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Signs of the Times, Vol. 8, No. 20.

General Articles
Earlier text: Thoughts on Daniel--Chapter XI

Practical Thoughts on Scripture Subjects.

By John Nevins Andrews

THE FINAL SEPARATION.

WE have to experience much pain in this life in parting with our dearest friends, yet duty plainly demands the sacrifice, and we must cheerfully make it for Christ’s sake. But all these seasons of separation are of no account, when we consider the events before us. We separate now, hoping to meet again in this life; or if not in this life, then in the kingdom of God. But when the final decision of the Judgment is rendered, then there will be a separation so terrible that no words can express it: some to everlasting life, and some to the pains of the second death. Parents and children and friends must separate to meet no more. How will it be with us in that day?

CONFESSION OF SINS.

We must confess our sins. Our own good demands this. The honor of God and the interests of his cause do also demand it. But when we confess our sins, we must not mix with it the justification of ourselves. Nor should we be so general and indefinite that there shall be no humiliation on our part. We must make clean work of putting away our sins. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us. We must never be satisfied till the Spirit of God witnesses with our spirits. It is better to humble ourselves with genuine repentance than to go on unhumbled to the Judgment. There every knee will bow, but it will be too late. Let us attend to this work while it will be possible for us to put away our sins. J. N. A.

At the Southern Camp-Meeting.

By Ellen G. White

ACCOMPANIED by W. C. White and Sister Mary A. Davis, I reached the grounds, Thursday, May 4, at 10 P. M. We found a neat, commodious tent, conveniently fitted up for us during our stay on the ground.
At the 9 o'clock meeting on Friday morning, I tried to present before our people the importance of the occasion. This holy convocation affords a precious opportunity to draw near to God. We should improve this privilege to search our own hearts, to compare our life and character with the divine law, and see what would hinder the Spirit of God from abiding with us. We should begin the meeting aright, that God may impart to us his blessing. We must carefully shun any violation of the Sabbath, making all needful preparation on Friday. We are not to consult our own pleasure or convenience, but to consider how we can best honor our Creator.
One day in the week God claims as his own; he has set it apart for religious worship, and has commanded man, "In it thou shalt not do any work." He will not grant his blessing to those who willfully trample upon his holy day. "If thou turn away thy foot from the Sabbath, from doing thy pleasure on my holy day; and call the Sabbath a delight, the holy of the Lord, honorable; and shalt honor him, not doing thine own ways, nor finding thine own pleasure, nor speaking thine own words, then shalt thou delight thyself in the Lord; and I will cause thee to ride upon the high places of the earth, and feed thee with the heritage of Jacob thy father; for the mouth of the Lord hath spoken it."
The Lord gave the children of Israel explicit instructions prohibiting unnecessary labor upon the Sabbath. "To-morrow is the rest of the holy Sabbath unto the Lord. Bake that which ye will bake to-day, and seethe that which ye will seethe." Carelessness in the observance of the Sabbath has crept in among us as a people. Many have sought to please themselves rather than to honor God. If we would enjoy the blessing of the Lord, the Sabbath-day must be kept holy. All cooking should be done on Friday. On the camp-ground, when the mornings are cool, hot water or hot gruel should be provided. In winter, at our homes, the food previously cooked should be warmed before it is eaten. In warm weather this is unnecessary. Divine mercy has directed that the sick and suffering should be cared for; the labor required to do this is a work of necessity, and no violation of the Sabbath.
At our annual gatherings we assemble to seek the Lord, to humble ourselves before him, to search diligently our own hearts, and to learn whether we are in the faith. How inconsistent for us, on such an occasion, to make eating and drinking our chief business. The one day in seven, which God has sanctified, should be observed in accordance with the commandment.
If we would preserve health and clearness of mind, we should eat temperately of plain, wholesome food. Those who have been accustomed to eat three meals would experience benefit from taking only two meals of simple food, prepared in a simple manner. If we had bread and water only, we should receive it with thankfulness; but we are not yet compelled to confine ourselves to this restricted diet. I am convinced, however, that very many would find it a great advantage to partake of a much plainer diet on the Sabbath than on the working days of the week.
The violation of the fourth commandment is not confined to the preparation of food. Many carelessly put off blacking their boots, and shaving, until after the beginning of the Sabbath. This should not be. If any neglect to do such work on a working day, they should have respect enough for God's holy time to let their beards remain unshaven, their boots rough and brown, until the Sabbath is past. This might help their memory, and make them more careful to do their own work on the six working days.
At every camp-meeting, instruction should be given on all these points. How can we expect the special blessing of God, unless we shun with abhorrence the smallest sin. We should choose to suffer inconvenience, loss, or privation, rather than disregard the instructions of the Lord. Our lack of spirituality has been caused by our own course. We have gradually and insensibly chosen to please ourselves instead of seeking to honor God. Christian perfection consists in the complete harmony of our will with the will of our Creator. The inhabitants of Heaven find, in obeying the will of God, their joy and blessedness.
Let every family of Seventh-day Adventists honor God by a strict regard for his law. The children should be taught to respect the Sabbath. On the day of preparation, clothing should be put in proper repair, shoes polished, baths taken. Then around the family altar all should wait to welcome God's holy day, as they would watch for the coming of a dear friend.
To the praise of God, I would say that my words upon this point met a response in the hearts of the people. Our restaurant table was well furnished, yet free from extravagance. On Friday, all needful preparation was made, so that the least work was performed on the Sabbath that I have seen at camp-meeting for many years. The plain, wholesome food was eaten with a relish. Only two meals a day were prepared at the restaurant, and those in charge had an opportunity to attend nearly all, if not all, the meetings.
For two mornings I observed that while the five o'clock meetings were in session, our sisters were busily engaged in preparing breakfast, but after this I was gratified to see that nearly all were present in the tent. These meetings were intensely interesting. There was no great excitement, but a steady advance in spiritual strength. The people were hungry for the bread of life. I have never attended a meeting where there seemed to be a stronger desire to learn, and to profit by the instruction received, than at this meeting. Oh, how much easier to labor where the people put forth earnest efforts to help themselves! Most encouraging testimonies were borne. I received precious blessings as I sought to present some practical points of truth in a few minutes' talk. And it was encouraging to learn from the testimonies borne, that our brethren and sisters gathered up these gleams of light, and purposed to make the best use of them.
Our meetings were a great blessing to myself as well as to the people. So deep was the affliction experienced in the loss of my husband, that I have felt I had received my death-wound. And as I saw our people drifting away from God, into the current of worldliness and pleasure-loving, and neglecting the light which God has permitted to shine upon them, it caused me far deeper grief than the death of my children and my husband. I had no rest day nor night.
I longed for peace. I longed for the burden to be lifted from me. I had in faithful testimony reproved, warned, and counseled. I could do no more. I was powerless to correct the existing evils. I had feared to attend the southern camp-meeting; I hardly dared test my strength by the labor which I should be called to perform; but from the first day I felt that the Lord was sustaining me. The everlasting arms were my support. When standing before the people, I was conscious of a strength not my own. I was but the instrument; God spoke to the people through clay. The burden which had weighed me down, was removed. Peace, like a river, flowed into my soul. I was cheerful, yea, joyful, in God. Thus has the Lord in mercy often helped me in time past, as I have labored for the salvation of souls. Peace and joy continued with me through the meeting. My wakeful hours at night were spent in communion with God. I felt that a risen Saviour pleads in our behalf, at the right hand of the Father. Because Jesus lives, we live also; he in us, and we in him.
On the Sabbath, we invited all those to come forward who desired to reach a higher standard in their religious life, and also those who desired, for the first time, to give their hearts to Jesus. A large part of our number at once responded, and we had a season of confession, prayer, and humiliation, before God. This meeting was timely; it seemed to break the spell of coldness and worldliness, and, from this point, there was steady advancement.
I was strengthened to speak to the people ten times during the meeting, besides several short talks of from fifteen to forty minutes, in the social gatherings. In addition to this, I wrote not less than one hundred pages, during the ten days we were upon the ground.
Of many interesting features of the meeting, I have not space here to write. The Bible-classes were productive of much good, in directing the minds of our people to the contemplation of Scripture truth. The meetings held specially for the youth and children, were among the best of the series. At all these yearly gatherings, special attention should be given to the spiritual interests of the young. Earnest labor should be put forth in their behalf.
On the last Sunday, I spoke in the five o'clock morning prayer-meeting upon the importance of cherishing faith. We must not allow our minds to be led into the channel of unbelief. If we talk of our doubts, we shall always find doubts to express. If we talk faith, we shall have faith, hope, and courage, in the Lord.
Sunday afternoon, I spoke to a good congregation on the subject of temperance, and in the evening continued the same subject, before a larger company. The Lord gave me strength and freedom. To his name be all the glory. After the exertion of this day, we slept about two hours, and then arose to prepare for our homeward journey, leaving the camp-ground at three o'clock, Monday morning.
I returned from this meeting with improved health, increased courage, and renewed hope, and with the peace of Christ abiding in my heart. As I look back at my condition of health a few weeks since, and then see what the Lord has wrought for me, I can hardly find language to express my gratitude to God. In every emergency he has sustained me. I fear that my faith has not always been as strong as it should have been. The waves of affliction had almost gone over my head. But the Lord has again revealed himself in power to me, and I will cast all my care upon him who careth for me. To me this camp-meeting has been one of the best I ever attended.
Dear brethren and sisters who shall assemble in our camp-meetings, Jesus will do great things for us, if we will faithfully perform our duty. We must yield our will to the will of God. We must honor the Lord by obeying all his commandments, even in what we term little things. The truth, like its divine Author, is unchangeable in its requirements, the same yesterday, to-day, and forever. It is not in harmony with the traditions of men, it does not conform to their opinions. The truth has ever brought a separation between God's people and the world. But if our position in former years, as a peculiar people, was approved of God, how does he regard our present position? Have we gained in spirituality since we departed from our early simplicity? "Ye are living epistles, known and read of all men." It was our Saviour's mission to "purify unto himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works." To his disciples he says, "Ye are the light of the world." And the apostle Paul declares, "We are a spectacle to the world, to angels, and to men."
Every person will reveal in his life all the faith that he possesses. Our dress, our conversation, our house, our associates, all bear testimony to the world with greater force than words can have. "Faith is made perfect by works," "but faith without works is dead." We profess to be giving to the world the last message of mercy. Is our daily life in harmony with our profession?
A form of godliness is popular in the world. A profession of Christianity costs little. There are but few who choose the way of self-denial, the way of the cross. A few, only, with the apostle, bear about in their bodies the marks of the Lord Jesus, desiring to know nothing but Christ, and him crucified. But God's blessing will attend the faithful few. He will make them channels of light to the world.
Those who conduct our camp-meetings should, from the very beginning of each meeting, teach others how to work. This is wise generalship. The labor should not be permitted to come wholly upon the ministers, for this will deprive the people of the education which they need. They should feel that a responsibility rests upon them to engage in the meetings in the tents. There is work that all can do, and should do to help others, and in doing thus they help themselves. The reason why so many are dying spiritually is that they are slothful servants, do-nothings. Would they go to work, they would increase in spiritual strength.
The work before us is great. Probation is soon to close. The wrath of God is about to be poured upon the earth. The sweet voice of mercy will soon cease to be heard. Every servant of the True Shepherd will realize the perils of this time, and will labor earnestly to bring souls to Christ. We must not depend on theory. The most conclusive arguments are not sufficient in themselves. Our only hope is to reach the people through God. The Bible is the sure word of prophecy, whereunto we do well that we take heed; but those who labor in word and doctrine must have a vital connection with God, a deep and living experience. While clear and convincing arguments appeal to the understanding, the Spirit of God abiding in the heart of the minister, must speak to the hearts of those who hear.
As a rule, ministers are too formal. We must show the people that we are in earnest, not merely in the desk, but out of the desk; that we fully and solemnly believe the truths we preach. If we wish them to feel, we must feel ourselves. Some ministers are adopting the customs of other churches, copying their habits and manner of labor. With many, pulpit preaching is mechanical, a mere trade. They do not kindle their taper at the divine altar. They do not have the unction from on high. The shepherds of the flock should be earnest, vigilant, and active now; the end is nearer than when we first believed. The people have a right to ask, Watchman, what of the night? Satan would have them sleep until the time for the salvation of sinners is past. Let the trumpet give a certain sound.
Let not our camp-meetings be occasions for visiting and feasting. They should be occasions of heart-searching, deep humiliation, earnest, agonizing prayer. The judgments of God are about to fall upon the unsheltered head of the sinner. We have no time now to seek worldly honor, no time to exalt self, to indulge pride or ambition. "Our God shall come, and shall not keep silence. A fire shall devour before him, and it shall be very tempestuous round about him. He shall call to the heavens from above, and to the earth that he may judge his people." How shall we stand in that day when heaven and earth shall hear the voice of God calling to judgment?
When each thought, and word, and motive, is revealed as it stands registered in the books of Heaven, when every soul shall be tried by the one perfect standard, the law of God, how will our case stand? When God makes inquisition for the blood of souls, when the undershepherds gather with their flocks around the great white throne, where will those stand with whom we have been associated, whom we have influenced? In that day, may it be seen that we have done well the work committed to our hands. May our voices swell the glad chorus.
E. G. WHITE.

Self-deception.

By R. F. Cottrell

BY ELD. R. F. COTTRELL.
It is an easy thing to deceive ourselves. Self-esteem and self-love lead to self-deception. It is easy to persuade ourselves that we are right, and that those who do not agree with us are wrong. A person may imagine that he has attained to a state of perfect humility, when in fact it is only the perfection of self-complacency and pride. And he may become so extremely selfish as to think himself perfectly free from selfishness.
These conditions are hard to cure. The persons thus afflicted imagine that they are so completely given up to the will of God, and have no will of their own, that the thought of renouncing their fancies would horrify them, as it would seem to them to be a renunciation of the work that God had wrought in their soul by the Holy Spirit. They think they have yielded up all to God; but what God has wrought in them they cannot yield—they cannot deny him! And so their perfect submissiveness to God, results in perfect stubbornness against all attempts to correct their errors. They are ready now for martyrdom. The genuine martyrs to the truth seem stubborn, of course, to their persecutors; but it was only their fidelity and submissiveness to God.
How shall the case be reached? Humility on stilts, proud of its perfection of beauty, self-renunciation clothed in supreme selfishness, and submissiveness steel-clad in stubbornness, are hard things to meet. It was commendable for the martyrs to stand stiffly for the truth. What, then, can be done in the cases of self-deception? I can see but one chance of hope; and that is, by some argument or motive, to cause the subject to call in question his or her infallibility. If this can be done, we may report progress. The martyrs did right to stand for the truth at the expense of their lives; but are you absolutely certain that it is the truth that you are ready to die for? Is there not a bare possibility that what you esteem sacred truth may be the mere fancies of a disordered imagination? Let us make a distinction between clearly revealed truth, and our own imaginations and feelings. Let us get a humility that is teachable, an unselfishness that prefers others' judgment to our own, and a submissiveness that yields to the instructions of others, whom God has blessed with an experience possibly quite equal to our own. When an individual stands against the whole church, as well as the whole world, there is the greatest reason to believe that he is laboring under self-deception.

Eld. Haskell's Trip to Europe.

By George I. Butler

[From the Review and Herald.]
MAY 13, Eld. S. N. Haskell sailed from New York to visit our missionaries in the Old World. This visit has been in contemplation for several years past, but a pressure of other duties has prevented hitherto. It is with great difficulty that he could find the time to go this spring. Bro. Gardner, from California, who traveled extensively there years ago, and is familiar with the customs and languages of Central and Northern Europe, will travel with him. This will be a great assistance to Eld. Haskell, and will enable him to accomplish much more good. It has seemed very important to us that one of the leading brethren here should become acquainted with the state of things in Europe, in order to co-operate to the best advantage with our fellow-laborers there. We cannot well understand the situation of things without personal observation. We trust his visit will be a great encouragement to our dear missionaries who are toiling under great difficulties. Some of them are laboring under a great pressure of feebleness and anxiety. May God bless, and guide, and sustain them. We hope Bro. Haskell, in his great interest in the missionary work, may be able to discover special openings for the truth. We expect this will be the case. We believe the time has come for forward movements in various directions. This work cannot, must not, stand still. Our eyes are not backward toward Egypt, but onward to the land of hope and immortal glory. May we not expect this visit to Europe will be another important point in the advance of the work? GEO. I. BUTLER.

Catholics in Washington.

By Examiner

THE following, as the writer says, is worthy of careful attention. The gigantic strides which the Roman Church is making in the United States are not the result of chance, but of a well-defined plan. The student of prophecy has no difficulty in forecasting the result.
For many years past the Catholic Archbishop has held, evidently for speculation, a large part of a square in the business part of the city. He now wants to sell it, and has asked Congress to remit all taxes on it. It is to be hoped the donation will not be made. The Archbishop's property already exempted is rated at $1,905,604, and this assessment is not much more than half its real value. He is steadily and rapidly acquiring valuable real estate in the District. Next to the Government, the Archbishop is the wealthiest proprietor. He buys no odds and ends; all his lots are of the best class. He buys for churches, parochial schools, nunnery schools, convents, asylums, homes for the aged. As he pays no taxes, he can hold until he can sell at a profit and buy more. At the present rate of purchase, he and the United States will own between them three-fourths of the real estate in the District, before the end of the century.
The Baptists, who are more numerous here than the Catholics, and the Methodists, who have a still greater numerical superiority, own together several times as many churches as the Archbishop of Baltimore; but they do not together own as much exempted property. The figures are as follows: Archbishop Gibbons holds exempted property, $1,905,604; the Methodists, $636,449; Baptists, $319,921—total, $956,370. Excess of Archbishop's exempted property, $949,234. A striking difference between the Archbishop and the Protestants is that he has a carefully digested policy in regard to the acquisition of property; and they have none of any kind. Another is, he has no paid agents to take care of his; while the agents of the Protestants are all paid.
It is easy to see what the result will be in this District: the Archbishop's successor will be the most wealthy corporation sole at the national capital; and when he transfers his archiepiscopal residence to Washington, which he will do when he finds it no longer necessary to mask his designs, he will be so strongly entrenched as to defy attack. He will then be a strong political power; strong enough, when backed by seven millions of Catholics in the United States, to control the balance of power in the national elections.
Recently, a significant movement has been made here by the Archbishop against the public schools. The priests have refused to give absolution to parents who send their children to these schools. Hereafter, every Catholic child is to be brought up in the parochial schools taught by the priests. The Catholic population is to be isolated, as well as the priests can accomplish it, from the rest of the population, by separate education and separate social life. The placing the public schools under the ban with bell, book, and candle has not been noticed, except in short paragraphs, by the Washington daily press. I regard it as of great importance, and ask the careful attention to it of all who love the Republic. —Examiner.

Anti-German Feeling in Russia

A BERLIN paper publishes the singular report that there is a strong and increasing hatred of Germans in all parts of Russia; that a declaration of war against Germany would be hailed with delight by the Russians; Russian nobles are turning off their German servants; and German tradesmen are being ruined because Russians will not deal with them. They are leaving that country as fast as possible.

The Missionary.

By George R. Drew

Letter from Brother Drew.

THE following is a personal letter, but it contains matter so interesting that we publish it:—
I am happy to say that the cause in England is onward, and we are of good courage. I left Southampton on the 14th of February, for London, and spent four weeks there, and sold $75 worth of our books, including four "Home Hand-Books;" sold also 1,300 pages of tracts, and left several reading for themselves, and hope that much good may be done, and we will give God all the glory.
I left London on the 17th of March, for Great Grimsby, in Lincolnshire, to labor for a few days with Brother John, and we are happy to report progress in the work here. We have an invitation to visit Bradford, which, if the Lord will, we shall do at no distant day. We believe that we can soon find more work to do in this quarter than many willing hands could do, and we find many earnest lovers of the truth here, as you will find anywhere. We find it more difficult to reach the people here, but when once they are brought to the knowledge of the truth, they are such as you can depend upon, and we feel very grateful to God for permitting us to have a helping hand in the last message to a fallen world, which is to prepare a people for the coming of our blessed Lord. I go to Hull to engage in the missionary work on board of ships, and on the land. Shall be glad to be remembered by friends in America, who will supply us with reading matter in all the languages, especially in English, German, Danish, and Swedish.
We are encouraged every day, for we see God's hand in the work; and while we see the world fast filling up their cup of iniquity, we are admonished to work whilst the day lasts; the night cometh when no man can work. We hope, by patient labor, to gather up a few precious sheaves to present to the Master when he comes.
I can assure you that the people here appreciate the favors conferred upon them by our American brethren, in sending them the truth. I was introduced to a gentleman who had the Review sent to him, and then subscribed for it, and he said his subscription was out a year ago, but it was such a good paper that he wanted to pay for it again. We rejoice we know that many prayers go up to God for those laboring in the English field, and we shall strive every day to double our diligence in this great work. We send our kind regards to all the missionary workers, and hope to be remembered by them in their prayers.
Your brother in the blessed hope, Geo. R. Drew. 47 Edon Road, Hull, Yorkshire, England.

Nevada.

By E. W. Farnsworth

I CLOSED my meetings at St. Clair, Nevada, April 26, after giving 36 discourses. As a result of these meetings, fourteen united with the church, and twelve others signed the covenant, making twenty-six in all that are trying now to be Christians. We sold about $65 worth of books, and a club of 58 copies of the SIGNS was taken, making 72 with those that were taken before. The Sabbath-school, which now numbers about sixty, was reorganized. We can but believe the church has been greatly strengthened and encouraged. Eight of those that were converted were children of Sabbath-keepers. The others were neighbors that resided near by. E. W. FARNSWORTH.

Vigilant Missionary Reports for Quarter Ending March 31.

MILTON, OREGON.
Families Visited, ......................................... 12 Letters Written, ........................................... 63 Letters Received, .......................................... 14 SIGNS Mailed, ............................................ 226 SIGNS given away, ........................................ 21 Other Periodicals distributed, ............................. 219 Pages Loaned, ............................................ 220 Pages given away, ........................................ 952 Subscribers obtained, ...................................... 4 Donation, ................................................ $130
MRS. MARY L. HUGHES, Sec'y.
WALLA WALLA, W. T.
Families Visited, ......................................... 144 Letters Written, ........................................... 102 Letters Received, .......................................... 5 SIGNS Mailed, ............................................ 97 SIGNS given away, ........................................ 79 Other Periodicals distributed, ............................. 76 Pages given away, ........................................ 514 Subscribers obtained, ...................................... 11 Donation, ................................................ $19.05
MATTIE J. RULOFORD Sec'y.

Upper Columbia T. and M. Society.

REPORT FOR QUARTER ENDING MARCH 31, 1882.

Districts No. of Members No. Reports Returned No. Members Added No. Members Dismissed No. of Missionary Visits No. of Letters Written No. Signs taken in Clubs New Subscribers (Review) New Subscribers (Signs) New Subscribers (Good Health) New Subscribers (Instructor) Other Periodicals
No. 1 26 15 79 49 22 1 1
" 2 25 20 3 3 40 63 24 1 13 1
" 3 44 28 3 29 62 22 3 7 21
Agents 3 3 354 158 4 19 5 3
Totals 98 66 6 3 502 332 68 6 36 12 25
Districts Pages Tracts and Pamphlets distributed Periodicals Distributed Annuals Distributed Membership & Tract Fund Donations Sales Periodicals T. and M. Reserve Fund Total Collected on Other Funds
No. 1 5020 660 2 $ 1 75 $ $ 2 00 $ 1 00 $ 4 75 $
" 2 11872 499 5 35 19 51 19 86
" 3 528 587 5 00 12 10 9 10 26 20
Agents 1296 154 1 00 53 65 51 32 105 97
Totals 18716 1810 7 $ 7 75 $ 66 10 $ 81 93 $ 1 00 $ 156 78 $

A Cornish Cobbler's Sermon.

"HE first findeth his own brother, Simon." Now I am sure 'tis a good plan to go looking after one soul. Every soul in the world do belong to our Lord. He made 'em, every one; and he bought 'em every one, with his precious blood. They's his every way, and the devil is a thief. I've often thought what a poor master the devil's servants have got. Why, when he came up to tempt our mother Eve in Paradise, he hadn't got any bit o' a little for to bribe her with, an' all he could do was to tempt her to steal her Master's apples. He haven't got anything at all of his own.
Andrew didn't say: "I'll try to do all the good I can," and then do nothing, because he could'nt find any to do; but he says: "There's Simon; I'll go and catch him." That's the way; pick up one soul, and set your heart 'pon it; begin to pray for that one, and go on trying till you've got it; and then try for another. We might do a good deal o' good in the world, if we didn't try to do so much. I've heard folks a singin', an' meanin' it, too:—
"Were the whole realm of nature mine, That were a present far too small."
An' because the realm o' nature wasn't theirs, they didn't give anything at all.—Southern Churchman.
"GOD loveth a cheerful giver."

Temperance.

By John B. Gough

Moderate Drinking.

SOME men can drink moderately. My father drank moderately. He could drink in moderation; his son could no more drink moderately than you could blow up a powder magazine moderately, or fire a gun off a little at a time. I did as every intemperate man has done; I tried to drink moderately, and failed. No man means to be a drunkard. There is not an intemperate man but tries to be a moderate drinker, and fails. Why, a man said to me, "Well, you know what one man can do another one can, if he sets himself about it." Oh, no; not at all; oh, no, sir. So I say to the moderate drinker, "I don't expect to convert you to my notion; all I ask is this: If you will drink, drink, but don't tell these young men you set them a good example by your drinking."
"If they do as I do." "Ah, if they do as you do. Suppose they can't do as you do?" "Oh, well; one man can do what another one can if he sets himself to work about it." I saw a man stand on a little platform that was sustained by a rope that was fastened, I suppose, on the inside of a wall, 135 feet from the pavement, and he stood on that little platform without holding to anything. A man on the sidewalk hallooed to him. He put his hands on his knees, looked right down 135 feet, and spoke to the man on the sidewalk. How many of you could do that? All of you could, if you only think you could, to be sure. You could do what any other man could do. Well, try it. Now if that man on the platform had said: "Follow my example," you would have said: "Oh, I don't like the looks of the thing." "Well, but I have stood here every day for the last two or three weeks perfectly safe; just try and do as I do; don't bend down with a rush; do it in moderation; don't rush for it, but steadily and moderately exercise your self-control. Now put your foot right on this plank. That's it! There, there! Now take the other foot, then the other—a moment—the other step." Ah, well, but down I go. You may say I was weak-minded, if you like. I say neither the mind nor the will has anything to do with it. You may call it a physical inability, if you like, for there are a great many persons with just that physical inability, and if I am unsophisticated, and you tell me I can stand there because you have, you induce me to do it and I fall, are your skirts clear of my blood? I only ask the question, and leave the decision to you.
You may fill this room with young men tonight, and let every man of them go out and say, "I am going to be a moderate drinker. I am going to exercise self-control and self-government, and I am going to use this article in moderation." Take your pen and paper and make your calculation—make it as correct as you can—for life insurance, what proportion of these men will become drunkards. There is no necessity that any of them will. I care not for the necessity—some of them will. By all experience you know it. Why, let any young man look back for the last ten years, and count up the men that have become intemperate and ruined, lost their situations, one after another, and drifted out to get their living by miserable sponging and begging, and when you are sixty years of age the long fingers of memory will draw crowds of them that you knew, that have gone to ruin through drink, not one of them intending it.—John B. Gough.

A Sand-Bag for the Sick Room

A SAND-BAG is one of the most serviceable articles to use in the sick room.
Get some clean, fine sand, dry it thoroughly in a kettle on the stove, make a bag of flannel, about eight inches square, fill it with dry sand, sew the opening carefully together, and cover the bag with cotton or linen cloth. This will prevent the sand from sifting out and will also enable you to heat the bag quickly by placing it in the oven, or even on top of the stove.
After once using this you will never again attempt to warm the feet or hands of a sick person with a bottle of hot water or a brick. The sand holds the heat a long time, and the bag can be tucked up the back without hurting the invalid. It is a good plan to make two or three of the bags and keep them ready for use.

A Few Facts.

By Morning and Day of Reform

TAKE these facts to heart, and show by your vote and by all your acts, that you are bound to protect your hearthstone from the invasion of the rum demon.
In Saltaire, England, a town of 11,000 inhabitants, there is complete prohibition of all intoxicants. Pauperism and crime are almost unknown.
In Bessbrook, Ireland, with 4,000 people, the sale of liquor is completely prohibited. Result: no poor-house, pawn-shop, or police station, and peace and industry reign supreme.
Vineland, N. J., with 10,000 inhabitants, has enjoyed for years the total prohibition of the liquor traffic. Three hundred dollars a year pays the costs of crime. Taxes only one per cent. on valuation.
Seven temperance towns in Delaware County, N. Y., total population about 15,000, have averaged for past eight years less than $12 each for pauperism, crime, police justice and excise, while our town, Coxsackie, N. Y., with seventeen places where intoxicants are sold, and with less than one-fourth the above population, submits to costs for crime, pauperism, etc., to the amount of $1,120.21 per annum.
In the 8,000 licensed, and 2,000 unlicensed saloons of New York City, $60,000,000 are wasted every year that should buy bread, fuel, shoes, and clothing for the people. Yes, and this immense sum is five times wasted; for first, the drinker is incapacitated for labor just in proportion to the amount he wastes in drink; secondly, the original sum thus spent is an absolute waste, bringing not a drop of real, lasting happiness to himself or family, but an ocean of woe; thirdly, this immense sum is drawn from the traffic of the honest business men of New York; fourthly, this traffic is responsible for the great majority of all the costs for courts, police, crime, pauperism, and insanity; fifthly, it robs fifty thousand wives, and a hundred thousand children of their lawful right to a comfortable home, decent clothing, and a well-spread table, and of the love and kindly care of husband and father.
In 1880, the total number of persons arraigned in the police courts of rum-cursed New York City was 71,699, and of these 48,191 were for intoxication and disorderly habits; of the remaining 23,508 a very large proportion were for crimes growing out of the liquor curse.
Is this not enough? Will not business men, as well as Christian men, haste to the rescue, and through the ballot-box, and in every other way put their heel upon this invader of their fireside, and their homes?—Morning and Day of Reform.

Standing Treat.

ONE of the most foolish customs in the world is standing treat for drinks; other things are not bought in this way. Boys, if you want to be generous and treat each other, why not select some other place besides the liquor shop? Suppose, as you go by the post-office, you remark: “I say, my dear fellow, come in and take some stamps!” These stamps will cost you no more than drinks all around. Or go to the haberdasher’s and say: “Boys, come in and take a box of collars.” Walk up to a grocer’s, free and generous, and say: “What kind of coffee will you have?” Why not treat to groceries by the pound, as well as liquors by the glass? Or take your comrades to a cutler’s and say, “I’ll stand a good pocket-knife all around.”
Suppose a man should keep a den of rattlesnakes, and allow men to come in and be bitten at ten cents a bite? Would it be a sensible thing for a man to invite all his friends in to be bitten at his expense? Is it worth while to turn our friends into brutes, maniacs, murderers, and their homes into hells of trouble and distress, by giving them “something to drink at my expense?”—Golden Censer.
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