to the mountains to escape such a fate in the future. The most of those early settlers were content to endure every kind of hardship and privation if they could only enjoy peace and the freedom of religious worship. Their sad and painful experience had caused them to believe it was only possible by being far removed from their former persecutors. Hence, they viewed with pleasure the prospect of being secluded and hidden from observation and from contact with the world. From their standpoint obscurity and isolation insured a degree of safety which they thought it not possible to obtain if they were surrounded by jealous, covetous, or hostile neighbors. It was very natural that they should think so. This feeling was not confined to Latter-day Saints; for reflecting men not of our faith saw the danger which the Saints would be in when populations opposed to their religion should become numerous around them. Some years ago a prominent government official, whom I had known in Washington, came to Utah on business for the government. In conversation with him he expressed himself very feelingly concerning the situation of the Latter-day Saints. He knew something of their past history and of the treatment they had received from mobs. Stretching out his arm, and pointing down the valley, a sweeping and commanding view of which could be had from the point where we were standing, he remarked: "When I look at this beautiful valley and the grandeur of the surrounding mountains, your comfortable homes, your fine farms and fields, orchards and gardens, all wrested from the wilderness at such an immense cost of means and toil, I sincerely wish that you were somewhere else and away from our jurisdiction; for I see nothing but trouble ahead of you. Your country will be coveted, and there will not be pretexts wanting to justify taking it from you." The idea in his mind was plain. We had a country which our industry, energy, and perseverance, under the blessing of the Lord, had converted from a desert into a place of beauty, and he foresaw that in the opinion of many thereafter it would be considered too good for us, and measures would, perhaps, be taken to repeat the past and drive us from it. His feelings upon this point appeared to be precisely similar to those of our brethren who first settled here. In reply to him I asked, "Where could we have gone or where can we now go, to any spot on this earth more secluded or less likely to become attractive than these valleys of the Rocky Mountains were when the Latter-day Saints first came to them? Go now where we might upon this continent and our religious faith binds us to this continent and the same results which you now witness," I said, "in this valley would soon be witnessed wherever we would settle. If it were possible to select a spot more unfavorable for settlement than this country was in 1847, the application of the qualities which the Latter-day Saints possess would, in time, convert it into a beautiful and an attractive place." He admitted the correctness of my statement, but still appeared to be apprehensive and mournful concerning our future. While the Latter-day Saints remain in the world, and are true to their religion, they must attract attention, and people for various reasons-in the past it has been principally for money-making-will be drawn to them. We must not forget the prophecies. They clearly indicate that people will come to Zion for peace, security, and good government. However improbable it may seem at present, in view of the manner Salt Lake and Ogden cities are now governed, the words of the Lord will, nevertheless, be fulfilled. More unlikely things than this have happened, and they will happen again. It is very evident the Lord sees that His people need schooling, and He is permitting them to get it. The method may not be pleasant to them, or it may not be the one they would have selected had the choice been left to them. But we must acknowledge that He knows what is best.-Juvenile Instructor. THE POSSIBILITY OF LIFE IN OTHER WORLDS. THE standard argument in support of the belief that certain other planets might be inhabited was of this kind. It was noticed that the sun lies at the centre of a system of bodies which revolve around it, and that among these bodies the earth holds an intermediate place. It is nearer to the central luminary than are some of the other planets, while, on the other hand, it is more remote than others. The warmth and light received by the earth from the sun would therefore be greater than that received by some planets, and less than that received by others. If some of the planets are much larger than the earth, then it must be remembered that other members of the same system are smaller than our globe, and that some of them are very much smaller. It was also pointed out that the earth in other respects is, as it were, a fair average specimen of a planet. Some of these bodies have moons revolving around them. It is quite true that Jupiter, Saturn, and Uranus are more richly endowed with attendant globes than is the earth; but then Mercury and Venus appear to be unprovided with any moons. It was thus seen that in the matter of satellites, as well as in dimensions and in situation, our globe is an intermediate one in the system. This conclusion was confirmed by the subsequent discovery that Mars had a pair of satellites and Neptune a single one. Indeed, the claims of the earth to be a typical planet might be pushed still further. A notable characteristic of a planetary globe is its density, that is to say, its weight in comparison with the weight of a globe of water of equal dimensions. Here again our earth appears in the light of a fairly representative object. It is much lighter, no doubt, bulk for bulk, than some of the other planets. It is, on the other hand, much heavier than others. It is also noticeable in this connection, that our globe is surrounded with a copious atmosphere, and this is an attribute which of course stands in an obvious and specially important relation to the question of the earth as an abode of life. Those who pondered on the possibility of life on other worlds could not fail to be struck by the fact that some of those other worlds were also surrounded by atmospheres. If these atmospheres in certain cases, were excessively dense and abundant, and in others greatly attenuated, this circumstance alone would tend once again to illustrate the intermediate rank, so to speak, of our earth as a member of the planetary system. The argument then ran in this wise. Regarding our earth as a globe which constitutes a member of the solar system, it can hardly be said to possess very extreme attributes. It does not appear to be marked out in any specially distinctive manner which would qualify it rather than certain of the other globes for becoming suitable abodes for life. The qualities which the earth possesses are, generally speaking, conferred upon it in degrees intermediate to those in which other globes of the system are endowed with similar qualities. As the earth was inhabited, it would seem only reasonable to assume that in this respect also it was not exceptional, and that in all probability the other globes, some of them, or many of them, were also fitted for the abode of life, suitably adapted to the conditions which each globe had to offer. Such was in outline the famous argument which was presented half a century ago, in support of the conclusion that in all probability certain other planets besides our earth contained organic life. . . . It is plain that the ancient argument in support of the notion that some of the planets might be tenanted with life, can be considerably re-inforced by modern discoveries. For it may now be regarded as practically certain that various elements known on this earth are present in the planetary bodies. We thus see that the components necessary for the physical frame-work of living creatures may, in all probability, be as abundantly provided upon some of the other planets as on the earth. In this connection it is instructive to bear in mind what is known as to the distribution of those particular elements in space which appear to be most characteristically associated with the manifestation of life. No result of spectroscopic research among the heavenly bodies has been more remarkable than that which demonstrates the extraordinary abundance with which the element hydrogen is diffused throughout the universe. It is, of course, one of the commonest elements of the earth, entering, as it does, into the composition of every drop of water. Hydrogen is also a constituent part of a vast number of solid bodies, but the remarkable circumstance for our present purpose is that this same element is found in profusion elsewhere. Surrounding that visual glowing globe of the sun there is an invisible atmosphere, of which hydrogen is one of the most prominent components. A like conclusion is drawn from the spectra of many of the stars. In case of certain specially white and brilliant gems, of which Sirius and Vega may be taken as the types, the chief spectroscopic feature is the extraordinary abundance in which hydrogen is present. Even in the dim and distant nebulæ gaseous hydrogen is the constituent more easily recognized than any other which they may possess. Indeed it may be affirmed that we do not know any other substance which is so widely diffused as hydrogen. It need hardly be said that this gas is an important constituent in those compound bodies with which life is associated. In that somewhat gruesome exhibition, which shows the actual quantities of the several elements of which an average human body is composed, the bulk of the hydrogen forms one of the most striking items, and indeed in connection with all forms of animal and vegetable life, hydrogen is of primary importance. In the argument from analogy for the existence of life in other worlds it is significant to note that an element associated in such an emphatic manner with the manifestation of life here should now be shown to be widespread through the universe. In like manner carbon, which is, of course, an essential factor in organic substances, has been demonstrated to exist in other parts of the solar system. The most striking illustration of this fact is presented in the case of the glowing solar clouds, which there is now good reason to believe are due to carbon. Many of the comets exhibit lines in their spectra characteristic of the same element. If these bodies, as has been often supposed are drawn by solar attraction from the remotest parts of space, the carbon which they bear testifies that this element is present through a wide extent of the universe. Here, again, modern research has gone far to strengthen the argument as to the possible existence of life elsewhere. It has shown the cosmical nature of that particular element which, if not itself the veritable abode of life, seems to be, at all events, a constituent thereof. No reasonable person will, I think, doubt that the tendency of modern research has been in favor of the supposition that there may be life on some of the other globes. But the character of each organism has to be fitted so exactly to its environment, that it seems in the highest degree unlikely that any organism we know here could live on any other globe elsewhere. We cannot conjecture what the organism must be which would be adapted for a residence in Venus or Mars, nor does any line of research at present known to us hold out the hope of more definite knowledge. SIR ROBERT BALL, F.R.S., in the Fortnightly Review. The Salt Lake Irrigation, Light and Power Company has lately been incorporated with a capital stock of $1,000,000. A happy party of excursionists, consisting of Presidents Woodruff, Cannon, and Smith, and members of their families have left Salt Lake City for the coast. President Woodruff has been suffering with asthmatic troubles, and it is hoped the sea coast and lower altitude will prove beneficial to him. They may be goue two weeks-the object is health and pleasure. Later word informs us that the President's health was much improved and the trip would be extended to Alaska. On June 22, Eric Matson left his home at Bingham Canyon without notifying his folks and as he failed to return they became anxious about him. This was especially the case with his brother John, who during the night was troubled by a dream in which he saw Eric on the edge of a precipice loudly calling for help. The dream was repeated, and when morning came it was related to the neighbors the most of whom tried to dismiss it as unimportant. John could not get rid of the idea that something had happened to his brother, and a search was commenced and continued until a place was found which resembled exactly the place seen in his dream. At the bottom was found the dead body of the young man. It is not known whether or not he met his death accidentally, but this dream has caused a great deal of conversation among all classes of people, and is certainly of an extraordinary nature. On June 25, Professor Kiehle, of the University of Minnesota, was a visitor at the Utah University Summer School, and expressed himself as much pleased with the proceedings. POETRY. BATTLE FOR THE RIGHT! Aye, tear the flimsy veils aside and rend the masks away; Burst off the bonds that chain mankind; break through the prison bars; Confine the cruel lusts of gain till they corrode and die, Then shall each hand that claspeth hand be cordial, firm, and true; SELECTED. DIED. CROSSLETT. - Martha White Crosslett was born in Fishguard, Pembrokeshire, Wales, June 1, 1835; baptized when a young girl, and emigrated in April 1861. She died in Salt Lake City, June 12, 1895, while on a visit to her brother William White. Her home has been in Colorado and Wyoming for the last thirty years. She died a faithful Latterday Saint beloved by all who knew her. JACKSON.—In the Twentieth Ward, Salt Lake City, June 23, 1895, of heart disease, George Usher Jackson, son of the late Thomas Usher Jackson, born in Hull, Yorkshire, England, September 17, 1887. EDITED, PRINTED, AND PUBLISHED BY ANTHON H. LUND, 42 ISLINGTON, LIVERPOOL. FOR SALE ALSO IN ALL THE CONFERENCES OF THE CHURCH IN |