EE7; DR. TALHAGE.
The Eminent Brooklyn Divine's Sun
day Sermon.
Subject: The ilrilltancy of Religion.
Text: "He crystal cannot equal
JobxxvKL, 7,
Jfany of the precious stones of the Bible
hare come to prompt recognition. But for
tfce present I take up the leas valuable crys
tal'. Job, in my text, compares savin? wis
dom Mth a specimen of topaz. An infidel
chemist or mineralogist would pronounce
the latter worth more than the former, but
Job makes an intelligent comparison, looits
nt religion and then looks at the crystal and
pronounces the former as of superior value
to the latter, exclaiming, in the words of my
text, The crystal cannot equal it.'
Now, it U not a part of my sermonic de
sign to deoreoiate the crystal, whether it be
found in Cornish mine or Hartz mountain or
Mammoth Cave or tinkling among the pen
dants of the chandeliers of a palace. The
crystal is the star of the mountain: it is the
queen of the cave; it is the eardrop of the
hills; it finds its heaven in the diamond.
Among all the pages of natural history there
is no page more interesting to me than the
page crysraliographie. But I want to show
you that Job was right when, taking religion
in one band and the crystal in the other, he
declared that the former is of far more value
and beauty than the latter, recommending it
to all the people and to all the age declar
ing, "The crystal cannot equal it."
In the first place, I remark that religion is
superior to the crystal in exactness. That
shapeless mass of crystal against which you
accidentally dashed your foot is laid out
with more exactness than any earthly city.
There are six styles of crystallization, and all
of them divinely ordained. Every crystal
has mathematical precision. God's geometry
reaches through it, and it is a square, or it is
is a rectangle, or it is a rhomboid, or in some
way it hath a mathematical figure. Now
religion beats that in the simple fact that
spiritual accuracy is more beautiful than
material accuracy. God's attributes are
exact God slaw exact. God's decrees exact
Uoa s management of the world exact never
counting wrong, though He counts the grass
blades and the stars, and the sands, and the
cycles. His providences never dealing with us
perpendicularly when those providencesought
to be oblique. ncr lateral when they ought to
be vertical. Everything in our life arranged
without any possibility of mistake. Each
Jlfe a hx sided prism. Born at the right tim
dying at tne right time. There are no "hap
pen so-? in our theology. If I thought this
was a slipshod universe I would go crazy
God is not an anarchist. Law, order, sym
metry, precision, a perfect square, a perfect
rectangle, a perfect rhomboid, a perfect cir
cle . 1 he edge of God's robe of government
nevr r trajs out. There are no loose screws
in the world's machinery. It did not just
happen that Napoleon was attacked with in
digestion at Borodino so that he became in
competent for the day. It did not just hap
pen that John Thomas, the missionary, on a
heathen island, waiting for an outfit and
orders for another missionary tour, received
that outfit and those orders in a box that
floated ashore, while the ship and the crew
that carried the box were never heard of .
The barking of P. W. Robertson's dog, he
tells us, led to a line of events which brought
him from the army into the Christian min
istry, where he served God with world re
nowned usefulness. It did not merelv hap
pen po. 1 believe in a particular providence .
1 believe God's geometry may be seen in all
our life more beautifully than in crystallog
raphy. Job was right. "The crystal cannot
equal it."
Again I remark that religion is superior
to the crystal in transparency. We know
not when or by whom glass was first dis
covered. Beads of it have been found in the
tomb of Alexander Severus. Vases of it are
brought up from the ruins of Herculaneum.
There were female adornments made out
of it three thousand years ago those adorn
ments found now attached to the mum
m'es f Esyt. A great many commen
tators believes that my text means glass.
What would we do without the crystal?
The crystal in the window to keep out the
storm and let in the day;, the crystal over
the watch defending its delicate machinery
yet allowing us to see the hour; the crvstal
of the telescope, by which the astronomer
brings distant worlds so near he can inspect
them. Ob, the triumphs of the crystals
in the celebrated windows of lloueu and
Sahsburv I
But there is nothing so transparent in a
crystal as in our holy religion. It is a trans
parent religion. ( You put it to your eye and
, you see nian-h.ssin. bis soul, his destiny,
i ou look at God and ybu see something of
the grandeur of His character. It is a trans
parent religion. Infidels tell us it is opaque4
Do you knuw why they tell us it is opaque?
It is because they are blind. The natural
man receiveth not the things of God because
theyare spiritually discerned. There is no
trouble w ith the cryste ' ; the trouble is with
the eyes which try to look through it. We
pray for wisdom, Lord, that our eyes might
be opened, hen the eye salve cures our
parent?8 fia J that reliioa k an
ta ns o the Bible come out Siuai, the moun-
5SlL V laWV Fi8San, the mountain of
prospect; Olivet, the rnouhtam of instruc
tion; Calvary, the mountain of sacrifice. 411
the rivers of the Bible come out-HidekeL or
the river of paradisaical b.auty; Jordan, or
the river of holy chrism; Cherith, orthe
river of prophetic supply; Nile, or the river
' iViTSKndth6 Purtt riTer of ife from
under the throne, clear as crystal. Whil
reading this Bible after our eyes have been
touched by grace we find it all transparent,
and the earth rocks, now with crucifixion
ozony and now with judgment terror, and
Christ appears in some of His two hundred
an i fifty-six titles, as far as I can count them
the bread, the rock, the captain, the com
mander, the conqueror, the star, ani oa ai I
bjyoaiany opacity of mine to rehearsa
th-m. Transparent religion 1
The providence that seeoied dark before
becomes pellucid. Now yon find God is not
trying to put you dowa. Now yoa unler
stand why you lost that child, and way you
lost your property; it was to pr,par yo i
for eternal treasure And way sickn
came, it being the precursor of immortal
,juvenescen?e And now you understand
why they lied about you and tried t: drive
you hither and thither. It was to put you
in the glorious company of such men as
Ignatius, who, when be went oat to be de
stroyed by the lions, said; -I am the wbt.
and the teeth of the wild beasts mast first
grind me before I can become pure breal for
Jesus Christ;" or the company of such men as
Foiycarp, who, when standing in the midst
Of the amphitheatre waiting for the lions to
come oat of their cave and destroy him, aai
the people in the galleries jeering and shout
ing: Thi lions for rolycarp," replied: "Let
them come on," an t then stoooed down to
ward the cave where the wild beasts were
roaring to get out: "Let them come on.
Ah. res, it ia persecution to put you in glo
rious company; and while there are many
things that you will have to postpone to the
future worl i for explanation. I tell vou that
it is the whole tendency of your religion to
unravel and explain and interpret and il
lumine and Irradiate. Job was right. It is a
glorious transparency. 'The crystal cannot
equal it."
I remark again that religion surpasses the
crystal in its beauty. That lump of crystal
is put under the magnifying glass of the
crystallographer; and he sees in it indescrib
able beauty snowdrift and splinter of hoar
frost and corals and wreaths and stars and
crowns and casteliatisns of conspicuous
beanty. The fact is that crystal is so beau
tiful that 1 can think of but one thing in all
the universe that is so beautiful, and that is
the religion of the Bible. No wonder this
Bible represents that religion as the day
break, as the apple blossoms, as the glitter
of a king's banquet. It is the joy of the
whole earth.
Feopletaik too much about their cross and
not enough about their crown. Do you know
the Bible mentions a cross bnt twenty-seven
times, while it mentions a crown eihtv
times? Ask that old man what he thinks of
religion. He has bean a close observer. He
has been culturing an aesthetic tasta. H ha?
seen the sunrises of half a centnry. He has
been an early riser. He has been an ad
mirer of cameos and corals and all kinds of
beautiful things. Ask him what he thinks of
religion, and he will tell you. "It is the most
beautiful thing I ever saw." The crystal
cannot equal it."
Beautiful in its symmetrv. TVhn it pre
sents God's character it does not present Him
as having love like a great protuberance
on one side of His nature, but makes that
love in harmony with His justice a love
that will accept all those who come to Him,
and a justice that will by no means clear
the guilty. Beautiful reVgtoa in the senti
ment It implants? Beautiful religion in the
hope it kindles! Beautiful religion in the
fact that it proposes to garland and enthrone
and imparadise an immortal spirit. Solomon
says it is a lily, Paul says it is a crown.
The Apocalypse says it is a fountain kissed
of the sun. Ezekiel says it is a foliaged
cedar. Christ says it is a bridegroom come
to fetch home a bride. While Job in the
text takes up a whole vase of precious stones
the topaz, and the sapphire, and the
chrysoprasus and he takes out of this beau
tiful vase just one crystal, and holds it up
until it gleams in the warm light of the east
ern sky; and he exclaims, "The crystal can
not equal it."
Oh. it is not a stale religion, it is not a
stupid religion, it is not a toothless hag, as
some seem to have represented it; it is not a
Meg Merriles with shriveled arm come to
scare the world. . It is the fairest daughter
of God, heiress of all His wealth. Her cheek
the morning sky; her voice the music of the
south wind; her step the dance of the sea.
Come and woo her. The Spirit and the bride
say come, and whosoever will, let him come.
Do you agree with Solomon and say it is a
lily? Then pluck it and wear it over your
heart. Do you agree with Paul and say it is
a crown? Then let this hour be your coro
nation. Do you agree with the Apocalypse
and say it is a springing fountain? Then
come and slack the thirst of your soul. Do
you believe with Ezekiel and say it is a
foliaged cedar? Then come under its shadow.
Do you believe with Christ and say it is a
bntiegroom come to fetch home a bride
Then strike hands with your Lord the King
while I pronounce you everlastingly one. Or
If you think with Job that it is a jewel, then
tmt it on your hand like a ring, on your nec
like a bsad, oi your forehaad like a star
while looking into th3 mirror of God's Word
you acknowledge "th3 crystal cannot equal
Again, rsUgion is suoarior to the c-ysal
In its transformations Thi diamond UoaW
a crystaUiz itioa of c xal . Carbonate of lima
rises till it bacons cateits or aragonita. Ral
oxide of coppar crystallize into cubes an I
ucuohe irons. rho3 crystals which ador.i
our p?rson3 aai oar homa and oar muiu-m
hava only basa rasurrata i from forms that
wara far fro-n lustrous Scientists forages
aave baaa exirnmia th?sa wonderful trans
foration Kus ltall yoa ia the gospel oi
nae fcoa of dol thera is a more wonderful
u.-ansformition. Over souls by reason o? si a
Dla-cascoal aad hard as iron Go! bv5
somforting graes stoo3 and says &r
saall be Miaa in the day when I make up My
- VT?y Say T3U' ,Vm G3 wear 3awl
rjr If He wanted He could make the
stirs or haavea Hi bait sn 1 have th evaa
Ing cloud far the saadals of His feS, but He
does not want that adornment. He will not
have that jewelry. When God wants jewel
ry He coaies down an I digs it out of the
depths an I darkness of sin. Thesa souls are
ad crystallizations of mercy. He puts thorn
on an i He wears them in the pvasenca of the
holy universe. He wears theai oa the haul
that wasnailel, over the heart that was
piercad, on taa temples that were stun".
They shall be Mina," saith the Lord, "fu
the day when I make no My jewels." Won
derful transformation ! "f he crystal cannot
equal it." There she is, a waif of the
street, but she shall ba a sister of charitv.
There he is, a sot in the ditch, but he shall
preach the gospaL Thre, behind the bars
cu a prison, but he shall reign with Christ
forever When siu abounded grace shall
much more abound. The carbou becomes
the solitaire. "The crystal cannot equal it."
Now, I have no liking for those people
who are always enlarging in Christian meet
ings about their earlv dissipation. Da
not go into tha particulars, my brothers,
bimply say you wera sick, "but make
10 display of your ulcers.. The chief
.stock ia trade of soma ministers and Chris
tian workers seems to be their early crimes
aad dissipations. The number of pockets you
picked and the number of chickens you stole
maie very poor prayer meeting rhetoric.
Besides tuat, it discourages other Christian
people who never got drunk or stole anything.
But it is pleasant to know that those who
were farthest down have been brought high
est up. Out of infernal serfdom into eternal
liberty. Out of darkness into light. From
coal to the solitaire, "fhe crystal cannot
equal it,"
But, my friends, the chief transforming
power of the gospel will not be saen in this
wor d, and nat until heaven breaks upon the
soul. When that light falls upon the soul
then you will see the crystal. Oh, what a
magnificent setting for these jewels of etern
ity I I sometime hear people representing
heaveu in a way that is far from attractive
to me. It seems almost a vulzar heaven as
they represent it. with great blotches of
color and baa is of music making a deafenin
racket. John represents heaven as exquisite
ly beautiful. Three crystals. In one plac
he says. "Her light was Uke a precious stone!
ciear as crystal." In another place he says,
lI saw a pure river from under the throne,
clear as crystal.
In another place he says. "Before the
throne there was a sea of glass clear as crvs
tal " Three crystals ! John says crystal at
mosphere. That means he&ltn. Balm of
eternal June. What weather after the
world's east wind ! No rack of storm clouds.
One breath of that air will cure the worst
tubercle. Crystal light oa all the leaves.
Crystal light shimmering oa the topaz df ths
temples. Crystal light tossing in the piumss
of the equestrians of heaven on white horses.
But "the crystal cannot equal it." , Joha
says crystal river That means joy. Deen
and ever rolling. Not one drop of ths
Thames or the Hudson or the Rhine to soil
it. Not one tear of human sorrow to itnbit
ter it. Crystal, the rain out of which it was
made. Crystal, the bed over which it shall roll
and ripple. Crystal, its infinite surf ace. But
"the crystal cannot equal it." John says
crystal sea. That means maltitudinouslT
vast. Vast in rapture. Rapture vast as the
!
sa, deep as the sea, strong as ths ra, ever
cat-aging as tha sea. Billows of light. Bil
lows of beauty, blue witn skies that were
never clouded and green with depths that
were never fathomed . Arctics aai Antarc
tica and Mediterraneans and Atlantic ani
Pacifies in crystalline mamiScenca. Thrae
crystals crystal light falling oa a crystal
river; crystal river rolling into a crystal
sea. But "the crystal cannot equal it."
Oh.w says some one. putting bis hand
over his eyei, 4ican it be that I wha have
been in so much sin and trouble will ever
come to thosa crystals? Yes, it may be
lt will be. Heaven we must have, whatever
else we have or have not, and we come her
to get It. "How much must I pay for it?"
you say. You will pay for it iust as much
as the coal pays to become the diamond.
In other words, nothing. The same Almighty
power that makes the crystals in the mount
ains will change your heart which is harder
than stone, for the promise is. "I will take
away your stony heart and 1 will give you a
heart of flesh."
"Oh," says some on?. "It is just the doc-
jriiia x want, uouiio do everything, and
I am to do nothing." Mr brother, it is not
the doctrina vou want. The coal makes no
resistance. It hears the resurrection voica
in the mountain, ani it coaias fro n crystal
lization, but your heart re-utU. Taa traae
with yoa, my brother, is tae coal wxats ta
stay coal. I do not want voj ta throw
opaa the door and let Christ ia. I oaly ask
that you stop bolting it and baring it Oa,
my friends, we will have to get ri t of our
sins. What will we do with our sins amon
the three crystals? The crystal atmospherj
would displar our pollutioa. The crystal
river would be befouled by oar touch. The
crystal sea would whelm u with its glisten
ing surge. Transformation now or no trans
formation at all.
Give sin a full chance in your heart and
the transformation will be downward in
stead of upward. Instead of a crystal it
will be a cinder. In th days of Carthage a
Chi istiaa girl was condemned to die for her
faith, and a boat was badaubal with tar and
pitch and filled with combustibles and set oa
tire, and the Christian girl was placed in the
boat, and the wind was ofT shore an i the
boat floated away with its preciom treasure.
No one can doubt that boat landed at the
shore of heaven.
Sin wants to put you ia a fiery boat and
shove you off in an opposite direction off
from peace, off from God, off from heaven,
everlastingly off; and the port toward which
you would sail would be a port of darkness,
aad the guas that would greet you would be
h9 guns of despair, and the flags that would
wave at your arrival would be the black flags
of death. O, my brother, you must either
kill sin or sin will kill you. It is no wild
exaggeration when I say that any 'man or
woman that wants to be saved may be saved.
Tremendous choice! A thousand people ar a
choosing this moment between salvation and
destruction, between light and darkness, be
tween heaven and hell, between charred ruin
and glorious crystallization. " .
SCIENTIFIC TEETOTA -USX
Ex-Senator Fair has made some remark
able statements to the reporter of the San
JhranciRco Examiner. According to his no
doubt entirely trustworthy accounts, his two
sous, James and Charles, who had praviously
been hopelessly given to looking upon the
wine when it was red, have been weaned,
temporarily at least, from strong drink
through being hypnotized by Dr. Brown of
ban Francisco. They have not tasted liquor
lor weeks. The mere attempt to swailow
whisky produces nausea. In fact, ou of the
0 PPds it; impossible to look upon the
"Push" and "Pull" outer doors of saloons
with a steady stomach. This soun I3 preposterous-.
But the fact seems to be estab
lished by credible witnesses. These are not
the first triumphs of Dr. Brown over the
demcu of intemperance. It is acknowW-ed
however, that he has had his failures But
there f earns no reason to doubt that he has
had his successes as well.
When the world was younger aad of fuller
faith, the establishment of the fact thai
drunkards had been inspired with loathing
for strong drink by any process whatever
would have been welcomed as a proof of the
approach of the millennium. A generation
ago, even, such an achievement would have
been hailed with enthusiasm. But we are
1 alien upon days when the world finds it im
possible to put its faith in Utopias, in pan
aceas of any kind. Of all the generations
that have ever been this is the most stifT
necked. The world is filled with pcssim.stio
doubting Thomases, who can be made to be
lieve in no good thing. Accordingly, this
testimony of so well known a man as
ex-Senator Fair as to the regeneration of two
of hi own sons falls upon heedless ears.
That tho young men have been temporarily
weaned from their destructive habits no one
doubts. It is tha permanency of the cure
that inspires no confidence. This old world
of ours is getting to shrewd to be taken ia.
Decidedly, this is a bad day for miracle of
any kind. So. although 'science admits that
there is something in hypnotism, the public
cannot be brought to attach serious iaipor
tancetothedenoastratelfac; that hypno
tism has inspired evea two vouugCadf orniani
with a six weeks' disgust" for the mad ten
ing bjwl. Xew York Commercial Adcer
User. what rr would ro.
The money paid for one glass of beer
would pay for one loaf of bi ead.
The money paid for one glass of whisky
would pay lor one pound of beef.
The money paid for two glasses of beer
would pay for a peck of potatoes.
The money paid for two glasses of whisky
would pay for one pound ot coffee.
The money paid lor three glasses of boer
would pay lor a quarter of a pound of tea.
The money paid for three giassesof whisky
w.nild pay for a dressed fowl.
The money paid for four glasses of beer
would pay for two dozen of eggs.
The money paii for four glasses of whisky
wou!d pay for three pounds of butter.
The1 money paid in one month lor two
glasses of beer a day would pay for a ton of
coal.
The money paid in one month for two
glasses of whisky a day would pay for a suit
af c'.other.
The monev raid in ona vtvir f nt- tkrM
glasses of beer a day would pay the rent for
The monev paid in one year lor three
glassesof whisky a day would pay for an out
tit of household furniture.
The monev paid in one year for four glasses
of beer a day would pay tor a carriage.
The moaey paid in one year for four glasses
of whisky a uay would pay far a horse and
harness Wooster Herald.
A VAST ARilT OF L1QCOR SELLXKS.
The nu-nb?r of retail liquor dealers in the
umtad States, accord i ig to the official re
turns of the officers of the internal revenue
tor toe year endiag May 1, IbOQ, was 1S3,!;3,
t one liquor dealer to every 275 inhabi
tants, on the bails of the census of ISM. In
lhere a5 one rsXMi dealer ia di
uued liquors to every 150 inhabitant; in
ew Jersey. 1 to 175; in Ohio, lto i30; in
renasyiTaaia and Massachusetts, I to 400
in Indiana, l to an- in rv 1 i.-.i'
! ud.m Caufornia, 1 to 73. The average in
an the States which have general license
laws is one oj-an, 8QO? to 250 innabitanU. Ia
Jiaine there is one dealer in distilled liquors
to every 750 inhabitants; in Vermont, 1 to
in Iowa, 1 to 520, and in Kansas, 1 to
RELIGIOUS HEADING.
ir.
IfynurUrs
Would ket-p from n'ir.
Five things olere nith -mrv ;
of whom you speak.
To whom you s-Pk.
And Low, and when and where.
If yoa your cars
Would save from jers.
These things keep meekly hid;
Mywlf snd 1,
Aud mine and my,
And how 1 do or did.
cod's flowing.
I was walking, once in the early spring,
along the country road. Just over the stone
fence yonder tiu re wa a broad field. smooth
as a floor, and most exquisitely arrayed in
the !reh spring greenntm of it gracs. It
seemed to me mv eyes had rare Iv fallen on a
ieht so lovely. Hut ripping right through
that smooth rnd pleasant "greennes there
ws beinr dragged a plow, and the fresh
beauty of the fair ward was being
turned under from the sun and air,
and only the ugly brown soli was being
turned outward, and all the fair and radiant
M-ene was being t hinged and scarred.
"Why?' I asked myself. I do not have to
wait long for an answer. The chastise
ment of the fair field wai in order that the
autumn might find it golden with the more
.precious harvest of the wheat. Well, (Jod's
plowshare cuts, but ucver for the simple
sake of cuttinc; always for the sake of re
Milts of character 'airer, sweeter, nobler.
There is benign design behind our chastise
ment. S herefore lift tin the hnd which
, hang down, and the feeble knees." Way-
KEEP BUST.
If you expect God to choose yoa for a
crent work. Ie bnv: beneMoin oWtal,lir
1 "When he wished a deliverer for Inracl. be
went into the wilderness for Moses, who was
I watching sheep; when he wanted a roan to
pave his people) from the Midianites, be ent
for Gideon, Who was threshing wheat;
when he wanted a man after bis own heart
to be king of Israel, he sent for David
who was keeping sheep. IJIers do not
suit; the Lord wishes those who are not
only willing to work, but who are hard at
it. Idlers arc too often lazv, and that may
be the rause or their idlene-s. uch seldom
have enough ambition to take care of them
selves, let a ore earing for the Lors work.
But I.llers suit Satan exactly. He likes u h
as have no ambition, for tliey make the let
slaves. The devil wants t-Iaves for his woric,
.but God want something Utt.'r. He wishes
men and women who have ambi'ion, who
take an in teres, t in their work: be wislua
servants who are anxious to rise, for he
meats to promot them some dav. Frjm
servants he adopts them into his family and
makes them his children. Forward.
TnE RIGHT KIXD OF BELIGIOX.
I do not want to be misunderstood. I am
working for a revival of religion a religion
that converts people, .renews them In the
spirit of their mind, creates them anew In
Christ Jesus, delivers from the bondage of
fein. inject new ideas, purer, better than the
old. brings them out of the world, and sepa
rates them unto Christ; a religion that re
deems a man from all sin and n t h"m
pn holy living on self-denii!, painstak
ing, cireumsjction and prsver th-t
imbues his spirit with love, ea"sous his
conversation with grace, an i makes bun
a witness for the truth as it Is in Jesus;
an example, a model, an Israelite with
out guile or hypocrisy or wavering. In a
word, let us in the name of the Ird have a
revival of pure, undefined religion a sin
killing, sin hating, sin-forsaking. lebt-paT-
ing, God-erviug, man-lovintr religion: a re
Iiirion that makes the church lilxyal, that
lifts up the fallen drunkard, sets .him up
right on his feet, niakry and keeps hini
soW that crucifies the pride of iife, the lu-t
of the flesh roots out the love of the world,
aud fills the soul with the love of the Father;
a consistent, steadfast. uin-omproniUing re
ligion, always a'unding 111 the work of the
Lord. Bishop Tierce.
THE MEX THAT FELL OCT.
Dr. M. I). I Inge of Richmond, Vs., telNof
two Christian men who -fell out. One
heard the other was talking xeainst him, and
he went to him and said : Will you be kind
enough to tell me my faults to my face, that
I may profit by your Christian candor and
try to get rid of them?" 4,Y, sir. replied
the other. "I will do it." They went aside
and the former said:
"Before you commence telling what you
think wrong in me. will you please bow
down with me and let in pi ay over it, that
my eyes may be opened to see mv faults as
you will tell them.' You lead in the prayer.
It was done and when the praver was
over, the man that had sought the interview
said :
"Now proceed with what vou haTeto
complain of in ine. lljt the other replied ;
After praying over it, it looks so little that
It is not worth talking about. The truth i.
I feel now that in going around talking
against you I have Ik en serving the devil
myself, and hnve need that yon pray for me
and forgive me the wrong I havb done
jou.
The quarrel was settled from that hour
and there are several ditfieulties that mieU
be settled the same way. Try it. Common
THE SniTWRFCKED FREETHISK t&.
There was an evil hour when once I
Hipped the anchor of my faith; I cnt the
cable of my belief; I no longer moored mv
self hard by the coasts of revelation: I al
lowed my vessel to drift lfore the wind
I sa.d to reason, lie thou mv captain ; I said
to my own brain. Be tbou'mv rudder; and
started on my mad voyage. Thank God it
is all over now. but I will tell you its brief
history. It was one hurried sailing over the
tenijM stuous reran of free thought. I went
on. and as I went the skies tgn to darken
but to make up for that drficienevthe water'
were brilliant with corruption of brilliancv
IT Jf1? fl y.lns. t?Pwr,, that pleased me!
and I thought, if this be free thought, it la a
Jappr thing. My thoughts seemed gtms. and
I scattered stars with both mv h!.nd.;but
anon, instead of thce corrusra'tlona cf rlorr
I saw gnm fiends, fierce and horrible, start
up from the water., and as I dashed on they
gnashe.1 their teeth and grinned upon me;
roe on, vlu'e I In part gloried at the rapidity
of my motion, but yet shuddered at the
terns- rate with bicta I P,, the old land
marks of my faith As I hurried forward
?jh, " aWU.1 r01 o5o!btmyer;
existence. I doubted it there were a world
doubted if therr were such a thfni
realmsof onberief. I went to the verr bottom
f f lb V of infi le ity. I d uUed everv
thing. But here the devil foiled bim-elf. for
the very extravagance of the doubtrroved
ifikTtS; Jutwb'n I the Con
of that sea, there came a voice which
rdt? , V1 in?5 AlVhU very
thought I awoke. 1 started from that death
dream, which. God knows, might- k3T.
damned my oul and luiuoi tL'
rnr loly If I Lad not awoke. W'htn
arose faith took the helm; from thst room
I doubled no". rilh teered me back: tx-k
cried. 'Away, away I" I can tny anchor
on t'alvarv ; 1 lifted my rye to Con; an(j
I sra slive, and out of IielL Therefore 1
tprak bit I do know. I hive ailed tbt
perilous toysge; I hate come safe to lan
Asktr.esuain to be snlnfidel.no. I
tried it; it was sweet at Cit, but bitter after.
I ward. Now. Us Levi to Cod's Gope raor
crraiy man ever. tanuing as on a rocfc fcj
adamant. I defy the arguments of hellto tnoit
me, fur I know in ra I have believed
nd am peruadcd that lie is able to kee
that wlikh I Lave committed unto liira."J.
?purgeon.
TEMPERANCE.
rnrron cxmxt, xx xmljucxtc brewt
There Is now invest! in braveries la thu
country 1S.4,W0 of English capital. Ti,
total sales of the elghty-even breweries aai
malt houses controlled bv this British gnli
for the fiscal year 10( "were 3.021,131 bar.
re is, or nearly one-fifth of tfce total produc
tion for the whole country. Tbesa figure
are from the April Jirttrer's Journal. T9
get some idea of the political power wiellt
by these vast interests, it should be stat4
that these breweries control largely the sa
loons through which their product is j at
upon the market, and that the retail price of
5,t"J!,l'J() barrels of beer is from ?7i,OvW,ocg
to f 1 JU, 000, (.OJ. Vo ice.
a rocaroLD tejigeut.
A recent shocking drink tragedy of a foir
fold character occurred at Batesville, In
diana, wherein a frenaieJ drunken hou'
keeper, road with jealousy, shot hi wife hx
the head with a revolver, then shot through
the heart his tbrve-yesr-old daughter, next
shot his cook in the back, inflicting an ugly
flesh-wound, and then cut his own throat,
fal.iag dead on the floor! An i yet it i
claimed that a "bar" is indispensable to
hotel, and that license fcr the liquor trail
ma properly be upheld by a Cbxtotian pub-"
lie! Sational Adrocate.
ALCOHOLIC GLXGEn IXIJBSJETT.
According to the Philadelphia lYmes. what
It calls tha "ginger habit is becoming a seri
ous addition to the ordinary alcoholic intem
perance in thatcity. It appears that Jamaica
ginger, which contains a large per.entags of
alcohol, during the past few months has
lieen extensively sold by many druggists for
drinking purposes. One physician. Dr. Mac
Connell, is reported as saying: 'The tincturs
of ginger can be bought for about five cents
an ounce. It contatns fully ninety-five per
cent, of alcohol, so that in anounao of ginger
thera is more than two ounces of wtiskv."
Ho adds: "The way it is now bing tued Is
amazing. I know a physician, a man very
prominent in his profession, who died only a
short time ego from the effects of ginjer
dr nking." lie also mentions a druggist's
store whera a young cirl cams twicj to his
knjw'.eJge recently, buTing each tim twa
ounces of fntr. The druggist told him she
had b?en in twelve times that day. He knew
that her mother aud sisters drank it, but it
had not occurred to him that be should re
fuse to sell it to hr. Tnis same physician
was called sometime ago to attend a woman
who admitted soe was in the habit of drink
ing sixteen ounces aday, ani it appears that
the majority of these Jamaica ginger cus
tomers are women. The Times urges that
there should be legislation against the indis
criminate sale of Jamaica ginger, the satns
as there is against indiscriminate sale of
other alcoholic drinks. Added to this legis
lation there should certainly be a better edu
cation of the Philadelphia public concerning
tie beverage use of alcohol Itself la any
form.
DECXKEXXESS IX PARIS.
The idea prevalent that there is little -no
drunkenness in Paris urUyn fro-n thi
J-renca idea of what it is to Ins drunk. A
short time ago at an entertainment given by
one of the public schools of Paris, a rrml4
cf the Municipal Council was present to offi
ciate in distributing prize. The sai oScial
act! in a manner which led four papers the
next morning to say ho was drunir. The
statement was resented and the newspapers
prosecuted. In the trial it was testlflM that
the councdman talked incoherently, threat
ened to turn every bod v out-of-door, sail
the school consisted of .100 blackguard,
abused the teachers and insulted several Z
men. But nobody could say he was drunk
-not being physicians, and not having seen
him dr.nk enough to make a man drunk,
ihe jury considered it necessary to vin Jurats
the gentleman's honor by rlnmg each of the
newsoaner tmt.flr. t--. -. , .
, coring that it had not been proved tkat he
J . , 1110 same time they recom
mended his removal from office on the ground
t hat bis actions were peculiar. .No wonder
inea.n7 ran iu IArU man can't
t called I drunk except oa a medical certii
cae: I oice.
XMOXO TUK HINDOOS.
Tempera nee effort in Benares. India. Is
E!nV.nif r rable A Brab-
Ke;hub Ibfp0eliTi0U, tech"-'
of W rJRoT en-toin the advanta.-.
ntern Hlnratum . t-
jure. bM devout his lif'e to VhT SSSeJS
&?nT' "A1 V .tron7tfci
cia. The results hitherto have been sirna If
.??iF?ple kaTinJC copied rule. bmdif
cfo
aifd't relho
trate. fnr Z 3 T l, P-Ut th9 rn.gis
irates for a reduction in t.- -
Lcenc , men
Tntmuscx siws xxd 37m. .
There is no crime that intemperance does
not commit-
If there were no moderate drinkers thers
would be no drunkards.
The man who makes a business of drinkis
will goon drink for a business.
! . To? nncnangoabla decree of God Is. "5
drunkard shall inherit the kingdom of God.
pwuis wm nsgiect to toach their bcri
jound temperance principles, help ths bar-
Tha saloon-keeper sells whisky to bey
t- Other men sells booses to tu
whisky.
Getting men to use whisky and tobacco U
on of the ways tha devil has of taking u?
collection.
.T Jrd Is not a drunkard frs
choice, but because tha devil won't let hia U
anythiDg else.
The most successful saloon-Tteeper Is &
rfK m!' ccfuUy conceals tha f
that the devil U Li, partner.
The man who can drink whuky a who
Jiftr1100"1 "5 hn 7 it u verr a?
to not U much account for anything 4s.
I!?? m'th JTJ lb heart of nu
T!m :li Th only wine that mak'
glad th bert of man is th win of salts
won. lKdiaKavoli LfadL) Item's Horn.