OUR HIDDEN WEALTH.
Some Figures on the Mineral Ec
sources of the United States.
THE USE OP COAL DUST FOR FUEL
Good Flan for the Incourajemeiit
Inventors.
of
POISONOUS DRUGS USED IN LIQUORS
rwsirrfcx fob the pisr.aTcn.2
HE last annual re
port concerning the
mineral resources of
the United States,
prepared and pub
lished by the United
States Geological Sur
vey, gives the returns
concerning mining
and quarrying indus-
tries of this country.
It is evident from this
report that the development of the under
ground wealth of the United States is ad
vancing in a very rapid manner, the grand
total of values in the last four years show
ing a marvelously rapid gain. Thus, in
18S4 the total values, neglecting fluctua
tions, were 5413,000,000, in 1S85, $428,
000,000; in 1886, S4G5,0O0,O00; in 1SS7,
$542,000,000. Nor is the advance limited
in relation to a few of oar products. Pig
iron, silver, lead, quicksilver, gold, build
ing stone, and the greater part of the other
products to the total number ot 4, snow a
similar advance in the value of their
products.
The production of gold, however, appears
to be in an unstable condition. In 1884 it
amounted, in round numbers, to 530,000,000;
in 1883. to S31,000,000, in 1886. $35,000,000,
while in 1887 it fell ofTto 33,000,000. There
are reasons to fear that the next year will
'show a more considerable decrease. The
value of petroleum, as well as the. total
quantity produced, seems also to be in an
unsatisfactory condition. Jhus, in 1886
the value was about SO.OWT.OOO, while in
1887 it fell off to below S10.000.O00, though
the quantitv produced exhibits a considera
ble increase. Natural cas, which in 1882
was valued at oulv 5215,000, in 1886 at
about 510,000,000, inl887 uses to 516.000,000,
being estimated at only $2,000,000 less than
the vklue of petroleum.
COAL DUST FUEL.
It appears from a recent number of
Science that a very promising effort is now
making toward the long-desired end of
burning coal in a pulverized form. The
present method of burning our fuels of
everv description is extremely wasteful. A
considerable part of the carbon remains in
the ash. If the combustion is forced as it
is in the locomotive, another large portion
escapes in the form of cinders through the
chimney. It has long been a question with
inventors to secure some means whereby the
fuel can be burned in the form ot a fine dust,
so that each particle would be surrounded
by the oxygen necessary for its complete
combustion. It is impossible to ghe in
this place the details of this process, but the
most important point is gained by means of
the modern method of pulverizing known as
the cyclone system, which, in a very simple
way, secures the division of the fuel into
the finest dust The system is very simple.
"Within a closed vessel there are two fans,
shaped like the screw propeller of a vessel.
These revolt e near each other but in oppo
site directions, and with high velocity. The
result is very powerful; opposing currents
of air are generated, which drie the par
ticles of coal against each other, and rub
them into a fine powder. This dust is then
fed into the fire box in such a manner that
it becomes intimately mixed with the air,
which is only admitted in sufficient quanti
ties to secure complete combustion.
This limitation in the amount of air is an
admirable feature in the invention: for it
avoids the strong draft, which, as is well
known, bears most of the heat up the chim
ney. It is asserted by an apparently criti
cal and disinterested observer that the sav
ing in the burning of fuel on this system
may amount to as much as 75 per cent of
the fuel consumed, and may, in certain
cases, if used, spare a yet greater amount of
waste. In old-fashioned steam engines,
Euch as were in use in the middle ot this
century, it required about 10 pounds of coal
each hour to develop one horse power of
energy. In the modern system cf condens
ing engines, using steam entensively, a
horse power is generated with less than two
pounds per hour. If now this, new Macauly
process of burning pulverized fuel may be
made really available we may hope to bring
the expenditure of coal down to about one
lalf a pound per hour. In this case we
shall have won a great economic victory,
fperhaps the most precious of all such gains
made in the time of our generation, for we
shall have reduced the cost of fuel in the
generation of power to about one-fourth of
the old expense.
SATTKO COAL.
It is impossible to see the vast advan
tage? which may accrue to the public from
such a change in the basis of our power
engines. While the immediate effect may
be to enhance the profits of capitalists, and
we may hope also to the inventors, the re
mote effects indeed, not very remote will
be to cheapen the cost of all our conditions
of life which depend upon the expenditure
of energy. Moreover, it bids fair to dimin
ish the curse of smoke, which now menaces
the greater part of the manufacturing cities
in world, an evil which bears not only on
the continuity of life, but seriously affects
the physical condition of the population.
Purthermore, it will spare our seriously
taxed coal beds. Such a series of inven
tions may prolong the duration of our coal
fields, and enable us to look to them for
1,000 years as a sourse of power, while
otherwise, in the existing increase of our
drafts upon them, they bid fair in good part
to disappear within 200 years.
In a recent communication to the Paris
Academy of Medicine, Dr. Laborbe has
treated of the toxic effects of alcohol. He
states that the diseases produced by such
stimulants amounted to at least one-fourth of
all the maladies which occur among the
Trench. He finds, moreover, that a large
part of the substances used to give flavor
and perfume to alcoholic liquors are, appar
ently, deadly to dogs and other animals on
which he has tried his experiments. The
number of these substances so used in the
compounding of liquors is very great, and as
they nearly all appear to be of a highly poi
sonous nature, it seems reasonable to con
clude that.a great many forms of astimnlant
beside absinthe are extremUly deleterious.
Dr. Fodor has recently been making some
interesting experiments as to the effect which
the blood has on the destruction of poison
ous micro-organisms which find their way
into it. A summary of his paper occurs in
a recent number of the Medical Record.
From thiswe extract the following points:
He has shown that even where we inject
hundreds of millions of non-poisonous bac
teria into the blood they completely disap
pear in a few bourse Thus the bacilli which
are supposed to produce typhoid disappear
in a short time. In certain cases, however,
the germinating elements of these bacilli
survive the action of the blood, implanted
in the organs, and thus produce the disease.
These researches make it seem not improb
able that the blood itself, far from be
ing as our ancestors deem it the agent of
disease in contagious maladies, really
operates toward the purification of the body,
and that it is only from the incompleteness
of its task that the disorders take place.
EKCOUEAGINO INVESTORS.
In a recent number of the Engineering
and ilining Journal there is a brief edi
torial concerning "the encouragement of in
vention among workmen." The writer notes
the recent introduction bv Mr. J. C. Bailes,
of the Spiral Weld Tube Company, of a
plan to encourage his men in contriving in
Tentions which may pertain to the
machinery they use, or to the occupations
which they follow. It appears that this
system was first devised by the Carron Iron
Company of Scotland though to Mr. Bailes
belongs thedistinguished credit of introduc
ing the plan into this country.
According to the project of the Carron
Company, the workman receives not less
than S5 nor more than 550 for his invention,
the company acquiring the right to use the
improvement in their own works. If the
invention is of sufficient importance to be
patented, the company agrees to pay either
a sum ot monev or a royalty to the inventor,
the amount to be determined by mutual
agreement. In case the workman receives
fire rewards and does not obtain in all as
much as $50, he is given a gratuity of $25 in
addition to what he has obtained, and so
with each increment in the number of his
inventions, he receives added gratuities,
runhermore, the company offer to afford
guidance, such as the laboring man of in
genious mind often needs, for the further
ance of his projects. The plan was essayed
in February, 188G. In ten months there
after 18 projects were submitted to the com
pany, of which five were deemed valuable
and were paid for.
Although the rewards proposed by the
Carron Company appear entirely insignifi
cant as regards the money value which they
afford to the inventor, the experiment is one
of the utmost interest to manufacturers, for
the reason that it is a well-taken step in the
right direction. It promises to insure a
sympathetic and co-operative relation be
tween the workman and the capitalist who
pays him. It cannot fail to enhance greatly
the quality ot work done by mechanicians,
for the rea"son that it not only introduces the
element of thought into his duty, which is
apt to become of a routine sort, but it gives
a hopefulness to tasks which can be afforded
in no other manner.
The project is furthermore encouraging
for the reason that, if successfully carried
out, there seems reason to expect that our
great manufacturing establishments may
become schools of invention. The next step,
naturally, will be to instruct the men who
have some capacity for invention in the
principles of mechanics and m the history
of their several arts, so that they may have
the foundation of sound knowledge on
which to base their subsequent progress. In
fact, the project bids fair to change the tem
per of our manufacturing establishments,
and to lilt the work, and the workmen as
well, to a higher plane.
Peof. N. S. Shalee.
ABOUND THE GUARD LINES.
LlEtTTENANT WILLIAM AXGLOCK denies
the report that he is about to tender his resigna
tion Liectekaxt O. H. Elliott, Company H,
Eighteenth Regiment, has tendered his resig
nation. The concert given by Battery "B" last Frl
day night In the Soho school house was a suc
cess artistically.
Captain James H. MrjKDOCK,of the Second
Brigade staff, held an election for Second Lieu
tenant In Company I, of McKeesport last
night. The candidates were sergeants Lauer
and Hartman. v
The report that Dr. J. W. Boisel, of Sharps;
buig, wouldbe a candidate for the captaincy of
Company V is a mistake. He has decided to
withdraw from the race on account of it inter
fering with his private business.
The warrants for armory rents of the various
local companis were received in the city .during
the week. Several captains wear happy smiles
in consequence, but tbey dori't hold a candle to
the smiles worn by their respective landlords.
A Maixe paper says that the Governor of
that State "has chosen a staff that for beauty,
bearing, terpsichorean ability and anxiety for
the field of battle, will compare favorably with
anv military staff selected in the past by a
Maine Governor."
Governor Beaver was in the city last Fri
day. He states that the Guard will positively
goto New York in April next, but that some of
the country regiments may decline on account
of the expense and the trip following so close
on the "W ashington excursion.
The Washington Infantry had an extra large
attendance last meeting night, but expect to
have 50 men in line Tuesday night. The
Wasbies are booming things under the new
set of non-coms. Captain Shannon has been
on the sick list for the past few days suffering
from a severe cold.
Company I, of McKeesport, will shortly
move its quarters into the Rink building, which
has been leased for a number of years. The
building will be put in first-clas shape by Cap
tain Coon, and an old fashioned housewarming
will be given to the friends of the company
about the 1st of April.
TnEBoard of Control of the Eighteenth
Regiment held a meeting last night at the head
quarters of the regiment. Fifth avenue. The
field and staff officers afterward met and dis
cussed some prospective changes and additions
to be made shortly. A number of new and use
ful supplements to the uniform will be brought
out belore the Washington trip.
Battery Bwill ship its guns and other
equipments to Washington about the 27th of
this month that there may be no delays after
the arrival of the men. The members will
leave here on Saturday night, March 2, as will
also both the Fourteenth and Eighteenth Reg
iments. This gives the men Sunday and Sun
day night to rest after the trip and take in the
tewn.
Captains of local companies have no trouble
about recruits at present, as many of them
could almost raise regiments If necessary.owlng
to the anxiety of many joung men to take in
the apnroaching visits of the militia to Wash
ington and New York. As a rule, the com
panies will not average more than 50 inuskcts
each, as that number is easiest handled. Cap
tains who recruit any men at present should
look well to the character of their enlistments,
that there may be no cause for a repetition of
four years ago.
Me. Bailey, the gentleman selected by the
Board of Trustees for the new armory of the
Eighteenth Regiment to attend to the financial
portion of the enterprise, reports that the gen
eral feeling among business men is very favor
able indeed, and it is expected but little trouble
will be experienced in raising the required
amount. Regiments in Philadelphia and even
in as small a town as Scrantou, have been
placed in beantifnl armories by the people,
whv can't Pittsbnrc do the samel The Nation
al Guard is recognized as having passed its
"play soldier" days, and should be given both
respect and encouragement.
The new stand of colors which were received
during the week by the Eighteenth from Har
risbure, consist of a regimental flag and two
markers. The former is of a new pattern,being
a combination of the national colors, with the
State coat-of-arms, surrounded by stars. The
name Eighteenth Regiment, N. G. P., is in
scribed in gold letters on one of the stripes,
the markers having the figures "IS" worked in
the center. As a whole, they are very pretty,
but Colonel Smith will see that the old colors,
so long carried by the regiment and which at
tract so much attention when out, will be
given just as prominent a position as before.
The old rags have a history which the boys are
proud of, and will always be a part and parcel
of the regiment.
HOW TO XJ0I A SMOKE.
A Tobacconist Explain the Proper, Method
of Lighting a Cigar.
"You'll never find out whether that cigar
you're smoking is bad or good," remarked a
tobacconist to a customer, "unless yoa light
it better. See, it is burning ou one side,
and half the wrapper isn't lighted at all.
The cigar is good, and will burn evenly if
you gh e it a chance. Take this lighter and
try again. There, you have it now. If you
want to enjov a smoke be sure you have the
cigar properly lighted before ypvebegin."
"What is the reason a cigar doesn't taste
well when it burns unevenly?" .i
"The best tobacco that which gives flavor
to the cigar is the outside wrapper. The
next wrapper is of a poorer grade and the
filling the cheapest of all. AH should be
burned together. If the inside is consumed
while the wrappers remain intact or only
partially charred, a Havanna won't taste
any better than a toby. A poor cigar, well
lighted, affords a better smoke than the very
finest one unevenly burned. Any experi
enced smoker will tell you this, but a care
less one will never know whether his cigars
are good or bad."
Mrs. J. 31. Gcsky's generous gift of
coal to deserving poor families of Pittsburg
and Allegheny, which, by the by, Is the
fourth annual distribution, commences to
morrow. Twelve thousand bushels, inloads
ot 25 bushels each, will be given away. By
the end of the week nearly 500 families will
have cause to thank the donor for such op
portune liberality and thoughtfulness.
Liver complaint cured free at 1102 Car
son St., Southside.
I
M OEGIBIZED ARMY
Of Old Soldiers to Work Effectively
for the Needy Veterans,
AKD TO TAKE A HAND IN POLITICS.
They Mean Business, as Dr. Seip, Their
Representative, Explains.
NO HiLFWAY OR DODGING SCHEMES
The community will be surprised to learn
to what a thorough extent the Union vet
erans of this vicinity have organized with
Sergeants in every section of the great
cities, and everything in shape for effective
work. For some time past there have been
rumors of an existant soldiers' organization,
with which neither the Union Veteran Legion
nor the Grand Army of the Republic, has
any connection. The new organization
not only scans the record of applicants, but
all who enter distinctly know that the mem
bers will take a hand in politics. Meetings
were held in the Old City Hall, in the
Grand Central Rink and other places, where
exchanges ot opinion took place and organi
zation was apparently made to benefit,
tnrough legislation, the old soldier.
Who called these meetings? This ques
tion has been asked hundreds of times by
men who attended them. They came and
met their old friends whom they had before
met in the Array of the Potomac, met while
fighting inch by inch the bloody ground of
Fredericksburg: met while crossing the
Rappahannock; met at Gettysburg in the
wheatfield and while repelling Pickett's
charge; met in the saddle while sending J.
E. B. Stuart back discomfited. The meet
ing was far pleasanter in Pittsburg than it
was on the other occasions mentioned, or in
the West where the country celebrated the
fallofVicksburg in July, 1863, almost the
same day in which the backbone of the Re
bellion was broken at Gettysburg. But it
is needless to recall the places where they
met and marched shoulder to shoulder, or
rode hip tohip, they met again in
Pittsburg, soldiers front Ohio, Pennsyl
vania, New York, Wisconsin, Minnesota,
Kentucky, all over the country met, and
the great question was who called the meet
ings? The result of these meetings, in the
favorable consideration of bill No. 6 by the
House, caused an inquiry to be made and a
Dispatch reporter, who has seen Dr. Seip,
formerly of the Fourth Pennsylvania
Cavalry, preside at these gatherings of
soldiers, practised a little himself last night
and made the doctor give up under the in
fluences of the mustard Emetic generally
administered. The first question asked
was:
DETAILS IiT XS INTERVIEW.
"Who called these meetings?"
"The meetings were called as the result of
deliberations of a secret organization of
soldiers known to those connected with it as
the M. P. G."
"What is the M. P. G.?"
"You are hurrying in this talk a little too
much; but I can" tell you in a general way
what the M, P. G. is. So many calls were
made upon the meager funds of the regular
soldiers' organizations by men fullyable to
do work, and willing to do it in positions
which were filled by able-bodied men who
have grown up or been imported since the
war, that we felt it absolutely necessary
something should be done for those who de
fended the country. When it came tothe
point that a veteran had to get 2 cents from
a brother soidierand pay that over to a
postoffice employe who is a foreigner, to
mail his official record to the Pension Office,
we thought it was pretty tough on the men who
wore the blue, and we took measures accord
ingly "There is no political partisanship in the
matter; we wish to remind the leaders of
both political parties that they seem to have
forgotten the soldier. Under Arthur's ad
ministration five soldiers were dismissed
from position right in this city. Even the
present administration dismissed five old
Union soldiers from office (in one instance
appointing a rebel in place), in direct vio
lation of the statutes of the United States,
but as no penalty was attached to the statute
it was practically inoperative. These meet
ings were first called to obtain organized
assistance for indigent comrades."
"What course do you intend to adopt?"
"As we have some GO.000 soldier votes in
the State of Pennsylvania we think that
with those who can and will be influenced
by those who made it possible for s Legisla
ture to exist in this Commonwcalth,fighting
ou its own soil, we can assert and maintain
the rights of the soldier to at least a moiety
of the grand things promised him in the
dark years of the rebellion and those imme
diately succeeding the surrender of Lee.
FOE INSTANCE,
the act passed by the Legislature of Penn
svlvania and signed by Governor Beaver
May 29, 1887, stating that State officials
shall employ soldiers, where they are com
petent, was without a penalty and simply a
piece ot political buncombe.
"Is this movement national?"
As yet, no; but before many months the
M. P. G.'s will have' an abiding place in
every election district. The old soldiers
made it possible to live in this country, and
while they were preparing to go to the front,
and while they were there, no promise was
too great to make, no pledge too strong, but
after the war the politicians had forgotten
all they said, ana with them the 'old sol
dier was played out.'
"The M. P. G.'s propose to prove to the
contrary they don't want the earth, but they
do want fair play, and if those who get into
office imagine they can pull the strings and
make the old veterans dance, when they feel
like it, they will find they are greatly'mis
taken. We propose honest legislation, up
right, fair dealing, and will do all that can
be done to reform the many existing evils.
Nearly every election district is represented,
and while the organization will not carry
banners or tin horns, or openly make any
demonstrations, the result at the polls will
indicate that
THEY MEAN BUSINESS.
"If the bill becomes a law, what are you
going to do?"
"We will merely live up to the law and
see that others do it. As things now are it
seems to be a crime in the eyes of some for
old soldiers to apply for office. This we
want to remedy."
"Then you are in favor of the dd soldier
exclusively?"
"That is a question that I cannot answer
without appearing selfish."
"How many members have you in your
organization?"
"That I can't tell you. Among the first
members were some prominent business and
professional men of both the Democratic
and Republican parties and even several
leading men of the Greenback party. I am
not privileged to give any names,"but our
platfoS-m is broad and honorable. We are
striving for honesty, purity and re
form in all political affairs and ask all hon
orably discharged soldiers to enter our
ranks."
"Why doyou organize outside the Grand
Army and veteran Legion?"
"You know very well that the Grand
Army and Veteran Legion do not permit
political discussion, anil in order to get the
soldiers to thoroughly understand and units
them were organized the M. P. G., a secret
organization for the purpose of advancing
the interests of all old soldiers, without re
gard to their previous politics or color.
You see, when once we are fully organized,
and have, as stated before, nearly (50,000
soldiers in this State and about 900,000 in
the United States, we have to believe that
we will amount to something in the end."
Choice line of all-wool French challis,
dark and light colorines, 50c per yard,
siwrsu ; Hughs & Hacke.
l
KOtES ABOUT ABT.
Unreliable Color Trued Extensively A Dntjr
ArtlsU Otto to Their Patrons.
The fact that artists' colors are of greatly
varying degrees of permanency is one that is
little known byiicture dealers, andis only
too often totally disregarded by artists. Cer
tainly it would avail dealers very little in
deed to possess a thorough knowledge of the
respective merits of the various pigments,
but it is rather strange that an artisVwho is
seeking to establish a reputation, and Is paint,
tag not only for to-day or to-morrow but for
the future also will use colors which he knows
will vanish in few years time, or if they do not
disappear altogether will so change that the
proper balance ofbis picture will inevitably bo
destroyed. That this is a common occurrence
is well known to those who have had ex
perience with paintings for an extended period
of time, and the evil is one which it is difficult
to remedy; In fact it cannot 'be remedied
except bv the artists themselves, who should
have too'great a regard for their own reputation
to use colors which are known to be fugitive.
The trouble is tnat colors wuich are most
pleasant to use and with widen desirable effects
are most easily proauceu, are mien
the least
reliable. It is a great temptation for an artist
who is laboring to produce somo much sought
lor enecisto Know tnat certain unsuiw wiura
would help lilm out of his present difficulty,
and he Is often very likely to lose sight of or
disregard the fact that their use Is fatal to the
future of his work. Pictures are often spoken
of as being keyed too high or too low, but what
must be said of one that is not keyed at all.
And this is the condition of one In which the
colors used are not reliable; it may be properly
balanced when just finished, but in all proba
bility it never will be afterward, for the colors
are sure to fade unequally and destroy its har
mony and unity. One may easily imagine the
result if supposing a certain tint to be com
posed of the three elements, red, yellow ana
bine, as in fact all tints must be, and then as
the blue fades the more quickly the two re
main elements form orange, and the more
the blue fades the brighter becomes the orange
tone; and then If the yellow fades first it leaves
a harsh, disagreeable purple tone where per
haps formerly existed a delicate gray.
Many of what woula be favorite colors with
our best artists they are compelled to reject
on account of their possessing this very unde
sirable quality. Yellows and blues are the most
difficult to obtain in pigments which may be
relied upon to maintain their brilliancy, reds,
browns and blacks being usually perfectly safe,
as are also the dull, earthy yellows, such as the
ochres and siennas. There ate some greens
which are perfectly safe chromatically, and
others that are just as sure to fade disastrous
ly, and to landscape painters In particular the
procuring of desirable snades of this color
which can fairly be expected to remain as
when first used becomes a vexed question.
Perhaps no people havemade greater efforts
to prepare a list of perfectly permanent colors
than tuo English, andj et their greatest land
scape painter was the most reckless man who
ever handled a brush with regard to this very
matter. Turner always used any and all pig
ments which pleasedliis fancy without any re
gard whatever to their lasting or other quali
ties. He also used both water and oil colors
on the same work without any apparent
thought or care as to the probable result save
that it pleased him at the time. The effect of
this carelessness might easily have been fore
seen: his pictures have faded in every imagina
ble manner, and his larger and more heavily
painted works have cracked and split in every
direction. Turner has been regarded as the
greatest English colonst, but if his reputation
depended upon the later appearance of some
of his works it would scarcely stand as high, so
gTeatly have they chanced. It is a duty which
artists owe both to themselves and to those
who buy their tjs orks to reject all colors which
bear a questionable reputation for permanen
cy. It is-not enough that colors should bo
pleasant to work with and produce pretty ef
fects for the time. When people pay their
money for pictures they expect, and rightfully
too, that they n ill possess the quality of dura
bility, and artists should honestly make every
effort to give them what they pay for.
Scraps From the Studion.
Saturday afternoon saw the close of what
must be regarded as a very successful exhibi
tion of the Reichard collection of paintings.
Additions were constantly Deing made to its
numbers,even np to the latter days of its stay,
and a great many of the pictures will remain
in this city, having been purchased by well
known citizens. Up to Friday last works ag
gregating in value the sum of 0,000 had been
sold.
The School of Design examination took place
last Thursday, and the annual reception will be
held on next Monday evening, when the friends
of the students will be given an opportunity of
inspecting the work of the past season. Dur
the remainder of the week the school will be
op -n to the public between the hours ot 10 A.
M. and 5 P. SI. The usual amount of good work
is shown in oil and water colors, and also in
china decoration. Many of the charcoal studies
by the life class are excellently done, and indi
cate that the institution is making good pro
gress in this most difficult branch of art.
The opportunities for obtaining a glimpse of
various classes of pictures have been greater
in this city during the past few months than
ever before. First the Hacke gallery was
opened, then the Monks water color paintings
were shown at Gillespie's, next came the ex
cellent little collection of paintings belonging
to Mr. Kurtz at Boyd's, and immediately fol
lowing came the fine lot of works from
Reichard, of New York, one of the best collec
tions of its kind ever shown hersa and lastly a
great variety of water colors and etchings by
different English, French and Italian artists,
which arrived at Boyd's early In last week.
It is often said that the United States does
not afford as good a'market for fine pictures as
some of the countries of Europe, and, on the
other hand, it has been repeatedly claimed that
our people are particularly credulous, as to the
merits and liberal as to their ideas of the value
of paintings offered for sale as "old masters."
Be this as it may. It is now rumored that the
American Art Association will receive over
$1,000,000 worth of pictures belongine to the
Duke of DurcaL which are to be sold early in
the spring, Ihe collection numbers, among
others, works by Murillo, Van Eyck, Rem
brandt and Velasquez.
Me. Bryan Wall is keeping np with the
times and painting frosty morning landscapes.
The cne which he has lately shown at Gilles
pie's embodies some very good qualities, aud -t
the same time some that are not so good, as an
instance, the manner in which froic is indi
cated in certain portions of the foreground.
The scene depicted is rather bare and desolate,
but it has been bandied so as to preserve a fair
degree of interest Upon a road which leatls
from the foreground into the distance Mr. Wall
has indulged in his favorite method of giving
life to a picture by the introduction of a flock
of sheep, and these, together with the shepherd
and his dog, really form the leading feature of
the work.
There Is, perhaps, no mora striking exam
pie of the value of art as applied to industries
than the elaborate decorations which form the
leading feature of nearly all recently con
structed railroad cars. The general public
will more rreely patronize and will pay higher
prices to a line which bears evidence of the ex
ercise of artistic taste and judgment in all its
appointments than to one where these features
do not exist, and managers understand this re
gard for the beautiful and profit by it. Many
persons feel that to try and make articles for
ordinary service and utility beautiful as well
as useful is rather a waste of labor, but wher
ever.art has entered largely into manufactures
it has been found profitable from a commercial
no less than from an esthetic standpoint. The
fact that an article is of tasteful design often
renders it Immeasurably more valuable with
out adding to its actual cost.
Mr. C. Berscii may fairly be credited with
having introduced a new departure in portrait
ure, or at least to have adopted a style of exe
cution that is new to this vicinity. He has on
exhibition at Mayer's a portrait of a Baltimore
lady which is handled in a manner that makes
it interesting as a picture, aside from its value
as a likeness. This work is painted with an
unusually light background, which greatly en
hances the beauty and delicacy of the tints of
the flesh. A few simple folds of light, gauzy
drapery are indicated, falling low over the
shoulders and adorned in front with some
flowers, which serve to hciguten the color effect
Of the whole. The hair of this subject being
very dark, contrasts strongly with the bright"
clear tones of the balance of the picture, and
this, along with the light, fanciful manner in
which the whole work is handled, gives it the
effect of.an ideal study rather than a portrait.
Fainting fine flesh tints against a light back
ground Is not particularly easy to do, but when
successfully accomplished it makes a very
pleasing effect, as is evidenced by the work e
f erred to.
Sonthilde Brass Thieve.
Richard Foley, of Grapeville, was com
mitted to jail in default of $500 bail on a
charge of stealing brass from Oliver Bros.'
mill. In his examination by Magistrate
Brokaw yesterday he implicated James
Brooks, of Brooks Bros., junk dealers on
Seventh street, Southside. He was ar
rested. A Holy Day.
Yesterday in the calendar of liturgical
churches was the Feast of the Purification.
BishopWhitehead, as is the custom, visited
the Episcopal Church Home and conducted
appropriate services. The children in the
afternoon enjoyed the "Bishop's treat,"
which he provides.
THE IRISH MAIL CAR.
A Scene of Incitement Caused by Its
Arrival at a Village Inn.
JOVIAL TIM, THE BOLD DRIVES.
The
Pursuit of Knowledge Under Great
Difficulties.
STARVING, BAGGED UTILE URCHINS
rCOIlBESFONDESCE or THI DISrATCH. J
OTJGHTNAGH.Ire
Laxd, January 21.
In a tramp through
wild and winsome Con
emara the .arrival of
the "long-car" atTelay
stations, especially if it
be at evening-time,
furnishes an interest
ing study and scene.
Outside of births, marriages, deaths, fu
nerals and evictions, it is the constantly re
curring great event of the Irish hamlet. It
brings and takes the mails. These are in
vested with reflexive majesty of government,
and secure a sort of universal respect in any
country. In Irish villages their portent
and mystery command a ludicrous though
pathetic awe. Those sealed bass, and those
great locked hampers, are freighted with un
told possibilities. They bring messages of
gladness or despair from those in far Amer
ica to whom the very life of these waiting
here are forged and welded; ana from what
they have brought, many a bursting heart
has been forever lightened or stilled. The
keen knowledge of these joys and agonies
is a common heritage.
The pouches and packages of plethoric
mystery also contain "Her Majesty's" this,
that and the other, which not infrequently
affect the relations of human beings in
whole communities. This bitter fact is
also an universal consciousness. And those
people the "long-car's" momentary delay
furnishes a glimpse of, with what ultimate
lands they are going to, or came from, are a
constant source of simple conjecture and
wonder. For the very next Irish county is
to these poor souls an inimitably distant
country: England is surely half way around
the earth; while America to which the
"steerage" passage by sea is a measureless,
though welcomed, purgatory of penitential
preparation is as the one fair Aiden be
yond the shining stars.
WAITIKG FOR THE MAII,.
From a half hour before the arrival of
the. long-car the villagers begin to gather at
r the post-station, usually the inn. Along
side is the little postomce. It is locked
during nearly all the hours of the day save
this; but now it seethes with excited hurry
as the master and maid for there are al
ways both, one perspiring with importance,
the other flamine with effort worry over
the handful of letters to be dispatched. The
old, the halt, the lame and the blind come
first. These, with rigid, pallid face, that
sad and universal impress upon Ireland's
oor, pass in quiet tones the greetings they
ave thus exenanged for the ialf-century
past. They range themselves along the way
and wait; wait in a dumb sort of stupor that
makes one's heart ache to see.
Across the way, under queer old thatched
gables, is all the picturesque paraphernalia
of the post station, stable and yard. In huge
iron frames, two or three century old lamps
hang above the yard, their dim, saffrony
light showing a dozen stablemen and emu
lative helpers grooming the shadowy-outlined
relay. Up and down the street, at
long and zig-zag intervals, faint lights with
splintered glow reach into the' evening
gloom. Here and there mysterious foot
falls, gradually increasing in numbers and
apparent urgency, are heard approaching
from side-street, alley, by-way and court.
Those who first came awaken somewhat from
their stupor. The hardier, next younger
division of the village population
crowds around the old inn doors. Then
there are the same greetings, even from
thoe whom a wall and a door alone sepa
rate in their every hour's life, as if all had
met here on some momentous mission.
Then all relapse into dumb silence, only
broken here and there by the low minor
chords of old women's voices, where faint
shreds of light from the inn windows dis
close groups in which three or four ancient
cap frills tremble and dance ia gossipy jirox
imity. Soon a stir is created by the fussy
littie landlord rushing from the fussy little
inn, and after hanging the great lamp
of the village in its antique receptacle, dis
appearing with a slam, aj if to say: "This
much for Her Most Gracious Majesty and
not for you cattle out there!" He has done
this a thousand times before; but the dumb,
patient ones all turn, just as they too have
done a thousand times before, with a look
that plainly answers: "Faith, an' a mighty
deed it was, sor!"
TEE BTJGLE BLAST.
By this time the whole street between the
inn and stableyard is filled with a strange
and picturesque assemblage. Far up the
winding road, a faint rumbling is heard.
"Arrah, thim's her wheels a-singin'i"
"Faith, Tim's the bye on time, thinl" "God
be praised for it's luck the day" as though
the lives of all depended and countless
other fervent expressions rise in murmurous
symphony. The post-horn's lively notes
seem a quick and glad answer to this wait
ing welcome. Blast on blast pierces the
night and rouses the sleepy echoes along the
old walled way. Down the hollow, over the
hill, down the hollow again, and then with
thunderous clamor across the great arched
bridge, comes the wondrous Irish long-car;
and with it, come all the remaining villagers
on a frantic run, but shrouded ia dust from
its spinning wheels.
With a rush, whoop and final terrific
blast, the ungainly thing stops with, a
wrench and groan before the little. Its
"well" is piled high with hampers and lug
gage. The very outlines of its! jumped,
hooded, shivering passengers bespeak petu
lant impatience. A kvr growl and curse at
the untimely detention. A'scofe of stable
men, lads and loitering helpers grasft and
plunge for the reins, lines and traces of the
smoking horses, filling the air with kindly
beseechings that they become passive; as
though they were the most wild and impetu
ous of coursers, instead of the Spiritless,
jaded cattle they are. Every soul that acts
or moves around the long-car or stables, in
stantly begins-that aspirated, hoarse, half
gurgle and hiss, which Universally in Eng
land and Ireland is the accompaniment to
even any imagined attention to, or service
about, the horse. With a rush the reeking
car horses are driven and pushed to the sta
bles. With another rush back comes a fresh
relay. The bold driver has disappeared to
"stretch the elbow o' his legs," and "shame
the night air wid a drop o' poteen." Here
and there the lights flame back the color of
a few ''red-coats" mingling with the crowd.
As if by accident, a half dozen of the tall
and shapely constabulary have come very
close to the passengers. Frequently one too
snugly bundled to permit of satisfactory of
ficial scrutiny, is quietly asked to alightand
re-arrange his rugs and wrappings.
THE BOLD DRIVER.
The village mail has been borne to the car
and safely bestowed. Another great potich
flattened upon its trifling contents has been
borne back ia pompous state. The driver
springs upon his box. A wicked twinkle
of mock savagery lurks within his eyes. His
entire merry, conciliatory demeanor his
changed. He hurls blasting tajint and
withering jibe upon the' village atfd all its
Eeople. Two score of these, pretentiously
olding the horses which Wish to stay, glibly
return his taunts and jibes. Into this in
creasing clamor, every imaginable Irish
tone and tongue now merge, just as innu
merable times before, riling shriller and
higher as old and young" are roused to the
daily test of farewell Irish billingsgate.
Scraggy arms protrude, mammoth fists are
shaken, crutches flourish menacingly, until
you would imagine that all these erst kindly
folk were transformed into a mob for venge
ance. But nt the height of this bedlamilic
uproar, With a merry'blast and a flourish,
the long car plunge's out into the night,
scores of ragged urchins scrambling and
screeching beside it; and as the howling
cavalcade rushes away into the darkness,
the tones of these simple souls who remain
suddenly change to purring praises of "Tim,
the bould driver." and all: and with something-
like smiles upon their poor pinched Visages.
mey disperse mrougn me now uarKeneu streets
to their separate, ever-darker buts and homes.
" The road from Onchterard through Cone
mara to Clifden by the sea stretches straight as
an arrow and aa white as chalk for many miles
over blackenod moor and bellying bog. Here
and there may be seen a little hut, as soggy and
dank as the bog itselfM)ut naught else relieves
the utter dreariness of the road, save the lofty
mountains to the north and west. On the morn
ing of my tramp these were lit up gloriously by
the morning sun. Faint, filmy patches of mist
from the sea swirled around and between these
heights, and formed a myriad surpassing
changes as though some magic hand were low
ering, lifting and winding gossamer veils bf
varying and resplendent color around their
gray and glittering peaks. To the walker's
lancy that far country behind fills with won
drous forms and seemlngs But the eye again
falls upon the dark, drear moor, the wretched
huts and the road of blinding nhite.
POOR LITTLE URCHINS.
At a little distance It is filled with a bevy of
diminutive objects, moving to the right and
left as tbey approach, as though hesitant of
meeting humankind. You sit upon a capacious
milestone and await their coming. Shading
your e v es and closely regarding them, you won
der if they are a pack of raised sheep, or ex
ploiting, hunger-scourged goats. Patter, pat
ter, patter, halting and running, on tbev came
In zig-zag course. By the horns of the Nubian
ibex, they aro neither sheep nor goats! They
are human beings. All aroweazeu-faced, little
old women It seems; for they surely cannot be
children, though their witch-like head3 will
not reach to your on n waist. They draw nearer,
the larger protectingly massed in front. You
notice their irresolution or fear; and scarcely
knowing what to say, you halloo loudly but
kindlv, "Come along, my dears, the road is all
yours!" They flutter a bit with heads together,
and then sidle along the extremest side of the
road. When almost opposite, you halt them
with an attempt at kindly authority, and ask:
"Where are you going, little girls?" A great
din of childish cackle, pitched in a high key of
mild reproach, surprise and merry squalor
"We bo'nt girls, sor. Wo's byesP' says the
boldest of the bevy.
"Boys! 'you gasp. "Well, well, boys, come
over here a moment."
They look at each other scared, snickering,
hysterically. The older and bolder move for
ward a little, and in a twinklinz they are all in
a crescent-shaped half-circle before you, ready
for savage defense or instant flight. In
heaven's name, you wonder, where can another
such woeful sight be seen? It is mid-winter;
the earth is frozen; the winds are sharp and
cutting; with your own glowing blood and
health, and in the warmest clothing you shud
der and chill when halting; but here area
dozen waifs in the imago of God, more than
half naked, bony, shriveled, white from want
and hunger, bare-footed, bare-legged, half of
them bare-armed and bare-headed, and, as
their ragged books reveal, on their way to
school from the mountains and bogs, dragging
their scrawny, bloodless feet 20 miles a day for
a faint, dim glimpse of the heaven
there is in the school-room warmth
and the schoolroom books. If you have a man'd
heart, their snectral nresences will be hidden
behind the mist in your own eyes; but as it
clears away, their wild and extraordinary cos
tumes startle you. Every one of these wretched
creatures has no more than one thickness of
cloth between himself and the winter day; and
that one does not half cover him. It 13 the
Conemara "napped" flannel. The garment of
each is no more than a sack, hanging from the
shonlders to jnt above the knees, and remind
ing of the bags In which the little plantation
blacks of the South were formerly clad. On
one this will be worn into shreds throughout;
another's is swathed like a half crumbling
mummy; another shows patches of startling
variety held togethei by osier strands;
another's is ripped ana whipped and torn until
his bloodless clay-like flesh shows In a score of
places beneath; while every one is hollow-eyed,
matted-baired, claw-fingered, cadaverous; a
blot on the face of the earth in a Christian
land and time; and if there bo curse for expia
tion on individuals or Government responsible
for such horrible conditions, these pitiable
wretches alone are infinitely more than
needed witnesses before the bar of man and
God.
A "WAYSIDE HOMILY.
You are a tramp there on the milestone, but
a comfortable one. In your wallet is food. You
call these specters of famine to you. divide
among them all you have, and watch them tear
at it like savage beasts. Oh, it is pitlfull Then
you beguile a little heart and hope into them
with simple words about the school, and call
them the brave Irish lads tbey are; get them
around you, and leaning on your knee, with
your hands on their shoulders and heads, or
holding their bony, ley fingers; and you tell
them how they must study, as you did not: and
not "mitch" (Irish for playing truant) as you
did; and that sure. sure, in no far-off day they
will come to good men's estate, able to "rise"
their parents out of the huts and cabins into
sweet and happy homes; not forgetting the
practical Christianity of emphasizing palaver
with pence; until right there m the middle of
a Conemara bog a miracle will be performed
before your very eyes. For ambitionless beasts
have been transformed into emulative humans:
and the gaunt faces, in which was no more soul
than in dirty wax, has had blood and light put
in them; and a shout of good cheer goes up
whet e misery and hunger brooded.
You stand and watch the ragged flock until
its white faces and rags have blended with the
whito of the. wide, ribbon-like way; and turn
upon your tramp to ba confronted -with a
group of peasant women almost as meagerly
clad as these their children, but still far more
picturesque in their flannels of black, blue and
red. One is armed with a long-handled turf
spade. Another is discovered secreting an old
wheel spoke underneath her cloak. Another
leans upon a onetined pitchfork. Others have,
clubs and cudgels. And one tall, gaunt "Meg
Merrilies," like some savage type of old Time
in petticoats, bears an enormous sickle. Your
interest in the group blinds you for a moment
to their threatening aspect. Tbey have been
gathered by some swift signals from the huts
along the bog, and have come prepared to see
that you do not "thrifle wld the childrer" but
having discovered that yourmotives are friend
ly, no pen can describe their wise and vocifer
ous attempts to hide their original purpose, or
the cead mille faiite (with a thousand wel
comes) in which you are convoyed along the
highway, and the hospitalities and embarrass
ing honors that aro accorded you. In some
wierd, secret way all this seems to be flashed
along in advance of yon, making your progress
a veritable triumphal march; until a long
reach of uninhabited and savagely wild coun
try is passed, through which countless outland
ish incidents are experienced on the road alone,
which, now winding over and up and on and
over Again, at last bringsyon to the threshold
of the glorious Western Highlands.
Edgar L. Wake-has-.
Dlnrion Hnrlnnd,
The celebrated authoress, so highly esteemed
by the women of America, says on pages 103
and 415 of her popular work: "Eve's Daugh
ters; or. Common Sense for Maid, Wife and
Mother:1
"For the aching back should it be slow in
recovering its normal strength an Allcock's
Porous Plaster is an excellent comforter, com
bining the sensation of the sustained pressure
of a strong warm hand with certain tonic qual
ities developed in the wearing. It should be
kept over the scat of uneasiness for several
dajs lu obstinate cases, for perhaps a fort
night." 'For pain in the back wear an Allcock's Po
rous Plaster constantly, renewing as it wears
off. Tnis is an invaluable support when the
weight on the small of the back becomes heavy
and the aching incessant." su
Snve 20 per ct. on Watches and Diamond.
Jas. McKee, jeweler, will remove April
1, to 420 Smithfield street, from his old
stand, No. 13 Fifth avenue. Clocks,
jewelry, chains, charms, society emblems,
etc., at cost to reduce stock. Call soon and
secure rare bargains.
Persons wishing portraits of any kind
cannot make a mistake in giving their or
ders to B. L. H. Dabbs, the celebrated pho
tographer. Mr. Dabbs has had great ex
perience and his pictures will always be
valued and kept for generations to come.
Guns, revolvers, sporting goods at half
price. Johnston, the gun man, will re
move about" April 1st to No. TOO Bissel
Block, and in the mean time is selling off
nil old stock at about half price at the old
store, No. C21 Smithfield st.
Whnt'a the Matter With February 14th?
Why it is St. Valentine's Day, and I al
most torgot, I'll run up to L. Breuninger
& Co., 35 Smithfield St., and purchase one,
they have the largest assortment in the city
. 3,7,10,12 .
At 60c a yard we are showing some very
attractive new spring dress goods.
mwfsu Huous & Hacke.
Fine watches a specialty, low prices a
certainty, atHauch's, No. 295 Fifth avenue.
WFSU
See the value and styles we are offering
in spring dress goods at 18c per yard.
mwfsu Huous & Hacke.-
SUNDAY THOUGHTS
-ON-
pOliILji IPPtl!?.
BY A CLERGYMAN.
Baring a recent symposium of unbelief
some wise men of the East climbed into the
belfry and rang the changes on the follow
ing assertions: "The Universe is simply a
rushing together of atoms, and there is no
Creator." "Immortality is absurd man is
dust." "What idealists call the soul is
nothing but the vital principle, composed of
Heat and air, which escapes from the body
at death, and mingles again with its native
element." So the world is accounted for,
and life and death are finally explained.
Well, the Christian borrowing the So
cratic method, modestly begs leave to ask
a few questions: How came those atoms to
rush together in such a way as to form the
world, and be pervaded with marks of In
telligent design? Who ever beard of the dif
ferent parts of a watch rushing together to
form a watch; Orof the different parts of a
locomotive rushing together to form an en
gine? Or of tee different parts of a house rush
ing together to form a dwelling?
If tbete is no God. what does your moral na
ture mean? If immortality H a fable, why is
the belief in It universal? If the Bible is the
work of imposters, how were a huddle of ig
norant fishermen able to produce a religion
wbicb,by common consent,surpasses all others?
Come, you who are so gifted in explanation,
account for the difference between Christen
dom and heathendom, between Europe and
Asia, between America and Africa. Race does
not explain It the climate ot Europe and
America can be matched in Asia and Africa.
Before Christianity took them in hand, Europe
ami-America were as degraded and unprogress
ive as Afghanistan orDahomy. A shrewd old
Quakeronce said to a savant who boasted that
he would never believe in what he could not
see: "Friend-did thee ever see thv brains?"
Whv-Tin ' rpnltarlTip "nfwinMfliint" "Wpll " A
continued the Quaker, "does thee think thee
has any?"
A prominent physician of the city says
that he was called in, the other day, to ex
tract a fish bone from a patient's throat. He
worked faithfully for half an hour, but in
vain. "Oh, Doctor," gasped the sufferer,
"don't give up, I will give you 510,000 if
you will get that bone out." Again the phy
sician went to work. Another half hour
passed. Again he shook his head in despair.
"Keep on, keep on," cried tho patient, "I will
give youS20,0001f yoa will pull it out." Once mora
the physician fell to: and after many efforts he
jerked forth the obstinate obstrnctiou. "Great
Scott!" exclaimed the man, relieved at last, "I
would rather have given S10 than had you fall
to get that thing out."
It illustrates the different ways we have of
viewing things in different circumstances.
When one is in desperate peril he Is lavish in
his promises. "All that a man hath will he
give for his life." But when the danger is
passed, gratitude for deliverance suddenly
evaporates. The exorbitant promises made In
extremity are at once forgotten. It recalls the
old conplet:
"When the devil was sick, the devil a monk
would be.
When the devil got well, the devil a monk
was he,"
With such folks even the C. O. D. system
will not avail. In dealing with them tbs rule
should be. payment in advance.
In fishing the hook is baited with care,
according to the kind of fish you mean to
catch unless you are fishing for the
gudgeon, which you take with the baked
hook. So the devil when he angles for souls,
baits his hook with consummate skill. He
puts on pleasure to catch the lover of amuse
ment; power, to decoy the ambitious: riches,
to snare the avaricious; but when he come3 to
the profane swearer, he catches him with the
naked hook; because, among the tempted, like
the gndgeon among fishes, the profane swearer
is a fool!
A little girl in Baltimore was asked by
her teacher what use the interior of Africa
is to the world? With a wisdom beyond her
years, she answered: "It Is mostly used for
purposes of exploration."
Keep a watchful eye upon current litera
ture in .order to know what had best be
avoided. Keep some books out of the
house. It is related in a recent Beview,
that a gentleman connected with the English
Government in India, went into his library
(be lived in Calcutta) to get a book. As he
took it from the shelf he felt a sharp prick on
the end of his finger. He thonght some care
less reader had placed a pin within the leaves
for a mark. Presently, however, his finger
began to swell, then his arm, then his body, and
not long afterward he died in agony. It was
not a pin, but a small and deadly snake pecu
liar to the country, that lay within those pages.
There are serpents, too, in the books that many
are reading now-a-days. Tbey lie coded away
and out of sight. But as the pages are fingered
the sting will be felt Let certain books alone.
The naked indecencies of Zola, with their
brutal and repulsive realism, are not half so
dangerous as are the draped nastiness, the
refined innuendoes, the elegant libertinism of
some morq reputable writers. If yoa would
not be morally poisoned look out for the ser
pents among the books.
Appended is a list of "particularPatrons"
in the Roman Catholic Communion:
St. Joseph, spouse of the Blessed Virgin
Mary, is the patron of the universal church.
St. Pancras is the patron of childhood.
St. Aloysius is the patron of youth, purity
and students.
St. Agnes Is the patron of maidens.
St. Monica Is the patron of matrons.
St. Maxima" is the patron of virgins and
wives. '
St. Vincent de Paul is the patron of charities.
St. Camillas of LclUs is the patron of hos
pitals. St. Sabine is invoked against gout and rheu
matism. St. Apollonla is invoked against toothache.
St. Benedict Joseph Labre is Invoked against
lightning.
St Roch is invoked against contagious dis
eases. St Barbara is Invoked for the last sacraments.
bt iuase prevents and enres sore throats.
St Sebastian is the patron of soldiers.
St Hubert is the patron of hunters.
St Thomas Aquinas is the patron of schools.
The "Mission" Church is legitimate or il
legitimate according to circumstances. It
is legitimate if the "mission" be planted in
a quarter of the city where there is the
promise of growth and the final evolution of a
self-supporting church. It is illegitimate if it
be intended to remain a "mission," in which
the socially tabooed and outcast poor, who are
not wanted in the home church, may pick up
crumbs of the bread of life. Many "mis
sions" are the reserved seats of inferiority.
Tbey at once create and advertise caste. Such
places might do in Europe, but they are un
American. Thev certainly misrepresent the
Religion of the carpenter's son. of whom it is
recorded tnat "tne common people neardblm
gladly," and whose earliest and honored dis
ciples were the poor and miserable and blind
and naked. Imagine St Peter in Jerusalem as
building a cathedral for the accommodation of
Nlcodemus, Joseph of Arimathea, and that ex
clusive set and then huddling up a "mission"
for Mary Magdalene and blind Bartlmteus.
Readers of these columns are well aware
that pessimism finds no place here. Never
theless, let us not ignore certain lamentable
and ominous facts. Among such facts the
most serious is the gradually widening gulf
in all large cities between the churches and the
industrial classes. In London 1,000,000 of the
population never goto church. In New York
400,000 are non-church goers. In Chicago, St
Louis, Cincinnati, probably one-half of the
citizens are not seen in the house of God, save
at an occasional funeral or wedding never
at public worship. The respectable and
wealthy classes are usually supporters
of and attendants upon some church. But
the "masses" as distinguished from the
'"classes" are largely unchurched. The causes
are manifold. One cause Is a method of church
sustentation which directly ministers to pride,
and encourages exclusiveness and exposes pov
erty to needless humiliation. It is not the least
objection to the pew-renting system that it em
phasizes class distinctions and keeps those
apart whom itis tho very purpose of the gospel
to draw together. "Where the spirit of tho
Lord is there is liberty." A more Christian
method of finance should be adopted in the
churches. Even so, there would be no eager
rush of the multitude to the churches. But
one obstacle would be removed. "The com
mon people" might come if they would. Now
they neither can nor will.
Reader, through the week it is difficult to
get your ear. If you are a man you rush
away to busines, and are absorbed in watch
ing or helping to inspire the great move
ments that pant across the continent and
throb through the ocean and feel around
the globe with telegraphic nerves. If vou
are a woman the household, shopping, socfety,
occupy the time.
BuS this is Sunday. Now there is a chance
for a "still small voice" to be beard. Listen,
then. Is it not true that the prevalent style of
living is absurd? Are not the standards of
modern family life impeachable on the ground
of outrageous extravagance? Do you not take
art day after day in a furious strife for prece
ence? Is there net st battle, as someone tx-
presses It of chairs and mirrors and plate and
equipage? Does not the average home flno
Itself turned into a Parisian toyshop, ab
sorbing the price of a good farm la
the ornaments of a parlor, and banging up &
judge's salary in a single chandelier? Aro you
not racing with yourself, and with everybody
else, to keep up appearances? Does not this
endeavor spoil your temper, deplete your purs
ana kill your enjoyment? Could anything be
more ridiculous? Was It more fatal to morals
and manners? In the hurry and preoccupa
tion of a great city, who cares whether you
keep up appearances? Why not live according
to your condition and means? Is it right to
exhaust your time and money in this social
rivalry of lace and brocade and gilding ana
fresco, so that you cannot spare an boar or a
dollar for benevolence? Can you justify this
lifting the pinnacles of your exuberant selfish
ness out of the dreary sea of hanger ana
despair which surges around you? Ts easy
self-indnlgence the "chief end" ot
the modern man and woman? Was
Cain commended when he asked "Am
I my brother's keeper?" Madam, does not the
social pace you are traveling at keep your hus
band chained like a galley slave to the oars of
business, so that he has neither thought nor
opportunity for the cultivation of his social
nature scarcely knows bis own children has
become almost a stranger to his own wife? Sir,
does not the condition of things in your hom
the extravagance the meretricious at
mospherethe apoplectic superfluity tha
theatrical glitter find its warrant In jour suf
ferance? Would it not conduce to your com
fort to-day, and your prosperity to-morrow, to
cry a halt along the tumultuous march?
Sir and madam, when you have answered
these questions, we will return to the social
catetfiiism.
In America, everybody says that all mea
are equal, and everybody is afraid they'
will be.
True democracy is the social synonym of
Christianity.
It Is easy to find reasons why other folks
should be patient
Heaven only knows what would become of
our sodality if we never visited people we
speak 111 of; we should live, like Egyptian
hermits. In crowded solitude. George Eliot.
"How la It" asks Thackeray, on one of bis
most characteristic pages, "that the evil which
men say spreads so widely and last so long,
while our good, kind words don't seem some
how to take root and bear blossoms? Certain
It Is that scandal Is good brisk talk, whereas
praise of one's neighbor is by no means lively
hearing. An acquaintance grilled, scored,
deviled, and served with mustard and cayenne
pep
C01(
epper. excites the appetite; whereas a slice of
old friend, with currant jelly, is but a sickly.
Unrelishin? meat."
"Truth Is stranger than fiction" and It takes
some people a long time to feel at home with It,
Your pastor is subject to frequent fits of
despondency. Of course he is. So much to
do so few to dc it So many who need as
sistance the supplies so hard to come at,
and so difficult to dispense with equity. He
finds human nature in himself and in other
people so stubborn, so innately, so slyly selfish,
that he is driven to bis knees a dozen times a
day. A team of archangels is insufficient to
drag the world, the flesh and the devil out of
the slough.
There la no man who si much needs the
kindly consideration, the cordial co-operation,
the unshaken confidence of the parish. Love
your pastor. Sympathize with him. Pray for
him. Work at his side. And remember he is
but a man. If he were perfect, he would not
be the minister of your church!
It is the wise remark of a popular writer,
who keeps his ears and eyes open, that this
is to be permanently a nation of cities. The
Atlantic slope is already urban. The day
is not far distant when the shores of the great
lakes and the valley of the Mississippi will
rival In the number and magnificence of their
cities the valleys of the Nile and the Euphrates
when the civilization of the East dazzled at the
zenith.
The same author reminds us that already the
cities dictate to the towns and village.
Through their pulpits, benevolent organiza
tions and religious newspapers they originate
and express the convictions of the churches.
Through their great daihes they dominate ia
politics. Through their markets, importers,
banks, exchanges they dictate financially.
Through architecture tbey shape the farmers
house. Through horticulture and landscape
gardening they improve the appearance of
every bamlet, and Increase the value of
every farm. City views, customs, influence are
predominant
Now, since this is so. it becomes essential to
school and guard morals and manners in the
great centers. If Christian civilization is to be
saved or lost there, the churches should imitate
Napoleon, MoItLe, Grant and concentrate
their choicest and heaviest batallions at the ex
posed point and at the critical Instant Why,
the apostles acted on this truth showed their
superb ecclesiastical generalship. Peter and
Paul singled out the cities of their age and
sought to evangelize them, knowing that this
was tne surest ana speediest way to capture
the country.
Every honest dollar contributed and spent,
every gracious deed wrought in the name ana
spirit of the Nazarene, every saintly example
bequeathed, every wise plan matured and put
in operation in our cities, becomes a mis
sionary, and journeys north, south, east west,
on tireless errands of instruction and good
will. What an inducement and incentive is
here to arouse the enthusiasm and inspire the
enterprise of Christian people In the city.
Writing to the Ephesians, St Paul ex
horts them to "give thanks always for all
things unto God." He should seem one of
the least likely of men to say such a thing.
For he had it hard. He lived under tha
frown of his epoch, and died a martyr. Yet
this was no exceptional outbnrst.no thanks
giving choral. It was his habitual utterance.
Listen to him: "Being reviled, we bless; being;
persecuted, we suffer it; being defamed, we en
treat We are troubled on every side, yet not
distressed; we are perplexed, yet not in de
spair." It was not for a spirit of contentment with
the existing state of things that the apostle
pleaded. He was not an optimist He was a
revolutionist No man ever more heartily
recognized the necessity of constant and pains
taking effort But he cultivated the habit o
looking on the hopeful side of life.
There are two sides to everything a worse
side and a better side; a side of discipline and a,
side of mercy. Neither should be ignored.
But the chronic tendency of the race Is to look
morbidly on the untoward side of human ex
perience and to complain rather than give
thanks. Get out of the shadow. Get into the
sunshine. Live on a Southern exposure.
Sweeten toil with hope. Recognize your mer
cies. Things are seldom so bad that they could
not be worse. Imitate the woman who, when
she fell down stairs and broke her arm, thanked
God it was not her neck.
A SOUTHERN HUSTLER
A Georgia Sheriff Follows His Man FroEB
Atlanta to Michigan.
Mr. J. W. Herron, the High Sheriff at
Atlanta, Ga., is a very little man with a
very big hat, a genial smile and a shot gun.
He wears his badge of office, which is as hie
as a pie pan, upon the lapel of his coat so
that all may recognize him before any acci
dent might happen. He was at the Union
depot yesterday oa his way home from
Michigaa, where he and a posse had cap
tured a murderer named Geo. Perkins. The;
posse had followed the prisoner from Geor
gia for five days and nights. He is sow oa
his way to Georgia. Sheriff Herron had
business near this city and left his posse.
A BOON i0 Housewives.
lie firmer and working mm who hare been ootia
the mod all day can wash their boots cleaabefore
nteriiistheBDnseuTlieTvinbeSaftfPolisilaa
ard Dry , if dressed with .
Walff'sAGMEBIacking
Hakej housekeeping easier.
Saves Sweeping and Scrubbing.
Xba boots will wear a gnat deal looter, wtH not (et
tiff and hard ixx snow watei; or rain, mad will be
WATERPROOF. Ladles, try tt. and iaaiat
that your husband and sona use it. Onoeaweesr
for Gents' Shoes and once a month for Ladiea.
Unequal! asa Harness DresalngandPreaerrer
Sold bj Shoe Store. Grocers. Dncgiats. to.
WOLFF. & RANDOLPHPWUKifm,
mrm
I I- ,--'-
jiflu rx
aK5E$M52Sm&