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^J^^'D COMMENTS o;:o who visits a lunatic asy- for a few liours where he beard 'idespcrate shrieking, imagines he has coruc to a place of suffering. But after reniaining there for some little lime ho agrees that only there can be met a type of happiness so prolonged and so complete as to «£frr the key to the condition of joy that is so extremely fleeting in normal beings, writes Prof. Ccsare Loinbroso. The idiot first boasts of his physical qualities and capabili- ties, his excellent tinging, his enor- mous weight, his chest of steel, his speed that enables him to run a thousand miles a minuto, his bodily •ecretions of fine wines and precious inrtals. To-day he is general of Europe, king of Rome and the •tars; to-morrow he will be pope, •nti-popo, cetn specialist, and prime minister. Some lunatics for a few months in the year manifest •xtraord'nary activity and cheerful- ness, but all of a sudden they col- lapse. Tasso and Cardano wished it in- ferred that they were inspired by God. Mohammed avowed openly that he actually was. Any criticism o( their opinions they looked upon •s extreme persecution. Newton was said to have been murderous- ly infuriated against his scientific contradictors. The poet Lucius would not rise when Julius Caesar •nterod the assembly of poets be- " cause ho considered himself the bet- ter versifier. The princess de Conti informing Malherbe that she would â- how him the most beautiful verses ic the world ho said: "Excuse me, I have already seen them, be- cause if, as you say, thoy are bet- ter than any others, I must have written them myself." Victor Hugo '•as governed by the obsession of being not only the greatest of all poets but the greatest of all men of all countries of all ages. One might suppose that all of these, in their imagined greatness, would be the happiest of men. How- ever, this is by no means the case, lor the worm of the persecution idea gnasvs at the most roseate visions of geniuses, as if they were actual maniiics. It is almost proverbial, this tendency to melancholy among most thinkers. Just because their aight reaches farther than the or- dinary, and because occupied with too sublime flights, they have not commonplace habits of mind, and because, like idiots aud unlike peo- ple of mere talent, they are fre- queutly unbalanced. Therefore £eniu^os are despised and misun- derstood by the majority, wlxt do not perceive their points of contact with the rest of mankind, but who do MO their eccentricities of con- duct aud the fact that their views ditiugree with those generally ac- cepted. "There never has been a liberal idea," writes the famous rovi'list Faubert, "which has not been unpopular; not a true thing that has uot scandalized the multi- tude." GREAT POWER OF HABIT The Importance of Habit in Religion Is Here Pointed Out. Teach mo, Lord, the way of Thy statutes and 1 will keep it un- til the end. â€" I'salm cxi.K. \i'S. Uur virtues are habits as much as our vices. Honor, courage, purity, punctuality, prayer and kindnesB are habit^j as much as are swearing, drunkenness aud lying. When this truth IS ouce perceived it makes a revolution iu conduct. Morality with many consists in trying to cor- ! rect evil habits rather thau in striv- I ing to form good ones. Human i life is largely automatic. We are in ' reality "walking bundles of habits." i To each sort of impression we have i an automatic ready made response. ' The sort of habits we are form- ing is therefore of the greatest im- I portauce, and wc are forming habits ' of some kind whether we attend to them or not. We should strive, therefore, to acquire such habits as will strengthen and IMPROVE OUR NATURES. This physical organism of ours, which is the clay which, by con- tinual reiteration, is gradually shaped along lines which finally control the ordinary actions of life. Impressions made upon the nerv- ous structure of the brain tend to repeat themselves until well travel- ed roads are formed along which ideas frequently passing make high- ways of the soul. These are habits and control the life. Bad habits may be checked and good habits formed by making what we desire habitual in our lives. Professor James enumerates Genius*! indeed enjoy moments of •upeinal felicity. Those are the niomenti of creative frenzy which In so many respects resemble the psychic excesses of epileptics only, •iiice not an ordinary brain is being â-  gitated by convulsions, but a great mind, and instead of some atroci- ous bestiatlity or dark crime there results a work of lofty character. Beacoiisfield wrote that he felt as if there were but a step from in- tense mental concentration to mad- ness. He said he could hardly de- scribe what he felt in the momenta when his sensations were abnorm- ally acute and intense, that every- thing about him seemed to be alive, that he ae^med to be raving and was scarcely certain that be really •xisted. CHlf.D AT TWENTY THREE. Uildred Hart, the Devonshire (Bngland), girl of twenty three, irbo stoppMJ growing when she waa |ftv«, and only started again re- cently, rememberi nothing of the •tghteen years when development of body and mind were at a sland- ttill. For event* that have hap- BMoed lino*, however, her memory u manrallously retentive, and she W « great inianic. A neighbor who Iover heard the girl speak half a osen words before she went to lliondoo for treatiaent now often oaa a chat with her. The girl waa cj^atly iuterosted the other day ^^en she waa able for the first time in lirr life to diutsinguish the not« of 'V'- cuckoo. two rules in the formation of such habits with as much determination as possible in order that the initial tory force with which a habit is launched may be as great as pos- sible ; secondly, iiever suffer an exception to occur until a new hab- it is securely rooted in the life. The religious life, like other de- sirable tnings, should be put under the domain of habit. How can we progress religiously if we live hel- ter-skelter in a hit or a miss fash- ion t Right thoughts, right emo- tions, right decisions in the religi- ous life as in the daily life of busi- ness, must be made habitual. Hab- it should be the rule in prayer. IN CHURCH ATTENDANCE, in the receiving of the holy com- munion, in times of meditation, in octs of kindness, in deeds of ser- vice. Only so shall we become fit followers of Him who lived in habitual prayer and whose life was spent in doing good. Contempla- tion of the power of habit should not make anyone despair. Even in the worst cases there is hope. His- tory is full of examples, from St. Paul down, in which the habits of a lifetime have been broken under a supreme compelling impulse. The power of the Divine Spirit is omni- potent in human affairs. The worst prodigal can reform. Behind all our efforts there is the power of God. With all His power the hab- its of a life time can be broken and a life of new baits begun. REV. DEWITT L. PELTON. THE S. S. LESSON INTERNATIONAL LESSON, JUNE 20. Le.sson XILâ€" Review Sunday. Uoldcn Tc.\t, Acts 4: 33. Golden Text.â€" What great power gave tho apostles witness of the resurrection of tho Lord Jesus. â€" Acts 4 : 33. A variety of forms of review is given liere, in order that teachers may select tho method best suited to the ago and ability of their classes. Sometimes it will be best to unite two or more plans, or to take parts of several, or to make other adapta- tions of these suggestions. I. A Progress Review â€" .To carry out this review, request the scholars a week in advance to go over all the lessons of the quarter and note for each of them what step in advance was taken by the church. For ex- ample. Lesson 1, marks tho begin- ning of the broa<leniiig of the church to take in the Gentiles. Lesson II. marks a strengthening of the church's faith in tho power of pray- er. The event of Lesson III. gave to the church its greatest leader, at thfl same time winning its chief persecutor. Tim scholars will make lists of these "forward steps" and these lists will be compared in the class, taking one lesson at a time, aud thus reviewing its chief points. II. A Qcographical Review. â€" For this review each scholar may make an outline map showing tho various countries and places that were the scenes of the quarter's lessons. Let each lesson be locatd with a figure. When a lesson in- volves more than one place, repeat tlvo figure at each locality-. Then let the scholar make a list of the places, by names and number, and write opposite each a brief state- ment of the principal Icvsoii to b-' learned from the e\ e .'. llirt o ; ;;ri cJ tliore. For example : "Jerusalem: the first church council, teaching the value of frank and brotherly discussion of differences." III. \ Characterizations Review. -This review will take up the vari- ous persons that have entered into our quarter's lessons. Each scholar will h(^ asked to write brief char- acterizations of all these persona. Those will be read and compared in the class, one character at a time. They should be quite brief, often hardly more than a sentence. For example : "John Mark, a man of good impulses but weak determina- tion ; he made one great failure, but ho also made a great recovery." V. A Central Text Review.â€" Ask the scholars to go over the lessons at home and select for each of them the verse that they think best era- bodies the spirit and thought of tho lesson. Tell them in every case to use the entire lesson, and not mere- ly the verses that are printed in th« quarterlies and lesson-leaves. For instance, for Lesson I. some may prefer v. 15; others, v. 28 or 34 or V. 35 or V. 4.5. Tho discussion of these different choices in the class, and the fixing on a final choice, will constitute a thougntful review. VI. A Christian-Life Keview â€" Each lesson of the quarter has some stroag teaching on the conduct of lite. It will make an inspiring re- view if you set the scholars to form- ing lists, at home, of these teach- ings, at least one for every lesson, and then comnare the results in tho class. For example, the Christian- lifo teaching of Lesson V., Paul in Cyprus, would be considered by some to be the duty of missionary activity ; by others, the folly of op- posing Christian work ; by others, the blindness of tho soul, like Ely- mas's physical blindness, which comes upon all that set themselves in opposition to tho truths of the gospel. VII. A Problems Review.â€" This would bo a good form for the review to take in adult classes. Let tho teacher draw up a list of problems connected with the various lessons, perhaps one for each lesson, and preferably the problems that arose in tho class discussions and were not satisfactorily settled at the time. Read tho list to the class slowly, calling for volunteers to assume the responsibility of leading the class, on the next Sunday, in the discus- sion of these problems. Here is a suggested list : Lesson I. biiould a Christian ever associate himself with non-Chris- tians 1 Lesson II. Why are not all God's saints delivered from their prisons'! Lesson III. V\' hat really converted Saul 1 l.«s8on IV. Why arc not all our modern churches as vigorous as that at Antioch 1 Lesson V. Why was the gospel confirmed by miracles in Paul's day, and why is it not confirmed in the same way to-day 1 Lesson VI. What was the secret of the effectiveness of Paul's preach- ing 1 Lesson VII. Would Paul and Barnabas have been justified in us- ing tho homage of the people for the greater influence of the gospell Lesson VIII. The decision of the council was a compromise. When are compromises wiso, and when foolish 1 Lesson IX. Is faith possihlo apart from works? Lesson X. Is it every Christian s duty to speak for Christ 1 I^esson XI. Have we as great op- por; unities for faith as Abraham aud Moses had 1 VIII. A Peter-Paul Review.â€" This form of view would bo excel- lent for the primary department. Let all the lessons be grouped about Peter and Paul, the two leading characters. Make it a review of Peter's life, as far back as his call to be a disciple. The best way, perhaps, is to draw on the black- board (or on large sheets of paper) a series of frames, each to hold a "picture" of one scene in Peter s life or Paul's. This "picture" will be indicated by a few words written as the children recall the scenes, such as "Peter walking on the waves," "Peter by the fire in the courtyard," "Paul facing. Elymas/ "James writing his epistle, A procession of heroes. DEMAND FOR RAT SKINS. The use of rat skins in varioui industries has created a demand in London alone to tlie amount of nearly $200,000 a year. They are usei, among other things, for bookbinding, photograpR frames, purses, and for thumbs in glove*. A new branch of work ia likely to increase the consumption largely, and as rau.'li as 73 to 00 oenU a day has been earned by the unemployed in Denmark last year, when the rat act was passed. The damaive done by rata in England alone is esti- mated to amount to many million dollars per annum, and t/heir cap- fure already occupias a large nun- ber of persoai. CONSCRIPTS NOT HEROES. Would be Out of Sight, But in Dauger, ia Case of War. Mr. Haldane, the British Minister of War, gave utterance the other day to a startling forecast of what would probably happen if an enemy ever succeeded in getting a foot- hold in England. A short and sharp Act of Parlia- ment would be passed, he opined, which would have the effect of forcing the "slacker" to take up arms in defence of his country. But he would i)ot then be regarded as a hero, nor would he be per- mitted the privilege of lighting in the front ranks against the invad- ers. On the contrary, he would probably be relegated to some very inconvenient and unpleasant part of the country, where he would be out of sight without being out of danger, says Pearson's Weekly. The picture is an unpleasant one, yet it almost certainly represents precisely what would happen in the event of an invasion, or even a raid, and the latter is by no means im- probable, nor the former impoa.sible. The Channel, considered as a bar- rier, was a hundred times more formidable a hundred years ago than it ia to-day, when fleets of swift steamers are available to cross it in an hour, or even less. Conscription has always followed invasion, just as it has usually also accompanied civil war, when these calamities have overtaken countries wherein it was not already the rule. A striking case in point was afforded by the war which broke out in 1861 between the Northern an<l Southern States of America. The nation possessed at the tim^ only a very small standing army, and the soldier's profession was looked down upon by the mass of the people, much as it used to be in England, and, indeed, still is in certain quarters and by certain in- dividuals. At first the volunteers, plus the regulars, were relied upon to do the fighting, but conscription was soon seen to bo a necessity. And con- scription it was. Men who had never fired a rifle in their lives wore torn from their homes and marched to the front. This caused fierce resentment, and even san- guinary rioting in New York and elsewhere, during which many lives wore lost. But the thing had to be, aud it we.nt on, just as it would do did a similar situation arise. of THE BENTLEY BABY. Created tho Mission Station Bolobo, in Africa. In the summer of 1887 Holman Bentley, accompanied by his wife and child, made a steamer journey on the Upper Congo, in Africa. Sir Harry Johnston, in his book en- titled "George Grenfell and the Congo,' recounts the result of the 4'ourney and the important part played by the Bentley baby. The party went through the Bolobo dis- trict, which at that time had become excessively hostile to Europeans. The temporary station of the Congo State had been burned to the ground, the chief, Ifaka, was dead, and when the steamer Peace, bearing the Bentleys, arrived in August, it was roughly ordered away. Before sheering off, how- ever, an idea occurred to Bentley. Taking advantage of the steamer's halt, his wife aud nurse were giv- ing a bath to the Bentley baby. As if by accident, the little white child was held up in view of the angry and excited people. Sudden- ly a hush fell on the assembled throng, gradually giving way to a shout of delighted surprise. A few minutes afterward, in re- sponse to urgent invitations to come on shore, the Bentley baby, iu a dainty white dress, was being paraded through the town, nursed and dandled by warrior after war- rior, till his snowy frock was red- dened with camwood dye or stained with greasy black marks from those who had stained their bodies with oil and soot. Mrs. Bentley was equally an ob- ject of interest and admiration, as she was the first white woman who had appeared in those regions. Up to that time the white man had been looked upon as a sort of un- natural creature, who was not bred and born like ordinary human be- ings, a semisupernatural being without a mate. The Bentley baby practically created the mission sta- tion of Bolobo, which has endured ever eince. MERELY A KINO. Tho King of Italy is a very keen fisherman, spending hour after hour with his rod, although not always with the best of luck. On one unfortunate occasion, several hours' aagling brought him but three poor fish. He was return- ing to the castle, whe he met a man with a magnificent catch of trout. "You seem to be no great fisher man, to look at your catch," re- marked the peasant. "I should aay you were about as lucky as tho King. ' "Why?" asked his Majesty. "Oh," returned the other, he thinks a great deal of himself as a sportaman ; but ho is a ipoor body, much more fit to be a king than a fiiheruiau. ' ' Th^Homej; b4<t'»« MISCELLANEOUS RECIPES. Cherry Relish.â€" Seed cherries, pour good cider vinegar over them and let them stand all night. JSqueeze out in the morning and put one pint of sugar to one pint of cherries, stir until sugar is all dissolved, then can. Chocolate Wafers. â€" A healthy and economical candy for children IS made by making a chocolate fil- ling the same as for cake or candy then dipping oyster crackers in the candy. Then lay on greased paper or plate until cooled. Combiflation Cake. â€" Cream one- half a cupful of butter, one and one- half cupfuls of sugar, two eggs, one half cupful of sour milk, with a teaspoonful of soda dissolved in it. Add a pinch of salt, one-half a cup- ful of sifted flour, flavor to taste with nutmeg and lemon. Bake in loaf or layer with boiled frosting flavored with vanilla. Bread in Three Hours.â€" Yeast â€" Boil eight large potatoes and mash in water in which they were boiled. While this is still boiling pour over four tablespoonfiifl of flour. To this add four tablespoonfuls each of salt and granulated sugar ; one quart of boiling and four quarts of cold water, and two yeast cakes, dissolved in half a cup of like warm water. Mix well and keep standing in a warm place eighteen hours. Then put in a cool place aud keep until required. The Bread â€" Use one quart of the yeast for two good sized loaves. Set on stove and stir with the hand until about 9d degrees Fahrenheit. Add a tablespoonful each of salt, brown sugar and butter, mix into a soft sponge with warmed flour. Let it rise thirty minutes. Add flour to knead, let rise again, mold into loaves, let rise, and bake in a mod- erate oven. Chicken with Rice. â€" Out one thor- oughly cleaned roasting chicken in- to pieces of any desired size. Place these in the kettle, add one pint i !cf strained tomato, one heaping' cupful of celery cut into half inch j pieces, one small onion, a few sprigs of parsley tied together, salt, pep per and one pint of hot water. Put this in the stove and when it be- gins to boil add one-half cupful of well washed rice. Let the whole boil for one-half hour, then place 't in a fireless cooker and allow it to remain there for at least four hours. Chicken prepared in this way may be served directly from the cooker, only the parsley should be removed, but the dish is far more attractive and seems to taste better if pieces of chicken are taken up with a skimmer arranged in a low baking dish, the rice poured over all, and then placed under the" broiliug flame or in the oven for about fifteen minutes just before serving. Garnish with fresh pars- ley and serve just as it comes from the oven. THE SEWING ROOM. Stains from Light Fabrics. â€" Place clean cloth under spot, wet cotton or small piece of cloth with perox- ide of hydrogen and rub spot until it disappears. Most useful in children's fruit stained ginghams or white clothing. Have also used it on light silks successfully. How to Shrink Goods. â€" All wash- able goods should be shrunk, especi- ally ginghams, before using. This is valuable to remember in maki.ig up any kind of wash-goods ma- terials for children's clothes. Pour boiling hot water through the goods, hang up and dry, and then iron. If this is done previous to the making up of the goods, much time will be save*!. To find Skirt Length.â€" After the hand has been sewc.l on the skirt, try on. Stand a yar<l stick perpendi- cularly on the tlo<ir close to tne form. At the upper end, which will reach the hips, mark the skirt, moving the yardstick about the form, keeping it perpendicular and marking at the upper end until the mark encircles the form or skirt at the hips. The skirt can then be laid on the table, and if it is to be two inches from the floor make it thirty- four inches from the line about the hips; if three inches from the floor, maice it thirty-three inches iu length. This will be found to be a most useful hint for the sewing room, insuring a properly hanging skirt, for if there is a difference in one's hips it will be above the mark on the skirt. two mint leaves and simmer for" one-half hour; add any gravy loft' from roast and strain. Thicken' with one tablespoonful of flour rub- bed in one tablespoonful of butter, add a teaspoonful of salt, a dash' of cayenne, and the minced lamb.r Let -it come to a boil and servo. USEFUL HINTS. When a baby is lying cm your Ian do not allow anyone to talk to it ever its head from the back, as this is frequently tho cause of a child's eyes becoming crossed. The littla mite tries to see the speaker, and turns its eyes all ways in the ef- fort. Medicine should be given at regu- lar hours, and careful attention should be paid to the direction ^a to time when it is ordered to b« given, as, for instance, before br after meals. The exact quantity of medicine ordered should be giv«^. Care of Table-linen.â€" To keep tablecloths in good condition pdur boiling water upon stains from fruit cr coffee as soon as the tabled ia cleared ; do not wait until the week- ly wash-day. Some housekeepers drop a pinch of salt on a stain 'as soon as it is made ; this tends to 'its eradication. • Rough Elbows.â€" Many wonieu find their elbows get unpleasantly rough, especially those who lean much over a table. Dry table-salt rubbed on the elbows every morn- ing during the bath is a cure; tho friction will stimulate the skin and make it smooth and firm. At night a little cold cream should be ap- plied. A Use for Tea-Leaves.â€" Save old tea-leaves far a few days, pour bof'l- ing water over them, leave till near-' ly cold, strain and use the water for washing paint. It gets off staiqa very easily and quickly. Clean white paint by rubbing with a dam'p flannel which has been dipped in whiting; soda should never be used iu washing paint, as it injures tHo color. Use for Empty Tins.â€" Here is a good way "to make use of empty, syrup-tins. The 4 pound size is pec- haps the most useful, but others will do as well. Wash them clean inside ; then procure a small tin of enamel, any color you like, but palo blue is very pretty ; give them thre^ coats on the outside, allowing time for each coat of enamel to dry be- fore putting on the next. Cut out from bills or papers the letters you require to maie the words showing the contents of the tins, such as peas, rice, etc. Stick each letter on separately and as neatly as pos« sible, and give one coat of crystaj varnish to the tin. It can then bo washed when soiled. TASTY MEAT DISHES. Baked Chicken.â€" Prepare a chick- en as for broth. Put in bakepan, add two cupfuls of water. Butter size egg and salt and pepper. Put in oven and cover. Keep well bast- ed. Will take about an hour. Gravy for above: Boil the giblets until tender, chop fine. Remove chicken ; add tho giblets; thicken like cream and servo. Minced Lamb.â€" Remove all the good moat from what remains of roast lamb and mince fine. Put tho bones and bits of (kin in a sauoe^ pan and cover with a pint of water. Add ono onicn, one-half oarrot cut â- mall, a tow iprayi of panky, and CAT MOTHERS SQUIRRELS. Deprived of Her Own Children, She Adopts Another Family. Last spring a cat on the farm of Albert Fisher, near Westville-, N.Y., had several small kittens. As the farm was overstocked with catp her young were taken from her aud drowned. Atier that the cat seem- ed very unhappy, aud being a houst favorite she received considerablb sympathy. « One day shortly after her kittend were taken from her a young squir- rel which had fallen from its nest in the hollow of a tree was found ' and taken to the cat with the idea' that it would be a dainty morsel to- tempt her app)otite. Instead of pouncing upon it cat fashion she took the young squirrel to the box where she had so recent-" ly mothered her own young and. there bestowed upon the squirrel all the affection she had previously given to her kittens. Strangor still, says a writer ii* Country Life in America, in about) two hours the old cat had hunted out the squirrel's netit in a treei some distance away and had car* ried the remainder of the young squirrels in her mouth, one at a time, to her box in the house. Then until the squirrels wer*' nearly full grown the cat watched" over them with all the solicitude • that is possible for any animal . mother to show, even providing . nourishment for them in exactly tho same manner that she had for her ' own young. When the squirrels had outgrown a mother's attention they were very tan)e and were given to • friends of the family. NOT CAUGHT. Edwin, a,ged four, owned a pio- ture book in which a fierce-looking cow was running after a small boy. ' He looked at it a long time, then, * carefully closing the book, he laid ' it away. A tew days later he got the book again and turned to the picture. • Bringing his chubby fist down on the cow, he exclaimed in a tone of triumph : "She ain't caught him yet!" AN AGREEMENT. Parishioner (a little tho worse - for liquor)â€" "I hearzh you preazb 'r lag' night." New Ministerâ€" "You didn't hear much, I fancy." "Thaz whatâ€" hieâ€" I thought my- self." ONE OF MANY. My wife says I'm a genius- Invent things while you wait ; And my specialty is excuses When I chance to itay out lata %