back, and she determined to have the barbarous custom stopped. Of course the world laughed at this poor unaided woman. But her idea has been adopted by all nations; and the enemy that aims a shot at the tent or building over which flies the white flag with the red cross has lost his last claim to human consideration. Lord Kelvin, who stands at the head of English men of science, recently declared that the greatest scientific event of the year 1894 was the discovery of a new constituent of the atmosphere. Later experiments have shown that the new gas, which we had all been breathing so many centuries without knowing it, possesses very remarkable peculiarities. The discoverers were trying by every means in their power to measure more accurately than had hitherto been done the density of nitrogen. It was a tedious undertaking, and Lord Raleigh had been working at it for twelve long years. It was the pursuit of knowledge solely for its own sake, and knowledge, too, of a kind that the great public, whose approval and admiration bestow reputation and fortune, would be likely to pay very little attention to after it had been acquired. But as the end was approached, something unsought for appeared. The accuracy of the work had been so great that Nature, fairly followed through all the windings of her labyrinth, yielded up a secret the existence of an unknown gas, closely associated with the nitrogen of the air, and yet independent in its properties. It is work of this kind, no matter in what branch of human endeavor, that alone wins lasting fame. In all ages those who have advanced the cause of humanity have been men and women "possessed," in the opinion of their neighbors. Noah in building the ark, Moses in espousing the cause of the Israelites, or Christ in living and dying to save a fallen race, incurred the pity and scorn of the rich and highly educated, in common with all great benefactors. Yet in every age and in every clime men and women have been willing to incur poverty, hardship, toil, ridicule, persecution, or even death, if thereby they might shed light or comfort upon the path which all must walk from the cradle to the grave. In fact, it is doubtful whether a man can perform very great service to mankind who is not permeated with a great purpose with an overmastering idea. See Paul, a man of marvelous ability, who might have been a leader of the Sanhedrim, yet, for the sake of his idea, was obliged to make tents for his daily bread. Behold him in prison two years at Cæsarea, a year at Rome, beaten by many stripes, hated by the Jews, forty of them taking a solemn oath not to eat or drink until they had killed him, opposed by pagans: yet the great idea which dominated his soul enabled him to suffer all these things, and to be hopeful and cheerful, brave and manly, through it all. Jenner was the only man who detected a great principle in the remark of the peasant girl who came to be doctored: "It cannot be small-pox, because I have had cow-pox." But it meant something to him, and he studied out a grand theory for preventing the ravages of a dreaded scourge. His fellow-students threatened to expel him from the medical school on account of his theory. He tried it on his own arm three times. He experimented over three years, and became convinced that he was right. Not one physician in London would agree with him. He was denounced from every pulpit. It was said that vaccinated children became ox-faced, that abscesses grew out to indicate sprouting horns, that their voices changed to represent the bellowing of a bull. The first persons vaccinated were actually pelted and driven from the streets. But Jenner lived to see his theory recognized all over the world, and died a benefactor to his race. Beecher had to fight every step of the way to his tri umph through obstacles which would have appalled all but the greatest characters. Oftentimes in these great battles for principles and struggles for truth, he stood almost alone fighting popular prejudice, narrowness, and bigotry, uncharitableness and envy even in his own church. But he never hesitated nor wavered when he once saw his duty. There was no shilly-shallying, no hunting for a middle ground between right and wrong, no compromise on principles. He hewed close to the chalk line and held his line plumb to truth. He never pandered for public favor nor sought applause. and truth were his goal, and he went straight to his mark. Other churches did not agree with him nor his, but he was too broad for hatred, too charitable for revenge, and too magnanimous for envy. Duty What tale of the "Arabian Nights" equals in fascination the story of such lives as those of Franklin, of Morse, Goodyear, Howe, Blanchard, Edison, Bell, Beecher, Gough, Mrs. Stowe, Amos Lawrence, George Peabody, McCormick, Hoe, and scores of others, each representing some great idea embodied in earnest action, and resulting in an improvement of the physical, mental, and moral condition of those around them? There are plenty of ideas left in the world yet. Everything has n't been invented. All good things have not been done. There are thousands of abuses to rectify, and each one challenges the independent soul, armed with a new idea. "But how shall I get ideas?" Keep your wits open! Observe! Observe! Study! Study! But above all, Think! Think! and when a noble image is indelibly impressed upon the mind-Act! The heaviest charged words in our language are those briefest ones, "yes" and "no." One stands for the surrender of the will, the other for denial; one stands for gratification, the other for character. A stout "no" means a stout character, the ready "yes" a weak one, gild it as we may.-T. T. MUNGER. The world is a market where everything is marked at a set price, and whatever we buy with our time, labor, or ingenuity, whether riches, ease, fame, integrity, or knowledge, we must stand by our decision, and not like children, when we have purchased one thing, repine that we do not possess another we did not buy. - MATHEWS. A man must master his undertaking and not let it master him. He must have the power to decide instantly on which side he is going to make his mistakes. P. D. ARMOUR. Once make up your mind never to stand waiting and hesitating when your conscience tells you what you ought to do, and you have got the key to every blessing that a sinner can reasonably hope for. -KEBLE. The one thing that makes the true artist is a clear perception and a firm, bold hand, in distinction from that imperfect mental vision and uncertain touch which gives us the feeble pictures and lumpy statues of the mere artisans on canvas or in stone. - HOLMES. Youth is the only time to think and decide on a great course. Manhood with action follows; but 't is dreary to have to alter one's whole life in age --the time past, the strength gone.- BROWNING. Deliberate with caution, but act with decision; and yield with graciousness, or oppose with firmness. - COLTON. WHEN Rome was besieged by the Gauls in the time of the Republic, the Romans were so hard pressed that they consented to purchase immunity with gold. They were in the act of weighing it, a legend tells us, when Camillus appeared on the scene, threw his sword into the scales in place of the ransom, and declared that the |