Pittston Gazette

              UkPHi //. A Jlh i^4 B«tahl Wheel 1850, I TOI.. XLIXNo. 36 | Oldest Newspaper in the Wvomine Vallev PITTSTON, LUZERNE COUNTY, PA., FRIDAY, MAY 12, 1899. A Weekly Local and Family Journal. ; »1 OOM k tNi ! " .  } 1 • • • 1 ■ and the Marstons and that, for her part, she wouldn't ask either of them. Now, my father cared as little for a dnchess as any man alive, but the claret at Sangblew castle was proverbial. to luncheon. Starting again at a (evidently Sir Matthew had been hard to move), he reached my father's at 4:30 and was closeted with him until 1 o'clock. I had parted with Sylvia abont 6 and came to dinner. My father was then alone. I looked at him, but had not the nerve to ask him any questions. Presently he came and patted me on the shoulder. if he were asking the old gentleman'!' benediction, and gently inclined the bottle toward the mnalin covered month oi; the funnel. matter perfectly clear." The vioar pansed, swallowed his nut and then continued with considerable and proper pride. "In fact, although there is no reason whatsoever to think that Colonel Merridew stole the maharajah's rubies, yet any gentleman may well suppose and has every reason for supposing that Oolonel Merridew did steal the maharajah's rubies." THE SUNDAY SCHOOL. MR. EPIZOOT WILKINS. CHRISTIAN ENDEAVOR. 14—Comment by Rev. S. H. Doyle. Topic For the Week Beginning May "If only my poor nncle could be hero!" he sighed. (Jnole John had been very fond of port LESSON VII,SECOND QUARTER, INTER- Topic.—God's covenant and ours.—Ps. cy, 1-10. (A Christian Endeavor pledge meeting.) "If," said my father at the end of a long discussion, "the man (he meant Sir Matthew Marston) will make afl absolute and unreserved apology and withdraw all imputations on Uncle John's memory, I shall be willing to consider the matter." NATIONAL SERIES, MAY 14. A covenant is a mutual compact between two or more persons. Abraham and Abinelecb made a covenant. Joehna made a covenant with the people. Jonathan and David made a covenant. The covenants of Ctyd with man practically partake of the same characteristics. It is obvious, however, that in any covenant between Qod and man Qod must make the initial movement. God agrees or pledges Himself to do certain things dependent upon certain action by man. In the covenant of works He promised man eternal life on condition of perfect obedience. In the covenant of grace He promises to man eternal life, dependent iipon man's faith in Christ. God's covenant has been essentially the same in all agee, though its form has been constantly changing to suit the changed conditions of human life. At one time it wm t*e promise of the woman's seed; to Noah the promise of forbearance; to the patriarchs the promise of a son; to Moses th» premise of a prophet; to the monarchy the promise of a king; to Isaiah the promise of a suffering servant, and then at last in Christ all forms men realized. The incarnate son of God was the woman's seed, Abraham's son, David's royal child and successor and. Jehovah's servant Thns God always has and always will keep his covenant. "I shou'u be delighted to meet him!" cried Sir Matthew in genuine friendliness.Text of the Lhioi, John ztIII, 1-14. Memory Verses, 3-8—Golden Text. I«n. 1111, 3—Commentary Prepared by the Rev. D. M. Stearns. "I have made a great sacrifice for your sake, my boy, " said he. "Sir Matthew Marston and his daughter will dine here tomorrow," And he flung himself into a chair. The vicar took off his spectacles, wiped them and replaced them. My father tilted the bottle a little more toward the funnel. Then he stopped suddenly, and a strange, puzzled look appeared on his faoe. He looked at Sir Matthew, and Sir Matthew looked at him, and we all looked at the bottle. "Does old port wine generally »n«hi that noise?'' asked Sylvia. Sir Matthew tugged at his beard; my father rubbed the side of his nose with his forefinger. The vicar rose and stood between them with his hands spread out [Copyright, 1899, by D. M. Stearns.] "You might as well," I protested, "ask him to eat the rubies." 1. "When Jesus had spoken these words, He went forth with His disciples over the brook, Cedron." He had eaten the last Passover with them, He had instituted the supper which they should keep as a memorial of Him till He should again, He had spoken unto them the Words of chapters siv to zvi after he had washed their feet, He had prayed for them, they sang a hymn (Mark xiv, 26), and now in the night He goes forth with them to ftethsemane. He is rejected by His own people, whom He eame to bless, His son Israel (Ex. iv, 22; Hos. xi, 1), and they have determined to kill Him. "I believe old f5ir George did," answered my father grimly. "Hurrah!" I cried, springing to my feet I must pass over the next two or three months briefly. Thwarted love ran its usual course. Sylvia (whose interview with Sir Matthew had been even more uncomfortable than mine with my father) peaked and pined and was sent to stay with an aunt at Cheltenham. She returned worse than ever. I went to Paris, where I enjoyed myself very well, but I came back inconsolable. Sylvia's health was gravely endangered. I displayed an alartning inability to settle down to anything. We used to meet everjMlay in highest exultation and part everyday Tn deepest woe. We talked of There may still be some very old men about town who remember the duel between Sir George Marston and Colonel Merridew; there may still be a venerable lawyer or two who recollect the oelebrated case of Merridew versus Marston. With these exceptions the story probably survives only in the two families interested in the matter and in the neighborhood where both the gentlemen concerned lived and where their j successors flourish to this day. The whole affair, of whioh the dual waa the first stage and the lawsuit arose out of the disappearance of the maharajah's rubies. Sir George and the colonel had both spent many years in IhdtaTSV George oocupyibg various important positions in the company's service, the oclonel seeking fortune on his own account Chance had brought them together at the court of the maharajah of Nuggetabad, and they had struck up a friendship, tempered by jealousy. The maharajah favored both. We Merridews maintained that Uncle John was the first favorite, but the Marstons declared that Sir George beat him, and I am bound to admit that they had a plausible ground for their contention, since, when both gentlemen were returning to England, the maharajah presented to Sir George the six magnificent stones which became famous as the maharajah'a rubies, while Uncle John had to intent himself with a couple of 'fine diamonds. The maharajah could not have expressed his preference more significantly. Both his friends were passionate lovers of jewels and understood very well the value of their respective presents. Uncle John faced the situation boldly and declared that he bad refused the rubies. We, bis family, dutifully acoepted his version and were in the habit of laying great stress on his conscientiousness. The Marstons treated Marston turned homeward. I did the same. For two or three miles our way would be the same. For some minutes we were silent Then Miss Marston observed, with a sidelong glance: '.'The vicar is coming also," pursued my father, with a sigh, and he looked upat Uncle John's portrait, which hung over the mantelpiece "1 hope I have not done wrong," he added, seeming to ask the colonel's pardon in case any slight had been put upon his hallowed memory. The colonel smiled down upon us peacefully, seeming to enjoy the prospect of the glass of wine which he held between his fingers and was represented us being about to drink. For a most mysterious sound had proceeded from the inside of the bottle as my father carefully inolikied it toward the funnel. It sounded as if—but it was absurd to suppose that a handful of marbles could have found their way into a bottle of old port. "I wonder you can be so obstinate about them." "The verdict of the jury"— I began. "Oh, do let the jury alone!" she interrupted impatiently. I tried another tack. 2. " Jesus ofttimes resorted thither with His disciples." Hence JudasJMaarwail the place. One of the many times that Jesus went thither is doubtless mentioned in John vtii, 1, when every man went unto his own house, but Jesus went unto the Mount of Olives. He said that there were times when the Son of Man had not where to lay His head (Luke ix, 68). "The crust" fully. '— began the vioar cheer- "I saw you at the ball the other night" I remarked. "Did you? I didn't see yoifc" "I peroeived that you were quite convinced of that" "It's a wonderfully characteristic portrait of dear old Uncle John," said my father, sighing again. "It's not the crust," said my father decisively. 1 s  y Now, reconciliations are extremely wholesome C*ud desirable things. In this case, indeed, a reconciliation was an absolntely essential and necessary thing, since the happiness of Sylvia and myself entirely depended upon it, but it cannot, in my opinion, be maintained that they are in themselves cheerful functions. After all, they are, funerals of quarrels, and men love their quarrels. The dinner held to seal the peace between Sir Matthew and my father was not enjf.yable, considered purely as an entertainment. Both gent ft men were stiff and distant, Sylvia was shy, I embarrassed. The vicar bore the whole brunt of conversation. In fact, there were great difficulties. It was impossible to touch on the subject of the maharajah's rubies, and yet we were all thinking of the rabies and of nothing else. At last my father, in despair, took the boll by the horns. He was always in favor of a bold conrse, aa Uncle John had been, he said. "Let ns see what it is," suggested Sir Matthew very urbanely. "I've done nothing to the bottle, sir," tried Dawson. He Has Family Troubles of His Own, "Well, then, I did see yon, but how could I—well, yon know, pa was at my elbow." 3. Judas and his band came with lanterns and torches and weapons. John makes no reference to the events In the garden before Judas came—the agony, the conflict, the thrice repeated prayer and the sleeping disciples, whioh are mentioned by the other evangelists. Perhaps the reoollection of it was too much for John, and he could not write it and Seeks Mr. Cleveland For Fnrther Political Advice Concerning the Condition of His Party and the Country. My father cleared his throat arid gave the bottle farther inclination toward the fanael. A little wine trickled out and found its way through the muslin. My father smelt the muslin anxiously, but seemed to gain no enlightenment. He poured on under the engrossed gaze of the whole party. The marbles, or what they were, thumped in the bottle, and with a little jump something sprang out into the muelin. Sir Matthew stretched out a hand. My father waved him away. I was encouraged by this speech, and quite reasonably. Applejack Farm, wich iz next tu Grover "It's a horrid bore, isn't it?" I ventured to suggest. "What?" "Why, the fend." "Oh!" Cleveland's, In the stait uv Noo Gersey. Tu the Edltur. But we also may covenant with God. We may make solemn and sacred pledges to God thai we will perform certain duties in life. Every Endeavorer has made a covenant with God. The Endeavorer' s covenant is the Christian Endeavor pledge. God's attitude toward His covenant with us shonld decide for as our attitude toward our covenant with God. 1. God remembers His covenant. "He hath remembered His covenant forever." God never forgets His promises to us, but, alas, how often we forget our promises to Him I How many  ers have forgotten their solemn covenant with God. Let us take God as a model and not forget our covenant Sence ritin' mi last letter I hev bin in an oncivil fraim uv mind in konsequence uv the wa I hev bin treeted in mi own household. Wen I returned from mi late intervoo with Mr. Cleveland I found Mariar, the partner uv mi buzzum, splittin' wood and bilin' with indignashun. Wen I tride to pasgify her she becum onreezonably obstroperus and refoosed tn be konslliated. All mi efforts tu redooce her temperatoor and rekonstruckt her conversashan wuz yooseless. I tride tu explane the oncumfortable predikament the Dimicratic party wuz in throoout the kountry, and how we wur like 2 billy gotes a buttin' out each uther'j branes in buckln' agin each uther upon the silver question, but I mite ez well hev talkt tu the wind. "The Dimicrat party never hed no branes," sed that degenerit woman; "at leest the part uv it that yu represent. Eny man thet will leev hiz wife tu maul wood tu git hiz meels with and go sneekin' over tu konsult with a plade out staitsman who aint gut frends enuf to bury him, needn't talk tn me about branes. If yoo want tu git sum branes lntu yure old thik skull yu hed better kut loose from yure present demoralizin' associashuns and jine the Repnblikins. Tha kno wen it iz dalite, and tha kno enuf tu go intu the bona wen it ranea." Bi sich unkonstitooshunal rantin' she sought tu "rile" me, but I cood not afford tu hev eny permanent kwarrel with a woman who chops wood and cooks mi meels, and, besides, I rekollected thet her father wuz a low down Republikin who votes with niggers, and blud will tell. I ahode mi snpeeriur orijin and trainin* bi lettin' her bio off steem wile I sot down tu the table and sampled her cookin'. 4. They did not have to look for Him with their lanterns nor use their weapons to take Him. He knew all that should come upon Him, and He went forth to meet them, saying, "Whom seek yef" His hour had come to bear our sins, and He was ready to give Himself up. His prayer in the garden was answered. He was delivered from dying there,an angel strengthened Him, and He was ready to go on to the cross and finish the work. He knew it all before He left His home in glory. He saw His own sufferings when He by the shedding of blood provided the oofcts of skins'for Adam and Eve in Eden (Gen. iii, 21). After this there was silence again till we reached the spot where our roads diverged. I reined np my horse and lifted my hat Miss Marston looked up suddenly."My dear friends," expostulated the vicar, "pray have reason." and a smile of candid appeal on his face. " We will go on to the end," said he solemnly. And he took it up, the object that had fallen into the muslin, between his finger and thumb and placed it on his plate. "There is no reason at all to suppose Uncle John meant toPttteal them," observed my father. } "Thank you so mnchl Yes, it is rather a bore, isn't it?" And with a little laugh and a little blush she trotted off. Moreover, she looked over her shoulder once before a turn of the road hid her from my sight. "I have every reason for supposing that he meant to steal them," said Sir Matthew. It was round in shape, the size of a very large pill or a smallish marble and of a dull color, like that of rusted tin. My father poured on, and by the time that the last of the wine was oat no less than seven of these strange objects lay in a neat group on my father's plate, one lying by itself a little removed from the other. "Exactly, exactly," murmured thd vicar, "what I say, gentlemen; just what I say." "It's a confounded bore 1" said I to myself as I rode away alone. My father smiled. A moment later Sir Matthew smiled. My father slowly Btretched out his hand. Sir Matthew's hand came slowly to meet it. My father was a very firm man. I am not Sir Matthew Marston's bod, and I do not scruple to describe him as an obstinate man, bnt in this world the people who say "Yea" generally beat the people who say "No;" henoe comes progress or decadence, which yon will, and, although both Sir Matthew and my father insisted that the acquaintance between Miss Marston and myself should not continue, the acquaintance did continne. We met out hunting and also when we were not banting anything except one another. The trath is that we had laid our heads together (only metaphorically, I am sorry to say) and determined that the moment for an amnesty had arrived. It was 40 years or more since the colonel had—or had not —stolen the maharajah's rubies. Many suns had gone down on the wrath of both families. A treaty must be made. The Marston a must agree to say no more about the crime; the Merridews must consent to forgive the false accusation. The maharajah's rubies had vanished from the earth. Their evil deeds must live after them no longer. Sylvia and I agreed on all these points one morning in the woods among the primroses. "Over the mantelpiece," said he, taming to his guest, with a rather forced smile, "yon will observe, Sir Matthew, a portrait of the late Colonel Merridew. It is considered an extremely good likeness." 5. In answer to His question they said, "Jesus of Nazareth." He instantly replied, "I am He," or, more correctly, "I am," for the word "he" is In italics, indicating that it is not in the Greek. He used the name by which He had made Himself known to Moses and to Israel, "I am" (Ex. iii, 14). It is often so in this gospel. If you will notice it, see chapters iv, 26; viii, 24, etc. 2. God is impressed with the solemn and sacred character of His covenant He confirmed it with an oath, swearing even by Himself that He would perform it How lightly many Endeavorers esteem their promises to God! They would not fail to meet a friend upon appointment, yet how often they fail to keep their appointments with God. "Anyhow, 1 didn't steal the rubles." death and elopement alternately and treated our fathers with despairing and most exasperating dntifulness. The month of June found ourselves and our affections exactly where we and they had been in March. f~ "That's right!" cried the vicar approvingly. "I felt sure that you would both listen to reason." "I have placed this one apart," observed my father, pointing to the solitary marble, "because it is much lighter than any of the others. Let us examine it first." Sir Matthew examined the oolonel through .his eyeglasses with a critical stare. My father looked ap again at Uncle John. this tradition of onrs with open incre- dulity. Whatever the truth was, the maharajah's action produced no immediate breach between the colonel and Sir George. They left the ooart togeth- A daughter is, I take it, harder to resist than a son. It was for this reason, and not because Sir Matthew was in any degree less stubborn than my father, that the first overtures came from the "My uncle was a most unoommon man, Sir Matthew,'' said he. 6. '' They went backward and fell to the ground." He did nothing to them. He did not touch them, but only said, "I am." Oh, the power of His word I How little we appreciate itl How little we know it! It created the worlds, brought Israel out of Egypt, overthrew the Egyptians. There is nothing too hard for Him. These would have been all dead men, they would never have risen to their feet again had He so willed It. Yet they thought to take Him by force. They thought to kill Him, the Prince of Life. "It looks," said he, "very like what I have always supposed Colonel Merridew to have been—indeed exactly like." "I propose that we examine the six first," said Sir Matthew in a tone of suppressed excitemttit. "So I should imagine, Mr. dew," answerecLSir Matthew. Merri- 3. God's covenant is an everlasting covenant. It was not for a day, but forever. There should be more of this divine character of permanence and perpetuity in our covenant with God. My father frowned heavily. Sir Matthew's speech was open to unfavorable interpretation. "As you will, Sir Matthew," said my father gravely. And he took up one of the six that lay in a group. "The surface," said he, looking roond, "appears to be composed of tin." "And now, papa," said Sylvia, "give me the mabarajah's rubies." er, arrived together at the port of Cal- Marstons. cutta and came home together round the Cape. The trouble began only when Sir George discovered, at the moment he was leaving the ship, that he had lost the rubies. By this time Uncle John, who had disembarked a few hours earlier, was already at home displaying his diamonds to the relatives who had assembled to greet him. Into the midst of this family gathering there bant the next day the angry form of Sir George Marston. He had driven posthaste to his own house, which lay some ten miles from the colonel's, and had now ridden over at a gallop, and there, before the whole company, he charged Uncle John with having stolen the maharajah's rubies. The oolonel, he ■aid, was the only man on board who knew that be bad the rubies or where the rabies were and the only man who had enjoyed constant and unrestricted Sylvia was brimming over with delight when she met me one morning. "Papa is ready to be reconciled P'ehe cried. "Oh, Jack, isn't it delightful?" "■What, will he apologize?",! asked eagerly as I caught her hand. "A moment," said Sir Matthew. "There was a matter of £5,000." Bible Readings. xvii, l-8;xxii, 10-18; xxyi, 1-5; rrviii, 10-33; xxxv, 9-15; Joshua i, 6-9; Ps, lxxxix, 84; cxi, 1-5; Isa. liv, 10; lv, 1-8; Luke i; 68-80} Rom. xii, 1, 3; Heb vi. 10-15; viii, 6-13; x, 38, 39. "You mean," interposed the vicar, "a man of courage and decision? Yes, yes, indeed, the face looks like the taoe of just such a man." "We cannot;" said my father, "go behind the verdict of the jury." Sir Matthew turned away and took a step toward the door. We all agreed. The surface was composed of tin. A line running down the middle showed where the tin had been carefully and dexterously soldered together. Sir Matthew having felt in his pocket, produced a large penknife and opeued a strong blade. He held out the knife toward my father, blade foremost, such was his agitation. "Poor Uncle John!" sighed my father. "His last years were imbittered by the unfounded aspersions''— "Yes,"she said, with smiling lips and dancing eyes, "he'll admit that nothing has occurred to prove Colonel Merridew'a guilt if your father will admit that every sane man must have thought' that Oolonel Merridew was guilty." ••But," my father added, "I will settle twice the amount on my daughterin-law."7, 8. Again He asked them, and they answered the same as before. He said: "I have told yon that I am. If therefore ye seek me, let these go their way." He yielded Himself to them, but would save His disciples from them. He saved others; He could save Himself if He had willed it, but He could not save Himself and others too. Ho gave Himself up for us that we might live. He laid down His life for us. "I beg your pardon," said Sir Matthew politely, but very stiffly. It is often said that our work is done in these days by other pulpits, presses and churches. If it is so, the fact is our condemnation. For our work no one can do unless we fail to do it ourselves. This is a point worth dwelling on. It is the willingness to see our work done by others others their opportunity. Somebody must do the work, the Lord's work certainly. We are set to do our share. Nobody else is appointed to our task nor will be till we slight ' Our Work Dope by Others. "We will say no more about it," agreed Sir Matthew, turning back to the table. "By the unfounded but very natural That evenin' I reinforct mi kurrij bi a big drink uv applejack, and I determined tu kali on Mr. Cleveland wunst agin, and see ef he cood sa ennything thet wood soothe mi laaseratid feelins. I found him in hiz study reedta* the daili noosepapers. Assoomin' an air uv gaity, wich I did not feel at hart I litely remarkt, "Whair air we at Mr. President?" "Thet's jest whut I'm tryin' tu find out" sed he; "and I'll be kust ef I kin tell. We air all at see in an open bote without a kumpass, sale or rudder. We air a thousand miles from shoar, with our provishuns gon and nuthin' tu drink." "Thank yon, Sir Matthew," said my father in courteous and calm voice, reaching round the blade and grasping the handle. So the matter rested, and before long I saw the maharajah's rubies round Sylvia's neck, but as I Bit opposite the rubies and under Uncle Joho's portrait I wonder very much what the true story was. Uncle John was very fond of a joke. Was the letter the truth, or was it written in the hope of protecting himself in case his hiding place was by gome unlikely chance discovered, or was it to save the feelings of his descendants, or was it to annoy Sir George Marston's descendants? I cannot answer these questions. As the vicar says, there is no reason to suppose that Uncle John stole the rubies, yet any gentleman may well suppose that he stole the rubies. Uncle John smiles placidly down on me, with his glass of port between his fingers, and does not solve the pnzzle. He was an "Hum!" said I doubtfully, my father." "I'll tell My father reoeived my report in a somewhat hostile spirit At first he was inclined to find a new insult In It, and I bad grsat difficulty in bringing him to a mure lvaauaaum -non. tuo tion at last was—and I could obtain no better terms from him—that Sir Matthew should admit that nothing had occurred to suggest Colonel Merridew'a guilt, but at the same time it was conceivable that a sane man might have thought Oolonel Merridew guilty. „ "Of course, though, the colonel took them," said Sylvia by way of closing the discussion. Absolute silence now fell on the company. My father was perfectly composed. He forced the point of the knife into the surface of the object and made a gap. Then he peeled off the surface of tin. I felt Sylvia's eyes turn to mine, but I did not remove my gaze from my father's plate. Five times did my father repeat his operation, placing what was lelt in each case on the tablecloth in front of him. When be had finished his task, he looked up at Sir Matthew. Sir Matthew's face bore a look of mingled bewilderment and triumph. He opened his mouth io speak. A gesture of my father's hand imposed silence on him. 9. "Of them which thou gavest me I have lost none." This He had said In His prayer in chapter xvii, 12. Then Judas was never given to Him; he was never one of His sheep, never a saved man, for His sheep can never perish; no power can pluck them out of His hand (John x, 27-29). He will never lose any of His property. So we may keep on singing, "I know whom I have believed and am persuaded that He is able to keep that which I have committed unto Him against that day" (II Tim. i, 12). A lady told me recently that she felt so sorry for Judas because he had to do these things and oould not help it. We must remember that God is love and willeth not the death of any sinner. "Nothing of the sort!" said I, rather emphatically. it. If we do, the work will not go tindone, we may be rare of that. No matter. Spring to the task before thee, O brother; fling away doubts and fears; pat a cheerful conrage on; let the strokes fall; be rare thy share in the completed result will be as large, as important, as glorious, as thy fidelity in the work. The only way any one can take away our reward is by taking away our task, and no one can take onr task if we are prompt and willing to do it ourselves.—Universalist Leader. Sylvia sprang away from me. A beautiful, stormy color flooded her cheeks. aocess to the cabin in which they were "You say,"she exclaimed indignantly, "that you—that you—that you— that you—well, that you care fat me, and yet''— hidden. Moreover, bo Sir George de* clared, the oolonel loved jewels more than honor, honesty or salvation. The colonel's answer was a cat with his riding whip. A challenge followed from Sir George. The dnel was fought, and Sir George got a ball in his arm. As soon as he was well my ancle, who bad been the challenged party in the first encounter, saw his seconds to arrange another meeting. The cat with the whip disposed of, the accusation remained. Bat Sir George refused to go oat, deolaring that the dock and not the field at honor was the proper place for Oolonef Merridew. Uncle John, being denied the remedy of a gentleman, carried the case into the courts, although not into the court which Sir George had indicated. "It's a dri time," Bed I, hopin' he cood taik a hint; but he didn't. He wuz to much enthoosed with hiz own thots tu notis a practikal remark like thet, and he went on tu sa, "Jest see whar we air In Washinton. We her no konsert uv ackshun and no kontinooity uv purpus. It iz a scrub race, and the devil taik the hindmost. I expectid tu see mi former frends kum up in wun solid falanz and defeet the treety with Spane. But tha her plade me fer a jay, and a Noo Gersey wun et that. Ez things seamed tu be about kristallizin' tntu sum •haip to beet the administrshun along kums thet blatherskite Bryan and nocks the whole thing galley west bi advisin' the Dimicratic senaturs tu vote fer the ratifikashun ut the treety, and the wust uv it all wuz, a lot ut 'em follered hiz ad- Tice. I hed resurrected sum ut the entombed staitsmen ut our party hoo disapeered frum publik tu wen I did, and sent 'em down tu the kapital tu undoo the wurk ut Mr. Bryan, but I don't heer thet tha made eny violent impresshun on publik opinyun. I wuz deeply greeved tu hev mi suggrestshuns treeted with skorn and contoomely, and ef I cood hev had mi wa we shood hev opposed the ratifikashun ut the treety and hauld down the Amerikan flag In the Fillipeen Islands, jest ez I ordered it hauld down in How-are-ye. Wen Mr. McKinley asked 'Who will haul down the flag?' he orter bev huntid me up. I hev a record on thet subjick." "The colonel oertainly took them!" I cried hastily. When I next met Sylvia, I communicated my father's suggested modification of the terms of peace. I explained that it covered a real and most material concession."Of course he did!" said Sylvia, with a radiant smile. I assumed a most aggrieved expres si on. 10. When Jesus said, "He that hath no sword, let him sell his garment and buy one" (Luke xxii. 86), I think He was testing them, for when they said, "Lord, behold, here ore two swords," and He said, "It is enough," He certainly did not mean the 12 to have each a sword. Although there were but two, Simon Peter carried one of them. And now see the use he makes of it. Many a blundering Christian has hindered others from hearing the gospel since the dayB of Simon Peter. Are we by our lives and our testimony helping or hindering those who should be hearing of Him who died that they might live? "Papa will never agree to that" said the sorrowfully, and no more he did. man, Unole John! "You profess," said I plaintively, "to have—to have—to have—well, to have some pity on me, and yet"— "It remains," said my father, "to examine the seventh object" At any rate, the vicar was very mnch pleased with himself. Negotiations and pourparlers continued. Sylvia grew thinner. I became absent and distrait in mqpner. After a month Sir Matthew forwarded fresh terms. They were as follows: Although Colonel Merridew may not have stolen the maharajah's rubies, yet every reasonable man would naturally have concluded that he had stolen the rubiea My father objected to this and proposed to substitute, "Although Oolonel Merridew did not steal the maharajah's rubies, yet a reasonable man might not impossibly think that he had stolen the rubies." The seventh object was treated aa its companions had been. The result was different. From the shelter of the sealed tin covering came a small roll of paper. My father unfolded it. Faded linea of writing appeared on it. The Sensational Preacher. "He didn't take them!" cried Sylvia impulsively. THE END. One of the most serious obstacles in the way of the church of Christ in onr day is the sensational preacher. The freedom permitted in some churches for the eccentric utterances of men under the pretense of preaching destroys the sanctity of the pulpit and brings untold damage to the influence of divine truth among men. Egotism, the seeking of notoriety, the ad captandum  are disgusting exhibitions of a rotten humanity wherever found, but in the Christian pulpit they are criminal. No doubt all the denominations have had their mortifications in this line. If church discipline cannot be brought to bear, the weight of public opinion in the churches and out of them should be felt. Stay away from such a ministry, and let your absence be your witness.— Central Presbyterian. That matter seemed to be settled quite satisfactorily, and we passed into another.From measurements of the mean parallaxes of the stars Beta, Gamma, Eplilon and Zeta, in the Great Bear—five of the seven stars which form the Great Dipper—astronomers now obtain values ■o small as to indicate that the system formed by these stars is separated from the earth by such a distance that it is no random assertion to say that 300 fears moat be required for the light to reach ns. Distance of Stan. "How dare I tell papa?" asked Sylvia apprehensively. "I think I have managed It this time." accusations," suggested the vicar hastily.'' Unele John s hand,'' said my father solemnly. "I propose to read what be says." An action of slander was entered and "Well, I shall have a row with the governor," I reflected ruefully. "To which he was subjected," pursued my father. tried. Uncle John filled town and country with his complaints. He implored all and sundry to search him, to search his house, to search bis park—to search everything searchable. A number of gentlemen formed themselves into a jury and did as be asked. Uncle John himself superintended their labors. Np trace of the rubies was found. Sir George was unconvinced, the action went on, the jury gave the colonel £5,- 000, the colonel gave the money td charity, and Sir George Mars ton, mounting his horse outside Westminster hall, observed loudly: "Aren't they beautiful?" whispered Sylvia longingly. 11. "The cup which My Father hath given Me, shall I not drink It?" Jesus told Peter to put up his sword, and Ha touched Malchus' ear and healed him (Luke xxii, 61). The weapons of our warfare are not carnal. What a blessing that our Lord can so easily remedy our blunderings I But see what our Lord calls all this, the betrayal of Judas, the hatred of the rulers, etc.—"the cup which My Father hath given Me." Compare Acts iv, 27, 28, and learn from our great example to see God in everything and to aocept all things pleasant or otherwise. "Horrid old rubiest I wish they were at the bottom of the sea!" said Sylvia. "Or—er—may we not say, exposed himself?" asked Sir Matthew. "I wish they were round your neck," ■aid I. A glance from my father rebuked ber. He began to read what Colonel Merridew had written. Here it is: "In fact, which were brought against him—wrongly, but most naturally," suggested the vicar. "How can you, Mr. Merridew?" marmured Sylvia. Sylvia and I built hopes on this last formula, but Sir Matthew unhappily objected to it. Matters came to a standstill again, and no progress was made until the vicar, having heard of the matter (indeed by now it was common property and excited great interest in the neighborhood), offered his services as mediator. He said that he was a peacemaker by virtue of his office and that be hoped to be able to draw up a statement of the case which would be palatable to both parties. Sir Matthew and my father gladly accepted his friendly offices, and the vicar withdrew to elaborate his eirenioon. That old fool Mars ton having made the life of everybody on board the ship a burden to them on account of hia miserable rabies and having dogged my footsteps and spied upon my actions in a most offensive manner, I determined to give him a iesaon. so I took these stones from his cabin and carried them to my house. I was about to return them when he found his way into my house and accused me —me, Colonel John Merridew—of being a thief. Wbat followed is known to my family. The result of Sir George's intemperate behavior was to make it impossible for me to return the rubies without giving rise to an impression most injurious to my honor. I have therefore plsccd them in this bottle. They will not be discovered during my lifetime or in that of Sir George. When they are discovered, I request that they may be returned to his aon with my compliments and an expression of my hope that he is not such a fool as his father. Matters looked as unpromising as they well oould. Sylvia was on the point oi bursting into tears, and my thoughts had again turned to an elopement. My father rose suddenly and held out hit baud to Sir Matthew. Again he had decided on the bold oourse. The distance of Beta and Zeta is Tonnd to be at least 4,000,000 times greater than that which separates the larth from the sun, and from calculations made by M. Hoffler the star Eplilon of this group is calculated to be 40 times brighter than Sirius. "I oould say a great deal more than that!" I cried. But the would not l«t me. Now, aa I went home from this interview I was, I protest, more filled with regrets that the maharajah's rubies oould not adorn and be adorned by Sylvia's neck than with apprehensions as to the effect my communication might have upon my father. Whether Oolonel Merridew had stolen them or not became a subordinate question. The great problem was, Where were they? Why were they not round Sylvia's neck? I suffered a sense of personal loss hardly less acute than the emotion that had brought Sir George Marston posthaste to the colonel's house 40 years before. I was so engroeeed with this aspect of the case that, as my father and I sat over our cigarettes after diaaer, I exclaimed inadvertently: A few years ago Professor Pickering of the Harvard college observatory deduced from spectroscopic observations of the star Eta Urs® Majoris—Mizar, the middle star in the handle of the dipper—that its distance is about 150 light years, an estimate with which these later determinations of the distances of the other dipper stars accord (airly well. "Let ns gay no more about it," he cried generously. 12. They took Jesus and bound Him. Judas actually kissed Him (Mark xly, 45). "And Jesus suffered it, merely saying, Betrayeth thou the Son of Man with a kiss?" (Luke xxii, 48.) Oh, how much He bore for us! What unjust conduct and seemingly unendurable indignities! And we who bear His name and rejoice to be redeemed by His prvcious blood find it so hard to bear just a little for Him, and when it is anything very unjust or unkind we are to refuse to put up with it, forgetting Him who when He was reviled reviled not again; when He suffered, He threatened not, leaving us an example (I Pet. ii, 23). Prayer For Colleges. "By , he stole them all the nmei" "With all my heart!" cried Sir Mat thew, springing op and gripping hit hand. Now thet wuz a littel tu much fer me tu endorse. I perfess tu be a patriotik Amerikin, ef I em a Dimicrat, and tu heer a man boastin' uv haulin' down the old starz and stripes wuz enuf tu maik the blud bile in mi Tanes. So I pluckt up kurrij and sed, "Mr. President, yu air rite. Yu heT a record thet the kountry wunt forgit, and I dout ef eny president ut these Yoonited Staits will eTer want tu taik it awa frum yu." Our colleges for the most part were founded by Christian men. The great universities of the world were religions in the origin. Our American colleges were theological before, they were biological or philosophical or sociological Institutions. In most of the charters of the older institutions of learning religion holds a prominent place. What the fathers planted posterity should foster. Prayer for colleges is bnt the expression of this important tinth.—Christian Intelligencer. With this the story ended for the outer world. People were puzzled for awhile and then forgot the whole affair, bnt the Marstons did not forget it and would not be consoled for the loss of their rubies. Neither did we, the Merridews, forget. We were very proud of our family honor, and we made a point of being proud of the oolonel also in spite of pertain dubious stories which hung about his name. The feud persisted in ail its bitterness. We burial scorn at one another across the space that divided us, we were bitter opponents in all public affairs and absolute strangers when we met on private occasions. My father, who succeeded his uncle, the oolonel, was a thoroughgoing adherent of his predecessor. Sir George's son, Sir Matthew, openly espoused his father's cause and accusation. Meanwhile no human eye had seen the maharajah'a rubles from the hour at %hioh tbey bad disappeared from the cabin of the East Indiaman Elephant. The vicar's eyes beamed through hit spectacles. I believe that I touched Sylvia's foot under the table. "We will," pursued my father, "remember only one thing about the colo- j nel, and that is that one bottle remains of the famons old pipe of port that hi laid down. In that, Sir Matthew, let us bury all unkindness." The vicar was a man of great intellectual subtlety, which he found very few opportunities of exercising. Therefore he enjoyed his new function extremely and was very busy riding to and fro between our house and the Marstons'. Sylvia and I grew impatient, but the vicar assured us that the result of hurrying matters would be an irremediable rupture. We were obliged to submit and waited as resignedly as we could until the terms of peace should be finally settlrl. At last the welcome news came that the vicar, lying awake on Sunday night, bad suddenly struck on a form of words to which both parties could subscribe with satisfaction and without loss of self respect. I called on the vicar before breakfast on Monday morning. He greeted me with evident pleasure. John Mirridkw, Colonel. Continued silence followed the reading of this document. The maharajah's rubies glittered and gleamed on the tablecloth. My father looked up at Uncle John's pictura To my excited fancy the old gentleman seemed to smile more broadly than before. My father gathered the rubies into his hand and held them out to Sir Matthew. When They May Be Made Useful. "Always do right, and your friends will stand by you." "I think," rejined Mr. CleTeland, "thet liTin' next nabur tu me fer awile will reTolooshunize yure idees if yu are in a reseptiv fralm uv mind. But tu return tu the politikal sitooashun. The cards seemed tu be stockt agin us doorin' the late deel tu defeet the ratifikashun ut the Spanish treety. Aguinaldoo faled tu perform hiz part at Manila, his representatiT, Agoncillo, run awa frum Washington doorin' the nite wen he wuz most needed, and the Republikin insurgents in the senate wuz not ez noomerus ez we expected." "My dear sir, I ask no better," cried Sir Matthew. "Yes, but the time a man needs friends to stand by him is when he does wrong. "—-Chicago Record. 13. Having bound Him, they led Him away to Annas first, the father-in-law of Caiaphas, viie high priest. Thus He was brought as a lamb to the slaughter, and es a sheep before her shearers is dumb, so He openetl not His mouth (Isa. liii, 7). Just think of hands being tied that were ever being stretched forth to heal and bless and ungodly men leading to death their Creator and Redeemer! It was all in the plan for our redemption and must be carried out. Gestmre* Vemi Thoughts. "How splendidly they'd have suited her, by Jove!" The heavens brightened, or was it Sylvia's eyes? The butler alone looked perturbed. Three butlers had lost theii situations in our household for handling the colonel's port iD a manner that lacked heart and tenderness. "I cannot bear a callous butler," my father used to Ray. The orator who makes gestures so waving and graceful that attention is called to them will often excite admiration. But. commonly, there will be a corresponding decrease hi the hearers' estimate of the orator as a thinker and a truth teller. —Christian Register. Realat the Devil. Whenever anybody in our family spoke of "they" or "them" without further identification he was understood to refer to the maharajah's rubies. "You have heard Colonel Merridew's message, sir," said my father. "There is, I presume, no need for me to repeat it. Allow me to hand yon the rubies." The great enemy of God and man is of course the sworn foe of every good work. Among the causes which he heartily hates and persistently opposes is that which carries the glad tidings of salvation to the heathen and seeks to lift up to life and hoiDe the benighted of the earth. Missions to the heathen are bo entirely unselfish, in such perfect accord with the purposes of heaven and likely to be so influential in extending the reign of the Lord that it is not wonderful the great conspirator plots and schemes and strives in every conceivable way to discredit and defeat all such enterprises. —Lutheran Observer. "Whom would they have suited?" asked my fhtber. Sir Matthew bowed stiffly, took the maharajah's rubies, oounted them carefully and dropped them, one by one, into his waistcoat pocket. "Why, Sylvia Marston," I said. When 70a have an awkward disclosure to make, there is nothing like committing yourself to it at onoe by an irremediable discretion. It blocks the way back and clears the way forward. My mention of Sylvia Marston defined the position with absolute clearness. "Fetch," said my father, "the last bottle of the colonel's port, a decanter, a corkscrew, a funnel, a piece of muslin and a napkin. I will decant Sir Matthew's wine myself." "Thet la the trubble, Mr. President," sed I. "We her all the time bin relyin' on tn meny things that didn't happen. Oar friend, Mr. Aguinaldoo, classikallv speekin', 'bit off more Chan he cood chaw' wen he undertook tu drive the Amerikins out uv Manila. If I her bin korrectly informed it wuz Dewey and Otis hoo did the drivin', while he only did the tryin'." WW of the Globe for | RHEUMATISM,! K JiJiU KAIiGIA and «imHar Own pi tints, I Ud prepared under the stringent MEDICAL LAWS.^ ■Wjfry pr»8cn bad by eminent physicians Rfi) OR. RICHTER'S (Km " ANCHOR  fPAIN EXPELLERl | World renowned! Remarkably saccewful! 1 ■Only genuine with Trade Mark " Ancnor/'M llF. id. Biehter 'Co.. 816 Pearl St., New York. ■ J 31 HIGHEST AWARDS. ■ 13 Braach Houses. Own Glassworks ■ H MwiI lad rnnoM bj ■ f ABKIB • PICK, SO Lawn* *»•»■•D «.C.«UCK, MHwUBaUBtrMt, J. H. Hocrl, 4 Korth Biia 81. PITTS TOR, I *« ANCHOR" STOMA C FJH, best for I T Btoamch Omglafaf. I 14. This Caiaphas, as the high prie«t, had been permitted on one occasion to utter a prophecy that Jesus would die for the nation (chapter xi, 49-52), but it was by the Spirit of God he said it. Do not think this strange, for consider the wonderful words uttered by the Spirit through Balaam. i "Take away that bottle of port," said my father. "The tin will have ruined the flavor." A train of oironmifanoet now began which bade fair to repeat the moving "Yes," said he, rubbing his hands contentedly, "I think I have managed it this time." And he hummed a light hearted tune. "Sir Matthew's wine!" Could there have been a more delicate compliment! "What shall I do with it, air?" asked Dawson. — tragedy of Verona in one corner of the world, I myself being oast for the part of Borneo. As I was following the hounds one day I came upon a young lady who had suffered a fall, fortunately without personal injury, and was vainly pursuing her horse across a sticky plow. I caught the horse and led him to his mistress. To my surprise, I found myself ia the presence of Miss Sylvia Marston, who had walked by me with a stony face half a hundred times at oounty balls and suchlike social gatherings. She drew back with a sort of horror on her extremely pretty face. I dismounted and Btood ready to help her Into the saddle. "What's Sylvia Marston to you?" asked my father scornfully. "The colonel," my father continued, "purchased this wine himself, brought it home himself and, I believe, bottled a large portion of it with hisown hands." "Whatever yon please," said my father, and, looking up again at Unole John's picture, be exclaimed in an admiring tone: "An nnoommon man indeed ! How few would have contrived so perfect a hiding plaoe!" "What is the form of statement?" I asked, for I could scarcely believe in the good news of his success. GLEANINGS. "Yea," sed Mr. Cleveland, thotfully; "all our allies in thet part uv the world hev fared alike. The most uv our Spanish frends wui obliged tu go tu the bottom uv the sea last May and remane thare, and I sumtimes think tha made a big mistake wen tha tackled a man tha coodn't lick. It alwai seems more staitamanlike, and shows more dipiomasy, tu pitch ontu sumbuddy that yu kin git awa with without enkounterin' tu much opposiahun. I sumtimes feer thet sum sich fate will overtaik our politikal solgers hoo are linin' up fer battle in 1900. We air in bad ahaip fer a piched battle. Our lines air wobbly, our ammoonishun don't fit the guns, the rank and file air demoralized, and the most uv our field kommanders kant be trusted tu du mi biddin'. Ez tu the koininander-in-chief, mi clames air dispooted, and infeeriur men air tryin' tu thrust themselves tu the frunt, with blud in their ize and a determinashun to leed the processhun. Wen I remark the ingratitood nv the men hoo air givin' ade and kumfort to sich organized foragin' on mi domane I am disgusted with our foocher prospecks. "The whole world and morel" I answered fervently. "He could not have been better employed," said Sir Matthew cordially. But I think there wan a latent hint that the colonel had sometimes been much worse employed. Many appear outwardly righteous before men. They are honest, upright, influential, respected, cultured and many of them wealthy, but when externals are removed and the secrets of the heart are known it shull be found that interiorly one belongs in the heavens, the other in the internals. "One shall be taken, and the other left"—Rev. E. D. Daniels in Helper. The Difference, The highest house In Paris haa eight stories. My fa ther rang the bell for coffee. When it nad been served, he remarked "Why, this," answered the vicar. "Although there was iio reason whatsoever to think that Oolonel Merridew stole the maharajah's rubies, yet auy gentleman may well have supposed and had every reason for supposing that Oolonel Merridew did steal the maharajah's rubies." London's record of deaths by vlolenoe was 3,514 last year, being 124 above the average of the preceding ten years. • "I think you had better take a run on the continent for a few months. Or what do you say to India? My Unole John"— "Sylvia," said Sir Matthew, "get your cloak." Then he turned to my father and continued, "If, air, to be an expert thief"— Dawson appeared with the bottle. He carried it as though it had been a baby, combining the love of a mother, the pride of a nurse und the uneasy care of a bachelor. A ]Dearl diver considers it a good day's f ork if ho collects anything over 800 shells. A thousand shells Is the record of one day. My father sprang to hia feet Sylvia caught Sir Matthew by the arm. I waa ready to throw myself between the enraged gentlemen. Unole John railed broadly down on ns. The vioar looked up with a mild smile. He had taken a nut and was in the aot of craoking it "Mind you, I don't believe he took them," I interrupted. "If you did, I shouldn't be sitting at the same table with you," observed my father. "That seems—er—very fair and equal," said I, after a moment's consideration.Some continental governments make money through lotteries. Prussia raised 44,000,000 last year and Italy secured £2,500,000 by such means. "You have not shaken it?" asked the father. "But she's the most oharming girl I ever saw," I remarked, returning to the real point "I think so, my dear young friend," said the vicar complacently. "I imagine that it will put an end to all trouble between your worthy father and Sir Matthew." "Upon my word, no, sir," answered Dawson earnestly. The poor man had a wife and family. They have very little in this world, but a great deal in the next. They take short views of this life, but long views of the life to come. They have the knack of setting open the windows of their souls for the Sun of Righteousness to stream in.—Theodore L. Cuyler. D. D. The Window* of the Sonl A 5-year-old Philadelphia boy fell out if a third story window, and his life was saved by lighting on a man wearing a silk hat. The hat was ruined. "My groom is somewhere," said she, looking around the landscape. "Dear, dear," said he, "what'a the matter?" "I don't follow the connection of your thoughts,'' said my father. My father gripped the bottle delicately with the napkin and examined the point of the corkscrew. "Anyhow, I didn't steal the rubies," said I. The truth is that in each of the half hundred occasions I have referred to 1 had regretted that the feud forbade acquaintance between Miss Marston and myself. I was eager (o assuage the feud as far as she and I were concerned. "Hir Marston-" said bit fa. inur, ventures to accuse tne late woionel Merridew of theft, and that in the house which was Colonel Merridew'a." The Egyptians bestowed great labor on their tombs and little on their homes. They regarded the latter as mere temporary abodes, but the former they looked on as eternal habitations. There are one or two points that deserve mention here. The Marston property was a very nice one. Combined with ours, it would make a first olass estate. Sir Matthew bad no son, and Sylvia was bis only daughter. To be personally opposed in everything by a neighbor is vexatious. My father was not really a convinced Home Ruler and had only appeared on platforms in that interest because Sir George was such a strong Unionist. Finally, the duchess had said that her patience was exbaust- With tb» auBbUM of tfc* Ibnidm "I'm sure it must," I agreed. "I have modeled it," pursued the vicar, holding out the piece of paper before him and regarding it lovingly— "I have modeled the form of it on"— "It would be a great pity, "he ob served gravely, "if anything happened to the cork." "Mr. Merridew," said Sir Matthew in a oold, sarcastic voice, "must admit that any other explanation of the colonel's action is—well, difficult, and that in any house, whether Colonel Merridew's or another's." ACTIVE SOLICITORS WANTED F.VERYwhere for "The Story of the Philippines," by Murat Halstead, commissioned by the Government as Official Historian to the War Department The book was written in arm; camps at San Francisco, on the Pacific with Gen Merritt, in the hospitals at Honolola, in Hong Kong, in the American trenches at Manila, in tne Insnretnt camps with Aguinaldo, on the deck of the Olympla with Dewey, and in the roar of battli at the fall of Manila. Bonanza for agents Br in fnl of original pictures eo by governs «at photographers on the • ot l arge book. 1 • srioes. Bi»- profits. Freight paid. Cr*du L'ivwi. Drop all trashy unofficial war books. Ontflt free. Address, F T. Barbae, SacStar Insurance Building, ctroago. Nothiog happened to the cork. With infinite delicacy my father persuaded it to leave the neck of the bottle. Sir Matthew was ready with decanter, funnel and muslin. POLITICAL QUIPS. My remark produced an extremely haughty expression on the lady's face. I stood patiently by the horses. The absurdity of the position at last struck my oompanion. She accepted my assistance, although grudgingly., I mounted with all haste and rode beside bar. We were "On the Thirty-nine Articles," I suggested thoughtlessly. HOUSEHOLD HINTS. A drink of warm sage tea will often soothe a restless child. Few candidates can resist the temptation to construe a big registration as a compliment to themselves.—Baltimore Herald. And then the grate man got up and left me wile a nigger let me out uv the house. "Not at all," said the vicar sharply. "On parliamentary apologiea" EPIZOOT WILKINS. As may be supposed, Sylvia and I spent a day of feverish suspense, mitigated only by one another's company. The vicar rode first to Sir Matthew's. u» — nhnii ttum at lSjtfl knd mmkiaM) "We must take care of the crust," remarked my father, and we all nodded solemnly. "My dear friends," expostulated the vicar, "pray have reason. The presence nf these—er—articles in this bottle of port, taken in conjunction with the explanation afforded by the late Onlrral Merridew'a tatter, makes the whole Pickles or vinegar will not keep in a jar that has ever had any kind of grease kept in it. Admiral Dewey says that a sailor cannot he a politician. Yet a good many politicians today are all at sea.—Boston Advertiser.If yon want the best, bay the Columbia or Hartford. Call and see our wheels and (at a oakafrgna. They an tm. Staoh'e Pkaimaoy, Waat Ktiatoa] tf 'When using an egg beater, do not keep Ik In one place all the time, but move it about the bowl. My father oast hia eyes up to Unolt John's portrait for an instant much at