UNDER this head Dr. Enoch Pond writes an article in the Independent. He says the doctrine is detrimental to missionary work. Those who believe the doctrine as it is taught in the Scriptures know better. Yet if one statement he makes is correct, we can almost sympathize with his feelings. He says:—
"I once knew a learned minister of this belief who did little or nothing for missionary purposes, and who actually dissuaded others. 'It is well enough to keep at work; but very little can be accomplished in this way. The world is growing worse and worse. No great changes for the better are to be expected until the coming of Christ to set up his kingdom. Then the world will soon be evangelized.'"
We say, Lay on, Dr. Pond; if you know any such Pre-Millenarians, rout them from their unscriptural dreamings if that is possible.
But Dr. Pond ought to know enough of the Scriptures, and of the teachings of the Second Adventists, to know that such men and such teachings are the exceptions among Pre-Millenarians. Paul plainly says that one object of the Lord's coming is to take vengeance on them that know not God, and obey not the gospel. 2 Thess. 1: 7, 8. The unprepared will not ask for mercy in that day, but will cry for rocks and mountains to fall on them and hide them from the face of Him that sitteth on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb. Rev. 6: 15-17.
We have ever waged an uncompromising warfare against this Age-to-Come theory, of which Dr. Pond speaks. If that were genuine Pre-Millenarianism, we also should oppose it. That is an error. But over against that we would ask, Does Dr. Pond believe that the day of the wrath of the Lord Jesus will ever come? Does he believe that it will overtake a slumbering world, as a thief comes unawares? Does he believe that we may know when its coming is near, even at the doors? And does he believe it will be as fatal not to know of its coming, as it was to those who, in the days of Noah, did not know of the coming of the flood? And, most solemn question, Does he know that those servants of the Lord who say, My Lord delayeth his coming, when it is impending, shall have their portion with the hypocrites?
It is too late to hide from the world the scriptures which teach the literal, personal coming of the Lord. And people are fast becoming instructed in regard to the object of his coming. Doctors of Divinity, who cover themselves with the dust of "authorities," cannot long blind the people in regard to this grand, awful, and glorious event. Lord, speed on this truth, is our earnest prayer.
Dr. P. says, "The phrase coming of Christ is used in Scripture and in common life in regard to a variety of events." If he would point out the Scripture usage which justifies this assertion, he would no doubt receive the thanks of many who long to get rid of the unwelcome truth that "the Lord himself shall descend." But there it stands, revealed "by the word of the Lord,"—revealed as "the blessed hope" to waiting ones. 1 Thess. 4: 13-18; Titus 2: 11-14.
Camp-Meeting at Nevada, Mo.
By Ellen G. White
FROM the Kansas camp-meeting we came direct to the Missouri camp-ground. Arriving there May 30, we found a very pleasant encampment. Eld. Butler soon rallied helpers to pitch a tent for us, and with a floor laid and carpeted, a table, bedstead, lounge, and chairs, our temporary home was made tasteful and inviting.
I was suffering from weakness and a severe cold, and would have been glad to keep my bed Sabbath morning, had I not been so desirous of speaking to the people. I was too sick to speak long, but in great weakness I sought to impress upon the people the necessity of preparing for a future life. I then invited sinners and backsliders to come forward. A large number responded, many making a start for the first time.
The people who came upon the ground Sunday had been told that I would speak to them; but it seemed like an impossibility for me to do so. My lungs were congested, and I was very hoarse; but, unable as I had been to sit up an hour since I came on the ground, I decided to venture out by faith. And, as on former occasions, I found the promises of God unfailing. "As thy days, so shall thy strength be." "Lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world." I was strengthened of God to speak nearly two hours, and was not nearly as tired when I left the stand as when I went upon it.
Monday morning, we assembled under the tent to attend the organization of a temperance association. There was a fair representation of our people present. Eld. Butler spoke, and confessed that he had not been as forward in the temperance reform as he should have been. He stated that he had always been a strictly temperance man, discarding the use of liquor, tea and coffee, but he had not signed the pledge being circulated among our people. But he was now convinced that in not doing so he was hindering others who ought to sign it. He then placed his name under Col. Hunter's; my husband placed his name beneath Bro. Butler's, I wrote mine next, and Bro. Farnsworth's followed. Thus the work was well started.
My husband continued to talk while the pledge was circulating. Some hesitated, thinking that the platform was too broad in including tea and coffee; but finally their names were given, pledging themselves to total abstinence.
Bro. Hunter, who was then called upon to speak, responded by giving a very impressive testimony as to how the truth found him, and what it had done for him. He stated that he had drank liquor enough to float a ship, and that now he wanted to accept the whole truth, reform and all. He had given up liquor and tobacco, and this morning he had drank his last cup of coffee. He believed the testimonies were of God, and he wished to be led by the will of God expressed in them.
As the result of the meeting, one hundred and thirty-two names were signed to the teetotal pledge, and a decided victory was gained in behalf of temperance.
E. G. WHITE.
An Acceptable Spirit.
By S. N. Haskell
THE work of God is missionary work. The true missionary spirit is the spirit of Christ. It is laboring unselfishly for the salvation of our fellow-men. The importance of the cause of Christ cannot be over-estimated. The price paid for the salvation of man is more than finite man can comprehend. "God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life." John 3:16. "We love him, because he first loved us." 1 John 4:19.
It was this voluntary love on the part of Christ toward rebellious man that brought him from glory to die for a fallen race. His life was one of toil and suffering. "He was a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief." His life was the missionary spirit exemplified. It was purely unselfish; not a miracle was wrought by Christ for himself. He miraculously fed five thousand, while he himself fasted. An unselfish spirit is in direct opposition to the spirit of this world. So of the Christian it is said, "By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples if ye have love one to another." It leads men to go without the camp bearing the reproach. It induces men and women to make the cause of God theirs. They value it, as did their Master, of greater importance than their own interests, and therefore will not count their lives dear if they can but forward the work of God upon the earth. They will seek to scatter the seeds of truth where they have never been sown, and lead those to Christ who before have had no practical knowledge of him.
The Christian's work is an aggressive one. It makes advances upon the enemy. It goes into new fields—into the regions beyond—and there plants the cross of Christ; and when a victory is gained and the truth is there established, it goes farther and continues to make inroads upon the enemy. It requires men of God, men of nerve, men of consecration and devotion to do this—men who value the truth of God more than their own personal interests. Some men in every age have exemplified this spirit. They have taken their lives in their hands and have ventured out on the promises of God, and upon the enemy's ground have preached Christ and him crucified.
They have dared to believe because it was truth, although in many instances it has severed friends and associations, and led them to sacrifice upon the altar of truth every worldly prospect.
There stand upon record many noble examples of this. The apostle Paul speaks of his former standing as follows: "Though I might also have confidence in the flesh. If any other man thinketh that he hath whereof he might trust in the flesh, I more; circumcised the eighth day, of the stock of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of the Hebrews; as touching the law, a Pharisee; concerning zeal, persecuting the church; touching the righteousness which is in the law, blameless. But what things were gain to me, those I counted loss for Christ. Yea doubtless, and I count all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord; for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and do count them but dung, that I may win Christ, and be found in him, not having mine own righteousness, which is of the law, but that which is through the faith of Christ, the righteousness which is of God by faith; that I may know him, and the power of his resurrection, and the fellowship of his sufferings, being made conformable unto his death; if by any means I might attain unto the resurrection of the dead." Phil. 3:4-11.
It is not necessary that we go back to the days of the apostles to find such examples. In every age God has had witnesses, and in every work of reform there have been a Huss, a Luther, a Zwingle, a Farel, and scores who might be mentioned, some of whom have sealed their testimony with their blood. They chose to suffer affliction with the people of God rather than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season.
There was a time when God would have the gospel of Christ planted in Burmah. Adoniram Judson gave himself to the work. In 1812, he set sail under the auspices of what is now the American Board of Missions. Mr. Judson, like those who pledged him his support, was a pedo-Baptist. There was existing, at this time, a strong feeling of sectarian antagonism between the Congregationalists and the Baptists. Mr. Judson, knowing that he would have to meet some Baptists, sought to prepare himself by re-examining the subject. As the result he embraced the view that immersion was the only Scriptural baptism. He and his wife were soon to land in Burmah without a knowledge of their language. His change of views would sever his connection with those that had pledged him their sympathy and support. He was wholly unconscious that the Baptists had any organization whereby they could support him, provided they would receive him.
To be left upon a heathen shore, without sympathy or support from his former friends, being counted as a heretic by them, was his future prospect, if he was true to his conscience; or he could return to his native land, and enjoy the society of those who would sympathize with him in his present views. He at once decided the question. His love for the cause of Christ led him to renounce all, and cast himself upon the promises of Christ for protection. He was baptized and proceeded on his way. Although it was many long months before he could speak a word in the Burman language, in due time success attended his labors.
Twenty-one months he was a prisoner, and seventeen months bound with irons. He suffered everything but death. When he was released from prison his friends advised him to return to America to recruit his wasted energies. But he would not retire from the field, nor engage in visiting among friends. "Some regretted," says his biographer, "that so agreeable a man should become a mere devotee; others believed that sorrow for the loss of his wife had made him mad; while others who understood him better, honored what they considered his self-immolation in a good cause; and, on the whole, he was regarded with a sort of reverential sympathy." See his life by Francis Wayland, Vol. 1, page 447.
His wife was of the same spirit as himself. She died in his absence from the mission. "Her last words were spoken of him, and her last request to Dr. Richardson, her medical attendant, was, that he, Mr. Judson, would never consent to enter the service of the British government (at this time he was seeking to negotiate for the British government with the Burman government), but confine himself exclusively to the duties of his religious mission." Ibid. 414.
It is a life of consecration and devotion to our divine Redeemer and his precious cause that is fruitful. We may never be called to go to a heathen land, yet our lives must not be fruitless. The same spirit that characterized Mr. Judson in his labors must characterize every person who enters the missionary work. Self-denial is the first religious duty. The heart needs to be changed. A stream can rise no higher than its fountain. If the motive that actuates the professed Christian be selfish, then the fruit he bears will be of the same character.
To-day the call for men to enter new fields are numerous; they are continually increasing on every hand. Missionary labors, in our churches, neighborhoods, cities, and villages, are in great demand, to practically illustrate the truths applicable to this time, and thus let the light shine.
Where are the self-sacrificing men and women who will heed these calls? Where are the men who will venture out and sacrifice worldly interest, and count not their lives dear unto themselves, if they can but gather with Christ? The present truth commenced and prospered in the hands of those who possessed that spirit. It is the only spirit recognized in Heaven as being the genuine article. It is the only one that God accepts. It alone bears the divine credentials.
God and all Heaven is jealous for that spirit, for it led Christ to die upon the cross. It originated in the bosom of God and his Son, Jesus Christ. It unites the soul with God; and it were better that a mill-stone be hanged about the neck, and man be cast into the depths of the sea, than to offend one possessing it. Its fruit is good, and only good. It will lead men to bear all things, endure all things, for Christ's sake and the truth's sake. He that possesses it will go forth weeping bearing precious seed, and he will, doubtless, come again rejoicing, bringing his sheaves with him.
S. N. HASKELL.
Obedience to Parents.
It is a growing belief that children of the present age are lacking in deference and respect as well as in obedience to parents, or those exercising parental authority over them. At least we often hear remarks which tend strongly to impress on the mind the existence of such a belief.
Whether this be the general fact or an opinion founded on fancy, it is conclusive that appearances have been taken as evidence of such fact.
It is true that the methods of governing children at home and pupils in school have changed materially in the lapse of years. There is not so much harshness in the mode as when the rod and ferule were instruments of correction. It is quite possible, too, that with this remove from barbarism a milder form of address may have been assumed, and imperceptibly some laxity of discipline have arisen. But rudeness is not the legitimate result of courtesy; hence we must seek some other cause for so deplorable a fault.
Where children are held in check through fear of corporal punishment, the restraint lessens as they grow in years. If they have no more powerful motive to govern them than mere impulse, they are likely to give way to their passions. On the other hand, if they have had no restraint, but have been suffered to speak and act during childhood just as their feelings have prompted, it ought not to be expected they will practice any disguise. All children rebel under restraint, though all may not manifest the rebellious feeling. The fault of disrespect in children may in most cases be traced directly to the home discipline, for which children clearly are not censurable.
But there is a point beyond childhood, when such a fault becomes a crime. Our statute books affix no penalty, neither do they recognize any authority in the matter; but the Divine Lawgiver has not overlooked the passible evil, nor left unrecorded the consequences of such guilt. Moreover, the first commandment with promise bears directly on this question, and is as forceful at the present time as when it was first uttered. No child who has arrived at years of accountability can violate this commandment with impunity.
We cannot pretend to say just how merited punishment will be meted out, but we appeal to the judgment of those who are, or have been guilty, for proof of our assertion. Have you not felt a consequent loss of self-respect, and a bitterness of spirit that has left you ill at ease with yourself because of your transgressions? Neither can this be the only unpleasant result from so heinous an offence. A parent may be long suffering and not withdraw his care and kindness, even though a child may have provoked his righteous indignation, but an observing community is not slow to perceive these offences and to pronounce judgment on the offenders.
It is a great misfortune for a child to have been allowed to form a disrespectful habit. Such an one cannot rightly judge of its effect upon character, for his sensibilities have been blunted. But we cannot think that any boy or girl can suppose that it shows either good manners or a kind heart to disregard the reasonable commands or wishes of their parents. A pert, cross, or abrupt manner towards those to whom you owe filial love and reverence, imparts neither dignity nor grace.
Children are under lasting obligations to parents. They may be sometimes painfully conscious that parents have defective character and habits, but this does not give license for neglect on the part of children. Prompt and respectful obedience is but a small return for years of unremitting toil and tenderness. Ingratitude is always base, but doubly so when shown in disobedience to parental authority.
If the boys and girls, the young men and maidens, who are guilty of this hateful practice, could see themselves as others see them, they would shrink with abhorrence from a repetition of such offences.—Sel.
Book-Keeping in the Kitchen.
UNTIL within a few years, the study of book-keeping has been almost entirely neglected in our public schools, especially by the girls, and even now you may hear them say, "Oh, it will do well enough for boys who are going into business, but it will be of no service to me."
I would say to these girls, "Don't you ever intend to look after your own affairs? Do not most of you expect to have homes of your own, sometime, when it will be supposed that you will do your part in running the domestic machinery? If so, then will it not only be of great benefit to you to know something of practical book-keeping, but, I might say, a necessity to your full success?"
How many of the housewives of to-day are able if called upon to write a receipt, an order or a promissory note? Men, as a general thing, understand such matters, even those with little book education. Why? Because they know it is expected of them, and therefore inform themselves, while a woman complacently folds her hands and says, "Write such a note as you think proper and I will sign it."
Very frequently when a man fails in his business, one and another remark, "It is not strange; he had a very expensive family." Now, although I know this is true sometimes, yet I am not one to throw the blame upon the weaker side for every fault or folly of the stronger. Still one cannot wonder that such is often the case, when there are so many women who spend their husband's money without a thought of how much they can afford them. This is bad enough, but to run in debt is still worse.
Where the husband receives a monthly or quarterly salary, it may seem advisable, and often, unavoidable to get trusted for articles that you know you cannot do without, but, if possible, it is better to always pay for what you purchase. Yet if you prefer the credit system, you will find it necessary to know how much you can spend for the household, and keep your accounts accordingly. If you do not keep a strict account, you may find yourself in the situation of a young wife, who was expecting visitors for a few weeks, and, desirous of buying a few articles, asked her husband for some money. As it happened, he was going away and could not well spare any just then, but told her she might get trusted for what she needed while he was absent, and, when he returned, he would settle the account. She did so, and soon after his return he asked her how much she supposed their account was. She told him she thought not over twenty dollars. What was her chagrin and distress, when, after settling the bills, he informed her that instead of twenty, it was sixty dollars. "That," said the wife, when relating the circumstance, "was the end of our getting trusted. We pay now for what we have." "But she probably needed all these things," you may say. You know there is a great difference between necessity as it is commonly applied, and absolute necessity. We may seem to need a thing that we can get along without. The amount that we really need is small compared to what we imagine is necessary.
We need our carpets, pianos, pictures, and plants to make our homes comfortable and pleasant, but we can, when obliged to, do without them, and so, if you want an article that you cannot well afford, or pay for, ask yourself if you cannot dispense with it, or, if you cannot be happier to wait awhile, than to possess it, knowing that it is not really yours as long as you are owing for it.
If you are allowed a stated sum to spend for domestic purposes, be sure that your expenses fall within your allowance, and do not commit the folly of spending in one week what was to have lasted you three or four. Have your blank book in the kitchen, and in it place all the articles you buy on the Dr. side, and the amount allowed you on the Cr. side. You can obtain these blank books already ruled at any store, but, after you get your book, you may be unable to make the entries. I knew of a pass-book being carried into a store where the merchant's wife was attending, and she acknowledged herself unable to enter the articles bought and sold, and this woman had been a teacher before her marriage. If you really wish to learn how to do this, go to a good accountant and he will show you, in five minutes, a simple method, but, if you do not like to do this, perhaps I can aid you.
If you neither take, nor give credit, you might make your entries as in the following sample.
This exhibits an account for one week, and leaves you quite a balance. Were the balance on the other side, your purse would be in disgrace, which, I trust, may never occur. The left hand page of each folio is used for debt, and the right for credit. The manner of balancing requires no explanation.
It is not essential, doubtless, that you keep your accounts in a business manner, but it might happen that you would sometimes be in as much of a quandary as the man, who could not tell whether he had bought a cheese, or a grindstone, as a circle, the symbol he had used in his book, would answer to either. In a memorandum book you can note down of whom you buy, and to whom you sell. If you have an account with persons, you can keep it in the same way as in the sample, except to place the person's name at the head of the account, and enter in this folio only the transactions you have with him, or her.
I would not be so particular in my explanation, if I had not heard many persons say they would be glad if they knew how to keep their accounts properly, imagining that it is very difficult and complicated. Such a simple form as I have illustrated, is all that a housewife will need, and if she has a disposition to live within her means, and follows this practice, she will have the satisfaction of knowing that there is not a balance in her favor, at least, there is nothing against her.—Sel.
The Home Circle.
WAITING.
Oh, 'Tis a lesson hard to learn,
To wait, to trust and wait,
When busy hands impatient burn
The longed-for prize to take.
But yet when weary days drag on,
And leave but empty hands,
We fret and sigh, and constant mourn
O'er Time's slow-moving sands.
Oh, could our hearts but learn to trust
Our Father's changeless love,
No failures then could bow in dust
Our hopes, though vain they prove.
Then, to our work we e'er would bring
Hearts faithful, brave, and kind,
And not a thought of dark-hued wing
Within us home would find.
Then, 'mid the din of life's affray,
We could not idly stand,
But doing well our work each day,
Cling close to God's dear hand.
Perhaps our names may ne'er resound
Through Fame's proud regal halls :
Perhaps no followers be found
Beyond our own low walls.
Perhaps not; yet, however low
Our feeble light may burn,
If clear and steady be its glow,
His eyes will toward it turn.
Ah, yes, that eye will not one ray
Of its poor shining lose,
And if we wait we'll know some day
How e'en its light He used.
—Ladies' Repository.
Scolding
With some, scolding is chronic. Life is one long fret. The flesh is feverish, the nerves unstrung, the spirit perturbed and in a state of unrest.
The physical condition and the material surroundings may have a strong tendency to disturb our equanimity and to exasperate our feelings; but we are apt to bear in mind that the scolding never did any body any good, and withal grows to be very uncomfortable to the party who indulges in it.
Inappropriate to anybody, scolding appears most hateful in parents and ministers. Set to dispensers of kindness and love to those with whom they are more especially associated, it is horrible to see gall distilled instead of charity that blesses both parties.
Scolding turns a household into a pandemonium, and a church into an inquisition. Bear in mind that kindness and gentle speech are a great deal easier to practice than their opposites. Why practice the worse thing when harder? Arrest yourself in the indulgence of this bad habit right here. Begin now, and put yourself under bonds to be good-natured.—Zion's Herald.
Characteristics of Animals.
All animals are neat by habit—even the hog, which has been unjustly esteemed the very type of filth. We can think of no animal that does not look neat when in its free normal condition. Even the toad, that makes his house in the dirt, when he comes forth from his hiding-place, looks as slick as a new pin, and not a particle of dirt sticks to the eel, though he plows in the mud for his living. The woodchuck burrows in the sand-hill, and, though he has no washbowl, nor towel, nor comb, nor brush, who ever saw one dirty or with hair disheveled? The whole feathered creation are as careful of their personl appearance and as nice and tidy in their dress as a bride. It is only in their domestic, abnormal condition that the inferior animals look filthy and are filthy; and here it is not their fault, but their misfortune. They are under the dominion of man, subject to his mercy, which sometimes is cruelty, and too seldom is considerate kindness.
Reports from the Field.
By Robert Miller Kilgore
LIFT the voice and sound the trumpet,
Watcher on the mountain height;
Roll the clarion notes around thee,
Shout as flees the passing night.
Lift the voice in words of warning;
Wake the slumbering hosts below;
Cry aloud, "Behold the dawning!
Rouse and gird to meet the foe!"
Denison, Texas.
OUR meetings closed May 28, with a large audience. A good interest to hear on the part of many was still manifest; but the city council required the park, where our tent was pitched, to be vacated before the first of June, so we close our meetings. While a number are keeping the Sabbath, a much larger number are deeply convicted. But here, as in all large places, the laboring classes are dependent on their daily toil for bread. To keep the Sabbath, is to them a discharge from lucrative positions. Several who are employed by the railroad companies are fully satisfied, but can see no way to obey God. Oh, for a faith that will not shrink!
R. M. KILGORE.
Solon and Peninsula, Ohio.
By Dudley Marvin Canright
MAY 28, Brother Underwood brought me to Solon. He spoke to a few in the evening. Thursday, we held meetings all day. There are only four or five keeping the Sabbath here, but these are good souls. They have a Sabbath-school and regular meetings. There is considerable interest outside; but there is also bitter opposition. We have not found the like in any other part of Ohio.
Peninsula is about twelve miles from Solon. Two Seventh-day Baptist sisters lived here, and so opened the way for the truth to be presented in this place. The husband of one of the sisters was converted, and I had the privilege of baptizing him on Sunday. An educated Christian lady has also embraced the truth. She has a sister who is a missionary in China. A lady friend from Michigan was with her while we were here. She is deeply interested in the truth, and we feel quite sure she will embrace it. They have a Sabbath-school. D. M. CANRIGHT.
Mt. Pleasant and Seville, Mich.
By E. Van Deusen
MAY 24, 25, held meetings at what is known as the Hoag school-house. A year and a half ago there were eight scattered Sabbath-keepers in this country; now there are fifty-five. This is the result of persevering, continued effort. Sunday we repaired to the Chippewa River, where seventeen followed their Lord in baptism. A church of thirty-one members was organized and more will soon be added. This is a very promising field.
In company with Bro. L. Kellogg, we came to Seville, May 27. Found several keeping the Sabbath, and desiring to become organized. We continued with them until Sunday, preaching every evening to a full house of attentive listeners. Eight were found ready for baptism and organization; others will be ready soon. Sunday we went nine miles and baptized six.
E. VAN DEUSEN.
Maple Plain and Sauk Centre, Minn.
By D. P. Curtis
I RETURNED to Maple Plain the 22d of May, to complete the work begun there by Bro. Walker and myself last winter. Found the company all standing firm, and growing in strength and knowledge. They have a good Sabbath-school, Sabbath meetings, and weekly prayer-meeting. On Sabbath I baptized five, and on first-day organized a church of eight members.
On Wednesday, the 28, I came on to Sauk Centre, where a small company came out last summer under the labors of Bro. Battin and myself. Bro. B. visited them in the fall, and last winter the most of them attended Bro. Haskell's meeting at West Union. I found them making good progress, and fully committed to the work in all its branches, maintaining Sabbath and prayer-meetings, and Sabbath-school. I baptized five on Sabbath, and next day organized a church of eight members, with a prospect of several others uniting as soon as they can obtain letters from other churches to which they belong. D. P. CURTIS.
Finley, Dakota
By S. B. Whitney
SINCE my last report, I have been looking after tract society and tent matters, generally. Have organized a tract society here with five new members. Last Sabbath three were baptized. The occasion was a solemn and impressive one. Have nearly completed arrangements for pitching the tent at Sioux Falls.
S. B. WHITNEY.
Dyspepsia.
THE benefits that dyspeptics derive from eating only two meals a day are: First, they secure a more perfect digestion of the food taken, and hence get a better quality of the blood. Second, they are not so liable to overeat—many patients find it much easier to abstain entirely from food for a time than to stop when they know they have eaten all they ought. This is especially true with those that have morbid appetites. Third, it gives the stomach a better opportunity to rest. With most dyspeptics digestion goes on slowly, and often one meal is not fully digested before the next is forced upon it. The stomach is a muscular organ, and the digestion of food is greatly aided by muscular action; but if the muscles are kept constantly at work, as they will be so long as there is food in the stomach to be digested, they soon become so exhausted as to be of but little if any assistance. Every muscle of the body requires time for rest as well as work, and it gains force and strength during the periods of rest. For many patients two meals a day will secure this much more perfectly than three.
There are some for whom for the same reasons one meal a day is still better than two. I am fully of the opinion that the majority of the people in this country eat much more food than they really need. They eat more to gratify a perverted appetite than to satisfy the actual wants of the system. The appetites of many are perverted from childhood up. Children are fed on pastries, sweetmeats, candies, spices, and rich food, till they have no relish for a plain, nutritious diet; the result is, that by the time they arrive at adult age (if they live so long,) they are dwarfed in size, their teeth are decayed, their beauty faded, their hair gray, their health gone, and they barely live, without enjoying life or knowing much of its real pleasures. All old people in this and every country have been uncommonly small eaters. Thomas Parr of Shropshire, who lived to the age of one hundred and fifty-two years and nine months was a poor farmer, and obliged to maintain himself by his daily labor, living on plain farmer's fare all his life. In his one hundred and fifty-second year, the king of England, desirous of seeing so great a rarity, induced him to go to London. While there he was feasted from the royal table and his mode of living so totally changed that he died nine months after.
Henry Jenkins of Yorkshire, England, lived to the great age of one hundred and sixty-nine years. He was a poor fisherman, living simply all his life, and at the age of one hundred could swim across the Thames.
Louis Cornaro, an Italian, was broken down in health at forty, and was informed by his physicians that he could not live more than two or three months; yet, by adopting a simple diet of less than two pounds of solid and liquid food per day, prolonged his life and enjoyed good health to over one hundred and twenty years.
The early Christians were exceedingly simple in all their habits of eating and drinking, often going one or two days without food.
You may lay it down as a rule, to which the exceptions are few, that those persons who eat fast and in large quantities, live fast and die soon; they are universally short lived, and generally die suddenly of acute diseases.
Hot-house plants are all short lived. Those plants, trees, and animals that take their nutriment slowly, and grow slowly, live the longest, and vice versa. I have had several patients whom I have advised for a short time to take but one meal a day, and the result has almost without exception been good. This one good meal was more perfectly digested, made better blood, and the blood made better oxygenated by the lungs, and better assimilated by the tissue than it would have been if more food had been eaten. This plan was pursued for a short time only, till the system was brought into a better condition.
Acidity of the stomach, heartburn, flatulence, and many other unpleasant symptoms will soon disappear on this plan. Several goblets of soft water may be drank during the day, but none should be used during, or just after the meal. The amount and kind of food used must depend upon the phase of dyspepsia the patient is troubled with, but many are able to eat and digest varieties of food when they eat once a day, that they could not by eating three times. There are few, however, for whom we would advise this plan. —Herald of Health.
Work During Morning Hours.
I know a remarkably able and fertile reviewer, who tells me that, though over his midnight oil he can lubricate articles with a certain sharpness and force, yet for quietly looking at a subject all round, and doing justice to all its belongings, he wanted the quiet morning hours. Launcelot Andrews, says he is no true scholar who goes out of his house before twelve o'clock. Similarly an editor once told me that though his town contributors sent him the brightest papers, he always detected a peculiar mellowness and finish about the men who wrote in the country.
I knew an important crown official whose hours were from ten to three. He had to sign his name to papers; and as a great deal depended upon his signature, he was very cautious and chary how he gave it. After three o'clock struck, no beseeching powers of suitors or solicitors could induce him to do a stroke of work. He would not contaminate the quality of his work by doing too much of it. He would not impair his rest by continuing his work. And so he fulfilled the duties of his office for exactly fifty years before he retired on full pay from the service of the country. And when impatient people blame lawyers for being slow, and offices for closing punctually, and shops for shutting early, and generally speaking, the wider adaptation of our day to periods of holidays and rest, they should recollect that these things are the lessons of experience and the philosophy of society and life.—"Picadilly Papers"—London Society.
Vegetable Diet.
DR. GRAHAM presents a vast array of facts to prove superiority of vegetable food over that of animal food. He shows that a vegetable diet is more favorable to the development and manifestation of the intellectual powers than meat diet or a mixed diet of meat and vegetables. It is true many will not agree with him in this view, yet the facts he presents are of such a character as to demand a careful investigation of this point. If intellectual power is so greatly promoted by the use of a vegetable diet, as he seems to prove it is, then it becomes a matter of vital interest to all our people, and especially to students, teachers, and professional persons.
Numerous examples are given where children reared upon a purely vegetable diet were found to surpass all others in aptitude and quickness to learn, and possessed superior clearness and sprightliness of intellect. Instances are also given where the addition of animal food to the diet of these same children, had the effect to render them more stupid and dull of comprehension.