Newspapers / The Wilson Blade (Wilson, … / Nov. 20, 1897, edition 1 / Page 3
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XOTKD XVASHINOToir DIVmE’S SUNDAY DISCOURSE. Among: the Stars—Our Own World, tifp Smallest of Them All, Was Se lected as the Xlieatre For Sin and Sor- ] row as an Awl'il Example to Others. Text: “It is He tliat buUdeth His stories in the heaTen.”—Amos, ix,, 6. This is first-rate poetry from Amos, the herdsman. While guarding his floelis at night, he got watching the heavens. He saw stars above stars,. and the universe seemed to him like a great mansion many stories high, silver room above silver room, silver pillars besides silver pillars, and -win- K dows of Silver and doors of silver, and tar rets and domes of silver rising into the immensities, .and the prophet's sancti fied imagination walks through that great silver palace of the. universe, through the first story, through the second story through the third story, through the twen tieth story,, through the hundredth story, through the thousandth story, and realiz ing that G-od is the architect and carpenter and mason of all that upheaved splendor, he cries out in the words of the text, “It is He that buiideth His stories in the heaven/’ The fact is that Tve have all spent too much time on one story of the great man sion of God’s universe. We need occasion ally to go upstairs or downstairs in this mansion; downstairs, and in the cellar study the rocks, or upstairs and see (3-od in some of the higher stories, and learn the tueanijig' of tost \yhen it says: ‘-‘Z'fc isj He that buiideth His stories in the heaven.” “Astronomy was born in Chaldea. Its mother was Astrology, or the science of foretelling events by juxtaposition of stars. The Orientals, living much out of dpors and in. a very clear atmosphere, through which the stars shone especially'lustrous, got the habit of studying the. night heavens. In the hot seasons caravans journeyed chiefly at night, and that gave travelers much opjiortunity of stellar in formation. On the first page of the Bible the sun and moon, and stars roll in. The sun, a body nearly three million miles in; . circumference and more than twel-s'o thou sand times as large as our earth; the moon, more .than two thousand miles in diameter. But God is used to doing things on such an omnipotent. scfiJe that he takes only one verse to teli of this solar and lunar manu facture. Xea, in thr'ee words all the other worlds' are thrown in. The record says, “The stars also.” It takes whole pages for a man to extol the making of a telesoope or microscope 'or a magnetic telegraph or a threshing machine, or to describe a fine painting or statue, but it was so easy for God to hang the celestial upholstery that She story is compassed in one verse: *Go,d made two great lights, the greater light to rule the day and the lesser light to rule the night. The stars alsor Astronomers have been trying to Sail the roll of them ever since, and they have counted multitudes of them passing in review before the observa tories built at vast expense, and the size and number of those heavenly bodies have taxed to the utmost the scientists of all aggs.- ■ ' ' V But God finishes ail He has to say ab6ut them in three , words, “The stars also!” ,That is Mars, with its iinOre than fifty-five million square miles, and Venus, with its more than one hundi-ed and ninety-one ■milUone square miles, and Saturn; with itg- more than nineteen billion square miles, ,and ffupiter, with Its more than twenty- four billion square miles,\and all the planets: of our system of more thanvseyenty-eight billion. rm* system, when .:oii4parc.d with stars of the other systems, b« p handful of saad brevity, for ponderosity, utf s suggestiveness, for sub unj^cy 3^ subiimity, these words «■ ei all ,thB.t aulnan - speech ev6r uttered or ;j ai an: imagination ever soared after;j. ‘‘Th'5' stars also!” - It is put in as yoji write a postscript—^something you thought- of afterward—as hardly worth putting into the . body of a letter. “The stars alsp!”. Oh, Svhat a God we have, He is our }?ather! ; Bead on in .,your Bibles, and after “mwBfle “ the Bible flashes with the aurora borealis or northern lights, that strange yiumihation, as mysterious and undefined now as when, in the book of Job It was , written: ‘‘Men see not the bright light which is in the clouds. Fair weather ' cometh out of the north.” While all tne nations supposed that the earth was built ■ on > foundation of some sort, and many i supposed that it stood on a huge turtle, or some great marine creature, Job knew enough of astronomy to say it had no foundation, but was suspended on the- in visible arm- lOf the Almighty, declaring that “He hangeth the earth upon jioth- ing.” While all nations thought the earth was level, the sky spread over it like a tent over a flat surface, Isaiah declared the world to be globular, circular, saying of God: VHe: sitteth upon the circle of the eairth.” See them glitter in this scriptural sky-^Araturus, Orion, the Pleiades, and .the . ^.'- with her young.” ■ , ,; j Witliout the use of telescope and with- out^any observat-Ory and without any a's- ' trpnomical calculation, I know that the ' other worlds are inhabited, because my Bible and my commoTi sense tell me so. It has been estimated that in the worlds belonging to our solar system there is room for .at least twenty-five trillion of population. And I telieve it Is all occu pied, or will be occupied, by intelligent be ings. God will not fill them with brutes. He would certainly put into those worlds beings intaiigent enough to appreciate the architecture, the coloring, the grand eur, the beauty, the harmony of their sur- , roundings. Yea, the inhabitants of those worlds have capacity of locomotion, for they would not have had such spacious op portunity for movement if they had not powers of motion.. Yea, they have sight, else why the light, and hearing, else how get on with necessary language, and how clear themselves from advancin,g perils?" Yea, as God made our :human race in His own image, He probably made the inhab itants of other worlds in His own image; In other words, it is as near demonstration as I care to have it, that while the i'nliabitants of other worlds have adaptations of bodily' structure to the particular climate in in which they dwell, t here is yet similarity of mental and spiritual characteristics among all the Inhabitants of the universe of God, and made in His image they are made wonderfully alike. Now what should be the practical result of this discussion founded on scripture and common sense? It ifj first of all, to enlarge . our ideas of God and so intensify our ad miration and worship. Under such consid eration, how much more graphic the Bible .question, which seems to roll back the sleeve of the Almighty and say:, “Hast thou an arm like God?” The contemplation also encourages us with the thought that if God made all these worlds and populated them, it will not-be very much of an undertaWng for Him to make our little world over again, and reconstruct the character bf its popu lations as by grace they are to be recon- stru cted. What a monstrosity of ignorance that the majority of Christian people listen not to the voices of other worlds, although the ■ Book says, “The heavens declare the glory 'of God,” and, again, “The works’of the Lord are great and to be sought out.” How much have you sought them out? You have been satisfying yourself with some things about Christ, but have you noticed that Paul calls you to consider Christ as the Creator-of other worlds, ‘by whom also,. He made the worlds.” It is time you Christians start on a world hunt. That is the Chief reason why God makes the night, that yotL ,“ay see other worlds. Go out to-night an>. . look'up at the great clock of the heavens. Listen to, the silvery chime of the midnight sky. See that your children and grandchildren mount the heaveiBfl with telescope for alpenstock. leaping from acclivity of light to acclivity of light. What a thoughtful and sublime thing that John Quincy Adams, the ex- President, borne down with years, under took at the peril of his life the journey from Washington to Cincinnati that he might lay the CQ,rner-stone of the pier of the great rMracting telesoope, and there making his last oration. What a service for all mankind when, in 1839, Lord Eosse lifted on the lawn of his castle eighty miles from Dublin a telesoope that revealed worlds as fast as they could roll in and that started an enthusiasm which this moment concentrates the eyes of many of the most devout in all parts of the earth on celestial discovery. Thank God that we now know our own world is, bounded on all sides by realms of glory, instead of be ing where Hesiod in his poetry described it to be, namely half way between heaven and hell, an anvil hurlM out of heaven, taking ten days to strike the earth, and hurled out of earth, taking ten incire days to strike perdition; ' • f .> From the high heaven a brazen anvil cast; Nine days and nights in rapid whirls would last; And reach the earth the tenth; whence strongly hurled, The same the passageto th’ infernal world. I thank God that we have found out that our world is not half way between heaven and hell, but is in a sisterhood of light, and that this sisterhood joins all the other sis terhoods of worlds, moving round seme great homestead, which is no doubt heaven, where God is, and- our departed Christian friends are, and we ourselves through par doning mercy expect to become permanent resident?. 0, what a God we have, and He is our Father. Furthermore, I get now from all this an s.nswepto thfi iinfi.^tion which everr gent man and woman since the ea^rth has stood has asked and received no answer. Why did God let sin and sorrow come into the world when He could have prevented them from coming? I wish reverently to say I think I have found the reason. To keep the universe loyal to a Holy God, it was Important in some world somewhere to demonstrate the gigan tic disasters that would come upon any world that allowed sin to enter. Which world should it be? Well, the smaller the world the better, for less numbers would suffer. So our world was selected. The stage was plenty large enough for the enactment of the tragedy. Enter on the stage Sin, followed by Mur der, Pain, Theft, Fraud, Impurity', False hood, Massacre, War and all the abomina tions and horrors and agonies of centuries. Although we know comparatively little about the other worlds, lost we become completsly dissatisfied with our own, no doubt the other worlds have heard and are now* hearing all about this world in the awful experiment of sin which the human racg has been making. It is no longer to, me. a mystery why so small a world as ours was chosen for the tragedy. A chemist can demonstrate all the laws Of earth , and . heaven in a small laboratory, ten feet by five, and our world was not too small to demonstrate to the universe the awful chemistry of unright eousness, its explosive and riving and con suming power. On the tower o£ Pharos, Egypt, a metallic mirror was raised which reflected all that .occurred 'both on land sea for a distance of three , hundred miles, and so Egypt Was informed «f the coming of her eneniiBS long, before their arrival. By What process-I know, not,. but ia some way, this ship Ola struggling earth, I think, is niirrored to distant wotlds. Surely this one disfistrous :,experiment,pt a world un loosing itself iirOm God will be enough for all worlds ahd' all eternities.' ' ^ But notice that as otl^er worlds rolled in to the first book of the ,jBible,, the Book of Gf'ne'iis. th''" bouii" of the jiible, the iBoofc of Kevoistlon. They will tats part in the scenes of that ooca- Bound was coining thiougi the night '^gislatlve hallSj "Where h.e wasfe^* ' tate, to hi^'.home,-w2ioto there was siokness.,i,I often heard hi in tell about lt.^ It was the night of the ,12th and the morning of the 13th of November, 1833: Suddenly the whole heavens became a scene never to be forgotten. From the constellation Leo meteors began to shoot in all directions. For the two hours be tween 4 and 6 in the morning, it was esti mated that a thousand meteors a minute flashed and expired. It grew lighter than noonday. Arrows of fire. Balls of fire. Trails of fire. Showers of fire. Some of the appearances were larger than the full moon. All around the heavens explosion' followed explosion. Sounds as well as sights,. The air filled with uproar. All the luminaries of the-sky seemed to have re ceived marching orders. The heavens ribbed and interlaced and garlanded with meteoric display. From horizon to hori zon everything in combustion and confla gration. Many a brain that night gave way. It was an awful strain on strongest neryes. Millions of people fell, on their knees' in prayer. Was the world' ending, or was there some great event for which all heaven was illuminated? For eight momentous ■hours the phenomenon lasted. East, w;est, north, south, it looked as though ¥he heavens were in maniac disorder. Astrono mers watching that night said that those iieteors started from 2200 iniles above the earth’s surface and moved with ten times the speed of a cannon ball. The owner of a plantation in South Carolina says of that,, night scene. I was suddenly awakened by ■ the most distressing cries that ever fell on my ears. Shrieks of horror and cries of mercy I could hear from most of the slaves on three plantations, amounting in all to about six or eight hundred. While earn estly listening for the cause I heard a faint voice near the door calling my name, I arose, and taking my sword, stood at the door. At this moment I heard the same voice still beseeching me to rise, and say ing: “Oh, my God! the world is on fire!” I then opened the door, .and it is difficult to say which excited me most, the awful ness of the scene or the distressed cries of the Africans. Upwards of 100 lay prostrate oh the ground; some speechless and some uttering the bitterest cries, bat most with their hands raised, imploring God to save the world and them; The scene was truly awiu.1, for never did rain fall much thicker than the meteors fell toward the earth. The spectacle ceased not until the rising sun of the November morning eclipsed it, and the whole American nation sat down exhausted with the agitations of a night to be memorable until the earth itself shall be come a falling star. The Bible closes with such a scene of falling lights, not only fldgety meteors, but grave old stars. St. John saw It in prospect, and wrote: “The stars of heaven fell unto the earth, even as 1 fig tree casteth her untimely figs when she is shaken of a mighty wind.” What a time that will be when worlds drop., Bain of planets. Gravitation letting loose her grip on worlds. Constellations flying apart. Galaxies dissolved. The great orchard of the universe swept by the last hurricane letting down the stars like ripened fruit. Our old earth will go with the rest, and let it go, for it Vi'ill have ex isted long enough to complete its tremend ous experiment. But there will be enough worlds left to make a heaven of, if any more heav^en needs to be built. That day finding us in Christ, our nature regene rated, and our sins pardoned, and our hope triumphant, we will feel no more alarm than when in September, passing through an orchard^ you hear the apples thump to the ground, or through a conservatory and you hear an untimely fig drop to the floor. You will only go upstairs into another story, a better lighted story, a better fur nished story, a better ventilated story, a better pictured story, and into a story where already many of your kindred are waiting for you, and where profits and apostles and martyrs will pay you celestial visitation; and where, with a rapture be yond the most radiant aiitiei[jatioD, you sliaU bow before Him that “buiideth his stories in heaven^” the sabbath, SCgQOL iNTERNATIONAL LESSON COMMEtjTS for novembef? 21. resson Text: “The Christian Arinor^V EphesianR vl., , 10-30-GoIflcn i Text Ephesians vl., 10-Comraentary on tlio lesson Tjy the Eev. Dr. D. M. Steams. "Finally, my brethren, be stiong 'in the Lord and in the power of His might.'” The first three chapters set forth our salva tion, or rather His salvation, in all its fuU-! ness, . Then we are taught in the follcwing chapters what our walk in the Lord, or^our daily life should be, ,and now in the 's^erses j of our lesson ive are taught how to do It and adorn the doctrine of God our Saviour in all things (Titus ii,, 10), My readers must be very familiar with Eph, li , 10, but it only Ju,5t comes to me now to n'-'O'iate :with it Titus ii., 10, Thank the l.joil for the association. ^J!ay the words grip with power. , i - 11. “Put on the whole armor of God,' iliS ye may be able to stand against the of the devil,” There is, a real personal- devil, the enemy of God and man, at pres ent the prince of the power of the air, tjio prince of this world, whose prison willsootl,. be the bottomless pit and his flnal'^bode, the lake of fire and brimstone (John xiV' 30; Eph. ii., 2; Eev. xx., 2, 3, 10), 12. “For we wrestle not against flesh aird,:, blood,” The demons who do the deVil‘9 work are not all visible in the form ofsBje" or women. The air is often full of jtkea They oome at us when we are weak ao. alone and fairly storm u's with theia.'i.eva thoughts and lies. They come at usia.sfcb’' house of JoU, arid when We feaS His and even when on our knees In How shall we know them? They arfe'tfhi ’ opposite of all that is of God. Eight^i3si; ness and peace and rest and quietnefs aro all of God and His Spirit through The opposite must be'of the devil, | 13. “Wherefore take unto you the jwTioV armor of God, that ye ,may be ,»feie to withstand in the evil day, and, lj.aving lone all, to stand.’^ One of the 'firsfc au'r’ greatest things is to ' Underst;i,nd tha,t'8». we are saved freely by His graco (Epb>Sl„ } Eom, ill., 24), so we stand cohtinull^” the ,same grace (Eom. Vi-, 1, 2) orplffidg, served favpr of God. Unless we see|eles* ■: ly that all our salvation from first toila^i “• wholly undeserved on our part, fr ours only in and through Jesus Chr%i aaT His finished work, satan will get advantage oVer us. We are not -wortH- but Thou ai't worthy, 0 Lord. On t|,B,tel3 us stand firmly and, continually. ^ 14. “Stand, therefore, having yoi^.|)^i|^ girt about with truth and having s®)ii 4|t,(r , breastplate of ri.^htsousness ’ Cue iKfeti ^ 'governor Daniel j,Thanksg,iving Russell’s First Proclama-tion. LARGE GRAPHITE MINE. lilfe Certificates for Teacliers iii . ; , vi’op of Green f-s JHavo Another Second Pease—Winston to Tobacco Fair, |,v;jrhe foil owing is Governor Eussell’s ,'Tlianlisgiving proclamation: Xlie signal and abundant blessings Of the Sovereign Euler of Nations (fteotigliout the, year now olosing de- claie the liberty and impose the duty of ,,setti,ag apart a special day for praise and fefmi sgi ving. addition to His many mercies bp-i fetate has been spared strikes, dis- #.sters, contagious and internal strifes; people have been blessed with boun- « harvests, many of them with ®^Q.eful and happy homes, and they ^aye abeen vouchsafed progress in the KApiptiod of education and the full of their relig-ions freedom, jad to some extent, the retention of ■ ^ir civi) and political liberties, as >^frjZ;ens,of the republic. Theiefore I, Daniel L. Eussell, J-'D'srernor of the State of North Caro- na, in conformity to a time-honored astom,,^ do designate and appoint ghursday, : the 25th day of November, as a day of public thanksgiving, ptl J do exhort all good citizens to as- i-Bibie, on that day around their fire- JeSi: or at theii-. Usual place of worship t4,iher,e,xemsmberjthe ‘Giver of every wl and perfect gift,’ and render unto mi their piaise and gratitude for ‘His ©oteess and mej'cy, ’ vhich ‘endureth ti'iBiv'er. * and beseech of Him an over- and guidance that will enable us be . more worthy of the manifold all eady en-jojred and of those Mali, through His loving kindness He store,for us; not foj;getting the FIELDS OF ADVENTTJEE. thrilling DEEDS INCIDENTS AND DARING ON LAND AND SEA. said, “I am t'h§ Truth, ’ and He % ^5i'P0c» and the needy, the sick and the made unto us righteousness (Johnil^vJ I Gor. i., 30; ,11, Cor, V., 21), so that vvai^ we have learfced to. see no one but‘*Je'!its only,” to “run with patience looking MasfeijM! Jesus,” and ever, to consider Him xvli., 8; Heb. xii.,:,2, 3), we have JisaijaedJ,? the secret of standing firihly. • ff ^ 15. “And your feot 'shod,with th^spWfi arationof the gospel of \peace.” ■ Shod also takes us ,baok,' to the’' verse (Ex. xii..,-ll),-for:.we can :do, ;i:^f‘h1!a6i ‘ and are asked to do . nothing, till,-to* safe under the blood. AVe are a'SM’W® nnndod by Isa lu. 7, “How beJaSfi 1! iipoA the mountains .are', ,the ;feet:-:;^^ that brlngeth good tid ags, that publKi peaGe,”., .;Tlie.first IIhi:-, "is .to bema‘(©.|j by the blood '«t ..Chriii.-. i;,?'‘for- Ha If-, peace*” (Fph. ii , 13. 14;''Then haV§''f?K.-^r" mind staid on Him in perfect peac&'i^isg^ xxvl., 3). Then carry the tidmgs of,^,fn3a%fi through Iflie blood of His Cross ,(00^^^'' ' V! “Ahw** s'l taKmg the "htfH of ^ wherowirh ye “ihai) be able to ®» flpry darts^o4.fhc >vi;'ked ow ” sr.© ye'cv^lSl'fc but'&!*'Me tih ha.-. xK>t'’iJi'g!Msed tf fceepais but to be with us ©'^Sn as ^ fijends (Tsa .xliiL, 2; Dau, ji — if He can be betror seen In the Sire shall,we mot praise Him even foff th: as 10: these, flery ,:darts ot the, 3.evH. hurls at us,-tliere is not one thatine,' us to harm ns,,for'all may ;be qu6n,„ a quick and firm “T believe Godfe xxvii., 25). Confidence in God afc anse upon His word will do it ever , 1.7, “.And take the i'helmet:r.'0f-:s‘is^ and the sword of the.iSplrlt, wlucl word of God,” In I Thess. v,., 8. it ten, “Foi an helmet,thehopeof sal - This is the completion'-ot.^our f -salv His coming,, which iS; evel*y day nej when we believed ;-:(Eom. , xiil.s 1, blessed hope that, purifies '(I Johr for, then we shall,be tike Him:, :,eyi our bodies,: for :we sh all see,. Him, -.iiS-Ses^a (Phil, iii., 21; Eom. viii;, ,23). Fiof. - last all th& knowledge,and comfort (:jfj.tl#* come-to'us through His word, whi^&.JsjEC*"# ever'settled'in heaven and true ginning (Ps. *xix;,.89,:160)v,.v,. . 18, “Praying always with all pria^'sc supplication ,.in •■the :'Spiriti and: thereunto with,all persevei-ance #aa. iwV plication for air'saints.”‘ :f)ur L0C^i.^«^ t whole hights,ln prayer. ■ Da 'id,aBfi|)^ f prayed many:tlmes a day (Ps. ' vl., 10). We should pray Tvithotfeac# * (IThess.,-,y.,,i7).,.:.It ,‘is possibleS^*%; ^ in an attitilde 'of prayer, con.staa:Jfej>i> munlng with Him,, about,: everyi&;Uigy vrho prays h.oaestly will expect and watch for them as truly a^-^thf who throws his ball into the ajr ^a. for It to return to him. • 19. “And for me that utteraB,gsJi»:. given unto me, that I may open JiJTjn boldly to make known the myat:^.^-^ gospel.” He said to the Co?,in'^aa^s,, | everything ye' are enriched by®tn,’ii( utterance and in ail knowledgesj-^ -0 5). And yet, recognizing his O'waisreji. and the reality of the wiies oE thjg^Jlgs asks prayer for himself that utterance and boldness for, Chrflt:) was very conscious of his ow^Jwea^.^ss •and often spoke,of it L 20, “For which I am an am|aiSB5K bonds; fhat therein (margin thei^f) speak boldly as I ought to sfe Lord’s messengers with the Lor® . are supposed to have no ,fear of the face of man, yet many aifvjr ^ and not many seem to declitfJJ’-'Mf'Sf thought of man’s frown or favor gtfte council oJ ^3-od. ..-Many:..mi.nis know little or nothing of th which God has just spoken, an^iJ^«W in chapter, iii., the myster|r t^^rom the beginning of the world I-aMd sp«- cially revealed to Paul; thati^urltf postponement,df ,the kingdom ering from Jews and'gentileg'^*so(t 3® Christ, the church, which shallTSiS i .it'sath Him when He shall ,coni6 in leiititled, 'wSHbut^further e^ami^iation r$(>..;tesoh~ m the- publid schoois in any ,jOat!,nty: in accordance with section 8, teh&pter 108 laws of 1897.” (Signed by |fce State Superintendent and State j btjjird of esaminers.) ing out a body for Christ He if geekijg’tlaw conversion of the woi'ld, .and ‘ ' , working and walklng 'in.; mtiC: LessonHei.per..',Vs. ■' 'A > and those ■who may be op- ^^■BSsed or deprived of equal opportuiii- ^f|.^y:Such of their fellow’-men'-as may '^^‘■'Vostbession of privileges and pre^ iSSg^iyes that are not consistent with iradamentai principles of fr«e gov- ”KBfeeat, ,:,and are sanctioned by the M God. at our^city of Ealeigh, on this day of November, in the year of '(iS'Qfd oi'e thousand eight hundred j™AiB.pty56even, and in the one hun- . twenty- year of our ^^;ican independence, ‘' , ■ : ,, ■‘DAis[iE.ii ,Ij; Bussbi.1. tne Governor; ‘ ^ “Joe E. Alixaxdbi!, '$*1 f'*' ’’ “Private Secretary. ” , ■?;/ m fall. This was 'theau- Hnaaimous deci.«6n of the' ixieooiug',' V«port of last, week s; jr was oonsid'eaed ajiditwas that n ext year’4 f air,;»h0Uld de-: rtene that. ' An electisn of officers '^,one into, resulting i^a the 'unanii ^s'te.-election of ihc following: fedent, Gol, A, B, iGorriell ;secretary,, Jl. B. Webb; treasurer, T. L. ’ fftshnj . executive. committee: G. A. xa,; chairman: Ei. A. Goleman, W. I’arter, W. -U. Eeynolds, M. D. !»|i^y. -V The executive committee w.as: i|.?ged .to:,se,Ven and S. E. Allen and Eries,Xwere elected to complete e cons’nittcc. ■ ;: ' A Thrilling; Experience of the Uew Tork 5'ire Patrol at a Cellar IFire—Narrow Escape Eroro Plunging Over a Bfiglx S' I’reciplce —ElRljt 'Withi a Big Eagle. Charles T. Hill, who has been writ ing a series of articles on the New York Pire Department for St. Nicholas, brings the series to an end with a paper on ‘'The Fixe Patrol.” Mr. Hill tells the following story: An incident that occurred at a severe fire in a big business house some two years ago will give an idea of what the members of these protective depart ments have to face at times in order to save property. The fire broke out about midnig}at in the basement of an immense fireproof building on Greene street, extending a whole block from West Fourth street to Washington place. When the firemen arrived, half the basement, or practically half the block, -was in flames, but on account of the fireproof construction of the building the fire was confined to the basement part. The fire was burning so fiercely that the shutters of the basement windows, -were almost red hot and the dead-lights over the side walk -were so heated that the tar around the glass was bubbling and running in streams across the walk to the gutter. The construction of the building was very, substantial, and it was almost impossible for the firemen to^ make an entrance; indeed, the window,s and dead-lights, had to be broken in befbre they could secure access t,o the building and get to work. The basement was occupied by a straw-hat manufacturer, and the cap- 'tain of No. 2 Pii-e Patrol (one. of the first companies, to arrive) felt sure there must be a sub-cellar stored with a most perishable stock. How to reach it before the firemen began to throw water upon the fire was the question. It seemed well nigh impos sible to,get into the basement through the reg'ular entrances, and to venture in while the fire was raging as it was, seemed almost foolhardy, but he "de termined to reach the cellar at any cost and find out what it contained. After considerable effort he succeeded in making an entrance on the north side of the building {the main body of fixe was on the south end), and grop ing his way, through the. emoke and darkness, lantern :, in, liand, he found himself. in the basement. The heat was intense and the air stifling. Ahead of him in , the corner of the basement he could seosthe flames rolling about, flrackling and roaring as they devoured case after ,..oase ...of goods.' Peering through +be^ thick atseofpheTS it time 1,fefore could discover tli&^ slooked.like :th^-.©n.t.rsiice hJh§^ " all means of escape, or the steel anS iron structure of the building, warped and twisted by the dieadful heat it was being subjected to, might give way and send floor after floor loaded with heavy merchandise crashing down xip- on them. This and a hundred other possibilities menaced them -while they labored in the murky cellar; and -wheit the -work was ,-done 101 covers had been spread and property valued at over a hundred thousand dollars ha3 been saved from destruction. When No. 2 Patrol returned to quar ters the next morning (for it -was near ly morning before they -were through),' ■there was scarcely a member -whose neck, hands and -n^rists were not scald ed and blistered to a painful degree, for they had • -worked during nine hours in a veritable shower bath of boiling water, from -n'hicli there was no escape. Escaped a X>readfiJl Dea.tfe. ' ^ William H. Hill, of Ossawatomie, Kansas, has had an s^dventure in th» Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone which deserves to take high rank lit the annals of narrow escapes. He had descended the canyon to Bed Eock, below Point Lookout, He was' still 1500 feet above the bottom of the great chasm. Below him an almost precipitous slope ran down hundreds of feet to the top of an absolutely per-, peridicular -wall about twice as high as the Masonic Temple. Mr. Hill lost his footing and plunged downward along the steep slope. He knew what was below him. The spe ed with which he approached destruction was rapidly accelerating and a grow ing avalanche was accompanying him. With a desparate effort he flung him self upon his back and dug his heels and elbows into the earth. It seemed, to him that he slid for miles, but he was not going as fast as at the begin ning. Stones that he had started raced on ahead of him; he dug Ms heels and his elbo-ws in harder. Anti at last he stopped -with something that felt like solid rock under his feet. For some minutes he lay perfectly still, not daring to. niove. ■ Then jslo^y- ly he raisM his head. He was on the brink of the preci pice, 600 feet high. The little ledge under his feet was actually projecting over the edge. ., A, rescue party, almost an hour lat er, found him sitting there. He was practically unhurt.—Chicago News.- * The North Oaiolina State board of ;fubjic -school examiners has decided the following form for life certifi- iSfetes for teachers: has passed ■ the examination mesf^ibed by this board and in testi- moay thereof this first grade life cer- - e'ra::.tod_- ; —— is therefore Jhei e 18 to be. quite a change in the »niforms of the State guard; the trous ers to be dark blue, like the coat; the :J^ess coat to be done away with and the j|>lGUse lengthened t-svo inches torfeplace ife all-metal buttons ta be no longer iu«ed, but buttons of horn, covered by -a flap, to take their place; the helmet tojbe abolished and the prese-fit forage sSap, stiflened and with a pompon, to be .used for full dressoccasions. The new "S51II regulations for the manual of arms .will be,issued the State guard Decem- ;ber 1st, ,,i The_ Ashe-ville Gazette says that a fina ^graphite mine has been discovered in ^•oDowell county w’hich contains 10,- 000 tons easily accessible. Twenty :j^il]ion pounds , of graphite is used in ;i4lie United States annually, o-verig,; #30,000 being imported, A company soon -develop it The min e is within :,|5,ye miles of the Western North Oaro- !:Utia Kailroad. Tho trucking section- immediately ,^round Isiewbern is a remarkably fine o;:«. East spring it missed the freeze. Now the triickers are shipping the ^second crop of green pease. There is a ’ fine second crop of Irish potatoes. It is ^expected that about 9,000 barrels of j;t.|i.es6 will be shipped and prices are !j|igh.; Shipments of green pease have, istrange to eay, continued for three fTifeeks. Old-Time Scotch Obii The following death notice apjiaxe'd in the Edinburgh Weekly Ma^azile of March 2, 1T7§: “Feb. 12^Xl New Reay, in the coiinty bf Caithness, nucb regretted, Francis; Tait, • y'piar^c'hial school master the]'e, in the oneJliuidred.j and second year of his a^e; % jaano'f an athletic form, of a saturninl^epftplex-; ion and his size about six 'foot,, Ite lived chiefly Tipon' vegetaTk«fe, favorite of the muses and' ^t'-|inieS drank freely. He was nop guished for his piety -than order he observed in his om i>i >1- easy method of teaching an-’ m 1 '• i>. ing Into his pupils a ]auda|J6 ^’lirit emulation. He retained the last.” \;S: W._ H. Deaver, of Asheville, who -was ‘;Convicted of embezzlement as a magis- f,frate, gets a position as a gaugsr in the. Jasevenue service. * c«IIai;,'feut finaiiy he spied ii, in Jhe basement; %f; Thace are now 48Q patients in the in- ifatfe asylum in Ealeigh. The percent age of Ores to admission is as large as i^ver, in„the hi,story of the asylum, gilucli progress in all'lines is being -toade. The grounds were never so at- ilractive. They are being .reseeded in :grass, Thi(, ,fear 20,000 barrels of pork Kwill be put up, or four-fifths, of (ill rc- Jgiiired for twelve months. The farm vand garden have yielded heavily, A ijvery large crop of oats is sown, On T>ecehiber I.st the Ealeigh News f& , ^ind Observei' will begin publication of Its evening edition. door al roarihg thought to “Can I rfeaoh“th&t and get into' tht..'jeilar and "iDack' again: before the fire cuts me .off?”. He made up.his mind at least to:anake thSSffc5rt.A So -„he walked. cautiously -across; ;the basement floor toward the door, keep ing his eye on the fire, all the time. It grew hotter andhotter as he advanced, and the perspLration was pouring from his face in great beads, and he was al most suffocated -when his hand finally rested on the , knob of the door, He opened it and stepped inside. ' What a relief! The,-tranforination was al most marvelous, for the change from the heated atmosphere of the basement to, the ceol, air of the ,cellar was like stepping out of a red-hot oven into an ice-box. He descended the cellar stairs rap idly, and holding his lantern aloft, looked about him. It was as he had suspected. The cellar was filled with immense cases of straw hats, and, al though, o-w'ing to the fire-proof floor, the fire probably could not descend, when the many streams got to work the,damage by water would ,be enor- motts. He hastily ascended; peering cau tiously out of the door, he found the fire had not advanced any further. He then made his way quickly through the dense smoke to the street. He reported to the Superintendent of the Patrol, who had arrived by this time, the,fact that he had been in the basement and his discovery in the cel lar, and told him he could do a great deal of good if he could only take the men down, and cover up the stock. The superintendent was at first loth to let him go, for the situation looked too dangerous, but finally he gave peimis^ sion and the captain gathered his p.a- trolmen about him, and armed with cb-vers they followed Mm to tte sab- cellar to “cover-up.” By this time the companies that had responded to the second and third alarms sent out were at work, as well as the companies that had been or dered into the basement; and the air in the cellar was not as pleasant as when the captain had first descended. The fire had begun to “settle,” .aitd the sub-cellar was filled with a thick, murky smoke, while a constant, scald ing drip was falling from the ceilijig. In this dim, stifling atmosphei-e the patrolmen went to -work -with a will, spreading their waterproof covers over case after case of valuable stock, wMle overhead they could hear the roajring and crackling of i the flames, the splashing of the many streams as they were dashed about, and now and then a dull crash as some heavy piece of masonry was crumbled away by the heat. These were conditions under -svhich few men would care to labor, and yet the members of the Patrol were working energetically, scarcely giving a thought to the danger that hung above them. At any moment the fire raging, in the ba‘?ement over theii' heads might get beyond the control of the firemen bat- tliug with it., and* spreading, cut off ITjglil Witli J5ig Eagle® Taylor Hoffman, of Jersey City, came dow'n to the pine ^00ds at At lantic County on a gunning expedition a few days ago. ,: He "has hSfd tolerably good luckj but rati, plump into an ex-- periejica yesterday which, paid him for. a’l+b'i tisae sgcut In looAlut; fw game. Hoffiiian had pat - in liatd day of tramping, aiid by the end of the after- -•i’aggBd out, Ixa ^was warm ^eful,so ill fen Itv a : which canine As he .jumped .' ^ fiei’ce .combat noon, was T'-ett„v 5'raki’is d.o dow .V a do:ie, .43!U.ii ,^a,. fierce commotion,',i%an howls were uttermost- up he beheld Ms dog in with ,:an immense bald . eagle, and Ahe beast was getting the/^-orst of it. Holf- man was afraid to iiBe Ms g-an becaiise of the chances of killing Ms dog, so he got.a club and sailed in. >i ■ : - . The bird of freedom quickly turned upon its' new foe and fought as only eagles can fight; HolTman found him self in a sorry predicament,3or he -wa.s ho match for the big bird. ' So Close was the figliting that he Could not use the club to advantage, and the eagle had the .Sagacity to fly high enough to escape the dog, all the while-using its . great ugly talons and beak with fierce strength. At leng-th Hdffman fell ex-, hausted, and his df3g, with renewed strength, returned to the, encounter. Weakened by the contest, the eagle took itself off and disappeared. Hoff man was' cut and bruised in many places, but was not seriously injured. —Philadelphia Eecord.' ' ' . Saved l)y an Explosion. James Horan, a rancher living on the, Cceur d’Alene reservation in Idaho, met with a little adcident recently which, nearly resulted in the loss of Ms life. The story is told by Mr. Horan, whose veracity cannot be questioned, , as follows: “My house is a small building,. ten by t-welve, and nine feet high, with a wing kitchen coming down to seven feet at the eaves, I had just started a iire to get my dinner, and had gone for a bucket of water, some.300 yards from'the house, when upon my return I Eaw,th„e-!i’oof of the titchen e.nvelop;e4~^. in a sheet of flame.; I ■attempted -to. ■ aave-tSe .house.toyv^etting upon the roof of the liitchen wdth an ax, for the*' purpose of cutting the. kitclien roof from the roof of the main building. , I stepped by the sto repipe and fell through,to my armpits, and was un able to niove up or down, with that flame of fire and smoke about me. In a few seconds it would have ‘fixed’ me had it not been , at that instant that a five-pound can of powder had igMted and puffed me out onto a soft garden bed I had made the day before. The fire burned my overalls off me and one of my shoes, but the fall from the top of the building to the garden bed did not hurt me at all. ”—Spokane Spokes- man-Eeview. Floating Islands. , , Floating islands are not so rare as, may be generally supposed. .They are largely a matter of locality, and the due sighted three times in 1892 in the North Atlantic Ocean was not oMy an unusual 'occurrence butalso of peculiar scientific interest. On the three in stances the island was seen ' it was moving toward the Azores at the rate of about a mile an hour. Its extent was nearly 800 feet each way, and it contained much forest growtu, many of the trees being thirty feet Mgh.
The Wilson Blade (Wilson, N.C.)
Standardized title groups preceding, succeeding, and alternate titles together.
Nov. 20, 1897, edition 1
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