Untitled article | AdventAI

The Seventh-day Adventist Publishing Association · Battle Creek, Mich. · Third-day, January 14, 1868

News and Miscellany.

Can ye not discern the Signs of the Times? Matt. xvi, 3.

—The Maine Farmer is thus sarcastic on the present ridiculous style of ladies’ bonnets, or rather that which supplies the place of bonnets. It recommends country ladies who wish to keep up with city fashions to take a medium-sized pumpkin seed, carefully cut out the meat on the under side, put a narrow strip of fur around the edge, and fasten the strings to the sides, and they will have a bonnet in the pink of fashion. The broad end of the bonnet should be worn in front, to keep off the sun and wind.

—The Legislature of Tennessee has passed a bill abolishing all distinctions of race or color. This action makes that State the most perfect Republic in America—even more so than Massachusetts.

—Russia is said to be preparing for war, and has so concentrated her armies as to be in a position to send 200,000 men to the Turkish or Austrian frontier at a few days’ notice. A Russian newspaper says: “Our Government may continue to circulate peaceful phrases among the public in Paris, London and Vienna, but we know here that war is imminent.”

—Report says that since November 18, when St. Thomas was convulsed with a terrific earthquake and hurricane, no less than five hundred distinct shocks have been felt by the residents of that island. But earthquakes seem not to be confined to St. Thomas—more recently they have occurred in divers places nearer home—in Canada, in Vermont, and in Northern New York, although no damage was done in these places, beyond rousing numerous frightened people from their slumbers. Nature certainly appears to be in an unstable and excited state, and many nervous people begin to quake in their shoes. Nobody can predict what is to be in the future; but up to present date, in our country at least, earthquakes can not compare with locomotives as “engines of destruction.” Indeed it would seem far more safe to take a house in St. Thomas, than to take a car on almost any of our railroad routes. Scarcely a day passes without adding to the list of “accidents,” and “railroad disasters” are fast becoming—as “boiler explosions” were a short time ago—part of the regular and standard “news of the day.”

—An eminent physician of the last generation, speaking of the progress of medical science in his day, said: “When I graduated, I had a dozen remedies for every disease; when I retired from practice, I had a dozen diseases for every remedy.”

The Fenian Movements.—Our English friends laughed at us a good deal during the early years of the rebellion, for our dread of masked batteries and gun-boats; they are now having a more ridiculous panic over the warlike demonstrations of the Fenians, who are represented as endeavoring to blow up the gas-works of Glasgow and Warrington, and who have been using the postal system and officials to circulate torpedoes which have exploded on the opening of the envelopes containing them. In Canada the excitement has been not less intense and comical, and on Christmas last the citizens of Montreal chiefly employed themselves in watching the English Cathedral and the water-works to prevent the Fenians from blowing them up. The Parliament of the New Dominion, which adjourned on December 23, passed several bills for protection from Fenian invasion from the United States.

The Roman Question.—What is to be done with or for the Pope is very much disturbing the quiet of both France and Italy. Angry debates in the French Chambers and a dissolution of the Italian Cabinet have resulted from the effort to settle the issues growing out of the late attempt on Rome. So strong was the feeling against France in the Italian Cabinet and among the Italian people that General Menabrea, the Premier, a conservative and friendly to France, was compelled to resign. King Victor Emanuel, again disregarding public opinion and the counsel of a majority of his Cabinet, refused to accept his resignation, and ordered him to form a new Cabinet friendly to France. A dissolution of the Italian Parliament was also contemplated, on December 26, in order to place the issues clearly before the people.

The Last Revolutionary Pensioner.—Announcement is made of the death of Mr. Samuel Downing of Amsterdam, New York, on the Mohawk river, aged 105 years. In the convention of New York in 1821, for the revision of the Constitution, Mr. Van Buren said, “In fifteen years the grave will have covered all those who now survive,”—a prediction from which no one expressed any dissent. Time has shown how little any of us know how long we have to live.

Wonders of Telegraphy.—On the 30th of July, 1866, Mr. Cyrus W. Field received by the cable a message of congratulation from Mr. Ferdinand de Lesseps, the projector of the Suez Canal. It was dated at Alexandria in Egypt at half-past 1 P. M., and received in Newfoundland at half-past 10 A. M. the same day. Let us look at the globe, and see over what a space that message flew. It came from the land of the Pharaohs and the Ptolemies; it passed along the shores of Africa, and under the Mediterranean sea more than a thousand miles, to Malta; it then leaped to the continent of Europe, and shot across Italy, over the Alps and through France, under the English Channel to London; it then flashed across England and Ireland, till from the cliffs of Valencia it struck straight into the Atlantic, darting down the submarine mountain which lies off the coast, and over all the hills and valleys which lie beneath the watery plain, resting not till it touched the shore of the New World. In that morning’s flight it had passed over one-fourth of the earth’s surface, and so far outstripped the sun in its course, that it reached its destination three hours before it was sent! To understand this, it must be remembered that the earth revolves from west to east; and when it is sunrise here, it is between 8 and 9 o’clock in Egypt; and when it is sunset here, it is nearly 9 o’clock in the morning there.—Independent.