In the summer of 1884 Brother Smith attended the Vermont camp-meeting as a General Conference laborer, and it was to him at that meeting that I first made known the burden which I had felt for some time to have some active part in the work connected with the giving of this message. He encouraged me to believe that the Lord, who had laid this burden upon me, would open the way for me, and his kindly expressions of interest and sympathy at this time of a turning point in my life were gratefully cherished.
In the spring of 1885 I was invited to meet some of the General Conference representatives at the Pennsylvania camp-meeting, Brother Smith being among them, and there it was arranged that I should come to Battle Creek to connect with the educational work. While I had charge of the work at Battle Creek College, Brother Smith was for years a member of the Board of Trustees, and he gave annually a course of instruction in the Bible. Many hundred students were thus brought directly under his influence, and received the inspiration of his teaching.
During the last year I have been associated with Brother Smith in the editorial work on the REVIEW, and thus have renewed the more intimate relationship of former years. Brother Smith had positive convictions of truth and duty, which gave a strong individuality to his work, but he uniformly exercised the utmost Christian courtesy toward his associates, which won for him the tender regard of his fellow laborers. It sometimes happens in the case of those who have long occupied a leading position that their closing years are marred by an arbitrary course of conduct, and an unwillingness to share with younger men the burdens which they have carried for many years. Not so with Brother Smith. Always modest concerning his own abilities and attainments, he encouraged his younger associates by giving them the fullest opportunity to work freely with him, and he was even ready to do what few aged veterans can do with good grace,—receive brotherly counsel from those who were born since he began active service in this cause. This is a triumph of Christian grace.
I shall tenderly cherish the memory of our departed brother. To him I first opened my heart concerning my own desire to bear a part in this work. He gave me fatherly counsel and Christian encouragement. He has set before me an example of steadfast and faithful service. He has done during the last year all that a Christian could do to make my editorial work comfortable for me, under circumstances which could easily have been very embarrassing. This experience will never be forgotten by me.
After nearly half a century of continuous service in editorial work on the REVIEW, during which time he has spoken through its columns to advent believers concerning “that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ,” he has fallen asleep to wait the call of the Life-giver. A verse from one of his own hymns is his word of testimony and exhortation to us who remain:—
“O brother, be faithful! the city of gold,
Prepared for the good and the blest,
Is waiting its portals of pearl to unfold,
And welcome thee into thy rest.
Then, brother, prove faithful! not long shall we stay
In weariness here, and forlorn,
Time’s dark night of sorrow is wearing away,
We haste to the glorious morn.”
W. W. P.
A Statement in Behalf of the General Conference Committee
By Arthur G. Daniells
OWING to Brother Smith’s long connection with this movement, and his valuable services in so many departments of the work, it would be eminently fitting for the General Conference Committee to offer its tribute of appreciation, were the members where they could do so. But they are widely scattered, only three being in Battle Creek at the present time. I feel confident, however, that I shall be but anticipating the wishes of the committee by saying a few words in its behalf.
Although Brother Smith has not been a member of the committee during the last two years, yet he has taken a deep interest in some features of the work of the committee. He has expressed a special interest and pleasure in the efforts of the committee to distribute its administrative responsibilities among the union conferences, and to get into a position where it could give all its time and influence and power to missionary problems. And the feature that has pleased him most has been the call to revive the advent message and the old-time missionary work, with one end in view; namely, to give this message speedily to all the world. The last words he ever penned were the closing paragraphs of an appeal to the coming session of the General Conference. He said:—
“I am with you in the endeavor to send forth in this generation this gospel of the kingdom, for a witness to all nations. And when this is completed, it will be the signal for the coronation of our coming King.”
He recognized the true ring in this clarion note, and longed to see it rally our people for active, quick service.
The members of the committee who have been in Battle Creek during the last two years have enjoyed very pleasant associations with this esteemed servant of God. It has been a personal blessing to me to be connected with him in the work during this time.
His sudden death is not altogether a surprise to those who have been with him the past year. They have observed his failing strength, and feared that what has come might come at any time. And he was ready to depart. He appeared like a shock of corn fully ripe. He had laid upon the altar of service all the powers of his being. He had fought a good fight, had kept the faith, and had finished his course. He was ready to be garnered.
In his departure there has passed from our midst another of the men whom God chose to use in a signal manner in the development of this great work. There are few of the old pioneers left. Must they, too, fall before their fond hopes are consummated? We pray not. O brethren and sisters, let us who remain now make the consecration of our lives and means to this work that will bring it to a speedy end. Let us not, by indifference and lack of zeal, hinder the Lord’s work, and thus add to these sad occurrences. It shall not be so. There shall be delay no longer. The way is all prepared, the message is with us, and the hearts of many thousands of believers are responding to the call to do a short, quick work. May it be even so is the prayer of many hopeful hearts.
In behalf of the General Conference Committee, A. G. DANIELLS.
Nestle Your Hand in Your Father’s
“THEN nestle your hand in your Father's,
And sing, if you can, as you go;
Your song may cheer some one behind you
Whose courage is sinking low.
And, if your lips do quiver,
God will love you the better so.”
The Lord Is Near
DARK is the night, and the waves are rough,
But over the billows my bark must steer;
The Master calleth— enough, enough;
Daylight will dawn, and the Lord is near.
Long have I watched the rising tide,
Long have I waited his voice to hear;
O hard of belief! he was still at my side,
Yet I was doubting the Lord was near.
Dark are the clouds o’er my house of rest,
The mists shall vanish, the skies shall clear;
Shadow or sunshine, our God knows best,
And often I whisper, “The Lord is near.”
Alone, alone, ’neath the starless sky,
Safe in his shadow, his voice I hear;
He stilleth the waves, and the dark clouds fly;
My heart respondeth, “The Lord is full near.”
—Selected.
The Workers Needed
By Ellen G. White
MRS. E. G. WHITE
God’s people have a mighty work before them, and it must continually rise to greater prominence. At the beginning, this work was small. Only a few were engaged in carrying it forward. But gradually the work has enlarged; God has brought it from a small beginning to great importance. His truth was to be defended; for men were placing contempt upon the Sabbath of creation. God wrought with power; as often as the opposers sought to destroy his work, they were defeated. And the progress of the work in the future is to be much greater than it has been in the past.
A great crisis is just before us. In their blindness men boast of wonderful progress and enlightenment, but to the eye of Omniscience is revealed the inward guilt and depravity. The heavenly Watcher sees the earth filled with robbery and crime. Wealth is obtained by every species of robbery, not robbery of men only, but of God. Men are using his means to gratify their selfishness. Everything that they can grasp is made to minister to their greed. Avarice and sensuality prevail. Men revenge themselves on those who, they suppose, have hindered the success of their ambitious projects. They cherish the attributes of the great deceiver. They have accepted him as God, and have become imbued with his spirit.
God is now restraining the forces of evil, that the last warning may be given to the world. Now is the time to work. Many more workers ought to be in the field. There should be one hundred workers where there is now but one. Many who have not been ordained or licensed may work in their own neighborhoods and in the regions about them.
There are lessons for us to learn at this time from the experience of those who labored for God in past generations. How little we know of the conflicts and trials and labors of these men, as they fitted themselves to meet the armies of Satan. Putting on the whole armor of God, they were able to stand against the wiles of Satan. Their word was: “My brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might. Put on the whole armor of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places. Wherefore take unto you the whole armor of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.”
These men who in the past gave themselves to God and to the uplifting of his cause were as true as steel to principle. They were men who would not fail nor be discouraged; men who, like Daniel, were full of reverence and zeal for God, full of noble purposes and aspirations. They were as weak and helpless as any of those who are now engaged in the work, but they put their whole trust in God. They had wealth, but it consisted of mind and soul culture. This every one may have who will make God first and last and best in everything. Although destitute of wisdom, knowledge, virtue, and power, we may receive all these if we will learn from Christ the lessons that it is our privilege to learn.
In this time we have opportunities and advantages that it was not easy to obtain in generations past. We have increased light, and this has come through the work of those faithful sentinels who made God their dependence, and received power from him to let light shine in clear, bright rays to the world. In our day we have increased light to improve, as in times past men and women of noble worth improved the light that God gave them. They toiled long to learn the lessons given them in the school of Christ, and they did not toil in vain. Their persevering efforts were rewarded. They bound themselves up with the mightiest of all powers, and yet they were ever longing for a deeper, higher, and broader comprehension of eternal realities, that they might successfully present the treasures of truth to a needy world.
Workers of this character are needed now. Those who are men in the sight of God, and who are thus recorded in the books of heaven, are those who, like Daniel, cultivate every faculty in such a way as best to represent the kingdom of God in a world lying in wickedness. Progress in knowledge is essential; for when employed in the cause of God, knowledge is a power for good. The world needs men of thought, men of principle, men who are constantly growing in understanding and discernment. The press is in need of men to use it to the best advantage, that the truth may be given wings to speed it to every nation, and tongue, and people.
We need to make use of the youth who will cultivate honest industry, who are not afraid to put their powers to task. Such youth will find a position anywhere, because they falter not by the way; in mind and soul they bear the divine similitude. Their eye is single, and constantly they press onward and upward, crying, Victory. But there is no call for the indolent, the fearful and unbelieving, who by their lack of faith and their unwillingness to deny self for Christ’s sake, keep the work from advancing.
There are men who possess excellent faculties, but who have come to a standstill. They do not go forward to victory. And the ability with which God has endowed them is of no value to his cause, because it is unused. Many of these men are found among the grumblers. They grumble because, they say, they are not appreciated. But they do not appreciate themselves sufficiently to co-operate with the greatest Teacher the world has ever known.
Of what use is it for those who do nothing to long to rise higher than they are? Let them work. Let them rise and advance. Keep step with the great Leader. If you have gone as high as your capabilities will permit, why do you cherish dissatisfaction? Why complain that others do not appreciate you? If you think that you can stand in a higher position, prove yourselves worthy of that position, and still advance.
Those who have sown the seeds of indolence and ignorance will reap that which they have sown. It is hard study, hard toil, persevering diligence, that obtain victories. Waste no hours, no moments. The results of work, earnest, faithful work, will be seen and appreciated. Those who wish for stronger minds can gain them by diligence. The mind increases in power and efficiency by use. It becomes strong by hard thinking. He who uses most diligently his mental and physical powers will achieve the greatest results. Every power of the being strengthens by action.
We need as workers men and women who are imbued with the Spirit of Christ, who realize that they are united in church capacity that they may use their influence and power to save those who are without God and without hope in the world. In the name of Christ we call upon every church-member to deny self, take up the cross, and follow Jesus.
God calls for those who will be workers together with him. Connected with Christ, human nature becomes pure and true. Christ supplies the efficiency, and man becomes a power for good. Truthfulness and integrity are attributes of God, and he who possesses these attributes possesses a power that is invincible.
David Trained to Meet Goliath
“THE Davids among the sheepfolds are being trained to-day to meet the Goliaths on the battle-fields of to-morrow.”
God's Eternal Purpose
By R. D. Quinn
R. D. QUINN
The revelation of the mystery which hath been kept in silence through times eternal, and which is to close in this generation, under the sounding of the seventh angel,—for “when he shall begin to sound, the mystery of God should be finished,”—is simply the unfolding of those principles in God’s “eternal purpose which he purposed in Christ Jesus our Lord” from the beginning, before sin’s inception in heaven. For “the plan of our redemption was not an afterthought, a plan formulated after the fall of Adam. It was a revelation of ‘the mystery which hath been kept in silence through times eternal.’ It was an unfolding of the principles that from the eternal ages have been the foundation of God’s throne.” Consequently, when sin made its appearance in heaven, and later, in the fall of our first parents, the plan for our redemption did not call into action some new principle, nor necessitate a change in God’s eternal purpose; for provision had been made for just such an emergency in the councils of God and his Son, from the days of eternity. But it did call for the actual and visible revelation of the mystery which is “Christ in you, the hope of glory,” God manifest in the flesh. “To the intent that now unto the principalities and powers in heavenly places might be known by the church the manifold wisdom of God.”
From the day that it entered into the heart of Lucifer to exalt his throne above the stars of God, and to “be like the most High,” until this time, he has posed before the universe as a reformer. It was thus that he deceived angels and consequently the whole world, and therefore God has been, as it were, placed on trial before the universe, charged by Satan as being the author of an unjust and defective system of government; and it ever has been Satan’s studied purpose to make these claims evident, and at the same time to demonstrate that the principles which are the foundation of his system of government are superior. So great was the deception, that a vast number of the angels were drawn into the apostasy. Disaffection, alienation, and rebellion followed, and “the world was dark through misapprehension of God.” The reproach that Satan had cast upon God and his subjects must be forever removed. For it is written, “Though ‘clouds and darkness are round about him: righteousness and judgment are the foundation of his throne.’ This the inhabitants of the universe, both loyal and disloyal, will one day understand, . . . though the acknowledgment will be made too late to save the disobedient.” “For all his ways are judgment: a God of truth and without iniquity, just and right is he.” “Who shall not fear thee, O Lord, and glorify thy name? for thou only art holy: for all nations shall come and worship before thee; for thy judgments are made manifest.”
God’s justice must be set forth in contradistinction to Satan’s so-called reforms, in such unmistakable object-lessons that when the mystery of God shall have been finished, the government of God will be put on such an eternal basis of security that rebellion (the mystery of iniquity) will be annihilated, never again to enter the universe. Therefore, “in the councils of heaven it was decided that time must be given for Satan to develop the principles which were the foundation of his system of government, . . . that they might be seen by the heavenly universe.” And so, from the day that Adam and Eve joined in the apostasy, until this hour, this earth has become the theater for Satan’s operations, and the lesson book of the universe. “For we are made a spectacle unto the world, and to angels, and to men.”
Satan’s seat of government is here, and his boasted reforms are in active operation, and ever have been since the fall. However, God has not left the world without the knowledge of his righteous will, and has done all he could to uplift fallen man and place him on vantage ground. It is true that God has allowed Satan to develop the principles of his system of government, that they might be seen in their true light, but he has never allowed one of his subjects to fall under the power of the apostate, unless it were by his own voluntary choice. It is true that the controversy has lasted six thousand years, and has cost rivers of blood, and some have grown impatient at the seeming delay, and even inspiration itself cries out, “How long, O Lord, holy and true, dost thou not judge and avenge our blood on them that dwell on the earth?”
But “the work of human redemption is not all that is accomplished by the cross. The love of God is manifested to the universe. The prince of this world is cast out. The accusations which Satan has brought against God are refuted. The reproach which he has cast upon heaven is forever removed. Angels as well as men are drawn to the Redeemer.” For Christ declared, “I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all unto me.” For “God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself.” “And, having made peace through the blood of his cross, by him to reconcile all things unto himself; by him, I say, whether they be things in earth, or things in heaven.” To the intent, “That in the dispensation of the fullness of times he might gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven, and which are on earth; even in him.” This is the eternal purpose of God.
Therefore God, who can see the end from the beginning, who can see the amazing achievements to be wrought out in the great controversy, allows the scroll to be unrolled no faster than can be comprehended by the heavenly intelligences. For “God carries with him the sympathy and approval of the whole universe, as step by step his great plan advances to complete fulfillment.” And “he will carry it with him in the final eradication of rebellion.” For the angels to whom it is given to pour out the vials of God’s wrath are heard saying, “Thou art righteous, O Lord, . . . because thou hast judged thus.” And another, “Even so, Lord God Almighty, true and righteous are thy judgments.” And the song of the redeemed will be, “Great and marvelous are thy works, Lord God Almighty; just and true are thy ways, thou king of saints. Who shall not fear thee, O Lord, and glorify thy name? for thou only art holy: for all nations shall come and worship before thee; for thy judgments are made manifest.”
“But in the days of the voice of the seventh angel, when he shall begin to sound, the mystery of God should be finished.” For “there shall be delay no longer.”
The Spirit of Sacrifice
One does not need to have an extensive acquaintance in the ranks of Seventh-day Adventists to be able to point out a number of men well advanced in years who have given not only themselves, but practically all their goods, to the spread of the third angel’s message.
The beauty of it all is that, for the most part, the giving has been done so unconsciously that as a general thing these self-sacrificing men do not seem to feel that they have done anything or given anything. The message found these men, one with a good farm, another with a good business, or just entering upon a promising professional career. What have the most of them today?—Simply a home and the support of a rather meager salary, and some of them do not even own their homes.
These men have grown gray in the third angel’s message, yet they are still in active service. Their means are in our institutions, their hearts are in the work. They are never heard telling of their long years of hard service, nor of the self-denial which they have practised; for in a very wide and practical sense not one of them says that “the things which he possessed were his own.” They feel that they have simply given to the Lord his own.
And this is the spirit that should animate every Seventh-day Adventist. In Israel the value of property was estimated according to their distance in point of time from the year of jubilee. It should be the same among God’s people in these last days. Do we believe that the year of jubilee is near? Then should we not place a lower valuation upon earthly things, and rapidly cut the cords that bind us to this world?—Southern Watchman.
Aspire to Something Higher
“LORD, let me not be too content
With life in trifling service spent—
Make me aspire!
When days with petty cares are filled,
Let me with fleeting thoughts be
thrilled
Of something higher!”
Eli and His Degenerate Sons
“Eli was a good man with a bad family. His degenerate sons broke his heart in his old age. Lack of proper parental training often reacts with terrible retributive power.”
A Contrast
By R. C. Trench
SOME murmur when their sky is clear,
And wholly bright to view,
If one small speck of dark appear
In their great heaven of blue;
And some with thankful love are filled
If but one streak of light,
One ray of God's good mercy, gild
The darkness of their night.
In palaces are hearts that ask,
In discontent and pride,
Why life is such a dreary task,
And all good things denied;
And hearts in poorest huts admire
How Love has in their aid
(Love that not ever seems to tire)
Such rich provision made.
—R. C. Trench.
Exercise for Women
By Frederick W. Stone
To the business woman physical culture is a blessing indeed. Often when night comes, she is wearied to a point of exhaustion, and only those who have tried it can appreciate the wonderful value, in such a case, of ten minutes' vigorous exercise, followed by the refreshing bath. Not only are muscles made firm and full of strength again, but the nerves are steady, and the eyes bright. That headache has disappeared as if by magic, and the erstwhile tired woman is alert and ready for a social evening or one spent in study.
Those who sit a great deal, and this includes ninety-nine out of one hundred women, regardless of station in life, are heirs to a train of ills that result from the torpid condition induced thereby. The blood circulates but slowly, digestion and elimination are sluggish, and the lungs fail to expand as they should. The muscles become flabby, allowing organs to crowd and press. The eyes are dull, and the skin sallow, if not actually disfigured by eruptions. But this condition is easily prevented and overcome when proper activity is provided.
The habit of daily exercise will work a transformation that is pleasing to the eye, as well as a gratification to one's sense of well-being. A few minutes each day given to exercise will induce a pair of strong, healthy, well-filled lungs, and plenty of oxygen means pure blood, rosy cheeks, and bright eyes; it will also bring about steady nerves, firm and symmetrical muscles, a splendid feeling of conscious health and vigor, and a happy disposition to look on the bright side of all things. A torpid liver has been responsible for many a tragedy, and unstrung nerves have broken up happy homes.
Aside from the consideration of health and consequent happiness, is that of an erect, well-formed, well-poised figure. Exercise will also restore that shapeless mass of flesh to its old-time girlish beauty of outline. It will reduce the abdomen, and develop the chest, making a figure both shapely and graceful. Make for yourself a “corset” of firm muscles, interlacing to form a support that will far surpass any invention of man. The natural waist is round and slender. It may measure more in actual inches than the one for which tight lacing is responsible, but it will have the appearance of a more slender beauty because of its natural roundness, and there will be, in addition, an attractive suppleness that can not be gained in any other way. This is an argument in favor of exercise for the muscles of the waist, and they may be made firm and strong, adding to beauty as well as to health.
Make your exercise a habit. It will take only a few minutes each day, in the privacy of your own room, and in a short time the work will become a pleasure—as much a part of your routine as eating and sleeping. But do not make the mistake of overdoing in your enthusiasm. Exercise wisely and well, and you will be amply repaid by a rich store of health and strength, by an increased beauty and animation, by added years of useful living.—Frederick W. Stone.
God's Care for his Children
By Maud Husted
MAUD HUSTED
“The angel of the Lord encampeth round about them that fear him, and delivereth them.” Ps. 34:7. What a comforting promise! It matters not what trial or temptation may assail, nor how suddenly it may come upon him, the faithful, trusting child need have no fear of being overcome; for the Lord will not suffer him to be tempted above that he is able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that he may be able to bear it.
The truth of this text was very clearly presented to the mind of the writer by an experience while in a home where beer was freely used. One day when alone, a bottle and a glass were found in the kitchen, and the tempter whispered, Now is your chance to find out what beer tastes like, and no one will ever know it. At the same time an almost irresistible power seemed to be forcing me to take the glass. Immediately the guardian angel appeared at my side, and laying his hand gently on my arm, caused a vision to pass before me in which I saw the pledges of two temperance societies of which I had at one time been a member, the open Bible, and Christ upon the cross. I then and there resolved by the grace of God never to know what beer did taste like; and as I turned away, the power by which Satan had endeavored to cause a departure from the path of right was immediately withdrawn, and inexpressible joy filled my soul; for a victory had been won through the blood of Christ.
Satan's purpose in the earth is to draw away as many as possible from the fold of Christ, and at times when a temptation would instantly be recognized and dispelled from the mind, he may attempt to force one to act upon his impressions without time for meditation. But the eye of the Lord is upon them that fear him, and he will not suffer any to be overcome with evil.
Lying to Children
WHAT an awful habit, and how common it is! How inefficient it is in all those things for which it is done! The nervous mother, all too unmindful of the teaching influence of what she is doing, calls out to her little four-year-old child that is wandering away too far, “Don’t go down there, or the big bears will eat you up. Come back quickly before they get you.” Now she knows there are no bears there, and that sooner or later the child will find it out; for, however scary the “Boogie Boos” may seem at first to the child, he will venture to peek around the corners farther and farther, and so will know there are none there. I have known parents after scaring their child away one day to try to send the same child the next day to the same place for something, and it would not be persuaded to go there for fear of bears. No, this does not work well. Besides, it is so wicked and such a trifling way of dealing with a child’s faith in us! Woe11be to the mother who destroys a child’s faith! She is raising an infidel.—The Midland.
The Mother's Hand
By Dr. Talmage
You, mother, who rocked and lullabied the family brood until they took wing for other nests, and never appreciated what you had done and suffered for them, will yet be rewarded. Your hand was well favored when you were young. It was a beautiful hand, so well-rounded, so graceful, that many admired and eulogized it, but hard work calloused it and twisted it, and self-sacrificing toil for others paled it, and many household griefs thinned it; and the ring, which went on only with a push at the marriage altar, now is too large, and falls off, and again and again you have lost it. Poor hand! Weary hand! Worn-out hand! But God will reconstruct it, reanimate it, readorn it, and all heaven will know the story of that hand. What fallen ones it lifted up! What tears it wiped away! What wounds it bandaged! What lighthouses it kindled! What storm-tossed ships it brought into the pearl-beached harbor! Roll on, everlasting rest for all the toiling and misunderstood and suffering and weary children of God, and know right well that to join your hand, at last emancipated from the struggle, will be the soft hand, the gentle hand, the triumphant hand of him who wipeth away all tears from all faces.—Dr. Talmage.
Directions for Making Wholesome Nut Butter
By O. M. Hayward
O. M. HAYWARD, M. D.
Take enough Spanish No. 1 peanuts to make a layer one-half inch in thickness in the dripping pan. Place in a moderate oven, leaving the door slightly ajar. Allow the nuts to stay in the oven until they become so dry that the hulls rub off easily. Care must be taken to avoid a too high degree of temperature. Oil appearing on the outside of the nuts is evidence of too much heat. The color of the nuts should not be changed in the least by this drying process. If they begin to turn brown, the oven is too hot.
When the nuts have been sufficiently dried, remove the hulls, either by some kind of blancher, rubbing them between the hands, placing them in a cloth bag and rubbing and jostling the nuts together until the hulls are removed, or by churning them in a rather deep vessel with a wire potato masher.
When the hulls have become loosened, they may be blown out by pouring the nuts from one dish to another in a slight breeze.
Next, grind the nuts into a fine meal or butter. The Quaker City mill, or some other mill that cuts rather than mashes the nuts, is preferable to those that grind by pressure. The meal thus prepared should be placed in a tightly covered glass or glazed or metal receptacle, and kept in a cool, dark place.
The butter is prepared from this meal in the following manner: take the quantity of meal desired, and add a sufficient amount of water to reduce it to the consistency of a moderately thin gruel. Place this in some vessel, preferably the inside part of a double boiler, and set it upon the top of the stove, where the temperature is not too high, and stir occasionally. The mixture may boil moderately in this situation; but as soon as it shows the least tendency to adhere to the bottom of the vessel, it should be placed in the outer part of the double boiler, containing boiling water, and allowed to cook in this manner for at least two hours. Four or five hours' cooking is better than less.
When this mixture becomes cold, it should be nearly the consistency of butter. Salt may be added as desired when the butter is taken from the stove.
If any of the oil is separated from the mass, the whole should be thoroughly whipped before cooling. It must be remembered that butter cooked in this manner will keep but a short time, and should be handled with the same care as dairy milk. If put in sterilized, air-tight receptacles, in the same manner as canned fruit, it will keep indefinitely. In open dishes it can be kept several days in the refrigerator.
Peanuts prepared in this manner furnish a delicious and wholesome article of diet, which can be used constantly, in proper quantities, without ill effect.
Nut meal prepared as above is better and more wholesome than any free fat or oil as a shortening for buns, sticks, etc.
Because of One
BECAUSE of one dear infant head
With golden hair,
To me all little heads
A halo wear;
And for one saintly face I knew,
All babes are fair.
Because of two wide, earnest eyes
Of heavenly blue,
Which look with yearning gaze
My sad soul through,
All eyes now fill mine own with tears,
Whate’er their hue.
Because of little death-marked lips
Which once did call
My name in plaintive tones,
No voices fail
Upon my ears in vain appeal
From children small.
Two little hands held in my own,
Long, long ago,
Now cause me as I wander through
This world of woe
To clasp each baby hand stretched out
In fear of foe,
The lowest can not plead in vain—
I loved him so.
— The Current.
A Little Dead Bird
The celebrated Russian novelist, Turgenieff, tells a touching incident from his own life, which awakened in him sentiments that have colored all his writings.
When he was a boy of ten, his father took him out one day bird-shooting. As they tramped across the brown stubble, a golden pheasant rose with a low whirr from the ground at his feet, and, with the joy of a sportsman, he raised his gun and fired, wild with excitement, when the creature fell fluttering at his side. Life was ebbing fast, but the instinct of the mother was stronger than death itself, and with a feeble flutter of her wings the mother bird reached the nest where her young brood were huddled, unconscious of danger. Then, with such a look of pleading and reproach that his heart stood still at the ruin he had wrought (and never to his dying day did he forget the feeling of guilt that came to him at that moment), the little brown head toppled over, and only the dead body of the mother shielded her nestlings.
“Father, father!” he cried, “what have I done?” as he turned his horror-stricken face to his father.
But not to his father’s eye had this little tragedy been enacted, and he said: “Well done, my son; that was well done for your first shot. You will soon be a fine sportsman.”
“Never, father; never again shall I destroy any living creature. If that is sport, I will have none of it. Life is more beautiful to me than death, and since I can not give life, I will not take it.”— Our Dumb Animals.
Delilah’s Shears and Samson’s Strength
“DELILAH’S shears have shorn many a Samson of his strength.”
Danger from the Use of “Headache Powders”
The fashionable practice of using patent “headache powders,” such as can be had at the average drug store, is believed by good medical authorities to be a frequent cause of serious illness, and even of death. On this subject Popular Mechanics prints the following:—
“Most of the fatal cases, it is believed, are people with weak hearts. Practically every one of the headache powders on the market has been found on analysis to contain acetanilid, or some other coal-tar product similarly affecting the heart. The drug costs but thirty cents a pound, and from five to fifteen grains is considered a fair dose. But even a five-grain dose may be deadly, doctors say, to a person with severe heart trouble. The drug’s action on the human system is to lower the blood pressure, which is usually the cause of headache. An overdose paralyzes the heart, when it is dilated, and causes death. It is the sudden lowering of the blood pressure that causes the lips and finger nails to turn blue. Some of the most costly headache cures contain some kind of heart stimulant to counteract the deadly effect of this drug; but the stimulant may be nearly as dangerous as the acetanilid. Some contain caffeine with bicarbonate of soda, and some contain strychnine. Nearly every druggist has on sale a headache powder of his own invention, and in many instances the chief ingredient is a coal-tar product with no protection for the heart. These are the ones classed by doctors as ‘deadly.’”
L. A. S
By L. A. S.
To cultivate in the minds of children a love for the Sabbath day, is certainly a very essential part of a proper religious training, and should not be overlooked by any parent. Whether the child has a love for, or an aversion to, the Sabbath, is the question which often determines its attitude toward Christianity in later years. How shall the natural aversion to the Sabbath-day restrictions upon secular activities be overcome? In the case of the healthy child, who feels no need of rest one day in seven, the problem is often a difficult one. It would, we think, be helpful toward the solution of this problem to make the Sabbath day the story-telling day. Children naturally love to hear stories, and if these are restricted to one day in the week, and that day the Sabbath, they may make the day one to the coming of which the child looks forward with pleasure. The stories should, of course, be Bible stories, and pains should be taken to tell them in the most interesting way. The use of suitable pictures will be very helpful to this end. Parents can not afford to be neglectful of their children on the Sabbath day, or to make the day merely a day of prohibitions. A little outlay of time and means on their part to afford the children that enjoyment and instruction which they can not obtain of themselves, as an adult person can, will be an investment no parent will ever regret.