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Signs of the Times, Vol. 19, No. 18.

Editorial
Earlier text: THE VALUE OF MEDITATION

FAR, FAR AWAY.

By L. C. Chadwick

BY ELDER L. C. CHADWICK.
FAR, far away. Far, far from home, With many miles of land and sea 'Tween me and loved ones dear. Yet I can say, I'm not alone, For wheresoever I may be I find my Saviour near. No matter what the clime may be, Nor where my feet may tread, His promise sure extends to me, "I'll be thy shade o'erhead."
Far, far away. Far, far from home. The Macedonian cry is heard; It sounds on every side. Men die to-day, where'er I roam, Without a knowledge of the word, Or Him who for them died. The fields for harvest now are white, The lab'rers oh, how few! The day is passing; soon the night Will end the work we do.
Not far away. Not far from home; The Saviour's coming draweth nigh; My wand'rings soon will cease. In that glad day, glad harvest home, We'll hear no more the weary sigh, But songs of joy and peace. The faithful lab'rers from all lands, With sheaves of rich reward, And palms of victory in their hands, Will hail their coming Lord.

HOUSEKEEPING IN THE CITY OF MEXICO.

HOUSEKEEPING is attended with a good many perplexities here, when judged by our standard. In the first place, a “maid of all work” is a thing unknown. The houses are all built with an open court in the center. This court, or patio, is paved, and often contains a little fountain, surrounded by beds of flowers. Surrounding this court on the lower floor are the servants’ rooms and the stables for the horses.
A porter is a necessity. He has charge of the great front door, sweeps the court, trims the lamps, runs the errands, and waters the street in front of the house. He is paid three dollars per week and “finds himself.” A cook is the next necessary servant. She is paid two dollars per week. She is expected to do all the family marketing, as it is not considered proper for the mistress to do it. The bread is all bought at the bakeries, and the washing is also an extra, and is done at the public tanks. A chambermaid is also considered necessary, but in small families she is willing to wait on the table. Her wages are the same as the cook’s.
Wealthy families have a great number of servants, each child having a separate nurse. All cooking is done over small charcoal stoves. As Mexico stretches over three zones, fruits and vegetables of all kinds can always be obtained. The market place is south of the national palace. Here you see men, women, and children sitting on the flags of the market-place, with fruits and vegetables spread out around them.
Fruits are very cheap. A fine pineapple can be obtained for a media (6 cents). Bananas are ten cents a dozen. Musk-melons cost one real (12 1/2 cents) for three. Limes, lemons, and oranges are plentiful and cheap. Beef is plentiful and good, but the mutton is superior, while pork is scarce and dear. There are some excellent fish brought from the Gulf of Mexico.
Groceries are very high. Tea is $2.50 per pound. Good butter is one dollar per pound. Milk is 20 cents per quart, and sugar, 14 cents a pound, although a native product. The best coffee in the world is raised here, and can be bought for 30 cents a pound. The chocolate is very fine, but it is all flavored with cinnamon.
The vegetables are raised on the “chinampas,” or floating gardens, and brought to the city by the Vega Canal. Flowers are raised in great profusion, and are cheaper than anywhere else on earth. I bought a bouquet of roses containing 250 roses for three reals, or 37 cents. The restaurants here are very good, but they have a way of cooking onions with all other vegetables that is not pleasing to an American palate.—Good Housekeeping.

OUR LITTLE FRIEND

By Editor

An Eight-page Illustrated Weekly Paper for Children.

OUR LITTLE FRIEND is designed to be practically useful. The matter all contains the best moral and religious sentiment. It contains two grades of Sabbath-school lessons on the same subject, one for children nine years old and under, and one for children from nine to fourteen.

TERMS OF SUBSCRIPTION.

One copy, one year, postpaid, - - - 50c. Five to nine copies to one address, each, - 45c. Ten copies, and over, each, - - - 40c. Sample copies free.
Address, OUR LITTLE FRIEND, Box 548, OAKLAND, CAL.

Questions About Human Nature

BIBLE QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS CONCERNING MAN. By Alonzo T. Jones. Bible Students’ Library, No. 76. Pacific Press Pub. Co., Oakland, Cal. 16 pp.; 2 cents.

LOVE IS POWER.

By Ellen G. White

LOVE is power. Intellectual and moral strength are involved in this principle, and cannot be separated from it. The power of wealth has a tendency to corrupt and destroy; the power of force is strong to do hurt; but the excellence and value of pure love consist in its efficiency to do good, and to do nothing else than good. Whatsoever is done out of pure love, be it ever so little or contemptible in the sight of men, is wholly fruitful; for God regards more with how much love one worketh than the amount he doeth. Love is of God. The unconverted heart cannot originate nor produce this plant of heavenly origin, which lives and flourishes only where Christ reigns.
Love cannot live without action, and every act increases, strengthens, and extends it. Love will gain the victory when argument and authority are powerless. Love works not for profit nor reward; yet God has ordained that great gain shall be the certain result of every labor of love. It is diffusive in its nature, and quiet in its operation, yet strong, mighty, to overcome great evils. It is melting and transforming in its influence, and will take hold of the lives of the sinful and affect their hearts when every other means has proved unsuccessful. Wherever the power of intellect, of authority, or of force is employed, and love is not manifestly present, the affections and will of those whom we seek to reach assume a defensive, repelling position, and their strength of resistance is increased. Jesus was the Prince of Peace. He came into the world to bring resistance and authority into subjection to himself. Wisdom and strength he could command, but the means he employed with which to overcome evil were the wisdom and strength of love.
"Whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do ye even so to them." Blessed results would appear as the fruit of such a course. "With what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you again." Here are strong motives which should constrain us to love one another with a pure heart, fervently. Christ is our example. He went about doing good. He lived to bless others. Love beautified and ennobled all his actions. We are not commanded to do to ourselves what we wish others to do unto us; we are to do unto others what we wish them to do to us under like circumstances. The measure we mete is always measured to us again. Pure love is simple in its operations, and is distinct from any other principle of action. The love of influence and the desire for the esteem of others may produce a well-ordered life, and, frequently, a blameless conversation. Self-respect may lead us to avoid the appearance of evil. A selfish heart may perform generous actions, acknowledge the present truth, and express humility and affection in an outward manner, yet the motives may be deceptive and impure; the actions that flow from such a heart may be destitute of the savor of life and the fruits of true holiness, being destitute of the principles of pure love. Love should be cherished and cultivated; for its influence is divine.—Gospel Workers.

FIELD NOTES.

By Editor

THE brethren at Tyner, Iowa, are about to erect a house of worship on a lot donated for that purpose.
ELDER N. C. McCLURE, of California, met with the church at Kansas City, Missouri, on the 11th ult., while en route to the General Conference.
ON the 25th ult. twenty-one persons were baptized at Healdsburg, Cal., and united with the church of that place. The week following a half dozen or more were added.
SISTER SARAH L. POTTS, of Montesano, Wash., desires us to say to those who are sending papers to her for missionary work, that she has plenty for present use.
ELDER DAN. T. JONES, of the General Conference Committee, when last heard from had been unable, on account of sickness, to attend the meetings of the ministerial institute or General Conference.
ELDER J. W. WATT reports six accessions of the faith at Helena, Montana. There is now a Sabbath school at that place of twenty members. Brother Watt also organized a church of nine members at Belgrade.
A LADY in Enfield, Ill., sends subscription for the SIGNS, and adds this commendation: "Your paper just suits us. It is like reading the Scriptures. Your arguments are so plain and substantial. I cannot find a better paper anywhere."
A NEW church building was dedicated at Terre Haute, Indiana, January 22, by Elders J. M. Rees, W. A. Young, and F. D. Starr. The membership is twenty-six. It is about eight months since the Adventist faith was first preached in that place. Two Bible workers are now engaged in the city.
OF the work in Western Africa Elder L. C. Chadwick says: "The truth came to Sierra Leone first through reading matter, and there are a few there who are obeying it, but they have to meet great opposition. They hear it said, 'These people have no church and no minister to conduct the work, and it will soon go to pieces.' The people are not naturally constituted to lead themselves; they must have a mission, a preacher, a school, and someone to teach their children. I told them I would try to do what I could to have their wants supplied by the General Conference. Further out, in Liberia, the work was started by Brother Gaston, of the Washington, D. C., church. I visited the Gold Coast, also where the truth has reached the people by reading matter. After spending some months in this tropical country, and having learned the natural instability of the people, I found the work on the Gold Coast in a much better condition than I had expected. A few of the brethren there can speak English. I gave them some instruction, but did not baptize anyone, preferring to leave that till a later time. There are on this coast about fifty or sixty people obeying the truth, and they had never seen a Seventh-day Adventist until I visited them."
A CATALOGUE just received from the publishing house at Basel, Switzerland, shows that the truths which are proclaiming to the world are there being issued in the following languages: French, German, Russian, Spanish, Italian, Hollandish, Hungarian, Bohemian, Polish, Turkish-Armenian, and Turkish-Greek.
BROTHER C. M. GARDNER tells of interesting meetings in Olin, Iowa, where the ministers of other denominations are "very kind and courteous." It may seem strange to some people why this fact should be deemed worthy of note. They will probably be more surprised when they learn that such experience is quite rare with our itinerant ministry. Brother Gardner had been invited to occupy one of the pulpits in the place on Sunday.

THE SKY IS GROWING CLEARER.

By Christian Advocate

Yes, we struggle evermore, But the struggle will be over at the last; We are striving o'er and o'er, But the bitter, painful strife will soon be past. For our victory draws nearer, And the sky is growing clearer Day by day. Watch and pray.
Yes, in Jesus we believe, And our eyes shall look upon him at the last; And we'll weep no more, nor grieve, For the shadow of the cloud will soon be past. Lo! the vision cometh nearer, And the sky is growing clearer Day by day. Watch and pray.
Oh, 'tis blessed thus to wait! But our waiting will be over at the last, When they greet us at the gate, And for weary feet the journey will be past. Yes, our welcome draweth nearer, And the sky is growing clearer Day by day. Watch and pray.
—Christian Advocate.

PROPHETIC LIGHTS.

A Book of 180 Large Octavo Pages, Hand-somely Illustrated.
The design of this book is to remove some of the covering that has been thrown over the prophecies of both the Old and New Testaments by tradition and human speculation. The following are the subjects treated:
CHAPTER I . . . Prophecies Concerning the Messiah.
CHAPTER II . . . The Transfiguration.
CHAPTER III . . . The Sure Word.
CHAPTER IV . . . The Testimony of the Centuries.
CHAPTER V . . . The Kingdom of Babylon.
CHAPTER VI . . . The Fall of Babylon.
CHAPTER VII . . . Medo-Persia and Greece.
CHAPTER VIII . . . Rome.
CHAPTER IX . . . The Papacy.
CHAPTER X . . . Christ's Second Coming.
CHAPTER XI . . . The Promises to Israel.
This book throws much light on some of the most interesting and important lines of prophecy.
Printed on heavy, calendered paper, bound in fine English cloth, gilt edges. Very fully illustrated with original wood cuts made especially for this book. Price, $1.00. Paper covers, plain edges, 50 cents. Sent postpaid on receipt of price.
Address, PACIFIC PRESS PUBLISHING CO. Oakland, Cal. 43 BOND STREET, NEW YORK.

OVERLAND EXCURSIONS.

If you are going East, you will find it to your advantage to correspond with the undersigned and obtain full particulars of the "Weekly Overland Excursions," which leave every Wednesday. Experienced managers in charge, whose duties are to look out for the comfort of the passengers, especially ladies and children traveling without an escort. This is the most popular manner of making an overland trip, and no other line offers advantages equal to the "Great Sante Fe Route," the favorite winter route. It is the only line running Pullman palace and tourist sleeping cars through to Chicago every day on the same train. Baggage checked through to destination. Union depot connections in Kansas City, St. Louis, and Chicago. Steamship tickets sold to and from all European points. For full information address W. A. Bissell, G. P. A., 650 Market Street, Chronicle Building, San Francisco, Cal., or J. J. Warner, agent, 972 Broadway, Oakland, Cal.

Angels; Their Nature and Ministry

ANGELS; THEIR NATURE AND MINISTRY. Contains also some hints on the origin, history, and destiny of Satan as gleaned from the Scriptures. Bible Students' Library, No. 83. Pacific Press Pub. Co., Oakland, Cal. 140 pp.; 20 cents.

LESSON XII.—SUNDAY, MARCH 19, 1893

TIMELY ADMONITIONS—A TEMPERANCE LESSON.

[NOTE.—The questions which follow are merely suggestive for the student on the leading points of the lesson: it is presumed that the thorough student will think of many more as he studies the subject. References, where verses alone are given, always refer to the lesson scripture printed above. All other references are given in book, chapter, and verse. The text printed is that of the Revised Version, not because it is especially preferred, but because it is not found in every family, as is the common version.]

Lesson Scripture—Prov. 23: 15-23.

  1. My son, if thine heart be wise, my heart shall be glad, even mine;
  2. Yea, my reins shall rejoice, when thy lips speak right things.
  3. Let not thine heart envy sinners; but be thou in the fear of the Lord all the day long;
  4. For surely there is a reward; and thy hope shall not be cut off.
  5. Hear thou, my son, and be wise, and guide thine heart in the way.
  6. Be not among wine bibbers; among gluttonous eaters of flesh;
  7. For the drunkard and the glutton shall come to poverty; and drowsiness shall clothe a man with rags.
  8. Hearken unto thy father that begat thee, and despise not thy mother when she is old.
  9. Buy the truth, and sell it not; yea, wisdom, and instruction, and understanding.
Golden Text.—"And be not drunk with wine, wherein is riot; but be filled with the Spirit." Eph. 5: 18.

SUGGESTIVE QUESTIONS.

1. By what means were the Scriptures given? "All Scripture is given by inspiration of God," literally, is "God breathed." 2 Tim. 3: 16, Common Version. 2. For what is all Scripture profitable? "Every Scripture inspired of God is also profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for instruction which is in righteousness." 2 Tim. 3: 16. 3. How thoroughly does it furnish the man of God? "That the man of God may be complete, furnished completely unto every good work." 2 Tim. 3: 17. 4. Through whom did God give this word? "For no prophecy ever came by the will of man; but men spake from God, being moved by the Holy Ghost." 2 Peter 1: 21.
  1. Is not the instruction given in the word of God on temperance, therefore, a part of what is profitable and necessary? Note 1.
  2. What does the Lord say will rejoice his heart? Verses 15, 16 lesson scripture.
  3. In what is wisdom manifested?
"And unto man he said, Behold, the fear of the Lord, that is wisdom; and to depart from evil is understanding." Job 28: 28. 8. Through whom may we obtain fullness of wisdom? "But of him are ye in Christ Jesus, who was made unto us wisdom from God, and righteousness and sanctification, and redemption; that, according as it is written, He that glorieth let him glory in the Lord." 1 Cor. 1: 30.
  1. What injunctions and assurance does the Lord give? Verses 17, 18, lesson scripture.
  2. In what special way are we bidden to be wise? Verses 19, 20. Note 2.
  3. What illustration of the Christian experience does the apostle Paul give?
"Know ye not that they which run in a race run all, but one receiveth the prize? Even so run, that ye may obtain." 1 Cor. 9: 24. 12. How temperate were they in their practice? "And every man that striveth in the games is temperate in all things." 1 Cor. 9: 25, first part. 13. What reason does he set before us why we should be thus temperate? "Now they do it to receive a corruptible crown; but we an incorruptible. I therefore so run, as not uncertainly; so fight I, as not beating the air; but I buffet my body, and bring it into bondage; lest by any means, after that I have preached to others, I myself should be rejected." 1 Cor. 9: 25 last part, 26, 27. Note 3. 14. Of what is the body of the Christian a temple? "Know ye not that your body is a temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have from God? and ye are not your own." 1 Cor. 6: 19. 15. What, then, should we do as regards the body? "For ye were bought with a price; glorify God therefore in your body." 1 Cor. 6: 20. 16. What does the Lord say of those who defile or destroy the temple of God? "Know ye not that ye are a temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you? If any man destroyeth the temple of God, him shall God destroy; for the temple of God is holy, which temple ye are." 1 Cor. 3: 16, 17.
  1. What selfish motive does the Lord set before us in the matter of temperance? Verse 21, lesson scripture.
  2. Whose instruction will almost invariably keep us from the evils of intemperance? Verse 22. Note 4.
  3. What instruction will invariably keep us from the evils of intemperance? Verse 23.
  4. What is a still higher motive for abstinence from that which may lead to sin?
"Let us not therefore judge one another any more; but judge ye this rather, that no man put a stumbling block in his brother's way, or an occasion of falling." "It is good not to eat flesh, nor to drink wine, nor to do anything whereby thy brother stumbleth." Rom. 14: 13, 21. Note 5. 21. What is the highest motive? "Whether therefore ye eat, or drink, or whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of God." 1 Cor. 10: 31. 22. What precious injunction should we all heed? Golden text.

NOTES.

1. As God gave his word through men, by the inspiration of his Spirit, it is all his word. As the book of Proverbs is a part of these Scriptures so given, they are also the word of God. While most of them were doubtless given through Solomon, God was their author, and the lesson will be profitable to us only as we realize it is from him. Says Paul in Rom. 15: 4: "For whatsoever things were written aforetime were written for our learning, that through patience and through comfort of the Scriptures we might have hope." Let the pupil then realize that the admonitions of this lesson are the admonitions of God to us.
2. Gluttonous eaters of flesh.—It is well to note that temperance, according to this lesson and all Scripture, includes more than indulgence in intoxicating liquors. Gluttony is a kindred sin to drunkenness. Both are the indulgence of a selfish lust; both benumb the moral sensibilities, make the heart gross, and unfit the soul for spiritual things. Millions are the souls which have gone down in the ocean of alcohol, but the beginning of intemperance is often laid in gluttony; and it may well be questioned whether there are not as many who reject the message of salvation because of the blindness and grossness of heart caused by overindulgence in eating as are lost by drunkenness. This is especially true of flesh eating. It stimulates animal passions, causes unnatural thirst, and thus creates a desire for stimulants. The effect of many a good sermon, many a message from God, is lost on many a soul because of overindulgence in stimulating and unnecessary foods. Here is a warning to parents; let them feed their children with simple, nourishing, unstimulating foods. See Eze. 16: 49. Gluttony will close heaven against us as surely as drunkenness. Gal. 5: 19-21. The truly wise will look upon these things in the way God has presented them in the word.
3. Not as uncertainly.—He who contended in the ancient games, and so in modern, was never certain of winning the prize. Just as he was about to grasp the perishable wreath of parsley or pine, his adversary seized it. For weeks he had endured the severest regimen and the most faithful discipline of body and nerve, but now it was all lost. Not so with the Christian. There is victory for all, a crown for all, a crown of glory which will never fade away. God will give the power to win. His Spirit will enable us to crucify our lust. Rom. 8: 12, 13. Shall we not yield every lust, every wrong appetite, that it may be crucified? If for a perishable crown men would endure the strictest regimen and severest training, ought not those struggling for the eternal crown of life to be willing to do as much? by the power of Christ to keep the body under?
4. Hearken unto thy father.—Whatever the example of parents has been, whatever evil habits they have indulged, their counsel to their children is almost invariably to abstain from everything which would debase or ruin the body or soul. How many times you will find old drunkards warning against the use of intoxicating drinks, or old smokers or users of tobacco warning the young against the use of the weed. The words of Jesus are applicable here: "Whatsoever they bid you, these do and observe; but do not ye after their works; for they say, and do not." Matt. 23: 3. Heed above all this God's precious truth. See Isa. 55: 2.
5. No man put a stumbling block, etc.—The motive of self-preservation is one of the lowest motives which can appeal to a man. Do not be a drunkard or glutton, for death or poverty awaits those who are. A noble motive is forgetting self, or in denying self, of those things which might do us no harm, but which might prove a stumbling block to our brother. A godly minister, in taking a glass of cider, a little off from sweet, induced by his example a brother who had formerly been a drunkard to drink of the cider also, and who barely escaped being thrown back into drunkenness again. No one knew, he said, the strength of the temptation. Reformed drunkards have gone from the fermented and intoxicating communion cup to a drunken debauch. Better as Paul says in another place: "If meat make my brother to stumble, I will eat no flesh forevermore." 1 Cor. 8: 13. The highest motive of all, because it includes the last named, is God's glory.

LESSON XII.—SABBATH, MARCH 18, 1893.

By Editor

THE SPIRIT IN THE NEW COVENANT.

[For any modification in these lessons, and for the notes, the editor is responsible. For other notes and suggestions the student is referred to the lesson pamphlet, and to the S. S. Worker.]

Lesson Scriptures and Suggestive Questions.

1. Jer. 31: 31-34: "Behold, the days come, saith the Lord, that I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel, and with the house of Judah; not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day that I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt; which my covenant they brake, although I was an husband unto them, saith the Lord. But this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, saith the Lord; I will put my law in their inward parts, and in their heart will I write it; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people; and they shall teach no more every man his neighbor, and every man his brother, saying, Know the Lord; for they shall all know me, from the least of them unto the greatest of them, saith the Lord; for I will forgive their iniquity, and their sin will I remember no more."
  1. What did the Lord promise to make?
  2. With whom?
  3. With what covenant is this compared?
  4. Where will he put his law?
  5. Where will he write it?
  6. What will he be?
  7. What will it be unnecessary to teach?
  8. Why unnecessary?
  9. What will he do concerning iniquity?
  10. Concerning sin?
II. Gal. 4: 22-31: "For it is written, that Abraham had two sons, one by the handmaid, and one by the free woman. Howbeit the son by the handmaid is born after the flesh; but the son by the free woman is born through promise. Which things contain an allegory; for these women are two covenants; one from Mount Sinai, bearing children unto bondage, which is Hagar. Now this Hagar is Mount Sinai in Arabia, and answereth to the Jerusalem that now is; for she is in bondage with her children. But the Jerusalem that is above is free, which is our mother. For it is written, Rejoice, thou barren that bearest not; break forth and cry, thou that travailest not; for more are the children of the desolate than of her which hath the husband. Now we, brethren, as Isaac was, are children of promise. But as then he that was born after the flesh persecuted him that was born after the Spirit, even so it is now. Howbeit what saith the Scripture? Cast out the handmaid and her son; for the son of the handmaid shall not inherit with the son of the free woman. Wherefore, brethren, we are not children of a handmaid, but of the free woman."
  1. How many sons had Abraham?
  2. By whom?
  3. What is said of the birth of the former?
  4. Of the latter?
  5. In the allegory what are these women?
  6. Which covenant is Agar?
  7. What is characteristic of this covenant?
  8. To what does this Agar correspond?
  9. What is the condition of this Jerusalem and her children?
  10. Of Jerusalem above?
  11. Whose children are Christians?
  12. What prophecy is thus fulfilled?
  13. In what way are we like Isaac?
  14. How did the child of the flesh treat the child of the Spirit?
  15. How is it now?
  16. What saith the Scriptures?
  17. What reason is given for this command?
  18. What conclusion is drawn?

NOTES.

1. THE covenant mentioned by Jeremiah "had existed by the promise of God since the first intimation of redemption had been given. It had been accepted by faith; yet, when ratified by Christ, it is called a new covenant." "That the new covenant was valid in the days of Abraham is evident from the fact that it was then confirmed both by the promise and by the oath of God." Heb. 6:17, 18.
2. In the new covenant the law is written in the heart by the Spirit (2 Cor. 3:3), just as it was in Christ's heart (Ps. 40:8), the word of God being spirit and life (John 6:63), when in the heart keeps from sin (Ps. 119:11), and establishes the righteous in the way (Ps. 37:31). The law of God "is an expression of the will of God," "the transcript of the character of God." In Christ this character was illustrated. "He gave to man a new interpretationof God." He was the Word made flesh (John 1:14), and thus, when the law of God is in the heart, it is simply Christ in us the hope of glory (Col. 1:27).
3. ISAAC was a child of faith (Heb. 11:11), and so of promise (Rom. 9:9). It is only children of promise who are children of God (verse 8). Such are born of the Spirit, and through faith become partakers of the divine nature (2 Peter 1:4). These promises are the better promises (Heb. 8:6), even the promises of God. All who are now depending upon their own promises merely to obey God, have been born after the flesh only, and are in bondage (John 8:34). It is our privilege to be free (verse 32), and as sons to abide in the house ever (verse 35, Revised Version), and not to be cast out (Matt. 22:13).

SECULAR.

—Typhus fever is said to be increasing at Buenos Ayres.
—An explosion in the Skalis mine, in St. Yria, Austria, on the 21st inst., caused fifteen deaths and injuries to twenty miners.
—Many of the ships now leaving San Francisco are being manned with non-union sailors. Deep-sea sailors are demanding $25 per month.
—The San Francisco police court clerk, who recently decamped with about $3,000 of public funds, has been arrested in Astoria, Oregon.
—The tribunal of arbitration to settle the Bering Sea controversy between Great Britain and the United States, assembled at Paris on the 23d inst.
—At Palermo, Italy, last week, 104 criminals, members of the notorious Mala Vita, were sentenced to terms of imprisonment from one to six years.
—Quite pronounced shocks of earthquake were experienced at Winters and at San Rafael, this State, on the 22d inst., but no serious damage resulted.
—A vein of coal, said to be of excellent quality, has been struck in a Southern Pacific Railroad tunnel being constructed near San Luis Obispo, Cal.
—The recent disappearance of the cashier of the Gate City National Bank at Atlanta, Ga., led to an investigation and the discovery of a defalcation of $65,000.
—Several Vatican officials have been arrested at Rome for selling tickets of admission to St. Peter's on the occasion of the celebration of the mass by the pope on the day of his jubilee.
—Advices from Cape Palmas, Liberia, state that the feuds of the natives at Rockton culminated January 26 in a battle, in which forty-six were killed and 200 wounded. As the mails left hostilities were renewed.
—The machinists employed by the Atchison, Topeka, and Sante Fe Railroad, at Raton, New Mexico, went out on strike, on the 22d inst. They wanted a 25 per cent. raise of wages and were refused, hence the strike.
—The Legislature has passed an act creating an additional police court in San Francisco. It seems that the more "Christian" (legally) this nation becomes, the more criminal it becomes. But it has been just so in all ages.
—The deputy postmaster at Spokane, Wash., has become a defaulter in the sum of $7,100, and, to save further trouble for himself, committed suicide. His mother, being on his bond as security for his official acts, has to make good the amount.
—A Rome dispatch of the 22d inst. states that twenty Anarchists were arrested on suspicion of having been implicated in causing the dynamite explosions in that city last year. A bomb ready for use was found in the room of one of them.
—General Beauregard, a noted Confederate Army officer, and one of the principals of the Louisiana Lottery Corporation, died on the 21st inst. His funeral is said to have been one of the most demonstrative ever held in New Orleans, the city authorities taking charge.
—At Alcoy, Spain, last week, Anarchists attempted to create disturbance by posting placards inciting workingmen to rise and proclaim a social revolution. The government promptly sent a strong force of the Civil Guard to Alcoy to prevent any further demonstration.
—In the fore part of last week disastrous storms were reported in New England. Snow was two feet deep in Boston, several vessels were wrecked on the Atlantic Coast, and railroad trains were greatly delayed. There were also reports of terrible suffering in various localities.
—Benjamin Bazelle, a St. Louis man, has invented a process of steel manufacturing which, it is claimed, eclipses the discovery of Bessemer, and will so reduce the cost of steel rails that they can, by its use, be sold at a good profit for one-half the present expense of making them.
—It is reported that a vehement manifesto has gone out from Belfast, Ireland, against Gladstone's home rule bill. The manifesto demands either union with Great Britain or complete separation from the proposed Irish Government. It names March 21 as the date of the great unionist demonstration in Ulster Hall.
—On the 23d inst. five men were arrested at Des Moines, Iowa, in the act of robbing a grave. It is not surprising that a doctor should be one of such a party, but that the signal observer of the U. S. Weather Bureau should be engaged in such work is a decided surprise. The other three were a laborer, a liveryman, and a hackman.
—Jackson, Mich., is said to be "in a fever of excitement" over the ravages made by the cocaine habit. A local physician, himself a confirmed user of the drug, has brought many of his patients under its influence. Many of the best citizens have, it is said, become addicted to the use of the drug. Ravenous whisky drinking follows the ravages of the cocaine.
—The Hawaiian annexation treaty, sent to the Senate last week by President Harrison, failed to receive ratification. It was generally believed to have been drawn up and signed too hastily. The new administration will have to consider the question. There is no doubt, however, that if the United States does not annex the islands at an early date, England will.
—President-elect Cleveland has chosen his cabinet of advisers as follows: Secretary of State, Walter Q. Gresham, of Illinois; Secretary of the Treasury, John G. Carlisle, of Kentucky; Secretary of War, Daniel S. Lamont, of New York; Secretary of the Navy, Hilary A. Herbert, of Alabama; Secretary of the Interior, Hoke Smith, of Georgia; Postmaster General, Wilson S. Bissell, of New York; Attorney General, Richard Olney, of Massachusetts; Secretary of Agriculture, J. Sterling Morton, of Nebraska.
—The switchmen and switch tenders on the Western Indiana Railroad went out on a strike on the 22d inst. They had made a demand for an increase of wages, and had arranged for a meeting with the officials of the road to consider the matter; but before the appointed time arrived the strike was on. Being a trunk line, the stopping of the Western Indiana also interferes with several other roads.
—A recent St. Petersburg dispatch says that in consequence of the destruction of the crops by frost last summer, famine and disease are now prevalent throughout Finland. More than 200,000 persons are dependent upon charity, and the towns and villages are thronged with beggars. At least 500,000 peasants are barely able to find means of subsistence. They have eaten most of their draft animals and domestic pets. Typhus fever is carrying off hundreds daily.
—Three young American students recently ran away from a Canada college, and started for the Sandwich Islands. They got as far as Chicago, when one of the party stole all the money of the party, and left his companions at their hotel. He was afterward apprehended, but the proposed escapade was blocked. These young men were all the sons of wealthy parents, and were probably ruined by too much money. The thief, who was only 19 years old, pleaded intoxication as an excuse for the deed.
—A railroad collision at Philadelphia, on the 22d inst., caused the death of four persons, and the serious injury of ten others. On the same day a Pittsburg and Fort Wayne express was derailed at the crossing of Little River, Indiana. One man was killed, and twenty injured. Another accident occurred at Reading, Pa., with the result that three were killed and two injured. One cause was a misunderstanding of orders. Still another collision is reported near Lincoln, Nebraska, in which twelve men were badly injured, and a large number of cattle killed.
—A pugilist known as "Billy Miller the Swede" died in San Francisco on the 25th inst., from the effects of a prize fight at one of the athletic clubs the night previous. This is the fourth death from the same cause that has occurred in that city within five or six years. The news of Miller's death reached Sacramento while the Senate was considering a bill for the prohibition of prize fighting in the State. The bill had already passed the Assembly, and without further consideration was passed by the Senate, with only four dissenting votes. It makes prize fighting a felony, and includes principals, aids, seconds, or backers. The penalty is $1,000 to $5,000 fine and one to three years' imprisonment.
—Californians can hardly realize what it means when, on a warm, sunny day, as was the 21st inst., inviting people out to the fields and hills, they read a dispatch from New York City like this: "The North and East Rivers are filled with ice, and the upper bay resembles an Arctic sea in its unbroken field of crystal. The mass extends from shore to shore. During the night the ice came down the North River in giant floes, and was swept down the bay till it reached from side to side and raised an almost impassable barrier. The result of it all was the lowest ebb tide in the bay in twenty-five years. It is said that many ferryboats ran aground at their piers. The heavy ice also made navigation extremely dangerous even for the largest ships."

FOR SALE OR EXCHANGE.

ON Eleventh Street, opposite Pacific Press, 50x100 feet. Will sell cheap, or will exchange for outside property. Call, or address M. I. Wurts, 467 Ninth Street, Oakland, Cal.

THE ATONEMENT.

By Editor

The author, in a book of 368 pages, takes up this great central doctrine of the gospel, and treats it in two parts. Part first,

An Atonement Consistent with Reason.

In this he shows that the doctrine of an atonement through the medium of a voluntary substitute is consistent with reason. Part second,

The Atonement as Revealed in the Bible.

In this is discussed the plan of redemption through Christ, by which every sinner who accepts Christ will be justified; sin will be turned back upon the head of its originator; the earth will be cleansed from the curse; God's righteous government will be restored over the entire universe; and all who will not become loyal subjects of that government will be destroyed.
The book presents a CRITICAL AND EXHAUSTIVE TREATISE on this interesting subject, by a thorough Bible student, and wholly from a Bible standpoint, and cannot fail to be of great value to everyone who reads it.
Third edition, bound in cloth, embossed in black, with gold title on back and front cover.
Price, postpaid, $1.00.
Address, Pacific Press Publishing Co., Oakland, Cal. Or 43 BOND ST., New York City.
BAPTISM: Its Significance, Its Nature, and the Necessity for It. By E. J. Waggoner. Bible Students' Library, No. 79. Pacific Press Pub. Co., Oakland, Cal. 16 pp.; 2 cents.
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