p. 12 | Signs of the Times, Vol. 29, No. 14. (4/8/1903)

THE WAY OF TRUTH.

By Cora S. Day

[Cora S. Day, in American Messenger.]

“Now, Miss Curtis, some dictation, please,” and the business man wheeled around in his revolving chair, and pulled out the slide of his desk, ready for his stenographer's notebook. “Yes, sir,” she replied promptly, and laying aside the work over which she was busy at her own desk, she crossed the office and was soon making her nimble pencil fly, taking down in queer lines and pot-hooks, the letters her employer dictated.

Quite a bunch of them there were; for this man was the head of a large business house, and every day the mails brought many letters to be answered.

The days were filled to the utmost with work for Miss Curtis. But she was too glad to have the position with its liberal salary, to complain at the amount of work she was called upon to do, so long as it did not really overtax her strength.

Aside from the salary, she liked the position best of any she had filled. Mr. Brown was kindness and courtesy personified, and in many little ways made the rather exacting position of his stenographer a pleasant one. She often thought with relieved satisfaction, that he was agreeably different from a former employer who had told her once that he considered her in exactly the same light as he did the machine she manipulated so deftly—that she and it represented to him only the capacity for so much work; and that the thought that she might have personal views or feelings in regard to that work, had never occurred to him, until she protested against some unjust demand upon her time and services. She had resigned, at that, and was glad of it now that she had obtained this better position. Mr. Brown, too, expected her to do good and faithful work. But he did not put more into her hands than she could do without overwork; and when there came a day when there was a little less to do than usual and she finished before closing time, he very kindly suggested that she go home early.

It was rather an ideal position, she had decided in the two weeks she had been there. She hoped to hold it for a long time, and work up a thorough knowledge of the business, so that she might become more and more valuable and indispensable.

Mr. Brown picked up the tenth letter to be answered, glanced over it thoughtfully, and began to dictate as follows:— “Kirk, Freeland & Co., “Gentlemen: In reply to your letter of the 17th inst., making inquiry in regard to goods recently consigned to our house, I would say that—” and the business man went calmly on making a statement which Miss Curtis knew to be false. She paused involuntarily and glanced up.

“Too fast for you?” asked Mr. Brown pleasantly. “No, sir. But that last sentence—” and she hesitated. How could she tell him that she did not wish to write it, knowing as she did that it was not true? And yet how could she write a lie? He misunderstood her meaning. Thinking she had not heard it, he repeated the offending statement clearly.

Still she hesitated, and a little puzzled frown was between his brows as she looked up into his face again.

“But, sir,” she faltered, “that statement is not—I can not put that in—I—” and then he understood, and the puzzled frown changed to an angry one. “I alone am responsible for the statements I make in my letters. You are supposed to take anything I dictate. Shall we go on now?” in a chilling tone which she had never heard from him before.

“I can not write anything I know to be untrue, Mr. Brown,” she replied, quietly enough, altho her heart almost stifled her with its beating. She knew by the cold, sneering expression that came into his face that she had cast away her chances for any future in that position.

It was terribly embarrassing and nerve-straining. She never clearly remembered the events of the rest

of that last interview. She only knew that he asked her once more, in that freezing business tone, if she would go on with the letter, that she refused with all the dignity she could muster, and resigned her position at once, before he could tell her that her services would no longer be available; and that the bright sunshine and careless, hurrying crowds on the street seemed pitiless and mocking to her excited, despairing brain.

Was she right in her course? Or was he right in saying that she was not responsible for the truth or untruth of what he dictated? Should she have said nothing and have written and sent the letter, knowing that it contained a lie? O, if she could only have done it! It would have been so much easier all around. Mr. Brown had been so kind, she had hoped so much for the future; and now the future was spoiled and black and uncertain.

But, try as she might, she could not persuade herself that she ought to have obeyed her employer's demand. And in spite of all the trouble, she felt in her heart a tiny spark of joy that in the trial she had borne witness to the truth as best she could.

However, she was not quite satisfied with her own judgment and decision, unsupported by that of some one older and wiser than herself. She longed for a friend with whom she might talk it all over. She was rather early for lunch when she got back to her boarding-house. There was but one other person at the long table when she sat down. She was glad to miss the others, and hurried a little to get away before many more came in.

The elderly gentleman who sat opposite her place and who had spoken to her kindly when she sat down, was a minister, she had learned, who had made this quiet, select boarding-house his home for several years.

They were both silent for a few minutes. But he saw the trouble in the young face across the table; and presently he spoke, claiming the privilege of his age and profession as well as that of the quiet friendliness that had sprung up between them in their intercourse in the house.

“Has anything gone seriously wrong, my friend? Your face tells me that something troubles you,” he said very gently.

Miss Curtis looked up with a brave attempt at a smile, an attempt which nearly ended in tears. Then, almost before she realized it, she had told him the whole story.

He listened in silence until she had finished. Then he said:— “I will not ask your employer's name. But you will want another position soon, will you not?”

“As soon as I can get one, I am going to begin looking for one this afternoon,” she replied, trying to speak bravely.

“If you will allow me—if I might suggest— In fact, Miss Curtis, it strikes me that I know of a position for you, if you care to apply for it,” and he watched her face closely.

“A position! O, where?” and she flushed with eagerness and the sudden new hope.

“I have a friend, a minister, who does a great deal of literary work in addition to his pastoral duties. He wishes to engage an assistant, and is very anxious to secure just the right one at the first trial. But I think I can give you such a recommendation as will secure you the position, if you care to try for it,” and Miss Curtis thanked him from the depths of her heart and accepted his offer.

The recommendation he had promised was simply a written repetition of what she had told him and it proved a sufficient endorsement to secure the new position, which she found in time to be a most delightful one. And over and over her happy heart sang a song of joy and thankfulness, that in the hour of temptation and testing she had been given strength to choose, with the Psalmist, “the way of truth.”

Light and the Easter Lilies

By Llewellyn A. Morrison

God is light, and where He dwelleth Night or darkness can not be; Pure, unsullied light dispelleth Every variant harmony; By its radiance germs have risen From the carnal and the clay,— Burst their bonds, unlock'd their prison, Soared into the realms of day.

Earth, by light, is robed in splendor— Forests flourish, harvests wave; Light is life's divine defender, Who doth sentient being save. Tho material cusp and kernal Shrink to dust from whence they came, Yet the spirit blooms eternal,— Fashioned in essential flame.

Light's most masterful creation— Paramount in force and skill— Hath most vital vindication By the human form and will; Yet, the highest, at the portal Of the immaterial, stands But a medicant, immortal, With upreaching, empty hands.

Toronto, Canada.

Every brain may build and brighten The pure ego in the breast; Yet the One who doth enlighten Cometh not alone as Guest, But abideth, Light and Leader, Sanctifying word and deed: Universal Interpleader For all apprehended need.

One with Him—the “Son,” most holy, Put His greatness by, and then Came and dwelt among the lowly, Vile, and sinful sons of men,— Took their form and nature on Him, Shared their burdens, grief, and pain; All their guilt was laid upon Him— Every bitterness and bane.

In their room, and for them dying— Bearing all their curse and blight; Lo! He rose, Death's power defying, Winning for them life and light.

Through the rent “Veil” floods the glory— Light from Central Light, above;— Easter lilies are a story Set in white, of Jesus' love.

THE BIRDS' APPEAL.

By Bird Lover

In the heart of a dense forest, amid the deep, green foliage, the first glimmering ray of dawn was peeping through the darkness, when the silence of nature was broken by the wailing cry of a vast concourse of birds, which were sitting in council. Mournful and sad beyond description was this convention. The meeting was called to order, and a chorus of song, and a prayer followed, to which all responded, “Amen.”

The first day of the council many pitiful stories, full of pathos, of cruelty, and injustice were told. Homes were broken through the killing of one or both of the parent birds, and the birdlings were left to perish, and the birds mourned in their sorrow.

The second day a feeling of expectancy prevailed. A noted traveler, who had hastily winged home from foreign parts, attended. The vast audience listened to his story in astonishment, wonder, and breathless surprise. As he revealed the cause of their persecution, their breasts were filled with dismay. “There are only two reasons,” he declared, “for all this sin and cruelty—the love of money and fashion. The hearts of men are hardened, and the eyes of women are blinded. Fashion holds despotic sway, and wherever her power is left, the plumage of our race, and even the little dead bodies of birds adorn the hats of women. My eyes have seen the devastation. One million five hundred thousand of our birds have this year been sacrificed for fashion. Often my heart has been almost broken as I winged my way by an open church window, and have seen the professed followers of the Lord Jesus Christ bedecked with the beauty of those we have loved and lost. I have wondered if God would hear and answer their prayers, when He looked at their headgear and remembered our sorrow.”

Silent prayer was broken by the words, “Not a sparrow falleth to the ground, but your heavenly Father knoweth it. In His love, power, and mercy may He enlighten the eyes of His own people.” And all the birds said, “Amen.”

BIRD LOVER.

BRAVERY OF A MOTHER GROUSE.

When first I came to the Territory of Washington the desire to explore the mountains to the west of my home near Valley grew upon me, and at the first opportunity, taking ponies and blankets, and accompanied by my eldest son, a lad of seventeen, I set out on a four days' trip into the new wonderland. The summit of the range was reached on the second day, at a point entirely out of the line of travel of either Indians or whites, and when almost at the summit, just as we were passing a clump of bushes, on June 6, 1884, we ran into a brood of little ruffed grouse.

My boy was riding in front, a couple of rods in advance, and the first move of the mother bird seemed to be to hustle her babies away from his horse's feet, and just as he rode past she rose in the air and flew directly toward me. I pulled up my pony instantly, and as I sat still she flew straight for my head, rising just above it as she came, and suddenly the boy cried out, “She is going to alight on your head.” It was true, and to the day of my death I shall regret that the unexpected sound of the fluttering of her wings as she settled toward my head for an instant startled me from my composure, and the temptation to glance upward was momentarily irresistible, and, in consequence, my slightly tilting hat-brim frightened her while in the act of setting her feet upon my head; but, swerving lightly to her left, she swung round and settled on the rump of the tired pony under me. The pony stood perfectly still, and slowly, very slowly, I turned my head and looked at her. Beginning in a very low tone and gradually raising my voice, I talked to her and to my boy about her about a minute or two before she fluttered away in search of her babies.

Telling her what a graceful little beauty she was, and how we had no thought of hurting either her or her babies, I cajoled her into listening for quite a time, and, tho I am well persuaded that she had never before seen either man or horse, I contend that it was courage, pure and simple, which prompted her to fly in the face of so formidable an apparition in defense of her little ones.—Forest and Stream.

THE BRAVEST OF THE BRAVE.

By Joaquin Miller

Who was the bravest of the brave, The bravest hero ever born? 'Twas One who dared a felon's grave, Who dared to bear the scorn of scorn. Nay, more than this—when sword was drawn, And vengeance waited but His word, He looked with pitying eyes upon The scene, and said, “Put up thy sword!” Could but one king be found to-day As brave to do, as brave to say?

“Put up thy sword” into the sheath! “Put up thy sword,” “Put up thy sword!” By Kedron’s brook thus spake, beneath The olive trees, our King and Lord, Spake calm and kinglike. Sword and stave And torch and stormy men of death Make clamor. Yet He spoke not, save With loving word and patient breath, “Put up thy sword” into the sheath! The peaceful olive boughs beneath.

O God, but for one gallant czar, One valiant king, one fearless queen! Yea, there would be an end of war, If but one could be heard or seen To follow Christ; to bravely cry, “Put up thy sword,” “Put up thy sword!” And let us dare to live and die As did command our King and Lord; With sword commanded to its sheath, The blessed olive boughs beneath.

—Joaquin Miller.

THE GROWTH OF OUR SHOE INDUSTRY.

By Robert Grieve

[Robert Grieve, in the February Success.]

The boots, shoes, and slippers made by machinery in the United States, every year, would provide a pair of some kind for more than one-seventh of the inhabitants of the earth. If they were arranged by pairs, heels and toes touching, they would make a belt that would encircle the globe, with enough to spare to stretch across the North American Continent from New York to San Francisco. Placed singly, heel and toe, they would go around the world two and one-half times. If placed on the tracks of our great trunk railroads, the rights on one rail and the lefts on the other, they would cover the irons, from the Atlantic to the Pacific, of all the continental lines that now cross our country. The hides and skins used to form this immense quantity of shoes come from all over the world, but chiefly from the East Indies, South America, and Europe; and, if they were sewed together in one sheet, they would make a tent large enough to cover Manhattan Island.

The following statistics, showing the condition of the industry, were furnished, in advance of their general publication, by S. N. D. North, chief statistician of the United States census for manufactures:—

Pairs of boots and shoes made, in 1900:—


For men, youths, and boys	89,123,318
For women, misses, and children	107,415,855
Slippers for men, etc.	4,456,965
Slippers, Oxfords, and low-cuts for women	12,655,876
All other kinds	5,583,405
Total pairs	219,235,419
Total value, wholesale	$261,028,580.00
Cost of materials used	$160,604,054.00
Capital invested	$101,795,333.00
Wages paid	$59,175,883.00
Average number of wage-earners employed	142,922

The industry is largely concentrated in New England, chiefly in Massachusetts, where, in 1900, forty-five per cent of the production was turned out, principally in Brockton, Lynn, and Haverhill, and the smaller places in the immediate neighborhood. The figures for Massachusetts are as follows:—


Value of product	$117,115,243.00
Cost of materials used	$75,751,964.00
Capital invested	$37,577,630.00
Wages paid	$27,745,820.00
Average number wage-earners employed	58,645

Since 1890, the production in the whole country has increased a little over eighteen per cent; the cost of materials used, forty-two and eight-tenths per cent; while the capitalization has only increased six and eight-tenths per cent, and the number of wage-earners, six and nine-tenths per cent. Ten years ago Massachusetts produced over fifty-two per cent of the total; but, while she has made an absolute gain in the value of goods turned out, in 1900 she had less capital invested and fewer establishments engaged in the manufacture of shoes than in 1890. During the last decade the effectiveness of the machinery used in the manufacture has been greatly increased.

Sweetest Things in Sorrow

“Art thou weary, tender heart? Be glad of pain; In sorrow sweetest things will grow, As flowers in rain. God watches, and thou wilt have sun When clouds their perfect work have done.”

Pima Indian Converts, a Chief and His Family.

WHAT THE GOSPEL HAS DONE FOR THE PIMAS.

By W. H. Gill

[W. H. Gill, in Christian Herald.]

Of the ten tribes of Indians in Arizona (roughly estimated at 40,000), the Pimas are the most advanced in civilization. Being an agricultural people and permanently settled in their homes, they have been more accessible to the missionary and the schools than other tribes. They number over 4,000 and live on the Gila and Salt Rivers, in the southern part of the territory. These Indians live in the winter in low hovels, made of poles, brush, and earth, in shape resembling an old-fashioned bee-hive, or a bird’s nest inverted. There is a small aperture at the ground which serves for a door, window, chimney, and ventilation. To enter, one must get down on his knees, and if there is a fire, he can not stand erect for the smoke. Now the Pimas are making much better houses, some even aspiring to glass windows and shingle roofs. For seven or eight months in the year, so warm is the climate, the tribe lives under brush arbors, and while harvesting their grain, largely under trees in their fields.

The Pimas formerly practised polygamy, or free-love, but do not now tolerate either. They do not intermarry with the whites, as do the tribes in the Indian Territory. Their religion before conversion is hard to discover. They seemed to reverence the sun, but also prayed to the darkness. There was some indefinite kind of belief in a Great Spirit, but they seemed to stand in greater fear of their “medicine-men” than of anything else. That they had a vague belief in a future life is seen from the manner of burying their dead. I have seen them place food, lanterns, and many other things in the graves, even sacks of flour, valises of clothing, sewing-machines and beds. I asked an Indian once:—

“Where do your people, who are not Christians, believe they go to when they die?”

“Go East,” he said. That is all they know.

The Pimas have made wonderful progress since the Gospel reached them, but they are hardly abreast of the five civilized tribes of the Indian Territory, except in morals. Drunkenness and gambling have decreased. A great transformation is taking place in the manners and customs of these people. A few years ago, the women went about with nothing save a width of calico wrapped about their loins, for a dress. Now, almost every one has a well-fitted dress, made on sewing-machines of their own. The men no longer wear blankets, but come to church in civilized clothing. Nearly all have cut off their long hair, and, when converted, they ask for new names. Many of them ride to town in buggies of their own.

The Pimas still have their chiefs. Formerly, they were hereditary, but now on the Salt River Reservation, they elect a chief every four years. They have also adopted a constitution, which provides for a council of twelve members, a roadmaster, and a watermaster. Like many other tribes, the Pimas are reckless of their health, and the mortality, especially among the children, is very great. A few years ago, one would always know when a Pima died by the loud weeping of the relatives, which could sometimes be heard for a mile. Now, however, since many of them have embraced Christianity, their lamentations for their departed friends have almost ceased, while they comfort one another with thoughts of the resurrection, heaven, and eternal life through Christ.

TOKENS OF THE COMING DAY.

By Iva F. Cady

If there is any part of the world where the people have enjoyed “peace and safety,” it seems that those of these islands have. While we have read of earthquakes, tidal waves, cyclones, droughts, and numerous other disasters in other parts of the world, we have been comparatively free. A few years ago, when the coconut trees were injured by some sort of a blight, and many of them died, while the others did not recover and get to bearing again for some two years, the people here thought it a very sore trial, because it cut off most of their income. But we know that this was only a small portion of what we may expect here in the “troublous times” which must come to all the world before that “great and dreadful day of the Lord.”

During the past year, we have been made to feel more intensely the disturbances which are taking place in nature; first by the destruction of St. Pierre on the island of Martinique. Martinique is also a French colony, and the French people of Tahiti sympathized deeply with them. And one of the officials here was a native of Martinique, and lost his wife and all his property in the city of St. Pierre on that fatal day.

Now, it has come nearer home, and several of the Tuamotu Islands have been devastated by a hurricane which, it seems, raised the sea so it flooded the islands. It may be remembered that the Tuamotu Islands are of coral formation and nearly all are low and level, very little higher than the sea itself. There are a large number of these islands, and we have not heard from many yet, but the storm did more or less damage in the six which have been heard from.

We were at Raiatea at the time, and had some indications there that something unusual was happening. The sea rose several feet higher than the people had ever known it to rise before, and was quite rough. The village of Uturoa is built right along on the beach for a mile or so, many of the houses standing on posts in the water, and the floors at high tide being only a foot or so above the water. It seems that the people have never felt that there might be any danger from the sea, and they love to live as near it as possible. At this time the sea came right into some of the houses. Many small buildings were broken down or moved from the foundation. Wharfs and bridges were destroyed, and the road filled with debris. Everybody was talking about it and wondering what could be the cause, as the wind was not very strong. But soon afterward, we heard of the Tuamotus.

The island of which we have heard the most is Hikueru, and lies about four hundred miles north-east of Tahiti. Pearl-diving was going on there at the time and so many from the other islands were congregated there. The wind had been blowing hard for a day before, but became much stronger the evening of this eventful night. About 11:00 P.M., the sea began to rise very rapidly. When it drove them out of their homes, they fled for refuge to higher and more protected points of land. Many climbed coconut trees. But as the wind grew stronger, and they saw these trees being broken off and those clinging to them killed or drowned in the angry waters, some moved away from them and stood up to their waists in the water, tied together with ropes. When the storm was at its height, they dared not try to walk about, for if one lost his balance in the water, the wind immediately carried him away, and he would be dashed against the rocks and killed. Tho the natives are strong swimmers, and accustomed to the water, they could do nothing in such a sea. About four hundred lives were destroyed, tho it is said that some of the children died in the arms of their parents as a result of the exposure, and not from the drowning.

As they stood there in the water for twelve hours, with but little clothing on, and nothing to shelter them from the fierce wind, they suffered terribly with the cold. Many were not fully recovered from the

measles, and were ill prepared to bear the exposure.

The next day the sea went down, and it was perfectly calm. But buildings and everything had been washed away. Only a few coconuts were left to furnish food and drink for the eight hundred souls remaining. The island has no hills and so no running streams of fresh water, and the few pools of stagnant water were now filled with salt water. The tanks for rain-water were all gone with the buildings. In two days the coconuts had all been used, and they suffered much with hunger and thirst for a few days until the arrival of the little steamer “Excelsior,” which was taking its usual trip among the islands. It returned to Papeete immediately, bringing as many people as could be accommodated on board, and as soon as possible several steamers carried food and water to the unfortunate people.

We hear that the people are to remain there and continue diving. Their food has always been fish, coconuts, and preserved foods, as the islands had not enough soil for growing fruits and vegetables, with the exception of the coconut, so it will not be much change to them from what it was before.

As the people talk to us about this occurrence, it gives us an opportunity to remind them that it is one of the tokens of the last days, and that we should make it our first business to prepare for the judgment. One sad thing is that these people had to die without learning of the present truth, and now we feel that we must hasten to warn those that are left.

Papeete, Tahiti. Iva F. Cady.

GETHSEMANE

In golden youth, when seems the earth A summer land for shining mirth, When souls are glad and hearts are light, And not a shadow lurks in sight, We do not know it, but there lies Somewhere veiled under evening skies A garden all must sometime see— Gethsemane, Gethsemane, Somewhere lies our Gethsemane.

With joyous steps we go our ways; Love lends a halo to the days; Light sorrows sail like clouds afar; We laugh and say how strong we are; We hurry on, and hurrying, go Close to the border land of woe, That waits for you and waits for me— Gethsemane, Gethsemane, Forever waits Gethsemane.

Down shadowed lanes, across strange streams, Bridged over by our broken dreams, Behind the misty capes of years Close to the great salt fount of tears, The garden lies. Strive as you may You can not miss it in your way; All paths that have been or shall be Pass somewhere through Gethsemane.

All those who journey, soon or late Must pass within the golden gate— Must kneel alone in darkness there; And battle with some fierce despair. God pity those who can not say, “Not mine, but Thine;” who only pray, “Let this cup pass,” and can not see The purpose in Gethsemane. Gethsemane! Gethsemane! God help us through Gethsemane!

— Anon.

FIFTY NEW TESTAMENTS AND THEIR EFFECTS.

By no means all of the missionary work is reported in the missionary magazines, numerous tho they are. A year ago a lady was living near a town where fifty Italians came to work. She became very much distressed at the heathenish way in which they lived, for she discovered that they never went to church, and that the nearest Roman Catholic priest had not taken the trouble to look them up. Most of them could speak no English and she could speak no Italian, so she was at a loss to know how to help them. Discovering that almost all of them could read in their native tongue, she purchased copies of the New Testament in Italian and gave one to each man. It was not long before one of the readers came to her and asked if there was a church where they could go and hear that Book read. He said that most of the men were reading it, many of them with much interest. She consulted with her pastor and they arranged to have a man come from the neighboring city and preach to them in Italian. The men were so interested and grateful that other meetings followed, until now the church has what might be called an Italian annex, and the results of the work are most gratifying. It is needless to say that the priest is now indignant over what he considers an encroachment upon his territory.—Exchange.

OUR WORK AND WORKERS.

The dedication of a new church and school-building near Hewitt, Wis., is announced for May 17.

Six members were added to the church at Kansas City, Mo., March 13, and two the Sabbath previous.

Two persons have united with the church, and others are observing the Sabbath of the Lord, as a result of labor by Brother H. R. Johnson, at Amery, Wis.

Brother F. D. Starr reports to the Reaper, under date of March 13, that he was on the way to Westlake, Idaho, to dedicate a new house of worship.

The Medical Missionary Board has decided to dedicate the new sanitarium at Madison, Wis., on May 3. Dr. J. H. Kellogg has been invited to deliver the principal address.

In a report of Brother G. B. Thompson, president of New York Conference, in the Indicator, we note that the Lord is blessing the work in Buffalo. He says: “It seemed refreshing to see such large bundles of the Signs being delivered from the Post-office, to be sold into the homes of the people. The Lord is greatly blessing those who are engaged here in this work. And hundreds of our people all over the State could be engaged in a similar work with this good paper.”

Writing to the Workers’ Record from Rainey, Mo., Brother Steward reports that twelve persons have recently begun to observe all the commandments of God, in connection with his labors at that place.

The March number of the Advocate of Christian Education is being placed in the hands of something over forty thousand public school teachers in the United States. As previously announced, this issue has been specially prepared for this purpose, and is well adapted to the introduction of the great subject of Christian Education.

The business sessions of the General Conference, after the first meeting, were preceded by two days (Sabbath and Sunday) of earnest presentation of the fundamental truth that constitutes our message, and of the needs of the great field. Seven discourses were given—by Brethren W. W. Prescott, G. A. Irwin, A. G. Daniells, L. R. Conradi, and A. T. Jones, and Sister E. G. White.

A Presbyterian pastor in Kokomo, Ind., gives this testimonial: “I have examined the book, ‘Christ’s Object Lessons,’ and unhesitatingly recommend it as a valuable addition to any one’s library. It is devoted to a study of the parables, and I feel sure it will prove helpful in arriving at an understanding or interpretation of these precious teachings. I most cordially recommend it to the public.”

From North Yakima, Wash., comes this good report: “Our treatment rooms are doing a good business here. We don’t begin to have the capacity to fill the calls, as we only have one set of rooms, and only one can work at a time. There are ladies enough to occupy the whole time. We are now thinking of enlarging our capacity by putting in rooms right in the business part of town as soon as we can find a suitable location.”

We have frequent indications that our church-school system is coming to be appreciated by people not of our faith. The teacher of the school at Adams Center, N. Y., says that “four pupils have been taken from the village school and placed in ours, who are not of our faith. One of them is a Catholic, one a Seventh-day Baptist, and two are from parents of no church whatever. I think the pupils are interested. I am sure I never taught nine weeks that I enjoyed more, and we all believe that the school has helped us toward realizing that ‘the knowledge of God is as high as heaven and as broad as the universe.’”

During the last session of the Pennsylvania Legislature, a bill was introduced designed to amend some obsolete features of the old State Sunday law of 1794. From a report in the Review, we take the following:—

Brother W. H. Smith succeeded in placing in the hands of every member of the Legislature literature bearing on the question, and it had a telling effect. It was clear that the Sentinel, which has been placed in the hands of each member during the present session, has also been having its effect. Several speakers lifted the Sentinel from their desk, commending it as an organ standing in defense of principles of liberty, recommending that it be read by every citizen. When arguments were presented showing that, upon Bible grounds, the first day of the week has no foundation as the Sabbath, and that arguments of the clergymen for Sunday enforcement, based upon the Fourth Commandment, had failed to apply to the first day of the week (since the Sabbath law refers to the seventh, not the first day of the week), there was a general clapping of hands by nearly all the members of the House, showing the effect which has been produced by the reading of the Sentinel and other literature placed in their hands. It is just such occasions as these which the Lord uses to bring the truth for this time before the leading men of the nation.

Madagascar.

THERE is still progress in Christian work under the London Missionary Society in Madagascar. One of its missionaries reports one of the largest and most interesting services he had ever held. The gifts of the people were brought in such great variety that it is said the church itself looked more like a “clothes mart and fruit garden combined than a place of worship.” While gifts of fruit and clothing were within the church, other offerings, such as sheep, poultry, etc., were kept outside. There is great unity among the Christians, and at one service three Protestant missions were represented. In the French Mission, also, the Malagasy Christians have rejoiced the hearts of their missionaries by their sympathy and practical help in financial straits. The necessity of cutting off some part of the work was weighing them down when the Malagasy comprehended the situation, and, “not contenting themselves with words, nor sitting down by the roadside to utter useless lamentations,” they rose to the occasion. In two districts nearly four thousand francs were contributed, and, if the same amount in proportion should be secured in all the districts, the need will be supplied. The self-sacrifice, the gratitude, the gladness with which the Christians have done this has been a moving sight.—Missionary Herald.

WHAT SOME ARE DOING IN THE PHILIPPINES.

AMERICAN Christians very early realized the situation of the Filipino Islanders, and soon set about evangelizing them. Some of the denominations began their work almost immediately on permission being granted by the War Department, and settled at Manila.

The Episcopalians have already sent out Bishop Brent, who was recently set apart in Boston for this work, and who is accompanied by six associate missionaries. This society is raising some hundreds of thousands of dollars for this purpose.

The Catholics are to build a very costly structure in Manila, and are anticipating preparing for their work in the Philippines seven hundred native priests.—Missionary Review.

Facing the Light

By American Mother

We, dearest, who in life's rough path Walk laden heavily, Should ever face the light, so that, Wherever we may be, The heavy burden which we bear Its shadow dim may cast, Not on our forward steps, but on The portion we have passed. —American Mother.

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