Historical Newspapers of South Carolina

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tot ?a???????? CADET LIFE. DAILY ROUTINE .IT THE WES POINT MILIT*RV ACADEMY. Preparing Youni; Men for Coir missions in the Army at Government ExpenseSevere Discipline The military academy at "West Poii is maintained by the United States Uoi ernmcnt to prepare young men for con missions in the army, i ach Congre: sional d strict is entitled to have a ead( in the institution, and appointments at i made by the Secretary of "War on tli ' nomination of the Representative of tli district in which a vacancy occurs. Tb candidate is recommer.dcu to the Secrt tary of War, who appoints him, a:: ! orders him to appear at West i'oint o 1 June 1st for examination by the Academ Board. Until the examination takes place, th new-comers sre lodged apart from th cadets, and the boy :n uniform, alihoug he may not have been in the academy year, speaks of the candidates as "th animals." The examination is held before Jun 2<>th, aD(l whiie it is Dot comprehensive it is severe as far as it goes, iucludinj writing prose and verse from dictation grammar, American history, geograph and arithmetic, practical and theoretic up to proportion. In addition to . knowledge of things, the candidat must also have perfect he.ilth; and if h is successful, he is enrolled as a cadet ii the United States Army. His enrollmen lasts four years, and at th^end of it he i promoted to the rank of sccond lieuten ant. TUa wott rsf ft />o/1nf ic firm hnn^rn/1 onf |/UJ V/l t* UUV i_4 ? V, UUUVAi V forty dollars a year, and this amount i sufficient to cover all his necessary ex penses. The discipline and studies are exacting, and one's personal freedom i: very much curtai.ed. All cadets wea the same kind of clothing, eat the sami kind of meals and occupy the same kinc of rooms. >>0 one is allowed to receivi parcels form liome or to visit the village shops without permission, and thus th< boy who has no poc ket money is as wel off as the boy whose parents are inclined to give him thou-ands. A sluggard is utterly out of place. Al six o'clock in the morning all the sleep ers in the barracks are awakened by ? gun and the roll of a drum The sum mons is imperative, aud the three huu area caaets iju-cKiy get out 01 ueu ana dress. They are not allowed to lie dowr again until ten o'clock at night. The\ fold :iud roll up their bc-dding. and if il is found unrolled at any time during the day a demerit is marked against the offender. Half an hour later the rooms are inspected by an o.ticer with the eye of a Dame Prim, and unless they are iu the neatest order, another demerit to the offender! How close the inspection is, and what degree of tidiness is demanded, may be judged by the list of offences recorded against the cadets each daj and publicly exhibited. If at any time a cadet feels that he is DeiDg untairly treated oy nis oincers 01 companions, he may address the superintendent in a written protest, and al! cadets are urged to make their com' muaication as brief as possible. Some time ago a cadet was bulletined for "laughing in ranks," and in accord with this demand for brevity iu explanations, wrote to the commanding o.licer: *'Sir?gun went off?girl jumped?] laughed. Yours very respectful y, Timothy Townsend." From half-past six until seven the cadets are expected to occupy themselves with study, and at seven o'clock thej are marched to breakfast in the messhall. Loud talking during meals is prohibited: nothing is allowed to be taken away from the tables; and the cadets can only call on the waiters through a petty ollicer. The food is plain, but good in quality and ample in quantity, and twenty-five minutes are allowed foi eating it. When breakfast is over, all arise at a given signal, march out of the mass-hall,"and disperse for recreation. Xovel-reading, gossip, music, or whatever form the recreation takes, is ended at eight o'clock, when a bugle sounds the call to quarters; and the five h<;urs following are spent in the classrooms, where the cadeis appear in the full uniform of the Academy. It is a pretty dress of gray. The coat is singlebreasted, with three rows of eight gilt buttons in front, a ''skind-up" collar trimmed with black silk lace and black silk cording. The trousers are also of gray, with a black stripe one inch wide down the outer seam. All the clothing, except underclothing, is provided py the authorities, and the ost of it deducted from the salaries. In the academy building there is a large library, especially rich in scientific works; an observatory; a museum well filled with ingenious models of wonderful achievements in militarvensrineeriiio-: an art gallery; a large gymnasium; a chapel and a riding-room, besides the classrooms administrative buildings, barracks, mess-hall and houses oi officers. The pluck and endurance of a greenhorn are put to a hard te^t iu the riding lessons. He is frequently thrown, and his head and body bccome familiar with the degree of re sistance ollered by the floor and skirting-boards. Some of the commands are given by bugle calls, with which the veteran horses are better acquainted than the fresh cadets, and when a party is galloping at full speed toward one end of the hall, and the command to '"turn about1' is suddenly sounded, the horses recognize it before their riders, and unseat them in wheeling around. But unless a bone is broken or dislocated, the discomfited cadets spring lightly ' into their saddles again, and never show, by grin:ace or word, how much they have been hurt. The exercises embrace all the mana-uvres of cavalry. Galloping along the hall, a cadet leaps a low barricade witb his sword drawn, and finds the enemy intrenched behind. He selects a convenient head, antl slashes at it with his weapon as he rides away; or with revolver drawn, he aims and tires from the sad die at another head as he breaks through a battalion of infantry. 'J he wars that may be fought in the years to come are rehearsed at the academy, but the enemy is, happily, imaginary, and the heads which receive the swords and bullets are dummies. A lieutenant took us into one of the recitation-rooms where a section of ihe first class were engaged in elucidating international law. All the cadets rose as wo entered, in eieference to the superioi ofiicer, and remained standing until we were seated. I do not believe that any college or institutioa in the world could show a neater, honester, healthier, 01 more intelligent class. The recitation consisted of fort^ pages of Woolsey's Treatise?teacheti will appreciate how severe a lesson thai is?and each cadet was nearly perfect, One gave a succinct account of th< Alabama award, and another gave i resmme of the laws affecting neutrals ii blockades. When the recitation wa ?ver, the oadets rose together am. marched out ol the room in single tile, without loitering a moment. In risiug and sitting down, they are simultaneous, _ not one being sooner or later than the others. Dinner is served at one o'clock, and the time from half-past one until two is i- allowed for recrcation. The two hours following are spent in the clfiss-rooins, and at four o'clock the recitations are over for the day. The rest of the afternoon and evening pass very pleasantly in summer, when a gay assemblage ox four-'o-clocks is sure to be present. The 7~ four-o'clocks'' are the young lady visil* tors at the jiost?the sisters, cousins and s* sweethearts of the cadets?who find much that is attractive in the embryo c soldiers. ie Hut it must not be supposed that the ie cadets have yet finished the day's work. ;e I'arade and drill takes an hour and a " i h:iif before supper, after whi. n thirty " ' minutes are allowed for recreation. The " : caiiet< men go 10 ineir rooms, uuu ?iuuj c until half past nine, when a tattoo is I beaten as a signal for bed. At ten e j o'clock, "taps' are beaten, all light3 ? i are extinguished, and all well-behaved " cadets retire.?6'. Lvuii Maya zinc. a WORDS OF WISDOM. 6 , The boughs that bear most hang lowl i est. i, One hour to-day is worth two to-mory j row. \ I Proud looks make foul work in fair a j faces. e i Zeal without knowledge is fire withe ! out light. a | ? (. I Kot to hear conscience is the way to 3 i silence it. Srmall faults indulged are little thieves that let in greater. i I Commit a sin twice, and it will not s seem to thee a crime. * Do not to others what you would not * * - . i ^ ! nave oiners ao 10 vou. _ } The carael desired horns and his ears , 1 were taken from him. 11 A simple light answers as well for a i hundred men as for one. 5 ! Many a cult's skin is fastened to the J saddle its mother bears. [ j The government of one's self is the only true freedom of the individual. |. | Cleverness is a sort of genius for instrumentality. It is the bruin of the t hand. . ! A man lives by believing something, not by debating and arguing about many I , things. i, It is with antiquity as with ancestry; r nations are proud of the one, ana inait viduuls of the other. :i Truth is the most powerful thing in ! the world, since fiction can only please [ by its resemblance to it. Great men begin enterprises because , they think them great, and fools because they think them easy. ' The voice of conscience is so delicate i that it is easy to stifle it; but it is also so clear that it is impossible to mistake it. General observations drawn from par- I 1 ticulars are the jewels of knowledge, I comprehending great store in a little 1, room. ' j i i Oatmeal. Oatmeal has played an important part 1 in puttiug good bones into the fighting men of Lurope. Philadelphia Table j Till: says : c l "It is nearly six centuries sine# Robert Bruce sent into England his army of (i 'JO,001? men with no provisions except a ' bag of oatmeal lor eacti warrior; but tiie [ herculcan feats which were performed and undergone by his hurdy followers suggest that there may be considerable nutriment in that plain, simple food. "Since those days our Scottish friends have advanced very material^*, but while f they have discarded many features incompatible with the spirit of the ninc. tcenth century they have wisely 'held fast to that which is good,' and they today rank 'oatmeal' as a necessary part of their regular diet, and the hardy constitution of the Scotch, and their freedom from dispeptic ill-, should encour; age a much wider and more frequent use of the oatmeal. The best oatmeul of to-day, thanks to American ingenuity, is not only nutritious. b;it when propi nrtT. *\ol .? V*'n PKil/lron learn to like it very quickly when it is ! presented in this palatable form, and if ' they become accustomed to begin each day with a dish of the best oatmeal, they ( will be lajiug the foundation for good , digestive organization. "As there are many who are incredulous about the possibility of oatmeal , being palatable, I subjoin the following hint: t' "Put four tablespoonfuls of the finest , ' quality of Irish oatmeal, with one quart j of cold water, iuto a double > oiler; add a teaspoonful of salt, and stir for a moment to mix. Stand it over a brisk tire ^ and boil it without stirring for two , hours, or until the meal has consumed the water, and the mass has a thick, r jellylike appearance; push it to the back 1 : part of the range whc:e it will steam ! over night. In the morning bring the [ water in the under boiler to a boil; then ! turn the oatmeal caiefully into a large . deep dish. J)o not stir or scrape with a spoon. If properly cooked it will turn _ j out like boiled rice, each grain swollen , to four iirnes its normal size, and no two , sticking together. Serve warm with sugar and whipped cream, or with plain , thick, sueet cream." | A Combination Piece or Furniture. i A bureau exhibited at the Brussels Exliihitinn ic n cntirf*A n f <rrr>nf SlimriSfi ; when taken to pieces. In the space of five minutes the bureau can be trans r formed into a complete set of bedroom furniture, consisting of the following ' articles: First, a bed (including mattress and blankets); ",d, a table; :.'d, a leather trunk; 4th, a washstand, with basin, ewer, etc., complete; .'ith, a towel rail; t Cth, a looking glass; 7th, an armchair, r etc. There is nothing short, in fact. The inventor is a Air. /.wicker Lotar, of i Brussels. Of course, the bureau con' tains all the usual accessories in the shape of drawers for papers, letter--, i account books, etc. In ihc morning. : after a comfortable night's rest, the bed i is again transformed into a writing ' table and washstand, table, etc., and rei stored to their places in a few minutes. , j His Heart is Double. s ! William King, colored, about forty j years of age, has been in town three or : four day, said a recent issue of tho New Haven lJ,iUufiu>n. lie is practically a i vagrant, but earns considerable money > by exhibiting himself to physicians and others. Many medical men ou whom he r has called have willingly paid him a (:uartcr alter satisfying themselves that r ; he tells the truth when he says he has } two hearts and can, at will, move one t from the right chest to either side of . ' the abdominal cavity. He also claims - to have an extra set of ribs, but physii cians who have examined him doubt i i this, although abnormal growths which < ! feel like ribs arc (elt in the place where 1 j he says extra ribs are located. REV. DR. TALMAGE. i jinrj ow*i.aj JL L-* 1^1 ? x:^Ci a ist. DAY SEItMON. I Subject: "The Present Epidemic < Suicide." Text: "He drew out his sword, and woul have killed himself, suptwsing that, tl prisoners had been /led. 'But Paul c>'ie with a loud voice, sayiny : lDo thyself n harm.1" Acts xvi., 27-2X. Here is a would-be suicide arrested in h deadly attempt. He w is a sheriff, and a cordinz to the Iioman Jaw, a bailiff hirase must .-uffer the punishment duo an escape prisoner: and it the prisoner breaking: ja was sentenced to lie endunzeoned lor thre or four years, then the sheriff must I endunjreoned for three or four years: and; the pri-cmer breaking ;iail was to ha\ suffered capital punishment, then the sheri must sutler capital punishment. The sheri had received tspecial charge to keep a shar lookout for i'aul and Silas. The goveri ment had not had confidence in bolts an bars to keep safe these two clergymen, aboii whom there seemed to be something Strang and supernatural. Sura enough, by miraculous power, the; are free, and the sheriff, waking out of sound s!eep, and supposing these minister have run away, and knowing that they wer to die for preaching Christ, and realizin that he ,must therefore die, rather than g under the executioner's axe on the morrow and suffer public disgrace, resolves to pn cipitate his own decease. But before th sharp, keen, glittering dagger of the sheril could strike his heart, one ot the unloosene p: isoners arrests the blade by the command T<o thyself no harm." In olden time, and whore Christianity hai not interfered with it, suicide was con^idere honorable und a sign of courago. Demos t.hpnpQ twiicnnr>H liimvulf wh?n t.nlri Hint. A lfti - antler's ambassador had demanded the sur render of the Athenian orators. Jsocrat* killed himself rather than surrender t I'hilip of Macedon. Cato, rather than sut mit to Julius Ceasar, took his own lif< and after three times his wounds hai been dressed tore them open and pei isheii. Mithridates killed himself rathe than submit (o Pompey, the conqueror. Har uibal destroyed his life by pnison from hi ring, considering life unbearable. Lycurgu a suicide, Brutus a suicide. After the disas ter of Moscow, Napoleon always carried witi him a preparation of opium, and one nigh his servant heard the ex-Emperor arise, pu something in a glass and drink it, and sooi alter the groans aroused all the attendants and it was only through utmost medico skill ho was resuscitated from the stupor oi the opiate. Times have changed, and yet the Americai conscienc e neo.ls to be toned up on the sub ject of suicide. Have you seen a paper in th last month that did not announce the passage out of life by one's own behest.' Defaulters alarmed at the idea of exposure, quit lif< precipitately. Men losing large fortunes g< out of the world because they cannot enduri ftof^Vilrr nviVfAn/tn T?Vncf r??? f exA o ff oof l'.in CUi UlJiJ CAPICU^C. X A UJUI (llwU ttliOV/tlUU domestic infelicity, domestic impatience anger, remorse, envy, jealousy, destitution misanthropy, are considered sufficient causes for absconding from this life by Paris green by 'audanum, bj' belladonna, by Othello*! dagger, by halter, by leap from tho abut ment of a bridge, by firearms. More case! of felo de se in the last two years than an} two years of the world's existence, and mon in the last month thau in any twelve months, The evil is more and more spreading. A pulpit not long ago expressed some doubi as to whether there was really anything wrong about quitting this life when it l>ecam< disagreeable, and there are found in respect able circles people apologetic for the crim< which Paul in the text arrested. I shal show you before I get through that suicid< is the worst of all crimes, and I shall lift ? warning unraistakabie. Eutinthe early pari of this sermon 1 wish to admit that sora? of tho best Christians that have ever livec littvo c'uiiJiiiitit'u beu-ureauuwuu, uuu ttiwoy: in dementia, and not responsibla I have nc more doubt about their eternal felicity thai I have of the Christian who dies in his bee in the delirium of typhoid fever. Whil< the shock of the catastrophe is vcy great I charge all those who have had Christ ian friends under cerebal aberration stej oft' the boundaries of this life, to have n< doubt about th*?ir happiness. The dear Lore took them right out of their dazed and freri ?ied state into perfect safety. How Chrisi feels toward the insane you may know fron the kind way He treated the demoniao of Ga darn nnd the child lunatic, and the potency with w hich he hushed tempests either of se* or brain. Scotland, the land prolific of intellectua giant';, had none grander than Hugh Miller Great for scienre and gn-at for God. Hi came of the best Highland blood, and was i descendant of Donald Roy, a man eminen for piety and the rare gift of second sight His attainments, climbing up as he did fron the quarry and the wall of the stonemason drew forth the astonished admiration of Buck land and Murchison, the scientists, and Dr Chalmers, the theolr.gian, and held universi ties spellbound wbi.e he told them the storj of what, he had seen of Cod in the old rec sand' tone. 'I bat man did more than any being tha ever lived t:> show that the God of the nills is fho f*nrl nf tKo Rihlp nnt\ lio hi? bin ing fork on the rocks of Cromarty until h: broujht geology and theology accordant ii divine worship. His two books, entitlec "Footprints of the Creator1 and the "Testi mony of the Rocks," proclaimed the banns o an everlasting marriage between genu ine scitnce and revelation. On thi latter book he toiled day imi nigh' through love of nature and love of God until he could not sleoD and hia brain savi way. and he was found dead with a revolver by his side, the cruel instrument having hac two bul ets?one for him and the other for the gunsmith who at the coroner's inquesl was examining it and fell dead. Have yoi tny doubt of the beatification of Hugh Miller after his hot brain had c ased throbbing thai winter night in his study at Portohello Among tho mightiest of earth, among th< mi.'htiest of heaven. No one doubted the pietv of William Cow per. the author of those three great hymns "Oh, for a closer walk with God," "Wha various hindrances we meet." "Thero is ? fountain filled with blood:" William Cowpar, who shares with Isaac Watts and Charles Wesley the chief honors of Christian hymn ology. In hypoclitoadritt ho resolved t( take his own "life, an 1 rode to the rivei Thames, but found a man seated on som< goods at the very point from which he ex fco Qririn-r nnil i-nrln linok tc. his home and that ni^lit threw himself upon his owi /knife,but the blade broke: and then lie hamjet himself to the ceiling, but the rope parted No wonder that when God mercifully de livered him from that awful damentia he sc down and wrote that other hymn juat ^ menioraoie: " God move" In a :nyi>tf.rion? way His wonders 'o perform; He plants Ilia footsteps in the sea, Aud rides upon the ptonn. "Blind unbelief is euro to err And scan ills wort in vain; God is His own inierp-eter. And be wiil make it plain. While wo make this merciful and rightcou allowance in regard to those who wer plunged into mental incoherence, I de<-lar that that man who, in the usj of his reason by bis own act, snaps the bond between hi body and his soul, jjo.s straight into per>li tion. Shall I prove it? Kevelation xxi., 8 "Murderers shall h ive their part in the iak which burneth with fire and brimstone. Kevelation xxii., 15: "Without ar dogs, and sorcerers, and whore mongers, and murderers." You do no believe the New Testament? Then, perhaps yon liel eve the Ten Commandmeuts: "Thoi shalt not kill.'' Do you say all these passage refer to the taking of the life of others 'i'hei I ask you if you are not as responsible fo your own life as for tlio life of others? l>'o gave you a special trust in your life. 11 made you the custodian of your life as H made "you the custodian or' no other 1 if He gave you as weapons with whicl I to defend it two arms to strik back assailants, two eyes to wat 1 for invasion, aud a natural love of life wh:cl ought ever to be on the alert. Assassinatij ot others is a mdd crimj compared with th assassination ot' .yourself, because in the lat ter case it is treachery to an especial trust, i is the surrender of a castle you were esj* cially appointed to keep, it is treason to i natural law, aud it is treason to God addei to ordinary murder. To show how God in tho Bible looked upo; this crime, 1 point you to the rogue's pictur gallery in some parts of the Bible, th pictures of the people who have committei this uuatural crime. Here is tho headles trunk of Saul on the walls of Bathshan Here is the man who chased little Davidten feet in stature chasing four. Here is th man who consulted a clairvoyant, Witch o Endor. Here is a man who, whipped in battle ? instead of surrendering his sword with dignity. as many a man lias done, asks his servant to slay him, and when the servant declines, then the giant plants the hilt of the sword in the earth, the sharp point sticking upward, and he throws his body on it and expires, the coward, the suicide. Here is Ahitophel, the Machiavelliof olden times, betraying his best friend David in order that he )f may become prime minister of Absalom, and joining that fellow in his attempt at paricidf. JMot getting wtiac be wanted by cnange oC politics, be takes a short cut out of a disld graced life into the s dcide's eternity. There 't(, ne is, the ingrate! HVre is Abimelech, prae?l ticaliy a suicide. He is with an army, bom0 barding a tower, when a woman in the tower takes a grindstone from its place and drops it upon his head, and with what life he is has left in his cracked skull lie commands B- bis armor-bearer: "Draw thy sword and If slay me, lest men say ft woman slew me." 11 There is his post-mortem photograph in the il book of SamueL But the hero of this group ;a is Judas Iscariot. Dr. Donne says lie >e was a martyr, and we have in our if day apologists for him. And what e wonrler, in tbis day when we have (T a book revealing Aaron Burr as a pattern of ir virtue, and in this day when we uncover a p statue to George Sand as the benefactress of x- literature, and in this day when there are d betrayals of Christ on the part of some of it His pretended apostles?a belrayal so black e it makes the infamy of Judas Iscariot white! Yet this man by his own hand hung up for | y the execration of all the ages, Judas Iscariot. a All the good men and women of the Bible s left to God the decision of their earthly e terminus, and they could have said with S Job, who had a right to commit suic.'de if o any man ever had?what with his destroyed r, property, his body all aflame with insuffera) ble carbuncles, and everything gone from e his home except the chief curse of it, a pesT tiferous wife, and four garrulous people peifcd ing him with comfortless talk while he sits I: on a heap of ashes scratching his scabs with a piece of broken pottery, yet crying out in 4 triumph: "All the days of my appointed d time will I wait till my change come." i- Notwithstanding the Bible is against this evil, and the aversion which it creates by the - loathsome and ghastly spectacle of those ;s who have hurled themselves out of life, and 0 notwithstanding Christianity is against it, h and the arguments and the useful lives and >, the illustrious deaths of its disciples, it is a 1 fact alarmingly patent that suicide is on the - increase. r What is the cause? I charge upon Infl* i- delity and Agnosticism this whole thing. If is there be no hereai t?r, or if that bereatter be a blissful without reference to how we live i- and how we die, why not move back the h folding doors between this world and the next? t And when our existence here becomes troubt lesome, why not pass right over into Elysium? a rut this down among your most solemn roi, flections, and consider it alter you go to your .1 homes; there has never been a case of suicide C where the operator was not either demented, and therefore irresponsible, or an infido). I i challenge all the ages, and I challenge the - universe. There never has been a case of e self-destruction while in full appreciation of e his immortality and of the fact that that im,, mortality would be glorious or wretched acs cording as he accepted Jesus Christ or rejectj ed Him. a You say it is a business trouble, or you say , it is electrical currents, or it is this, or it , is that, or it is the other thing. Why not j , go clear back, my friend, and acknowledge I 3 that in every case it is the abdica- j , tion of reason or the teaching of infii delity which practically says: "!f you don't like this life get out "of it, and you will 3 land eiiher in annihilation, where there are r no notes to pay, no pers cut ions to suffer, no 3 gout to torment, or you wili land where there will be everything glorious and nothing to pay for it." Infidelity always has t been apologetic for self-immolatioa After" ' I JLUili X (HUD O VI XKOOV/ll U> I I'UVliuuwv* I and widely read there was a marked increase of self-slauzhtei. A man in London heard Mr. Owen deliver his infidel lecture on Socialism, and went home, sat down, and wrote these words: ; Jesus Christ is one of the weakest characters in history, and the Bible is the greatest possible deception," and then shot himself. David Hume wrote these words: "It would be no crime for me to divert the Nile or the Danube from its natural bed. Where then can be the crime in my diverting a few drops of blood from their ordinary channel?" And having written the essay he loaned it to a friend, the friend read it, wrote a letter of thanks and admiration, and 6hot himself. Appendix to the same boo'c. Rousseau, Voitaire, Gibbon, Montaigne, under certain circumstances, were apologetic i for self-immolation. Infidelity puts up no bar to people's rushing out from this world . into the next. They teach us it does not t make anv difference how you live here or go i | out of this world, yoti will land either in an .oblivious nowhere or a glorious some1 where. And infidelity holds the upper end of , the rope for the suicide, and aims the pistol 3 with which a man blows his brains out, i and mixes the strychnine for the last (; swallow. If infidelity could carry the day and persuade the majority of people in this i country that it does not make any difference how you go out of the world you will land ! 6'ifely. the Hudson and the East river would . be so full of corpses the ferryboats would be . impeded in their progress, and the crack of a r suicide's pistol would be no more alarming 1 than the rumble of a street car. I ha%-e sometimes heard it discussed t whether the great dramatist was a Christian 5 or not. I do not know, but I know that he . considered appreciation of a future existence 3 the mightiest hindrance to self-destruction: l "For who could bear the whips and scorns of time, I The oppressor'* wrong, the prou.l man's contumely, . The panes of despis'd tove. the law's delay, p The insolence of ofllco, and the souths That patient merit of the unworthy takes. When he himself mi<;ht his quietus* make s With a bare bodk ,n? Who wduld fardels bear, t To erunt and sweat nnder a weary life, , But that the dread of something after death? e The undiscovered country, from whose bourne No traveler returns?puzzles the will?" I Would God that the coroners would bo crave in renderimr the right verdict, and : when in a case of irresponsibility they say: 1 "While this man was demented he took his > life;" in the other case say: "Having read 5 infidel books and attended infidel lectures, which obliterated from this man's mind all 5 appreciation of anything like future retribution, he committed self-slaughterr' Ah! Infidelity, stand up ana take thy sen> tence! In the presence of God and angels 6 and men, stand up, thou monster, thy lip 1 blasted with blasphemy, thy cheek scarred > with lust, thy breath foul with the corruption of the ages! Stand up Satyr, filthy goat, buzzard of the na) tions. leDor of the centuries! Stand " ud. thoii monster Infidelity! Part 3 purl, paniber, part reptile, partaragon, . stand un and take thy sentence! Thy hands ivd with the blood in which thou hast [ washed, thy feet crimson with the human 1 gore through which thou hast waded,stand up and take t!iy sentence! Down with thee to the 1 pit anl sup on the sobs and groans of families t ti:ou has blasted,and roll on the bed of knives 5 wuiuh thou hast sharpened for others, and let thy music be the everlasting miserere of j those whom thou hust dumned! I brand the forehead of infidelity with all the crimes of I self-immolation for the last century on the oait of those who had their reason. My friends, if ever your life through its abrasions and its molestations, should seem to be unbearable, ami you are tempted to quit it by your own behest, do not consider yourself as worse than oth'*rs. Christ hims lelf was tempted to cast Himself from tbo 0 roof of the Temple, but as He resisted, 0 so resist ye. Christ came to medicine , all our wounds. In your trouble I prescribe s life instead of death. People who have had it worse than you will ever have it have gone : songful on the way. Remember that Go;l e keeps the chronology of your life with as ' inii'.'li precision as He keeps the chronology e of nations, your death as well as your cradle. ' Why was it that ut midnight, just at midt night, the destroying angel struck the blow that fet tho Israelites free from bondage? 1 The four hundred and thirty years were up s at twelve o'clock that night. The four hunii dred and thirty years were not up at eleven, r and one o'clock would have been tardy and i too late. The four hundred and thirty years e were up at twelve o'clock, and the destroying 0 angel struck the blow and Israel was free. And God knows just the hour when it is time 1 to lead you up from earthly bondage. By s Ilis grace make not tho worst of things, but i tho best of them, if you must t ike the pills, li do n it chew them. Your everlasting reii wards wili accord with your earthly pera turbations, just as Caius gave to Aggrippa a <* chain of gold as heavy as had been a t chain of iron. For the asking?and I do not i- know to whom I speak in this august osseina blage, but the word may be especially api propriate?for your asking you may have the same graco that was given to the Italian n martyr, Algerius, who, down in the darkest e of dungeons, dated his letter from ''the dea lectable orchard of the Leonine prison." i And remember that this brief life of ours 3 is surrounded by a rim, a very thin but very u important rim, and close up to that rim is a great eternity, and you had better keep out e of it until God breaks that rim and separates f this from that. To get rid of the sorrows of , earth, do not rush into greater sorrows. To V; . '.r ;c. .:v*rr. i get rid of a swarm of summer Insects, leap not into a jungle of Bengal tigers. There is a sorrowless world, and it is so ra uiauu Gnat me noonaay suu J8 oniy cue lowest doorstep and the aurora that lights up our northern heavens, confounding astronomers as to what it can be, is the waving of the banners of the Ero ession come to take the conquerors omo from church militant to church triumphant, and you and I have ten thousand reasons for wanting to go there, but we will never get there either by self-immolation or impenitency. All our sins slain by the Christ who came to do that thing, we want to go in at just the time divinely arranged, and from a couch divinely spread, and then the clang of the sepulchral gates behind us will be ovorpowered by the clang of the opening or the solid pearl beiore us. u broa, whatever others may choose, give me a Christian's life, a Christian's death, a Christian's.burial, a Christian's immortality! TEMPERANCE. Stop and Think. i My boy, when they ask you to drink. Stop and think. Just think of the danger ahead; Of the hearts that in sorrow have bled O'er hopes that were drowned in the bowl; Filled with death for the body and soul. When you hear a man asking for drink, Stop and think. The draught that he drinks will destroy High hopies and ambitions, my boy; And the man who a leader might be Is a slave that no man's hand can free. 0 this terrible demon of drink! Stop and think Of the graves where its victims are laid, Of the ruin and woe it has made, Of the Wives and the mothers who Drav For the curs? to be taken away. Yes, when you are tempted to drink, Stop and think Of the danger that lurks in the bowl, The death that it brings to the soul, The harvest of sin and of woe. And spurn back the temper with "No I" ?E. E. Rexford, in Temperance Banner. Physiological Features of Temperance. The Boston Congregationaltet says: "A few weeks ago we met a Boston clergyman who gave us an interesting account of a revival then in progress in his church. Among the converts was a drunkard, who, it was alleged, had thoroughly reformed. Knowing him to be an inebriate of many years' standing, we asked what physiological helps would be provided to aid him in maintaing his allegiance to Christ, and in fulfilling bis purpose to live a godly, righteous and sober life. Almost impatiently came the reply: 'None whatever. The grace of God in his heart is all the man needs.' "Herein we differ from our estimable friend. God's grace is the essential principle in the process of spiritual regeneration, but it cannot act upon the diseased tissues of the man's of/-vr*r* cw iln n op linAn lllU O 1 r'nhrtl uiau o oi>vujnwU| uvi u?u mivwmwk-V. brain celts. He needs also a sufficient quan i tity of wholesome and nourishing food, and a requisite amount of oxygen in the air which he breathes. To secure these ends, some means must be devised to guard against the bad cooking which is one baae in the Door man's home, and an inebriate's home, in most cases is an abode of poverty. In our i large cities this dwelling-place is apt to be a tenement house, and here he suffers from a disease which he forcibly, but inelegantly, terms'tenement-house rot.' "Let any one mingle with the crowd of la- i borers who fill the streets of large cities at ] an early hour in the morning, ana ne cannot fail to notice their pallid faces. Ask what is < the matter and nine out of ten will confess to a feeling of ' goneness.' Asli how many , slept in the room with him and what he bad i for breakfast, and in his replies it is easy to ^ find an explanation of his condition. This , unsatisfied condition of the lungs for air, of j the stomach for food, of the brain for pure 3 blood, creates an unnatural thirst. Unless | this craving be met by stimulants, the man . feels unable to work, and thereby forfeits j his day's wages. Moreover, the beer or whisky which he takes into his system, to ( silence the cry of nature for her legitimate | supply of nourishment, is often a wretchedly , poisonous adulteration, ten times worse in its effect than pure liquor would be. "Now, as never before, are all good people striving to secure temperance legislation. In 1 all this effort let the need of other legislation which bears an antecedent relation to the temperance question be kept in mind. Let us insist upon laws for house sanitation and for pure foods, as well as for shutting up of 1 saloons. These are problems, not tor the 1 social scientists alone, but for every Chris- 1 tian man and woman who is looking for, and s earnestly desiring, the coming of the day < of God.'J I There is no doubt at all but that the State i could, and ought, by judicious legislation, 1 do much to promote improvement in house < sanitation, and to ensure greater purity of 1 foods. As to adultorated liquors, Dr. Will- ] ard Parker used to say that nothing was used in adulteration more poisonous than the al- 1 cohol itself. The best thing for the poor, and for all to do, is to abstain from intoxi- j eating beverages altogether.?National Temperance Advocate. j i A Kighteous Verdict. We rejoice that a Chicago jury has at last ! oaken the part of the widow and the father- ' less against one of the vampires of society, . that sucked the life's-blood out of the breadwinner, and helped to send a genius of unusual promise to an untimely grave. Mrs. Lucy A. Elk ins, the widow "of the painter 1 whose "Mount Shasta," and other brilliant 1 works of art, had placed him high up on the ladder of fame, has under the dram-shop act, 1 recovered $5000 damages against a Chicago saloon-keeper, who, despite her entreaties to the contrary, persisted in selling ber husband, who was a victim to intemperance, strong drink. The owners of the building where | the saloon is located were found equally , responsible with the saloon-keeper. It was j shown in the testimony that the deceased ( artist had been induced to part with some of , his valuable pairings for a mere songr in , order to raise money to buy more alcoholic ( poison. . The saloon-keeper who will continue to - ell liquor to a man who, by his indulgence J in the intoxicating cup, is ruining his life ^ and beggaring his family, is in every sense of the word what we have already designated : him?a vampire. The amount recovered by ( Mrs. Elkins is said to be the largest sum ever recovered in the country in a case of this 1 1?.4. t'f ?wno htr fof fnn lifMft KIJ1U, UUb WW liJIJirv JU wrckij KJJ *r?* ??vw ?? What can $5000 do to compensate the widow and children who were so ruthlessly robbed ' of the one who should have been their stay and support, and who could so oasily have J earned a pr'ucely income for his family? We are glad, nowever, for the lesson which has . been taught the heartless rum-seller to whom law has brought home the Scripture denuncia- j tion: Woe unto him that giv<?th his neigh- , Lor drink, that puttest thy lottleto him, and m- ke t him drunken also!"? Prairie Farm* J i i Temperance News and Notes. Kentucky has 4122 retail liquor dealers; Louisville six saloons to each church. Unlicensed liquor saloons are called "blind pigs" in Minnesota. A severe libel on the Pig- ! A temperance society with eighteen members was lately organized at Kinklang, China. t The recent banquet of the Commercial Travelers' Convention, held at Minneapolis, attended by 050 guests, was served without ] wine. A new beverage has been invented in France intermediate between beer and wine, and which is to be sold under the name of 1 barley wine. Drink seems to be prevaleut in Eelgium as anywhere else?perhaps more so. A news- , paper published in Flanders states that "the , daily consumption of a workingtnar?not a drunkard?there includes at 5:^0 a. m., a 'worm kiiler;1 at S a. m., 'an eye opener;' at 11 a. M., a 'whip;' at 2 p. M., a 'digester;' at 5 v. M., a 'soldier,' aud at 7:30 p. M.. a 'finisher.'" The regular yearly expenditure, without counting extras on festive occasions, amounts to 21'J francs, S00 to 1200 francs beiDg the usual wages. The following message has been received , by Bishop Crowther, of the Niger mission from the Mohammedan Emir, West Africa: "It is not a long matter; it is about barasa J (rum). iiarasa, barasa, barasa! It has ' ruined our country: it has ruined our people 1 very much; it has made our people mad. I < hog you, Maiam Kipo, don't forget this ' writing, because wo all beg that ho should beg the great priests that they should beg the English Queen to prevent bringing hnrasa ? Into this land." i RELIGIOUS READING. God's Love. Tfiv Invfi O fJrwl P txjfnra? m? From sighs and tears to praise, And deep my soul adores tnee, Nor thinks of time or place; I ask no more in good or ill. But union with thy holy will. 'Tis that which makes my treasure, 'Tis that which bring3 me gain, Converting woe to pleasuro, And reapiDg joy from pain. Ob, 'tis enough, whate'er befall, To know that God is all in all. ?[Madame Guion. A Prayer. The most beautiful and efficient feature o the order of the King's Daughters is "Th Prayer of Consecration," which each King' Daughter offers every morning upon rising It is this: "E ich morning I seek to give my self to my Heavenly Father for the day saying, 'Take me, Lord, and use me today a thou wilt. Whatever work thou hast for m to do give unto my hands. If there are thos thou wouldst have me to help in anv way send them to me. Take my time and use i as thou wilt Let me be a vessel close to th; hand and meet for thy service, to be em ployed only for thee and for ministry b othera "in his name."'" Sincerity and Error. Sincerity is not that all-atoning virtui which a certain class of thinkers seem to re gard it. Sincerity will not save a rain fron suffering the consequences of a mistake) course. A man may sincerely believe ai untruth and act upon his belief, but all hi sincerity will not save him from the conse quences of his mistake. He may believe < rotten bridge to be perfectly secure, but hii sincerity will not prevent the bridge fron breaking down under his weight. Men sa] it makes no difference what a man believes if he is only sincere. This is a fallacy in r& ligion, as well as in temporal affairs. I makes a tremendous difference what a mai believes. The man who believes a lie wil be damned?no mstter how sincere he maj be.?[Evangelical Messenger. Praying and Working. I like that saying of Martin Luther, wtaei be says, "I hive so much business to do today, that I shall not be able to get througl it with less than three hours' prayer." Now most people would say, "I have so mucl business to do to-day that I have only thre< minutes' prayer; 1 cannot afford the time.' But Luther thought that the more he had t< do, the more he must pray, or else be could not get through it That is a blesse 1 kind oi logic: may we understand it! "Praying and provender binder no man's journey/ If wo have to stop and pray, it is no more at hindrance than when the rider has to stop at the farrier's to have his horse's shoe fastened; for if he went on without attending to that, it may be that ere long he would come to o stop of a far more serious kind,--LC. H. Spurgeon. Tho Want of a Definite Purpose. A great hindrance to all religious work Li the want of a definite purpose. It is said ol Bome people that "they aim at nothing anc hit it." The same might be said of much ol the Christian work of today. The very flrsl thing to do is to have a definite idea of wbal we desire to acomplish. Tho true object ol the church is to Christianize the race, tc lead men and women to accept Christ as their Saviour, and to cultivate in them the Christian graces! The danger is that we will lose sight of this great purpose. The object of the Sunday school is tc Christianize the rising race through the teaching of tho word of God, tolling our pouth the way to Christ, and teaching then the walk in Christ In our opinion, the great reason so many pastors ana Sunday school teachers fail is they do not have a fixed purpose and then go to work to accomplish it Aim at something if you wish to bit it. We have heard of a hunter who, in a fog, :ould not tall whetbor the object in the distance was a bear or a calf. So be said ho would fire in such a way as to hit if a bsar md miss if a calf. We fancy some religious work is done in this way.?[Hartford Rolijious Herald. "Look to Thy Consciencc." Wouldsc thou preserve thy faith, look to ;hy conscience. A good conscienco is the aottom faith sails in; if the conscience be wrecked, how can it be thought that faith ihould be safe? If faith be the jewel, a good :onscienceis the cabinet in which it is kept; ind if the cabinet bo brokon, the jewel must needs be in danger of losing. Now you know what sins waste the conscience; sins either Jeliberately committed, or impenitently continued in. Oh, take heed of deliberate sin; likeastono thrown into a clear stream, it will so disturb thy scul, and muddy it, that tDOU, WHO even now CQUlUSli bet) my mwiwI in tbe promise, wilt now bo at a loss, and not know what to think of thyself. They are like a fire on the top of the house, it will be no easy matter to quench it. But If thou hast been so unhappy as to fall into such a slough, take heed of lying in it by impenitence; tho sheep may fall into a ditch, but it is tbe swine that wallow in it; jnd therefore how hard wilt thou find it, ihinkest thou, to act thy faith on the promise when thou art, by thy filthy garments and besmeared countenance, so unliko one of Sod's holy onesl It is dangerous to drink poison, but far more to let it lie in the body long. Thou canst not act thy faith, though \ believer, on the promise, so as to apply the pardon it presents to thy soul, till thou hast renewed thy repentance.?[Gurnall. Family Prayers. There is one mark of a household in which Grod is known and loved, which is too often wanting in our day?I mean the practice ol family prayer. Depend upon it, the worth 5f a practice of that kind can only be measured by its effects during a long period of time, and family prayers, though occupying snly a few minutes, do make a great differjnce to any household at the end of the year, clow, indeed, can vt oe otherwise, when each morning, and perhaps each evening, too, all the members of the family, the old and the young, the parents and the childreu, th? master and tbe servants, meet on the footing of perfect equality before the Eternal, in whose presence each is as nothing, or less than nothing, yet to whom each is so infinitely dear, 'that he has redeemad by his blood each and all of them? How must not tho bad spirits that are the enemies of pure and bright family life fleo away? the spirits of envy and pride and untruthr..i fVio ivhnln trihe of evil LUlUC.-Vt UliVJ o thoughts, and make way for his gracious presence in the hearts of old and young alike, who, as he brings us, one by one, nearor to the true end of our existonco, so does he. and lie alone, moke us to bo "of ono inind in a bouse" here within the narrow presence of Bach homo circle, and horoafter in that :*ountl<*-s family of all nations nn i kindreds and people and tongues, which shall dwo'l with him, the universal Parent to all etormty,?[Canon Liddon. When I mc?t a being I cannot serve, 1 know my ignorance.?[Channing. It is expressly promised chit petitions offered in a spirit of faith and obedience shall be answerod.?[Milton. Be thankful for past mercies before you plead for now favor*; this is the way to plead successfully; he that oii'ereth piuiso gloriQeth God. Practical Christianity is no sanctuary sensation, no Sabbath-day service. It is t'ae conscientious discknrgo of all duty, with a desire therein to honor Jehovah. It :uakw the whole world a temple and the wholo life i priosthood, '"eating and drinking, and ioing all things to the glory of God." The liquor traffic in the Samoan Islands is being carried on to-day soleiy tecau.se the United States Government refused to enter into nn agreement which all the other powers interested in had signified their approval of. It is claimed on goo 1 authority that the natives nre being literally murdered by the importation of drink and fire-arms, to the great detriment of trade. According to the statement or the exMayor of St. Louis, the revenue from saloons was over $2000 less than the expenses with which they taxed the city. This exclusive if the poverty resulting to homes and individuals. ToDeka, Kan., has more churches than any jity of its size in the country, and has not a jingle saloon. vv . "?;y'^g?^T*~.?V . -.; . , v -< 72p-/: Effects or Earthquakes on AnimalsJ ! In the last issue of the "Transaction* lof thn Seismolocrif:al Sorietv of J&mn." Professor Milne, the well-known student of volcanic phenomena, discusses the effects of earthquake* on anim&is. The iecord of most great earthquakes refer to the consternation of dogs, horses,; cattle, and other domestic animals. Fish' -i also are frequently affected. In the ' * London earthquake of 174'J roach and! other fish in a canal showed evident signs of confusion and fright; and sometimes after an earthquake fish rise to the surface dead and dying. During the Tokio earthquake of 18*50 cats inside a house ran about trying to escape, foxes barked, and horses tried to kick down the boards confining them to their -J stables. There can, therefore, be no ), f doubt that animal* know something un0 usual and terrifying is taking place. ? More interesting than these are the obC servations showing that animals are agi , tated just before an earthquake. Ponies s have been known to prance about their 6 stalls, pheasants to scream, and frogs to 0 stopcroakingsuddculyaliitle time before t a shock, as if aware of its coming. The f Japanese say that moles show their a<?itfttic.n bv hiirrnwincr CJpmp T\i<m an<1 J 0. ---?I r-o-l 3 dogs appear more sensitive in thi? respect than any other animals. After the great Calabrian earthquake it is said that th? neighing of a horse, the braying of an ass, or the cackle of a goose waa j . sullicient to cause the inhabitants to fly 1 i from their houses in expectation of a i shock. Many birds are said to show 1 their uneasiness before an earthquake I by hiding their heads under' their I wings and behaving in an unusual s manner. At the time of the Calabrian i shock little fish like sand eels, which are 7 usually buried in the sand, came to the \ top and were caught in multitudes. In t South America certain quadrupeds, such i as dogs, cats and jerboas, are believed 1 by the people to give warning of coming r danger by their restlessness; sometimea immense flocks of sea birds fly inland ^ before an earthquake, as if alarmed by the commencement of some sub-ocean j disturbance. Before the shock of 1336 . in Chili all the dogs are said to have esi caDed from the Citv of Talcahuano. Th? , explanation offered by Professor Milne 1 of this apparent prescience is that some ] animals are sensitive to the small tremors ) which precede nearly all earthquakes ; [ He has himself felt them some seconds before the actual eaithquake came. The I njarra of intelligent an mala would then be the result of their own experience, which has taught them that small tremors are premonitory of movements more alarming. Signs of alarm days before an earthquake are probably accidental; but sometimes in volcanic districts gases have emanated from the ground prior to ear.hquakes and have poisoned animals. In one case large | numbers of fish were killed in this way j in the Tiber; and at Follonica, on the \ ; morning of April 0, 1874, "the streets ; and roads were covered with dead rats : and mice. In fact, it seemed as if it had ; rained rats. The only explanation of | the phenomena was that these animals , had been destroyed by emanations of i carbon dioxide." : " ~ il Weighing Mail Matter. Half a dozen men have been engaged > for several days past in the work of placing in position,on Mail street, in the rear of the New York Fostoffice, says the ' 1'imen, a large new weighing scale. The operations of these men have been x; watched by hundreds of loungers and 1 passers-by, some of whom would ask a few questions and then pass on without J having learned for what purpose the scale was intended) the workmen themselves being unable to give any information in regard to the matter. A few in- * quiries in the department of Railway Hail Service inside the Postoffice resulted in the acquisition of some facts V in connection with the weight of mails not generally known to the public, but which have some interest. The Railway Mail Service is divided into eleven divisions, one of which, with headquarters in ?oston, is confined to transportation in the New England v> v States, and another, with headquarters . in this city, governs the bailiwick of the ,t Middle States. The compensation awarded to the railway mail lineais based upon a standard of weight established once in every four years. For example, 1 the mails sent from the New York Post, office to the Pennsylvania lioad are weighed every day for thirty days, say from January 1 to February 1, and the ! compensation from the Government to i that road for the next four years is based { upon the average thus obtained. The /. establishment of an average in thi3 way makes it possible to avoid the delay of weighing each wagon load of mail matter as it leaves the I'ostoffice on every day or , the entire four years. Id the event ot a marked increase in the volume of mail matter carried by any line during the i quadrennial weighing interval?, such a i line may petition for a special weighing, and the future compensation is based upon the new average until the next '< regular quadrennial weighing. The last ' regular weighing for all the roads of the Ktw England and Middle States divisor* occurrred three years ago, since which | time the old scale on Mail street has not f been used. During this interval of idlei neas it got so badly out of order that it ; could be no loDgefr used. A new scale 1 became necessaryVLecause of the petition [ of the New York,\New Haven and HartI ford and New York and New England - Hoads for a special weighing on account i of their recently augmented mail service. Those roads being in the New England division the Boston Postoffice was called i upon to furnish a scale. As a matter of economy it was decided to put in & new scale in New York so that both New England and Middle divisions could use it at the next icgular weighing. The new scale is one of the largest, and is adjusted to weigh from L to 20,000 pounds. The regular weighing of tha New I ngland and Middle States divisions will occur next spring. Lit a Ci?ar with Ice. i A prominent New York lawyer went i to Washington 'for a consultation with an attorney of that city regarding some patent cases. During the conversation, a match to light a cigar was lacking, and the Washingtonian remarked that a piece of ice would do. The New Yorker laughed and was incredulous, and a wager of a supper was made. The Washingtonian took a piece of clear ice about an inch thick from the water ^ cooler, whittled it into the ahape of a disc, and with the palms of his. hands melted its two sides convex, thu* Giving it the form of a double convex lens or burning glass. With it hefocussed the sun's rays on the end of his cigar, thus lighting the cigar. While smoking the weed he enjoyed the &iagrin of the NeW Yorker, who promptly paid the bet. Six thousand pounds of powder were set off at a single blast in San Francisco, , causing a trembling of the earth for miles around, akin to that produced by an earthquake. The charge was fired in a quarry on Telegraph hill, and dislodged, it is estimated, from 30,000 to 50,000 tons of rock.