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RELIGIOUS READING. Life's Labor. ft is well, somelimes, in the worry of life, To >au>o and listen to others' strife; To feel tho jostling, to hear tho beat Of he wheels of time on the busy street, That leads us home. Oh, human hearts! how strange it seems, nr.-j-i. ~ ?,,?u onrl mnh and need. ?T 10U 3U uiutu nw, ? ?? , That ye gather strength in the trial hour, And grasp tho reins with a mightier power, And still pre s on. Is there nobler work in Heaven above. Where all is light, and joy, and love, Than earth-born spirits do and dare. In faith and hope, trusting His saw Who trod this path? Then, weary ones, fresh courage take! The victory won, the golden gat3 t Is opened wide, and God's own hand Will lead you home to that blast laud, To rest at las\ ?V. A. TV., in the Advocate and Guardian. Now. 8 There aro millions of people in tbis ? Itt r?/"*lrn Awloflcrp VUUil 11 > ?UV 1U ivia^vuwj the trath and divine authority of the Bible, and who mean at aome time?always before leaving this world?to accept the salvation which God offers tc them in that book nnd commands them to receive. They know that they are sinners and that they need salvation, and it is no part of their plan to quit this world without obtaining it by compliance irith its conditions. The difficulty with all such persons is just the one which Felix had when Paul reasoned with him about righteousness, temperance and a judgmeut to come. He trembled, but i-miIb ?her\lnN?lv tf? vifild to the force of Paul's argument, and he henc< disposed of the question then pressed upon him by saying: "Go thy way foi this time; when I have a convenient season I will cill thee." Agrippa did the same thing substantially when he said to Paul: ' 'Almost thou persuadest me to be a Christian." Multitudes cheat them selves out of heaven by never finding just the right time in which to do what they must do or lose their souls.?Tht Independent. (ilvlng. The great and good Martin Luthei loved'to give. Tho fact that he was himself poor did not hinder his giving. "God is rich; he will provide for oui wants," ho would say, when reproached for giving away what seemed to b< needed for his own comfort. Once t poor student came to him who was about to leave Wittenberg. He had no money and was in great need. Luther longed to help him, and in real distress looked H try cpo if thprp wan nnvthincr he could give. His eyes fell upon a silvei cup which had been presented to him by his king, the Elector of Saxony. His ife was present and looked her disapproval, but Luther seized it, and, crushing the sides together, pressed it upon the young man, saying, "I have no need of a silver cup." Gcd always gives tc those who give to his poor. If we will trust Him He will never let us suffer on account of gifts made in a spirit of love. The little child can give love and kind words and helpful deeds, and by-and-bv, as God sees the willingness to give, he Will trust his child with other, though no larger, gifts to distribute.?SuudaySchool Advocate. neiigion jimongme uoarocrn nesrsei. Dr. Renfrae of Alabama is one of the most respected Baptist ministers in the South. He takes a very strong interest in the negroes, and has some interesting tilings to say about them in the Richmond Religious herald. He h;is ncvci met an infidel negro, nor an anti-mission negro. It is proved and settled he say3, that the negro 1 'can be educated to a high degree;" that he will try to get all the education ^'within his reach for himself and his children;" and that under Similar conditions, his progress will bear favorable comparison with the attainments of other students. "I can find," be says, ''in my own city," Talladega, We believe, "a senior clas3 in a colored College which would suffer no disparagement in contest wi'.h any senior class in the land in the same grade of text books; .1 il ? i 1 ?? rrt. ana uie curriculum is a guuu um\ mcy hare numerous ignorant ministers, but "thej manifest a restless purpose to rid themselves of these as rapidly as possible;" and one educated, worthy minister can remand to the back seats a dozen of the ignoraut and unworthy." The 8outhcrn Baptist convention has just directed its Home Mission boards to take up the work among the colored Baptists as a part of its regular service, and to spend $10,000 in this work. This is an excellent new departure in the line of duty and good fellowship; and Dr. Ronfrac declares that the white Baptists of the South must co-operate iully with the colored Baptists iu their work, and with the Baptists of the North in their good work for this people. i"> - f _ <1 J it f 4-k/. .negin l.ju t'uuuutiuu vi iui. u^ui*.f nw . frith the cultivation of noble propensities, but with the cutting away of those khat are evil. When once the noxious herbs are withered and rooted out, then the more noble plants, strong in themwlves, will shoot upward. The virtues, like the body, become strong and healthy jiore by labor than nourishment.?RichtVr. Temperance Notes. w The W. C. T. U has rightfully been Called organized "mother love." The towd of Salem, N. C., ha3 permitted no liquor to enter its limits for v ?ne hundred years. A London druggist sold in one year at Ono liquor house more strychnine than the whole city used medicinally. * l/Great Britain has over 12,000 societies fcor young people based on total abstinence! with ? membership of 1,000,000. ***? 1 TiLIlCiiSiMOft THE MIDNIGHT REVEL. th if (Preached at Monona, Wit.] yc Text: "In that night was Belshazzar, tho th King of the Chaldeans, slain." Daniel v., rei 30. |0( Fea :ting has been known in all ages It ij,1? was one ol the most exciting times m Eng- j: lish history when Queen Elizabeth visited Lord Leicester at Keuilworth Castle. The moment of her arrival was considered so important that all the clocks of the castle were stopped, so that th} hands might point to Wl that one moment as being th? most signiti- ^ ?" fil"* woo nrr-rvaftirl frv the* (TAtA I th vauu V/l Cfc11. UUO n?.i vv VUV Q? - ? with floating islands and torches and the fr thunder of cannon and fireworks that set the ar night ablaze, and a great burst of music that br lifted the wholo scene into perfect enchant- an raent Then she was introduced in a dining A hall, the luxuries of which astonished the Tl world; -200servants waited upon the guests; Gi the entertaiumeut cost $5,000 each day. in Lord Leicester made that great supper in sh Kenilworth Castle. Cardinal Wolsey entertained the French no ambassadors at Hampton Court. The best in cooks in all the land prepared for the ban- It quet; purveyors went out and traveled all th the kingdom" over to find spoils for the table, pj The time came. The guests were kept during t'e tbe day hunting in the King's park, so that hii their appetites might be keen; and then, in he th? evening, to the sound of the trumpetjrs, ou they were introduced into a hall hung with th silk and cloth of gold, and there were tables In a glitter with imperial plate and laden with "I the rarest of meats and a-blush with the cost- an liest of wines; and when the second course Hi of tho feast catr.a it was found that the articles of food liad been fashioned into the no shape of men, birds and beasts and groups wi dancing and jousting parties ridinj against th ea h other with lances. Lords and Princes sii and Ambassadors, out of cups filled to hi the brim, drank the health, first of the ac King of England and next to the if King of Franc?. Cardinal Wolsey pre- of pared that great supper in Hampton Court, or But my text takes us to a more exciting at banquet. Night was about to come dowai re upon Babylon. The shadows of her 250 tow- a ers began to lengthen. -The Euphrates rolled sii on, torched by tne fiery splendors of the set- ag ting sun; and gates of brass, burnished and ar glittering, opened and shut like doors of is flame. The hanging gardens of Babylon, wet A with heavy dew, began to pour from starlit to flowers and dripping leaf a fragrance for to many miles around. The streets and s }uares w: were lighted for dance and frolic and prom- cu enade. The theatres and galleries of art invited the wealth, and pomp, and grandeur of hi the city to rare entertainments Scene.'' of br riot and was-ail were ii.in.jled in every tr; street, and godless mirth and outrageous ex- w] cess and splendid wickedness came to the bi v: 7. ?-to JVlUg 3 paja jo \AJ UV l/UCil IU1?UWC9|* UCT119 U1 JM darkness. A royal feast to-nigt?t at the w< King's palace! Hushing up to the gates of are chariots upholstered with pre- br cious cloths from Dedan and drawn ni by fire-eyed horses from Togarmah, that rear and neigh in the grasp of the de charioteers,while a thousand Lords dismount, TV and women dressed in all the splendor of "Bi Syrian emerald, ani the color blending of wi agate, and the c has tenets of coral," and the w< sombre glory of Tyrian purple, and princely w] embroideries brought from afar by cameis co across the desert, and by ships of Tarshi$h w' across the sea. Open wide the gates and let' pi the guests come in! The chamberlains and na cup-bearers are all ready. Hark to the rustle H of the silks and to the carol of the music! lej See the blaze of the jewe's! Lift the ba-;- th ners! Fill the cups! Clap the cymbals! he Blow the trumjets! Let tha night go by m with song and dance aud ovation, and let fe that Babylonish tongue be palsied, that will in not say: "O King Belshazzar, live for ever!" m Ab, my fr.'ends! it was not any common se< banquet to which theso great people came, m All parts oi tbe eartn tiad sent tneir ricnest qu viands to that table. Brackets an i chande- $c liers flashed their light upon tankards of bur- hi nished gold. Fruits, ripe and luscious, in se: baskets of silver, entwined with leaves, m plucked from] royal conservatories. Vases go inlaid with emerald and ridged with exquis- is ite tra: eries, filled with nuts that were an threshed from fore its of distant lands. Wine gu brought from the royal vats, foaming in the th deeautsrs and bubbling in the chalices. Tufts of cassia and fraukincense wafting their ill sweetness from wall and table. Gorgeous Oi banners unfolding in the bree e that came ti< through the opened window, bewitched with W the perfume of hanging gardeus. Fountains it rising up from inrlosures of ivory in jets of bu crystal, to fall iu clattering rain of diamonds ra and p?ariU. Statues of mighty men looking bu down from niches in the wall upon crowns t-h and shields brought from subdued empires, ne Idoli of wonderful work standing on pedestals of precious stones. Embroid- ha eries drooping about the windows and sp wrapping pillars of cedar, and drift- ba ing on tlocrs inlaid with ivory and agate, ta Music, mingling the thrum of harps, and the ha clash of cymba's, and the blast of trumpet* th in one wave of transport that went rippling. ?r along the wall and breathing among the garlands, and rouring down the corridors, and thrilling the souls of a thousand banqueters. N< The signal is given, and the lords and ladies, M the mighty men and women of the land,come n< ArraiTKl thA Pour nnfc Hib win#1 T.flt aE foam and bobble kias the rim! Hoist every Oi one his cap, and drink to the sentiment: "Oh, ? King Belsnazj-ar, live for ever!" Eestarred heaaband and carcanet of royal beauty gleam to the uplifted chalices, as again and ^ again and again they are emptied. Away Er with care from the pala.e! Tear royal dig- *? nity to tatters! Pour out more wine! Give fie us more light, wilder music, sweeter perfume! Lord shouts to lord, captain ogles to cap- *h tain, goblets clash, decanters rattle. There comes in the obsrene song and the drunken hiccough and the slavering lin and the guffaw or idiotic laughter bursting from the lips of ^ Princes, flushed, reeling, Dloodshot; while E* mingling with it all I hear: "Huzza, huzza, for great Felsbazzar!" "W hat is that on the plastering of the wall? th Is it a spirit? Is it a phantom? IsitOod? J?}} The music stops. The goblet3 fall from the Tl nerveless grasp. There is a thrill. There is P? a start There is a thousand-voiced shriek of horror. Let Daniel be brought in to read that writing. He comes in. He reads it: "Weighed in the balances, and art found wanting." Meanwhile the Assyrians, who ?h for two years had been laying a siege to that P? city, took advantage of that carousal, and came in. I hear the feet of the conquerors J? on the palace stairs. Massacre rushes in jje with a thousand gleaming knives. Death bursts upon the scene; and Ishut the door of ^ that banqueting hall, for I do not want to c1' look. There is nothing there but torn banners and broken wr< aths, and the slush of upset Jj! tankards, and the blood of murdered women, TJ and the kicked and tumbled carcass of a dead th King. For in that night was Belshazzar slain. P? I. I learn from tbis, that, when God writes anything on the wall, a man had better read ? it a9 it is. Daniel did not misinterpret or h< modify the handwriting on the wall. It is a' all foolishness to expert a minister of the eos- i p* pel to preach always things that the people like or the people choose. What shall I * preach to you to-day? Shall I tell you of the dignity of human nature* Shall I tell you of f*1 the wonders that our race has accomplished? "Oh. noi" you say, "tell me the message that ?| came from God." I will. If there is any P' handwriting on the wall, it is this lesson: "Repent, ac.ept of Christ and be saved." I might talk of % great many other things, but that is the message, and so I declare it Jesus never flattered those to whom he preached, bi He said to those who did wrong and who " were offensive in his sight: "Ye generation se of vipers! ye whited sepulchres! how can J* ye escape the damnation of hell ?" Paul the S: Apostle preached before a man who was not " ready to hear him preach. What subject did ai he take? Did he say: "Oh, you are a good man, a very fin9 man, a very noble manf " No: he preached of righteousness, to a man who was unrighteous; of temperance, to a D man who was the victimjof bad appetites; of ? the judgment to come, to a man who was 01 unfit for it So we must always declare the ui message that happens to come to us. Danie?. must read it as it is. A minister preached b: before James L of England, who was Jame3 & VI. of Scotland. What subjec t did he take? The King was noted all over the world for ^ being unsettled and wavering in his ideas. J* What did the minister preach about to this Ic man who was James I. of England and James VI. of Scotland? He took for his text, James L. G: "He that wavereth is like a w wave of the sea driven with tha wind and 0: tossed." Hugh Latimer offended the King K by a sermon tie preached, ana tae King saia: u 4'Hugh Latimer, come and apologize." "I v will, said Hugh Latimer. So the day was 1 appoint xl, and the King's cbapel was n full of Lords and Dukes, and the mighty men and women of the country, for ? Hugh Latimer was to apologize. He began ? his sermon by saying: "riugn Latimer, be- P think thee! Ihou art in the presence of thine J earthly King, who can destroy thy body I 11 But bethink thee, Hugh Latimer, tnat thou ? art in the presence of the King of Heayen 1 id earth, who can destroy both body and ul in hell tire. Oh. King, cursed be thy t ime?!" I 2. Another lesson that comes to us: There t a great difference between the opening of 1 e banquet of sin and its close. Young man, a you had looked iu upon the banquet in the I at few hours, you would have wished h >u had been invited there and could sit at c e feast. "Oh, the grandeur of Belshazzar'a o ist," you would have said; but you b )k in at the close of the banquet 6 d your blood curdles with horror, n le King of Terrors has there a ghastlier r inquet: Human blood is the wine and dying b oans are the music. Sin has made itself a " ing in the earth. It has crowned itself. It is spread a banquet. It invites all the ^ orld to come to it! It has hung in its ban- ^ leting hall the spoils of all kingdoms and a 3 baunei'S of all natl^ni It has strewn ? om its wealth the tables and floors and + ches. And yet how often is that banquet oken up and how horrible is its end! Ever s id anon there is a handwriting on the wall. y King falls. A great culprit is arrested, r -ta L'naoc nf L*nrvr?lr f/MvafKot* JV ivui v.i? ?? *v_rwUUUVM nuvA/iw l/V_/totuui , ^ od's judgment, like au armed host, breaks c upon the banquet, and that night is Bel- T a war, the King of the Chaldean3, slain. t, Here is a young man who says: "I can- j it see why they make such a fuss about the to.xicatiiig cup. Why, it is exhilarating, makes me fe-'l well. I can talk better, ink better, feel better. I cannot see why ople have such a prejudice against it." A w years pass on and he wakes up and finds inself in the clutches of an evil habit which f tries to break, bat cannot; and he cries ? t: "Oh Lord God, help me!" It seems a3 011 eh Gid would not hear his nraver. and an agony of body and soul he cries out* , 6 biteth like a serpent and it stingeth like i adder." How bright it was at the start I n dw black it was at trre jo3ci Here is a man who begins to read French ivels. '"They are so charming," hesavs; "I iU go out and see for myself whether all J ase things are so." He opera the gate of a y lful life. He goes in. A sinful sprite meets jj m with her wand. She waves her wand, id it is all enchantment. Why, it seems a3 n the angels of God had poured out phials * perfume in the atmosphere. As he walks i he finds the hills becoming more radi- t it with foliage, and the ravines more e sonant with the falling water. Oh, what charming landscape he sees! But that * lful sprite with ner wand meets him I< ;ain; and now she reverses the wand h id all the enchantment is gone. The cup j, full of poison. The fruit turns to ashes, t 11 the leaves of the bower are forked ngues of hissing serpents. The Sowing -jntains fall back in a dead pool stenchful ? ith corruption. The luring songs become . rs?s and screams of demoniac laughter. ist spirits gather about him and feel for J s heart, and beckon hiin on with: "Hail, 1< other! Hail, blasted spirit, hail!" He "V ies to get out. He comes to the front door j) liere he entered and tries to push it back, it the door turns against him; and in the r of that shutting door he heirs these ards: "This nigbt is Bjlshazrar, the KiDg y the Chaldeans, slain!" Sin may open 0 ight as the morning; it closes dark as the ght. r :-t I Ionrn fnrtViar frnm this Sllhipct that Q ath sometimes breaks in upon a banquet, r hy did he not go down to the prisons in a ibylon? There were people there that auld like to have died. I suppose there* 8 ere men and women in torture in that city bo would have welcomed death. But he 4 mes to the palace, and just at the time . lien the, mirth is dashing . to ..the tiptop . tch, death breaks in at the banquet. We ive often seen the same thing illustrated. C ere is a young man just come from col- p je. He is kind. He is loving. He is en- a usiastic. He is eloquent By one spring 1 may bound to heights toward which many 1 Bn have been struggling for years. A pro- c ssion opens before him. He is established a the law. His friends cheer him. Eminent en encourage him. After awhile you may , e him standing in the American Senate, or * oving a popular assemblage by his elo- t; lence, as trees are moved in a whirlwind, t >me night he retires early. A fever is on v m. Delirium, like a reckless charioteer, . izes the reins of his intellect. Father and nther stand by and see the tide3 of life I ing out to the great ocean. The banquet ti coming to an end. The lights of thought s id mirtn and eloquence are being extinlished. The garlands are snatched from e brow. The vision is gone. 0 Wa saw tha same thin? on a larger scale C ustrated at the last war in this country, g jr whole nation had been sitting at a na? g )nal banquet?North, South, hast and 'est What grain was there but we grew ' on our hills? What invention was there t it our rivers must turn the new wheel and c ttle the strange shuttle? What warm furs ft it our traders must bring them from e Arctic? What fish but that our F its must sweep them for the markets! hat music but it must sing in our B lis? What eloquence but it must fc eak in our Senates? Ho! to Jthe national .nquet, reaching from mountain to mounin and from sea to sea! To prepare that .nquet the sheepfolds and the aviaries of o country sent their best treasures. The j. chards piled up on the table their swe?test. uits. The presses burst out with new wines. P > sit at that table came the yeomanrv of li sw Hampshire, and the lumbermen of t aine, and the tanned Carolinian from the e ;e swamps, and the harvesters of Wisc onsin, . id the Westira emigrant from the pines of 11 egon; and-we were all brothres?brothers a a banquet. Suddenly the feast ended fi hat meant those mounds thrown up at v lickahominy, Shiloh, Atlanta, Gettysburg, >uth Mountain? What meant those golden ain fields turned into a pasturing ground c r cavalry horses? What meant the corn- t ilds gullied with 1 he wheels of the heavy ? pply train? Why those rivers of tears, v, ose lakes of blood) God was angry. Jus. ? must come. A handwriting on the wall! F 10 nation had been weighed" and found r inting. Darkness! Darkness! Woe to t e North! Woe to the South! Woe to tha i3t! Woe to the West! Death at the bantet! 1] 4. I have also to learn from the subject P at the destruction of the vicious and of t ose who despise God will be very sudden, a ie wave of mirth had dashed to the highest v tint when that Assyrian army broke ? rough. It wa3 unexpected. Suddenly, al- 1 ost always, comes the doom of those who * ispise God and defy the laws of men. How o as it at the Deluge. Do you suppose it came r irough a long northwestern storm, so that . tople for days before were sure it was com- ? gl No; I suppose the morning was bright; J at calmness brooded on the waters; that il lauty sat enthroned on the hills, when sud- r inly the heavens burst and the mountains a nk like anchors into the sea, that dashed . jar over the Andes and the Himalaya?. 11 The Red Sea was divided. The Egyptians t ied to cross it. There could be no danger, fi ie Israelites had just gone through; where ^ ey had gone, why not the Egyptians? Oh, ? was such a beautiful walking place! A . tvemeut of tinged shells and pearls, and on ther side a great wall of water, solid. 8 here can be no danger. Forward, great f astof the Egyptians! Clap the cymbals ] id blow the trumpets of victory! After lem! We will catch them yet and they shall ) destroyed. But the walls of solidified a tor begin to tremble. They rock. They ill. The rushing waters! The shriek of rowningmen! The swimming of the war arses in va n for the shore! The strewing' t ' the great host on the bottom of the sea, or j itched by the angry wave on the brach?a o ittered, bruised and loathsome wrer;k! Sud- f :nly destruction came. One half hour be- , ire they could not have believed it. I am just setting forth a fa t which you J ive noticed as well a> I. Ananias comes to f ie apostle. The apostle says: "Did you j ill the land for so much?" Hesays: "Yes." : was a lie. Dead! As qui -k as that! j apphira, his wife, eom?s in. "Oi l you sell ie lan 1 for so much"Yes." It was a lie, t id quick as that she was dead! God's judg- ^ lents are upon those who despise and defy x jm. They come suddenly. " . The destroying angel went through Egypt. ' o you suppose that any of tb people knew e lat he was coming? Did they hear the Hap t f his great wings? No! No! Suddenly, | nexpectedly, be came. Skdled sj ortsinen do not like to shoofc a ird standin? on a sprig near by. If they re skilled, they pride them-elves on taking on the wing, and they wait till it starts. >eath is an old sportsman, and ha loves to ike men flying under the very sun. Ho i >ves to take them on the wing. Are there any here who are unprepared >r the eternal world? Are there any here ho have been living without God and with- ' at hope? Let me say to you that you had betsr accept of the Lord Jesus Christ, lest sudenly your last chance be gone. The lungs j rill cease to breathe, the heart will stop. 1 "he time will come when you shall go no lore to the office, or to the store, or to the < bop. Nothing will be left but death, and udgment, ana eternity. Oh, flee to God this lour! If there be one in tnis presence wno as wandered far away from Christ, though ie may not have heard the call of the gospel or many a year, I invite him now to come nd be saved- Flee from thy sin! Flee to bet stronghold of the gospel! To-day I invita you to a grander t?nqu? han any I have mentioned. My Lord, tb ung, is the banqueter. Angels arc the cu] ?arers. All the redeemed are th) guest 'he halls of eternal lore, frescoed with ligh ud paved with joy, and curtained ivith ui ading beauty, are the bnn quoting p lace. Tk armonies or eternity are the music. Tt haiices of heaven are the plate: and I ai ne of the servants coming out with bot ands filled with invitations, scattei ing thei very where; and of that, for yourselves, yo flight break the seal of the invitation an ead the words written in red ink of bloo iy the tremulous hand of a dying Chris Come now, for all things are ready." After this day has rolled by and the nigl ias come, may you have rosy sleep guarde >y Him who never slumbers! May yc wake in the morning strong and well! Bu1 >b, art thou a despiser of (iod? Is the con g night the last night on earth? Shoulde! hou be awakened in the night by soxm hing, thou knowest Dot what, and there 1 hadows floating in the room, and a han< eriting on the wall, and you feel that yoi Eist hour is come, and there be fainting r he heart, and a tremor in the limb, and atching of the breath?then thy dooi rould be but an echo of tha words of m ext: "In that night was Belshazzar, ti Cing of the Chaldeans, slain." FACTS FOK THE CURIOUS. One-half of the children bom into tl rorld die before they reach the age < ve years. Few people probably realize the grei ize of California. The State is 7"t liles long and 330 wide in its broade iart. Queen Victoria has presented the Thir lattalion of the Royal Welsh Fusileei nth a fine white goat f rom the faraoi terd in Windsor Great Park. This reg lent is always preceded in its marches c goat. The Romans sifted their flour throug wo kinds of sieves, called respective] xcussoria and pollennria. the latter < rhich gave the tine9t flour, termed po sn. Sieves of horsehair were first mac >y the Gauls, those of linen by the Spai irds, and of papyrus and rushes by tl Egyptians. A San Francisco citizen' has a chicke hat is backed like a camel, has two tai nd three well-developed legs. Whe he fowl is in repose it rests on all thn 2gs after the manner of a milking stoo Vhen it walks it uses but two, the thirc t is said, "sticking out behind like hip's spunkerboom." The statement is made that all tl aried machinery of Great Britain, no npr?t-f?r1 hv strain nmver. is canable < I -J | 7 ? " 1 erforming more work, and hence pr< ucmg more products, than could t iroduced by the labor of 400,#00,<Xi ble-bodied men, a greater number tha II the able-bodied men on earth. At the age of over ninety years,on Jul , 1828, Charle3 Carroll, one of the sigi rs of the Declaration of Independent lid the corner-stone of the Baltimore )hio Railroad. The story that he a] iended "of Carrollton"' to his name del ntly, to enable the British crown 1 Sentify him, is a fiction. He was ai ustomed to sign it to avoid confusioi s there was another Charles Carroll. In the deep stillness if one listens to aintlv-henrd sound, like that of tl icking of a watch, it will be notice hat at irregular intervals the tones ai wholly inaudible, while at other tim< hey are distinctly recognized. Sij taggi, an Italian scientist, has asce ained by experiments on different pe: ons that the intervals of silence usual] ary between seren and twenty-two sci nds; while the periods of sound-pe eption are between seven and eleve econds in duration, with a maximum < fteen. He also found that the variatic ras not due to extraneous sounds nor 1 he blood circulation or respiration, an oncludes that it results from the ini ility to keep the attention for lor ieriods at a sufficient degree of tensic ir theperceptiod of faint sounds orpo ibly to a variable physiological recej ivity in the auditory nerves. The Formation of a Feather. In the skin of a fowl, where a feath< i to appear, there is to be s?en a litt! it, and at the bottom of this rises ittle mound, or pyramid. Aroun his pyramid certain little groov< xtend, deeper at the base, and ?een ng to radiate from one large groo\ t one side, all -growing shallower, an nallv disappearing at the top. Tl rhole pyramid is covered w itn a ski omposed of the same scales, or flattenc ells, as those which cover the who! ody. In the ordinary process of growt he new formations on the surface of th ody throw off as effete matter the oldi iortions of the skin; but here they ai etained, and become so closely unite o each other that they form a sort c orny coat, more or less strong (acccr; ng to its age), over the surface of th yramid. As new cells grow at the basi hey push up this little homy protube: nee till it breaks at its thinnest poin rhich is opposite the large groov< 'hen, as new growths still push it foi rard and flatten it, it assume;} the fon f a feather, the ridge in the main fu ow, or grooves, form the separate bar! f the vein. "When all this web of tl: eather is comp'eted the pyramid los< nroovM and becomes smooth. A arts are of equal thickness, e.nd so har s not to break easily, but remain tubi ir, and form a quil , which is attachc o what remains of the pyramid. 11 inger nails, and even single hairs, ai levelopcd and formed in the same wa; nd every one who has injured a nail an ost it, knows by how long a proces ome three or four months, the missin inish to his digit is being reproduced.Wisconsin Agricultural. Thankful for One Thinir. 'Vasilievitch," said the G'zir of Russ o a servant the other morning, 4,ha^ ou looked under the carp* t for nitn [lycerine and examined the hair bruj or dynamite bombs and tested the coffi or strychnine and maae tnecooK c: iart of the rolls and looked down cell: or barrels of gunpowder and sent ordc or all the suspicious persons arrestt round the palace last night ) o be hung 'Yes, most noble sire!" answered the a endant. "Then help me on with it voven steel-link ulster nnd call the pi osn of poiice to escort me across the nr o the dining room. There is not muc :njoyment in this kind of a life but hank heaven every day now that I dor ivein Chicago."?Est el line {Dak.) EtU At Ninety in the Shade. All the world seems very dreary, And our toiling makes us weary, &. nd we sigh for generous draughts of lemo tide, When the s#h is redly growing, And the perspiration's flowing, AnH mprrmrv's at ninetv in tho shade. When the flies are Irritating, And a-down the brild Lead skating. By what method shall our misery be allaj'e Shall we seek the ocean benches Where mosquitoej cannot reach us? When the mercury's at ninety in the shut Let us understand it fully That we've got to take things coolly And nothing stronger drink than lemonad Put all care aside and worry And do nothing in a hurry When the mercury's e.t ninety in the shac ?Boston Courier, HI 2 TEMPERANCE DEPARTMENT. >& t, The Temperance Army, l" Cheers for the Temperance Army; Behold, the brave hearts come 10 Beneath a white, white banner, ? But not to martial drum. n They come from Western prairies, 11 And Southland fair as May, 'J And pine-clad Northern hillsides, 5 And Eastern homes to-day. ? Cheers for the Temperance Army, C: The brave, brave Temperance Army, . The onward-marching army, Whose ranks will win the day. 'll They come to break the fetters That bind a demon's slaves; i- They come to keep their brothers >t From filling drunkards' graves. b- 0 brave and loyal Army! >e Your cause is grand and right; I- God speed you on to triumph it Beneath your flag of white, it Cheers for the Temperance Army, a The brave, brave Temperance Army, n The onward-marching Army, y Who fight for truth and tight, i? ?Eben E Jtexford, in Temperance Banner. The Infamy or the Liquor Traffic. The liquor trnffiic is the prolific source of a large proportion of the misery that ^ now exists iu the world, and also the instigator and inciting, cau^e of nearly all the crimes that arc committed. "We :0 might charge these crimcs to individuals st and their perverted appetites, but we always find that allurement is a much d stronger incentive to intoxication than r9 deliberation, therefore we go to the j. fountain-head and charge this crime and >y misery to the rum-seller, this debasing and curse of curses, this foul and terri^ ble incubus that weighs so heavily on the ^ fairest and best homes of our country, 1- t^at destroys our business, pauperizes le the people and sends thousands of tha 1- 1 i- - r i. j. _ i! ?|_ uest men lu uur uuuubry tu uukuucijr ie graves, and leaves behind a wail of an* guish from broken hearts and helpless ls orphans; these arsenals of riot and de:n bauchery that put our live? and property Je in constant jeopardy, that fill our jaiU |* and prisons, end cause a stream of crime a and wretchedness to flow like molten lava over the best interests of our counie try. All these and much more are the w > direct and immediate results of the !)f wicked and mercenary crime of rum-sellje ing, a crime that has been tolerated and sanctioned through the influence of our Q social surroundings, large-moneyed interests, together with the ignorance of the ' people as to the nature of the vile come pounds foisted on them, and the clamor & of the perverted appotites of its many J- victims. The people are sovereign in authority ^ and have absolute control of this monster onanAnoikla frt aaaIi J( CYil, auu oic moiwwic i^v/uoiu.t vuv? other for the continuation of this awful a devastation that is being constantly perpetrated by these rum-sellers. In our re sovereign capacity we are guilty of sanc?3 tioning these outrages on the property, r. the lives, the health and the welfare of r" the community.?W. Jennings Demorest rly cr Cost of Drinking. ? It appears, says a Washington dis. in patch, that the consumption of b?er in:o creased 1,524,980 barrels. The cond sumption in 1883 was greater than ever l~ before, and, aiding the officially reported increase, it appears that no less 3. than 042,000,000 gallons of baer were p- consumed last year. The population is 60,000,000, but the consumption for the ye.ir ending June 30 must be reckoned upon the mean population for that year, which was about 50,257,000. On that a bads the consumption of beer appears to d have been 10.83 for every inhabitant, 33 babies included. Considering that a " large part of the population does not d consume beer at all, this seems to imply ie an enormous consumption to those who n do, and yet, since those who use beer at ^ all certainly consume as much as a half k a pint daily, they would at that rate get ie rid of twenty-three gallons each. Apir patently the consumption is about equivalent to a pint a day for half the adult population. The increase in the consumption of ie whisky was 1,606,108 gallons, which makes the consumption for the year 70,763,010 gallons, or 1.19 gallons per capita. That is much more than was r- consumed in the years of depression, the n fiscal years 1878 and 1879, when the tax was the same that it is now, but it is >3 ' IC much below the consumption of 1883 or js 1884, when the quantity was 1.41 and 1.42 gallons per capita. The increase in ^ the consumption of beer, which has risen from seven gallons to nearly eleven galie Ions since 1878-9, accounts for some *e diminution in the use of spirits, and ^ probably the rapid spread of prohibition 9 at the South has affected the consumpg tion still more. Fifteen years ago, when - the tax was only fifty cents per gallon, the consumption ranged between onl and a half and two gallons per capita. V ~ . I ia An Outgrowth of the License System. The New York Sun recently gave a de,h scription of the paintings ia some of the ?e leading bar-rooms of New York city, at ihowing some of them to contain from ar $60,000 to $100,000 each in paintings, >(j statuary ctc, to make the path to perdition attractive and fascinating. These t- saloons are the product and legitimate ?y outgrowth of the license system. The plea that license "restricts'' is utterly .}j false and fallacious. The young men I who frequent these gilded pathways to i't hell arc first assured that that these places are licensed, legalized and protected by the strong right arm of the law, and hence arc legitimate and ncccss iry to the public good and welfare. One n- of these gilded saloons will do more to lure souls down to eternal ruin than a hundred "low dives," that only take the cast off victims when so robbed of their money and debauched of character d! as not to be fit to associate with the new "customers"' which these more "rete. spcctable" saloons are receiving. The gilded "saloon mu<t goM in order that the young men may be saved. God and le' truth and the right are stronger than all the wealth of the world combined. ? iY?le> i tionnl Temperance Advocate. A NEW TRADE. THE ART OF MAKING NEW FURNITURE LOOK LIKE OLD. Catering to the Taste for the Antique - Operators of the Truquage~ Production of Old Pala< tial Furniture. Truqunge, although a term probably unfamiliar to many of our readers, nevertheless deserves to rank among the finer arts of modern civilization, such is the industry and skill and ingenuity with which it is carried out. Burns' cottar mother was chiefly admirable for the skill with which she "gar'd nuld things look maistas well as new," but the truqueur devotes himself, on the contrary, to the art of making things look quite as good as old. The connoisseur in furniture of the present day is well aware that, for certain important qualities of soundness, good workmanship and good taste, the "old is better. * with valid reason also for his opinion. But the crowd, who have neither his leisure, his knowledge or his experience, naturally fall into the hands of the scientific experts of truquage, an easy prey to the spoiler. The stock-in-trade of the French truqueur and his English congener?quite as expert as he?need not be large. Walnut juice?which gives an agreeable mellowness of tone?and nitric acid are neither of them expensive. The latter imitates pretty closely ths ravages of ants, and hole3 bored with a fine augur easily give3 a worm-eaten appearance whica appeals to the lover of the antique in carved furniture. The writer was informed by a workingman's wife that her husband was one of those solely employed in the boriDg or augur business; but in Paris live worms are kept to do the work, and do it even, better, and to order, which is more surprising. New oak can be stained U?r a nnlnfiAn /-vf s\1/3 ifAn in Vi r*f uinufror vjj a ouiuiivii ui viu 11 vu iu uw nu^ui| which darkens it to a deeper tone; it is then carefully oiled and polished. The price demanded, however, is such that "bargains" can be boasted of by the inexperienced, wliile really fine work always commands its value in the open market. The unhappy pieces of furniture which have to date from the sixteenth century are severely beaten with heavy bludgeons, which serves to give them the worn appearance necessary to three centuries of existence. A common device is to paint the panels of cupboards, roughly carved on the premises, with, white paint; they are then dried in the sun, and, after keeping some months, are wnshai in potash, which removes the paint in patches, and the exquisite finish of the carving bsneath is apt to be taken for granted by the buyer; who is awaro that in the last century much good paneling was thus painted, and preserved to our generation in consequence of all its pristine freshness of cutting an outline. ~ i -e ?J: _i : JtSUni 01 IV very urumnrjr ucstupuuu ? ornamented by French dealers with brass scroll work, after the designs of Gillot, who succeeded Buhl. Thoee who can be taken in by these mechanical reproductions must be left to their fate. In porcclain and faience one can only say caveat emptor, so clever are the tricks by which even the learned are deceived. At Cage's manufactory at Versailles the faience de Nevers is reproduced to perfection; but here all is fair and open dealing. If the buyer prefers his purchase "antique," M. Cage will bake it for him until the glaze crackers. It is further mellowed in a manure heap, and a slight extra charge is imposed. The special marks of favorite potters are easily imitated, and as much pains is taken with spurious ware, with intent to deceive, as would suffice to give value to real specimens. The character of the early decoration is carefully preserved? the even white of the Moustiers ware; the dead, dull white of the Marsellaise, and the careful finish of the old Delft potters. At Venice the reproduction of the old palatial furniture is a thriving industry, and the same at Florence; but it possesses little or no artistic value. The ebony ig black stamea wooa; tne supi are bone, and not ivory; the shapes and patterns are, however, carefully copied, and the prices are not excessive, and good patterns are a distinct gain in furniture ; but the modern production will not have the Listing qualities of the old. Ivory triptychs are manufactured at Versailles. The golden tint is gained by boiling in oil, then plunging into boiling water and drying before a hot fire, whick cracks the ivory to perfection. These require a skilled eye to detect, as the carving is often meritorious. - Even works of the highest art do not escape the truqucur.. Clodion, the late eminent French sculptor, discovered that a group bearing his signature had been sold for 4,500 franco. Legal proceedings were i instituted accordingly. It was brought to light that the Work in question was due to one Lebroc, who had made it his study to imitate Clodion. Nevertheless, three eminent judges?Millett, C'hapu and Guillaume?after careful examination, and in spite of the signature, decided that, in their opinion, it was not the handling of Clodion. So the sales were annulled, and damages were not allowed by the courts. Cloaion's real name was Michel, and some of his earliest and finest works are thus signed. The arts of truquage extend themselves even to literature. As long ago as the seventeenth century we find the printers of Lyons and Rouen simulating princeps editions | of Racine and Molicre. The type, the 1 paper, the colophons, all being reproduced with unscrupulous accuracy, and then palmed oil as genuine upon the unwary purchaser. The manufacture still prospers, aided with the photogravure process and the arts of fac simile. So also are old letters and autographs successfully floated, signed by Cardinal de l?etz or rvvihort- or whom vou nlease. fetching a good price, and almost'challenging scrutiny. The history of the Shapira forgeries of the Pentateuch are fresh in the recollection of our readers. They were offered at the moderate price of ?1,000,000 sterling. So also the famous vernis Martin can still be bought at Paris, very like, but still not genuine; and clever painters, whose work is as good as Lancrets, can be found to figure as Watteaus with no mean success. But at present the secret of the real Martin vernis remains as impenetrable as it is exquisite. In buying old oak furniture, the buyer should noticc the presence or absence of the "ties'' or cross-bars near the floor, which arc invariably in the construction of the seventeenth-century joiners. The forger is apt to forget this, and thus himself brand the work as spurious. Dccoration was formerly the proper art of a guild of Florentine artists in the fourteenth century. Painters, jewelers, engravers and metal workers lived in a happy state of co-operative harmony, so that a coffer or casket might bear the sr.cc essive impress of many clever hands; as the enamel, the setting, the lock, the ewel work, wou'd each be executed by an artist-craftmau, skilled at Dello, or C'ollini, or Ghiberti. It will scarcely do 'o contrast the revived mode of painting on furniture, as we behold it in the shops* with this delicate and masterly work; Yet many of our young painters might be worse employed than in spending real thought and putting real good work on articles of daily use, which we hare come to regard, unhappily, as necessarily ugtjj because utilitarian,?London Queen. Suicides in Large Cities. Tho following specially obtained sta-j tistics give the number of suicides ia each of the leading cities in the United! States during the year 1885: New York 207 Boston 45 Chicago 118 Cincinnati jkB San Francisco.... 94 New Orleans 38 St. Louis 79 Baltimore 38 Philadelphia 75 Newark 22 Brooklyn 50 Buffalo 18 The number of suicides to population in 1885, which is the only comparison of value, is given below: San Fran. ..1 to 2,800 Cincinnati.1 to 7,300 St. Louis.. .1 to 5,100 Boston 1 to 8,800 Chicago.... 1 to 5,700 Bifffalo.... 1 to 11,200! N. Orleans.. 1 to 6,000 Phila 1 to 12,000 New York. .1 to 6,700 Brooklyn.. 1 to 14,000 Newark.... 1 to 6,900 Baltimore.. 1 to 14,900 Thei above statistics show two curious facts. 1. Thit the number of suicides to , population is greater on the Pacific coast, and decreases in almost an arithmetical ratio, city by city, until the Atlantic coast is reached. 2. That Brooklyn, which is practically a part of the city of New York, has less than hall the number of suicides that the latter has. The census of 1880 places the number of suicides in the United State* -A. * 1.1 A A AAA - ? l.l! at l 10 ui population, wuim iuo statistics abovo show that the average in the twelvo cities named is 1 to 8,450* which indicates that self-destruction is nearly two and a half times greater in the large cities than in the towns and villages. Research shows that the details of suicides in Ifew York apply generally to the other cities mentioned, and in fact to the whole country. This is shown by thfl following record of the ages of suicides ^ in New York during 1885 compared with those in the United States for the census year. New Unite4 1 Ages. York. State*. 10 to 15 ? IS 15 to 20 8 141 20 to 25 35 250 25 to 30 22 35? .*30 to 50 98 998 50 to 70 47 70! 70 to8C* 7 IS! Total 207 2,51} I One 90 years. The methods of self-destruction were various, but the principal means compared with those shown in the census record were as follows: New Unitei . Means employed. York. State*. I ShootifiV. 76 472 Poisonifig 56 33! Hanging 34 154 Cutting 11 ? Drowning 7 ? All others 23 1,554 Total 207 2,511 Of the total number of suicides in New York, 55 were native born, 152 were . "1 orf tnalAfl Att/9 A(\ lureiyu UUiu, IVI ncic luoica, auu Ty were females. Those who were married numbered 73; widowers and widows, 26; single person?. 60, and 58 whose marital relations were unknown. The record of the occupations of those who sought death at their own hands ought lo throw some light upon the question as to . whether poverty is to any great extent the cause of suicide. It docs not, however. The statistics are as follows: So. Professional occupations 5 Mechanical occupations 49 Other occupations 76 Unknown 77 Total 267 ?Boston Globe. How Light Affects the Blind. An interesting account has lately been furnished by M. Plateau, the eminent Belgian physician who has been blind nearly forty years, of the sensations he experienced in his eyes. He has no sense of objective light even when turning his eyes to the sun. But his visual field is alway divided into spaces, some ol which are nrettv bright and others som ber or nearly dark, and which merge into each other. Their general tint alternates, in time, between gray and reddish. Hie relative arrangement of these different spaces is always the same, but the intensity of their tints varies. The central tint seems now rather bright, now rather dark; aba*e and below, and on the left to the limits of the field, there is sometimes brightness, sometimes darkness, but on the right there is generally a vertical band, nearly bluck, and be- ~ yond this a space which is nearly always bright and reddish. These appearances follow all the movements of the eyes, which probably do not participate in the same way in the tints, but M. Plateau cannot distinguish what belongs to the other. No connection of the general tint with the work of digestion is observed. The nuthor states that he became blind through looking fixedly at the sun for some time, with a view to observing his after sensations; it was not till about fourteen years after this that inflammation of the chloroid set in, destroying vision, but during the interval" "? - J he often saw coiorea anu puraisicm, uuuo round flames, etc.. and he advises those who have such vision to consult an experienced oculist. Jinrikisha Men. A jinrikisha man is a aurt of manhorse, who put himself between the thills of a two-wheeled vehicle in Japan, and draws passengers long distances with remarkable speed. A Japau correspondent of the New York Tribune writes: The jinrikisha men of Japan are a pathetic cla?s. Their lives are limited to a few years after they begin the business, and yet their ranks are kept full by new recruits Their queer little ways area constant source of amusement and ?urprise to the new comer. When A had been here but a few weeks, she called a jinrikisha one morning, as she wanted to go to the opposite side of the bluff, more than half a mile off. Previously she had made the same trip in a brougham on fine mornings. She was no sooner seated in the jinrikisha and well tucked up in her laprobe, than the little Jap was off like a shot without asking or being told where he should take her. A said to her self: ' Well, now. this is queer! I wonder if you know where I want to go? Very well, you can go ahead, and I'll see; I shall not volunteer any unasked-for information uow!'' The little mail app .rently needed none, for he continued on a fast trot. A 'a wonder increased momentarily; the fun became exciting; she laughed quietly to herself. At last he stopped, dropped the thills, and relieved her of the laprobo with an air of absolute assurance that she was where she had planned to go?and she was. Not a word had passed between them. The population of Rhode Island, according to the census of 188."i, was 304,284, of whom 146,393 were males and 157,891 females.