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Signs of the Times, Vol. 5, No. 4.

General Articles
Earlier text: The Two Covenants

Ventilation of Closets and Cupboards.

A WRITER in the Carpenter and Builder calls attention to the importance of thorough ventilation of closets and cupboards, which are usually neglected even in houses which are the most perfectly ventilated in all other parts. Closets which contain soiled garments, and cupboards which receive bread, cakes, pies, fruits, sauces, perhaps fresh or dried meats and cold victuals, furnish choice locations for the development of mold and germs of all sorts. It is no wonder that such a place has an unpleasant odor, and that food placed in it quickly becomes tainted. Garments placed in these unventilated closets, if the season is at all damp, are very likely to mildew. Indeed, on account of the condensation of moisture on the interior walls, these unventilated places are certain to be damp, and so mold and mildew are sure to develop.
A ventilating flue connected with the main shaft by which the house is ventilated, or running to the garret, should be placed in connection with every closet and cupboard in the house.—Good Health.

Brain Poisoned by Tobacco.

A PECULIAR case of mental hallucination has just appeared in Battle Creek, Mich., in the person of a young man about 18 or 20 years old. He is a cigar-maker by trade, and has been in the habit of smoking from 10 to 30 "green" cigars daily. He has not drank liquor sufficient to produce delirium, and yet he is a raving lunatic, and suffers all the horrible phantasmagoria that pertain to the fully developed tremens. He has worked in and used tobacco ever since early boyhood. Of late years he had used it extensively, principally in strong cigars; and it is supposed that the nicotine has so poisoned and shattered his mind as to partly paralyze it, thus producing the disorder. He has been taken to the insane asylum at Kalamazoo for treatment.

Nosebleed

The Scientific American gives the following novel plan for checking bleeding of the nose, as given by Dr. Gleason in one of his lectures. It is in the vigorous motion of the jaws, as in the act of mastication. In the case of a child, a wad of paper should be placed in the mouth, and the child instructed to chew it hard. It is the motion of the jaws that stops the flow of blood. This remedy is so very simple that many will feel inclined to laugh at it, but it has never been known to fail in a single instance, so it is said, even in very severe cases.

Religious News and Notes.

By Editor

The Sermon.

It should be warm—a living altar coal, To melt the icy heart, and charm the soul; A lifeless, dull harangue, however read, Will never rouse the soul, or raise the dead. It should be simple, practical, and clear; No fine-spun theory to please the ear. No curious lay, to tickle lettered pride, And leave the poor and plain unedified. It should be tender and affectionate, As, his warm theme who wept lost Salem's fate, The fiery law, with words of love allayed, Will sweetly warn, and awfully persuade.
—The Bible, complete or in part; is now published in 226 languages.
—The Pope is about to fill the vacancies in the "Sacred College," by the appointment of twelve new cardinals.
—At a meeting of the Ladies Anti-Polygamy Society, Salt Lake, it was stated that "Brigham Young owned a large distillery."
—The Baptist ministers of Chicago have extended a cordial welcome to the Rev. Arthur Mursell, of England, who visits them to lecture.
—"O LORD, bless the brother to whom we have listened so patiently," is the way a colored brother in Virginia prayed for a Philadelphia preacher.
—Nine Protestant ministers of different denominations recently visited king Humbert of Italy. The king said, "I don't understand so many colors, so many shades."
—A little girl in Sunday-school being asked, "What is charity?" replied, "It is giving to the poor all the old stuff you don't want yourself." She learned this by observation.
—Complaints come from Idaho of Mormon outrages. Some who were engaged in the Mountain Meadow massacre have settled there, and have not fully changed their habits.
—"Formerly one sermon converted 3000 sinners," said Elder Burgess of Butler University (Ind.), in a sermon recently; "now it takes 3000 sermons to convert one sinner."
—Out of 3,500,000 persons in London, there are church sittings for only 1,082,826, not quite a third, leaving over 2,417,000 without any possibility of hearing preaching of any kind.
—The Christian Register says: "It is no sign of wisdom or breadth for a man to say he has no creed, and it is no honor for a church to affirm that it believes nothing in particular."
—Dr. J. R. Graves, of Tennessee, a well known publisher, and author of the book, "The Great Iron Wheel," is preaching this week in the Central Baptist Church, Oakland.
—The Chronicle contains the reports of eight games of base ball played on Sunday, Jan. 19, in San Francisco. Also of the military sharpshooting on the San Bruno range the same day.
—It cost the Methodist denomination over $100,000 to establish the St. Louis Central Advocate and the Atlanta Methodist Advocate. But they have become important helps to their cause.
—A Catholic priest, writing in the Interior severely condemns the gambling resorted to in the recent cathedral fair in New York. And the priest in turn is severely condemned by the Catholic papers.
—The English revisers of the authorized version of the New Testament completed their work December 15th, and are now awaiting suggestions which their American companions may have to offer.
—The salaries of the bishops of the Methodist Episcopal Church are $3,000 each per annum, and an allowance for house rent. The same sum is paid to book agents, and official editors, in New York, Cincinnati, and St. Louis. Other editors receive salaries varying from $1,500 to $2,500.
—"Sermons" are becoming more and more mere farces. One reported in San Francisco recently was on the subject of "Economy," and one in Oakland, subject, "Early Settlement of California." About as much gospel in them as in Josh Billings' aphorisms, or in Mark Twain's Innocents Abroad.
—The Congregationalist defines its faith as evangelical, opposed to annihilation. The Independent says: "It is well aware that among the Congregationalists for whom it has the most admiration abroad, are R. W. Dale, J. Baldwin Brown, and Edward White, every one of whom denies the eternal conscious misery of the lost. It is setting up a definition of 'Evangelical' belief which does not hold in Germany or England."
—The Christian at Work says: "There seems to be one point on which our theological seminaries are sadly deficient. The teaching of the dead languages and the old philosophies are all right, but the students should also be taught common sense and human nature, and how to deal with men and every day church affairs. No one could do a better thing than to endow in some of them a professorship of common sense."
—Somebody thus sums up the doings of "those Christians of Europe." The Czar gives the bloodthirsty chief of the Afghans a sword with the inscription, "May God give the victory over the infidels," and the English sell the Asiatic pagans the prettiest little idols, made in the most artistic manner of Glasgow, Sheffield, and Birmingham. The same cargo for India often includes, say, 20,000 New Testaments, 5,000 complete Bibles, a fine assortment of 10,000 idols, 20 missionaries, 3 opium merchants, 3 spies, 2 dealers in first-class idols, 1 bishop, and 4 preachers of the Anglican persuasion.

Secular News.

—Senator Jones has been re-elected in Nevada.
—Great damage has been done by ice gorges in the Ohio River.
—Anderson Valley in Sonoma Co., Cal., reports ice six inches thick.
—One thousand eight hundred Communists have been pardoned in France.
—Political trouble is growing in France. Fears of the result are entertained.
—The State Grange of Iowa is reported to be nearly extinct. “Up like a rocket,” &c.
—The new capitol building at Albany, N. Y., is at last completed. It cost $15,000,000.
—Eighty men were cut off from hope of rescue by the explosion of “the Dinas Mine,” in England.
—The great bridge over the Mississippi at St. Louis was sold at auction recently, bringing $2,000,000.
—The nineteenth Molly Maguire was hanged in Pennsylvania last week. Only two more await execution.
—Prussia, by her oppressive acts, is like to bring upon herself all the trouble which she is aiming to avert.
—Several disastrous fires lately in eastern cities. Most worthy of note is that of the Chicago postoffice.
—The Chinese New Year commenced Jan. 20th, and in California it sounds very much like the 4th of July.
—Chicago ranks next to New York City in amount of business with the post office department of the Government.
—The Texas Legislature has passed an act requiring all railway trains to stop not less than five minutes at any station.
—A fire in New York city, January 17th, caused the loss of several millions of dollars. Several insurance companies are seriously affected by it.
—A railroad bridge over the river Arda in Turkey broke down, and a Russian General, several other officers, and two hundred men were drowned.
—Reports from the East give encouraging news of the revival of business. The amount of gold in the treasury is increasing, and the wisdom of resumption is fully proved.
—The publisher of the Morning Call, San Francisco, has been “bound over,” on a charge of libel on juror Reed, of Placerville. It was in reality a fight with the Chronicle.
—In the departments at Washington 1,300 women hold clerkships. The highest salary paid any one of them is $1,800. Many receive $1,200 and $1,400, and none less than $900.
—At a pond at Chapelle Moch, France, forty-eight children were drowned on Christmas day by the breaking of the ice on which they were sporting. No sadder event occurred during the year.
—Some wind as well as cold in California. In a squall last Monday night, a ship dragged her anchor in San Francisco Bay, and only by strenuous efforts was prevented crashing into Oakland Long Wharf.
—A trout fishery between Truckee and Lake Tahoe was destroyed by the recent cold weather. Ice covered the pond to a great depth, and the streams leading to them were frozen up, cutting off the supply of fresh water.
—Senator Grover, who as Governor of Oregon figured so conspicuously in the “cipher despatches,” has been charged by a committee of investigation with misappropriating over $90,000 of the funds of the State.
—A strange tale of fatality from Ailsa Craig, Ontario. A Miss Walker died suddenly. Her betrothed, Edward Cousins, hearing of it, committed suicide, and Mrs. Walker on seeing the corpse of her daughter dropped dead.
—The electric light will make a valuable saving of coal in England. According to a very careful estimate, recently, the quantity consumed in gas making was set down at 6,560,000 tons, against a production of 114,300,000 tons.
—The superintendent of the Hartford Library Association says that, as a rule, boys and girls read too much. Our accounts show that one boy has taken 102 story books in six months, and one girl 112 novels in the same time.
—The Giant Powder Works of San Francisco, near the Ocean beach, were blown up January 14. Four men, one a Chinaman, were blown to atoms. One witness testified that when he left the building a few moments before there were four Chinamen in it.
—The fish are dying in the Gulf off the Florida coast to a distance of 150 miles. It is laid to a “poisonous current” from the streams coming from the Everglades. Fears are entertained that the dead fish will seriously affect the health of the people along the coast next summer. Why such a “poisonous current” just now sets in is not easy to solve.
—Poughkeepsie, N. Y., according to the Chicago Railway Review, is to have no more locomotive whistling. A bell, worked by electricity, is set up at the depot, and when the trains come within a mile of the station it will ring until they arrive. The danger signal is thus given, and the waste of steam is avoided, to say nothing of the racket. Any engineer, who whistles hereafter when in Poughkeepsie loses his situation on the Hudson River Railroad.

Our Prospects.

By Editor

SOME important steps have been taken within the last two months toward placing this establishment on the best possible footing to insure success. The Board of Directors, at their recent meeting, highly approved of the plans, and actions in reference to them. The Lord has blessed our efforts, and we are able to report a very great improvement in the condition of the office. Much more remains to be done, and we ask for the prayers of all who are interested in this great work.

The Crusaders.

By Editor

An article is going the rounds of the papers which says that the "Women's Crusade" against the liquor sellers was started in Hillsboro, Ohio. And not far from that locality Van Zandt lived and sold liquor, was converted, joined the crusaders, and the history of his conversion and labors in the cause of temperance was published through the length and breadth of the land. But we have not seen the first paper which noticed the fact that, when the crusade fire burned low, Van Zandt returned to his liquor traffic as complacently as John Burns of Gettysburg "returned to his cows and his bees."
In our early church association strenuous efforts were put forth to confirm our faith in "the perseverance of the saints." But years of observation have strongly confirmed us in the faith of the perseverance of sinners! No room for doubts exist on this point.

European Measures Against the Plague

The appointment of a joint European commission to take precautions against the plague in Russia is mooted. Germany and Austria have resolved to send physicians to watch the epidemic.

The Weather.

UP to this time the people of this locality have been blessed with only 2.65 inches of rain. This is unprecedented in the history of this county. Talk as they may, yet we challenge all weather experts to point out a season which has occurred within the last twenty-seven years that can be likened to the present one in any of its principal features. It is true that last winter we were blessed with but a small amount of rain until the 13th of January, yet that which was received was so distributed as to cause the vegetation to be in a very healthy and forward condition when the rains did come.
This season it is entirely different. The long cold spells of last month, and of this month thus far, have had the tendency to retard the growth of all vegetation, and in many places killing out the grain to such an extent as to make a resowing of the ground necessary. Unless it rains, and that copiously, within the next week or ten days, we may just as well give up any hopes of more than half a crop for this year.—Yolo Democrat.

Appointments.

Eld. Waggoner will preach in San Francisco next Sabbath, and in Oakland Sunday evening.
Oakland—Services at the Seventh-day Adventist church, corner of Thirteenth and Clay streets, every Sabbath (Saturday) at 10:30 A. M., and Sunday evening at 7:30. Prayer-meeting every Tuesday evening at 7:30. Sabbath-school at 9:15 o'clock Sabbath morning.
San Francisco—Services at the Seventh-day Adventist church, on Laguna street, between Tyler and McAllister, every Sabbath (Saturday), at 11 A.M., and Sunday evening at 7:30. Prayer-meeting every Tuesday evening at 7:30. The Hayes Valley cars of Market street and the Lone Mountain cars of the Central railroad cross Laguna street near the church.

Books, Pamphlets, Tracts, etc.

Cruden's Concordance; complete—library $3.50, cloth $2.75; condensed—library $2.00, cloth $1.75; post paid.
Dictionary of the Bible. $1.75, post paid.
Hymn and Tune Book; 537 hymns, 147 tunes. $1.
Song Anchor, for Sabbath-schools and Praise service. 160 pp. 50c.
Progressive Bible Lessons for Youth. 50c.
" " " " " " Little Ones. 15c.
The Way of Life; a beautiful engraving 19x24 inches, with key of explanation. $1.00.
The Game of Life (illustrated). Satan playing with man for his soul. In board, 50c.
The History of the Sabbath and First Day of the Week. J. N. Andrews. 528 pp. $1.00.
Thrilling Life Sketches. Incidents in the life of an Italian of noble birth. By Francesco Urgos. $1.25.
Thoughts on Daniel, U. Smith. $1.00. Condensed paper edition, 35c.
Thoughts on Revelation. U. Smith. $1.00
Life of William Miller, with likeness. $1.00.
The Biblical Institute. U. Smith. $1.00.
The Sanctuary and its Cleansing. U. Smith. $1.00. Condensed edition in paper, 30c.
Life of Joseph Bates, with likeness. Revised. Edited by James White. Tint, $1.00; plain, 85c.
The Nature and Destiny of Man. U. Smith. 362 pp. $1.00.
Bible from Heaven. D. M. Canright. 300 pp. 80c.
The Constitutional Amendment. A discussion between W. H. Littlejohn and the editor of the "Christian Statesman." Bound, $1.00. Paper 40c. First part 10c.
Spirit of Prophecy, Vol. 1. Mrs. E. G. White. 416 pp. $1.00.
Spirit of Prophecy, Vol. II. Mrs. E. G. White. 400 pp. $1.00.
Spirit of Prophecy, Vol. III. Mrs. E. G. White. 400 pp. $1.00.
Life of Christ, in six pamphlets, by Mrs. E. G. White:—
No. 1. His First Advent and Ministry . . . . . 10 cts No. 2. His Temptation in the Wilderness . . . . 10 cts No. 3. His Teachings and Parables . . . . . . 15 cts No. 4. His Mighty Miracles . . . . . . . . . 15 cts No. 5. His Sufferings and Crucifixion . . . . . 10 cts No. 6. His Resurrection and Ascension . . . . . 10 cts
The Apostles of Christ, in two pamphlets. Mrs. E. G. White:—
No. 1. The Ministry of Peter . . . . . . . . 10 cts No. 2. The Teachings of Paul . . . . . . . . 10 cts
Sabbath Readings for the Home Circle. In two volumes. 60 cts. each.
The State of the Dead and Destiny of the Wicked. U. Smith. 40c.
The United States in Prophecy. U. Smith. Bound, 40c. Paper, 20c.
A Word for the Sabbath, or False Theories Exposed. (POEM.) U. Smith. Muslin, 30c; paper, 15c.
Advent Keepsake. Muslin, 25c.
Sermons on the Sabbath and Law, embracing an outline of the Biblical and Secular history of the Sabbath for 6,000 years. J. N. A. 25c.
Facts for the Times. 25c.
The Nature and Tendency of Modern Spiritualism. J. H. Waggoner. 20c.
Our Faith and Hope. Sermons on the Millennium, Second Advent, the Kingdom, the Judgment, the Time, the Sanctuary, and Saving Faith. 20c.
The Ministration of Angels, and the Origin, History, and Destiny of Satan. D. M. C. 20c.
The Atonement. J. H. Waggoner. 20c.
The Spirit of God. J. H. W. 15c.
Miraculous Powers. 15c.
The Complete Testimony of the Fathers concerning the Sabbath and First Day. J. N. Andrews. 15c.
The Three Messages of Rev. 14, and the Two Horned Beast. J. N. Andrews. 10c.
The Morality of the Sabbath. D. M. C. 15c.
The Resurrection of the Unjust; a Vindication of the Doctrine. J. H. Waggoner. 15c.
The Two Laws. D. M. Canright. 15c.
The Seven Trumpets of Rev. 8 and 9. 10c.
Redeemer and Redeemed. James White. 10c.
Christ in the Old Testament and the Sabbath in the New. James White. 10c.
The Truth Found. J. H. W. 10c.
The Two Covenants. J. N. Andrews. 10c.
The Hope of the Gospel; What is it, and when it will be consummated. J. N. L. 10c.
Review of Gilfillan on the Sabbath. 10c.
Vindication of the Sabbath. Morton. 10c.
The Date of the Seventy Weeks of Dan. 9, established. J. N. Andrews. 10c.
Matthew Twenty-four. James White. 10c.
Review of Baird's two Sermons on the Sabbath and Law. J. H. W. 10c.
The Ancient Sabbath. Forty-four Objections Considered. 10c.
Four-cent Tracts: The Second Advent—The Seventh Part of Time—Celestial Railroad—Samuel and the Witch of Endor—The Ten Commandments not Abolished—Address to the Baptists—Present Truth—The Sufferings of Christ—The Two Thrones—The Third Message of Rev. 14—Spiritualism a Satanic Delusion—Redemption—Systematic Benevolence—The Two Covenants—Origin and Progress of Seventh-day Adventists—Milton on the State of the Dead—The Rejected Ordinance.
Three-cent Tracts: Much in Little—The Lost Time Question—Argument on Sabbath—Infidel Cavils Considered—The End of the Wicked—Scripture References—Who Changed the Sabbath?—The Second Message of Rev. 14.
Two-cent Tracts: Christ in the Old Testament—The Sabbath in the New Testament—The Old Moral Code—The Ten Commandments not Revised—Definite Seventh Day—Seven Reasons for Sunday Keeping Examined—Elihu on the Sabbath—The Rich Man and Lazarus—The Sanctuary of the Bible—The Millennium—Departing and Being With Christ—Fundamental Principles of S. D. Adventists—The Judgment; or the Waymarks of Daniel to the Holy City—The Two Laws—Spirit of Prophecy—One Hundred Bible Facts—The Law and the Gospel—God's Memorial—The Sabbath, the Day—First Message of Rev. 14.
One-cent Tracts: Appeal on Immortality—Thoughts for the Candid—Nahum's Chariots—The Perfection of the Ten Commandments—Coming of the Lord—Without Excuse—Which Day Do You Keep, and Why?—Geology and the Bible—The Sleep of the Dead—The Sinner's Fate—Can We Know?—Is the End Near?—A Dialogue—Brief Thoughts on Immortality—The Christian Sabbath—Why Not Found Out Before?—100 Bible Facts upon the Sabbath.
Address THE SIGNS OF THE TIMES, OAKLAND CAL.

Directors' Meeting.

A MEETING of the Directors of the Pacific S. D. A. Publishing Association convened at the Office Friday afternoon, Jan. 17.
The resignation of Eld. J. N. Loughborough, now in Europe, as member and President of the board of directors was read and accepted. Eld. M. C. Israel was elected to fill the vacancy thus occasioned in the Board, and John Morrison was elected President.
The prospects of the Office were fully examined. All seemed satisfied that every effort was being made by the managers of the office to reduce expenses and put every department on a paying basis.
The outlook seems much better than it has for months. JOHN MORRISON, President. J. E. WHITE Secretary.

State Quarterly Meeting.

THE State quarterly meeting of the California Tract and Missionary Society was held according to appointment January 18, 1879. The districts were well represented, six directors being present. The meeting opened with prayer by Elder Israel. Minutes of the previous meeting were read and accepted, after which the following report of labor during the quarter was presented:--
District. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Total
Memberships. 74 57 39 56 9 5 6 7 398
No. of Reports. 47 30 39 57 8 24 49 37 239
Families visited. 70 40 70 57 2 2 143 133 486
Ships visited. 18 64 82
Letters written. 37 59 28 14 13 189 88 428
New Members. $1.00 2.00 2.00 1.00 1.00 1.00 1.00 $9.00
Donations. $12.75 18.95 16.69 25.25 66.45 50.68 $190.77
Book sales. $11.30 10.15 3.60 11.45 26.90 33.70 $91.10
Widows & Orphans Fund. $10.50 $10.50
No. pp. Tracts, etc., given away. 9,879 23,759 12,221 1,000 6,078 27,311 24,896 616,314
No. pp. Tracts, etc., loaned. 6,555 5,005 600 2,095 8,158 8,527 30,940
Annuals. 500 665
New subscribers for SIGNS. 5 22 14 15 9 65
New subscribers for other periodicals. 3 3 4 1 29 14 54
SIGNS distributed. 561 290 407 20 204 192 3,086 1,715 6,475
Other periodicals distributed. 216 113 106 53 68 53 330 211 1,121
It was moved that Brother T. M. Chapman be elected director of district No. 1, to fill the vacancy occasioned by the removal of Brother Wm. Harmon from the State; whereupon he was duly elected.
The question of sending bound books and other reading matter to those requesting such by letter to the V. M. Societies was discussed, and it was Voted, That the State officers be empowered to supply, according to their discretion, such calls, with books and reading matter as desired.
Interesting remarks were made by Elder Waggoner, and others, as to the most successful manner of distributing reading matter. It was recommended not to cease efforts after once canvassing the ground, as often more is accomplished by the second or third visit than the first.
After discussing the importance of thoroughly understanding the missionary work in order to successfully carry it forward, it was Voted, That Elder S. N. Haskell be invited to visit this State to more effectively establish the missionary work here.
On motion, the meeting adjourned. E. R. GILLETT, Vice-President. LILLIE D. ABBEY, Secretary.
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