Earlier text: The Greatest of These is LoveWhy Russia Clings to Manchuria
MANCHURIA, the present bone of contention between Japan and Russia, is both in extent of territory and in natural resources a prize, well calculated to excite the cupidity of the land-hungry powers of the Old World. In size it is as large as Germany and France combined; three times as large as England, Scotland, Ireland, and Wales; somewhat larger than New England, New York, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Illinois, Indiana, and Iowa combined. It is also an agricultural land, well wooded and watered, and full of gold, iron, and coal. Such facts help to explain Russia’s slowness in keeping her promise to “evacuate Manchuria.” God's Chosen People
By Ellen G. White
I have been bidden to call the attention of our people to the instruction given by the Lord to Israel regarding the importance of separation from the world. In the fourth chapter of Deuteronomy we read:— “Now therefore, hearken, O Israel, unto the statutes and unto the judgments, which I teach you, for to do them, that ye may live, and go in and possess the land, which the Lord God of your fathers giveth you. Ye shall not add unto the word which I command you, neither shall ye diminish aught from it, that ye may keep the commandments of the Lord your God which I command you.” “Behold, I have taught you statutes and judgments, even as the Lord my God commanded me, that ye should do so in the land whither ye go to possess it. Keep therefore and do them; for this is your wisdom and your understanding in the sight of the nations, which shall hear all these statutes, and say, Surely this great nation is a wise and understanding people. For what nation is there so great, who hath God so nigh unto them, as the Lord our God is in all things that we call upon him for? And what nation is there so great, that hath statutes and judgments so righteous as all this law, which I set before you this day? Only take heed to thyself, and keep thy soul diligently, lest thou forget the things which thine eyes have seen, and lest they depart from thine heart all the days of thy life: but teach them thy sons and thy sons’ sons.” “When the Lord shall bring thee into the land whither thou goest to possess it, and hath cast out many nations from before thee, . . . and when the Lord thy God shall deliver them before thee; thou shalt smite them, and utterly destroy them; thou shalt make no covenant with them, nor show mercy unto them: neither shalt thou make marriages with them; thy daughter thou shalt not give unto his son, nor his daughter shalt thou take unto thy son. For they will turn away thy son from following me, that they may serve other gods: so will the anger of the Lord be kindled against you, and destroy thee suddenly. “But thus shall ye deal with them; ye shall destroy their altars, and break down their images, and cut down their groves, and burn their graven images with fire. For thou art an holy people unto the Lord thy God: the Lord thy God hath chosen thee to be a special people unto himself, above all people that are upon the face of the earth.” “Know therefore that the Lord thy God, he is God, the faithful God, which keepeth covenant and mercy with them that love him and keep his commandments to a thousand generations; and repayeth them that hate him to their face, to destroy them: he will not be slack to him that hateth him, he will repay him to his face.” Under David’s rule, the people of Israel gained strength and uprightness through obedience to God’s law. But the kings that followed strove for self-exaltation. They took to themselves glory for the greatness of the kingdom, forgetting how utterly dependent they were upon God. They regarded themselves as wise and independent, because of the honor showed them by fallible, erring man. They became corrupt, immoral, and rebelled against the Lord, turning from him to the worship of idols. God bore long with them, calling them often to repentance. But they refused to hear, and at last God spoke in judgment, showing them how weak they were without him. He saw that they were determined to have their own way, and he gave them into the hands of their enemies, who spoiled their land, and took the people captive. The alliances made by the Israelites with their heathen neighbors resulted in the loss of their identity as God’s peculiar people. They became leavened by the evil practices of those with whom they formed forbidden alliances. Affiliation with worldlings caused them to lose their first love, and their zeal for God’s service. The advantages they sold themselves to gain, brought only disappointment, and caused the loss of many souls. The experience of Israel will be the experience of all who go to the world for strength, turning away from the living God. Those who forsake the mighty One, the source of all strength, and affiliate with worldlings, placing on them their dependence, become weak in moral power, as are those in whom they trust. God comes with entreaties and assurances to those who are making mistakes. He seeks to show them their error, and lead them to repentance. But if they refuse to humble their hearts before him, if they strive to exalt themselves above him, he must speak to them in judgment. No semblance of nearness to God, no assertion of connection with him, will be accepted from those who persist in dishonoring him by leaning upon the arm of worldly power. To-day God’s word to his people is: “Come out from among them, and be ye separate, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you, and will be a Father unto you, and ye shall be my sons and daughters.” “Ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should show forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvelous light.” God’s people are to be distinguished as a people who serve him fully, whole-heartedly, taking no honor to themselves, and remembering that by a most solemn covenant they have bound themselves to serve the Lord, and him only. The Sign Between God and His People
“The Lord spake unto Moses, saying, Speak thou also unto the children of Israel, saying, Verily my Sabbaths ye shall keep: for it is a sign between me and you throughout your generations; that ye may know that I am the Lord that doth sanctify you. Ye shall keep the Sabbath therefore; for it is holy unto you; every one that defileth it shall surely be put to death: for whosoever doeth any work therein, that soul shall be cut off from among his people. Six days may work be done; but in the seventh is the Sabbath of rest, holy to the Lord: whosoever doeth any work in the Sabbath day, he shall surely be put to death. Wherefore the children of Israel shall keep the Sabbath, to observe the Sabbath throughout their generations, for a perpetual covenant. It is a sign between me and the children of Israel forever: for in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, and on the seventh day he rested, and was refreshed.” Do not these words point us out as God’s denominated people? and do they not declare to us that so long as time shall last, we are to cherish the sacred, denominational distinction placed on us? The children of Israel were to observe the Sabbath throughout their generations “for a perpetual covenant.” The Sabbath has lost none of its meaning. It is still the sign between God and his people, and it will be so forever. Now and ever we are to stand as a distinct and peculiar people, free from all worldly policy, unembarrassed by confederation with those who have not wisdom to discern the claims of God, so plainly set forth in his law.8 We are to show that we are seeking to work in harmony with heaven in preparing the way of the Lord. We are to bear witness to all nations, kindreds, and tongues, that we are a people who love and fear God, a people who keep holy the seventh-day Sabbath, and we are to show plainly that we have full faith that the Lord is soon to come in the clouds of heaven. God is testing his people, to see who will be loyal to the principles of his truth. Our work is to proclaim to the world the first, second, and third angels’ messages. In the discharge of our duty, we are neither to despise nor fear our enemies. To bind ourselves up by contracts or in partnerships or business associations with those not of our faith is not in the order of God. We are to treat with kindness and courtesy those who refuse to be loyal to God, but we are never, never to unite with them in counsel regarding the vital interests of his work; for this is not the way of the Lord. Putting our trust in God, we are to move steadily forward, doing his work with unselfishness, in humble dependence upon him, committing ourselves and our present and future to his wise providence, holding the beginning of our confidence firm unto the end, remembering that it is not because of our worthiness that we receive the blessings of heaven, but because of the worthiness of Christ, and our acceptance, through faith in him, of God’s abounding grace. I pray that my brethren may realize that the third angel’s message means much to us, and that the observance of the true Sabbath is to be the sign that distinguishes those who serve God from those who serve him not. Let those who have become sleepy and indifferent awake. We are called to be holy, and we should carefully avoid giving the impression that it is of little consequence whether or not we retain the peculiar features of our faith. Upon us rests the solemn obligation of taking a more decided stand for truth and righteousness than we have taken in the past. The line of demarcation between those who keep the commandments of God and those who do not is to be revealed with unmistakable clearness. We are conscientiously to honor God, diligently using every means of keeping in covenant relation with him, that we may receive his blessings—the blessings so essential for a people who are to be so severely tried. To give the impression that our faith, our religion, is not a dominating power in our lives, is greatly to dishonor God. Thus we turn from his commandments, which are our life, denying that he is our God and we his people. “The Lord thy God, he is God, the faithful God, which keepeth covenant and mercy with them that love him and keep his commandments to a thousand generations; and repayeth them that hate him to their face, to destroy them; he will not be slack to him that hateth him, he will repay him to his face.” Where shall we be before the thousand generations mentioned in this scripture are ended? Our fate will have been decided for eternity. We shall either have been pronounced worthy of a home in the everlasting kingdom of God, or we shall have received sentence of eternal death. Those who have been true and faithful to their covenant with God, those who, remembering Calvary, have stood firmly on the side of truth, ever striving to honor God, will hear the commendation, “Well done, good and faithful servant.” But those who have given God only half-hearted service, allowing their lives to be conformed to the ways and practices of the world, will hear the sad words, “Depart from me; I know you not.” “The city had no need of the sun, neither of the moon, to shine in it: for the glory of God did lighten it, and the Lamb is the light thereof. And the nations of them which are saved shall walk in the light of it; and the kings of the earth do bring their glory and honor into it. And the gates of it shall not be shut at all by day: for there shall be no night there. And they shall bring the glory and honor of the nations into it. And there shall in no wise enter into it anything that defileth, neither whatsoever worketh abomination, or maketh a lie: but they which are written in the Lamb’s book of life.” “And there shall be no more curse: but the throne of God and of the Lamb shall be in it; and his servants shall serve him: and they shall see his face; and his name shall be in their foreheads.” Who are these?—God’s denominated people,—those who on this earth have witnessed to their loyalty. Who are they?—Those who have kept the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus; those who have owned the crucified One as their Saviour. “And there shall be no night there; and they need no candle, neither light of the sun; for the Lord God giveth them light: and they shall reign forever and ever.” “Blessed are they that do his commandments, that they may have right to the tree of life, and may enter in through the gates into the city.” Our Consoler
By Mrs. J. C. Brower
SOMETIMES when clouds of sorrow hover
o’er our heads,
And bitter tears are wrung from weeping eyes;
When all the joy and gladness in our life seem fled,
Sin’s yawning gulf veils from us heaven’s prize; When oft we’re worsted by the ills to which we’re prone,
And all our weak and puny efforts seem in vain,
When we in gardens of Gethsemane alone
Must wrestle ’neath our load of grief and pain; Then ’tis that thou, alone, O Comforter above,
Canst come in silent sympathy to soothe our woes.
Encircled by thine arms of more than father’s love,
We nestle close, and find such peace! such calm repose! O Father, teach me! Help me ever to abide
Beneath the quiet, cooling shadow of thy wing.
Then only shall I draw lone wanderers to thy side,
And win mute lips thy wondrous praise to sing. The Early Proclamation of the Second Advent
By J. O. CORLISS
The Experiences of Former Days—No. 2
The Early Proclamation of the Second Advent
PROPHETIC utterances of the Bible have ever pointed to a time when signs of the Lord's coming would appear in the heavens. The last of these—the falling stars—came in its order on Nov. 13, 1833. One of the sure indications that this event was the fulfilment of divine prediction, is the fact that when the occurrence came, the prophecies relating to the second advent had been thoroughly studied, and the instrument for heralding the greatest of all events was prepared for his work. William Miller was a farmer of Low Hampton, N. Y. Having been a pronounced infidel for years, he began a diligent search of the Bible for arguments with which to overthrow adherents to Christianity. His mind was singularly called to the prophetic portion of the Word, and being quite well informed on historical points, he was struck with the accuracy with which these historical events accorded with the Biblical predictions concerning them. Becoming satisfied that the prophecies of the Bible could be relied upon, Mr. Miller continued his study, and became thoroughly convinced that the coming of Christ was an event to be looked for in his day. The way being open for him to state his views publicly, he did so for the first time, according to his own statement, in August, 1833, just three months before the falling of the stars in November. Continuing to speak publicly at intervals, he prepared a series of nineteen lectures, which, according to the Advent Shield, page 57, was first delivered in what was then known as the Chardon Street Chapel, in Boston, Mass., during the winter of 1840, and afterward circulated in book form. The pastor of this church was, at that time, Joshua V. Himes, who readily accepted the message as delivered by Mr. Miller, and in the following March issued the first number of a paper entitled Signs of the Times, in which was lucidly set forth the subject of the second advent. By means of this paper, and many tracts, the doctrine of the Lord's immediate coming was soon proclaimed over a large part of the Eastern States; and on October 14 of the same year, the first second-advent conference convened in Boston, where plans were laid for sending that message to all parts of the world. The impetus given its proclamation from that time was very marked, hundreds, in nearly every town of large size, including infidels, rumsellers, and profligates of every kind, were converted. In Portland, Maine, a Mr. Fleming reported that he went into one room over a bank, near midday, where he found between thirty and forty men engaged in earnest prayer. One of the principal booksellers told him that he had sold more Bibles in one month since Mr. Miller opened meetings there, than in any four months previous. Two years before that time,—in 1838,—Mr. Josiah Litch, after studying the ninth chapter of the book of Revelation, announced in the public prints that the fulfilment of that prophecy would be seen on Aug. 11, 1840, in the downfall of the Ottoman empire. As the time drew near for the verification of this bold assertion, all eyes were turned toward events occurring about Constantinople, the seat of that empire. Astonishment was seen in many faces when the news was heralded abroad that the supremacy of the Ottoman empire actually came to an end on the very day foretold by Mr. Litch. The message then went by leaps and bounds, which stirred up considerable opposition among the clergy. Notwithstanding9 this, conferences were held in quick succession throughout the New England States. In one of these held in Boston in May, 1842, Charles Fitch, and A. Hale, of Haverhill, introduced cloth charts of the symbols of Daniel and Revelation, and it was voted to have three hundred of them lithographed for those who were willing to carry the message. This conference also voted to hold a camp-meeting, which was appointed to meet the following month at East Kingston, N. H. Other camp- and tent-meetings followed that same year, being held at Littleton, Taunton, Salem, and other places. To reach these, many thousands crowded steamboats, overflowed steam cars, and jammed stage-coaches in their anxiety to be at the various services. In describing this scene, Elder Joseph Bates used one of his nautical figures, to this effect: “The advent ship was making such rapid onward progress under her cloud of well-trimmed sails, that all the opposition of currents and adverse winds could not check her career.” The doctrine of the hour of judgment at hand proclaimed at these gatherings, was called by many the ‘midnight cry,’ and resulted in the establishment in New York City of a paper bearing that title. The reception of the doctrines of that day caused so much rejoicing among the people that they could not, or did not, refrain from shouting praise to God from the roadside, on boats and cars, until the sanity of some was called in question. When remonstrated with about their demonstrations, they only replied: “The message to us who believe that we are now in the hour of God's judgment is, ‘Fear God, and give glory to him.’ We believe fully, and so we render praise to him from every place.” Considering the situation, we may well ask the question, Were they so far out of the way in their devotions? If not, is there not room for improvement by those who have succeeded them in the message, and who are much nearer its culmination than were they? Did the Antediluvians Know the Law?
By A. W. Anderson
It is freely asserted by many religious teachers to-day, that the laws of God were unknown prior to the great assembly of God’s chosen people at Mount Sinai, after their deliverance from Egypt. Those great moral truths proclaimed on Mount Sinai by Jehovah himself are regarded by many as an entirely new revelation made to man at that important epoch. A study of the Scriptures, however, will assuredly demonstrate how untenable such a theory is, and that it is one which is diametrically opposed to the teaching of the inspired writers. The apostle Paul, in his epistle to the Romans, says:— “Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned: for until the law sin was in the world: but sin is not imputed when there is no law. Nevertheless death reigned from Adam to Moses, even over them that had not sinned after the similitude of Adam’s transgression, who is the figure of him that was to come.” Rom. 5: 12-14. Here we find it expressly stated that “sin is not imputed when there is no law.” John says, “Whosoever committeth sin transgresseth also the law: for sin is the transgression of the law.” 1 John 3: 4. Every one will admit that it was because of sin that God sent a flood of waters upon the earth to destroy its guilty inhabitants. If “the world that then was, perished” because of sin, then the only logical conclusion that can be arrived at, is that the inhabitants of the world from the earliest ages were amenable to God’s laws, for “sin is not imputed when there is no law.” What evidence have we in the book of Genesis that would confirm this conclusion? First and foremost, God gave to man the seventh day for spiritual rest and worship. Gen. 2: 2, 3. “The Sabbath was made for man,” says Jesus, and if man had continued to remember the memorial of God’s creative work through the succeeding centuries, he would not have lapsed into idolatry, worshiping the creature rather than the Creator. After the fall we read that the two sons of Adam brought an offering to the Lord, one of which was acceptable, and the other not. The record of this event is as follows:— “And at the end of days [marginal reading] it came to pass, that Cain brought of the fruit of the ground an offering unto the Lord. And Abel, he also brought of the firstlings of his flocks and of the fat thereof. And the Lord had respect unto Abel and to his offering: but unto Cain and to his offering he had not respect. And Cain was very wroth, and his countenance fell.” Gen 5: 3-5. Commenting on this passage of Scripture, Dr. Adam Clarke, says:— “‘At the end of days.’ Some think the anniversary of the creation to be here intended; it is more probable that it means the Sabbath, on which Adam and his family undoubtedly offered oblations to God, as the divine worship was certainly instituted, and no doubt the Sabbath properly observed, in that family.” This is certainly a most natural interpretation, for the Sabbath was appointed, at the close of the creation week, for the purpose of worship. It is evident that these brothers were acquainted with the provision made for the salvation of man, and understood the system of offerings which God had ordained. Abel availed himself of the appointed way of salvation. Cain ventured to depend upon a plan of his own. He was not irreligious, nor was he indifferent altogether to the claims of God. He recognized the obligation of worship, of offerings, and of the observance of the Sabbath; but he did not manifest his faith in the promised atonement of the Lamb of God, which was typified in the offering commanded by the Lord. He disregarded the direct and explicit commands of God, and presented only an offering of fruit, which expressed no penitence for sin. “He felt as many now feel, that it would be an acknowledgment of weakness to follow the exact plan marked out by God, of trusting his salvation wholly to the atonement of the promised Saviour. He chose the course of self-dependence. He would come in his own merits. He would not bring the lamb, and mingle its blood with his offering, but would present his fruits, the products of his labour. He presented his offering as a favour done to God, through which he expected to secure the divine approval. Cain obeyed in building an altar, obeyed in bringing a sacrifice; but he rendered only a partial obedience. The essential part, the recognition of the need of a Redeemer, was left out.”—Patriarchs and Prophets.”},{ The Irishman and the Priest
NEVER was a better answer made than a poor Irishman made to a Catholic priest, while defending himself for reading the Bible. “But,” said the priest, “the Bible is for the priests, and not for the likes o’ you.” “Ah! but, sir,” he answered, “I was reading in my Bible, ‘You shall read it to your children,’ an’ sure the priests have got no children.” “But Michael,” says the priest, “you can not understand the Bible. It is not o’ you to understand it, my man.” “Ah! very well, your riverance, if I can not understand it, it will do me no harm, and what I can understand does me a heap o’ good.” “Very well, Mike,” said the priest, “you must go to the church, and the church will teach you; the church will give you the milk of the word.” “And where does the church get it from but out of the Bible? Ah! your riverance, I would rather keep the cow myself.”—Selected. THE girls that are wanted are good girls—
Good from the heart to the lips;
Pure as the lily is white and pure
From its heart to its sweet leaf tips.
The girls that are wanted are home girls—
Girls that are mother's right hand,
That fathers and brothers can trust, too,
And the little ones understand— Girls that are fair on the hearthstone,
And pleasant when nobody sees;
Kind and sweet to their own folks,
Ready and anxious to please. The girls that are wanted are wise girls,
That know what to do and to say;
That drive with a smile and a soft word
The wrath of the household away. The girls that are wanted are girls with hearts;
They are wanted for mothers and wives;
Wanted to cradle in loving arms
The strongest and fairest lives.
The clever, the witty, the brilliant girl,
There are few who can understand;
But, O! for the wise, loving home girls
There's a constant, steady demand. Midsummer Hints
By Mary Wood-Allen
THESE hints are principally for the mothers of young children; for this beautiful season, so filled with life and beauty, brings with it certain dangers for the little child, dangers which might have been prevented, or at least lessened, if mothers only knew. “What is the matter with the baby?” I once asked the young mother of a child who evidently was very ill. “O, it’s only his teeth,” was the reply, with an air of resignation to the inevitable. Most mothers have the idea that the troubles of infancy are wholly due to teething, and are therefore unavoidable. Because of this belief, ailments which might have been easily cured in the outset, are allowed to proceed unchecked until they perhaps become fatal. Teething is a perfectly physiological process, and it should be comparatively free from disturbance of the general system. This is proved by the fact that some children pass through the teething period without illness, and with almost no pain. If a child has serious trouble at this time, it is proof that something is abnormal and needs attention. One of the first things to be done is to teach the mother some physiological facts, and the most important of these is that the child at birth is not a completed being, but a being in process of construction. Up to the time of birth the alimentary canal has had no work to do, and even at birth it is not finished in its structure. Starch and Sugar Detrimental
The adult has the power to appropriate all forms of food, starches, fats, sugars, and proteids. The infant has no power to digest starch, and sugar only to a limited degree, as furnished in the mother’s milk. To give it then starchy foods at all, and cane-sugar to any extent, is to violate the laws of its physical organization, and to create disturbance. As white bread, rice, potato, crackers, etc., are principally starch, we can readily believe that they do not belong in the healthful dietary of babyhood. And yet we often see mothers feeding these things to the infant in arms. I have seen a mother feed a six months’ old baby, potato, hot biscuit and coffee, and then if it were sick, the blame was put upon the teeth, which in a fit of total depravity were supposed to have “got onto” the helpless little one. Physiologists tell us that the child must be near the end of its first year before it can appropriate starch, and then only in small amount. The baby who is fortunate enough to have its natural food, needs nothing else for the first nine or ten months. Then when it begins to take cow’s milk, a farinaceous substance may be gradually added. To indicate how gradually, we may give the formula of an experienced physician: One tablespoonful of oatmeal, one quart of water. Boil until reduced to a pint. Strain. Of this gruel put one tablespoonful into one bottle of milk. If this is a proper amount of starchy food to give a year-old child at one feeding, it will not be difficult to understand how much out of the way is the diet of many a yearling child. It is not the purpose of this article to direct the diet of the bottle-fed baby. This is a matter which will tax the skill and science of the mother assisted by her own family doctor. The most that can be done in our limited space will be to suggest some precautions. The care of the child’s food demands the strictest attention. Many mothers do not realize how soon food will become infected by standing uncovered in the room. I often go into kitchens and see the milk and butter standing open on the table all through the process of cooking the meal. A very few minutes, in such heat, and with the absorption of the germs that are always floating in the air, are enough to render the milk unfit for the food of the infant, no matter how strong and vigorous he may be. For the good of all members of the family all milk and butter should be kept in a clean refrigerator. These two articles should always be the first removed in clearing the table after meals. The screening of doors and windows is not only a matter of comfort, but of health; for we are learning the possibilities of the fly as a carrier of infection. The greater freedom of officers from infectious diseases in soldiers’ camps is attributed to the fact that they have screened tents, while the common soldiers are not so protected. The purity of the water-supply is also imperative. How this is to be assured is a matter deserving of the most careful study. Distilling is the most certain plan; but whether the water be purified by distillation or boiling and filtering, the same precaution should be taken as with milk; it should be kept covered. A very simple experiment will demonstrate the presence of germs in the air. Boil milk, or make a meat broth. Put some of either fluid into a bottle that has been cleansed by boiling, and cork tightly with sterilized cotton. Put another part into an equally clean bottle, but leave it open to the air. This last will soon be spoiled, but the first will remain good as long as the bottle is tightly corked. Milk for the baby may be thoroughly sterilized, but if set uncovered to cool in an open window, it will not long be sterile. The purity of the air outside, as well as the opening of doors and windows to free circulation, needs purposive thought. Stagnant ponds or pools, outside closets, garbage uncovered, barns and stables, are all sources of air defilement. Mothers should see to it that their children are not allowed to play near any such source of contamination. Discard Superfluous Clothing
The careful mother is quite apt to err on the side of keeping her child too warmly clothed. Babies often are made to swelter under an amount of clothing that is positively dangerous to health as well as destructive of comfort. It requires judgment to rightly gauge the amount of clothing suited to the changing weather, but an extra garment mornings and evenings, and next to nothing in the heat of the day, will probably meet the needs of the case. The skin that is always shut away from the air grows weak and liable to chills, while the skin which has an opportunity to become acquainted with the atmosphere acquires a protective power which is a safeguard. A serenity of surroundings is needful for the infant as well as the adult. He feels the mental atmosphere, and responds to it in his physical as well as his mental condition. The infant should be left to himself as much as possible. He is far better off on the bed or the floor than in arms. With unrestricted freedom of limbs and lungs, with simple and appropriate food given with regularity, with pure air, with no tossings or teasing, with a serene atmosphere about him, with all his needs attended to, and11 with the heaven of mother’s sweet face smiling at him from a little distance, he should thrive and grow in the summer, as do the flowers. —Mary Wood-Allen, M. D., in Union Signal. How to Enjoy an Old Cloak
Three years ago my friends said, “You will have a new cloak this winter; yours is getting quite old-fashioned.” Its color was fresh, the quality good—perhaps it was a little too long or too short, and as all my neighbors were intent upon new cloaks, without much considering, I answered, “Yes, I suppose I must,” and put aside fifteen dollars of my small income for this purpose. Before the time of cloak-making we learned that a poor and pious woman, who, in her old age, had been defrauded of her little patrimony by a wicked son, was now in need of many comforts for the approaching winter, one of which was a new stove in place of the rickety thing which smoked her kitchen and consumed her wood without making her comfortable. In spite of all I could do, my old cloak and a new stove began to balance themselves in my mind; and in the end the new cloak was given up, and the new stove was bought. The winter set severely in, but having a share in Aunt Joanna’s stock of comforts, I often went to see her. One day, lightly opening her door, I heard her supplicating blessings on those who had thought of her and supplied her wants. And how “pleased was I,” when she took a sick neighbor and her child into her warm kitchen, and nursed her through the coldest weather. Did not my old cloak possess a beauty and a warmth of which fashion could never rob me? Two years ago, “Of course you will have a new cloak,” they said, “the new patterns are very becoming.” “Yes,” I answered, “I suppose so.” One day on going out to make some choice in the matter, a letter came describing the destitute state of a poor minister’s library. “Scott’s Bible,” “Pilgrim’s Progress,” and Webster’s Dictionary, with a few others, made up the scanty catalogue of his books. “Fifteen dollars’ worth of books would do an incalculable good to the missionary in the destitute region in which he lives,” so the letter ran. Here was a new adversary to the new cloak. As I thought of the crippled means of that man of God and the long winter evenings in that far-off clearing, with books or without them, and of his self-denials for his Master’s work, my heart and conscience went for the books. Twenty dollars’ worth of good reading from a friend, added to mine, were forwarded to the distant clearing; and in God’s good time we heard how they had gladdened and encouraged the minister’s heart, how they had passed from house to house and hand to hand, and how they had issued in a great revival of God’s glorious work. Did not the colors in the old cloak begin to stand out with a living luster? One year ago, and the matter of a new cloak again came up, with all the urgency of an “entire new style.” The same preliminaries were gone through, and the cloak was as “good as bought,” they said, when the case of a young man struggling with embarrassments in order to qualify himself for the ministry came to my knowledge. It was a little history of unwonted interest, and there was unwonted urgency in the call. Well-nigh overwhelmed by the waves of disappointment and adversity, should not some Christian brother be ready to throw out to him the life-preserver of sympathy, encouragement, and help? In God’s name, Yes. The old cloak and I have not yet parted. Another winter has come. We are still intimate. What may happen to sunder or cement our tie, we can not tell; but come what will, the dear old cloak has taught me the significant and often-to-be-repeated lesson in the great economy of means, that it is not so much what we have, as what we do, that is the true riches, the real joy; or, as our heavenly Master has at once disclosed the true idea and the great reward of Christianity, “It is more blessed to give than to receive.”—Sunday at Home. A Healthy Child Is Active
CHILDREN are a constant proof of Aristotle's theory that life consists in movement. They soon tire of having nothing to do. Their nature is essentially restless, and they are always happiest, and consequently less troublesome, when continually occupied with some form of practical or mental activity. Childhood is the proper time of life for experimenting. Children enjoy being taught and encouraged to try to do new things, and thus you can learn what they are able and what they like best to do. It is a pity that all children can not have the advantage of living their youth in the free, open country. Then it is impossible for them not to feel the brightness and the joy of living, for there is happiness and joyousness in nature. Our boys and girls who have learned the secrets of nature can give lessons in endurance, simplicity, and enterprise. Their harder lives have taught them independence and resource. There is no playground in the world to be found with such a variety of games as Dame Nature's. It is always filled with things worth knowing how to do, and object-lessons the value of which we can not calculate. In the matter of occupation at home, nothing will arouse interest in a child's mind so much as work about the house or garden, especially when he is given a small proprietorship in things. Tell your boy that a certain portion of the garden belongs to him, and give him the necessary implements for its care, and see the interest, pride, and industry that will develop from that sense of proprietorship. Let your small daughter come into the kitchen once or twice a week, and shoulder the responsibility of a simple supper. Her interest in the work will be greatly enhanced by her sense of ownership and responsibility. It is useless to expect children to like work for its own sake any better than you do yourself, but you can prevent them, by judicious management, from taking a dislike to work that they will later on in their lives certainly find necessary. The world needs persons of talent, of energy, and, above all, of rightly directed industry.—Selected. PRAYERS are hindered by undue haste in our devotions. We must take time to pray. Public prayers and prayers offered in social meetings may well be brief, but nothing should be permitted to hurry our private communion with God. If we should note the time we spend each day in prayer, and compare it with the time we give to trifles, we might have occasion to be ashamed. The little time we give to prayer shows how little interest we have in it, how little faith we have in God, and how faint and cold is our love to him. We do not give time grudgingly to anything in which our hearts are enlisted. We do not hurry through the task we enjoy. Does any one give time sparingly to a friend whom he highly esteems? And shall we who have so much time to give to business, to pleasure, to friendship, to science, to art, and wish for more time to bestow, allow our seasons of fellowship with our Heavenly Father to be cut short by the demands of business and the calls of the world? “One thing have I desired of the Lord, that will I seek after; that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to behold the beauty of the Lord, and to inquire in his temple.”—Selected. THAT teasing is a positive crime. That they must eat bread before cake. That bedtime is not a “movable” hour. That they must speak respectfully to the servants. That they should not appeal from the decision of one parent to the other. That punishment follows in the wake of prevarication and hiding, more swiftly than it follows active mischief. That it is bad taste for them to tell all that they learn of their neighbors' domestic arrangements through playing with the neighbors' children.—Selected. “Jesus cares for each one as if there were not another individual on the face of the earth.”