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SYNAPSIS.

Burton II. Barnes, a wealthy Americanourins Corsica, rescues the young Eng-

lish lieutenant. Edward Gerard Anstruth-e- r.

and his Corslcan bride. Marina,daughter of the Paolls. from the , mur-derous vendetta, understanding that hisreward is to be the hand of the girl heloves. Enid Anstruthcr. sister of the Eng-lish lieutenant. The four fly from AJac-ci-o

to Marseilles on board the Frenchsteamer Constantine. The vendetta pur-sti- es

and as the quartet are about toloard the train for London at Marseilles.Marina is handed a mysterious notewhich causes her to collapse and necess-itates a postponement of the journey.Barnes gets part of the mysterious noteand receives letters which Inform himthat he is marked by the vendetta. Heemplojs an American detective and plansto beat the vendetta at their own game.1'or the purpose of securing the safetyof the women Barnes arranKes to haveLady Chartris lease a secluded villn atNicf: to which the party is to be takenin a yacht. Suspicion is created thatMarina is in league with the Corsica ns.A man. believed to be Corregio Danella.is seen passing the house and Marina isthought to have given him a sign. Ma-

rina refuses to explain to Barnes whichfact adds to his latent suspicions. Barnes"plans for the safetv of the party arelearned by the Corsicans. The carriagecarrying their party to the local landingis followed by two men. One of thehorsemen is supposed to he Corregio.They try to murder the American. Thecook on the yacht a Krenchman is sus-pected or foinplicity in the plot. Theparty anchors at St. Tropez. The yachtin followed hv a small hoat. The cook isdetected giving signals to the boat.Barnes attempts to throw him overboard,but i. prevented by Marina and Enid.The cook is found to be innocent of thesupposed plot and is forgiven. The partyarrive at Nice and find Ladv Chartrisand her daughter Maud domiciled in thev:il:i rented with Barnes money. Barnesis smazed to find that Count Corregio isat Nice and is acting the role of admirerto Lady Chartris. Barnes and Enidmake arrangements for their marriage.The net tightens about Barnes. He re-ceives a note from 1m Belle Blackwood,the American adventuress. Barnes hearsthat Elijah Emory, his detective, hasbeen murdered by the Corsicans. Helearns that the man supposed to be Cor-tegi- o.

who followed the party on theirway to the boat, was Salicetl. a nephewof the count, and that Count Corregiohad been in Nice for some time prior tothe party's arrival.

CHAPTER VIII. Continued."Will that woman never let me

alone?" thinks the American, andpushes the note back in his pocket."I'll forget Sally Spotts forever by go-

ing and seeing the minister."But at the entrance to the residence

of the. divine a suspicion enters hismind that he is being followed. Hemakes his interview with the ministerof the church of England a very shortone, and coming rapidly out of thehouse, his quick eyes perceive twomen on the opposite side of the streetThese turn casually toward the trafficof the busy avenue from the railroadstation and are lost in the crowd froman arriving train.

Now that his footsteps are beingdogged, he thinks he had better seePerrier, the French detective recom-mended by the Pinkerton mau. There-fore, keeping his eyes about him sharpat any dark corners of the streets, hewalks' to the Rue Palermo, and ringsthe bell at the house mentioned inEmory's letter.

Here an old woman concierge in-

forms him that Monsieur Perrier'sroom is number four on the secondfloor.

Barnes, pushing his way to numberfour on the second floor, is confrontedat the door of this apartment by a manof very brisk manner, sharp, penetrat-ing eyes and a nose whose peculiaraquiline formation impresses itself onBarnes' memory.

"In order to avoid any mistake,"whispers the American, "I simply men-tion to you the word 'Vendetta. "

"And I simply reply 'Marseilles,'"answers the man, "but I don't wish ohave anything to do with the affair."

"You are Monsieur Perrier?""Yes. of course; you know by my re-

turning the word of recognition toyou," remarks the Frenchman.

"I must have a reason for your de-clining to aid me. This matter is tooimportant for you not to listen to me."

"I have been informed," answersPerrier, "by my poor friend Emory'sletters of this peculiar and most un-

fortunate affair, but I do not wish toengage in it"

"Why not?" asks Barnes, shortly."Don't you think I have money to payfor it?"

"Of course. I know Monsieur isrich," answers the Frenchman, depre-catingl- y.

"But my life is my onlj- - as-

set I have a wife and children. I sawone vendetta in Corsica a few yearsago, and I don't want to get into an-

other cat fight where cats are armedwith stilletos. Your enemies alreadyknow your location at Villefranche,Bernardo Salicetl has come from Cor-sica hoping to win the election in hisisland by vengeance upon you. Heand --Enrico Danella, the dead Musso'snephew, are in Nice."

"Has Enrico a scar upon his fore-head over his yeft eye?" asks Barnes,eagerly.

"He has.""Then I've the name of the scar-face-d

gentleman, thank you," remarksBurton. "Now it is necessary youcome into this affair. Perrier. You'vegot to aid not only me, but twowomen."

The answer that comes causesBarnes to look aghast

"I dare not" answers Perrier, short-ly. "The fate of my poor friend Em-ory Is too horrible."

"Fate! What fate?""Why, he was to be here two days

ago, according to his letters to me,to arrange for guarding your villa.He is not here even to-da-y. His lastnote from St Tropez indicated he wasclose upon the track of those whohave sworn this bleod fend againstvou and all who aid you. That letterwas written four days ago and whathas become of Emory?"

"How can I tell?" matters the Amer-ican gloomily.

"But I can," answers the private de-tective. "Madame Blackwood, forwhom I have executed some little com-missions, called on me two days agoexcitedly. 'Perrier, she said, In herAmerican abruptness, 'I want yon tobring to jastJce some villains who !

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'You saw him killed?' I asked.'No, but I've got evidence a fewwords from she checked herself;but added, 'I don't dare to tell Mr.Ruggles of this; he's so impulsivehe'd spend his money and his blood,too, to bring a murderer of one of hiscountrymen to justice. So you justgo on and get the evidence againstthese fellows and trot them to theguillotine.' But the fate of EmQrywarned me, I determined to give upthe whole affair," adds Perrier.

"Thank you again," sneers Barnes,and coming out the American laughsto himself. But the mention of Ma-

dame Blackwood reminds him of herletter. "By George, Sally's note hint-ed at -- grave danger to me. It mustbe this Emory business!" and withoutmore ado Mr. Barnes, hurriedly keep-ing bis eyes alert for sudden daggers,ma.-3- s his way to the promenade, bythe sea and shortly after enters theluxurious Hotel St. Petersburg.

It is ten in the evening. He isabout to send up his card to MadameBlackwood and request an interviewwhen she enters. As she comes inby the ladies' entrance, the Kansascattle king, who attends her, chancesto glance into the office and calls out:"Whew. Barnes, that was a lucky ad- -

rirtss vnn cavp nip in Paris fiv weeksago," and, taking him aside, whispers, j

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"Why He Was to Bo

"I caught the lady. The goods camehigh, bnt they're worth the money.Step up and have supper with us."

This invitation Barnes finds it im-

possible to politely decline, as SallyBlackwood has already put her beauti-ful eyes upon him and said: "So gladyou're here. You mustn't refuse. Wesaw so little of you in Monte Carlo."

A moment later Barnes finds him-self ushered into La Blackwood's priv-ate parlor, where supper is shortlyserved to them. Several times Burtonis about to hint at the purport of hernote, but the expressive eyes of theadventuress warn him to hold histongue. Coffee, however, is no soonerserved than the fascinating creaturesays: "Now, Dan, supposing you rundownstairs and have your smoke there.I want to talk with Mr. Barnes ofNew York something I don't wantyou to hear. That needn't make youjealous it's about my parents inOhio."

The minute the cattle king disap-pears the lady's manner changes. Shecries airily: "Guess what made mewrite to you?"

"Hate," mutters Barnes, betweenpuffs of his cigarette.

"No, though I ought to hate you.What I want to see you about " LaBlackwood's ey. become intense andher voice falls to a whisper' "is tosave your life if I can. Do you knowthat half of a commune in Corsicawant your blood?"

"I've guessed it in the last fewdays." observes Barnes grimly.

"Are you acquainted with a certainCount Cipriano Danella?"

"Nevei have seen him.""No, bat you've heard of him?""Oh, yes, he's a brother of the Da-

nella who was killed in Corsica.""Yes. Now, this gentleman, who is

a very good man and very tenderhearted, obtained an introduction tome about three days ago on the desAnglais. From some words of a LadyChartris, a cousin of yours, he haslearned that you are to marry veryshortly the pretty girl whose lips Ithreatened to kiss at Monte Carlo.Well, this Cipriano Danella, who looksquite romantic in his Corsican mourn-ing, while making love to me till Dangot jealous," she laughs slightly, "hint- -

ed to me that it would be very unfor--

innate fcr Miss Anstruther should she! become Mrs. Barnes of New York;

that, as your wife, she would bedrawn into this blood feud that hasbeen declared ' against you. 'Now,'suggested Count Cipriano, 'you are thelady-be- st fitted by past friendship andpresent charm, to prevent this dan-ger to the pretty English girl, by de-

stroying the wedding.'""You have brought me here for

this?" says Burton, his eyes growingangry.- "Walt! Listen! As an American,my desire is to protect you fromdeath. I appeared to accede to Clpri-ano'- s

request to fascinate you again.I wonder if I could do it?" .She looksat him roguishly and laughs throughher white teeth. "Don't be frightenedof me. So I pumped the romanticCorsican, who made half love to mewhile he tried to persuade me. I foundbut that not only was the communeof Boco Bocognano or something ofthat kind anxious for your blood, bntthat several gentlemen from thatneighborhood were here in order toobtain it and to make their task easy,they had done up in some way or oth-

er a detective you had employed toshadow them, a Yankee named Emory,I believe. Therefore, I said to myself:'I'll take care if possible to inform Mr.Barnes of the dangers that surroundhim, and if he is the man I think him,he is about as well able to protecthimself and his coming bride as any-

one I know.""Hold up a moment. I want to ask

you a question," interrupts Barnes."What makes you think the devilshave done up poor Emory?"

"Well, a careless expression ofCount Danella only this: 'He won'tbother them again,' something of thatkind from Cipriano."

"I must be going. I'm deeply grate-ful to you." Burton rises. "Mr. Ru-ggles"

"Don't be afraid. Dan won't be jeal-

ous."She extends to him her beautifully

formed white fingers dazzling with

Here Two Days Ago."

rings. "Good-by- , I hope you'll be hap-py on your wedding trip, but don't letlove make you careless, mon Bayard."

Barnes takes her hint His pistol isready as he throws open the door ofher apartment and passes cautiouslyout; so all the way down the stairs ofthe hotel he is careful as to corners,and out on the street well peopled asis the Des Anglais, the American hasa wary eye about him. Lady Char-tris has doubtless told Cipriano Da-

nella of his visit to Nice and that hereturns with her to her villa this even-ing. He therefore breaks his appoint-ment with Prunella and taking a hiredcarriage watches till the lady, tiredof waiting, drives angrily home, thenjogs along a few hundred yards be-

hind her, ready for any emergency.But nothing of a threatening natureis seen.

As the vehicle enters the groundsof the villa, the sight of a Scotch taron the lookout gives the coming bride-groom confidence in the sailor's watch.

As he wakes up in the morning, not-withstanding the thought that it is hiswedding day is dominant in his mind,he reflects over the matter. What hasthis Cipriano Danella done except 'toarouse his suspicions? "Even thecount's conversation with la BelleBlackwood didn't disclose that hemeditated any attack upon me or mybride," he reflects, moodily, "only thatCipriano wished to prevent an Inno-cent young girl being drawn Into thisfrightful feud. Hang it I can't shootthe cuss on suspicion and yet!" TheAmerican closes his jaw with a snap i

and goes down to breakfast to meetas charming a bride as the sun hasshone upon.

(TO BE CONTINUED.)

Lightning in Rots of Jailer.In playing pranks about a house a

bolt of lightning locked Wallace, fourteen-

-year-old son of William J. Wheel-er, in a closet at Worcester, Mass.,but failed to release him again. Theboy was in the house, when a boltcompletely wrecked, the dining room,forcing the windows out onto thelawn. He sought refuge in his favo-rite place, the cupboard, and had nosooner entered it than the bolt bitthe door and locked it He remainedthere until his parents came homeand heard his shrieks for help. 1

The State Capital

Matters '! Geaeral InterestHOM

Nebraska's Seat of Geverataeat

Merchandise is Defined.Attorney General Thompson, answer-

ing questions of the State Railwaycommission, has given an opinionholding that the Sibley act in refer-ring to "merchandise" means merchan-dise in its general sense and not asused in the classification by the ex-

press companies. Therefore the billprovides for a reduction on all com-modities of merchandise In the broad-est sense, including butter, eggs, coredand fresh meats, fruits, vegetables,commodities which Commissioner Will-iams claimed were not covered by theact Mr. Thompson finds that the actdoes not provide for the reduction ofthe money rate, as contended by Com-

missioner Williams. The attorneygeneral upholds the contention ofCommissioner Clarke as expressed ina warm discussion at a recent meetingof the commission. Mr. Williams hadasked the commission to ask for a re-

duction on articles which he, said theSibley act does not cover. The mat-

ter was referred to the attorney gen-

eral.The attorney general finds that the

only class of merchandise to whichthe 25 per eent reduction In the Sib-

ley law does not apply to is merchan-dise weighing one pound or less, wherethe rates of transportation are paid inadvance) and the carriage of merchan-dise consisting of cream, milk or poul-try contracted to be carried for a spec-

ial rate, where the contract was inforce when the act in question tookeffect, and for the transportation ofmerchandise where the rate on a par-

ticular shipment, in force January 1

did not exceed 15 cents.

Barker Again Faces Death.The supreme coure took no action

at the request of Judge F. G. Hameron behalf of Frank Barker, the Webster county murderer who is to behanged Friday of this week at thepenitentiary. Judge Hamer appearedtwice before the judges of the courtin their consultation .room. GrantMartin, assistant attorney general wascalled in to represent the state. Theorder of the supreme coure issued theday before affirming the proceedingsof the district court of Lancastercounty which resulted in a verdict ofa jury that Barker is sane still standsas the last utterance of the court oflast resort The court has not ad-

journed, however, and .Barker's attor-ney may have another opportunityto present his claim that the courtshould wait for a bill of exceptionsfrom the insanity inquiry and issue astay of sentence until the bill is ex-

amined to ascertain whether or notthe court of inquiry erred. The su-

preme court has thus far intimatedthat the inquiry into the sanity ofBarker and the verdict of the jury,being in all things according to thestatutes, ends the matter. Its orderaffirming the proceedings and the or-

der of the district court setting Jan-uary 17 as the date of execution is soconstrued. Judge Hamer did not havea bill of exceptions when he appliedfor a stay of sentence, but did file atranscript. He has had several monthsto get a bill of exceptions. Barkerhas been sentenced four times to behanged for a double murder.

Constitutional Amendments.The last legislature provided for the

submission of two important constitu-tional amendments to a vote of thepeople, one to increase the number ofjudges of the supreme court from threeto seven, giving them a salary of$4,500 each and increasing the sal-

aries of district judges from $2,500 to$3,000, and the other providing for theInvestment of state trust funds inschool district warrants and suchother securities as the legislature maydirect To secure the republicanparty endorsement of these amend;

1 ments so that straight party votes atthe general election will be countedfor them, the supporters of the pro-posed amendments are planning tosubmit them to the general primaryelection this fall. The party endorse-ment can be given only at the primaryand not in the platform convention.

Guardsmen Mustered OutCaptain Penrod was here from Beat,

rice to discuss with the adjutant gen-eral the matter of mustering out cfthe guard the Beatrice company. Cap-tain Penrod said th e company in-

tended to disband and the talk ofthe business men of Beatrice raisingmoney to keep up the company washot air, as practically none of the"business men were in the movementto raise the necessary funds. Thecompany receives $225 from the stateand its pays out $600 annually, whichCaptain Penrod said was entirely toofrucb to ask the members of the com-pan-y

to pay.

f Protest on Increased Rates.The State Railway commission re-

ceived a request from the IndependentTelephone company of Kearney, ask-ing permission to advance the ratesfor telephone service. The proposedfalse would give the company $3 perfaonth in place of $2 for businesstelephones, and $2 instead of $1.50 forresident telephone service. FrankBeeman of Kearney telephoned to' thecommissioners that he had written aletter protesting against such an ad-'Van- ce

in rates and fully set forth hisobjections.

Kruger Case Reversed.' The supreme court has reversed a'judgment for damages obtained byMette Kruger against the OmahaStreet Railway company. The girl,who is under 14 years of age, becamefrightened and jumped off of a movingcar. The court holds it to be the dutyof a street car conductor to use duecare and diligence to prevent a fren-zied person from alighting from a moving car, bnt in this case the courterred in instructing the jury that theBlaintiff might recover damages eventhough she was negligent in her act

a

Railroads and a New Law.Several county assessors have called

on George D.1 Bennett, secretary of theState Board of Assessment, to consulthim about the provisions of the ter-minal tax law. Mr. Bennett has al-

ready prepared the sample blanks tobe sent to the various county clerks,who in turn are to have blanks print-ed for the use of assessors. A meet-ing of the assesors is to be held duringthe winter and Mr. Bennett' will ex-

plain the provisions of the bill to them.The railroads are making blue printsof their local property in every townin the state and sending one copy tothe local assessors, one will be sentto the state board and one will bekept as the railroad offices. The Un-ion Pacific is also attaching to its blueprists the value of lots adjacent tothe railroad lots. This will be a par-tial guide to the assessors, but the fig.ures cannot be taken as a sure guide,because all read estate will be reas-sessed this year. Just how the stateboard is going to equalize the value ofthe lots with the lots adjacent hasnot been figured out, as the countyassessors return the total value of alllots in a county and the average value:No item is contained in the schedulefor the value of lots adjacent to rail-

road property. The board has figuredthat it cannot take the average valueof the lots in a county as the averagevalue of a railroad lot.

Balks on Oil Inspection.Whether the Nebraska law intends

that oil shipped into the state andused by a company or individualwhich does not offer it for sale, shouldbe inspected or not will be the pointin question in a frienly suit by StateInspector Allen against tha BurlingtonRailroad company, which has refusedto pay a bill for inspection of oil atits shops in Lincoln. Some time agothe state oil inspector sent a bill tothe Burlington railroad for a consider-able sum for inspecting the oil usedat the shops in Lincoln. State Oil In-

spector Allen received a letter fromGeneral Manager G. W. Holdredgc inwhich Mr. Holdrege said the companyrefused to pay the bill, and did notbelieve that the law providing for theinspection of oil intended that such oilas was shipped in for the use of acompany or corporation, and not of-fen- ft

for sale, should be subject to anyinspection. Mr. Holdrege suggestedthat if the oil Inspector desired to testthe law en the point, he would be gladto have a friendly suit brought againstthe Burlington railroad company forthe collection of the bill. InspectorAllen announced that he would bringa suit at once.

Largest Number of Convicts.Warden A. D. Beemer reported that

he had 407 convicts under his care.This Is the largest number ever in theNebraska penitentiary. Only once be-

fore did the number reach 400. W.H. Dorgan of Lincoln, formerly prisoncontractor, tells how that high markwas made. It was during the timeWyoming state prisoners were keptat the Nebraska state penitentiary.When the number reached 399 reportcame that another prisoner was on theway. It was also known at the prisonthat one convict would leave the sameday by reason of expiration of sen-tence. The man whose term expiredwas kept in the penitentiary untilnoon. By that time' the new prisonerhad arrived, and thus the numberreached 400. Warden Beemer's month-ly report shows 404 prisoners on thelast day of December.

Telegraph Companies Report.The Western Union Telegraph com-

pany, against, which suit was filedsome time ago for failure to furnishthe railway commission with informa-tion, filed its report for 1907.- - to-

gether with a list of those who heldframes last year. The list includesOmaha, Lincoln and Norfolk newspa-pers and a number of railroad off-

icers, who held the privileges at thetime the law forbidding them went intoeffect. None was issued in 1908, ac-cording to the report

The statement shows the capitalstock of the company to be $97,370,000.The total revenue of the company in1900 was $30,675,645.53 and in 1907$32,856,406.25, an increase of $2,180,-751.7- 2.

The profits in 1906 wereand in 1907 $4,904,149.05, a

decrease of $838,458.83. The totalproperty was $157,378,971.95, includ-ing the franchise.

Commissioner Ames Resigns.Supreme Court Commissioner John

H. Ames tendered bis resignation tothe supreme court and it was accept-ed. Mrs. Ames is in poor health andJudge Ames will leave with her atonce for the south. This was the rea-son given for the resignation. No onehas yet been appointed to fill the va-

cancy.

Cut in Laundry Blli.The state will not pay for the laun-dryin- g

of the shirtwaists, corset cov-

ers and other female wearing apparelfor which a claim was recently filedwith the state auditor by the secre-tary of the board of regents of thestate university. President Ernest' ofthe board of regents has withdrawn hisapproval of the voucher.

Omaha Gets Convention.Omaha is the place and Thursday,

March 12, is the date for the republi-can state convention which is to se-

lect the delegates-at'Iarg- e and alter-nates-at-larg-e-

to go to the Chicagoconvention. The time and place ofmeeting of the congressional districtconvention to select district delegatesand alternates was left to the congres-sional committees of the different dis-

tricts, with the recommendation thatthey fix the same time and place asthe state convention.

Judge Sedgwick Honored.Chief Justice S. H. Sedgwick of

the supreme court was given a magni-ficent gold headed cane. It was pre-

sented in an informal manner by JudgeJ. B. Barnes on behalf of the judgesof the court and the court commis-sioners. Chief Justice Sedgwick re-

tired from office and his associates,most of whom have been with himfor the past six years, took this as afitting occasion to show, their regardfor' him. He left for his home inYork, carrying with him the bestwishes of the entire bar of the state.

A MATRIMONIAL

V THE.MCHWAY AMD BYWAY

tOyrht,Mfc.bytAr,W..lScripture Authority 1 Kings 3:1;

11:1-4- .

SERMONETTE.

"Solomon made affinity withPharaoh, king of Egypt, and tookPhareah's daughter and broughther into the city of David." Herowas the first stop in a coursewhich was to work the ruin ofSolomon's life.

"Be yo not unequally yokod to-gath- er

with unbelievers," is theScriptural admonition. It wasone of the 'laws of the Jewishdispensation on which great em-

phasis was laid, and it is ono 'ofthe admonitions of the Chris-tian dispensation which is clear-ly and positively set forth by the

'Apostle Paul.Why should this be so? Why

cannot we have happy success-ful union between the Christianand the non-Christia- "i he apos-

tle answers the question whenhe goes on to ask: "for whatfellowship hath righteousnesswith unrighteousness? and whatcommunion hath light with dark-ness?"

There is no relationship in lifeso intimate and close as that ofhusband and wife, and hence ifsuch relationship is to be endur-ing there must be fellowship andcommunion between the livesthus linked together.

It is then a question as towhat direction such fellowship

vu:il-- j -- ..:... -- u.ti -- l.nu wuiiiiiiuiiiwm siiii Mite milthe righteousness dominate theunrighteousness, the light thedarkness? Or will the heart ofthe worldling 'lead away fromGod the one who has pledgedhimself to God? Will the world--

liness stifle and quench the lightof God's truth which has shinedin the heart?

Almost invariably the mar-riage of the Christian with thenon-Christi- works disaster tothe faith of the former.

Solomon's union with Phara-oh's daughter was a brilliantpolitical mlrriage, with everyreason from a human and world-ly point of view to commend itIt gave him a powerful ally tothe south, assuring not only pro-

tection from attack from thatquarter, but strengthening hishands with the nations to thenorth and east It gave a bril-

liant aspect to the reign of KingSolomon and was the beginningof that splendor and magnifi-cence which marked his entirereign. And further, it broughtinto the national life of Israel aliberal, progressive elementwhich was broadening in its in-

fluence, commercially and so--

And yet in spite of all the tern- - oporary advantages which wereto accrue, it was an unwise, un-

safe, and unholy alliance.Unwise, because counter to

the explicit command of. God,and certain it is thatof God's command IFbrings ruin.

Unsafe, because it was notonly weakening the nationalideals of a people wholly setapart to God, but a weakeningalso of the individual idealswhich were going to make thesecond step away from Godeasier.

Unholy, because a violationof a righteous principle absolute-ly essential to the. moral andspiritual uplift of the humanrace. Not even a king couldtransgress the .sacred obliga-tions to God and escape theconsequences.

"Be not unequally yoked to-

gether with unbelievers, is acommand as binding upon thosewho occupy the exalted placesof life as it is upon those ofmore humble station.

r I

THE STORY.choosing of a wife is one ofTHE most important steps of life.

It is a matter which must not beconsidered hastily. Sentiment mustnot be allowed to run away with judg-ment or expediency cover up the ob-ligation which one owes to God andGod's law. Where love is based onsomething deeper than mere physi-cal beauty, and on something higherthan mere human attainment; inother words, where love includes inits inspiration and its expression thethought of loyalty and devotion toGod, then and then only is love a safeguide. Sentiment and passion are notlove, and expediency and convenienceare sign posts which point to thematrimonial whirlpool of disappoint-ment and ruin. Man was intendedfor woman and woman for man, butGod intended that they should bemated and not mismated. What Godjoins together is never put asunder.

It was no secret in Israel that a wifewas being sought for the young andhandsome King Solomon. Since hiscoming to the throne it had beenrecognized as one of the importantmatters requiring solution. With thechief men of the nation and thoseclose to the king in the administra-tion of the affairs of the nation itwas a question as to where theyshould look for a consort for theirking.

More than one of the chief men ofthe nation secretly, wished that hisown fair daughter might be the oneselected to be queen, but each withbecoming modesty refrained fromopenly advancing the claims of theirrespective daughters, so that appar-ently no progress was made in thequest for a wife for Solomon.

And perhaps the one least con-cerned over the .matter was Solomonhimself. His had been a busy life'

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since coming to the throne.earnest, devout spirit in which hohad entered upon the great obliga-tions of ruling a kingdom had. kepthim steadfast and faithful to histask. He felt his youth, his inexperi-ence, his limitations? and with thebenediction and blessing of the GodlyDavid resting upon "him and bis ex-

ample pointing him to God as thesource or all wisdom and strength, hehad sought the Lord with a greatyearning to know and do the divinewill. This had become known toall the nation, and after his return toJerusalem from' Gibeon after his re-

markable vision la which God hadpromised him wisdom and riches aadhonor, he found the chief mem. aadleaders of the people and the peoplethemselves moved by one spirit oflove and devotion to the apheiMlagof the kingdom. So it had cosse topass that the aatioa was solidifiedaad strengthened aad immediately be-gan to feel the stimulus of that ag-

gressive spirit which was to mttbamte-l- y

make of Solomon's kingdom therichest and most prosperous and mostenlightened of any of the nationsabout.

Sack-- remarkable development andprogress could not but arouse the in-

terest if not apprehension, of theneighboring kingdoms, and eagerlysteps were taken to show friendlyspirit towards the nation of Israel aadto invite exchange of treaties wherebyboth the commercial and the politi-

cal interests of the two would beserved. Thus rapidly did there de-

velop a system of trade relationships,so that there was a constant "streamof merchantmen passing to and fromJerusalem. And in this way the mat-

ter of choosing a wife for King Solo-mon became known .to the nationsabout,, and it was not long ere bril-

liant embassies were arriving at Jeru-salem with proposals of marriagewith the princesses of the neighboringcations, even Egypt sending an offerof the hand of the daughter of Pha-raoh.

Good old Nathan, the prophet, wasnot a little perturbed by this latestdevcTopment of the situation, and lostno time in reminding King Solomonof the restrictions which the Mosaiclaw placed upon marriage with thenations about He would have beenglad if the king would have sum-

marily bundled the whole company ofambassadors . back to the kingdomsfrom which they had come, but Solo-

mon was too keen a diplomat for that,and while he did not ignore the ad-

monitions of Nathan, he felt attract-ed by the brilliant prospects whicha foreign alliance offered. And wherethe soul comes face to face with thequestion of religious duty or expe-

diency which promises rich and glori-

ous present reward, there is apt tobe the struggle which only too oftenis decided finally in favor ofexpediency, with the hope and pur-

pose that the religious obligationsshall not be forgotten or neglected.So it was with Solomon, and wheathe messengers came from the kingof Egypt they found him more thanwilling to listen to their proposals.

And again the good and faithful Na-

than came to the king and urged up-

on his heart the absolute claims ofGod, and with a last parting appealhe left him just as the evening shad-ows were gathering.

Long the young king sat while thestruggle went on in his heart Hewas too devout and loyal to God towillfully and absolutely violate thecommand of God, but he let question-ings arise in his heart as to whetherthe word of God meant just whatNathan urged it did. Was' the law ofGod intended to narrow the life aadlimit the possibilities? Was servingGod a hindrance to success and pow-

er? And so as he let the questionsand doubts arise it obscured his vis-

ion of right until the heart becameTess sensitive to God's claims andmore alive to the advantages to begained by following the course whichdesire and reason ladicated.

"Why cannot I make this allianceand still maintain my loyalty to God?And what a splendid opportunity itwill be of bringing the knowledge, ofthe true God to the Egyptians. Seehow such alliance will not only ad-

vance the material prosperity of thekingdom of Israel1, but how it will ad-

vance the cause of the God of Israel."Thus there grew upon his vision

the picture of what Israel was yetto become and again he asked himselfthe question whether he would be do-

ing right not to take advantage ofevery opportunity of advancing thematerial prosperity of his kingdom?And as the matter became settled inhis own mind, gradually the voice ofGod ceased to struggle with him onthat point, and so a peace came anda settled conviction that the policyof expediency was the right policy.

And so to Nathan the next day theking sent saying:

"This thing seemeth good to me.See what glory and honor it willbring to the nation of Israel."

And King Solomon dismissed themessengers of the king of Egypt withrich presents for the princess, andsent his courtiers to prepare for theapproaching nuptials.

BOAST OF OUR CONTINENT.

America Has the World's Supply ofHumming Birds,

Though the art museums of Europemay have some treasures of whichAmerica cannot boast our continenthas the distinction of a monopoly ofthe world's supply of humming birds,the gems of all the feathered creation.Of these there are said to be some 4tospecies the 400 we may call them!nearly all of which are peculiar to thetropical regions. Only 18 cross theborders of the United States fromMexico, and occur only in our south-western states.

The popular idea is that the hum-mer lives only on honey, gatheredfrom flowers. This is a mistake. Thebird does secure some honey, bnt Itsfood consists mainly of the small in-

sects which frequent the flowers. Someof these insects are injurious to theblossom, and the tiny bird fulfills auseful function in destroying them.That the hummer is insectivorous isalso shown by its habit of catchingtiny- - insects on the wing, which Isoccasionally observed. H. K. Job, laOuting Magazine.

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