Earlier text: COURAGE IN THE LORDThe Missionary.
By John Nevins Andrews
MISSIONARY WORK IN SWITZERLAND.
The blessing of God still attends our effort to send out our paper. We send out each week as many as we can find time to wrap and address. This is usually from 1400 to 1700 copies. This is in addition to our regular work of getting out each month a new number and sending it to our subscribers. We have now been actively engaged during seven months in the work of sending out our journal in a systematic manner to new readers. The result leaves no room to doubt that this work has been in the order of God. We send four papers to each new address. Then we discontinue if no favorable response is received. A letter of introduction goes with the first number, and a letter asking the receiver to subscribe goes with the fourth. The letters are very simple, but they have seemed to take with the people. We have besought God to bless the effort, and to his blessing we ascribe all our success. But so far as our action is concerned, our success is due to the letters. We tried during the earlier part of our publishing work to send out our paper to new readers gratuitously without sending each person a letter. We gave this experiment a thorough trial during the period of many months. We met with no success worthy of mention while acting on this plan. We are therefore prepared to judge, so far as our work is concerned, which of the two plans should be followed. We have also pretty thoroughly tried the plan of sending out our tracts through the mail as the first act by which to introduce the truth to new readers. In many cases we have sent letters with the tracts, either on the first occasion of sending, or in sending to the same persons the second or third time. But our best success with tracts has been on a different plan. It has been to divide up a village among several persons, each taking a certain number of families to visit. The visitor in each case leaves a tract with the family he visits and invites them to read it. He also promises to call again in a week and take back the tract and to give another in exchange. We have seen more accomplished in this manner than by sending out tracts through the mail. The tracts have an important place to fill, but it is evident that in our work they should follow rather than precede the sending out of the paper. The difficulty in sending the tracts first is that generally they will not be read. A person who has no previous interest in the subject presented in the tract will not read it. He expects to find it dry and uninteresting, and he therefore gives it no attention. But it is not so with the paper; for here there is a variety of articles, and every one will examine it, expecting to find something of interest. When they have read one article, they will pretty certainly try another, and thus the paper will secure attention. When they have become interested to read the paper, they will write to ask questions and state objections, and then the tracts are found just adapted to their wants. In some cases, the first thing a person does after he has become interested to read the paper, is to send and order all the tracts in our catalogue. We have still a large stock of papers on hand, and it will require some time to send them all out, if we put forth our best efforts for that purpose. As every fourth number is a late paper, we are not suffering any of these to become old on our hands. But the old papers are apparently read with as much interest as the late one. We have a missionary meeting every first-day evening, in which the labors of the past week are reported, and the missionary letters received are read. These meetings are very interesting. Some of our friends have doubted whether it was wise to send out our paper as we have been doing. But the letters read in the missionary meetings have fully satisfied them on this point. The first number of our paper sent into France contained an electrotype of the chart. We received an immediate request from a man who received that number, asking us to send him the original chart even if we had to send to America for it. We obtained the chart and sent it to him, and he has just responded, sending the price of the chart, and with it the name of a new subscriber, with the pay. There are now five persons in that French village who have sent for our paper. We give a letter dated Paris, June 4, 1880:— "To the Editors of Les Signes des Temps, Bale, Suisse. "Messieurs: Having received with pleasure some numbers of your good journal which have deeply interested me (an a vivement interesse) I send you five francs for a year's subscription. I hope in a little time to furnish proofs of my interest in promoting to the utmost extent the reading of this excellent journal, which is more than ever appropriate to the situation of the moment which indicates the end at hand. Will you receive, Messieurs, with my thanks, mes salutations les plus distinguees." This letter evidently comes from a business man. Next we give the letter of a servant girl from a village in Canton Vaud. It is written in good French, and in a very modest, becoming manner. "Messieurs: My greatest desire is to be able to read your excellent (bon et bienfaisant) journal; but God has not given me the means. I am only a poor domestic, obliged to send all my savings to my parents, which prevents me from paying for your paper. Would it be possible for you to send me occasionally a copy? I have already those for the months of January and February of this year, which a kind lady has given me. They have rendered me very happy, and I thank you for your words of encouragement and of warning, to prepare to meet our divine Saviour. Excuse my request, which is a little bold, but I should be so glad to profit by your instructions and to share your counsels with my parents. It is this that encourages me to ask this favor." This young lady has received our paper from some one to whom we have sent it on trial. We have sent her the numbers printed since February, and she writes again to express her gratitude and sends us other addresses. A gentleman at Chaux-de-Fonds, who had received four numbers of our journal without responding to either of our letters, has, after the lapse of three months, just written, sending us the money for one year's subscription. A lady in the department of Lot-et-Garonne, France, who had only received two old numbers of Les Signes, sends to subscribe for it. We might give quite a large number of very interesting letters, but time and space forbid. When we have sent out all the old numbers which we now have on hand, we must print larger editions. If we could print five thousand or ten thousand, we could use them all to excellent advantage. I am fully persuaded that it is in our power to get the truth before the French people and to have them give attention to it, and that we can open many doors for the preaching of the truth where it has hitherto seemed impossible to obtain a hearing. My greatest suffering of mind in Europe has been in view of the apparent impossibility of gaining the attention of the French people. We could not to any extent gain their attention by our publications, though the publications were prepared with the utmost care, and it has seemed equally difficult for the living preacher to gain access to them. It has never satisfied me to say I have done the best I could. I have felt anguish of spirit that has almost consumed me in view of the apparent impossibility of gaining the attention of the public. I thank God that this distress is past. I am sure that we can reach the French people, and that we can move them to action. My sickness during the past winter has been a great trial of my faith, but I now believe that God has overruled it to the advancement of his work. I hope to join Bro. Loughborough next week. I should have left here the present week, but have not been strong enough to undertake the journey. Though it is very difficult for me to leave Switzerland, I go cheerfully to labor in England, because I feel an interest in whatever concerns the work of God. I have no sectional interest. The burden upon my heart with reference to things here has been very heavy, but it has been because the difficulties have seemed to be insurmountable. I have invited the co-operation of our French brethren in America in the work of sustaining our paper, but I have never sought to detach them from co-operating with the American brethren in every enterprise. I have always felt that the American brethren have exercised great patience toward us in sustaining us with their means while our progress in the work has been so slow. I hope we shall not need to draw anything from the missionary treasury at Battle Creek for some time to come, and I am encouraged to believe that the time is at hand when we can sustain our paper without other assistance than the active co-operation of its friends. Our next purchase of white paper will be wholly by Swiss funds, and I hope we shall never again need to use any money from America for that part of our expense. We do not wish in any way to place burdens on the tract societies in America, or to divert them from their proper work of circulating publications in the English language; yet if in any place where our brethren have fully done their duty in this respect, they see fit to become responsible for a number of French papers, we will furnish all the addresses and do the work in a systematic manner. This will obviate the difficulty which some tract societies have found who have desired to help the French work, but have lacked the names, and it will be a source of strength to us in our effort to sustain our paper without drawing means from the missionary treasury. We are greatly indebted to Bro. Whitney for what he has done for us in this way. The next number of our paper will be the first number of our fifth volume. We think to change its form, so that it will contain sixteen pages instead of eight, while the pages will be reduced about one-half in size. We are constrained to do this because of the unanimous request of our European readers. But while reducing the paper so far as the size of the page is concerned, we shall not diminish the amount of matter which it contains, but slightly increase it. By this plan of action we are able to meet the wishes of our friends in Europe with regard to the form of our paper, and at the same time to follow the counsel of our brethren in America not to diminish its size. We have bestowed much thought and care upon this change, and hope that our journal in its new form will not only please our friends in Europe, but also those in America. J. N. A.
Bale, June 15, 1880. MEETING AT SANTA ROSA.
By S. N. Haskell
THERE was quite a general attendance, on the Sabbath, of the friends from Stony Point, Healdsburg, Forestville, and Petaluma, while nearly all remained over Sunday. The preaching was close and practical. Sister White enjoyed her usual freedom. Her testimony in the business meeting, as one point after another came up, was well calculated to give one a realizing sense of the great work in which we are engaged, and show the importance of educating ourselves and children to bear the burdens of life, and thus be qualified to bear responsibilities in the service of God. At one of our meetings, out of thirty-eight present, thirty-five signed the following dress pledge:— "Realizing the evils of following the fashions of the world in point of dress, especially its ruinous effects upon the youth, therefore we pledge ourselves, before God, to abstain from the wearing of gold and artificial, which are worn simply to adorn the body, and we will by our practice and teaching exemplify the words of the apostle in 1 Peter 3:3, 4, and 1 Tim. 2:9." Sunday night at the close of a discourse from Sister White on the evils of intemperate habits, a Health and Temperance club was organized, with R. A. Morton leader, and Sister C. Hurley secretary. There are thirty-eight members, of whom thirty-seven have signed the teetotal pledge. Could there be more general meetings in this State, where the enterprises connected with this work could be talked over with our brethren, and the practical duties of life be laid before them, it would be of great value to the cause on this coast. If there had been another day spent, as was Sunday, much more benefit would have been derived from the meeting. But many of our brethren are in too much of a hurry to leave for their homes. The cares of this life are so pressing that the education in divine things, which is necessary to become intelligent workers in the cause of God, cannot be acquired. The friends who remained throughout the meetings expressed themselves as much encouraged, designing to commence anew in the service of God. ST. CLAIR, NEVADA.
By William M. Healey
THE cause here seems to be prospering. The church as a body are drawing nearer to the Lord. Our quarterly meeting was well attended, and the ordinances were freely partaken of in a very solemn manner. Three united with the church by letter, and last Sabbath four adults were baptized. FRIENDSVILLE, WABASH CO., ILL.
We closed our meetings here June 7. A goodly number decided against us before we went there, so they used the stay-away argument. As the result of our meetings, ten signed the covenant. A number more are convinced of the truth, and we hope some of them will obey. To-day, June 11, we are seating the tent in the village of Allendale. We propose commencing meetings the 14th. Brethren, remember us in your prayers. G. F. SHONK.
JAMES WILLOUGHBY. WESTON, VERMONT.
By R. S. Owen
Through the missionary efforts of Bro. Hale, and as the result of our meetings, eight souls have been added to the number of Sabbath-keepers in this place. Prejudice seems to be wearing away. We organized a Sunday-school for the benefit of those who are not keeping the Sabbath. Twelve copies of the Instructor are taken, from which lessons are learned. At our last meeting the school-house was crowded. I have calls in five different places to go out and hold meetings. May God bless and encourage his dear people in Southern Vermont. WASHINGTON CO., NEBRASKA.
By Chas. L. Boyd
The faithful labors of Brn. Cudney and Clausen in this county have been attended with success. I have been with them the past few days, and assisted in organizing a church of fifteen members, twelve of whom were baptized in a stream near by. Others are keeping the Sabbath. These were all strangers to our faith until this spring. There is about an equal number of Americans and Danes.
CHAS. L. BOYD. FLORA, INDIANA.
By V. Thompson
Closed meetings here June 27, the interest remaining good to the last. Ten have signed the covenant; others say they will unite with the church when organized. Last Sabbath we organized a Sabbath-school of sixteen members. May God bless this little company, and may they grow in grace and in the knowledge of their Saviour. Experience Is the Lord’s School
By John Newton
EXPERIENCE is the Lord's school; and they who are taught by Him usually learn by the mistakes they make that they have no wisdom, and by the slips and falls they meet with, that they have no strength. At last they reached the establishment whose proprietor had so persistently refused to yield; the saloon was brilliantly lighted, but Brannan himself stood in the door. As the ladies paused, he spoke to them very politely, and they commenced their meeting. It continued for half an hour, and then in the interval between a prayer and hymn, he told them he had listened to them very patiently, and now thought it only civil that they should hear what he had to say. Brannan began by complimenting their music, telling them how much he and his customers had enjoyed it; he said he hoped it had amused them to come there day after day, and that he had no objection to their doing so, for a few days, but it was now assuming the shape of a nuisance, and if they did not discontinue their visits, he would appeal to the law. He said he had as good a right to make a living for his family as any man in the city, and if he chose to do it by selling liquor, it was nobody's business. He closed by an emphatic declaration that he had never harmed any one by his saloon, and again told the ladies if they annoyed him any more, he would have them arrested. Just then the great clock in the court house struck nine. It was near the hour for closing their meeting, and while Brannan and his party congratulated themselves upon a victory, the women prepared, oh, so sadly, to go away. Their faith had been so strong, they had believed that God would complete his wonderful work that night, and now they must go, leaving it still unfinished. Suddenly they paused, for a childish voice, which had the depth of a woman's anguish, wailed out, "Oh, don't give it up; it's to save my father!" Then they parted right and left, before the bent and twisted figure of Nannie Burke who passed in front of the crowd. As she stood there, with her tattered shawl thrown off, the light from one of the colored lamps falling full on the poor little form, on the floating hair and pale face with solemn eyes, there was something so weird and strange in her appearance, as though she was a messenger from another world. "Ben Brannan," she said, and the weak little voice grew firm and stern as an accusing angel's, "my father, George Burke, is a kind and tender man when he lets whisky alone; he earns two dollars a day, and you know that's enough to keep us well. We live in a miserable little garret on Vine street; there is hardly enough fire to keep me from freezing, sometimes, and I have had nothing to eat to-day but a piece of dry bread; the money my father ought to spend on his home goes for whisky which makes a brute of him, and you stand there, Ben Brannan, and say you do no harm. "It was whisky that made my father give me the kick down stairs that left me like this; it is that that sends him home at night to beat me with that crutch till I cry out for God to let me die; it was your whisky that made him abuse my mother till she died of a broken heart, and it was you that got him to break the promise he had made at her grave, that he would meet her in Heaven, Ben Brannan!" cried the childish voice, breaking into wild sobs at last; "and O, if your whisky kills him, body and soul, and he's parted from her forever and ever, will you dare to tell my mother, when you meet her at the Judgment, that you never did any harm?" The unnatural strength which had upheld the child gave way at last; she tottered and would have fallen, had not a tall, powerful looking man pushed his way out from the saloon and caught her away from the kind, womanly hand stretched out for her. Holding the poor, brave little girl in his arms, while the great tears rolled over his rough, brown face, he said:— "It's all true, every word of it. I am her father, poor lamb, and I've been just such a brute as she's told you; but I'm ready to sign the pledge to-night, ladies, and by the help of God I'll try to keep it. And now, Ben," turning toward him as he spoke "for the sake of the poor fellows like me who are so easily tempted, for the sake of their wives and children, for the sake of your own wife and baby, who is no prettier than my Nannie once was, I ask you to give up this miserable business." Brannan had grown very pale while Nannie and her father were speaking; his pretty little wife was sobbing bitterly as she clung to his arm, and the innocent face of his baby girl looked wonderingingly up into his. There was a fearful struggle in the man's soul; how could he yield when he had boasted that he never would? But then, how could he sell the maddening poison which could make a man crush and mangle the delicate form of his own little child? Then as the idea which Nannie had suggested came back to him, and he thought of the possibility of such women as poor Mary Burke requiring their husband's blood at his hands, he hesitated no longer. "I'll give in," he said, huskily. "I thought I could hold out against an angel from Heaven, but I couldn't stand that poor lame child."—Sel. THERE is a true story of the childhood of a good German count, named Von der Recke, who lived to be a great blessing to the poor of his country, and an example to those who would do good in every land. It was spring; a storm had just passed away in the night, and a very fine morning seemed to make all nature glad. The flowers were refreshed by the rain, and looked bright. The little birds sang a merry song in the air and among the trees. Little Adalbert—for that was the name by which good Count Von der Recke was called when a child—little Adalbert was not less gay than the birds who sang that merry song. He looked up to the clear blue sky, to trace the little birds like living specks as they flew across it, and as he looked he saw some pigeons at a distance which seemed as much to enjoy the morning breeze as he did, all but one tiny dove, which flew very feebly on its little wings; its short circle showed its strength was nearly gone; the rest flew around it, but could not help it. There was a large pond in the garden with a bridge over it, and a boat in it; but the bridge was so high and the boat so far off, that, should the pretty bird drop into the water, the little boy could not hope to reach and save it. With a sad heart he looked at the poor little dove as it faintly spread out its newly-got wings to keep itself up in the air. It grew weaker and weaker, till, almost worn out, he saw it fall, just as he feared it would, into the water. The little German's heart felt much for the little drowning dove. He saw, a short way off, a little washing-tub left by the servant maids; he rolled it to the pond, caught up a pole which lay near, leaped into it, and pushed off. With a pole for an oar, he paddled along till he came close to the drowning dove, and just as it was sinking he snatched it from the water. On getting back to the bank he wiped its wet wings with his handkerchief, opened his jacket, and laid the dove in his bosom, covering all but its bill, and with a hasty step reached home so happy in his prize. Rest and warmth soon made the dove much better; it opened its red eyes, and Adalbert took part of his bread, put its bill to his mouth, and fed it with all the kindness of a mother. His mother had all this time been watching from the castle window all that her boy had done. She feared as she saw him on the water, but she was delighted with his kindness to the dove. When he came in, his eyes bright with joy, she let him tell his own story. When he stopped speaking, she said:— “I saw all. But were you not afraid, my love, to go on the water in so unsafe a thing as a washing-tub?” “Oh,” he said, “but the poor little dove was drowning.” His mother threw her arms around him and said, in a very earnest tone,— “God bless you, my dear child! may you never be less ready or brave in trying to save unhappy men!” These words went to the heart of her child; they seemed to him like a message from God; and through life he showed that this message was never forgotten. THE following lines bring to mind a touching incident that took place in a town where I once resided. A large school-house stood on the opposite side of the street from our dwelling where scores of children daily assembled. One day nearly every boy and girl, in one of the rooms, as they came to their accustomed seats, placed a flower on the desk of one of the seats that was vacant. Their little schoolmate who usually occupied that place had that morning fallen in death, and these flowers were a tribute of affection from her friends. Happy indeed were those children in this if they were conscious that they had never caused the absent one needless pain. And as we are in the land of the dying we commend the following, from the Christian Register, as a good lesson to all loving hearts:— “Wait not till the little hands are at rest
Ere you fill them full of flowers;
Wait not for the crowning tuberose
To make sweet the last sad hours;
But while in the busy household band,
Your darlings still need your guiding hand,
Oh, fill their lives with sweetness. “Wait not till the little hearts are still,
For the loving look and phrase;
But while you gently chide a fault
The good deed kindly praise.
The word you would speak beside the bier
Falls sweeter far on the living ear;
Oh, fill young lives with sweetness. “Ah! what are kisses on clay cold lips
To the rosy mouth we press.
When our wee ones fly to their mother’s arms,
For love’s tenderest caress!
Let never a worldly bauble keep
Your heart from the joy each day should reap,
Circling young lives with sweetness. “Give thanks each morn for the sturdy boys,
Give thanks for the fairy girls;
With a dower of wealth like this at home,
Would you rifle the earth for pearls?
Wait not for death to gem love’s crown,
But daily shower life’s blessing down,
And fill young hearts with sweetness. “Remember the home where the light has fled,
Where the rose has faded away;
And the love that glows in youthful hearts,
Oh! cherish it while you may!
And make your home a garden of flowers,
Where joy shall bloom through childhood’s hours,
And fill young hearts with sweetness.” "Such a cross old woman as Mrs. Barnes is! I never would send her jelly or anything else again," said Molly Clapp, setting her basket down hard on the table. "She never even said, 'Thank you,' but, 'Set the cup on the table, child, and don't knock over the bottles. Why don't your mother come herself instead of sending you? I'll be dead one of these days, and then she'll wish she had been a little more neighborly.' I never want to go there again, and I shouldn't think you would." "Molly! Molly! come quick and see Mr. Daws straighten the old cherry tree!" called Tom through the window; and old Mrs. Barnes was forgotten as Molly flew out over the green to the next yard. Her mother watched with a good deal of interest the efforts of two stout men as, with strong ropes, they strove to pull the crooked tree this way and that, but it was of no use. "It's as crooked as the letter S and has been for twenty years. You're just twenty years too late, Mr. Daws," said Joe as he dropped the ropes and wiped the sweat from his face. "Are you sure you haven't begun twenty years too late on tobacco and rum, Joe?" asked Mr. Daws. "That's a true word, master, and it's as hard to break off with them as to make this old tree straight. But I signed the pledge last night, and with God's help, I mean to keep it." "With God's help you may hope to keep it, Joe," responded the master. "Our religion gives every man a chance to reform. No one need despair so long as we have such promises of grace to help." "That's my comfort, sir," said the man, humbly, "but I shall tell the boys to try and not grow crooked at the beginning." "Mother," said Molly as she stood at the window again at her mother's side, "I know now what is the matter with old Mrs. Barnes. She needn't try to be pleasant and kind now, for she's like the old tree: it's twenty years too late." "It's never too late, with God's help, to try to do better, but my little girl must begin now to keep back harsh words and unkind thoughts; then she will never have to say, as Joe said about the tree, 'It is twenty years too late.'—Child's World." —Forest fires are raging in New Brunswick.
—Reports of floods in England still continue.
—Fifty-eight Jesuits have arrived in Valencia from Marseilles.
—Of the white voters in Louisiana, 16,000 are unable to read and write.
—A large emigration from Canada to the United States is reported.
—Forty thousand volumes were lost by a fire in Prof. Momsen's library in Berlin.
—Dr. Tanner, of Minnesota, has fasted for twenty days. He started out for forty days.
—Rain fell in Sacramento July 16, and ice formed in Bodie, Mono Co., Cal., during the week.
—The schooner Joe Duvall was capsized in Lake Michigan, and seven persons were drowned.
—An explosion in a coal mine at Bisca, South Wales, occurred July 15, in which 115 persons perished.
—Paine and 22 men, trespassers on the Indian Territory, have been arrested by U. S. authorities.
—The anniversary of the French Republic was celebrated with great display in San Francisco, the 14th.
—It has been decided that continued riding of bicycles makes the rider bow-legged and stoop-shouldered.
—A cold wave swept over Utah, July 11, and snow fell to the depth of four inches on the Wasatch range.
—It is said—and is it possible?—that French soldiers, ignoring the deity, are sworn by the regiment they enter.
—The latest news is more unfavorable for the grain crop of England. In Russia there will be a large deficiency.
—Mr. Bradley, a prominent citizen of San Jose, recently died from the bite of a kitten, received in his thumb.
—A whirlwind passed over Hanover, N. H., July 16, wrecking a number of buildings, and doing other damage.
—Kaufman, a Russian general, has been sent with 14,000 troops to Eastern Siberia, to quell the troublesome Chinese.
—A telegram from New York, July 16, says, "The heat continues oppressive. Seventy-two children under five, died here yesterday."
—A violent wind storm passed over Chester, Pa., the 16th, unroofing 36 houses, and blowing down 7 which were partly completed.
—Intense heat still prevails in the East. On Wednesday last thirty cases of sunstroke were reported, thirteen of which were fatal.
—Queen Victoria has written the king of Abyssinia, and as the result he will doubtless agree to terms of peace with the Khedive of Egypt.
—There were 553 people killed and 1,581 injured in Pennsylvania last year by the railroads.
—It is announced that Peru and Bolivia are about to consolidate into one government, to be known as the United States of Peru and Bolivia.
—Cardinal McClosky writes to the New York Evening Post that the widely published congratulatory dispatch to General Hancock, signed with his name, was a forgery.
—A stage was upset on Mount Washington, containing a party from Michigan. One lady was killed; five other persons were injured. The driver was drunk—nobody to blame!
—The late census shows the population of San Francisco to be 233,066, being an increase of 33,593 since the census of 1870. San Francisco is the ninth city in population in the United States.
—Col. Cash, the murderer of Shannon in a duel in South Carolina, has been arrested for murder on a warrant from the Coroner. It is a question whether he will be punished or sent to Congress.
—A lady built a church at Newark, N. J., at her own expense, placing a condition in the deed that if fairs, festivals, and like entertainments are held in it, then it shall revert to its original owners.
—Princess Louise is suffering from the wound received sometime ago, and it is reported that Lord Lorne will resign the Governorship of Canada, as she will return to Europe by the advice of physicians.
—A construction train on the Long Island Railroad, with 100 Italian laborers, was carelessly run under an iron chain by which a derrick was sustained, and 26 men were seriously injured, several fatally.
—In a recent storm in Colorado, ten miles of the Denver and Rio Grande railroad were washed away between Pueblo and Colorado Springs. Also, at Hugo, on the Kansas Pacific, ten cars were washed away while crossing the bridge.
—A lively contest is going on between two parties, for and against the separation of Church and State in the Canton of Geneva, Switzerland. Meetings are held, and pamphlets circulated with a view of influencing public opinion.
—The Christian at Work says: "We venture to predict that next century there will be a marked decline in the demand and manufacture of sermon paper. And perhaps with that decline the power of the pulpit will not diminish, but otherwise increase."
—From Deadwood, July 16, comes the following report: A passenger from Fort Meade says that a courier from the Little Missouri brings news of a desperate fight between two companies of the Seventh Cavalry and a body of Sioux, in which the troops sustained a heavy loss.
—Obedden Pasha, in a conversation with Goschen, the British Ambassador, regarding the state of affairs in Asia Minor, said: "You know what difficulties you have had in Ireland, and how long it has taken you to overcome them. In Asia Minor, where each province has its distinct peculiarities, we have fifteen Irelands to deal with."
—July 18, a Constantinople dispatch says: Novikoff, Russian Ambassador, has informed the Porte, that the time has come for an answer in regard to the execution of the assassin of Colonel Comeroff. Goschen, English Ambassador, and Tissot, French Ambassador, have spoken very plainly to the Sultan in regard to the decisions of the Conference. Tissot told the Sultan that his throne would be in danger, and that the precedent of Egypt might be followed if he refused to carry out the decision.
—The French Republic has a number of strong enemies, the meanest of whom are the Jesuits. This order has continued to exist in defiance of law; but last week a new act of parliament was put in force, and several of the Jesuit establishments were closed and the occupants turned out neck and heels. The difficulty of the situation must be clear from the statement of the fact. A republic ought to mean liberty; but there cannot be a French Republic if the Jesuit is let alone. Liberty, for him, means liberty to conspire and overthrow. Great effort is made to distinguish, in this action, between the Catholic Church and the order of Jesuits; but unfortunately the order is usually able to command a great influence over the Church in France.—Methodist. A WRITER who has recently visited the western coast of Africa on the United States steamer Ticonderoga, makes the following statements respecting negro slavery:— "The idea that slavery in Africa disappeared with the abolition of the foreign slave trade, an idea which seems to be prevalent both in Europe and America, is nevertheless a mistaken one. Slavery not only exists, but its evils are very much aggravated by the fact that for the want of a foreign market the supply is in excess of the demand. The value of the slave has depreciated until the preservation of his life and health has become a matter of no consequence to his owner. The increase and growing export trade of Africa is the product of slave labor. The slave, not so well fed or cared for, is raising ground-nuts in some distant part of his country, as far away from his home and kin as though he were cultivating sugar on a Cuban plantation. It is safe to say that money and sympathy expended on the negro slave has in nowise emeliorated his condition. On the contrary, the trade which was made contraband and abolished at sea has added to its cruelties the thousand times greater evils of transportation overland through jungles and marshes, where hundreds perish by the wayside from famine and exposure. "I have just visited the Gallinas, a river on the coast of Liberia, a point where, in the palmy days of 'the trade,' Dom Pedro Blanco held his rude court and annually shipped to Cuba thousands of his sable brethren. A negro, likely, young, and robust, can be bought here to-day for £4, taken in trade goods at that! I venture to assert that 1,000 slaves a month could and would be delivered at that rate to any buyer in the market. Perhaps the most indifferent man to this state of things is the negro himself. It is his normal condition; if he runs away he is only captured by another master." THIS POPULAR JOURNAL enters upon its fifteenth volume with the most flattering prospects not only of a continuance of the prosperity which has attended it in the past, but also of a great increase of patronage, although it already enjoys THE LARGEST CIRCULATION OF ANY HEALTH JOURNAL IN AMERICA.
The interest of the journal for 1880 will be greatly increased by a series of practical articles from the well-known pens of Whose contributions in the past have done so much to increase the popularity and the usefulness of the journal. Is offered to new subscribers. Address, for specimen copy:—
GOOD HEALTH PUBLISHING CO.,
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Or:—SIGNS OF THE TIMES,
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