The Committee on Resolutions presented the following, which, after some discussion, were adopted:—
Resolved, That this Council advise Elder A. C. Bourdeau to locate in the Waldensian Valleys, and devote his principal efforts to the work in Italy and France.
WHEREAS, The harvest is great and the laborers are few; therefore,
Resolved, That it is inconsistent for our laborers to remain continuously in one place.
WHEREAS, It is contrary to the accepted and uniform plan of labor among our people that our laborers confine their labors to one locality, and
WHEREAS, There exists special and urgent demands for labor in various localities in the Italian field; therefore,
Resolved, That this Council recommend that Brother A. Biglia do not confine his labors to Naples, but devote the greater portion of his time to labor in new fields.
Resolved, That we request the General Conference to send a German laborer to join Brother J. Ertzenberger in the vast German field.
WHEREAS, The increase of the publishing work in Europe demands skilled laborers, and persons of experience in the various branches of the work; therefore,
Resolved, That this Council recommend that Brother Chas. M. Andrews spend one or two years in our publishing house at Battle Creek, learning thoroughly the binder's trade.
Resolved, That in the future sessions of our General Council, we request the chairman of each of the several Mission Boards to present a written report of missionary labor, not to exceed thirty minutes in delivering, and request written reports from all our laborers not to exceed fifteen minutes.
Resolved, That we express our gratitude to God for the labors and counsels of Sister E. G. White and her son, Elder W. C. White, at these meetings; that we invite them to visit Scandinavia, Great Britain, and other fields, and to remain sufficiently long in Europe to do the work Providence has assigned them.
WEDNESDAY, SEPT. 23.
The officers of the Council and the Mission Boards for the ensuing year were elected, as follows:—
Executive Committee: B. L. Whitney, chairman, J. G. Matteson, S. H. Lane; Secretary, A. B. Oyen; Treasurer, Addie S. Bowen. Mission Boards: Central European Mission, B. L. Whitney, A. C. Bourdeau, D. T. Bourdeau; British Mission, S. H. Lane, M. C. Wilcox, R. F. Andrews; Scandinavian Mission, J. G. Matteson, A. B. Oyen, E. G. Olsen.
The question was then raised, Is it right for us to bear arms or serve in the army; and if so, is it lawful for us to serve on the Sabbath? From the ensuing discussion, it appeared that military service is compulsory in Switzerland, Germany, France, and Italy. The length of service required varies in the different countries, but the service is such that it is very difficult to keep the Sabbath. In Switzerland, Sabbath-keepers have the choice of joining the sanitary corps, in which a person is exempt from bearing arms, but the duties to be performed on the Sabbath are not such as are proper for God's holy day. It was voted that the Executive Committee of the Council prepare a circular treating upon this subject, offering suggestions for the instruction of our brethren.
THURSDAY, SEPT. 24.
Various plans to increase the circulation of our periodicals were considered, and the best way to reach the traveling public of England. It was voted that we request the International Tract and Missionary Society to furnish distributors, to be placed on the transatlantic steamers leaving Liverpool.
Elder Whitney introduced the question of establishing a school in Basel, especially for the children of Sabbath-keepers. Attendance at school is compulsory for children from six to fourteen years of age, and they cannot be excused from the school on the Sabbath. Several of our Sabbath-keepers in Switzerland have been fined, and some have been imprisoned, for refusing to allow their children to attend school on the Sabbath. It was thought that teachers could be obtained for a private school, and that a room could be obtained, if it were decided that a school should be organized. Elders B. L. Whitney, J. Ertzenberger, Albert Vuilleumier, W. C. White, and Ademar Vuilleumier were chosen as a school committee.
FRIDAY, SEPT. 25.
The Committee on Resolutions introduced the following resolutions and recommendations:—
WHEREAS, The Danish-Norwegian and Swedish health journals, Sundhedsbladet and Helse-og-Sygepleje, published at Christiania, are not circulated to any extent in America, and,
WHEREAS, Our brethren there would receive great benefit from reading these papers; therefore,
Resolved, That we invite our Scandinavian brethren generally in America to become subscribers to these journals, and to do what they can to circulate them among their countrymen in that country.
Resolved, That we request the Executive Committee of this Council to prepare petitions to the Swiss Government, that the children of Sabbath-keepers be exempt from attending the public schools on the Sabbath, and that they prepare tracts and leaflets on the subject, to be distributed by those who circulate the petitions.
We recommend that the following named persons receive credentials: B. L. Whitney, D. T. Bourdeau, A. C. Bourdeau, S. H. Lane, A. A. John, M. C. Wilcox, R. F. Andrews, A. B. Oyen, E. G. Olsen, J. G. Matteson, J. H. Durland, and that Geo. R. Drew receive colporter's license.
On motion, the above were acted upon separately, and adopted.
Sabbath forenoon, Elder Matteson preached on the subject of the Third Angel's Message, and in the afternoon Mrs. White spoke from Zechariah 3:1-7. As she compared the situation of the people of God with that of Joshua before the angel, she was led to give most precious encouragement to those who are to pass through the time of trouble.
SUNDAY, SEPT. 27.
The Committee on Resolutions presented the following, which were acted upon singly, and adopted:—
Resolved, That we express our continued confidence in the gift of prophecy, which God has mercifully placed among his remnant people, and that we will endeavor to show our true appreciation of the same by practically carrying out its instructions.
Resolved, That we recommend that The Present Truth be published semi-monthly.
Resolved, That we recommend that a Scandinavian laborer be selected to go and assist Brother Geo. Drew in his work in Liverpool.
WHEREAS, The work is great and the laborers few, and the greater part of the work of enlightening the people on the subject of present truth must be done by means of publications; therefore,
Resolved, That it is the duty of our ministers to encourage and educate young persons to become successful canvassers and colporters, by holding institutes, and by connecting them with tent labor, and with other labor where it may be deemed advisable, thus helping them to obtain the necessary qualifications for this work.
Resolved, That we recommend that an institute of three or four weeks' duration be held the coming winter at Great Grimsby, England, for the purpose of giving instruction to canvassers and colporters.
It was voted that W. C. White, J. G. Matteson, A. B. Oyen, M. C. Wilcox, and Sister E. H. Whitney be an International Lesson Committee, to advise as to the Sabbath-school lessons used in our papers published in Europe.
MONDAY, SEPT. 28.
The Committee on Resolutions presented the following, which was adopted:—
Resolved, That the report of this Council, the financial and statistical report of the European Missions, with the report of Sister White's morning talks, and a sketch of her visit to the missions, be published in a large-page pamphlet in the English language, that our brethren in America may share the blessing of this good meeting.
It was voted that we recommend that Brother Thos. G. Aslan labor six months or a year in Italy, in connection with Brother Geymet, under the direction of Brother A. C. Bourdeau.
It was also voted that Brethren H. W. Kellogg and C. M. Andrews represent this Council at the coming General Conference. Also, that the next session of this Council be held in England.
Monday evening, after a short discourse by Elder Matteson, Brother Albert Vuilleumier was ordained to the work of the ministry.
From this meeting, the laborers go forth with new courage to their fields of labor. Five more will engage in the colporter work than have been in the field before, and we expect that our books and papers will have a much wider circulation than ever before.
W. C. WHITE.
Basel, Switzerland, Oct. 5, 1885.
Southern California Camp-Meeting.
By John Norton Loughborough
THIS meeting was held, according to appointment, October 17-26, in a park of pepper trees near the center of the beautiful village of Santa Ana, Los Angeles County. There were twenty-five tents in the camp, and about one hundred campers. There was a fair attendance from the country, and about thirty from San Diego County. These latter came with their teams about eighty miles, for the purpose of attending the meeting.
There were sixty-two meetings held during the ten days of the encampment, of which twenty-five were sermons. There were six sessions of a Biblical Institute, and four meetings of our Sabbath-school Convention. Besides these, there was one meeting for instruction in church work and the keeping of church records, five missionary meetings, two Sabbath-schools, two business meetings, ten prayer and social meetings, and seven meetings of the youth and children. Of the sermons, Brother St. John gave seven, Brother Ings six, Brother R. S. Owen five, and the writer seven. The first Sabbath-school was composed of seventy-four persons, arranged in fourteen classes, and on the second Sabbath the school consisted of ninety-eight pupils, arranged in fifteen classes.
There was a spirit of harmony and solemnity pervading the entire camp-meeting. The outside attendance increased from the opening of the meeting to the last, and the interest was such that Brother St. John decided to remain and follow up the work by meetings in a hall which has been secured for that purpose. At the close of the camp-meeting six persons were baptized, and our people returned to their homes greatly encouraged and strengthened.
In the business meeting all voted in favor of another camp-meeting in this southern field next year, to be held about the same time of this one this year. They also readily responded to the suggestion that these local camp-meetings meet their own expenses. Pledges of over two hundred dollars were made for a southern camp-meeting fund. This sum will doubtless be added to by others who were not at the meeting. The camp-meeting has exerted a great influence in giving permanence to the cause in this part of the Conference.
J. N. LOUGHBOROUGH.
The Pardon of Convicts
By Independent
The private citizen has no right to ask for the pardon of a convict any more than has the governor to grant it, except on the single supposition that it can be granted in consistency with the safety of society.
When Worthy Men Quarrel
By T. Fuller
WHEN worthy men quarrel, only one of them may be faulty at the first; but if strife continue long, commonly both become guilty.—T. Fuller
Dick Damon's Experiment.
By Julia D. Peck
"Joe Ives is the meanest boy in town! I don't ever want anything more to do with him as long as I live! So there!"
"Say, Dick, what was that verse you repeated at prayers this morning?" asked Dick's older brother, Ralph, looking up from his book. "It seems to me I'd try to think it up if I were you."
Dick flushed painfully as he recalled it:—
"Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you."
"Nobody could love Joe Ives," cried Dick, hotly. "I tell you, Ralph, you don't know anything about it. Do you suppose you could love a fellow that run off with your new sled and wouldn't let you have it all recess? That is what Joe did, and when I asked him for it, he only laughed and told me to take it if I could get it. He is so much stouter than I am, he knew I could not do a thing but stand there shivering and see him enjoy himself. It was tough, I tell you; but I'll get even with him in some way, see if I don't!"
"If you can't love him, suppose you try to do him good, or at least pray for him," said Ralph, quietly.
Poor Dick shook his head.
"It can't be done," he said. "He doesn't deserve to have any one do him any good; and as for praying for him, why, he needs that badly enough, but I'm not the one to do it."
"No," said Ralph, "there is some one nearer home that needs it first."
"It is easy enough for you to forgive folks that treat you mean, I suppose," said Dick; "but it isn't for me, and there's no use trying," and Dick caught up his cap and mittens and ran out of the house. His sled was on the piazza, but he never looked toward it, but hurried down the street as fast as he could. He was trying to run away from an accusing conscience, but of course he could not do it.
"Hold on, there! Where are you going to so fast?" called out Howard Graves, behind him. "We boys are going skating out to Whitney Lake. Get your skates and come on."
"All right! Wait for me," said Dick, turning back. "It won't take me but a minute to get them."
"There's Joe Ives, of course; I just wish he'd stay away," said Howard, when the two boys came in sight of the lake. "He is always on hand, without waiting for an invitation."
"Maybe he thinks he can get hold of some of the boys' skates as he did my sled," remarked Dick.
"I'm kind of sorry for him," said Howard, "if he is so hateful. They are awful poor, he and his mother. His father was killed last winter trying to save somebody's baby when an old tenement house was burned, and I shouldn't wonder if Joe had some of the same grit in him."
"What makes you think so?" asked Dick, growing interested in spite of himself.
"Well, the other day I was going down Water Street, and some little rascals had got hold of a stray kitten; they had tied an old teapot to its tail and were snow-balling it, and abusing it the best they knew how. Of course it was frightened almost to death, when just then Joe came along. You ought to have seen the way he went for those boys. They got out of sight in a jiffy, and Joe caught up the poor little kitten, warmed it under his jacket, and carried it off with him as if it was precious as gold."
"I've heard he is very kind to his mother, and gives her all the money he earns," acknowledged Dick, "and maybe that is why he never has things like other boys."
"Hurry up and put on your skates," said Howard, who was all ready for a start. "Let's have a race down to the big rock."
"Oh, you go on," said Dick, "it will take me some time to put on my skates."
Joe Ives stood a few yards away with his hands in his pockets, because he had no mittens, watching the skaters as they darted past him.
Dick couldn't help noticing how thin and old the coat was, and how he shivered in the chilly air. Somehow the feeling of pity for Joe kept growing stronger in his heart, and of course that crowded out the ugly thoughts he had been cherishing.
"I just wonder if 'twould make any difference if we boys should treat him kind of decent, and show him we didn't all hate him," said Dick to himself. "I declare I believe I'll try it. It can't do any harm, any way."
He turned about suddenly, and running up to Joe, said, as he held out his skates,—
"Put them on, Joe, and see if you can't beat Howard in a race. You can skate twice as fast as I can, and I want to see you try it; nobody else can keep up with him."
Joe gave him a look of blank astonishment. "O you're just a fooling," he said, incredulously, "you wouldn't let me take 'em for sure."
"I shouldn't say so if I didn't mean it," said Dick. "I want to have you take them; I do truly."
Joe looked at Dick curiously for a moment, and then put on the skates without a word, and was soon gliding over the smooth ice, the swiftest skater of them all.
Once or twice he skated around to where Dick stood whistling, and begged him to take the skates, but Dick persistently refused. He was very sure he was enjoying himself as well as any of the gay company.
There was now a strange feeling in Joe's heart which he could not understand, as he took off the skates at last and returned them to the owner.
"I say, Dick, what made you do it?" he asked in a tone very unlike his usual one.
"Oh," said Dick, carelessly, "I can skate any time. I don't have much else to do out of school hours. You can take them as well as not when I'm not using them."
"I'd just like to know what you did it for," asked Joe again. "I haven't ever done anything but treat you mean. I knew the fellows all hated me, and it made me ugly. Say, don't you hate me, Dick Damon, don't you, true?"
"No, I don't, not now," said Dick, and he was glad he could say it truthfully.
"You wouldn't want to be my friend, now, would you?" and Joe looked anxiously into Dick's face.
"Of course I would, and so would Howard. He was saying to-day that you had good grit. I never thought before how we boys have treated you. I guess we've been more to blame than you. But I'll stand by you after this, Joe. We'll help each other."
"Oh, my!" said Joe, "if you only will, you'll never be ashamed of my actions after this. You just see if I don't turn around, and begin again. I didn't know before how nice it felt to have somebody like you, but then you see I hain't ever had any friends."
"Ralph was right, after all," said Dick to himself. "I've tried to do Joe good, poor fellow, and now I can pray for him."—Julia D. Peck, in Christian at Work.
The Home Circle.
By Mary H. Rowland
NOTHING TO SHOW.
"My day has all gone"—'twas a woman who spoke,
As she turned her face to the sunset glow—
"And I have been busy the whole day long;
But for my work there is nothing to show."
No painting nor sculpture her hand had wrought;
No laurel of fame her labor had won.
What was she doing in all the long day,
With nothing to show at the set of the sun?
What was she doing? Listen; I'll tell you
What she was doing in all the long day:
Beautiful deeds too many to number;
Beautiful deeds in a beautiful way;
Womanly deeds that a woman may do,
Trifles that only a woman can see,
Wielding a power unmeasured, unknown,
Whenever the light of her presence might be.
She had rejoiced with those who rejoiced,
Wept with the sad, and strengthened the weak;
And a poor wanderer, straying in sin,
She in compassion had gone forth to seek.
Unto the poor her aid had been given,
Unto the weary the rest of her home;
Freely her blessings to others were given,
Freely and kindly to all who had come.
Humbly and quietly all the long day
Had her sweet service for others been done;
Yet for the labor of heart and of hand
What could she show at set of the sun?
Ah! she forgot that our Father in Heaven
Ever is watching the work that we do,
And records he keeps of all we forget,
Then judges our work with judgment that's true.
For an angel writes down in a volume of gold
The beautiful deeds that all do below.
Though nothing she had at set of the sun,
The angel above had something to show.
—Mary H. Rowland.
How a Poor Boy Succeeded.
Boys sometimes think they cannot afford to be manly and faithful in the little things. The Republic tells the story of a boy of the right stamp, and what came of his faithfulness:—
"A few years ago a large drug firm in New York City advertised for a boy. Next day the store was thronged with applicants, among them a queer-looking little fellow, accompanied by a woman, who proved to be his aunt, in lieu of faithless parents, by whom he had been abandoned. Looking at the little waif, the manager said: 'Can't take him; places all full, besides, he is too small.'"
"I know he is small," said the woman, "but he is willing and faithful."
There was a twinkling in the boy's eyes that made the merchant think again. A partner in the firm volunteered to remark that he "did not see what they wanted with such a boy—he wasn't bigger than a pint of cider." But after consultation, the boy was set to work.
A few days later a call was made on the boys in the store for some one to stay all night. The prompt response of the little fellow contrasted well with the reluctance of others. In the middle of the night the merchant looked in to see that all was right in the store, and presently discovered this youthful protege busy scissoring labels.
"What are you doing?" he asked. "I did not tell you to work nights."
"I know you did not tell me to, but I thought I might as well be doing something." In the morning the cashier got orders to "double that boy's wages, for he is willing and faithful."
Only a few weeks elapsed before a show of wild beasts passed through the streets, and, very naturally, all hands in the store rushed to witness the spectacle. A thief saw his opportunity, and entered at the rear door to seize something, but in a twinkling found himself clutched by the diminutive clerk aforesaid, and after a struggle, was captured. Not only was robbery prevented, but valuable articles taken from other stores were recovered. When asked by the merchant why he stayed behind to watch, when all others quit their work, he replied,—
"You told me never to leave the store when others were absent, and I thought I'd stay."
Orders were immediately given once more: "Double that boy's wages; he is willing and faithful."
To-day that boy is getting a salary of $2,500, and next month he will become a member of the firm.—Sel.
Health and Temperance.
By Dr. Talmage
The Hot Axle.
THE express train was flying from Cork to Queenstown; it was going like sixty—that is, about sixty miles an hour. No sight of Irish village to arrest our speed, no sign of breakdown; and yet the train halted. We looked out of the window; saw the brakeman and a crowd of passengers gathering around the locomotive, and a dense smoke arising. What was the matter? A hot axle!
I thought then, as I think now, that is what is the matter with the people everywhere. In the swift "express," American life, we go too fast for our endurance. We think ourselves getting on splendidly, when, in the midst of our successes, we come to a dead halt. What is the matter? The nerves or muscles or brains give out; we have made too many revolutions in an hour. A hot axle!
Men make the mistake of working according to their opportunities, and not according to their capacity of endurance. "Can I run this train from Springfield to Boston at the rate of fifty miles an hour?" says an engineer. "Yes." "Then I will run it reckless of consequences!" "Can I be a merchant, and a president of a bank, and a director in a life insurance company, and a school commissioner, and help edit a paper, and supervise the politics of our ward, and run for Congress?" "I can!" the man says to himself. The store drives him; the bank drives him; the school drives him; politics drive him. He takes all the scoldings and frets and exasperations of each position. Some day, at the height of the business season, he does not come to the store. From the most important meeting of the bank directors he is absent. In the excitement of the most important political canvass he fails to be at the place appointed. What is the matter? His health has broken down; the train halts long before it gets to the station. A hot axle!
Literary men have great opportunities opening in this day. If they take all that open, they are dead men, or worse—living men who ought to be dead. The pen runs so easy when you have good ink and smooth paper, and an easy desk to write on, and the consciousness of an audience of one, two, or three hundred thousand readers. There are the religious newspapers through which you may preach, and the musical journals through which you may sing, and the agricultural periodicals through which you can plow, and family newspapers in which you may romp with the whole household around the evening stand. There are critiques to be written, and reviews to be indulged in, and poems to be chimed. When out of a man's pen he can shake recreation and friendship and usefulness and bread, he is apt to keep it shaking. So great are the invitations to literary work, that the professional men of the day are overdone. They sit, faint and fagged out, on the verge of newspapers and books; each one does the work of three. And these men sit up late nights, and choke down chunks of meat without mastication, and scold their wives through irritability, and maul innocent authors, and run the physical machinery with a liver miserably given out. The driving-shaft has gone fifty times a second. They stop at no station. The steam-chest is hot and swollen. The brain and the digestion begin to smoke. Stop, ye flying quills! "Down brake!" A hot axle!
Some of our young people have read—till they are crazed—of learned blacksmiths, who, at the forge, conquered thirty languages; and of shoemakers, who, pounding sole-leather, got to be philosophers; and of milliners, who, while their customers were at the glass trying on spring hats, wrote a volume of first-rate poems. The fact is, no blacksmith ought to be troubled with more than five languages; and instead of shoemakers becoming philosophers, we would like to turn our surplus of philosophers into shoemakers; and the supply of poetry is so much greater than the demand that we wish milliners would stick to their business. Extraordinary examples of endurance may do as much harm as good. Because Napoleon slept only four hours a night, hundreds of students have tried the experiment; but instead of Austerlitz and Sarragossa, there came of it only a sick headache and a botch of a recitation.
Hard Times in London.
IN sunshine or shower, fog or fair weather, the approaches to the docks and wharves of the metropolis are every morning thronged by crowds of eager, anxious men, struggling—nay, in many cases fighting like wild beasts—to obtain work within the gates. As the hour draws near for the ringing of the great bell announcing the commencement of work, a crowd of often a couple of thousands of men press around the principal entrance of the London docks; and as the big gates swing slowly open, the mighty mass of humanity rushes forward like an overwhelming flood to the chain-barrier, where the superintendent gives out the metal tokens entitling the holder to employment within. Of course he shows preference to those previously employed, but there is always the chance of obtaining a ticket, and the men strive to clutch one of the precious talismans with intense and passionate eagerness. They push and jostle and struggle, leaping on each other's shoulders, and fighting and wrestling in the mad rush like famishing animals rather than human beings. The most desperate demonstration is written on every face, and there is small thought in the mind of any man of that surging crowd for any one but himself. For work means food—poor and scanty, no doubt, but still something to keep the terrible wolf from the door. Failure means semi-starvation, or worse.
But of the crowds who struggle and fight at the gates, frequently not more than one-third are selected, and the remainder, bearing their sad fate with as much philosophical fortitude as they can muster,—perhaps it is stony despair, rather,—turn disconsolately away, some to seek work at other places which open later, and others to wait for "calls" which may occur at any time during the day. Thus a visitor strolling through the fine docks, and admiring the shipping and immense quantities of merchandise piled on every hand, is suddenly arrested by a strange sight of a sea of white, anxious faces pressing wistfully against the bars of a side entrance. Yes, men are still waiting there for any call of laborers that may come during the day. And presently, as you wait, the superintendent appears, and cries,—
"One man wanted!"
Instantly all the watchers spring up like caged animals when food is brought them, yelling, shouting, and extending their hands. They leap on each other's backs, and clamber up to the topmost rails; and all this feverish excitement is to obtain one little metal ticket—perhaps for one hour's work, entitling the owner to fivepence or sixpence at most!
One out of the large number receives the ticket, apparently by chance rather than by any other manner of selection, and then the noise subsides, and the men wait on, patient, dogged, hungry-eyed, as before.
At another time a call will come for two men, and the same scene will occur again, and so on throughout the day. But of the great numbers who crowd the gates in their desperate struggle to obtain employment, only a very few comparatively can ever be engaged. One in every three or four appears to be the average number who obtain work.—The Quiver.
Munich Inhabitants and Citizens
MUNICH has 244,000 inhabitants and only 11,000 citizens. To become a citizen it is necessary to pay 100 to 150 marks ($25–$37), and this only a small portion of the inhabitants have done. Those who are not citizens are obliged to pay the same taxes as others, although they are not entitled to a vote on commercial affairs.—Sel.
When Money Becomes Master
If money be not thy servant, it will be thy master. The covetous man cannot properly be said to possess wealth, as that may be said to possess him.—Bacon.
Criminal Negligence.
By Christian Union
NOTHING, to the minds of careful people, is so astonishing as the reckless way in which some people care for the necessary poisons which are kept in every house. Instead of these being in a separate closet, or even on a separate shelf, from the simple remedies in the family pharmacy, they stand side by side, in bottles of similar shape, with the most harmless drugs. The result of this method is that at short intervals the daily papers record verdicts of "accidental poisoning." Not long since, a woman of intelligence and position took, in mistake for a mineral water which she was in the habit of taking each morning, a most deadly poison, and died in agony in a few hours. The poison had been put in a bottle which had formerly contained the mineral water. A nurse gave a three-months-old baby corrosive sublimate for potash, and the baby died after hours of intense suffering. A mother gave a daughter carbolic acid for a medicine left by a physician, and only by almost superhuman efforts was her life saved. In all these cases the suffering and deaths were caused by the criminal carelessness of the mother in allowing poisons in places to which all of the family had access.
Last week a woman took a paper of potash for sugar from a closet, and put it into the cups of coffee for her family. They all drank enough of the coffee to be made seriously ill. "Mistakes occur in the best regulated families," but no excuse can be offered for the carelessness that allows poisons in places where they are of easy access. Give them a special place under lock and key.—Christian Union.
The Ancient Feather-Bed.
By Nebraska Farmer
WILL the day ever come when the ancient feather-beds of our grandmothers will be utterly banished from our homes; when it will be counted no prize for the little granddaughter to have handed down to her "grandma's best feather-bed," and all its belongings? I know a house that holds a baker's dozen of these valuable relics of the dark ages, and I am confident that some of the geese from whose breasts those feathers were plucked quacked at the close of the last century. It is a most remarkable house for funerals.
A thousand times healthier and sweeter is a good straw bed, which you can change often and wash clean every spring. A comfortable mattress over it is luxurious enough for a king.
The Nation’s Liquor Consumption
The consumption of liquor in this country is officially reported by the authorities at Washington as amounting to 69,157,903 gallons of spirits, 19,185,953 barrels of fermented liquor, and 20,508,345 gallons of wine. Estimating the population at about 58,000,000, the average consumption appears to be about 1.2 gallons of whisky for each person yearly, over 10.25 gallons of beer, and .35 of a gallon of wine. The quantity of beer consumed appears to be about 595,000,000 gallons. In other words, the people of this favored land drink about two gallons of liquor for every bushel of wheat that they consume—a striking text for our temperance friends.—N. Y. Tribune.
Not Understood.
WHAT thoughtful man is there who is not often conscious of the fact that he is not understood by others, and that his motives and the principles that govern his conduct are not properly appreciated? In consequence of this, he feels that their bearing towards him is different from what it should be. But how few persons permit themselves to think that the same is true of others, that they are not properly understood and appreciated, and, as a consequence, are not treated as they deserve! What is true of us in this respect is equally true of others, and we should extend to them the treatment which we feel to be due to ourselves. Failing in this, we deprive ourselves and others of much happiness which otherwise might be enjoyed.—Methodist Recorder.
News and Notes.
By Editor
RELIGIOUS.
—Joseph Cook has begun a series of Sunday-afternoon temperance lectures in Music Hall, Boston.
—A new steamer costing $30,000 has just been constructed for the use of missions on the River Niger.
—The staff of officers of St. George's Presbyterian Church, Edinburgh, Scotland, consists of forty-six elders and forty-two deacons.
—The Brooklyn Board of Assessors has decided not to tax the property of the Young Men's Christian Association of that city.
—A number of released slaves in Zanzibar have printed large portions of the Bible in their native language, so that it may be read throughout the interior.
—Canon Farrar asserts that ritualism is more popular now in England than it ever was, and that its leanings toward the church of Rome are especially marked.
—Over 64,000 Catholic pilgrims have visited the shrine of St. Ann of Beaupre, in Canada, since January 1. Many wonderful miracles are claimed to have been performed.
—In Kamschatka there is a Lutheran church of one thousand members, scattered over an immense district. The members use six different languages: German, Danish, Swedish, Finnish, Estish, and Lettish.
—The seventy-fifth anniversary of the American Board of Commissioners of Foreign Missions was held in Boston, October 13-18. The total receipts of the Board for the year ending September 1, were $508,491.61.
—It is said that at Vienna, last year, not less than 263 Jews became Christians, among whom were thirteen barristers, nine physicians, four journalists, three judges, three professors, and seventeen merchants and manufacturers.
—The society started by the Countess of Dufferin for supplying medical aid to the women in India is making good progress. Several native chiefs have given it financial aid. The prospectus has been translated into the various languages used, and will be scattered broadcast over the country.
—The leading Liberal and Nonconformist clergymen of Scotland have sent a memorial to Mr. Gladstone, urging him to use his influence to aid in securing the disestablishment of the Church of Scotland, as a legislative step demanded by political justice as well as by national religion in that part of the empire.
—Judges Zane and Powers have recently instructed Utah grand juries that they can render separate indictments for every day in which Mormon polygamists persist in violating the law. This ruling is striking terror to the hearts of the law-breakers, as the penalty for each indictment is six months' imprisonment and $300 fine.
—The wife of Dr. George MacDonald has dramatized "Pilgrim's Progress." It is said that "Miss MacDonald represents Christiana with great naturalness," and that "all the accessories of the stage are in faultless taste." We cannot imagine anything more directly calculated to detract from the sacredness of religion, unless it should be a dramatization of the life of Christ.
—The new building of the Young Men's Christian Association of Brooklyn, N. Y., which has recently been formally dedicated, is the finest building of its kind in the country. It cost $300,000, and has an endowment fund of $150,000. It is a four-story brick and terra cotta structure, and contains a hall capable of seating 1,400 persons, a library with shelf-room for 30,000 volumes, a large gymnasium, spacious parlors, baths, and rooms for the officers. The building covers 19,000 square feet.
—The Friends are disturbed. Some of their prominent members—even some "holding the position of ministers of the gospel"—"have submitted themselves to the rite of water baptism, and have partaken of the bread and wine in the so-called communion of the Lord's Supper"! One of the organs of the Friends, in proposing a re-opening of the subject, says: "If it be possible that Friends are wrong, and that our fathers have been in error these two hundred years, better that we find it out before we go further. We shall not get on well in holding unscriptural grounds, even though we are full of the evangelistic and missionary spirit."