Rensselaer Union, Volume 9, Number 20, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 1 February 1877 — Page 6

An Important Distinction.

Mdl that law i. Train up uld go, says -selves with ace between leaching and training u recognized in all •docatUKi. It it commonly, though unafcllosophically, discriminated by the iersas theoretical and practical, in the -<we case the mind simply apprehends a itruth; in the other, under the influence «ff that truth, some organ of the mind or body is put into active exercise. A child la taught botany when she learns the ■ames of classes and genera, and the appellation of the various parts of the plant's anatomy, from her text book. When she goes out into the fields, picks for herself the flowers, analyzes them, ■examines their parts and assigns them places, she is training herself in botany. la the one case she is'simply informed of affect and quickly forgets it. In the other, she exercises her powers of per- ■ cep lion and Judgment; and, if this is repeated until it becomes a habit, to characterize every flower that she sees by its dam-name, she never wholly loses the poster thus acquired. Knowledge gained la soon host. Power once acquired is almost never wholly lost. Now apply this distinction. You may tell your child that it is exceedingly wicked to get angry, and accomplish nothing. But, if you can succeed in habituating him to control his temper when a child, you may rest perfectly secure that his temper will not control him when he becomes a man. Yon may teach him 4hat patience is a virtue, and he be none the better. But if you can develop within him the power of patiently bearing the hardens of childhood, he will never lose « that power in his manhood. You may tell him that God is very good, and that he ought to love him. ana yet the boy may grow up an atheist; but if you have the skill to inspire a childish love for God in his young heart, nothing can efface it. In a word, you may instruct your child in religious truth ana his manhood life reek with vice. But exercise his faculties in a religious life, <uid he never can lose the power which thus ho will have acquired. For character is the product of habit. We are what we have been accustomed to do. What the child does at first with difficulty he comes by repeated experience to do with ease. * What he habitu- - nllv does with ease he does at length un- . oo&ciously and by the necessity of his .nature. This is the meaning of the familiar proverbs, “ The childls father to the man;” “ Habit is second nature.” Instruction is like coloring put upon the surface of cloth—it fades with the first washing Habit is like a dye infused in■to the thread before the pattern is woven —nothing can extract it. The principles that are "learned in childhood are often left behind when the pupil leaves the achnoi-ioom. The habits, whether for good or evil, grow with his growth and strength- . eu with nis strength. We recognize this truth and we act upon it in all the lower realms. We understand that, as regards the use of the fingers and the feet, practice makes perfect. We understand that the child must not ooly comprehend the principles of nay art, but be versed in the practice. Beading a cookery book will not make a young girl a good housekeeper. Studying the principles of a thorough base will not make her a good musician. She must have her piano and practice her hour a day. If a boy is to learn to swim, he must go into the water and paddle till he learns. For the child acquires dexterity on the piano.by playing, in the kitchen by cooking, in the 'water by swimming, and dexterity thus acquired is never lost. It is not enough, then, that we teach our -children aright. Your boy may commit the catechism, and turn infidel. He may « repeat the Ten Commandments without . missing a word, and not obey one of them. He may be admirably versed in Scripture, and never follaw its guidance. Nay! his Bible may be more than a mere spellingbook to him; he may learn not only the text of the Ten Commandments, but their true significance, and yet depart very far from (hem. He may be able to repeat the first two commandments, and be a covetous man, which is an idolater; he may recite the third, and imerlard his speech with many oaths; the fourth, and tie an habitual Sabbath-breaker; the eighth, and die in the State's prison. A child may know to do right, and choose to do wrong; as one may be an adept in detecting counterfeit money, and yet habitually pass it. Nor yet is, it enough that we govern our children aright; that by the fear of punishment and the hope of a reward we keep them from wrong doing while they remain under our control. We must teach them to govern themselves, cast upon them responsibilities, allow them to act upon their own judgment, permit them to suffer the inconveniences of their own blunders. We must put the wheel in the child's own hand; and, standing by his side, and pointing out to him the rock on this side and the shore on that, and in the whirlpool the evidence of the sunken reef, teach him how to man his own helm. Then, when manhood comes, he will carry the bark safely between the Scylla -on the one side and Charybdis on "the -other. , tio interpreted, Solomon’s declaration is true, bo interpreted, it is God’s promise to the faithful r “ Train up a Mid in the wag it mould go, and when he it old he wiUnot depart from it." Anxious, wearied, fainting mother, lay bold upon that promise; ana, by patient labor of love, secure in the manhood life <of your perfected children its abundant uceward.— Ret. Lyman Abbott. *

The Sewers of Paris.

-Most of our countrymen who come Abroad now make a visit to the sewers of iParia one of the objects of their sojourn i» the gay city. The trip is not a difficult one to accomplish. An application to oar Minister is alone necessary to obtain one «r more of the tickets which are issued by the authorities for the monthly -exclusions to those lower regions. On -the day and at the hour stated on his £fefcat#e curious stranger must present Aianself at the Place da Chatelet There, k company with some sixty or seventy other sight-seers, be will be invited to dencead into the bowels of the earth by means of a commodious winding staircase •of iron. Arrived at the foot of this stair<xase, he will find himself at the entrance a spacious, well-lighted tunnel, lined with while cement ana surprisingly clean, <.dry and sweet-smelling. He and his comxtm will then take their places on a aeries of small hand-cars, each propelled Iw four men, which run on rails placed

at either side of the reservoir, the water of which may be seen flowing beneath the feet of the passenger. At a given signal the men start off at full trot, and the cars roll rapidly along the rails and through the tunnel. On cither side Of the roof of the vault extends a huge black iron tube; these tubes are the water-pipes that convey to Paris the waters of die Vanne and of the Ourcq; while in the center of the roof a cluster of leaden pipes is visible, through each of which is passed a tele-graph-wire, our dangerous and disfiguring system of telegraph-poles being unknown in Paris. A snort ride brings the travelers to the great reservoir that lies under the Rue Royale; the cars are then exchanged for large flat-bottomed boats, which are slowly propelled over the black waters till the staircase leading up to the entrance to the sewers that lies just back of the Madeleino is reached, and the journey is at an end; the sewers have been visited. Of course, this portion of the great work which is thrown open monthly for the reception of visitors no more compares with the other sewers of the city than a lady’s drawing-room does with her nursery uid kitchen. It is the show-place of the whole. Yet from its spacious dimensions, immaculate cleanlibess and thorough ventilation a good idea may be gaineaof the extent and grandeur or the subterranean world that underlies the Paris of to-day, and serves to keep its streets clean and inodorous even in the hottest weather. The present system of Parisian sewerage dates from 185? only. It was planned by one M. Belgrand, whose name deserves to descend to posterity as that of the man who has done more for Paris than the architects of the Louvre or of the Arc de Triomphe. He was made absolute sovereign of the subterranean world of Paris, and, thanks to his skill and intelligence, this city now possesses the most perfect and extensive drainage in the world. Her 850,000 meters of streets are cleansed by 773,000 meters of sewers. These subterranean canals are divided into two classes, the sewers and the collectors. The first, passing under eveiy street, receiye the impurities of the city and transfer them to the collectors, which carry them off to their distant destination. The backbone of a fish would well represent the system, the spine being the collector and the projecting bones the sewers. The collectors are situated in the valleys lying between the numerous hills that diversify the surface of Paris, so that the natural slope of the earth" may facilitate the transport of the sewage. There are three of these Ssat arteries—one on the left bank of the ine, and the other two on the right. All accumulation of solid matter is'removed by means of broad iron blades attached to the stern of those great fiatboats of which I have spoken at the beginning of this paper. These blades, pierced each with three or four openings, act as rakes, and remove every portion of the deposit, which is used for manure. There are numbers of odd articles to be found in this deposit—coins, jewels and silverware, weapons that have served to commit crimes, bodies of dead animals, corpses of murdered infants, etc. The inost common of these waifs and strays are corks, which are to be found, not by hundreds nor by thousands, but by millions. Thrifty Paris does not let these still serviceable articles escape; they are collected, cleansed, dried and pared, and are then sold to perfumers or druggists. They come from the wine-shops which abound in every street in the city. After the Commune the sewers were examined, and were found to be strewn with arms. The wretched Communists, finding themselves defeated, and knowing that certain death awaited them if they were captured with arms in their hands, threw down the openings of the sewers their guns, swords and cartridges, even their military caps and scarlet sashes. Six wagon-loads of arms and ammunition were taken from the sewers and transferred to the arsenal. The sewers are under the charge of 650 egoutier*— or sewerers, to translate the word literally. As there exist some 350 miles of sewers in Paris, it will be seen that this number does not afford a man to everj* half mile. These egoutiers must be men of unimpeachable physique and perfect health; they are submitted to a thorough medical examination before they, are admitted to the corps, and even the slightest trace of pulmonary weakness will cause the applicant to be at once rejected. For, as may well be imagined, the work is anything but healthy, notwithstanding the precautions taken as to ventilation and cleanliness. The damp, the lack of light and the foul air undermine the constitution of the strongest egoutier, and it is estimated that but few of them can prolong their service beyond a period of fifteen years. They suffer from rheumatism and anaemia, and it has been noticed that individuals from the south of France break down far sooner than do those from more northern climes. The state aids as far as possible in the preservation of their health by furnishing them with the enormous boots which they invariably wear, and which form the distinctive mark of tlieir calling. These boots, which reach half way up the thigh, are specially manufactured for the Government, and are of the stoutest possible leather, the soles being well garnished with great nails. Eveiy egoutier receives two pairs of these boots annually, and, thanks to their protection, ke can tramp with impunity through water or mud at will. At the end of six months the feet of these boots are worn out, rotteu and unfit for further service. The old pairs are preserved by the authorities, and are sold at auction in stacks of 100 paire each. They are bought by a speculator for the sake of the legs, which are always in good preservation, and the leather of which, softened and rendered supple by six months’ usage, is subjected to a pern, liar mode of dressing, and is then employed in the manufacture of the finest quality of ladies’ walking-boots. It is said that such supple, fine and strong leather can be obtained by no other Known process Lipuincotfs Magazine. Statistics nave oeen recently rumished in regard to the size and development of Americana, which are of interest. They serve to dissipate a good many unfounded notions that have crept into the general mind, and have obtained wide credence. These statistics were compiled from those taken in examining men for the army. Toward.the close of the war, when the average age of soldiers was the highest, there were examined 10,163 men, of whom 6,859 were native-born, 589 Canadians, 454 Englishmen, 1,417 Irishmen «hd 1,343 Gem ans. The mean height of the Americans was the greatest, 5 feet 7.9 inches; of the Canadians, 5 leet 7.5 inches; of the Englishmen, 5 feet 6.3 inches; of the Irishmen, 5 feet 6.5 inches: of the Germans, 5 feet 5.9 inches. The difference between the Germans, who were the shortest, and the Americans, who were the tallest, was about-2 inches. Colorado has over half a million head of cattle, and Wyoming 900,000.

INCIDENTS AND ACCIDENTS.

—There is a colt three years old at Crompton, R.T., which has a fully-de-veloped fifth foot, which projects from the right foreleg just above the ankle. The odd foot consists of a small but perfectly developed hoof and ankle. It generally has a shoe on, and requires attendance like the other feet. - -While a passenger train on the Alton & St. Louis Railroad was stopping at Springfield, 111., for a short time, a few days ago, a mob of thieves, numbering about forty, systematically robbed the passengers of watches, money, sachels and clothing. The audacity of the raid rendered the travelers speechless, and it was not until the train left the depot that they recovered sufficiently to explain to the conductor of the treatment to which they had been subjected. —The passengers of an Albany (N. Y.) railway would have been excited a little, the other day, had they known that a Boston firm was represented on the train by a heavy stock of giant powder. Even the railway management did not know of the Erescnce of the explosive in their cars, it aving been shipped under some other name than powder, but the facts in the case came to the knowledge of the managers, and they made short work of sending to the Hub and causing the arrest and imprisonment of the fool-fiend shipper, one Isaac J. Worden. —The explosion of a lamp which hail been turned down set fire to the carpets and wood work on the first floor of a tenement house in Baltimore a few nights ago, and the lodger on the third floor, being awakened by the disturbance below, hastily threw her clothes about her, ran to the window, and, calling to those below to be on the alert, threw out her infant child six months old, which was safely caught without injury. She then hung out of the window and jumped herself a distance of thirty feet and over, and, strange to say, received no injury of any account. —A farmer in York recently set a trap to catch a cunning fox which had been annoying him considerably by its mid night visits among the poultry. At fourteen successive visits to it he found the trap sprung, a stick of wood between its jaws, and 3ie bait eaten up. The circumstance, so often repeated, surprised him. There was no other tracks to be seen but his own and those of the fox, and who sprung the trap was a question that puzzled him sorely. By continuing to rebait his trap he hoped to catch the author of the mischief. On the fifteenth night he found a fine old fox hung to it by the nose, and in his mouth was a stick of wood.— York (Pa.) Daily.

Popularity.

We seem to be more or less insane on the subject of popularity. From the smart, bright girl in the grammar school —who would rule and lead “ the girls” in her class —to the men .who look with steadfast gaze at the Presidential chair, calculating with well-hidden diplomacy their chances of obtaining its doubtful honors, we are all seemingly gone mad on this all-important subject. There is no setting about our task for the pleasure of doirg our duty, for the satisfaction of accomplishing something sweet, serviceable, or beautiful. There is no separating our actions from the one all-pervading question of “What people will say?” We set our table for “ looks,” we spend our money for “opinion,” we dress for “ fashion,” we read nothing but what is the “latest,” we condemn with the general verdict, we admire if the critic tells us to, we dare not differ with the bootblack in the street if he has made a song “popular” by whistling it while he “shines” our boots. Whatever we do, say—nay, think, is influenced by the fact that we are utterly dependent upon others. When shall we acknowledge the possibility of enjoyment without the applause of the crowd ? When shall we begin to see the wisdom of a life spent unostentatiously? When shall we be content to refine our whole manners up to the level of simplicity. When shall we, with steady persistence, spend our incomes upon moderate and rational enjoyment, uninfluenced bv the love of display and show ? Indeed, when shall we return to the blessed, blessed “old fogyism” which will not allow anything to trouble us, but lead us to forego “ style” in expenditure, “custom” in conversational usages, “fashiou” in music, “the rage” in art, the “sensation” in the drama, “place” in politics, and “ theory” in religion? When shall our use of language, which more than anything indicates the tendencies of an age, drop the superlatives and become once again plain “yea and nay?” When this movement is once started, then indeed we may all hope to win approbation; when we have aban doned our ambitions and strifes for worldly honors, we may all - hope to win the best -and most perfect success possible.— American Manufacturer.

Counterfeit Coin.

"When silver first came into circulation very little care was taken by those who received the coins to examine* them closely, every person being eager to obtain, some of the “ hard money, ,r> This reckless course gave encouxEusment to counterfeiters, who soon floocrea the country with base coin, and so well executed have been the imitations that even the usual test of “ ringing” the money fails to detect its falseness. Even the close scrutiny of the eye is not always sure to be correct, and car conductors, often to the amusement of passengers, examine all silver coins with great care before making change. At saloons and restaurants the cashiers are often delayed in consequence of doubt as to the genuineness of the larger pieces of money offered to them in payment of edibles. Good coin is often rejected on account of the imperfect workmanship arising from the hasty demand made upon the mints at the first resumption of silver circulation. This imperfection has been of great advantage to the counterfeiters, who have devoted themselves principally to the making of halves and quarters, the counterfeiting"©! dimes apparently not proving lucrative enough. Several specimens of well-ex-ecuted half-dollars have been seen at the Sub-Treasury in this city, and were very likely to deceive except in the weight, the imitations being about fifty grains too light. The false coins which have aprveared at the Sub-Treasury were made from a mixture of antimony, lead and zinc, and looked ymy like" sliver. The imitations were, however, generally dated back so as to look like old coin, it not being easy to secure the silver sheen. Sweating the good coin has also been adopted by persons who wish to obtain a fraudulent Irving. Genuine silver money has been detected at the Sub-Treasury with the edges beveled off, the parings, which appear to have been made by machinery, being doubtless melted down and sold. Thu work, however, is not

likely to be carried on to any very grftat extent, as the silver of even the genuine coin is not fine enough to make the practice very lucrative. To obtain any very large amount of profit by this process, some capital will be required, and it is not believed by the authorities that "clippers ” can afford to have the money lying Idle long enough to pay them for the work. When the clipping is done upon gold coin every grain* of dust is of value, out such is not the case with the present silver coin It is reported thsjt a number of debased gold coins have been detected. The process of debasing this class of coin is not new. The plan adopted is to split the coin, hollow out the inside and fill the space with platinum. This gives the requisite weight to the coin, but reduces its value more than one-half. This cheat can only be detected by the eye, and not even then except by experts. Borne of the American com brought from Europe, our reporter was informed, had thus been tampered with. The examination of the milled edges led to the detection of the fraud, as the work of remilling cannot be to neatly done by the counterfeiter as at the mint. Another plan which has lieen detected is to drill the gold coin from edge to edge, in several places, and fill the holes with copper wire; but this cheat can easily be found out by weighing the pieces of money, as copper is lighter than gold. The work is also not so well performed as by the platinum operators, and the examination of the milled edges will almost be sure to lead to detection. — Chicago Journal.

Vanderbilt’s Personal Habits.

Commodore Vanderbilt was in his eighty-third year. He came of a longlived family, and had always, until very recently, enjoyed the best of health, looking at eighty, save for his silver hair, but half that age. He was tall, of magnificent physique and carried himself like a very dignitary of the Church of England, which bearing, with his constant suit of black and white necktie, probably gave rise to the often-made statement, “The Commodore looks like an archbishop.” Small gray side-whiskers fringed his hale and rosy face. His eves were dark, soft and kindly at times, with a way of growing keen and steely on emergencies. ‘‘ When the Commodore puts on his railroad look he means something,” his acquaintances used to say. In disposition he was quiet, not disposed to be aggressive, but, when aroused, merciless. In the sense of church attendance lie cannot be said to have been a religious man. He had a profound reverence for sacred things. “ Had his early surroundings and associations tended in the direction," said a gentleman intimately acquainted with the Commodore, “ he would have made a clergyman, and a successful one.” He is said to have been particularly fond of Bunyan’s “Pilgrim’s Progress,” carrying it about with him wherever he went. The Commodore was a most abstemious man, never taking wine. He was, however, an inveterate smoker, and, during his last illness, when remonstrated with for continually smoking, said: “When I have to give up smoking, you may give me up ” Business never appeared to trouble Mr. Vanderbilt much in late years. His custom was to spend two or three hours daily at his office back of his house, ana go home early when there was no trot. He used to devote a great deal of his evenings to whist, of which he is said to have been a superior player. At any rate, he respected the game heartily, and was a particularly careful observer of ihe silence and concentration it demands. An amusing incident illustrating this devotion is furnished by testimony he gave before one of the legislative investigating committees, which it was his fortune to encounter. He was asked what he had done when some important news was tpld him. “ I didn’t do anything,” he said, “ 1 was playing whist at the time, and I never allow anything to interrupt me when I am playing whist.” Up to a year or two ago, at any rate, he used to stop in summer at Congress Hall, in Saratoga, and under the ball-room, across the street, was a little corner room known to visitors as “The Commodore’s Card-Room.” This was a plainly furnished room, and here he played with pretty much the same party every evening, but occasionally with newcomers specially invited. Great stories are told about high play in this room, and it is said that the Commodore thought nothing of having $5,000 on the rubber. However, whatever was on the table, at ten o’clock at night precisely, the old gentleman stopped short and the game ended. Com. Vanderbilt never boasted of his wealth, his power, his gifts, or his superior abilities. But one thing he did boast of, and that was the manliness of that son of his who was lost in the war of the rebellion. He wfts also very proud of his first wife, and used to say she was the finest woman of her age in New York city. As a business man, he was bold, but none the less prudent. He used to say that no man could prevent him keeping an engagement, when once it was made. If he had bound himself to pay a million of dollars on the Ist of May, lie would at once provide for fulfilling his'eagagement in such a manner that no failure on the part of others, or any contingency whatever, could, prevent him doing it. In other words, he would have the money where he would be sure to find it on that day. He never was fond of talking. Once he was at a dinner in Loudon, and, his health being given, he was urged to respond in a speech. All that was got out of him was the following. Rising, he said: “Gentlemen, I have never made a fool of myself in 'my life, and I am not going to begin now. Here’s a friend of mine (pointing to his lawyer) who can talk all day. He will do my speaking.” Still he knew how to express himself with clearness, force and brevity, and some of his business letters were models of that kind of composition. He also possessed the more difficult art, that of not saying what he did not wish to say.— N. Y. World.

The population of the earth amounts to 1,423,917,000. Of this number Europe claims 309,178,300; Asia, 824,548,500; Africa, 190,921,600; Australia and Polynesia, 4,748,600; and America, 85,519,800. The average density of population of the whole globe is about 28 inhabitants to one square mile of land surface. The density is, of course, greatest in Europe, where it is 82 per square mile; in Asia, 48; in Africa, 18; in America, 5%; and in Australia and Polynesia, \%. With stock, a farm of broad acres can be jp*nseed to profit, but ip gtain it is not always the largest farm that produces the most profit. It is not the moat acres, but the best tilled and wisest management that win.

Religions Heading: "ASK, AND IT SHALL GIVEN YOU." ■ Cums-mx friend, when earth's deep Borrow* Close about toot earthly way: When yon see no bright to-morrow; Hasten then to Goa and pray. 11. Tell Him all yonr grist and sorrow. Tell Him all your dee •» distress. Doubt Him not. my Christian brother; He wllllls'en but to bleae. What though earthly friend* desert yon When yon need their kindest eare— Let nought hinder yon from praying; He win all yoar way prepare. > • He has power to give yoa loved one* Just as true as those you’ve lost. And with loving heart He's waiting, Even now to hear yonr cross. Go with words or tears of pleading, „ Humbly how at Jems' feet; i He is ever in'erceding, And with love yonr plea will greet. Ho would have yon tell him dally All yonr sorrow, grief and care, Into His kind ear confiding. Go and pour yonr soul in prayer; And believe with faith nnshaken All His promisee to thee; “Thou shalt prove how great His pity,” And HU tender mercies see. I have tried aud I have proved it. In the time of earth's deen woe. In the depths of human suffering, When I’d nowhere else to go. Then, tried one, when earth’s deep sorrows Close about your earthly way, When you see no bright to-morrow. Hasten then to God and pray. —P. L. Delano Thompson, in Chicago Standard

International Sunday-School Lessons. FIRST gnABTBB, 1877. Feb. 4—Elijah and Ahab ....1 Kings 18: 8-18 Feb. 11—Elijah and the Prophets of Baal .1 Kings lB:19-29 Feb. 18—Kljiah and His Sacriticesi Kings 18:88-48 Feb. SMS— Elijah at Horeb 1 Kings 19: 8-18 Mar. 4—The Story of Naboth... .1 Kings 21: 4-14 Mar. 11—Elijah Translated 2 Kings 2! 1-12 Mar. 18—Tbe Spirit of Elijah. ...2 Kings 2:18-25 Mar. 2^—Review, or lesson selected by the school.

The Long-Buried Mother.

That life must be a strange and sad one indeed that can obliterate the recollections of a childhood passed under the influences of home piety. As a rule, early-good impressions mast bear fruit —though the harvest be so long deferred that Time seems to have forgotten it. A poor but praying widow died, leaving an only child. Alone and destitute, the orphan found no smiles to welcome him, and few hands to aid him, in the world where henceforth he must make his way by his own exertions. But a sacred agency had appealed on high for him —the forethought of a devout mother’s love. Dying, she had committed him to God’s keeping; and God opeired a path for the lad, and gave him opportunities and friends. His health was good, and he worked hard and well, and found favor with all who employed him, so that he never knew actual want. By the time he came of age he was in successful business. Years of prosperity followed, and he became a rich man. fje was not a Christian; but he had not forgotten his Christian mother. His thoughts went back to her loving life, and lingered round her humble grave. He was not satisfied that her remains should rest so far away, and he determined to remove them to the handsrtme cemeteiy where he had bought a lot for his family. He employed men, and went himself to superintend the disinterment. The coffin had crumbled. Dust had almost returned to dust. The sad duty with which the man had charged himself filled him with solemnity; and when it was over he could not shake off the thousand memories it awakened. “My good mother! How truly she loved me; how faithfully she toiled for me! She was anxious for my earthly future, but her heart’s great wish was that I might live not for this world, but for heaven. The first part of her prayer is answered. Why is not the last?” The thought melted him. He sought his mother’s God, whom he had so long neglected, and in penitence, consecration ana love found acceptance with Him. A voice out of silence had called the rich man to a new life and nobler duty. It was the voice of a mother twenty years buried in the ground.— Youth's * Companion. ‘

A Lost Man.

. Perhaps thou hast never heara the perfectly authentic account of the brother of the celebrated George Whitefleld, a poor man for whose conversion many prayers had been offered, but who had sunk into a settled melancholy, under the impression that he had sinned so long and so grievously as to be altogether beyond the reach of the Lord’s pardoning mercy in Christ, so that for him there was no hope. This man was drinking tea one evening at Lady Huntingdon’s 1 , when she took the opportunity of telling him of the boundless love of God in Christ Jesus for poor sinners. “My lady,” replied her guest, “ I know what you say is true; but, ah! there is no mercy for me. lam a wretch entirely lost.” “I am glad .to hear it," said Lady Huntingdon; “1 am flad at my heart that you are a lost nian.” [e looked at her in great surprise. “ What! my lady; glad at your heart that lam a lost man?” “Yes, truly glad; for it is written, ‘ The Son of Man is come to save that which is lest.’ ” The text was carried home with power. “Blessed be God for that,” exclaimed he; “glory be to God for that word I Oh! what power. I feel attendng It! Jesus Christ came to save the lost.” It was light with Him at evening time. He was soon after seized with sudden illness, and within an hour was in eternity. —Memoir of Robert Charleton.

How to Treat Insect-Stings.

A writer in the London Garden gives the following hints on this subject: “The pain caused by the sting of a plant or insect is the result of a certain amount of acid poison injected into the blood. The first thing to be done is to press the tube of< a small key firmly on the wound, moving the key from side to side to facilitate the expulsion of the sting and its accompanying poison. The sting, if left in the wound, should be carefully extracted, otherwise it will greatly increase the local irritation. The poison of swings being acid, common sefiie points to the alkalies as the proper means of cure. Among the most easily-procured remedies may be mentioned soft-soap, liquor of ammonia (spirits of hartshorn), smelling salts, waahing-soda, quicklime made into a paste with water, lime-water, the juice of an onion, tobacco-juice, chewed tobacco, bruised dock-leaves, tomatojuice, wood-ashes, tobacco-ash, and carbonate of soda. If the -ting be severe, rest and coolness should be added to the other remedies, more especially in the case of nervous subjects. Nothing is Ao apt to make the poison active as heat, and nothing favors its activity less than cold. * ■ ’» ' *

Let the bodybwhep* unit amlaS wEftlMKi tint activity oi tha Atoi#on * Ui.bq reduced t« « ruinhnuni. -Any aetl4c etrifloii, wherebythe circulation is qaipkenqd. will increase both pafn aud swelling. If the swelling be severe, the part may be rubbed with sweet oil, or a drop yr two of laudanum. Stings in the eye,'bar, mouth, or throat sometimes lead to serious censequenees; in auclv cases medical advice should always he sought aa soon w possS-

Destitute Americans in Paris.

It is at once a sad and astrange realize the uuhpiber of Americans that in a state of actual, destitution are to be met with in Paris. It seems ns" though Duty SUQBSiS&Mtfuil ns bright city. But, alas! that is not so. either.pf «ph#rt«ace Wo* 5* PiHSg to their friends* Sometimes lvifi a servSometimes it. is an artist, worn out and corfquered 'in the tong fight against famine with no.better weapon than a pencil aid no better shield than a palette., Than it is a would-be prima donna with a Vadished voice and withered hopes.'.' And r \ Oddest of all.too often the sufferer is some hapmonies in .Jw native land,, abd whose marriage has been hull and void by the omission of some hue of the frivolous her, has cToeerfea Fef ana left Her to starve. Shell cases are far from being uncommon, and pitiful and heartrending as they) a*#. , the , ilaafyoa* do nothing to aid the sufferer. All that can be done is to help her to r<durn-&B speedily as possible; to her family and friends, and in such instances iagdin must tnfefe be an appeal to the American i@Kq|ifiable Association, which, by the way. never fails to respontTwltettTr has'Hhh necessary funds at command* Cor. Philadelphia Telegraph. ~~

WITCHES. i Uef Do I bibiivb in witches, dear? j* / ijH Most certainly Ido! They haunt this very home of ours—’ ‘ I 1 Don’t look so frightened. Sue! UpaUire, dawn .stairs,levefywgare,, -m H Their presence Itan trace, They visit, now gnd th«M, tpj, room, • > • And ad my books displace. Who turned (able iipsUWdhwn • -1 To build a palace-car, • , Arid seDt my precious ’'»A* Into the corners far? ■ ■: > Who dropped the scissors in my boot, ‘ Who hid my cane and hat? , . , .. Who pnt my glaases.'ichain * I < t< Beneath the entry mat ? ' ■ T)1 ~K V. n I’ll set a trap for them some day . And catch them at their tricks, r-.lf. ‘in-> And then they’ll find—the roguish elves— They’re in a pretty fix; n ( i The old-time witches. Ah-, indeed! Yott v* read, the *i*y o’er— > . \ *» ■; When they were caught, their fate was sesied! They played tfiflir games no knar* f. ’r But there are witches dwelling here ... < f 1 Who jirsctice well their artP r'.fV »?*, And,jtpjt beguile, with »ong apd smile,t , , Thei r loving papa’s heart* r f Believe in witches* ■ Yea, I do!, j •: , As I believe In fnn— " They’re full of that and hobbling o’er— n And now my story Vdonel o’ ■'h i Mr*, p, JV. Turner, ty*

The Life of a Sponge.

Before this paper, ¥ want my readors to procuri a piece of sponge, and to hold it in their liand#,. and- examine it well, as we try to find out some of the secrets of doubt you have handled it often before, aqd used It for many purposes, 1 'but perhaps 1 V6u have not cared .to ask- its wonderful lifestory. Once it was alive. Wimt kinthof life had it, do you think ? Dla It grow like a vegetable,: always toy tkq - Same place; or aid it run about, like you? Well, it did neither, yet ifh'adf kind of life gs you hayftin It waean iLnima). If you had seen it crowing,on its rocks, you would cfertaifity'haVo filcragiit it looked much more Ukqa, Riant, for many years it was thought to be so: but it has been discovered' that' ft: hod three characteristics which qo, .xpgetabLei ever had. In the first place' it' aid not ‘ drqw its food from the groundithrough: scoots, but supplied itself thfoqghlittle mouths; then when it was young, it fcould move about; and t lastly ..it showed a yrfHiof its own bv taking m food itsjDiyn aqoprd, just when it 1 wrfs' wanted. ‘ So, 'after 1 iliat, naturalists thought it ably fairto call it an animal. ~ .„ Let ns go back to’tfie first birthday of the little G|e>Mwe Sfpujjiold-ip yqur hagd, and see how it capie in, the world. t Look at that rock jronddf tout 'to- fhe'bcrtth; growing on it is a cl-uatpr of Ispqngqy fj«m which falls a tiny, pear-shaped jelly. That is the baby ■■sponge. What a>queer » ufaraas tilings it is happy, for it cahfeel arid float. All over, 4 r S < nity briaUea, whtoh it moves'about in all direc'trons, and with which it draws’in loodju -In this state the sponge is, cabled a gemmule: and the little briatfes 'caHefi its cilia, 6r eVelksnes. Merrily .the littlev gemmule floats, ilonfg, until, far awav from Ua birthplace, it finds some rock which Is to be lts future borne. The ,narrtpv md pf/its tyidy is fastened to the rock, but its cilia gp on moving constantly ufitil it is fixed-quite secure- Th4y -Me.dpwa <to 4jM«u«k, and it never, moves them again. Now, as we watch we tt&i sferi a great malty dark fibers, which you aefe in it when it la s«rvspa' nig out at the water during! thehtiort’ttmtfln which they had the power of motimp,, Jtn a few days they have done something, the effects!of winch will la4t re„ lifetime! What a lesson f<?ij us all to make the most of our Time and opportunities' while we have them! <h : w : . : j to n fL-.oj

which you can see in it no ini I Inside this framework the living jelly grows, mling all the holes hnfl boverra£ fife dtftsiae of the sponge.. Through bolqs the; little creature sucks in the' 1 sea-water on whichW reeds,- and wheh 4hi4* ! hdS‘yell soaked throughJts bodjr,. H seudrr.dut what it does not want through the. larger tubes or holes aftife top;' So qatil it is torn from its rock, and" thed 'the living Jelly turns •Into itkind'' of thiiffi glue’rinS’ dries up, which iaibvW Df dying..,.{flip; Aileron sponges .are gathered eagerly, somf to be employed in varioususifOi ways; others, the more delicate, that grow in, aU. kinds of beautiful shapes, like trees and trumpets, aud even globes, arq,pre^9fvedif’xau—--seams and collections of curiosities.— N. -T. ObterDo*. J? *£! * 1 &U j 4.• '1 <»« Wrim* .he IJt mn. Ihealira have been destroyed bf firi? m Now* -¥wk alone. This puts the average as about jone ayes'. ' v /