A Governor’s Experience and Conversion to the Cause of Temperance
THE recorded New Testament miracles of conversion can no longer be assailed as figments of superheated imagination, since their counterpart are openly enacted in modern times. For example: One of the most vigorous opposers of temperance in the state of Tennessee was Malcolm R. Patterson during his term of office as governor of that commonwealth. But it seems that a radical change of heart has overtaken the ex-governor, so that the thing he so heartily endorsed then, he now opposes with all his might.
It appears that like Saul of old, his present zeal is born of personal contact and most bitter experience. Here are some of the more notable words he embodied in a soul-stirring address delivered by him before the National Anti-Saloon League in session at Columbus, Ohio, a few days ago:
“I have seen the trail of liquor in the criminal courts. I know, and have been a participant in, its paralyzing and corroding influence in the social and public life of our national capital.
“I have seen it drag down many of the associates of my boyhood. I have seen its forked794lightning strike my first-born — the child of my young manhood. At last, I have felt its foul and stealthy blow as it turned on me in its deadly and shaming wrath — on me, who had pleaded before the people for its very existence.”
This is the same old pitiful story of personal invasion by which one has been robbed of his own, and the home life happiness destroyed through accursed drink. The angle from which many view this whole question is well illustrated by the conduct of a certain church deacon when presiding at a Sunday evening prayer-meeting. In the midst of the occasion, some one thrust his head in at the door and screamed, “Fire!” Some of those present gave signs of uneasiness, and attempted to rise from their seats, when the good old leader said, “Remember, brethren, this is holy time, and no excitement should be permitted to distract your thoughts.” Just then the man at the door yelled again, “But, deacon, it is your house that is afire.” Suddenly the deacon’s mind changed, and he cried in apparent anguish, “For heaven’s sake, brethren, run and help save me from this awful ruin.”
Nothing else is so effective to give clear views of existing evil as is personal injury from it. And while one can not really wish that everybody now in favor of the soul-destroying liquor traffic should pass through an experience kindred to that given Mr. Patterson, yet it can be piously desired that enough influence could be arrayed against the execrable traffic to wipe it very early from the face of the earth. J. O. C.
CHRIST WITH YOU
By L. A. R.
IN the midst of the seven candlesticks One like unto the Son of man . . . The seven candlesticks . . . are the seven churches.” Christ among His own! Thus He has ever identified Himself with His children. And in the last book of the Bible, in the wonderful vision given to John on the Isle of Patmos, we see Him still among His own.
When the faithfulness and loyalty of the three worthies was tested with the test of fire, and they were cast into the Babylonian furnace, the king beheld that amidst the seething flame there stood forth One like the Son of God. And the presence of Christ with His children in the furnace caused them to “escape the violence of fire.” There was not even the smell of smoke upon their garments, when once they had come forth. This is the victory achieved by God’s children when Christ is with them.
When, too, He gave His commission to His disciples, and sent them forth, His last words to them were, “Lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world.”
And such was the teaching of Paul. It was “Christ in you [therefore Christ with you], the hope of glory.”
Let us realize it this very day: Christ to-day still walks among the golden candlesticks. He is still with His church. He is still with His children. He identifies Himself with every one of His followers. And we can say, with David, in his wonderful twenty-third psalm, “Though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for Thou art with me.”
L. A. R.
Question Corner
WE can not answer repeatedly in the same volume questions upon the same scripture. The name and address must accompany question. It is well always to enclose stamp for reply.
4240 — DISTINGUISHING GLORIES IN THE RESURRECTION
Will there be distinguishing glories in the resurrection, as indicated by the text, “One star differeth from another star in glory,” or will we all be satisfied, and not notice such? R. R. J.
The psalmist says, “I shall be satisfied, when I awake, with Thy likeness.” Ps. 17:15. Rev. 21:4: “And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, . . . for the former things are passed away.” Texts of this character—and there are many of them—show that there will be perfect joy and complete satisfaction and contentment in the world to come. But just as we have different individualities, so will we have there. As one star differs from another in glory, so does one individual differ from another. What an endless monotony it would be if all individuals were alike, and if all the different stars and worlds were alike! It is this infinite diversity that God is able to give throughout His creation that affords one of the keenest joys.
All who are immortalized in the world to come will have got rid of self completely. The self-serving and the self-glorification and all the rest of the selfish list of things that have come into the world are the devising of Satan. They are no part of God’s plan. Hence it matters not what may be the glory or the position of an individual, where there is no selfishness there will be no disposition to envy such a one, but, on the contrary, each individual will thoroughly enjoy all the qualifications, the attributes, and the work of every other individual in all the great realm of God. We will learn how, under the mighty power of the gospel, to divest ourselves of self and self-serving here, so that we may enter into the undisturbed joys of a realm where there is no thought on the part of any one to manifest self. And this will be true of all, from the infinite Father and His blessed Son on through the innumerable hosts of the unfallen worlds and the redeemed sons and daughters of God. There will be no envy, no jealousy, no self-serving, in the one who has been “satisfied” through awaking in His “likeness.”
These verses read: “And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto Me in heaven and in earth. Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world.” This text is the statement of an infinite truth. All power in heaven and in earth, says the Master, is given to Him, and we are to “go therefore,” to teach all nations. We are to go in the strength of all the power that is displayed in all the infinite creation of God. And the Master says, “Lo, I [the One who holds all this power] am with you.”
There is no possibility of failure for the one who walks with the Master in such infinite strength. It is well for us frequently, on the beautiful, clear evenings, to survey the great handiwork of God as displayed in countless stars shining in their strength, and marching in their orderly courses through the infinite expanse of space. It is well for us to meditate upon the great power displayed in all that we see about us upon this earth. And as we see these manifestations of infinite power, we should rejoice in the thought of the fact that all this belongs to our Saviour, and that He, holding all this power, is with us to keep us in whatsoever He calls upon us to do.
4242 — THE NUMBER OF THE BEAST
In a book that I have, I find this quotation: “According to Renan, the Antichrist of the Apocalypse was the emperor Nero, he being raised to this bad eminence by reason of his atrocities against the new religion. The mystic number 666, which Protestants have so often fastened upon the pope, answers accurately to Nero’s name and title. The numerical values of the Hebrew letters added together make up this number.” Is this true in reference to Nero’s name and title? W. S. H.
The text of Revelation which speaks of the number 666 reads as follows: “Here is wisdom. Let him that hath understanding count the number of the beast; for it is the number of a man; and his number is six hundred threescore and six.” Rev. 13:18. There have been many names suggested that, curiously enough, have letters in them which, when their numerical value is added together, give us 666; and for this reason some have been inclined to make light of getting any definite understanding from the Scripture statement. Take this word “Nero” as an example. In order to make this name answer to the description, we must first translate it into Hebrew, a language that was dead when Nero lived, and in which there would be no occasion to speak his name.
But the principal objection to such interpretations is that Nero in no sense of the word answers to the description given in this prophecy. The beast spoken of in Rev. 13:18 which has this number 666 is described in the preceding part of the chapter as a great persecuting power, and in the next chapter there is a fearful warning795given against this beast and against worshiping him, or receiving his mark. This shows that this beast power is something that comes in conflict with God and His work upon the earth, and the conflict is so intense as to call forth one of the strongest denunciations of God’s disapproval that can be found in the Bible. As we study the book of Revelation, we find that this conflict lasts right up until the end of time; for in Rev. 19:20 we find that this same beast, and the false prophet that wrought miracles before him, with which he deceived them that have received the mark of the beast, were all cast alive into the lake of fire at last. This shows that they would be living, active powers to the very end of time. Therefore characters like Nero could not come in to fulfil this prophecy.
But there is an ecclesiastical power that has always been a persecutor, wherever it has been strong enough to get hold of the civil authority. This has been its record for centuries, and there is no questioning it. Even in this very time, recognized writers who represent that power defend and explain the Inquisition and the persecutions of former days. They do not deny them, but believe that they were justifiable. Now this power has claimed for centuries that its supreme head was the vicar, or vicegerent, of Christ. The language of its whole ritual is Latin. Its literature is Latin. Its ceremonies have been and still are conducted in the Latin language. And in the Latin language, which is the official language of that church, we have the statement concerning the pope that he is “Vicarius Filii Dei” (Vicar of the Son of God). The numerical value of the letters of this title are as follows: V-5, I-1, C-100, I-1, U-5, I-1, L-50, I-1, I-1, D-500, I-1,—total 666. Now, to parry the force of these facts, many ingenious interpretations of that particular scripture have been devised; but here stand the facts, and here stands the scripture. Prejudices or inclinations might lead us to quarrel with them; but if we do the sensible thing, we will allow the facts of God’s own word to have the supreme place in guiding us.
4243 — “MEATS” AND “DAYS”
Will you kindly explain the fourteenth chapter of Romans? For some of the believers think, from said scripture, they can eat anything. Likewise some are deceiving their neighbors by telling them they will get to heaven by Sunday keeping. Is that true? Does the word of God teach that? S. E. M. and F. L. M.
We may depend on it that no passage of Scripture contravenes any other passage. God does not exhort us in one place not to do a thing, and in another place give us the permission to do it. He has told us plainly, in various scriptures, that “the seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord thy God,” and we have no record in His word of His ever having reversed that command. He has said, “I am the Lord, I change not”; and His word is as changeless as His character. And if His word appears to be contradictory, we may be sure that it is our interpretation that is at fault.
It is impossible, in the brief space allotted to us in this department, for us to give a full exposition of the fourteenth chapter of Romans, but the following brief suggestions may be helpful.
The subject under discussion is the consideration due from stronger Christians to their weaker brethren. “Him that is weak in faith,” rather than “in the faith,”—him whose faith lacks that firmness and breadth which would raise him above small scruples,—they were to receive to cordial Christian fellowship, and not to the deciding of doubts—for the purpose of arguing him out of them. The church has no authority to decide questions of personal liberty in things not expressly forbidden in the Scripture. The two examples of “meats” and “days” are here used. One restricts himself to the eating of herbs, for fear he may eat something that has been offered to idols. Those who ate everything, without questioning whether or not it had been offered to idols, were not to look with contempt upon him that did not eat; and he that did not eat should not sit in judgment on them that did eat.
Chapter 14 is but a continuation of the argument in chapter 13. In the last two verses of the thirteenth chapter, Paul exhorts them to live temperately, and not to make provision for the flesh, to fulfil the lusts thereof. That is, we should not do the things that our natures crave, simply to gratify our appetites. And the fourteenth chapter simply carries on the thought, and emphasizes the fact that we are not to sit in judgment on him who does that which our conscience tells us is wrong.
The import of the whole argument is centered in verses 7, 12, 13: “For none of us liveth to himself, and no man dieth to himself.” “So then every one of us shall give account of himself to God. Let us not therefore judge one another any more: but judge this rather, that no man put a stumbling-block or an occasion to fall in his brother’s way.” The question we should ask ourselves is not simply, Is this lawful? but, though it is lawful, Can it be used with safety to my brother’s conscience? Whatever we do which violates the conscience, tends to the destruction of the soul; and whenever we are in doubt, the only safe course to pursue is that about which there is no question as to its lawfulness.
The injunction in 1 Cor. 10:31 is a safe guide in all matters pertaining to the conscience: “Whether therefore ye eat, or drink, or whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of God.” This scripture positively teaches that it is possible to eat in such a way as to glorify God, and therefore the contrary would be true,—that it is possible to eat in such a way as to dishonor God by gross habits. The individual who seeks to excuse himself from plain duties through such scriptures as the fourteenth chapter of Romans, if he will examine his conscience, will probably find that he is condemning himself in the thing in which he is indulging. “Happy is he that condemneth not himself in that thing which he alloweth,”—who does nothing about the lawfulness of which he has scruples, but only that which he neither knows nor fears to be wrong.
4244 — SATAN DECEIVING THE NATIONS
Please explain Rev. 20:3, last clause, when the wicked are destroyed at the Lord’s presence. How could it be possible for Satan to deceive the nations, when there are no people supposed to be on the earth during the thousand years? J. L. S.
Commencing with the second verse, this text reads: “And he laid hold on the dragon, that old serpent, which is the devil, and Satan, and bound him a thousand years, and cast him into the bottomless pit, and shut him up, and set a seal upon him, that he should deceive the nations no more, till the thousand years should be fulfilled, and after that he must be loosed a little season.”
It will not be possible for Satan to deceive the nations during the thousand years, for the very reason suggested by our inquirer,—because there will be no people on the earth to be deceived. It is not till the end of the thousand years, at the resurrection of the wicked, that he deceives the nations again, by leading them to think that they can take the holy city. They then form themselves into an army, and with Satan at the head, march up to take the holy city, when they are destroyed. Read the rest of the chapter. “Bottomless pit” is derived from the same Greek word as “deep” in Gen. 1:2, and both are translated “abyss” in more literal translations, referring to this earth in its desolated condition. It is to this earth when desolated at the second coming of Christ that Satan is to be confined during the thousand years. For further explanation of this passage, see the comment on the same in the book “Daniel and the Revelation,” by U. Smith.
4245 — KINDLING FIRES ON THE SABBATH
Is fire kindling done away, or not? for as I understand it, it is not lawful to kindle fire to cook on the Sabbath, while others do kindle for cooking purposes on that day. S. E. M.
When the command was given in regard to building fires on the Sabbath, the Israelites were in the wilderness, journeying from the land of their bondage to the land of their promise. They had been under the idolatrous influences of the Egyptians for several centuries, and many of them had lost sight of the real significance of the Sabbath; and God, in the very nature of things, placed tests upon them while they were there in the wilderness, to emphasize the importance and the great moral value of His Sabbath law. But that command in regard to making fires on the Sabbath is no part of the Sabbath law itself. Where circumstances require, the building of a fire, or any other work of mercy, is permissible on the Sabbath, as shown by the teaching of Christ Himself. Christ gave them to understand that it was right to take the ox or the sheep out of the pit on the Sabbath day. When His disciples went through the field of wheat, and they were hungry, they plucked the wheat, separated it from the chaff, and ate it; and then the Master uttered the conclusion, “Wherefore it is lawful to do well on the Sabbath days.” There are certain things that are “lawful” to do on the Sabbath.
The method used by the Israelites in kindling a fire required a great deal of work; and where this work was not necessary on the Sabbath, it was not to be performed. They were journeying in a warm climate, where fires were not necessary for warmth, and they should not build them for the mere preparing of food. But in some climates, it is necessary to have fires on the Sabbath. Only such work should be done on that day, however, as is absolutely necessary. All food should be prepared the day before; and if necessary to warm some things, this should be done with as little work as possible. In cases of sickness, the patient may require hot food, but in many cases a hot meal is not necessary.
The man who was stoned to death for doing work on the Sabbath, did it defiantly and presumptuously, to show that he did not believe in the requirements.
4246 — “ACCUSED FROM CHRIST”
Kindly explain to me what Paul meant in Rom. 9:3. Did he really mean he wished he was away, or that he did not know Christ, because his brethren did not know Him? M. F. B.
This scripture reads as follows: “For I could wish that myself were accursed from Christ for [or in behalf of] my brethren, my kinsmen according to the flesh.” Paul’s longing for the salvation of his brethren was so intense that he would be willing to lose eternal life himself, if by so doing he could accomplish the salvation of his people—not that he was desirous of being cut off himself from Christ, unless his brethren would be benefited thereby. He felt his whole being swallowed up in the salvation of his people. Moses manifested a similar spirit when, in his deep remorse for the sin of the children of Israel, he said, “Yet now, if Thou wilt forgive their sin—and if not, blot me, I pray Thee, out of Thy book which Thou hast written.”
4247 — THE DATES IN THE BOOK OF GENESIS
Are the dates in the book of Genesis put there from man’s opinion? How long before Moses’ time was the world created? Is it true that science has proved there were pyramids before the date Genesis gives for the creation? F. L.
We presume our inquirer refers to the dates that are given in the margin of our Bibles. In the King James Version these dates are based upon Usher’s Chronology, and in the main they are supposed to be very nearly correct. As nearly as can be ascertained, Moses lived about 2,500 years this side of the creation of the world.
No, it is not true that “science has proved” that there were pyramids before the date Genesis gives for the creation of the world. We should regard true science very highly, because true science is doing and has done great things for the world, and true science is in harmony with truth, and therefore in harmony with God. But there is a lot of speculative science that is always seeking to figure out some so-called great truths in regard to the history of this world, all of which is speculation from beginning to end. And the speculative theorists of one decade are overthrowing the speculative theories of those in the decade preceding. And so the work goes on. It is safe to take our stand upon the divine Book, for it is inspired by Him who makes no mistakes, and with whom falsehood is impossible. Its great prophecies reveal what is to become of this world. And to discredit the strength and accuracy of these prophecies, Satan is continually working to throw “learned discredit” upon the great Book itself; because if he can discredit the Book, he overthrows the only light that can shine into hearts.
SCIENCE AND THE INCREASE OF INSANITY
The Journal of the American Medical Association is authority for the statement that “there are about fifty thousand persons of unsound mind in Hungary at the present day,” and the Journal further says that “Dr. Decsi has drawn attention to the fact that more than one third of this insanity is caused by drink and venereal diseases.” Several remedies are proposed by the doctor to put an end to the increase of insanity, and most assuredly every proper effort should be encouraged.
But one of the greatest difficulties that confronts the people of this time is that the whole world has gone science mad. The knowledge of true science is one of the greatest blessings of the human race, and the knowledge that has been acquired in the science of medicine is second to no other field of scientific knowledge in its usefulness to society. But the science that leaves the Bible and its heart culture out of the question is bound to meet with ignominious defeat.
Drunkenness and venereal diseases are assigned as the principal cause for insanity in Hungary. The same is quite true in almost any other country on the face of the earth. But drunkenness and venereal diseases are the result of neglecting the moral power of the salvation that is offered in the Bible through Jesus Christ. If men would connect with their knowledge of science the actual experience in the real blessings and power of Christianity, they would be able to make some headway against these great epidemics of evil that are filling the world.
CATARRH CURES WHICH CONTAIN COCAIN — SOME ALLURING FORMS OF STIMULANTS
Persistent Use of Narcotics and Stimulants
By D. H. Kress
Why Are They So Freely Employed in All Lands?—Why Do Not Legislative Efforts of Reform Succeed Better?
By D. H. KRESS, M.D.
DOCTOR KRESS, in furnishing this article, has presented matter that will provoke interesting reflections. The doctor has the benefits of a wide practise, and his work in Chicago is attracting much favorable attention. He has been a careful student for years of the relation of diet to reform and health, and has lectured and written extensively upon the subject. EDITOR.
Alcohol has for centuries been employed in civilized communities as a medicine and beverage.
It has always been considered harmful when used in large amounts, or to the point of drunkenness. In moderate doses it was once regarded as beneficial. One hundred years ago the whisky or brandy bottle was supposed to be in every well-regulated home. It was the great emergency remedy. Ministers relied upon it to protect them from disease while conducting funeral services. Doctors depended upon it as one of the most valuable remedies in the treatment of disease. It found its way into almost every nostrum and patent medicine, the effect of these remedies being chiefly due to its presence.
Within the past few years, science has fully demonstrated that alcohol, even in minute doses, as found in wine or beer, is a mocker. It is no longer regarded as a heart stimulant or a valuable nutrient. It is now known to be a heart depressant and a narcotic drug and poison.
The past few years, desperate efforts have been made by various organizations to suppress the sale of alcohol as a beverage, with splendid results. Much of the territory in the United States has gone dry. Prohibition has made wonderful strides. Of course, prohibition does not entirely prohibit, but it must be admitted that it has minimized or at least lessened the use of alcoholic beverages in the dry communities.
More Alcohol Consumed, Nevertheless
The amount of alcohol consumed upon the whole, has in the mean time been steadily increasing. There is at present more consumed per capita than ten years ago.
Have the efforts of reformers been in vain?—By no means. They have certainly held in check this mammoth evil. Had no efforts been made to enlighten the people and to suppress its sale, America would be hopelessly degenerate by this time.
I do not anticipate that there will ever be complete and satisfactory prohibition; but should prohibition be a complete success, past history shows that some substitute would take its place, a substitute possibly more harmful than alcohol.
Cocain Substituted for Alcohol
In the South, owing to the demoralizing influence of alcohol upon the ignorant blacks and the feeling of insecurity among white women in consequence thereof, saloons have been closed up as a means of self-protection on the part of the whites. But no sooner had this been accomplished, than it was discovered that cocain, one of the most subtle and degrading drugs, had taken its place.
The Cigarette Follows Opium and Alcohol in China
Photo by Paul Thompson.
The use of alcohol was common in China in very remote times. Severe measures were employed to enforce sobriety. Vineyards were cut down by order of the government, but as drink became unpopular because of public prejudice, opium was stealthily introduced. Opium was considered a great benediction at first. Being a narcotic, it temporarily allayed pain and nervous symptoms.
China for centuries has been cursed with the opium habit. Efforts have been made in the past to regulate its sale, without much success. In recent years, in desperation and to save herself from total and irredeemable depravity and degeneracy, she sacrificed her revenue of thirty million dollars annually, and made the use of opium a criminal offense. She is succeeding beyond all expectation in freeing her people from this bondage; but lo, another evil in the form of the cigarette is taking the place of opium.
Various Narcotics in Different Countries
The history of the South and of China in this respect is merely a repetition of the history of the countries of the past in their efforts to free themselves from certain evils. They did so only to have another grafted on. The Turks, when forbidden the use of wine by the Koran, shortly began the use of “hashish,” a drug extracted from Indian hemp.
When in England the smoking of tobacco became almost universal during the Elizabethan age, so that women as well as men smoked, and even children had their pipes filled by parents before going to school, as a means of protection from disease, efforts were made to check its use.
Educational efforts were followed by legislative efforts. The time came when smoking was actually done away with to such an extent that even at the beginning of the reign of Queen Victoria it was almost impossible to find a man on the streets of London smoking the pipe. But as public prejudice was awakened against smoking, the use of snuff gradually and insidiously gained favor with those formerly addicted to smoking.
In time the use of snuff became general in England. Great pride was manifested by the ladies in the exhibition of their beautiful and artistically designed golden snuff-boxes and the scented snuff they made use of. Some had a special snuff-box for each month in the year.
The use of snuff became more common in England than even smoking had been before. Again a wave of reform swept over the country, and snuff-taking had had its day. But as the taking of snuff went out the back door of old England, the cigarette—through the example797of the soldiers who had returned from the Crimean War—came in the front door. Again tobacco smoking, and now in the form of cigarettes, became general in England.
In the United States, in spite of the effort to suppress the use of the cigarette by boys, from thirty-five per cent to fifty per cent of the boys over eleven years of age attending the public schools in the large cities smoke. While there has been a good deal said about cigarettes, some have given up their use and resorted to the inhalation of the smoke of the pipe or cigar, believing they were at least making a partial reform. But this is a snare and a delusion, for the cigar and pipe are more injurious than the cigarette, if the smoke is inhaled.
The General Craving for Narcotics
Past history and the present demand show there exists in human nature a craving for narcotics, and that this craving will be satisfied in some way. Dr. Parkhurst observed this. He said, “The desire for something more stimulating than anything found in brook or cistern is a natural one.” Is the craving for narcotics really natural? I am forced to admit that this craving is almost universal, but I can not admit it to be natural.
Stimulants and narcotics are not craved by any creature aside from man. He alone is addicted to tobacco and alcohol.
It is evident that so long as this craving exists in men and women weakened in willpower, the demand will exist for a narcotic of some kind. And so long as the demand exists, legitimately or illegitimately, some narcotic will be secured. The narcotic against which the least public prejudice exists is the one that will be most generally used.
If in some way we could lessen this craving for narcotics, we would thereby lessen their use.
Why Does the Craving Exist?
Why does this craving for narcotics exist? In order to answer this we must understand the influence of narcotics.
Narcotics are deceptive. Under their influence the man with a guilty conscience feels less guilty. They make the sick man feel well. They do this in the same way that they make the poor man feel rich.
The one who injures his neighbor feels conscience-smitten. This is right, but unpleasant. He can get mental relief in two ways. He can go to his neighbor and confess his faults and get permanent relief, or he can narcotize his brain with nicotin and get temporary relief. The majority choose the latter way. People want to feel better than they actually are.
The use of coffee and tea, the free use of meats, salt, pepper, etc., all tend to cause irritability, nervousness, and other disagreeable symptoms which may be relieved temporarily by the use of narcotics. A simpler diet composed chiefly of grains and fresh fruit, will in time neutralize or eliminate the desire for alcohol and tobacco. This is something worth knowing. Parents may do much to safeguard their children's future by withholding from them the highly seasoned foods and the stimulating beverages served at the modern table.
When table reforms are combined with legislative reforms, we may hope to make progress. So long as they are not, and the desire for narcotics is cultivated, legislation will fail to accomplish what it should. To this the history of the past and present bears witness.
A Desire to Add Something
The author of “Sunday in History” desires two copies of the book. Have secured many new and valuable quotations, so desire to revise the book. As the first edition is exhausted, am unable to secure copies from publishers. Any one willing to dispose of a copy, kindly notify C. H. Edwards, 566 54th St., Brooklyn, N. Y.
What I Did with My Marbles
By William Covert
ONE of my very early business investments put me in possession of a lot of marbles, and these soon became a valuable asset to me. I prized them as none else save an active boy could do. But notwithstanding my love for the little round playthings, I was soon induced by a neighboring boy to part with them. He wanted my marbles, and so brought with him to our playground a beautiful Sunday-school book with marbled red finish and entertaining pictures, well filled with good reading, and proposed an even trade of the splendid book for my marbles.
When the trade was proposed, I hurried to my good mother, and readily obtained her permission to make the exchange. Then I was glad, for though I loved the marbles well, I loved the little book better. This was my first investment in literature, and I have devoutly cherished the fruits of this juvenile transaction for a period of nearly sixty years, because the contents of the book had to do with the laying of the foundation of my Christian life.
The little volume, in an easy and proper manner for a child to comprehend, spoke of the blessing that would come to the reader if he should lead a Christian life. It also contained a short chapter upon the importance of Sabbath observance, and impressed the good advice by copying the Sabbath commandment entire, as it was given in the law of God proclaimed by the Lawgiver upon Sinai. Ex. 20:8-11.
I read the Sabbath commandment in the book, and carefully noted what it said about the seventh day's being the Sabbath of the Lord. I was puzzled at this, for I had learned from calendars, that Saturday was the seventh day of the week. And now I read that the seventh day was made the Lord's Sabbath day.
I then got my father's Bible, and found the same thing in that. What could it mean?798was the question to be settled. As was my custom, I asked my mother to explain the matter to me. She could not do it. Yet she did tell me that Sunday was not the day commanded by the Lord to be kept as the Sabbath. Later we both learned how man, without divine authority, had thought to change the times and laws of God.
But my attention was first called to this great subject by the reading of the little book which I got in exchange for my set of marbles. And I am thanking the Lord to this day for the beautiful providence bound up in the disposing of my boyish treasure.
