WHEN Aunt Matilda came to visit us and insisted on having a back room, we were greatly disappointed, for sister Mattie and I had spent weeks of our precious vacation-time in making all sorts of pretty nothings to beautify the guest chamber for her occupancy. We had not seen Aunt Matilda for ten years. In that time Mattie and I had grown from little girls to young ladies in our teens and members of the high school.
Father had moved West—away out to Colorado—and, as I said, we had not seen Aunt Matilda for ten years when we received the welcome news that she was coming to pay us a visit, and we all resolved not to let her go away from us again if we could help it. Perhaps this was the reason we had taken such extra pains with the guest chamber. I know when it was all finished, Mattie and I surveyed it with what we hoped was pardonable pride. We had coaxed from papa a new bedroom suit of polished oak, which, with its broad mirror of plate-glass, shone grandly in the sunlight which streamed in through the curtains of yellow china silk. The big plush-cushioned patent rocker was resplendent in draperies of hand-painted silk, while the wicker chairs displayed their fine linen and satin ribbons, and even the ottoman was fine in silk embroidery. As for the bed—well, it was simply lovely! Shams were not out of date then, and ours were marvels of fine lace and the Chinese laundry art—and the prettiest yellow satin bows in a corner of each! The lace spread over a quilt of yellow silesia, and the scarf of crazy-work in silk and velvet, completed the ravishing picture.
When Aunt Matilda came, Mattie and I had the honor of escorting her to this chamber of state, and you may be sure we watched furtively to see how it impressed her.
Perhaps we were more anxious because we knew she had opposed father's coming West, and we wanted to impress her with the financial success of the move, and to show her that truly esthetic taste dwelt even as far west as Colorado.
"Let me take off your wraps, auntie," said Mattie, setting her little hand-bag on the floor by the dresser, and going up to Aunt Matilda, who stood looking about in a hesitating manner.
"Wait a minute, my dear—let me tell you something—you won't mind if your old auntie is frank with you, I know. I've lived over sixty years, my dear, and I've found that in the end it always pays to be frank with your best friends. Now, I know you want me to feel perfectly at home here, and this room is very beautiful—yes, very beautiful indeed—but it is too large and fine for a simple old lady like me. Don't you see I couldn't really sit against any of these handsome draperies—it would be sure to muss them—and—well I shouldn't feel the least bit at home here. I've lived a very plain, quiet life, you know. Now, girls, if you've a little cozy back room somewhere, with just plain furniture, so that I wouldn't feel that I was mussing anything, I should enjoy it so much."
In vain we protested that nothing was too nice for her to use, and that we had no other room good enough for her. She silenced us with a graceful, girlish wave of the hand, and, shaking the gray curls, said:—
"Now, my dears, you cannot fool me that way, if I am an old woman. I am first-rate at a game of hide-and-seek and I shall just find a room for myself. In this large house I know there is a corner for me somewhere."
And sure enough she stepped briskly across the hall, and paused before the door of a back chamber.
"Does anyone occupy this?"
Mattie shook her head, and cast a despairing glance at me, as she said:—
"But it will never do at all, auntie. It is just a little box of a room, furnished up with odds and ends. We put Miss Betts in there when she comes to sew for us, and sometimes Hetty and I sleep there when we have extra company, and have to give up our room."
Aunt Matilda opened the door, however, and stepped in.
"The very thing," she cried, delightedly. "A rag carpet, too! So home-like! And this nice splint rocker! I tell you, girls, for real comfort there's nothing like a splint rocker."
She stepped to the one window in the room and put back the plain white muslin curtain.
"Better and better!" she cried, clapping her hands in almost childish glee. "Such a row of nice back yards! You see, girls, I'm an inquisitive old lady, and I dearly love to watch people's back yards. I get acquainted with them so. You can go in at people's front doors for years and not know a single thing about them; but you can get a good idea of what they are in a week from the rear."
So Aunt Matilda had her way.
"There's just one thing I would like from the front room, girls," she said, "and that is the vase of yellow marigolds I saw on the mantel. They smell so like home."
Mattie fetched them, and having done what we could to make the room convenient for her, we left her to the enjoyment of her splint rocker, her rag carpet and marigolds, and went downstairs to confide our disappointment to mother.
The back yards, which interested our aunt so much, belonged to a row of tenement cottages just across the alley from our house. The latter, being built in the middle of the lot and running back a good way, was quite close to the alley, so that a good chance was afforded Aunt Matilda to pursue her backdoor studies, for which she professed such a penchant.
Our town was an invalid resort, and the population in consequence a very fluctuating one. We had, therefore, fallen into the habit of paying little or no attention to the families who came and went in the row. But now we were destined to learn many things from Aunt Matilda about our back-door neighbors. What impressed us more than anything else was the kindness of the comments she made upon her unknown friends. Considering that she openly avowed herself "a bit of a gossip," this seemed to us all the more remarkable, as all the gossips we had known showed a remarkable penetration in discovering the weaknesses and sins of the subjects which they dissected.
"There is a new family moving into the red house this morning," announced Aunt Matilda at dinner one day. "The woman is a nice, tidy little body, and looks full of energy, but you can see she is not well. She has a bad cough and looks so worn and tired that I feel sorry for her. Her husband is a tall, manly-looking fellow, but he, too, has a discouraged look, and the little boy—there seems to be but one child, about ten years old I should judge—looks as though life had been anything but a joy to him. I shall like to find out what their trouble is."
Father held up his hands in well-feigned horror. "Matilda," he said, "you are without doubt the most inquisitive person alive. You embody all the necessary qualifications of a whole detective force."
"Never mind," replied the little lady, laughing, "so long as I injure no one by it you ought not to grudge a lonely old woman her only dissipation."
"I should think," said mamma, "that if the lady is such an invalid—consumptive, of course, if she coughs so bad—you might see in that sufficient cause for the family unhappiness. Perhaps, after all, they are only tired from a long journey and not really unhappy."
Aunt Matilda shook her head.
"No, Martha, temporary weariness does not mark such lines in the face. Neither is the illness of one member sufficient to permanently destroy the family peace. Why, some of the happiest families I know have inmates who are hopeless invalids, and all the other members seem to make a point of being bright and cheery for their sakes. No, there is something more than this the trouble over there. Never mind, I shall find out by and by."
A few days later she called to me as I was passing through the hall.
"Come here, my dear. Come and look out of my window."
"I am on the right track now. I told you I should find out. Do you see?"
"I do not understand you, auntie," I said.
"Why, just look at the clothes on the line back of the red house. See that petticoat. It has yards and yards of knitted thread-lace on it—actually hand-knitted, child. Just think of it, every stitch of the millions of them requiring four motions of the hand! More than that, see that knitted counterpane."
"It is lovely, auntie!" I could not help saying.
"Lovely! yes, if one did not think of the woman's life-blood that went into it, and of the child's happiness that went into it, of the widower and orphan soon to be made by it. Why, think, Hetty, what a costly quilt it is! Likely they had to break up a cozy home at61the East, and sacrifice property and business interests there, to come here for her health. And you can buy a beautiful Marseilles quilt for ten dollars! Yes, a very good one for five. Five paltry dollars—and think what went into that! I walked past the front of the house yesterday, and there were fine hand-knitted curtains at the windows. Why, even those check gingham kitchen aprons hanging there have cross-stitch embroidery three or four inches deep. And the rugs that she hangs out on the line every day—all hand-work! One has little cloth circles button-hole-stitched to a foundation—pyramids of them—thousands of embroidery stitches on a two-feet-by-three rug! A yard of Moquette or Wilton carpet could be bought for two dollars or less, and you know yourself, Hetty, that it is twice as pretty and durable for a rug."
"Perhaps she does not do all this work herself. It may be given to her, or she may buy it of poor invalids who can do nothing else."
"No, child, she does it herself. I see her sit by her kitchen window every day knitting and crocheting, oh, so steadily! It is a north window, too. The sitting-room fronts south, and she cannot sit there because the sunlight would fade her carpets. The shades are nearly always close down; and the poor child wanders about the yard looking so homesick and lonely that my heart aches for him. His clothes are nice and fit beautifully, and his linen is starched and polished and fresh every day. She does her own ironing. I see her bending for hours over the ironing-board, and stopping every little while to cough. Look at that line now, Hetty, and see what she has before her this week. There are six white shirt-waists for the boy, pleated every one, and to be done with the polishing iron; then there is that skirt I first showed you, and a pair of ruffled and tucked and embroidered pillow shams, and—well, all the rest. It makes me sick at heart to see it and think of that poor starved little boy. He has no mother, don't you see? only a nurse and laundress. She won't let him run the street and get with bad boys. She thinks she is very careful about him, but she starves his very soul. She has no time to answer questions for him, and help him plan amusements, and sympathize with him, and he can't play in the dirt because he will soil his clothes. Of course the husband has the same treatment. He has to be very careful about throwing his papers about or making a litter in the house; and when he comes home at night his wife is too tired to talk and coughs a great deal. The cough worries him, and he feels that he ought to do something more for her—but he has done all he can, poor man! The doctor has told him to bring her to Colorado, and he has done so—but she doesn't seem to get much better, and she never will, Hetty, till she stops that everlasting knitting and fancy-work and gets into the sunshine, and takes an interest in something outside of her housekeeping. I am going to call on her to-morrow. She is a new neighbor, you know, and I will tell you beforehand just what I shall find. I shall ring the bell, and wait a long time. Then I shall hear doors open and shut, and finally the key turn in the front door, and I shall be let in. The sitting-room will be dark and have a close, shut-up smell—"
if it were anywhere but in Colorado it would be musty. The lady will raise a shade and let in a little light, taking care to shut out as much sunlight as she can by drawing the knitted curtains close. The room will be literally crowded with hand-made fancy-work, and everything will be painfully neat and unused. I shall scarcely have introduced myself until she begins to bemoan her lot on account of this dusty country. She will tell me that it is simply impossible to keep things clean, and that she wears herself all out trying."
The call was made, and Aunt Matilda came home more indignant than ever.
"I tell you that woman is dying by inches of fancy-work and lack of sunshine and pure air. She tells me that her disease is not hereditary, but she was always a delicate child, and it was brought on by a hard cold. A hard cold, indeed! How could anyone keep any lungs and sit all day by a north window crouched over those fiendish shining needles."
Aunt Matilda's usually mild brown eyes flashed indignantly and then filled with sudden tears.
"Oh my dears, the pity of it! And to think that she is only one of many. I saw a whole stack of Home Journals, and Journals of Fancy Work, and fashion magazines, but not one single useful book or paper in the house. Talk about the suppression of improper literature—I sometimes think journals of fancy-work and fashion ought to be included in the list, for they surely do tempt weak-minded women to their ruin. I meant to go home next month, but you will have to keep me a spell longer, Martha. I've a clear call to missionary labor in the red house over there. I must have the phæton at least two or three hours every day—for she won't be able to walk far at first, and you must help me hunt up all the poor children you know, and if she must sew she shall make plain garments for them. But I don't mean to let her touch a needle for a month if I can help it. How will I manage it? You'll see. Where there's a will there's a way."
And in Aunt Matilda's case we knew this to be true.—Ella Beecher Gittings.
The Home Circle.
By Hannah Coddington
SERVING.
"My Lord hath sent me," she smiling said,
"On chosen errands, service full and free,
To tasks that echo with sweet minstrelsy.
And joy and laughter crowned her head.
"My Lord hath sent me," she grieving said,
"Through sorrow's depths, where saddest things reveal;
My life is broken on a cruel wheel."
With bitter rue she crowned her head.
"Where my Lord sends me," she weeping said,
"These footprints show that he has gone before."
And, following thus, she loved him more and more,
Nor knew the hour he crowned her head.
—Hannah Coddington.
Sight-Seeing in the Sanctuary
A SIGHT-SEEING craze that invades the sanctuary, spying on the President and family in their devotions, is disgusting. Yet every Sunday this pitiful spectacle is presented in Washington. On the steps of the church where the Harrisons worship, scores of gray-haired old "women" of both sexes may be seen seated, waiting for the doors to open and for the Executive party to arrive. The exchequer of the Presbyterian Church could be considerably swollen if the elders would adopt the plan in vogue in a colored Roman Catholic Church in Washington. The Italian priest has trained an excellent negro choir, which excels any in that city. His father, Count Somebodini, has donated a noble marble altar. Hence, the church is frequented by white and colored lovers of music, and strangers of all creeds. Ten cents admission is charged, with financial returns that are astonishing, so great is often the crowd seeking admission. Church members do not, of course, have to pay. An old "colored lady" was noticed one Sunday to put a nickle on the plate and make change right there for her two-cent contribution.—America.
Health and Temperance.
By T. De Witt Talmage
LET ALONE INTEMPERANCE.
I PROPOSE in this discourse to tell you what I think are the sorrows and the doom of the drunkard, so that you to whom I speak may not come to the torment. Someone says, "You had better let those subjects alone." Why, my brethren, we would be glad to let them alone if they would let us alone; but when I have in my pocket now four requests, saying, "Pray for my husband," "Pray for my son," "Pray for my brother," "Pray for my friend, who is the captive of strong drink," I reply, We are ready to let that question alone when it is willing to let us alone; but when it stands blocking up the way to heaven, and keeping multitudes away from Christ, I dare not be silent, lest the Lord require their blood at my hands.
I think the subject has been kept back by the merriment people make over those slain by strong drink. I used to be very merry over these things, having a keen sense of the ludicrous. There was something very grotesque in the gait of a drunkard. It is not so now, for I saw in one of the streets of Philadelphia a sight that changed the whole subject to me. There was a young man being led home. He was very much intoxicated—he was raving with intoxication. Two young men were leading him along. The boys hooted in the street, men laughed, women sneered, but I happened to be very near the door where he went in—it was the door of his father's house. I saw him go upstairs. I heard him shouting, hooting, and blaspheming. He had lost his hat, and the merriment increased with the mob until he came up to the door; and as the door opened his mother came out. When I heard her cry, that took all the comedy away from the scene. Since that time, when I see a man walking through the street reeling, the comedy is all gone, and it is a tragedy of tears and groans and heart-breaks. Never make any fun around me about the grotesqueness of a drunkard! Alas for his home!—Rev. T. De Witt Talmage.
NORTH DAKOTA'S PROHIBITION LAW.
THE full text of the North Dakota prohibition law has been made public. It is entitled, "An act to prescribe penalties for the unlawful manufacture, sale, and keeping for sale, intoxicating liquors, and to regulate the sale, barter, and giving away of such liquors for medical, scientific, and mechanical purposes." It contains thirty-two sections, and comes into force on January 1, 1890. It imposes penalties for the first offense $200 to $1,000, and imprisonment not less than ninety days nor more than one year. The second and each succeeding offense is treated as a felony, with punishment by imprisonment in State prison for a period not exceeding two years and not less than one year. There is a provision permitting registered pharmacists to sell for medicinal, mechanical, scientific, and sacramental purposes. All places where intoxicants are sold are declared common nuisances, and the sheriff of the county in which such places are is empowered to abate them, and destroy all intoxicants and fixtures found therein.—Sel.
SECULAR.
—It is reported that 30,000 Chicago school-children have the influenza, or complications thereof.
—On the night of the 12th inst., the Girls' High School building, San Francisco, was destroyed by fire; loss, $36,000.
—On the night of January 11, the city building of Lewiston, Me., which cost $250,000, was totally destroyed by fire.
—A rancher living near San Francisco was recently robbed of $1,800 by a Chinaman who had been in his employ three years.
—The burning of high-school buildings seems to be epidemic. The last heard from is that of Colorado Springs, Col.; loss, $30,000.
—Ex-Governor Woods, one of the most prominent political orators of the Pacific Coast, died in Portland, Or., on the 10th inst.
—All the business portion of the town of Flora, Miss., except one small store, was destroyed by fire on the night of the 14th inst.
—A Rome dispatch says that it is the intention of the Anglo-Egyptian army to enter upon a new campaign for reopening the Soudan.
—A Berlin dispatch says: "The total number of cases of influenza in this city is estimated at 400,000. There have been 650 deaths due to this disease."
—It is claimed that the influenza now traversing the civilized world is the same as the epidemic which swept the United States about one hundred years ago.
—It has been decided by Judge Thayer, of the U. S. District Court at St. Louis, that it is unlawful to dun a man through the mails by means of a postal card.
—The newsboys and newsdealers of Buffalo, N. Y., are boycotting the evening papers of that city on account of a new schedule of prices, which they call starvation rates.
—It is said that a Minnesota syndicate, including Secretary Windom, has been formed for the purpose of purchasing California timber lands, and that the venture is backed by $100,000,000.
—Calvin S. Brice was elected U. S. Senator by the Ohio Legislature on the 14th inst. On the same day Ephraim K. Wilson was re-elected by the Maryland Legislature. Both are Democrats.
—In common with the farther west region, but one day later (the 13th), the State of New York, Western Pennsylvania, and the Ohio Valley suffered considerable damage from storms.
—A Cleveland, Ohio, paper claims that there are irregularities in the city's financial affairs aggregating $3,000,000, money paid out without the authority of the council, as required by law.
—January 11, at Versailles, Ky., a stable, including about forty blooded horses, was burned. One, the noted Bell Boy, was valued at $50,000. Others ranged in value from $2,500 to $20,000.
—The camp of captive Apaches which the government has been herding at Mt. Vernon Barracks, Ala., is proving a perplexing prize. What to do with the captives is the question now before the War Department.
—Judge Anderson, of Utah, has decided that an alien who is a member of the Mormon Church is not a fit person to be made a citizen of the United States, because that church is antagonistic to the government.
—The full text of the Samoan treaty, promulgated at Berlin by the representatives of Germany, England, and the United States, has been published. Among other provisions, the sale of fire-arms and liquors to natives is strictly forbidden.
—President Adams, of the Union Pacific, is announced as authority for the statement in Boston that a closer alliance has been effected between that road and the Central Pacific, and that both companies have withdrawn their opposition lines.
—Walker Blaine, son of Secretary James G. Blaine, died at Washington on the 15th inst., of pneumonia, superinduced by an attack of influenza. He was closely related to his father in diplomatic affairs, and for a dozen years has been his almost constant associate in public duties.
—A large grain elevator, valued at $300,000, containing corn worth $280,000, was burned at Baltimore, on the 13th inst. A British steamship lying near the elevator was also destroyed, together with all the rigging of two other vessels. Three sailors are missing, supposed to have been burned.
—It is reported from the city of Mexico that arrangements are completed for a steamship line between the west coast and Asia, and the importation of large numbers of Chinese laborers. This will call for a vigilant watch on the Mexican line, if the United States exclusion law is to be enforced.
—Advices from London say there is danger of another revolution in Hayti; that Legitime is lurking in Jamaica, waiting for opportunity to incite an uprising against President Hippolyte. It is further surmised that the presence of the American squadron works as a temporary check on the scheme.
—There has been a complete snow blockade in the Sierras, on the line of the Central Pacific; 1,500 men have been employed shoveling snow along the track. On the 18th inst., ten feet of snow were reported at Virginia City. Reno cattle-men predict that half the cattle and sheep in the State will be lost.
—The Undertakers' Union of San Francisco and Oakland has carried matters to such an extreme that a non-union undertaker of the latter city was obliged to give up a funeral after all arrangements had been made, because he could not get a hearse. It is said that all the dealers in undertakers' supplies have also joined the union.
—The Chinese Minister at Washington has cut the Gordian knot of his country's social customs in regard to their ladies. He has announced that his wife will receive callers in regular style, and return them in person. Her efforts will no doubt excite much curiosity, as she has always been socially but a prisoner, and cannot speak English.
—In a communication sent to the Senate the Third Auditor of the Treasury recommends that $925,000 be allowed the State of California for money expended in suppressing Indian hostilities prior to 1854. The payment of $38,000 on account of the Humboldt Indian expedition and of $4,444 for expenses incurred in the Modoc war, is also recommended.
—Prime Minister Crispi, of Italy, has succeeded in striking a heavy blow at the financial interests and power of the holy see. He has caused the national Legislature to pass a law secularizing what are known as the "Opere Pie," which consists of some 24,000 charitable foundations of a religious character and possessing an aggregate annual income of $30,000,000.
—A Lisbon dispatch of January 12 says: "A mob composed of students and others, shouting, 'Down with the Ministry,' attacked the British Legation to-day. They demolished the escutcheon on the building, and smashed the windows. The police were powerless. They then broke the windows of the residences of various members of the Ministry, after which they dispersed."
—Portugal acknowledges that she is too weak to contest her African claims against England, and has yielded to the demand to withdraw everything from the banks of the Shire beyond the confluence of the Rus and South Zambesi, and from Mashonaland. The uninterested Austrian explorer, Dr. Emil Kobler, who has been in the country about twenty years, says that England has the better right to the disputed territory.
—General Mariano Guadalupe Vallejo, founder of the city of that name, died at his home in Sonoma, Cal., on the 18th inst. He was born at Monterey, in 1808, when California was a part of Mexico, under the vice-regal dominion of Spain. From the age of sixteen he was attached to the army until California was acquired by the United States. He was a member of the constitutional convention of the new State, and also of the first Senate.
—On the night of the 11th and during the 12th instants, severe storms are reported extending from Nebraska, through Kansas and Missouri, and down the Mississippi Valley. Railroad travel and traffic in some sections was greatly discommoded, and other property was damaged to a great extent, especially in St. Louis. In the latter place three deaths are reported, besides a large number of persons more or less injured by falling buildings.
News and Notes.
By Editor
RELIGIOUS.
—The Italian Chamber of Deputies recently passed a bill depriving the clergy of the direction of all charities maintained by public funds.
—Dr. Lyman Abbott, who succeeded Henry Ward Beecher as editor of the Christian Union, has also been installed pastor of Beecher's Brooklyn Tabernacle.
—The Christian Cynosure says that "it has been announced that on various railroads in this land, Sunday freight trains will, for the future, be discontinued." Further, that "even in France, with its great 'continental Sunday,' a movement in the same direction is noticed."
—In the course of a conversation on Christianity, a missionary asked a well-known Brahmin in Calcutta whether he had ever read our Bible. The man looked at him, and calmly and slowly answered, "I have read the New Testament eighty-three times, and the Old Testament twenty-seven."
—A secret circular sent out in New Mexico to the faithful Catholics, by the church, has been brought to light by a correspondent of the Pittsburg Christian Advocate. This circular exhorts all the faithful to secretly work by all secret means for the interests of the church in the constitutional convention to be held next September.
—The pope has issued an encyclical which sets forth the principles which shall guide Catholics in their relations toward the State. The encyclical says "they must obey when such a course does not entail disobedience to divine laws. In countries where the State opposes Catholicism, Catholics must combat the enemy, but must not tie the church to any political party."
—New York City may be designated as a Catholic town, as it contains eighty Catholic Churches, in which are said every Sunday 392 masses. These buildings have a seating capacity of 411,700, and standing room for 146,470, making a total of 558,110 Catholics who can fulfill their religious duties on Sundays by attending the sacrifice of the mass. During the year five new churches have been erected.
Books.
By Editor
[Every book sent to us by the author or publisher will be promptly acknowledged, the title of the book, number of pages, the names of author and publishers being given in every case, together with the price, when we are informed what it is. Such other notice will be given as the merit of the several works may demand. Marked copies of the paper containing notices will be sent to publishers.]
"Progression; or the Genesis of the Natural and Spiritual World," by William M. Goggin, Shelbyville, Tenn., is a volume purporting to be "light on obscure portions of the Bible." While it contains many good suggestions, there is much that is drawn from the field of speculation. Its title, "Progression," suggests a delusion through which many have wandered into the darkness. It has 475 pages; cloth, $1.50. Albert B. Tavel, Nashville, Tenn., publisher.
Obituary.
By H. W. Reed
STEVENSON.—Died in Oregon City, Or., September 24, 1889, of cancer, Sarah Stevenson, aged 78 years, 5 months, and 12 days. Her maiden name was Tait. She was born in Northumberland, England, April 12, 1811. She was united in marriage to John W. Stevenson, February 11, 1834, in Edwards County, Ill. She came to Oregon in 1853, crossing the plains with ox-teams. Her husband died at Cape Horn, Wash., February 27, 1871. She embraced Christianity and became a member of the Baptist Church in 1838. Sister Stevenson accepted present truth under the labors of Elder I. D. Van Horn in 1877, and became a member of the East Portland church, and during all those years she was an exemplary Christian. The writer has been personally acquainted with her for nearly six years, and can say that she was a mother in Israel. Her surviving son and four daughters cherish her memory with deepest love. In her church connection she was loyal and pure. The testimonies which she bore were among the best. She carried peace and sunshine wherever she went. She was a woman of deep principle and sterling value. Her whole trust was in Christ. She was willing and ready to be laid away in the tomb till the Lifegiver comes to call her to life immortal. She peacefully fell asleep September 24, 1889. Sister Stevenson was a great sufferer during her last sickness, but she bore her suffering with patience and Christian resignation. May the Lord comfort the hearts mourning her loss, and may they look to the glorious resurrection to be reunited. Words of instruction and comfort were spoken from Ps. 17:15, last part of the verse. H. W. REED.
(Review and Herald please copy.)
G. A. Baker Purchases Goods
Don't forget that G. A. Baker is still purchasing goods for all who desire him to do so. Try him once. Address, G. A. Baker, Pacific Press, Oakland, Cal.
ANY OF OUR FRIENDS GOING EAST
By Editor
Will find it to their advantage to call on or write to B. R. Nordyke, Pacific Press buildings, Oakland, Cal., in regard to rates, routes, etc. He has through car arrangements and excellent accommodations. Can sell you a through ticket from nearly any point in Oregon, Washington, Montana, California, and Arizona to the East. Through tourist car January 28 and 30 and February 4, 6, and 11. Elder Waggoner, Brethren Bollman, Sample, and others went East via Brother Nordyke's routes. Parties going nearly every week.
Publishers' Department.
By Editor
RENEWAL OF CLUBS.
ALL clubs of the SIGNS should be renewed at least thirty days before date of expiration; see printed date on the address label. This will save the printer some work, and prevent the subscriber losing any number of the paper by a break in the time of his subscription. Papers are mailed promptly upon receipt of the order at the SIGNS office. It takes at least two weeks from the time you mail your letter before the first papers can reach you by return mail. If the SIGNS does not reach you inside of thirty days after the order is sent for it, please let us know, and we will look up cause of delay.
BACK NUMBERS OF THE "SENTINEL."
By Editor
We have a few assorted back numbers of the American Sentinel which we can send post-paid for $1.00 per hundred. Address the SIGNS office.
BOUND VOLUMES OF THE "SENTINEL."
By Editor
The American Sentinel for 1889 can now be obtained neatly bound in a cloth volume, with leather back and corners, for $2.50, post-paid; bound in heavy paper, for $1.50, post-paid.
Religious Liberty Literature.
By Editor
NOW IS THE TIME TO CIRCULATE IT.
ORDER BY NUMBER.
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