Not long ago a paragraph appeared in a morning paper as follows: "The municipal authorities of Cedar Rapids, Iowa, have refused to grant licenses to any tavern or saloon-keepers, hoping thus, by one bold stroke, to finish liquor drinking. Now, however, the serious question arises how to meet the expenses of the local government, which heretofore have been defrayed in large part by the fees and taxes paid by the liquor business."
We hope that the first part of the paragraph is true. As for the last part, the writer evidently evolved it from his inner consciousness, stimulated, doubtless, by an extra quantity of the proscribed article. No disinterested person would soberly make such an assertion.
Let us see what portion of a community usually derives benefit from the liquor traffic. Certainly it is not the class who spend all their earnings in saloons. No one will contend but that they would be better off if no liquor were sold. Their wives and children receive none of the revenue. This class, then, and it is a large one, must be counted out. The merchants, and real estate owners are not benefited, for, be it known, from this dram-drinking class comes a large army of paupers, insane persons, and criminals, to provide for which their property must be taxed. A pint of whisky, for which the government may derive a few cents' revenue, will often cause the commission of a crime which involves a loss to the State of a useful citizen, and several thousand dollars spent in prosecuting. The only ones who are benefited pecuniarily are the liquor sellers themselves. How can that benefit the municipal or State government which does not benefit the people themselves? Some folks seem to imagine that there is an entity called "the government," and that this is entirely distinct from the people. The facts, in brief, are these: The liquor traffic makes insane asylums, jails, and poor-houses necessary. Without it these could be almost entirely dispensed with. The government has to build and maintain these institutions, and does it with the revenue derived from the liquor traffic and the taxes of law-abiding citizens. That is, whisky partially pays its own expenses.
But facts are more convincing than theory, and the following from "a plea for prohibition," by Pres. A. G. Haygood, D. D., is to the point:—
"No county in Georgia had more still-houses and bar-rooms to the number of inhabitants than Carroll twenty years ago. Drinking places were not only to be found in the little towns, but also at the cross-roads and county places throughout the county. No more unfavorable place for the success of prohibition could have been selected than this country. It was settled by a class of citizens who regarded plenty of corn whisky and peach brandy essential to good living. Liquor was sold without scruple and drank without stint. Many of the people spent all their means, beyond a bare living, for strong drink. Education and churches were neglected. Ignorance and vice prevailed to such an alarming extent, that the very name of the county became a byword and reproach in the State. *
"In Carrollton the temperance men worked twelve years without success. In 1875 a bill was passed by the Legislature prohibiting the sale of liquor in the town.
"In spite of all opposition and abuse, the temperance men succeeded, and with results that are marvelous.
"The trade of the town has been more than doubled. Before the liquor traffic was abolished the trade of the place was about $200,000 a year, now it is $500,000 a year. There are thirty stores in town, and I do not know of a single merchant among them who would not vote against the liquor traffic on purely business grounds. Mr. John W. Stewart, who has made a fortune here, says, as a business man, that he would not have liquor back for any consideration. Some of our leading merchants were opposed to prohibition at first, because they feared that it would injure their trade. They are unanimously in favor of it now. The $30,000 that was spent here for whisky prior to 1875 is now spent in building houses, improving stock, draining lands, and paying taxes. The farmers are nearly all out of debt. Many of the men who were spending all their money for whisky have quit drinking and are making a support for their families."
The above is sufficient proof of the value of prohibition. No one need fear disastrous consequences from the suppression of the liquor traffic. "What has been done, can be done." If the statement in regard to Cedar Rapids be true, we predict for that city a career of unexampled prosperity. E. J. WAGGONER.
HE DRINKS.
By Talmage
TELL me a young man drinks, and I know the rest. Let him become captive to the wine-cup, and he is captive to all other vices. No man ever runs drunkenness alone. That is one of the carrion crows that go in a flock. If that break is ahead you may know the other breaks that follow. In other words, strong drink unbalances and dethrones, and makes him the prey of all the appetites that choose to alight upon his soul.
There is not a place of sin upon this continent but finds its chief abettor in the places of inebriety. There is a drinking place before it, or behind it, or a bar over it, or a bar under it. An officer said to me, "You see how they escape legal penalty; they are licensed to sell liquor." Then I thought within myself, the court that licenses the sale of intoxicating liquors, licenses gambling houses, licenses libertinism, licenses diseases, licenses death, licenses all crimes, all sufferings, all disasters, all woes. It is the legislature and courts who swing wide open the grinding, rearing, stupendous gate of the lost.—Talmage.
Prisoners and Teetotalers
Said the keeper of Canterbury jail: "I have had twenty thousand prisoners pass through my hands since becoming keeper of this jail; but I have not discovered one teetotaler among them."
Never Drinking Prevents Drunkenness
The man or woman who never drinks never can become a drunkard.
ALICE'S TALENT.
ALICE sat with her Bible on her lap. She had been reading, but now she sat very still, with a troubled look on her face. "Oh dear!" said she, after a while, "I don't believe I have got any talent. Now there's Emma, Miss Wilson says she certainly has a talent for music, and Lou Benson can draw anything she sees, and is going to take painting lessons; but I don't seem to have a talent for anything. Maybe it means only grown people; but then the verse says, 'He called his own servants,' and oh, I do want to be one of the Lord's servants!" And one or two tears fell on Alice's open Bible.
Aunt Bell happened to pass through the room just then, and, noticing Alice's downcast face, stopped to ask, "What is the matter with this little girl?"
"Because, oh because—I don't seem to have any talent, Aunt Bell."
"Let us read those verses over together, dear," said Aunt Bell. "It is a good thing to think about what we are reading, Allie, even if we cannot discover at once what our talent may be."
So Alice and Aunt Bell read the parable together.
"Do you notice, Alice, it says 'to every man according to his several ability'? What does that mean, do you think?"
"As much as he was able to have, or to do; don't it, auntie?"
"Yes; and I do not think the Bible anywhere tells us we must do any more than we are able to do. God gives each one of us talents according to our several ability. You are only a little girl, and he requires of you only a little girl's work."
"But what can I do auntie? I can't sing in the choir, as Emma does; I can't give to our mission society, as Lizzie Bar does, for her father gives her more for her monthly spending money than I can have in a whole year; I'm not smart about writing compositions, as Nellie Gifford is. So what can I do?"
"All those things are talents, certainly. But, Allie, did you ever think about opportunities? There's a great talent given to all"—
Somebody called Aunt Bell just then, and with a hasty kiss to her little niece she left the room.
"Opportunities!" said Alice, going slowly down stairs, "I believe I'll go over to Nellie Gifford's, and talk with her about it. Maybe we can find some opportunities to do good."
She was taking her hat from the rack when Brother Will came whistling through the hall.
"O Allie!" said he, "you're the very girl I'm looking for. I want these gloves mended, please, and a button on my overcoat, and I'm in a hurry."
Alice was about to say, "I'm in a hurry, too"; but she kept back the disobliging words, and only said, "Wait till I get my basket."
Then she sat down and mended his gloves, replaced the missing button, and neatly sewed a ripped place in the overcoat lining.
"I wonder if this can be called an opportunity," she said aloud as she worked, forgetful of Brother Will's presence; for he had taken up a newspaper, and was half hid behind it.
"To be sure it can," said Will, laughing. "A very good one for me too. I advise you, Allie, always to make the most of opportunities, when you can help people as nicely as you are doing now."
"I was thinking about the talents," said Alice, simply. "What is yours, Will?"
"It seems to be to make work for a dear little sister. Really, I'm afraid I don't think as much about that as I might—or ought. Is that done? I'm much obliged." And Will kissed her and went off in a quick way, as if he feared she would say more.
Dear little Alice! she did not know she had improved two opportunities, and that her words were stirring her brother's conscience, uneasily.
"It's too near lunch-time to go to Nellie's now, thought Alice. "I can read my 'Life and Adventures in Japan' until the bell rings." But as she went into the sitting-room, where she had left her book, grandma, who was engaged in knitting, said:—
"Can my little girl stop long enough to pick up these stitches for grandma? My old eyes won't let me see to put them on just right."
So Alice patiently took up the dropped stitches in grandma's knitting, and the lunch-bell rang just as she finished. She could not help giving a little sigh as she thought of her book; but grandma stroked the curly hair, and thanked her in a way that made Alice feel that grandma knew of the small self-denial. Somehow grandma always seemed to know about things without any one's telling her. In the afternoon Alice had to go to her drawing-class. When she came home and was laying off her wraps in the hall, she heard her mother and Aunt Bell talking in the parlor.
"I was in to see Mrs. Elton this morning," said Aunt Bell; "she has been so shut up all winter; she has no nurse, and cannot leave her baby."
"I have missed her from church and prayer-meeting," said mother; "she used to go so regularly."
Alice went into the next room and sat down with her book, but some way she kept thinking about Mrs. Elton and prayer-meeting.
"Oh dear!" said she to herself, "this isn't my opportunity. I want to go to prayer-meeting myself."
"You could stay one evening with Mrs. Elton's baby,—just one evening," said a voice in her heart. Alice put away her book, and went to find her mother.
"Mamma," said she very slowly, and coloring a good deal, "would you care if I went over to Mrs. Elton's and took care of her baby, so she could go to prayer-meeting?"
"Certainly not, my dear. I think it would be a very kind, neighborly thing for a little girl to do; but be very careful with baby."
"Indeed, it's very good of you, Allie," said Mrs. Elton, when Alice made known her errand. "I have wanted to go so much."
Alice took faithful care of her little charge and felt not a little weary when the mother returned. But Mrs. Elton's brightened face and heartfelt thanks were a sweet reward for her hour's work, and her own heart told her it was more blessed to give than to receive.
"Has Allie found any opportunities to-day?" asked Aunt Bell, as she told Alice good-night.
"So many, auntie, that I feel almost afraid of such a great talent. Though, to be sure, I have done only very little things."
"Your Bible says, 'Despise not the day of small things.' There are few of us, dear Allie, who do realize what a great talent opportunity is. In the meanwhile, look for it, and try to trade it well, and you may gain even ten talents."—S. S. Times.
FAMILY GOVERNMENT.
THAT is what is the matter with our American society, there is no order in the family. Our children grow up without any proper idea of obedience and respect for authority. There is a very prevalent notion in America that one person ought not to be restrained by another. A boy at fifteen is supposed to be a competent judge whether he shall use tobacco; at all events if he chooses to do it he is let alone. The idea of making him behave never occurs. So as to going out after night; if he is interfered with, there is rebellion. He believes himself consequently a man at sixteen, and apes all the vices of young men; calls his father (about forty years of age) "the old man." Of course he is mother's darling, and if the father fires up sometimes at his impertinence, she intercedes. "Oh, let Augustus alone; boys will be boys." Augustus has probably touched off a pack of fire-crackers under his teacher's chair, and mumbled that he would "slap him over" if he said anything to his father about it.
In cities they judge what places of amusement they shall attend, and how often. Take a drink when it suits them. Carry a pistol.
Young girls claim the right to say whether they shall dress according to their own ideas of propriety, or after their mother's views. They decide what they shall study, and how long to stay at school. They learn to sew or not as seems best to their judgment. They determine the question whether they shall dance the round dances or not. Not one parent in twenty dare utter the word, Veto.
They determine where they shall go to church. They decide how many dresses they must have for the season.
They claim that the parlor, which in Virginia used to be the family "sitting-room," belongs to them and their beaux, and must be cleared after tea.
They will not remain in the room with the old people.
At parties no married women are wanted unless they dance.
Young ladies and gentlemen go to the theater, and from the theater to the restaurant to get hot oysters and wine.
Small boys in short pants will kick the door down if you lock it, and tell them it is too wet to go out.
They will tackle you in a minute on the street if you antagonize them.
Well, what sort of grown-up people are you trying to make out of them? If children will not defer to their parents and do not like their society and conversation, what sort of citizens will they make? If the young maiden does not value the opinion of her mother about the propriety or impropriety of her actions, will she bow to the admonition of the church when she has taken on the vows of religion? By no means; the church must let her alone if it wants to keep her, because she intimates plainly that she will go somewhere else where they are not so stupid.
Therefore we affirm that the great training school in life is the nursery and under the parental roof, and if the child does not learn obedience there, he will be an unruly and turbulent member of society. There is nothing more beautiful in life than reverence for the old, and when the young come to regard their elders as no better than themselves, the very root of social order is struck at.
In the matter of marriage, what does a girl of nineteen know about selecting a companion for life? In Europe the other extreme is reached; the old people manage it all. But here in America they are hardly consulted. And hence so many ill-sorted couples and so many divorces. The very qualities which a young girl admires in a young man often make him contemptible in the eyes of men, and in the maturer appraisement of older persons. The quiet, solid youth, who is going to make his way in the world, is no toast at all with the girls; they want a fellow that can dance.
Of course children will be children and young people will be young people, and we can not expect the reform to commence with them. It has got to commence with the head of the family—the father, who if he is a man, will be readily recognized in this capacity by his household. Well, we do not write to any great extent for the world at large. We address ourselves to Christians, who constitute the body of our readers. Therefore to them we speak; to Christian fathers first.
Govern your children, keep them in their places until they leave your roof; establish order and exact obedience at their hands as the initial principle in your family life. The mother, too, should exact respect and obedience, and not have any decision debated. Let the children from their earliest years be made to understand that superior intelligence, guided by love, intends to rule in that household, and that the old have rights which the young are bound to respect.
Do you think your children will love you less, and shrink from you as tyrants? By no means; they will love you more, for no true love ever yet existed which was not grounded on respect. Your boy will think more of you, and whether he does or not in his boyhood, he will remember you with more reverence when he is a man, and you run great risk of his becoming a worthless member of society if he does not learn obedience in his youth.
There is nothing humiliating in obedience. It is the rule of the universe. It is the bounden duty of the inferior to defer to the superior. There is no compromise of manhood when the soldier obeys his commanding officer. There is rank in Heaven, and perhaps about as little of it in the United States of America as in any part of the universe.—Central Presbyterian.
The Home Circle.
THE GOLDEN SIDE.
THERE is many a rest on the road of life,
If we only would stop to take it;
And many a tone from the better land,
If the querulous heart would wake it.
To the sunny soul that is full of hope,
And whose beautiful trust ne'er faileth,
The grass is green, and the flowers are bright,
Though the wintry storm prevaileth.
Better to hope, though the clouds hang low,
And to keep the eyes still lifted;
The sweet blue sky will soon peep through,
When the ominous clouds are rifted.
There was never a night without a day,
Nor an evening without a morning;
And the darkest hour, the proverb goes,
Is just before the dawning.
There is many a gem in the path of life,
Which we pass in our idle pleasure,
That is richer far than the jeweled crown,
Or the miser's hoarded treasure;
It may be the love of a little child,
Or a mother's prayer to Heaven,
Or only a beggar's grateful thanks
For a cup of water given.
Better to weave in the web of life
A bright and golden filling,
And to do God's will with a ready heart,
And hands that are swift and willing,
Than to snap the delicate silver threads
Of our curious lives asunder,
And then blame Heaven for the tangled ends,
And sit to grieve and wonder.
ITEMS OF NEWS.
—It is estimated that the pension list this year will amount to $70,000,000.
—A terrible, contagious malady, like leprosy, has appeared near Toulouse, France.
—The national debt was reduced twelve million dollars during the month of June.
—It is estimated that there are 60,000 miles of telephone wire in the United States.
—The U. S. mints coined $6,029,000 of gold, and $2,413,000 of silver during the month of June.
—July 5, twelve buildings, including some of the finest in the city, were destroyed by fire at San Jose, Cal.
—It is stated that the treaty between Russia and China, has been ratified without opposition by the war party.
—The steamship Arizona, which was supposed to be lost, was signaled off Fire Island, N. Y., the night of July 10.
—A French company, with $10,000,000 capital, is being formed in Paris to develop the mining resources of Canada.
—Of 2546 immigrants that landed in New York in one day, recently, 735 were Mormon converts on their way to Utah.
—Four men were killed, and six seriously scalded by the recent explosion of the boiler of a wheat thresher near Baltimore.
—The mortality of New York City for the first six months of the year was 18,590; for the same time in 1880, it was 15,279.
—A severe shock of earthquake, lasting thirty second, was felt in Hanford, Tulare Co., Cal., on the morning of the 3d inst.
—The Baptist church at Wheaton, Ills., has called Miss. F. E. Townsly to the pastorate. The people say they like her preaching.
—A locomotive designed to run eighty miles an hour without taking in water, is now building at the Baldwin works, Philadelphia.
—Kalloch has formally stated that he will not again be a candidate for mayor of San Francisco. He intends to devote his time in future to his pastoral duties.
—A dispatch July 4 says: "A large fire has occurred at Rovno, Russia. Five thousand families are rendered destitute, and all the public buildings are destroyed."
—Hamilton Disston, the Philadelphia saw manufacturer, recently bought 4,000,000 acres of land in Florida. He is now the largest land owner in the world.
—In El Paso, Texas, July 9, there was a terrible thunder-storm, in which seven inches of rain fell in less than two hours. Of course considerable damage was done.
—A St. Petersburg dispatch says the harvest is expected to be very good throughout the Russian Empire. The crop prospects throughout Europe are very favorable.
—A revised edition of the New Testament in Welsh has been undertaken. The basis of the translation will be the text of the new English version—a translation of a translation.
—The action of the Regents in electing Mr. Reid, of the San Francisco high school, President of the university of California, is severely condemned by the leading journals of the State.
—On the 7th inst. a fire in Cincinnati starting in a carriage factory resulted in a loss of $1,000,000. One man is reported dead, sixteen severely injured, and twenty-four missing, probably dead.
—Siemens, the European electrician, has cleared $20,000,000 from his inventions, and expects to make as much more from his electric railroad which he has put in successful operation in Berlin.
—July 5, a destructive grain fire occurred on the Glenn-Montgomery ranch, fourteen miles above St. John, Colusa Co., Cal. About two thousand acres of wheat, and 12 or 15 stacks, were destroyed.
—The eastern and middle States are suffering from the heat. In Pittsburg, work has been suspended in the mills. Many cases of sunstroke, often fatal, are reported from all over the East and South.
—Sir Stafford Northcote presented a petition in the Commons recently signed by 800 inhabitants of Northampton, the borough represented by Bradlaugh, praying that Bradlaugh shall not be admitted to the house.
—The Dresden Official Journal publishes a ministerial order by which, in virtue of the Socialist law, any one suspected of imperiling the public peace may be refused the right of residing in Leipsic or its suburbs.
—Lieut. Condor, of the Palestine Exploration, recently stated in Edinburgh that their survey had identified 140 Scriptural sites in west Palestine, so that 430 out of the 620 mentioned in the Bible were now fixed.
—A dispatch from Wheeling, W. Va., says a murder trial has been postponed because the public indignation against the attempted murder of Garfield has made it impossible for anyone charged with a similar crime to get a fair trial at present.
—In October last, Mr. Charles Watson, of Halifax, offered to give a million tracts to clergyman and others who would distribute them. Applications come in so fast he extended his plan of operation, and has given away eight million tracts relating to temperance.
—Secretary Blaine has declared the hog to be healthy, and every way worthy of the consideration of European people. If this decision would only result in such a demand for the hog in foreign countries that all of thm would be exported, it would be a blessing to us.
—The Chinese Government having requested the services of an officer to organize for their navy a marine corps similar to our own, First Lieutenant D. Pratt Manning, of the Marine Corps, has been selected, and is granted permission to enter the service of the Chinese Government for that purpose.
—The Rev. Arthur Edwards, D. D., editor of the Christian Advocate of Chicago, left, Monday, June 20, with his son, for a bicycle tour of Great Britain and the Continent. They propose to ride about 2,000 miles. Dr. Edwards is a delegate to the Methodist Ecumenical Conference which meets in England in the autumn.
—It is stated that the internal revenue receipts for the year ending June 30, exceed those of previous years by $10,000,000, the increase being caused chiefly by the increased collections on cigarettes. This is due to the spread of cigarette-smoking among the boys. It is stated also that cigarette-smoking by women and girls is increasing every year.
—A dispatch from Santa Fe, N. M., says that a traveling party recently came upon the dead bodies of thirteen Americans, near El Paso. They were a portion of the surveying party of the Mexican Central Railway, originally numbering thirty. It is supposed that the massacre was committed by a remnant of Victorio's band of Apache Indians.
—The authorities of Madrid, Spain, are making raids on the gambling hells. A young man, the son of a gambling-house keeper, who was arrested in the act of laying a petard, confessed that he was the agent of a vast conspiracy of persons who for five months have alarmed Madrid, hoping thereby to force the authorities to tolerate gambling. Many arrests have been made in consequence.
—The following from the Christian at Work may possibly have a point in it for the Regents of Cal. State University: "The University of Michigan has managed to keep out of politics wonderfully well. And it has graduated 6,166 students, and has some 1,500 in training now; and in the whole thirty-nine years of its existence it has cost the State only $570,000. The result shows that there has been a deal of good sense somewhere."
—At the Reading, Pa., iron works an immense cannon is in process of construction. It will be twenty-five feet long, and have a bore of six inches in diameter. Experts have expressed the opinion that the gun will throw a ball a distance of 10 to 12 miles. The charge of powder will be 130 pounds, and the weight of the shot 150 pounds. It is calculated that a shot from the gun will penetrate through two feet of solid wrought iron.
—Mr. George I. Seney of the Metropolitan Bank, New York, who has made so many donations to religious and educational institutions, has sent $1,000 to the People's Church, of Boston, for the building fund, saying: "Let it be spent in furnishing comfortable and cushioned seats for the colored friends in the best part of the church, toward which the white people in the 'little upper attic pews' may look to see the colored man worship in the broad aisle."
MEDICAL AND SURGICAL SANITARIUM,
By John Harvey Kellogg
Battle Creek, Michigan.
This institution, beautifully located in one of the most healthful cities of Michigan, is everywhere recognized as the
GREAT SANITARIUM OF THE WEST.
More than 4,000 patients successfully treated. The erection of new buildings and the addition of all the most approved remedial appliances known to the profession, have made it The Most Complete Institution of the Kind in America. All modern hotel conveniences furnished. Terms very reasonable.
J. H. Kellogg, M. D., Medical Superintendent.
Address, SANITARIUM, Battle Creek, Mich.
Soapstone Adulteration of Butter
THE Bethlehem (Penn.) Times is concerned to know what becomes of all the soapstone, and the hint it gives as to the possible use made of it is one to cause butter-consumers concern too. From his boyhood, the editor says, he has known of veins of soapstone in the hill just north of Easton. For years, all projects to make them profitable, failed. But singular to say, just about the time oleomargarine came to the front, the soapstone quarries were monopolized, mills were leased for grinding the rock, and vast quantities were shipped to New York. The soft, smooth, greasy quality of powdered soapstone renders it peculiarly suited for adulterating butter, with which it may be mixed to the extent of twenty to twenty-five per cent. without detection by ordinary inspection.
BATTLE CREEK COLLEGE,
AT
BATTLE CREEK MICHIGAN.
IS A POPULAR INSTITUTION FOR THE EDUCATION OF YOUNG men and women in the best manner, and at the least possible expense, for the various vocations of life.
During the five years of its existence, it has grown in a manner unparalleled in the history of but few educational institutions in the land.
FIVE HUNDRED STUDENTS are now Enrolled Annually.
SCOPE OF INSTRUCTION.
Its range of studies has been so extended as to meet the wants of all classes of students seeking a liberal education.
Instruction is given in the very lowest grades, onward through all the branches of a thorough classical course.
It has five departments of instruction :—
DEPARTMENT OF THE ARTS AND SCIENCES.
DEPARTMENT OF THEOLOGY.
THE NORMAL DEPARTMENT.
THE BUSINESS DEPARTMENT.
THE PREPARATORY DEPARTMENT.
The methods of instruction are such as to secure to the student thoroughness in all the branches pursued, and that true mental culture so essential to the highest success in practical life.
The FACULTY, which consists of fourteen men and women of experience and critical scholarship, act upon the motto, "Not how much but how well."
Parents who regard the mental and moral culture of their children of serious importance should thoroughly investigate the character and merits of an institution that solicits their patronage.
Battle Creek College invites inquiry into its FACILITIES, METHODS, DISCIPLINE, etc., and challenges a comparison of its advantages with those of other educational institutions in the land.
DISCIPLINE.
The College aims to develop character of the highest type, as well as scholarship of the best quality; and its discipline has respect to these ends.
The students attracted here are those of real worth, who value true culture and hard mental labor more than frivolities.
EXPENSES.
It has been the aim of the founders and trustees of the College to reduce the expenses of its students to the very lowest figures.
In price of board, room rent and tuition, the three great items of expense to the student, this College presents greater inducements than any other educational institution in the land. The total expense of each student per year need not exceed $114.
For further information send for full descriptive catalogue:
Address, BATTLE CREEK COLLEGE,
Battle Creek, Michigan.
JUVENILE BOOKS.
The Sunshine Series. Stories for little ones, in ten small books, adapted to children from the ages of four to ten years. In glazed paper covers, 320 pp. 50 cts.
Golden Grain Series. A choice collection of instructive stories suited to the wants of children from eight to sixteen years and older, illustrated and beautifully bound in three volumes.
The Hard Way, 160 pp. 40 cts.
The School-Boy's Dinner, 160 pp. 40 cts.
Grumbling Tommy, 160 pp. 40 cts.
Golden Grains in Ten Pamphlets. The same reading as the first two volumes, without pictures, in ten pamphlets of 32 pages each, 320 pp. 50 cts.
Sabbath Readings for the Home Circle. In three volumes, containing moral and religious reading for the household; carefully selected, and compiled for the use of Sabbath-school and family libraries. Each 60 cts.
The Child's Poems. Containing Little Will and other stories, teaching beautiful lessons of temperance and virtue. Bound in cloth and richly embossed in gold and black. 128 pp. 30 cts.
The Game of Life. Three lithographic illustrations with explanations. These scenes represent Satan playing a game with man for his soul. Neatly bound in board. 50 cts.
The Advent Keepsake. A collection of Bible texts for each day in the year, on the subjects of the Second Advent, the Resurrection, etc. Muslin, 186 pp. 25 cts.
Article Received and Returned
By Editor
To J. W. B., Iowa.—The article was received, and returned as requested.
A NEW TENT.
MESSRS. HARDING & BRAND, of San Francisco, have just completed a new fifty-foot tent for the California Conference, which will be pitched this week in Lakeport, Lake Co., where Elder Rice and Bro. Isaac Morrison expect to hold a series of meetings.
We have encouraging news of progress in the work at Los Angeles.
Twelve have signed the covenant at the Buena Vista school-house, near Salinas, where Bro. Benton has been holding meetings.
FOR CHRIST.
READ on the missionary page the article headed, “India,” and learn what people of some heathen lands have to endure to become Christians, while we, who have “the light of life” so richly bestowed, under such pleasant circumstances, so often bitterly complain of our little trials. Here, constant urging is necessary to secure attention to the claims of Christ, under the most favorable conditions and amidst friendly associations. There, they know that any manifestation of regard for Christianity is attended with the loss of all. And yet they become Christians, losing all, and suffering all manner of abuse. We are inclined to the belief that the lowest grade of Christians is found in our enlightened land of Christian liberty. Truly, “the dark places of the earth are full of the habitations of cruelty;” but from those dark places will arise some of the brightest children of the kingdom of the Redeemer.
A PLEASANT TRIP.
On the Cornelius Camp-ground we wrote to the agent of the Navigation Company, to secure a state-room on the steamer State of California, requesting that, “if possible,” we might be free from the atmosphere of tobacco. When we boarded the steamer, on the first of July, and found ourself numbered to room with Dr. Stratton, President of the Pacific University, San Jose, and Mr. Roby, Principal of the Central School, Portland, we decided that some agents have good sense and a spirit of accommodation. And yet, we regret to say, it is not always that an instructor of youth, or even a D. D., or College President, is free from the degrading habit of tobacco smoking. In this case the agent was right in his estimate, and not only were we free from the atmosphere of the filthy weed, but we found congenial companions, and had a pleasant trip every way.
HEAVY STORMS.
THE storms in the western States, or the Mississippi valley, have been very severe this season. Many are of the opinion that the storms are more severe and more destructive of late than in former years. Whether they are more severe is a question. We had some experience in one in 1844 which was as severe as any of which we have had any knowledge since. But where some of the most destructive have passed of late years, there were no inhabitants at that time. It is not easy to compare the seasons a third of a century apart, in a country which is settled so rapidly.
PRESIDENT GARFIELD.
As the whole civilized world was shocked by the brutal attempt to assassinate the President of the United States, July 2, so all, of every nation and party, are rejoicing at the prospect of his recovery. We are pleased to see the very general expression of sympathy for the President by the southern people, and hope it may be the means of securing more fraternal feelings between the northern and southern parts of the Union. The English papers say that no event, for many years, has so largely enlisted the feelings of the English people.
Perhaps the "true inwardness" of this attempt to destroy the President may never be known. But it is our settled conviction that the investigation of frauds has led to it. "The love of money is a root of all evil," and the life of the nation itself is of little value to some, compared to the low satisfaction they take in carrying out their nefarious designs.
STATE QUARTERLY MEETING.
By M. C. Israel
THE meeting for this quarter will be omitted; it being a busy time of the year, it will not be practicable for the directors of the different districts to be present. Sr. Stickney, the Secretary of the State T. and M. Society, is just recovering from a malarial fever, and would not be able to attend to the business connected with a meeting. It is requested that the reports from each of the districts be sent in, that a summary may be published in the SIGNS, at an early date.
There are many encouraging features in our missionary work, and especially in that connected with the ships; and we would say to those who have made pledges to the ship and State T. and M. Reserve fund, and to any who can help in this direction, that their pledges and donations will now be very acceptable. Nearly every ship and steamer going from the port of San Francisco is visited by our ship missionary (Bro. Palmer), who converses with, and furnishes reading matter to, those who sail on them. This requires quite an outlay of means, and especially at this time of the year when the ships are coming to carry away the grain products of our State. The money invested in this enterprise will without doubt bring a grand return in the kingdom of Heaven, when those who sow and those who reap shall enter upon their reward.
