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Review and Herald, Vol. 77, No. 28.

The Lord's Vineyard
Earlier text: The Lord's Vineyard

THE STARCH FAMILY.

By David Paulson; W. S. Sadler

(Continued.)

WHY MEAT IS USED IN PLACE OF POORLY COOKED GRAINS.

The reason meat does not make trouble for the stomach, as the poorly cooked starches do, is due to the fact that it does not ferment. Meat may decay, or decompose, but ordinarily this does not occur until it has passed out of the stomach into the small intestine, and even then the products of its decomposition are largely tasteless poisons, as well as thoroughly alkaline in their nature—just the opposite of the acids developed by starch fermentation.
Thus a ration of meat may feel like a poultice to the alimentary canal that has been irritated by souring and fermenting mushes; and so the man imagines that he has made a great dietetic discovery in substituting meat for grains, while in reality his last state is worse than his first. For, although he does not now have heartburn, gas on his stomach, or nausea, yet he frequently suffers with an exceedingly unpleasant feeling at the top of the head, and with pain between the shoulders. He feels overworked and debilitated. The doctor gives him a tonic and something to “cure his headache,” while he little suspects that there is any relation between these serious signs of disease, and the rotting of the meat in his alimentary canal. And so, little by little, the deceived man, instead of cooking his grains more thoroughly, so that they can be properly digested, begins to leave them out of his bill of fare altogether, putting meat in their place. This is the devil’s plan for curing a sour stomach, and indeed it seems to be a short and easy way, but in the end it will be found to be a delusion and a snare. It is only healing the “hurt of the daughter of my people slightly,” and “saying, Peace, peace; when there is no peace.”
In England the annual consumption of meat averages one hundred and fifty pounds to each inhabitant. Of course there are thousands who scarcely taste meat; hence it is evident that others yearly consume two or three hundred pounds of animal food. What is the result?—In 1850 for every one hundred and twenty-seven funerals, one was due to cancer; but fifty years later, for every twenty-two funerals, one was due to cancer. Carefully compiled statistics show that cancer has increased in the exact proportion to the increase of meat-eating. Dr. Roger Williams, of England, and other eminent authorities, have called the attention of the public to these facts. Many persons who aspire to live on the angel plane mentally and morally, are perfectly willing, physically, to camp on the carnal, sensual, and earthly plane.
The proper preparation of starch, while extremely simple, like many other important dietetic truths, has been largely overlooked; and as a result of this neglect and indifference, the digestion of the civilized races is being fast undermined.

SOURCES OF NECESSARY FOOD ELEMENTS.

The three essential food elements are starch, fat, and proteids. From fruit we get a form of sugar (digested starch); in the grains we get a large amount of starch, together with considerable of the proteid element; but if we should attempt to live on fruit and grains, we should still have one essential food element lacking—fat. In nuts we find both fat and proteids. So nuts and fruits alone would furnish us the necessary food elements for a perfect diet; but on account of the present scarcity of fruits and nuts, it would hardly seem possible, the year round, to secure such a variety of fruits and nuts as to give us these food elements in the necessary quantities and proportions; so we are really compelled to make large use of grains, owing to this deficiency in the supply of fruits and nuts.
As we have previously said, grains are best eaten in the milky stage, the starch being then in the form of sugar. But as it is possible to secure our grains in this state during but a very small portion of the year, the next best plan is, by cooking, to subject the starch to such a degree of heat that it will be changed into dextrin. Of course it is possible to feed these pure and nutritious grains to an animal, and then eat the animal, thus eating our grains second-hand. But it is difficult to understand in what way corn or wheat can possibly be improved in food value, by having been a part of a swine or other animal for six months or a year. The natural products of the earth—trees, plants, etc.—have the power of building up and organizing the various essential food elements; while the animal can only tear down, disintegrate, and consume.

STARCH, THE BODY’S FUEL.

Starch furnishes fuel for the body. It is one of the body’s largest sources of heat and energy, while the proteids principally serve the purpose of building up the bodily structure. If you liken the human system to a stove, then the starch will represent the fuel that is put into the stove, while the proteids might fittingly be compared to the material in the stove itself; for the proteids are one of the most important of the substances used to build up the structure of the human body. As the products of starch digestion are brought to the different tissue cells in the body, by some mysterious process they there meet with the oxygen that is carried to the same cells from the lungs, through the circulation of the blood, and some such combination probably takes place as when oxygen meets the carbon of the coal in the stove: in both cases, heat and energy are liberated—set free. This energy, guided by the divine endowment of intelligence in the human mind, should be so utilized as to make the world better and happier.
The waste material, or ashes, which is left behind as the result of this process of burning up starch in the body, is largely carbon dioxide (there is also a small amount of other waste matter). This gas is eliminated by the lungs, to be breathed in again by the plant-world, where it will be used to build up starch; and thus it will be prepared to be eaten again by man. In this we see how nature “gathers up the fragments that nothing be lost.”

ORIGIN OF DIABETES.

When the blood in its circulation is compelled to carry to the tissue cells other substances besides food, such as the poison of tobacco, alcohol, or poisonous products due to fermentation in the stomach or alimentary canal, etc., each cell of the body may become so paralyzed—chloroformed, as it were—that it will neither recognize nor utilize the sugar—digested starch—when the blood carries it to its very doors. And so instead of being burned up,—liberated as heat and energy,—the digested starch will, under these circumstances, gradually accumulate in the blood, and will have to be carried off by the kidneys as a foreign substance. Such a person is then said to have diabetes.
The popular treatment of such cases is to withdraw all starchy foods, at the same time allowing the patient to continue his various wrong dietetic habits, such as the use of flesh foods, tea, coffee, etc. But, as the human system needs starch, it rapidly emaciates if it does not get it. Patients in the early stages of this disease can, in nearly all cases, be readily cured if treated in a rational manner: (a) Shut off all sources of poison from without the body; and (b) properly prepare the starchy foods taken within the body, which means that all starch eaten should be thoroughly toasted. Combine with this vigorous physical exercise, which will encourage the tissue cells to resume the work they ceased to do because overwhelmed with poison. In addition to the foregoing suggestions, it is essential to employ such other rational remedies as are adapted to the case.
Another way in which nature sometimes offers a protest against wrong eating and lack of exercise, is the storing away of a superabundance of fat in the different parts of the body. When an animal is deprived of exercise and tied up in a stall, it fattens quickly; but this accumulation of fat is no evidence of increased health. The rational treatment of obesity is to cease gluttony, and take vigorous physical exercise. In general, it is the man whose habits are sedentary that grows fleshy, and not the day-laborer who earns his bread by the sweat of his face, and by daily toil secures the necessities of life for himself and his family.

MORAL POISONING AS A RESULT OF SPIRITUAL INACTIVITY, OR SPIRITUAL DIABETES.

Insufficient physical exercise conduces to the accumulation of poisons in the body, thus assisting in the production of many diseased conditions. So failure to engage in spiritual exercise is sure to result in the accumulation of spiritual poison and character blemishes within the moral being.
Failure to engage in physical activity checks the elimination of poisons from the system: failure to engage in spiritual work—Christian work—also has a tendency toward allowing things of a harmful nature to both form and accumulate in our spiritual experience.
As the brain is beclouded and the sensibilities stupefied by the retention of these poisons in the system, because of the failure to take necessary physical exercise, just so the moral nature and the finer sensibilities of the soul are benumbed and paralyzed by the influence of these moral poisons that accumulate in our character and experience as the result of spiritual inactivity.
Failure to take physical exercise is usually accompanied with a disinclination to engage in any form of wholesome work. Failure to engage in active spiritual exercise—failure to put forth constant effort to help our fellow men—is one of the principal ways in which we discourage the elimination of the weak points of our character, or the moral poisons of the soul. As physical exercise is the true means of eliminating the dross of the system, so spiritual exercise—working for others—invariably encourages the bringing to view our undesirable traits—the dross—of character, and at the same time greatly facilitates the process of their elimination.
Copyrighted, 1900, by David Paulson and W. S. Sadler.

“FIRST IN CHINA.”

New York Sun.
THE most interesting experience yet offered to American soldiers lies before the officers and men of the Ninth United States Infantry. This regiment has been ordered to China to protect American interests, religious and profane, in the capital of the Celestial Empire. A regiment that within two years serves in Cuba, the United States, the Philippine Islands, and China, certainly will hold the record for variety of service. That is what the Ninth United States Infantry will have done. . . .
We doubt that any regiment in any other army has ever seen service in so many countries in so short a time as the Ninth Infantry will have seen. “Primus in Indis” is the motto borne by the First Battalion of the Dorsetshire Regiment, the Thirty-ninth Foot, of the British Army, because it was the first British regiment to serve in Hindustan. Our Ninth Infantry can well hereafter bear the motto “First in China.”

FOREIGNERS IN CHINA.

New York Times.
Washington, June 21.— Statistics concerning foreigners in China are contained in a report on trade relations between China and the United States, just received at the State Department from Consul Fowler at Che-Foo. It is dated May 7 last. The table of foreigners is divided into two classes, residents and firms, and includes statistics for the years 1898 and 1899.
The total foreign residents are given as, in 1898, 13,421; in 1899, 17,193. The number of foreign firms was, in 1898, 773; and in 1899, 933.
The nationalities of the foreign element for 1899 are stated as follows:—
American residents, 2,335; increase over 1898 of 279: firms, 70; increase of 27.
British residents, 5,562; increase of 414: firms, 401; increase of 32.
German residents, 1,134; increase of 91: firms, 115; increase of 8.
French residents, 1,183; increase of 263: firms, 76; increase of 39.
Dutch residents, 106; increase of 19: firms, 9; increase of 1.
Danish residents, 128; increase of 11: firms, 4; increase of 1.
Spanish residents, 448; increase of 53: firms, 9; increase of 3.
Swedish and Norwegian residents, 244; increase of 44: firms, 2; increase of 2.
Russian residents, 1,621; increase of 1,456; firms, 19; increase of 3.
Austrian residents, 90; decrease of 2: firms, 5; no change.
Belgian residents, 234; increase of 65: firms, 9; no change.
Italian residents, 124; decrease of 17: firms, 9; no change.
Japanese residents, 2,440; increase of 746: firms, 195; increase of 81.
Portuguese residents, 1,423; increase of 339: firms, 10; decrease of 10.
Korean residents, 42; increase of 2: no firms.
Non-treaty powers residents, 29; increase of 2: no firms.
These figures show that Russia made the greatest gain in the number of residents, and Japan in the number of firms, France coming next in the latter respect. Consul Fowler says that these figures do not include the leased ports, and that it must be remembered that in the case of Great Britain, a large number of Indians and Asiatics (Chinese born in Hong-Kong, the straits, etc.) are included. Consequently it is difficult to determine the true number of British in China. Moreover, by British law every British subject is compelled to register in his consulate, but with Americans this registration is optional.
Consul Fowler expresses the belief that the number of American residents is greatly underestimated.

FATHER, LEAD US!

By Lephia May Bryant

LEPHIA MAY BRYANT.
(Aberdeen, Wash.)
O Father! we will follow thee; Thy precious message we have heard. Ah! thou hast loved us tenderly, And we may trust thy holy word. We will not doubt, nor wonder why The storm-clouds thicken in the sky; Thy word declares, in statements plain, That every evil shall increase; Then thou wilt send thy Son again,— Jesus, our gracious Prince of Peace. The signs in heaven and earth appear, To show his coming very near.
O Father! lead us; we beseech Thy guiding power in all we do. As living stones we fill the breach; Make us all humble, brave, and true. Thy trampled Sabbath-day we love— Oh, may we ever faithful prove! And as thou leadst us, day by day, Though steeper grows the upward road, We would not seek an easier way; We’ll choose the path that Jesus trod. Oh, may we warn the world around, And give the truth a certain sound!
No longer are we tossed about By treacherous buffetings of doubt; We know the staff we lean upon,— Even the faith of thy dear Son. O Father! we will follow thee, Trusting thy Spirit constantly, Strengthened each day by heavenly grace, Till we behold thee face to face!

The Chinese Society of Boxers

It is said that “eleven millions of men belong to the great Chinese Society of Boxers.” This estimate was made by a Chinese grocer doing business in St. Louis. “The Society of Boxers, which now stands for lawlessness, robbery, and murder, was once respectable. It is a good influence gone wrong. Originally, it was organized as a protest and a means of defense against the bandits, with which the province of Shang-Tung was infested. It was, in fact, a law-and-order league.”

TURKEY'S FRIENDS.

New York Tribune.
“HOWEVER much Turkey may wrong the United States, American ships are not to pass the straits in order to exact redress from Constantinople, under penalty of being blown out of the water by Russian, German, and Austrian ships.”
This is the deduction drawn by the Spectator, which, in the course of a long article based on the anti-American utterances of the Listok, of Odessa, deals with the alleged hatred of America by the Continental powers, especially Russia. The Spectator continues:—
“The main cause of this, no doubt, is fear of the enormous resources of the people of the United States, and the willingness the people have revealed, as the Listok affirms, to use them for forcible expansion of trade and territory. The statesmen of Europe do not exactly know what course America will pursue in her new greatness, and besides recognizing clearly that she is stronger than any single State on the Continent, they doubt in their hearts whether if all who speak English stood together, it would be possible for any coalition, even if it covered all the other civilized states, to raise up sufficient obstacles to American designs. They can not conceive that such a mass of power can be used for any but selfish ends. Therefore they are genuinely alarmed. The Listok actually speaks of a combination on the Continent to resist them. In China alone the professional diplomatists of the Continent hate the representatives of the Union, and would take any opportunity of giving them a sharp set down. They detest the American habit of using amateurs as ambassadors and ministers, men who use non-professional phraseology, and who never know how to distinguish between feint and earnest, and press any demands with a sort of conviction that they must in the end be granted. The frankness of the American agents strikes the old aristocrats of the European chancelleries as boorishness, their lawyer-like arguments as pettifogging, and their cool persistence as distinctly overbearing.”
The Spectator concludes that the Listok article, which passed the censor, was written by some diplomat, and draws American attention to it, maintaining that the Listok voices particularly and truthfully the “dislike and suspicion against America, which are now nearly universal among the Continental governments.”

THE BUBONIC PLAGUE.

By Edgar R. Caro

Edgar R. Caro, M. D., in Herald of Health.
When the April issue of the Herald went to press, the plague had already invaded Sydney, but it was not expected to develop the epidemic proportions which it has since assumed. Accordingly a brief editorial was deemed sufficient to enlighten our readers concerning the nature of this undoubtedly grave malady. With a steadily increasing number of victims in various districts, extending even to other colonies than New South Wales, it has become necessary for medical writers and speakers to instruct the people by pen and voice as to their duty in such an intercolonial crisis.
The plague has come to the colonies, and to all appearance it has come to stay for some time. The medical profession is astonished, and naturally somewhat alarmed, at the rapidity with which cases are arising in the widely separated suburbs of Sydney, and in more distant localities.
At first it was thought impossible for a fifth disease to obtain more than a temporary foothold in Australasia. Less than three months ago a prominent medical gentleman expressed his opinion that “in our dry climate and comparatively salubrious surroundings the plague, if indeed it be the plague, can live but a day.” Compare this with a recent announcement made by the president of the New South Wales Board of Health: “I regret to have to point out that at the present time we are absolutely in the hands of the outbreak. Let none think that the epidemic is under control.”
In view of this important statement, coming as it does from one who is naturally conservative in confessing the ineffectiveness of the efforts made by his board to check the ravages of the microbic invader, it will be well for us to ask ourselves the following questions:—
1. What is bubonic plague?
2. What is the origin and history of the malady?
3. Why has the plague made Sydney a center of operations?
These interrogations we shall endeavor to answer in simple language, though all statements made will be well founded and thoroughly scientific.

1.—WHAT IS BUBONIC PLAGUE?

Bubonic plague is an infectious, febrile (feverish) condition, characterized by the presence of a specific germ, the bacillus of Kitasato, and the following serious symptoms:—
High temperature.
Collapse and great prostration.
Paralysis of brain and muscles, or wild delirium.
Hemorrhage from the body orifices, with occasional vomiting of blood.
Enlargement, with possible suppuration, of one or more groups of lymphatic glands, and swelling of the spleen.
A peculiar facial expression of great fear.
Markedly rapid termination to many fatal cases.
In from three to nine days after infection the symptoms develop. The temperature rises rapidly to from 104° to 106° F.; the glands of the groin, axilla, or neck enlarge, and later often suppurate, while blood may flow from the nose, mouth, bladder, or rectum. The victim may be either wildly delirious or apparently completely paralyzed in mind and body. Even in mild cases the prostration is very marked. By physicians practicing in Asiatic countries the facial expression has been considered as quite characteristic of this special malady. Fatal cases may terminate within twenty-four hours, though the symptoms sometimes persist for several days.
The disease derives its name from the enlarged glands of the groin, which are called buboes. It attacks several tribes of the lower animals, as well as man, though others are exempt. The rat seems especially prone to infection. Before nearly all severe epidemics large mortality among rodents has been noticed.
The specific germ, a bacillus, was discovered simultaneously by Dr. Kitasato, of Japan, and Dr. Yersin, a gentleman sent to China by the French government to study the plague, in the year 1894. It readily develops upon any form of filth or refuse, but loses its virulence when made to subsist upon less noxious matter. This is a consideration of considerable importance when viewed from the standpoint of city and house sanitation.
The bacillus is found in the blood, fæces (discharges), and in the pus from the suppurating buboes, but is not exhaled from the lungs. There is undoubted proof that the disease can be communicated from man to man, or from animal to man, per medium of the flea or mosquito, and possibly through the common house fly. The modes of infection are probably by:—
1. Direct inoculation through an abraded surface into the blood or lymph.
2. Inspiration of the germs.
3. Ingestion into the alimentary canal.

2.—WHAT IS THE ORIGIN AND HISTORY OF THE MALADY?

The first historical report of the plague has reference to an epidemic that took place in Egypt three hundred years before the Christian era, though some medical writers of authority think that the disease which afflicted the Philistines after taking the ark as a war trophy, about the year 1141 B. C., was none other than the bubonic plague.
In the sixth century, during the rule of the Emperor Justinian, an outbreak is described as having “depopulated towns, turned the country districts into a desert, and made the habitations of men to become the haunts of wild beasts.”
The famous black death of the middle centuries, which swept through Europe, carrying nearly twenty-five millions into their graves, was without doubt a true bubonic plague. Once again, almost three hundred years later, does the pen of the historian refer to a European epidemic of large proportions.
As in the early outbreaks, Egypt seemed to be the breeding ground for the germ, so, too, the epidemics of the present and the past century had their origin in the same country. From Egypt the plague spread in 1844 to China. Apparently dying out, the overcrowding and filth of fifty years later gave opportunity for new developments. Then followed a condition truly awful. Tens of thousands lost their lives before the disease was checked. Two years later India became the center of a still more extensive epidemic of the plague, which, despite the Herculean efforts of the British government, still rages in many localities with undiminished severity.
The opposition of the natives to the salutary efforts of the officials is well shown in a letter of condemnation from an Indian physician.
“I consider that there are three causes for the plague:—
“A predisposing cause—the Indian municipalities.
“An exciting cause—nature.
“An aggravating cause—the Plague Committee.”
Notwithstanding the utmost precautions, the disease spread to Europe. The sanitary state of the various countries of that Continent, however, very effectually prevented an extensive outbreak.
In Australasia it was fondly believed that the distance from infected localities, and the existing atmospheric conditions, would prevent the introduction of the bubonic plague. How rudely was this confidence shaken by the report of a case on the Island of New Caledonia, and later of a second on the mainland at Adelaide. By the end of January, Sydney became infected, and to-day is the very center of an extensive epidemic, which baffles the earnest efforts of the city and suburban councils and of the board of health. Cases are also reported from Melbourne, Fremantle, Rockhampton, Brisbane, as well as from Auckland, New Zealand.
Up to the hour of publication there have been no less than one hundred and fifty-one cases, with fifty-three deaths. Thus one in every three thousand of the entire population of Sydney has been attacked, this proportion daily becoming greater as new victims are stricken down.

3.—WHY HAS THE PLAGUE MADE SYDNEY A CENTER OF OPERATIONS?

Dr. Newman, of Edinburgh, in his work on Bacteria, states that “the plague is essentially a filth disease, which is frequently preceded by famine. The areas affected by the disease in the Middle Ages, and in 1894 to 1896, are alike in being characterized by filth and overcrowding.”
Dr. Lawson, of Hong-Kong, China, writes: “If any country is in a clean condition, it has very little to fear from the plague. There must be a good food supply, an abundance of pure water, proper drainage, and sanitary dwellings.”
Sydney is at the present time the seat of the plague outbreak, because it does not fulfill all these requirements. Until recently the drainage system has been defective, and many of the dwellings and business premises are damp and unwholesome, in addition to containing large amounts of filth and refuse, which long ago ought to have been destroyed by fire. Nor is Sydney any worse than other large colonial centers of population. These, too, unless they reform, will be visited by the microscopic allies of death.
Should the burden of the blame for this state of affairs rest with the city council or the board of health? How many of those who cry out the loudest at past negligence, now that they are in danger, would have welcomed the inspector’s frequent visit to their premises, when there was no apparent cause for alarm? Too often the official who zealously performed his duty was reported for officiousness by the very persons whose interests he was serving, and who now condemn those officers who formerly pleased them by their indifference.

WE TWO.

By Ella Wheeler Wilcox

We two make home of any place we go; We two find joy in any kind of weather; Or if the earth is clothed in bloom or snow, If summer days invite, or bleak winds blow, What matters it, if we two are together? We two, we two, we make our world, our weather.
We two make banquets of the plainest fare; In every cup we find the thrill of pleasure; We hide with wreaths the furrowed brow of care, And win to smiles the set lips of despair. For us life always moves with lifting measure; We two, we two, we make our joy, our pleasure.
We two find youth renewed with every dawn; Each day holds something of an unknown glory. We waste no thought on grief or pleasure gone; Tricked out like hope, time leads us on and on, And thrums upon his harp new song or story — We two, we two, we find the paths of glory.
We two make heaven here on this little earth; We do not need to wait for realms eternal. We know the use of tears, know sorrow’s worth. And pain for us is always love’s rebirth. Our paths lead closely by the paths supernal; We two, we two, we live in love eternal.
— Ella Wheeler Wilcox, in Century.

BIBLE READINGS WITH FAMILIES.

By Mrs. S. N. Haskell

New Earth.

MRS. S. N. HASKELL.
(Continued.)
Do NOT give your readers more at one time than they can digest. Remember that you yourself did not receive all the truth in one hour. A few points made very plain will give the best results. If you tell them all you know about the subject in one reading, they will become confused.
Isa. 45 : 18: Earth made to be inhabited. Gen. 13 : 14–18: Promise to Abraham. Rom. 4 : 13: Promise included the earth. Acts 7 : 1–5: Abraham possessed none of the earth. Heb. 11 : 8–13: His children were strangers. Eze. 37 : 12–14: They will possess the earth after the resurrection. Gal. 3 : 16, 29; All Christians are heirs. Heb. 11 : 10, 16; Promised a city. Rev. 21 : 1, 2; City on the new earth. Rev. 21 : 3; God will dwell with men. Rev. 21 : 9, 10; City is called the bride. Rev. 21 : 12: Names over the gates. Rev. 21 : 13: Twelve gates. Rev. 21 : 14: Names on foundations. Rev. 21 : 15, 16: Size of the city. Rev. 21 : 18, 21: City was pure gold. Rev. 21 : 19, 20: Beautiful foundations. Rev. 21 : 23: No need of sun. Isa. 30 : 26: Sun seven times brighter than now, yet Christ’s glory is far greater. Isa. 65 : 21–25: Employment. The earth will yield fruit. Isa. 36 : 22, 23: Sabbath and monthly meetings throughout eternity. Rev. 22 : 1, 2: Fruit of the tree of life ripens each month. Rev. 22 : 14: Who can share all this?

WHAT SHALL WE READ?

A STUDY.

The following extracts are from a letter written by Sister White, dated “Melbourne, Australia, Dec. 23, 1891.”
The world is deluged with books that might better be consumed than circulated. Books upon Indian warfare and similar topics, published and circulated as a money-making scheme, might better never be read by the youth. There is a satanic fascination in such books. The heart-sickening relation of crimes and atrocities has had a bewitching power upon many youth, exciting them to see what they can do to bring themselves into notice, even by the wickedest deeds. Even the enormities, the cruelties, the licentious practices, portrayed in some strictly historical writings, have acted as leaven in many minds, leading to the commission of similar acts. Books that delineate the satanic practices of human beings are giving publicity to evil works. These wicked, horrible particulars need not be lived over, and none who believe the truth for this time should act a part in perpetuating the memory of them. We have no permission from the Lord to engage either in the printing or in the sale of such publications; for they are the means of destroying many souls. I know of what I am writing, for this matter has been opened before me. Let not those who believe the truth engage in this kind of work, thinking to make money. The Lord will put a blight upon the means thus obtained; he will scatter more than is accumulated.
There is another class of books—love stories, and frivolous and exciting tales—that are a curse to every one who reads them; and this, although the author may attach a good moral. Often religious sentiments are woven all through these books; but in most cases Satan is but clothed in angel robes to deceive and allure the unsuspicious. The mind is affected in a great degree by what it feeds upon. The readers of frivolous and exciting tales become unfitted for the duties lying before them. They live an unreal life, and have no desire to search the Scriptures, to feed upon the heavenly manna. The mind that needs strengthening is enfeebled, and loses its power to contemplate the great problems that relate to the mission and work of Christ, the plan of salvation. These subjects will fortify the mind, awaken the imagination, and kindle the strongest desire to overcome as Christ overcame.
The youth must take heed what they read as well as what they hear. I have been shown that they are exposed to the greatest peril of being corrupted by improper reading. Could a large share of the books published be consumed, a plague would be stayed that is doing its fearful work upon human minds, and corrupting human hearts. Satan is constantly seeking to lead both the youth and those of mature age to be charmed with foolish stories. None are so confirmed in right principles, so secure from temptation, that they can feel safe, and think no one need feel anxious about them. Resolutely discard all this trashy reading, which will not increase your spirituality, but will introduce into your minds sentiments that cultivate the imagination, so that you think less of Jesus, and dwell less upon his precious lessons. If you are a learner in his school, you will become like him, and will overcome the manifold temptations as he overcame. What a joy has Jesus in placing the crown upon the heads of those whom his lips can pronounce “good and faithful servants.” They have resisted the blandishments of vice. They are victors.
The minds of many of the youth are already sown with seeds of evil, which are ready to spring into life, and produce an abundant harvest. Strive to implant pure principles in the soul. Encourage the youth to store the mind with valuable knowledge. Let that which is good occupy the soul and control its powers, leaving no place for low, debasing indulgences. Let the standard of piety and devotion be elevated. . . .

QUESTIONS.

With what is the world deluged?
What class of books should never be read by the youth?
Whence is their power?
What effect does the narration of crimes have upon the youth?
Is the same true of historical facts of the same nature?
What class of reading gives publicity to evil works?
Should those who believe the truth take part in this work?
Have we any permission from God to read or circulate such books?
What work do they accomplish?
What will God do with money made by the circulation of such books?
What class of books are a curse to all who read them?
Is this true even if religious sentiments are woven through them?
What unfits the mind for heavenly things?
What warning is given the youth?
To what are they exposed?
How could the plague be stayed?
Are those of mature age also in danger?
What should we resolutely discard?
For what should we strive?

GOOD COMRADESHIP.

By Ripley D. Saunders

It may have been only a cheerful word, A grasp of the hand in meeting; But if hope revived at the message heard, Or courage came from the greeting, How fine to think of a soul waxed strong, Of a burden lighter growing; Because you happened to come along When life made its dreariest showing!
For this is the true good comradeship In the life we live together, That holds to a friend with a firmer grip The rougher the way or weather; That sings to gladden the hearts of all, Till, with the echoes blending, The tranquil shadows of twilight fall, And the road has reached its ending.
— Ripley D. Saunders, in St. Louis Republic.

EXTRACTS FROM CORRESPONDENCE.

I will tell you what the Woman's page has done for me. I have been a great slave to novel-reading. I had tried to live a Christian life while continuing in this practice, but did not succeed as well as I desired. I wondered why my Christian experience was not brighter. One day I picked up a REVIEW and turned to the woman's page, and the first thing my eye fell upon was a question asked by a sister who was having an experience similar to mine. After reading the answer that followed, I saw where all my trouble lay. I had asked God to take away my desire for reading such trash, but instead of co-operating with him, I was reading every paper that came into my hands. From that time I destroyed every such paper that I received, before I had an opportunity to read it; and I have received a greater blessing than ever before in my life.
We have been on our farm five years, and, my Seventh-day Adventist sisters excepted, only one of my neighbors has been in my house. They do not seem to wish to be at all friendly, and so it is hard for me to hold up the standard of God's holy truth. But I will do all I can, with God's help; and if publications are sent me, I will scatter them over the country as much as I can. If there is no other way, I will send each one a package of reading-matter through the mail.
We give the preceding extract because we believe the suggestion concerning reading-matter is a good one, and hope it will be noted by other sisters who are isolated by farm life.

Faithfulness in Our Mission

To FIND our mission we have but to be faithful wherever God puts us for the present.
Continue reading: THE THIRD ANGEL'S MESSAGE: WHAT IS IT?