MR. OSCAR S. STRAUS not long since received an appointment to membership in the Hague Arbitration Tribunal. This brings back to our mind the memory of the fact that a few years ago, May, 1899, there was held in the Belgian capital an International Peace Congress; that as the result of that peace congress a tribunal of arbitration was established, to which all great international questions that threatened the peace of the world were to be referred for arbitration.
“The Departure:” the Genius of War Summoning the Nations to Arms.
The question now arises, What has become of it? and what has come of it? We were instructed to believe that we were about to enter upon the millennium of universal peace; and with it all there was sounded in many parts of the world the unscriptural cry of “peace and safety.” The prediction was freely made that we were entering upon a time when the world would begin to make agricultural implements out of the weapons of war. But the Word of God was against it, and so what do we find?
The two wars which were in progress when that tribunal was established are still doing their deadly business; two have been fought out, and one of them has left in heathen hearts a hatred more bitter than ever before existed, thus planting the seeds of another and more extensive and terrible war; and two revolutions in existence then are in existence now, while international complications are becoming more intricate and more dangerous.
When the czar’s proposition was issued, a shout of exultation went up from many quarters of the earth; for here was a country bristling with bayonets, studded with cannon, and inmailed in Krupp steel, ostensibly turning toward peace herself and counseling other nations similarly equipped to follow her lead out of the blood-soaked arena and into the food-laden fields of industry. The other nations responded—they must do it or virtually accuse Russia of a lack of real sincerity; but they went into it with their war colors nailed to the mast, their cartridge-belt full, and their sword strapped to their hand; and they came out of the congress as they went in, and the business of legalized slaughter got a fresh impetus. Witness, Blagovestchensk with its river of dead; witness, rural China with its smoking homes and its blistering corpses strewing the toil-worn footpaths; witness, the unending and intertwining red-wet trail in South Africa and the Philippines; witness the unprecedented preparation for war in every quarter of the globe; and witness, the mocking fact that in all this history of blood not one international question has yet been submitted to the great arbitration tribunal of The Hague. Individual nations distrust it. They either do not believe in the sincerity of its creation, or fear a loss of prestige in submitting to its decisions. Human selfishness is not yet ready to abdicate its throne to make way for the advocate of a brother’s rights—and there never will come a time in the history of this present world when it will be ready to take such a step. The Word of God is perfectly plain on this one point, that wickedness will increase until it is cut short in its destruction at the hand of Christ Himself. Matt. 24: 30-31. There will be no gradual coming of Christ into His kingdom through a gradual superseding of the ways of sin by the ways of righteousness; no gradual cessation of war and incoming of peace through the instrumentality of an international court of arbitration. That idea is a plan of the deceiver to blind the eyes of men to the great consummation that is hasting on.
The arbitration tribunal has failed, has come to naught, as all who knew and believed God’s Word knew that it must do. The nations will not throw aside the sword for the scythe, the bayonet for the hay-fork, the loaded cannon for the loaded wain. It is not so written. The world continues to forge ahead toward that climax which God has said would come, and we need to listen to His voice in order that we be not overtaken in its overthrow. No ornamental peace tribunal can alter what God has said would be, and we must not trust in any such delusive hope. S.
DIVORCE COMPLICATIONS.
Marriage with Co-respondents. The Rights of Children.
THERE has been a good deal of comment of late on the fact that in the marriages of divorced persons a very large majority are with co-respondents or persons who might have been co-respondents.
The New York World cites the following authenticated instance to show in what complications such marriages may result: “A well-known New York woman, divorced from her husband in South Dakota seven months ago, has just married again in Indiana. Her former husband married, immediately after the divorce was granted, a woman whom he had ‘learned to love’ during his wife’s temporary absence from home, and who was divorced to marry him. Likewise the man whom the first wife has just married out West was divorced from his wife, by whom he had three children, that he might marry his new ‘affinity.’ To add to the complications of these triple divorces and remarriages, they would not be legal if contracted in the State where the parties originally lived. It only remains for the one deserted and unconsoled husband in this State to marry the abandoned wife out West to complete the serio-comic complexities and compensations of this medley of marriage-and-divorce up to date.”
A writer in the Outlook, who signs herself “Laica,” vouches for this incident: “Mrs. M., divorced, and with a son, married Mr. N., divorced, having a daughter, who remained with the former Mrs. N., who had also remarried. At a dancing-school these children met. Said the little girl, ‘So you have a new father at your house, I hear?’ ‘Yes,’ replied the little boy, ‘and a jolly good sort9he is, too—nicest chap I ever saw.’ ‘Pooh!’ said the little girl, ‘I know all about him; he was my father once.’” This writer continues: “Twelve years ago a young friend of mine in New York, just married, called my attention to one name on her visiting list as that of a woman who had been divorced and married again within a short time. It was the only name of the kind on the list. Last summer the same woman, a fashionable young matron, told me that her list now has the names of thirty-two such cases! In my own town, smaller than New York, I have counted up the divorced people I personally know. There are twenty-three cases. Of these, at least one out of each couple has married again, except in two instances, and of these two one died and the other is a Roman Catholic. Ten years ago I knew one case, and it was socially ostracized. Of the twenty-three cases I have just mentioned as personally known to me, only one couple had no children; therefore the light went out in twenty-two homes, as far as ‘home ideals’ to those children went. Allowing an average of three children to a family and twenty-two families, there will be in that small social world in the next generation sixty-six men and women minus much thought of home ties or their sacredness. Can any thinking person ask what will be the result on our morals?”
“The heart of all parenthood must throb with a great pity at the thought of the children of such second marriages as we have spoken of. But the children, ah! the children have come with no volition and have no redress, and their rights are only the rights we give them, and they can not claim them for themselves! An unwritten but universally accepted law forbids the marriage of those suffering from horrible mental or physical disease, for the sake of the possible children; why are we less careful in such cases of moral leprosy as divorced marriage threatens? For the sake of the actual children, are we not bound to take some measures for their protection? We must see that they get their rights. To secure pure morals in the next generation, this generation must live cleanly; and a high moral standard is an impossible product of homes where there are ‘exchanged partners.’”—Public Opinion.
Churches and Saloons in New York
The next time you hear complaint of the cost of maintaining churches, just remind the complainer of the following facts, taken from the Christian Work: “In the City of New York there are 114 Protestant churches, chapels, and places of worship of every kind in that part of the city below 14th street, and 4,065 liquor saloons. The worst part of the tenement population lives here, and it has the worst half of the saloons. Uptown the account stands somewhat better, but there are easily ten saloons to every church, and the congregations at these saloons are larger, and the attendance steadier, and the contributions far more liberal all the year round, Sunday included, than at any of the churches.”
The Cost of Charity and Its Causes
THE credit of $500,000,000 expended in the United States during 1901 for charitable purposes, is somewhat depreciated by the $1,100,000,000 spent for the stuff that produces objects of charity. Invest this enormous sum in legitimate business, and what a change would be wrought.
Boer Surrender Talks Continue
THE Boer leaders in South Africa who were permitted to pass through the British lines to consult over the matter of surrender, are still in conference, and the Boer leaders in Europe are also conferring over the matter. Several sharp skirmishes have occurred during the week with little gain to either side. England has asked Canada to furnish another contingent of 2,000 mounted men for service in South Africa.
Choctaws Appeal for Government Aid
Ten thousand members of the Choctaw Nation of Indian Territory are appealing to the government for assistance through their principal chief. This great body of the Choctaws is said to be in very destitute circumstances. The chief states that if the general distress is not alleviated, their condition threatens to become serious.
Rebellion in Santo Domingo
A REBELLION has broken out in the republic of Santo Domingo. The rebels captured one town of considerable importance, but government troops later recaptured the place. The government has decreed that martial law be declared throughout the entire republic, and severe measures are being taken to put down the insurrection.
Explosion in the Nelson Mine
By an explosion of gas and coal dust in the Nelson Mine at Dayton, Tenn., on March 31, 22 men are believed to have lost their lives. Ten of the bodies of the dead were recovered on the day of the explosion.
Severe Storms and Floods
SEVERE storms have raged throughout the East, South, and Northwest during the week, accompanied in some places by floods, which have occasioned considerable loss of life and much damage to property. The worst floods have been in Tennessee, where 22 persons are reported to have lost their lives, and where the damage to property is placed in the millions. Michigan and Nebraska have been swept by heavy winds that have carried destruction of property with them. On March 30, a severe tornado swept through portions of Pennsylvania, Ohio, and West Virginia. Some lives were lost in the track of this storm, and many buildings were wrecked or damaged. Six Presbyterian churches were in the track of the tornado, and suffered more or less damage. In some of them a number of persons were injured by falling chimneys or portions of falling roofs. In North Dakota the railroads have been compelled to cease operations on account of the floods there.
Russia's Hold on Manchuria
THE conviction is being strengthened in all quarters that Russia will never leave Manchuria. A Russian officer is reported as saying that the Anglo-Japanese agreement sealed the political destiny of Manchuria, which now would never pass out of Russia's possession. The brigandage existing there will be used as a justification for retaining the powerful Russian army in that province, and when that is put down, the army would remain to preserve the peace. A report from Berlin states that Germany has stated to a representative of the United States that she would not oppose Russia's desire in that part of China. An agreement between Russia and China respecting Manchuria is about to be signed. Russia herself is reported as saying to the United States that she would not evacuate Manchuria until ample guarantees had been given for the preservation of order, but that she would respect the principle of the "open door."
Cecil Rhodes’s Death and Bequest
CECIL RHODES, whose life has been so intimately connected with the development of South Africa, and through whose influence the railroad and telegraph are pushing their way up from South Africa to North Africa, died at Cape Town on March 26, after an illness of some weeks. He has been, without question, the most striking and resourceful character connected with the history of South Africa. A report from London states that the bulk of his great fortune was left, by the provisions of his will, to the cause of education; that is, to the intellectual betterment of the British race throughout the world, and the fostering of the imperial sentiment.
Unrest in the Balkans
GRAVE trouble seems imminent in Macedonia, Albania, and Bulgaria. Montenegro is contemplating an invasion of Albania in behalf of the persecuted Christians. Encounters have occurred between Turkish troops and citizens of Bulgaria on the frontier; and the chairman of the Macedonian revolutionary committee is planning for a general uprising against the Ottoman rule. Turkey is making energetic military preparations to forestall the uprising. The reports from Athens state that the outlook is disquieting.
Tax Riots in Chili, China
HUNDREDS of persons are reported to have been slain in the province of Chili, China, in riots connected with the collection of indemnities. The people, having refused to pay the indemnities, banded themselves together in what they called the United Villagers' Society, and resisted the soldiers sent to assist the tax-gatherers. In the pitched battle which followed, the villagers were practically slaughtered, having no weapons with which to defend themselves against the modern arms of the soldiers.
Capture of General Norel
NOREL, the last Filipino general in the field in Luzon with the exception of Malvar, has been captured by a part of the Twenty-eighth Infantry. General Smith, who is in command of the American forces in Samar, is arranging with the Filipino general Guevarra for the surrender of that officer’s forces. The Senate committee on the Philippines has completed its consideration of the bill prescribing a form of government for the islands, and the measure will be taken up without delay.
Danish West Indies Sale Bribery Inquiry
ON March 27 a committee of seven was appointed by the House of Representatives to investigate the charge that the sale of the Danish West Indies to the United States was being effected through bribery of members of Congress. A genuine sensation was caused by the reading of the charges in the House. The agents of the Danish Government maintain that the charges of bribery are groundless and originated among the Danish opponents of the sale.
German Women Admitted as University Guests
GERMAN women are said to be admitted to the lecture rooms of the universities only as “guests,” after passing a rigid examination, and later degrees as “guests” may be conferred on those who are able to pass the graduation examination. Recently the government has decided that women be admitted into the preparatory schools leading into the professions and universities, but still only as “guests.”
Gambling Flourishes in New York City
Reports from New York City state that the reform administration has utterly failed to suppress gambling in that city; that the gamblers are all busy, and declare that their business was never better, and every kind of game is running.
Virginia’s New Suffrage Plan
A REPORT from Richmond, Va., states that a suffrage plan has finally been agreed upon by the constitutional convention of Virginia, under which it is expected that the negro vote will be practically eliminated.
A Substitute for Sleep
FASHIONABLE society in London is reported to be indulging in a new drug which is used as a substitute for sleep. The evil results of trying to substitute a drug for sleep are said to be already conspicuously noticeable in those who use the drug. It is another one of the devices of Satan to undermine and destroy manhood and womanhood, and render the soil of the soul so barren that no seed of truth can find nourishment there.
Conditions in the Boer Camps
Frederick Taylor, a fellow of the Royal Geographical Society, who has been investigating the conditions in the Boer camps in Ceylon and the Bermudas, reports that in the latter place the Boer camps are in good condition and the prisoners well looked after; but that in Ceylon the conditions were not so good nor the prisoners so well cared for.
Allied Party Convention in Louisville
A CONVENTION of what is to be known as the Allied Party will be held at Louisville, Ky., on April 22. The allied parties to be represented at this convention are the Socialists, Union Labor, the Union Reformers of Ohio, the Public Ownership party of St. Louis, the Liberal Party of Ohio, and the Union Christian party.
Trouble Expected with the Yaqui Indians
The Mexican Government is expecting more trouble with the Yaqui Indians, and has advised all foreigners to get out of that part of the country as quickly as possible. The Yaquis are gathering arms and ammunition with which to carry on their warfare as soon as hostilities begin.
Interstate Commerce Act Enforcement
THE Interstate Commerce Commission has announced its purpose to force all railroads to a strict observance of the interstate commerce act. The commission proposes to go about its work entirely independent of the injunction suits which are now pending against the railroads.
Mutiny in the Italian Army
A REPORT from Milan, Italy, states that a practical mutiny has occurred in the Italian army. The reservists who were called out in the time of the threatened railroad strike, are demanding that they be sent home on account of rumors that they were to be sent to Tripoli.
Growth of Fraternal Societies
There is said to be a continual and increasing growth in fraternalism in this country. Fraternal societies in the United States now have a membership of 4,000,000, and it is claimed that over $50,000,000 a year is paid out to relatives of deceased members.
Boracic Acid Food Imports
THE government is preparing to prevent the importation of all articles of food containing boracic acid. This is a move in retaliation for similar action that has been taken by Germany against the food products coming from the United States containing boracic acid.
Honey Production by State
Of the honey-producing States of the Union, Texas takes the lead, with 4,780,000 pounds. California comes next with 3,667,000 pounds, and New York third with 3,342,000 pounds. The year's yield for the whole country amounted to 61,196,160 pounds.
Federation of Great Milling Interests
FINAL steps have been taken in the federation of the great milling interests of the country. This combination of milling associations represents a capital of $400,000,000 and a flour output capacity of 100,000,000 barrels per year.
Two German Leaders Dead
DURING the week Germany has lost two of her most prominent men, the Count Von Munster, one of her foremost diplomats, and Dr. Ernst Lieber, the leader of the Centrist, or Catholic, party in the Reichstag.
Nicaragua Canal Bill
It is the plan of the leaders in Congress to take up the Nicaragua Canal bill as soon as the Chinese Exclusion bill has been acted upon. The discussion of the latter is expected to begin this week.
American Tobacco Trust Alarms England
THE success of the American tobacco trust in England is causing alarm among English business men, who regard it as a forerunner of the invasion of England by other American trusts.
Britain Orders New Warships
THE British Government has just placed orders for the building of three first-class cruisers of high speed, and ten torpedo-boat destroyers which are to be the most powerful in existence.
Menelik’s Telephone Line
EMPEROR MENELIK of Abyssinia is reported to be building a telephone line from his capital to the Italian settlement in Erythrea. Italy furnishes the wire and Menelik the poles.
Russian Steamer Lands Rifles in Persia
A REPORT from Bombay states that the Russian subsidized steamer Korniloff, on her last visit to the Persian Gulf, landed 60,000 rifles at Benderabis, a Persian seaport.
Cholera Rages in Mecca and Medina
CHOLERA is now raging in Mecca and Medina, Arabia, and 1,129 deaths from that disease have occurred since the outbreak of the plague.
Plague Worsens in Punjab
The plague situation is reported to be growing worse in that portion of India known as the Punjab, where 70,000 deaths are reported monthly.
Rush to Thunder Mountain Gold Fields
A MINER'S rush has begun to the Thunder Mountain gold fields of Idaho, where rich ore and pay-dirt are reported to exist in large quantities.
Ellen M. Stone Returns from Captivity
Miss Ellen M. Stone, the American missionary who was captured by Bulgarian brigands, is now in England on her way to America.
Paris Building Underground Railways
PARIS is building a new system of underground railways consisting of seven new lines, at an approximate cost of $37,000,000.
Cholera Continues in Manila
THE plague of cholera continues its activity in Manila, 70 deaths having occurred since the plague was first reported.
SOME OF THE WONDERS OF THE HEAVENS.
By Frederick Griggs
To whom then will ye liken Me, or shall I be equal? saith the Holy One. Lift up your eyes on high, and behold who hath created these things, that bringeth out their host by number; He calleth them all by names by the greatness of His might, for that He is strong in power; not one faileth.” There is, perhaps, no other branch of science which reveals so clearly God’s greatness and majesty as do the heavens. The microscope reveals God’s exquisite finish of nature even in its very minutest parts. We may carry the analysis as far as we wish, and we yet have the most wonderful refinement of workmanship, none of which is too rude to bear the closest inspection. The telescope reveals the same minuteness and accuracy of workmanship, but on an infinitely more magnificent scale—great bodies hanging upon absolutely nothing and passing through various motions at the same time with the greatest precision.
I have spoken previously of our solar system, with its eight large planets, besides hundreds of smaller ones, revolving about the sun. These are held in space and confined to their regular orbit by that great law of God which we call gravitation. What a wonderful sight this solar system would present could we see it whirling through the heavens as a whole—the sun dashing on in its orbit, taking with it all of these planets at a rate of about three hundred miles per minute. “Could we plant ourselves immovably at a certain point in the celestial spaces, and see our sun go sailing by with all its glorious squadrons of planets and moons,—sailing down the abyss as if driven by ten thousand hurricanes,—would not the sight of such celerity almost irrecoverably daze both senses and spirit?” But this is but a small fraction of heaven’s grandeur. The magnificent distances and glories of heaven are an ocean compared to which our solar system is but a drop—a taper ’neath the noonday sun.
It has been clearly shown that our solar system is but one of a vast number of similar systems. Let us imagine ourselves sitting in space, with the power to see all of the planets as we would see individuals. Here is our system whirling along at such a terrific rate. Where is it going? We see another moving in a similar direction, and we find that all these systems are moving in an orderly arrangement. As we look at them, we discover that our earth, which we think is so large, is but a very small planet traveling around a small star, or sun, and that the suns of many of the other systems are far larger and more beautiful than ours.
NEBULA OF ANDROMEDA.
The distance between these systems is most stupendous. The nearest solar system is distant from the earth more “than one hundred thousand times one hundred ninety millions of miles. A most bewildering distance! According to the most recent authorities, it would take light itself, that fleetest of known travelers, that Mercury of science, whose pace is 186,000 miles a second, more than four years to sweep across it.” All the fixed stars that we can see are the suns of other solar systems. The more distant of the stars are so far away from the earth that it takes thousands of years for their light to reach us. This great distance can not be comprehended; for light will travel from California to England and back quicker than we can wink our eye. There are many thousands of these systems. I said a moment ago that our sun was one of the smallest known. Sirius has a light said to be equal to that of forty of our suns, and the polar star gives a light to its solar system much greater than that of Sirius to its system; and there are many other stars whose light is far greater than that of Polaris—even to several hundred times. “As we have seen, our sun is no trifle. Its astonishing orb . . . would weight down, eight hundred times over, its whole ponderous cortège of satellites, planets, and comets. And yet it is only one of the lesser lights of space; not the smallest indeed,—forbid it, little sixty-one Cygni,—but still a mere rushlight and glowworm as compared with many of the huge luminaries which pour their glories adown the immensity of nature. It could not remain visible a moment in the presence of such golden-haired and majestic day-kings as even Sirius and Polaris, to say nothing of those huge monarchs whose effulgence floods the celestial spaces.”
But this is not the end of this marvelous “wheel within a wheel” order of the heavens—the solar systems increase, forming new systems, circling around larger central suns, and in turn forming still larger systems, until we arrive at the nebula systems, of which our Milky Way is one, and to which system our own sun and its attendant satellites belong. And this nebula system forms a part of a still larger system, revolving around a still greater and perhaps the greatest of all centers, which may be the throne of God.
“Eighteen million suns belong to our firmament. More than four thousand such firmaments are visible; every increase of telescopic power adds to the number. Where are the frontiers—the last astronomical system, that remote spot beyond which no nebula, no world, glitters on the black bosom of eternal nothingness?”
“What right have we to stop just where the power of our instrument happens for the moment to have stopped, and say, ‘This is the end—these are the pillars of Hercules! Turn back, O adventurous explorer—nothing but night and void in this direction; thou hast reached the last outpost of the kingdom of the Eternal!’ No; thrice no. On still through peopled infinitude, through raining galaxies and tornado nebulae; and while thou goest outward still through the charging, storming hosts of suns, as long as thought can fly, or angels live, say ever to thyself, ‘Lo, these are parts of His ways; but how little a portion is heard of Him!’”
So. Lancaster, Mass.FREDERICK GRIGGS.
WHEN LINCOLN AND BEECHER PRAYED TOGETHER.
By Samuel Scoville, Jr.
[Samuel Scoville, Jr., in The Sunday School Times.]
DURING the year 1862, the hopes of the North were at their lowest ebb. It was in that year that the second battle of Bull Run had been fought and lost, McClellan was entrenched before Richmond, and the strength and resources of the nation seemed to have been fruitlessly wasted. Henry Ward Beecher was then in Brooklyn, and was perhaps more prominently associated with the cause of the North at that time than any other minister of the Gospel. He had preached and lectured and fought its battles in pulpit and press all over the country, had ransomed slaves from his pulpit, and his convictions and feelings were everywhere known.
Late one evening a stranger called at his home and asked to see him. Mr. Beecher was working alone in his study, as was his usual custom, and this stranger refused to send up his name, and came muffled in a military cloak which completely hid his face. Mrs. Beecher’s suspicions were aroused, and she was very unwilling that he should have the interview which he requested, especially as Mr. Beecher’s life had been frequently threatened by sympathizers with the South. The latter, however, insisted that his visitor be shown up. Accordingly the stranger entered, the doors were shut, and for hours the wife below could hear their voices and their footsteps as they paced back and forth. Finally, toward midnight, the mysterious visitor went out, still muffled in his cloak, so that it was impossible to gain any idea of his features.
The years went by, the war was finished, the President had suffered martyrdom at his post, and it was not until shortly before Mr. Beecher’s death, over twenty years later, that it was known that the mysterious stranger who had called on the stormy winter night was Abraham Lincoln. The stress and strain of those days and nights of struggle, with all the responsibilities and sorrows of a nation fighting for its life thrust upon him, had broken down his strength, and for a time undermined even his courage. He had traveled alone, in disguise and at night, from Washington to Brooklyn to gain the sympathy and help of one whom he knew as a man of God, engaged in the same great battle in which he was the leader. Alone for hours that night the two had wrestled together in prayer with the God of battles and the Watcher over the right, until they had received the help which He had promised to those who seek His aid. Whatever were the convictions and religious belief of Abraham Lincoln, there is no doubt that he believed in prayer, and made that the source of his strength.
TAKING POLISH.
By Ada D. Wellman
CERTAIN kinds of wood are much prized for furniture, and house-furnishing, and divers other purposes, because they “take a good polish.” The process employed to produce this polish has little effect upon some woods, and others would be roughened instead of smoothed thereby.11
These features of wood have a parallel in human nature. Thus an experience which is intended to beautify character, is stolidly endured by some, and produces in others the opposite of the desired result. These effects are not due to inherent qualities, as in the case of the timber, but depend upon the voluntary course of the individual; and sufficient effort will be made by the Master-Builder to make every soul beautiful enough to be used in that building of which Christ is the Foundation. Will we “take the polish”? ADA D. WELLMAN.
COME AND SEE.
By C. G.
“I've found a little linnet's nest
Up in the apple tree;
There are four small eggs—I counted them.
O mother, come and see!”
“My flowers are all a-blooming—
The ones you gave to me;
Some are pink and some are white.
O mother, come and see!”
“Biddy's hatched her chickens out,
She has ten and two and three;
They're just like little yellow balls!
O mother, come and see!”
“We've made the finest playhouse,
The best room yours shall be;
We'll hang our nicest pictures there.
O mother, come and see!”
This woman shaped her children's lives,
Tho cares pressed heavily;
She gained the keys to all their hearts
By going out “to see.”
C. G.
LIVES THAT LIFT.
By John G. Woolley
“—until the whole was leavened.”
It is the heroic quality that lifts men—themselves and others—that audacity of confidence in an idea that makes one leave all and follow it, that splendor of insensibility to personal ease or advantage that can not even see a short cut via compromise, that all-or-nothingness that can not cipher fractions.
Say to a yeast cell, Be satisfied with half a loaf! Say to a grain of salt, Hem in some spots and leave them for gangrene! Say to a Christian, Join yourself to the least of two evils! The very thought abashes.
Yeast as an illustration makes no great appeal to the imagination. But it lifts, and the kingdom of heaven is like it. People do name children and streets for sudden heroes; but it is not safe.
There is many an “old maid” school-teacher who will outshine a whole succession of admirals, when “the books” are opened. There is many a frontier circuit rider whose shoe-latchet many a bishop is not worthy to unloose. There is many a proud church steeple that in the eye of God is out of sight below the poke bonnet of some slum lassie of the Salvation Army or the Volunteers.—John G. Woolley.
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THE MAN TO TRUST.
MR. STEPHEN GIRARD, the infidel millionaire of Philadelphia, one Saturday bade his clerks come next day and unload a vessel which had just arrived. One young man stepped up to the desk and said, as he turned pale, “Mr. Girard, I can not work to-morrow.” “Well, sir, if you can not do as I wish, we can separate.” “I know that, sir,” said the hero. “I also know that I have a widowed mother to care for, but I can not work on Sunday.” “Very well, sir,” said the proprietor, “go to the cashier’s desk, and he will settle with you.” For three weeks the young man tramped the streets of Philadelphia, looking for work. One day a bank president asked Mr. Girard to name a suitable man for cashier of a new bank about to be started. After reflection, Mr. Girard named this young man. “But I thought you discharged him.” “I did,” was the answer, “because he would not work on Sunday; and the man who will lose his situation from principle is the man to whom you can trust your money.”
The young man of course believed that Sunday was the Sabbath of the Lord, and the sacrifice for principle was gain in the end. He did not consider that he was “forced to work on Sunday,” even tho he lost his position by refusing.
