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'all around were amazed. _w‘hnt Rev. Dr.Talmage Discourses on An interesting Subject. .‘How the Mother Would Greet the Prodigal’s Return==The Father’s Greeting of the Wandererâ€"-God Is Repre- sented as the Father---The Dr. Draws Some Lessons From the Parable. LA dcspatch from Washington says: -â€"Rev. Dr. Talmage preached from the following text: "then he was yet a ,grtat way off, "his father saw him and had compassion and ran, and fell on his neck and kissed him.”â€"Luke xv. 20. ll. have often described to you the . going away of this prodigal son from I our Immortal rescue. his father’s house, and I have showed you what a hard time he had down wilderness, and what a very in the on his neck, and kissed him." It was God I or? \Vho was it! . theology which repreSents hard, severe, and vindictive. GOD IS A FATHER â€"kind, loving lenient, gentle, suffering, patient, and He Oh, do you not recognize that fathi- have no sympathy with that castâ€"iron God as long- flies to Oh, that we Emight realize it to-day. A wealthy lady in one of the eastern coun- tries was going off for some time, and she asked her daugh- ‘great mistake it was for him to leave ters for some memento to carry with so beautiful a home for such a mis- But he did not always- .stay in the wilderness; 'he came back full. wreaul of ,‘We do not read that daughter came, and said, “Mother, 1- brought neither flowers nor tablet, but I have inscribed it erable desert. after a. while. his mother came to greet him. I sup- hler . flowers. here is my heart. One of the daughters brought [a marble tablet, beautiiully inscribed; and another daughter brought a beau- The third 9‘03" She was dead- 7511" would have I all over withyour name, and wherever been the first to come out. ther would have kiss to the returning prodigal; mother the first. to manage the children of the house hold.:-'The chief work comes in early life. given the second the the mememtoes. It may have been JESUS ChrisL’ for the lack of her example and pray- ers that he became a prodigal. Someâ€" times the father does not know how upon the mother. :Indeed: no one ever gets ovar the calamity of losing a mother Still, this young man The fa- you go, it will. go with you.” The moâ€" ther recognized it asthe best of all Of that toâ€"day our souls might» go out towards the Lord kindness, and that again forsake Him. affections l celves the sinner, back again? me a plummet with In the first place, I notice in towards our Fatherâ€"â€" that our hearts might be written all over with! the evidences of His loving- we might never Lord ‘God, this day be T-hy Holy Spirit more upon our - Give which I may. this text, the Father’s eyesight; in the see-- was not ungreeted when he came back. 0nd place, I notice the Father's haste; However well a'pparelled we may be,a~nd, in the third place, I notice the in the morning when we start out on Father’s kiss- before night, what with we have lost all cleanness of appearance. But this prodigal, when he started from trough, was ragged" and and his appearance, after he had gone through days of journey- that a journey, the dust and the jostling, I the swine wretched, ing and exposures, you can more casi 1y imagine than describe. people see this homeward, they wonder who he is. They say: “I wonder what prison he I wonder what has broken out of. lazaretto he has escaped from. I won As the To begin: the Father's ed hIOW' old people easier than they can close by. which the recreant boy eyesight. "When he was yet a great way off his father saw him." You have notic- sometimes put a book off on the other side of the Light. They can; see at a distance a great dela I do not know whether he coubd see well wvas near by, but I do know he could so ea great way off. “His father saw him." Perhaps he had . _ been looking for the return of that boy Prodlgal 001111118 01‘ especially that day. but that he had been in prayer. and that God. had told him! that that day ' would come home. "The father saw him a great way olf.” I wonder if God’s eyesight can des- I do not know dot with What plague he will smite cry us when we are coming back to the air." step, ful apparel. walks very fast. Although these people may have been well'acquainted with the family, yet they do not imagine that him? tionâ€"we are a great way off. year. The text pictures our condi- _ That young man was not farther off from lhrs father’s house, sin is not farther this is the very young man who went ,Olff from boldness. hell is not fiarthér. off only a little while ago With..quicki and ruddy cheek, and beauti~ off from'heaven, than we have been gby our sins away off from our God; . saye so far off that we could not hear The young man, I thlnk, 1His voice, though vehemently JHe has He looks as though ,calle‘d ws .year after I do- not the were intent upon something very';l‘:m"W Wh‘at bad habits you haV'a'fOI‘m- important. , The people stop. look at him. , came from. is going to. You have heard of a son {3:912 Changed by the _ who went off to sea and never return- a you are a great w turn, but the such conclusion. parents came to the hour, and day, and sit upon the beach, looking off upon the water, ex- pecting to see the sail that would " bring home the long-absent boy. Andi 50' Saw him a great W33 0ff-" so I think this father of my text sat ihflas Been a“ Your under the "vine looking towards t‘heldJS'adVahta-geh- road on which his son had departed; (for Your coming- but the father has chapgedyery much . _ since we saw him last. ' Hls hair has in balll‘lff’s eye. but With: a Father’se cheeks are fur- tand- if become rowed, HIS HEART IS BROKEN. avhite, his What is ‘all this bountiful table to him' when his 'son may be lacking bread 3‘ - the wardrobe of that homestead when l the son may not have a decent coatf.E They wonder where he {have ,ed, or in what evil. places you have .Theylbeen, or what false "not-ions you may entertained; but you are ready whey wonder where he ito acknowledge, if your heart has not grace of God, ay offâ€"aye, so I ‘ [far that you cannot .et back f - ed. All the people In the neighbor-wolves. You would ligk-e to conga hood thought the son would never re- ! Aye, this moment you would start if ’ to tell you of ~ ' THE FATHER’S EYESIGHT. frailties, all you ,‘G-od pities you. so many evil surroundings started life. icult. for me to break away from evi mssocratxons.” But I am He 1. He has. been longing . He has not been looking at you with" a critic’s eye -or e; a parent ever pitied a child, You say: “Oh, ‘I had when I "Youerathler sees it. You! say: “I have so many bad surâ€" ‘that is. all the Splendor of lé‘o-undings now, and so it is very' dif ! Your Father sees it, .What are all the sheep on the hi11--'and if this moment you Should Start is gone. . Still he sits and watches, looking out on the road, and one day he beholds a foot traveller. He sees him rise above the hills; first the head and after awhile the entire body; and as soon as he gets a fair glance Otf him he knows it is his,recreant son. He forgets the .crutch, and the cane, and the stiffness of the joints, and bounds away. I think the people . They said; "It is only 'a footpad. It is only some old tramp of the road. to meet him.” The better. The change in the Son’s apâ€" pearance could not hide the marks by which the father knew the boy. You know that persons of a great deal of independence of character are apt to indicate it. in their walk. reason the sailor almost always been peculiar step, not stands much on shipboard. amid the rocking of the sea, and he has to bal- ance himself, but he has for the most part an independent character, which would show itself even if he never ,went- to the sea; and we know from transpired after, and from what transpired before, that this pro- ng'al son was of an independent and _ frank nature; and I suppose that the characteristics of his‘mind and heart were the characteristics of his walk.‘ 'And so the father knew him. ,,He puts out his- withered arms towards him; he brings his wrinkled face against the pale cheek of his son; he kisses the wan dips; he thanks God that the long agony 13 over. “\Vhen he was yet :nfireat way off, his father saw him. ‘ Don’t go but; father knew‘ For that Q only because he land allow you to towards Him. Oh, no! . , , , . , lhea‘venw-a rdâ€". -. I r ' ._ aide to that father when hlS pet lamb lyour Ember 3:0uhffigt sé'guidlgmtlfiwn struggle on up Seeing you at great way off,'h‘e would fly to the rescue. How long does it take a fa- ther to leap into the middle of the highway: if his child be there, and a swift vehicle is coining, and may, de- stroy him ? . Five hundred times longâ€" er t'hla-n'it' tak-ésh‘our heavenly‘ Father to spring: toithe’ deliverance 'of a lost - 'When, he Wrasse great way. child. off his Fa!hver’rsawf,hi,m." '4 . ‘ in n . And this brings me "to dance-- t ' Father’s h-aste'.’"'-The“l Bible says ii: No w-onder'.’ ‘ He did‘ not, know but, that the young man would change his. mind and go back. He did not ' know' but that he would drop down from e'x'hla iistion. Walking. - “In the fourth ~He did not know _ _ watch‘ of-~ the night,” it. says, "Jesus came unto ' them walking on the sea.” "He walkâ€" eth- upon the wings of the wind.” on first parents heard'the voice ‘of the Lord' walking 'in the garden in the cool of the day; but when a sinner starts for- God, the Father runs to meet him. . 'Oh! if a man ever wants help, It is when he tries to become. a- ghvrlstiavn. ' The ‘World says to' him}: Back “"lthi you. Have more spirit- 'Don't be hampered. with religion. Timd enough] yet. \VIa-it until you get sick \Vflit until you get old.” Satan says. “Back With. you ;- you are so bad,‘ that God will have nothing to do with you;" hlé OOmWSSlon. and ran, and fell , or, “You are good enough, and no.4 l ho Iit were not for this sin and. th I: ‘ . , - h' b- 11163’ W0111d go by iit, and this disadvantage. a J l ! but that something- fatal ml ht o-ve - l ‘ take him before he got up to gthe doc:- sill {and so the father ran. The Bible, for the most part, speaks of God as ! . l'oye. . led to the sacrific‘ no Redeemer. Take thine ease, eat. drink, and be merry.”,Ten thousand voices say: “Back with you. GOD'S‘ A. HARD MASTER. ( The church is a collection of hypocrit- es. Back into your sins; back to! your evil indulgences; back to your prayer: less pillow. The silliest thing that a young man ever does is to come home alter he has been wandering." Oh. how much help a man does want when he tries to become a Christian. 1n- deed, the prodigal cannot find his way home to his father’s house alone. Unless some one comes to meet him he hid better have strayed by the swine-troughs. When the sea comes in at full tide, you) might more' easily with your broom sweep back the surges than you could drive bark the ocean of your unforgiven transgres- sions. \Vhat are we to do? Are we to fight the battle alone, and trudge on with no one to aid us, and no rock to shelter us, and no word of cncourage~ ment to cheer us. Glory be to. God, we have in the text the announcement: “\Vhen he was yet a great way off, his father ran.” When the sinner starts for God, God starts for the sinner. God does not come out with a slow andhesitating pace. The in- finite sp-aces slip beneath His feet, and he takes worlds at a bound. "The father son." Oh, wonderful meeting, 'when God and the soul come together. "The Father ran." You start for God and God starts for you, and this morning and this house is the time and the place when you meet; and, while the angels rejoice over the meeting. your long injured Father falls upon your neck with attestations of compassion and pardon. Your 9001‘. wandering, sinful, polluted 530111. and the loving, the eternal Fath- el‘. have met. . I Demark upon the father’s kiss. "He fell on his neck," my text says, “and klssed him." It is not every father that would, have done that way. He would have scolded him, and said: “Here. you went off with beautiful 010th98. but now you are all in tatâ€" ters. You went off healthy, and come back sick: and wasted with your (lirisi.pations." He did not say that. The son, all haggard, and ragged, and {llthm and wretched, stood before he lather. The father charged him wi-‘h none of his wanderings. He just re- CelVed him. He just kissed h'm. His wretchedness was a recommendation to that father's love. Oh, that faher’s klss! How shall I describe the love of Godfâ€"the ardour with! which he re- fiithom lhis sea. Give me a ladder with which I can scale this height, lec me words with which I can de« scribe this love. The apostle says in one place. "unsearchabler’ in_another, "past finding out." Height overtop- ng' all height; depth plunging be- neath all depth: breadth compassing all immensity. Oh, this love! GOD SO LOVED THE WORLD. He loves you. Don't you believe it? Has He not done everything to make you think so? He has given you life, health. friends, homeâ€"the use of your hand» the sight. of your eye, hearing of your car. He has strewn your path with mercies. He has fed you. sheltered you, defended you. 10V8d You. importuned you, all your life 10118. Don’t you believe He loves you! Why, this morning, if you should start up from the wilderness of your 5111, He would throw both arms around you. To make you believe that He loves you, He. stooped to manger, and cross, and sepulchre'.‘ With all the passtons of His holy nature roused, He Stands before you today, and would coax you to happiness and heaven. Oh. this father‘s kiss! There is so much meaning,' and! love, and com- so much heaven in it. Iâ€" proclaim Him the Lord God, merciful, gracious, and long~suffering, abundant in goodness and truth. Lest you would not believe Hlm, He good up to Golgotha, and while the rocks are rending, and the graves are opening, and the mobs are howling, and. thesun is hiding, He dies for ’you. See Him! See Him on the Mount of Crucifixion, the sweat on His brow tinged with the blood exud- Iug' from His lacerated temples! See his eyes swimming. in death! Hear the loud breathing of theSufferer as He. pants With a world en'His heart! Hark to the fall cf the" blood from brow, and Ihand, and foot, on the rocks , beneathâ€"drop! drop! ,' 'drop! Look at the nails! How wide the wounds are! Wider do they gap! as His {bodyl' comes .down up- on them.. 'Oh this crucifixion agony. Tears melting! into tears. Blood._flowirng into blood. Darkness dropping! on darkness. , Hands of men joined with, hands of devils to tear apart the quivering heart of the Son of 'GOd! 'Oh!' will” He never speak agatnf Will that crimson-face never Ugh.t 1,11) again? . - HE WILL SPEAK AGAJN; while the blood is suffusi-ng HIS brow, andreddening His cheek, and gather- ing on. nostril and lip, and you think that He: is eXhaueted and‘ cannot” .speak, He cries out until all'.the ages hear him: “Father, forgive them, they know not what theydol" ~Is there'ifo emphasts. in such ascene as that to .m-ake your dry 'e‘yes weep, and your hard henrbb‘reak-f’Wi‘ll you turn your back upon it; and say by your actions what the Jews said by their Hun down. Love opened the gate. Love grave. _LOVe" lifted Him up in the re~ snrrectlcnu., Sovereign lo‘ve.‘ ‘Omnino- tent love. Infinite love. ' Bleeding words: “Hisblood :be on us, and on our children? XVh'at: doesl'it all mean, my brother, my sister? ', \Vhy, it means that forour losh’ race there was a. Father’s-' kiss. Love brought Everlasting love... . I . . 7.011, for this lovelet rocks and hills,‘ Their/lashing silence break; ’ ‘2'" ' And all-:harmonious human tongues The Saviour's prais‘cs speak." Now,- will you accept that Father's kiss? The Holy Spirit asks you to. The Holy Spirit James to you this passion in it'; so much pardon in it;. 8. Love sheltered the V morning- with His arousing, meeting, alarming, inviting, vivilyjng jnflu- ence. Hearer. what creates in thee that unrest? It is the Holy‘ Ghost. What sounds in your ears . to-day, the joys of the saved, and’ the sorrows of the condemned? It is the Holy Ghost. What influence now tells thee that it: is time to fly, that to-morrow may be too late; that there is one door, one road, one cross, one sacrifice, one Jesus? It is the Holy Ghost. Don't you think Heishere'l Isee it in ‘those I see it in those tear- solemnv looks. fuI eyes. I see it in. those blanched checks. I see, it in the upturned, face 01‘ childhood and the earnest gaze of old- age. I. know it from this silence like the grave.» The Holy Ghost. is here. and, while I speak, the chalns of. captives are falling, and the dun- geons of sin are opening, and! the pro- dlg-als coming, and the Father is run- ning, and angels are shouting, and devils are trembling. Oh, it isa mo»- mentous hour. It is charged with eternal destinies. The shadows of the eternal world flit over this assem- blage. Hark! I. hear the songs of the saved. I hear the bowling of the damned. Heaven and hell seem .to mingle, and eternity poises on the pivot of this hour. Thy hestiny is being decided. Thy doom is being fix- ed. The door of mercy, so wide open, begins to close. It trembles on its hinges, and soon will be shut. ‘These g0 Into life, and those go into death; and these have begun the march to heaven. and those have commenced to die. These have begun to rise. and those have begun to Sink. Hallelujah! Hallelujah! \Voel Woe! It seemS'to me as ifthe judgment were past. I 1m- agtne it 18 past. I imagine that all the sentences have been awarded, the righteous enthroned, 1h) wi ked dl‘l' an away: in his wickedness. Shut all the gates of heaven. There are no more to come in. Bolt all the gates of dark- nessâ€"no more to be allowed" to come out. Hark! the eternal ages have beâ€" gun their unending trampl tram’pl â€"â€"_‘ BATTLE FIELD POST OFFICES. [low Tommy Allrhm Gets rm Letters In “'In- Times. At one time it was impossible for our troops engaged on active service in a foreign land to receivefland de- spatch letters, says the London Daily hfflll. _ i But now all that is changed, and no matter where he goes, or in what numbers, “Tommy " is almost as cer- tain of receiving his letters as you are here in England. Every non-com- missioned officer and man in the 24th Middlesex Rifle Volunteers is apostal employ’e, most of them being sorters tricts, each district having its own company. ' The "Army Post-office Corps” is the "M" Company of the 24th. The “L” Company is the Field Telegraph Corps a1 Engineers. way to the Cape, and more will fol- low if required. , It Was in the Egyptian campaigns ities first made use of these London volunteers for active service. And ever since the manoeuvres were com- have always done the field post-office work, ‘as well as attending to the vol- unteer rtaining camps at Aldershot, Shorncliffe, etc. ‘ - When a camp is moving the post- office 'is always one of the first away, and the first thing "Tommy" {does on arriving on the camping ground is to look for thered- and white flag, showing the position of his postâ€"office, his dear ones at home. One can easily picture the ‘gri’myf, powder-blackened, perhaps blood-Stained soldiers, storm- ing their post-office after some bloody battle, anxious to inform, those at disablement of a chum. office Corps is very popular with "Tommy Atkins," who looks upon them as the only means of relieving the mental anguish of a dearly loved mother, wife” or sweetheart; The quantity of 'postal? matter for the troops is already enormous, and to an ordinary observer it would seem impossible foriaihundred men or so to..dea_l with it; but so skilled is your requires some six-rof them ’to look afâ€" terjseven 01‘.eigiht battalions; beâ€" soldier, PRESCRIBING FOR THE EMPEROR. or postmen in the Lindon postal dis- attached on active service to the Roy- 3 About 130 men are already on their 1 of 1882-5 that the War Office author-» the great link that connects,him with home of their safety or the death or, t . . _ The Post-'threaten him -'w1th punishment, he London sorter or-‘postman'that it only' Posluon of the Mod ('t-lcbratea Physician In (‘hlnzh - The responsibilities of a. physician are never light, but surely one who has to prescribe for a patient Whom he may neither question or touch, and. upon whom he hardly dares to look for fear of a serious breaabl 'of etiâ€" quette, finds himself in a hard place. This is the condition ofa Chinese doc- tor who is called! upon to attend the emperor. A Shanghai correspondent gives a curiously interesting story of the enforced attendance of (then Lien- Fang, the most celebrated) native phy- sician in China, upon the emperor. In October an imperial edict directed the governors and. viceroys to send physicians of distinction to the capiâ€" ‘ tal, and Chen Lienâ€"Fang was ordered to report to the grand council. The .account of his experience was given by himself. . i A few days after his arrival at. Pe- king he was summoned tctan audience. That audience was certainly formid- ‘able. Entering the presence of the l sovereign on his knees, he crossed the apartment in that position to the place where the emperor and the dowager empress were seated at opposite sides of a low table on a dais. ‘ ' The emperor looked pale and listâ€" less, had a troublesome irritation of the throat, and was evidently feverish. The empress, who struck the (physician as an extremely well-preserved and in- telligent woman, seemed solicitous about the patient's health, and careful for his comfort. f 'As it would hlavuo been a serious breach of ‘etiquette for the Idoetor to ask any questions of his majesty, the empress proceeded to describe his symptoms, the invalid occasionally Sig.- nifying confirmation by a word or a nod. During the monologue the doctorI following the customary procedure at imperial audiences, kept his eyes (fix- led on the floor. Finally, 'at the com- imand elf the empress, and still kneel. i‘ng, he was permitted! to place one hand upon the emperor’s wrist. This I was no feeling of thc'pu'lse, but simply gthe contact of the flat of the hand ’first with one si-rlJ-a of 'the wrist and then with the other. This accomplish- ed, the empress continued her recital .of the patient’s sufferings. She described the state of his tongue land the symptoms of ulceration in the lmouth- and throat, but as it was not Ipermissible for the doctor to tcxamine ,these for~himself, he was obliged to :mnke the most of a somewhat unproâ€" , fessional description. As he pertinent: fly observed, it is difficult to look at In patient’s tongue when his exalted" (rank compels you to keep your eyes fastened on the floor. The empress having concluded her remarks on the case. Chen lLien-Fang was permitted to withdraw, and to present to the grand council his diagâ€" nosis, together with advice as to fu- ture treatment. These .were subse- quently communicated officially to the lthrone. The physician prescribed cer- . tain tonics of the orthodox native typo, lamd suggested the greatest possible lamouint of mental and physical rest. ___¢...__ KAFFIR LYING. menced on Salisbury Plain the 24th A “hole Race With no Knowledge of Trulht'ulncss. makes an interesting study. You cannot understand him all at once. It requires time, and a. good deal of it. A new arrival thinks the Kaffir is aborn prevaricator of the truth, and has his reasons for so thinki'fi‘g. ! Suppose you catch a " boy "’ commitâ€" ting a misdemeanor. Ask him what he has been doing, and he will look up in your; face a picture of innocence, and reply, “Ikona, baass"â€"a plump denial," Tell him you saw him do it, The Kaffir will still persist in maintaining his innocence. He will still plead ignor- ant of the misdeed, and mutter in as- tonishment or fear, " Ikona baass.” In 'fact'he knows nothing whatever about it. If the offence be one that cannot be overlooked, you proceed to adminâ€" ister reproofâ€"with the foot, if you are not particular, and wish to be im- pressive. What does he do? If heis sides, each man is‘ 'a highly efficient a rewj-‘L'bor'f and"n0,t,usod to it. h}! "and. che'.London press was runs off With a terrified look on his unanimous in its‘ praises of the 24th 13305?» if he is used to it. he “tires last royal review in Hyde Park. On foreign service the men Wear Middleséx’ as the steadiest and mbst precipitatelyz' with, a satisfied smile, efficient of ,v the whole fity-one bat- “013 118539553T11Y‘ behause he has 80h the talioms of infantry present at the thraShmg, bUt because he no longer has to look forward to it. The only explanation of the system- Engineer uniform; at home the atic lying Off the, “Elli-V9 in the face same as the Rifle brigade. The full’ 0f the mOSt CODVlncmg‘ PI‘OOf Is that strength of the corps is about 1,200 the native mind is totally unable to men, under the command of Colonel Raffles-Thompson. â€"â€" 4â€"__ CHANCE OF ATHLETES. Farmerâ€"Yes, I want a man. you a goodujumperrl I Applicantâ€"Jumper? Well, yes. Are without much trouble, Is'pose? ,Umâ€"I s'pos'e so. \Vell, that's all right then; you'll do. You see some of our bulls is 121 leetle wild. v.- .a BARGAIN. form a conception of' what we under- stand by truthfulness. The ethical system.,of the Kaffir is of a m'ost rudimentary character. His difficulty in grasping the ethics of white people is only'e‘qualled by the diffiCulty which the ordinary Euroâ€" pean experiences in comprehending the You could jump a barbedâ€"“lire fence standard Of ethics recognized the Kaffir. Thus inability probably acâ€" counts in great measure for the some- times rather harsh wayu in which many EEuropeans treat; the blacks un- _ der their charge.‘ I SDIU-NDED so. Mack O’Rellâ€"_That marris very un--~~ Tessâ€"yIsn't she a. peculiar girl? She grateful to Dame Fortune. wouldn’t look at him when ’ he was rich, but now, after he's lost all his money, she accepts him? Jessâ€"O, well, you know how crazy every woman is to get anything that's reduced. Luke flvarmeâ€"In what. way? Mack O'RelllSlV-hy, he found a dim mo-nd in the street the other day, and guess whnt he said. Luke VVarm-eâ€"Can't imagine. Mack O'Rellâ€"This is hard tack- . - «w...«..- b’... .- we,“ a,_.:. M vn- raw-typifir' -u:.2=~7:.-«7 “um... . ' duke -.-.. â€"‘l .m..~.._. ' . .« AIR. . ,A,..-, . , . h...”