(March 14.—Esther 4:10-17; 5:1-3.)
IN the connected story of the Bible, the place of the book of Esther is between the sixth and seventh chapters of Ezra, between Darius and Artaxerxes, kings of Persia; for the Ahasuerus of the book of Esther was Xerxes, king of Persia. “The Hebrew Ahashverosh is the natural equivalent of the old Persian Khshayarsha, the true name of the monarch called by the Greeks Xerxes, as now read in his inscriptions.” His reign was from 486-465 B. C. His father, Darius Hystaspes, had left him the empire extended to its widest limit; and his reign marks the period of the greatest glory of the Persian Empire, and the beginning of its decline. In Dan. 11:2 is a prophecy spoken in the third year of Cyrus, B. C. 534, saying: “Behold, there shall stand up yet three kings in Persia; and the fourth shall be far richer than they all; and by his strength through his riches he shall stir up all against the realm of Grecia.”
IT was in fulfillment of this prophecy that Xerxes invaded Greece, B. C. 480, with the largest army ever known, when, in resisting it, the three hundred Spartans under Leonidas immortalized themselves at Thermopylæ. It was in preparation for this invasion of Greece, that he gathered all the princes and governors of his empire to Susa, as recorded in Esther 1:3-9. “In the third year of his reign, he made a feast unto all his princes and his servants; the power of Persia and Media, the nobles and princes of the provinces, being before him.” He called the governors and princes of the provinces to his capital to deliberate upon the invasion of Greece, and to levy the tribute and the forces that should be furnished by each province for the purpose. The royal entertainment continued six months. But it was no later than the seventh day of the feast when the king in his drunkenness commanded his chamberlains “to bring Vashti the queen before the king with the crown royal, to show the people and the princes her beauty.” “But the queen Vashti refused to come.” Then the king in council decided to put her away, and to publish a decree in the language of every people, “that every man should bear rule in his own house.”
THEN in his sixth year he led his army into Greece, suffered a terrible defeat at Salamis, and at Platæa, and, like Sennacherib of old, returned with shame of face into his own land. And there he for the rest of his days sought to occupy himself in the exercise of arms of a very different nature from those with which he had been occupied in the invasion of Greece. Then “he remembered Vashti, and what she had done, and what was decreed against her.” It would seem that he remembered Vashti with the wish to call her to his side again; but the “decree” of the Persians and Medes had been published against her, and it was impossible to alter or reverse that; so he was compelled to do without Vashti, and seek another in her place, and the choice fell upon Esther, the adopted daughter of her cousin Mordecai. “And the king loved Esther above all the women, and she obtained grace and favor in his sight more than all the virgins; so that he set the royal crown upon her head, and made her queen instead of Vashti.”
SHORTLY after this, two of the king's chamberlains had laid a plot to assassinate him, and Mordecai learned of it. He told Esther, who brought it to the king; the matter was discovered; the two men were hanged, and there was a record made of the whole matter in the chronicles of the kingdom. Next Xerxes promoted Haman the Agagite to the chief place, “above all the princes that were with him.” When the king promoted him, Haman exalted himself; and when all bowed and reverenced him as he passed except Mordecai, it soon created a stir; for Mordecai “had told them that he was a Jew.” Being a Jew who feared and worshiped God, he would neither bow nor reverence any one but God. Then Haman was “full of wrath. And he thought scorn to lay hands on Mordecai alone; for they had showed him the people of Mordecai; wherefore Haman sought to destroy all the Jews that were throughout the whole kingdom.” Haman therefore succeeded in obtaining a decree for the destruction of “a certain people” whose laws were “diverse from all people; neither keep they the king's laws.” So the decree was published throughout the realm. “And the king and Haman sat down to drink; but the city Shushan was perplexed.”
“WHEN Mordecai perceived all that was done, Mordecai rent his clothes, and put on sackcloth with ashes, and went out into the midst of the city; and cried with a loud and a bitter cry; and came even before the king's gate.” “So Esther's maids and her chamberlains came and told it her. . . . And she sent raiment to clothe Mordecai, and to take away his sackcloth from him; but he received it not.” Then she sent her chamberlain “to know what it was and why it was;” and Mordecai told him all about it, and sent word to her to go to the king and “make a request before him for her people.” But it was death for any one to go to the king without being called, unless the king should hold out the royal scepter; and as Esther had not been called for thirty days, it was a great risk indeed for her to go into the presence of the capricious king without being called. But Mordecai told her that if the Jews were indeed destroyed, she would not escape any more than any of the rest of the Jews. He also told her a truth in which is embodied the principle that underlies all of God's calling and work. “If thou altogether holdest thy peace at this time, then shall there enlargement and deliverance arise to the Jews from another place; but thou and thy father's house shall be destroyed; and who knoweth whether thou art come to the kingdom for such a time as this?”139God's purposes in the affairs of men will surely be accomplished. They will be accomplished by the instrumentality of men. And when he calls anybody to his work, whether directly or by putting him in a position of responsibility or influence by which men have a right to expect of him help in crises; if that person fails, then enlargement and deliverance will arise from another place, and he will be left in the place which he has weakly chosen, and the cause of God will advance without him. We owe to God and to his cause all our influence of position, all our responsibility of place, wherever it may be; and when a crisis comes, we are, like the fair queen Esther, to show our faithfulness, trusting in God for the result. It was for just such a time as this that she was brought to that place, and now if she should fail in her responsibility, she would show herself entirely unworthy of the place. And so it is ever. God's gifts are not for nothing. He expects them to be used for his glory, and “Them that honor me I will honor; and they that despise me shall be lightly esteemed,” is his word to all. Esther nobly fulfilled her calling; she found favor in the eyes of God and the king; and by her deliverance arose for her nation and people.
HAMAN, expecting to be honored above all by the king, pronounces the sentence of what he himself shall do in honor of Mordecai, whom he abhors; having erected a gallows upon which Mordecai shall be hanged, he himself is hanged upon it; having devoted to destruction Mordecai and his people, the evil which he intended came upon himself and upon his house.
A. T. J.
The Gospel Preached to All Nations
“And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations; and then shall the end come.”
Reports of Progress.
KANSAS: Palermo.—W. C. Morgan reports:—
“Elder G. H. Rogers came here January 21, and remained till February 2, holding meetings in the day-time and evening. Those in the day-time were designed especially for the benefit of the church. The Spirit of the Lord moved upon outsiders with increasing interest to the close. At the last meeting, eight persons covenanted with us to keep all the commandments of God.”
Yates Center.—From this place Brethren R. F. Barton and G. W. Page report as follows, in Review of February 16:—
“Four weeks ago, we began meetings eight miles from this place. Nearly every night the house has been full, and the best of attention given. We have seldom seen a better interest than the one here. About twenty-five have embraced the Sabbath. Several of these are just beginning the Christian life, and seem to be much in earnest. Two Sabbath meetings have been held, fifty or more being present each time.”
MICHIGAN: Quincy.—Our interest here holds good. Though the congregation has changed considerably, the church is filled every night with attentive and intelligent hearers. Seventeen have now signed the covenant, thirteen of whom are adults. Others are about ready to do so who are already keeping the Sabbath. Our book sales amount to about $30.
W. C. WALES.
February 10.
J. D. MORTON.
OHIO: Greenwich.—D. E. Lindsay writes, February 8:—
“I have spent the past two months at this place. During the last summer, Elder Mason and I held a series of tent meetings here, but had little to encourage us. Several signed the covenant at that time, but were not confirmed in the truth. Twelve new ones have now signed the covenant. There are some who are members of churches at a great distance, and still others here who we hope will yet follow their convictions. I have made sixty-seven visits, preached forty-four sermons, given twenty-three Bible-readings, and held six other meetings. Have sold $23 worth of publications, and taken five subscriptions for our periodicals.”
IOWA.—December 20, I began meetings in a school-house six miles north of Sheldon, and continued them two weeks. The weather then became so bad that it was thought best to discontinue the work till a more favorable season. The average attendance was only about twenty; but four persons have accepted the truth as far as presented, and are now keeping the Sabbath. Obtained three subscriptions for periodicals, and sold a few books. IRA J. HANKINS.
PENNSYLVANIA.—I commenced a series of meetings near Shunk, Sullivan Co., Nov. 21. Gave thirty-three discourses and fifteen Bible-readings, and visited one hundred and four families. Twenty-five decided to keep the Sabbath. This is the place where Bro. Craw did missionary work last fall. Two were keeping the Sabbath when I went there. About the first of January I was absent a few days. Returned Jan. 6 in company with Elder J. W. Raymond, who gave sixteen discourses, organized a Sabbath-school of thirty-eight members, and also a tract society. There are now thirty-four keeping the Sabbath, twenty-five of whom have signed the covenant. There are ten who take the Instructor and eight the Review.
J. L. BAKER.
THE SANCTUARY, ITS SERVICE, ETC.
The End of the 2300 Days.
(Lesson 10.—Sabbath, March 13.)
WHAT were the first words uttered by the angel in explanation of the 2300 days?
“Seventy weeks are determined [cut off] upon thy people.” Dan. 9: 24.
What event was to mark the beginning of this first part of the great prophetic period?
“The going forth of the commandment to restore and to build Jerusalem.” Verse 25.
What decree completed this commandment?
The decree of Artaxerxes Longimanus, which is recorded in Ezra 7: 11–26. This decree was issued in the seventh year of the reign of Artaxerxes (Ezra 7: 7, 8), which was in the year B. C. 457.
How many weeks of prophetic time were to reach from this date to Messiah the Prince?
“Know therefore and understand, that from the going forth of the commandment to restore and to build Jerusalem unto the Messiah the Prince shall be seven weeks, and threescore and two weeks.” Dan. 9: 25. Sixty-nine prophetic weeks, or 483 literal years, were to reach from the going forth of the commandment concerning Jerusalem in B. C. 457, to the Messiah the Prince.
What is the meaning of the word Messiah?
“Messiah” is the Hebrew word for “anointed.” It corresponds to the word “Christ,” which is from the Greek. See John 1: 41, and margin.
When was Christ anointed?
Peter says (Acts 10: 37, 38) that God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Ghost; in Matt. 3: 16, 17; Mark 1: 10; Luke 3: 21, 22, we are told that at the baptism of Jesus the Holy Ghost in the form of a dove rested upon him, and he was publicly acknowledged from Heaven as the beloved Son of God; we therefore conclude that the anointing of Jesus was at his baptism. This conclusion is fortified by Peter, who connects the anointing of Jesus with the baptism which John preached, and says that he then “went about doing good.” At the baptism of Jesus, therefore, he was anointed by the Holy Spirit for his ministry; before his baptism he could not be termed the Messiah, or the anointed one.
When was Jesus baptized?
In the spring of A. D. 27. It was in the fifteenth year of Tiberius Cæsar (Luke 1: 1); and Tiberius began to reign in A. D. 12. The date in the margin of the Bibles varies, being 26 in some and 27 in others. This was just at the expiration of the 69 weeks, or 483 years beginning in B. C. 457.
Why were the 69 weeks reaching from the commandment to the baptism of Christ divided into two parts?
Because the first seven weeks, or 49 years, were to be covered by the restoration of Jerusalem. The wall of Jerusalem was completed, according to Prideaux, in the fifteenth year of Darius Nothus, just 49 years after the decree of Artaxerxes Longimanus.
What was to be accomplished during the remaining week of the seventy?
“And he [Messiah the Prince] shall confirm the covenant with many for one week; and in the midst of the week he shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease.” Dan. 7: 27. By confirming the covenant is evidently meant the preaching of the gospel by Christ, and those whom he sent; but especially the ratification of the covenant by the shedding of Christ’s blood on the cross. Paul says that salvation “was confirmed unto us by them that heard Him” (Heb. 2: 3), and this was virtually the work of Christ; because he sent them personally, and was with them in an especial manner.
What events marked the termination of the seventy weeks?
The termination of this period is marked by the murder of Stephen and the conversion of Paul. The 490 years began in 457, or 456 full years and a fraction, before the Christian era. Then at the beginning of the Christian era there would still remain of the 490 years, thirty-three full years and a fraction of a year, which would make the period end in A. D. 34. We learn that after Paul’s conversion he went into Arabia, and “after three years” he went up to Jerusalem. Gal. 1: 15–18. “Then fourteen years after I went up to Jerusalem.” Gal. 2: 1. This visit was on the occasion of the council of the apostles and elders, which is recorded in the fifteenth chapter of Acts, and which was in A. D. 51. As this was seventeen years after Paul’s conversion, we find that he was converted in A. D. 34. It is certainly more than a coincidence that at the termination of the 490 years allotted especially to the Jewish people, God raised up the great apostle to the Gentiles.
How may we be certain that the seventy weeks were the first part of the 2300 days?
Having shown that the angel’s words in the ninth chapter of Daniel are an interpretation of that portion of the vision of the eighth chapter which was left unexplained, we know that whatever time is mentioned must be a part of the 2300 days, for that is all that was left unexplained. Now in the interpretation in the eighth chapter, where did the angel begin? was it with the goat? No; it was with the ram; for that was the first thing seen. Would we expect him to give the signification of the ram, and then skip to the little horn? Certainly not; we would expect him to take everything in the order that it was seen. Otherwise the vision could not be understood. And so we find he did. The angel explained the symbols in the order in which they came; first the ram, then the goat and its notable horn, then the four horns, next the little horn. Then next comes the 2300 days, and, as a matter of course, the first part of it would be the part first spoken of.
Then since the seventy weeks (490 years) are the first part of the 2300 days (years), it follows that the 2300 years begin with the beginning of the 490 years, which was in the year 457 B. C. We have already seen that the 490 years ended in the year 34 A. D. Four hundred and ninety from 2300 leaves 1810; that is, when the 490 years closed, there yet remained 1810 years of the 2300. And since the 490 years ended in 34 A. D., the whole period of 2300 years would end 1810 years later, or in 1844 A. D.
The result may be arrived at in a more direct way. The 2300 years begin with the 490 years, in 457 B. C. At the beginning of the Christian era, therefore, something over 456 years of this period had elapsed. There then remained a fraction over 1843 years, which would bring the close of the 2300 years in the year 1844 A. D.
At the close of the 2300 years, according to Dan. 8: 14, the sanctuary was to be cleansed. This cleansing work has therefore been going on since 1844, or forty-two years.
Five P’s.
By S. S. Teacher
A good Sabbath-school teacher ought at least to have five p’s in his mind. Let them stand for punctuality, perseverance, piety, and prayer. The teacher should find out the point in his lesson. Every lesson has a point, and it is the business of the teacher to find it, and put it sharp at the scholar, so that he will carry it home with him.—S. S. Teacher.
Speech-Making Superintendents.
It is not every Sabbath-school superintendent who seems to understand the essential nature and work of the school, nor, as a consequence, recognizes his own peculiar duties at the head of the school. Many a superintendent is not entirely clear in his mind as to the vital difference between a school and every other sort of religious meeting. This confusion of mind it is that causes such undue prominence to be given in many Sabbath-schools to preaching from the superintendent's desk. A superintendent's best work is superintending; and if he gives his full time and strength to that work, he has neither time nor strength for the work of a preacher or an evangelist—important as preaching and evangelizing are in their way.
On many of the inland or ocean steamers, you will see posted conspicuously on the outside of the pilot-house the notice: "Do not talk with the man at the wheel." And if you could hear the directions which are given to the man at the wheel by those who set him at his post, you would hear it said to him: "Do not talk with the passengers." Yet the regular trips of that steamer are about the only times when the man at the wheel meets those passengers; and it might seem that a few loving words, a few earnest thoughts, on his part, might bring his heart in contact with theirs, and tend to warm and quicken their hearts. It does not seem that steering a vessel is everything. Yet, on the other hand, steering is the real business of the man at the wheel, and warming and quickening the hearts of the passengers is not his mission; and for him to attempt the warming and quickening business is to endanger the steering of the vessel—to which he is set.
And so it is with the man at the Sabbath-school wheel; steering is his business and demands his whole attention. The superintendent is set to oversee and guide the school in its peculiar work. He is to see that teachers and scholars are wisely classified, that the teachers are trained to, and are faithful in, their several duties, and that the separate classes are brought into such harmonious co-operation as to carry the school along as an organized whole. He is to give unity to the general exercises of the school, and to lead in the service of common worship. An examination of the school on its lesson for the day, and an emphasis on the main point of its teaching, is properly within the sphere of his mission.
But this is very different from talking, or exhorting, or haranguing, from the desk. The writer of this note has had occasion, for a series of years, to compare the methods of many schools, in city and in country, at this point of speech-making in the superintendent's desk, and his present convictions are based upon the result of these observations. A dozen years ago, while even more than now in the general field of Sabbath-school method, he expressed his views on this subject, as follows: "Nothing else fritters away so much time as speech-making. Nothing else so hinders or retards the work of teaching there. Some men are excellent superintendents in everything else save in the habit of long-winded addresses—addresses on which they pride themselves. They have good schools in spite of their speeches. They could have better schools without them. Other superintendents have poor schools because of their lectures. They might have good schools if they would talk less. While it is admitted that a moderate indulgence in closing addresses would not necessarily ruin a superintendent for his appropriate and legitimate work, the tendency of the habit is so largely toward intemperance that cautious and conservative men are urging total abstinence from Sabbath-school speech-making as the only safeguard against disastrous excesses in this line."—S. S. Times.
A True Story of Florence Nightingale.
WHEN the celebrated philanthropist Florence Nightingale was a little girl living in Derbyshire, England, everybody was struck with her thoughtfulness for people and animals. She even made friends with the shy squirrels. When persons were ill, she would help nurse them, saving nice things from her own meals for them.
There lived near the village an old shepherd named Roger, who had a favorite sheep-dog called Cap. This dog was the old man's only companion, and helped him in looking after the flock by day and kept him company at night. Cap was a very sensible dog, and kept the sheep in such order that he saved his master a deal of trouble.
One day Florence was riding out with a friend, and saw the shepherd giving the sheep their night feed; but Cap was not there, and the sheep knew it, for they were scampering about in all directions. Florence and her friend stopped to ask Roger why he was so sad, and what had become of his dog.
"O," he replied, "Cap will never be of use to me; I'll have to hang him, poor fellow, as soon as I go home to-night."
"Hang him!" said Florence. "O Roger! how wicked of you! What has old Cap done?"
"He has done nothing," replied Roger, "but he will never be of any more use to me, and I cannot afford to keep him. One of the mischievous school-boys threw a stone at him yesterday, and broke one of his legs." And the old shepherd wiped away the tears that filled his eyes. "Poor Cap!" he said, "he was as knowing as a human being."
"But are you sure his leg is broken?" asked Florence.
"O yes, miss, it is broken sure enough; he has not put his foot to the ground since."
"We will go and see poor Cap," said the gentleman. "I don't believe the leg is really broken. It would take a big stone and a hard blow to break the leg of a great dog like Cap."
"O if we could cure him, how glad Roger would be!" exclaimed Florence.
When they reached the cottage, the poor dog lay there on the bare, brick floor, his hair disheveled, and his eyes sparkling with anger at the intruders. But when the little girl called him "poor Cap" he grew pacified, and began to wag his short tail; then he crept from under the table and lay down at her feet. She took hold of his paws, patted his head, and talked to him while the gentleman examined his injured leg. It was badly swollen, and it hurt him very much to have it examined; but the dog knew it was meant kindly, and though he moaned and winced with pain, he licked the hands that were hurting him.
"It's only a bad bruise; no bones are broken," said the gentleman; "rest is all Cap needs; he will soon be well again."
"I'm so glad!" exclaimed Florence. "But can we do nothing for him? He seems in such pain."
"Plenty of hot water to foment the part would both ease and help to cure him."
"Well, then," said the little girl, "I will foment Cap's leg."
Florence lighted the fire, tore up an old flannel petticoat into strips, which she wrung out in hot water and laid on the poor dog's bruise. It was not long before he began to feel the benefit of the application, and to show his gratitude in looks and in wagging his tail. On their way home they met the shepherd coming slowly along with a piece of rope in his hands.141
"O Roger!" cried Florence, "you are not to hang poor old Cap. We have found that his leg is not broken after all."
"No, he will serve you yet," said the gentleman.
"Well I am most glad to hear it," said the old man, "and many thanks to you for going to see him."
The next morning Florence was up early to bathe Cap. On visiting the dog, she found the swelling much gone down. She bathed it again, and Cap was as grateful as before.
Two or three days later, when Florence and her friend were riding together, they came up to Roger and his sheep. Cap was there, too, watching the sheep. When he heard the voice of the little girl, his tail wagged and his eyes sparkled.
"Do look at that dog, miss," said the shepherd, "he's so pleased to hear your voice. But for you, I would have hanged the best dog I ever had in my life."
This is quite a true story. It happened many years ago, and is now told with pleasure of that lady who in later years grew up to be the kind, brave woman who nursed so many soldiers through the Crimean war, and has done so many things for the poor and suffering wherever she could.—Youth's Temperance Banner.
The Mimetic Power of Insects.
By Helen Montgomery
"WHY, Cousin Helen! What do you mean by saying that locust is a mimic?" asked my little cousins, John and Lincoln.
"Yes, he is a very good mimic, and so are all the insects in this case. Look at them, and I will tell you in what way I have seen them mimic.
"Insects have a power called 'mimetic,' which enables them to mimic, or imitate, the substances which afford them food and shelter. They are mimics all the way from the larva state to the imago, whether they are moths, butterflies, beetles, bugs, or locusts. In the larva state, some insects are easily distinguished from their food and shelter, but oftentimes they are not. Don't you remember how, when we went bug-hunting up in grandpa's orchard, we chased some white cabbage butterflies over the tomato bed, and you, John, found a brownish caterpillar on one of the plants? Then we hunted for more, and found one so much like the leaf in color that I almost took it in my hand before I saw what it really was.
"When the insect is in its pupa state, it is as great a mimic as before; for then the cocoons and chrysalides, or aurelidæ, are of the same color as their hiding-places. The cocoons and chrysalides we find hidden under posts, fences, stones, hanging from trees, etc., are of the same color as the stones, bushes, etc. This light brownish cecropia cocoon is the color of the bush or tree on which it hung. Perhaps it was a barberry bush."
"This one isn't brown; it's white," said Lincoln.
"So it is. It came off the top of a white birch tree, and so it imitated the bark of that wood in color. I think that only in the imago state is the insect a mimic in shape. Examples of this kind are walking sticks and walking leaves.
"One day I was out on a specimen hunt with a naturalist on the banks of Duck Pond, in Farmingham, Massachusetts. I was a short distance behind when I heard her call me; on my hastening to her she showed me what I thought was a little branch in a tin cup. Just as I was going to ask what there was curious or interesting about it, some little twigs on the side of the branch began to move, and I immediately thought it must be a walking stick, which I had read about, but never until then seen. I believe my friend said there were but three varieties of this insect in North America.
"Any warm day in summer, when you boys are playing in the yard or orchard, you can see some very striking examples of this mimetic power; I mean locusts. These locusts on the upper row have wing-cases of a dusty color. I caught them one noon in the middle of North Street. When they were resting I could not tell the difference between them and the road; but as soon as they spread their wings, I could see and catch them."
"Here's one all yellow."
"Yes; that one I found in a marsh down at Ocean Park, where all the weeds and the soil were of a yellowish hue. Just look at the difference between this and the first one. This one has white wings, with a black line across them; the body is white, and the wing-cases look as if sand had been sprinkled over them. These came from the beach between Old Orchard and Ocean Park. If their wings were folded, it would be very difficult to distinguish them from the dry, white sand. I watched a long time one day to see if I could find any on the sand, and frequently I was astonished to have one fly up in my face when I had just looked carefully over the place where it had been lying.
"Here is a Turner's butterfly. If sometime in spring you should see one of these on the ground, and not know what it was, you would be likely to say, as I did the first time I saw one, 'Oh, what a pretty leaf with black lines on it!' and you would be very much astonished, as I was, to see it fly away.
"This Philodice butterfly is so yellow that if you were to see it on a dandelion you would be puzzled to know where the dandelion left off and the butterfly began, or vice versa. If a Vanessa Antiopa butterfly was on an apple tree (I have noticed they prefer russet apple trees), with its wings closed, I could not tell which was the bark or which the under side of the butterfly, were it not for a slow, waving motion of the wings, as if it were fanning itself.
"One day, when I was hurrying up North Street, I saw, as I thought, a brown leaf drop down at my side from one of the trees. 'What a pretty leaf; oh!' and, running after a very pretty butterfly, I waited till it settled, put my hat over, and so caught it. Look at its under side, boys, and you will see that it might easily be mistaken for a leaf.
"These purplish, clear-winged, day-flying humming-bird moths feed on the big thistle heads, and it requires 'seeing eyes' to discover them.
"Beetles have this mimetic power to a great extent, but I have only a few to show you. This one looks like a little ball of dirt. Sometimes this kind of beetle is mistaken for a ball of dirt, and sometimes the dirt for the beetle.
"I wonder if, when you have been eating blackberries, you have suddenly noticed a sharp, disagreeable taste in your mouth?"
"I have," said John, "and a very disagreeable taste it was, too."
"So have I," said Lincoln.
"Well, perhaps you know, then, that you have eaten a blueberry bug. This is about the size, shape, and color of a green blueberry; and if you were eating your berries in the pasture, nothing would be more likely than that you should eat some bugs too.
"I have only one more example of mimetic beetles here, and this is the painted clytus, which lives on the golden-rod. It is marked with green and yellow, thus mimicking the color of the flower.
"Perhaps you are wondering why insects have this power? I think that the Creator gave it to them so they might escape from enemies that were not bright enough to see through it." —Helen Montgomery, in Christian Union.
The Home Circle.
WHAT OF THAT?
TIRED! well, and what of that?
Didst fancy life was spent on beds of ease,
Fluttering the rose-leaves scattered by the breeze?
Come, rouse thee! work while it is called to-day;
Coward, arise; go forth upon thy way!
Lonely! and what of that?
Some must be lonely; 'tis not given to all
To feel a heart responsive rise and fall,
To blend another life into its own.
Work may be done in loneliness; work on!
Dark! well, and what of that?
Didst fondly dream the sun would never set?
Dost fear to lose thy way? Take courage yet!
Learn thou to walk by faith and not by sight;
Thy steps will guided be, and guided right.
Hard! well, and what of that?
Didst fancy life one summer holiday,
With lessons none to learn and naught but play?
Go, get thee to thy task! Conquer or die.
It must be learned. Learn it, then, patiently.
No help! nay, 'tis not so;
Though human help be far, thy God is nigh,
Who feeds the ravens hears his children's cry.
He's near thee whereso'er thy footsteps roam,
And He will guide thee, light thee, help thee home.
—Sel.
Pride and Humility
A man's pride shall bring him low; but honor shall uphold the humble in spirit.—Solomon.
Health and Temperance.
By John Harvey Kellogg
Physical Effects of Tobacco.
NO RESPECTABLE authority will dare assert that tobacco is not a poison, one of the most decided kinds. It is vain to quote cases of men who have used the weed for years, and still live and apparently enjoy a reasonable degree of health. The same is true, in exceptional cases, of any and all improper courses, all bad habits. The most violent of the poisons may be taken gradually, the system conforming to such a course, the penalty being less manifest than it would be were such poisons taken in large doses at first. It is because we are “fearfully and wonderfully made” that we are able to resist a part of the effects of wrongdoing, or to postpone the penalty, rather. One may become accustomed to the most unnatural treatment, and, for a time, seem to escape the penalty; but the day of reckoning will come and the wrong-doer must suffer.
Of the more prominent effects may be cited, in brief, those connected with the digestion of our food. The fact that we are supplied with five small glands in the mouth, the salivary, is sufficient evidence that this saliva is an important aid to digestion, especially in the changes of starchy foods. Its waste in smoking and chewing is inevitable, while our observations convince us of the natural results. One of these results is practically admitted by the fleshy man, who well knows that he can so far impair digestion by the use of this poison as to reduce the fat, and yet we have heard just this argument used by smokers, that they used tobacco to become less corpulent; as if it were well to impair their digestion and become less healthy, when the same object might be gained far more philosophically by the whipping post, or by sawing wood, etc., or by eating only what the wants of the system will justify.
It may be that a large per cent. of the sudden deaths from heart disease may be accounted for from the use of this poison.
On this subject Dr. Marshall Hall says:—
“The smoker cannot escape the poison of tobacco. It gets into his blood, travels the whole rounds of his system, interferes with his heart’s action and the general circulation, and affects every organ and fibre of the frame.”
In accordance with these views, Dr. Brodie writes: “It powerfully controls the action of the heart and arteries, producing invariably a weak, tremulous pulse, with all the apparent symptoms of approaching death.”
Another says: “If we wish at any time to prostrate the powers of life in the most sudden and awful manner, we have but to administer a dose of tobacco, and our object is accomplished.” Of course this dose is given to one not accustomed to its use, the uniform effects of which is to nauseate and then depress, waste vital force.
Dr. Willard Parsons, excellent authority, says: “It is now many years since my attention was called to the insidious but positively destructive effects of tobacco on the human system. I have seen a great deal of its influence upon those who use it and work in it. Cigar and snuff manufacturers have come under my care in the hospitals and in private practice, and such persons cannot recover soon and in a healthy manner from cases of injury or fever. They are more apt to die in epidemics, and more prone to apoplexy and paralysis. The same is true of those who smoke or chew much.”
Many other authors are equally explicit and decided in their opposition to its use, all regarding it as a poison. It is more potent than the average of those poisons on the shelves of the druggists, as may be abundantly proved. It is related of a child that she picked up a quid from the floor, supposing that it was a raisin. Putting it into her mouth, she died of the poison the same day. According to a surgeon of the St. Jules Hospital, “leeches are instantly killed by the blood of smokers, immediately dropping dead when applied.” If this is true, what can be the condition of such blood, and the health of such poisoned victims?—J. H. Hanaford, M. D.
The Loneliness of Age.
The loneliness of age! How few think of this and treat with due tenderness and consideration those who have outlived their generation, and whose early companions and friends have been taken from them! Unable to engage in the activities of life, they are no longer brought into contact and sympathy with those around them, and no tie of common interest and mutual dependence binds them together. Their views and tastes have naturally grown apart. They share but little in common with others. The future of this life has nothing to inspire their ambition or excite their hopes. What calls forth the energies of others has no inspiration for them. They necessarily, to a great extent, live in a world of their own, with which those around them are not familiar. The communings of their hearts are with the scenes of the past and the companions of other years, that have long since passed away. Lover and friend have been taken from them, and their acquaintance laid in darkness. The forms they admired and loved are gone, the eyes that looked into theirs with the tenderest affection are sightless, and the voices that cheered and stirred their souls have long been silent. Their early world of hope and joy has become a desolation, and they sit in silence, contemplating the ruin that has been wrought. They have but little to interest them in this world. They are
“Only waiting till the shadows
Are a little longer grown,”
to pass on to the reunion that awaits them, and the glad greetings of those they love. Who would not do what he can to cheer the loneliness of age, to smooth their pathway, and to comfort them in their declining years!—Methodist Recorder.
Affectation
Affectation is the aping of another, the assuming to be what a person is not, and is always an evidence of weakness and vanity. It is a confession that one is not what he desires to be, and that he wishes to be esteemed above what he deserves. A person who is self-reliant, and willing to appear to be what he really is, is always natural, and appears in his own true character. Affectation cannot be concealed from persons of discernment, and always lowers an individual in their estimation. If one by real worth can lift himself to a higher intellectual and social level, then it becomes natural to him, and to act in harmony with his true position is entirely proper. Every man should be true to himself, and should develop and maintain his own individuality. God made men different; and he intends them to be different. Instead, then, of aping others, every man should endeavor to develop his own talent and bring it to the highest possible degree of perfection.—Sel.