THE ESSAYIST.

WHAT IS LIFE. [contributed.] It is a common saying that a question is easier asked than answered, and that a little child can confound a philosopher. The question which forms the subject of this paper, although a simple one, has doubtless perplexed and defied the keenest intellect to solve, not only in days gone by, but also in the present time. What a vast amount of mental power has been expended in the vain efforts of man to discover the true nature of that force which constitutes the great source of life and motion ? There can be no doubt, however, that, notwithstanding his unsuc cessful efforts, much has been effected Co ward the solving of the problem, and that there can be no gainsaying the pro gression which he has so evidently made. During the last century science has mani festly done very much in the elucidation of matters which for ages had been obscured by an apparently impermeable cloak of darkness; but the true nature of the essence which forms the chief and vital principle in the creative and decrea tive measures of the great Architect of the universe is still an incomprehensible mystery to man, and may never be re vealed and truly recognised by him as he is now organised in his present sphere of action. Well may the gladsome soul of man in delight respond with wondering adoration toward his Maker in the con templation of his beautiful and harmo niously contrived mechanism as pourtrayed by the Designer and Sustainer of the heavens above. The glorious triumphs which mind has made over matter, the secrets unfolded to man’s view from scientific investigation, all continue to make him exclaim in “ wonder, love and praise,” “ What is life ? ” A large portion of the heavens have been delineated ; the positions and movements of the planets noted, their character and physical qualities made known, and their common affinity for one another ascer tained. Who can conceive the feelings of Newton when, after years of the most laborious study and scientific research, the mysterious force of gravitation first dawned upon his well ordered and deeply reflective mind? We are told that his emotion was so great that he was com pelled to resign the completion of his task to a friend. He had been permitted to make known to his fellow men the start ling tidings that all matter, whether con sisting of the most infinitisemal particles or as worlds, possessed in common the inherent power of repulsion and attraction. What that power is, ■per se, has been left to other philosophers to reveal. The fact that matter does move, and that of itself it has not the power of motion, being dead in itself and yet in destructible, suffices to show that there is in existence a principle which men call life, and that this principle pervades the whole of God’s glorious creation. What man, then, even though he can but faintly comprehend the great truth, is able to stand unmoved with the conscientiousness of it uppermost in his mind? Whether that man views this truth in a heavenward direction, or as confined to a philosophical investigation of the different properties of the materials of which this globe is com posed, on which he “ lives, moves, and has his being,” surely to such a man the question will arise—“ What is life?” The evidence of its existence he holds on all sides ; look wheresoe’er he may, there he sees the effects of this living principle which has been termed life. He sees it in the dust, in the flower, in living creatures, and in the heavens. The obvious relationship which exists between mind and matter is one which, when rightly examined, cannot fail to have beneficial effects on the mind of the examiner, inasmuch as it tends directly to the elevation of the finite mind of man to that infinite mind which has authorised and -controls all things ; and more especially will this be the case when men pay a due regard to the revelations of Scripture. But alas! Poor fallible being ; instead of enjoying a closer relationship with his Creator, he is only to prone to walk in a way altogether antagonistic to his will. Such an one, surely, cannot lay claim to the title of philosopher, for in the opinion of all right-minded men, the true philosopher does not seek to make Panthe ism, or to exclude an intelligent First Cause; but recognises him as such and his works as effects of his omniscient and omnific power. Again, what are we to understand by the hypothesis of a class of thinkers who, in respect to the subject under notice, assert that a portion of the food of living creaturesafter being received into the stomach, and after having been subjected to the process of chemical change is thence conveyed by means of circulation of the blood to the brain ; and that this fluid is analogous to the galvanic. What ever this fluid may be, it cannot be spirit but simply matter, inasmuch as it is re ceived into the system in the form of matter, so that the saying is again illus trated of “That which is of the earth is earthy.” No one will attempt to deny that the movements and sensations of living organisms are due to agency of the nerve force operating through the medium of the brain and nervous centres on the musclar and osseous system ; but that this nerve force constitutes the thinking part of man is open to grave doubt. Un fortunately, there are not wanting those who persistently maintain that this fluid is life, and it is this belief which tends to warp so many splendid intellects. Of such an one it may well be said : Alas ! Alas 1 It gives me little joy. To think I’m farther off from heaven Than when I was a boy. The author of this little paper is ' bold enough to maintain that this galvanic fluid is not life ; but only matter, and a part of the universal wox-k of Him who first “breath into the nostrils of man, the breathed of life.” It is this fatal theory against which I am now contend ing, that holds captive, in the meshes of Materialism, so many men who believe that the soul, the thinking part of man— is a material thing doomed to perish with the clay of his body. Sir Isaac Newton, in his work the ‘ ‘ Prin cipia,” has satisfactorily demonstrated that an etherial fluid pervades all space, | by means of which all particles of matter are attracted, and through it light is , emitted, and thus heats the earth and other bodies. Whatever this fluid may i be, it has not the power to think or to put ■ itself in motion. On the contrary, it is kept in motion by a powerful cause, and through whose instrumentality it operates 1 and fills the whole universe. All this does 1 not prove what life is, but merely points ( out the fact that there is in existence a I powerful and subtile fluid analogous to spirit. It is possible, however, that it J may possess unknown properties for the distribution of the vital principle as in tended by the Creator. Man is said to be an immortal being, because his moral ai d intellectual constitution is so con trived as to absolutely demand a belief in £ the future deveh pment of his nature ; and j we are, consequently, at liberty to accept , the doctrine that there may be existing c immaterial orders, or beings, which en- 1 joy brief periods of existence, and after- c wards return again and again to a state of a nihility; or, to make the matter more c clear, that there is a future period of 1 spiritual existence and which has com- * menced with man. c Life is the work and gift of God, and g He, through his watchful providence, con- c tinually sustains all the creatures of his c ] will. Life originated with God, and re- i turns unto Mm again; it cannot be de- r fctroyed by any finite power. He who 1 1

above dispensed life, light, and heat to all his dependant Creation, is able to answer this question of “ What is Life?'’

THE CHIMNEY CORNER.

THE LOST BANK NOTE,

CONTINUED. > The words, spoken with significant em l phasis, struck us like a knell. On me i they fell with a startling effect, coining > after the discovery of the last night. > What could they mean ? Before I could s recover, he was gone. , “ Oh, Kate, Kate, Kate,” cried her . father, “you have ruined me ! Oh deary - deary me ! What have you done ? how [ could you 1 ” And he shambled out after . Murdon, in manifest trepidation. I heard him overtake the cashier in the . passage, and I distinguished Murdon’s i angry voice. I turned to Kate who was i pale and weeping. j “Kate, what does all this signify? f Why are you going to marry that man ? I What does he mean by his reference to . Wylde and seven thousand four hundred f and eighty two ?” 3 “ Hush, hush, George—never say those . words. Oh, listen ! are they quarell -3 ing ? ” [ I stole to the door and listened. They E were speaking under their voices, but r their excitement made some of the words ! audible. I heard the old man murmur, . “As heaven bears witness above us, I I never stole the money.” . “I know nothing about that,” replied i the cashier’s scoffing voice. I only > know r it never reached its destination, and i I know the worth of the receipt I hold. ” ) “ And you swear to give it me back ? ” “ On the day when you fulfil your part L of the bargain.” L I closed the door softly and returned to j Kate. “ Tell me one thing, Kate. This [ Wylde—this money ” ■ “If you love me, George,” she cried in terror, “never speak of Wylde or of ■ money. You do not know the danger ; you might bring down on my father’s head and mine. ” ■ “ Well, I will not speak of it,” I an r swered calmly ; “but tell me something ( else. You do not love the man who has . left us ? ” “Love him!” , “ And yet you are about to many him ? ” “I must. I cannot help myself. Yoq t do not know%” . “Kate—dearest Kate I If this danger were removed ; if this man’s spite—for it ; is spite which animates him, not love — were nullified; if he could work neither you nor your father any harm; would ■ you—could you be brought to love some body else ? ” i She sobbed, but did not reply. I took [ her yielding hand in mine ; I kissed away , her tears ; and her father returning found ; us thus, and broke into a passionate ex ■ clamation. , She glided to his side, hung over him, ; smoothed his grey hair, and murmured ■ she would do anything in the world for his sake. Father and daughter wept toge ther. It was no scene for an onlooker, • and without a farewell I stole out into the night air to cool my brain and to think. | CHAPTER 111. The sharp evening air and a brisk walk homeward stimulated reflection; and I 1 began to go over the scene I had just witnessed, and to decide upon my next action. Events had conspired to elucidate the mystery of Number 07,482, but much remained yet unrevealed. That Wylde ’ had never received the note or any equiva : lent for it, was pretty certain from the first. That old Graham was cognisant of some fraud which had kept Wylde out of the money—and perhaps had originated the fraud—was evident from his manner, and from the hold which Murdon pos sessed over him. The riddle that re mained was, to what extent was Graham implicated ? He had not stolen the mo ney, for it lay in my pocket. He could not have hidden it in a place where it was so likely to be found and to betray him. Then, again, Murdon had spoken of a receipt wdiich old Graham seemed anxious to regain, and the delivery of which was to be made contingent on Murdon’s mar rying Kate. That receipt was evidently ir regular, and its irregularity in some man ner compromised the old clerk. So long as it remained in Murdon’s possession, the cashier held an engine by which he could force the old man into compliance with his wishes. The next question was, how could I ex onerate Graham and release Kate ? By disclosing the manner in which I had found the bank-note, Graham would be cleared of the suspicion of robbery, which suspicion, however, was known only to the cashier. An expose would certainly not benefit Graham with the firm, who were ignorant of any . irregularity and believed the money paid. And my hand ing over the money would not clear the difficulty of the receipt: it would on the contrary, provoke an investigation which might be awkward for Graham, if, as I was forced to imagine, he had forged the receipt. Truly the obstacle in this direc tion was hard to surmount. Walking briskly and thinking deeply, I came upon a dingy public-house, which I remembered as the haunt of Wylde the place where I had seen him in company with Tom. I determined to satisfy my self fully on a point upon which I felt •morally convinced already—namely, that Wylde had never received the money in tended for him by Theophilus Langbrace, Esquire, our client. With this view I entered the Pour-in-hand, by which name the house of call for actors was known. Making my way into the bar-parlor, I recognised through a haze of tobacco smoke my roystering friend Tom, engaged in what he was wont to call cultivating the Muses—in other wmrds, keeping up a drinking and smoking intercourse with half a dozen very shady “ utility ” actors. That ardent young gentleman hailed me boisterously. “ Hallo, George, my pippin ! Come to see life, eh ? Sit down and have a spider.” Declining the entomological beverage referred to, I contented myself -with ordering a less elaborate liquid, and asked Tom if he had seen his friend Wylde. “ What, Guglielmo 1 ” answered Tom. “ He’ll be here presently ; he’s on in the second piece to-night as a gory ruffian. He gets murdered in the fourth act and will probably drop in then.” In about an hour’s time ho appeared, not so drunk as usual, for the night ■was comparatively early—hardly eleven o’clock. He had only taken sufficient to produce the first of many stages of intoxi cation through which that accomplished artist was nightly wont to pass. In his first stage he was jubilant and loquacious. {To be continued.)

THE ASHBURTON GUARDIAN, SATURDAY, JUNE 5, 1880,

Printed and published by Horace John Weeks and Charles Dixon, at their Printing Office, East Streep Ashburton,, Saturday, June $, 1880. - ■ v, . ...M.-iiA - j-sal



Holloway's Pills.—These Pills are more efficacious in strengthening a debilitated con stitution than any other medicine in the world. Persons of a nervous habit of body, and all who are suffering from weak digestive organs, or whose health has become deranged by bilious affection, disordered stomach, or liver complaints, should lose no time in giving these admirable Pills a fair trial. Coughs, colds, asthma, or shortness of breath are also within the range of the sanative powers of this very remarkable medicine. The cures effected by these Pills are not superficial or temporary, but complete any permanent. They are as mild as they are efficacious, and may be given with confidence to delicate females and young chil dren. Their action on the liver, stomach, and bowels is immediate, beneficial, and lasting, restoring order and health in every case.— Advt]



Business Notices. Dissolution OF Partnership. o ORE AND CO., to announce that they intend to DISSOLVE PAETNEESHIP on Ist SEPTEMBER. They will therefore, on Saturday, May Ist, offer the whole of their snperio stock, amounting to over £20,000 worth of DRAPERY, IRONMONGERY, AND GROCERIES, AT COST PRICE. The reductions in price extends to every Department in our Business, And we trust our Customers will pay PROMPT CASED DURING SALE. All Goods will be marked in plain figures with Red Ink. jT f $ All outstanding accounts must be paid at once so that partnership accounts may be adjusted. I ORE & CO., ASHBURTON & RAKAIA Aprils 24th, 1880. J P.S.—A Large Shipment of Drapery Goods just opened up ex Pallala. Guns! Guns! Guns! POWDER. SHOT. CAPS. ORE AND CO. JJAVE now on hand a very fine assortment of RREECHLOAIDING DOUBLE AND SINGLE-BARREL GUNS, And as these have been imported direct from the manufacturers, k we are prepared to Sell From £2 10s £to £25, ORR AND CO It 9c-9g



Railway Time Table. REVISED RAILWAY fjl RAIN CHRISTHURCH AND ASHBURTON SECTION B, RANGE ME NTS SOUTH. NORTH. t Stop to allow passengers to alight only. ASHBURTON AND TIMARU SECTION. SOUTH. NORTH. RAKAIA AND ASHBURTON FORKS RAILWAY. TIMARU AND DUNEDIN SECTION. SOUTH, NORTH.



Business Notices. Business Notice. FARMERS ! FARMERS I FARMERS ! R. McKERROW AND 00., RE Cash Purchasers of Wool, Grain, and all kinds of Farm Produce, and are Iso prepared to make Liberal CASH ADVANCES on the above placed in their hands either for sale or shipment to the English or Colonial Markets. A Large Stock of Cornsacks, Wool packs, &c., for sale at lowest current prices. R. McKERBOW & CO., GRAIN MERCHANTS, RAKAIA. A. J. WHITE’S STEAM CABINETMAKING AND FURNITURE ESTABLISHMENT, CHRISTCHURCH, Will be found one of the most convenient in New Zealand. THE Stock being so varied, that pur chasers may at once select any Article they can possibly require, suitable for any class of House. This will be found an IMMENSE ADVANTAGE TO COUN TRY CUSTOMERS Thus saving time, trouble and expense. | 589 a



Business Notices. TO FARMERS. fJpHE undersigned are CASH BUYERS Of Wheat and other Grain, or will mak® LIBERAL ADVANCES On shipments to London on grower’s account. DEERING’S TWINE BINDER. NOTICE TO FARMERS, have this day APPOINTED MESSRS. FRIEDLANDER BROS. SOLE AGENTS for the PEERING TWINE BINDER for the county of Ashburton. MASON STRUTHERS & CO. Christchurch 10th. February, 1880. The Deering Twine Binder AWARDED GOLD MEDAL At Ashburton, six machines competing. THE DEERING TWINE [BINDER took the SPECIAL PR I r Z E at the Oamaru trial etc. jjAYING been appointed sole agents for the above machines, we are now prepared to TAKE ORDERS for the coming season. As only a LIMITED NUMBER can be supplied, all who wish to make certain of securing those favorite machines fo next season should order before the depar ture of next San Francisco Mail. FRIEDLANDER B R .°. i AGENTS FOR THE COLONIAL FIRE AND MARINE INSURANCE COMPANY OP NEW ZEALAND ( i i J SOLE AGENTS FOR THE CELEBRATED ALTHOUSE SELF - REGULATING WINDMILLS, i c r ; 1 I 8a



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Sir,—Having suffered for some time from an obstinate cough, accompanied with fever, continuous head-aches, and sleepless nights, I resolved after having vainly tried several other medicines, to have recourse to youv BALSAM of ANISEED. I cannot resist, sir, the desire of making you acquainted with the' really marvelous results which I derived from it. From the first dose I felt great relief, the bad symptoms grew feebler, the irritation of the throat was calming down, and I recovered the sleep which had nearly left me. The third dose delivered me completely, and I am now completely restored to health. Receive, sir, with the expression of my gratitude the assurance of my distinguished sentiments. DUO DE MONTABOR.” POWELL’S BALSAM of ANISEED. “Sir, —I have for a long time suffered from a severe cough and tried all manner of remedies. Dr. Liberecht advised POWELL’S BALSAM of ANISEED ; it cured me after a few days. You are at liberty to use this letter in hopes that others may benefit by it.— I am, Sir, Yours. &c., ALBERT COUNT POTOCKI.” pOWELL’S BALSAM OF ANISEED WILL LOOSEN the PHLEGM imme diately.—The Dean of Westminster’s Verger writes : “ I was advised to try the Balsam of Anijeed; I did, and have found great relief. It is most comforting in allaying irritation and giving strength to the voice.” Lionel Brough, Esq., the eminent actor, writes : 1 think it an invaluable medicine for members of my profession, and have always recommended it to my brother and sister artistes.” '"TRULY an EXTRAORDINARY EX -1 PECTORaNT.— Mr. Edward M. Ullett, of Bury, Hunts., writes to Messrs. Palmer & Son, Ramsay “ Having been in the habit o using Powell’s Balsam of Aniseed for a great number of years, I have great pleasure in bear ing testimony to its incomparable effects as an expectorant. I always find a single dose gives immediate relief, and a small bottle effects a perfect cure.” POWELL’S BALSAM of ANISEED.— The effects of one teaspoonful taken in a little water before going to bed is extraordinary. No family should be without it in the winter. Sold by Chemists and Medicine Vendors throughout the World, is I and 2s 3d per per bottle; a great saving in taking family bottles, lis each. Established over 50 years. Prepared only by THOMAS POWELL, Blackfriars Road, London. A SK for POWELL’S BALSAM of ANISEED SOLD by all CHEMISTS and STORE KEEPERS. Observe the Trade Mark, “Lion, Net, and Mouse,” Wholesale Agents in the Australian and New Zealand Colonies -Elliot Brothers j Eyers & Solomon ; Felton, Grimwalde, & Co. ; P. and S. Falk, Faulding & Co. , Rocke, Tompsit, & Co.; Rosenthall & Co.; Kempthorne, Prosser, & Co.; S. Hoffenung & Co.; Hemmons, Laws, & Co. ; Berkley, Taylor, & Co.; and all other wholesale houses. Proprietor— Thomas Powell, Blackfriars Road London. KEATINGS COUGH LOZENGES, COUGHS, ASTHMA, BRONCHITIS, ACCUMULATION OF PHLEGM. Composed of the purest articles. These Lozenges contain no opium nor any deleterious drug, therefore the most delicate can take them with perfect confidence. Their beneficial effect is speedy and certain. This old un failing family remedy is daily recommended by the most eminent Physicians. (In use nearly 60 years). MEDICAL TESTIMONY. July 25th, 1877. 22, Cold Harbour Lane, London. Sir, —Your Lozenges are excellent, and their beneficial effect most reliable. I strongly recommend them in cases of cough and asthma. You are at liberty to state this as my opinion, formed from many years experience. J. Bringloe, M.R.C.S.L., L.S.A., L.M. Mr. T. Keating, Indian Medical Service. Dear Sir, -Having tried your Lozenges in India, I have much pleasure in testifying to their beneficial effects in cases of incipient consumption, asthma and bronchial affections. I have prescribed them largely, with the best results. W. B. G, , Apothecary. H.M.S. KEATINGS COUGH LOZENGES are sold by all Chemists, in tins of various sizes, each having the words, “ Keatings’s Cough Lozenges ” engrrven on the government stamp. KEATING’S WORM TABLETS, A PURELY VEGETABLE SWEETMEAT, Doth in appearance and taste, furnishing a most agreeable method of administering the only certain remedy for INTESTINAL or 1 THREAD WORMS. It is a perfectly safe and mild preparation, and is especially adapted for children. Sold in tins by all Chemists. Proprietor, TUOS. KEATING, London, Export Chemist and Druggist. GRATEF UL—COMFORTING. EPPS’S COCOA. BREAKFAST. BY a thorough knowledge of the natural i laws which govern the operations of | digestion and nutrition, and by a careful ] application of the fine properties of well selected cocoa, Mr. Epps has provided , our breakfast tables with a delicately flavoured beverage which may save us j many heavy doctor’s bills. It is by the judicious use of such articles of diet that s a constitution may be gradually built up until strong enough to resist every ten- 1 deucy to disease. Hundreds of subtle maladies are floating around us ready to i attack wherever there is a weak point. We may escape many a fatal shaft by 1 keeping ourselves well fortified with pure blood and a properly nourished frame. See article in the Civil Service Gazette. Made simply with boiling water or milk. Sold only in packets or tins, labelled ; ! JAMES EPPS AND CO., j HOMOEOPATHIC CHEMIST, LONDON. 912 g



Business Notices. 8®- THIS ADVERTISEMENT SHOULD ' BE CAREFULLY READ AND RE MEMBERED BY ' EVERYONE IN-' TERESTED IN FENCING. 1 THE PATENT OVAL SAMSON FENCE WIRE Has now been before the public for four years, and during that time 5,000 TONS HAVE BEEN SOLD Giving very great satisfaction, in proof of which we hold numerous testimonials from well-known colonists ; and the - demand is daily increasing to such an extent, that numerous spurious imitations have lately been introduced in the various markets of Australia and New Zealand, for the sole purpose of damaging the reputation of the Patent Oval Samson Wire. * The Samson Wire By using the Patent Oval Fence Wire you get a better and cheaper fence than any other, and the best proofs are the imitations already referred to. comprehensive circular as to its advantages, with numerous testimonials from well-known colonists, will be posted to any address on application. The state Forests of Victoria are fenced with the Patent Oval Samson Fence Wire; the one at Dookie is, without doubt, the best Wire Fence in Australia, and people come from great distances to see it. PRICES GREATLY REDUCED. The public, when purchasing, are there-'w fore cautioned to see that each coil bears ' a tin tally thus : PATENT OVAL SAMSON WIRE, IN OVAL ; And the Patentee’s Tally or Trade Mark : M B R IN PADLOCK. 1 ‘ . Manufactured, by the Whitecrosa Wire Company, England. Was patented and introduced four years ago in Victoria, New South Wales, Queensland, and New Zealand ; and the , principal claim set fourth was its being made' Oval to prevent fraud. Yet, in the face of these patents, firms—manynif respecaltry standing—have, for the sake of a' paltry commission, lent themselves to the intro duction of various spurious imitations, which render them liable to actions at law, and annoyance and disappointment to the users. We would point out to intending pur chasers that any persen erecting Oval Wire Fences, other than the Patent Oval Sam son, renders himself liable for damages. The Patent Acts on this point are very explicit; therefore, after this notice no excuse can be made. Wehave had instances brought under our notice where scmepersonshave been so un principled as to mix the Spurious Oval Wire amongst the Patent Oval Samson in order to make a sale, and damage the the reputation of the genuine article. We have a great aversion to take legal proceedings in this matter, ‘but shall be compelled to, in self-defence, unless these practices are at once stopped. ADDRESS M Lean Bros. & Rigg 5 IMPORTER , 69 ELIZABETH STREET, MELBOURNE. TIIADE MARK ; M B R IN PADLOCK. We undertake through our agents, to deliver the Patent Oval Samson Wire at any port in Australia or New Zealand, ither direct from England or Melbourne. Inquiries by telegram promptly answered. REWARD.—Fencers throughout the Colonies who can give information as to the erection of Oval Wire Fences, other than the Patent Oval Samson Wire, will find it to their advantage to communicate with Messrs. M’Lean Brothers and Rigg, 69 Elizabeth Street Melbourne. THE ASHBURTON GUARDIAN. in the Country are Particularly requested to communicate with the Publishers if their papers are not properly addressed. Sub scribers has so rapidly that un less great care is taken in giving orders as to address and how to be sent, the papers may be left at the wrong place. Ail order vill receive our prompt attention. WEEKS AND DIXON,