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THE ATLANTA GEORGIAN. FRIDAY* OcTOHl'R 12, 19M. i SUSEsl © WWW® ELEGANTSOLIDMAHOGANYDININGROOMSUITS Our magnificent line of Solid Mahogany Dining-Room pieces is without comparison in the entire'South. The markets of the North and East were exhausted for our selection, and only the handsomest and most exclusive patterns are seen on our floors. Fair visitors, Home-comers and Sight-seers are extended a cordial invitation to visit our show-rooms. % Three complete Suits in solid Golden Oak, Early English and Solid Mahog any*, are on exhibit in our show windows. * Complete Dining Boom Suits in Oak, any finish or Solid and Veneered Ma hogany at prices From $16.50 to $700.00 ES-HAVERTY FURNITURE CO, 63-65 Peachtree St. » * »J 4t « # $ ® -a « 41 a -a -a ® -a -a -a a e & ® it $ a ® «■ SUNDAY SCHOOL LESSON THE TEN VIRGINS —Matt. *: 1-13. By DR. GEORGE A. BEATTIE. Golden Text Weteh, therefore, for ye know neither «h» dey nor tho hour wherein tho Son of Man comoth. Matt. 25:13, Thlt parable was epoken-by Chrlat to His disciples on tho latt day of His public ministry on the Mount of Ollvea, while He wo* on HI* way from the Temple to Bethany, Hla nightly reit- ls* place. The parable was spoken to Illustrate the Importance of watchfulness, For this purpose Ho choose* a wedding •cene with which thay were more fa miliar. The Inatitutlon of marriage la one of the two that aurvlved the fall of man In Eden. The other la the Sabbath. The latter Is the foundation on which Million stands; the former the one on which the social fabrte rests. The first marriage was In Eden, and If there was •ny ceremony Ood Himself performed It. In creating woman one would nat urally suppose that the would have been created In the same way that man was, perhaps of finer clay. The method "as significant. She was made out of man and from that part which lay nearest 1:1* heart, that she might love and B* loved. Though sacred, the original mar riage was a simple Institution. It was not till many centuries afterwards that It was Invested with religious cere- monies. In none of the cases recorded In Scripture did the parties repair to a place of worship or call on « priest or minister to tie the nuptial knot. This custom may be traced to the church of Rome, who exalted this Institution into a sacrament, to serve her otvn selfish ends. By all others It Is regarded as n so cial, civil Inatitutlon. The minister must get his llcenso from the state. Wc do not mean to aay. that It Is. better to employ a magistrate than a minister, but the reverse. . Recently statistics of divorces In one' Of our large cities showed that In a great majority of cases the parties seeking divorce had not been married la a.church nor by a minister. Not because the ceremony In the one case was less binding,- but for other reasons too obvious to mention. crCd contracts the contracting parties ever make, Instituted by' God in Eden, and sanctioned by Christ by giving His presence and performing His first mlracte ln Cana, and on no other Occa sion is a religious ceremony' more ap propriate. I . Yet, there Is tyo foundation tor claim ing It a* a sacrament of the church. The Spnnlsh minister of Justice In his effort to Europeanise Spain,' Ini* recently Issued a proclamation legalis ing civil marriages. Parties may be married as the Quakers are. without magistrate or minister, without form, or perem< but the time will never-come whc„ .. wedding will cease to be one of fhe molt Interesting social events. Among the Jews It was an occasion of "great festivity. It Is on the last act of the marriage drama that this parable was founded. After marriage It was the custom for the bridegroom to bring his bride to his own house, their future home. This was generally at night. A company of maidens would go out to meet them, each carrying a lamp to light the way, and for the sake of the illumination. In the parable ten are mentioned, a number that denoted completeness. For some reason the wedding party was delayed. The bridegroom might have been late In getting there or the bride slow In getting herself adorned for the one occasion In her life, when every bride wishes to look her best. On such occasions young people are apt to get addled and lose their heads, ns welT as their hearts. A young man once forgot his license, and the county seat being 12 miles away, a license had to be secured by telephone. Weary with waiting and watching, all the virgins fell asleep. At last they w;ere roused from their slumber by the cry that rung out on the midnight air, “Behold the bridegroom cometh.” Then the lamps were trimmed and Ailed. Five of them, .were prepared for such nn emergency and hpd brought oil in their vessels, but the other Avc had not. and when the provident ones re fused to give them, because they had none to spare, they went to those who sold and when they returned the a’ed- ding party had reached and entered the bridegroom's house, the door was shut and they were left tn the dark ness, Such Is the story of the parable to Illustrate the Importance of watch fulness. The bridegroom represents the 8a vlor, the loving Husband of the church, who are united by the bond of faith. The union Is one of love. "We loves Him because He Arat loved us.” It Is a union that will never be die solved by death. It la one of which the prophets sung. It was a betrothal In which the angels were Interested. It was one to which the Father gave HI* full consent; one Into which the Son willingly entered, though to con summate It He must lay aside His royal robes, HI* crown and scepter, companionship of angel* and the Fa ther, assume tbs form of sinful man, be born In a manger, be maligned and calumlnated. die the cruel, ignomlnou* death of the cross, and then be burled In a borrowed sepulcher. Besides, He found His bride deep In debt and paid It all under sentence of death, and died In her place; a poor lost creature, clad > rags, and He took L NOW FOR WINTER Jack Frost is peeping around the corner and maybe you haven’t your Winter Suit or Overcoat yet. Come in and see our magnificent as sortment bearing the famous marks of Alfred Benjamin & Co., being a guarantee of superior quality. They have the snap and style you ex pect to find only in custom tailored garments. They’ll fit you per fectly; the fabrics are the finest woven; the workmanship is the marvel of other clothes makers and price right. * We sell them exclusively in this city. Suits- $15.00 to $37.50 Overcoats $12.50 to $40.00 Essig Bros., Correct Clothes for Men, 26 Whitehall St. off His royal robes to cover her; to win her He shed His tears. He en dowed her with all His goods. What lover ever came so far os sacrificed so much to woo and win a bride? How ran any refuse the suit of Him who not only comes once, but stands at the door saying. "Behold I stand at the door and knock, open and 1 will come In!” He will not open the door, but If wo open It He will enter and abide with us. The Virgins. The ten virgins correspond to the bridesmaids of modem marriage*. The number Is not slgnlAvant os the num ber seven among the Jews denoted perfection, so the number ten denoted completeness. The virgins may rep resent the visible church. Every church and congregation of professing Chid* tlans, all who have accepted the wed ding Invitation, IVe here have a pic ture that should be to many an alarm and should be a warning to all. The foolish virgins do not represent the openly godless, the profane, those that are the enemleo of Christ. They have not treated His Invitation with contempt or neglect. To some extent they had prepared for the coming of the bridegroom, and had gone out to meet Him, and apparently were as well prepared as any, till He came, and yet they were shut out. We Ahd tho representatives of the foolish virgins among those In the church, whose con sciences have been quickened, who have been anxious about their souls, who have made a formal profession of llg ton. We see In them how they who are near to the kingdom may never reach It, how they may come to the door and And It shut. Each of us should ask the question, Have 1 mistaken reformation for re generation; am I depending for my sal vation, because l have good thoughts occasionally, and seasons of religious Impressions, because I nm a member of the church? Have I oil not only In my lamp but In my vessel ? In other words have I the grace of Ood In my heart— the love that Burns, the faith that endureth to the end? Asleep. There Is not much slgntAcance In the sleeping of the virgins. "They all nodded and slept.” They could not be criticised nor condemned for that. Nothing less could be expected of them. They knew when He would come they would be awekened and they could trim their tamps. The wisdom of the one consisted In the fact they had oil In their vessels, and the foolish ness of the other virgins that they had not. The Door Wee Shut Christ told the whole etory of the parable that he might emphasize the importance of being ready, the danger of being too late. Borne years ago an amateur artist, a member of my church, painted an original picture entitled "Too Late.” The ecene Is a death chamber. On a scantily furnished bed the artist site, rapped up with chairs and pillows. Its easel stands before him, on which there rest* his last picture, which Is to win fame and fortune. His hand, which olaeps the brush, lies at his side. The emaciated form and hollow- cheeks tell the sad story of death by starvation. The door of this studio THOUSANDS OF FRIENDS OF THE HOTEL SADIE, AT TIFTON, GA., Which was burned In February, 1905, will bo glad to know that Its owner, Mr. Irvine Myers, is rebuilding on the old site. Tho most, modern hotel south of Atlanta or between Florida and New Orleans. The new building will be roady for guests December 1, 1900. Mr. Myerw wants a good name for hla hotel, and he Is willing to pay for It. Ho desires his friends and the traveling public to namo It. The traveling men are especially asked to submit names. Mr. Myers offers the following prizes: First Prize—One month's botrd at the new hotel at a time se lected by the winner. Second Prize—Six dozen quail shipped at his expense In lots of one dozen each during the season. Third Prlzt—One wagon load of green South Georgia sugar cane ■hipped before Christmas at his expense. Any One Can Vote—Contestants will bo conAned to one vote or name each and all names suggested must be addressed to I. W. Myers, Tlfton, Os., and names must be at Tlfton by October 15, 1908. and death chamber etande half open. Behind It within, there etande the skeleton form of the grim reaper, Death, who Is about to depart. Just outside the threshold stand two, women, one representing Fnme, in one hand the laurel wreath, and In tho other, n pen and scroll, on which to Write the name of one who was not bom to die. At her side etande For tune, with her hands full to overflowing with golden coin. With surprise and sorrow depleted on their faces you al most listen to hear them say, "Too Late.” There ws* only a threshold be tween them and Death, Had they come a moment sooner, they might have cheered a saddened heart and prolong ed a useful life, but now it was too late. Too late now to place the glittering gold In rigid hand; too late to place the wreath on marble brow. "The saddest words of tongue or pen Soon or late the call every one. What folly to delay our preparation till it comes. Yet many expect to ilo In a dying hour what ull their life they have neglected, and And themselves In the condition of the fool ish virgins. How often Death comes at midnight, comes when least expect ed, comes with feet shod with wool, like the fabled gods of Greece, so that we cannot hear His footsteps on the threshold- and before we know U, without knocking, he enters and places his Icy hand upon the heart, and Its throbs are hushed In the eternal si lence. I once went to see a young man on Ids death bed, and when I told him why I cuinc, he looked up and said. "Don't you think It Is too late to talk about such things now?” Another impenitent dying man once said to me, "A death bed le the place to enjoy religion and not to seek It." How sad It will be for those who come to the door and And It shut, be cause they were not ready when the summons came. "Lite, late, so late, and dark the night and chill, Lato, late, so late, but we can enter still. Too late, too late; ye cannot enter now." , Gee I Skating’s Great. WALTER BALLARD OP TICAL CO. Lees than one year ago placed on the market the new Ballard Bifocal, giving reading and walking vision In one frame and looking like one gloss. Thcv have proven the most successful of all ’he advertised Invisible blfocaU. Ground In a deep torle curve, giving a beautiful glass told. Consu bifocals. We have them all. Sales room. 61 Peachtree. Atlanta. Ga. 20,000 Words A Day Over Our Private Wire— Over 600 miles of wire for the exclusive use of The Georgian.