Denton and Haughton Examiner, etc. — 1878-11-30 (Denton, Greater Manchester, England)

ORIGIN OF BROTHER JONATHAN."—When Washington, after being appointed general commander of the army of three voluttonary war, came to Massachussetts to organise it, and made preparations for the defence of the country, he found a great want of ammunition and other means necessary to meet the powerful foe he had to contend with, and great difficulty to obtain them. If attacked in such a condition the cause at once might be hopeless. On one omasion, at that anxious period, a consultation of the officers and other officials was held, when it seemed no way could be devised to make such preparations as were necessary. Jonathan Trumbull was then the Governor of the State of Connecticut, and the general, who placed the greatest reliance on his judgment an& aid, remarked, "We must consult Brother Jonathan on the subject." The general did so, and the governor Setts successful in supplying many of the wants of the aria;. When difficulties afterwards arose, and the army was spread over the country, it became a by-word. "We must consult Brother Jonathan." The term Yankee is still applied to a portion; but "Brother Jonathan" has now become a designation of the whole country, as John Bull has for England. erobtnoLAs.—The outlines of the gondola are something between those of a canoe and a model or an ancient Scandinavian galley. A stnall cabin. with glazed sides and ends, is constructed in the middle, something like that in an English canal boat. The general colour of the exterior is Mack, relieved with a little gilding, so that it has a rather unpleasantly suggestive resemblance to a floating hearse. The bow and stern are covered in with a wooden floor, with cross strips to afford a firm footing to the rower. If there is but one gondolier, he stands aft, looking forward, as he propels and tZeers the boat at once with a sort of punting stroke.difficult to describe, the oar being supported on a strong projecting crooked rowlock called a '• foments." It is well worth while traversing some of the narrower canals, were it only loser the wonderful skill with which these wen turn sharp corners, almost grazing the walls, or pass one another in some narrow channel; on approaching the former a sharp but not unmusical cry-----Pint ie, ah doh.'" or, "Plinth', ah proof !" according to the direction— is uttered to warn any one on the other side to look out and turn the right WK.y. No more pleasant means of locomotion could be devised. Life in a gondola is life in its laziest form ; and as the idle farmer's boy placed his ideal of regal luxury in" swinging on a guts all day. with plenty of beans and bacon to eat,' I should hold it as being rowed about in a gondola all day, with plenty of grapes and tigs.--Piefaresque Emelt, THE GOSPEL IN AFRlCA.—Africa, one of whose sable sons bore the cress for Hint who bore it for all the world—Africa. a land cursed with slavery; where merchant princes dealt in flesh and blood; where the march of civilisation. as the white man's march was called, meant death : this land has lagged behind all the countries in the world in the attainment of higher things. But on her darkness the Light of Life has arisen, and following in the train of exploration zed commerce. Christianity. the hand-maiden of both, has made her entrance into the land. Krapf and Ilebmatin in the interior, the Moravian Brethren, John Campbell. and Moffat ascending from the south, Livingstone and Charles New entering from the east, have taken possession of the land in the name of the Kingdom of Heaven. Stations have been started everywhere; on the roost of Old Calabar. the United Presbyterian Church has its quarters; nit Sierra Leone, Abbeokuta. and other places on the Gulf of Guinea, the Church of England has extensive arrangements ; while in the neighbourhood of Cape Colony every sections of the Church is represented.—Heroes of Britain itt Promoted War.  Is respect to using the thoughts of other writers, almost every author is a Spartan, being more ashamed of the discovery than of the depredation. Yet the offence itself may not be so heinous as the manner of committing it; for some not only steal, but, like the harpies. befoul and bespatter those they have plundered. Others again give on the mere carcase of another nlan'S thoughts, deprived of all their life and spirit— and this into add murder to robbery. Wuo's