ONE characteristic above all others is essential to the Christian; he must possess the quality of steadfastness and constancy. How very important this is some little realize. “Unstable as water, thou shalt not excel,” said the patriarch to Reuben, his son. The instability of water is illustrated by James in these words: “He that wavereth is like a wave of the sea driven with the wind and tossed. For let not that man think that he shall receive anything of the Lord. A double-minded man is unstable in all his ways.”
We are not to be moved and turned about by varying circumstances and conditions. James again says, in connection with the above passage: “If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him. But let him ask in faith, nothing wavering.” Faith does not at all permit of vacillations. All things are possible to him that believeth for all things, and takes hold upon them.
In contrast with the instability of water and of humanity, God is declared to be the “Rock of Ages.” His word is enduring and permanent, unchangeable. So Christ was a stone, tried, precious, a stone upon which all must fall and be broken. The name Peter, from petros, given to Simon, signifies a stone, and after he was converted he bore out the character acceptably.
The intent of God is to make us all just like himself. “I have said ye are gods, and all of you are children of the Most High.” That enduring, unchangeable, inflexible nature is to come into us, so God’s life and character can be revealed in us. Then he may ever depend upon us. Varying moods spoil everything—yesterday all faith, to-day none; yesterday my light brightly shone, to-day my light is in darkness; yesterday I was led of God, to-day I accept Satan’s leadership. Who cannot see how much injury this works to the cause of Christ?
One so affected by circumstances cannot be relied upon. Satan knows just how to turn him aside, and he will do it. God knows that he will allow himself thus to be turned about, so can place no dependence upon him.
It is the will of God to make our life his life, our word his word, our works his own. We must therefore be settled, fixed, and grounded as the Rock of Ages, that God may appear, revealing himself in us. A faith that becomes thus fixed is requited by the fullness of the Lord. Wisdom, strength, godliness, and life are the sure fruits.
But how much time we lose, and how much we suffer, when we have spasms of faith and spasms of faithlessness. When in faith, we do the works of God; when faithless, we drop back upon self. And whose works do we then do?
One neutralizes the other. Our life as Christians is almost a blank. The Lord must needs bring us over and over the same ground—no progress, no growth. We seem to be at a standstill. Why?—Because we have not perfected anything. We have not taken hold of his strength sufficiently to accomplish what he has already assigned us. Why should he give us more?—It would only discourage but in no way help us. When we take hold of his life and power in living faith, and perfect our way according to his testimony, then the way will be open for a more full revelation of himself to us.
Those who know themselves to be fitful and flighty, passionate, easily controlled by circumstances, who have but little control over themselves, should remember that through the strength of God, so freely given, they may lay self aside as a worn-out garment, and by using the Lord’s strength with special eye to their weaknesses, they may make their weak points their strong ones, and so be fitted for responsibilities and every good work.
Jamaica, Vt.
VAIN WORSHIP.
By M. E. Steward
BY M. E. STEWARD.
THE Jews thought they could release themselves from the observance of the strict letter of some of God’s commandments. “God commanded, saying, Honor thy father and thy mother,” but by formally dedicating their property to the cause of God, they persuaded themselves that they were not obliged to care for parents who were dependent upon them. Matt. 15: 5.
They called this money “Corban” (Mark 7: 11), i. e., an oblation, meaning a bloodless offering or gift, dedicated to sacred uses. “It is true, father, mother, that by giving thee this, which I now present, thou mightest be profited by me; but I have gifted it to pious uses, and therefore at whatever cost to thee, I am not now at liberty to alienate any portion of it. To dedicate property to God is indeed lawful and laudable, but not at the expense of filial duty.”—Rev. David Brown.
Christ set the matter right. See Matt. 15: 3-9. He pronounced such religion of the “mouth” and “lips,” “while their heart is far from Me.” “But in vain,” said he, “they617do worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men.”
Is there not a parallel in our days? If the Lord has specified a day for us to keep holy, has anyone a right to keep any other day for the Sabbath? What would the Saviour say to those who rest on the first day of the week, thinking they are thereby released from keeping the day which God sanctified and commanded? Gen. 2:2, 3; Ex. 20:8-11. Will not our Lord say to all who persist in so doing, "In vain they do worship me [it is neither acceptable to me, nor will it profit them], teaching for doctrines the commandments of men"?
Please read Isa. 1:10-20. Is there not reason to fear the prophet, if living now, would pronounce the same fearful utterances, divested of course of the peculiarities of Jewish worship?
HINTS ON TEACHING OBEDIENCE.
By Prof. G. H. Bell
BY PROF. G. H. BELL.
OBEDIENCE implies more than mere submission. To obey truly is to comply cheerfully with the wishes of those who have a right to command. Real obedience springs from love and respect. A forced compliance may sometimes be necessary, but it is not obedience in the best sense,—not the obedience which the Bible contemplates.
Before the child can truly obey, he must see that the parent is far wiser than he, and that every requirement is made in love. This demands time and patience. How slow we ourselves are, as men and women, to learn the same great lesson with respect to our Heavenly Parent! From this we should learn forbearance.
In order to lay the foundation of proper obedience, we should cultivate in ourselves a purely unselfish character,—one that is uniformly kind and considerate. Children will soon learn to admire and honor such a character, and to have faith in a love thus manifested. True, the child does not in every respect inherit the nature of angels, and will at times show anger and insolence that must be stoutly resisted; but it is better to wait till his anger cools before crowding him to an issue. We should remember how God deals with us. Injudicious praise and overindulgence will puff up the child in his own estimation and cause him to show disrespect to others. It is not possible to teach such a child obedience until these wrong tendencies have been corrected. The too common practice of making the little one a plaything for the family, is very pernicious. Amuse it, but do not seek to make it an object of amusement to you, further than its own quiet happiness can give you enjoyment. Do not teach it to show off its smart tricks before company. Such a course will destroy that modest, retiring spirit which is the charm of childhood as well as of womanhood. A great writer has compared this process to rubbing the delicate bloom from grapes or plums; when once removed, it will never return. It gives the child a haughty spirit, making him feel that others ought to yield to his wishes, not he to theirs.
By all means avoid positive commands till the child can fully understand that he ought to obey them. The legal right to command is vested in the parent, the teacher, or the public officer; but the moral right to control is based upon broader principles, pure motives, superior wisdom, and a reasonable certainty of benefiting those controlled. The mere assurance of words will never convince the child that you possess these qualifications; from infancy up, he must see in you the living embodiment of these principles. Only so far as he can see this, will he be able to render such obedience as God will require of him in maturer years, and thus the highest object of parental obedience be gained. True, the child must be restrained within certain limits (for the protection of others as well as for his own good), whether he admits the justice of the control or not.
In very young children who are inclined to be stubborn, the attention may often be innocently diverted until the evil mood has subsided. It should ever be borne in mind that the baser passions, as well as the affections, are strengthened by exercise. Thus we see that it is the part of wisdom to avoid calling into exercise the undesirable qualities of the child's nature, and to quiet them when once aroused. It is sad, indeed, to see parents provoke contests which they cannot carry through without injustice and cruelty. It is very seldom necessary to break down a noble spirit in order to teach it obedience. It is much better to soften the disposition, and bring it where conscience can do its legitimate work.—Good Health.
LEAVES FROM A DOCTOR'S JOURNAL.
By Editor
THERE walked into my office one morning last week a fair-faced woman of about forty. Her hair was quite gray, her face pale, with heavy shadows beneath the eyes. She seated herself languidly, with the remark: "I hardly know a well woman among my acquaintances. Girls begin to fade at twenty-one, at forty are old women—a bundle of nerves, with backache, headache, neuralgia, sleeplessness, loss of appetite, or loss of power to digest food, which is worse. Mental disorders set in, and a woman who was noted for her sunny temperament at twenty, becomes irritable, fretful, peevish, cross—call it what you like, it is all the same. Her whole nature succumbs to the torturing demands of worn-out nerves. Now, doctor, tell me truly, is there any remedy, or must I go on in this way to the end of a wretched life?—for wretched it is, indeed. I have been to nearly every physician in the city. I'm better for a little while, and then I'm worse than before. I am discouraged. I have lost faith in doctors and their drugs, and yet I long to feel well once more, to be able to go out of an evening with my husband without a headache the next morning."
We have said "good-by" to our patient and sent her away with one tiny seed of courage in her heart, which may spring up and bear fruit a hundred-fold. And now, old journal, we will tell you how we talked to her.
Did you notice that over and over again she said: "Everything worries me; I worry from morning till night, and from night till morning—often in my sleep being conscious, or semi-conscious, of a troubled, perplexed, worried feeling"? Did you ask what she worries over? What does not worry her would be far more easily enumerated. If the children are well, she worries lest they will be sick. She is going to put the baby in short clothes next month, and she tells me she is so fearful lest he take cold that she is unhappy whenever she thinks of it. She worries over her house, over what she has in it, and over what she has not in it; over the gas bill, the618grocer's bill, the milkman's bill, the coal bill, the rent, and the water tax. The church socials and the prayer meetings are a great anxiety to her. She worries because there has been no revival in the church for the past two or three years.
"Is she a Christian?" you ask. Yes, she is, and a good one, too—her chief worry now being the church. You should think if she is a Christian, she should not worry. Very wisely and easily said, you self-righteous old journal. Didn't cost you much. Perhaps sometimes you will try to be sweet-spirited when every sound hurts you, every word causes pain, and the anticipated return of the children from school is a dread which you cannot control, even though you love them better than your own life. No; she cannot help it—at least, not all of it. She suffers constant self-reproach over her own forgetfulness. Her husband, who is a really kind man, knows little or nothing of how she feels. His look of surprise over the utterance of a cross word is misery for her the rest of the day. Her life is one unbroken coil of care, which she is forever winding and unwinding. The habit has grown, has settled upon her. The whole camel is within the tent, and yet she is sick, really sick. She began that with the worries, the reproaches, the fears she constantly heaps upon herself.
"O doctor, I am all wrong, and I must have help!"
"Mrs. H.," I said, "did it ever occur to you that you try to do your part and God's part, too? Why not, moment by moment, simply do the next thing? Only so much is required of humanity. Don't you think the blessed Master is equal to his part? Why, yes, you do, of course; you have always thought that. Well, suppose you begin, and, for just a minute, act upon that supposition—nay, my friend, act upon that fact, for it is no supposition. With the daylight comes trooping into your mind every burden to be carried for the day. Lay them off quietly, casting all your care upon One who careth for you. Trust him, and see him bring it to pass. Keep ever present in your mind the Master. The habit of continued thought prayer will grow upon you. Let love and trust and faith grow until they possess you. Drop absolutely out of your mind thoughts about things which trouble you. You cannot do it? You can do it; you must do it. But remember, you are to do this a minute at a time."
"Let the care slide off. Do not assume the responsibilities which belong to God. You cannot keep your children. You cannot make a revival. You cannot force people to accept Christ. Let the blessed Master keep your little ones. Oh, do get the sweetness and peace which flow in like a river when 'little ones and cares' are given over to Christ! He never will fail you or your children, if you trust him. Yes, I know all about Dr. J.'s family of boys, but I don't know, and you don't know, whether the mother tried to do everything herself for those same children, or quietly trusted them to the Lord after she had done her part. Perhaps she did too much. Yes; perhaps she did too little. It is nothing to you. You are to trust. Did you know that God once said to the children of Israel, 'Your strength is to sit still'? He says the same to you. Again he says, 'He that believeth shall not make haste.' Take that word 'believeth' as it stands in the connection in that text, and think about it for twenty-four hours. You will breathe more easily in an hour; in two hours you will begin to smile; in three hours your heart will be full of heavenly melody, for Christ, the Living, will have come into his garden."
A look into her eyes, her tired eyes, revealed a new light. They were full of tears; but the troubled lines had nearly vanished; the Prince of Peace had even so soon begun his reign. She rose to go home, gave me her hand
at parting, did not speak, but the tender, clinging clasp moved my very heart with love and prayer and sympathy. I looked in her face with these words, "Let us go to the Lord Jesus Christ with all this just now in prayer."
"Oh, may we?" she said. "Will you pray with me—and here—right here—in the office?"
"And why not?" I replied. "We will make a scriptural closet of it while we talk to God."
Again I looked in her face as she passed out, and said in my heart, "She has been with Jesus."—Advance.
THE SUNDAY BASIS.
This epidemic of Sunday legislation serves to show how ineffectual it all is. Sunday goes down in spite of gray-haired laws, and yet men clamor for laws to prevent the destruction of "our American sabbath." This favorite term, "American sabbath," shows how far the friends of Sunday have departed from biblical facts and principles, and how essentially weak the whole system of Sunday observance is. The public conscience is comatose, or dead, and yet men seem to think they can galvanize it into life. If there were any biblical basis for Sunday, and if its friends had spent one-half the time and money to arouse and strengthen religious conscience which they have spent to obtain help from Congress and State Legislatures, the cause of genuine Sabbath Reform would be much farther advanced than it is now.
The bottom truth is this: Religious men dare not appeal to the Bible, lest the despised "Saturday" come to the front and gain the victory. All right, brethren, go on. Call on Egypt for help. Become religious politicians. Rejoice in sharp "parliamentary practice," if it seems to give temporary advantage. Lean on "broken reeds." Build on the quicksands of political lowlands. Failure will come the sooner and be the greater. We prefer to trust the loving God and his everlasting law. We can read the fourth commandment without mental reservation or metaphysical deception. Can you?—Evangel and Sabbath Outlook.
Mailboxes on Street Cars
LETTER boxes have been attached to the street cars in Huddersfield, England, and letters can be posted in these boxes as the cars are traversing the suburbs, the boxes being emptied by the post office employees on the arrival of the car at or near the central post office on each trip. If a person stops the car especially for the purpose of mailing a letter, a penny is collected by the conductor, and deposited in the fare box. This doubles the cost of sending the letter, but the advantage of an immediate special delivery is secured, and letters are greatly expedited by the scheme. The scheme is yet an experiment, but it is largely approved.—Scientific American.
Sin, Will, and Satan
By Hall
If Satan be the father of our sins, our will is the mother, and sin is the cursed issue of both. He could not make our sin without ourselves. It was the charge of the apostle that we should not "give place to the devil."—Hall.
BEAUTIFUL.
BEAUTIFUL faces are those that wear—
It matters little if dark or fair—
Whole-souled honesty printed there.
Beautiful eyes are those that show,
Like crystal panes where hearth fires glow,
Beautiful thoughts that burn below.
Beautiful lips are those whose words
Leap from the heart like songs of birds,
Yet whose utterances prudence girds.
Beautiful hands are those that do
Work that is earnest and brave and true,
Moment by moment the long day through.
Beautiful feet are those that go
On kindly ministries to and fro—
Down lowliest ways, if God wills it so.
Beautiful shoulders are those that bear
Ceaseless burdens of homely care
With patient grace and with daily prayer.
Beautiful lives are those that bless—
Silver rivers of happiness,
Whose hidden fountains but few may guess.
Beautiful twilight at set of sun,
Beautiful goal, with race well won,
Beautiful rest, with work well done.
—Selected.
A HAPPY HOME.
By M. E. Kern
WHO has not had the feelings of Mrs. A. E. Allen, when she wrote:—
"Backward, turn backward, O time in your flight, Make me a child again just for to-night."
How often amid the hurry and toil of a busy life we look back to our childhood days as the happiest days of our life! When we feel the responsibilities of manhood and womanhood resting down upon us, we do wish, sometimes, that we might be a child again under mother's protecting care, enjoying the freedom and contentment we used to, with no thought of the cares and perplexities of life.
A well-disciplined Christian home is something to look back to as a green spot in one's life.
How often our dear old mother's smiling face is presented to us, and how often her prayers come up before us,—prayers for the little ones over whom God had given her charge! We remember those pleasant strolls through the woods to gather wild flowers, and those long winter evenings, when the family gathered round the hearthstone to relate the events of the day, to sometimes pop corn, and hear dear old father read the old family Bible or other books the children liked. Those scenes appear to us as but yesterday. But now the family circle is broken; the children have all grown up and left home, to fight life's battles alone. We are separated from father and mother, sisters and brothers, and sometimes, when the day's work is done and the golden sun is setting behind the western hills, our thoughts turn back to those happy days, and, oh, how we desire that the family circle might meet again round the hearthstone at the old homestead!
That can never be; but the influence of that pleasant home and Christian mother will extend through all our lives, and we live and work with the hope of meeting her in heaven.
"Happy the home when God is there,
And love fills every breast;
When one their wish and one their prayer,
And one their heavenly rest."
—M. E. Kern.
FICTION AND FACT.
By G. Milton Smith
THE fiction about drink is that it is a food.
The fact about drink is that a gallon of ale contains less nourishment than a penny loaf; that a glass of wine contains less food than could be put on a threepenny piece; and that a glass of spirits contains as much nourishment and is about as satisfying as the bite of a mad dog.
How can this be true, when people feel so much strengthened and revived after taking a drink?—Because stimulation and excitement are mistaken for strength.
A spur or a whip will carry a horse to the top of a hill; but no one is insane enough to suppose the horse is really stronger for the whipping.
The fiction about drink is that it strengthens619the body and enables it to endure additional fatigue.
The fact about drink is that it weakens the center of life and action, viz., the heart. A pint and a half of beer, or two glasses of wine, or one glass of spirits will cause the heart to beat 6,000 extra strokes in a day.
The fiction is that alcohol helps digestion.
The fact is that it causes indigestion and dyspepsia.
The fiction about drink is that it warms the body.
The fact about it is that it cools it, lowering the temperature, and rendering the body more susceptible to cold.—G. Milton Smith.
ABOUT TEMPER.
THE most pitiful sight that I can imagine is to see a man or woman growing old in a bad temper.
Temper, you know, is so largely a matter of habit, of self-training, that it is almost a crime for anybody who has reached the years of discretion, after a childhood of opportunities, to be ill tempered.
We frequently hear persons spoken of as good natured or ill natured, when it is not a matter of nature at all, but of the exercise, or the want, of self-restraint.
Many a man who was by nature ill tempered—quick, fiery, irascible—has recognized his weakness, and, by the exercise of a strong will, so softened and wrought upon his natural disposition as to acquire perfect control of his temper, thus making himself sweet and lovable in spite of his nature. Others who were naturally amiable have allowed every little tendency to irritability full sway, until ill temper has grown up and mastered their naturally sweet and tractable dispositions, thus rendering them overbearing, disagreeable, and hard to get along with.
Old age seems but to deepen and strengthen these tendencies. The individual who acquires self-command and exercises full control over his temper will find it easier to control as he grows older, and will grow sweeter and more lovable with every flying year. He who allows temper to gain the mastery will each year become more hopelessly its slave, until he finally spends all his waking hours in disagreeable speech and unhappy thought.
Make up your mind while young to master your temper, and you will find as you grow old that you have not only saved yourself many heartaches, but that you have kept yourself from making those about you unhappy.—The Southland.
SINGING AS AN AID TO HEALTH.
THE time will soon come when singing will be regarded as one of the great helps to physicians in lung diseases in the incipient state. Almost every branch of gymnastics is employed in one way or another by the doctors, but the simple and natural function of singing has not yet received its full meed of praise. In Italy, some years ago, statistics were taken which proved that the vocal artists were especially long lived and healthy, under normal circumstances, while of the brass instrumentalists it was discovered that consumption never claimed a victim among them.
Those who have a tendency toward consumption should take easy vocal exercises, no matter how thin and weak their voices may seem to be. They will find a result at times far surpassing any relief afforded by medicine. Vocal practice, in moderation, is the best system of general gymnastics that can be imagined, many muscles being brought into play that would scarcely be suspected of action in connection with so simple a matter as tone production. Therefore, apart from all art consideration, merely as a matter of health, one can earnestly say to the healthy, "Sing that you may become strong."—The Echo.
CARE OF THE EYES.
AVOID all sudden changes between light and darkness. Never begin to read, or write, or sew for several minutes after coming from darkness to a bright light. Never read by twilight or moonlight or on a very cloudy day. Never read or sew directly in front of the light of window or door. It is best to have the light fall from above, obliquely over the left shoulder. Never sleep so that on first awakening the eyes shall open on the light of a window. Do not use the eyesight by light so scant that it requires an effort to discriminate. —National Educator.
COUNTRY AND PEOPLE OF ECUADOR.
By Hon. N. F. Graves
BY HON. N. F. GRAVES.
ECUADOR is a republic of South America, lying under the equator. The United States of Colombia lies at the north, and Peru at the south. It was taken from the great American Free States, and organized by Simon Bolivar, the great liberator. The boundaries on the north as well as the south are not settled. The country claims two hundred and forty-eight thousand square miles, but nearly half of it is claimed by the adjoining States. The country is a unique one and is divided into seventeen provinces. The government is moulded after our own country in many respects. The executive is vested in a president and vice president, who are elected for four years. The Legislature is divided into two houses. None but Roman Catholics can vote or hold any office.
It is a very mountainous country. Three great mountain ranges extend north and south. These mountains form the most remarkable group of volcanoes in the world. There are fifteen points that are each more than twelve thousand feet high, and some are higher still. Many of these are active volcanoes. This country embraces every variety of climate. The coast and low grounds are very hot. The temperate regions are in the mountains six thousand to nine thousand feet above the sea, and the cold regions are about nine thousand feet. The cultivated land lies in the valleys of Quito and Ambolo. These valleys are from seven thousand to ten thousand feet high. In these fertile valleys may be cultivated all kinds of grain. There are small valleys at a lower level where all tropical vegetables and fruits are cultivated. The little valley of Chota is only about five thousand feet above the sea, and is one of the most fertile vales in the country.
The slopes of the Andes on both sides are covered with wild forests, that have hardly been explored. These forests and the parts covered with snow compose the greater part of the country. The Incas formerly occupied many of these heights. The great causeways and temples, now in ruins, were constructed of free stone; when these structures were made is hid in the dim ages of the past. The vast amount of gold which they collected was chiefly from the beds of rivers.
The lower slopes of the mountains are frequented with wild animals. The tapir is one of the largest, and the jaguar the fiercest and most formidable animal of the New World. The jaguar, like the tiger of India, is powerful enough to carry away a bullock or a horse. These forests are filled with birds and serpents, and the rivers are filled with alligators, which are more dangerous than the wild animals. These vast forests of valuable timber, and the abundance of tropical fruits at the foot of the Andes, add very little to the wealth of the State, but only operate as a shelter and support of a few tribes of wild Indians, who roam uncontrolled over these vast forests.
The half-civilized Indians do all the work—cultivate the land, weave cotton cloth, make carpets which are finely colored and very serviceable. They manufacture some pottery, which is everywhere used.
These Indians are said to keep faith with each other. They say the Spaniards took all they had, and they think it right to take all they can from the Spaniards. The work is all done in the most primitive manner. They have no plows nor any labor-saving machine. They plant their seeds by making a hole in the ground. They thresh their grain by driving their oxen or horses over it.
Ecuador is an old country, and most of it is still a desert. It is rich but undeveloped. It is perhaps the richest in resources of all the South American republics, and yet the poorest and most backward of them all. It is often said that seventy-five per cent of children born of Indian mothers are illegitimate. There is a very good reason why they do not marry. The priests charge six dollars for each marriage, and it is very seldom that an Indian can raise that sum. They are very poor and live together without being married.
The Spaniards are generally very proud and very poor, but they are the governing class. They are polite, and offer you a graceful hospitality, and apparently welcome you with hearty kindness. The females of this class are noted for their beauty and are said to have the finest complexions of any in South America, with large and expressive dark eyes, and black and abundant hair. They are graceful, with small hands and feet. They mature early and fade quickly. They are said to be indolently superstitious, but faithful. They all wear the manta, for in this country there is no bonnet or female hat. The hideous women, the descendants of the conquered Incas, wear no color but black, deeming that color most suitable for those who have lost all and have become mere beasts of burden. The brave spirits of their powerful ancestors seem to have been completely crushed out of them.
It was on the island of Puna, below the city of Guayaquil, that Pizarro, the conqueror, landed and made his first conquest. He found the Incas at war with each other. It is said it was the first war between the Incas. The Spaniards took side with one and easily conquered the other. The other Inca was soon conquered and made a prisoner. The last of the Incas offered to the Spaniards to fill his rooms with gold if they would relieve him, which Pizarro agreed to do. The Inca sent his miners all over the country to bring in gold. Pizarro, thinking the country was full of gold, wearied with waiting, had the Inca strangled. The miners, hearing of the death of their chief, buried the gold, and it is supposed that most of it is buried now.12Pizarro seized the Indian reserve, but he found that no persuasion, no threat, no torture could make them discover the buried gold.
Guayaquil is a city of about twenty-six thousand people, being the capital of Guayas province, on the west bank of the Guayas River, forty miles from its mouth. It is the chief port of Ecuador. Large ships can reach the city. There are no docks, and all ships anchor in the river a mile or more from the shore, and the freight is moved in barges.
The city lies low, with long rows of white houses with yellow tile roofs, large windows, and many piazzas. The city looks gay at a distance, but is dirty and in bad order when you enter. Many of the blocks have stores and shops on the first floors and dwellings above. Most of the churches have towers and look odd and oriental. There is a tramway along the river and in some of the streets: The city is the commercial seaport for Quito. The stores are filled with costly goods, but most of them are owned and run by Chinese. The people are generally indolent and will not work, and the Chinese are active and take most of the profit. I saw a company of natives trying to raise money to build a church. They had figures of the Virgin Mary borne on the shoulders of men. To those who gave, a blessing was pronounced by the priest, but a curse to those who did not give, but the priest promised the delinquents that if they gave afterward the curse would be removed and a blessing given. We cannot expect much morality under such teachers.
Every morning you see a long row of women on their way to the church, and everyone is followed by a small Indian boy or maid bearing a rug or strip of carpet upon which the worshipers kneel during the service. There are no seats in these churches, but the floor is marked off in small squares, which are rented, and there they kneel and worship.
These people appear gentle and polite, but they are all Roman Catholics, and allow no other kind of worship in public. There are no Christian missionaries here. A Bible reader was here a few years since, but he had to leave the field. It is often said that many of the people would be glad to hear the Gospel, but the priests will not allow it, and have the law on their side, and they never hesitate to make arrests. A medical missionary would be more likely to succeed than any other. Schools are in operation, and education is free and obligatory, but the schools are all Roman Catholic. The spiritual darkness is great. Some effort should be made to give them the light of life.—Gospel in All Lands.
A CITY IN THE CLOUDS.
MANY stories have been written about mirages and delusions, says an exchange, but none have been more interesting and curious than that of the Silent City mirage, which makes its appearance near the Pacific glacier in Alaska. The discovery of this wonderful mirage was made by the Indians, who would tell of the city which was built in the clouds. The mirage can be seen in the early part of June from 5 to 6 P. M. It rises from the side of the Pacific glacier. It first appears like a heavy mist and soon becomes clearer, and one can distinctly see the specter city, well-defined streets and trees, tall spires, huge and odd-shaped buildings, which appear to be ancient mosques or cathedrals.
It is a city which would seem to contain at least 25,000 or 30,000 inhabitants. As yet no one has been able to identify it, although several have claimed to recognize the place. There is no city like it in Alaska, nor in any country about it for thousands of miles. Some claim it is a city in Russia, others say it is a city in England, but none can tell where it is. The mirage was given the name of "Silent City," as it appears to be one, like a dead city; there is nothing that would indicate it is inhabited.—The Voice.
WESTERN PLUCK.
A WESTERN newspaper started on its career under peculiar circumstances. The editor of the Rocky Mountain Cyclone thus opened the first article of the first issue of his paper:
"We begin the publication of the Rocky Mountain Cyclone with some phew diphiculties in the way. The type phounder phrom whom we bought the outphit phor this printing orphis phailed to supply any ephs and cays, and it will be phour or phive weeks bephore we can get any. We have ordered the missing letters, and will have to wait until they come. We don't lique the loox ov this variety ov spelling any better than our readers, but mistax will happen in the best regulated ov phamilies, and iph the cees and exes and qus hold out we shall ceep (sound the c hard) the Cyclone whirling aphter a phashion till the sorts arrive. It is no joque to us; it is a serious aphair."—The Morning Star.
Temperance Meetings and Prohibition
WE must therefore begin, as we began in 1838, by moral suasion. We should begin by holding temperance meetings in every school-house, church, and summer grove in the land. People of this generation have no idea of the interest these meetings enlist. There are plenty of good speakers and of good singers in every large vicinity who will volunteer with enthusiasm. We have what we did not have from '38 to '48,—the great power and influence of cultivated women. These women will do what never has been done,—house to house work. They will drag the facts out of the liars of evil, and bring them to bear upon the immediate community, and thus make them intensely effective. A year or two of this work, and prohibition will come of itself, and it will come to stay as a power which can neither be evaded nor resisted.—The Interior.
BUILDING.
SOULS are built as temples are—
Sunken deep, unseen, unknown,
Lies the sure foundation stone.
Then the courses, framed to bear,
Lift the cloisters pillared fair;
Last of all the airy spire,
Soaring heavenward, higher and higher,
Nearest sun and nearest star.
Souls are built as temples are—
Inch by inch in gradual rise
Mount the layered masonries.
Warring questions have their day,
Kings arise and pass away,
Laborers vanish one by one,
Still the temple is not done,
Still completion seems afar.
Souls are built as temples are—
Here a carving rich and quaint,
There the image of a saint;
Here a deep-hued pane to tell
Sacred truth or miracle;
Every little helps the much;
Every careful, careless touch
Adds a charm or leaves a scar.
Souls are built as temples are—
Based on truth's eternal law,
Sure and steadfast, without flaw.
Through the sunshine, through the snows,
Up and on the building goes;
Every fair thing finds its place;
Every hard thing lends a grace;
Every hand may make or mar.
—Selected.
OUTRAGES ON MISSIONARIES IN CHINA.
THE steamer which arrived at Victoria from China on the 25th of July brings news of the cruel massacre of two Swedish missionaries at Sung-Pu, by an infuriated mob. They were in the midst of a city of 25,000 people, who are noted for their hostility to foreigners and foreign religion, without any other friends than three Chinese servants who were Christians. These servants gave the missionaries warning that they were to be killed on the 18th day of the 5th moon (July 1), but they did not heed the warning. They merely notified the authorities of the threat, but no attention was paid to the notification. On the day mentioned the house was surrounded and assaulted with stones and clubs until the inmates climbed to the roof and attempted to escape. But they were pelted with stones until they finally jumped to the ground, and were beaten to death and left lying in the street for the dogs to eat. It is stated that the missionaries were of Bishop Taylor's party, recruited in Wisconsin six months ago.
The Shanghai Mercury hears from Hankow on good authority that during the past six months no less than three distinct and villainous attempts have been made by the natives to set fire to the Italian convent, and that there is an uneasy anti-foreign undercurrent again making itself felt in the great tea port.
A cowardly outrage was perpetrated on an English Methodist missionary, the Rev. C. Bore, near Canton on June 15. He was going up the river in his boat in broad day, when pirates leaped aboard, and, presenting pistols at the heads of himself and his servants, robbed them of all their money.