Earlier text: Precedents in ReligionInfidel Superstition.
By Burlington Hawkeye
IN treating these great problems of life, Mr. Ingersoll has a fascinating and a plausible way of stating things, but they certainly are as unphilosophic as they are untenable. "Water always runs down hill," says Mr. Ingersoll. But it does not. Sometimes it runs up hill, and we call it capillary attraction. We have a mode of explaining it by the attraction between the particles of mobile matter and the inert matter of the tube in which the fluid rises. Mr. Ingersoll would explain it by saying that the fluid rises because it rises! That is certainly childlike and simple, but it is hardly in keeping with the role of a philosopher who proposes to dethrone God—the God who is the designer and creator of the universe. We not only find that Mr. Ingersoll is mistaken in asserting "water always runs down hill," but there is a wonderful process of nature that exceeds even capillary action. The life-bearing sap ascends the tree and carries with it nourishment that sustains and enlarges the plant. The tree has a system of water works that actually extends its own water mains. This phenomenon, we are told by Mr. Ingersoll, happens because it happens! If that is not superstition that eclipses anything of the kind so vehemently denounced by him, we do not know what superstition is. Its genesis is clearly traceable to the pagan belief that the world is a great plane resting upon the backs of four mighty oxen, and the oxen rest upon a great elephant. What the elephant is resting upon, the pagan belief failed to state. Mr. Ingersoll goes one step further and affirms that the elephant rests upon himself.—Burlington Hawkeye. Upper Columbia T. and M. Society.
The second annual session of the Upper Columbia Tract and Missionary Society was called to order by the President, Thursday, June 1, 1882, at 5 P. M. Meeting opened with singing. Prayer by Eld. A. T. Jones. Minutes of last session were read and approved. Instructive remarks were made by Eld. J. H. Waggoner in reference to the work of missionaries in this cause. On motion, the Chair appointed the following committees: On Nominations, T. L. Ragsdale, B. F. Winkler, and Dennis LaGraves; On Resolutions, J. H. Waggoner, T. A. McCoy, and W. A. Gibson. [The report of labor is said to have been the next thing in order, but it was not sent. It will be published when received. Ed. Signs.] SECOND MEETING, JUNE 5, 9 A. M.
Committee on Nominations reported as follows: for President, Eld. G. W. Colcord; Vice-President, Wm. J. Goodwin; Secretary, Mrs. G. W. Colcord; Directors—Dist. No 1, I. M. Johns; No. 2, Ambrose Johnson; No. 3, G. H. Beck. Report adopted. Remarks were made by the President, on the needs of the T. and M. Society; and the points made were considered with interest. Receipts.
Cash on hand, . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $35.07
From Districts, . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 278.21
“ Agents, . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 274.62
For Reserve Fund, . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56.50—$644.40
Disbursements.
Paid to Signs Office, . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $342.78
“ “ Review “ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 192.67
“ for Freight, Postage, etc. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23.92—$559.37
Cash on hand, . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $85.53 Liabilities.
Due Review Office, . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $24.00
“ Signs “ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18.35—$42.35
Assets.
Due from Agents, . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $183.95
“ “ Districts, . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30.42
Publications on hand, . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 255.61
Due on pledges to Reserve Fund, . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 166.00
Cash on hand, . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 85.53—$722.08
Balance in favor of the Society, . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $679.73
The report was accepted. THIRD MEETING, JUNE 5, 6 P. M.
Committee on Resolutions reported as follows:—
Resolved, 1. That we will make an effort to increase the membership of our T. and M. Society; and we urge all to labor to this end; and we invite the scattered brethren and sisters to unite with us in the missionary work.- That we invite our brethren to take a more active part in this work, and not leave it so much to the sisters as has been done in time past.
- That we consecrate ourselves anew to God, with a view to doing more work in the missionary cause than we have done in the past, and that we recommend the use of more printed matter in tracts and books, and especially of a greater number of the SIGNS OF THE TIMES.
- That a special effort be made to increase our efficiency in the work, by the employment of more agents and colporters.
- That we deem it necessary in order to carry out the work of the T. and M. Society effectually, that the Reserve Fund be increased; and we recommend that it be increased to such sum as shall be advised by the Conference Committee.
Eld. Waggoner made remarks, calling attention to resolution 3, and giving a list of the premiums offered to those who obtain subscribers for the SIGNS. The resolutions were adopted. A call was made for members, and five were added. Some local business was called up, but was finally left to the Board of Directors. Adjourned without date. G. W. COLCORD, President. A. T. JONES, Sec. pro tem. OHIO, Spencer, May 28.—I have spent the last three Sabbaths in this place, and have met with some success. A church of eleven members was organized. Five were baptized. Nine were added to the T. and M. Society. A Sabbath-school is sustained, consisting of sixteen members. The tithing system was duly considered. I sold nearly fifty dollars' worth of our publications. I also secured a subscription of several hundred dollars for a house of worship. I shall follow up this enterprise, and hope to see a meeting-house built this summer. The truth has in this place many friends whom we hope to see obey it and become connected with us. I tried to explain all our faith and customs, as a people, so that they might move understandingly, and become co-laborers with us in the work of saving men. I desire the blessing of God to attend the work in this place, and that others may be gathered with them. TEXAS, Brushy Knob and Denton.—Since my last report, I have visited Brushy Knob twice. Since the debate with Eld. Stirman at that place, several have commenced keeping the Sabbath; and during my visit, a Sabbath-school of sixty-eight members was organized, and eight precious souls were received into the church by baptism. With the results accomplished during and since the debate, we are much gratified. The interest created throughout the community in favor of the truth is greater than at any time previous to the discussion. Bro. Richard Conradi writing from Milltown, Dakota, May 22, gives the following interesting items: "Yesterday I visited a German-Methodist, thirty-five miles west, who, against the bitterest opposition from his wife, commenced to observe the Sabbath a few weeks ago. We had a blessed interview, and he, with renewed zeal, seeks to spread the truth way out on the frontier. I have received twenty subscriptions for the Stimme, one for the Instructor, one for the Tidende, and sold over twenty German Bibles. In this field, eighty miles in length, there are now about sixty families reading the Stimme, hundreds well supplied with our tracts, and several places in which to hold meetings; there are also about twenty-five churches, of various creeds, that have considered the Sabbath question, more or less." I RAN across a cigarette factory the other day. Whew! I wouldn't write—or, rather, you wouldn't dare print what I saw. Dirty butts of cigars fresh from the filth of the muddy streets are the cleanest and nicest of the material used in compiling these precious roads to ruin. I came down town on a Madison Avenue car recently, and on the tail end there were three little chaps, the oldest about 14. Each smoked a cigarette, and spat his little life away. I ventured to ask if they enjoyed the odor. They said they did. And the taste? Certainly. On inquiring, I found they had a well-known brand of cigarette, noted for its "opium soak" and its terrible smell when burning. Day by day vice grows stronger. There was a time when cigarette smoking was confined almost entirely to Cubans, who knew what good tobacco was, and made their own cigarettes. Gradually the habit spread. Dealers followed suit. Makers became unscrupulous. Little dirty boys were sent out to pick up cigar stumps. Other equally disgusting material was also utilized. Opium was made to do duty. Cheap paper took the place of rice paper. I wish these boys could see the stuff their paper is made from. The cheap paper, the old stumps, the opium, and the chemicals used to make them "strong" deserve to be shown up. Parents have no influence with their sons. Why not? Because they smoke cigars or pipes, themselves. The boys charge all the good advice they get, to their fathers' desire to keep them down. There is but one way to deal with American boys. Reason with them through their eyes. If every nicotined stomach was made public, if every time a fellow died of too much cigarette, the fact was made known, if the proud boys could be shown a rag factory and stump grindery, it seems to me the cigarette business would be wound up very soon.—Sel. The Rev. J. M. Driver, of Toledo, Ohio, writes as follows to the Central Christian Advocate:- “Our city election has just passed, and the result is such as to cause rejoicing among the temperance people. It was a square fight, the tickets being headed: ‘For License’ and ‘Against License.’ There was considerable uneasiness on the part of the temperance people, but it was all dissipated when the result of the election was made known. More than three to one had voted against license. There is not a saloon in this county. Every town in the county is almost unanimously opposed to the licensing of saloons. It is a rare thing to see a man under the influence of liquor. Our county jail is tenantless, and paupers are scarce. Peace, and order, and morality prevail. A magnificent brick school-building is just completed.” MEDICAL DRUNKARDS.—Let me say that of all persons that have not yet become drunkards, the most pitiable are they who are drinking liquor under medical advice. Others drink it upon their own responsibility, and therefore with more or less caution. But these drink it upon the highest authority, and therefore with no fear of consequences. Other tipplers restrain their appetite through shame of being seen to indulge in it boldly; these drink under the impervious plea that they are but taking medicine. Other tipplers are open to admonition and reformation. In a word, whilst the one drinking intoxicating liquor without excuse and therefore against conscience—against that voice of God in the soul—may stop ere it be too late; the other drinking it for health, and therefore with an approving conscience, will probably never stop until life stops. Emphatically true is it that no other tippler is going so surely to the drunkard’s grave, as the one who lets his doctor lead him to it.—Ex. How a Vicar Became a Total Abstainer
At a meeting, recently, a clergyman told how he became a total abstainer. He had previously been connected with a moderate society, and having one evening presided at one of its meetings, he was accosted while walking along the street the next morning, by one of his parishioners, who, endeavoring to put his arms around his neck, hiccuped out, "I do so love you, good Mr. Vicar; I goes with you for moderation." The good vicar became a total abstainer the next day. '"Man never is, but always to be blest,"' read Belle, out of her parsing-book. "I wonder what that means. 'Man' is a noun"—then she dropped her book and looked out of the window. It was very pleasant outside. Peach blossoms and apple blossoms, violets and lilies of the valley, green grass and glad sunshine, with rippling water, murmuring bees, and busy, joyous birds—all did their part toward making a happy world. Annie, sitting by the other window, sewing, scarcely noticed the beauty and fragrance around her, and heard neither the brook nor the birds, so busy was she planning and dreaming of the nice time she hoped to have in the White Mountains, where she expected to go with a party of young friends. Every little detail was gone over in her mind, and she thought of all sorts of pleasant little incidents and adventures which might happen during the trip, and which she would enjoy to the full. "Two weeks of perfect enjoyment, I hope," she said to herself. "Oh dear, I almost wish it was August now. It is so dull here at home;" and she gave a little sigh, and a rather impatient pull at her needle. Little Minnie came running in just then, with her hands full of dandelions. "See, Annie," she said, "are they not pretty?" "Very," said Annie, smiling; "they are like condensed sunshine." "I don't like dandelions much," said Belle, rather discontentedly. "Wait till the roses come, Minnie, and the pinks; then you'll have pretty flowers to play with. Won't it be nice when the roses come," she added, "for then vacation will come, too!" "Won't it be nice when the roses tum?" echoed Minnie, sitting down on the floor, and proceeding to pull her dandelions to pieces. "How queer you girls are!" said Tom, who was just outside the window, helping Willie mend their velocipede. "Two weeks ago you were all wishing for the apple and peach blossoms, and telling Minnie about the violets, and now that they are all here, you are wishing for roses and pinks. When everything is nice, why can't you be satisfied. If every one of those blossoms was only a ripe peach now, I'd be happy; won't we have a good time next fall, though!" And Thomas smacked his lips at the thought. "There, now!" said Willie, "you're as bad as the girls, wishing. It's wicked to wish for things you can't have; mother says so." "I'm not wishing for things I can't have," said Tom, argumentatively. "I'm only thinking how nice it will be when something I expect to have comes." "It's about the same thing, though," rejoined Willie. "You're not satisfied, and you ought to be satisfied. I am. There, now, this old velocipede is fixed. Won't it be nice if papa buys Smith's pony. I wish he would; we'd be just happy then." Annie had been listening to the children's clatter, and she couldn't help laughing at Willie's sudden fall into the fault he had just been so virtuously condemning. "'Man never is, but always to be blest,'" she quoted. "What are you laughing at, Annie?" asked Tom. "I could not help laughing at Willie," she said, "for doing the very thing for which he has been scolding you." "I wasn't dissatisfied, Annie," said Willie, in rather an injured tone; "I was only thinking that we will have more fun when we have the pony. There's no harm in that, is there?" Annie paused a minute before replying: "Well, if there is, Willie, I will have to plead guilty, too; for I have been doing about the same thing all the afternoon—thinking about the White Mountains. But I believe there is harm in it, though I never thought of it before; but we can't really appreciate our present comforts and blessings, if we are all the time thinking how much more we will enjoy ourselves when things are different." "What made you say that sentence out of my parsing-book, Annie—'Man never is, but always to be blest'—what does it mean?" asked Belle. "It means just what we have been talking about," said Annie: "that people never are really happy and contented, but that they always expect to be happy as soon as they get or accomplish something that they have set their hearts on, and then, when they get it, they don't stop to think what a blessing it is, and how they enjoy it, but begin right away to wish for something else." "Well, if every one does that way, it must be all right," said Tom. "Because every one does something, doesn't make it right, Tom, and besides, leaving out all question of right and wrong, it is certainly very foolish and short-sighted in us never to think of and enjoy the blessings we have, because we are all the time longing for those we hope to have, and thinking how much better they will be. Now, for instance, instead of Belle's and Minnie's wishing for roses, and you boys wanting peaches and ponies"—("I only want one," interrupted Willie)—"and, instead of my thinking so much about the White Mountain trip, we were all to stop and consider what a pleasant time we are really having now—how nice blossoms and velocipedes are—what a lovely world this is, with its beauty and birds and sunshine—what a comfortable home we have, and how nice it is for us all to be at home together—I think we should be happier and better for it. It really seems to be wicked for us to have all these great blessings, and then scarcely to take the time to think about them and be thankful for them, because we are so busy planning and wishing for other ones." "Does the Bible say anything about not wishing for things, Annie?" asked Belle. "I don't remember anything about wishing, but I know there is a verse, 'Godliness and contentment is great gain;' and Paul says, 'I have learned in whatsoever state I am, therewith to be content,' and gives the command, 'Be content with such things as ye have.' They are about the contentment, but if we are contented with what we have, we won't wish for anything." "What a long talk we've had, just because I wished for roses," said Belle. "Now I suppose we must stop wishing, and just 'think of our mercies,' as Aunt Chloe says." "Humph!" said Tom, contemptuously, "would you have us sit down on the floor, and say, 'how nice this is? 'Aren't we having a good time?'" "Yes," said Annie, laughing. "I think it would be a good plan. Perhaps Belle will paint for us a motto, 'Don't we have a good time,' and put it up where we can all see it all the time. I think it would be an excellent reminder to make us think of and be thankful for our present blessings." "There come papa and mamma," said Belle; "I wonder what they will say." Mr. and Mrs. Hadley came in from their walk, and after chatting a minute, Mrs. Hadley said: "It is a lovely day. Everything is so fresh and bright out of doors, it makes the house look dingy. I wish we had the new carpet and hangings; it would make the room look so much prettier."
(Belle began to smile.) "We ought to be in the house as little such weather as possible," said Mr. Hadley. "I shall be so glad when you get a good girl in the kitchen, Margaret, so that you and the girls can have more time to enjoy the beauties of nature." At this the children all laughed. "Papa and mamma are wishing, too," said Tom. "What is the matter, children?" asked Mr. Hadley, in his mild way. Then Belle told what they had been talking about, and finished by saying that Annie had said she might paint for a motto, "Aren't we having a nice time?" Mrs. Hadley laughed her cheery, motherly laugh. "Well, dear," she said, "I hope you will do it. It will do me good to look at it, as well as the rest of you. Don't you think it's a good plan, papa?" "Excellent," said Mr. Hadley; "it will help us all to be happy, and then, Belle, you must paint another: 'Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits;' and we will hang the two together, so that we may remember to be thankful as well as contented." Belle was very fond of painting, and she brought out her materials and began at once to sketch her designs for the mottoes.—New York Observer. “Don’t you want to read to me a little while, Jennie? my poor old head is so tired.” “Oh dear! grandma, you’re always wanting me to read or do something for you when I’m busy. I’d try and get along without quite so much waiting on, if I were you;” and Jennie Colman impatiently threw down the tidy she was embroidering, and with a heavy frown took up the paper her poor old grandmother had laid down. “Never mind, dear; I can wait till Floy gets home,” said grandma, sadly. “I didn’t notice you were doing anything in particular.” “Well, I was,” Jennie snapped out. “There’s that tidy must be done Thursday for the fair, and it isn’t hardly begun yet. But there, who could do anything if they had to leave their work every ten minutes to wait on some one else? Well, there’s no use talking. What do you want me to read? Come, hurry up.” “I don’t want you to read at all, Jennie,” said grandma, in a trembling voice. “I wouldn’t have asked you if I had known you had anything to do. Go right on with your work.” “Oh, well, if you don’t want me to, very well. I’m not at all anxious,” and Jennie returned to her work. Grandma sat awhile with closed eyes, thinking of the happy past, when there were always willing hands and happy hearts at her service, when suddenly a click of the gate-latch roused her from her musings, and a glad smile lighted up her tired old face. “There’s Floy!” she exclaimed brightly. “Oh, yes, there’s Floy, of course. You think Floy is almost an angel, I do believe, grandma Colman.” “Well, who don’t love Floy?” grandma responded. “No one could help it.” And, indeed, few could help loving the bright-faced young girl of fourteen who came bounding into the room, seeming to bring with her a touch of the outside glow and brightness of the January day. “Well, grandma, how do you feel? Is your head any better? Isn’t there anything I can do for you?” And the rosy lips met grandma’s, lovingly. “No, dear, my head is no better, but you must sit down and get warm, and not be thinking what you can do for me the first thing.” “O yes,” said Jennie impatiently, “of course Floy must not hurt herself. It don’t make any difference about me.” “Jennie Colman!” Floy burst forth indignantly, “I’d be ashamed to talk so to, dear old grandmother. You know she thinks just as much of your comfort as she does of mine. But you think so much of yourself no one need worry about your getting along without any trouble.” “You look out for yourself, and I’ll do the same,” was Jennie’s response. Floy had hardly seated herself when she espied the paper grandma had been reading. “Oh, sha’n’t I read to you grandma, dear?” she asked. “I feel just like it.”287 “If you are not too tired,” said the old lady, wistfully, I should like you to read a little while. I was in the middle of that article,” pointing to the one she had been reading. “All right,” said Floy, cheerfully, though the article in question was dull reading for a girl of her age. And for several hours she read patiently on, while Jennie sat sulkily bending over her embroidery. And which, think you, enjoyed the afternoon more—Floy, who gave up her own wishes to minister to her grandmother’s, or Jennie, in her utter disregard of all but her own selfish desires? Which are you like, reader, and which do you wish to be like? Remember the Master has said, “Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these, my brethren, ye have done it unto me.”—Little Pilgrim. The Home Circle.
By Marianne Farningham
We do not know! Thou knowest!
As children in the dark
We lift our hearts, our hands to thee,
And find a rest, an ark;
We trust thee in our ignorance,
O Wise, O Good, O Strong!
And though the shades encompass us,
We find thee with our song. We think we know, thou knowest.
We dream, and hope, and plan,
And make mistakes, and sigh to know
How frail and weak is man;
But thou, from the beginning
Canst see the end of all.
We rest upon thy knowledge,
Father, on whom we call. We do not know the best for us,
And so we strive in vain,
And for our sowing often reap
A harvest dire of pain;
We fail and fall, and then at last
We cry to thee for aid,
And only rest when thou dost say
"‘Tis I, be not afraid." O God, we would be wiser yet,
And only pray, "Choose thou!"
Lead as one leads the little ones,
We are thy children now,
And day by day, and step by step
We need the guiding hand;
Oh, let us cling to thee, until
We reach the safe Home-land. And then, let days be fair or dark,
The journey short or long,
Our hearts will rest in comfort,
And we will sing our song;
Since thou dost know, our ignorance
And weakness matter not,
We trust in thy great love, O God,
And thou dost choose our lot.
—Marianne Farningham. -A fire in Victoria Square, Montreal, June 14, destroyed property to the value of nearly a million dollars. -Ex-Governor William Dennison, known as the War Governor of Ohio, died June 15, aged sixty-seven years. -A severe storm on the night of the 15th inst., prostrated four railroad bridges between Guilford, Ind., and Indianapolis. -The gold obtained in Australia during the past year is valued at £838,378, the largest yield reported for the last five years. -The four robbers of the Brookfield (Mo.) bank pleaded guilty, and were each sentenced to twenty-five years' imprisonment. -The steamship Pera, from Montreal to Great Britain, foundered off Cape Race, June 14. The cargo and ten persons were lost. -During a severe storm at Indianapolis, the 13th inst., a bridge was carried away by the flood, and ten persons were drowned. -A gang of horse thieves are operating in the vicinity of Gridley, Cal., and several valuable animals have disappeared within the last week. -People are being warned against the danger of taking small-pox from cigars made by Chinese. There is one sure preventive: don't smoke. -A man in Los Angeles, while digging a well, June 15, struck a bed of rock salt at a depth of twenty-two feet. The find is considered valuable. -The net loss to strikers in Cleveland, for the month ending June 15, was $160,000. There is evidently more money to be made by working than by striking. -Attorney-General Nash, of Ohio, has decided that organizations forming to resist the execution of the prohibitory laws, cannot be incorporated under the laws of the State. -A member of the Chinese Legation says that the Chinese Government will return fifty students to American colleges, having discovered that their removal was a mistake. -A locomotive provided with an electric head-light has been placed on the French Northern Railroad. The electricity is furnished by the application of the surplus power of the engine. -It is said that the Czar, in his self-imprisonment for fear of nihilists, gets the exercise necessary to his health by sawing wood. Tastes differ; but we should prefer to saw wood at liberty. -The captain of the British Steamer Genelg was fined $5,250, in the United States District Court, in Portland, Oregon, June 14, for carrying 105 passengers in excess of the legal number. -The prospects for an abundant harvest, it is stated, were never before so good in Colorado. The cool weather in May, and the abundant rains, have insured a large yield of wheat and oats. -In the case of the People vs. the Gold Run Ditch and Mining Company, the injunction is sustained and made perpetual, preventing the company from running mining debris into the American River. -The Illinois Department of Agriculture publishes reports which show the growing corn crop to be in a backward condition. The indications are that there will not be more than three-fourths of a crop. -Miss Lizzie Sargent, the younger daughter of the minister to Germany, intends to pursue her medical studies at a German university. She is already a qualified physician, having been graduated at the Pacific Medical College. -A report comes from North Queensland, Australia, that the brig Jane Stewart was taken by the natives of Maylayta, one of the Solomon Islands, and that all on board of her, except one seaman, were murdered, and the vessel set on fire. -General Ignatieff, the Russian Minister of the Interior, has been relieved from his position, at his own request. In a conversation after his resignation, he stated that it had been a part of his policy to rid the country of the Jews. -An effort is being made in Canada to stop swearing on the public streets. If it succeeds, conversation may be limited in quantity, but it will be vastly improved in quality. There is a law which imposes a sentence of three years in the penitentiary for such an offense. -A heavy rain storm, accompanied by waterspouts, swept over Denver, Col., June 11, doing thousands of dollars worth of damage in the city and surrounding country. Cellars and basements were filled with water, and several warehouses were swept away. Five persons are known to have been drowned. -British Columbia is now suffering from severe floods. Frazer River is higher than ever known before, and is still rising. The latest news from the farming districts of Chillinhack and Sumas is that everything is submerged. The loss of stock and crops is very great, and considerable damage has been done to the railroads. -For months past the West, and especially the Yellowstone Valley, has been swarming with eastern speculators, who were buying up large tracts of the Northern Pacific lands, to hold them for a rise. These operations have been checked by an order that hereafter not more than 160 acres of these lands shall be sold to one person. -The first consignment of frozen meat from New Zealand has reached England in fine condition. The shipment was by a sailing vessel, which was ninety-eight days on the passage, and the hold of the ship containing the meat was kept at 20° below freezing point, by mechanical refrigeration. The vessel had on board 5,000 sheep. -A Dayton (O.) Journal's special from Warren and Butler Counties states that the army worm is totally destroying the grain. The worms appeared in millions, and are passing northward through the Mississippi Valley. In a few hours they almost totally destroyed fields of hay and of wheat in fine condition and ready for harvest in a week. -The British steamer Strathairly, now in San Francisco Bay, has been taken possession of by the authorities, under a libel filed against her to recover $22,580 penalty for bringing a surplus of passengers into port. One hundred and fifty Chinese passengers have also sued to recover $4,000 damages for a breach of contract to land them at Honolulu. Bringing Chinese to the United States is not particularly paying business to ship owners just at present. -There is no present prospect of quiet in Egypt; but what the result of the trouble will be, no one can well determine. The Khedive is powerless, and the natural jealousy existing between the powers, keeps them from interfering to any purpose. On the 11th inst., there were serious riots in Alexandria, between the natives and Europeans. The soldiers were called out, but they looked on without interfering with the work of bloodshed. They were evidently in sympathy with it. The British Consul was dragged from his carriage, and beaten. The number of bodies of Europeans that have been found, who were killed in the riots, is said to be 340. Thousands of foreigners are leaving the interior, and all the men-of-war are crowded with fugitives. All the countries of Europe have troops in readiness to send to Egypt. It is idle to talk of the vices as a sisterhood. There may be association, but no affiliation. Knaves may be companions, but not friends. The vain dislike the vain; the proud hate the proud; the covetous hate the covetous; but the virtuous are never at war. The just love the just; the chaste esteem the chaste; the benevolent admire the benevolent; in short, all good things harmonize; all bad things are discordant, both with the good and with each other.—Sel. Obituary
By Jasper G. Smith
SMITH.—Died in Williams, Colusa Co. Cal., May 30, 1882, my wife, Annie M. Smith, aged 21 years and 10 months. Two years ago she took cold, which settled on her lungs, terminating in that dreaded disease, consumption. In 1876 she united with the M. E. Church, South, at Santa Rosa. She believed in the near coming of Jesus; and after a careful study of the Bible, and writings on both sides of the Sabbath question, she commenced to observe the seventh-day Sabbath in November, 1881. She was a great reader of the Bible, and loved God's people. She bore her sufferings with Christian patience, and expressed a willingness to die. Funeral sermon by Rev. Atkinson, of the M. E. Church. Text, "The last enemy that shall be destroyed is death." Jasper G. Smith. TRACTS.—4 cents each. Redemption—The Second Advent—The Sufferings of Christ—The Present Truth—Origin and Progress of S. D. Adventists—Ten Commandments not Abolished—The Two Covenants—Address to the Baptists—The Two Thrones—Spiritualism a Satanic Delusion—Samuel and the Witch of Endor—The Third Message of Rev. 14—Who Changed the Sabbath?—The Spirit of Prophecy—The Millennium—Signs of the Times—Scripture References—Constitution of the T. and M. Society—Tithes and Offerings—Sabbaton.