I AM glad to think
I am not bound to make the world go right,
But only to discover and to do,
With cheerful heart, the work that God appoints.
I will trust in Him,
That He can hold His own; and I will take
His will above the work He sendeth me,
To be my chiefest good.
—Anon.
DICTIONARY OF THE BIBLE
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OUR WORK AND WORKERS.
By Editor
At the recent camp-meeting at Allentown, Pa., twenty-one persons were baptized.
ON the 16th ult. two candidates were baptized at Cheswold, Del., making twelve at that place in about ten weeks’ time.
FROM the Keystone Gleaner we learn that the church school at Williamsport, Pa., has commenced its first term with very encouraging prospects.
SUNDAY evening, the 1st inst., Brother A. E. Place, president of Atlantic Conference, began a series of doctrinal discourses in Brooklyn, N. Y.
IOWA CONFERENCE is coming to the front in the matter of church schools. The Bulletin of the 3d inst. notes four—at Des Moines, Grant City, Iowa City, Sandyville.
WE note with gratitude the success of the brethren in Belfast, Ireland, in selling our London contemporary, the Present Truth. One brother recently reported a sale of 120 copies in one day.
BROTHER J. G. SMITH says that the success of the church school at Swank Prairie, Wash., shows the hand of God guiding His people. He also notes the addition of eight souls to the North Yakima church, by baptism.
IT was resolved at the late session of Nebraska Conference to select a suitable person for some foreign mission field, pay his transportation, and support him from the conference treasury—the field of labor to be selected by the Foreign Mission Board.
THE brethren in Washington, D. C., have commenced a church school, and Brother K. C. Russell notes that they have now four such schools in the Chesapeake Conference, with a prospect for others. Two persons were baptized in Washington on the 23d ult.
AT the recent session of Nebraska Conference, officers were elected as follows: President, N. P. Nelson; secretary and treasurer, J. F. Beatty; executive committee, N. P. Nelson, George M. Brown, G. A. Kirkle, A. S. Baird, G. Mathiesen; missionary secretary, Mary F. Beatty; missionary agent, O. E. Cummings.
A HEALTH food factory is to be established near Redhill, Surrey, England, about twenty-three miles from London, where a complete plant already installed for milling purposes, including water-power, with auxiliary steam-power, has now been secured. Within half a mile of this plant Drs. Kress have secured a large house, where they can receive patients and also continue the work of training nurses.
CONCERNING the World’s Harvest number of the SIGNS, Brother J. W. Westphal, president of Kansas Conference, writes: "I am sure that this is an important move. Much more should be done for this important paper, the SIGNS, than has yet been done. We will do what we can for it in this State. I think that there are greater possibilities before us than there were last year. Our last year’s experience in this matter will help us in this."
"The cities are teeming with iniquity. Satan suggests that it is impossible to do any good within their borders, and so they are sadly neglected. But there are lost pearls there whose value you can not realize until you earnestly seek to find them. There might be one hundred where there is but one, seeking diligently, prayerfully, and with intense interest, to find the pearls that are buried in the rubbish of these cities." Is this testimony true? If it is—and who will say that it is not?—then is it expecting too much to count on at least a score of workers in each of our larger cities who will spend at least two weeks in selling the World’s Harvest number of the SIGNS, the pioneer of the important work above noted?
PERIODICALS WANTED.
JOSEPHINE GRANNIS, box 508, Orlando, Fla., desires copies of SIGNS, Sentinels, Reviews, Instructors, and health publications, post-paid, for use in racks in railroad depots and other places.
COPIES of the SIGNS, Sentinel, Review, etc., for missionary work by Florida Tract Society, Orlando, Fla.
Prophetic Lights
By Editor
If you want a real help in the study of prophecy, you will find it in Dr. E. J. Waggoner’s book,
“Prophetic Lights”
Heavy paper-cover edition - $0 50
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EATING FOR THE GLORY OF GOD.
By David Paulson, M.D.
WE may take a view of some of the rational remedies that aid the patient to a recovery of his health. One of the most important of these would be a pure, simple, and wholesome diet, the fundamental principle of which is to "eat for strength and not for drunkenness." When people begin to eat food simply to satisfy taste, they are running off the road of health on a tangent that is going to lead them to destruction if they persist in it, for it will lead them down to both physical and moral ruin. If they will eat and drink simply for their own pleasure, they will do other things from the same motive, and those who live in pleasure are "dead while they live."
We should ascertain what food builds up the brain and the bodily energy, makes the eyes bright, and puts color in the cheeks. Such are the foods that everybody should use, whether sick or well. As a general principle, when we have found out what foods will tend to make us well, we have found out the foods that will keep us well.
Some time ago one of our patients said he would do whatever he was told to do, in order to secure health; that he was even willing to eat sawdust, if by so doing he could be benefited. I told him it was not sawdust that he needed, and then pointed out to him what food I considered to be adapted to his case. "How long shall I continue eating this food?" he asked. I told him he must continue it as long as he lived, and assured him that if he had always eaten this kind of food he would not have come here. This seemed to puzzle him, and he asked, "Do you eat this kind of food all the time?" And I replied that I certainly did; that I did not want to eat anything else. But, as a matter of fact, in reference to diet he had wandered so far away into by and forbidden paths that the right road actually seemed repulsive to him. DAVID PAULSON, M.D.
DOING HIS BEST.
By Sydney Dare
"YES, dear, if you can only keep that situation we shall get along very well."
"Keep it! I must keep it." Robert spoke with determination. "It will take me a long while, mother, to forget the walks I have taken up and down these streets looking for something to do. If my very best trying will keep it, you may be sure that there I will stick."
"Your best trying will include a great deal when others have a right to your time and efforts."
"Of course, mother, I shall keep honestly in view the interest of my employer."
Robert had found a situation at the muslin counter of a large dry-goods house. It took him some little time to acquaint himself with the qualities of goods which he sometimes thought were more in the line of women's work. But he remembered that a person who can not do what he likes must do what he can. Unable through force of circumstances to choose his employment, he wisely resolved to do his very best with what came to his hand. As to what that best might be, he soon found that his opinion slightly differed from that of his employer.
"You needn't be so particular in measuring the goods for a customer," said Mr. Merrill one day. "All these are assumed to be a yard wide."
"But she asked me the width," replied Robert.
"Then you should have simply said that they are a yard-wide goods."
"But some of them fall a little short, sir."
"What is that to you?" Mr. Merrill spoke with a little impatience. "It is your place to sell goods, not to be too particular about the width of them. There isn't one customer in a hundred that will go home and measure her goods if she thinks that in a general way the width is all right."
"In a general way." Robert knew what was meant, for he had heard some of the ways by which some of the clerks, without telling an exact falsehood, clearly avoided telling the exact truth. "I don't feel at all sure I've got a place," Robert concluded in great discouragement after, during the first few weeks, he had several times given offense to his employer, by acting firmly upon his own sense of what alone is up to the very letter and spirit of fair and honest dealing. The time seemed to have come to him, which comes to so many, in which a choice must be made between worldly gain and the loyal standing by the fixed principles of right and wrong in which he had been trained.
"It seems to me this piece of goods is not the same make as the last I bought of you."
The question was asked by a lady who frequently came to Robert's counter, and always made liberal purchases, without haggling over prices, or giving unreasonable trouble.
"No, ma'am, it is not," said Robert.
"Have you any more of the same?"
"No, we have sold it out."
"Do you think this," pointing to a piece she had been examining, "is as good? It doesn't seem so to me, but if you will assure me that it is I will take it."
Robert caught sight of his employer within easy hearing distance. Mr. Merrill had a way, a good way it is too, of keeping his own eye over his own interests, and for one moment the boy hesitated. Quickly to his mind came the thought of going home to tell his mother that he had lost his situation, for which he had searched and waited so long. Nothing else in the place, he felt sure, was open to him. The leaving Mr. Merrill's would mean leaving his home and his widowed mother to find employment elsewhere. By a few smooth words and a trifling evasion he could easily lead Mrs. Denby to believe he thought what he did not think. That was one side of it.
But there was a better, nobler side, and Robert will never cease to be thankful for the grace granted him in a moment of sore temptation.
"No, ma'am," he quietly answered, "I do not think the quality quite up to what you bought last."
"And yet it is the same price?"
"Yes. The other was a lot of goods Mr. Merrill happened on at a forced sale, and he was able to put them low. I really think, however, that this is about as good as you can get for the money."
"I will look a little further," she said, and went out. Robert, without looking, had felt the angry eyes of his employer, and he now heard his angry voice.
"Is that the way you drive off my customers? This is one of the best I have. She brings in no end of country friends."
"I'm sorry if I've driven her off," said Robert, "but I did the best I could."
"Best you could!" The low tone which Mr. Merrill was obliged to maintain, through danger of being overheard, lent an added rancor to his words. "Have you forgotten that your pay depends largely upon the amount of sales you make?"
"No, sir, I have not."
"It looks as tho you had. Have you thought of looking for another place in which to do your very peculiar 'best'?"13
With a weight at his heart Robert turned to attend to the wants of another customer. He had feared this, and yet had hoped that time would have been given him in which he might have been able to so recommend himself, by faithful and unremitting attention to duty, as to lead Mr. Merrill to overlook the matters of conscience in which he more and more saw they could never agree. But here it was. He was ready to do his very best by Mr. Merrill, but he must do his best by himself also—must persevere in the seeking of the great best which means, first and foremost, faithful service to the Lord. Surely He would reward such service by tender care of His own. And, while still keeping eyes and wits on the alert for the duties of the hour, Robert was able to resolve within himself that nothing should ever turn him from the full measure of that service.
And close upon the determination came the peace growing out of the added resolution to accept such fortune as might come to him as its result, even tho it might be far from what he would have chosen for himself. And, in telling of the sorry outlook to his mother, he found great comfort in her loving words:—
"That's right, my boy. Do your own best, and be ever sure the Lord will do His best by you. Perhaps Mr. Merrill will not turn you off."
"Perhaps so," said Robert. "Mrs. Denby came back later and bought a good lot of the goods, and Mr. Merrill heard her tell me that she would take anything I recommended."
At the end of the month it would have been easily guessed by any one who closely observed Robert as he went to Mr. Merrill's office that his mind was not greatly perturbed as to what might be the result of the interview. Mr. Merrill paid his salary without comment, and was turning to other things when Robert said:—
"You spoke of my looking for another situation at the end of the month, sir."
"Did I?" Mr. Merrill looked as if he had forgotten. "O, yes, we had a little difference of opinion about one or two small matters! But we will let it pass. I do not mind saying you have given very good satisfaction."
"Thank you, sir. But I will give you the month's notice if you please—"
"What's that?" Mr. Merrill gazed at him in surprise. It was he who was accustomed to give the month's notice. Could it be that this boy was leaving his employ of his own will and pleasure?
"Mr. Denby has offered me a place in his hardware store."
"H'm!" Mr. Merrill took a moment for rather chagrined thought as Robert closed the door. "This is Mrs. Denby's work, of course. They know perfectly reliable boys are not found every day. I know it too. But in spite of my knowledge I have let this one slip through my fingers."—Sydney Dare, in the Inland.
THE COMING MAN.
A PAIR of very chubby legs,
Incased in scarlet hose;
A pair of little stubby boots,
With rather doubtful toes;
A little kilt, a little coat—
Cut as a mother can—
And, lo! before us stands in state
The future's "coming man."
His eyes, perchance, will read the stars,
And search the unknown ways;
Perchance the human heart and soul
Will open to their gaze;
Perchance their keen and flashing glance
Will be a nation's light—
Those eyes that now are wistful bent
On some "big fellow's kite."
Ah, the blessing on those little hands,
Whose work is yet undone!
And blessing on those little feet,
Whose race is yet unrun!
And blessing on the little brain
That has not learned to plan!
Whate'er the future holds in store,
God bless the "coming man."
—Anon.
THE TRUE NURTURE AND ADMONITION.
"AND, ye fathers, provoke not your children to wrath; but bring them up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord." Eph. 6:4.
How easy it is in dealing with our children to "provoke" them to "wrath"! But here is a positive command from the Lord against that sort of thing. When we provoke our children to wrath we are not only disobeying God, but are doing the children a great injury.
The apostle shows by this text that we have quoted that the opposite of provoking our children to wrath is to bring them up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord. The nurture of the Lord, and the admonition of the Lord. How great these things are! How much they comprehend! Think of it, Christian parents, our heavenly Father proposes that our children shall have the nurture of the Lord. That is, they are to have the Lord's own nurturing. And not only are they to have the Lord's nurturing, but they are to have the Lord's admonition.
The Lord plainly tells us to bring up our children in His nurture and admonition. The Lord's admonitions and process of nurturing are contained in His Word. They are beautifully, strikingly, and fully illustrated in the life of Christ. Do you study that Word and the divine life of the Master in order that you may give your children what the Lord has already provided for them,—His nurture and His admonition? A.
AN INSTRUCTIVE EXHIBIT.
CHAUNCEY M. DEPEW says: "Twenty-five years ago I knew every man, woman, and child in Peekskill, N. Y. And it has been a study with me to mark boys who started, in every grade of life, with myself to see what became of them. I was up last fall and began to count them over, and it was an instructive exhibit. Some of them became clerks, merchants, manufacturers, lawyers, and doctors. It is remarkable that every one of these that drank is dead, not one living of my age. Barring a few who were taken by sickness, every one who proved a wreck and wrecked his family, did it from rum, and no other cause. Of those who were church-going people, who were steady, who were frugal and thrifty, every one of them owns the house in which he lives, and has something laid by, the interest of which, with his house, would carry him through many a day. When a man becomes debased by gambling or drink, all his finer feelings are crowded out, and the poor women at home suffer—suffer for those whom they love better than life."
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You Have Been Wanting A College Education
By Editor
Do You Want One Still? Then Read Our Offer
We will give you a free scholarship of one year, including board, room, and tuition, in any one of the following colleges or academies:—
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Upon the condition that you secure for us a certain number of yearly subscriptions for THE SIGNS OF THE TIMES, at one dollar ($1.00) each.
The number of subscriptions required to entitle you to a scholarship in Union College, Healdsburg College, Walla Walla College, South Lancaster Academy, Mt. Vernon Academy, and Keene Industrial Academy, is 140. One hundred subscriptions will entitle you to a scholarship in the Southern Industrial School, at Graysville, Tennessee. These subscriptions must be accompanied by the cash, $1.00 for each subscription, and must be sent to us direct.
If you are interested in securing an education without financial expense to yourself, write us for particulars and instructions. We are making you an offer of great intrinsic value,—an offer whose acceptance will mean much in your future usefulness, whatever your field of labor. Send for catalogues to the schools named above, and write us at once in order that you may begin work without delay.
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Subscription Dept. Oakland, Cal.
COVER YOUR OWN UMBRELLA
Don’t throw away your old one—make it new for $1.00. Recovering only takes one minute. No sewing. A clumsy man can do it as well as a clever woman.
TEN DAYS’ FREE TRIAL. Send us $1.00 and we will mail you, PREPAID, a Union Twilled Silk, 26-inch “Adjustable Roof” (28-inch, $1.25; 30-inch, $1.50). If the “Roof” is not all you expected, or hoped for, return AT OUR EXPENSE and get your money back by return mail—no questions asked.
WHAT TO DO.—Take the measure (in inches) of your old umbrella. Count the number of outside ribs. State if the center rod is of steel or wood. Full instructions for putting on the cover will be sent with all orders. Our special price-list of different sizes and qualities mailed on request.
Send for our free book, “Umbrella Economy,” anyway. Your umbrella will wear out some day, and you will be glad that you know about
THE JONES-MULLEN CO., 396-398 Broadway, New York
The Joy of Hymns
By Bishop Wakefield
It is well for a people to have a store of hymns which shall be, in their pure and simple beauty, in their chastened and reverent language, and in their high and holy thoughts, the joy of the young, and the solace of the old, and which may appeal, in the manliness and dignity of their tone, to the hearts and consciences of strong men in the midst of the rush and turmoil of a busy life.—Bishop Wakefield.
IMPERIALISM.
By Paul Pinckney
[Paul Pinckney, in Southern Home Journal.]
Go STAND where the sun-god sets,
Go tent where he wakes again;
Go fence in the earth with bayonets,
And corral the tribes of men.
Go tread in the tracks of Spain,
Of Rome and the dead empires,
Till, drunk with the blood of millions slain,
Ye light your funeral fires.
Ye may dig, no odds how deep;
Ye may delve, no odds how long;
Ye may sin till conscience falls asleep,
And ye think it right that's wrong.
Ye may camp by the heathen's hearth;
Ye may waste his life and lands;
Ye may seize the utmost ends of earth,
And mock him where he stands.
Ay, these and more will ye dare
In quest of the tinsel stakes,
Till your proud conceits shall melt in air,
When the breath that made unmakes.
God gave us the fruitful West,
And strengthened our arms of yore,
But fixed our bounds, at His high behest
With the oceans, shore and shore.
He planted us deep and well;
He builded us strong and great;
From the best of earth our ranks to swell,
He fashioned His chosen state.
And He wrought in Freedom's name;
He gave us Liberty's light.
Shall we barter these for a butcher's shame
And a heathen's poor birthright?
