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About The new Northwest. (Portland, Or.) 1871-1887 | View Entire Issue (Jan. 7, 1876)
i A Journal Tor the People. UBS. A. J. Dt.MWAI, tdltor and Proprietor. OFFICE Cob. Fbont & Washington Steeeti TERMS, IN ADVANCE: Devoted to the Interests of Humanity. Independent In Politics and Religion. Allye to all Live Issues, and Thoroughly- Radical in Opposing and Exposing the Wrongs ol the Masses. One year.- -13 00 -175 1 00 olx monins Three months.. Fbee Speech, Free Pbess, Feee People. Correspondents writing over assumed signa tures must make known their names to the Editor, or no attention will be given to thel communications. & ADVERTISEMENTS Inserted on Reasonable Terms. VOIUME V. POTJTLiAND , OREGON, FRIDAY, J-A-INTJAJRY 1870. MADGE MORRISON, The llolalU Hall and Matroa. By Mrs. A. J. DUNIWAY, AUTHOR OF "JUDITH BEID," "EIXEH DOKB," "JLMIK AJfD HENBY LEE," "TO! HAPPY HOKE," "OKE WOMAN'S SPHERE," ETC., ETC, ETC. Entered, according to Act of Congress, In the year 1875, by Mrs. A. J. Dunlway, in the office of the Librarian of Congress at Washington City. CHAPTER IV. "Widows, bereft of their loved ones while in the hey-day of prosperity, who have time and inclination to bestow their thoughts upon intricate folds of bombazine and crape, may prolong to their hearts' content the acute luxury of active mourning. But one in Mrs. Morrison's condition must smother back her woe, and, facing the barest and Bternest realities of life, go forth to do its battles as though no death-wound rankled in her bosom, no agony of be reavement or loneliness found lodgment in her heart. November was fast giving way to on coming and more rigorous December, and Mrs. Morrison and her family must have a better shelter than the precari ous one provided by the tent. The logs and boards and poles that Madge and the little boys had made ready were "snaked," as Madge had suggested, by the aid of oxen and log cbalns, to the chosen building spot, a grassy mound sloping every way, with a small, solitary fir tree in the door yard, and a single cluster of oak bushes . bard by. It was an easy matter to raise the pen-like building to a height of six feet, but Jason Andrews, strong and able-bodied as be was, could not, without the assistance of other men, of whom none were available, get it an other round higher. "Let's make steep rafters, and cover 'em with shakes," said Madge. "I've got plenty of nice poles peeled." "But we haven't any nails, child." "We've got augers." "What can we do with augers ?" "Bore holes, of course." "And then what?" "Make pins, like they do In building bridges, and drive 'em In the auger holes." "Strange I didn't think of that. Plfy you wereu't a boy, Madge." "Pm not a-grumbling!" was the gruff reply. "Guess God knows best what I ought to be." "Well, I'll not argue the point." "Because you can't." "Shall" we haul the poles ?" They're ready." The work progressed slowly but surely, and in a few days the house was up, a doorway cut, a roof on, and a square opening left for a fire-place, which was to be made of sticks and mud, and which Madge superintended, as though accustomed all her life to the work. "Where did you learn your trade?" asked her co-worker, who bad learned, in the little time he had toiled with her, to ask her opinion and rely upon her judgment In everything. "I never learnt it. I just shut my eyes and see how it ought to be done, and then do it That's all." "I b'lieve she's the Witch of Endor, come back to earth again," thought Ja son Andrews, as he watched her fur tively. "No, I ain't no witch," said Madge, as though she had overheard him. Her companion hung his head, feeling guilty and frightened. The child took no further notice of him or his thoughts, and betran her preparations for the mud fire-place and chimney, toiling away with an ab stracted air, and giving orders now and then in a short, imperious tone of com mand.as though she did not expect any interference with her plans. , "Make the throat of the chimney arched and narrow, and the fire-place flaring this way," suiting actions to words, as, with her sleeves rolled to her shoulders, and her hands, face, and clothing covered with mud, she tolled with all the skill and much more than the agility of a beaver. "The chimney will smoke if the throat isn't narrow," 'she continued, as Jason Andrews devi ated somewhat from her well-laid plan "How do you know?" "It's got to have a draught, like that the auger holes make when we burn down trees,. That's what the chimney's for, sir. I don't see bow a man can live as long as you have and learn so little." "Madge! Madge! Don't be saucy !' pleaded her mother. "Beg pardon, ma'am. I didn't know It was being saucy to speak the truth," replied the child. The work went on, and in a few days the rude log cabin was completed, rude door, composed of the "shakes," was hung with hinges made from th cast-off top of an old boot that had beta Mark Morrison's property, and a white muslin cloth was tacked across the opening where window glass was not. Boards, thickly rived, and well smoothed with a cooper's drawing' knife, were made to do very fair duty as a floor; and bedsteads, which Madge dignified by the title of "stick-tights, were nailed against the mud-daubed walls, the said walls being lined over the mud plaster by means of "shakes, fastened to their place, with much la bor, by auger holes and wooden pins, in lieu of nails, which were unobtainable. The loft, overhead, was also floored with the thick boards; and a rough ladder formed a rude stairway leading to a store-room, made by the steep pitch of the roof, which also served as a bed chamber; for the two families were to find shelter here till another cabin could be built, and the closest economy of all available space was rendered doubly necessary. The weather, whieh for many weeks had been excessively lowering and blustery, cleared off with the approach of Christmas, and the air became as balmy and the sunshine as beautiful and invigorating as in early April. Mrs. Morrison and Mr. Andrews de cided to lay claim to certain lands, pre scribed by certain decided boundaries; and it was thought best for the one grown man iu the community to turn his attention to improving a few acres, with a view to providing for spring time cultivation, before sparing time to erect a second habitation. Madge proved as ready in her concep tion of fence-building. and other farm work as she bad been adept in the art of constructing a dwelling. She and the twin boys became the constant companions of Jason Andrews in his labors, aud the work went on with dis patch. Luckily game was abundant in the adjacent woods, and savory venison and delicious wild birds graced their bum ble board daily, though the lack of bread and vegetables, sugar, coffee, and other luxuries, to which the immigrants had always been accustomed, was es pecially trying to the invalid mother of the Andrews family, who dally grew weaker and more despondent and home sick. "Why under heaven any woman can't be cdhtented when she's got noth ing to do but set in the corner and eat her victuals when they're brought to her is past my comprehension !" said her tired husband, with the air of a long-suffering martyr, as he saw her turn, with a motion of nausea, from a savory soup, and lean back against a great dry-goods box which bad been stationed behind the hard stool upon which she sat to form a rest to her back, and 'drop her thin bands listlessly upon her lap, while great round tears roiled down her sunken and transparent cheeks. I didn't complain, Jason," said the poor woman, striving hard to overcome her falling tears. If you don't call it complainin' to turn your nose up against such food as the rest of us that work for it are glad to get, and if it ain't the very worst kind of complainin', I've lost my reck onin'," was the querulous reply. "Help me to bed, please," said the in valid, in a choking voice, turning to Mrs. Morrison as she spoke. "That's what's the matter. She lies abed too much !" growled the husband. 'No woman ever gits her strength till she gits about on her feet pretty con stant." "Don't scold me, Jason. I can't bear it," sobbed the wife. "It's only a few years since I ran away from my poor mother, to spend my life in your ser vice. The task has been harder than I bargained for, and I'm 'most dead, but I don't complain. I only beg that you won't scold me." That's always the way. A woman's always a martyr. No man ever has a bard time of it. No chance 1" grumbled the husband, as he strove to dry hU water-soaked clothes before the great fire, while his joints ached, and his rough, weather-beaten, and work-marred hands grew yet more rough and ruddy as be warmed and rubbed thetn in the roaring blaze. "It's the women that do all the com plaining," said Madge, as, coming in from the milking pen, she sat her pall upon a shelf, and began a vigorous cleaning of her hands and face in the family washing bowl. "The fact Is," sue continued, while lier tierce eyes snapped, and her coarse, black tresses shook or seemed to shake themselves defiantly around her square, weather bronzed features, "the women ought all to go dead. Think how they abuse the poor men ! Mrs. Andrews has had the audacity to inflict six children upon her uncomplaining and meek-tongued bus- band; and yet the poor man-martyr doesn't say a word! And she has the strange perversity, too, to get sick over such a trifle as a child or two, that will come under difficulties. And then,-it's such a tin when she can't eat, and make herself well again 1 Poor Mr. Andrews, how he is to be pitied 1" and Madge mischievously flashed her great eyes at the crest-fallen grumbler, who merely hung bis bead, and changed from rub bing bis rough, red hands to a vigorous attack upon his stiff, mud-Boaked socks, that bad become nearly dry in the ruddy beat. Mrs. Morrison, tucked the invalid snugly In the white, band-woven blankets, brought from the far-off home nf her childhood, and doublv cherished because of both utility and olden asso ciations, and stooping, kissed her fair forehead tenderly. Mrs. Andrews gave utterance to choking little sob. "Do you think I'm very Impatient, and bard to get along with?" she asked, eagerly. "Of course not, Mrs. Andrews. Don' mind what your husband says. It1 nly his way. He'll be all right when he gets rested." "If he'd only be affectionate and bear with me kindly a little while maybe I'd get stronger. But I never will be any stronger. If I could only see my mother! Would you mind writing to her for me?" "Alas, poor child! There's no post office nearer than The Falls; and tbe streams have no bridges. We couldn't send a letter." 'But you could write it. Maybe she'd get it sometime." "Very well. Won't to-morrow do?" "I guess I'll have to wait." "Now, you must go to sleep. I'll send the children to the loft to bed, and make 'em be still. Alice will keep your baby until Madge gets warm and rested, aud you needn't worry about anything. Just go to sleep and dream that you're ating blackberry jam and calves' feet elly, with wine sauce. I wish we had them for you, poor child." Will you bo a mother to my baby when I die?" The abrupt question shocked Mrs. Morrison, and thrilled her strangely. "You mustn't think about dyiug," she said, as cheerfully as she could speak. "Why ?" "Because we can't spare you." "You must, though." "Don't talk that way, Mrs. Andrews. Madge has made you a cup of mountain tea. I'll bring you some with good sweet cream in it. Now, drink, whether you want it or not. It will nourish you and make you sleep." Tbe sick woman mechanically obeyed, and sank back in tbe bed again. 'You'll write that letter to-morrow, won't you ?" "Yes, dear." "Good-night." "God bless you !" "If Jason would only speak to me like that I might get well," thought tbe weak invalid, as she closed her eyes, ex pressing a pearly drop from each, that trickled down her transparent cheeks and fell upon her lonely pillow. With the early light of morning, Madge and Jason Andrews departed to their field of labor. The two families, with their necessary bedding, food, clothing, kindling wood, table, and stools, made the one bed-and-llving room so throng that Mrs. Morrison managed to get part of tbe numerous household up and fed and out of the way at their work before the others were al lowed to come down from the loft-chamber, and Mr. Andrews left the house af ter breakfast, while yet his wife lay sleeping tranquilly. "Chirk her up a bit, if you can," said Jason, in an undertone. "A puny, puliu' woman is poor stock in trade for a laborin' man." She's more badly off than you think, I fear," replied his friend. "What makes you thiuk so?" "She seems to have no interest in life, and that's a pretty bad symptom." "Well, she ort to have interest. How a man's a-goin' to raise a family with a woman on his hands that won't try to rally e'hen she's down is more than I can see through," and Jason trudged away to his work, and Madge, with an ax on her shoulder, stalked awkwardly beside him. I hope Mrs. Andrews will die !" she said, suddenly, her voice breaking upon the morning stillness with a strange abruptness. Why ?" asked Jason, getting very red In the face in honest indignation "Because then she'd never trouble you with any more family, and maybe you wouldn't be so badly abused any more." "I've had enough of that kind of sass, Miss Smarty." "There's no sass about it! Nothing but sympathy," and Madge again flashed her wierd, black eyes defiantly at him, as 'she vigorously attacked a young fir tree, and began chopping it into ten-feet lengths for rails. As the day was warm and clear, Mrs. Morrison dispatched every child of each family who was old enough to gather sticks for fire-wood to the forest', for the two-fold purpose of ridding the house of noise for the invalid's sake and making ready for more rigorous winter weather than bad yet visited tbem. After a while, when all was quiet, and both babies were asleep in the rude trough that did double duty as a cradle Mrs. Andrews was, with difficulty, per suaded to eat a few morsels of broiled venison, and drink, though sparingly, of Madge's mountain tea. "Now, get pen and paper and write to my mother, please," she said, pitifully, aud Mrs. Morrison made ready for the task. "T1I her," continued Mrs. An drews, "that I died longing for her kiss of forgiveness, longing to tell her bow deeply I repented that I had ever dis obeyed her by running away to get married." "But you're not dead, and I don't propose to let you die," replied her friend. "You may propose, but God will dis pose. I am dying by inches, and I'm dying, too, for love. Jason used to pet me, and make me think be loved me so devotedly he couldn't live away from me, aud be said he'd commit suicide if I wouldn't marry him. Things went well enough while I was able to keep on my feet, but when I got sickly he took to grumbling, and he never would let me see my poor mother. But he can't help my sending her word when I'm gone, you know; and maybe she'll come out here and raise my children. I didn't know what I was talking about when I said it was none of her business, no matter whom I married. Now, she'll worry about my chicks, and she'll grieve because she never saw me after that dreadful night when I stole my clothes and slipped out at the back porch aud ran down the lane, where Ja son and another man were waiting for me under thecoverof the pawpaw trees. Jason was kind to me then.- He took me in his strong arms aud called me his darling, and his words were so low and sweet, and I was so happy ! I thought it would last. But, somehow, when men get the law aud tbe power, and everything on their side, they don't seem tr) love women as they do before they've married 'em." "I don't know what to write yet, Mrs. Andrews," said her friend. "Oh, I forgot! Well, you may just put yourself in my place, and write just as you would if you were me. I'm weary, and must sleep." To be continued. EELIGION--IDEAL AND PEA0TI0AL, TEUE AND FALSE. This is a subject which seldom fails to nterest those engaged in tbe investiga tion of the various branches of science; and while so many profess to understand its import, yet comparatively few arrive at a satisfactory conclusion, and con tinue to the latest hour a restless search after what they still feel is so infinitely beyond their grasp. It is asserted that the heart of man is naturally inclined to religious worship, and that it is ever ready to pay its devo tions to tbe object considered worthy of adoration. However true this may be, it has not proved a sure guide to direct the Inquiring minds of the multitudes who have sought for objects whereon to bestow their veneration. In the- examination of this subject, it will be absolutely necessary to a better understanding of our actual relations to a higher power that we should take at least a cursory glance and the limits of this article will admit of nothing more at the various attempts of the inhabitants of earth, as furnished us in the early records of history, both sacred and profane, to institute some order of worship, in which is exhibited the in clinations of tbe heart to obey tbe voice of God, or to follow the vagaries of per verted imaginations; and whether we seek to enter the portals of ancient heathen mythology, with its cruel sub terfuges, or search the annals of modern times, we need not wonder at the depths of their moral degradation, for it should not be expected that they would rise higher than tbe shrine at which they worship. An examination of tbe record of their wanderings amid tbe darkness that so densely enveloped the nations as well as the individuals who forgot their allegiance to the true God, will re veal to us the motives which governed their choice. The record of their tem poral magnificence, contrasted as it con tinually appears on the historic page with the profound depths of their spirit ual darkness, adorned indeed with occa sional flashes of moral light, which only proves them the more worthy of con demnatlon we may wisely conclude that their condition was of their own choosing, and turning thus of their own arrogant will from light to darkness, "became the scourgers of mankind." If we content ourselves with looking only on the magnificent display of artis- tic and architectural triumphs so daz- zlingly exhibited, we must confess their greatness. "Grandeur of empire, maj esty of princes, the wisdom of legislators, and the learning of philosophers," all combine to cause us to forget their ac tual blemishes, but we are not to fprget that these in the eye of God are as noth ing. It is doubtless both right and proper that we should esteem at its true worth all that is really admirable in the actions and maxims of the heath en, but we should be especially careful to not permit the delicate form and subtle influence of a false philosophy to blind our perceptions of right and wrong, When their histories are stud led with judgment and mature thought, they lead us to these reflections, and make plain to the student the manner in which tbe Almighty is causing the empires to become subservient to tbe reign of his Son. Certain it is that all their boasts of being governed by tbe light of reason and the dictates of phi losophy have not availed them deliv erance from the clouds of error and vile superstition which have marred the course of the heathen of either the past or the present. We shall find that they did not fail In religion or fervor of piety such as it.was-rfor they exhorted each the other to pay the highest reverence to the gods, and not to undertake any enterprise without first calling upon and consulting them ; and we shall, as we advance, see what the nature of these gods was, and what the character of their priests who ministered, at the altars, receiving the Oblations of those who preferred darkness to light, error to truth. It will be impossible, within the lim its allotted to these thoughts, to enter deeply into the various manifestations of theories evolved by those who have sought by their own devices to create a system, or rather systems of religion, which have only resulted in wideuing aud deepening that immeasurable chasm which lies ready to engulf those who willfully accept wrong in tbe place of right, falsehood instead of truth. This subject loses none of it import ance when we consider tbe reckless teachings of those, whether they be professed scientists or professed theolo gians, who have essayed to be leaders of thought, while tbey evince their unfit ness for the responsible position, and so frequently illustrate the truth of the words so warnlugly uttered by our Sa vior, "If the blind lead the blind, both hall fall into the ditch." It was to blindness such as this that Jesus came to give sight, but "they will not." We shall not find it necessary to an appropriate examination of the subject to notiee any of the idolatrous nations xcept those occupying the most exalted positions as to science and the arts. That profound historian and rhetori cian, Bollin, justly remarks, "It little concerns us to know that there were once such men as Alexander, Ctesar, Aristides, or Cato, and that they lived in this or that period ; that the empire of the Assyrians made way for that of tbe Babylonians, aud the latter for the empire of tbe Medes and Persians, who were themselves subjected by the Mace donians, as they were afterward by the Bomans." The Assyrians are the most ancient people of whom profane history speaks with certainty. Nimrod, the founder of this mighty empire, "in the year of the world 1771, that Is to say, 115 years after tho deluge," was, we are informed iu Genesis 10:9, a mighty hunter before the Lord, and we are told In verse 10 of the same chapter that "the beginning of his kingdom was Babel," afterward called Babylon. Profane history applies to him the appellation of Belus, who was afterward worshiped as a god under that name. Prom tbe sacred record we find that Nimrod and Abraham were nearly con temporaneous their births occurring 152 years apart and placed before us iu that position, they are a striking por traiture of of the results of wrorig and right choosing. It is reasonable to sup pose that the former, being the elder, bad quite as good facilities for under standing "the way of the Lord, to do justice and judgment," ps did the latter, who won by his humble obedience the title of "faithful," while Nimrod did not hesitate to surround with high and strong walls the very work which God bad shown, by confounding the sjfeech of those engaged therein, to be displeas ing to Him. The former an example of self-love and a desire for temporal advantages, carried even to the con temuing of the Deity ; tbe latter, gov erned by exalted priuciple which mani fested itself in acts of obedience and self-humiliation. Babylon and Ninevab, towering in their massive strength, glittering in their gorgeous embellishments, the for mer witli its quays and bridge; tbe lake, banks and canals made for the draining of the Euphrates ; the palaces, hanging gardens and the temple of Belus; the latter "an exceeding great city of three days' journey," its walls a hundred feet high and of such thickness that three chariots might go abreast upon them with ease; this prodigious work fortified with fifteen hundred towers two hundred feet high, was the work of Nimrod and bis successors. Besides the riches of the temple of Belus in Babylon in stat utes, tables, censers, cups, and other sa cred vessels, all of massy gold, there was, among other images, one forty feet high which weighed a thousand Baby lonish talents. The sum total of the riches contained in this temple amount ed to above twenty-ono millions ster ling. All this treasure was devoted to the worship of a deceased mortal, while to Sardanapalus, the last prince of the first Assyrian empire, was erected a statue bearing this inscription, "Eat, drink, and be merry; everything else is as nothing." The second Assyrian empire, arising from the relics of the first, grew in power aud arrogance, as well as riches, until it assumed the right to dictate terms to those who acknowledged fealty to the God of Heaven. Sennacherib, essaying their destruction, being met by the invisible power of Jehovah, his vast army, iu whose strength and ap pointments he exulted, of whom one hundred and eighty-five thousands per ished by the sword of the destroying angel, was compelled to return to Nine vah in affliction and disgrace, God hav ing, as the Scriptures express his condi tion, "Put a ring into his nose and a bit into his mouth," thus leading him through the very countries which had just witnessed bis imperious bearing, His wickedness and cruelty were so great that be was slain by his sons while worshiping before his god, NIs roch. As we contemplate the record of these mighty empires, mighty In earthly acquisitions, from Nimrod to Belshazzar, we find nothing but the effects which al ways result from sin, until at last the! sacreligious impiety proved their ruin and Mene, ickel, vpharsin sealed their doom. The Persians, who conquered the As 'syrian-Babylonish empire, adored tbe aun, sacrificing oxen to this god, who was known among them by the name of Mithrus. They likewise paid a particu lar veneration to fire being in their opinion a representative of tbe sun in trusting It to the care of the Magi, who ealously guarded it, lst it should by accident be extinguished. The Persians likewise honored water, the earth, and tbe winds, as so manydeities, worship ing in the open air, .erecting neither statues nor temples, offering their sacri fices on high places, and cruelly causing their children to pass through this ven erated fire. The Chaldeans were gov erned in judicial affairs by astrological decisions. But their primary gods were Oromasdes and Arlmauius; the former of whom tbey regarded the author of blessings; tbe latter tho author of evil. Before a prince came to tbe throne he was compelled to receive instruction from the Magi, that he might learn from them both the art of reigning and that of worshiping the gods after the proper manuer. Affairs of state were decided only with their advice and opin ion. Egypt was the land of wonders and of art, the renowned seat of learning aud science; where Thebes the Hecaeonpy- los spread Its "august" proportions to the wondering gaze of the ancieuts, whose praises of its magnificence in paintings and palaces were celebrated In both poetry aud history. The Egyp tians, 'through their works of art aud scientific achievements, proved their ele vation iu those respects, but these must all be passed with slight allusion, that more attention may be devoted to their religious rites and doctrines. "The Egyptians pretend to be tbe first insti tutors of festivals and processions in honor o? the gods." It is affirmed that it was from the Egyptians that Pythagoras imbibed his idea of the metempsychosis, or transmi gration of souls. The Egyptians be lieved that the souls of those who bad lived viciously were imprisoned, at death, iu tbe bodies of unclean beasts to expiate their past sins, and that after the lapse of centuries, they again ani mated human forms. Sphinxes were placed at the entrance , of all temples, implying silence. The priests alone were the depositors of the mysteries of worship, which were commonly In volved in symbols and enigmas. They, like tbe Persians, were supposed to wor ship tbe sun and moon under the names of Qsiris and Iris. The ox, the wolf, the dog, the hawk, tbe crocodile, the ibis. and the cat, were objects of veneration with tbe Egyptians. For the latter an imal they entertained a peculiar super stitious reverence, which was possessed In such degree that in times of extreme famine they preferred to eat one an other, rather than partake of their im agined deities. "Of all these animals tbe bull Apis, called Epaphus by the Greeks, was the most famous. Magnificent temples were erected to him; extraordinary honors were paid him while he lived and still greater after his death. Egypt went into a general mourning. His obsequies were solemnized with such pomp as is hardly credible. In tbe reign of Ptolemy Sagus, the .bull Apis dying of old ago, the funeral pomp, be sides the ordinary expenses, amounted to upwards of fifty-five thousand dol lars." Tbe golden calf set up near Slnla by the Israelites, while Moses was absent, was In Imitation of those seen in the land of their bondage. Even vegetation came in for a share of their religious veneration, and it seems to those imbued with a more ex alted faith, impossible that a nation claiming so vast a superiority over other nations as regards wisdom and learning, should have abandoned itself to the ven eration of objects so gross and rldlcu lous. Plutarch, in his treatise, says "Philosophers honor the image of God wherever they find it, evenin inanimate beings, and consequently more in those which have life." But are we to sup pose that Plutarch believed that the worship thus expressed could be pleas ing to the "Great Architect of tbe uni verse?" With all bis philosophy and analytic reasoning, be leaves his admir ers where he finds them, wandering in moral darkness and uncertainty. Paul gives us reason clearly expressed, con cerning the course of idolators. "Be cause that when they knew God they glorified him not as God, neither were thankful; but because vain in tbe im agination, and tbeir foolish hearts were darkened. Professing themselves to ba wise they became fools, and changed the glory of the incorruptible God into an image made like to corruptible man and to birds, and to four-footed beasts and creeping things. Who changed the truth of God into a lie, and worshiped and served tbe Creature more than th Creator." Eom. 1: 21, 2a. O. E. M, To be continued. Let youth beware of tbe first false step. The beginning of a matter may appear trivial, but its end may be ruin ous. When once a concealment or de ceit has been practiced, in matters where all should be plain and open as tbe day, reputation and character are cone, aud gone forever. There is then no retrieving the matter. On the other band, where an Individual is known for Dis strict adherence to veracity, bis suc cess in uie is certain. It is said that there are more lies told in the sentence. "I am triad to see you, than in any other six words in the Eng lish language. A SIGX-BOAUD. I will paint you a sign, rum-seller, And hang it above your door A truer and better sign-board Than ever you had before. I will paint It with the skill of a master, And many shall pause to see This wonderful piece or patstlng, So like the reality. I will paint yourself, rum-seller, As you wait for that fair young boy. Just In the morn of manhood, A mother's pride and Joy. lie has no thought of stopping, But you greet him with a smile, And you seem so blithe ancUfriendly That he pauses to chat awhile I will paint you again, rum-seller, I will paint you as you stand' With a learning glass oP liquor Holding In either hand. He wavers, but you urge him: "Drink ! pledge me Just this one !" And he lilts the glass and drains it, And the hellish work Is, doue. And I nest will paint a drunkard; Only a year has. Mown, -But into this loathsome creature The fair young boy has grown. The work was quick and rapid; I will paint him as lie lies In a torpid, drunken slumber, Under the wintry skies. . I will paint the form of the mother As she kneels at her darling's side Her beautiful boy that wa dearer Than all the world beside. I will paint the shape ot a coffin Labeled with one word "Lost !" I will paint all this, rum-seller, I will paint it free of cost. The sin, and the shame, and sorrow, The crime, and want, and woe, That are born there In jour rumshop, No hand can paint, you know; But I'll paint you a sign, rum-seller, And many shall pause to view This wonderful swinging sign-board. So terribly, fearfully true. Mrs. Van Cott's Latest Exploit. Mrs. Van Cott has been spending a portion of the last mouth in earnest ef forts for the Chritianizing of sundry towns and villages in Pennsylvania. Among these places Is the village of Freedom, in York county, where she met with marked success, aud held en thusiastic meetings. One evening, while canvassing the house for repent ant sinners, she noticed a middle-aged man, tbe stolid expression ot wnoselace attracted her attention and excited her feminine curiosity; so, in her usual magnetic manner, she approached him and asked him if lie would not like to follow in the path of tbe righteous. No answer could she gain, and, with an au dible prayer of "May God drive the dumb devil out of you, my brother," she passed on to iutervlew more im pressible subjects. Two nights passed, and the stranger again appeared at the church; but this time nis eyes were ngmeu up wuu an almost maniacal glitter, and his features seemed the play-ground of the liveliest emotions. iuicKiy approacmng ine altar, he knelt among tbe sobbing and snouting ones, and as tbe religious shep herdess drew near he asked her if she knew him. "Why, you'ro the man that had the dumb devil tbe other night," she replied. He then begged ber the privilege of saying a few words, and the request being granted, he arose, and deliberately drawing a revolver from his breast, held it aloft in a tunn ing, dramatic manner, while he told tbe history of his life to the eager listeners. He was a resident of Chicago, where he had for many years followed his profes sion of photographer. For the last four years he had strayeu iar irom me paw of rieht and virtuous living, and as a consequence of his dissipation and de- Daucuery, nis wiie -nau aeseneu mm and raturued to his friends iu Pennsyl vania, taking his three children with her. Driven to frenzy by this, he sank still lower and lower, until, as if the fiendishne3s of bell itself possessed him, he had purchased this weapon of death and started for tho East, determined to murder his wife and children, and then put an end to his own miserable exist ence. Uniy two niguis ueiore ne sao in that church lookiujr for his wife, and gloating over tbe fiendish plot. The words then spoken to him aroused his almost lost manhood, and falling again on his knees he begged Mrs. van uott to pray for him. She spoke at once, ex tending her hand toward him, "Child, give me that," and with the meekness of a child he handed her the weapon, and then feeling in his pockets produced a box of cartridges, which he also placed in her hand. The strange sight was then presented ot the woman re vivalist holding in one hand a seven shooter, and In the other aboxttf death dealing missiles, while she offered to Heaven an earnest prayer for the sav ing of this brand from the burning. As Mrs. "Van Cott finished telling the inci dent, she said : "Never iu my life did I feel so much power In prayer, and never before did I offer up a petition to my Heavenly Father under such strange circumstances." The next day, the man, clothed In his' right mind, and happy in heart, sought the injured wife, eflected a reconciliation, and another will soon be added to the list' of happy homes in Chicago. Chicngo Post and Mail. What Illinois Wives Can Do. The married women of Illinois acquired by tbe law of 1874 the right to do almost everything. They can sue and be sued in their own names. They can blessed privilege sue their own particular ty rants. When a husband deserts his wife, the latter has the custody of ber children. It the husband stays out of the State a year, and does nothing to support the wife during that time, or if he is imprisoned in tho penitentiary, the wife cau, upon obtaiuing an order from a court of record, manage his property absolutely. The wife is not at all liable for tbe husbaud's debts In curred before marriage, and only in ex ceptional circumstances for those in curred afterward. She can manage any business independently, except in case of a partnership, which she canuot en ter without her husband's consent. A wife's earnings cannot be touched by a husband or his creditors. A married woman can acquire, possess, and sell, real and personal property as freely as a married man can. This list of abilities is expected to be largely increased tbe present year so as' to include suffrage and other incidentals. There are enrolled in the public schools of the United States 8,000,000 children. In the last fiscal year the average dally attendance was. 4,500,000. Thirty-seven States and eleven Territo ries report an increase in public school Income of 1,232,000, aud attendance of children 164,000. The total sum raised during the year by taxation was $82, 000,000, and the cost of public education was about $74,000,000. (9