Rensselaer Union, Volume 9, Number 19, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 25 January 1877 — Page 6

Boys in Pennsylvania Coal Mines.

BevcrJ miles from this plat e, near the little mining town of St. Clair, Sa the Hickory Oo!l|ery, one of the oldest mines An the old Schuylkill region. The ■entrance io the mine is from the top of the precipitous hill, which, covered with the black refuse of scores of wean, bears the semblance of a mountain' of coal dutt. From the doors and open windows of the •colliery buildings a great cloud of black ■dust is ever streaming, settling on evetything about till not an object in the neighborhood but is black as the black diamond itself. The interior of the buildings is a •cloud of buy blackness; and the alack, oilent men, as they appear and disappear in the dust, seem like so many evil genii floating in dark storm-clouds. The buildings at one time were evidently well kept, with some attention to the comfort of the men who worked in them, but non r they are going to rack and ruin. The rickety wooden stairs, leading over •depths that make the head swim to look into them, are so shaky and unsafe that it is only with the greatest care that one -who is unaccustomed can make his way •over them. The doorways are open and bare, and there is nothing to prevent the ■ceM winds from whistling through the old rookery. With these somber surroundings it is no wonder that the men are silent and lowering. In these works 300 men and boys are employed; and when I went through the buildings and through the mine yesterday I saw them all. Among all these 300, although I was with them for hours, I did not near a laugh or even •ee’a smile. Each one had his routine to gojth rough, and he went through It Just as a steam-engine or a clock. And when •quilting-tiruc came each one went back to his home in the regular groove, just as the steam goes out of the boiler when its -work is done, and then dropped off into sleep, Lis only pleasure. I have seen far more cheerful Ixxlies of men in prisons. It may be their black and dreaty surroundings : it may lie thejr knowledge of constant and terrible danger; It may be the strain of the great physical labor—l know mot what ills, but something there is about these mines that wears the life and soul •out <f the men, leaving only the weary, blackened shell. In a little room in this big, black shed —a room not twenty feet square—where a broken stove, red hot, tries vainly to -warm the cold air that comes in through •the open window, forty boys are picking -their lives away. The floor of the room is an inclined plane, and a stream of coal ,pours constantly in from some unseen place above, crosses the room, and pours •out again into some unseen place below. Rough board seats stretch across the room, .Ave or six rows of them, very low anti very dirty, and on these the boys sit and separate the slate from the coal as it runs down the inclined plane. It is a painful sight to see the men going so silently and gloomily about their work, but it is a thousand times worse to see these boys. They work here, in this little black hole, alt day and every day, trying to keep cool in summer, trying to keep warm in winiter, picking away among the black coals, ■bending over till their little spines are -curved, never saying a word all the livelong day. I stood and watched these boys for a •long time, without being seen by them, for their backs arp turned toward'the entrance door, and the coal makes such a racket that they cannot hear anything a foot from their'ears. They were muffled up in old coats and old shawls and old scarfs, and ragged mittens to keep their hands from freezing; and as they sat and picked and picked, gathering little heaps of blackened slate by their sides, they looked more like so many black dwarfs than like a party of fresh young boys. The air was cold enough ana the work was lively enough to paint any boy’s cheeks in rosy colors; but if there was a red cheek in the room it was well hidden under the coating of black dust that covered everything. These little fellows go to work in this cold, dreary room at seven o'clock in the morning and work till it is too dark to see any longer. For this they get from one dollar to three dollars a ■week. One result of their work is the -clean, free coal, that burns away to ashes in the grate; another result I found in a little miners’ graveyard, beside a pretty little church, wuere more than every other stone bears the name of some little fellow under fifteen years of age. The boys are of all sizes and ages, from flittie fellows scarce big enough to be wearing pantaloons up to youths of fifteen and sixteen. After they reach this age they go to work in the mine, for there they can make more money. Not three boys in all this roomful could read or write. Shut in from everything that is Eleasant. with no chance to learn, with no nowledge of what is going on about them, with nothing to do but work, work, grinding their little lives away in this dusty room, they are no more than the wire screens that separate the great lumps -<»/ coal from the small. They have no games; when their day’s work is done they are too tired for that. They knownothing but the difference between slate and coal.

The smallest of the boys do not get wore than one dollar a week, and from this Hie pay goes up to two dollars and three dollars. Some of them live several wiles from the colliery, and are carried to the mine every morning in the cars and back again every night, the company, charging them ten cents for ehch trip and deducting the fares from their wages at the end of the month. Sometimes, after the boys have got to the mine, they . find that some accident has stopped the work; then they have nothing to do ror the day and get no pay. In this way, I am tola, it is no unusual thing for a boy to find, at the end of the month, that his indebtedness to the company for railroad fares is some dollars more than the company’s inotMedness to him for labor; so that he "hasworked all the month for a few dollars lg».thaa nothing.— PottniUe (Pa.) Cor. Philadelphia Timet.

Scenes on Russian Railroads.

North or South there is scarcely any Ciffereuce between the aspect of a Ruemao station. For hundreds of versts you , Uirou j? h > flat or slight ®5 “adulating senes of enormous snow - •clad pisrn. Stunted birch, fir and larch ■*** ell the flora you perceive. You never set upon & town—one, I mean, with asmoke curling from the chimneys, with fr ? m the caaementa, IMren P“yt“B . W 1 lhe doorsteps, with dogs or poultry at the street ends. For strategic reasons the railway has bew made to runes straight as bn arrow from aTartar’a bowfrom one great point ’STkuffi *« dtsferential’v consulted as to tbc direction which the St. Peters*nd a ruler and struck a straight line on the map from the rtew to the old metropo-

Ils of hi* empire; and the consequence of thia inflexible militarism as applied to civil engineering is that the majority of Russian toWAs are two or three miles distant from the railway stations which bear their names. The platform and its appurtenances are isolated in the midst of a snowy waste. Round about you are gathered a few sheds' and wooden cabins, together with .vast piles of roughly-hewn logs for fuel. That is all, save the signal-boxes, which ook either like gibbets with packingcases instead of corpses suspended from them, or packing-cases without gibbets. Women are often employed in signaling, and wretchedly unwomanly they appear, bundled up in hoods and gaberdines of sheepskin reaching no lower than the knee, with their legs swathed and muffled to almost elphantine proportions in canvas bandages, cross-gartered with strings of untanned leather. These, with heavy clogs of wood, complete the costume of the anomalous creature, who mechanical ly waves a tattered black or a ragged yellow flag as the train passes, and makes us wonder whether Mother Eve could ever have realized the possibility of her daughters being put to such base uses as these. —Odessa Cor. London Telegraph.

How a Minnesota Hunter Shot Seven Deer out of One Drove.

Waiting for the train at the Northwestern Depot, the other day, the Sentinel reporter, having with his usual modesty shrunk into a corner, heard C'apt. Bones, a well-known hunter, telling life story to a small but interested audience, composed chiefly of Tom Bt. George: “Did you ever hear how Bill Shepard sfiot seven deer out of one drove ! It was a still, cloudy day, and there were two feet or more of snow on the ground. There was Just an even dozen in the herd, and Bill >ad got behind a big log within ten rods of them. He had to make a hole through the snow on the log to get sight. He got all ready, picked out the biggest one, and blazed away. It was a big buck, and dropped to the shot. Well', you know if a deer can’t see or scent you he won’t run, and you can keep on shooting as long as you like. So when Bill dropped the first one, the rest just scattered and came right back together again. He shoved in another cartridge, picked out the biggest one again, and ne tumbled, too. Bill'put a third cartridge down, picked out the biggest one again, and he dropped to the shot. By this time Bill was pretty well’ excited. He had only four cartridges left, but he kept as cool as possible, picked out the biggest eveiy time and fetched him. When he had fired his last shot he sat and watched ’em a long time, but finally he had to show himself, and the balance of the deer left. It was just about this time the rest of us came up and inquired what all the shooting was about. Bill was feeling awfdlly because he hadn’t any more cartridges, but he swore he’d got seven deer anyway. We went over to see. The snow was mightily tramped down, sure enough, but there was only one deer—a big buck. There wasn’t the least trace of the other six, every one of which Bill saw drop to the shot. Then we went up and looked at the one he got, and as sure as you’re born he had seven bullets in him. Bill had shot the same one every shot. He would fal' and then jump up again, and, being the biggest one, Bill picked him out every time.’’— Milwaukee SerAinel.

A California Woman Eats Thirty Quails in Thirty Days.

It has been many times vigorously alleged that no person could perform the seemingly simple gastronomic feat of eating thirty quails in thirty successive days. What there is about a quail that makes the average human stomach decline its too frequent visitations no one but an analytical chemist, with a leaning toward anatomy, can decide. The quail has )>een esteemed a great delicacy since the children of Israel passed through the desert and bad thjir daily feast of the fowl—not singly, but in showers —and the sacred chronicler falls to record that they were received with repugnance; and they were in the wilderness a month and ten days. A banquet without quails, somewhere in the list of dishes, has been almost esteemed a failure. Then, why its indigestibility ? Wherefore its biliousness. This feat, hitherto deemed impossible, has been recently performed by a lady resident of Oakland, who, in a spirit of banter, and on a wager of SSOO offered by a humorous son-in-law, and SIOO guaranteed by a facetious son, undertook the task, not thinking it all difficult. She decided to take the birds broiled, and for breakfast. All went on well for some days, and it was not until the end of two weeks that the matutinal quail began to be repugnant, breakfast revolting and life a burden. A plucky, unyielding will came to the lady’s aid, and she persevered, and through a series of daily-recur-ring qualms, with frequent fits of dizziness, a little tendency, to obscurity of vision, she finished the last bird, amid the approval of a slightly-alarmed household. But she says she does not care to renew the attempt—oh, no!—even for the sake of emulating the. Israelites, who lived on them forty days and made no Sign. She is now in perfect health, and er bank account is increased by the money so hardly earnqd.— San Francisco Chronicle. 18 m mi

Interruption of a Social Event.

The Albany (N. Y.) Times gives the following interesting account of the untimely ending of a party in tnaLcity: “ A family living in Lancaster street went to New York, leaving the servants in charge of the house. Supposing that the visit was to be prolonged till after New Year’s, the ‘ belles of the kitchen’ determined to Improve their opportunity and give a select party. Invitations were issued for Thursday night, and that evening as jolly a cfbwd collected as was to be found in the whole city. The ‘ spread ’ was ample, the luxurious belongings were well enjoyed, and all went merry as a marriage bell. Suddenly a sharp ring at the door startled them who heard it. A telegram was handed in announcing that ‘the family would arrive within an hour!’ All was consternation; the ‘guests’ were made aware of the situation, and, leaving the table but partly cleared of its good things, donned their outer garments and departed, The ‘hostesses’ began the al-j most Impossible task of putting things to rights in the short time allowed them: 1 but did taeir best, and at the expiration erf the hour something like order reigned I once more. But the family came not, and 1 haven’t come yet. The telegram heartless fo.-gery committed by somFwd yious creature who dldn’tget an invita-| J ' 1 , “y»hi» enemies can’t crow-J j » m °uth open to get any informa-fl 11 he wantsto conceala IT,* * Porter-house steak always finds its] •' gates ajar. J |

Our Young Readers.

WERE I A BOY AGAIN. .IwoXDKHif any of you, my young friends, ever happened to read of a poor, unhappy old man who stood one New Years night at the window of hi* dwelling and thought over all the error* of his youth, what he had neglected to do of pod, and what he had committed of evil; tow his bosom was filled with remorse, how his desolate soul was wrung aa he reflected on the past follies of a long life. The days when he was strong and active wandered about him like ghosts. It was too late to retrieve his lost youth. The grave was waiting for him, and with unspeakable grief he bethought him of the time spent in idleness, of the left-hand road he had chosen which had led him into ruinous follies and years of slothfulness. Then he recalled the name of his early companions ' who had selected the right-hana path and were now happy and content in their declining days, having lived the lives of virtuous, studious men, doing the best they were able in the world. Then he cried to his dead father who had warned him when he was a lad to follow the good and shun the evil pathways of existence, u O father, give roe back my lost youth, that I may live a different life from the one I have so long pursued!’’ But it was too late Dow to make moan. His fattier and his youth had gone together! There the poor bewildered creature stands, blinded with tears, but still beseeching Heaven to give him back his youth once more. Few spectacles are more terrible to contemplate than the broken-down figure of that weeping old man, lamenting that be cannot De young again, for -then he would lead a life so different from the one he had lived.

But what a thrill of pleasure follows the sad picture we have been contemplating when we are told it was only a fearfill dream that a certain young man was Sassing through —a vision only of possile degradation, and that Heaven had taken this method of counseling the youth to turn aside from the allurements that might beset bis path, and thus be spared tfie undying remorse that would surely take possession of him when he grew to be a man, if he gave way to selLinduigence, and these wandering, idle ways that lead to error, and oftentimes to vice and crime. The misery of a life to be avoided was thus prefigured, and the young man awoke to thank Heaven it was only a dream, and resolve so to spend God’s great gift of time that no horror, such as ne had suffered that night in sleep, should ever arise to haunt his waking hours. If I were a boy again, one of the first tilings I would strive to do would be this: I woulfl, as soon as possible, try hard to become acquainted with, and then deal honestly with, myself, to study up my own deficiencies and capabilities; and 1 would begin early enough, before faults had time to become habits. I would seek out earnestly all the weak spots in my character, and then go to work speedily and mend them with better material. If I found that I was capable of some one thing in a special degree, I would ask counsel on that point or some judicious friend, and, if advised to pursue it, I would devote myself to that particular matter, to the exclusion of much that is foolishly followed in boyhood. If I were a boy again I would practice perseverance oftener, and never give a thing up because it was hard or inconvenient to do it. If we want light, we must conquer darkness. When 1 think of mathematics I blush at the recollection of how often I “ caved in ” years ago. There is no trait more valuable than a determination to persevere when the right thing is to be accomplished. We are all inclined to give up too easily in trying or unpleasant situations, and' the point I would establish with myself, if the choice were again within my grasp, would be never to relinquish my hold on a possible success if mortal strength or brains, in my case, were adequate to the occasion. That was a capital lesson which Prof. Faraday taught one of his students in the lectureroom after some chemical experiments. The lights had been put out in the hall and by accident some small article dropped on the floor from the Professor’s hand. The Professor lingered behind, endeavoring to pick it up. “ Never mind,” said the student, “ it is of noconsequence to-night, sir, whether we find it or no.” “That is true,” replied the Professor; “ but it is of grave consequence to me as a principle that I am not foiled in my determinatiun to find it.” Perseverance can sometimes equal genius in its results. “ There are only two creatures,” says the Eastern proverb, “ who can surmount the pyramids—the eagle and the snail.” If I were a boy again I would school myself into a habit of attention oftener, I would let nothing come between me and the subject in hand. I would remember that an expert on the ice never tries to skate in two directions at once. One of our great mistakes, while we are young, is that we do not attend strictly to what we are about just then, at that particular moment; we do not bend ohr energies close enough to what we are doing or learning; we wander into a half-interest only and so never acquire fully what is needfulJbr us to become master of. The practice of being habitually attentive is one easily obtained if ,we begin early enough. I often hear grown-up people say, “ I couldn't fix my attention on the Sermon, or book, although I wished to do the reason is a habit of attention Waß never formed in youth. Let me tell you a sad instanco of' a neglected power at concentration. A friend asked me pnea to lend him an interesting book, tomething that would enchain his attention, for he said he was losing the power U> read. After a few days he brought batik the volume, agying it was no doubt a work of great value and beauty, but Ee will to enjoy it had gone from rever, for other matters would inhemselvea on the page he was tryunderstand and.enjoy, and rows of constantly marshalled themselves margin, adding themselves up at tne bottom of the leaf! If I were to «lfvt my life over again I. would, pay more... attention to |he cultivation o( memory. 1 would K**«fcngthen that faculty-by every possible ans and on every possible occasion. It ;es a little hard work at first to rememr things accurately» ,But memory soon 'ps itself an£ jgivMryery little trouble. -Monly needs early ctwivatioa to become ojxnrer. Everybody t!Sn Require* it. S-,-*lf I were a boy again, I would know .more about the history of my own country than is usual, lam Sorry to say, with young Americans. When in England, I have always been impressed with the .flrejnmute and accurate knowledge con "etoktiy .observable in young English lads <K aftiue intelligence and culture concerning t!K history of Great Britain. They not only have a clear and available •More of. historical dates at hand for use on any occasion, but they have a wonder-

fully good ideaof the policy of government adopted by all the prominent statesmen in different eras down to the present time. An acquaintance of mine in England, a boy of fourteen, gave me one day such eloquent and intelligent reasons for his pre/ereice to Edmund Burke above all other patriotic statesmen of his time, as made me reflect how little the average American lad of that age would be apt, to know of the comparative merits of Webster and Calhoan as men of mark and holding the highest consideration thirty years ago in the United States. If the history of any country is worth an earnest study it is surely the history of our own land, and we cannot liegin too early in our lives to master it fully and completely. What a confused notion of distinguished Americans a boy must have to reply, as one did not long ago, when asxed by his teacher, “ Who was Washington Irving?” “A General in the Revolutionary War, sir.”

If I were a boy again I would strive to become a fearless person. I would cultivate courage as one of the highest achievements of life. “ Nothing is so mild and gentie as courage, nothing is so cruel and vindictive as cowardice,” says the wise authorof alate essay on conduct. Too many of us now-a-days are overcome by fancied lions in the way, lions that never existed out of our own brains. Nothing is so credulous as fear. Some weak-minded horses are forever looking around for white stones to shy at, and if we are hunting for terrors thiy will be sure to turn up in some shape or other. In America we are too prone to borrow trouble and anticipate evils that may never appear. “ The fear of ill exceeds the ill we fear.” Abraham Lincoln once said he never crossed Fox River, no matter how high the stream Dangers will arise in any career, but presence of mind will often conquer the worst of them. Be prepared for any fate and there is no harm to be feared. Achilles, you remember, was said to be invulnerable, but he never went into battle without being completely armed I If I were a boy again I would look on the cheerful side of everything, for everything almost has a cheerful side. Life is very much like a mirror; if you smile upon it, it smiles back again on you, but if you frown and look doubtful upon it, you will be sure to get a similar look in return. I once heard it said of a grumbling, unthankful person, “He would have made an uncommonly fine sour apple, if he had happened to be born in that station of life!” Inner sunshine warms not only the heart of the owner, but all who come in contact with it. Indifference begets indifference. “ Who shuts love out, in turn shall be shut out from love.”

If I were a boy again I would school myself to so " ]fo" oftener. I might write pages on the importance of learning very early in life to gain that point where a young man can stand erect and decline doing an unworthy thing because it is unworthy, but the whole subject is so admirably treated by dear old President James Walker, who wis once the head of Harvard Coliege, that I beg you to get his volume of discourses and read what he has to tell you about saying on every proper occasion. Dr. Walker had that supreme art of “ putting things” wnich is now so rare among instructors of youth or age, and what he has left for mankind to read is written in permanent ink. If 1 were a boy again I would demand of myself more courtesy toward my companions and friends. Indeed, I would rigorously exact it of myself toward strangers as well. The smallest courtesies interspersed along the rough roads of life are like the little English sparrows thht now sing to us all winter long, and make that season of ice and snow more endurable to everybody. Instead of trying so hard as some of us do to be happy , as if that were the sole purpose of life, 1 would, if I were a boy again, try still harder to deserve happiness.—James T. Fields, in Youth's Companion.

Postoffice Curiosities.

A Journ'd reporter experienced the pleasure, this morning, of a Walk through tke “ Old Curiosity Shop” attachment to the Chicago Postoffice, known in the parlance of the employes of the institution as the “Dead Department.” Through the courtesy of the Superintendent of Mails, and the kindness of Mr. F. S. Blaine, who has charge of the institution, the reporter was admitted into the room, notwithstanding the warning pasted up over the main entrance, “No admittance except to sworn agents.” And then the scribe saw a sight. In niches ranged one above the other lay the condemned goods. Some were there because there was not sufficient postage upon them; others were there because they had none at all; and others because there was a total innocence of any address upon them. The first thing shown to the visitor was a package containing an Irish poplin dress, fairly covered with stamps, but the foolish sender, in his absence of mind, had forgotten to address it. In the niche farthest away from the one that contained the' dress was a leather spectacle case, taken out of a letter-box where it had been dropped. In another hole were five bags of wheat intended for samples. In another a gun-lock and two combination Yale locks. But by far the most dangerous article in the collection was a box of gun caps, which were promptly dropped out of the mail when their contents were discovered. Mr. Blaine informed the reporter that the great wonder was, that when the man who canceled the stamp hit'with the steel canceler that it did not explode. There is a package of cake, and another of brown sugar, both addressed to girls in a Rockford seminary. A box of jewelry lies there awaiting an owner, no address having been affixed to it. Right beside it lays a box, also without any address, which contains an elegant coral necklace with a gold locket attached. Every conceivable article is stored away there, from a gold watch to a piece of limburger cheese. A piece of the latter was thrown out only the other day. During 1876, 61,000 articles were sent to the Dead-Letter Office at Washington from the Chicago Postoffice.— Chicago Journal. ■ m?.' —Mr. 8. B. Blackburn, Of New Orleans, fell in love with a young lady and was betrothed; he also fell desperately in love with drink and got betrothed to his cups. The young lady refused to marry him unless he would give up his dissipation; she had no ideaof being wife No. 2, especially when wife No. 1 was a devil making a beast of her spouse, and told him so. Ahd then he shot himself. Young men should be careful how they fall in love.e’*; —.——l«' - —One of the Spragues fell down on a mill-pond, and jarred the whole State of Rhode Island, the other day. Light man, too. * > ■' .4-

» j| I';.- ■ ----- - Religious Rending. K IT 18 I—BE EOT AFRAID. [Th* following poem by Mr. C. f! WMtakal come* to uh from beyond the equator—that is to say trom Melbourne, Victoria, in Australia.— A. Y. Evening Fast:) I l In Life** tempeeto. cold and dark. When onr frail and storm-tossed bark O'er the loud wild waves is driven; And when ne'er a ray from Heaven Breaks the clouds that overpall Life and hope and Joy and ail Fave a faintly-groping faith: When we seem to be with death In the stillness—Jesus comes Through the wildest tempest-glooms. * nd, to cheer our frightened hearts. Whispers words whose tone imparts Comfort to us—heavenly aid. - • ■ “Ilia I; be not afraid:’’ These the words that Jesus said. . n. Let rhe tempest wildly roar. Let the storm burst more and more O'er ns; le* the sky be black < With big clouds; let each clond-rack Swoon above us terribly; Let the ever-raging sea Hire more furious and make Each dark wave in thunder break; Yet, howe'er the storms may roar, Jesus comes, and to the shore He will guide onr tossing bark. Though the night be wild and dark. Through the darkness, to our aid, Jesus comes. “Be not afraid; It is I!”—the Savior said. •» in. These the words the Savior spake On the Galilean lake. Cheering His disciples’souls With such joy that, though there rolls Onward still the ocean storm. Yet their heart, have grown so wnvin Thronth the influence of His words That they fear not though the swords Of the tempest flash around. And the pleasant echoing sound Of their music lingers still. Guarding us 'mid fear and ill. Thus our minds in peace are stayed On those words the Savior said: r“It is I; be not afraid.”

International Sunday-School Lessons. FIRST QUABTKB, 1877. Jan. 28—Elijah the Tishbftel Kings 17: 1-16 Feb. 4—E'iiah and Ahabl Kings 18: 5-18 Feb. 11—Elijah and the Prophets of 8aa1..1 Kings 18:19-29 Feb. 18—Eliiah and His Sacrifices! Kings 18:86-46 Feb. 25—Elijah at Horeb.l Kings 19: 8-18 Mar. 4—The Stcv of Naboth... .1 Kings 21: 4-14 Mar. 11—Elijah Translated 2 Kings 2: 1-12 Mar. 18—The Spirit of Elijah... .2 Klnirs 2:13-25 Mar. 25—Review, or lesson selected by the school.

The Late P. P. Bliss.

Ouk readers have before this been painfully startled by the news, in their horrible detail, of the railroad accident which happened on Friday evening, Dec. 29. The Pacific Express of .the Lake Shore & Michigan Southern Railroad, westward bound, and consisting of eleven cars and two engines, left Ashtabula early in the evening during a terrible snow storm, and, when about midway of the bridge west of the town, it is supposed that one of the cars jumped the track, and. the iron bridge giving way, the entire train was precipitated into the chasm seventyfive feet below. It is impossible to exaggerate the tragic character of the scene that ensued. In less than five minutes the wrecked pile was enveloped in flames. Bodies were crushed and wedged amid timbers, and wasted before the eyes of their friends, whose efforts to extricate them were in many cases utterly unavailing. Pitiful were the cries of distress that rang into the air on the fierce December night, and the misery compressed into those few moments can never be recorded. Among those who met their death in this way were P. P. Bliss and wife, of this city. It is said he might have saved himself; but noble and heroic to the last, he died in the flames while trying to rescue his wife. We have no words with which to express our sense of the loss which the Church of Christ has sustained in this-Affliction. Mr. Bliss, viewed in any light, was an uncommon man. Of superb physical mold and bearing, most hearty and genial address and manners, distinguished for a blending of frankness and dignity, he at once enlisted the kind regard"of all who met him. A closer acquaintance deepened this regard into admiration and affection. Rich and deep in Christian experience, his heart seemed overflowing with the love of Christ, and never so happy as when singingthepraises of his glorified Redeemer* There have been many greater men than Mr. Bliss, but the Church has had few servants, of late years, so peculiarly gifted in reaching the heart through sacred words and melodies. The present collection of “ Gospel Songs” contains a great many of Mr. Bliss’composition. His facility of composition was remarkable. In the morning Mr. Bliss would hear a sermon, and before the evening service he would have the leading thought in song and set to music. In this direction he was the most gifted man we ever knew. His songs have been translated into nearly every European language, besides Chinese anti some of the tongues of India. All arouhd the globe his hymns are sung. “ Let me write a nation’s songs, and I care not who makes her laws.” Judged by this sentiment, who shall measure the influence of the life so suddenly taken from our midst ? The songs of Mr. Bliss will ring around the world, and be echoed from human hearts long after poetry and music far more ambitious shall have fallen to silence. The memory of this man will be specially enshrined in the, minds of the children—who could desire a more beautiful immortality ? The singer has ceased from earth—the song goes on.— lnterior (Chicago).

The Stranger Within Thy Gates.

Few who have never been among Strangers on the Sabbath realize the pleasure that a single earnest word of welcome gives to him who may chance to be spending the day away from home. Even in our smaller towns and villages, hardly a Sabbath passes but what strangers are among you. As they come' into your house of worship, how do you receive them? with apleasant word and an assurance of welcome —or do you leave them to care for themselves? Do not jeave them to help themselves to an unwelcomed seat near the door, or tp turn away with the feeling that there is no place for them, but take them into your own wellupholstered pew where you know they will be comfortable. Common courtesy-would demand that strangers should be welcomed and provided for, andyet how often (to we forget to practice this common courtesy. Most of our churches have ushers, it is true, bfa how often do you find these ushers simply walking guide-boards, directing the stranger where to go, but giving ho welcome. Some of the churches have a no>< tice printed and framed and hanging behind the door, stating the fact that strangers are welcome, but what is thia bulle-tin-board welcome compared with a hearty grasp of the band and the earnest Words: “ We are glad to see you!” ILttU A cordial, personal welcome wjll do more to draw a stranger to your again than will the best sermon; your pastor cap preach. What a stranger seeks as he enters a church on the Sabbath is the

busy and cando without .but when. Bunday comes lie has time' to think, and he longs for home ; Th is, towme decree, any of ns cab give him. ‘ Thh" ftttktaritee that these simple acts vs kiddosss Jbave upon those wfao arp ■ pot phristriatis is, far greater than we are apt to suppose. Fwery word or act that tends to tnake ’ stteh drt one feel more at home- tintongCHriatiana i» a step toward his. conversion, Young Men’s Christian Associations are doing a good work in tMs jlnfeHoA, ’htfl the fact that they are domg f their dutywill nevsr answer for oqr neglect., ~ . One more thought.. If your pabnath School is held’directly afterimbrtihg *erviefe ask strangero to remain' to that setrioe. Do not wait for the superintendent to do it, do It youirstelf. In nine' vase* klui of ten they will get fftvdy betore tendent can reach them; Then, as a closing act of politeness, ask them tq some again, assuring them of a welcome, and you may be sure that your Isftor in this direction will be-, amply repaid in' the pleasure you have givqn to, another, and in the enlargement l - Xwr °wn heart,— Chicago Standard. ‘ 1 • ii ‘«

Training for the Flying Trapeze.

Considering the numW''of*‘‘flying trapeze performer dttachfed to vafiotiftefr'cus and raaitatr >shows through the it is hardly surprising that there should .exfat this city two regular , training-schools to prepath the performers in the dangerous an. In fact, it will be found that in almost evpry wujlordered public gynjuapiuui in, tfae country the trapse is part of, the apparatus, ahd trapeze performances part op the reghfar exercisfes. But, as five -gymnasiums :are for meh only, the trainuig-schMbo <re principally,.patronized/by, females.. One of these institutions is in a fortfier" qanc-ing-hall, oh Avenue A',' -TOftpklns Square, and is in charge of a retired circus rider. It is regarded ,as a j<secondclass affair. The other is ip. ctiote proximity to the more aristocratic quarter of Lexington avenue, ind is kept by a' Drofessor and wife, both of whom_h*vp won honors In public Thetr, gq-calle<) school consists ofa, large apartment with a heavy coatfag of sawdust on the floor, and a . stout netting half way between the trapeze and ground. ■ This is a protebtion only against theiflying acts. In tlic.btgjnfling pupils are exercised upon the-trapeze which hangs within ' eight *-febt 'or the ground, which gives the to confidence, as a fall from that hdi'ght to the can never .be serious. ;The pupils are mostly females, though ipales raiight at different hours. The Professor- Says that young women can'be taught far faore daring acts in half the space of time required for mim He says {hey are braver than men. One statement made by* the seems almost incredible? * He says he has frequent appUcatiods from young women of goodrankin society who are fascinated by the idea, ot becoming trapeze performers, and one pf the very best pupils he ever had,whocould-exe-cute wonderful feats in the air, belonged to a wealthy city family*. Bfie- never appeared in public, and vjfay she persevered in the trying ordeal required for pA-fec-tion in this art he never eobld comprehend.—N. Y. Cor. Chicago Tribune. —The Widow Van Cott told her hearers in West Thirtieth street 'Methodist meeting-house last evening thit ahte once walked a mile in, twelve ipjnujteSi “I was,”.she said, “fat .a sma|l country place on the Hudson Rivpr Railroid. I had an appointment to presell ' 'to One of the cities on the line of the roadv I went into the station and told fae ageqt that I wanted a ticket for the city. The agent told me that the passengto- train did not stop at his station again 7h*t dayp I told him that I must go, is I .was to preach in the city .that evening. ,Jhe agept, said: ‘Well, Madame, the trqin doesn’t stop here, but it will stop at the hefxt station, a mile from here.'' The train will be there in flfteeh minutes.- If you can make a mile in fifteen minutes you will be all sight.’ I told the agent that, God helping me, I would'tty; I started'down the track. It was a hok summer’s day, and the sun was scorching hot, ,Uut I an' umbrella to shelter me from the burning rays. I walked so fast that I almost fainted, but a drink froiri ! a spring revised me, and I pressed bri.' I reached the istation three minutes before the: trains eame.” — N. Y.Bilni -f culj niifji# Konii'i —T. W. HTggiriVohbelteveslliat Enough Greek does stick to college boyr to make the stutty- while. . .In many cases students have lieea able to actually read a passage in‘Greek six wdekS after graduating, and th<ke'MctfsdveiSb#ell-au-thentioated instanefes fa which ffhft ; capacity, has taken a chrontoifornj, and adhered to the sufferer through life, This, is Mr. Higginson’s expdnfencb; ' J ’’ ,e

Happy Influence of a Great Speaific.

For the preservation or health and strength, the diet should be wholesome and nutritious.' when it hapffentf faat the alimentary proccasea are by improper or'half masticated food, the best remedy for fatf d»il resxitts-of abusitij? the digestive organs is Hostetter’s btoujachJjittcrs, a most agreeable, prompt imd genad 'remedy for dyspepsih; and for ths Uiliont and ovacuatfru irregularities which* result [from it. She liyer and bowels, In commbn with the omach, experiepce Its irthefreiott ftifluences. The refuse of the system jfa retried off through its.natural outlet, a, healthy flow and secretion of the bile is ptombted, anAa powerful Impetus fsgivenfto asaimilationun consequence of its itsb., It fiealtyfplly stimulates the bladder and kidneys when they are inactive, and by its tonic and' regulating action fortifies the syetqxwagainst faalaria.

The Gospel of Merit.

Where there Is s in the manufacture of family mefiJdaeA he who would succeed, mupt give positive, and convincing proof of merit' Threw aft'age of inquiry. People take noniiarxfoti granted. They must kyiow the, ‘/ wtoH 4 y “ wherefores" before acknowledging the superiority of one article over another. AiisMig the few preparations that hmto etedd Uti t&t, those manufactured by R. V. Pierce, M. D., of the World’s Dispensary, BufihtoJlfJY., have for many years bees ftW'Wkj: WiW llh 61 an Y statement, made conpermng them can be easily ascerwnW? for Oh' Bum's Catarrh Remedy ‘and DnPieroe’# Gqldca Medical ftsca tarrh >nd (hclpient Consumption,; ( The DisdigeskhnykbdnvMn ii 4« -,wl|hnPr. Pierce’s Favorite Preseriptluw has no#ci/al in the Wy”pr<xmVe People’s Common NedicalJAdviaer.’* an iflusrv - f CiTtnMt!,' Wela<4httfc«ftHw the early MMagds, toads of the Tfaroat jind-Umgs. *nd, Is the forerunner of Consumption. * Tlihccn *wHch tW symptoms first appcir/Breroao’s ibkiucmu vuaa vom Cxtabui is Instantly effective,,.,