Part 18

Governor Murray, of Utah, reports to the Secretary of the Interior that a secret organization among the Mormons, which has been in existence for a number of years, nullifies the laws of the United States and prevents the execution of the decrees of the Supreme Court. The Governor proposes to repeal the act giving a legislature to the territory, and to rule the people directly by the United States Government. That is a good suggestion, but why does not Governor Murray do something to prevent Mormon missionaries importing men, and especially women, from European countries to keep their ranks full? We send missionaries to foreign lands to preach the gospel, and permit the Mormons to bring agents of evil over here by the hundreds and thousands.

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The lively canvass for the election of Mayor of Brooklyn, N. Y., has brought to light the fact that the cost of the Brooklyn bridge was $21,000,000.

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That fine military organization known as the Cleveland Greys has decided to purchase ten acres of land on the shores of Chautauqua Lake for a summer camping ground.

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General Sheridan is now commander of the armies of the United States. His abilities as a fighter, which made his splendid reputation in the Shenandoah Valley and on other fields of battle, are not needed now, but rather the qualities which made him an excellent quartermaster as a staff officer. The nation is to be congratulated that while the great generals of the war, Grant and Sherman, are retiring, so capable and worthy an officer as Sheridan, who won a world-wide fame by his skill and heroism in battle, is promoted to this important command.

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It is estimated that the German-American element in this country can not fall short of nine millions. This embraces all that were born in the Fatherland, and all that were born of German parents in this country, and that speak the German language.

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Three hundred thousand voters in Ohio declared themselves in favor of constitutional prohibition at the election in October. The moral force of that vote is tremendous. Never before did the Prohibitionists, who believe in carrying their cause into politics, act more wisely than when they compelled an old and powerful political organization to take up their cause and plead for its success—“wisdom is justified of her children.” If they did fail the effort was a great success, as is every action for a good cause. When the dominant political party shall adopt prohibition as one of the chief planks in its platform it will hold the Christian and temperance voters in its ranks, but when it throws this cause overboard these people will think seriously of turning their political machinery upside down.

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Mr. V. C. Dibble expresses these sensible views on a live question in a recent number of the _Journal of Education_: “The objection to classical culture rests upon the assumption that it is not practical; an assumption which, although not uncommon, is nevertheless incorrect. There is no issue between classical education and that which is practical. The only education worthy of any serious advocacy is the practical—that which is adapted to the condition of its subjects, and which will prepare them for the real work which life will demand of them. Education is in fact life begun.”

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The paper on which the United States currency is printed is manufactured at Dalton, Mass., and the Boston _Herald_, in a recent issue, gives the following particulars: Eighteen or twenty Treasury girls, who earn $3 a day, count the sheets, examining each one closely, and rejecting all imperfect ones. An automatic register at the end of the machine registers every sheet as it is cut off and laid down. The register man takes them away in even hundreds, and they are immediately counted in the drying room. In all the various processes of finishing every sheet is counted, and they are again counted on their receipt at the Treasury Department in Washington. The great protection of the government against counterfeiting lies in the paper here made. The distinctive feature is the introduction of colored silk threads into the body of the paper while it is in the process of manufacture. They are introduced while the paper is in the pulp, and are carried along with it to the end of the machine, where it is delivered as actual paper. This has been more fatal than anything else to the professional counterfeiters.

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The political work during the past month has been a contest in several states for state officers. Massachusetts has attracted the attention of politicians everywhere, because General Butler was the most conspicuous figure in the campaign. He was a musical candidate. Editors of political papers never failed to criticise him and to praise him. He mixed up with schools, charitable institutions, moral reforms, and the industries of the state. He has been defeated by a heavy majority, and Mr. Robinson, the Republican candidate, elected over him. It is now predicted by the wise ones that this will close General Butler’s race for the presidency, but this may prove to be false, because all ordinary rules fail when applied to an abnormal character like General Butler. He rides the stormiest sea of any man in American politics.

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Concerning candidates for the Presidency, all aspirants seem to be using a kind of tactics that will keep their names out of sight, while they gather all the strength possible for the coming struggle. In late years a number of eminent men have run well in the newspapers and in political street talk, but when the votes were counted in the National Convention they failed. Senator Don Cameron is in Europe, and rumor says he will remain there till late in the summer of 1884. Ex-Senator Conkling has lost his political influence, and Senator Logan is obliged to share the political fortunes of his party in Illinois with Secretary Robert Lincoln. This trio, Cameron, Conkling and Logan, who were mighty forces in the last National Republican Convention, will not be able to dominate the action of their states in the next campaign for the Presidency. Perhaps, as one result, the voice of the people will be more potential, and, in such a case, correct ideas of government will triumph.

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Ready made houses is an important branch of manufacturing in some parts of the country. “A correspondent of the _Old Colony Memorial_ paid a visit not long ago to Fairfield, Maine, where a large establishment is located for the production of these knock down houses, and he says that few have any idea to what extent this business has been carried in Waterville and its neighborhood, or to what perfection it has been brought. In the establishment to which we refer dwelling houses are made, like boots and shoes, in any quantity, and of any size or style, and for any market in the wide world. Not long since this concern received a single order for fifty houses for Cape May, to be delivered speedily and in complete finish. These houses were to be, not sheds nor shanties, but regularly ordered dwellings; and they were made accordingly and so delivered, and contain hundreds of occupants at this moment. An order will be received for a $50,000 hotel, or an ornate, French-roof, cottage for a fine country estate, and these as easily and expeditiously furnished as an ordinary boarding house for a country village, or a barn for a ranch in Kansas or Colorado.” This would be a good plan for persons to adopt who contemplate building cottages at Chautauqua. Try it.

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“The first railroad in Palestine is being laid out, and the preliminary survey has been completed as far as the Jordan. It is to run between Acre and Damascus, and is called the Hamidié line, because it is named after his present Majesty, the Sultan Abdul Hamid. Probably one reason why the firman has been granted so easily lies in the fact that it passes through a great extent of property which he has recently acquired, to the east of the plain of Esdraelon. The concession is held by ten or twelve gentlemen, some of whom are Moslems and some Christians, but all are Ottoman subjects resident in Syria. Among the most influential are the Messrs. Sursock, bankers, who own the greater part of the plain of Esdraelon, and who have, therefore, a large interest in the success of the line.”

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Several eminent Englishmen have visited this country during the past month. Lord Coleridge, representing the law, Henry Irving the stage, Matthew Arnold, literature, and Père Hyacinthe, theology. The reception of these gentlemen in our eastern cities indicates that the world has a peculiar fondness for its own. Henry Irving was received by more people, entertained more elegantly, and eulogized with more applause, than any one in the list. Yet he has not done a tithe as much for the elevation of his fellow men across the waters as any one of the others. Is it not still true, “The children of this world are wiser in their generation than the children of light?”

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A Hindoo prophet, Babu Protap Chunder Mozoomdar, has come to this country from the Orient. He was educated in the religion of Brahminism. Some years ago he renounced idolatry, and in company with his cousin, Keshub Chunder Sen, joined the Brahmo Somaj, a theistic movement started in 1830 by Ram Mohun Roy. Mr. Sen and Mr. Mozoomdar have since become prominent leaders in this religious and social movement. Mr. Mozoomdar left India last spring for a tour around the world. He is about forty-two years of age, is above the average height, is of dark complexion and finely-cut features. He is the author of two books; one on “The Faith and Progress of the Bramo Somaj,” and one just published entitled “The Oriental Christ,” which is a devout and poetic conception of Christ as seen by an Oriental mind.

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The term “dude” is a very convenient nickname for the over-nice or simpering individuals who are found in considerable numbers on every line of the world’s work. There is the fashionable dude, scholarly dude, literary dude, artistic dude, etc. They are a useless class of persons, unless they serve as scare-crows to frighten other people from the line of life on which they move. Perhaps this is as good service as can be claimed at the hands of such a set of weaklings.

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The Arctic relief expedition has proven to be a great failure. No relief for the Greeley party was provided by the expedition, and yet it has returned home. The verdict which public opinion seems to render is, that the “Arctic Relief Expedition” was _badly managed_ from first to last.

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It is said that one result of President Arthur’s visit to the Northwest is a determination to appoint only residents of territories to the important territorial offices. This is a concession to the people of the territories who are dissatisfied with appointments from without.

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The decision of the Supreme Court on the Civil Rights bill turns the whole question over to the government of the states in which the colored people live. If they do not secure justice there, they have another high privilege in reserve, namely, the right of appeal to a higher court.

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The dynamite explosions in October, on the underground railroad in London, were ineffectual attempts as movements either against the city or general government. Some Irish leaders claim that the Irish did not do the mischief, but that designing Englishmen who mean to keep up perpetual war between Ireland and England, were the guilty parties. The ways of this conflict are as dark as the railroad tunnel under London.

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The Chautauqua Board of Trustees will hold their annual meeting at the Sherman House, in Jamestown, N. Y., on Wednesday and Thursday, the 9th and 10th of January, 1884.

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The _Deaf-Mute Advance_ comes to our table once every week, from Jacksonville, Ill. As the name indicates, it is published in the interest of deaf-mutes, and is doing much to inspire with a desire for education the class of people to whom it ministers. In a late number the editor says: “A young lady from the country came to Danville some days ago, driven by a green boy, who had his first view of town life. She had occasion to go to the Deaf and Dumb Institute, and the boy, when he went home, said he saw the people there ‘winking at each other on their fingers.’”

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Mr. Moody successfully opened his great mission in England on Nov. 4. Four meetings were held, each of which was attended by from 4,000 to 6,000 persons. The iron hall built for the occasion proved to be complete in all its arrangements, affording seating room for 5,800 persons. All around on the sides of the hall appropriate texts were displayed, such as “God is Love,” and over the platform, “We pray you in Christ’s stead be ye reconciled to God.” Mr. Sankey sang with customary effect. Mr. Moody’s powerful addresses showed that he had not lost his hold on the people. At the close of the evening meeting a man in the hall shouted out that Mr. Moody’s last mission in London had been a failure. Mr. Moody answered by calling for volunteers to come out boldly on the Lord’s side, whereupon about three thousand men arose _en masse_. The incident caused much excitement.

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The first number of _The Outlook_, the paper published in the interest of the class of ’84, is out. It is a stirring little sheet, brimming over with class news, class gossip and class enthusiasm. The ’84s are especially fortunate in having such an editor as Mr. Bridge to lead them. This little quarterly will undoubtedly do much toward awakening the class and making their closing year even more brilliant than their beginning. Let every member subscribe.

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A novel and entertaining exhibit was held in Paris in October. It was called “The Exposition of the Incoherent Arts,” and was arranged by and contributed to by young artists. Such a collection of absurdities is rarely seen, this one being on a much larger scale than those in previous years, and those who attend go to laugh. It is necessary to be a Frenchman and a Parisian to thoroughly appreciate all the happy hits and plays upon words, but even a foreigner can find food enough for laughter. The proceeds of the exhibition are for the poor of Paris, and it is expected that it will net quite a good sum. The exhibition abounds in pictures of the realistic school. For instance, where there is a figure wearing a shoe it will very likely be a genuine shoe attached; or hair will be stuck on instead of painted, suns and moons be represented by gold and silver paper pasted on, and one painting gives a ship sailing along accompanied by fishes, the fishes being two or three regular dried herrings glued to the canvas. One of the most prominent pictures is a portrait of the lecturer and critic, M. Henri de Lapommeraye. The hair and mustache, the eyeglass, the book just laid down, the letter he is reading, and the glass of sugar and water at hand, are all real objects attached to the picture, and of course, stand out most “naturally” from the canvas. No. 85 is entitled, “Poem of a Pig.” It is a very striking geometrical fantasy, the five different handlings of plain geometrical figures giving a pig drama in five acts. First act, pig strolling along seeking whom he may devour; second act, a sudden noise startles him, he scents the wind; third act, feeling he is pursued, he turns his head; fourth act, a knife shines in the air, he guesses, he flees; fifth act, fate is fate, and the beast sees heaven. No. 167 is “A Wild Pansy” (study of flowers). One forgets that “_une pensée sauvage_” can also mean a savage thought, and the surprise comes in to find the flowers of the picture are a fierce young boy and a scared-looking cat, and the boy is murdering the cat by running a spear through its neck. These are but samples of the whimsicalities.

ASTRONOMY OF THE HEAVENS FOR DECEMBER.

By PROF. M. B. GOFF.

THE SUN.

On the twenty-first day of this month, in our latitude, occurs the shortest day in the year. The sun rises at 7:20 and sets at 4:37, making the day’s length 9 hours, 17 minutes. This is also the day on which properly our winter begins. The sun has reached the winter solstice, his most southerly point, and now begins his journey northward, causing the days to grow gradually longer.

THE MOON.

The moon’s phases occur in the following order: First quarter, on the 7th, at 6:38 a. m.; full moon on the 13th, at 10:20 p. m.; last quarter on the 21st, at 3 a. m., and new moon on the 29th, at 7:51 a. m., Washington time (or, according to the “new reckoning,” eight minutes and twelve seconds later in each case). The moon approaches nearest to the earth on the 12th, at 10:24 a. m., and is farthest away on the 24th, at 10:12 a. m. Its greatest altitude in this latitude will be on the morning of the 14th, when it will be 60° 53′ above the southern point of our horizon.

MERCURY

Will be evening star during the entire month. But it matters little, so far as seeing it with the naked eye is concerned, until near the close of the month, whether it be morning or evening star. On the 1st it sets at 4:35 p. m., and is then too near the sun to be seen. On the 30th it sets at 6 p. m., a few minutes before the moon, and about 5½° south of the latter body. On the 31st it sets at 6:03 in the evening, about one and one-third hours later than the sun, and 1½° north of where the sun disappears. On both these evenings, and for several days both before and after these times, this planet is visible to the ordinary eye, and by its bright white light is readily recognized. Although visible several times each year, it is a remarkable fact that it has been seen by comparatively few persons. In the higher latitudes it is much more difficult to see than in the lower, and the atmosphere of some parts of Europe is very unfavorable for its observation.

VENUS

Will also be evening star throughout the month, setting on the 1st at 5:36, and on the 31st at 6:36 in the evening. It is at its greatest distance from the sun at 2 p. m. on the 12th. By far the brightest star in the west after sunset, a failure to recognize it would be almost impossible. It is the _Hesperus_ of the ancients. On the evening of the 31st it is about seven degrees south and a little west of the moon.

MARS

Will be the morning star, rising at 9:45 p. m. on the 1st, and at 7:51 p. m. on the 31st. From the 1st to the 23d it will have a direct motion, that is, a motion from west to east, of 11 minutes and 18 seconds of arc; on the 23d, it will be stationary, and from the 23d till the end of the year it will have a retrograde motion, that is, from east to west, of one minute and forty-two seconds of arc. About nine o’clock on the evening of the 18th, it is north of the moon 8° 18′.

JUPITER,

King of the planets, will also rank as morning star. On the 1st he will rise at 8:33, and on the 31st at 6:23 in the evening, and like Mars will maintain nearly the same position in the heavens during the whole month, his motion being 9′ 22″ retrograde. On the 16th, at 9:51 p. m., he will be 5° 43′ north of the moon. The moons of Jupiter can be readily seen with a telescope of moderate power, or good opera glasses.

SATURN,

Though properly an evening star, shines from “dewy eve till early dawn,” rising on the 1st at 4:27 p. m., and setting next morning at 6:47; and on the 31st rising at 2:21 in the afternoon, and setting the following morning at 4:42. His motion will be 9′ 9″ retrograde, and on the 12th at 7:53 p. m., he will be 55 minutes north of the moon. The rings of Saturn are an object of great interest to every observer and the present is a favorable time to see them in great splendor, though the view in December 1884 and 1885 will be still finer.

URANUS

Begins the month by rising at 1:02 a. m., (thus putting himself among the morning stars), and at the close of the month at 11:11 p. m. His motion, which is direct, but only 1′ 42″ in thirty days, seems slow enough, but when we reflect that he actually travels an average absolute distance of over thirty million miles a day, we can but wonder at his terrific speed. He is located about two degrees southeast of _Beta Virginis_, and “can be seen with the naked eye, if one knows where to look.”

NEPTUNE,

The most distant of the planets, rises on the 1st at 3:30 p. m., and sets on the 2d at 5:26 a. m., and on the 31st rises at 1:31 in the afternoon and sets the following morning at 3:25. His motion is retrograde, and amounts to 2′ 34″ for the month. This planet is of no special interest to the ordinary reader, as “to recognize its disk with ease,” requires a magnifying power of three hundred or upward.

C. S. L. C. NOTES ON REQUIRED READINGS FOR DECEMBER.

EASY LESSONS IN VEGETABLE BIOLOGY.

It will be observed that many of the words and expressions used by Dr. Wythe in his “Lessons” are pronounced and explained in the “Glossary and Index.” Where such explanations and pronunciations occur, of course no notes have been prepared.

P. 12.—“Albumen,” al-buˈmen. The word is derived from _albus_, the Latin word for white. Albumen forms a part of all animal fluids and solids. The white of an egg is almost pure albumen. In the vegetable world it is the food laid up for the nourishment of the embryo around which it lies.

P. 13.—“Slide.” A small slip of glass about three inches long by one wide. It is intended to place objects on which are to be examined under the microscope. The “cover” here referred to, is a square of very thin glass, which is placed over the object to hold it in place.

“Capillary attraction,” căpˈil-la-ry. When a capillary (hair-like) tube is dipped into a liquid, there is an attraction between the solid and the particles or molecules of the liquid which causes the latter to rise in the tube if it wets it, or to sink if it does not.

“Heated stage.” The simplest means for heating the stage or slide upon which an object is placed, is by a small alcoholic lamp placed at the corner of the stage.

P. 15.—“32 deg. F.” 32 degrees on the Fahrenheit thermometer. This scale, invented in 1714, by Fahrenheit, is commonly used in England and America, although the centigrade scale (where the distance between the boiling point and zero is divided into one hundred parts) takes its place largely on the continent, and in most scientific works.

P. 18.—“Amœba,” a-mœˈba. Readers who live in warm climates will have no trouble in finding the _amœba_ attached to the stems of plants or floating in pools of stagnant water. To find a specimen in December in temperate latitudes will be more difficult, but by collecting grass and stems of water plants, with water from a pool, and keeping them in a warm room for a time, specimens may be obtained.

P. 22.—“Cinchona,” cin-chōˈna. The tree from which the well known drug, Peruvian bark, is obtained.

“Quinine.” Kwiˈnīn is Webster’s preferred pronunciation, kwe-nīnˈ, Worcester’s. Quinine is an alkaloid obtained from the cinchona bark.

P. 28.—“Nucleus.” The nucleus may be easily seen in a thin section from an apple or potato, placed under a microscope.

“Mucilaginous,” mū-ci-lăgˈi-noŭs. Like mucilage.

P. 29.—“Silica,” sĭlˈi-ca. Flint or quartz.