The
Newton
Ent
VOLUME. VII.
NEWTON, CATAWBA COUNTY, N. C? FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 6, 1885.
NUMBER 41.
WILLIAM . & SHAMNO.4,
0e oo y, ,,c y, : TT
ucopv, iX iionu... S
nffnto1Vi,I?:r!'1 wiirit w-:".t or
rnleofon, 1, "CC,- J1,,s '" '"variable
S fiS '"u-nici and must bo adhered to in
7f.rfl ne s1nare of ' lines or
less,
. . .mil, uut;
?wc w ' Mon. fifty cnt
Each subse-
Biialnoss Cards.
J Shipp- T. H. Cobb.
SHIPP fc COBB,
Attorneys At
Practice in all the Courts. Office on Pnblio
Square,
L L. WITHERSPOON,
ATTORNEY A.T LAW
NEWTON, N. CJ.
M. L. McCORKLE,
ATTORNEY AT LAW,
NEWTON, N. C.
J". IB. LITTLE,
Surgeon Xeutist9
Has located in New .n, N. 0., and offers hi
professional terriccs ' people of town an
county.
Orrii K is Youst A Siircm Buildino.
J.E THORNTON,
Newton, N. C,
Keep constantly on liand all sizes of Wood
Coffins, and different qualities, as tine as can
be bought anywhere for the same money.
Reason ible time allowed to reliable parties.
Hhop one mile north of the court house.
H. P. REINHARDT,
B REKDEB OF
snart Horfl Cattle anil Cotswoia Sleep.
w for sale some very fine bucks and
B. P. KEINHAEDT,
Newton, N. C.
AT THE
LENOIR. JV. C
WILL S. RAMSAVR, Proprietor.
STOIE3
-AT THE
Yount House.
The subscriber having taken the Yonn
House, Ni-wfcon, N, C. wishes to inform tha
public that he is prepared to acc mm xUte
travelers in a first-class sty!?. . Prices re non
abK Board by the day or week at reduc?d
prioes.
"Formerly proprietor .f tha Deiavaie
House, Deihi, N. Y.
B'. H. HALL.
Mel & Corping's
LIVER,
SALE AND FEED bTABLE,
newton, ,4. C.
Will be foun 1 the b.st stock and nea'cst ve
hicles in town. Per ns can be acconiino-lat"
by us with any hing in the livery line, an i
prices a e gnarajteed to give s ttisfaction. W.
only ask a tiial
Transp rtatioa to a 1 the. surrounding
c mntry.
Wd solicit the patronage of the public.
Respectfully,
HENKEL A C0KPENIN9.
IN ADDITION TO THE
LARGEST AND CHEAPEST
-STOCK OF
FURNITURE
in Western North Caro'ina, we are handling
I've'-al makes of Parlor, Mchonl and Church
OrUJANH, and offer them in Hickory at factor.)
prices.
Our
Undertaking:
Department
f complete in all its branches. Burial Robes,
Wood and Metalic Case and Caskets, and Un
dertaker' Supplies generally.
looe & Co.,
Hickory, H. C.
fcept 16, 1885.
To-Day.
O tweet To-day! too sweet to last
Beyond a tew short moments' space,
And then the vision ot thy face
Becomes a memory of the past.
Ah! stay thy fleeting feet, I pray,
A little longer, sweet To-day.
O sweet To-dtiy! why must thou go?
The sky is blue, the earth is I'nir,
And summer's lurking everywhere;
There's music in the winds that blow.
Ah! ttay thy flying feet, I pray,
A litlle longer, sweet To-day.
O sweet To-day ! 'tis not too late;
I wonld not lose thee yet a while;
There's pleasure in thy sunny smile;
I'm happy and can lugh at Ff.te.
Ah! stay tny flying feet, I pnty,
A little longer, sweet To-day.
O sad To-day, that once wss sweet?
The past is gone beyond recall;
The future lies within a p-.dl,
No more thy dear name ( repeat.
In vain I begged of thee to stay
A little longer, sweet To-day.
Marion Homer in Town Topics.
THE LINEN CLOSET.
"For my part," said Aunt Sylvia, "1
don't admire the young man."
Minnie Dartford's pretty head
dropped slightly, and she thought
within herself how little of the sym
pathetic element existed between old
maid aunts and 17-year-old nieces, and
wondered if there ever had been a
time when Aunt Sylvia, too, was
young, with the fresh electric current
of love stirring in her pulses!
Minnie Dartford was a hazel-eyed,
rose-cheeked little witch, with perfect
ly arched eye-brows, and a mouth as
fresh as the freshest rosebud In all the
garden bowers, and her white dress,
shining faintly through the summer
twilight, seemed to float round Iter
like a cloud, as she sat there, watch
ing the stars that glimmered indis
tinctly through the purple deeps of
the sky, and thinking how very un
reasonable Aunt Sylvia was.
"No," said the elder lady, jerking
her knitting-needle into its sheath
with an emphasis, "I do not fancy
Herbert Arundel J"
"Ho is our guest, Aunt Sylvia."
"You are mistaken there, Minnie.
He came here uninvited, with your
brother's friend, Mr. Lee."
"But now that he is here, Aunt, we
must treat him with courtesy. '
"I've no objection in life to treating
- him with, -courtesy, child; but l"re a
sort of an idea that he would like you
to treat him with something warmer
and more enthusiastic
How thankful Minnie Dartford was
at that moment to the friendly dusk
which veiled the crimson blushes that
suffused brow and cheek at Auit-8yl
via's cleverly aimed random shotJ-
Ilad it then come to that? Was
she, indeed, learning to love Herbert
Arundel? And a thrill of 3trange,
inexpressible happiness eddied through
her heart, as her inmost consciousness
answered:
"Yes."
Alas! poor Clarence Lee! The pa
tient years of devotion, during which
he had waited for the rose-bud of
Minnie Dartford's beauty to expand
into the perfect blossom of woman
hood the loyal love, the unfaltering
constancy how Sightly they weighed
in the balance against this stranger's
easy address and dashing fascination
of manner. The way of the world
unalterable, yet how strange!
Aunt Sylvia listened for an answer,
but none came. Minnie hardly knew
what reply it would be best to frame.
"I think, Minnie," said the old lady,
after a moment or two of silence, "that
it would be better for you to accept
Antonia Wyllis' invitation to spend
the month of September at her home.
It will at least separate you from the
companionship of this young man,
and "
"But I don't want to be separated
from him, Aunt Sylvia."
Minnie spoke with spirit and ener
gy, and the color deepened visibly on
her cheek.
"Minnie!"
"Aunt Sylvia!"
"Has it gone so far as this ?"
"I don't know,what you mean by
'it,' " responded the girl, biting her
lips; "but I o know, Aunt Sylvia,
that I shall, not run away from Mr.
Arundel aif I feared some strange
contagiou in his presence. This is my
home, and here I shall, remain to en
tertain7 my brother's guests as best I
mayJ"
"Irrespective of consequences?"
' "Yes; entirely irrespective of con
sequences." Aunt Sylvia remonstrated no fur
ther; she saw quite plainly that it
would be of no use. Minnie, like
many another spoiled child and petted
beauty, was determined to have her
own way.
Aunt Sylvia was no logician; neither
did she pretend to the magical powers
of vision belonging to the "seventh
daughter of a seventh daughter." but
she knew quite enough of human na
ture in its various manifestations to
be sure that Herbert Arundel was un
worthy to wear a jewel like Minnie
Dartford's love upon his heart.
"An empty, feather-brained fool,
with no more heart than a stone im
age!" was Aunt Sylvia's inward ver
dict. Uor was it altogether incorrect.
Meanwhile Minnie. with her
though s and fancies drifting sweetly
away upon the fathomless sea of a
young girl's reverie, sat at the win
dow, still thinking; of one personage
Herbert Arundel.
"Aunt Sylvia is foolishly prejudic
ed," she thought. "He Is as true and
noble as he is handsome, and none but
the carping and envious could pick a
flaw in his character or demeanor.
As if I would go to Antonia Wyllis'
and leave h:m here! How graceful
he looked on the 'croquet ground'
yesterday and how well he rides. I
wonder if I shall ever see Magnolia
Dell, that sunny home of his which he
describes so eloquently. I don't think
it is altogether impossible, for I think
yes, I am quite sure he loves me!
His lips have never sokeu words to
that effect, but there is a language of
eye and manner, and "
Minnie's mind was absorbed in these
fancies, when a knock came to the
door,- and the old housekeeper put her
head into the room.
"Miss Minnie, the sheets is ready
for the linen closet!
"The sheets!" Minnie shrugged her
shoulders a little impatiently. "Why
couldn't old Peggy have waited?
Very well, Peggy, I'll see to that,
presently!"
"But they ought to be put away
now, miss," persisted the obdurate old
servant. "I've strewed sprigs of lav
ender and dried rose leaves between
all the folds, and if you'd please to
put them on the shelves now "
Minnie rose with a scarcely sup
pressed sigh. She knew Peggy too
well to hope for any peace cntil her
behests were fulfilled.
The heap of snowy linen lay on the
hail table, white ,and fragrant through
the toils of Peggy's skilled digits, and,
takiDg a pile on her arm, Minnie Dart
ford went to the linen closet, a small
room, opening out on that allotted to
the present occupation of Clarence
Lee and Mr. Herbert Arundel.
She glanced timidly in before she
entered, to make sure that neither of
her brother's guests were in the apart
ment, and then hurried through, t
place the linen in its nook.
She had scarcely reached up to de
posit the pile on the high shelf above
her head, when voices and footsteps
fell on her ear, and, with a palpitating
heart, Minnie felt that she was like a
eaged bird, among the shelves, laden
with sheets and pillow-cases. Mr.
Arundel had entered his room the
spicy odor of his cigar already pro
claimed the fact to her olfactories,
even were there no other witnesses,
and with him a stranger had been
ushered in.
, Minnie stood quite still, hoping that
their incursion was but for a moment,
and their withdrawal Would presently
leave her free to beat a retreat. The
door of the closet was partially drawn
to, and she was at least sure of not
being discovered. The color rose to
her cheek at the idea of thus involun
tarily playing the part of eavesdropper;
but what else could she do?
"Sit down, Lewis," cried Mr. Arun
del, drawing forward an easy chair;
"make yourself at borne. Your cigar
isn't out, I hepe?"
"Xo, it's all right," said the strange
voice. "I say, old fellow, speakiag of
making one's self at home, it strikes
me that you are practising the thfng
yourself rather extensive' here!"
Arundel laughed.
"I am at home," hesaid complacent
ly. "Why, bless your heart alive,
Lewis, the good ydople here think I'm
the greatest maa alive."
"They'll fixd their mistake after
awhile."
"Not util I've made a sure Iniag
of it," answered Arundel.
"Wiat do you mean ?"
j mean that 1 am going to mai-y j
the girl."
"What, the little heiress?" echoed
the man whom Arundel had called
Lewis.
"Well, yes, if you choose to call her
so. Xo great heiress, after all; but I
dare say I can find a use for her twenty-five
thousand dollars. And, to
crown all, she's desperately in .love
with me."
The other laughed hoarsely a
sneering sound, which made the blood
boil indignantly in Minnie Dartford's
veins.
"You always did play the deuce
among the girls," he said. "So she's
in love with you, eh?"
"Yes. It's quite amusing to watch
the progress of her infatuation,"
answered Arundel. "I haven't pro
posed yet, simply because I don't want
to precipitate tha moment Bless you,
she jump into my arms to-morrow if I
were to pop the question!"
"She'd jump out again quick
enough, if she knew you half as well
as I do!" jeered the other.
"But she don't, you see!" said
ArundeL " 'Where ignorance is bliss,
'tis folly to be wise' you know the
old saying. And the best of it. is that
I've somehow contrived to cut out
another lover, who has been hanging
around after her ever since she was a
child in bib-aprons a man whom any
girl ought to be proud to attract-r-Ciarence
Lee!"
"She's a fool!"- was the muttered
comment.
'Granted," said Arundel lightly;
"but then you and I know that all
women are fools." "
"Xot always, Mr. Arundel," answer
ed a calm, quiet voice, and Minnie
Dartford stood before him, her jrfiite
dress shimmering like the robes m. a
phantom in the semi-darkness, "for at
least the lesson of their folly may
teach them to be wiser in time."
"Miss Dartford !" echoed Herbert
Arundel, dropping his cigar a. he
started, aghast, to his feet; while his
companion looked on as if he would
very much like to disappear through
the cracks of the floor.
"i hive unwillingly been compelled
to listen to your e lifying conversation
of thi last few minutes," Minnie went
relentessiy on, "and you yourself can
easily imagine how complet ly I have
been enlightened thereby. ' suppose
I ought to be angry with you; but I
can only feel thankful for the fate
which has been averted from me.
Good eyening, -Mr. Arundel, and good
by." And, with a low inclination of her
head Miss Dartford passed from the
room, and Herbert Arundel never saw
her more !
He left town the self-same evening,
carrying with him the interesting
consciousness that he had overplayed
his part and thwarted his own plans.
And Clarence never knew what had
opened the eyes of his capricious little
charmer. He only rejoiced that she
had once more taken him into favor.
"Well," said Aunt Sylvia, on the
morning of the day on which Minnie
Dartford became Mrs. Clarence Lee,
"I do believe I'm the happiest old
woman alive!"
"And I'm the happiest young one,
Aunt Sylvia," laughed Minnie. "So
there is a pair of us!"
Something About Sunstroke.
- In a circular issued by the New
York board of health occurs the fol
lowing in regard to sunstroke:
Prevention Don't lose your sleep;
sleep in a cool place; don't worry; don't
get excited; don't drink too much alco
hol; avoid working in the sun if yon
can; if indoors, work in a well-ventila-eed
room; wear thin clothes; wear a
light hat, not black; put a Jarge green
leaf cr wet cloth in it; drink freely and
sweat freely: if fatigued or dizzy kncVr
off work, lie down in a cool place, and
apply cold water and cold cloths to your
head anJneck.. ,t
Cure Put the patient In the shade;
loosen his clothes about, the neck;s"nd
for the nearest doctor; give the patient
cool drink of water or black tea or
black cttfee, if he can swallow. If
his skin is hot and dry prop him up,
silting against a tree or wall; pour
cold water over the body and limbs
and put on his head pounded ice
wrapped in a clotli or toweL If yon
can't get ice, use a wtt cloth and keep
freshening it. But if . the patient is
pale and faint and his puise is feeble,
lay him on his back. n:ake him smell
hartshorn for a few seconds, or give
him a leaspoonsful of aromatic spirits
of ammonia or tincture of gins' n
t wotabiespoonful f watr. In this
Citse use no cold wpr. but rub the
h mds and feet warm them by hot
application until the circulation is
restored.
History or 1'oniage.
If we put aside the inartistic and
uninteresting currency of Cluna and
Japan every existing piece of money
can trace its ancestry back to a com
mon source in the seventh century b
fore Christ. The descent !' ail ;reek
coins from the issues of i'tieidon and
Croesus, and the connection of the
Roman system with a Siculo-Greek
standard are well known; but it will
be a revelation to many readers to find
how modern and medueval series
Asiatic and Ejropean alike derive
their origin either from Greece or
Rome. India learnt the art of coin
age from the Bactrian successors of
Alexander the Great; Arabia's first
emission were debased copies of the
Athenian tetradrachm. Parthia imi
tated the Selencid kings of Syria, and
the Sapors and Chosroes of restored
Persia continued the Parthian issues,
only to be copied in turn by the earli
est of the Mahometan Khalifs. The
"dinar" and "dirhem" of Haroun-al-Raschid
show by their very names a
descent from the denarius and drach
ma, no less than the 'Sou" and "livre,
of Louis XVI. testify to a perpetua
tion of the "solidus" aud "libra."
London Academy.
A Prophet in His Own Country.
"I tell you, my dear " said an old
gentleman to his wife on the summer
hotel veranda.
"Don't tell me anything, sir," retort
ed the lady, with emphasis.
"But I believe"
"Bah! What do your beliefs amount
tor
"But I think"
"Bah! You flatter yourself. What
are your thoughts worth?"
'But. my dear, I know "
"Don't talk to me about what you
know. AVhat you don't know would
fill an encyclopsedia. Everybody
knows you are a stupid old, senseless,
worthless dotard. You don't know
enough to come in when it rains."
"Who is that old gentleman over
there?" asked a visitor of the hotel
clerk.
"Don't you know him? Why, he is
the Chief Justice of our Supreme
Court. Puck,
TALE FOR THE MARINES
The Yarn that a Guileless Old
i
I Sea Captain Spins.
4 -
Hew 'a Big Whale Towed a Boat's Crew
i Many Miles to Land.
j A flag with perpendicular bars of
red and white floats over the roof of a
i-rga building in town, says a Xan
tBcket (Mass.) letter to the Sew
York Sun. The building is the Cus
tom House, so called through tradition,
no vessel ever enters this port from
rdreign lands now, and there can be
iio customs to collect. It is conducted
by a number of superannuated old
sea captains, who smoke ail day and
weave tremendous sea yxrns for the
fceneiit of any city man who may
chance along. One weatherbeatet old
salt told a prize story lately, and now
the otliersware racking their brains for
something to surpass him. He said:
"I left Ran tucket on May 15, 1841,
a" second mate of the snug bark Anna
,ftnowdon, Capt. Keziah Coffin, bound
for the Pacific Ocean. I'm not going
Uy tn you of onr trip around the
Jorn, although- that was rather lively
fid w did lose two men overboard,
but wilj get right down to the bottom
facts of what I started in to tell. We
had already killed two big whales, and
were poking around about four hun
dred miles north of the Sandwich Is-
lands, when we sighted a big fellow
j a-blowing not a mile away. The first
j mate and myself put off in two boats,
j lut I had the likeliest crew, and
struck the whale first struck him
I hard, too, because he was spouting
! Mood in five minutes. Just then we
j saw another whale and the first mate
j put out after that one. . The bark
tried to beat up in our direction, but a
squall came on and we lost sight of
her. The waves were so big that we
should have been capsized if we had
i not kept to the leeward of the whale,
' which we had killed before the squall
j struck us. Its big carcass formed a
1 sort of breakwater. liesides that the
1
I oil that oozed from its wounds seemed
I to quiet the wavts. We were afraid
' some big waves would throw the
J whale on top of us, but by keeping the
soars. going we managed to stay at a
Safe.ditance.
Yvhenlhe "storm pawed over not a
sign ot the bark was to be seen. There
We ere anchored to a whale out in the
middle of the Pacific Ocean, with not
more than two days' rations of bread
and water for the seven men in that
little boat. We waited all that day in
hopes of seeing the ship, and at night
we burned some blubber on the back
of the whale, but no help came. When
morning came and no sail could be
i s en, we knew that there was no hope
of finding onr vessel again, and there
Wits nothing to do but to pull away
in th direction of the Sandwich Is
lands, trusting to reach them before a
violent storm should overwhelm us.
We cut our harpoons out of the whale,
because we didn't know when we
might need them. There is one of
them in the corner there now. Guid
ing the boat with a compass which I
always carried with me, we pulled
away for the Sandwich Islands. We
made forty miles that day, and the
men were terribly tired. We slept by
watches, off and ou, and by pulling
now and then perhaps gained ten
1
! miles during the night. The next
day the men ware worn out, and the
sun was so hot that they could not
work their oars. Our chances of
reaching land seemed very poor.
Toward noon I was standing on the
bow of the boat looking around in
hopes of seeing a sal, when I saw a
fin-back whale come to the surface not
more than 200 yards away. It was no
use to us now. but the whaleman
instinct was too strong within me to
be resisted.
"Give Way, I cried. 'There she
blows.
"I picked up a harpoon, and as the
prow of the boat almost tonched the
whale I drove the point deep into its
side. It failed to reach a vital point,
and away the big fellow went. The
line ran out so fast at, first that it made
the rail smoke, and I raised the hatchet
ready to cut it, for I feared the whale
would draw us under. But the strain
slackened after a little until there was
only a moderate pull, and giviag the
end a twist around a rowlock I let the
whale tow us along.
"This is better nor rowing, said
one.
"'Yes, and he's going in the right
direction," said another.
"They were quite right. The whale
was taking us in the right direction
we wished to go at the rate of fully
twenty miles an hour. We bowled
along merrily all that afternoon, and
about 6 o'clock . we heard a hail, and
saw, not far away, the mate's boat.
"Hold on ! they cried.
"We can't. Throw us aline, I re
plied. "We caught their line as we swept
by, and then the w ha e had two boats
in tow. The men m the other boat
were worse off than we had been, as
they had pulled longer. They had
given up hope when we came along
side. You may not believe it, but
that whale kept straight ahead all that
night and the next day, and in the af
ternoon we sighted land. I thought
the critter would run right up cn -ne
shore, but he came about when not
more than a mile away, and WJuld
have taken us out to sea again caly I
cuttbe line.
"That Ivarpoon in the corner which
I spoke of before is the very ne he
carried away with him. You ran see
my name on it, if you don't beleve me.
The ship Anna Rogers of Xtw Bed
ford killed the whale two yejrs after,
and finding the harpoon in its back
sent it to me. I was sorry tiat whale
was dead, because it had be;n a good
friend to ns. I never usel the har
poon again, but kept it or land as a
relic."
- Gen. Grant in Tfashiisrton.
Gen. Grant was the nost conspic
uous public man who iver lived in
Washington. He was kown to every
man, woman, and child in the district
before his name was be'ore the people
for the Presidency. While General of
the Army his headqiarters were at
the corner of Seveiteenth and F
streets. He used tc walk to and fro
morning and evening along with the
procession of clerks, and with nothing
but Iiis well-worn military cloak it
winter and the familiar figure in sum
mer, and the cigar always, to distii
guish him from the crowd. He vas
usually absorbed in himself, and walk
ed mechanically, though while go.ng
to work very rapidiy. While Presi
dent he was the same sor. of a nan.
He loved a horse dearly, and some
times drove a four-in-hand lra but
he usually walked or took a street car.
In either case he was always the
cynosure of many curious eyes. He
had evidently become accustomed to
this, and paid no attention to it as
long as people kept out of his way or
did not force themselves on his person
al notice. When they did be was an
noyed and would turn abruptly upon
his heel to escape. He al.vays acted
on the street like any other private
citizen who wanted be let alone. This
was so evident that the men, big and
little, respected it, and the Preslueat
of th United States could often be
seen sauntering down the crowded
avenue alone
He was known to have walked from
the Capitol to the White House on a
pleasant day; when the whole city was
OUX. Without sunermg a Single inter-
rription.- let 'if he saw mea-raise
their hats to him he never failed to re
turn the salute. During such a walk
nearly everybody would stare and
turn and stare again at him as he
passed. He seemed to walk among
the crowds to be alone. Of late years
he has apparently shaken off much of
this taciturnity, and when he visited
Washington could be seen about the
Willard lobby chatting with friends
and listening and laughing at their
stories, and telling stories of his own
in return. He mistrusted those who
wanted to make a show of him, but
patiently suffered the tortures of bore
dom at the greatest receptions ever
given at the White House. When he
took a notion to attend a dinner party,
he went, without regard to the cus
tomary etiquette of the White House,
which prohibits the President from
indulging in such things.
lfow to Kill the Blues.
Generally speaking if you are trou
bled with "the blues," and cannot tell
why, you may be sure it springs from
physical weakness. Instead of lying
on the sofa.and courting painful ideas,
if you are a despairing lover, a
hypochondriac or a valetudinarian,
you sbordd be up and stirring yourself.
The blood Of a melancholy man is
thick and Slow, creeping sluggishly
' ' o or j
through the veins, like mu ldy waters
1 v-i 1
in a canal; the blood of your merry
chirping philosopher is clear and
" ., , .
quick, brisk as a newly-broached
Champagne. Trv, therefore, to set
0
your blood in motion. Try, rather,
what a smart
set your pegs
rocky groun'',
steep, crngged
w-ilk will ib for von- aDOlKS were oiscoverea ana prompt ana s-uj-h.uk
wui uij lor you, ce3.fal movement was for his libera-
in motion on rough tion. Oh, my friends, let ns go forth in the
. j world with the music of kind words and
or nurry inm up a , sympathetic hearts, serenading the unfortii-
hill; build Stone wall: ! nate and trying to help out of trouble noble
swing an
, j . .
axe over a pile of hickory
! or rock maple; turn a grindstone; dig
! ditches; practice 'ground and lofty
j tumbling;" iur wat-r into seives
' with the Danaides, or, with Sisyphus,
up the hill heave a huge round
' stone." in short, do anything that will
start the perspiraL::ii. and you will
soon cease to have vuiir brains lined
; with black.
as Burton expresses it, or
i to rise in the morning, as Cowper
il A
"like an infernal trog out of Acaeron,
, ... 1 1
crowned with the ooze and niu I of
melancholy." Prof. Matheict.
.Vo M rrjing There.
: "Samuel," said Mrs. Tolo'.itter, as
I they were walking home from church, j
i "how did you like the preacher's de-;
j scription of heave n 'f
"First -rate, my dear," said he, with ;
: energy.
"If what he .aid is all true, and ot .
1 course it is, what do you think yon will
; like the best when you get there Sara
; ueir j
I "The arrangements for securing j
! peace," said he, with glibness. j
! "Xow. Samuel, what do you mean '
: by that?"
"Thev don t have any marrying
, . . . , -
there, my dear, said he, edging off a
little.
The discussion took a warmer
at once Chicago Ledger.
turn
DB. TALHAGE'S
THE HIRED RAZOR."
Teit: "In the same day shall the Ird
shave with a razor that is hired, namely, by
them beyond the river, by the lung of Assy
ria." Isaiah vii., 3J.
The Bible is the boldest book ever written.
The similitudes in Ossian, in the Iliad, in the
Odyssev, are not half so daring. The imagery
of the Bible sometimes seems on the verge of
the reckless, but only seems s a The fac: is
that God would startle, arouse and propel
men and nations in the right direction, and
tame and limping .similitude will not do the
work. Sometimes we find in the Bible illustra
tions drawn from the gentle dew, and the
morning cloud, and the dove, and ths dav
break, andthe rose, and the lily, bnt often
we find illustrations drawn from the iron
chariot, and the lightning, and the storm,
and the earthquake, and the sword, and the
spear, and, in my text, the razor. This sharp
edged instrument has advanced in usefulness
with the ages. In Bible times the beard re
mained uncut except in times of great
mourning and humiliation: but the razor has
always been a mgnilicant illustration. Itavid
rays of Doe g, his antagonist, 'thy tongue is
like a sharp razor, working deceitfully;"
that is, while it preteuds to clear the face, it
makes deaciiy incision. In my morning's
text, this domestic implement is employed
amid the following circumstances:
Judah must have its pride and
glory cut down. Hod sends against it
three Assyrian generals. First. Sennachareo,
then Esarheddon. then "ebuchadnezzar.
These three invasions cut across the land,
bringing dawn its prosperity, and it is com
pared to so many sweepings with a razor
across the face of Jada h. The circu instances
in the t it are compared to a hired razor be
cause God employed the -As-yrian kings,
with whom He had no sympathv. to do His
work, paying for that work in palaces and
spoils and annexations. God hired these
kings to execute the divine benest. So yon
see that though at the first realing of the
text it might have seemed almost trivial and
inapt. now the text is charged with thouzhts ot
stupendous import and moment "In the sa.na
day shall the Lord shave with a razor that is
nired, namely, by them beyond tne river, by
the king of Assyria.7' WelL if God's judg
ments are razors, we had better be careful
how we use them oa other people. These
useful implements are enca-ed, and thy are
put beyond the reach of childhood, and tiiey
re put where no accident can touch them.
Everybody understands that a razor, if
handled at all must be cautiously handled.
And yet, bow many men there are who take
the judgments of God, which are in my text
compared to razors, and deai with them very
carelessly, and very recklessly. There is a busi
ness man who goes down. How many people
there are ready to cry out: '-That is a ju ig
ment of God upon the fact that he was un
scrupulous, that he was arrogant, that he
was miserly, that be was extortionate. What
keen stroke of Providence it was that took
him down. His city house gone, his country
house gone, all his stables emi ti- i of the fine
grays and sorrels and bays that used to
prance at his doorway. All his resources cut
off. Thrown into complete demolition. Good
for him!"' My brother, be careful how yoa,
handle the Lord's razors. Sometimes the
wicked have great prosperity, and, they live
and die in prosperity, an 1 many an honest
and conscientious nan hat been driven into
bankrupty. Perhaps the maa is unfortunate
in his maimer and is not as proud asyoa think
nens, 1 or some men have a aatarai way ot
being very erect, and th? have en imperial
I manner when at th same time they are as
3zuiio 2. utt: cri-J ; n"! : -re r-.van f a
maa whojoes Trith seedy coat and slouched
nat ana unoiacsened snoes who is proud as
Lucifer. You cannot tell by any man's looks.
Perhaps the man of whom yoa speak was not
unscrupulous in bis dealings, for there are two
sides to every question, an! if a man achieve
anything great for himself or for others, he al
ways gets industriously lied about'. Perhaps
that man's business misf jrtnne was not seas
as a punishment, tut as fatherly discipline
by which he 19 to be prepared for heaven,
and God may realty love that unfortunate
business man more than He loves yoa who
can pay dollar for dollar, aid whose name in
the commercial catalogue stands AI. Whom
the Lord loveth be gi eeth $400,010 a year, and
lets die on an embroidered pillow. io, I have
misquoted the passage. " Whom the Lord
loveth He chaster.elh. Better keep your
ba&ds off the Lord's razor, it you want to
shave off somn of the bristling pri-le of your
own heart and life, do so, but look out how
yon pnt the sharp edge on others. I cannot
tell how much I dlsiiue ihe behavior of those
people who, when any cm is unfortunate, al
ways say: "4ut as 'I esptcieL I t?ld yoa
so. Why, didn't you knov that before?
Why, I knew that l!r.g r.gc:" If these I told
you so's had had th;r dessert they wo-ild
Lave been in hell long ago! They have
more trouble stout the mite, the mote
in a neighbor's eye, thoua you have to
nsa a microscope t- discover it. than
t iev have about the shiptimber t":iat obscures
their optics. Thov have an air sometimes '
Hiperciiions aud sometimes Pharisaical and
always blasphemous, with which they take
the razor of God's jndgmen's and try to
sharpen it on tiio kene of the?r own hird
hearts, and then when they can get a man
sprawlei oat in disaster "they begin to cut
mercilessly. Thev Erst begin with words of
sympathy aiid pity and naif prais?. and put
the lather cn thick before they ?"gin with the
sharp edge. Better look out row yon shoe
at othe:s les you bring down ;h? wrong one,
as when " he servant of King Williaii l'nlai
shot at a irer, bc.t thj arrow g'an-e-l from .1
tree and kil'eJ tlui kirvr. I;ist-:ni ot iroiug at
the wor! i with sh:;r. halts ikit prre. a;)
razors that 1 ut. 1-; u.- so it ihc vrorl I
with the ; irit of tl,e friend of Bit fcari
Cur da 1.. who in the war of the crusades
el-s captured and imprisoned and his friend
did not know where he was imprisoned. This
friend went from fortress to fortress and from
penite3tiary topemtentiaryandsangatevcry
window a verse of a song which i'ichard in
other davs Had taught him. Coming to a win-
dow of a'prison wbere he snppo?ed Richard
m,S" be incarcerated he sang two lines of
tee hymn, and from inside tne wall Richard
sang the other two line?, and so h s where-
j creatures tnat by unlorseen circumstances
j have been incarcerated, and so we will be
liberating kings, kings. More hymn books
and less razors.
Especially ought we be apologetic and mer
ciful toward those, who, though they have
great faults, have also great virtues. Some
men barren of faults are also barren of vir
iues. Xo we? Is, verily, but no flowers. I
miHt not be too much eiigagsd at a nettle
which I find ia the field near the fence when
in that same field there are forty acees of ripe
Michigan wheat Scientists say now there is
a spot on the sun 20,000 miles long, but from
the warmth and brightness to-daT I think it
j isconsiderableofasunyet! The sun can afford
' 'lave a very large spot upon it, thougn it
i be 20,000 miles long. And I am very
j apologetic for those men who
' have great faults, white at the same
j time they have magnificent virtues.
! Mv subject also impresses me with the fact
as I read '-the Lord shall shave with a razor,"
that God's dealings have great precision. A
razor carelessly swung the tenth part of an
inch out of the right line means either failure
or laceration. God's razor has not siipced
the thousandth part of an inch in a thousand
years. Preci-aon. Oh, I hear people talk
every day as though things in this world
were at loose ends. Cholera sweeps over
Marseilles aud Paierino and Madrid, and we
all wonder if it is coming to America, and if
it is going across Europe. We;L that ea
tirely depends." says some one, "upon the
quarantine regulations. " ' Well, thar; entire
ly dt-pends" says some one. "on whether in
ocu'.ation is a successful experiment1' "Well,'
says some ne, "that entirely depends upon
whether we have an early or late frost"
Cholera just tumbled into the world and it
goes rolling over the nations, and it is all
guesswork as to where it shall strike, and it
is awful and appalling perhaps. Has it ever
occurred to you that God may have
had ar-mething to do with it; that perhaps
His mercy may have protected us: that per
haps now' we real. v may be as much islebted
to the Lord as we are to the quarantine and
uie neaun oaicers. 11 was rursi iiia& wo
continued precaution, but there
the health oiiceri It was ru;hi taat wo
has come enough maccaroni from Italy and
enough, grapes from South France, and
enough rags from foreign telle remajons.
and there might have been is tese art teles of
transportation enough cholera germs to have
sent all Brooklyn weeping to Green wood, and
all Philadelphia weeping to Laurel Hflk and
all Boston weeping to Mount Auburn. I thank
the doctors, I thank the quarantine officers;
but more than all, and first of all, and last
of all, and all the time, I thank God. Pre
cision, precision or Providence. Ia the 6,000
years of the world's existence there has never
been one event that merely happened ao.
God is not an anarchist, but a father as well
as a king. Little Tad, son of President Lin
coln, died, and all the land was sympathetic
with that sorrow in the White House. That
lad used to run into the cabinet session, and
he saw his father and the eminent men of
the land discuss the questions of national ex
istence. God is dealing like a razor skillfully swung,
cutting that which onght to be cut and avoid
ing that whivh ought to be avoided. Time
pieces often strike wrong, and they strike on
when it is two a'i.1 they strike two when it
is three; bnt God's clock always strikes right
ly, and when it is twelve it strikes twelve,
and when it is one it strikes one, and the second-hand
is as accurate as the minute-hand.
I preach no fata'ism. I preach good govern
ment, fatherly government, divine govern
ment. Precision. Precision to a hair-breadth.
That is the teaching of my text
But I find also in my text that the Lord
sometimes shows motives. "Ia the same day
shall the Lord shave with a razor that is hired."'
With one cut he went clear across the land of
Judah. In lUii God shaved this nation. We
had allowed to grow ia this country oppres
sion, Sabbath-breaking, fraud, uncleacness,
and all forms of turpitude. The North had
its sins, the South bad its sins, the East had
its Fins and the West had its sins. God
warned ns. but we did not heed. Then th
sword of war came and cut clear through
from th-3 St. Lawrc-n .-e to the Gulf, and from
the Atlantic beach to the Pa riii The prida
of the land, not the cowardice, hat tae heroes
on both sides went down. We thonght it was
the sword of war. Xo. it was ute Lord's
razor. Ia 1 it swept ai.xoss the land aain,
in lo4 again, in l"vi again, ami then tha
terrible instrument was put up and put away.
Bat. my friends, if we do not quit our indi
.'idnal and national sins the Lord may again
;ake "is in hand. He has other razors besids
ihe razor of war. Epidemic flood, draught,
plague, locust and grasshopper, or our over
towering prosperity as a nation may excite
the jealousy of ail the great nations of a
rope and of Asia, and if all the great nav
tions cf Europe and Asia in jealousy against
ns should come up, what a power! Our na
tion is so easily approached from the north,
and so easily approached from the south, and
so easily approached from the Atlantic beam
and fr sm the Pacific beach, that if the great
natiocs of Europe ami Asia should rise up.
what a hostility: Insaitel China, outraged
China, the wsa!thiet land on earth, as shall
be proved when her resources are fully de-
ve.oped China, insulted China, wiu, after a
while, have all the modes of modern warfare,
asd may at the Golden Gats be discussing the
question whether Americans must go! 1 pray
Goi there never may be such a combroatioa
of the great nations of Europe and Asia
azaiast us; but I only say this to show you
that as Assyria was the hirei razor against
Ju t.jh. and as Cyrus was the hired razor
agaiast Babylon, and as the Hons were tha
hire i razor against the Goths, so God may find
a hired razor with which to chastise us if we do
not give o; onr individual sins our national sn
and turn unto the Lord. In 170 Germany was
tha hired razor with which tie Lord shaved
France. England will be trj
which the Lord will
Sons sometimas repent.
a day.and I pray God that'
to zither of all nations
sides the Atlantic, allf
may be averted the wt
"fet us by unrighteous ft
too, or by bad lives am
Aimigaty. One woonw
ticml symbol, toe eagle. J
aa jent Home carried as a
eagle, that liomaa eagie a
m its ta.'ons Britain. Fra
Daimatja, Ehoetia, 2fovi
Moesia, Dacia, Syria. Greece
Thrace, Datra, farcedooia, P:y
tine, Egypt, all Northern Afrj
iiarhis ot tne ileai terras ear
earth that was worth having.
and twenty millions of subjects under thS
wings of tnat one eagle. nere is she now f
Ask Gibbon, the historian, in his prose poem
"Tne Decline and Fa.'l of the Roman Empire."
Ask her gigaatic ruins, straggling their sad
ness across the centuri-s; the screech-owl at
the windows from which the conquerors of
tie whola earth looked out. Ask the Day of
Judgment when fcer crowned debauehers,
commanders and I'ertinal and Caligula and
Diocletian snail be c&Ilert to answer for
their infamy. Oh, as individuals and as na
tiocs let us repent and depend upon a pardon-
an immunity. Of fourteen of the greatest
battles or the world -Napoleon had lost only
one before he last Walerloo. Pride goeth be
fore destruction, and they often ride in th
same saddle.
Once more, and more than all, I want you
to notice in this text that God is so loving
and so kind that when it is necessary to cut
He has to go to others to get the edged, the
sharpest edged weapon. "The Lord shall
shave
wita a razor taat is hired. God b
1 jve. Goi is pity. Gcd k help, God is shelter,
God is rescue. If you want .balm for wounds.
He has it If you want salve for blind eyes.
He has that If you want a helping hand.
He has that. But He has no sharp edges
about Him, no thrusting points, no instru
ment oi lacers-Uon. Wnen in His Providence
it is a dire recessity that He cut, Ee goes to
others to get the sharp edged weapon. The
Ird shaves with a razor that is hired. Ah!
this divine geniality is no surprise so yoa
who have pondered the Calvarian massacre,
where Goi submerged Himself in human
tears and crimsoned Himself from punctured
arteries,an'j allowed the terrestrial world and
the infernal world to maul Him until it was
necessary to turn out the chandelier of the
sky. because the universe esuld not stand the
indecency. ILustrious love that must have
lieen that brought Him out ts our substitute,
and caused Eim out of the blood of His heart
to pay the crimson price for our admission at
the celestial gate. Henry IL crowned his
ovm son, and 011 the lav of coronation the
king, the father, put oa the garb of a servant
and waited at the table, and'waitel upon his
soil, and all the princes were amazed. Bet
hear the more wondrous story that the king
of heaven and earth this day offers you. His
child, a crown of life, an 1 offers as a servant
to bear your b'essing. Install that love with
everything bst iii painting, in sculpture, in
music, in architecture, in worship. In Dres
den ian gallery let Raphael hand Him up as a
child, and ii Antwerp! jn gallery le: Rubens
hand him down from the cross as a martyr,
and let Handel make ad his oratorios vibrate
around that one chord He was wounded for
our transgressions and He was bruised for
our iniquities, bat not until all the redeemed
came Siome and from the mountains of
the piled up galleries of the ransomed shall
be reflected 'the wonders of redemption
not until th;n shall man or ssraph, or arch
angel understand the hiht, the depth, the
length, the breadth of the love of Goi. The
monument in the capital to the one who did
more than any other man for the achieve
ment of o-or "American independence that
m -nament was going up at the capital scores
and scores of years, and many of us were
discouraged about it, and said the work would
never be done; but when at last in the pres
ence of the officials of the nation, that monu
ment wasproiounced as completed, how glad
we all were. But mv friends, the monument
to Him who surf ered" for the eternal libera
tion of the human race will never be com
pleted. It has been going up for many ages,
this monument Exangelists and apostles
and martvrs have addelto the heavenly pile.
EvervoTie'of the millions of souls gone up to
g!.-y has marl.? contribution of gladness.
Weight and glory swings to the t'pof weight
aud Iry. Layer 01 hosanna on layer of
hosanua.' Higher and higher up as the centu
ries go by. higher and higher up as whole
imiieniuius pass. Sapphire on the top of
jacinth, sardonyx on the top of chalcedony.
1 chryi-frAUson the top of tc-paz, uitil far be
noath are dome; and toners and wails and
, the great capita", the monument forever and
; forever, ri-ing vet never, never gone, unto
1 Him who haih iove-i ns and washed us from
I our sins i a fiisowa bol and ma is us kings
and priest? unto God aad the iau-b. Halie-
lujah. amen!
Alcohol can in no deSaite use be
considered a good ere t ire of God,
for it is not coaslrcted Lke f o si, be
ing neither soli I nor innocent, ant
whetlier good for any prof er end or not,
I-is aa artificial product Dr. F. G
Lit. F.S.A.
rV"s-2tzor with,