To ILLUSTRATE the danger of using tobacco as a medicine, Dr. Mussey says: "A doctor in New Hampshire, a few years ago, was consulted by the mother of a girl four years old who was afflicted with a severe eruption on the face. The mother was anxious, from having heard stories of its efficacy in other cases, to make an application of tobacco; the physician, however, advised to the contrary, and left her to visit her sick neighbor. While prescribing for the latter, he was called back in haste to the child, whom he found senseless and motionless on the floor. The mother informed him that, being still persuaded tobacco would be beneficial, she had, after he retired, taken some from the bowl of a pipe and rubbed it over the child's face; that the child set out to walk across the room immediately after the application, but had not gone half way before it fell in the condition in which he found it. The physician worked over an hour resorting to various means for resuscitating the child, the pulse occasionally reviving and then dying away again, till, finally animation was restored. For years afterward the child was subject to alarming nervous symptoms, and is now puny and feeble. Its constitution previous to the experiment was good, but the shock upon the nervous system was so severe that it has never recovered and probably never will."
A Wine-drinking Bishop Converted.
The Bishop of Newcastle lately related how he became a total abstainer. We give the narrative in his own words: "There was a drunkard in my parish in Lancashire, and I used to do all I could to get that man to give up drink, and he turned upon me and said, 'Mr. Wilberforce, do you think I am going to give up my beer if you are not going to give up your wine?' There was no argument or logic in that, but somehow or other it stuck to me, and when I was saying my prayers, time after time it came upon me, 'cannot I do something for that man's soul.' There is something far more powerful, and far better worth than any argument or logic. I care for the bond of sympathy. I care for the hand being locked in the hand of another man. I care to stoop down if you like, into the mud if you like, careless of being bespattered by the mud, if I may lift up a man; and when I went down to that man and said, 'I have given it up,' the man said, 'And so will I.' That man brought in many others."
-Ex.
A Great Reputation, a Great Charge
A GREAT reputation is a great charge.
A Boy's Victory.
By I. H.
I DON'T think Harry ever realized that he had any very serious faults. He was a good boy, as boys go; that is he was honest and truthful, obedient to his parents, a diligent pupil at school, and at home obliging and reliable. What more could be expected of any boy? I can tell you in two little words—good temper. Often when others praised him his mother would sigh. "Yes," she would say, or think if she did not say it; "yes, he is a good boy, if only he would learn to control his temper."
All the household knew that this was a lesson he had never learned. Not a day passed without painful proof of the fact. If he and Jack were set to any task together, and Jack failed to do his part just as Harry thought he should, you could hear him shouting in passionate tones, scolding, and threatening, and sometimes, I am sorry to say, using words he had much better not have used. Father and mother had talked to him many and many a time. They had punished him, too, more than once, but all in vain. Now they were almost ready to despair, for he was fourteen years of age—old enough to see the folly and the sin of giving way to such fits of passion, and yet there was no improvement. I don't know what Harry thought about it himself. I am very sure he would have been horrified if he had seen his father or his mother act in the same manner; and if his teacher had flown into a rage at every slight provocation, no boy in school would have lost respect for him sooner than Harry. Perhaps he imagined that some morning he would wake up and find himself a man, with his childish faults outgrown, like his last year's suit.
Ah, boys, no such thing as that will ever happen to any of you. Faults of character are not outgrown; they must be conquered. Whatever a boy is and chooses to be to-day, he will most probably be ten or twenty years hence; and it was because they realized this, and knew how much unhappiness may be caused in any household by an ungoverned temper, that his parents were by no means so well satisfied with Harry, as Harry was with himself.
One day it happened that he had a good deal of trouble with a long sum he had to do in school. He went over it again and again, but the answer would not come right.
"Come and let me see if I can help you to find the error," said his teacher kindly, seeing the boy's face begin to flush and his manner grow nervous and irritable.
He went over his work again aloud.
"One from one leaves one—"
"What?" said the teacher.
"One from one leaves one," he said, positively.
"Hardly, I think, Harry. You know better than that. Come, come, my boy, that was a mere accident, such as has happened to many a good accountant." And to relieve the boy from his angry confusion the teacher passed on to the next example.
But, unfortunately, Jack had heard, and Jack was a tease.
The next day, in the afternoon, the boys were alone at home. Harry was working at his carpenter's bench, where he was very expert, when Jack came idling along and accidentally pushed the board he was planing.
"I wish you'd look where you're going!" shouted Harry, angrily.
"Oh, I'm not going anywhere, I only came to ask you how much one from one leaves," and Jack seated himself on the end of the bench as if he meant to stay.
Harry scowled, but gave no answer. Jack began to whistle. Presently he stopped. "Well, Harry, have you found out yet? One from one leaves?—I'm waiting."
"Get out of that!" roared Harry, and seizing something which he thought a piece of smooth wood he threw it at his brother.
It was the hatchet, and barely missing Jack's head it stuck firmly in the trunk of a tree beyond. Jack shuddered as he tried in vain to pull it out.
"You might have killed me, Harry," he said very quietly.
"Served you right if I had," said Harry, "what did you come here tormenting me for? You'd better go away or I'll hurt you."
Jack went away; and Harry tried very hard to convince himself that he had been quite excusable, but try as he would he could not get rid of a sickening sensation when he looked at the hatchet sticking in the tree and thought where it might have been.
It required all his strength to pull it out, and after that his carpenter's tools ceased to interest him.
Jack was no tell-tale, and he said nothing to any one of what had occurred; but that night Harry lay awake a long time. Once or twice he raised himself up and looked at his brother lying quietly asleep beside him. At length he fell into an uneasy slumber. His mother was just going to bed when she heard a cry from the boys' room and went quickly to see what was the matter. It was Harry who was struggling and calling for aid.
"Oh! help me! help me, somebody! I can't get it out."
"Harry!" His mother's touch on his arm aroused him, and he opened his eyes. "You are dreaming, my boy," she said.
"Yes," he answered with a gasp, "it was a dream, but it was possibly real—wait a little, mother."
She sat down beside him and softly stroked his hair. But in a moment he sat up and said excitedly, "Let me tell you all about it. I dreamed that I had thrown the ax at Jack and killed him. It was sticking in his head and I was trying to pull it out."
"My dear boy, don't allow yourself to get so wrought up by a dream," said his mother a little frightened by his manner.
"But it was not only a dream, mother, I did throw the hatchet at him to-day, and I don't believe I am any better than Cain. It was not my fault that it missed him."
Mother leaned over and pressed her lips softly on Jack's brown hair. "Thank God;" she said fervently, "Thank God, for saving both my boys." Then she made Harry lie down, and talked to him soothingly for a few moments. It seemed to her that the boy's own conscience was speaking to him so plainly that there was less need than ever before for any words from her. She left him at last with a good-night kiss. As soon as she was gone, Harry got out of bed, knelt down, and for the first time in his life he really prayed. I do not mean to say that he had never said his prayers before; every night since he could remember he had said them, sometimes thinking of what he was saying, and at other times not thinking at all. But now from the depths of the boy's heart there arose a cry for help; for he had begun to feel that there was something within him that he must confess; something he could not conquer by his own strength.
The next day mother had a little talk with Jack, who was very much surprised when she asked him about the throwing of the hatchet.
"Why how do you know anything about it?" he asked. "I didn't tell."
"No, but Harry did. He only told me of his own share, however; now I want to hear of yours."
"Oh, I was teasing him, that was all; he made a mistake in his examples on Friday at school, and I thought I'd get some fun out of him; but Harry's such an old pepper-box, he just flies in your face if you touch him."
"Jack," said his mother very gravely, "if Harry had killed you in the fit of passion you aroused, do you think all the sin would have been his?"
"Why, mother, I don't see that it would have been my fault."
"Well, I do, and that is just what I want to make you see. You know Harry's weak point is his temper, and when you try to stir him up and put him in a rage you are just as bad as he is. I am not sure that you are not the worst of the two. It is Satan's work to lead others into sin. Think of that, my boy, and try to find your fun in some other way hereafter."
Jack was a heedless little soul, but he was not heartless, and he proved that he understood his mother's words by saying nothing more to Harry about "one from one."
Not very long after this a wonderful thing happened in the town where these boys lived, which was nothing less than a visit from General Grant. Now, if there were any living man whom Harry would have liked to see in preference to all others, that man was General Grant, for whom he had a most enthusiastic admiration. For a week before the great event he could think of nothing else but the preparations which were being made to give his hero a fitting reception. Part of the programme for the day included a procession in which the school children were to join, and on his arrival the General was to pass between the lines of boys and girls drawn up upon the platform of the station. All were to carry bouquets or baskets of flowers, and great was the rivalry to see whose selection of flowers would be the most beautiful and appropriate.
In his secret heart Harry was sure he would win the palm, for had he not in his own garden an "American Banner Rose"? The red and white buds were almost ready to unfold; they would be in all their beauty by the eventful day, and when massed together, and surrounded by a deep border of blue forget-me-nots, could anything equal such a combination?
How he watched his precious rose-bush day by day, anticipating the envious glances that would be cast upon him at the station. What if by some happy chance, the great General himself should pause and see the bouquet with its patriotic meaning, and perhaps accept it from his hand!
Alas! alas! three days before the time so eagerly anticipated, the whole family were sitting on the front porch about sunset. Father was reading the paper, mother and Sister Susan were sewing, the boys busily engaged over a kite they were making, and no one particularly attentive to the baby—the little toddler who was trotting up and down the gravel path. She went round the corner of the house in the direction of Harry's garden, and no one noticed her. But presently she came back with something clutched tight in her chubby little hands. "Pitty fowers, pitty fowers," she said, dropping her treasures into mother's lap.
"Oh, baby, baby, what have you done!" There was real distress in mother's voice, and no wonder; there were Harry's rosebuds, every one snapped off close to the head, without an inch of stem.
"The little wretch!" said Jack. "I do believe she's been at Harry's rose."
Harry sprang to his feet, the hot blood rushing to his face. He made one bound down the steps and around the house, while the others gathered about the broken buds, and poor baby looked on bewildered not knowing what mischief she had done.
It was Harry who picked her up in his arms, just as the little mouth began to quiver and the tears to gather in the pretty blue eyes.
"Never mind baby," he said bravely. "Don't you cry; you shall have all the flowers you like. Don't scold her mother, she did not know—" and then Harry almost broke down. He set baby on mother's knee and went back to his kite, from which he did not once raise his head till tea-time.179Mother was the only one who ventured to speak to him on the subject again. "Dear," she said as she bade him good-night, "I am very, very sorry for your disappointment."
"So I am," he said, putting his arms round her and hiding his face from view, he felt the tears so near his eyes. "But after all, perhaps Gen. Grant does not know an American Banner rose from any other, and I will just take some red ones and some white ones instead."
"That was a pretty hard trial for him," said his father, when Harry had left the room. "The boy is surely learning to control himself."
Susan, the kind elder sister, who was almost a second mother to the boys, looked up with her eyes sparkling. "Indeed he is father, and after what we saw to-day I don't care whether I see Gen. Grant or not."
"Why?" asked her father, slightly puzzled; but Susan only smiled, and said she would not tell him yet.
And so the great day came and passed, and Harry was so happy as to stand close to his hero five minutes, and in his enjoyment he was able to overcome his last regret for his broken rose.
Sister Susan was mysteriously busy just about that time, and when Harry's birthday came, soon after, the result of her private occupation was discovered. By the early light, when Harry awoke, he could see a picture hanging on what had been a blank wall at the foot of his bed last night. He sprang up and examined it. It was a verse from the Bible, beautifully illuminated in red, blue, and gold letters; around it was a wreath of forget-me-nots and fern-leaves; at the top a medallion with the head of Gen. Grant, and below a lovely spray of rose-buds, the "American Banner," in all their glory of red and white. More than once Harry read over the words his sister had so beautifully traced. They were these—
"He that is slow to anger is better than the mighty, and he that ruleth his spirit than he that taketh a city."—I. H., in Pacific States Watchman.
LOVE LIGHTENS LABOR.
A good wife rose from her bed one morn,
And thought with a nervous dread
Of the piles of clothes to be washed, and more
Than a dozen mouths to be fed.
There are meals to be got for the men in the field,
And the children to fix away
To school, and the milk to be skimmed and churned,
And all to be done that day.
It had rained in the night, and all the wood
Was as wet as it could be;
And there was pudding and pies to bake,
And a loaf of cake for tea.
The day was hot, and her aching head
Throbbed wearily as she said—
"If maidens but knew what good wives know
They would be in no hurry to wed."
"Jennie, what do you think I told Ben Brown?"
Called the farmer from the well;
And a flush crept up his bronzed brow,
And his eye half bashfully fell.
"It was this," he said, and coming near,
He smiled, and stooping down,
Kissed her cheek—"'twas this, that you were the best
And the dearest wife in town!"
The farmer went back to the field, and the wife,
In a smiling and absent way,
Sang snatches of tender little songs
She'd not sung for many a day.
And the pain in her head was gone, and the clothes
Were white as the foam in the sea;
Her bread was light, and her butter was sweet,
And as golden as it could be.
"Just think," the children all called in a breath,
"Tom Wood has run off to sea!
He wouldn't, I know, if he only had
As happy a home as we."
The night came down, and the good wife smiled
To herself, as she softly said,
"'Tis sweet to labor for those we love,
'Tis not strange that maids will wed!"
—Selected.
Religious Notes.
By Editor
—The Bishop of Bohemia, alarmed at the rapid spread of spiritualism, has declared that any one professing a belief in spiritualism is guilty of heresy.
—The Alabama Advocate says: “If any Methodist in this State has made a large contribution to the missionary cause since the war—now seventeen years past—we do not remember it. And yet there are many who have made fair fortunes in this time. Why is this so?”
—A writer in an anti-monopoly paper, in a plea for working people, says: “The truth is, that hand work is still disgraceful—almost as much so as when God pronounced his curse at the expulsion from Eden.” Can any one inform us in what part of the Bible this curse upon hand labor may be found?
—The vestry of All Souls Church, of which Rev. R. Heber Newton is pastor, has passed a resolution approving his views as expressed in his recent sermons on the Bible, and declaring those sermons to be in perfect accord with their opinions. Of course they are. Mr. Newton says that that is why he delivered them: he thought the people wanted such stuff.
—A bill has been introduced in the New York Senate, and was immediately ordered to third reading, to prevent any attempt to personate or represent Jesus Christ by any show, play or dramatic representation, whether free or for an admission, and declares the violation of its provisions a misdemeanor, punishable by a fine of not less than $100 and imprisonment for not less than six months.
—A dispatch from Harrisburg, Pa., of the 5th inst., says: “A bill exempting those who observe the seventh day of the week from the penalties of the Sunday laws of 1794 was defeated in the House to-day—37 ayes to 130 noes.” This question has been agitated in Pennsylvania long and well, and at one time the friends of the Lord’s Sabbath had fair prospects of success; but we think there is little hope that the subject will ever get a favorable hearing. The members of the Pennsylvania Legislature are doubtless, some of them, professing Christians; but we doubt if they are aware that they are helping to fulfill prophecy. The following scripture has been most signally demonstrated at any rate: “Truth is fallen in the street, and equity cannot enter.”
—At the recent session of the Methodist Conference of New York, Dr. Buckley, of the Christian Advocate, warned the members against confidence men, describing the method by which they worked. He said that two brethren had already been deceived by sharpers, and he had accidentally come upon another who was in their clutches. It was well that the Doctor should instruct the young preachers, who have doubtless been so deeply engaged in their theological studies that they have not had time to read the newspapers, but it occurs to us that he did not do his whole duty. Since sharpers are able to succeed only by deceiving their victims with the promise of a large sum of money for which no equivalent is to be given, would not a little sermon based on the eighth commandment have been in place?
—A man was hanged in Charlestown, Mo., on the 6th inst., for brutally murdering a woman more than a year ago. He was attended on the scaffold by a Baptist minister, who had been his religious instructor. From the scaffold he harangued the crowd of 5,000 people thus: “My brothers and sisters—I am standing on the brink of eternity. I am happy to say I am at rest with Jesus. I am going, with golden slippers and long white robe, to walk up and down the streets of glory. I am in Jesus and he is in me. I want you all to love each other, be honest and live right.” He then sang a hymn, and was swung off. The sight of a fiendish murderer exhorting a company of people to love each other and live right, must put Satan himself to blush. We hardly know which excites the most disgust,—his brazen impudence, or the kind of religion that puts a premium on crime, and makes murder the surest pass-port to Heaven. This may not be the direct teaching, but the tendency is in that direction. Such farces bring religion into disrepute. We do not say that a murderer may not sincerely repent and finally enter Heaven, but when the genuineness of his repentance has not been proved, a little more modesty would be becoming.
News and Notes.
By Editor
—Ten men were killed, the 3d inst., by the explosion of a boiler in a mill at Moss Point, Miss.
—A powder depot at Rome, Italy, exploded April 5, killing forty persons, and injuring many others.
—An Eastern paper aptly characterizes the destruction of a distillery by fire as a "burning shame."
—The President has appointed Judge Walter Q. Gresham, of Indiana, to the office of Postmaster-General.
—On the 7th inst., one hundred cottages were burned in the village of Valorbe, Canton of Vand, Switzerland.
—Two fishing steamers have returned to St. John's, N. B., from the ice fields, having together 52,500 seals.
—Gray, the defaulting secretary of the California Harbor Commission, has been arrested in Guaymas, Mexico.
—The Ohio Legislature has agreed to submit to the people a proposition for a prohibitory amendment to the Constitution.
—An expert swindler has succeeded in setting afloat about $13,000 worth of counterfeit silver coin in Arizona and New Mexico.
—Southern Louisiana has been visited by a very heavy rain, and the town of Goldsboro is flooded to a depth of from three to six feet.
—A boy threw a lighted match into the manhole of a sewer in Baltimore, causing an explosion which damaged buildings to the extent of $20,000.
—About 3,000,000 acres of Texas lands, in that portion of the State known as the Pan-handle, has been sold for $10,000,000 to a London syndicate.
—It is reported that business is suspended in the towns of Empire City and Galena, Kansas, on account of small-pox. In the latter place there have been fifty deaths.
—Fifteen persons were killed by the falling of the wall of a rickety hotel in Greenville, Texas, April 7. The ruins took fire, and several of the bodies were roasted.
—A new Government dock is to be built at Sebastopol, to take the place of the one destroyed twenty-five years ago by the allied armies. The estimated cost is $20,000,000.
—This time it was in Georgia, and the story runs as usual. A nine-year-old boy, while playing with an old gun, accidentally killed an old lady, and wounded her daughter and child.
—Advices by steamer from Panama state that on the 10th of March one thousand houses, including the churches and railway buildings, were burned at Iquique, Peru. The loss is estimated at $10,000,000.
—There was a severe storm in central and southwestern Arkansas, April 6, which did much damage to buildings, and in many places so covered the roads with fallen timber as to make them impassable.
—The king of the Sandwich Islands has asked permission to have the money for his kingdom coined at one of the United States mints. The request will probably be granted, and the work done at San Francisco.
—The Canadian Government has decided to deepen the channel of the St. Lawrence, between Montreal and Quebec, to twenty-seven and a half feet. It is now twenty-five feet. The undertaking will cost $1,500,000.
—The coronation of the Czar has been postponed on account of the threats of the nihilists. This time there is no date set. If it ever take place it will probably have to be done in secret, without announcing the time. The Czar is evidently frightened this time.
—Peter Cooper died, at his home in New York, on the morning of the 4th inst. He was in his ninety-third year, but was quite active in his business until a few days before he died. His large fortune, which was made in legitimate business, was largely used for really charitable purposes.
—The Halifax garrison, the last remnant of the British army in Canada, will be withdrawn in November next. As there are no fears entertained of an invasion of Canada by the United States, and the Government of the country is strong enough to maintain peace within its own borders, foreign troops are not needed.
—As workmen were reparing the main gas-pipe, under the Palace Hotel in San Francisco, last week, a light was brought too near the escaping gas, and an explosion followed. Over thirty men were severely injured, and one fireman was killed. The building was shaken somewhat, but the damage to property was slight.
—As the results of experiments in telephonic communication, conversation, in sentences of three or four words each, can now be carried on between New York and Chicago. It is quite probable that very soon conversation can be carried on between the people of these two cities as easily as between those but a few miles distant.
—Twenty-five years ago there were in this country some 1,418 cigar and tobacco factories, employing 14,236 persons; to-day there are 7,674 establishments, which give employment to 54,587 hands. Estimates show that the American people pay more for smoke than fuel, and that the use of the weed costs more than bread and potatoes.—Christian Secretary.
—England is at present but little better off than Russia. The difficulty may be exaggerated, but the effect is the same. But it is not all rumor. Half a ton of nitro-glycerine, and a factory with apparatus for making the explosive in the most approved manner, have been discovered in London. Several arrests have been made, public buildings are strongly guarded, and all packages entering the city are examined.
—The Christian Union recently published the statements of several prominent men, on the temperance question, nearly all of whom, while avowedly temperance men, do not favor prohibition. The Lever now suggests, that that paper interview some of the wives and mothers who are suffering from the rum traffic. Their opinion would certainly be worth considering, but then it must be remembered that they would not give the kind of testimony that is desired.
—It is rumored that there is a defensive alliance between Germany, Austria, and Italy, against France, and the Italian papers are out-spoken in their hatred of France. The Journal de Rome says that from the Baltic to Sicily the French Republic has none but enemies, who are ready to attack her if she but moves a finger. She is at the mercy of her enemies, if there is the slightest cause for war, and Italy will not fail, when the chief of the alliance gives the smallest sign, to find such cause on a few minutes' notice.
SABBATH READINGS
FOR THE HOME CIRCLE.
COMPILED BY MRS. E. G. WHITE.
THESE are some of the few really good books. For twenty years Mrs. White has been selecting choice, interesting, and instructive stories, the best of which are presented in these four volumes of 400 pages each. It would be difficult to find a better collection. The selections have been carefully made, and none need fear to place them in the hands of the young. They are not, however, designed exclusively for the young, but are adapted for general home reading. All the members of the family circle will find something in them to entertain and instruct. They are just the thing for holiday or birthday gifts. Price per set, neatly put up in box, $2.25. Address, SIGNS OF THE TIMES, OAKLAND, CAL.
HELPS TO BIBLE STUDY.
By Editor
A RIDE THROUGH PALESTINE. By Rev. John W. Dulles, D. D. This work, illustrated by 184 beautifully clear maps and engravings, is one of the very latest and best books of travel in the Holy Land, and meets a want in that direction which no book of its price has before met. The S. S. Times says of it: “It is a book pleasant in style, healthy in tone, admirable in spirit, and careful and trustworthy in information. We do not know of any one volume of like size and cost which will give so much help to an ordinary teacher or scholar in its immediate scope and line.” 528 pp. $2.00
FROM EXILE TO OVERTHROW. By Rev. John W. Mears, D. D. A history of the Jews from the Babylonian captivity to the destruction of the second temple. Illustrated with maps and pictures. 475 pp. $1.25
THE GIANT CITIES OF BASHAN AND SYRIA’S HOLY PLACES. By Rev. J. L. Porter, A. M. This work brings out before the reader the departed glory of the ancient cities of Bible Lands, their present condition and aspect, and the tribes that inhabit them, in a very interesting and vivid portrayal. Its cheapness brings it within the reach of all, and its recommends it to teacher and scholar. 377 pp. $1.25
HAND-BOOK OF BIBLE GEOGRAPHY. By Rev. Geo. H. Whitney, D. D. Illustrated by 100 engravings and 40 maps and plans. The places of Bible Lands, with accompanying descriptions, are arranged in alphabetical order, in the form of a dictionary. The book is of great value as a work of ready reference. 495 pp. $2.50
BIBLICAL ATLAS AND GAZETTEER. Pages 11x8 1/2 inches in size. Contains 16 finely executed maps of Bible Lands, with 87 pages of descriptive matter, and a complete geographical Biblical Gazetteer. $1.50
THE TEMPLE AND ITS SERVICES. By Rev. Dr. Edersheim. The author’s aim in this work is to take the reader back eighteen hundred years, and present Jerusalem, with the temple and its services, as they were in the time of Christ, and thus give some of the circumstances under which the Saviour taught. 368 pp. $1.25
SKETCHES OF JEWISH SOCIAL LIFE. This book is by the same author as the one above, and has a kindred aim. The two books read together give a vivid picture of the religious and social life of the Jews in the days of Christ. 342 pp. $1.25
Address SIGNS OF THE TIMES, Oakland, Cal.
Meetings—Very Important!
By Editor
PUBLISHING ASSOCIATION.
The Annual Meeting of the Stockholders of the Publishing Association will be one of great interest and importance. It is earnestly hoped that a large number of the Stockholders will attend. We are always glad to welcome our friends at the Publishing House, and especially at such a time when they come to examine its working and its progress. Do not send proxies where it is possible to come yourself. You want to see and know—not to hear—what the office is doing. This meeting convenes on MONDAY, APRIL 23, at 9:30 A. M.
STATE QUARTERLY MISSIONARY MEETING.
The State Quarterly Meeting of the Tract and Missionary Society will be held on Sabbath and Sunday, April 21, 22. On the Sabbath the services will be appropriate to the occasion; a missionary sermon—perhaps more—will be preached, which all the workers ought to hear. The missionary work is increasing in magnitude and importance in all parts of the field—"the field is the world"—and our interest and efforts should grow with its growth. We have but few ministers in California, but "the Lord's work must be done." A great responsibility rests on our missionary workers; a great privilege is granted to them. Eld. Haskell, now on his way from the East, will be present, and every local society in the State ought to be well represented at this State Quarterly Meeting. They will hear much of interest, and learn much that is important for them to understand in carrying on their work. It is expected that all ministers and licentiates will attend.
The church of Oakland extends a cordial invitation to members of other churches to come to this meeting. Our houses will be open to receive you, and our hearts to welcome you. Come praying for a blessing on our efforts. Meetings will commence Friday evening.
COLLEGE ASSOCIATION.
The Annual Meeting of the College Association will be held at Healdsburg, Friday, April 27, at 9 A. M. Those coming by railroad will have to come Thursday P. M. They will be met at the Healdsburg station about 8 P. M. At this meeting a Board of Trustees will be elected, and every one interested in the welfare of our young, growing College ought to attend it. Come, friends, without fail; this is a most important work, and should receive your personal attention.
There are two classes who will try to excuse themselves, and stay away: one, having bought a piece of land, or five yoke of oxen, and cannot spend time to come; the other, having no land or oxen, and are too poor to come. A splendid rain, such as we have just received, may answer the purpose of a piece of land, or several yoke of oxen. But who will make an effort to come, even at a sacrifice? Such will receive a blessing according to the effort and the sacrifice.
SOUTHERN CAMP-MEETING.
This meeting will be held in Tulare County, about two miles east of Lemoore, holding from May 10 to 16. The meetings spoken of above should have a good representation from the lower or central counties; for while the ministers are together in Oakland, final arrangements will be made for attending the camp-meeting. The friends of Tulare and Fresno Counties will want to be present when these arrangements are made.
THE OAKLAND CHURCH.
In this connection we wish to say a few words about the finances of the Oakland church. The last mortgage on the meeting-house, in the hands of the bank, falls due the first of May. The pledges made to redeem this mortgage are not yet due. None are urged to pay now; but if any can pay—the whole or a part—at these meetings, it will be a great relief, as it is desirable that the last mortgage be canceled as soon as possible. The church is not wealthy; it has not one wealthy member, and it keeps up its running expenses with some difficulty. But it is doing well, and is of good courage. It acknowledges its indebtedness to divine grace for many blessings during the past year.
Editor’s Visit to Healdsburg
By Editor
THE editor of the SIGNS expects to spend next Sabbath, April 14, in Healdsburg.
Camp-Meeting in Oregon.
By Charles L. Boyd
THE time of this meeting is fast approaching. Who are coming up to this annual gathering of the people of God? At what period of the meeting are you coming? Before answering these questions, please consider the following facts:—
1. We are in the hour of God's judgment; on the very borders of eternal things.
2. To us is committed the giving of the last message of mercy to a lost world, and to a church sleeping on the brink of destruction. We may neglect our work, but it will be at our peril.
3. Matters of vital interest to the cause in this conference will be considered at the commencement of the meeting.
Do you say you do not understand the work and are willing to trust the business in other hands? My brother, would you stay at home, and let a neighbor go and buy “five yoke of oxen” for you? Would you quietly follow your plow and let another man go and purchase a farm with your money? Were I at your home and to suggest such a course, you would at once say that I was either sadly wanting in financial ability, or plotting your destruction. Do you consider the awful truths of the Third Angel's Message of less moment than oxen or farms? Now if you leave this work in the hands of others, you are not an illustration of the Saviour's declaration that the children of this world are wiser in their generation than the children of light?
Now, my brethren, I want to ask you the solemn question: Do you expect the words, “Well done, good and faithful,” to fall with their life-giving unction from the lips of the Son of David upon your head? These words can be spoken to none but the laborers, to those who have “done” something for the Master. Mark well the fact.
Do you want to be excused? God can raise up another to do your work; but that other will also receive your crown.
4. This meeting will probably be at or near Portland.
5. It will probably commence June 13.
6. I want to meet every lover of the truth at the very first meeting.
7. All who feel that they lack the true spirit of the message should by all means be there at the commencement to imbibe the spirit of the work.
Now I fear that some who might be induced to come to the meeting will not see this call. If the reader knows of any such will you not read this article to them?
At this meeting we expect the labors of Bro. Haskell, fresh from his missionary visit through Europe, also that of Bro. Colcord from the U. P. Conference.
Exact time, place, and further particulars in due time.
CHAS. L. BOYD.
Sabbath-School Department.
By Editor
WITH this issue we resume the Sabbath-school department, which has been dropped on account of the continued review of the last quarter. The schools now commence the study of the book of Acts, a book of the greatest interest to all. Our object in these lesson notes will be two-fold. First, we wish to assist Sabbath-school scholars in the study of the lesson, by bringing out points that might not be readily apparent to all. In this effort we shall spare no labor or study. Knowing that few have access to many lesson helps outside of the Bible, we shall endeavor to give them the benefit of the best at our command. But since comparatively few of the many readers of the SIGNS will be engaged in the study of the lesson, we shall aim, second, to make our notes of such a character that they will interest the general reader; and not only interest, but profit. Besides this we shall occasionally publish articles on Sabbath-school work in general. Questions on points in the lesson, or on any matters pertaining to the Sabbath-school will be gladly received, and will be answered in this department.
Questions Asked.
By Editor
WE have received quite a number of questions on the subject of the immortality of the soul. An explanation of several texts of Scripture is asked. Let the questioners have patience. In a few weeks some articles on the immortality question will be published, in the course of which all these questions will be fully discussed.
New Books for the Sabbath-School.
By Editor
WE wish to call special attention to the new books advertised in the paper, for use in Bible study. All of them are useful and instructive; some are almost indispensable. Among the latter are “Hand-Book of Bible Geography,” and “Biblical Atlas and Gazetteer.” The “Life and Epistles of Paul,” needs no mention, as it is well known. A “Smith’s Comprehensive Dictionary of the Bible,” and a good Concordance, should be in the hands of every Bible student. This list might be increased indifinitely; but these are books that are a necessity.
Van Horns’ Post-Office Address
The post-office address of Eld. I. D. Van Horn, and Mrs. A. P. Van Horn, is No. 812 Wildwood Avenue, Jackson, Michigan.