Earlier text: CONVICTION FOR SINMRS. TUCKER'S DREAM.
By Editor
THERE are but few who doubt that Mrs. Booth, the "mother of the Salvation Army," was a good woman; but that does not prevent her memory being used to mislead people. Frequently we have heard very unbecoming remarks about her present connection with the Army as its representative in heaven. In the Easter number of All the World, a monthly published by the Army, Mrs. Booth-Tucker, daughter of Mrs. Booth, portrays in a vivid manner the reappearance of her mother one night while at sea. "Her eyes rested upon me; her hand touched mine. She was the same—my mother. She spoke to me—wonderful words they were. She talked of my brothers and sisters, and of the general, and talked of the Army. And for a moment she bent over me as of old, and kissed me." These are some extracts from the statements she makes. We could attribute it to a dream, and there would be nothing strange about it; but Mrs. Tucker says: "Whether in my dreams or otherwise, I am sure God sent her to me that night. She sat beside me on the narrow bunk of my small sea cabin." She has no doubt her mother was there. But this shows how little the word of God25 counts with some people when it is confronted by traditional error. The Bible says: "For the living know that they shall die; but the dead know not anything, neither have they any more a [an earthly] reward; for the memory of them is forgotten. Also their love, and their hatred, and their envy, is now perished; neither have they any more a portion forever in anything that is done under the sun." Eccl. 9: 5, 6. Now, are we to believe that Mrs. Tucker's impressions are reliable, and that her mother was there?—Not unless we throw away this and other equally plain passages of Scripture. The Salvation Army is not in league with Spiritualism, surely; and yet this is the essence of Spiritualism. It only asks that we shall accept the revelations that come to its devotees in that very manner. Not only is the Army permeated with these ideas about the dead, but other branches of the church freely hand these things around for solemn truth. They could not please the enemy better. Saul and the witch of Endor bringing up what purported to be Samuel is the only instance of pretended communication from the dead recorded in the Bible; but we all recognize this to be ancient sorcery, or modern Spiritualism, the work of evil spirits. Why should Christian people dabble with such things, and encourage the great work which in these last days forms Satan's masterpiece of deception? Mrs. Tucker does well to venerate the memory of her mother, who rests from her labors. Our weary spirits in dreams often seek solace in the tender associations of the past. God may give us those dreams to comfort and encourage us; but we should not attribute to them a reality which is so plainly contrary to the Bible, and so evidently in harmony with serious error. False sentiments may warp the judgment and affect the persuasion of the mind; but we should remember that it does not change the truth of God. People deck the cross with roses in their pictures, but the cross of Calvary had no roses about it. So we may in our imaginations clothe the monster death with the garb of light, and deck his brow with the crown of immortality; but death is the same cruel, relentless enemy, implacable, cold, and dreadful.—Bible Echo. A CONSECRATED CHOIR.
By Mrs. H. W. Masters
MARCH in New Hampshire, and the snow was beginning to melt from off the hills, and the rivers to roar with their increase of water. H. was to have a new minister, consequently was somewhat wrought up with expectation. The matrons of the church were busy as bees, overseeing the cleaning and necessary renovations of the parsonage; for its expected occupant was a bachelor. The various committees on reception met to report; but the busiest and most important of all was the choir; and the heavy spring air conveyed the fact to half the town that hymns, chants, and anthems were receiving faithful practice. Edith Russell entered the church, and with a sigh of relief to see that it was empty, seated herself at the organ. Without consulting anyone she was resolved to introduce into the present plain service elaborate musical changes, recently seen and admired during a visit to a cousin in a neighboring city. This was her first opportunity of running her selections over on the organ. "The voluntary this time will be sung," she mentally asserted, "but the recessional I shall play, and the offertory, too." A little frown puckered her smooth forehead for a moment when she came to consider that in numbers there is strength, and that, perhaps, if she had enlisted more than herself in this undertaking there would have been a greater possibility of it being permanently successful. Not being a singer she had entirely overlooked vocal offertories; but there was no time now to make changes; she would run the risk of bearing alone all the displeasure she might incur. At this moment chorister and choir came in, and the anthem was immediately taken up. At the close of the rehearsal, Mr. Stutes, the leader, and an admirer of Edith as well, walked home with her. Edith now confided to him her plan for the coming service, and received not only consent but his hearty encouragement. Mr. Hart, the new minister, did not arrive till late Saturday night—too late, in fact, for the reception to have been given in his honor, which was postponed until the following Monday evening. Edith had hoped to see him before time for service, though any uneasiness she felt concerning what he might think of her meddling in the regular established order of service of the church in H., was quieted by the knowledge that gentlemen always agreed with her, and helped her to have her way. But an informal gathering of officials and the prominent members of the church at the parsonage prevented even a word between minister and choir, and the bell was on the last stroke before he entered the church. Edith could hardly decide whether she should be able to sway this self-contained looking man, to whose appearance a slight baldness, and the very expert use of spectacles, added dignity even to society. He listened attentively to the remarkably well-rendered voluntary anthem, but the congregation forgot the choir in the wonderful prayer and brilliant comments on the Bible lesson that followed. Each member from the first felt the influence of this spiritual mind, that had no purpose other than that of feeding his Master's flock. Somehow, even to Edith, Schumann's "Happy Farmer" sounded out of place as an offertory. But never before had these minor services, as Edith termed the reading of the hymns and Bible lesson, seemed so sacred and important. She, however, comforted herself that these uneasy feelings came from a nervous apprehension as to how her innovation would be received by the church in general. The sermon was an exquisite delineation of Christ's tenderness and love, and, although Edith was touched by its gentleness, she could not keep her thoughts from wandering to her own part of the service and its results. Thus the emotional, the strongest part of her nature, was closed to an appeal that otherwise must have moved her by its spiritual force. The closing hymn and benediction seemed like a dream, so intent were her thoughts on the probable effect of the recessional. She saw that Mr. Hart started and almost frowned when she struck the first chords of the brilliant march from one of our popular operas; involuntarily she shut off the trumpet stops, and took her foot off from the bass pedal. Mr. Hart showed immediate energy in meeting with his various church committees; he unhesitatingly accepted the position of president of the Music Committee, although time out of mind his predecessors had refused that honor. Before the next choir meeting he had called on Edith, and, in the kindest manner possible, asked that the organ service might be omitted for a time. Edith was not only mortified by the request, but angry. "Anyone would think that he wore a miter, instead of being a licensed preacher," she exclaimed to her mother upon his departure. Edith's mother was one of those Christians whose constancy never fails to sustain uplifted hands; her softened explanation, "He only asked you to wait," quieted Edith. But the dim consciousness that she had taken from rather than improved the service, made Mr. Hart's words seem a reproof rather than a request. The young people, who had been delighted with this addition to the service, were loud in expressing their disapprobation at its discontinuance. Edith found it impossible to give them the real reason for giving it up. Mr. Hart was present at the next choir meeting,10 and in giving the leader the list of hymns, said:— "I have selected these hymns because if rightly rendered they will aid in gathering the congregation into unity of spirit, and bring them into sympathy with the truths I hope to be able to present. Believe me," he continued, "we have missed the grand object of music in the church service when it fails to awaken its hearers to a consciousness of sin and a desire for a higher and purer life. Souls come to God's house to be fed; and we cannot be too careful that the food is brought directly from our Father's storehouse. We cannot expect sober, Christian thoughts as a result of worldly music. And," he added, "I lay this burden upon you that you are in a sense as responsible for this church spiritually as I am." Edith's fingers trembled so that she could hardly play the simple measures of "Rockingham." She had accepted the position of organist because she knew she could fill it better than anyone else, and for social reasons. Her whole being revolted at the thought that she was held accountable for the weal or the woe of the church. Yet she was a professing Christian, and in moments of unusual zeal and ardor had contemplated going as a missionary to the heathen. True, if she had any special gift, it was music; but it seemed so strange to work for the salvation of souls through an organ. She had often thought how beautifully she could talk of Christ to the sinful, the sorrowful; even the unfeeling might be touched; but she had never thought of making music the instrument for the accomplishment of so grand an object. Now she really felt surprised that she had not thought of it unaided, understanding the wonderful power of music as she did, through its effect upon herself. She did not tell her mother what Mr. Hart had said. She felt certain that if she repeated it she would resign at once, and she wished to consider this new method of doing good before she gave the opportunity to another. She evidently had been more impressed than any other member of the choir, for, as she quietly took her place Sunday morning, Mr. Stutes laughingly inquired, "Can you play as well as the parson can preach?" but he received no flippant answer. Mr. Hart looked apprehensively towards the choir. He realized that his talk of Friday evening had not been received in the spirit he had hoped it would be. Edith's impassive face neither increased nor allayed his anxiety; but before the first hymn was played through, he took courage to believe that he had been understood by at least one of his choir, so sweetly and impressively was it rendered. Later on Mr. Hart preached a wonderful sermon upon consecration, and in the great awakening that followed, the little church at H. came to know the power of a consecrated choir.—New York Observer. HERBERT, being the son of his father, is somewhat grasping in disposition. He has never attended those great free institutions, church and Sunday school, until this fall. After his first experience he strutted about with his hands in his pockets and the expression of one who has made rather a good thing of it. "Well, Herbert," said the minister, who had come to dine and incidentally to speak of the duty of the rich members of the parish towards the church, "how are you?" "I'm well," responded Herbert. And then in explanation he added:— "I've been to church and Sunday school this morning." The minister was touched by the boy's simple pride in the religious feat, and said sympathetically:— "Yes, sir," said Herbert, with pride that amounted almost to arrogance. "Yes, sir, and it didn't cost me a cent."—Selected. The Home Circle.
By Eugene Field
"Whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things."—Phil. 4:8. FATHER! I cry to thee.
Round me the billows of battle are pouring—
Round me the thunders of battle are roaring;
Father on high, hear thou my cry—
Father, oh, lead thou me! Father, oh, lead thou me!
Lead me o'er death and its terrors victorious—
See, I acknowledge thy will as all glorious;
Point thou the way, lead where it may—
God, I acknowledge thee. God, I acknowledge thee.
As when the dead leaves of autumn whirl round me,
So, when the horrors of war would confound me,
Laugh I at fear, knowing thee near—
Father, oh, bless thou me! Father, oh, bless thou me!
Living or dying, waking or sleeping,
Such as I am I commit to thy keeping.
Frail though I be, Lord, bless thou me—
Father, I worship thee. Father, I worship thee.
Not for the love of the riches that perish,
But for the freedom and justice we cherish
Stand we or fall, blessing thee, all—
God, I submit to thee. God, I submit to thee.
Yea, though the terrors of death pass before me—
Yea, with the darkness of death stealing o'er me,
Lord, unto thee bend I the knee—
Father, I cry to thee.
—Eugene Field. If Queen Victoria were compelled to wear the beautiful crown, of which she is so worthy, all the time, she would be a woman greatly to be pitied and never to be envied, for that magnificent affair weighs nearly two pounds. It holds more than 3,000 precious stones, more than 2,700 of which are diamonds. The golden headband holds two rows of pearls, the lower having 129 and the upper 112 of these treasured stones. Between these bands in front is a large sapphire, and behind it a small sapphire—small only when compared with the one in front, however—with six still smaller ones and eight emeralds. Between the sapphires fore and aft are ornaments containing 286 diamonds. Surmounting the band are eight sapphires, above which are eight diamonds, and eight festoons which hold 160 diamonds, and in the front, set in a Maltese cross composed of 75 large diamonds, is the magnificent ruby given to the Black Prince in 1367 by Pedro, king of Castile, and which was worn by that dashing monarch Henry V. on his helmet at the battle of Agincourt. In addition to these, three crosses containing 386 diamonds are set around the upper part of the crown, between which are four ornaments, each holding a ruby in its center, and containing, respectively, eighty-four, eighty-six, eighty-five, and eighty-seven diamonds. From the crosses rise four arches composed of oak leaves and acorns, the oak leaves containing 728 diamonds, and the acorns—thirty-two in number—made each of a single pearl set in cups composed of diamonds. Surmounting the arches is the base of the cross which surmounts the whole. The base, or mound, as it is called, contains 648 diamonds, and the cross—the crowning glory of all this magnificence—contains a large sapphire and 112 diamonds. Of course, anything so grand as this is worth a great deal of money, and the value placed upon it by experts is $1,500,000. It is kept in a great iron cage, along with the other crown jewels, in the Tower of London.—Harper’s Young People. “NEW YORKERS are in too great haste to be polite,” said a gentleman one day. “They have not time in these bustling, hurrying days of competition, and the eager rush to be rich, for the courtly gallantry of days gone by. The gracious manner, the deference, the ceremony of the Southern man is seldom practiced by anybody at the North. It takes time to be polite.” “More’s the pity then!” rejoined a lady. “We have only one life to live, and we ought not to sacrifice every sweet thing in it to the one frantic endeavor to accumulate money.” “Not money making alone, madam,” said her friend, “but the mere effort to keep in line, to keep one’s position, crucifies the instinct to politeness. Else, why do we, the stronger sex, habitually seize upon the seats in the ladies’ cabin of the ferry boats, while gray-haired matrons and delicate girls stand wearily in sight? Why is a man singular who now rises and offers a seat in a street car to a woman? Why do men keep their hats on in places of business when talking to women? Why do boys let their mothers carry bundles and bags? Why do young men forget to rise when ladies enter the parlor? Why”— “My dear sir,” interrupted the lady, “you must see that our sex, not yours, is to blame. We mothers have the early training of the boys in our own hands. A mother said to me the other day that she dropped the book she was reading on the floor by accident, and two of her sons, lads of twelve and fourteen, sprang to pick it up and restore it to her. Before either could reach it, she picked it up herself. “‘Mamma,’ said John, in grave remonstrance, ‘you won’t let us be polite to you when we try to.’” Is it not true that mothers fail to demand and accept attentions to which they have a right? And do they always show politeness themselves? Who has not seen mother forget to say “thank you” in the right place, forget to acknowledge the motive when the act has perhaps been blundering? When politeness is again the rule of everyday life in the everyday home, New Yorkers and others, too, will find time to be polite. Never economize politeness. To be courteous is a divine injunction. Courtesy should flavor every act of the most ordinary day. Its practice would invest life with beauty and sweetness, would garland the rough places and soften the hard, and be a soothing balm to the sensitive spirit so often needlessly wounded.—Christian Intelligencer. CURIOSITY.
By L. E. Dobrée
IDLE curiosity should be repressed. Children, for instance, should not be allowed the habit of asking questions, as they often do, for talking’s sake. Children cannot be too much impressed with the fact that to ask curious questions is a sign of an ill-bred person. Never should they ask for whom one is in mourning, nor, excepting among their contemporaries, how old anyone is. Many people have a weakness on the latter subject, and for a child to ask a lady of uncertain age before others, or at any time, the pointed question, “How old are you?” is likely to rouse the inward wrath of the individual. The amount of curiosity many people have concerning the incomes, ages, pursuits, and private affairs generally of their neighbors is amazing. People should be permitted to say for themselves as much about their concerns as they please, and once having let them take the initiative, you can manifest interest, and show that you care for their confidence. To seek to obtain information that they do not wish to give you is alike bad taste and wrong feeling. To indulge curiosity by listening to idle tales and conversation that can be characterized only as gossip—in the lower meaning of the word—is deteriorating to mind and heart. To investigate purposely the affairs of your neighbor is wrong, and one illegitimate weapon is chatting over those said concerns with your servants. The latter always take, sensibly or insensibly, their cue from their masters, and very soon know whether some item of news, some insinuation or innuendo, a surmise or a fact gossiped back by other servants, will be favorably received or not. It is for the well-being of every house that such retailing of the affairs of others should be checked, and not encouraged, and at least if you cannot prevent your servants from following the bent of their tastes in their conversation with their fellows, you can stop all gossip being repeated to you.—L. E. Dobrée, in Mothers’ Companion. Progress in Match Manufacture
Progress in the manufacture of matches is noted by a German authority. Sodium chlorate is now used instead of the potassium salt for “headless matches,” which ignite throughout their length, and may be used repeatedly. The growing scarcity of suitable wood has led to the use of match sticks—reported to be excellent—moulded from peat. The dangers of the occupation of making matches seem to have been greatly exaggerated, for there were no cases of phosphorus poisoning in Germany in 1886, only eight in 1887, and three in 1888. —Selected. EVERY housekeeper knows how annoying it is to have the hinges of the door squeak, and the locks and bolts refuse to move unless great force be used. Many do not realize that a few drops of oil will, as a rule, remedy these annoyances. First spread a newspaper on the part of the floor over which the hinges swing. Now, with the sewing machine oil can, oil the hinges thoroughly, and then swing the door back and forth until it moves without noise. Wipe the hinges, but let the paper remain for a few hours, to guard against the possible dripping of oil. For locks and bolts, guard the floor in the same manner. Oil them thoroughly, working them until they will move with ease. The egg beater and the ice cream freezer should be oiled in the same manner.—Selected. THE human body is constantly undergoing tissue change. Worn-out particles are cast aside and eliminated from the system, while the new are ever being formed, from the inception of life to its close. Water has the power of increasing these tissue changes, which multiply the waste products, but at the same time they are renewed by its agency, giving rise to increased appetite, which in turn provides fresh nutriment. Persons but little accustomed to drink water are liable to have the waste products formed faster than they are removed. Any obstruction to the free working of natural laws at once produces disease, which, if once firmly seated, requires both time and money to cure. People accustomed to rise in the morning weak and languid will find the cause in the imperfect secretion of wastes, which many times may be remedied by drinking a full tumbler of water before retiring. This very materially assists in the process during the night, and leaves tissue fresh and strong, and ready for the active work of the day. Hot water is one of the best remedial agents. A hot bath on going to bed, even in the hot nights of summer, is a better reliever of insomnia than many drugs. Inflamed parts will subside under the continued poulticing of real hot water. Very hot water, as we all know, is a prompt checker of bleeding, and besides, if it is clean, as it should be, it aids in sterilizing our wounds. A riotous stomach will nearly always gratefully receive a glass or more of hot water.—Selected. HEALTH IN THE SLEEPING ROOM.
By Selected
IF there is any calling in which there is a wide field for women it is in architecture. In the average home the chambers are often the smallest and most inconvenient rooms in the house, situated, perhaps, on the shady side, with no definite place planned for the bed, which must frequently be where the wind will blow directly on the sleeper's head if the one window is left open at night. When we take into consideration the fact that about one-third of our lives is spent in our sleeping rooms, it would seem imperative that we give earnest thought and attention to the requirements necessary for the health of the occupants. Rooms situated on the north side of the house should never be used as chambers, except for guests who occupy them only occasionally. The lack of sunshine and good ventilation in a chamber is sufficient of itself to account for many of the ills with which we are afflicted. If you can choose or provide your own furnishings, do not carpet the floor. In a chamber, above all other rooms, a hard-wood floor provided with a few rugs is best, both on account of neatness and health. The carpet conceals an enormous amount of refuse, and tells no tales of what it harbors. The less furniture in the room the better. Rattan or willow chairs, with removable cushions of cotton texture, are desirable; brass or iron bedsteads are preferable to wood, and a screen high enough to protect one from the draught of an open window at night is almost as necessary as a bedstead. Those who are fortunate enough to be able to build their house as they choose, if they follow the advice of eminent physicians, will not paper the walls of their bedrooms, which should be finished in hard plaster with a smooth finish, and tinted; nor will they paint the woodwork, which should be of hard wood, finished in oil. Physicians assert that it is not healthful to sleep near the wall, on account of dampness, and also because one's breath is thrown back from a wall and inhaled again. Health and Temperance.
By T. G. Evans
"Whether therefore ye eat, or drink, or whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of God."—1 Cor. 10:31. IT'S THAT THAT PUZZLES ME.
I'm not surprised, 'mong workingmen,
Truth's so misunderstood
That they imagine, now and then,
A glass will do them good;
But when 'mong men of mind and thought
I look around, and see
The very selfsame blunder taught,
It's that that puzzles me. I'm not surprised that men who're lost
To all ennobling life
Should drink—despite the fearful cost—
This cause of so much strife;
But how good men who preach His name,
Mankind from sin to free,
Can drink this cup of sin and shame,
It's that that puzzles me.
—T. G. Evans. WHICH IS WORTH THE MORE?
By Editor
IN speaking of the training of the celebrated mare, Nancy Hanks, which recently trotted a mile in 2:04, the Voice draws an important lesson. It occurs to us as we read, which is worth the more, our children or our animals? How do you look at it, reader? The Voice says:— There are important scientific and physiological laws that are observed carefully and studied closely, when the improvement of stock is concerned. One of these days we shall learn that similar laws apply with at least equal power to mankind. The young colt which bids fair to become a great trotter is taken in hand by the trainer almost as soon as it can walk. Its feeding is carefully considered. Its surroundings are attentively looked after. Care is taken to make it courageous, even-tempered, ambitious. The law of heredity and the law of environment are both brought to bear to make the perfect horse. Men have found that the colt of illustrious pedigree may be ruined by bad treatment, and, on the other hand, they have found that a colt of no pedigree may sometime develop into an equine genius that makes a pedigree for all its future progeny. If every boy and girl that comes into the world could during one generation have as much intelligent care bestowed upon him or her as Nancy Hanks had as a colt, it would be a wonderful world thirty-three years hence. There are thousands of men to-day who devote five times as much care to the proper treatment of their live stock as they devote to the proper training of their children, and pleuropneumonia makes a great deal bigger stir in Congress than alcoholism ever did. But now we're getting Nancy Hanks into politics, and she deserves a better fate. BOYS AND TOBACCO.
By Frances E. Willard
DR. SEAVER, of Yale College, physician and professor of athletics, is a man of science, who follows scientific methods in investigation. He has been for eight years observing the effect of tobacco smoking upon the bodies and minds of Yale students, and he has just published a remarkable budget of statistics. He informs the public that the students who smoke are inferior, in physical vigor and mental ability, to those who do not. He says the smokers have less lung power than the non-smokers, less chest capacity, less bodily weight, and are of less height. He says the muscular nervous power of the smoker is noticeably less than that of the non-smokers. He says the smoking habit is disadvantageous to scholarship. Of those students who, within a given time, have received honorary appointments, only five per cent. were smokers. His demonstrations seem to be influencing the minds of Yale students. The doctor is able to report that seventy per cent. of the senior class do not smoke, that the leading athletes do not smoke, and that not a single candidate for the rowing crew is a smoker. Young America, athletic, intellectual, and ethical, may well meditate upon Yale students.—Frances E. Willard. Gray Head, Living Heart
By Dr. Parker
A GRAY head does not mean a withered heart. True life is never old. No man's age is to be told by his mere birthdays; they tell the age of his flesh, but not of his spirit. The good, the pure, the wise, flourish in immortal youth.—Dr. Parker. Alcohol and Human Deterioration
A LEADING surgeon in the British army, Sir Charles Crawford, declares that on account of alcoholic drinks the size and endurance of British soldiers is materially diminished, and the human race, as determined by the English, is greatly deteriorating by the same cause. Alcohol ruins men for everything, work or war, mentality or morality. The most serious part of it is the morality. There is naught so debasing in this world as the whole drink business and its associations from the worm, the still, to the drunkard in the gutter, or the debauchee in the brothel. With the rapid increase in drink, the corresponding deterioration in the race, how long will it be ere man will fall so low that his reform will be hopeless? And yet we are told that we are rapidly nearing the world's conversion. Britain’s Drink Bill
By Christian Standard
THE drink bill of Great Britain last year amounted to $700,000,000. This is enough money to support a fifth part of the population in comfort. To say nothing of the domestic misery, of the crime and cruelty, which it causes, every statesman, every politician, every editor knows that the spending of this immense sum in this way is a huge and hideous economic crime. Yet in England, as with us, statesmen and politicians and editors are afraid to attack it. They cower and tremble before this monster evil, and dare not assail the interests of men who control so much wealth. Their attitude towards it is that which they have occupied towards other mighty abuses in the days of their power.—Christian Standard. President Finney Gives Up Tobacco
"WHEN I was a young man," said President Finney, "almost every young man used tobacco, and I among the rest. After I was converted I continued to use it. The practice was so common that the question as to whether it was right did not occur to me. I was as innocent as a babe about it. But when I was holding revival meetings in New York City, I was one day filling my tobacco box from a paper I had just bought, when the gentleman in whose house I was staying came into the parlor and said, 'Brother Finney, do you think it right to use tobacco?' 'Right? Of course it isn't right. Here, you take this tobacco and keep it until I call for it.' The minute the question was presented to me I knew it wasn't right, and I have never touched tobacco from that day to this. And I believe what success I have had in life has been due in a great measure to my manner of settling every such question. When I saw a thing was wrong, I gave it up at once and forever, and when I saw a course was right and my duty, I entered it without stopping to confer with flesh and blood."—Selected. "Cast thy bread upon the waters; for thou shalt find it after many days."—Eccl. 11:1. WHILE it is probable that at no distant period Ireland will secure the long-desired boon of home rule, there is another nation in Europe from which the privileges of local self-government are being gradually withdrawn. The grand duchy of Finland lies at the extreme northwestern end of the Russian Empire. A narrow gulf separates it from Sweden. To the north lies the semi-Arctic country of Lapland. It is inhabited by an intelligent, thrifty, and law-abiding race to the number of nearly two and a half millions. The Finns are especially interesting as being probably one of the most ancient people on the continent of Europe. They have occupied their present home since the end of the seventh century or the beginning of the eighth, having been driven from their settlement on the Volga, probably by the Bulgarians. For a long period the Finns were subject to Sweden, and as a fact the Swedish tongue is still largely used among them. Eighty-three years ago, however, the Grand Duchy was ceded to the Russian emperor by the treaty of Frederickshamn, and thus became an appanage of the Russian crown. But whether under Swedish or Russian control, Finland has always retained its ancient constitution, and for the most part has been allowed to manage its own local affairs. It has had its own Parliament, its own monetary system, and its own custom houses. To the czar, however, has been reserved the right of veto and the appointment of the governor general, while the military and foreign affairs of Finland have been under the control of the central Russian Government at St. Petersburg. It now appears that these quiet and industrious Finns are doomed to lose such liberal institutions as still remain to them, and to come under the stern despotism to which the Russians themselves are subjected. Their peace has been greatly disturbed by the events of the past two years. The Czar Alexander has manifested during this period a grim resolve to "Russianize" Finland as Poland has already been Russianized. He is determined to deprive the Finns of their political liberties and separate system, and to absorb the grand duchy into the empire. The first step that the czar took in this direction was to replace, in 1890, the Finnish currency by that of Russia. In the following year a far more serious blow was directed at the Finns. An excellent penal code has been framed with great care by the Finnish Senate. Scarcely had this penal code been put into execution when the czar decreed that it should be altogether suspended. Since then the administration of justice in Finland has been thrown into confusion. In the summer of 1891 the czar was spending a few weeks in his yacht off the coast of Finland. One day he wrote a letter of some importance, and stamped it with a Russian postage stamp. He dispatched it with the orders that it should be sent forward without delay. It was sent back to the yacht with the statement that it could not be forwarded until it bore a Finnish and not a Russian postage stamp. The czar angrily declared that henceforth none but Russian postage stamps should be used throughout Finland. Soon afterwards he put the threat into execution. When the most effectual means are sought to assimilate one nation with another, the method usually chosen is to stamp out the language of the subject nation. This the czar is attempting to do in Finland. The teaching of the Russian language has been made compulsory in the Finnish schools, and within four years it is intended that all subjects of instruction shall be taught in Russian, and that no schoolbooks except those in the Russian tongue shall be used in Finland. Our Responsibility to the Heathen
By The Leader
It should never be forgotten that doing our duty to the people at home, however faithfully it is done, does not meet the claims of the 200,000,000 heathen of Africa nor of the 286,000,000 heathen of India, nor of the 400,000,000 of China, who have nobody at home to care for them. Let us be faithful and earnest at home, and those that are really most earnest and self-sacrificing at home will be most anxious to help those abroad who "have no helpers." There are thirty times as many heathen as there are evangelical Christians in the world, so that over against every Christian, besides the unsaved at home there stand thirty heathen. For them he is responsible. They are his share. If he does not give them the gospel, he has no right to presume that it will be given to them by anybody. We cannot escape this responsibility, short of doing our best. If we have not done our best to save these thirty, how can we say with Paul, "I am pure from the blood of all men." How much ought I to pay, to do to enlist others in the work, and to give to meet such a responsibility? —The Leader. A SAMPLE ROMAN CATHOLIC COUNTRY.
THE following from the Gospel in All Lands presents a picture of the degradation the Roman Catholic Church will bring a country to if left untrammeled:— Ecuador is the only country in America in which the Romish Church survives as the Spaniards left it. One-fourth of all the property in Ecuador belongs to the bishop. There is a Catholic Church for every one hundred and fifty inhabitants; of the population of the country ten per cent are priests, monks, or nuns; and two hundred and seventy-two of the three hundred and sixty-five days of the year are observed as fast or feast days. The priests control the government in all its branches, dictate its laws and govern their enforcement, and rule the country as absolutely as if the pope were its king. As a result seventy-five per cent. of the children born are illegitimate. The people know nothing but what the priests tell them; they have no amusements but cockfights and bullfights. There is not a newspaper printed outside of the city of Guayaquil. Although Ecuador is called a republic, it is simply a popish colony. The Spaniards are the aristocracy, poor but proud. The mixed race furnishes the mechanics and artisans, while the Indians till the soil and do the drudgery. WORSHIPING MEDICINE BOTTLES.
A GOOD story is told by the Modern Church. An eminent lady missionary in Burma recently gave Dr. A. J. Gordon an instructive but somewhat startling chapter from her experience. In one of her tours, she said, she came upon a village where cholera was raging. Having with her a quantity of a famous pain killer, she went from house to house administering the remedy to the invalids, and left a number of bottles to be used after she had gone. Returning to the village some months after, the missionary was met by the head man of the community, who cheered and delighted her by this intelligence: "Teacher, we have come over to your side; the medicine did us so much good that we have accepted your God." Overjoyed at this news, she was conducted to the house of her informant, who, opening a room, showed her the pain killer bottles solemnly arranged in a row upon the shelf, and before them the whole company immediately prostrated themselves in worship.