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THE GOSPEL INVITATION Should Be Addressed to the Sinful Homes of Every Community. (Entered according to . 1 ol Agrici s. Ottawa A despatch from Chicago says: Rev. Frank De Witt Talmage preached from the following text: John ix, 16, "There was a division among One day Lopaux, the great French infidel, came to Napoleon. He said: "Your majesty, I have evolved a new religion which I call Theophil-anthropy. I know that it is a better gospel than Christianity, but the French people will not believe or accept it. What is the matter? What shall I do?" The great French Emperor turned and smiled. Then he raised his arm and placed his hand kindly upon his friend's shoulder as he answered: "Lepaux, there is one trouble about your new religion -- you have no witnesses. Go and open a few blinded eyes. Unstop some deaf ears. Straighten some crooked limbs. Raise the dead. Be crucified and buried. Rise again from the grave. On the third day appear unto them who put you to death. Then the people will accept your religion and believe in you as they believe in Jesus Christ. Lepaux, it is by your witnesses that your new religion must win its way into the hearts of the people, not by your theories." Napoleon was right. The gospel of Jesus Christ is to be carried to the farthermost parts of the world by the power of gospel testimony, not by theories, not by arguments, not by a brilliant collection of metaphysical or polemical dissertations. An illustration of this statement is furnished by the scene of my text. There was great excitement in the ecclesiastical world of Jerusalem. The Pharisees, the members of the sanhedrin and the priests ' had conclusively settled it with themselves that Jestus Christ was a fraud, a charlatan, an absurd pretender. But their presence, s< had been born blind. In all ability they knew him, for hi been one of the beggars whc their stand near the templc Every one who went to the knew him. "Who opened our one of the learned doctors as surprise. "No inafc ever live door, with at least the sam fore who, having been born ght i side of blind, the thei When the young "Jesus," the priests and •elings were beside themes with rage. They threatened i. They excommunicated him. last they entirely lost their r<-a- hey praciicall; you nol jw that there are within >f three blocks of your s and scores of families hear the name of Jesus spoken in their homes except in blasphemy? Do you not know that within a radius of six blocks of this church, every Sunday night while I am preaching, scores and scores of young men and women pass in and out of the fatal doors of the saloons and places of evil resort? Some of us are foolish enough to think that the haunts of Satan are open only six days of the week; that on the seventh day Satan rests and shuts up shop and says to his hirelings, "My agents and servants, let us all allow God to open His churches on the Sabbath, and we will rest." No. The churches may be opened one day of the week, but the Satanic haunts are never shut. Night and day the busy fingers of death are reaching, always reaching, after more victims. Like the quicksands of the far east, this Satanic destroyer keeps swallowing down the unfortunate, and he never seems to have enough. "More, ' luallv cry the s more human • unquenchable thir Now, my Christian friends, while I rejoice in foreign missions and would not abate your interest in them I want to ask you this pertinent question : Do you think we should allow our concern for souls 10,000 miles away to monopolize our efforts ? While we are seeking them do not let us overlook the danger ol those who are living in sin by our own door. Do you think that the Sa-moans and the Australasians and the Maoris and African negroes should be any more precious in God's sight and in ours than the r the woman about whose personality you never care until you a black crape hanging upon the opposite door ? Oh, man, if you had the true love of Jesns Christ in heart, you would act differently toward your unknown neighbor. You would enter his home for Jesus' years ago you had been cured from the same disease by a certain medicine of a certain doctor. Would not not immediately go and tell him about the wonderful cure ? If necessary, would you not take this physician to the sick man's house and insist that he try this cure which had cured you ? You would do that yet among the blood curdling and the blasphemies of your store you do not think it is your boundeu duty to tell about-the Christ w cleansed you from all sins. Do y mean to tell me that you have right to keep your lips dumb a not invite those sinful employees your church and prayer meetir where they can hear the I FOR IS HOME Recipes for the Kitchen. | of di' lO! GIVE TESTIMONY AT HOME. Would that the dumb lips of Christian "testimony might be unloosed by our own firesides among our loved ones, as well as among the strangers dwelling outside the four walls of our home. T place this spiritual obligation upon my own heart and life as well as upon yours. There is many a minister who Is so anxious about the souls of his congregation that sometimes he overlooks the souls" destinies of his own children and brothers and sisters and par- My friends, members of Jefferson Park church, I here and now consecrate my life to a new work. I am going back to the days and life sake, and ' ith i life i , the for hi company. You would ngers' home, near to estness as if you had books in order to buy bread. No his God with al I mind unless Christian ma neighbor unless : agent j your babies can truly love heart and soul e same time he ) himself, and truly love his personally hich I used to live when I first •ed the ministry. In those old ys I did not seek so much to comfort and please the members of my church as to win souls. My only de-vas to reach out for those who outside of the church and who had confessed the name of Jesus. Before I entered my^pulpit I Id get down on my knees and say, "Oh, God, let me speak the right word for that young man and woman whom I may never see again until I meet them at thy throne !" Such is my purpose now ; such is the purpose of my new assistant. Brothers and sisters, we have been too long dwelling together in selfish fellowship. We have enjoyed each other's society well. But to be happy together is not enough. Wil' here and now clasp my hand i holy purpose ? Will you here now move forward with me to seek out the strayed lamb which is lost upon the mountain of sin ? Will y< go forth with me out into t ^Btorm, perhaps to battle against derision and sneers ? Will you the name of Jesus Christ ? Will you promu.se here and now to carry the gospel message to the great churched and to the sinful me women who are living under shadows of our own doors ? do-.i •trra VE THE NEARBY SINNERS fell . thos . called Jesus! Away with him! Away with him!" But some of those learned pharisees could not be put off by any such superficial condemnation. Methinks I can hear a learned doctor say to some of his friends: "I do not >r,ow about this. Perhaps we ^ay have been wrong. Perhaps this row teacher after all i« the promised Messiah, fe-ioiviv no other human being could ever work such miracles." "And there was a division among them." The same kind of a division whi M will occur among worldly men to-day if the bombshell of consecrated Christian testimony can be hurled among them. ARE WE READY TO GIVE TESTIMONY? A practical application cf this principle is now facing us, one and all. Are we Christian men and women ready to give our gospel testimony wherever we go? Are we ready to tell what Jesus Christ has done" for us? Ready, even though it may bring upon us sneers and ridicule? Ready, though it should involve persecutions and ostracism? Ready, as the young man of old was ready, who stood up and witnessed before the priests and the Pharisees, when he made a division among them? Would that the dumb spirit would come out of the lay members in the Christian churches! Everywhere we hear the question being asked: "What is the matter with our chturches?" Oh, no; the pulpit is not 'losing its power. There are more consecrated ministers to-day than ever before. More brilliant and well developed heads and hearts are yearly being trained in our theological seminaries than ever before. More eloquent sermons are being preached from the sacred desk on this Sabbath than on any Sunday of any other generation that ever lived. What, then, is the matter? The pulpit has not lost its old power, but the pew has abanrioiud its duty. The great defect. f the chturdh to-day is that the pew has relegated to the pulpit nearly all its public duties, of preaching as well as public praying, as it has depended on the choir for its singing. The result is that when the pew ceases to speak, the message of the pulpit is neglected. The pulpit of the Lorel Jesus Christ is to-day groaning under the weight of the infinite load which the pew has piled upon it. No church is to-day a consecrated, evangelistic church unless it has in its pews men who by life and testimony are preaching evangelists as well as gospel ministers who stand behind the sacred s Christ is to-day speak- iti.il l , but > the silent pev ! he i the spake unto the elumb " that was cursing the ng child. He said un-du dumb and deaf spir-of him and enter no n!" It is not the pul-dead; it is the pew to speak and there- standing in the kingdom of Christ. Do you not remember that he said, "Every branch that beareth hot fruit he taketh away ?" Ye* how indifferent most of us are in reference to the salvation of those doorstep. Some years ago an American missionary was preaching in the streets of Calcutta. As the American clergyman was talking a Mohammedan priest stood near and began to Inveigh against the inconsistencies of the professors of the Christian religion. Then the Mohammedan priest opened the Bible, anel while he read he pointed to a drunken English sailor near by. He read out loud those beautiful and solemn words of Corinthians, which we repeat at the holy communion, "And after the same manner also he took the cup when he had supped, saying, This cup is the new testament in my blood ; this do ye, as oft as ye drink it, in remembrance of me." Then the Mohammedan priest snecringly and tauntingly said :-- "There is the white man's religion. There is the white man drunk, Will ye have any such religion as that ?" Oh, my brother, we rightly send forth our missionaries into foreign lands to testify of Jesus Christ. Shall we not also try to carry the testimony of Jesus to the drunken and dissipated white men at our own doors that they may be living witnesses of the power of the gospel and not a reproach to it. Shall we not also carry the gospel to our neighbors, to those who may be living farther away from Christ than the cannibals or the Eskimos ? Shall we not be willing to kneel in prayer in our neighbors' parlors as well as send missionaries to preach standing upon the muddy banks of the Ganges ? Would that the dumb lips of Chris-testimony might be opened THROW FEW SNOWBALLS. the s the i the factory and by the cashier's desk opened when you are tying up a bundle ; opened when you are taking down the goods from off the shelf ; opened when you are bidding the little cashgirl good night ; opened when you are giving the last in-your foreman ; opened i the s • old whili Pennsylvania avenue, in our na-mal capital, taught me one of the ightiest lessons of trust and faith in God I ever learned ! TELL ABOUT THE HEALERS. Furthermore, you should not hesitate to testify for Christ in your ace of business, because you would it have dumb lips in reference to iy physical cure which you knew out as you now are silent in re--ence to the divine cure of gin. Suppose that to-day one of the □yees of your store was afflict-ith the dreaded disease of can-Supposing that a couple of Snowballing h style. Why this is able to say, but that it is true is apparent to anybody who happens to think on the subject. It may be that Tiecauso th the last ten years and the scarcity of snow the prerent generation has never learned the joys of snowballing. Or it may bo that the growing tendency to regard a boy who threw a snowball in the same category with the person who threw a brick or any other kind of a missile has had a tendency to throw the sport into disfavor. It is more than probable, however, that the first reason is the true one. In former years, when winter meant a carpet of white over the earth from December to March, snowballing was one of the recognized sports of childhood. In those days flourished the snow fort, with ramparts and outworks, and and fierce were the battles that raged between the defenders of the fort and the attacking party, and the ammunition always consisted of snowballs. But during the last decade the scarcity of snow has madi such a thing as a snow fort an im possibility. It was in the training to defend o: attack tho fort that the boys o other days became proficient in the use of the snowball. When they were not actually engaged in battle they would do target practice silk hats, cats, dogs, or anybody who happened to pass by. But now, while at times during the wintei there is plenty of snow for the fashioning of snowballs, the present day boy is not trained in the sport. He never saw a fierce snowball battle that prevailed in the days when his father was a boy, and he has come to feel that throwing a snowball at a passerby is about as bad as throwing anything else. Staid old people rejoice exceedingly as well as marvel that they can pass by a school house at recess time when the snow is thick on the ground and not be greeted by a well directed volley of snowballs. It used to be considered absolutely fatal for a man to wear a silk hat on a day when the snow was of the proper consistency to fashion into a projectile. Now a silk hat can be worn with absolute impunity any day in the winter. Snowballing was once the time honored and well established prerogative of the boy. But the pendulum has swung the other way; it is no longer considered bright or cute for a boy to hurl a wet spheroid of snow into the left ear of a sedate person walking quietly down the street. And the sedate person is not sad that this is so. LOOKING BACK. He--"Do you remember the night I proposed to you?'" She--"Yes, dear." "We sat for one hour and you never opened your mouth." "Yes, I remember, dear." "Believe me, that was the happiest hour of my life." A HIGH TESTIMONIAL. Lady (engaging a maid) -- "Was your last mistress satisfied with you?" Maid -- "Well, mum, she said she as very pleased when I left.'1 Angel Cake--Sift together very carefully one teaspoonful of cream of tartar into two ounces of flour, and sift well six ounces of fine castor sugar ; add a pinch of salt to the whites of six eggs, and whip these to a very stiff froth, working in lightly at the last the castor sugar, then the flour, and, lastly, the flavoring (vanilla, lemon, etc., to taste). Do not stop beating once the mixing begins, and keep It all very light. . Bake either in a paper lined or a bright, unbuttered cake-tin; one with a pipe in the centre is best. Bake twenty to thirty min-[y utes in a moderate oven. Be careful lei u~ titers 0rfcw*"Wnovw-<!<r jar it whilst cooking. do not let it color much, and it well with a clean splinter before moving it. Leave it in the pan a few minutes after taking it from the oven, then loosen it at the sides and let it slide out of Itself. It is; in fact, a peculiarly delicate form ol sponge cake. Do not use a knife to it, or it will sodden. CHOICE RECIPES. Honeycomb Gingerbread. -- Six ounces of butter, golden syrup, ten ounces, brown sugar ten ounces, half a pound of flour, ground ginger, quarter of an ounce. Rub the butter into the flour, warm tho syrup, altogether, drop the mixture on buttered tin in small lumps, bake in rather a slow oven, take off the tin and hank over a thick stick, when they will curl and go crisp. These are excellent. Pig's Foot Jelly--Perhaps of the housekeepers will like to try this recipe for pork jelly. Prepare the pig's legs the same as stewing or pickling. Cook until the meat drops from the btme. Chop fine, son well with salt, pepper herbs (or garlic if preferred), move all grease from the liquor which the meat was boiled, which should be boiled dowi about 1 qt. Add to it the chopped meat. Mix well and pour into molhs, basins, or deep small pans, and set away to cool. When cold, turn out a a platter and cut in slices. This delicious for sandwiches. Walnut Cake--Mix carefully together six tablespoonfuls of finely fted flour, five ounces creamed but-;r, one tablespponful castor sugar, tie tablespoonful of freshly ground almond meal, two tablespoonfuls of blanched and pounded walnuts, and the yolks of two eggs, working it a paste with a very little water. Pour the mixture Into a sandwich pan" or a round flour in, and bake in a moderate oven till of a light golden brown. Mean-heat in a stewpan half-ajgill of , half-a-gill of milk, the beaten yolks of three eggs, and about three tablespoonfuls of castor sugar ; let this thicken over the fire, being careful not to let it boil, then stir in, off the fire, the whites of the eggs and four tablespoonfuls of chopped walnuts ; cover the cake smoothly with this mixture, and place it in the oven to set. MAKING COFFEE. Black Coffee--Powdered coffee is preferred by many people for the after-dinner beverage. Where a pot with a tin or wire strainer is used, much of the fine powder goes through and the coffee is not always clear. A second straining through fine cloth is sometimes necessary. Use from one to two tablespoons of fine coffee for each half-cup of boiling water. Filter it in a regular biggin or common pot, as most convenient. If desired stronger, pour the liquid throng isr/ice or even three times. It shdhld be served very hot, and after the last water is poured through set the pot where it will just come to the boiling point, immediately before serving. Or, if the coffee is to be served at the table or in the parlor, a pretty way is to pour the made coffee into a kettle and heat it over an alcohol lamp, serving it from the kettle just boils. It is customary to offer cream and block sugar with after-dinner coffee, but those who are versant with the physiological son for taking it without cream, if their reason is stronger than thefr taste, without sugar, also. Coffee for Fairs -- A new or presumably well cleaned common boiler usually has to be called i quisition on such occasions, for not community can command the apparatus which is often from large coffee houses caterers. On aecount of the difficulty in straining such a large quantity, the ground coffee is usually placed in bags, not more than e pound in each, and put into the with cold water. Then, covered closely, heated slowly and allowed to boil about 10 minutes. It should then be kept hot, but not boil, and dipped out into hot pitch-desired. By allowing one-half or one rounded tablespoon, for each half pint cup of water, and cup for each person, one can ly compute the amount required for any number of people. At this rate, one pound of coffee, or 32 half would make 32 half pint cups, or eight quarts, and would be sufficient for about 30 persons. ELEVEN GOOD HINTS. When matting is soiled wash it in a strong solution of salt and warm water, and it will look like new. Besides the thorough airing that beds and bedding should daily have, mattresses, bolsters and pillows should bs beaten and shaken three The making of the bed should be the last duty in putting a room in rights. Pillows may be cleaned by putting them out upon the grass in a drenching rain. After being well soaked they should be squeezed and hung in a shady place to ary. To restore an eiderdown quilt to its original fluffy lightness hang it out of doors in the sunshine for THE S. S^LESSON. INTERNATIONAL LESSON", MARCH 1. HOW TO WASH BLANKETS. covering that is i woollen blankets, to a great extent, s of quilts and corn- There is no t so satisfactory and they hav taken the pla forts. They a cleaned as often as necessary, the prices asked for them place them within reach of moderate purses. We have seen blankets that became harsh and fulled up after washing few times, while others were soft and fleecy until worn out. This not caused by any difference in quality of the articles, but because of the way in which tliey wers washed, for there is nothing tnat is ruined so quickly by careless washing as a woollen blanket. Shake the blankets to remove the dust, and Wash the greasy or badly soiled spots in gasoline before putting them in the water. Have plenty of hot water ready, and wash one blanket at a time, for the quicker they are washed and dried, the better. Shave a bar of soap thin, put it in a pan or kettle, cover with water, and set it on the stove to melt. If you have a good washing machine--preferably a boxed one with plenty of room--you will find it a great help. Fill it half full of water that is almost boiling hot, add half a pound of powdered borax anel half the melted soap. Stir vigorously until it forms a strong suds, put a blanket in, stir it about until wet through, then close the machine and let it soak five minutes. Work the machine vigorously five or ten minutes, put on the wringer, and press the blanket lengthwise through it. Empty and refill the machine with water prepared just as the first was, except that you will not need quite so much soap. When washed in this, pass through the wringer into a tub containing clear hot water, and rinse thoroughly. If one rince water is not enough to remove every trace of soap use a second, otherwise they will feel sticky and disagreeable. Every water used should if the same temperature, for sud-changes will make a blanket shrink. The addition of borax to water in which any woollen goods are washed makes the work easy and keeps it in good condition. Never rub soap directly upon a blanket, but melt it and put it in water. When it is taken from the last water hang upon the line where a good breeze will strike it, and pull and stretch it in shape. Al-it to remain until thoroughly dry, then fold smoothly and leave inder a heavy weight a clay or two, when it will be ready for use. Old newspapers pro led ion_ _ again sefver^h plabo . o between the quilt A thin paste cold tea is a splendid mixture which to clean mirrors. Salt is excellent in removini from marble-top furniture. A copper cent rubbed on th dow pane will rid it of pt plaster specks. Hot, sharp vinegar will i paint spots. are an excellent t the cold, and blanketa^if Wt_. ^Cr\^h nd counterpane. j jj,,j.t re """"« ■** Aquila. Text of the Lesson, Acts xviii., 24, to xix., 6. Golden Text, Luke xi., 13. 24. And a certain Jew named Apollos, born at Alexandria, an eloquent man and mighty in the Scriptures, came to Ephesus. After Paul's eighteen months at Corinth he started for Syria, taking Priscilla and Aquila with him as far Ephesus, where he left them and it on to Jerusalem via Caesarea, i thence to Antioch. After soma e he started on his third mission-tour going through Galatta »and Phrygia, strengthening the disciples, and in due time, as we shall see, came again to Ephesus. The ona great thing said of Apollos, whose acquaintance we make in this verse, is that he was "mighty in tha Scriptures," and if It could hava been added "filled with the Spirit" there could be nothing greater said,- 25. This man was Instructed in tha way of the Lord, and, being fervent in the Spirit, he spake and taught diligently tho things of the Lord, knowing only the baptism of John. He was filled with what he knew and did the best he could with what he had, urging people to repent and turn to God and bring forth fruits worthy of repentance (Luke ii, 3, 8) . It was all good and real as far as it went, and such an earnest, faithful worker is sure of more light, for his heart was whole toward God, and on behalf of such God will surety show Himself strong (II Chron. xvi, 9) - 26. Whom when Aquila and Priscilla had heard they took him unta them and expounded unto him tha way of God more perfectly. They had doubtless been greatly helped by Paul at Corinth, and now able to help Apollos from Alexandria. So Alexandria in Egypt ;nd Corinth, or, rather, Italy, coma together at Ephesus on the Lord's business, and thus He works, send-* g His messengers hither and thithsi. and causing lives to meet and touch for mutual benefit in His service. It great and comforting truth that His good pleasure which He hath purposed in Himself is ever being ought out after the counsel of His h will (Eph. i, 9, 11), and there perfect peace to all who abide in it will. May we be as ready ta help others as were Priscilla and Aquila and as teachable as Apollos. 27. 28. Who, when he was come,1 helped them much which had believed hrough grace, for he mightily convinced the Jews, and that publicly, showing by the Scriptures that Jesus is the Christ. With letters from the brethren at Ephesus Apollos passed on to Cor^ inth and was greatly used of God there. Being mighty in the Scriptures when he came to Ephesus, ha LITTLE THOUGHTS. There is always a little water in the sponge. Bad luck gets the blame for t of poor judgment. Don't cry over spilled milk -glad it is not cream. Great actions, like great men, pear only at intervals. A pessimist is a man who is ways looking for worms in The touch of kindness that makes the whole world kin is seldom ap- It is a great deal easier to be a good critic than to be even a passable performer. "Truth is stranger than fiction," with some persons should be rendered, "Truth is more of a stranger than fiction.". The man who is a fugitive from injustice must often run faster than would be necessary if mere justice were on his trial. I repeat that all power is a trust and that we are accountable for its exercise; that from the people and for the people all springs, and QUITE A MISTAKE. While shopping a little while ago, a lady absent-mindedly walked away with another customer's umbrella. "Excuse me," said the latter, hurrying after her, you've got my umbrella." "Why, so I have," was the crest-falsten reply. "I am really awfully, dreadfully sorry. Accept my humblest apologies." The apologies were accepted ; but this incident reminded lady No. 1 that she wished to purchase some umbrellas for herself and daughters, so a little while later she took her seat in the train laden with three of these useful articles. Opposite her sat the lady she had encountered remarked the' latter lat after all, you have ; successful morning." A CITY OF PADLOCKS. Irkutsk, In Siberia, is said to be veritable city of padlocks. There re more padlocks on the shutters and doors of an Irkutsk shop than can be found in an English city of 200,000. There are as many as three padlocks on some shop doors, and y lower-storey shutter bears from one to five. because^ of-- ived through Priscilla and :Ie became a prominent id after ward a great friend of Paul. See I Cor. i, 12; iii, 4, 5, 6. 22; iv, 6; xvi, 12; Tit. iii, 13. But both he and Paul would have us urn derstand that whoever the teacher, might be, God alone could do th« work to be done. "I have planted, Apollos watered, but God gave tha ase" (I Cor. iii, 6-9). :, 1, 2. Have ye received the Holjf Ghost since ye believed? And thej said unto Him, We have not so much as heard whether there be any, Holy Ghost. We do not read of any result from Paul's testimony at Ephesus or his way east except that they wished him to tarry longer (chapter xviii, 19, 20); but now through thai preaching of Apollos and doubtless by the help of Priscilla and Aquila he finds on his return to Ephesus that some have believed, but they, have not been taught about the Holy Spirit, and they would therefore be lacking power in their lives.' There are many believers now who manifest the same great lacK, for, while every believer has become a temple of tho Holy Ghost (I Cor. vi, 19, 20), it is a different thing to be filled with the Spirit, as the tree, from root to topmost twig is filled' with sap or as the whole body is filled with blood to tho tips of fingers and toes. 3, 4. And he said unto them, Unto what were ye then baptised? and they said. Unto John's baptism. , The Holy Spirit testifies o£ Christ" and glorifies Christ (John xv, 26; xvi, 14); but probably these disciples were like many church members in our own day with whom the Holy Spirit seems to accomplish little or nothing, because the word of God does not dwell in them richly (Col. iii, 10), and they seem never to hava heard much, if anything, about tha Holy Spirit. All will acknowledga that it is a sin to be drunken with wine, but not many count it a sin not to be filled with the Spirit, yet see Eph. v, 18. 5-7. When Paul had laid his hands upon them, the Holy Ghost came on them, and they spake with tonguej and prophesied. Compare ii, 4; iv, 31; x, 44, 46. and note all through this book the Spirit's place in the church; how all is accomplished by Him in the nam< of the Lord Jesus and nothing without Him. There can be no hind-ranee on God's part to any believe* being filled with the Spirit, for Ha is more willing to give the Spirit ta those who ask Him than parents an to give good things to their children (Luke xi, 13). The hindrance must be in us, that we in some way faith , 6) do i , 13) with the whole heart (Jer or are not willing to be filled ue-cause not willing to have His will wrought in us. Let us pray honest, ly Ps. exxxix, 23, 24, and he win* not fail to show us the difficulty. II« also will make us His willing peopU in the day of His power (Ps. Cx, 3).,