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REV. DR. TALMA(iE. THE BROOKLYN DIVINE’S SUN DAY SERMON Snbject: “Plasters That Will-Not Stick." (Preached '' * • Hampton. N. Y.) Text: “Miserable comforters arc ye all .*' —Job xri., 2. The mar of Uz had a great many trials— the loss of his family, the loss of his prop arty, the loss of his health; but. the most, ex asperating thing that came upon him was the tantalizing talk of those who ought to have sympathized with him. Looking around upon them, and weighing what they had said, he utters the words of my text. Why did God let sin come into the world! It is a question I. often hear discussed, but never satisfactorily answered. God made the world fair and beautiful at the start, if our first parent had not sinned in Eden, they might have gone out of that garden and found fifty paradises all around.the earth—Europe, Asia, Africa, North and South America—so many flower gardens, or orchards of fruit, redolent and luscious. I suppose that when God poured out the Gihon and the Hiddekel he poured out at the same lime the Hudson and the Susquehanna, the whole earth was very fair and beautiful to look upon. Why .did it not stay so? God. hr.d the power to keep back sin and woe. Why did he not keep them back? Why not every cloud roseate, and every step a ioy, and every sound music, and agqs a long jubliee of sinless men and sinless wo men? God can make a rose as easily as he can make a thorn. Why, then, the predominance of thorns? He can make good, fair, ripe fruit as well as gnarled and sour Jrujt. Why so much, then, that is gnarted and sour? He can make men robust in health. Wily, then, are th -re so many invalids' Why not have for our whole race perpetual leisure, instead of this tug and toil and tu-sle for a li veil h'ood ?, I will tell you why God let sin come into the world—when I get on the other side of the River of Death. That is the ploce where such questions will be answered and such myster ies solved. He who this side that river at tempts to answer the question only illustrates his own ignorance and incompetency. All I know is one great fact, and that is, that a herd of woes have come in upon us, tram pling down everything fair and 'beauti ful. A sword at the gate of Eden, and a sword at every gate. More people un der the ground than on it. The grave yards in vast majority. The six thousand winters have made more scars than the six thousand summers can cover up Trouble has taken the tender heart of this world in its two rough hands, and pinched it until the nations wail with the agony. If ail the mounds of graveyards that have been lifted were put side by side, you might step ox them and on nothing else, goihg all around the world, and around again, an 1 around again. These are the facts. And now I have to say that, in a world like this, the grandest occupation is that of giving condolence. This holy science of imparting comfort to the troubled we ought, all of ,us to study. There are many of you whfi could lhok around upon some of your very best friends who " well and are .very intelligent, and yet be able truthfully to say to them in your days of trouble, “Miserable comforters are ye all. ” ■_ I remark, in the first place, that very volu ble people are incompetent fra- the work of giving comfort. Rildad and Eliphaz had the gift of language, and with their words almost bothered Job’s life out. Alas for these volu ble people that go among the houses of the afflicted and talk-, an 1 talk, and talk, and talk! They rehearse their own sorrows, and then they tell the poor sufferers that they feel had now, but they will fee! worse after a while. Silence! I)o you expect with a tniii court pl.isUir of words to heal a wound deep as the soul? Step very gently round about a broken heart. Talk very softly around those whom God has l>ereft. Then go your way. Deep sympathy has not much to say. A firm grasp of the hand, a compas onate look, just one word that means as much as a wdiole dictionary, and you have given, perhaps, all the comfort that a soul needs. A man haste terrible wound in his arm. The surgeon comes and binds it up. “Now,’ he says, “carry that arm in a sling and be very carefu 1 of it. let no one touch it.” But the neigh! qrsh ive heard of the accident, an l they come in, and they say: “Let ns see it And tin- bandit;e is pul e 1 off, an 1 this one and that one must feel it, and see how much it is swollen; and there is irritation, and inflammation, and exasperation, where thvr - ought to be hoaling and cooling. The surge n comes in, an I says: ' What does all this mean: You' age nq business to touch those ban lages. That wound will never heal unless you let it.alone.” °o there are souls broken down in sorrow. What theymost want is rest, or very careful and gentte treatm nt; but the neighbors have heard of the bereave ment or of the ioss, and they come in ta sympathize,and they say: “Show us now the wound. A\ hat were his last words! Re heat st- now the whole scene. How did you feel w hen you found you were an orphan?” Tearmg of the bandages here, and pulling them off there, lea\ ing a ghastly wound that the balm of God s g ace had already begun to heal. Oh, let no loquacious people, with ever rattling tongu >s, go into the homes of the distressed! Again 1 remark, that all those persons are in -our etent to give any kind of comfort who act merely as worldly pliilo ophers. They com - in and say: “Why. this is w hat you ought to have expected. The laws of nature must have their way;” and then they get elo quent over something they have seen in post mortem exam nations. Now, away with all hum in philosophy at such a time? What dif ference does it make to that father and nu ttier what disease their son died of? He ie dead, and it makes no difference whether thfl trouble was in the epigastric or hypogastric reg.on. If the philosopher be of the stoical school he will come and say. “ You ought to control your feelings. You must not cry so.* \ou must cultivate a cooler Temperament. You must have self reliance, self govern ment, self control;’’ an iceberg reproving a hyacinth for having a drop of dew in its eye. A violinist has his instrument, and he sweeps his fingers across the. strings, now ev king strains of joy, and now strains of sadness. He cannot play all the tunes on one string. Tae human soul is an, instrument of a thousand strings, and all sorts of emo tions were made to play on it Now an antiiem, now a dirge. It is no evidence of wei cness when one is overcome of sorrow. 1-dfnnna Burke was found in the pasture lien with his arms around a horse’s neck, caressing him an i some-one said: -“Why, the gr -atman has Inst his mind!” No,' that horse belonged to his son who had recently <li“d, and his great heart broke over the gnet. it is no sign of witness that men are overcome of their sorrows. 'Thank God for the relief of tears. Have you never been in tro ib.e when you could not weep, and vou would have given anything for a good cry? David did well when lie mourned ter Ab sa.om. Abraham dill Well when he bemoaued oarab, Llirist did well when he wept for Lazarus, and the last man I want to see come anywnere near me when I have any kind of troub'e is a wordiy philosopher. Again I remark thattiose.persons are in mpeu-nt for the work of comfort bearing wao have nothing but cant to offer. There . e tho.se who have the idea that you must groan over the distressed and afflicted. T lere are times iu grief when on 9 cheerful face dawning on a manV; , »>ul is worth a ’ Liousand dollars to him. Do not whine over the afflicted. Take the pro nises of the Gos pel, and utter them in a manly tone. Do not ■e afraid to smile if you feel like it. Do not 'drive any more hearses through that poor soul. Do not tell hin the trouble was tore* 1 ordained; it will not be any comfort to know it wa.a million year:*coming. If you want to find splints for a broken bone, do not take c is‘ iron. Do not tell them ,t is'Gd l’s jus tice that weighs out grief, dhey want now to bear of God's tender mercy. In other words, do not give them a jua fortis when they need va’erian Again, I remai k th it those persons are poor comforters who have never had' any trouble themselves. A larkspur cannot lecture on the nature of a suowttake—it never saw a snowflake; and those people who have al ways lived in the sumflM&of prosperity can not talk to those iJtio.are frozen in disaster. God keeps aged people in the world, 1 think, for this very work of sympathy. They have been through all those trials. They know all that which irritates and all that which soothes. I’eopje whq have not had trials themselves talk very beaAitffully, and they may give yoq a great deal of poetic sentiment; but while poetry is a perfume that smells sweet,it makes a very poor salve.' If you have a grave in your pathway, and somebody comes and covers it all over with flowers, it is a grave yet. ' Those who have not had grief them selves know not the mystery of a broken heart. They know not the meaning of childlessnes.s( and the having no onh to put to bed at night, or the standing in a room where every bo6k and picture and door is full of memories—the door mat where shft' sat, the cup out of which she drank—the place where she stood at the door and clapped her hands—the odd figures that she scribbled—the blocks she built into a house. Ah, no; you must have trouble yourself before you can comfort troublo in others. But come all ye who have been be reft and ,y.e who have ;been comforted in yoursofrows, and stand Around these afflicted souls, and say to them: “I had that very sorrow myself. God comforted me, and He will comfort you,” and that, will go right to the spot.. In otbeV words, to fcefijfprt others we must have faith in God, practical experi ence and good, aound common sense. Again, I remark, there is comfort in the thought that God, by all process, is going to make you useful. Do you know that those who accomplish the most for God and heaven have all been under the harrow! Show me a man that has .done anything for Christ in this dav, in a public or private place, who has had no trouble and whose path has been smooth. Ah, no. I once went through an ax factory, and I saw them take the bars of iron and thrust them into the terrible furnaces. Then besweated workmen with long tongs stirred the blaze. Then they brought out a bar of iron and put it into a crushing machine, and then* they put it between jaws that bit it in twain. Then they put it on an anvil, and there were great hammers swung by machinery—eacli one a half ton in weight—that went thump! thump! thump! If that iron could have spoken, it would have Said: “Why all this beating! Why must Ibe pounded any more ttian any other iron!” The workmen would have said: “We want to make axes out of you, keen, sharp axes—axes with which to hiw down'the forest, an 1 build the,ship, qin erect houses, and carry on a thousand enter prises of Civilization. That’s the reason wo pound you.” Now, God puts a soul into the furiiaceof trial, and them'it is (brought out and run through the crushing'machine, and then it comes down on the anvil, and upon it blow after blow, blow after blow, and the soul cries out: “Oh. Lord, what doqs all this mean?” God say’s: “1 wanlf to make Sbjpn-.,i tiling very useful out of you You #h all lira - something to hew with and something to build I with. It is a practical process through | which 1 am putting you.” Yes. my Christ- I tian friends, we want mpre tools in the j church of God. Not more wedges to split i with; we have enough of these. Not more * bores with which to drill; we have too many 1 bores. What w%really want is iteen, sharp well tempered axes, and if there be unyother | way of making them than in the hot furnakds and on the hard anvil, and under the»heavy hammer, Ido not know what it is. Remenis her that if God'brings any kind of chastise ment upon you, it is only to make you use - ful. Do not sit down discouraged and say: “I have no more reason for living. I wish I were dead.*! -Oh, there never was so much reason for your living as now! By this or deal you have been consecrated a priest of the Most High God. Go out and do yo,ur whole work for the. Master. There is also a great deal of comfort in the fact there will be a family reconstruction in a better .place. From, Scotland, or Eng land, or Ireland, a child-emigrates to this country. It is very hard parting, but -he comes, after a while writing home as to what i a good land it is. Another brother comes, a sister comes, and anothgr, and after a while the mother comes, and after a while iihe father comes, and now they are all here, and I they .have a time of great and i a very pleasant reunibii Wcllfft Is* just so with our familios; they are eirtigrarting to a better land. Now one goes ouv Oh, how hard it is to pirt with him! Another goes. .Oh, how hard it is to part with her! And another,'and another, and we ourselves will after a while go over, will be together. Oh, what a reunion” Do you be-' lieve that? “Yos,” you say. You do not! A'ou do not believe it as you believe other things. If you did, and with the same emphasis, why, it would take nine-tenths of your trouble off y our heart. The fapt is, heaven to many of us is a great fog. It is awav off somewhere, filled with an uncertain and indefinite population. That is the kind of heaven that many of us dream about; but it is the most tremendous fact in all the universe—this heaven of the Gospel. Our departed frien Is are not afloat. The resi dence in which you live is not so real as the residehee in which they stay. Y r ou are afloat, you who do not know iii the morning what will happen before night. They are housed and safe forever. Do not,therefore, pity your departed friends who have died in Christ. They do not need any of your pity. You might as well send a letter of condolence to Queen victoria on her obscurity, or to the Roths childs on their poverty, as to pity those who have won the palm. Do not say of those who are departed; “Poor child! “Poor father!” Poor mother® They are not poor. You are j>oor—you whose homes nave been shattered—not they. You do not dwell much with your families in this world. All day long you are off to business. Will it not be pleasaht when you can be to gether all the while! If you have had four children and one is gone, and anybody asks how many children you h ive, do not be so , infidel as to say three. Say four—one in heaven. Do not think that the grave is un friendly. You go into ypur room and dress for some grand"e:itertay«nont. and you come forth beautifully ajSparSled; and the grave is only the place where you go to dress for the glorious resurrection, and we will come out radiant, radiant mortality'having be come immortality. Oh, how much condol ence there is in this thought! I expect to see my kindred in heaven: 1 expect to see them as certainly as I expect to go borne to day. Ay, I shall more certainly see them. Eight or ten w ill Come up from the graveyard back of Somerville; and one will come up from the mountains back of Amoy, China; and another will come up from the sea off Gape Hatteras; and thirty will come up from Green wool; and I shall know them better than I ever, knew them here. And your jriends—they may lie across the sea, but the -trumpet that sounds here will sound there. You will come up on just the same day. Some morning you have overslept yourself, and you open your eyes and s-e that the suu is high in thebeavens and you say, “I have overslept and I must be up and off.” So you will o)>gn your eyes on the morning of the res urrection-in-the full blaze ot' God’s light, and you wjll -av: “I must be up and away.” Oh yes, you will come up and there will R- a re union. a reconstruction of your family. I like wh it Halburton, I think it was —good old Mr. Halburton—said iu his last moments: “I thank God that I ever lived, and that I have a father in.hcaypn, and a mother in heaven, and brothers in heaven, and sisters in heaven, and I am noiv going up to see them.” I remark once m*ore: Our troubles in this world arq| preparative for glory. What a transition it was for Paul—from th»slippery dock of a foundering i-hip to the cTtiy pres ence of .lesus! What'a transition it was for Latimer —from stake to a throne! What a transition it wis for Robert Hal!—from insanity to glory! What a transition ii was for Ri hard Baxter—from the droysy to the 1 “saint’s everlasting re-t!" And' what a transition it will be for you—from avorld of sorrow toa world of joy! John Ho'lnnd, when he was dying, said: “What means this brightness in the room? Have you lighted the candles?” “No,” they replied, “we have not lighted any candles.” Then sail he: “Welcome heaven!' the light already learn ing iqion his pillow. O ye who are perse cuted iii this world! your enemies will get off the track after a while, and all will speak well of you among the thrones. Ho! ye who are sick now, no medicine to take tli-re. One IJeatlT of the eternal hills will thrill you with immortal vigor. And ye who are lonesome now, there will be a thou sand spirits to welcome you into their com panionship. O ye bereft souls! there will-be no grave digger’s spade that, will cleave the side of that hill, and there will be no dirge wailing from that temple. The river of God, deep as the joy of heaven, will roll on be tween banks odorous with balm, and over depths bright with jewels, and under skies roseate with gladness, argosies of light going j down the stream to the stroke of glittering j oar and the song of angels! Not one sigh in the wind; notone tear mingling witli the I waters. There shall I bathe my weary soul .• In scan of heavenly rest, And not a wave of trouble roll Acrhss my Peaceful breast. j*' The Spider and the Wasp.'' | Many years ago the writer, who was then residing at Durham, heard a re markable buzzing in an outhouse attach ed to his dwelling. On going to ascer tain the cause, he saw a wasp attached by the foot of a hind leg to a single thread . of a spider’s web, which hung dowu con siderably below the geometrical network. The buzzing was occasioned by the rap id action of the insect’s wings, in its ef forts to free itself from the above encum brance, and it was marvellous how such an attenuated'thread could withstand . the strain of compaiatively heavy, a weight, combined with the twisting to w hioh it must have been subjected by all these innumerable The spider, quite a small one, .was patiently watching these struggles from above,* far out of reach. But presently, observ ing that the wasp was endeavoring with I the fellow leg of the opposite side to j free the one which was enthralled, the \ cunning little spider ran down its rope, j and, rapidly attaching a fresh nooze to the foot of this leg also, coiled it close to the other, and in such a way that the legs were drawn tpgether behind the wasp’s back, the scales of which, mov-- ing only inwards and sideways, pre vented it from darting its sting in that direction. Ttyen - the spider' retreated again to its former secure position and 1 watched the results of tips last man- j ceuvre. In vain did the wasp continue its severe exertions' till it became ex hausted and comparatively still, when the spider slipped down again upon the body of his captive find inserted into it some poison of liis own; ak.itke same time neutralizing any remaining force in the wings by swathing them with, fresh threads close to the body. The poison seemed to act rapidly: the wasp was soon bereft of all motion and life, ■ anjl,was with apparent ease dragged up | by the victorious little spider to a con- ! venient spot for being feasted upon.— j London Field. His Nerve Did Not Save Him. ’ . x • ’ - . * Early last week a young farmer, JSskph-.Silva, While .'cutting a field near Ceutreville, eucounlerW a large rattlesnake, w’liicli be struck with his scythe and stunned. Silva supposed, he had killed the reptile, and picked it up by the tail to cut off the' rattles, -j Holding the snake almost at ifrm’s leng th, he backed at the cartilage connect- : ing the rattle with the tail* several times without severing it' He'then gripped the snake by the body, and as the knife penetrated it, as a last effort the ven omous creature doMbled and struck him on the little finger-burying its fangs deep in the flesh. The boy* shook the snake off, and without an instant’s hesitation cut the finger off at- the middle joint above the place where the reptile’s teeth had entereiflfc Even then his nerve did not desert mm, and he made way homeward, a considerable distance. Here he drank a large quantity of whis key, and had his bleeding finger bandag ed. He felt no ill effects from the bite and three days later his curiosity led him to search for the piece of his finger which he had left iu the field. He found the finger black with the poison it had absorbed, and without consideration of the consequences, handled it. The virul ent poison came iu contact with his wound, and that night he died in ter rible agony.— Portland Oregonian. Railroad Building. The Raihcay Ayr says: “Contrary to the expectation at tlio commencement of the year, and in spite of the uncertainty and danger in regard to railway invest ments winch action of the national and State authorities have caused, tlie_ work of ndding-to the railway mileage of the country has go on at a rapid rate, and the aggregate of track laid during the past six months now proves to be actually greater than Ims ever been reported in the same period, with the’ exception of last year, when our record for the first half showed 3,754 miles laid, the total for the year reach ing almost 13,000 miles. Our detailed record shows that between Jan. 1 and July 1 of the pr< sent year, 3,320 m'iles of main liues —not including sidings— were laid in the United States. This mileage is divided among 168 lines, and indicates what it is to be a characteristic of railway construction this year; that it will be made up by the building of a • great number of comparatively short roads instead of being composed, to a large degree, of long lines built by a few companies.” Lesson in E iquette. - - j * T ' ; Traveling Texas —“ Pass that thar salt, young feller 1” Sm all Thnuf.ia.'olt—"lf what?” Traveling Texas (promptly)—“lf you please, sir. ” Time. THE SANDWICH . ISLANDS. WHAT A TRAVELER SAW IN KING KALAKAUAS DOMINIONS A Stronjr Race Mixture —Scenes in Honolulu—The King's Palace— Chief Fooil Supply. Charles H. Wetmore, pf Detroit, de scribing a visit to the Sandwich Islands in the Free. Press, says: “We were first surprised by the strong mixture of colors among, the inhabitants. Pure white residents are comparatively rare. Thh total population of all the islands is about *O.OOO, of which more than one half are natives. There are but 2000 Americans in all the islands. There are about 20,000 inhabitants in Honolulu. The residence portions of the city are very beautiful, the houses being largely after the style of our summer resort cot tages in point of style. The business portions of the city are very ordinary. The streets are narrow and none of the blocks is over two stories in hight. The tropical beauties of the city are hard to describe. It is like traveling through one perpetual conservatory. Back of Honolulu lies a beautiful valley. It is called the Nuuano Valley. At its upper end, about six miles from the city, is a magnificent view called the Pall, the Hawaiian term for clitf. From that point ohe gazes off-over the Pacific ocean and the long beach which lies 1200 feet be low-.,* The plain below is called Kanaoh. Through the Nuuano Valley flow the Btreams from the mountains which fur nish the wafer works and run the dyna mos for the electric lighting.' “Another beautiful valley in the neigh hood of Honolulu is the Manoa. About three miles from the city is the beauti ful suburb of Waikiki. For a mile or more at this point the beach is lined with handsome cottages and affords splendid bathing facilities. The old coooanut trees—over 21)0 years old—here furnish a prominent feature of the land scape. ' Honolulu is the center of the business of all. the islands. There are the agents.of the sugar plantations, the chief industry. It is the only place on any' of the'islands where steamers can come to the docks. At all other points the boats are forced to anchor outside the surf and land, passengers in small boats. , The royal palace—called “Isata'ni”— occupies a’square of about 500 feet in the centre of the city and is, surrounded by a. high wail formed of stone and cement. Just outside of the palace' wall are the barracks, for the handful of native troops of his Royal Highness can boast. The place itself is a large and imposing structure, two stories high. It is a very handsome - building. The throne foom is a large and beautifully finished apart ment. The throne for his .Majesty and the queen is on a raised dais at one end ef the apartment. The woodwork is of koa, or native wood. The hangings are of red damasK. The state dining-room is also very large and elegant. It is hung with portraits of foreign'sovereigus, nota bly. one of Louis Phillippe. The state reception room is hung with blue, gaudy colors* predominating throughout the palace. Opposite, one of the gates in the palace wall is located the government building. This is a handsome stone structure. In front of this stands a bronze statue of Kamehameha 1., founder of the kidgdom. He was king of one of the islands and conquered all the other kings and gathered the Hawaiian group into one dominion. The present King, Kalakaua—mean ing Day of Battle—is not of Kamehame ha descent, but was elected to the throne in defaults of tHe heir apparent, none having been named by the sover eign. He is not a man who commands the respect of the better classes of peo ple on his islands. He is much more at home with his native singers and dan cers at Kailua than in managing and con ducting governmental affairs at Hono lulu. In .June last his actions became so intolerable that the leading citizens of of Honolulu inaugurated a bloodless revolution, forc-ing the king to dismiss his en\ire Cabinet and appoint citizens who they named, and also to sign a new constitution virtually modeled upon that of the United Stales. The Queen is of good demeanor and possesses more or less dignity. They have no children, and the heir apparent is Mrs. J. O. Dominis, wife of the Governor of the island. She is the Krng’s sister. Her hus and is white, color not counting for much in that country. The royal Hawaiian Hand, in the employ of the government, is one of the attractions. It is composed of thirty-three members, all natives. They play as well as any I first-class band in this country. They ! perform every Monday morning in the palace square and in the public squares ! three times a week. Their singing of native songs is a notable feature of their ; performances. I “The distances in Honolulu being great, many livery carriages are in use. I They are two-seated and are all alike,one horse beihg used in drawing them. I I think Honolulu uses fully as many livery ! carriages as does Detroit. The Chinese problem is coming to the front in the | Sandwich Islands as well as elsewhere. I In Honolulu whole streets are occupied by the Chinese. They work at the laundry business in part and are also waiters and servants. Many small shops in all the islands are run by Chinese. Almost all the poi is made by them, and the white poi Hag is seen 'everywhere. Poi? .Oh, the taro is a vegetable, gray in color and about the size of our beet. Raw, it is unfit for food, but baked it forms a large uroportion of the food of the islands. ft is cooked and pounded with iron mallets. It is then mixed with water until it assumes a’nout the con sistency of starch, when it is put into barrels and allowed to fermant for about twenty-four hoars, it has then acquired an a id taste, and is then to the native Islander what rice is to the Chinaman. The Government of the Sandwich Islands now may be said to be in the ! hands of the missionary party. The • descendants of the old missionaries form a very importafit part of the financial and intellectual strength of the islands. The native Congregational Church, a | very old building, is well filled with natives every Sunday. Episcopal, Con gregational, Homan c atholic and 1 resby terian churches are well attended. A new native church is now being finished. “The Sandwich Islands may well be termed the land of flowers. The natives and all other residents use blossoms profusely in decorating themselves. It is a common spectacle to see a bare j footed Kanaka with an old straw hat ’ literally buried in wreaths of rareflowers and lines of the same adornment about her neck. Wher. a steamer sails the band plays mendy upon the dock, and crowds of natives with garlands of flowers and native maille wreaths wave I adieus. Departing friends are always i profusely decorated with flowers and ! wreaths. Kanakas are almost nmphibi i ous. The bay is dotted with colored lads ready to dive for coin like fish. The holoku—or Mother Hubbard, is the uni versal dress for women on the islands. The women have fine figures and are generally barefooted. The men are, physically, fine specimens of mankind. They arc not large, but are well formed and exceedingly muscular. “The morals of the island are still tinged with the license of the old days of savagery. Many of the most infiu i ential and wealthiest white men on the island have native wives. The natives, however, are rapidly dying out by ab sorption. There are not to exceed one half as many of them now as forty years ago. They are a good-natured, kindly race, and their friendly ‘Aloha!’ is al ways accompanied by a pleasant smile.” SCIENTIFIC ANI) INDUSTRIAL. A window glass works is the latest enterprise in Salt Lake City, Utah. One pound of mercury converted into fulminate is sufficient to charge fifty thousand percussion caps. Nashville, Tenn., has a canning fac tory that is turning out ten thousand .pans of fruit and vegetables every day in the week. Well-supported is said to be the theory that many deaths were caused by suffoca tion in last winter’s blizzard in the Northwest. The fabric known as Chinese grass cloth is made from the fiber of nettles. The cloth i- peculiarly glossy and trans parent, and, a; belting for machinery, has doable the strength of leather. Two German experimenters find that the illuminating power of naphtha gas is reduced one-half by twenty per cent, of air. The mixture becomes explosive when it contains from about five to eighteen volumes of air to one of gas. A. Milltown (Me.) mechanic has in vented a log-sawing apparatus which has an upward as well as a downward mo tion. The scheme has not been fully tested yet, but, if succ ssful, will be a great time-saving • invention to lumber dealers. Portable 'electric lights, arranged to hang on a button of one’s coat, and with a - parabolic reflector to concentrate the light, with storage batteries weighing one and a half pounds each, are made to enable persons to read in railroad cars by night. An excellent new use for the telephone is proposed in the infectious wards "of the French hespitab, so as to enable the sick people isolated in their sufferings to have the comfort of hearing their rela tives’ voices without any risk of convey ing infection by an interview. While the most rapid cannon shots scarcely attain a velocity of (100 yards a second, over 1500 knots per hour, mete orites are known to penetrare the air with a velocity of 40,000 or even 00,000 yards per second, a velocity which raises the air at once to a temperature of 4000 to 6000 centrigrade. The new mill of the Holyoke (Mass.) Envelope Company is nearly completed. The boilers have a capacity of 200 horse power. There are sixty-four envelope machines, with a producing capacity of about r.,000,000 envelopes a day, where the greatest amount of work turned out | in one day was 1,860,000 envelopes. The i building has 1)00 water sprinklers and eighteen stands of pipe, together with a huge water tank holding 6000 gallons. The force equivalent to the working steam engines represents in the United States 7,500,000 horse power, in Eng land 7,000,000 horse power, in Germany , 4,500,000, in France 0,000,000, in Austria 1,500,000. In these the mo tive power of the locomotives is not in cluded, whose number in all the world amounts to 105,000, and represents a total of 3,000,000 horse power. Adding this amount to the other figures we ob tain the total of 46,000,000 horse power. The British consul at Ningpo, China, calls the attention of British manufactur ers to spinning machines used in his district that were imported from .'apan, and which he thinks will eventually be adopted in cotton producing countries. The advantages claimed for them, as compared with lhe method of spinning u=ed in America, are that the staple is less injured and that the seeds are better cleaned. This is attained by drawing the cotton between straight steel edges or knives, instead of using saws. Instead of using solid iron plates or massive walls of wood and iron for war ships, it is proposed to use a new mate rial known as woodite. Tlys is an elastic material not unlike iudia rubber, but unlike that material, it is not sticky, and resists oils and heat. It is a com pound caoutchouc, and was patented a few years ago. Experiments at Hartford in 18-10 gave promise of great things, for the hole made in the woodite by the passage of a shot closed up at once, not even allowing a drop of water to go in. Two torpedo catchers are now building at Elbing, and the inner skin of these vessels is formed of a layer of wooditf two and a half inches thick. A Curious Instrument. It is a curious thing that the Italian ocarina, or earth-flute, has not r ceived more attention from music lovers in this country. Of course it is sold in the stores here, and you occasionally hear it in a minstrel show, but not one man iu*a hun dred knows anything about it. I have heard it played in Italy, and the music from a quartette of the instruments is ex quisite. Its range is limited, but iho quality of its tone when skillfully played is pure and queer. It has a pastoral flavor, reminding one of piping shep herds, and a classical environment. The ocarina is very simple. Iu shape it is something like a pear or a small gourd. It is made of baked clay. Its range is about twelve notes. No instrument can be more easily learned, for it always plays itself when one has mastered the scale, and there are no keys nor any elaborate fingering to embarrass one. Tne North Italian peasants use it constantly in the field, and when you hear one of their peculiar melodics from a practiced quar tette you wonder such simple means can produce so beautiful a result. Chicago Fetes. A GREAT CATTLE MARKET. THE LARGEST RESORT OE ITS KIND IN THE WORLD. The Deptford Market in Enjrtaml, and Its Rules —Thousands of Live Stock Sold There Daily. A Uondon letter to Wilk s'Spirit of the T tries thus describes a visit to what the writer calls “the largest covered cat tle market iu the world”: Deptford is a town of a most interesting character, an cient and full of historical interest. It is about seven miles from London. The place was of little importance, till the time of Henry \ 111., who for the better preservation of the Loyal Navy estab lished a dockyard, and incorporated the Society of the Trinity House by the title of the ".Master, Wardens, and Assist ants of the Gu.ld or Fraternity of the Most Glorious and U ndivided Trinity and of St. Clement in the county of Kent.” This royal dockyard included a space of thirty-one acres, and is now the site of the great cattle market. The most interesting feature of the old Dept ford ship docks is that it -was here that Peter the Great lived and worked and learned his trade as a shipwright. This market has the most stringent by laws that regulate every part of the ex tensive business. For instance, a dog is not allowed on the premises, and the cleanliness of the market enclosure can well be called perfect. I suppose that there are nearly 150 different buildings in this area, and of every size and adapta bility. The wharfage is superb, and the largest vessels from all countries come up the Thames and disembark their huge cargo of cattle without the slightest di acuity. The morning that I was at Deptford one of the Monarch line was discharging a thousand American beeves. They looked lank and miserable. lam not often ashamed of anything I see emanating from my own dear country, but I must confess when I saw this long troop of tired, long-ho.ned, faint steers walk across the gang-plank and up the walk to the American stalls, 1 felt a little chagrined. The American agent, however, said: “Don’t fear, there are no bee ves that will be sold this or any other day like the American. It is the meat that is favorably taking with all classes more and more.” 1 was glad to hear this, and yet, as I looked at the splendidly built Spanish beeves, the beautiful black and white Dutch cattle, the Portuguese short, thick and well lived animals, I could not believe what my guide and friend told me. Yet, when the sale came off later in the day, his prediction was positively verified. The corporation of London makes a good thing in this business. Fifteen pence on every beef and lOd. on every sheep that is landed must be at once paid, and then not one of these animals ever go out of the enclosure alive. .Most of the animals are sent on commission, and the commission agents are always on hand to take every advantage of their position. There is little responsi bility on their part, and the remunera tion received ought to be most satisfy ing. But it is not every one who can ob tain a place of this character. Each agent has his own stalls, pens and folds. There is no auctioneering; everything » is of the most quiet nature. The day tfcnt I was at the markeff here were over 0000 sheep and lambs sohl and ovei 5000 beeves, and yet everything was conducted in as quiet a manner as at tha most quiet of art sales. 4he butcher, or * the in meats, will go from stall to stall and pen to pen,asking “how much?' 1 If the price is satisfactory the number is mentioned and they ate driven to one of the many slaughtering establishments, and in a few hours the clean-dressed car cases are on their way to London. Not a hoof of any kind goes out of Deptford alive, except those of a carrier's work. There is a fine imposed upon em ployes using vulgar or profane language. At the conclusion of each day’s sale there must be made a square settlement between buyer and seller. Yet there is a great deal of honesty between theia two parties. I was with one of my Geaman friends who deals very largely in German sheep. A buyer came up and pointed to a pen in which were 160 fine sheep. “How much?” “Thirty-two shillings,” was the reply (of course this was for each). “Will give you thirty shillings,” said I the customer. “All rignt,” said the seller, and the bargain was sealed by a shake of the hand—no writing, no other agreement but the word of honor. The slaughtering houses are a wonder in themselves. I have seen the same I kind of work performed in Armour’s J tablishment in Chicago, but that was' I with swine. Here a huge bullock is I slaughtered and made ready for sale iu a I few minutes. Nothing is wasted. One I large firm in London, ka3 the contract I for ail the guts. The skins are sent to I Germany for sausage skins, or to London I to manufacture into lawn tennis bats. I Another firm receives all the hides of I the beeves, and another of the sheejfl skins, while the perquisite to a drover is I the long hair on the tails of these ani-1 mals. The drover sells this to the manu- II facturer, who converts it into fine II brushes, etc. » « At 4 o’clock the sales of the day are I suspended. Everything must go, and I then the cleaning of the entire buildings I begin, and before midnight they are as I clean as if nothing of the brute creation I had been present. The dung is removed I by a contractor, and not a vestige of I this immense trartic is seen on the follow-1 ing morn. I doubt if there is another I institution of its kind in the world. I Chinese Banking Profits. [ Manchooria, China, appears to be the I paradise of bankers. Wealthy mandarins I and merchants, desirous of concealing I their wealth from their Government, I make deposits with bankers without! taking receipts, and rather tliau risk! the loss of capital so deposited by its■ becoming known to the paternal ernment, to whom probably such capita* l rightly belongs, no interest is derived! from such deposits, except of course *url the banker’s own investments. At the! death of a depositor his heir may know that 100,00)) taels, more or less,! are, deposited in some bank or other.! From such causes-as these native bankers! become very rich. Graphic. I The reports of the officers of Afghan boundary .say that the India® soldiers are so much larger than t ® Russian Cossacks that it would ta ® 100,000 of the latter to contend with •>*>»■ 000 Indians. ,L