—May 24, Queen Victoria completed her sixty-sixth year.
—Philadelphia has one saloon to every twenty-nine voters.
—At Blackfoot, Idaho, May 23, seven polygamists were sentenced.
—Limbano Sanchez is again at the head of a Cuban insurrection.
—A falling off in the German manufacture of beet sugar is reported.
—From Russia large bodies of troops are still moving towards central Asia.
—The pope and the Irish bishops have recently held a two hours' secret meeting.
—The subject of Victor Hugo's burial has excited a good deal of attention in Paris.
—During the two weeks ending May 4, 188 deaths from cholera are reported in Calcutta.
—It is said that Bismarck is working for the restoration of Ismail Pasha to the throne of Egypt.
—One house in Dublin, Ireland, valued at forty dollars, is rented to eight families for $410 a year.
—The steamer City of Salem, valued at $28,000, was wrecked in Upper Willamette, Oregon, May 20.
—A fire at Somerset, Canada, recently destroyed 144 buildings, valued at $390,000, mostly uninsured.
—Over $17,000 was stolen in daylight, May 3, from the Misses Carpenter's residence in Philadelphia.
—The president of the State University at Berkeley, Cal., has tendered his resignation, to take effect August 1.
—The issue of Bibles by the American Bible Society in the sixty-nine years of its existence foots up 45,440,206.
—Peru has notified the United States that the treaties between that country and this will expire March 31, 1886.
—After the first of July, the rate of postage in the United States will be two cents for each ounce or fraction thereof.
—Great preparations for war are still going on in England. Twenty-five first-class torpedo-boats have just been ordered.
—The president and his cabinet have decided that the New Orleans Exposition cannot be held over for re-opening.
—In South San Francisco, May 25, a terrific explosion in a tripe-house scalded seven men seriously, one of whom died.
—"Zach" Montgomery was formally installed at Washington, May 25, attorney-general for the Interior Department.
—A party of excursionists to Yosemite, California, was stopped by two masked highwaymen and robbed of about $1,300.
—During the last nine years, France has spent nearly $45,000,000 in increasing and reorganizing her university institutions.
—A Pennsylvania court has decided that "store orders" do not constitute pay for work; and that "wages" so paid can be recovered.
—The steamship City of Rome ran down a French fishing-bark, May 25, in a fog, and twenty-two of the fishing crew were drowned.
—The Bulletin (S. F.) says: "Excessive use of tobacco caused the death of Wm. Courtworth, at Helena, M. T., last Thursday," May 21.
—Fifteen houses were buried, and twenty-four persons killed, by an avalanche at Seydis Fiord, in the east part of Iceland, a short time ago.
—Two thousand children at Belfast, Ireland, were kept standing two hours in the rain, waiting to do honor to the prince and princess of Wales.
—Mrs. R. B. Hayes has bought and fitted up a house in Savannah, Ga., where colored girls can be thoroughly trained in skilled housekeeping.
—The night of May 27, a water-spout caught a company of campers, numbering nineteen, in Richman Cañon, Nebraska, and only eight escaped.
—The annual cost of the armies of Europe is about $750,000,000, and the number of men withdrawn from industrial pursuits is fully 3,000,000.
—Mr. E. Peacock, of England, has invented a typewriter with which, it is claimed, one man can produce a dozen or sixteen copies as quickly as he would produce one the ordinary way.
—Quite a breeze was created in Dr. Sunderland's church by Fred Douglass escorting three white ladies into a pew in front of President Cleveland's pew.
—An English statesman says that "blood will have to be shed, and shed in torrents, before the Eastern question is closed." There is not the least doubt of it.
—A new insane asylum is to be located on the line of the South Pacific Coast Railroad, six miles from San Jose, Cal., where 280 acres of land have been purchased for the purpose.
—At Philadelphia, a mother and her high tempered daughter were sentenced to four months' imprisonment—the mother for being a common scold, and the daughter for contempt of court.
—The murderous Apaches are again on the warpath. Seventy-five white men were recently killed by these Indians in Arizona, and a stage that is missing is supposed to have been taken by them.
—The plague that has been ravaging Plymouth, a little town of about 3,000 inhabitants in Pennsylvania, is still progressing. Already, 905 persons have been stricken down, and 55 have died. Impure water is the cause.
—The steamship City of Berlin, from Liverpool, arrived at New York, May 23, and reported having struck an iceberg off the coast of Newfoundland, which did considerable damage by the falling of many tons of ice upon the forecastle.
—Ex-Congressman Budd delivered a short address to a crowd of men in Sacramento who were scoffing at the Salvation Army. He claimed for them the right to worship in any manner they chose as long as they did not interfere with others.
—The Sacramento mob, mentioned last week, did considerable injury to the Sixth-street M. E. church, and now the trustees of said church have presented a bill against the city for damages. That is right. If a city will have a mob, let it pay for the luxury.
—A railroad from London to Bombay, India, 7,000 miles long, is proposed. This distance, it is claimed, can be made in nine days; the route to be through Paris, Madrid, Gibraltar, Tangiers, Tunis, Tripoli, Cairo, Bassorah, Kelat, to Kurrachee and Bombay.
—In London, May 18, two dynamiters were sentenced to penal servitude for life. One of them, when asked if he had anything to say why sentence of law should not be passed, declared that he was innocent, but was condemned because the whole power of England and the United States was brought against him.
—Near Homer, Ohio, a short time ago, a mound was opened by some boys, who found a skeleton. Further search brought to light four, three of which were over seven feet in length, and the other one eight feet. About thirty stone vessels and implements were also found. It is regarded as the most valuable find in Indian relics, ever made.
—Ocean commerce on the Atlantic has suffered heavy loss for several weeks by the immense floes of icebergs off Newfoundland. It is reported by sailors that never before were seen there so many and so large icebergs. On one trip of a steamer, more than a hundred were seen, ranging in height from two hundred to eight hundred feet.
—An official at Washington, who is engaged in counting or weighing the money in the treasury vaults, estimates the silver in the vaults to weigh 543,700 pounds. The money is not counted dollar by dollar, but weighed on one of the most perfect scales in the world. Although one thousand pounds can be weighed at a time, a pin placed on the balance will tip it.
—It is to be hoped that Mr. Pendleton, the newly appointed minister to Prussia, will be able to amicably settle treaties on naturalization of Prussians, and their treatment by the Prussian Government on their return to that country. Prince Bismarck has recently reiterated Prussia's claim to the right of enforcing American citizens into service, who were born in Prussia and who left before they had served in their army.
—After a thorough and critical examination of the accounts of the United States Treasury for the past twenty-four years, they were found only two cents short, and the two cents were afterward found on the floor of one of the vaults. Considering the hundreds and hundreds of millions of dollars that have passed through the hands of the Treasury officials in that time, if that does not show exactness, honesty, and efficiency, we should like to know what would.
How Doctors Avoid Disease.
"SOME men," remarked Captain Horton, "can move in the midst of pestilence and miasmata, and never seem any the worse. How, for instance, do you doctors defend your fortress?"
"I'm glad you asked the question. We defend the fortress by using ordinary precautions. We will not, if possible, breathe more infected air than we can help. We will not be stupidly rash. Depend upon it, my friend, that when Dr. Abernethy kicked his foot through the pane of glass in his patient's room, because he couldn't get him to have his window down, the excellent physician was thinking as much about his own safety as that of his patient. Secondly, physicians know that they must live by rule when attending cases during a pestilence. The body must be kept up to the health standard. In times of epidemic let every one see to himself, attend to every rule of health, live regularly, and keep the stomach most carefully in order, and be abstinent. There is no other way of defending the fortress of life against invisible foes."
"This living according to rule," said my friend, musingly, "is a terribly hard thing to have to do. At least, I am sure most people find it so."
"Few people," I replied, "think of anything of the sort, until actual danger to life stares them in the face. Some one else, I believe, has made a remark similar to this before now, but it is worthy of being repeated."
"And it is true," added Horton, "I have been thinking a good deal lately—"
"Most people who are laid low do think," I said.
"I have been thinking," said my friend, "that most of us err by eating more than is necessary."
"How very true that is, Horton! Why, in careful regulation of diet—a diet that should incline to the abstemious—we have one of the best defenses against invisible foes of all kinds. This is one of our posts, and should be held at all risks, if we care for life at all—and not for life only, but comfort while we do exist. It is a fact which all should bear in mind, that over-eating not only corrupts the blood but destroys nervous energy."—Cassell's Family Magazine.
Vegetarianism.
It does not seem long since the question of vegetarian diet was treated by most people either as a great joke or an amiable weakness. The idea of sustaining a vigorous physique upon a diet which excluded animal food was formerly scouted as unworthy of sensible people; and yet it has come to pass that many who cannot be charged with weakness either of body or of mind now look with great favor upon the system which seeks physical sustenance rather in the vegetable than in the animal world. In many of our large towns—Birmingham among the number—accommodation is provided whereby a choice meal may be secured, composed almost entirely of vegetables; and, undoubtedly, the system is growing in public acceptance. . . . The heavily-increased demands which recent years have made upon the resources of the grazier and the butcher have produced a price for flesh meat which is practically prohibitive to many classes of the population. A working man with a large family cannot possibly provide his family with beef and mutton with any regularity, as things go to-day; and if it can be proved that vegetables can supply the lack, with due regard to public health, a most trying problem in economics will have been partially solved. The same argument will apply to young men and youths employed in large towns, to whom the price of their daily dinner is a growing difficulty.—Birmingham (Eng.) Gazette.
ORDERS FORWARDED.
By Editor
BOOKS SENT BY EXPRESS.—B F Harris, L A Scott, W G Buckner, Geo H Perrick, M J Church, F H Butcher, Mrs A J Hutchins, Fred Haub, Mary V Thurston, Libbie Saunders, Lottie Hutchins, F H Butcher, Horace Munn, Wm Graham, Mission.
Obituary.
MILLS.—Died, in Alameda, Cal., May 23, 1885, of inflammation of the stomach, Phebe R. Mills, aged 61 years and 20 days.
Sister Mills, whose maiden name was Hamilton, was born in western New York. She lived a number of years in Chicago, where she embraced "the present truth" by reading. She was among the earliest to receive the Sabbath in that city. She came to this coast and lived with her daughter, Sister Brown, of San Francisco. Her health was never good after coming to the coast, and she had severe and painful sicknesses. Her faith in the truth of God was firm, and her hope strong in his promises. She rests in the Lord, and we do not sorrow hopelessly.
Funeral services at the Seventh-day Adventist house of worship in San Francisco, May 25, where we spoke from Ps. 39:4, to a large company of brethren, sisters, and friends.
Freeland
By Editor
FREELAND.—Died of pneumonia, in San Francisco, May 24, 1885, Gertrude E. Freeland, only daughter of John and Margaret Freeland, aged 1 year, 5 months, and 1 day. Funeral from the Seventh-day Adventist church on Laguna Street, at the same hour with that of Sister Mills.
Appointments.
By Editor
North Pacific Conference.
BIBLICAL INSTITUTE.
A BIBLICAL institute, to be conducted by Elder E. J. Waggoner, will be held on the camp-ground, Portland, Or., commencing Sunday, June 14, and continuing till the 24th. Ministers, tract society officers, colporters, canvassers, and lay members, you cannot afford to lose this opportunity. Come as early as Friday, and have your tents pitched before the Sabbath. Come and learn how to work for the Master.
CAMP-MEETING.
Just west of Twenty-first Street, Portland, Or. This is in close connection with the terminus of the Washington and Third Street car lines, which with their branches, reach nearly all parts of the city.
Brethren, bring your neighbors and your children. Get ready now, and come in season.
CONFERENCE.
The next annual session of the North Pacific Conference will be held at Portland, Or., in connection with the camp-meeting June 24 to July 1.
Let each church elect delegates and furnish them with credentials, and a full report of the church. Will the elders assist the clerk in this matter. Appropriate blanks will be sent to each church clerk.
SABBATH-SCHOOL ASSOCIATION.
The annual session of this association will be held on the camp-ground at Portland, Or., June 24 to July 1. Special instruction will be given to Sabbath-school officers. Appropriate essays will be expected.
TRACT AND MISSIONARY SOCIETY.
The ninth annual session of the North Pacific T. and M. Society will be held on the camp-ground at Portland, Or., June 24 to July 1. Matters of vital interest will come before this society. We would be glad to see every lover of present truth at these meetings.
We hope to have all business connected with these societies finished up at an early date, that the last of our meetings may be devoted wholly to religious exercises. This will necessitate the presence of every delegate. Every one who loves, and is willing to assist in, the holy work committed to our trust, is particularly urged to be present at the very beginning of this annual convocation.
CAMP-MEETING COMMITTEE.
The following brethren are appointed to act as a camp-meeting committee: Wm. Potter, John Cole, H. A. Baxter, Chas. Kline, and Z. T. Warren.
CHAS. L. BOYD,
J. E. GRAHAM,
J. C. HALL,
Conference Committee.
Publishers' Department.
By Editor
WE send no papers from this office without pay in advance, unless by special arrangement. When persons receive copies without ordering them, they are sent by other parties, and we can give no information in regard to them. Persons thus receiving copies of the SIGNS are not indebted to the office, and will not be called upon for pay. Please read the papers and hand them to your friends to read.
OUR GENERAL AGENTS.
By Editor
Michigan—Miss Hattie House, care Review and Herald, Battle Creek, Mich.
New England—Mrs. E. T. Palmer, N. E. Tract Repository, South Lancaster, Mass.
North Pacific—Mrs. C. L. Boyd, East Portland, Oregon.
England—The Present Truth, 72 Heneage Street, Great Grimsby, Eng.
Norway—Eld. J. G. Matteson, Akersveren No. 2, Christiania, Norway.
Switzerland—Addie S. Bowen, Belchenstrasse 20, Bale, Suisse.
Hawaiian Islands—L. A. Scott, Honolulu, H. I.
STATE AGENTS' DIRECTORY.
Alabama and Mississippi—Peter H. Clark, Gulf City Hotel, Mobile, Ala.
Arkansas and Missouri—Clara E. Low, Sedalia, Mo.
British Columbia—B. Robb, Victoria, B. C.
California—Miss Anna L. Ingels, care Pacific Press, Oakland, Cal.
Canada—Mary L. Cushing, South Stukely, P. Q.
Colorado—Nellie H. Druillard, Room 8 Euclid Hall, 247 Fourteenth Street, Denver, Col.
Dakota—Alice H. Beaumont, Vilas, Miner Co., Dak.
District of Columbia—Reuben Wright, 334 Eighth Street N. E., Washington, D. C.
Florida—Eld. N. Orcutt, Moultrie, St. Johns Co., Fla.
Georgia and the Carolinas—George A. King, No. 63 Luckie Street, Atlanta, Ga.
Illinois—Lizzie S. Campbell, Belvidere, Boone Co., Ill.
Indiana—W. A. Young, Noblesville, Ind.
Iowa—Mrs. Lizzie H. Farnsworth, State Center, Iowa.
Kansas—Clara Wood Gibbs, Fort Scott, Kan.
Kentucky—Bettie C. Saxby, Nolin, Hardin Co., Ky.
Maine—Rose N. Redmond, 113 Pearl St., Portland, Me.
Maryland—Eld. J. F. Jones, Calverton, Md.
Michigan—Miss Hattie House, Battle Creek, Mich.
Minnesota—Miss Mary Heileson, Lock box 1076, Minneapolis, Minn.
Missouri—Miss Clara E. Low, 321 Lamine Street, Sedalia, Mo.
Nebraska—Miss S. E. Whiteis, Sec. Nebraska Tract Society, Fremont, Neb.
Nevada—Mrs. G. W. Colcord, Virginia City, Nev.
New England—Mrs. Eliza T. Palmer, N. E. Tract Repository, South Lancaster, Mass.
New Mexico—N. H. Druillard, Room 8, Euclid Hall, Denver, Colo.
New York—Miss M. May Taylor, Rome, N. Y.
North Pacific—Mrs. C. L. Boyd, East Portland, Oregon.
Ohio—Mrs. Ida S. Gates, rear of the Citizens' Savings Bank, second floor, Columbus, Ohio.
Pennsylvania—L. C. Chadwick, Wellsville, N. Y.
Tennessee—J. H. Dortch, Springville, Henry Co., Tenn.
Texas—Miss Carrie E. Mills, Denton, Tex.
Upper Columbia—Mrs. Mary L. Hughes, Milton, Or.
Vermont—Lizzie A. Stone, South Lancaster, Mass.
Virginia—Lillie D. Woods, New Market, Shenandoah Co., Va.
Wisconsin—Miss Mary Thurston, 901 East Gorham Street, Madison, Wis.
Wyoming—J. T. Trees, Tie Siding, Albany Co., Wyo.
RECEIPTS.
By Editor
NOTICE.—The change of figures on the address labels will be in all cases a sufficient receipt for money sent for the paper. If these changes do not appear in due time, and if books ordered by mail are not received, please notify us. All other business is acknowledged below.
CALIFORNIA CONFERENCE.—R E Sheckler $2.45, H Healey $4, Jos Leininger $170.23, Norwalk church, per M F Spaulsbury $8.95, Healdsburg $12.45, San Francisco church, per L N Whisby $20, F E Bosworth $6.
HEALDSBURG COLLEGE.—F Smith $20.
AUSTRALIAN MISSION.—S B Dannells $2.50.
FOREIGN MISSION.—A B Griggs $10.
CASH RECEIVED ON ACCOUNT.—North Pacific T and M Society $500, Missouri T and M Society $75, Ohio T and M Society $100.
OAKLAND CHURCH FUND.—Deborah Young $25.
CALIFORNIA T AND M SOCIETY.—Eld Wm Ings $7.20, W C Whisby $10.
BOOKS IN PAPER COVERS.
Our Country's Future; The United States in the Light of Prophecy An exposition of Rev. 13:11-17. By Elder U. Smith. Dealing with our own land, and applying to our own time. New edition. 186 pp. 25 cts.
Our Faith and Hope. Sermons on the coming and kingdom of Christ. By Elder James White. 182 pp. 25 cts.
Facts for the Times. A volume of valuable historical extracts. 25 cts.
Testimonies. Nos. 20-30, each 25 cts.
S. D. A. Year Book for the years 1883 and 1884, each 25 cts.
Thoughts on Baptism; Its Action, Subjects, and Relations. By Elder J. H. Waggoner. 190 pp. 25 cts.
The Nature and Tendency of Modern Spiritualism. By Elder J. H. Waggoner. A thorough expose of this fascinating delusion. Should be widely circulated. 184 pp. 20 cts.
The Ministration of Angels, and the Origin, History, and Destiny of Satan. A work of great interest upon a subject seldom written upon. 144 pp. 20 cts.
Refutation of the Age to Come. By Elder J. H. Waggoner. This little treatise completely demolishes the vagaries of the future-age theorists. 168 pp. 20 cts.
The Visions. Objections answered. By U. Smith. 20 cts.
The Spirit of God, its Gifts and Manifestations to the end of the Christian Age. By Elder J. H. Waggoner. 144 pp. 15 cts.
The Three Messages of Rev. 14:6-12. Particularly the Third Angel's Message and the two-horned beast. By Elder J. N. Andrews. 144 pp. 15 cts.
The Morality of the Sabbath. An argument showing that the Sabbath commandment, like the other nine, is in its nature moral. 96 pp. 15 cts.
Miraculous Powers. The Scripture testimony on the Perpetuity of Spiritual Gifts. 128 pp. 15 cts.
The Complete Testimony of the Fathers of the first Three Centuries concerning the Sabbath and the First Day of the Week. By Elder J. N. Andrews. 112 pp. 15 cts.
Matthew Twenty-Four. A clear and forcible exposition of our Lord's discourse upon the Mount of Olives. By Elder James White. 64 pp. 10 cts.
Matter and Spirit. A philosophical argument on an interesting theme. 10 cts.
Bible Sanctification. By Mrs. E. G. White. A contrast of the true and false theories. 10 cts.
The Seven Trumpets. An exposition of the subject, as set forth in the book of Revelation, chaps. 8 and 9. 96 pp. 10 cts.
The Truth Found. The Nature and Obligation of the Sabbath. By Elder J. H. Waggoner. 64 pp. 10 cts.
Vindication of the True Sabbath. By Elder J. W. Morton, formerly Missionary of the Reformed Presbyterian Church, to Hayti. 63 pp. 10 cts.
Hope of the Gospel. By Elder J. N. Loughborough. What it is, and when it will be consummated. 80 pp. 10 cts.
Christ and the Sabbath; or, Christ in the Old Testament, and the Sabbath in the New. By Elder James White. 56 pp. 10 cts.
Redeemer and Redeemed. By Elder James White. This work sets forth the plan of Redemption in its three stages. 40 pp. 10 cts.
Review of Gilfillan; or, Thoughts Suggested by the Perusal of Gilfillan and Other Authors on the Sabbath. 64 pp. 10 cts.
Appeal to the Baptists for the Restoration of the Bible Sabbath. 48 pp. 10 cts.
Review of Baird. A review of two sermons against the Sabbath and Seventh-day Adventists. By Elder J. H. Waggoner. 64 pp. 10 cts.
The Rejected Ordinance. A carefully prepared paper on our Saviour's Act of Humility in John 13. By Elder W. H. Littlejohn. 10 cts.
The Position and Work of the True People of God under the Third Angel's Message. By Elder W. H. Littlejohn. 10 cts.
Life of Christ and His Apostles. 8 books. 90 cts.
The Home of the Saved; or, The Saints' Inheritance to be in the Earth Made New. By Elder J. N. Loughborough. 10 cts.
The Ancient Sabbath. Forty-four objections considered. By Elder D. T. Bourdeau. 88 pp. 10 cts.
Honor Due to God. By Elder E. J. Waggoner. An extended argument on the Tithing Question. Second edition. 64 pp. 10 cts.
California Year Book. It contains a brief history of the rise and progress of the S. D. Adventist work in California, and of each of the institutions connected therewith. 80 pp. 10 cts.
Any book in this list sent post-paid on receipt of price. Address, SIGNS OF THE TIMES, Oakland, Cal.; Or, REVIEW AND HERALD, Battle Creek, Mich.
THE NATURE AND TENDENCY
By Joseph Harvey Waggoner
OF MODERN SPIRITUALISM.
By Eld. J. H. Waggoner.
This is a thorough expose of the system of Spiritualism. The author has carefully studied the subject, and has given such copious extracts from a large library of Spiritualist publications, as to fully condemn them in their teachings and in their practices, by their own testimony.
It is also shown from the prophetic scriptures that Spiritualism is one of the most impressive signs of the times.
184 pp. Price, 20 cents.
Address, SIGNS OF THE TIMES, Oakland, Cal. Or, REVIEW AND HERALD, Battle Creek, Mich.
Easily Self-Deceived.
By Editor
A FRIEND writes of a minister who spoke decidedly against the Sabbath, claiming to be under grace, believing in "a sabbath of rest in the heart that needs no particular day to testify of its existence, but is a rest every day."
We have heard ranters (not reasoners) talk just so, but we never knew one who believed what he said. Every soul of them is a stickler for Sunday! But they well understand that they have not the ability to defend what they really do believe, and so they stave off the issue by denouncing the keeping of any particular day, and continue to keep Sunday. Well, as far as Sabbath-keeping is concerned, Sunday is no particular day! It is no Sabbath-day at all. But if these same men could only find a little Bible proof that Sunday ought to be kept, how eagerly they would seize upon it and clamor for a particular day. But Bible or no Bible, they will keep Sunday any how; and the day which God sanctified and commanded to be kept, they affect to despise. And, unfortunately, it is "like people, like priest." They are sure to have a following, for it leaves an open track for self-will, and "the people love to have it so."