rendered, each laying down his arms at Sergeant Bell's command. The Georgia soldiers, hearing the shouting and firing of their comrade ran quickly toward the spot, yelling and firing as they came, but before they reached the ravine James L. Bell had captured the regiment of over three hundred men and the colors of the Nineteenth Wisconsin Regiment, taking the colors from the hand of the colorbearer, who refused to give it up until he saw that the others had laid down their arms. It was the most wonderful achievement in the history of warfare. For such a feat, that prince of fighters, Napoleon, would have bestowed promotion and the Cross of the Legion of Honor. The incident illustrates the fact often proved in military strategy, that a sudden impetuous movement, wholly unexpected, may paralyze a body of brave men and cause a contagious panic. Those Federal soldiers had fought gallantly all day and had not the Confederate's daring bluff surprised and overcome them, they would have met the enemy bravely when the briefly suspended hostilities had again begun. The captured men, crestfallen and chagrined, were sent to the rear and later to Richmond. Captain Bell was particularly impressed by the gallant attempt at resistance of the color-bearer of the Wisconsin Regiment, and his distress at having to give up his flag. The flag staff was tipped with a silver spearhead and had two silken tassels. Sergeant Bell took the stars and stripes and presented the staff. to the Seventh Georgia Regiment. colors of the regiment were then attached to the staff and waved from it during the rest of the war. After the surrender at Appomatox the flag was taken to Washington City and remained there for forty years, when they, together with the colors of all the states, were, by act of Congress, returned to their respective states. The colors of the Seventh Regiment, still on the Wisconsin staff, are now in the Georgia Capitol and on the staff may be read the following legend: The "Colors of the Seventh Georgia Regiment. The Nineteenth Wisconsin Regiment, with this staff, was captured by Sergeant J. L. Bell, Company K, Seventh Georgia Regiment, October 30th, 1864, at Fair Oaks, Virginia. The colors were detached and turned over to Brigadier General G. T. Anderson, commanding." These colors having been recaptured along with the Confederate Cabinet at Washington, Ga., after the surrender, have been returned to the state of Wisconsin. Captain Bell often expressed a desire to learn the fate of the Wisconsin colorbearer, and finally he inserted a notice in a Wisconsin paper to the effect that if the color-bearer of the Nineteenth Wisconsin Regiment was still alive he would please confer with J. L. Bell, of Atlanta, Ga. This notice brought a letter from Philip Cheek, of Baraboo, Wisconsin, saying that John Fallen, the color-bearer, had died in 1881. He had been so highly esteemed that the Grand Army Post at Freedom, Wisconsin, was named in his honor, John Fallen Post. Mr. Cheek added: "His officers speak of John Fallen as one who could be trusted under the most trying circumstances. I have often heard him tell of the capture of his regiment by his gallant foe and that there was no getting out of it." Sergeant Bell received the plaulits of the officers and fellow soldiers of his regiment for his daring feat with the utmost modesty. He did not seem to think he had done anything heroic, but he greatly valued the token of appreciation shown him by his commanding general and General Robert Lee in the shape of a furlough for sixty days that he might visit his old home. This furlough did not come until November when the season's hostilities were over. In it is stated that it was given for gallant conduct, James L. Bell having advanced four hundred yards in front of his command and succeeded single-handed in capturing the colors of the Nineteenth Wisconsin Regiment and causing the surrender of many officers and men Captain Bell has preserved a part of this furlough with the signature of Robert E. Lee. When the curtain fell on the long and bloody war, James L. Bell cherished no bitterness toward those against whom he had fought at the bidding of his state. He surrendered with General Lee, and like that great and good man, he put away from him all feelings of enmity. He came back to his Georgia home and took up the work he had always loved. He had a great fondness for railroads and railroad men. He is a faithful worker, a genial comrade and a loyal friend. He loves his train and "magnifies his calling." In turn he has the esteem, confidence and friendship of all who know him. Try It On A Sermon Preached in Westminster Presbyterian Church, Cedar Rapids, Iowa, by the Rev. Ben-Ezra Stiles Ely, Jr., D. D., on December 20, 1908. "Master, we would see a sign from thee." -Matt. 12:38. "Prove me now herewith, saith the Lord of hosts."-Mal. 3:10. You hold in your hand a piece of wood. You wish to assure yourself that the wood has the qualities of toughness, flexibility, and hardness. You may do so in three ways. One way is by argument. You observe that the general appearance and arrangement of fibre in this kind of wood are the same as in other kinds which are already known to be tough, flexible, and hard. You see, also, that this kind of wood is extensively used for mechanical purposes to which the qualities named are essential. From these facts you argue that therefore this wood is tough, flexible, and hard. Another way is by testimony. You go to a skilled mechanic. You ask him what are the qualities of the wood. He tells you they are toughness, flexibility, and hardness. And you believe it on the strength of his testimony. The third way is by experiment. You strike the wood with your own hammer, and observe that the hammer leaves no mark. You take it in your own hands, and bending it across your knee, observe that it does not break. You seize it in your fingers and try with all your strength to tear it apart and find that you cannot. And thus, by your own actual personal experiment, you convince yourself that this wood is tough, flexible, and hard. Now all three ways are good. But of all, we most esteem the last. We like to put things to the test of personal experience. We are better satisfied. We feel that we are standing on surer ground. We can say we know a thing to be so, because we have tried it. But can this test of personal experiment be applied to religion? Can the truths of the gospel of Jesus Christ be made a matter of certainty by "trying them on?” To that I answer, no, and yes. The scribes and Pharisees came to Jesus, saying, "Master, we would see a sign from thee." It was a challenge to prove His claims by some miracle more astounding than any He had yet worked. He answered it by a rebuke and a refusal. He would not submit to any such dictation. And suppose I were to say, "If there be a God as revealed by Christ, let Him prove it by this moment casting up a mountain in the middle of yonder plain." I am very sure God would do nothing of the kind. Or suppose some one should say, “If the religion of Jesus Christ is true, let me be convinced of it by a miraculous conversion like that of the Apostle Paul." I doubt that the challenge would be met. And why? First, because the setting up of such a test would be wrong in principle. It would be asking God to submit to human dictation, which, if He be a God, He could not do, without un-God-ing Himself. Moreover, it would be unreasonable. Were I to say to you, "Sir, if you be a generous man, prove it by this instant presenting me with a thousand dollars;" would that be a reasonable test? No matter how generous you really might be, you would not submit to any such terms. And neither will God. But, on the other hand, there are tests to which He will submit-practical personal experiments that He has authorized and indicated in His word. They are not of our selection and dictation. They are furnished ready to hand by Him who is to be tried by them. He not only consents, but urges that He be tested by them. He says, "Prove me now herewith." Let us look at some of them. 1. In the first place, we may prove by experiment whether the God of the Christian religion is the God we need or not. The human soul instinctively reaches out after a God. It wants Him; cannot do without Him. The better we are, the more the soul desires to be assured that there is such a God, and that He stands in near relation to us. Try to hush the soul by telling her there is no God; she will not be hushed. Taunt her with the limitations of her knowledge; say to her that there is not sufficient evidence to determine whether there is a God or not; still she will cry, "O that I knew where I might find Him." Set up Gods of your own, and bid her worship them. She may enshrine them in her holy of holies; she may pour libations upon their altars; she may make incessant and painful sacrifices to them. But in some supreme hour, when she must have help, she cries aloud to them, "O Baals, hear me!"-and she gets no answer. She cuts and tears herself, and wails again; but still no answer. To her pleadings they have ears that hear not, eyes that see not. She "thirsts for God, the Living God." Now the gospel offers One who will meet and match, answer and give satisfaction to this craving of the soul. It teaches that such a God as the soul wants has stepped down out of the heavens. It stands where the soul, in its instinctive longings, has reared an altar "to the Unknown God," and says, "whom ye ignorantly worship, Him declare I unto you." It points to Jesus Christ as the living and true God "manifested in the flesh." But how shall we know that what the Gospel says is true? How be assured that the God manifested in Jesus is the God whom we seek? By experiment. Ask Him not for a sign; stop not to look even at the signs He has given. Make a personal trial of Him. That is to say, come to Him; worship Him; pray to Him; enshrine Him in your heart; trust Him; obey Him; serve Him just as you would if you knew He was God. And by and by you shall find that He fills your Well, the Founder of Christianity declares that this also may be proved by experiment. And He indicates what experiment is to be made. He says, "If any man will do the will of God, he shall know whether or not this doctrine I teach is from God." You are to act here as you would elsewhere. To illustrate: A man is groping in a dark cave. He is in doubt which passage to take that he may find his way out. He selects this one because through it there seem to struggle some feeble rays of light. He follows it just as if he knew it to be the right one. And it proves so to be by leading him out into the sunshine. And this is the experiment you may make with Christianity. Come with an honest purpose toward God and toward your own soul. Follow Christ; obey His directions so far as they seem to shed light on the way of duty; treat them as you would if fully persuaded of their divine authority, and you shall come to know, by the results arrived at in actual experience, whether they be of God. When your experiment has led you into brighter light, better life, truer manhood, purer character, and closer communion with God, you will have proved to your profound satisfaction that this religion is truly of a divine origin. 3. But look at a third instance to exemplify our theme. Take the matter of the forgiveness of sins. The most outstanding fact in all human history is human sin. We do not need the Bible to tell us that there are such things as sin and a guilty sense of sin. We see the one in our own lives and feel the other in our own hearts. We should so see and feel had there never been a Bible. But the Bible claims to sets forth God's message of pardon for sin. It declares the fact and the conditions of God's forgiveness of the sinner. Listen to some of its words: "Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts, and let him return unto the Lord, for He will have mercy upon him, and to our God, for He will abundantly pardon." "The blood of Jesus Christ, His son, cleanseth us from all sin." "Through Christ's name, whosoever believeth on Him shall receive remission of sins." "Being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ." That is to say, the Bible declares that Jesus Christ has made full atonement for human sin. That the sinner, trusting and pleading that atonement, shall receive the forgiveness of his sins and enjoy a sense of peace with God. Now is that true? Can you prove it true in your own experience so as to be satisfied of its reality? You can. Here is a plank thrown across the gulf of separation between you and your God. The gospel says that plank is long enough and strong enough to carry you across. Now make the experiment. Walk out on the plank. Accept Jesus Christ as your substitute. Let His sacrificial death-so far as your consent is concerned-be the atonement for your sin. Go to God pleading the merit of that atonement as the ground upon which God shall forgive you. And then, when, as the result of that trial, you have found that the plank is strong enough and long enough-when you have a satisfaction of conscience you have never had beforewhen your heart is filled with the "peace of God that passeth understanding"-when you have within you the sweet sense of your heavenly Father's reconciliation, you will know for a certainty that indeed there is forgiveness of sins. 4. Let me cite one more example. Take regeneration and sanctification, the beginning and the continuation of a work said to be wrought in the soul of the Christian. You see a lump of yeast put into a batch of lifeless dough. You are aware that very soon the yeast will begin to "work," and keep on "working," till it has diffused its leaven through and through the dough, sending its life into every part of the batch. So the gospel tells us that the instant a man yields in faith to Jesus Christ, God, by the operation of the Holy Spirit, implants a new principle of life in his soulthe divine principle of holiness. That implantation is regeneration. The new principle of holiness begins to work, and continues working till it pervades and influences and transforms the man's whole character and behavior. That is sanctification. The gospel speaks of regeneration and sanctification as realities. Are they real? Well, here is an opportunity for experiment. Try it for yourself. Yield yourself to the saving power of Christ. Come to Him with the prayer, "Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me." Live on, day by day, with that prayer in your soul and on your lips. Strive, as the will and the strength may be given you, to forsake the practice of sin. And see what will be the result. You shall find that sin is little by little losing its hold upon you; that the good is becoming more and more attractive to you; that your heart is growing purer; that your behavior is becoming better; that desire is more in accord with duty, and duty changing into delight. You shall find that by a process, hidden and unconscious, you are actually being saved from all that is mean and low to all that is noble and high. And you will have proved, by a direct, thorough, personal experiment, that regeneration and sanctification are realities. An astronomer tells me that away out yonder in the blue vault of the sky is a certain star. I go forth, and stand with him under the spangled heavens. I gaze about with this poor little eye of mine. "Why, where is it?" I say; "why, I cannot see it. Why, I do not believe there is any such star." What folly for me to talk so! When I have made a proper personal experiment; when I have sought and followed his directions about looking, and in so doing found no star, then I may talk; but not before. You, my brother, say you cannot be satisfied, cannot believe this religion that claims to reveal God in its Christ, purports to originate from God, and promises forgiveness and regeneration and sanctification as realities to be enjoyed by you. But have you tried it? Take it as it comes to you. Treat it as true until it proves false. Give it a fair trial. Put it to the test of an honest experiment. And then see what you have to say. Your druggist tells you that a certain salve will heal cuts and bruises. Your agent assures you that the piece of cardboard which he gives in exchange for your money will secure you transportation on the railway to the point named. Your banker promises you that the draft he hands you will be honored for the sum indicated, in New York. What sensible man pretends to deny or question these things until he has made the proper trial, and proved, by experiment, that they are false? Then why not treat religion in this way? It asks you to do so. There is nothing about religion that may not be tested by experience. Faith-"believing❞—is taking God at His word, and putting Him to the trial which will test the truth of what He says. Christ says, "Come unto me, and you shall find rest; you shall find life, and light, and help, and hope, and joy." I know His promises are large ones. But He says, "Try me." I might, if so disposed, present many arguments by which you should be persuaded. I might also summon an innumerable company of witnesses whose testimony should convince you. But I will only beg you to try experiment; for I know that thus, there is not a precept or a promise of my Master which will not be Iverified to him that makes the trial. A Little of Three Republics of South America BY C. E. GRAVES. Some of the South American republics have of late years made enormous advances. Some people have conceived the possibility of a United South America. Combinations of republics have been recognized as an impossibility by those who really know the countries and the people who inhabit them. A political alliance between Argentina, Chile and Brazil has been tried, but advanced little further than the initiatory stage, and that being abandoned, both Argentina and Chile at once commenced to increase their navies. At a congress held at Montevideo, conducted with as much solemnity and decorum as the peace meeting between Russian and Japanese envoys, succeeded merely in showing how widely apart these republics really are. The nearest they came to an agreement or union was upon an international system of railways. Each republic has its own system and its own gauges, which neither one of them wishes to alter. The minister of railways in Brazil was happy in the thought that some day the iron horse would career merrily through the country, and from ocean to ocean. He was reminded that the majority of the railways were of different gauges. "Ah, yes, that is so, but," he added, "the Brazilian gauge will of course be accepted as the standard gauge." That is typical of the South American mind-concessions— and it is the other fellow who must make them. It is said that an American millionaire offered a prize of $5,000 for the best plan for uniting North and South America by railway. The prize remains unallotted today. Mr. Blaine, the famous secretary of state, once formulated an idea of this kind and even induced Congress to vote $300,000 for getting out plans and estimates. Mexico endorsed the scheme, but although the United States despatched a special mission to the South American states to see what could be done, not one of them "caught on." And yet this was one of the most ordinary and feasible propositions. Revolt seems to be the motto of South America. It is observed with much regret that for a period of fifty years there has not been one year of undisturbed peace in South America. Only an empty treasury |