The Stourbridge Observer, Cradley Heath, Halesowen & District Chronicle.
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1881-10-01 00:00:00

STOURBIttbGE 6BSERVER:

SERMONS ON PRESIDENT GARFIELD'S
Eistellantrats 3nitiligente.
; \ DEATH.
40:Westminster Abbey the. sermon at the morning service NOME, FOREIGN, AND COLONIAL.
was preached by the Rev. E. C. Hawkins, M.A., Heahnsster
of St. John's Foundation School, who took his text from the
Gospel for the day, St. Matthew vi., 24—" No man can serve
wo masters: At the close of his discourse he referred to
President Garfield, whose life, he remarked, taught an im-
portant lesson, not only in its worldly, but also in its
religious aspect. The day labourer, the professor, the
law} er, the soldier, the statesman was also a preacher of
righteousness, and from that circumstance derived the
strength for prompt decision and for the effectual per-
formance of his duties which distinguished him from his
youth upwards. His life was something more than a
prodigy. It was an unimpeachable proof that there was a
"divinity which shaped our ends ; and it was not un-
likely that the death which had bowed the heads of two
nations like that of one man would be more fruitful than
the most successful career. As was said by one of the old
martyrs, it had "lighted a fire which would never be put
out." A word of recognition was also due to the clear-
sightedness and discernment of the people who had placed
Garfield in his position. The soundness of their judgment
might teach us to look with less scorn on institutions alien
to our own and contsmplate with less dismay the gradual
concession of political power to the same classes in this
country. —At the afternoon service, which was attended by
numbers of Americans, the sermon was preached by the
Rev. Canon Duckworth, D.D., the Canon in Residence, from
the last verse of the 89th Psalm—one of the Psalms in the
Burial Service—" 0, spare me a little that I may recover my
strength before I go hence and be no more seen." The
latter portion of the sermon was a tribute to the memory of
President Garfield, between whom and Abraham Lincoln the
preacher traced a very striking resemblance, both emerging
from the utmost obscurity and poverty by sheer force of
character. It almost seemed as if our Poet Laureate had
prophetically described both when he traced the rise of some
"Divinely-gifted man,
Whose life in low estate began,
And on a simple village green;
' Who breaks his birth's invidious bar,
And grasps the skirts of happy chance,
1
az And breasts the blow of circumstance, .
And grapples with his evil star;
"Who makes by force his merit known. I
1'47" 4nd lives to clutch the golden keys,
To mould a mighty State's decrees,
And shape the whisper of the throne ; 01, CUT
• tt
"And moving up from high to higher,
Becomes on Fortune's crowning slope 4
The pillar of a people's hope,
The centre of a world's desire."
Was their faith staggered by the cruel extinction of lives
lika th.t., at their very meridian of usefulness? They
might be sure that God was ever busy evolving good from
seeming evil. As they looked back, did they suppose that
even long years of consummate rule could have achieved
more for his country than was brought about by the
tragical end of Abraham Lincoln? It put the seal on the
great work of his life. It was the death-blow of slavery,
the eternal consecration of freedom throughout the
Western World. One day Lincoln stood on the field of
Gettysburg, before the graves of the thousands who had
willingly offered themselves, and he spoke words in
which we might read the lesson God taught the world by
his removal. "We cannot dedicate," he said, "we cannot
consecrate, we cannot hallow this ground. The brave men
who struggled here have consecrated it far beyond our
power to add to or detract. The world will little note or
long remember what we say here, but it can never forget
what they did here. It is for us, the living, rather to be
dedicated to the unfinished work which they who fought
here have thus far so nobly advanced. It is rather for us
to be here dedicated to the great task remaining before us,
that from these honoured dead we take increased devotion
to that cause for which they gave the last full measure of
devotion; that we here highly resolve that these dead
shall not have died in vain; that this nation, under God,
shall have a new birth of freedom; and that government
of the people by the people and for the people shall not
perish from the earth." And who could doubt that the
cause for which the speaker of those burning words died was
reinforced now and reconsecrated by a new sacrifice? The
American people was the richer this day in all that could
dignify national life for Garfield's heroic dying. Was it
no gain that, all the world over, the good and law-abiding
should have been leagured in a closer bond by the discovery
that it was not against one form of polity or another, but
against all law and order and authority, however consti-
tuted, that the anarchical forces of our modern society were
banded together? Was it no gain that Englishmen should.
have been drawn as they had never been drawn before to
their mourning kinsmen and have made their trial their
own? Was it no consolation in this dark hour that the two
great peoples whom God had placed in the forefront of the
world's civilization should be knit together by one more
hallowed memory and by an interchange of sympathy never
to be forgotten? "Shall I live in history?" asked that dying
patriot, who was about to be laid to rest. "Yes," was the
reply, "and in the hearts of men." No sweeter promise ever
fell upon a ruler's dying ears ; no safer predictions ever
passed mortal lips. He was gone hence, and would be seen
no more, but his works followed him.

AMERICAN INVENTIONS.—The Americans, we are
told, claim fifteen " great " inventions. Here they
are :-1. The cotton gin. 2. The planing machine. 3.
The grass mower and reaper. 4. The rotary printing
pr'eSs. 5. Navigation by steaM. 6. The hot-air
engine. 7. The sewing machine. 8. The India.
rubber industry. 9. The machine manufacture of
horse shoes. 10. The sand blast for carving. 11 The
gauge lathe. 12. The grain elevator. 13. Artificial
ice-making on a large scale. 14. The electric magnet
and its practical application. 15. The telephone.
CLINGING FOR LIFE I—About ten o'clock Sunday
morning (says the Elmina. Gazette), Mr. Tinsman, the
station agent at Slate Hill, on the Erie Rail-
way, observed an engine passing at a high rate of
speed. Clinging to the coupling-pin in the rear of the
tender was a little box about eight or ten years of age.
The little fellow was in an exceedingly perilous posi-
tion, and should he lose his hold or be shaken, would
almost certainly have been killed. Mr. Tinsman saw
the child's peril. The engine was then past him, and
could not be stopped, but with rare presence of mind
he hastened to the telegraph office and sent messages
to Johnson's, the next station, and to Westown,
further on ordering them to flag the engine and re-
move the Child. He also sent a message to the office
in Jersey City, which repeated the message along the
line. It was received at Johnson's just in time, and
the engine was stopped. With anxious hearts they
stepped in the rear of the tender and found the adven-
turous little traveller still in his place, unharmed. He
was sent back to his hone in Middletown, on themilk
train.

NORMAN HORSES IN THE UNITED STATES.—As an
instance of the interest felt in improving the breed of
American horses, it may be mentioned that the largest
Jot of Norman horses ever taken to the United States
arrived at New York a short time since. There were
fifty•six stallions five mares, fourteen yearlings, and
forty sucking colts; making the large total of 120
animals. Most of them were a handsome mottled
gray, but several were jet black. They weighed from
I,ooolb. to 2,0001 b. each,. and cost, in France, from
500 dols. to 1,200 dols. apiece.
__ _

PUT OFF—NOT DONE Wrra. Garrulous Old
Party (after a long rigmarole story).—" Ah, forty
years is a long way to go back to." Youth.—" So it
is, marm ; and what's more, I've got a long way to go,
too marm ; so I'll hear the rest of the story when I
comes down town next."—Fun.

METROPOLITAN FAUPERIS3I.—The return of pauper-
ism shows that during the third week of September
there were in the metropolis 85,223 paupers, of whom
48,269 were indoor and 36,954 outdoor. This shows
an increase of 2,353. 3,150, and 8,928 as compared with
the corresponding weeks in 1880, 1879, and 1878. On
the last day of the third week of September 623
vagrants were relieved, of whom 461 were men, 134
women, and 28 children.
AN OLD ITALIAN TRAVELLER.—A bust was un-
covered at Pordenone on the 23rd inst., in presence of
many of the delegates to the Geograhical Congress at
Venice, in honour of the monk Ordorico Mattuizzi, a
famous traveller of the Middle Ages. In 1318, some
thirty years after the departure of Marco Polo,
Odorico, who was a native of Pordenone, left Venice
for the East and made a remarkable journey in Asia,
which has givers rise to many learned disquisitions and
formed the subject of discussion at the congress.
WHlrrma's FIRST POOL—IIe was working one day
with his uncle, repairing a stone fence, when the post-
man in passing tossed to him a copy of the journal to
which many weeks before he had sent his poem.
Tremblingly young Whittier opened the paper to find
the verses at the top of the first column. He was so
delighted and bewildered that he stood looking at it
for a long time, and is sure he did not read a word.
At length his uncle called him back to his senses by
bidding him keep at work.
A FEARFUL PENALTY.—The Austin Coloured In-
vincibles drill in their hall once a week. Cap. Skid-
more, who has been recently elected, is determined
that discipline shall be maintained. After drill was
over, he made a brief speech to the Invincibles about
the necessity of their attending drill regularly. He
said: "I wants de members of dis command to under-
stand, onct for all, dat we Meets for drill reglar ehery
Friday ebening at eight o'clock, in dis heah hall, and
de member what fails ter put in an appearance, will be
—" "Shot do deff ? " interrupted Corporal Jim
Webster. " Drapned from de ranks for a deserter ? "
asked Lieut. Sam Johnsing. " Wusser den dat ar,"
continued the captain, amid a solemn silence that was
almost painful, de member what fails to appear,
will be looked upon as habin' been absent from de
d rill."— Texas Sifting:.

At St. Paul's Cathedral there was an exceptionally large
attendance in the afternoon. All the seats in the great
space under the dame, along the nave, and in the transepts
were occupied, end nearly as many persons as were seated
remained standing. Handel's Dead March in Saul was
most affectingly played on the organ by Dr. Stainer, the
perfect stillness of the great assemblage of people during
the piano passages adding peculiarly to the solemnity of
the efftct. The organ solo over, the choir sung the chorus
—" If we believe that Jesus died, and rose again, even so
them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with aim
Wherefore, comfort one another with these words." The
Rev. Dr. Stubbs, the canon in residence, who was the
preacher, said—" It would be foolish affectation on my
part if I were to begin my sermon this afternoon without
some reference to the event that has so largely occupied
the minds af met men during the past week. The cruel
and most lamented death of President Garfield is an event
which has thrilled through the whole of civilised society.
Following so quickly upon the terrible tragedy in which
the Emperor Alexander 11. perished, it conveys one or two
similar lesson although in most points the ends of the
two men are in marked contrast. Alike undeserved,
humanly speaking, alike unaccountable in relation to the
mysteries of Divine providence, both events tell us that
the rulers of men hold their lives in their hands, and need
the prayers, in very especial ways, of all who desire the
peace of the world and who think with sympathy on the
burdens laid on kings for the good of the people. Further
than this there is little analogy • tha rale died altar a
lung tenure of unlimited power, the other just as he was
beginning what promised to be a grand career; the one
died by a momentary and utter extinction; the other after
many weeks of protracted anxiety and agony. The ~ne was
the victim of a horrible, secret, widespread conspiracy; the
other of a personal grudge working in the mind of a furious
assassin. The one was the representative of a mighty
dynasty, the other a self-made man, the claosen magistrate
of a free people. Both were men from whom much was
hoped for, of whom there was much good to be said, and
who passed away amid many tears. But beyond this—
the shortness and uncertainty of men's purposes, the in-
scrutable mystery of Divine government, the perilous ele-
vation of great men, and the shock that runs through
nations at their fall—the main impression left on us by
this sorrowful matter is the astounding uncertainty of life,
a lesson taught every day, but most forcibly when the
example is found among the most loved and prized. I do
not mean to dwell on these things, yet standing as I do
now in the midst of the greatest church in the greatest city
in the world, 1 ;eel sure that I am interpreting the feelings
of all who hear me, when I say that we do most heartily
sympathise in the public sorrow of the great nation, our
brethren, which as with one heart and voice is lamenting
the loss of an honoured and loved ruler, the object of so
free a choice and of so many prayers, and the centre of so
many hopes, cut off in so strange and so sad a way by such
an inscrutable visitation. As for him—the souls of the
righteous are in the hand of God and there shall no tor-
ment touch them. In the sight of the unwise they seemed
to die, and their departure is taken for misery, and their
going from us to be utter destruction, but they are in
peace." The preacher then delivered his sermon. As the
congregation left the Cathedral, Chopin's funeral march
was played.

HURRIED DINNERS.—It is a mistake to eat quickly.
Mastication performed in haste must be imperfect even
with the best of teeth, and due admixture of the salivary
secretion with the food cannot take place. When a
crude mass of inadequately crushed muscular fibre, or
undivided solid material of any description, is thrown
into the stomach, it acts as a mechanical irritant, and
sets up a condition in the mucous membrane lining
that organ which greatly impedes, if it does not
altogether prevent, the process of digestion. When
the practice of eating quickly and filing the stomach
with unprepared food is hf-bitual, the digestive ozgan
is rendered incapable of performing its proper func-
tions. Either a much larger quantity of food than
would be necessary under natural conditions is re-
quired, or the system suffers from lack of nourishment.
Those animals which were intended to feed hurriedly
were either gifted with the power of rumination or
provided with gizzards. Man is not so furnished, and
it im fait to abesume that he was intended to eal..lowly.
The ma.ttet may seem a small one, but it is not so.
Just as a man may go on for years with defective
teeth, imperfectly masticating his food, and wonder-
ing why he suffers from indigestion, so a man may
habitually live under an infliction of hurried dinners,
and endure the consequent loss of health, without
knowing why he is not well, or how easily the cause of
his illness might be remedied.—Lancet.

MR. H. M. STANLEY.—The Tintee has published
the following letter :—Sir,—As considerable anxiety
has recently been expressed on the score of Mr.
Stanley's health, I send you the following extract
from a letter which I received from him this morning,
and which bears date July 4, 1881, from the Congo
River :—" All through the month of May I was
seriously sick—so serious, indeed, that on the 15th
day of my illness my people were called, my last, as
I thought • orders were given to the Europeans, and
my farewell was given. But the crisis passed and I
am alive yet, and at present strong and hearty. Yet
I know what real sickness is now, and what Africa is
when she is in earnest. —I am, Sir, yours obediently,
EDWARD MARSTON. Crown-buildings, 188, Fleet.
street, London, bept. 23.

ASSOCIATIONS OF LINCOLN'S-INN.—Of the many
associations which cluster around these buildings
(says the City Press), one of the most noteworthy
is that Ben Jonson, when serving as appren-
tice to his step-father, is said by Aubrey to
have worked upon the garden wall of Lincoln's-inn
next to chancery-lane. Aubrey goes on to relate
that "a knight or Bencher, walking through, and
hearing him repeat some Greek names out of
Homer, discoursing with him, and tinding him to have
a wit extraordinary, gave him some exhibition to
maintain him at Trinity College, Cambridge."
Fuller, in his "Worthies of England," avers
that he had previously been at St. John's in that
University, and that necessitous circumstances
obliged him to return to the bricklaying. "And let
"thate h
ehlapveed,
ibutin
t hthosebuilding w h o
have
not,
blush," he
lawful
he tel
eainds, g.H
of the new structure of Lincoln's-Inn, where having a
trowel in his hand he had a book in his pocket." On
the ground floor of 24, Old-square, to the left, there
can still he seen the rooms occupied by Thurloe ho
was secretary to Oliver Cromwell during the interval
1645-59. 1645-59. Here Cromwell once discussel with Thurloe
his having bribed, Sir Richard Willis, in whom the
Royal party confided, to betray their plans. In the
hall is Hogarth's painting of "Paul Preaching before
Felix." The subject was not of the society's choosing;
they gave the painter a commission to paint some
appropriate picture, and the result adds but little to
Hogarth's fame as an historical painter.
A PRAYER FOR THE Ray. S. F. GREEN.—The fol-
lowing prayer has been issued by the Church of Eng-
land Working Men's Society and circulated throughout
the country :—" 0 most gracious God, our Heavenly
Father Who was with Thy servant Joseph in prison,
and di:lut send Thy Holy Angel to set the Apostle
Peter free; Be with Thy servant Sidney Faithhorn
Green in his prison, and make his sufferings work for
Thy glory, and in Thine own good time set him free;
for the sake of Thy dear Son, our Lord and Sa,vious,
Jesus Christ. Amen."
VERY SINGULAR !---"Strange !" said Mrs. Smith, as
Mrs. Brown concluded the tale of her terrible seasick-
ness "strange that going on the water should have
made you so sick. Why, I'm never seasick." "Aren't
you?" replied Mrs. Brown. "I suppose you are an
old sailor." "No, indeed," Mrs. Smith responded,
"I never was on the water in my life." Mrs. Brown
—"Oh ! "—Boston Transcript.
THE QUEEN IN THE HIGHLANDS.—On Monday the
Queen visited Braemar. The weather was unfavour-
able, rain falling heavily after the Royal party had
passed through. Her Majesty was accompanied by
Princess Beatrice and the Dowager Marchioness of
Ely. Fresh horses were provided at the "Fire Arms
Hetel, and the drive was continued by the Mar Lodge-
road and across the Dee by the Victoria-bridge. At
Quoich a short stay was made. The Queen afterwards
honoured Mrs. George Clark with a call at Allarquoich
House. In returning to Braemar the same route was
taken, and when horses were again changed at the
village and the Queen drove over to Balmoral an
unusually large crowd assembled and cheered. These
greetings were gracisusly acknowledged. The Queen
did not attend Divine service at Crathie Church on
Sunday, but there was a special service in the Castle.
The Abergeldie pew, was occupied by the Prince and
Princess of -Wales and several members of the suite.
The service was conducted by the Rev. Mr. Barclay,
St. Cuthbert's, Edinburgh.
A POWERFUL LIGHT.—Some interesting experi-
ments were made in public on Friday night in last
week at the well-known glass works of Messrs. Chance
Brothers and Company, Smethwick, near Birming-
ham, with a new lamp, which they have -just con-
structed to crown the summit of the South Head
Lighthouse, Nlacquari Harbour, Sydney, New South
Wales (says Th! Times). It is called a first order,
dioptric, revolving -lights, with the electvical arc.
The lamp has a special arrangement of prisms for
securing vertical divergence of the beam. tis over
Gft in diameter' and the height is about ffft., and it
is said to be the first time such dimensions have been
applied, to illumination by the electric arc.- The
lamp or regulator has. posyer Ofjpl2ol# )1,000 candles
in the factis or and the "rrleng beam has a
luminous intensity exceeding 12,000,060 candles. The
light will give flashes ars,und half the horizon at
intervels of a minute, and will make a complete
revolution every 16 minutes. On an average the light
will be visible a distance of 40 or 50 miles. The lamp
was designed for Messrs. Chance by Dr. Hopkinson,
F.R.S., and is constructed for the Government of
New South Wales. Its makers claim that it will be
the largest and most powerful light in the world. The
experiments were thoroughly successful, the light
being so intense that it could hardlr be endured with
the naked eye.

The Rev. Dr. Henmann Adler, in his sermon at the Bays-
water Synagogue on Saturday (the Jewish New Ye r), paid
a tribute to the memory of the President. He stated, on the
authority of the New York Jewish Messenger, that but a few
days before the assassin's hand was laid upon the lamented
President, he requested his Secretary of S,tate ta prepare a
despatch to one of the great Powers of Europe pleadirg for
fi cedom of conscience and religious liberty.

The Bishop of Manchester on Sunday night, in referring
to President Garfield, said he had died as all true men would
wish to die—at the post of duty. High principled stat,smen
like him did as much or more to keep alive a sense of duty
In the land as an army of preachers. I would it fare with
the land when earnestness and devotion to duty, purity of
principle, and a noble aim, counted for nothing in our esti-
mate of a public man. The dominant motive of General
Garfield's life appeared to be to do his duty. What he had
done had already had an influence, and it was gratifying to
fluid that the new President, about whom there were some
misgivings some time ago, had publicly declared that he
would not depart from his predecessor's principles.

In almost all places of worship throughout the
kingdom, allnsior was made to the death of President
Garfield, a high tribute being paid to his personal
character. The bells of several churches tolled at in-
tervals during the day; and at nine o'clock at night
St. Paul's-churchyard and the top of Ludgate-hill was
rendered impassable by the dense crowd which had
assembled to hear the muffled peal which was rung
from the belfry of the Cathedral. The whole demon-
stration of public sympathy was perfectly spon-
taneous, and was much more widespread than has
ever been seen on the occasion of the death of a dis-
tinguished man not of English birth.

RECENT TERRIBLE RAILWAY
ACCIDENT IN MEXICO.
The French papers publish an account, derived from
a gentlemaa who has just arrived from Mexico, of the
terrible railway accident which was announced by
telegram a short time since (says the Paris Correspkm-
dent of The Times). The accident occurred at a spot
near Mexico, where the line, after a steep descent,
crosses a deep iavine. The train, which consisted of
two cars laden with petroleum and carriages contain-
ing 300 soldiers and 50 passengers, and was provided
with an engine fore and aft, reached the bridge
across the ravine' when the driver of the aft engine
suddenly observed that the carriages were disappearing
one after another beyond it. Ile tightened the brake
and, with a French engineer who was with him,
jumped Jff. They now heard a sharp firing in the
direction of th 3 ravine and came to the conclusion that
the bridge had been cut by brigands. Soon, however,
they remarked an intense light proceeding from the
ravine. The firing had stopped. It was now night.
They ventured closer and saw, to their horror, that the
whole wreck of the train was in flames. The bridge
had given way under the weight of the first engine,
which had dragged the whole train after it. The
barrels containing the petroleum had been broken in,
and only one or two travellers, dreadfully burnt, had
escaped from the fire. The shooting had been pro-
duced by the explosion of the unfortunate soldiers'
cartridges. The one or two persons who had crept
away from the fire died within an hour after the
French engineer arrived at the scene.

Ot4ele''

THE CROPS IN MANITOBA.—The last reports from
Southern and South-Western Manitoba, dated the
middle of August, state that the harvest was expected
to yield an average of fully twenty-five bushels of
wheat to the acre, and oats a still greater quantity.
Many instances, of course, occur of still larger returns
—forty to fifty bushels of wheat and ninety bushels of
oats to the acre—but there are also instances where the
wheat will probably only yield from fifteen to twenty,
and eats fifty bushels per acre, which, of course, tenda
to pull down the general average.
REWARDS FOR SAVING LIFE.—The Royal Humane
Society have awarded medals for courage and
humanity in saving life from drowning to Mr. W. B.
Livesey and Mr. P. F. Garnett, junior, both of
Liverpool. On the Ist of August last, while rowing
in Ramsay Bay, Isle of Man, they noticed a lady
struggling in the water off Maughold Head, and, being
unable to reach her with their boat, owing to the
heavy sea by the rocks, they jumped into the water,
and with some difficulty, and at the risk of their own
lives, succeeded in rescuing her. The young lady was
Miss A. Stowell, of Castletown, who had fallen from
the rocks above. The presentation of the medals
was made on Monday last.
DEATH FROM HYDROPHOBIA.— Dorothy Hodgkin.
son, four years of age, died at Middleton-by-Wirks-
worth, Derbyshire, on Saturday, from hydrophobia.
She was bitten by a mad dog on the 27th of July. On
Tuesday last week she commenced screaming, and she
suffered severe agony until her death. The medical
evidence left no doubt as to death being from hydro-
phobia, and a coroner's Jury returned a verdict to that
effect.
LAIINCH OF A LIFEBOAT.—A fine lifeboat, presented
to the Royal National Lifeboat Institution by Mr.
James Chadwick, of Prestwich, was last Saturday
launched, in the presence of thousands of vicitors,
residents, and Sunday-school scholars drawn up on
the beach, at St. Anne's-on-the-Sea, a new watering-
place among the sandhills between Lytham and
Blackpool. The boat was named the Laura Janet,
and after it had been handed by the representatives
of the Lifeboat Institution to Lieutenant Tipping,
R.N., it was handed by him to the chairman of the
Local Committee, and being christened by Mrs. Chad-
wick the boat was launched amid loud cheers. St.
Anne's is considered to be a most favourable point on
the coast for the establishment of a lifeboat agency on
account of the treacherous sandbanks off the coast.

FAIR AND FASHIONABLE.—In the Guildhall, Ply-
mouth, on Wednesday last week, for the benefit of the
South Devon Hospital, the Princess Frederica, of
Hanover, opened an "Old English Fair." An experi-
ment this, obviously, of real Fair Trade. It is re-
ported to have been highly successful.—Punch.
A MORTIFYING BLUNDER.—Two editors in Illinois
got into a warm controversy over a proposed local im-
provement. One of them on a certain day had an im-
perative engagement to meet before he could see the
proof of a scorching article, in which he defied his
esteemed contemporary to make any truthful reply,
concluding with the isolated sentence: "Until then we
rest upon our oars." What was his horror some hours
later to discover that the whole edition had gone out
to the public with the sentence : "Until then we rest
upon our ears."
NEWSPAPER ENTERPRISE.—A floating newspaper
office has been organised by an energetic Transatlantic
journal, eager to obtain the very latest intelligence.
The office is fitted up on a barge, which constantly
travels up and down the Mississippi from Memphis to
New Orleans, stopping at all points of interest to
gather information respecting the country along the
river and some distance inland. There are business
and editorial offices composing and printing rooms,
sleeping apartment's, dining-room, and kitchen, and
even stables for the horses used in making land trips
to and fro.

THE RECENT FOREST FIRES IN AMERICA.—Forest
fires, which have occurred so frequently of late in the
United States and Canada have directed attention to
the inflammable condition of the greater part of North
America (remarks the St. James's Gazette). After a
long drought the country seems to burst into flames,
and to become, as one cf the American papers ex-
presses it, "turned into a tinder-box." The soil,
penetrated in every direction by dry vegetable fibres,
smoulders and burns, and the progress of the flames
through great forests is truly marvellous in its rapidity.
Settlements in wooded districts are quickly surrounded
by the advancing fire. Farmhouses are in the same
peril ; live stock is destroyed; and the flames shrivel
up the country like a parched scroll. So long as a
drought continues the use of fire for any purpose
becomes dangerous, and there is no safety until the
rains return, and the ground is thoroughly soaked.
This state of affairs has lately prevailed in New
Jersey, in Pennsylvania, in northern New York, and
in Canada. No comet is apparently needed to burn
up the New World. Only let the rain be withheld
long enough, and it would of itself start into a blaze
from ocean to ocean.

CANINE PHILANTHROPY. - Some time ago (says
Land and Water) there was quite a tips made of the
railway dog which used to travel all over the Brighton
and South Coast line, and make friends everywhere.
Now some philanthropist proposes utilising a colley
for the purpose of advertising the Railway Orphanage,
which will be taken out every opportunity by train
throughout the country, bearing on his collar a notice
that all subscriptions will be thankfully received at
the office of the orphanage, 306, City-road. There is no
doubt this novel way of soliciting support will receive
many subscriptions ; but I think if the dog were taught
to carry a little money-box, and to sit up and beg on
every available occasion, returning to the guard's van
to be relieved cf his takings, I think he would make a
far better harvest.

AMERICA AND THE BALANCE OF TRADE.—The New
York World writes :—" The Protectionists in the
balance of trade argument lose sight of two all im-
portant factors, viz., foreign investments, the income
form which increases England's imports, and indebted-
ness abroad, which decreases the imports of the United
States. They forget that England has a foreign in-
vestment known as shipping which does sixty per
cent. of the world's carrying trade; whereas our ship-
ping, thanks to those high duties which increase the
cost of ships, and virtually prohibit return cargoes, is
no more. .England's receipts from her carrying trade
are 250,000,000 dole, a year, ours nil; yet, according
to the Protectionists, the United States are better off
without shipping, because that sum, in money or
money's worth, goes to swell the balance of trade
against England I England collects—i.e., imports
in money or money's worth-275,000,000 dole, a
year from her creditors abroad ; we pay
i.e., export in cash or kind—about 125,000,000
dole, a year to our foreign creditors' but
the Protectionist argues that, according to the
' balance of trade' we are 400,000,000 dole. a year
better off than England, because, according to his
jargon, we sold 125,000,000 dole, worth of goods and
bought none, whereas England sold none and bought
275,000,000 dole. worth."
A RARE PROOF OF DEVOTION.—About a month ago
F. A. Learett, of Oakland, an engineer in the employ
of the Central Pacific Railroad Company and sta-
tioned in Arizona, was seriously scalded by the over-
turning of his locomotive, and one of his legs was so
badly injured that the flesh fell away (says the Detroit
Free Press). The attending physicians told him that
if his friends would each contribute a small piece of
flesh they could repair the limb and restore it to its
old usefulness. The statement was widely circu-
lated, and twenty-eight of his fellow-workmen volun-
teered and bravely bared their limbs to the surgeon's
knife. The transplantation of flesh was successfully
made and to-day the leg looks almost as natural as
does the uninjured member. The heroic act of the
men was dully rewarded. Tho saliroad company
hearing of the case, leave of absence was given and
two months' extra pay was ordered to be paid to each
of the men. Mr. Learett is now rapidly recovering.
THE ROYAL SAILOR PRINCES. Letters from the
Detached Squadron, dated Sydney, August 10, state
that the Earl of Clanwilliam had entirely recovered
from his illness, and that the fleet was to sail that day
for Fiji. On Saturday August 6, the Princes Edward
and George attended a grand theatrical performance
at the School of Art in aid of the Goodenough Sailors'
Home. In the afternoon of the same day their Royal
Highnesses were visited by about 1,000 school chil-
dren, who came alongside the Bacchante and sung
national and patriotic airs. Many of the girls pre-
sented bouquets to the Princes, who kindly acknow-
ledged the gifts.
A NOVEL MODE OF ADVERTISING.—One Of the
most novel of the applications of electricity to commer-
cial purposes which might have been seen in the streets
of Paris a week or two ago (says Engineering) was an
advertising cart resembling a greenhouse on wheels, or
still more like a glass bathing-machine, the glass sides
of which were transparent advertisements, similar to
those in the kiosques on the Boulevards. Within this
transparent house is a powerful electric light, the
curfent from which is erived from a set of Faure
batteries, which having been once charged by a gramme
machine are capable of maintaining a steady light for
several hours, and this cart, driven along the principal
thoroughfares of the city, naturally becomes an object
of special observation, and is an instance of modern
enterprise in turning the newest scientific discoveries
to commercial account.
AGRICULTURAL EDUCATION.—Mr. BUAnon,ster, of
the Science and Art Department, South Kensington,
addressing the Chester Farmers' Club, on Saturday,
oh agricultural education, said that whereas for years
past the Government had subsidised the School of
Alines, and promoted other means of technical educa- -
tion, it had done nothing for the farmers. That
Department were now really, however, to aid widely
and substantially in the formation of agricultural
classes. We were now in danger of inverting the old
order of things, and, unless farmers saw at once to the
education of their children, the result would be that
the son of the labourer, would be better educated than
the son of the farmer. The remedy lay not in retard-
ing the education of the labouring class, for that was
impossible, but in deepening and extending the educa-
tion of their own. This was the only way in which
they could preserve that balance of society which was
essential to the welfare and happiness of all.
A SEA WAlF.—Letters from Fiji received at Ply-
mouth report the discovery of an interesting waif from
the sea off the island of Vanceo Leon, of the Fiji
group, in the shape of a bottle containing the follow-
ing document in a state of the most perfect preserva-
tion :—" Whoever finds this please forward to the
Meteorological Office, London, S.W. with place and
date of linding. From Pleoine, S.W.,
Francisco, to
United Kingdom, 18 days out, lat. 4deg. 21min. S.,
lon. 118 deg. 42min. W. ; March 3, 1880. Current last
24 hours S. 9deg., W. 25min. Chas. S. Renant."
Kubulan Point, off which the bottle was picked up, is
in 60deg. 55min. south latitude and 179 deg. east
longitude. During its 15 months' voyage the bottle
travelled in a direct line 6,700_ !idles, having made
_

12deg. 34min. of southern and 61deg. 18inin. Of west-
ing between the points where the bottle was thrown
ovpr and where it was picked up. The ocean is
studded with islands, and that a bottle slnmld have
drifted so far uninjured is certainly surprising.
DEATH OF THE EARL Or AlRLlE.—lntelligence has
been received of the death of the Earl of Airlie,
which occurred suddenly on Sunday night in Denver
City, Colorado. The death is said to have been
caused by a chill attended by congestion, ,The de-
cea,sed, who was a representative peer of Scotland,
was born on the 4th of May, 1826, and was conse-
quently in his 56th year. He is succeeded by, his son,
Lord Ogilvy. The Earl of Airlie had several times
visited the United States, and it was stated that he
undertook his final journey to acquire land for some
members of his family. He was largely interested in
companies trading with America; was a, man,of much
experience in agricultural matters, and of excellent
bisiness capacity. For some time he had not been in
very robust health, but his death was quite unex-
pected. A Liberal In politics, he promoted Liberal
measures on his own property, and gave practical
evidence Of his sympathy with his tenants on occasions
of unfortunate harvests.
"CURES" FOR RHEIIMATISM.—Stifferers from that

dreadful ailment, rheumatism, will invoke blessings
on our head for placing within their reach the follow-
ing infallible cures, (says the Detroit Free Press) :
"Sleep with your head towards the north. Wear a
chest protector. Take nitrade of potash. Use mag-
netism. Put on mustard plastm, letnon Nice, sage
tea. Wear sulphur in your shoes. Carry piece of
sulphur in your vest pocket. Try hard rub-
bing. Eat compresPed cooked corn beef. Wear
silk, white flannel, red flannel, buck-skin. Exercise.
Keep as quiet as possible. Take morphine; carbolic
acid; soft soap bandaged with flannel will do. Do not
eat eggs or potatoes. Eat everything you please.
Do not smoke at all. Smoke as much as you
like. Drink nothing but beer. Do not drink any-
thing but whisky. Drink no ardent spirits. ,! Keep in
the house. Take a ride out whenever you lan get a
free one. Carry a piece of alum in your poket.
Bathe in hot water with pearl ash in it. Bathe in
cold water frequently. Do not bathe at all until you
are nearly well. Go to Chicago, to Saratoga, to
Florida, to Bermuda, to the sandwich Islands, to
California, to the South of France, to Niagara Falls, to
South America. Wear a horse-chestnut in your left
breeches pocket. Wear a potato in the other. Take
Constitution water. Don't eat onions. Eat vege-
tables. Wrap joints with cotton, and cover with
oiled silk. Get out on the prairies. High land is
better for rheumatism. Rub with kerosene. Put
mustard paultieee over the heart. Put on slippery-elm
poultim