NIMES.— We have now given about sixty discourses in the tent at Nimes, and twelve or fifteen persons are obeying. A Sabbath-school has been started. Bible-readings are taking even better than preaching meetings. We still enjoy quiet, and have thus far received no special opposition on the part of religionists. Three weeks since, by special invitation of a pastor, I spoke to his congregation one Sunday morning. God gave more than ordinary freedom as I dwelt on the cross of Christ.
VERGÉZE.— We have a few interested hearers at this place. The last time I was there, I visited a cave where Protestants used to hide from their persecutors hundreds of years ago, and spoke from a fig tree from which Jean Cavalier used to cheer his men, at the entrance of the cave.
Next Sabbath I celebrate the thirtieth anniversary of my Sabbath-keeping, the greatest day in my religious experience, and the observance of which brings more and more solid joy and satisfaction to my soul. When I commenced keeping the Sabbath, some said: “In ten years you will be sorry,” but the close of each decade has found me more joyful in the path of obedience.
My post-office address is, Rue Frères Mineurs 5, Nimes, France. D. T. BOURDEAU.
September 7.
Calistoga, Napa County, California.
By W. M. Healey
WE closed our tent-meeting here last night. We have thirty-one names on the covenant. The Sabbath-school has forty-seven members. There are others here that we expect to see take a stand for the truth. We have baptized ten adults. The coming camp-meeting has caused us to close the meeting a little sooner than we otherwise should have done, and we trust that further labor may be bestowed on this field in the near future.
September 27, 1886. W. M. HEALEY.
H. A. ST. JOHN.
California and Nevada.
By Frank Lamb
SINCE my last report I have labored in Humboldt and Merced Counties, California, and in the towns of Winnemucca and Unionville, Nevada. I have also visited most of our brethren in the latter State.
In Humboldt County, Cal., twenty-five signed the covenant and ten were baptized. In Merced County, fourteen signed the covenant and nine were baptized. A comfortable meeting-house has been built and paid for in this county.
After laboring about two weeks with the little companies in Nevada, I assisted Brother Colcord with the tent-meeting in Winnemucca, where ten promised to obey the truth. For the last two months I have been holding meetings in Unionville, where eighteen have signed the covenant, including the school teacher and his wife. Still others are keeping the Sabbath. A Sabbath-school of thirty-one members, and also a Tract and Missionary Society have been organized. FRANK LAMB.
THEY hurried Jesus away with loud shouts of triumph; but their noise ceased for a time when they passed a retired place, and saw at the foot of a lifeless tree the dead body of Judas, who had betrayed Christ. It was a most revolting spectacle; his weight had broken the cord by which he had hung himself to the tree, and, in falling, his body had become horribly mangled, and was then being devoured by dogs. The mutilated remains were ordered to be buried at once, and the crowd passed on; but there was less noisy mockery, and many a pale face revealed the fearful thoughts within. Retribution seemed already to be visiting those who were guilty of the blood of Jesus.
Jesus had scarcely passed the gate of Pilate’s house when the cross which had been prepared for Barabbas was brought out and laid upon his bruised and bleeding shoulders. Crosses were also placed upon the companions of Barabbas, who were to suffer death at the same time with Jesus. The Saviour had borne his burden but a few rods, when, from loss of blood and excessive weariness and pain, he fell fainting to the ground. As he lay beneath the heavy burden of the cross, how the heart of the mother of Christ longed to place a supporting hand beneath his wounded head, and bathe that brow that had once been pillowed upon her bosom. But, alas, that mournful privilege was denied her.
When Jesus revived, the cross was again placed upon his shoulders and he was forced forward. He staggered on for a few steps, bearing his heavy load, then fell as one lifeless to the ground. He was at first pronounced to be dead, but finally he again revived. The priests and rulers felt no compassion for their suffering victim; but they saw that it was impossible for him to carry the instrument of torture farther. They were puzzled to find any one who would humiliate himself to bear the cross to the place of execution. The Jews could not do it because of defilement, and their consequent inability to keep the coming passover festival.
While they were considering what to do, Simon, a Cyrenian, coming from an opposite direction, met the crowd, was seized at the instigation of the priests, and compelled to carry the cross of Christ. The sons of Simon were disciples of Jesus, but he himself had never been connected with him. This occasion was a profitable one for him. The cross he was forced to bear became the means of his conversion. His sympathies were deeply stirred in favor of Jesus; and the events of Calvary, and the words uttered by Jesus, caused him to acknowledge that he was the Son of God. Simon ever after felt grateful to God for the singular providence which placed him in a position to receive evidence for himself that Jesus was the world’s Redeemer.
A great multitude followed the Saviour to Calvary, many mocking and deriding; but some were weeping and recounting his praise. Those whom he had healed of various infirmities, and those whom he had raised from the dead, declared his marvelous works with earnest voice, and demanded to know what Jesus had done that he should be treated as a malefactor. Only a few days before, they had attended him with joyful hosannas, and the waving of palm-branches, as he rode triumphantly to Jerusalem. But many who had then shouted his praise, because it was popular to do so, now swelled the cry of “Crucify him! Crucify him!”
After Jesus was nailed to the cross, it was lifted by several powerful men, and thrust with great violence into the place prepared for it, causing the most excruciating agony to the Son of God. Pilate then wrote an inscription in three different languages and placed it upon the cross, above the head of Jesus. It ran thus: “This is Jesus, the king of the Jews.” This inscription placed so conspicuously upon the cross, irritated the Jews. In Pilate’s court they had cried, Crucify him! We have no king but Cæsar! They declared that whoever claimed other than Cæsar for a king was a traitor. But they had overreached themselves in disclaiming any desire to have a king of their own nation. Pilate,619in his inscription, wrote out the sentiments which they had expressed. It was a virtual declaration, and so understood by all, that the Jews acknowledged that on account of their allegiance to the Roman power, any man who aspired to be king of the Jews, however innocent in other respects, should be judged by them worthy of death. There was no other offense named in the inscription; it simply stated that Jesus was the king of the Jews.
The Jews saw this, and asked Pilate to change the inscription. Said the chief priests, “Write not, The King of the Jews; but that he said, I am King of the Jews.” But Pilate, angry with himself because of his former weakness, and thoroughly despising the jealous and artful priests and rulers, coldly replied, “What I have written I have written.”
The enemies of Jesus now awaited his death with impatient hope. That event they imagined would forever hush the rumors of his divine power, and the wonders of his miracles. They flattered themselves that they should then no longer tremble because of his influence. The unfeeling soldiers who had stretched the body of Jesus upon the cross, divided his clothing among themselves, contending over one garment, which was woven without seam. They finally decided the matter by casting lots for it. The pen of inspiration had accurately described this scene hundreds of years before it took place: “For dogs have compassed me; the assembly of the wicked have inclosed me; they pierced my hands and my feet.” “They parted my raiment among them, and for my vesture they did cast lots.”
The eyes of Jesus wandered over the multitude that had collected together to witness his death, and he saw at the foot of the cross John supporting Mary, the mother of Christ. She had returned to the terrible scene, not being able to longer remain away from her son. The last lesson of Jesus was one of filial love. He looked upon the grief-stricken face of his mother and then upon John; said he, addressing the former: “Woman, behold thy son.” Then, to the disciple: “Behold, thy mother.” John well understood the words of Jesus, and the sacred trust which was committed to him. He immediately removed the mother of Christ from the fearful scene of Calvary. From that hour he cared for her as would a dutiful son, taking her to his own home. O pitiful, loving Saviour! Amid all his physical pain, and mental anguish, he had a tender, thoughtful care for the mother who had borne him. He had no money to leave her, by which to insure her future comfort, but he was enshrined in the heart of John, and he gave his mother unto the beloved disciple as a sacred legacy. This trust was to prove a great blessing to John, a constant reminder of his beloved Master.
In silence the people watch for the end of this fearful scene. Again the sun shines forth; but the cross is enveloped in darkness. Priests and rulers look toward Jerusalem; and lo, the dense cloud has settled upon the city, and over Judah’s plains, and the fierce lightnings of God’s wrath are directed against the fated city. Suddenly the gloom is lifted from the cross, and in clear trumpet tones, that seem to resound throughout creation, Jesus cries, “It is finished.” “Father, into thy hands I commend my spirit.” A light encircled the cross; and the face of the Saviour shone with a glory like unto the sun. He then bowed his head upon his breast, and died. All the spectators stood paralyzed, and with bated breath gazed upon the Saviour. Again darkness settled upon the face of the earth, and a hoarse rumbling like heavy thunder was heard. This was accompanied by a violent trembling of the earth. The multitude were shaken together in heaps, and the wildest confusion and consternation ensued. In the surrounding mountains, rocks burst asunder with loud crashing, and many of them came tumbling down the heights to the plains below. The sepulchres were broken open, and the dead were cast out of their tombs. Creation seemed to be shivering to atoms. Priests, rulers, soldiers, and executioners were mute with terror, and prostrate upon the ground.
The darkness was again lifted from Calvary, and hung like a pall over Jerusalem. At the moment in which Christ died, there were priests ministering in the temple before the veil which separated the holy from the most holy place. Suddenly they felt the earth tremble beneath them, and the veil of the temple, a strong, rich drapery that had been renewed yearly, was rent in twain from top to bottom by the same bloodless hand that wrote the words of doom upon the walls of Belshazzar’s palace. The most holy place, that had been sacredly entered by human feet only once a year, was revealed to the common gaze. God had ever before protected his temple in a wonderful manner; but now its sacred mysteries were exposed to curious eyes. No longer would the presence of God overshadow the earthly mercy-seat. No longer would the light of his glory flash forth upon, nor the cloud of his disapproval shadow, the precious stones in the breast-plate of the high priest.
When Christ died upon the cross of Calvary, a new and living way was opened to both Jew and Gentile. The Saviour was henceforth to officiate as Priest and Advocate in the Heaven of heavens. From henceforth the blood of beasts offered for sin was valueless; for the Lamb of God had died for the sins of the world. The darkness upon the face of nature expressed her sympathy with Christ in his expiring agony. It evidenced to humanity that the Sun of Righteousness, the Light of the world, was withdrawing his beams from the once favored city of Jerusalem and from the world. It was a miraculous testimony given of God, that the faith of after generations might be confirmed.
Jesus did not yield up his life till he had accomplished the work which he came to do; and he exclaimed with his parting breath, “It is finished!” Angels rejoiced as the words were uttered; for the great plan of redemption was being triumphantly carried out. There was joy in Heaven that the sons of Adam could now, through a life of obedience, be exalted finally to the presence of God. Satan was defeated and knew that his kingdom was lost.
When the Christian fully comprehends the magnitude of the great sacrifice made by the Majesty of Heaven, then will the plan of salvation be magnified before him, and to meditate upon Calvary will awaken the deepest and most sacred emotions of his heart. Contemplation of the Saviour’s matchless love should absorb the mind, touch and melt the heart, refine and elevate the affections, and completely transform the whole character. The language of the apostle is, “I determined not to know anything among you, save Jesus Christ, and him crucified.” And we may look toward Calvary and exclaim, “God forbid that I should glory, save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom the world is crucified unto me, and I unto the world.”—Mrs. E. G. White in Great Controversy.
THE PARABLES OF JESUS.
Lesson IV.—The Good Samaritan.
(Sabbath, October 23.)
1. Who was it that on a certain occasion stood up and tempted Jesus?
“And, behold, a certain lawyer stood up, and tempted him, saying, Master, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?” Luke 10:25.
2. Who were called lawyers in those days?
3. What question did the lawyer ask? See above.
4. What way did Jesus take to answer him?—He asked him a question in return.
5. Repeat the question.
“He said unto him, What is written in the law? how readest thou?” Verse 26.
6. How did the lawyer answer the Saviour?
“And he answering said, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy strength, and with all thy mind; and thy neighbor as thyself.” Verse 27.
7. What encouragement did Jesus give him?
“And he said unto him, Thou hast answered right; this do, and thou shalt live.” Verse 28.
8. What spirit did the lawyer manifest?
“But he, willing to justify himself, said unto Jesus, And who is my neighbor?” Verse 29.
9. What did he say? Same verse.
10. How did Jesus answer the question?—By giving a parable.
11. In this parable, what befell the man who was traveling from Jerusalem to Jericho?
“And Jesus answering said, A certain man went down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and fell among thieves, which stripped him of his raiment, and wounded him, and departed, leaving him half dead.” Verse 30.
12. How did the thieves treat him? Same verse.
13. Who first chanced to come that way?
“And by chance there came down a certain priest that way; and when he saw him, he passed by on the other side.” Verse 31.
14. How did the priest treat the suffering traveler? Same verse.
15. What course was taken by a Levite who happened that way?
“And likewise a Levite, when he was at the place, came and looked on him, and passed by on the other side.” Verse 32.
16. Give a brief account of the offices and duties of the priests.
17. What were the chief duties of the Levites?
18. What would be expected of men in such holy offices?
19. What other traveler was journeying from Jerusalem to Jericho that day?
“But a certain Samaritan, as he journeyed, came where he was; and when he saw him, he had compassion on him.” Verse 33.
20. How was he affected at the wounded sufferer? Same verse.
21. How did he manifest his compassion?
“And went to him, and bound up his wounds, pouring in oil and wine, and set him on his own beast, and brought him to an inn, and took care of him.” Verse 34.
22. How much did the Samaritan pay the host when he went away next morning?
“And on the morrow when he departed, he took out two pence, and gave them to the host, and said unto him, Take care of him; and whatsoever thou spendest more, when I come again, I will repay thee.” Verse 35.
23. How did the good Samaritan show that his kindness was a settled principle rather than a sudden impulse? Last part of the same verse.
(Concluded on page 626.)620
(Continued from page 619.)
24. When Jesus had finished the parable, what question did he ask the lawyer?
“Which now of these three, thinkest thou, was neighbor unto him that fell among the thieves?” Verse 36.
25. What answer did the lawyer give?
“And he said, He that showed mercy on him. Then said Jesus unto him, Go, and do thou likewise.” Verse 37.
26. What instruction did Jesus then give him? Same verse.
27. What relation existed between the Jews and the Samaritans?—They were bitter enemies.
28. How then could this Samaritan regard the unfortunate Jew as his neighbor, and treat him so kindly?
29. What beautiful lesson may we learn from this parable?
30. How does the Saviour impart the same lesson by direct precept?
“Ye have heard that it hath been said, Thou shalt love thy neighbor, and hate thine enemy. But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you; that ye may be the children of your Father which is in Heaven; for he maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust. For if ye love them which love you, what reward have ye? do not even the publicans the same? And if ye salute your brethren only, what do ye more than others? do not even the publicans so?” Matt. 5: 43–47.
Charity Without Principle
We are now in danger of a sentimental and simpering faith. Charity without principle to guide it may distribute its gifts very indiscriminately and injuriously. More evil may arise from lawless love, which is fascinating, than from hatred, which is repulsive.—Dr. McCosh.
In the Desert of Sinai.
By Mrs. Isabella Bird Bishop
We began the march soon after the sun had risen, turning the eastern sky into the aspect of a conflagration. The heavens above were “as brass,” and the earth beneath “as iron.” I breakfasted on raisins and half a cup of stir-a-bout made with some stale water which had been begged the night before from the scanty stock of some nomads. These folded their tents and passed away on that search for water, which is the life-long occupation of the dwellers in the desert. They left not a trace behind. Soon after they went out of sight I walked on alone, as is my usual practice, in advance of the camels, but soon sank on a stone from exhaustion and suffering. Hassan had pebbles in his own mouth, and gave me some to put in mine, but he spoke thickly, though doubtless he had taken more water than he gave to me. We marched for four hours—a burning, weary, silent march—and halted at noon in the sharp, deep shadow of a high rock, where the mercury fell to 111 degrees. The glare on the sand beyond the shadow was blinding. The lower strata of the air were simmering with heat. It was terrible to emerge from the shadow of that great rock into the furnace glare and plod on once more under the fiery sun.
I usually soaked a towel, several times folded, in water, and laid it on my head under my hat, letting the end hang over the back of my neck; and being unable to get any water, I suffered severely from the sun. As the afternoon went on, I became dizzy and distracted; I felt that I should soon be delirious. I tried to speak to Hassan, but my tongue only rattled in my mouth. I felt that if any one were carrying water and would not give it to me that I would take it by force—that I could even commit a desperate crime to get one cupful. And still we marched on silently under the blazing skies, through the heated, simmering air. I felt my reason going, and tied a handkerchief over my eyes; then lassitude came on, and the longing for water turned into a longing for death, and the fancied murmur of the “dark river” in my ears was a pleasant sound.
Then there were voices, and Hassan, speaking thick, uttered the one word “Water.” I took the bandage from my eyes, and saw that we were in a valley. In front palms waved, and there was a greenness on the earth. I thought I was being again mocked by the mirage, but the blessed reality was confirmed the next moment, when I saw in the distance the Sheykh Barak running toward me with a pitcher of water in his hand. I seized it, and in unreasoning haste drank an enormous quantity, when Hassan, poor fellow, forced the cooler from me and drank the remainder. The thirst still raged, but there was hope, for in the long valley which we had entered, I recognized the Wady Feiran, the great oasis of the Sinaitic Desert. The Arabs lifted me very gently from my camel and laid me on a blanket under a palm tree. Hassan brought me a cup of goat’s milk, warm and healing, and putting a water-cooler beside me, warned me to take the water only by sips. It was pure and ice-cold; it was abundant; and reason having returned, I drank it rationally.
Three thousand fruit-bearing palms, and perhaps two thousand young ones, grow in that grand oasis. Barley was springing, flocks were nibbling herbage, which, though scanty, was green; there was a murmur of water, and I fell asleep.—Mrs. Isabella Bird Bishop.
The Home Circle.
By Sel.
IN THE SHADOW.
I walk through darkened paths, yet know
My Father marks the way I go;
I cannot see his tender smile,
But feel his clasping hand the while;
And since he heeds the sparrow's fall,
I trust his love, in spite of all.
Borne through the dark by loving arms,
I sometimes shrink with vague alarms,
Yet closer cling that I may hear
The voice that whispers in mine ear.
“‘Oh, trembling soul,’ it says to me,
“‘Rest in the love that clings to thee.’”
I cannot tell if long the way
By which I go through night to day;
But, soon or late, I know my feet
Will walk in sunshine, broad and sweet;
And, soon or late, before mine eyes
The radiant hills of peace uprise. —Sel.
Superannuated at Birth.
FORTUNE does not often favor those who are born much in advance of their age, neither is she likely to show herself indulgent towards such as are behind time. It is rare, indeed, that under any government, however paternal it may be, a child begins life as a pensioner for recognized merit in the postal service. One instance of the kind is reported from England.
The lady of a cabinet minister had promised to stand godmother to an infant, and calling on the parents a day or two previous to the christening, expressed her regret that her husband, Lord —, had nothing left at his disposal of any importance, and that the only thing he could do for her godson was to put his name on the pension-list as a superannuated general postman.
The offer was accepted. The pension was regularly paid to the parents during the minority of their son, and to him afterwards as long as he lived. He thrived in the world, became an alderman, and attained a considerable age, often declaring that he had more pleasure in pocketing the few pounds he drew half-yearly from this source than he derived from the receipt of any other portion of his income.
He died a few days after one payment was due, and one of his executors came to town to announce his decease and receive the money. On asking the clerk who paid him if it was necessary to produce a certificate of the death, he was answered:—
“Oh no, not in the least; I will take your word for it. My father paid his pension as long as he lived, and I have paid it myself for the last thirty years. I'm quite sure Mr. — must be dead by this time.”
He had been a superannuated general postman for upwards of eighty years!—Youth’s Companion.
Antiquity of Wheat and Rye.
In an article in the Century President Charles Barnard says, that the wheat plant is one of the oldest in cultivation. The Chinese recorded its culture as early as 2,700 B. C., and it is one of the prehistoric plants, remains of wheat seeds being found in the ruins of the houses of the lake dwellers, while there are several races of wheat, and while these have been crossed, producing hybrids, it has retained its true character, and been entirely independent of other plants since its culture began.
Compared with wheat, rye is a modern plant. It is not figured on any Egyptian monuments, and seems to have been first cultivated in the Roman Empire about the beginning of the Christian era, though it may have been known somewhat earlier in Russia and Tartary. While these two commercial plants have been cultivated side by side for centuries, the first plants appearing to be true hybrids between them bore seeds this year in this country. Wheat and rye may have been crossed before, yet there is no record of anything like the results here obtained. —Scientific American.
How Eskimo Dogs Are Trained.
By St. Nicholas
AS THE Eskimos must sometimes be babies, so the dogs must at sometime be puppies, and the puppies are allowed inside the igloo on the bed, where they are the favorite playthings of the young heir. His mother makes him a number of doll dog-harnesses for the puppies, fixes him up a dog-whip, almost like his father's, and then he amuses himself harnessing them, hitching them to a hatchet, the water-bucket, or any object that is at hand, and driving them around in the igloo and storm igloo, or out-of-doors when the weather is very pleasant.
As soon as the puppies get a little bigger, the larger boys take them in hand, and, by the time they are old enough to be used for work in the sledges, they are almost well-trained dogs.
And so with the little Eskimo himself; when he is a young man he is a good dog-driver, and knows how to manage a sledge under all circumstances. This is the hardest thing that an Eskimo has to learn. I have known white men to equal them in rowing in their little seal-skin canoes; I have seen white men build good igloos; but I have never seen a white man who was a good dog-driver; and the Eskimos told me that they had never seen such an one, either. When they drive their dogs, it is in the shape of the letter V, the foremost dog being at the converging point, and the harness-traces running back in V-shapes to the sledge. The forward dog is called the “leader,” or “chief,” and in trading dogs, a “leader” is worth two good followers, or ordinary workers. The Eskimo dog-driver manages the leader wholly by the voice, making him stop, go ahead, to the right or to the left, as he may speak to him; and as he acts, so do the others, who soon learn to watch him closely, and, strongest of all, to obey him even after they are unharnessed, although the “leader” may not be one of the largest and strongest dogs in the team.—St. Nicholas.
The Suez Canal.
THE present vast scheme of cutting a canal across the Isthmus of Panama makes, at this time, a few facts relative to the Suez Canal of particular interest. It was commenced toward the close of 1860, and work on it steadily progressed until 1862, when there was a kink among the authorities, and had it not been for the enterprise and liberality of Napoleon III., of France, then reigning, who advanced $19,000,000 to the Viceroy to be paid to the company, it is doubtful whether the gigantic undertaking would ever have been finished. The water began to flow from the Mediterranean in February, 1869, and from the Red Sea in July, and by the middle of October navigation was fully open.
The whole length of the canal is 88 miles; of this 66 are actual canal, formed by cutting; 14 are dredged through the lakes, and 8 required no work, the natural depth being equal to that of the canal, which throughout is 26 feet, for a width of 72 feet at the bottom and 325 feet at the surface. The actual width does not permit of two vessels passing or crossing each other in the canal itself, but there are numerous sidings at which vessels are enabled to “cross” one another, by which the passage is greatly quickened. The largest vessel that ever passed through the canal measured 430 feet in length, with a draught of 25 feet 9 inches. The cost of the whole undertaking was very nearly $88,000,000, exclusive of nearly $7,000,000 raised to pay for coupons on shares in arrears during the period of construction. About 30,000 laborers were employed, 80,000,000 cubic yards of earth were excavated, and, one time, 60 dredging machines were at work.—Southern Sun.
Lessons From Our Mistakes
By T. D. Woolsey
No lessons are so impressive as those our mistakes teach us.—Dr. T. D. Woolsey.
One Thing at a Time.
NO ONE element of personal power is greater and more potent than singleness of power, or than the power of singleness. No man can be so much of a man, in any one direction, as when he is a whole man in that direction. He who can concentrate his whole being, all his energies and all his capabilities, for the compassing of the one thing on which his mind is fixed for the time being, is obviously more potent, in behalf of that object of his endeavor, than would be possible were his energies divided, and were only a portion of himself given up to that for which he is striving. And this power of concentration it is that makes the man of pre-eminent practical efficiency in any and every sphere of human endeavor—material, mental, and spiritual—from the lowest plane to the highest.
It is when the eye is “single”—capable of fixing itself on one object of vision to the exclusion of all others—that the whole body is full of light. Doubleness of vision—seeing two things at a time instead of one—is as fatal to the eyesight as it is to mental action; and a “double-minded” man is unstable in all his ways. The man who can do one thing better than anybody else, is sure to be the man who looks upon that one thing as every way worthy of his doing, and who can say with all his heart, This one thing I do—though everything else be left unattended to. This it is that constitutes “devotion”—the state of being given up wholly to the specific object of interest,—whether that devotion be to pleasure, to self-interest, to business, to art, to science, to human affection, or to the highest service of God. Devotion is singleness, is concentration, is absorption, in the direction of the one supreme and exclusive object of interest in the sphere of that devotion. He who lacks in the power of devotedness, lacks in the power of practical efficiency in the sphere in which he is called to live and to labor.
It was said of Lord Brougham, that his devotedness to the one object of his striving was always such that he seemed to live exclusively for what he was living for; that if, indeed, he had been only a bootblack he would never have been satisfied short of being the best bootblack in the United Kingdom. And it is that sort of devotedness, that sort of singleness of power, that is always a distinguishing element of greatness of character. If you know the peculiarities of any man of marked pre-eminence,—as a statesman, as a soldier, as a financier, as a railroad manager, as a manufacturer, as a business man in any sphere,—you know that that man has the power in an exceptional degree, of giving himself to one thing at a time—to the apparent exclusion of every other subject of thought for the time being. However many things there are which demand his attention, his undivided thought is for the moment given to the one thing that for the moment requires his attention. Even his ability to turn rapidly from one subject to another, is his ability rapidly to change the objects of his concentrated thought; not his ability to attend to more than one thing at one and the same time.
It is said that Julius Cæsar was capable of dictating letters to six different amanuenses simultaneously; but that is only another way of saying that he was able to turn so rapidly from one thing to another, without allowing the one to interfere with the other; that he could keep six men at work, noting the results of his sixfold singleness. One thing we know, that unless Cæsar kept the other five letters out of his thought for the instant, the one letter which he was then dictating would lack the impress of his undivided personality, and so would have been a failure as a letter from Cæsar. It is this power of letting other things alone for the moment, that enters into the power of giving one’s self wholly to the thing which demands attention for the moment. And this is singleness of mind.—Sunday School Times.
Health and Temperance.
Pork as Food.
THE following, from the National Live-Stock Journal, contains some wholesome truths which may open the eyes of some. The points which that Journal presents show that objections to eating pork and lard rest upon a basis of sound science and common sense, rather than upon “prejudice.” The Scripture makes no mistake when it pronounces the swine unclean and not fit to be eaten.
“The prejudice against the flesh of swine as human food is as old as history. If it has any foundation in nature, besides the filthy manner in which the hog is generally kept, it is because the hog is more subject to disease, or at least to a certain class of diseases, than other domestic animals. Its omnivorous appetite makes it liable to certain diseases from which the exclusively vegetable-eating animals are comparatively, if not entirely, exempt.
“The two evils most complained of are tape-worm and trichina—both parasitic. Both of these are developed in the animal tissues, and it is very doubtful if they ever afflict animals that do not eat animal food, or in some way get animal products into their stomachs and intestinal canals.
“The tape-worm, when encysted in the tissues of the hog, has the name of measles—though wholly unlike measles in the human species. The pork containing these encysted worms is known as ‘measly pork.’ When taken into the human stomach, they are liable to develop there in the form of the loathsome creature known as tape-worm. This is not necessarily fatal, but very annoying. In modern times, it is successfully removed by the skillful physician without pain or injury to the patient.
“Trichina is a parasite much more to be dreaded even than the tape-worm. It is liable to infect the human system in such numbers as not only to be very painful, but fatal; and we believe there is no known remedy. It is encysted in the flesh of the animal, in a dormant state, like the tape-worm. When the trichina enters the human stomach, it attaches itself to the mucous membrane and there awakens to all the activity of breeding thousands, if not millions, of its kind. These young trichina at once start out to find a place in which to encyst themselves for a dormant rest and await a resurrection by having the flesh in which they are imbedded eaten by some animal, brute or human, when they will repeat the role of their progenitors.
“It is when passing from the stomach and intestines to the muscles that the trichina give such pain, and frequently cause death. Pushing their way through the tissues, they cause great irritation and inflammation, resulting in death when the effects become unendurable. While in this active state of migration, seeking a home, they are as liable to be found in one class of tissues as in another. Hence, lard that has not been exposed to a heat of at least 212 degrees, Fahrenheit, is just as likely to contain them, if the animal was killed when the trichina were in a state of activity, as in any other part or product of the hog.”
Smoking and Cancer of the Tongue
A WRITER in the British Medical Journal, after referring to the disagreement among surgeons as to whether smoking may be an immediate cause of cancer, remarks that there is a condition of the tongue which in many cases is the precursor of epithelioma, and this disease is more generally considered to be caused by smoking. The fact is pointed out that among seventy-five recorded cases all but five were smokers.—New York Observer.
Tobacco and Corpulency.
It turns out that the popular notion that the use of tobacco will prevent corpulency is a deception, except when it interferes with healthy nutrition. On the contrary, Dr. Child says that a very gentle effect of its use is fatty degeneration of the muscles, especially those of the heart.
Persons whose systems are saturated with tobacco are very slow in recovering from sprains or bruises of the muscles, nor do they bear surgical operations well. But the most serious effect is “tobacco heart,” which is a rupture of this organ from the deposit of fat cells in the fibres of the muscles, which destroy their integrity, and is immediately fatal. It occurs mostly in young persons. Another effect of tobacco is a tendency to produce cancerous affections. Fat is the lowest healthy tissue; its uses being to store up the means of nourishment. As for the effects of tobacco on human endurance it is well known to athletes, who are never allowed to use the weed or alcohol when under training, and in confirmation of the wisdom of this precaution, Edward Hanlan, the champion sculler of the world, says:
“In my opinion the best physical performances can only be secured through the absolute abstinence from the use of alcohol and tobacco. I believe that the use of liquor and tobacco has a most injurious effect upon the system of an athlete by irritating the vitals and consequently weakening the system.”
—Christian at Work.
Labor and Drink.
GEN. SWIFT addressed the Young Men’s Union of Boston on the wage question. He said that $37,000,000 was spent in Massachusetts last year for intoxicating drinks. A majority of this enormous sum came out of the industrial class. He also said that the saloon can live only as it lives on the wages of the community; that the saloon is opposed to everything for which we organize government, and that while in every other business in this country the laborer averages twenty per cent., in the sale of liquor he gets only two per cent. His conclusions, like that of all thinking men, was that when labor wakes up to the real facts, it will find the saloon to be its greatest enemy, and will declare that the saloon must go. If wage-earners were truly wise, their first great fight would be against the saloon. In fact, already one great labor organization allows no liquor-dealer to join it. All the rest would do well to follow this example.—Work at Home.
Milk As a Stimulant.
MILK heated to much above 100 degrees Fahrenheit loses for a time a degree of its sweetness and density. No one who, fatigued by over exertion of body and mind, has ever experienced the reviving influence of a tumbler of this beverage, heated as hot as it can be sipped, will willingly forego a resort to it because of its being rendered somewhat less acceptable to the palate. The promptness with which its cordial influence is felt is indeed surprising. Some portion of it seems to be digested and appropriated almost immediately, and many who now fancy they need alcoholic stimulants when exhausted by fatigue will find in this ample draught an equivalent that will be abundantly satisfying and far more enduring in its effects.—Medical Record.