Earlier text: Facts about the Sabbath and First Day in the New TestamentCamp-Meeting at Richland, Kansas.
By Ellen G. White
THIS meeting, the third of the kind which has been held in this State the present season, was held October 24-29. At Topeka we left the cars and rode by private conveyance twelve miles across the broad prairie to the place of meeting. We found the settlement of tents in a grove. A wooden tent was prepared for us, and furnished with a stove, and everything to make us comfortable. It being late in the season for camp-meetings, every preparation was made for cold weather that could be made. There were seventeen tents on the ground, besides the large tent, which accommodated several families; and every tent had a stove. Sabbath morning it commenced snowing. But notwithstanding this, not one meeting was suspended. About an inch of snow fell, and the air was piercing cold. Women with little children clustered about the stoves. It was a touching scene to see one hundred and fifty people assembled for a convocation meeting under these circumstances. Some came two hundred miles by private conveyance. All seemed hungry for the bread of life, and thirsty for the water of salvation. Elder Haskell spoke Friday afternoon and evening. In the meeting Sabbath morning I felt called upon to speak encouraging words to those who had made so great an effort to attend the meeting. I told them that the more inclement the weather, the greater the necessity of our obtaining the sunshine of God's presence. This life at best is but the Christian's winter; and the bleak winds of winter—disappointments, losses, pain, and anguish—are our lot here; but our hopes are reaching forward to the Christian's summer, when we shall change climate, leave all the wintry blasts and fierce tempests behind, and be taken to those mansions Jesus has gone to prepare for those that love him. I presented before them the lives of the apostles. Paul was one whom God honored with visions of his glory, and although thus honored of Heaven, he was subject to the fiercest persecutions by his own people, the Jews. They did not allow him to labor in peace even among idolators, but taking advantage of the superstition of the people, stirred up the Gentiles against him. Once the Gentile element was so wrought upon by the Jews that he was stoned and taken up for dead. But this hero of faith pens no words of discouragement. Near the close of his life he was, under the cruel Nero, immured in prison walls that never saw the light of day. His dungeon, chiseled out of the solid rock, was reeking with dampness, and he an invalid who had labored for years, pressed by physical sufferings. One consolation was left him. One and another of his brethren were allowed to be with him and share the discomforts of his home, and to stand by him when brought before Nero to answer for his life. In looking over the incidents of his eventful life, he remembers all. He recalls the scenes of his trials and sufferings, and now if he has any words of murmuring we shall surely hear them. Mark his words: "I am persuaded that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord." "I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us." Again, "I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith. Henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness which the Lord, the righteous Judge, shall give me at that day; and not to me only, but unto all them also that love his appearing." When we contrast our circumstances with those of the apostle Paul, we should feel rebuked for ever harboring the least feeling of murmuring or complaint. We know but little by experience of self-denial, and persecution, and pain for Christ's sake. We are here as probationers, and we must be tested and proved. Says Paul, "Our light affliction, which is but for a moment, worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory; while we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen; for the things which are seen are temporal, but the things which are not seen are eternal." Many testimonies were borne in this morning meeting, and many hearts were softened by the beams of light from the Sun of Righteousness. At half-past ten Elder Haskell spoke with great freedom upon the subject of the talents. In the afternoon I spoke from these words: "Behold what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God." I had much freedom in presenting before our brethren the great dignity conferred upon them in being the acknowledged sons of God. The meeting was prolonged till near sunset, giving all the privilege of witnessing for Christ and the truth. Many testimonies were borne, and humble confessions made. All seemed desirous to put away their lukewarmness, and let their example testify to their neighbors that there was a power in the truth they professed, to refine the life and elevate the character. We were made sensible of the fact that inaction in the cause of God will eventually destroy confidence in God. Evening after the Sabbath, Elder Haskell spoke to the people upon the message to the Laodiceans. Sunday morning was clear and cold. In the morning meeting Elder Haskell explained the tract and missionary work, and at the usual hour for preaching he spoke upon the Sabbath. Sunday afternoon there was quite a large outside attendance, considering the meeting was located so far from the thoroughfare of travel. I spoke with freedom upon Christ weeping over Jerusalem, and the barren fig-tree. Elder Haskell spoke again in the evening. Monday morning at nine o'clock I spoke to the brethren from the third chapter of Malachi. We then called for those to come forward who wanted to be Christians and who had not the evidence of their acceptance with God. About thirty responded. Some were seeking the Lord for the first time, and some who were members of other churches were taking their position upon the Sabbath. We gave all an opportunity to speak. The free Spirit of the Lord was in our midst. After prayer had been offered for those who had come forward, candidates for baptism were examined. Six were baptized. In the afternoon Elder Haskell brought before the people the necessity of placing reading matter in private families, especially the three volumes of Spirit of Prophecy, and the four volumes of Testimonies. These could be read aloud during the long winter evenings by some member of the family, so that all the family might be instructed. I then spoke of the necessity of parents properly educating and disciplining their children. The greatest evidence that the world can have of the power of Christianity is to present to them a well-ordered, well-disciplined family. This will recommend the truth as nothing else can, for it is a living witness of its practical power upon the heart. The spirit of the Lord rested upon us in this our closing meeting. Tuesday morning the camp was early astir, striking their tents and preparing to return to their homes, it is to be hoped better Christians than when they came to the meeting. MRS. E. G. WHITE. Are There No Changes?
By R. F. Cottrell
THE predicted signs have been seen in the heavens above us, and among the nations of the earth there is distress and perplexity. The sun, moon and stars have borne their testimony to the truth of our Saviour's predictions, and the angry elements of earth portend approaching wrath, being the agents of death in various ways, by earthquakes, storms and plagues, inundations, conflagrations and pestilences. And are there any ominous changes in the moral world? Speaking of the signs of the last days, Jesus said, "And because iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold." Matt 24:12. In agreement with this, an apostle left this prediction: "This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come; for men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemous, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, without natural affections, truce-breakers, false accusers, incontinent, fierce, despisers of those that are good, traitors, heady, highminded, lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God; having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof." 2 Tim. 3:1-5. This testimony shows that iniquity will abound, not only in the world at large, but also with those who have a form of godliness. Are these predictions being verified in our own days? From the testimonies of the press, both religious and secular, they are. The records of crimes of all sorts are so terrible that one can hardly open a newspaper which gives the news of the day without a shudder. Iniquity of the most flagrant character abounds, in high as well as in low places, in the church as well as in the outside world. Men of observing minds testify to the rapid increase of crime. Indeed every person of twenty years' observation can see that murder and the most revolting and outrageous crimes have fearfully increased in that length of time. Since the war of the rebellion, human life has seemed much cheaper than before. Closely allied to the increasing wickedness of the last days are the "false prophets" and "lying wonders" predicted by Christ and the apostles. Matt. 24:24. 2 Thess. 2:9. In fulfillment of these predictions, Spiritualism has arisen in our days to advocate the first great lie ever uttered to our race—"Ye shall not surely die," Gen. 3:4; and with it, infidelity and immorality, open or half concealed, to throw off all restraint from the wickedly disposed, break down the distinction between vice and virtue, and set at defiance law and order, human and divine. The spirits communicating are not the spirits of the dead; but they are, according to Rev. 16:14, "The spirits of devils working miracles, which go forth to the kings of the earth and of the whole world, to gather them to the battle of the great day of God Almighty." Their last work will be immediately followed by the coming of Christ, for at this point he says, "Behold, I come as a thief." It is the united testimony of the best minds that infidelity and crime are fearfully on the increase. All things do not continue as they were in this respect. And these were foretold as signs of the last days. The cup of iniquity is fast filling up. The great day of the Lord is at hand; and as a destruction from the Almighty shall it come. As it was in the days of Noah and of Lot, when God poured out his wrath upon the unbelieving and wicked, "Even thus," said Jesus, "shall it be in the day when the Son of man shall be revealed." Who will be able to stand in that day? Those who "keep the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus." Rev. 14:12. R. F. COTTRELL. Which Is the Seventh Day?
By H. A. St. John
If I could tell which the seventh day is, I would keep it. How do we know which is the seventh day? May not Sunday be the seventh day? These, and many like them, are expressions ever falling upon the ear of the advocate of the observance of the fourth commandment. Now there are many ways of answering these frivolous cavils and flimsy excuses, as they most certainly are, but one only will I give here. Right here it may be observed, however, that rarely is a person thus confused about the numbering of the days of the week, until his duty to observe the seventh day is clearly manifest from the Scriptures. It may be further noticed that many who admit the binding obligation of the ten commandments, will go along for months, and even years, excusing themselves for trampling under foot the fourth commandment, with, "We can't tell which the seventh day is." Consistency is a jewel indeed. Are the ten commandments binding? This must be regarded as a primary question. If the ten commandments are binding, the fourth commandment is, most assuredly, for there are not ten without it. And if the fourth commandment is binding, the Lord requires the observance of the seventh-day Sabbath. And if it be duty to keep the seventh day, we can tell which it is. To say otherwise, would be to represent that God requires that of his creatures which it is impossible for them to perform, thus making our all-wise Creator unjust and tyrannical. The requisitions of Jehovah must harmonize with his attributes. God commands the observance of the seventh day as the holy Sabbath of the Lord. We may, therefore, know which it is. The fifth commandment reads, "Honor thy father and thy mother, that thy days may be long upon the land which the Lord thy God giveth thee." Now it would be utterly impossible to keep this commandment if we could not tell who father and mother were, but there is no trouble here. By the testimony of father and mother, and disinterested friends, we have no doubt of our parentage. So, likewise, by the fourth commandment itself, and the testimony of christendom, we need have no doubt as to the true seventh day. We know our parents no more certainly than we may know the holy Sabbath of the Lord. Eighteen thousand heathen in Tinnevelly, India, applying for baptism is one of the most extraordinary instances of missionary progress that has ever occurred. We do not wonder that the bishop of Madras, in whose diocese this is taking place, should appoint a day of thanksgiving to Almighty God, and also call upon his brethren elsewhere to unite with him and his clergy in offering praises to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. There always has been much to discourage earnest Christians since the organization of the Christian church. The apostles, in after years, must have looked back upon the defection of Judas and their own cowardice and denials with shame and sorrow. And since then there never has been a time when everything in the church looked well. At present there is much to discourage; among prominent evils, not now to speak of scandals to Christianity, the lack of seriousness and earnestness is apparent. So we may turn to this great event in far-off India and bless Christ that he has not left himself without witness to his love and power in these dark days.—Southern Churchman. Reports from the Field.
By Editor
(Condensed from Review and Herald.) JOHNSEN.—Elder Hutchins reports a good quarterly meeting held here, October 19 and 20. Brother Peebles, president of the Sabbath-school association, was present. He manifested a deep interest in the Sabbath-school cause, and contemplates steps to awaken life and activity in this important branch of the work. FORKS OF CREEK.—Brother Ballou writes: "We are giving a brief course of lectures. The interest is deepening and extending in all this region. The Genoa church have taken a club of twenty-six SIGNS to use in the tract work. Three more have accepted the truth at Ludlowville, and two at this place, since our last report." THE FIELD AT LARGE.—Elder G. W. Colcord reports having visited four places since General Conference, and at each place he was much encouraged in regard to the work in this State. At Gibson a church was organized. Good meetings are in progress at Princeville. NOBLESVILLE.—Elder S. H. Lane writes: "The interest was good during our seven weeks' stay here and the turnout large. Many became deeply interested. Thirty-six signed the covenant, thirty-two of whom embraced the truth during the meetings. Some are keeping the Sabbath who have not signed the covenant. Forty, in all, commenced to live out the truth. Sold over $40 worth of books, and obtained several subscribers for our papers. To the Lord be all the praise for success in his cause." GREEN RIDGE.—Elders Wood and McReynolds report: "Our tent-meeting at this place closed with a good audience. Five weeks ago there were four in this vicinity keeping the Sabbath; they acknowledge themselves much benefited. Seven took a decided stand on the truth, so we leave a company of eleven. If they are faithful, we believe God will lead others to unite with them soon. A more persistent effort, in an underhanded way, to keep people from obeying all the commandments of God, we never saw; but God gives the victory." PLEASANT GROVE.—October 26 and 27, Elder W. B. Hill met with the brethren here. Sabbath morning he spoke on the importance of teaching the young the truth. At this meeting four, all children of Sabbath-keepers, signified their determination to live Christian lives. Sunday, a Sabbath-school was organized, after which Elder Hill spoke to a large and attentive congregation of those not of our faith. Sunday afternoon the power of God seemed to rest down upon the people. Tears flowed freely, and when the call was made for those who were willing to renew their covenant to rise, nearly every one in the house responded. THE HOME CIRCLE.
By H. E. Ward
We were orphans, Minnie and I, and we lived in the great brown house just over the hill. Our parents had both been dead many, very many years, and having no other relatives that we knew of, we were left alone as it were, she at the age of fourteen, I, at the age of ten. Yet not alone, for two old and faithful servitors of our father had remained with us, as they had ever stood by our family through good report and through ill, in prosperity and adversity. They asked no wages, else we should have been compelled to part with them, but from boyhood up I had resolved to repay them in some way, for the disinterested faithfulness which alone had enabled us to get along and maintain a semblance of respectability—which had enabled me to secure an education qualifying me for almost any part in life. When I used to confide my day-dreams in boyhood to old Thomas and his wife, they used always to laugh, and declared that they should both find their last resting-place on earth long before I was old enough to enter into the stern realities of the great battle of life. But as years passed, and I grew up to manhood's estate, they ceased to talk thus, only saying they were amply repaid for all their service by our gratitude, and the pleasure of serving us. I had entered the profession of law, and was employed in pouring over old dusty volumes of eminent jurists, with an earnest determination to overcome every impediment to my progress, when the advance waves of the great temperance reform which swept over the country just after John Hawkins and his confreres had signed the pledge in the Baltimore bar-room, and when the gentleman who spoke in our village said that more laborers were needed, a sudden desire to benefit my fellow-men rushed over me, and forgetting Coke, and Blackstone, and Littleton, I dropped my law books and entered the temperance field as a lecturer. I became successful at once, beyond my most sanguine expectations. Thousands thronged to hear me speak, and old men, degraded by long years of inebriation, as well as many of those who were comparatively but just entering the fatal path, came forward tearfully to sign the redeeming pledge. At last I was called to go to the metropolis, and there the way I was to reward the kind friends, who under the name of servants had remained steadfast through our season of adversity, came upon me like a flash. Old Thomas and Mary once had a son, a truly noble-hearted boy, yet wayward, who had for some petty misdemeanor fallen under the ban of the law, and had fled from his home to the vast Babylon whither I was going. They had heard from him but once after he went away, and then he had written them that he had been involved in the vortex of intoxication and that they must forget one who was unworthy of their love. I was old enough when this letter was written to comprehend its purport, its wild despairing pathos, and the agony which they endured. Now, I resolved to seek him if he were yet living, though to search for him within the immense city seemed almost a task of utter hopelessness. I resolved to seek him and save him, were it possible. Fortified with my resolution, I searched the city, and a wearisome task it was, but I found him at last, in one of the lowest purlieus, plunged deep into the great gulf of shame and misery which surrounds the drunkard and the sot. I found him, and then commenced my herculean task of reclaiming one who seemed to have lost all sense of honor, all manhood, and even all shame. Many times the case seemed hopeless, but remembering the debt of gratitude to his aged father and mother, I did not yield one moment to despair. At last my efforts were successful. We had held an unusually interesting meeting near the Five Points, and at its close many came forward to sign the pledge, and he came also, and I saw at once a look in his eye I had never seen before—a look which told me he would keep it. I waited and saw the firmness of his resolution put to the test—waited until I was sure he was saved, and then I went South to continue the work. It was in 1860, and the war clouds were already gathering upon the horizon of our nationality. Ere my work was completed they broke in a dreadful storm of fratricidal war, and then for terrible days, and months, and years, I found myself isolated from my home—shut in with the ambition-blinded men of the confederacy. During all this time I received no word from home, nor was I able to communicate with any beyond "the lines." I knew not what had become of my sister, I could form no conjecture in relation to the state of affairs at the North, and I suffered the keenest agony to think that when the hour of my deliverance should come, she might be in her grave, and my former friends gone forever. I rejoiced when I was pressed into the southern army, because I believed it would afford me an opportunity to escape by desertion. But I was closely watched, and it was a long time before the opportunity came, as it finally did. I did not tarry long after finding myself once more under the glorious folds of the stars and stripes before I hurried to the village we called our home. And fervently did I thank God that my sister was still spared. But I found many changes had taken place during the long, dark interval since 1860. Old Thomas and his wife were now sleeping side by side in the green churchyard, dying rejoicingly over their son "who was lost, and had been found"—who had returned in season to comfort them, as hand in hand they descended together into the shadows of the dark valley. And my name lingered gratefully upon their lips as when dying they held the hand of the reclaimed one within their own, and bade him ever stand by the cause and the men that carried the glad news of redemption to the poor victims of the hydra-evil. And Minnie, my sister. She was indeed changed from the gay-hearted, blithesome girl I had left when I went away. She had been married a year, she informed me, and declared that wifely cares had made her more sober, and that was all; but I, looking through the sharpened eyes of love, could plainly see that there was something deeper than that—something in her home that was not as it should be. I did not discover the real trouble for a long while, but one day a certain unsteadiness in her husband's gait revealed the key to the whole matter, and it was that my brother-in-law was a drunkard. I had seen him enough to know that he was naturally an excellent and kind-hearted man, and I knew she almost idolized him. But he had ventured within the meshes of the tempter's snare, and had fallen. Of course I went to work with all the power I possessed to effect his redemption, but for some reason which I did not understand, every effort seemed unavailing. My almost frantic appeals only seemed to deepen his craving for the intoxicating cup, and I was compelled at last to almost despair. Then it was that the son of old Thomas and Mary, the man I had rescued from degradation in New York, came forward in a new and unexpected guise. For, after the death of his parents, moved by their last request, he had resolved that ignorant and unlettered as he was, he would enter the temperance field as a lecturer, and he hoped by telling his own story in the simplest language, to be able to reach many whom a man never under the power of the demon could not. He had soon proved himself really eloquent, and was now one of the most popular and effective speakers in the State. The organization under whose auspices he was acting, as I must believe through a special Providence, chanced to send him to our village. I happened to be present at an assembly where he was to lecture, he saw me and came to speak with me. I related to him the peculiarities of my brother-in-law's case, and my inability to help him. "Is he here?" he inquired. "Then God helping me I will save him," he said, casting his eyes heavenward. And giving me one more cordial clasp of the hand, he returned to the platform and began to speak. Seldom have I listened to such words of burning eloquence as fell from his lips that night. I was wrapt—carried away as it were by the irresistible torrent of his soul-moving utterance, until I forgot everything, save that the speaker's lips seemed touched with a coal from the altar, like unto that Ezekiel saw in the vision. First he pictured the downward career of the inebriate, from the time of his taking the first glass, in colors beside which all the words I had ever uttered on the subject seemed as but mockery. Then he portrayed the fearful power of appetite over its luckless victim with a lucidness and force which thrilled and melted every heart, and caused sympathetic tears to gush from eyes long unused to weep. Then he spoke of the awful struggles of the drunkard trying to reform, and his need of every earthly encouragement, as well as guidance from above. Then after telling of his own redemption, he begged if there were any in all that audience who had fallen like him, who had suffered as he had, and who wished to begin over, that they would come forward and sign the pledge. His language had been simple throughout, and his closing appeal was broken by sobs, but it came from the heart and went to the hearts of his hearers. How I thanked God, by whose aid I had rescued this man from the living death of the drunkard—who had given me the perseverance to overcome all difficulties in saving him. Ah! And I thanked him again, still more fervently, when I saw my poor inebriate brother-in-law rise erect from his seat in an obscure corner of the hall, and go up to the stand with such a look of resolution upon his countenance as I had never seen upon it, and in a firm bold hand, affix his signature. My heart was full to overflowing, and I scarcely saw the many who followed his example, for the blinding tears of joy. And when at the close of the meeting the speaker came to take my hand for adieu, I could not speak. But I pressed his hand in a clasp that meant more than words could express, and felt my eyes suffuse with tears. He understood me, and merely saying, while a radiant smile spread over his face like a halo, "Your brother-in-law is saved," passed on. He was saved. I, who had never known the awful reality of the drunkard's passion for liquor, had been powerless to move him, but before the earnest words of one who had passed through the same ordeal, his heart had responded in a chord of sympathy. The demon who had so long threatened the home of my sister had been driven forth forever, and in its place came peace and the joy of a newer, purer life. And to-day there is not a happier household in the land than her's, nor a brother-in-law of whom one has more reason to be proud than I of mine. Truly in our efforts to benefit others we often are benefiting ourselves when we least surmise it—the bread we cast upon the waters will often return to gladden our hearts when in sorest need.—H. E. Ward. Industry, Economy, Success.
WITHOUT industry and economy there is no success. These are required on the farm, in the shop and the professions, if one would achieve success and produce capital. Without economy industry is profitless work, and without industry there is nothing to economize. The two, like prayers and alms, go well together, and should never be separated. It sometimes happens—as, for instance, in the present depressed condition of trade—that the most industrious are without employment; but this is the exception to the rule, for generally speaking, where there is a will there is a way, and where industry is impatient for work something turns up.343 The industrious man will work for half a loaf rather than be idle. There are men who, because they cannot get a secretaryship at three thousand five hundred dollars a year, or a consulship from the government, will remain idle year after year, ever waiting for something to turn up. There is plenty for them to do, but the work is beneath them; so they open borrowing accounts with acquaintances, which are closed temporarily by fresh loans from others. In this way considerable capital is procured, and if the account be managed with tact, it runs for a season. There are plenty of such proud loafers everywhere. They are not confined to New York, but are found in every state in the Union, and in every nation of the world. The corresponding class among the bees are instantly killed and hauled away from the hive. What is the reason that often there is so much trouble in the family? It arises frequently from the shameful fact that so many members are drones, producing nothing. We have too many idle consumers in too many families. The divine declaration is that "if any would not work neither should he eat;" and it is one of those laws which sooner or later assert their force. It is right that the idle and wasteful man should get among the swine and feel the pinch of hunger. That very often brings him to his senses, when he returns to his father's house and again enjoys the good things which industry and correct living always guarantee. Why is it that so many families, which were once in comfortable circumstances, are now without food or clothes? The answer is near; for ten and twenty years they did daily violence to the laws of economy. In their prosperous time they made no provision for the rainy day of adversity, nor were they ever troubled about their poorer neighbors who, through sickness or misfortune, were unable to get on; they never gave them a helping hand. In this wreck family industry was not at fault, for the parents worked early and late, but the fruits of that industry were used up as fast as produced. Pride levied heavy taxes, and the duty and pleasure of economy were unknown. In the course of twenty-five years the members of the family wasted tens of thousands of dollars on drinks, cigars and enfeebling luxuries. They are reminded now that their condition is the effect of an unalterable law, which takes from the fools and gives to the wise. That is an ill-regulated family in which every member is not daily employed at something useful. The butterfly is, in the end, ashes.—N. Y. Witness. Praise costs thee nothing; yet to say "well done"
To him who hath well done indeed is meet;
Such words of praise make life itself more sweet
To every faithful worker who hath won
The right to thine approval. Grudge not praise
Lest thou defraud thy brother of his dues;
Yet do not seek mere honeyed words to use
To gain him for thy purposes or ways
Not for his benefit. Keep on thy mind
The Golden Rule of Christ, and thou wilt find
Thou canst approve of e'en the humblest deed
That seeks to satisfy some human need
With generous intent. O, strive to be
Ready with kind, appreciative word,
To every one whose sympathies are stirred
To sweet activities, and thou wilt see
Good everywhere abounds, and grow more bold
To speak that praise thy lips cannot withhold,
With eloquence of love that doth not wait
For prejudice of caste, profession, creed,
But weighs the man by honest worth of deed,
And to speak truth dares never hesitate.
Perhaps some word of thine, like good seeds cast
Into the soil of life, may at the last
Bear glorious fruit in some achievement vast.
—C. E. P., in Christian Register. All disease is the result of the violation of some physical law. The old notions of disease which supposed it to be the infliction of an enraged demon, or the manifestation of some malignant entity, were long since abandoned. Perfect obedience to all the laws of health will secure perfect freedom from disease. Unfortunately, it is quite impossible, under existing circumstances, that every law should be obeyed, and hence more or less suffering must of necessity exist; but he who can make the nearest approach to entire compliance with the requirements of nature will be blessed with the nearest approximation to absolute immunity from disease and its consequences. Especially true is this principle with reference to the particular disease we are considering. An individual who avoids causes of disease cannot be a dyspeptic; while the person who habitually exposes himself to those morbific agents, must inevitably pay the penalty of his transgression of the laws of nature. The best, and in fact the only preventive of indigestion is careful attention to all the requirements of the various hygienic agents. We will consider, briefly, each of the more important of the agents which tend to preserve the organs of alimentation in a healthy condition. Many of the errors in diet which lead to indigestion have been alluded to under the head of causes. Of course, the employment of proper food instead of that which would be injurious is only preventive in a negative sense, except as it conduces to the maintenance of the general health. It is, however, of the highest importance that the aliment taken should be of a quality the very best suited to supply the wants of the system. To be such, it must at least possess each of the following qualities:— 1. It must be organic; that is, vegetable or animal. The vegetable kingdom alone possesses the power to assimilate inorganic matter. The human system cannot appropriate or convert into tissue any other than organized material; hence the absurdity of mingling with the food such materials as soda, saleratus, cream tartar, salt, or other minerals. Long use may have made some of these articles very necessary to please the palate; but the system does not require them, cannot make any use of them, and is obliged to expend its vitality in expelling them from its domain. The administration of iron as a "blood food," and the use of such articles as the various preparations of lime for the bones, are very reprehensible practices, and are productive of much injury to the digestive organs. 2. It should be such as has been proved by experience to be of undoubted value as an aliment; for it is not simply requisite that an article should be of organic nature to make it good food. Some of the worst poisons are organic. 3. It should be unconcentrated in its character. Many of the products of the vegetable kingdom are excellent foods until damaged by the refining processes to which they are subjected by man with a view to improvement. Thus, fine flour is the result of the bolting process. Its value as a food is small, not only because by this process it is deprived of some of its most essential nutrient properties, but by its concentration it is rendered a very productive source of constipation, and all its attendant evils. Sugar is another article which in any but very moderate quantities is also very objectionable on account of its concentration. 4. It must possess no irritating or acrid properties. All articles possessing such qualities are more properly medicines than foods. If a person has become accustomed to their use, he should not delay to commence the work of ridding himself of the habit, even though he may feel no ill effects; for they must ultimately produce irreparable injury. They may be abandoned at once, or by degrees; according to the condition of the particular individual making the change. Fermented bread is a very poor article when compared with that which is properly made as directed in a following article. Vegetable food is much preferable to animal for many reasons; chiefly, because it is more natural, unstimulating, untainted by disease, and hence conducive to health. Modern cookery is the most powerful ally of the doctor and the undertaker. It takes articles of food which nature has provided in a condition well suited to man’s wants, and renders them the most powerful disease producing agents. The object of cookery should be not merely to cater to perverted tastes and depraved appetites, but to assist digestion by rendering the food more readily soluble in the digestive fluids. Such culinary operations as pickling, seasoning, and shortening, are in no way promotive of digestion, but quite the contrary. "Fried" food is one of the most indigestible of all the productions of modern cookery. Simplicity should be the constant aim in the preparation of food. The stomach is overtaxed when called upon to dispose of a great variety of articles with their differing properties. To sum up the requirements of hygiene with reference to food, we may say, 1. Eat only the most healthful. 2. Eat that in sufficient quantity, but carefully avoid excess. 3. Observe the strictest regularity with regard to meals, never eating at unseasonable hours, nor more than three times a day; two meals are preferable, in most cases, to three. 4. Let the food be eaten in a proper manner, being careful to secure thorough mastication. 5. If possible, always secure a half hour’s rest both before and after each meal. 6. Never eat when the mind is disturbed by great agitation of a depressing nature, as grief or anxiety. Maintain cheerfulness while partaking of food, as it is very conducive to good digestion. To this end, cheerful conversation should always be encouraged at the table. Water is the only drink. Whatever may be the substances which are substituted for pure water, their whole value is measured by the amount of water which they contain. As a general thing, the purer the water the better fitted it is for quenching thirst and ministering to the wants of the body. The only exceptions to this rule are the few cases in which the addition of some pleasant and wholesome vegetable acid to the drink renders it a more grateful beverage. Pure soft water is the only kind fit to use, notwithstanding the absurd asseverations of some physicians that hard water is more healthful. Experience proves the contrary. Water should not be drunk at meals. If the food is of the proper quality, and is properly masticated, there will be no desire for drink while eating. Those who have been accustomed to drinking very largely of hot or cold beverages at meals will be able to overcome the habit without much difficulty by drinking a little cool water fifteen minutes before the meal. By so doing, there will be sufficient time for the absorption of the fluid before the food reaches the stomach. Tea, coffee, chocolate, cocoa, and all substitutes, should be avoided, as they are in no respect beneficial, while they are productive of much positive injury, as already explained under the head of causes of dyspepsia. In districts where soft water is not afforded by wells or springs, rain water should be collected in cisterns, and filtered as used.