p. 11 | Signs of the Times, Vol. 30, No. 36. (9/7/1904)

LETTER FROM AN EX-MONK.

By Henry A. Sullivan

EDITOR SIGNS OF THE TIMES,—

Dear Sir: Permit me, through the columns of your paper, to refer to the work done in the city of Los Angeles by one of your zealous, untiring preachers, in the cause of Protestant Christianity. About three weeks ago, as my wife and I were turning the corner of Seventh and Spring Sts., we stepped into a tent where preaching services were being held. The preacher was taking up the prophecies of Daniel and Revelation. I was thoroughly impressed with the candor, earnestness, and zeal with which he delivered the message which God had given him. This was the first time I had ever attended Seventh-day Adventist services, and when the preacher showed from the 13th chapter of the book of Revelation, the number of the beast, 666, it brought to my recollection the time I had first begun to study Revelation, and I can truthfully assert that it shook my faith to its very popish foundation. I was also glad to be present on several occasions when Evangelist Simpson referred to me, to confirm the statements which he made, as to the pretentions of the Roman Catholic Church, in regard to the pope wearing a tiara, or triple crown containing the words, “Vicarius Filii, Dei,” Vicar of the Son of God. Brother Simpson clearly showed that this name has the numeral value of exactly 666.

As I have been engaged in lecturing on the evils of Romanism ever since I left popery to accept Christianity, I have tried to lift up Jesus instead of the pope, but, I am sorry to say, Mr. Editor, that Protestantism (as it exists to-day) is a weak-kneed, wishy-washy kind of Protestantism, a Protestantism that does not protest (like the Reformers of old), against the errors of popery. I am glad to state that here I found a ministry in the Gospel pavilion that was not afraid to lift up its voice and cry aloud, “Come out of her, my people, that ye be not partakers of her sins, and that ye receive not of her plagues.” Rev. 18:4. I am also glad to state that I had the esteemed privilege of addressing the Young People's Society Sabbath afternoon on that grand old veteran of Protestantism, Martin Luther. O, for more of such men. If there were need of a Reformation in Luther's time, when Martin Luther attacked the Papacy, there is need of a Reformation now. If Romanism were wrong in the 16th Century, and needed reforming, then Romanism is still wrong in the 20th Century, for she makes it her boast, that she is “semper idem,” ever the same. She would persecute Adventists for keeping God's law, and would thrust them into prison for keeping God's day holy and resting from all their labors.

I must say, Mr. Editor, that my Irish blood boiled with indignation when Evangelist Simpson told of his experience in a Canadian jail for keeping the Sabbath day holy. If Rome had the power to-day she would burn at the stake “all heretics, schismatics, and rebels against our Lord God the Pope.” But, thank God, she is shorn of that power, and she has lost even her temporal power. But, I am sorry to say, she is gaining that power in America. Rome gains in this country by immigration, not by conversions. Protestantism caters to Rome for business and political purposes. In conclusion, Mr. Editor, let me say, When popery and priestcraft and Jesuitism and superstition and papal and pagan idolatry, and convents and monasteries, shall no longer exist in our land; then and not till then, will true liberty reign in this our glorious America.

Yours in the Christian warfare,

HENRY A. SULLIVAN, Ex-monk.

Formerly a member of the Congregation of Holy Cross, and known as Brother Rupert. C. S. C.

Los Angeles, Cal.

BIBLE IGNORANCE.

WHAT was the character of Pontius Pilate? and what was his place in history?
What are the synoptic Gospels? How many are there? Which is the shortest?
Who was Joseph of Arimathea? Where is his place in history!
Who is Ishmael? When did he live?
Who is Haman, suggested in the proverb, “As high as Haman”?
In how many days does the Bible say the world was made?
Who was Noah?

There ought not to be an intelligent Christian man or woman or young man or young woman who has had at least three years opportunity of Bible study, who could not answer these questions. We can select scores of Sabbath-school and church school children from twelve to eighteen who would answer every one.

Yet the New York Evening Post, of not long ago, tells us that, of thirty freshmen in an English class in Yale, only a few more than half had ever heard of the subject of the first question, and part of these were doubtful. The most of them did not know what the synoptic Gospels were, and a bright, shining, literary light among the high classmen did not know that Mark’s Gospel was the shortest.

Another teacher reported that among his students he could not find one who could give any account of Joseph of Arimathea.

A sophomore confounded Ishmael with Jacob. Still another thought Haman was one of the earliest inventors of flying machines.

In Cambridge, England, no remembrance of the record in Genesis 1 could be declared, altho the students were familiar with Greek and Egyptian mythology.

The Bible is not a large book, yet it has changed the face of the world, and overthrown and established nations and governments. As much as it is maligned, it is the mightiest book in the world. It is era-making because it is character-building. It deals with every phase of human existence, and presents a remedy for every ill. It is the most widely circulated and best printed book in the world, and proportionately the most neglected.

This Bible ignorance is ominous of evil. It will be said of those who live now as of those anciently, when too late, “My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge; because thou hast rejected knowledge, I will also reject thee, that thou shalt be no priest to Me; seeing thou hast forgotten the law of thy God, I also will forget thy children. As they were increased, so they sinned against Me; therefore will I change their glory into shame. They eat up the sin of My people, and they set their heart on their iniquity. And there shall be, like people, like priest; and I will punish them for their ways, and reward them their doings. For they shall eat, and not have enough; they shall commit whoredom, and shall not increase; because they have left off to take heed to the Lord.” Hosea 4:6-10. What a picture of these days!

DEAD AFTER DEFYING GOD.

A DAILY paper of August 16 has the following item which should be of interest to every soul:—

Baltimore, Md., August 15.—Consternation reigns in the little town of Allen, in Southern Maryland, over the strange death of Walter H. Whitney, a pronounced atheist, but one of the most popular residents of the place.

On Sunday night Whitney was conversing with some friends, when he suddenly exclaimed, “I defy the Almighty to strike me dead.” Instantly Whitney fell to the floor, and when those about him picked him up, he was dead.

The tragic manner of Whitney’s death not only cast a gloom over the community, but his death is looked upon as a sudden judgment from the Almighty. While Whitney frequently expressed disbelief in God, he was a general favorite, and was much sought after as a companion.

This recalls what occurred not many years ago on the Pacific Coast. An earnest young man, holding revival services, felt constrained to invite a hard, blaspheming infidel who lived just across the street from the place of service. The man emphatically replied, “Young man, I can get along without your God.” And that very night the strong, well man died. God took him at his word and let him alone. He cut himself off from the Source of life. And thus it will be at last. When men ultimately reject God, He leaves them to themselves, and they die. God occasionally deals visibly with individuals, that all may know how surely He will sooner or later deal as faithfully with each one.

THE LIQUOR TRAFFIC IN AFRICA.

By R. H. Nassau

BY R. H. NASSAU, M.D., D.D.

PROTESTS against traffic in intoxicating liquors among aboriginal populations come from various sources. First, they come from the lips of missionaries in charge of native churches, where a careful estimate claims that the membership would be tenfold the present numbers were it not for the temptation set by the drink habit. If there be such a thing as “moderate drinking” possible to the colder-blooded and stronger-willed Anglo-Saxon, it is not possible to the enervated populations of tropical countries. Second, it is not true of those countries that their own native drinks, and not the foreign liquors, are responsible for their drunkenness, and that they would be equally drunken, even if the foreigner had not introduced his rum. Native palm wine and plantation beer and other drinks are not as intoxicating—do not so sadden the mind, or destroy the physical organs—as the poisonous compounds of the rum trade. In Africa, for instance, the native at first disliked the taste of rum; he did not accept it until it was urged on him. When the Gospel was first carried into the Ogowe River, West Africa, in 1874, the interior tribes were only beginning to learn its use. Third, native chiefs, such as the Christian King Khama, of South Africa, and the Mohammedan chiefs of the Niger Delta, have petitioned almost in vain that the trader be not allowed to bring in his liquor. Fourth, some of the very men who are trading in liquor would be glad to have it abolished. To it, is largely due the loss of white life in countries like Africa, and the only pecuniary gain is its use during the initial stages of the trade or afterward, when it is sold directly over the counters of a shop. Where trade is carried on in what is called the “trust system” there is no gain. This is admitted by most foreign traders. For the liquor is drunk up at once by the natives to whom it was entrusted, before he has made even an effort at seeking native produce in return. At this stage of the trade, many white traders would be pleased to have governments step in with a prohibition that would be enforced on all. Individual agreements not to sell have at times been made, but they are broken by some treacherous signatory to the contract, in the greed of rivalship in trade. Fifth, even where there exists prohibition by the government of some one country, the law is evaded, and smuggling is carried on, over the border of an adjacent country. Were there uniformity and universality in tariff duties of an amount practically prohibitive, the evil could soon be extinguished. There are European trading-firms in Africa, and probably in other countries, who would welcome such legislation.—Missionary Review.

Oklahoma’s Remarkable Growth

The growth of fourteen years in Oklahoma is material for a fairy tale. One can not grasp the situation except by a face-to-face vision. The opening of the country to settlement is of such recent occurrence that it seems impossible to believe the frontier shack has disappeared and that cities with every modern improvement have come into being. Paved streets, extensive rapid transit facilities, five and six-story buildings, modern homes, and fine school advantages are assumed to be conditioned on at least a generation of growth.

In 1900, Oklahoma City had a population of 10,000. To-day it is a city of 28,000. At the same time Guthrie had 6,000 and now has 18,000. Shawnee had a little over 4,000 and now has 16,000. Lawton was a point on a lonely Indian trail, and now has over 10,000, while Hobart, with over 8,000, sprung from the same condition. Time fails to speak in detail of Enid, an aspirant for capital honors and a city of 10,000, El Reno, Pawnee, Anadarko, King Fisher, Perry and a score of other cities ranging in population from 2,500 to 8,000. —Selected.

THE JAPANESE AND THE TELEPHONE.

Two JAPANESE officials have been spending some time in London inquiring into the subject of telegraphy. It seems that they are somewhat behind in this matter, especially in the use of telegraphic messages for the press. A press correspondent gathers from these officials that as yet despatches are too expensive for the paper, but that “they have developed the use of the telephone to an extent much beyond us.” Press communication is mainly carried by telephone, and, Mr. Kawasum tells us, with hardly any inaccuracy, altho the men in the office take down the reporter’s message at the rate of over 100 words a minute. He thought that Japanese was a language that took the telephone better than English did. They used the telephone over considerable distance, carrying on constant communication between towns as far apart as London and Edinburgh are.

UNHAPPY RETROGRESSION.

THERE are many who claim that the race is progressing toward a glorious future. The following from Watchword and Truth, which is easily verified, would indicate that in one of the most vital requisites no such progress is visible:—

In spite of every effort the number of divorces continues to increase. In four of our states there has been an increase in five years of nearly thirty per cent. in the ratio of divorces. The facts behind the divorces are the most appalling features to be faced. They either indicate a breaking up of moral character, or of personal virtue, or of a sense of the sacred relations of the sexes. In any case the destruction of the home is indicated, and with that comes the ruin of the nation. This is especially true of the American nation.

Lack of Good Manners

One of the great dailies points out a defect in the education of American children, their premature forwardness, not to say impertinence, and lack of courteous manners. It says:—

At the age when the English or French child is in the nursery, knowing its subordinate place in the world, our American boy is loudly discussing the next election with his father's guests, and the girl is leading the German, equipped with the dress and jewels and lovers which belong to an adult woman. If these children are not gentle nor unselfish nor courteous, whose fault is it?

Another curious fact is worth looking into. Just now millions of poor boys and girls in this country are leaving schools where they have been taught gratuitously every science and knowledge which can fit them to make their way in life except the one without which they can not make their way at all; that is—good manners.

It is foolish to thrust this matter aside as insignificant. A man's success in life with his customers, his clients, or his wife and children, depends quite as much upon his manners as upon his skill or knowledge. The world turns its back on the ill-bred boor, no matter how great his ability, and welcomes the courteous, kindly gentleman on sight.

And it is all true; and Christians are greatly wanting in this respect. Let others count good manners worthy of cultivation because of profit; but let the Christian honor them as a matter of principle. “Be courteous.”

THE WAR IN THE ORIENT.

It is not yet determined just how many ships were lost in the naval engagements reported last week; but every one of the Russian cruisers and battleships that escaped were badly damaged with shot and shell. The whereabouts of several is still undetermined, and the Japanese claim that certain of these have been sunk. The three cruisers of the Vladivostok squadron that escaped after the engagement with Admiral Kamimura’s fleet were in a terribly shattered condition when the Japanese gave up the chase. The Russian cruisers that escaped back to Port Arthur after the meeting with Admiral Togo’s fleet attempted another sortie and an engagement followed, the result of which has not been given out.

Japan still refuses to give up the Russian torpedo-boat destroyer captured in the Chinese port of Chefoo, tho she has been advised by England to do so or make apology for the act. Japan is reported to have delivered practically an ultimatum to China, threatening to take action herself unless China shall order the Russian war-ships at Shanghai to leave port at once. Both Russia and Japan are now accusing China of not enforcing her neutrality, and it is possible that complications may arise between the powers in case Japan takes matters into her own hands at Chinese ports, where Russian ships are now finding refuge.

The Emperor of Japan has formally demanded the surrender of Port Arthur. The demand was accompanied with an offer for the safety of noncombatants in case the Russian commander would permit them to leave the city before the final assault. The Russian commander has indignantly refused to surrender, and will not permit the noncombatants to leave. The final assault is reported to be now in progress, and shells are falling in all parts of the fortifications. Great fires have been caused in various parts of the city by the exploding shells. The Japanese are reported to have suffered great losses in assaults on the different fortifications. According to last reports, all the outer fortifications are in the hands of the Japanese.

There have been no further serious engagements in the north, and the Japanese armies facing General Kuropatkin are evidently waiting for the fall of Port Arthur before pressing matters there. It is reported that one of these Japanese armies is executing a great flanking movement against General Kuropatkin’s position.

Religious Freedom Strengthens Government

I believe that when Jefferson assisted in establishing religious freedom, he assisted in giving to our government its strongest support. Chain the conscience, bind the heart, and you can not have for the support of our form of government the strength and enthusiasm it deserves. But let conscience be free to commune with its God, let the heart be free to send forth its love, and the conscience and the heart will be the best defenders of a government resting upon the consent of the governed.—The Commoner.

French Government and the Vatican

The breach continues to widen between the French Government and the Vatican. The pope had ordered certain bishops to withdraw from France and return to Rome. According to the agreement between France and the Vatican, this could not be done without the consent of France, and the French Government refused permission for the bishops to leave France. One of the summoned bishops, however, has obeyed the call of the Vatican and gone to Rome. The others are threatened with punishment in case they do not obey.

The Nation’s Strong-Drink Bill in 1903

The strong-drink bill of the United States for the year 1903, according to the American Grocer was $1,451,633,379, an average of $62 for each individual. This average is twice as large as that of twenty-three years ago. And no statistics can really give the total amount of liquors manufactured and sold, for large quantities are made and disposed of clandestinely, of which no official account can be rendered.

THE REIGN OF THE ROSE.

By Mable Horton

[Mable Horton, in Sunday-School Advocate.]

A DOOR opened, and a panful of rubbish was thrown into the alley. It contained a tuft of green, feathery parsley, only a little wilted. Two children caught the flash of green at the same instant, and both sprang for it.

“Give it to me; I saw it first!” cried the little girl.

“But I got it first, and its mine; ta-ta,” said the boy, and, sticking the trophy into the buttonhole of his ragged jacket, he strutted away, leaving behind a very angry and dirty little face, which looked as if its owner was undecided whether to hurl after him opprobrious epithets or to sit down and cry.

A woman, with a covered basket, coming through the alley, had seen the little skirmish, and stopped by the side of the vanquished child. She had a gentle face, and wore a quaint little black bonnet with white ties.

“Do you like flowers? See, here is a pretty one,” and, lifting the cover from her basket, she took out a great, dewy, pink rose, put it into the child's hand, and hurried away. Three or four little ragamuffins were on the scene immediately, crying, “O lady, please give me a flower!” but the deaconess had escaped what would soon have been a mob of clamoring children by turning into a side passage and shutting the door behind her. The child held the flower a moment, looking at it stupidly, and then, as faces and voices grew more numerous, and were turned toward her, she suddenly scudded down the alley.

“O mother, look! just look! A lady give it to me!” She burst into a little, foul-smelling, half-lighted room. The mother, sitting on the edge of a tumbled bed, regarded the rose with a mild interest.

“Ain't it a beauty? Put some water in a dish, Anette, an' set it on the table by the winder, so it'll keep fresh.”

The dish indicated was a broken-nosed pitcher, none too clean, and the rose hung over the edge until only its outer petals and its green calyx were to be seen.

“Say, mother, don't yer think it would look better in the glass?”

The “glass,” the only tumbler the establishment contained, was stained with ancient beverages of a questionable character, and opaque with the marks of dirty fingers. Anette took it to the hydrant, where she rinsed and polished it until it shone, and brought it in, clear and dripping. Then ten minutes were spent strengthening the stem of the rose with a hairpin, that it might stand at a proper angle to display all its beauties.

Never was a fairer rose—pale-tinted, beautifully

cupped, crisply curved, sweet-breathed; a dainty thing, looking as much out of place in that miserable dwelling as a golden-haired princess in a coal-mine.

“Mother, don't you think the rose 'ud look prettier ef they was suthin' white under it—suthin' clean and white?”

The woman looked at it considerately. She was very fat and very dirty. Almost unconsciously she pulled down the baggy folds of her limp calico dress, and with both hands smoothed her unkempt hair. Then she touched the rose with her stubby forefinger as one would lift a baby's chin.

“I'll see if I kin find suthin'.”

She went to a broken trunk and began to turn over a heterogeneous collection of old rags. From somewhere near the bottom she produced a damask towel, worn and ragged, but tolerably clean—a relic of better days, perhaps, or included in some collection of old clothes from the charitably inclined. Anette took the towel and spread it on the table, folding it carefully, so that the ragged places were hidden. Exactly in the center of this she placed the rose in its tumbler, where it stood like a queen in its little space of cleanliness and purity.

One little clean spot! But it acted like a magnet. The woman's eyes turned toward it continually, and as for Anette, she forgot everything else, and gave herself up to the worship of the rose.

“Mother, let's wash up the dishes and put away these things on the table. They don't look nice with the rose.”

“Good land! What's come over ye?” was the mother's only protest. But the dishes were washed, and the sway of the rose extended over the entire table, which was reduced to a condition of comparative cleanliness and order.

Four days the rose stood in the fulness of its beauty, and each day extended its empire of purity. The room was swept, the windows cleaned, and every day Anette washed her face and hands, and made a pretense, at least, of combing her tangled hair.

On the morning of the fifth day, without any sign of drooping or decay, the petals let go their hold, and lay like pink shells on the white cloth. Anette gathered them up, kissed them, and then laid them away in a box that she bought of Sadie Jones for a cent.

The room had been cleaner and hearts gentler for those four days, and yet the rose had said nothing. It had only been sweet and pure, and had not held itself aloof from anything.

EDUCATION IN THE HOME.

By Mrs. L. D. Avery-Stuttle

BY MRS. L. D. AVERY-STUTTLE.

I am not sure but that I may incur the criticism of many, when I declare that in my opinion the great need of the world—and the church—to-day is not schools and school-teachers and school-books; I will go farther;—nor church schools nor church-school teachers nor church-school books,—tho these are all good. But the greatest, most crying, desperate need in the world, and in the church as well, is for mothers—“old-fashioned mothers”—mothers and fathers who can spare time to instruct their own children, and who do not depend upon the church-school teacher to teach their little ones the Ten Commandments.

Mothers are needed who are more interested in the spiritual welfare of their girls, than in the number of ruffles upon their gowns; fathers are needed who care more for the eternal salvation of their boys, than to know which side won in the last ball game; mothers who prize character more than beauty of form or feature, and fathers who spend more time teaching their sons the principles of God’s Law than they do in fault-finding, and who, by practise as well as by precept, illustrate in their home lives the mighty power of love. Mothers and fathers are needed who give themselves no rest day nor night until they have taught their sons and their daughters the Scriptural reasons for the faith which they hold.

Such mothers and such fathers are needed to-day more than ever in the history of the world,—and the demand has always exceeded the supply, and always will.

I am making a plea for education in the home. Public schools are good, church schools are better—or ought to be—but, best of all, most lasting of all, in its influence for good, is the daily home training of the girls and boys.

O mothers! O fathers! are your days so filled with the cares of life, in answering the questions, “What shall we eat? or, What shall we drink? or, wherewithal shall we be clothed?” that you are too busy to spend an hour with your children in teaching them the truths of God’s Word for this time? Some day a knowledge of this blessed Word will be to your children as a shield and buckler. Ah! we do not half realize what it means to be acquainted with the Guidebook. Some day a “thus saith the Lord,” upon the lips of your son may save him from an overmastering temptation. Some hour of soul agony, some night of darkness, may be illuminated by the light from the throne of God, because, in the midst of the trial, John or Mary call to mind some principle of eternal truth, or some soul-cheering promise, which father taught them in childhood.

There are times of trial just ahead of us, which will try men’s souls, and determine who among us are dross, and who are silver and gold. Some day it will be said of somebody, “Ephraim is joined to his idols; let him alone.”

A friend said to me, “I was very much surprised and grieved the other day when chatting with a young girl whose father and mother have for years believed in the distinctive Bible truths for this time, when the conversation turned upon religion. I asked her if she could give the Bible reasons for the peculiar faith which we hold as a people. I was surprised and saddened by the careless reply:— “O, I don’t know anything at all about it. I only know that pa and ma believe it,—that’s all.”

O, what a pity! and that unfaithful father and careless mother have been members of the church for years. “Well, I was not very much surprised a few Sabbaths ago,” continued my friend, “as I glanced out of my window, to see the younger members of the same family—little tots—out playing noisily with the neighboring children. But my very soul was sad.”

In the name of the Master I ask: How can such negligence be answered for, in the day when the Lord expects us to say to Him: “Here am I, and the children whom Thou hast given me?”

We shall not be asked in the last great day, why we failed to bank as much money as neighbor A., or to dress ourselves and our children in as grand style as Sister B.,—and I hardly believe we shall be asked if we sent our young people to church school,—tho the church school is, or ought to be, one means of grace. But I know we shall be asked to give an account of our stewardship over the precious souls intrusted to our keeping.

O, that we all felt to say with anguish of soul, as Judah did when urged to leave young Benjamin in Egypt: “How shall I go up to my father, and the lad be not with me?”

Can we not make up our minds that perilous times are right upon us, and that our children must be instructed in those blessed Scriptures which are the bulwark of our faith?”

Christ Himself met the temptations of the arch fiend with the Scriptures. But how can we do likewise unless we have them like nuggets of gold laid away in the storehouse of memory? We have the promise that the Holy Spirit shall bring “all things to our remembrance” in times of need; but how can we remember what we have never learned?

“Well, it seems to me you are pretty hard on mothers and fathers. I thought that was the business of the church school. I send my boy and girl, and pay out my money, and I expect the church-school teacher to do the rest.”

Do you? Listen: The man Moses was given such a thorough education in the things of heaven, that he chose “rather to suffer affliction with the people of God, than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season.” Now I never have learned that he had the advantage of a church school in his life. Where did he get his knowledge of the true God, in the midst of idolatry and vanity? Where did he get his integrity and his sterling character?—From his mother,—she was his only tutor. Where did young Timothy receive his training?—From his godly grandmother.

Well, there are some faithful parents, some, at least, who will not leave the moral and religious training of their children to others,—and who consider it a precious charge,—a sweet responsibility.

I know a little girl who, at the time I am speaking of, was not more than six or seven years old. But her parents have so faithfully trained her in Bible truths, that she was, even at this tender age, perfectly able to give chapter and verse for the reason of her faith. One day a lady called at the house, when her mama was out. In the course of the conversation with her young hostess, the lady mentioned the Sabbath-school.

“You ought to keep the Sabbath, Mrs. Blank, don’t you think so?” questioned the little missionary.

“Perhaps I ought, but I suppose you keep it because papa and mama do.”

“No, Mrs. Blank, I’ll show you why I keep the seventh day; I do it because God commands me to.”

Then, much to the astonishment of the visitor, the little one produced her Bible and without hesitation turned to the commandment and read the Word of God to her guest. Then, rapidly turning to the New Testament, she read Matt. 28:1, and Luke 23:56. Closing the Book, she said: “Now don’t you think you ought to obey God, Mrs. Blank?”

Of course the woman was amazed beyond expression. But should she never again hear her duty from any other lips than those of the little preacher, if she fails to obey, she certainly can not affirm that she does it ignorantly.

O, why can we not have more little preachers among us—a whole army of them? Ah, we may, if parents will only heed the injunction given by the Almighty to His people, hundreds of years ago, on this very subject:— “And thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children, and shalt talk of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, and when thou liest down, and when thou risest up. And thou shalt bind them for a sign upon thine hand, and they shall be as frontlets between thine eyes. And thou shalt write them upon the posts of thy house, and on thy gates.” Deut. 6:7-9.

A LITTLE BOY OF MINE.

By Benjamin Keech

BY BENJAMIN KEECH.

Little ways so sunny, Kisses sweet as honey, Little boy, my heart with joy Is kept renewed by you; Little feet to guide me, Walking close beside me; Little lad, my heart is glad, Because we’re lovers true.

Rumpled curls of yellow, Jolly little fellow, Playing out, with laugh and shout, Your music fills the place; Life would lose its gladness, Days be full of sadness; Hope were done, my little one, Without your winsome face.

Randolph, N. Y.

“HE CAME TO SAVE.”

Some years ago an itinerant minister was passing through a prison crowded with convicts showing every phase of ignorance and brutality. One gigantic fellow crouched alone in a corner, his feet chained to a ball. There was an unhealed wound on his face, where he had been shot while trying to escape. The sight of the dumb, gaunt figure touched the visitor.

“How long has he to serve?” he asked of the guard.

“For life.”

“Has he anybody outside to look after him—wife or child?”

“How should I know! Nobody has ever noticed him all the time he has been here.”

“May I speak to him?”

“Yes, but only for a minute.”

The minister hesitated. What could he say in one minute? He touched the man’s torn cheek.

“I am sorry,” he said; “I wish I could help you.”

The convict looked keenly at him, and he nodded to indicate that he believed in the sympathy expressed.

“I am going away, and shall never see you again, perhaps, but you have a Friend who will stay here with you.”

The small, keen eyes were upon him; the prisoner dragged himself up, waiting and eager.

“Have you heard of Jesus?”

“Yes.”

“He is your Friend. If you are good and true, and will pray to God to help you, I am sure He will care for you.”

“Come, sir,” called the keeper, “Time’s up.”

The clergyman turned sorrowfully away. The prisoner called after him, and, catching his hand, held it in his own while he could. Tears were in the preacher’s eyes.

Fourteen years passed. The convict was sent to work in the mines. The minister went down one day into a mine, and among the workmen saw a gigantic figure bent with hardship and age.

“Who is that?” he asked the keeper.

“A lifer, and a steady fellow—the best of the gang.”

Just then the “lifer” looked up. His figure straightened, for he had recognized the clergyman. His eyes shone.

“Do you know me?” he said. “Will He come soon? I’ve tried to be good.”

At a single word of sympathy the life had been transformed, the convict redeemed.—Selected.

VERTICAL WRITING PROVED SUCCESSFUL.

Supt. B. W. Tinker, of Waterbury, Conn., says the School Journal of May 28, adds his testimony to that of other schoolmen who have given vertical writing a fair and full trial. In a recent report to his board of education he says:—

Vertical writing has done a great deal to make the teaching of writing easier, and much for the pupil as well. It has given us a better position for pupils, simpler letters, done away with shading and guide lines and allows the youngest pupil to make his letters large and coarse. The youngest pupils seem to take to it naturally, and within a few months are able to write more legibly than was ever possible under the old slant. The average writing has very much improved. While under the slant we had some pupils whose writing was absolutely illegible, we have none at the present time whose writing can not be easily read. The question of speed depends very little upon the system taught, but very much upon how it is taught. Extensive speed tests taken throughout the country show that public school pupils using the vertical can, and have, written more words in a minute than professional penmen using the slant. A test taken in a large number of cities, including Omaha, Des Moines, St. Louis, and others, gave a rate of 130 letters per minute for public school children who have had vertical writing from two to five years, while the average of business colleges and professional penmen in the same cities gave an average of only 103 letters per minute.

TO EXTERMINATE ANTS.

By Sel.

FIND their nests and pour down the holes a few spoonfuls of bisulphide of carbon. This is a liquid that gives off a poisonous gas, heavier than air, which will sink through the holes and destroy the ants. After pouring in the liquid the holes should be covered over. If you are not able to find the holes, scatter tartar emetic about the infected places. —Sel.

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Eczema

Ordinary “medicated” soaps are nothing but soap and have no medicinal effect.

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One cake of this soap contains more pure sulphur than does a whole box of other “sulphur” soaps. You can be

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25c. a cake at all drug stores or mailed for 30c, by The Charles N. Crittenton Co., 115 Fulton Street, New York.

Special Offer

By Ethan A. Brown

Just to introduce and get before the public at once “THE ORPHAN'S BENEFIT NON-ALCOHOLIC CRYSTAL VANILLA,” I'll give the first one answering this ad, and enclosing 25 cts. for sample box, their choice of $5.00 worth of our subscription books. Enclose quarter and address.

ETHAN A. BROWN

1741 Lyon St. Des Moines, Iowa

Agents wanted. Agents' price, $1.80 per dozen.

BOOK-KEEPING KNOWLEDGE

is more essential now than ever before. You should start now, at home or where you are, to get ready for openings. We help you by the quickest and best mail plan, and give you a large registered certificate at completion. $5.00 is all we charge for the course, books, blanks, and examination of papers. This is what you want and ought to have. Address, Fireside Accounting Institute; Battle Creek, Mich., and mention this paper.

TOURIST CARS EAST VIA S. P. LINES

Personally Conducted Quickest Time Cheapest Rates

Your choice of a dozen routes

Through cars to—

Portland	Los Angeles	Salt Lake City
Omaha	Denver	Kansas City
St. Paul	Minneapolis	Chicago
St. Louis	Louisville	Cincinnati
Memphis	El Paso	San Antonio
Houston	New Orleans	Montgomery
Atlanta	Washington, D. C.

Remember these cars run through to above named cities without a change from Oakland or San Francisco. Our fast limited trains in connection with the above mentioned service.

C. T. FORSYTH

Div. Pass. Agent

12 San Pablo Ave., Oakland, Cal.

PHONE MAIN 543

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