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CURRENT TOPICS. ./ Prof. Stanley Jevons has been most famous perhaps as a historian. But ho is fated to become quite as celebrated as a prophet. Ho founds his prophecies on his history, and l]|rthat way deduces them aa logical --.~»,y^nd natural and inevitable sequen- ces from his premises. Tliey are (he answers to puzzles, the answers / to problems in arithmetic. They are the calculations of an astron- omer who fixes the course of comets thousands of years before the des- tined date of their visible arrival, although the professor most evi- dently expects his predicted pheno- mena to sweep over the heavens far within the period of a thousand years. And that although they arc far stranger and rarer than comets. Indeed in his latest vision lie for- eees what never has been. And that is a world slate, a world na- tion. LIFE IS WHAT WE MAKE IT G-reatness Is Not in Circumstance, Nor of Condition, But of Character "He leadeth me beside the still, bers of kings. It's a cheap and fu- waters." â€" Psalm xxiii., 2. j tile w'ay to greatness, this plan of By far the greater number of us \ Ijuying its uniform when you lack must live quiet, simple lives. To The Bible talks of all people dwelling together as one nation. Prof. JoTons believes it. He has outlined the sort of government that will rule the world state. And he has found the names for the of- ficials, and ho has predicted a world executive, the literal king of the earth. And he believes there will be such a sovereign within the next eighty years. He finds the beginn- ings of him and his cabinet in the petty ollicials connected with The Hague tribunal and the outgrowths of Th^ Hague peace conferences. Some international government of- ficials exint now. And they have existed for years. Only they work so silently and unobtrusively that no one knows about them. But the significance of their position is not discounted by its quiet and non-no- toriety. Rather, it is glorified. Theyâ€" these humble world officials â€" are the attaches of the internat- ional postal service with headquar- ters at Bern, Switzerland. They supervise and negotiate many mo- mentous little matters which affect you and me and which wo know nothing about. And they are held by the zealots of the world state to be the first forerunners of the world government departments. They are the first fruits oi the world state idea which really was born before it was conceived. It came with a spontaneous genera- tion and began to be cro any ono realized what its coming pretend- ed. Unless Prof. Jevons saw and unde rstood. He interprets a good iiiiiiil Ihiil^ftrfllmi li||lil of the na s cent world state. There are the machines of war. They are anni kilating the war . which they were invented to abet. When airships arrive they will be the most power ful military accoutcrmcnts ever dreamed. But they will bo more powerful in doing away with mili- tary tactics. Besides, of course, people are growing more friend- lier. Good will on earth is realiz ing as we all become more and ^more cosmopolitan. Overweening )ve of country is ceasing to bo a tue among the ethically modern, •uiong the ethical elite. They pre- fer worldism, cosmopolanism. They have evolved beyond the thought of the "bloody furrincr." For eigner and native alike are desir- able citizens. Somebody has writ- ten on patriotism as a primitive idi'ul. The civilized and cultured prefer the world state. the few who live in the limelight tho existence of the many may seem to be humdrum, flat, and uninter- esting. But we are all too ready to measure living by its externals and to decide that the life that nev- er leaps into the public glare must bo lived in a pitiable gloom. Are there not for all our lives, for these ordinary, simple lives of Lurs, high lights, flashes that re- deem the soul from sordid living, high levels to which we may rise in spirit at least and save life from the dull level of mere existence? How may we find and know such occasions. Are there not, too, what is of greater importance, splendid mo- tives, lofty aims, and inspiring ideals that may enter into and fill all the dull valleys of the lowliest life ? May not even the must com- monplace lot bo tronsfused with the glory of a great sacrifice or a splen- did aim? Who has not known great hearts, high minds, and noble souls that have never become known beyond their littlo circles, who have died, not unwept or unhonorcd, but un- hung berause tho sounds of their living have never reached tho ears of the bards of tho great, noisy world? ORDINARY PZOPLE may often be the best people. We tend to measure lives by their vic- issitudes rather than by their steady virtues. Those who make startling ascents and descents get themselves talked about, but for the plain busi- ness and leal work of the world the folks who stay on the ground are the ones we can count on. It is a good thing to be able to see the glory in the commonplace. We are so easily carried away at tho sight of the ancient, tawdry trap- pings of mediocrity that when true worth appears in homespun we re- ject it ; it lacks epaulets and fea- thers. We complain of fortune be- cause it refuses to dress us in tin- sel array. Modern heroes are more likely to be in jeans or in khaki than in crimson, and great lives are more likely to ho found in kitchens and workshops than in the council cham- its heart. The size and worth of your life depends on its^ims and motives and not on the measure of its po- pular recognition The world needs to-day not so much men and wo- men of startling powers as those of sterling qualities; not so much a few giants aa many of plain good- ness. The worth of our day depends more on what we are building' into the everyday things than on what some man may be saying or doing in the glare of publicity. Often it seems a weary business to take up the daily task, the same old grind day after day. Many af- fect to 'despise those who do it, but the pirits of eternity look down and AWARD THE CROWNS important. Tho River Amur is especially rich in salmon. The amount of preserved fish exported from Siberia grew from 640 tons in 1899 to 2,000 tons in 1902. The high price of salt and tin plate and the lack of skilled knowledge are re- tarding the Siberian canned fish in- dustry. The vast coniferous forest zone of Siberia is yielding ever increasing quantities of timber. On January I, 1906, the State forests of Russia in Asia covered 650,687,497 acres. The timber industry has scarcely began to be developed in Siberia. Mining has the greatest future of any Siberian industry. Gold in places is the chief mineral product â- At present. No statistics as to the amount of gold produced in Siberia can be obtained, as the figures are contained in the total output of the Russian Empire. ^ ' The average annual production of pig iron in the Ural and Siberia (separate statistics for Siberia not given) from 1902 to 1906, inclusive, was 657,440 tons. The Siberian out- put of coal, chiefly from the prov- ince of Akmolinsk, rose from 660,- 770 tons in 1902 to 1,325 tons in 1905. Copper is mined in small quantities. More and more foreign capital is becoming interested in the mineral wealth of Siberia, and American miners are prospecting in those parts of the Primorskaya, opposite and near Alaska. THE SUNDAY SCHOOL INTERNATIONAL LESSON, DEC. 27. Lesson XIII. Quarterly Ecriew. Read Pror. 4. Golden Text, ProT. 4. 23. HOME READINGS. to DaviJ. WORLD'S TRADING FLEETS. Some of the Great Companies in Ihc Passenger Trade. to those whose toil costs most, to those who steadily face and fear not tho awful foes of monotony and dull plodding. Even genius is a matter of that steady grinding at one thing. Wo ought not to despise our com- monplace lots or the apparently dull level of other lives. We need vis- ion to see how great is any life, how m. „ rr„„i„.,„ a.v.--;«-., t;-» , , ., I • • ii-» iL Ine Hamburg-Amencan Line, much of the real riches of life there „i,:„l • k.,;M;, â„¢ „„j „;n - i„„ L • I i. u I â-  1 wnicn 18 ouudirig and will employ may be in any lot, how gloriously ... 4_ i â- . ^ jji- . *u i- ^ â- ' , .1 â- ' ' 4. ,. 1 i.u« thd two latest additions to the list grand are tho meanest tasks, the , „-- ill u- • .i lowliest labors, when love is their °^ '??-^«°^ steamships, is the pion motive; how the stains of toil be- eer German trans-Atlantic line, or ome a garment of praise when the B*"'^«** '" f^\ ^^^ ;*'^^^''^^^\ object if known. | number nearly 7 000. Its present When we see the days as they "««», comprises 303 vessels, with a come along, not as so many hours t°'*l'«°°a8« of 728.799 tons, of dull tasks but as having so many . ^he advances in steamship build- (.porti.nities for self-discovery andi'^K-'n the number of tne ships as development, so many chances to M. God's promise Chron. 17:1-15. T. The joy of forgiveness. Psa. 32. W. David grieves for Absalom. 2 Sam. 18:24-33. Th. The Lord our Shepherd. Psa. 23. F. The birth of Christ. Luke 2: 8-20. S. Solomon anointed King. 1 Kings 1 :32-40. Su. Solomon chooses wisdom. 1 Kings 3:4-15. The lessons of the quarter extend over a period of 31 years. They are all concerned with the life and words of David and Solomon. A profitable review could be conduct- ed along the line of what the les- sons teach about God. Another would be to study the teaching about sin, its consequences and par- don. Material for such reviews can be found in the' notes. Still an- other review would be to get each member of the class to give the cen- tral teaching of the lesson. A num- I YOUNQ I FOLKS DANNY'S DREAM. Danny was having great fun. He had tied a long thread (drawn tightly, 80 it wouldn't slip), around a poor, unoffending bee, and was delightedly watching its struggles, as it feebly fluttered one way and another in its vain endeavors to ba free. The bee was the etingless kind, so Danny handled it without fear, and finally pulled off its wings, thus rendering it still more help- less. He thought it great sport to see it crawl desperately, first in one direction, then in another, in order to get away from its tormentor. The harder it pulled at the string, the more it pleased Danny, who yanked the poor insect here and there, laughing heartiljy at its ef- forts to escape. After a time the bee's struggles became less violent, its movements more feeble, until finally they ceas- ed altogether, and the little crea- ture lay, apparently lifeless, on the ground. Danny took it up in his hand and dangled it on the string. It hung there, quite inert and limp, so he threw it into the long grass, de- claring that the fun was over. It was too warm to hunt up some- thing else interesting to do just then, so Danny lay down on the her of opinions will be given about soft, green grass, and blinked laz- well as their size â€" have been enor mous in recent times. Lloyd's Reg- ister gives the following statistics do good, to give love, so many oc- casions for the graces and virtues, . and 60 many invitations to learn the j concerning the fleets of the world : real worth of things, then the days . "Considerably the largest of these aro transformed from gloom to is the Hamburg- American Com- giory. pany, which owns 134 vessels of We need new eyes and new hearts large size, of an aggregate gross rather than new circumstances. [ tonnage of 668,000 tons. The next Whellier we live in a prison or a i largest is the North German Lloyd palace depends not on tho walls j Company, whose 120 vessels ag- about us but on tho wall within to gregate 556,000 tons. The third be either slave or king, bound by company is the British Elder-Demp- our lot o rfree in heart, whether ;tLer Company, which owns 153 ves- we regard life as an imposition or sels, aggregating 431,000 tons, as an opportunity. The quiet parts Then follow the British India Steam are rich to the open heart, and no | Navigotion Company, with 122 ves- sels and 384,000 tons, and the United way is so quic* that heaven may not ' be there. HENRY F. COPE. BKI.SKKU nWE FOR ANTOEH. Playing «f "God Save the King" Is Altered. The national anthem, by special desire nf the King, is in faturo to be played more briskly by all mili- tary bands. An order of the British Army Council hns been issued instructing military bandmasters that the tem- po of tho national anthem is to bo increased from crotchet equals (iO to crotchet equals SI. This means that the time value of tho crotchet will be an Hith part of a minute in- stead of a 60th. The order which cancels the re- gulation fixing the slower time was made, it is understood, hocausc his Majesty and other members of tho Royal family liavo objected to a dirge-like rendering. 1%« national anthem has her>n tlayad in ^^* '"^^â- *'' **y ''oforo llio ing, wlio wi» greatly pleased willi t)ie alteration, and expressed his d«sire that it should be the por- maoont time. „ ^. HEALTH ^J^ADING IN BED. We used to betaught that reading in bed was wrong because it might set the house on fire. Though wc sinned it was hardly with the as- surance of Macaulay that not even the fear of "committing matricide and patricide and fratricide" re- strained him from taking a book and tho longest candle to bed. Tho coming of gas and electricity ban removed all those fears; but now a German doctor appals us with now alarms. He finds that tho eyes are imperilled by reading in bed in a host of ways. The light is bud, or it is placed so that it dazzles. In bed you can never hold the book so as to use both eyes. You hold it too close to tlio eyes, and make yourself short sighted. If your eyes have naturally any "defect, short-sight, or inability to read small print, or astigmatism, you will infallibly increase it by read- ing in bed. The conclusion of the whole matter is that children un- der 18 should never be allowed to take books to bed with them, and adults ought not to do so, save for serious and weighty reasons. Ai<fe*vlene-gB« i» now used on mt I'Vench railways for illufriin-icy ;in^ carriages For TO STOP HICCOUGHS. Dr. Louis Kolipinski reports tho arrc«t of persistent hiccough by lo- proHsing the tongue. A patient was attacked by hiccough which had persisted for four days before be- ing seen by the doctor, lie com- plained of the fulness in his throat, a (londilion which he thought tho rofuilt of tho hiccough. He was directed to sit un, and with a large spoon hitndlo the tongue was pressed down and bock with steidy force to allow inspec- tion of the fauces. Firm prossuro on tho tongpo with tlie hope of fur- ther noting the action of tho pal- atal muscles was continued, when to the doctr)r'8 8urprisl^ and the pa- tient's astonishment and joy the hicco\igh ceased. When the hic- criugh rut irnod the pntioiit liimhcif stopped it by using the spoon han(ilu. THE HOMI-: DOCTOR. To remove f<irr>Hn bodies fnm tho eye, put a grain of iln.x xd'd â- iirdor the Inwor lid and close the black pepper on a bit of cotton bat- ting, tic it up, dip in sweet oil and insert in tho eat. . Pt|t a flannel bandage over tllO head to keep it warm. To keep on damp shoes or wet petticoats is a risk, of taking cold that is not worth running. There arc a few e.xceptional individual^ to whom wet feet do not moan cold, but the sole of the foot is one of the most sensitive parts of the body and it should he protected accord- ingly. it is a common occurrence for children to get beans, grains of corn and foreign substances up their noses. This simpio remedy is worth remembering. Get tho child to open its mouth, apply your mouth over it and blow hard. The oflonding substance will be expelled from its mouth. SIIJE.IIA HAS GREAT FUTURE. Its Soil Rich and It Has Vast Tim- bcr and Mineral Roaourocs. The vast area of Siberia is as yet scarcely touched commercially, when we consider tho richness and capability of production of its soil and its constantly growing popula- tion In 1000 it was estimated that out of a total (if 11), 727,000 acres of cul- tivated land 11,0)25.000 acres were under croi)H in Siberia. Crops greatly fluctuate in Siberia; the .yield in a good year is two or thieo times that of a bad ono. Sil) â-  States Steel Corporation, with 113 vessels aggregating 343,517 tons. "In point of total number of ves- sels owned and of their gross ton- nage, the fleets of the United States stand second among those of the world. Great Britain and her col- onies, out of a total for the whole world (including countries possess- ing 1,000,000 tons of shipping) of 29,091 ships, aggregating 30,600,510 gross tons, possesses 10,860, with a total tonnage of 14,703,206 tons, one-seventh of which is composed of sailing ships. The United States owns 3,286 vessels, with a gross tonnage of 3,077,344 tons,, of which two-fifths are sailing vessels ; and then follow Germany, with 2,905,782 tons, of which one-sixth are sailing vessels; Norway, with 1,627,220 tons, one-half of which aro sailing vessels; France, with 1,406,833 tons, a quarter of which aro sail- ing vessels; and Italy, with 1,117,- 538 tons, of which two-fifths are sailing vessels." SENTENCE SERMONS. Practice is prayer. Piety never parades itself. The self-satisfied need to be short sighted. There are no wolves in the empty sheepfold. A man may be measured by the things ho seeks. You canot hoodwink heaven with a holy aspect. Love gives no liccnso to dispense with courtesy. They who walk with God do not walk away from men. He can bear a great trust who can bear littlo triaU. It is bettor to loso your joys than arm's exports of dairy pro- ducts are rapidly increasing and' to'esc'ape' his Vorrows. iHTaVr'. ''tT''''?*.'\'^'''- ^U It is slow work getting rich 1898 4,000 buckets of butter, each' containing thirty-six pounds, were sent as an experiment to the Lon- don market; 30,000 buckets of but- ter at week were sent thither in 1001. Tho pasturage in this butter producing region, which lies chiefly in tho district of Tomsk, is so good that there is -7 per cent, of butter fat in tho milk. In 1902 a Danish firm was the first the teaching in each lesson. The following are given simply as sug- gestions : Lesson I. The necessity of serv- ing God in the precise way His Word instructs. Lesson II. God's superahounding grace ; David purposed to build God a house and God covenanted to build him a house and to establish his house and his kingdom forever. Lesson III. David's kindness to Mephibosheth, a type of our David's kindness to us. Lesson IV. If we seek to cover our sins from God He will uncover them and fill our hearts with heav- iness, but if we uncover our sins before God with frank and full con- fession God will cover them up and fill our hearts with praise and light. Lesson V. Whatsoever a man soweth that will he also reap : a sinful father will reap in his way- ward children an awful harvest of the sins he has sown ; the king who is disloyal to God will reap the dis- loyalty of his people. Lesson VI. The man who de- stroys the love and peace and joy of another's family Vill reap heart- breaking agony in his own house. Lesson VII. Jehovah is the be- liever's Shepherd. Every want will be met, every fear will be vanished, every longing will be satisfied. Lesson VIII. God keeps His promise in spite of all the schemes of men to thwart it. Lesson IX. There is utter ruin for the individual, and for the na- tion, in the wine cup. Lesson X. We should desire wis- dom that we may serve God effect- ively, more than we desire long life or death. ' Lesson XL When a house is set apart for God in the way appointed He will fill the house with His glory. 4, THE SOVEREIGN'S ABSENCE. Royalty Hedged About With Many Laws in Great Britain. According to the ancient British law the sovereign shall not leave the kingdom without the consent of both Houses of Parliament. In ancient times the absence of the King was mot by the appointment of an officer called the "justiciar." This officer was afterwards super- seded by the appointment of lords justices under the great seal, but none has been commissioned since 1821. In 1843, when Queen Vic- toria was abort to visit Germany, Lord Campbell urged that the lords justices should bo appointed ac- cording to constitutional practice, but the Lord Chancellor (Lord Lyndhurst) convinced the House that this was no longer necessary, owing to the modern facilities of communication. This has served as a precedent ever since. in grace at a penny a week A voneer of religiosity has none of tho virtues of religion. It takes loss than two half truths to make a full-sized lie. Men are not drawn to thn church by using the creed as a club. It's a poor religion that lets the prayer meeting hide tho poor. Heaven does not stop to consult to export Halted beef, mutton and > **'!'/'08"e before it picks out a man pork from Siberia to London. Its' Y"" cannot blame a bag of wind BUCC088 showed that Siberian mut-l''"' '''â- Â«Â®'''"8 c'oar of pointed facti.. ton was good enough to compete' I^»'"♦â-  â„¢*y '"' °"® "' ?"' •'^st al- with the best Icelandic mutton andj'*"'* ** "*'" ** **"*' <*' °"'" *<^"' may in future become nn important, enemies factor in tho meat markets of west-' cm Kuropo Karache.~Put a pinch of Half nn svil eye can see more in- iquity than the whole of an inno- In 1(M>2 tho first canning estab- cont ono. lishmcnt in Asiatic Kusaia was The man who hates to see another opened at Omsk. Exports of hides happy is ccrtain'y safe from catch- aiid skins from Siberia increased i"R it himself. from 2,80J tons in \mv, to r>,200 Ions' It niiiy be a greater thing to lift in VM. More than 1,(00 tons of I'p another's heart than it would bo Kihorian eggs are e.\porteti aimu- to carry his load. ally, iiipiiy of thoni fiiKiing their way I The men who have turned the Soi.ne people never pray "for:,ive to ttic r,o;id<m nmi-kot. [world have never boon too great to us our debts," "\cept w'ac-i t'.o cf- 'I'lio fisheries of Siberia are very touch it with their hands. Ifcring bein gtaken. BREAKING IT GENTLY. It W{i3 ovident that something of more moment than usual was weighing on the small boy's mind. Three times he passed the door of the house and peered through the window before he dared to enter. Then ho made his appearance with an air that dozens of broken win- dows or bushels of stolen apples could not have given him. "Mrs. Murphy, little Mickey's new tin whistle's all broke." "And how did that happen, dear?" "Well, Mickey was playing on it when the steam-roller wint over it." ily up at the tiny, white clouds sailing about in the cloar, blue sky, wishing he could have a ride on one of them. Ha was just "mak- ing believe" that he was flying in an airship, when suddenly he felt a violent pull on his arm ; then another, and still another. He was about to protest against being so rudely disturbed, when he saw something that made him forget everything else. A great creature (it seemed to him a giant), towered above him. In his hand he held one end of a rope, while the oth»r end he fast- ened to Danny's arm. Every min- ute or two, the giant would give a jet-k to the rope, and tite poor boy was pulled hither and thither, with an abruptness that was anything but agreeable. Besides the rope hurt Danny cruelly. The giant, however, was so big and strong,, and Danny so small and helpless, he could do nothing but cry out with pain and anger. The giant only laughed at thrt, and pulled the harder. Poor Danny was yank- ed this way and that, until he was so dizzy and sore it was misery to move. When he felt he could bear no more, to his horror, the giant came quite close to him. "I think I will pull off your arms and legs," roar- ed he, in tonos of thunder. In an agony of fear, Danny burst into tears, crying out, "Please, Mr. Giant, do not kill me!" , "But you did not mini killinjj; the poor bee,." returned the giant, coming still nearer, so close that Danny could see, quite plainly, his dreadful, rolling eyes. "But I'll never do it again," wailed Danny; "I never once thought I was hurting it. It was only a bee<." "Well, you are only a boy, and I'll have you to know that bees have feelings as well as boys," re- torted the giant. "But as you say you will never be so cruel again, I will let you off this time," and the giant turned as if to depart. Be- fore-fee dropped the rope, however, he gave a final jerk, which was so violent that Danny â€" awoke. It was only a dream, after all. but dreams sometimes teach useful lessons, as this one did to Danny, for never again was he known to torture, for his own diversion, even such an humble creature as a hoe. THE WHITE ANT. Hare Railway Builders in Africa Trouble With Them. Every month brings us nearer to the realization of Mr. Cecil Rlaide't dream of a Cape-to-Cairo railway. The rails have been laid for a dis- tance of over 2,000 miles from the Cape, and Tanganyika is now not much more than 400 miles off. In these parts the railway sta- tions are built of galvanized iron, while the telegraph-poles, and the "ties" into which the rails are clamped are of steel. Even in the huts for the railway workers little or no wood is used, on account of the tens upon tens of thousands of white ants which infest the regions north of the Zambesi. Those voracious pests will destroy anything in the nature of wood, and their mounds are occasionally as high as twenty feet. 'The only value of these ants is that their homes form a natural ce- ment, which the natives use in the construction of their huts. Put on wooden uprights like plaster, it be- ronies as hard as sto.ie, and acts aa a perfect protection from the woa- "Do you know anything about! t''or. flirting?" "No," he replied sadlv I '^^^'^ the history of this gigantio "I thought 1 did, but when I tried "iiclortaking rones to be writtv.i, it the girl married me." . ""^^ 1''^* 'p**' intercstiusc will be tho : account of thr- o.nstineers' flglu wi.a the white ant. If tho latter ever l.iai-'-.s to diiio_off steel, th* v.-ork ,,f . „...., -..I'l 1,^; i,riA)ii«5 in P-s luany >\/j