The Bible in a New Tongue
By Editor
The Bible in a New Tongue.—The American Bible Society has just completed and published a translation of a considerable portion of the Scriptures into the Chamoro language, the native tongue of about four fifths of the population of the island of Guam, ceded to the United States after the Spanish War. This is the first time this dialect has been embodied in written form; it is therefore tantamount to the creation of a written language for these people. Roman characters are used in the translation. Transverts.—The Independent uses the word "transverts" to designate the "two score clergymen and divinity students who have within a few months left the Protestant Episcopal Church to join the Catholic Church, or who are now under instruction to be received. To call them "converts" implies approval; to call them "perverts" expresses disapproval. The term "vert" is occasionally used, but that is no word—they are "transverts," men who pass across the line whether for good or ill. A few years ago they would have been called in any Protestant journal "perverts." The Independent editorial indicates the change which has taken place. The face often reveals characteristics which we would hide if it were possible. There are those who have such control of their own wills,—rather, their wills have such control of their physical life,—that they can conceal their thoughts. But even then the face indicates the character, tho it does not reveal the feelings of the moment. But suppose it were possible for every one we meet to read our thoughts, how careful we would be! There is One who can do this; and a record is kept, a record that soon every man will meet. Shall not every one strive so to live that the thoughts of the heart might safely be made bare to the public gaze? The absinth habit has grown so strong in France that in the past six years the sale of the drug has almost doubled. So serious has the matter become that the government is taking steps to make its sale a penal offense. The greatest foe the reformers have to meet is the mercenary spirit of the men who have invested in the nefarious enterprise. "Essentials of English," or a copy of it, has just been laid upon our table. The author of the work is a master in English, Professor George W. Rine. He has taught it for many years in connection with Healdsburg College, and elsewhere, and could have a position any time in connection with some one of the great universities of our land. The book is, as stated in the preface, "a manual of the working principles of English composition," a natural bridge, so to speak, connecting grammar and rhetoric. Applied Grammar, Punctuation, Letter Writing, Principles of Effective Composition, and Accuracy in the Use of Words, are the five parts in which the work divides. We commend it to teachers and students. Bound in cloth, 75 cents. It may be obtained at this office or any of our branch offices, or state tract societies. Sir Robert Gillespie Reid, bridge and railroad builder, died at Montreal, June 3. Among the noted bridges in Canada and the United States built by him are the International Bridge across the Niagara River near Buffalo, the Lachine Bridge, three quarters of a mile long, across the St. Lawrence, and the International Bridge across the Rio Grande. He has been called the "greatest benefactor of Newfoundland," on account of the great railroad and steamship lines constructed in that island. A well-gotten-up illustrated pamphlet, containing a fine map of the state, entitled "California Resources and Possibilities," has been received, published by the California State Board of Trade, San Francisco, Cal. This report is up to date, and prospective settlers in any part of the state would do well to consult it. It may be obtained from the above publishers. "The American Newspaper Annual," issued by N. W. Ayer and Son, 300-308 Chestnut St., Philadelphia, is indeed a standard book of reference on all matters pertaining to newspapers in the United States and Canada. In addition to carefully prepared lists of newspapers, it gives a description of every town where newspapers are published, sixty-five maps of states and provinces, and classified lists of newspapers. It is a mine of information. Some photo reproductions have been received giving views of Garden City Sanitarium, San Jose, Cal., under the efficient management of Dr. L. J. Belknap. Many improvements have been made in the last year. It is an ideal home for the sick or weary.