Earlier text: Church OrderThe Work in Portland, Oregon.
By William Ings
Two months ago I left San Francisco, and during this time I have been assisting in the work in this Conference, but more particularly in Portland. This is a very important point for our work, owing to the amount of travel. Much of this emigration consists of seekers after homes, both in Oregon and Washington Territory, which gives us an excellent opportunity of placing reading matter in the hands of those who are broken off from their former associations. There are eighteen passenger steamers that leave this place, three of which go to San Francisco. The others navigate the Columbia and Willamette Rivers. On these are excellent chances for people to read, as the water is smooth and some of the journeys are from eight to ten hours in length. We have our distributors on every boat, two on each—one the loaning library of fifteen pamphlets, the other a free distributor containing our periodicals and tracts. The last mentioned is supplied on the return of each boat, some daily and others every other day. The work of getting our cases on these boats has been brought about through the direct providence of God. Without his help this could not have been accomplished. Nothing was allowed to be attached to the finely polished walls of the saloons, but God put it into the hearts of men to permit our cases, holding the truths that are to warn the world, a place on the walls, and in several instances those having the authority would take them and with their own hands place them in position for us. The favors that we have been granted far exceeded our expectations. We have cheering reports as the result of this work; people will read for hours, and others, when the distance is short, ask the steward to let them take the pamphlet to their homes with the promise of returning it to the boat. We have placed thirty holders for SIGNS in nineteen of the leading hotels. In this the Lord has given success, not one having refused, and all were pleased to have it in their houses. By this means thousands will have access to our valuable pioneer paper, and we little know of the good it will accomplish. Two overland trains are visited daily, and many persons are found who become interested in our work. After learning the object, papers are taken freely and hardly a train is visited but something is sold. We are using 650 SIGNS per week to good account, besides many tracts and pamphlets. The latter are sold. Brother Reed, who is devoted to the cause, will have this work in charge, and will find plenty of work to do. Since the canvassing class closed its work, the friends have gone to their fields of labor. The prospect for this Conference was never more favorable than at the present time. The camp-meeting brought about excellent results. The labors of Elders Boyd and Loughborough among the churches have been appreciated, and my visits have been a source of encouragement to me, and I trust profitable to them. Clubs of SIGNS have been taken, the missionary spirit has been revived, and all are encouraged to work. The Lord has given strength, and helped in the work we have tried in his fear to do. To him be all the praise. WM. INGS.
Portland, Aug. 5, 1884. The Narrow Way of Peace
By Dwight L. Moody
RELIGION is never fashionable. The way of peace is not the broad way superintended by Paris, but the narrow way watched by the Redeemer.—Moody. Christ carried the cross in his heart long before the mob laid it on his shoulders. Even at the marriage scene in Cana of Galilee he spake of "his hour." The little things which you may do for those about you will fall back upon your heart as the summer dews fall upon the vineyards. What if it is nothing but a kind word to a school-boy crying in the street; it dries his tears, and the aching heart grows light and glad again. Who knows what cloud of darkness one kind word may dispel? Dr. Moffat Preaches to Hottentots
This incident is given as one of Dr. Moffat's early experiences in Africa: Shortly after his arrival in Africa, the young missionary was about to conduct a religious service in the family of a Dutch farmer, when he noticed the absence of the black servants, and remarked to the master of the house, "May none of your servants come in?" "What! Hottentots! Are you come to preach to Hottentots? Go to the mountains and preach to the baboons; or, if you like, I'll fetch my dogs, and you may preach to them!" The quick-witted missionary at once read as his text, "Truth, Lord; yet the dogs eat of the crumbs which fall from their master's table!" Quietly he repeated the words a second and a third time, till the Boer was compelled to say, "No more of that, I'll bring you all the Hottentots in the place!" After the service the Boer, still surprised by the way in which he had been answered, remarked to the missionary, "Who hardened your hammer to deal my head such a blow? I will never object to the preaching of the gospel to Hottentots again." Bishop Crowther’s Early Life
FIFTY years ago there was a boy in Africa who was taken prisoner in one of the fierce wars between the tribes, and was carried away from his home to be sold as a slave. First he was sold for a horse. Then his buyer thought him a bad exchange for the horse, and compelled his master to take him back. Then he was sold for so much rum. This was called another bad bargain by the man who had bought him, and again he was returned, to be sold for tobacco, with the same result. Nobody wanted the poor, miserable slave-boy, who was on the point of committing suicide, when he was bought by a Portuguese trader, and carried away in a slave-ship. How little that wretched boy knew what the future had in store for him as he lay chained in the hold of the crowded slave-ship! But one of England's war-ships that were clearing the high seas of the slavers bore down upon the Portuguese vessel, rescued the captives, and the African boy was placed under Christian influences, baptized and educated, and to-day he is Bishop Crowther, England's black bishop in Africa.—Gospel in All Lands. THERE are many ways of making children happy, and by wise means and timely thoughts, winning them from peevishness and mischief, that, indulged in year after year, will, sooner or later, lead them into habits difficult to overcome, causing regret and suffering on the part of both parent and child. A single fact will exemplify my meaning. Sitting with a friend, one afternoon, we were interrupted suddenly by her daughter, a bright child of five years, who, with a handful of common field-flowers, came running to the mother's side, exclaiming, with mingled eagerness and diffidence, "See! mamma, these are beautiful; I picked them for you." The manner of the little girl, and the peculiar emphasis, suggested to me that she had not always found her offerings received as she desired. The mother, without noticing her, continued the conversation; and as I listened to one, and watched the other, I was painfully affected by the patient sigh of the waiting child, and the look of anxious desire upon her face. The mother's eye at last followed mine. "Well, sis, what now? Oh, dear, dear! child; will you be forever littering up the house with your weeds? Indeed, I can't have it. There! Let them all go, and don't bring another one into the house. Play with them outdoors all you like." "They are pretty," answered the grieved child with some spirit; and the tears brimmed over as she saw the cherished blossoms thrown from the window. "So they are, pet," answered the mother. "But you know they litter up the house, and make work for mamma. Now run away and play, like a good girl." She obeyed; but the sensitive nature had been rudely repulsed; and the grieved spirit told how bitter was the shock, in the bowed head and lingering step as she went out again to her flowers. For a moment, I could not speak; my heart was sore with this great wrong the child had received at the hands of her mother. My own childhood, made bright and beautiful by the wise forbearance of that dearest earthly friend, came before me as a picture; and I determined to show this young mother a page of it, that might be to her a word in season. "Shall I tell you a story of my childhood that has just occurred to me?" I asked. "Yes, indeed, I do so like facts of long ago!" she replied with her usual eagerness. "I remember, when I was as old as Nellie, I used to take the most exquisite delight in gathering from the meadow near our old home, and along the banks of a shallow brook that ran through it, buds and blossoms of every kind, like those just brought to you. I can remember every one,—violets, innocents, dandelions, and the tall meadow-grass. They were, to my childish imagination, the most wonderful things of earth. Did I gather them for myself? No, indeed! there would have been no joy in that; but for mother, my sweet mother, with her gentle smile, and sometimes, to be sure, her look of perplexity, that I always interpreted as a fear that the fragile flowers might wilt too soon." "What did she do with them?" asked my friend with a blush. "Sent them flying from the window, I warrant, as I do Nellie's." "Not once," I answered. "She never refused to take them, even though they might be nothing but the dried stalks of last year; they were accepted and treasured, at least until I had forgotten them myself. I have since heard her say that it at times caused her trouble and annoyance to do so; but it more than repaid her to know that the long hours I spent in searching for these offerings were keeping me from mischief, and filling my heart with the purest happiness. Dear mother, the flowers of earth can only be strewn upon her grave now; but the memory of her tender love, of her winning smile of thanks, as I day after day littered her room, will never pass away. Each day it became a new joy; and if, perchance, a strange blossom could be added to the collection, how my young heart would bound, sure as I was of my reward,—her appreciative smile and kiss!" "Poor Nellie! I'm afraid she was grieved." "I know she was," I answered. "Throw down your work, and let's find her, and pour the balm of consolation on the bruised heart by praising her pet weeds." "I'm afraid you'd make the child morbidly sensitive," was the laughing reply as we rose. "No, I'd only make her happy, and help her to keep the sensitiveness she has. Children should be sensitive to a mother's praise or rebuke; and the mother should be wise in administering either. The world will brush away the peach-bloom soon enough." The next time I saw my friend, she exclaimed merrily, "You've made me trouble enough with your story of the weeds and dried stalks. See there!" She pointed to a vase filled with dandelions and apple-blossoms, whose white petals were scattered over the neat table-cloth. "Ah, that looks pretty!" I answered joyfully.—Sel. WHEN things don't go to suit you,
And the world seems upside down,
Don't waste your time in fretting,
But drive away that frown.
Since life is oft perplexing,
It is the wisest plan
To bear all trials bravely,
And smile whene'er you can. Why should you dread to-morrow,
And thus spoil your to-day?
For when you borrow trouble,
You always have to pay.
It is a good old maxim,
Which should be often preached—
Don't cross the bridge before you,
Until the bridge is reached. You might be spared much sighing,
If you would keep in mind
The thought that good and evil
Are always here combined.
There must be something wanting,
And though you roll in wealth,
You may miss from your casket
That precious jewel, health. Though you are strong and sturdy,
Not full may be your purse
(And earth has many trials
Which I consider worse);
But whether joy or sorrow
Fill up your mortal span,
'Twill make your pathway brighter
To smile whene'er you can.
—Sel. NATURE's laws are only felt when one runs against them. A cat, in a Swiss cottage, had taken poison and came in a pitiful state of pain to seek its mistress' help. The lady cared for the cat tenderly, and it revived. After its recovery, it could not find ways enough to show her gratitude. One evening the lady had retired to her room when she heard a mew at the window. When the window was opened, the pussy laid a mouse at the lady's feet. After this a mouse was a frequent gift to the lady. Even when it had kittens, they were not allowed to touch the mouse, and if they attempted to eat it, the mother gave them a little tap. After a while, however, the lady accepted the gift, thanked the giver with a pleased look, and then restored the mouse, when the mother cat allowed her kittens to eat it. Dime Novels.
By Union Signal
MOTHERS, look out for the dime novels. No poison more insidious could be introduced into your homes. Keep the mind's health as carefully protected as you do the body's, and the State Reform School will not open its doors to close them for years upon one of your darlings. A mother's boy in Montreal, only fourteen years old, was recently detected in a three hundred dollar forgery. He and two companions were about starting for New York, and had thirty dime novels in their possession. A boy in the Thaddeus Stevens' Public School at Philadelphia, when reprimanded by his teacher, drew his revolver and threatened to shoot her. This led to a search of the pupils, when seven revolvers were captured from boys about ten years old. About one hundred and twenty dime novels were discovered to be the property of the youthful scape-graces. An awful thunder-storm was raging one evening. One flash of lightning followed another so quickly that the bedroom in which two girls were lying was brilliantly lighted up every few seconds; and the roar of the thunder—harmless, if they had but known it—had a terrible sound in the ears of the children. They hid their heads beneath the bedclothes, trembling and afraid, or peeped out for a moment, only to shrink again below the welcome covering. It was early in the evening, and only the children were in bed. Passing backwards and forwards on the landing outside their door went a young house-maid, who was arranging the other rooms for the night. As she moved briskly from place to place, she lifted up her sweet young voice, and sang a favorite hymn:— "O God, our help in ages past,
Our hope for years to come,
Our shelter from the stormy blast,
And our eternal home!
Under the shadow of thy throne
Thy saints have dwelt secure;
Sufficient is thine arm alone,
And our defense is sure." "Jane, Jane," cried a little voice from the bedroom, "are you not afraid? How can you go on singing when it lightens so and the thunder makes such a noise?" "Afraid, Miss Annie! Oh, no," said the girl. "How can I be afraid, when I know that God is here? He takes care of me, and nothing can hurt me without his will. Besides, he made the lightning and thunder and rain, and they all do a great deal of good, too, each in its way." "Do they?" said the child, venturing her head outside the clothes, and taking courage. "But the lightning kills people sometimes," she added, with a shudder. "Yes, dear," said Jane, "but it is only as God wills. It cannot do anything but just what he sends it to do. Don't be afraid; just try to think that you must be safe in God's keeping. He will take care both of you and me." Then Jane kissed the young faces, and bade them notice how, already, the lightning did not come so frequently, or the voice of thunder sound so loud. Her words left them comforted, and with the sweet thought in their minds, "God will take care of us," whilst the young house-maid resumed alike her work and her song:— "Before the hills in order stood,
Or earth received her frame;
From everlasting thou art God,
To endless years the same." It was noticed, in after years, that when other people showed fear during a storm, these children were calm, cheerful, and always ready to cheer others. Their confidence arose from the lesson of trust taught them by the young servant's words and example. They learned to say, "These are God's works. They are only fulfilling his word. 'Under the shadow of his wings will we rejoice.'"—Child's Companion. MR. BROOKS is a stalwart farmer, with broad acres, rich and clean, a kind, frugal wife, a pleasant home, and two bright, happy, industrious children. With a dear little friend of mine, some seven years old, I went out to "the farm" and passed a week. One evening Mr. Brooks took Georgie on his knee and said:— "I hope you are a temperance boy. Are you?" "I am a Band of Hope boy, sir." "I am very glad. If they had had Bands of Hope when I was a shaver it would have saved me the last fifty years of more or less trouble with that foot." And he pointed to his right foot, on which was an embroidered slipper. "That handsome slipper does not look as if it covers a boy's sin and shame, does it?" Georgie's eyes grew very large and questioning as they looked first at the foot and then in the face of the good man. "Oo-o, sir! Please tell me all about it." "Yes, my little fellow, I will. When I was about your age—let me see—you are—how old?" "Well, I was but six years old. My father was a farmer and made a great deal of cider, and when it was new and sweet he let me drink as much as I wanted to. But after it began to work I wasn't allowed to drink any. But every fall he bottled up a supply for summer. One sunny autumn day I thought I would make some mud-pies, and went into the kitchen for a big iron spoon. They were putting some raisins into bottles in which cider was to be put and corked tight, so that when they were ready to drink the cider it would sparkle like champagne." "My papa has champagne-cider, and one day some popped right into my face, and made me jump." "I hope none will ever pop into your mouth. Well, my mamma filled my little hand with raisins and let me take a swallow of cider, and it tasted so good. I begged for more, and mamma said I might have one more swallow. And I took a big swallow and ran out to play. But though the sun was shining bright, and the mud was soft and warm, just right for pies, those raisins and that delicious cider kept tempting me back to the kitchen to ask for just a few little raisins and just one more sip before it should be all bottled up. But no one was in the kitchen at the moment, and I knew my kind mother wouldn't refuse me, so I took just one raisin and one little sip, and how many ones I took I don't know. But mother came in and told me to go out and play. I ran back to my pies and in a minute I saw a toad stick up its black head right where I was playing. I tried to scare it off, but it would come right back and keep squirming. I could not stand that intrusion in my bakery and I caught up my hatchet and brought it down with a vim, and then I screamed." "Did the toad jump right up and bite your foot?" "No, my boy, worse than that. It was no harmless little toad, but the serpent in the cider that bit my foot. I had drank so much that I did not know my own muddy toe from a toad, and it was not a toad's head but my own foot that took the blow. And when the doctor came, my great toe had to be cut entirely off." "Oh, didn't it hurt awfully?" "Yes, and it hurts me yet whenever I am tired. But that lost toe has been a life lesson, perhaps a life blessing to me. I might have kept on, sip by sip, and drank up my character, my farm, my home, my happiness, the happiness of all who loved me, my own life, and, more than all these, Heaven itself." George's intent face looked very solemn a moment, then broke into the brightest of smiles, and he exclaimed:— "Pretty high price to pay for cider!" "Yes, yes!" said Mr. Brooks; "but many a man has paid it. It is the first step."—Temperance Banner. The Best Gymnasium for Girls.
THE exercise that is best adapted to develop all parts of the body in a natural, healthy manner, is domestic labor. It is always at hand; it can be taken regularly every day, and there is such variety that almost every muscle can be exercised. Housework should never be considered menial or degrading; it is nature's laboratory, in which the girl may obtain not only the best physical development, but most valuable knowledge that will fit her for the practical duties of life. This training may be supplemented by other kinds of exercise, such as walking and outdoor sports. The very general introduction of foreign help into domestic service has proved most unfortunate for the health of American women. Closely connected with this neglect of physical training at home is an evil of great magnitude, that is, supreme devotion to brain-work. The practice pursued very generally, at the present day, of confining the girl in school or seminary for a series of years, consecutively, is attended with the most serious evils. In the language of a popular writer, "It is educating our girls to death." While I would not discard education in all its various departments, extending to the highest culture, I maintain that it is no advantage or blessing if it is to be obtained at the expense of the physical system. There are other parts of the body besides the brain that need faithful training. The highest accomplishments and mental acquisitions will not compensate for impaired constitution and poor health. THE YOUTH'S INSTRUCTOR.
By Editor
AN ILLUSTRATED WEEKLY PAPER FOR YOUTH AND CHILDREN, DEVOTED TO MORAL, MENTAL, AND RELIGIOUS CULTURE. THIS paper is not devoted to insipid stories and religious fiction, but is filled with a great variety of that kind of reading which tends to the healthful development of the youthful mind. Its pages are made bright by the choicest illustrative pictures, and its columns are always full of useful information. As a Sabbath-school and Lesson paper, it is suited to the wants of scholars and teachers, and is calculated to increase the interest of all who read it, in thorough Bible study. TERMS, ALWAYS IN ADVANCE.—Single copy, 75 cents a year; Five copies to one address, 60 cents each; Ten or more copies to one address, 50 cents each. SPECIAL PREMIUM OFFER—THE SUNSHINE SERIES. For every new subscription, accompanied with 85 cents, we will give "The Sunshine Series," consisting of a package of ten beautiful pamphlets of 32 pages each. These comprise a choice collection of sketches, stories, poems, etc., adapted to the wants of children, and contain more reading matter than can be found in many dollar books. Remember, the whole series, 320 pages, and the INSTRUCTOR for a year, for 85 cents. Address, YOUTH'S INSTRUCTOR, Battle Creek, Mich. Or, PACIFIC PRESS, Oakland, Cal. THE EARLY LIFE, CHRISTIAN EXPERIENCE, AND EXTENSIVE LABORS OF
THE production of this book was the last literary labor performed by Elder White. As nearly the whole of his active labor was performed in connection with the Seventh-day Adventist denomination, which he was largely instrumental in founding, the work is necessarily quite a complete history of that people. The book abounds in interesting incidents, personal sketches, and religious experiences, some of which are quite remarkable, and altogether it forms a volume at once instructive and interesting. 416 pp. Price, $1.25.
Address
SIGNS OF THE TIMES, Oakland, Cal. SABBATH READINGS
By Editor
COMPILED BY MRS. E. G. WHITE. THESE are some of the few really good books. For twenty years Mrs. White has been selecting choice, interesting, and instructive stories, the best of which are presented in these four volumes of 400 pages each. It would be difficult to find a better collection. The selections have been carefully made, and none need fear to place them in the hands of the young. They are not, however, designed exclusively for the young, but are adapted for general home reading. All the members of the family circle will find something in them to entertain and instruct. They are just the thing for holiday or birthday gifts. Price per set, neatly put up in box, $2.40. Address, SIGNS OF THE TIMES, Oakland, Cal. HISTORY OF THE WALDENSES.
By J. A. Wylie
[ILLUSTRATED BY TWENTY FULL-PAGE ENGRAVINGS.] This work describes the conflicts waged by the Waldenses, and the martyrdoms they endured in defense of their faith and their liberty. Recent events have brought the Waldenses to notice, and thrown a new light upon the grandeur of their struggle and the important issues which have flowed from it. To them are we to trace the Constitutional liberties that Italy now enjoys. In their mountain fastnesses they maintained the faith of the early Christians, and by their untiring missionary labors this faith was diffused to all the nations of Europe, thus preparing the way for the great Reformation. 212 pp. Price, 90 cts.
Address, SIGNS OF THE TIMES, Oakland, Cal. HISTORY OF THE REFORMATION.
By J. H. Merle d'Aubigné
By J. H. Merle d'Aubigné. This book is indeed a standard in evangelical literature, and is so well and favorably known as to need no description; it is the most complete and impartial history of the Reformation extant; and certainly no one should need to be urged to seek all the information possible concerning the history of one of the greatest revolutions ever effected in human affairs. Bound in cloth, 5 vols. in one........................$1.50
Larger edition, illustrated............................4.00
Address, PACIFIC PRESS, Oakland, Cal. The Wisest Way to Meet Wrong
A MAN who will wrong you, in most cases will abuse you if you resent the wrong. A man who misrepresents you, will slander you all the more if you contradict him; and one who has damaged you in purse, will damage you in reputation also, if his interests require it. In nine cases out of ten, the wisest policy is, if a man cheat, stop trading with him; if he is abusive, shun his company; if he slanders you, take care to live so that no one will believe him; no matter who he is, or how he misuses you, the wisest way is to let him alone; for there is nothing better than a cool, calm, quiet way of dealing with the wrong we meet.—Ex. The Relative Age of Animals.
The average age of cats is fifteen years; of squirrels and hares, seven or eight years; a bear rarely exceeds twenty years; a wolf, twenty; a fox, fourteen or fifteen; lions are long-lived, the one known by the name of Pompey living to the age of seventy. Elephants have been known to live to the age of 400 years. When Alexander the Great had conquered Porus, king of India, he took a great elephant which had fought valiantly for the king, named him Ajax, dedicated him to the sun, and let him go with this inscription: "Alexander, the son of Jupiter, dedicated Ajax to the sun." The elephant was found with this inscription 350 years later. Pigs have been known to live to the age of twenty, and the rhinoceros to twenty-nine. A horse has been known to live to the age of sixty-two, but the average is twenty-five or thirty. Camels sometimes live to the age of 100. Sheep seldom exceed the age of ten; cows, fifteen. Cuvier considers it probable that whales sometimes live 1,000 years. An eagle died at Vienna at the age of 104. Ravens have frequently reached the age of 100; swans, 300. A tortoise has been known to live to the age of 107.—Sel. —About 125,000 elephants are annually killed in Africa to supply the ivory trade. —A mob to attack Jewish houses in Witepsk, Russia, recently, was led on by a priest. —It is said that 18,000 homesteads have been entered in Florida during the past year. —Officials of the Navy Department estimate the cost of the Greely Expedition at $700,000. —A steamer collision on the Thames River, last week, resulted in the death of seventeen persons. —Outlaws from Montana are reported to be committing stock depredations on the Canadian border. —It is said that the debt of the Union Pacific Railroad would more than build the road three times over. —A house near Marysville, Kansas, was struck by lightning, July 30, and four children were killed and one seriously injured. —It is said that fifty Canadian newspapers have declared in favor of independence. Annexation finds but few advocates. —A survey is being made for a narrow-gauge railroad from Antioch up the San Joaquin Valley on the west side of the river. —In San Francisco, last week, 704 boxes of opium were condemned and forfeited to the U. S. Government, by decree of the District Court. —About 400 negroes are employed in the cotton-fields about Bakersfield, Cal., who were imported from the Southern States during the past year. —At Shenandoah, Pa., on the 6th inst., three men were buried under twenty-five tons of coal, which suddenly caved upon them, and all were killed. —A lady in New York has brought suit against a grocery firm, claiming damage for having her life endangered from eating canned tomatoes put up by the firm. —The grasshopper plague has been so disastrous to the crops in Yucatan that the main Government has been petitioned to permit American grain to enter free of duty. —A Chicago woman is afflicted with "lumpy jaw," a disease peculiar to cattle, and it is said to have been contracted by eating meat from cattle suffering with the disease. —On the night of the 4th inst., a gas explosion in the railroad depot at Jersey City, and the resulting fire, damaged the building and ferry ships to the amount of $100,000. —The French troops have seized the port of Kelung, Island of Formosa, as security for indemnity claimed from China. France declines mediation in the Chinese difficulty. —The war articles which General Grant has agreed to write for the Century will number, it is said, eighteen or twenty. He will receive $10,000 for them from the publishers. —The inhabitants of Foo Chow are fleeing to the interior; foreigners are alarmed, and the natives have become very aggressive. War with France, it is thought, cannot be averted. —It is claimed that the cow-boys of Montana have, in all, disposed of about twenty horse-thieves. They are also reported to have hung a woman suspected of harboring the thieves. —The Illinois State Board of Health has begun a war on specialist doctors. Thirteen have been indicted for practicing without license in Chicago, claiming to cure secret diseases. —A charity society in Philadelphia reports that in six months 185 cases of desertion by men of their families have come under its care. Intemperance was the active cause in 112 of these. —A destructive cloud-burst occurred in Cajon Pass, near San Bernardino, Cal., on the 3d inst. The flood rose to a height of thirty feet, and destroyed considerable timber and farm property. —During a thunder-storm in the Sierras, near Loyalton, last week, a barn, a large amount of hay, and two horses were burned by lightning; a number of trees were also ignited by the electric currents. —"El Mahdi has ordered a force of 50,000 men to reinforce Osman Digna," is the latest news from Soudan. But reports from that country are so contradictory that nothing is reliable until confirmed several times. —On Monday of last week a destructive fire occurred on Main Street, San Francisco. The Schmidt Lithographing Co., and Tatum & Bowen, lubricating oil manufacturers, were the principal losers. The total loss was over $200,000. —A letter from Tananarivo, Madagascar, dated July 6, says: "The Hovas are showing great spirit and are determined to resist the French. The Queen has proclaimed negotiations at an end and ordered her subjects to prepare for war." —On the 5th inst., a cyclone struck the town of Wasco, Oregon, and demolished the Methodist Church, a school-house, Wiesick's mill, and several other buildings. The roof of Barrett's store was carried away, and the owner seriously injured. —A fire in John Roach's ship-yard at Chester, Pa., on the 8th inst., destroyed buildings and machinery to the value of over $250,000, and threw 500 men out of employment. Work on the Government cruisers will necessarily be suspended for some time. —The Russian Government has issued a circular to the principals of schools in Russia, holding them responsible for any revolutionary tendencies their scholars may have, and enjoining them to maintain a strict supervision over their pupils, in order to dissipate the slightest nihilistic sentiment. Publishers' Department.
By Editor
Notice.—We send no papers from this Office without pay in advance, unless by special arrangement. When persons receive copies without ordering them they are sent by other parties, and we can give no information in regard to them. Persons thus receiving them are not indebted to the Office. Money orders, drafts, etc., should be made to "Pacific Press," NEVER to individuals, as they may be absent, and business thereby be delayed. Sunshine at Home.
By Editor
Our supply of this beautiful, instructive, and fast-selling book is again exhausted. We will have 500 more ready for delivery by Sept. 1. Send in your orders.