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BILLIONS OF STAMPS. UNCLE SAM PRINTS AN ENORMOUS NUMBER EACH YEAR. All Kinds and Colors,'From the Pink TwoCenter to the Lordly One HumlredDollttr Stamp?How They Are Turned Out by the Washington JSureau. Uncle Sam makes and issues in the course of a year postage anil other stamps to the number of more than four billions. The exact number for the last year of which record is obtainable, says the New York "World, was 4,243,289,261. It is hard for the human mind to realize the magnitude of a sum as great as four billions. A better idea, probably, can be obtained of the size of the stamp output for a year by the statement that if they were pasted together, end for end, the strip thus obtained would encircle the earth seven times around at the equator. There were all sorts and conditions of stamps in this aggregate of four billions. There were postage stamps, from the humble little one-center and the familiar pink two-center that every one sees to 'the lordly one hundreddollar stamp that lives an exclusive life and never shows itself to the vulgar herd. The latter is called a periodical stamp. It is sold to the publishers of periodicals, who present it to the postmaster with so many pounds of mail matter, aud the stamp is then cancelled aud kept in a book. Over ten thousand of these were pointed last J Cttl . There were about one hundred million of the long green beer stamps used in the internal revenue service, that you see the barkeeper remove from the bunghole when he taps a fresh keg. There were about four hundred million of the little green stamps that seal the end of a cigarette box. There were more than half a billion of tobacco strip stamps, with countless millions of other kinds. . The everyday two-cent stamp, with its cheerful pink color and mucilaginous back, was printed to the numbeikof a little more than two billions. If the > magnitude of this number is difficult to grasp, it is easy enough to measure a two-cent stamp and figure for one's self how mauy thousand miles those il ' PRINTING INTERNAI / two billions would stretch if pasted end j L to end. I All of the stamps used by the United j ^ States are printed at Washington in ; the Bureau of Engraving and Printing. the same institution that turns out the paper money of the Government. Formerly they were made by the bank note companies in New York, but in 1893 Uncle Sam concluded that as he was going into the printing business very extensively at his capital he might as well save the profits on j the stamp making. The Bureau makes the plates from which the stamps are j printed, does the press work and | mamif.af'fiippa ninoilaorA Onlv t.Vip i paper ami the ink are purchased in open market. This preparation of the j mucilage is an art in itself, and is con- j ducted upon purely hygienic principles, for the benefit of the several ' billions of people who annually lick j postage stamps. The operation of the manufacture of! postage stamps through the several branches is an exceedingly interesting one to follow. A small army of men and young women, skilled artisans, are employed in the work, and the great red brick building on the banks of the . Potomac under the shadow of the Washington monument is a busy bee hive for eight hours in the day. The first step in the manufacture of postage and revenue stamps is the making of the plates from which they are to be printed. The plate for the ordinary two-cent stamp of everyday use is a sheet of steel twenty-one inches by about thirteen inches. The engraver uses a sheet of soft steel upon L I. - i.1- ? .1. * f r wuiuu ue engraves me uesigu ui iour hundred stamps. L The custody of these plates, together W v "with others, is confided to one man. Erery afternoon the plates must be A STAMP ENGRAVER. accounted for arid locked in a vault. 1 Until the la^t plate is in no employe | of the division is allowed to leave the ' building. The plate now being finished, it is sent to the pressroom. Some of the I stamps are printed upon hand presses and others upon revolving steam [ presses. The day I visited the Bureau the hand pressmen were working upon INAAM ofnr>irMi TliOVtl U'OrO fu'tili + Tf UCCi. 0VulU|/0. 1UV4V; " vt v tnvuij \ji these upon a sheet, and the printer and his assistant were enabled to turn out from 700 to 800 sheets a day. The prossman's assistant is always a young girl, as c woman's deft touch in re quire;l to handle the thin sheets of j paper and place them accurately under the press. The paper upon which the stamps ! are printed is made especially for this ! PRESSING THE STAMP SHEETS. purpose, aud every sheet of it is counted. In fact, from the time the paper enters the press.until it e nerges a sheet of stamps in the storage rooms it passes through fourteen divisions, every one of which registers the sheet, and these must tally as to totals at the close of the day before an employe is permitted to leave the building. Every time the pressman runs a plate through his machine he removes it and reinks it. Upon this largely depends the perfection of the impression. After inking the plate he rubs the surplus ink from the surface with a brush. Then he passes his hands over a cake of chalk and rubs the plate briskly with his bare palms. This cleans the exposed parts of the plate thoroughly and leaves the ink in the lines which are to convey the impression to the paper. The printer soon becomes a mass of ink from his hands to his elbows, and sooner or later communicates it to his face, as well as daubing it over his apron. A carmine colored ink is used in printing the twocent stamps, and the pressroom has a decidedly sanguinary appearance. The young lady assistants average about $1.25 a day, while the pressmen run i REVENUE STAMPS. frnm SJ. tn a rlnv in pnrnini? rtimarti t V. - v ' o ? Where the steam presses are used four steel plates, each one printing 400 stamps, work upon an endless chain passing in front of the pressman. In this operation his duties are confined to cleaning the plates with his hands, as described above, the machinery doing the inking and pressing. He can press about seven sheets every sixty seconds, and has two young women to assist him, one to feed the press and the other to remove the sheets. The sheets of stamps are now ready to be gummed, perforated and divided. After the ink has been dried and the sheets pressed flat they are sent to another room, where another gang handle them. The gumming machine is a simple apparatus which distributes an even flow of mucilage upon the reverse side of the stamp. It is done automatically, so that there is no waste ami no surplus of mucilage upon any part of the sheet. The mucilage is composed of glucose and dexterine, mixed in stipulated quantities and absolutely harmless. "When the sheets are coated with mucilage they pass upon an endless chain through a steam chest about sixty feet long, where they are subjected to a temperature of about 135 degrees, coming out after several minxxtes thoroughly dried. Then they go to a hydraulic press to be pressed flat, having become warped in the steam chest. The sheets are are laid between stiff cardboards and a stack of them put into tho machine, where they are subjected to a pressure of 5000 pounds to the square inch. There are no wrinkles left when they emerge from this gentle squeezing. Their next journey is to the perfora ting machines, operated by skillful young women. This is apparently a simple piece of work, but it requires close attention to feed the machine, so that the perforating wheels run straight down the spaces between the stamps. Even with the utmost care slips occur, and a row of stamps is perforated down the middle. Every spoiled sheet is preserved, however, to be accounted for, and if so much as a corner of a stamp is torn off it must be patched on again, so as to present a whole sheet to the next checker. One of the most interesting places in the building is the room where the stamps are examined and counted. This is an immense apartment, filled with long tables, at which several scores of young women are working. Piled upon the tables in front of them are stacks of ten dollar, fifty dollar or one hundred dollar bills, government bonds and sheets of stamps. A rustling sound like the whisper of the wind through a thousand trees fills the room, as the counters rapidly turn the bills and sheets, keeping a mental tab upon the number, while their eyes, trained to the utmost vigilance, seek out imperfections in the printing. I saw one young woman at work counting and examining the stamps whose record was from ten thousand to twelve thousand sheets a day. Her fingers seemed to fairly fly as she lifted the sheets, and although it was but a fraction of a second during which the stamps passed under her gaze, her quick eye would detect the least imperfection, passing over two hundred stamps in that time. For this skillful and exacting work these young . ifo i women are paid from $1.50 to ?2 per (lav f When the perfect sheets are thns as- J sorted and counted, they pass to the 1. storage vault, a firejjroof and airtight > structure. The Bureau keeps a stock . of about six hundred million stamps 1 ^ 011 hand constantly. They are fur- j nished to the Postoftice Department at the rate of about twelve millions a day, i upon requisition by the Third Assistant Postmaster General. A steel wagon, with padlocked doors and accompanied by a guard of armed men, conveys the stamps to the Postoffice Department. This wagon is also used to transport currency and bank notes to the Treasury Department, and goes trundling along the street with millions of money inside of it. KLONDIKE PALACE CARS. First Effort to Put Reindeer to Use in The rush to the Klondike has been the means of establishing a novel transportation line at Circle City, Alaska. Twenty sturdy bucks have been selected from the United States Government reindeer herd at Teller's Statioh and are now on their way to the mining districts. This is the first effort to press the reindeer into the ALL ABOARD FOR THE KLONDIKE. (1 a practical commercial service of the [ civilized American; heretofore the Eskimo dog has been used in all expedi- j tions through the Klondike country. [ That the reindeer possesses tremend- s ous advantages over the Eskimo dog 3 is illustrated in the matter of their re? q spective food. That of the dog must ^ be carried, while the reindeer paws the r snow from the roots on which he subsists.?New York World. 1 Wllllns: to Do Her Best. | , Several years ago when the famous ^ old siren whistle was blown so fre- (1 quently at the river mouth?no, not by } the river mouth?a certain East End ? family owned a cow. She was just a:a ^ ordinary cow in all respects, says the ! j Cleveland Plain Dealer, save one. The I t, siren whistle had a remarkable effect \ -j upon her. Every blessed time the j ,j whistle started in to wail and moan : j that cow started up a vigorous series i l( of moos. And the most curious fea- I ture about it was that the cow's vocal ! effort ran up and down the scale in a ! fairlv close imitation of the whistle, j ( "Too-oo-oooo-ooo," would go the 3 siren. ^ ' "Moo-oo-oooo-ooo," would go the 11 cow. ? But there was always a wild cres- s cendo shriek at the eud of the siren's ,( effort that no cow?no matter how accomplished?could hope to rival.. And 1 this cow?being a sensible and rather 11 phlegmatic animal?didn't attempt to. 1 But her efforts within reasonable limits } never failed to arouse the hilarious at- * tentions of the neighbors, and fre- 1 quently caused strangers to pause by " the fence and listen open-mouthed to ^ the astonishing performance. Houses Without Chimneys. >' It is curious, though true, that of all ) the houses, dwellings, stores, hotels >i and other buildings that dot the island of Key West, Fla., from one shore to the other, not one of them has a si cliimnev or anvtbinir that will answer the purpose of a chimney. Handsome j residences and lowly hovels are alike I ;] in this respect, and from an eminence j v gazing out over acres of roofs on all ,] sides one is struck with the want of i r something to complete the symmetry : ^ of the picture. Wood and coal or fuel | \ of any kind are unknown quantities, j r. as the tiopical atmosphere furnishes all the heat required, and for cooking purposes sticks of carbon are used, which are sold by peddlers, who hawk their wares about the streets.?Atlanta Constitution. A Woman Colonel. Miss Lewis Butt is a colonel on the staff of Governor Atkinson, of Georgia. There is only one other woman colonel in the United States, and that is Colonel Nellie Ely, of Tennessee. During the Civil War the dashing Confed. erate cavalry leader appointed more than one fair Virginian aide-de-camp < 011 his staff, and it is recorded that the prettiest of them, a Fairfax girl, repaid Stuart by marrying a Union officer.?New York Journal. PRINCE OF PICEONS. ' He Few 1000 Miles In Seventy-flve Houri and Holds the World's llecord. Pedro, the great homing pigeon which broke the world's record for 1000 miles in his swift journey in the air from New Orleans to Mishawaka, Ind., is the pride of the Mishawaka ! j Homing Club. Pedro's superb race j C was made in seventy-five hours total, | v or less than fifty hours of actual fly- j fc ing. Carrier pigeons never work after i ? t I TEDISO, PRINCE OF CARRIERS. dark. Pedro is a pretty red pigeon, is three years old; and is owned by a Secretary Tallens, of the club. Pedro ! [_ is a brother of Lulu, the winner of ? the 500-mile race in Mississippi. Both D are imported birds. When Pedro ar- j rived at Mishawaka he flew straight to f his loft, seeming none the worse for [ the journey. t During the year 1896 dead dogs to the number of 10,002 wer? taken out of Chicago. . ? ...? - i - ; :7gp*r'' - M niun w?it? luvvcn. s 102 Feet High and Huh a Capacity < 2000 Gallons. TLe towns of the plain districts at orced to resort to various expedient o obtain a suitable pressure for th listribution of their water supply. A WARREN (ILL.) WATER TOWER. Varren, 111., the water supply is dis ributecl according to the Engineerin Jews, from a water tower of masonr 02 feet high from the water table t he bottom of the tank. The masonr s founded on solid rock about twelv r thirteen feet below the water table Lt the level of the water table th r'alh are four feet thick, and from thi liey decrease with a uniform taper t thickness of two feet at the top. Th lasonry is of limestone laid in cemen lortar. The tank is made of re< jouisiana cypress and is twenty-foil jet high and twenty-one feet in dia leter, with a capacity of 2000 gallons 'he standpipe which supplies 1;h ater to the mains is ten inches ii iamjter and is connected with th ottom of the tank with an expansioi >int and a balance float valve. This alve automatically shuts off the wake hen the vank is full. Water is pumped to the tower fron deep well located in the brick power oust' about sixty fuet away. Thi rell is about 800 f^et deep. Th ^ater is lifted from the well to the to] f the tower without relian&ling Iveni.ually the water will be discharge! ito ,1 reservoir, where it will b andled by another pump for firi ervice, but in the meantime a ver; lir pressure is had direct from th ink, which is elevated some forty o fty f set above the larger part of t'n >wn. "Out of Soils." Many common expressions are o 'gitiiaate parentage, although mos eoplo believe that they spring up lik< 'opay. The printing craft, for in tance, originated several very popa tr sayings. Take the case of a mai ho is "out of sorte." In a hand Dmposition printing office the wort sorts" applies to the letters anc larks which should be in the typ< ig. A man who, in the days befori le coming of linotype machines >und his "e" box barren or his com la box desolate and bankrupt wai lid to be out of those particular sorts iy his profanity the calamity wai lade known, and by his impatient re larks to this day is the man who i ut of sorts known, whether he is ( anker or a policeman.?Chicago Rec rd. A COUNTESS CREATES A STIR. be Declared That Dancing Has Degeii erated Into a Graceless Romp. The Countess of Ancaster, who ha reated a great stir in the fashionabl orld of London by her declaratioi lat dancing has degenerated into raceless romp, is the wife of Lor< 7illoughby de Eresby, the Baron o .veland. The Countess' daughter Ivelyn Clementina, is married to Ma COUNTESS OP ANCASTEB. or-General Sir Henry Ewart, th Jueen's equerry. This fact and th ery high social position of the Cour ess herself, give more than ordinar mportance to her opinions upon ma era cor.cerning society, and dancin s certainly one of these. IVftles Lilrennfd to Oivo PIU?. The Prince of Wales, at the la: neeting of the Royal College of Phi icians, having been solemnly electe , member of that augu3t body, froi low on has the right to commenc nailinnl nrantlAO ill fllA TTnitml TCitlf 1" ? C lom wilhout any interference on til >art of i;he authorities. It is hardl lecessary to say that England's fntnr ;ing understands little or notliin ,bout medicine, and that his doctorshi if medicine as well as his brevat as >hysician is only of an honorary chai ,cter.?Chicago Record. Chattel Slavery In Missouri. According to an old law in St. Lom: . man may he sold at auction to tb lighest bidder for a term of si Qonths' service for deserting his wil ind failing to support her. The la a to be applied in the caae of a cor irmed loafer, and an announcement < lis sale is posted on the front door c he City Court House.?Chicago Jou] lal. Crude petroleum is au excellei emedy for rheumatism. ?-? WORDS OF WISDOM. >f We are what we are in private. You never know a man till he knowl e you. A lion never kills anybody while h( ? i is roaring. 1 In society nothing succeeds like s good fortune. Honesty is the first chapter in th< oook of wisdom. To love one that is great is almost t< oe great one's self. Oh, how exceedingly wise are tliej ohat agree with us! One truth in the life is better thar i hundred in the memory. He who promotes the good is grea'.ei ;han he who performs it. The wasted mental force would do til the work of the world. No man is good who behaves himielf simply because he has to. A man's sins find him out more . eadily than the best detective. Any girl's name becomes beautiful .vhenyou love the owner of it. He cannot be a perfect man not be* mg tried and tutored in the world. The better men and women know iach other the less they say about . ideals. A great many people would know - nore if they thought they knew less. '* A man always has something to look f? forward to; those who owe him may y pay. ?- There are ways of doing everything. ^ The way some people love makes ? others sick. e Fate is circumstance's "You're not 8 30 warm!" to the man who th'nks he 0 knows it all.?The South-West. Went Like Hot Cukes. ^ The Cleveland Plaindealer tells an amusing anecdote of the ruse a member of the Ohio Legislature adopted to ?et rid of a big pile of agricultural re' ports that had accumulated in his jffice. One of his neighbors fixed him ap a placard reading: 0 1 ; ALL ABOUT AGRICULTURE. 3 : How the Grasshopper Makes : r : Grass! ; How the Butterfly Makes Batter. : ; TAKE 0NE1 : a ; . The lawyer was pleased with this S 1- __.i TT- .1 i.1. ? i wotk 01 an. ne iouubu uuwu me i e office boy with volumes, and put the | ? sard on top. Then the boy went downstairs and laid the books by the jnrb with the card leaning against the e pile. As he started upstairs for an0 ather load he noticed that a small ^ 3rowd was gathering. When he 8 reached the sidewalk, with another r load there wasn't a book left of the B original pile. The card was lying on the walk, aud perhaps twenty people were staring at it. As he advanced a f number of them grabbed the books t before he could laj' them down. They " 3 met him at the foot of the stairs when . he appeared with the third load, and a swaying mass of eager people pressed 1 forward for more. They were on the stairs waiting for him when he brought 1 the fourth load, and over the heads of ] the people he could see men running j from various directions to find out the jause of the trouble. Well, the books 2 were soon gone, and the card went, 9 tuu. Tlie lawyer who planned the scheme : 3 was delighted. "My first annual free distribution 3 of books was a rip-roaring success,' . he complacently remarked. s A Battle For Life In the Congo llapids. * "Cruelty in the Congo Free State' is the title of the final paper made up from the journals of the late E. J. Glave, and it appears in the Century. Mr. Glave tells the following story: Stanley Pool is a majestic place, and is well named, for it is a monster pool. 9 A.t each end it is narrow, and widens e out in the middle. It is studded with 11 islands and sandbanks, and encircled a by hills move or less timbered. 1 A native of Kinsassa is said once to f have passed safely the rapids below '? Leopoldville. He was in a canoe, ana r endeavored to cross the river, but was swept into the rapids. By dexterous paddling he managed to keep his bark afloat through two miles of the wildest' waters; then she fillet! and swamped, and the native swam safely to a small island. Here he remained six days. To cross the rapids and relievo him was impossible. Every day he could be seen waving his arms frantically, and his cries for help could sometimes be heard above the. roar of the waters. After six days he was reduced by hunger, and determined to risk his life He gathered tpgether some light logs, lashed these with vines into a rude sort of raft, then dropped down from * the end of the island, and, paddling with a stick, was hurled about by th? rapids, which, however, are not sc strong as above; aud although carried , down a great distance, he managed at ^ last, by working his craft into a back current, to get ashore. Battered, terrified, and almost dead with hunger, he reached a fishiug camp. Hiding an Ofttrlch. "I don't believe the stories tolc ,e about the natives in Africa and Aus e tralia riding ostriches," said a Califor i- nia man the other day. "American: j are the best riders on earth, but the] t- cannot ride ostriches. I saw thii g pretty thoroughly tried 011 one occa sion. A cowboy who had vanquished every pony he ever undertook to breal in was induced to try an ostrich. Af j ter an hour's hard work he succeedef 7- in mounting the bird, which at lirs d | tried to shako him oft", then to ge n : away by running, but these tactics, 0 ;e | course, had no effect upon the cow J- boy. Then, in spite of all the mai e j could do, the ostrich succeeded ir 3 , getting its head around and seizini e j the man by one leg. He doubled hig I feet under him, and the ostricl p [ succeeded in getting a gooil I10UI o a his back, throwing him heavily to thi r- ground and trampling 011 him. I took three ot us to chase the infuriat ed ostrich away, and we accomplishec it barely in time to save the man's life ?, I don't believe the native Australian; e ride ostriches."?Chicago News. g l'arlit Kninfiill. (v From records extending back t> 1080, M. Camille Flaminarion find )j that the rainfall of Paris has graduall; )) increased about three inches, beini r. now a little more than twenty-twinches a year. The amount of differ ence seems to indicate that the in d crease is real and not due to greate aocurao.y of observation. THE SABBATH SCHOOL. INTERNATIONAL LESSON COMMENTS FOR SEPTEMBER 26. .Review of the Twelve Lessons of the Third Quarter?Golden Text: Matthew v., 10?Commentary on the Quarter's Lessons by the Rev. D. M. Stearns. Lesson I.?First Converts in Europe (Acts xvi., 6-15). Golden Text?Ps. cxix., 130, "The entrance of Thy words giveth light." The golden text for the quarter, "Let your light so shine," etc. (Math v., 16), suggests that Christ, who is the light, is to be allowed so to work in us that God may be glorified in us (Gal. I.. 2i). Paul testifies that it pleased God to reveal Christ in him (Gal. i., 16), and as the Lord Jesus Christ never sought His own will or pleasure (John vi., 38; Rom. xv., 3), so Paul, when hindered from going into Asia or Bithynia, was satisfied to cross over to Macedonia at the call of His Lord and patiently wait for the opportunity and cheerfully accept the seemingly small one of speaking to a few women by the riverside. Lesson II.?Paul and the Philipplan Jailer (Acts xvi., 22-34). Golden TextActs xvi., 31, "Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved and thy house." To be arrested, beaten and Imprisoned did not look much Uke success In their work; neither did it look like success when our blessed Lord was arrested, buffeted, scourged, cruoified as a malefactor. Lesson III.?Paul at Thessalonlca and Berea (Acts xvii., 1-12). Golden TextActs xvil., 11, "They received the word with all the readiness of mind and searched the Scriptures daily." Some were added unto the Lord at Philtppi, and Paul passed on to other cities, for he believed that it was His calling to cause all whom he could reach to see and hear the Gospel. It Is to be seen in our lives and heard from our lips, and whether we are free or bound, resting in one place, or persecuted from place to place, it is that under all circumstances people may see and hear of Jesus Christ. Not all will receive him, but some will, and some, like the Bereans, will earnestly search the Scriptures. Lesson IV.?Paul Preaching In Athens (Acts xvii., 22-34). Golden Text?John iv., 24, "God is a Spirit, and they that worship Him must worship Him in spirit and In truth." He found the people of Athens worshiping all manner of gods, but Ignorant of the only living and true God, and giving their time chiefly to hearing and . telling the news regardless of anything beyond the present life. Lesson V.?Paul's Ministry In Corinth (Acts xvili., 1-11). Golden Text?I Cor. ill., 11, "Other foundation can no man lay than that is laid, which is Jesus Christ." Here He works at His trade as a tentmaker and on the Sabbath days preache3 Christ in the synagogue as long as the people will listen to Him, and when they will hear Him ao more He preaches in a house right beside the synagogue. Many are saved, Including the chief ruler of the synagogue'and all His house. The Lord Himself visits and en3onrages Paul, and He continues eighteen months at Corinth. Lesson VI:?Wooing and Waiting For ""htHaf ft TViteoa fr 9 tn v V\ ftnlHnn Text?John xlv., 3, "If I go and prepare a. place for you, I will come again and receive you unto Myselt.Uhat where I am there ye may be also." Turning to God from idols is the first step, the coming of His Son from heaven is the consummation, and all between is included in serving the living and true God (I Thess. i., 9,10). We need to be assured of our salvation or there can be no peace of mind. Lesson VII.?Abstaining For the Sake of Others (I Cor. viii., 1-13). Golden TextRom. xlv., 7, "For none of us liveth unto himself." The love that bulldeth up the body of Christ is better than the knowledge that puffeth up oneself. To pity self, or please self, or live in any way unto ourselves (Math, xvl., 22, margin; Rom. xv., 8, II Cor. v., 15), is directly opposed to the 3pirit of Christ, and, therefore, cannot,be pleasing to Him; but to deny self and dally to die unto self that Christ may be seen in s (Math, xvi., 24, 25; II Cor. iv., 11), this Is Christlike and glorifying to God, and thus 30uls will be won to Christ. Lesson VIII.?The Excellence of Chrisdan Love (I Cor. xiii., 1-13). Golden Text ?I Cor. xiii., 13, "And now abideth faith, hope, love, these three, but the greatest of these lb love." God is love, and Christ was God manifest in the flesh, and this chapter is a nhotofirraoh of Christ, so that, although His name is not in it, we cannot mistake the picture any more than we would that of an intimate friend. Lessor IX.?Paul Opposed at Ephesus (Acts xix., 21-34. Gold Text?"Take heed and beware of covetousness." The trouble at Ephesus aro9e from those who paid, "Our crbft, by which we have our wealth, is in danger." This is not to be wondered at when it comes from those who have in this world all they ever will have, but when it is seen in those who bear the namo of Christ in connection with our ohuroh, or our board, or our society, or our denomination, is pitiable indeed, and must bo grievous to God, who; by 1Mb Spirit, is soeking to gather from all nations a body of people irrespec- . tivo of all names but that of our Lord Jesus Christ. Lesson X.?Gentiles Giving For Jowlsh Christians (II Cor. ix., 1-11). Golden Text ?II Cor. viii., 9, "Yo know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that, though He was rich, yet for your sakes He bocame poor, that yo through His poverty might be rich." God so loved that Ho gave His only begotten Son; the Son of God loved me and gave Hirasolf for me. If wo see others need that which we have and we give not to them, how can the love of God be dwelling in us? (John iii., 16; Gal. ii., 20; I John iii., 16, 17.) Lesson XI.?Christian Living (Eom. xii., 9-21). Golden Text?Rom. xii., 21, "Be n/Nf nrofonmn nf m-il hnfc overcome evil with good." This Is again ou tho same line of thought as some previous lessons, and begins with, "Lot love be without dissimulation," and it both begins and ends with hating evil and loving good. "There is none good s&vo one, that ia God." Lesson XII. ? Paul's Address to the Epheslan Elder* (Acts xx, 22-35). Golden Text?Acts xx., 35, "Remember the words of the Lord Jesus, how He said, It is more blessed to give than to receive." He Is able by the graeo of God to testify that tho exoeeding abundant grace of God to him (I Tim. i., 14) enabled him for three years to give himself so fully to them that with all humility of mind and temptations and tears he had testified the gospel of the grace of God, preached the kingdom ol God and declared the whole counsel oi God, and now he cared not what awaited him if only he could still glorify God, so fully was he given up to Him who appeared to him on the way to Damascus. The same Lord Jesus will do the same^in and through us if we are only willing.? Lesson Helper. 3 DECREASE IN IMMIGRATION. An Increase Expected Under Improving ISuftinesri Conditions. The United States Treasury uepartment has prepared figures showing the immigration for July. The total was 14,756, against 21,476 for the corresponding month last year. This decrease is considered rather remarkable, in view of the stimulus in business conditions in the United States in the last few months, experience having demonstrated that the tide of immigration follows closely the opportunities which exist here for those seeking better conditions under which to make the struggle for life. In the last few years of depression im iigration steadily decreased. Lust year tho total was less than the number which came in a single year from Germany alone. It is believed at the Treasury Department that the Ilgures for July are ebb-tide figures, and that as soon as the improving business situation in the United States becomes a matter of public knowledge in Europe tho immigration to this country will once more begin to increase. Of the total of 14,750 immigrants, 1094 came through Canada. The largest number, 21)28, eaine from Italy. Russia was next with 2376; Germany sent 1377 and Ireland 1285. Th<> figures for July, like those for the last fiscal year, show "a predomi- | nance in the number of female over mam immigrants from Ireland. This te the only country from which more women than men come. Survived a Great Fall. John Swan, of New York City, a Harvard *enior, fell 300 feet from a precipice on .Monument Mountain, between Stockbridge ind Great Barrlngton, Mais. His left arm ind leg were broken and injury to the jplne is feared. god;s message to manT* PREGNANT THOUCHTS FROM THE WORLD'S CREATEST PROPHETS. A Hymn of Thanksgiving?All Things in '-"J the Iliindo of the Father?A Prayer for Strength?Discipline firing* Courage? The Self 1Ate a Banner. For the dear love that kept us through the night, And gave our senses to sleep's gentle sway, For the new miracle of dawning light. Flushing the east with prophecies of day. We thank thee, 0, our God! For the fresh life that throueh our being flows, With iw lull tide to strengthen and to bless, For calm, sweet thoughts, uprising from repose. We praise thee. 0, our God! Thou knowest our needs, thy fulness will supply Our blindness?let thy hand still lead us on, Till visited bv the davsDrine from on high. Our prayer, one only' "Let thy will bel We breathe to thee. 0. God! ?W. H.( Burleigh. All Thing* In the Hands of the Father. Some feel bom to fly, but have no wings. Others think they are made for public life, ^ but the public thinks differently. Soma have wealth, -while others can never get ahead; their inferiors wear the honors and reap the harvests. Hearts made for homes have no homes. Those nt>t fitted for responsibilities struggle under them. Work, Sacrifice, saving, are followed by loss. The rainy day comes, and nothing is laid by. Health goes, ana brave and daring spirits are shut within four walls for years, leaving them only for narrower walls. Today there is a cloudless sk^: tonight a swift shadow; tomorrow all will be dark. These are fre- *. quent experiences. They burn like white hot iron. They startle, then daze; then comes the vague wander whether there is anything but everlasting disappointment and never-opening mystery. What shall be said? This is the golden key which will unlock all dark doors: Interpret God by His fathei hood. Try any other; the doors move not. Try this; they swing on silent hinges. God is Father. He sees and knows all,and he allows that to come to each which each most needs." His purpose is blessing. All are in the hands of One who is doing what earthly fathers do for their children? the very best possible. "But lam disap- \\ij3 pointed!" Do you never disappoint your ohild for his good? "But I do not get . v'ftj what I wajit!" Do you allow your child to . 'jfi have everything he wants ? "But I suffer terrible agony!" Do you never have to p rmit your child to suffer? "But my heart is breaking over what can never come back to me !'' What do you do when , your child sobs with a broken heart ? Do j you not take him in your arms and stroks ~ KUiaA *rsA onaoL- annthinor wnrH I lie iiUb UCAU aUU wvvvmmb ? What if the heavenly Father is anxious to do the same? Interpret God by his fatherhood. When there are limitations which 'v$B cannot be broken, remember the Father placed them there; when ideals are unfulfilled forever, ask If your ideal for yourself and the father's are the same. When wealth goes something better will come in its place. When death Invades, the peace of God waits to come in. If all things are in the Father's hands, they must work for the good of all. And they do. The hours may seem dark, but the years are bright. The years may ; seem in shadow, but the centuries are in -X&k sunlight. Out of the darkness of tonight is born the brightness of tomorrow. Interpret God by His fatherhood. "No harm from Him can come to me On ocean or on shore." ?r6v. Amory H. Bradford,D. D.,in "The Growing Revelation." A Prayer for Strength. 0 God, in whose presence is our love's content, help us s) to use all human affections that they .may speak to us of thee. Pardon their failures and shortcomings and make them wholly thine. -For strength in ministry to those we love, for opportunities of service and for glad humility in receiving. we humbly pray. To love is thy gift. Help us to use it nobly, In all sorrow and all delight Choose thou our happiness and sustain us with thy patience in our grief. When in humility of self-knowledge we are afraid to think of the great love that others bring us, may we grow strong and pure by the remembrance of their affection. - re We are awed and humbled by the thought of thy great love in Christ, 0 God. Help as to know its power for joyful righteousness. And may that holy love surround and purify all earthly ties of affection, that they may be as enduring as our life that is bid with Christ in God. And to thee be praise, O God. through Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen. Discipline Bring* Courage. The life that has not known and accepted ; S sorrow is strangely crude and untaught. It can neith r help nor teach, for it has never learned. The life that has spurned the lesson of sorrow, or failed to read it aright, is cold and bard: but the life that has been disciplined by sorrow is courageous, nnd full of holy and gentle love. Without sorrow ' life glares. It has no half-tones or merciful shadows. Disappointment in life is inevitable. Pain is the common lot of humanity. Sharp sorrow, at one time or another, will , ; f ; ? come to each of us. If Indeed it has not already come. But this same sorrow is a . gentle teacher, and reveals many things that it would be bard to understand.?Anna Brown. The Self-Life a Barrier. You often see beautiful fruit displayed behind a plate glass window or in some shop; and the hungry little boys look and long for V it, but they cannot reach it. If you were to tell one of them who has never seen glass to take some, he might attempt it; but he finds something invisible between him and that fruit. Just so many Christians can see that God's gifts are beautiful, but they cannot take, because the self-life comes in between, even though they cannot see it What glorious blessings we should have if we were only willing to give up the self-life and take what God has prepared for us?not only , righteousness, not only peace, but the joy of the Holy Ghost?Rev. Andrew Murray. 1 Our First Thought for God. That the period immediately after rising should be scrupulously consecrated to God; that the earliest thoughts of the homage of self dedication should be renewed before starting on another pilgrimage; that we should listen to his small voice of warning or encouragement as it issues from his written inner word.or from the inner consciousness, or from the outer world?all this is so esseni 1 ihu ntfioH nnil holiness uauy uuuuu up ??**** ?? of the day that one might almost say the two are inseparable. The tone and sentiment and feeling throughout the day are sure to take their coloring from the morning hour. ?Goulburn. The Attitude of Strength. There is another attitude as important aa that of truth and of duty for the development of great personality. It is the attitude described in the word ''love." Ever and *' everywhere be a lover! The occupying of such a point of truth and duty and love will make vou a personality which shall be like a cathedral, strong with the strength of buttressed principles, beautiful with the memory of holy deeds, and seen from afar as th? symbol of the presence of God.?Charles f. Thwing. Be true and real in all thvsacred acts; remember with whom thou hast to do. Dinner TV a* Late and He Hanged HlraseTT. Andrew Heinritz, twenty-seven years old, living at Wilkinsburg, a suburb of Pittsburg, Penn., made an engagement with friends to go to Turtle Creek. His wifa :ooked dinner late and he saw he had missed :he train. He had an ungovernable tem? per, and, afterseolding his wife, went down ;o the collar. His friends came to go with iiim on a later train. Heinritz's wife sent :hom downstairs, and they found him hanging dead by a rope. Blur Price for Apple*. A * G^rtnonHAoh Vailav VUH Ittnuwr 1U Uin ououwuuvwu Virginia, has sold his crop of apples?1000 barrels?to a London firm for $3.50 per b&S? rel. ; Mi