OUR Bible school in Constantinople is now in the past, and we are on the way to visit our work in Italy and France. Our sojourn in the Turkish capital and interviews with laborers from the field gave us an opportunity to gain some knowledge of the situation in this country that is now so prominently before the world. The result is the confirmation of the view before expressed, that the Armenians are themselves, more than any one else, to blame for what they suffer. This fact is so evident that it is a marvel how ministers and newspapers can continue as they do painting the Armenians and cursing the Turks. It seems almost like a case of wilful ignorance.
Ever since the Lord permitted the Mohammedans to fall as a scourge upon the professed Christians of Europe, to punish them for their idolatry (see Revelation 9), Europe has had a horror of the Turk. The present stir is but the preaching of another and the final crusade. This crusade, once started, is like its predecessors, blind to revelation and reason. First, the cry was raised, "The Turk must be driven out of Europe," but now this being nearly accomplished, the cry is raised, "The Turk ought to be blotted from the face of the earth."
But God has decreed the time and bounds of this nation, as of all others (Acts 17 : 22-26), and why should men meddle with his unalterable decrees? Those that try to take his place are not assigned a very desirable position in the Bible. 2 Thess. 2: 3, 4. While politicians oft essay to do this, Christians can never do it; the moment they do, they step down from the position God has assigned them. The Gospel of Jesus Christ is a Gospel of peace, and not of war. Its mission is to save, not to destroy, life. When two of his disciples proposed the destruction of the Samaritans because they rejected the Master, Christ told them that they knew not of what spirit they were.
It is our mission to preach the Gospel of salvation to every creature; this includes the Turks; this is our only mission to them; it is not ours to condemn or to wish to destroy.
Moreover, it is very doubtful if the Armenians would fare any better in any other nation, if they should there attempt the same as in Turkey. It is their avowed purpose to throw off the Turkish yoke. With them, it is not a question of religious liberty, but of national independence. As to religious liberty, they enjoy more than sects in some professedly Christian nations. With the Armenian, it is nothing but a revolt against the government; religion figures only so far as it may be used as an aid to this revolt. Now that they are not likely to gain their ends through their religion as a pretext, they resort to dynamite. How much concord is there between the religion of Jesus Christ and the dynamite of the anarchist?
There was a revolt against the government in the United States when some of the southern states seceded from the Union on account of the Slavery Question. Was there no attempt to put down this revolt? no bloodshed? no property destroyed? Do those who use dynamite against the government in France, Germany, etc., fare any better than the Armenians in Turkey?
It is not our design to convey the impression that all the Armenians are anarchists; far from it; there are many excellent, peace-loving people among them; but the masses are in sympathy with the revolt against the Turkish Government, and some who are not, dare not express their sentiments because they fear the Armenian revolutionists more than the Turks. Were the Armenians as a nation independent, it is doubtful if Protestant missionaries would enjoy the tranquillity which they share under the Turkish Government. The Armenians are only men, and as such no better than the Turks. Some of our people, Armenians, who have always lived in Turkey, and whom we know to be reliable, bear a favorable testimony of the Turks. Under the same circumstances, they compare very favorably with the Greeks and Armenians. But their evil traits have been held up before the world and magnified so long, while little or no mention has been made of their good qualities, that the world has been led to consider them horrid monsters, utterly void of any redeeming features.
Let us view the situation in the light of common sense, and not be carried away by the false crusade sentiment that now dominates the masses. Let us leave the fate of the Turk in the hands of God, who will mete exact justice to all! H. P. H.
Smyrna, Oct. 12, 1896.
Oxygen
By E. H. Matthewson, M.D.
STEPS TO HEALTH. No. 2.
Oxygen.
ONE of the first essentials to all living things is oxygen. Without it fire will not even burn and all living things perish. Iron and steel can be burned in pure oxygen and how much more important to us than for other purposes. We can not use oxygen, however, in its pure state; so we find it mixed with nitrogen, hydrogen, and other gases. The air also contains moisture. If one stops breathing but a few moments he becomes so poisoned that the heart stops and death follows; why?—The oxygen is necessary to burn up and dissolve the impure matter, which is generated in every action or thought. The presence of oxygen or fresh air increases the activity of every organ, stimulates the circulation, is necessary to digestion, to thought and to any act. When we take a full inspiration, the oxygen enters the lung, passes through the membrane into the blood, by which it is carried to every part. We find it to be a law of nature, however, that when gases in different proportions are brought together they tend to equalize, so that if there be oxygen in the air we breathe and very little in the blood, the blood absorbs the oxygen until the amount in the blood and in the air are equal; but if we breathe impure air and get but a small amount of oxygen, there will but little oxygen pass into the blood; so we find it is true that persons who are compelled to live in close quarters, become pale and lose their vigor because they fail to breathe. One writer states that fresh air excites the appetite, renders the digestion of food more perfect, and induces sound and sweet sleep. "It refreshes the body, tends to render it strong and healthy, while at the same time its influence is decidedly felt upon the mind," and again, "air is the free blessing of heaven calculated to electrify the whole system."
It is certainly worth every effort then to see that we breathe the purest air at all times. We should have windows open throughout all the twenty-four hours, unless the circulation is otherwise provided for, of course being careful to avoid drafts and in all cases gradually accustoming ourselves to any change. Fresh air is necessary for sick or well alike, and must be had in order to retain health and vigor. By all means let us not neglect, therefore, to provide ourselves with an abundance of fresh air, which is so free to all, and so necessary to the vigor of every part. Many poisons are excreted in the air we exhale, and so a room may be full of deadly poison,10and yet have a good quantity of oxygen; so let us by all means see that we get a free circulation in our rooms day and night.
We may be surrounded by an abundance of pure air and yet breathe but a small amount; so it is an important question how to breathe.
How to Breathe.
If the blood does not freely circulate in all parts of the body we do not get the full benefit of the oxygen it contains; so it is necessary to breathe in a way that will stimulate the circulation of the blood. If the shoulders are thrown back, the chest forward, and we use the muscles of both the chest and abdomen, the full, regular movements will aid the heart in forcing the blood to all parts.
If we find that we do not use the chest or abdomen sufficiently when we breathe, but are only taking shallow inspirations, it is our duty to make a constant effort to breathe as deeply as possible, always taking the erect position mentioned, and keep the practice up till it becomes natural to us.
One of the valuable results of a brisk walk on a cool winter's morning is the increased breathing which we are compelled to do. Cool bathing also stimulates breathing and quickens the circulation, while overheated rooms would be detrimental to both.
Deep breathing greatly stimulates the circulation besides providing us with a much larger quantity of pure air.
Chicago Sanitarium, Chicago, Ill.
EVER THE SAME.
"The light that shone through all the past will still your steps attend;
The Guide who led you hitherto will lead you to the end.
The distant view is brightening, with fewer clouds between;
The golden streets are gleaming now, the pearly gates are seen.
New mercies from our Father's hand with each New Year may come,
But that will be the best of all—a blissful welcome home."
The Contest for Official Rewards
The political contest is for the present confined to the limits of the successful party. The controversy now is, "Who shall receive the official rewards?"
THE DAILY PRESS AND ITS INFLUENCE.
By William N. Glenn
THE waning influence of the daily press has come to be a subject of no little comment. The New York Evening Post has this to say of the California press:—
"One of the saddest and yet not unexpected manifestations of the campaign is the attitude of the public toward the newspapers. The force of the editorial seems to have departed. All parties alike have to depend chiefly upon pamphlets and leaflets. A large number of private individuals are writing and publishing their views, and circulating them in this form instead of through newspaper articles."
The San Francisco Argonaut indorses the above stricture in the following strain:—
"The Evening Post is right. The people of California have ceased to heed the editorial opinions of their daily newspapers. How could it be otherwise? These papers are run as purely commercial enterprises, and their editorial columns are entirely secondary to their news and advertising columns. We pointed out in the election of two years ago how little influence the daily papers of San Francisco possessed—none of the candidates whom they advocated for mayor succeeded, and the only man with no newspaper support was elected."
The same thing occurred in Oakland at the last municipal election. But it is not only in California that we see such results. The Literary Digest refers to the fact that the hostility of the local press of Detroit failed to defeat Mr. Pingree for mayor, and that all of Governor Altgeld's successes in the past have been achieved in spite of the antagonism of the combined press of Chicago. But the New York Voice gives what may be deemed a cue to the loss of editorial influence on the part of many daily papers. In its issues of October 1 and 8 it shows 'how degraded the public press may become at times under a comparatively slight money temptation, how ready to be bribed out of all semblance to simple manhood, and that, too, in communities in intelligence and in moral tone certainly not below the average of the country generally. Over forty odd newspapers of South Dakota, mainly leading ones, as shown by copies of letters, some of them facsimile, of their editors and proprietors, are eager, apparently, to sell themselves—not only their advertising space for reading or 'plate' matter, but at treble or quadruple rates, their editorial columns—to a New York 'advertising agent,' a representative of the liquor interest of the country, in order to overthrow prohibition in that state.'
There is another growing feature of the daily press which must of necessity lower its influence with sensible people, and that is the substitution of absurd caricature for argument. These things no doubt help to sell the papers, but beyond the gratification of a rather morbid curiosity, they serve rather as a boomerang. It is a stooping from journalistic dignity, and for a time wielded a certain political influence; but it has been carried to such an extravagant and uncouth extreme that it seems almost impossible that it should carry with it any conviction in matters requiring sober judgment to decide. W. N. G.
CHILDREN'S FEARS.
By Mary Wood Allen
THE best child in the world is liable to be full of fears, and needs wise, firm, careful, and tender handling. A child's fears are no sign of weakness. They are worthy of respect, and should not be ridiculed, nor dealt with severely. Fear is not to be confounded with cowardice. Fear recognizes danger, cowardice refuses to brave it. Fear is a moral attribute, cowardice is a moral lack. A child ought to know what fear is, so also ought the bravest man. Let him who has no fears have a care lest he fail from his lack of fears.
A child has fears—reasonable, unreasoning, and wholly imaginary. All children have more or less of every kind, but in each child one kind predominates. Fear of fire after being burned is a reasonable fear. Fear of strange persons or noises is an unreasoning, or instinctive, fear. Fear of darkness, "ghosts," "goblins," etc., is an imaginary fear. It would be absurd to deal in the same way with these different kinds of fear. One child is too cautious, another too venturesome. Fears within the realm of reason, and which ought to be lessened or removed, should be removed by a process of reasoning. A child should not be beaten, or threatened, or ridiculed into overcoming his fears. Usually he can not be, even if it were right. He should be encouraged and kindly cheered. He should be shown that there is no cause for alarm, and that it is worthy of a child to overcome unreasoning or imaginary fear. And he should be sympathized with in his efforts to overcome. Tenderness is wiser and better than severity or ridicule.
Instinctive fear is a wise precaution of nature. It should not be entirely removed were it possible, but wisely subdued when unnecessary or unreasonable. If the child shows fear at the moaning of the wind and the rattling of the shutters, do not say: "O, nonsense! What are you afraid of? That's nothing but the wind." Rather say: "Does that sound trouble you? Let me tell you how it comes." Then show how the wind is doing God's work, and is the friend of man in keeping the air pure and driving away causes of sickness.
The hardest fears to control are those of the imagination. It is the more sensitive children, those of the finest grain, of the most delicate nervous organization, who are most liable to the sway of these fears. They should be treated more tenderly than others. We are inclined to deal with such fears more harshly, or with greater ridicule, than others. The reverse treatment is the kind required. These fears, not being of the reason, can not be removed by reason. Because they are of the imagination, the imagination must be called into use in removing them. They are not always outgrown in manhood or womanhood. A clergyman once said that he could never come up the cellar stairs by himself late at night without the irrational fear that some one would clutch him by the feet out of the darkness below. What folly to blame a child of high imagination for similar fears! The help of helps to a child in meeting fears of the imagination is found in bringing to his mind a sense of the constant presence of a Divine Protector to cheer him when his fears are at their highest.
A little child once wakened in the middle of the night, and called to her parents in another room. When her father was at her bedside, she told him she was afraid to be alone. Instead of rebuking her, he said: "There is a little verse in the Bible, my darling, that is meant for you at a time like this; and I want you to have that in your mind whenever you waken in this way. It is a verse out of one of David's psalms; and it is what he said to the Lord, his Shepherd: 'What time I am afraid, I will trust in thee!' That is the verse. Now, whenever you are afraid, you can think of that verse, and say it over as a loving prayer, and the Good Shepherd will hear you, and will keep you from all harm."
The child repeated the verse after her father, and she saw its peculiar fitness to her case. As her father then prayed to the God of David in loving confidence, she realized more fully than before how near God was to her in the time of her greatest fears. And from that time on that little child was comforted through faith when her imagination pressed her with its terrors. She never forgot that verse; and it still is a help to her in her fears by day and by night.
Never tell ghost or witch stories to children. Never suggest fear of the dark. Guard sacredly the imagination. Be sympathetic and tender. Treat a child's sensitiveness considerately and tenderly.—Mary Wood Allen.
"A FARMER'S WIFE."
By Editor
THE following story we clip from the Housekeeper. It speaks for itself. We are glad that it does not represent all men, or the majority of men; but such things are observable in almost every neighborhood. We print for the benefit of the naturally selfish husband. Does that include you?—
She was a Minnesota farmer's wife. Her husband counted his acres by the hundreds. He was more than well-to-do, he was a "man of means," yet she was dying of consumption induced by her hard life of toil, and excessive child-bearing. Alas! these terrible pangs were for naught, since her offspring had not sufficient vitality to survive a year. Indeed, some of them gasped and died immediately after birth.
One little ray of brightness beamed into this woman's monotonous life—she learned, at length, that she had a talent, that she was really gifted as an artist. A relative, who was an art instructor in the east, spent one summer at this farm home. Discovering the talent of her husband's sister, she gladly instructed her. Mrs. B— proved so apt a pupil that one of her first paintings took first prize at the fair.
Having found her "gift from God," fain would she develop fully, and enjoy it; but her time must needs be spent in more "useful" employment, to please her "liege lord."
"Money and time all wasted!" was his contemptuous exclamation when she had joyously hung a completed picture in a good light. Within a few years she finished pictures that connoisseurs pronounced really fine—ah, they were the product of a starving soul!
But consumption had at last claimed her. O, it was then pitiful to witness her mental anguish. Vainly she longed for "the end," because of her "expense to her husband."
Long and earnestly she pleaded with the nurse to take this and that painting as remuneration for services rendered.
"Husband doesn't value them, and I would die so much happier knowing that my sickness was paid for. I've induced the doctor to take that little one that won the prize; but that will not pay half the bill," she added, with strong emotion.
The end soon came, and one more martyr joined the legions that have been immolated upon the altar of man's supreme selfishness and superiority (?). This is true in every particular.
Principle Versus Policy
"POLICY says: 'The end will justify the means;' 'Let us do evil that good may come.' But principle asks: 'What is right?' knowing that eternity will justify righteousness, and righteousness only."
BEN'S ROOM.
"What a hideous green you are putting in that tidy," said Belle to her "very best friend," as they sat talking over their fancy work.
"I know it," said Kate good-humoredly. "You see I bought it one night and commenced work on it by lamplight, and thought it looked pretty well. But some colors are so changeable; it looks frightful by daylight. I only know one thing I can do with it—I'll give it to Ben."
"Why—will he like it?"
"O, I don't know; I guess so. It'll help me make out for Christmas, and do well enough for his room. We stuff everything there," said Kate with a little short laugh.
"Why," said the girl, and her fingers stopped in their busy motion. "I'd just as soon think of putting anything ugly into the parlor as into Brother Frank's room; he is so choice of it."
"O, well, boys are different," stammered Kate.
"You must all do something to keep Ben at home these evenings," said her father one day. "I don't like the way he is spending his time."
And Kate, as she heard the words, wondered what she could do.
That afternoon there was a great overhauling of furniture upstairs, and by supper time quite a transformation had taken place in Ben's room. There were pretty, bright chromes and one or two choice engravings on the wall hitherto bare; dainty white mats on the bureau, fresh muslin curtains draped back from the window, and everything as inviting as thoughtful hands could make it.
"Now," she said, "I wonder if he'll notice it."
"Have you a headache, Ben?" she asked, as she passed his door that evening and saw him sitting with his head bowed upon his hands.
"O, no," he answered, "only thinking of going down town, but it looks so pleasant and homelike up here I guess I'll stay."
And he did stay; it wasn't the last time, either. By and by he began to invite some of "the fellows" to come and see him at the house, and with great satisfaction would ask them to "step up" to his room. Was it strange that from these little gatherings more than one went away feeling that it was a grand good thing to have a home, and be worthy of it?—Philadelphia Call.
PONAPE.
IN 1852 Luther Halsey Gulick, a young clergyman, accompanied by his wife, entered the wide encircling barrier reef of Ponape, the largest of the islands that form the Caroline group, says a writer in the Youth's Companion. They went there to live as missionaries. Home, parents, friends, luxuries, even comforts—all that makes life pleasant—had to be given up to carry the Christian religion to those copper-colored, tattooed islanders. With all their enthusiasm, the two foreigners little knew what measures of self-denial were before them.
There has recently been published by his daughter a life of this well-known man, and from Mr. Gulick's diary we cull a few examples of suffering, examples which might be paralleled out of the unwritten biographies of hundreds of men and women who leave civilization in order to do Christian work under some impoverished but eager missionary board. The missionary's wife became ill, and his diary reads:—
"Attended to meals, to washing clothes, and to getting firewood."
"So fatigued with household work that I retire early."
"Washed clothes, got breakfast, and while doing it read some."
"Not felt well. Made bread and pudding. Wife sick."
"Hope ever. Good shall yet come out of this apparently fruitless life."
In 1853 they had no fresh meat, and often went to bed hungry. Mr. Gulick shot a few wild pigeons, but soon his gun gave out, and then he made the touching entry: "We are becoming quite needy. Will not the Lord soon provide, and relieve us?"
In 1854 a foreign sailor was set ashore to die of smallpox. The natives gleefully wore the dead man's clothes, and in a month the disease was upon the whole island in all its horror. Of course there was no vaccine matter. The missionary, seeing that the only hope of saving the nation lay in inoculating himself with the smallpox virus, took the terrible risk, and went to his own hospital expecting to die; but he lived through "the most horrible wretchedness" and "harrowing misery," and was able to save one-half of the inhabitants through his intelligent heroism.
Then his wife had to be sent away to save her life. This was harder to bear than a scourge. For thirteen months he did not hear a word from her. He thought her dead. Anxiety and nervous prostration almost killed him; but at last, a speck was seen on the horizon. It was the Morning Star, the missionary vessel which the children of the world had given to be a joy to the islands of the Pacific. It brought the wife and children just in time to give life to a worn-out man.
"If they lacked food, they had at least the comfort of hearing from their friends," you say. No. For years whalers were their only mail-carriers. Sometimes six months passed without a word from the world. Ten months even; twelve months, and still no letter. We can easily understand the famishing of the body, but who can measure mental hunger?
When Doctor Gulick sent an order for books he had to wait thirteen months, sometimes two years, for it to be answered. At one time he gave an order out of his meager salary for seventy-five dollars' worth of books which his soul craved. Two years passed. Day after day the missionary's eyes searched the cloudless horizon in vain, looking for a sail.
At last the mail arrived; but instead of books he received the incredible reply that it was thought his order overdrew his salary; and using their discretion, wiser heads had sent him what they thought he ought to have, not what he needed most. Two more years of bitter waiting before his books came! Four years for an order that any of us could have filled in almost as many hours!
Such martyr-like fidelity and patience are a marvel to most men. They do not understand the power of manliness reinforced by the self-effacement of true religious devotion. The instance we have given may be exceptional in the conditions under which practical Christianity was exhibited—but the wish and resolve to bless mankind can become a ruling passion in other minds as well as in that of the pioneer missionary. In all walks of life, there is brave work to be done, that involves the sublimest motives, and Christian self-denial can bear and do anything for its sake.—Union Gospel News.
MOROCCO
No COUNTRY has ever had so great an opportunity as this country has for home missionary work within its own borders. God has brought within our doors large numbers of immigrants from different lands. Much can be done to reach foreigners without going abroad to find them.—New York Observer.
MOROCCO.
MR. W. H. QUILLAM, who has traveled in Morocco, sends to the Young People's Foreign Missionary Journal the following information:—
"Until recently, Morocco has been practically a terra incognita. Even now there is great difficulty in getting any reliable facts relative to the country, and altho it is only five or six days' journey from England, very little is known with regard either to the manners and customs of the people or as to the condition of the land.
"This soil is particularly rich, and very good harvests could be obtained without much trouble. If the agriculture were better looked after, the production would be greatly increased. There is not the slightest doubt that the country has great natural resources, which only need development.
"The backward state of Morocco can be readily imagined, seeing that there is not a single railroad, and scarcely a decent road outside the towns in the whole of the kingdom, with the exception of the road from Tangiers to Cape Spartel. What are called 'roads' are nothing more or less than mule tracks.
"Mogador has a good natural harbor, the best in Morocco. By the expenditure of a little money, it could be made to accommodate vessels of a large size, and they would be securely protected from the gales of the Atlantic Ocean.
"There is also a great difficulty in transmitting money from Morocco. A great curse to the country are the usurers, who, being under the protection of various foreign powers, are not amenable to the Moorish law. If some species of combined bank and discount office were formed here, it probably would become a great success."12
makes the straight cross thread. They have been handed down from former generations like the plows used in their farming. These do not turn over the ground, and are crude affairs. Among the inland products are cotton, coffee, rice, potatoes, and bananas. The coffee is of the finest quality, and a large export trade is carried on through the ports on the gulf. Ivory, skins, hides, gums, etc., are also sent to the coast by caravans.—Selected.
THE GREATEST WORK.
O, THINK not, if thou art not called to work
In mission fields of some far distant clime,
That thine is no grand mission! Every deed
That comes to thee in God's allotted time
Is just the greatest deed that thine could be,
Since God's high will appointed it to thee.
—Selected.
ABYSSINIA—THE SWITZERLAND OF AFRICA.
By N. Y. Examiner
THE Abyssinians are descendants from Abraham through Ishmael, Abyssinia being the western of the two Ethiopias, divided by the Red Sea. Their kings have always claimed descent from the Queen of Sheba, who visited Solomon. The Abyssinian language, as the Arabic, is of the same family as the Hebrew. That they had accepted the Hebrew Scriptures is seen in the treasurer of Queen Candace, who received also the Christian faith through Philip. Acts 8.
From that day no nation has been more firm in maintaining the faith first received. They have maintained the duty of observing the Old Testament rites, and while Jewish converts, after the fall of their city and state, ceased this observance, the Abyssinian Christians have seen no reason for omitting their adherence to both the Old and New Testament rites. They are naturally allied to the Oriental instead of the Western Church.
From the time of Mohammed they have been subject to the most bitter antagonism from the Mohammedan power. It is to be remembered that Mohammed was rejected at Mecca by his own countrymen.
His bitter denunciations, in a professed divine vision, are preserved in the Koran, that at the same time his heralds, who were sent across the Red Sea to neighboring Abyssinia as an expected ally, were rejected.
These links of history, emphasized by King Menelek asking the prayers of English Christians, and defending his church in maintaining the Old Testament faith, are a lesson perhaps needed amid western skepticism.—N. Y. Examiner.
Missionary Opportunities in the Soudan
It is said that one of the healthiest sections of the globe is the Soudan, including Galla and Abyssinia. Many large cities with from 25,000 to 150,000 inhabitants await the consecrated worker. The soil is extremely fertile, and the climate resembles, in many respects, that of southern California. The Galla race makes cloth from the cotton cultivated by them. The loom is simple, and
LIFE IN THE JUNGLES.
THE report of a missionary to headquarters of the Bethel Santhal Mission at Benares contains these items:—
"One day a leopard devoured a calf almost under the shadow of my house. There was a tiger three miles east, killing cows and oxen. I was asked to go and shoot it, but the pill was too big for me. We do not mind these wild beasts, but the snakes are gloomy, dismal things, like the hypocrite, and we abhor them.
"Wolves stole three of my sheep and devoured them at 100 yards from my house. On the very place where they enjoyed my sheep, I killed six wolves.
"A few days ago, early in the morning, a large leopard was seen in our compound. Two hyenas were killed yesterday on a neighboring hill. They attacked two woodcutters, who knocked them over with their axes.
"Two black bears were also found another morning a few yards from Bethel. With the dawn of day they usually go to the hills two miles north from our house, which is full of caves, wild fowls, and monkeys. There is one tribe of monkeys which stand about six feet high."
Another report contains this item:—
"Killed four cobras, one jambro (about seven feet long) and one Karait snake. Total, six snakes, with enough poison to kill a score of people."
OUR WORK AND WORKERS.
By Editor
ELDER E. G. OLSEN reports the baptism of two persons at Massena, Iowa, and the addition of three members to the church at Eureka.
ELDER J. W. RAYMOND reports the addition of five members to the church at Olean, N. Y., and four additions to the Wellsville church.
A CHURCH of thirteen members was recently organized at Millville, N. J., by Elder S. B. Horton, assisted by Brother John F. Jones.
THE Scandinavian tent work, in charge of Elder S. F. Svenson, in Brooklyn, N. Y., was closed October 18, with a record of fifteen conversions.
IN the last locality in which tent labor was performed in Baltimore, by Elders R. D. Hottel and S. B. Horton, sixteen persons embraced the faith, and a number of others are deeply interested. Those who have taken hold have taken the preliminary steps toward the purchase of a house of worship.
THE world is busy circulating its vari-colored, vari-principled literature, all of which springs from motives of worldly selfishness, and the objects of which are merely temporal. Should not those who have a literature laden with eternal truth, bearing a Gospel of eternal salvation, be equally zealous? In the world, when times are hard and the outlook discouraging, men work all the harder and vary their efforts to accomplish their purposes. Shall the "children of light" be less energetic and less fruitful in ways and means for doing the business intrusted to them by their Master? "In the world ye shall have tribulation; but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world." John 16:33.
Educational.—We have received the announcement for the third term of the Walla Walla College School of Correspondence. The gist of the announcement is summed up in these statements:—
"We believe that the interest shown by our people in the Correspondence School thus far shows that there is a real demand for just such a system of study. A more carefully arranged course has accordingly been prepared, embracing the subjects of Bible, history, English language, science, arithmetic, Latin, and Greek. The student is brought in direct contact with his teacher once each week, and is thus enabled to keep in close touch with the work done in the college."
"Lessons are sent out to students every week. These lessons contain directions for study, and a list of questions to be answered by the student. The answers should be written out with pen and ink, and sent in one week from the time the lessons are received. Twelve lessons constitute one term's work, and four terms constitute a year. A card of standing will be sent to each student at the end of every term's work."
"One dollar per month is charged for two studies. This covers the expense of printing, mailing, postage one way, and such other expenses as are incurred in the work. Two lines of study are all that any average person under ordinary circumstances should undertake."
"Special arrangements will be made for those who desire to take Greek. It is not known at present just what the tuition will be for this line. Those who contemplate taking up this study should send in their names at once, and more definite information will be given."
"The fourth term will begin Dec. 1, 1896. Those who desire to take up the work should present their names before that time, so as to be able to begin their study at the commencement of the term. Students can not be taken in at all times, as it would bring confusion into the work, and make it much harder for the instructors. Those who send in their names will receive definite instruction as to the manner of carrying on their work. The winter months afford the best season for study, and it is hoped that a large class will be formed at the beginning of the term. All correspondence and money orders should be sent to Walla Walla College School of Correspondence, College Place, Washington."
Rags Wanted.—The Industrial Department of the Working Men's Home in Chicago is now in full operation. Several looms have been started, and the workmen have become expert enough to turn out a good many yards of matting, carpeting, and other fabrics daily. We now want material. An almost unlimited amount of carpet-rags can be used, and a liberal supply is needed right away. Just now there is great need of such material as worn-out, soft, woolen goods, worn calico dresses, worn sheets, and worn-out, woolen blankets,—anything made of soft wool or cotton. If you have not time to prepare the material, send it right along as it is, without any preparation whatever; we have a work-room for poor women, and can prepare the material ourselves. Be careful to put at least one hundred pounds in a package, or if it is more than one hundred pounds, avoid small fractions of one hundred pounds, as any excess will be charged for at the rate of one hundred pounds. It will cost just as much to send ten pounds as one hundred pounds. If you have not enough for so large a package, get your neighbors to contribute. Those who wish to organize sewing circles to prepare carpet-rags for the mission should send for directions. The family has now increased to nearly two hundred, and as the cold weather comes on, we find our supply of bedding getting short. One cold night last week there were many bitter complaints of insufficient covering. If there are any who read this who have extra woolen blankets, be they ever so much worn, or ever so poor a quality, but thick and warm, which they can spare, there is no place in the world where they can do more good just now than at the Working Men's Home, 42 Custom House Place, Chicago, Ill. We can manage to keep comfortable for a week or two longer by means of extra fires, but when severe cold weather sets in, a considerable amount of extra bedding will be required, and the funds of the mission are too low to make it consistent for us to purchase blankets. Any help our friends may send will be greatly appreciated. Blankets might be sent along with carpet rags, or worn garments of any description. Freight and communications should be addressed to The Working Men's Home, Industrial Department, 42 Custom House Place, Chicago, Ill. To all who are interested we should be glad to send a little leaflet giving a full description of the mission.
