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Signs of the Times, Vol. 12, No. 49.

General Articles
Earlier text: Prophecy and the Sunday Movement

The Commentary.

By Mrs. E. G. White

NOTES ON THE INTERNATIONAL LESSON.

Sin and Death.

(January 9, 1887—Genesis 3: 1-6, 17-19.)
THE serpent was a beautiful creature; his appearance was bright, resembling burnished gold. Satan entered into the serpent, and took his position in the tree of knowledge, and commenced leisurely eating of the fruit.
IT was not the will of God that Adam and Eve should have any knowledge of evil. He had freely given them the good, but withheld the evil. Eve thought the words of the serpent wise, and she received the broad assertion, "Ye shall not surely die; for God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil"—making God a liar. Satan boldly insinuates that God had deceived them to keep them from being exalted in knowledge equal with himself. God said, If ye eat "ye shall surely die." The serpent said, If ye eat "ye shall not surely die."
THE tempter assured Eve that as soon as she ate of the fruit she would receive a new and superior knowledge that would make her equal with God. He called her attention to himself. He ate freely of the tree and found it not only perfectly harmless, but delicious and exhilarating; and told her that it was because of its wonderful properties to impart wisdom and power that God had prohibited them from tasting or even touching it; for he knew its wonderful qualities. He stated that by eating of the fruit of the tree forbidden them was the reason he had attained the power of speech. He intimated that God would not carry out his word. It was merely a threat to intimidate them and keep them from great good. He further told them that they could not die. Had they not eaten of the tree of life which perpetuates immortality? He said that God was deceiving them to keep them from a higher state of felicity and more exalted happiness.
THE tempter plucked the fruit and passed it to Eve. She took it in her hand. Now, said the tempter, you were prohibited from even touching it lest you die. He told her that she would realize no more sense of evil and death in eating than in touching or handling the fruit. Eve was emboldened because she felt not the immediate signs of God's displeasure. She thought the words of the tempter all wise and correct. She ate, and was delighted with the fruit. It seemed delicious to her taste, and she imagined that she realized in herself the wonderful effects of the fruit.
SHE then plucked for herself of the fruit and ate, and imagined she felt the quickening power of a new and elevated existence as the result of the exhilarating influence of the forbidden fruit. She was in a strange and unnatural excitement as she sought her husband, with her hands filled with the forbidden fruit. She related to him the wise discourse of the serpent, and wished to conduct him at once to the tree of knowledge. She told him she had eaten of the fruit, and instead of her feeling any sense of death, she realized a pleasing, exhilarating influence. As soon as Eve had disobeyed, she became a powerful medium through which to occasion the fall of her husband.
ADAM quite well understood that his companion had transgressed the only prohibition laid upon them as a test of their fidelity and love. Eve reasoned that the serpent said they should not surely die, and his words must be true, for she felt no signs of God's displeasure, but a pleasant influence, as she imagined the angels felt. Adam regretted that Eve had left his side; but now the deed was done. He must be separated from her whose society he had loved so well. How could he have it thus? His love for Eve was strong. And in utter discouragement he resolved to share her fate. He reasoned that Eve was a part of himself; and if she must die, he would die with her; for he could not bear the thought of separation from her. He lacked faith in his merciful and benevolent Creator. He seized the fruit and quickly ate it, and, like Eve, felt not immediately its ill effects.
GOD instructed our first parents in regard to the tree of knowledge, and they were fully informed relative to the fall of Satan, and the danger of listening to his suggestions. He did not deprive them of the power of eating the forbidden fruit. He left them as free moral agents to believe his word, obey his commandments and live, or believe the tempter, disobey and perish. They both ate, and the great wisdom they obtained was the knowledge of sin, and a sense of guilt. The covering of light about them soon disappeared, and under a sense of guilt, and loss of their divine covering, a shivering seized them, and they tried to cover their exposed forms. The Lord would not have them investigate the fruit of the tree of knowledge, for then they would be exposed to Satan masked. He knew that they would be perfectly safe if they touched not the fruit.
OUR first parents chose to believe the words, as they thought, of a serpent; yet he had given them no tokens of his love. He had done nothing for their happiness and benefit; while God had given them everything that was good for food, and pleasant to the sight. Everywhere the eye might rest was abundance and beauty; yet Eve was deceived by the serpent, to think that there was something withheld which would make them wise, even as God. Instead of believing and confiding in God, she basely distrusted his goodness, and cherished the words of Satan.
SATAN exulted in his success. He had now tempted the woman to distrust God, to question his wisdom, and to seek to penetrate his all-wise plans. And through her he had also caused the overthrow of Adam, who, in consequence of his love for Eve, disobeyed the command of God, and fell with her.
THE LORD said to the serpent: "Because thou hast done this, thou art cursed above all cattle, and above every beast of the field; upon thy belly shalt thou go, and dust shalt thou eat all the days of thy life." As the serpent had been exalted above the beasts of the field, he should be degraded beneath them all, and be detested by man, inasmuch as he was the medium through which Satan acted.
"AND unto Adam he said, Because thou hast hearkened unto the voice of thy wife, and hast eaten of the tree of which I commanded thee, saying, Thou shalt not eat of it, cursed is the ground for thy sake; in sorrow shalt thou eat of it all the days of thy life; thorns also and thistles shall it bring forth to thee; and thou shalt eat the herb of the field. In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread till thou return unto the ground." God cursed the ground because of their sin in eating of the tree of knowledge, and declared, "In sorrow shalt thou eat of it all the days of thy life." He had apportioned them the good, but withheld the evil. Now God declares that they shall eat of it, that is, they should be acquainted with evil all the days of their life.
THE race from that time forward was to be afflicted by Satan's temptations. A life of perpetual toil and anxiety was appointed unto Adam, instead of the happy, cheerful labor he had hitherto enjoyed. They should be subject to disappointment, grief, and pain, and finally come to dissolution. They were made of the dust of the earth, and unto dust should they return.
ANGELS were commissioned to immediately guard the way of the tree of life. It was Satan's studied plan that Adam and Eve should disobey God, receive his frown, and then partake of the tree of life, that they might perpetuate a life of sin. But holy angels were sent to debar their way to the tree of life. Around these angels flashed beams of light on every side, which had the appearance of glittering swords.
MRS. E. G. WHITE.

THE PARABLES OF JESUS.

Lesson XIV.—The Wicked Husbandmen.

(Sabbath, January 1.)
1. WHAT attracted many people to Bethany on the last Sabbath our Lord spent upon the earth? John 12.
2. Under what circumstances did he enter Jerusalem the next day? Matt. 21.
3. What did he say when the Pharisees asked him to rebuke his disciples for shouting his praises?
"And some of the Pharisees from among the multitude said unto him, Master, rebuke thy disciples. And he answered and said unto them, I tell you that, if these should hold their peace, the stones would immediately cry out." Luke 19: 39, 40.
4. What important thing occurred on the second day of the week?
"And Jesus went into the temple of God, and cast out all them that sold and bought in the temple, and overthrew the tables of the money changers, and the seats of them that sold doves, and said unto them, It is written, My house shall be called the house of prayer; but ye have made it a den of thieves." Matt. 21: 12, 13.
5. How did this rebuke affect the chief priests and scribes?
"And he taught daily in the temple. But the chief priests and the scribes and the chief of the people sought to destroy him." Luke 19: 47.
6. How were they perplexed?
"And could not find what they might do; for all the people were very attentive to hear him." Verse 48.
7. How did they confront him the next morning when he came into the temple?
"And when he was come into the temple, the chief priests and the elders of the people came unto him as he was teaching, and said, By what authority doest thou these things? and who gave thee this authority?" Matt. 21: 23.
8. How did Jesus confound them?
"And Jesus answered and said unto them, I also will ask you one thing, which if ye tell me, I in likewise will tell you by what authority I do these things. The baptism of John, whence was it? from Heaven, or of men? And they reasoned with themselves, saying, If we shall say, From Heaven; he will say unto us, Why did ye not then believe him? But if we shall say, Of men; we fear the people; for all hold John as a prophet. And they answered Jesus, and said, We cannot tell. And he said unto them, Neither tell I you by what authority I do these things." Verses 24-27.
9. What parable did he then put forth?
"But what think ye? A certain man had two sons; and he came to the first, and said, Son, go work to-day in my vineyard. He answered and said, I will not; but afterward he repented, and went. And he came to the second, and said likewise. And he answered and said, I go, sir; and went not." Verses 28-30.
10. How did Jesus make this parable condemn the Jewish rulers?
11. What other parable did he put forth for the same purpose?—The parable of the wicked husbandmen.
12. With what words did he introduce the parable?
"Hear another parable: There was a certain householder, which planted a vineyard, and hedged it round about, and digged a winepress in it, and built a tower, and let it out to husbandmen, and went into a far country." Matt. 21: 33.
13. Who were the characters introduced in this parable?
14. Give a brief account of what the householder did at first. Verse 33.
15. What did he do when the time of fruit drew near?
"And when the time of the fruit drew near, he sent his servants to the husbandmen, that they might receive the fruits of it." Verse 34.
16. How were these servants treated?
"And the husbandmen took his servants, and beat one, and killed another, and stoned another." Verse 35.
17. What was his next effort, and how did it succeed?
"Again, he sent other servants more than the first; and they did unto them likewise." Verse 36.
18. What did he then do as a last resort?
"But last of all he sent unto them his son, saying, They will reverence my son." Verse 37.
19. How did the husbandmen reason among themselves when they saw the son?
"But when the husbandmen saw the son, they said among themselves, This is the heir; come, let us kill him, and let us seize on his inheritance." Verse 38.
20. How did they carry out their purpose?
"And they caught him, and cast him out of the vineyard, and slew him." Verse 39.
21. When our Lord had thus related the parable, what question did he ask the scribes and Pharisees?
"When the lord therefore of the vineyard cometh, what will he do unto those husbandmen." Verse 40.
22. How did they answer him?
"They say unto him, He will miserably destroy those wicked men, and will let out his vineyard unto other husbandmen, which shall render him the fruits in their seasons." Verse 41.
23. How is God the Father represented in this parable?
24. How are the holy prophets and true religious teachers represented?
25. How was Jesus himself represented?
26. How were the Jewish people and especially the priesthood represented?
27. How did God plant the vineyard?—By dispensing the seeds of divine truth.
28. What fruit had he a right to expect?—
(Continued from page 779.) The fruit of righteousness, due honor to himself, and acceptable worship, and characters ripe for the kingdom of Heaven.
29. Could the priests and Pharisees understand and apply this parable?
"And when the chief priests and Pharisees had heard his parables, they perceived that he spoke of them." Matt. 21: 45.
30. Instead of being penitent for their sins, what was their chief trouble?
"But when they sought to lay hands on him, they feared the multitude, because they took him for a prophet." Verse 46.
31. How did Jesus show that in rejecting him they were fulfilling the Scriptures?
"Jesus saith unto them, Did ye never read in the Scriptures, The stone which the builders rejected, the same is become the head of the corner; this is the Lord's doing, and it is marvelous in our eyes?" Verse 42.
32. What did he say should happen to them?
"Therefore say I unto you, The kingdom of God shall be taken from you, and given to a nation bringing forth the fruits thereof." Verse 43.
33. With what words did Jesus conclude his remarks?
"And whosoever shall fall on this stone shall be broken; but on whomsoever it shall fall, it will grind him to powder." Verse 44.

Mabel's Christmas Dream.

TEN, nine, eight, seven, six, five, four, three, two, one.
Mabel had been reading the days backward, like a little Oriental; and now only one was left—one long, long day—and Christmas would have come again. It seemed a whole year of years since the last; yet some of its brightness had lasted even until now.
Yes, Christmas was really coming. If she doubted it for a moment, she had only to run to the window and look down the back area. Lying there, in the light of the street lamp, just where the round-faced market boy had dumped it from his wagon yesterday—waiting for the lights and perfumes and splendors which should atone, in one delightful hour, for its wounded bark and wrenched fiber and all the wonderful forest-life left behind forever—was the real story-telling spruce, the Christmas tree to be! The wind soughed through its prostrate branches, lifting the dark tassels, where a few crisp snow crystals still sparkled, and disclosing little green nooks, which might have held each one a snow-bird lodger, wrapped in his blanket of gray down. What a bit of the country it was, let down between those smoky brick walls.
Mabel had not forgotten her one Christmas at grandpa's. The great pure fields of snow, with here and there a bush crowned with its tuft of winter berries; the pretty white hoods on all the fence posts; the glittering icicle-fringe hanging from the stable roof; the yellow sheaf fastened at the gable of the old barn—for grandpa had copied the beautiful Swedish custom of giving a Christmas dinner to the birds—all these and much more she could see plainly, as if the little spruce tree had been a magic-glass.
Eight o'clock struck—Mabel's bed-time, at last; and she went up-stairs with her curly head one whirl of delightful excitement. Nora undressed her and tucked her in; then she turned down the night lamp, and bade her "Be still, now, and go to sleep; there's a dear!" Mabel shut her eyes fast. It was of no use; they flew open every other minute. Then she put her fingers on the lids, and held tight. By and by the little hands slipped away slowly, and lay with their pink palms upward on the pillow; and that was the way mamma found them when she came into the nursery to kiss her little daughter, and make sure that she was snug and quiet in her warm bed. No need to hold the blue-veined eyelids now, for their brown lashes swept the rosy cheeks, and the breath came softly from the parted lips. Mabel was smiling in her sleep.
"I wonder what she is dreaming about," said mamma to herself.
This was Mabel's dream:—
She stood on the polished floor of a building far vaster than anything she had ever imagined. There was nothing to bound her vision, as she looked up, up, so far that her eyes ached with straining; for no roof rested on the wonderful carved columns, whose capitals lost themselves in the blue heaven, where the moon hung like a golden horn overflowing in a foam of stars.
In the center of the vast hall there stood a wonderful tree, spreading its green boughs far on every side, and lifted its top so high that the very stars seemed to hang amid its branches like glittering dew. Strains of soft music rose and fell, and the air was dense with the perfume of rare flowers, unclosing, one by one, their delicate petals, and breathing out their souls in exquisite fragrance. But most marvelous of all was the fruit of the magical tree. All Wonderland seemed to have emptied itself upon the branches, blazing with thousands of many-colored lights. Toys and bonbons; pictures, books, and costly garments; half-open caskets, where priceless jewels lay on silken cushions; ivory keys and tremulous strings, whence the spirit of music panted to be free; all things rare and beautiful from land or sea. There was room for all, and none were wanting; for this was the Christmas tree of the world!
And now a long procession of gaily-dressed children entered the wide door-way. Denser and denser grew the throng. The very lamps seemed pale in the light of so many sparkling eyes, and the fairy-like music could scarce be heard for the echoes of happy laughter.
And suddenly, responsive to the fluttering of shining curls and costly robes, the tree stirred, as if to the touch of invisible fingers. Here a branch shook lightly, there a twig trembled, and softly as the first snow-flakes of winter the rare gifts floated down to the thousand white hands which flashed upward to receive them.
Mabel held fast her own. All she had wanted most was in her arms—the blonde-haired doll which smiled on her from the toy-shop window yesterday; the little bracelet, pearl and gold, like Cousin Nell's; the set of ermine, with its heavy blue tassels. She could not speak for very rapture.
At last the tree was emptied of all but lights and flowers. Then a great hush fell upon the place, and some strange, irresistible influence drew all eyes upward. A moving trail of strange white light crossed the deep blue of the starlit sky. Nearer and nearer it came; and now, in the midst of the colorless radiance, she saw a floating, childlike form. A whisper, like the wind in fallen leaves, ran through the great room: "It is the Christ Child!" And by one common impulse the throng swayed to right and left, and the stranger, white-robed and crowned with light, walked between the parted ranks. There was no smile on the beautiful face. Straight forward, far beyond them all, gazed the clear eyes, darkened, it seemed, by some mournful shadow. Mabel, too, looked, with a sudden tremor and doubt at her heart, and saw, outside the happy crowd, other children, cowering in the half-gloom, clothed in rags, grimy with dirt. Little pinched faces, lined with the old story of want, misery, and sin, looked out from wild Medusa locks of unkempt hair, despair and disappointment in their eager, hungry eyes. No room for them within the charmed circle of joy and beauty! No little gift from all that store to fill one empty, outstretched hand!
And now she thought: Yes, surely among those shrinking forms were some not wholly unfamiliar. Little Joe, whom she had seen stagger up the back-stairs under his heavy laundry basket; Susy and Jemmy, who begged every day at the kitchen door for the cold pieces the cook threw away; that little girl whom she saw when she went with Uncle Will to the Mission School, whose eye was black and swollen, where her drunken mother struck her; the barefoot newsboy who cried the Sunday-morning papers—how strange that she had not noticed them sooner!
Still onward moved the celestial presence, radiant, awful in its unsmiling sweetness; and now, for the first time, Mabel saw how the wonderful light which shone around it illuminated through and through all upon whom it fell, until garments and flesh became only a filmy veil, through which the soul appeared. It paused, at last, before the wretched group. The clear eyes looked backward now. Mabel felt their tender, reproachful gaze read her very heart. No word, no breath was heard in all the vastness of the place. Then, while the strange, undazzling radiance grew and grew about him, the Child turned and touched the outcasts one by one. Oh, marvelous transfiguration! Seen through each tear-marked face and shrinking form, a white-robed angel stood with folded wings! Once more the Child looked back on Mabel—on them all; then, rising slowly, slowly, vanished in the upper blue, and she awoke.
The house was very still, and the moonlight shone about her in the room. One moment more, and a little, white, barefoot figure slipped past the crib where baby Willie lay sleeping softly; past Nora, breathing heavily upon her cot beside him, across the dim passage-way, in through the open door of the adjoining room.
"Mamma, mamma!"
"Why, my darling! You?"
Mabel crept softly between the warm, folding arms.
"O mamma! the Christmas tree—you know—I don't want it!"
"Not want it, Mabel?"
"Not for my own self, I mean! We must have it, though; and never so splendid! And you mustn't give me anything—not the littlest bit, mamma! But we'll have little Joe, and Jemmy, and Susy—you know Susy?—and those Irish children down the alley, and—and—somebody that Uncle Will knows about at the Mission. And we'll buy the prettiest things. And I don't want the doll, mamma; indeed I don't!"
"My child, what has come to you?"
"Oh, if you had been there, mamma. If you had only seen!"
And so, in broken sentences, Mabel told her dream:
"Cook might clear the kitchen," said mamma, thoughtfully. "There would be plenty of room."
"Oh, no, no, mamma!" Mabel almost screamed. "Not there! Why, our parlor would be like Heaven to Susy! If you had only seen the angels inside, you would think our very best things weren't half good enough!"
"Give the child her way!" said papa, with something shining on his cheek in the moonlight.
Papa, mamma, and Mabel went down town together next morning; and all day the shopboys kept the bell of the street door ringing, till the hall table was one pyramid of paper parcels, in all shapes and sizes. Warm jackets, and bright frocks, caps, shoes, and mittens; toys, candies, and picture-books—no wonder that mamma despaired of loading all that reckless abundance upon one small tree! But papa and Mabel managed it somehow, and just at seven o'clock on Christmas eve, the guests began to arrive. Mabel brought them into the back parlor, where their worn shoes and bare feet sank into the velvet carpet, and their eyes were dazzled with all the unwonted light and color, driving quite away all their shy, frightened looks with her bright smiles and welcoming words.
But what shall I say of that moment when the folding-doors were thrown wide open, and the full blaze of the great chandelier revealed the Christmas tree, in all its unimaginable splendor? or of the cry of rapture, so strange to that score of little voices, which must have flown up to the very ear of the Christ Child of Mabel's dream? or of the tears of joy, the long-drawn breaths of incredulous happiness, the "Thank you's!" and "God bless you's!" when Mabel handed round the gifts papa took down for her? or of the long supper table, set with all the best china and cut-glass and silver, where they all sat down and ate their fill—some of them for the first time in all their lives—and of which not a single spoon or fork was missed, not one delicate cup broken?
At ten o'clock the last child had gone away, with heart and hands full, and the house was quiet. Mabel carried her one gift up-stairs—an illuminated text, in a pretty carved frame: "Inasmuch as ye did it unto one of the least of these, ye did it unto me."
The blonde-haired doll, the pearl bracelet, and the ermine set really were locked away in mamma's closet. I think they were meant to come out at New Year's; but not for all the world would papa and mamma have lessened to-night the perfect blessedness of Mabel's sacrifice.—Independent.

IN THE BETHLEHEM STABLE.

By Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

AND cradled there in the scented hay, In the air made sweet by the breath of kine, The little child in the manger lay, The child that would be king one day Of a kingdom not human, but divine.
His mother, Mary of Nazareth, Sat watching beside his place of rest, Watching the even flow of his breath, For the joy of life and the terror of death, Were mingled together in her breast.
And the mother wondered and bowed her head, And sat as still as a statue of stone; Her heart was troubled, yet comforted, Remembering what the angel had said Of an endless reign and of David's throne. —H. W. Longfellow.

A Little Sermon to Young Women.

THERE is probably no subject which so much engages the thoughts of young women, even of Christian young women, as that of dress. If there is wealth in the family there are continually new clothes to be selected. If there is a scanty allowance, then so much turning and returning are necessary, that the planning and the manual labor required to make a tasteful wardrobe keep the matter constantly in mind.
This is wrong; and yet, as society is now constituted, it is impossible to avoid considerable care on this subject. All that we can do is to make as little as possible of this concern.
The first rule for both men and women to observe in arraying themselves is, as goes without saying, neatness. The slightest sign of uncleanliness about the person, untidy hair, hanging dress-braid, missing buttons, seams pinned together—these are insulting to those in whose company they are displayed.
Elaborate and expensive materials and trimmings should be sparingly used for young girls. Youth is in itself so much of an ornament, that the addition of rich dress is like "gilding refined gold," or "painting the lily." The more simple and unobtrusive a young girl's dress, the more becoming it is likely to be.
It would seem very absurd to warn young men against the dangers of tight dressing, either of their bodies or extremities. No man worthy of the name would endure the slightest compression from his clothes. Yet young women not only render themselves uncomfortable by snug, if not tight, dressing of their bodies, feet, hands, and arms, but harm their health and usefulness immeasurably by so doing.
If possible, some pretty garment should be contrived for wear when at work so that the muscles and blood-vessels need suffer as little compression as possible. Neuralgia, dyspepsia, pneumonia, consumption, and all kinds of weaknesses, especially those due to defective circulation, are often traceable to close dressing. Other minor evils frequently follow in their train—such as a bad complexion, pale lips, a red nose, falling hair, and decayed teeth. Especially must any one who desires a quick and vigorous intellect take care to dress very loosely.
The plain and almost ugly garb of men requires comparatively little thought from them, and is well adapted to all practical purposes. It is necessary for women to use a great deal of thought in order to make their own costume either healthful or becoming. Yet, in the good providence of God, the right settlement of this matter in the mind of each individual woman is undoubtedly of more consequence to the future development of our race than many of the great political questions now under discussion, important as the latter surely are.—Good Cheer.

Health and Temperance.

The Curse of China.

RAPID GROWTH OF OPIUM-SMOKING IN THE FLOWERY KINGDOM.

THE growers of opium in India are much alarmed over the rapid decrease in their exports to China. The poppy fields of the Flowery Kingdom are driving the foreign product from the market. There is a law in China forbidding opium-raising, but it has been a dead-letter ever since England, simply because she was deriving an annual income of $6,000,000 from the tax on Indian opium, forced China to reopen her market to the drug.
Opium-growing for several years past has been rapidly increasing in China. About one-third of the cultivated land in Yunnan is now devoted to poppy-raising. Travelers describe the valleys of Southwestern China as white with poppy-blossoms. China is now raising about two-thirds of all the opium she consumes. Other foreign opium also is coming into competition with the Indian product. The Mozambique Opium Company is putting 50,000 acres of land in the lower Zambesi Valley into opium, and the African product is already selling in the Shanghai market.
Meanwhile the curse of opium-smoking weighs more heavily every year upon the people of China. One-fifth of the population of Peking and Tientsin are opium smokers. It is said that 3,000 of the attaches of the imperial palace are victims of the terrible habit, in spite of the fact that the Chinese Government discourages the practice. There are a number of native anti-opium societies, which are doing a work in China similar to that of our temperance unions here. The Government has also established a large number of refuges, where victims of the opium habit may go for treatment. Sedatives, stimulants, and tonics are administered to cure them of the vice.
Great Britain herself is likely soon to suffer some of the evils with which she has helped to curse China. In parts of India the opium habit is making alarming progress among the natives. The Marquis Tseng called attention to this fact in a letter to the Anti-Opium Society of England the other day. He added that if Great Britain would put a stop to the exportation of opium from India, China would effectually stop the growing of opium within her territories. He said China was willing to co-operate with Great Britain in striking at the root of the evil.—N. Y. Sun.

Tobacco: What It Is Made Of

TOBACCO.—What tobacco is made of. We have heard a tobacco user claim that the weed was food and drink to him, but never thoroughly believed him until a British parliamentary report on adulteration set forth the following schedule: "Sugar, alum, lime, flour or meat, rhubarb leaves, saltpeter, fuller's-earth, starch, malt, cummin, chromate of lead, peat, moss, molasses, burdock leaves, lamp-black, gum, red dye, a black dye composed of vegetables, red licorice, scraps of newspapers, cinnamon stick, cabbage leaves, and straw-brown paper."
This is convincing. Not only is it food and drink, but it is also house and land, paint shop and literature, with drugs, condiments, and chemicals thrown in ad lib.—Boston Transcript.

Tobacco and the Alcoholic Appetite

A CENTURY ago Dr. Rush with an intelligence far beyond multitudes of physicians of the present day, discerned the closely connecting link between tobacco and the alcoholic appetite. He said, "Smoking and chewing tobacco, by rendering water and simple liquors insipid to the taste, dispose very much to the stronger stimulus of ardent spirits."—Sel.

San Francisco's Pipes.

SAN FRANCISCO spends a deal of money for pipes—pipes of liquor and tobacco pipes, to say nothing of cigars. In round numbers she has 990 dram-shops, not counting restaurants and billiard halls, of which there are 980, thus making 1,970 places where liquor is sold by the glass. Some estimates made, put the amount gathered in by these places at $21,571,500 for drinks in a year, yielding a profit of $15,256,904. Tobacco is retailed in 165 cigar stores, and the number of smokers in the city is probably 60,000, their aggregate expenditure being about $5,475,000. If these estimates are anywhere near correct, San Francisco loses about $27,000,000 annually by sinking it in spirits and sending it up in smoke.
Let San Francisco stop these wastes, and hard times will stop.—Sel.

Wine Drinking in the Greek Islands

ONE by one the pleasing old delusions about sobriety in wine-drinking countries have to be given up. If any place in the world could have the full benefit of real wine, good wine, and a steady supply, it would surely be the islands of the Greek archipelago. They have been famous for their vintages for thirty centuries. But Anacreon was not by any means the last of the topers of the islands. We read that on certain saints' days, the whole male population will be drunk. The wives, not being allowed to eat and drink with their masters, are saved from this.—Sel.

Nine Ways for Boys to Suicide.

BY A WOMAN.

  1. WEAR fashionable, tight, thin-soled boots.
  2. Wear a snug-fitting waist-coat or corset.
  3. Keep late hours, sleep in poorly ventilated rooms, drink strong tea and coffee, and use beer and wine freely.
  4. Sleep on feathers, and neglect bathing and exercise.
  5. Eat rich food whenever you desire it, and supply the stomach with plenty of candy and nuts between meals.
  6. Smoke several cigars a day, and chew half a pound of fine-cut each week.
  7. Be moderately "fast." Even then you can reach the insane asylum before you are fifty.
  8. Marry a fashionable girl with more bangs on her forehead than brains beneath them.
  9. Employ a traveling quack or specialist to patch up your fagged-out, much-abused bodies. They charge more than intelligent men who have made men and medicine a study—but you are rather desirous to be swindled, and can reach your object in no surer way.—Fire and Hammer.

Nine Ways for Girls to Suicide.

BY A MAN.

  1. WEAR narrow, high-heeled, thin-soled shoes.
  2. Wear a "snug" corset, and hang half a dozen skirts about your wasp-like waist.
  3. Sit up in a hot, ill-ventilated room till midnight, poring over "Mrs. Vavasour's Secret; or, the Lost Heir of Castleton."
  4. Sleep on feathers, in a small, close room.
  5. Eat rich food. Eat it rapidly, and at irregular times.
  6. Use freely coffee, tea, spirits, etc. Weak, frail constitutions need something "strengthening."
  7. Stuff yourself with cake, confectionery, and sweetmeats, then swallow patent medicines to get rid of them.
  8. Marry a moderate drinker—you need not marry a sot to do it.
  9. Employ a fashionable doctor to attend you in every slight ailment.
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