The Montgomery advertiser., 1901-08-11
DIR. TALMAGE'S SERMON.

Washington, Aug. 4.-In this dis couse pr. Talmage corrects some of the false notions about religion and repre- sents it as being joy inspiring instead of dolorous; text II Chronicles ix. g. "Of spies great abundance, neither was there any such spice as the queen of Sheba gave King solomon.
 What Is that building out wonder glittering in the sun? Have you not heard? It is the house of the forest of Lebanon. King Solomon has just taken to it his bride, the princess of Egypt. You see the pillars of the portico and a great tower, adorned with 1000 shields of gold hung on the out side of the tower-500 of the shields of gold manufactured at Solomon's order. 500 were captured by David, his father in battle. See how they blaze in the monday sun!
 Solomon goes up the ivory stairs Of his throne between 12lionS in htatuary and sits down on the back of the golden bull, the head of the huge beast turned toward the people. The family and the attendants of the king are so many that the caterers of the palace have provide every day LOO sheep and Is oxen, besides the birds and the venison. I hear the stamping and paving of 4,00O fine horses in the royal stables. There were important officials who had charge of the work of gathering the straw and the barley for these horses. King solomon was an early riser, tradi- tion says. and used to take a ride out at daybreak, and when, in his white apparel, behind the swiftest horses of all the. real and followed by mounted archers in purple, as the cavalcade dashed through the streets of eJru- salem I suppose 1t was omething worth getting up at o'clock in the morning to look at.
 Solomon was not like some of the kings of the present day-crowned im- becility. All the splendors of his palace and retinue were eclipsed by his intellectual power. Why, he eeem- ed to know everything. He was the first great naturalist the world ever say. Peacock form India strutted the basaltic walk, and apes chattered in the trees, and deer stalked the parks. and there were aquariums with foreign fish and aviaries with foreign birds. and tradition says these birds were so well tanned that Solomon might walk clear across the city under the shadow of their wings as they lowered and fitted about him.
 More than this. He had a greatfepu- tation for the conundrums and kiddles that he made and guessed. He and King Hiram, his neighbor, used to sit by the hour and ask riddles, each one paying in money of he could not answer or guess the riddle. The 'Solomonic navy visited all the world, and the sailors of course, talked about the wealth of their king and about Ahe riddles and enigmas that he made and solved, and the news spread until Queen Balkis away O ffsouth, heard or if and sent messengers with few rid dles that she would like to have Solo, mon solve and a few puzzles that she would like to have him find out. She sent. among other things, to King Solo, mon a diamond with a hole so small that a needle could not penetrate it, asking him to thread that diamond, and Solomon took a worm and put IL at the opening in the diamond, and the worm crawled through, leaving the thread in the diamond. The queen also sent a goblet to Solomon, asking him to fill it with water that did not hour from the sky and that dld not rush out of the earth, and Immediately Solomon put a slave on the Dack or a swift horse and galloped him around and around the park until the horse was nigh exhausted, and from the pers- niration of the horse the goblet was filled. She also sent to King solomon 300 boys in girls dress and 5OO glrls Ill boys dress, wondering if he would De acute enough to find out the deception Immediately Solomon, when he sa" them wash their faces. knew from the way they applied the water that 1t was
 Seeing for Ourselves.
 Queen aBlkis was so pleased with the acuteness of Solomon that she sald, "Iu just go and see him for myself. Wonder it comes-the cavalcade-horses and dromedaries, chariots and charlo- teers, jingling harness and clatterihg hoofs and blazing shields ana hylns ensigns and clapping cymoals. Ihe nlace is saturated with the perfume Shs brings cinnamon and saffron and caIamus and frankincense and all man ar of sweet spices. As the retinue sweeps through the gate the armed guard inhales the aroma. Halt! cry fbe charioteers as the wheels grind the gravel in front of the pillared portlco of the king. Queen Balkis alghts Tn an atmosphere bewitched with per Fume. As the dromedaries are driven m 10 the kings storehouses, ana the bundles of camphor are unloaded, ana tho sacks of cinnamon and the boxes of snices are opened, the purveyors or the palace discover what my text an nounces. "Of spices, great abound ance. neither was there any such spice aa inc oueen of Sheba gave to KinS Solomon" u
 Well my friends, you know that all tbeologians agree in making Solomon a tyne of Christ and in making the Cueen of Sheba a type of everyAtruth seaker and I will take the responsl- bi1Itv of saying that all the -spikenard and cassia mad frankincense which the queen of Sheba brought to King Solo, mon are nightly suggestive Of the sweet spices of our holy religion. Christianity Is not a collection of sharp technicalities and angular facts and chronological tables and dry statistics. Our religion Is compared to franklin cense and to cassia, but never to nIghtshade. It is bundel of myrrh. If is a dash of holy light. It is a sparkle of col fountains. It is an opening of opaline gates, It Is a col lection of spices. Would God that we were as wise in taking spices to our Divine King as Quen Balkis was wise fin taking the spices to the earthly Solomon.
 The fact is that the duties and cares of this life. coming to us from time to time, are stupid often and inane and intelerable. Here are men who have been battering. climbing, pounding, hammering, for twenty years. forty