DR. A. TORRY says: “It was a master stroke of the devil when he got the church so generally to lay aside the mighty weapon of prayer. The devil is perfectly willing that the church should multiply its organizations, and deftly contrive machinery for the conquest of the world for Christ, if it will only give up praying. He laughs as he looks at the church to-day, and he says to himself:—
“‘You can have your Sunday-schools and your Young People’s Societies, your Young Men’s Christian Associations, and your Young Women’s Christian Temperance Unions, your Industrial Schools, and your Institutional Churches, and your Boys’ Brigades, your grand choirs and your fine organs, your brilliant preachers and your revival efforts, too, if you don’t bring the power of God into them by earnest, persistent, prevailing, mighty prayer.’”
“Prayer could work as marvelous results to-day as it ever could, if the church would only betake itself to it.”
Are You Ready for Moving Day ?
We all remember “moving day,” and how carefully we preserved certain things, and how we left other things behind, because they were “not worth moving.”
When the gospel shall have been preached to all the world, then we shall move from this world over into the next. Matt. 24:14.
There will be some, who, like the rubbish on moving day, will be left behind; not because the Lord hates them, but because they will not be worth moving. Noah built an ark, and at the same time built character, and was ready when the crisis came. Heb. 11:7.
There came a time when the Lord wanted to move those who were worth saving out of Sodom. Lot reluctantly responded. Lot’s wife was so wedded to earthly belongings that she had to look back to them, and so she was left behind. Gen. 19:14-26.
The apostle James speaks of a time when the rich are heaping treasures together for the last days. “Behold, the hire of the laborers who have reaped down your fields, which is of you kept back by fraud, crieth.” James 5:4.
When these things come to pass, the Lord admonishes us: “Stablish your hearts: for the coming of the Lord draweth nigh.” James 5:8.
When you read in the daily papers of the terrible perplexities growing out of the present relations between the rich and the poor, do they not sometimes suggest the thought to your mind that “moving day” is rapidly approaching? — The Life Boat.
Self-Control
ALMOST everything worth knowing we teach ourselves after leaving school. But the discipline of school is invaluable in teaching the important lesson of self-control. Self-denial and self-control are the necessary postulates of all moral excellence. A man who will take the world easily will never take it grandly. To lie in the lap of luxury may be the highest enjoyment of which a feeble character is capable; but a strong man must have something difficult to do. Moreover, the happiness of the human race does not consist in our being devoid of passions, but in our learning to control them.—Prof. J. S. Blackie.
Employ the Gift Thou Hast
By Mrs. Guernsey
EMPLOY the gift thou hast,
Whatever it be, with true and earnest
care;
And this endeavor shall not be the last:
Each good performed another shall
prepare.
— Mrs. Guernsey.
Study Simplicity
By L. A. S.
L. A. S.
ONE of the most profitable studies a person living in the midst of our complex civilization can pursue is the study of simplicity. He will not need to go away to any school; the study can be pursued at home. Indeed, at home is the very place where simplicity most needs to be studied.
The question is sometimes raised as to whether men are better off for being civilized than they would be in a savage state. Absurd as such a question may seem, there is a considerable degree of reason back of it; for unquestionably the uncivilized portion of the race are in general better off than their civilized brethren in many important respects. Their life is better in many ways because it is simpler.
There is such a thing as too much civilization. The Creator made man upright, but he has sought out many inventions. He has discovered and brought into his life many things without which he would be much better off.
Highly civilized people frequently have to stop their work and get away from civilization in order to recuperate from nervous exhaustion. They have to get away from the cities, and for a time adopt a life that is more or less in imitation of the life of savages. They have to come more closely into touch with nature, and give room in their bodies and minds for the freer working of nature’s laws. This is in itself an evidence that modern civilization does not constitute the ideal mode of existence.
The room for greater simplicity in the life of the average individual is as abundant as is the need of it. For example, in the matter of eating, there is an enormous expenditure of time and energy that is worse than wasted. Man is an animal; but he seems to have forgotten the fact. For while all other animals live upon a simple diet, the diet of most human beings is quite the opposite; that is, in civilized lands. Such was not the design of man’s Creator. What person having common sense can suppose that while the diet of the horse, the dog, the cow, and other animals, both domestic and wild, comprises not more than three or four different articles of food, it was intended that in man’s diet there should be three or four hundred? Originally man lived on a diet of fruits and grains,13and there was not a French cook or a cook-book in the world. But now, human beings put into their stomachs all sorts of complex preparations representing a great expenditure of time, money, and effort, and are sick in consequence, and pay out fortunes to the doctors. A deranged digestion is the foundation of most modern maladies. What is the matter?—Too much civilization.
We may well adopt the sentiment in Byron’s Apostrophe to the Ocean—“I love not man the less but nature more”—in the matter of eating. Natural products are the best, and the less treatment an article of food needs at the hands of man to prepare it for the human digestion, the better and more healthful it is.
Then there is the matter of dress. Who will seriously contend that there is any real need of the enormous amount of time, money, and energy which civilization devotes to this object? What is dress for?—Plainly, it is for a covering and for warmth. These two purposes could be realized without any great departure from the pathway of simplicity, but Fashion steps in and says, Dress is chiefly for show; and Fashion has gained control in civilized lands, and decrees that so much time, means, and effort shall be expended, on the part of many, in dressing for display that but little is left for other and higher purposes.
Dress should be a secondary matter. It is not a primary purpose of life. The attention of an individual should not be concentrated on it, and therefore a person’s dress should be such as does not occupy the mind of the wearer nor attract the attention of others. Here again, how much would be gained in every way if people were only willing to practice simplicity.
Then there is also the matter of general housekeeping. Who does not know the busy housewife who is so engrossed with household cares that she has no time for anything else? Before anything and everything else, in her mind, the “work” must be done. But is there any warrant for having so much work to do in the home that every other occupation of mind and body is crowded out? The Word of God does not warrant it, surely. Here again is the place to study simplicity.
We need to study simplicity because we need to live; and a ceaseless round of getting things to eat, things to wear, and keeping a house fit for the inspection of critical neighbors, is not life. There are unfortunate people in the large cities who spend their time in sweat shops, working hard and ceaselessly from early morning until late night for just enough compensation to enable them to keep up an existence and perpetuate their misery. We are inclined to wonder why they have any desire to perpetuate an existence so devoid of real life. But there are other persons not so reduced in fortune who are bound by a slavery which, though on a higher plane of life, is no less real,—persons who wear themselves out in a ceaseless round of cooking, dressing, and housekeeping that is up to the standard of modern civilization. To these things they devote every hour of time and every energy of mind and body. Is this life? What sane person can suppose that the Creator placed man upon the earth for such a purpose as this? The trouble is, too much civilization: too little simplicity.
Of course, there is the familiar “must be done” and “can’t do without it” argument; but people find they can do without many things when they have to; and if people would courageously and resolutely seek to curtail their supposed necessities, they would be surprised to find how far they could go in this direction without suffering any harm.
We are in this world to learn, to grow, to develop; to know Him whom to know aright is life eternal. In this way we make use of this life to prepare for the future life that is unending. To study God and to have communion with him through his Word and through his works, and through co-operation with him in the work of uplifting mankind,—this is life. This we can not afford to do without. It is to gain this that we need to study simplicity.
Child Training
By Ellen G. White
MRS. E. G. WHITE
FATHERS and mothers, ask in faith for wisdom to deal with your children in the fear of God. They are a part of your flesh and blood, and have inherited your temperament. When you see them acting as you would act were you not under the control of the Spirit of God, how patiently you should deal with them. Notwithstanding your mistakes and failures, Christ has dealt kindly and patiently with you.
If you desire to learn what course to take with your children, make their peculiar temperaments your constant study. All children can not be managed alike. You may need to manage one child differently from the way in which you manage another. Go to God, telling him your perplexity. He will teach you how to deal with human minds. When you learn lessons from the Source of wisdom, when you manifest an earnest desire to save the souls of those who are of your own flesh and blood, when you show a determination not to let them go but to hold on to them, you will be able to bring them up in the fear of God.
We have much to learn in regard to child training. When teaching the little ones to do things, we must not scold them. Never should we say, “Why did you not do this?” Say, “Children, help mother do this;” or, “Come, children, let us do this.” Be their companion in doing these things. When they finish their work, praise them.
Years ago the children in my home were learning how to knit. One of them asked me, “Mother, I should like to know whether I am helping you by trying to do this knitting work?” I knew that I should have to take out every stitch, but I replied, “Yes, my child, you are helping me.” Why could I say that they were helping me?—Because they were learning. When they did not make the stitches as they should have made them, I took out every stitch afterward, but never did I condemn them for their failure. Patiently I taught them until they knew how to knit properly.
The mother is the queen of the home. She must not allow her children to treat her as a slave. Many a mother has gone down into the grave with a broken heart, because she made a slave of herself, doing things that she should have taught her children to do. Let every mother teach her children that they are members of the family firm, and must bear their share of the responsibilities of this firm. Every member of the family should bear these responsibilities as faithfully as church-members bear the responsibilities of church relationship.
Let the children know that they are helping father and mother by doing little errands. Give them some work to do for you, and tell them that afterward they can have a time to play.
Dress your children neatly in simple clothing, and allow them to spend much time out of doors. You can furnish them with cart-loads of sand in which to play. By playing in the sunshine and the fresh air, children will gain health and strength of mind and body. They will be benefited both spiritually and physically. The Lord recognizes every such effort.
The spiritual education of the child begins in the home. The mother, as the first teacher, should teach her children how to pray, by having them repeat a simple prayer after her. The Saviour dwells in the homes of those who teach their children to pray for his blessing to rest upon them. The saving power of the grace of God will be given to such fathers and mothers.
After the children have learned to write, encourage them to keep a record of the occurrences of the day, noting the points on which they have overcome through the grace of Christ, and also the points on which they have failed. During the evening hour of prayer have a blessed season of confession, and of praise and rejoicing. I am sorry that we do not have more praise services in our homes, sorry that we are so slow to learn to praise him from whom all blessings flow.
Roundhouse Young Men
There are a great many young men in this country who are like engines, just completed, standing in the roundhouse, all ready to go on the track, but waiting to be started. They have finished their education, as far as the schools are concerned; they have their college diplomas; they are polished and ready for the run, but somehow they never get out on the main line. They ought to be busy pulling trains,—some of them, freight trains; some of them, local passenger trains; and still others, lightning expresses,—but they do not move.
An engine may be a wonderful piece of work to look at, but if it does not fly along the track, and take people or goods to their destination, what is it good for? Of what use are education and college diplomas to these “roundhouse” young men? Of what possible service can they be to the world if they never get started on the track?—Success.
MRS. NELLIE C. BROWN
By Mrs. Nellie C. Brown
Consolation
MRS. NELLIE C. BROWN
SOMETIMES, when temptations harass us,
And sorrows seem hard to bear,
And we almost sink beneath it,
This load of sin and care,
The thought will rise within us,
“If I were only a flower,
No sorrow could ever find me,
Temptations have no power.”
But then comes the consolation:
The “overcomer” is blest,
And if we had no temptations,
We ne’er should enjoy the rest
That to the victorious is promised
When all of our warfare is o’er.
Then let us walk firmly and bravely,
And wish we were flowers no more.
An Interesting and Scientific Fact
By O. S. Fowler
A FEW years ago a call was issued from London, England, to the scientists of the world to assemble for the discussion of whatever scientific subjects might be presented, every statement to undergo most rigid scrutiny. One member said, “Tobacco is not injurious. I have chewed it for fifty years, and my father chewed it for sixty years, without perceptible damage. All this hue and cry about it is nonsense.” The actuary answered, “Step forward, sir, and let us canvass this matter thoroughly. How much do you chew?” “I chew regularly three quids a day, of about this size,” cutting them from his plug. One was given to a Russian and another to a French chemist, with, “Please return their extracts.”
Then the actuary said, “Will any young man unaccustomed to the use of tobacco, chew this third quid before the audience? Here are twenty dollars to any one who will.” A young man stepped forward. The audience were requested to scan his looks, cheeks, eyes, and general appearance, before he took it, and closely watch its effects. He soon became pale from sickness, then vomited, and anon fainted before the assembly. The extract from one quid was given to a powerful tom-cat. He flew wildly round, and then and there died. The other extract was put upon the tongue of a premium dog, which uttered a yelp, leaped frantically, lay down, and expired. These facts took place before the world. They are recorded in the most scientific repository of this century or any other, in a volume which cost twenty dollars a copy. Every consumer of tobacco in either form is a practical witness that these are its precise effects, by his own initiation to its use.—From 'Life: Its Factors, Science, and Culture,' by O. S. Fowler, LL. D.
Don't Take Your Troubles to Bed
By Edmond Vance Cooke
You may labor your fill, friend of mine, if you will;
You may worry a bit if you must;
You may treat your affairs as a series of cares,
You may live on a scrap and a crust;
But when the day's done, put it out of your head;
Don't take your troubles to bed.
You may batter your way through the thick of the fray,
You may sweat, you may cry, you may grunt;
You may be a dunce if you must, but this rule
Should ever be kept at the front:
Don't fight with your pillow, but lay down your head,
And kick every worriment out of the bed.
That friend or that foe (which he is, I don't know)
Whose name we have spoken as Death,
Hovers close to your side, while you run or you ride,
And he envies the warmth of your breath;
But he turns him away with a shake of his head,
When he finds that you don't take your troubles to bed.
—Edmond Vance Cooke, in the Saturday Evening Post.
Making Eggs Tell Their Ages
According to the Backer und Konditor Zeitung, the age of an egg is now discovered by immersing it in a solution of salt containing about eight ounces to the pint. When the salt has thoroughly dissolved, the egg to be tested is dropped gently into the glass containing the solution. If the egg is only one day old, it sinks immediately to the bottom; if three days old, it sinks just below the surface only; and from five days and upward, it floats.
Another process has just been awarded a medal in Saxony by the National Society of Poultry Breeders, and is described in a German newspaper. It is well known that the air cavity at the blunt end of the egg enlarges as the age of the egg increases. Consequently, if the egg be placed in a solution similar to the one described above, it will have an increasing tendency to float with the long axis vertical.
A scale of angles is placed at the back of the vessel, and from the inclination to the egg to the horizontal the age can be gauged almost to a day.
A new-laid egg lies horizontally at the bottom of the vessel. When from three to five days' old, the egg raises itself from the horizontal, so that its long axis makes an angle of about twenty degrees with the horizontal.
At eight days, this angle increases to about forty-five degrees; at fourteen days, it is sixty degrees; at about three weeks, it is about seventy-five degrees, while after four weeks, it stands upright on the pointed end.
How Can We Help Bolivia?
By E. W. Thoman
E. W. THOMAN
Bolivia, like other countries ruled by Romanism, has laws prohibiting the preaching and the teachings of every other religious belief. But in some parts where public sentiment is more liberal, the authorities allow the right of worship. The liberal party is endeavoring to secure from congress full liberty of worship; and there is hope that they will obtain it, at least to some extent. But there is liberty of the press, so literature can be circulated with but little difficulty. This is an encouraging feature.
SAN FRANCISCO CHURCH, LA PAZ, BOLIVIA
As Bolivia produces no literature, the printed matter is imported. There is no duty on books unless they are considered articles of luxury. Hence we can easily introduce the literature containing the gospel message. Besides the Spanish-speaking people, there are Germans, French, Italians, English, and Americans who can read, and to whom we could bring the last warning through the printed page.
This field needs some colporteurs who will go from house to house, working with the people, giving them opportunity to hear and learn the truth, and what they must do to be saved. We owe the gospel to this people, and we must bring it through the door the Lord has opened to us.
For Bolivia we need workers fully consecrated, persons who love God and the people. They should be persons with some experience and a persevering character,—men who, like Paul, can adapt themselves to every condition,—men of moral and spiritual strength. As the climate differs so materially, in some parts hot and in others cold, some parts dry and others wet, it would be a decided advantage for a worker for that field to enjoy good health. Knowledge of how to care for the body is quite necessary. As far as I know one can be a vegetarian in any part of the country.
Who will give himself to the Lord's work in Bolivia? Are you willing to sacrifice yourself on the Lord's altar? If so, then show it by your action, and be assured that the Lord is God in Bolivia as well as in any other place in the world. A faithful worker will not be forgotten by the Lord. He will give him what he needs for his body, and what is good for his soul.
The Bolivians look with favor on Americans. They hope for political deliverance through them. Why should not servants of the Lord come from America and deliver them from spiritual slavery? Come, brethren, come and help them. They need help, and you can render it. Why not do it? May the Lord awaken those whom he desires to have in Bolivia, and fill them with love for the perishing souls in that country, and guide them according to his promises.
Iquique, Chile.
Chinese Liberality
FOREIGN missionaries laboring among the Chinese are in more than one city embarrassed by the abundance of the gifts showered upon them by the natives. In some places the heathen have put into the hands of the American missionaries enough funds to build complete churches, hospitals, and schools. In Canton, for example, one Chinese woman has contributed $3,500 to add a children's ward to the women's hospital in that place. Mr. Li, a merchant of Ningpo, has presented the Presbyterian Board with thirty thousand dollars for a high-grade boys' school. Like instances are reported from other cities.—Selected.
The West Australian Mission
(From Australian Correspondence)*
THE Colony of West Australia, fittingly styled the “Cinderella” of the Australasian group, has at one bound leaped into world-wide prominence, consequent upon the recent marvelous discoveries of gold at Coolgardie and the Murchison. Gold is the magnet which has attracted thousands to her shores, and will attract thousands more.
Its length from north to south is 1,480 miles. Its area is 975,920 square miles. The population is about 180,000; of this number 30,000 are in Perth, the capital.
The colony has great possibilities, not only in its mineral wealth, but in its vast tracts of territory suitable for agriculture and horticulture. Its forest resources are unsurpassed in Australia.
Opening of the Mission
The glad tidings of present truth were carried into the colony in 1894 by the canvassers, through whom a great work has been accomplished. Throughout the colony are a number of scattered Sabbath-keepers who received the truth through the faithful efforts of the canvassers.
The ministerial part of the work was begun in the early part of the year 1896 by Elder J. O. Corliss and Brother J. E. Collins. After opening up the mission, and organizing a church, Elder Corliss left for America, and during the remainder of the year the work was in the hands of Brother Collins.
Soon after, a few Bible workers and nurses were sent to the field. A health home was started in Perth in a rented building, which did good work. A Helping Hand Mission was also started, in connection with which was a laundry to furnish employment for the destitute and needy.
According to the year-book of West Australia, there are two hundred and fifty post towns. So far the message has been preached in only six of these places; but the truth, in some form, has been carried to most parts by the faithful canvassers. There are about one hundred and fifty Sabbath-keepers, an increase of about one hundred for the first three years. The amount of tithe paid in 1899 was approximately forty-five pounds. In 1901 it had reached one hundred pounds a quarter.
Our people in West Australia appreciate the Sabbath-school as a channel for gaining a knowledge of God. Over ninety per cent of the church-members are members of our school.
At the camp-meeting which was held in March, 1902, the West Australian Mission field was organized into a conference, with three organized churches, and four companies of Sabbath-keepers, totaling a membership of one hundred and fifty. A constitution was adopted, and the conference duly organized. The workers consist of two ministers, one licentiate, and five canvassers.
Languages of Africa
THERE are spoken in Africa four hundred and thirty-eight languages, besides dialects.
The Hillsdale Mission
By Anna M. Nelson
ANNA M. NELSON
Like all other missionary enterprises, our work necessarily had a small beginning, but we hope gradually to strengthen, grow upward and onward. Though our mission is not yet one year old, we have had many precious experiences and enjoyed much of the blessing of God. This is God’s own work, and we know he is pleased to see us carry it forward. The Lord loves the young people, and wants them brought to him to be educated for his service. We have reason to believe that our labor even to this time has not been in vain.
Home life in the south sea islands is in some respects different from what it is in America; yet, like all other places, it is filled with the common duties of life, with its trials and perplexities as well as joys. And the amount of joys we experience is in proportion to the trials and perplexities which we overcome from day to day. The picture shows you our plain but pleasant home.
If you could have the privilege of stepping across the wide ocean to call at our home in the morning, you would find us at work at the different duties in and about the house, and the boys around on the plantation. But if you should come later in the day, you would find us more quiet—the students in their respective rooms, studying, and I myself conducting recitations on the veranda. On Sunday you would see us, boys and girls alike, washing, or, sometimes, down on our knees, scrubbing our unpainted floors with cocoanut husks. Thus you see it is the life in this place, as well as in any other, that “life is real, life is earnest.” We hope to develop the right spirit of labor by doing faithfully all these common duties, and at last be among that number “to whom it shall be said, ‘Well done, thou good and faithful servant.’”
Sickness must also reach us in these places from time to time. Recently the measles have been very prevalent, and quite severe. It has been twenty-eight years since this disease was known here, so a large majority were taken sick, and a great many died. Our family was not passed by, either. The oldest girl was taken sick first. Then five of the others took the measles from her, and came down just as she recovered. I was very thankful that she was able to help me wait on the others. But in two days word came that her mother, a widow, had taken sick, so she must necessarily go and care for her. This left one boy and myself to do the work and look after the sick. For two more days there was not much rest day or night. Having neither doctor nor nurse to call in, I followed Dr. Kellogg’s directions, and by means of hot packs, fomentations, and hot and cold baths, as the case required, we relieved the one who had trouble on the lungs, and also the one with the sore throat, as well as the delirious one. These were busy days, but the Lord strengthened me through it all, and I found a little extra time and strength to help care for a sister who was very sick and delirious. During it all God greatly blessed, and taught us new lessons of trust. I am glad there is One who is ever near to help in time of trouble, though earthly friends are far away, or may be afflicted in the same manner that we are. How thankful we should be for the light God has given us in the use of water for treating the sick! Many have died through lack of proper care, as the people in general trust to medicines to cure them.
MISSION BUILDING, RAIATEA
We have no reason to be at all discouraged for we know the promises in the Word are sure. Sometimes the way may look dark; but if we will look up, through the eye of faith we may always see light ahead. So, ever encouraged, we labor on, glad to have a part in hastening the coming of our dear Saviour.
Raiatea, Society Islands.
The World's Demand for the Bible
It is great, and rapidly growing.
Voltaire, who died in 1777, prophesied that within a hundred years the Bible would be an unknown book.
The number of volumes of Holy Scripture that come from the press now every twelve months is about eight million, more than the total number that saw the light during the first eighteen centuries after Christ.
The Bible, which in Voltaire's day existed in only thirty-eight tongues, is now being read, in whole or in part, in over four hundred. One hundred and fifty of these languages were for the first time reduced to writing by Bible translators.
The chief instruments, under God, for meeting this great need have been the Bible societies, of which the American and the British and Foreign are foremost. They co-operate to the fullest degree, but thus far the British Society has been able to do a work more than twice as large as the American.
Here is an “open door” that challenges America's most noble enterprise.
With the years, the American Bible Society has gained in strength, wisdom, and opportunity. For the first period of twenty-five years, 1816-1841, it issued 2,798,566 volumes; in the second, 18,987,210; in the third, 32,478,138; and for the fourth period would reach 50,000,000, at the present rate of about 2,000,000 a year. This rate, however, is far from meeting the pressing calls, to which, with God's blessing, America will respond more and more generously.—Selected.
God Defended Us
JOSEPH CLARK, pioneer of the Baptist Mission, says that their converts are witnesses. When they find Christ, they are taught that they must tell it to others, and men, women, and children go and tell.
When he was arranging to leave Africa, for a while some came to him, telling of a tribe that had never heard of God. “They ought to be told of him,” they said. He replied that he could not go then. “We will go,” they said.
“O, no,” said he, “you must not go without me; they will kill you.”
They had fear of the white man, but the black man they would not listen to, but would destroy him.
“Wait till I come back.”
They were quiet, looking very serious; then came this thought: “It says in the Bible that if a man is doing God’s will, he will take care of him. If we go to tell them of him without you, can not God protect us?”
Though he still saw the danger, yet he could see their faith, and he could not withhold permission from the young men, themselves cannibals but five years previously, to go on their perilous errand that others might hear the good tidings.
In nine days they returned, giving report of having done the best they could to deliver the precious message.
Did they meet with any trouble? “O, yes; they surrounded us, armed with spears, and said they would kill us.”
“What did you do?”
Standing up with arms folded, they said, “We stood—God defended us.”
Mission Work in China
A MISSIONARY who, since his second return to China, has spent eight years in service, writes of these years: “They have been full of changes in the empire, and I trust some changes for the better in the mission. At least the number of stations has increased from five to twenty-seven, of which twenty-five are now under my supervision. The membership has also increased from a possible one hundred to more than fourteen hundred, so that we can take heart and feel encouraged at what our Lord has done for us.”
The Field Is the World
“The field is the world.”
Gold Coast, West Africa
By D. U. Hale
CAPE COAST.—We left Keene, Tex., January 21, amid mud and slush, but were soon in the frozen regions of Illinois and Michigan. We spent a few days in Battle Creek, but hastened on as soon as arrangements could be made for our traveling. It was thawing some as we left New York, but was very chilly the whole journey across the Atlantic. The trip was exceptionally smooth, and we had some opportunity to sow seeds of truth among the passengers, and to our joy we saw evidences of its effect even before we landed. One young man was very anxious about his soul.
From Liverpool to the Canary Islands the journey was quite rough, but the weather grew more pleasant as we went south of the latitude of my native State, Texas; but they grow all kinds of tropical fruits at sea level. The temperature changes very materially as one ascends the mountains in the interior of the islands until one reaches the peak of Teneriffe, which is covered with snow nine months of the year.
Here is a number of islands in a very healthful part of the world, where there has been nothing done, as far as I know, toward giving them the truth. True, the Catholic Church has full sway, but they must have the message for this time. It is a great winter resort for the people of Europe, especially Spain, France, and England. After leaving the Canaries the heat was soon oppressive, and down the coast of Africa the steamer seemed like a great floating sweat-box.
We landed safely at Cape Coast Castle, March 3. Brother Dolphijn with several other friends was at the beach to meet us. Many with whom I was acquainted when here before hastened to welcome us as soon as they knew we had arrived.
As we had to wait for a little time, we began Bible lessons in our sitting-room. A number of young men attended quite regularly, and some of them are keeping the Sabbath. I hope to see some of them develop into workers in the future. But my family's health, as well as my own, is very poor here on the coast, and we will leave the work in the hands of Brother Hyatt, of Minnesota, U. S. A., who came one week after our arrival, while we seek a healthier place in the interior. Brother J. D. Hayford has kindly offered us a place with him on some lands he has leased, and while visiting him a week ago I saw a place where I believe we should have comparatively good health if the Lord spares us to go there.
There is interest in many villages on the coast, and I ask your prayers that we may be able to start the work in such a way that all these inquirers may be reached. Several are requesting baptism at our hand, even now. I am quite sure that if I can spend a short time in the bracing atmosphere of those mountains where Brother Hayford is, I shall be able to go on with the work on the coast.
Pray that we may be able instruments in God's hands at least to start this work on the coast. I say, pray for us, brethren, for I feel that we very greatly need your prayers to hold us up before a throne of grace. D. U. HALE.
The Work in Texas
By W. A. McCutchen
SINCE returning from the General Conference it has seemed impossible to crowd into the days as they came the amount of work to be done. In addition to attending the meetings of the academy board and of the State and union conference committees, in planning the work for the respective fields and institutions, I have visited the churches, companies, and individuals at Dallas, Fort Worth, New Braunfels, San Antonio, Navasota, Krum, Sanger, Avinger, and Hughes Springs. Our laborers have been out on their spring campaign for a few weeks. Four tents are in operation, and probably two others will be started, and two or three meetings held in houses. The places so far entered with tents this season are San Antonio, with Brethren Felter and Neff, and Sister Neff; Coleman City, with Brethren Field, French, and Willess, and Sister Willess; Krum, with Brethren Miller, Brandon, and Mayers, and Sister Mayers; and Hughes Springs, with Brother Hopkins and his daughter, and Brother Stoner. Besides these, Brethren Sommerville, Glass, Riffel, Schiffner, Etheredge, and Cubley, and Sister Cubley have been holding meetings in four different places in houses. I will leave these brethren to report their meetings, as I have been to only two of them, where I helped a few days each.
Three of the tents in use are new ones purchased this year, the brethren of east and west Texas paying for one each for their respective sections, and the conference another for the general field. If the brethren who pledged to the Tent and Missionary fund at our last camp-meeting will send in the amount of their subscriptions, we would like to buy another tent before camp-meeting, but are avoiding going in debt in our operations. Let all begin now to lay plans to attend this important gathering.
