of
tho fallen. Bat I am now to unroll before you
a scroll of heroes that tho world has never
acknowledged; those who faced no guns, blew
no bugle-blast, conquered no cities, chained
no captives to their chariot-wheels, and yot In
the great day of eternity will stand higher
than those whoso names startled the nations;
and seraph and rapt spirit and archangel will
tell their deeds to a listening uuiverso.
mean the heroes of common, everyday life.
In this roll, in tho flVat place, I find all the
heroes of tho sick room. When Satan had failed
to overcome Job ho said to God: "Put forth
thine band now. and touch his bone and his
flesh, and he will curse thee to thy face.??? Satan
had found out what we havo all found out, that
alckncrs is the great test of one???s character. A
man who van stand that can stand anything???
to be shut in a room as fast as though it were
a hostile; to bo so nervous yon cannot endare
the tap of a child???s foot; to have luxuriant fruit
which tempts tho appetito of tho robust and
healthy excito our loathing and dis
gust when it appears on tho platter; to have
the rapier or pain strike through the sido
or across the temples like a razor; or to put tho
foot into a vice or throw the whole body into a
blaze-of fever. Yet there havo boon men and
women, more women than men, who havo
cheerfully endured this hardness. Through
years of exhausting rheumatisms and excru-
??? dating neuralgias they havo gone, and through
bodily distresses that rasped tho nerves, and
tore the muscles, and paled tho cheoks and
stooped the shoulders. By the dim light of the
sick room taper they saw on thoir wall tho pic
tures of that land where tho inhabitants aro
never sick. Through the dead silence of tho
night they heard tho chorus or the angels.
The cancer ate away her life from week to
week, and from day to day, and aho became
weaker and weaker, and every ???good bight???
wis feebler than tho "good night??? before; ye<
never rad. Tho child looked up into her me
and saw suffering transformed into a heavenly
smile. Those who suffered on the battlefield
amid shot and shell, were not so much heroes
and heroines as those who in tho field hospital
mW in tho asylum had fever which no ice
coflldcool and no surgery gcould care. No
shiut of comrade to chccr them, but numbnoss
and aching and homesickness; yet witling to
suffer, confident in God and hopo of Heaveu.
Heroes of rheumatism, heroes of neuralgia,
heroes of spinal complaint, heroes of sick heah-
ache, heroes of lifelong invalidism, heroes and
heroine^ they shall reign forover and ever.
Hark! 1 catch just one note of tho eternal an
them: ???There shall bo no moro pain.??? BIi
God for that!. i . .
In this roll I also find tho heroes of toll, who
do thefr work uncomplainingly. It is compara
tively easy to lead a regiment into battle, when
you know that tho whole nation will applaud the
victory; it is comparatively easy to doctor tho
sick, when you know that your skill will bo
appreciated by tho large company of friends
and relatives; it is comparatively cosy to ad
dress an audience, when in tho gloaming eyes
and flushed checks you know that your senti
ments aro adopted; but to do sowing wheroyou
expect that tho employer will como and
thrust his thumb through the work to show
bow imperfect it is, or to havo tho wholo gar
ment thrown back on yon to bo dono over
again; to lmild a well and know thero will bo
no one to say you did it well, but only a swear
ing employer howling across the scaffold; tc
work until your eyes are dim, and your back
aches, and yonr heart faints, and to know
that if you stop before night your childron
will starve! Ah, the sword has not slain so
many as the needle! The great battlefields of
cur fast war were not Gettysburg and .Shiloh
and South Mountain, Tho great battlefields
of tho last war wore In the arsenals and in ttie
shops, and in the attics, where women made
army jackets Cor a six pcuco. They toilod on
until they died. They had no funeral culo-
glum,but in tho namo ofmyGod thismoraing I
enroll their names among those of whom the
world was not worthy. Heroes of the needle,
heroes of the sewing roachiuo. heroes of the
attic, heroes of the cellar, heroes and ho
mines. bless God for them!
, In this roll I also find tho heroes who havo
uncomplainingly endured domestic injustice.
There aro men who for their toil and anxioty
have no sympathy in their own homos. Ex
hausting application to business gets them a
livelihood, hut an unfrugnl wife scatters it. Ho
la fretted at from the moment no enters tho
door until he goes out of it, the exasperations
of business life augmented by the exaspera
tions of domestic life. Such men aro laughod
at, fcnt they have a heart-breaking trouble, and
they would havo long ago gono into appalling
dissipation but for tho grace of God. Society
today is strewn with the wrecks of men who
under tho northeast storm of domestic infelicity
have been driven on the rocks. Thero aro
tens of thousands of drunkards in this country
today made such by their wives. That is not
poetry; that is prose.
But tho wrong is generally In the opposite
direction. You would not have to go nr to
And a wife who is a perpetual martyr. Some
thing heavier than the stroke of tho fist, un
kind words; staggering* home at midnight and
constant maltreatment, which have left her
only n wreck of what % he was on that day
when in the midst of a brilliant assemblage,
vows were taken and full organ played tho
wedding march, and the carriage rolled away
With the benediction of the peoplo. What was
the turning of Latimer and Bidley at the
stake comjum**! with this? Thoso men soon
became unconscious iu the lire, but hero is a
fifty years martyrdom, a fifty years patting to
death, vet uncomplaining. No bitter words
when the rollicking companions aft two o'clock
In the morning, pitch the husband dead drunk
into the frout entry. No bitter words when
Wiping /rum the swollen brow tho blood struck
out in a midnight carousal: bending over tho
battered and bruised form of him who, when
he took her from her father???s home, promised
love and kindness and protection, yet nothing
but sympathy and prayers and forgiveness,
before they are asked for. No bitter words
whep the family Biblo goes for rum, and the
pawnbroker???s shop get* the last decent dress,
borne day, desiring to evoke the story of her
sorrows, you say: "Well, bow are you getting
along now???? And rallying her trembling
voire and quieting her quivering lip, she says:
???Pretty well. I thank yon; pretty well.??? She
never will tell you. In the delirium of her
last sickness she may tell all the secreta of her
lifetime, hut elic will not teli that. Not until
the books of eternity are opened on tho throne
of judgment, will ever be known what she has
suffered.
(SO ye who are twisting a garland for the vi<*
tor, put ft on that pale brow! When she is
deed the neighbors will l>cg linen to make
her a thread, and she will be carried out in a
plain box with no silver plate to tell her years,
for the ha* lived a thousand years of trial and
anguish. The gamblers, the swindlers who
destroyed her husband, will not come to the
frmeral. One carriage will be enough for that
ftmeral, one carriage to carry the orphans sad
the two Christian women who presided over
the obsequies; but there is a flash, and the
opening of a celestial door and a shout: ???Life up
your heads, ye everlasting gates, and let her
come in;??? and Christ will step forth and say:
"Ccmein;ye suffered with me on earth, bo
glorified with me in heaven.??? What is the
highest throne In heaven ? The throne of the
Lord God Almighty and the lamb. No doubt
about it. What is the next highest throne in
heaven? While I speak it seems to mo that it
will be the throno of the drunkard???s wife, if
she with cheerftil patience endare all her
earthly torture. Heroes and heroines!
I find also in this roll the heroes of Christian
charity. We all admire the George Peabodys
and the James Lenoxes of the earth, who gave
tens and hundreds of thousands of dollars to
good otyccts. But I am speaking this morning
of those who out of their pinched poverty
helped others???of such men as those Christian
missionaries at tho west who are living on $J50
a year that they may proclaim Christ to the
people. One of them writing to the secretary
m New York, rays: ???I thank you for that $25.
Until yesterday we have had no meat in our
house for three months. We have suffered ter
ribly. My children have no shoes this win
ter.??? I am speaking of those people who liaVo
only a half loaf of broad, but give a piece of it
to others who aro hungry; and of those who
have only a scuttle of coal, but help others to
ftiel;and of those who havo only a dollar in
their pocket and give25centsto somebody else;
and of that father who wean a shabby coat,
and of that mother who wears a faded dress
that their children may be well apparelled.
You call them paupers, or ragamuffins, or iml-
grants. I call them heroes and heroines. You
and I may not know where they live or what
their name is: God knows, and they havo more
ongels hovering over them than yon and I
have, and they will havo a higher seat in
heaven
They may have had only a cup of wator to
give a. poor traveler, or may havo only nicked
a splinter from under tho nail of a child???s fin
er, or put only two mites into the treasury,
ut the Lord knows them. Considering what
they had. they did more than wo have over
done, and their faded dress will become
white robe, and tho small room will bo an
eternal mansion, and the old hat will bo a cor
onet of victory, and all tho applauso of oarth,
and all the shout ing of heaven, will bo drown
ed out when God rises up to give his reward to
those humble workers In His kingdom and to
say to them, "Well done, good and ffiithful
servant!??? You havo all seen or hoard of the
ruin of Melrose abbey. I suppose in some re
spects it is tho most exquisite ruin on earthy
aud yet looking at it I was not so improved???
you may set it down to bad taste, but I was
not so deeply stirred???os I was at tho tomb
stone at tho foot of that abbey. tho tombstone
placed by Walter 8cott over the grave of an
old man who had servod for a good many
years in his house???tho inscription most sig
nificant, and I defy any man to stand there
and read it without tears coming Into hlsoyos;
tho epitaph, "Well done, good and faithful
servant!???* Ob,when our work Is over,will It bo
found bccanse of anything we havfl dono for
God, or tho church, or snfforing hu
manity, that such an inscription
npnroprlato for us? God grant
Who aro those who were bravest and de
served the greatest monument???Lord Clavcr-
house and his burly soldiers, or John Brown,
the Edinburgh carrier, and his wife? Mr. At
kins, the persecuted minister of Jesus Christ
in Scotland, was accreted by John Brown and
his wifo, and Claverhouse redo up ono day with
his armed men, and shouted in front of the
house. John Brown???s littte girl carao out. He
said to her: "Well, miss, is Mr. Atkins hero????
She made no answer, for she conld not betray
the minister of the gospel. "Ha!??? Claverhouse
raid, "then you are a chlp.of the old block, are
J ou ? I havo something in my pocket for yon.
t is a nosegay. Some peoplo call it a. thumb-
screw, but I call it a nosegay.??? And ho got off
his horse, and he put it on the little girl???s hand,
and began to torn it until the bones cracked,
and she cried. P
cry ! This is not ????? muuiiiKion. uuta u?? ?? ii-jsu-
ly.??? And they heard the child???s cry, and the
ithcr and mother came ont, and Clavorhouso
raid: "Ha! It seems that you threo havo laid
your holy heads together determined
to die, like all tho rest of your hypocritical,
'anting, ehi veiling crow. Bather than glvo r
ood Mr. Atkins, pious Mr. Atkins, you woul _
I have a telcscopo with mo that will im-
pane. Go to tho window and you will ffnd
is the beak of a raven, and open tho Window
and there will fly in the messenger that fed
Elijah. Do you think that the God who grows
the cotton of the south will let you freexe for
the lack of clothes? Do you think that tho God
who allowed tho descipfcs.on Sunday morning,
to go into the grainfield, and then take
tho grain and rub It in their hands and eat???
do you think God will let you starve? Did
you ever hear the experience of that old man?
???I have been young and now am old; yet have
I not seen the righteous fbtsaken, nor his seed
begging bread.??? Get up out of your discour
agement, O troubled soul! O sewing women!
O men kicked and cuffed by unjust employers!
O ye who aro hard beset in tho battle of life,
and know not which way to turn! O you be
reft one! O you aick one, with complaints you
have told to no one! como and get the comfort
of this subject. Listen to our great captain???-
cheer: "To him that overcomcth will I give b.
eat of the tree of life which is in the midst of
the paradise of God!???
TOPICS OF THE WEEK.
prove vour vision,??? and he pulled out a pistol.
"Now,??? he raid, "yon old pragmatical, lest yon
should catch cold in this cold morning of Scot
land, and for tho honor and safety of the king,
to say nothing of the glory of God and tho
good of our souls, I will procoed simply, and in
the neatest and most expeditious manner, to
blow your brains out.??? John Brown foil upon
his knees and began to pray. "Ah,??? raid
Claverhouse, "lookout! If yon are going to
pray steer clear of the king, tho council and
iiichard Cameron.??? "O Lord,??? raid John
Brown, "since it seems to bo Thy will that I
thou hi leave this world for a world whore I
can love Thee better and servo Thee more, I
put thispoor widow woman and these helpless,
fatherless children into Tby hands. We havo
been together in peace and good will, bat now
wc must look forth to a better mooting in
heaven; and for these poor creatures, blind
folded and infatuated, that stand before me,
erm fort them before it bo too late, and may
they who havo sat in judgment in this little
place, on this blessed morning upon mo, a poor
defenseless fellow creature, may they in tho
last judgment find that mercy which they
have refused to me, thy moot unworthy but
faithfiil servant, amen I??? Ho -rose up and
raid: '"Isabel, tbo hour is come of which I
spoke to you on tho morning when I proposed
hand and heart to you, and aro you willing
now for the love of God to let mo die???? She
put her arms around him and said: "The Lord
,vo and tho Lord hath taken away. Blessed
tho name of tbo Lord l??? "Stop that snivel
ling,??? raid Claverhouse; "I havo had enough
i, mu vutcniuuK) x tiuvu unu uuuuxh
it. Soldiers, do your work. Tako aim!
Fire!??? and tho head of John Brown was scat
tered on the ground. While tbo wifo was
gathering up in her apron the fragments of
her husband???s head, gathering them up for
burial, Claverhouse looked into her fuco and
d: "Now, my good woman, how do you feel
w about your bonnle man Y??? "Oh,??? sho said,
always thought well of him; he has boon
very good to me. I had no reason for think
ing anything but well of him, and I think bet
ter of him now.???
O, what a grand thing it will be in the last
day to see God pick out hlshoroeaand hero
ines! Who are those paupers of eternity
trudging off from the gates or heaven ? Who
are they? The Lord Claverhouses and the
Hcrods, and thoso who had sceptres aud crowns
and thorns, but they lived for their own
aggrandizement, and they broke tho heart of
nations. Heroes of earth, but paupers in eter
nity ! I beat tho drums of their eternal de
spair. Woe! Woe! Woe!
But there is great excitement in heaven.
Why those long processions? Why the boom
ing of that great bell in the tower? It Ls coro
nation??? day in heaven. Who are those rising
on the throne with crowns of eternal royalty ?
They must have been great peoplo on earth,
world-renowned people. No, they taught in a
ragged school. Taught iu a ragged school ?
Taught in a ragged school! Is that all? That
is all. Who are those sonls waving sceptres of
eternal dominion ? Why, they were little chil
dren who waited on invalid mothers. That
all? That???s all. She was called ???Little Mary???
on earth; ahe Is an empress now. Who are
that great multitude on the highest thrones of
heaven ? Who are they? Why, they fed the
hungry, they clothed the naked, they healed
the sick, they comforted tho heart-broken.
They never fonnd any rest until they put
their head down on the acpnlcbre. God
watehed them. God laughed defiance at the
enemies who put their heels hard down on
these. I tig dear children; and one ds7 the
Lord struck his hand so hard on His thigh
that the omnipotent sword rattled in the sjab-
bard as ???lie raid: "I am their God, and no
weapon formed against them shall proiper.???
What harm can the world do you when the
Lord Almighty, with unsheathed sword, fights
you?
preach this sermon this morning in com
fort. Go home to the place where God his pat
yen to play the hero and the heroine. Do not
vy any man his money or his applause, or
?? social position. Do not envy any woman
wardrobe or her exquisite appearance. B?
hero or the heroine. If there be no Hoar
the bouse, sod you don???t know where yonr
children are to get bread, listen and you will
The Medical Becord publishes the following
communication by Dr. C. C. Burke, of Texark
ana, Texas, who vouches for tho accuracy ol
tho facts: "I witnessed on our streets a few days
ago what seemed to me to be an impossibility, a
human being eating glass, I might ray by the
wholesale. I had heard of tho negro before he
reached our town, and I, like all others, dispu
ted his ability to eat tho glass without its do
ing him serious injury. When he arrived
our city I witnessed liis exhibition, both
in privato and public, and I am now
thoroughly satisfied, from care fill examination
of his mouth and throat, before and while eat
ing the glass, that he eats it fairly nnd square
ly. He is not very particular to chew It fine.
I raw a piece in his mouth, after ho had chewed
it, one-quarter by one-half inch long, made
into all klnda of shapes and aizes by crushing
it with his teeth, lie informed me that he
had been at it for twenty years, and had never
bad the least discomfort from its effects, lie
eats it in any quantity, from a small piece to
wholo lamp chimney at a time, and keeps it
nn during the day, making his living by ex
hibiting his extraordinary power of eating
lx Paris, the other day, M. Helm charged
Dr. Blanch with bewitching |[and magnetizing
him. Ho raid that he hod traveled all over tho
world trying to escape from the doctor???s electric
shocks. Daring tho trial Helm rat on a gutta
perch cushion to avoid being magnetizodby the
defendant. The j udgo heard the evldenco and
dismissed tho case.
Onjc of tho most remarkable suicides re
ported lately is that of Mr. John Webster, near
Shelby, N. C. Mr. Webster was a very modest
young man. Last Friday evening whou ho
returned from a dance tho room which ho had
occupied for months had been given for the
night to three young ladles. Unaware of this
he entered the room and fonnd two of the girla
disrobed. This greatly confiiscd him. Ho made
profiiso apologies and retired. Tho blunder
weighed upon his mind to such an extent that
he determined to kill himself rather than live
to face the young ladies and tho community.
The friends of;Mr. Webster aroinclinod to
think ho carried his modest scruples a littlo too
far.
Tnx Florida craze is worthy of notice. It is
an undisputed fact that many new towns have
sprung up within the past few years. Some of
the old towns have doubled their population.
Thousands of new settlors have located in dif
ferent parts of the state. All this keeps up a
perpetual boom, but recently tlicro IishIhmmi h
disposition among the Florida sotticr* to cross
over tho Goorgin lino nml sock new homes,
The final result of tho Florida booip will bo a
decided bonoflt to Georgia.
Oxancock, Va., is cloying** little mystery.
Borne timo ago Captain George Dix died at an
advanced age. Ho had led an adventurous life.
For years he would bo absent and nothing
would bo heard of him. Suddonly ho would
reappear, but make no explanation beyond the
statement that he had bcon visiting foreign
countries. The nephew of tho old man recently
opened a scaled box belonging to his nncle and
found $16,000 in confodorato money.
Tho box was sealed by a notary
in New Orleans in 1863. This, together with
letters and other facts, leads to tho boliof that
Dix made his headquarters in New Orleans
several years and acted as a gulf pilot. It
seems certain from the letters that ho owns ex
tensive property in Now Orleans, Cuba and
other parts of tho world, but as ho left no will
the final settlement of his estate will causo
much troublo.
A Lake Erik town tarred and feathered a
Toledo reporter who slandored tho people. The
reporter now wants $25,000 damages. It would
have been cheaper to have kilLJ him.
IIebe is a sensation right in the heart of
New England. At Dlghton, Mara., young
Dr. Baker purchased the practice of tho retir
ing physician and hod a good thing of it for a
time. Bnt an interloper came in, one Dr.
Pierce. Tho latter began to absorb Dr. Ba
kcr???s practice. One night Pierce was called to
bis door by a man wbo???oskod.bim to go to seo
a sick lady, six miles distant Tho
doctor started off. In a short
time he came to a dense wood
While passing through a bullet whizzed near
his head, and a man rushed up to tho buggy
and fired two pistol shots. The doctor escaped
and made his way to tho house of tho alleged
patient, who turned out to be perfectly well.
A reward was offered for tho would-be assas
sin, but without effect, Decently Dr.
Pierce???s house was burned by an incen
diary. The doctor now feels completely
discouraged. He believes that it is the purpose
ot his unknown enemy or enemies to drive him
out of town. _
Blaibsville, Go., December 0.??????[Special.]???
Saturday was the coldest aud the most un
pleasant day we have had in. a long time. A
continuous snow storm lasted all day, and at
this time our mountains are white with the
beautiful snow.???
Fort Worth, Texas, is excited over the
disappearance of Mr. B. Sanguenit, a promi
nent architect. Banguenit was doing well and
had a fine businc nn. Suddenly he left the city,
and wrote to a friend in 8an Francisco that he
owed several hundred dollars in Fort Worth,
and bis indebtedness had worried him to such
extent that he had decided to leave. One
of his debts was for a fine suit of clothes in
which he was to have been married at an early
day. Many do not believe that he left on ac
count of financial troubles. Bonkers ray that
they would have loaned him all the money he
needed. A wealthy citizen has telegraphed
Banguenit, offering to pay his debts If he will
cone back. _
Ir Sir. Pound-Jackson could have died In
two places bis two widows would have been
much better satisfied. As it is Mr. Pound was
known l>y that name in London, but in another
city he wa* called Jackson. In each place
where he lived he married. lie informed both
>f his wive* that be was a commercial traveler
and was compelled to be absent from home a
pood deal. No suspicion was aroused, and Mr.
Pound-Jackson went on leading this double
life for twenty years. A few days ago he
dkd, dividing his estate between tbo two
widows. The senior widow tried to break the
will in favor of the junior, but the court sus
tained it.
A POET???S HOME.
JOAQUIN MILLER'S LOO CABIN IN
WASHINGTON.
ATJ.lt to th?? Fort of the Sierra. In HU Queer Abed.
-Comm HI. Xeflectlon. and Opfnlom-IIl.
Surttinnw. ud HI. Whlnu-m> To.
nuudnw-IU. EccentrfclttM.
WAmtHGTOw, December 12.???[Special.]
Not on. of the splendid m unions crowning tho
iqburbnn height, which look down on Wash
ington attracts more attention or provokes
moro comment than a rough log cabin, built
In grnulno backwoods stylo on tho crest of a
beautiful eminence smtd palaces of bride and
stone.
It is due to this characteristic of human na
ture, perhaps, that the log cabin in whlcu
JOAQUflT MILUESt,
tho poet of the Sierras, resides, is accounted one
of tho "Sights??? of Washington, while hardly
anybody inqairca concerning tbo elegant
homes of acorgo Bancroft, tho historian; Mrs.
Bnmct, the novelist; or Professor Alexander
Graham Boll, tho inventor of tho telephone.
On tho brow of Meridian hill it stands???this
rudohomeof tho author of "Songs of tho Sier
ras,??? "Tho Ship of the licsert,??? ???Tho Dsnltes.???
aud other productions hardly less famous. It
ls a plain, one-story log cabin, similar to thoso
scattered all over Georgia, overhung by hugo
oaks, sitting well hack in an nnkompt yard,
through whoso ragged woods a footpath strag
gles to tho entranco of the queer abode.
The front window of tho cabin givea one...
the finest views to bo had In tho vicinity. Tho
city in Its wealth of marhlo cdltlcso, broad
parkland stately homos Ilea like an amphi
theatre encircled by the surrounding hills.
Tho broad, shining Potomac, flecked hero and
there with thd white sails of fishing smacks, or
blurred with the black breath of panting
steamers, sweeps between tho observer and ths
noblo heights of Arlington and tho dimly
descried spires of quaint old Alexandria;
As I stood by tho poot and looked on that
secno from Ills favorito window ho said os with
the enthusiasm of ono to whom tho beauteous
vision hid been revealed for tho first time.
"All mine! Tho silvor river 1 Tho distant
hills! Tho blue, sweet sky! Tho wholo
iccne ofnsturo???s beauty and man???a creational
It la mine, and thank God no man can farm
out or lake it ITom mo.???
Thopoct???awelcomotothe stranger catches
its glow of cordiality from hia actions???not
fTcm his words, lire tho visiter has time to
rap on tho pine door, tho latch la lifted and a
grulf voice says ???comoIn I??? os the rustic por
tal swings open. There stands the "poot of the
Sierras.??? A tall, tawny haired, beardless man,
apparently forty-five year* of old, with thin
features and a clear hluo oyo, stands before
you, and In his perfect, unaffected case amid
Ills surrounding challenges tho concession that
ho has earned tho right to build aa bo pleafos
in wood and iron who has raised so many
fairy structures out of sky, and broozo and
golden sunsblno.
The a' ??? ???
nothing
est mountaineer. Tho floore aro bare. The
loga are as nature modo them, with no orna
ment but their fractured hark, and hero and
there a common print of an Illustrated news
paper. A heavy oak table near the center of
tbo room la covered with loom pages of manu
script. In frout of the bright hickory wood
fire stretches a superb buflklo robo and another
rests upon n couch near by. A big saddlo
swings by a stirrup Rom tho trail. No hooka,
no pictures; not glimmer of art or omomont???
nothing but a perfect homo of a
nanny uouxrAiNESR.
I ventured to remark upon tho absence of
those things in tho bouse of a poot.
???I havo hut ono book,??? said he; reaching from
a rough shelf a woll worn copy of tho Ulblo.
???Hero it 1st Tho grandost posm In tho
world t???
As ho turned tbo leaves I conld seo that al
out every ono of them had some marginal
notes written In pencil. Mo had evidently
been all through it.
???I have some pictures, too,??? From n cheat
to drew quito a collection of tho bast
photographs of popular actresses mid handing
them to mo raid: 'There they aro, and, thank
God, there la not a man among ???em.???
It arousca suspicion of aflcctotlon or of tbo
proverbial madness of genius that a man
???hould live In a great city In this primttlvo
style, who has Rom four plays alone, to say
nothing of bis books, royalties which daring
tbo dramatic season amonnt to $100 a week.
But thorn who know Joaquin Miller boat say
ho Uvea in this way Means. bo loves to.
I confers that I was converted tc
that belief after seeing and talking to tho man.
Around s homo similar to this In tbs far
Sierras ore clustered all tho tender recollec
tions of his lifo. Mo grow to a passionate love
of such a lifo, and since his lot has boon cast
far from its native elements, he claims the
right to preserve and cherish as much of It as
ho can. Uo told mo that ho loved to livo
where ho could hear the acorn???s thud and ths
rain patter upon the roof.
"Every tlmo I hoar an acorn fkll,??? he said,
I think of Its dropping as a period made by
nature In her ceaseless work.???
Nature ls his lovo. Him comes to him In all
shapes and guises; sings or laughs to him In
all hrcrsrr, rippling waters, and sunshine, and
stirs hia soul with her gloom and storms. Mis
love of nature In a poetic sense has affected
deeply his judgment on matters of government
and society. Mcnry Georgo Is his ideal politi
cal economist. Ho believes that ths rights of
he individual extend no moro over land than
hey do over snnshlne and air. That opinion
appeared to mo to Involve an Inconsistency In
one who was himself a landed proprietor, and
looked;
'Do yon not own real estate????
I own this,??? ho answered somowhst defi
antly, referring to his cabin and the aeraahont
It. ???I owned a cabin and fourteen seres In
Oregon when I was a Judge ont thoro. I loft]
though, and told my old washerwoman to ft
there sod live when I como away. Igneaisho
owns the concern now. I own an acre and a
half In Washington???down thoro it tho foot of
the hill. Yousee I have putsomo cheap bouses
on It. I hesitate to offor them to white people,
for fenr It would insult them; to I told tomo
niggers to go thoro and llvo.???
???Do you like negroes???? I asked.
???No; I can???t say that I do, especially, but
Moons ukx homes,
yon know.???
Mo bates dogs. A friend who visited him
with mo was followed by a very faithful dog,
hut ono whose lovely character woe seriously
effect by physical homeliness. This dog was
tailless from hi* birth, was stuntyand very
brood between the forelegs.
Miller looked savagely at tho dog and sald:
???Tho Greeks hod tho only proper Idoa of tho
destiny of dogs. They mode them sentinels at
tbegatesofhell. That dog remind* me of an old
fellow in Mississippi who went croay after tho
war and lived alone with a est as hit only com
pany. Tho cat had a tail as short a* that doffs
When I tsked the old fellow how it came to he
told me that tho eat used to be subset to fils
and ho had learned that the way to care thorn
was to cut off a piece of her tall every time aho
hod a fit. Me said the Just bad enough tall
for one more fit.??????
The best illustration of tho poet's extreme
seniUlveneai Is fonnd In tho character of
"Billy Piper,?????? In bis famous play, ???The Dan-
Ites.??? Mr. Miller says that he originally In
tended that character as s portrayal of his
own adventures in the west In Ite wildest days
hut that he saw bow much hotter the dremat-
would Im if be made ???Billy Piper??? a woman
mosculino disguise, and so threw
sway or postponed tho thought
of representing hi* own experience. Hr. Miller
was recently tendered s flattering appoint
ment by the secretary of the interior, but be
declined it. Ills present literary work Ip a
I- cm that la Icing published aa a serial In
???Literary Life,??? a Chicago magazine. H-
wrltea for the newspapers often and Is always
well paid. Mr la not a reclaim.
A nicer of his who lew spent nsvenl yean
At on the continent nnder hia patronage
:Ss recently been appointed translator of for
eign languages In the department of the inte
rior.
Since her return she live* with the poet In
the cabin on Meridian Mill, to dispel its anil-
trde and lighten itsfloDllnowwith her cheerful
presence and her active attention to the duties
of that (.???Bf ulsr household. P. M. B.
OUR STOCKING HANGING UP.
ZVo week* ago The Constitution hung its
Mocking up for Christmas.
We told our readers of this fori, and urged
every one of them to remember it. We did not
ask them to give ue money, but simply a little
work and good will. We asked each one to get
us ONE NEW SUBSCRIBER before Christ
mas, and drop it in our Christmas slocking.
Hundreds of them have already reported an
have our gratitude. Thousands have not, and
they have our hopes. There are ten days left.
Jf you have not sent us in your ???Christmas
gift,??? trill you do so, so it trill reach us by
CHRISTMAS EVE t You can do it if you
trill. Won't you t
Bid you ever think of THE IMMENSE
POWER our readers could exert if each on
tcould only speak one word for tis? If every
subscriber sent in one new one, (and how easily
they can do it,) we could make the paper 50 per
cent better, and would be 1,000 per cent hap
pier.
Our stocking is hanging"up ! May your
stockings all be filed, and your homes bebright,
and your folks be.happy, whether our stocking
is JUled or not, and may the blessed spirit of
Him who gave us Christmas as an everlasting
festival of peace and good will encompass you
and yours forever and forever.
Tl??e Incurable Cured???A Plain Statement
Facts*
Feelings of deepest gratitude prompt me to
make the following statement of my mother's
case, and the consciousness that It will do
others good by bringing relief to some poor
creature tortured as she was. I consent for its
publication. Mv mother Mrs. Feathers, has
had a cancer ortho womb for many months.
Last winter tho doctor told us it was cancer,
and could not be cured. Five different physi
cians in private practice -havo raid the same
thing. Wo took her to tbo woman???s hospital
of this city, and thero they repeated tho same
story, thoro Dr. Emmett told tts it was cancer,
and she must die. We then took her to the
New York collcgo hospital, and they told us
the same thing there, that she had cancer and
Could live but a very short time. She was
then carried to my house when she awaited
patiently tho coming of death os her only
relief. Wo saw tho aavertisemont of tho Swift
Specific Company, and as "a drowning man
grasps at a straw,??? me went to tho offico of tho
company atlB7 West Twenty-Third street,
and the physician told mo to try It,
that it could do no possible
harm, and that It would cure her. Sho had
lost a great deal of flesh and strength, and it
seemed folly to give her medicine in tho face
of what wo had been told. However, wo com
menced the 8. S. S. and kept It up for a month
before we began to see any improvement.
From that timo on hor general health improv
ed, and sho was soon raised from bed. The
discharge increased so much that it frighten
ed us, but we kept on and tho cancer camo
away in great sloughs and lumps. For two
months now there nas bcon no hemorrhage,
no sign of a discharge. Thank God, my mother
Is well. If any ono wishes to call on us or
write to us, wo will bo glad to tell them all
about this miraculous cure, lily mother is
still at my house, and will bo glau to speak for
herself at any time.
Mbs. RF.nr.co\ Cramer?
278 7th Av., N.Y.
Dec. 2,1880. '
Politics too.Sfach for Him.
A lady on Fifth avenue, Now York, quLfcly
summoned a doctor:
"Oh. doctor, my husband is nearly dead. ITr
attended a caucus last night. Ho made four
speeches and promised to bo with his fellow-
citizens again today. But oh, doctor, he looks
nearly dead.???
IIS** 116 In politics long????
No, only last year. He worked hard for
*J??mcs McCau lay???s election.???
-a get well, madam. Ho has a
stomach for any disease, if ho worked for
him!???
Political life, of short or long duration. Is
ver Z wjMHUfinfc m i* evident from the groat
mortality which prevails among public men.
Ex-United States Senator B. K. Bruce, who has
been long in publio lifo, raya:
"The other day. when stopping Into a car
at a crossing, I found Dr. within, whr
eyed me up and down in a surprised way, re
marking:
" ???Why, senator, how well you look!???
" ???Well, I feel pretty well/1 answored.
The doctor uttered an incredulous reply,
when the senator frankly told him, In answer
to an inquiry, that it was Werner???s safe cure
which accomplished for him what tho profess
ion had failed to do. 8cnator Bruce rays hia
friends are very much astonished at this reve
lation of power.???The Globe.
Overwhelmingly defeated.
"Is There No Ualnt
in Gilead, Is thero no physician there???? That
cry may henceforth cease, forsll who will can
be healed by obtaining tho "Sclenco of Lifo.???
Seo advertisement.
The only Chlncso paper published in New
York has impended publication. Tho general
publio wero not educated up to It.
A Congli, Cold, or Boro Throat should not be
neglected. Bbowx???s Bronchial Troches are a
simple remedy, and glvo prompt relief. 23 cents a
box.
A small, brazen statute, with fret of load, repre
senting a lad sitting asleep on an anchor, has been
dug up on tho Island of Cyprus. This prove* that
??????Btole??? ??? * * - ??? r *
urouicr, or miner, mini ono m ??
watches. It cost* only tt.25 with '
tjo.n for one year, or&fiplfyou w
nlonc. Thh Includes ii ill In-lined '
Order Immediately.
The CoN8TiTu-
ant tho
box and
rheape*t prosent
feveroff
Weekly Bank Statement*
New York, Dccombor 12.???Tbo wookly
statement of Uio associated banks shows tho follow
ing change*:
Loans Increase 212,700
Specie Increase 2,438,400
x*Rftl tenders lncrcaso M.400
)epo*lt* Increase 480,000
Circulation decrease ???' 12,700
Bewrvo increase 287,100
The bank* now hold $20,851,388 in excess of tho
' y r cnt rale.
Scott???s Emulsion of Pure Cod Liver OIL with
Ilypophosphltes.
Very palatable and efficacious In wasting diseases.
Dr. C. T. Bromacr, Rochester, N. Y., says:
"After having used Scott???s Emulsion with decided
benefit upon myself, I have taken great pleasure
In recommending It since In tho various condition*
of wasting in which It is Indicated,???
"Are yon in faror of enlarging the curriculum????
asked a rural school director or a farmer In his dis
trict. "Enlarge nothing,??? replied the old gentle
man; "tho building's big enough; what wo want it
to teach more things to the scholars.???
Bui lew articles have reached such a world*
widoreputation as ANGOSTURA BITTERS.
For over 60 years that they have been the ac
knowledged standard regulators of the digee-
live organs. Their suoces* has lolled Imita
tion. Be sure you get the genuine article .
manufactured only by Dr. J. G. B. Siegorft A
Sons.
The number forty rules Iu Halifax. Tho
population numbers 40,000 and thore are 40 police
men and 40 churches.
England is called John Bull; hut thero Is no
sobriquet for Dr. Bull's Cough Syrup.
Billy's little sister had fallen and hurt her nose,
and site cried a great deal over it. Hearing his
mother tell her to bo careful lest sho spoiled it next
time, he Fnld: "What???s tho good of a nuso to hcrT
Bhe never blows It.???
No matter how severe your cough may be, Dr.
Bull???s Cough Syrup will euro It. 25c.
l??r. \V. J. TiK???l:< r. of Atliuitu, (in., will Fund free,
to nny person oflllctcd with dropsy, n trial pa'-Ungo
of mcdlclno. Hundred* pronounced liojudcw hive
been cured. Bend description of your Sue, with
two letter siampR, and mcdlclno will be scut by re
turn nmil. wky r??t
Couglia. Bkowm'h BsoMcuiALTaocmu are USQft
Wftli advantage to nllcvlato' TUroek
and Bronchial Affection*. Bold only in boxes.
llisuop Jambs Duggan is said to bo recov
ering Ills reason under cocaine. Ho has been in
tho St. Vincent asylum In Chicago for fifteen yeanr.
Georgia???s Local Option Law*
Tho tmo text of this celebrated roeaxuro contain-
sir
11. IT. CABANLW.
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Two Millions of Readers Every Week.
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pose Is to interest while it niqtisei; to be Judicious, practical, Mtuihle, r.tul to
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