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F ' Y ' ' ' - ... ' * . ' ' v The Abbeville Press and Banner, j \ BY HUGH WILSON. ABBEVILLE, S. C., WEDNESDAY, JULY 17, 1889. VOLUME XXXIV. NoT^ || A Story of TVingrs. "Just now there Is again a deplorable tendency towards the use of natural wings and , whole birds in millinery." I The wife ol the vicar was young and fair; . The simplest hat on her braided hair Borrowed such charm from her lovely face, That It seemed a thing of artistic grace; 1 But like many another Is kind and good, She fancied that Fashion understood The how and the wherewithal to wear, And trusted to modiste and milliner, Instead of her own sweet womanly mind, Which could but choose the fit and rcflned. So one day she took from its wraps with caro, A wondrous erection just sent to her, Id wbloh was set one beautiful thing, f- And that was a klttiwake's exquisite wing. I j She was bound for a stylish afternoon tea, I But first she must visit her nursery, I l Wham tho hohv mwpd with delieht to touch some ior ever so long, out x uiuu u much about it, 'cause when you live in a little cuddled-up house, and your papa has to buy bread and shoes for so many, the money all flies away before it gets around to what little girls want. I don't know how auntie found it out unless Santa Claus told her, and it wasn't near Christmas time, either. They were such pretty brown mitts. Tilly Jones said they were just the color of my hands, b"ut I didn't care "for that. Little hands will get brown when they weed the garden beds and do so many things. I looked at them 'most a hundred times in two days, J guess, and then it came Sunday. Wasn't I glad! I put them on and walked to church, just so. Jack said I held my paws like a scared rabbit, but I didn't ever see a rabbit with mitts on. It isn't right to think too much about what you wear when you go to Sunday-school, and by ana by I didn't, for we had such a good Sunday-school I forgot every thing else. A missionary man told all the folks about some poor little children away off; how the fire had burned down their school-house, and they hadn't any nice houses, or clothes, or any thing, but they were trying so hard to get along and to learn ; and he said what was given to those little ones was just the same as trivinc to .TftsuH. Think of that! Just the same as giving to the dear Christ Child! I just supposed every body would give. Why, some of the folks are worth as much as ten dollars, or a hundred, and yet that basket stayed 'most empty. I did wish I was rich, and all at once I remember the poor widow in the Bible. I'd read it that very morning, how she had given her two mitts, every living mitt she had ; it said so. So I Blipped mine off and dropped them into the basket, and I was glad, if my throat did choke up. But pretty soon, when that basket was carried up, the gentleman picked them right out. "Has any little girl lost her gloves?" Nobody said anything, and he asked again : "Did any little girl drop her gloves in the basket by mistake?" It was awful still in that room and I thought he was looking right at me, so I had to say something. "It wasn't a mistake," I told him; "I wanted to help and hadn't any money, but I knew how that woman in the Bible gave her two mitts, and so?" Then those folks just shouted, they did ! and I felt ns if I'd like to drop right down through the floor. I knew I had made some dreadful blunder, hut I couldn't see what, for if m-l-t-e-8 don't spell mitts what does it spell ? 'Course I cried, but my teacher put her arm right around me and whispered, "Never mind, little Nellie and she stood up and said, with her voice all trembling: "Dear friends, this little girl has given her greatest treasure; have we older ones done as much ?" Some way, the money just poured into that basket after that, and the missionary looked gladder and gladder. They brought my mitts back to me, and my teacher said she would show me how to get some r? The ornament which he fain would clutch; And Harold declared with a wild halloo [ That mother was just like a cockatoo; WhileNelly'sinsiplent womanhood Pondered the matterln thoughtful mood. I But the lady had an hour to spend Before she reached the house of her friend. To her mother's meeting she bent her way, Though rather shy of her dress that day. , She met each one with kind look and word, The little tales of their troubles heard; . And she made the time pass pleasantly I With her friendly talk and her sympathy. ' Before they lelt, she ventured to say | , How It grieved her to soo their boys at play, Stoning the thrushes, now weak with cold, ' And with winter sorrows manifold. * 1 And then she spoke of God's loving care * For the creatures He made, the birds of the -v air; How should their children grow good and * kind, While in cruel deeds they could pleasure find? Good-bye was said. They went one by one, And the lady thoueht herself there alone, As making up her accounts she sat.? When she felt a sudden twitch at her hat; It came again, and made her start, While quicker and louder throbbed her heart, And then she suddenly was aware Of a wingless kittlwake standing there Upon the table It silence broke, And (wonder of wonders!) thus it spoke "That wing la mine?you wear to-day, The thing that was stolen from me away. Well I remember the morning fair, When we skimmed the waves and cleaved the air, My mate and I, as we sought to find Food for the little ones lelt behind, When peal on peal broke like thunder's sound, And soon sea and rock and sands around Were strewn with the fair birds dying and dead. I My mate fell flr#t?then, ere life had fled, The wings were -wrenched from my bleeding breast. And 1 was flung on the billows crest I once had enjoyed to tread, but now A quivering mass I sank below. Hearing my bungry blrdllngs' cry, Worse than my own sore agony. And you are a mother! well, that Is good: What do you think of my starving brood? The downy nestlings that 'neath that wing Were wont so cosily to cling? A nice, becoming plura6 for you? And who can pity the thrushes too! Murder and robbery In one dayYet you'll wear that wing when in church you pray." And the poor bird, giving its anger vent, Waxed so indignant and eloqueut, That it was with almost a shriek it spoke, And with its wall the lady awoke. Her eyes were dim for the mother-bird's woe; The room was dark, and the fire was low; She was too late now for tne afternoon tea, So she gathered her books up tremblingly, And went a back way like a guilty thing, She was so ashamed of that kittiwake's wing. In her happy home the Are shone bright, The room was full of a pleasant light, , But warmer and brighter and yet more fair The welcome her husbaDd gave to her; But even that could not charm away The troubled look on her face that lay. And she could not find a moment's rest Till the strauge, wierd story was confessed. And she asked, with tears in ber eyes of blue, If the phantom bird had told her true? The vicar looked grave while he stroked her hair, And thought she never had seemed so fair, As he answered her that the lovely wing Was, spite of its beauty, a cursed thing. "You will never have another." said he; "I will never wear this again," sobbed she. "Give it to Nell for her doll," said he: "Nay, it is stained with blood, sighed she. "Then we will burn It to-morrow," said he; "No, we will burn It to-night," cried she. Jake Budge. Nellie's *Gift. Did you ever want anything awful bad and then have it come? Then you know how I felt when the patkage came from my auntie in New York, and I opened it and found a pair of real silk mitts. Jack said they were just "splen-dor-if-ic," and Jack's my "brother, and he knows. I had wanted money to give. ButO, how full that basket was ! And when that gentleman counted it hi9 eyes grew all wet, and he said softly (though I didn't know what he meant), "A little child shall lead them."?Ex. Bea'fr Room. Girls who are wondering what they can do to keep their brothers at home evenings may find a hint in the followin? incident from the Philadelphia Call: "What a hideous green you are putting in that tidy said Belle to her "very best friend," as they sat talking over their fancy work. "I know it," said Kate, good-humoredly. "You see, I bought it one night, and began to work on. it by lamplight, and thought it looked prettv well. But some colors are so changeable; it looks frightful by daylight. I only know one thing I can do with it?I'll give it to Ben." "Why?will he like it!" "Oh! I don't know; I guess so. It'll help make him out for Christmas, and do well enough for his room. We stuff everything there." And Kate gave a little short laugh, then flushed suddenly, as she saw Bell's blue eyes bent wonderingly upon her. "Why," said the girl, and her fingers stopped in their busy motion, "I'd just as soon think of putting anything ugly into t{ie parlor as into brother Frank's room ; he is so choice of it." "Oh! well, boys are different," stammered Kate in confusion. And Belle, feeling that she was treading on forbidden ground, adroitly turned the conversation. Yes, she knew that Ben was different from her brother, and, oh! how thankful she felt for that difference?thankful that Frank was strong and manly, kept above temptation?sorry for the great contrast in her friend. "You must all do something to try to keep Ben at home these evenings," said his father one day. "I don't like the way he is spending his time." And Kate, as she heard the words, wondered what she could do. That afternoon there was a great overhauling of furniture up stairs, and by supper-time quite a transformation had taken place in Ben's room. There were pretty, bright chromos, and one or two choice engravings, ou the wall, hitherto bare; dainty white mats on the bureau, fresh muslin curtains draped back from the window, and everything as inviting as thoughtful hands coula make it. "Now," she said, "I wonder if he'll notice it." "Have you a headache, Ben?" she asked, as she passed his door that evening, and saw him sitting with his head bowed upon his hands. "Oh, no!'' he answered; "only thinking of going down town, but it looks so pleasant and homelike up here I guess I'll stay." And he did stay; it wasn't the last time, Either. By and by he began to invite some of r,the fellows" to come and see him at the house, and, with great satisfaction, would ask them to "step up" to his room. Was it strange that from these little gatherings more than one went away feeling that it was a grand, good thing to have a home, and be worthy of it f Cost of Keeping a Horse. The cost of keeping a horse by most persons is mere guess work instead of careful figures. Mr. J. H. Andre, with a view to enlightening the uninitiated, gave recently in Rural Home the following estimates: If one purchases a good horse four years of age for $150, it is a good bargain. A top buggy will cost $125. cutter $26, harness $20, robe $10, blankets $3, comb and brush $3, whip $2, which amounts figure $337. Now if we take all into consideration, these will last, on an average, ten years. Perhaps the wagon might last longer, but it would need repairing in that time; on the whole, ten years is a long average, as a horse might be worthless in five years. ? id. 1^ II it ttosui;toot lur iaju yvtuu, it wuuiu be at the rate of $33.70 per year, and the interest on the whole outlay at 6 per cent, would be $20.22. Add to this at least four tons of hay, which has averaged in past ten years $12 per ton, $48; one ton of straw for bedding, $7.90 bushels of oats at 35 cents per bushel, $31.50; shoeing, $5, and it would be a cheap job to care for a horse, wash wagons, etc., for $1 per week, which would bring the price to $52 per year, or the sum total of $197.42 for the year at moderate figures. Ancf yet we find thousands who keep a horse and have no real buisness for it, and do not keep a cow, when the cost of keeping a horse will keep two cows, and yet they do not see how they can keep a cow. A Scrap Book.?We have frequently advocated the use of a scrapbook ; but a useful hint will bear repetition. One who has never been accustomed to preserve short articles, poems, tales, etc., in a scrap-book, can hardly realize the pleasure it affords to sit down and turn over the pleasant, familiar pages. Here a piece of poetry meets the eye, which you woula long since have lost had it not been for your scrap-book. There is a witty anecdote ?it does you good to laugh over it, although it may be for the twentieth time. Next is a valuable recipe you had almost forgotten, and which you found just in time to save much perplexity. There is a sweet little story, the memory of which has cheered and encouraged you when almost ready to despair under the pressure of life's cares. Indeed, you can hardly take up a single paper without reperusing. Then hoard with care the precious gems, and see at the end of the year what a rich treasure you will have accumulated.? Orant County Witness. Teachers should not be absent from the school a single Sabbath without providing a teacher for the class. No ordinary interference should be sufficient to prevent attendance. When a visit is contemplated or sickness comes, always select a good substitute. Get the best you can. The effect of this forethought is, first, it will give your class a teacher of your own selection and not leave it to the mercy of a picked-up teacher; second, it shows to the superintendent, class and school that the teacher i& thoughtful and exercises the best of care. In no case should a teacher, knowing of unavoidable absence, leave the matter for the superintendent to provide as best he can at the moment when a score of things need his attention and wisdom. Teacher, lay this to heart. When eating bread and butter at the table, butter a small piece at a time, not the entire slica. ; t . ;< A Georgia Sermoa. A BAPTIST BROTHER GIVES HIS OPINION ABOUT THE PRESBYTERIANS. A lady correspondent of the Independent gives a sketch of a sermon she heard in Georgia nearly half a century ago from which we give an extract : The preacher was apparently about fifty years of age, large, muscular and well prop?rtioued. On entering the pulpit he took off his coat and hung it on a nail behind him, then opened his collar and wristbands, and wiped the perspiration from his face, neck and hanas. He was clad in striped cotton homespun, and his shirt was of the same material. He had traveled several miles that morning, and seemed almost overcome by the heat. But the brethren sang a couple of hymns while he was fanning and cooling off, and when he arose ne looKea comrortr able and good-natured. He had preached there once or twice before, but to most of the audience he was a stranger. Hence he thought it necessary to announce himself, as he did, as "Old Club Axe Davis, from Screven county, a half hard and half soft shell Baptist." "I have given myself that name," said he, "because I believe the Lord elected . me from all eternity to go ahead in the backwoods and grub out a path and blaze the way for others to follow. After the thickest of it is cut away, a good Methodist brother will come along and take my trail and make things a little smoother and a good deal wiser. And after all the unaerbruRh is cleared out, and the owls and wolves skeered off, a Presbyterian brother in black broadcloth and white cravat will come along and cry for decency and order. And they'll both do good in their sphere. I don't despise a farnt man, even if he don't dress and think as I do. You couldn't pay me enough to wear broadcloth, summer or winter, and you couldn't pay a Presbyterian enough to go without it in dog days. God don't make us all alike, my brethren; but every man his own sphere. When God has a place to fillHe makes a man and puts him in it. When he wanted General Jackson, He made him and set him to fightin' Indians and the English; when He wanted George Whitfield, He made him to blow the Gospel trumpet as no other man ever blowed it, and when He wanted old Club Axe Davis, He made him and set him to grubbin' in the backwoods. "But my shell isn't so hard but I can see good pints in everybody ; and as for the Presbyterians, they are a long way ahead of us Baptists and Methodist in some things. They raise fv.au s>hiirirpn hetter than any people lUCii VUKH.v.. on the face of the earth. Onfy a few days ago a Methodist class-leader said to me: 'Brother Club Axe, I was born a Methodist, I was raised a Methodist, and by the grace of God I hope to die a Methodist; but thank God I got a Presbyterian wife to raise my children.' "And I believe, my brethren, if the Lord should open the way for me to marry again, rd try my best to find a Presbyterian woman, and run my chances of breabin' her in into the savin' doctrines of feet washin' and immersion afterwards." Just at this time be was interrupted by two spotted hounds that had been continuing running up and down the pulpit stairs. One of them jumped upon the seat and began to gnaw his coat tail, in which was something he had brought along for his lunch. He turned slowly and took him by the ears and tail and threw him out of the window behind as easily as if it had been a young kitten. The other took warning and got out as rapidly as possible, though not without howling and yelping as if he had been half killed. He then turned to the audience and said smilingly: "St. Paul exhorted the brethren 'beware of dogs.' I wonder what he would do if he were in my place this morning? It appears like I am compassed about with dogs, as David says he was." He had scarcely commenced preaching again before there was a squealing * ' , ! ?4Vm TY-mloa and ana kickiuk uuiuu^ iuc uu.v. -? horses that were tied to trees close by. He put his head out of the window and said : "No harm done, brethren. Just a creetur with a sidesaddle broke loose. Will some brother head the animal ? for no sister can walk home this hot day." Quiet being restored, be continued: "Well, my brethren, I will now try to say what I alllowed to about the Presbyterians. As I said before, they raise their children a heap better than we do. They behave better in church and keep the Sabbath better, and read the Bible, and learn the catechism better than ours do. I declare, brethren, their clildren are larnt that Westminister catechism before the time they begin to talk plain. "It ain't three weeks since I was out cattle huntin,?for two of my vearlins had strayed off?and I stopped at old Brother Hardy's on Rund creek and took dinner. He is a deacon in the Presbyterian church over thar. Well, as sure as I stand here, my brethren, sister Hardy had her little gal a standin' right before her, with her toes just even with the crack of the floor, ana her hands were hanging down by her side, and her mouth turned up like a chicken when it drinks, and she was putting this question to her out o' that cate chism: "What are the benefits which in this life do either aocompauy or flow from justification, adoption or sanctification ?" "Now, the question in itself was enough to break the child down. But when she began to say the questiou all over, (for that's the way it was in me book,) and then hitch the answer to it, and which all put together made this: "The benefits which in this life do either accompany or flow from justification, are peace of conscience, joy in the Holy Ghost, increase of grace and preservance therein to the end!" I thought the child was the greatest wonder I had ever seen in niy life. She tuck it right through too, without balkin' or missin' the first word. And she spoke so sweet and looked so like a little angel, that, before I knowed it, the tears was a runnin' down my cheek as big as buckshot. I've seen the day when I could have mauled and split a thousan' rails auicker'n I could a larnt that thing ana said it off' like she did. "Now, my brethren, that child didn't understand or know one word o'that. It put me to all I knew to take it in myself. But just let that Presbyterian young'un jjrow up, and every word o' that catechism will come back to her, and her character will stiffen up under it, and she'll have the backbone of the matter in her for life. \ ,,Now, I can't put things into my children in that way. Nothin' don't stay, somehow. It's like drivin' a nail into a rotten log." This last remark I never forgot. For thirty years afterwards, as I would stand by the blackboard, trying to fix rules and principles in the mind of a dull pupil, this remark would come back to me with its peculiar pertinacity. "I tell you my brethren," he continued, "if our children had a little more catechism and the Presbyterians a little less, it would be better for both. "Then, we don't pray in our families like they do. I know their prayers are mighty long, and they pray over all creation ; but after all its the right wav. It's better than nravin' too lit tie." "Now, my mother and father were good Baptists, and raised their children to be honest and industrious, but I never heard one of them pray in my life, and I was most a grown man before I prayed a prayer myself, and it was in this wise : "There was a big meetin' over in Elbert county, and I knowcd a pretty gal. So I borrowed a little Jersey wagin, which was a stylish thing in them days, and went over to her home and stayed all night, and engaged her to ride to meetin' next day, which wtis Sunday. "We went and had a glorious timo, and I might as well say right here, that she was afterwards my wife, but a comin' home I met with a powerful accident that I've never got over to this day. As I was a comin' down a steep hill, some part of the gearin' give way, and let me and the wagin' on my creetur's heels; and bein' young ana skeery, and not much used to wheels, she riggled and tore from one side to the other until I was pitched headforemost as much as ten foot into a deep gully, and it's a miracle of mercy that my neck wasn't broke on the spot. "Expect!n' to be killed every minit I thought I ought to ask the Lord for mercy. But as I had never prayed in my life, I couldn't think of the first thing to say but the blessin' my father used to say before eatin' when he had company, and which was this: "Lord, make us thankful for what we are about to recieve.' "Now, my brethren, do you 'spose any Presbyterian raised boy was ever put to such a strait as that- for prayer? No. He would have prayed for himself and gone off after the Jews and heathens, while I was a huntin' up and gettin' off that blessin.'" Disarmament?Pari*. A new iournal, Le Desarmement, comes forth from Paris. It is under the auspices of the Church of Rome. It wisely opens its columns to men of all creeds and parties. Its first number contains letters from W. E. Gladstone, Emiles Castelar, Simon, and Fredric Paspy The conductors of this anti-war innrnftl hecin their camnaism thus : ? ?O ? A W /Men of Europe! In view of the fact that at the present time, the nations of old Europe have tor their frontiers, lines of soldiers, and that multitudes of men, without clearly knowing why, are preparing for mutual destruction, we think the hour is come when we should proclaim the unrecognised rights or humanity. Just as if no account were taken of the wishes of the populations, it is said, with truth, that an imprudent remark, any incident whatever, a word, or a mere nothing, may transform fertile plains into a human slaughter-house. In this way millions of men would, under compulsion, and without explanation, be sent to death like cattle. Do we live, then, still in the terrible times when, for the satisfaction of two or three ambitious chiefs, their unhappy subjects were required to massacre each other ? "Is the will of tjie mass of the people sovereign or not ? Either the tbree hundred millions of men who inhabit Europe have the hearts of slaves, or war will cease. If they do not desire war, yet it takes place, then war is made by them, in spite of them, and against tbem. "Ze jDasarmemcnt, organ of the popular will, always demanding universal Peace, will declare everywhere, without distinction of country, these -* * matr ha wurfl Sl^IiUl II UHJD, mat uuciu UJHJ w ? which are glorious for the great, but never for the humble; that the wretches who let loose this plague hold mankind in contempt, and that the men who suffer it are by that very fact to be despised; thus if cannonshot is the last word of kings, then simultaneous disarmament is the last word of the j>eople. The question then arises whether we are pursuing a chimera, and whether disarmament is a Utopia? That is an objection constantly thrown in our teeth. We reply that as war is as detestable as it is stupid, the real Utopia is to regard it as eternal. Nations, as they develop, end always, after more or less successful efforts, in getting rid of that which does not deserve to exist. The day, then, will come when the guns in our arsenals will share the lot of those in front of the Hospital of the Invalides. Our sons will find them in museums as they And other curiosities of the savage life. It is a question of time, but it will come. The car of civilization moves slowly some-times, but it never goes back." * ***** 'Men of Europe! we are ruining ourselves! To make war we must pay the tax of blood; to maintain the armed peace we must pay the tax of money. In these times, when starving people multiply, the military machine seeks to absorb all the nation's wealth. In his letter, Mr. Gladstone, -* ?. 10/in 0: nays: tliat bo long ago an iot^, on Robert Peel regarded the armaments of Europe as excessive, and as dangerous to peace. What, then, would this statesman have thought of the armaments of 1889?" "The French peasant is paying taxes in order to arm a soldier to kill the son of a German pesant, and the German peasant is paying taxes to arm a German soldier to kill the son of a French peasant. Both are therefore paying for the murder of their sons. Inasmuch as, after the war which menaces us, and in comparison with which other wars were but child's play, the conqueror, whoever he be, can exercise no mercy, the nations are preparing fora deadly struggle. Each desiring to crush her neighbours at any price, it will be a rivalry of madness, but one which will cost dear indeed. We spend each year a thousand millions of francs (?40,000,000) for swords, rifles, and cartridages. And moreover, our greatest hope iB that all this material may not be used'! But one fortieth part of the above turn would provide two millions of poor old men with an annual pension of &20 a year." After an appeal to the fathers and mothers of families, the Address concludes with these words: Lastly, we offer our help to you, the unfortunate, the poor, the humblest members of society?to you who see yourselves condemed to perpetual misery. It is your lot which we have most at heart. It is for you, above all, that we are determined not to cease labouring until the barracks shall everywhere be thrown open to those who are in need, and the soldiers shall be restored to their homes." The Deadly Military of Lord Wolseley. We rejoice to see the Methodist Timet is for making war on War. In a leading article recently entitled, "Christ or Apollyon?Whicn? the editor exclaims: "Has not the time come for all who have any trace of the mind of Christ to make war on War?" aud again, "One thing is certain. We Christians cannot repudiate responsibility for the horrible condition of Europe. If we all acted energetically together, we could make a European war impossible," In previous issues this paper contains a series of addresses or sermons by Mr. Hugh Price Hughes, M. A., delivered at th<3 SunHov Afinmnnn Conferences at St. James's Hall, in which the "deadly delusions" contained in Lord Wolseley's late address at Birmingham are powerfully exposed .?English paper. Lord Wolsely is trying to make his project of compulsory army service palatable to Englishmen by associating it with high words about patrot ism and the growth of our Empire. He thinks he knows how to perfume his poison. But Colonel G. Pomeroy Colley baa told us that "no nation ever did or ever will accept conscription except of necessity." What Lord Wolseley now favors, Sir Garnet Wolseley condemned, remarking in 1882 that we need only go to Hamburg to see thousands of ablebodied men leaving the country to escape from the infernal and cursed burden of universal service. Thanks to the conscription his lordship glorifies, nationalities in these days are born into a state of servitude. Young Italy, Bulgaria, Greece, are staggei1ing under burdens which threaten to stifleout their life. Freedom, to mainain its being, must live in a garment of iron ; new-born peoples whose energies should be devoted to increasing their vigor and stability, must spend tbeir life-blood in supporting vast armaments ; nations can only preserve their liberties by bearing a self imposed yoke of slavery; in order to preserve peace we must threaten war. This is our so call Christian civilization ! Well may Mr. Hughes, in burning vrords, called upon the Churches of Christ to rouse themselves. At this moment France and Germany are madly and wickedly arming for the most terrible and useess war of the century, and the hurches are dumb. The ministers of Christ are standing with folded, arms' calmly looking on as the callous crowd looks on when two infuriated fools are stripping ror a ngm m a uwi street. Will no one protest against , this unparalleled wickedness? Mr. Frederic Harrison is quite right in holding the Christian Churches responsible for European wars. If Catholics and Protestants joined hands on great social issues, as Lord Nelson devoutly suggests, they could at once put a veto on war. If they allow ecclesiastical differences or false patriotism to keep them silent, they will be responsible before God and man for the rivers of human blood which their silence permits to flow." If all such war "Lords" as Wolseley were compelled to serve as privates in war and in battle put in the front it is more than likely their views would be modified. Who would say that such assignment could be unjust. The people ought to decree that it should be so done. Ed. C. JV. Abolish the Pistol.?The invention of gunpower is the most satanic ol inventions* If it were not for the pistol, it may be that Abraham Lincoln and James A. Garfield would be alive 1 today. I believe that, next to alcohol itself, the pistol is the most frequent occasion or murder. The very fact that a man knows that he has a pistol in his pocket tempts him to act the bully. Many a man who has not the open bravery to strike his foe with his fist, will resort to the cheap bravery of drawing a concealed pistol, and cravenly take advantage of forestalling hie """ty.itia MTwiotivorpd fire. CiiCiilJ D UMUVM . Treatment op Animals.?That mysterious force which we vaguely call "principle of life," and which the Bible distinguishes from spirit by calling it "soul," is common to both man ana animal. Ah! little we know what mystic bonds of kinship join animal and man. How human-like the ways of the higher forms of animals ! Whistle to your devoted Fido; see how joyously he bounds toward you, wagging his tail in nervous ecstasy; how lovingly he rests his paw and head on your knee. Bpeak sharply to him ; see how he slinks away, crestfallen and grieved. No wonder, then, that Israel's lawgiver, in proclaiming to his people the code dictated to him from heaven, guarded so jealously the sacredness of animal life. A curious and noteworthy statement haa been published in regard to the great river Euphrates. It appears that this ancient river is in danger of disappearing altogether. Of late years the banks below Babylon have been giving way so that the stream spread out into a marsh, until steamers could not pass, onri nnlv r narrow channel remained for native boats. Now this passage is becoming obliterated, with tne probable result that the famous river will beswallowed up by the desert. "Doctor," said the patient, "I believe there's something wrong with my stomach." "Not a bit of it," replied the doctor, promptly. "God made your stomach, and he knows how to make them. There's something wrong with the stuft' you put into it, maybe, and something wrong in the way you stuff it in and tramp it down, but your stomach is all right." And straightway the patient discharged him. My, how a man does hate to have the doctor tell him the truth ! If the milk foams and troths in the chum, the probability is that the temperature is not correct. Very Costly Ships. The London Daily Mews remarks: The enormous expense that has attended the construction and getting ready for sea of our recent battleships, is indesd enough to make a Minister think twice ere he proposes to build something that shall be still more costly. Taking, as examples, our eight battleships olr the Mediterranean Fleet, we find that the earliest of them?the "8ultan"?has cost up to the present time for construction, completion, machinery, repairs and alterations, 552,000/. Similarly the "Temeraine" has cost 541,000/.; the "Dreadnought," 882,000/.; the "Agamemnon," 540,000/.; the "Alexuidra," 802,000/.; the "Edinburg," 664,000/.; the "Colossus," 662,000/.; and the "Benbow," over 760,000/. The eight ships, therefore, represent a total expenditure by the country of nearly 5,000,000/.; and costly though they are not one of them is so oostly as the "Nile" or the "Trafalgar," both of which are now being completed. The bill for each of these will amount to nearly 9000,000/., at1 which price,she will be more than worth her weight in copper at the present quotations. It has of late been unofficially announced that the Government proposes?in the course of the next four years?to lay down ten new armored ? J a nnmka* A! VCPWJUSj 111 AUUlUUli IV UMUiUVf vi cruisers. Sabbath ObncTsace. The American Sabbath Union, No. 23 Park row, New York, asks that, action be taken by all general assemblies and oi;her church councils and conferences and conventions in accordance with i.he following extract of its constitution : BASIS. Thri basis of this Union is the Dt vine authority, and universal and perpetual obligation of the Sabbath, ai manifested in the order and constitution of nature, declared in the revealed will of God, formulated in the Fourth Commaadment of the moral law, interpreted and applied by our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, transferred to the Christian. Sabbath, or Lord's Day, by Christ and His apostles, and approved by its beneficial influence upon national life. OBJECT. The object of this Union is to preserve the Christian'Sabbath as a day of rest and worship. MEMBERSHIP. 1. Representative Members?rThe representative members shall be such persons as have been or may be appointed by the various Christian denominations of our country?that accept our basis?four representatives, from each denomination, with an extra | representative for each 100,000 members or major fraction thereof in the denomination. The Union asks also from all such bodies the indorsement, by vote, of the following or a similar petition to the United States Senate, with a duplif>ata inr thfl House of Renresentatives; To the United States "Senate ; The undersigned organization earn* estly petition you to pass a bill forbid* ding, in the government's mail: and military service, and in interstate com* merce, and in the District of Columbia and the Territories, all Sunday traffic and work, except works of necessity and mercy and such private work by , those, who religiously and regularly observe another day of the week by_ab1 staining from labor and business, as will neither interfere with the general' | rest nor with public worship. Dying at (he Top. Dr. Clokey says that the youths of our country are dying at the top. He makes the following "Startling statements concerning young men": Of the 7,000,000 young men in this country 75 per cent, do not attend church. 1 95 per cent, do not belong to the churcn. 97 per cent, do nothing for the 1 churcn. 70 per cent, of our incarcerated criminals are young men. 90 per cent. (nearly( of all crimes are ' committed by young men. 85 per cent, of the patrons of saloons - and bagnios are yourg men. The "worm beneath the bark" are 1 impure personal habits, neglect of parents, prayerlees homes, a secularized Sabbat n, the saloon and the social vices. Let all read the evidence and consider. Copies of this little work 1 placed in tbe hands of our boys and 1 young men may save many 01 iubuj from ruin. Forests and Rain Fall.?There i is nothing of greater importance to the agriculturists than rain at the proper season and in proper quantity; ana science has demonstrated that the forests of a country are potent in the ! regulation of storms, the formation of clouds, and the descent of rain. Anything which vitally affects the interests of the farmer and producer affects the - whole State, and demands the earliest 1 attention of the people's representa' tives. The reckless destruction of for1 eats, so strongly condemned by many American writers, which has been ! practiced by their countrymen, is now bearing its fruits in the terrible spring and autumn floods which of late years have affected large portions of the I United States. The Americans might spare much of their care for the chan1 nels of the Mississippi if they would t restore the groves cut from the hills which feed its sources. To disforest a mountain slope is to devote the height to barrenness, the valley to flood, and both to parching drouth when drouth is most injurious. Formation of Flowers.? It has been discovered by Prof. Sachs, the distinguished German botanist, that the ultra-violet and invisible rays of the solar spectrum especially promote the development of flowers, whose growth is exceedingly feeble when * ...?. nooail althrmorh inose rays tire Bupmcaoou, that of other parts or the plant Is very luxuriant. Prof. Sachs supposes that extremely minute quantities of one or more substances are formed in the leaves and aot upon large quantities of plastic substances to produce the flowers. Dividing the solar spectrum into three distinct regions, or sets of rays, he finds that the yellow and adjacent rays cause the decomposition of carbonic acid in plants, and are active in assimilation; the blue and visihle violet rays are those which produce tire movements of irritation ; while the ultra-violet form in the green leaves the subtances which are active in developing the flowers. We can deny ourselves, but we can not cleanse ourselves. T CareleM .Varda. Alas ! how thoughtless and wicked we sometimes are, preparing for. ourselves misery in future yean, simply because we are so heedless now! By careless words, we sow the seeds of estrangement and bitterness, for which g we may repent in after days, when the grave has parted us from the friends we have wronged, or even in this world, when it is too late to repair the mischief and win back the hearts we have alienated. Can we not be wise in time, and study our unconscious faults, ' so that we may utter ontythe words or a true love and our speech may be always with grace? ii n Self-control.?Self-control on the .< part of the mistress is really all impor- i tant. To lose one's calmness because cups and saucers are chipped, beeanse % breakfast is delayed, because the cook is in a fractious mood, or because any-1 thing below stairs is a little crooked, is altogether unworthy and ill-bred. Besides, it defeats itself. You can never possias authority over those less care- ^ fully educated and less fortunately v~ placed than yourself, unless you have i yourself well in hand. It is well, in our dealings with servants, to remember that it is as unreasonable and as ^ vaiu w iook i?r ausuiuw iwtieuuuu -i, among them as to expect to find it in their superiors in station. Do not lim- ; ! it yourself to finding fault with them when they fail; encourage tbem by #* judicious praise when they do well: ,i take an interest in their welfare, and v let them see that you regard it, and > you will have less cause to complsln of their unfaithfulness. Mrs. Margaret E. Sana tier* s Hour* with Girts. m Two Gentlemen.?I saw two gentlemenott a street-car lately. One of' them was grown up. He was hand- t somely dressed in a gray business suit, j and had very neat kid gloves and fine $j | boots. The other was about twelve v.te years old. His jacket had several I patches, aud needed more; and his shirt was of brown' cotton, and not very clean. Do you wonder how I ' knew he was a gentleman ? I will tell - V? you. The boy weut through the car to , *7 give some message to the driver. As fie returned, he gave a little Jump through the door, and, as he did so, his bare foot touched the grown-up gentleman's knee, and left a little mud on it. Turning around on the platform, he / raised his straw hat, and said very po- $ litely, in a clear tone, ''Please excuse me." Then the other gentleman bowed in his turn, just as he would have '-"v done to one of his own age, and said with a pleasant smile, "Certainly." ;i|! Black Peppeb.?The two kinds of black pepper known to this coqntry oome from Sumatra and Singapore. ? Very little pepper is dusted before it ia ground, notwithstanding the claims of spice grinders. The shell or skin on good pepper contains the essential oon-. stituents of the spite much more / than the inside kernel, which when free fmm the shell produces white, hot black pepper; But the heavy gains g with the shell on,-make the beet pep* * per. The Singapore pepper, which la the best, is separated into heavy and light grains and the better quality? the heavy?is mostly sold whole, while the light grains are ground. It is better for the housekeeper to buy . | whole pepper and grind it herself. . ^ {Good Housekeeping. Can war cease while Christians themselves are the advocates ? If this world is to be delivered from war by the gospel, the gospel must bo applied for the purpose. Would the gospel ever convert the heathen from idolatry, if Christians should themselves en* courage idolators, by a compliance with their customs? But as little may ' we expect the solpel will maka wars . / cease without the exertions of Christians, and while they countenance the . \ custom by their own example. Green Cobn Cakes.?With a pint of grated green corn mix half a tea- . / cup of milk, a tearcup of flour, a piece of butter half the size of an egg, a tea* spoonful of 8altf one egg well beaten, and a little pepper. Drop from a spoon into a little hot butter, and . when done on one side turn to .the other. 8erve hot for lunch or tea. An English clergyman, it is said, who was recently telling the story of the Good Samaritan, got two incidents in the Bible mixed, with a decidedly indinmiiH result. After reoiting the Good Samaritan's promise to the landlord of the inn, "And when I come again I will repay the?," be added, " "This he said, knowing that he should see his face no more." ' A mixture of oil and graphite will effectually prevent screw* from becoming fixed, moreover, protect them from yea re against rust. The mixture facilitates tightening up; is an excellent lubricant and greatly reduces the friction of the crews in its socket. An Arab rule for selecting a good horse is to measure him from the tip of tte nose to top of the withers, apd and from the latter point to the root' of the tail. The longer the first measurement is in propotion to the latter the better the horse. Henry Martyn laments that want of private devotion, reading, and shortness of prayer though incessan sermon-making had produced much strangeness between God and his soul. Many a preacher is learn from the same cause. * . Jtv Don't nag. There is more saving virtue in one quick, stern reproof, tlun in an hour's aimless scolding. A nagging woman is a constant thorn in the flesh. I -,g We can not make a more lively rep resentation and emblem to ourselves of hell, than by the view of a kingdom ??% tlTO ! in n?u There is Dot much future for* young man who knows how to spend a fortune before he knows how to make one. The man who is too lazy to be a gen tleman during his aetive buimeea life generally finds it impossible to be one when he retires from trade. If you would And a great many faults', be on the lookout; but if yoa want to find them in unlimited quantities, be on the look-in. To love those who love us is manlike ; but to love those who hate ui is Christ-like. Life is a crucible. We are thrown into it and tried. The actual weight and value of a man are expressed In the spiritual substance of the man. All else is dross. t '