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Signs of the Times, Vol. 11, No. 4.

The Cripple Healed
Earlier text: Will Worship, and No Worship

Callahan's Ranch, Cal.

FROM Brethren Lamb and Church, who passed through Oakland Jan. 19, we received the following:—
"Since our last report, ten have signed the covenant, which makes forty, in all, at this place. Elder Rice remains with these, and we go to Healdsburg College to attend the Bible Class."

The Lord's Work.

By Raymond Franklin Cottrell

THE work in which we are engaged is the Lord's work; and he is excellent in working. He never makes mistakes; but will carry forward his work to a glorious termination.
To be a co-worker with God is the highest privilege we can enjoy in our present state. We cannot be qualified for this without true humility. Human instrumentality at the best is imperfect and liable to err; but the Master is able to use fallible humanity as an instrument, and yet infallibly succeed in his perfect work.
No work of God, during all time, was ever greater or more important than that which he is now doing. It is the finishing of the "mystery of God," the closing of the great work of saving sinners, the sealing of his servants, the ripening of the harvest of the earth.
Let all who profess to accept this work as of God, beware of the Angel who is the true, though unseen, leader in the work. Let it be our highest ambition to humble ourselves, and so have a part in this work. "All the proud" are the subjects of God's wrath; and are not they proud who intend to take an independent course, out of harmony with, and not subject to, the body? God calls us to unity. Shall we not renounce self, in order to attain to that state of unity in which all the translated will be found? R. F. COTTRELL.

The Torn Tract.

LEIGH RICHMOND, in walking up a hill, to relieve the horses of the coach in which he was traveling, distributed several tracts to such persons as he chanced to meet. One was received and torn in two, and thrown upon the ground. A fellow-traveler smiled and said:—
'See how your tract is treated; there is one, at least, quite lost!'
'I am not so sure of that,' said Mr. Richmond; 'at any rate, the husbandman sows not the less that some of the seeds may be trodden down.'
Reaching the top of the hill, and turning round to view the scenery, they saw that the wind had carried the torn tract over into the field among the haymakers, and that one of them was reading it to the others. The devil had done his work imperfectly, as the two parts of the tract were held together by a thread; and in hindering one man from reading it, he had introduced it to a whole company. The reader of the tract was led to reflection and prayer; and became an earnest Christian and tract distributer. Three others soon became diligent laborers in the Master's vineyard.
Pass the tracts along; they will not be lost! —Sel.

Earnestness in Prayer

By Payson

We may judge of the state of our hearts by the earnestness of our prayers. You cannot make a rich man beg like a poor one; you cannot make a man who is full cry for food like one who is hungry; no more will a man who has a good opinion of himself cry for grace like one who feels he is poor and needy.—Payson.

A Good Example.

By Christian Union

PAUL was not content simply to preach the gospel, he chose other men to become preachers in turn. The case of Timothy gives us a little insight into the principles on which he made this selection. He was a child of devout parentage, and from childhood educated in the Holy Scriptures; he was a man, too, of some natural gifts which adapted him to this work—gifts strengthened by the Spirit of God.
It seems to me that the example of Paul is one worthy of the consideration of modern ministers and modern churches. In England, at least in nonconforming churches, the young men are selected for the ministry by this same method; the young man whose birth, whose education, and whose native gifts, as exhibited in the prayer-meeting and in the Sunday-school, show adaptation to the work of the ministry, is counseled by his pastor to leave the clerkship, the store, the shop, the farm, and give himself to the higher calling; then comes the special education to adapt him for his work. As Christ saw in Peter the qualities that were to make him a revival preacher, and called him from the fishing-nets, so, though with no such miraculous insight, the gift in the young man is seen, and the calling comes because the gift is seen. If we want more men in the ministry, still more we want more manhood in the ministry, men better adapted to ministerial work; and this process of natural selection would give them to us. Every considerable church ought to have its representatives studying for the pulpit, and every church of years ought also to be the mother of apostles. In like manner and by like process the teachers for our Sunday-schools should be selected, and a training-class should be organized where they could be fitted for their work.—Christian Union.

Faithful Service in God’s Great Plan

By Selected

Go to the man who is carving a stone for some building; go and ask him where that stone is going, to what part of the temple, and how he is going to get it into its place; and what does he do? He points you to the builder's plans. This is only one stone of many. So, when men ask where and how is your little achievement going into God's great plan, point them to the Master, who keeps the plans, and then go on doing your little service as faithfully as if the whole temple were yours to build.—Sel.

A Contrast.

By Elizabeth P. Gould

ONE morning, a short time since, a distinguished professional gentleman was in a horse-car, on his way to his office in Boston. His little daughter, nine years old, was seated by his side. A newsboy soon came into the car with the morning papers, one of which the gentleman bought for himself, and, on the petition of the little girl, one for her, too. The child became much interested in reading the name of the paper, the date, and then some of the advertisements. Soon her eye fell upon the word "mortgage," the meaning of which she did not know. In her anxiety to find out, she immediately turned to her father, and said, in a most winning way, "Papa, what does mortgage mean?"
Now her father was in the midst of reading an interesting article upon a subject which was of great importance to him, but at the sound of the sweet little voice asking for information, he dropped his paper, withdrew his mind instantly from the deep thought of the article which had claimed his attention, and spent some little time in giving to her a clear, simple talk upon the subject of mortgages, illustrating it in a way adapted to a child’s capacity. The little girl intelligently drank in all that he said, and when the question seemed to be answered satisfactorily, the gentleman took up his paper and returned to his reading. His mind was so disciplined that such an interruption could not hinder him from returning immediately to the deep and interesting thought which he had left. His nature was so well balanced that, with all his strong desire for learning, he could not think those moments wasted which had been spent in a loving and intelligent conversation with a little child who was hungry to learn.
On their arrival in Boston, he stopped on the way to his office to point out to her the place where Benjamin Franklin was born (where the Boston Post building now stands), and promised that on his return home at night he would tell her all about him.
On reaching his office, they met a lady who had promised to enjoy with the little girl a few hours’ visit to the art museum before she should take her back to her home in the afternoon. So they separated, the child going to her interesting pleasure, and the father to his professional business, in the midst of which he passed a busy, successful day. On his return home at night he was surprised to find such a general interest manifested by all the members of his family in the subject of mortgages. He immediately surmised that his little daughter had been entertaining them with the knowledge which she had gained in the morning. He was
soon assured of this when his little six-year-old boy asked him if he couldn’t go in the morning in the horse-car with him, and have a newspaper all by himself, and have him tell him, too, all about mortgages.
In the meantime the little girl had not forgotten her father’s promise that when he should return home at night he would tell her about Benjamin Franklin. So, after supper, when he was seated in his easy chair, she climbed upon one knee, while the little brother took possession of the other, and they eagerly listened to the story of Benjamin Franklin, as it fell from their papa’s lips. They thought that they could listen all night to such a delightful story, but the father knew that when the little lids began to droop it was time to end with his customary good-night.
So the talk was ended, and the children went off to bed happier and wiser for having such a father, the learning and public fame of whom they never dreamed of. They only knew that he could tell them beautiful stories on everything that they asked about. And this learned man found perfect rest for his mind, which was tired with the deep and intricate law questions of the day’s work, in telling this simple story to his children; and he knew that in no other way could he so vitally unite himself to their little, growing minds.
A few mornings later another professional gentleman was crossing a ferry on the way to his place of business in the same city.
His restless little boy, nearly ten years old, had accompanied him for the purpose of having a ride, over and back, on the ferry-boat, "to while away the time," as his mother had said. As the boy was looking over the harbor, his bright eyes caught sight of a vessel with a peculiar-looking flag attached to it, which so attracted his attention that he turned to his father and said, "Oh, papa, what kind of a flag is that?" The father was so deeply engrossed in his morning paper, that he had no time or inclination to talk with his boy then, so he answered him with, "Don’t trouble me now," and the little fellow was left to surmise as best he could about the flag, and, indeed, to wonder all about the whole harbor, with all that it contained, so fruitful of knowledge to the growing, active mind of a young boy.
After they had crossed the ferry, the father separated from his son, with the wish that he would be a good boy, and go directly home. He had read his paper, and perhaps added to his knowledge, and afterward the day brought to him business success; but he did not realize that one of the great opportunities of developing that perfect sympathy between father and son—which adds so much to the man as well as to the boy—was gone forever.
On his way back, the little fellow hungered again to know about the ocean and the vessels upon it. Any guidance of thought in that direction, which his father might have given him in the ten minutes’ ride across the ferry, would have been food all the rest of the day both for him and for his companions with whom he might have played. And it is plain that any one who had given the boy the information for which he hungered, would have gained forever that child’s confidence, and he would have been just that far estranged from his father, and ready to be led by his new confidant in whatever direction it might chance to be. Fortunately, however, he escaped this mishap, yet he went home with his little mind no wiser for his journey; he found that his mother had gone away for the day; and, for the want of anything special to do, or think about, he entered into various kinds of mischief, which did not add to his well-being.
When the father arrived home at night, his mind was so wearied from the strain upon it of his professional duties that he felt that he could not attend to his little son more than to wish him a good-night, with a hope that he had
been a good boy all the day. So he shut himself up in his study to rest, as he thought, and the little fellow went to bed with a hungry mind, wondering, among other things, what kind of a flag that was on that vessel. And yet that gifted man loved his boy, in his way, and worked hard to give to him all the comforts, and even the luxuries, which had been denied to himself in his youth; but he failed to see that, by not coming into a sympathetic personal contact with the growing soul of his boy, day by day, he was robbing him of that which no future legacy of his money or fame could atone for, while at the same time he was robbing himself of that gentle kindliness, that charm, which arises from the development of sympathy with the human spirit in all its phases.
A careful reading of this striking contrast between two fathers, equally gifted in legal learning and success, teaches its own lessons in the subtle realm of cause and effect.[] Whose influence, on the whole, was the most far-reaching and fruitful?—Elizabeth P. Gould, in Christian Union.*

The Home Circle.

GOD WANTS THE YOUNG.

God wants the happy-hearted boys, The stirring boys, the best of boys, The worst of boys! He wants them soldiers of his cross, Brave to defend each righteous cause, And so uphold his sacred laws, That good and true The world may be, Redeemed from sin And misery. God wants the boys.
God wants the happy-hearted girls, The loving girls, the best of girls, The worst of girls! He wants to make the girls his pearls, And so reflect his holy face, And bring to mind his wondrous grace; That beautiful The world may be, And filled with love And purity. God wants the girls! —Sel.

Mechanics in Education.

SEEING and feeling are two senses which are more important in aiding to a knowledge of our surroundings than any others, and yet their education is generally neglected until the possessor begins to learn something of mechanics. By mechanics in this connection is intended any attempt to contrive, put together, manufacture, or change by manipulation, so that a woman who contrives and fashions a dress out of the unformed and plain material may be a mechanic. The use of mechanical tools cannot be begun too early in life, whether the pupil is to be a practical mechanic or to follow some other calling—there are few vocations that do not demand for success some practical knowledge of mechanics. “The whittling Yankees” possibly owe much of their undisputed position as inventors and good mechanics to the habit of using a pocket-knife. A very prominent inventor and superior mechanic recently remarked that the bent of his taste as a mechanic was undoubtedly given by his school-master, who was a carpenter and joiner, and who worked at his trade in summer and taught the district school in winter. If a boy did not possess a foot rule, he made one for him from a shingle, or constructed an inch scale. The foot rule and a pocket knife he considered necessary to a school-boy’s outfit, and he encouraged his pupils to estimate dimensions by the eye and then verify them by measurement. Wind-wheels and water-mills were parts of the pedagogue’s training, and the click-clack of one or the other could be heard all about the school-house and on the borders of the brook in an adjoining field. Vanes cut from pine boards, toy ships, bird houses, bows and arrows, pudding sticks, and most of the toys used by boys forty years ago were made by the school-master’s boys under his direction. To-day, besides the prolific inventor named, there are, one superintendent of a railroad company, one bridge builder, one superintendent of a large manufactory, and two architects to be counted from memory who probably received their bent for mechanics from the carpenter school-master.
All these lead lives of usefulness—they are producers, adding to the wealth and comfort of the country and the people—and nothing in their mechanical education makes them less valuable as members of society. One of our most distinguished pulpit orators was a blacksmith, and many men who are noted for their eminence in literature, divinity, law, medicine, and as educators, have had a mechanical training.—Presbyterian Banner.

The Cost of Idleness, Pride, and Folly

WE are more heavily taxed by our idleness, pride, and folly than we are by the Government.

The Iron Egg.

IN the museum at Berlin is an iron egg, of which the following story is told:—
Many years ago a prince became affianced to a lovely princess, to whom he promised to send a magnificent gift as a testimonial of his affection. In due time the messenger arrived, bringing the promised gift, which proved to be an iron egg. The princess was so angry to think that the prince should send her so valueless a present that she threw it upon the floor, when the iron egg opened, disclosing a silver lining. Surprised at such a discovery, she took the egg in her hand, and while examining it closely, discovered a secret spring, which she touched, and the silver lining opened, disclosing a golden yolk. Examining it carefully she found another spring, which, when opened, disclosed within the golden yolk a ruby crown. Subjecting that to an examination, she touched a spring, and forth came the diamond ring with which he affianced her to himself.
So, often come the richest gifts of God to us. Their outward seeming is as unattractive as the iron egg; but within the seeming repulsiveness lies hidden the silver lining of a divine love. Within that love lie hidden the golden treasures of the gospel. Within that still lies hidden the crown of life. "Be thou faithful unto death, and I will give thee a crown of life."—Sel.

Practical Education for Women.

By Students' Workshop

THE world is so full of genuine women, guided by the noblest principles, and evincing an almost desperate eagerness to earn an honorable living for themselves, parents, or little ones, that the necessity for an education different in this respect from that usually given to girls, must be apparent to all.
If viewed from the standpoint of real instead of ideal life, the course of study followed in the actual "female seminary," will logically appear as a standing wonder. It has been so long in use that the principle upon which it was built, and the end it was designed to attain, may be justly inferred from the results actually produced. Apart from an effort to discipline the mind, which can be as well done by the acquisition of useful as of useless knowledge, its chief purpose seems to be that of furnishing intelligent playthings for men possessing exhaustless wealth. Judging by its fruits, it evidently assumes that a woman's work mainly consists in discussing literature, smattering French, executing operettas, and attempting to copy paintings without a knowledge of drawing. It assumes that the girl will not marry; or, if she does, that the strain of maternity will not test her constitution; that her children will never be sick; that her family will be oblivious to bad bread, and household confusion; that a flowerless garden will fill her husband with bliss, and a buttonless shirt with ecstasy; and, above all, that she will never, through any adversity, or under any conceivable circumstances, be required to perform any possible kind of work. The world for which it prepares her is dreamland, where the poetic Clarence Mortimer awaits her arrival, that they may sail in a fairy ship over a placid ocean to his castle in Spain, and spend a perpetual youth in delicious wooing, while the ceaseless moonlight sifts through the overhanging leaves, and exotic flowers perfume the air. Clarence Mortimer is a fraud. His true name is Tom Jones. He lives in California, and earns every cent by hard labor. He tears his clothes, snores, and eats unlimited quantities of beef and cabbage, which Mrs. Tom Jones may have to cook, and, at the same time, preserve order among an assorted lot of little Joneses, energetic with mischief, and having capacious lungs and elastic stomachs. It is not strange that the seminaries provide the usual course of study; for, like other merchants, they only supply the article demanded by the market.
But it is strange that a mother who was herself so educated, and who, as a wife and housekeeper, has keenly felt her own ignorance of subjects that should have been taught, and her want of skill that might have been acquired, can be content to give her daughter the same unreal preparation for that which she knows to be real life. And it is exceedingly strange that fathers, long familiar with the distress suddenly wrought by financial changes, should religiously exclude from the daughter's education all knowledge of business, and every possibility of earning a woman's living except by the wash-tub, needle, or piano.—Students' Workshop.

"Something Has Gone Wrong."

"Why, that's not four o'clock! I'm certain that it cannot be so late," exclaimed Minnie, starting from the seat on which she had been amusing herself with a book, while her work lay neglected beside her. "I looked at the great clock not ten minutes ago, and I'm sure that the long hand had not reached a quarter past three."
"Oh! did you not know that something was the matter with the great clock?" replied her aunt, who, with her bonnet and shawl on, had just come down stairs, prepared to accompany her on a walk. "Since yesterday it has gone quite wrong; it strikes one hour, and points to another. I think that the hands must be loose."
"Something has gone wrong indeed!" cried the child, with impatience, "and I never will trust it again."
She looked up, and saw a quiet smile on the face of the lady. "Aunt, what are you thinking of?" she asked quickly.
Her aunt glanced down at the unfinished seam, from which the needle and thread hung dangling down. "Did you not promise to have that ready before four?" said she.
"Yes," replied Minnie, looking somewhat ashamed; "but—but—"
"But there is some one, I fear, besides the great clock whose hands are in fault; who is swift to promise and slow to perform—whose words say one thing, and whose actions say another. Shall I repeat your own words, Minnie, and say, Something has gone wrong, indeed, and I never will trust her again?"
Dear young reader, ever keep this in mind, that our words and our actions should agree together, as the hands of a good clock with the chime of its bell. Never make a promise rashly; but, if once made, let no pleasure, no feeling of indolence, tempt you for one moment to break it. Let no one ever be able to say, in speaking of the word which you had given, but not kept, "Something has gone wrong indeed, and I never will trust him again!"—Children's Record.

Borrowed Books.

A PERSON who borrows a book has no right to lend it to another without the express permission of the owner.
A borrowed book should be covered, and handled with care and nicety, and returned promptly.
No one has a right to retain a borrowed book during an indefinite period.
If accident or injury result to a borrowed volume while away from its owner, honor requires that it shall be replaced by a new copy.
Never ask the loan of a very costly book, or one belonging to a set, if you can avoid it.
Teach children from the first to be particular in regard to their handling of all books, whether their own or those of others.—Sel.

Choosing Between Good and Evil

EVERY individual must make his own choice between good and evil.

BIBLE-READINGS.

By Ellet Joseph Waggoner

IN TWO NUMBERS.

EMBRACING A PORTION OF THE

BIBLE COURSE AT HEALDSBURG COLLEGE.

(Including also the readings given at the State Meeting in Oakland.) By Eld. E. J. Waggoner.
These Readings differ in two respects from other series of readings that have been published. They were prepared especially for the use of colporters and those who intend to conduct Bible-readings in missionary fields, and they present a connected chain of argument upon the fundamental doctrines of Present Truth.
NUMBER ONE contains 57 pages, embracing sixteen readings, as follows:—
No. Ques. No. Ques.
Daniel 2 93 The Law of God No. 4 32
Daniel 7 93 “ “ No. 5 31
Daniel 8 60 Ephesians 2:15 26
Daniel 9 94 Romans 6:14 23
The Sanctuary 19 Romans 10:4 17
The Law of God, No. 1 30 Galatians 3:13 19
“ “ No. 2 31 Romans 3:20 10
“ “ No. 3 28 Tithing 99
NUMBER TWO contains 46 pages, embracing twenty-two readings, as follows:—
No. Ques. No. Ques.
The Sabbath, No. 1 51 2 Corinthians 5:8 18
“ “ 2 49 Luke 23:39-43 16
“ “ 3 42 1 Peter 3:18-20 10
Colossians 2:14-17 19 Luke 16:19-31 37
Psalms 118:24 13 Living Souls 14
Penalty of Transgression 10 Nature of Man 18
Sanctification 43 Punishment of the Wicked 70
Second Coming of Christ 64 Work of the Spirit, No. 1 47
The Resurrection 59 “ “ “ 2 51
Immortality 18 Church Membership 61
Philippians 1:23 5 Missionary Labor 52
PRICE FOR THE TWO, 50 CENTS.
A small edition has been printed on very thin paper for the use of those who wish to paste them between the leaves of their Bibles. Price for the two, 50 cents.
Address, SIGNS OF THE TIMES, Oakland, Cal. Or, REVIEW AND HERALD, Battle Creek, Mich.

THE TRUTH FOUND.

By Joseph Harvey Waggoner

THE NATURE AND OBLIGATION OF THE SABBATH OF THE FOURTH COMMANDMENT.

By Eld. J. H. Waggoner.
The title of this little book sufficiently explains its character. It contains more Scriptural information in regard to the Sabbath than any other book of twice the size, and yet it is so simplified as to be easily comprehended. The author quotes the opinions of many learned men concerning the Sabbath, and their conflicting theories are strongly contrasted with the clear, straightforward teaching of the Bible. 64 pp. Price, 10 cents.
Address, SIGNS OF THE TIMES, Oakland, Cal. Or, REVIEW AND HERALD, Battle Creek, Mich.

SOUTH LANCASTER ACADEMY.

This school is located in the village of South Lancaster, Mass., on the Worcester and Nashua Railroad, about sixteen miles from Worcester and thirty from Boston.
It is conducted upon the most approved method of teaching, the aim of the managers being to combine the practical with the theological in such a manner that each student in going to the school shall be prepared for some position of usefulness.
Successful preachers, colporters, teachers, and canvassers have already entered the field from this school and, at the present time are laboring in at least eight of the Eastern States.
Students are instructed in four useful trades, and preparation are making to connect still other industries with the school.
Those wishing to attend this school or to place their children here, can depend upon their physical, mental, and spiritual interests being well cared for.
A specialty is made of the Bible, Language, and missionary work; the instruction in these branches being adapted to men and women of mature years.
Eld. S. N. Haskell, President, Eld. D. A. Robinson, Secretary.
Persons desiring to attend the school will please address, SOUTH LANCASTER ACADEMY.

SABBATH-SCHOOL HELPS.

Bible Lessons for Little Ones, No. 1. Flexible cover.........15 cts. Bible Lessons for Little Ones, No. 2. Flexible cloth.........20 cts. Bible Lessons for Children, No. 3..........................................25 cts. Bible Lessons, No. 4, with map...........................................25 cts. Bible Lessons, No. 5...........................................................25 cts. Bible Lessons, No. 6...........................................................25 cts.
Address, SIGNS OF THE TIMES, Oakland, Cal.; Or, REVIEW AND HERALD, Battle Creek, Mich.

News and Notes.

By Editor

RELIGIOUS.

—A sect called "Anti-Deists" has been founded in Paris for the purpose of suppressing the name of the Deity in all languages.
—The Roman Catholic Apostolic Delegate at Buenos Ayres has been expelled from the territory of the Argentine Republic, in consequence of his protests against the secularization of education.
—A late missionary report from Madagascar, says that sixty years ago not one person on the island could read. Now the number of readers there amounts to 300,000, and a large part of these possess some part of the Bible.
—A bill has been introduced in the Tennessee Legislature to punish those teaching the doctrine of polygamy, by a fine of $500 and imprisonment for two or three years, at the discretion of the court. It is likely that the measure will become a law.
—The New York Sun says that the pope of Rome is preparing a special letter, in which he will congratulate Archbishop Gibbons, of Baltimore, for the part he took in the late Plenary Council. It is generally thought that Archbishop Gibbons will be created a Cardinal in May next.
—"An error is an error, whether held by one man or many, tens of thousands of adherents cannot turn error into truth."—Independent. Truth. No matter how many people keep the first day of the week, it still remains a fact that "the seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord thy God."
—The Mormons of Salt Lake have lately sworn in a large number of their church as special police, to guard the houses of polygamists against United States officers who may attempt to serve warrants or subpoenas on the inmates. They have been instigated to this by articles in their church organ urging the assassination of Government officials.
—Joseph Cook proposes to reopen his famous Monday lectures in Boston the first Monday in February. Among other subjects, he expects to discuss the great subject of revelation and inspiration. Mr. Cook says some bright things occasionally; but if in his treatment of this subject his conclusions are as illogical as some deductions of his in a lecture recently delivered in San Francisco, Boston people will be just as well off without them.
—England seems to be afflicted as badly with church gambling as our own country. The Toronto Globe says that the Congregationalists of Birmingham raffled for bank notes, and the Episcopalians announced an open raffle, "tickets three pence each," with a number of prizes, including bottles of wine and boxes of cigars, for the benefit of some church schools. The corporation finally refused the use of the town hall unless some guarantee was given that there should be no raffling.
—The Interior strikes hard in its strictures on the committee who have in charge the preparation of the International Series of Sunday-school Lessons. It says: "They seem to have been playing what the Presbyterian (Phila.) calls a hop-skip-and-jump game, only that the jumping was in no particular direction. It is a department of what some one called kangaroo exegesis; but that was not accurately descriptive, because the kangaroo is going somewhere and after something."
—Duncan C. Ross, the noted Scotch wrestler and saloon-keeper, of Cleveland, Ohio, is contemplating entering the ministry. He expects to be immediately admitted to the Trinity Theological Seminary at Toronto, where he will study two years, preparatory to entering the pulpit. He thinks he has learned much in the saloon business that will be a help to him in the ministry. Strange indeed! We had never before thought that particular business well calculated to train men for such a work. But then, the church will keep pace with the world.
—The Christian at Work gives forcible utterance to a truth not generally admitted, but which is a truth, nevertheless, when it says: "And to-day we rest the designation of Sunday on the church having 'set it apart of its own authority.' The seventh-day rest was commanded in the fourth commandment, as it is written in every tissue and trembling fiber of the human frame. The selection of Sunday, thus changing the particular day designated in the fourth commandment, was brought about by the gradual concurrence of the early Christian church, and on this basis and none other does the Christian sabbath, the first day of the week, rightly rest." —The following, from a Virginia correspondent of the Church Record, shows how high an estimate some professors of religion place upon their souls, and how much sacrifice they are willing to make for their salvation: "One of our stewards called on a member of his church a few days ago for his quarterage. Two dollars was the amount demanded. 'That's too much,' declared the brother. 'I don't think so,' said the steward. 'But it is,' persisted the brother; 'I can't afford to pay so much. I'll have to join Big Swamp Church' (naming a church of a sister denomination in the neighborhood). 'You won't save anything by that,' suggested the steward, 'for you will have to pay them.' 'O, yes, I will save, for they have already offered to take me in for a dollar and a quarter a year.'" What a small soul, indeed, to feel thus. It is to be hoped the number is small who hold similar views. The church can well spare all such.

Publishers’ Department.

By Editor

We send no papers from this office without pay in advance, unless by special arrangement. When persons receive copies without ordering them, they are sent by other parties, and we can give no information in regard to them. Persons thus receiving copies of the SIGNS are not indebted to the office, and will not be called upon for pay. Please read the papers and hand them to your friends to read.
Money orders, drafts, etc., should be made to “Pacific Press;” never to individuals, as they may be absent, and business thereby be delayed.
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STATE AGENTS' DIRECTORY.

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