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The Brussels Post, 1908-12-31, Page 9GREAT ENIVERSAL LIFE Nature Is Never Against Man Save as He Is Against it. The stars in their courses fought against Sisera,—Judges v., 20, The first lesson that we learned in our contact with life is that in nature grease forces operate which have the power to deliver or de- stroy. Law is invariable; outer•° is constant and man is variable, Our first conclusion, therefore, end which wo may learn by the simple experience of burning our hands with Are, is that whether things shall hurt or not lies prim- arily with us. Deborah, in than immortal poem known as "'fere Song of Deeerah," recounting the victory of N'araJk and the host of Israel over Sisera and the Canaan- ites, sang "The stars in their course fought ageing Sisera," This strange iudgmenb is the poetic statement ref that which is pro- foundly and ETERNALLY TRUE, The stars—which is but symbolic for nature—fought against Sisera, because Sisera was against the stars. The principles of morality have their roots in the foundation of tho universe, and he who does evil is at war with the principle of the uni- verse. The laws which undergird society are not mere rules made by man or voted by government. They .are laws which run throughout the universe. Hone° a man's conduct bears a relation to the great uni- versal life. Sisera was agalunt the hosts of God, and he who is against God finds Cod's world against him, The stars fought against Sisera as the best iestinete. Truth is the power that holds; the world in magnetic unity, and the man who is true and righteous al- together is in harmony with the force that lifts the tides and pro- jecta the sunbeams, and finds about hiin a world In which many forces are fighting for him. Anarchism grows out of the false idea that things aro againat the man when the situation in which he finds him- self, is but the logia of a false re- lation to life itself. There are lev- ers and handles waiting to be grasp- ed and worked. Also for the blind - nose and perversity whielr passes by those outstretched arms of na- ture, these lifting, HELPING HANDS OF GOD. A thousand pathways stand open for the tread of his feet, the vast forces of the universe wait to do his bidding, the invisible power of the air follows with willingness and docility the wise ways which his skill and determination have or- dained, crying to all, from atom to arch -angel, "We are Thy helpers." If the same forces are abused the world which was with us is against us and the final judgment of life for us is that which the ancient pooteas pronounced of the enemy of Israel, "And the stars in their courses fought against Siena." Rev. J. Lewis Iiartrock. THE S. S. LESSON J TERi' ATIONAL LESSON, JAN. 3. Lesson I. The Ascension of Our Lord. Golden Text, Acts 1. 1.14. Verse 1. The former treatise •— .Grook, "first treatise." The refer- ence is to Luke's Gospel, which was written, as was the book of Acts, primarily for the information and enlightenment of the author's per- sonal friend, oneThe h' u In op 11 s. the introduction to the Gospel Luke addresses this friend as "Most ex- cellent," which in all probability is •the equivalent of our expression. "Your excellency," and which, therefore, implies that the person thus addressed was a man of high rank, perhaps a Roman official. The ;same expression is used in address- ing Felix and Foetus the Roman governors( Acts 23, 26 ; 24. 3; 28.25). The proper name itself means liter- ally, "Lover of God," and may well have been simply a title or epithet prompted by personal friendship rather than the real name by which this individual was known in general society, 2. Until the day in which he was received up—Luke's Gospel narra tive, of which he intends that .this second treatise (the Acts) shall be u continuation, concludes with the reoord of the 'encension of Jesus. For the commandment here refer- red to compare Luke 4. 44-40. • The Holy Spirit—Referred to in the promise of Jesus, recorded by: Luke. (Luke 24. 49). that the apos- tles whom he had chosen should be "clothed with power fiom on high.". For a list of the apostles compare verse 13 of this lesson ; compare also Matt. 10. 2; Mark 3. 16.19. By the treachery of Judas the number bad been reduced to eleven, but was soon after this time again in- creased to twelve by the selection of Matthias, who was chosen by lot to take the place of Judas. 5. Baptized in—Or, "with," 0. Restore the kingdom to Israel— The disciples of Jesus, including even the twelve apostles, share with their fellow -countrymen the. mistaken Messianic conception which looked for the re-establish- ment of the Jewish state in great splendor under the reign of the Messiah. Jesus does not directly answer the question put to him but gently reproves the apostles for manifesting an unnecessary curio- sity with regard to the future, 8.. Ye shall receive power - A special equipment for service,•ra- ther than the satisfaction of their eneculative curiosity, is to be their portion. Witnesses•• --Simply testifying to that which they had seen and hoard and experienced. Jerusalem , , ,'Judea , , . Same ria . . the uttermost part of the earth --Beginning with their testi- mony, or witnessing, in their home city, their mission is to extend gre- Tinto ever more distant rmgi- ons, ineheeling first of alt the prov- ince in whibh Jerusalem is loaner!, then the semifereign province of Samaria, lying jest ,north of Judea:, and finally even distant an' fore- ign lands. In this verso the author' gives ue both the divine programmo for the missionary' activity of Ilia primitive apostolic church and also tho so eueeco of thought to be fol• lowed in his present .narrative, which begins with the story of Pen- tecost and ends with the record of the proclamation of the. gospel in the imperial capital at Rome. 9. He was taken up—Luke in con- necting his present narrative with his earlier treatise repeats and am- plifies the record of the closing verses of the earlier Gospel story. 11. Ye men of Galilee—The Gall - leen dialect was a marked peculi- arity of the - apostolic group; though here a.sscmbled in Jerusa- lem most of them were Galilaens by birth and early training. Shall so come in like manner — The interpretation given to this promise by the apostles and their) immediate followers and successors felled the Christian minis during the apostolic age with the reverent Christ andh o: Cluxst s earl • re - 'a hope f joyp y turn, and thus became a source of inspiration and sustaining faith in the hours of trial and persecution which shortly came upon the church. 12. Then returned they unto Je- rusalem—At this point Luke takes up the thread of the story and con- tinues the narrative beyond the point at' which his Gospel record ended. A. sabbath day's journey—About two thousand cubits or yards, the maximum distance which it was permitted by the pharisaic interpre- tation of the Sabbath law to jour- ney on that day. 13. The upper chamber—A. large guest room like, and perhaps iden- tical with, that in which the Lasb Supper was eaten, and which the apostles were now using as a dem- mon living room, 14. With the women—Or, "with certain women." Who these were is not indicated, but among them Mary, the mother of Jesus, is sing- led out as especially worthy of men- tion. . His brethren—The brothers of Jesus and sons of Joseph and Mary. These were James, Joseph or Joses, Simon and Judas (compare Matt. 13. 65; Mark 6. 3). They are here clearly distinguished from the apostles, which would seem to in- dicate that none of the four were members of the apostolic group, . sz TEI,1 I'IiONVIC IJ WATER. Movements of Fish Operate Tela phone, Inform Fishermen. The movement of water made by fish in swimming is sufficient to op- erate a telephone, and so oommuni- cate their approach to fishermen, A Norwegian inventor, says the London Tones, has devised n micro- phone, inclosed in a water -tight box, which may bo immersed in the sea and is oonnoeted by wires with the fishing boat. Aeobrding to i'liilectricien, the approach of a shoal of fish can he detected with. certainty, and eaoh kind of fish makes a distinctive sound in its motion through the water, Ex- perioneed fishermen can in the or- dinary why dotoct the presence of the herring and mackerel long be- fore they roach the f4shing vessels, but whore the more subtle anovo- nlonts of the flat fish nee concerned it is possible that tho microphone may prove is useful indicator of their whc,reabouts. BEI) CR,FSCENP, The only country whish docs not 000 the rod:eross as the emblem of her hospital corps is Teekey, which is allowed ionise:re roil eroacont in is il,i.ea, in deference to her sol11- f ors' J religions susooptibilities, THE HIGHEST BUILDING, New York Sky -scraper' 'Which 1i•'IJJ Rust Up Sixty-two Storeys. UncJ,e Sam is not contented with the astonishing height of the new Singer building, which is at pres- ent the tallest in the world, but before that monster has boen com- pleted another still higher has been projected by the I3queehle Life As- surance Society. This remarkable sky -piercer, which .is designed to knock creation, is to be actually twice as high as the world-famous Singer building. The building it- eolf will rise to an altitude of 009 ft. into the air, and with its mas- sive steel flag -pole on the top of the dome touch the giddy height of 1,059 ft. --nearing a quarter of a mile, The plans of this building alone fill seventy pages of drawing paper, eater shoot of which is 5 ft. long and 4 ft. wide. Think of it 1 Fourteen hundred square feet of paper alone is required Lo plan this new struc- ture. One hundred and fifty men were forced to work every day for nearly eight months without inter- ruption in order to complete the drawings, and it will take the Gov- ernment official exactly a month to inspect the plans. The building is to have sixty-two storeys, and the number of rooms will total many thousands, These largo buildings, however, aro swayed with every wind and are constantly on the swing; this pro- duces a sensation akin to sea -sick- ness Inabil the occupants get used to it. This projected building, will be able to withstand a hurri- cane, for it is to be built on the principle of wind -braces. 5, TUE BANK OF E1SGL.&.ND. Has Received Som- e- '' Rude Shocks in Its Long Career. When it had only been establish- ed two years, the Bank of England received a rude shock. The gold- smiths plotted against it. The Bank stook went down rapidly from a hundred and ten to eighty-three. Its notes were collected far -and wide, and on the fourth of May, 1696, a rush was made on the Bank, then held at Grocers' Hall. A single goldsmith demanded thirty thousand pounds. The dir- ectors refused to cash notes which had thus been maliciously present- ed, All over the country wretched lampoons appeared: "The Last Will and Testament of the Bank of England I" "The Inquest of the Bank of] ," En and . g They paid every claim that was thought to be in good ,faith, until they had no more money beft. Tho Bank of England was insolvent. Ten -pound notes wore known to he sold for eight pounces. et was not until one hundred years after that the Bank of Eng- land again suspended payment. Its resources were thoroughly drained by the French rears, and by an Or- der in Council of February 27th, 1797, notes of one and two pounds wore put into circulation and made a legal tender, It was in 1817 before cashepay- ments wore resumed, and then only partially, and the restriction was not finally removed till 1821, when all fears as to the stability of the Bank of England came to an end. HEALTHIEST OCCUPATION, There is a vast amount of mis- conception entertained in this dir- ection, and you may be surprised at many of the disclosures recent statistics bring about. One would imaging coal -mining to be little short of a deadly occupation—what with the coaldest-laden air, the cramped position, and the damp and confinement generally ever threatening consumption, e.heuma• tism, and other diseases; yet the. death -rate annual,ly is barely nine per 1,000. Flour is surely not a dangerous a'r admixture, for bak- ers have a mortality a shade more respectable than this oven. Plurals - era, and painbors die at the rate of eleven per 1,000, Chimney - sweeps show the fairly average mortality of fourteen per 1,000, a rate which the well-fed butcher can- not improve on. The publican's life is a less secure one at four points worse. Work necessitating spasmodic rushes is singularly un- hcalthy—a fact probably account- ing for the large mortality amongst shopkeepers, It is etill mora signi- ficant as regards hotel servants and waiters, who die ab the rate of twenty -throe per 1,00.0, To come now to the healthiest oceepation, we find thab fain servants are exceptionally long lived, only soven out of every 1,000 succumbing year- ly, but, low as that proportion is, 11 is well beaten by gardeners with the surprisingly low death -rate of five per 1,000. PROOF', With curling. lip be regarded the; IT gray powder. "And yen are slue that this onith food is nourishing,, Biro ni 7" he demanded, here? leather!" slid the sales pian. ''Why, the inventor i 1 t or if that 1) 1 mit only lives, but supports Yit." r,15 ergo family splendidly on it. d yc 4.+++•+++++++++4++++++'+4 TeiNF YER • .+++++-0++++++ i ++++++-4++ Why this loitering? Why not hasten to be on hand to fill the place of the departing year? Say, you, January, no holding back ! Ap- pointed to your special post from even before the order of things was known to man, since man as yet, had not appeared, there is for you no escaping or avoiding, December is making off, to keep up the endless procession that began its march when the first moment of time be- gan; and you come next. Como next 7 To. What 7 To abuse, to waste, to grossest perversion? To be the sporb of brainless equan- derers up and down the earth? To be welcomed with music and song and the clangor of the bells, only tr be a weariness and an offense to millions, in every laled, before the setting of the sun? What! Is this the wisdom of the mysterious counsels whence you have thus far borne? Pray, what is the philosophy of life that is taught in the preparatory halls of the un- seen? Have you no training to courage, venture and buoying hope 1 In the laboratories of the heights or of the depths, are the interpre- tations of human history filled with naught but apprehensions of evil and messages of woe 1 In the pu- pilage or apprenticeship of the veil- ed, is there not a getting equipped for the mastery of the unveiled? Is there no intimation that this world is something besides a poor world and a dying world, where often we confound right with wrong and wrong with right? Is it not taken into consideration that this world, rough and tumble as it is, is not absolutely destitute of light and warmth, and a fair supply of all the conditions of happiness, so that there is, in the shadiest of times, very much other than discomfort, disappointment, and wretchedness, and might be a great deal more did we always know when we are well off ? You ask after the tuitioning in the school whence the months and the years.' From the date when man first put forth his will to what he would, unmindful of what he ought, the tuitioning of that wliieh should he known as a given date or time bas been designed to greet the lands and the races, each according to its need's. That which you term the school of the unseen has always Had man done its perfect work. a P done as well, out of universal agree- ment in the right must have issued universal well-being. How other- wise it has been, you know. What ages of discord, what wildness, what unreason has thorn not been! Is it strange that 1 loiter or hold back, as you say? • One is compelled to concede what you urge. We who do well on earth cannot, indeed, boast of what we have accomplished, yet the barbar- isms, the savageries, have been di- minished, a little, Though we can- not claim perfection, we might be worse, That we are not wholly vic- ious, is witnessed by the multitud- inous leaves that are sure to be turned the moment you appear• new leaves, we call them—and on such leaves have been written in- numerable stories of new lives, lives of the reformed and of the r m bre the made over, who e am e d New Year and your introducing namesake with grateful thought, as long as they lived. Yas, you must come on, January!, We cannot get along without you. If you do not come, we shall be left to ourselves, and we are not exactly fit to be left forever in such company. Come on, with your usually good cheer and your abounding promise. We will try to prolong the music and to keep the bells in tune throughout the year. We may not infallibly re- member. Occasionally, wo may forget; but if you will come, we will try. HUGE RAILWAY STATION. The townsmen of Leipsie, Saxony, boast that in ten years they will have the biggest railway station in the world. It will be spanned by seven immense arches each 140 feet wide, and its thirteen train plat- forms will each be more than 1,000 feet long, while twenty-six different lines will run into it. It will cost $32,500,000 to build. Marble, gra- nite, bronze, and steel will he lav- ishly need. The waiting and re- freshment rooms are to have gigan- tic frescoes of famous German land- 0 stapes on the walls, and the beer - taps are to dispense twenty differ cit sorts of beer, "X --MISER'S HIDING PLACE, THE NEW TEAR'S ANS VITA. j'#++44+ Oh, speed thee, happy ltiew You ,Speed swiftly on thy way, And tell us of the wonders Beycind the gates of day. Lift up the ;mystio curtain That screens fronz mortal blew The. portals of the future, Which Sono way wander through You Oh, tell uo, happy New Year, What gift:, thou hoot in store? Will plenty be ear portion, Piessed down and running o'er V,'ill awry hope, we cherish Meet with fruition blest, And every cup he honeyed Which to our lips is pressed? Will springtime bring her garland To wreathe the woodlands fair Without a single blighted bud Among the blossoms rare? Will summer send her roses, Iter pinks and gentian blue, Nor drop among the posies One single sprig of rue? Oh, will fair Ceres bless us, In basket and in store, And into granary and bin Her golden treasures pour ? Will glad Pomona greet us With free-will offerings meet, And shake from bending orchard trees Rich trophies at our feet? Will every eye be smiling. And every heart be light, And every household happy, And every hearth -fire bright? Will grief no longer rankle, And care no more annoy, Nor friendship's gold be mingled With falsehood's base alley 1 "Alas," the New Year answered, "Such was not Nature's plan; The wonders of the future No mortal eye may scan; But this let each remombor,— Life cannot aII he play; And clouds must follow sunshine, As darkness follows day! "For joy would lase its savour Unmixed with grief or pain, And hope would cease to cheer us If dreams were never vain. The cup of honeyed sweetness Upon our taste would pall, If with the sweet was mingled No bitter drop of gall, 'No lot, however tranquil, Can he misfortune -proof, And life for each is weaving A varied warp and woof. 'Twould mar its wondrous pattern, By Nature's hand prepared, If but ono tiny sprig of rue Or blighted burl were spared!" 3' E DEATH TH E OF TRE OLD YEAR Full knee-deep lies the winter snow, Aird the winter winds are wearily sighing Toll ye the church -bell, sad and slow, And tread softly and speak low, For the Old Year lies a -dying. He was full of joke and jest, But all his merry quips are o'er, To see him die, across the waste His son and heir doth xido post- haste, But he'll be dead before. Every one for his own. The night is starry and cold, my friend, And the New Year, blithe and bold, my friend, Comes up to take his own. His face is growing sharp and thin, Mack! our friend is gond. Close up his oyes; tie up his chin; Step from the corpse, and let him in That standeth there alone, And w•aitoth et the door. There's a new feet on the floor, my friend Anda new face at the door, roy friend, A new face at the door. THE HORSE BLEW FIRST. An Irish horso-owner, whose horse had been prescribed for by -a veterinary surgeon, ran into the latter's office, and with tears in his eyes and his face the "picthur of bad luck, ' cried :-- "Oh, —"Oh, 1)r, Moriarity, I'm poorly: the powclhef's kilt me entoirelyl" "The powder 7" cried Dr. Mor - arty. "Why, I didn't tell you to take the powder. I told you to place it in a paper tuba, and pit one end of it in the horse's mouth, and blow !ld," "Yes, ser,"arsaid Pat. "I put. tle powdher in the chube, and I put the end of it .in the horse's mouth, with the other end in my WM but begone/ he blew first." A FACTORY CHAPEL, For more than half a centurythe ace -manufacturing firm of Messrs. Thomas Adams and Co„ Notting - lain, England, have insisted on all he'•r workpcoplo who number ome hundreds of both sexes—at- ending a short service each morn - ng prior to commencing their day's week, The fern have a large chapel underneath their 'warehouse, with n excellent organ, while the choir, omposed of their own employes, is acre that would do credit• to many f our leading places of worship, d Ioeal clergyman attends each horning. for the service, which leen- ley leets about half an. hour, and 20511100 i8 preached three times week, A death in a poor part of Buda - poet, Hungary, has just brought to light an extraordinary story of a t• woman's double lite, She had lived s apparently in poverty and semi- t starvation; subsisting partly oil i charity, bat a search of her rooms, w.hieh were in a terrible state of neglect, revealed that .she was a worth more than a milieu krenen, c chiefly in house property, A num- her of stuffed cat in her room were o full of coin. The woman was well known in the better part of the city, e whore she owned several blocks of a lints, fhb rent of which she colla; l- n ed herself. a +++44-444+44-444-4i Making a New Mil 14 4-4-4++++++++++++++++44 In a sense there is nothing pecul- iar about New )'ear's Day. It is neither longer nor shorter, bright- er nor gloomier, colder or warm- er, because it is the first day of a year. Nor can we say that it is more ireportunt in our life than the next, or any succeeding day will be. Every day is important. We know not as we enter its gate what may depend on its decisions, or what we may do in its .short hours. We are trifling with mat- ter's of vital moment when we re- gard any commonest day tri unim- portant, when we suppose it is of no consequence how wo live, what we do, what we say, whom we meet, that day. There is not an hour we live which does not have its influence on all the remainder of our. life to its close, and upon eternity. There is not a moment in which something may not hap- pen that will change everything for us. Any day may be doomsday. Yet the first day of the new year always seems to have special signi- ficance, It is a new beginning. The past has not been satisfactory. There are things in it which wo are ashamed of. Now we seem to be at a point where we can cut our- selves off from those spoiled days and begin again. So we make good resolutions and start anew. One of the elements in all naw - year life (should be hope. No mat- ter what lies behind, how imper- fect and blotted the past and full of failure, we have a new oppor- tunity, "What is defeat?" asked Wendell Phillips. "Nothing but an education; nothing but the first steps to something better." Pupils always waste material before they are able to do beautiful work. The child spoils many pages of white paper is learning to write fairly. The artist spoils many a piece of canvas before he can paint a picture which is worthy to be seen. We should not vex our- selves if aur first efforts in living are failures, Having learned by experience we are ready now to do better We should begin anew without the slightest feeling of dis- c uragement over our past. Dis- couragement is a chain dragging at one's feet, impeding one's prog- ress. Hopebreaks every chain, makes one free, and changes bur- dens into wings. Another of the elements in a propitious new year must he read- iness for hard work. Want of en- ergy is one of the most fruitful causes of failure in life. Nothing worth while can he attained eas- ily. The young man who is in quest of a good time, with short hours, light tasks; no struggles, and other people to do the hard things for him, will not realize the dreams he is cherishing, We can- not dream ourselves into anything that is either beautiful or good; we must h•ew our dreams out of the hard rock with pick and hammer. There is nothing for the self-indul- gerit but a miserable failure. Thousands of young people are now in school or preparing in other ways for their life work. Wiseman are telling us these days that the excret -of nearly all failures in busi- ness life usiness`life may be traced to lack of thoroughness in preparation, Men do not rise above their starting place because they do not master their work. They are content to get through the clay watching the clock, and dropping everything the moment the closing hour comes. They have no real interest in what they are doing. The result is they never get any higher. They blame it on their employers —there is no chance for promotion, they say. The trouble 1s, • they do not make themselves ready for promotion. The new year should call young people to thoroughness in.prepare- tion, Preparation is everything. It makes yon ready' to enter the gates 'of opportunity which are 'al- ways opening in life's paths, TIRED OF HIM. At a recent trial in Scotland a certain lady got into the witness - box to be examined, when the fol- lowing conversation took place he- eween her and the opposing 00un- se1;--y Counsel; "How old are you? Miss Jane: "Oh, weal, sir, '1 am unmarried woman, and dinna think it right to answer that ucsbioen." Tho Judge; "Oh, yes, answer the gentleman, Howold are you 1" Miss Jane "Weil -a -wee!, I am fifty," Counsel: ".tiro you not more?" .Miss Jane: "Wool, I am sixty," The, inquisito .lawyer still further asked ii she had any hopes, of gett- ing married, to which Miss Jane replied :-• "Weel, tie, I whine toll a leo; 1 pinna losb slope yet;" scornfully adding,' "but I wrdne, marry you, for I am sick and tired .o' yotu pat- avar already," • In tulle ,ef peace a lot of other- wise sensible people make propel: - Agana to get maenad, ROM BONN1t SGOTLAND )tOTFS OP .INTEREST FROM 1J I;lt 1I4N1£S AN:), Blt4J e. Wbal is Gaiiig On In the Iliglllairil4 and Lowlands of i.rlld Scotia, Scarlet fever is very prevalent its Selkirk, Old age pensions in Dundee will amount to 04,500 per week. The seasons herring oaech at Stornoway ie 5,430 crane, value $10,000, A councillor thinks that flee pay - meta by Perth for the exeteation of a Fife murder is "an anomaly that ought to be dome away with." The Blairgowrie and Rattray b'ruitgrowers' Association reports that .the average prices received last season were much below those of former years. At Paisley thieves have made away with seven miles of telephone wire, John Dickson, signalman, Cow- denheath, was found dead at his post, in his cabin, 1,700 minors have come out on strike at Bannockburn. Falkland Park, Ayr, drainage scheme is now to be carried out, It will cost $17,500. There is a great deal of deatitu- tion in Ayr, and the outlook is far from promising. "Galloway Cattle Society of Great Britain and Ireland" is the title of the new asosciation in- augurated recently at Dumfries. The Czar has presented Major Richardson, Carnoustie, with a fine gold watch, studded with diamonds, in recognition of the services of his dogs in Manchuria. Elgin Old Age Pension Commit - Lae have passed 69 out of 89 claims, involving about $4,500 a year. The late Mr. Samuel Young, Paisley, has left $8,000 to local charities. A Guild of Help has been form - ell. in Hamilton by leading towns- man for the purpose of furthering the social well-being of the people. A little daughter of Francis Divine, steelworker, Motherwell, was burned to death in the house in the absence of her mother. In the parish of Old Monkland, which includes the burg of Coat- bridge, there are 22 males and 60 females over 70 years of age in 're- ceipt of parochial relief. Stranraor has 36 licensed hotels —one for every' 167 people—against one for every 438 far Scotland gen- erally. Leith Council will have the con- steuetion of the Granton tramway extension begun without loss of time. Under the new Education Bill the grant payable to denominational schools will be increased from 3s. 6d. per head to 65. Extensive pleasure glrounds are to be established next year near Portobello, to be known as the Ed- inburgh Marino Gardens. The Royal Infirmary, Edinburgh, has received a bequest of $31,500_ by the will of the late Mr. Peter Easson, Perth. It is to be known as the "Easson Brothers' Bequest." In reference to representations recently made to them by a dep- utation from the Ayr Workers' Representation Committee, the Town Counc'1 of Ayr -have resolved to adhere to their former decision not to form a Distress Committee. A Perthshire official who is deal- ing with applications for old -age pensions finds one man who has 132,000 on deposit receipt in a bank. As the bank doesn't allow interest enough to make X21, it seems the man with the £2,000 is eetiled to a pension, 44 BOXES MADE OF STRAW. In future the boxes containing butter shipped from Queensland to Great Britain are to be made of straw, and a $250,000 company has been formed to work the business. Butter boxes hitherto have been made of pine, but the drain upon this timber, owing to the heavy ex - porta, has been so severe thab the wood is rapidly going up in prioe. In one mouth (March, 1908) over, 50,000 boxes of butter from Queens- land arrived in Great Britain -- 1,250 tons, worth $700,000. In the new box a mixture of kaolin and straw hi used. It can be produced and sold for 25 Bents. Ab present' 3,000,000 boxes are used in Aus- tralia annually, costing e1,000,- 000. The new box will ,Save the dairy industry about $200,000 a year, as the material Inc mann- teetering the box eali ,be grown in the paddoelc wlriell snpports the cow. It weighs about 1oi/, lb., be. ing damp-proof and odorless. INDIA'S MOUNTDI) NURSES. India has a staff' of mounted army mases. The Indian Government allows Lbw ladies of the Indian Nursing Service thirty rupees a month for the upkeep of their hors- es, and free conveyance of their ani- mals to aid from st:tive service.. This corps of nurses .are all ladies' of good social position and have to undergo three ,yb.I,ra' training in seeneral lees ital be'o g p ie qua ify ing,