Earlier text: GOD IN HIS WORKSThe Reformation Under Samuel.
By A. B. Simpson
“And Samuel spake unto all the house of Israel, saying, If ye do return unto the Lord with all your hearts, then put away the strange gods and Ashtaroth from among you, and prepare your hearts unto the Lord, and serve him only; and he will deliver you out of the hands of the Philistines.” 1 Sam. 7:3. The great reformation under Samuel began in the complete failure of the people themselves and the demonstration of their utter inability to lift themselves out of their helpless condition. God has to let us come to the end of ourselves before he can interpose for our deliverance. A mother stood on the deck of a ship, hardly restrained from throwing herself into the sea to save her drowning boy, while men stood by and waited as he sank again and again. At last, as he rose for the third time, a brave seaman leaped in and caught the sinking lad and held him safely while both were drawn to the deck. “Why didn’t you save him sooner?” cried the frantic mother, as her boy slowly came back to consciousness. “Because,” said the sailor, “I had to wait until his strength was gone, or he would have drowned both himself and me.” And so God has to wait until our strength is gone before he can save or sanctify or heal us. This was Israel’s state when Samuel came to the front as the leader of the new reformation. Politically, the country was under the power of the Philistines. Morally and socially, the people were corrupt, and the fearful example of Hophni and Phineas, the very priests of God, who turned the sanctuary at Shiloh and the very services of Jehovah’s worship into an orgy of license, could not fail to have a fatal influence upon the manners and the morals of all the people. Even Eli himself, who was still recognized as the ecclesiastical and judicial head of the nation, while honest and sincere in his purpose, was a helpless tool in the hands of his family. And so the very fountains of justice and religion were utterly corrupted, and all that was lacking was the crisis hour when this system of iniquity should fall to pieces by its own weight, as it really did at last. The critical moment came when the Philistines once more invaded the land, and in a moment of presumptuous despair the desperate leaders of Israel’s forlorn hope brought out the ark of God and placed it in front of the armies of Israel. The Philistines realized at once their danger and their opportunity. They were fighting now not only Israel, but Israel’s God, and so with redoubled valor the captains roused the host to do their best, and by one victorious blow not only to crush their enemies, but to secure for themselves the supernatural secret of their victorious power. As old Eli sat by the tabernacle court at Shiloh that eventide, a cloud of dust appeared upon the distant horizon, and a swift runner rapidly dashed along until he stood breathless before the aged judge. As he dashed along, the people had already caught from his manner and his cries the fearful tidings, and a great cry arose throughout the city. Eli heard the tumult, and called the messenger to his side. The aged patriarch of ninety-eight was too blind to see his form and could but dimly hear his words, but he eagerly asked him for tidings from the field, and as those fearful words fell upon his ear, “Israel is fled, . . . there hath been also a great slaughter among the people, thy two sons, Hophni and Phineas, are dead, and the ark of God is taken,” that last9 word broke the old man’s heart, and he sank back in a swoon and fell heavily to the ground, and as they picked him up his neck was broken and his life was gone. Among the tragedies of that terrible day was the dying anguish of the wife of Phineas and the significant name she left with her parting sigh of agony to the poor little orphan child which came that moment into life as the memorial of his country’s shame, Ichabod, “the glory is departed.” Yes, it was the deepest, darkest hour of the nation’s wo, but it was the darkness just before the dawn and deliverance was near. The next stage in the preparation of the coming reformation was the revelation and vindication of God as himself the nation’s hope. The one great design of Israel’s history as a nation was to be the witness and revealer of God, and all the supernatural manifestations of their glorious past were intended not to show the greatness of their leaders, but the glory and all-sufficiency of their divine Lord and Leader. Sometimes, therefore, God had to let the human instruments utterly fail that he himself might be the more gloriously vindicated in his own all-sufficiency and power. And so we find in the later history of the nation that there came a time when the kings and the prophets and priests of Judah and Israel completely failed to glorify Jehovah among the nations or accomplish his purpose for the world, and yet this became the most illustrious day of his own manifestation. He had to let the very kingdom of Judah and Israel pass away in ignominious defeat, and even the temple itself become a heap of smoldering ashes before the victorious power of Nebuchadnezzar; and yet, in that very hour, he called four humble Hebrew youths in Babylon to stand for him amid the furnace of fire and the lions’ den and so to vindicate his own glory and supremacy that in the hour of his pride Nebuchadnezzar, the mightiest king and conqueror of the earth, was compelled to acknowledge that Jehovah was the only true God and to issue a decree calling upon his subjects to worship the God of Daniel as the true God and the sovereign Ruler of the universe. And a little later he compelled Cyrus Artaxerxes and even Xerxes, the proud despots of Persia, to recognize his supremacy, to protect his people and even to send back the captives from Babylon to rebuild the city and the temple at Jerusalem. And so here we find in this period of Israel’s history that while the nation failed and the priesthood failed and the very ark of God seemed to fail, God himself became the more gloriously vindicated even in the midst of his enemies. No sooner had the ark of God been taken by the Philistines than a long train of desolation followed in its path wherever it went. They set it up in the temple of Dagon among their gods, and in the morning Dagon was fallen on his face before the ark of the Lord. They set him up again, and the next morning he was not only fallen down but shattered to pieces before the awful presence of the God of the ark. The most humiliating and distressing plagues began to fall upon the people, and they begged that it should be sent away from Ashdod, but no sooner had they taken it to Gath than they begged that it be removed. And so they took it to Ekron, but the people of Ekron protested, saying, “They have brought about the ark of the God of Israel to us, to slay us and our people.” And so at last they called a council and determined to send it back to Israel once more. So, preparing a costly present and choosing two milch kine, they put it on a cart and committed it to the God whom it represented in some superstitious way to their terrified minds. But it needed no human hand to guide that holy symbol of Jehovah’s presence. Contrary to their own instincts, those unwilling kine went steadily forward at a divine command which they could neither understand nor disobey, lowing as they went, because their hearts carried them backward to their calves; yet on they went at the bidding of a power that drove them in the opposite direction, until they reached Beth-shemesh, where the Levites met the sacred ark, and took the cattle that bore it and offered them up in sacrifice unto the Lord, and presented the costly offerings before the Lord. Thus God showed that he could vindicate his own glory and lead his own way without the help or wisdom of man. And even a more solemn lesson still had to be learned, for as the men of Beth-shemesh presumed to approach the holy symbol of the presence of God with forbidden familiarity, they were smitten with death. This is the lesson that we all need to learn before we are prepared to truly represent God, that God does not need us or our strength, but that we need to understand him and know that he is all-sufficient for his own work and that what he requires of us is that we know him, bear witness to him, and truly represent him. He is able to take care of his own cause if we only give him right of way. “I, if I be lifted up, will draw all men unto Me.”—Rev. A. B. Simpson, in Missionary Alliance. THE INFALLIBILITY OF THE BIBLE QUESTIONED BY METHODIST MINISTERS.
By W. N. G.
Now it is the Methodist turn to be agitated over the question of the infallibility of the Bible. The New York Journal of February 16 says:— “This question indirectly put to some three hundred Methodist clergymen yesterday morning, provoked a discussion which ended in one of the stormiest meetings ever held by clerics in this city. For nearly twenty minutes the controversy was so heated that the chairman was unable to restore order.” In the course of remarks upon a paper that had been read by another minister, Dr. J. M. Buckley, editor of the Christian Advocate, and an acknowledged leader in the denomination, took occasion to state his belief that “the English version of the Bible is not infallible; that it contains errors.” At this juncture the report says:— “A chorus of voices in angry and indignant protest drowned his further utterances for several minutes, but, with another gesture, he finally commanded silence. “‘I do not believe,’ he cried in a loud and defiant voice, ‘that there are four men present who believe absolutely in the English version of the Bible. If there are, and they are looking for a fifth, they can count me out.’ “Then a scene of the most intense confusion ensued. Dignified clergymen arose to their feet, and shouted, ‘Tis false!’ ‘We believe in the Bible!’ ‘Heresy! heresy!’ and, ‘What doctrine is this?’ Other men stood on chairs wildly brandishing their arms in a vain endeavor to gain recognition from the chair. Still others surrounded Dr. Buckley, and asked him to retract his words, but he was firm. “‘No,’ he shouted, and his strong voice could be heard above the tumult; ‘I’ll not retract, and I demand a vote on the question.’ “This defiance only served to add to the hubbub. By this time every man present was in a condition of the keenest excitement. The chair seemed about to entertain a motion that the question of the fallibility, or the infallibility, of the Bible be put to a vote of the meeting. This made the strictly orthodox ministers doubly indignant. “‘It’s out of order!’ they cried. ‘It’s unparliamentary! The question should not be put.’ “‘It should be put!’ shouted back Dr. Buckley. ‘I question the infallibility of the Bible, and I want those who—’ “The Rev. Dr. Shaffer, for many years superintendent of the Five Points Mission in this city, bristled up to Dr. Buckley. “‘If you doubt the infallibility of the Bible,’ he cried in the editor’s face, ‘we can very well get along without you, and all like you.’ “‘You’re afraid to have a vote taken,’ retorted Dr. Buckley.” A vote was finally allowed by the chairman, but the result was not deemed an expression of opinion, as most of the ministers saw the impropriety of attempting to settle such a question in that way, and refrained from voting at all. Dr. Buckley referred specifically to the English version, saying: “I do not pretend at this time to question the infallibility of the Bible as it was written in the Hebrew and the Greek, but I do question parts of it as it is written in English.” The adversary of truth seems to be going the rounds of the denominations, plying each in its turn with the suggestion that the Bible is fallible; and many of the leading theologians fall in with the idea, thus casting doubt over the minds of the rank and file. It is one of the many Roman Catholic heresies that have crept into the Protestant ranks. Skepticism of the Bible is in the air, and has so permeated the nominal church that the Word of God is no longer deemed the standard and power of reform, and the civil law is being invoked instead. These are indications of the last days; for “the Spirit speaketh expressly, that in the latter times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils.” 1 Tim. 4:1. Satanic cunning could not devise a more destructive doctrine than the fallibility of the Bible, by means of which salvation is proclaimed to the world. W. N. G. Recently, at Bath, Me., Roman Catholic boys and girls burned Bibles and psalm-books in the public schools at the command of the priests. There has been for some days a sort of revival among the Roman Catholics—priests from out of town assisting,—and during this time (the boys and girls so testify) a priest told them to “burn,” “jump on,” “spit on,” the books, or anything else of the sort. “They are not fit for any one to use.” This is the language the boys and girls testify to, and it is a fact that both boys and girls have burned those books. The result was that the A. P. A.’s called a mass meeting and passed resolutions protesting against the interference of the priesthood with the reading of the Scriptures in the public schools, and against any laxity of the school board, and demanding that all the laws in their code be strictly enforced. Great excitement prevails, the A. P. A. Council, which has a membership of about 250, will see that the law is enforced.—Wisconsin Patriot. Lincoln Fountain Pen. We are constantly receiving words of recommendation for this pen, and we are thoroughly convinced that it is just as represented in every way. We are allowing special prices on orders for a dozen or more at one time. Our offer to send the pen for only 75 cents to any one subscribing for the SIGNS OF THE TIMES for one year, and paying the regular subscription price of $1.00, still holds good. Both the SIGNS and the pen for $1.75. Pacific Press Pub. Co., Oakland, Cal. New York City. Kansas City, Mo. BOUND VOLUMES OF OUR LITTLE FRIEND
By Editor
WE still have on hand a limited number of Vols. 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6, bound in cloth, stamp on side, uniform in appearance. The Little Friend never grows old, and will be an interesting and valuable caller at any time. Send it to some little friend as a present. Sent to any address, postpaid, for $1.00 per volume. ILLUSTRATED SPRING CATALOG. 1897.
Our new 60-page catalog of publications is now ready, and will be sent free to our readers on receipt of a postal card request. Send at once and secure our latest catalog while it is fresh and new. PACIFIC PRESS PUBLISHING CO., Kansas City, Mo. Oakland, Cal. New York City, N. Y. “THE Sahara,” says the Revue Française, “has the reputation of being an entirely sterile desert, uninhabited and uninhabitable. If this assertion is well founded in many cases, it is, nevertheless, not true everywhere, and even outside of the oases the Sahara presents some resources, not very considerable, it is true, but such as are greatly appreciated by the pastoral peoples that traverse it. According to M. Kunckel, of Herculais, there are found at every step in the sandy regions mounds surmounted by plants whose roots can be utilized as fuel. Masses of tamarinds and gum acacias are frequent, especially in the beds of old water courses, where roam beasts of various kinds. In the mineralized waters of the desert are found water-turtles, etc. “But what rehabilitates the Sahara a little is the presence during the winter season of numerous flocks of animals. In 1892 more than11 9,000,000 of sheep wintered in the Algerian Sahara, paying a duty of 1,763,000 francs ($352,000). There sheep were worth 20 francs ($4) apiece, or in all $175,000,000. The Sahara nourishes also 2,000,000 goats and 260,000 camels paying a duty of 1,000,000 francs. In the oases palms, citrons, and apricots abound; there are cultivated also onions, pimentos, and various leguminous vegetables. The oases contain 1,500,000 date palms, on which the duty is 560,000 francs. The product of a date tree varies from 8 to 10 francs; those of the desert give about 15,000,000 francs a year.” TOMMY’S DIFFICULT PLACE.
By Pansy
Tommy stood still in the street considering. He had come to a difficult place in life. He was errand boy in general in the great shop where he worked, and as a rule nobody could have been found more willing and prompt at doing errands than he. To-day he was troubled. In his hand were several pieces of money, and with them he was expected to buy several bottles of a certain kind of beer of which the workmen in his room were fond. Tommy had known this for several days, and that they drank too much of it. In truth, Tommy’s opinion was that a single drop was too much. But he was a new boy, and they were grown men, and of course he said nothing. He had been sent for hammers, and saws, and nails, and once for a man’s dinner, and he had been prompt and willing, but this was a new errand. He had dropped his chisel and seized his hat, from force of habit, as soon as the order came, and was out-of-doors before he had taken time to consider. Then he remembered who he was: Pledged against using beer himself, pledged to use all honorable ways to keep others from touching it. Was it “honorable” to go for it, and bring it to those tempted men? Wasn’t that a sense in which that was “touching it”? “They will get it anyway, whether you bring it or not,” said a voice in his ear. “What if they do?” said conscience in reply; “you can’t help that, but you can help carrying it to them.” “You will lose your place,” said the voice, “and the men will swear at you and cuff you.” “What of that?” said conscience; “you didn’t promise to keep your pledge if it were easy and every one treated you well; you promised”— “So I did,” said Tommy: “O, dear! I ought not to go for that beer. But I shall get into trouble; what shall I do?” Then a verse he had learned but the night before seemed to come quietly and stand beside him. This was it: “Then they cry unto the Lord in their trouble, and he bringeth them out of their distresses.” “I don’t see how the Lord can help me,” said Tommy: “the boss himself drinks beer, and he’ll take the part of the men; but I’ll try it.” What a fortunate thing for Tommy that he did not have to go a mile or more to find the One who was to help! There would not have been time for that. And it was well that he did not have to kneel down in the street, for that would have brought a crowd around him, and made much trouble; all he had to do was to speak so quietly that he could not even hear his own voice. Just a call for help! No explanation was necessary. Then he turned and went quickly back to the shop. “Back already?” said one; “where is the beer?” “I can’t get it, sir; I forgot at the moment; that is, I mean I did not know what I ought to do; but I am a temperance boy, sir; pledged, you know, not to touch it nor help anybody else to it; and of course I couldn’t.” For a few seconds the shop reeked with profanity; then one, older than the others, said:— “Look here, boys; quit that. I’m no tee-totaller myself; but it would be better for me if I was. I like the chap’s pluck. I shouldn’t want my youngster to bring beer, and this one needn’t if he isn’t a mind to. We’ll let him alone.” Some of the men growled. One said: “I’ll not swallow him, but I’ll tell the boss; he said Tommy was to do our bidding.” Sure enough; the “boss” happened to appear at that moment, was appealed to, and heard the story. He turned and looked steadily at the trembling Tommy. “So that is your stamp, is it, my boy? I guess you’ll do for up-stairs; I have been thinking about it and trying to decide. You may take off your apron and report up there.” Now “up-stairs” was a pleasanter room, with pleasanter men, and the wages were a dollar a week more. Tommy had had a trembling hope that he might be promoted there by spring if he worked hard all the fall and winter. As he marched across the long room to which he was bidding good-by so soon, he smiled broadly as he said to himself, “And He bringeth them out of their distresses.”—Pansy. Senator Hill, of Georgia, went to a premature grave after terrible suffering from cancer of the tongue. Cause—tobacco. The life of Thomas Dunn English, eminent poet and physician, was barely saved by a torturing operation in removing a cancer. Cause—tobacco. General Grant died too young with cancer. Cause—tobacco. The tobacco habit threatens to exclude men from some important industries. A woman holds the position of inspector of colored glass in New York, her sense of color being more perfect than any of her male competitors. Lieutenant Greeley says of those who went with him to the North Pole, of the seventeen of his men who died, all were smokers but one, and he died last. Of the seven survivors, none were smokers. The tobacco habit is injurious to health, it is an expensive habit, and it is a bad example; therefore it ought to be shunned.—Selected. SHALL I hold them back—my jewels?
Time has traveled many a day
Since I laid them by forever,
Safely locking them away;
And I thought them yielded wholly
When I dared no longer wear
Gems contrasting, O, so sadly!
With the adorning I would bear. Shall I keep them still—my jewels?
Shall I? Can I yet withhold
From that living, loving Saviour
Aught of silver or of gold,
Gold so needed, that His Gospel
May resound from sea to sea?
Can I know Christ’s service lacketh,
Yet forget His “Unto Me”? “No, I lay them down—my jewels!”
Truly on the altar now.
Stay! I see a vision passing
Of a gem-encircled brow:
Heavenly treasure worn by Jesus,
Souls won through my gift outpoured;
Freely, gladly I will offer
Jewels thus to crown my Lord! The queer little Italian republic of San Marino, with its 33 square miles of territory and its population of 6,000, lies up in the eastern spurs of the Apennine Mountains. It is governed by a grand council of 60, who are elected for life, and 2 presidents, one of whom is appointed by the council, the other elected by the people. The little republic has an army of 650 men, who are employed only as policemen. San Marino is the only country in the world that prohibits the introduction of the printing press. The city of San Marino, with a population of 1,700, is one of the queerest old towns in the world. It has undergone no change in 500 years. This republic began in 1631. A bit larger than San Marino in population, but 6 times as large in area, is the republic of Andora. It lies in a valley of the eastern Pyrenees, between France and Spain. It became a free State 790. It is governed by a sovereign council of 24 members, elected by the people, and a syndic, or president, chosen for life by the council. It has an army of 1,100 men, and 1 big gun, planted in the center of the republic. This gun carries a ball 20 miles, and Europe trembles at the thought of its being fired. In Andora, the capital, is the palace—a stone building several hundred years old. Here the councilmen meet. The ground floor is the stable where their horses are kept and fed by their masters themselves.—Harper’s Round Table. The most common form of fraud practised with milk is the removal of a part of the cream and the addition of water. The greatest danger in the adulteration of milk by water lies in the introduction of dangerous species of disease germs. Salicylic acid, boric acid, borax and formaldehyde are some of the chemicals added to prevent milk from souring. Milk should be kept in a cool place, free from odors, and in a perfectly clean vessel of well-glazed earthen or porcelain ware or a glass jar or bottle. Tin and wood are objectionable. Milk should keep perfectly sweet by the household consumer in summer from 24 to 36 hours after delivery if maintained at 50 degrees Fahrenheit. The pasteurization or sterilization of milk destroys all the germs present, by means of heat. Separator cream is much richer than “gravity cream,” and for this reason is preferred for whipping. Cream is sometimes kept for one or two weeks before it is sold. When good milk is poured from a tumbler it will cling to the glass a little, and not run off clean like water. The yellow color of milk is not a safe standard by which to judge its quality, for poor milk from some cows may be more highly colored than rich milk from others. The average dairy cow gives 350 gallons of milk per year, or about enough to supply 14 persons with milk. The milk served by milkmen in large cities is generally from 12 to 24 hours old. Very often it is 36 hours old when delivered. The daily receipts of milk in New York City are 700,000 quarts. Philadelphia uses 300,000 quarts of milk per day. Farmers receive from 2 to 5 cents per quart in different parts of the country. They usually get from 2 to 2½ cents in summer and 1 cent more in winter. The time required for the complete digestion of milk is normally three hours. The most evident differences between human milk and cow’s milk are that human milk is sweeter; it contains less butter and casein, and the casein forms in much smaller clots and is more quickly dissolved.—Public Journal of Health. PHYSICAL HELP IN RESCUE WORK.
We are well aware that there is a difference of opinion in regard to the usefulness of physical help in rescue work, but undoubtedly there is a growing sentiment in favor of doing everything possible to help physically while helping spiritually. A great many people criticise the plan of giving free lunches in rescue missions where there are men, because it is claimed that free lunches only bring the paupers, the tramps, and the bums. But is not this exactly what Christ wants of his children,—to rescue these very tramps? No one would dare undertake to say that a tramp has not a soul. No one would dare to say because a man is lazy and does not want to work and has not been willing to work for a long time, that he has no soul to save. Thousands in this army of tramps have been saved by the Lord Jesus Christ, and instead of being lazy, good-for-nothing vagabonds, they are now to-day respected men, many of them holding good positions, cleanly dressed, active in the work of rescuing the fallen. Many and many are the testimonies of thousands who have been reached through free lunches or through some help in the way of lodgings or other physical help. And while everything needs to be done to encourage men to work and fix it so they can earn their lunches and their lodgings by work, yet it must not be forgotten that the great object is to12 bring the Gospel of Jesus Christ to these lost people. We seem to forget sometimes that Christ came to save the outcast, whether man or woman. He died on the cross just as much to save the woman who is in rags and the man who is a reprobate and a vagabond as he did to save one who is living a life of industry. The great difficulty is that people who criticise the methods of rescue workers are so lax in information on this subject that they judge prematurely. So very few go down to see what is being done and how it is being done and why it is being done. If those who are in doubt about the question of whether or not we should help physically those who are degraded, will visit the rescue work in this country that is being carried on for Christ's sake and the salvation of souls, there can be only one decision reached. “For I was an hungered, and ye gave me no meat; I was thirsty, and ye gave me no drink; I was a stranger, and ye took me not in; naked, and ye clothed me not; sick, and in prison, and ye visited me not. Then shall they also answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungered, or athirst, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and did not minister unto thee? Then shall he answer them, saying, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye did it not to one of the least of these, ye did it not to me.”—Union Gospel News. GOVERNMENT INDIAN SCHOOLS.
By A. P. Dean
The recent appropriation bill for the Indian service designates $2,056,695, or nearly one quarter of the whole sum, for the support of schools. The origin of these schools dates back variously, according to locality. Those among the Sioux are due to the ratification of the school treaty in 1868. There are several kinds of schools—day schools, boarding schools, reservation and non-reservation schools, bonded industrial schools, and contract schools. At the day schools the pupils attend only between certain hours, generally from nine to four. Absentees are brought in by Indian policemen, and while at the school pupils learn something of household and industrial duties. Day schools at a distance from the agency (which is the headquarters for rations, supplies, mail, news, salaries, and white society), are called camp schools, because the Indians around them live in log huts with tepees (this Indian word meaning properly a circular tent), and move all their belongings whenever they wish to go any distance away. These camp schools are usually supplied with a principal teacher and an assistant teacher. The management of the school-room is the work of the former, while the latter—who is often his wife—attends to the personal neatness of the pupils. On reaching the schoolhouse, girls are required to wash their faces, comb their hair, and put on clean aprons, which they themselves make at the schoolhouse, under the direction of the assistant teacher. Facilities for washing and ironing these aprons are also provided. There is also, in many cases, a small garden cared for by the boys; and a simple luncheon prepared by the girls, under the direction of the assistant teacher, is furnished daily to all the pupils. A camp school has one large building, including a schoolroom and a house for the teacher. The Indians get into the way of expecting a good many favors from the camp teachers, and every tyro grants some—until he finds his leisure and his larder seriously depleted thereby, and sees the barb-wire fence around his house surrounded by a crowd of clamorous squaws, who, having used up their agency rations, or, more likely, allowed them to spoil through lack of proper care, are anxious to provide for the hungry pappooses in the tepee. There are in all 102 government day schools, more than half of them being among the Sioux in the northwest. Contract schools are religious schools under contract with the government for the education of Indian pupils, and receiving a portion of all their support in return for this service. At present there are about 50 such schools. It must, however, be remembered that the day schools are much smaller than the other kinds, so that, altho twice as numerous as the contract schools, they represent an enrollment little more than one-half as large. The training schools have special facilities for teaching various trades and household management. There are 20 now in operation, with an average attendance of almost four-fifths of their total capacity. To carry on such schools requires, on an average, about one employee for every 7 or 8 pupils, as the success of the work depends largely upon individual instruction. Indeed, the experience of those working in such schools goes to prove that if a still larger number of employees could be afforded, results would be more highly satisfactory. The largest of these industrial schools is the well-known one at Carlisle, Pa., where the “outing” system, which sends pupils out as temporary help in families near by, is practised with helpful results. All the non-reservation industrial schools are bonded. The name “bonded school” means one whose superintendent has given bonds for the honorable use of all moneys intrusted to his care. At all non-reservation boarding schools the superintendent is allowed a certain sum per capita, at present $167 a year for most schools, from which money all current expenses of the school must be met. This occasionally embarrasses the bonded superintendent, as in any case of sudden diminution in the number of pupils some outlay or other must be cut down, or the excess of expense over income is liable to be deducted from the face value of his bond. But the superintendent of a non-reservation school has an advantage in being accountable only to the Indian Commissioner, while on the reservation everything must be done under the authority of the agent. The reservation boarding schools are the most numerous class, there being a total of 7,558 in operation at the present time. This form of school has an advantage over any of the others, in that it keeps the pupils somewhat in touch with home life, while yet the home is far enough removed to minimize the hindering and retarding effect of its influence. Many of the pupils can go home on Friday night and return Monday morning. This makes the parents more willing to allow their children to go away to school, thereby overcoming one great obstacle to Indian education. But those pupils who can be got farther away from the camp life are the ones who will become the most civilized in the end.—A. P. Dean. THE CIDER DRUNKARD'S APPETITE.
ONE of the most serious accusations against cider is that it creates an appetite for alcoholic drinks of every sort. One can hardly drink even sweet cider without wishing for more, and when it is drank right along from the barrel, as usual, the more it is drank the more it is wanted. Perhaps there is no other drink the fascination of which is so strong and lasting. Let us give a few proofs. Rev. William Thayer says that reformed drunkards testify that they nearly all formed the appetite on unfermented liquors, and drank nothing stronger till the appetite so educated demanded it. Then, and not till then, they went to the whisky shop. An agent of the Massachusetts Temperance Alliance, getting pledges in the secular schools, came to some towns where he got only about sixty per cent. of the scholars, two-thirds as many as he got elsewhere. He found that it was a common opinion there that fermented liquors do not form the drunkard's appetite. Several teachers told him that from four to eight scholars had come into their schools intoxicated, and some of them repeatedly, and nearly all on cider. A gentleman in Iowa writes of his own appetite for cider. It was formed by drinking one year to enable him to do heavy farm work. After that he worked where he could not get it, but more than a year he felt so great a craving for it that he would have given for it anything he possessed. And tho it is now four years since he drank cider, he has a great yearning for it and has to fight the appetite. In Pleasant Valley, N. Y., are some cider drunkards. One of them publicly said: “I am a cider drunkard. I am seventy years old. I am worth sixty thousand dollars. I would gladly give every dollar of it, and support my family by day's work, if I could get rid of this appetite for drink. I had fought it since my early manhood. Once I was victor for two years; at another time for six months; now drink is my master.” The falling tears, quivering lips, trembling hands and voice combined, were but a faint index of a struggling and, perhaps, lost soul.—The Christian Life. ARE YOU KIND TO YOUR MOTHER?
Who guarded you in health, and comforted you when ill? Who hung over your little bed when you were fretful, and put the cooling draught to your parched lips? Who taught you how to pray, and gently helped you how to read? Who has borne your faults, and been kind and patient in your childish ways? Who loves you still, and who contrives and works and prays for you every day you live? Is it not your mother—your own mother? Now let me ask you, “Are you kind to your mother?” —Pacific Ensign. Character Shapes the Face
THERE is no art, cosmetic, or system of physical culture or gymnastics that can do a thousandth part as much towards adding dignity, strength, and nobility of expression to a man's looks as can and does a great purpose, a righteous will, a devotion to principle, and an enthusiasm that can not be quenched. The soul that is filled with pure thoughts and a love for humanity never fails to fashion the features of its individual possessor into its own likeness.—Westerly Tribune. “God, give us men; a time like this demands
Strong minds, great hearts, true faith, and ready
hands.
Men whom the lust of office does not kill;
Men whom the spoils of office can not buy;
Men who possess opinions and a will,
Men who have honor, men who will not lie;
Men who can stand before a demagog
And scorn his treacherous flatteries without winking;
Tall men, sun-crowned, who live above the fog
In public duty and in private thinking.
For while the rabble, with their thumb-worn creeds,
Their loud profession, and their little deeds,
Mingle in selfish strife—lo!
Freedom weeps, wrong rules the land, and waiting
Justice sleeps.”