Preparative Meeting, North Carolina, departed this life in the faith and hope of the Gospel, the 9th of Eleventh mo., aged 25 years. The day before his death, when a friend bade him farewell and asked him if he was sweetly trusting in Jesus, he said that he was; and a few days before that he expressed that his work was done. This dear young man gave evidence even while a child that the work of grace was going on in his heart. About eleven years ago he made a public profession of faith in Christ, and since that time has lived a consistent Christian life. His relatives and friends are comforted with the assurance that their loss is his eternal gain. FARR.-At Manchester, Maine, Eleventh mo. 24th, 1884, Henry Earle Farr; an esteemed member of Winthrop Monthly Meeting and of the Meeting on Ministry and Oversight. Called suddenly in the strength of his years to leave a beloved wife and three small children, an aged mother, who leaned upon him for support in her declining years, and others near and dear to him in life, he left a bright evidence that his peace was made with God. His voice was often heard in prayer and praise in his home meeting and in the family circle, and he was actively engaged in mission work among poor and neglected families, and in neighborhoods where the preaching of the gospel was seldom heard. He was mindful of both the temporal and spiritual needs of those with whom he mingled, and the poor found in him a truly sympathizing friend. In reviewing our dear brother's useful and active life, we are forcibly reminded of the blessed Saviour's words: "Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren ye have done it unto me." NOTICES. FRIENDS' FREedmen's AssocIATION OF PHILADEL PHIA. The Freedmen's Friend, issued Sixth month, 1884, contained our last Annual Report, letters from teachers and other matters of interest. It is our expectation to reopen all the schools taught last year, and embrace other openings for labor which may offer, if funds permit. Our expenses we believe are as small as possible, so that any sums subscribed will almost certainly yield a full return of benefit to these poor people, who still so trustfully look to us for advice and education. It is estimated that we shall require about two thousand dollars to carry out our present plans, in addition to the one thousand dollars promised by the Association to Charles S. Schaffer to erect a substantial school building at Christiansburg, Virginia. An early response is very desirable. RICHARD WOOD, President of the Executive Board. EDWARD M. WISTAR, Secretary. RICHARD CADBURY, Treasurer, 409 Chestnut St., Philadelphia. A CONFERENCE OF TEACHERS and those interested in First-day School work will be held in the Twelfth Street Meeting-house, on Fourth-day, Twelfth month 17th, 1884, at 8 o'clock. The following topics have been chosen for Conference: I. What may a Superintendent expect of his Teachers? II. What may the Teachers expect of their Superintendent ? III. What may the Teachers expect of their Scholars? IV. What may the Scholars expect of their Teachers? It is hoped that all will feel sufficient interest to at tend, if possible, and to add to the interest and value of the meeting by giving expression to any thoughts which may occur to them. A. S. WING, Chairman. THE INTERNATIONAL LESSON. FOURTH QUARTER. LESSON XII. In the preceding chapters, Solomon has given some of his experiences in relation to the course of human life and his views thereupon; he now seems to sum up the result of his researches and experience, and gives it in the form of practical advice, especially to the young. The division into chapters is unfortunate, as the subject contained in the present lesson really begins with verse 9 of chapter xi. 1. Remember now, etc. "Now," is literally "and," so joining the verse with the last verse of the preceding chapter. "Remember" Him for all that He is; so have God before thee, that nothing will be done without reference to Him, and do this while thou art young. While the evil days, etc. Days and years in Prov. xxii. 6; Isa. The emphasis is on "evil." which there is no happiness. xxvi. 8; II Sam. xix. 35. 2. While the sun, or the light, etc. "While " should be translated " 'before," and "or" and "nor" should be "and." Many commentators take verses 2-7 as a metaphorical representation of old age, and the passage can bear such an interpretation, but it seems rather forced, while the literal meaning is very clear. The reference to old age naturally seems to end with verse 1. Light. See chap. xi. 7. The clouds return after rain. A tempest succeeding a tempest. 3. In the day when the keepers of the house, etc. "A," not "the" day. Solomon gives specimens of evil days of various kinds, any one or more of which may come upon a man. Keepers. The attendants (perhaps slaves). See Song of Sol. iii. 7, 8; Luke xi. 21; Matt. xxiv. 43; Ps. cxxi. 3—5. Strong men. Possibly the masters. The grinders. Maid servants. Compare Ex. xi. 5; Matt. xxiv. 41. They are few. Better, as in the margin, "because they grind little." Those that look out of the windows. The women of the house. Compare Judg. v. 28. Thus we have the whole household; the servants, the master, the maids, the mistress. Some consider the divisions of this verse as referring "to the four parts of the body, the arms, the legs, the teeth, and the eyes," thus carrying on the figure of old age. 4. And the doors shall be shut, etc. Closely connected with the preceding verse. And he shal rise up at the voice of the bird. "And one starts at the note of a sparrow." The time may come when even a very little thing will startle a man. The daughters of music. Literally, "all daughters of song. Chap. ii. 8; II Sam. xix. 35. Brought low. Hushed. 5. Also when they shall be afraid of that which is high. Also, "moreover;" there is now a change in the enumeration of evils; the former were external, now those which come from within are dwelt upon. The meaning of this verse is not clear; possibly it might be rendered thus,-" Be sides they look with dread on high, and great dismay is in the way, and the almond tree is despised, and the grasshopper is burdensome, and the caperberries are scattered."-Dale. Almond. "The flowers are pink."-Smith. The almond, whose blossoms are the harbinger of spring, is taken as a symbol of anticipation. The grasshopper. LiteLiterally, "locust;" even that will be a burden. sire. Literally, the "caper-berries," which were often eaten before a meal to provoke the appetite. His long home. Man's "brief home" is this world; his "long home," or "eternal house," is the next world. The mourners. See II Chron. XXXV. 25; Jer. ix. 17; Matt. ix. 23. 6. Or ever the silver cord be loosed, etc. De Life The is represented under the figure of a golden lamp suspended from the ceiling by a silver cord or chain; also by a pitcher; and by a wheel. silver chain breaks, the lamp is suddenly broken; the pitcher, which has gone often to the spring, is broken at last; the wheel, by which the bucket has been lifted often from the well, is broken. The comparison of these images to different parts of the body, involving as it does a knowledge of the nervous and circulatory systems, which there is no reason to suppose Solomon possessed, seems unnecessary and forced. 7. Then shall the dust, etc. Compare Gen. ii. 7; Gen. iii. 19; Eccles. iii. 19, 20; Ps. cxlvi. 4. The spirit shall return unto God who gave it. The statement is simply made, that, as God gave the spirit, so to His charge it will return. The question of its future destiny is not entered upon. statement certainly implies a future state. The 8. Vanity of vanities. Verses 8-14 are the Epilogue, or conclusion of the whole book. The Preacher repeats the words with which he began (i. 2), so as to impress, if possible, his conclusion more strongly, which is, that this world is all a fleeting show." 9. And moreover, etc. There was, however, still something to be added-the grand conclusion in verse 14. to. 10. Acceptable words. Such as would be listened 11. The words of the wise are as goads. As the goad makes the ox bestir himself, so do the words of the wise impel the hearer to do right. Nails. Because they remain in the memory. Masters of assemblies. Possibly, teachers or preachers, like Solomon. One shepherd. God, the source of all wisdom. Prov. ii. 6; Jer. xxiii. 1—4; I Cor. ii. 12, 13. 12. These. The words of the wise. Books. Or, writings," not necessarily a volume. Study. Or, reading," as in the margin. 13. Let us hear the conclusion. The grand end of all. Fear God. The reverent fear which leads to loving obedience. Prov. i. 8; Job xxviii. 28; Ps. cxi. 10. The whole duty of man. Rather, "the whole man;" the man who does this has all the essentials of a true life-such a statement comprehends everything, provides for every circumstance that may arise. 14. For God shall bring every work into judg ment, etc. This may mean (1), God will bring everything into adjustment, bring all things which are secret or irreconcilable into order; or (2), that there will be an appointed judgment in another world: the latter seems more likely. Compare Rom. ii. 16; xiv. 10; II Cor. v. 10; Matt. xxv. 37-40; Acts xvii. 31. SUGGESTIONS. 1. Old age is not by any means necessarily an evil time, "The hoary head is a crown of glory, if it is found in the way of righteousness." Prov. xvi. 31. 2. No calamity can dismay those who "fear God, and keep his commandments." fearing and obeying Him thenceforth, we are pre3. If we remember our Creator in our youth, pared for everything that may come in future years. all which this world has to offer is evanescent— 4 Solomon did not rest with the conclusion that heathen philosophers have arrived at that point also; he adds the greater conclusion-pointing out that which is steadfast-Fear God and keep his com mandments. He joins faith and obedience. Com pare I John iii. 7. 5. God shall bring every work into judgment with every secret thing. What a solemn thought! I Cor. iii. 13-15; Jer. xvii. 10; Rev. ii. 23. Abridged from The [London] Christian. JERRY MCAULEY. The secret of Jerry's power was that he spoke that which he did know and had experienced. He was frankness itself as to the unutterable depths from which the Gospel of Christ had saved him. At one of the last meetings which he addressed, for instance, this was his testimony: "I was a brute; I was one of the worst devils ever let loose on society, but the glorious Gospel contained in that blessed Bible civilized me. There is no power like it. It made me a man and a Christian, and a good citizen." Jerry was brought up indeed amid the lowest and most degraded surroundings. Born in Ireland, his family emigrated to America when he was thirteen years of age. His father was a counterfeiter, and he himself unfortunately followed in his footsteps. He was a river thief, a prize fighter, and, in fact, a marked man in the police books for his connection with all kinds of criminality. Finally he was arrested, convicted of highway robbery, and sent to prison for fifteen years. During this long imprisonment he heard the testimony of Orville Gardiner, who, himself a prisoner of the worst class, had been converted during his sentence. Gardiner, it may be noted, nobly redeemed the late years of his life by devoting himself with the greatest success to Mission work after his release. He absolutely used himself up in his rescue mission on the New York streets. mimic, that irresistibly caught the attention. He could not expound a text; but out of the depths of his own experience and the fullness of the Gospel salvation, he preached such sermons as few ministers could have done. SCHOOL. BLOOMINGDALE Friends' Academy, we learn from the Bloomingdale Academician, has, this term, an enrolment of fifty four students. Its Faculty is as follows: Robert E. Pretlow, A. B., Literature, Language, Science. "Jerry," Language, Science. Susan R. Harrison, A. B., Painting, Drawing, English Grammar. Edwin Morrison, Mathematics, Geography, Natural Philosophy. The first lecture of the term was delivered by Prof. Pretlow, Tenth mo. 16th, on the "Worth of Conviction." The lecture course for the term will include lectures from Prof. B. C. Hobbs, Edwin Morrison, Dr. John S. Dare, Andrew F. Mitchell, President Board of Trustees, and possibly others. The light which Gardiner was instrumental in kindling in Jerry's soul did not burn brightly for some time after his leaving the prison. He had more than one relapse into evil courses, but at last he took a decided stand for Christ. His first honest employment was given him by Mr. A. S. Hatch, one of the bankers of New York. Jerry went to him, and told him that he was in want of something to do. Mr. Hatch had just got a new yacht, and prior to selling his old one, wanted some one on board to take care of it. "Jerry," said he, "I want some one to take care of my yacht." "Are you in earnest ?" said Jerry; "wil you trust me?" Mr. Hatch did trust him; and Jerry was so full of the new sense of responsibility that he hardly allowed himself to sleep during his care-taking. This beginning of an honest career was the first fruit of Jerry's Christianity. He developed rapidly into a ripe Christian character, and his work for Christ kept pace with his development. In Water street, one of the worst districts of the city, he began on a humble scale a mission which soon proved its usefulness by the results accomplished. "The Helping Hand for Men," as Jerry named his mission, had the field all to itself among the vilest dregs of sin and vice. To his meetings he managed to attract profligates and prostitutes, thieves, burglars, drunken sailors, land sharks of all kinds, and, says Mr. McBurney, "The Helping Hand" became a Bethel and a birthplace to hundreds. Then new work thrust itself in upon him. Another mission was opened at 106 East Thirty-second street. Jerry raised 6000 dollars to fit up the building, and, among a low population, he carried on his work there with extraordinary success. Up till his death he was the central figure of the work, both at the Water street and the Cremorne missions: and thousands looked with tearful eyes on his coffin who traced the dawn of their spiritual life to the lamp lighted by Jerry McAuley in these dark places. He was only forty-five years of age when he died. He had long been in the grip of consumption, but his death came at last with a startling suddenness. In his life, however, he had done more for the evangelizing of the slums of New York than any other man. Boys at school are often disposed to apply the cui bono? argument to many of the studies they have to pursue, during their curriculum. H. Bentley, speaking as an old scholar at the annual meeting of the Nonconformist Grammar School, Bishop's Stortford, last week, gave a good answer to such an inquiry. He said: He "He used to wonder what was the use of cramming oneself with Latin and French, and he was told that it had a very fine effect upon the intellect. When he got out to the Congo he was placed in a position which was altogether unforeseen when he was at school, and he had to acquire Portuguese, which was the only means of communication, and he found it very easy to do so after the grounding in Latin he had received there. He had learnt French there, also, and when he got out to the Congo he found how very useful it was to know something of French. He learnt to swim in the Stour, and that also had been useful to him. was pleased to notice in the school some geological and natural history specimens. On the banks of the Congo he had noticed some fossils, and had said to one gentleman, I suppose you burn this stone up for lime?' 'No,' he said; that is not limestone.' He asked one of the Roman Catholic missionaries, and tried to ascertain if he knew anything about limestone, but he appeared to be quite ignorant of it. But he tested a piece of it, and he found that it was limestone. It was a very valuable thing for boys to get a practical knowledge of things about them, and to pay some attention to the geology of the country around them. No one knew the calls that might be made upon them in after He had no external advantages to assist him, nothing but an indomitable will and a double portion of the Holy Spirit upon him. His face was rather repelling than otherwise; of a low phrenological type, with small eyes, very receding forehead, and with hardly any top to his head. But he was all on fire with Christian energy. He was outspoken and honest in his utterances, hating shams, life."-The [London] Christian. and denouncing them with uncommon vigor. His meetings were conducted with great vigor and "go," so as to be thoroughly attractive to the rough people whom he aimed at. He had always excellent singing, "no better singing in town," said Mr. McBurney. In his talks there was a mixture of the melodramatic, the pathetic, and the HARVARD COLLEGE FACULTY has wisely taken up the question of prohibiting the kind of foot-ball matches recently in vogue amongst students. At a recent match between Yale and Princeton, two players were taken off the field almost dead; and a reporter describing the contest, says that it was more brutal than any prize-fighting. Old-fashioned foot-ball, such as was formerly a favorite game at Haverford, is, although sufficiently rough, a much preferable exercise and pastime. AT THE MEETING of the Social Science Association, in Saratoga, Dr. Sargent, who is chairman of the health department of the Association, as well as Professor of Athletics in Harvard University, indulged in some criticism of college faculties for their unwillingness in the past to encourage athletics, and their present unreadiness to stand up effectively against the mischief that is doing. He related the abortive effort made, last winter, to regulate college athletics on a sound basis. "A great reform in the conduct of college sports is necessary, and it must come in the general direction of the resolutions presented by the Inter-Collegiate Athletic Conference. It will not be inaugurated and carried out by the students themselves." AT THE ANNUAL MEETING of the corporation of Brown University, President Robinson devoted a large part of his report to college sports. We make the following quotations: "The subject of college athletics' has, within the past year, attracted to itself unusual attention. Among several of the older and larger colleges and universities, the question has arisen and been earnestly discussed, whether the time has not now come for the adoption of some uniform regulations that shall control the contests so frequently recurring between the athletic clubs of the different colleges. One of these games, football, it is charged, has degenerated into methods bordering on the barbarous and brutal, while others have engrossed so much of the attention of the players as seriously to interfere with the higher and real work for which colleges exist. One of the games, also, has sometimes brought the students taking part in it into such relations with professional players and their following as to awaken apprehensions of serious demoralization. Attempts have been made among the faculties of the colleges immediately concerned in these inter-collegiate contests, to unite on some uniform regulations that shall control them; but thus far without success. In some of these contests, particularly those of football and boat racing, the students of this University, I am glad to say, have not, in recent years, been participants. Football and boating, however, both have their votaries with us; but matches in these occur only between the classes of our own college, or at most, with amateurs in the immediate vicinage of our city. In other athletic games, especially in base ball, our students have participated to an extent that has proved neither profitable to those participating, nor conducive to the best work on the part of the rest of the college. That some intelligent and systematic attention ought to be given in all our colleges to physical culture, may be regarded as an universally accepted truth. That due provision, however, has not hitherto been made for this part of education, in many of our colleges, our own among others, cannot be doubted. Within most of the colleges, athletic sports and games have had a sort of spontaneous growth among the students themselves. Out of the games have naturally sprung the intercollegiate contests; and the contests, by natural reaction, have greatly strengthened and widened, among the contesting colleges, an interest in all kinds of athletic closing months of the college year, and too often sports. This interest uniformly culminates in the interferes with legitimate college work." JEFFERSON'S TEN RULES OF LIFE.-The following rules for practical life were given by Jefferson in a letter of advice to his namesake, Thomas Jefferson Smith, in 1825: 1. Never put off till to-morrow what you can do to-day. 2. Never trouble others for what you can do yourself. 3. Never spend your money before you have it. 4. Never buy what you do not want because it is cheap. 5. Pride costs us more than hunger, thirst, and cold. 6. We never repent of having eaten too little. 7. Nothing is troublesome that we do willingly. 8. How much pain those evils cost us which never happened! 9. Take things always by their smooth handles. 10. When angry, count ten before you speak; if very angry, count a hundred. "MADE WHOLE."-" Wilt thou," said Christ to the paralytic "be made WHOLE?" Mark it well: it was health, and not mere convalescence that Christ offered to bestow. Life is a question of degrees. The patient in yonder hospital, tossing on a bed of pain, has life, but oh! how much would he give for health. It is to the sick and feeble believer, as well as to the sinner dead in sin that the Lord Jesus speaks. "Wilt thou," He seems "throw away thy crutches and stand upright on thy feet, wilt thou be made strong to endure, fit to serve, wilt thou be made whole?" to say, W. E. Moore. ITEMS. THE (London) Christian says: Mr. Stanley made some revelations as to the slave trade in Africa, at the Jubilee Meeting held in the Manchester Free Trade Hall last week, which ought to be widely known and considered. The Portuguese proceed on the principle that the best thing possible for the negro is to catch him, sell him to severe task. masters, and force him to work; the Mohammedans of Africa also adopt the same idea. The consequence is that slavery of the most abhorrent type is common, The following statement made by Mr. Stanley speaks for itself: "A slave trade was a great blight which clung to Africa like an aggravated pest, destroying men faster than children could be born. He overtook a party of Arab marauders on the Congo in November of last year, over 1200 miles from the sea. They had utterly desolated a number of villages, massacred the adult males who had not at once fled, and carried off the women and children. He had never seen such a sight before. In a small camp 300 fighting men kept in manacles and fetters, 2300 naked women and chil dren, their poor bodies encrusted with dirt, all emaciated and weary through much misery. It was like ravening human kennels-a sight to make angels weep, cruel enough to make strong men curse and cry vengeance on the murderers.' Here was the net re sult of the burning of 118 villages and the devastation of 43 districts to glut the avaricious soul of a man who had constituted himself chief of a district some 200 miles higher up. Though over seventy five years old, here he was prosecuting his murderous business, having shed so much human blood in three months that, if collected into a tank, it might have sufficed to drown him and all his thirty wives and concubines. Those 2300 slaves would have to be transported over 200 miles in canoes, and such as could not be fed would die, and perhaps 800-perhaps 900-of all the number would ever reach their destination. This was the latest story of the slave trade in Africa." MR. STANLEY says that after seeing some millions of natives and talking with thousands of them, he is convinced of their readiness to engage in honest toil it it be put before them. For fair money he invariably found that he could get fair work. It was true that for some years no native went to the station and offered to work, but now nearly 1000 natives voluntarily marched many miles seeking for work from the International Association every month. So long as the Portuguese rule fills the land with terror and dread, cruelty and injustice, the development of the finer features of the negro character must be repressed. IN a late number of Africa, R. Cust raises a strong protest against "the scramble for Africa" that is going on among the European Powers. Why, he pertinently asks, should not Europeans leave Africa alone, restricting themselves to legitimate commerce and the peaceful settlement of missionaries. He further says: "It appears, therefore, to me that the great States of Europe, England, France, and Germany, ought to be ashamed of their conduct towards defenceless Africa; they would not dare to act in this way to the smallest State in Europe. All public law is set aside, all the conventional decencies of warfare, all idea of meum and tuum, is put out of sight. A German agent and a German vessel drop along the coast, and hoist up a pocket handkerchief in token that that particular town, whether part of Damaraland or Namaqualand, or the Cameroons, or the Gold Coast, has ceased to belong to the tribe which has inhabited it for centuries, and is transferred to the German Empire. A form of treaty is signed, but in a few days the treaty will be violated; then will come lofty notions of violated treaties, insulted flags, and national honor. Surely it is the fable of the Wolf and the Lamb again. It is the saddest sight, but the deadly climate will prove the infallible avenger of the Negro on the white man, who has abolished the Slave Trade, and substituted Earthgreed." A RECENT number of Chambers's Journal contains the following statement in regard to telephonic con versation: a "The most remarkable piece of telephoning yet attempted has been just accomplished by the engineers of the International Bell Telephone Company, who successfully carried out an experiment by which they were enabled to hold a conversation between St. Petersburg and Bologar, a distance of 2468 miles. Blake transmitting and Bell receiving instruments were used, and conversation was kept up, notwithstanding rather high induction. The experiments were carried on during the night, when the telegraph lines were not at work. The Russian engineers of this company are so confident of further success that they hope shortly to be able to converse with ease at a distance of 4665 miles; but to accomplish this astonishing feat they must combine all the conditions favorable for the transmission of telephonic sounds. If it is found pos. sible to hold audible conversation at such extraordinary distances, it is possible that this fact will be speedily improved upon, and we shall be enabled to converse freely between London and New York, and by and by between London and the antipodes." SEYER.-AN INSCRIPTION. [For the monument erected by the natives of Oude, India, in memory of General Seyer, Commander-inChief of the Nizam's Forces.] A conqueror, whose conquest forged no chain, Not by the stronger hand, but gentler heart. His hours of triumph in their prosperous days Men think on when their prayers go up to God! Blest is the soul that loves, hopes, toils, believes, Valiant and strong upon the weaker part; And he-most glorious victor-who achieves The bloodless conquest of a people's heart. -Herald of Peace. P. BEATTY. SUMMARY OF NEWS. FOREIGN INtelligence.—Advices from Europe are to the 8th inst. GREAT BRITAIN.-The Franchise bill passed the Committee in the House of Lords without amendment, on the 4th, passed the House finally on the 5th, and has received the royal assent. The House of Commons adjourned on the 6th, under rather peculiar circumstances. The motion for adjournment, made by a supporter of the Government, was opposed by an Irish member, on the ground that many important questions were before the House, and that some of these should be answered before an adjournment would be proper. Most of the Irish members and several Liberals and Radicals supported the objection, but after an exciting debate the Speaker, by resorting to the "cloture," secured a vote to adjourn. The opponents of this measure are much incensed, and threaten to introduce at the next session a vote of censure against the Speaker, whose action, they say, was unparliamentary. A Commission must be appointed, during the recess, under the Redistribution bill, to fix the boundaries of the new constituencies in Ireland, and the Irish members wished to question the Government on the constitution and work of this Commission. It was stated in the House of Commons on the 4th, that the recognition by England of the African International Association is now a subject of negotiation; |