By the words, "him that sat on the throne," is evidently meant the Father, as the Son is subsequently introduced as "a Lamb as it had been slain." The book which John here saw, contained a revelation of scenes that were to transpire in the history of the church to the end of time. Its being held in the right hand of Him that sat on the throne may signify that a knowledge of the future rests with God alone, only so far as he sees fit to reveal it to others.
THE book. The books in use at the time the Revelation was given, were not in the form of books as now made. They did not consist of a series of leaves bound together, but were composed of strips of parchment, or other material, longer or shorter, one or more, and rolled up.
NOT long is John permitted to weep. God is not willing that any knowledge which can be of benefit to his people, shall be withheld. Provision is made for the opening of the book. Hence, one of the elders says to him, "Weep not; behold, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, hath prevailed to open the book, and to loose the seven seals thereof."
THE Root of David. The source and sustainer of David as to his position and power. That David's position was specially ordained of Christ, and that he was specially sustained by him, there can be no doubt. David was the type; Christ the antitype. David's throne and reign over Israel was a type of Christ's reign over his people. He shall reign upon the throne of his father David. Luke 1:32, 33. As Christ appeared in the line of David's descendants when he took upon himself our nature, he is also called the offspring of David, and a root out of the stem of Jesse. Isa. 11:1, 10; Rev. 22:16. His connection with the throne of David being thus set forth, and his right thus shown to rule over the people of God, there was a propriety in intrusting to him the opening of the seals.
HATH prevailed. These words indicate that the right to open the book was acquired by a victory gained in some previous conflict. And so we find it set forth in subsequent portions of this chapter. The very next scene introduces us to the great work of Christ as the Redeemer of the world, the shedding of his blood for the remission of sin, and the salvation of man. In this work he was subjected to the fiercest assaults of Satan. But he endured his temptations, bore the agonies of the cross, rose a victor over death and the grave, made the way of redemption sure, triumphed! Hence the four living beings and the four and twenty elders sing, "Thou art worthy to take the book, and to open the seals thereof; for thou wast slain, and hast redeemed us to God by thy blood."
SEVEN horns and seven eyes. Horns are symbols of power, eyes of wisdom; and seven is a number denoting completion or perfection. We are thus taught that perfect power and perfect wisdom inhere in the Lamb, through the operation of the Spirit of God, called the seven spirits of God, to denote the fullness and perfection of its operation.
HE came and took the book. Commentators have found an incongruity in the idea of a lamb's taking the book, etc., and have had recourse to several expedients to avoid the difficulty. But is it not a well-established principle that any action may be attributed to a symbol, which could be appropriately performed by the person or being represented by the symbol? And is not this all the explanation that the passage needs? The lamb, we know, is a symbol of Christ. We know there is nothing incongruous in Christ's taking a book; and when we read that the book was taken, we think of the action not as performed by the lamb, but by the one of whom the lamb is a symbol.
"WE shall reign on the earth." Thus notwithstanding they are redeemed, and surround the throne of God, and are in the presence of the Lamb that redeemed them, and are surrounded with the angelic hosts of Heaven, where all is glory ineffable, their song contemplates a still higher state, when the great work of redemption shall be completed, and they, with the whole redeemed family of God of every age, shall reign on the earth, which is the promised inheritance, and is to be the final and eternal residence of the saints. Rom. 4:13; Gal. 3:29; Ps. 37:11; Matt. 5:5; 2 Pet. 3:13; Isa. 65:17-25; Rev. 21:1-5.
THE heavenly sanctuary. How little conception have we of the magnitude and glory of the heavenly temple! Into that temple John was introduced at the opening of chapter 4, by the door which was opened in Heaven. Into the same temple, he is still looking in verses 11 and 12. And now he beholds the heavenly hosts. 1. Round about the throne are those represented by the four living creatures. 2. Next come the four and twenty elders. 3. Then John views, surrounding the whole, a multitude of the heavenly angels. How many? How many would we be likely to suppose could convene within the heavenly temple? "Ten thousand times ten thousand," exclaims the seer. In this expression alone we have one hundred millions! And then, as if no arithmetical expression was adequate to embrace the countless throng, he further adds, "And thousands of thousands!" Well might Paul call this, in Heb. 11:22, "an innumerable company of angels."
AND these were in the sanctuary above. Such was the company that John saw assembled at the place where the worship of a universe centers, and where the wondrous plan of human redemption is being carried forward to completion. And the central object in this innumerable and holy throng, was the Lamb of God; and the central act of his life, which claimed their admiration, was the shedding of his blood for the salvation of fallen man; for every voice in all that heavenly host joined in the ascription which was raised, "Worthy is the Lamb that was slain, to receive power, and riches, and wisdom, and strength, and honor, and glory, and blessing."
FITTING assemblage for such a place! Fitting song of adoration to be raised to Him who by the shedding of his blood became a ransom for many, and who, as our great High Priest, still pleads its merits in the sanctuary above in our behalf. And here, before such an august assemblage, must our characters soon come up in final review. What shall fit us for the searching ordeal? And what shall enable us to rise and stand at last with the sinless throng above? Oh, infinite merit of the blood of Christ, which can cleanse us from all our pollutions, and make us meet to tread the holy hill of Zion! Oh, infinite grace of God, which can prepare us to endure the glory, and give us boldness to enter into his presence, even with exceeding joy!
IN verse 13 we have an instance of what very frequently occurs in the Scriptures, namely, a declaration thrown in out of its chronological order, for the purpose of following out to its completion some previous statement or allusion. In this instance the time is anticipated when redemption is finished. In verse 10, the four living creatures and four and twenty elders had declared, "We shall reign on the earth." Now the prophet's mind is caught right forward to that time. The greatest act of Christ's intervention for man, the shedding of his blood having been introduced, nothing could be more natural than that the vision should, for a moment, look over to the time when the grand result of the work then introduced, should be accomplished, the number of the redeemed be made up, the universe be freed from sin and sinners, and a universal song of adoration go up to God and the Lamb.
IT is futile to attempt to apply this to the church in its present state, as most commentators do, or to any time in the past since sin entered the world, or even since Satan fell from his high position as an angel of light and love in Heaven. For at the time of which John speaks, every creature in Heaven and on earth, without any exception, was sending up its anthem of blessings to God. But to speak only of this world since the fall, cursings instead of blessings have been breathed out against God and his throne, from the great majority of our apostate race. And so it will ever be while sin reigns.
WE find, then, no place for this scene which John describes, unless we do go forward, according to the position above taken, to the time when the whole scheme of redemption is completed, and the saints enter upon their promised reign on the earth, to which the living creatures and elders looked forward in their song in verse 10. With this view, all is harmonious and plain. That reign on the earth commences after the second resurrection. Dan. 7:27; 2 Pet. 3:13; Rev. 21:1. At that resurrection, which takes place a thousand years subsequently to the first resurrection (Rev. 20:4, 5), occurs the perdition of ungodly men. 2 Pet. 3:7. Then fire comes down from God out of Heaven and devours them. Rev. 20:9. And this fire that causes the perdition of ungodly men, is the fire that melts and purifies the earth, as we learn from 2 Pet. 3:7-13.
THEN sin and sinners are destroyed, the earth is purified, the curse with all its ills is forever wiped away, the righteous "shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father," and from a clean universe, an anthem of praise and thanksgiving ascends to God. In all the fair domain of the great Creator, there is then no room for a vast receptacle of fire and brimstone, where myriads, preserved by the direct power of a God of mercy, shall burn and writhe in unspeakable and eternal torment. In this glad anthem of jubilee there is no room for the discordant and hopeless wailings of the damned, and the curses and blasphemies of those who are sinning and suffering beyond the pale of hope. Every rebel voice has been hushed in death. They have been burned up root and branch, Satan and all his followers, deceiver and deceived. Mal. 4:1; Heb. 2:14. Into smoke have they consumed away. Ps. 37:20. Like the perishable chaff have they vanished in the flames. Matt. 3:12. They have been annihilated, not as matter, but as conscious and intelligent beings; for they have become as though they had not been. Obad. 16.
First and Last Thoughts of God
By Francis Quarles
PRACTICE to make God thy last thought at night when thou sleepest, and thy first thought when thou wakest; so shall thy fancy be sanctified in the night, and thy understanding be rectified in the day; so shall thy rest be peaceful and thy labors prosperous.—Quarles.
About Whales.
A FULL-GROWN Greenland or "right" whale is enormous, his mouth alone being fifteen or sixteen feet in length. His full length varies from sixty to seventy-five feet. The tail is about twenty-five feet broad. His weight is from sixty to eighty tons. Notwithstanding the great size of the whale, his throat is not larger than that of a man, and he has no teeth at all, but, instead, a fibrous structure in his mouth called "baleen." These resemble the barbs or edges of a feather, and completely fill the back part of the mouth. When he feeds, the vast mouth is opened, and he swims along with a great flood of water passing through his mouth, which escapes at the sides. The small animals and insects in the sea are in this way caught on this baleen, which serves as a strainer—made on purpose, of course. The body is covered, just under the skin, with a layer of fat, or blubber, from one to two feet thick, and weighing—in a large fat one—from thirty to forty tons. This blubber serves a threefold purpose—keeping the whale warm in very cold water, of making his body lighter than it would otherwise be, and of resisting the pressure of the water in the great depths to which the animal often descends.
Naturalists have computed the age of the whale by the transverse lines on the plates of the baleen in his mouth, and conclude that they sometimes attain to the age of 1,000 years. It inhabits the seas of the northern world, and abounds chiefly in the Arctic regions. It is occasionally seen by vessels passing from New York to Liverpool. The eyes of a large whale are not larger than the eyes of an ox, and are situated nearly behind the angles of the mouth, for the obvious purpose of enabling him to see the insects upon which he feeds. His sense of sight is very acute in the water. He has two small blow-holes on the top of his head, from which he spurts water up in the air—a performance which may be seen by the whalers for miles. The mother whale is said to display great affection for her offspring, of which whale-fishers take cruel advantage, harpooning the young (of little value itself) in order to secure the mother. When the mother suckles her calf she comes to the top of the water and rolls lazily from side to side, that she and the young one may breathe, turn about. Whales ordinarily swim a few feet below the surface, coming to the top to breathe at intervals of eight or ten minutes. When they rise to breathe they stay on the surface about two minutes, and draw from six to eight good full breaths, when they go down again. They often stand on their heads and flap the top of the water with the tail, making a noise which may be heard two or three miles. They do not go in schools like fish, but are generally found alone or in pairs, except when numbers of them are attracted to particular feeding grounds, as is sometimes the case in the bays and inlets of northern coasts.
Whale fishing is, and has been for ages, pursued in much the same manner by all classes of men, civilized and uncivilized, and is attended with great danger. When a ship arrives in the vicinity of a whaling ground, a watchman is placed in the rigging of the vessel to keep a lookout for whales spouting, and as soon as one is discovered, the smaller boats are lowered, and a competition at once takes place among the subdivisions of the crew to see who will reach the whale first. The harpooner is ready as soon as the boat is sufficiently near the whale to plunge with all his strength the harpoon717deep into the coveted prize; the boat is instantly backed out of the way, and the whale plunges in astonishment and terror to a great depth, sometimes carrying as much as 1,200 feet of line. It remains below from twenty to thirty minutes, when it rises again. The boats hasten to it, and another harpoon is struck into its vitals. But this time, instead of diving as before, it strikes violently with its tail, or, may be, plunges under the boat to destroy, if possible, its enemies. Sometimes a boat containing a dozen men is thrown by an upward stroke of the whale's tail high into the air, and turned over and over like a stick thrown by a boy into the top of a tree. The poor whale, however, soon begins to spout blood through the blow-holes, and is shortly pierced by the fatal lance. Sometimes it dies with a terrific struggle, lashing the water, which is dyed with blood, into a foam for 100 yards around. It not unfrequently happens that instead of dying at the top of the water the whale descends and does not rise again, so that it is lost to the whaler. A harpoon-gun and harpoon used by Lieutenant Greely's party was on exhibition at New Orleans at the world's fair, last year, and consisted of a short bar of iron with a barbed spear at one end and a line attached to the other. This was fired from a swivel cannon mounted on the end of a whale-boat.—Sel.
Nat and His Sister.
NAT HASTINGS was alone in the family sitting-room, with his Latin grammar open upon the center table before him. He liked to sit here evenings with his sister Fanny, and study his lessons for the next day. She was up-stairs now, hearing her small brothers say their prayers and tucking them snugly away in their cribs for the night. But she would come down before long and sit in that low chair on the other side of the table, with her work or book, making a pretty picture to Nat's eyes, in the soft light of the student's lamp.
And it was a pleasant room, beautiful and attractive as only good taste and a good deal of money can make any place. But this evening, for some reason, Nat seemed out of harmony with all the brightness and beauty around him. He was moody and absent-minded, and scarcely looked at his lessons; though usually he made the most of his time for study when his sister was up in the nursery, that they might have the more for those delightful little confidences in which they sometimes indulged later in the evening, while they roasted chestnuts in the ashes, or ate a dish of popped corn.
Nat had been in an uncomfortable frame of mind ever since he came home from school, at 4 o'clock. He had no appetite for his supper, was cross to his little brother, disobliging to Maggie when she asked a small favor of Master Nat, and almost snappish to his sister Fanny, whom he loved with all his heart, when she reminded him that he had left his books on the hat-stand and thrown his cap on the floor.
This grown-up girl was only seventeen, three years older than Nat; but she was wise and womanly beyond her years, especially concerning this brother, and happy in possessing his confidence! She never lectured him and seldom advised, only made suggestions, which, in the end, he was pretty sure to follow, though not always received with favor at first. So this evening, when she came down-stairs, she could see that her brother was very unhappy; and while her fingers were busy with her needle, her heart put up a little prayer that she might be able to give him the help he needed when he should open his heart to her, as she knew he would.
It was not long before he raised a clouded face to hers and said:—
"Fan, don't you think it's an awful bother to have a conscience?"
"It may be troublesome at times, Nat," she said, "but I don't see how we could get along without it very well."
"I suppose not," said Nat. Then a long silence ensued, broken at last by Fanny saying, kindly,
"You know there is sometimes relief for a troubled conscience, Nat."
"Yes I know it, and I suppose I may as well 'fess first as last; but, Fan, this is such a very bad thing," and Nat's voice broke a little.
"Better make a clean breast of it, dear."
"Well, you see, it was in the arithmetic class. We are in the hardest part of the book, and some of the examples none of the boys could do, not even Will Mason; and he is the best scholar in the class. But Ed Ridley has a key that his brother used when he taught school; and he pushed it toward me when I was studying, and I took it. I'm awful sorry, Fan, but I copied enough to be marked perfect in my recitation."
"Oh, dear, Nat, how could you?"
"Stop, Fan; I haven't got to the worst yet. Mr. Gray must have been suspicious, for he asked me if anybody helped me, and I said, 'No, sir.' You see, I thought I could say a book was nobody; and so it would not be an out-and-out lie. But it was, all the same. I know that well enough."
Fanny had always been very proud of Nat. She knew he had faults enough, but she never supposed he could tell a lie; and now that he had done such a thing, she was not sorry it made him unhappy. Their father and mother had been away upon a journey for three weeks, and Nat, meanwhile, had been all that she could desire. But, now, alas! she was troubled sorely.
How still the room seemed! How loudly the clock ticked! Nat could not bear it.
"Fanny, do say something, even if you scold me. I deserve it."
"I don't know what to say, Nat. How far is it to Mr. Gray's boarding-place?"
"Half a mile or more. I know what you mean, Fan, but I am not going there to-night. I've told you, and I can do the other part in the morning."
"But, Nat, dear, can you sleep with such a load upon your conscience? And it would be dreadful if it were to grow lighter except in the right way. If father and mother should come home on the eight o'clock train this evening—"
"I hope they won't; I don't want to see them to-night."
"But they may come. I expect them a little because we have had no letter to-day; and it is after seven now, Nat. Shall I get your cap and mittens?"
"I told you I wasn't going," said the boy. But she coaxed a little in a loving way, and presently, as she drew on those handsome mittens, his sister's gift, he said in a sober voice:—
"You are pretty hard on a fellow, Fan," then kissed her and hurried off to do the thing he dreaded. And Fanny's sore heart went up again in prayer for him and for herself, that she might at the right time be able to show her brother how very dreadful it would be to meet his heavenly Father one day with a load of sin upon his conscience.
We need not go with Nat to call upon his teacher. Some of us may have gone upon a similar errand and found, with Nat, that "confession was good for the soul."
Mr. Gray was a wise-hearted man, and his scholars loved him—Nat never so much before as when he whistled his way home from that call. True, there was something humiliating to be said before that class to-morrow; and he was perplexed that his teacher seemed no more surprised at his errand. But the worst was over, and his heart gave a bound when he came in sight of the house and saw a hack driving away from the door. And he rushed in to be hugged and kissed by his mother and father, and by Fanny, too, behind their backs.—Interior.
The Home Circle.
BEGINNING AGAIN.
WHEN sometimes our feet grow weary,
On the rugged hills of life—
The path stretched long and dreary
With trial and labor rife—
We pause on the toilsome journey,
Glancing backward in valley and glen,
And sigh with infinite longing
To return and begin again.
For behind is the dew of the morning,
In all its freshness and light,
And before are doubts and shadows,
And the chill and gloom of the night.
We remember the sunny places
We passed so carelessly then,
And ask with a passionate longing
To return and begin again.
Ah, vain, indeed, is the asking!
Life's duties press all of us on,
And who dare shrink from the labor,
Or sigh for the sunshine that's gone?
And, it may be, not far before us
Wait fairer places than then;
Life's paths may yet lead by still waters,
Though we may not begin again.
Forevermore upward and onward
Be our paths on the hills of life,
And soon with a radiant dawning
Transfigure the toil and the strife;
And our Father's hand will lead us
Tenderly upward then;
In the joy and peace of a fairer world
He'll let us begin again.
—Sel.
Objections to Using Tobacco.
THE following objections are respectfully referred to “lovers of the weed.” Read and profit thereby:—
1. It is filthy. It befouls the mouth, clothes, air, floor, and street. What decent young man would like to marry a woman addicted to smoking or chewing?
2. It is expensive. Many a church member pays more for tobacco than for his religion. Five cents per day and the interest in twenty-five years amount to over a thousand dollars.
3. It is injurious. Evil to body and mind. Nature at first repudiates it. It causes debility, depression, paralysis, cancers, and insanity. It injures the five senses.
4. It is slavish. How despotic the habit! A match for alcohol and opium. “Sir,” said one to a friend, “do you use tobacco?” “No, sir,” was the reply; “tobacco uses me.”
5. It leads to drink. Almost every tippler uses tobacco. Dr. Rush says: “It generates an artificial thirst.” The Indian said: “I wish for three things—all the rum, all the tobacco, and more rum.”
6. It is selfish. It pollutes my air and befouls my walk. How offensive some men are in stores, offices, and depots! How many fathers forbid their sons to follow their example!
7. It is useless; except to kill moths, ticks, potato-worms and vermin. Like arsenic, it is a poison. Like rum, it does more harm than good.—Plain Talk.
Heterogeneous Grafting.
STRASBURGER records some curious experiments in intergrafting various herbaceous Solanaceae. Thus he successfully grafted species of stramonium and common tobacco plant, henbane, Atropa belladonna, and petunia upon the common potato plant. Grafts of Datura stramonium and Nicotiana tabacum took remarkably well, the plants growing freely and coming into flower. Tschudy, however, long ago, had grafted Lycopersicum upon a potato stock, and so had gathered potatoes from the bottom and tomatoes from the tops of the same plant; but this is not so extraordinary, the two plants being so essentially congeneric. The most remarkable result of Strasburger's trials was that, when Datura stramonium was grafted upon a potato plant, the potatoes borne by the latter, to all appearance normal, were found to be impregnated with atropine. He does not say whether those grafted into Nicotiana tabacum had their tubers infected with nicotine.—American Journal of Science.
Concerning Diamonds.
WHERE the diamond comes from nobody knows. You can no more predict the existence of diamonds than you can the existence of genius, though, to be sure, all diamond fields to a certain extent resemble each other; and diamonds, borrowing as they do their light from the sun, are found only in warm climates. Nor can you tell where the diamond goes to on combustion. Burn it, and it leaves no ash; the flame is exterior, like that of cork, and when it has blazed itself out there remains not even so much as would dust the antenna of a butterfly.
The ancients were as sure no diamonds could be burnt as they were that none could be broken. It was not till 1609 that De Boot suspected its inflammability, nor till 1673 it was actually burnt.—Sel.
One Mark of a True Woman.
A celebrated writer says: "No woman can be a lady who can wound and mortify another. No matter how beautiful, how refined, or how cultivated she may seem, she is in reality coarse, and the innate vulgarity of her nature manifests itself here. Uniformly kind, courteous, and polite treatment of all persons is one mark of a true woman."
Health and Temperance.
Intemperance in India.
THE following is an extract of a recent letter from a missionary in India:—
'One thing has grieved me considerably, namely, the growing amount of intoxication among the natives. The English have much to answer for; they nearly all drink, have some for their servants, and barrels of liquor come from England and elsewhere to Madras, and thence all over this land. Civilization brings the Bible, but it also brings the cup. The native character is weak, and having tasted, they cannot be restrained. It came very close to us a few weeks ago, when I found my matie drunk; he begged off, saying that he had left the English service in order to get away from liquor, and for me to try him once more. He is a very smart and efficient man, and it would be hard to fill his place; but I told him that a second occasion would cause me to discharge him.
'You know how weak man is at home in America, when surrounded by all the restraining influences of relatives, friends, and public opinion; you, then, can understand how hard it is for these poor fellows, who have generations of heathendom running in their veins, and have only just come out of idolatry and darkness. Oh, it is a cruel, cruel crime for the nations whom God has so richly blessed to come here with that beverage of hell, and Satan's greatest weapon! But the English are brought up to drink, and do not see the harm. As a lady said the other day: 'I do wish my cook would not get drunk before dinner; it is awkward. I don't care how much he drinks after dinner.' And so with them all; many leave a little in bottles, so that the servants can have a little and feel in good humor. It is marvelous to me how active the devil is in this world, and his workings are seen so manifestly in this country. Surely Peter did not exaggerate when he called him 'a roaring lion, going about seeking whom he may devour.''—Christian Secretary.
Suggestive.
By Mrs. O. U. Whitford
THE liquor trade of the United States of America swallows up $900,000,000, and destroys 100,000 lives annually.
The contributions of all the Protestant churches and societies in the world for the conversion of the heathen have never yet amounted to ten millions in a year! In New York City it is said that $7,000,000 are expended annually in theater-going and other kindred amusements; that $125,000,000 are expended annually upon silks, satins, laces, and other imported "fancy" dress goods, not including kid gloves, the value of which alone, imported into New York every year, is ten times as much as the amount given by all the societies in America to foreign missions.—Mrs. O. U. Whitford.
What It Means.
In the struggle in Rhode Island for the passage of a constitutional amendment prohibiting the manufacture and sale of intoxicating drinks, it is said that at one of the polls an Irish laboring man took up a ballot for the amendment, intending to vote it.
"Pat," said a liquor dealer to him, "do you know what it means if you vote that ticket?"
"Phwat it manes?" said Pat; "sure it manes that the loike of yez'll have to carry your tin buckets along the sthrate the same as mesilf!" And Pat plumped in his vote.—Sel.
Breathing through the Mouth.
Tight dressing, though the most serious hindrance to the habit of good breathing, is not the only obstacle. There are careless ways of sitting and standing that draw the shoulders forward and cramp the chest; and it is as hard for the lungs to do good work when the chest is narrow and constricted as it is for a closely bandaged hand to set a copy of clear, graceful penmanship. Then there are lazy ways of breathing, and one-sided ways of breathing, and the particularly bad habit of breathing through the mouth. Now the nose was meant to breathe through, and it is marvelously arranged for filtering the impurities out of the air and for changing it to a suitable temperature for entering the lungs. The mouth has no such apparatus, and when air is swallowed through the mouth instead of breathed through the nose, it has an injurious effect upon the lungs. A story is told of an Indian who had a personal encounter with a white man much his superior in size and strength, and who was asked afterward if he was not afraid. "Me never afraid of man who keeps mouth open," was the immediate reply. Indeed, breathing through the mouth gives a foolish and weak expression to the face, as you may see by watching any one asleep with the mouth open. It may be noted that an anæmic, or low, condition of the blood is seldom found where there is an established habit of full, deep breathing with the mouth closed.—Sel.
German Apothecaries.
IN Germany apothecaries are not allowed to sell miscellaneous articles, on the ground that such sales are likely to divert the clerk's attention from the delicate duty of compounding medicines. There are drug stores where miscellaneous articles are for sale, but no prescriptions can be prepared in them, under severe penalties. Poisonous articles are kept in a room reserved exclusively for them.—Sel.
Smoking and Naval Enlistment
Hundreds of boys, says the Scientific American, apply for enlistment in the United States Navy, but are rejected because they cannot pass the physical examination. The first question is: "Do you smoke?" The invariable response is: "No, sir;" but the tell-tale discoloration of the fingers at once tells the truth.
SECULAR.
—Cholera has appeared at Buenos Ayres.
—A man was frozen to death in Colorado on the 14th inst.
—It is said that the ex-Empress Carlotta has lost her Flemish cook and is haunted with a constant fear of being poisoned.
—Ex-President Arthur died at his home in New York City on the 19th inst. The immediate cause of his death was cerebral apoplexy.
—A Chinese steamer was burned recently off Niigata, and all on board, ninety-six persons, perished. The officers were Englishmen.
—It is proposed to construct a submarine railway tunnel under the St. Clair River, to connect Port Huron, Michigan, with Sarnia, Canada.
—Late advices from Ireland state that the Tory statesmen will have either to face coercion or home rule. Apparently they are preparing for the former.
—The consumption of ardent spirits in Belgium has nearly doubled in fourteen years. There is a place for the sale of intoxicating liquors to every forty-four inhabitants.
—The French, in their thirst for conquest, have considerably overreached themselves in the Tonquin affair. The expenses of the country exceed its revenues by 30,000,000 francs.
—The treasury of the city of New Orleans is empty. The Mayor says that he will recommend the suspension of the city officers for December, at least so far as pay is concerned.
—Advices have been received at London to the effect that a ship, crowded with native laborers returning from Queensland plantations, foundered in the Pacific Ocean, and that 140 lives were lost.
—There is a movement among the cotton planters of Arkansas, Mississippi, and Louisiana, to organize a great company to control the products of their plantations and to protect them against monopolies.
—A disease somewhat resembling rabies has caused the death of quite a number of cattle in the Blue River Valley, Nebraska. Cattle men are greatly alarmed and fear the loss of a large number of animals.
—It is stated that the Chief of Police of Washington, D. C., is to be discharged for establishing an espionage over members of Congress who visited disreputable houses. The average congressman can't bear to be watched.
—November 16, a stage coach containing nine persons was carried over a precipice 200 feet high, by a snow slide, fifteen miles east of Aspen, Col. Four of the party were unhurt. The others were seriously, if not fatally, injured.
—A heavy snow-storm in Nebraska and Iowa on the 16th and 17th inst. interfered seriously with railroad traffic. Numerous trains were snow-bound for hours, and passengers suffered considerable inconvenience and discomfort.
—November 18 and 19, the most disastrous storm ever known in that region, raged over Lakes Superior and Michigan. Thirty-nine lives are known to have been lost. Quite a number of vessels were wrecked; the loss is estimated at over $600,000.
—According to the report of the commissioner of pensions, for the fiscal year ending June 30, 1886, there were in the United States 365,783 pensioners. Of these, 1,539 were survivors of the war of 1812, and 13,397 were widows of those who served in that war.
—The Czar has nominated, with the approval of the Powers, a colonel in the Russian army as a candidate for the Bulgarian throne. This colonel is Nicholas of Mingrelia, a prince who has never reigned, or been more than an obscure henchman of the Czar.
—Last week a young lady died in Chicago of hydrophobia. Twenty-seven days before, she was attacked and bitten in eighteen different places by a large Newfoundland dog. The physicians who were called, said the dog was not mad and no danger was apprehended.
—November 15, 10,000 of the ex-strikers at the Chicago stock yards and packing houses returned to work. Each man who was re-employed was required to sign an agreement that he would not leave his work without giving two weeks' notice of his intention. The forfeit is $50, which amount each man is required to deposit from his wages. The packers likewise agree not to discharge a hand without a like notice. There is much dissatisfaction among the men, and another strike is feared.
—Idaho has 15,000,000 acres of arable lands fit by nature for cultivation; 12,000,000 acres more which may be made productive through irrigation; 6,000,000 acres of natural pasture and grazing land; 18,000,000 acres of timber and mining land, and 400,000,000 acres of volcanic and desert land.
—A man died a few days since in Baltimore of paralysis, superinduced by a fracture of the third cervical vertebra, received eight months before, much of which time the injured man was able to work. This is the first case upon record of a man living for any considerable time with a broken neck.
—During a tornado, in the Mohawk Valley, New York, November 19, six employes in a vitriol factory near Troy, were fatally injured. Three of them were shockingly burned by vitriol that was spilled on them from a tank on the second floor, and the others, though not so severely burned, were struck by falling timbers.
—A terrible railroad accident occurred recently near Sisterton, France. It appears that about 300,000 cubic meters of rocky earth fell from Mont Gerves, overwhelming the train. One first-class carriage was crushed to atoms, and the engine was overturned. Six persons were instantly killed, and some have since died.
—On the 18th inst., the Grand Jury at Sioux City, Iowa, returned indictments against the ten persons who were present at the murder of Rev. Geo. H. Haddock in that city some weeks ago. Two of the indicted men claim that it was John Arensdorf, a prominent brewer, that fired the fatal shot. They will probably be allowed to turn State's evidence.
—The Northern Pacific Railroad has been enjoined from interfering with the Postal Telegraph lines placed alongside the railroad track. The Court holds that the Postal Telegraph Company, having complied with the Act of Congress, and having accepted its conditions and restrictions, is entitled to use the railroad's right of way for the construction of its telegraph line.
—There is a scheme on foot among a number of persons in this country, headed by Editor Cutting, to invade and conquer the three northwestern States of Mexico, and found a "Socialistic Republic." The United States could probably furnish Socialists enough to colonize these three States, besides throwing in enough Anarchists to make the thing really interesting.