Show the seren ven sleepers of ephesus troa one of the most moat picturesque myths of ancient days daya is ia that which forms the orthis of this article it is time thus told by jacques Jacque sae de boragine Vo Vora ragine eltie in his bis aurea the seven sleepers were ere natives of ephesus the emperor deems decius who persecuted the christians having come to ephesus ordered the erection of temples in the city that all mi might ht come and sacrifice before him and to he commanded that the christians should be sought out and given their choice either to woral worship lip the idols or to die so great was the consternation in the city that the friend denounced his fiield the father his eon and the son his father now there were in ephesus seven christians maximian Mazi mian Ma Tal chus lebus marcian dionysius Dionys iua tia john serapion syrapion Scra pion and ConEt constantine antine by name these thee refused to sacrifice to the idols and remained iu in their houses praying and fasting they were accused before decius and they confessed themselves to be christians however the emperor gave them a little time to consider what line they would adopt they took tooh advantage of this reprieve to dispense their goods among the poor and tile they retired all seven to mount elion where they determined to conceal them one of the number malchus in the disguise of a physician went to the town to obtain victuals decius who had been absent from ephesus for a little while returned and gave ordera for the seven to be boug sought h t Na Malc lellus lius having escaped from the town fled full of fear to his comrades and told them of the emperors fury they were much alarmed and bl malchus alchus handed banac d them the loaves he be had baa bought bidding 0 them cat that fortified by the food they might have courage in tho time of trial they ate and then ae they zat sat Tre vree ping end speaking to one an other by the will vill ot god they fell asleep the pagans sought bought everywhere but cr c uld not find them and decius was grettle irritated at their escape H he C I 1 had ad their parents brought before him and abre threatened atoned then them with death if they did dd not the place ace of concealment ceal ment but they co could u 1 only answer that the seven young men had bad die buted tri their goods to tho the poor and that they were quite ignorant re to their whereabouts mcclug tb thinking inking it possible that they might be hiding in a cavern blocked up the mouth with stones that they might starve of hunger three hundred and sixty yeara pas tea led and tile the thirtieth year of the reign of there broke forth a heres heresy y den denying yida the resurrection of the dead now it happened tuat an ephesian Ephs sian was building a stable on the side of mount oelion celion and finding a pile le or of stones handy he took them for his Is edifice and thus opened the mouth of the cave then tile the seven sleepers awoke and it was to them as if they had slept but a single night they began to ask malchus what deci alon decius bad given concerning them he is going to haut us down so as to force us to sacrifice gac to the idols was his reply I 1 god knows replied maximian we shall never do that then in ca exhorting his companions lie le urged malchia to go back to the town tu buy some more bread and at the same timo time to obtain fresh information malchus tool took five fire coins and it ft the cavern on seeing the stones clones lie he was waa filled with astonishment however hoar ever he be went on toward the city but what was his hia bewilderment on approaching the gate to see over it a croall H hu went rent to another gate anat and there bere he be beheld the same sign and so 80 he be observed it over each gate of the city lie ile believed that he was suffering from the effects of a dream then he entered ephesus Ephe aua rubbing hia bia eyes and lie he walked to a bakers shop he heard people using our lords name and he be waa tho the more perplexed Yester yesterday duy no ono one dared pronounce tile the namo name ot of jeems and nun now it is ia on every onen onee lipa bip wonderfully Wonder full I 1 can hardly believe myself to be in in ephesus he asked a pas passar er by the name of the city and on oil being told it was wag ephesus lie he vas thunderstruck NOTT nor he entered a bakera ahod and laid down his hie money the baker examining the abin inquired whether lie fie had found a treasure and began to whisper to some others in the the youth thinking that hu be was dia ais covered and that they were about to conduct him to the emperor implored them to let lei him alone offering to leave loaves and money f lie might only be auf suffered fored to to escape but the shop men seizing him said whoever you are you have a treasure ollow ua iiii where it is 19 that wt wa pay may shave share it with you and then we will bide you malchia Malc lius was aa too frightened to answer so they put a rope round his I 1 neck a and nd drew him through the streets into the marketplace market place the news soon spread that the youna men man had bad discovered a trea treasure ture and there was vas presently a vaut crowd about him he stoutly protested his innocence no one recognized him and his e eyes Y es ranging over the faces which surrounded him could not see one which he had known or which was in the slightest degree familiar to him st martin the andanto and anti pater the governor having heard beard of the he excitement ordered the young man to be brought before them along with the axem the bihon and the governor asked aked him where he be had found the treasure arid and he be replied that lie he had bad found none but that the few bev coins wese aiom his own purze purse he was waa next nest asked whence he came he replied that he be wis a native of ephesus if this be ephesus send disend fr for your relations your parents if they live here ordenel the governor they live here certainly replied the youth and lie it mentioned their names no names vote known in the town then the governor ex claimed clam rd s show how dare you say that hat thia money belonged belo ngod to yur patents when it dates back three it hundred undred ind and awen ty seven years yeara and is as uld old as the beginning of if the i eign of decius and it is ia huttt utterly I 1 ly bijl unlike ke our modern bodum coin coinage age do you think to impose on the old men ind and sages of epheus Ephe hus believe me I 1 fiall anike you suffer t tile no severities of the law lar till you show where you made the discovery 11 1 implore you cried malchus in the name of god answer mo me a few que questions scions and t hen I 1 will answer yours youra where is the emperor Decius gone to the bishop answered ed my there is no emperor of that niame manie he who wa was wai i thua called a ago 6 malchus replied all I 1 hoar hear perplexes rile nie moie boic and boic F follow ilow me and I 1 will show Y you on my com comrades rades who fled with me to P cave of mount celion only yes yester ei day to t escape the cruelty of decius I 1 will lead you to them the bishop turned to 10 the go governor bernor the hand of god is here lie he sain said i then they followed end and a great grea a crowd crow d after them and malchia entered first into the cavern to his higi companions aud and the bishop after him and there they saw the martyrs seated in the cave with their faces troah fresh and blooming DG as roses so all fell down and glor ifield god the bishop and the governor sent notice and he hurr hurried to ephesus Ephe aus all the inhabitants met him and conducted him to the cavern As soon as the faints be held the emperor their faces shone ellone like the un aun and thomp the emperor eror gave thanks to god anc and I 1 embi embraced aced them and 1 I soe ege you as though I 1 saw raw the saviour restoring jg lazarus masilian Ma simian replied believe us I 1 for the faiths sake god has resuscitated us before the great resurrection day in order that you may believe firmly in the of the dead for as the child is in its mothers womb living arid and not suffering so have we lived without suffering fast asleep arid and having thus they bowed their beadda aud their adula returned to their maker the emper r or rising bent over them and embraced them weeping he gave then orders for golden reliquaries to tube tobe be made but that night the they y appeared to him in 11 dr bruam and zaid eaid that bit hitherto herto they had bad slept in the earth arid and that in the orreh P they des dea red to eleen bleep on till god should raise rahe them dain d ain SU suli 11 is the beautiful story which seems to it have a ve traveled to us artim the east jc jac bus is a tunia liehne in tile the fifth aud and sixth century is said to have been the first to commit it to writing gregory of tours do DC glor mart i ia 9 waa was perhaps the firt fir t to introduce it to europe dionys ms of antioch ninth century told the story in syr i in and photius 4 oi of t ip produced it with tile the remark that 31 Mihi ill nut had adopted d it into the koran M maphra tia loudee to it as xvi 11 in the tent tenth h century Euty chins ineer inserted ted it in his hia tin nu nals ofA rabbi ab M it is ia found in the coptic and d and books and bev several early historians as paulus dia conus ac have hare it in their THERE are 30 ward missionaries in new ev yoi k who labor hard v on salaices ies of about each baeb THE newspapers insist that somebody is goin I 1 to phil an sheridan place trefton american Awen can six bainses brin ses valued at 86 1000 were sent by tho the bristol line to now new york recently I 1 |