Earlier text: LOST TIMETHE WILL OF GOD.
By James White
"Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven." Matt. 7: 21. In an eminent sense the will of God to fallen man is expressed in the ten commandments. The will of an emperor is expressed in his edicts. These affirm to his subjects what they may do and what they may not do. So these precepts emphatically tell him what he may do and what he may not do, and thus is the will of God expressed. In harmony with this sentiment is the golden text, "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." If thou wilt enter into life keep the commandments. But how many are saying, "Lord, Lord," while they refuse to do the will of God expressed in the commandments of God. They profess great love for the Saviour, and talk favorably of Christ, the gospel, and the cross, but they consign the will of God to the dust of the ground, and love the Saviour a great way off. The Father and the Son are one. A sanctified scriptural faith brings our adorable Redeemer very near, and holds the will of God in the mind and heart. NATURE OF AN UNQUENCHABLE FIRE.
By John Nevins Andrews
THE action of fire is not to preserve but to destroy. It lives upon that which is cast into it, upon which it preys. It dissolves substances into their original elements, and changes them mainly into gaseous matter. The great and terrible conflagration of the last day will differ from every other in this grand fact, that in consequence of such chemical changes as the Creator will make, even the water shall burn as pitch, and the dust as brimstone. That fire shall devour every element, and then cease to burn for lack of fuel. It is not the property of fire to annihilate matter, but to dissolve it, and change its form of existence. The fire of the great day shall do this to the whole substance of our globe. But if it be an unquenchable fire, must it not burn to all eternity? One thing is very certain in that case, viz., that if the fire never ceases to burn, there must be an eternal creation going on; for the fire is continually devouring, and however vast the pile of fuel, unless it be absolutely unlimited and infinite, it must at last be all devoured. Indeed this is precisely the work of an unquenchable fire. It is to burn till it has utterly consumed all the fuel. Take the following as an illustration: God told the people of Jerusalem, when that city was threatened by Nebuchadnezzar, that if they would keep the Sabbath, their city should stand forever; but if they would not, in this, hearken to his voice, he testifies thus: "Then will I kindle a fire in the gates thereof, and it shall devour the palaces of Jerusalem, and it shall not be quenched." Jer. 17:27. The people of Jerusalem would not heed this gracious warning. They put the Lord to the test to show whether he was in earnest. The last chapter of Jeremiah gives us the fulfillment of this warning. For we are told that Nebuzaradan, the servant of Nebuchadnezzar, came to Jerusalem, "And burned the house of the Lord, and the king's house; and all the houses of Jerusalem, and all the houses of the great men, burned he with fire." Jer. 52:13. Thus we see that this unquenchable fire did utterly devour everything that could burn. But that fire is not in process of action. It did its work. It could not be arrested. But when that work was done, the fire ceased. Such is the nature and the work of an unquenchable fire. WOMAN'S POSITION IN THE CHURCH.
By W. N. Glenn
IN these last days, when skepticism is rife, and the enemies of God's truth are ever on the alert to spring opposition, the most palpable absurdities are trumped up to ensnare and confuse unwary Christian pilgrims. Amongst other stumbling-blocks that have been thrown in the way, there has been much questioning as to the part women should take in the work of the Lord. Some assume that she should not take any prominent part in gospel labor, whilst others would forbid her even to speak in the church. Many a woman's heart has thus been chilled by inactivity, and many a female tongue, that might have become eloquent for the truth, has been beguiled into silence through a false persuasion that God would not approve her public testimony. There is one instance on record that ought forever to settle all doubts about God accepting the ministration of women, and revealing his will through them when it suits his purpose to do so. The record is found in 2 Kings, 22d chapter. It appears that the Jews, under the long and wicked reign of Manasseh, had become very much backslidden, and the temple desecrated by idolatry. Josiah began to reign when eight years of age, and "did that which was right in the sight of the Lord." In the eighteenth year of his reign he set about repairing the temple, and during the progress of the work the book of the law was found. The temple service and true worship of God must have been very much neglected, for this book seems to have been entirely new to the king and his associates. "And it came to pass, when the king had heard the words of the book of the law, that he rent his clothes," thus showing that he was deeply humiliated, and thoroughly impressed with the importance of the discovery. He felt that God must be very angry with his people because of their long neglect of the law. Like a true penitent, his first thought was to go to the Lord. So he called the high priest and four other eminent and trusty persons, and commanded them to inquire of the Lord for himself and the people. Now mark, the high priest was sent to inquire of the Lord; and one would suppose that he, of all, could make inquiry directly of Heaven. But he did not attempt to do so. The five commissioners of the king went to a woman named Huldah, a prophetess, and "communed with her." And the Lord heard, and answered by the mouth of the woman, thus acknowledging her office. And while curses were pronounced upon the place and upon the inhabitants, mercy was shown unto the king, because of his humble penitence. Thus was demonstrated the Lord's approbation of the whole proceeding. PROFESSOR PAINE ON BAPTISM.
PROF. L. L. PAINE, D. D., who occupies the Chair of Ecclesiastical History in the Bangor Theological Seminary, has surprised some of his Congregational brethren by teachings which strike them as quite unexampled in theological seminaries of that denomination. At a recent anniversary a visitor was confounded to hear the statement made, without contradiction, in the examination of the classes in church history, that immersion was the primitive mode of baptism. He put the inquiry publicly through the Christian Mirror, whether that was the teaching of the Professor, and whether, if it was the truth, a good deal of argument against the Baptists must not be given up. Professor Paine replied with admirable spirit:— “It may be honestly asked by some, was immersion the primitive form of baptism; and if so, what then? As to the question of fact, the testimony is ample and satisfactory. No matter of church history is clearer. The evidence is all one way, and all church historians of any repute agree in accepting it. We cannot claim even originality in teaching it in a Congregational Seminary. And we really feel guilty of a kind of anachronism in writing an article to insist upon it. It is a point upon which ancient, mediæval, and modern historians alike, Catholic and Protestant, Lutheran and Calvinist, have no controversy. And the simple reason for this unanimity is, that the statements of the early Fathers are so clear, and the light shed upon these statements from the early customs of the church is so conclusive, that no historian who cares for his reputation would dare deny it, and no historian who is worthy of the name would wish to. “There are some historical questions concerning the church, on which the most learned writers disagree; for example, the question of infant baptism; but on this one, of the early practice of immersion, the most distinguished antiquarians, such as Bingham, Angusti (Coleman), Smith (Dictionary of the Bible), and historians, such as Mosheim, Gieseler, Hase, Neander, Milman, Schaff, Alzog (Catholic), hold a common language. The following extract from Coleman’s Antiquities very accurately expresses what all agree to: ‘In the primitive church, immersion was undeniably the common mode of baptism. The utmost that can be said of sprinkling in the early period is that it was, in case of necessity, permitted as an exception to a general rule. This fact is so well established that it were needless to adduce authorities in proof of it.’ As one further illustration we quote from Schaff’s ‘Apostolic Church’: ‘As to the outward mode of administering this ordinance, immersion, and not sprinkling, was unquestionably the original, normal form.’ “But while immersion was the universal custom, an abridgement of the rite was freely allowed and defended in cases of urgent necessity, such as sickness, and approaching death, and the peculiar form of sprinkling thus came to be known as ‘clinical’ baptism, or the baptism of the sick. It is somewhat singular that no controversy of any account ever arose in the church on this question of the form of baptism, down to the Reformation. And hence it is difficult to determine with complete accuracy just when immersion gave way to sprinkling as the common church practice. The two forms were employed, one as a rule, the other as the exception, until, as Christianity traveled northward into a colder climate, the exception silently grew to be the rule. “As late as the thirteenth century immersion still held its ground, as is shown in a passage in the Summa Theologica of St. Thomas Aquinas, where the arguments in favor of the two modes of baptism are compared, and the conclusion is drawn that immersion is the safer, because the more common form (quia hoc habet communiores usus). Three centuries later, in the time of the Reformers, sprinkling had become common, and even quite universal, although Calvin speaks of the different forms of baptism in a way which seems to imply that immersion was by no means obsolete. So that Dr. Schaff puts the date quite early enough, we think, when he says that ‘not until the end of the thirteenth century did sprinkling become the rule and immersion the exception.’ It is to be remarked, also, that this change occurred only in the Western or Latin church. In the Greek church, immersion has remained the rule to the present day.” Prof. Paine has evidently studied to some purpose. It would be well if some of his colleagues in the Bangor Seminary could profit by his instructions.—Examiner and Chronicle. CELESTIAL PHENOMENA.
By Wm. Penniman
THE Christian Herald of Dec. 9, 1880, gives the following in regard to celestial phenomena: "The celestial commotions now engaging the attention of astronomers in this country and in Europe, are believed to indicate that mighty changes are in progress, not only in the planetary orbs but in the sun itself. The spots on the sun's surface observed two months ago, now cover two-thirds of its diameter or 190,000 miles, and the protuberances, first noticed by the French astronomer Tholeon, search almost to the corona. In the planet Jupiter there are also evidences of unwonted activity. An eminent astronomer says: 'Beneath the apparently quiescent envelope of this vast star, tremendous energies are at work, causing outbursts compared with which our grandest volcanic eruptions are utterly insignificant, and originating hurricanes which have been seen to sweep its skies for weeks with currents, moving over one hundred and fifty miles an hour.'" The New York Herald which has attained much celebrity for the accuracy of its weather forecasts, commenting on these facts, says: "The present celestial activity should be closely watched and compared with the phenomenal weather now transpiring in our own atmosphere. The new year, if we may judge from the present indications, promises to be one of marked meteorological phenomena, which should be diligently investigated from every view-point, stellar and terrestrial." These remarkable phenomena are sure to be diligently investigated by scientists, but to the Christian believer they are interesting chiefly because Jesus said that his coming would be heralded by signs in the sun, moon, and stars. Mark 21:25. A MAN strikes me with a sword and inflicts a wound. Suppose, instead of binding up the wound, I am showing it to everybody; and after it is bound up, I am taking off the bandage continually, and examining the depth of the wound and causing it to fester till my limb becomes greatly inflamed, and my general health is materially affected, is there a person in the world that would not call me a fool? Now, such a fool is he, who by dwelling upon little injuries or provocations, causes them to agitate and inflame his mind. How much better would it be to put a bandage over the wound, and never look at it again. The Crystallization of Character
STRANGE we do not realize how, day by day, we are crystalizing! Every thought, every act, every emotion, whether good or bad, tending to the one point—crystalization of character! THE Pope of Rome was declared infallible, July 18, 1870, by the following decree:— “We, therefore, faithfully adhering to the traditions received from the beginning of the Christian faith, for the glory of God our Saviour, the exaltation of the Christian people, the sacred council giving it sanction; teach and define that it is a dogma divinely revealed, that the Pope of Rome, when he speaks ex-cathedra—that is, when discharging the duty of pastor and teacher of all Christians, he defines a doctrine by his supreme apostolic authority either about faith or morals, to be held by the universal church, by the divine assistance promised him in most blessed Peter—is possessed of that infallibility by which the divine Redeemer wished his church to be instructed; therefore, definitions of the Roman Pontiff of this description are of themselves irreformable and not from the consent of the church. But if any one shall presume to contradict this definition of ours, which may God avert, let him be anathema.” (Accursed.) The Pope had made great arrangements for a grand display, when the decree was to be read. He had made a scaffold on the east side of his palace, on which he planned to appear arrayed in glittering diamonds and pearls, so that the first rays of the rising sun would so make him glitter and shine, that the people would proclaim him God. But the sun did not rise in splendor that morning; it rose amidst clouds and storm. It is said to have been a very dark, gloomy day in Rome. While the infallibility decree was being read, the thunder and lightning was so terrific that a Cardinal sprang to his feet, exclaiming: “God is angry with the Pope on account of his words,” and when the eyes of the aged Pontiff could no longer discern the writing, he handed the paper to a Cardinal to finish the reading. On the very next day, July 19, Napoleon III. withdrew his army from Rome on account of the Franco-Prussian war. And Sept. 20, 1870, the Italians entered Rome, made the Pope practically a prisoner in the Vatican, took away from him the last vestige of temporal power, sold many of his goods at auction, and made Rome the capital of the Italian States. Thus the poor, deluded Pope was not as infallible in his power as he proclaimed himself to be in his opinions and doctrine. How wonderfully has the word of the Lord been fulfilled concerning this great power. Prior to the time mentioned above, the Romish church was supported by different kings, who in turn supported her by the power of arms (see Rev. 17), but since this event she has been seated upon “the waters,” which are explained to mean “peoples, and multitudes, and nations, and tongues.” The Pope has been supported by Peter’s pence, a small amount from each Catholic of all nations, though it constitutes a large sum in the aggregate. All that now remains of prophetic declaration as to her fate, is for her to “be utterly burned with fire.” When this is done, the resurrection comes. The kingdom long ago promised to the faithful saints will be given.—W. N. Tenney, in Bible Banner. NEVADA CITY, CAL.
By E. A. Briggs
I HAVE been holding meetings in this place during the past six weeks, and the Lord seems to have blessed the word spoken notwithstanding the almost continuous storms which have prevailed. Twelve have taken their stand on the side of God's commandments, and will, I trust, prove faithful. Several of these are heads of families, and there are seven children, the watchcare of whom is a sacred trust delivered to their charge. Have sold some fifteen dollars' worth of books, and canvassed all prominent points of present truth.93 If the Sabbath-keepers of this place are earnest and persevering, they will be, with the blessing of God, of great use in holding up the light in this part of the State. May the Lord help us to work while it is yet day. Feb. 20, 1881. E. A. BRIGGS. THE LITTLE FLOCK.
By Eld. H. F. Cottrell
LAMBS among wolves. This is a simile, representing the condition of God's people among the people of the world. Hence they need to be as wise as serpents and as harmless as doves. Lambs should never become so intimately associated with wolves as to forget that they are lambs, or lose their own distinguishing characteristics and become so near like wolves that no difference can be seen. Lambs like best to associate with lambs. The lambs are represented as few in number “in the midst of wolves.” But will they be devoured? No; inasmuch as their Shepherd says, “Fear not, little flock, for it is your Father's good pleasure to give you the kingdom.” The little flock are safe amidst dangers. And there is a kingdom to be given to them—a heavenly fold is prepared for them, where they will be forever safe. No wolf can enter there. It is a safe and happy place where evil can never enter. And their Shepherd will lead them forth to green pastures, and to streams of living waters. “They shall hunger no more, neither thirst any more; neither shall the sun light on them, nor any heat; for the Lamb which is in the midst of the throne shall feed them; and shall lead them unto living fountains of water; and God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes.” The Cradle and the Tomb
By Prior
THE cradle and the tomb, alas! so nigh—Prior. The Conditions of a Church Blessing
WHEN a blessing comes to the church it will mean a surrender of old grudges, a forgiving of those who have wronged us, a wider Christian charity, a more patient endurance of sufferings for Christ's sake, a more self-sacrificing spirit of benevolence, a more complete separation from the world, a holier life and an intenser service. And perhaps the revival is withheld until the church comes to the point where she shall seek it, not with a qualified, but an absolute surrender and a holy willingness to be and do all that the Spirit shall command. We want a blessing—the shallowest experience can say that; but whether we want a searching and withering, an unsettling, it may be, of hopes long unquestioned, and a renewal of life when it means agony for souls and cross-bearing for Christ—that is a deeper question.—Interior. The Promise of the Father
It will be generally admitted that the need of the promise of the Father is at this time very great in the churches and in the land. The spiritual life is low. Conversions are fewer than they have been. The world crowds in upon the church. Skepticism is in the air. But the promise persists. The cloud overhangs, God waits to be gracious. Let the people of God be faithful. Look back upon the conditions of the divine answer to prayer in the apostolic church, Reproduce them. Let them be reproduced in any particular congregation, and a great work will be done there. Let them be reproduced in the church everywhere through this broad land, and a marvelous Pentecost will come as with a rushing mighty wind.—Presbyterian Journal. WRESTLING CHRISTIANS.—That is the kind the Bible speaks about. When Jacob got his "new name," it was through wrestling that scarred and broke him. And whatever may have been the precise nature of that strange conflict in the darkness, there can be no doubt of the lesson it teaches. Great victories with God, and the preparation for great victories with men, come through an earnestness fitly called a wrestling with God.—Christian at Work. Advancing and Retreating Churches
By Morning Star
To be occasionally advancing and just as occasionally retreating has not much in it that is commendable. It is an excellent arrangement for tides, but a very poor one for the churches.—Morning Star. ALMOST ripe was the harvest,
With its wealth of waving grain;
And I looked for the reapers busy,
Scattered up and down the plain.
Oh, I watched till the fields were whitened,
But no one came to glean;
And I saw how the reapers, listless,
Just leaned on their sickles keen. And I called, "O reapers hasten!
There's a chill breath over the plain;
Ye must gather the harvest quickly,
And bind up the ripened grain!"
But the reapers replied, "We're ready
To join in the harvest-home;
And we wait with our sickles sharpened,
Till the Master-reaper come." Oh, where was the Master-reaper,
That he tarried when fields grew ripe?
And why were the reapers all listless
When their sickles were glancing so bright?
From places made fragrant with blossoms,
All over the fruit-strewn lands,
They were bringing the choicest of treasures
For the Master-reaper's hands. And now, when the Lord of the harvest
Is calling all over his lands—
When the laborers, eager and joyous,
Are hastening with well-filled hands;
I know as they pass before him,
How he looks on his own, and grieves
For the wasted fields—for the many
Who are bringing no garnered sheaves. MORAL INTEGRITY.
By Mrs. E. G. White
Nothing with which we have to do is really small. It is only by exercising principle in the small transactions of ordinary life that our characters are formed. In the varied circumstances of life we are tested and proved, and thereby are qualified to fill more important positions. The mind must be trained through daily tests to habits of fidelity, to a sense of the claims of right and duty above inclination and pleasure. Minds thus trained are not wavering between right and wrong, as the trembling reed in the wind, but as soon as matters come before them, they discern at once that there is a principle involved, and they will instinctively choose the right without long debating the matter. They are loyal because they have trained themselves to habits of faithfulness and truth. By being faithful in that which is least, it becomes easy for them, through acquired power, to be faithful in greater matters. The education of many is not such as to strengthen those high moral qualities which will enable them to stand alone in the strength of God in defense of truth, amid the severest opposition, firm as a rock to principle, true to moral character, unmoved by censure, or human praise, or rewards, preferring death rather than a violated conscience. The work of God calls for men of high moral powers to engage in its promulgation. Men are wanted whose hearts are nerved with holy fervor, men of strong purpose, that are not easily moved, who can lay down every selfish interest and give all for cross and crown. The cause of present truth is suffering for men who are loyal to a sense of right and duty, whose moral integrity is firm, and their energy equal to the opening providence of God. Such qualifications as these are of more value than if men had untold wealth to invest in the work and cause of God. Moral integrity, energy, and strong purpose for the right, are qualities that cannot be supplied with any amount of gold. Men possessing these qualifications will have influence everywhere. Their lives will be more powerful than lofty eloquence. God calls for men of heart, men of mind, men of moral integrity, whom he can make the repositories of his truth, who will correctly represent and exemplify its sacred principles in their daily life. Temperance.
By Wm. Penniman
"A CALM VIEW OF THE TEMPERANCE QUESTION."
THIS is the subject of a lecture delivered in Tremont Temple, Boston, January 10, 1881, by Chancellor Howard Crosby, D. D., LL. D. We shall not attempt to review it, as it is too lengthy, but will only notice one or two points and give a few facts and quotations, which will overthrow his positions. This calm view of things is just what the devil wants. The prince of darkness likes to see the world rushing to destruction, and yet see those who profess to love God and Christianity, take a calm view of it. Take a calm view of the millions of drunkard's graves; don't shed a tear over the tens of thousands of widows and orphans; be calm when you hear the groans of the destitute and suffering, made such by king Alcohol! Be calm over the hundreds of millions of dollars which are spent to support the accursed liquor traffic! Dr. Crosby goes so far as to say that our Saviour used intoxicating wine. He takes the position that wine that is not intoxicating, should not be called wine; in short, that wine is wine; and accuses the radicals of using a Solomonian sword, and dividing it, when the Bible does not. Probably Dr. C. thinks the "good" wine spoken of in the marriage feast of Cana of Galilee, had an extra fermentation. This must have been similar to that of which Solomon speaks, when he says: "Look not upon the wine when it is red, when it giveth its color in the cup, when it moveth itself aright. At last it biteth like a serpent, and stingeth like an adder." Does Dr. C. look upon Solomon as radical in his advice, and upon our Saviour as taking a calm view of the question in using a little? If no other wine was used in the world but such as was made of water by our Lord, no harm would be done. We might make a comparison of the good and bad wines of the Bible, but a word to the wise is sufficient. Dr. C. says: "A second reason why I believe the plan of total abstinence will not be adopted by the people, is its unmanliness." "Tell it not in Gath, publish it not in the streets of Askelon," lest the friends of the rum-seller rejoice; lest the army of temperate drinkers triumph. The Bible says, "Abstain (not indulge a little) from fleshly lusts which war against the soul." It is just as unnecessary to try to demonstrate to a reasonable being that the habitual use of ardent spirits (the desire for which constantly increases) is not a fleshly lust, as it is to attempt to prove that twice two does not make four. The boot seems to be on the wrong foot this time, as the "unmanliness" is on Dr. C.'s side of the question. That which unmans a man, makes him unmanly. Take the man who is so enslaved to appetite that he thinks he cannot reform. He is decidedly unmanly; especially when he falls into the gutter, and animals walk independently over him. Of course this D. D. is not in favor of giving the drunkard an over-dose; he would not do anything to kill him who is already dead (in trespasses and sins); but he ought to know that if the temperate drinker keeps on tippling, he, like the drunkard, will finally tip over; and that is quite as unmanly as the unmanliness of the total abstinence men. Again he says: "The selling and drinking of wine (perhaps he likes a little himself) is certainly not a crime; . . . . but a total prohibition—the cardinal doctrine of the total abstinence people—at once brands wine drinking with theft, and violence." If a man in a drunken fit kills his wife, robs his neighbor, or burns a house, the law deals with him as a murderer, thief, etc. Yet, according to the Doctor's theology, the liquor selling, and the "wine drinking" are all right; whereas, the selling and drinking are the causes, and the murder, theft, etc., are but the effects. Who cannot see this? If it is right to make laws totally prohibiting murder, theft, and other kindred evils, why is it not right to make laws prohibiting the sale of that which is the cause of four-fifths, or of nine-tenths, of the evils which are cursing the world? The Christian Herald of January 20, 1881, says: "A startling fact, disclosed by recently published statistics, suggests well-grounded apprehensions as to the permanence of our national prosperity. It appears that since 1870, the quantity of fermented liquors manufactured and consumed in this country, has more than doubled. Last year, the amount was nearly 414,000,000 gallons, or more than a quarter of a barrel for every man, woman, and child. The daily reports of our police courts show the dire evil this liquor is working on the people." The New York Evening Post says "that in the year 1879 there was paid out for intoxicating drinks, by the people of Germany, the sum of $650,000,000; and by those of France, $580,000,000; of Great Britain, $750,000,000; and of the United States, $720,000,000; making the grand total of the world's bill for intoxicating liquors, $2,700,000,000. The following will demonstrate the unsafety of Dr. Crosby's position: "A late number of the Princeton Review contains a lengthy article on the liquor traffic, presenting the subject solely from the stand-point of public polity, and as it contains the gist of the arguments used in Kansas during the discussion on the constitutional amendment, and which are being made use of in this State, its conclusions are of considerable interest to the public. The author bases the right of the State to enact prohibitory laws on its police power, three branches of which he considers: Police for the prevention of offenses, police of the public health, and police of charity. Under the first head he produces statistics to show that the consumption of intoxicating liquors produces crime. In 1837 and 1838 there were over 11,000 crimes of a certain character committed in Ireland, while in 1839 there were only 1,097, and in 1840, 172. The cause of this remarkable decrease was the temperance movement instituted by Father Matthew. The consumption of spirits fell from 12,000,000 gallons to 5,000,000, and the revenue derived from its sale decreased some $4,000,000. The number of prisoners confined in the Bridewell, at Dublin, fell in one year from 136 to 23, and 100 cells stood empty. The Smithfield Prison closed its doors. But there was no prohibitory law enacted, and everything drifted back to the old condition of things. The convictions for crime in the State of Maine, with a prohibitory law, in 1874 were 1 to every 1,689 of population, while in the State of New York, exclusive of New York City, without a prohibitory law, they were one to every 620. Crime diminished 75 per cent in the State of Connecticut, under the prohibitory law of 1854, and in 1873, upon the restoration of the license, it increased 50 per cent in a single year. Under the head of public health, he quotes life insurance statistics, to show that where in a given number of risks ten temperate persons die between the ages of 15 and 20, eighteen intemperate persons die; between the ages of 20 and 30, ten temperate and fifty-one intemperate, and between the ages of 30 and 40, ten temperate and forty intemperate persons die in a given number of risks. Life insurance tables show that a temperate person's chance of living is, at 20, 44.2 years; at 30, 36.5 years; at 40, 28.8 years. An intemperate person's chance of living is, at 20, 15.6 years; at 30, 13.8 years; at 40, 11.6 years. The average life of drunkards is 35 years, and the average life of non-users is 64 years. From this shortening of life by drinking, there is an annual loss to the country, through loss of labor alone, of $563,000,000. The connection between insanity and intemperance is demonstrated, and Dr. Hitchcock, President of the Michigan State Board of Health, is quoted as authority for the statement, that of the number of idiots in this country, 319,000 are made such by the use of alcohol, and 9,000 persons are annually made insane from the same cause. "Under the third head, statistics are produced to show that the relation between intemperance and pauperism is that of cause and effect, and in a summing up of unusual power, the writer maintains that the prevention of the sale of intoxicating liquors is the removal of the chief cause of crime, the promotion of the public health, and the diminution of pauperism." GLEANINGS FROM THE EASTERN FIELD.
WISCONSIN, Clark Co.—Eld. H. W. Decker has been holding a series of meetings about half way between Maple Works and Loyal. Six have decided to obey the truth. Albany and Monroe.—Jan. 14–17, Eld. G. C. Tenney held meetings with the church at Albany. Bro. Wm. Atkinson was chosen and ordained Elder. Assisted by Bro. Olsen, Bro. Tenney also held meetings with the church in Monroe, Jan. 19–23. Three substantial ones have recently taken hold of the truth here, and others are interested. An active Vigilant Missionary Society is sustained, whose labor is producing some very interesting results. ALABAMA, Bladen Springs.—J. M. Elliott attended the quarterly meeting in this place, Jan. 16, 17. The meeting was one of more than common interest. The ordinances were celebrated, and all business transacted harmoniously. Bro. Elliott intends shortly to visit Mississippi. NORTH CAROLINA, Watauga Co.—Friday and Sabbath, Jan. 22, 23, Bro. L. P. Hodges preached three times in the Dutch Creek settlement. He reports the friends there firm in the Sabbath truth. Two were baptized, two more have commenced to keep the Sabbath, and still others are deciding to do so. IOWA, Shelby Co.—Eld. J. G. Matteson reports visiting the churches at Elkhorn, Altamont, and Bowman's grove. During the trip he baptized four, and five united with the church. TENNESSEE, Springville.—Eld. C. O. Taylor, who has just returned to his field of labor in the South having recently buried his wife, spent two weeks with this church which has a membership of about ten. Two were taken under the watchcare of the church, awaiting baptism. Three signed the teetotal pledge, and four joined the tract and missionary society. CANNOT BEAR RESTRICTION.
By W. N. Glenn
SATAN'S prime minister, the liquor traffic, is very zealous in the matter of territorial conquest, as well as in the struggle for unlimited time for carrying on the work of human destruction. That "industry" not only demands the privilege of conducting its nefarious business twenty-four hours in the day, and seven days in the week, but insists that there shall be no space on earth exempted from its operations. It is about the only business in which man is engaged, endorsed by law, that is not willing to be limited in some respect, and which does not seem to realize the possibility of impropriety as regards time or place. There is a little spot, two miles in diameter, enclosing the State University at Berkelely, within which it is unlawful to sell intoxicating liquors. This is more than the traffic can bear; it must get within that little circle also. There are several hundred young men there being educated, and if rum should be kept away from them during that important era of life it would be an irreparable loss to Satan. Under the law they must go at least a mile to get a drink of liquor. Some of them doubtless get it too often even at that distance, but the archdealer is so accommodating that he would "deliver" his wares to the customers' doors; then there are many at the University who do not as yet indulge at all, and these must be tempted. So it is necessary that the rum merchant be established a little nearer the institution of learning. The inevitable attorney is consulted; the law is believed to be "unconstitutional"—that strange fatality that seizes nearly all temperance laws in California. The result is, the law has been violated and the offender arrested—merely to test the validity of the statute. The defendant demurred on the ground of unconstitutionality. The Justice sustained the demurrer, and the case will be appealed to the higher courts. A Boy's Temperance Wisdom
"I WISH I could join the Band of Hope," said a little boy about six years old, who stood shivering in the door-way of a saloon by his mother's side. "You are not old enough," replied his mother; "you can't understand it." "I guess I'm old enough to know better than to drink whisky," was the reply. Temperance
By Benjamin Franklin
TEMPERANCE puts wood on the fire, meal in the tub, flour in the barrel, money in the purse, credit in trade, contentment in the house, clothes on the back, and vigor in the body.—Dr. Franklin.