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Signs of the Times, Vol. 32, No. 50.

DECIDE FOR GOD NOW
Earlier text: DECIDE FOR GOD NOW

FROM THE LAPIDARY'S TABLE. NO. 3.

By Gualterio

"Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect." Matt. 5:48.
THAT man might be as perfect in his sphere of existence as the great God, his Creator, is in His divine estate, was the design of the Architect of this earth when He created man and placed him in his Eden home. But disobedience to one of the laws of his spiritual life changed the relationship of man to his Maker, because by his own act he cut off his spiritual life and rendered himself subject to death—a one-sided, imperfect being. And the longer he has lived to fulfil the imaginings of his perverted life, the farther he has gone from his original estate. Truly the words of Inspiration are fitly spoken: "God hath made man upright; but they have sought out many inventions." Eccl. 7:29. Those inventions which have served most to his undoing have been in the realm of religion, seeking to quiet the guilty throbbing of his conscience by "giving his first-born for his transgression, the fruit of his body for the sin of his soul;" setting up for his worship, howsoever unwittingly it might be, some embodiment of himself. It has been one constant endeavor of the human family—from Cain, man's first offspring—to establish a standing in the court of the invisible Potentate of the universe by some work of their own devising. This seems to have been in order that they might escape accomplishing the end desired by acknowledging their own utter helplessness. And this in face of the fact that ever since Adam perverted his being to satisfy a selfish desire God has, by precept and example, made plain the way to the development of the only character that will stand the test of Heaven's law.
Man has ever failed to estimate at its true value the havoc wrought by his failure to keep the divine law; and, to insure against any possible misunderstanding, the Lord has often and plainly stated man's impotency. Witness these statements:
"O Lord, I know that the way of man is not in himself; it is not in man that walketh to direct his steps." Jer. 10:23.
"Unto the pure all things are pure; but unto them that are defiled and unbelieving is nothing pure; but even their mind and conscience is defiled." Titus 1:15.
"Their feet run to evil, and they make haste to shed innocent blood; their thoughts are thoughts of iniquity; wasting and destruction are in their paths." Isa. 59:7.
"Having eyes full of adultery, and that can not cease from sin; beguiling unstable souls; an heart they have exercised with covetous practises; cursed children." 2 Peter 2:14.
"Their throat is an open sepulcher; with their tongues they have used deceit; the poison of asps is under their lips," Rom. 3:13.
"The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked; who can know it?" Jer. 17:9.
And yet, notwithstanding man's utter depravity by natural birthright, God has provided a way by which he may be redeemed to the uttermost and reinstated in his lost dominion. Yea, more; He has provided a way by which man is exalted by adoption to sonship of the eternal God and joint-heirship with Jesus to all the glories of the universe. Shall we exclaim with Nicodemus, "How can these things be?" What saith the Saviour?—"With men it is impossible, but not with God; for with God all things are possible."
Of those who have fulfilled the expectations of the Lord, and have finally come off victorious over sin, it is triumphantly declared in the heavens: "These are they which came out of great tribulation, and have washed their robes, and made them white in the blood of the Lamb." Rev. 7:14.
Thus we understand when the Lord says to the lost man, "Wash thine heart from wickedness, that thou mayest be saved," that a Fountain for cleansing has been opened for all men, but that it is optional with them whether they will avail themselves of the boon freely bestowed. "Not that we are sufficient of ourselves to think anything as of ourselves," says the apostle Paul, "but our sufficiency is of God." "For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of His good pleasure." 2 Cor. 3:5; Phil. 2:13.
A writer of our time very clearly sets before us the conditions which obtain in this matter of choice:
"In the work of redemption there is no compulsion. No external force is employed. Under the influence of the Spirit of God, man is left free to choose whom he will serve. In the change that takes place when the soul surrenders to Christ, there is the highest sense of freedom. The expulsion of sin is the act of the soul itself. True, we have no power to free ourselves from Satan's control; but when we desire to be set free from sin, and in our great need cry out for a power out of and above ourselves, the powers of the soul are imbued with the divine energy of the Holy Spirit, and they obey the dictates of the will in fulfilling the will of God."—"Desire of Ages," page 466.
"All true obedience comes from the heart. It was heart-work with Christ. And if we consent, He will so identify Himself with our thoughts and aims, so blend our hearts and minds into conformity to His will, that when obeying Him we shall be but carrying out our own impulses. The will, refined and sanctified, will find its highest delight in doing His service. When we know God as it is our privilege to know Him, our life will be a life of continual obedience. Through an appreciation of the character of Christ, through communion with God, sin will become hateful to us."—Id., page 668.
And now consider, if you please, some of the ways in which God has signified His willingness to fortify man against possible failure.
"And I will give them one heart, and I will put a new Spirit within you; and I will take the stony heart out of their flesh, and will give them an heart of flesh." Eze. 11:19.
"For I the Lord thy God will hold thy right hand, saying unto thee, Fear not; I will help thee." Isa. 41:13.
"For this God is our God forever and ever; He will be our guide even unto death." Ps. 48:14.
"When the enemy shall come in like a flood, the Spirit of the Lord shall lift up a standard against him." Isa. 59:19.
"According to the word that I covenanted with you when ye came out of Egypt, so My Spirit remaineth among you; fear ye not." Hag. 2:5.
In fact, God has so far united divinity with humanity that he says, "Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus." And ever since the fall in Eden men have lived in enjoyment of all the privileges made possible by these promises of God. To the antedeluvian world Enoch was an example of what all men might be. Of him the record says, "Enoch walked with God." Gen. 5:24.
Of Moses it is said, "He endured, as seeing Him who is invisible." Heb. 11:27. Of the Corinthians it is said, "Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit which is of God; that we might know the things that are freely given to us of God. . . . We have the mind of Christ." 1 Cor. 2:12-16.
Christ was a perfect Man and walked with God. How did He do it?—The four Gospels are an ample record. He was a diligent and thorough student of the Scriptures. Luke 24:44. He resorted often and earnestly to lengthened seasons of prayer. Mark 1:35. He lived as a man of God's opportunity, demonstrating by precept and example that the Gospel He proclaimed is "the power of God unto salvation," which enables a man to overcome sin at all times and in all places, irrespective of environment or conditions.
Without question, failure to attain to Christian perfection results from neglect, in part or in whole, to study into the details of the Christ life. He is our example in life and doctrine. Follow Him step by step in prophecy and fulfillment. There is power in His life, and this is given to men so that all the commands of God embrace power to do. To us He says, "Be ye perfect;" and so surely as the paralytic walked at the command of Christ, we may obtain the victory by yielding a cheerful obedience. "For if there be first a willing mind, it is accepted according to that a man hath." 2 Cor. 8:12.
Reader, can we longer question the purpose of God in our behalf, or the possibility of its attainment?—"Having therefore these promises, dearly beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God." 2 Cor. 7:1.
"Reach for the things above—to those who climb Steps ne'er are wanting; ever the sublime Allures us onward, and our lives will be Just what we make them, to eternity." Mountain View, Cal. GUALTERIO.

TWO CORDS.

By Lilian S. Marden

O LORD, attune our hearts of flesh In true accord to Thee, Let every pulse beat to Thy will, In Thee our Liberty.
For flesh is as the flower of grass By winds soon blown away, In Thee alone we love and live, If living we obey.
O Lord, be to our fleshly minds The true transforming Key, For carnal mind is enmity To law and life in Thee.
So tune our hearts and minds, O Lord, Thy servants humbly plead, For only thus may we fulfil The tasks that lie in need.
So take these cords and blend in one, In harmony to stay, Thus may we reap the harvest ripe Before the close of day.
Until the sheaves are garnered in, Until Thy house is full, Be Thou our strength, O Lord, we plead, And make us white like wool.
LILIAN S. MARDEN.

A SHORT WORK.

By H. A. St. John

"For He will finish the work, and cut it short in righteousness; because a short work will the Lord make upon the earth." Rom. 9:28.
AS the Lord has all eternity in which to work, and all power with which to work, it is obvious that He can use as little time or as much time as He chooses in which to do anything. In the above text He has told us that He will cut His work on the earth short in righteousness. Now it is revealed in the Scriptures that the Lord will finish His work on the earth by and with His remnant people. Hence, for the Lord to do a great work on the earth quickly, with His people, it is necessary that His people

1. Get Righteousness Quickly.

To be filled with the righteousness of Christ we must hunger and thirst for it. All such are blessed while they thus hunger and thirst, and they "shall be filled," saith the Lord. And when thus filled, and not till then, the Lord can use His people to do a great work quickly. Let every soul that would come up to the help of the Lord in this mighty, closing, and short work, get righteousness quickly and then

2. Get Rich Quickly.

The Laodicean church now think themselves rich, increased with goods, and have need of nothing. But Jesus says they are "wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked," and hence, have need of everything. Then Jesus counsels us to be zealous and repent, and to buy of Him gold tried in the fire, white raiment, and eye-salve, and then we shall be rich indeed. Faith and love, the righteousness of Christ, the fulness of the Holy Spirit,—these are the only true riches, and they await our demand and reception. Reader, get a clear view of the inestimable value of the true riches so freely offered you, and then heed the injunction of Jesus, to get rich quickly. Then you may next

3. Get Well Quickly.

The remnant church, who shall get the righteousness and riches of Christ, who shall be filled with all the fulness of God, who shall rise and shine, and upon whom the glory of the Lord shall be seen, will become the healthiest people on earth, not one feeble person among them. Their light has broken forth as the morning, and like the sun they have arisen like a strong man to run a race, with rejoicing, and their health shall spring forth speedily. Then they will be fully and wholly in the hands of the Lord, and hence can

4. Get His Work Done Quickly.

The Lord will then have fully in His hand and at His service the instrumentality by which He will cut His work short in righteousness in the earth. The whole earth will then be quickly lightened with His glory, and the Gospel of the kingdom will be preached in all the world, for a witness unto all nations, and then will the end come. And then will come the glad hour when all the redeemed host, whether they wake or sleep, will

5. Get Glorified Quickly.

Our glorified Saviour will then appear in great glory, with all the angels of glory. In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, the resurrected saints and the living saints will be changed from mortality to immortality, their mortal bodies fashioned like unto Christ's glorious body. They will all hear the blessed words, "Well done," and will be glorified quickly. It is then that every one of the glorified saints will ardently desire to

6. Get to Jesus Quickly.

They will behold Christ in the heavens above, surrounded with the innumerable hosts of shining angels, and their yearning hearts will go out toward Him, and they will long to get to Him quickly. They hear Him say to the angel host, who ever hear and obey His commands with alacrity and delight, "Gather My saints together unto Me." With what ecstatic joy will the glorified saints be caught up by the holy angels to meet the Lord in the air; and so shall they ever be with the Lord. Jesus comes quickly, and quickly His saints, shining like the sun, are in His glorified presence. Then
He looks upon the travail of His soul, the work of their redemption completed, and He is satisfied. Who can describe that greeting of loved ones long unseen? Who can describe that meeting of Redeemer and redeemed? The next glorious aspiration of this glorified throng of redeemed ones will be to

7. Get to Paradise Quickly.

Paul, in holy vision, out of the body, was caught up to the third heaven,—caught up to Paradise,—but all the overcomers, all together, and all at one time, will be caught up to the third heaven,—or to Paradise,—not in vision, but personally, really, bodily. And they go not for a brief visit, to hear and see remarkable things and return, but they go to stay, to reign with Christ. And they will go quickly. If it takes a whole week of seven days to make the heavenly journey, how swiftly will the days go by! No dangers can imperil the journey. He who stilled the tempest with a word will lead the way. The wonderful works of God will be seen all around. Homeward bound! Thus the innumerable host of glorified ones will keep one glorious Sabbath on their shining way, and all together under the never-ending blessing of keeping the commandments of God, with songs and everlasting joy upon their heads, will enter the Paradise of God, their eternal home. Evermore by Immanuel's side they will dwell in a rapture of love. The quicklies of the work of redemption will then be in the past. A millennium of glory, and an eternity of unalloyed bliss, will be their everlasting portion.
Reader, are you traveling this shining pathway, that shineth more and more unto the perfect day?
  1. Get righteousness quickly. 1 Cor. 15:34.
  2. Get rich quickly. Rev. 3:18.
  3. Get well quickly. Isa. 58:8.
  4. Get His work done quickly. Rom. 9:28.
  5. Get glorified quickly. 1 Cor. 15:51; Phil. 3:21.
  6. Get to Jesus quickly. 1 Thess. 4:17.
  7. Get to Paradise quickly. Rev. 2:7; 22:14. H. A. ST. JOHN.

THE HEAVENLY SOWING.

By Horatio Bonar

SOWER DIVINE! Sow the good seed in me, Seed for eternity. 'Tis a rough, barren soil, Yet by Thy care and toil, Make it a fruitful field An hundredfold to yield. Sower Divine, Plow up this heart of mine!
Sower Divine! Quit not this wretched field Till Thou hast made it yield; Sow Thou by day and night, In darkness and in light. Stay not Thy hand, but sow; Then shall the harvest grow. Sower Divine, Sow deep this heart of mine!
Sower Divine! Let not this barren clay Lead Thee to turn away; Let not my fruitlessness Provoke Thee not to bless; Let not this field be dry, Refresh it from on high. Sower Divine, Water this heart of mine! —Horatio Bonar.

THE WALLS OF THE NEW JERUSALEM.

By Helen Maud Merrill-Phelps

"And the foundations of the wall of the city were garnished with all manner of precious stones." Rev. 21.9.
O to be worthy to know them, To read the emblems, divine,— To learn the beautiful lesson As it lies there, line on line.
Jasper Crimson at the beginning, Color of passion and pain; Emblem of the Life without sinning, Proof of eternal gain.
Sapphire Up from the crimson comes the blue, Speaking of calmness and truth, The "old, old story," ever new, The immortal guide for youth.
Chalcedony The fair white pearl of glistening white, Where purity is enshrined,— A gleaming ray from living light, A bit of heaven confined.
Emerald Next flashes out the deep, full green, The hope of glory telling; Like hints of grander things, unseen, Like angel anthems swelling.
Sardonyx Then they mingle and alternate, Purity, Pain, and Glory! Breathing of things consecrate— Of the wonderful Life Story.
Sardius The deep red of perfect love Triumphant over passion Tells of the holy law above,— The Father's kind compassion.
Chrysolite Now the tints grow clear and clearer, Golden-green, like sunset's crest, Tells of heaven, near and nearer, Of a glory manifest.
Beryl And again the blue is blending, More ethereal, more serene, Upward, ever upward tending To the holy and unseen.
Topaz Then the radiant golden gleaming, Like the light of perfect day, Tells that life is real, not dreaming, And for each to seek the Way.
Chrysoprasus Next the radiant flame and azure, Mingling, tell the joy of God; Of the Peace, beyond all measure, For His loved ones 'neath the rod.
Jacinth Then the purple, promise-freighted, Gives a glorious hope to those Of earth's children who have waited Patiently through heavy woes.
Amethyst Last upon the wall of heaven Amethyst of purest hue Seals the covenant God hath given, Proves the rainbow promise true. HELEN MAUD MERRILL-PHELPS.

WHAT THIS SIN WILL COST.

By Sunday School Times

WE can not sin and then go back to where we were before. Every sin is a losing of life-forces. It has been said that each time a person has what is called a "cold," there is a permanent impairment of his vitality. Whether that is so or not, it is true that every time a man sins, he has permanently impaired his spiritual vitality, his powers of resistance, for this world at least. God in Christ will forgive his sin, and has released him from the eternal death penalty of that sin; but God Himself can not, or will not, restore him to all that he was before he had sinned.
If a man loses an arm or a leg in a drunken brawl, the sin of that drunkenness will, if he wishes, be forgiven, but the arm or the leg will not be restored. Nor will innocence lost through sin ever return; and the cutting word can never be unsaid, though forgiven. The loss is not only in first sins, it is in every sin. All that we can do is to take God's second-best, or third-best, or tenth-best, after our sin-failures, when He wanted us to have His best. In the day that is still ahead, which shall we choose?

GIVE THANKS.

By Luella L. Harmon

LET us make every day of the year a Thanksgiving Day, “giving thanks always for all things unto God and the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ;” for “we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to His purpose.”
It is easy to give God our thanks when we can see things working out according to our own wills, when everything looks bright and promising; easy to thank Him for wealth, health, and friends, and for pleasant home relations; but do we thank Him for misfortunes and afflictions? Are you poor? Thank God for poverty. There are many beautiful promises to the poor,—promises that none but the poor can claim. You do not have to worry over the woes and calamities pronounced upon the rich. Jesus was poor.
Are you persecuted? Thank God for persecution if it is for obeying His Word. You may claim the promises that only the persecuted can claim. Jesus was persecuted. Are you hated by those who should be friends and loved ones? Thank God for it. You need not worry over the wo pronounced upon all men whom the world praises and speaks well of. Jesus was hated by His own people.
Do you mourn? Thank God for sorrows that melt the heart. Those who mourn can claim Christ’s promise of comfort to mourners. Are you weary and burdened? Thank God, only the weary and burdened are invited to go to Jesus for rest.
Are you sick or lame or blind? Thank God for that; for you have all the blessed promises of healing, and the privilege of being healed by the greatest of all Physicians.
Let us thank God always, “choosing rather to suffer afflictions with the people of God, than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season,” “for our light affliction, which is but for a moment, worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory.”
“Many are the afflictions of the righteous; but the Lord delivereth him out of them all.”
LUELLA L. HARMON.

DECEIVING CHILDREN.

WHILE passing along the streets one day, I heard two little boys, apparently about seven years of age, conversing very earnestly. "My mother says," one was saying, and I lost the rest of the sentence; but the other replied, "Your mother is different from my mother." I could but wonder if those mothers mistrusted the notes their children were daily taking of their ways and words.
Parents are often ignorant or thoughtless of the keen observation of children. A little girl was once visiting me, and at night, before I put her in bed, I heard her say her prayers, and prayed with her. One day she told me an untruth. I called her to me and told her that it was wicked to tell what was not true, and that in that beautiful home the Lord is preparing for His children, whoever "loveth and maketh a lie" can never enter.
She listened intelligently, and with intense interest, and asked many questions while I told her about the celestial city, as it is described in the Word of God. After awhile she asked very earnestly:
"Won't folks that lie go there?"
"Not unless they repent and ask God to forgive them," I answered.
"Then my mother won't go there!" she exclaimed, "for she tells lies."
I was astonished and shocked, for I knew her mother did say things "in fun" that were not strictly true, but I had no idea that the child noticed it.
It recalled to my mind the first lesson in deception I ever learned. When I was a little more than two years old I went with friends to sit for my daguerreotype, and as it was next to impossible to keep me still long enough to have it taken, they told me that if I sat perfectly still and looked steadily at the camera for two minutes, a little bird would come out which I might have.
I sat still and looked until I ached all over. At last I was told that I might move, and I jumped from the chair and called for the bird. After awhile they showed me the picture and told me that was the bird; and I distinctly remember to-day how angry I was when I realized that I had been deceived. They led me home between them; I screamed at the top of my voice, not so much at the disappointment of not receiving the bird, as in anger at the deception practised upon me. I remember, too, for a long time afterward when those who had deceived me would tell me anything, I did not believe it.
It is a sad thing when the simple trust of childhood is destroyed, and upon the impressionable little heart is stamped doubt, suspicion, and deceit.
Parents stand to the child in the place of God. The child looks up to them as the embodiment of wisdom and truth, and will in all things have implicit confidence in them until it is betrayed. Perhaps some Christian parents who tearfully and with deep groanings wonder why their sons and daughters have forsaken their mother's God and rejected their father's Bible, if they could trace effect to cause, would see that the first seeds of skepticism, and guile, and wilfulness were sown by their own thoughtless hands in the days of the trusting childhood of their children.
"I never yet deceived my child," said the mother of a bright, inquisitive little girl, who wanted to know the whys and wherefores of everything she saw or thought of.
"How do you get along when she asks questions that you can not with propriety answer?" I inquired.
"I tell her all I can conscientiously," replied the mother, "and tell her to wait till she is older, and then, perhaps, she will understand all about it."
"Do you never tell her that it is improper to ask so many questions?" I asked.
"Seldom," replied the good woman, "for I'd rather she would come to me for information than to go to any one else, as I fear she might be tempted to do."
How happy will that mother be in years to come, if, as the fruit of her own truthfulness, she can say, My child never deceived me.—Selected.

GREATER BLESSINGS.

By Mrs. D. A. Fitch

THE world should waken to the fact that some steps must be taken to increase physical powers and prolong life. The whole human family has plunged deeper and deeper into sin, until so thoroughly benumbed by such abuses they do not realize that there is within the grasp a better earthly life, and eternal possibilities not beyond the reach. Degraded and paralyzed as we have become, there is yet provided for us glorious things if we will but ask for them. Heaven is full of blessings for each of us if we will but reach up and take them.
There are earthly blessings to be had as cheaply. The Department of Agriculture at Washington, D. C., publishes a large number of bulletins containing information needed by farmers, housekeepers, cooks, and all are free for the asking. Who would be so foolish as to refuse to ask, fearing he might bankrupt the government?
Just so our heavenly Dispenser of blessings stands ready to give many things that will help His children. And we need not fear that He is not able to grant all we ask. As in the case of the Department of Agriculture, He will not compel acceptance, yet He is true to His word. No one need fear a failure of the promised supplies, for giving does not impoverish, nor withholding enrich, Heaven's supply house.
MRS. D. A. FITCH.

HE STANDS BY MY SIDE.

By Flora E. Yergin

HE stands by my side at the dawning fair,— The Master who knoweth my grief and care; A promise He gives of His love all true, And my heart is singing the whole day through.
He stands by my side in the noonday glare, When the cross is hard and heavy to bear; His voice is sweet as the voice of spring, He says, 'Fear not, but rejoice and sing!'
He stands by my side at the evening hour, And tells of His grace, and His mighty power; He bids me trust through the shades of night, For He'll surely guide to eternal light.
He'll stand by my side all the journey through, For He knows the way, and the trials, too; Then shout, my soul, and be sad no more, For the Master has traveled this way before. FLORA E. YERGIN.

Bank of Mountain View

By Editor

If you haven't already done so, why don't you drop us a postal asking us to send you a copy of our monthly paper, "The Bank of Mountain View Journal." It is very interesting. It is full of good ideas, and it is free to you for the asking. If you live in the East, send for a copy and see how we do it in California. We still hold ourselves ready to furnish you with information about Mountain View. Write us.
Address

Bank of Mountain View

Mountain View, Santa Clara County, California

ENJOYING THE DISAGREEABLE.

THERE is only one enjoyment keener than that which we find in the things that we do easily, and that is the enjoyment of overcoming life’s disagreeable tasks. Said a housekeeper concerning a household duty: “I disliked to scour the knives, and sometimes would wash them and lay them aside till a whole dozen would be frowning darkly at me. But once when I had put a few away, suddenly I felt that it was wrong, and I brought them back and made them shine. And ever since, I have liked that part of the work best of all, because I always feel as I did when I was little, and father used to pat me on the shoulder when he was pleased.”
It takes character, and it makes character, to get to liking the knife-scouring part “best of all.” But how much more sensible it is to learn to like what we must do anyway!—Sunday School Times.

RESISTED.

FOUR young men, clerks and students, while on a summer vacation tramp through northern New England, engaged, as guide to a certain romantic waterfall, a boy named Forrest Graves.
Forrest was a fine, athletic fellow, and could outwalk and outclimb any amateur in the mountains; and his moral courage was quite equal to his physical health and strength.
After he had guided the young men to the waterfall and they had satisfied themselves with sight-seeing, they invited him to lunch with them.
"Thank you, I have my own lunch," and the boy went away by himself. Later, when full justice had been done to their repast, and a flask of brandy had furnished each of the young men with a stimulating draught, Graves was called.
"You must drink with us, if you will not eat with us," now said the owner of the flask, and the most reckless of the party.
"No, sir; thank you," was the boy's courteous response.
"But I insist upon it," said the young man.
"You can do as you please about drinking; but I can not drink," replied Graves.
The young man sprang to his feet and with a bound stood beside the boy, too much absorbed in his own purpose to heed the quivering lips and flashing eyes of the other.
"Now you are bound to try my brandy. I always rule," he exclaimed.
"You can't rule me," was the brave reply.
These words were scarcely uttered when the flask was seized and hurled into the stream. Then a clear, defiant tone rang out:
"I did it in self-defense! You had no right to tempt me. My father was once a rich and honorable man, but he died a miserable drunkard, and my mother came here to live to keep me away from liquor till I should be old enough to take care of myself. I have promised her a hundred times I wouldn't taste it, and I'd die before I'd break my promise!"
"Bravely said! Forgive me, and let us shake hands. My mother would be a happy woman if I were as brave as you. I wouldn't tempt you to do wrong. I shall never forget you, nor the lesson you have taught me."
The most reckless was the most generous, and seeing his error, apologized frankly.
How many boys need to be kept from strong drink, and alas, how many men and women! Who dare tempt them?—Anon.

HOW TO KILL RATS.

An Oklahoma farmer uses this method of cleaning out rats: "On each of a large number of old shingles I put about a half a teaspoonful of molasses, and on that, with my pocket-knife, I scraped a small amount of concentrated lye. I then placed the shingles around under the stable floors and under the cribs. The next morning I found forty dead rats and the rest had left for parts unknown. I have cleared my farms of the pests in the same way, and I have never known it to fail."—Selected.

KIND WORDS.

By Ella Cornish

God gives kind words, but not to hold Like miser's hoarded, worthless gold; He bids us speak—O speak to-day— To those who faint beside the way, And fill each hungry heart with love, That links the soul with heaven above. ELLA CORNISH.

Opium in China

By Editor

Opium in China.—We most earnestly hope that the reform which the imperial edict points out will be thoroughly executed in the Celestial Empire. The regulations are exceedingly stringent. It is said that one-tenth of the ground now used for the cultivation of the poppy must be used for other purposes each year under penalty of confiscation, and that this shall be so carried out that at the end of ten years no more opium shall be produced in China. Every person using opium must be registered, and only registered persons can buy it. Persons over sixty years old will be permitted to continue the use of the drug; those under sixty must decrease the use of it at the rate of twenty per cent. annually, and all high officials under sixty must set a date at which they will give up the habit. Teachers, scholars, soldiers, and sailors must abstain after three months. Opium dens must be closed in six months, and the drug will be sold only by government officials on physician's prescriptions or to authorized persons. American law-breakers, we are inclined to think, would laugh at the idea of carrying out all these particulars, but it may be our yellow friends in the East will do better. We hope so; it is one of the greatest curses of China.

The Bixby Hotel Collapse

Mr. John B. Leonard, C.E., architect and engineer of California, has by careful investigation learned, and so published in a pamphlet, with illustrations, that the Bixby Hotel, at Long Beach, Cal., a portion of which recently collapsed in a storm, and which has been pointed to as a failure of reinforced concrete structure, was improperly constructed. In other words, the building was not at all a proper type of a reinforced concrete structure. Mr. Leonard's address is 621 Monadnock Building, San Francisco.

Enforcement of Anti-trust Laws.

There has seemed to be some effectual work done in the enforcement of the laws against the great trusts last month. For instance, the United States Circuit Court of New York has imposed fines upon the New York Central Railroad Company, aggregating $108,000, for paying rebates on freight, especially sugar.

FOR SALE.

Fine fruit ranch; 10 acres in apricots, cherries, prunes, all bearing. Orchard under irrigation. Good seven-roomed house, tank house, good barn. Other general improvements. Located 2½ miles from Mountain View, Cal., on Rural Free Delivery Route. For full particulars address, care of "F," SIGNS OF THE TIMES, Mountain View, Cal.

Personally Conducted

Tourist Cars

ON THE

UNION PACIFIC

Operate daily between principal Eastern points and California. The route of the Overland Limited.
S. F. BOOTH, General Agent, San Francisco, Cal.
E. L. LOMAX, G. P. A. Omaha, Neb.
Continue reading: Overland Limited