Pittston Gazette

              • B«lablUhiCl 1H50. ( VOL. XLIX Nil. IK I Oldest Newspaper in the Wvomine Vallev PITTSTOM LUZERNE COUNTY, PA., FRIDAY, DECEMBER 30, 1898. A Weekly Local and Family Journal. jllOODY»: in AUv»n a. | The Missing Prince LBy Major Arthur Griffiths, Copyright, 1898, by the author. * arttiu villains wdo by some means 01 other bad recognised him in Biskra, penetrated his incognito and turned their knowledge to serve their own nefarious ends. here this last season to act as croupier at the casino, just to keep him from starvation. I heard of him — 1 never saw him, for, ns you will understand, I do not frequent those places—heard of him as a man with a history, a man who bad been in good, iu the liest, society, knew men and cities, but had sunk into a mero adventurer, a vanriec and chevalier d'industrie. It is possible tliut he knew the priuce by sight, had met him or heard of him in Europe, and when ho came up here—if he ever cmne at the right time, although a little lute, and now we realize that Christmas comes opportunely, just after the shortest day of tho year. Dec 21, and at the time when days are lengthening and the sun is recommencing its upward course, telling us that spring anil summer are coming. Oh, what a forest of Christmas trees— trees liearing 12 manner ot fruits—-now standing throughout the households of Christendom! Oh, what hosannas are ascending on this day, the Christmas of a Saviour's birth, this year blending with the Sabbath of a Saviour's resurrection! Do you not feel the thrill, the glow, the enlargement, the triumph of this day and will not your charities go forth until you sympathize with the quaint old Christmas carol—so old I do not know who wrote it —its title, "Scatter Your Crumbs:" THE INFANT'S ESCAPE Blessed are those who can most skillfully wield tho battleax. Blessed are those who can stab the deepest with spear or roll a chariot wheel over the most wounded or put his charter's hoof on the most dead." The entirely new theory of our Christ was blessing for cursing, prayer for those who despitefully use you, foundries to turn spears Into pruning hooks, redhot furnaces to melt swords into molds shaped like plowshariDs. If gigantic acerbities and worldwide tigerisms hud, without any gospel opposition, gone on until now and been augmented by 1.898 years of ferocity, by this timo what would this world have been turned into)1 You need not remind me of the awful wars since tho opening of the year 1 of our Christian era, for if the earth has been again &pd again lacerated Into an Aceldama through improved weaponry of death and more rapidity of lire, Prussian breechloader, which In 18B6 startled the nations with unprecedented havoc, eclipsed by contrivances that can sweep vaster numbers |to death by one volley, and telegraphy adding to gunnery new facilities for slaughter by instantly ordering armies to where they can do the most wholesale murder—I say if all this woe has liern wrought, how much worse would It haw been if tho Christly revelation had not been let down from heaven on five runged ladder of musical scale, and there had been no preaching of good will all up and down Christendom for 1U centuries! The Bethlehem manger has given the most potent suggestion of peace tho world has ever received. Tho cavalry horses cannot eat out of that manger. that the angels who composed the choir for the Christina* cantata above Bethlehem worn not the only angels around that night. I think there were some who Instead of holding librettos of celestial music stood all up and down the steeps of heaven with drawn swords, keen and two edged. That cradle must be defended. That flight into Egypt must be hovered over by winged cohort. That humble stopping place in Cairo must be watched by celestial hands descending amid the Egyptian pyramids and the sphinx which had already stood there for ages celebrating kings, none of whom ever had such glory as will be won by that Prince sleeping in his mother's arms under their long shadows. Hear it all, ye people—in that babe's survival our beaven was involved. And shall we not add to our usual Christinas congratulation at a Saviour's birth the joy at the babe's rescue? CHRISTIAN ENDEAVOR DR. TALMAGE NAMES THE DANGERS Topic Fop the Week ReKinnlnK Jan. 1—Comment by Rev. S. H. Doyle. Topic.—The angel presence for the new year.—Ex. xxlii, 20-28. This implied foul play of the worst kind. They might even have made nway with him in this faroff semibarlarous land. At least they could hold him sequestrated somewhere, a close prisoner, until they had achieved their purpose—the extortion of hush money for a social offense that only existed in their own evil minds. THAT BESET THE HOLY BABE hrlxt'M frndle Hi»:l \o Itocker*—The C liumeter of lleroil — llui One Irre- Behold I send an angel before thee, to keep thee in the way and to bring thee into lie place which I have prepared. Beware of him and obey his voice.—Ex. xxiii, 20, 21. proachable Dlai»—Wlull Chrlatlunlty linn Itoue Kor the World. The Israelites had left Egypt and were on their way to the land of Canaan. They needed a guide in the wilderness, and God provided them with one, described here as an "angel." This angel was undoubtedly the "Angel of the Covenant, " or the Lord Jesus Christ Himself, who guided Israel in the pillar of oloud by day and in the pillar of fire by night [Copyright, 1898. by American Press Asso- ciation. i came" Washington, Dec. 25.—In a most unusual way it scene connected with (he nativity is emphasized by Dr. Talmage in this Christmas discourse; text, Matthew il, 13, "Herod will wok the young child to destroy hitu." The cradle of the lnlant Jesus hud no rockcrs, for it was not to be soothed by oscillating motion, as are the cradles of other princes. It had no canopy, for it was not to be hovered over by anything so exquisite. It had no embroidered pillow, for the young head was not to have such luxurious comfort. '1 hough a meteor—ordinarily the most iSrratio and seemingly ungovernable of all skyey appearances—had been sent to designate the place where that cradle stood and H ohoir had been gent from the heavenly temple to serenade its illustrious occupant with an epic, yet that cradle was the target for all earthly and diabolical hostilities. Indeed 1 give you its my opinion that it was the narrowest and most won derful escape of the ages that the child was not slain before he had taken his first step or spoken his first word. Herod could not afford to have him born. The Caesars could uot afford to have him born. The gigantic oppressions and abominations of the world could not afford have him lvDrn Whs there ever planned a more systematized or appalling bombardment In ull the world than the bombardment of that cradle? 1 saw now that it was my bounden duty to apply to the authorities. The police at Biskra were semimilitary in chaiacter, and under the orders of the commandant, a colonel of Spabis, Baron d'Hantrine by name, whose acquaintance 1 had already made. "Which is as good us proved," 1 put "Not to my satisfaction. You stick to yom point, however. It is like you English. But will you explain why no one, none of us at uny rate, has met him or heard of liim? Biskra in a small place. Why are there no traces of him:" The firm of Black & Brightsmith was good enough to express its great and gratefal appreciation of my help in the case of the Escondida mine. It promised me other work of the same kind, plenty, if I cared to take it up, and soon sent to ask whether I could undertake a confidential mission to Algeria. noblesse oblige." Midst the freezing sleet and snow Tlie timid robin comes. In pity, drive liim not away, but scatter out your crumbs "Well, anyhow, there is an element of doubt," I said. "It seems highly improbable thai a young priuce just out of his teens is a professional Greek, Ekilled in dirty with the cards. That, on the face of it, first Then the fact that Prince Cuslmir has heard nothing direct from his son—no appeal, no apology, no attempted exculpation. This rather tells in the lad's favor, I think. If I am asked, I should say, 'Don't pay—not at least till the story is He was a striking personage in his way, tall, of commanding presence, a soldier before everything, a military dandy in the best sense, always spick and span, iu the whitest of shirt cuffs the smartest and most perfectly fitting uniform. He was also a man of the world. Consigned now by the chances of a military service to this remote but important post, Jhe kept himself abreast of all that went on in Paris, indeed in Europe. For the English he expressed a warm and genuine liking, based 011 pleasant days spent and pleasant friendships made when military attache to the French embassy in London A Time Fop Joy. The Christians' journey through life is typified by Israel's journey through the wilderness. We are traveling each year and each day over ways which we have not trodden before. This is particularly enforced upon us at the beginning of each new year, because at that time we think more about it. We need a guide, and God has provided us with one also, the same guide, the Lord Jesus, the "Angel of the Covenant," only manifested and revealed unto us in more and better ways. Now let the Christmas table be spread. Let it he an extension table made up of the tables of your households, and added to them the tables of celestial festivity, all together making a table long enough to reach across a hemisphere—yea, long enough to reach from earth to heaven. Send out tho Invitations to all the guests whom we would like to have come and diue. Come all the ransomed of earth and all the crowned of heaven. As at ancient banquets the king who was to preside came in after all the guests had taken their places at the table, so perhaps it may be now. Let the old folks who sat at either end of your Christmas table 10 or HO or 40 years ago be seated, their aches and pains all gone. Behold they sit down in the exhilaration of everlasting youth! Come brothers and sisters who used to retire with us early on Christmas eve so that the mysteries of bestowed gifts might be kept secret and who rose with us early on Christinas morn to see what was to be revealed. Come all the old neighbors of our boyhood and girlhood days who used to happen in toward the close of this day to wish us a merry tima Come all tD.e ministers of Christ who have ir, pulpits tt*r many a year been telling the story of the star that pointed to the world's fii'jt Christmas gift and at the same time wakened Herod's apprehensions. Come and sit down ye heralds of "the glad tidings," whether you were sprinkled oi plunged, whether your thanks today be offered in liturgy of ages or prayers spontaneous, whether you be gowned in canonicals or wearing plain coat of backwoods meeting house. Come in I Room at this Christmas table for all those who have bowed at the manger in whatever world you now live: "That is the darkest part of the business, to mind." And leave your door upon the latch For whosoever conns. The poorer they, more welcome give And scatter out your crumbs. It was to convey a considerable sum of money in specie to the remote town of Biskra, a health resort of glowing popularity, situated in the faroff desert, almost on the confines of the great Sahara. "You shall not say, monsieur, that we have not tried our best to clear up that. There shall bo no imputation of foul play undetected where I command. Immediate search shall be made through the district—a complete battue. Your Prince Charniunt must be very securely hidden if he escapes onr people. He shall be found whether alive or dead. " All have to spare, none aro too poor, When want with winter conies, And life is never all your own. Then scatter out tlie-crumbs. verities Soon winter falls upon your life. The day of reckoning conies; Against your sins, by high decree. Are weighed those scattered crumbs. "The money is to be paid over in exrhange for a certain compromising document, one that closely affects the honor and character of a great family. Will you go?" said Harry Brightsmith. "His highness will not run that risk. He insists upon the money being sent out and every stipulation fulfilled to the letter. It drives him wild, the idea of a Mi'ilea posted as a cheat through Europe," answered Brightsmitb. Ho was nut fonud nevertheless. Hut a day or two later tho baron sent for me and said they had laid hands upon the two rognes, Picpus and Delia Croca Can the angel which St. John saw with measuring rod treasuring heaven or hath any seraphic intelligence faculty ecough to calculate the magnificent effect which 1,898 Christmas mornings and 1,N98 Christmas noons and 1,898 Christmas nights have had on our poor old planet? Ix)t us thank God that we live to see this Christmas, the bells of which ring out so clear, so inspiring, so jubilant—bells of family reunion, hells of church jubilee, bells of national victory. But had either Mclchior or lialthasar or Caspar, the three wise men of the east,~W-ho had put down the sacks of aromatic frankincense or bags of chinking gold by the bare feet of the Infant Lord, reporteid to Herod's palace the place when* they found the child the swift horses of executioners would have carried dtuth to that babe cradled in Mary's arm, and the Bethlehem star would have been a star of tragedy, and instead of a song of nativity, which tho nations are now chanting, this day would be chiefly memorable for tho shriek of bereft motherhood. Concerning Christ as the angel presence, we may learn that: 1. Christ is a divine guide. It was (Jod's angel, God's messenger, who directed Israel. "My name," said the Lord, "is in him." Christ is divine. This makes His guidance infallible and worthy of our most earnest and oomplete acceptance. I take another step forward in showing the narrow escape you and I had and the world had in tho secretion of Christ's birthplace from the Herod'.o detectives and the clubs with which they would have dashed tho balie's life out when I say that without the life that began that night in Bethlehem the world would have had no illumined deathbeds. Before the time of Christ good people closed their earthly lives in peace while depending upon the Christ to come, and there were antediluvian saints, and Assyrian saints, and Kgyptian saints, and Grecian saints, and Jerusalem saints long before the clouds above Bcthelehem became a balcony filled with the best singers of a world where they all sing, but 1 cannot read that there was anything more than a quieting guess that came to those liefore Christ deathbeds. Job said something bordering on the confident, but it Was mixed up with a story of "skin worms" that would destroy his body. Abraham and Jacob had a little light on the dying pillow, but, compared with the after Christ deathbeds, it was like the dim tallow candle of old beside the modern cluster of lights electric. I know Klijah went up in memorable manner, but it was a terrible way to go—a whirlwind of fire that must have been splendid to look at by thoRe who stood on the banks of the Jordan, but it,was a style of ascent that required more nerve than you and I ever had, to be a placid occupant of a chariot drawn by such a wild team. The triumphant deathbeds, as far as I know, were the after Christ death I eds. What a procession of hosannas have I larched through the dying room of the saints of the last 19 uenturies! What cavalcade of mounted halleluiahs has galloped through the dying visions of the Igst 2,000 years save 1001 Peaceful deathbeds in the years B. C. I Triumphant deathbeds, for the most part, reserved for the years A. D. I Behold the deathbeds of the Weslevs, of the Doddridges, of the Ix-gh ltlcbinonds, of the Kdward Paysons, of Vara, the converted heathen chieftain, crying in his last moments: "The canoe is in the sea. The sails are spread. She is ready for tho gale. I have a good pilot to guide me. My outside man and my inside man diiTcr. Let the one rot till the trumpet shall eo-ind, but let my soul wing her way to the throne of Jesus." Of dying John Fletcher, who entered his pulpit to preach, though his doctors forbade him, and descended to the communion table, Maying. "1 am going to throw myself under the wings of the cherubim before Uie mercy seat." thousands of people a Pew days after following him to the grave, tinging: The l'»we of Chrlat I expressed my readiness, but asked •why the tram could uot be paid by check. "I don't refuse. But at least be certain that the ease is clear. There should be time to settle that question between now and Nov. 23. I should like to look into it on the spot at once." "At Biskra?" Now he received me with great cordiality, but when he had beard my whole story he shcxik his head with grave disapproval and said: "You should have taken me into your confidence sooner, my dear comrade. We are late. We have lost valuable time. If this young prince has—whose father 1 knew in Vienna, and his mother, she was a Princess de Gauffremont—if Prince Stanislas has really been here and if he has fallen amotig thieves in the way you suggest, I fear the thing has gone too far. He is probably beyond our help." "Tliey arc both in Algiers, known to and identified by the police. No doubt they await your arrival with the magot, the great prize for which tbey have angled so cleverly. Now we shall arrest them. 1 am writing to beg that this be done at once, for by interrogation they may be got to confess what they have done with the prince—at least when in custody they cannot carry out their programme. They will net be silenced by the payments they demand, but they cannot very well communicate with the press.'' "The demand is for gold. In any case we wish to secure the papers in full acquittance, and this can best—can only—be done by the hand of a thoroughly trustworthy agent, some one who will if necessary give and take at one and the same time." 2. Christ ie an ever present guide. By day in the pillar of cloud, by night in the pillar of fire, Christ gnided Israel. Orientals were aocastomed to marching at night, because of the extreme beat of the day. Fire and smoke were probably used by generals in ancient times as signals, and for this reason Cod probably chose this form of manifesting His presence. Day and night He went before Israel. Christ today is ever present. "Lo, I am with thee alway," He said to His disciples. We need an ever present guide. Many intrust themselves to God at night, bat not for the day. We aeed Him more throngh the day than when asleep at nigbt. Then it is that we meet the trials, temptations and duties of life, and it is at these times that we need God in Christ most. "Certainly. There is time, I believe, for me to pay a visit to Biskra to make inquiries, bear all about this De Fivas and Mirabel and the rest. Above all, to see the young prince and hear his own The Herod who led tho attack was treachery, vengeance and sensuality Impersonated. Ah a sort of pastime he slew Hyruamis. the grandfather of his wife Then he slew Marlamne, his wife. Then he butchered her two sons, Alexander and Arlstobnlus Then he slew Antipater, his oldest son. Then he ordered burned alive 40 people who had pulled down the eagle of his authority He ordered the nobles who had attended upon his dying bod to be slain, so that there might be universal mourning after his decease. From that same deathlied he ordered the slaughter of all the children in Bethlehem under 2 years of ago, feeling sure that if he massacred the entire infantile population that would include the destruction of the child whoso birthplace astronomy had pointed out with its finger of light. What were the slaughtered babes to him, and as many frenzied and bereft n others? If he had Ix-cn well enough to leave his lied, he would have enjoyed seeing the mothers wildly struggling to keep their luitiee, and holding them so tightly that they could not ixj separated until the sword took both lives at one stroke, and others, mother and child, hurlud from roofs of houses into the street until that village of horseshoe shajie on tho hillside became one great butcher shop To have such a man, with associate s just as cruel, and an army at his command, attempting the life of tho Infant Jesus, does there seem any chance for his escape? Then that flight southward for so many miles, across deserts and amid bandits and wild lieasts (my friend, the late missionary and scientist IDr Lansing, who tuck the same journey, said it was enough to kill both the Ma donna and the Child), and poor residence in Cairo, Kgypt You know how difficult it is to tako an ordinary child successfully through the disorders that are sure to asxuil it even in comfortable homes and with all delicate ministries, and then think of the exiMwure of that famous babe in villages and lands where all sanitary laws were put at defiance, his first hours on earth sjDent in a room without any doors, and ofttimes swept by chilled night winds; then afterward riding many days under hot tropical sun, and part of many nights, lest the avenger overtake the fugitive ticfore he could be hidden in another lai*i! "If necessary?" I inquired, catching •t the doubt implied. version." "We have no absolute certainty, Mac, that the demand is justified, that the case is bona fide, and not trumped up (or the extortion of blackmail. This is another and still stronger reason for our application to you. If you can only find that there has been any foul play anywhere, you will earn tJie eternal gratitude of his highnese as well as a handsome douceur. Wait. Let mo tell you the whole story. "He has given it here," Raid old Black, hitting the confession with his knuckles as it lay upon the table. "Killed? Murdered?" I asked eluntly. This news in a measure ended my mission, which did not extend beyond laying bare and neutralizing a clever attempt at extortion. Hut 1 conld not rest satisfied with that—I bad still to fulfill a duty to my employer. I must unravel the more serious mystery of the piince's disappearance. "He is said to have given it there. That may be a forgery. The signature, the official stamp of the notary, both might have been obtained by some nefarious dodge. The young prince may be under coercion." Ho shrugged his shoulders. "It. is a poor confession to make, but out here in these wilds such thiugs have been. Strange things. The stran- The One Pare Man. Still further remarking upon the narrow escape which you and I had and all the world had In that babe's escape, let me say that had that Herodic plot been successful the one instance of absolutely perfect character would never have been unfolded Tho world had enjoyed the lives of many splendid men before Christ can e. It had admired its Plato among philosophers, its Mithridates among he roes, its Herodotus among historians, its Phidias among sculptors, its Homer among poets, its /Ksop among fabulists, its .ICschylus among dramatists, its Demosthenes among orators, its JCsculapius among physicians, yet an ong the contemporaries of those men there were two opinions, as now there are two opinions concerning every remarkable man There were plenty in those days who said of them, "He cannot speak," or "He cannot sing," or "He cannot philosophize," or "His military achievement was a mere accident," or "His chisel, his }Den, his medical prescription, never deserved the applause given." But concerning this full grown Christ, whose life was launched three decades liefore that first Christmas, the moan of camels and the bleat of sheep and the low of eattle mingled with the babe's first cry, while clouds that night were resonant with music, and star pointing down whispered to star, "Look, there he is!'' "My dear Major Macnaghten-Innes," broke in Black impatiently for one so sedate and stolid, "in my experience an ounce of fact is worth a shipload of conjecture. I think that the safest course is to send the money—exchange it for the confession. Let us carry out the contract. That, u oreover. iu fact, is what our client wishes—silent compliance and no risk." "You have heard of the Medea s? They were once a reigning house and may some day come to the throne again. Meanwhile Prince Casimir de Medea lives in great retirement on the Thames, and his eldest son, Stanislas, who has ' tso I prepared to return without delay to Algiers and assist, so far as 1'iight be permitted, in the examination of the conspirators. Part of the host have crossed the flood. And part are crossing now. Yea, come and sit at this Christmas table, all heaven. Archangel at that end of the table, and all the angels under him adjoining Comedown) Come in I And take your places at this Christmas banquet. The tablo is spread, and the King who will preside is about to enter. He comes—him of Bethlehem, him of Calvary, hiin of Olivet, blm of the throne! Rise and greet him. Fill all your chalices with the wine pressed from the heavenly Eschol and drink at this Christmas banquet to the memory of the babe's rescue from Herodic pursuit, and the memory of those astronomers of thC east who defeated the malice and sarcasm and irony and Infernal stratagem of the monster's manifesto, "Go and search diligently for the young child, and when ye have found him, bring me word again, that I may come and worship him also." "Qlven at the palace. Herod the Great." 3. Christ is an adaptive guide. The pillar adapted itself to the needs of the people. In the daytime it was a oloud, at nighttime a lire. At one time it moved in front as a guiding beacon, at another it settled over the camp as a oanopy, and again it went behind, between Israel and its enemies. Jesus Christ as a divine guide is adapted to the needs and wants of all classes and to the same person under all tbe varied circumstances of life. Then lnek interposed in my favor, and in no profession does the action of blind chance go further than in that of tho detective. The strange fact has been proved again and agaiu and might be illustrated by many curious examples. oome to man's cstato, has been sent round the world to complete his education with a Cook ticket iu 80 days. "Prince Stanislas is said to be a lively youth, fond of horses, sport, amusement, the fair sex—all that makes life enjoyable at 2S. He has cost his highness a good deal of money at times, but bis father has paid without a murmur —until now. The present demand—that on which we seek your co-operation, Mac —is for the liquidation of a gambling debt incurred under peculiar—indited, as it is alleged, disgraceful—circumstances. The young prince has been accused of a flagrant attempt to correct fortune." Brightsmith, having fuller confidence in my skill, took my view, and after much debate it was decided that Prince Casimir should be consulted. He came up to Gresham street, a rather limp old gentleman, to whom this was a crowninn bitterness in a life of disappointment, and we had some difficulty in persuading him to the bolder course. It was the money that settled it. He was not rich and would have been glad to save the £1,300 blackmail. The very day before that fixed for my departure I was wandering aimlessly through the little town of Biskra, when chance—the detective's good fortune rather—took me into an Arab caravansary on the outskirts near where the road comes in from Touggonrt and El Way la, the farthest confines of the French territory. 4. Christ as a guide mast be followed, or life will oe a failure. If we disobey Christ, life will end in miserable failure. "Beware of Him and obey Him." If we obeyCbrist, His guidance will bring as safely to the home which He has prepared for as. It was of the same character as those I had seen in the far east, a great square inclosure, the center filled with refuse nnd garbage, among which BttDod the camels, horses and other animals, while on the four sides were low doors opening upon the travelers' rooms. Having arranged that the sum in question should await my orders at Cook's bank in Algiers, I left Loudon for Biskra on Nov. 2, and, taking the most ex]ieditious route, that via Marseilles and Pliilipville, reached the desert town on the evening of the third day, Nov. 5. Allowing three clear days for the return journey to Algiers, where, if my inquiry failed, I must be on tho evening of Nov. 22, 1 had just 16 days before me. Bible Readings.—Ex. xii, 41, 42; xiii, 20-22; xiv, 19-28; Ps. xxv, 8-10; xxxi, 1-6; xxxii, 7-11; xlviii, 14; lxxiii, 24- 28; cxix, 105; Neh. ix, 19; Isa. xl, 25-31; lviii, 11, 12; Math, xxviii, 19, 20; Lnkei, 76-79; John xiv, 1-7. "In plain English, of cheating at cards?" Tbe flneen'a Crudllx. The crucifix with whiob Queen Victoria's name is associated has Its place In the convent of the Grande Chartreuse. This may seem strange to the uninitiated, but it is true. It is a beautiful 3llvu crucifix and has its place among the convent's treasures. It was given by the queen to a humble Carthusian monk of English nationality when her majesty visited the Grande Chartreuse some years ago. She conversed with this monk in his cell, the conversation turning upon serious matters. "Nothing less. And on the surface the case seems perfectly clear. The I charge of cheating is supported by his own confession, owning up in ho many words, signed by his own hand and duly attested. We have the notarial, authenticated copy in our hands. Here it is. Bat first read the letter that accompanied it." "He Inm given it here," mid old lihick. gest is perhaps this story. Frankly, monsieur, I hardly credit it. It fails at the very beginning. We do" not even know that Prince Stanislas has ever been in Biskra. I question that even." A little on oue side was a new arrival —one of those old tashioued hooded vans seldom seen out of France and only there in out of the way districts remote from railways and large towns They are used by quack doctors, cheap jacks, wandering photographers and the like. The proprietors of this van seemed to lombiue all these callings with that of I orso dealer, for a nutnl er of promising colts stood aronnd tethered by their fetlocks, and an old man in blue blouse *nd sabots was giving them water. Suddenly I saw him look toward the back of tho van. give a low, shrill whistle, nnd whisper: That Christ, after tho detectives of Herod and Pilate and sanhedrin had watched hiin by day and watched him by night year after year, was reported innocent. It was found out that when he talked to the vagrant woman in the temple it was to tell her to"Uo and sin no more," and that if he spoke with the penitent thief it was to promise him paradise within 24 hours, and that as he moved about he dropped ease of pain upon the invalid's pillow, or light upon the eye that lacked optic nerve, or put bread into the hands of the hungry, or tcok from tho oriental hearse the dead young man and vitalized hiin and said to tho widowed mother, "Here ho is, alive and well!" and she cried, "My boy, my boy!" and he responded, "Mother, mother!" And the sea, tossing too roughly some of bis friends, by a word easier than a nurse's word to a petulant child, he made it keep still. The very judge who for other reasons allowed him to be put to death declared, "I find no fault in him!" Was there ever a life so thoroughly ransacked and hypercriticised that turned out to lie so jDerfect a life!1 Now, can you imagine what would have been the calamity to earth and heaven, what a bereavement to all history, what swindling not only of the human race, but of cherubim and seraphim and archangel, if because of infernal incursion upon the bed of that Bethlehem babe this life of divine and glorious manhood had never been lived!' The Christie parables would never have lieen uttered, the sermon on the mount, all odrip with benedictions, nevor preached, the golden rule, in picture frame of everlasting love, would never have been hung up for the universe to gaze upon and admire. An amnsing incident oocurred in one of our courts recently. A man complained of for cruelty to animals brought in a considerable number of bis wealthy friends to assure tbe court that he ought not to be punished. After listening carefully to all these gentlemen, the court said to the man complained of: "It is very evident, sir, that you knew better than to oommit this offense. If you had been a poor man without friends I would have fined you $10; but, under the circumstances, as your friends have etated them, I shall fine you $20. Our Dumb Animals. An Upright Judge. Biskra owns eeveral hotels, but I chose tbut which had been named in the letter from A1M. do Fivas and Mirabel believing I should bo safest in the heart of the enemy's country. As I hnd my guns with me and proposed to call upon both the French commandant and the kaid, or Arab governor, as an English sportsman, eager to hunt all kiuds of game, I hoped to escape importunate curiosity. In support of this character I rode out twice with the kaid's falcons and spent a night in the desert under the Aures mountains. "Would you have known?" It was dated from the Hotel des Zibaus, Biskra, and translated ran as follows:"Asa matter of course I think he would havo come to me. I think be would have allowed me to show him some attention. In any case the hotel registers—you know our French system —would certainly have told me. No Prince de Medea has been recorded among the arrivals at Biskra, believe me. I should have beard." With heavenly weapons he ha9 fought The battles of the Lord, Finished his course and kept the faith The royal visit at an end, the monk saluted his sovereign, and the queen of England left the cell. Shortly afterward the general of the Carthusians called to him, the religious in question and banded him a beautiful silver crucifix. It was Queen Victoria's gift to the English monk in remembrance of her visit to his oell. "Our rule forbids us to possess such things," said the superior, "but keep this beautiful crucifix by you for a time at any rate." YoCR HlOHwras—It Is our inexpressibly painful tank to bring to your highness' notice the deliberately dishonest and disgraceful conduet «if your sou, Prince Mtanulas de Medea. He has been caught cheating at baccaratcaught in tile act flagrantly. This deplorable affair occurred at the Oercle el rialahin, to which the prinec was readily admitted on account of hit, rank and presumed gentlemanly character. The Babyhood of Chrlat. And gained the great reward. The sanhedrin also were affronted at the report of this mysterious arrival of a child that might upset all conventional® ties and threaten the throne of the nation Of pastor EmIUe Cook, the great French evangelist, who sat in my church in Brooklyn one Sunday morning and in % few days shipwrecked and dying after his wife bad said to him, "Cod will help fou, my dear; he will give you peace," replying, '"But I have it—peace, I have it!" Of Prince Albert, quoting with his last breath, "Hock of Ages, cleft for me, let me hide myself In thee!" Of the dying soldier who had been shot through the mouth and could not talk, and when the chaplain approached him motioned for pencil and paper and wrote: "I am a Christian, prepared to die. Rally round jheflag! Rally round the flag!" Of John Brown of Haddington, who said: "I desire to depart and be with Christ, and, hough I have lived 60 years very comfortably in this world, I would turn my hack upon you all to be with Christ, l'here is no one like Christ—no one like Christ. I h.tve been looking at him these many years and never yet could find any fault in him but was of my own making, (hough he has seen 10,(MX) faults in me Oh, what must ho be in himself when it is he that sweetens heaven, sweetens Scripture, sweetens ordinances, sweetens earth, sweetens trial." Of John Janeway, saying in his last moments: "1 have done with prayer and all other ordinances. Before a few hours are over I shall lDe in eternity singing the song of Moses and the Lamb. 1 shall presently stand on Mount 7Aon with an innumerable company of angels and with spirits of just men made jierfect and with Jesus, the mediator of the new covenant. Halleluiah!" Some one ought to preach a course of sermons on triumphant Christian deathbeds, and then let some one preach a sermon on triumphant infidel deathbeds—that is, if he can hear or read of one of this latter kind. 1 never heard of one. Do tell lis of one. There never was one. And had the babe of Bethlehem died the same week in which he was born there never would have been a triumphant Christian deathbed. It is the wonderful story of Christ, now rapidly filling the oarth, that makes triumphant Christian deathbeds. The Bethlehem star had to give way before the rising sun which was to become the noonday Sun of Righteousness."Gare! La patronne. Et patiti—et patital" "Shut tho door and bolt it and double bar it against him," cried all political and ecclesiastical power. Christ on a retreat when only n few days of age, with all the privations and hardships and sufferings of retreat! When the glad news caino that Herod was dead, and tho Madonna was (tacking up and taking her Child borne, bad news also came, that Archelaus, the son, had taken the throne—anothercrowned infamy What chnnce for the babe's life* Will not some short grave hold the wondrous infant!'" "But if he was incognito for reasons of his own?" Last night, when engaged in a friendly game, he took tin- Viank with a capital of 2.UUU franca, advanced him without question by the iterant of the club. L'p to that point he had lout steadily, but now the luck turned. It became phenomi nal. At every deal the prince won. He cleared the table. For quite an hour this lasted, but with a growing suspicion iu the mind* of several players that all was not well. We set ourselves to watch the prince. I myself was chosen to stand Is-lilnd him and at a given moment, a signal lieing made, to seize and hold his hands. " We will have the registers. Let us see if there is any one liko him on the lists. But you tell me you have yourself inquired at the hotels. I fear ihis will lead us no further." Following the direction of his signal 1 saw two yonug people flying apart with a baste that showed they were doing wrong. It was the old, old story. Love was not running smoothly, and the chief obstacle was no doubt this ftalwart female in the mini's red berretta who had just entered the caravansaryThe monk withdrew and returned almost immediately, handing his superior the crucifix with a piece of paper having the following words written upon it, "Regina dedit, regula abstulit, sit nomen Domini benedlctum" ("The queen gave it, tne rule withdraws it, may the name of the Lord be praised").—Catholic Times. An A(e of Rarrowacsa. At the same time I prosecuted my inquiries with the utmost caution. If it got wind that an agent from Prince Casimir was in Biskra, my mission might fail at tlie very outset, and the worst would happen. I was satisfied the first day to walk through the Place de la Sahara, where I did actually lind the brass plate of "La Ramie, Notary." At the door of his office or etude 1 ascertained, too, that a club called the (Jercle el Salabin existed, and that it was not difficult to gain admission to it I wonder how it would be if Jesus of Nazareth were to appear in the flesh in this age of breadths. I wonder if He would be regarded as an anachronism. Would He be regarded a£ inopportune if He were to begin talking about strait gates and narrow ways? Would He be regarded as sounding a discordant and The lists were brought, but, as the baron prophesied, tbey told us nothing. "No," he said, "I see only one spot of firm ground anywhere, a point from which possibly we may travel in the right direction." I drew near, amustd as I saw the youth snatch up a water bucket, tho i'irl hurriedly resume her task of shredding cabbages iu the pot-a-feu, while the woman—mistress or mother, probably both—called one an idle vagabond .md the other a shameless minx. " Put him to death I" was the order all up iind down Palestine, and all up and down the desert between Bethlehem and Cairo The cry was: "Here comes an iconoclast of all established order! Here comes an aspirant for the crown of Augustus! If found on the streets of Bethlehem, dash him to death on the pavement! If found on a bill, hurl him down the rocks! Away with him!" But the Babe got home in safety and passed up from infancy to youth and from youth to manhood and from carpenter shop to Messiahship and from Messiahship to enthronement, until the mightiest name on earth is Jesus, and there is no mightier name In heaven. Blaine'a Tombatone. jarring note? I verily believe that if our Master were in tbe world today and at this meeting one of the words He would revive would be this word "narrow. "—Rev. J. H Jowett. 1 did so, and immediately a puck of cardf, roncealed somewhere within his paletot, fell to the ground. It was u pack made up chiefly of "threes" and "sixes." If your highness is acquainted with the game of haccarut, the capital importance of these numbers will need no explanation. The Washington correspondent of the Chicago Tribune says: "Although against the expressed wishes of James Q. Blaine, his last resting place in Oak Hill cemetery has lDeen marked by a simple marble shaft. "The notary public?" "Exactly, M. La Ramie is * real, tangible fact—the only notary publlo in Biskra. I know him personally a little, by reputation still better, as an honorable, straightforward functionary, who would hard If lend himself to anything underhand. French notaries, as n rule, bear a deservedly high character. We had better see M. La Ramie. He can at least tell yon the truth about the confession. A rccord of the copy, made and attested, will be kept in his oftice, if it ever was made, which I doubt." "In 18W, when Walker Dlaine died, tbe magnetic -tatesman from Maine went to this ceniet ry with a friend to select a site for the burial, urDd in the center of the lot chosen the Plumed Knight noticed a gnarled and twisted hickory tree, which was blasted and dead. As Blaine looked at the tree he remarked to hip friend that it aptly represented his blasted and disappointed life and requested that nothing should mark his grave but the dead tree. His wishes in the matter were respected, and for several years it was the only mark by which the last resting place of the groat statesman could be distinguished. Play was stopped, and two of um V"ero deputed to draw up a proces-verbal describing the Then I caught the lad's face and was beld instantly spellbound. Whea He la Ahicit. But as yet I could hear of no "De Fivas," no "Mirabel." There were no such persons residing at the Hotel des Zibaus, the very place from which they wrote making the demands! Of course people might and do make use of an address that is borrowed or fictitious, yet there was comfort iu the thought that these high t6ueil gentlemen were not petsouB very well known. I think when we have read enough of tbe history of God's dealings with His people to understand that this is tbe way of Him—that if He ever is absent from His people, it is not in their time of direct need, and if ever He does reveal Himself to them, as He does not unto tbe world, it is when they are bereaved of all outward consolation and for His sake are made to bear tribulation—Spnrgeon. Of course the prince's gains were declared null and void, and he wna called upon to make restitution; also to |Day his previous louse* and the advance made by the gerant. These amounted in all to UHf! francs, and, as he had no funds, 1 discharged the debt, tuking his acknowledgment.It was undoubtedly Prince Stanislas de Medea. For all his ragged, dusty clothes, his ill kempt locks and grimy face, I recognized him beyond all question as tho original of tho photograph 1 now held in my hands. Can you imagine what a scarification of the world's literature would be the removal of all Christ ever did and saidr It would tear down the most important shelves of yonder congressional library, and of the Vatican library, and of British museum, and Berlin and Bonn and Vienna and Madrid and St. Petersburg libraries, and St. Paul's life would have been til liu|KDsslbllity, and his epistles would never have been written, and St. John, from the basaltic caverns of Patmos, would never have heard the seven trumpets or seen the heavenly walls with lsi layers of Jluuiined crystallization. Oh, wise men Df the east, 1 am so glad you did not report to the Imperial scoundrel at Jerusilem where the Dalie will for the hounds ■vould have soon torn to pieces the Umb, Dnd I am so glad that not only did you bring thj frankincense and the myrrh to :he room in tha caravansary, but that ton brought the gold which paid his travling expenses and those of Joseph and Mary In that long and dangerous flight to '!airo, iu Kgypt, and paid their lodging ind board there and paid their way hack igain! Well enough to bring to the barn f the Saviour's nativity the flowers, for hey aromatized the dreadful atmosphere if the stables, hut the gold was just then he most, important offering. So now the ord accepts your prayers, for they are the lerfume of heaven, but he asks also for the gold which will pay the expense of aking Christ to all nations. What I want to call your attention to Is your narrow escape and mine and the world's n.imiw escape. Suppose that attempt on the young child's life had been successful! Suppose that delegation of wise men, who were to report to Herod immediately after they discovered the hard bed In the Bethlehem caravansary, had obeyed orders and reported! Suppose the beant carrying the Madonna and the Child in the flight had stumbled and flung to death its riders! Suppose Archelaus had got hit, hands on the balie that Lis father had failed to fllidl Suppose that among the children dashed from the Bethlehem house tops or sejiarated bysword of the enraged constabulary Jesus had perished! We ulso prepared for your son's Kignaturo a confession ol hi.- misconduct, a copy of which, duly uertifled by a notary, is now inclosed. The original will lie surrendered to your son or to any person you may name on one condition—that you hand over in exchange a mm of £i,UM francs, to tie applied for thu relief of the poor Aral* in this oasii. "Surely it is time, piiuoe," 1 said, Accosting him nt once in English, "time that this masquerade should end. 1 Dome from your father. He fears that you are dead. lie almost wishes it, for by some mad folly you have nearly brought an indelible stain upon au ancient name." Again, 1 could not find that any prince, cettainly no Prince Stanislas de Medea, had recently sojourned in Biskia. This was also satisfactory so far as it went, yet I could not set much store by it, for princes of all categories have a fondness for incognito, and there might be good reasons why Prince Stanislas should pass under a smaller and an assumed name. I bad his photograph, reputed a good likeness, i*jd I always carried it about with me, hoping that I might run up against the origiual iu some odd corner; but not only did I never meet him, but I could hear of no one answering to his description at avCy of the hotels. We walked down without delay to the Place de la Sahara and were shown in at once. All doors opened befoie the commandant of the • -.rrison. "A few months ago the tree was blown down during a cyclone, anCV Mrs. Blaine decided to have the grave suitably marked and selected a monument exactly like the one over Walker Blaine's tomb. It is a marble shaft about eight feet high, without any inscription except the name of Mr. Blaine and the date of his birth and death." Christian Sacrifice. We think that your highness will see Unwisdom of meeting us fairly ami promptly. It can hardly be your wish that Prince de Medea, the direct heir to your ancient name and future holder of the high fortune that may some day return to your noble house, should be exiioscd as a cheat, branded as a blackguard, throughout the civilized world. It ia only out of consideration to your highness that we spare him the ignominy Ihi so richly merit*. M. La Ramie, an aged man, who was in slippers and wore a black skullcap, was most courteous and obliging, pre pared to give us aliy information in his power. But he knew nothing of a confession made by Prince Stanislas de Medea. Nothing of the sort had been brought to his etude. He had never heard of De Fivas or Mirabel. Sacrifice ia a necessary condition of eternal felicity. In tbe old Norse legend Allfadir did not obtain a drink from tbe spring of Mimir, which was reputed to be tbe fountain of wisdom, until he left his eye in pledge. If a man would be a Christian, there are always Bome things that must go. We are saved from, uot with, our sins. The old nature cannot be imported into paradise.—New York Observer. He had meant, I saw clearly, to dsny his identity, but as I went' on his eyes filled with tears, and he stammered out: "I do not understand. I have done nothing very wrong. I love her to distraction"—He Got the Shoes. Conceiving that your highness woolil w ish to avoid nil publicity, we ounwnt to receive the moneys claimed in gold. if your highness' representative will meet our* in Algiers on the iffld of November at midday in the J.-iriiUi Marengo, near the Esplanade Babel Oned. the exchange can be completed. Let htm scut himself on the seventh bench from the main entrance and wear a white hat. Unless he is •lone no stejw will be talien to meet him. Then 1 led him straight out of tho inclosure and, mi;i| to the surprise of all who met us thus arm in arm, took the princely stable boy to my hotel and heard all he had to tell. An interesting incident occurred on our streets one day recently. The pastor of one of our churches and three other men were standing on the warm side of Walsh's store building talking. The pastor bantered one of thein to trade shoes, but he declined, saying, "Yours have holes in them." Then I laid the copy before him, asking if that was not his office seal, his signature. Then, to begin on the outermost rim of my subject, Christmas festivities would never have been observed, Christmas carets never sudk. Christmas gifts never bestowed, Christmas games never played, Christmas bells never rung. What an awful subtraction from the world's brightness would have been the making of Dec. 25 like other days of the year! Glorious day 1 After brightening England and Holland and Gerinuny for centuries it stopped across the sea and pronounced its benediction on our shores. Why, we never get over our childhood Christmases! Father and mother joined in them. They forgot their rheumatisms and shortness of breath, and for awhile threw oil the sorrows of a lifetime while they struggled with us an to who should first In the morning shout the "Merry Christmas!" Then (here were all the innocent allurements as to who brought the presents, and the won derment as to how sleighs drawn by rein deer could comedown the perpendicular, and afterward the disappointment as souk older brother or sister, with all the pride of discovery, tried to |»ersuade us that tht chimney had not been the channel of gen erous descent. Oh, what times they were, the Christmases of our boyhood and girl hood days! \Ve still feel in our pulses some of the exuberance which we then un wittingly stored up for future times, when the eye might lose some of Its luster and the foot soir.e of its spring and the heart some of its reUiund. How holly and rose mary and ivy and mistletoe looked inter woven! The Puritans may not have liked the day, and John Calvin may have pronounced it superstitious and feared it would bring into religious observance the saturnalia of the heathen, the decorations of ivy inappropriate because Ivy had been dedicated to Bacchus and mistletoe inappropriate liecause mistletoe had been as sociated with Druidical rites, but we testi fy that Christmns never did us any harm, and the only objection we ever expressed was that it was so long a time from Christmas to Christmas. Ecclesiastical controversy as to whether it ought to be celebrated on the lith of January, or 29th of March, or 2Wth of September, or 26th of December did not bother us then any inure than it bothers, us uuw. U always The Itennty of Chrlntmnn. Divine Truth. "The seal, yes; the signature, no. The first has lieen stolen, I know by whoui; the second forced—undoubtedly forged, liy the same coquin, voleui, ei-croc, sacripant, faineant." The staid old notary grew purple with rage as he rolled out abusive epithets, then paled suddenly with another emotion, alarm and misgiving. "He will ruin me yet, disgrace me utterly, for who shall say where his abstractions, his misuse of my confidence, will cease?" Divine truth, like divine love, is of God—infinite, eternal, unchangeable, indestructible, as it was in the beginning, is now and ever shall be, world without end.—Rev Dr. Charles Cuthn.nMy first substantial move was made when I was admitted as a member of the El Salabin club. I at once examimd 'he list, but looked in vain for the names "De Fivas" and "MiraiDoL" There was nothing very new in his story. IIo hud been Wandering up from the coast incognito, meaning to seek adventure in the farthest limits, when he had fallen iu with these vagabond traders and bad been attracted by the pretty Yvette, who had laughed him to scorn, then dragged him at her apron strings, it hopeless and lovesick youth, prepared to play any part, accept any rough and ignoble work, only to lie near her and presshis still unrequited suit. Are you ready now for a thought that rivertowers all other, thoughts In importance and grandeurs' Pray that you may be ready It as far exceeds anything 1 have said as all the gold mines of California, developed and undeveloped, exceed the thimbleful of gold dust which in 184N a California miner brought from a mill raco and put upon the desk of a surprised capitalist. In remarking upon the narrow escape which you and I and the world made let me say that had the Herodic raid on that room of the Bethlehem khan been a successful raid or had some cold taken by the child In that flight toward Cairo been fatal heaven would have been to us an eternal impossibility With our fallen nature unchanged, unregenerated, unrecon structed through Jesus Christ, the human race would be no more fit for heaven than a noisome weed is lit for a queen's gar land, no lucre than a shattered bass viol is fit to sound in a Dusseldorf musical jn bilee. If at one time Garibaldi seemed to hold in his right hand the freedom of Italy, and Washington seemed at one time to hold in his right hand American independence, an* V»Crtin Luther teemed to hold in his rin lit hand the emancipation of the church of God for all nations, so In grander and better sense the infant born in that Bethlehem stall held in one hand the ransom of earth and In the other the rapture of heaven. He started that night for thri-e places which he must reach, or wo never could reach heaven, Gethsemane anil Calvary and Olivet, the first for agonizing prayer, the second for excruciating suffering, the thin! for glorious ascension as the law of gravitation relaxed for once to let him up out of his exile. Had his life lieen only one day or one year of duration instead of 88 years, had he died in Hethlehem or in Cairo or In the desert between, not a church would ever have been built, not a hospital ever opened, not a nation ever freed, not a civilization ever inaugurated, not. a soul saved. Oh, what a crisis that was in the world's history! Wh»t a c's'e In the eternities! I th'uk The ■VeoexHlly of f'hrlut Another said: "Well, It's too bad that a preacher in our town has to go around with such shoos. We ought to take up a collection for hiro." The slightest, suspicion of bud faith or your fail urn to comply with the conditions given on the date fixed will cause the alwolute rupture of all negotiations, and the proces-ver 1 al, ti e confession, with full particulars, shall be published in the press of every capital "t Europe. The preacher, suiting the action to the word, passed his hat, and one threw J* penny, and a third threw in a dollar, say ing, "Now, cover that." The hat w around and again, with a 1. twitting on each side, with a dollar here and a half dollar there, and one mr threw in a f5 bill, saying, "Now, oo that." ri1/«y were not members of the club, that was clear. JD» ALLNAT'°^!2l ttle of t»e Globe for f rheumatism! I NEURALGIA and Complaints, J and prepared under the stringent M t flL GEMMN MEDICAL UWS,^I He by eminent physfomnss^^M "" Mm OR. RICHTER'S fPAIN EXPELLERl ' ■ World renowned! Remarkably snccessful I ■ th BOoly genuine with Trade Mark " Anchor, oh lF- Ad. Birhtet 'Cow, 815 Pearl St., Xew York. ■ f I 31 HIGHEST AWARDS. V ■ 13 Pranoh Houses. Own Glassworks. ■ 38, - SS ud so eU. Kailorwl ud rmmmrmdr* "Dj 'it rtKSIS * PICK. SO Laamr Atrmat, 33. tt. C. SLICK. SO North Street. J. H. HOl'CK, 4 Sorlk *al. St. ■RV . PITTS TON, PA. _ ore ice M to r—DR KICHTOVS ans This to my mind knocked the bottom out of the whole story. If a gambling scandal had occurred in the club, it would surely have been dealt with by members, not outsiders. Certainly not by such outsiders, shadowy, obscure personages, of whom, after five days' inquiry, I could hear nothing in Biskra ; but there was still stronger reason to doubt the stnry. Now that I was a member 1 was in a position to ask cautiously about the case. We are, with profound respect and the aa curance of our deep and abiding sympathy, your highness' servants. I'HII.I.IIKIH UK FivAH. AmItoi.ic Mikahkl. "Was he one of your clerks?" asked the colonel. A Graveyard The confession, which was full and explicit, bore the prince's signatuie, the attestation cf the witnesses thereto, and the words "c.ipie con forme," with the seal and signature of the notary public, "La Ramie (Paul), Place de la Sahara, Biskra." Still further remarking ujion the narrow escape which you and I and the world .ad In the diversion of the persecutors rom the place of nativity, let me say that had that Herodic raid upon the swaddling •lothes been successful the world would never have known tho value of a rightuoub peace. Much has been made of the fact that the world was at pence when Christ came. Yes But what kind of a ;Deace was it? It was a peace worse than war It was the peace of a graveyard The Roman eagles had plucked out the world's eyesight and plunged their beaks through the heart of dead nations. It was :t peace like that spoken of by a dying Indian chieftain when a Christian home mlsdonary said to him, "You have been it warrior and I sup|Dose have been in many feuds, but you must be at peace with all your enemies in order to _jiio aright. " The dying chieftain replied: "That's easy enough. I am at peace with all my ene- "My first clerk, Picpns, whom I drove out of my etude some two months back for flagrant misconduct. Liar, rogue, thief, gambler, Greek, he wasted his substance and mine in every low hell, at the roulette tables iu tlio market place, in the dancing dens of the Ouled DcllaCroce must have seen him when i;tssing through Biskra. Prince Stanisas remembered the man, had met him niuday iu the bazaar and hud some difliculty in shaking him off. It was enough. The hat oontalr IIJ.'iO. The preacher afterward offered refund, but there were no takers, now wears the best pair of shoes he ct Unci in town.—tinnmierlleld (Kan.) Sun. Out of this the whole plot had grown. It originated no donbt with Delia Croce, but it must have been aided and developed by tho notary's clerk. "Do yon believe in all this?" I al once asked the partners, Black and Brightsiuith. No one had heard of it at all. It was pure invention. had been no cheating, no Prince iu the Nail." Tho returns of tho census for Franoe which was taken in March, 1897, t~ nuw been published and compared w tho statistics of the previous census, wh. was taken six years before. A year ago the number of people in Prance was P" •D:DN,9ti9, and at the 1891 census it war 095,150, so that in six years the popi timi of France had only increased by J 819 persons. Depopulation In France. "What becamo of him?" "1 heard that he had gone down to the coast, to Algiers or to Constantine, and again that he was lurking somewhere near. He was seen at Sidi Okba, drunk in the bazaar and covered with flies. Another said he had gone on to Touggourt and meant to go over to the"— But my task was not quite ended yet I had extreme difficulty iu weaning "It rings lather false," said Hnrry. "But the facts are precise, and Prince Casimir, who is our client, takes the very gloomiest view of tbe situation. He has heard nothing from his son for some weeks—mouths, indeed—and except for the letters of credit that have turned up pretty regularly—at least until six weeks ago—has had no idea of bis whereabouts. We rather think he distrusts his son, or-at least is so furiously angry at the scandal that he will Hot look at the casq calmly." clnb This conclusion relieved me of all anxiety with respect to the negotiations. The blackmailers were not to be greatly dreaded; their plot was thin and commonplace; their threats might be disregarded, and the money must assuredly not be paid. Prince Stanislas from his inamorata. He refused at first point blank to leave the van. It was not until 1 took these i?ood folk—true Bohemians, yet in their way honorable, fair dealing Biscavans —into my confidence that I succeeded in getting him away. And even this trifling increase U u apparent than real, for it has taken p entirely in the large towns and is due the influx of foreigners, such as Uelg. and Italians, who are to lie found lb creasing numbers aiuong the urban pop ulations of France. In only 24 depart ments is there any increase, in 63 depart ments there is a positive falling off, and this is more especially marked in the rural communes. But I found myself in the presence of a much more serious question. It was perfectly clear to me that something had happened to the young prince. No plot of this kind could have been set on foot without his being actively or passively concerned in it. He was a party to it, whether as victim or tool or prime mover. For a moment I wondered whether it was the last. Had this young scapegrace sought thus to mulct a father not too liberal with his supplies? * "I do not believe myself that he has left Biskra—neither he nor his fast friend and boon companion, the croupier of the Cercle el Salahin." The mother, with her strong, harsh voice, clinched tho matter at once. "He could not marry her That would not be suitable. Anything else -rnerci, monsieur; trop d'honnenr." rales, for I have killed all of them." That was the style of peace on earth *-hen Christ came, but the spirit of arbitration, which Is to garland the tomb of this century and coronet the brow of tho coming century, is consequent upon tho midnight anthem nliove Bethlehem, two bars to that music, the first of divine ascription, and the second of earthly iwtciflcatlon. "Glory to God and peace to men." In his n anhood Christ pronounced the same doctrine—" Blessed are tho merciful." Before the Bethlehem star flashed its significance the theory was, "Blessed is wholesale cutthroatery Blessed are iihose who cun kill tho iuo&t antagonists. "Delia Croce?" quickly asked Baron d'Hautrine, and I also pricked tip my CDnrs at the mention of the club. We had struck another clew. ACTIVE SOLICITORS WANTED EVERYwhere for "The Story of the Philippines," bv Murat Halsteod. commissioned by tne Government as Official Historian to the War Department The book was written in army camps at San Francisco, on the Pacific with Gen. Merritt, in the hospitals at Honolala, in Hong Knnn. in the American trenches at Manila, in tne insurant camps with Agninaido, on the deck of tne Olympia with Dewey, and in the roar of battl * at the fall of Manila. Bonanza for agents 8 .'in .fnl of original pictures taken by governn eat photographers on the spot, 'argebook. 1 jOi • prices. Big profits. Freight paid. Credit i;iven. Drop all trashy unofficial war book*. Outfit free. Address, P T. Har. bar, Sec'y, Star laaurauyo Building, Ohicag u "What is he like, this young prince? Good sort? Bad lot? Which?" I believe Yvette eventually married a fonnier (pay sergeant» in the zouaves and was handsomely dowered by Prince "Frankly, 1 am on his side. Black here"—Black was a tall, solemn chap, preternatural ly and prematurely grave, with slow voice and drooping eyelid— "has been rather against him." "This Delia Croce," my friend the colonel told me as we walked away from the notary's, "is probably at the bottom of this business. He was once in a good positiou, had money and, I believe, rank—Delia Croce is not his real name—but be lost it all at play. When he was bankrupt in cash and almost iu character, ho waa brought out Casimir. As for Prince Stanislas, he went down like a lamb to Algiers, where I left him to bear witness against the rogues who had tried to rnin him, and I returned home. Does This Strike You? Muddy complexions, nauseating breath come from chronic constipation. Earl's Clover Root Tea is an absolute cure and has beeu sold for fifty years on an absolute ffnarantee. Price 25c and 50c. Sold by all dealers. "No, no; not quite that," protested Black; "but I have tbougbt him too frivolous and fund of pleasure—not ■Seieeti* Bliie to tha obligation of No, I could not btiug myself to lx lieve this quite. It was so much more [ likely that he bad fallen a prey to some FOK S ALE.—Ten K 11* A N S for 5 cents at Irugtfista. One given relief.