MHMHHHMRH9HHHgHpMHSHHH 15 " 'm ON THE GOLD COAST. Characteristics oftlie ftatiyes of West Africa. A KING WITH 3,333 WIYES. Cruelties of the War of tlio Ashantees Against the Fantis. PORTUGUESE COSYICTS IX AKGOLA rcoEitKsroxDEXcE op ins dispatch, i Sr. PAUL DE LOAXDA, Al"RICA, ) January 31, 1890. NSTEAD ofgoing direct to this city from Pree Town, H we stopped for coal a at an English town i called Elmina, lo cated on that part of the West Coast of Africa known as the Gold Coast, from the amount of that metal found there. Its latitude is. very "little more than 5 W JS., ana its longi- ..3a ellirlltlv fWPV 1 "V. It was on Jjlir Mhe evening oi '"' November 20, when we anchored two miles off Elmina. and all night lonp the roar of the water dashing against the rocks of the shore could he heard. Owing to this peculiar surging swell of the ocean here boats cannot he safely landed, so canoes managed by natives are used. Shortly after daylight in the morning I went to the port so as to have a view of the town. A large stone structure at once at tracts mv attention. This is the castle erected by the Dutch in 14S1, when they ruled this territory. At 9 o'clock five of ns lake a canoe and start for the shore. As we near land we are tossed by the great waves, and it seems that they will capsize the canoe, but the reputation ot thp natives of the Gold Coast for managing canoes is such that we feel no alarm ior our safety. Alter passing around the castle we approach the shore, and wonder how we shall get on land through the shower of spray made by the heavv sun. Before we realize it, however, each native leaps from the canoe, seizes s. passenger, and, holding him above his head, cariies him through the spray and places him on the dry sand. They now beg us for a "dah" which term we learned meant money for drink. THE PARTIS A5D ASHAXTEES. The population of Elmina is almost en tirely native, there being only a few Euro pean merchants and English officers at the place. The natives belong to the Panti tribe, and many of them are civilized through the long contact with white people. But bv :ar the larger part are quite uncivil ized and continue to practice their native customs. The Wesleyan Church has been tstablisked here for many years, and main tains a flourishing school. The Eoman Catholics have also recently started a church and school. Directly hack of the country along the Gold Coast is the kingdom of the Ashantees a people renowned in history lor their warlike valor. Half a ceniury ago the Ashantees were noted for great prosperity and large extent of territory. The history ol these people previous to the first of the eighteenth century is not known. Prom that time up to 1820 it is an account of con tinual territorial acquisition, and of struggles between the Pantis and several other tribes in which the Ashantees were invariably successful. But alter that date the success of the Ashantees began to ex tend to another people, and that none other than the English, who then owned the Gold Coast, having obtained possession of it from the Dutch. A MOST BARBAROUS TAB. Two tributary chiers revolted, and in flight sought tac protection of the Fantis. The Ashantee King sent messengers re questing the deliverance of these chiefs. The messengers were put to death by the fantis, and this so enraged the King that he swore on oath that he would never return to his capital without the heads of tne revolted chiefs. He marched his armv into the Panti country and caused such a destruction of life and property as has seldom had its parallel in history. The Fantis fle to the English forts, w here they supposed! the Ashantees would not dare to come. In this they were greatly mistaken, lor the King ot the Ashantees 1 ollowed them with his amy to the very gates of the fort, which h'nade preparation to blow up, and he would cer tainly have done so had not a flag ot truce becushoivn. One of the chie!s who caused this trouble escaped, but the other was de livered up and put to death with the most horrible tortures. The Ashantees continued to annoy by fre quent incursions the merchants oi the Panti countrr to such an extent that in 1824 England took steps to have the matter ad justed in a iriendly manner. A treaty was made, but several months" delay on the part ot the English in carrying it into effect made trouble. Sir Charles McCarthy was now made Governor of the Gold Coast, and learning that the Ashantee King was - - ii tfrJW-fc-riHH y"W TW4 AtrtPI-i-SI r ii .ip.' i i , -. V-E Two Native Womrn. making great preparations for war decided to meet him in battle. CHARACTERISTIC BRUTALTTY. A desperate battle was fought Sir Charles and hia officers were deieated, cap tured and killed. Sir Charles' secretary was taken prisoner and held for a long time. Every night he was locked in a room in which hung the heads ot Sir Charles and hli companions. It wa: said that Sir Charles' heart was eaten by the chiels of the J 0 n emfk I? fwiilif fc"7vWlJ .. T-f 1 , ,17-T'l I'll USSmA Kine's army that they might become pos sessed of his courage. Three years later, however, the Ashan tees were defeated by the English, and since then, recognizing that thev are en tirely unable to cope with English guns a'nd English soldiers, tbey have most of the time kept within their own territory. In recent years the trouble lias been renewed, and the English are compelled to keep soldiers stationed on the Gold Coast to pro tect the Fantis and their own interests. The government of the Ashantees is as complete and barbarous despotism as is to be found anvwhere in the history of the world. The King has absolute authority over both the property and lives of his peo ple. His word is law, and no one dares disregard it for fear of death. Anyone who seem to censure by word or deed anything the King does is liable to be judged guilty of high treason. Any man who is called before" the King, goes in great fear, no mat ter how innocent of any unlawful act, for he does not know whether he is to be hon ored and receive some gift or be sentenced to death because he has been charged with en mo orimp r.r hpMUSe his blood IS Wanted to wet the grave of some member of the ' royal family. The King is the heir to all the property of his subjects, but it is said that he usually demands only the gold of the deceased, and leaves the other property to the wife and family. SLAVERY AND rOLYGAMY. Slavery is, of course, carried in the Ashantee kingdom and on a large scale. Many of the nobles have as many as 1,000 slaves. All prisoners ot war and many charged with crime are made slaves. But slavery as practiced here is not so oppressive as it might seem, ior not only here, but also in many other parts of West Africa, slaves are reg arded as servants and have consider able liberty. They are supposed to be well skilled in witchcrait, and this undoubtedlv prevents cruelty on the part of their masters. Polygamy is practiced to an extravagant degree. The more wives a man has the higher is his social inmortance. The num ber which a man in private life may have is limited by his ability to purchase and sup port them, but the number of wives which the King may have is limited bv law lim ited to the modest number of 3,333, and it is said that he usually does not far exceed this limit. At any rate he must have more A GROUP OF wives than any of his subjects or his respect ability will suffer. I was told by the Amer ican Consular agent at Elmina. that the present King actii.illy has the 3,333 wives, and that he has GOO children. CHOOSING THE KING'S "WIVES. All the King has to do to get a wife is to choose any female he pleases, no matter how youus she may be. Girls are often chosen when less than 10 years old, and in such cases tbey are left with their mothers until of mature age, at which time they are taken to join the rest of the 3.K33. No man is ever allowed to see any of the King's wives, and should he even accidentally see one his pun ishment is death. These wive, during the working season, atteni to theKing's planta tions, but the rest of the time they live at Coomasie, the Ashantee Capital, where they occupy two long streets. When they go out for a walk in a body, as is often the case, they are proceeded by a number of eunuchs, who herald their coming that all men may disappear and avoid looking upon them. "When this is impossible they mustfall on their faces to the ground. If a white man happens to be there and understands not the law, the eunuchs turn his face away lrom the advancing women. I have written at some length about the Ashantees, but have not told half thit . aid be said of these hardy, courageous, but cruel and barbarous, people and their customs On the evening of the Cth day of Decem ber alter a voyage of 51 days, during which a distance of 0,500 miles was traversed, the Pensacola anchored in the bay on which is situated the city of ST. TAUIi DE LOANDA, the capital of Angola a Portuguese province on the west coast of Alrica, bouuded by the Congo river on the north and the sixteenth degree oi south latitude on the south. The latitude of the city is about 90 south and its longitude 13 cast. The greater part of Loanda can be seen a distance of many miles from the sea. This isthe Cidade Alta, or high city, built upon high ground and containing most of the Government buildings. To the Iront is the Cidade Baixa.or low city.built on the sandy shore of the bay, which is formed by a long and verv narrow island of sand several miles out in the sea, as is shown in Fig. I. The population ot Loanda is fullv 15,000, of which about 3,000 are whites. These live for the most part in thehigh town, in houses that are large, made of stone, and roofed with a peculiar red tile. All Portuguese houses that I saw in Angola, not only at Loanda, but alio In the Interior, Are ol this , same general description. Many of them have one story, but those ot the more wealthy people have two stories. These houses are very old, being built when Lo anda was an important port lor the embark ation of slaves for Brazil. The timber for them wa brought to the slave dealers from Brazil as a return cargo. The rafters and floors seem to be as sound ns ever, not being at all injured by the white ants and other insects that are so injurious to tha woods grown in Angola. CARPETS ABE UNKJIOW.N'. At no time did I see a carpet in any honse of Angola, not even in the houses of the wealthy; and I take it to be on accountof the great multitude of ants and the inju rious effects of mildew. I am sure that, with all these troubles to contend with,the lot of the American housekeeper iu Africa would be a very unhappv one. I said that there are 3,000 whites in Loanda. These are mostly Portuguese con victs, for Angola is a penal settlement and has been used as such lrom the time of its first settlement Capital punishment has been abolished in Portugal lor many years, and instead of that criminals ol all classes VIEW OF ST. PAUL DE I.OAHDA. are sent to Loanda for life or a term of years. A man who has been convicted of murder or of any crime in Portugal is furnished free transportation for himself and family to Loanda. Here he is registered on the list of convicts at the fort and is then really a free man, for all that is required of him is that he shall report at the tort every night. He c.n engage in any business and lie and cheat to his own content. Many a convict is reported to have become a rich and in fluential citizen of Loanda. It is impossi ble to tell a convict from one who is not, so you are liable to be purchasing goods lrom a murderer and not be aware of the tact. The convict "gentlemen" usually behave well and cause little or no trouble. If one should murder a native, probably he would meet with no punishment. But if his vieiirn is a white man he will be sent to Mozambique and there enlisted as a soldier. WHITE LADIES SCARCE. There is very little society here because of the scarcitv of white ladies. The police force of Loanda numbers 180 men, over halt or whom are blacks. Dur in ihe dav they wear a linen uni lorni, not "always clean, and carry a whistle and belt bearing a sword. At NATIVES. night thev are concealed beneath a heavy ulster, not because of what we would call the cold, but because the ni?ht temperature of Loanda is much lower than that of the dav. The police preserve very good order, but the natives of the city are well behaved and seldom make trouble for the authori ties. All the soldiers except the officers are natives, and are required to serve tor a cer tain period of time without nay. The Chief of Police of Loanda kindly assisted in my anthropological work by procuring natives for measurement. Of course, these could not understand the meaning of my work, and when they saw what was about to be done they showed great concern, remarking that they had served as soldiers once and fearing that some scheme was on foot by which they would be obliged to asrain leave home and work without pay, 'or I believe it is usually those who own property that are mustered into service. CnABACTEEISTICS OP THE NATIVES. The natives of Loanda belong to various tribes and are for the most part industrious, oftc their fashion, peaceable and very civil to the whites. Many of the men conduct small stores, others work for the merchants, and still others act as carriers, for, as there arc no horses, few mules and not many oxen, men i.iust here do the work usually required of such animals. All the markets, or qul taml.is, of which there are thiee in this city, are carried on by women. la the larg est market vegetables and fruits are sold. A native market presents a enrious scene to the stranger. As he enters he sees per haps 200 women squatting on the ground with their wares before them. The jabbering ol these women endeavoring to sell, and the crying ot their babies are enough to deafen one. Babies! Nearly every native woman yon see seems to have a baby, and they all "take them to the market, leave them to roll about naked on the ground in the brojliug sun, with the half-starved dogs and pigs that are busily engaged in hunting for a lew morsels. It is astonishing what treatment a black baby can endure. A white baby could not live long under like treatment. They are car ried on their mothers' backs, fastened by means of a cloth, which leaves only the head free to swing helplessly about in every direction, just at if they were dead, and I have often wondered why such treatment did not kill them. BOUGH OJT THE BABY. I remember seeing a woman washing clothes with her baby on her back, and ai the rubbed on the waihboard the baby was, of course, jerked back and forth, and its head flopped to and fro like that of a limp kitten carried about in the mouth of its mother. This was kept up for hours at a time, and it is only a fair example of what happens every -day. Another market is located under a grove of banyan trees in the principal street ot the city. Cloth and drygoods ol themost gaudy colors are retailed here by black women at tired in their own wares, presenting a tidy appearance, in marked contrast with the women of the other markets. These goods are sold mostly to natives from the interior, who prefer to buy in the open air rather than the btorcs. The third market is the fish market, where fish of all kinds and sizes, lrom six inches to three feet in length, are scaled and chopped by women. The waters about Loanda abound in edible fish ot the best kinds. Probobly at no place on the west coast of Africa will one find such a variety in the manner of native dress as at Loanda. A large number of the men wear anything whatever that they can get to put around the waist. The law requires them to do at least that. Pieces of coffee sack or filthy cloth of anv kind is used. But many take pride in their dress and will wear clean and gay cloth from the waist to the knees. HOW THE WOMEN DKESS. The women dress in a variety of ways. The ordinary costume consists of a dark cotton cloth, folded around the body to the arm-pits. The better class wear colored cloth folded in the same manner, and another piece for the shoulders. Bright colored beads are often worn in the hair, on the neck and wrists. Often times these women dress in colors that become their skin, and really look very neat. We found that the Portugese officials had made arrangements for the arrival of the expedition and were ready to do all within their power to assist ns in our work. As stated in one of my previous letters it had been the intention of the astronomers from the' first to go to Muxima up the Quanza river to observe the eclipse. Governor Capello kindly and with great forethought had had the old fort at Muxima thoroughly cleaned, repaired and furnished for the use of the expedition, but before reaching Loanda for various reasons the place of observation was changed to Cape Lcdo, 70 miles south of Loanda. The naturalist, physicist and anthropologist, with their respective assistants, left the party at Loanda, while the astronomers went on to the cape. CLOUDS OBSCUEED THE ECLIPSE. The afternoon of the day of the eclipse, December 22, was cloudy at Cape Ledo, so no observations could be made of the totality there. At Dondo, 200 mile "jland, whpre I was, it was also clondy. At Muxima, however, and points for several miles west, I was told by a resident, no clouds interlered with a perfect observa tion. In my next lelter I expect to tell of my trip to the interior, something of the places visited, but more of the different tribes seen. Claiee A. Oee. LIBERALITY IN RELIGION. Senator EInlr'a Idea of the Unpardonablo 8in anil tlio IZpsnlt. Frank O. Carpenter's Washington Correspon dence. I chatted last night with Senator Blair, of New Hampshire, about the. revision of the Presbyterian Church creed, by which the more advanced thinkers take the worst ele ments of hell out of their religion, and Blair told me the story of his wonderful fight with brimstone damnation. He is the offspring of Puritan parents and his boy hood was passed in an old farmnouse in New Hampshire, in the garret of which there was a library of theological works advocating foreordained hell for the non elect. This light reading formed Senator Blair's first intellectual pabulum. Said he: "I read at those books be ore that open fire, and I remember that when I was about 9 years old I got it into my head that I had committed the unpardonable sin. This unpardonable sin was, you kuow, then one of the cardinal points of the old theology. The books did not stale what this sin was and the preachers did not seem to know, but it was as certain as death that he who com mitted it could have no forgiveness and that he was foreordained to the hottest fires of the lower regions for an eternity of ages. "Well. I thought I had committed it. I thought I was bound to be damned, and for weeks I lost sleep at night and worried and fretted all the day over my condition. I think I should have gone crazy if I had not gotten relief, and my relief came from an old volume on the unpardonable sin. Thcis consisted of sermons by a learned divine, and in them it was stated that the fact that a person thought he had committed the un pardonable sin was an evidence that he had not committed it, for if he had committed it, being damned already, the fires of repent ance could not touch his heart and he would go on blindly to his destruction. "This relieved me greatly, and after a time my dread of the sin passed away and I regained my usual health. I shall never forgetthe terror.though.that I felt, and I am glad to say that religion grows more liberal as the world grows older." A NOBLE LADY HONORED. The Cross of tlio Lrclivi Conferred Upon a I'rrncli bister of Merer. New York Tribune It would be hard to cite a nobler story than that of the career of Marie Therese, the French Sister of Mercy who has just re ceived the Cross of Legion of Honor at the hands ol the Governor of Tonquin. This de voted woman was only 20 years of age when she received her first wound iu the trenches of Balaclava. She was wounded again at the battle of Magenta. Later with un daunted euergy and courage she pursued her chosen mission under her country's flag in Syria, China and Mexico. From the battlefield or Worth she was carried away suffering from serious injuries, and bd'ore she had recovered she was atrain performing her duties. On one occasion a grenade fell into her ambulance; she seized and ran with it for a hundred yards, and her patients' lives were savid, though she herself was severely injured by the bursting of the missile. The French troops who were called out to witness the unusual Bcene of the bestowal of this honor npon a woman presented arms to the heroine of the ceremony. A MSTOL It a good thing for a travoler to ttke but better U Dr. Bnil'i Cough Syrup' THE PATHS TO TRUTH. Kesearcb, Season and Reliance Are the Only Ones We Haye. FEW CAN FOLLOW THE FIESTTW0. Reliance Upon Specialists is the Way for the Gi eat Majority. APPLICATI0.N OP THIS TO RELIGION WEITTEJT FOB TUB DISrATCn Whoever desires to know the truth will find it out, or come as near to it as hc.can, along one of three paths. He will be con vinced by independent research; or he will be convinced by the reasonings of people for whose wisdom lie has respect, whose charac ter he has regard for, and whose arguments "find" him; or he will be convinced with out any persuasion of argument by au thority, being satisfied to take the simple word of one in whom he puts reliance. The three words which may serve in a rough way to mark out the three roads are re search, reason and reliance. Of these three paths to truth, the first is so steep and strait that lew can travel it. To learn the truth by dint of independent seeking for it, requires a strength of mind uil a widenps and accuracy of in ormatinn, and a thoroughness of mental training, and a persistence in intellectual labor such as lew men in any generation are capnLIe of. Suppose tbat the matter in hand is the determining of the authenticity of the sec ond gospel. We want to know whether St. Mark really wrote tbat gospel or not, and at what date it was written, and how and iu what condition ol preservation it has come down to us, and how accurate a record it is in its present shape, of what Christ said and did. These are questionswhich cannot be DISPOSED OP OFF-HAND nor replied to out of one's stores of "general information." To answer them we must know something about Greek and about Greek manuscripts and about the conditions under which ancient manuscripts of such a date are transmitted to modern times; we must know about the history of the manu scripts of this gospel as far back as they can be traced; we must find out what references there are to St. Mark and his gospel in the Christian writings of the centuries nearest to the days of Christ. All these points must be looked up, and a dozen others equally im portant and equally involving an acquaint ance with technical and difficult knowledge, and an ability to weigh evidence. A man without experience might as well undertake to trans'orm a pig of metal into a steel rail, as to determine by his own inde pendent investigation the authenticity of a single book of the Bible. These matters be long to the experts. It is for them to say "yes" and "no" iu decisions of this kind. This is but a small and inadequate illus tration of what is involved in an independ ent investigation of the grounds of the Christian faith. It is perfectly plain that not one man in a thousand has the time, the means, or the ability to conduct such an investigation. It is not likely, then, that manyot us will get at truth" along that path. ME SECOND PATH. Most of us will have to be content to take the second pith, and to study the conclu sions which the men who make the inde pendent investigations arrive at. They make their examination, and tell us what they learn, and what they think about it, and upon these grounds they try to convince us that this teaching is the" truth, and that that teaching is not the truth. The men who make the independent investigations do not always quite agree, lhey are not of one mind as to what the" trnth is. And so we have to nse our reason. Some times we have to wait, with judgment sus pended, until the facts are decided. Some times Ve have to choose for ourselves be tween two or three or half a dozen different interpretations of the facts. We listen to the scholars, and then wo make up our own minds. liven this takes a good deal or intellectual strength, and cannot be done without some aptitude for study, some men tal training, and some hard and continuous thinking. It is sometimes taken for granted that almost anybody is fitted to pronounce upon the problems of Christian theology. But this is altogether a mistake. People say: "Why, God has given us reason; surely He means that we should u&e it; surely He must have put truth within the intellectual reach of man." And we may believe that with all our hearts. The whole experience of the race shows plainly that God has given reason to man, and has put within the reach of the reason of the dullest human being all the truth which that human being really needs to know. THE EEACn FOB TEUTH. But the experience of the race shows just as evinenuy mat mere are very lew truths indeed which God has set so close to man that ho does not need to reach after them at all; and that century by century man has from the beginning been putting his hand upon new truth, which the strength in herited from the past has enabled bim to reach; and that in every generation there are some truths set so high that only the tallest can touch them, and that only after some stout climbing; and that there are truths to-day which are still beyond the reach of most of us. They are there and they aro true, but we cannot touch them now. If we hau but to do a little easy and superficial thinking, and all the truths which hang like fruit upon the tree of life would forthwith tumble into our hands, there would be an end to the intellectual growth of men. There would be no need lor growing. So I say that even the second path to truth is impossible to a good nmny of us. It is very well to say "Uso your reason;" hut a great many people here have not reason enough, or have not trained it enough, to be able to decide for themselves when the theological doctors disagree. One says, "This is the truth,"and another contradicts, saying, "No, but this is the truth;" and we are perplexed. We have started out along the w.iy to truth, and here is a place where two roads meet, and we know not which to take. ME THIBD IATH. The fact is that for the majority of people the wav to truth is along the third path the path of authority. The ideal condition of things would be a world in which every in habitant would be so intellectually and spiritually gifted that he could see for him self straight into truth's heart. And a most satisractory condition of things would be a world in which every man and woman would kuow at least so much that they could take the facts which wiser heads might find out, and interpret them in exactly the right way, ami so arrive at truth. But in this real world in which we live, things are not in this ideal, nor even in this satistactory, condition. We will h ive to confess that the most of us believe what somebody, whom we think wis-.-r than we are, believes. That is what is meant by authority in the acceptance of truth. And that is the common, road. That is the people's intellectual thoroughfare. Whether in science, or in history, or m geography, or in astronomy, or iu mathematics, or in met aphysics, or'in theology, we are all the time accepting the statements of authority. Wc have our work to do, and our busy lives to live, and we have not the time, even if we had the training, to give oursfclves to research, or even to extended reasoning. We must of necessity depend on other people. There is too much to be known in this world for everybody to be a specialist in every thing. Wo must follow somebody's guiding. If we can be the guide, so much the better; if we have no need of guidance, so much the better. NO TIME TO INVESTIGATE. But, very few of us can say that. We must follow somebody's leading. We cannot, as Carlyle says, be lorever verifying our Eeadv Beckoner. We cannot bring along a pick and a ehovol every Sunday morning and dig down beilde the foundations of the church to see if they are sound. We must of necessity take something for granted. There is no little disturbance in the minds of a good many people in these days on ac count of a depreciation in the value of authority. The unprecedented advance which this generation has made beyond the positions, material and mental, of any generation which has lived before us with the overturning of old ideas which has nat urally accompanied such an advance, has had its logical and inevitable result. It has made us impatient of authority. It has given us the idea that our grandfathers were quite dull and stupid people, and that we ourselves are very wise indeed. It has led us to cast off the traditions and convic tions which we have inherited and to rely upon our own wits. So many former things have passed awav, so many old notions have been discredited, that there is a general and suspicious questioning of all things. We are living in the midst of an intellectual revolution. Everything seems provisional, temporary, and likely to be taken down lor the putting of something newer and better in its place. We cannot, of course, get along in a world wherein not everybody is superlatively wise, without au thority. But we are changing our authori ties. New masters sit in the old chair. The professors have supplanted the saints. ME CIIKISTIAN TEUTH. Now a perfectly sincere desire to know the exact truth is an essential qualification for an honest study ot the Christian faith. If we take the path of research, truth alone must be the goal. If we take the path of rea son, truth alone must be the test of every argument. If we take the path of reliance upon autbority,the path whicb.asl have tried to show, the majority ol us must of neces sity take, it is above all things needful that we choose a master in whom we can rely to teach us truth. That, for us busy people, is the choice of choices. Whatever authorities this nineteenth cen tury may have set aside, whatever doctors and theologians it may have consigned to the dusty top shelves of unread libraries, what ever it may say of this Christian teacher or of that, there is one authority who remains still undiscredited. With ail the mental and spiritual advance of this generation, we are not yet in advance of him. II we are bewil dered among many counselors, and want to turn somewhere to such a master as I spoke of, whom we can follow, if we are perplexed by the cries of many disputants, who are proclaiming, "Lo, here is the truth," and 'Lo, there is the truth," and forever contra dicting one another till we know not what the truth is; here is one whom we may take as THE SUPEES1E AUMOEITT. Here is one to whom we may look as the Master in all that belongs to the domain of the spiritual; here is the independent inves tigator whose word we may take and trouble ourselves no more about it; here is one who knew a thousand times more about religious truth than we are ever likely to know, though we should read theology till we were blind, and who saw a thousand times farther into the unseen world than we can ever zee; here is one who will ease us of the heavy burdens of our doubts, and answer our anx ious questions, and give us peace. The difference between the Christian and the agnostic or the materialist is not, as Dr. AVace well pointed out, a difference in knowledge of the unseen. We are all eaually remote from scientific or mathe matical knowledge of God. The difference is in the attitude in which we and they stand toward this spiritual Master. He said that He knew, and we believe Him and ac cept what He told us out of His knowledge. That is laith. The alternative is to decline to believe Him. Christian laith is reliance upon the authority of this supreme religious teacher. Who this Spiritual Master is, is of course evident. It is Jesus of Nazareth, the Christ. Geoege Hodges. SWALLOWS AS CARRIERS. A Frenchman Hna Trained Birds That Give Wonderful Performances. Yonth's Companion. It seems to be quite possible that the swallow will prove a successful rival to the carrier pigeon in its peculiar line of service. The idea of domesticating this little feathered favorite has been taken up in France, the exigencies of war having sug gested the possibility of its usefulness. A Frenchman has been experimenting with the birds for years. He has mtnaged to tame them, and make them love their cage so that they return to it alter a few hours' liberty. The birds spend the winter at their home, and do not change their residence with the change of season. The speed of these messengers can be judged from a single experiment. An un trained swallow, having its nest on a farm near Boubaix, was caught and taken in a cage to Paris, where it was set at liberty. In less than an hour and n half it wa3 back at the farm. It had passed over a little more than 15S miles, in 00 minutes. Tt is asserted that the trained ones will do still better. THE RESOURCES OF TERSIA. Iron. ConT, Copper and Lend AwalUnn EntcrprUlnc Capitalists. A bright and happy history may yet he in store for Persia. Becent surveys have shown that the supply of coal iu that State is practically unlimited, and that at the pit's mouth it can be produced and sold lor 5s or Gs a ton. At present coal is only worked at Hir, 40 or 50 miles from Teheran, where the output each year is 15,000 tons. Iron is believed to be found in close conjunc tion with these Persian coal fields, but at present only one mine near Teheran produc ing excellent ore and 70 per cent of metal is likely to be seriously worked The Elburz range is also rich in this mineral, the ore producing from 25 to CO per cent ot metal. Copper is found throughout the country, and was one of the chief exports from Gombroom 170 years ago. There is also abundance of lead in the Elburz Mountains, and, as there is a creat demand for this metal in Ilussia, it is expected that a profit able trade in it can be carried on across the Caspian. CATTLE LOSSES AT SEA. Two Thousand Perished Iinsi Month nod In surance Rates Go Up. New York Tribune. The companies that insure live stock for the voyage across the Atlantic have been mcetiug with heavy losses from the recent terrible gales at sex Scarcely a cat tle ship has reached port on the other side within two weeks without reporting more or less of the animals dead and all the rest badly battered and bruised and generally unfit for market, though of course, this last loss falls only on the shipper. The sea in 'the track of these cattle-carriers is strewii with the carcasses of dead beeves, thrown overboard alter being smothered in crowded stalls between deck. The estimate ot the looses in February places the figures close at 2.000 head. So disastrous has been the work of the storms that the insurance companies have raised their figures, and in some cases, it is said, where the ship and the , ..AnhkA4 7ai av nnv sn.l frllA nst fill- tion bad. as high ns 10 per cent is asked to insure the cjttle nbro td. UNCLE SAJi'S SLOW PAT. It Led a Soldier to SItike n Terr TJniqno Kc q-jest on n f.eltor. Yonth's Companion.! Uncle Sam's Pay Department Major Cash, as the soldiers called it was some times badly behind hand with the army, a misfortune which caused no little inconven ience and even at times downright suffering. Soon after the battleof Fredericksburg, says General "Walker, an unstamped letter was handed in at the corps headquarters, bear ing tbefollowingsuperscriptlon: "Plees pass fre, deil broek, 1,000 miles from home and no pa from Uncle Sam in six months." Whether from recognition of the justice of the plea, or from admiration of the cour ageous attempt at phonetic spelling, corps headquarter! affixed the nccjarv itsmp, and tnt the letter on lt wy rejoicing. WASHINGTON GOSSIP. Bessie Bramble Pays a Visit, to the Chtirch of the Government. CAENEGIE'S TRIBUTE TO BIS WIFE. Senators Qaayand Cameron Treated to Some Caustic Criticism. DALZELL AND BAISK COMPLIMENTED trr.OH A STAIT COnBESrOXDEXT.J 'W.asiiixgton', March 1. It is a sad fact, but yet true, tbat neither President Harrison nor Mr. Blaine availed themselves of the means of grace at the Church of the Covenant last Sunday. To the disappoint ment of hundreds of people, who crowded its courts, their family pews were ungraced by their material forms, though their spirits may have been there in intangible essence. Vain was the stretching of necks to gaze upon the magnates, vain the thrill of ex pectancy to see them do their devotions, vain the ardent desire to view the portly form!, snowy hair and pale faces of those who fill so large a place in the minds of their countrymen. Yet it i3 strange how Blaine, once the idol of.his party, the Plumed Kuight that was to lead the Repub lican hosts to victory, has sunk out of sight. He may be making thrones tremble and sendme cold shivers down the backs of crowned kings and powenul prime minis ters, but there is nothing heard of it. It is whispered about here tnat Mr. Blaine did not go to Pittsburg last week with the Presidental party because it was supposed that in the wild enthusiasm, rekindled by his magnetic presence, the people of "West ern Pennsylvania might perchance assign the part ot second fiddle to the President and ring the bells and fire the guns and yell louder and stronger for the man from Maine than for him who wears hi3 grand father's hat to -such dissatisfaction of his his party. A BEAUTIFUL TABEBWACIiE. Tho "Church of the Government," as it is called because many of the magnates pay their pew rent to its treasurer, is a hand some new stone building that is pretty enough to make the fortune of its architect with plenty of fame thrown in. It is fur nished and adorned with all the luxuries in the way of a grand organ, fine window?, carved wood, and all that goes to make the arthly tabernacle beautiful. One of the attractive memorial windows is dedicated to the memory of the Dahlgren family. Another most beautiful window was given by Mr. and Mrs. Thomas Wilson. Mr. Wilson is a member of the old Wilson family of New Brighton, bnt is now a citizen of Washing ton. The subject of the window is a medie val saint in a flowing red gown, who is playing a musical instrument. It is evi dently dedicated to music, since the inscrip tion is "Concordia" on one side and "Har monia" on the other. It is outof the eccles iastical order of Madonnas and monkish figures, so usual in church windows, and is all the more striking 'or that reason. Talking of music reminds us that there was no choir. The oddity of the musical arrangement is that the organist is concealed from view behind the pulpit, and the pre centor pops up on occasion to wield his baton and then disappears from sight into the same unknown abyss behind. Another innovation in the form of worship isthe partial adoption of the Episcopal service, in reading the psalms by responses and sing ing the Venite Exultemns and other well known chants as in theEstablished Church. DK. HAJILIS'S SERMON. The sermon by Kcv. Dr. Hamlin was quite fine well studied, beautifully deliv ered and on the popular subject of law and authority. Wo had supposed the opening remarks would lead to a discourse upon Church and State, but it was rather a claim for the adaptation of religion and science, and to the effect that the Church believes no more in the doctrine of special provi dences, or divine individual dispensations outside of changeless law than did Huxley, Darwin or Tyndall. The tendency of the age and the spirit of the times seem to be toward a revolution as to creeds, and a dis belief in things hitherto held sacred and divine, and the Church of the Covenant is not going to be behind in the march oi in tellect in the course of which the obnoxious features of the creed and the hoary super stitions of the past are to be dropped on the wav as impediments. At another church in the afternoon we heard Bible readings and addresses from Mrs. Greenwood and Mrs. Ormiston Chant, of England, both leauers and representatives of the W. C. T. U. lhey want the Cousti tion so amended that the Government shall control the observance of theSabbjth forall people according to their ideas, and prohibit the manufacture and sale ot what they deem injurious to the health and morals of the people. In short, as promulgated, it would seem that their doctriue and desire is to pro gress backward to ihe old-time idea of a union of Church and State. THE OT1IE1S EXTREME. Everything comes to Washineton now-a-days in the way of conventions and meet ings to promulgate idcis and spread reforms. The latest is a convention of women as ad verse to the union of Church and State as the others are iu its favor. They see with alarm, as is stated, the efforts being put forth to coerce the country through Congress into a recognition of the principles of those devoted to strictly Sabbatarian observances, and to passing a law for depriving every single soul of the privilege oi drinking any thing stroneer or more refreshing than Apol inaris or soda water. We have not vet bad an opportunity to attend one of these meet ings as cur time had to be put in at a picnic in "the House," when the ballot as to the World's Pair was the matter in hand. "Go early," we were toid, and we did, though even then the galleries were almost filled. Excitement was in the air. Hushing around, absurd as it may seem, seemed to be a standing order. For the first time, since they have been under our observation, the members of the House were, with a few ex ception, in their places. ChaunceyDepew, Warner Miller and other political magnates were upon the floor smiling, shaking hands and ostensibly giving hints'and instructions sub rosa. Speaker Heed proclaimed silence at intervals, but there was no silence. He implored the members to keep their seats and refrain from conversation, but the talking aod the walking went right on regardless. . IT 'WAS AMUSING. The by-play, as we saw it from the gal lery, was immense better than any play. We could almost hear the remark.?, and judge of the effect by the countenance of those engaged. When the vote of some member was not satistactory to those man aging affairs .'or the leading cities we could see the nudue or the lap on the shoulder that took him out of the hall into the lobby, and could imagine the talk that induced a change of heart and a change in his vote when he returned. What arguments were used, what promises were made, what in ducements were held out were left to the imagiuation of the lookers-on in the gal lery. With every ballot the interest grew deeper and more intensp. Chicago climbed slowly up, but New York gained so largely that the men lrom the West began to look blue. The votes for Washington and St. Louis grew less and less, and finally the fight nar rowed down to the two great cities, and what at first seemed non-partisan, or a ques tion bofore the country to be decided irre spective of parties, was at last discovered to be A MATTER OF POLITICS ONLY. The South went almost solid for New York because, as is said, the pledge was given that New York would be made Demo cratic at the next election. Martin aod Milli, of Texas, were skirmishing round on the Democratic side, and Springer, with a red rose on hii breast, was evidently in a state of mind beyond description. As the bal let progrwed. thoexoltcaentxoio oatllildM, At the fifth ballot the gracious smile left Cbauncey Depew's face. The evenirg grew on apace, and the New Yorkers wanted to adjourn so as to reform their lines, but the motion was howled down. The St. Louis men began to break to Chicago, and at last on the eighth ballot the West won- Our representatives, Mr. Dalzell and Mr, Townsend voted steadily for Chicago, and Mr. Bayne gave Washington a show first, then New York, and finally voted for Chi cago. What the Senate will do remains to ba seen, but it is likely that, if a World's Fair is held, that Chira'go will hold the winning; card on the last trick. The railroads have a large share in the question, of course, and it may well be supposed that Ihe P. E. B. and B. & O. are not asleep. Mr. Wilson, of West Virginia, voted uniformly for Washington as the location of the fair, and, while he may be credited with some knowl edge 33 to how his bread is buttered, wa we doubt not he will "hear a yell" from, home that may give him some unhappy moments, even while he reposes upon flow ing beds of ease in this ever beautitul and lovely city. MR. CARNEGIE'S TRIBUTE TO HIS WIFE. The patron saint of Allegheny gave a grand dinner here to the Pan-Americana and some friends this week, but, as the hon ored guests were all of the masculine per suasion, we are not posted as to its delights or the eloqnent aiter-coffee speeches. But Mr. Carnegie's beautiful tribute to bis wife at the Allegheny library ceremonies meets withunqualified admiration and apprecia tion iu the drawing rooms. It has been the custom hitherto for a man. to stand so aloof from his Home, so apart from his family, so disconnected with tho influences that control his inner life that his biographers oftentimes fail to record tha fact that be has a wile; but our own "Andy" bas emphasized the growing ten dency of the times to give the other half credit when it is due, and to his wife gives mention that will endear her to all women, and mark him as a man broad enough, high enough and enlightened enough, to giva honors where character commands it. No sweeter tribute could a wife desire than tha love, appreciation and admiration of her husband, as publicly expressed, by his good works and great dee'Js. OUR DERELICT SENATOR3. Not once since we came here hava either Senators Cameron or Quay appeared in tha Senete. We feel like a lone orphan without a representative in that dignified body. How Pennsylvania is to be taken care of with both men away off "gallivantin" is a mystery, but we presume that Blair, with bi3 educational bill, has given all of tha members a vacation. He has talked for five and six days unrelentingly and remorse lessly to empty seats. This may be all very wJi for bis reputation, since he geti all he says published in the Congressional Record, hut it is awfully hard upon the country at last that portion of it which supervises tho wjrk of their employes from the galleries. Senators seem to have an idea that they own the nation, and can do as they please in Washington, bat if their constituents wero as wide awake as they ought to bo they would hold them to much stricter account of their goings on. We may say ia passing that the .Representatives of Western Pennsylvania are laithful to their trusts. We have never, in our frequent visits to tha House, found them absent or philandering around on pleasure bent. Mr. Dalzell, Mr. Townsend and Mr. Bayne are always there, on guard for Western Pennsylvania, and i: will be a cold day indeed when we get left with them to look alter our interests. TKAT ATTACK ON QUAY. Everywhere we are interrogated as lo what Mr. Quay will do in regard to tho "dreadful story" of the New York World. As we do not know we keep quiet, and for thp honor ot our llepresentativu we keep a stiff upper lip and maintain a dead silence, but all whom he represents in Pennsylvania are alike anxious to haye his answer and de lense. It is quite dreadful to feel that in the highest legislative body of the country we are not represented, or that being represented, we are under a cloud, and ever on the defense. We want men in the Na tional Congress to be proud of, a to brains and powers. Pennsylvania is a grand old State, and those standing for her, should ba men of the grandest capacity, rarest ability, and noblest powers ot intellect. To have Quay rampaging around the South, and Cameron, the dickens knows where, is not an instructive or inspiring spectacle for Penusylvanians even if Blair has the floor for ever and ever, amen. They would like a look at them ii nothing else. It would be a pleasure to feel that Pennsyl vania had some show in the Senate, whether the world wagged or not. Bessie Beasible. T7E1TIXG SSIIOKi- SEJiTEHCES. Wogor of Two Students on Savins tho Most Willi rcweit Letters. Two students, Smith and Jones, wera great friends in college. They had made an agreement that after each had been at home lor a week during the vacation term, Jones should write in Litin a letter to Smith, the reply was to be in Latin also. Tha' writer who wrote a good sensible letter, with the least cumber of words, was to have tha entire expeuse of his vacation paid by tha other. Jones wrote from his city residence: eo nunc," meaning in English "I am going to tha csuntry." "If Smith writes a shorter letter than that and to the point," chuckled Jones, "he's a corker. The next day Smith's came. It read as follows: X" which means in English, "go." EleclricitT in Gold 321h1dc. New YorkSnn.J The electrical process has been success fully adopted in South Australia for the re covery of the minute gold dust that has hitherto been lost in the wore of separating the metal from the ore. The economical value of the process has been abundantly proved, and the returns are sufficiently good to compensate for the somewhat high ex pense of the process. Indigestion TS not only a distressing complaint, ol i itself, but, by causing the blood to become depraved and the system en feebled, is the parent of innumerable) maladies. That Ayer's Sarsaparilla is the best cure for Indigestion, even when complicated with Liver Complaint, is proved by tho following testimony from Mis. Joseph Lake, of BrockwSijr Centre, Blich.: "Liver complaint and indigestion mado my life a burden and came near ending my existence- Fcr tnoro than four years I suffered untold agony, waa reduced almost to askeleton, and hardly had strength to drag myself about. All kinds of food distressed me. and only the most delicate could be digested at en. "7:Chin the time mentioned several 1hysicians treated me without giving re ief. Nothing that I took seemed to do any permanent good until I commenced tho uso of Ayer's Sarsaparilla, which, has produced wouderful results. Soon after commencing to take the Sarsapa rilla I could see an improvement in my condition. My appetite began to return and with it came the ability to digest all the food taken, my strength im proved each day. and after a few months of faithful attention to your directions, I found myself a well woman, able to attend to all household duties. The medicine has given me a new lease of life." Iyer's Sarsaparilla, FBr.r-.isxs ET D". J. C. Ayer It Co., Lowell, Mas, "ssm sIbsB m m i v.-kJL' ..fati&csaJi
Significant historical Pennsylvania newspapers