[Rev. George E. White, of Marsovan, Turkey, in the Missionary Herald.]
OUR school geographies years ago taught us that, for the finest representatives of the human race, we must look to the Caucasus, that billowy expanse of mountain and plain where Europe and Asia meet, between the Black and Caspian Seas. Of the different peoples that, from time immemorial, have ranged those highlands, the Circassians are certainly one of the finest physically, tho they have never attempted much in the way of schools or books. They belong to the Aryan part of our human household, but in the sibilant, slippery, whistling dialects that they speak it is impossible for a stranger to detect any familiar words. The men folks are tall, lithe, and muscular, and their faces, however sunburned and weather-beaten, always show that by nature they are white and fair. Like his cousin, the Cossack, the Circassian may almost be said to be born on horseback; and his heart's desire is attained in the possession of three things, namely, a good horse, a good riding outfit, including saddle, bridle, and whip, and a good gun. The women enjoy the reputation of being the handsomest beauties in the harems of the Orient, and one way of political preferment open to young Turkish officials is the judicious presentation of Circassian girls, bought at high prices from their fathers, to the Constantinople pashas.
About the middle of the last century the Russians waged a long war, in which they gradually wore down the Circassians by the weight of superior numbers and equipment, and included the Caucasus within their expanding empire. The defenders fought a brave but losing battle for their ancestral domain.
In this struggle the most revered Circassian leader was the sheikh Schamyl, half Mohammedan prophet and half a military commander. His lightest word was implicitly obeyed by his people to the last man, and, at the call of this chief, who was distinguished by a well-known robe of fine white fur, the humblest guerilla rider would willingly respond with his life.
It is related that once, after a battle, the defeated Circassians took refuge on a mountain height, at the foot of which the victorious invaders encamped when night overtook them. In the darkness a Russian sentinel detected a slight noise, and, straining his eyes in the direction from which it came, saw a lone Circassian stealing down from the woods and crags to where a little boat lay at the head of a mountain stream. Restraining his impatience, the sentinel watched, and saw a second stealthy fugitive, and then a third, whose shoulders bore the famous white fur robe of the renowned Schamyl. The soldier could contain himself no longer, but roused his comrades, and together they rushed upon the Circassians, and soon despatched them. But the white fur was worn that night not by the sheikh Schamyl, but by one of his men, who had volunteered to lay down his life for his beloved chief; and, while the Russian sentinels were absorbed with the three doomed men who had cunningly attracted their attention, the real Schamyl had made his escape in another direction, to resume the warfare elsewhere another day.
In the end the Circassians were beaten, and then a sad stream of emigrants abandoned the home now ruled by a power that bore the name of Christian, and took refuge beneath the crescent flag of their Mohammedan co-religionists in Turkey, for the Circassians are, without exception, Mohammedans. The Sultan welcomed them as adding strength to the hordes of Islam, and appointed them places in the spacious uplands of Asia Minor where they might build their villages, clear fields for corn and grain, and pasture their horses.
It must be admitted that the exiles at first were a lawless set. They swooped down from their mountain eyries, harried the weaker Turkish villagers, and plundered the Christians of all races, or they appeared upon the highways, and robbed the passers-by without mercy. Many a poor farmer has tracked a lost ox or cow or sheep to the border of a Circassian settlement, whence it ne'er returned to its former owner. Many a traveler's heart has beat quickly when, toiling along the road, he has heard the quick clatter of horses' hoofs, and then met a group of fine Circassian riders, wearing round caps of black lamb's wool and square fur capes, armed with the finest weapons, laughing at the government officials, known to all as freebooters, and proud of their reputation.
One way of forestalling injury from such men is to retain their services. I once engaged a "Cherkez" to take me to an outstation I had occasion to visit, and, as we climbed the hills together, I made some inquiry about his occupation. He answered: "When I find a traveler like you to escort, I escort him; but my regular business is smuggling. In our village every man has a trade; some are farmers, some are smugglers, and some are robbers." Several times I have met courteous entertainment in that village.
On another trip home from an outstation, a party of us engaged four Circassians, with their horses, to carry us. As we prepared to mount, the Bey said: "Let us go the mountain road, for the mountain road is short and direct, but the valley road is long and roundabout; the mountain road is cool, but the valley road is hot; the mountain road has beautiful scenery, but in the valley you can not see a thing; the valley road has no good water, but the mountain road has springs so cold that you can not drink the water for the toothache it will give you."
One of my companions, an Armenian, slowly shook his head in protest against the mountain road. I said, "If you know any good reason why we should not take that road, state it, or else let us go as our men desire."
"Well," he burst out, "they say there are robbers on that road."
"We're the robbers," answered our guide, cheerfully; "there is no danger when we are along, and protect you." We enjoyed a safe and charming ride two days long, camping at night under a tree on the mountain road.
Latterly the Circassians have been settling down to more orderly habits. Their little homes of wattle and daub, often white plastered inside and out, and usually kept neat, are dear to them, and their fields and forests are yielding a less precarious living. Many of the bolder spirits have found openings in the civil or military offices of the government. Some of the finest cavalry seen by tourists in Constantinople at the great display on Friday, when the Sultan goes to mosque, are Circassians. Some of the ablest administrators throughout the provinces belong to the same race, for the weary Ottoman officials find it cheaper to put the head of a band of horse thieves into office than into prison. Besides all this, another venerated sheikh has risen up among them, and, for years, has been making the round of their settlements, preaching sermons to this effect: "There are two recording angels on high, the one putting down for every man the full record of his good words, deeds, and thoughts; the other putting down a similar record of every evil thought, word, and deed. Live as you will now, do as you please now, only remember that, at last, you must square accounts with these two angels." This appeal to conscience has had its effect with many, freebooters and smugglers tho they were.
It saddens me to remember that I have never heard of a Christian Circassian. They believe in God, in sin, in the future life, and in a righteous judgment, indeed, in all the Mohammedan theology, but they have no Christ, no Saviour, no divine Master. Some of them dread the future world, feeling that they are not ready for it, and are not satisfied with the light they try to walk in. As their language is unwritten, they have no open avenue of approach to the Scriptures, which are able to make wise unto salvation. Many resort to missionary hospitals, and there see what Christianity really tries to be. Missionaries have frequent conversation and occasionally intimacy with men of all ranks, from the slave to the pasha. Once, as I was riding with a Circassian, he told me of some years of service he had rendered certain missionaries, and, as he spoke in warm terms of them, their work, their treatment of him, I asked, "How could you live with them so long, and not come to believe the truth?" He turned quickly, and replied, "How do you know that I do not believe the truth?" But he would not continue the conversation. We have recourse to prayer, in which all friends may join. The avenue of approach to any heart via the Father's throne of grace is always open.
MATERIAL PROGRESS IN PALESTINE.
By The Ram's Horn
PALESTINE is beginning to throb with new life and modern activity. During the present season more visitors and pilgrims have traveled thither than in many previous years. This annual human tide will increase rapidly as the land is covered, as it soon will be, by better means of travel. The Turkish Government has worked for several years building a railway along the caravan trail from Damascus to Mecca. The line has been completed and laid with American rails for 220 miles south of Damascus, and 3,000 soldiers are now engaged in extending the grade, which has been completed to the town of Maan, near the ancient city of Petra. Cars are running daily to Ammon, thirty-five miles east of Jericho, under the management of Frenchmen who operate the railroad from Beirut to Damascus. It is expected that a regular service of one train a day each way will be established to Maan within a few weeks, and that the Turks will soon have all-rail connections between the Mediterranean and the Red Sea. In the meantime a branch road is being built, also with American rails, from the beautiful town of Haifa, under the shadow of Mount Carmel in Palestine, to the town of Deraa, the metropolis of the Hauran Valley, and thence to Mezerib, where it will connect with the trunk line from Damascus to Mecca. Three thousand men are employed on that line which is to be completed and in working order by the first of June next. Within a few months it will be possible to cross Palestine by railroad from Mount Carmel, where Elijah performed his great miracle; along the River Kishon; over the battlefield where the Philistines slew Jonathan, and where Deborah the prophetess directed the battle between Barak and Sisera. The track runs over the famous plain of Esdraelon, touching the southern shore of the Sea of Galilee, an hour's drive from Tiberias, across the valley of the Jordan into the desert. Every mile is associated with some Scriptural story. In connection with the railway the government is showing great enterprise and energy13in the construction of wagon roads for military purposes, as well as for the convenience of travelers and traders. Most of the roads through Syria and Palestine have been practically impassable for wagons, and indeed few wagons are used. Most of the transportation is done by caravans of camels and donkeys. But a year or so ago the sultan issued an order requiring several of the most important of the ancient roads to be put in order, and thousands of soldiers have been working on them since, under the direction of German engineers. The ancient highway over which Christ traveled between Galilee and Jerusalem, by way of Nablus, has been put in perfect order. The road between Beirut and Jaffa, along the shores of the Mediterranean, passing through Sidon, Tyre, Acre, and Haifa, which has been in a dreadful condition for centuries, has been macadamized and is now in almost perfect condition; and a new road has been built from Jaffa to Gaza and Beersheba. There is great wonderment among the people, and especially among foreigners, as to the motives which have prompted this extraordinary enterprise on the part of the Turkish Government, and the purposes for which these roads are intended. Altho it is a military rather than a commercial movement, it can not fail to promote trade and increase the prosperity of the country, and a period of industrial development may be looked for.—The Ram's Horn.
GIVING.
HANDS that ope but to receive
Empty close. They only live
Richly who can richly give.
He who giving does not crave
Likest is to Him who gave
Life itself the loved to save.
—Anon.
SHALL WE GIVE THE GOSPEL MESSAGE TO THE JEWS?
By A. E. Place
OUR work and message is world-wide. The Saviour, in speaking of the last Gospel message, said it was to be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations. This must include the Jews. When the apostle to the Gentiles became a world-wide missionary, he declared, twenty-six years after the "seventy weeks" of Dan. 9:24, had been fulfilled, that the Gospel was still "to the Jew first." Rom. 1:16, 17. So the Lord has not yet cast away His people which He foreknew.
AND THE REDEEMER SHALL COME TO ZION, AND TURN AWAY TRANSCRESSION IN JACOB, SAITH JEHOVAH. Isaiah 59;20. Hebrew Translation.
We are glad that something has now been begun. The cut in this article illustrates, in reduced size, the first page of a Jewish tract, written by Brother F. C. Gilbert. The tract is in two languages, Jewish and English, parallel pages, so that all Jews, in nearly every land, can read it. The Jews being scattered everywhere, every one, everywhere, can have a part in the work. Brother Gilbert was born and raised a Jew. About sixteen years ago the Lord opened his eyes to see Christ as He is, and the blessed "present truth;" and his desire is that this message may go among his people. I surely believe that every one who gives the matter thought, will unite heartily in this desire.
Other denominations are to-day being stirred in behalf of the Jews, but much of their message is but a sad, delusive "age-to-come" hope. But I rejoice that Seventh-day Adventists, tho with but a fifty-six-page tract, are starting to give the trumpet a certain sound in behalf of this long-neglected and much-despised people. The money for printing the tracts referred to has almost entirely come from friends outside of our denomination, who are desirous to see something definite done for the Jews.
Send orders direct to Elder F. C. Gilbert, South Lancaster, Mass., who has the oversight of this work, or to the Central New England Tract Society, South Lancaster, Mass. When you order, if you feel impressed to inclose an offering, either great or small, you may do so; but do not forget to order some of these tracts. And when you have ordered, do not neglect to circulate them. "God hath not cast away His people which He foreknew." Will you?
A. E. PLACE.
OUR WORK AND WORKERS.
By Editor
At Luana, Iowa, eight persons have accepted the faith under the labors of Brother John Manuel and wife.
Our new building, in which we are now comfortably housed at Mountain View, Cal., will be dedicated, with appropriate services, on the 15th and 16th of the present month.
The demand for the tract, "Appeal to Clergy," issued by our brethren in Washington, D. C., has been so great that another edition has been printed, making 390,000 so far issued.
Writing to the Pacific Union Recorder, Brother C. D. M. Williams says: "The special sets of SIGNS still sell just as well as ever. Could I put in my whole time in this way, I am confident I could sell from 500 to 1,000 sets in Utah."
Some time in May, Brother H. C. J. Wollekar and wife, now laboring in Seattle, Wash., will go to Alaska. They expect to locate for a time in Skagway or Juneau, and, in addition to special effort in the coast country, will endeavor to spread the truth in the interior by missionary correspondence. Brother Wollekar is familiar with both the English and Scandinavian languages.
In the Southern Illinois Herald, Brother J. M. Rees, president of the conference, mentions the addition of two members to the church at Oakland, and five candidates for baptism. Brother F. W. Wheeler had been laboring there. Brother Rees further reports: "Almost every place our ministers are laboring, the Lord is greatly blessing with fruit. I am greatly encouraged at the prospect of closing up our winter's work with many accessions to the truth."
From Japan, Brother F. W. Field writes as follows: "It does encourage us so much to know that the home conferences are taking hold so actively in fields beyond their own borders. How else can these countless oriental millions be reached? We hardly dare think of the great work to be done; it seems so great for the means we have to do with. If anywhere strong faith in this message is needed, it is out among the great masses that have never even heard of the true God. So every move in the home field to spread the light in the great regions beyond, is a great encouragement to the lonely toilers in these dark regions."
All who desire to be informed concerning the proceedings of the coming General Conference, to convene in Washington, D. C., May 11, can procure the same in the Review and Herald, which will publish full reports. Address, 222 N. Capitol Street, Washington, D. C. This will be the only means of procuring these reports in full. The regular price of the Review is $1.50 a year; six months, 75 cents. To subscribers for six months or over, no extra charge will be made; but, on account of the extra expense, the three months' subscriptions covering the conference proceedings, will be 50 cents. Eight pages will be added to the paper during the conference session and until the proceedings are all published. Now is the time to send in subscriptions, to insure getting this important matter.
WANTED FOR MISSIONARY WORK.
(Always prepay postage.)
SIGNS, Review, Instructor, Little Friend, and tracts. Address George E. Tack, 319 N. Stricker Street, Baltimore, Md.
A NEW RUSSIAN PAPER.
The International Tract Society of Grindelberg 15a, Hamburg, Germany, has just issued a paper in the Russian language. Its title is The Olive Tree. It is a church, missionary, and Sabbath-school paper, and contains matter that will be of interest to Russians living in America, as well as in Russia. Price, 40 cents a year. Address as above.
SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA CONFERENCE OF SEVENTH-DAY ADVENTISTS.
By Clarence Santee
This conference will be held at Fernando, Cal., April 11-16, 1905. Fernando is a small town twenty-one miles north of Los Angeles, on the Southern Pacific Railroad.
This is not a camp-meeting, but a conference for the election of officers and the transaction of all conference business.
Delegates will be elected as follows: One delegate for each church, without regard to numbers, and an additional delegate for every twenty-five members.
Officers of churches will please see that the delegates are elected, and the names sent to Edward Treganza, Fernando, Cal.
CLARENCE SANTEE,
Pres. So. Cal. Conference of Seventh-day Adventists.
WANTED.
A MAN to do general farm work. Steady work and good wages to the right man. Address, at once, J. D. Fink, Crows Landing, Cal.
WANTED.
A GIRL, to assist in general housework. Permanent position and good wages. Address, at once, Mrs. J. D. Fink, Crows Landing, Cal.
ICELESS REFRIGERATOR.
A DEVICE that any person can make in a few hours that cools equal to ice, and costs nothing to run.
For particulars address D. C. Burson, Ocean Park, Cal.
EASY WASHING FREE.
To ENCOURAGE every lady reader of the SIGNS to give E-Z (Easy) Washing Tablets a trial, I will send sufficient for two washings, free, for two-cent stamp to pay postage. E-Z Washing Tablets is A WOMAN'S INVENTION to take away the hard work. Guaranteed to do your work in half the time, without injury to the finest fabric. It will pay you well to give it a trial. Address Alfred Mallett, Elkridge, Baltimore, Md.
LITERARY NOTICES.
By Editor
"The Booklet of the Golden Leaves." By LeRoy G. Davis. Published by Broadway Publishing Company, 835 Broadway, New York City. Cloth; 52 pp.; price not given.
In this little booklet the author sets forth in passable verse the absurdity of some of the theories of the Socialist propaganda. An exponent of Socialism is represented as seeing, in vision, a country in which his theories are worked out; and this results in his repudiation of the theories.
"The Harmonized and Subject Reference New Testament." By James W. Shearer. 662 pages, cloth, $1.50. The Subject Reference Co.; or the author, Deleware, N. J.
Some of the special features of this volume are as follows:
1. It is the common version in modern English print. That is, it is printed in one column, as any other book; direct speech is placed within quotation marks; ordinary rules of capitalization are followed; and the paragraph division is followed, instead of the verse division.
2. The chapters are divided into sections with appropriate subheads. These subheads are numbered, the same subject having the same number in each Gospel. Below the section number are numbers indicating in what other Gospels, if any, the record is found. Wherever verse divisions are admissible by punctuation and subject, they are preserved.
The arrangement certainly makes the reading and study of the New Testament more interesting and more helpful to the average student.
The book has a copious index, which is also an outline of Gospel harmony. The author also discusses, in an appendix, various differences among harmonists. While we can not agree with all his dates, we commend the work as helpful.
"A Peculiar People: The Doukhobors." By Aylmer Maude; cloth, fifteen full-page illustrations, two maps, 346 pages, price $1.50, net. G. P. Putnam's Sons, New York and London.
The author of this interesting book was closely identified with the migration of the Doukhobors from the land of their persecution in Russia to their new home in the Canadian Northwest, and with the securing and allotment of land for their occupancy. He gives a very clear, unvarnished statement of their beliefs, their history, their persecutions, and their eccentricities, as manifest both in Russia and Canada. While they are an extremely eccentric people, they are admitted to be a people of high moral principles. Their misinterpretation of good principles (because of a quite general ignorance of the Word of God) has led companies of them to many extravagancies, such as their aimless pilgrimages in nudity. The history of their persecutions in Russia, as given in this book, clearly illustrates the unrighteousness of the church-and-state principle against which the Doukhobors always have protested, and still do protest.
THE HOME AND SOCIAL LIFE OF GIRLS.
By A Girl
BY A GIRL.
What the Tongue Can Do.
Of all the people in the world, girls should be the most careful of what they say. Yet the average girl, who talks all of the time, never pauses to think seriously, if what she is saying is worth while or not. I love girls dearly, and believe in them, yet I am able to see how often unpleasant and troublesome incidents occur, both to themselves and others, through the thoughtlessly unkind remarks they make.
The tongue is your mightiest ally for good or evil. It lies wholly with you how you will use it—for or against your neighbor. There can be no real altruism in a girl's life, if she says sarcastic, careless things about her friends. Your life, tho moulded so as to conform to the highest ideals of duty, can not be all it should be, if you do not keep your tongue under perfect control. It is really strange what a wonderful part in every one's life so little, and seemingly insignificant, an organ plays. And yet the sum total of a person's existence, after they have gone, is what they have said and done. What are your acts but the manifestation of your inward life to others? Your dearest desire, or it should be, is to live above public reproach. Of course, what other people say of you is not always of the most importance. There are times in every girl's life when she has her conscience only as a guide, and the world may think her in the wrong—think so for a time, but in the end they will see and laud the wisdom of her conduct. In such cases, all you need is a clear, decisive knowledge that what you are doing is right. On the other hand, I am very sorry for the girl who says she does not care what people say of her. In the first place, it is not true, and, in the second place, she is hardening her natural refinement and timidity by taking such a stand.
What more beautiful monument could any of you wish to be erected over your grave in after years, than the memory of all who see it, that in that little plat of ground was all that was left of a woman whose life was a continuous joy and sunshine to all who knew her? To think that people would say of you, after you were gone, "There lies a girl who always had a kind, cheering word of praise or sympathy for all when it was needed, and lived with a halo of love and good-will shining about her!" Would not that be more beautiful and more lasting than the costliest shafts of cold, white marble? Think what it would mean to live on in the memory of those who knew you, as a spot of sunshine in their lives, the influence of a nature kind and gentle, with always something pleasant to say about the people you knew!
If you are optimistic in your views of life, live them out openly and clearly before the world. If you expect the best of people, say so. If you are disappointed, keep it to yourself; it will be easier to forget. Make your every-day life a practise of the old adage, "If you haven't anything good to say, don't say anything at all." Then when you have lived such a life, how beautiful it will be to linger in the memories of your friends, and be called blessed.
—The Girls' Magazine.
CONSUMPTION, AND THE STERILIZATION OF MILK.
It is always best to sterilize or boil all milk, whether from suspected animals or not, before using, as this destroys the germs which are responsible for the disease. In consumption, the rise of temperature and the destruction of tissue are due to the germ product, a poison known as tuberculin. This poison is not destroyed by boiling. Milk from diseased animals may be rendered less dangerous by boiling, but can never be made wholesome.
There is no satisfactory way of detecting the disease in milk. The only way of detecting diseased milk is by an examination of the animals furnishing it. Merely a physical examination is of little value, since animals in the earlier stages of the disease often pass unnoticed and unsuspected. They may have a good appetite, be in good spirits, have smooth and glossy hair, and furnish a large flow of rich milk.
In many cases, cattle, to all outward appearance in good condition, are killed, and the lungs and ribs are found to be covered with tubercles. As the disease progresses, it may sometimes be detected by an occasional cough by the animal when drinking cold water. Shortness of breath also may be noticed when the animal is driven hard. Hollow and shrunken eyes, hollow flank, and lack of muscles, are present in the later stages. It would not be well, however, to depend on these indications, since they appear only in advanced stages. As has been stated, animals may be unsuspected, and appear healthy, and yet suffer from a latent or chronic form of the disease. This condition may continue for years, the germs not producing sufficient poison perceptibly to undermine the system, or to cause visible symptoms. Whether tuberculosis is present in these cases or not, can be detected only by the tuberculin test.
What is the tuberculin test?—Tuberculin is the poison produced by the germ of consumption. The germs are carefully isolated, and grown in laboratories in favorable media. They are afterward destroyed by heat, leaving free the pure chemical poison. Two to four drops of this poison, diluted, is injected into the tissue of the suspected animal. The dose is so small that it will not produce any great disturbance in a perfectly healthy animal. If, however, the animal has a chronic form of consumption, or if it has the disease in its first stages, there is circulating in the lymph and blood a certain amount of the same kind of poison, produced by the action of the germs in the body; the quantity not being sufficient to do serious injury or to cause a rise of temperature, since it is eliminated as fast as formed. If this amount is increased by the diluted injection, the disease processes are aggravated, and fever ensues. In twelve to twenty-four hours after the injection is made, the fever rises from two degrees to six degrees, or even higher. Often this test has condemned cattle which were so entirely unsuspected of having the disease, that, only after slaughtering, could the owner believe that no mistake had been made. I am sure that we shall yet discover that there are more animals affected with this trouble than we are at present aware of, and still the flesh and the milk of these diseased animals are continually sold all over the country as food for ourselves and children.
Let us notice the danger in using such foods: Among men, as well as among cattle, there are many who have a chronic form of consumption, yet appear to be in good health. The imperial health officer of Berlin, Germany, reports evidence of tuberculosis in the body of every third person, between the ages of fifteen and sixty years, examined by him after death. The germs present in the lungs, or in some other organ of the body, may not be in sufficient numbers to do serious harm. By proper exercise, open-air life, etc., the poisons produced by them are readily eliminated; in this way, the tissue maintains, in a measure, its power of resistance, the development and growth of these germs are prevented, and the disease is kept localized. Such a condition may continue for years, and, in some instances does, the person enjoying a fair degree of health, and passing unsuspected of being tubercular. If, in these cases, however, we should make an injection of tuberculin, or apply the tuberculin test, the disease would be hastened, as it is in tubercular cattle. A dose of this same poison, if taken in the milk, may produce equally bad results in such cases, and may stir up a latent form of consumption.
Great care should always be exercised, and especially by those who have a tendency to this disease, in the selection and free use of these foods.—Australasian Good Health.
HOW WE GET IVORY.
Not from Elephants Slaughtered for Their Tusks.
THE calculations as to the number of slain elephants represented by the acre of ivory displayed before the queen at the London docks points to the fallacy which still prevails that elephants are killed for their tusks.
"More ivory is sold in London each year," said Mr. Hales, the largest ivory broker in the metropolis, to an Express representative, "than would be produced if all the elephants in the world were killed.
"The ivory supply comes from the vast stores laid up for generations by the native chiefs. They know where the elephants' cemeteries are, for these animals go to a certain spot to die. This is how ivory is obtained.
"When the chiefs want a little money or other necessaries, they barter a portion of their stock. Ivory to them is what gilt-edged securities are to the English people."
Mr. Hales pointed out the result of the tax which was placed on the importation of ivory into England.
"It was imposed," he said, "with the idea of stopping the slaughter of elephants, but such a thing is so rare that it did not need any such restriction. As a result of the tax, ivory leaves Africa and Egypt by the Congo, and goes to Antwerp.
"In 1887 Antwerp did not sell a ton of ivory. Last year it sold 355 tons, against London's 205. In 1887 London's sales amounted to 330 tons.
"Besides elephant tusks, the teeth of the sea-horse, walrus tusks and boar tusks are used for ivory.
"The market price of elephant tusk ivory ranges from £15 to £90 per hundredweight; sea-horse teeth fetch from 7 pence a pound to 4 shillings a pound, and boar tusks 1 shilling 3 pence a pound."
-London Express.239
The Sabbath-school lessons have been discontinued. The Lesson Quarterly may be obtained, containing three months' lessons and notes, for five cents. Address, Pacific Press, Mountain View, Cal. The Sunday-school lessons will continue.
WHERE DANGER LURKS.
By Emily Houseman Watson
[Emily Houseman Watson, in the Ram's Horn.]
THE mazy dance, with 'fatuating whirl,
Unmindful all of honor and of right,
Allures the unsuspecting, trusting girl,
To leave upon her life its withering blight,
The gaming board, with fascinating power,
Ensnaring now the youth's unwary heart,
Leads on, till, in a bitter, fatal hour
It works destruction with its poisoned dart.
The race, the cup, the evil intercourse—
These follow madly, growing swift apace,
Till, overwhelmed by sin's resistless force,
The life, once fair, lies blackened in disgrace.
O youth, O maiden, keep your hearts from sin!
I pray you shun its deadly, venomed breath,
Lest these betrayers, boldly entering in,
Enchain your souls in misery and death.
AMEN.
By Ella Cornish
BY ELLA CORNISH.
Amen, so shall it be; 'tis the fiat of the Lord; He has given us the promise of His eternal word, And His unchanging purpose is our security; Not yea and nay, but always, amen, so shall it be.
