NOTE.—We wish those who ask questions to take particular notice: (1) Only such questions will be answered here as we believe to be of general interest and information. (2) We can not undertake to explain from four to a dozen scriptures, as in one sentence we are often requested to do. (3) Do not ask to “explain” a certain text or passage. State clearly the point in question. (4) Give full name and address, not for publication unless desired, but as evidence of good faith, and to give us the privilege of replying by letter if deemed best. (5) Unsigned communications of any kind find the quickest way to the waste-basket. (6) It is always well to inclose stamp. (7) “Foolish and unlearned questions avoid,” also those that minister to mere curiosity. (8) Study the Scriptures yourselves.
1117. W. W. P. Isa. 4:1. “What is the meaning of this verse?”—“In that day” is “the day of the Lord of hosts.” See ch. 2:11, 12, 17, 20; 3:18. It refers to the last days, when the calamities predicted will come upon the nations of earth. “Seven women,” the apostate churches, seven symbolizing all. “One man,” the Man Christ Jesus. “Take hold of,” a mere profession of religion, as seen by the latter part of the verse: “We will eat our own bread [not the bread of life, the Word of God, but tradition, human lies], and wear our own apparel [not the righteousness of Christ, witnessed by the law, but a human substitute].” It is the last-day apostasy of the daughters of Babylon.
1118. J. W. H. Gen. 3:21. “What does the word ‘skins’ refer to?”—It means skins of beasts, doubtless those offered for sacrifice. It was not necessity that was laid upon God that led Him to take “skins,” but the sacrifices offered, as well as the garments worn, taught man the heinousness of his sin, and that the sin demanded life; and the animals slain for sacrifice symbolized the sacrifice of the Son of God.
1119. J. J. L. Job 9:32, 33.—This text does not disagree with Rom. 14:10-12; 2 Cor. 5:10, and similar scriptures. The latter state that “we must all appear before the judgment-seat” of Christ in the last day; but Job had a present contention with God, and he longed to come with the Lord before some court. He complains that he can not meet God that way; that there is no daysman—umpire, judge—between them to lay hands upon both. Job afterward saw the folly of this contention.
1120. W. W. P. 2 Cor. 12:7. Paul’s Thorn in the Flesh.—It seems to have been defective eyesight. He was blinded when stricken down on the Damascus road (Acts 9:8-18); and his eyes were not fully restored, as he employed, except on rare occasions, an amanuensis, simply signing the epistle with his own hand (compare 1 Cor. 16:21; Gal. 6:11, R.V.; Col. 4:18; 2 Thess. 3:17). He tells the Gauls that he preached to them under difficulties which so aroused their sympathies that if possible they would have plucked out their own eyes and given them to him, thus indicating that his trial was his defective sight. Gal. 4:13-15. He besought God that this might be removed, but received the assurance that God’s grace was sufficient. 2 Cor. 12:9.
1121. A. A. H. Secret Societies.—Jesus said, “I spake openly to the world; . . . and in secret have I said nothing.” John 18:20. Of all His teaching to His disciples alone He instructed them: “There is nothing covered, that shall not be revealed; and hid, that shall not be known. What I tell you in darkness, that speak ye in light; and what ye hear in the ear, that preach ye upon the housetops.” Matt. 10:26, 27. The very genius of Christianity is directly opposed to secret societies. The latter are organized and conducted for the benefit of their membership. From that membership all probable profitless ones are almost universally excluded. For instance, masonry will not accept an old man in his dotage or a young man in his nonage, and it also excludes all with certain infirmities and disabilities. Its charity is self-centering. Christianity is diffusive. It gives to all of all. It welcomes all. Its benefactions especially go out to the poor, the maimed, the crippled, the blind, the aged, the weak, the infirm. It has been misrepresented. If it had not been, perhaps secret societies would have found no place. But there is certainly no harmony between the two.
Harrison on Congressional Absolutism
How profoundly Ex-President Harrison feels the new issues and crisis in the affairs of the republic will appear in a note which he has sent to Rev. Dr. Theodore L. Cuyler. Here is the heart of it: “I can hardly tell you how grateful your letter was to me, or how highly I value your approval. My soul has been in revolt against the doctrine of congressional absolutism. I want to save my veneration for the men who made us a nation and organized the Union under the Constitution. This will be impossible if I am to believe that they organized a government to exercise over other peoples that absolutism which they rejected for themselves.” That is the voice of millions of men all over this broad republic that the fathers laid deep in the principles of liberty. Are we to discard their foundations?—Springfield Republican.
THE MOTHER AS A COMPANION TO HER CHILDREN.
By M. C. Du Bois
NOT long since I had the pleasure of meeting a mother who has a model family, consisting of three children. She is a plain little woman, but all who go to her home are delighted with her well-behaved family. The secret of their being model children lies in the conduct of the mother. She has given herself, her energies, to her children. She makes herself a friend, a social companion, to them. She is a good housekeeper in every detail; but she has the faculty of turning work into pleasure, in which her children are ever ready to engage. Her boys are nearing the threshold of manhood; but she has so bound them to her that they find pleasure in her company. She has no trouble in holding her children by her side, or in keeping their confidence.
What is the trouble in the majority of homes?—I think it is that mothers are not doing all they can to be companionable with their boys and girls. Many children, even before they enter their teens, are allowed to go where they please and with whom they please. This ought not to be. If mothers would enter more into the amusements of their children, they would find less trouble in keeping them at home until the time came for them to go out to act their part in the world. Some mother may say she has something to do besides playing with her children. To such I reply, You can at least smile and be cheerful. It takes no more time to speak a kind word than it does to speak a cross one.
Mothers often build strong barriers between themselves and their sons and daughters by their apparent lack of interest in that which interests them. Why not interest your little daughter in playing “visitor,” or “keeping house,” or something of the kind? If your little boy rides to your door astride his wooden horse, why not spend a moment in entertaining him as if he were real company? or if he comes as a book agent, why not buy a book, and make him happy? You say, “I am too busy; I can not bother.” But it would not take much of your precious time, and these tender little acts are cords that will bind your children to you. If you are always so busy that you can not find time to be social with your children, they will soon look elsewhere for companionship, and you will be left out of their confidence.
Many mothers are faithful in caring for the temporal wants of their children; they consume the midnight hours and midnight oil in ruffling, tucking, and trimming dainty garments, that their children may appear upon the streets dressed becomingly. They cook, stew, and broil unwholesome food to set before their family. They keep the home so neat and orderly that it becomes a prison, for the child is bound and held by rules so strict that he hardly dares move for fear of being reprimanded. Such a mother is making a sad mistake.
I believe in keeping the house neat and tidy, but not in going to extremes. The home should be bright, cheerful, airy; plain food and warm, healthful garments should be supplied, such as do not call for midnight toil. Let the children help. A knowledge of housework is not all that our girls need to be taught, but it should form an important branch of the education of both boys and girls. If mothers would teach their boys and girls to be helpful in domestic labor as well as in other branches of usefulness, they would have more time to give to the society of their children, more time to bind them to their hearts by cords of love; but far too many mothers do not like to spend time in teaching their children the art of being helpful in the home.
Every mother should interest herself in the happiness of her children. She should encourage them to confide their plans and open their heart’s desires to her. She should never betray any little secret her boy or girl may tell her. As the young people advance in years, their hearts will be stirred with a love that mother has not called forth, a love different from the love they feel for her. This is a critical period in the life of that boy or girl; and, mother, do not chide your child because of it, but with a prayer in your heart for wisdom from God, wisely and tenderly lead that child to confide fully in you. If you see one has chosen unwisely, deal kindly still; in love endeavor to show the danger. If, on the other hand, one is of suitable age to enter the marriage relation, and you approve of the choice, give your child your blessing.
It is better to be social and chatty with the boys and girls than it is to be sharp, cold, and unloving. Be firm, but not harsh. Love wins the stubborn and wayward. Make yourself a friend, a loving companion, to your child.
Mrs. M. C. Du Bois.
Grand Lodge, Mich.
CHILDREN OF THE SLUMS.
“Perhaps what I have seen of child-life in the slums has made upon my heart the deepest scars,” writes Mrs. Ballington Booth, in the Ladies’ Home Journal. “Poor little scraps of humanity, sick, puny, and deformed, or what was even worse still, vile and evil in word and disposition before the baby accents had left their words! The streets swarmed with them, playing, quarrelling, fighting, amid the jostling crowd and traffic, until late into the night, and the houses were full of little figures that slept on the floor or crouched in the corners to get away from the drunken and brutal, who delight in abusing the weak. In summer, death’s angel mows them down thru the hot season as the scythe cuts the flowers amid the hay, and it has often seemed to me that on such a mission his black robes vanish and he is a veritable angel of light.”
THE WEIGHTS WE CARRY.
By Kate Upson Clark
It is well understood that in order to win a race the runner must carry as little weight as possible. It has been decided that even somewhat superior strength will not give a heavy boat-crew victory over a lighter one of less muscle. “Get rid of weight!” is the motto for everybody, or should be, who wishes to win in any of the many departments of life endeavor. It should be especially the motto of women in this day. They are entering into all kinds of activities, and they need every atom of strength that they can “beg, borrow, or steal.”
These reflections were suggested by the remarks of a lady who had been assisting a very learned and charming friend to carry a dress-suit case. The suit case was of the fashionable leather sort, and was heavy even when empty. When it was closely packed, it appeared to the unfortunate being who carried it to weigh not less than a ton. Yet this charming lady, and thousands like her, prefer to stagger along under this unnecessary weight rather than to carry a rattan or matting or papier-maché suit case or extension bag.
Woven suit cases and paper-maché are not fashionable. Expensive and heavy leather is. And where fashion enters, the flesh ceases to be more than meat or the body than raiment.
Sometimes it seems as if most women enjoy being sick. If they do not, why do they take such efficacious measures to be sick, as often apparently as they can? There is no need of it. A merciful Providence did not make woman a natural invalid. If she would only dress properly, eat and sleep properly, and stop carrying around pounds more than her frame was made to carry, she would usually have very good health.
One of the leading educators of the country said recently that she was afraid to tell people how little sickness there was in the woman’s college with which she was connected.
“Why is that?”
“Because only a fraction of one per cent. of all the students have had to lose any college exercise this year from sickness,” was her unexpected reply.
“Are you sure?”
“We have worked it out in the most accurate way. There is no man’s college in the land which can begin to show such a record.”
“How do you account for it?” her questioner hastened to ask.
“Simply good food, regular hours, proper dress, and proper exercise,” she returned.
Thus it does begin to look as if health might sometime be fashionable again. It has been vaguely asserted that health is already fashionable, and it probably is in some isolated circles; but it is certainly not throughout the great mass of well-to-do women, in spite of the increase in golf playing, tennis, boating, and physical culture among women. Look around you in a single walk down any fashionable11avenue in any large city on a pleasant day. You will see nearly every woman whom you meet with a more wasp-like waist than ever before, and with clothes more hampering, more voluminous, heavier. Among your own acquaintances count up the cases of nervous exhaustion and various kinds of “itis.” Woman can not be strong and healthy when the paltry ten dollars’ worth of strength which she has to spend every day (and she may be sure that it is a fixed amount, and better represented by ten cents than dollars) has to be frittered away in resisting the pressure of several pounds to the square inch of her corset around her body, and in carrying skirts which weigh from two to ten pounds more than they ought to. The handicap is too great for any woman to bear without paying the penalty.
When we add to these weights carried by almost all women, that of the fashionable leather suit case, which goes on journeys with her, the beaded wraps, the tight shoes (for tightness is weight, since strength is exhausted in resisting the pressure), and the monstrous hats, few of which are light in weight, however “fluffy” they may appear, we wonder that any woman can bear up under her accumulated burdens. We must get rid of these weights or we can never run the race that is set before us. Instead we shall be, as we are, wearied ere the race is really begun, and shall totter and stumble; we shall be mere nonentities—a sort of graven images—and ailing and suffering ones at that.—Kate Upson Clark.
“ICH DIEN.”
By Henry Van Dyke
[I serve.]
NEVER in a costly palace did I rest on golden bed,
Never in a hermit's cavern have I eaten idle bread.
Born within a lowly stable, where the cattle round Me stood,
Trained a carpenter in Nazareth, I have toiled, and found it good.
They who tread the path of labor follow where My feet have trod;
They who work without complaining do the holy will of God.
Where the many toil together, there am I among My own;
Where the tired workman sleepeth, there am I with him alone.
I, the Peace that passeth knowledge, dwell amid the daily strife;
I, the Bread of heaven, am broken in the sacrament of life.
—Henry Van Dyke.
THE WHISKY TRAFFIC.
By Henry W. Grady
To-NIGHT it enters a humble home, to strike the roses from a woman's cheeks, and to-morrow it challenges this republic in the halls of Congress.
To-day it strikes a crust from the lips of a starving child, and to-morrow levies tribute from the government itself.
There is no cottage humble enough to escape it, no palace strong enough to shut it out.
It defies the law when it can not coerce suffrage.
It is flexible to cajole, but merciless in victory.
It is the mortal enemy of peace and order; the despoiler of men, and terror of women; the cloud that shadows the face of children; the demon that has dug more graves and sent more souls unshrived to judgment than all the pestilences that have wasted life since God sent the plague to Egypt, and all the wars since Joshua stood before Jericho.
It comes to ruin, and it shall profit mainly by the ruin of your sons and mine.
It comes to mislead human souls and to crush human hearts under its rumbling wheels.
It comes to bring gray-haired mothers down in shame and sorrow to their graves.
It comes to change the wife's love into despair and her pride into shame.
It comes to still the laughter on the lips of little children.
It comes to stifle all the music of the home and fill it with silence and desolation.
It comes to ruin your body and mind, to wreck your home.—Henry W. Grady.
Tasteful Dress and Excess
TASTEFUL dress is as wholesome and necessary a thing for a woman as good food and drink. But if she makes life a long debauch of clothes, she is exactly in the position of the glutton or the drunkard.—December Ladies' Home Journal.
THREE NEW TRACTS
Food: Its Mental and Moral Value
By MRS. MINA MANN
APPLES OF GOLD LIBRARY, No. 68
A paper read at the ninth annual convention of the Kern County, California, W. C. T. U.
A treatise on food from the standpoint of temperance work, set forth in plain, every-day language. It is divided into the following headings:—
Original Bill of Fare
Heavenly Food
A Noble Example
A Cause of Unbridled Sensuality
A Warning from the Master
Eating for God’s Glory
The Breadth of New Temperance
Price, 34 cents per hundred, net
Some One Cares for Your Soul
By W. S. SADLER
APPLES OF GOLD LIBRARY, No. 69
This tract was originally published in the Life Boat Series, and it accomplished much good among the lost, discouraged, and downcast. It has been re-written and given to us for publication in the Apples of Gold Library, where, it is hoped, it will have a still wider circulation.
Price, 34 cents per hundred, net
Under the Law
By M. C. WILCOX
BIBLE STUDENTS’ LIBRARY, No. 163
This new number of the Bible Students’ Library has been issued in response to the continual demands for a short exposition of the texts now under consideration in our Sabbath-School Lessons. The different texts where the words “under the law” are found are taken up, and by uniting them a flood of light is thrown upon the whole theme. This tract will be a great help to every one who is interested in the meaning of these texts which are so often misunderstood and misinterpreted.
Price, 72 cents per hundred
PACIFIC PRESS PUBLISHING COMPANY
OAKLAND, CAL. 11 W. 20TH ST., NEW YORK 18 W. 5TH ST., KANSAS CITY, MO.
SOUTH AMERICA.
By Jean Vuilleumier
The statement that intensity is taking hold of everything is as true of South America as of other parts.
Not to go much out of Argentina, several significant events in the political and religious worlds have been taking place of late. First among them is to be mentioned the reciprocal visit made by Mr. Campos Salles, the Brazilian president, to Buenos Ayres. No effort was spared by the people and the government to make this a great event. The president’s suite was made up of some of his ministers (war, navy, and foreign affairs), generals, and senators. Some fine war ships were selected to convey the distinguished gentlemen hither. An elaborate program of receptions, banquets, rides, etc., was carried out with enthusiasm. The people joined heartily in the spirit of the festivities, and the illuminations at night gave to the La Plata metropolis for one week a fairy, fantastic aspect.
As I happened to be eye-witness to one of the public ovations made to the two presidents, I could not keep from contrasting in my mind the methods of the two kingdoms—the kingdom of Christ and the kingdom of this world. Everything in Christ’s triumphal entry into Jerusalem was a token of self-denying love. Here, all is brutal force. And, as if the soldiery were not a sufficient reminder of the element on which human governments are based, there were the long line of cadets from some orphanages, with rifles on their shoulders. The presidents came along riding in a carriage between a compact crowd, and smiled pleasantly as they were cheered. How few were thinking of the ominous events which these manifestations were designed to avert!
Mayo Avenue, Buenos Ayres.
It was an open secret with almost every one that Brazil and Argentine were making a military alliance in view of future invasions and continental wars. And this, the gathering of nations by the spirits of devils for the battle of the great day of the Lord Almighty, has reached South America. I do not think of any land now which this satanic summoning has not reached.
Is South America really going to make up the third chapter of this great dividing of the world, of which Africa and Asia were the first two divisions? What is the real, secret meaning of the Spanish-American Congress now being held in Madrid? The two leading dailies here have let it out as it looks to them: a gathering together of the Catholic nations as against Anglo-Saxon and Protestant supremacy in the political and religious worlds. According to a cablegram, the Mexican delegate made a speech November 26 at said congress on the conquest of California by the United States “as one of the greatest crimes of history.” It would be well enough to search out all the political iniquities committed by even the best nations as a means of exposing tyranny and injustice, but not of covering up worse tyranny and worse injustice.
“Old controversies will be revived and new controversies will arise.” This rivalry between the Catholic and the Protestant nations savors very much of the days of Charles the Fifth, Philip the Second, Louis the Fourteenth, Charles the Twelfth, and Gustave Adolphus. Let the church of God be at least ready in these ominous times and all will end well.
While I am on this subject, mention must be made, altho it be a geographical digression, to the coming Pan-American Congress in Buffalo, N. Y., to which the South American States are especially invited, and in which “Uncle Sam” will do his level best to cheat old Spain out of the affections of her natural daughters, and to settle some of the old South American family quarrels, thus making sure of this continent as belonging to his “sphere of influence.”
Last summer’s heat having been fatal to the archbishop of Buenos Ayres, his successor was only recently appointed by Rome, in the person of Bishop Espinosa, who, according to the Church-and-State arrangement existing here, had to swear fidelity to the constitution in general and the “Patronato” in particular. The “Patronato,” a relic of Spanish legislation, as the name indicates, gives the State the supervision of the church in almost everything relating to its organization, hierarchy and economic life. The State enters into such matters as appointing general and provincial councils and synods, and the places where they shall be held; it decides in what cases papal bulls shall not be circulated; it has a voice in the appointment by the pope of archbishops and patriarchs, in the erection of churches and convents, in the ordination of priests, and in the amount of their allowance by the parish. Before 1822, as in Spain, a tithe was the main income of the church. It was then abolished, and all the real estate of the church was taken by the government, which assumed the support of the clergy.
All this “Patronato” legislation looks very severe and threatening to the church, while the fact of the case is that the church commands, and the State obeys. The church accepts all this Napoleonic legislation because she knows that it is a dead letter, and that the government has very little desire to meddle or interfere with ecclesiastical affairs, which would only make it unpopular.
That friendship to the church is an important factor of popularity is well shown when the president of the republic and men in high position, altho freemasons, do not think it unworthy of their time to attend special festivals and pilgrimages in honor of some miracle-working old wooden image, and to serve as godfathers to the idol.
Ed. Laboulaye has remarked, altho a Catholic, that a church so imperialistic in its spirit as the Catholic Church was better prepared13to furnish citizens to a monarchy than to a democracy, and cited as an example the poor results of South American republicanism.
I met an instance of this truth the other day, chancing to step into a Catholic congress for an hour. It was a general meeting of the Saint Francis de Sales corporations. It had its president, secretaries, etc. But they did not seem to figure, or at least they were eclipsed by the gorgeous figures and splendid array of the archbishops of Montevideo and Buenos Ayres and of several bishops. The central chair on the platform stood empty for the use of the papal legate, Mgr. Sabatucci, a recent addition to the clergy. And, O, how absent from these gentlemen was the spirit of the meek and lowly Nazarene, who came not to be served but to serve, and who taught His disciples that humble service and self-abasement are the best title to pre-eminence! The dignitaries just mentioned, clad in purple robes, made their entrance into the hall in a body, and were loudly cheered by the audience. As one of these haughty and majestic prelates would leave or come in, the proceedings of the meeting must be waived for a moment to give the people a chance to cheer; the people nearest them would kiss their hand, putting one knee on the floor. Some educated laymen had been selected to make the speeches, which they did to their credit—leaving out some of the sentiments expressed. After each discourse a long list of resolutions, previously printed and scattered thru the audience, were read by a clerical secretary. My reader will now expect a word on the discussions which followed. Don’t be mistaken! No sooner were the resolutions read than the archbishop of Buenos Ayres, a smiling face by the way, would motion to the congregation to vote by rising, with which everybody in the audience immediately complied.
Dr. Manuel Ferraz De Campos Salles, President of Brazil.
JEAN VUILLEUMIER.
Buenos Ayres, Nov. 28, 1900.
JOY IN SERVICE.
By Carrie Butcher
“If ye be willing and obedient, ye shall eat the good of the land.” Isa. 1:19.
At the closing of the day,
When the gathering shades of night
Fold their curtains round my way,
Hiding for a time the light,
Such a sense of love to God
Doth in my glad soul abide
That I fain would haste abroad
To proclaim it far and wide.
When the lessons all are said,
And the children tucked away,
And I kneel beside my bed
For a little time to pray,
O, such blessed, heavenly rest
As my Saviour gives me there!
And it seems the very best
Is the quiet bedside prayer.
Then when in that sweet content,
Tired lids for sleep I fold,
Wave on wave of bliss is sent
From the shimmering shores of gold,
Till the pent-up well of joy
To my lips in praise doth spring,
And, unmindful of the hour,
“Glory be to God,” I sing.
As my vision inward turned,
Guilt I saw, and felt it too;
But, all glory to the Son,
He has made my nature new.
And I mean to tell the news
By my life, my voice, my pen,
Of His goodness, of His grace,
And His matchless love to men.
Thus I’ll labor for Him still
Every passing day and hour,
Yielding to His holy will,
Drawing from Him life and power,
Bravely trying, meekly, true,
Praying, praising, night and day,
Ever resting in His might,
Ever happy, come what may.
MRS. CARRIE BUTCHER,
Red Oak, Texas.
A GROWING IDEA OF CHRISTIANITY.
The Anti—But you are mistaken in calling them heathen. Most of them have been long ago converted to Christianity.
The Expansionist—Then why ain't they got better weapons than bows and arrows? Answer me that.—Indianapolis Journal.
Our Work and Workers.
Two persons united with the Neenah, Wis., church at their recent quarterly meeting.
Brother J. V. Maas reports good meetings at Almond, Wisconsin, during the week of prayer. Two persons were converted.
The Workers' Record says that the annual offerings in Missouri to foreign missions will be more than three times as large this year as last.
Pastor J. M. Reese, president of the Missouri Conference, has been suffering for a few days with a light attack of pneumonia. He is getting about again.
Our Portland, Oregon, Sanitarium is enjoying a season of remarkable prosperity. The building is filled with patients, and all departments present a scene of activity.
Brother H. J. Schnepper is holding meetings in a Swiss settlement in Oregon, and three families have commenced the observance of the Sabbath according to the Lord's commandment.
Brother Nellis reports two conversions at Salem, Oregon, and the young people at Royal have taken a strong, active stand for the right. There does not seem to be an indifferent one among them.
The brethren in Iowa are using the Outlook Number of the Signs in connection with their canvass for “Christ's Object Lessons.” Good success is attending their efforts. These two valuable publications can go nicely together, if the proper effort is put forth.
Brother Fulmer has organized the small company of believers at Oxford Mills, Iowa, into a church. There is a good interest in the neighborhood in the thrilling themes connected with the message of the Lord's soon coming, and the prospect is bright that the church will grow.
Brother Wm. Kennedy has just closed a series of meetings in a schoolhouse in La Plata, N. M. As a result, three more persons professed their faith in Christ and commenced the observance of the Sabbath. These, with the believers who were already there, will form the nucleus for a small church.
A most blessed revival work has been in progress in the Oakland, Cal., church for the last few weeks. Pastor A. G. Daniells, recently returned to this country from Australia, and Pastor C. M. Gardner, the local pastor of the church, have been taking the principal burden of the meetings. Mrs. E. G. White has also been with us to speak two or three times. The work has moved along very quietly, but it has been deep and thorough. Special meetings have been held both in the church and with the workers employed in the Pacific Press. On the evening of January 20, forty-six persons were baptized, all young people. Some six or eight more have given in their names for baptism, who were not ready when the others were baptized. In several instances whole families of children gave themselves to the Lord and were baptized. No one specially asked them to do it, but they moved forward themselves under the conviction of the Spirit of God. In some instances it was found that these young persons had been seriously considering this step for several months. There is the deep note of rejoicing in more than one home in Oakland, as well as in the presence of God among the angels.
Periodicals Wanted.
Copies of the SIGNS OF THE TIMES, Review, Little Friend, Youth's Instructor, Sentinel of Liberty, Good Health, etc., are desired by the following. Everything should be sent post-paid.
Geo. H. Giddings, Springdale, Ark.
The Florida Tract Society, Orlando, Fla.
WORK FOR THE YOUNG.
By Editor
Jan. 17, 1901, the Youth’s Instructor will begin a series of articles from Mr. W. S. Sadler, dealing with experiences that have come under his observation in his work for young people. These articles strike at the root of things, going back to causes. Young people everywhere should have the privilege of reading these articles—not only those in our own churches, but those who do not know the truth. Our missionary societies would do well to order clubs of the paper for use by their young people, as well as to see that there is not one who does not have the privilege of reading them. Remember the date, Jan. 17, 1901. The whole series of eleven articles, and six extra copies, will be sent to any address in the United States or Canada, for only twenty-five cents. Usual discount in quantities. Order at once.
BABY'S FIRST WARDROBE.
By Mrs. F. M. Kellogg
Hygienic patterns for complete outfit, based on healthful principles. Twenty-two patterns, together with a beautiful booklet on the proper care of infants, sent post-paid, for 50 cents. Full directions for making, showing necessary material, etc.
Mrs. F. M. Kellogg, Battle Creek, Mich. 38 Washington Avenue.
THE WOMEN WHO HAVE USED IT SAY THAT THE
Hoffman Culinary Scraper
Is the very best thing they have found with which to clean their pots, skillets, cake-pans, bread-pans, etc. It is just the thing to cut the starch from flat-irons or paint from window glass or to use in doing any similar work. It is the only scraper that cuts and wears itself sharp. Those who have used it say they would not think of being without one.
