Earlier text: TRADITION TRADUCEDANSWERS TO CORRESPONDENTS.
By Editor
A NEBRASKA correspondent asks the following questions:— 1. "Will you kindly tell us why you think Paul wrote the book of Hebrews?" We do not know that he did. Opinions seem to be divided as to whether Paul, Apollos, or Barnabas wrote it. Personally, our opinion inclines to the latter as author. But it is immaterial as to who wrote it. Its inspiration and canonicity are well supported. 2. "How can you prove to a Jew from the Old Testament that the world was made by Christ?" We would not attempt such a thing as that at first. Enough could be shown from the agreement between the prophecies of the Old Testament and their fulfillment in Christ to prove that Jesus of Nazareth was the divine Son of God. If this evidence was accepted by the Jew, he would readily accept the fact that Christ created the world. We must not ask people to believe the harder things first. Things which are most important are the most clearly revealed; and having become established on these the others will be readily accepted, new light will be thrown on such texts as Gen. 1: 26; Isa. 9:6, and other passages. 3. The reason why the gospel, the wages of sin, the reward of the righteous, the plan of salvation, etc., are not mentioned more frequently till Isaiah, is because the Scriptures previous to that are largely historical, although there are many references to one or more of these things. Jacob's wrestling with the Angel, whom he calls God, what the Lord told to Moses of the Angel of his presence in whom was the name of Jehovah, the Captain of the Lord's hosts who met Joshua, and many other references, show something of what was revealed to Israel. Moses spoke of him as the prophet to come. Deuteronomy 18. Abraham died in faith in that promised Seed to come, as did the other patriarchs. Jacob's prophecy concerning the Shiloh of Judah could have been understood in no other way than having reference to that exalted Being who would bring peace throughout the world. These and other references indicate faith in Christ on the part of those who lived prior to his first advent. Eve evidently supposed that she had gotten the Saviour of the world, the God-man, when Cain was born. Enoch, the seventh from Adam, prophesied of Christ's second coming even, and doubtless of his first. History did not need to mention these things. The facts are stated. There is sufficient on which to base faith; God does not reveal his will or doings to satisfy mere curiosity. Another correspondent wishes an explanation of 1 Cor. 14:34, 35, about women keeping silent in the churches. We believe that there have appeared two articles upon this text in this journal during the past year. Some cold-hearted sister who does not appreciate enough of the love of God to praise him for it in the assembly of the saints, wishes an excuse for her coldness, passes by all that is said in the Scriptures on the other side, and catches upon the above text as an excuse. The instruction was evidently745 given by the apostle to correct abuses in the Corinthian church. It might have pertained to business matters. The Corinthians evidently knew to what the apostle referred, and they also knew that he did not forbid women testifying to God's goodness, and encouraging others by their personal experience. Certainly the four daughters of Philip who prophesied (Acts 21:8, 9), Phebe, who served the church at Cenchrea; Priscilla, a helper of Paul; Mary, and Junia, and Tryphena, and Tryphosa (Rom. 16:1-12), could not have so prophesied, and served, and labored, without bearing testimony to Christ, in whose communion there is "neither male nor female." Why would Paul give directions concerning the prophesying and praying of women in public if it was unlawful for them so to do. See 1 Cor. 11:5, 6. It is well to remember, however, that God has placed man, as the stronger vessel, first. 1 Cor. 11:8, 9; Col. 3:18; Titus 2:5, etc. We have sometimes thought that God gave 1 Cor. 14:34, 35, in order to present a seeming excuse—not real—to those who desired it to evade not only a solemn duty but a precious privilege. But, "Great peace have they which love thy law; and they shall have no stumbling-block." Ps. 119:165, margin. Another asks for an explanation of 1 Cor. 5:5, which reads: "To deliver such an one unto Satan for the destruction of the flesh, that the spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord Jesus." Read also the context. We understand that no person is so well off on this earth as he who is in his proper place in the church of God. He is sustained and strengthened by the mutual faith and prayers of all. He is, like a member of a healthy human body, nourished and strengthened, helped and edified, by every other member in a greater or less degree. This church is of God's planting; in it and through its various offices and gifts he works. But when a member of this church becomes so sinful, so independent and stubborn in his sin, that he will take no counsel of his brethren, or of those who have the spiritual oversight of the church, the time has come to cut him off from all the spiritual influences and blessings of the church, from all the support and help of his brethren, that he may learn how weak he is, and how strong is the power of the enemy over him. In other words, withdraw from him the hand of fellowship, that he may realize its loss, and thus be led to a sincere repentance and crucifixion of the flesh, and return to God with all his heart. This the Corinthian church evidently did, in harmony with the inspired counsel of Paul; and the result proved the wisdom of the course pursued. See 2 Cor. 2:4-8. M. C. W. The Sabbath-School.
By W. N. Glenn
Notes on the International Lesson.
FOR many years Solomon walked uprightly; but he finally yielded to the allurements with which wealth and popularity naturally surrounded him. God had designed that Israel should not be as the other nations, and had given them such rules of public and private life as would have preserved them "a peculiar people" had they continued to obey his statutes. They were also a typical people, representing such as should always keep themselves "unspotted from the world." WE have in this lesson a striking illustration of the fulfillment of God's word. God had foretold through Moses that Israel would demand a king in order to be like other nations, and gave certain directions for his observance. See Deut. 17:14-20. In the sixteenth verse we read: "He shall not multiply horses to himself, nor cause the people to return to Egypt, to the end that he should multiply horses." But we are told in 1 Kings 4:26 that "Solomon had forty thousand stalls of horses;" and in the same book, chap. 10:28, 29, we learn that he made a regular business of trading in Egyptian horses. A FURTHER precaution was: "Neither shall he multiply wives to himself, that his heart turn not away." Thus the Lord foresaw just where trouble would arise, and interposed the warning, and pointed out how they would be dangerous: "For surely they will turn away your heart after their gods." How truly all this was fulfilled in Solomon's life. In the verse preceding the lesson, we read: "And he had seven hundred wives, princesses, and three hundred concubines." Then comes the result, just as God had predicted,—"his wives turned away his heart after other gods." GOD always looks ahead for the interest of his people. His foresight is always a sure indicator, as a light that shineth in a dark place. See 2 Peter 1:19. All the sacred history shows that it would have been well for men to "take heed" to his forecast of events, and especially to his counsels. He "knoweth the end from the beginning," and "he that dwelleth in the secret place of the Most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty." Our God is "a jealous God;" he will not give his glory to another; therefore he would carefully guard his people against the road leading to idolatry. ALL departure from God's word means idolatry, and the farther one strays from the letter of his warning or his command, the more flagrant becomes his idolatry. In the very beginning God provided means to guard men against idolatry, but that means has been grossly neglected, with the result that is so fully demonstrated in the history of man. He established at creation a memorial of the creative power of the true God. The one grand distinction between the true God and all false gods is that the true One created the heavens and the earth. No false god has ever claimed, nor was it ever claimed for him, that he created anything. WE read in Ex. 20:11 that "in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day; wherefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath-day, and hallowed it." Is it reasonable to suppose that if men had faithfully celebrated this weekly memorial day, they would have come to believe in any other god? See Eze. 20:12: "Moreover also I gave them my sabbaths, to be a sign between me and them, that they might know that I am the Lord that sanctify them." We see, then, that the one object of the Sabbath was a memorial of the true God? Is there any less necessity for such a safeguard to-day than there was in ancient times? IT is almost impossible to comprehend how any man, endowed as was Solomon with wisdom from Heaven, could fall into the silly worship of those heathen gods. Yet the fact remains that he did so, and the record says it was "because his heart was turned from the Lord his God," and "kept not that which the Lord commanded." Then wisdom alone will not keep one from falling away from God, unless there be in the heart a true spirit of obedience. A man may be able to speak proverbs and write songs by the thousand, and yet fail in the service of God, and be rejected. ALL the gods specially mentioned in this lesson were simply various forms of planet worship, of which the sun was the principal object. When men conceived the necessity of worshiping something which they could see, they naturally turned to the sun, which to them seemed to be the most important object—the source of all blessing. "Ashtoreth, the goddess of the Zidonians," represented the female principle in production, as Baal, the sun-god, did the male. Ashtoreth is supposed to be the same as Astarte, which in some localities was symbolized by the moon, and in others by Venus. CHEMOSH was another form of Baal or sun-worship. It was a national deity of the Moabites (Num. 21:29), and is variously associated with Baal-zebub, Baal-peor, with Mars, and with Saturn. The worship of Chemosh was attended with the most licentious rites, as indeed may be said of most forms of sun-worship. This is why that species of worship so easily captivated the carnal mind, especially those Eastern kings who surrounded themselves with vast harems, and whom Solomon seems to have been so eager to imitate. "MOLECH, the abomination of Ammon," was essentially identical with Chemosh of the Moabites. Smith's dictionary says that "fire-gods appear to have been common to all the Canaanite, Syrian, and Arab tribes, who worshiped the destructive element under an outward element, with the most inhuman rites." The idea of fire-worship grew out of sun-worship. The mania for sun-worship in its various phases so far led all other forms of idolatry that the first day of the week was devoted to its rites and named after it. Sunday as a religious day originated in idolatry, and its standing in the Christian church is a compromise between a degenerate Christianity and heathen philosophy. NOTWITHSTANDING Solomon's sad apostasy, God remained faithful to his covenant with David, and saved one tribe in order to perpetuate his name and for Jerusalem's sake. He is justly entitled to be called a covenant-keeping God, and on this fact the Christian may rest assured that the final overcomer will not be disappointed in anything that has been promised. And notwithstanding so wise a man as Solomon might fail of the promise, the most humble need not be discouraged on that account. Though "God resisteth the proud," yet he "giveth grace unto the humble." James 4:6. Love of God’s Law Brings Peace
SAYS the psalmist (119 : 165), "Great peace have they which love thy law; and nothing shall offend them." The margin reads, "they shall have no stumbling-block." The Revised Version gives the same idea, "and they have none occasion of stumbling." This does not mean that they will not have trials; for they will have the same as others, doubtless more so. Satan will do all he can to oppose them; their brethren in the church will seem to slight them; professed Christians may wrong them; their services may not be duly appreciated; but they make of none of these a stumbling-block, or an occasion of stumbling. Why should they? Their affections are not set on men but God. They love God; they love his law; their service belongs to him; their reward comes from him. What others may do or not do will not affect God. Others wrong us; but the most evil results fall upon the one who did the wrong. Others fail to appreciate, God will. Love of God means abiding trust in God; and he who trusts will not be ashamed or confounded. Affliction Purifies God’s Children
By John Bradford
Gold, when it is cast into the fire, is the more precious; so are God's children by the cross of affliction.—Bradford. (Lesson 12, December 21, 1889.) 1. Unto whom was Melchizedek like in his priesthood? 2. Will Christ have any successor in his priestly office? "As he saith also in another place, Thou art a priest forever after the order of Melchizedek." Heb. 5:6. 3. How was the greatness of Melchizedek proved? "Now consider how great this man was, unto whom even the patriarch Abraham gave the tenth of the spoils." Heb. 7:4. 4. Who took tithes in the Mosaic dispensation? "And verily they that are of the sons of Levi, who receive the office of the priesthood, have a commandment to take tithes of the people according to the law, that is, of their brethren, though they come out of the loins of Abraham." Verse 5. 5. From whom did the priests descend?—Ib. 6. Who confers a blessing, the less or the greater? "And without all contradiction the less is blessed of the better." Verse 7. 8. Who then was accounted the greater? See note. 9. What is the intention of the entire argument in Heb. 7:4-10? Ans.—To magnify the order of priesthood after which Christ was called. 10. If perfection had been by the Levitical priesthood, would any other order have been required? "If therefore perfection were by the Levitical priesthood (for under it the people receive the law), what further need was there that another priest should rise after the order of Melchizedek, and not be called after the order of Aaron?" Verse 11. 11. When was the change made from the Aaronic to the Melchizedek priesthood? Verse 12. See Col. 2:14; also note on chap. 6:20, on the beginning of the priesthood of Christ. 12. What else had to be changed on the change of the priesthood? "For the priesthood being changed, there is made of necessity a change also of the law." Heb. 7:12. 13. Does the law of ten commandments say anything about the priesthood? 14. Would the ten commandments, or any one of them, need to be changed on the change of the priesthood? 15. Was there any law concerning the priesthood? "And take thou unto thee Aaron thy brother, and his sons with him, from among the children of Israel, that he may minister unto me in the priest's office, even Aaron, Nadab and Abihu, Eleazar and Ithamar, Aaron's sons." Ex. 28:1. "And thou shalt put upon Aaron the holy garments, and anoint him, and sanctify him; that he may minister unto me in the priest's office." Ex. 40:13. 16. What would have been the consequence if any but the sons of Aaron had tried to act as priest? "And thou shalt appoint Aaron and his sons, and they shall wait on their priest's office; and the stranger that cometh nigh shall be put to death." Num. 3:10. 18. What was the result of his presumption? "Then Uzziah was wroth, and had a censer in his hand to burn incense; and while he was wroth with the priests, the leprosy even rose up in his forehead before the priests in the house of the Lord, from beside the incense altar. And Azariah the chief priest, and all the priests, looked upon him, and, behold, he was leprous in his forehead, and they thrust him out from thence; yea, himself hasted also to go out, because the Lord had smitten him." Verses 19, 20. 19. Of what tribe was King Uzziah? 20. Of what tribe was our Lord Jesus Christ? "For it is evident that our Lord sprang out of Judah; of which tribe Moses spake nothing concerning priesthood." Heb. 7:14. 21. If the priesthood was so strictly given to Aaron, how could Christ be accepted as priest? Verse 12. 22. If that law (Num. 3:10, etc.) confining the priesthood to Aaron and his sons, had continued in force, could Christ have acted as priest? 23. What law, then, had to be changed in order to have a change of priesthood? 24. Was there ever a priest before Christ of the tribe of Judah? "For he of whom these things are spoken pertaineth to another tribe, of which no man gave attendance at the altar. For it is evident that our Lord sprang out of Judah; of which tribe Moses spake nothing concerning priesthood." Heb. 7:13, 14. WE are led, by all the Scriptures, to believe that Melchizedek was greater than Abraham only in respect to his position or office as priest-king. Abraham was not a king; he was only a stranger and pilgrim in the land. The priesthood of Melchizedek and of Aaron were both typical of that of Christ; but as a type the former stood highest, because Aaron had no kingship connected with his priesthood. It is this fact that gives the priesthood of Melchizedek superiority over that of Aaron. Inasmuch as Aaron had no kingship, were it not for Melchizedek we should have but a limited and very imperfect type of the priesthood of Christ. In other respects, Abraham doubtless was not inferior to Melchizedek. "THAT Christ was a 'prophet, priest, and king,' many of us have learned from our early childhood; but comparatively few ever learned the true relation these offices sustain to each other. He was 'that prophet' while on earth; and Paul's testimony given in Heb. 7:13, 14; 8:4, shows that he filled no other office. Many suppose that his priesthood is connected with that kingdom which is given to him as the Son of David. But this is utterly forbidden by plain Scripture declarations. Aaron had no kingship, and David had no priesthood; and Christ is not a priest after the order of Aaron (Heb. 7:11), so is he not a king on the throne of David (i. e., during his priesthood). It is 'after the order of Melchizedek,' who was both king and priest, that Christ is a priest on his Father's throne. At different times he occupies two different thrones (see Rev. 3:21); and the throne of his Father in heaven, which he now occupies as priest, 'he shall have delivered up' at his coming. 1 Cor. 15:23-28. Then, in subjection to his Father, he will take his own throne, called also the throne of David, on which he will reign forever—without end. Luke 1:32, 33. But then he will no more be a priest, his priesthood being altogether on the throne he now occupies." SOME have supposed from the language of Heb. 5:6 that Christ's priesthood will never end; but that is not a necessary conclusion even from this text, and other scriptures quite forbid it. The word forever, as used in the Scriptures, has a variety of meanings. According to Young it frequently means "age lasting," or "to the age;" the latter is the definition which he gives to it in this case. We understand, therefore, that Christ will be a priest to the end of the gospel age, when he lays aside that office, takes the throne of his Father David, and is henceforth a king. Christ is a priest only for the gospel age; he has an unchangeable priesthood, and it does not pass to another; hence when he lays aside his priestly garments all human probation is forever closed, for there is no longer an intercessor. It may be objected that to limit the meaning of the word forever would make nonsense of such texts as Heb. 10:14, but it is only seemingly so, for in that verse the term forever comes from an entirely different Greek word, the meaning of which is, "to continue continuously," so that the text would read: "For by one offering he hath perfected to continue continuously [or to eternity] them that are sanctified." The Greek words from which forever in Heb. 5:6 are translated, are always modified in meaning, as to duration, by that to which they are applied. Their primary significance is "age lasting." If applied to God, or to the inheritance of his people, they necessarily mean eternity, as is abundantly proved by other texts. If applied to any one age, or dispensation, they mean during that dispensation. If applied to man, they simply refer to his existence amid the conditions which surround him. The Missionary.
By J. Vuilleumier
THE German nation owes, to a great extent, its strength, ability, and grandeur to the great reformation in the sixteenth century. Germany has been a favored nation; it has received invaluable privileges during its three and one-half centuries of Protestantism. We all love its noble race, and are greatly indebted to her. We all long to see a great work done in that country of Luther,—to see the reformation, begun in the sixteenth century, receive there a glorious completion. A beginning has been made. The canvassing work there is fairly started. Companies, aggregating twenty or thirty workers, are having very encouraging success in placing the printed truth into the hands of the people. If we had, to-day, one or two thousand canvassers to put into that field, they could all be self-sustaining. Preaching may prove to be difficult in that country, but canvassing, as far as we have seen, will be a success. Germany is an immense field. She is all ready; she cries for workers. Where are the thousand canvassers? Where are the one hundred, or the five hundred? Shall not the end of this Conference year see two hundred canvassers in that great country? The French field includes the French or western part of Switzerland, with less than a million of people, mostly Protestants; France, with 40,000,000, mostly Catholics, and Belgium, with some 5,000,000 people, of the Catholic faith. French Switzerland was the first field in the Central European Conference where the canvassing work was made a success. This was in the beginning of 1888. The news rejoiced our lamented Brother B. L. Whitney on his dying bed. There were soon from twenty to thirty canvassers in the field. French Switzerland being only a small country, that field was very soon canvassed; and then the question raised itself, Where shall we go? Quite a number went to France. Here an unexpected experience awaited747them. France was found to be altogether different from French Switzerland. Money was found to be more scarce, and the people less willing to disburse it than in Switzerland. The interest to read was also found to be less. Religious subjects especially did not attract the attention they did among the French Protestants of Switzerland. In a word, the blighting influence of Catholicism was sorely felt. In one month the canvassers hardly sold as many books as they had in one day in Switzerland. Their courage was severely tried. The little money which they had made in Switzerland was soon exhausted. Their situation became critical. Before long they had to come back to Switzerland, a few to canvass with new works, and some to abandon the work for lack of territory. Two canvassers coming from France to the camp-meeting in Tramelan, last year, were so destitute that they had to walk some eight days in succession, many a time sleeping in the open air. Fortunately, France is not so bad as this throughout. Now and then, when the canvassers would come into a Protestant community, they would meet with very encouraging success. They would often get their board and lodging for the night without charge. Sometimes the pastor would buy several copies of the book, or give them the address of his own people, thus opening the way for a large number of books to be placed in the territory. At other places they would be invited to hold a meeting, or a Bible-reading, or would be urged to stay a few days to instruct the people in the truth. I wish they were here to relate their own experience. However, as the Protestants are not numerous in France, such instances as these were rare. They were, rather, like oases in the wilderness, and only served to confirm the existence of that wilderness. After the camp-meeting of 1888, two of our best and most devoted canvassers, Brethren Auger and Prudent, resolved to try France again, to see if they could not place this truth before the people in the form of books, and at the same time make their own living. They went in the northeastern part, where there are some Protestants. They soon were brought face to face with the sad reality. Enduring many privations, they went on. Hunger came. They had to live on some raw apples which they found on the road, and some milk which the people gave them. And still they clung to their field—remained at their post. Finally, both were taken seriously ill with typhoid fever. Both were carried to the hospital of Mont Céliard, where they were tenderly cared for by strangers and by the sisters of the hospital. One of them, Prudent, died after terrible fits of fever. The other, Brother Auger, slowly recovered and came to Basel, to leave soon after for America. Thus was dearly demonstrated the fact that in France canvassers cannot make a living. Since that time there has not been a canvasser in France. The large and fine corps of canvassers had come down to a very few, there not being territory enough for them all in Switzerland, and the Central European Conference having not the means to support them in France. Brethren, France needs the truth. France is calling for help. France is ready for it now. Religious liberty in France has been complete for eighteen years. How long it will continue we cannot tell. If France had three hundred years ago enjoyed the liberty which it enjoys to-day, she would perhaps be the greatest nation in the world to-day. Hundreds of thousands of Huguenots would not have been massacred. The light of the Reformation, put out in a stream of blood, would have lighted the earth. But now, another opportunity is granted to her. She is stretching her arms across the ocean to this General Conference. Come over and help us, while it is time! Sister White said, while at Basel, that there would come out from the Catholics a greater number than from the Protestants. Shall we leave France deprived of the message because it will cost us some money?—God forbid.—J. Vuilleumier, in Conference Bulletin. THE SABBATH-SCHOOLS AND FOREIGN MISSIONS.
THE first session of the General Sabbath-school Association after its organization was held in Battle Creek, Mich, October 11, 1878—just eleven years ago. At that time 177 schools had reported, and given as the total membership, 5,851; total amount of contributions, $25. Thus the foundation of our present organization was laid, and from that time forward the work rapidly developed. Year by year new plans and methods were introduced, more thorough organization was effected, and more attention given to the plan of keeping records and reporting. In 1886 the work had extended to foreign countries. An association was organized in England in 1885, and another in Switzerland in 1886, so that in order more perfectly to represent the character and work of the association, the name was changed from General to International Sabbath-school Association. As the membership increased, the officers of the International Association felt the need of some means for more direct communication with the workers, and of some plan by which special instruction could be given to officers and teachers. Accordingly, in January, 1885, the first number of the Sabbath-school Worker, a 16-page quarterly, was issued. This journal was devoted wholly to the interests of the Sabbath-school work, and is still being published in its original form. The plan of taking up class contributions on the Sabbath was introduced at the very beginning of the work, but up to within the last few years this money had all been used to meet the running expenses of the schools. In 1886 the president of the International Association made an appeal to our schools in behalf of the foreign missions, suggesting that a portion of the class contributions for that year be donated to foreign mission work. Just how much was raised for this purpose during the year, we have not been able to ascertain. However, the plan seemed to meet with general favor, and at the next annual meeting, when the General Conference wished to send workers to South Africa to open a mission in that field, the officers of the International Association made another appeal to our schools to take upon themselves the responsibility of supporting that mission for one year. It was estimated that not less than $10,000 would be required to do this. Our schools everywhere responded heartily to this appeal, and as the result, $10,615.72 above the running expenses of the schools was raised and donated to the African Mission during the year 1887. We understand that this mission is now on a paying basis, and that some of this money still remains in the treasury. The following year, 1888, $10,755.30 was raised in the same way for the London City Mission. Thus it can be seen that this was a move in the right direction, and we trust that the plan will still be kept up. If rightly used, it will tend to awaken the true missionary spirit in the minds of the children. From year to year the Sabbath-school interest has been working its way to the front, and receiving more attention from our people. Conventions and normal institutes have been held in different States from time to time, and have done much to awaken an interest and raise the standard higher. We are glad to know that some earnest workers are beginning to feel that they are called of God to devote their lives to this special work; and may the Lord of the harvest raise up many more who feel a burden in this direction. There are great possibilities within our reach as Sabbath-school workers. We have not yet begun to realize the amount of good that may be accomplished in this line. Shall we not at this meeting try to get a broader view of the work, and gain a deeper experience in the things of God, so that when we go to our homes and fields of labor we may be able to do more and better service for the Master? From an address by the president of the International S. S. Association, at the recent General Conference. Choosing Books and Friends Wisely
Books, like friends, should be few and well chosen.—Joineriana. THE heathen shame us by their gifts in the service to their gods. A statement is made by the Rev. Mr. Noyes, of Canton, that $200,000,000 are spent annually on ancestral worship alone. He found that the ratio of gifts to income, in the case of several families about which he inquired, ranged from one-fifth to one-third, and that in no case were the gifts so small as a tithe. Yet we know that the vast majority of the Chinese are wretchedly poor, living only from hand to mouth. To say that it is impossible for Christians to give a tithe is to say that they cannot do for Christ what the heathen do for their idols.—Missionary Herald. AFRICA.—Rev. W. Allan says that at Bonny, in the Niger mission, the former heathen priest is now a regular attendant at the house of God; the Niger temple, which a few years ago was adorned with 20,000 skulls of murdered victims, is now rotting away; the grove which used to be the receptacle of murdered infants, is now become the regular highway to the church. Mr. Allan says: “At 11 o’clock I went ashore, and addressed 885 worshipers, including the king, the three former heathen priests, chiefs, and a multitude of slaves, and was thankful to ascertain that the work of conversion was still going on; for, in addition to 648 persons already baptized, of whom 265 are communicants, there are over 700 at Bonny alone who are now under instruction.” GOLDEN-HAIR.
By Miss Backup
A plain, freckled-faced child with red hair—this was what strangers saw; but in her own home Edith Grant was the beloved Golden-Hair of the household. When a toddling child her father had given her the name, in deference to the warm tint in her hair, and now that the tint had deepened until it was no longer golden, the sweet name still clung to her. It was at school that Edith first had the words "red hair" hurled at her in taunting reproach. "I'm glad I haven't red hair," said ungenerous Lucy Jones one day; "if anything's horrid I think it's red hair!" "Why, my hair isn't red," said Edith, in open-eyed wonder; "papa calls me Golden-Hair!" "Ha! ha! ha! that's a good joke," laughed Lucy, rudely; "just look at your hair and see if it looks anything like gold; it looks about as much like gold as those red bricks yonder!" It was a rude awakening. It was in vain that Edith's father assured her that her hair was the color that artists admired, that the great Titian loved to paint; the words "red hair" seemed to her sensitive fancy to carry with them a measure of disgrace. Many things served to strengthen this morbid feeling. One day a rude boy at school pretended to warm his hands by holding them near her hair. Children are often thoughtlessly cruel in their treatment of one who is supposed to possess some personal defect. "My dear," said her mother, "you can't change the color of your hair, unless indeed it should grow darker as you grow older!" "Oh, how I wish it would!" sighed Edith. "But you may be beautiful," continued her mother, "and yet have red hair." "O mamma, a beauty with red hair and a freckled face!" cried Edith with a grimace. "I am thinking," said Mrs. Grant, "of the truest and highest beauty,—beauty of character, the beauty which is built up by kind acts and sweet, unselfish thoughts,—a beauty befitting a real little Golden-Hair who loves a Golden Rule." Edith thoughtfully pondered the subject. A beauty which consisted in treating others in a beautiful way—this was what her mother meant. "Wouldn't it be better to do golden deeds than to have golden hair?" her mother had asked, and Edith's heart had been swift to answer, "Yes!" "What a great, gaunt, untidy creature May Gage is," said Lucy Jones one day; "and so stupid, dear me! it's a wonder Miss Carruth has any patience left!" "Poor May!" said Edith, pityingly; "you know she's sick a great deal, and her grandma's old, and there's no one to take nice care of May." "Nonsense!" said Lucy; "she might be neat anyway; they are just a slack, shiftless set!" A golden thought popped into Edith's head: "I'll help May make up her lessons, and perhaps then I shall be able to give her a bit of a hint about washing her hands and brushing her clothes." Poor, discouraged May Gage took heart again, and golden results followed Edith's simple, friendly offices. "They say the Manns are dreadful poor," said Lucy, "and Joe gets drunk; I should think Susie would be ashamed to come to school." "It isn't Susie's fault," cried Edith stoutly, and the kind little heart went to planning how she might brighten Susie's lot, and with her mother's help the plan was to some purpose too. With the passing months there was a change in Edith. She ceased to wince if people spoke of red hair and freckles as if a personal affront was intended. She was so busy scattering golden beams that she had no time for morbid sensitiveness, and people fell in love with her in spite of her real or fancied defects. "You needn't say another word about red hair and freckles," exclaimed Tom Jones, one day; "Edith Grant has the sweetest face of any girl I know. There's such a sunshiny bright look in her eyes, it does one good to meet her. I wish she was my sister!" "You absurd boy!" said his sister Mary. "Edith can't hold a candle to Lucy. Lucy has a lovely complexion and such beautiful hair." "People don't like her," blurted Tom, "any better than they like you; both of you are everlastingly picking flaws in people." "You are a great, awkward, ill-natured boy," said Mary angrily; "I should think you might have the grace to appreciate your own sisters." "I do, thank you," said Tom; "you are both pretty, but you look cross and discontented two-thirds of the time, and the air's full of spiteful complaints whenever you are around. I'd be glad to swap either one of you for Edith any hour of the day." "Don't quarrel, children," said Mrs. Jones in a worried tone. "I'm afraid there's some truth, Mary, in what Tom says. You've got into a dreadful way of criticising people, and you have too high a regard for mere good looks, and not enough for real sweetness and goodness of character." "We learn quotations every Friday," said Tom, "and these are what I have learned for to-day: 'Wearing the white flower of a blameless life,' and, 'Every right action and true thought sets the seal of its beauty on person and face.' Aunt Kate picked them out for me, and I told her they just suited Edith." "And what did Aunt Kate say?" asked Mary, wisely ignoring the recent slight unpleasantness. "She said she was glad that I so fully grasped the sentiment of the quotations, for Edith possessed the truest and rarest beauty—the beauty of a sweet and loving spirit—and that was the reason she had such hosts of friends."—Miss Backup, in Zion's Herald.