At the commencement at Chartlier Institute, Dr. S. Iranaeus Prime spoke to the young men as follows:—
I am invited to speak to you five minutes—and only five. Little may be said, and much may be done, in five minutes. In five minutes you may fire a city, scuttle a ship, or ruin a soul. The error of the moment makes the sorrow of a life. Get that thought well in your hearts, and my work is done in a minute, instead of five.
Tempted to sin, remember that in five minutes you may destroy your good name, fill your soul with undying remorse, and bring, with sorrow, your father's gray hair to the grave. But if you can do so much evil, so you may do a mighty sum of good in five minutes. You may decide to live for usefulness and honor. Everything hangs on that choice, and it may be made in five minutes.
Take care of the pence, and the pounds will take care of themselves; take care of the minutes, and the hours are safe. I made a little book in this way: in the breakfast-room were pen and ink and paper; and if, when the hour for breakfast came, all was not ready, I wrote a few words or lines, as time allowed. The book was finished, and it had been published scarcely a week before I heard it had saved a soul; it has saved many since. It did not cost me one minute that would have been used for anything else.
Five minutes in the morning, and as many in the evening, will make you the master of a new language in two or three years. Before you are of middle age, you may speak all the modern tongues, if you will but improve the spare moments of the years now flying by.
Minutes are more than jewels; they are the stuff life is made of; they are diamond stepping-stones to wisdom, usefulness, and wealth; the ladder to heaven.
It will not take five minutes to do a good deed, and one a day will make a life of honor and usefulness, with glory beyond.—Selected.
The Habit of “Answering Back”
THE habit of “answering back” is as reprehensible in grown people as in children, and should be suppressed by every person anxious to lead a peaceable and harmonious life.
The “scrappy” household, in which each member strives for the last word in the argument, is most anxious to maintain an independent course of action, is afraid lest he shall be imposed upon, is not a happy household, nor can it ever become such a one.
It is an odious place to visit, and the separate individuals who compose it can always have a pleasanter atmosphere and time somewhere else; yet it is seldom that any one will give up the habit, or a whole family reform and institute a new order of things.
There is but one way to produce a lasting result, and that is to “withhold your tongue” on each and every occasion when bitter or sharp words arise to the surface.
The old adage, “It takes two to make a quarrel,” is invariably true; and while silence is an aggravating response to an irritating remark, its effect is inevitable. The temptation to repudiate an unjust accusation is strong, but if it is unjust, it will be regretted more than if a quarrel results in which both parties lose their temper.
She who will inwardly determine to “withhold her tongue” from ill-natured remarks, from unkind suggestion, from bitter retort, from nagging, will begin a revolution in her own home.
Do not wait for some one else to start the movement; have the joy in your own soul that you have planted the seeds of happiness yourself. Do not be discouraged if your efforts are not met halfway. Go all the way if need be. “Seek peace, and pursue it!”—Philadelphia Ledger.
Don’t Whine
SOME one has said: “Whining is poor business; it identifies you at once with the under dog, and does not get you any sympathy at all.” The man who whines confesses his weakness, his inability to match his environment. He can not command the situation. It is too much for him: all he can do is to kick and complain. The whiner never gets anywhere, never accomplishes anything.
The man or woman who uses up vitality in complaining, finding fault with circumstances, kicking against fate; who is always protesting that there is no justice in the world, that merit is not rewarded, that the times are out of joint, and that everything is wrong, is put down—and rightly—as a weakling, with a small, narrow mind. Large-minded men and women do not spend their energies in whining; if they meet an obstruction, they go through it, and pass on about their business. They know that all their time and strength must be concentrated on the work of making a life life. The whiner not only wastes his time and strength, but he prejudices people against people against him. No one feels inclined to help a man who is always complaining of conditions and blaming his “hard luck.” Somehow we get the feeling that he does not deserve help, so much as a good scolding.
The practical business man has no sympathy with the man who complains that he “can not get a job.” A great many employers object to having people around who complain that “luck has always been against them;” they fear, perhaps, not without reason, that they will create evil conditions. The complaining person, the whiner, by his own conduct places himself at a fearful disadvantage with a possible employer: nobody wants the man who poses as a victim of “hard luck,” who says he can not get a job. Everybody wants the man who is in great demand.—Success.
The Troubles that Never Come
THE story is told of a lady who for a time kept a list of impending troubles.
It was a relief to see them down in black and white. Some months later in looking over the list she was surprised to find that nine tenths of these troubles had never materialized. They had an existence only in her imagination.
The troubles that never come form the heaviest part of our daily load. The worry and the fear caused by these apprehended miseries, often work sad havoc with brain and nerves. The actual sorrows, the bereavements, the disappointments have their comfort and cure. But there is no cure for troubles that never come. They are haunting ghosts, substantial as mist, yet very real in their repressing and harmful power over us.
There is toil in our daily living; there is weariness; still blessed rest will follow.
But the weariness of imagined burdens drags the very heart and hope out of those who indulge in these unhealthful fancies.
Each day comes as a fresh gift from the hand of God. In it are just the experiences his loving wisdom has ordained. Meet with a brave heart all that is in the day's portion, but shrink not from phantom lions nor from shadows that seem to blot out the sun.—Selected.
Analysis of a Cigarette
THE following is the result of an analysis of a cigarette, made recently by a physician: “The tobacco was found to be strongly impregnated with opium, while the wrapper, which was warranted to be rice paper, was proved to be the most ordinary quality of paper, whitened with arsenic. The two poisons combined were present in sufficient quantities to create in the smoker the habit of using opium without his being aware of it, his craving for which can only be satisfied by an incessant consumption of cigarettes.” These facts would be sufficient to stop the manufacture of anything less insidious in its influence. But smokers will smoke on to the death.—Selected.
The Effects of Rocking Infants
“ALL methods of putting children to sleep by monotonous sensation ought to be forbidden,” says The American Inventor, “including monotonous lullabies. It is undesirable either to interrupt or to prolong artificially the slumber of infants and young folk. As for the practise of rocking, Dr. Manaceine has found by experiment that swinging the body for only fifteen minutes produces in a healthy adult a lowering in temperature of from one to two and one-half degrees Fahrenheit, with more or less pronounced brain anemia (bloodlessness) and pain at the heart.”
A Year of Seed Sowing in the West Indies
By George F. Enoch
GEORGE F. ENOCH
DURING the visit of Elder W. A. Spicer to the West Indies, as a representative of the Mission Board, early in 1903, two conferences were organized,—the Jamaica Conference, in the island of Jamaica, and the East Caribbean Conference, comprising the circle of islands that fringe the eastern end of the Caribbean Sea, from St. Thomas in the north to and including the Guianas in the mainland of South America. These two conferences have a combined membership of a little over two thousand, and encouraging progress has been made during the first year of their organization. It is safe to say that this has marked the beginning of an era in the history of our work in the West Indies that will stand out prominently from any view-point of the future.
KINGSTON, JAMAICA
One of the great plans laid in those conferences, destined, under God, to accomplish a wonderful work, was the inauguration of the seed-sowing campaign, the central figure of which was to be a monthly missionary journal to be called The Caribbean Watchman. We are glad to report that this plan has passed from the book of resolutions into the book of acts.
The growing number of loyal believers in the advent message throughout the West Indies, the great number of souls still unwarned here, and fields unentered, the condition of the finances of the Mission Board, with great unentered fields like China pressing heavily upon them, in comparison with which the population of our field seemed so small, all tended to make the undertaking of such a campaign an absolute necessity. Taking the one hundred and twenty-sixth Psalm as an inspired prediction concerning the closing work of the gospel message, we stepped out in faith, believing that the Spirit of the Lord would make the remnant church a body of seed sowers, scattering everywhere the precious seed baskets.
It seemed a great undertaking. The conferences had only just come into existence. The members of the churches were all poor. The question of finances with them was not a very promising one. There was not one cent in sight that the proposed paper could lean on for support. Almost every denomination in the field had tried to print a paper, and had either miserably failed or were dragging out a most precarious existence. Our papers from England and America were so far away and so expensive that many of our attempts toward the introduction of current literature had failed. Everything seemed against us, except the crying need of just such a campaign. So we cried to the Lord, and he whose ear is ever open to hear the cry of need arising in Jesus' name, from his children, did not fail us in our extremity.
The territory of the Caribbean Watchman has gone beyond the border of these two conferences, reaching Central America on the west, thus encircling the entire Caribbean Sea, and extending to Bermuda to the north, where three hundred copies have been sold each month. The time consumed in getting cuts and other necessaries, delayed the production of the first number until June, 1903. Thus the May number, just issued, closes the first year of our work.
At the conference held in Trinidad in January, 1903, most of the workers considered two thousand copies quite sufficient to start with, and the most sanguine expectation of many was that we should reach four or five thousand monthly. But in June we had heard from many of the fields, and three thousand copies were issued. They were quickly taken up and all sold. So hearty was the response from our loyal people, that by the third issue the paper reached a circulation of seven thousand copies, which it has maintained until the close of its first year; and with the June number, 1904, it starts in its second year with nine thousand copies, and the ambition14to reach a stable circulation of at least ten thousand copies before the year ends.
To those who do not understand the scattered situation of our field, the poor facilities of communication, the poverty of the inhabitants, the awful work of West Indian hurricanes (one the worst known for years struck us the very next month after the birth of the Watchman), this may not seem to be much of a record, and it is not what it should be, yet taking into consideration the many difficulties met, we recognize the overruling hand of the Master, thank God, and take courage.
Benefits Derived
In the first place, God has a message for the West Indies, which is present truth, and the Watchman has tried to grasp the opportunities presented by the turning wheel of providence, and give the meaning to the people. Some precious souls have already been reported to this office who have accepted the message through reading the Watchman. Another benefit we have realized is that much prejudice that existed through malicious misrepresentations and misunderstandings of this people and their work, is being melted away as the people learn what we really believe. Again, we have found a large army of hungry souls who have testified again and again that these truths are just what they have been hungry for, for years. The paper has also proved an excellent means of introducing our conference laborers to the people, and has largely increased the circle of our acquaintances and friends. And last, but not least, we are glad to report that it has been of untold benefit to our own churches and companies of believers in that it has furnished them with a medium within the reach of their purses, filled with present truth, and has given them a key to the homes of their neighbors, thus making them channels through which the living water is flowing out to others, saving them from the stagnation that was threatening them.
Our Health Journal
We have associated with the sale of the Watchman the sale of the English Good Health, because we know that the light flashing from our health journals is needed just now by the people. We are using the English Good Health, as we can sell it for three cents a copy, the same as the Watchman, and also because so many of the West India colonies are decidedly English in sentiment.
During the year seventy-eight thousand copies of the Watchman have been sold, and during the past six months about eight thousand copies of Good Health. There are practically none of these papers at the office, and as far as we can learn, but very few in the hands of the agents. Our subscription list is very small, so that almost this entire number of papers has been sold from door to door by the church-members.
Trinidad, with a church membership of about three hundred, has sold about twenty thousand; Barbados, with only about one hundred members, about fifteen thousand; and Antigua, with only about fifty members, four thousand. Those fields nearest the office of publication have done the best this year, but we hope during the coming year to do more thorough work in the more distant fields. We expect to give special attention to the canal strip on the Isthmus of Panama.
We wish to put on record our gratitude for the noble way in which so many of our brethren and sisters have responded to the call of the hour. This work has been carried forward in self-sacrifice and self-denial. Our agents have braved the scoffs of the enemy, and the fierce heat of the tropic sun. And the best of all is, a goodly number are enlisting for life service. One of our young men in Trinidad is selling two hundred of each issue, and in Barbados we have several agents who sell from seventy-five to one hundred, as also in all the fields a large number who dispose of fifty, and a still larger number who sell twenty-five of each issue.
I am sure that our dear brethren and sisters in America, who have given so much for the advancement of the work in the West Indies, would feel amply repaid could they but see the army of workers now rallying to the call, and preparing not only to carry on the work within their own borders, but also casting anxious eyes toward Africa, the native land of many, with an increasing burden to help in the bearing of the advent message to the Dark Continent.
We are planning advance moves for the year to come. It is proposed to issue a large number of small tracts and leaflets to be used by our Watchman agents in this seed-sowing campaign. It is hoped that active, live tract and missionary societies will be organized during the coming year in every company of believers, and that they will not be satisfied with mailing a few papers or writing a few letters, but that every society will be a hive of seed sowers, from which the members will issue as busy as bees, visiting from house to house in their own neighborhoods, with hands filled with the precious seed baskets.
During the past year an outside printer has printed the Caribbean Watchman, and while the work has been done as well and as satisfactorily as could be expected, yet there is much that we can not control as we would like, and the paper has not been up to the standard that would please us best. The printing and material cost us about six hundred dollars for the year, but the money has all come in, and there are no debts. If we had the means to buy the outfit of type and office accessories sufficient to set the type and make up the forms in our office, only sending it out to get the presswork done, we could do much better work. Then some of our needy young people could find employment in the message. We do not wish to divert means from more pressing needs, but only to state the facts, and leave it with the Lord to impress hearts.
Brethren and sisters pray for the success of the seed-sowing campaign in the West Indies.
Mission Notes
THREE of the great Japanese newspapers of Tokyo are in the hands of Christians as managing editors.
THE general centenary of evangelical Christian missions in China will be reached in 1907, Rev. Robert Morrison having landed in the empire in 1807.
The London Times contains an account of the laying of the corner-stone of an English church in Khartum, on February 7. The site of the church is within a few yards of the spot where General Gordon fell.
The manager of a big publishing house in Yokohama, Japan, is an elder in the Presbyterian Church. Every Monday morning he assembles the two hundred and twenty workers of the establishment for a religious service, as a preparation for the work of the week.
The Berlin Missionary Society and the Moravian Missions have a group of stations in the mountain region north of Lake Nyassa, in German East Africa. The Moravian Missions-blatt for April mentions the preparation of a hymn-book in the Konde language for use in all these stations. This little fact suggests more of progress than a page of statistics.
HERE is one missionary’s experience with the plague in India. At the German Baptist Brethren’s Orphanage at Ankleswar (Bombay presidency), one of the boys was taken sick on a Saturday in March, and died on Tuesday. By noon six others were sick. Mr. McCann, the only missionary there, carried one of the plague-stricken boys out of the house, and laid him in the shade. In less than an hour he was dead. The missionary carried another boy out, and laid him under a vine for shade and fresh air, but the boy died before the grave was ready for the first, and both were buried in one grave. Mr. Lichty, another missionary, now arrived from a tour, but Mr. McCann refused to allow another besides himself to run the awful risk of handling plague-patients, and continued to care for the sick single-handed. The next day at eight o’clock another boy died, and Mr. McCann, with the help of four boys, buried him. At ten o’clock, another boy died. Mr. McCann carried him to the grave, and on his return found another boy dead. Him also the weary missionary carried with the help of three boys to the burial. Then the plague was stayed as suddenly as it had begun, exactly as if the angel of the Lord had been sent to stop it in answer to prayer. The spectacle of a true missionary doing his duty under such circumstances, and as a matter of course, acts upon one like a tonic.
Argentina
By N. Z. Town
BUENOS AYRES.— After the general meeting, I received a call to visit Navarro again, as another family had become interested in the truth. I went out there for a fortnight. A Catholic family to whom I sold a Bible the first time I was there had become much interested, yet they had many doubts concerning our people and some of the truths we teach. After patient study with them day by day, their doubts vanished, and before returning I had the privilege of baptizing three earnest souls — a man and his wife, and their uncle who lives with them. This is the third family of Italian Catholics that have accepted the truth in Navarro in the last few months. There is now a company of twelve adults in that place who keep the Sabbath. Brother Maas reports three who have accepted the truth in San Geronimo since the general meeting closed. So the good work is going forward little by little. N. Z. TOWN.
Sabbath, June 11, at Bethel, Wisconsin
By William Covert
SABBATH, June 11, was a day of gladness at Bethel, Wis. There was a service held at eight o'clock in the academy, in which twenty-three of the students were received for the ordinance of baptism. Twenty-one of these were living in the Home, and nearly all of them are strong young men and women who have a bright Christian experience, and express themselves as willing to engage in the Lord's work anywhere that they may be called upon to go.
At eleven o'clock, the regular Sabbath services were held, at the close of which Professor Washburn was ordained to the ministry. His ordination had been voted by the Lake Union Conference Committee after he had been elected to the presidency of Emmanuel Missionary College at Berrien Springs. He requested that the ordination service be performed at Bethel, where he could be in the presence of all the students in the Bethel school, where he has served as principal for the last three years.
At the close of the ordination service, the whole congregation of two hundred persons marched to the water, one-half mile west of the church, where twenty-three of the students, and three other persons who had been brought to a knowledge of this truth through the labors of these students, were buried with their Lord in baptism. Professor Washburn baptized thirteen of these students, which was the first service of the kind he had ever performed. The other thirteen were baptized by the writer.
Very many remarked that this was the most blessed Sabbath day they had ever experienced. It was truly a beautiful closing of Professor Washburn's service in connection with the school where he had served so faithfully during the last three years. We trust his future service in connection with our educational work may be as fruitful as it has been in this school.
Prof. A. W. Hallock, who has been connected with the school during all the time Professor Washburn has been here, now takes the principalship of Bethel Academy.
We know that the blessing of God rests upon the work which is being done in this institution, and the outlook for much good yet to be accomplished is indeed bright. May the blessing of the Lord still abide with the work here.
WM. COVERT.
India
By Harry Armstrong
DARJEELING.—The last Sabbath I spent in Calcutta we had a glorious meeting. Four adult candidates were baptized. Two of these were young medical students from the government medical college. They have accepted the truths presented, and united with the church. Another young man from the college is also awaiting baptism. I have just had a letter from Captain —'s wife, of the medical college, who is also keeping the Sabbath, saying the young men are all of good courage, and the leaven of truth is at work among the students. I pray that this good work may go speedily forward, and that good workers may be gathered from this corner.
We are now in the hills. Never before have we seen such place as this. We are all enjoying the best of health. God has been so kind to us while living in the plains. I believe he has in a special manner strengthened us for the work during this last year.
We expect to leave here May 1, and sail from Calcutta for Ceylon, May 6. We are hoping to raise a monument to the truth in Ceylon. We do not have one Sabbath-keeper in the island; and yet there must be a company gathered from that place to join the one hundred and forty-four thousand.
HARRY ARMSTRONG.
Turkey
By A. W. George
CONSTANTINOPLE.— My time has been absorbed in studying French and working for my certificate. This took much time, and waiting, according to the custom of the Turk, who does everything not to-day, nor to-morrow even, but “after to-morrow.” I have passed the examination, and last Wednesday I received the “permit d’exercice,” which is good for the entire empire. I began proceedings for this two months ago, and have gone to the medical college nine times to look after the matter. Twice I had an appointment changed on account of the Sabbath. There has been no objection raised to me that I know of, but it is simply their way of doing business with everybody. They put people off this way, I am told, hoping to get backshish. I paid altogether about thirty-five dollars to get my certificate.
I thank the Lord that he has given me success in this matter. The one through whom I have to do business at the American consulate is a near relative of the official agent of the American Protestant community, who is the avowed16enemy of the Sabbatarian. So I do not feel very much at home at the consulate. The enemy has certainly got his walls well built around this place, and when I think of the difficulties before the work here, the way seems impenetrable. But my courage is good, because I know the Lord has ways and means in store that I can not see now.
The language of this country is one great difficulty. It is a great inconvenience to have to depend upon an interpreter, but I have been fortunate in getting good teachers for both French and Turkish. I am now learning to write Turkish—from right to left. It will take much longer to learn this language than the French.
Moda is on the Asiatic side, near the terminus of the railroad, and also near the Imperial Medical College. This is a favorite residence part of the city for the wealthy, especially Europeans, and there are many English here. There is no other English doctor here except an old doctor who is about to retire. I am satisfied that the medical work will succeed when a start is made. The people seem to know as much about the use of fomentations, baths, etc., as they do in America. There is no prejudice against natural agencies in treating disease, but, on the contrary, a growing sentiment demanding the use of these things. I realize that the world is more ready for us than we are for it.
I have a nice location, near the beautiful Greek church. All the surroundings are healthful and beautiful. I am praying and trusting that the Lord will give me favor with these people.
Sabbaths I meet with a small company of our people, sometimes in one place, and sometimes in another. We can not have a regular place of meeting, but must change about. This is a difficult problem with me. I do not know how it will be solved. Remember the work here in your prayers and plans.
A. W. GEORGE, M. D.
Vermont
By H. J. FARMAN
DURING the past six months I have labored in Bakersfield, Enosburg, Berkshire, and East Richford. As a result, three persons have accepted present truth, two others have been reclaimed, and I hope for a few more who have requested prayers.
The Bordoville church has been greatly helped by several additions by letter and by vote. They are now repairing their house of worship.
At East Richford the church had become very small by deaths and removals, and their house of worship is greatly in need of repairs. The estimated cost of repairing this church is about three hundred dollars. Both these churches are among the oldest we have, and from them have gone forth several laborers into the great harvest, some of whom are now sleeping. To leave these churches to fall into disrepute for want of means to repair them at this time would be wrong. While we do not wish to make any general call for help, we believe there are many friends, and even scattered members of these churches, especially the latter, who would be glad to render assistance at this time. All such may send their donations to the writer, at Stevens Mills, Vt., stating to which church the money is to go.
H. J. FARMAN.
Notes From Alberta
By J. W. Boynton
THROUGH the generous liberality of our friends in the States we have been enabled to buy a tent twenty-four by thirty-six feet, for meeting purposes, and two family tents. With these we shall hold the first Seventh-day Adventist tent- and camp-meeting in Alberta. The camp-meeting will be held in Ponoka, July 12-17.
Our working force has been strengthened by the arrival of Brethren Shelstead and Henrickson, of Minnesota. These brethren are doing colportage work, among the Scandinavians.
Near Buffalo Lake three adults have taken a decided stand for the truth. At Leavings the brethren are planning to erect a small building for school and church purposes. Several of the young people here have decided to follow Christ. Near Claresholm one lady who had yielded to the tempter, renewed her covenant with the Lord. There are quite a number in various places who are preparing for baptism.
The tithe from this field is small, but we are glad to say it is increasing. Since last November we have received nearly seven hundred dollars.
The territory of the Alberta Mission field is about as large as the States of Minnesota, Iowa, and the two Dakotas, and has a population about equal to St. Paul, Minn. The population is growing rapidly by immigration.
We have four churches and two companies. These, with the isolated Sabbath-keepers, give us about one hundred and fifty members. J. W. BOYNTON.
The Work in Great Britain
By Ole Andres Olsen
SOME time has now passed since I sent anything for the REVIEW, not because we have been idle, for the past months have been a very busy time in our field, and we are glad to report steady progress and advancement in the work. Although the past few months have been among the busiest of my life, I am thankful to God for the blessings and strength we have experienced in our work.
Reports have been sent in at different times from the various divisions of this field, so I need not report the details of the progress of the work in the various places, only to say that it is steadily advancing in every part of the British field. Four new churches have been organized in the North England Conference during the present year, two in the South England Conference, one in Scotland, and one in Wales; and in Ireland a good company is ready for organization. At Newport, in the Welsh Mission, a church of thirty-three members was organized, twenty-seven of whom have recently accepted the truth; and a number of others have since done so, and will join at the first opportunity.
The regular annual meeting of the South England Conference closed on Sunday evening, May 29. This was held at Southsea. The past year has been a very trying one in this conference, and we have been made sad by the apostasy of two of our laborers. This caused no small trembling and shaking among the believers, and many were led to investigate anew the foundation of their faith and hope, and to feel after the underlying principles of the truth. The Lord blessed the study of his Word, and the result has been that our people are more firmly grounded in the truth and the message than ever before, and are rejoicing in the renewed certainty of the immovable foundation of their precious faith and hope.
Our annual meeting was one of the best of its kind we have ever attended. From the very beginning, the presence of the Spirit of the Lord was manifest, and the testimonies of courage, confidence, and faith in the message and its work revealed how earnestly they had been searching the Word, and how clearly the Spirit of the Lord had revealed to them the truth of the message and work for this time.
The attendance of our own people was larger than last year, and this itself was a source of much encouragement. For some time Southsea has been the center of a test between truth and error. It was here that Elder Champness had labored for more than a year before leaving the truth, and to this place he returned to start a work independent of that of the third angel's message.
Just before the meeting, we organized a church of twenty-three members at Southsea, whose names were enrolled in a covenant to keep the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus. During the meeting twenty-three souls were baptized, fourteen of whom came from Southsea, and the others from other places. We were favored by the use of the Baptist Emmanuel church for our baptismal service, which was kindly granted by its pastor and people. The Spirit of the Lord was present in the meeting in a marked manner, and the service was very impressive.
The business meetings of the conference, which appear in another report, passed off very harmoniously. Every department of the work received careful attention, and I never saw a more hearty or enthusiastic interest taken in what we call business meetings than was manifested at this time.
During the progress of the meeting, quite a number were converted, and took their stand for the truth. In our closing meeting, some who had been attending our services for some time, and who had been watching developments carefully, testified with joy that they had taken a definite stand for the truth of God, and for the Sabbath of the Lord.
Three sisters who had come to this country from South Africa to investigate the truth, or 'get to the bottom of the thing,' as they expressed it, were present at the meeting, and were greatly blessed. The speakers enjoyed much freedom in presenting the message, and the Spirit of God impressed the truths presented on the hearts of the people.
At the closing business meeting, aggressive plans for the work of the coming season were laid before the people, and were heartily approved. We are planning to have three tents in the field during the summer, one in the large city of Bristol, and the other two in different parts of London where special interests have been awakened. The fact that one of these tents will be manned entirely by students from our school is an encouraging feature.
We were not favored with the presence of any outside help for the Southsea meeting, either from America or from the Continent of Europe. The various divisions of the British Union were represented, Brother Andross being present from the North England Conference, Brother Hutchinson from Ireland, Brother Ballenger from Wales, and Brother Ritchie from Scotland, the last-mentioned remaining to connect with the work in this conference.
Our brethren and sisters throughout the conference are of the best of courage, and have gone back to their homes and several fields of labor with a determination to press forward to the mark of our high calling, and to be faithful in their duty, both in the payment of an honest tithe to the Lord and in doing active missionary work.
Trusting in God for his special blessing, we go forth to the work with renewed courage, believing that the Lord will signally bless the work in this great and important field, and hasten the message to its final consummation.
