p. 175 | Signs of the Times, Vol. 12, No. 11. (3/18/1886)

Shunning Vileness.

A YOUNG neighbor called one evening to spend an hour with an English peasant family. In the conversation that followed, he made allusion to a horrible crime that recently had been committed in an adjacent town, and pulled a newspaper out of his pocket to read the details. But he had not finished the first sentence before the father stopped him.

“We’ll have no more of that here,” he said. “Why not?” inquired the young man. “It is true.”

But the peasant was not a man to waste words. The silence that ensued was more significant than any reply could have been. It was broken by the low, sweet voice of an invalid daughter, who sat by the fireside propped up by pillows in an easy chair.

“He that stoppeth his ears from hearing of blood, and shutteth his eyes from seeing evil, he shall dwell on high.”

The rebuke was not lost upon the young man, and an unforgotten scene was vividly present to the mind of another daughter, when, after years of service, she was promoted to the housekeeper’s place in an aristocratic home, and saw the under-servants habitually reading papers that published all the particulars of wickedness. Pained at the evidences of a low and mischievous taste, the pure-minded girl succeeded in shaming the curiosity that craved such reading, and before long her influence banished every objectionable paper from the house, and supplied the servants with mental entertainment that was wholesome and clean.

“He shall dwell on high.” How many who expect that promise for themselves forget to shut their eyes from seeing evil or things which suggest vileness? The rewards that conclude the divine beatitudes are rewards in kind; the consummation of a course already begun. It is the high-minded who shall dwell on high. The men and women are comparatively few—and those of mature age and purity of culture—whom the interests of philanthropy (or any other necessity) compel to be very familiar with the facts of depravity and vice. The great majority of mankind have no call to study the disgusting details. The extent to which this is done, however, is deplorable. Too many young men’s rooms could reveal proofs of this low indulgence. And we are afraid the same will have to be said of some of the young men’s sisters. Young ladies will not, of course, be seen buying criminal newspapers at the news-stands, but what shall we think of those who habitually steal the reading of them? A young lady in Baltimore was recently discovered by her promised husband eagerly perusing a disreputable newspaper which she had stolen from her brother’s room. He may not have been guiltless himself; but the sight of the woman he loved feasting on moral filth sickened him, and he went away to come back no more.

We shun evil effectually only when we shun all unnecessary acquaintance with its pictures. “Blessed are the pure in heart.” The sequel to the beautiful words repeated by the peasant girl to the thoughtless young man are almost as like that blessing on the mount as if our Saviour had quoted it from the 33d of Isaiah:

“Thine eyes shall see the King in his beauty.” The pure in heart live out of the way of morbid curiosity and evil tastes and temptations, because they live above them—so high above that they “see God.”—Congregationalist.

Fellow-Laborers With God

CHRIST's final promise of his presence with his people has for its one condition that they be engaged in making disciples. Then his unseen hand takes hold with man's weak grasp, and they are fellow-laborers with God.

It is not enough to keep the poor in mind; give them something to make them keep you in mind.

Smith's Diagram of Parliamentary Rules.

THIS is a work designed for students, teachers, professional men, all who may be called upon to preside over business meetings, all who ever have occasion to take part in business proceedings, and all who may wish to inform themselves on the important subject of Parliamentary Rules. The subject is here presented under an entirely new arrangement, by which a great amount of information is presented to the eye at once, in a marvelously condensed form. By an ingeniously-devised system of diverging and converging lines, all the rules applying to any given motion, and all the motions coming under any given rule, are presented at one view, facilitating immensely the acquisition of a general knowledge of this subject, and furnishing to a chairman instant information on any point upon which doubts may arise.

It is to the study of parliamentary practice what a map is to the study of geography. Bear in mind that every member of a deliberative assembly should understand parliamentary rules as well as the chairman, to avoid the mortification of moving out of order.

Size of diagram, 12½ by 6¾ inches, printed on bond paper. A key is appended to the diagram containing full explanations, hints, and directions for conducting deliberative proceedings, printed on fine calendered paper, with ornamental colored border. The whole is put up in neat muslin covers, embossed in jet and gold, convenient and durable for pocket use.

Price, by mail, post-paid, single copy, 50 cents. Agents wanted in the Western States.

Address, PACIFIC PRESS, Oakland, Cal.

"The Truth Found:"

OR "the Nature and Obligation of the Sabbath of the Fourth Commandment," by Elder J. H. Waggoner, is a little book the title of which explains its character. It contains more Scriptural information in regard to the Sabbath than any other book of twice the size, and yet it is so simplified as to be easily comprehended. The author quotes the opinions of many learned men concerning the Sabbath, and their conflicting theories are strongly contrasted with the clear, straight forward teaching of the Bible. 64 pages. Price, 10 cents.

Address, SIGNS OF THE TIMES, Oakland, Cal.

Bible Sanctification.

By Editor

THE subject of Bible sanctification is one in which every Christian is deeply interested. It is a vital question, and no one can afford to be in error upon it; therefore all should buy and read Mrs. E. G. White's 84-page pamphlet, "Bible Sanctification: a Contrast of True and False Theories." It is just what its title indicates, a faithful presentation of Bible truth on this most important subject, and an exposure of the false theories prevailing in regard to it. Price, 10 cents.

Address, SIGNS OF THE TIMES, Oakland, Cal.

SOUTH LANCASTER ACADEMY.

AN EDUCATIONAL INSTITUTION OF INCREASING POPULARITY.

This school is located at South Lancaster, Worcester County, Mass., thirty-five miles from Boston, and was founded in 1882.

It is prosperous because operated on correct educational principles. Thorough instruction is given in all the common branches, and those of the usual high-school and academic courses. There is also a well-sustained Biblical Department.

ITS SPECIAL FEATURES ARE

A judicious discipline for the development of moral character. It is a safe place for the young.
Methods of teaching that aim at mental culture of a high type.
Instruction and practice in various kinds of manual labor and the use of tools.
Astonishingly low expenses. Fourteen dollars per school month pays all expense of tuition, board, lodging, washing, lights, fuel, etc.

For catalogue or further information address, CHAS. C. RAMSEY, A. M., Principal.

THE AGE TO COME:

By Joseph Harvey Waggoner

A REFUTATION OF THE DOCTRINE.

By Eld. J. H. Waggoner.

Embracing a critical examination of the Temporal Millennium—The Return of the Jews—Time and Manner of the Establishment of the Kingdom of God—The Day of the Lord, and the Promises to Israel. Second edition revised. 168 pages; price, post-paid, 20 cents.

Address, SIGNS OF THE TIMES, Oakland, Cal.; Or, REVIEW AND HERALD, Battle Creek, Mich.

THE YOUTH'S INSTRUCTOR.

By Editor

AN ILLUSTRATED WEEKLY PAPER FOR YOUTH AND CHILDREN, DEVOTED TO MORAL, MENTAL, AND RELIGIOUS CULTURE.

This paper is not devoted to insipid stories and religious fiction, but is filled with a great variety of that kind of reading which tends to the healthful development of the youthful mind. Its pages are made bright by the choicest illustrative pictures, and its columns are always full of useful information.

As a Sabbath-school and Lesson paper, it is suited to the wants of scholars and teachers, and is calculated to increase the interest of all who read it, in thorough Bible study.

TERMS, ALWAYS IN ADVANCE.—Single copy, 75 cents a year; Five copies to one address, 60 cents each; Ten or more copies to one address, 50 cents each.

NEW PREMIUM OFFER—"GOLDEN GRAINS" SERIES.

For every new subscription, accompanied with 85 cents, we will give "Golden Grains" series, consisting of a package of ten beautiful pamphlets of 32 pages each. These comprise a choice collection of sketches, stories, poems, etc., adapted to the wants of children, and contain more reading matter than can be found in many dollar books. Remember, the whole series, 320 pages, and the INSTRUCTOR for a year, for 85 cents.

Address, YOUTH'S INSTRUCTOR, Battle Creek, Mich. Or, PACIFIC PRESS, Oakland, Cal.

THE SEVENTH PART OF TIME.

By W. H. Littlejohn

By W. H. Littlejohn.

This is a refutation of the theory that God sanctified simply a seventh part of time as the Sabbath, without fixing that time to any definite day. The necessity of a

UNIFORM DAY OF REST,

is admitted by nearly all, and is advocated in this book. The author also shows that the Creator understood and anticipated this necessity, and proves by five different processes of reasoning that the seventh or last day of the week, and no other, was in the beginning, and is now, the Sabbath of the Lord.

32 pp. Price, 4 cents; liberal discount by the hundred.

Address, SIGNS OF THE TIMES, Oakland, Cal.

DIPHTHERIA: ITS CAUSES, PREVENTION, AND PROPER TREATMENT.

By John Harvey Kellogg

By J. H. Kellogg, M. D.

The increasing prevalence of this devastating disease, and its alarming fatality in so many cases, renders the subject of its Nature and Treatment one of the greatest importance.

This work gives a concise account of the Nature, Cause, Modes of Prevention, and

THE MOST SUCCESSFUL METHODS OF TREATMENT

Of this prevalent and fatal malady. It should be in every household, as its instructions, if faithfully carried out, will save many a precious life. Price, in board covers, 25 cents

Address, PACIFIC PRESS, Oakland, Cal.; Or, REVIEW AND HERALD, Battle Creek, Mich.

PRACTICAL MANUAL

By John Harvey Kellogg

HEALTH AND TEMPERANCE.

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EMBRACING THE

Treatment of Common Diseases, Accidents and Emergencies, the Alcohol and Tobacco Habit, the Cooking School, use- ful Hints and Recipes. By J. H. KELLOGG, M. D.

A book that everybody needs! Brimful of information on a hundred useful topics! It tells how to treat the most common diseases successfully with simple remedies; how to disinfect and ventilate; how to tell poisonous colors in wall-paper, flannels, stockings, and hat linings; what to do in case of accidents; how to resuscitate the drowned, and gives much other important information.

THE COOKING SCHOOL, BY MRS. E. E. KELLOGG,

is a special department containing sixty pages of excellent instruction in the art of cookery, choice recipes, etc. Just such valuable information as every house-keeper wants! What shall we eat? and how shall it be cooked? are questions of the greatest importance for the proper enjoyment of life and the preservation of health.

The "Practical Manual," including all departments, contains over three hundred 12mo. pages, neatly bound in cloth, and will be sent, post-paid, for 75 cents. Address, PACIFIC PRESS, Oakland, Cal.

EARLY WRITINGS OF MRS. WHITE.

By Editor

Comprising "Experience and Views" and "Spiritual Gifts, Volume One," bound in one volume. This makes a neat and attractive book of nearly 200 pages, and should be read by old and young. The matter and the style in which it is presented are so interesting that no one who has read one chapter will forego the pleasure and profit of reading the remainder. Price, 75 cents.

Address, SIGNS OF THE TIMES, Oakland, Cal.

Appointments.

OAKLAND.—House of worship, northeast corner of Clay and Thirteenth Streets. Sabbath-school every Sabbath at 9:30 A. M. Preaching at 11. Prayer and missionary meeting every Tuesday evening at 7:30. Seats free.

Annual Meeting.

THE regular annual meeting of the society of the Seventh-day Adventist church of Oakland, will be held at the house of worship, on Wednesday, April 7, 1886, at 7:30 o'clock P. M., for the purpose of electing a board of five trustees, and transacting such other business as may come before the meeting. A general attendance will be necessary, in order that the proceedings may be in accordance with the law. By order of the president, BENAJAH R. NORDYKE, Secretary.

Back Numbers.

By Editor

We have no back numbers of the SIGNS on hand, the Oakland and San Francisco Missions having exhausted our supply. All subscriptions will have to commence with the number published the week the order is received at the office.

End of Quarter.

By Editor

A LARGE number of subscriptions expire with the end of the quarter, April 1, 1886. We hope to have the pleasure of continuing the SIGNS to all whose subscription then expires. Please renew immediately upon reading this notice, and thus avoid missing any number of the paper.

RECEIPTS.

By Editor

CALIFORNIA CONFERENCE FUND.—R C Austin $20, C A Newbie $7.50, Healdsburg $69.75.

STOCK IN HEALDSBURG COLLEGE.—Mrs. Louisa Ireland $10.

STOCK IN RURAL HEALTH RETREAT.—J H Thorp $5.

CHURCH DEBT FUND.—John Ireland $5.

RECEIVED ON ACCOUNT.—Ill T and M Society $100.

A Dangerous Weapon.

By Editor

At a recent anti-Chinese meeting in San Francisco, the State secretary of the Anti-Chinese League made a speech in which—

“He recounted the success of the boycott in Truckee. It had proved irresistible. It was a weapon more powerful than revolution itself. If in Truckee a handful of men had, in twenty-four hours, forced a wealthy firm like ——, who had expressed a willingness to expend the whole of the million of dollars which they had invested in their business before they would yield to the anti-Chinese movement, to surrender at discretion, what could not the organized coast do?”

A powerful weapon indeed, and it is liable to be called into requisition on very slight occasion. “More powerful than revolution itself.” So were the rack and the thumb-screw, the wheel and the gridiron, of the old Inquisition. And then it can be carried on so consistently with law! No bluster and violence, but a simple notification to a man that if he does not at once change his sentiments he will be systematically starved either to death or into

submission. And yet there are men calling themselves Christians, who allow themselves to be intimidated by this newly-found weapon, so that they are willing to use it upon others. There have been men who preferred starvation to wrong-doing. We think the next few years will develop more of the same sort.

Original Poetry.

By Editor

IN the SIGNS we are expected to have a certain amount of poetry, and it is our desire to do so; and good original poetry always has the preference. But very little of that class is received at the office. The reader would be astonished to learn the amount of manuscript we receive which the writers fondly call poetry. In many cases the writers cannot spell correctly, and have no idea of grammar; they barely approach to rhyme, and do not even approach to measure, and have no idea of the importance of accent. It is hard to convince this class that they cannot write poetry.

But all are not so destitute of knowledge as this, who are yet far from being poets, though they think they are. "Blank verse" gives an excellent opportunity for showing the "true poetic fire." It has been the medium of conveying the most profound thought in the most lofty strains; perhaps this is owing somewhat to the fact that the writer is not trammeled in his work to choose words which make rhyme. But when writers send us blank verse (so-called), with a goodly share of the lines ending in prepositions and conjunctions, we shall never be persuaded that they are poets, even though they may have the rhyming faculty quite largely developed.

We have had some writers who could really write quite passable verses, but who often write so carelessly and so hastily that we had to reject their contributions. Then they grow discouraged. If they would exercise more patience, and give more time to considering, pruning, and correcting their work, they might do quite well.

North Pacific Camp-Meeting

By Editor

Elder Boyd appoints the North Pacific Camp-meeting for May 19-25. The exact location will doubtless be given in a week or two.

The Saturday Half-Holiday Movement

A PUBLIC meeting is soon to be held in New York to help forward the Saturday half-holiday movement. A pledge to abstain as far as possible from making purchases at any store after one o'clock on every Saturday afternoon has been signed by some fifty wealthy society ladies, and is being circulated. This is a step in the direction of enforcing Sunday observance, the theory being that if employes are given half of the Sabbath for a holiday, they will have no excuse for taking recreation on Sunday.

Revival Appeals and Lasting Conversion

By Editor

A CALIFORNIA clergyman, writing to his church paper, speaks as follows of a revivalist who has been working in his church for a few weeks past:—

"His style is pictorial and pathetic. His appeals at times were very powerful, and scores were moved and arose for prayers under this influence, that will not, probably, unite with any church."

This must necessarily be the result where, instead of reasoning out of the Scriptures, the speaker relies on pathetic appeals to the imagination. And the worst of it is that those who are thus "moved" usually settle down into their former indifference as soon as the sensation dies away, and their indifference to gospel truth increases each time they are thus moved.

As We Expected.

By Editor

WHEN the warfare against the Chinese commenced in California, we expressed the opinion that it would work favorably to the railroads, as it would enable them to hire Chinamen at their own prices. The following is clipped from a recent report in a San Francisco daily of railroad work in a certain part of this State:—

"The railroad force [2,000 men] comprises mostly Chinamen, only 250 white men being employed. Work, however, is given to all white men desirous of working for a dollar a day and board. The driving away of Chinamen from various sections enables the railroad company to secure plenty of Chinese laborers at cheapest rates."

How Evidence Is Made.

A WRITER in the Christian Union having stated that "from the days of Augustine to the present time the leaders of thought in the church have regarded the first chapter of Genesis as a poem," the Watchman requested the names of some of these "leaders of thought." In response, the Christian Union gave the names of Hugh Miller, Dr. Tayler Lewis, Dr. Pusey, T. J. Conant, Dr. Winchell, Lenormant, and George Smith! To this the Watchman responds as follows, pricking the bubble that had been blown so large:—

"These are THE leaders of thought in the church since Augustine! We have obtained the information which we sought, and which we expected to get. The pompous phrase sinks into an anti-climax. We mean no disrespect to the memory of Hugh Miller, or of Tayler Lewis, to Dr. Conant, or to Dr. Winchell, when we decline to exalt them to the thrones to which the Christian Union seems to nominate them. I have a certain opinion. This may be an important fact to me, and to those, whether few or many, to whom my opinion is valuable. But I wish to make the opinion more impressive. So I put it thus: 'All intelligent men,' or 'all scholars who are abreast of the world's thought, agree in this,' or, 'it is the consensus of recent criticism,' or, 'in this view all theologians of repute concur.' And so my opinion becomes a mighty 'wind of doctrine.'"

The Watchman well says that such exaggeration is much too common. It is a very convenient way of manufacturing evidence. But such evidence may very appropriately be termed "wind of doctrine." Unfortunately, however, such a wind is strong enough to carry away a large number of people. People read that "all theologians agree on this," or that "the highest Christian thought" tends in a certain direction, or that "the latest developments of science" teach so and so, and forthwith they become converts to the mooted question; for it would never do to be ignorant of so well established a fact! This will continue to be the case so long as men prefer to follow the lead of what they imagine to be the majority instead of reading the Bible for themselves and using the intelligence which God has given them. No point of truth can ever be settled by a majority vote.

"If custom, gray with ages grown, Had fewer blind men to adore it; If talent shone for truth alone, The world would be the better for it."

Scientific Presumption.

By Editor

THIS time it is all the way from England. Some scientific association, which as a matter of course knows all about it, has decided that it is a physical impossibility for Christ ever to come to this earth. We don't pretend to understand the process by which they "demonstrate" this remarkable proposition; but they have settled it to their satisfaction, and have gone to the trouble to inform us that we may now cease to look for so impossible an event. We have heard that when the subject of steamboat navigation was first under discussion, a learned member of Parliament was "demonstrating" that to cross the ocean by steam was and forever would be an impossibility; and even while he was speaking a steamboat came into the harbor. We are inclined to think it will be the same in this case. "For as in the days that were before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noe entered into the ark, and knew not until the flood came, and took them all away; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be." Matt. 24:38, 39. So we shall still continue to look for his coming.

To Our Brethren in California.

By Editor

AT Healdsburg College there are four young men who want work during the coming summer, so that they may earn means by which they can return for the next term; but who, as yet, have no place to work. There are a good many of our brethren in this State who must have hired help, and by giving employment to these young men they will not only have steady, reliable hands, but will at the same time be doing a good work in helping the young men to obtain an education and training by which they may be useful in the cause of God. We ask our brethren who need hired help, to consider this and help these deserving young men. Write to Professor Brownsberger, Healdsburg College, stating the kind of work you have to do, and the wages you will pay. The present term closes April 20. The young men are aged respectively, 18, 20, 21, and 29.

The Modern Fear of Definiteness

The Rev. Dr. Jenkins makes a good hit on the modern theological and scientific fear of anything like definiteness, when he describes a "thinker" as one who "always goes round and round like a dog on an old-fashioned churn, and is never expected to reach any particular destination, but only to stir things up."

Notice Concerning Unpaid Papers

By Editor

We send no papers from this office without pay in advance, unless by special arrangement. When persons receive copies without ordering them, they are sent by other parties, and we can give no information in regard to them. Persons thus receiving copies of the SIGNS are not indebted to the office, and will not be called upon for pay. Please read the papers and hand them to your friends to read.