(LTntrr jHrtnomii Terms $1.50 per Annum, in Ailvauoo. 8. T. SHUGERT mt R- M. FORSTER, Editor*. Thursday Morning, February 10, 1881. FMID tkr Y M. C. A WatrhtiiAn. INTERNATIONAL LESSONS. Fkuhuary l.'l. Lemon 7 : The Preaching of John the Hnptlst. I.VII :i : 7—IS. Uoldon Text—t.ukn 3: S. Mtroory 13-17. Critical AVYj.—Tho (Jospel histories now pass over a long period. Ihe date here ts given(vs. I, 2) with great partic ularity, but litis . 28, at which time Christ would he, according to the cor rected standard, nearly thirty two year* old. But Tiberius became Associate Emperor two years before, so that i os sibly Luke reckoned Irotn tint date. This would bring John's ministry to 20 A. I>., which is not genet ally received. The scene of this ministry w.ih the thickly peopled district surrounding bis native place in the hilly country ot Judea, extending westward to the shores of the Dead Sea, and northward tor some distance along the batiks of the river Jordan. I lie three leading points of John's ministry as stated here are: first, his stern and fearless denun ciation of sin and call to repentance ; second, his enforcement of the duties of practical religion ; third, his an nouncement of the approaching minis try of Christ. Crowds gathered to listen to the bold preacher, hut he did not seek their attention and applause by any of the arts of oratory. According to Matthew his chief rebukes were ad dressed to the Pharisees and Saddu cees while the converts came principal ly from the common people. "Vipers'" —the term is one ot reproach rather than contempt, in allusion to the poi sonous moral influence of both these proud and influential Jewish sect*. "Wrath to cotne " —this seems to de note the terrors of a future judgment, not penalties to be imposed in this life, as from battles, invasions, pestilence, etc. V. Bis a strong blow at the pride of caste and race. V. 'J. It may be inferred front this that both John and his hearers looked upon the future judgment a* near at at band. I* there any difficulty in this'.' We think not. To John the judgment of ail things may have seemed imminent. To htm the Son of Man was already Sovereign Lord of all things—he did not see the intervening humiliation and death, but only the glory and kingship of the Me* siah. Vs. 10, 11. We see hero not only the inculcation of benevolence, but also, as it appears to u, something of that entiro preoccupation of John's mind with the coming of the new dis pensation, which made the acquisition o£ property seem to hitn a very second ary matter. In one sense John was certainly an advenlist, and, if he ex pected that the judgment was to he forthwith inaugurated he was no more mistaken than many Christians have been from the earliest apostolic days until now. In truth, one grand principle of Christianity is the subordi nation of the present to the future—a willingness to be dispossessed of every thing in the expectation of the corning blessing. Acts 2 : 37, 38, 43-45 ; Phil. 3:8. Vs. 12, 13. John here hits the besetting sin of this class—the Jewish underlings or assistants of the wealthy Komar. publicans or Revenue farmer* infamous for exaction and robbery in thenameof law. From v. 14 we infer that the soldiery were a quarrelsome and discontented class. Whether they were Romans or Jews we have no means ol judging. V. 15. This shows the ripeness of tbe popular mind lor the preaching of Christ's advent. V*. 10- 18 refer to parallel accounts in Matt. : 11, 12; Mark 1 : 7, ■* ; John 1 : 20, 27. John's knowledge of Christ wa* prol>a tly derived, in the first place, from In* father and mother—Zacbarta* and Eliz abeth —whose instructions must have greatly influenced linn. He was also, doubtless, tbe subject of direct inspira tion. John 14-20; Acts 2 : 1-4 Doctrinal and jirarliral infereneta, — 1. Repentance a first condition ot ac ceptance with God. 2. The future judgment a certainty, demanded by highest considerations of equity, ami foretold explicitly by God'* word. The more sinful and licentious the age the more stern, (earless and practical the preaching required. 4. True repent ance is followed by corresponding fruit* in life and conduct. 5. It. ligiou* hat.its and training are proof of conversion or the new birth. 6. Covetousness, the first special sin denounced, t* one of the hardest to overcome. 7. Cheerful be nevolence is one of the brightest evi dences of Christian principle. 8. .fust ice as between man and man a require , mentof the Christian religion. 9. IVac able living and contentment of spirit an indispensible feature of Christian character. 10. The reign of Christ in the heart is the crowning feature of the Christian life. 11. A faithful preacher no less than faithful Christian in every walk of life, does not covet eminence for its own sake, and is willing to sink into obscurity if Christ can be magni fied thereby. A.vswkr to Prstkh. — A religious jour nal gives a new illustration of a direct answer to prayer. J)r. I). 11. White has been trying to raise $15,000 in Kngland, to be used, with a gift of a like amount, in miasion work in Pastern Africa. A gentleman after hearing him preach offered SSOO, if some other person would give the same. This was obtained, when the first man offered another SSOO provided an equal amount could be raised. Dr While did not know where to go, as be felt thet he bad asked in every plsoe where help would be likely to come; so he went to Ood in prayer. The next dey a lady came to the office and said . " I felt *ll yesterday that I ought to go to London and give you SSOO, end here it is." Hhe would not even give the initials cf her name, and the amount stands credited lo " a friend." MONEY IN POLITICS. From Forney'* l*rorr*. (treat Britian has branded on a liigli crime the purchase of the British voter. A theft in ofliee, a violation of public trust, a broken statute, all lire punished quickly ami inexorably, and from Lord Bacon to thetilasgow hankers, from the bricklayer to the peer, the wounded law is avenged in the criminal, high and low. But nothing is followed with such stern and sudden ferocity as the paying o( money for the ballot. That is set apart as a crime dark as forgery and shameless as rape. I have spoken of the boldness with which some ot tin pious frauds of Philadelphia resorted to this infamous system to defeat Han cock ; ami now that we are in the mid*t of another holocaust ot sacred things, another sacrifice of suffrage in the progress of a State legislature, chosen to register the decree of a few ordinary men, some reference to the British law on the subject may be use ful. Justin McCarthy's wonderful book, the second part of Men oj our Time, dc-cribes the present condition of Knglish practice for the punish ment of bribery. "As in a former ago no gentleman thought it was wrong to seduce n wo man, so in a very recent day no man with money thought it improper to spend ism* of his money in corrupting elector*. What censure wis t likely a country squire would have got. fifty years ago, it accused before a council of squires of having seduced some tenant's wife or daughter? Just so much would a rich man have got, twenty years ago, from a parliamentary commiitt-e, if it were proved that he had allowed his agent to lay out money ingeniously for him in bribes. Then, again, the deci sion of the parliamentary committee was very often determined by the po litical opinions of tbo majority of its members. " I lit rc had, therefore, been for a long time an opinion growing up that some tiling must be done to bring about a re form, and in Ist",7 a parliamentary select committee reported in favor of aband oning altogether the system of referring election petitions to a tribunal com posed of member* of the House of Commons. The proposal of this com mittee Was, ihiit f ry p'! hon 4A iint to it* statesmen ami orators of both parties ; it* scholar- ami writer*; its men of science ami culture anmng Republi cans and Democrats. The first are rarelv called forth, while Bigler, Bm-kalcw, uml Wallace are chiefly re membered to prove what the Demo crats could do, if the majority favored them a- often a* the other side. The Republican- are a- truly disfranchised a* it they lived in China, so far a- the I nited State* Senator i* concerned. It i- to the further shame of Penn sylvania that the John Welsh Corrup tion Fund originated in this State. Lik" the bribery of the legislature, it grew Ir on the same seed. The two were equally infamous, and will long be remembered as warnings. In Eng land both examples would have been terribly avenged. The new law there ha- made such offences crimes ; a* we realixe almost every day a member of Parliament i* indicted for bribery. It i* a word and blow. < hie proof end* the ea-e. Confession follows the fact of purchase, and the judge act* like a flash. Here wo have our laws too. But they are dead. They arc down in statute-lxHiks, but they are scorned by our servants, t >ar judges do not see them. Our legislatures turn away troin them. Our pre-* ignores them. In England, whore money i* a great power, law i* greater; and even there, when the ari-tocraey hold- the House of I/>rd*. young ambition may force it- way into the Commons, in defiance of the g"d ITutus, ami push the mil lionaire out of his purchased cushion*. Wln a Brilliant Man Cost the tinldrn Opportunity. The Louisville Courier-Journal gives something about a charcoal sketch of a late member of Congress ; Milton Sayh-r, of Cincinnati, was, when he wa* a member of Congress, by no means an average congressman. He was very far above tbe average. Around the cradle of thi* spoilt child of miturc all the fairies nssctnhled ; not n sprite wnw absent ; one gave hiin intellect, another lieauty, a third grace fulness ; and so ou to the end. There never appeared in the House of Ue,e reset) tali vesa more pleasing figure. In nil (shots he was the floor's best man ; a* geninl and gentlemanlike as Garfield, with a little more dash and a little more discretion ; as ready and intelligent as Nini Cox ; as manly as Joe Blackburn ; as sensible and level headed a* Michael Kerr; and though not as aggressive a fighter as Nun Randall, nor such an industrious worker as Conger, Hale and Kasson, still so quick, so bright, so genuine to lie able to hold his own—when he was not prepared — and to 10-at the best of them when be was. When in 1870, Ha in Cox quitted the Speaker ship to go on what he himself must now feel was a fool's errand to St. Louis, Milton Sayler was made Speak er pro Urn ; and, but for the indiscre tion directly traceable to this current scandal he' would be the Speaker of the House to-day. The woman in the case cost his career. It is perfectly understood in Washington society that he hn* boon, from the first, the victim, and lliflt, as to the main point* in the affair, there is in truth and honor no case against him. He was. and still i* t a handsome bachelor. He was a weak, yielding creature ; she importu nate nnd strong; and he fell, "Krom morn o *, from noon to *T •" A summer a rlaJ—" heedless of the maxim which a man less gifted might have heeded. In the end, if there is an end, it will turn out that be has been generous and waver ing- 0 THE railroad flagman dues a flour ishing business. TilF ( agricultural. It should be Ixirne in mind this U not a local or denominational school for sectarian, or denominational purposes; hut thnt it is a Mnto institution founded by the .Nate of Pennsylvania, ami endowed bv the General Government for the particular purpose of giving a theo retical and practical agricultural ami mechanical education to all those who may desire to enter it, to especially fit thernselves for agricultural and roe chnuieal pursuits, and also to prepare them by a general collegiate education to enter any of the professions with equal rank and ability with thcople, and be equally successful iu attaining still higher practical results from the more favorable conditions ti|ou which he enters upon his duties. Much as has been accomplished by tliu college, there is still great need of improvement. A farm of four hun dred acres connected with the institu tion needs to he stocked with flocks uinl herds of thoroughbred horses, cat tle, sheep, swine und poultry ; private gardens connected with the institution that are neglected need to he abolished, and a public garden he instituted, of u suitable size, where practical horticul ture can he taught to thestudeuts und i people. A greenhouse should he erected where plaut* from every country and climate could l>e kept for Instruction iu botany and vegetable ph siology, as well as practical plant culture, aud he placed, with t he jiuOlit tjard/n, under " ]' r of<*>it>nal and jira'tinil gardener. New series of tex-hooks are very much needed that would he suited for school and field instruction in agricul ture and horticulture, so that these branches could he studied and taught in a more comprehensive way. Near ly all the text lw>ok* used in agricul tural colleges arc rather intended for the general reader than as a text-book for class recitation and instruction. Ilut to bring about thoe much-need ed improvements and great wants in our agricultural institutions needs lal eul and fidelity us wdl as money. It would in volve an expenditure of ut least ?'2*>,(HM) to commence with. It would not lie unreasonable in the State (irange and the farmers general ly to ask the State for an appropria tion that would put the college into practical working condition, HI as to meet the wants and ex|>ectatioiis of the people of our State. M uch larger sums arc unnuully appropriate by the State for the interests of other classes. More direct relations could also thou Is- established wiih the Agri cultural Department at Washington by a persistent effort on the part of the trusti-ex, sustained by the (tcople. Ix-t the farmers once talk earnestly and unitedly, ami their just demands will then soon fe heard and obeyed. It should IK- a source of satisfaction to every Patron that, with the advent and spread of the Order of Patrons of Husbandry, a greatly increased inter est i* manifested in agricultural i-du ration and in agricultural and indus trial schools, and that fanners an' as suming their rightful positions in so ciety and government, by electing a just proportion of their own numbers to the head of agricultural and indus trial institutions, that were founded for this class, and to legislative positions in our government, that were designed for the farmer as well as other classes. latching at lcrir.il Sharper. Not long ago a mild, clerical look ing gentleman, dressed in black anil decorated with a white necktie ami spectacles, arrived at the city of Hrook lyn. To several theologian* he rcprc sonti-d himself a- a minister from one of the Bout hern Btates, and in his ar got ments and controversies upon the (iospcl displayed talent and tact that nonplussed his opponents. On several occasion* he filled the pulpits of the local brethren, ami preached with an eloquence and force that almost woke up the deacons. Invitations to tea poured iu upon him, and in his social relation* he was pronounced perfect. One noticeable thing about him was ihc availability of his ready cash. He gave liberally to the church and to charitable societies and never re fused the beggar his pittance when there was anybody around. Suddenly he stopped disbursing, and when chidod hv the ministers, who had noted his almsgiving with pleasure, he frankly announced that his money had given out and that he would tie compelled to wail for remittance, unless he could get his check on his home hank cash- ' ed in this city. As a matter of course, the clerical fraternity saw through his scheme in a moment, and they deter mined to put the swindler where he would do the most good. Not being of the world's people, they did not ex actly know how to put a secular job, and so they employed the service* of a detective to aid them iu sending the brother lit Blate prison. The detect ive advised them to single sonic one pastor as a victim, who should indorse the cheek and take the culprit to a certain batik, where he would lie promptly arrested with the money in his pocket There was difficulty at first, as ail the ministers engaged in the enterprise vehement IT volunteered to lie the victim. This was finally overcome hy casting lots, and one was chosen. He notified the sharper that he would indorse his cheek for auy amount and the document was drawn for SI,OOO. Together they went to the hank, the money was paid, and the de tective sprang upon his quarry. In order to make assurance sure, a tele gram was sent to the hank, and in an Hour the answer came, "Check good. Let the drawer have anything up to $150,000. He owns this b&uk aud is bishop of this diocese." See* Hl* Father for the First Time. The Petroleum World tells of a Ti tuiville man, aged forty-five, who is about to see bis father, a wealthy resi dent of Youngstown.Ohio, for the first time. Forty-five year* ago the moth er set out lor a vi*it to her brother, who resides in Curlaville, Clarion county, thin state. While there a son wan l*rti, and her visit wan prolonged for a number of weeks. The uncle was childless. lie PH>k a fancy to the infant and wished to adopt it. After much solicitation on his part the moth er consented, and the father never saw the child, who grew up, went west, served in the army during the war, und has only lately returned to his native state. I'ltOl'llKTN OF KVII,. In response to the subject of absorb- ing interest now under discussion by scientists as to the simultaneous arrival of all the major planets to their peri helia, inflicting dire results and bring ing about the most fearful calamities known to history, and resulting in the most devastating disasters to men and Is-asts, Professor Is-wis Smith lias writ ten a letter to the Rochester Herald, in which he says: for the last two years the popular mind has Ix-en excited to an unusual degree over the statements made by a few visionary enthusiasts, who, with a great flourish of apparent wisdom, have spread before the world the pre diction that,owing to the simultaneous urrival of the major planets to their perihelia during the present year, the most dreadful calamities ever record ed in history are to occur, such as earthquakes on a vast and destruct ive scale, devastating tornadoes, wide spread pestilence, great loss of life hv j shipwrecks, famine and wars, and a i thousand other things too dreadful Ito contemplate. In all communities i there is a certain class who will give a listening ear to anything, no mat ter how absurd, that partakes largely of marvelousuess; hence this belief, which has not a particle of evidence to supfmrt it, is widespread in all civ ilized countries. I arn constantly receiving letters asking when the planets will severally ie in perihel ion, (nearest the sun J anil when we are to look for a fulfillment of these predictions that will make the year IHBI famous for all coming time. These questions convince me that the delusion still exists, and has mrik deep iu the minds of men, and that perhaps it would he advisable to prepare a statement setting forth the facts as thev exist, aud, with slight variations, will continue to exist as long as time lasts. All planets move in orbits or paths more of less elliptical, the sun occupv , ing the common focus of them ail. It therefore neceAarily follows that a planet is sometimes nearer the sun than at others. In our age (but it will not always he so; the earth is about three million miles nearer the sun fin the Ist of January than ou the '2d day of July. On January 1, there fore, the earth is iu perihelion, and of course is iu that situation once a year. Every planet is in perihelion once dur ing its year. Mercury, the planet nearest the sun, has a smaller orbit than ours, and hence it* year is correspondingly shorter, be ing onlv eighty-eight of our days, aud must, therefore, be in perihelion every eighty-eight days. Ou the contrary, Neptune, the most distant planet known, has a year equal in length to one hundred and sixty-four and one half of ours, and is consequently only once in perihelion during that time, it follows that the time must come when all the eight planets will !>o in perihelion at once. It is only a qus tion in simple arithmetic how often j tuis will happen. It has been stated, and insisted upon, that this rare event, which probably has not occurred since the Mosaic crea tion, would take place during the pres ent year. That this is not the case the J following table will show: Mrmrj ... Ft> 21. My 3#, Aa la Soi 12, lsl *•<, Ort 16. I*M F-rtS Juun 1. IMI Mt" list 2S. IWI Ju|.,ir.... JU|.imtr . tssu Sataro Aufu.i I**:. !'"• Manh2M*3 Nsptara OrtMwt 2J, ISKJ It is not denied that this is a close agreement, when it is considered how long some of the periods of revolution are. Ilut what of it ? Who has ever proved or presented evidence that has any semblance of proof that planets, arriving at their perihelion point*, have the least perceptible influence on either the sun or earth, or anv of the other planets? Each planet, even the giant Jupiter, is a pigmy compared to the sun; in fact, he will outweigh all of them com bined by more thau 700 times. What effect then can the simple difference in distance of any single planet, say of Jupiter, have on the heat, and lights, ami spots, etc., on the sun, almost 500,000,000 miles distant? The planet Mercury is comparative ly near the sun, and almost as dense as lead, and the eccentricity of his orbit is so great that he is over 29,- 000,000 miles nearer the sun at peri helion than at aphelion ; but has any one ever perceived any changes on the snn once in eighty-eight days? Has any recurrence of magnetic storms, earthquakes, plagues, or an excess of calamities of any kind ever been no- • ticed during his perihelion passages? If not, then it is safe to say none ex ists, and the subject may be classed with the thousand other delusions which exist in the minds of men. and for which no remedy is known save a thorough and universal education of all classes of society. A CERTAIN gentleman must have leeo very proud of bis wife wheu be described her as "beautiful, dutiful, youthful aud an armful."