HENRY A. PARSONS, Jr., Editor and Publisher. NIL. DESPEBANDUM. Two Dollars per Annum.
VOL. XI : EIDGWAY, ELK COUNTY, PA. "THURSDAY OCTOBER 27, 1881. NO. 36.
Light Along the Shore.
Tho wild sea thunders on the shore,
The wind blows chill from off the wold.
Tho sna-giills gather on the cliffs,
And prato and chatter of the cold;
The hoarse winds blow, tho snn has set,
And "Lilo," I said, "is like tho sea
Cruel, it casta our wrocks ashore,
In tempest and in misery ."
A singing voico came tip tho cliffs,
A child with blue eyes, gravo and swoot,
And fair hair blown about her face,
Spod tip the path with flying feot.
"The fishing boats ere in I" sho cried,
" We've watched for them a day or moro."
And looking down I saw the nets,
And lights were glancing on tlio shore.
" At yoster ere my mother wopt,
Tho white gulls flew far out to sea,
The great waves boat npon the sand,
The surf rolled in so heavily;
At yonder door she stands and waits."
And singing Btill, she flitted past.
" I thank Thee, oh, my God I" I said,
" There are whose ehips come back at last 1"
Amalie LaFm-qe, in Scribner't.
FIERY CHASTENING.
The li slits streamed forth gayly from
the windowRof the town hall of Bridge
stoke, and there were sounds of fes
tivity within. Mr. Robertson, the head
of the principul hanking lirm of the
town, wus giving his annual boll. All
tho select society within several miles
was gathered there, and was described
in the ensiling number of the Bridge
stoke 0'inniian as " a very brilliant
assembly."
Lilian Grey wus undeniably a co
quette, and us undeniably the belle of
the ball. A face of wild, haunting
beauty, witii its flushing eyes and wealth
of raven hair, a superbly molded figure,
and au air of queenly grace were fasci
nations that proved irresistible to the
male a'dmirers buzzing around.
Mrs. Grey fat watching her all
charming daughter, with, a complacent
smile on iier stately features. She was
a widow, with comfortable, though not
considerable, means, and Lilian was
her only child. They lived at Burn
ham house a handsome residence
standing iu its own grounds in the
outskirts of the town.
Twice Liban had danced with a tall
gentleman of distinguished appearance,
who was some fifteen years her senior.
After the second time, he stood by her
chair, talking to her, when a handsome,
browiwyed, brown-haired young man
approached them.
", JUy'utoft partner," said Lilian, with
a faim change of color.
" Will you introduce me ?" observed
the tall gentleman.
"Oosluinl?. Ho you have come to
claim roe, George? This is an old
friend of mine, your lordship. Mr.
George Hov. h'I Lord Walsover."
They shook hnnd, and the introduc
tion was made. His lordship was a
widower, with one interesting little
girl, and also a large landed property.
lie was the best matrimonial catch in
the county, as every match-making
mamma know; and that he a man of
more than local grandeur should be
present at the ball to-night was a mat
ter of much comment.
A few minutes after, when the music
commenced, Lilian arose, and with
George Howell's arm around her waist,
floated ai'"tmd the room in the mazy
waltz They stepped by a casement
loading into a conservatory, from
whence issued tho perfume of choice
exotics,
" Lilian, I wish to speak with you a
moment. Will you come in here with
me?"
lie drew her through the casement,
notwithstanding; that she hesitated; and
after wandering a little way in silence,
they sat down.
"' Will you let me look at yor pro
gramme?" It hung by a silken oord from her
waist. .Without a word, she handed it
to him. -
"It. W., once, twice, three times! Who
is 11. W., Lilian?"
"Lmd Walsover," she replied, gently.
"What doe- it mean?" he asked, in a
low tone.
8ho toyed with her fan and was
eileut.
"I thought wo had known each other
too long, Lilian, for there to be any
secrets bween us. When I told you
of my true, honest love, did you not bid
mo wait ? I am not wealthy, but I have
sufficient to provide a comfortable home
for you. I have waited, and what do
you say to me now?"
"That I iever can lovo you, George,
de..r, as you wish," sho said, tremu
lously. "You must not speak to me so
again. You forget that we are not still
boy and girl together. We have grown
up, George." .
- "I know it to my cost," he said, bit
terly. "In the old days you did what you
liked with me, blew hot and cold on me
by turns, and, by Jove ! you are as bad
as ever."
Sho bit her pretty nether lip, and bent
very low over her fan.
"Yen must not hope, George; you will
kuovr why, later on. My present answer
in final."
"Yen, I know I Your answers are
always final, Lilian, and are subject to
changes like the weather. Really, I
think I'm a most long-enduring swam."
. "But I mean it this time. I have
reasons."
"What .are they?"
" I oughtn't to tell yet ; but you will
know soon enough. X am engaged to
be married, George."
"Engaged 1" ho gasped, beneath his
breath.
"Yes; to Lord Walsover. It took
place yesterday," And sho sighed a
little.
ne was quiet a few moments, and
then he asked, in a sad, changed voice,
" Do I nnderstand, Miss Grey, . that
everything is settled?"
JSho nodded, without looking up.
'I thall go away," he said, strangely,
aftfr fc further pause. "You need not
fear my presence any more, Miss Grey.
I shall leave by the early morning mail
for Liverpool. I shall try to mend a
broken heart in a foreign land." - And
he rose as if to go.
" Oh,; do; not. take it toheark Jeo,
George," she murmured, and her little
wbite-gloved hand crept up entreatingly
to his arm. "Don't hurry away; there
are others as beautiful as I."
" Beautiful I" he exclaimed, turning
on her fiercely. "Lilian Grey, you
have sold yourself and your beauty f jr
wealth, rank to the highest bidder 1
Have I loved you for beauty's sake ?
Never 1 I knew that within that hard
shell of worldliness, which has fed it
self on flattery of your beauty, there
lay a kernel of goodnes3 and womanli
ness, for wnicn i was content to wait.
Yonr beauty is your curse, and you will
find it out in time."
As ho took a step or two away, she
stood up, her flushed face and burning,
eyes turned to him.
"Stay, Mr. Howell !" she said, haught
ily; " what my beauty is to me concerns
myself alone. I thank you for your
good opinion of me, but I don't require
it. You are incensed because I have
onlv done what the world approves,
what all sensible girls in my place
would do chosen a man in good posi
tion for myself. I hope I have a free
will, Mr. Howell."
He would hear no more. With a
mournful wave of his hand he rushed
away, through the crowded ballroom,
downstairs into the street. In the gray
dawn he left by the mail train for Liv
erpool. She stood motionless, where he had
left her. But only for a moment, and
then she started forward, stretching out
her fair, white arms, and cried, faintly,
"George, George I don't leave me.
Come back, my love 1"
It was no use. tie Had gone beyond
sound of her voice; and so, with a
heaving sob, she sank on the seat and
buried her face in her hands.
Presently footsteps approached her.
"I have been looking for you every
where. What is it, Lilian?" And the
tall gentleman stooped over her.
" Nothing. I felt a little faint, my
lord."
He seated himself by her. Half an
hour after they entered tho ballroom
again, where her various partners had
been searching for her right and left,
and had nearly gone crazy in their
search. She was immediately pounced
upon, but excused herself fulfilling any
more engagements that evening.
Thero was a sad, fearful scene in the
ballroom that same night.
The gorgeous chandeliers, pendant
from the ceiliDg, and adorned with glit
tering lusters, shed a brilliant light
nround from innumerable wax candles.
Suddenly, the vibration of a chandelier
from the dancing canned one of these
candles to slip from its socket, and it
fell on a lady sitting beneath it. But
the work of a moment, and then the
fleecy, white texture she wore was in a
cloud of flame, and she rushed hither
and thither frenzied shrieking in her
agony. The gay crowd cf dancers made
way for her, terror-stricken, as if by
magic, some calling for water, others
vainly endeavoring to escape in mortal
fear. One or two of the boldest then
watched their opportunity, flung her
down and rolled her in a huge rug, ex
tinguishing the flames.
They picked her up and carried her
away, a charred mass of quivering, ago
nized humanity. Her groans and writh
ing contortions were heart-rending, and
yet after days cf doubt and infernal
torture, and months of nursing, she re
covered recovered in health, strength,
body, iu everything but one thing her
beauty was gone forever.
For the poor sufferer was Lilian Grey 1
.
Four yoars passed, and people said
that times were hard. Robertson &
Co., the great bankers of Bridgestoke,
had failed and brought ruin on hun
dreds of the confiding householders of
that town. Among these was Mrs. Gray,
of Burnham honae. Mr, Robertson
had been a friend of her husband, and
after his death had offered to manage
and invest her fortune for her. Un
known to her, he had absorbed it into
his banking business, and after the final
crash had passed, scarcely sufficient
was retrieved to secure to her and her
daughter a bare pittance for life.
Greatly was Mrs. Gray distressed when
they were compelled to leave Burnham
house and take up their abode in ob
scure lodgings in the town.
Needless to say, after Lilian Gray's
accident, nothing further was heard
from Lord Walsover. He did not even
trouble to inquire whether she recov
ered or not. A great change came over
her with their reverses of fortune, and
finding that at times her mother
scarcely had the necessities of life, she
pocketed the remnants of her pride and
started as a musio teacher. It was up
hill work at first, and she had to endure
many half-concealed sneers at her
former arrogance, but she lived them
down, and after a while gathered a
decent little connection for herself.
But Mrs. Grey fell ill, and despite all
Lilian's endeavors it became a difficult
matter to provide the comforts for a
a ck person out of her slender means.
She slaved all day at her various pupils'
residences, and then set up half the
night, tending the invalid lovingly. And
yet the rent went back, and the surly
landlord was inexorable, and if it were
not paid within three days out they
must go.
In this extremity Lilian bethought
of asking a slight favor at one place
where she attended. This was where
she taught the three children of a
wealthy retired merchant, named Price.
Nearly half the quarter had run; she
would explain her dire necessity, and
ask to be accommodated with that and
the remaining half quaiter in advance.
Modestly she stated her case to Mrs.
Price, a stout, florid-looking woman,
of rather coarse manners and appear.
ance. But this worthy lady replied, with
some show of surprise, that it was im
possible she could accede to Miss Grey's
request that it was a most unheard of
proceeding, ana where wouia her house
hold allowance be by the middle of the
quarter if every one wished to be paid
in advance 1 She should have thought
that a young woman, who at one time
bad occupied the position of a lady,
would havo had more breeding than to
tmk such a thing. And with this ill-
natured tneer, Mr. Price swept from
the room.
Smothering her indignation and her
sobs, and feeling doubly the burden of
her troubles, Lilian repaired to her
school-room to give her pupils their
music lessons.
Only one child was there, a pretty
little girl with flaxen hair.
. "Oh, Miss Grey, Unole George has
come 1 And he has brought me such a
beautiful doll 1 It can turn head over
heels, and cau squint, and he says it
came all the way from Japan, where
the tea-trays are made, yon know."
But this gratuitous information did
not secure the attention expected; and
a few minutes after the child was stum
bling throuerh her " scales " in a most
reckless and unchecked fashion, as far
as Lilian was concerned.
When half an hour of this sort of
thing Lad panned, the child got down
off the stool without a word.
"Yes, Fanny; you may go," said
Lilian, rousing herself. " Send Charlie
to me for his lesson."
Away went little Fanny, and Lilian
was left to her reflections alone.
Some minutes elapsed, and no " Char
lie " appeared.
Very bitter were her thoughts, and
the tears kept stealing to her eyes, how
ever much she tried to hold them back.
At last they welled up so fast they top
pled over their brims and rolled down
her cheeks.
She buried her poor, scarred face on
her arms, leaning on the desk, and gave
way to a little " weep" over her cares.
Presently she heard voices approach
ing, and little Charlie entered the room,
accompanied by a gentleman, both talk
ing vivaciously; but they 3topped as
soon as their eyes fell upon her. Then
she heard the gentleman ask in whis
pered tones that sent a strange thrill
through her:
"Who is the lady, Charlie ?"
" That is Miss Grey, my musio teacher.
She is going to give me my lesson,
Uncle George."
" She seems asleep."
With that tear-stained face Lilian dare
not look up to show them that she was
not.
"I think so, too, I win call her.
Miss Grey 1"
" Stay stay, Charlie 1 Do you know
what lier Christian name is? Think,
now."
And thero was an earnestness in the
deep tones that went straight to her
heart.
" N-no, Uncle George; I can't think."
"Was it, Lilian? Can you remember
that ?"
"Yes, yes it is! I 'member; it is
in her music-case," exclaimed little
Charlie.
" It can't be her," she heard the mur
mured tones in soliloquy; and then, "Is
he very beautiful, Charlie?"
" No, Uncle George. She has a big
rei mark all down her cheek; so," and
ho put his little finger along his face
diagonally. " But her eyes are very
pretty. She was burned "
" Burned V came the whispered voice.
breathlessly.
She felt, at any risk, Bhe must pre
tend sleep now, rather than admit she
had heard so much.
" Yes, uncle. It was at a ball a few
years ago. And t hey say she was very
beautiful, and going to be married soon
to a lord; but after that ho wouldn't
have her. I know, because I heard
mamma tell Mrs. Given all about it."
one neara a aeep catcuiug or nia
breath and a hurried step forward, and
then he said :
Uharlie, would you like me to give
you that Chinese top I bought ? Very
well, then. Go up to my room and get
it, and you may set to work and play
with it there lor half an hour.
Off hcampered the boy with a crow of
delight, and then the school-room door
was closed behind him.
Lieut stem armronehed her. find ho
felt a light Land on her shoulder. She
was quivering all over with emotion, and
the great sobs would surge up and have
a vent.
1 Miss Grey.youhave not been asleep;
you have heard what was said. Are you
the Lilian 1 once anew the Lilian
left to become the bride of Lord Wals
over ? Nay, I know you are, and that
you remember George Howell still."
But her face was buried on her arms.
as before, and tile tears were flowing
silently.
He continued, tenderly and gravely
"Do you remember I said I was very
patient, Lilian ? I could wait and hope?
And do you remember what answer I
asked you for that night in the conser
vatory Will you give me that answer
now, my love f
And he bent over her, and gently
tried to raise her head.
No, George," she sobbed; "lam
altered since my accident. You haven't
seen me. You would 'not ask me if you
had " still keeping her burning face in
the sheltering arms.
Do you not remember what I then
said about your beauty, Lilian? Your
face would always be beautilul to me.
men give me your answer before X see
you, love."
Ho drew the music stool toward him,
and sat down beside her, with his arm
round her waist.
" Never I You shall know whom you
would marry, uoorgo."
And she raised her head bravely.
There certainly was a change. A big,
dull scar down one side of the face, and
cutting into the curved upper lip; the
eyebrows grown again, but not so finely
penciled as of yore; and the dark lashes
not so deep in their fringing as they
were when ne last saw uer.
uut, then, tue sotc, wistful eyes
looked up at him through a mist of
tears with a new and purer expression.
and the chastening finger of sorrow had
left a light on the pale features sweeter
and calmer than pride could give.
And George Howell, as he gazed on
her, forgot the scars and all that was
appertaining to that fiery chastening,
and only thought the countenance that
had come through it more tender and
beautilul.
And he told her so; and when he
pressed her for his answer, she whis
pered, " Yes, George, if you will have
mo."
And then she told him of her love for
him, and how she bad called him back
but it was too late; and then of her
fearful acoident, and those weary years;
how she often wondered Where he had
gone.
"Half nvtt the world, my love," he
cried, merrily; " and in luck's way, too.
A nice little fortune I've gathered;
enough to buy back Burnham house, if
you will."
Then looking at his bronzed face,
and brown eyes, and curly brown locks,
she told him shyly how handsome he
had grown, and really he was too good
looking for her; and he laughed, and
said she ought to keep that to tell him
after they were married.
And when Mrs. Price came iu and
disturbed the tete-a-tete she was con
siderably surprised at the turn affairs
had taken.
That George Howell her cousin only,
though called " uncle" by the young
sterswho had only returned from
foreign lands three days, with a fortune
in his pockets, should already havo
made up to such a girl as that, and he
engaged to her, was extremely bewil
dering. And she was permitted to con
tinue in unonlightened bewilderment.
And so they were married some three
months afterward, and Burnham house
was repurchased and they settled down
there happily. A' cloud hovered "ver
them a short time after, when Mrs.
Grey died, but it soon passed away.
And in years to come often would
Lilian, when, nestling in the arms of
her stalwart husband, as he stroked her
scarred cheek, whisper in his ear her
thanks to heaven that on that eventful
night when ho started for distant lands
she had suffered and come forth the
purer from her fiery chastening.
HEALTH HINTS.
The worst forms cf disease crow out
of excessive appetitive indulgence in
the way of eating.
Educate the stomach. When it is
once accustomed to simple food, vo
racious appetite, distress and disease
will disappear.
Lncs of Life says that grape toast is
far more wholesome than dry, buttered
or milk toast, and one of the mostharni'
less dishes that can be offered to an in
valid. It is made by spreading a few
tabiespoonfuis of Btewed grapes over
butter biscuit or gems, letting it stand
till solt. Serve warm or cold.
A short but excellent paper on ineom
nia and other troubles connected with
sleep in persons of gouty disposition
has appeared in an English medical
journal. The writer, Mr. Dyce Duck
worth, deprecates the use of so-called
hypnotics
as means of relief, and he
says that strict attention to diet, a free
dilution of the blood with bland fluids,
regulated exerciso of both mental and
bodily faculties, together with occas
ional mercurial purgatives, will com
monly avail to overcome the misdirect
ed tendencies and to secure good nights
for sufferers.
Newspaper Advertising.
Tho first-class newspaper or periodi
cal possesses very obvious advantages
as an advertising medium. It goes into
the family, is read by each member,
and is frequently so much in demand
that while ono is reading it another is
impatiently awaiting his or her turn.
It has features which cause it to bo pre
served for a day or two, if not longer
and it is usually taken up several times
after tho first reading. The advertise
ments are looked at as well as the news,
and if anything mentioned in the ad
vertising columns is especially needed
in tho household, it is eagerly noticed,
and one of the iamily will be likely to
start out to purchase it. Every day a
large number of persons who are in
need of some article turn to the adver
tising columns . of newspapers in the
hope of finding an announcement of
what they want. Newspaper advertise
ments are thus looked at when the
reader is in a mood to make a pur
chase, bt the inscriptions on rocks and
boards, and the other catchpenny ways
of advertising, will only by mere chance
meet one's eye when the mind desires
what is mentioned. Moreover, tho news
paper advertisement is superior to all
other forms of advertising in versatil
ity. For instance, tho advertisement
of a grocery man can be at once altered
so as to considerably increase his trade
by putting an announcement of some
desirable goods just received in the
place of some long-standing announce
ment of staple artioles with which the
publio are already quite familiar. The
publio are on the lookout for novelties
and special bargains, and there is no
other medium than the newspaper
through which they can satisfactorily
and easily keep posted in these ro
spects. It cannot be too carefully borne in
mind that the great advantages belong
ing to newspaper advertising can only
be fully and satisfactorily derived from
odvertisements in the best papers, those
which have high literary and moral
worth, and find their way into the most
respectable and thrifty families. The
sensational papers, the papers that
treat only of ephemeral matters in a
superficial way, that have a skim-milk
make up, and are perhaps only hastily
glanced at as one rides in the horse-car
and then thrown away, are obviously
poor mediums for advertising.
The country weekly is undoubtedly
one of the best papers in which to ad
vertise. Its circulation may be small
and mostly confined to one locality,but
it goes among families who read it and
preserve it more .carefuBy than the city
man does his daily paper, and who de
pend on it almost exclusively for what
advertising information' they need. A
large circulation, by the way, although
very desirable, cannot make a paper
that is deficient in character and literary
excellence a valuable advertising me
dium, while a paper of high standing
with but ft moderate -circulation can
command the most valuable patronage.
Paper World.
A man who had his advertisement
painted on a sprinkling eart is around
with a search warrant locking for the
cart. The poorest newspaper has a
greater circulation than the dampest
epiinKling-cart, even in a drought.
Pcck'iSun. -.
'. Of " .
FARM, GARDEN AND HOUSEHOLD.
Clover May for Domes.
Clover hav is very nutritious food for
horses, and when well cured and put
up so as to be free from dust and mold,
may be fed with entire satety. 'ihe
principal objection to its use lies in the
great difficulty which attends its curing
and preservation. Another objection is
found iu the fact that sometimes the
socond crop excites iu horses an unusual
and exhausting flow of saliva. When
either of these objections are present,
it is better to dispense witn its use en
tirely, so far as the horses are concerned ;
but otherwise it is a good and safe food.
Ttow to Treat AnlmnU.
Another individual attempts by run
ning and yelling to catch his cow or
cows. Why do these naturally gentle
animals run away from him ? Because
they remember full well that on former
occasions when he has succeeded in
catching them a series of blows from
some heavy cudgel has been their re
ward. Is there not some better way of
securing the good-will of our herds and
in managing thorn as we wish ? There
is a hollow plaoe on the head of every
cow, just behind the junction of the
horns, which is commonly full of dust,
short hairs and the like, causing the
animal an itching sensation. It is a
source of extreme pleasure to the cow
to have the spot scratched, and since
from its location the animal cannot
reach it, hence when her keeper ap
proaches her either in the stable or in
the pasture, an era of good feeling may
be ectablished if due attention be paid
to scratching the hollow spot. If at
your first approach the cow is a little
shy, offer her from one hand a nubbin
of corn, while with the other hand you
gently scratch the particular spot in
her head mentioned above. In a very
short time, whenever yon go into pas
ture, the whole herd will come to yon
to have their heads scratched, and you
will soon be satisfied that it is as easy
to have them follow you as to resort to
driving and loud noise. American Cul
tivator. IIome-Mfide Fertilizer.
An English gardener says: I have
long had great faith in soot as a ma
nure, and have here a covered box
placed near the castle into which the
sweep pnts all tho soot from the chini
neys and flues from time to time; this
in the course of the year amounts to an
incredible quantity of manure, and very
handv and useful we find it. When a
piece of ground is dug we give it a
dressing with soot, and then, in garden
ing phrase, " break it down for the
crop, una -really means running a
harrow or rough rake over it, and it
mixes tho soot nicely, and the result is
always satisfactory in the crop. Last
year our onion crop showed unmistaka
ble signs of the maggot. 1 immedi
ately had tho piece dressed with soot.
Heavy rains set in just after, and soon
the onions were on their legs and the
maggots were gone. The rain water
from off the roof of the kitchen runs
into a tank and is heavily charged with
soot. This is handy to the flower gar
den, and we find it capital for watering
flower beds m summer. The park OLe
autumn had a lot of what the country
people here call "old to r" why I know
not, but it means a lot of old, coarse
grass a good dressing of soot in the
spring, and it soon gave place to fine,
young, fresh grass, and ever since the
deer and Highland cattle may be found
at pasture on this brow.
While I am on this subject of home'
made manures, allow mo to mention a
few others, and the next shall bo ashes,
more especially wood ashes. This is
invaluable in a garden if kept dry tlil
used. Wo all know what a terrible
plague " the club " iB among the Bras
sica tribe; well, if the seed is sown on
the surface and covered with ashes, and
at planting time a hole, with a large
dibber, is made in the ground and filled
with the ashes, inserting the plant into
this, I have never known the club to
trouble one, and it is the very best
thing to dress lawns and meadow lands,
encouraging the best grasses and clo
vers. In a woody country like this
there is plenty cf charcoal dust at the
bottom of the heap; this is most useful
tor potting and fruit-tree border mak
ing; some Bay it makes grass extra dark
in color that I cannot positively be
sure of, although I rather side with the
belief. Lime is not nearly enough used
in the gardens. Every bit of ground
should, in my opinion, be limed once in
five years. It kills slugs and insects
and lichen on trees, and acts cheinl
cally on the ground, and is often bet
ter than manure for certain crops,
I remember once seeing ground
dressed in the gray lime produce
barley fifty-seven pounds per bushels-
Horse-hoof panngs make a most exoel
lent manure for potting pines, vines,
pelargoniums, etc., and one can easily
make arrangements with the nearest
blacksmith to save them. When one
reads of horn shavings being run after,
I cften think there are as good at the
village forge. Bones are most valuable
in a garden; they decompose but slowly,
keep the ground opin, and ai e invalu
able in vine border making. The
champion bench of grapes grown at
Ldmburgh some years ago, weighing
over twenty-six pounds, did the clever
gardener who grew it great credit ; but
it should also be known that there were
heaps of bones in the border. A gar
dener whom I had got a good situation
for took it into his htad to send me
couple of geese at Christmas time. The
geese were eaten, no matter when or
where, but the bones were saved: these.
with some others, were put into tho
bottom of two vases on the terrace wall
two good plants of lorn Thumb pelar
goniura were planted in them, and at
the end of September they measured
seventeen feot six inches in eircunifer
once. So much for bones and plenty
of water.
A commission has been appointed by
the Mexioan government to arrange a
basis for a commercial treaty with the
United States, and to confer with the
commission which, it is expected, will
be appointed by the United States gov
ernmenv xor a similar purpose,
FACIS AND COMMENTS.
The reports of the semi-annual con
ference of the Mormon church at Salt
Lake do not indicate any abatement of
zeal on the part of the men with many
wives. Fifteen thousand delegates were
gathered from Utah, Arizona, Idaho,
Wyoming and Nevada, and their re
ligious enthusiasm was remarkable.
The question of transferring the Rus
sian capital from St. Petersburg to
Moscow is being agitated iu the Rus
sian newspapers. The warmest advo
cates of the project are the Panslavists,
who look upon St. Petersburg as the
typical representative of the "traitorous
reforms" of Peter the Great, and upon
Moscow as the true center of Russian
patriotism. On the other side it is
urged that the history of Knssia as a
great European powei dates from the
foundation of St. Petersburg, and that
the patriotism of Moscow is mevoly of
local or provincial kind. St. Peters
burg is not only the seat of the imperial
court, but of Russia's social and liter
ary world.
The destruction of property by fire
during September, in the United States
and (Jan ad a, amounted to $13,2oO,UUU.
The forest fires in Michigan and else
where swept away 34,000,000 worth of
property at the lowest estimate The
Vommtrcial JSulletin says that, apart
from the three great conflagrations of
modern American history, it cannot
recall a single month so full of hery
disaster to the country as that of Sep
tember, 1881, and it adds: "With every
allowance for pure accident and ele
mental adversities suoh as the
rought, lightning, etc. the great
bulk of all this waste must still be
charged upon that disregard of plain
precautions which has started and fed
these flames. Care might have pre
vented nine-tenths of the fires. But
carelessness, in fact, has been the in
cendiary, and for carelessness there is
no other penalty than loss, in which
too often the innocent suffer more than
the guilty."
A Chinese philosopher, writinsr in the
Shenvao, claims that the reason why so
many rulers in Europe and America are
assassinated, and so few in China, is be
cause tho former countries do not pos
sess the elaborate ceremonials of the
latter. Ho says: Westerns possess few
ceremonies; superiors and inferiors are
commingled, and snbiects venture on
their poisonous plots. China has her
shortcomings, and her ceremonial may
be excessive, but the highest authoiity
never falls into Buch abeyance West
ern ceremonial is scant and the chief
power is often laid low. The lack of
ceremony in the West brings constant
trouble and fear of death to the prince,
but the excess cf it in China saves her
at any rate from this and makes the
state stable. The guards of tho Rus
sian emperor and his inabilty to go
abroad, though preserving him, are not
so efficient as would be the enforcement
of decorum. Tho title of prince and
minister without the ceremonial brine
inevitable revolution.
Mr. D. H. Williams, secretary of the
Michigan Fire Relief committee of
Pittsburg, has made a thori.ugh in
spection of the burned district aud, for
the satisfaction of persons who have
contributed to relievo the sufferers,
makes publio a report in which he says
that the funds and supplies havo been
wisely and efficiently distributed. Thera
is . eneral satisfaction amcnor the bene
ficiaries, and unbounded gratitude to the
donors. Mr. Williams adds: Tho fact
that planting time had arrived when the
tires occurred, and that there is now a
larger acreage sown than ever before, is
the best evidence of the efficiency of the
committees. There are no fences, but
the crop is in no danger of being de
stroyed by roviug cattle. A little
watching and an abundance of green
grass will protect the wheat for the
present. The extent of land under im
provement wasnot anticipated bv me.
and the most astonishing fact was that,
wun bucu an area of improved land, so
much destruction was possible. It is
rare to see so much good farming land
in one body as exists in this reeion. To
sum up my observations, they lead me
to believe that there has been a wide
spread destruction of property, great
loss oi human life, and a vast nnmber
of people requiring relief thrown upon
the charity cf the country.
It is a matter of discussion what Con
gress will do for Mrs. Garfield. In this
connection the acts passed in relation
to Mrs. Mary Lincoln are of interest.
There were three asts of the kind
passed by Congress. The first act
passed when ODngress came together
after the assassination of President
Linooln, was as follows: "That tho
secretary of the treasury pay, out of
any money in the treasury not other
wise appropriated, to Mrs. Wary Liin
coin, widow of Abraham Lincoln, late
President of the United States, or in
the event of her death before payment.
to the lawful heirs, the um of 825,000;
provided always that any sum of money
wnicn snail nave been paid to the per
sonal representatives of the said Abra
ham Lincoln since his death, on ac
count of his salary as President of the
United States for the current year, shall
be deduoted from the said sum of
825,000.' The amount thus granted to
Mis. Lincoln was the salary ot the
President for one year. Now that
salary is 850,000. In February, 1866,
Congress passed the following act:
" That all letters and packets carried
by post to and from Mary Lincoln,
widow of the late Abraham Linooln, be
carried free of postage during her natu
ral life." Iiv.1870 the following act was
passed : " That the secretary of the in
terior be and is hereby authorized to
place the name of Mary Lincoln, widow
of Abraham Lincoln, deceased, late
President of the United States, on tha
pension roll, and allow and pay her a
pension at the rate of $3,000 per annum
rom and after the passage of this act. '
A bear story is hot necessarily the
naked truth.
SUNDAY READING.
Rellalou Nfwi nnd Note.
A single Methodist college, the Ohio
Wesleyan university, is represented by
two missionaries in Japan, six in China, :
three in India, one in Italy, two in'
South America and one in Mexico. :
The Methodist Episcopal mission to
the Chinese in California, employing
five missionaries and ten teachers, has .
five stations, four native helpers, 111 .
church members, and 500 scholars in ;
the schools.
English-speaking Roman Catholics
have increased from 9,000,000 to 12,.
000,000 during the last eighty years, the
increase of English-speaking Protest
ants during the same time being from
15,000,000, to 74,000,000. .
A movement is on foot, set in motion .
by the woman's executive committe of
home missions of the Presbyterian
chnrch, to raise a subscription among
the women and children of America for
the purpose of establishing mission .
churches in Utah in memory of Presi
dent Garfield.
The Protestant Episcopal Society for
the Increase of the Ministry received in
the last year its twenty-fifth $34,384,
and added seventy-one scholars, nine
teen of whom entered the ranks of the
ministry. A large share of the income ,
of the year has been added to perma
nent or endowment funds.
The London missionary society issues
a sketch of ten years' work at Lifu, one
of the Loyalty Islands. The popula
tion of the island is now entirely
Christian. Out of the 6,576 inhabi
tants, 5,636 are Protestants and 940
Roman Catholics. The nine churches
have a membership of 2,585.
There are more churches in Phila
delphia than in any other city in tho
new world, there being over 550
churches and chapels dedicated to re
ligious worship. Of these the Presby
terians, Episcopalians and Methodists
have the largest number respectively,
or about one hundred each.
A missionary of the American Sunday-school
Union in Missouri writes:
"In eighteen days I have arranged for
organizing five new Sunday-schools,
addressed six old schools, attended ono
Sunday-school convention, preached to
three churches and visited several fam
ilies." A joint committee of the Colored and
African Methodist Episcopal churches
is to meet in Baltimore next February
to discuss the Bubject of the union of
tho two bodies. These are two of the
threo leading African Methodist
churches of the country. The Colored
church is Southern and is an off-shoot
from the Methodist Episcopal church
South.
The statistics of the Protestant Epis
copal church for Long Island gives th
following figures for the present year
clergy, ninety-seven; churches an I
chapels, eighty-three; churches conso-t
crated, two; lay readers aud catechists,
fourteen; deaconesses, seventeen; bap
tisms, 1,939, of which 251 were adult;
confirmations, 1.020; communicants,
14,i)o0; Sunday-school schilars, 15,255;
total contiibutions, $472,488.
In illustration of the teste of colored
church members in the Southern States
for the ministerial career, Professor
Simm ns, of the Louisville Theological
seminary, recently remarked that he
knew of one county in which there
were eighty colored Bnptist ministers,
licentiate and ordained, and some
churches in which half tho male mem
bers were in the same category.
The Rev. William Arthur, father of
the President, was remarkable for his
readiness in elebato. Some years ago,
at a meeting of the old Hudson River
Biptist association, tho Rev. Mr. Wal
den, who had been settled in the West
but had recently taken a church at
Tioy, said: "I can tell the brethren
that if they think that any sort of min
isters will do for the West they are
mistaken. It won't do to tend second
or third rate men there." Mr. Arthur
was on his feet in a moment, exclaim
ing, "Mr. Moderator, I never knew be
fore why Brother Walden came back."
What is Patent Flour 1
Patent flour is now coming into gen
eral use, and many of our readers may
be interested in reading the following
explanation o ' what it is and how it is
made, taken t-.. ji the Prnirie Farmer:
Until recently the best flour was made
from winter wheat; or, raiher, the flour
made from winter wheat sold for the
most money because it was white. But
it consisted for the most part of the
starch of the grain, while tbe most ot
the gluten (the most nutritious part of
the grain) went into the middlings.
In grinding ppring whvat so much
bran remained in the fljur that it as
too dark to suit the taste of tho con
sumers. But the middlings, which
sold at a low pr'ce, has become the most
desirable part of the grain.
Middling purifiers by which the
bran is separated from the middlings
have made a revolution in the business
of milling.
By the new process the wheat is
ground as before, except that the efforts
of the miller are directed to obtain the
most middlings possible, and these are
placed upon large horizontal sioves
which are constantly agitated, while, at
tho same time, by ingenious devices, a
draft of air is rushed up through the
sieves which carries off the bran.
The purified middlings are then re-
ground, and the product is patent
flour, containing the glutenou?, or most
nutritious portion of tho grain. Thus
it u explained why the hard spring
wheats of Minnesota, Northern Wis.
consin and Dakota bring the highest
price in the market, whereas only a few
years ago they commanded the lowest
price.
Newspapers have become teachers.
They form and give direction to the
public miiid on all publio question. tLe
publio view them as the work of men
who stand above mediocrity in educa
tion, gemril acquirements and natural
ability; and fiey should ousequently
b edited with a dignity, aecuiacy and.
ability becoming their high office.
J'eoria Trantanpt.