[Reprinted from the Narragansett Times.] 
THE NEW YEAR. 
agree to some one point. This makes 
uniformity; and uniformity in these 
things is quite essential for the world. 
For by all following one system there 
is less trouble for the world to keep 
the run of the passing time. 
We divide up our years into 
months; our months into weeks. 
The days are to a certain extent al- 
ready fixed for us, by the rising and 
setting sun; yet with all this the 
same arbitrary system here follows. 
Notwithstanding the variations of 
the length of the daylight, it has 
been agreed upon to reckon our daily 
time from midnight to midnight. 
And this is as arbitrary as all the 
greater reckonings. So our old year 
ends with the last moment of D cem- 
ber-up to the time arbitrarily mark- 
ed by our time pieces. Within a few 
years even another arbitrary mark 
has been settled upon. In the United 
Slates we have adopted the four well- 
known and aibitrarydivisionsof East 
ern, Central, Mountain and Pacific 
time, with an hour between each. 
So when we speak of the measure- 
ment of time we intuitively consider 
many points. And while they may 
be complicated, we readily conform 
to the complication of the situation, 
and there is little or no difficulty 
with it 
All over the occidental world, and 
wherever its broad influence is felt, 
with the exception of the slight vari- 
ation in Russia, what we termed 
the old year of 1894 died or ceased 
to be, immediately after the hands 
on the dial passed the hour of low 
twelve, midnight, December 31st, 
The old year no sooner passed 
away than the new year commenced. 
There is no period of time, for con- 
templation, or preparation for a new 
condition, between the two events. 
The new year is instantly upon us. 
It comes in a most arbitrary manner. 
No sergeant at arms can turn back 
the hands of real time. Time moves 
on with his regular pace. He pauses 
not for grief, nor does he hasten his 
steps for j »y. To Time joy and grief 
are the same. 
The press is ever busy with the 
past, the present and the future. It 
however deals mostly with the pres 
ent; e»till it does not neglect the past 
nor the future. It is ever indulging 
in retrospect upon the past; and 
often attempts the part of the proph- 
et as to the future. As the end of 
the year draws near it is very com- 
mon for people to review the months 
that have passed. It is a period of 
good resolutions, some of which are 
kept and some not. All the so called 
reforms that are advocated are not 
all sound or desirable. S ime that 
are not good as a whole, may in part 
have some very desirable points. 
The social reforms that are before 
the world for approval or disap- 
proval are much like the improve 
ments in the mechanical devices. 
Some improved machinery is invent 
ed; within it is a good idea; but the 
inventor has not grasped some im- 
portant detail, or perhaps other 
powers are not sufficiently developed 
and render some essential assistance. 
The machine is delayed; or if put up- 
on the market is crude. It wants 
something to make it more complete. 
By and by some other mind, with 
the superior advantages of the times, 
suggests certain changes. In our 
social reforms we advance, not by 
one grand rush, nor by grand 
charges Abaddon-like in character, 
but rather like the drops of water 
that wears away the hard stone. 
There are long periods when we do 
not seem to gain, like the ship at sea 
on the "losing tack," and yet she is 
not losing, she is really gaining ad- 
vantage ground, from which to make 
the tack that will reveal the gain. 
S» we advance on all our lines. 
When the new day dawns it is 
well to make good resolutions 
for the hours that shall come. When 
the new week is upon us it is well to 
follow up these good resolutions for 
the days that shall come; and when 
the new months, and new years 
dawn upon us it is well to continue 
the good resolutions and to picture to 
ourselves the happiness that is an- 
ticipated by following them. Good 
resolutions are good things, but it is 
better to make them a practical 
reality. Our life is a warfare, there- 
fore it is difficult to carry into effect 
all the good resolutions that present 
themselves to us. Still if we can 
gain one or two points in ten, there 
is a gain. The more points gained 
the better. The man though who 
makes the strongest resolutions does 
not always labor to execute them. 
The earnest man who forms good 
resolutions seldom if ever refers 
to them. He well knows the weak- 
ness ot human nature. It is better 
to go ahead with a general resolution, 
under all circumstances to do the best 
we can. To sail our individual bark 
as the mariner sails his vessel. The 
winds and tides are variable. Then 
comes the dense fog when no lights 
nor objects can be seen. All must 
depend upon "dead reckoning," and 
the better these so called "dead reck 
onings" have been attended to when 
the wind, tides and light was good, 
the better the chances for the vessel 
when the dense fog settles all about 
it, making the sense of sight compar- 
atively worthless. The information 
gained in fair weather is of material 
assistance to us. 
ft is certainly better for the people 
of the world to grow towards each 
other. The better they become ac- 
quainted, the better they understand 
each other, and the more inclined are 
they to profit by the thought and la- 
bor of each. The world first devoted 
its thoughts towards the heavens. 
Much attention was paid to this 
branch. Years and centuries follow 
each other. This department of sci- 
ence is handed down until it is 
received by the whole earth. Ad- 
vancements go on in other lines; 
differences grow up between the na- 
tions. They follow dift-rent paths. 
They indulge in many works and 
variety of works. But over them all, 
or associated with them all are the old 
astronomical ideas, in which the 
whole world is educated. With the 
departure of the old year come 
thoughts of wrongs and false sys 
terns that have existed, and that we 
earnestly desire to see overcome 
and driven from off the face of our 
fair earth. With the new year we 
as earnestly desire to see good meas- 
ures put on foot, and so supported 
that they shall be a success. 
"Ring out the old, 
King in the new. 
Ring out the false, 
King in the true!" 
The words of Abon Ben Ardem are 
also well to bear in mind at this sea- 
son; indeed at all seasons. His les- 
son is for men to love their fellow- 
men. Perhaps not in any personal 
or narrow sense, but in the spirit 
that champions the wrongs of the 
world, that seeks to put down all op- 
pression, and battles for the spiritu- 
ality of man; "Good will towards 
men" in its highest sense. We owe 
a duty to ourselves as well as to the 
world, and to the world as well as to 
ourselves. Let these two ideas work 
together in harmony, and it is quite 
evident that all will be well. Let the 
advent of the new year abound in 
good resolutions, resolutions that 
shall include these two grand ideas; 
and the further and deeper they arc 
carried the better will be the results. 
No captain ever sailed a ship just 
where he desired, unless with the 
saving clause, that he simply desired 
to do the best he could, and even then 
he evidently tries to gain more than 
he actually did. With the new year 
let the resolution be to gain all we 
can in that which leads towards the 
higher life-higher life for ourselves 
and for the world. And the while 
let our aspirations be as high as pos- 
sible; under all circumstances earn 
estly endeavor to do the best we can. 
Old John Brown, of early Kansas 
days, is reported to have said, in his 
characteristic language, that "it was 
a mighty big thing for a man to do the 
best he can"; a grand motto for the 
new year, and indeed for all time. 
I. P N. 
Washington, D. C., Dec. 20, 1894. 
We travel in circles. Our universe 
is, to us at least, a series of circles. 
Our earth is a globe, and in a circle, 
slightly elongated, we travel around 
the sun. Our pathway through 
space is a combination of circles. 
That we may the better facilitate 
the practical affairs of our civilized 
life, it is quite essential that we meas 
ure these circles, and so divide them 
into such convenient parts that they 
shall be to us a glorious pathway of 
ight and rule or measurement 
whereby we shall "guide our barks 
o'er the stormy seas of time." In 
order to make this division and 
measurement we must commence 
somewhere. One point is as good as 
another. What one shall we select 
in order to calculate our times and 
the space that we must go over; 
from what point shall we start? It 
matters not. It is purely arbitrary. 
D fferent ages and countries have 
bad, and even still have, different ar- 
bitrary points to start from; at least 
in their terrestial affiire. As to the 
heavens, there is more uniformity; 
indeed with all civilized people, intel 
ligent enough to calculate time by 
the position of the earth in space, 
the system is practically the same. 
Astronomy being quite the oldest, if 
not the very oldest science developed 
by man. It is strange that knowl- 
edge and discovery of heavenly 
things should have so preceded the 
knowledge and use of practical 
things upon the solid earth itself. 
But that this is so,is a fact too promi- 
nent for us to deny. If all the peo- 
ple of the earth could agree in all 
their national and social affairs as 
they agree in this, what a heaven 
below this earth might be. The an- 
cient prophets in tbeir time looked 
forward to such an era. Thousands 
of years have passed, "as a watch in 
the mghc," and we have not yet 
reached that ideal era; and what is 
more we never may ; still it is quite 
evident to many of us that the world 
has advanced rapidly within the past 
few hundred years. And the ad- 
vance has been in direct ratio to the 
development of our resources in all 
lines. We are making more rapid 
strides now in a decade than in the 
"good old times," was made in cen- 
turies. In the times of Mohammed 
there had been little progress; essen 
tially things were, as they had been 
for ages prior thereto. Mohammed 
hid his ideal "Borak." To day 
"Borak's" are common and practical 
realities; and as time advances the 
development goes on. 
To come back to our starting point, 
the common point in the heavens, 
with all nations, is the point or sign 
of Aries. From this point we start 
witn the measurements that govern 
our position m the great circles in 
which we move. This too is arbitra- 
rily divided into a certain number, 
(twelve) tqual parts. These divisions 
are very oid, and have come down 
to us through many centuries of 
time.' The modern world has no 
cause to change them; they are not 
only ancient but good; so we continue 
them. 
In terrestial affairs, the occidental 
world, with the exception of Russia, 
in keeping the run of time, commen- 
ces with the first day of January. 
The only exception to this is the theo- 
cratic state of Israel, which still con- 
tains the old biblical system of meas- 
uring time by the moons. Our 
North American Indians in this were 
much like the Israelites. They both 
worshipped the one God-Jehovah 
and the Great Spirit, and they both 
reckoned their time by the moons. 
The calculations whereby we pro- 
ceae, are all, and must necessarily be 
arbitrary. As in the heavens we 
start with the arbitrary point Aries, 
so in regard to the affairs of the earth 
we commence, or make our start 
from the month of January. The 
calculations whereby we procede are 
all, and must necessarily be arbi- 
trary. The all important thing in 
this connection is that we all