St. Joseph County Independent, Volume 13, Number 23, Walkerton, St. Joseph County, 3 December 1887 — Page 1

VOLUME XIII.

A MODERN MAGDALEN. BY M. C. FARLEY, i CHAPTER XVIIL MADAM'S will.

R. FREDERIC BOLTON chafes in spirit as the news of Madam’s sudden death reaches him. He knows now that all hope of a recon iliation with her is at an end. No matter how truly he may have repented of past follies; no matter about the many 'resolutions he has made for future

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good conduct. Madam is deal, and there is absolutely no show now for his being remembered in her will. More is the pity. The Captain will fall heir to all the property,, there is no doubt about that, unless Loo Mr. Bolton seizes his hat as the possibility of Loo's chances comes to his mind. He rushes away to the o Fee of Toby, Madam’s lawyer, and in defiance of etiquette, or public opinion, or what “they” would say, determines to ask the lawyer how Madam has disposed of her money. Mr. Toby, however, is not in. He has gone away, and does not return for some d ivs subsequent to the time appo nted for Madam’s funeral, and, perforce, Mr. Bolton has to curb his curiosity and smother down his anxieties as best he can for the time being. As a “blood relat on” and the father of Miss Loo, Mr. Frederic 1 olton appears at the funeral of his late aunt. He is a gentleman in appearance, aifd Capta n Hazard rather warms to the profligate as the two meet in the darkened rooms at Bywater Bark. “But for me he would inherit the property,” the Captain thinks, as he “Suppose you read that last line over.’’ looks at his vis-a-vis. “How he must hate me.” But Bolton is entirely too lazy to feel so strong an emotion as that of hatred. So, while he envies his more fortunate rival, and curses his own ill-luck, he feels no other pang, as he congratulates the Captain beforehand on his prospective good fortune. The funeral over, Mr. Bolton takes his daughter and makes ready for their speedy return to the old rooms in Mrs. McGillicuddy’s boarding-house. Fut this the Captain objects to so ~ strenuously that Bolton, nothing loath, consents to remain at Bywater Park, until after the reading of Madam’s will, any way. Madam had rested in her stone grave just three weeks when this important event transpired. One morning Mr, Toby notified Madam's bereaved relatives that, agreeably to the wishes of his late client, he would, on a certain day of a certain week, in a month that had been particularly specified by her, njake known her last will and testament to her heirs. Promptly at the time and place mentioned the lawyer appears, with the allimportant document in his hands. Mr. Toby is a roly-poly man, with a frosty mustache and a shining poll. He is a Presbyterian in creed, a lawyer by profession, and a Democrat in politics, and for years has been the chief manager of Madam’s business affairs. He ' now stands in the back parlor at By- ; water Park, with the late Madam's three heirs before him, and her last will and testament lying on a table close by. The Captain glances covertly at Loo as the lawyer takes up the document, and, unrolling it, proceeds to read i therefrom. As Mr. Toby reads he cannot help but feel the amazement that is depicted : upon the faces of his auditors as they j listen to the provisions of that remark- I able document. Mr. Toby reads to the end of the last page. Not a word is spoken by any of the three as he looks over the top of the sheet, momentarily expecting a burst of indignation from one or all of them together. Utter silence greets him, as Mr. Toby finishes his reading and looks about him, The will has taken them all by surprise. Mr. Frederic Bolton’s face is expressive of p’acid satisfaction. There is a look of intense astonishment on that of Captain Hazard, and Loo has turned scarlet, pers stcntly avoiding the Captain’s eye. Still, she is calm enough, to all outward appearance, and, experienced old stager that Captain Hazard is, he can detect in that quiet exterior but little sign of the raging fires that stir her blood as the lawyer finishes the document, and pauses with an expectant look at the two persons most interested • in the bequest. '1 suppose,” begins Mr. Toby, “that you consent to the terms of the will.” “Os course they do,” cries Mr. Bolton, joyously. “They will be a pair of fools if they refuse/ “Um—er— suppose you read that IM clause over again,” ventures Hay-

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ard. “I don't believe I undertand it very well.” Mr. Toby again unrolls the parchment, and, adjusting his glasses, proceeds to read in a monotonous tone: “And, lastly, I, Evelyn Dundas, being of sound mind, and of my own desire, hereby revoke all former wills made by me and pronounce them null and void. I herewith give and bequeath—cn the conditions stated below—to Captain Hazard and my grandniece, Lou sa Bolton, daughter of Frederic Bolton, all my bonds, stocks, mortgages, plate, pictures, furn ture, the fifty thousand dol ars in the Murrayville Bank, and the estate called By water Park, to share and share alike, subject to this condition, viz. : “That, within six months from the date of my death, they marry each other, and reside, as I have done, at Bywater Park. “However, if from any cause either refuses to comply with this condition, I revoke the bequest; and, instead, the stocks and bonds, tho mortgages, plate, pictures, furniture, the fifty thousand dollars in the Murrayville Bank, with the estate called Bywater Park, are bequeathed to the Government, to be applied in payment of the national debt.” Mr. Toby clears his throat, and Hazard takes advantage of tho pause and glances at his fair vis a vis. She looks stony. The Captain is staggered. Loo certainly doesn’t seem to be an over-ripe plum ready to drop at the first shaking of the tree. She rather looks as if she would enjoy throwing over their chance of inheriting the money and dooming them both to poverty. The Captain has a beggarly pension and expensive habits, and Loo has the expensive habits without the beggarly pension. Without Madam's money they are poor as church mice, and likely to remain so. “ Well?” says the lawyer, inquiringly. “Fr—er—it seems a good deal like crowding the mourners. Eh, Toby r” responds Hazard, helplessly. Mr. Toby coughs. “Os course you can act your own pleasure about complying with the terms of the will.” “Not exactly,” says Hazard, shaking his head doubtfu ly. “I admit that so far as 1 am concerned nothing would suit me better than to call Miss Loo here my wife. But the vouag lady ” Loo shoots the Captain an angry glance. Ho hesitates—stops. “If the young lady refuses she will | have the pleasure of knowing sho has thrown away a fortune,” Mr. Toby blandly remarks. Mr. Toby has no patience with a contumacious woman. Moreover, the fat little lawyer is a 1 emocrat, with an ardent desire to see that public debt melt away entirely during a Democratic administration. lie rather hopes j I his late Client’s heirs will adopt the ! high-handed alternative, and let the ; Government be the beneficiary. Hazard hesitates for a moment, then i he approaches Miss Bolton. There is something in the Captain’s eyes and in his manner that forces a conviction in the lawyer’s mind unfavorable to the Government's chances as heir-at-law to the Dundas bequest. “There is no great hurry about arriving at a decision,” says Mr. Toby, shortly. “Anytime within six months will be soon enough.” “There’s no time like the present,” ejaculates Mr. Bolton, his hopes rising, phoenix-like, from the ashes of his late despair. ' Let’s give ’em a chance to talk the matter over. It is best to strike while the iron is hot, you know.” Mr. Toby puts the parchment in a tin box. Then he takes up his hat, and Bolton accompanies him to the door. I The door opens, closes, and Madam's two heirs are alone together. CHAPTER XIX. KQW THEY DECIDE IT.

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| heart toward the Captain, and made [ that will accordingly. The will is doubly abominable, inasmuch as it throws the Captain’s future interests entirely in Loo’s hands, and forces the Captain into marriage with her, with I poverty as the only alternative. ; “You see that you are in for it, Miss i Loo,” begins the Captain, commeerI atingly. “My interests are at your i mercy, and blessed are the merciful. I i hope you will keep that in mind when । you decide the case.” i' -There is nothing left for me to deI cide,” says Loo, shortly. “The matter has been arranged beforehand. ” “That is. Madam has taken it for granted that we will agree to her plan, and ha' anticipated the natural result.’ “Madame certainly expected us both to refuse to obey the conditions of the will. She never believed, if you do, that -we would allow ourselves to be thrown at each other’s heads like blocks of wood, all for a little money,” Loo cries, bitterly. “But I am not being thrown at you,” says the Captain, stoutly. “I am anxious for the consummation. I will not refuse to fulfill the conditions of the will, for they are agreeable to me.” “They are not so to me.” Hazard sits down, feeling very much as if a wet blanket had been thrown over him. He has never been quite sure of Miss Loo; still, there have been times when he has taken courage and honed that all would come right in the course of time. The present attitude | doesn’t argue very favorably for his \ hopes. Hazard wonders vaguely to i himself what there is about him that is Iso very objectionable to J 00. Other : girls But here he bites his lip, i and changes the current of his thoughts, ! for the vision of Littlptmld rises up hs/ 1 fore Mnp

WALKERTON, ST. JOSEPH COUNTY, INDIANA, SATURDAY, DECEMBER 3,1887.

“You refuse to marry me?” Will she refuse? She asks herself the question. Every impulse of her heart prompts her to accept him. She knows well enough that until she came to Bywater Park the Captain w’as Madam’s declared heir that the objectionable will is of late origin. If she refuses to be his wife she plunges him into a poverty he never would have known but for her sake. On the other hand, his egotism is so great, that if she should consent, will he not suspect the secret she has guarded so jealously ? Rather than that he should know sho really loved him irrespective of fortune, Loo had rather lose all. Shall she refuse? Poverty is their portion if she does. She knows well enough the Captain has no trade or profession, and no prospects save those he has been taught to look for as the heir of Bywater Park. To refuse now is to strip him of all the appanages he has for years considered h s very own. To refuse is to doom herself forever to the third-floor back bed-rooms —the sham pianos <f tho McGillicuddy regime; to endure a greater poverty than she has yet known, and, perhaps, to see her Bp With the Captain's arms about her. father end his wretched life in the almshouse. These reasons marshal themselves in line before her as the Captain again repeats, in a tone of disappointment : “Then you refuse to be my wife?” Loo shuts her teeth; she looks at Hazard, an I her resolution is taken. “No,” she says, “I do not.” A red fame leaps into his sallow cheeks. Whether it is caused by a feeling of satisfaction or disappointment is impossible to guess. “I will marry you,” Loo says again, “but yon are not to suppose that any other than a mercenary motive actuates me in consenting to a marriage with you. You are iot to suppose that I am ” Then she breaks of suddenly, and a j light dawns on the Captain’s mind. "I won't suppose anything, Lo >. I | know—it’s those terrible iiiita.tions — Imy awful egotism. I stopped all those j things when you came to Bywater i Park. But I deserve a great deal; don’t sp ire me. ” “No,” says Loo, hysterically, “I won’t. ” And then she breaks down completely. More than an hour has elapsed since Mr. Holton ami the lawyer left the Aladam’s heirs alone in the back parlor. to arrive at a conclusion. Mr Frederic Bolton has passed away the time in pacing up and down the hall outside the parlor door, momentarily expecting to see either Lou or the Captain emerge from the room to announce their decision. Air. Bolton becomes impatient at i last. He coughs. Nobody comes. Then he carefully approaches the door itself, and coughs again. Still nobody comes. Air. Bolton is consuming with impatience. He wonder-; if Lou will be so foolish as to i throw away an inheritance like that of i Bywater Park. If she does she is no ; true daughter of his. So far as Bolton ' is concerned personally, he would not hesitate to make a marriage himself, ' providing the pill was gilded highly | enough. : He can wait no longer. His curiosity is burning him up. He tap. at the door. Silence. Air. Bolton feels a natural alarm. Perhaps they are dead. He turns the door knob softly and • peers through a crevice as tho door | swings ge.itly back. He need feel ;no alarm. The first words that salute ) the ears of the anxious parent dissipate . his fears. I He sees Loo standing by the long ; window with the Captain’s arms about her, and she is quoting, evidently in response to some confession of his follies which the Captain has just made: “They s iv. best men are molded out of faults ; And, for the most part, become much more the better For being a little bad.” Air Frederic Bolton whistles softly beneath his breath. He shuts up the door as carefully as he has opened it, Snd goes away with his mind at rest. He knows now, quite as well as Air. Toby knows a few hours later on, that Bywater Park will remain in possession of the natural heirs. [THE END ] The other evening I was dining with a friend who has a daughter—a pretty little tot of four years—who is very fond of ice-cream. AVhen the dessqyt was served she got her share of the frozen dainty and immediately put a big lump in her mouth. Her tongue was of course immediately numbed by the cold morsel, and when she had worried it down she said: “Alamma, mamma, me can’t talk any more; my mouth’s asleep.”— New York Star. Fiist Chicago Woman—Excuse me, but would you tell me your name? Second Chicago Woman—Really, I do not know. I have not heard from the court-house to-day —D' troll Free rrc.<,s. ANew York cynic is of the opinion that many a woman never sheds a tear unless her dressmaker spoils her dress. —The Epoch. —A Texas photographer advertises to ‘takp a photograph as quick aa a oan kieL Burlington

EFT alone i with each oth- ; er, Loo rises i to her feet : and marches . pro ud 1 y u p I and down the ! room. She is I humil i a t ed and angry. She wonders if Aladam had suspected all j : along the feel- | ing Loo has j secretly cher- , fished in her ;

CHANGING THE RULES. Important Action of the Base-B?ll Magnates of the National League. The Scheme of an Eastern and Western League Peters Out—The Brotherhood Pacified. [CHICAGO CORRESPONDENCE] The last two weeks have formed a most important fortnight in the history of baseball. The meeting of the Joint Huies Committee at Pittsburg, followed by the annual meeting of the National League at : New York, were attend^.l>y results of vital importance to the game, and this year, as in previous years, the- meetings in question were marked by the keenest public interest. It would require too much space to state in de'ail the changes made by the Joint Rules Committee in the playing rules. Suffice it to say, however, that in the main the changes are highly approved, although the general impression seems to be that the alteration of the number of strikes to be allowed a batsman was unecessary, and that it will tend toward the re-es:ablishment of the old order of things, when “pitchers’ games” were of common occurier.ce It was long ago decided by the League clubs, and the players as well, that the public wanted to witness a heavy batting game, and another strike i was added to the limit of opportunity afforded the batsman to hit the ball before going to the bench. The change worked admirably, as the lively character of the games during the past season will testify. There was plenty of good, stiff hitting, and the change found high favor with the public. Now, when everything seemed as it should be, the commitee goes to work and undoes what it did last fall. “Four strikes are too hard on the pitcher,” says an enthusiast, in defense of the joint committee's action. Nonsense. One pitched ball more or less is not going to make any material difference in the effectiven ss of a trained pitcher, while it will make a very great difference to the batsman. The elimination of that miserable provision, however, which during the past season has given a batsman a base hit for a base on balls, is heartily gratifying to every man who has talked with your correspondent upon the subject" John Day’s thoughtfulness in amending the old rule —that of 188fi on this point, so that tho fact of a man’s having reached first on called balls will not alone prevent his scoring an earned run, is commendable. A batsman should not be held responsible for a pitcher’s error. and if he possesses the patience and good judgment to stand at the plate until live balls and perhaps two strikes have been called on him he should bo given the opportunity, so far as his own work has entitled him to it, to score an earned run. It is too bad that the committee should not have taken decided action upon Mr. Spalding’s suggestion, that a club may hold in reserve for use upon the field, at ; the dis retion of the tenmcapJ^Jn, as many men as it w ishes. The rule is a good one in that it wdl tend to mo; rapidly develop young talent by giving them the advantage of training in championship games. If a team captain has placed his best nine in the field, mid as a result of their work sees that the game is hopelessly lost or unquestionably won, he can utilize the situation by substituting during the last innings of the game such of his young talent as he desires io try. Moreover, it will have the effect of checking a too frequent inclination upon the part of the players to sulk upon the field, or plav indifferent ball, for no ball-player would wish to foe disgraced ' by being sent from the field for poor work j 1 and another man put in to till his place. So far as can be learned, Mr. Spalding’s ' suggestion of this measure is favorably r - garded everywhere, and there are many ; who hope it will become a rule. In connection with the League meeting, j the Eastern and Western Circuit scheme, which has been pretty thoroughly aired during the past few days in the dispatches from Tittsburg and New York, camo in for its share of discussion, but the majority of well-posted base-ball “cranks” refuse to bite at the sensational fake. It was not ; even discussed. A committee from the Brotherhood of i : Ball Flayers waited upon the League i meeting, and, after discussing in a friendly way the objects of the Brotherhood and the relations existing between the clubs and their players, the League appointed a j committee to discuss the advisability of amending the form of contract in accordance wnth the suggestions > offered by the Brotherhood committee. The League committee consisted of Rogers, Day and Spalding, and the Brotherhood com l , ittee of AVard, Hanlon and Brouthers, the two committees meet ing in conference. They went over the new form of contract i presented by tho Biotherhood in detail. The League then assembled to hear the joint committee, and in short order ratified i the new form with but few alterations, tho i most impottfint change being made in the clause relative to the distribution of players in the event of a club disbanding. This was changed entirely the moment tho League showed tho Brotherhood the ab- ; solute necessity of contioliiug the players in such a contingency. The new contract drawn up by the Brotherhood’s counsel i and adopted proves <o ba better document all around Ilian the ojd one. Iho principal changes ma !e affect sections 6, i 7,8, 15, 16 and 18. By the terms of the i new contract players will not be lined at the discretion of the managers for certa n - offenses, a graded limit being named for repeated offenses. Neither will a club rei servo players for the ensuing season at i ^I,OOO, as was previously the case, but j clubs will now pay reserved players the , j salary named in the contract. I’layers are j also exempted from the charges of 50 cents ; per day for traveling expenses. In the fu- : ture, if a club disbands, resigns or is expelled, the players of such club will not be compelled to go to another club unless that club will pay the same salaries as { the club resigning, disbanding, or expelled. In section 6 the word “drunkenness” was ; J stricken out as being an undetinable term. , ' The change made in this section is I expected to bo productive of much 1 I good, and will prevent men drinking 1 J while off duty. Players may be “docked” ! a pro rata amount of their pay for time • J lost by illness from natural causes. If a ! player is injured in the performance of • ! duty and thus incapacitated, his pay shall go on just the same, but he may be released; such release must, however, be absolute and unconditional. Any violation of contract by the managers may be held as proper ground for dissolution of contract if their players desire it. Another change provides for a line of !?50 for neglect of duty and does away w.th suspenj sion. ’The Brotherhood favored the plan j of sending all fines to tho Secretary of the , I League, but they agreed to allow this to be stricken out. There is a great variety of opinion existing as to the result of this meeting between the League and the Brotherhood. Said a ; well-posted man in base-bajl affairs while । speaking upon ths subject: ’ It tnis that th® Use "mpiliv fipj; Itli&iihl, ftpd ' nt* i’’ Pirbll 5 -, 1 itrotiierhoed; So es't-

ly have the changes and “modifications” been ■ made, however, that it requires a microscope, backed by a most powerful mind, to discover j any material difference between the contract । of to-day and that of the dav before. The failure of the old form of contract to prohibit the sale of a, ballq layer’s release was especially objectionable to tho Brotherhood. It gave them broad grounffs for dramatic talk upon the “slave and taskmaster’’ basis. It enabled them to picture to the public the ball player in chains and with the brands of serfdom upon his brow : it proved j the subject for jiitiable illustrations in many a j sympathetic daily newspaper, and enabled ' Miko Kelly to aver that tho league "had made ! dock hands of ball players.’’ So far as I can ■ learn, however, this subject was not in any I manner protested against nt the meeting be- I tween the Brotherhood and League Committees. Fair play and justice is desired by every man, in all conditions of life. No fair-minded I man wishes to see a ball player or the employe i of any government, corporation, firm or indi- 1 vidual oppressed or imposed upon by his employer. The two forms of contract are not held up by me for comparison through any spirit of sympathy with the employer or unfriendly spirit toward the employe; but simply to show that despite the hue and cry raised by the brotherhood over the “one sided and unjust character of tho old form of contract,” ballplayers were just about as well protected and justly dealt with under its provisions as they could be under those of any form of contract they might themselves suggest. "We want a change, ” they cried, “and if the harsh provisions of tho contract lire not modified in accordance with our suggestions, no-Brother-hood member shall sign it.” Well, the contract has been modified. What the modifications consist of it is difficult to say, but it has been modified, and if tho Brotherhood is satisfied, the League and the public should be. Now, gentlemen, I say, play ball. Con Cregan. HONORING GARFIELD. The Magnificent Monument Erected at Cleveland to His Memory. It will boa year yet before the Garfield memorial monument at Cleveland is completed and the remains of tho dead President laid at rest forever in the tomb prepared for them by tho people of the United States. During the last six months there have been many unfavorable criticisms passed upon the committee in charge of the construction of tho monument, on account of a radical change made in the original plans whereby the height is reduced nearly fifty feet, thus to a certain extent marring tho symmetry and fine proportions of the structure. A correspondent who has just inspected the monument thus describes it: i . ' f: ; '"'g -n 1 i ‘ As will bo seen by tho cut above, it is very nearly finished as regards its exterior. Its height is 170 feet, and it is surmounted by an open, arcade 1, curie l -done lantern. An order of canopied and traeeried windows enriches and breaks tho summit of the tower. At its buso projects a square porch, decorated externally with a historinl frieze. It is divined into basreliefs. which represent tt:e career of Garfield ns n teacher, a soldier, a state sinan, u I’resi<l. nt. and his i emarkuble funeral. The tow, r rises from broad t rraces, which will be reached by wide-sjuending steps and thus form a digni ’ed approach to tho monus ment. The I’orch is entered through a wide | and richly decorated r cessed portal, and j within is a wide vestibule vaulted in stone and with a pavement of stone mosaic. The memo- ! rial shrine oc upies the entire space inclosed by । :h ■ outer circular wails of the tower, and is de- | signed to contain n bronze or marble portrait i statue of Garfield standing ou a pedestal in the center of ths chamber. The statue is mndethe soul of the monument; the v^iole design leads up to and is concentrated on this central figure ; the monument grows out of this kernel, as it were, and tho tower surrounds and rises a'>ovo its treasure and proclaims it to the world. Tn a < rvpt underneath tho rotunda is situated the : mortuary chapel, and here will be placed tho ■ b<> Iv of the dead President. I It is the intention of tho trustees to decorato this interior in a very elaborate manner. It is j as yet v< ry incomplete, but, nevertheless, visitors are charged an admission fee of 10 cents to view tho structure. This is amusing in the face of the fact that the people are also p iying for the monument. The fund originally raised amounted to 5130,755.85, and with interest for six years paid will eventually reach 8160,000. Os this sum Illinois subscribed 85,310.31. Garfield’s body now lies in the public receiving vault of tho cemetery, having been placed there when the government guard was removed. MR. POWDERLY WILL RETIRE. He Writes a Leiter Giving 111-liealtli anil Discouragement as the Reasons. [lndianapolis special.] E. F. Gould, of this city, Secretary of District Assembly 106, Knights of Labor, recently wrote to General Master AYorkman Powderly, urging him to reconsider his determination to retire from the leadership of the Knights of Labor at the expiration of his present term. He has just received a response from Powderly, in which he says that he does not see how he can consistently reconsider his determination. In speaking of the abuse by newspapers and threats of impeachment, he says: “Through this cloud of gloom but one ray of light made its wav, and that came from faruway Denver, where Disyrict Assembly 82 passed those ringing resolutions indorsing my course and condemning the anarchist element which sought to prostitute the order to its own baseness. ' I felt, Brother Gould, that the order would stand more cheerfully by some other man than it would stand by me. True, I have never had cause to find fault with the official treatment I have received, but when blows fall thick and fast a friendly hand of intercession now and then cheers the person on whoso head the blows are fulling. I behove tho best servi e that I can render tho order is to step aside and allow some ether member to do tho work I am trvingtodo. “I have devoted years to the cause of labor My life in the service of humanity has been one constant fight by night and day against the enemies of labor and tho elements of discord which are opposed to mo within and without. Such a life Ims boon a most exciting one, and Ims left mo a legacy which I can never part with, in the shape of it heart trouble that may do its work at any moment. I could not make such a subject, a matter for discussion in my annual message or before the genera! assembly. Personal interests, social ties, and the comforts of home ha\o been things of the past witu me for years. I long to once more lea free urn i, for to-day I am bound by tics most inestimable, and ruled over by not ono, but aOO.IMi muster. . “You can never know the strain under which I have lived for years. It would not 1 e becoming for me to speak of tho fitmm ial sat i i cces I have made tor the order. I am free to sav l would bo wiling to make the same sacrifice again, either of health, wealth, or comfort, lor the order of the Knights of Labor. I Im o for eight years, as General Master XVorkiiiiiu striven as honestly ns I knew how to bofti • the condition of myfellownien by helping to build up an organization through «heh ■li t <u d bo protected in their rights. But) ro.iii.o hands have been laid upon it, and tho men w ;io gathered at Chicago and gave out tlmt ho. tile declaration to the world did so only Ir cam-o anarchy coul4 nofc rule ths order, j i^ 1 not charge all those wha gitti^ded ths mpsting m ChiSkNO Imirt hut I elUi'U i at flip V:i>- uitilaHiy Pi iM'i ; 1 - I li’fftf!' '.‘yy’Sb’jiiftiffa/’' ■ ■ »

THE SUNDAY SCHOOL. Notes on the Lesson for December 4—“ Parable of the Sower.” [From Chicago Standard. By Rev. J. M. Coon.] 7 he lesson for the above date may be found in the first nine versos of the thirteenth chapter of Matthew. Time, A. D. 28. Place, there of tho Sea of Galilee. SPECIAL MENTION. Shore of Galilee. —A strip of level sandy beach surrounds the lake, from which the hills ascoud, usually in gentle grassy slopes, broken by abrupt precipitous cliffs, the bright oleander and other plants often forming a pleasant fringe along the shore. On the western sides an abundant supply of springs give birth to a verdure and fertility not found on tho eastern. (Blaikie.) At tho north end of the lake of Gennesaret there aro small creeks, or inlets, where tho ship could ride in safety only a sow feet from tho shore, and where the multitudes, seated on both sides and before tho boat, could listen without distraction or fatigue. As if on purpose to furnish seats, the shores on both sides of these narrow inlets aro piled up with smooth bundles of basalt. (Thomson.) I'arables of Christ. —(l) Afeaning. Literally, “to place by,” i. e., to place ono thing by another, for explanation. Tho material is placed by the moral or spiritual to illustrate or explain. “The parable is distinct from the fable as it moves in tho spiritual world; from tho proverb, as it is more fully developed; from tho allegory as it compares one thing with another, not transfers one to another. (Trench, abridged.) (2) A r uihbcr. Trench and Arnot each give thirty in their “Notes.” Others include three more: “Tho strong man armed” (Mark 3: 27); “The unclean spirit” (Matt. 12: 43); and “The Good Shepherd” (John 10: 1). Other figurative expressions might be included. Os tho number thirtythree Matthew gives sixteen, Mark live, Luke twenty-one and John one: “Tho Good Shepherd.” While some must bo included and others excluded, I see not a few lyin’g ambiguous on the border. (Arnot) (3) Wo may discern an arrangement in the parables as they fell from Christ’s lips. First, those relating to tho divine kingdom; e. g., tho wonderful group in Matt 13. Second, later in Christ’s ministry those drawn from tho life of men, rather than from nature; e. g., “Tho two debtors,” “The good Samaritan,” “The prodigal sou,” “Tho unjust judge,” etc. Third, near tho close of bis ministry they dwell on tho consummation of Christ’s kingdom; e. g., “Tho marriage feast,” “I ho ten virgins,” “Tho talents,” etc. (Soo Smith’s Bib. Diet.) (4) Interpretation. Christ has given explanations of two parables, “’I ho sower” and “The tares,” and these should ever bo our guide in explaining and applying. A sympathetic Christian heart will find the true moaning more easily than tho acutest intellect. Try to find the chief teaching of the parable, but do not expect a doctrine in every jot and tittle. “The parables of the kingdom are a picture gallery, and we walk up and down in it, admiring each picture. Let us not forget these aro heavenly pictures, heavenly things exposed to view.' An interpreter walks by our side, and if we look aright a rich Teat awaits us, for tho heavenly gallery is (reat.” (Drascke.) CONNECTING LINK. 11l point of time this lesson should come much earlier in the quarter, just before the stilling of the tempest (Matt, 8: 18-27). But as in many other eases, Matthew allows the subject-matter to control the narrative; and, therefore, we have these parables gathered up In one chapter. Find parallel accounts in Mark 4: I 20; Luke 8: 4-15. Read, also, verses 18 23 of this chapter, the Scripture exposition of t)ie lesson. TOPIC AND OUTLINE. 1. Lessons to Christian workers. This parable may bo studied with special profit by all who aro engaged in any way in spiritual seedsowing; tho nature of the work, its difficulties and discouragements, its rewards and successes aro vividly portiaiyed. As to tho work itself, (1) it is personal (“the sower”), (2) it demands effort and sacrifice (“went out”), (3) it presupposes equipment and provision (“to sow”), (4) it requires faith. As to the difficulties and discouragements, they aro found (1) in tho worker himself, (2) in the direct opposition of Satan (“Satan cometh immediately”), (3) in the character of those who hear the truth. How unpromising and unproductive the soil in many cases! Then, as to the success attained, wo are taught (1) that actual outward result doos not follow the eowing in every ease (“Some fell by the way--3.de,” otc.), (2) that some success will attend tho labor of every faithful sower of the see I (“other fell on good ground and did yield,” etc.), and (3) that results will vary in degree in different cases (thirty, sixty, and a hundred fold). 2. Various wat/s of hearing the word. But the parable has to do mainly with a doscript.on of the different kinds of soil into which the seed is cast; or, stripping off tho figure, the different ways in which the truth is received by man. The same truth comes to all, but how various aro the spirit and attitude of man toward it There is for example (1) an unyielding impenitence displayed by some. These are the “wayside” hearers, representing-the hardened unbeliever. The truth no more enters tho mind to any permanent good than the seed sinks into the road upon whi^h it may chance to fall. There is again, (2) a shallow susceptibility manifested by some. These are the “stony ground” hearers, a typo of those w’ho, with emotional nature predominating, come easily under tho power of truth, are swayed-almost at will, but fail to have the truth take hold of the heart. Their seeming change of life is a mere surface goodishness, with no power or permanence because no heart-root ’They are apt to be awakened, quickened into an emotional religiosity in times of revival, but speedily relapse into coldness. Onco'more (3) a worldly engrossment characterizes some. These aro tho “thorny ground” hearers, describing that large class who are deeply moved and seem thoroughly converted; but the world gradually crowds in, displacing their so-called religion. When the fierce battle conies between religion and the world the world wins. These are they who are chained by some besetting sin and at last ruined by it Then lastly (4) there is a fruitful obedience exhibited by some who hear. This is represented by the good ground which received the seed and produced the harvest. So the seed of the word must be sown in the heart, take deep root and bring forth fruit. In Scripture we are warned against the dull car, tho itchiu<T ear, the heavy ear, the uncircunicised ear; and enjoined to have the open and obedient ear. In the cleansing of the leper the holy oil was to be put on the tip of the right ear, showing the need of this organ being healed and restored in order to tho true hearing. Christ healing the deaf was symbolic of that work which the Holy Spirit must do in the heart in order to the true hearing. It is the heart that must hear. If the heart bo shut to tho divine call, not the varied voices of nature, the loud thunders of judgment, not the sweet promises of the Saviour, not the mighty whisper of tho Spirit can enter tho being and influence tho life. And the proof that one has heard aright is found in tho life. The hearing is nothing, and worse than nothing, unless it is followed by the doing. It is important not only that one hear the truth on Sunday, but that he live the truth on Monday. Hearing and obedience are mutually helpful. Hearing is necessary to obedience, and obedience quickens and strengthens the hearing. To which class of bearers do you belong? Aro you the careless and unmoved hearer, the shallow’-hearted and impulsive hearer, the v orldly minded and half-hearted hearer, or Lie honest and obedient hearer? Only the last named hoar unto salvation. “Hearken!” It cannot be repeated too often that the safety of great wealth with us lies in obedience to the new version of the old world maxim,“Richesse oblige.” —O. W, Holmes. The eggs of a single sturgeon,counted by Frank Buckland, numbered £21,600; and weighed forty-five pounds. WftFfD? tlpFO in hO i ihp

NUMBER 23.

INDIANA STATE NEWS. —Recently Henry Lock wood and wife, residing ten miles east of Marion, were summoned before the prosecutor to give evidence in a criminal case. ’They are wretchedly poor, and their three children, aged 8,4, and 18 months, were left alone in a hovel that admitted the snow that accompanied tho late blizzard. On their way home Lockwood and wife were nearly frozen, and stopped with an acquaintance over night. On their arrival home, next morning, they found the youngest child, a little girl, frozen to death, and the other two so badly chilled and frost-bitten that they could scarcely move or speak. The eldest boy said he awoke during the night and found his sister out in tho snow beside the bed, and that when he pulled her in she was stiff. She w’as doubtless dead then. - —The city of Fort Wayne, with a population of 40,000, seems about to experience a water famine. Because of the long drought the water in the supply basin, ns well as the small streams that contribute to it, has so failed that not enough pressure is given to the mains to operate the elevators in the hotels and other tall buddings, and their use has been abandoned. The local electric light company has served notice upon the city that not enough water can be had from the mains to supply their engines, and the inconvenience of complete or partial darkness at night is attributed to the water famine. Meanwhile, when a fire or two would fined the department crippled, the City Council an I Water-works Trustees arc at loggerheads, and abuse each other in the public prints. —The State Auditor has just completed his annual report. It is very voluminous. Warrants were drawn during the year to the amount of §3,975,944. The net cash receipts were §3,866,257. The total disbursement from the State House fund was §294,617. Advance payments have been made by the counties to relieve the temporary embarrassment of the general fund, and the December settlements will enable the Treasurer to meet current expenses. There have been drains on the public funds consequent upon the building of various new benevolent institutions, but careful estimates indicate that the revenues of tbe coining fiscal year will be sufficient to maintain the State credit and meet all obligations, all reports to the contrary notwithstanding. —The big canal, which is to drain the water off Four-mile Prairie, near Smitz City, has just been completed. The land has been purchased by Indianapolis men, who are reclaiming marsh lands in tbo State. The draining of Four-mile Frnirie ruins one of the finest duck-shooting grounds in the world. For years it was the resort of geese, mallards, and teal, and a great place for shooters from the East. Tho marsh is now dry, and the ducks which are now coming from the north circle over it with a disappointed look and go croaking south. The draining will have the same qjfect as tbe recent ditching of the Sangamon bottom, in Mason County, 111., which has destroyed about 200,(MIO acres of ducking ground. —Miss Amanda English, of Switzerlan I County, lias in her possession a bureau that w’as made for Miss Lucretia Hart, in her girlhood, more than one hundred years ago, and before she became the wife of Henry Clay. The bureau was given (o Miss English by Mrs. Clay sixty-seven years ago, and is in a good state of preservation. It was made by a Lexington carpenter named McElwane, who did his work well. Alias English, who is needy, wishes to sell this relic, and persons desiring to purchase may address Joseph D. Proman, Markland, Ind. —The city of Fort AVayne having arranged to begin the erection, next spring, of a new city hall, to cost §6’M*Fi, an injunction suit has been commenced, putting a stop to preparations. The petitioners are owners of property adjoining the market space, on which the new building was to be erected. They allege that by the will of the late Judge Samuel Hanna (he ground was given to the city for market purposes only, and its use cannot bo diverted; also, that access to their properly would suffer by reason of erection of iho proposed building. —Frank Hooks, a young married man living near Bunker Hill, was found dead in the woods. He had been out hunting, and the supposition is that, while resting on a stump, his gun in some way was d scharged, the contents of which entered his heart, killing him instantly. He had only been married about one week. —Patents have been issued to Indiana inventors as follows: Alfred A. Benardin, Evansville, bottle cap; James F. Hatfield, Dublin, grain separator; V illiain H. McGrew, assignor of one-half to J. Myers, Peru, wire and picket fence.; Teter Rader, Kirklin, coupling for cultivators. —A revival meeting is in progress at tho Methodist Church in Tipton. The church is aroused, and the entire town is interested. Fifty persons have joined the church in the last two weeks and the interest in tbe meeting is constantly increasing. —The Presbyterian congregations of Colfax and Darlington, which have been without a pastor for some time, have secured tho services of Rev. Johnson, of Illinois, who will preach at both places alternately. Both churches are in a thriving condit on. —Seth Wolf, aged 19, was instantly killed near Briant. He was assisting to load logs on a wagon when one rolled back, and before he could make his escape, passed over his body, crushing the life out of him. —Crookedness is chargedin the selection of tho late grand jury at Indianapolis. Tho Court has ordered an investigation. AV bile sawing wood with a buzz-saw, near Meehaniesburg, in Washington Township, Boone County, the saw burst and two pieces struck and almost instantly killed Emsley Hamm. —George Rich, aged about 65 years, employed in a saw-mill at Uniondale, fell on a circular saw’ and n 8 cut to pieces. Me was horribly mangled and deaih occurred instantly. —Mrs. Rebecca Charman, one of the most respected and aged women of Muncie, e-LS iff bud- 3ho retired soy fi.c iqipiii'i’it'it* ili ’iK.'Wi,