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