Earlier text: ENFORCEMENT OF THE "CHRISTIAN SABBATH."A WELL-KNOWN judge in one of the Southern States, speaking of his younger days, says that some seventy years ago he had become skeptical, and that Mr. H., a noble, whole-souled man, whom he revered almost as a father, but who was a confirmed deist, though he had a Christian wife, soon found him out and endeavored to instill into his mind his own deistical notions. "But he charged me," says the judge, "not to let his wife know that he was a deist or that I was skeptical. I asked him why. To which he replied that if he was to marry a hundred times he would marry only a pious woman. Again I asked why. 'Because,' he said, 'if she is a Christian it makes her a better wife, a better mother, a better mistress, and a better neighbor. If she is poor it enables her to bear adversity with patience and fortitude. If she is rich and prosperous it lessens her desire for mere show. And when she comes to die, if she is in error, she is as well off as you and I; and if we are in error, she is a thousand times better off than we can be.' I asked him if he knew of any other error, or system of error, attended with so many advantages. His reply was evasive. But what he had said led me to examine the subject for myself. And I often look back to that conversation as one of the most important incidents of my life, and to it I trace my determination to study the Bible carefully and to examine the evidences of the Christian religion for myself, the result of which has led me to a full and living faith in the Saviour." The Minister's Sacred Duty
It is axiomatic that every man in this world should make the most of himself. But by as much as the minister's mission transcends in importance, all other missions of all other men, by so much should he regard it as his most sacred duty intelligently to use all his powers, and to use them to the very best advantage. The neglect of a talent is a sin, but the squandering of a talent is a crime. A man without zeal in the ministry is a pitiable object, but a man with abundance of zeal and a lack of knowledge, is a pitiable object too. The danger to the ministry then is, in this extravagant age, itself to be extravagant, extravagant of its vital energy, extravagant of its mental powers.— Sel. Lawful Pleasure and Wishful Belief
VENTURE not to the utmost bounds of even lawful pleasures; the limits of good and evil join.—Fuller. MEN willingly believe what they wish to be true. "Go ye also into the vineyard." WHEN morning seeks the eastern sky
And sows, with rosy fingers,
Her seeds of light o'er this fair earth,
Where heaven's dew still lingers,
Arise, and enter in, O youth,
The vineyard of thy Saviour.
Give him thy love, thy hope, thy truth,
Thy whole long day of labor. And when at noon the sun pours down
His fiercest beams upon us,
When earth beneath our feet is brown,
And heaven is brazen o'er us,
Arise, O man, and seek at length
The vineyard of thy Saviour;
Give him thy love, thy zeal, thy strength,
Thy half a day of labor. And when at eve the western sun
With level rays declineth,
And thou, O weary, aged one,
The strength of man resigneth,
O haste, arise, and give thy Lord
Thy little hour of labor.
Give him thy fame, thy gold, thy word,
And seek to serve thy neighbor. Ye slothful souls who say ye love,
Yet serve not God nor neighbor,
But, like to John and Peter, ye
Are fain to dwell on Tabor,
Arouse, arise, the Master calls,
Serve him by zealous labor;
Soon night shall come, and ye shall sleep,
And wake to bide on Tabor. But, if ye still refuse to do
The word the Lord hath spoken,
The night shall come, the morn shall break,
Your night shall be unbroken;
O day of woe, O day of fear,
O day of dire disaster,
When trembling, quaking, you shall hear
Your sentence from the Master.
—New York Observer. WHITE RIVER, WASHINGTON TERRITORY.
By A. W. Benson
I CAME into this valley eleven days ago. Spent a part of last week canvassing, and obtained one subscriber for SIGNS with premium, and sold two books, one “Thoughts on Daniel,” and one “Thoughts on Revelation.” I found four scattered Sabbath-keepers, who stand connected with the body of Seventh-day Adventists. Found others almost convinced of the truth through reading. I spoke at Talbot, a mining town thirteen miles from Seattle, on Sunday, to a few very interested hearers. After speaking on the law and Sabbath, the way was opened for those who were convinced to sign the covenant, when eight persons came forward, and declared their intention to keep the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus. Four of these were already keeping the Sabbath. Two more will probably commence soon. These all became convinced through reading. A preliminary organization was effected, and a leader and clerk appointed. Nine individuals thus stand ready for baptism, waiting to be received into the body of Christ. Four others who are already members of the Seventh-day Adventist church, will very probably unite, and perhaps my wife, and myself, which would make a company of sixteen to commence with here. The Lord came very near to us in this meeting, and seemed to take charge of it to his honor and glory. There was a general breaking down, tears were flowing down all cheeks, as strong men and women thus turned toward God, in a desire for salvation through Christ. May the Lord truly make this company a light here. Nov. 22, 1881. A. W. BENSON. THE following is a part of a letter written October 11, by Governor St. John, of Kansas. It speaks for itself:- I have the honor to state that in addition to what has already been published in relation to the success of prohibition in Kansas it is gratifying to me, from official statistics in my possession, to be able to report that the population in our penitentiary still continues to decrease, having fallen off from seven hundred and twenty-five, last December, to six hundred and thirty-one on the 1st inst. So long as we were under the old system of licensing dram-shops, the population of our penitentiary continued to increase. We are having no trouble in enforcing the law except in Atchison, Leavenworth, Topeka, Lawrence, and Dodge City, but even in these places prohibition has had a good effect. The city of Leavenworth during the last four months of license had one hundred and two cases of drunkenness in the police court, against seventy-eight cases during the first four months under prohibition. Topeka, during the same period, had one hundred and fifty-nine cases under the license system against ninety-two cases during the first four months of prohibition, while Lawrence had, of all grades, two hundred and fourteen cases during the last five months of license against one hundred and nine during the first five months of prohibition. Fort Scott has not had the one-tenth part of drunkenness since prohibition took effect that prevailed there under the old license system. Parsons, with five thousand population, had forty-seven cases of drunkenness in the police courts during the last five months of the license system against ten cases during the first five months under prohibition. Winfield, with about three thousand population, had twenty-one convictions for drunkenness in the police court during the last five months of the license system, against three the first five months of prohibition. Newton, with about three thousand population, has not had a case of drunkenness in the police court since the prohibitory law took effect the first of last May, and the district court that convened there last week, for the first time in the history of the county had not a single criminal case upon the docket. I have before me a written statement signed by every city officer of the city of Olathe, and endorsed by all the ministers and a large majority of the business men, to the effect that there have been no saloons in that city since the first day of January, 1878; that the financial condition of the city has greatly improved, the streets and sidewalks are in a better condition, and instead of prohibition killing the city, that trade has greatly increased until to-day it is better than ever before; that the city is enjoying a healthy growth and the people were never so prosperous; this city contains over two thousand five hundred population, has no policemen, and rarely ever has a case in the police court; it is further averred that any proposition to return to the old system of licensing dram-shops would be defeated by a vote of two to one at least. The same kind of reports come from the city of Ottawa, which contains between four and five thousand population. I simply mention these facts to illustrate the benefits that any community may derive from a prohibition of the traffic in intoxicating liquors. What is said of the foregoing towns is equally true of a hundred other towns in the State of Kansas. With the exception of the cities first above mentioned, we are having no trouble in convicting parties guilty of a violation of the law, and it is only a question of time when these cities will be brought to a realization that they cannot defiantly trample the constitution and laws of a State under foot. Prohibition in Kansas, as a whole, is a success, and the rum-power knows it, hence the great struggle that is being made to defeat it. Temperance.
By Ellet Joseph Waggoner
THE following paragraph we notice has been recommended to the serious consideration of the temperance people of California:— “At a recent temperance meeting in Chicago it was stated that there existed in the city 3,400 saloons. The speaker thought that by raising the licenses the number could be greatly reduced. The better class of saloon men favored this move, as it would tend to drive out of the business many who keep low and disreputable places to their detriment. Accordingly a resolution was passed recommending the city authorities to pass an ordinance embodying the views of the meeting.” The question is by no means a new one. Saloon men have always favored it. It is simply a question of whether whisky shall be sold at 3,400 places, or at 2,000. The “better class” of saloon men favor it, because they would get the profits which the smaller saloons now get. The amount of whisky sold would not be diminished. It is time that people understood about this “better class” of saloons. In what respect are they better? Does the phrase “better class” signify that they are more moral, that they incline towards sobriety, encourage temperance, and sell whisky only under protest? Is the whisky that is sold any less poisonous than that sold in saloons kept by men who cannot afford to pay so high a license? Is there anything about them that tends to elevate and ennoble? No one supposes for a moment that there is anything of the kind. Then in what respect are they “better class?” Simply in point of display. They have fine rooms elegantly furnished. Everything is tastefully arranged and made attractive. And it is this very thing which makes them doubly dangerous. Persons are attracted to these places, who would not go to one of the so-called lower class saloons. Many a youth takes his first lesson here, but would have been repulsed from a less stylish place. They frequent them until they have gotten hopelessly in the toils—until they begin to get seedy, and their money becomes scarce; and then they are passed on to the saloon that is content with smaller profits. The very fact that any saloon keepers favor a limited license, is enough to condemn it. A general does not usually consult the enemy as to how to conduct his campaign. Napoleon said that the essence of good generalship was to find out what the enemy least desires you to do, and then do just that. Or in other words, find out what the enemy desires you to do, and then do just the opposite. Now it is known that every man who is in the liquor business is the enemy of temperance—that he is bound to sell all the whisky he can. If he advises temperance people it is only for his own selfish interest. We do not believe that anyone who has the cause of temperance really at heart, will ever assent to any such scheme. There can be no compromise. It has been well said that every compromise with evil is a victory for the devil. Absolute prohibition in this case is the only remedy. It is a desperate case, and temporizing would be fatal. E. J. W. As wine merchants are petitioning the French government to put a stop to the manufacture of artificial wines, the petitioners asserting that not one-third of the wine used in Paris is made of grapes, the many Americans who turn up their noses at the juice of our own grapes will naturally wonder what the spurious French wines are made of. An exchange says that there are a number of large factories near Paris in which wines are made from rotten apples, damaged dried fruit of all kinds, beets, and spoiled molasses. But there are not enough of these materials to make as much wine as is required by foreign trade. Turnip juice has been worked over into wine, and American cider is the basis of millions of bottles of champagne, but good apples and turnips are too costly to be wasted on cheap wines, such as most Americans buy. Some of the temperance societies might find the returns they are after by satisfying public curiosity about what wines are made of.—N. Y. Herald. A young man was recently found in the Mersey, drowned. On a paper found in his pocket, was written: "A wasted life. Do not ask anything about me; drink was the cause. Let me die; let me rot." Within a week the coroner of Liverpool received over two hundred letters from fathers and mothers all over England, asking for a description of the young man, and saying that the boy they had loved had been drawn away into the shining halls of sin and drink. Liquor Trade Opposes Free Ice Water
By S. S. Workman
The Retailer of New York, a journal issued in the interests of the liquor trade, is seriously alarmed on account of the free ice-water fountains, which it considers a public danger. It is not often that the Retailer shows such a zeal for the public health.—S. S. Workman. THE WASTE-NOT SOCIETY.
By Lucy L. Ward
"It would be very hard not to have enough to eat," said Daisy. "It would be hard to see a great many people hungry, and not be able to give them anything," added Hope. "We can't know anything about it," exclaimed Helen, excitedly; "We never knew what it was to go without a single meal when we wanted it. We never saw anybody really sick because they were so hungry. It is dreadful!" The troop of little girls walked on through the bright March sunshine with sad and troubled faces. They had been to the Children's Missionary Society, and had been told there, by the president, of the dreadful famine in Persia. She had read to them of how the corn and wheat had become scarce and high because the crops had failed, and how the poor people could not buy bread to eat, and were starving all over the country—starving to death, many of them. And how the missionaries had written home asking for money to buy food to save their suffering people. They had been turned to for help because the people knew that they were Christians, and that their religion would make them loving and generous to them in their distress. But they could do little to help them unless they had more money. Would not the Christians at home send special aid to them in this great need, they pleaded. The appeal had gone deep into the hearts of these children in America, where in their happy, beautiful homes they scarcely knew what it was to be denied a luxury, and it stirred earnest purposes in them. Helen Cary and Bella Carr walked home arm in arm. "We must send them some money," said Bella; "but how shall we get it?" She was full of it at the tea-table that night, and ready to give up cake and sugar and butter and tea if she could be paid a good price for it. "Why, Bella!" laughed her mother; "we should soon find you in a state of starvation as bad as the Persians. You must try some other plan." "I tell you, Bella," said her brother, "you might have a "waste-not" society. You know there is no other country where so much that is useful is burned up or thrown away as in America. If you should save, and ask other people to save for you, such things as scraps of paper, rags, and old iron, and should sell them, you would gradually get quite a little money." Bella looked doubtful. "I shouldn't think it would make much," she said; "it would take a lot of paper and rags to weigh anything." "Try it," said her brother. So the next morning, directly after breakfast, she went over to Helen's to tell her about it. Helen danced around and clapped her hands at the proposal. "Oh, goody!" she said; "we have some rags we can sell, and I am sure we can get some more. And I saw some old iron in a vacant lot, the other day, which I suppose we could have." "Why, yes," said Bella; "nobody would want it, and I'll get Bert to go after it with the wagon." That was the beginning of a ceaseless activity among these five or six little girls, who were anxious to give something more than their usual missionary contributions. "Their enthusiasm is something dreadful," said Georgie Davis' sister one day, when she was laughing with a friend over some of their exploits. "The other day, when we were driving, Georgie wanted to gather up some iron rings which were lying along the railroad track, and are used for fastening freight-cars together. I sometimes think our flatirons and kettles are in danger." "And my rubbers were disposed of," rejoined the other. "There was a man around buying old bottles, rubber, and so forth, and the next time I needed my rubbers, they could not be found. Daisy is sure that only wornout ones were sold; but we are forced to believe that she is not always an impartial judge of the sound condition of an article." "Poor rubbers!" laughed her friend. "Yes," said the other, "but I want to tell you of something else, the funniest sight! I was going around the corner yesterday, in the rain, and there were Helen and Bella with umbrella and school satchels, chasing a piece of paper that was blowing away in the wind! They captured it, you may be sure." There was continually something new and exciting for the children to tell each other, and they had frequent and interesting meetings. "O Hope!" cried Bella, rushing in to see her one morning. "Bert is going to take a load of paper and rags to Wilberton to sell for us. He can get a cent and three-quarters a pound there, and we can get only a cent and a half here." "That is splendid!" said Hope, much impressed by this business arrangement. "Are there many of them?" "A whole shed full," responded Bella. "We've been collecting them there." Another day Daisy Bradford made an announcement which was received with great glee. "Professor Harmon has given us all his examination papers," she said. "And papa brought home a whole basketful of business letters for us," added Hope. "And," said Georgie, "Mrs. Seymour told mamma she had some old iron for us." "All right, we'll send for it," said Bella. "Mrs. Lane will give us some paper and rags, if we will go for them, too," remarked Helen. Bella Carr was treasurer. As the children gathered in their pennies, they handed them over to her, and she gave them, once a month, to the treasurer of the missionary society, who telegraphed them at once to Persia. It interested the children very much that that could be done—that the hungry people did not have to wait for the slow traveling steamers to carry the money around to them; but that the missionaries could be telegraphed, "There is money in the bank in America for you," and in Persia, the piece of paper that told them that was as good as the money itself. During the first two months the children had collected over nine dollars, and handed to the treasurer. The next two there was not quite so much, but in July there was a wonderful contribution. There had some special money come to them outside of the proceeds from their gathered-up scraps. One lady had given them her "soap money," and one little girl's birthday present had quietly gone into the treasurer's hands. And there had been little sums from private hoards added, now and then, by the children, to the "waste-not" money they handed over. But after all, the principal part of it was from the sale of the precious collection of scraps: and altogether, when they came to count it over, it amounted to eighteen dollars and forty cents. "It's the most splendid thing that ever happened!" cried Bella, with shining eyes. "It's the best fun I ever had!" said Helen, who could hardly keep her dancing feet still long enough to say anything. "I had no idea we could ever get so much money," said Daisy, with the dimples chasing each other over her sweet face. "I am sure there can't be as many hungry people now." "And just out of the things people throw away." added Hope, with her arm around Daisy's neck. "I wish they would throw away ever so much more," exclaimed Georgie, the youngest of them all. They all laughed heartily at that, and then found that it was time to go home. That evening, as Helen Cary sat on the doorstep, watching the shadows creep across the lawn in the gathering twilight, there were very sweet thoughts running through her mind. "I am sure Jesus must be glad that we have so much money," she thought. "I think it has been like carrying out what he said to his disciples when he told them to 'gather up the fragments.' I am glad he knows. There is something, too, in a parable about his saying to the people on his right hand, 'I was hungry, and ye gave me meat.' That must mean that when we do things for others he counts it as done for him. I think that is the best thing about giving money and denying ourselves. It is better, even, than to really help people, to remember that Jesus takes all that we do as a gift to him because we love him." And the work was even greater and more blessed than Helen knew. For it did not only help the poor people in far-away Persia, and bless the givers by its reflex influence, but it proved an effective, though unspoken lesson to some whose hearts were as yet untouched by love for the Master. And so, like the ripples caused by the stone thrown into the lake, the circles of its influence extended farther and farther,—how far, who can tell? The little society is still going on, and I think as long as there are fragments to be saved, and busy little hands to work, it will not come to an end. Dear little girls! Through little self-denials and the giving up of precious play hours for eager work, they are learning the first lessons in the service of Christ. And I think as they grow older, and the time comes for heavier burdens and responsibilities to rest upon their shoulders, they will give a ready answer to the Master's call for workers. For the world's urgent need, and the Master's beautiful service, I believe there will be the glad surrender of heart and life; and that whenever Christ calls, and wherever his work is most pressing, there will be the glad response from enthusiastic hearts, "Here am I dear Lord, send me!"—Lucy L. Ward. "THE BEST THINGS ARE THE CHEAPEST."
"The best things are the cheapest;" that was what uncle John said the other day when we were all assembled in the sitting-room, watching the curling flames of the cheery wood-fire. "Why, the best things I find the dearest," remarked nephew John. But uncle John did not heed the interruption, and we listened while he discoursed as follows:— "Of things that are commonly desired for use, the prevailing idea is, that the best things always cost the most and are clear beyond the reach of poor people, so that only the rich can obtain them. This is a great mistake. Facts show that what is the best is the cheapest and most easily obtained. But what things are the best? Not those which are commonly reckoned as wealth, but those which are most needful and most useful. These are furnished by the Creator in such abundance that they are easily obtained and cost but little. Let people have their choice in what they want, and they would make such poor selections that they would soon be poor and miserable enough. A man might soon starve to death with a peck of diamonds by his side. A lady might shiver in the cold and freeze, with a costly gold ring on every finger, and as much glitter about the ears and neck as vanity and human weakness would desire. So with any amount of money in the banks, and bonds in the safe, a whole family can play bedlam in living earnest and know nothing of the sweet peace and comfort of a good and happy family. It so happens that the best things are those which the most are needed, and these are so abundant as to be very cheap indeed. "The first thing a human being needs on entering this world is plenty of pure air, and this he needs till the last moment of his life. An ordinary man with a pair of good lungs will use from fifty to sixty hogsheads of air in twenty-four hours. What an untold quantity there must be to supply every human being, and all the birds and animals that breathe. As it is unfit for use after it has once been breathed over, the Creator has so arranged that by a natural process which is all the time working a change, the air is purified. So necessary is this wonderful element that cubic miles of it fill the firmament above already for use. It comes unsought, and is better in its natural state than it could be made by any artificial means. Artificial perfumery is always expensive and never so good for health and common use, as the free, fresh air of heaven. Light can be made by artificial means, yet it is always expensive, and never half so good as the rich sunlight which comes free of cost to all who will open their eyes and see. If we go among the metals, we shall find that iron, which is so plenty and so cheap, is of far more value to all parties than gold and silver. We could get along without the gold and the silver, and some other fine metals, but not very563 well without the iron and the steel. In food, the rich, costly delicacies are not the best. They cloy and enervate, while the cheap, plain dishes, which are more easily obtained, such as God has abundantly provided, give tone and strength to the system. The pure cold water, free and plenty, is better for health and happiness than all the wines and strong drinks that were ever made. Above all other human wants is the need of deliverance from sin and its terrible effects. This is as free as it is needful and glorious. With so many good things so abundantly provided for this life, and the gift of eternal life hereafter, people can afford to be cheerful and happy, and ought to be very thankful to the great Giver." When uncle John had ended we saw what he meant, and we all said, even to little Johnny, the best things are the cheapest. And what should we do if they were not?—Selected. The Home Circle.
By E. H. Arr.
EARTH plowed the deepest, bears the best;
Growth comes of motion, not of rest;
From sweetest grapes, in presses flung,
The richest wine is sharply wrung. Then let your harrowed, anguished soul
Enrich, and ripened sheaves unroll;
For lo! endurance means in thee
Maturing for eternity. No word, nor look, nor touch, perchance,
Of mortals can thy strength enhance,
Till they shall have, by God's decrees,
The plowshare felt and borne the sheaves. It is not new, this hurt of thine;
All hearts have ached that give the wine.
In time, when bead from must runs clear,
The love that bruised thee shall appear.
—E. H. Arr. -A Latin Bible bearing date of 1642, was recently sold in London for £1,600. -Michigan University is to have a new museum building which will cost $60,000. -Ex-Senator Conkling has resumed the practice of law, and opened an office in New York. -During the month of November there were 2,032 arrests made by the San Francisco police. -Colonel John W. Forney, the veteran journalist died in Philadelphia, Dec. 9, aged 64 years. -The Brooklyn suspension bridge has already cost $13,323,000 and $3,000,000 are required to complete it. -Dr. H. J. Glenn has sown 30,000 acres of wheat on his farm in Colusa county, and expects to sow 25,000 more. -The daughter of Governor Newell of Washington Territory has been nominated and confirmed as Territorial librarian. -Land near Colton, San Bernardino county, Cal., that was offered for $60 per acre six months ago, now commands $200. -The Me Foo, the first of a regular line of steamers under the Chinese flag, lately arrived at London with 3,000 tons of tea. -General Judson Kilpatrick of the United States Army, and Minister to Chili for the second time, died at Santiago, December 4. -The population of New York is 1,206,577, and the number of dwellings, 73,684, making the average number of inhabitants to each dwelling, 16.37. -The propeller Jane Miller with twenty-five persons on board recently foundered in the vicinity of White Cloud Islands, Lake Huron. All were lost. -It is said that an experienced Boston engineer has been offered $100,000 to go to China for five years and aid in the establishment of industrial enterprises. -Herr Krupp has over 30,000 men employed in making cannon, and yet we are constantly talking about the approaching millennium when nations shall learn war no more.—Alta. -Four persons, a gentleman, two ladies, and a little girl, while attempting to cross a swollen stream near Centerville, W. T., December 11, were carried down by the current, and drowned. -Since 1860, 789,063 original pension claims have been filed in the U. S. Pension Office, and 450,949 of these have been allowed and inscribed on the pension roll. There are 266,575 claims now pending. -On the evening of the 7th inst., Eureka, Nevada, was severely shaken by an earthquake shock. Several buildings are reported as nearly taken down. It was the severest shock ever experienced in that place. -The Mayor of Chicago has vetoed the ordinance allowing the Mutual Union Telegraph Company to string wires on poles through the streets, and the Council, by a vote of 22 noes to 14 ayes, refused to pass it over the veto. -A dispatch from St. Petersburg says: There have been two Mussulman revolts in the last four months against the Chinese garrison at Gang Hesian. Two hundred Chinese were massacred and 400 rebels were subsequently beheaded. -Of forty railroad hands who were sleeping in the loft of a building near Pittsburg, Pa., sixteen were burned to death in the building, and many more were seriously injured, Dec. 10. There was only a small opening for escape, and the flames spread so rapidly that all could not make use of it. -As a freight train on the Wabash Railroad was crossing the Missouri river at St. Charles, Mo., Dec. 8, one span of the bridge gave way, and the entire train was precipitated into the river, eighty feet below. The engineer only is missing, but several were hurt severely. Thirteen of the cars contained live-stock. -Twenty years ago a Philadelphia dry goods firm failed in business, and compromised with their creditors for seventy-five cents on the dollar. The firm went on with its business as usual. A few days ago they sent to each of their old creditors a letter, inclosing a sum equal to the amount abated in the former settlement, with interest. The whole amount thus paid was about $125,000. This case is almost without a parallel. -The burning of the Ring theater at Vienna, December 8, was the occasion of a wholesale destruction of human life. Nearly 2,000 persons were in the building when the fire broke out on the stage. A panic immediately ensued. The employes at once fled for their lives, taking no precautions against the spread of the fire. The passages were very narrow, and but few could escape. About six hundred persons are known to have perished, and as several hundred more are missing, it is feared that this is not nearly the whole number. The fire company was very inefficient. -A Philadelphia father recently discovered that his children were required by their teacher in the public school to learn the rules of arithmetic after this fashion: "Rule for short division, rule, dash, one, write the divisor at the left of the dividend, semicolon, begin at the left hand, comma, and divide the number denoted by each figure of the dividend by the divisor, comma, and write the quotient beneath, period. Paragraph." If a pupil failed to place a comma correctly, he lost as many marks as if he had really made a serious blunder. It is not stated what other methods the teachers use, in case this shall fail to reduce the children to a state of idiocy. -A prominent Irish agitator said in regard to the man who attempted to blow up the Montreal Court House: "Six months ago he shot a landlord in Ireland and came to this country. In Ireland he was a gentleman and kept a pack of hounds, but he was in full sympathy with the poor peasantry. His intention was to blow up the Court House in Montreal, the House of Parliament in Ottawa and the Arsenal in Quebec. This will yet be done." Of O'Donovan Rossa, the agitator, it was said: "He is the head of the movement, and to-day he has 10,000 men at his command. The combined societies hold meetings in this city, and direct the work in this country and aid it on the other side. A skirmish fund of $5,000,000 can be raised. The city of Chicago has contributed $25,000 to the general fund. There are branches in Chicago, Philadelphia, Boston, Baltimore, and Providence, which contribute from $5,000 to $7,000 a week. Two of Rossa's men burned the town of Woodstock, N. B., and the English insurance companies sustained an aggregate loss of nearly $200,000. The nihilists never had such perfect arrangements. The very man who made the bomb that was thrown at the feet of the Czar is in New York and in the employ of the Irishman. Everything that chemistry can do will be done to carry on the work. We don't lack for funds." It is evident that there will be no peaceful settlement of the difficulties. That is the last thing desired by the agitators. -The Alta thus describes Ericsson's new torpedo boat, which has lately been completed and tested: It has been named The Destroyer, and the name is appropriate if it is claimed confidently for it be justified by its performances. It is a submarine boat containing a powerful gun, from which a heavy projectile is discharged. The speed of the boat and the size and initial velocity of the projectile are matters for determination by the government that secures the right to make and use them. Many private experiments with the new appliance, supplemented by a public one recently, have seemed to thoroughly demonstrate the success of the invention—so much so, indeed, that the Army and Navy Journal thinks that it sounds the knell of many an existing ironclad, and promises to revolutionize submarine warfare as its great predecessor, the Monitor, revolutionized ordinary combat on the seas. In the public exhibition referred to, the muzzle of the gun was six and a half feet below the surface of the water. The charge was twelve pounds of giant powder. The projectile was 25½ feet long. The object aimed at was a target of manilla rope and wooden slats, three hundred feet distant. The gun is aimed and charged by electricity, operated by the wheelsman. The projectile traversed the net at a depth of five feet below the surface of the water, appeared on the surface about one hundred feet beyond, and continued its course with considerable velocity for two hundred feet more. The submarine distance of four hundred feet was made in three seconds, although the gun charge was but twelve pounds. The torpedo can strike the vessel at any angle up to forty-five degrees or more and still explode. It is so constructed that it can force its way through intervening obstacles without exploding, a smart blow from a sledge hammer being insufficient to explode the cap. Thus submarine cannonading is shown to be entirely practicable. Mr. Carlyle happened to be present when a number of so-called philosophers and scientific men were airing their opinions. The theory of evolution had been asserted with much confidence, and under the supposition that he was a sympathizer and not at all fettered by religious scruples, he was challenged to deliver his opinion as to Darwinism. Gathering himself up, and speaking in a tone that silenced laughter, Mr. Carlyle replied—"Gentlemen, you make man a little higher than the tadpoles. I hold with the prophet David—Thou madest him a little lower than the angels." CHARACTER is something cut out, a rut made by continual going; it is the result which one's thoughts, feelings, and actions stamp upon him.