don't know, but I suppose the selections were made
by some clerk in the publishing house of whom we purchased. He
saw the book was by a minister, and naturally presumed it was
eminently fit. Right in our own city I have learned that
'Bluffton' is in half a dozen libraries, and is doing deadly
work to orthodoxy. Of course this sort of thing must stop."

OUR BARBAROUS ORTHOGRAPHY.--An attempt was once made to introduce the
English language in Japan, but their learned men decided that the
irregularities of English spelling and grammar were a fatal objection.
The best illustration of its barbarism is to attempt to carry it out
uniformly,

For spelling is easy, although
We may not always knough
How to spell sough.

The attempt to form the past tense of verbs by analogy produces this
amusing result from the pen of H. C. Dodge.

The teacher a lesson he taught;
The preacher a lesson he praught;
The stealer, he stole;
The healer, he hole;
And the screecher, he awfully scraught.

The long-winded speaker, he spoke;
The poor office seeker, he soke;
The runner, he ran;
The dunner, he dan;
And the shrieker, he horribly shroke.

The flyer to Canada flew;
The buyer, on credit he bew;
The doer, he did;
The suer, he sid;
And the liar (a fisherman) lew.

The writer, this nonsense he wrote;
The fighter (an editor) fote;
The swimmer, he swam;
The skimmer, he skam;
And the biter was hungry and bote.

CRITICAL.

EUROPEAN BARBARISM.--A German Major, of distinguished military career,
brought a suit for libel securing an apology and retraction, but after
this satisfactory result a caucus of army officers, called a court of
honor, induced the war office to dismiss him from the army _because he
had not challenged his opponent_. This appears to be the doctrine of
the war office. America has outgrown such barbarism. Not only are
duels forbidden, but Texas has passed a severe law against carrying
pistols, the punishment being imprisonment.

BOSTON CIVILIZATION.--More space is given by our leading dailies to
base ball, pugilism, races, games and crimes than to anything else. Of
course Boston wants such reading. The Herald says, "It is not unusual
to see 5000 people sitting in the hottest sun of the hottest summer
days for more than two hours, and not even murmuring at the lack of
liberality which fails to provide them the slightest awn