Earlier text: THE COMING OF THE LORDLESSON 15.—SABBATH, APRIL 14. 1. How old was Isaac when he was married? "And Isaac was forty years old when he took Rebekah to wife, the daughter of Bethuel the Syrian of Padan-aram, the sister to Laban the Syrian." Gen. 25: 20. 2. How old was he when his two sons were born? "And after that came his brother out, and his hand took hold on Esau's heel, and his name was called Jacob; and Isaac was threescore years old when she bare them." Verse 26. 3. What were their names? 4. What difference was there between them? "And the boys grew; and Esau was a cunning hunter, a man of the field; and Jacob was a plain man, dwelling in tents." Verse 27. 5. How did the parents regard them? "And Isaac loved Esau, because he did eat of his venison; but Rebekah loved Jacob." Verse 28. 6. What did Jacob have as Esau came in one day from a hunting trip? "And Jacob sod pottage; and Esau came from the field, and he was faint." Verse 29. 7. What did Esau say to Jacob? "And Esau said to Jacob, Feed me, I pray thee, with that same red pottage; for I am faint; therefore was his name called Edom." Verse 30. "And Jacob said, Sell me this day thy birthright." Verse 31. 9. How did Esau reason concerning his birthright? "And Esau said, Behold, I am at the point to die; and what profit shall this birthright do to me?" Verse 32. 10. What transaction was thus made by the two brothers? "And Jacob said, Swear to me this day; and he sware unto him; and he sold his birthright unto Jacob. Then Jacob gave Esau bread and pottage of lentiles; and he did eat and drink, and rose up, and went his way. Thus Esau despised his birthright." Verses 33, 34. 11. What was the birthright, and what was its importance to anyone? 12. How did Esau regard his birthright? "Thus Esau despised his birthright." Verse 34, last clause. 13. How highly did he value it?—He considered it worth no more than a meal of victuals, to satisfy present necessity. 14. What language is used concerning Esau for this proceeding?201 "Lest there be any fornicator, or profane person, as Esau, who for one morsel of meat sold his birthright." Heb. 12: 16. 15. How did he afterward feel concerning the blessings of his birthright? "For ye know how that afterward, when he would have inherited the blessing, he was rejected; for he found no place of repentance, though he sought it carefully with tears." Verse 17. 17. Was he able to get back the birthright? Heb. 12: 17. 18. Why not?—Because he had deliberately sold it, and could not alter the trade. 19. What is the exhortation given to us in this connection? "Follow peace with all men, and holiness, without which no man shall see the Lord; looking diligently lest any man fail of the grace of God; lest any root of bitterness springing up trouble you, and thereby many be defiled; lest there be any fornicator, or profane person, as Esau, who for one morsel of meat sold his birthright. For ye know how that afterward, when he would have inherited the blessing, he was rejected; for he found no place of repentance, though he sought it carefully with tears." Verses 14-17. 20. If we are children of Abraham, what is our birthright? "For the promise, that he should be heir of the world, was not to Abraham, or to his seed, through the law, but through the righteousness of faith." Rom. 4: 13. "Giving thanks unto the Father, which hath made us meet to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in light." Col. 1: 12. "Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God; therefore the world knoweth us not, because it knew him not. Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be; but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is." 1 John 3: 1, 2. 21. Through what are we made heirs of this inheritance? "Who hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated us into the kingdom of his dear Son; in whom we have redemption through his blood, even the forgiveness of sins." Col. 1: 13, 14. 22. What does the Spirit through Paul say of one who despises his heavenly birthright? "He that despised Moses's law died without mercy under two or three witnesses; of how much sorer punishment, suppose ye, shall he be thought worthy, who hath trodden under foot the Son of God, and hath counted the blood of the covenant, wherewith he was sanctified, an unholy thing, and hath done despite unto the Spirit of grace?" Heb. 10: 28, 29. "For Demas hath forsaken me, having loved this present world, and is departed unto Thessalonica." 2 Tim. 4: 10. 24. What can you say of the condition of one who deliberately barters his interest in the blood of Christ, and his hope of eternal life, for a little present enjoyment? "Of how much sorer punishment, suppose ye, shall he be thought worthy, who hath trodden under foot the Son of God, and hath counted the blood of the covenant, wherewith he was sanctified, an unholy thing, and hath done despite unto the Spirit of grace? For we know him that hath said, Vengeance belongeth unto me, I will recompense, saith the Lord. And again, The Lord shall judge his people. It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God." Heb. 10: 29-31. Imprisoned Bible Colporteur in Jerusalem
The British and Foreign Bible Society's evangelistic colporteur, stationed in Jerusalem, has been imprisoned by the Turkish authorities for visiting two Moslem villages. THE term "birthright" denotes the special privileges belonging to the first-born. Among these were, that he should have a double portion of the inheritance, and that he should succeed to whatever position was held by his father. Among the Jews the first-born was considered as especially devoted to God; and since the Jewish people were the chosen people of God, and the Jewish nation was the church of that time, it may justly be concluded that special spiritual blessings were considered as part of the birthright. When Esau sold his birthright, he deliberately sold all claim to the promises made to Abraham and Isaac, and afterwards to Jacob. He had no trace of the faith of Abraham, and he despised the promises of God. ESAU might have had a share in the promise if he had wanted it. True, Paul says that before the birth of Jacob and Esau, it was said unto Rebekah, "The elder shall serve the younger. As it is written, Jacob have I loved, but Esau have I hated" (Rom. 9:12, 13), but this was simply because God, who "calleth those things which be not as though they were," could foresee just what kind of character Esau would develop. God is no respecter of persons, and he does not bestow his favors arbitrarily. Esau was rejected, not simply because he deliberately sold his right to the promised inheritance, but because of the utter lack of faith, which led him to so lightly esteem the promises of God. THE objector will no doubt say that Jacob appears in a worse light than Esau does, and that if God is a respecter of character, and not of persons, Jacob was less entitled to regard than Esau was. But that is a very superficial view of the case. So far as character is concerned, there is no man that has by nature anything that is worthy of the approbation of God. Even the zealous Paul, whose great aim was "to have always a conscience void of offense toward God, and toward man," and who could say before the Jewish council, "I have lived in all good conscience before God until this day," said that he had suffered the loss of all things that he might win Christ, "and be found in him, not having mine own righteousness, which is of the law, but that which is through the faith of Christ, the righteousness which is of God by faith." Phil. 3:8, 9. God respects an upright character, but since there can be no perfect character except "through the faith of Jesus Christ," it is evident that his promises and favor must be extended to the one whose faith gives promise of a growth toward perfection. So far as the record shows, at the time of which our lesson treats, Esau had naturally the advantage of Jacob; but Esau lacked faith, and Jacob possessed it, and from that time we see a growth for the worse in Esau, and for the better in Jacob. God never showed any approval of Jacob's course in securing the blessing; on the contrary Jacob had to suffer grievously on account of his duplicity; but through the faith that Jacob had, although it was crude and uninstructed, God could work for his complete moral reformation. Peter shows the work of true faith, when he says to the people of God that they may suffer manifold temptations, "that the trial of your faith, being much more precious than of gold that perisheth, though it be tried with fire, might be found unto praise and honor and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ." 1 Peter 1:7. And in that day this will be found to be the case with Jacob. THE case of Rahab may be taken as an illustration. James says that Rahab the harlot was justified by works when she had received the messengers and sent them out another way (James 2:25), and Paul says that "by faith the harlot Rahab perished not with them that believed not, when she had received the spies with peace." Heb. 11:31. Yet in concealing the spies, for which she received the promise that she should not perish, she deliberately lied. See Joshua 2. She was not saved because of her falsehood, but because of her faith that the God of the Israelites was the true God. She acted up to the best light that she had. Among the heathen it was esteemed a virtuous thing to lie, and she knew no better. But her faith brought her into relation with God's people where she could learn the way of truth. Thus we see that "the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith," for "the just shall live by faith." ESAU is not the only one who has sold his birthright for a mess of pottage. An old pipe, a plug of tobacco, a jug of whisky, the pleasure party, the card table, and other "good things" of this life have been sufficient to cause many to turn their backs on their heavenly inheritance. Esau said, "Behold, I am at the point to die; and what profit shall this birthright do to me?" Thousands of others when brought face to face with some duty, the performance of which would interfere with their worldly interests, have virtually said the same thing. They have said, "I know that this is the truth of God, but if I should obey it I couldn't make a living," thus intimating that they did not believe the promises of God would be of any profit to one who should die for them. It is more than probable that many who have accepted the truth, are putting self and selfish pleasures above the service of God, and are thus bartering their birthright. Let such beware lest they complete the sale and then find it too late to repent. And "let him that thinketh he standeth take heed lest he fall." W. NOTES ON THE INTERNATIONAL LESSON.
By G. C. Tenney
To OBTAIN a sense of the true force of the verses which form the basis of this week's lesson it will be necessary to continue the narrative of the circumstances and discourse which led to them. As the Saviour, after his denunciation of the Pharisees, passed out of the temple for the last time, his disciples requested him to give attention to the temple, saying, "See what manner of stones and what buildings are here." Mark 13:1. This temple was built by Herod the Great, to propitiate the Jews, and was of exceeding strength and magnificence. Josephus says that it was built of white stones twenty-five cubits long,202 eight cubits in thickness and twelve in breadth, and the doom of the world was no doubt associated in the minds of the people with the idea of its destruction. JESUS startled the disciples with the words, "There shall not be left one stone upon another, that shall not be thrown down." And when they were seated upon the Mount of Olives the disciples asked him to tell them when these things should be; "and what shall be the sign of thy coming, and of the end of the world?" The Master did not rebuke them for prying into the future; but proceeded to answer their questions separately, even though they were considered by the propounders as applying to one event. THE destruction of the temple and the end of the world were evidently two distinct events in the mind of our Lord, separated by a long period of time, and heralded in their approach by different signs. And yet, in the twenty-fourth chapter of Matthew, where the Saviour by a discourse answers the queries of his disciples, for our benefit as well as theirs, there is a blending of the two events to such a degree as leads us to believe that the first event would be largely typical of the final destruction which should attend his second coming. THAT sign which was especially to forewarn the disciples of the destruction of Jerusalem, was given in these words, "When ye therefore shall see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, stand in the holy place, . . . then let them which be in Judea flee into the mountains." Luke gives it more directly, "And when ye shall see Jerusalem compassed with armies, then know that the desolation thereof is nigh." This was fulfilled by the Romans under Titus, A. D. 70, and proved to be the immediate forerunner of the utter destruction of both the city and the temple. THE coming of Christ is to be proclaimed by signs just as evidently premonitory. The darkening of the sun and moon and the falling of the stars are signs of that event: "And there shall be signs in the sun, and in the moon, and in the stars; and upon the earth distress of nations, with perplexity; the sea and the waves roaring; men's hearts failing them for fear, and for looking after those things which are coming on the earth." Luke 21:25, 26. The Saviour says, "Now learn a parable of the fig tree: When his branch is yet tender, and putteth forth leaves, ye know that summer is nigh; so likewise ye, when ye shall see all these things, know that it is near, even at the doors." And he fortifies these words by saying, "Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away." COMMENTING upon the state of morality and spirituality in the days just preceding his second coming, Jesus says they will be like those of Noah when it was said of man that "every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually," and like those of Lot and Sodom. The apostle, in 2 Timothy 3, describes the last days as days of prevailing evil. The Saviour says of this time, "Because iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold." Every view which the Bible gives us of the last days reveals a time of abounding wickedness in the world, with great spiritual declension and self-pleasing in the church; a time of moral stupidity and insensibility combined with covetousness and pleasure seeking, while Satan will work "with all power and signs and lying wonders, and with all deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that perish." To counteract these pervading evil influences the true child of God needs to exercise especial watchfulness and vigilance. Hence the force of the present lesson. Upon no generation of the past has this duty been so persistently urged by Christ and the apostles as upon those who should live in proximity to the second coming of Christ. The indifferent professor of religion sees no need of special watchfulness, and says it does not make any difference to him when Christ comes if he is "only ready." But it is certain that Jesus was very solicitous for his people who should live in that day, and warned them to take heed lest "at any time your hearts be overcharged with surfeiting, and drunkenness, and the cares of this life, and so that day come upon you unawares. For as a snare shall it come on all them that dwell on the face of the whole earth." Luke 21:34, 35. AND in harmony with this is the language of the lesson. Verse 42 reads: "Watch therefore; for ye know not what hour your Lord doth come." We are not to understand by this that we are to be entirely unconscious of the approach of that hour. Verse 36 says: "But of that day and hour knoweth no man," etc. Still, he had just said (verse 33), "When ye shall see all these things, know that it is near, even at the doors." In 1 Thess. 5:2, 4, we read: "For yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so cometh as a thief in the night." "But ye, brethren, are not in darkness that that day should overtake you as a thief." It is evident, then, that upon the careless and unbelieving, that day will come unawares; but the "children of light," the people of God, will perceive its near approach, although they may not know the day and hour. THE illustration introduced in verse 45, of a steward giving to the household over which he is placed by his lord "meat in due season," shows the duty of faithful ministers of God's word, to place before their people that truth which is applicable to them and to their times. In connection with the fundamental principles of obedience to God and faith in Christ, which are applicable in every age, there are also special messages to be borne from time to time. Such was the work of Noah, of Jonah, John the Baptist, Martin Luther, and many others; and such will be the message which will prepare the people of God for the coming of Christ (verse 42). "Blessed is that servant, whom his lord when he cometh shall find so doing." But to the evil servant, who opposes the message of truth, smites with reproach his faithful fellow-servants, and devotes himself to pleasurable enjoyments, the Lord pronounces a fearful doom. THE great theme of the lesson is watchfulness for the event of Christ's second coming. The faithful Christian will watch and pray for the evidences of his Lord's return. It will be to him an event of joy. He will seek to be ready for it. He will be watchful against the insidious approach of evil which exists to-day in a thousand forms; and will also watch for the many forms of deception which bear the name of religion, and yet serve to close the heart to the truth for these days. Every effort will be put forth by the enemy, to have God's people remain ignorant and indifferent to this great event; and it is said: "And none of the wicked shall understand; but the wise shall understand." Daniel 12:10. The Missionary.
By Stephen N. Haskell
IT has been some time since I have written anything for our papers in America, not because I have not felt interested in them, but because circumstances have been such that it has been impossible to do so. It has now been nearly ten months since we landed in England. We can hardly give an idea of the importance of England, and especially London, so that our friends in America will clearly comprehend it. England proper contains about fifty-one thousand square miles, being less than one-third the size of California. Yet in this limited territory, not so large as the State of New York, are over thirty millions of people; nearly half as many as in the United States. London alone, including its suburbs, contains about five millions. The inhabitants of England are largely crowded into the great cities, London being the largest city in the world, the capital of the British dominions.203 The city of London has an area of one hundred and twenty-three square miles. The density of the population may be realized perhaps, in part, when we say that to accommodate the traveling public, underground railways traverse the city, and in some instances one passage is beneath another, both beneath the houses; and into these railway cars pours a continual stream of people, while the streets are filled with buses and street-cars. Were it not for the underground railway system, the streets would be so filled with people as to render traveling exceedingly difficult, if not absolutely impossible. From eight hundred thousand to a million people, it is estimated, leave the city each evening to return to their homes, and go back to the city to their work each morning. London itself contains about one-twelfth as many people as the entire United States. People who have spent their entire lives here say that they know but little of the city, there are portions of it in which they have never been. Imagine yourself set down in the center of a city in which you could go over ten miles in any direction without getting out into the country, and you will have some idea of the city of London. Our London training-school is located about three miles from the post-office, around which center many interesting things of the city. The greatest book market of the world, Paternoster Row, is near this point. London is a great shipping port, the docks being crowded with ships from all quarters of the globe, filling the warehouses of the city with the products of all countries. Liverpool, however, ranks even above London in maritime importance. The density of its population, the wealth of the nation, and the magnitude of her commercial interests render this one of the most important countries so far as the truth is concerned. England extends its arms around the earth, and there is no portion of the earth's surface, even to the most remote islands of the seas, with which communications cannot be held through London. We can safely say that one hundred men could find employment in the truth here in London, and not come in contact with one another. There is no end to the field, for seemingly there is no end to the inhabitants. The means of presenting the truth to the people are as varied as the population is diverse. The difficulties to be met with in England are perhaps largely attributable to two causes: (1) The difference in the customs of society as compared with America; and (2) the immensity of the field of operation. When we look at the field before us, and see what has been done, it seems scarcely a drop in the bucket to what must be accomplished by the Third Angel's Message ere the work closes. But when we think of the reading matter that has been distributed among the people, we can realize that much good has been done. As a denomination we are quite extensively known throughout the United Kingdom. How this information has been received we cannot tell, except it be through the publications that have been circulated. The steps taken since our arrival in this country with the workers, have brought the truth to the favorable attention of many. There are in the city about twenty-five vegetarian restaurants, and over sixty restaurants called the "Lockhart Cocoa Rooms," besides the rooms of the Aerated Bread Company, all together numbering about two hundred eating rooms, all of which are strictly temperance houses. In America it has not been very difficult to place our publications in this class of houses, but in London it is different. Almost every ism that the world knows is represented in London, and all the organizations endeavor to get their publications before the people, so that such places as the ones we have mentioned are besieged by those interested in advocating their peculiar views; and the managers necessarily are obliged to be very exclusive. While daily papers are supplied to their patrons, religious papers are excluded; but in the providence of God the Present Truth and the Good Health have been placed in the vegetarian restaurants, and there is no doubt but that they will be in the Lockhart restaurants. We have not yet made application to the Aerated Bread Company, but should we succeed in placing our papers in their offices, we would have about two hundred restaurants supplied with reading matter on the present truth. As the result of what has been done we are receiving calls almost daily from those who have seen our publications, and who come in to purchase and make further inquiries. Should we be successful in placing the publications in the other rooms in contemplation, and should the business increase proportionately, it would be sufficient to bring us in constant custom. Individuals living in different parts of the country, hearing of our work, have also written to our office for circulars and publications. By correspondence an interest has awakened, to the extent that quantities of our publications have been disposed of to single individuals, in one case six dozen "Truth Found" being ordered; the purchaser, a gentleman who is not known to us, wishing them to sell at a church bazaar. So the work is going. This will give the reader some idea of the effect of our opening an office on Paternoster Row. As we look over the past few months, we can but see that these steps have been taken, in wisdom. It is true it has been quite expensive, but most assuredly it has been the means of bringing the light of truth before many who have hitherto known but little of us. Two of our churches are now contemplating building chapels. This will greatly aid in giving permanence to our work, which, being conducted by Americans, is regarded as lacking in that quality. The work in connection with the training school in Tufnell Park has also been quite successful. While on the one hand it might appear that not much had been accomplished, on the other, we have good reasons to thank God and take courage. A goodly number have signed the covenant, and quite an interest has been awakened among many families, principally among those of the Church of England. This church is considered the nearest to the Roman Catholic of any; in fact, it is said that three hundred of its ministers are Roman Catholics at heart, and were the State support to be removed, would go over to the Catholics; that they have pledged themselves to bring the church back to Catholicism. The principal difference now between some of these churches and the Roman Catholic Church, is that in one the service is in Latin, while in the other it is in English. In some of the principal cathedrals in London, altars are placed and the forms of the Roman Catholic worship are copied as far as they can be under the name of Protestantism. From this denomination, however, a few have come out on the Sabbath, and one lady is now coming regularly to the morning school, to receive instruction in regard to the Bible work. It is evident that God has a people in every class of society, and in every denomination, from the Roman Catholic to the smallest dissenting body. There are hearts that can be touched by the truth; there are souls hungering and thirsting for something besides dry forms, and ritualism. It is evident from the experience we have had, that many from the Church of England, both the high and low church, will embrace the truths of the Third Angel's Message, and help to form the number who shall stand on Mount Zion. It is evident that there will be workers developed in this country, who will render valuable service in the cause of truth. This appears to be a necessity before it will be generally received. One man who was formerly curate of the Church of England, has embraced the truth, and soon, we expect, will give himself to the work. From the above our friends can form some idea of the nature and extent of the work before us, and what we are trying to do. The work moves slower here than in America or in the colonies. This must necessarily be so where the people pride themselves on the antiquity and stability of their customs. Yet the truth is the same the world over, and God is the same; and it is not by might or by power, but by God's Holy Spirit. When the barriers break and the tidal wave of God's power sweeps over the land, a harvest of souls will be the result of efforts which have been, and are now being, put forth in this kingdom. "HE certainly is a most generous giver. He has just given five thousand pounds to the work of foreign missions. It's one of the most munificent gifts we have ever received." "Not quite so," was the answer. "I know of at least one more generous giver." "Really? Well, I was looking through the reports of the last few years, and I saw nothing like that sum on the donation list." "No; the gift to which I allude has not appeared in print, and will be known by very few except the Lord. The other day I was calling on a friend of mine, a very aged man, who told me, with tears running down his cheeks, that his only son was about to leave home for missionary work in a far-away land. The father had discovered that the young man felt called of God for such service, but was tarrying at home for his sake. 'How could I keep him back?' said the old man. 'I had prayed all my life: "Send forth laborers into thy harvest;" and with all the pain of parting with my boy, in the certainty I should never see him again on earth, there is a deep joy in giving him up for Christ's sake.'" I said to myself, on overhearing this conversation, Surely here is a true test of love—not giving only, but giving up. For though love cannot exist without giving, there may be large giving without love; but we can hardly doubt that it is love alone which for another's sake gives up what is held dear.—Selected. UNNECESSARY WORK OF WOMEN.
By Elizabeth Cummings
I AM convinced that at least one-quarter of the work performed by women is unnecessary, and the world would get on quite as well without it. It is like the ottoman cover I saw a lady working. She was all bent up, and was putting her eyes out counting stitches. "I don't get any time for reading," she said, plaintively, as she picked up some beads on a needle. "You must have a great deal of leisure." And yet she had spent more time embroidering a ridiculous dog on a piece of broadcloth than would have sufficed to read twenty good books. It did not have the poor merit of being economical, for the price of the materials would have bought enough handsome damask for two covers. A friend of mine tells of seeing a squaw seat herself by the town pump, unroll a bundle of calico, cut out a dress, make it, put it on and walk off, all in about two hours. I have always regretted that he did not continue the story by telling me that the squaw spent her abundant leisure beautifully. I would not have women reduce their sewing to quite so simple a performance, but a good deal would be gained if they thought more about living and less about its accidents. The transcendent fact is what we are, not what we accumulate or possess. Even knowledge can be so used that it is merely an ornament, which keeps up a twinkling about the mind, like bright jewels in pretty ears, and is only a possession and not a part of ourselves. To fill time, to pass it busily, is not to use it. Labor in itself is not worthy. The meanest work that makes home a lovely, sacred place is consecrated, and fit for the hands of a queen; but delicate work that ministers to no human need, even if it has artistic merit to recommend it, if it consumes the hours a woman ought to use training her mind to think, and her eyes to see, and making her brain some thing more than a mere filling for her skull, is but busy idleness and a waste of time. I hope the day will come when every woman who can read will be ashamed of the "columns for ladies," printed in some of our papers, and which tell with more sarcastic emphasis than any words of mine how some women choose to spend their leisure. Surely, if they have time to follow intricate directions for making all sorts of trimming, not so good as that sold in the shops at two cents a yard, they may, if they will, find time to read a book.—Elizabeth Cummings. JUDGE NOT.
By Mrs. Annie A. Preston
"HAVE you heard from Mrs. Dwight Ely this winter?" asked Mrs. Bell of a lady caller one January day. "Didn't you know I have been down and made her a week's visit?" "No, indeed, how did you find her? She was not at all well during the autumn." Mrs. Weldon laughed skeptically as she replied,— "She is making a great pretense of invalidism, it seems to me. I suppose she thinks it makes her appear interesting. She is thin, to be sure, but that is nothing new. She is about the house, looks after things and reads a little. She does not cough, she has quite a good appetite, but she wears a loose wrapper all the time, and does not go out even to church, where she used to be so devoted; she has given up fancy work and her music, but she never complains, only when someone inquires after her health she says with such a sweetly resigned expression, 'Not as well as I could desire.' Now I must admit that I haven't the least sympathy for her. I believe if she would dress up and stir about, and go to ride, and into society, she would be as well as anyone." "Mrs. Dwight Ely has gone to New York to consult a physician there—started this morning," said another caller who came in. "She went off as cheerfully as possible, but her husband appeared very sad." "Nothing in the world ails her but nervousness," said Mrs. Weldon. "It is a shame for her to insist upon going to New York for advice when all she needs is fresh air and exercise. I do hate to see a woman so humored, and a man so humbugged." Two weeks later, as Mrs. Weldon and Mrs. Bell met on the street, the former said,— "I have just heard that Mrs. Dwight Ely is dead, and am so shocked. She went to New York to be treated for a cancer, but the case was entirely hopeless. She had suffered in silence this two years; no one knew the cause of her feeble health excepting her husband and physician. We can't always judge by appearance. I feel quite conscience-stricken, and am resolved to put a contribution out of my allowance into the missionary box every time I judge anyone wrongfully." Only the next day at the sewing society, however, she said,— "I think it is a shame for Mrs. Humes to wear that old gray gown another winter; she said six months ago she was about buying a new one, and asked my advice about material; but probably the money has gone into the savings bank." "No, it went into a suit for Ray Harper, so that he may go on and graduate at the high school." "What was that for? He is not a relative." "His invalid mother is her intimate neighbor. Ray is the hope of the family. He has the promise of an excellent situation when he graduates." "Oh, dear! how little one knows of their neighbors' motives! When shall I ever learn to rule my unfortunate tongue?" Only a week later she made a cruel remark about a young girl in the church whom she had seen riding with a married man, that might have created a scandal had not the person addressed been able to explain that the young lady had been sent for in haste to go to her sister, who had just met with a serious accident. At the end of the quarter, Mrs. Weldon carried her mite box to Mrs. Bell. It was heavy, and as it was being unfastened, she said,— "I mean to keep up giving every time I say anything uncharitable, as a penance. I never shall be able to break myself of the bad habit." "You never will until you remember who it was who said 'Judge not,' and look to Him for a new heart in which no desire for evil speaking has a place," said Mrs. Bell, gently. "I believe that is so; will you not pray with me that I may no longer strive to correct my faults in my own strength? for I have come to believe that it is impossible, and thank you for pointing me to the true way." —Mrs. Annie A. Preston, in Christian at Work. A WELL-KNOWN clergyman in New York relates the following story of his visit in that city to a fashionable school for young ladies:— One of the young ladies in the senior class had an unfortunate blemish in the shape of a mole on the tip of her nose. It could not be removed. It could not be put out of sight. There was nothing unclean or disgraceful about it; yet, trifle as it was, it forced itself on the notice of every stranger as the chief characteristic of the girl. She was pretty, modest, and clever; but beauty, modesty, and wit were all obscured and subordinated by this one paltry defect. Her classmates expressed much sympathy in speaking of her to strangers, but were evidently quite confident that they had no such blemish. Now, one of these young ladies prefaced every sentence with a sharp "Say!" like the205 stroke of a gong: "Say! I think it is raining;" "Say! I know nothing about mathematics," etc. Another of the girls stitched her sentences together by, "You know": "You know, I have such news to tell you! I was out yesterday at Laura's, and I met her brother, you know, and he says that his cousin, you know, is actually engaged to Isabel." A third bit her nails, and at every pause in the conversation fell to devouring them as furiously as a famished dog a bone. The spectator felt an almost irresistible desire to bring her something to eat. Still another young girl in the school interjected an utterly vacant laugh into every clause of a sentence. She sat next to the venerable clergyman at supper, and her conversation ran something in this wise: "Won't you have some jumbles, doctor? They're very nice, he, he. I heard you preach, once last summer, up in the Catskills. The sermon was on the sacrifice of St. Simeon, he, he. It made me cry, he, he, he, he!" Now this poor girl had no wish to be irreverent, or even merry. She probably did not know that she laughed at all. Her inane giggle, like the catch-words used by her companions, had been adopted at first to cover a childish diffidence. No parent or friend had corrected the foolish, ill-bred habit, and a personal peculiarity of this kind is a matter of which no stranger will speak. "Yet these little peculiarities," said the doctor, "like the mole on the nose, were impertinently obtrusive. These girls had good looks, scholarship, and lovable natures; yet the one vulgar, silly habit was the point which forced itself on a stranger, and it was that mainly by which they were remembered." It would be a wise question for every young girl to ask of her nearest friend if she too has this mole upon her nose.—Youth's Companion. The Home Circle.
By Mrs. Lucy Ward Beach
I had not known the sunshine was so bright,
The fields so golden, or the hills so blue,
Until a glad, sweet Hope made all things new
With radiant light. My heart grew strong with happiness; I thought,
"Now I can brave life's worst, nor wish to hide;
My place shall be among the workers tried,
To faint at naught." Too soon the bright, glad days forever fled;
Time came when my dear Hope grew wan and pale.
With heart turned stone, I saw her fade and fail,
And then lie dead. Oh, then no soft light fell on field or hill!
The earth reflected but a strange, fierce glare.
My heart that was so bold to do or dare,
Lay stunned and still. But when, with life laid waste, I prayed for death,
The angels came, I think, on silent wings,
And in my bosom placed a poor, weak thing,
And called it Faith. I held it close, so frail it seemed, nor guessed
How fair and strong my Heaven-born one would grow,
Nor how in peace, that knew no ebb nor flow,
My soul would rest. She showed a glory past the sunset skies,
The far-off gleaming of the jasper sea;
The weary road seems straightest now to me
To Paradise. Sunshine or storm, the smooth or stormy way
I scarcely heed; only one yearning, deep—
To aid weak, stumbling feet up the pathways steep,
Is mine each day. When purple shadows creep o'er hill and plain,
In the sweet twilight stillness, kneeling low
Over the grave of my lost Hope, I know
My loss was gain.
—Mrs. Lucy Ward Beach.