p. 37 | Signs of the Times, Vol. 20, No. 3. (11/20/1893)

Earlier text: Religious Interest at the World’s Fair

A Review of Sunday Legislation in Century Nineteen

By Prof. P. T. Magan

A REVIEW OF SUNDAY LEGISLATION IN CENTURY NINETEEN.* NO. 3.

BY PROF. P. T. MAGAN.

SO MUCH for the Blair Amendment; now to the Blair Sunday Rest Bill, which the same senator introduced four days earlier. Here is the complete text:—

50TH CONGRESS, } S. 2983. 1ST SESSION. A bill to secure to the people the enjoyment of the first day of the week, commonly known as the Lord's day, as a day of rest, and to promote its observance as a day of religious worship. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That no person, or corporation, or the agent, servant, or employe of any person or corporation, shall perform, or authorize to be performed, any secular work, labor, or business, to the disturbance of others, works of necessity, mercy, and humanity excepted; nor shall any person engage in any play, game, or amusement, or recreation, to the disturbance of others, on the first day of the week, commonly known as the Lord's day, or during any part thereof, in any territory, district, vessel, or place subject to the exclusive jurisdiction of the United States; nor shall it be lawful for any person or corporation to receive pay for labor or service performed or rendered in violation of this section. SEC. 2. That no mails or mail matter shall hereafter be transported in time of peace over any land postal route, nor shall any mail matter be collected, assorted, handled, or delivered during any part of the first day of the week: Provided, That whenever any letter shall relate to a work of necessity or mercy, or shall concern the health, life, or disease of any person, and the fact shall be plainly stated upon the face of the envelope containing the same, the Postmaster General shall provide for the transportation of such letter. SEC. 3. That the prosecution of commerce between the States and with the Indian tribes, the same not being work of necessity, mercy, or humanity, by the transportation of persons or property by land or water in such way as to interfere with or disturb the people in the enjoyment of the first day of the week, or any portion thereof, as a day of rest from labor, the same not being labor of necessity, mercy, or humanity, or its observance as a day of religious worship, is hereby prohibited; and any person or corporation, or the agent, servant, or employe of any person or corporation, who shall willfully violate this section, shall be punished by a fine of not less than ten or more than one thousand dollars, and no service performed in the prosecution of such prohibited commerce shall be lawful, nor shall any compensation be recoverable or be paid for the same. SEC. 4. That all military and naval drills, musters, and parades, not in time of active service or immediate preparation therefor, of soldiers, sailors, marines, or cadets of the United States, on the first day of the week, except assemblies for the due and orderly observance of religious worship, are hereby prohibited; nor shall any unnecessary labor be performed or permitted in the military or naval service of the United States on the Lord's day. SEC. 5. That it shall be unlawful to pay or to receive payment or wages in any manner for service rendered, or for labor performed, or for the transportation of persons or property, in violation of the provisions of this act, nor shall any action lie for the recovery thereof, and when so paid, whether in advance or otherwise, the same may be recovered back by whoever shall first sue for the same. SEC. 6. That labor or service performed and rendered on the first day of the week in consequence of accident, disaster, or unavoidable delays in making the regular connections upon postal routes and routes of travel and transportation, the preservation of perishable and exposed property, and the regular and necessary transportation and delivery of articles of food in condition for healthful use, and such transportation for short distances from one State, district, or Territory into another State, district, or Territory as by local laws shall be declared to be necessary for the public good, shall not be deemed violations of this act, but the same shall be construed so far as possible to secure to the whole people rest from toil during the first day of the week, their mental and moral culture, and the religious observance of the Sabbath day.

Now, first, we will recur to a statement made already in this paper, viz., that the Blair Amendment to the Constitution was for the purpose of making this bill, and all other bills of similar cult constitutional; for, according to the Constitution as it was then and as it is to-day, this bill and all other bills of kindred ilk were and are unconstitutional. But this bill is essentially a religious bill, that is, it is in the interests of one particular religion. And that phase of religion with which it deals and which it is intended to protect is SUNDAY KEEPING. Therefore, it logically follows that the Blair Constitutional Amendment was intended to pave the way for the teaching of a proper observance of Sunday in the public schools of all the States.

The question may arise in the minds of some persons as to what is the good of declaring against these measures, since they died in the Fiftieth Congress, and never were enacted. We answer, First, because, although these measures are dead, the spirit which gave birth to them still lives, and is even now seeking to enact laws infinitely more blasphemous, more papal, and more entirely antichristian than these. Second, since that time, although the associations backing these bills have been apparently content with the enactment of milder measures, these are only an index to what they will do when they have the power. So that, although technically these bills are dead, practically they are very much alive, as the remainder of this paper will amply prove.

Now to the Blair Sunday Rest Bill, per se. We have already made some charges against it, all of which and many more we are prepared to defend against the world.

The object of the bill is stated in the first paragraph of section 1, viz., "to secure to the people the enjoyment of the first day of the week . . . as a day of rest, and to promote its observance as a day of religious worship." Now religion—true religion—is the duty which man owes to God; it is "man's personal relation of faith and obedience to God." Therefore, according to this, the State is to take upon itself the duty of superintending "man's personal relation of faith and obedience to God" in this matter of Sunday observance. This is in verity to overturn the whole foundation upon which the civil structure of the United States rests,—it is to make the government the people's censor morum, the pater patriae,—father of the people, instead of their creature. It turns the legislative assemblies into hierarchs and the judiciary benches into boards of inquisitors. It puts the rulers in the place of God; for Jesus Christ distinctly declared that the things of God are to be rendered to God and the things of Caesar to Caesar. But this bill is for the purpose of making the people render an account of their religious observance of Sunday to Caesar, which is civil government, so that its intent is diametrically opposed to the plain command of Christ. Since, therefore, this bill puts rulers in the place of God, by empowering them to call men to account for their religious observances, it follows that this bill is blasphemous. All such attempts to make men religious by torturing their bodies for the good of their souls are repudiated by high heaven, for Christ himself said, "If any man hear my words, and believe not, I judge him not." John 12:47. And again, "God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved." John 3:17. It is a bill worthy of the genius of Louis XIV. of France, of whom it was said that he dragooned his subjects to heaven.

Moreover, it is papal, for it is in the interests of a papal institution; for Sunday is a creation of the Catholic Church; it is the distinguishing mark of the "mother of harlots"—the beast which is to be cast into the lake of fire and brimstone. It is for the purpose of enacting a lie. Sunday is not the Sabbath; Sunday is not the Lord's day; far from it, it is the distinguishing feature of the most iniquitous system for oppressing and degrading the souls of men that ever has been, or that ever will be, upon the earth,—the Roman Catholic Church. So far from being the Sabbath day of sacred rest, Sunday is a day upon which God commanded men to work; for the fourth precept of the Decalogue emphatically declares, "Six days shalt thou labor; . . . but the seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord thy God; in it thou shalt not do any work." Ex. 20: 9, 10.

Then, since these men, styling themselves Christians, seek to enact laws commanding men to rest upon a day on which God distinctly said, "Thou shalt labor," are not they antichristian?

It is wrong in principle. Who can cite an instance in the Bible where Jesus Christ ever asked for civil power to enforce his teachings? And when they did try to make him a temporal prince, so that he might have that power, he repudiated their efforts.

Again; this act puts into the hands of all unprincipled persons the power of "wiping out old scores" in a manner that is revolting to civilized society. Section 5 says:—

SEC. 5. That it shall be unlawful to pay or to receive payment or wages in any manner for service rendered, or for labor performed, or for the transportation of persons or property, in violation of the provisions of this act, nor shall any action lie for the recovery thereof, and when so paid, whether in advance or otherwise, the same may be recovered back by whoever shall first sue for the same.

Let us, for the sake of example, suppose a case: Here are two firms, both engaged in the manufacture of threshing machines. Firm A makes better machines than firm B, consequently A gets more orders for machines. The prices of both firms are alike. The directors of A see that they cannot produce a sufficient number of machines, running six days per week, to meet the demand, so they decide to run on Sunday also. They employ 300 hands. Then B commences to reason like this: Our trade is light; we cannot compete with A, but the law provides—

that it shall be unlawful to pay or to receive payment or wages in any manner for service rendered, or for labor performed, or for the transportation of persons or property, in violation of the provisions of this act, nor shall any action lie for the recovery thereof, and when so paid, whether in advance or otherwise, the same may be recovered back by whoever shall first sue for the same.

So we will enter suit against all men working for A, and recover the wages paid to all for last Sunday's work. We will make about $1,000, and cause them an infinite amount of trouble.

Now this is no improbable case. It is a fair illustration of what would happen under such a law.

Further, it will be an accepted axiom with all fair-minded men that an increase of hypocrisy is always the inevitable result of connecting any description of penalty with the profession of particular opinions. Sunday work is the outward expression of an opinion. "Whatever may be the case with individuals, it is certain that the majority of men find an extreme difficulty in long resisting constant temptation. And when the temptation comes to them in the shape of honor and emolument, they are too often ready to profess the dominant opinions, and abandon, not, indeed, their belief, but the external marks by which that belief is made public. Every man who takes this step is a hypocrite; and every government which encourages this step to be taken, is an abettor of hypocrisy, and a creator of hypocrites. Well, therefore, may we say that when a government holds out as a bait that those who profess certain opinions shall enjoy certain privileges, it plays the part of the tempter of old, and, like the evil one, basely offers the good things of this world to him who will change his worship and deny his faith."—Buckle.

But a nation of hypocrites means national ruin, inevitably. And to national ruin the United States was doomed from the day she started upon the road of religious legislation. We may be defeated by the acts of our enemies, but our own deeds alone can degrade us. And religious legislation always has, and ever will, yield a harvest of wickedness and woe.

A SIGN OF THE LAST DAYS.

By Francis Hope

ONE of the many signs that plainly show we are living in the last days, is the accumulation of wealth by rich men. In James 5 we read: "Go to now, ye rich men, weep and howl for your miseries that shall come upon you. Your riches are corrupted, and your garments are moth-eaten. Your gold and silver is cankered; and the rust of them shall be a witness against you, and shall eat your flesh as it were fire. Ye have heaped treasures together for the last days." Notice, the condemnation is not for the mere possession of wealth, but for heaping it together and hoarding it away till it is rusted and cankered, while at the same time the cries of the laboring men, who have reaped down their fields, are "entering into the ears of the Lord of Saboath." Verse 4.

There never was a time when these words were fulfilled as they are now. There never was such a plethora of wealth, and yet at the same time so much grinding poverty. Since the discovery of California and Australia the world has been deluged with gold. California alone produced one thousand million dollars of gold in twenty years. The wealth produced in England was only £42,000,000 in 1664, while for the year 1889 it was £1,350,000,000.

The question comes, Where is all this gold? for money seems as scarce as ever, and the poor even poorer than before. The only answer is the one given by James, it is hoarded away and lies rusting and cankered. Not only in America and Europe, but in every other country. In India there is said to be $16,500,000 of treasure hidden in temples and shrines.

It is estimated that 30,000 men hold half the entire wealth of the United States. One man alone possesses more than the assessed value of four States, another has an income of $20,000,000. Of the £1,350,000,000 produced by England in 1889, only £300,000,000 went to the workers who produced it; the rest was appropriated by the idle. That is, out of every sovereign only six shillings and eight pence went to the laborer, while thirteen shillings and four pence went to the rich man, to be hoarded away. Surely then the words of James are fulfilled; the rich are growing richer; the poor are becoming poorer, and the coming of the Lord hastens.

God also condemns modern rich men on another point; not only have they defrauded the laborers, but James writes, "Ye have lived in pleasure on the earth, and been wanton; ye have nourished your hearts, as in a day of slaughter." Verse 5. In spite of all the boasted Christianity and benevolence of to-day, this witness is true. Here in England, at a recent drawing room held by the queen, there was $7,500,000 worth of jewels on the few ladies present. The Baroness Gustave de Rothschilds boasts of a pearl necklace worth $200,000, and recently Mrs. Mackay wore a dress the trimmings of which were alone worth $50,000. And right in the same great city were to be heard the piteous cries of little children starving for a morsel of bread. When those cries ascend to God, is it any wonder that he cries down, Woe unto you rich men? How must those jewels look in the sight of him whose Son had not where to lay his head?

"Lovers of pleasure more than lovers of God," wrote Paul. In England no less than $20,000,000 is annually expended for the cruel sport of fox hunting, and while thousands of poor families are huddled away in dark garrets and damp cellars, hunting dogs have palatial residences lighted by electricity. Here, where the poor man is not allowed land enough to raise a cabbage, there are 14,700,000 acres of waste land kept only for a game preserve and shooting ground for "my lord."

These are some of the facts of the case, facts which the word of God recorded eighteen centuries ago. And from these facts God wants us to learn that the end of all things is at hand, and the time has come for the saints to take the land, and dwell every man under his own vine, and under his own fig tree.

"Suffer with patience, therefore, brethren, unto the coming of the Lord. . . . Stablish your hearts, for the coming of the Lord draweth nigh." James 5 : 7, 8.

Belfast, Ireland.

PARADISE—HOW REGAINED.

By H. A. St. John

BY ELDER H. A. ST. JOHN.

WE have found that Paradise was lost by disobedience. God's moral law was transgressed, and the transgressors, for that reason, and that reason only, were obliged to abandon their Eden home. Hence it is obvious that God could not be consistent in his dealings with his creatures to allow man to return to Paradise in the same condition which furnished the reason for his banishment. He went out disloyal, he cannot return disloyal. He went out a sinner, he cannot return a sinner.

Has God devised a plan whereby sinful man may again become sinless and pure? May the disloyal again become loyal to the holy law of God? To these intensely interesting questions we are happy to be able to return an affirmative answer. Through Jesus, the promised seed, this perfect pardon, purity, and loyalty, may be obtained. And by the strength and grace that he ever after is ready and willing to give, it may be retained, in spite of all opposition. Free and full pardon for sin is obtained by repentance toward God and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ. This faith in Christ embraces obedience to the gospel. When freedom of our sin is thus secured, it is retained by the same faith and consecration that secure it. It is this maintenance of a life of purity and obedience that constituted the Christian warfare. Gaining the victory in the conflicts with the powers of evil, is overcoming. He who endures and comes off victor in the end of the warfare, is a complete overcomer; and to such Jesus has promised that they shall eat of the tree of life, which is in the midst of the Paradise of God.

Again, Jesus has promised, "Blessed are they that do his commandments, that they may have right to the tree of life, and may enter in through the gates into the city." Rev. 22:14. On the opening pages of God's great progressive revelation we learn that man was driven out of Paradise because of sin, or disobedience to the commandments of God. Further on in that sacred volume we learn how he may find pardon for sin—have the spiritual mind, or true spirit of obedience, restored

to his soul, and again obtain and retain the purest loyalty to his loving Heavenly Father. All this through the mediatorial work of the promised seed—the world's Redeemer. And then on the last page of the same glorious revelation we learn that such loyal commandment-keeping ones shall have right to the tree of life and enter in—yes, enter in—to the Paradise of God.

And it should be noticed that they do not enter into the long-lost Paradise as the man enters the World's Fair, to see hurriedly, and then depart, never to view again—no, no. The saints, because of their characters of loving loyalty to God, will have a perfect right to admission, and a perfect and eternal right when admitted to remain. It will be all theirs, and always theirs. "The redeemed of the Lord will come to Zion with songs and everlasting joy upon their heads." It is true that this earth will be made new, the curse entirely removed, and the Paradise of God, the New Jerusalem, come down and again rest upon a beautiful new earth, but the saints will come too, and with the freest access to Paradise restored in their midst, they will have recovered their first estate. Yes, so transcendently beautiful and glorious will that new heavens and new earth and New Jerusalem be, that the redeemed will seem to have gone beyond their first estate, and attained even unto the first estate of the angels that fell. Let us be ready to hail that happy day.

THAT TERRIBLE ENSLAVING LETTER!!

By Editor

LULING, Texas, June 23, 1893.

To Rev. A. H. Lewis, D. D., Editor of the "Evangel and Sabbath Outlook"— Dear Brother: . . . I have given much study to the Sabbath question, and my mind has long been fixed on the subject. While admiring the candor and ability displayed by you on your side of the question, I am neither in sympathy with your views nor with those who bank on Sunday as the day for Sabbath observance. I am not willing for any man to "judge me in meat or drink or a Sabbath day." The spirit of the law fulfilled in Christ has released me from the bondage of the letter. I try to do good every day.

Yours in Christ, T. C. Greenwood.

What a mistake God made when he expressed his laws in words! Words somehow reveal man's obligation to obey, and obedience is such a bondage!

"Come unto me all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest." The "spirit" of that is beautiful, but the "letter"—think of the bondage it forces upon the sinner! If he wants rest he has got to come to Christ, he must submit to the hateful "letter." If it were not for the letter, he might drift along in the "spirit," and come to Plato, or Swedenborg, or himself, and find rest. But Christ said, "Come unto me;" evidently Christ was much like his Father. He had not learned how to dispense with the "letter." He was old-fashioned; indeed, we half suspect he was a "Judaizer." Our correspondent from Texas could have given Christ several good points in the matter of the letter.

"Thou shalt not kill." That is a "horrid letter" when a man is mad and has his revolver in his hip pocket and his hand on the revolver. Take the "letter" of that command away, and the angry man could say: "The spirit of that law is all right, but the letter tendeth to bondage. I have no use for it until I get the drop on the man who has insulted me."

Men never complain of the "letter" of a law until they want to disobey it. "Thou shalt not commit adultery," is certainly an outrageous bondage and an unwarrantable interference when thrust before the flushed face of lawless lust.

When the Scripture speaks of the bondage of the letter, it describes the man who wants to sin, but who is held by the law, as a policeman holds a prisoner. The freedom of the spirit comes when love secures glad obedience to the letter. There is no bondage in the letter when the soul is willing to obey. When it is not, the letter grips with the grasp of a giant.—Evangel and Sabbath Outlook.

SIMPLE WILLINGNESS.

"A SIMPLE willingness to serve the Master." It was a petition in a good man's prayer, which, falling on the ears of the writer, has long dwelt in her memory.

In this busy, hurrying age, when so many are working at fever heat, in the church as well as out of it—when our books and papers, the sermons we hear, even our intercourse with friends, all seem to stimulate to yet greater activity—that prayer for simple willingness falls like soothing balm upon the overwrought.

There are some of us—just a few—whose hands are not idle, but who chafe and fret against the bounds of our appointed place, and look longingly to what we deem a nobler, larger work. The words "mission," "vocation," "a higher sphere of activity," so much on the lips nowadays, too often steal between us and a simple willingness.

We are too prone, "the daily task forgetting," to look too eagerly beyond to some great work we should love to perform for the Master, while we count as "common" the work he himself has laid upon our hands. We pant to serve him in the throng, when he calls us to a desert place.

"Do not pray for strength to bear the tortures of the Inquisition," says Spurgeon, "when what you need may be grace to darn the family hose uncomplainingly."

We may fondly think how well we might serve the Master "in such and such a place."

"If I were free from such heavy, homely cares," sighs one. "If I had only my once firm health," moans another.

But what we may need for service anywhere is the simple willingness to "do the next thing," whatever that may be.

How would the church—aye, the world—grow in grace if the servants of Christ more frequently and sincerely lifted and practiced this beautiful petition?—Selected.

CHRISTIAN SCIENCE.

By Rev. A. C. Dixon

BY THE REV. A. C. DIXON.

IN 1866 Mrs. Mary Baker Eddy, of Boston, thought she discovered that " Divine Mind is the only reality," and that "matter and mortal body are the illusions of human belief." Upon this foundation Mrs. Eddy began to erect a philosophy, and to establish an institution of healing without medicine. According to her philosophy, there is no such thing as sickness. All disease is illusion. If you have a toothache, in the first place, there is really no tooth; and, in the second place, it does not ache; both the tooth and the ache are illusions of "human belief." Convince yourself that they do not exist, and you are well. Diet and exercise are of no use; medicines are hindrances, for they lead one to think of these illusory diseases.

"A Christian Scientist," says Mrs. Eddy, "never gives medicine, never recommends hygiene, never manipulates." The less one knows about the laws of health, the better. These laws are illusions, because they deal with illusive diseases. There is no attempt to influence mind by means of mind. She discards magnetism and all hypnotic influences. She simply seeks to convince sick people that they are well.

One who is not a disciple of Mrs. Eddy, is at a disadvantage, because, according to her claim, he cannot really understand the metaphysical and spiritual subtleties of her philosophy, unless he is refined enough to accept her theories. She urges her devotees not to listen to opposition. If one of them should be told that this article does not fully indorse "Christian Science," he will, of course, not read it. The great thing is to keep within the charmed circle of faith in the fact that the Divine Mind is the only reality; that matter and mortal body do not really exist.

It is evident, however, to one who reads and thinks, that "Christian Science" is neither Christian nor scientific. It is not Christian, because it denies the existence of a personal God, and that there is such a thing as sin. The Divine Mind is everywhere and everything; there is nothing else. We are a part of it. This sounds like pantheism, and was not discovered in this century. We read

much of it in the writings of pagan philosophers.

If Christianity teaches any one thing clearly, it is that sin is a tremendous fact. Jesus came to seek and save the lost; he was the "friend of sinners;" he put away sin by the sacrifice of himself. Calvary became a fact, because sin was a fact. Now "Christian Science" asserts that all this is a blunder. Those who think they are sinners are simply under an illusion. They may be honest in their belief, but are sadly mistaken. All men need is to be convinced that they are not sinners, and they are righteous. A more seductive fallacy was never invented; it panders to our self-righteousness, and is calculated to manufacture Pharisees by the million.

It is not scientific, because it denies evident facts, and claims for facts what universal experience proves to be false. Someone has said, "If you claim that there is no matter, it is no matter what you claim." But such a claim has a great fascination for certain mystical minds. They prefer the mysterious to the plain. The more absurd a proposition, the more likely they are to receive it. That there is matter and mortal body every scientist knows. So real, indeed, is matter that it is now well-nigh universally accepted that not one particle of it has ever been destroyed. It may change forms, but goes not out of existence. Even Christian Scientists treat their bodies as if they were real; they give them water and food, and protect them with clothing; they can be bled and bruised. Through the body they suffer pain, however vehemently they may declaim against its existence.

"She was a pretty Christian Scientist; 'There is nothing real,' said she, 'Except the soul—my body is not real;' 'And that's too bad,' thought he. 'Pain is not real—this hammock is not real, Wherein you think I sit.' Lo! as she spoke the hammock's fastening broke, And threw her out of it. "Full hard she bumped her immaterial form; Who could but sympathize? He begged that she would let a heretic Pretend to help her rise. "Then, oh! the scorn of her rejection was A something wholly real, And, oh! the limp with which she walked away, Proclaimed that she could feel."

A Christian Scientist who goes the whole length of his convictions must believe and advocate some very silly absurdities. One of them sagely tells us that alcohol intoxicates because such is the universal belief. If all men believed that alcohol nourished, like milk, we might feed our babies only on whisky; and if all men believed that milk intoxicated, it would make us drunk. If it was the universal belief that a bunion on the foot caused derangement, it would affect us like a tumor on the brain. If, on the other hand, all men agreed that a tumor on the brain simply worried you and made you feel like keeping your friends at a distance, such would be the effect. There is no such thing as cold or heat. Though every thermometer in Christendom should declare that the temperature was ten degrees below zero, it need not affect a consistent Christian Scientist; he need not change his clothing between summer and winter. One of their practicing physicians in Baltimore remarked to a friend of mine: "What a blessing it would be to the poor if they would all accept our teaching! It would save outlays in change of clothing and in fuel for the winter."

Indeed, hunger is an illusion; all that we have to do, according to this fascinating science, to save our grocery bills, is to wake up to the fact that the immaterial body does not really need immaterial food. "Besiege sickness and death," says one of their high authorities, "with these principles and all will disappear." Old age is an illusion; there need be no such thing as gray hairs and decrepitude. People lose their sight and hearing because they believe in such things. A man at ninety ought to look as if he were only nineteen. Some of them read their lectures through gold-rimmed glasses, declaring that loss of sight is an illusion. The fact that animals take cold, become intoxicated, and are affected as if they really had bodies, does not make a Christian Scientist swerve from his position. He asserts that an animal can be a sort of Christian Scientist. The horse takes cold when the blanket is left off, because there is a sort of universal horse conviction that such will take place. Dogs can get drunk on alcohol, because the dog mind has a lingering belief in intoxication.

It is now time for a definition, and the following strikes me as eminently fair:—

CHRISTIAN SCIENCE IS THE ART OF MAKING SANE PEOPLE THINK AND FEEL AS IF THEY WERE INSANE.

Our lunatic asylums are full of patients who are suffering from illusions. They believe that things are not as they are. A notion seizes one that brick and stone walls are nothing, and he tries to go through them. In the effort his head is apt to yield, and for his accommodation padded walls are furnished. Others imagine that they are not human beings, but angels or demons. I have seen one who declared that she was the queen of heaven, and tried to act accordingly. If I mistake not, most cases of insanity are the result of such hallucinations.

The difference between patients in the asylum, however, and Mrs. Eddy, is this: With her it is a theory; with them it is theory and practice; they carry out their convictions. When one of them decides that clothing is not necessary, he steadfastly refuses to wear it. If he is convinced that eating is of no use, he will not eat. Mrs. Eddy, on the other hand, holds tenaciously to the theory, and practices it only so far as convenient. Her teaching is insanity reduced to a fine art, advocated in elegant language, studied by refined people, accepted by a class of metaphysical minds, and practiced fully by none of them.—The Independent.

AFTERWARDS.

By Mary Rowles Jarvis

BY MARY ROWLES JARVIS.

God's ways are equal; storm or calm, Long nights of peril and of rest, The hurtling dart, the healing balm, Are all apportioned as is best; In judgment oft misunderstood, In ways mysterious and obscure, He brings from evil lasting good, And makes the final gladness sure; By many a fiery test of strength He bids our faith and hope increase, And gives the chastened soul at length His afterward of peace.

When the dread forces of the gale His sterner purposes perform, And human skill can naught avail Against the fury of the storm, The toiler, well-nigh losing heart, Low bending to his baffled oar, The watcher in her harder part Of helpless waiting at the door, Are still beneath his tender care, And he can make the tempest cease, And give them, for the anguish there, An afterward of peace.

The very waves that now appall, As in their wrath they plunge and roar, Some other day shall lightly fall In sunlit ripples on the shore; The cloudy chariots of the skies, That threaten death o'er sea and land, Are filled with many a sweet surprise Of goodness, from his lavish hand; Beneath their soft and gentle rain The buds shall open and increase, And field and wood shall know again His afterward of peace.

Look up, sad heart, no trial can last Beyond the limits God hath set; When its appointed work is past Thou shalt in joy forget; Where grief's sharp plowshare hath swept through, Thy fairest flowers of life shall spring, For God shall clothe thy world anew, And all its wastes shall laugh and sing; Hope thou in him; his plan for thee Must end in triumph and release; Fear not, and thou shalt surely see His afterward of peace.

—Sunday at Home.

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