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Signs of the Times, Vol. 6, No. 30.

General Articles
Earlier text: DOCTOR BENSON'S SUNDAY BOOK

ONLY A FEW WORDS.

MR. JAMES WINKLEMAN shut the door with a bang, as he left the house, and moved down the street in the direction of his office, with a quick, firm step, and the air of a man slightly disturbed in mind.
"Things are getting better fast," said he, with a touch of irony in his voice, as he almost flung himself into his leather-cushioned chair. "It's rather hard when a man has to pick his words in his own house as carefully as if he were picking diamonds, and tread as softly as if he were stepping on eggs. I don't like it. Mary gets weaker and more foolish every day, and puts a breadth of meaning on my words that I never intended them to have. I've not been used to this conning over of sentences and picking out of all doubtful expressions ere venturing to speak, and I'm too old to begin now. Mary took me for what I am, and she must make the most of her bargain. I'm past the age for learning new tricks."
With these and many other justifying sentences, did Mr. Winkleman seek to obtain a feeling of self-approval. But, for all this, he could not shut out the image of a tearful face, nor get rid of an annoying conviction that he had acted thoughtlessly, to say the least of it, in speaking to his wife as he had done.
But what was all this trouble about? Clouds in the sky that bent over the home of Mr. Winkleman, and it is plain that Mr. Winkleman himself had had his own share in the work of producing these clouds. Only a few unguarded words had been spoken. Only words! And was that all?
Words are little things, but they sometimes strike hard. We wield them so easily that we are apt to forget their hidden power. Fitly spoken, they fall like the sunshine, the dew and the fertilizing rain; but when unfitly, like the frost, the hail and the desolating tempest. Some men speak as they feel or think, without calculating the force of what they say; and then seem very much surprised if any one is hurt or offended. To this class belonged Mr. Winkleman. His wife was a loving, sincere woman, of quick feelings. Words, to her, were indeed realities. They never fell upon her ear as idle sounds. How often was her poor heart bruised by them!
On this particular morning, Mrs. Winkleman, whose health was feeble, found herself in a weak, nervous state. It was only by an effort that she could rise above the morbid irritability that afflicted her. Earnestly did she strive to repress the disturbed beatings of her heart, but she strove in vain. And it seemed to her, as it often does in such cases, that everything went wrong. The children were fretful, the cook dilatory and cross, and Mr. Winkleman impatient, because sundry little matters pertaining to his wardrobe were not just to his mind.
"Eight o'clock,-and no breakfast yet," said Mr. Winkleman, as he drew out his watch, on completing his own toilet. Mrs. Winkleman was in the act of dressing the last of five children, all of whom had passed under her hands. Each had been captious, cross or unruly, sorely trying the mother's patience. Twice had she been into the kitchen, to see how breakfast was progressing, and to enjoin the careful preparation of a favorite dish with which she had purposed to surprise her husband.
"It will be ready in a few minutes," said Mrs. Winkleman. "The fire hasn't burned freely this morning."
"If it isn't one thing, it is another," growled the husband. "I'm getting tired of this irregularity. There'd soon be no breakfast to get, if I were always behind time in business matters."
Mrs. Winkleman bent lower over the child she was dressing, to conceal the expression of her face. What a sharp pain now throbbed through her temples! Mr. Winkleman began to pace the floor impatiently, little imagining that every jarring footfall was like a blow on the sensitive, aching brain of his wife.
"Too bad! too bad!" he had just ejaculated when the bell rung.
"At last!" he muttered, and strode toward the breakfast-room. The children followed in considerable disorder, and Mrs. Winkleman, after hastily arranging her hair, and putting on a morning cap, joined them at the table. It took some moments to restore order among the little ones.
The dish that Mrs. Winkleman had been at considerable pains to provide for her husband, was set beside his plate. It was his favorite among many, and his wife looked for a pleased recognition thereof, and a lighting up of his clouded brow. But he did not seem even to notice it. After supplying the children, Mr. Winkleman helped himself in silence. At the first mouthful, he threw down his knife and fork, and pushed his plate from him.
"What's the matter?" inquired his wife.
"You didn't trust Bridget to cook this, I hope?" was the response.
"What is the matter with it?" Mrs. Winkleman's eyes were filling with tears.
"Oh! it's of no consequence," answered Mr. Winkleman, coldly; "anything will do for me."
"James!" There was a touching sadness blended with rebuke in her accents; and, as she uttered his name, tears gushed over her cheeks.
Mr. Winkleman did not like tears. They always annoyed him. At the present time, he was in no mood to bear with them. So, on the impulse of the moment, he arose from the table, and, taking his hat, left the house.
Self-justification was tried, though not, as has been seen, with complete success. The calmer grew the mind of Mr. Winkleman, and the clearer his thoughts, the less satisfied did he feel with the part he had taken in the morning's drama. By an inversion of thought, not usual among men of his temperament, he had been presented with a vivid realization of his wife's side of the question. The consequence was, that, by dinner-time, he felt a good deal ashamed of himself, and grieved for the pain he knew his hasty words had occasioned.
It was in this better state of mind that Mr. Winkleman returned home. The house seemed still as he entered. As he proceeded up-stairs, he heard the children's voices, pitched to a low key, in the nursery. He listened, but could not hear the tones of his wife. So he passed into the front chamber, which was darkened. As soon as he could see clearly in the feeble light, he perceived that his wife was lying on the bed. Her eyes were closed, and her thin face looked so pale and death-like, that Mr. Winkleman felt a cold shudder creep through his heart. Coming to the bedside, he leaned over and gazed down upon her. At first, he was in doubt whether she really breathed or not; but he felt a heavy weight removed when he saw that her chest rose and fell in feeble respiration.
"Mary!" He spoke in a low, tender voice.
Instantly the fringed eyelids parted, and Mrs. Winkleman gazed up into her husband's face in partial bewilderment.
Obeying the moment's impulse, Mr. Winkleman bent down and left a kiss upon her pale lips. As if moved by an electric thrill, the wife's arms were flung around the husband's neck.
"I am sorry to find you so ill," said Mr. Winkleman, in a voice of sympathy. "What is the matter?"
"Only a sick-headache," replied Mrs. Winkleman. "But I've had a good sleep, and feel better now. I didn't know it was so late," she added, her tone changing slightly, and a look of concern coming into her countenance. "I'm afraid your dinner is not ready;" and she attempted to rise.
But her husband gently laid her back with his hand, saying: "Never mind about dinner. It will come in good time. If you feel better, lie perfectly quiet. Have you suffered much pain?"
"Yes." The word did not part her led sadly, but came with a softly wreathing smile. Already the wan hue of her cheeks was giving place to a warmer tint, and the dull eyes brightening. What a healing power was in his tender tones and considerate words! And that kiss-it had thrilled along every nerve-it had been as nectar to the drooping spirit. "But I feel so much better, that I will get up," she added, now rising from her pillow.
And Mrs. Winkleman was entirely free from pain. As she stepped upon the carpet, and moved across the room, it was with a firm tread. Every muscle was elastic, and the blood leaped along her veins with a new and healthier impulse.
No trial of Mr. Winkleman's patience, in a late dinner, was in store for him. In a few minutes the bell summoned the family; and he took his place at the table so tranquil in mind, that he almost wondered at the change in his feelings. How different was the scene from that presented at the morning meal!
And was there power in a few simple words to effect so great a change as this? Yes, in simple words, fragrant with the odor of kindness.
A few gleams of light shone into the mind of Mr. Winkleman, as he returned musing to his office, and he saw that he was frequently to blame for the clouds that so often darkened over the sky of home.
"Mary is foolish," he said, in partial self-justification, "to take my hasty words so much to heart. I speak often without meaning half what I say. She ought to know me better. And yet," he added, as his step became slower, for he was thinking more ingenuously than usual, "it may be easier for me to choose my words more carefully, and to repress the unkindness of tone that gives them a double force, than for her to help feeling pain at their utterance."
Right, Mr. Winkleman! That is the common sense of the whole matter. It is easier to strike, than to help feeling or showing signs of pain, under the infliction of a blow. Look well to your words, fathers, mothers, children,-all ye members of a home circle. And especially look well to your words, ye whose words have the most weight, and fall, if dealt in passion, with the heaviest force.-Arthur's Home Magazine.

The Home Circle.

MAKE HOME BEAUTIFUL.

Make your home beautiful—bring to it flowers; Plant them around you to bud and to bloom; Let them give light to your loneliest hours— Let them bring light to enliven your gloom; If you can do so, O make it an Eden Of beauty and gladness almost divine; 'Twill teach you to long for that home you are needing, The earth robed in beauty beyond this dark clime.

THE SAME GOD.

A LADY was once visiting her friends in Boston, and as she was making arrangements to return home, a friend asked if she would take her little boy with her, as she wanted to send him to visit his grandparents, near whose house the lady was going on her way home.
She readily consented to take charge of him, and found him to be a bright little fellow, and a very pleasant companion.
It was before railroads were made, and they went in a stage; and as it was quite a distance, they had to stop one night on the way. The little boy was tired; and when the lady took him up-stairs, she thought as the room was cold she would not ask him to say his prayers till he was in bed.
When he was snugly tucked up, she asked him if he did not want to pray.
"No," he replied.
She was surprised, and asked, "What, don't you want to say your prayers?" "No," was his decided answer.
"Why," said she, "Papa prayed this morning that the Lord would take care of us, and he has taken care of us; and now don't you want to thank him?"
He started up, and asked earnestly, "Is it the same God here that my papa prays to at home?"
Being assured that it was, he seemed to feel quite at home, said his prayers, and thanked the Lord for taking care of them on their journey, and then wanted his friend to pray, "Because," said he, "it is the same God we have at home."
When the lady went down, he told her she might take the light, for he was not afraid since God was there.
Our little friend was not the first person who supposed that in leaving home he had left his father's God. Even Jacob, when departing from the tents of Isaac, was astonished at the visions of Bethel, and said, "Surely the Lord is in this place, and I knew it not." Gen. 28:16. And older persons who have seen in a clearer light the glory of the omnipresent God, often act when on a journey as if God was left behind. Blessed are they who, in every condition, are assured of the presence of "the same God," and who "pray everywhere, lifting up holy hands without wrath or doubting,"
"Well knowing that Jesus resides everywhere, And can in all places give answers to prayer."

Lessons Learned in Adversity

By Charles Haddon Spurgeon

Stars may be seen from the bottom of a deep well, when they cannot be discerned from the top of a mountain. So are many things learned in adversity which the prosperous man dreams not of.—Spurgeon.

ITEMS OF NEWS AND NOTES.

By Editor

  • Dr. Talmage and wife arrived in San Francisco the 7th.
  • Juab county, Utah, is being devastated by grasshoppers.
  • There is a lock-out of 2,400 operatives at Rochdale, England.
  • Illinois Congregationalism shows a loss the last year of 753 members.
  • August 7, the Healdsburg Flouring Mills were destroyed by fire.
  • The Utes refuse to ratify the Washington Treaty in its present form.
  • Quite a severe shock of earthquake was felt at Watsonville, Aug. 5.
  • The steamer N. J. Dexter was burned to the hull at Louisville, July 25.
  • News from Naples states that the eruption of Mt. Vesuvius began July 25.
  • Secretary Schurz arrived in San Francisco, July 29. Started for Yosemite, Aug. 1.
  • The fire at White Sulphur Springs, Green Briar, West Va., Aug. 1, burned forty-four horses.
  • J. Lloyd Haigh, who wrecked the Grocers' Bank, New York, has been sentenced to four years' imprisonment.
  • A Hartford man, while talking through a telephone during a thunder-shower, was knocked down by electricity.
  • In view of possible disturbances, the English government has resolved to dispatch a large body of troops to Ireland.
  • There are now about 1,900 U. S. Government prisoners confined in various State prisons throughout the country.
  • There are 43,000 postoffices in the United States—an average of almost one postoffice to every one thousand inhabitants.
  • President Hayes will attend the State Fair at Sacramento this fall. He will be the first President to visit this Coast.
  • New Zealand has now over 1,100 miles of railways, all built within about 12 years, and all narrow-gauge, or three feet six inches.
  • A heavy freshet is reported in North Carolina. Immense damage is resulting to the corn and cotton along the Cape Fear river.
  • The most disastrous fire which has occurred for a number of years in the vicinity of Buffalo, occurred in that city July 29. Loss, $225,000.
  • The hight of the summit of Mount Diablo has just been established by Professor Davidson, of the Coast Survey, at 3,848.63 feet above the tide level.
  • A Mrs. Gunnells, of Webster Co., Ga., recently administered morphia to herself and nine children. She left a note declaring that she did it deliberately.
  • A disgraceful riot occurred in Toronto recently. The Roman Catholic societies of that city and Hamilton being out for a holiday, encountered a gang of 300 Orangemen, and as might be expected, serious trouble resulted. No lives lost.
  • Complete census returns for the State of Oregon show a total population of 175,535 against 90,923 in 1870, an increase during the decade of about 100 per cent.
  • A hailstorm on Bear creek, southern Oregon, recently destroyed many gardens, and a windstorm in the same locality blew buildings down and injured cattle.
  • A dispatch from Madrid states that the total loss of life by the recent earthquakes at Manila is estimated at 320, including 200 Chinamen. Almost every family is houseless.
  • The Public estimates that the public debt, in view of fractional currency and bonds lost or destroyed, is about $28,000,000 less than the statements of the Treasury would indicate.
  • Three passenger cars on the Springfield Southern R. R. at Waverly, Ohio, went through a bridge twenty feet high into the canal. Two persons were killed, and nine severely injured.
  • 120 Uncompaghre, and 36 White River Utes have signed the treaty. The commission, escorted by the 23d Infantry, are on their way to the Southern Ute agency to obtain consent of the White River Utes to the treaty.
  • The murderous Bender family of La Bette Co., Kan., are likely to come to justice. The old folks have been caught in Iowa, and the young folks are being pursued in Iowa, with a prospect of their being arrested.
  • The Christian at Work says: "For rank heresy and the looser sort of generalization, commend us to some of the evangelical press; you will find the article there, supply unlimited." As an illustration it refers to an article in the Pacific Christian Advocate.
  • The city of Hangchow, China, with 750,000 people, conducts its affairs with such quietness, friendliness, and freedom from disorder that no policemen are required, and none employed. Violence is very rare, and murder does not occur oftener than once in two or three years.
  • Some 800 acres of cotton have been planted this year on the rich bottoms of the Merced river, below Snelling, the product finding a local market at the Merced Falls Woolen Mill. It is no longer an experiment there, as it has been cultivated for years, and the area planted is increasing steadily every year.
  • Rome spends $200,000 on its public schools, of which, ten years ago, it had none at all. The Romans now evince great alacrity in attending the schools, and the latter are inadequate to the demand of the population. Rome would not yet have had any public schools had Catholicism maintained its supremacy.
  • Mr. G. Muller, the founder of the Orphanages at Bristol, England, has arrived at home safely, after his visit of nine months to the United States and Canada. He had an enthusiastic reception at Bristol, 2000 children being drawn up on each side of the road to greet him. Mr. Muller is now seventy-six years of age, and in vigorous health.
  • An examination of the accounts of the navy departments, covering four years, from July 1, 1875, to June 30, 1879, shows that money transactions have been made during that period to the amount of $70,541,710, and "that no single officer has defaulted, nor has a dollar been lost to the government." Is it not becoming easier to tell where defaults have been made, than where they have?
  • The late battle in Afghanistan was a crushing defeat to the English—even worse than that first reported. Of a force of 2,800 their loss was 1,100. They have evacuated Cabul, concentrating all their forces at Candahar, which is reported as not good for defence, as the hights about it command the city, and the water supply can be cut off. The outlook for England in Asia is anything but cheering.
  • The Independent says: "Is not this a free country? If so, by what right does the 'Quarterly Conference of the M. E. church, South,' at Viney Grove, Arkansas, notify the Rev. James Lakey, of the northern Methodist church, that he cannot preach any more in Viney Grove? The Methodist Advocate gives this case, which ought to be confirmed or disproved. If true, there is something radically wrong in Viney Grove."

ROMAN CATHOLIC SCHOOLS.

By Editor

In view of such facts as the following, we do not see how Protestant parents can send their children to Romish schools, and cherish any hope of their still retaining Protestant views. The Alabama Baptist justly comments:—
"We know very well that the Roman Catholic teachers promise that no compulsion or undue influence will be exerted upon the Protestant pupils; but the facts tell a different story. Fully seven-tenths of the Protestant children thus educated become Roman Catholics. Thus we read of one convent, in which nearly twenty Protestant girls renounced Protestantism within three months; and of a nunnery in Montreal, in which, out of forty Protestant girls who at one time entered the institution, to be educated there, not less than thirty-eight became Roman Catholics. In the establishment of the Louisville 'Parochial Schools,' there is a candid avowal of the design of these institutions—to build up Roman Catholic congregations. Let this fact be remembered by all whom it concerns—and let them act accordingly."

Assyrian Tablets and Genesis

Canon Tristram, speaking at the English Church Congress on recent discoveries in Chaldean literature illustrative of the Mosaic record, said that the story of the creation and fall is told by the Assyrian tablets in legends substantially agreeing with the account in Genesis. These legends are at least two centuries older than Moses. The fifth tablet declares the Sabbath to have been ordained at the creation. Twenty-three points in the Mosaic narrative of the deluge are given in the tablets.

ADVENT HAROLDEN.

By Editor

SIXTEEN PAGES.
A SWEDISH RELIGIOUS MONTHLY,—PUBLISHED AT BATTLE CREEK, MICHIGAN, AND CHRISTIANA, NORWAY.
ADVENT HAROLDEN is devoted to the proclamation of the second coming of Christ, the explanation of Prophecy and Bible doctrines in general, and the defense of the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus. Its family department is filled with instructive reading, accompanied by beautiful illustrations, and also gives valuable hints with reference to the preservation of health and the treatment of disease.
TERMS, INVARIABLY IN ADVANCE.
TO AMERICAN SUBSCRIBERS.
One copy, one year.........................................75 cents. To new subscribers, with Way of Life as premium.....$1.00. Five or more copies to one address, per copy..........50 cents. Ten or more copies, per copy................................40 cents.
TO EUROPEAN SUBSCRIBERS.
One copy, one year.........................................90 cents. Five or more copies, per copy...............................60 cents. Ten or more copies, per copy................................50 cents.
Address REVIEW AND HERALD, or, ADVENT HAROLDEN, Battle Creek, Mich.

BOOKS IN PAPER COVERS.

Constitutional Amendment. Condensed, 336 pp. 40 cts.
Sanctuary and 2300 Days. Condensed, 224 pp. 30 cts.
Facts for the Times. A collection of valuable extracts from eminent authors. 224 pp. 25 cts.
Eleven Sermons on the Sabbath and Law. By Elder J. N. Andrews. 226 pp. 25 cts.
United States in Prophecy. 200 pp. 20 cts.
The Nature and Tendency of Modern Spiritualism. By Elder J. H. Waggoner. 184 pp. 20 cts.
The Atonement. By Elder J. H. Waggoner. An examination of a remedial system in the light of Nature and Revelation. 168 pp. 20 cts.
The Ministration of Angels, and the Origin, History, and Destiny of Satan. By Elder D. M. Canright. 144 pp. 20 cts.
Our Faith and Hope. Sermons on the coming and kingdom of Christ. By Elder James White. 182 pp. 20 cts.
Refutation of the Age to Come. By Elder J. H. Waggoner. 168 pp. 20 cts.
The Spirit of God, its Gifts and Manifestations to the end of the Christian age. By Elder J. H. Waggoner. 144 pp. 15 cts.
The Three Messages of Rev. 14 : 6–12. Particularly the third angel's message and the two-horned beast. By Elder J. N. Andrews. 144 pp. 15 cts.
The Two Laws, as set forth in the Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments. By Elder D. M. Canright. 104 pp. 15 cts.
The Morality of the Sabbath. By Elder D. M. Canright. 96 pp. 15 cts.
Miraculous Powers. The Scripture testimony on the Perpetuity of Spiritual Gifts. 128 pp. 15 cts.
The Complete Testimony of the Fathers of the First Three Centuries Concerning the Sabbath and First Day of the Week. By Elder J. N. Andrews. 112 pp. 15 cts.
Matthew Twenty-Four. A clear and forcible exposition of our Lord's discourse upon the Mount of Olives. By Elder James White. 64 pp. 10 cts.
The Sunday Seventh-Day Examined. A refutation of the teachings of Mede, Jennings, Akers, and Fuller. By J. N. Andrews. 88 pp. 10 cts.
The Seven Trumpets. An exposition of the subject, as set forth in Revelation, Chaps. 8 and 9. 96 pp. 10 cts.
The Truth Found. The nature and obligation of the Sabbath. By Elder J. H. Waggoner. 64 pp. 10 cts.
Vindication of the True Sabbath. By Elder J. W. Morton, formerly Missionary of the Reformed Presbyterian church to Hayti. 68 pp. 10 cts.
Sermon on the Two Covenants. By Elder J. N. Andrews. 48 pp. 10 cts.
Hope of the Gospel. By Elder J. N. Loughborough. 80 pp. 10 cts.
Christ and the Sabbath; or, Christ in the Old Testament and the Sabbath in the New. By Elder James White. 56 pp. 10 cts.
Redeemer and Redeemed. By Elder James White. This work sets forth the plan of Redemption in its three stages. 40 pp. 10 cts.
Review of Gilfillan; or, Thoughts Suggested by the Perusal of Gilfillan and other Authors on the Sabbath. 64 pp. 10 cts.
Appeal to the Baptists for the Restitution of the Bible Sabbath. 46 pp. 10 cts.
Review of Baird. A review of two sermons against the Sabbath and Seventh-day Adventists. By Elder J. H. Waggoner. 64 pp. 10 cts.
The Ancient Sabbath. Forty objections considered. 88 pp. 10 cts.
Life of Christ, in six pamphlets. By Mrs. Ellen G. White:—
No. 1. His First Advent and Ministry. 104 pp. 10 cts. “ 2. His Temptation in the Wilderness. 96 pp. 10 cts. “ 3. His Teachings and Parables. 126 pp. 15 cts. “ 4. His Mighty Miracles. 128 pp. 15 cts. “ 5. His Sufferings and Crucifixion. 96 pp. 10 cts. “ 6. His Resurrection and Ascension. 80 pp. 10 cts.
Life of the Apostles, in two pamphlets:— No. 1. The Ministry of Peter. 80 pp. 10 cts. “ 2. The Teachings of Paul. 80 pp. 10 cts.
Bible Lessons on Prophecy. The Lessons for Bible Classes as issued with the Youth's Instructor for 1879. 10 cts.
TRACTS.—16 pages, 2 cents each. Christ in the Old Testament—The Sabbath in the New Testament—The Spirit of Prophecy—The Old Moral Code not Revised—The Sanctuary of the Bible—The Judgment—Much in Little—The Millennium—The Two Laws—Seven Reasons—The Definite Seventh Day—Departing and Being with Christ—The Rich Man and Lazarus—Elihu on the Sabbath—First Message of Rev. 14—The Law and the Gospel.

HEALTH AND TEMPERANCE TRACTS.

Startling Facts about Tobacco. A description of the evil effects of tobacco-using. 32 pp. 4 cts.
Tea and Coffee. A careful statement of the objections to the use of these popular beverages. 32 pp. 4 cts.
Wine and the Bible. A demonstration that the Bible in no degree sustains the habitual use of alcoholic drinks of any sort. 24 pp. 3 cts.
Alcoholic Medication. A protest against the wholesale employment of alcoholic compounds in the form of bitters, tonics, blood purifiers, etc. 16 pp. 2 cts.
Pork. This tract exposes the filthy scavenger in all his uncleanness. 16 pp. 2 cts.
The Drunkard's Arguments Answered. Leaves no excuse for tipplers. 16 pp. 2 cts.
Cause and Cure of Intemperance. 8 pp. 1 ct.
Moral and Social Effects of Intemperance. A forcible statement of facts and statistics. 8 pp. 1 ct.
Address, SIGNS OF THE TIMES, Oakland, California.

Spiritual Starvation

By Editor

FOR some time the newspapers East and West, in America and in Europe, have been calling attention to the experiment of Dr. Tanner of New York, who has just completed a scientific experiment of a forty days' fast. In commenting on this, an Eastern religious journal has the following pointed paragraph:—
“It is a very common thing for a Christian man to see how little spiritual food he can live on, especially when he is away from home on a summer vacation. More than one church-member in good and regular standing has gone at least forty days, at such a time, without eating anything to speak of in the way of soul nourishment. But somehow this does not seem to attract any such attention from the New York papers as is given daily to one poor creature who is experimenting on the verge of physical starvation. The metropolitan journals would not have room for much else if they should keep the public posted concerning all the souls who are starving themselves to death.”
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